Archuleta, Union hit D.C. to adopt foster-care issue
WASHINGTON ‘ Stormy weather wasn’t enough to keep some stars away from an important issue: foster care.
“I’m so glad that my hair is pulled back and shellacked abundantly, ” Vivica Fox joked about the rainy, humid weather.
Fox joined actors Gabrielle Union and Terrence Howard and American Idol finalist David Archuleta for the gala, held in a dining room at the State Department.
Archuleta performed Imagine, a song that won him rave reviews during his time on Idol. But even after singing it plenty of times before, the bashful 18-year-old was still a little nervous ‘ this time he played the piano and sang.
“I have never accompanied myself on Imagine, ” he admitted. But the important thing is to “get the spirit of the song across.”
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Adam Lambert Reacts to Rolling Stone Cover: …OMFG
There certainly been a huge response to Rolling Stone new issue featuring American Idol breakout star Adam Lambert. But how did the Wild Idol react to seeing his cover for the first time? We sent Lambert a Flip MinoHD so he could record his response to his first peek at the issue ‘ check out the results above.
Ellen DeGeneres: I’m Proud of Adam Lambert
Ellen DeGeneres is proud that American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert is publicly embracing his homosexuality.
“I’m proud of him, and I’m happy for anyone who has the guts to actually tell the world who they are and not fear they are going to lose their career or alienate anybody, ” DeGeneres told TVGuide.com.
The weekly American Idol sales report
There’s not a whole lot of excitement in this week’s American Idol sales data from Nielsen SoundScan. The biggest debut is the digital-only Rock of Ages cast recording, featuring Constantine Maroulis, which entered at #34 on the digital albums chart and #193 on the Top 200.
Kellie Pickler continues to see increases for both her single, Best Days of Your Life, which should pass the half-million mark in a few weeks, and her self-titled album, which is nearing 250, 000 units.
Who Will Be The Next ‹American Idol To Sign A Record Contract?
…American Idol veterans are making the transition from amateur sensations to paid professionals. Champ Kris Allen, runner-up Adam Lambert and fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta have all signed record deals with 19 Recordings. So, which contestant from the show eighth season will be the next to ink a recording contract? Which highly ranked singer will get left out in the cold? Let discuss.
David Archuleta of American Idol Woos Washington
2008 American Idol runner-up David Archuleta, the 18-year-old who’s scored big with his song “Crush, ” can now add Washington to his list of cities with a crush on him.
What the rest of the country saw on Fox last year, he brought to town to help draw attention to the fourth annual Keeping the Promise to Our Children conference, sponsored by hip-hop’s Russell Simmons and Hollywood philanthropist, moviemaker, and punk promoter Daphna Ziman.
Archuleta capped his two-day stay at a dinner for the conference last night. And while stars Shawn King and Terrance Howard performed, too, it was young Archuleta who earned a State Department standing O in the Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room. “I’m going to try and accompany myself, ” the young star nervously told the crowd. Then he sat down at the piano and played an almost-perfect rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine, ” belting out the song in that powerful but youthful voice that allowed him to get so far on Idol. He then performed Kurt Bestor’s “Prayer of the Children” a cappella. The vocal powerhouse told Whispers that he would have been “a little more nervous” if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had shown up.
David Archuleta ‘kind of assumed’ Adam Lambert was gay
Most people probably werent surprised by American Idol winner Adam Lambert coming-out cover for Rolling Stone earlier this week. One of the least surprised was Idol finalist David Archuleta.
USA TODAY Arienne Thompson caught up with him last night in D.C. …I just kind of assumed it. I think everyone else did, too, he admitted. …I dont think it was a big surprise. Im sure he was happy with who he was.
Carrie Underwood: softball star?
The gorgeous, talented and athletic Carrie Underwood landed one of the biggest plays of the game at Wednesday night 19th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge with an RBI double for her Grand Ole Opry team.
