David Cook recording with Green Day producer
David Cook has promised to make a rock record that’s true to himself, and the American Idol winner has confirmed that the studio maestro tasked with helping him realize that goal is Rob Cavallo.
The two are currently squeezing in studio time whenever the Idol summer tour allows, and Cook still plans to release the album in mid-November. As previously reported, Cook has had writing sessions with Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida and Collective Soul’s Ed Roland, but there’s one person who isn’t involved with the album: industry vet Clive Davis, the man who executive produced several Idols’ debuts, but whose role at SonyBMG, where he’s currently Chief Creative Officer of SonyBMG Worldwide, has shifted. “I never heard his name brought up,” Cook said.
Cook hasn’t yet made the call about the single. “It’s not like there’s any resistance to [the song],” he says. “My goal is to make a cohesive record, and I don’t want any song to stick out like a sore thumb.
Two Contestants From So You Think You Can Dance Hospitalized
The contestants on So You Think You Can Dance definitely work hard on the show, but are they pushing these kids too far? Two of the four remaining contestants had to be rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital after collapsing during rehearsal.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
Cook’s tour with ‘Idol’ lacks arena rock feel
This year’s “American Idol” winner David Cook looked at the large numbers of still-seated fans during his set at Nassau Coliseum Monday night and shook his head.
“There’s too many of you people sitting down,” he said. “We’re at a rock show.”
Well, actually we weren’t. The annual “American Idol” tour may have some rock elements, but it’s pretty far away from arena-filling rock shows. And this year’s version — despite Cook’s excellent set, featuring his hit “Time of My Life” and his ever-impressive grunge interpretations of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” — was farther away than usual.
David Archuleta’s ‘Crush’ is surprisingly good!
I was not a huge fan of David Archuleta during his tenure on American Idol’s seventh season. Sure, as Randy Jackson reminded us (over and over and over), the kid could “sing the phone book,” but frankly, a weekly rundown of surnames and seven-digit numbers would’ve been more interesting (and more contemporary) than the array of drippy, “big issues” ballads the Utah teenager favored on his way to a runner-up finish.
With that in mind, though, I’m glad none of my PopWatch colleagues weighed in on David’s first post-Idol single, “Crush,” which premiered on Elvis Duran’s Z100 morning show Friday morning (while I was enjoying a day off at the Jersey shore), because much to my surprise, it’s actually pretty good.
Archuleta Dreams Of ‘Adventurous’ Woman!
Sounds like squeaky clean teen David Archuleta wants a woman to take him for a walk on the wild side!
The seventeen-year-old American Idol runner-up told OK! that the main thing he looks for in girl is an adventurous streak.
“She has to be fun, have respect for herself and be adventurous,” David told us at the Teen Choice Awards in L.A. last night.
Up Close With The American Idols – Carly Smithson
How has the tour been going?
Amazing. A dream come true, definitely. A lot more work than I thought it was gonna be, but you get to sing to everyday. That’s all I want to do: sing everyday in arenas like this. I think we’ll have to work really hard to ever play this size [venue] ever again. So I’m soaking it all up.
Nigel Lythgoe leaving ‘American Idol’
The showrunner of the most popular series on television is stepping down.
“American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe on Monday confirmed reports that he will leave the reality series and pursue a new business partnership with fellow “Idol” executive producer Simon Fuller, with whom he created Fox’s other performance hit, “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“Due to the huge success of ‘Dance,’ my summer will be taken up by travels to South Africa, Australia and Canada to work on local versions of the show,” Lythgoe said. “I will step back from my day-to-day producing work on ‘American Idol’ and will be devoting my time to a new venture with Simon Fuller.”
American Idol contestants audition in Puerto Rico
Contestants for season 8 of American Idol auditioned in Puerto Rico on Saturday, the first time auditions have been held outside the continental United States.
Auditions have now been held in San Francisco, Louisville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and San Juan. The next stop is Kansas City on Friday, followed by Jacksonville, Florida on August 13 and East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 19.
