KC offers hopeful songs
Tailgating started early Friday for Michelle Lea Sciortino and her family.
The 16-year-old singer lined up with more than 10,000 others in front of Kemper Arena before 5 a.m.
Some, like Michelle Lea, were hoping to pass the initial audition for next season’s “American Idol.†Others, like her dad, Ken Sciortino, were there to offer company and support.
Can David Cook Become American Idol’s First Rock Star?
Season 7 American Idol winner David Cook is teaming up with Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo for his debut album with 19 Recordings/RCA Records. The album is scheduled for release this November. Cavallo is best known for producing Green Day’s smash hit American Idiot. Cavallo has also produced albums for Kid Rock, Goo Goo Dolls, My Chemical Romance, and Eric Clapton. He is also working on an upcoming release from The Dave Mathews Band.
Idol gives back (again) Kimberly Caldwell on what’s Cook-ing, cancer and career
Kimberly Caldwell, Katy native and American Idol alum, says attending last year’s Snowdrop Foundation Back to School Gala was “one of those life-changing experiences.”
So much, in fact, that she’s back today to host this year’s event, which benefits patients and families at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
“I knew that from that night on I would do whatever I could and whatever it took to be involved in this charity,” Caldwell says.
That includes snagging a white jacket from this year’s Idol winner, David Cook. It was one of several A-list items up for auction. (He wore it, fittingly, during Idol Gives Back week.) Caldwell says Cook was “more than willing” to donate his stage wear. His older brother Adam is battling brain cancer.
Nigel Opens Up About Leaving Idol
The man responsible for creating divas and crooners out of the kids-next-door and attracting millions of viewers each week to Fox’s mega-hit reality show American Idol, is opening up about stepping down.
“It’s like giving birth to a baby and letting it go,†British-born executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who’s been with the show since its inception in 2002, tells Extra, “Just talking about it is tough.â€
Numerology Expert: Clay Aiken’s Son Has ‘Powerful’ Birthdate
Eight is definitely enough for Clay Aiken and his best friend Jaymes Foster. The two welcomed their son Parker Foster Aiken at 8:08 a.m. on 8/08/08.
So what do all those eights add up to?
Numerology expert Daniel Hardt says the proud parents may have business on the brain for their newborn.
Clay Aiken’s a Dad!
Congratulations to Clay Aiken!
The American Idol alum is now the proud pop of a bouncing baby boy, a rep for the singer confirms exclusively to OK!.
“HE’S HERE!” wrote Clay on his official webite. “My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken (No hyphens. One first name. One middle name. One last name.)”
Oklahomans move one step closer toward being ‘American Idol’
At least two Oklahomans successfully stood out in a 10,000-strong crowd at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena on Friday, impressing judges and moving one step closer to being an “American Idol.â€
Singers Juliana Johnson and Monique Warrior, both 18, made the cut and will go on to the “executive producer round†for the popular Fox talent show in October.
Top 10 post-’Idol’ moments
Grabbing the gold on America’s favorite talent show is more than most aspiring Karaoke fiends could hope for in this lifetime. But given the right combination of timing and talent, that gold can be turned into platinum. Just ask Jordin Sparks. She’ll be back in Glendale this weekend with Jesse McCartney and a platinum debut album to her credit.
Here’s a look at 10 key moments in the semi-charmed post-’Idol’ life of the first seven winners.
Live: Jordin Sparks and Jesse McCartney at the Orpheum
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan once stated that anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either. If only he were alive and on hand at the Orpheum Theatre on Thursday, where crème de la crème teen-pop performers Jordin Sparks and Jesse McCartney beautifully illustrated his point.
First lesson: Things on TV are not always as they appear; occasionally, they are better. Sparks won the sixth season of ” American Idol” but not without some underwhelming moments when no amount of luscious arpeggios could add shine to her flat eyes. Whatever charisma Sparks sometimes lacked in Nigel Lythgoe’s coliseum she has since gained as a working vocalist with her own impressively polished album.
Jordin Sparks Calls Chris Brown A ‘Perfect’ Collaborator
She’s won “American Idol,†survived a damaged vocal cord and now she’s co-headlining a tour. Is there anything Jordin Sparks can’t do?
