Here she is on the Red Carpet. She’ll be presenting the Best Supporting Actor Award tonight…
More Pictures After the Jump…
Continue reading ‘Jennifer Hudson at the 80th Annual Academy Awards’
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Archive for the 'Jennifer Hudson' Category
Jennifer Hudson at the 80th Annual Academy Awards
Published by February 24th, 2008 in American Idol and Jennifer Hudson. 19 Comments50th Annual Grammy Awards
Published by February 10th, 2008 in American Idol, Ace Young, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, Mandisa and Kelly Clarkson. 46 Comments
Final: The Idols were pretty much shut out of all their categories. (See below). Daughtry, Fantasia and Mandisa were completely shut out.
The White Stripes, Foo-Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys–deserved their awards. Nothing more to say, really.
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast tonight by CBS 8 PM ET. Check out the list of Idol nominees. It’s pretty impressive. In all, there are 7 Idols nominated for awards: Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson, Mandisa, Jennifer Hudson and Ace Young.
Good luck to all the Idols up for awards tonight!
There is pre-Grammy live blogging at Billboard. Check out the bit with Ace Young. Grammy.com is posting the winners.
ETA: The Pre-Grammy Award Telecast is going on now. Many of the awards will be handed out before tonight’s live telecast.
Winners:
- Carrie Underwood WON Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Before He Cheats”.
- “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, written by Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins WON Best Country Song
- “Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls WON Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media the song is performed by Jennifer Hudson.
Losers:
Awarded at pre-Grammy award show:
- Isreal and New Breed, A Deeper Level, won Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album beating out Mandisa, True Beauty.
- “Radio Nowhere” written by Bruce Springsteen won Best Rock song beating out Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett (Ace) Young for “It’s Not Over”
- Maroon 5, “Make Me Wonder” won Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals beating out Daughtry for “Home”.
- The White Stripes, “Icky Thump” won for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals beating out Daughtry “It’s Not Over.”
- “Lost Highway” by Willie Nelson and Ray Price won Best Country Collaboration With Vocals beating out both “Because of You” Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson and “Oh Love” Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
- “No One” by Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers, Alicia Keys won for Best R&B Song beating out Louis Biancaniello, Waynne Nugent, Erika Nuri, Kevin Risto, Janet Sewel & Sam Watters, who wrote Fantasia’s “When I See U”
- Ne-yo won Best Contemporary R&B album for Because of You beating out Fantasia for Fantasia.
Awarded during the live broadcast:
- “No One” by Alicia Keys won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance beating out Fantasia for “When I See U”
- “Love” by the Beatles won Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media beating out Dreamgirls, featuring Jennifer Hudson.
- “Rehab” by Amy Winhouse won Song Of The Year beating out “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, written by John Kear & Chris Tompkins.
- Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters won Best Rock Album beating out Daughtry, Daughtry.
Grammy Arrivals After the Jump!!! MORE: I’m adding Red Carpet and Backstage pics as they come in… Continue reading ‘50th Annual Grammy Awards’
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Jennifer Hudson - Carol of The Bells
Published by December 25th, 2007 in American Idol, Video and Jennifer Hudson. 5 CommentsJennifer Husdon sings “Carol of the Bells” with the Muppets. From Elmo’s Christmas Countdown:
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Daughtry, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson Nominated for 50th Annual Grammy Awards
Published by December 6th, 2007 in American Idol, Ace Young, News, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood and Fantasia. 35 Comments
Nominations for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards were announced earlier today by The Recording Academy. Official list here.
List of Nominated Idols:
Carrie Underwood
Chris Daughtry
Fantasia
Kelly Clarkson
Mandisa
Ace Young
Jennifer Hudson
Details after the jump…
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Idol Appearances for the Week of 12/02/07 - 12/08/07
Published by December 2nd, 2007 in American Idol, Jennifer Hudson, Bucky Covington, Justin Guarini, Carrie Underwood, Anthony Fedorov, Mandisa, Sanjaya Malakar, Blake Lewis, George Huff and Appearances. 7 Comments
Don’t Miss…
Sunday, 12/02 - Jordin Sparks appears on TeenNick.
