‘American Idols’ tour: White keeps surprising her critics
When she and 11 other finalists entered the last rounds of “American Idol,” Brooke White was characterized as a perky LDS goody-two-shoes who had never seen an R-rated movie. With her folksy voice and hyper-cheerful demeanor, she wasn’t expected to last long.
But she surprised critics and judge Simon Cowell by making it into the final five in spite of - or possibly because of - her sunny disposition, which lent itself well to the easygoing 1970s singer-songwriter tunes that she preferred to perform.
In an interview, White, 25, talked about the maturity of her friend David Archuleta, missing her sister’s wedding, and her lack of experience in watching R-rated movies.
David Cook: Glad I Got to Pamper My Brother
By now, most people know the story of how American Idol David Cook, from Blue Springs, Missouri, ended up trying out for the show. Now, he’s happy to be in a possession to pay back his brother, Andrew Cook.
David Cook went to Omaha not to audition for American Idol, but instead just to accompany his brother, Andrew for his audition. As most people know by now, David ended up auditioning for American Idol and winning the crown.
American Idol Backstage Tour Pass
Behind the scenes of the American Idol tour, Justin Guarini spends quality time with David Cooke, David Archuleta, Brooke White, Michael Johns and the rest of the gang.
Backstage with the ‘Idols’: Michael & Jason
The “American Idols Live” tour kicked off this month in Glendale, Ariz., and I had a chance to meet up with all 10 “Idol” singers backstage before their show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Check out the schedule below to see when the tour is headed near you.
I got the singers in pairs, so keep checking back with “As Seen on TV” for four more two-on-one interviews in the coming days and more inside scoop, including Carly Smithson calling out the Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote the story about her first record contract. The interviews culminate with “The Davids,” David Cook and David Archuleta, including Archuleta explaining why he’s “done” singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Live Performance
Last night I went with the family to see the American Idol stage show featuring the top ten contestants from the TV competition. You might wonder why anyone would go watch something he has already seen on TV. But this live performance was way different from TV. Let me count the ways:
Carrie Underwood Bikini Photos Spark Media Interest!
Carrie Underwood is undoubtedly one of the hottest musicians on the music scene right now, but her wholesome, innocent image is slowly slipping away from her – and revealing a hotter, sexier side to the bubbly blonde.
Carrie Underwood BikiniNew photos of Underwood in a barely-there bikini have sparked media interest and have everyone wanting to see more of the country songstress.
Carrie Underwood Bikini Photos
Carrie Underwood revealed a much sexier side of herself than we have ever seen. The country music star was spotted on the beach sporting a teeny tiny bikini. Carrie was soaking up the sun on the beach and listening to her ipod, no one around her really seemed to notice they were sitting next to the American Idol winner. Those poor souls, they will for sure be sad when they see these sexy pictures of Carrie Underwood in her bikini on the net, and realize they were right there.
Bucky Covington performs at fair
At about 7:45 p.m. a line of excited fans formed outside of a tour bus on the Jefferson County Fair Park grounds, waiting for Bucky Covington to arrive for a meet-and-greet session. He arrived on a blue Suzuki motorcycle he brings on tour with him as the local band Madison County was warming up the stage for him.
First in line was the newly crowned Jefferson County Fairest of the Fair Kassandra Kramer.
Bo Bice Has the Chops But Not the Songs
You remember Bo Bice, don’t you?
If you watched the fourth season of “American Idol†in 2005, you know Bice. He was the rocker of the bunch, the long-haired heartthrob who wowed Simon, Randy and Paula with his gritty cover versions of songs like “Vehicle†by The Ides of March.
He made it to the finals, ending up as runner-up to country star Carrie Underwood. Since then, he released his debut disc on RCA Records, got dropped by the label and issued his latest album, “See The Light,†on his own label. The record made barely a ripple on the charts.
None of that mattered to thousands of Bice fans who came out to see the almost “Idol†in a free performance at Albany’s Riverfront Park on Thursday night as part of the city’s Alive at Five concert series.
Bo Bice of ‘American Idol’ at Seacrets
Celeb alert: American Idol star Bo “Look at my tattoo” Bice is coming to Seacrets this Sunday.
I’m not entirely sure, but I think he’s performing.
Fact: With such long brown locks and a semi-unbuttoned shirt like this one, the ladies will be swooning.
