Archuleta pops with teen tunes in first album
On American Idol runner-up David Archuleta’s first, self-titled album (* * * out of four), the singer delivers a non-stop succession of polite pop songs swathed in gauzy cotton-candy textures and catchy choruses.
And that is exactly what Archuleta, 17, should be doing.
Review: ‘David Archuleta’
What’s not to admire about the young “American Idol” runner-up? He’s a cute high schooler. He likes Robbie Williams. He pens more than 3, 500 words of liner notes on his eponymous debut (Jive), thanking family, friends, his home state of Utah and John Mayer.
David Archuleta’s fan base, the Arch Angels, also must be thankful – their little David beats the other David, Season 7 winner David Cook, into the CD bins by a whole week. Lest anyone think Archie’s album sounds rushed, the kid’s adult-contemporary tunes hold up.
David Cook: Inside His New CD
Honoring a time-worn rock & roll tradition, David Cook is trying to coax his drummer out of a prone position. ”Hey, I didn’t make you go out and drink last night!” he ribs the reclining stickman. ”You’re at work, bitch! Don’t lie on the couch and look at me like I just killed your dog.” Soon they are all back at it inside Hollywood’s famed SIR rehearsal studios, where hard-rock bands have long given their chops a workout before hitting the road. This afternoon, the hardest and loudest sounds are coming out of Studio 6, where Cook & Co. are running through songs from the American Idol winner’s forthcoming major-label debut. ”Bar Ba Sol, ” the heaviest song from the new album, builds from thick, bottom-end-rattling riffs to screaming solos, and Cook is letting loose the kind of grungy wailing that might make less gifted singers bust a corpuscle. The metalheads down the hall must surely be impressed.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
David Cook Dedicates Song to Brother
David Cook isn’t lacking for inspiration these days. But while his skyrocketing career is certainly fairy tale fodder, Cook needs to look no further than his own backyard. To that end, the ‘American Idol’ winner wrote a song called ‘Permanent’ — the “poignantly personal” second-to-last track on Cook’s forthcoming debut solo record — for his brother, Adam, who is currently fighting cancer.
Album Review: David Archuleta’s Review
Why do “American Idol” fans consistently reward male pop singers for being entirely sexless on the show? Pouty lips and flirty lashes are practically entrance requirements for female singers, and “rocker” guys can bellow and strut to their content. But there’s a kind of elfish contestant who always does well despite the possibility of vanishing in a cloud of unicorn glitter were he to sing something arousing.
DAVID ARCHULETA “David Archuleta” (19/Jive Records)
He may have entranced millions with his dewy-eyed ballads on “American Idol” – enough to nail the runnerup slot – but the idea of presenting David Archuleta as a contemporary recording star poses, shall we say, problems.
Not since Clay Aiken has the “A.I.” franchise been presented with a singer whose character stands this far from the rough-and-tumble world of contemporary pop. Though Archuleta is actually 17, he looks no more than 12. And, as a personality, he seems innocent enough to make the kids in “High School Musical” look like embittered crack ho’s by comparison. The twinkly singer exudes a presexual purity more appropriate to the puppy love of ’50s pop than anything from today. Meaning his record company can’t have him singing anything too randy or too knowing, or they’d wind up looking like purveyors of kiddie porn.
I think they are a little confused over at the Daily News…LOL
Identical Tween: David Archuleta
LI’L DAVID ARCHULETA isn’t a singer, he’s a scientist. And from his laboratory has come a concoction specially formulated to increase blood flow to the hearts of girls aged 10 to 15 ‘ his very first album.
Archuleta, the pint-sized 17-year-old whose froggy vox played the nation’s heartstrings like a finely tuned fiddle during the last season of “American Idol, ” deviates not one iota from the formula that made him famous: punchy notes, catchy refrains and more earnestness than a phalanx of beauty queens describing in unison how they’d save the rain forests.
Archuleta’s debut album devoid of personality
Banal, blah, dull and flavorless are all synonyms for “bland, ” and they’re all applicable to the debut album by seventh season “American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta.
During his “Idol” run, Archuleta was a shy, aw-shucks teenager whose unnaturally powerful voice occasionally cut through the generic songs he preferred to sing. When he was on, he was on, and his undeniably moving version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” was not only the season’s single-best performance, but one of the strongest in “Idol” history.
But the 17-year-old had serious problems connecting with his youth, and he often came off as programmed. His awkward take on Chris Brown’s “With You” — one of the few songs he sang by an artist near his own age — underlined the problem: Archuleta was a geriatric trapped in a teenager’s body.
David Archuletta’s debut is a predictable work of mediocrity
It hardly worth getting in a lather over David Archuleta major label debut.
But then you remember how aggressively bland and robotic he seemed during the seventh season of American Idol ‘ the 17-year-old finished second to scruffy rocker David Cook, whose own debut drops next week ‘ and how this briskly paced, 12-track album somehow manages to be just as mediocre as expected. Ah, there goes the spike in blood pressure.
