Ace Young, Allison Fischer, Laura DâAndre, Jesse JP Johnson and Jamison Scott Join GREASE TOUR
The producers of the Tony Award nominated new Broadway production of GREASE are pleased to announced the following new cast members for the national tour: Ace Young as âDanny, â Â Laura DâAndre as âRizzo, â Â Allison Fischer as âPatty Simcox, â Â Jesse JP Johnson as âDoody, â Â and Jamison Scott as âEugene.â Â The new cast members join the tour in Charlotte, NC, where the show plays Ovens Auditorium December 1 â 6.
Ace Young made his Broadway debut in GREASE in the role of âKenickieâ Â last fall. An âAmerican Idolâ Â finalist in Season 5 and a Grammy nominated songwriter, Ace has guest-starred on Foxâs âBones, â Â co-hosted âAmerican Idol Extraâ Â and co-produced his debut album, Ace Young.
Susan Boyleâs debut album tops Britainâs charts
LONDON âĂąâŹÂ In the contest, she finished second. But on the charts, sheâs number one.
Susan Boyleâs debut record, âI Dreamed A Dream, â entered the British album chart in the top spot Sunday. The 48-year-old Scottish songstress famously finished second on âBritainâs Got Talent, â but the variety show launched a career that has seen her win success on both sides of the Atlantic.
According to the Official Charts Company, which tracks music sales in Britain, the more than 410, 000 copies of âI Dreamed a Dreamâ sold since its release Nov. 23 make it the fastest selling album so far this year, and are the largest first-week sales for a debut album in U.K. chart history.
Cowell to take âX Factorâ to Vegas
When Simon Cowellâs âAmer ican Idolâ rival show âX Factorâ comes to the US, expect the rallying cry to be âYouâre going to . . . Las Vegas.â
Cowell, who is still in talks with Fox and NBC about bringing the talent show to American TV, said over the weekend that his plans are to set up shop in Las Vegas when the deal is finally done.
âVegas is tailor-made for this show, â says Sir Philip Green, the retail store-billionaire who is now partners with Cowell.
âTo sing in Vegas? I mean, hell, you get to the final 12 [and tell them] âYour dreamâs come true â youâre going to sing in Vegas!â â
More Idol Headlines after the JUMPâŠ
MUSIC AT MOHEGAN:
Head to the casino tonight for a pair of free concerts. First up is Sam and Ruby in the Wolf Den. The duo of accomplished artists/songwriters have been performing together for nearly a decade. Their song âHeavenâs My Home, â (performed by The Duhks) was nominated for a Grammy in 2007. Their show is at 8 p.m. or you can go see some American Idol alumni at the Shops at Mohegan Sun. American Stars in Concert for the Holidays features former contestants Alexis Grace, Gina Glocksen, David Hernandez and Michael Sarver. The group will perform a host of their favorite holiday renditions at 7:30 p.m.
American Idol airplay: Kelly Clarksonâs tops
This week, Kelly Clarksonâs Already Gone retains the top spot on the Hot AC chart, according to Mediabase. The single is also a top-five hit on the Top 40 side, as it tops 15, 000 overall weekly spins. Kelly four tracks in the top 20 of this weekâs American Idol airplay chart, as My Grown Up Christmas List reaches its highest spot of the season.
Below the top 20, Christmas airplay has the Idol chart in an upheaval. The chart has 22 holiday entries, and Hot AC stations switching over to a Christmas format for the season means decreased airplay for several older tracks.
Allison Iraheta aims to excite with debut album
LOS ANGELES â Allison Iraheta has come a long way since her awkward first interview with Ryan Seacrest.
The spunky 17-year-old singer, who stuttered and stammered when the âAmerican Idolâ host prodded her about school at the beginning of the eighth season, went on to win rave reviews from the judges throughout the competition, standing out early on with a rendition of Heartâs âAloneâ and leaving a lasting impression with her take on Janis Joplinâs âCry Baby.â
It wasnât enough to win; Iraheta placed fourth behind Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey on the Fox network show. Yet she still snagged a record deal with âIdolâ label 19 Recordings and Jive Records. Her album, âJust Like You, â will be in stores Tuesday. The redhead â whoâs added purple and pink streaks to her memorable coif â says her pop-rock collection accents her innate edginess.
