Today’s Idol headlines after the jump…
American Idol’s Blake Lewis Pens Love Song for Natalie Portman
….”One of my songs is based on Natalie Portman,” Blake, 26, tells In Touch. “It’s called ‘Know My Name’ and it’s about the idea of having a celebrity crush when you see someone in a magazine and you just like her for some reason and think, ‘I could be with that girl.’” ….
What Blake Day Dreams About: Natalie Portman
…Blake might first have to break off his relationship with Chris Richardson before that happens. I call dibbs.
Gospel Music Channel to Premiere ‘The Kitchen Sink’
Biggest Names in Gospel & Christian Music – Even an American Idol – Help Launch New GMC Original Series ‘The Kitchen Sink’
Sinead O’Connor, American Idol’s Chris Sligh with dcTalk’s Kevin Max Appear In Series Premiere This Sat. Nov 17 @ 8:00 pm ET/PT…….
…..The series premiere features American Idol Season 7 finalist Chris Sligh and artist/songwriter (and former member of dcTalk) Kevin Max as the show’s first in-studio guests. Controversial Irish songstress Sinead O’Connor will be featured in a profile and interview about her recent Old Testament inspired CD Theology, her first CD to be sold in Christian retail stores. O’Connor also performs songs from the record at a private show shot at Joe’s Pub in New York City…..
Glendale Glitters to feature Jordin Sparks
Glendale’s own Jordin Sparks will return home for a special appearance Nov. 23 at Glendale Glitters Spectacular.
The American Idol will help flip the switch that turns on more than 1.5 million Christmas lights at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Glendale.
Sparks will also do the annual reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
But will she sing? …….
Clarkson not a fallen “Idol,” but she’s slipping
Kelly Clarkson needs what “American Idol” used to provide for her — good songs.
At her concert Monday night at the Paramount, the original “Idol” came off as second-rate rock singer, a dime-store Pat Benatar, belting out whiny, bombastic songs, most of them of her own making, from her dismal third album, “My December,” released in June……
Clay Aiken Christmas Concert Set for 12/6 in New Jersey
Multi-Platinum recording artist Clay Aiken comes to New Jersey on December 6th for “Clay Aiken Christmas” - an evening filled with Holiday Classics, including many songs which appeared on Aiken’s popular CD, “Merry Christmas with Love”. Aiken will be joined by the 45-piece Chelsea Symphony Orchestra, as he brings his family-friendly concert to the State Theatre in New Brunswick.
The New Jersey show will be one of the final opportunities for Aiken fans to see him in concert, before he joins the Broadway cast of ‘Spamalot’……
‘Miss Independent’ shows what Clarkson means with defiantly personal work
….The fallout from this quarter-life crisis is evident in her current, far more modest concert swing. Monday night, the woman who once nearly packed White River Amphitheatre struggled to fill the 2,807 seats at the Paramount….
Kelly Clarkson at the Paramount Theatre: When rock critics become the fashion police
Ear Candy guilty pleasure Kelly Clarkson performed in Seattle Monday night. Unfortunately Ear Candy was unable to attend the show, but apparently Bill Gates was there. Or at least according to the Seattle P-I’s Big Blog he was.
Strangely, after looking at photos of the American Idol’s concert and reading the early review by The Seattle Times’ Patrick MacDonald (”a Seattle institute” according to the Seattle Weekly, and rightfully so in my opinion), I find myself interested in Kelly’s choice of clothing and not the music………
Elliott Yamin and Gloria Gaynor To Perform at AnthemLIVE!
Musical guests join all-star tennis lineup
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia announced it has added American Idol Finalist and Virginia native Elliott Yamin and music legend Gloria Gaynor to this year’s lineup for AnthemLIVE!
Yamin and Gaynor will perform during the event that will feature tennis stars James Blake, Serena Williams, Mardy Fish and Tatiana Golovin……..
