Man charged with stalking Ryan Seacrest
LOS ANGELES ‘†Prosecutors brought felony charges Monday against an Army reservist who allegedly stalked Ryan Seacrest, including showing up at the “American Idol” host’s studio and attacking one of his bodyguards.
Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr., 25, faces up to four years in prison if convicted of the stalking charge.
He was arrested Friday after he appeared at the E! Entertainment Television headquarters and tried to see Seacrest, whose radio show is produced at the location. A restraining order petition filed by Seacrest’s attorneys stated he was carrying a knife.
Gokey ready to Hob Nobble
Season 8 “American Idol” contestant Danny Gokey will perform live at the 20th annual Hob Nobble Gobble and appear in America’s Thanksgiving Parade, parade officials said Monday.
The Hob Nobble Gobble takes place 6:30-10:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Also due: Bethenny Frankel from “The Real Housewives of New York” and local brothers Evan and Ryan Kasprzak from “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Exclusive: Behind-the-Scenes With Kris Allen
Kris Allen, whose video for ‘Live Like We’re Dying’ premieres on PopEater on Nov. 6, has a behind-the-scenes Webisode for us.
The ‘American Idol’ winner is seen at a photo shoot while ‘Dying’ plays in the background. Watch It Below
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Carrie Underwood Says ‘Every Woman’ Has Met A Cowboy Casanova
Three albums into her career, Carrie Underwood is already a country-music vet, paving the way for ladies like Taylor Swift to find success outside of Nashville. On her latest album, Play On, the “American Idol” alum is proving her songwriting muscle, especially on the sassy first single “Cowboy Casanova.”
Album review: Carrie Underwood’s ‘Play On’
If there’s a slam-dunk aspect to Carrie Underwood’s third album, it’s that she’s handed her “American Idol” benefactors a theme song for the next episode of “Idol Gives Back.” That song is “Change, ” an exercise in social responsibility that challenges the listener to stay open to the possibility that a small gesture can make a big difference.
Carrie Underwood Visits The Late Show
Carrie Underwood takes some pictures with fans as she arrives for the Late Show with David Letterman in New York City on Monday (November 2).
The 26-year-old American Idol recently sat down with In the Spotlight With Robin Roberts to discuss her rise to fame, her family, and her boyfriend, Ottawa Senators hockey player Mike Fisher. ‘We stay in, you know, we ‘ ¦ we’re not like big party-goers so we don’t show up to events together and things like that, ‘ she said.
Carrie Underwood Says ‘Good Morning America’
Out for a promotional appearance, Carrie Underwood was spotted giving a killer performance on ‘Good Morning America’ today (November 3).
The ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ songstress looked lovely as she took the New York City stage to sing selections from her new album ‘Play On.’
New Music Preview: Carrie Underwood’s ‘Play On, ‘ ‘Glee’ Soundtrack
Tuesday is the traditional release date for new music and two notable albums drop this week: Country singer Carrie Underwood’s ‘Play On, ‘ and ‘Glee: The Music, Volume 1.’
The television show ‘Glee’ follows a group of misfit students at fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio who are members of a high school show choir. One of the comedy-drama-musical’s chief selling points is that it’s multimedia’the songs that are featured in the show (mostly covers of pop hits) are also made available for purchase on iTunes. Watch the show, buy the song.
Carrie Underwood Gets Back to Work With Play On (Part 1)
Carrie Underwood knew she needed to finish a new album this year. Luckily, she viewed the writing and recording process of Play On as a labor of love, rather than just one more thing to check off her huge to-do list. The album will be released Tuesday (Nov. 3).
“I hate deadlines, ” she says. “I love projects. I love things that I love to do. If I have a project that I am totally into, and I love it, then I am all about it. I will go above and beyond and do crazy stuff. I was always the kid in class that would bring something that was really extravagant and had way too much effort put into it. Everybody else would do theirs just enough to get an A, and I had mine that was like … awesome.”
Music Review: Carrie Underwood shows maturation
Carrie Underwood opens her third album with an audacious stomper, “Cowboy Casanova, ” a put-down of a playboy that slyly references a famous quarterback Underwood briefly dated. But everything else about the bold, sassy tune looks forward, a reflection of “Play On, ” which aims to illustrate Underwood’s maturation and growth.
On her first two albums, the “American Idol” winner worked to establish herself as a country music singer. Now that she’s the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, Underwood looks to expand her boundaries on “Play On.”
Carrie Underwood looks for something different
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ԠPop-country has made superstars out of acts like Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and more, but the term is not particularly endearing in Nashville, even to the artists who have come to define it.
