American Idol: The Crying Girl prefers last season
Ferl’s mom, Stacy, called me back before handing the phone to her daughter (now a freshman in high school!), saying I wasn’t the very first to track down the emotive Ashley this year. She had also been interviewed by the TV Guide Channel for a segment called “Idols: Where are they now?”
“I told her that’s how you know you’re a has-been, when you show up on a countdown list,” she said.
I assured her that Ashley Ferl could never be a has-been. “Oh, she’s going to like you,” Mom said.
It will come as no surprise to those familiar with Ferl’s effusive all-Idol-contestant-loving ways that she currently has five favorites among the top 11. “I am rooting for Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Brooke White and David Archuleta,” she said.
On the Scene: ‘Idol’ Top 12 results show
That wasn’t Katherine McPhee singing live last night. Well, I mean, it was Kat McPhee, but she wasn’t singing live. Her performance, along with that fascinating viewer questions segment, was pre-taped about an hour before the show. And I would love to tell you all about it, but unfortunately, I got shut out of the studio. Fox didn’t so much inform me that McPheever and David Foster were not doing their oh-so-energizing rendition of “Something” live, and so I arrived, as per usual, 45 minutes before the show was due to start. And so I missed it.
Ten Secrets About An American Idol Taping
Sure, for most people, “American Idol” is a fun way to spend two nights a week on the couch, groaning at every off-key note and appalling fashion choice. But for the studio audience, it is a lot more intense - a combination of a live concert, a sporting event and a glammy movie premiere. Billboard.com was in the audience at the results show on March 12 (we barely avoided being stabbed by Jim Carrey’s elephant ears) and got the inside scoop on what goes on behind the scenes of a taping at CBS Television City. To up the dramatic tension ala Ryan Seacrest, here are Top Ten Secrets You’ll Only Know If You Were At AI Live.
‘American Idol’ In 60 Seconds
MTV News’ ‘Idol’ expert Jim Cantiello boils down a week’s worth of stunning performances, pitchy notes and shocking eliminations to a bite-size minute
“Moment,” “Idol” give Fox a ratings win
Fox’s lie detector game show “Moment of Truth” bested all competition leading into “American Idol” Wednesday night, dominating its new time period without the benefit of an “Idol” lead-in.
But “Moment” was Fox’s highest-rated non-”Idol” series in the time period in more than a year and was up 17% from when it aired as an 8 p.m. special without “Idol” on Monday, Feb 25. At 9 p.m., “Idol” (26.6 million, 10.1/25) was roughly on par.
Moonves: ‘American Idol’ a ‘monster’
With CBS close to losing the total viewers race for the first time in five years, CEO Leslie Moonves called Fox’s ratings hit “American Idol” a “monster” and urged somebody to “kill that show.”
“While we’re in repeats, ‘American Idol’ continues to be a monster,” Moonves said Thursday at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York City. “It’s a phenomenon. If somebody would kill that show, I’d really appreciate it. But it’s a national phenomenon, and it continues to do extremely well. It’s tough to compete with it.”
Fox has won the past three broadcast seasons among the adults 18-49 demographic and is expected to win this season as well. CBS has many crime procedurals popular with older audiences and has won among total viewers the past six seasons.
Syesha Mercado is more than ready for fame
Syesha Mercado is one of those determined “American Idol” contestants who realized her gift early, jumped on the path to stardom and didn’t stop trudging until she reached television’s biggest stage.
The striking 21-year-old singer, dancer and actress grew up performing in the Sarasota area before moving to Miami for college. She’s been singing since she was a toddler in a musical family that included three sisters and mother Zelda, a former Motown backup singer.
Last words: Fallen Idol David Hernandez says goodbye
“In my eyes, I did the best I could,” said recently eliminated “Idol” contestant David Hernandez in a conference call with the media this morning. David was in good spirits throughout the call, even when questions turned to his past as an exotic dancer. “If this is the worst thing that people say about me in my career, then I think i’ll be OK,” said David.
