Rays and Red Sox on deck for Game 1 of the ALCS – David Archuleta Sings God Bless America During 7th Inning Stretch
The American League Championship Series begins [tonight] under the dome in Tropicana Field. The Tampa Bay Rays host their first ALCS against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. First Pitch 8:37 p.m.
National Anthem/God Bless America: Saxophonist B.K. Jackson will perform the National Anthem. American Idol star David Archuleta will sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.
TBS is carrying the game starting at 8 pm ET…
Blake Lewis sounds off on ‘Idol, ‘ digital music
All this time, we could have shopped for another label deal, gone out on tour. So now 19 Records, kind of our middleman, is helping us out with tour support. [“A.I.” producer and 19 label executive] Simon Fuller said at the end of the last season of the show that they’re behind me and want me to be successful, and he’s proven a man of his word.I’m working on a new album at my home studio in Seattle now. It’s not a Blake Lewis record. It’s a production record – Orchestral Drive-By. It’s like Massive Attack meets Zero 7 meets Glitch Mob, which is the best hip-hop out there right now.
Q: Ever think of writing an “American Idol” tell-all book? With your frank attitude, I think it could be a good read and would sell well.
A: If I ever do, I’ll give you credit. But the person I think should do that is Sanjaya Malakar. I was very vocal about him, didn’t think he should be on the show. But he’s a great kid. And his life story is super shocking. I can’t tell you why. I’ve burned him enough already. Trust me, though. It’d be a New York Times best seller. *
Camile Velasco rubs it ‘pon her belly with new debut album
FIVE YEARS AGO, Hawaii residents were overcome by the hype surrounding “American Idol” when two of their own became finalists in the televised popularity contest disguised as a singing competition.
That would be with Up Above Records, a hip-hop indie label that plans to release her full-length debut in early 2009. The lead single, a cover of Bob Marley’s “Guava Jelly” produced by Stephen Marley, hits the Internet on Tuesday.
“It’s gonna be available on iTunes, (so) I’m really excited, ” she said. “I got to go out to Jamaica … in Tuff Gong’s studios, at Bob’s house, recording in a room with Stephen, just me and him.”
‘American Idol’ Fix
The Ramona Bowl Music Association is banking on the curious popularity of the “American Idol” television show to fill seats at Hemet’s storied amphitheatre.
Al Cordova, who leads the non-profit music association, swung a deal with an agent to bring American Idol competitors from different seasons to the amphitheatre on Oct. 24. The 8 p.m. concert at the bowl will feature Gina Glocksen (season 6), Jon Peter Lewis (season 3), Mikalha Gordon (season 4), Rickey Smith (season 2) and Justin Guarini, who was runner up to Kelly Clarkson in the show’s first season.
Michael Orland of the American Idol show will serve in his familiar post as music director.
Is Carrie Underwood Dating Again?
Chace who? Tony what? Carrie Underwood has so moved on from the men in her past. At least, that what the New York Daily News is reporting. They know someone who knows someone who said that Underwood and Travis Stork were hanging in a restaurant in Canada. Underwood did have an Oct. 7 tour stop up in Toronto, so it could very well be true.
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood plays to a sold-out Moncton Coliseum tomorrow night
Carrie Underwood is set to take Moncton on a Carnival Ride.
The American Idol season four winner and multi-platinum selling recording artist performs in Saint John tonight before taking to the Moncton Coliseum stage for a sold-out show tomorrow.
Her first performances in Atlantic Canada, the Carnival Ride Tour has Carrie Underwood fans from New Brunswick bubbling with excitement.
Candid Ace Young and Janine Divita at Notables
We caught up with Ace Young and Janine Divita at the Notables event at Carnegie Hall this week. Young says that his time in GREASE has been …awesome. Divita says, …It is nice to have him.
Young says that he continues to write songs in his New York apartment. We think thats great too and are looking for another hit. No pressure though.
Not just Idol talk
And you can double that risk again for the dubiously lucky ones who get the record deal without getting the crown. How hard is it to get out from under Simon Cowell shadow if you were, say, America second favorite of the season?
…I dont think you can ever escape it, says Blake Lewis, the season 6 runner-up, who performs at the Gravity Lounge this Monday at 7:30. …Even Kelly Clarkson will always have it.
And she won.
Lewis, who says he never saw the show before auditioning for it, is quick to add how grateful he is for all the doors …Idol has opened for him.
SONY MUSIC TURNS TO DAVIS FOR HIT$
Clive Davis is quietly reasserting his power at Sony Music Entertainment.
Many had assumed the 76-year-old legendary producer was gently being shown the door after an executive suite shuffle in April stripped him of his chairman and CEO role at the BMG Label Group.
However, Davis has turned what was initially perceived as the token title of chief creative officer into a hit-making and face-saving role for artist-development-deprived Sony Music.
