Pia Toscano Had ‘Immediate Connection’ With Rodney Jerkins
“That song sounds kind of country, but [the album’s] not just one thing, not pop or R&B, ” she said while making her way through the airport on the way to an Idols Live! tour date. “It will be pop with an R&B influence, with an edge. It will be soulful and powerful.”
The production team Rock Mafia (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez) — also “Idol” mentors — have recorded a few songs with Toscano, including “Counterfeit, ” a tune she described as a “haunting, edgy ballad” that may also feature some production from Tricky Stewart (Britney Spears, Mariah Carey).
She has also collaborated with Spears songwriter Heather Brite on a “beautiful” song called “Less to Know.” Toscano wrote a number of songs before her run on “Idol” and though so far she’s letting the pros do the heavy lifting on the yet-untitled disc — which she said is due out in the fall — she’s open to collaboration and would love to work with someone like OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder.
Read more at MTV
David Archuleta – Update from Manila
David Archuleta – Updates his fans from Manila Philippines.
VEVO Visits David Cook’s Home Town
We’ve been traveling around the country a ton for our Area Codes series, and recently popped by Blue Springs, Missouri to visit a handful of local spots with their lovely American Idol output, David Cook.
The singer took us on a tour of his hometown, dropping by his high school and even bagging perishables for customers at the local HyVee grocery store:
We’re dying to know what the rock balladeer is up to at the market as much as you are, but unfortunately for the both of us, we’ll have to wait until the episode premieres in early August.
See more photos at VEVO
Casey Abrams tweets, “This is how @PMcDonaldAI10 @SLangoneAI10 @JDurbinAI10 and I are doing after 10 dates.
‘American Idol’ Vet Kimberley Locke on New EP, Running Her Own Label, and Taking Control
As the single “Finally Free” and the EP “Four for the Floor” go on sale today (July 19), the “American Idol” finalist from season two is heading up her own company, I AM Entertainment. It’s a decision made after a long stint with Curb Records and last summer’s top five dance club play hit “Strobelight, ” released on Randy Jackson’s Dream Merchant 21 imprint.
“I enjoy doing business just as much as I enjoy singing, ” says Locke, who was about to enter law school when she auditioned for “American Idol” in 2002 and found her life taking a new direction after finishing third behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.
“This is the right time for me to do what I always wanted to do – have an entertainment company. I thought it was going to be a long, drawn-out process but it came to fruition very quickly.” Locke says it all happened rapidly because she was able to put the right team together, including executive assistant Kathy Manabat, web master Scott Lawrence and promotion veteran Bob Catania. “Bob was with me at Curb and it was a pleasure to hire him because he taught me so much.”
Read more at Billboard
Dixie Chicks, Bo Bice, Adam Levine Join Fight Against Ticket Scalpers
Fans always come first, at least for the Dixie Chicks. The talented trio are joining fellow musical heavyweights John Mayer, Bo Bice, Maroon 5 and more than 30 other artists to launch the Fans First Coalition, a non-profit organization formed to protect fans from unethical and fraudulent ticket practices. The organization hopes to raise awareness about the perils of ticket resale sites.
Adam Levine, ‘The Voice’ judge and Maroon 5 lead singer, reinforces the mission of the organization: “We need to make sure that fans get the tickets, and not scalpers. Fans First is fighting to do just that. Our band wants our tickets to be sold at the face value that we set, so that the real fans can get the tickets — not scalpers.”
Read more at The Boot
Jennifer Lopez Performs … To Drunken Crowd?
Jennifer Lopez is set to perform at a Ukrainian wedding in 3 hours … but here’s the problem — she doesn’t hit the stage until 11:30, and you know how the Ukrainians like their vodka.
Jennifer is reportedly pocketing a million bucks for her performance. Our wedding spies tell us there are roughly 300 people attending the bash.
A source connected to Jennifer calls the performance time “a little weird, ” but hey, drunk or not, a million bucks is a million bucks.
Read more at TMZ
Lythgoe & Deeley Rooting For ‘Idol’ Over ‘SYTYCD’ At The Emmys?
“You know how I feel, I’m much more passionate about [‘SYTYCD’] than ‘Idol, ‘ but I want ‘Idol’ to win the Emmy, ” Nigel confessed. “For 10 seasons now, everyone on ‘Idol’ has worked so hard, year in and year out….and every year, we sit there and we hear, and the winner is…’The Amazing Race’! So it would be amazing this year above all, when everything got turned around, to win. But if ‘Idol’ doesn’t win, I want it to be beaten by ‘So You Think You Can Dance’!”
See the video at Yahoo Music
‘Glee’ Suit — You Screwed Me On the Back End
The man who claims he was critical in developing “Glee” is suing co-creator Ian Brennan, claiming Brennan betrayed him by refusing to honor an agreement they made.
Michael Novick, a producer on “Glee, ” claims his former good friend Ian Brennan developed a concept for “Glee” as a screenplay for a movie — about a high school glee club. Novick and Brennan agreed to work as a team to sell the project.
Novick worked out at a gym in West Hollywood, the same place where Ryan Murphy worked out. Novick talked to Murphy — a successful show runner — about the project at the gym, and Murphy loved it, saying it would make an even better TV show.
Read more at TMZ
