Two Davids provide spark during American Idols Live show at Van Andel
David Cook waved, pointed to, and slapped hands with Liza Elder, 11, a sixth-grader at East Grand Rapids Middle School. He may have even winked. The effect was not lost on Elder, whose front row seat gave her plenty of exposure to the Top 10 “American Idol” contestants performing at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday night.
“I was so excited, ” she said. “I screamed all night long.”
She wasn’t alone as 8, 300 Idol fanatics made up the combustible crowd of all ages, but mainly folks under 18.
‘Idols’ talk about shopping, shoes and a bad case of senioritis
On Saturday, “American Idol” finalist Ramiele Malubay will turn 21 and she has one activity in mind ‘ shopping. That is, if she can get a few hours away from the tour bus that has carried her to more than 40 shows across the country.
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“Syesha (Mercado) and I always like to go to the mall. I’ve got one more item to purchase ‘ a gray pair of crocheted Ugg boots. I know you’ve seen them, ” Malubay said during a meet and greet before the “American Idols Live!” concert Aug. 26 at CenturyTel Center.
American Idol Auditions, Second Round
Paula, Simon, Randy, and Kara will be in Louisville on Thursday for the second round of American Idol auditions. Only the best and worst from the initial Louisville auditions will be seen by the fantastic four, and the folks over at the C-J have offered lucky second-round auditioners some tips on song choice for their big day. Whitney Houston and Queen tunes top their list of songs to avoid while a couple of John Lennon and George Michael singles are suggested as good potential picks.
More Idol Headlines After the JUMP…
David Cook missing? ‘American Idol’ Tour arrives in Grand Rapids
“American Idol” fans lined up early to greet the Top 10 performers who have a show tonight at Van Andel Arena. Fans, some who were waiting as early as 11 a.m., finally got the big pay off when nine of the 10 made their way from their tour buses to Van Andel Arena.
“Brooke White, Chikezie, David Archuleta and Kristie Lee all stopped by to talk to fans … and all four signed our shirts, ” said Stephanie Fischer, of Grand Rapids, who was celebrating her 40th birthday with childhood friend Melissa Allen, of Camden, Del.
But missing from the fray was “American Idol” winner David Cook, who was in Chicago taping Oprah Winfrey’s season premiere, which airs Monday. Oprah invited the 175 U.S. Olympic athletes to join her.
Fans arriving early for ‘American Idol’ tour stop at Van Andel Arena
Other fans were going crazy for Idol winner David Cook and Top 10 singer Michael Johns. Fans Desi Rottman, 21, of Fremont, and Kristen Adler, 27, of Detroit, were sporting Mavid T-shirts.
“We like watching the dance (they do in the show), ” said Adler, who became friends with Rottman after they met online.
It’s hard to explain their obsession with the Idol performers, they all said.
“They’re just amazing, ” Rottman said. “I skipped school (at Ferris State University) to be here.”
“I’m taking half the month off of work in September just to see these guys on tour, ” Adler said.
Pre-Planned Show
The premise of American Idol was simple when it started: get a bunch of nobodies to sing and be praised or reprimanded by three judges, one of which was British and has an acerbic tongue. Then, let America fall in love with the ones who got the most camera time, slowly vote off the ones who didn’t, and eventually crown a winner who would go on to sell millions and millions of records.
Then there was the case of Sanjayagate in 2007. The baby-faced, bad-haired teenager had enough votes to soar into the top 10 last season, though his singing was far inferior to anyone else, and the producers and judges couldn’t stop him since voting is up to the general public.
GREASE Star to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell
What: Ace Young, star of Broadway’s GREASE, will preside over the Opening
Bell. American Idol Season Five finalist Ace Young will play Kenickie
in the Broadway musical.
Where: NASDAQ MarketSite – 4 Times Square – 43rd & Broadway – Broadcast Studio
When: Thursday, September 4 at 9:30 a.m. EDT
Carrie Underwood Records for Charity
What a line-up!
Mariah Carey, Beyoncà ©, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge and more musical women are all on the list to record “Just Stand Up” for the Stand Up To Cancer charity effort.
And now, country powerhouse Carrie Underwood has also joined her voice to theirs.
