Posh and “Idol” on State Street
“American Idol’ hopefuls got a surprise today — Posh, in person. Victoria Beckham joined Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, and Randy Jackson at the State Room to screen a pack of local contestants who had already made it through a round of auditions at Gillette Stadium in June. Not surprisingly, the reality show judges caused quite a stir as they entered 60 State Street in the Financial District. Camera phones were out in numbers. Crowds gathered to see Posh and her lacy headband. Lucky for them, the former Spice Girl stopped to chat before she disappeared into the building. ‘It’s great to be a part of something where you find a new talent, ” Posh said, beaming. “I’ve been there … I’m a performer. That’s what made me famous. That’s what I did.’ Beckham said it was Cowell who called her up and asked her to serve as a guest judge on ‘Idol’ this season. It didn’t take much convincing. ‘I’m the biggest ‘American Idol’ fan, ‘ she said.
Front Row at the American Idol Concert
Do not adjust your screens’â€you aren’t seeing double. The two women pictured above actually each made their own home-made Adam Lambert stick puppets, which they proudly showcased Wednesday night (along with their black nailpolish) at the American Idol concert in Long Island. That’s Eydia on the left and Sharon on the right’â€and Adam and Adam. You can’t blame them for not giving me their last names, they are Adam-Lambert-oholics, after all. “He’s the best singer, ” cooed Eydia, who confessed she drove for 105 minutes to see Mr. Lambert in the flesh with her co-worker.
More Idol Headlines after the Jump..
PHOTOS: Beanpole Beckham Hits Beantown for American Idol
More than 235 years after we dumped 342 crates of British tea into Boston harbor, England got its revenge on the New England city by sending Victoria Beckham to break the hearts of thousands of American Idol hopefuls as auditions for the hit Fox show continued in Boston on Thursday.
Adam Lambert Rolling Stone’s Top Seller
Blessed with boyish handsome good looks and equipped with his trademark black eyeliner and dyed asymmetrical coiffure, American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert’s Rolling Stone cover is the magazine’s top-selling issue of the year, according to Extra.
Chart Beat Thursday: Sugarland, Selena Gomez, Jordin Sparks
SPARKS FLIES: 2007 “American Idol” queen Jordin Sparks collects her fourth consecutive top 10 in as many tries on the Pop Songs/Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart, as “Battlefield” charges 11-8. The title track from her sophomore album follows a trio of top 10s last year from her debut self-titled set: “Tattoo” (No. 5), “No Air” (No. 2) and “One Step at a Time” (No. 3).
Digital Damage: Does Retouching Photos Send the Wrong Message?
September’s cover of SELF magazine featuring a smiling Kelly Clarkson has caused quite a stir.
The public has seen the singer’s weight fluctuate for years. But in this issue Clarkson looks thinner in the cover photo than she does in the behind the scenes video posted on the magazine’s website.
The magazine denies the accusation that it retouched the star in order to make her look slim.
“We didn’t make her look thinner. I added a little height because I wanted the impact of that cover, ” said SELF editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger. “You want a colorful cover that’s going to stop people and make them pick it up.”
Chris Daughtry embraces being part of a band
NEW YORK – The idea of a rock band playing their own instruments on their own album might seem like a given, but when Chris Daughtry made that a condition for the recording of Daughtry’s sophomore CD, producer Howard Benson was wary.
‘That was something I was not sure about, to be honest with you, ‘ recalls Benson.
Daughtry just a ‘regular guy’
‘I’m a regular guy that’s getting a great break. I think that’s all there is to it, ‘ shrugs guitarist/singer Chris Daughtry about his unprecedented success: a debut record that raced to No. 1 on many international polls, an amazing stay of over 80 weeks on America’s Top 200, worldwide sales of 5.5 million and the ensuing plethora of ravenous fans.
Not bad for a guy who only hit the world of rock a meagre three years ago. Or for someone that came in fourth place during renowned televised hit-making program American Idol. Kick-starting his career by competing on the program during its 2006 run, Daughtry was a favourite due to his down-to-earth charm and soulful voice. Still, at the time he was bested by another. Taylor Hicks took that season’s crown.
Get Ready, Houston: You’re Gonna Have Two Solid Weeks Of Taylor Hicks
Good news came out today for fans of Taylor Hicks and Grease — they no longer will have to pick certain Houston shows to be sure of seeing the former American Idol winner as the Teen Angel.
Originally, Hicks was to only appear in some shows during the two-week run in Houston — something which caused severe displeasure among his fans, several of which also shelled us for a headline suggesting some people might opt not to see Hicks.
But in a news release today, Theatre Under the Stars spokeswoman Lauren Lovell writes that Hicks will appear in every show.
