Monday, March 31, 2008

Keeping up with Josh Gracin

Josh Gracin, the 27-year-old former marine and fourth-place finalist on the second season of American Idol is set to release his sophomore album, We Weren't Crazy, tomorrow.

Crazy picks up where Gracin's debut self-titled album left off, which has sold more than 700,000 copies to date. It features the Top 20 single "Favorite State of Mind" and the Top 30 single "I Keep Coming Back." The album's current single and title track, "We Weren't Crazy," is currently #25 on the country chart.

The album is available for listening full on AOL Music's full CD listening party for this week.

Gracin will be performing at the Sims Park Ampitheater in New Port Richey, Fla., on April 5.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Kelly Clarkson to sing for the Pope

Kelly Clarkson has accepted a request to sing for Pope Benedict XVI when he comes to New York as part of his six-day trip to the United States. Below is an excerpt from an article that was recently published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

According to Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Clarkson will perform a few of her songs at a youth rally at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers on April 19, as well as Ave Maria after the pope arrives.
Kelly said she has had a dream to perform "Ave Maria" and it is "truly a blessing" that she will get to sing it on this occasion.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Ruben and Haley on AI Extra

Ruben Studdard and Haley Scarnato appeared on FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra on Thursday. Ruben performed his winning single "Flying Without Wings," while Haley performed the Roy Orbison classic "Crying."

In his interview, Ruben told host JD Roberto that he wished he could have performed with Rickey Minor and the band while he was on the show, but other than that it had not changed much since Season 2. Rube also said he would be joining the cast of "Ain't Misbehavin'" for its 30th anniversary tour this summer.

Haley's interview was a little less comfortable, as she was asked if the rumor that she and Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis "hooked up" on New Year's Eve was true (she never did answer the question). She also said she's been in the studio recording her debut album and she wishes she could still be on tour.

Below is Haley's interview and performance.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Friday, March 28, 2008

'Idol' tracks' popularities leak on iTunes

It was discovered today that there is a way to view the Season 7 finalists' studio recordings on the iTunes Top 100 chart. FOX has prohibited the charting of the tracks in order to discourage it from affecting the competition, but just as in every case, there is a way to get around the stoppage.

The results are staggering, showing David Cook's cover of "Billie Jean" way out in front of Mariah Carey's new single "Touch My Body," which appears as #1 on the official Top 100 chart.

Other top Idol tracks include Michael Johns' "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" at #11 and David Archuleta's "You're the Voice" at #12. Other placements on the chart include Cook's "Eleanor Rigby" at #15 and "Hello" at #19, and Brooke White's "Let It Be" at #16 and "Every Breath You Take" at #17.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

It ain't eze to say goodbye to Chikezie


As Ryan said those final words - "Syesha, you're safe" - Chikezie Eze knew his time on the nation's most-watched television program had come to a sudden end. The 22-year-old from Inglewood, Calif., sang the Luther Vandross song "If Only For One Night" one last time before leaving the stage.

Minutes before the results were read, Simon said the reason Chikezie was in the bottom three in the first place was because he picked the wrong song. Simon was right.

America had fallen in love with Chikezie's two Beatles tunes in the past two weeks, but his reversion to the soulful ballad this week reminded the voting public of the boring performances he was known for in the semifinals.

Aside from Chikezie, audiences were treated to Kimberley Locke's return, as she performed her new single "Fall" off her sophomore album Based on a True Story. The Season 2 third-place finalist looked stunning and sounded as good as ever.

Earlier in the show, Ryan once again took calls from America in the "Idol Live" segment of the show. Most were boring with the exception of a call from Vanessa, who asked Simon if he considered himself the most attractive person on the show.

"It's not what I say, it's what other people say," he replied, prompting Paula and Randy to shake their heads and laugh. Paula said she had now heard it all from Simon.

As for the two other finalists that found themselves in the bottom 3, one deserved it while the other did not. Syesha Mercado was one of the better vocalists on Tuesday, and she most definitely did not belong in the bottom 2. In her place should have been Ramiele Malubay, who was probably the weakest female this week. Jason Castro's placement was right on the money and he merited his spot based on his boring delivery of Sting's "Fragile."

This week, Kristy Lee Cook managed to deliver in a big way on a powerful song, which she absolutely needed to do in order to stay in the competition. With Dolly Parton mentoring next week, it looks like she might be around for a while.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Results (3/26/08)

Join us tonight when we blog during the Top 10 results show at 9:00 p.m. ET, when the Top 9 is revealed and Kimberley Locke performs her single "Fall."

