Zac Efron tipped to star in Simon Cowell remake of Saturday Night Fever
Efron would be likely to take the lead role as the nattily-dressed Tony Manero, originally played by John Travolta.
Timbaland, the hip hop producer who has worked with musicians including Nelly Furtado, Coldplay, Bjà ¶rk and 50 Cent, has been identified as a possible contender to rework one of the most famous film soundtracks of all time.
Cowell, who has his own television production and music label Syco, and was on this year’s rich list with a  £120 million fortune à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ is said to have been in talks with producer Robert Stigwood, who owns the rights to the screenplay, for several weeks already.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Winner Kris Allen Plans Jive Records Debut
Just weeks after being crowned this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s American Idol, Kris Allen has inked a deal with 19 Entertainment, which will release his debut album on Jive Records this fall. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“As exciting as the last few months have been, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m really looking forward to what is next,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Allen said in a statement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Everyoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been asking me what ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to sound like. It will be very similar to what you heard from me on the show à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ definitely in the pop/rock genre. I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wait to get started!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Allen will join other AI all-stars Jordin Sparks and David Archuleta under the Jive banner, perhaps hinting at the target audience AI hopes Allen will appeal to after Idol.
Adam Lambert: I’ll “Answer All Those Questions”
Who gives an ef about winning a singing competition? Adam Lambert’s just happy he can finally party at all the best H’wood hot spots. “I was living on Melrose and Wilcox in a studio apartment six months ago just hoping I could get into Teddy’s,” the American Idol runner-up said last night, accepting the Artist of the Year award at the Young Hollywood Awards in Santa Monica. “Now I can!”
Ad couldn’t even wait to get his freak on at the afterbash, ending his thank-you speech insisting that somebody “buy me a drink!”
Adam Lambert: Rolling Out of the Closet?
Adam Lambert promises that he’s about to address all the lingering questions about him.
“At this point, I think everybody knows everything, but once the Rolling Stone article comes out, people will know everything,” the American Idol runner-up told us last night at the Young Hollywood Awards.
Reportedly, Lambert will officially come out of the closet next week in a cover story for the music magazine…
“I’m excited,” he said. “I want people to know what’s up. It’s words coming out of my mouth!”
American Idol airplay: Kelly Clarkson stays on top; Kris Allen, Adam Lambert pick up spins
Kelly Clarkson retains the two top spots on USA TODAY’s American Idol airplay chart this week, as I Do Not Hook Up narrows the gap between it and My Life Would Suck Without You. The latest singles from Daughtry, David Cook, Jordin Sparks, Bucky Covington and Kellie Pickler also pick up spins, though Kellie drops one spot, from #3 to #4. The new ones from Taylor Hicks (Seven Mile Breakdown) and Josh Gracin (Enough) look like they’re going to have a hard time catching on, though.
David Cook Gears Up For Summer Tour
David Cook is gearing up to hit the road this summer on an extensive tour that stretches into October, The outing gets underway on June 18th in Del Mar, California and currently winds down in mid-October. Cook will be playing a mix of state fairs, festivals and clubs. This will mark Cook’s first major tour since his brother died from brain cancer earlier this spring.
Cook hits the road to support his self-titled debut album, which arrived last fall. Last year’’s American Idol champ tells us the songs on the set reflect what’s happened since winning the competition: “It’s pretty undeniably me, which I’m excited about. I feel like my experiences in the last year — not just with the show — just with life — I have a lot of things to talk about.”
Country stars decorate guitars for Opry charity
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fans attending Tuesday night’s Grand Ole Opry shows will get a sneak peek of some specially designed guitars.
The Epiphone acoustic guitars were decorated by some of country music’s biggest stars, including Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels and Pam Tillis.
The guitars will be auctioned Friday at the Ryman Auditorium to benefit the Opry Trust Fund, which helps people in the country music industry who fall on hard times.
The guitars are adorned with song lyrics to hand-drawn sketches and are on display in the house lobby until the auction.
Jordin Sparks Is Out Standing In Her Battlefield
The video for Jordin Sparksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Battlefieldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ made its way to the Internet over the weekend, and on the day that newly minted American Idol winner Kris Allen made his inevitable record deal with 19 Recordings official, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s somewhat instructive to see what happens to people who stay in the 19 fold for their second albums.
