David Cook To Sing National Anthem At Arrowhead
KANSAS CITY – David Cook announced on his Twitter that he will be singing the National Anthem at the Chiefs game this Sunday. Sunday also happens to be the American Idol winner’s 27th birthday.
Cook shared the news on his Twitter on Wednesday. “Hey Chiefs fans, ” he tweeted. “I’m singing the anthem this Sunday at Arrowhead! Come help cheer the Chiefs to a win with me for my birthday! The big 2-7!”
The Chiefs take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday at noon. The Chiefs were fighting against a blackout for the second Sunday in a row.
‘American Idol’s’ Adam Lambert on ‘Chelsea Lately’: Acid trips, being fat and all gay men love each other
UPDATE: Lambert’s appearance resulted in “Chelsea Lately’s” biggest audience ever — 1.3 million viewers.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Allison Iraheta on Kimmel: ‘Oh yeah!’
I feel like people will continue to sort of compare her to P!nk, but whatever. This girl’s got style, a cool look, a good voice, and crazy-fun hair. And I feel like her signature ‘Oh yeah!’ screams are especially good here.
Jordin Sparks at Star 94’s Jingle Jam
On stage, Sparks wore a more mature haircut (with mixed results) and a less-than-flattering red dress. But there’s no doubt she has improved her stage presence. She even pulls off a few simple dance steps though nobody will ever mistake her for Jennifer Lopez. Disappointingly, she dispensed with a live band for this radio tour, using backing tracks along with four backup singers.
At the Z100 Jingle Jam earlier this week in New York, she sang her big hit ‘No Air’ with Bieber but she went solo this time. The elegant ballad (originally sung with Chris Brown) still gives me chills.
American Idol Chart Achievements
If someone asked you to guess how many Number Ones ‘American Idol’ contestants have collected on the Billboard charts, what number would you guess? 18? 80? 180? All would be wrong, and all would be under the actual count.
Bear in mind, Billboard compiles around 150 charts every week. There are charts for every format of music, for singles and albums, for sales and airplay. Including every national, domestic chart, the ‘American Idol’ singers have racked up an astounding 257 No. 1s to date, and the number increases all the time. Kelly Clarkson has earned the most Number Ones, with a total of 54. Carrie Underwood has topped the charts 42 times and Daughtry is close behind with 35 Number Ones.
Chart Beat Thursday: “Glee” Cast, Andrea Bocelli, Neil Diamond
‘TIS THE ‘SEASON’: As the students go on winter break until their return to prime time in April, the soundtrack “Glee: Season One: The Music: Volume 2” starts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The first edition of the show’s covers opened at No. 4 last month.
The “Glee” ensemble makes its biggest headlines, however, on the Billboard Hot 100, as four more of its remakes debut, led by “My Life Would Suck Without You” at No. 51.
Having spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 earlier this year by Kelly Clarkson, the song is the first leader to reappear on the list as a cover in the same year since Bo Bice debuted with “Inside Your Heaven” a week after Carrie Underwood’s version topped the Hot 100 in July 2005.
Jesse McCartney Wants To Work With ‘Amazing’ Adam Lambert
Jesse McCartney is currently hard at work on his next album and gearing up for the release of “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, ” (he voices Theodore), but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t carve out some studio time for Adam Lambert.
McCartney ‘†who has worked with “Idol” Jordin Sparks in the past and co-wrote the mega hit “Bleeding love” for Leona Lewis ‘†would love to lend his talents to Lambert. “I’d like to write something for Adam Lambert, ’cause I feel like there’s so many people like trying to do that thing for him and it’s a little unfocused for me, ” McCartney told MTV News. “But I think he’s amazing.”
BuzzFoto Blind Item #243
This Former American Idol has fallen into a very bad habit. Very bad indeed. Not only are they heavily into drugs (which really isn’t a secret), we’ve heard a rumor that they are now selling themselves to get money to pay for the drugs. Very sad. Not Katharine McPhee.
The Adam Lambert Problem
This was behind the resentment at the Adam Lambert incident on ABC in November. The compromise was breached. It was a broadcast network, it was prime time, it was the American Music Awards featuring singers your 11-year-old wants to see, and your 8-year-old. And Mr. Lambert came on and’â€again, in front of your children, in the living room, in the middle of your peaceful evening’â€uncorked an act in which he, in the words of various news reports the next day, performed “faux oral sex” featuring “S&M play, ” “bondage gear, ” “same-sex makeouts” and “walking a man and woman around the stage on a leash.”