BNA Records artist, American Idol alum Kellie Pickler to sing National Anthem
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Four nights before she’s set to join a lineup of fellow country music stars performing at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, American Idol alum and BNA Records artist Kellie Pickler will pay tribute to her American roots by singing the national anthem before the Vanderbilt Commodores’ home opener Thursday against the No. 24-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
Pickler will perform the anthem 15 minutes before the Commodores and Gamecocks kick off at 7:36 p.m., in Vanderbilt Stadium. Both teams are undefeated after season-opening wins last Thursday.
TAYLOR MADE
“This apartment has been perfect for me and what I wanted to achieve, ” Taylor Hicks says of his Midtown rental. “I wanted to write some music, have friends over, be comfortable and be close to Broadway.”
But his stay is now coming to an end. The season five winner of “American Idol” is winding down his first role in a Broadway musical as a soulful, Elvis Presley-ish Teen Angel in “Grease.” His last performance will be Sept. 7. (Not to worry, “Idol” fans: On Sept. 9, another season five contestant, Ace Young, will join “Grease” as Kenickie.) For the past two months of his run, Hicks, 31, has been living in the posh Atelier condominium on 42nd Street. This sort of “Hollywood on the Hudson” building, a half-block from the river, has residents including Lindsay Lohan and Nick Lachey. The building features a roof deck, swimming pool, fitness center and basketball court.
Jordin Sparks, Chris Brown Turned Up The Heat For VMA-Nominated ‘No Air’ Video
Jordin Sparks has definitely sparked everyone’s interest. Jordin Sparks has proved that if you crown her an “American Idol, ” she’s going to deliver.
She’s nominated for Best Female Video and Best New Artist at the Video Music Awards for the video for “No Air, ” her collaboration with Chris Brown. Chris Robinson, the video’s director, revealed that Sparks’ sheer determination made her a pleasure to work with.
“She’s focused and a worker, ” he told MTV News. “She sang her heart out on every take for 18 hours. I told her to ‘take it easy, this is going to be a long day, ‘ but I think she only knows how to give everything her all. It’s refreshing to see that.”
Daughtry Guitarist: ‘Minnesota Rules’
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ‘ ¢ In town to perform at a concert at The Depot, Chris Daughtry says the band has really enjoyed spending time in Minnesota.
“This part of the country is really good to us, we’ve noticed. Our fans are super-polite, ” said Daughtry.
“Minnesota rules, ” added guitarist Brian Craddock.
So do Chris Daughtry and his bandmates after their meteoric rise to the top of the charts. Daughtry has come a long way fast since he got national attention on American Idol.
“Like a whirling dervish. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m sure it’s just like one, ” said Daughtry.
Rating the anthem singers
By now everyone knows that Barack Obama requested that …Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson sing the National Anthem the night he delivered his speech at the DNC.
Now, fast-forward to the RNC, Sept. 2. As Jimmy Kimmel pointed out in his broadcast the same night, the GOP chose operatic tenor Phil Alongi II to sing the anthem.
Kimmel spliced Hudson and Alongi performances together, and used the clip job to poke fun at the differences between the celeb-heavy DNC and the less-star-studded RNC.
Country & Western unplugged in Negril
Three of the hottest young Country and Western stars from the United States of America were in Jamaica recently for a live concert and filming session. The group also had 60 diehard fans who made the trip as well, as part of the exercise. This special event was also twinned with a remote radio broadcast by one of Florida’s top radio personalities, Lia Knight.
This unplugged acoustic concert held in the hotel’s Big Top Performing Centre had the audience singing along and rocking to their favourites. Among those performing was 2006 American Idol finalist, Bucky Covington. He was voted 2007’s Best New Artiste by Country Aircheck. His debut single A Different World placed in the top 10 on the Country Music Chart and his self-titled debut album opened at number one on Billboard’s Top Country Album Chart.
Jennifer Hudson is Boutique Beautiful
Jennifer Hudson attends the grand opening of the Kwiat flagship boutique on Madison Avenue in New York City on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old singer recently sang the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention as requested by Presidential candidate Barack Obama
Lington’s “You and I” #1 Most Added Single on Radio & Records
Saxophonist MICHAEL LINGTON performed “Baker Street”from his album HEAT on Jerry Lewis’ annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon this past Labor Day, helping to raise a record $65 million for the MDA. After the performance, Lewis praised Lington’s rendition of “Baker Street, ” which featured Grammy nominated vocalist and American Idol alumni Ace Young, saying: “Hey Michael! Beautiful, Michael! Beautiful music, great talent … we’re lucky we got them tonight.”
