Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
New show gives bands ‘Idol’ treatment
There’s sheer bravado in the title of Fox’s “The Next Great American Band.” But the network that gave us “American Idol” is primly cautious about whether it’s found another hit talent show.
Debuting 8 p.m. EDT Friday, “American Band” boasts an impressive group of finalists ranging from heavy metal to soul to bluegrass, and it’s from the same producers behind “American Idol.”
But are audiences ready for what Johnny Rzeznik, the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls and a judge on the new venture, describes as “basically like a big battle of the bands”?
“You just have to cross your fingers, ” said Mike Darnell, Fox’s president for alternative entertainment. The No. 1 status of “American Idol, ” he said, “doesn’t necessarily translate to the band show. … You can’t compare anything to ‘American Idol.'”
Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer for both series, just wants viewers to give “American Band” a fair shot. He’s willing, even eager, to say that “Idol” contestants suffer by comparison to the band hopefuls……….
……Also unlike “Idol, ” which has showcased pop singers from Gwen Stefani to Barry Manilow, there will be no guest acts on “American Band, ” produced by 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia North America.
“This really is about the talent, ” Lythgoe said. Bands also will perform their own songs as well as cover versions of records. …….
Carrie Underwood on Chace Crawford: ‘He’s Really Cute’
Only last year Carrie Underwood admitted to being “horrible around guys” ‘ but that was then.
Now the country crooner, 24, seems to be finding her stride, with Gossip Girl hunk Chace Crawford.
“He’s really cute, ” Underwood recently told PEOPLE of the 22-year-old Texas-born actor. “I’ve met him and he seems like a really nice guy. He’s got cool hair, he’s a nice height and he just has beautiful blue eyes.” ………..
Family grateful as boy recovers from heart transplant
….The boys’ plight sparked a public campaign called “Two Hearts, One Gloucester, ” which held blood and organ donor drives, and a fund-raising concert in August. Hundreds of Gloucester residents donated blood. Thousands more attended the benefit concert that featured “American Idol” finalist Ayla Brown…..
Gretta’s Got It: Hot Handbags
It takes more than just cool clothes to be stylish. Look no further than a hot handbag. Our style reporter Gretta Monahan meets two of the newest designers to the stars who show you what goes into that perfect carry-all. It in “Gretta’s Got It.”
When it comes to what they carry, bag designer Leylani Cardoso is big with celebrities, including supermodel Janice Dickinson and American Idol stars Paula Abdul, Katharine McPhee and even Chris Daughtry……..
Talk Of The Tabs
…Ashlee Simpson is changing the release date of her upcoming album because she doesnt want to go head-to-head with American Idol runner up Blake Lewis. A friend says that …Ashlee hates American Idol, and she thinks the show makes stars out of nobodies, taking credibility away from real musicians. ¦ And she totally right! Especially if you replace the words …American Idol with …Newlyweds and the word …nobodies with …Ashlee.
Is America Ready For “The Next Great American Band”?
….And he didn’t even mention that the show hasn’t warranted its own FOX.com mini-site yet. (Scissor Sisters in the top friends? Are they really trying to find “The Next Great American Band That Isn’t Popular In America But Is Huge In Blighty”?) It did feel like this show was a bit of a stretch of the Idol concept from the first time I saw a promo; just the idea of having bands made up of different moving parts, instead of single singers, go through the motions of different styles and genres seemed like it would be tough to pull off without–not to repeat this point, but it’s the motif that keeps cropping up in my head–going the wedding-band route. Still, I will be recapping it every Monday, because what if the ska revival is cemented by a bunch of Bosstones revivalists winning the crown, and the heart of those Americans who actually stay home on Friday nights? The possibility of missing out on that moment just fills my heart with too much sorrow.
Sanctified soul
Not your mama’s church music
Ann Nesby’s This Is Love, which Shanachie Entertainment released last month, will satisfy her longtime fans. That audience spans from the gospel lovers who followed her work as part of Sounds of Blackness to the soul-house dancers who hear her tracks spun at local house music parties like Sweat and Volume. And there are the “American Idol” watchers, too, who often heard her name mentioned when Nesby’s teenage granddaughter Paris Bennett made a failed run during the 2006 competition…..
Kelly Clarkson and Clive Davis: Is the Feud Over?
At the Kelly Clarkson concert I attended earlier this week at New York’s Beacon Theater, the rumor was that Clive Davis was also in attendance. Well, judging from this post-show photo, it looks like it wasn’t just a rumor………
The Confessions of Carrie Underwood
As she releases her sophomore CD, ”American Idol”’s best-selling (and very private) singer talks candidly about those awards-show scandals, country music’s ”haters” ‘ and nosy Victoria’s Secret shoppers
This much we know about Carrie Underwood:
1. She grew up on a farm in Checotah, Okla……………..