“2007 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS” ANNOUNCES FULL LIST OF PERFORMERS AND PRESENTERS FOR LIVE SHOW NOVEMBER 18 ON ABC
….Mary J. Blige, Jonas Brothers, Lenny Kravitz, Queen Latifah, Rascal Flatts and Sugarland will join Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Chris Brown, Daughtry, Duran Duran, Fergie, Maroon 5, Nicole Scherzinger, Rihanna and will.i.am, who were previously announced as performers. The star-studded show will also feature appearances by Akon, Christina Applegate, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, James Blunt, Miley Cyrus, Matt Dallas, Fabolous, Kirk Franklin, Josh Groban, Tony Hawk, Vanessa Hudgens, Lyfe Jennings, Sean Kingston, Solange Knowles, Kellie Pickler, Ryan Seacrest, Slash, Gene Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Swift, Ashley Tisdale, Blair Underwood, Carrie Underwood, Usher, Scott Weiland, Justin Chambers and Chyler Leigh….
TV BLOGS GO DARK IN SUPPORT OF WRITERS
So the Writers Guild of America is on strike, which means you aren’t getting your Daily Show fix, shows like Lost might be coming to an abrupt end soon and American Idol is going to a four-hour format. At least now you’ve got time to read all those TV-related blogs you love so much, right?
Not if you were looking yesterday, you don’t. More than 20 bloggers who write about the industry went “dark” in support of the Writers Guild and its demands to be compensated for streaming TV broadcasts and other digital media. Blogs like The CineManiac and Media Pundit didn’t actually shut down or run black pages. Instead, they ran statements in support of the strike in place of their regular content, which in most cases consists of industry chatter about whose show has been canned or which writer-producer just got fired…..
Related Posts
I hope Natalie calls Blake.
The biggest problem with My December is the singles that have been released. I don’t know who’s calling the singles (Don’t Watste Your Time as a single? Gimme a break!), but My December would certainly be faring much better with a different set of singles. Yes a lot of the album is second rate rock, I agree, but there’s also a lot of the album that’s pretty good. Unfortunately Kelly needs to realize a lot of what she thinks is “artistic” is really just her sounding like a wannabe rock artist. I’m sorry but the pop rock sound of Breakaway is where she belongs, not wanting to be Courtney Love. Anyway, “One Minute”, “Be Still”, “How I Feel”, “Maybe”, and “Haunted” should have been the singles in that order, and i guarantee My December would have been much more successful.
I was not objective and have a question for Neveda ,Kristen or MJ.
Elliott Yamin has an interesting deal with Hickory..He either owns half or gets half the money for his album the other is owned by the president of sony atv.Elliott is more than just a person under the label I would think from a business standpoint the partner would help out with connection he has a little..For a newcommer this is a great deal.
I also think if Elliott or Paris have a relative in the business high up and get thier name out thier it helps. It depends if that help was used because both had someone waiting for them and not sure if related.
The question would this be a true indie label or not?
Is it fair to the other contestants if one has a reletive high up just like it may not be to go against others with more experiance?
Clarification perposes american Idol get name out thier and thier is a gray area for definition of labels. I am just currious seaon 5 was the first full season I am sure others have or will have these situations in the future. I appologize to mj in advance I am just curious I read some things about it.
Blake needs a fashion intervention….STAT!!!!
Blake at Rock the Vote Event Last Night
Kirsten too funny.
Here is hoping that he is wearing that because he has had a nasty case of bronchitis and he is keeping his throat warm. No? Well then maybe he has a big hickey on his neck and he is hiding it. No? Maybe he just got a new tattoo and it turned out bad. No? Maybe….I give up.
Yep, fashion emergency…STAT!!!
