Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
Jingle Ball: Tweeter crowd danced from Avril to Timbaland
“I’ve noticed something, ” said Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden as he looked out over the Tweeter Center last night. “There’s a lot of girls here.”
It wasn’t the most perceptive observation (and, in truth, no more than a way to segue into the band’s song Girls & Boys”), but there wasn’t much room to disagree. The sold-out crowd for the Jingle Ball was overwhelmingly female and largely adolescent. If you were looking for a babysitter last night, you were out of luck.
Featuring a half-dozen acts linked only by their popularity, the concert rounded the music bases. There was the pop-punk of Good Charlotte and Avril Lavigne, hip-hop from Timbaland and Sean Kingston, and finalists one and two from this year’s American Idol, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis…
CLARKSON SLAMS ‘EARLY’ GREATEST HITS
Singer KELLY CLARKSON has slammed artists like HILARY DUFF and MANDY MOORE because they have released greatest hits albums too soon.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a string of hit songs since winning TV talent competition American Idol in 2002 – but insists she wont be putting out a compilation of her best tracks until later in her career.
She says, “Doing a greatest hits would be crazy. I am not 50. Artists who do one after three albums think their career is coming to an end.”
Chris Daughtry chats to I Like Music
….ILM: Your new single, ‘Home’ is due out in the UK on 7th January. Can you describe it’s whole vibe and how the track came about?
CHRIS: It came about being at home, I actually wrote it at home, sitting on the couch. I knew I was going to be leaving my family for a while and I guess I’d never done that before and I was just thinking about that and it came about pretty quickly, I finished it in like 5 minutes……
Review: Cooper’s not-so Christmas show, Dec. 15
There was something for just about everyone Saturday night when the seventh annual Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding show, a benefit to build a Christian-based sanctuary for teens, brought a full plate of comedy, music and dance to Phoenix’s Dodge Theatre.
American Idol Jordin Sparks, who exclaimed “This is where it all started, ” got into the spirit with a smooth yet heartfelt I’ll Be Home For Christmas, ending her set with a sassy rendition of Elvis Presley’s Trouble…………
The beat doesn’t go on for ‘Idol’ runner-up
….Instead, he takes the more customary route of post-“Idol” players: He and his producers assemble a sound that approximates that of accomplished stars — in this case, a hybrid of Justin Timberlake, George Michael and Jamiroquai framed in a synthesizer-heavy, 1980s context.
“Audio Day Dream” is accessible and fairly diverting, straddling faux-rock, poppy funk and mainstream dance music with an old-school electronic spin and heavy-handed use of flickering rhythms and pounding beats that tease at Lewis’s beatboxing alter-ego. However, he mostly just sings — serviceably, but without much distinction.
The best arrangements are on the heftier dance tracks “Hate 2 Love Her, ” “What’cha Got 2 Lose?” and “1000 Miles” plus a grainy “She’s Makin’ Me Lose It” where Lewis assumes a Prince-like falsetto and a “Know My Name” where he pours forth uncharacteristic soul. Meanwhile, the minimum standards are lofty enough, even for the obligatory saccharine ballads.
All in all, “Audio Day Dream” is a passable pop album. It’s just a shame that the same guy who took a formulaic show down an adventurous route is now taking such a formulaic path for himself.
Dominic Bowden loves LA
…..In August, he made his breakthrough in the States, landing the role of host on The Next Great American Band – a show by the producers of the hugely successful American Idol franchise.
And he hasn’t even had to lose the Kiwi accent. “I said to them, ‘Hey look, I can try an American accent’, and they said ‘Nah, we love it’. A lot of the auditions you go for here, they don’t even call it an accent. They ask, ‘Can you speak normally?”‘
While the show has struggled to gain the same kind of audiences as Idol, Bowden has shone through.
News agency Reuters reported: “Dominic Bowden, who has similar duties on New Zealand’s Idol, is fresher and more at ease than his American Idol counterpart, Ryan Seacrest” while a reviewer in OK! magazine wrote: “Today we’re loving … New Zealand’s finest, Dominic Bowden, who is currently the host of American Band on Fox. With an accent like that, need we say more!”
And Bowden’s star is still rising – earlier this week he confirmed he had just secured a contract with the E! channel for what he calls “some ongoing projects both for America and internationally”. He started filming on Thursday…..
Ruben Studdard, His BlackBerry, and His Return to American Idol
Surely you remember Ruben Studdard, winner of American Idol Season 2. Ruben is back to host his winning season of American Idol Rewind, in which he and runner-up Clay Aiken will bring back not only the complete historical season, but they will also guide you through never-before seen clips of what went on behind the scenes.
Since his victorious season, Studdard has been busy recording new tunes and touring the world. He was kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to Switched about his tech-obsessed life. See what he thinks about iPhones, video games, and the battery life on his BlackBerry below……….
For Pop Stars, a Day to Pledge Fidelity to Radio
….Ms. Sparks, who turns 18 on Saturday, sings pop-R&B in a high voice with a shrill edge. She has an overload of mannerisms from early Mariah Carey. But she (and her advisers) chose songs smartly for her debut album; one she performed, …No Air, staggers its vocal behind the song beat to hint at choking….
Kelly Rowland strikes up the chorus
Former Destiny’s Child singer strikes a chord with reality show
….Fresh-faced singer Ivy Castle-Rush does musical theater around Houston and is no stranger to auditions. She tried out for American Idol producers earlier this year in Atlanta. She says it was a “belittling experience” and saw Clash of the Choirs as a second chance to prove something to herself.
“American Idol … was horrible, ” she says. “They were all at their computers, they didn’t (even) look at me. Two of them were talking about what they wanted to eat for lunch.”
Rowland was a more attentive audience. She says, “I feel like I have a choir of 20 secret weapons. Everybody has something beautiful and magically delicious about their voice.”….
Crowd braves winds to hear Aiken
….Aiken opened the show, which was accompanied by the Erie Philharmonic and pianist Jesse Vargas, with a medley of familiar Christmas tunes. He and backup singer Quiana Parlor received warm applause from the subdued crowd.
One member of the audience called out, “I love you, Clay, ” during a pause in the music.
Aiken greeted the audience saying, “Thank you so much for braving the weather to be here with us this evening.”
Later he joked, “Thanks to the weather, we’ll be here all week.”….
X Factor Emma’s final date
….Emma has become a local celebrity since her audition. She was savaged by the judges and defended by her outraged family.
She plans to continue her singing career and will be auditioning for the Chicago Town Pizza adverts used on the American Idol TV programme
New and Improved American Idol
….Another change to the show will be allowing contestants to play instruments during their initial auditions. Idol has strayed from letting singers play live in the past for fears that those who can play will have an unfair advantage over those who cant.
The show current formula has been under recent scrutiny pending the disappointing chart debuts from last season winner, Jordin Sparks, and runner-up, Blake Lewis.