American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen’s death may lead to more charges for Toms River man
SEASIDE HEIGHTS — The man accused in the hit-and-run death of Alexis Cohen, a former American Idol contestant, may face additional charges, authorities said today during the 23-year-old’s first appearance in court in Ocean County.
Daniel Bark has been charged with leaving the scene of Saturday’s accident that killed Cohen, 25, of Allentown, Pa. Superior Court Judge Wendell E. Daniels said today he expects additional charges of aggravated manslaughter, death by auto and eluding to be added to the list.
Daniels said those new complaints could be accompanied by a bail of $150, 000 in addition to the $35, 000 bail that is holding Bark in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.
Paula Abdul’s ‘Idol’ deal still up in the air
‘American Idol’ auditions are just two weeks away, and a deal for judge Paula Abdul has at best, stalled, and at worst is all but D.O.A.
‘There’s an offer on the table, but it’s not one that Paula is happy with, ‘ said a source close to the singer. ‘She sees the big money Ryan Seacrest got, she knows that Simon is close to a huge deal, too. She feels like it’s personal that she’s not getting the same big numbers, ‘ said the source. (Abdul’s manager, David Sonenberg, did not return calls for comment.)
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Kris Allen interview to promote ‘Idols Live’ at Gwinnett Arena July 31
Most ‘American Idol’ winners so far have fallen in the ‘humbly likable’ category. Think Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks.
Exceptions: powerhouse R&B diva Fantasia from season three and authoritatively confident rocker David Cook from last season. (They were both likable in different ways, just not evidently humble by my definition of humble.)
This year’s winner Kris Allen joins the majority as Mr. Understated, not Mr. Swagger. And he proved no different during a phone interview earlier this month to promote Friday’s sold-out Gwinnett Arena ‘Idols Live’ concert.
American Idols Stop in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The scene inside FedEx Forum was aglow’ ¦the stars on stage’ ¦fans in their seats at the American Idol Tour 2009 in Memphis, but for Lil Rounds it was all about being back home.
Rounds says, “Memphis I love you.”
Performing for a hometown crowd Rounds says the moments before the show would be the hardest.
Rounds says, “For a minute I think I’m gonna have to just really take a huge breath before I even start singing because this is going to be a welcome I been waiting on since the tour started.”
American Idol 2009 Tour hits Memphis – Adam Lambert wins screaming contest
On July 26, the 2009 American Idol tour descended on Memphis. Memphis is no stranger to pop idols. After all, the first true pop idol, Elvis Presley, once called this city his home. People in this neck of the pop culture woods are quite used to seeing people emulate, worship and get downright loony over men in tight pants.
Allen T-Shirts Helping Fund Scholarship
Kris Allen fans can purchase T-shirts celebrating his victory as the 2009 ‘American Idol’ champion and supporting a scholarship in his honor.
Glenn Crockett, a member of the Kris Allen Task Force, said shirts are available at ACE Hardware in Conway or at www.eventsales.org. The victory shirt is light blue with image of Allen singing and bears his signature and ‘Thanks for your support.’ Also for sale are the original ‘Conway Backs Kris Allen’ T-shirts that were popular during the competition. They are available in pink, green and gray. Youth and adult sizes are available in the victory shirts, but only adult sizes are available in the original shirts. The cost is $15 per shirt.
STAGE TUBE: Adam Lambert: Behind The Scenes – ‘IDOLS LIVE Tour Rehearsal’
AMERICAN IDOL 8 season eight runner-up Adam Lambert takes you behind the scenes of the IDOLS LIVE Tour rehearsals and reveals his feelings regarding his time on the Fox telecast. You can watch the quick update right here on STAGE TUBE!
The American Idols Tour is “hitting the road” this summer. The top 10 finalists, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, and Scott MacIntyre, all are taking the stage on a 50 city tour which began July 5th.
Adam Lambert Musical Available On New DVD
Adam LambertEcho Bridge Entertainment has re-issued the 2006 Val Kilmer/Adam Lambert show The Ten Commandments: The Musical on DVD. A multi-million dollar theatrical production that flopped back in 2004, the DVD release has been getting plenty of attention because of its inclusion of American Idol finalist Adam Lambert.
Anoop Desai: Backstage At L.A.’s Staples Center
Anoop Desai has yet to be signed to a record deal, but judging from the very Dogged fanbase I’ve witnessed both online and at the recent Idols Live concert at L.A.’s Staples Center, there are a lot of Anoopheads out there, already waiting to buy his album.