David also revealed that “Idol” producers were well aware of his interesting past. “If they weren’t comfortable with it I wouldn’t have been on the show.” The ever-confident contestant made the best of his recent media attention, saying, “I think adversity is my best friend.” By staying away from the Internet and blocking out the gossip, David managed to get through the shaky period unscathed. “I’ve learned how to have a thick skin and still get on stage and perform.”
Did David A.’s Stage Dad Cause Him to Stumble?
As if the poor kid doesn’t have enough pressure on him what with his early emergence as a front-runner, now it seems that David Archuleta’s father may have been behind his shaky and uncharacteristically lackluster performance on Tuesday night. Apparently, like many kids in showbiz, David has quite the stage dad. According to ET Online, Jeff Archuleta yelled at his son during a recording session leading up to the performance show. Furthermore, “Dad wasn’t happy with his singing — and even brought him to tears.”
Utah’s ‘American Idol’ stumbles over Beatles’ lyrics, but it all works out
America’s favorite “American Idol” crooner, Utah’s own David Archuleta, stood on stage in front of nearly 30 million television watchers Tuesday night - and choked.
The 17-year-old Murray High School student - who has developed a typhoon-like swell of viewers nationwide - forgot the lyrics to one of the Beatles’ more popular hits, “We Can Work It Out.”
Twice, he mumbled through some lines. Later in the song, he did a better job of “masking” his memory loss.
AI Aftermath: 12th place finishers - VIDEOS
Hello and welcome to a new weekly feature here on TV Squad. As this is the year in which American Idol is focusing more on current and past contestants, I thought we should do no less. So each week, as one more Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we’ll take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated in the same week. We’ll examine how they did on the show and what they’ve been up to since their elimination.
This week: 12th place finishers, featuring Vanessa Olivarez (Season 2), Leah LaBelle (Season 3), Lindsey Cardinale (Season 4), Melissa McGhee (Season 5) and Brandon Rogers (Season 6). Season 1 broke at the Top 10 so we don’t have 11th and 12th place finishers to examine.
The Latest on Josh Gracin’s Next Album
After delivering a gold-selling debut and three consecutive top 5 singles to country radio, Josh Gracin will release his much anticipated sophomore album, We Weren’t Crazy, on April 1, 2008.
Concert Review: Bon Jovi ‘Lost Highway Tour’
As for former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, who like his fellow rock front-man Jon Bon Jovi, also names his band after his own last name, his most memorable moment of the evening was his duet with Jon when returning on stage without his band for one song.
For a pure second, the crowd was left questioning who was singing what as their voices melded perfectly. As an opening band, such a large crowd may have overwhelmed them at first glance. At times the band showed discomfort by withholding eye contact from the crowd. A bit more interaction could soften the barrier that shielded Daughtry from truly wowing the crowd. All in all they received the approval of the crowd and time will tell if they can one day command such large audiences as a headliner.
Years in the works, ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ heads to big screen
The setting sun reflects on the porch of a garish pink farmhouse as Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys stand, in ’60s dress, gazing toward the west.
Dakota Fanning runs down a path toward them while a film crew struggles to capture the moment in the fading light. After several takes, they resort to bringing in a spotlight as filming on “The Secret Life of Bees” nears its conclusion.
A setting sun was fitting.
2008 CMA Music Festival Artist Lineup Grows With Star-Powered Concerts at Greased Lightning Daytime Stages
Admission to the Greased Lightning Daytime Stages is included in CMA Music Festival four-day ticket packages. Single-day tickets for the Greased Lightning Daytime Stages will be sold the day of each show at the gate for $16 each. Children 6 and younger are admitted free of charge, making the Riverfront concerts a popular destination for families who want to enjoy great musical performances while relaxing on the sloping bank of the Cumberland River. The concerts are fun in the sun within easy walking distance of all the Festival event sites, with food vendors, activities and more.
But the fun doesn’t end there. Performers announced for the nightly concerts at LP Field include Rodney Atkins, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Jewel, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, and Dwight Yoakam. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks, and surprise artist performances - a hallmark of the event - are also being planned.
Sierra Continuing Drug Treatment In California
TAMPA “American Idol” finalist Jessica Sierra has returned to a California to continue her drug rehabilitation, her attorney said today.
