Katharine McPhee’s Wedding Album! From the kiss to the cake, go inside the singer’s Feb. 2 nuptials to producer Nick Cokas
Carrie certified for septuple platinum
Carrie’s Some Hearts has been certified seven-times-platinum by the RIAA, the highest certification yet earned by an Idol.
Remember, that doesn’t mean she’s sold 7 million copies. It means her label applied for the certification and that she’s been audited to have shipped 7 million, and generally that the record label is confident she will sell those 7 million copies. (Although that confidence has been misplaced before in Idol annals, notably, for instance, with Taylor’s album, certified platinum but stuck on 700, 000 actually sold.)
American Idol coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Walt Disney World Resort has announced plans to create a high-energy “American Idol” attraction bringing the popular musical audition themed show to Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. The attraction will take over the space of the former ABC Theater and construction is already well under way. Guests will be able to experience the challenge of auditioning, the rush of performing on stage in competition, or the thrill of judging the performances in a live interactive entertainment setting with all the glitz and glamor of the distinctive “American Idol” set. No word if they’ll have Ryan Seacrest as an audio-animatronic, but then again, how could you tell. (Just kidding Ryan.)
The attraction will have a competition element to it as well. With each eligible “Grand Finale” park guest who wins the daily competition qualifying for a guaranteed slot for regional auditions for the “American Idol” TV show. Eligible being the keyword there. I think “American Idol” has pretty strict rules on who they’ll consider for the show. However, I am seeing some ‘groupie’ potential too.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
Simon Cowell Skewers Katharine McPhee
Simon Cowell is known for skewering awful singers on “American Idol, ” but now he’s turning on “Idol” sweetheart Katharine McPhee!
“Didn’t care much about Katharine McPhee, ” Simon told “Extra.” “I don’t think she was a credible recording artist. Katharine will end up on Broadway!”
The King of Mean has come out swinging at some of “Idol’s” biggest names, telling “Extra” that last year’s champ Taylor Hicks didn’t deserve to take the top spot.
“There’s always a place for someone like that on the show – until they win, ” Simon insisted.
Chris Daughtry Opens Up About Idol, Bon Jovi and His Grammy Noms
American Idol’s only rock star, Chris Daughtry, spills about his Grammy (Sunday, Feb. 10, 8 pm/ET, CBS) nominations, Bon Jovi, and how he’d change the show that launched his career.
TV Guide: You’re up for four Grammy awards, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album. Which one would mean the most to you?
Chris Daughtry: Rock Album. Because that’s what we are, and I want people to realize that. Whether it be rock with pop sensibility, we are a rock band.
Rock Star Predictions: Who Will Win at This Year’s Grammys
Will Kanye West finally win Album of the Year? Will Amy Winehouse appear live via satellite? Our panel of expert artists tell us who the big winners will be on Sunday, February 10th.
NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Carrie Underwood Predicted in Grammy Forecast
So the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony will finally go ahead on Sunday (Feb. 10) after the striking writers guild agreed to a waiver to agree to not picket. Seems a strange way to strike, but I think the writers feel that musicians are not the enemy. So be it.
Anyhow, I look forward to the evening, as much for the pageantry as for the unexpected. The music is now and then inspired, and sometimes a great moment will creep in. I’ll be very curious to see what transpires with the musical trio of John Fogerty, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. That’s a lot of years lived and a lot of musical memories up there on the stage. And some totally unpredictable personalities. The Aretha Franklin tribute may be memorable. Asking Herbie Hancock to perform a tribute to Gershwin seems to me totally goofy when he’s nominated for album of the year for his recorded tribute to Joni Mitchell. The Beatles tribute will no doubt be over the moon. And totally overdone, to a crisp. But that’s all right. It’s what you expect.
Top Ten ‘Simon’isms’ of ‘Idol’ 2008’s Pre-Season
It seems poor Simon is losing his magic “mean” touch. During this season of auditions he seemed way less cranky. I lost count of how many times he told people ‘I like you” before sending them packing. Was it all creative editing? Did the producers tone down cranky Simon of yore? I guess we will never know. He was, however, not without a few zingers this year. Here is my list of my top ten favorite Simon-isms from the cross-country auditions.
Idol runner-up to perform in Evans
“American Idol” runner-up Bo Bice plans to perform in March as part of an Evans concert series.