Underwood team went on to defeat the competing After MidniteTeam 11-5 ‘ not that most fans in the audience were interested in the score. The crowd, which filled Greer Stadium to about two-thirds capacity on Wednesday night, cheered for its favorite stars regardless of which jersey the artist was wearing.
Carrie Underwood’s Hall of Fame Dress!
The gorgeous dress worn by country superstar Carrie Underwood during a special performance is now on display in Nashville.
The merlot colored gown that Underwood wore during the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards has gone on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Associated Press says.
Underwood wore the dress while she performed her hit song “I Told You So.”
According to the AP, the elaborate dress has120 yards of fabric and an 8-foot long train.
DAUGHTRY REVEALS DETAILS BEHIND LEAVE THIS TOWN
06.10.2009 ‘ Los Angeles, California – June 10, 2009, As Daughtry prepares for the July 14 release of LEAVE THIS TOWN (19 Recordings/RCA), the band is ready to reveal details behind the follow-up to its Grammy-nominated, quintuple-platinum debut.
Many of the songs from LEAVE THIS TOWN, Daughtry says, reflect how where weve been determines where were going, including the first single …No Surprise, which has been the #1 most added at Hot AC 4 weeks in a row. The …No Surprise video was directed by Nathan Cox. In it, the song theme of love gone wrong is expressed through the character relationship with the town where he lives. …The place you call home can cause heartbreak just like a bad relationship, Chris says. …Places change just like people change. Sometimes the best thing you can do is leave.
Fantasia still R&B but shines gospel light at festival
Last summer, R&B dynamo Fantasia Barrino took to the Petrillo stage at the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park and put on a performance that was the talk of the town. This year, the “American Idol” winner was back, but this time on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage in Millennium Park as part of Sunday’s Gospel Music Festival.
The 24-year-old singer and Broadway sensation told the Defender that there was no conflict at all with her performing as a secular star and as a gospel songbird.
Reality’s Most Unlikely Couple: Sanjolly!
It almost goes without saying that the replacement of prayer-happy priss Heidi Montag by her down-to-earth sister Holly Montag on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! was a bit of sweet relief to both fans of the NBC show and the celeb contestants in the Costa Rican jungle. And while the Hills star has made friends with all her fellow stranded stars, sources tell OK! she’s gotten very close to one of them in particular ‘ former American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar!
Challenge America Initiative Launches to Inspired Audience at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, June 11, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ —-The Challenge America initiative to support returning injured veterans and their families by virally networking recreation, jobs and housing programs through ChallengeAmerica.com, recently launched with a rare musical event played to an inspired audience on the stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The night, hosted by Amy Grant and Vince Gill, was filled with poignant stories from ABC’s Bob Woodruff, NY Times Best Selling author Stephen Mansfield and music from Grant, Gill, Michael McDonald, Alison Krauss, Darius Rucker, Melinda Doolittle and Mac McAnally.
Society of Seven, Joined by American Idol Finalist Jasmine Trias 7/10-12 In LV
Formed in Hawaii and perfected in showrooms throughout Las Vegas and the Islands, Society of Seven brings its lively variety show to the Suncoast Showroom, July 10, 11 and 12. Season three American Idol finalist Jasmine Trias joins Society of Seven as a special guest.
Society of Seven, the famed Hawaiian-bred group, offers an energetic variety show that combines comedy sketches, celebrity impersonations, dance and live music performances, including popular standards, Top 40 and Broadway.
What do you think of your new luxury home, Susan? It purrfect
SUSAN Boyle moved into her new £2million flat after Simon Cowell agents checked with the landlord that they would allow her CAT.
The Britain Got Talent singer has now moved into the converted convent with beloved pet Pebbles.
Show sources last night told how Susan was being …wrapped in cotton wool to help her recover from exhaustion before the BGT live tours, which start tomorrow.
5, 6, 7, 8 Ways ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Is All About Art, Man
Chances are, if your circle of friends contains even a few avid summer-TV watchers, you’ve been encouraged to watch So You Think You Can Dance. The American Idol-style dance competition has been steadily growing in popularity over the last four summers — so much so that it’s making a leap to Fox’s fall schedule in September — and its fans tend to be proselytizers.
