Idol Headlines for 11/12/09

Adam Lambert on the Demons and Dance Behind “For Your Entertainment”

Going into it, before you heard a single demo, what were the things you were certain you wanted it to be?
I wanted to do somehow not a classic and Eighties rock thing, the stuff I got credibility for on Idol. I wanted it to be dance, I wanted it to be pop, I wanted it to be international ‘” these were our check boxes. I really wanted to do a new pop glam thing. I didn’t want to create an album that was cohesive, because that’s not my personally, I wanted something that was all over the map, because that’s the kind of music I like to listen to, and I like to sing a lot of different styles of music, and there should be something different for every mood you’re in.

Rolling Stone

Did Carrie Underwood pull a Kanye West at Wednesday’s Country Music Association Awards?

After Taylor Swift won Entertainer of the Year — the night’s highest honor — cohost Brad Paisley began praising the singer.

“How ’bout that? Nineteen-years old…Congratulations, Taylor. What a night. I can’t even imagine a better….”

Underwood, 25 (who lost out of Swift in the Female Vocalist of the Year category), then quickly interrupted: “And how were we? We were awesome!” (See video, above, courtesy of E!)

US

How Daughtry and Vince Gill got together

Chris Daughtry credits ’80s pop star Richard Marx with bringing his band together with country singer Vince Gill for Tennessee Line. The two acts recorded the song for Daughtry’s Leave This Town album and performed it together for the first time on Wednesday’s Country Music Association Awards.

Chris and Brian also wrote I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, which Allison Iraheta recorded for her album. “We thought it would be a good fit for her, ” Chris said. “She liked it and recorded it. Apparently, it’s going to be on iTunes as a bonus track.

Chris’ songwriting collaboration with Kris Allen, Send Me All Your Angels, wound up as a Walmart bonus track for Kris’ album.

USA Today

CMA Awards 2009: All the performances, as they happen

Pop & Hiss brings you instant reviews, typos and all, of all the performances at the Country Music Assn. Awards. It was a big night for Taylor Swift, who run entertainer of the year. She ended a three-year run from Kenny Chesney,

Carrie Underwood, “Cowboy Casanova.” So long Nashville, as Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” carries a slinky groove more fit for a dance club. Underwood’s high heels and revealing outfit, as well as her backup singers in cocktail waitress attire, struck a more risque vibe. She could have been [insert pop star here] at your standard MTV award show, sporting a very glam outfit as she strutted and swung across the stage. But a spunky Underwood is better than ballad Underwood, and “Casanova” does a swell job of disguising what is — for all intents and purposes — a Top 40 cut with an occasional flash of country guitar notes. B-

LA Times

Your weekly sales fix: Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert

It was a pretty good week for several Idols on the download front: Carrie Underwood’s Cowboy Casanova remained the best-selling Idol track, taking a 66 percent jump on the back of her album release. She also had four other tracks from Play On — Change, Quitter, Play On and Someday When I Stop Loving You — make Nielsen Soundscan’s list of best-selling digital tracks. Also seeing double-digit percentage increases: Kelly Clarkson, Kellie Pickler and Kris Allen (41 percent!).

USA Today

Lil Wayne, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga Lead Our Holiday Album Preview

There will be no recession in record stores over the holidays. In fact, with major releases from some of the biggest names in music slated to hit stores over the next six weeks, this shopping season is packed with one of the biggest bumper crop of anticipated releases in years.

Unlike past years, when hyped albums by Madonna, Eminem, U2 and other megastars were the focus of shoppers’ action, this year’s offerings span a wide variety of new stars (the “American Idol” triumvirate of Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta), reissues by Beyonc and Lady Gaga, a greatest-hits collection from Britney Spears and highly anticipated albums from Rihanna, 50 Cent and Shakira. (All dates are subject to change.)

MTV

Adam Lambert song snippets: Let’s rank a dozen of ’em from most awesome to not-quite-as-aweome!