For The Fans Entertainment LCC announced a new concert series during a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at the Columbia County Amphitheater. Mr. Bice is scheduled as the first headline performer for the series, which will include nine concerts through October.
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Performing with Mr. Bice at the March 16 concert at the amphitheater in Evans will be area act Patrick Blanchard and country-rock band Crossin’ Dixon.
‘American Idol’ Finalist Haley Scarnato Signed to Anchor L.A. Boat Show Coverage
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Two rising stars will come together at this year’s Los Angeles International Boat Show, February 9-17, as American Idol Top-10 finalist Haley Scarnato joins the new Performance Boats Magazine editorial team to celebrate the print and website’s debut.
Scarnato, who as an Idol favorite electrified television’s most popular show with her rousing vocals and scorching wardrobe, will showcase her stunning camera presence as she provides color commentary during daily internet coverage of the show at performanceBoats.com.
Scarnato will conduct live interviews with builders and other industry experts on the L.A. show floor on Saturday, February 9, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. She will team with senior tech editor Jim Wilkes in online show coverage of the 2008 boat models roll-out, which will be uploaded daily to http://www.performanceboats.com.
PR Newswire
Think you’ve got what it takes to be Orange County’s next homegrown Internet star?
“The Juice” ‘ a new Web TV show on pop culture, entertainment and celebrity in Orange County ‘ is holding open auditions Saturday for an on-screen host.
Auditions are first-come, first-served from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. but future would-be Web stars should first download entry forms and other materials from www.juice.ocregister.com.
The auditions will be judged by a panel that includes Lisa Tucker, an “American Idol” finalist from 2006; singer-songwriter Kina Grannis, winner of a contest that featured her song in a Doritos ad during this year’s Super Bowl; and other television and entertainment industry professionals.
Desperately seeking Pinoys
MANILA, Philippines’ ¢Good news and bad from QTV, which is airing …American Idol locally.
The bad news: QTV research department, after declaring that David Archuleta is Filipino-American, is now uncertain. QTV said that it had only one source, a blogger who claimed, …Filipinos were able to do background research on Archuleta ¦ He a Filipino-American.
Another blogger, however, insisted that Archuleta was Mexican-Honduran-Irish.
Dee Snider on Gone Country
On American Idol: …I really loathed American Idol when it started. I loathed the fact that these people were given this easy path to stardom while the rest of us had to slug it out in the streets and in the bars and work for years. My guitar player J.J. French is famous for saying on stage that it really makes him mad when they say …I wanna thank my fans and theyre talking to the fans that theyve had for the last six weeks! Fans are people that are with you for six years. But after doing Gone Country with Diana DeGarmo it was pointed out to me that these people go through trials under the microscope ‘ it a sort of bootcamp. I spent a couple of weeks with Diana and got to know her, and they walk their own brutal path. It may not be in the bars and it may not be night after night driving around the country but its tough in its own way. So Ive got more of a respect for what they do, but I still dont watch it.
American Idol: The Rest, Not the Best
Why do the …American Idol folks only spend one week in Hollywood and four weeks on the road showing us lame auditions like Laura Ashley Gift from God. The Holy Spirit must have a pretty keen sense of humor if it was telling her that it was her calling to audition for …American Idol. The two minutes at the end of the episode highlighting next week Hollywood round were more interesting than the preceding fifty-five minutes. But at last, the preliminary auditions are over. Hallelujah, indeed.
However, there were a few memorable moments in this final episode of early audition torture.
‘American Idol’ wraps up auditions
And so the journey ends. After three weeks of watching so many contenders parade by, it is hard to make much sense of the shape of the race. But as the final video tribute to the audition trail showed, the pre-season paints in macrocosm a canvas of American hopes and delusion as vast and varied as our republic itself. We have come far in these past three weeks, moved past the memories of last season and are now squarely pointed toward the great battle that now begins.
On this tour, “American Idol” has truly clutched the entire nation to its chest ‘ a nation of borderline cases and a nation of heroic determination to overcome tragedy in order to fulfill “Idol” dreams. Of the 100, 000 who trooped past, somewhere in the neighborhood of 99, 980 were completely deluded in believing that their destinies lay in stardom, but somewhere in that line, we met our next champion and very soon, within the next two weeks, that face will emerge from the crowd and the halo of greatness will begin to form.