People were offended, and they complained. Mr. Lambert seemed surprised and puzzled. With an idiot’s logic that was nonetheless logic, he suggested he was the focus of bigotry: They let women act perverse on TV all the time, so why can’t a gay man do it? Fifteen hundred callers didn’t see it as he did and complained to ABC, which was negligent but in the end responsive: They changed the West Coast feed and apparently kept Mr. Lambert off “Good Morning America.”
Mr. Lambert’s act left viewers feeling not just offended but assaulted. Again, “we don’t care what you do in New York, ” but don’t include us in it, don’t bring it into our homes. Our children are here.
Spotted: Jordin Sparks Celebrates An Early Christmas
The holidays can be tough for musicians, especially if they’re on the road and away from their families. That’s a moot point when your family is with you, and it’s even better when you’re in warm weather. Such is the case of Jordin Sparks, who has been on the road performing at holiday radio festivals (including last week’s Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in New York City) and found herself hanging out with her mother Jodi at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach on Wednesday. She spent time with fellow singer Steph Jones and also got a necklace from jewelry designer Rafi Anteby. Her road slate is nearly complete, as she’ll play her last holiday show tonight (December 17) in Duluth, Georgia, alongside the Fray, Justin Bieber, Leona Lewis, Cobra Starship and Owl City.
On the road with Alexis Grace for Holiday Tour
“I was at Target (Wednesday) with my daughter and my boyfriend, ” Grace said. “These two teenage girls in their school uniforms trailed me for an hour. Finally, they worked up the nerve to ask me to pose for a picture.”
This month, Grace is back with “American Idol” as part of their Holiday Tour; she’s sharing the stage with other finalists Michael Sarver, Gina Glocksen and David Hernandez.
“It’s like a redemption kind of thing, ” Grace said. “I wanted to go on the summer tour really bad.”
‘Idol’ Archuleta at Sherman Theater
Singing since he was a small child, he never imagined so many great opportunities would present themselves. After placing second in “American Idol” season seven, the opportunities have been non-stop. And not only did he finish as runner up, but he was also one of the youngest contestants of the season.
“I’ve always wanted to do this, but never thought I’d get these opportunities, ” Archuleta said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s so much fun. It was a lot more than I was expecting before ‘American Idol.'”
Another ‘American Idol’ goes country
But country music fans ‘†the ones who don’t watch American Idol, anyway ‘†are about to meet Gokey for the first time.
Recently signed to 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville, the Milwaukee-born country-soul singer just released his first single, “My Best Days are Ahead of Me, ” to country radio. It’ll be available for download Monday. And there’s more music to come. Gokey spent time earlier this month in the studio finishing up his debut album.
“There is a message to my music, ” Gokey said of his new CD, which is due out in early spring. “But it only goes to a point. The rest of the CD is for pure entertainment.
“Coming from church to here is a hard pill to swallow. People will definitely see emotion come out. I want people to feel what I felt in the studio. Without emotion, music is just intellectual ‘†and music has to go beyond intellect.”
NASHVILLE SKYLINE: The Decade: Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood Topped It
Reality TV programming hit the world of music and impacted country music significantly with the sudden availability of pretested and presold musical celebrities. No more developing an artist for years and years till they build an audience. You could just pick one off the shelf. The audiences didn’t accept all of them, but when they did, you had a genuine keeper. Carrie Underwood came from American Idol with some dynamic songs, a dynamite stage delivery and loads of charisma, and country audiences took to her immediately. Billboard just named her Some Hearts the country album of the decade.
Carrie Underwood ‘ ‘Temporary Home’
Before I begin to sound like a broken record when it comes to Carrie Underwood, I should make it clear that I really do enjoy her singing. Early in Underwood’s career, her voice was in constant overdrive, powering through even the most sensitive subjects. To her credit, she’s evolved immensely since those early days. Her delivery has become colorful and nuanced, and her voice has thus transformed from a powerful soundbox to a truly formidable and well-used instrument. Hearing Underwood sing classic country music is a pure delight.
Kellie Pickler’s Tears Are Real, But Not Quite Right
In her current video for ‘Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You, ‘ Kellie Pickler has some soggy-eyed moments as she deals with a broken relationship. The tears are authentic ‘†she didn’t use onions or any kind of film-industry gimmicks to produce the moisture.
But they’re not really over an ex-boyfriend. Instead, Kellie turned to a different kind of relationship in her past and used her grief over a departed family member to get the emotion she needed for the camera.
Tony Nominee Constantine Maroulis to Rock the Highline Ballroom
Constantine Maroulis, who earned a 2009 Tony Award nomination for his performance in Rock of Ages, will take to the intimate stage of The Highline Ballroom next month.
