Idol Headlines for 01/31/10
Stars warm up for the main event at Pre-Grammy Gala
BEVERLY HILLS — The annual Pre-Grammy Gala isn’t just a Grammy preview. Sometimes it’s a Grammy challenge.
Saturday night’s diva showdown by Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson left the stage in ashes and left many wondering if any acts on Sunday’s Grammy Awards would match their vocal firepower.
Singing People and The Way We Were, Hudson brought down the house with a soulful, strapping tribute to Barbra Streisand, attending the gala for the first time.
Jamie Foxx wrapped up the show with Blame It, a partying bookend to the Black Eyed Peas’ lively opener of Boom Boom Pow and cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine, with Slash on guitar. In between, Ke$ha performed hit Tik Tok, Maxwell sang Pretty Wings and Bad Habits. Harry Connick Jr. sat at the piano to sing Come By Me, then did When Somebody Loves You with Carrie Underwood, who followed solo with Cowboy Casanova.
Jamie Foxx Not Stepping Into Simon’s Idol Shoes
Jamie Foxx would like to take over Simon Cowell’s judging gig on American Idol, but the singer and actor is just too busy!
“I would love to do it but I don’t think I would be able to do it,” he told me at his star-studded pre-Grammy party last night. “I don’t think I could fill Simon’s shoes, but I would give it another perspective…what I want is for the kids to go from being contest participants to artists and that’s where I would come in.”
Brown would like daughter back on ‘American Idol’
Sen.-elect Scott Brown says he’d like daughter Ayla to have another crack at “American Idol,” where judge Simon Cowell once described her performance as robotic and empty.
The fledgling recording artist, a 21-year-old student at Boston College, made it to the show’s final 16 singers in 2006.
Her father told ABC’s “This Week” that Ayla was so new to it all back then that she had never put on makeup until she did “American Idol.” He also says that Cowell’s critique, while harsh, was on target.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Just like Dad, Ayla Brown’s got country appeal
Ayla Brown needs her own truck. And maybe a fiddle.
The daughter of U.S. Sen.-elect Scott Brown is many things – Boston College basketball player, ex-“American Idol” contestant and available – but pop star?
No way.
Not that she can’t sing. Her new download-only EP, “Circles,” was released this week, three months earlier than planned to capitalize on the media frenzy whipped up by her father’s Senate win.
‘Arise Sir Simon Cowell?’
X Factor boss Simon Cowell may be in line to receive a knighthood for his charity work, according to a report. The entertainment mogul is set to raise millions for the survivors of the Haiti earthquake tragedy with his charity single.
Now nearly 10 Facebook sites have been established to lobby for the 50-year-old to become “Sir Simon” and a formal notification has apparently been sent to the Prime Minister in Downing Street.
Sources told a Sunday newspaper that Gordon Brown, who will submit a list of names for the Queen’s birthday honours in June, is said to be a supporter of Cowell.
Kara DioGuardi Shares her Ideas for Simon’s Replacement
American Idol is pretty buzzy right now with the news that Simon Cowell is leaving after this season, so when I spotted Kara DioGuardi at the Grammys Style Lounge today, I decided to get a shortlist of possible contenders straight from a judge’s mouth. I’ve got to warn you, two of her picks are pretty surprising, but I like ‘em!
I also asked her about her favorite guest judge so far this season (hint: she doesn’t name Katy Perry), and to use her expertise to guess who’s taking home a Grammy trophy at the big show.
“I said from the beginning that I like the idea of Tommy [Mottola], because he’s somebody who really created a lot of stars. Just somebody who has a lot of opinions and a big personality. And there are a bunch of them out there! I can even see someone from the country world, maybe a Garth Brooks or a Vince Gill. I think a lot of people that love country music tune in; they’re a large part of our audience, so I think that would be an interesting flip on it.”
Area Notebook: Caddyshack tournament moving to March
The 10th annual Murray Brothers Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament will make its second date change since 2007.
There’s also a new charity, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
But it will be the usual cast of characters involved, led by actor Bill Murray and his five brothers. The tournament will be played March 26 at the World Golf Hall of Fame King & Bear and Slammer & Squire courses.
The Caddyshack Tournament had been played in May for the first six years of its existence. When The Players Championship was moved to May, the Caddyshack Tournament went to late April.
Living the dream
NEW YORK – “Dreamgirls’’ has always been an art-imitating-life hall of mirrors.
