Idol Watcher Told You So
Thanks to Idol Watcher for noting the Carrie Underwood’s cover of Randy Travis’ I Told You So will be the fifth single from her Carnival Ride album. (I had heard Crazy Dreams was also a strong contender.) I Told You So officially goes for adds Feb. 2, but several radio stations – like Denver’s KWLI-FM and KDRK-FM in Spokane, Wash. - already have begun playing it a little.
Idol Watcher also mentioned that Travis praised Underwood’s version of his song during a Grand Ole Opry appearance back in March. There’s a clip of that performance and their exchange here.
New `Idol’ judge says male contestants hold edge
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kara DioGuardi was fretting about being the new face of “American Idol,” and she put the blame on hungry mosquitoes.
“Here I am in Hawaii and I wake up yesterday and I’m covered in mosquito bites, 15 to 20, and it looks like I have the chicken pox,” the songwriter-producer said on Tuesday.
“Nobody cares about a songwriter with mosquito bites. But a judge on `Idol’ who’s about to go in front of the press, that’s a whole other story,” said DioGuardi, who has joined the “American Idol” judging panel and has a whirlwind promotional schedule next week in New York that includes David Letterman’s show.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Who’s that girl? And how far does she get?
I think I’ve figured out another one. We typically haven’t trafficked in spoilers on Idol Chatter, but since she’s in one of the commercials, she’s fair game as far as I’m concerned.
Pause this promo four seconds in, right where the screen says “America Comes Together.” I’m pretty sure that’s Alexea Lawson, who Joe’s Place identified as a Hollywood contestant. (Try comparing the video still to these pictures — you’ll see what I mean.)
Lawson, who also goes by Lexi, is a New York-based singer/actress. She’s got a multi-ethnic background - African-American, Native American, Spanish and British. According to a MySpace page, she has done commercials for Colgate, Sprint, McDonald’s and several other companies, and she also has backed Gloria Gaynor and opened for Ne-Yo. She’s done a lot of theater, including a Broadway production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
PAULA ABDUL’S SECRET PLAN
Paula Abdul is secretly planning to launch her own daytime talk show — even if her bosses at American Idol meet her hefty salary demands for the hit show’s ninth season.
The 46-year-old entertainer has been in talks with CBS/Paramount Network Television about developing the show — and sources say it could make its debut as early as next year.
“Paula’s been dreaming about having her own talk show for three years, and she’s ready to make it a reality,†a source close to the star told The ENQUIRER.
Paula envisions the new show focusing on issues that affect average people — plus an occasional celebrity guest, says the source.
Timbaland Responds To False Shock Value 2 Reports
In a curious turn of events, someone has been spreading false information about MTV and Timbaland.
Responding to multiple erroneous online reports about his forthcoming Shock Value 2 album — which claimed that Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Usher and others will appear on the album, and which were incorrectly attributed to MTV.com — Timbaland got on the phone with us to set the record straight on Tuesday afternoon (January 6).
“It’s funny,” Timbo said about the surprisingly detailed report, which claimed it was based on an advance preview of five tracks from the album. “I’m surprised people are watching me like that. I am recording the album, but I don’t know none of them joints, none of them songs. That’s just bogus.”
As for an official track listing, the production wizard was mum — and he didn’t confirm or deny whether any of the artists listed in the report will appear on the album. He did speak generally about the album’s direction, however.
American Idol Betting: American Idol Season 8 Early Odds out soon
Almost one year has gone by since David Cook was crowned winner of Season 7; the wait is about to be over for the growing crowd of American Idol betting enthusiasts.
American Idol Season 8 will officially launch January 13 and 14 with the show’s Premiere on FOX.
The Top 36 finalists will be officially revealed Wednesday, February 11. Early American Idol betting odds will be released soon after, allowing bettors to start handicapping their favourites from the early stages of the competition thus grabbing the best odds.
History teaches that betting on American Idol’s early betting odds is of paramount importance to maximize one’s chances to win big with the odds to win American Idol.
There are two distinct betting patterns and strategies when handicapping American Idol; betting on the odds to win at the start of the season and on the elimination odds throughout the unfolding of the competition.