2nd Annual Golf and Guitars Charity Even Review
Bucky Covington was the night’s head liner, but when John Michael Montgomery arrived without a band or his guitar he ended up joining Covington on stage. Before the set Montgomery walked up to Bucky saying “I don’t have a band or a guitar can you help me out.”
Covington smiled and responded ” I think I have those things.” The two covered Elvis, played each others hits and had an all around great time on stage. Mid set Covington broke three strings on his own guitar which sent member of Love and Theft Eric Gunderson sprinting backstage. He handed Covington his guitar and the set proceeded. Montgomery, who had a drink in hand the entire night, laughed when he forgot most of the words to his own song “Be My Baby Tonight.” The vocals were taken over by the audience, Montgomery turned to Covington and said “Isn’t great when you get to the point in your career that an audience can sing the song when you forget the words.” The set drew to a close with “I Swear.”
Broadway stars have advice for Susan Boyle
Constantine Maroulis, who nabbed a Tony nomination for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rock of Ages,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ advised Boyle to stay determined and to never forget who she is.
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just work hard and believe in yourself. Not to sound too corny. She seems like a nice woman. And the right part for the right person,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Maroulis explained. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“You never know. Things can work out.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Susan Boyle Reunites with Cat Pebbles and Preps for Career
“She’s really happy and on good form,” a source close to Boyle tells PEOPLE. She has a new manager à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ Ossie Kilkenny, who worked with U2 on their multi-million dollar deals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ while hit-maker Simon Cowell will help with her music.
“This is all been done in agreement with Simon,” the source says. “Ossie has been brought in and welcomed by all concerned.”
Britain’s Got Victims: As another Simon Cowell talent show ends, former finalists claim they were cynically exploited
Two years ago, Niki Evans was another vulnerable finalist, on Cowell’s The X Factor.
Her father had just died when she took part and she was left aghast at what she saw as producers attempting to exploit her sob story.
‘They spent three hours literally shouting at me to sing Dance With My Father Again live on the show, with the instruction to cry in the middle of it,’ recalls Niki, 36.
‘I was in floods of tears, saying: “You can’t make me do this. It’s sick.” I would have completely broken down on live television, in front of millions of people, if I’d sung it – but that was what they wanted.
‘Billy Elliot’-powered Tonys dance to best ratings since ‘06
In a time of lowered ratings nearly everywhere else, Sunday’s 63rd Annual Tony Awards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ capped by 10 wins for the Elton John musical “Billy Elliot” à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ actually delivered improved numbers.
An average of 7.4 million total viewers tuned in to the three-hour Tony telecast, up 17% compared with last year and the best figure since 2006, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research.
As usual, the Tony audience skewed older, with a lackluster 1.3 rating/4 share among the advertiser-friendly demographic of adults ages 18 to 49. The program tends to perform much better among viewers 50 and older.
Bret Michaels Breaks Nose, Busts Lip In Tonys Accident
NEW YORK à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards, and all he got was a nose fracture _ and a busted lip. According to Michaels’ spokeswoman, the rock singer had X-rays taken after getting clocked in the head by a descending set piece at Sunday’s Radio City Music Hall ceremony.
Publicist Joann Mignano says Michaels, who performed with his 1980s hair-metal band Poison, fractured his nose and had to get three stitches in his lip. She says he was getting a CAT scan on Monday as a precaution, as he’s had a past neck injury.
Bret Michaels’s Tonys Mishap: Shrek and Donkey Helped Me Up
Bret Michaels may have broken his nose and busted his lip during a scenery-related malfunction at the Tonys on Sunday à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ but the Poison frontman and Rock of Love star left with his sense of humor intact.
“He told me, ‘All I remember is Shrek and the donkey helping me up, and Liza [Minnelli] giving me a towel,’” says his rep, Joann Mignano. “And Bret was laughing when he heard [Tonys host] Neil Patrick Harris said he gave new meaning to ‘headbanging.’ ”
Exclusive: VH1 Shelves Best Week Ever, Possibly Permanently
We hear from a source close to the production of Best Week Ever, which just went on summer hiatus, that the showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s future is in jeopardy. It will be off the air until 2010, which some employees are considering effectively the same as a cancellation, since Best Week Ever normally breaks for weeks at a time, not months. In fact, we’re told that recent New York City transplant Paul F. Tompkins is considering moving back to Los Angeles. When reached for comment, a spokesperson told us that “VH1’s Best Week Ever has actually gone on its scheduled production hiatus and will return in January 2010. Its companion piece Best Day Ever, which spoofs that dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pop-culture news, will return this fall.” No reason was given for the extended time away, but apparently staffers were hopeful that the full 30-minute version would be back this fall.
