Idol Headlines for the 05/28/07

Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦

Carrie Underwood: Covering two bases

When a big-time country act plays Atlantic City, the cowboy hats and pressed Wranglers can make it seem like you’re really in the South, and not just South Jersey.
But Stetsons were scarce at Carrie Underwood’s show Friday at Caesars’ spiffy Circus Maximus Theater, which has undergone a $9 million renovation in step with A.C.’s keeping up with the Borgata (and Pennsylvania slot parlors) vibe…

Philly.com

‘American Idol’ finalist visits hometown

LaKisha Jones made a triumphant return to her hometown, where an estimated 500 people turned out to welcome the “American Idol” contestant.

Some fans carried posters, balloons and roses as they waited for Jones to arrive last night (Sunday night) at Flint’s Bishop Airport.

They chanted “Kisha! Kisha!” as Jones rode down an escalator at the airport. It was her first visit to Flint since January….

WTOL.com

Hudson’s Hosannas
Worshipers at yesterday’s early service at Fort Washington’s Ebenezer AME Church bore witness to, if not quite a miracle, a very good work — a performance by Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, reports the Post’s Hamil R. Harris.

The “Dreamgirls” actress, who was in town for an Urban League event, said she came to Ebenezer because “hey, I wanted to go to church.”……

Washington Post.com

Give props to Kelly for standing up to her label

I’ve got to give due credit to Kelly Clarkson. As champion of the first season of “American Idol, ” she is the people’s pop artist. Clarkson made good career choices and, aside from her endorsement of NASCAR, I can respect her as a musician…

Post Star.com

Old School Jams, Trashy TV, and Dinner from a Box: Three Ways to Jumpstart Your Workout

…Step 2: Become a Reality TV Junkie

The best way to shed pounds is by doing cardio- the longer the better. Everyone knows it tough to stay on any machine for 30, 40, or 50 minutes, but you dont have to do it all at once. Work your way up from 15 minutes to the entire duration of American Idol (1 hour!) and you are well on your way to jumpstarting your weight loss…

Lumino Magazine

Dashboard Confessional, Katharine McPhee at Six Flags

Dashboard Confessional and American Idol’s Katharine McPhee are the featured performers Monday during the KC101.3 Ticket to Ride 2 at Six Flags New England……

CT Now.com

Flint gets new airport – LaKisha Jones International Airport

To mark her homecoming Sunday, Bishop International Airport was renamed Flint’s LaKisha Jones International Airport for one day….

Mlive Blog

The Biz: Kelly Clarkson, Starburst Duet; Krystal Cooking ‘Real’ Reels

SOME brands wait a lifetime for a moment like this: Masterfoods’ Starburst and Harmon International’s MyGIG are signing 0n as associate sponsors for Kelly Clarkson’s, and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s next music tours.

Starburst candies will add some flavor to Clarkson’s 34-city U.S. tour (which begins July 11). Marketing will include radio promos for concert tix and meet-and-greets; if time permits, Clarkson could appear in store collateral for the candy. “They were given those rights, ” said Nicole Winnaman, president at Winnaman & Associates, Pasadena, Calif., who brokered both deals. “Kelly delivers that 18-24 target in a big way; this will be the biggest summer tour for that demographic.” ….

Brandweek.com

Kiss Is Your Life, Simon Cowell

…Cowell American Idol fellow judge Paula Abdul jetted over from LA. TV hosts Ant and Dec, Joseph Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, X Factor winner Leona Lewis and old flame Sinita were among other guests…

The Sun.co.uk

OMG! Cute Boys, Kissing Tips and Lots of Pics, as Magazines Find a Niche

…The universe of stars the magazines cover is somewhat larger ‘  it includes singers like Avril Lavigne and the …American Idol finalists ‘  but largely dominated by people who made their names in television, like Hilary Duff (formerly of …Lizzie McGuire)….

