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The NEW single from Jon Peter Lewis, “Break The Silence” is the title track from his upcoming album due to drop June 3.
The song is available TODAY for download at iTunes and Amazon.com…
iTunes Link:
Jon Peter Lewis - Break the Silence
Amazon MP3 Downloads:
Break The Silence (Single)
The song. It is good. DOWNLOAD! Heh.
There is a video too. Watch it here.
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CHECK IT OUT! The new video from Jon Peter Lewis. The single, “Break the Silence” will be available at iTunes and Amazon this Tuesday, March 18. YAY.
The video: It doesn’t really have a story line. JPL wanders aimlessly around Los Angeles. Whee! I kept waiting for the obligatory Hot Chick to show up, but she never did. The song itself - Me likey! I’ll be pimping this one until you get sick of me. Sorry! Heh.
Pre-order at Amazon:
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The new single from Jon Peter Lewis, “Break the Silence” drops next Tuesday, March 18. But you can get a sneak peek of the song on Jon’s newly designed MySpace page. Take a listen! The single features jangly guitars, an awesome hook and JPL’s sweet vocals.
It’s produced by Chris Garcia (Santana, Michelle Branch) and features drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Indigo Girls) and guitarist Nick Lashley (Alanis Morissette, Natasha Bedingfield).
Regular blogsters already know that JPL is one of my very favorite Idol alumni. His debut CD, Stories From Hollywood, released November 2006 was over 2 years in the making, and worth the wait. Fans won’t have to wait as long for the sophomore effort, Break the Silence. It comes a mere 18 months later–due to drop in May.
As soon as the link to the new single is available, I’ll post it here. So check back…
ETA: Jon and his friends started a blog…
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One of my favorite Idols is in the studio recording for an album due this spring:
Chris Garcia, who has worked with Santana and Michelle Branch, Dido and Jewel, is producing the album under the guidance of executive producer Don Grierson, a former head of A&R for Capitol and Epic Records involved withBob Seger, Heart, Duran Duran, Cheap Trick, Celine Dion and Tina Turner.
JPL, as he was known on “Idol,” is writing or co-writing several tracks for the album, which will feature such esteemed session musicians as guitarist Nick Lashley (Alanis Morissette) and drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Cougar, Indigo Girls).
The new album will be a follow-up to the most excellent Stories from Hollywood released in 2006. No mention of a label. And the press release is not specific about who exactly will be distributing the album. I would assume it would be Authentic Records, currently distributing “Stories from Hollywood.”
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Today’s Christmas treat–two Idol 8th place finishers. Jon Peter Lewis, from Season 3 and Bucky Covington, from Season 5.
Here’s Jon Peter Lewis singing his Canadian-realeased Christmas song “It’s Christmas” from 2005. This song, written by JPL and Canadian songwriter James Collins, charted on several Canadian charts during that season. It was featured on the Canadian “Now Christmas!” 3 holiday compilation.
Bucky Covington was recruited last-minute for the GAC Christmas tour last year, replacing Buddy Jewell who had to withdraw due to a broken wrist. Listen to Bucky talk about the excitement of touring–his first after the Idol tour. After a short interview, he performs the Eagle’s tune, “Please Come Home for Christmas.”
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Don’t Miss…
Carrie Underwood promotes her new album “Carnival Ride” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Monday, October 29. She appears on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Thursday, November 1. Carrie will be on Ellen Nov 5…
If the Red Sox lose tonight…Taylor Hicks will sing the National Anthem at Game 5 of the World Series @ Denver, CO. FOX at 8 pm ET, Monday October 29.
Clay Aiken guest stars in the two-hour premier of Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? at 8 pm on FOX. Thursday, November 1.
Idols on Tour
Haley Scarnato appears in “A Night With Garth and Friends” at the Leon Springs Dance Hall in San Antonio TX, 8:30 pm on Sunday, 10/28
Josh Gracin and Carmen Rasmusen appear at Plymouth Hall in Plymouth, MA. Part of the proceeds go to the Women Build charity. Friday, 11/02
Taylor Hicks, appears at the Pearl River Resort, in Philadelphia, MS, Friday, 11/02
Phil Stacey and Melinda Doolittle will perform at An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends fundraiser in Cleveland, OH, to benefit the Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Institute. Saturday, 11/03
More Concert Dates after the Jump
Continue reading ‘Idol Appearances for the week 10/28/07 - 11/03/07′
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It’s YOUR Billboard Idol Update, right HERE!