Top 10 reasons to wear a fugly bandana
1. You want to look like your Great Aunt Bea.
2. To distract people from your fugly facial hair.
3. You meant to wear a ribbon to commerate something and this was the smallest one you could find.
4. Need to hide the marks on your neck from where Clive sucked your blood.
5. You’re new girlfriend gave it to you and you didn’t want to admit to her just how fugly it is.
6. It’s a tie and you don’t know how to tie one.
7. A “friend” told you that it was the latest style (only works if you live in a box)
8. You have a hideous skin disease on your neck (House is currently being consulted)
9. You are bringing the 20s back.
10. Somebody stole your fugly hat.
That hasn’t stopped DAUGHTRY!!! from selling like hotcakes… :)
Daughtry_AJ
Nov 14th, 2007 at 10:23 am
a lot of the album is second rate rock, I agree, but there’s also a lot of the album that’s pretty good. Unfortunately Kelly needs to realize a lot of what she thinks is “artistic” is really just her sounding like a wannabe rock artist. I’m sorry but the pop rock sound of Breakaway is where she belongs,…“One Minute”, “Be Still”, “How I Feel”, “Maybe”, and “Haunted”
….and I could not disagree more! I actually love her latest CD AND the music she has written. My favs are “Sober”, “Never Again”…and “Irvine” literally rips my heart out! I don’t find her to be a “wannabe” anything but who she is–Kelly Clarkson. I think she wants to produce music that moves “her” as opposed to music that will bring in the bucks.
This is just my opinion but funny how diverse opinions are! That’s what makes the world go around, right?
Irvine, and Yeah are two of my favorites. It’s all subjective. I don’t get the wannabe label though. When I hear Kelly, I don’t think oh this reminds me of…..like so many other artists out there today.
The questions were beat to death in previous blogs…crap.
Kat
Nov 14th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Yes a lot of the album is second rate rock
That hasn’t stopped DAUGHTRY!!! from selling like hotcakes…
Well, I thought about it…just didn’t have the balls! TOUCHE!!!
Pop, I think part of the problem is that you are asking really hard questions to answer because we are comparing apples to oranges. Each situation is unique.
An Indie label is generally considered to be any label that is not associated with one of the four major labels (Sony/BMG, Warner, Universal or EMI). That’s pretty broad. That covers everybody from Disney to somebody who presses CDs in their basement. There are evern sub-categories such as major-indies (indies that have distribution deals with a major).
Elliott’s Hickory label is technically owned by a major and has a major distribution deal, but it is set up to run like an Indie. So, what does that make it? Something new.
So, is he a true Indie? Kind-of. He’s certainly ahead of the game from some garage band (that annoys their neighbours) who makes their own CD and has their Uncle Jim try to get his friend who owns a small record store to carry it. But, at the same time, he’s way behind The Eagles who started their own label and got Walmart to buy 3 million non-returnable copies of their CDs. He doesn’t have as much support as somebody on a major label, but he had major exposure on the show. So, perhaps he is ahead of the average indie artist, but AI exposure doesn’t work for everybody (how many units have Paris and Constantine moved?)
Is it fair that Elliott already had connections in the industry? Why not? What is this fairness thing? Artists want to have a recording career so work what advantages you have. If Kat is prettier than some other artist and can get on more covers, well that might help her move a few albums. If Blake knows somebody in Maroon 5 and can get a song cleared to sing on the show when Chris R cannot, should he not sing it? I say work with what you have. Everybody will have an advantage and disadvantages with people they know, people who take a shining to them, songs they get given to sing, songs they don’t get given to sing, producers who are smart/stupid, sounds that are current/not current, whatever. And everybody has a different view of what is fair.
Okay, much of that was just nattering, but perhaps some of it made sense.
I believe 3 of the final 5 contestants from season 5 had relatives in the intertainment business. Paris, Elliot and Katherine. They also had parents that were singers and coached them in music. That leaves Taylor and Chris as the ones who really worked their way up from scratch. They both are the ones that also play instruments and had bands. Does having relatives in the business guarantee sucess? No, but it sure helps. Does coming from a musical background guarantee sucess? No, but it sure helps. Elliot also hold the religion card. No, I’m not anti-semetic, but their are lots of Jewish folks in the intertainment busines. Paula even mention that she loved Elliot’s voice and also the fact that they shared being Jewish. Does being Jewish make you a sucess? No but it sure helps. Let’s face it there is no such things as a level playing field. Did Elliot get a good deal? Yes, did he do it alone without help from music industry connected relatives? I think you know the answer to that. I do hope his sucess continues as I think he has real talent.
