Idol Headlines for 12/15/08

American Idol Announces Season 8 Schedule

Get Ready To Share Your Voice As American Idol Returns With A Brand-New Season, New Contestants and a New Judge Tuesday, January 13 and Wednesday, January 14 on FOX.

*Top 36 Semi-Finalists Revealed Wednesday, February 11.
* Voting Begins Tuesday, February 17.
* Top 12 Singers Revealed After Judges’ Wild Card Round Thursday, March 5.
* Top 12 Finalists Perform for First Time Tuesday, March 10.

American Idol

The American Idol Experience to Open in February

American Idol Experience Reliable Netcot sources (i.e. Joel) report that the American Idol Experience at Disney Hollywood Studios will be open from February 5-8 for an Annual Passholder Preview with the grand opening being held on Valentine Day (or February 14).

netcot.com

More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…

Nary a Carol in Earshot, and a Santa in Heels

At the Z100 Jingle Ball on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, if you werent approximately 14 and approximately a girl, the chances were high that you were a bored father, a sympathetic mother or a responsible boyfriend. The roles were assigned, and almost tribal.

Jingle Ball is a heavily branded, highly sponsored promotional event for an extremely influential pop-radio station in New York. The girls in the audience have the kind of fun they probably expect to have, all tears and iPhones and braces, furiously texting the number posted above the stage, where their messages are rendered in flashing lights. Sweetly, they sometimes misspelled their idols names. (…Jessee is my lifeeee! …David Archuletta will you marry me!!) The performers dutifully ran through their commercials of 15 to 30 minutes. Songs not pitched directly toward the girl brain were essentially failures.

New York Times

Country star Underwood wows O’Dome

A new generation of Okie from Muskogee brought her brand of country music to the OConnell Center stage Sunday night as Carrie Underwood performed before a near sellout crowd of 6, 200 fans.
More Photos:

Unlike the usual college concert, Underwood brought out all ages. College students still predominated but the ODome looked an awful lot like family night as parents brought the next generation to see one of the most popular singers in music today. Of the students present, the men were heavily outnumbered as packs of young women, dressed in cowboy boots, short skirts and cowboy hats ruled the night.

Gainsville.com

A very special Christmas list for fans of all musical genres

A Coko Christmas, Coko (Light). Former SWV singer Coko mixes old and new tunes here. Three tunes come from SWV’s 1996 A Special Christmas album, another two from Coko’s 2006’s solo gospel debut. The most prominent of the four new tracks is a duet with American Idol finalist George Huff on Give Love on Christmas Day. www.cokosplace.com/

USA Today

Paula Abdul Supports Dogs in Women’s Shelters

The American Humane Association and award-winning recording artist Paula Abdul plan to collaborate to spread the message about helping abused women transition into a better life, along with their pets.

Abdul, who also a judge for the top-rated …American Idol reality TV show, has signed on as a pro-bono spokeswoman for American Humane Pets and Women Shelters program (PAWS). As part of her duties, shell record public service announcements for the program, as well as promote it in her various other media and public appearances.

dogchannel.com

X Factor’s Alexandra Burke eclipses Leona Lewis as Hallelujah becomes fastest-selling download EVER

Alexandra Burke entered the record books today as her single Hallelujah became the fastest-selling single via download in history.

The X Factor winner has already sold 80, 000 copies of her Leonard Cohen cover since its digital release at midnight on Saturday.

The track has already surpassed Leona Lewis’s record-breaking fifth single Run which recently became the fastest selling digital release of all time, after it sold 69, 244 in just two days.

It comes as Simon Cowell vowed to turn Alexandra into a bigger star than Leona, telling friends that this year’s X Factor winner is ‘more versatile’.

Daily Mail.co.uk

Ballas Hough Band Finish Record, Prep For ‹Dancing With The Stars Tour

Ballas Hough Band checked in with fans on their blog at MySpace on Sunday (December 14), discussing the band participation in the Dancing with the Stars tour and progress on their Hollywood Records debut album, which is due out March 2009. The Los Angeles based pop rock group tell readers:

Pop Dirt

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!