In January, a judge ordered Sierra to enter drug treatment. She opted to attend a program at the Pasadena Recovery Center, where she had previously filmed the VH-1 reality show “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.”
California probation officials, however, said Sierra should have applied for California probation status before relocating. The west-coast officials wanted her to come back to Florida, apply for California status, then return.
Earlier this week, upon Sierra’s return to Florida, Circuit Judge Daniel Perry agreed to ask Florida probation officials to e-mail California probation officials and set up an expedited application process. Sierra’s attorney, John Fitzgibbons, said she officially is under California status now.
Carrie Underwood coming to state fair
Two of country music’s hottest acts are bringing their chart-topping hits to the 2008 Indiana State Fair. Carrie Underwood, the best-selling female country artist each of the last three years, will take the fair’s Grandstand stage Friday, Aug. 8. Sugarland, the Country Music Association’s “Duo of the Year” and the American Music Awards’ “Breakthrough Favorite New Artist,” will perform Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Tickets for Underwood’s show are $40.50, $57.50 and $75.50 and include State Fair admission.
Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood lead charts
Alan Jackson enjoyed the best selling album in the U.S. this past week with “Good Thing,” taking over from Janet Jackson’s “Discipline” on the Billboard chart for the week ending March 22.
On the country song chart, Carrie Underwood once again was first with “All-American Girl.”
Jackson took over the top of the country album chart from Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut, which slipped to second Garth Brooks remained third with “The Ultimate Hits.” Underwood was up one to fourth with “Carnival Ride,” switching spots with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ “Raising Sand.”
Idol winner, the Osmonds to celebrate charity’s 25th anniversary
The Children’s Miracle Network is holding its 25th anniversary bash in Orlando tonight.
Last season’s American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will be taking the stage. Also scheduled to perform are brother and sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond.
Marie is a co-founder of the charity. The Children’s Miracle Network raises funds for children’s hospitals and helps 17 million kids every year.
Celebration 2008
Children’s Miracle Network hospital, sponsor, and media partners and celebrities have all converged in Orlando, Fla., this week to celebrate the miracles happening at 170 children’s hospitals throughout the world. The annual Children’s Miracle Network Celebration event brings together the organization’s diverse partners to share best practices, celebrate achievements and honor the children who benefit from their tireless fund raising efforts.
Celebration will conclude with a special medal ceremony for children who were selected for their courage in overcoming medical obstacles and represent every state in the United States, every province in Canada, and new hospitals in Ireland and the United Kingdom. American Idol-winner Taylor Hicks and special performance by Cirque Dreams will conclude the evening.
Sara Bareilles to Receive ASCAP Vanguard Award at 25th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards
Performances by Steve Miller, Lionel Richie, Sara Bareilles, American Idol’s Elliott Yamin, and “Before He Cheats” Songwriters Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear
The invitation-only event will also feature performances by ASCAP Golden Note Award honorees Steve Miller and Lionel Richie, as well as American Idol-turned-pop sensation Elliott Yamin, and Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear who co-wrote the hit song “Before He Cheats” for Carrie Underwood.
Previous ASCAP Vanguard Award honorees include The All-American Rejects, The Arcade Fire, Bat For Lashes, Beck, Modest Mouse, the Strokes, Built to Spill, the Mars Volta, Joseph Arthur and Jack Johnson, among others.
CMT One Country, Youth Service America Re-Unite For Global Youth Service Day
CMT One Country, the pro-social initiative for cable network CMT, and Youth Service America have joined forces for the second year in a row to help motivate youth in America for Global Youth Service Day on April 25-27, the largest volunteering event in the world. Recording artist Diana DeGarmo will be the honorary spokesperson.
“On behalf of CMT One Country and Youth Service America, I am delighted to speak to youth about the importance of volunteering,” says DeGarmo. “I am inspired and honored to be part of a generation that is recognizing more than ever the importance of giving back.”