I guess there’s a new “biggest song on the planet”. Per a OneRepublic myspace bulletin last night:
(For those wondering how OneRepublic relates to AI… 1R -> Ryan Tedder, lead singer of the band and producer for -> Blake Lewis, Audio Day Dream :))
Yeah, that Courtney Love, the standard bearer for women in rock everywhere. *cough*
I’ve only heard Blake’s Break Anotha so far…fresh and different. Looking forward to checking out the rest. Oh, and I think the blue bandana is cute on him. :)
Blake needs a fashion intervention….STAT!!!!
Hehe. I had that bandana when I was 5 and my grandparents took me to the rodeo. They matched the cute blue cowgirl boots they gave me!
Sarah, I saw that yesterday. But to be accurate, it’s only counting since 1987 when Mediabase began charting airplay. So, we can just say the biggest song in top 40 radio for the last 30 years. Still, not too shabby. :)
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3294/1rbreaksrecordpj2.jpg
I can’t wait to see how 1R’s album does against the heavy hitters next Tuesday.
I can’t seem to edit my post. 20 years, not 30 years. Why I’m trying to age myself any more is beyond me.
Don’t y’all know that all the Electro/funk/soul/pop 2080s artists are sporting baby blue bandanas these days? Get with it, peeps!
Timbaland has 5 out of the 10 most played songs!!
Some here might enjoy this…Fox Reality is rerunning AI6 & this week was the British Invasion episode. They showed these new Idol interviews during the show last night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdEcJbGlXu8
Watch Kimberley Locke on “Chelsea Lately” Nov 15th 11:30PM on E! Entertainment. “Entertainment Tonight” is scheduled to run a piece on the 16th. (from her myspace bulletin)
According to the handy website in the Idol appearances, Kellie is on Regis and Kelly the 28th, and jordin is on the 21 or 22..dont remember
Top 10 people who sport baby blue bandanas these days:
1. 5 year old girls going to their first rodeo
2. Contestants on Survivor (I think the members of the Goofoo tribe wear them)
3. Clive Davis (they go well with his lovely blue velour track suit)
4. First time bank robbers (they also tend to wear spurs)
5. My dog after he gets a bath and pedicure at PetSmart
6. People who erroneously think it makes them look French (often paired with fugly hats)
7. Tweeners hiding their first hickey
8. CSI members when they discover a particularily ripe corpse (also handy when meeting with Clive)
9. People who really, really, really like to play pin-the-tail on the donkey on a moment’s notice.
10. Runner-up Idols (Kat has one too. You should see the huge collection Bo has. Although, whenever he ties the knot, his hair gets stuck in there. That is why Blake has wisely decided to make all his hair stand on end. Plus, that way, he looks more like Peppy Le Pew)
LOL, Kirsten. :)
Well, I know which album I’ll be buying.
*whistles* It’s too late to apologize…
“Does having relatives in the business guarantee sucess? No, but it sure helps. Does coming from a musical background guarantee sucess? No, but it sure helps. Elliot also hold the religion card. No, I’m not anti-semetic…”
There is no “religion card” in the music business. Clive Davis who is Jewish passed on signing the only Jewish contestant on the show. Jews do not get favored treatment because of their religion. To think so actually IS a from of Anti-semitism in my opinion. Elliott’s cousin probably helped him negotiate the music business waters but Elliott’s talent is selling his music. The only “card” people play in the music business is selling their music in the best way they can. The reason Elliott has sold more than Constantine (for example) is not because a)he’s Jewish, b) has a music industry cousin
c)has diabetes d)etc. It’s because 400,000 more people decided to buy his album. Comprende?
1R might give Jordin a run for her money. They’ve had a huge myspace following for a while now.
Now, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Mr. Music Industry Cousin (Mr. MIC). There are a lot of intangibles in the music biz.