Grammy gets in the partying mood, takes on Clive Davis’ annual gala*
The most talked-about pre-Grammy happening is now officially sanctioned by the Recording Academy. The annual industry buzz event/party hosted by music-biz veteran Clive Davis is, for the first time in its 30-year history, a Grammy-endorsed affair.
The Recording Academy announced this morning (Jan. 6) that it was partnering with Sony Music’s chief creative officer to host the annual dinner and concert, held the night before the Grammys on Feb. 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Davis’ party has had a reputation in recent years for introducing the world to younger mainstream talents such as Alicia Keys and Maroon 5.
Recording Academy head Neil Portnow, who worked under Davis in the late ’80s running the West Coast Arista office, says the initial mission of presenting fresh talent will continue to be a focus of the event. If anything changes, Portnow says gala will have a broader focus in terms of what labels are represented.
Carrie Underwood Carries Romance to Canada
When it comes to her personal life, Carrie Underwood is one of the most tight-lipped singers in country music, but a trip to Canada over the weekend has other tongues wagging about a new romance for the “American Idol” graduate.
Carrie was spotted in a luxury box Saturday with the family of Ottawa Senators hockey player Mike Fisher at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. In fact, her picture was beamed onto the venue’s Jumbotron “Hug Cam” when she embraced the people around her. Three days earlier, Carrie and Mike’s sister visited Rinaldo’s, an Ottawa spa, for pedicures. That same night, Carrie reportedly attended a New Year’s Eve party at the home of Mike’s teammate, Jason Spezza.
Fitness trainer Tony Greco, who counts himself among Mike’s friends, told The Ottawa Citizen “they’re a perfect match.” Mike, however, declined to comment on his personal life.
Is Kelly Clarkson Being Forced Into Katy Perry’s Cast-Offs?
After all the speculation regarding Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You,” word from my tipsters—as well as the folks at Popjustice—is that it sounds pretty much exactly like “Since U Been Gone,” only minus anything resembling a bridge. In further “let’s stick with what works” news, MJ’s Big Blog is hinting that the above Katy Perry track, “Long Shot,” might be one of the songs on the album. There is one good thing about this little piece of news—which is way too reminiscent of the whole “rejected Avril Lavigne songs” flap that surfaced around the release of My December— and it is the fact that Perry’s vocals on the verses remind me of a way mannered take on the far superior “Go” by the British band Kaito. A clip of that is after the jump.
Return of the Sanjaya
Sanjayamalakaralbumcover Of all the many paths across the Idol Nation, none has run over rockier terrain than that taken by Season Six anti-hero Sanjaya Malakar. Initially a not-implausible mid-range contender with a nice voice, when his talents ebbed in the upper reaches his behavior became stranger and often seemed in outward defiance against the machine. Eventually Sanjaya ended up hijacking Season Six as Idol haters (votefortheworst.com and Howard Stern) rallied around his exotic name and appearance and wacky behavior.
Anti-heroes are part of the Idol magic. The show would be diminished if it were not for that novelty act each season who stays on board into the upper reaches to the intense irritation of “serious” Idol watchers. Scott “The Body” Savol and Kevin “Chicken Little” Covais in their time drove critics to madness as they dodged the bullet week after week. But none has created more of a stir than the legendary Sanjaya.
Confirmed: iTunes Goes DRM-Free, Alters Pricing
At the Macworld Expo today, Apple Inc. confirmed reports that all four majors were now onboard to deliver DRM-free music through iTunes, as originally reported by CNET. Apple has offered DRM-free music from EMI since May 2007; the new deals unveiled today are with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
The company also revealed plans for a new variable pricing model, starting in April; the price points for tracks are listed as 69 cents for older catalog titles, 99 cents for current songs and $1.29 for hits.
iTunes began offering 8 million of its 10 million songs in the DRM-free format, today, and the remaining two million songs offered will be offered DRM-free by the end of March.
Additionally, iPhone 3G users can also now preview and purchase the entire iTunes Store music catalog on their iPhone 3G over their 3G network, just as they do with Wi-Fi today, for the same price and in the same high quality format.
Hollywood PrivacyWatch, Your ‘American Idol’ at Target Edition: David Cook
1/2 — I turned the corner in the furniture aisle and saw DAVID COOK in the North Hollywood Target. He was focusing on looking down and texting as much as possible. [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.]