Brown wonât sing
ABC had a change of heart over the weekend and will not let R&B singer Chris Brown sing next week on âGood Morning America.â
Instead, Brown has agreed to âcome cleanâ in a primetime interview about what happened the night he beat up former girlfriend Rhianna, according to reports,
The network was bitterly criticized last week after it canceled a performance by flamboyant âIdolâ star Adam Lambert on âGMAâ â following his raunchy performance on the American Music Awards show â then announced plans for Brown to promote his latest CD with a live show on the program.
Adam Lambert Had An Identity Crisis Before Recording For Your Entertainment
While Adam Lambert certainly seems to have a strong sense of who he is and who he wants to be (as evidenced by his controversial performance on the American Music Awards last week), the âAmerican Idolâ runner-up admits that when he first sat down to start work on his debut album, For Your Entertainment, he wasnât sure what he should sound like.
GaGa Over Lambert
Lambertâs AMA vocal performance was a strained delivery by a very versatile singer. No doubt he was anticipating every carefully over-choreographed move, including that unerotic man-smooch with a keyboardist and the perfunctory onstage reunion of Adamâs face and another guyâs crotch. As a cheerleader for same-sex whoopee, I wish the whole thing had beenâ Š well, hotter.
But in the ensuing bullshit with â ÂGood Morning Americaâ  âĂąâŹÂ a show that much prefers convicted girlfriend beaters over guy snoggers â Lambert wowed me with his lovely rendition of a ditty thatâs not heard nearly enough in the public square. Itâs called âFuck You, Iâm Not Going to Apologize For Something I Donât Regret.â  (My colleague, Jeff Prince, wants to hear more of that tune, too). For once, that kind of honesty seemed to have a tangible result â the smelling-salts addicted Parents Television Council shockingly backtracked a bit and said GMA âoverreactedâ  with their cancellation. I donât recall ever hearing self-appointed guardians of media morality implying that censorship is a bad thing. Maybe the Parents are growing up.
How to Make Sex Boring
Most Americans have never heard of Adam Lambert, much to the disappointment of the singerâs publicists. Earlier this year, he finished as runner-up on American Idol, the TV talent show that has, after eight seasons, long since lost the novelty it had in 2002 when Kelly Clarkson won top honors in the programâs series debut.
In an evident effort to rescue himself from obscurity, Lambert decided last week to turn ABCâs American Music Awards broadcast into a political publicity stunt. While performing the title track from his new albumâ Šwell, hereâs how MTV.com described it:
UPDATED!! Adam Lambert in New York â DIRRTTYY vid by TMZ & TMZ guys discussing censoring Adam
I think we all know TMZ by now, this video sticks to their âNEWSâ formulaâ Š
I decided to include it at the site as I believe we all need to know all the good and bad vibes that are going on around Adamâ Š
âRomanceâ with fame
Her music, even more than her fashion sense, makes it clear sheâs calling her own shots. You can hear her brash personality on âThe Fame, â Â her year-old debut (re-released last week with an added 8-song EP as âThe Fame Monsterâ Â). It comes off as one womanâs vision, not a piece of pop product produced by consensus.
In this way, âThe Fameâ Â is the opposite of Adam Lambertâs new âFor Your Entertainment, â Â a made-by-committee mess which employs Pink, Rivers Cuomo, Kara DioGuardi â and Gaga â along with 23 additional producers and writers. If Lambert is going to be a star, he needs to go Gaga by dumping his handlers and insisting on artistic autonomy, as he he did at last weekâs American Music Awards when he kissed his male keyboardist and stuffed a male dancerâs face in his crotch. To survive, heâs got to let his sizable ego and, if heâs lucky, sizable acumen take control.
âIdolâ winner Kris Allen mistaken for Adam Lambert, who proves heâs got loyal fans
Adam Lambert has some loyal fans â even if they donât always recognize him.
During an Entertainment Weekly interview series at Hudson Terrace last week, Kris Allen, who won season eight of âAmerican Idol, â was confused for the controversial runnerup. An audience member jumped up and yelled, âAdam, you were robbed!â
A startled Allen paused before continuing the interview, and the overzealous fan was informed Adam would be making an appearance next month.