The former “American Idol” contestant will play the Manhattan venue Jan. 20, 2010. Doors will open at 6 PM for the 8 PM show, which is titled A Night At the Rock Show
In Top Form, American Idol Season 4 Finalist, Anwar Robinson, Teams Up With Bo-Ty Productions, LLC, Heating Up the Airwaves With ‘Exceptional’ and ‘Night’s Hot.’
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ — What do legendary songwriter, Carole Bayer Sager, Saxophonist/Grammy Nominee, Gerald Albright, Singer Songwriter/Producer, Will Downing, and Super Producer, Onaje Allan Gumbs, have in common? All love Anwar Robinson’s newest release called “Exceptional.” The buzz on this track is getting louder and for good reason. It doesn’t matter where you start to break down this song, you’ll love every last drop. The lyrics are intimate and personal without sounding contrived. Each word flows into the next while Anwar drives raw emotion into every phrase. This is a beautifully crafted song and Anwar’s passion for singing is evident. Had he performed “Exceptional” on the Idol show. . .who knows?
Celebrity Watch: Simon Cowell and the battle to be No 1
However! And hurrah! For the forces of anarchy ‘†so often abroad at this time of year ‘†determined that 2009 would be the year Cowell’s pop trebuchet was sabotaged. A Facebook campaign was launched to make Cowell-haters synchronise their buying efforts on a single song ‘†Rage Against The Machine’s 1992 single Killing in the Name: a shouty bit of Yank rock of which the highlight is the phrase ‘F*** you, I won’t do what you tell me!’ repeated 17 times. All profits are going to charity.
Then on Wednesday, the putative future prime minister, David Cameron, was asked which single he backed. ‘Joe. He’s a nice boy, ‘ he replied.
As CW writes, Killing in the Name has surged ahead of The Climb by 80, 000 copies. It seems that David Cameron may just have got Rage Against The Machine the Christmas No 1. Amazing.
‘SYTYCD’ Q&A: Winner talks about his victory!
For more on what the season favorite thinks about officially becoming America’s Favorite Dancer, the finale-night issues, and plans for the future, click on the jump.
Like anyone else even had a chance. Charm, talent, poise ‘†Russell Ferguson had it all. That’s likely why the krumper bagged the $250, 000 prize and title of America’s favorite dancer last night. Though we saw his victory coming a mile away, did Russell expect to win? Not long after his win, Russell talked to EW about his victory, his last-minute injury, and where we can expect to see him next. (The Oscars!)
‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Chatting with Season 6 winner Russell Ferguson
On last night’s injury:
After I jumped off the stage at the end of the hip-hop number, when Kevin [Hunte] and Legacy [Perez] pulled me up, I came down on my leg wrong and something shifted over my ankle, and it caused it to swell up and it was really tight. I wasn’t cleared to dance for the rest of the night. It was very stressful because I couldn’t do the final performance, but my dad came backstage and calmed me down, and I just went back out with my head high. At the end I was running off adrenaline.
On the people he acknowledged after his big win:
I brought Kevin onstage with me because he’s been with me this whole journey. He’s like a brother to me, and I wanted to share that moment with him. Sidestreet is a movement, and we are basically trying to spread this way of krump, and GFam is the crew that is spreading the movement. It would be great to perform with them on the show in the future.
Russell Ferguson Rebounds Backstage At The ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Finale
Last night’s finale was definitely the most dramatic in So You Think You Can Dance history, with season 6 winner Russell Ferguson sustaining a leg injury during a group hip-hop routine and subsequently appearing onstage in tears and in pain. And although it turned out that his injury was not as severe as everyone first assumed, for a scary moment there, it seemed very touch-and-go.
More Backstage Finale Fun At ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
Backstage last night in the SYTYCD finale press room, I spoke with judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Adam Shankman about the somewhat controversial results, along with a little chit-chat about what’s in store for the next SYTYCD tour and season 7 [quick aside…I think Nigel got Russell and Jakob’s names mixed up at one point, but try to follow along]:
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ exit interview: Kathryn McCormick on crying, dancing and (rumored) romancing
When the So You Think You Can Dance competition began, we only knew Kathryn McCormick as the girl with the inappropriately high crying voice. But as the season progressed, we began to cry the contemporary dancer’s name as we watched her unleash her beautiful dance skills. Just hours after landing third place in the competition, Kathryn called us up to talk about those notorious tears, her favorite dance, and her rumored romance with Legacy.
