Clive Davis replaced by Barry Weiss as BMG head
NEW YORK – Legendary music executive Clive Davis has been replaced by Barry Weiss as chairman and chief executive officer of the BMG label group.
Parent company Sony BMG announced the move Thursday. The 74-year-old Davis will become chief creative officer of Sony BMG. Two other BMG executives also departed in the label shakeup.
The 49-year-old Weiss oversaw several labels as president and CEO of the Zomba Label Group. He helped grow Jive Records from a small imprint to a major force with such blockbuster acts as Britney Spears, Usher, the Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and ‘N Sync. Recent successes include teen sensation Chris Brown and singer-songwriter T-Pain.
Friends say Adam Cook doing well after visit to ‹Idol, City of Angels
TERRE HAUTE ‘ After nearly a week in Los Angeles rubbing elbows with the stars, Adam and Kendra Cook are back home in Terre Haute.
And the crowd of well-wishers waiting at the gates of Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field couldnt have been much happier for Adam Cook if he himself had sung Tuesday night on …American Idol.
…He has done a complete 180 since this time last Friday, said family friend Darrick Scott, one of the organizers who helped send local attorney Adam off to Los Angeles to watch his brother David compete in the reality television show.
…Kendra said this has been the best drug he could have had.
Not all ‘Idol’ finalists are treated equally
Truth be told, not a whole lot ‘ at least not during Season 2 when I performed. The kinks were still being ironed out. And the small amount of coaching we did receive was not evenly distributed.
I only received minimal vocal coaching from “American Idol” voice instructor Debra Byrd. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times I actually received applicable, specific advice from her. Most of the time, it was, “You sound good. Just do your thing.” Or, “You need to work on your high notes.”
One day, as I was waiting downstairs for my private singing lesson, Clay Aiken was in the music room. I could hear him going over and over his song, dissecting it.
Finally, after about 30 minutes, the door opened. It was my turn. I walked in and sang my song about three times before being dismissed. Hardly the personal one-on-one attention Aiken had just received.
After that, I was at a point to spend more time working with someone who was focused on helping me. That’s when I began calling Utah vocal coach Dean Kaelin more frequently.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
ARE YOU AN ONLINE ‘IDOL’?
If you’re a big fan of the reality-TV celebrities on shows such as “American Idol, ” “Dancing With the Stars, ” “Survivor” and “The Biggest Loser, ” you’re more likely to pursue a kind of celebrity for yourself as well, by building up virtual fan clubs on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. At least that’s the major finding from a survey of students conducted at two U.S. universities.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Hawaii report a statistical correlation between heavy reality-TV watching and several metrics of social network usage, ranging from time spent per session to the prevalence of “promiscuous friending.” Are you on your way to becoming an online “Idol”? Find out how you compare with the average 20-year-old.
Wednesday Ratings: ‹Idol, Minds Top Debate
ABC Democratic debate coverage, which lasted from 8 to 10 p.m. and averaged 10.7 million viewers, led all of its prime time competitors during its first hour but trailed far behind Fox …American Idol (22.7 million) and CBS …Criminal Minds (12.9 million) during the 9 p.m. time slot.
ABC finished third for the night overall, behind both Fox and CBS, which led the 10 p.m. hour with …CSI: NY (13.4 million). During the 8 p.m. hour, Fox comedies, …‹Til Death and …Back to You, garnered 5.8 million and 7 million viewers, respectively, while CBS …Big Brother earned 6.1 million viewers.
“AMERICAN IDOL” Gets Another Stamp of Approval
LOS ANGELES –(Business Wire)– Last night, Ryan Seacrest announced that limited-edition “AMERICAN IDOL” PhotoStamps featuring Ruben Studdard are now available. This follows last week’s program launch with the debut of Kelly Clarkson PhotoStamps. Net proceeds from the sales of the exclusive PhotoStamps will benefit IDOL GIVES BACK.
PhotoStamps featuring Ruben Studdard and Kelly Clarkson are currently available at www.americanidol.com and www.photostamps.com. Future issues, featuring a different Idol every week, will be available online on Tuesdays for the next five weeks.
