Today’s Idol headlines after the jump…
Merry Christmas, Donkey
….Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NBC, 8 tonight) is broadcast live from the Manhattan landmark. This year’s telecast will be hosted by Al Roker, the ever-shrinking cataloguer of the planet’s rain, sun, clouds, temperature, sleet, lightning, snow, low-pressure systems and, everybody’s favourite, squalls!
Hopefully without the use of a giant blue map, the Today weatherman will introduce a number of musical performers, including Josh Groban, Céline Dion, Barry Manilow, Ashley Tisdale, Taylor Swift and American Idol star Carrie Underwood.
I have not seen a song list. But if NBC is serious about spreading joy, peace and goodwill, it will do whatever is necessary to prevent Céline from belting out “Feliz Navidad.” And, please, somebody put Manilow in a headlock if he shows up with jingle bells….
Morning anchor Lyders is leaving Channel 12 to explore options
…..Lyders says her decision to leave Channel 12 isn’t connected to her relationship with “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks, something she’s not interested in talking about.
“You know what? It doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she says. “I made the decision based on what’s right for me.”…..
The Reliable Source
….Taylor Hicks — yes, the prematurely gray dude who won “American Idol” last year — dining with three others at BLT Steak Saturday night. Told the manager he was just visiting D.C. friends on his days off….
Kelly Clarkson, former ‘American Idol,’ has guts and gumption
It might sound weird to suggest that Kelly Clarkson is a positive harbinger of pop music’s eventual return from its current abyss of cookie-cutter-voiced autobots and mindless dance pap. Especially since as the first American Idol winner, she’s sort of the poster-child of the autobot movement.
But Clarkson, who brings her My December tour to Boca Raton’s Mizner Park Amphitheater on Thursday, is so much more than the sum of her seemingly pre-packaged fame. Five years ago she set the bar for all of the American Idol winners in both her talent level (huge), likability (huge) and her success (huger than huge), a marker that only fourth-season winner Carrie Underwood has come near in either sales or staying power…..
Movin’ From ‘Idol’ Adulation to Stage Charm
Elliott Yamin is the easiest “American Idol” vet to root for this side of Kelly Clarkson. His likability allows him to take risks without coming off as goofy. Among the risks Yamin got away with at the 9:30 club on Monday: crooning “Sharing the Night Together,” Dr. Hook’s fun but idiotic (how else can you share the night but “together”?) cozy-up single that was originally released 30 years ago this week.
He also pulled off dancing with a giant gecko that stormed the stage during “Movin’ On,” the first song on his self-titled debut CD. Tracks from that disc dominated Yamin’s approximately one-hour set, and most found him trying to conjure a lite-funk, Stevie-Wonder-via-Justin-Timberlake vibe. Yamin, who all night flashed a million-dollar-smile that the tabloids say he got with only $50,000 worth of cosmetic dentistry, shamed neither Stevie nor JT…………
Carrie’s gift
From American Idol to Music Row
The process was well under way, but YouTube provided a caught-on-camera bright-red underline. The occasion was the 2006 Country Music Association Awards, and when it was announced that Carrie Underwood had won Female Artist of the Year, fellow nominee Faith Hill, then country music’s long-running diva of choice, reacted with an angry “What?!” as she stared right at the camera.
The moment couldn’t have captured the shifting fortunes of the pair any better if Hill had interrupted the CMAs to give Underwood a glittering crown and a key to the city of Nashville. Hill has since said she was joking, but that’s beside the point. Underwood, the 24-year-old former American Idol winner whose second CD, Carnival Ride (Arista), recently shot to the top of the charts, is the new diva of Music Row — which by most lights makes her America’s pop diva. Whereas the country’s other reigning songbirds appear to be concentrating on clothing lines (the exception being Jennifer Lopez, who’s too busy wondering where her audience went), Underwood’s just singing. And the music she’s making is equal to the size of the stage she’s now on………
IdeaEdge and Stored Value Solutions Team for First American Idol Gift Card
The new American Idol gift card, recently launched by IdeaEdge, Inc. and powered by Stored Value Solutions, is the first of its kind, the companies reported.