Tuesday, 12/04 - Bucky Covington hosts Music City Madness 2 on CMT. 10 pm ET/PT.
Wednesday, 12/05 - Blake Lewis appears on The Sauce. FUSE tv. 6 pm. Blake Lewis appears on Entertainment Tonight.
Thursday, 12/06 - Blake Lewis’ video for “Break Anotha” debuts on Yahoo Music. Blake Lewis appears on The Early Show. CBS 7-9 am. Jennifer Hudson is one of Barbara Walter’s 10 Most Fascinating People 2007. The TV special airs on ABC 10 pm.
Friday, 12/07 - Blake Lewis’ AOL Sessions debut. Blake Lewis appears on Live with Regis and Kelly. Blake Lewis appears on Extra. Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson perform on the Movies Rock television special, broadcast on CBS at 9/8 pm.
Saturday, 12/08 - Daughtry appears on VH1 Top 20 Countdown.
Idols on Tour
LaToya London, Anthony Fedorov and Justin Guarini perform in the Help Is On The Way For the Holidays to benefit the Richmond/Ermet Aids Foundation. The Herbst Theater, San Francisco, CA 7:30 pm. Sanjaya Malakar and Leah LaBelle both sing solos in the Intiman Theatre’s production of Black Nativity in Seattle, WA. 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Sunday, 12/2.
Blake Lewis performs at the Kiss 106.1 Jingle Bell Bash in Tacoma, WA. Tuesday, 12/4.
George Huff and Mandisa begin a two week run of “Christmas on Main Street” at the First Presbyterian Church, Salinas, CA. Jordin Sparks appears in the 2007 KDWB Jingle Ball, Target Center, Minneapolis, MN. Friday 12/7
For more information, check out the Idol Appearances page…
More Idol Concert Dates after the Jump…
Continue reading ‘Idol Appearances for the Week of 12/02/07 - 12/08/07′
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Daughtry, Fantasia and Carrie Underwood Nominated for AMAs
Published by October 9th, 2007 in American Idol, News, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood and Fantasia. 16 Comments
Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia and the soundtrack for “Dreamgirls” (featuring Jennifer Hudson) were nominated for awards for the 35th annual American Music Awards on Tuesday.
Jimmy Kimmel will host the 2007 American Music Awards, to be broadcast on ABC Nov. 18.
Daughtry is confirmed to perform.
Daughtry and Carrie Underwood were nominated for multiple awards:
- Album: “Daughtry” (Daughtry), “Minutes To Midnight” (Linkin Park), “FutureSex/LoveSounds” (Justin Timberlake)
- Adult Contemporary Artist: Daughtry, Norah Jones, John Mayer
- Breakthrough New artist: Daughtry, Plain White T’s, Robin Thicke
- Country Female Artist: Martina McBride, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood
- Country Album: “Let It Go” (Tim McGraw), “Me And My Gang” (Rascal Flatts), “Some Hearts” (Carrie Underwood)
Note that Daughtry is nominated in the AC category with John Mayer and Norah Jones, rather than in the Alternative category with Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the White Stripes…
Fantasia was nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Female Artist, along with Beyonce and Rihanna (I think Rihanna has got this one sewn up, considering this summer’s massive hit, “Umbrella”) and the album “Dreamgirls” featuring Jennifer Hudson was nominated Best Soundtrack. “Hairspray” and “High School Musical 2″ were nominated in the Soundtrack category. I’d lay money on the kids taking this one. )
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Billboard Update: Issue date 09/29/07
Published by September 22nd, 2007 in American Idol, Charts, Record News, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Bo Bice, Carrie Underwood, Mandisa, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks and Clay Aiken. 17 CommentsThis week’s Big! Idol! Billboard! Update! WHEE! Right here.