SYTYCD finalist Asuka Kondoh: ‘My heart is going to want to burst’
Asuka A San Francisco native and UC Irvine graduate, 25-year-old Asuka Kondoh is “nervous for everything” as Wednesday’s first performance episode nears. But even without her longtime ballroom dancing partner by her side, Kondoh is ready to walk the walk, dance the dance and put her best face forward for America.
‘SYTYCD’ finalist Melissa Sandvig is ready to break out of the ballet box
Sytycd_melissa-s_0863_lyFbMelissa Sandvig, 29, may be the oldest contestant on “So You Think You Can Dance” this season, but those closest to this trained ballerina have faith. “This is your year,” her students and husband told her before she auditioned for the show, for the first time, this season. Her ballet background may also make Sandvig stand out from her fellow contestants, but the Los Angeles native says she is ready to branch out big-time.
‘SYTYCD’ finalist Ade Obayomi: ‘Whoa, this is really happening!’
Sytycd_ade-o_1345_lyFb Chapman University dance student Ade Obayomi, 20, sounds like a kid in a candy store when it comes to “So You Think You Can Dance,” at least compared with some of his more camera-shy fellow contestants. “I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wait for everything to be in full force: lights, staging, the audience members, the judges,” Obayomi said. It obviously helps he has lots of support not only from his fellow contestants on the show but also from his teachers at Chapman University, where he just completed his freshman year. “They were like, ‘Follow your dream!’ ” And it seems that is precisely what Obayomi is doing.
Hamburg hip-hop specialist dances his dream on Fox reality show
Tony Bellissimo, the lanky hip-hop dancer from Hamburg who made it into the top 20 of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“So You Think You Can Danceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ last week, is going nonstop as he and the 19 other competitors prepare to take the stage Wednesday night.
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just go, go, go, go,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ he said Monday during a brief break from the whirlwind of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rehearsals, staging, lights, wardrobe, interviewsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ that precede Season Fiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s first performance show, which will be televised tonight from 8 to 10.
But donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the idea that he is complaining. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just overwhelming and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so much fun,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Bellissimo says. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I feel like Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m dreaming.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
LOL, don’t underestimate that tortoise. There is a lot of wisdom in this fable. Even if the hare initially overshadows the tortoise, the tortoise still wins in the end. I personally think the sideline peeps in this fable, stood back to see what would happen…and them were amazed. The ultimate conclusion of this is patience is a virtue…we’ll see. Insanity peeps, need not apply. 1 yr. is ultimately not a long time. Okay, sorry, I’m done. lol.
I have it from good sources that Taylor kinda screwed himself a little with that first album. He got very excited by all the bells and whistles available to him, and of course there was that rush rush rush thing.
I guess in some cases (Carrie, Cookie, and of course Kelly — the “kuh” sounds — so maybe Kris too??) it works out through the rush. It seems to me that happens when the artist’s style is very defined, as it was with the above.
Adam could have a tougher time nailing it down. And I think Kris knows just who he is musically.
But though it’s totally out of my hands (or as Brett Dennen sings, “Darling do not fear what you don’t really know’), I’d love to see TPTB on these records not gum them up with a lot of crappy, committee-written songs and overdubbing, etc. Simple and soulful for Kris, that’s my bid.
SarahP, I’m a big Kris fan as well (and for the record, also an Adam/Allison/Anoop fan). Perhaps I’m not as big a Kris fan as you because I hadn’t read/heard a lot of the musical influences stuff before. I knew he was a Jacko and Boyz II Men fan but those details he revealed in this EW article were news to me.
As for Adam overshadowing him, well, frankly the media spotlight on Adam is still only a small portion of the entertainment news scene. Even without Adam’s RS cover story, Kris and the other Idols would still have to fight for a slice of the media pie with the established stars. If anything, Adam’s RS story actually brings some attention back to Kris, with the “attractive” and “distracting” roommate anecdote.