Shooting to fame on “American Idol” in 2004, Diana DeGarmo has thus far enjoyed a fruitful career; releasing an album, touring across the country and the world and even acting on Broadway all before the tender age of 18. After auditioning on “American Idol” at age 16, DeGarmo went through weeks of auditions before making it to the top 32, where she first sang before a national TV audience. After making it to the final two on Idol in 2004, DeGarmo went on tour with the rest of the top 10 and released her single “Dreams,” which became the third best selling single of the year.
Reynolds, ‘Idols’ bring ‘Ballroom’ to Grand
Debbie Reynolds has been on stages and screens for the last six decades, starring in such American movie classics as “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
So if she says a show is amazing, she knows what she’s talking about. But you can find out for yourself Saturday at The Grand 1894 Opera House when Reynolds and castmates will perform “Simply Ballroom.”
“I’ve never been a part of a show like this,” Reynolds said. “The dancers in this show were all world champions of where they’re from.”
Katharine McPhee: Don’t Get Carried Away at Wedding
After tying the knot last month in Beverly Hills, singer-actress Katharine McPhee shares details in the new, spring issue of InStyle Weddings about the ceremony when she married producer Nick Cokas – and offers advice to other brides.
The American Idol season-five runner-up’s tip: “Remember that it’s your wedding … At the end of the day, it’s really about the expression of commitment in love and marriage. So don’t get too carried away. A wedding is about the commitment of love that you’re making to your partner. It’s that simple.”
Yo, dawg — can’t give you props for this
Producer and American Idol judge Randy Jackson aspires to be his generation’s Quincy Jones. To that end, he has fashioned for himself a Quincy-like compilation album — ala Back on the Block — by cobbling together a few artists with marquee names along with newcomers he’s trying to introduce to the masses.
The major difference? Jones was a brilliant mega-producer renowned for his work with such true visionaries as Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Michael Jackson. Until Idol, Randy Jackson was known as a session bass player with Journey in the late ’80s when the band was declining commercially. He also did some behind-the-scenes production work for Mariah Carey.
No marriage plans for Paula?
Paula Abdul has apparently revealed she has no immediate plans to tie the knot with her boyfriend, restaurant owner JT Torregiani, although she says she’s in a “happy place right now”.
“I’m very sceptical about having to have a document that binds your love together,” the American Idol judge apparently told People magazine.
“I know for him, marriage is an important thing, so it’s kind of one of those things I have to balance out.”
Bob Dylan Wore Disguise To Two ‘American Idol’ Tapings
Legendary rocker Bob Dylan twice tried to sneak into tapings of American Idol in disguise, according to the talent show’s co-judge Paula Abdul.
The singer donned a fake beard in a bid to try and go unnoticed during the recording of the reality TV hit’s fourth season in 2005 - but Abdul spotted him.
Abdul says, “He (Dylan) had a beard and tried to be in disguise. But I knew it was him.”
‘American Idol’ Recap: David Hernandez Sent Packing, Perhaps Due To Strip-Club Scandal
At the conclusion of Wednesday evening’s “American Idol” results show, 24-year-old contender David Hernandez — who’d been one of the competition’s earliest frontrunners, along with adorable 17-year-old David Archuleta — was banished to the annals of “Idol” lore, in what was one of this season’s first real shockers.
Hernandez, who hails from Glendale, Arizona, became this year’s token sex scandal last week, when it was revealed he used to work at a male strip club. Reports claimed that Hernandez, in addition to dancing at the club, also provided lap dances to its customers.
American Idol: Results: Horton Hears a Whore
Jim Carrey, what happened to you? You’re a whore for peddling your new Fox movie, but hey, you appear to hate it as much as I hate drawn-out results shows, contestants who channel Alvin and the Chipmunks on downers, and handles on doors that are meant to be pushed, not pulled open (amirite?). Yay for massive conglomerate parent companies! We have to synergize backward overflow, American Idol!
