Adam Lambert vs. Susan Boyle: Which Nov. 24 record release has you more excited?
lambert-vs-boyle_lDing, ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rummmmblllle’ ¦or at least get ready to mark Nov. 24 on our calendars with big, red ‘Xs.’ How come? Because that’s when two of this season’s most anticipated debut albums will be dropped like scalding plates coming out of the microwave.
SICK ABDUL PULLS OUT OF COWELL BASH
PAULA ABDUL’s plans to surprise her pal SIMON COWELL at his 50th birthday bash have been ruined by a bout of influenza.
The singer was invited to help her former American Idol judge celebrate the landmark birthday at a lavish $1.5 million ( £1 million) party in Hertfordshire, England on Saturday (03Oct09) but after coming down with flu, she’s currently recuperating in bed on doctor’s orders. And the star is devastated she won’t be able to see her friend on his big day. She writes, “Mama is sick. Up all night with the flu. I feel terrible. I knew I should’ve gotten the flu shot. Gotta get better… I even had a funny surprise in store for him. “Not making it to the party after all. Dr. said no way. I’m bummed (but) I’ll survive.”
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
My picks for most successful ‘Idol’ contestants of all time
I’d say at least one third have now been able to leverage their fame into some semblance of a music career. In other words, many don’t have to go back to being a postal service worker or a Sonic waitress.
I decided just for fun to rank my top 25 most successful ‘Idol’ contestants among those finalists (I’ll leave the likes of Frenchie Davis and William Hung out. We could do a separate, much shorter list of most successful ‘Idol’ contestants who didn’t make the finals). This isn’t a judgment based on me liking them or not. It’s not just record sales. It’s how I perceive success to be. Feel free to rank your own top 5 or 10 on your own criteria.
‘Cowboys’ just sound better in Carrie’s world
I don’t like country music. It’s no secret. More often than not I find it to be grating, twangy and geared toward the “my woman belongs in the kitchen deep-frying me a steak” audience. But there is something about Carrie Underwood’s music that I simply can not resist. There’s no denying she has a good voice — but that is the one thing I’ll give most country artists, they can all sing their pants off. So it has to be something else that captures my attention.
Maybe it’s because Carrie’s journey from waitress to superstar consumed my life for 6 months. I witnessed her first true star moment — blowing the doors off with “Alone” (although that hair is still horrifying) — and saw her develop into the artist that has become one of country music’s rhinestone-iest stars.
Instruments from American Idol fans due in October, but it’s not too late to get involved
Band instruments bought with money donated mostly by fans of American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert are expected to arrive in Kent by October 12, but according to Carol Brewster, the teacher who wrote the essay to get the instruments, local residents can still get in on the action.
Earlier this year, Brewster wrote a proposal for the Web site DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that connects people with students in need, requesting more than $14,000 to buy band instruments for the schools in which she works.
Jordin Sparks in Concert at Atlantis – Saturday, October 10th
Paradise Island, Bahamas – Atlantis welcomes Grammy nominee, American Idol & American Music Award winner Jordin Sparks on Saturday, October 10th as part of their Atlantis LIVE series.
Jordin hits the scene with her second album “Battlefield”, following the success of her self titled debut album and the 2008 hit “No Air” that peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
This R & B and pop artist is sure to entertain.
ExxonMobil & American Idol Elliott Yamin Support Malaria Prevention at Angola Orphanage and School
IRVING, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin have teamed up to support new malaria prevention projects at the Saint Isabel Orphanage and School in Luanda, Angola.
Yamin, a champion in the fight against malaria, delivered a special performance Friday at the 1st Annual Washington Ideas Forum, two days of discussion by major newsmakers and top journalists on the most pressing issues of the day. In support of his performance, ExxonMobil made a grant of $100,000 to the orphanage and school as part of the company’s continued commitment in the fight against malaria.
How Carrie Underwood Got Into Character for “Cowboy Casanova”
For the first time ever, Carrie Underwood took two days to film one of her music videos. And when you see all the stylish dancers and flashy costumes in “Cowboy Casanova,” you’ll know why.
The video premiere is part of CMT’s Big New Music Weekend taking place Friday-Sunday (Oct. 2-4), featuring nine world premieres from several of country’s biggest stars.
For “Country Casanova,” Underwood enjoyed spending some extra time in shooting the video.
Stars Align For Mirage 20th Anniversary
LAS VEGAS — Temperatures are not quite ideal for an outdoor concert, but there will be plenty of heat coming from the Mirage Friday night.
The resort is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a concert at the BARE pool hosted by ‘24′ star Kiefer Sutherland and boasting a lineup of ‘Slash and friends.’
The Guns ‘n Roses guitarist will be joined by Hole singer Courtney Love, ‘American Idol’ star Chris Daughtry, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
Band Organizes Concert to Assist Victims of Samoa Quake
The contemporary Christian group The Katinas is organizing a benefit concert to assist residents of the islands of Samoa and their native American Samoa, which were rocked by a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake Tuesday that spawned a devastating tsunami.
At least 169 were dead Thursday, and hundreds more were missing, the Associated Press reported.
The Hope For Samoa Benefit Concert will be held Oct. 7 at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, Tenn., and will feature The Katinas as well as Natalie Grant and American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle.
Ladies Night Out
The Madison the City Chamber of Commerce’s 10th annual Ladies Night Out has American Idol star Jasmine Murray in the spotlight.