“I hate saying pop-country ‘†I hate using that, ” Carrie Underwood says during a recent interview while talking about some of her favorite artists.
Listen Up: Carrie Underwood expands worldview in ‘Play On’
* * * out of four SOLID WORK
This is how to build a career for the long run. On her third outing, the still-blossoming Idol alum with the sterling pipes invites a diverse handful of outsiders to join her proven Nashville-based songwriting/production team. They expand her sound and worldview just enough to perhaps lure more folks to the party while satisfying country radio programmers and her loyalists.
Play On puts Underwood’s potential on pause
Carrie Underwood’s path to superstardom has been cut down the middle with savvy, razor-sharp precision. She’s a good girl who occasionally goes bad, a Barbie doll with sporadic Bratz tendencies.
Previous albums have balanced pristine ballads (Jesus, Take the Wheel, So Small, Just a Dream) with fiery rave-ups (Before He Cheats, Last Name). Those discs were far from perfect, but they managed to showcase some flickers of real personality.
Glambert and ‘Gossip Girl’ join the weird world of Weezer
What do Adam Lambert, snuggies, Lil Wayne, Gossip Girl, giant bug costumes and Kenny G have in common? More than they should: They’re all recent additions to the ever-expanding Weezer-verse.
Glambert and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester are the latest celebrities to get pulled into the schizophrenic publicity cornucopia surrounding the renowned nerd-rockers’ latest album, Ratitude, which drops tomorrow. Frontman Rivers Cuomo brought Meester’â€the Gossip Girl star and occasional pop singer’â€onstage during their Halloween concert at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom for a duet on their latest single, ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.’ The fans tweaked out and you can check it out for yourself here:
Latest Weezer WTF Collaborations: “Gossip Girl” Star, Adam Lambert
Whatever you think about Weezer’s current maximum-WTF promotional campaign for their new record Raditude (Lil Wayne guest spot, flying dogs, Kenny G hookup, giant bug costumes), you have to admit it’s pretty entertaining stuff. And over the weekend, the internet-crashing madness continued.
David Archuleta And Demi Lovato Dazzle At Final Show Of Joint Tour In Atlantic City
Something happened Sunday (November 1) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The casino town normally filled to the brim with little old ladies ready to hit it big on the slots was flooded with tweens, teens, and twenty-somethings thanks to David Archuleta and Demi Lovato, two uber-talented teens from two of pop culture’s biggest juggernauts, American Idol and Disney.
AC’s Trump Taj Mahal was the home of the final rescheduled date on their joint tour that was supposed to wrap in August. As the night got underway, it was clear that although there was understandable disappointment initially regarding the date shuffle, it was well worth the wait.
Daughtry Uses Fame to Support Charities
As the holiday season approaches, American Idol Season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry and his band, Daughtry, are using their popularity for good. On November 26, Daughtry will perform live at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Oakland Raiders. This performance will officially kick off The Salvation Army’s 2009 Red Kettle Christmas campaign, which is the oldest annual charitable fundraiser of its kind in the United States. Through December 24, the campaign will raise money for people all over in need, providing toys, coats, food, and countless social service programs throughout the year. Daughtry will perform a medley of hits from their chart-topping sophomore album, Leave This Town. They will also perform songs off their multi-platinum debut album, Daughtry.
The Latest News on the Top 2 from Seasons 7 & 8
American Idol’s Season 7 and 8 Top 2 finalists have been in go mode since their finales, and this week is no exception.
Former ‘Idol’ contestant Charly Lowry finds happiness
Five years ago, Charly Lowry was on the “American Idol” stage, prepared to sing for votes and the opportunity to have her music heard by millions.
But while the popular Fox reality show can bring instant fame to aspiring singers, and potentially a record deal, it also can mean losing some control over your musical career.
46% Watch DVR With Commercials
I love to use my DVR to fast-forward through commercials. In a one-hour show, I can knock out generally just under 20 minutes of advertisements. That means DVR makes TV watching around 30% more efficient. I can then use the saved time to do something useful or entertaining. According to a New York Times article today, not everyone has the same attitude as I do when it comes to skipping commercials. In fact, nearly half of DVR users let the advertisements play. While I found this shocking at first, I shouldn’t have.
Simon Cowell and Alexandra Burke help pay for sick toddler Sophie’s life-saving treatment
A toddler is flying to America for life-saving treatment after Simon Cowell agreed to chip in “tens of thousands” of pounds.