:tongue1_tb: awwww i have to wait for another one more year (and couple
more years even..) to see who actually wins! serves me right for being an overinvested fan this year…
Completely agree with Kirsten and others who have said that nothing can be done about Kris getting the Taylor treatment. It is what it is. It may suck, but if 19 is fully invested in Adam, Kris gets the shaft and nothing his fans do or say will change that. It is baffling, though, because he is current and marketable, but, I guess, in the end, regardless of who takes the title, they will promote the winner they chose in advance. Forgive me for forgetting that, as they had gotten the winner they wanted for S6 and S7.
hellothere, I’m kinda baffled why you think 19 is giving Kris the shaft? What exactly do you think they should be doing to promote him at this time before the tour even starts and before he has even recorded any songs?
His signing with 19R/Jive was only just officially announced June 8th, 2 days ago. He’s done the New York media tour, including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, he was featured prominently at the AI Experience in Walt Disney World, and he has sung the NA at an NBA finals game. Sounds like a pretty full promotional plate to me.
As for Kris receiving the Taylor treatment, only time will tell if that will come to pass. In the early aftermath of season 5, Taylor had a great deal of publicity. It was only after his album came out and wasn’t well-received (even amongst a lot of Soul Patrollers) that he seemed to get less and less support from the label.
In the end, it does all come down to the music.
SarahP, why does it even have to be a “race” between Kris and Adam? If one sells more records than the other, does it mean the other has failed? Frankly, both of them have way more to contend with in the music industry than where they are relative to each other. I’m not sure some fans are seeing the bigger picture here.
colette, I fell in love with Taylor’s pre-Idol music (he had several songs available for free download at one point) but so far, none of his post-Idol material has been as good, imo.
RemusL,
You are absolutely correct. There really isn’t anything that can be done promotion-wise until there is something to promote as there aren’t any hot button media issues with Kris. But, it doesn’t bode well that all indications currently point to Adam being the top priority. When they are consumed by promoting Adam, it doesn’t leave much for Kris when he needs it.
hellothere, um, you do realize these labels have rosters of many, many artists. Not to mention Kris and Adam are on separate labels, each with its own marketing department.
^^
True. But, the majority of promo (outside of the radio variety) is the responsibility of the management. And that is where Kris will encounter a problem if he shares Adam’s management and they are focused on Lambert alone.
hellothere, again, I feel like I am just repeating myself, but firms like 19 do know how to handle the careers of more than one artist. If you choose to believe otherwise and believe Kris is doomed to second-class status as far as 19 is concerned, well, that’s certainly your prerogative. Personally, I’m confident Kris is getting all the support he needs.
The “Tayloring” of Taylor started long before the albums dropped. Even before he’d recorded a note, 19 had decided to shuffle his picture for the audition back-drop out of the camera frame (when every other year winners have got one of the center positions) and auditions happen during the summer. The label also didn’t release a single before the album dropped (a normal industry practice) and one wouldn’t drop until 3 months later (despite the album going gold in two weeks). Then there is the telling coincidence of 19 employees such as Simon going on record to say how much Taylor and Kris are crappy winners. Simon once schooled Randy to not say something negative about a coronation single because they have to market it, so Simon well understands concept of how management needs to get behind their product (and Simon is a producer of the show and one of the show’s products is the winner). I agree that Taylor’s album wasn’t going to find a market, but 19 treating him as a joke winner certainly didn’t improve his career.
Maybe Kris will get positive treatment from 19, but if their story arc for the season is that of the “rightful winner and world superstar” who got “robbed”, that leaves Kris in the position of “fluke winner” or “thief”. If 19 decides that is the story they want to run with, I think Kris fans have to accept it because complaining never changes it (19 is an unmovable object. Look how they ignored fans pleas for less judging and more singing and gave us more judging and less singing). That doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t complain. People still complain about the weather even though they know that doesn’t achieve anything.
If a fan thinks that Kris will get the full pimp treatment (19 crowing about Kris being the rightful winner and making a big deal about him leading up to the new Idol season that coincides with the Idol album release season), I think that’s totally reasonable position to have as well. Anything can happen.