American Idol Finalist Phil Stacey Goes to the Opry
Thanks to the cutthroat competition that is American Idol, another Country Music graduate of the wildly popular show will grace the stage of the Grand Ole Opry when GAC airs the live performance Saturday night.
This time it’s the son of a preacher man and American Idol 6 finalist, Phil Stacey. “I’m blown away, I’m absolutely on cloud nine, this is one of the biggest experiences of my life,” Stacey said of his first performance at the Opry, back in March.
Paula Abdul At Top Of Dance Game
Paula Abdul is well-known as a top 40 chart-topper and part of the judging trio on “American Idol,” but Thursday night she received a prestigious award for her first love — dance choreography. We joined her in Orlando, FL, as she proudly accepted the Lifetime Achievement award from the prestigious Tremaine Dance company: the “Tremaine Entertainer of the Year 2008.”
So You Think You Can Dance: What You Didn’t See
“Cat’s looking very sexy tonight,” announced Debbie Williams, stage manager extraordinaire, when the one and only Cat Deeley took the stage. “I have been in hair and makeup for an hour and a half,” Cat pointed out, modest as ever.
The jocular vibe at the “So You Think You Can Dance” studio Thursday night came from two things. First off, if you ask me, the judges already knew who they were sending home when the show began. That certainty lifted some of the usual, elimination-night pressure. Secondly, the new warm-up guy was struggling out there, and somebody had to entertain the audience between segments. “SYTYCD” titan Nigel Lythgoe gladly obliged. Here’s the show you didn’t see, which was tucked between the segments that aired.
Exclusive Interview: Thayne Jasperson of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
Thayne Japerson was THIS CLOSE to making the Top 10 on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Last night, though, proved to be his last dance and the judges decided to send him home. Thayne landed in the bottom three for the fourth time last night and, up against Will Wingfield and Twitch Boss, the judges seemed to have an easy time eliminating him. His partner, Comfort Fedoke, also was sent packing. Today, Thayne spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview. He spoke about his dance background, his upcoming movie, and gave BuddyTV readers a little inside info about the upcoming tour.
Exclusive Interview: Comfort Fedoke of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
Last night, on So You Think You Can Dance, Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson were sent home just before making the Top 10. Reaching that milestone is a goal for every dancer on the show, as it means that they will get to head out on the wildly popular national tour once the show is over. After a disappointing performance Wednesday night, judge Mia Michaels said that she would have to back off from supporting the hip hop dancer. When she found herself in the bottom 3 for the fourth time in a row, the judges couldn’t save her any longer and eliminated her from the competition. Today, Comfort spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview and dished on her partners, her training, and what she thinks of the judges.
So You Think You Can Dance: Meet the Top 10
Want to know which So You Think You Can Dance dancers will be coming soon to a city near you? The top 10 of the season were revealed on Thursday’s episode, marking the true start of the finals and the last major hurdle before “America’s favorite dancer” is named. Was the elimination the expected one, or was there a twist? To find out and talk about it, just read more.
Well, the judges did what was expected, sending Comfort and Thayne home after they (not too shockingly) ended up in the bottom three. Nobody seemed even a tiny bit surprised, least of all Thayne, who was left in the unenviable position of having to dance a solo against Twitch, who’s one of the main reasons why anyone is watching this show, and Will, who the judges believe is heaven-sent.
So You Think You Can Dance: Top 10 Revealed
(S04E15)It’s time to find out which dancers will be going on tour after So You Think You Can Dance ends this August. I’m going to put it out there now (I think it’s time): I want either Joshua or Katee to win this competition. I think it would be especially nice if the girl they almost didn’t put on the show won the whole sha-bang!
Other thoughts before we begin… Nigel is a little cranky lately. I don’t like him chiding Cat. All she did was remind everyone to tune in to the finale. By the way, there’s going to be a sick popping battle during SYTYCD’s live finale. Awesome. My review of tonight’s show is after the jump.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Do the Rate Thing
I’m in mourning, dear readers. My snark demon, Smirkelstiltskin, has up and abandoned me. I would point the finger at the unkind comments about him in the message boards of late, but (1) the guy’s a snark demon, so he pretty much lives on those things, and (2) he left a note explaining that he left me so he could nest in Cat Deeley’s hair. I don’t blame him, really. Why go to the chocolate shoppe twice a week when you can live on the factory floor? I’ll miss you, dear Smirkel, but I’ll sleep well knowing you’re safely tucked in that well-tended, ever-changing thicket of blond ridiculousness.