DeGarmo Joins Cast of Off-Broadway’s Toxic Avenger Aug. 14
Diana DeGarmo, the Season Three runner-up on FOX’s “American Idol, ” joins the cast of the new Off-Broadway musical The Toxic Avenger Aug. 14 at New World Stages.
DeGarmo, who is stepping into the role of Sarah, “the sexy, blind librarian, succeeds Celina Carvajal.
The young singing actress, who has been seen on Broadway in Hairspray and in the national tour of Brooklyn, said in a recent statement, “I am so excited to be coming back to New York to join the cast of The Toxic Avenger. When I saw the show, I laughed my head off. I can’t wait to start rehearsal ‘ and to be blonde again!”
InnerTube: Ex-‘Idol’ Kimberly Caldwell hopeful will miss Paula Abdul
Like many, former “American Idol” contestant and expert on the series Kimberly Caldwell says the show won’t be the same without Paula Abdul.
“Something’s going to be lost, ” Caldwell said. “She’s part of the formula, part of the ingredients that make ‘Idol’ work.”
She said viewers will miss Abdul’s
sympathetic approach as a judge in dealing with “Idol” contestants.
Caldwell has a good idea of the role of sympathy in her new job as host of MTV’s “P. Diddy’s StarMaker, ” launching Sunday at 10 p.m. The show revolves around 14 contestants, who, over 10 episodes, are schooled in how to be a star, all for a shot at a recording deal with Bad Boy Records.
Christian singer stops at Civic Center this fall
SALISBURY ‘†Grammy winning Michael W. Smith is bringing his ‘New Hallelujah World Tour’ to the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center stage Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.
Advertisement
Joining Smith onstage will be musical missionary Matt Maher, American Idol season six Top 5 finalist Phil Stacey and Meredith Andrews, who was recently named Christian music’s most promising new artist by Billboard magazine.
Tickets for the ‘New Hallelujah World Tour’ will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. and range from $20-$30 plus fees. Tickets are available online at www.WicomicoCivicCenter.org, by phone at 410-548-4911 or in person at the Civic Center Box Office (open Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm).
Paula Abdul Promotes Recyclable Sports Mats
Paula Abdul can add another product sponsorship under her belt with a new position as Celebrity Ambassador for G2 Fitness. Some sites are saying that she is specifically promoting their Golf Mat and while I’m not exactly sure what a ‘golf mat’ is (I thought it was a portable putting green?) it seems that she’s actually representing their whole line of ‘eco-friendly’ products including stretching mats for individual sports including yoga and golf. In this case, eco-friendly means 100% recyclable.
Paula Abdul: Cornered by Shutterbugs
Enjoying a beautiful summer day in Beverly Hills, Paula Abdul found herself cornered by shutterbugs in a parking garage yesterday (August 13).
The former ‘American Idol’ judge looked stunning as she tried to push past the paparazzi, sporting a shiny gold tank top with white trousers and black heels.
Dancing with the Stars Sets New Rehearsal Rules
After no less than eight celebrities were injured on the last season of Dancing with the Stars ‘†including Jewel and Nancy O’Dell, who were taken out of the competition altogether ‘†producers of the show are taking precautionary measures before season 9 begins by limiting stars’ rehearsal time.
‘They will monitor how long they rehearse for, ‘ a source close to the show tells TVGuide.com. ‘It’s never been done before.’
Karina and Maksim: We Do Everything Together
Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy go to work together every day on Dancing With the Stars. Plus, they perform eight shows a week together during their summer stint in Broadway’s Burn the Floor. But that doesn’t mean they want their free time to be separate!
“We do everything together, ” says Smirnoff, 31, who got engaged to Chmerkovskiy, 29, on New Year’s Eve.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ To Announce Cast
“Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron will announce the new season’s cast on Monday.
There has been a lot of speculation on which 16 stars will make up the new cast of ABC’s hit dance show, and on Monday, Bergeron will put that to a rest when he announces their names on “Good Morning America.”
In addition to Bergeron, one of the 16 will be on hand for their first “Dancing” interview. Will it be one of the names that have been bandied about: Donny Osmond, Dean McDermott or Lou Ferrigno? ET will report the news as soon as it breaks.
A ‘Glee’ teaser: The kids bust out Salt-n-Pepa’s ‘Push It’
The “Glee” promotional train keeps chugging toward the show’s Sept. 9 premiere on Fox. The latest? A clip from that episode, titled “Showmance.” In it, the glee clubbers get down and dirty, performing their version of Salt-n-Pepa’s 1987 classic “Push It” in an attempt to attract more members.
You can also meet the cast live when they go on The Gleek Tour beginning Aug. 17. Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Dianna Agron and Mark Salling will make appearances exclusively at Hot Topic stores across the country.