Highlights (and random music news):
- Not Idol related but interesting: Kayne West’s CD “Graduation” debuts on the Billboard 200 at #1, posting the album chart’s largest sales total in more than two years. He handily won the well-publicized
pr stuntfeud with Fifty Cent, whose album “Curtis” debuted at #2 selling 691,000 copies. Here’s the big news–The Top 4 sellers on the Billboard 200, West, Fifty Cent, Kenny Chesney (his album debuted at #3 selling 387,000 copies) and Hanna Montana (133,000 copies) together totaled 2.2 million units, more than all titles combined on last week’s entire Billboard 200. Wow. Back to Idol… - Fred Bronson of Billboard’s Chart Beat reports that Carrie Underwood’s huge hit single, “Before He Cheats” is now, after 55 weeks on the chart, in the top 10 longest-charting songs in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. If it hangs on another 5 weeks, it will be in the top five. This week, “Before He Cheats” dips a bit on the Hot 100, from #32 to #39.
- Season 5’s Mandisa had a good week on the album charts. Her CD “True Beauty” climbed from 195 to 143 on the Billboard 200, from #12 to #6 on the Top Christian Albums chart, and #13 to #7 on the Top Christian and Gospel albums chart. For more on Mandisa’s post Idol journey, read here.
- All the Idols, except for Mandisa (23% increase) and Daughtry who climbed one spot, from #22 to #21 (11% increase) suffered declines on the Billboard 200 this week.
- On the song charts, Daughtry’s “Over You” continues its climb, from #38 to #37 on the Hot 100. Check out the video for “Over You” at VH1 VSpot. I can’t figure out if the chick in the video killed her boyfriend or not…and who is getting over who?
- Jordin Sparks’ “Tattoo” climbs the pop charts (from #84 to #75 on the Pop 100, from #45 to 40 on the Pop 100 Airplay). Carrie Underwood’s single “So Small” takes a hit on the Hot 100–from #17 two weeks ago, to #25, to #44 this week. The surge two weeks ago was due to her single being made available on iTunes. Her video just debuted on CMT this week. Why is it that cars are always being destroyed in her videos? heh. I expect the song to climb next week. It did climb a bit up the Hot 100 Airplay chart–from #52 to #45.
Much, much more after the jump! So CLICK!
Continue reading ‘Billboard Update: Issue date 09/29/07′
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This Week’s Idol Appearances
Published by September 9th, 2007 in American Idol, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Jon Peter Lewis, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood, Kimberley Locke, Kelly Clarkson, Diana DeGarmo and George Huff. 17 CommentsETA: By popular demand (chat peeps!) watch Britney Spears sleep-walk through her VMA performance…
I thought I’d devote a post to upcoming Idol appearances that I lovingly gather in one place right here. If I’ve missed something, shoot me an email at mjsbigblog@gmail.com.
- The MTV Video Music Awards are on TONIGHT, and I don’t know about you, but I’m tuning in for the Brit-brit crash-and-burn that promises to open the show. Heh. Idols will be there, supporting the Britney side show. Jennifer Hudson presents an award, while both Daughtry and Carrie Underwood are nominated for awards. Tune in tonight at 9 pm EDT on MTV.
- Monday, Kimberley Locke performs at the 16th Annual Ella Awards honoring Gladys Knight in Beverly Hills.
- Chris Daughtry and his band Daughtry have some TV appearances this week: On Wednesday they appear on the CBS Early Show and then later that night on the Late Show with David Letterman. On Thursday, they appear on Live with Regis and Kelly. Get your DVRs ready!
- Opening Thursday: Jon Peter Lewis plays Jesus in the Redlands Civic Light Opera production of the musical “Godspell”. (The production answers the hypothetical question: What if Jesus were a Hobbit? Heh.)
- Friday, Diana DeGarmo appears at the Otis Redding Tribute in Macon, GA 8 pm.