Chris Daughtry and David Cook represent the Idol rockers well.
When you look at the Hot AC charts nowadays it’s incredible how many former American Idol’s rule the roost. Sitting at number one is last years winner David Cook with a rock and roll record heavy on the power chords and meaty guitar riffs. Cook’s current single “The Time of my Life” has spect 32 weeks on the charts. In addition to Cook, David number two known as Archuleta isn’t far behind with his first single titled “Crush.” Further down the chart you’ll find Carrie Underwood whose massive success has been unparrelled in country music and Kimberly Locke making a showing with “We Need a Little Christmas.”
ET’s Sneak Peek at the ‘People’s Choice Awards’
ET goes behind the scenes of the “People’s Choice Awards” with Queen Latifah, who is hosting the show for the third time and is nominated in the Favorite Leading Lady category, along with Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson.
Queen Latifah let ET’s Kevin Frazier in on some of the surprises in store for fans at this year’s show.
“I think you’re going to see a couple of surprises,” she says. “I think one of the main ones has a lot to do with ‘The Dark Knight.’ Plus, we’ve got some really cool performances.”
We also catch up with Carrie Underwood, who will be performing when the show airs on Wednesday, January 7 at 9 p.m. on CBS. Carrie is also a nominee, but in two categories: Favorite Female Singer and Favorite Country Song (”Last Name”).
Sing It Safe: Tips From Vocal Coaches
Like the Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus and his own singing idol Tim McGraw, Bo Bice has consulted with Grant-Williams to avoid the pitfalls of heavy touring.
“A lot of people think that because you have the ability to get up and sing, you don’t have to work at it,” said Bice. “But it’s like being a professional athlete. You have to learn how to build up your immune system and your vocal muscles. So you turn to a vocal coach. I’m a very competent singer, but when you meet someone like Renee, who’s so accomplished and knowledgeable, they challenge you to be better.”
Specifically, Bice credited Grant-Williams for introducing him to the basics of breathing and standing. “If you watch Tim McGraw sing,” he pointed out, “he’s a perfect example of the way Renee teaches breathing. He stands with his legs locked in almost a wishbone formation, with a wide base, his knees a little bent. That helps keep your chest open so you can get the most out of your diaphragm, using all of your muscles, which is crucial to breathing properly. And he always sounds powerful and fantastic.”
“Singing too loud and too hard is an epidemic,” Grant-Williams insisted. “Out of 1,000 singers, I find a handful that aren’t over-singing. That not only damages the voice, it ruins songs. Most people who come to me for their first lesson try to blow me away with how hard they can sing. I ask them, ‘Why are you yelling at me?’ A song has to be a conversation.”
Bloggers gear up for ‘American Idol’
For many American Idol fans, one of the dishiest destinations is MJ’s Big Blog, which today has some dirt on Kelly Clarkson’s new single (buzz is that it sounds a lot like Since U Been Gone).
The Los Angeles Times caught up with MJ herself — 51-year-old M.J. Santilli from Brookline, Mass. — to ask her 20 questions, including how much time she spends on the blog to get all those inside deets. Her answer: “8 hours-plus a day. It’s like a full-time job, but without the full-time pay.” (She never does explain how she pays her bills.)
And while we’re on the subject of Idol, own Idol Chatter blog is just getting geared up for the new season with its new host, USA TODAY’s Brian Mansfield. Check it out.
19 Entertainment and CKX Score Another Hit With Superstars of Dance
NEW YORK, Jan 06, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Two-Hour Premiere of International Dance Show on NBC Watched by More Than 10 Million Viewers
19 Entertainment Limited, a division of CKX, Inc. today hailed the successful premiere of its new television show, Superstars of Dance, which aired on NBC on Sunday night. Superstars of Dance, an international dance show that pits skilled dancers from eight different nations against each other in an Olympic-style competition, is hosted by Michael Flatley (Lord of the Dance) and Susie Castillo (TRL and House of Payne). The show was created and is executive produced by Simon Fuller, the Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment and a director of CKX, and Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer and co-star of So You Think You Can Dance. Following its debut Sunday night, Superstars of Dance aired its second two-hour episode Monday night at 8 PM ET/PT and is scheduled to continue its run Mondays at 8PM ET/PT through the series finale, scheduled for January 26.