Adam-Lambert_lI’ve added a new subset to my overwhelming American Idol addiction, and it focuses solely on the contestants of season 8! Indeed, thanks to the vocal firepower of Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and Allison Iraheta (not to mention Anoop Desai, #signmattgiraud, Mishavonna Henson, and Deanna Brown), there’s so much news and music and awesomeness making its way to the Internet that some days I barely have time to get out of my pajamas. (For the record, I type this clad in Old Navy sleep bottoms and a promotional jersey I received from the publicist for Fox’s Brothers, a show I have never seen. It’s official: I’m tragic!)

Entertainment Weekly

Adam Lambert, ‘For Your Entertainment’ (19 Recordings/RCA)

The success of former American Idol contestants is measured not only by who helps them, but by what material they get and how well they make it their own. Everyone from Lady Gaga to Muse chips in here with perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert’s polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package. Flamboyance with a fire underneath, this is mainstream glitz liberated by both guts and chops; the gay equivalent of gospel.

Spin.com

Adam Lambert: Dating? No. Clubbing? Yes!

Adam Lambert and his boyfriend, Drake LaBry, may have recently called it quits, but that doesn’t mean the singer is on the market.

“I’m so busy with all this stuff and with the record that I’m really just focused on the music right now, ” Lambert told us last night at TV Guide magazine’s Hot List Party at the SLS Hotel.

Not that he doesn’t enjoy having a good time. Lambert was spotted after the TV Guide bash hanging at Hollywood’s Bardot nightclub. In addition to chatting with Samantha Ronson, I’m told he appeared quite cozy with “a blond model-like guy in his thirties.”

Eonline

Kris Allen (2009)

On his post-Idol debut, the season 8 champion sniffs around a musical identity but never quite curls up in one. Despite scoring writing credits on an impressive nine of these 13 tracks, Allen gets himself stylistically lost somewhere between Fly White Guy Avenue (”Can’t Stay Away”) and Bleeding Heart Boulevard (”The Truth”), while rarely visiting original territory. He’s also got a tendency to overstuff the lyrics; even his most interesting tune, the handclappy ”Alright With Me, ” beats the word centers of the brain into submission. It falls to Allen’s appealing pipes (that adorable little hitch in his voice!) to sew this patchwork of pop production-for-hire together, and they ultimately provide the album’s strongest selling point. Lack of originality, however, suits Allen just fine on his rerecorded cover of Kanye West’s ”Heartless, ” which now features an ”In the Air Tonight” drum fill and bass line, and is awesome. B-

Entertainment Weekly

Kris Allen: Adam Lambert Doin’ Just Fine Post-Breakup

Kris Allen says there’s no need to worry about Adam Lambert after his split from boyfriend Drake LaBry.

“He’s doing good, ” the American Idol winner, 24, told us yesterday at the People’s Choice Awards nominations announcement. “He’s obviously not completely happy about it, but I think it was just something that needed to happen.”

As for any competition brewing between Allen and Lambert…

Allen says he and his runner-up remain tight. “We see each other every once in awhile and we text all the time, ” Allen said.

Eonline

Danny Gokey’s First Single Feels Unfinished

Well, if Danny Gokey wants to take a crack at country music after coming in third on American Idol, he certainly came to the right place when he went to Lady Antebellum for music. Lady A’s Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley wrote Gokey’s first single called “It’s Only.” It’s a nice ballad that I could see Lady Antebellum’s soulful harmonies handling. But I’m not so sure how I feel about just hearing Gokey alone. His voice has a quiet raspiness to it, but there are a few too many la-da-das that make it feel unfinished. Then again, the feel-good message in the lyrics — “Lord, won’t you open my eyes/Won’t you help me see/A hungry child needs more than a piece of bread/Brother needs a job to get ahead/And the homeless need a place to lay their head” — does make me feel like any one of us could be a better person.

CMT

Carrie Underwood Says ‘Blondes Gotta Stick Together’ In Country Music

Nashville used to be quite the boys club, but these days, ladies like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift are ruling country music and the mainstream. Underwood, whose Play On debuts at #1 on the Billboard albums chart next week, knows that there are still a few glass ceilings that need to be broken.

“I definitely do see more women in country music and more women doing well, ” she told CMT. “I think it will be awhile before we get what’s coming to us. But it does feel like women have to work a lot harder to keep up with the boys, and I see the tides changing. … We’re going to kick the boys out.”