The agony of defeat, personified by David Archuleta fans
Thanks to David Cook, I have a new favorite YouTube video. I hadn’t been able to locate it by the time we first posted his comments about it in a Q&A last week. Fortunately, some Cook fans who had seen the cult video (embedded below) he confessed to loving quickly posted links to it on various message boards, causing it to suddenly catch on. (When I first saw it last Thursday, it’d only been viewed about 4, 000 times in the months it had been up, but now it’s already at over 10, 000 views.) It footage of six girls who look to be in their very early teens watching the season finale of American Idol, and their reaction when their idol, David Archuleta, fails to be coronated. As Cook put it, …My name gets announced [as the winner], and…these girls said something that’s so funny, to me: ‹How could they vote for that guy? He doesn’t even shave!’ I love that.
‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ does Broadway
Former “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard is headlining the 30th anniversary national tour of the Broadway musical, “Ain’t Misbehavin’, ” which begins its trek Nov. 13 with three shows in Elmira and wraps it up with two performances May 17 in Binghamton.
Studdard, 30, is well-known for winning the second season of “American Idol” in 2003. The show is a musical revue that brings to life the music of 1930s Harlem and features the music of Fats Waller, whose best-known songs include “Honeysuckle Rose, ” “This Joint is Jumpin’, ” and “Your Feet’s Too Big.”
Donald Trump Shelters Jennifer Hudson
Donald Trump doesn’t just have the golden touch for business ‘ he also has a heart of gold.
The real-estate mogul has been housing Jennifer Hudson and some of her relatives at the Trump International Hotel & Tower free of charge.
“She’s a great girl. And we’re protecting them well, ” Trump told PEOPLE at a benefit honoring Australia director Baz Luhrman at the Museum of Modern Art Monday night. “They are very safe.”
Golden hair and golden throats are feminizing the country music scene
The country music sales charts have a different look these days. So do the playlists at country radio stations.
They include a rising prevalence of women. More specifically, young women. Even more specifically, young blond women, including several whose music careers got a jump-start in reality television: Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Nettles (of Sugarland), Kellie Pickler, Kristy Lee Cook, Whitney Duncan, Hillary Scott (of Lady Antebellum), Heidi Newfield (formerly of Trick Pony).
Wednesday night, country music airs its most prestigious gala, the Country Music Association Awards, and you wont have to wait long to see one of these princesses of country. Several are up for awards, and several will perform, including Swift, Lambert, Nettles, Scott and Underwood, who will co-host the show with Brad Paisley.
The Academy of Country Music Partners With Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to Be Held December 4-13, 2008 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ — For the third consecutive year, the Academy of Country Music will host the Academy of Country Music Stage at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) held in Las Vegas from Thursday, December 4th through Saturday, December 13th. New country artists will take the Academy of Country Music Stage in the Cowboy Corral, a special area created by Las Vegas Events, to entertain NFR fans inside the Cox Pavilion at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The event is free to NFR fans and open to all ticket holders.
The Academy of Country Music Stage will include performances from Kristy Lee Cook, Whitney Duncan, Randy Houser, Jake Owen, Jack Ingram, Crystal Shawanda, Aaron Watson, The Carter Twins, Trailer Choir, and the
Zac Brown Band. Doors will open at the Cowboy Corral at 5:00 PM/PST during the week and 4:00 PM/PST on the weekend. Music performances on the Academy of Country Music Stage begin at 5:45 PM/PST on weekdays and at 4:45 PM/PST on weekends. Rodeo performances begin at 6:45 PM/PST during the week and on the weekend at 5:45PM/PST.
“DICK CLARK’S NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2009” AIRS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 LIVE ON ABC
Fergie Will Host West Coast Party and Perform; Kellie Pickler is Times Square Correspondent
For the 37th consecutive year, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2009” will lead America into the New Year when Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest host specials starting at 10:00 p.m., ET, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network.
Singer/songwriter Fergie returns to perform and host the West Coast party portions of the specials, and for the first time country star Kellie Pickler will be the Times Square correspondent, reporting on other happenings in and around New York City. This year will include performances from both New York and Hollywood, and the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight will once again take place during the three-and-a-half hours of specials from Times Square in New York City.
Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood Lead in CMA Awards Poll
The official victors at the 42nd annual CMA Awards will not be revealed until Wednesday night (Nov. 12), but Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood are the frontrunners in CMT’s third annual poll to predict the winners. In the poll’s five categories, Chesney is predicted to win the entertainer of the year and male vocalist prizes, and Underwood is projected to take home the female vocalist trophy and an album of the year win for Carnival Ride.
Underwood Leads “Choice” Country Nominees
(AP) Carrie Underwood leads the nominations among country artists for the People’s Choice Awards. Underwood is up for favorite female artist, along with Alicia Keys and Rihanna. Her song “Last Name” is nominated for Favorite Country Song. And she’s on the list of nominees for Favorite Star 35 and Under.
Rascal Flatts has two nominations. One for Favorite Group, against Coldplay and Maroon 5, and another in the favorite Country Song category, for “Take Me There.”
Carrie Underwood lights up new Ontario arena
Carrie Underwood helped inaugurate Citizens Business Bank Arena as a concert venue (it already has hosted hockey and basketball games) on Sunday night with one of her most confident performances to date.
