KC offers hopeful songs
Tailgating started early Friday for Michelle Lea Sciortino and her family.
The 16-year-old singer lined up with more than 10, 000 others in front of Kemper Arena before 5 a.m.
Some, like Michelle Lea, were hoping to pass the initial audition for next season …American Idol. Others, like her dad, Ken Sciortino, were there to offer company and support.
Can David Cook Become American Idol’s First Rock Star?
Season 7 American Idol winner David Cook is teaming up with Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo for his debut album with 19 Recordings/RCA Records. The album is scheduled for release this November. Cavallo is best known for producing Green Day’s smash hit American Idiot. Cavallo has also produced albums for Kid Rock, Goo Goo Dolls, My Chemical Romance, and Eric Clapton. He is also working on an upcoming release from The Dave Mathews Band.
Idol gives back (again) Kimberly Caldwell on what’s Cook-ing, cancer and career
Kimberly Caldwell, Katy native and American Idol alum, says attending last year’s Snowdrop Foundation Back to School Gala was “one of those life-changing experiences.”
So much, in fact, that she’s back today to host this year’s event, which benefits patients and families at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
“I knew that from that night on I would do whatever I could and whatever it took to be involved in this charity, ” Caldwell says.
That includes snagging a white jacket from this year’s Idol winner, David Cook. It was one of several A-list items up for auction. (He wore it, fittingly, during Idol Gives Back week.) Caldwell says Cook was “more than willing” to donate his stage wear. His older brother Adam is battling brain cancer.
Nigel Opens Up About Leaving Idol
The man responsible for creating divas and crooners out of the kids-next-door and attracting millions of viewers each week to Fox mega-hit reality show American Idol, is opening up about stepping down.
…It like giving birth to a baby and letting it go, British-born executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who been with the show since its inception in 2002, tells Extra, …Just talking about it is tough.
Numerology Expert: Clay Aiken’s Son Has ‘Powerful’ Birthdate
Eight is definitely enough for Clay Aiken and his best friend Jaymes Foster. The two welcomed their son Parker Foster Aiken at 8:08 a.m. on 8/08/08.
So what do all those eights add up to?
Numerology expert Daniel Hardt says the proud parents may have business on the brain for their newborn.
Clay Aiken’s a Dad!
Congratulations to Clay Aiken!
The American Idol alum is now the proud pop of a bouncing baby boy, a rep for the singer confirms exclusively to OK!.
“HE’S HERE!” wrote Clay on his official webite. “My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken (No hyphens. One first name. One middle name. One last name.)”
Oklahomans move one step closer toward being ‘American Idol’
At least two Oklahomans successfully stood out in a 10, 000-strong crowd at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena on Friday, impressing judges and moving one step closer to being an “American Idol.
Singers Juliana Johnson and Monique Warrior, both 18, made the cut and will go on to the “executive producer round for the popular Fox talent show in October.
Top 10 post-‘Idol’ moments
Grabbing the gold on America’s favorite talent show is more than most aspiring Karaoke fiends could hope for in this lifetime. But given the right combination of timing and talent, that gold can be turned into platinum. Just ask Jordin Sparks. She’ll be back in Glendale this weekend with Jesse McCartney and a platinum debut album to her credit.
Here’s a look at 10 key moments in the semi-charmed post-‘Idol’ life of the first seven winners.
Live: Jordin Sparks and Jesse McCartney at the Orpheum
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan once stated that anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either. If only he were alive and on hand at the Orpheum Theatre on Thursday, where crà ¨me de la crà ¨me teen-pop performers Jordin Sparks and Jesse McCartney beautifully illustrated his point.
First lesson: Things on TV are not always as they appear; occasionally, they are better. Sparks won the sixth season of ” American Idol” but not without some underwhelming moments when no amount of luscious arpeggios could add shine to her flat eyes. Whatever charisma Sparks sometimes lacked in Nigel Lythgoe’s coliseum she has since gained as a working vocalist with her own impressively polished album.
Jordin Sparks Calls Chris Brown A ‹Perfect Collaborator
She won …American Idol, survived a damaged vocal cord and now she co-headlining a tour. Is there anything Jordin Sparks cant do?
…This is my third tour now and I feel that every time there the first show, it like ‹I dont know if I can do this, ƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ she said in a new interview for Access Hollywood and …The Billy Bush Show.
But nerves or not, she told Access that hitting the road with Jesse McCartney has been a …lot of fun so far.
Jordin Sparks announces next UK single
We’ve all known for absolutely ages that ‘No Air’ by Jordin Sparks is one of the best singles of the year. Now, having spent the last month-and-a-half month in the top five, it’s a proper smash too. All Jordin’s got to do now is worry about her next single.
Well, brace yourselves, because Jordin and her label have made up their minds. Instead of releasing ‘One Step At A Time’, her current single in the States, she’s going to reissue ‘Tattoo’, the midtempo Stargate track that cracked the US top ten but stalled at #50 here in April. She’s shooting a new video for the UK reissue too – a good move actually, seeing as the original wasn’t exactly filled with excitement. You can refresh your memories by hitting play below.