We’re treated to a Horton intro of excited Whos needing the elephant to get off his fat ass and fix their antenna, ’cause Seacrest is looking fuzzy on the TV set. Really. And then we’re supposed to ooh and ahh over Nigel shelling out some more bucks for the opening special effects, since it makes last week’s stuff look like the first episodes of South Park. It’s a bit creepy, actually, and looks like rejected snippets from the intro of The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
American Idol says Hello Goodbye to David Hernandez
Veteran Idol watchers love the drama of the “shocking elimination,” but does David H.’s exit qualify as “shocking”? A minor shock, at least: there were only maybe four memorable-in-the-good-way performances on Tuesday night (Chikezie, Carly, David C., Brooke), so any of the remaining eight could have been in trouble. Most writers — this one included — thought that Kristy Lee was clearly a goner after the hatchet job she put on “Eight Days A Week”; I had David H. in 8th place, safe for the week but not long for the show. I also mocked DialIdol for being an outdated predictor that misses key demographics, but lookie here:
American Idol Week Four: The Beatles? Really?
So: the Beatles. The most important band in the history of the universe ever. I like maybe seven of their songs. Those of us born after the band’s breakup have spent our entire lives being continually blasted with information about how great and world-changing they were, information that most recently took the form of a ghastly, endless Cirque du Soleil tribute at this year’s Grammys. This week, American Idol jumped on board, Ryan Seacrest constantly declaiming what a coup it was when the show secured the rights to the Lennon/McCartney songbook while the top twelve contestants desperately tried to find ways to make these songs work. Most important band ever or not, does anyone ever listen to the Beatles for the vocals? At least in the context of today’s scenery-chewing robo-virtuosos, were Lennon and McCartney even good singers? Or, more to the point, were their songs conceived as showcases for vocal pyrotechnics? If we’re to believe Simon Cowell, the American Idol competitors are chosen above all for their technical abilities, but how do you put those technical abilities on display when you’re singing, say, “I Saw Her Standing There”?
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Yay! Crying-girl!
“But she did admit she prefers last season. “Why?“ I asked. “There’s no Sanjaya this season!!” she replied.”
Read that Kimberely Locke will be back on Idol (in a dress designed by the Christian from Project Runway.) So it appears that Wed. night will showcase past contestants which is nice although I’m ready for the new energy a celebrity mentor brings.
i was at the bon jovi concert on wed night in toronto. what a blast! and what a difference between daughtry and bon jovi! i hope daughtry is taking notes from the master because he has a lot to learn. from the sound mix and instrumentation to the band’s presence on stage daughtry is clearly an inferior act. (well, maybe i should ease up on the guy and say “an act in its infancy.”)
he looked awkward on stage and never really connected to the audience. his posture at the mike stand (the head back, arched back, eyes closed) closed him off from the audience. and his guitar players didn’t know what to do - one just kept his mouth open for long periods of time. they really just looked so young (and lost).
the other thing i thought that needed big improvement was the sound mix of the band. all i felt was the boom, boom boom of the bass - the type of thing you feel in your chest. and you couldn’t hear any of the individual instruments. when the drummer was knocking it out of the park i couldn’t hear it. same with the guitars. the only sound that came through was this white noise crap that played over all of the instruments. at the end of the set, although all of the guys had stopped playing there was still this noise that streamed out. only when the drummer went to a computer keyboard thingie near his drum set and turn off a switch did the noise stop. really a shame. it drowned out all of their playing.
with bon jovi, no heavy bass that made your chest feel like it was being assaulted and all of the instruments came through individually. and god, bon jovi has a ton of charisma and interaction with the audience. and his band is right into the show.
daughtry has a lot to learn. and i like his songs!!! it’s so frustrating. they just need lots of time to improve. right now they are only as good as an opening act.
I agree with the guy from The Village Voice:
As I was looking through the list of Beatles songs last week, I was wondering the same thing. Earlier in the season, Jason Yeager was criticized for choosing a “band song”, - “Long Train Running” by the Doobie Brothers. What do they think the Beatles were? Almost all the songs we’re most familiar with had at least 2 part harmonies or more. Beatles songs weren’t great solo songs.
I disagree with that, Sciencefan. Early ones yes, but later songs were more solo songs especially as Lennon and McCartney were on the outs.
I guess I was referring to the early ones that are in the “songbook” being offered to the Idol contestants.
