For Some Music, It Has to Be Wal-Mart and Nowhere Else
One of the biggest music events of the summer has already taken place in Fayetteville, Ark. From Tuesday through Thursday last week, the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas presented shows by Journey, the country singer Keith Urban, the …American Idol personality Carrie Underwood and the alternative rock group All-American Rejects.
For its new “Revelation” album, the band Journey cut out the typical record company middleman and signed an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart Stores.
The occasion that brought this all-star line-up together? Not a festival or cause but Wal-Mart Stores annual shareholders meeting. Wal-Mart was the largest music retailer in the country last year, so musicians (and their labels) are eager to maintain good relationships, appearing in the special concerts for the chain, which are also open to the public.
Carrie Underwood sells out Show Me Center
A sold-out crowd watched country star Carrie Underwood perform at the Show Me Center on Sunday night.
According to early sales totals, 6, 117 people attended the show. The crowd was made up of men and women, young and old, wearing everything from collared shirts to cutoffs. Underwood took the stage after a 30-minute performance by opener Jason Michael Carroll.
Angie Tegel of Cape Girardeau brought her three daughters ‘ ages 8, 9 and 13 ‘ to the show.
“They watch ‘American Idol, ‘” she said. “We’re just really looking forward to seeing her.”
Carrie Underwood: Still learning and growing
Thanks to Carrie Underwood, wishing wells are going to be getting a lot of action around town from little girls who want to grow up to be just like her.
…When I was little, I knew I loved to sing, and it was a lot of fun for me, so I would find four-leaf clovers or throw pennies into a wishing well. My wish was always, ‹I want to be a famous country singer, Underwood says by phone as her tour bus rolls down the road. …As I got older, I was like, ‹The chances of that happening arent very good, so I concentrated on school and what I wanted to do in the real world, then everything else happened.
American Idol Host Ryan Seacrest’s Good (and bad) Hair Days
“American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest may actually be nominated for an Emmy this year in the brand new category “Outstanding host for a reality or reality-competition program.”
But in our book, Ryan is already the winner of “Outstanding hairstyles for a host of a reality or reality-competition program.”
The dude has definitely taken some brave plummage risks over the past decade. His impressively diverse hairdos and hues have ranged from blond, brunett and almost auburn to gelled, waxed, greased and spiked, to based, highlighted and streaked. How does he find time for these ongoing hairstyle changes? Perhaps Ryan’s hairdresser does it while he’s sleeping?
Naturally, given the multitude of mane changes in the past decade, mistakes were made. And Ryan is the first to admit it. When the Dish Rag asked Ryan at the Details Mavericks party this year if he’d ever made any grooming goofs, he went straight for the follicle.
Ace Young
Billy talks with “American Idol” contestant, Ace Young about life since Idol and his new music video.
American Idol runner up Bo Bice coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse
He was an American Idol favorite! With his new album, “See The Light, ” Bo Bice has become more than just Carrie Underwood’s runner up during season four of American Idol-he has come into his own, and he will be performing live at The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts on Tuesday, July 8 at 8 p.m.
While Bice was pleased and grateful for “The Real Thing, ” his first album after being on Idol, he says, “It wasn’t my album. This time with “See the Light, ” it was just total freedom. We had no inhibitions about what this was going to be; we just went in and did whatever we wanted to. The freedom shines through.”
Cable-to-broadcast route is opening express lanes
The two-way road between cable and broadcast series gets wider tonight.
After five seasons on USA, country-music singing contest Nashville Star emigrates to sibling NBC with new host Billy Ray Cyrus (9 ET/PT). And in a one-time promotional deal, a repeat of TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show airs on CBS (8 ET/PT) ahead of the show’s second-season cable debut Thursday.
And on June 21, Disney Channel’s latest musical, Camp Rock ‘ starring teen idols the Jonas Brothers ‘ will get a second airing on ABC, a day after its Disney debut.
Review: ‘Nashville Star’ on NBC
REASON FOR WATCHING: You love country. You love Billy Ray Cyrus. You desperately miss “American Idol” and will watch anything remotely similar. Everyone else … roll over and go back to sleep.
‘Canadian Idol’ kicks off Season 6
If you’ve never watched Canadian Idol before, you’ll notice some minor, but important differences. CI doesn’t focus as much on the initial audition rounds, airing just three hours of the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is not to say there aren’t some great moments! CI attracts the same type of delusional characters that are prone to audition for AI and enough of these auditions are aired to give viewers a taste of the ridiculous.
Mel B And Britney Spears Backed To Join X Factor
Bookies William Hill have seen a gamble on Mel B to spice up the X Factor and replace Sharon Osbourne as the new judge on the X Factor.
Spice girl Mel B is now the 3/1 joint favourite with Paula Abdul.
The biggest surprise has been Britney Spears who has been backed from 33/1 to 10/1 to be the surprise package.
Simon Cowell’s luxury mansion still isn’t finished… nearly two years after work began
It certainly has the X factor, but after 21 months Simon Cowell’s five-bedroom, six-bathroom Hollywood mansion remains apparently uninhabited.
Work began on the enormous Beverly Hills pad in 2006 after the American Idol judge bought the site for $8million in 2005. He promptly demolished the existing house and set to work on building his dream home.
But nearly two years on and cones still stand outside the luxury pad, while workmen can be seen putting finishing touches to the gardens.
And with Simon’s notoriety for being brutally honest it appears likely he has been far from easy to please.