“This is my third tour now and I feel that every time there’s the first show, it’s like ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’†she said in a new interview for Access Hollywood and “The Billy Bush Show.â€
But nerves or not, she told Access that hitting the road with Jesse McCartney has been a “lot of fun†so far.
Jordin Sparks announces next UK single
We’ve all known for absolutely ages that ‘No Air’ by Jordin Sparks is one of the best singles of the year. Now, having spent the last month-and-a-half month in the top five, it’s a proper smash too. All Jordin’s got to do now is worry about her next single.
Well, brace yourselves, because Jordin and her label have made up their minds. Instead of releasing ‘One Step At A Time’, her current single in the States, she’s going to reissue ‘Tattoo’, the midtempo Stargate track that cracked the US top ten but stalled at #50 here in April. She’s shooting a new video for the UK reissue too - a good move actually, seeing as the original wasn’t exactly filled with excitement. You can refresh your memories by hitting play below.
Oscar winner Hudson ready for her CD close-up
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Jennifer Hudson doesn’t drink coffee. Doesn’t like it, she says. Doesn’t need it, counters her manager, Miguel Melendez.
It’s 6:20 a.m. on a Monday morning in July, and an uncaffeinated Hudson is busting full throttle through her warm-ups during a sound check for a performance on “Good Morning America.” It’s her first TV appearance in support of “Spotlight,” the debut single from her first album.
Hudson shakes off any concerns about the ungodly hour. (”The band got there at 4:30 a.m.,” she notes.) Melendez, clutches his Starbucks as he watches. “Good Lord, she makes me feel old,” he sighs.
Elliott Yamin comes home next Friday to talk diabetes and baseball.
Yamin, Richmond’s 2006 “American Idol” finalist who has since forged a successful recording career and now lives in Los Angeles, will sing the national anthem at the Richmond Braves’ final Friday night game on Aug. 15.
Prior to the game — around 5:45 p.m. inside the Diamond — Yamin will step into his role as an ambassador of the Inspired by Diabetes campaign and greet participants interested in free diabetes screenings.
Underwood reveals heart as well as hits at fair
Carrie Underwood has mastered the professional part of being a chart-topping singer, and she’s beginning to share emotions that someday might make her a talent for the ages.
During Underwood’s concert Friday night at the Indiana State Fair, two songs packed significantly poignant wallops: “I Know You Won’t” (from 2007 album “Carnival Ride”) and “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” (from her 2005 debut, “Some Hearts”).
Destination ‘So You Think You Can Dance’: And then there was one
Soon, I was able to track down the man of the hour, Mr. Joshua Allen. (Or perhaps you know him as America’s Favorite Dancer?) I asked Joshua, natch, if he and Katee Shean were secretly in love. “I love her,” Joshua answered, “but it’s nothing like — you know. I have a girlfriend.” (Sorry ladies; turns out both Joshua Allen and Twitch Boss are taken.)
Then, Joshua revealed the real reason he joined the competition. “I’ve always just wanted to touch people with my dancing…. If I can touch just one person, I’m doing my job … Somebody said ‘No Air’ had changed their life forever, and that just touched me. Like, ‘Did I really?’ I was so happy.” Yup, sounds like America chose the right guy.
So, how was Joshua Allen planning to celebrate his big win tonight? “We’re gonna go par-tay! Par-tay!”
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Q&A: Runner-up Twitch
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, what have you guys been up to today?
STEPHEN ”TWITCH” BOSS: We worked on a little photo shoot for the tour, which kicks off September 20!
Oh, I know. I’ll be seeing you in Long Island don’t worry.
I have family there, it’s going to be a great show.
Do you know any details about the tour? Any idea what songs you’re doing yet?
Well, no, not yet. We still have to rehearse and get all of the promo stuff together first.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Q&A: Winner Joshua Allen
One of the biggest questions that we — and our readers — have is about your training. What kind of formal training did you have before the show?
I took a few modern dance classes, ballet classes, because I felt that to be a better dancer I would have to take different classes, and, you know, expand my horizons in the art of dance. I didn’t want to audition for the show not knowing anything. Dallas was [early in the auditions], and after I made it to Vegas — there were months before we actually went — I took as many classes as I could. I really wasn’t that technically trained. I would just try to take classes in the summer, and when it was school time I would take class, run track, play football. I would always just train in the summer. So it was never hard training. It wasn’t like William or Mark or Matt. I knew what it was, I knew kind of what to do, but I wasn’t trained in it.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’: The Secret Life of Twitch!