- Saturday, Kimberley Locke appears at the Savannah Pride celebration in Savannah, GA. George Huff appears at the Brilliant Embers Fall 2007 Concert in Anaheim, CA. 5:30 pm. (that’s quite the juxtaposition…) Elliott Yamin appears in London, UK on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Kelly Clarkson appears on a repeat of the CMT special CMT Crossroads: Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire. 3 pm and 11 pm. Finally, Taylor Hicks performs during halftime with the Auburn University Marching band at the Auburn-Miss football game at Auburn University. Taylor attended Auburn before he quit to pursue a music career full time.
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Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson Perform on “Fashion Rocks”
Published by September 8th, 2007 in Video, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood. 15 CommentsCarrie Underwood peforms “Go Your Own Way” with Lindsey Buckingham. She and Lindsey both play electric guitar.
Jennifer Hudson rawks out on “Come Together” with Joe Perry on guitar.
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Jennifer Hudson BET Awards
Published by June 30th, 2007 in American Idol, Video, Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks. 6 CommentsJennifer Hudson took home 2 awards at the BET awards Tuesday night, Best Actress and Best New Artist.
The show opened with Jennifer on stage singing her show stopping tune, “And I Am Telling You” from Dreamgirls. During the second verse, Jennifer Holiday, the singer who originated the role on Broadway more than 20 years ago, joined her on stage.
The room could barely contain these two big-voiced singers. Spectacular. And it’s nice to see Jennifer Holiday get some props.
Bonus footage from the BET awards: Jennifer wins Best Actress and Best New Artist. Jordin Sparks presents Best Actor award.
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Idol Bits and Pieces
Published by June 24th, 2007 in American Idol, News, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. 5 CommentsMore on Mario Vasquez, Jennifer Hudson, Claymania and Kelly Clarkson after the jump! Continue reading ‘Idol Bits and Pieces’
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Billboard Update 06/09/07
Published by June 3rd, 2007 in American Idol, Charts, Record News, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks, Mandisa, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis. 3 CommentsThis week’s Idols Billboard update. As more and more Idols enter the Billboard charts, my chart gets longer and longer.
New this week: The Christian charts for Mandisa’s new single, “#19 on the Hot Christian Adult Contemporary chart, #23 on the Hot Christian Songs chart and #2 on the Hot Singles Sales chart. Her album “True Beauty” drops July 31. She’s also written a book, “Idol Eyes.” Mandisa’s My Space has more information.
I also added Ne-Yo’s album “Because of You.” It’s in the Top 10 and has charted as high as #1 on the Billboard 200. Jennifer Hudson duets with Ne-Yo on one of the tracks, “Leaving Tonight,” #62 on the Hot R&B Singles and Airplay charts.
Lastly, the Billboard Comprehensive Album chart for Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis’s EPs, (because they are exclusive to iTunes, they are not eligible for the Billboard 200) and the Bubbling Under Top 100 Singles chart for Blake Lewis’s singles from iTunes.
Fred Bronson of Billboard explains it all here. With Jordin, Blake and Mandisa charting this week, the total number of Idols charting on Billboard is now 29 (30 if you count William Hung–not sure I want to). Season 5 now has the most Idols to chart, with Season 3 right behind it.
More on Jordin and Blake’s chart positions, and other news, after the jump:
Continue reading ‘Billboard Update 06/09/07′
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Billboard Update 05/19/07
Published by May 12th, 2007 in American Idol, Charts, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington, Carrie Underwood, Kimberley Locke, Fantasia and Kelly Clarkson. 9 CommentsThis week’s Idol Billboard update–right here.
The Highlights:
- Kimberly Locke’s new album “Based on a True Story” debut’s on the Billboard 200 this week at #160. Not so great considering her single, “Change” is #10 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Songs chart. She sold 4,842 units this week.
- The soundtrack to Dreamgirls, featuring Jennifer Hudson jumped from #125 to #44 on the Billboard 200 this week. It also jumped from #42 to #15 on the Top R7B Albums chart, and from #5 to #3 on the Top Soundtracks chart. The movie Dreamgirls was recently released on DVD.