So You Think You Can Dance, Top 10 and Bollywood
Wow, what a week. Highlights to me were definitely Alvin Ailey, which happens to be my favorite dance company in the world. And they danced my favorite excerpt, “Sinner Man,” from my favorite dance, Revelations, Mr. Ailey’s greatest work, a creation he called from “blood memory,” celebrating the African American church with powerfully evocative movement set to hauntingly beautiful slave spirituals. And the second high point was that crazy fun Bollywood routine performed very well by Katee and Joshua.
Oh! From the LA Times blog. . .FOUR dancers going as alternates this year, and Thayne and Comfort are two of them. Man, the producers REALLY want Comfort on that tour, don’t they?
Syesha posted a new blog:
This is from the Fox article on Cookie being glad he can pamper his brother:
This is from a journalism department!! I understand it is the internet but we are still speaking English, right? Their job is to communicate? Unbelievable!!
Last month, David Cook performed a 3 song set for the Taste For A Cure fundraiser. Now the entire performance has been uploaded to YouTube by the kind people at UCLA’s Cancer Center.
David performed TWIK, LOAP and TOML. The songs are all here: David Cook At Taste For A Cure.
I found this to be an incredibly moving and heartfelt performance by David. Beautiful.
After watching all of DC’s rockin’ tour performance videos posted, this is really a welcome change! I was missing acoustic Dave. : ) His vocals were strong and vulnerable at the same time. I was so enthralled by this set, I could hardly breathe! Thanks for posting, Jolene!
So Comfort and Thayne will appear with the Top 10 on tour. Interesting. I know they included others last year (Hok, etc…) but they had some extraordinary numbers to showcase. For the life of me, I can’t remember anything these two did to warrant tour exposure.
bobbi, i usually hate grammar police, but yeah, that was one really sloppy write up! such errors are tolerable on personal blogs but i expect more from a professional news organization.
I agree, Bobbi. I opened this article expecting it to reveal some special possession that DC was going to give his brother.
Bellatrix, since I have grammar police tendencies, I hate it too! LOL! But such blatant errors in a supposedly professional piece really drive me crazy. It is very different to me if it is an individual typing away than if it is someone who is supposed to know what they’re doing. Donna, I did too! LOL! Hope Andrew wasn’t disappointed.
My husband and I really enjoyed the Dilbert.com article! Steve Adams, is that his name? He’s so funny! My husband went on to read the comments on that page and for some reason got a kick and good laugh out of this comment:
Hmmm, IDK why? ;)
No ‘Idol’ moments for George Martin
Forget the persistent rumors that Sir George Martin, best known as producer of those British guys known as the Beatles, will one day turn up as a mentor on Fox’s “American Idol.”
Martin, speaking to the Television Critics Association about a sprawling PBS music series, “On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” that according to our press kits isn’t scheduled to premiere for two more years, was asked about those “Idol” reports.
“I know it’s enormously popular, ‘American Idol,’” Martin said. “But it’s not my cup of tea…”
MGF Reviews Jon Peter Lewis - Break the Silence
Former American Idol contestant Jon Peter Lewis’ sophomore LP is both emotionally charged and pop-hooked filled, as the songwriting is pretty solid and Lewis’ talent doesn’t fail him when applied appropriately. Like his 2006 debut, Stories from Hollywood, Break the Silence should satisfy the fans who have followed his career since his appearance in the series’ third season…
JPL will be at Borders Kips Bay, NYC (with Janis Ian)
Save the Date: American Idol finalist Jon Peter Lewis and Grammy winner Janis Ian
Save the Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM
Admission: Free
American Idol finalist Jon Peter Lewis performs selections from his new CD, Break the Silence…
Rodney Ho has also noticed how busy your blog has been recently, mj… ;)
Future album releases, more tour stuff
Have a great weekend, everybody! It was a pretty quiet week here in “Idol†land, save for all the tour reviews from the West coast.
MJ on her Idol blog must have a lot more spare time on her hands of late because she seems to be putting even more info on her Idol blog than ever, even off season. She’s reading other blogs, scanning Web sites, doing stuff I wish I had the spare moments to do, too…
JPL’s song, “Break the Silence,” is really, really good.
Cookfest on right now here:
http://eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=23
(All Cookie songs (including pre-AI, interview snippets, and cookie facts, for a whole hour…)
:)