Despite his jam-packed schedule, I managed to snag some quality time with charismatic “So You Think You Can Dance†runner-up Twitch Boss.
And since he’s probably bored to tears with talking about “So You Think You Can Dance,†we chatted about celebrities, music and -– well -– everything but that little show he just almost won.
‘America’s Got Talent’ recap: The top 40 revealed!
I knew even before last night’s episode began that we’d be lucky to see even a few minutes of performance shots interspersed with all the cheering, and the crying, and the sentimental music. And sure enough, I was right. Not that I’m patting myself on the back. America’s Got Talent may be a lot of things, but unpredictable isn’t one of ‘em. Over-the-top emotional, however, is the show’s strong suit, which is probably why the producers focused on individual judging sessions that put the contestants through hell as they waited to find out if they’d cracked the top 40.
This episode took the drama to uncomfortable levels, to the point where I became audibly mad at the Hoff when he played the cat to Queen Emily’s ball of (gloriously talented) yarn. Hasselhoff bemoaned the singer’s overwhelming emotional sensitivity, saying that he “wasn’t voting her through…because of her emotions, but because of her talent.†By the time he got to telling her she was in the final 40, Queen Emily was reduced to a mass of tears and sequins. Not right!
TOML had an overnight jump from #39 to #30 on itunes.
im not sure if this was mentioned, but that TOML jump was deff due to them playing the song at the end of the Olympic Opening Ceremony last night on NBC. but im sure someone already mentioned that.
Michael Johns posted a bulletin here
ETA: sorry tried to add link…its at michaeljohnsonline.com
Here :)
Thank you Polaris!!
You’re welcome
For our SYTYCD fans that have been missing Dan Karaty:
http://www.usmagazine.com/exclusive-sytycd-judge-dan-karaty-to-join-americas-got-talent
EXCLUSIVE: Dan Karaty to Join America’s Got Talent
Tuesday August 5, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance judge/choreographer Dan Karaty sure has Talent!
Karaty – who has worked with the likes of Britney Spears and ‘NSYNC - is set to bring his performance expertise to the #1 show on TV, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, Usmagazine.com can exclusively reveal…..
Sounds like he’s also working on the foreign editions of SYTYCD! Article has a nice picture of him too. ;)
TOML reached #29 on canadian itunes (it was #31 this morning).
OK, so how do we explain that? Canada certainly isn’t getting the Olympics bump, is it?
— Wait, NBC is not aired in Canada, right? Am I coming off as a clueless foreigner here?
I don’t know :/ .. I was just checking both itunes charts :P
DAMN. You mean I’m actually going to have to start watching this show now? Damn you, Dan Karaty!! ;)
(thanks Pam for the article!)
I’m thrilled for Jordin Sparks. She’s done everything right. Very steady and without a lot of drama. Her third single is doing great as is her tour. She deserves a lot of cred for still being hot and relevant now. It’s easy to feel the excitement over the current idols and to expect huge things from them. The real test will be a year from now. When season 8 idols are all the talk. She’s accomplished something that is very rare.
I’m so proud of Cook for turning that song into something worthwhile. :)
I agree claudette.
Interesting link on Archie:
http://www.themidimafia.com/news/midi-mafia-and-david-archuleta-in-the-studio
Eep. Sorry, NBC does air in Canada. We get all the American channels. Often, when they air the same shows (e.g. American Idol) the shows are simulcast and the American channel actually carries the feed of the Canadian channel (e.g. we cannot watch the Fox version of American Idol unless we have an antenna or it airs at a different time).
But, the Olympics are a different kettle of fish. CBC carries the Olympics and does it’s own coverage so we do get the NBC version of the Olympics. I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies, so I don’t know if that was an exception, but generally, we get both feeds for the opening ceremonies (the commentators say different things and the Canadian version typically has more athletes and less commercials). Most Canadians say they prefer CBC’s coverage over NBC’s* though, so I don’t think many people watched the US feed. Didn’t SYTYCD also feature TOML? Maybe that’s the reason? Plus, a few NBC fans?