‹Idol contestants from the ‹Best of the Rest episode; what we know
It didnt take long for …American Idol fans to unearth pictures of Amy Davis in her underwear. Just one day after her audition, Amy revealing photos are already making the rounds in the AI blogosphere. Here what we know about Amy so far, besides the fact that she looks great in a bikini: She was a contestant on …Nashville Star, she 25, and she lives in Lowell, Ind.
According to Cardin Lee McKinney MySpace page, Cardin sounds like …a hot chick with cool pipes, and I have to agree with her there. The music on her page is as catchy as it is professional. At her audition, however, Simon thought Cardin sounded …very theatrical, and not contemporary enough. Cardin hails from Nashville, where she is a server at a fondue restaurant.
Things We Learned from the American Idol Audition Compilation
Last night’s American Idol was the show’s traditional pre-Hollywood Week compilation episode, filled with failed auditions that weren’t funny enough to be unleashed in the first seven episodes and successful auditions that weren’t good enough to be featured in the first few weeks of the season. The show allowed us to relearn a few lessons about the forthcoming season of Idol, as well as some things that everyone should take note of beyond the show.
‘American Idol’ Recap: Auditions End — Finally! — With Reality-TV Vets, Second-Chance Contestants
To quote church lady Tiffany McCambell from Wednesday night’s “Idol, ” “Praise God!” The final audition episode is upon us, and I could not be any happier.
Wednesday was the standard “best of the rest” show, where they take all the random leftover footage and try to turn it into something substantial (kind of like how they made the “Gimme More” video!). The most telling moment of the show came in its final minute, when Ryan Seacrest wrapped the audition process with misused punctuation that made him sound thoroughly bored. “Those were the auditions for this year and they never disappoint. [awkward pause] Do they?”
Actually, yes. So let’s celebrate the final ho-hum audition show of the season by handing out our last crop of awards.
Idol Watch: Hallelujah!
No, not the eardrum-piercing gospel “Hallelujah” Tiffany McCampbell sang last night. I’m talking about a genuine: HALLELUJAH, auditions are at last over!
Looking back, season seven’s tryouts were nicer than previous incarnations. Simon was tamer, the rejectees had more perspective, and the judges’ ears were more forgiving. From Josiah Leming to Ghaleb Emachah, can you recall so many on-the-fence singers getting through in the past?
The icing on the “Huh? They got through?” cake was 19-year-old Alicia Stelzl. Alicia was clearly being set up as a complete disaster (’80s hair, stage mom by her side, time spent at some place called “Talent Boot Camp”) and when she sang Celine Dion’s “Surrender, ” she lived up to her foreshadowing. The voice she described as “unique” was tiny and pinched and weird. She could hit notes, but who would want her to?
AI OD: How to fix The Idol
I get that American Idol is a ratings juggernaut, but come on! In the first few seasons we got a couple weeks or so of these good and bad early round auditions and then it was off to the races, but now we get a solid month. A sprint of fun turned into a marathon. Thank god they spotlighted more of the good singers this year than last, but it’s still way way too long! I was ready to move on to Hollywood by week three. And we get one episode of “Hollywood Week” and then the infamous “Chair” episode that reveals the Top 24.
These kids are in Hollywood for a solid week. They call it “Hell Week.” It’s rife with personal drama, tons of practice and work every day. There’s over 100 of the so-called “good” contestants struggling to make a good impression with most of them failing miserably. Lots of attitude and emotions. And this year they get to perform with instruments. Why don’t you give me some more time on that? It’s okay, though. I’ve figured out how to fix the whole thing.
They’ve got big names? Big deal
About a week ago, my friend and I stepped out of the 49th Street subway station and walked down Broadway. My friend caught sight of a poster advertising the newest replacement cast of “The Color Purple.”
“Chaka Khan? Really?” she said.
Just then, one of those ubiquitous comedy club promoters called out, “You think that’s bad? What about Clay Aiken in ‘Spamalot’?”
Clay Aiken, indeed. He and Khan are the most recent celebrities hired by Broadway producers who succumb to the phenomenon known as stunt casting. These days, casting A- and B-list actors and singers in long-running musicals is commonplace. Of course, Broadway producers have been hiring unqualified household names for years, and the reason is pretty obvious – almost always, for the money. Usually, when a show has been running for a while, no matter how acclaimed and successful it may have been in its heyday, there will be a slump in ticket sales. What’s a greedy producer to do? Short of closing, the only viable option is to cast someone whose name will attract tourists to see the play in droves.