It’s always interesting to see how things unfold and I have fun looking for the ulterior motives (I love reading mysteries, so it’s an extra game for the season for me).
i retract my earlier statement about kris vs. adam in the long run since they are not competing against each other but against the rest of the world blah blah but i still like the tortoise vs hare story :happy_tb:
Personally, I think the biggest problem Taylor had is that he mostly loves older music. Loves loves loves it, loves performing it, is great performing it, mainly wants to write music that has a lot of echoes of older music.
I think that’s a large part of the reason that they shoved him into the background — they didn’t see a big and growing audience for that music outside of Idol (maybe they were wrong, of course — who knows; I kind of suspect that they were right, though.) Anyway, that clearly makes Taylor into a niche artist. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that. He’s great at his niche. But Sony keeps wanting the big payoff, and you get that with people who are devoted to the current styles, so if you look to be a niche person (aside from the huge niches, pop country and dull-ass Nickelback-type rock) they just aren’t very interested.
When Kris — and Adam, actually — talk about their musical aspirations and influences, they talk about both past people and current people. They both listen to tons of current people. Neither one seems to want to recreate something. They truly want to do things that are them and that are new. Now, whether they succeed at that is another question, and whether what they create will actually interest a huge number of the current audience is still another question. But I can definitely see TPTB getting more firmly behind those dreams than they would ever get behind Taylor’s, who more or less declared himself a niche guy — and a retro guy, into the bargain — from the outset.
lucy:
Hmm.
I don’t really think the problem for Taylor was liking “old” music, though lordy knows I might be wrong on all of this.
I think the problem is that they didn’t know what to do with Taylor, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself, and much of his cachet was built on his extremely fun and slightly outrageous performance style. If you go back and look at his vids from the show, he’s having a blast and so is the audience, and he still can work a crowd. But that never translated to recordings.
When his first post-AI album came out, the songs that he wrote on it from earlier days were praised by critics and the rest of it either got trashed or a meh reaction. The “disowning” of Taylor began in earnest round then, I think. And it dovetailed with a very active negative reaction to him by a fairly large contingent of critics/viewers who always hated him. I still have to explain to people why I actually liked the guy. He’s now spoken of as a mistake, which must hurt a lot.
Fact is, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to Idol before Taylor. Viewership was high during his year, not just because of him but he certainly helped. And didn’t a whole bunch more blogs and fansites blossom during his year? Including this one?
Kris is really very different than Taylor, temperamentally and musically. TPTB may have been pimping like crazy for Adam and Danny, but I just have a feeling that Kris knows what he’s about and is going to deliver. He’s a cooler head, and a more defined artist.
And one thing I love about Kris is that his musical influences are broad — he loves great older stuff like the best of MJ and the Beatles and Motown, and current stuff too.
Oh, I actually like the tortoise vs hare story quite a lot too. The WhatNotToSing.com article analyzing how Kris won is basically subscribing to the same theory.
If I recall, during his tenure as reigning AI, a lot of older artists/musicians loved jamming with him on stage while a young buck like JT publicly dissed him.
Simon might be technically contracted to 19 but he’s no mere employee mouthpiece; he also their competitor. He says and does whatever he wants, and he obviously hates being shown up as wrong in any way. He may have agreed not to outwardly diss coronation songs but he’ll display his displeasure in other ways, like not standing up to congratulate the winner or disparaging him on radio/tv interviews after the fact.
I’m not exactly sure what 19 hoped to achieve by marginalizing Taylor before the dust had even settled on season 5. Questioning the legitimacy of his win only hurt the franchise’s credibility (what little there is) in the long run, as well as their own profit margin. I guess we’ll get an inkling of where Kris stands in their eyes by the placement of his picture during the upcoming auditions for season 9. I think the AI producers this year may have started to realize that promoting past AI alums can only help strengthen the brand going forward.
I do find this all very interesting! And Kirsten, mystery readers unite!
I love mysteries. I feel as if clues to the behind the scenes action of AI are always found here on mjs. Perhaps this is why I love this blog so much.
RemusL: I hope you’re right here. The fact (I think) that viewership was high during season 5, may play a factor in this as well. I wasn’t into AI until last year myself. Anyway, along the mystery lines I always love it when I’m surprised in the end (which doesn’t happen often), so I hope I’m surprised when it comes to my feelings about how TPTB will handle Kris. In spite of this however, he does have a way of peeking his head out and saying I’m still here (tm Kris, I think)! a la the RS interview.