MTV.com

‘Idol’ star David Cook leads Pageant singalong

Two years ago, David Cook accompanied his brother to an audition for the TV series “American Idol.” It turned out they liked David better, and he wound up winning the 2008 competition. Tuesday night, Cook performed in a sold-out concert at the Pageant, displaying the vocal chops, the rocker’s heart and the personable charm that led so many people to vote for him on “Idol.”

Cook led his workmanlike five-piece band through a set of tough, anthemic rock songs with a couple of ballads dropped in here and there.

STLToday.com

5 questions with David Cook, rock singer and guitarist

David Cook is on the last leg of what has become a marathon tour, and he’s got his eye on the future.

Q: When does work begin in earnest on the new album?

A: The day we get off the road. I am legitimately kind of enamored with the record process. As such I can’t wait to get started. I’m excited. With the last record, it was tough because I was on the road (for the “American Idol” summer tour in 2008) for a lot of the record process. We used a lot of technology to keep me involved. I’ll be in the studio and be a little more hands-on. I’m looking forward to that.

Freep.com

David Cook talks with Examiner about tours, future plans, and mysterious tattoos

Okay, okay, so when interviewing an AI alum, some people worry about asking them too many questions about American Idol. But, considering David Cook admittedly owes a lot to the show that has launched his already-successful career, it makes sense to ask him about his pre-Idol pursuit of music. So that’s exactly what I did when I had the chance to interview him the other day. Not surprisingly, he said he would have never considered giving up music, Idol or not. He might have perhaps considered moving it to a hobby, but he’d never give up his first love. And that is why his whole experience on the show was hard for him to believe, as he admits to thinking to himself every week “I’m done.” He even went so far as packing his bags before every results show but, as we all know, that was never needed. His career has soared as he, along with his many fans, take it all in.

Examiner.com

An American Idol In Guam: OurStage Talks To Elliot Yamin

Elliot Yamin, the beloved third place runner-up for Season 5 of American Idol recently performed for U.S. military men and women stationed overseas. Many people also know Yamin for his commercial radio hits, ‘Wait For You’  and ‘Fight For Love’ .

OurStage caught up with Yamin in Guam, the first stop of his USO-sponsored Pacific Rim tour, and asked the Gold & Platinum-selling R&B singer about life before Idol, his experience on the show and what life as an indie artist has been like since the season wrapped.

OurStage.com

Miley Cyrus Rocks The Ages

Miley Cyrus hangs out backstage with Constantine Maroulis as she visits rock musical Rock of Ages at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in NYC on Tuesday night (November 10).

The 16-year-old starlet was joined by her momager Tish and lil’ bro Braison as they took in the hit rock musical.

Just Jared Jr.

Jason Castro makes his name one mall at a time

Jason Castro may have only been third runner up on American Idol’s seventh season, but he is certainly making a name for himself now during his mall tour across the U.S.

Castro is promoting his new self-titled debut album which will be available Jan. 16. The first single, ‘Let’s Just Fall in Love Again’  has become a hit with his ever growing fan base.

On Oct. 29, Castro performed at Waterway Caf in Palm Beach Gardens for local radio station Wild 95.5. There, he performed a few songs including his new single, as well as ‘Hallelujah’  which he sang on American Idol.

PBPulse.com

Kelly Clarkson Nominated for Artist of the Decade

The first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, has been nominated by Rolling Stone for ‘Artist of the Decade.’  Fans can vote for Kelly on the ‘Rolling Stone Decade End Reader Poll, ‘  which also includes fields to write in your choices for Song of the Decade and Album of the Decade. The balloting runs from now until November 30, 2009.

AmericanIdol.com

Osbourne in Susan Boyle apology

Sharon Osbourne has said sorry for insulting Britain’s Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle on a US radio station.

Osbourne stated on micro-blogging site Twitter that she wanted to “apologise for getting a cheap laugh” at the Scottish singer’s expense.

Earlier this month Osbourne, 57, appeared on Sirius XM Radio where she called Boyle a “lovely lady” who had been hit by “the ugly stick”.