Whoops, looks like you’ve got one right here.
The easiest way to win a Dance convert (says the zealot) is to describe it as “‘American Idol, but better.” Lots of people watch Idol but do so while holding their noses: it’s cheesy, it’s corporate, it’s soulless, it’s amateur hour, and the judges have no earthly idea what they’re talking about.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’: The top 20 perform (and a robot dog too!)
Kupono Finally! The part of the season we’ve been waiting for has arrived, so let’s get right to it. The first of the top 20 dancers to perform were Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb, who did a hip-hop number choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo.
They were a couple trying to get to sleep who couldn’t until they had resolved an argument. I enjoyed the piece, but didn’t quite feel as in love with it as the judges did. Maybe I was rusty, or maybe the camera angles on the dance put me off (when will the show learn that quick cuts and zooms only take away from the performances instead of enhancing them?)
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ recap: Making Up for Lost Time
From the Foxtrot to the samba, the hip hop to the contemporary, and the non-crash-test-dummy jazz to the Bollywood, there was a lot about last night’s Top 20 performance episode of So You Think You Can Dance that makes me want to lift the show up and gleefully swing it round in the air like Brandon twirling Janette. A quick sampling of the non-partnered-dancing highlights: Brandon’s jaw-dropping opening mini-solo, in which he lifted himself up from a full split using just his legs; Cat Deeley accusing Jeanine and the Chbeeb of ”schnucking” at the end of their number, a word that’s kinda covertly X-rated when you think about it; Mary Murphy brilliantly redeeming her why-is-that-gonzo-woman-screeching-at-me inanity the moment she exploded in guffaws after admitting she can’t raise an eyebrow anymore thanks to Botox ‘ she may be ca-razy, but that’s good TV right there; and, most intriguing of all, the producers and judges slyly attempting to absolve themselves by actively pimping almost all the dancers that had, in Nigel Lythgoe’s hilariously disingenuous words, ”somehow slipped under the net.”
‹So You Think You Can Dance Primer: Because You Really Should Be Watching
…So You Think You Can Dance is the best reality competition show ever. Sure, Im touted as MTV News …American Idol expert, and sure, I get paid to do …Idol in 60 Seconds recaps every season, but deep down inside, I just wanna …Dance.
Im not going to rehash the reasons why I think …SYTYCD is a superior show to …AI ‘ especially since my old colleague Lindsey Thomas did it perfectly last summer. Instead, Im here to beg all of you to start watching and make this season the highest rated yet. I have no stock in the show. Hell, it on a rival network. I just think the world will be a better place if, instead of gossiping about Miley and Jason breakup, we discussed the finer points of Napoleon and Tabitha latest lyrical hip-hop routine.
‘America’s Best Dance Crew’: Los Angeles auditions
There was so much going on at the Los Angeles auditions Saturday that it took me a few days to take it all in.
A-Team, Soul Fresh, H.E.R., Grade A, The Dance Band, Electrolytes … so many crews to see in one day! At Foresight Studios, kids were spilling out onto Sunset Boulevard and up the side streets as they waited for their opportunity to perform. Lots of hugs and squeals of recognition as dancers reconnected or met up with people they’d heard about. And lots of evaluating eyes as crews practiced routines, got out costumes and/or props, or just generally got loud with music or raised voices.
Neal Boyd to tour with Paul Potts
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Audiences who enjoy the television shows “America’s Got Talent” and “Britain’s Got Talent” will be able to see two winners on tour together.
Neal E. Boyd, who won the American competition last year, will be the special guest of Britain’s winner Paul Potts on a 10-city tour that begins July 6 in Dallas.
Boyd, who lives outside of St. Louis, will release a classical pop album “My American Dream” on June 23. The next night, he’ll perform in his Southeast Missouri hometown of Sikeston as the guest performer at a Kenny Rogers concert.
