3 ‘Idol’ alumni target holiday season for debuts
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The first post-”American Idol” albums from three recent contestants on the hit show are expected this fall, in time for the holiday season. Release dates are still to be announced.
Here’s a quick rundown of what they’ve been working on in the recording studio.
KRIS ALLEN – For his fall debut on 19/Jive, the 23-year-old has a wealth of songwriters and producers to choose from: David Hodges (Clarkson, Daughtry), Salaam Remi (Nas, Amy Winehouse) and Claude Kelly (Akon, Leona Lewis) have all submitted material for the record.
ADAM LAMBERT – Tedder says his songs with Lambert have a new wave, Tears for Fears vibe, but that choosing a musical direction for Lambert results in an embarrassment of riches. “He can sing so many different styles of music,” Tedder says. “I think he can be a global superstar; there’s not a doubt in my mind.”
JASON CASTRO – “If you fell in love with Jason on the show, this is exactly the record you’d want him to make,” says Pete Ganberg, Atlantic executive vice president/head of A&R. “It’s introspective, playful and very much a combination of his influences, which range from Jeff Buckley to Jack Johnson.”
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Not much to idolize, with a few exceptions
Something needed to puncture the sheer inertia of the audience of mostly families – sometimes three generations together – who sat, arms folded, staring lifelessly for the majority of the show. They weren’t so much watching a pop concert as revisiting the television show: tolerating the Idols they didn’t vote for in order to catch a real glimpse of the reality star they favoured. Unsurprisingly, given the countdown nature of both the show and the concert, that meant the fun wasn’t going to start until near the night’s climax.
Total Album Sales Surge
In the first full week after Michael Jackson’s death, total album sales shot up to nearly seven million units, a level not seen since early April. Track sales dropped 1% but had risen 9% the prior week, the first full week after Jackson’s death. Track sales in each of the last two weeks exceeded 23 million units, a level not seen since the week ending April 12. Variable pricing took effect on April 7 and weekly unit sales dropped and had remained about 10% down from pre-variable pricing levels.
Daughtry: Growing Into Stardom
Chris Daughtry is cooling his heels. He and his band mates are relaxing in an air-conditioned tour bus at a rock quarry outside of Los Angeles. It’s a preternaturally sweltering day with no breeze and no respite from the blistering sun, making the bus one of the few bearable spots.
Daughtry is shooting the video to “No Surprise,” the first single for “Leave This Town.” Out July 14, the CD is the band’s follow up to its 2006 self-titled 19/RCA effort, which is the fastest selling rock debut in Billboard’s history. The plot of the “No Surprise” video revolves around a couple whose financial and communication difficulties are causing a rift in their marriage. Daughtry stresses that just because his band has sold a few million records, it doesn’t mean he can’t relate.
Daughtry, T-Pain, Dierks Bentley Set For Free Samsung Concert Series
Daughtry, the Offspring, Dierks Bentley and T-Pain, among others, will perform as part of the third annual Samsung AT&T Summer Krush, a free summer concert series designed to highlight the Samsung JACK mobile phone.
The concert series starts July 17 in Seattle with a performance by Daughtry at the Paramount Theatre. Portions of the concert will broadcast later that evening on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Music First, Kids Later for ‘Idol’ Singer
Brooke White’s upbeat personality would make some wonder if she even realized she got kicked off ‘American Idol’ during the show’s seventh season. Coming down from the whirlwind of her post-’Idol’ career, White remains positive about balancing her “intense” music career with her family life, she told PopEater.
White calculates she was only home three or four weeks from January 2008 to the end of September, when the ‘Idol’ tour ended. Yet, she’s ready to do it all over again.
Her new album ‘High Hopes and Heartbreak’ will be released on July 21, and White will be back on the road touring. “I definitely am going to miss being around my family, but right now, it’s time to roll up my sleeves and work hard, taking advantage of the opportunities ‘Idol’ has given me,” White told PopEater.
Clay Lends His Voice to an Important Issue
Clay Aiken took to his blog to shine some light on a pertinent issue effecting the gay community.
He writes:
I’m a little late on this one, but’ ¦ be careful. Don’t breathe in around me!
In debating the School Violence Prevention Act during a legislative session, NC General Assembly Minority Leader Skip Stam (R*-Wake) said that “explicitly protecting gay kids from bullying would lead to pedophilia and gay marriage,” The man, who has obviously come unhinged from reality also argued that gay parents are “more dangerous than second-hand smoke.”
I hope I haven’t caused any health problems for any of you!
What a dumbass!
Do enough of you guys live in southern Wake County to help him lose his job next year?
“American Idol” Finalists Fedorov and DeGarmo to Star in Lyric Theatre’s Joseph
Anthony Fedorov and Diana DeGarmo, both “American Idol” finalists, will star in the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma’s upcoming production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical will play July 21-25 at the Civic Center Music Hall. Fedorov will star in the title role with DeGarmo as the Narrator.
The production also boasts 80 children, ages 7-16.
Review: Kellie Pickler charms Craven crowd
CRAVEN ԠThere were no red high heels in sight, and no airhead observations to capture for future YouTube postings, but Kellie Pickler oozed her trademark southern charm and easily filled the Craven valley with her big voice Friday night.
Dressed down in a white T-shirt, black pants and knee-high riding boots, the petite Pickler delivered a simple set that was free of frills, but full of heart.
Taking the stage 30 minutes after her scheduled start time, Pickler got right to work opening with “Best Days of your Life,” a single from her new self-titled album. The song was co-written with Pickler’s best friend Taylor Swift, but the bosom buddies didn’t offer an on-stage duet.