The clip, which was posted on YouTube, angered some of Boyle’s fans.

BBC.co.uk

Susan Boyle Loves Hollywood, Donny Osmond

Less than 24 hours after Susan Boyle performed on Dancing With the Stars, the soundstage was still buzzing with excitement over the 48-year-old Scottish singing sensation’s impeccable vocals on the Les Miserables classic ‘I Dreamed a Dream.’  Boyle tells PEOPLE her Dancing experience was ‘very exciting.’  Best of all, she giddily admits, ‘I’ve met my hero, Donny Osmond.’ 

Starstruck? You bet.

‘It is quite something to be in Hollywood, ‘  she explains. ‘This is a world I’ve never seen before and never dreamt that I would get to see.’ 

People

Are ‘Dancing With the Stars” Mya and Dmitry Unstoppable?

They’ve received the only perfect score of the season. But can singer Mya and her pro partner, Dmitry Chaplin, go all the way and win the coveted mirror ball trophy?

Although they’ve made it to the semi-finals, Mya and Dmitry still have their work cut out for them, including winning over the millions of fans watching the show at home.

But popularity isn’t everything on ‘Dancing.’ The sexy duo has also turned in consistently solid dances all season, and they now have the scores to prove it.

AOL TV recently spoke to Mya and Dmitry about their perfect 30, their semi-final competitiors and the behind-the-scenes video packages.

AOL.com

Sting calls X Factor ‘TV karaoke’

Rock star Sting has called the X Factor “televised karaoke” and said judges like Simon Cowell have “no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion”.

The singer, 58, told London’s Evening Standard that the Saturday night show was “a soap opera which has nothing to do with music”.

He added: “I am sorry but none of those kids are going to go anywhere, and I say that sadly.”

BBC.co.uk

X Factor: It’s time to ‘Vote For The Worst’ 

For the angry fans who want to send a message to Simon Cowell and the X Factor producers, there’s only one tactic that will work ‘ vote for John and Edward. It became clear at the weekend that John and Edward are being kept in the competition to destabilise the other contestants and create publicity for the show. Even Louis Walsh admits they have no hope of winning, so why are they there?

Unreality.Tv.co.uk

‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Tough love

For me, it wasn’t tonight’s results that were noteworthy so much as the truth bombs dropped by judge Nigel Lythgoe. When Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte were sent to the bottom three couples and not Mollee Gray and Nathan Trasoras, Nigel said what he thought: that many voting women might be too intimidated by Karen to love her (guilty as charged) and, more harshly, he told Mollee and Nathan that they were safe because people thought they, especially Nathan, were cute. Nigel opined that Nathan did need to learn more but wouldn’t do so just by being voted through for his looks, and criticized Nathan for being flippant last night about his bad performance in the salsa. Some audience members booed but a few did applaud after Nigel’s speech, and Nathan and Mollee looked satisfyingly abashed.

LA Times

‘So You Think You Can Dance’ recap: Finally Tapped Out

Well, that was easy come, easy go, wasn’t it? There was so much ado about not one, not two, but three tappers making it to this season’s Top 20 ‘” and after three weeks of competition, not one, not two, but all three of those tap dancers are now off the show. It was as if an extra-long cane from stage right swiped them mid-scuffle. After last week’s exits of Bianca Revels and Phillip Attmore, it was Italian Stallion Peter Sabasino who ended up quickstepping off into the sunset, and he escorted his jazz partner, adorable little Pauline Mata, off with him. And while I don’t think anyone can say that they were surprised with this ouster (shoot, my colleague Kate Ward all but called it in her Tuesday night performance recap), their exits still seemed an unfortunate result of circumstance.

Entertainment Weekly

I Love Glee

In some social circles’”those of dirty East Coast liberals, for instance’”the fashionable new comedy of the season is Modern Family. Good for it. Good for wit that contributes to screwball tartness on network TV. But, for the record, the best new comedy is probably Glee (Fox, Wednesdays at 9 p.m., ET), created by Ryan Murphy and now back on air after a break for the World Series. And yet it happens that Glee is a musical comedy, and according to TV-biz conventional wisdom, many people feel such revulsion for that genre that they will not read this article any further, much less consider watching an hourlong show.

