Kelly Clarkson Says Planning Her Wedding “Is Hell” – Yes, country-friendly star Kelly Clarkson is engaged, to Blake Shelton’s manager. But hold your horses, folks. Kelly tells the Country Vibe website she can’t believe she’s getting questions about having kids already—and she doesn’t even have a date for the wedding yet. Kelly, engaged to Reba McEntire’s stepson, Brandon Blackstock, says she wasn’t the typical little girl who always dreamed about her wedding, so all this is a little overwhelming. “I’ve never been that girl, so it’s really hard. There’s a lot of decisions from flowers to invitations,” Kelly says. – Read more at Country Weekly
Catching up with Rossville’s Lauren Alaina: South Korean tour, new album on tap for 2013 – No one was more surprised than Lauren Alaina when her name was called as Best New Artist at the recent American Country Awards. “I thought it would be Jana Kramer,” says the Rossville teen. “At rehearsal, when they ran through the show, they played Jana’s song after my category. I shouldn’t have thought anything of that, they don’t play the winner, but I got it stuck in my head that Jana was going to win. So when they called my name, I freaked out!” – Read more at Times Free Press
‘American Idol’ Is Back: 5 Reasons to Watch – On January 14th, American Idol returns for its 12th season – and it won’t take fans very long to see that the Fox staple has shaken things up radically. Who could blame the Idol team for taking risks? The judges didn’t click with each other or the audience last season; Steven Tyler gazed off passively into the middle distance, Jennifer Lopez gently encouraged the performers to be true to themselves and Randy Jackson just tried to make everyone stay on pitch. Now J. Lo and Tyler are gone and Idol has laid out the red carpet for an all-new panel of judges and a new crop of auditions in Charlotte, Chicago, Long Beach, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Here are five reasons to tune in to American Idol this season: – Read more at Rollingstone
Will New ‘American Idol’ Season Be Rebirth or Swan Song? – The positivity of many onlookers stems from two factors. First, there’s the success, already briefly touched upon, of its two newest idols. Though McCreery has yet to prove his staying power, his raw talent and knack for staying relevant despite having been finishing up high school and starting college over the past year are certainly becoming. Phillips could be destined as a one-hit wonder, but his hit is still around leading into the new “Idol” season — at No. 6 this week on the Hot 100, in fact. Finally, even if Phillips fades away, the show has a coronation song to couple with “A Moment Like This” that might still get radio play years down the road. – Read more at Billboard.com
Carey, Minaj and Urban Talk Judging Techniques
Mariah Carey: New Album Will Benefit from “Re-Energizing” Experience of “American Idol” – “I think that this process has gotten me to a place where I look at some of the contestants and I go, ‘You know what? This person has to try so hard and come in here and bare everything,’ …it makes me want to be a better artist,” Mariah explains. The superstar diva also says that the contestants’ drive and determination has reminded her why she got into the business in the first place, and she’s keeping that in mind as she works on her album. “Whether it’s lyrics, vocals, whatever it is, chord changes that I’m writing with someone I’m hearing in my head, honestly, I feel like you look at that drive, and it re-energizes you,” Mariah says. – Read more at ABC News Radio
Britney Spears Conservatorship: Singer’s Father Keeping Watchful Eye After Broken Engagement (REPORT) – “There are absolutely no plans to petition the court for the conservatorship to end,” a source told the website. “It is highly unlikely it will end for at least another year.” Trawick was approved as a co-conservator in April — a request that was made by Britney herself — but he has since been removed since the couple split, reports TMZ. “Jamie will be keeping a very close eye on Britney now she no longer has Jason in her life. He loved Jason like a son and trusted him to look after his daughter,” the source explained to RadarOnline. “Now that Jason is gone, Jamie is concerned that Britney doesn’t have any true friends to look out for her outside of her immediate family members, and he believes it is more important than ever right now to keep the conservatorship in place to protect her.” – Read more at Huffington Post
