Lauren Alaina on Post-‘Idol’ Success: ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Happening To Me’
It’s been a whirlwind six months for 16-year-old Lauren Alaina.
Besides winning over the country with her Southern charm, the American Idol runner-up released her debut album, Wildflower, last month, which has already spawned two hit singles.’
Read more at Parade
James Durbin Exclusively Reveals Details About His Video and Solo Band
“We shot the video for ‘Love Me Bad’ in dry lake bed out in the desert of Barstow, Calif. We were like 90 minutes away from Las Vegas and it was a day full of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery. I accidently blew up a 1971 Dodge Charger by driving it too hard! The hood was on fire and there was smoke everywhere. I just remember the fire department guys we had on set running towards me screaming, “Get the f— out!” It was insane,” laughs Durbin.
“Yeah, we had to finish the rest of the video with the car on a flatbed truck being pulled on a Uhaul. We actually lit up a lot of things on fire during the shoot. I even got some gasoline on myself at one point. At the end of the video I drop a torch and destroy the whole set. Just wait till you see this dude – it is full-on heavy metal!”
Kelly Clarkson Recalls ‘American Idol’ Reservations
“Honestly, even the night I won, I remember Justin [Guarini] and I talking. We were just like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if this is really what I want to do,’ because it’s a lot,” Clarkson revealed to MTV News. “But I just really loved singing, and at the end of the day, it’s worth it.”
Clarkson has made the most of her time since that night in 2002, but has this journey been exactly how she pictured it? “Actually, this is exactly what I thought it was gonna be like,” Clarkson said. “I never was that kid that was, like, smoke and mirrors. I knew it was going to be hard work, and I knew there’d be a lot of sacrifice.”
More at MTV
Kelly Clarkson Knows It All: We Quiz Kelly On… Herself
Once again, it’s Jr. High Quiz time with Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson talks to Larry Flick from XM Sirius
Morning Jolt 11-2-11 by wooferson
Carrie Underwood show boosts tribe’s lobbying expenses
Look at how much interest groups spent on lobbying during the third quarter of the year, and it appears the San Manuel Band of Indians was a big player. The tribe was the fourth-biggest spender among more than 2,000 groups that employed lobbyists in California between June and September, declaring $1,008,620 in lobbying expenditures on disclosure forms released this week.
But the vast majority of that money — a cool $1 million — went toward throwing a private party at the tribe’s San Bernardino County casino featuring a performance by country-music star Carrie Underwood.
Read more at Capitol Alert Latest
‘X Factor’: Vocal Sweetening? Lip Syncing? The Lowdown on the Show’s Sound
Not feeling quite satisfied with that answer, we asked an independent expert and X Factor viewer, producer Tricky Stewart (Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” Justin Bieber’s “Baby”) to comment on the show’s vocals. “I don’t think they’re tweaking vocals in that they’re messing or manipulating them,” he told THR. “But I do think the people on X Factor are so competitive with other shows on television that they’re paying attention to every detail about how it actually sounds — every microphone and every reverb. They’re going hard, trying to get a step up and you can see it.”
Actually, you can hear it.
Read more at the Hollywood Reporter
Ben Folds on Making the Most of a Misunderstood Career
This Sunday, Ben Folds performs a sold-out show at Powell Hall alongside the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We talked to the versatile, potty-mouthed and misunderstood performer during a rare moment of rest between rehearsing for one of his many orchestral concerts and judging a capella acts on TV’s The Sing Off.
Read more at the River Front Times
‘The X Factor’ first eliminated act: ‘I think it was hard for America to take it in’
The energetic teens of InTENsity, the group created during the boot camp round, were tearfully sent packing after the judges decided to save Stereo Hogzz instead. The kids will now be scattered all over the country, but they discussed their next steps and thoughts on elimination backstage after the show.
Read more at Entertainment Weekly
X Factor’s InTENsity: ‘We’re Not Done’
The group, comprised of 10 contestants who originally auditioned for the show as solo acts, told reporters, “We will continue as a group. We just want to try to be positive even though it kind of seems like the world is ending. We’re just going to see what kind of opportunities we get from this,” Austin Percario said.
Read more at Parade
Simon Cowell found An Unlikely Superstar in Susan Boyle
“It’s a responsibility, you have that with any artist you work with. Always what we’ve tried to do on our shows is have an openness, and the idea that we couldn’t work with her because of what had happened in her past and the view that she didn’t have her own viewpoint or the right to do something with her life was disgusting.
“I told her that this could’ve been quite stressful at times, that’s what happens when you make records, but that’s what she wanted to do. I got a lot of stick after the show when she found it very difficult to deal with the fact she didn’t win and went into a very bad place for a while, and at the time there were a lot of people who were critical of the show.
More at STV