Teen favorites keep their cool at Choice Awards
While American Idol winner David Cook, 25, and runner-up David Archuleta, 17, were happy to be at the show, the Idol tour remained on their minds.
“The best thing is getting to hang out with everyone and being able to perform in front of a live audience of thousands of people, but the downside is trying to work on the album when you have so little time,” said Archuleta, who took home the award for the most fanatic fans.
Added Cook, who snagged the male reality/variety star award: “It’s great to feel the energy of the crowd, but the hard part is being in a different city every night.”
Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Chris Brown, ‘Gossip Girl’ Win Big At Teen Choice Awards
Meanwhile, “American Idol” won the award for Choice TV Reality Music Competition, while this season’s winner and runner-up, David Cook and David Archuleta, also walked away with surfboards: Cook, for Choice TV Male Reality/ Variety Star and Archuleta for Most Fanatic Fans. MTV’s “The Hills” was the winner of the Choice TV Celebrity Reality honor, while Lauren Conrad claimed the Choice TV Female Reality/ Variety Star prize.
From Beatles to Michael to Mariah, 50 Years of Counting Down the Hits
The Hot 100 just turned the big 5-0.
The seminal singles chart turned a half-century-old today, having made its Billboard magazine debut on Aug. 4, 1958. Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” topped the inaugural Hot 100 chart, which covered the week ended Aug. 9, and nearly a 1,000 songs have graced its perch since.
In celebration of its silver anniversary, here’s our own hit list of Hot 100 highlights:
Oh Dear, Elvis Sings With Carrie
Poor Elvis. He will be turning over in his grave with news that he has recorded a song with Carrie Underwood.
Carrie, who wasn`t even born when Elvis died, has recorded a duet with the dead King for an upcoming Christmas album `Elvis Presley Christmas Duets`.
Dead Elvis gets to sing with live music acts on this album. It features duets with Martina McBride, Leann Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, Anne Murray and Amy Grant.
A conversation with Bo Bice
It’s been a long time since Bo Bice, a terrific artist and world-class prankster, first appeared on American Idol’s stage, wowing audiences across the nation. Since then, he’s been churning out music nonstop. His latest release, See the Light, is the first for which he has exerted full creative control.
We caught up with Bo to find out what’s next on his to-do list and why he loves to call Nashville home.
THE LEADING MEN: Keeling, Bell and Parlato
Q: Taylor Hicks is currently Grease’s Teen Angel. Have you had a chance to talk with him?
Keeling: Yes, he’s a really cool, down-to-earth guy. He kind of got here in the same way, though on a bigger scale, that I did. He knows what it is like. One of the things that has happened with a lot of us [from reality shows] is people see you on a TV show and think that’s the first thing you did, when a lot of us had been working in the business for awhile. I got my first professional job ten years ago. Taylor said the same thing. He said he’d been on the road for about 15 years at the point of “American Idol,” going around as a musician. He said, “I worked 15 years to establish myself, and now I’ve been working the last couple years to re-establish myself.” I really understood what he was saying because I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Hey, welcome to the business. Welcome to New York.” And I say, “I’ve been here for awhile, but thanks!”
Fair closes with former idol
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, the grandstand stage at the Clearfield County Fair sat vacantly in the shadows. By 8:30 p.m., a capacity crowd grew eager with anticipation and called for Chris Daughtry to take the stage as it shifted anxiously in its seats. They weren’t disappointed, because by the end of the show, most of the crowd forgot about the wait completely.
Chris Daughtry, whose “American Idol” stint may forever live in infamy, took to the stage at 8:45 p.m. and rocked away the final hours of the 148th edition of the Clearfield County Fair.
Movin’ on up
Life goes on for Sanjaya Malakar – he of the many splendored hairdos on “American Idol” season six -who will serenade gamblers and shoppers at Mohegan Sun tonight. The biggest thing in his world? He just got his first apartment, on New York’s Upper East Side. “I opened it today with the key, for the first time, so that was a great feeling,” the tunesmith told us yesterday. “But my stuff isn’t here yet. It’s just me and my suitcases.” Malakar said he and his 21-year-old sister still dream of attending Berklee College of Music. So maybe his next pad will be in Boston.