Movie Preview: Labor Pains Staring Lindsey Lohan
So, here’s the trailer for Labor Pains, which we first heard about back in June. It’s an indie comedy that finds Lohan playing Thea, a young woman who’s about to be fired from her job when she lies to her boss that she’s pregnant. Enter fake bellies, fake birthing classes, and a fake relationship to go along with it all.
The project has a pretty great cast, comedy-wise, with Janeane Garofalo, Cheryl Hines, and Chris Parnell among the stars (also, Creed Bratton from The Office! And, um, Kevin Covais from American Idol). I’m not blown away by the trailer, which kind of strikes me as a less-original Baby Mama, but it’s not a trainwreck, either. So, I have hope!
A day at the fair
Two years ago, when an MTV camera crew filmed the Miss Ledyard Fair contest as part of its reality show …Made, ” fair officials thought they had hit the big time.
In the past eight years, …American Idol contestants have vied to become the top …Idol, each hoping to hit the big time.
So, if former …American Idol contestants perform at the 63rd annual Ledyard Fair, does that mean the fair has hit it big or does it mean the opposite for the …Idols?
Doesn’t matter. The audience wins.
Canadian Idol: season six report card
As the sixth season draws to a close, the National Post’s Canadian Idol recappers Sarah Millar and Scott Maniquet grade the season thus far as we anxiously wait to see who will prevail: Mitch MacDonald or Theo Tams.
The sixth season of Idol saw the program try a lot of new features, but keep very little of them. It also introduced Jully Black as the show’s new “cast member” and once again proved that while girls may rule American Idol, it’s the guys who rock Canadian Idol.
Here’s a look at how the season shaped up.
Drew Wright says goodbye to Idol’s ‘star school’
After listening to Canadian Idol judges complain that they couldn’t figure out who he was as a performer, Drew Wright finally showed them on Monday night with his take on the Brian Adams hit “Cuts Like Knife.”
Judges told him the song seemed custom-made for him.
“Drew, I have to say that I think I finally figured out who you are and doing Bryan Adams seemed really, really natural to you to be able to do a song like that, ” said Jake Gold.
Canadian Idol: Drew Wright sets the record straight
Drew Wright insists he was not about to cry when he was eliminated Tuesday night on Canadian Idol.
“Wanted to cry? No, not in the least. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not at all, ” he said right off the bat.
“I was quite at peace with going home [Tuesday] night. I knew that it was going to be me, which when I looked back at the tape I thought that was pretty well evident with the smile. I knew it was going to be me [Tuesday] night.”
Drew didn’t think he was going to go home because of his performances (he was actually quite happy about his two songs Monday night), but said it was a combination of being in the bottom two a few times and that it’s always hard for a contestant from Ontario to be able to rise above contestants from the East and West coasts.
‘America’s Got Talent’ recap: It’s a buzz-and-pony show
Some of you are undoubtedly still recovering from Labor Day weekend festivities, but America Got Talent is back to save you from those midweek blues. Because what’s more cheerful than watching 10 people compete for a top spot in the …showbiz capital of the world? (And no, not New York, or L.A., or even Bollywood — were talking Vegas. The stakes are that high, folks.) To quote Piers, …Were not running a tea party” — to which Jerry so wittily retorted, …Last time we had a tea party, you guys lost. In case you forgot, this show is about America!
‘America’s Got Talent’: Marry me, Eli!
Last night’s offering on America’s Got Talent was pretty weak, if you ask me. There were a few awesome ones and then a big pile of steaming crap. I hope that the awesome ones make it through. I also hope tonight has some better acts for us. Join me, won’t you, to find out who from last night is going home.
America’s Got Talent: Episode 312
“My favorite act in the competition.” – Piers to Nuttin But Stringz
“The biggest talent search in the history, ” as Jerry puts it, got a tad better with episode 312 thanks to performances such as the one offered by Nuttin But Stringz. The violinist brothers definitely raised up the ante and they totally deserved being the last Top 40 act to perform. Even if the duo helped put the show back on track, a good number of the acts performed in this episode were just not good enough. Yes, I know, I’m repeating myself. But until the judges make sane decisions (are they capable of such a thing?) and put in the Top 40 only acts that really deserve being there, I think the words “not good enough” and “what were they thinking” will be the norm when reviewing America’s Got Talent.