Former Idol Contestant Jon Peter Lewis Performs in Lawrence
LAWRENCE, KAN. — Former American Idol contestant Jon Peter Lewis joined the FOX 4 Morning Show to talk about Idol and what he’s been up to since. Lewis was a contestant in the third season of American Idol. He will be performing in Lawrence at the Bottleneck at 8:30 Thursday night.
More Dates For Alicia
Keys’ As I Am tour, which also features Jordin Sparks and Ne-Yo, kicks off April 19 in Hampton, Va., continues across the U.S. and Canada, and concludes on June 18in Alicia’s hometown of New York City.
New dates have been added in Memphis, Anaheim and Sacramento. She also has a number of international festival dates that will keep her on the road through the summer.
Carrie aloft: Inside the mind of a golden ‘Idol’
Underwood, who debuted on the Grand Ole Opry in June 2005, will be inducted into country’s most honored club on May 10. Currently, she is half of one of country’s biggest spring tours, which pairs her with hit-making Australian heartthrob (and Mr. Nicole Kidman) Keith Urban.
Underwood spoke to the Observer recently about her upcoming induction, co-writing her sophomore disc “Carnival Ride, ” and her rare time off.
Carrie Underwood Endorses Vitaminwater Energy Drink
Carrie Underwood has secured an endorsement deal with Vitaminwater energy drink, which will market a limited-edition bottle this summer. She’ll also be featured in upcoming commercials for the drink. Underwood joins fellow American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, as well as 50 Cent and LeBron James, as celebrity partners. “I have a hectic schedule, and Vitaminwater really helps to keep me going, ” Underwood said. “I like to have a lot of energy on stage, and since Vitaminwater energy happens to be my favorite flavor, I’m thrilled to have my name on it.”
Country Thunder arrives with a bang
Country Thunder is arguably the biggest country music show in the world, and this year headliners Dierks Bentley, Sugarland, Kellie Pickler and John Fogerty certainly make that argument a bit easier to make.
Country Thunder, 20585 E. Price Station Road, Florence, 520.868.9711, Thursday, April 17 through Sunday, April 20, all day, $35-$500
Visit www.countrythunder.com to reserve camping spots or for more information.
I was tempted to let down the tyres on Mr Nasty’s Bentley
A NORMAN WISDOM impersonator has come face-to-face with TV tough man Simon Cowell ‘ and come out on top.
Glenn Ford is taking part in ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, and felt the wrath of the notorious television personality in the first round of the competition.
As he nervously sang in font of Mr Cowell and fellow judges Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, Mr Ford could feel the record industry mogul’s eyes burning into him.
After just a few seconds of his performance of She Taught Me How to Yodel, Cowell, who cultivates an image as TV’s Mr Nasty, hit the buzzer to indicate that he didn’t want Glenn to go through to the second round.
The Last Dance of Kristy Lee Cook
A persistent theme of this column has been the subtle and shameless brilliance of the staging of “American Idol” results nights. As previously noted, perhaps unique among primetime shows, “Idol” is helmed by two trained dancers, executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick. Each week this pair, with Lythgoe blocking the scene, manage to turn the most minute of tasks ‘- revealing the eliminee name — into an intricate and never-predictable ballet, making the second non-performance night of “Idol” a Goliath of entertainment in its own right.
American Idol: Better than Cats!
Due to cable outages in my area, I was forced to watch the Idol results show on a teeny-tiny eight inch TV screen instead of my normal sixty inch monster. It did not make Ryan sadistic assault on the already fragile egos of our top seven any easier. For Pete sake, Ryan, David Cook frakkin cried on Tuesday night. Brooke was shaking like a leaf during her entire performance. Even Archu-D2 was licking his lips with an increasingly frantic crescendo. Give the kids a break.
By the by, the whole …go to the group you think is safe bit only works when the actual bottom three is so Schocking!Ã ¢’ž ¢ that the news of said bottom three would trump anything said in the Democratic debate in the day news cycle. The …too many Cooks in the kitchen line was lame, even for Seacrest.