‘American Idol’: A trip to Idol Camp
In a world of brand extension and merchandise obsession, “American Idol” is king. Spearheaded by FremantleMedia, the company that owns the “Idol” trademark, there are the requisite T-shirts, journals, water bottles and CDs. There is also Dreyer’s Choc ‘N Roll Caramel “American Idol” ice cream, Karaoke Revolution’s “Idol” video game and a new attraction at Disney World.
Then they opened Idol Camp.
Idol Camp is a two-week performing arts sleep-away gathering for aspiring singers, aged 10 to 15. The camp, which opened in Massachusetts last year, moved to California this summer. It costs $2,995.
For that price, the Idol Camp grounds are a tween’s dream. A skate park full of half-pipes beckons thrill seekers. A 20-foot-tall inflatable glacier floats in a pond, ripe for the climbing. Among the all-terrain vehicles, the go-karts, the rope course and the horse stables, there is something for every personality.
STAGE FRIGHT
PAULA Abdul wore out her welcome for good with the “Today” show. Abdul was supposed to perform her single “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” on the morning show’s concert series in April. She canceled that gig because of “production commitments,” but rescheduled for Aug. 29. On Friday, she canceled that show as well due to ” ‘American Idol’ commitments.” But one source said, “Please. She can’t perform live. Her voice on the single is so mixed and electronicized you don’t know what she really sounds like any more.” Abdul’s reps didn’t return calls.
Simon Cowell tops the charts at $50M
Simon Cowell is TV’s $50 million man.
The “American Idol” judge, who loves to pick apart the performances of wanna-be stars, tops a new list of the biggest earners on the small screen.
Chesney, Pickler, Wilson to honor Bradley Family
Kenny Chesney, Gretchen Wilson, Kellie Pickler and Ronnie Milsap will perform in a musical tribute to the Bradley Family, considered the First Family of Music Row, on Aug. 26 at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel.
The Bradley Family will be presented with the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award for their seven decades of influences and leadership.
Tuesday is the deadline to purchase tickets for the Brenda Lee-hosted event honoring the late musical pioneer Owen Bradley, a Country Music Hall of Fame producer and architect of the Nashville Sound, as well as Country Music Hall of Fame guitarist and musicians union chief Harold Bradley. Owen, who died in 1998, opened the first recording studio on Music Row in the 1950s with Harold.
‘So You Think You Can Dance:’ Top 4 – Twitch & Courtney G.
Stephen “Twitch” Laurel Boss and Courtney Ann Galiano, two dancers in the Top 4 of Foxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s “So You Think You Can Dance,” talk about their experience dancing together, and their preparation for dancing in the finals.
‘So You Think You Can Dance:’ Top 4 – Joshua & Katee
Joshua Allen and Katee Taira Shean, two dancers in the Top 4 of Foxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s “So You Think You Can Dance,” talk about their content to be in the finals, favorite dance choreographers and memorable moments behind-the-scenes.
Canadian Idol Recap: The Top Seven Perform U.K. Hits
This week, the Monday recap will be two-fold. I went down to the show Monday night, so I’m going to review the contestants as they were live and how they were on television to see how big the difference was. Tom Jones (or Sir Tom Jones as Ben liked to call him) played mentor to our Idols who sang songs that were hits by U.K. artists (or in the U.K. that part wasn’t too clear. Just a note though, my seat was obstructed view so I could not see all the Idols perfectly when they performed. I will note the performances that were hard to see live.
Canadian Idol Top 7 Recap
The Idol wannabes are back at it again this civil holiday, taking on U.K. hits.
We get treated to the usual Ben and judge banter and a montage of Tom Jones, who is mentoring the Idol hopefuls this week.
Up first with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bleeding Loveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ by Leona Lewis is Mark Day. This is going to be painful. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We talk about the idea of singing it like ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the last song, I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a winning performance,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ says Jake. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I thought it was the most grown up performance of yours. While I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to win Canadian Idol, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll give you a Tom Jones salute and throw you my panties,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ says Zack.