And this week Oscar winner and former “American Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson’s 217, 000-selling debut, was good enough for No. 2 on the Billboard charts.
Now, according to several sources inside Sony Music, US label group boss Rob Stringer has asked Davis to talk with the heads of Columbia Records and Epic Records about working on projects for some of the artists on their labels.
10/10: Interview with John Stevens
Stevens, who is now a senior at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, didnt feed me any cool insider anecdotes or shocking insights. But he sounds very grounded and ready to work when he graduates next year. I liked him on the show though he was clearly uncomfortable stretching into genres he was unfamiliar with at the time.
…Im much more confident with my own voice and everything, he said. …My repertoire has expanded so much. Ive got so many more tools. I could be able to pull off from different genres now.
Jennifer Hudson: Called The N-Word While Shooting ‘The Secret Life of Bees’
During our candid interview at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, Hudson talked the importance of this movie with the current political landscape; told me about the major award she still hasn’t received; and shared what it was like to sing for Democratic nominee for president, Senator Barack Obama.
Jennifer Hudson at Chicago Film Fest
Last week I reported that the Chicago International Film Fest had lost Common, who was originally scheduled to receive an award at the Black Perspectives Tribute on October 18th. That left them with Sidney Poitier taking home a Lifetime Achievement Award, which is fine, but might have left the attendees, who fork over $150 a pop to be there, feeling a bit shortchanged.
Well, now theyve added Jennifer Hudson, who gets an Artistic Achievement Award (yeah, they have to make up names for the awards to make it flattering but not bogus). If she really wants to wow her hometown crowd, she should sing a number or two.
VH1 Heads Back to Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of ‘Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew’
VH1 has once again partnered with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a second season of the hit reality series “Celebrity Rehab
with Dr. Drew.” The series, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is slated to premiere Thursday, October 23 at 10pm.
Similar to the first cycle, the second season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” will follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at a center in the Los Angeles area. The show will follow Jeff Conaway as he checks back into rehab after a series of back surgeries, setbacks and subsequent reliance on pain
medications. Joining him in rehab are Sean Stewart (Sons of Hollywood), Amber Smith (model/actress), Rodney King, Nikki McKibbon (American Idol), Steven Adler (Guns n Roses) and Tawny Kitaen (Actress). Gary Busey, who is
13 years sober from his cocaine addiction, will also be joining the cast to take the journey with the others and to share his experiences on the recovery process.
Turning the Tables event raises money to save Franklin Theater
Tammy Trent, tobyMac, Michael W. Smith, American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle, and Tennessee Titans players Erron Kinney, Daniel Loper and Benji Olson were among some of the celebrities who turned out for “Turning The Tables, ” a benefit dinner presented by Southern Exposure Magazine designed to raise money for the Save The Franklin Theatre project.
But the celebs weren’t there to eat. They were there to serve.
‘Light For The City’ puts Michael W. Smith in place of honor
The West Virginia native-turned-longtime Middle Tennessee resident has more than gotten by with it over the past 25 years. Since his humbly created Michael W. Smith Project record was released in 1983, Smith has forged a unique career with ample recognition in both the general market and Christian music worlds, a career path celebrated at the annual “A Light For The City” concert benefiting The Nashville Choir at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center tonight.
Special guests scheduled to honor Smith include Amy Grant, Bill and Gloria Gaither, Wynonna, Ricky Skaggs and former American Idol participants Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle and Phil Stacey, among a host of others.
Which Recently Upped TV Exec Got His Start As A Gay Porn Star?
Billy Kemp, FremantleMedia North America’s newly anointed VP of casting and talent, had an illustrious career in the ’90s as an adult entertainment star and screenwriter under the name Jordan Young, starring and/or writing in a stream of all-male fantasy entertainments, including Nightwatch 2, Lost in Vegas, The Taking of Jake, and Hardcore. In a 1997 interview, he recalls his first scene:
‘DWS’ Star Takes on Critics of Her Weight
Two-time “Dancing With the Stars” champion Cheryl Burke has found herself the subject of tabloids and bloggers — not all for her ballroom prowess, though; some of the chatter concerns her weight.
The two-time “Dancing” champ responds to critics who say she is overweight.
The 24-year-old says she has endured often vicious comments about the few extra pounds she gained during the summer.
“It was a huge shock for me, ” Burke said on “Good Morning America” today. “The worst thing I’d have to say is that people thought I was a few months pregnant when I started the show.”
Dancing With The Stars Judge Carrie Ann Inaba Says Spay or Neuter Today!
PETA has just launched a new ad featuring Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba in which she tells people: …Dont Miss a Step’ Spay or Neuter Today! Of course also featured is Inaba rescued and responsibility neutered cat, Shadow. In fact, Carrie has THREE cats whove all been rescued from shelters!