*So do many Americans in border states. NBC kind of sucks at the Olympics, but I’m biased. Maybe it’s because Canadians don’t win any medals, so CBC just shows the best athletes regardless of country. We are so bad, our broadcaster is kind of good.
Do I SERIOUSLY have to start watching that show?? Damn you, Dan!!! Can’t you just stick with the US version of SYTYCD? That would make my life so much easier!
I was going to post about TOML being played at the end of the Olympic opening ceremony, but it looks like others already beat me to it. I have to tell you, I got really excited when I heard that song start to play! What great exposure for DC!
Sorry, KK! Just thought you’d like to keep track of him! ;)
I just watched Carrie’s new video In A Dream. Wow! Talk about moving. Its about the wedding and funeral of a young military man. She does a great job! For anyne wanting to see it, check GAC at 10.29pm ET tonight.
I got it right here…
http://mjsbigblog.com/carrie-underwood-just-a-dream-video.htm
Syesha’s latest blog
Saturday, August 09, 2008
08/08/08 - AI Tour Show 27
Current mood: happy
Last night’s show was amazing! I felt really good after the show last night. I felt really good about my set. It was so exciting to tell everyone I’m from Connecticut. I was born in Bridgeport. I can’t wait to go. Yay! I have not been back since I was nine. It was bitter sweet then, My Great Aunt passed and I went to her funeral and sang. So, now it’s gonna be a better homecoming. I will be celebrating my success and how far I’ve come. And it only gets better from here on out. My journey has just begun! OOoooooh Loooo!
The people were very upbeat and supportive last night! The crowd was loud. No matter what…… I will always dig deep to give my best performance, but when the crowd is giving you something to work with; when you look out there and see someone smiling at you or holding your sign or just grooving it’s like they are giving you more to work with and that really enhances the performance for me.
I actually stayed in my hotel room in Hartford. I was relaxing and getting some business taken care of. I was going to go on vocal rest, but I needed to talk. I really enjoyed relaxing though. I woke up to the sounds of thunder and rain hitting the window seal. It was so calming… Awe. I opened the curtains and could see the downcast sky. I sat down in the chair put my feet up and looked out the window and shortly after got online and watched You Tube…oh lo!
Well, I’m backstage now. We left the hotel this morning to a crowd of displeased fans. A couple of times we have had fans wait outside the hotel to meet us and our security allowed us to sign, but now they say that it’s only encouraging people to show up to our hotels. I understand why they won’t allow us to sign anymore, but I still felt bad for the fans who waited outside for their papers, shirts, guitars and teddy bears to be signed. We aren’t always able to explain to them the story. SO, they waited today outside hoping that one of us would come out, but security would not let us. So, that was final.
So here is what a few people had to say at the meet and greet today:
“My best friend’s Aunt knows you”
“I loved your outfits towards the end ”
I saw a girl wearing a shirt that said “The World Needs More Hugs”…I agree!
We met a beautiful little five-year old girl today, she had a pretty pink dress on with matching nail polish and she was so sweet. She was from make a wish Foundation and her mom told us that the shows gave her something to look forward to when she was in the hospital doing treatment for her cancer. Her mom told us that she was happy like old times dancing when she watched the show. Awe….that’s what this is all about for me…making people feel good! She was the highlight of my day today. Oh and they let her come back stage and hangout with us at sound check and her face lit up. She was a cutie!
Syesha’s Thought’s:
“Always do you! In the end you’ll feel much better!”
“Keep a smile and live long”
“Speak positive and think positive and you’ll get more of it”
Yeh sooooooo talk later peeps! Buy Bye! :)
I’m not liking Cookie’s new tattoo! Eeek!
Ooh purplesmile! I don’t either! Has he been reading A Series of Unfortunate Events??
LOL, yeah, it’s pretty damn big and emo-ish, isn’t it? At first when I saw it yesterday I was very much against, but somehow, it’s starting to grow on me.
I do, however, think that if I were to see that thing close up, it’d freak me out. It’s a big staring eye, y’know? Eep!
Maybe it represents TPTB watching over him??
Holy fug, Batman! What an eyesore. *rimshot* Yeah, I’ll show myself out now.