Finalewatch: ‘Nashville Star’
Host Billy Ray Cyrus opens the show with “Achy Breaky Heart.” Wow. Did I really write that? Did that actually happen? I had to check my watch to make sure I hadn’t spontaneously traveled back to 1992. In addition to back-up dancers, the three finalists join in with Billy Ray – first Gabe, then Shawn and finally Melissa. Oh. And all the other contestants pop up at the end and they do a bit of line dancing. It ended with some pyro on stage and it actually wasn’t bad. I might dare say it was good. Odd, but good.
‘Nashville Star’ recap: Melissa Lawson’s first single doesn’t suck!
A surprise to, well, no one, Melissa Lawson is our new Nashville Star. In the end, it came down to the mother of five vs. Gabe Garcia, the Hispanic-American former electrician who finally learned how to “turn his Texas on.” The evening’s high and low notes:
Breakout performance: Cohost Katie Cook’s breasts. They’re the only thing that I’m 100 percent certain I’ll remember a year from now.
Performance we’d most like to forget: Tie between the awkward “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” duet Melissa and Gabe were forced to suffer through, and the finalists’ group number with host Billy Ray Cyrus. Was the plan always to use the backup dancers (clones from Jessica Simpson’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” video) just for Gabe’s portion of “Achy Breaky Heart,” or did Melissa and third-place finisher Shawn Mayer kindly ask producers to get them the hell off the stage? I wonder…
Luckily Daivd C as an AI winner already has the sound and the cd will be just tweeked a bit to ensure “pop 40″ fit to a tea. The cd might by chance sound a little like other bands but it will sell and his foot is in the door.I am really hoping that his cd will be fresh and diferent sounding but do not have faith in 19.
Speaking of Carrie, her new music video is up:
“Just A Dream”
http://www.cmt.com/videos/carrie-underwood/263454/just-a-dream.jhtml
That would have to be done through a long list. The local affiliates would hire their own judges (local DJ’s, producers, etc.), would be able to hold mini-auditions if they wanted to and could even televise their final selection show. Each show would get a set amount of spots to the judges (the smallest markets would get 1 or 2, while the major markets could get 10 to 20 so that about 200 people in each region go on the judges’ lists and that everyone gets a fair chance). They would hold all their auditions throughout July and August, with the final selections due by early September. (There would be overlaps in regions, but they have to plan carefully if they want to audition more than once as numerous auditions can take place concurrently). The process after that is the same as it is now, with the judges visiting a small number of cities to meet those closest to them.
There would be over 100 cities that hold final auditions at the first stage.
There are already a score of sanctioned and unsanctioned “idol” competitions. In New Hampshire, I can think of three different ones, sponsored by radio stations and newspapers. Some sanctioned competitions advance their winners past the first round (or at least don’t have to wait in line, I’m not positive how that works). Jordin Sparks won Arizona Idol.
I also would not be surprised to hear that the producers talk to their local affiliates for the names of promising contestants.
So it’s a good idea, there’s already some precedent and infrastructure to build on.
Agreed. This happens every season (well, maybe not rushed to hospital), but the fractures and sprains and whatnot listed by the performers after each season is up always amazes me.
The sad part is, by the end of the season, none of them are up to their very best because they’re usually nursing multiple hidden injuries. I know that is a dancer’s life, but still, it’s a lot for non-full time dancers, even those who are semi-professional already, to take on. A week off around top 6 or 8 wouldn’t hurt the show any at all, imo.
ETA – stoked about the DC press. I love the fact that he appears to be being taken seriously right out of the gate by all sides. Can’t wait for this album!
That’s a snip from an Associated Press article about Nigel’s leaving AI. I wonder if that means that Warwick may not return either.
Despite my cynical post earlier I actually kinda agree with you. Taylor had written some good songs on his independent release but it was not Top 40 type stuff, and Blake DID have Top 40 potential IMO but seemed to go for the “artistic” victory more than the commercial. I am a firm believer than no one should ever try to transform the music scene in their first Idol release. Just try to make good radio friendly product guys… you can change the world at a latter date. Trust me, it will still be there ready for the revolution in a couple of years. lol.