I agree that the later songs probably lend themselves more to a solo style.
Sorry…I was reading the Chris D. review and that seems to be the same from the others I read…and I think the Idols, for all the prepping and development they get …it appears that only one Kelly C. is able to go out and do a concert as the main attraction. The others are co-attractions with a bigger act, or they play small bars & clubs.
Even Fantasia can’t star on her own, she’s always on the bill with someone else.
The Beatles thing went better than I expected with at least three long forgotten songs brought out of the archives, ‘She’s a Woman,’ “You Can’t Do That,’ and ‘In My Life.’
Which brings me to Ramiele’s rendition of ‘In My Life,’ which I think has been unfairly judged here, there and everywhere. Other contestants get praised for not altering a classic and respecting the original lyric and composition.
Sure Ramiele did not do anything with ‘In My Life,’ but for me what she did was more than enough. The lyric alone is enough to carry that song.
I liked the studio recording. Ramiele is not my favorite (even though I am Pinoy), but I do think she has a very pretty voice. :)
Thanks for the review on Bon Jovi vs Chris Daughtry. My daughter-in-law is going to that concert when it comes here to California. Looks like Daughtry is exactly where he can gain the most to develop his career. Jon is an excellent mentor. I appreciate the feedback.
I just saw this on yahoo buzzlog.
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91157
Below, a Buzz Playlist of the top 30 searched “Idol” covers, courtesy of the Top 11.
1.”Across the Universe” (The Beatles, performed by Michael Johns)
2.”Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen, performed by Jason Castro)
3.”Imagine” (John Lennon, performed by David Archuleta)
4.”Let It Be” (The Beatles, performed by Brooke White)
5.”Don’t You Forget About Me” (Simple Minds, performed by Johns)
6.”Happy Together” (The Turtles, performed by David Cook and White)
7.”Love Is A Battlefield” (Pat Benatar, performed by Amanda Overmyer)
8.”You’re So Vain” (Carly Simon, performed by White)
9.”Hello” (Lionel Richie, performed by D. Cook)
10.”I Drove All Night” (Cyndi Lauper, performed by Carly Smithson)
11.”Daydream” (The Lovin’ Spoonful, performed by Castro)
12.”More Today Than Yesterday” (The Spiral Starecase, performed by Chikezie)
13.”Carry On My Wayward Son” (Kansas, performed by Overmyer)
14.”You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” (Elvis Presley, performed by Ramiele Malubay)
15.”All Right Now” (Free, performed by D. Cook)
16.”Come Together” (The Beatles, performed by Smithson)
17.”Faithfully” (Journey, performed by Kristy Lee Cook)
18.”Tobacco Road” (The Nashville Teens, performed by Syesha Mercado)
19.”Another Day in Paradise” (Phil Collins, performed by Archuleta)
20.”Hate Myself for Loving You” (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, performed by White)
21.”In My Life” (The Beatles, performed by Malubay)
22.”Crazy On You” (Heart, performed by Smithson)
23.”Light My Fire” (The Doors, performed by Johns)
24.”Eleanor Rigby” (The Beatles, performed by D. Cook)
25.”Saving All My Love for You” (Whitney Houston, performed by Mercado)
26.”If I Fell” (The Beatles, performed by Castro)
27.”Go Your Own Way” (Fleetwood Mac, performed by Johns)
28.”Got to Get You Into My Life” (The Beatles, performed by Mercado)
29.”She’s a Woman” (The Beatles, performed by Chikezie)
30.”The Shadow of Your Smile” (Tony Bennett, performed by Smithson)
I agree about Ramiele.
I thought her rendition of the song was beautiful.
She DID add her own little runs to it, but not too much.
I wasn’t bored for one second because “In My Life” is one of my all-time favorite songs.
And I thought it was a very cute and unique idea to start the song, standing in the stairs, looking up.
Absolutely beautiful performance.
On that list above, I believe Brooke White performed “Love is a Battlefield”, not Amanda Overmyer.
And “Hate Myself For Loving You” was performed by Amanda, not Brooke.
Your right. I just skimmed it as I’m “working”. You would think the person that wrote that out would double check. Gawd.
