American Idol’s Melinda Doolittle is back!
She may have finished third on the sixth season of American Idol, but Melinda Doolittle sounds every bit the winner on her new retro-soul disc, Coming Back to You, set to drop Feb. 3. As part of her promotional tour for the album, Mindy Doo kept a promise she made back in May 2007, dropping by Entertainment Weekly and turning our humble offices into a raucous concert arena. We’ll premiere that performance of her first single, “It’s Your Love, ” tomorrow morning, but first, check out the embedded interview below, in which Melinda discusses the surprising speed with which she recorded her album, her technique for achieving flawless vocal phrasing, and her connection to none other than Miss Jody Watley.
American Idol winner welcomed at Warhorse
Diyala, Iraq- …Testing, testing, one, two, three, a man says in a microphone while performing a preconcert sound check. …How you guys doing tonight? he yells out to the crowd of listeners.
Without another word, the crowd of 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldiers and civilians begin to flood the stage area at Forward Operating Base Warhorse food court.
The crowd begins to hush as David Cook, rock singer-songwriter, grabs hold of the microphone, smiles at the crowd and signals his band to begin playing. …This song is called ‹I did it for you, Cook says, as the crowd applauds in cheer and whistles.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
‹Idol’s focus on the positive is working ‘ so far
It’s hard to be an object of sympathy when you’re on top, so nobody in the industry is crying any tears that ratings powerhouse “American Idol” is now scoring a few less viewers than it did a year ago. But in an effort to freshen things up and still maintain its dominant position in the ratings, the show is doing a nice job of making its audience shed a few every night.
Over the past few seasons, “Idol” auditions have become a parade of talentless attention-seekers getting verbal beatdowns from the judges and barbed mockery from Ryan Seacrest. There’s been some of that in season eight, but the clips are shorter and many are mercifully cut off after a few seconds.
Idol Chartwatch, January 26: Kelly Clarkson Returns to the Charts
A few years ago, you couldnt find a Billboard chart that didnt include a single or album from the very first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. Her singles were all over the radio and her albums sold in the millions. Then came My December, Kelly attempt at freeing herself from an unwanted pop star image. Although the album sold nearly 2.2 million copies worldwide and generated a couple of singles that charted respectably, it was panned by some as being too heavy. Kelly reign as the Alpha-Idol appeared to be over.
Fast-forward to 2009. Kelly back with a new single, …My Life Would Suck Without You, and this week, the single makes its debut on the Billboard charts. The single enters the Hot 100 at #97 and is #58 on Hot 100 Airplay. It also charts on the Pop 100 (31), Pop 100 Airplay (25), Mainstream Top 40 (27), and Adult Top 40 Tracks (28). Kelly album, All I Ever Wanted, is due out March 10.
Can ‘American Idol’ Stars Save Broadway?
Each year after the whirlwind ‘American Idol’ tour ends, most contestants are kicked to the curb and forced to fend for themselves. Inevitably, an ‘Idol’ with a great voice and stage presence will head to the Great White Way, in hopes of becoming a star on Broadway. But is the tandem relationship between Broadway shows and ‘Idol’ guest-stars just a final effort to cash in before they fade away?
Update on ex-‘Idol’ guy (and hair)
Sanjaya Malakar, the Season 6 American Idol finalist, was as well known for the weekly restyling of his tresses as for his performances. And he is among a handful of former Idol contestants who are as well known as those who won the competition.
We chatted with the 19-year-old, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, about his just-released book and five-song EP, both titled Dancing to the Music in My Head.
Jason Castro says ‘Hallelujah’ in Santa Barbara
There has been a lot of news for the Castro family lately. While younger brother Michael was seen last week giving a very strong audition and passing through to Hollywood (check out more of Michael at his MySpace page here), Season 7 favorite Jason Castro has been closing in on his future plans and was doing a live performance at the Santa Barbara film festival.
ETA:
Joanna Pacitti: She wasn’t an orphan for long
As I searched the paper’s archives the other day to see if we might have an old headshot of Joanna Pacitti from her Geffen/A&M days, I came across something even better: two AP file photos of 12-year-old Joanna from her post-Annie era.
Joannapacittiapallevin_2 As you may recall, Joanna won a national talent competition sponsored by Macy’s designed to find the girl to play the lead role in a Broadway revival of the music. Joanna won that contest but was fired shortly before the show opened and replaced by 8-year-old Brittny Kissinger. Joanna and her family then sued Macy’s and took their plight to the airwaves. Among her TV appearances: Sally Jesse Raphael’s talk show, where this first picture was taken on March 5, 1997, three weeks before Annie opened on Broadway.
1/26: Anthony Fedorov interview
You may remember Fedorov as the Ukranian native with the tracheotomy as a child. He turned things around and became a singer. As a teen, he came on the show with a reputation as a balladeer and ended up finishing fourth, ahead of Scott Savol and Constantine.
Since the show ended, he has popped up on a couple of reality shows (including …Fear Factor with season two Carmen Rasmussen). He has also performed on an off-Broadway production of …The Fantasticks. He also toured on the …Simply Ballroom dance tour with Debbie Reynolds last year. That pretty much what Ive chronicled on this blog over the years. In other words, his career hasnt been huge but he hanging in there. He said he has also performed for troops in Europe.
