Touring Idols get rare day off in Toronto
When you’re on the American Idol tour performing 52 shows in six weeks, days off are rare.
But even those rare day offs aren’t as exciting as you may think.
On Thursday, the American Idol Top 10 got a break in Toronto before their live concert in front of 11, 000 fans at Copps Coliseum tonight.
Today, before the Idols performed their show, The Spectator was able to ask some of the Idols what they did on their day off. Here’s what they said:
Next round of ‘American Idol’ season 9 coming to Atlanta Sunday-Monday with Mary J. Blige as judge
Simon, Randy and Kara are coming to Atlanta after their stint in Boston this week. They should be here Sunday and Monday.
Will there be a guest fourth judge? People says it’s Mary J. Blige. Victoria Beckham worked Denver and Boston.
Unlike the more innocent early years, when I got to hang out with the judges and contestants, ‘Idol’ (in this age of Twitpics and Facebook and YouTube) has made this portion of the auditions ‘closed, ‘ meaning no media allowed. This doesn’t really square with me personally but alas, the ‘Idol’ machine will do its best to hide the contestants away as long as possible.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Victoria Beckham’s ‘American Idol’ encore inspires (what else?) a protest song!
Victoria-Beckham_lThe Idolverse is atwitter with discussion about the meaning of Victoria Beckham sitting in on the American Idol judging panel in Boston this week ‘†even though initial reports indicated she’d only be occupying the Paula Abdul Memorial Chair during the Denver callbacks. Is Beckham’s manager, Idol creator Simon Fuller, hoping to score her a permanent job? Her publicist says The Artist Formerly Known as a Warbling Mannequin Posh Spice is too busy with her clothing line to consider a full-time Idol gig, but as my Idol comrade mjsbigblog points out, ‘As if Victoria would turn down a spot on the biggest show in America for’ ¦Fashion Week.’
Heart & Soul
Danny Gokey isn’t your average celebrity.
You won’t find him dating a supermodel, fighting with the paparazzi or heading to rehab for “exhaustion.”
The soul-filled 29-year-old Milwaukee native is doing something many singing sensations don’t ‘†he’s taking his time in the spotlight to further a cause that’s close to his heart, and become a positive role model for children.
Hollywood, take note.
Kelly Clarkson and LeBron James ‘Get Schooled’
Kelly Clarkson and LeBron James are the faces of a new education initiative.
The pop superstar and the NBA MVP are teaming up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Viacom to bring a 30 minute special called “Get Schooled: You Have the Right, ” to Viacom airwaves. On September 8 at 8 p.m., every Viacom channel will participate in the first-ever “Roadblock, ” in which they will all air the special.
The TV program kicks off “Get Schooled, ” a five-year initiative that aims to address the challenges faced by America’s public schools. “Lots of young people run into problems beyond their control, like finances, that keep them from pursuing their education. At that point, it’s easy to give up. But I believe it’s important to continue to work hard and learn from everyone and everything around you, ” Kelly said of the initiative.
Kelly Clarkson presents a wide-ranging menu of music
In addition to being the gateway to a multiplatinum career, “American Idol” gave Kelly Clarkson freedom.
The televised talent search isn’t confined to a single musical genre, and Clarkson explored various styles during her Friday night appearance at the Indiana State Fair.
Some songs approximated the sensory assault of a rave, while others were tame and unplugged.
Clarkson is a master of today’s slick pop-rock, yet she turned back the clock to mimic girl groups of the 1960s on new song “I Want You.”
Self Editor Continues to Make a Poor Case for Slimming Kelly Clarkson
Danziger fails to make a compelling case for herself, but Kelly Clarkson has largely been left out of the conversation. Kelly’s people have only said, “We love the cover.” That is not a great example for the kids. Either she’s happy the way she is, or she desperately wants to be twenty pounds lighter. If she’s truly happy with herself, why can’t she come out and say she has no desire to look the way she does on the cover? Which is what Kate Winslet did when she appeared with fake noodle thighs on the cover of GQ a while back. The more Kelly hides, the more awkward she makes all of this for herself.
David Cook: Concert No. 100
Friday night (Aug. 14th) marks David Cook’s 100th concert stop when he performs at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tenn.
‘I always thought it would be like cramming 15 guys in a bus and hoping we had enough gas to get to the next stop, ‘ Cook told IdolChatter this morning.
‘Now we have this great bus, we have a great crew and I’m having the time of my life.’
Demi, David delight teens and tweens
They each represent two of the biggest pop music factories of the decade – the Disney Channel and “American Idol.”