Highlights
Idol Record News
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ETA: 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.
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The second session of American Idol camp recently ended. For $2900 (!!!), kids between the ages of 12 and 15 can hang in the Berkshires for 10 days with ex-Idols like Ace Young, Jon Peter Lewis and Bucky Covington. Or, can write songs with Macy Gray (who made appearance at the first session) and get styling tips from the Idol stylists. There is also a variety of performance classes–for singing, dancing, acting and playing music.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? I had to be content with putting on plays in the backyard when I was a kid (sniff, sniff). And there are probably arts camps much less expensive than Idol Camp, but then, what of those networking opportunities for ambitious stage parents? Jon Peter Lewis points out: Continue reading ‘And Now a Word or Two About American Idol Camp…’
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Season 6 update:
Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler both attended the Idols Nashville concert last Sunday. You can watch lengthy interviews with hometown girl, Melinda Doolittle, Phil Stacey, Sanjaya Malakar, Chris Sligh and Jordin Sparks at WRKN’s Music City TV Blog.
Phil Stacey, Chris Richardson and Chris Sligh will all be moving to Nashville in the next couple of months. Phil Stacey plans to pursue a career in country music. He’ll be leaving the Navy once the tour is over (he had put in a request for an extra year of service, but with his changed circumstances will begin processing out when the tour is over). Chris Sligh will go the indie/rock route. Melinda Doolittle, would love to make an album where ”old school meets the new school, with a little funk, soul and jazz.” Melinda says she’s not “positive” if she’ll be staying with “the 19 folks.”
Sanjaya Malakar plans to move to LA, and get a tattoo. He says his album will be “R&B-based, with world infusion and jazz and rock energy.” Jordin Sparks, in the meantime, is a little cagey about her future plans, though she’d love to work with some Nashville writers. She’s previously worked with the Nashville-based Christian artist, Michael W. Smith (she hung out with him in Nashville before the show). Jordin has completed one song for her upcoming album, while Mr Ambitious, Blake Lewis has completed six.
More Idol News (after the jump) Continue reading ‘Idol Bits and Pieces’
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Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle aren’t the only Idols having homecoming parties thrown in their honor. (Don’t forget to catch the Final 3 on the Tonight Show tonight, along with Taylor Hicks who will be performing…)
In Chesapeake, VA, Chris Richardson’s party takes place tonight at 6 pm at the Colin L. Hall Stadium where Chris used to play high school football.
Gina Glocksen is honored today in her hometown, Tinley Park, IL.
In Federal Way, WA, 200 fans donated at least a dollar to get an autograph from Sanjaya Malakar at his homecoming. Proceeds were donated to the Federal Way-based World Vision.
Speaking of Sanjaya, it looks like he’s a front runner to be one of 5 contestants in the VH1 reality show I Love New York 2. There’s a short video posted of Sanjaya doing some strange things with gummi bears. Hm. (I’m being told the video is fake, fake, totally fake…for more about Sanjaya’s homecoming check out Rickey.org )
In other Season 6 news, last week, Idol Chatter reported that Top 24 contestant, Sundance Head signed a record deal with Universal. Pretty good.
Chris Sligh’s official fan site has posted two songs from a worship album Chris and his band Half Past Forever recorded in 2004.
For excellent coverage of Blake Lewis’s homecoming (it was reported that 7,000 came out to see him) check out Team Plaid. They’ve got videos and links to news articles posted. Excellent.
My blogging buddy JD Matthews just posted another Idol interview. This time it’s with one of my favorite Idols EVAH, Jon Peter Lewis. I highly suggest you check it out. JD interviews the Idols, so I don’t have to. Heh.
Justin Guarini has teamed up with the Tea Council of America to launch a nationwide scholarship competition. Applicants can submit a one-to-two minute homemade Internet video that “incorporates some aspect of tea’s many health- related benefits.” The winner gets $20,000 towards their education and an all-expenses paid trip to New York City.