Oscar winner Hudson ready for her CD close-up
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Jennifer Hudson doesn’t drink coffee. Doesn’t like it, she says. Doesn’t need it, counters her manager, Miguel Melendez.
It’s 6:20 a.m. on a Monday morning in July, and an uncaffeinated Hudson is busting full throttle through her warm-ups during a sound check for a performance on “Good Morning America.” It’s her first TV appearance in support of “Spotlight, ” the debut single from her first album.
Hudson shakes off any concerns about the ungodly hour. (“The band got there at 4:30 a.m., ” she notes.) Melendez, clutches his Starbucks as he watches. “Good Lord, she makes me feel old, ” he sighs.
Elliott Yamin comes home next Friday to talk diabetes and baseball.
Yamin, Richmond’s 2006 “American Idol” finalist who has since forged a successful recording career and now lives in Los Angeles, will sing the national anthem at the Richmond Braves’ final Friday night game on Aug. 15.
Prior to the game — around 5:45 p.m. inside the Diamond — Yamin will step into his role as an ambassador of the Inspired by Diabetes campaign and greet participants interested in free diabetes screenings.
Underwood reveals heart as well as hits at fair
Carrie Underwood has mastered the professional part of being a chart-topping singer, and she’s beginning to share emotions that someday might make her a talent for the ages.
During Underwood’s concert Friday night at the Indiana State Fair, two songs packed significantly poignant wallops: “I Know You Won’t” (from 2007 album “Carnival Ride”) and “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” (from her 2005 debut, “Some Hearts”).
Destination ‘So You Think You Can Dance’: And then there was one
Soon, I was able to track down the man of the hour, Mr. Joshua Allen. (Or perhaps you know him as America’s Favorite Dancer?) I asked Joshua, natch, if he and Katee Shean were secretly in love. “I love her, ” Joshua answered, “but it’s nothing like — you know. I have a girlfriend.” (Sorry ladies; turns out both Joshua Allen and Twitch Boss are taken.)
Then, Joshua revealed the real reason he joined the competition. “I’ve always just wanted to touch people with my dancing…. If I can touch just one person, I’m doing my job … Somebody said ‘No Air’ had changed their life forever, and that just touched me. Like, ‘Did I really?’ I was so happy.” Yup, sounds like America chose the right guy.
So, how was Joshua Allen planning to celebrate his big win tonight? “We’re gonna go par-tay! Par-tay!”
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Q&A: Runner-up Twitch
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, what have you guys been up to today?
STEPHEN ”TWITCH” BOSS: We worked on a little photo shoot for the tour, which kicks off September 20!
Oh, I know. I’ll be seeing you in Long Island don’t worry.
I have family there, it’s going to be a great show.
Do you know any details about the tour? Any idea what songs you’re doing yet?
Well, no, not yet. We still have to rehearse and get all of the promo stuff together first.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Q&A: Winner Joshua Allen
One of the biggest questions that we ‘ and our readers ‘ have is about your training. What kind of formal training did you have before the show?
I took a few modern dance classes, ballet classes, because I felt that to be a better dancer I would have to take different classes, and, you know, expand my horizons in the art of dance. I didn’t want to audition for the show not knowing anything. Dallas was [early in the auditions], and after I made it to Vegas ‘ there were months before we actually went ‘ I took as many classes as I could. I really wasn’t that technically trained. I would just try to take classes in the summer, and when it was school time I would take class, run track, play football. I would always just train in the summer. So it was never hard training. It wasn’t like William or Mark or Matt. I knew what it was, I knew kind of what to do, but I wasn’t trained in it.
‹So You Think You Can Dance: The Secret Life of Twitch!
Despite his jam-packed schedule, I managed to snag some quality time with charismatic …So You Think You Can Dance runner-up Twitch Boss.
And since he probably bored to tears with talking about …So You Think You Can Dance, we chatted about celebrities, music and -‘ well -‘ everything but that little show he just almost won.
‘America’s Got Talent’ recap: The top 40 revealed!
I knew even before last night’s episode began that we’d be lucky to see even a few minutes of performance shots interspersed with all the cheering, and the crying, and the sentimental music. And sure enough, I was right. Not that I’m patting myself on the back. America’s Got Talent may be a lot of things, but unpredictable isn’t one of ’em. Over-the-top emotional, however, is the show’s strong suit, which is probably why the producers focused on individual judging sessions that put the contestants through hell as they waited to find out if they’d cracked the top 40.
This episode took the drama to uncomfortable levels, to the point where I became audibly mad at the Hoff when he played the cat to Queen Emily’s ball of (gloriously talented) yarn. Hasselhoff bemoaned the singer’s overwhelming emotional sensitivity, saying that he …wasnt voting her through ¦because of her emotions, but because of her talent. By the time he got to telling her she was in the final 40, Queen Emily was reduced to a mass of tears and sequins. Not right!