Would Elliott have been able to hook up with uber-producers/songwriters Stargate if not for Mr. MIC? Maybe. Maybe not. Would Elliott have known how to swim with the sharks in the music biz and come up with his nifty keen deals with Sony ATV and Sony distribution without Mr. MIC? Maybe. Maybe not. Would Elliott have been able to get interviews on every radio station in the country without Mr MIC and his Clear Channel connections? Maybe. Maybe not (Ace did it without Mr. MIC, so this one is probably likely).
Would Elliott have been such a huge success without a great opening single from Stargate, radio exposure and his CDs in major record stores? Maybe. Maybe not.
So, Mr. MIC probably helped out a bit. At the same time, Mr. MIC (and every other MIC in the biz) has lots of cousins who never become hit recording artists. Elliott has an AMAZING talent and he hussled his butt off for the last year (talking to radio stations, meeting with major vendors such as Target, touring, touring, touring).
There is a lot that goes into making somebody a hit. So, if you want a career in music and have your own Mr. MIC, then accept his help. Oh, and try to be talented.
NOTE: I’m not saying that Elliott is a hit because of Mr. MIC or that he would never have been a huge hit without Mr. MIC, I’m just saying that I suspect that Mr. MIC may have helped to grease the wheels to a quicker success. And there is NOTHING wrong with having a little help. And, even with all the help in the world, if you make carp, people still aren’t necessarily going to buy it (although, they still might…one never knows…I’m sure we can all point out a successful recording artist or movie star who we think should be flipping burgers instead….and I’m not saying that Elliott is that person…I’m talking about people like Paris Hilton…and I’m not trying to start a fan war about how your Idol had more help than My Idol because everybody gets some help here and there from whatever situation they are in and they aren’t stealing sales from each other so who gives a carp if somebody has a cousin here or a friend there or an “undeserved” Idol win here or great legs there or the ability to make shadow puppets here or a great recipe for lasagne there…it all good)
Blake’s on the front page of All Access! And he’s in this Rock The Vote vid apparently too but I can’t get it to play all the way through (it’s stormy here…).
No argument with me about his cousin helping him. His cousin produced his album and owns the recording studio. I was annoyed at the “religion card” comment I must admit. I totally agree with your post that people use what they have. Kat is beautiful. She used it and did better than both Elliott and Chris on S5. Is that fair? Is it fair that people win singing competitions who aren’t the best singers? No. That’s life. Is the whole concept of AI fair? Giving Blake and Jordin opportunities that other, maybe more talented people never get? I wonder.Anyway, any advantage that Elliott got from Cousin Josh was about 1/10 the advantage that the people who Clive signed get. In the end, their music finds an audience or not and fair doesn’t mean much
Wow Kirsten - nice job! I think you covered it AND you answered all the objections you’d get AND you did it with your typical great humor. You obviously anticipated what would be coming next since this poor dead horse just continues to take a beating. :)
Agreed. Elliot can’t get a booking on Leno because his sales aren’t high enough according to an article I read not too long ago about Elliott’s new type of indie deal. I’m not trying to start a fan war either but Kat did have two Leno appearances and Elliott has outsold her. A major label can be a huge acvantage in terms of exposure. In the end, I think Elliott is pretty happy with his situation. Apparently Chris is happy with his. He should be - he’s taking the radio airwaves by storm. Oh shoot - I hope everyone is happy!
Star, Dr. Will is also (briefly) in that Rock the Vote vid. LOL.
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Kirsten, will you marry me?
OMG I misspelled Elliott…
*lights torch*
LOL, Lu. Must have been the jello shots… ;-D
Irvine happens to be my favorite song from My December, but it would NEVER work as a single, which is why I didn’t list it as what should have been the singles in my opinion. I also like Yeah, and Sober is decent, but not as good as many crack it up to be, IMO. All I’m saying is songs like Hole, Judas, Never Again seem very forced for someone like Kelly to me. Really it’s not that much of the album that I think is like that, mostly just those 3, but I’m afraid that if Kelly has it her way the next album is gonna be full of songs like those, and to me that’s Kelly being something she’s not. Just my opinion.