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Birth year theme is just '80s part 2

With eight of the Top 10 finalists being born in the 1980s, last night seemed like just a continuation of Top 16 week. The performances were leagues better than the ones delivered last week, which at least made up for the repetitious repetition that seems to be weighing this season down.

Ramiele Malubay opened the show with her take on Carrie Underwood's...erm, I mean Heart's power ballad "Alone." Vocally she was alright, though she kind of fell flat on one of the critical high notes. According to the judges, she was better than last week but Simon had a bone to pick with Randy's critique, which he deemed a bit harsh. Was Simon being honest or using his signature reverse psychology tactic? No one can ever really tell.

Next was Jason Castro and his snorefest that was Sting's "Fragile." Jason must really want to impress the foreign language-speaking voting population, only this week he reached out to Spanish-speaking Americans rather than those who speak French. Odds are it won't do him any good, as Randy and Paula said he did well but there was no "wow" factor, while Simon said his guitar playing was sloppy and he has to start taking himself seriously because he has the potential to be a contender but not if he performs like that week after week. Look for him to make a "shocking" appearance in the bottom 3 tonight.

Syesha Mercado then took on Stephanie Mills' "If I Were Your Woman," over-singing included. The judges [aka Randy and Paula] gave her unconditional praise for her performance, Paula going as far as calling her a "dark horse," but it was really overrated. Syesha has had much better performances in the past, and this week she was just a glory note machine. Simon caught on to this, saying she was good but there is a limit to where her vocals can go, which riled Paula up.

Next up was Chikezie, who took a departure from his usual country rock hoedown arrangements and did a boring ballad. It was not that he did a bad job vocally on Luther Vandross' "If Only For One Night," he just seemed out of place, like he reverted back to the semifinals with his lifeless soulfulness. Randy complained that he missed the up-tempo Chikezie, calling the performance "not hip or cool." But he can't do country rock every week, now, can he? Amanda Overmyer didn't get away with singing the same style every week. But David Cook is, so maybe Randy is on to something....

After some more blatant iTunes pimping by Ryan, Brooke White takes the stage and takes on The Police classic "Every Breath You Take." Brooke caused every heart in America to skip a beat when she halted the beginning of her performance, realizing she started in the wrong key (if anything, it just proves the show is live). The first half of the performance was very angelic and moving, but once the band came in it kind of lost its touch. The judges made note of this (and the do-over), but Simon said it was "definitely enough to keep [her] in the competition." Brooke twice said her do-over was "not a good thing to do," but the judges told her it was the right thing to do. Why can no one ever agree on this show?

Michael Johns struck a chord with the studio audience when he burst out singing the Queen classic "We Will Rock You," complete with seizure-inducing light shows and a full band and back-up singing brigade surrounding him. But when he changed to the "We Are the Champions" portion of the performance, the audience went wild. Michael showed why he deserved to be in the competition, with Simon even saying Michael's performance was the only memorable one of the night.

And then Carly Smithson's mom talked about how she named her daughter after hearing a Carly Simon song on the radio on the way to the hospital to give birth to her. Following that fun fact, Carly tackled Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which, minus the painful run at the end, was very well done. Randy and Paula fought over whether the run at the end was good, and Simon gave his two cents, saying Carly needs to "lighten up." Carly added to the awkwardness by exclaiming that she had to go to the bathroom before her performance, prompting Ryan to ask if she flushed.

The awkwardness did not end there, though. When Ryan asked David Archuleta what he missed about school, he said he missed his school dances and that he might not get to go to his prom. Ryan then took this opportunity to ask if the girl sitting next to David's dad was who he wanted to take to his prom, which immediately put a target the size of Texas on her. David tried his best on an obscure song choice - David Foster and Jeff Pescetto's "You're the Voice." The song sounded like it was out of an early '90s Care Bears episode, and Paula thought she'd be funny by asking David why he didn't pick an American composer. That's Paula, always trying to psych out the 17-year-olds! Simon said the song choice was something he'd expect to see "animated creatures gathering around him and start singing" on, and that it wasn't for him. Simon should be careful of that girl sitting next to David's dad.

And then there was Kristy Lee Cook, who managed to recover from being in the bottom 2 for the second week in a row. Kristy Lee was right at home when she chose the durable "God Bless the USA," and actually sound pretty good. That coupled with Simon's profusely-flowing praise will give her a one way ticket to Dollywood next week.