Sebastian Pigott to star in TV movie
Sebastian Pigott will star in his first major TV movie role this spring, playing a crab fisherman shipwrecked in Alaska’s Bering Sea.
“Working on the Edge,” which is set to air on the Discovery Channel U.S. in April, is a true story about a young man named Tommy whose ship goes down the first night on the job.
The movie will kick off the channel’s new season of “Deadliest Catch” — a program about real-life fishermen on the same stretch of water who risk their lives on high seas and vicious storms to catch king crab.
“You’d die within four minutes out there if you’re not in a survival suit and this guy’s kind of thrown into that,” says Sebastian, an actor by trade, who finished Top 8 on Canadian Idol.
The latest to mention you is USA Today! Wow, you are getting mentioned everywhere!!!
Question - what happened to Ken Barnes? And may I say now, I hope Dave White will be AI blogging again. He is my second most important idol read after MJ!
From what I understand, he is no longer with USA Today. Another victim of the shitty economy…
I guess you can be fortunate your site is 100% independent, since it is immune to everything the economy does.
In lieu of the pending release of Crush in the UK, here’s an excellent review.. Hoping this is a harbinger of things to come - GO CRUSH! Storm the UK :)
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/features/Single Review David Archuleta Crush-6738.html
*The link is acting wonky, so I’ll post the full review I saved:
Single Review: David Archuleta - Crush
Today 11:00
So I think I had better start by saying that as a fan of metal / rock and the occasional bout of ‘emo’ music; I was slightly dubious about the latest R n B offering, especially when it came in a 17-year old package!
However as the runner-up in the US’s American Idol and being listed in second place on Forbes List of Breakout Stars of 2008, there’s little surprise that this track really changed my mind. Woo!
I’m usually a little wary about people who have been churned out of talent shows, because more often than not, they are just the best of a bad bunch; with the obvious exception of Leona Lewis, Jennifer Husdon and Kelly Clarkson. And now of course, David Archuleta.
Comment on this Article
If you weren’t lucky enough to watch some of his heart stopping performances on American Idol, then you will be happy to know the song has slow-grinding verses mixed with a chorus which has your feet heading right for the dance floor and your ’come to bed’ eyes wandering for the best looking guy in the room.
If you take all the talent from the boy bands of the past few years - Blue, N’Sync or Backstreet Boys combine it with an more edgy sound and a super hot man, David Archuleta’s Crush is what I’m pretty sure you’d end up at.
What’s more, I can hardly believe that this heartfelt, catchy song is coming from a boy of just seventeen years old; and if this is what he’s bringing out at his age, I have little doubt that he is going to grow into mind-blowing tracks in no time at all.
An absolutely mind-blowing debut single from a real American Idol…. Well one in the making at least.
Rating: 5 / 5
Goooo, MJ!! Keep it up, girlfriend!
popjustice is saying that Kellys new single will be played on radio next Wednesday.
Kelly will be in the UK on Sunday
http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/annieandnick/show.shtml
Hey MJ, this is Q100’s Video of David Cook’s performance of Light On -Miracle on West Peachtree. Didn’t see this posted anywhere, so here it is for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.q100atlanta.com/Videos/Player/tabid/203/VideoId/161/David-Cook-Light-On-From-Miracle-On-West-Peachtree.aspx
The video quality is much better than anything off YouTube.
^And it has amazing shots of Neal, *_*
I never knew Sebastian Piggott was an actor by trade. He has the looks for it, though. Wonder how his bro is doing. And how Mookie and Earl are doing.
Am I the only one who watched Nigel’s nasty Superstars of Dance? I watched the first night, I think, but not the second. It was a very stupid show, with no apparent standards for judging. Very Eurovision. The worst thing about it was the camera work. There were dances I think could’ve been lovely, except the director chose to show a) the dancers’ faces in extreme close-up, b) nothing on stage whatsoever except a blaze of light, apparently shot from a vantage point somewhere in the very back of the auditorium, or c) a swirly, upside-down, ADD mess where you couldn’t tell what you were seeing. AWFUL. Fred Astaire would be livid over that. Show their whole bodies, including feet, from the proscenium and leave the damn camera there.