Finally, an interesting interview with American Idol creator, Simon Fuller. Fun quote: “At 46 you are not too old” – as long as you can keep manufacturing celebrities the public will buy.” For my favorite numbers crunchers:
Mr Fuller sold 19 to CKX, the vehicle of US talent mogul Robert Sillerman, for £83 million in 2005. Mr Sillerman is building up a larger version of 19, owning Elvis’s mansion Graceland and the image rights of Muhammed Ali, but 19 provides three quarters of CKX’s revenues ($151 million out of $210 million) and the bulk of operating profit ($28.8 million last year). Not bad, particularly as Mr Fuller, who is two years into a six-year contract, only earned $1.56 million as an employee.
Fun facts to know and tell…
thanks as always to the incomparable lisab…
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In Wednesday’s recap of the Top 8 results show, I wondered why a pre-recorded performance of Akon singing his hit “Don’t Matter” was inexplicably part of the show. me: except Ryan did mention it right before Akon’s appearance. Bad me, I missed it FFing through the boring Farmers Market segment. Ryan says the top 50 is culled from all the Billboard charts. Thanks Sarah.
Here is the reason. Akon’s performance is part of a new americanidol.com website feature called The Hit List. Fans who visit the site can vote for 5 favorite songs from a list of 50 songs posted on the site. The votes are tallied, and announced on the show.
Each week, an artist on the list will perform a song on the show. Some of the artists you can vote for: John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Katharine McPhee, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Pink.
I believe Robin Thicke is slated for one of the upcoming shows. He recorded a performance the same night as Akon.
Also, while poking around the official American Idol website, I found this. A partial list of Idol Alums who will participate in this summer’s brand-new Idol Camp has been announced. Spending part of the summer in the beautiful Massachusetts Berkshires will be, Bucky Covington, Carmen Rasmusen, Vonzell Solomon, Kimberley Locke and Jon Peter Lewis.
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Catch 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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Does it bum you out that a favorite Idol performance is only 1 minute 30 seconds long? Would you just love to hear a full version? Americanidol.com is making available for download every Top 12 performance–FULL versions of the songs, recorded in the studio by the Idols–for 99 cents a download. It’s a fantastic idea, and a very smart way to compete with the bootleg mp3s of the live performances that are available all over the net.
I just downloaded Blake Lewis’s (Team Plaid!) and Chris Sligh’s performances. Their Zombies covers from British Invasion week are terrific. As an aside, after listening to the full version of Sligh’s ”Endless Love” from Top 12 night, I’m convinced more than ever that it was beautifully arranged and performed. The full version is gorgeous. That boy can sang.
After you download Season 6 Idol performances, you can surf to the Idol alumni page, where you can pickup new releases by Taylor Hicks, Elliott Yamin, Jon Peter Lewis and others. Easy, peasy.
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Elliott 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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Carrie Underwood is up for 4 Grammy Awards–Song of the Year (Jesus Take the Wheel), Best New Artist, Best Female Country Vocal Performance (Jesus Take the Wheel) and Best Country Song (Jesus Take the Wheel). She’ll also perform on the telecast. It starts at 8 pm EST on CBS.
Carrie will perform tonight at Clive Davis’s big pre-Oscar party. You can watch the webcast at Rhapsody. It starts at 9:30 pm PST.
Taylor Hicks is confirmed to appear at this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX. SXSW is the premier music festival for showcasing new bands. This should be a great networking opportunity, and a chance for lots of cool peeps to see Taylor in his element–performing. Taylor will also be the Grand Marshall of the Endymion Krewe at this year’s Mardis Gras in New Orleans, LA. He’ll play a sold-out concert in the Superdome Saturday, February 17.
More on Elliott Yamin’s record deal from MSNBC:
The aspiring pop star is now managed by Jeff Rabhan’s Three Ring Projects.
But Strick tells me that Yamin will also include some of the favorites he performed on “Idol” like Leon Russell’s “A Song for You.” Josh Abraham, who’s done the honors for everyone from Courtney Love to Staind, is producing.
Fun Fact: Josh Abraham is Elliott’s cousin. Listen to a preview of Elliott’s upcoming album, scheduled to drop March 20, at AOL.
Anthony Fedorov has been named 2007 Official Spokesperson for the Sarcoma Foundation. Sadly, Anthony lost his brother a few months ago to Sarcoma. He’ll perform at the SFA’s Annual Gala held May 21st, 2007, taking place at New York’s Marriott Marquis Hotel. Tickets will be available at the website beginning March 1st.
