Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
Vote in Idol Yamin as future r&b star
Elliott Yamin shouldve won season five of “American Idol, ” but his musical personality is perhaps better suited to the less spot-lighted underdog slot.
At the Roxy Saturday, touring his recently gold-certified self-titled debut, Yamin (pronounced Yah-mean) showed his velvety smooth pipes are worthy of more than third place. Yet his performance also underscored the need to dispense with his CD urban slickness in favor of more mature, timeless material that better suited to his sizable gifts……..
MTV goes to Dawgs
Randy Jackson will be all over America’s television screens in a couple of months, and not just because of “American Idol.”
The “Idol” judge and ex-Journey bass player is opening a new branch of the Dawg Pound at MTV, where he’ll executive produce a series seeking America’s best dance crew, Zap2it.com reports. The working title, fittingly, is “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew.”
The show, scheduled to premiere in early 2008, will pit five- to seven-member dance teams against one another in a series of performances to determine a winner. As with most reality competition shows, viewers will vote for their favorites each week. Auditions will take place next month in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles…………
Seacrest Rides A Wave
E! draws younger demos since signing up Idol host
S ince January 2006, when E! plunked down $21 million to secure the services of Ryan Seacrest, signing the American Idol host as the managing editor/anchor of its nightly news program, the network has established itself as beachfront property for the 18-34 set. Entering the final year of a three-year contract, Seacrest and E! News have knocked off all but one of the syndicated entertainment news programs in the demo, and Entertainment Tonight is well within firing range……….
County passport guru loves helping people
….One of Roberts most memorable passport applications was from Fantasia Barrino, who won the third season of American Idol. She was staying in the area while on tour with the popular television show and came to the Luzerne County courthouse to apply for a passport.
After assisting Barrino with her application, Roberts couldnt believe what she asked for next. The singing star needed a ride back to the Woodlands Inn and Resort in Plains Township. So, Roberts made some calls and a deputy sheriff received permission to take her back.
…Somebody just dropped her off here and she didnt even know where she was, Roberts recalled. …Poor thing…..
Review: ‘This Christmas’
….The soundtrack is filled with Christmas spirit from the likes of Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, as well as some old school hits from Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye. In addition, Chris Brown (who plays …Baby Whitfield) provides an impressive rendition of …Try a Little Tenderness…..
Balmy day for a parade
….Confetti danced by and parents propped kids on their shoulders to take in the action.
The parade, which began at 77th street and Central Park West and wound down 7th Avenue, included 10, 000 marchers, cheerleaders, clowns and Rockettes.
“We do like things like this; we just don’t have them on this scale, ” said Pearl Holt, 51, on a visit from Nottingham, England. “It’s like watching a film.”
And if it were a film, the floats would get top billing and the humans such as Jordin Sparks of “American Idol” fame would be the supporting cast….
MERRY MUSIC: Add these 12 Christmas CDs to your holiday collection
….1 “Merry Christmas With Love” – Clay Aiken. North Carolina’s “American Idol” superstar dishes the holiday delights, including “O Holy Night” and “Winter Wonderland.”
Did you know: His concert this past summer at Biltmore Estate was a quick sell-out, pulling more than 3, 000 fans….
Christmas comes early for Aiken fans
Clay Aiken is driving to his doctor’s office when he pauses to talk about his upcoming 20-city “Christmas in the Heartland” tour.
“All is well, ” he says by telephone from somewhere in Los Angeles. “Before I start a tour, I like to make sure everything is working.”
It’s not a bad idea, considering how busy the 2003 “American Idol” runner-up has been lately…..
…..In the meantime, Aiken has plenty of projects to keep his obsessive fans — known as Claymates — buzzing.
One of the reasons Aiken says he continues to do an annual holiday tour is to celebrate those who support him — even if their loyalty is, at times, baffling even to him.
“If I knew (what it was), I’d be making a serum, ” Aiken says, laughing. “They are a really close-knit group. I think they came together because they were fans of the show or the music or whatever, but they stayed together, not because of me, but because of themselves. … (The tour) has become our own Christmas tradition.”
Jac gets second chance
….Jac has had a tight schedule lately. She performed at the tennis exhibition match between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer last week, and will perform at Live & Loud 2007 on Saturday ‘ the night Whitney Houston, Elliott Yamin, Shaggy, Project Pop, the James Taylor Quartet, Joe Flizzow, Dina, Hannah Tan, Anuar Zain, Camelia, Azan (Ruffedge), Noryn Aziz, Lah (VE), Nikki and Mode, will be on stage….
Finally…Sorry it took me so long!!!
Current mood: full
….Since the tour, I have had so much fun doing corporate dates, appearances and even some great charities out there. It was a blast! I met Mickey Mouse, ate great food, got a VIP tour of DisneyWorld, ate great food, rode in my first cable car, ate great food, had an amazing birthday party, ate great food, signed with great management, ate great food, took my mommy to the White house, ate great food (with the president), did some recording (no date for the album so far, sorry!), ate great food, hosted Christmas at Belmont, ate great food, sang a whole bunch, ate great food, got to meet some amazing Backups, ate great food and so on ¦which means ¦I had to go shopping with my best friend Kelley because I don’t think I quite fit in the clothes I had previous to all the great food. Oops ¦my bad ¦did I mention the food was great?….