Anyway, the best thing about it was that Pasha and Anya from SYTYCD danced for Russia. They were, as always, awesome. Or at least as much of them as I could see, given the camerawork.
deleted because I can’t figure out how to do a snazzy link.
Sorry, I can’t even post a link the messy way. Geez.
Lefty, email it to me, and I’ll post it…
My brother watched and rated it as low as possible(well there is no “zero stars”). So guess it’s pretty bad.
Thanks mj - I emailed it to you but you can ignore it if you want. It was mostly a WTF? kind of thing.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01072009/tv/debt_zone_149048.htm
Not good for Fantasia
I watched Superstars of Dance once… it was pretty darn dreadful. And so disappointing! I was looking forward to watching it, and it was a mess.
Taylor was on CBC Chicago this morning…He performed Hold On To Your Love from Early Works…with guitar and harmonica…go to the link and he is on the right hand column
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=53420@wbbm.dayport.com
I emailed Ken Barnes to tell him how sorry I was that he was leaving Idol Chatter, and he confirmed my fears that he was leaving USA Today and that it “wasn’t (his) idea.” He said it was “symptomatic of the times.”
smartcookie, my son and I were bouncing back and forth between Superstars of Dance and the rebroadcast of Season 7 of Idol. Never have I appreciated Ryan Secrest more. I loved watching Michael Flatley dance back in the day, but we ranked him just below John McCain and just above Billy Rae Cyrus for his ability to read a Teleprompter without looking like a deer caught in the headlights. It was truly painful. The whole show sucked big-time. I really love SYTYCD, but this show is a major embarrassment. Way to go, Nigel. Did great in the ratings, though!
I’d forgotten that Sebastian was primarily an actor and was just wondering about Earl and Mookie myself. I also loved Theo. I wish we could access their stuff down here in the Lower 48. Very talented group, I thought. I’m hoping the new season of AI more closely resembles what CI did this past season, at least in terms of group performances and song selection. Not that it helped CI’s ratings!
Revamped scary boards:
http://myidol.americanidol.com/
http://www.dosomething.org/blog/celebsgonegood/meet-david-archuleta
Guess who’s the latest Do Something PSA Superstar? None other than Mr. American Idol David Archuleta!!!
Do Something.org, powered by the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation, is giving away $500 grants every week this year for teens with projects addressing disaster relief. And David is going to be the spokesperson!
He’s auctioning off a chance to hang out at the PSA shoot, this Monday in New York, plus four tickets to a secret concert Monday night! For more about the auction go here!
Frog - it cracks me up that when you get to the eBay page to bid on the auction to meet him….it says “Free Shipping”. Bwahahhaha!
There’s a new song we can look forward to from Archie! This is according to Becky of Fans of David…
The way I understand it, the bear that you build from scratch will sing “Let’s Talk About Love†but you get to select which artist’s voice to sing it. David Archuleta will be one of those choices. So in essence, the lucky recipient would be getting an Archie teddy bear! How adorable is that?!
umm wasn’t Mr. American Idol David Cook? Wasn’t Mr. Runner up David Archuleta…maybe I’m confused?
LOL, gingerly, I don’t think you are.
I’m pretty sure we’re all straight on the facts at this point.
I’m really happy for David that he gets the opportunity to work with DoSomething.org. It’s a fantastic organization. And Build-a-Bear does loads of charity work too. Good for him.
Oh we all are, but apparently dosomething.org is not. Maybe they just watched the first couple of shows of S7 & then took an extended trip to Antarctica & just got back.
MJ, you’re getting to be quite famous! May I have your autograph? Hahaha…
I thought all the contestants are American Idols.
idk, but I hear them called American Idols all the time.
$500 grants every week this year for teens with projects addressing disaster relief.
Very worthy cause. This teen is proving he is someone all can look up to.
How cool for David on the BaB song (hope I get to hear it) AND the Do Something spokesperson role! And I’m with ercheers. Don’t think the Mr. American Idol announcement was saying anything other than ‘you know David from American Idol’. No worries.
Really, it’s semantics. David Archuleta didn’t win American Idol, but he IS an American Idol, just like the rest of his castmates are.
I would have deleted this post if I had caught it earlier. Please don’t bait.
And as a reminder, folks who I have to mod over and over again eventually get banned.