Slate

‘Glee’ Castmate’s Dream Guest Star? Reba McEntire!

Posted on November 11, 2009

“Glee” star Chris Colfer tells “Extra” he’s enjoyed covering Top 40 artists like Beyonc as a member of the high school choir on the hit FOX show, but you shouldn’t expect to hear any Garth Brooks or Carrie Underwood tunes performed on the show.

“I couldn’t do country, with all due respect to all country music artists, ” says Colfer, who plays Kurt.

Extra

‘Glee’ Cast Hopes to Cover Michael Jackson

“Michael Jackson would be unreal, ” Kevin McHale, who plays wheelchair-bound Artie Abrams, tells “Extra” of covering new artists. “Any Michael Jackson song… I would be fascinated to see our ‘Glee-ified’ Michael Jackson song.”

Co-star Cory Monteith, who plays football player Finn Hudson, agrees — and thinks it’s the perfect way to pay respect to Jackson, who died in June 2009. “It’s such a great time to pay homage to such a brilliant artist.”

Choosing a Jackson song to cover may seem daunting, but Monteith, 27, already has one in mind.

“I think it should be ‘Thriller, ‘ but a dream sequence, ” Cory says, “and Artie is dreaming and he busts out of the chair and tears up the dance floor.” McHale, 21, chimes in, “All I want is the short pants, white socks and loafers — that’s what I wear anyway.”

ExtraTV

‘Glee’ Stars Talk Soundtrack, Christmas Single, Solo Careers

Fox’s new Wednesday night juggernaut “Glee” has not only made a huge impact on the television landscape but is also turning the music world on its ear. Every Thursday morning, the songs from the previous night’s episode are posted to iTunes and immediately fly up the singles chart. This week, the show’s first compilation, Glee: The Music, Volume 1, debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard albums chart.

The compilation features fan favorites like “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and “Bust Your Windows, ” but the cast all agree that one tune in particular is the highlight.

” ‘Somebody to Love’ is my favorite, ” castmember Lea Michele (who plays Rachel on the show) told MTV News.

“I would say the same thing, ” added Cory Monteith (Finn). “I have no original thoughts of my own.”

MTV

‘Glee’: ‘Proud Mary’ Keeps On Rolling For Tonight’s Episode, And We Knew It First

The upcoming musical numbers in “Glee” are usually held pretty tightly under wraps, but that doesn’t stop us from guessing. So it was no shocker that when the cast swung by the MTV Newsroom last week that we’d press them for details on what’s in store.

Amber Riley (who plays Mercedes) was a loyal soldier and kept her lips sealed, but she was no match for MTV News’ Jim Cantiello’s unflappable detective skills. Check out what resulted in the video below, and then click here to see Jim get a full-on slushie facial.

MTV

‘Glee’  Stars Pick Their Favorite Songs for All-Madonna Episode

There are plenty of reasons to be Gleeful these days: the hit freshman comedy returned after a two-week break with last night’s poignant episode, ‘Wheels’  ‘” the same day the first installment of its soundtrack debuted at Number Four on the Top 200 chart, propelled by lovable renditions of ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ ‘  and ‘Somebody to Love.’  And when the show returns next year, Glee will be tackling the ultimate diva (and recent RS cover star): Madonna.

Rolling Stone

Glee Cast Gives MTV News’ Jim Cantiello A Slushie Facial…But from Whom?

One of the most hilarious running gags on Fox’s hit series “Glee” is the “Slushie Facial, ” where an unknown assailant douses an unassuming student with an ice-cold slushie. Rachel, Finn, Puck, Kurt…they’ve all been on the wrong side of a Big Gulp.

So when the “Glee” cast swung by the MTV Newsroom, it’s only natural that a Slushie Facial wasn’t far behind. The victim? Our very own self-proclaimed Gleek, Jim Cantiello. The culprit? Well you’ll just have to watch the video below to find out.

Come back to Crush later today to get the scoop on the midseason finale of “Glee, ” which airs tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

MTV.com

About mj santilli 34832 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!