- Fantasia’s single, “When I See U” continues to climb up the chart: From #75 to #69 on the Billboard Hot 100, from #48 to #42 on the Hot 100 airplay, from #14 to #13 on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks and Airplay charts and from #10 to #9 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart.
- Bucky Covington’s single, “A Different World” is #19 on the Hot Singles and Tracks chart, making it a Top 20 country hit.
- Another Season 5 contestant, Elliott Yamin’s single “Wait for You” re-enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #100. It climbs from #68 to #60 on the Pop 100 chart, and from #35 to #33 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart. His appearance on the Final 3 results show Wednesday should give Elliott a nice spike for both his album and single.
- I didn’t mention it last week, but Carrie Underwood’s, “I’ll Stand By You” from the Idol Gives Back show is the first iTunes exclusive track to debut on the Billboard 100. It debuted at #6 last week and hangs on to the #6 position this week.
- Talking about spikes, Kelly Clarkson is scheduled to perform on the big finale next week. I’m sure she’ll sing her single, “Never Again”–her appearance should reverse the bit of ground the single lost on the charts this week. Also, there is good news for peeps waiting for her album “My December” to drop. The release date has been moved from July to June 26…
- The big Idol winner this week is not an Idol. Bon Jovi has multiple tracks on the charts this week after their appearance on Idol last week. “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Blaze of Glory,” “It’s My Life” and “This Ain’t a Love Song” all entered the Hot Digital Songs chart. “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Blaze of Glory,” entered the Hot Digital Tracks chart. Bon Jovi’s “Have a Nice Day” reentered the Hot Digital Songs and Hot Digital Tracks charts at #46 and #47 respectively. Finally, the album “Have a Nice Day” re-entered the Billboard 200 at #113. Whew.
For more chart information, check out Donna Reynolds’ chart watch on FoxesonIdols.com. And for more number-crunching goodness, check out USA Today’s Idol Chatter blog. Ken Barnes has access to Soundscan numbers, and breaks all the chart numbers down once a week.
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Idol News Update
Published by April 8th, 2007 in American Idol, Record News, News, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Jon Peter Lewis, Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, Mandisa, Kelly Clarkson, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Trenyce, Julia Demato, Diana DeGarmo and Randy Jackson. 11 CommentsCatch up with your favorite Idols
People Magazine has published a new book that features glimpses into the current lives of every Idol from Season 1 through the present. Called American Idol: Where Are They Now?, it’s available on newsstands as we speak. I’m such a lame-o, I’ll be totally running out to my local bookstore to pick up a copy tomorrow. For a sneak peak, check out the picture gallery at People.com featuring 10 past idols including Diana DeGarmo, Jon Peter Lewis, Trenyce and Julia DeMato.
Idol Record News
Kelly Clarkson has decided to release “Never Again” as her first single from her third album, “My December,” due to be released this summer. Elliott Yamin’s self-titled album sold 90K it’s first week out–bolstered by promotion that included TV and in-store appearances. You can read details of Elliott’s unusual independent record and promotion deal in this Hits Daily Double piece. Check out the video for Kellie Picker’s latest single “I Wonder” here. Mandisa will release her first single “Only The World” on May 22. Her debut album, produced by Shaun Shankel (Destiny’s Child, Kimberly Locke), Doubledutch–Robert Marvin and Josiah Bell (tobyMac, Mat Kearney) will be released this July. She’s also writing a book, called “Idoleyes” due out on June 1. Finally, Carmen Rasumsen from Season 2 has signed a record deal with Lofton Creek Records out of Nashville. Carmen’s album is set to be released this summer.
More Golf for Taylor
Taylor Hicks was once thrown out of a hospitality tent at the Regions Charity Classic for lack of proper credentials. This year, he’ll be headlining the tournament’s Charter Telephone Pro-Am golf tournament. Kid One Transport and Studio By the Tracks, two of Taylor’s favorite charities, will each receive $7,500 from the tournament proceeds in Taylor’s name.