No surprise there: Since snagging the “American Idol” crown in 2005, the beautiful 25-year-old singer from Oklahoma has toured constantly. When I saw Underwood with Kenny Chesney at Home Depot Center in ’06, she was pleasant but tentative on stage. All that roadwork has definitely paid off.
With Carrie Underwood concert, music takes stage at new Ontario arena
When Carrie Underwood emerged from an elevated platform to the stage at Ontario’s Citizens Business Bank Arena on Sunday, the 7, 500 fans in attendance went bonkers with screams and cheers, officially ushering in the arena as a concert destination for Inland Southern California.
The show was the first for the new arena, which cost $150 million to build and opened in late October to a slate of events, including a Lakers preseason game, TNA Wrestling and games of minor league hockey team the Ontario Reign.
Carrie Underwood is a steady hitmaker after meteoric rise in country music
NASHVILLE, Tennessee ‘ After three years, Carrie Underwood is no longer the country newcomer on a meteoric rise.
She’s become a multi-platinum, steady hitmaker with two No. 1 albums and eight Top 5 singles, seven of them chart toppers.
While she may not be a veteran, she’s certainly become one of country music’s seasoned stars.
“I’m a lot more comfortable with the process, ” she said recently. “I have two good albums under my belt, and now I can focus on what I really want to do and say.”
Experience Kristy Lee Cook’s ’15 Minutes of Shame’
This just in from The Department of I’m Totally Failing to Pay Attention to the Country Music Scene: After 12 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, American Idol finalist Kristy Lee Cook’s debut single, “Fifteen Minutes of Shame, ” has crept its way up to No. 28. What’s more, in September, Cook released a CD, Why Wait, which debuted at No. 8 on the Top Country Albums chart, then quickly fell out of the top 50.
I know I was tough on Kristy Lee throughout Idol’s seventh season, but for the love of Paula’s wayward weaves, how is it that 19 Entertainment signed her to a deal, while leaving superior talents like Jason Castro, Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, and Brooke White with a big collective plate of nothing?
PEP: Ogie Sings with the ‘Idols’ on Dec 20-21
The country’s premier singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid joins forces with American Idol Season 7 finalists Ramiele Malubay and Danny Noriega in “The Idol Experience: Ogie Sings with the Idols.”
Aside from that, audiences will be treated to numbers from the Pinoy Idol singing stars and indie rock outfit Menaya. Ogie Sings with the Idols will be staged at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City on December 20 and 21.
This concert will also serve as Ramiele’s homecoming, and a reunion for Pinoy Idol Gretchen Espina and the 11 finalists. When the reality singing competition was conducted in GMA-7 this year, Ogie served as one of the judges along with Jolina Magdangal and Wyngard Tracy.
“Idols” TV producer Fremantle seals YouTube deal
LONDON (Reuters) – FremantleMedia, producer of the “Idols” reality-TV show format and soap opera “Neighbours, ” has agreed a deal to produce programs to be shown exclusively on YouTube and to split revenues with the video-sharing site.
Fremantle, part of Europe’s RTL broadcast group, said the deal would seal a partnership that has already begun with Fremantle YouTube channels for shows such as UK hit talent contest “The X Factor” and Australia’s “Hole in the Wall.”
“Following a period of creative experimentation, FremantleMedia is cementing its relationship with us for content distribution, ” Patrick Walker, YouTube’s director of video partnerships in Europe, the Middle East and Asia said on Monday.
‘Dancing With the Stars’: The final five
…Dancing With the Stars fans, were down to the final five contestants, which means that we have only three weeks of the show to go. That right — the seminfinals are next week. Where did the time go? And what innovations will they introduce to keep our attention and challenge our participants? Well, this week, one innovation was the 15-second solo ‘- namely, the requirement that each star perform one during the Latin dance of the evening. Another apparent innovation was co-host Samantha Harris hair, which was braided into a lopsided structure that grabbed one attention in the manner of a car crash. (I should say that, overall, I think the costume, hair and makeup people have done an excellent job with Samantha this season -‘ until tonight.)
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Latin Intensity
On last night’s Dancing With the Stars, the show runners decided to really switch things up by demanding a 15-second solo from each of the five remaining ”stars.” Were we even ready for it?! You tell me. Cody Linley leapt onto a table, Warren Sapp played hopscotch, and Lance Bass appeared to have been auditioning for the role of ”special dancer” in a vaguely hip-hop version of my junior high’s production of Cats. (Yes, that was my role. What?) Maurice Greene wielded a periwinkle-on-one-side cape. The upper half of Brooke Burke did the twist. Yeah. I think we could handle it.
‘Dancing’ Celebs Talk Sabotage Backstage at ‘DWTS’
ET shakes things up backstage at Monday night’s “Dancing With The Stars, ” where the celeb contestants interview their professional coaches for our cameras! Watch the dancing teams reveal their strategies to make it to the end — including planning their dance practices, giving each other motivational words, and even talking about sabotaging the competition!
“We got to sabotage these guys somehow, ” a very playful Derek Hough tells ET cameras. “They’re getting way too good.”
