Idol Headlines for 10/14/07

Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦

Calhoun loses $31, 175 on Studdard concert
Former American Idol draws small crowd in wake of thunderstorm

Calhoun Community College lost about $31, 175 on the first big concert in school history, and the possibility of future concerts is undecided.

The college spent $34, 025 for the concert featuring former American Idol Ruben Studdard and four local acts as part of its 60th anniversary celebration. The costs included paying talent and staging the concert…….

Decatur Daily

‘Laughlin’ falls off table; ‘Band’ has solid beat


A better music scene
Fox sent out just a half-hour of highlights from its two-hour opener for “The Next Great American Band, ” so I haven’t seen the host’s patter, product placements and other fluff that pads “American Idol.” The highlights, though, look and sound promising.

The supersize debut episode plops several dozen bands – pop, soul, death-metal, bluegrass, newgrass, you name it – onto a helipad outside Las Vegas, where they audition with both an original and a cover. At least a dozen of them really rock.

Who’d have thought a tween boy band called Light of Doom, which cites as its influences “ninjas, boobs and explosions, ” would sound so good? Or that Denver & the Mile-High Orchestra, a swing outfit, would kill with that Monkees chestnut, “I’m a Believer”?

I could have done without the cardboard horse’s head, if that’s what it was, worn by the leader of the Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, but maybe that’s just me.

Judges Sheila E., John Rzeznik (the Goo Goo Dolls) and Ian “Dicko” Dickson (“Australian Idol”) keep the chit-chat to a minimum, at least in the highlight reel.

The hourlong series, hosted by cutie-pie Dominic Bowden (“New Zealand Idol”), will air weekly at 7 p.m. Friday, with the finale scheduled for Dec. 21.

JS Online

‘BAND’ DOLL
JOHN RZEZNIK RISKS RIDICULE TO JUDGE FOX REALITY SHOW

John Rzeznik, lead singer of The Goo Goo Dolls, knows he’s about to be crucified. “I’m sure music critics are going to slam me, ” says Rzeznik. “Whatever. I’m sick of them. They mean nothing to me or my life. I don’t think I’ve ever sold a record because of something a music critic or music journalist wrote about me. I just want to find a great band.” …….

NYPost

Ex-‘American Idol’ contestant to receive probation in deal

Former “American Idol” contestant Corey Clark pleaded guilty to a felony harassment charge stemming from phone calls he placed to his father-in-law, and prosecutors agreed to a deal allowing him to be placed on probation, court documents show.

The crime Clark admitted to during a hearing in Yuma County Superior Court this month carries a term of as many as two years in prison and a $150, 000 fine, according to the plea agreement.

In exchange for entering a guilty plea Oct. 2 to one felony charge of aggravated harassment involving domestic violence, Clark had four other charges dismissed, said Roger Nelson, a Yuma County prosecutor.

A sentencing date has not been set. Clark’s attorney, Richard Geller, declined to comment……..

Yuma Sun

The transformation of Leona Lewis
When Leona Lewis won The X Factor, the music business swooped on her. Then she seemed to disappear. One year later, has the girl next door been transformed into the megastar the world has been waiting for?

….If this new album had been a movie it would have been Titanic ‘ enough money and star names to ensure it was never going to sink. There have been other X Factor winners: the useless Steve Brookstein and the gorgeous Shayne Ward. They were not offered the money and top creatives. Simon Cowell says that Leona is the best contestant that either The X Factor or American Idol has ever produced. One can argue that Leona was so special she might have made it without The X Factor; it just would have taken a lot longer. One could also argue that The X Factor and American Idol would not have made it without Leona. They needed a serious star…

Times Online