Kris Allen Stumbles With Debut Album Sales
Kris Allen may be an âAmerican Idolâ Â winner, but fans didnât vote him to No. 1. this week, according to Billboard.
The Season 8 victorâs debut album sold a disappointing 80, 000 in its first week, the weakest debut of any âIdolâ Â winner, landing it at No. 11.
In fact, another âIdolâ Â winner, Carrie Underwood, outsold him with sales of her third album, âPlay On.â Â The album sold 86, 000 copies, pushing it past the half-million mark overall. It was released on November 3.
Oh Joy! Megan Joy Releases Debut Single
Megan Joy kind of lost her way on American Idol, but she gave one of my favorite auditions of last season, one that made a lasting impression on me. So regardless of what transpired after that, I always steadfastly insisted that if she were paired with the right material and right producer to bring out the smoky, Feist-y, feline qualities of her jazzy, fron-another-era voice, Megan Joy could be a serious artist.
Carrie Underwood âPlays Onâ
After winning âAmerican Idolâ, Season Four, songstress Carrie Underwood went on to win four Grammys, be named 2009 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and be crowned the CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year. Carrieâs new album âPlay Onâ was released on November 3rd. Her music appeals across the board to teens hot for Country and great pop ballads as well. The music star also has a Holiday TV Special coming up on Dec. 7th on Fox.
We wanted to catch up with Carrie on her music, her holiday traditions, her superstar musical artist pals and her advice for âIdolâ contestants trying to follow in her successful footsteps. Check it outâŠ..
Carrie Underwood: Iâm More Than Just Blonde Hair and a Pretty Dress
Carrie Underwood definitely didnât let us down when she put on quite a sassy, sexy performance of âCasanova Cowboyâ Â at the American Music Awards on Sunday (and showed off her lush legs in a short get-up) â but the country crooner insisted that there is much more to her than what meets the surface.
âI get to sing from the heart and I donât feel like Iâve ever really done that before. Its therapeutic , not in a way like âme and my best friend had a fight and I write about it.â Its therapeutic in a way that Iâm a private person and one thing people say constantly about me is she doesnât say much, â Â Underwood told us.
Review: Kelly Clarkson sings out loud, sings out strong at Reno Events Center
Clarkson came on at 9:15 and sang â nearly nonstopâ for an hour before returning to the stage for four strong encores. She was dressed in black jeans and a multi-colored, short-sleeved top for most of the show. She changed into a pink, black and silver sparkly shirt and pulled her hair back into a pony tail for the last two songs. And her two back up singers didnât go the flashy route either.
Clarkson performed nearly all her hits: âMiss Independent, â Â âBreakaway, â Â âGone, â Â âWalk Away, â Â âSince U Been Gone, â Â âBehind these Hazel Eyesâ Â and âMy Life Would Suck Without You.â Â Because the decibel level was high to the point of distortion on some of her rock songs, the ballads â most notably âBecause of Youâ Â â were a little easier on these tender ear drums.
Archuletaâs typical work day
It certainly varies, and I doubt that David Archuleta is outside now checking out the changing colors on the grapevines around Sonoma County before his concert tonight, butâ Š.
Idol Chatter did ask Archuleta what a normal concert day was for him.
Here is his response:
âI usually do interviews in the morning and then check out the place where we are going to perform. But that depends on how long it is to drive from the other (previous) city. (He was in Bakersfield Saturday night).
Archuletaâs mission
David Archuleta is Mormon by faith. And at some point Mormons go on a mission to spread that faith.
So, will Archuleta, who turns 19 next month, ever do that?
Here is his explanation:
âA Mission? You know, I wasnât kind of expecting this to happen. I was 16 and it (his music career) started early in a way.
An Archuleta concert is all about âthe voiceâ Â
Concerts have a certain sameness to them â merchandise table, slightly late start, opening act you wish would hurry up, grand entrance of the main act. You know the routine.
Then comes the star of the show and one of two things occur after the obligatory 90 minute performance â you soon forget the act on the way home or you donât.
