Casey James signing with Sony Nashville
Though the contracts aren’t signed yet, Casey James will be a Sony Nashville recording artist for Sony Nashville in the very near future. Because the deal isn’t official yet, very few details are available — in fact, a Sony spokesperson told me Monday afternoon that Casey hasn’t even been assigned a label yet.
Read more at USA Today
‘American Idol’ Finalist Casey James Inks Sony Nashville Deal
Sony is no stranger to signing ‘Idol’ alums, as Carrie Underwood (Arista Records), Kellie Pickler (BNA Records) and Danny Gokey (RCA Nashville) have made big waves after signing with various imprints under the label. While our source has confirmed Casey will be a part of the Sony Music Nashville family, it’s not yet known which imprint he will fall under.
Read more at The Boot
‘American Idol’ Judges — Dangerous Strangers
We’re told before choosing Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, Exec Producer Nigel Lythgoe organized dinners with the three prospective judges, to see how they meshed. We’re told Nigel even had Simon and Randy go to a few strip clubs together … to see how they got along.
FOX, we’re told, was adamantly opposed to Paula because the Network felt she was “washed up, ” but Nigel convinced the execs it was all about the “magic” between the three.
Read more at TMZ
More Headlines after the JUMP…
Sillerman Plans Cash Bid on ‘American Idol’ Owner CKX
Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — Robert F.X. Sillerman, the former chief executive officer of CKX Inc., said he is preparing a cash offer of $5.50 to $5.75 a share for a controlling stake in the owner of the “American Idol” television show.
The proposal calls for Sillerman to return to the company as executive chairman, according to a regulatory filing today. Sillerman, the founder of CKX, stepped down as chairman and CEO May 7 to pursue a takeover attempt.
Pop music: Casey James, Tim Urban and Lee DeWyze talk about ‘American Idol’
When Casey James stepped off the American Idol tour bus Monday morning, he decided to skip sleep time at the hotel before that night’s concert at American Airlines Center. A little R&R at home in Fort Worth sounded too good to pass up.
“That was the most rejuvenating thing for my spirit that I could possibly imagine, ” says James, who finished in third place last season. “I pet my dogs for a couple of hours, hung out with my brother and cousin at my house, bought doughnuts, went to El Taquito Café.”
What was the reaction to him around town?
Read more at the Dallas Morning News
Personal tidbits from some of the top 10 “Idols”
Every year when “American Idols Live” rolls through Tulsa, we get a chance to spend some time with a few of the top 10 finalists before the show.
Read more from Tulsa World
Simon Cowell pays for cancer girl Megan Kershaw’s trip to Disney
Simon Cowell was so moved by a girl’s brave battle against a rare cancer that he paid for her to go on a Disney trip.
The hard-nosed X Factor judge showed his softer side after chatting to 12-year-old Megan Kershaw, who has endured 18 months of gruelling chemotherapy and had three-quarters of her liver removed.
Simon stepped in when he heard the youngster had made a “wish board” that included meeting him, Girls Aloud and the dream trip to Disney World in Florida.
Read more at the Daily Mirror.co.uk
GLEE’s Chris Colfer Talks Emmys, Dream Guest Stars and Season 2
The GLEE kids are back at work!
GIVE ME MY REMOTE chatted with Chris Colfer at a FOX party this week to see how he feels about shooting the second season and who he’d like to see guest star this year. We also wanted to know if his Emmy nod has finally sunk in.
He filled us in…
Read more at Give Me My Remote
Start Poor, Spread ‘Glee, ’ Then Try ‘Eat Pray Love’
WHEN Julia Roberts got word that Ryan Murphy planned to turn the best-selling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love” into a movie, she had a fast response: “Who?” You know, her agent explained, the guy who created “Nip/Tuck, ” that sick and twisted plastic surgery show. “Oh, the ‘Nip/Tuck’ guy, that pricked up my ears a little, ” Ms. Roberts recalled.
How had a man with almost no film experience wormed his way into directing a big, juicy movie? Curious, she agreed to meet Mr. Murphy at a Malibu restaurant and realized the answer before the first Arnold Palmers arrived. “I fell totally under his spell, ” Ms. Roberts said. “We’re sort of like best girlfriends now.”
Read more at the NY Times
New Glee Star Chord Overstreet Wants to “Beat It”
There’s a new boy in town. And don’t be surprised if he breaks out into country music.
Glee’s newest addition, Chord Overstreet, hails from Nashville. His dad is Paul Overstreet, a singer-songwriter who has released more than 10 albums and worked with Kenny Chesney, Randy Travis and the Judds, among others.
“I would love to do a country song on Glee, ” Overstreet told me at the Teen Choice Awards. “We get an episode at a time, so as far as the storyline goes I don’t know if it will happen. But hopefully. That would be fun.”
Read more at E Online
Wayne Newton writes fan letter to Simon Cowell
When USA TODAY’s Mike Snider asked Newton in an interview whether the star was following the current search for new judges, he said, “I don’t know that I would be good at it, frankly and I have found historically that when I have given advice to some younger talent who might be coming on and moving into some of the areas that I have done in my life they are not really receptive to what you have to say anyway.”
An avid American Idol watcher, Newton says he wrote his first fan letter recently to Simon Cowell after Cowell’s last episode. “There had been times I had watched the show and I thought that maybe — a dream is a fragile thing — he had been a little rough on some of the people.
Read More at USA Today
Will Kellie Pickler Use Her Python as a Ringbearer?
“It’s a disaster, ” she tells PEOPLE Country in its September issue. Speaking of her songwriter beau Kyle Jacobs, the star says, “He’s a snapper. He just sways back and forth and snaps his finger.”
For this reason, as the country star prepares to tie the knot with Jacobs, she says they will skip the first dance. And the big day plans continue: The couple will exchange vows in a church – with their entourage of pets in attendance.
“I’m thinking of having the python be the ringbearer!” says Pickler, 24, with a laugh. “We’ve been talking about incorporating the dogs – they’re like our kids. But we wouldn’t want an accident to happen down the aisle.”
Read more at People
Late Night Sandwich – Mid-day edition from the road!