American Idol: Not a moment too soon
Erin: Is it me, or is the sky bluer? It seems bluer today. And the birds are singing sweeter and louder than ever. Even food tastes better. I am just overwhelmed by a sense of well-being. Everything seems right in the world. I wonder why that is? Oh wait…
Last night, the powers that be heard my prayers and Kristy was booted off the show. I know Kristy has a lot of fans, so never fear. She cushioned her fall from grace with a sparkly new engagement ring and by hitting the road, so this wont be the last we see of her. Be sure to check your local county fairs and horse shows to catch her two-step renditions of ‹60s pop classics.
Festival will have an ‹Idol this year
Fantasia Barrino, the winner of the third season of Fox TV “American Idol, ” will serve as grand marshal of the 81st Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.
From high school dropout to four-time Grammy nominee, Fantasia, as she is known to her fans, is proof that sometimes ‘ despite the title of her autobiography ‘ life can be a fairy tale.
Now 23, she credits her mother, grandmother, and her faith in God with helping her to rise above her circumstances and become a success.
Jordin Sparks: Life after winning Idol
Jordin Sparks vividly remembers where she was last year at this time: buried in the pack of American Idol finalists.
“Blake [Lewis] was the super-favorite, ” she recalls on the phone from Los Angeles. “Other than him, it was between Melinda [Doolittle] and LaKisha [Jones]. Sanjaya [Malakar] was getting all the press. I was like, ‘I still can’t believe I’m even here.’ ”
Yet, the dark horse from Glendale, Ariz., went on to win the singing contest, becoming, at 17, the youngest Idol ever.
A year later, Sparks’s eponymous album and its two singles, “Tattoo” and “No Air” have all gone Top Ten on the charts. The singer, now 18, is opening for Alicia Keys on a tour that comes to the Liacouras Center on Monday.
There’s no way to prepare for that kind of gale-force success, although several former Idol winners tried to coach her.
“Last year I got to talk to Kelly [Clarkson] and Ruben [Studdard] and Taylor [Hicks] and Carrie [Underwood], ” Sparks says. “They all said the same thing: ‘It’s going to go by so fast. Enjoy the ride. It will be 2010 before you know it.’ ”
Clay Aiken Spams A lot
Clay Aiken challenges me to a trivia game he reading off the menu when we meet upstairs at Planet Hollywood in Times Square. (Help! I only had a free movie pass from 2005-2007.)
He moments away from getting his handprints to celebrate his role in Monty Python Spamalot when he admits this is his first time in the eatery.
…Ive never been before, but is that Spamalot on the TV now? Look at that! It very busy. It a very excitable place. There a lot of memorabilia that Ive never seen before. I didnt really know the importance of it, but now that I see everything else they have hanging here, it an interesting honor to have my hands put beside some much bigger names than mine.
American Idol Jibber Jabber
Ive always liked David Cook. His style of music appeals to my taste, he seems like a likeable guy, and he got my sympathy vote (his health is unstable and his brother has cancer.)
But last Saturday, I discovered an even better reason to like him.
He my brother.
No, we werent separated at birth, and he wasnt taken away by gypsies in the night from my house. In fact, since were just two of 115, 000, I doubt he would ever know who I am. (Before you read any further, hold your jokes about my mother.)
But he my brother nonetheless ‘ my fraternity brother that is. Cook and I are both members of Phi Sigma Kappa, which I think highlights the diversity of our brotherhood (one that is usually stereotyped as …meatheads.)
I would have never known Cook was a Kappa until one of my brothers informed me (sheepishly I might add, it apparently not …cool to talk Idol when we should be talkin sports) at a get-together last weekend.
Former Idol Cohost: Quitting Was a “Big Mistake”
TVGuide.com: You know, I have to ask, what in the world made you quit American Idol?
Dunkleman: I’ve answered it so many times it’s curious to me why I keep getting asked ‘ I wish I had gotten fired, it would be a hell of a lot easier to deal with. I don’t understand why people would think I would lie about it at this point. It was such a big mistake in judgment, it’s embarrassing. I was unhappy on the show, they treated the kids like [crap], I didn’t think it was cool. If I had known it was going to run for 70 years I would have sucked it up and become callous like the rest of them. I had a lot of great experiences on Idol, but I just have a deep philosophical opposition to what they do.