The gift cards will provide over 40 million fans a fun, convenient and easy way to purchase American Idol merchandise and for friends and family members to give as gifts to the many American Idol fans in their lives.
American Idol gift cards provide access to music from past American Idol contestants, such as Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Kellie Pickler and Taylor Hicks. Cards can also be used to purchase Karaoke CDs of songs sung on the show by favorite Idols, exclusive American Idol apparel and accessories, a Playstation 2 video game, and even an American Idol-ized monopoly game……….
High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens laments on fame
….Interestingly, her HSM gig almost never happened. A young Hudgens was all set to audition for American Idol.
“I love singing and I thought that to get a chance to do it (American Idol) would have been amazing,” she says. “The only way I thought that I would be able to get myself out there would be on American Idol. But I was 15 at the time when I said that I wanted to do it and you had to be 16 to audition.
“So I thought, ‘One more year’. Then, when I turned 16, High School Musical came along and I got to do it. So I thought I’d skip on American Idol.”
Nice move.
MUSIC REVIEWS: Pop, country/roots, jazz and classical releases
….JORDIN SPARKS “Jordin Sparks” (19 Recordings/Jive 2 ½ stars)
There are some notable firsts associated with the winning debut of this year’s “American Idol.” Sparks, who is nearly 20, is the first victor to join the producer’s label rather than Sony/BMG with a championship disc not exec-produced by Clive Davis.
Maybe Clive’s scared to get into a Kelly Clarkson catfight with Sparks. Maybe the one-time Christian balladeer with the powerful lungs and the relaxed R&B melodic style had her own ideas. Everything from the tender trap of “See My Side,” with its subtle vocal harmony flourishes, to the tremors of “God Loves Ugly” shows Sparks’ mark. Her debut’s most potent display - she was 17 when she recorded this - is the teen-pop-hop of “No Air,” a breathlessly silly thing she did with Michael Jackson clone Chris Brown. Then there are dear electro-pop tracks like “Shy Boy” (produced by the same team that did most of Britney Spears’ “Blackout”) that manage to show the soulful sweet side of Euro-dance that Britney can’t ever entertain again. It’s a charming effort. Sparkly, even….
American Idol: Disappointing Sales for Jordin Sparks’ Debut Album?
Early numbers (not the official ones mind you, but accurate nonetheless) are indicating that American Idol winner Jordin Sparks’ debut album will finish in an extremely disappointing ninth place on the charts with only around 100,000 copies sold. Now, this is a devastating blow to Sparks burgeoning career, if true………….
Keys vs. Groban, Joran Makes Few Sparks
The CD chart is still being counted, but over at hitsdailydouble.com, Alicia Keys and Josh Groban are neck and neck for a first-place finish.
Groban’s is a Christmas album, while Keys set records last week for debuting at No. 1 with 724,000 copies of “As I Am” sold.
This week they are so far each around 150,000 — but the final numbers won’t be in until later Tuesday.
Meantime, Jive Records looks like it’s struggling with all its new releases, not just Britney Spears’ disappearing “Blackout.” Albums by “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown are also not posting hoped-for numbers. Sparks, an “American Idol” winner, should do only 100,000 copies in her debut week. Goes to show you: Those “AI” kids need Clive Davis, or it just doesn’t work.
The Dish Rag
Count on the muscle of Condé Nast Media Group, the Producers Guild of America and the Entertainment Industry Foundation to pull together a fledgling awards show called “Movies Rock.”
I know what you’re thinking. ANOTHER awards show? Just what we need. More boring acceptance speeches, more fake surprised faces, more big expensive gowns, fancy tuxedos, and pointless after-parties.
But this one actually sounds like it could be fun. (Click HERE for information).
