Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
Disney Parks …Dream Up Star-Studded Spectacular for 24th Annual Christmas Day Parade Holiday Special on ABC-TV Dec. 25
….”American Idol” sweetheart Katharine McPhee will perform a Disney Princess-inspired number, singing a medley of some of Disney’s classic tunes….
The Next Great American Band: Episode 9 Recap
Tonight was the final competition night on The Next Great American Band, and it’s about time. I’m not sure if I’ve talked to anyone who is truly loving the season of American Band. It’s certainly the worst series to come from the American Idol production team. The show has its fair share of talent, and it was a worthy attempt at a new reality show. A reality series for bands is an idea with potential, but it might have been inherently flawed. I can’t point to anything about the show’s execution that didn’t allow the show to live up to its potential………
Paige-ing Kat McPhee!
Despite being born with gorgeous good looks, former “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee still needs to go out and buy good jeans!……
Beloved Chris Daughtry a true idol to music fans
….Daughtry’s tour made a stop at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Friday night, playing to an audience that dared to be categorized. Kids rocked out next to their parents, including Jake Meyer of Daniel Island, who was attending his first concert. Jake’s mother, Shana, sat one seat over, and admitted both she and son were Daughtry fans.
“I like his voice, his personality, just his whole kicked-back attitude, ” said Shana, who had managed to purchase tenth-row seats on the Internet just a few hours before the sold-out show. Shana revealed that she had seen Daughtry before in St. Louis as part of the American Idol Tour but said that Jake was the real fan. “I’m here to try to get to know more of his songs, and I’m just happy to spend some time with (Jake), ” she said……
The gong show
Join us for an orgy of back slapping, glittering prizes and A-list celebs as we celebrate the good, the bad and the diabolical of 2007. No crying into your champagne at the back…
….The Boris Johnson Award For Cultural Sensitivity: Simon Cowell
In the immediate wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson gave an irrelevant tribute to the dead – a cutaway followed to an eye-rolling Simon Cowell, evil dream wrecker and most sarcastic man in England. The complaints poured in and Cowell was forced to explain he was actually sneering at the contestant’s nasal voice and not dead college students who Richardson counted as some of his best friends…..
Recapping the year in entertainment
….March 23 – A little girl seated in the front row of the American Idol show started crying during the taping, causing a media frenzy. Ashley Ferl, 13, cried uncontrollably during Sanjaya Malakar’s performance, as well as many others, making Fox network executives smile with all their publicity. Malakar was placed seventh in the competition and was later kicked off on April 19….
Q&A: Awards, tours, hits mark strong year for Daughtry
….Q: Any thoughts about why everything took off for you?
Daughtry: I’m really not sure, to be honest with you. The only thing I can really attribute it to is the fan base. They’re certainly very diehard and loyal to us, and they’ve continued to buy our record. They’ve continued to come to our shows. It doesn’t matter how good you are as a band or how good your music may be; if the fans aren’t supporting it and buying your music, it’s hard to make it. So they’re the ones that are making it for us…..
Conan and NBC sued over gay Clay Aiken joke by bodybuilder
Conan O’Brien’s parent company NBC Universal is being sued over a Clay Aiken gay joke.
The suit was filed by bodybuilder Dennis “The Menace” James, Clay Aiken’s satirized “punchline” object of desire:
According to the complaint , filed by attorney Steven Sokoloff in Los Angeles Superior Court, O’Brien “showed a Christmas Card which featured the face of 2003 American Idol runner-up, Clay Aiken, smiling on the right side of the card, and the phrase ‘All I want this year is a White Christmas’ on a fold out flap on the left side of the card.
O’Brien then opened the left side of the card to reveal the punch line, ‘…And a Black Body Builder, ‘ above which was a photograph of Plaintiff posing at the 2004 IFBB Mr. Olympia Competition.”…..
Hudson Back With Sweetheart
American Idol star Jennifer Hudson has revived her relationship with childhood sweetheart James Peyton, a month after she traded him in for an American football player.
According to the National Enquirer, Hudson, 26, has ended her fling with New York Jets player Kerry Rhodes, 25 – and is back dating maintenance engineer James Peyton………..
Daughtry to Perform at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C
Daughtry, fronted by former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, will be performing at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. on Friday, December 21, wrapping up a series of shows before joining the Van Halen tour in February……..
ALICE COOPER and ‘American Idol’ Winner Dedicate Teen Music Center at Grand Canyon University – Dec. 14, 2007
Alice Cooper and 2007 “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks today dedicate the site of a real-life “school of rock” complete with a multi-use concert hall, recording studio and sound rooms.
The dedication ceremony begins with Cooper making a flamboyant entry to the site riding a backhoe to music performed live by local teen garage band THE SILENT CRY. Cooper will be followed by Sparks, ensconced in a Corvette convertible, to commemorate the ground on which a 29, 000-square-foot, $7 million teen center titled “The Rock” will be built at Grand Canyon University, one of the nation’s fastest-growing Arizona’s leading higher education institutions.