Held the evening of Oct. 20 at the Hilton Jackson Hotel, the event showcases the Season 8 Idol contestant from Columbus, along with a cocktail hour, silent and Chinese auctions, table decorating contest and a special segment honoring the Dynamic Mothers of Mississippi.
How Mr Average became the richest man on television
Simon Cowell’s mother had just put the finishing touches to her make-up before gliding down the swirling staircase. It was Christmas Day in 1963 and she was feeling radiant in her cropped suit and movie star white mink hat.
“What do you think, darling? Does Mummy look pretty?” she asked her four-year-old son as he played in the hallway with his new train set.
He looked up and his eyes quickly focused in on the furry hat. “Mum, you look like a poodle.”
Slow sales, spat cancel Kanye-Gaga
Prevailing theories behind the cancellation of the 34-city Kanye West-Lady Gaga arena tour are less-than-stellar ticket sales, rancor between the stars or some toxic combination thereof.
Live Nation announced the tour September 24; a week later, the promoter issued a terse statement describing the”Fame Kills” tour as “cancelled” and “refunds are available at the point of purchase.” Pressed for details, a Live Nation spokesperson said, “We have no additional information at this time.”
The website for West’s label, Island Def Jam, listed the tour active as of Oct 2. The same day, a post on Rollingstone.com suggested that the West and Gaga camps “were at each other’s throats,” while Lady Gaga arrived at the Billboard Women in Music event and told Billboard.com that the cancellation “was a mutual decision.”
Kristin Chenoweth gleeful about Glee…and would love to return
Did you see Kristin Chenoweth on Glee the other night? Fully recovered from her migraine the night that she won the Emmy for Pushing Daisies, the prolific Kristin Chenoweth talked about the appearance on Glee — including an interview with Nick the other day — and she was enthusiastic about it.
She said it was a blast playing a character as wild as April Rhodes. She liked it so much, Kristin would like to make Glee a permanent thing. Or at least be asked back for future guest appearances.
Thanks for bringing that over, wordnerdarchie! I know what I’ll be watching for the next several minutes
. The Man In The Box acoustic is pretty awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/ItzMeRenee#play/uploads/10/Oa1ii61_h4w
And Neal’s guitar solo is captured in that vid and it is amazing (as usual for Neal)!
This is a much better video of Cook doing a full version of Livin’ on the Prayer acoustically. From his homecoming in 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzFiNyr7xb4
Oops, I didn’t realize someone had already posted this. Sorry for the repetition.
Here’s another really nice video of Lie in Montreal. Then I have to pry myself away from the computer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPm-nlZuJfU
“He’s enthused about Mark Bright because that is who is producing him and he’s been told the guy is good. It’s not like Danny knew him from a hole in the wall before 19 told him to sign with RCA Nashville.”
Lurking; but just had to comment on this; not true.
Mark Bright approached Danny early on -he wanted him for his own record label. Danny was actually talking to 3 labels at one time.
Danny expressed interest in an interview about working with Mark Bright a good month before even signing. He loves Rascall Flatts and Carrie Underwood, so I’m sure he knew who Mark Bright (produced them) was even before Mark approached him.
And I don’t think Danny signed with Sony because 19 told him to; there were 2 labels bidding for him (Mark Bright’s label presumably one) in August.
Kudos to Danny for landing the big contract with RCA Nashville and getting Mark Bright as his producer like he wanted. Quite the feat, IMO.
Taking your time to make a business decision is sometimes the smart thing to do.
I’m not sure if we’ll ever get the whole picture but I tend to think there were two different mainstream country labels negotiating for Danny, as Danny said he was not inclined to sign with Mark’s company, Word, because he wanted a mainstream platform and Word is known for CCM/gospel. He said that he and Mark had discussed finding an “alternate” arrangement to work together, as in fact has become the case. Danny also spoke about meeting with multiple “big labels,” which (no offense meant to them) may not describe Word.
It’s not too clear what two companies were negotiating in August. Depending on how things work across the four country labels under Sony Nashville, it may be that Danny met with more than one and contract discussions were opened with two–possibly Arista (Carrie’s label) and RCA Nashville, for example. Or it could have been someone totally outside Sony Nashville, such as Warner which is the parent company over Word but has separate arms for mainstream country.
Whatever the case, it all seems to be coming together really well for Danny thus far. He’s getting both the major mainstream label support and the top producer he wanted.
No, because Kings of Leon, Paramore, and for the most part John Mayer are not acoustic bands. Not so sure about Jason Mraz and the Fray because I don’t know their music so well — they might be primarily or wholly acoustic (allowing for electric bass, though, given that it’s very often used in otherwise acoustic bands).
How did Cook prove himself to be the “rightful” winner? By selling more records? That doesn’t prove much, I don’t see why people still insist on all that “rightful” winner stuff. If anything David A’s fans can still make a case as to why he should have been the winner. After a year I would have thought that all the “rightful” winner stuff would be over. Let them have their careers.
Furthermore, I don’t think you can fairly say that David A was the “chosen one” by the time the season ended. TPTB had completely shifted their focus to Cook and clearly wanted him to win.
By winning. The rightful winner wins every year, because the rightful winner is whoever gets the most votes (assuming there’s no vote fraud/irregularity). It’s the outcome that the people casting the majority of the votes wanted.
I realize that’s not what the original poster meant, but it’s the answer.
Not at all. I don’t think it’s worth the time to cite chapter and verse why Cook was not the chosen one by the end — others can jump in and do that if they’re still reading and so inclined — but the chapter and verse is there for the citing.