NY Times

Brad Paisley dresses up the stage

…Pickler, the former “American Idol” contender, opened her similarly abbreviated set with an audio introduction by Simon Cowell calling her a “minx, ” although he might have judged her Saturday performance “a bit shrill.”

Her signature “Red High Heels” had all the right strut, but Pickler’s eagerness to entertain obscured the attractive huskiness of her strong voice…

Seattlepi.com

Indy 500 gets another weather break

…Chart-topping band Daughtry, headed by American Idol finalist Christ Daughtry, performed on the Pagoda plaza. Fans lined up 10 deep to see the band, which played in Indianapolis in March….

IndyStar.com

Plunge in CD Sales Shakes Up Big Labels

…Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles album often cited as the greatest pop recording in music history, received a thoroughly modern 40th-anniversary salute last week when singers on …American Idol belted out their own versions of its songs live on the show season finale.

But off stage, in a sign of the recording industry declining fortunes, shareholders of EMI, the music conglomerate that markets …Sgt. Pepper and a vast trove of other recordings, were weighing a plan to sell the company as its financial performance was weakening.

It a maddening juxtaposition for more than one top record-label executive. Music may still be a big force in pop culture ‘  from …Idol to the iPod ‘  but the music business own comeback attempt is falling flat….

NY Times

Opie, Imus, Katie and other observations

…Look for some tweaking on American Idol, too. The final couple weeks of this season, when ratings usually shoot up, were down substantially. It could be that this season’s cast wasn’t as interesting as some others or maybe the novelty is finally wearing off. But Idol is too important to Fox and the producers for them to sit around and pray this was just an aberration.

An obvious step would be to find a way to limit votes to one per person. The perception that the best singers are being sabotaged by serial callers has to be a turnoff to many…

Sun-Sentinel.com

From Valley Youth Theatre to big time

Valley Youth Theatre has spawned several success stories. Among them:

Jordin Sparks: The American Idol victor appeared in productions of Cinderella and The Wiz. She didn’t play a lead role in either production, but her youth was the deciding factor.

AZCentral.com

Monday TV talk

…Live with Regis & Kelly: From …Mr. Brooks, actor Kevin Costner; …American Idol winner Jordin Sparks performs; 2007 Indy 500 winner…

The State.com

Cover Girl
The winning ”American Idol” EW cover! Check out the Jordin Sparks image you picked as your favorite in EW.com’s poll

EW.com

Local girl chosen for ‘Idol’ camp

Naomi Duerr was 21 months old when she appeared in her first play. She knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a performer.

Now she is getting a unique opportunity and a step closer to that dream

Naomi, 13 and a seventh-grader at Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet School, is the first Alabama resident to be chosen for Idol Camp 2007….

Montgomery Advertiser.com

Former ‘Idol’ Elliott Yamin enjoying his ‘icing on the cake’

Elliott Yamin isn’t like other “American Idol” alumni. He doesn’t diss the judges, doesn’t get defensive about being on the show, and he doesn’t have publicists who tell journalists not to ask questions about it.

“I’m not one of those ‘Idol’ castoffs who’s always saying don’t ask me one more (bleeping) question about this show, ” he said. “I don’t mind.”…..

MLive.com

‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ still turns us on
Beatles album forever changed way music is made, played

” How could they top (‘Revolver’)? Little did we know that … we would not only be topping it, but sending all barriers crashing to the ground.”

— Geoff Emerick, Beatles engineer

THE BARRIERS crashed all right….

…Robert Thompson, a pop culture professor at Syracuse University and a past president of the American Pop Culture Association, says “Sgt. Pepper’s” still unifies people in a way today’s music can’t, thanks to different social and technological conditions. Noting that the album was recently feted on TV’s No. 1 show, “American Idol, ” he asks, “What if ‘American Idol’ is on TV 40 years from now? What album from today would be played? There’s not one I can think of. I have a class of 150 people and none of them have the same songs on their iPods. It was an album that became the soundtrack of America for a period. That just doesn’t exist today. There’s nothing even close.”…

Contra Costa Times.com