The tale of an African-American girl group whose members rocket from amateur-night upstarts to glamorous divas at the height of the Motown era, “Dreamgirls’’ is loosely based on the turbulent behind-the-scenes history of the Supremes. The Tony Award-winning 1981 production made Jennifer Holliday a Broadway legend, and the 2006 film version transformed Jennifer Hudson from an “American Idol’’ also-ran into an Oscar-winning Hollywood star. The trajectory of both women echoed the musical’s rags-to-riches story.
Edited to Add:
Ke$ha, Justin Bieber Get Glammed Up At Grammy Style Studio
Also making laps was “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, who expertly worked the room, picking up some color-splashed 6-inch heels, testing out some Japanese sake drinks and taking long looks at a number of jewelry stalls, including Pennyroyal Silver. The rep told her that “Idol” alums Jordin Sparks and Adam Lambert are about to release signature pendants as part of a music collection that will benefit Haiti relief. An hour later, rapper Sean Paul would also stop by the booth and sketch an impromptu design for his own pendant, which pictured a very happy man with a hand-rolled, um, cigarette dangling from his lips.
Randy Jackson Talks ‘American Idol’
With many changes taking place on the new season of the hit show American Idol including Simon Cowell’s decision to leave the judging table, Randy Jackson tells OK! that he has been looking at names to replace the infamously honest critic.
Although nothing has been decided yet, Randy reveals to OK! that Simon, “sent me some names the other day,” while out celebrating the Grammys on Saturday at Clive Davis’ annual soiree alongside Katy Perry, Rihanna, Fergie, Taylor Swift, and American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson.
Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy gala: A few high points before crowd makes early night of it
A massive cloud of stardust made its annual descent on the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, as the entertainment-industry elite gathered for the annual pre-Grammy party hosted by music mogul Clive Davis. Now officially sanctioned by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and dubbed the “Salute to Industry Icons,” the bash remains an elite affair, an evening of A-list artists performing for their peers.
Major acts including the Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood rolled out their hits and very few surprises during the three-hour-long program. An omnibus of celebrities milled about the ballroom, Jane Fonda as well as Jay-Z and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who busted some slick moves while Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas performed “Smooth.”
Posted in 167 Responses to “Idol Headlines for 01/31/10”
Not at all. Musical ho and proud of it.
Huh. I have to edit in Roxy Music as well. God, Bryan Ferry. Mmm.
Oh, and Peter Gabriel! And Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits.
Hmm, the 80s are looking better than I thought.
…And, I just remembered Echo & the Bunnymen. I guess I wasn’t as a sleep in the eighties
as I am nowas I thought.True on both counts, as I’m discovering as my memory for the 80s gets jogged a bit more. heh.
And even though Miley makes me want to jab an ice pick in my ear every time I hear her, I’ve discovered there are some Taylor Swift songs I actually, um, like? I know, I know, but they’re… idk. Hummable?
This stems totally from the first time I actually heard her — her opening ditty on SNL a few weeks back — which I found freaking hilarious. It made me think that anyone that clever might actually be able to entertain me with her real music, and to my surprise, she has.
Though I wish she’d put more of that wit in her songs, which suffer a bit from the same witty persona/earnest song writing disconnect Cook exhibits on occasion.
::crosses fingers for more Cook snark (as promised) on the next album::
What a wonderful Tribute to Michael Jackson! Awesome, just awesome. Four of the singers were outstanding. Loved Carrie and Jennifer – the gals can sing, as well as Celine Dion! I would love to have a copy of the visual presentation of the song!
Things like this make me physically sick.
Having Garth Brooks or a Vince Gill as a permanent judge would be interesting to say the least. I don’t mind a country/pop artist as a judge.
I just watched Season 8 auditions yesterday and Kris sang ONE sentence and came back to say, “I’m going to Hollywood.” At the time, I thought he was awfully cute but couldn’t tell what kind of a singer he would be. Nothing indicated that he would be in the Finale and the winner!
Wasn’t sure where else to post this, but E! is now using Adam Lambert’s FYE remix in one of their new promos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxkK3RyweOE
I apologize if this is old news
I also loved the ’80s musically for the New Wave stuff, the Smiths, NIN (1989 Pretty Hate Machine), The Smiths, Cure, Echo And the Bunnyman is another good one (Killing Moon is just beautiful), Prince was great in the ’80s, The Beastie Boys did Paul’s Boutique (1988), which I adore. And tons of music that others here have mentioned.
I was NOT a fan of the hair bands, and treacle like Whitney Houston, and sorry Adam, never could stand Madonna and got over Michael Jackson very quickly. So yeah, I loved all the Grunge reaction to that, as well.
So guess I’m in the musical ho category as well. I’m okay with that.