It’s all an effort led by Cooper and supported by Sparks ‘ both Christians raised in Phoenix ‘ to keep teens on the straight and narrow, away from crime and drugs, and having fun and learning. Both Cooper and Sparks have ties to Grand Canyon University ‘ Cooper, a long-time contributor to Grand Canyon University (GCU), supports scholarships and received an honorary doctorate there. Sparks, whose grandmother is a GCU alumnus, designated The Rock as one of the charities to which she would donate a portion of her winnings………….
Taylor Swift Celebrates 18th Birthday In Style
Country cutie Taylor Swift celebrated her 18th birthday Thursday, and she marked the occasion by registering to vote.
…I did it online in my pajamas, the Best New Artist Grammy nominee told People.
Aside from joining the political process officially, as a registered voter, Swift also celebrated her big day with a fabulous party full of superstar guests, including Big & Rich John Rich and …American Idol alum Kellie Pickler………
Carrie Underwood and Chace Crawford Heat Things Up!
Carrie Underwood and her Gossip Girl beau, Chace Crawford are definitely giving off a more-than-just-friends vibe, despite rumors that the two are no longer together.
The cute couple was seen laughing and dancing at the Marquee Night’s Fourth Anniversary party in NYC, where they had a few drinks and enjoyed each other’s company………
JHud Leaves Timba in the Dust
TMZ caught Jennifer Hudson in front of Koi last night, naming a laundry list of producers she’s working with on her debut album. Sister bettah pay attention though, cause she almost forgot to mention Timbaland, who’s only the biggest producer in music right now! ………..
Debut CD from ‘Idol’ runner-up matches Jordin’s
Just how much does it mean to be the American Idol winner vs. the runner-up? When it comes to Billboard chart positions, apparently nothing.
Audio Day Dream, the debut album from AI runner-up Blake Lewis, entered the national chart this week at No. 10. That’s the same position that the Valley’s Jordin Sparks earned with her self-titled debut two weeks ago.
In terms of actual first-week sales, Sparks can claim victory: She moved 119, 000 units to his 98, 000.
Sparks earned the dubious distinction of the lowest first-week sales of any American Idol winner. The story hasn’t brightened much: In its third week of release, Jordin Sparks sits at No. 24 on the national charts……
OK! Exclusive: Chace & Carrie Celebrate Something Big!
….Despite the large crowd trying to get a look at the Gossip Girl star and his country singing cutie at their table on the dance floor, these two only had eyes for each other. American Idol champ Carrie, 24, and Chace sneaked in a bunch of kisses and cozied up next to each other all night. One witness tells OK!, …They certainly didnt care who was gossiping about it!….
Y100 JINGLE BALL
Idol’s Elliott Yamin still `funky’
…. ¢ Q: Do you keep in touch with any Idol contestants?
¢ A: I do, with Taylor [Hicks] and Ace [Young] and Bucky [Covington] and Mandisa, and I talk to Chris [Daughtry] every now and again. We’re all good friends, rooting for each other…..
Four For Friday
….#4 This Idol star is in negotiations with an adult magazine to shed her good girl image and to reveal all in an upcoming pictorial. Right now there is a $2M offer sitting on the table.
Simon Cowell’s canine kiss
Simon Cowell likes to French kiss dogs.
The music mogul’s fellow ‘American Idol’ judge Paula Abdul has revealed Simon enjoys smooching her four pet Chihuahuas.
Paula said: “Simon French kisses my dogs – it’s really gross.”…….
Teen Talk: Teenhood Today: Unreality of reality television
….The genius of reality TV’s version of truth is that it is so easy for editors to convert to Hollywood’s truth. Did someone on “Beauty and the Geek” admit that they’re only there for the money, and that they couldn’t care less about a “life-altering experience”? Cut it out. Did the voting on “American Idol” have to be fudged a bit so that the attractive 24-year-old underdog could win over the more talented 27-year-old? Cover it up. Was the girl the Bachelor chose in the finale found cheating with one of the make-up artists a week later? Pay him off. Fake it ’til you make it, and it’s so easy, so incredibly easy to do when the film is lying vulnerable in a conference about which scenes should be altered, which should be faked, and which never happened as far as the public is concerned….
Simon Cowell pulls out of American Idol publicity shoot
Simon Cowell pulled a sickie after a team of cameramen flew halfway around the world to take snaps of the star , according to U.S. reports……..
…..According to U.S. entertainment website TMZ, the acid-tongued mogul refused to go to Los Angeles to take publicity photographs so the Fox Network flew a group of publicists, photographers and crew all the way to London to get their shots.
After the snappers completed their long-haul Simo reportedly got …sick and never showed for the shoot.
A source told the site that six days and $50, 000 in rental fees, salaries and expenses later, the group returned home empty-handed and ‹pissed off…….