So naturally when I sat down with Anoop backstage at Staples before the big Los Angeles show (where apparently many industry scouts were in attendance, checking out Anoop and the other unsigned Idols), I asked him about his recording plans, his devoted following, and his part in earning the whopping eight Emmy nominations American Idol scored that very morning.
Daughtry’s ‘No Surprise’ tops Idol airplay for second week
Daughtry keeps the top slot on our American Idol airplay chart for a second week, but there’s a new #2 this week. Jordin Sparks’ Battlefield moves into that second spot, and Kellie Pickler’s Best Days of Your Life, now a Top 10 country single, takes third, according Mediabase’s monitoring.
Kelly Clarkson’s first two singles from All I Ever Wanted are #4 and #5 this week, and Already Gone continues to climb (#75 to #57). Expect it to really pick up steam in the coming weeks.
Hear Me: ‘Leave This Town’ by Daughtry
The world was shocked when Chris Daughtry did not make it to the American Idol finale in 2006. However, his band’s self-titled debut album became the best-selling album of 2007, completely surpassing the other Idol contestants. With the band’s sophomore album, Daughtry has some high expectations to meet. Thankfully, Leave This Town is not a disappointment at all. For some, it may be more of the same, but Chris Daughtry is only doing what he does best.
This time, the album is filled with mainstream rock, but it also has a twang of country in a few of the songs. But don’t worry, none of the songs are close to being played on CMT.
Jordin Sparks Says Writing Songs For Battlefield Was ‘Therapeutic’
For her just-released new album, Battlefield, Jordin Sparks didn’t want to rest on her “American Idol”-winning laurels. Much like on her debut album, Sparks contributed to the songwriting on the album, collaborating with writers like Toby Gad and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder.
“I had so much fun doing it. Writing is really therapeutic, I am finding out, ” Sparks told MTV News. “I’ve always loved to write. Ever since I was in the fourth grade I’ve written poetry and I’ve loved words and language arts. Everybody else in my family thinks I’m crazy, but it was my favorite thing to do.”
Former ‘Idol’ Brooke White Shares ‘High Hopes and Heartbreak’
Former ‘American Idol’ alum Brooke White recently stopped by PopEater’s New York office to meet with the staff and play some tunes from her post-‘Idol’ debut, ‘High Hopes and Heartbreak, ‘ which was released earlier this week. White joked about her “foghorn of a voice, ” as she called it, but no apologies were necessary.
The staff watched the video for her latest single ‘Radio Radio’ while White shied away in the corner. “I always feel weird looking at myself, ” she confessed.
Absent Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson Fragments set for DVD
After months of sitting on a shelf, the Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson featured Fragments finally has a release date.
Coming straight to DVD, after a limited theatrical release, Fragments is due to arrive in stores August 4.
Focused on a group of survivors who must face life on different terms after shots ring out and the early morning tranquility of a diner shatters, Fragments finds each character transforming in unexpected ways.
Seacrest is fast on his tweet, scoops media on Silverman
NBC Universal’s announcement Monday that Ben Silverman is leaving the network after his two-year tenure did little to reverse its prime-time fortunes was one of the least surprising stories to hit the television industry in some time.
What was unexpected was who broke the news — and how.
At 5:09 a.m. Pacific time, nearly an hour before the official news releases went out, “American Idol” host and celebrity interviewer Ryan Seacrest hinted on Twitter that something big was about to go down: “Some biz ent news going to break this morning that will impact shows and stars. It will have impact one major network immediately.”
Reality TV: Dancers bring the talent to ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ auditions.
In the wee hours of July 24, families were snoozing along the parade route in downtown SLC and a few blocks away, dancers were killing time till they could officially line up for “So You Think You Can Dance” auditions at 6 a.m.
With press credentials, I arrived at noon, an hour before the doors would open for season 6 auditions. Still, I woke up early and thought about the floats with crickets and seagulls from Sandy’s 11th Ward and the dancers rehearsing their dances before the FOX camera crews arrived.
Jason & Janette on Their ‘SYTYCD’ Exit
Jason Glover and Janette Manrara made the Top Eight on “So You Think You Can Dance, ” but last week, despite some excellent comments from the judges, America sent them home. Now, the two voted-off dancers talk about getting the boot.