Raffi would have to be at the top of my 80’s list. He sang one mean “Baby Beluga”. Sharon, Lois and Bram’s “Skiddararinkydink” comes in a close second.
over on the Pulse board they are saying that LLWD will be at #19 pop and #8 HAC when the official mediabase chart is released in the next few hours. so Kris will officially have a Top 20 Pop hit!
it is currently at #16 on iTunes (WWFM has slipped back a little bit, but not too badly — it’s at #23)
I was a big fan of rock, alternative and grunge in the the 80s through 90s, but I felt I should add some love for some of the awesome females as well as males of the non-rock/non-alternative persuasion! These guys also defined that era for me:
80s: Cyndi Lauper, Tracy Chapman, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Suzanne Vega, Babyface, Heart, Elton John, The Sugarcubes, DeBarge, George Michael, UB40, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston.
(This was around my tween years so if you think some of these artists are cheesy, just remember that these are the people that I’m actually not too embarrassed to mention!)
90s: Alaniss Morrissette, Sinead O Connor, Mc Hammer, Liz Phair, TLC, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, Arrested Development, LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, Brian Adams, Madonna (again), Mariah Carey, Matchbox 20, No Doubt, They Might Be Giants, Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, Norah Jones, Salt N Peppa, The Pretenders and Fatboy Slim (LOL).
80s: Cyndi Lauper, Tracy Chapman, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Suzanne Vega, Babyface, Heart, Elton John, The Sugarcubes, DeBarge, George Michael, UB40, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston.
Actually a lot[ not all] of these artists had their best music in the 70’s, even though they were still performing in the 80’s but it was the 70’s where their music was defined!! In my opinion some went off track in the 80’s & actually returned with some better music in the 90’s[ eg Elton John]
Of course that’s my taste in music & you may have liked their 80’s style which is fine but ,my point still stands that a lot of their more successful stuff was in the 70’s.
LLWD stayed at #16 on ITunes until just a short while ago, and is now at #17. WWFM is #26. I expect there will be further movements, but so far holding steady.
According to Pulse Kris is #18!:
21 18 KRIS ALLEN Live Like We’re Dying 3712 3235 477 21.847
Adam is #22:
28 22 ADAM LAMBERT Whataya Want From Me 2618 2234 384 18.623
Yay for Kris in the Top 20! Nice chart position, boys!
I get your point, but I really think most of those artists had their most successful work in the 80s, regardless of when they defined their own style. I guess the exceptions would be Billy Joel, Heart, Elton John or Rod Stewart. However, they were all still going pretty strong in the 80s and/or 90s, so I think they’re valid to. I love Billy Joel’s 70s and 80s stuff, but I think he changed his style quite a bit in the 80s too. MJ was singing before he could walk, but Thriller, which was one of his most career defining albums, came out in the 80s.
Well, do you listen to your music mostly at night? Does it make make you happy before you go to sleep? Does someone else take a percentage of your music purchases even though they haven’t really done any work? (Couldn’t resist a Conan Ho-joke reference.) Y’all have excellent taste in music if I do say so myself. That list reads like my iPod. Although I’d tack DePeche Mode on to the 80s run down, and Alice in Chains would top my 90s influences list. RIP Layne
.
Seriously:
Posting here, because I went to bed last night before the conversation ended, so I don’t know whether anyone will see it, but what the hell!
I never got into grunge at all during the 90’s and, I believe, only Nirvana really made it in a big way over here.
But, post Cook, I’ve listened to quite a bit here and there. I like Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains and will have to get round to trying OLP at some point.
Is Foo Fighters Grunge or post-grunge? Either way, I love their stuff. Definitely my favourite of what I’ve heard so far.
Keel – I’m a music ho too. I just like what I like and don’t like what I don’t. Fashions and genres are pretty irrelevant. But I do need to either have a strong beat or interesting/great lyrics – and, of course, preferably both – which is why there isn’t too much straight pop on my favourites list: too frequently the beats are aneamic and the lyrics are inane.
That’s freaky. I could have written that sentence. Makes sense that you’d gravitate to AIC after the fact. Lyrically Layne and Jerry pretty much put it all out there. It’s sorta eery listening to Angry Chair now.
I think the Foos are post-grunge, alt rock. Or just plain badass.
He’ll start to really make sense in a specific context when you do. He’s such an early 90s kid — it’s written all over his music. I fell in love with that sound all over again.
What a perfect description of 99% of current pop. It’s like a bunch of people sat in a room together (because it all sounds alike) and tried to come up with earwormy music… and that was the only requirement.
Melody, rhythm, funny or smart lyrics? Who needs ‘em!
I think the Foos are post-grunge too. But just plain badass works best of all. Bwah!