More Anthony Fedorov news: He’ll be joining the cast of the “Fantasticks” in New York City on May 1. He’ll be stepping into the role of “Matt”. Tickets are $76, with a special $36 ticket price for selected seating on Sunday evening performances and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100.
Americanidol.com has a section devoted to videos from Idol alumni. Check it out here. Included are Kimberley Locke’s video for her new single “Change”, Chris Daughtry singing the National Anthem at the Bears/Saints playoff game, and Jon Peter Lewis performing a live version of “Amanda Grace”.
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I just updated the Idol Appearances page. If you know of an Idol Appearance that’s not listed, please contact me at mjsbigblog@gmail.com.
A bit of news on some of your favorite Idols….
This just in….one of the J’s–that’s Jeremy Brady the 2nd guitarist and youngest member of DAUGHTRY–has left the band. According to Chris’s latest video blog, Jeremy is “gracefully bowing out of the band.” Chris says they will miss him a lot, and that there are no hard feelings, but Jeremy feels this isn’t the, “right thing to be doing at this time in his life.” Chris is currently looking for a replacement. He better be–the DAUGHTRY tour starts tomorrow. It looks like the band will be scrambling to replace Jeremy.
Being the cynic that I am, I tend to take “official” announcements with a grain salt. Maybe Jeremy left for the exact reasons stated, but then again, maybe not. Unless some juicy rumors surface, we’ll probably never know.
Katharine McPhee’s debut album drops on Tuesday, January 30. It’s streaming online now at AOL here if you’d like to take a listen. Katharine describes the album as “rhythm pop”. I haven’t had a minute to listen to the CD myself yet–I’ll let you know what I think on Tuesday.
A bit more news on Elliott Yamin’s brand-new record deal. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Elliott, “has signed with independent Hickory Records and also inked a deal with RED Distribution, which will help promote the album along with Sony/ATV, with whom he has a publishing contract.” The first single, “Movin On”, is expected to be available online by Feb. 13.
Justin Guarini has a new gig. He’s joined the TV Guide channel’s Idol Tonight as an on-air commentator. Check your local listings for channel. When the Top 12 starts airing in March, Idol Tonight will air a live pre-show on Tuesday before the performance episodes.
Jennifer Hudson was ABC News “Person of the Week”. You can watch her interview here.
Bucky Covington announced in a recent interview with Larry King that he’ll be appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in on Friday, March 9. The Idol themed episode of Larry King Live will be repeated Sunday night at 9 pm for those of you who missed it. It features Bucky Covington, Ace Young, Kimberly Caldwell, William Hung and others talking about their Idol experiences.
There are more and more Idol bloggers online as the show becomes bigger than ever. Ex-idols are even joining the fray. Jon Peter Lewis, one of my fav Idols, is blogging the current season for AOL’s TV Squad blog. You can catch up with his musings here. Rather than comment on each contestant, JPL is relating his own Idol experiences as he watches the show. Check this out from his New York recap,
I waited in line outside the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu for a couple of days, alongside thousands of people singing their lungs out, trying to prove to anyone who would listen that they were the next American Idol. Sometimes I get so caught up in the who’s who and what’s what of it all that I forget I was actually a part of it. I know what it feels like to stand in front of Paula, Randy and Simon, waiting for them to give you the thumbs up or down. It pretty much sucks. It’s probably the same feeling as hanging your balls out the window. I’ve never done that one before, though, so I don’t know.
Every second of every day during that whole week, just thinking of Idol made me feel cold, clammy and numb with nerves. I knew that at any moment I could be sent back to Idaho with a lot less money than when I started. Plus, I was looking at that audition as the one thing I’d do in life to say I gave the music business a shot. I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t gotten a golden ticket — well, a yellowish piece of paper — to Hollywood I would have gone home looking for a nine to five and I knew I’d wake up 40 years later wondering where all the time had gone. Yeah, you could say there was a lot of pressure.
So, when I’m sitting at ease at home, eating lasagna on my Beatles Candlestick Park TV tray and wonder why people like Nakia Claiborne break down and say “I wish I could change their mind,” it’s easy for me to understand. These are their dreams, man. Still, if you’re not good, someone’s gonna tell you sometime. It’s just painful to watch.
He’s off to a good start, I think. Oh, and it looks like Mikalah Gordon is blogging Idol too…
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