Cook has songwriting chops and the sense to know he needs to make at least some of the record radio-friendly. He just needed to work with some more experienced songwriters and a good producer. It looks like that ’s what his label made sure would happen. Plus, no CLIVE! YAY! No one to pick a horrible first single with his supposed “golden ears”. (Break Anotha Clive? Really? Cover album for Clay? Really good idea there, huh? Taylor should record something other than soul records? And it should sound like dated 80s pop? Thanks, Clive.)
Cook’s record should be at least competent rock pop. But still there are no guarantees in Idol-land. 19E will push the hell out of him though. I’m an optimist with a dash of realism at this point.
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It’s confirmed here that Josh and Twitch were the ones sent to the hospital for dehydration. Poor guys, I hope they’re doing OK…
Consider the source….
Exclusive: Idol Star Jason Castro Rocks a Ring
He’s touring the country with his fellow American Idol finalists, but on Aug. 3, Jason Castro used his day off for more than lying by the pool. He went shopping for an engagement ring instead!
Jason and girlfriend Mandy Mayhall, both 21, were spotted at Tiffany & Co. in NYC, on the second floor à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ home to high-end wedding bands and engagement rings. The couple was “very affectionate,” a fellow shopper tells Star. “They were touching the whole time and holding hands.”
Though a relative of Mandy’s tells Star they’re not yet engaged, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for a wedding invite!
Star Magazine
Wow… thats cool for Jason, if true. Awwww. :wub_tb:
Interesting, Gwendolyn. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit! Good luck to Jason and Mandy, if true.
awwwww if this news is true, I wish Jason and Mandy the best of luck.
Well that is wonderful if true – for Jason & Mandy. I hope I get an invite to the wedding??
This was posted on his page today, I wonder what was going on?
Aug 5, 2008 1:57 PM
Subject: hello world!
Body: i just wanted to apologize for the inappropriate comments left on my page. my setting have now been changed so no more junk on the page! thank you all for responding with such grace and kindness.
somebodyyyy needs a little love! c’mon now be nice
on another note, today is Tuesday!!! i havnt had a chance to video yet but i will asap! im about to enter into an hour of meet and greats and then sound check and then i should have a few minutes to document my week! ttyl!
jasonnn.
You have to have a membership to see this of course, but Z100 did officially add Crush today.
SYTYCD spoilers here and here.
I so called a traditional ballroom for Katee/Twitch, but I was expecting a latin number for Courtney/Josh. Close enough.
However, I am incredibly pissed that we are deprived YET AGAIN of the hotness that is Dan Karaty. Grrrrr. He BETTER be on Thursday’s show.
KK, you up for a march on the studio??
Sarah, I’ll post those spoilers out front. Give me a minute. I kinda forgot about them!
LOL, it’s okay MJ.
I tried to get to twop from work today but the message boards were blocked. I guess I must have missed them when I checked before I went to work today, because they were posted in the late night/early morning, but I didn’t find them when I looked at like 7:30 this morning.
I’ll take my SYTYCD talk to the spoiler thread now.
Best & Worst dressed at the Teen Choice Awards from OMG @ Yahoo (is front page news right now, lol):
“Reigning “Idol” champ David Cook was all smiles upon entering the star-studded event in a simple shirt and jeans.”
http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/teen-choice-awards-red-carpet/2174?nc#id=16
“American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta hit a bad note in this mismatched mess.”
http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/teen-choice-awards-red-carpet/2174?nc#id=9
“Former “Idol” contestant Kat McPhee’s dress was one of the event’s most interesting, but the tulle bottom was a tad tacky.”
http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/teen-choice-awards-red-carpet/2174?nc#id=29
I did not see anything for Jordin, but I thought this part about Miley was funny:
“Show host Miley Cyrus sparkled in a tri-colored dress, but her booties gave us the cooties.”
Okay, Jason just discounted that “engagement rumor”. Like I said, consider the source….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5WRbCNiEDM