Idols on TV and the Big Screen
Constantine Maroulis will join the cast of “The Bold and the Beautiful” this summer. According to Executive Producer, Brad Bell, Constantine will play a fictional version of himself. He’ll be involved in the Phoebe/Rick storyline as a possible music producer for Phoebe. Whatever all that means… According to Constantine’s My Space, his first episode will air May 14. Jennifer Hudson is playing fellow Oscar winner Forest Whitaker’s daughter in Winged Creatures, now shooting in Los Angeles. The film, directed by Rowan Woods (Little Fish), also features Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Embeth Davidtz. Lisa Tucker has booked a role in the Fox network’s drama pilot “Born in the USA.” The pilot is being produced by 19 Entertainment (surprise, surprise) and revolves around the lives of blue collar families in Philadelphia.
Keeping up with the Judges
Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul are headed to New Orleans the weekend of April 14 to film in the Mississippi delta and work with Hurricane Katrina survivors for the “Idol Gives Back” special. Randy Jackson is expected to join X-Factor, the British talent-reality show produced by Simon Cowell, as a judge. He’ll be joining Sharon Osborne and Simon Cowell on the panel. And, Paula Abdul has signed with APA. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the agency will “work with her on developing multigenerational, international lifestyle branding opportunities.” Alrighty then…
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Catching up with the Idols
Published by March 19th, 2007 in American Idol, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler and Anthony Fedorov. 5 CommentsTaylor Hicks’ 22 lb weight loss is featured in this week’s People Magazine. Check out the before and after photos here. I’m sure playing for 90 minutes to capacity crowds every night on his current 54 city tour is helping Taylor stay trim. That, and his every-other-day jog. Says Taylor, “I just take off running, with a hat on…I’ve walked through a thousand fans and nobody notices.”
I’ll be checking out Taylor’s tour for myself in a few weeks. The critics have been impressed, and I have no doubt that I will be too.
Last year’s runner up Katharine McPhee is also promoting a new release. On March 23 the video for her single “Over It” will be featured on more than 5,000 screens in movie theaters across the country.
GAC TV reports that Kellie Pickler shot the video for her latest single “I Wonder” at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Says Kellie, “It’s where all my favorite artists performed. It’s almost like closure for me. At the end of the song it talks about ‘your little girl is off to Tennessee.’ What better place to wrap it up but here at the Ryman Auditorium, where all my dreams are coming true.”
Jennifer Hudson has recorded what she calls a “very hot” duet with R&B artist Ne-Yo for her upcoming debut album.
Anthony Fedorov will tour US Air Forces bases in Europe this April promoting the kick-off of the annual USAFE Services Extreme Summer program. The tour will take him to Germany, England and Spain.
Last but not least! Don’t forget, Elliott Yamin’s debut album drops tomorrow. You can listen to the full CD at AOL. Listen here. I am…
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Idol News
Published by March 11th, 2007 in American Idol, News, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Kevin Covais. 21 CommentsTaylor Hicks came home this weekend, playing two shows at the Alabama theater in his hometown of Birmingham, AL. The recent tornadoes in Enterprise, AL prompted Taylor to invite the Red Cross to his performances to educate and fundraise at both of his sold-out Birmingham shows.
Next month, Taylor rides his tour bus into New York City to play the Beacon Theater. His April 20th concert will be part of the world’s largest Earth Day celebration. From the press release, “The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival will put the Earth Day message into practice by “greening” all of the participating venues…each venue will have an informational table featuring educational and volunteer information relating to prominent environmental issues and organizations.”
Look for my big re-cap after I attend Taylor Hicks’ concerts in Chicago and Boston in the coming weeks…
Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is everywhere. Chicago threw a big Jennifer Hudson Day for their hometown gal last week. Avon products recently hired Jennifer to to represent its best-selling Imari fragrance brand. Under the agreement, Jennifer will “serve as the ‘face of Imari,’ including appearing in the company’s brochures for both the Imari fragrance and its newest scent Imari Seduction.”