The two-hour event (Sunday, Dec 2 at the Kodak Theatre) celebrates “the synergy between music and movies” and pays tribute to some of music’s most iconic film moments. And of course, given the organizers and the show’s proximity to the big 2008 movie/music awards (Globes, Grammys and Oscars) there will be both award-winners and award-hungry presenters and performers.
Performing: Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Sir Elton John, Eve, Fergie, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Williams, Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige, Nas, Nicole Sherzinger, Tony Bennett, Usher and will.i.am……
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So it seems the public is not big on the x-mass tidings from the idols . Elliotts numbers for his X-mas are not great so like Bo unfortnatly it would not be called a rousing success.
Elliott the not a big push his cd songs: songs are played every top 40 station as much as Daughtry the cd. Guest on Ai where his sales doubled for cd. Radio and signings at store(including one at ny when there).The two songs that are hits are beyonce vibe to them.
Maybe people are just downloading the songs instead of buying the cd for now.I do not feel bad for Elliott non cd push at all. The guy is very lucky you should be happy for him.
The days of idol letting the power of their name do the talking are over. In fact, the label of AI winner is starting to have more negatives than positives. It is easier to lose and have freedom to make your own CD than to win and have extremely high expectations. The lack of passion for winning reflected in last year’s contestants which is one of the reasons why I thought S6 was boring (that and no backstories). Once the contestants made the top 10 (the tour) their competitive edge was gone. AI needs to put value back in the title or IMHO the show is over.
ETA: I should clarify that I mean the value of the AI title needs have value in the eyes of the viewers (not just the contestants). Or the viewers will not be invested enough to vote and thereby not invested enought to watch.
I agree…even sent a email a few years back to the producers stating just that… for all the good it did.
I agree. I got tired of reading in exit interviews that the person hadn’t really wanted to win and that their only goal was to make the top 10. It’s not much fun watching a competive game where most of the contestants don’t want to win.
Imagine the 100 m dash in the Olympics if the competitors only goal was to make the final heat. Athletes strolling non-challantly down the track hoping somebody else will win. “After you”. “No, I insist, after you”. “It’s now hour 73 of the 100 m dash and still, no winner. A special rule was introduced at hour 49 to allow the contestants to step off the track, normally a disqualification, to allow the closing ceremonies to occur on schedule. At least these athletes have all had time to get to know each other and we’ve never seen contestants get along so well. The runner from the Ukraine has asked the runner from Jamica to be the best man at his wedding. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this exiting race. Only 82 m left to go!!!!”
Now, what could the show do to make the contestants want to win again? They can’t threaten to not sign the runner-ups, etc because the contestants just think that they will sign with another label. They can’t say that they will move mountains to make sure that the winner is considered to be the “real winner” because their track record does not support that.
I think Nigel is going to have to open the old purse strings a little. I know that they are pretty tight, but with ad revenues of $600-700K for 30 seconds, I think he might be able to cough up a few more pennies to sweeten the pot. How about 1 million dollars? Plus the supposed 1 million contract they already give out (especially since nobody knows what that means and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to pay all that money back from royalties).
People will eat bugs for a million dollars on Survivor, so it can’t hurt to introduce a monetary prize to Idol. Hey, go all crazy and make it 5 million dollars. That will get the hearts pumping and that’s less than the ad revenue from 10 commercials (and there were what, 87 commercials Top 12 Girls night this year, so, just a drop in the bucket)
Any other ideas?
I think a monetary incentive would be a good way to go. After all, they’ve been giving the runner-ups albums since the beginning.
If anyone is interested, Blake’s official site is up and it looks good!
http://www.blakelewisofficial.com
:)
Confirmed, just got off w/ the Peabody -
Taylor will be performing @ a Gala the night b4 the Liberty Bowl @ the Peabody in Downtown Memphis.
There is a gala on Friday night (Dec. 28) at the Peabody Hotel in Downtown Memphis starting at 7:00 pm. Taylor will play for 90 minutes during the dancing and entertainment time. He is the headliner. The gala is black tie and tickets are $175 per person.