I agree on In My Life. It’s my favorite song, and one I did not think needed to be changed around. If Brooke “respected” Let It Be and Michael “respected” Across the Universe, then she did a fine job respecting In My Life. Still, no one beat Chikezie that night.
I just didn’t think there was anything special about Ramiele’s performance. Michael and Brooke had that little extra “Something” (…in the way she moves….)
Michael Johns’ rendition of “Across the Universe” is just beautiful.
The recording is even better. I bought it on I-Tunes the other night and I haven’t stopped listening.
I am glad he is having some buzz with that song. I hope he steps it up even more so and keeps picking good songs. The guy has potential. JMHO.
You know what, me too! It’s on repeat on my iPod ;)
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080314/D8VDEOB84.html
Nice profile of David’s background. I like the idea of an idol with a college degree, how many others are there?
I have no idea, Margaux, but I do know Carrie Underwood was in college during Idol and she went back and completed her degree, despite her success in the music business.
ETA: Another cool search feature is google trends.
http://google.com/trends
You can put in contestants names separated by commas, switch the time frame dropdown to last 30 days, and it will give you a nifty bar graph that compares searching activity on them. Not that I would be so geeky to do something like that. *blushes*
And a degree in graphic design at that. I remember a few of my friends who were graphic design majors in college, and they were in class all. the. time. Art classes are ridiculously long.
Clay was another one who was close to graduating when he auditioned, and I believe he also went back to complete his degree after the show ended. I’m sure there have been others, but I’m not sure who.
I’d imagine that some of the older contestants may have had college degrees - Mandisa and Melinda I’m pretty sure both did.
ETA: And IIRC, Anwar was a music teacher, so I’d imagine he had his degree too.
ETA2: Oooooh, pj, David C was a baseball player. :D
ETA3: Does anyone know if his solo album is still for sale anywhere?
And I love this quote:
Thanks for that article, Margaux!!
I have a friend at work (a HUGE BonJovi fan) who went to see Daughtry/BonJovi last week. She said Daughtry was awesome - quite hugh prasie from someone who was only going to see BonJovi.
Isn’t it time for that Ace single yet??? Has Blake’s new single officially been released to radio yet?
Yes Lu, Blake’s single was released to radio on Tuesday. He’s getting a few spins, and making some radio appearances - lots of breakfasts and lunches and playing Wii with Blake. :)
Didn’t Carrie get her degree in journalism?? If she did, it shows in her carefully crafted image and her dealings with the press.
I know Mellancamp has a degree in mass communications, which has worked in his music..i.e lyrics with stayng power, such as hold on to the 60’s for as long as you can, advice that I never followed(hehe) but I digress…
Education does help in the music business so this is a lesson for all you kids out there…
Stay in school. With the windows shut. Away from the draft.
LOL, girlfriend. Was he a catcher? I like catchers. Hey, are you trying to get me to switch my votes from Jason? Jason played soccer. I like soccer, too. Ahem.
Nice to see David get props from his local peeps. Can’t wait to see more. Yeah, I’m enjoying this season. :-)
ETA: Lu, you can hear Ace’s single here. I don’t think it’s been released, but Ryan played it on his show. :-)
Thanks for posting the David Cook article, Margaux. Here’s a video of him singing with the band mentioned, Midwest Kings (a cover of Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike.”) LOVE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cg5WYLYF1SI
Ooh, that’s even more fun than counting iTunes popularity bars!
btw, iTunes tells me that I have played “Hello” 390 times. Do I really need to be confronted with that information? I swear I was on Team Indifference about 2 weeks ago.
LOL pj! Nevah! I would never intentionally try to switch your allegiance.
Cheese, thanks for that youtube. :) I haven’t played “Hello” quite that many times, but I’ve definitely watched the video a ridiculous amount of times. I can’t wait to see what he does this week.
Nice youtube. I’ve always loved Chris Cornell’s voice and David Cook did that song justice. :-)
Wasn’t that a Pearl Jam song with Chris Cornell (love his voice too) on vocals? David did a good job with it. Me likey.