Archuleta got almost as many shrieks from the young girls as the headliner. The “American Idol” runnerup from 2008 – whom former judge Paula Abdul famously declared “I want to squish you, squeeze your head off and dangle you from my rear-view mirror” – played harmless pop in his 50-minute set, which also was often drowned out by a backup band.
County Music Stars Take Stage To Salute Troops
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Some of Country’s biggest stars came out to celebrate the Screaming Eagles at Fort Campbell. They took to the stage to salute the troops as part of the kickoff to the Week of the Eagles Celebration.
Hank Williams Jr. kicked off the salute to the troops concert on Friday. He said it was a concert he was not going to miss no matter how busy he had been.
Thousands of soldiers and their families came out to the concert to check other Country superstars like Jake Owen and Carrie Underwood.
Band was best part of Kellie Pickler’s show
NIAGARA FALLS ‘†On Kellie Pickler’s Web site, she talks about the cathartic nature of writing, philosophizing that ‘in order to have good come into your life, you have to let go of the bad.’
I’m in complete agreement with the up-and-coming country artist, which is why I’m using this space to purge my memories of her concert Thursday night in Seneca Niagara Casino.
Theatre Review: Grease
Is there anyone who doesn’t know Grease, both from the original long running Broadway show (1972) and the hugely successful 1978 film version? Well, it’s back and packing them in at the Fox through Sunday (August 16). And this version has the extra added attraction of 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks playing the Teen Angel, who makes a brief appearance in Act II. He also performs his new single ‘Seven Mile Breakdown’ when the show is over. As a theatre purist (more or less) I don’t entirely approve, but such is the power of the Idol juggernaut, which threatens to engulf all of entertainment (God forbid). Oh yes, this production combines music from the film with songs from the original show; it works nicely.
Live Shots: Brooke White Dazzles At NYC’s Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble
Brooke White’s undeniably quirky, but insanely sweet personality made her one of the surprise stand outs of American Idol season 7, and when she released her new album, High Hopes and Heartbreak, it was easy to see why. Brooke’s style isn’t flashy ‘†it’s all about passionate lyrics that resonate and a feeling listeners can capture with their ears and hearts.
Lucky fans got to experience Brooke’s quiet passion at Barnes & Noble in New York’s Lincoln Triangle Friday (August 14) where she played songs from her critically acclaimed new album.
Check out some photos from the performance below.
Christian message with Harlan twang
When Phil Stacey was a contestant on American Idol, he was pegged as a little bit country.
So that’s where the Harlan County native ended up after the show, on the country label Lyric Street Records. In 2008, he released a self-titled debut.
But anyone who was paying attention and knew a little bit about Stacey could hear something in the twang: a message.
Former ‘Idols’ Sing Paula’s Praises
“Extra” caught up with former “American Idol” contestants Constantine Maroulis and Michael Johns — and they’re sad to see Paula leaving the judging table.
Maroulis, now a Tony-nominated Broadway star, will miss Paula, but he’d like to set the record straight about reports he got into a bar brawl over Abdul’s departure. “It was just a drunk dude at a concert who jumped on my back, ” Constantine says of the incident.
Not that the former “Idol” wouldn’t rush to Paula’s defense! “I love Paula. I would hit the streets for her, but that’s not what happened.” He adds that the “show won’t be the same without” Paula.
Season seven contestant Michael Johns told “Extra, ” “I was a bit flabbergasted. She’s the reason people tune in — whether you love her or whether you just want to see if she’s going to be a train wreck, you know.”
Johns adds, “She had a lot of words of wisdom… I think something special from the show will be missing.”
Family Feuds: Neighborhood Makes Grown Men Cry
In this technologically advanced age, could you handle being trapped behind a 20-foot wall without contact to the outside world? Well, eight families in a Kennesaw, Ga., neighborhood are attempting to do that in CBS’ new reality series There Goes the Neighborhood (Sundays, 9/8c), which pits the clans against each other in a variety of challenges for a $250, 000 prize. “It gets really dramatic because a quarter of a million dollars in Kennesaw is probably like $1.5 million in New York, ” host and American Idol alum Matt Rogers tells TVGuide.com. “So some of them take it personally, but that’s what makes it great.” Find out what’s in store on this closed-off block party and get Rogers’ thoughts on Paula Abdul’s Idol exit.
‘Afghan Star’ hopefuls risk it all
Susan Boyle has got nothing on the contestants of “Afghan Star, ” Afghanistan’s version of “American Idol.” Instead of enduring skepticism, humiliation and Simon Cowell, they face ostracism, death threats or even assassination. Singers, especially women, literally take their lives in their hands when they appear on the show.
Which is why director Havana Marking’s new documentary about the program, which won the nonfiction directing and audience awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is more than just a look at an unlikely cultural transplant. It’s a window into an evolving society.