Tix - (901) 795-7700
Monetary incentive would be a bad idea, IMHO. What makes AI stand out from other reality shows is that it does NOT offer monetary award. Just like the Olympic gold medal Kirsten just talked about, it has little monetary value in itself, but offers limitless commercial opportunties if the winner is really talented and appealing to the public. Attaching money to Idol title will degrade it to a certain degree.
I don’t think this season’s problem was that they didn’t try hard. They were just not that talented or appealing.
Just my two cents.
Thanks for the link, PJ! It looks great as do the pics of Blake.
I really could care less about making the winner more important on AI. Everyone already wants their favorite to win so if ratings are down, I doubt it’s because the winner isn’t the only one to get a contract. I pick someone to root for and stick with them as long as they make it and then want them to do well in the real world. Season 5 ended for me when Chris was voted off and it didn’t matter in the least who won after that. I know some people are disappointed in how they perceive Taylor to have been treated after he won but I just don’t think the general viewing audience cares one way or the other.
Season 6 had every bit as much talent as the previous years but some of the problem was that there was too much emphasis on the power singers. You just knew that one of them would win at the end although Blake was the one that caught people’s interested and was the surprise in the final 2.
If you are going to ask people to vote then you are asking them to become emotionally invested in the contestant(s). IMO, This emotional investment is key to the success of American Idol. However, if winning doesn’t matter and producers and judges are going to publicly announce that “America got it wrong” — who wants to buy into that again. I think this was reflected in last years voting totals and slighlty in the ratings. I guess the key question is AI’s phenomenal success due to showing great singers with interesting backstories each week or is it because they are very clever at getting the American public emotional invested each week? Talent shows have come and gone in the past but AI far exceeds any of the previous shows’ success and I think it is because of that emotional investment and not because they find the best singers in America. JMHO. I think AI might agree with me that is why they will never go to one phone number — one vote.
I like Kirsten’s payment idea. America’s Got Talent winner got a cool million free and clear. To me that prize is worth more than AI’s current, devalued prize.
I wonder how quickly the runners be racing to the finish line if the last gold medalist was ridiculed in the press because he/she didn’t get as many commercial endorsements as previous gold medalists and the Olympic judges publicly state the the real winner was the guy who got the Wheaties box deal because General Mills liked that he looked like the guys on the other cereal boxes. Heh. I’m just saying that winning should be respected on the show irrespective of any commercial success.
Season 6’s problem was that the producers tried too hard pat themselves on the back in promoting the WRONG things - they focused on guest performers and not the contestants. We didn’t know anything appealing about the contestants because they didn’t TELL us. If you wanted to know, you had to find it yourself.
When the focus is taken off the people who make the show what it is - THE CONTESTANTS - it will always be harder to reach the audience and the show will always have less appeal.
My current dilemma: Keep watching the Youtube Republican Debate or switch to project runway. What to do?
Here’s another “singing” reality show:
NBC’S CLASH OF THE CHOIRS
The show will pit five choirs, directed by famous musicians, against each other in a live competition in New York. It’s set to air Dec. 17 through 20.
http://newsok.com/article/3174442/1196248445
Oh my….
I go back and forth about what I think is the best formula for Idol.
Blake is being pimped on Kiis FM in LA tonight (and debuted earlier on Ryan’s show). :) He’s basically being interviewed b/n each of the top nine at nine. Not a bad promo. ;)
I was surprised Jordin didnt sing on the tree lighting tonight. Taylor did last year and I think Carrie did the year she won. Maybe others did as well. I don’t see the push for Jordin that I’ve seen in the past either. They need to get more varied styles of singers then they did last year on AI, focus on the contestants, treat the winner as a winner and the judges need to keekp their bias to themselves and their negativity towards other contestants they dont want to win. AI is coming over too much like a done deal with all the manipulation. Takes the fun out of it, imo.