One-year-old Sophie Atay’s mother needed to raise £500, 000 urgently to send her for pioneering cancer therapy.
Sophie has received the best treatment UK hospitals can offer but if specialists at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital can see her within the next week her chances of survival will rocket from 20% to 90%.
Rachel Adedeji ‘ Simon did the right thing
‘It wasn’t Lloyd’s fault that he had a sort throat, we’ve all been through so much. We’re all individual, we’re all good in our own ways. I just hope he (Lloyd) rests up and gets better soon.’
Rachel ‘ who was in Dannii’s Girls group ‘ had been in the sing-off twice before, with Scots singer Rikki Loney and girl group Kandy Rain.
She admitted that it was tough being in the bottom two, and being put out of X Factor – but that she won’t let that knock her confidence.
The ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Halloween Concert: This Is Thriller
Earlier this year when Michael Jackson died, producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe tried in vain to stage a season 5 So You Think You Can Dance special featuring the King Of Pop’s legendary music and moves. But the powers-that-be at Sony told Nigel to beat it, inexplicably (I say “inexplicably” because both American Idol and America’s Best Dance Crew had aired all-MJ episodes before that, and later Sony granted music clearance to the far inferior reality dance show Dancing With The Stars).
Roxbury ‘Dance’ man keeps cool under pressure
Can Roxbury native Russell Ferguson survive another week on the Fox hit ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ ?
The 20-year-old krump dancer squeaked by to the final 18 last week after a harrowing accident.
His partner Noelle Marsh suffered an injury during rehearsals, and he was paired with their choreographer to dance the fox trot.
‘Dancing With the Stars’ recap: Team Face-off
On week 7 of Dancing With the Stars, the seven couples danced one solo routine each, but the real theme of the night was THE ULTIMATE DUEL between two ”teams” that charged out into the Rectagon in a smoke-machine sequence straight out of Iron Chef America. The secret ingredient is….rosettes! Tiered ruffles! Sparkly lace overlay! HALIBUT! The seven couples split up into Team Paso, who danced to Joan Jett’s ”I Hate Myself For Loving You” (possible nod to DWTS viewers everywhere, and to Michael Irvin because an improvised Faith Hill-in-thigh-high-boots version is the Sunday Night Football theme song) and Team Tango, who danced to ”You Give Love a Bad Name” (ditto, minus Irvin detail). Here’s how they ranked with combined solo and group scores. Ahem! Will the judges please reveal their scores? Carrie Ann Inaba!
Aaron Carter shines on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Monday night kicked off what the second week of double eliminations on “Dancing With The Stars.” This week required every team to learn two dances: one alone, and one for a team confrontation between Team Paso Doble and Team Tango. Not only that, but Tom Bergeron announced early that there was another illness in the ballroom.
Six teams and a total of eight dances made a slow pace for two hours, so the night began with a showcase for some of the show’s professional dancers ‘†the kind of filler that’s usually saved for results shows, to no one’s regret. Once that was over, the actual competition began.
Louie Vito ‘Bummed’ to Be Off Dancing with the Stars
I’m not going to lie, I felt like I just lost a huge snowboard contest on Tuesday night. I knew I wouldn’t be the happiest person when we got kicked off the show, but I didn’t realize I would be THAT bummed.
There are a few reasons why I think I took the result show so hard. The first is, I HATE losing. Yes, I had a lot of fun during the course of the show, but regardless of that, I still hate losing ‘ ¦ no matter what it is. Also, the fact that it was a head-to-head dance-off made it worse. I nailed that dance at the practice we had in the morning and I ran it solo back stage at least 15 times. I always consider myself a contest person and do well under pressure. In this instance, I didn’t come through and I took that pretty hard.
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Team effort
It’s the seventh week of the seventh moon of the seventh star of ‘Dancing With the Stars, ‘ ballroom fans, and the pressure in the Rectagon has been cranked up to 11.
In addition to everyone’s individual dances, this week also marked the epic group dance battle of the season: Team Tango versus Team Paso. Who would emerge victorious, and who would be left smarting from the sting of lower scores? Although, initially, I thought the paso doble folks would be a shoo-in to win ‘†mainly because the dance is a lot of high-energy stomps and showy chests and cape work ‘†Team Tango (consisting of Joanna and Derek, Kelly and Louis, Donny and Kim) out-kicked Team Paso (Aaron and Karina, Mark and Anna, Michael and Anna, Mya and Dmitry) and were awarded a whopping 28 points for their synchronized efforts (Team Paso each got 24).