Moods of Norway opens on Robertson Boulevard
Adding to the amusement was a motley crew of celebrities who showed up. Rumer Willis, Estella Warren, Chris Klein and Kellan Lutz (dressed in head to toe Moods of Norway) all turned out for the party.
Ultimately an amusing and somewhat random event, but with ‘For Lease’ signs everywhere, the positive energy of the Moods of Norway crew is a welcome addition to the area.
‘Dance’ defeats return of ‘Brother’
CBS launched the 11th season of “Big Brother” Thursday night, and while the numbers were slightly up compared to last summer’s premiere, Fox narrowly won the primetime race with an elimination round of “So You Think You Can Dance” earning the best 18-49 rating of the evening.
“Big Brother” scored a 2.3 rating/8 share in the demo in the 8 o’clock hour, with 6.8 million viewers tuning in. Last year the reality series began on a Sunday and earned a 2.1/7, with 6.1 million on its first night. Other demos, including 18-34 and 25-54, were also higher for this latest go-around.
Exclusive Interview: Phillip Chbeeb of So You Think You Can Dance
From the moment he stepped on stage with his seemingly bone-less popping and locking style, good natured goofiness, and infectious passion for dance, Phillip Chbeeb was an instant fan favorite. Though he struggled with choreography outside of his genre, Phillip remained an inspiration to viewers, judges, and his fellow competitors because his performances and time on the show were all about conveying his love of dance. And his touching goodbye speech last night will go down as one of the most genuinely touching moments in a show that’s often filled with tear-jerkers.
Dancer Cheryl Burke buys Hollywood Hills home for $1,295,000
Professional ballroom dancer Cheryl Burke of “Dancing With the Stars” has purchased a midcentury modern post-and-beam house in the Hollywood Hills for $1,295,000.
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,494-square-foot home, built in 1957, has 180-degree city and mountain views, a stone fireplace, vaulted wood ceilings and a separate studio office. There are two decks for dining, lounging, entertaining or practicing a season-winning samba.
Mmm. It depends on whether CDs are viewed just as Idol releases, or as separate CDs. Look at the CDs that either have or will come out in 2009: while I have a hard time predicting what the AI8′ers will sound like (although I have a better sense with Kris and Allison), of the folks whose style is known, I think that I can feel pretty good in saying that the CDs put out by Melinda, Kelly, Taylor, Ruben, Elliot, Daughtry, Jordin, Carrie, Michael Johns, Brooke, and Jason will all be pretty different from each other. Some people might like multiple of those CDs, but they will probably draw from different groups, both within the Idol world and among non-Idol fans. Even among the major label folks, a lot of variety there.
Now, I would agree that Idol doesn’t sell automatically like it used to. [Not that too much sells automatically these days.] It used to be that an Idol winner was all but guaranteed to sell platinum in very short order, at least for the debut album, and then the question was, how much more than 1 million? Now, that’s not a given, even if some folks in the media, etc., still assume that it is. My guess is that each of the major label Idol artists stands a good chance of getting enough splash from his or her upcoming release that, if the release is good, s/he can get strong enough sales to make the label happy.
I’m excited for Jason’s CD and single. It’s great that the Atlantic people seem to be excited about him too. That was a nice quote in the article. According to his Tweets, Jason has a photoshoot next week (Thursday).
As always, thank you for the update on Jason! It is so cool seeing his name up there with Kris and Adam’s. His styling is different than theirs and he does have a lot to offer. I love the CD I have of his songs on AI and afterwards. I can’t wait for his release!
It’s also good to hear good news about Anthony, Diana, and Brooke. I have said it many times, but I wish Brooke and Jason would tour together!
Wishing them all the best.
This is very exciting. I can’t wait to hear Jason’s cd. I liked all his song choices on the show, he’s set and primed to make a killer cd, and if it’s well produced, I think he’s going to do really well. It’s been a long wait but finally we’ll get to hear it.
David Cook is absolutely a rocker. I don’t necessarily agree with the first two singles chosen by the label, but give it time, he will become known for better and better songs that have already been recorded, not to mention those waiting in the wings. He’s an alt rocker, a pop rocker, a beautiful rock ballad singer, and he’s also a hard rocker at times. Hard enough for me and his fans. Rock “purists” and snobs I find amusing in their narrow definition of what is rock. afaic, Daughtry is rock (not everyone agrees there either) and so is the Fray and bands like that and David Cook and his band fit there with them.
And Allison, I agree with John, will be a huge star, and is still under-estimated by many Idol viewers but wait and see. Look back in 5 years and tell me where that girl is.
If you had said that in the middle of the competition, I would have been skeptical. However, I watched some of her tour performance videos and I was blown away. Not only was she a bundle of energy on stage, but everything she did, down to the quirky/hyper dance moves, seemed very natural and uniquely Allison. Vocals aside, I thought she outshone Adam in the duet, in terms of stage presence. She may not achieve instant success, but my money is on Allison when it comes to longevity.
Yup. Cook’s performances are high energy, very rockin’ and his band is tight (from what I’ve seen on Utube!). The crowd is lucky if they can get more than 2 ballads out of him. Cook has a hard time getting the legit rocker stamp for superficial reasons: Idol winner, pretty boy, women go crazy over him and he has no qualms displaying his sensitive side. He seems to care very little about having the rocker image…. that quality might hinder him now, but I think it will pay off big time in the long run. The gradual change in his concert demographics since he started the tour, is a testimonay to that. Below is some priceless Cook banter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKWgxQ9nVbA
I am so glad Brooke and Jason are NOT touring together. A few of my choices would be Serena Ryder, Carolina Liar, or Shinedown.