Here’s the story of the song (it was slightly pre-Pearl Jam, but did have Cornell and Vedder on vocals)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_Strike_(song)
ack! sorry
I’m not sure if these numbers have been posted. Ken Barnes didn’t do his weekly Idols numbers column so no numbers for anyone off the BB200
23 DAUGHTRY DAUGHTRY 20,576 23,078 -11 3,861,912
33 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE CARNIVAL RIDE 16,525 17,805 -7 1,908,159
34 SPARKS*JORDIN JORDIN SPARKS 16,264 14,737 10 554,654
58 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE SOME HEARTS 11,494 13,071 -12 6,314,973
154 LEWIS*BLAKE AUDIO DAY DREAM 4,719 2,007 135 273,579
I found it, Cheese. Thanks for the wrong link. Hee. Now I want to hear the Sleater-Kinney version. Off to look…
Thanks for the link, cheese. Those damn collaborations always make my head spin. At least it wasn’t “Timbaland featuring …Temple of the Dog featuing Chris Cornell accompanied by Eddie Vedder”. Heh. And, you are a brave, brave girl for admitting to 390 listens (so far) on iTunes. I love it!
Graphic Design — cool. He can design his own album cover!
Funny story, daughter *was* in graphic design and had to take some fine arts classes. She subsequently changed her major to sociology (without consulting moi), because. . .cue the hysteria.
She had to draw nude male models and while she made it through that part blushing she fell down when she had to get up, present her work and explain all the why’s’… explain to the class how you visualized his whatever (penis !) and then portrayed it in the painting and explain the tehcniques you utilized to recreate that visualization. lol. goner.
We finally have a release date for Ace’s CD! May 13th, according to Billboard.com.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003725837
Oh, cheese, lol.
Itunes needs a Privacy Act — we will not point out your obsession to you due to potential loss of revenue. If you care to receive that information we will mail a Viewing Statement to you at the address listed, in a plain brown wrapper.
Oooh, Tracy! Thanks. Yay! I get Ace’s album two days before my birthday.
Oh, and Caro, thanks for that iTunes article you posted the other night. I have disabled that funtion. LOL.
How did you disable it?
Fantasia was an opening act for Kanye West for part of his tour in 2005 and nothing since.
Kelly isn’t the only one that can carry a tour solo. Clay has had 8 solo tours plus the first one where he co-headlined with Kelly. He doesn’t even need an opening act because his concerts run in the 2 to 3 hour range.
Kelly’s latest was with Reba MacIntyre, which isn’t exactly solo. Clay will head out on another solo tour this summer, in amphitheaters. Clay has done more solo touring than Kelly, actually, and she has an opening act or a co-headliner with her each time. Her solo sets usually run just over 1 hour.
Chris D’s band toured the majority of last year as a headlining act, starting out with a small club tour, as is customary in rock with a new band. He then graduated to House of Blues sized venues, then headlined several rock festivals, and also headlined state fair shows last summer (I saw them at a show playing to 6,500 people, and they were fantastic). I think opening for Bon Jovi’s stadium tour is a great chance for more exposure to potential new fans. Daughtry is not headlining arenas, but neither is Kelly, here in the US. Like undecided mentioned, her last tour was a co-headline tour with Reba, a country music legend and big box-office draw. I wanted to see Kelly and Reba’s show, but it sold out quickly here.
I recently went with a friend to see Reba & Kelly - me to see Kelly and my friend to see Reba. They were both on stage the entire concert which was awesome. When they weren’t singing duets, the other went and sang backup with the other backup singer. Their voices blended together and Kelly definately held her own with Reba. There were more Reba fans but not by much. My friend and I came away fans of both of them - it was a very fun, upbeat concert and you could tell Reba and Kelly were having a blast together.
I also saw Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban. Carrie performed first and she is learning how to work the big stage and get the audience involved. Her voice is amazing but I couldn’t always hear her over her band. She changed clothes several times and looked stylish and cute - very high heels! I am not a huge country fan so I didn’t know much about Keith Urban, but he was just incedible! I loved his acoustic songs and am a big fan now.