Katharine McPhee Makes It A Nutcracker Night
Katharine McPhee heads home to her home on the west coast after a flight from New York City on Saturday (November 28).
The 25-year-old Idol alum waited patiently for her bags with her husband Nick Cokas and let her dogs Larry and Nena stretch their legs after the cross-country flight.
Lloyd Danielsâ X Factor dream ends as he is voted off
Teenager Lloyd Daniels failed to reach the X Factorâs semi-final after the public voted him off the ITV1 show.
The 16-year-old, from Treharris, south Wales, was described as âkaraokeâ by judge Louis Walsh but mentor Cheryl Cole said he had a bright future.
Daniels, who had performed Take Thatâs A Million Love Songs and the Elton John classic Iâm Still Standing, said: âI have enjoyed every moment.â
Olly Murs, Danyl Johnson, Joe McElderry and Stacey Solomon made the final four.
X Factor bully Danyl Johnson told to leave Stacey Solomon alone
Danyl Johnson has been given a dressing down for bullying Stacey Solomon.
Her dad David, 54, stepped in after hearing drama teacher Danyl had left 20-year-old Stacey in tears with jokes about her sex life and poking fun at her single-mum status.
He had a quiet word with Danylâs mum Maria Burgess, asking her to tell her son to reign in his behaviour.
Maria then spoke to Danyl and ordered him to stop picking on Stacey.
Why Simon Cowellâs Americanized âX Factorâ Will Fail
Why Simon Cowellâs Americanized âX Factorâ Will Fail If you have been blithely buried beneath some rubble, you probably donât know what X Factor is. Iâm sorry. I canât help atone for any consequent guilt youâre feeling for not knowing about One Of The Most Amazing Spectacles This Increasingly Yellowing Earth Has Ever ExperiencedâŠEver. I can, however, provide a shortcut for you to catch up, by way of some back-alley blather thatâs transpiring about Foxâs stab at Americanizing the British talent show. A mogul whose retinas are tattooed with dollar signs, Simon Cowell is the one who basically made another Simon (the one who cobbled the Spice Girls together in 1994) irrelevant. He did this by ripping off the formula for the latterâs worldwide Idol franchise and tweaking it enough to avoid litigation, consequently expelling X Factor through his creative coochie snorcher.
Simon Cowell wants Joe McElderry to win the X Factor, according to reports.
At the end of last nightâs show â which saw Lloyd Daniels voted off by the public â it was claimed the other judges are being persuaded to give Joe, 18, extra support.
And Cowell told ITV2 spin-off The Xtra Factor he was adamant Cheryl Coleâs remaining act was on his way to secure the winnerâs title after making it through to next weekâs semi finals.
âThe person weâve all got to beat right now is Joe, â he said.
However, Cowellâs decision has allegedly angered his own acts â Olly Murs, 25, and Danyl Johnson, 27.
Carrie Ann Inaba: Dancing Just Five Days After Neck Surgery!
Watch out! Carrie Ann Inaba is back on the dance floor.
The 41-year-old Dancing With the Stars judge may have had surgery on her neck Wednesday, but she tells me sheâs already good to go. She went under the knife to treat pressure caused by spinal stenosis, a painful condition in which the space around the spinal cord narrowsâŠ
Dizzy Feet was started earlier this year by Inaba, Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman and Katie Holmes to promote dance education for young people.
Also at the event were Channing Tatum, Lance Bass, Jane Kaczmarek, Gleeâs Matthew Morrison and stars from So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, the American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Lea Michele Looks Forward to Singing Streisand, Madonna on âGleeâ
Gleeâ star Lea Michele sang in an intimate cabaret show that supported Cyndi Lauperâs organization, âTrue Colorsâ and âBroadway Impacts, â a group that pushes for gay marriage. The impossibly adorable and sincere singer spoke with PopEater about the event and whatâs next for her âGleeâ character.
Why did you do this event?
The minute I got asked to do it I jumped on the opportunity because even though I get to sing on âGleeâ a lot itâs not as much as if I was doing 8 shows a week on Broadway. I think itâs a fantastic organization and Iâm a huge fan of Cyndi Lauperâs.