Saturday night, Jennifer was given the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year at the Soul Train awards. Neo-soul singer John Legend has plans to write some tunes with her. And finally, Jennifer has a message for Simon Cowell, who has been taking swipes at her lately, “If I’d been any better at my job when I was at Burger King in my middle teens I wouldn’t be here either, so should I thank them, too?” Oh. SNAP.
The 42nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 15. Carrie Underwood is nominated for 5 awards: Top Female Vocalist, Album of the Year (Some Hearts), Single Record of the Year (”Before He Cheats”), Song of the Year (”Before He Cheats”) and Video of the Year (”Before He Cheats”). Kellie Pickler is nominated for Top New Female Vocalist.
Elliott Yamin’s debut album drops March 20. Elliott is revving up a promotional tour that will include in-store appearances and performances on Live with Regis and Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel Live and the Ellen Degeneres Show. Read about Elliott’s 50/50 independent record deal and his life in LA in this Richmond-Times Dispatch article.
Wrapping up with some short bits: Bucky Covington made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. Friday night. His debut CD is set to be released on 04/17. Season 5’s Kevin Covais will make his movie debut in the Lionsgate youth comedy “College.” He’ll be joined in the film by Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell, Haley Bennett, Gary Owens and Ryan Pinkston. A Paula Abdul greatest hits album, “Straight Up!” will hit stores May 8. Animal lover Simon Cowell stars in a PETA public service announcement informing viewers of the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars. Watch it here. Finally, Rosie O’Donnell calls American Idol racist. Nigel Lythgoe tells her to STFU.
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Idol Update
Published by March 3rd, 2007 in American Idol, Ace Young, News, Jennifer Hudson, Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington, Jon Peter Lewis, Bo Bice, Carrie Underwood, Josh Gracin and Kelly Clarkson. 14 CommentsElliott Yamin is on a roll. His debut CD drops on March 20. He debuted his single “Wait For You” on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show. Check out a clip from his upcoming video here. You can listen to “Wait For You” at Elliott’s My Space. Good stuff.
Jennifer Hudson was the recipient of an NAACP Image Awards Friday night. Jennifer won Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in “Dreamgirls.”
Ace Young will be the spokesman for the next two months for the Dreyers Ice Cream American Idol campaign. He’ll be doing radio spots, TV Ads and personal appearances promoting Dreyer’s American Idol Ice Cream Flavors.
Bucky Covington new video debuted ”…in the #1 position atop CMT’s fan-voted CMT Pure Country video playlist. Additionally, the video debuted this week at an impressive #36 on Yahoo Music’s all-genre video chart, putting Covington in the company of fellow American Idol alum Carrie Underwood as the only two country artists with videos in Yahoo’s Top 50.”
You can now download Jon Peter Lewis’s excellent self-released CD, “Stories from Hollywood” at Americanidol.com. This CD is my favorite ex-Idol album release of all time. No lie.
Carrie Underwood, Josh Gracin and Bucky Covington are among the performers of this summer’s CMA music festival. The festival runs from June 7-10 in Nashville, TN.
Great news for Bo Bice fans. Bo will be singing the theme song to the new Will Ferrell movie Blades of Glory. Producer Ben Stiller has been a fan of Bo’s since his Idol run and invited him to work on the song. You can listen to the tune at the official Blades of Glory My Space.
Kelly Clarkson announced on her website that she just finished recording her latest CD “My December.” No word yet on a release date.
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The 79th Annual Academy Awards
Published by February 25th, 2007 in American Idol, Video and Jennifer Hudson. 26 CommentsJennifer Hudson is nominated for Best Supporting actress for her role as Effie White in “Dreamgirls.”
Good luck Jennifer! I’ll be updating this post all night.
UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER HUDSON! She just won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar!!! I’ll have video of her acceptance speech up in about an hour.
Here’s her interview with Barbara Walters televised before the Oscars:
Jennifer Hudson accepts the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress:
Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce sing a medley from Dreamgirls:
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