Finally, the rock star took to the stage. David C. and his abnormally-huge baby skull took on Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," completely turning the song upside down and using a slow but steady rocked out arrangement. Upon finishing, Randy said he could actually win the whole thing. Paula remained standing because she was "blown away." And Simon said it was "amazing." All in all not a bad night for the resident rocker.

Predictions
Bottom 3: Jason, Chikezie, Ramiele
Bottom 2: Chikezie, Ramiele
Eliminated: Ramiele

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Perform (3/25/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 10 performance show at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the finalists again take on songs from their birth years.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Monday, March 24, 2008

Keeping up with Nicole Tieri

Famous for her wild antics and crazy pink scooter, Nicole Tieri just released an album and has a baby on the way. Formerly known as "Scooter Girl," Tieri released her debut album, Tales From Magnolia Drive, was released on March 14, 2008. The album features songs that deal with her battles with eating disorders and child abuse. It is available on DigStation.

Since failing to make the semifinals on Season 3 of American Idol, Tieri performed at Sight and Sound in Lancaster, Penn. She was also offered an endorsement deal by Razor Scooters and the role of Maureen in the Broadway musical Rent, but could not accept either offer because of her contract with Idol.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Bice, Young, Peter Lewis to headline Idol Camp 2008

A press release announcing the initial lineup at the 2008 Idol Camp was released on Thursday. 'Idol' alums that will make appearances and mentor the camp's attendees include Season 4 runner-up Bo Bice, Season 5 seventh-place finalist Ace Young and Season 3 eighth-place finalist Jon Peter Lewis.

Young and Lewis both appeared at the camp last year, when it was held in Northfield, Mass. The camp will be held at Pali Mountain in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. from June 15 - June 28, June 29 - July 12, July 13 - July 26, July 27 - August 9, August 10 - August 23.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Rock 'n roll nurse taken off 'Idol' life support


Amanda Overmyer, the nurse from Mulberry, Ind., was many things throughout her stint on the seventh season of American Idol - an exceptional vocalist not being among them. But Amanda's passion for performing her style of music was undeniable.

Amanda said that even though she was disappointed to not make the tour, she was honored to know that she finished 11th out of hundreds of thousands of potential 'Idol's. Her encore of "Back in the USSR," however, was just as painful as it was the previous night.

The biggest surprise of the night, however, came in the first 15 minutes of the show when Carly Smithson was told to grab a stool in the bottom 3. Carly's performance of "Blackbird" Tuesday night was actually one of the better vocals, though it was by no means a show stopper. But she did not deserve the third-lowest votes.

The results show wasn't all doom and gloom, however, as the audience was treated to Kellie Pickler, who showed great improvement from when she was a finalist back in Season 5 with her hit single "Red High Heels." Her pre-performance video was cute and she showed that she's just the same ol' girl from Albermarle. We also got to see a taped segment of Fantasia and Elliott Yamin visiting children in Africa. Elliott even showed emotion by tearing up when he found out a newborn baby boy had been named after him.

When Ryan took calls for the second week in a row during the 'Idol Live' segment of the show, only one merited an answer, which came from Jessica Reynolds of New Jersey. She asked Simon if he'd ever consider doing a sequel to his kiss with Paula back in Season 2, and he said "Yes, because she's actually a good kisser," which left many people feeling a bit unsettled.

Ryan also revealed the four celebrity mentors that will be coaching the finalists this season. They include Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Dolly Parton. Looks like four of the remaining themes are '90s, show tunes, country and...Neil Diamond...

For the second week in a row, Kristy Lee Cook inexplicably avoided elimination, perhaps being saved by the country vote or maybe her comment about "blowing the socks off of Simon." Regardless, it will take nothing short of a miracle (or a very above-average performance on Tuesday) for her to squeak by another week.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 11 Results (3/19/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 11 results show at 9:00 p.m. ET, when one finalist is eliminated and Kellie Pickler performs her hit single "Red High Heels."

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Beatles night redux a bust

Although it is hard to blame Nigel & Co. for trying to milk their rights to the Lennon-McCartney songbook for all it's worth, even Simon had to concede it wasn't a good idea to feature the theme two weeks in a row.

Bingo! Especially considering how most everyone fared well last week, the only direction the finalists could really go was down. And for the most part, they did.

Amanda Overmyer started the show off by reverting to her mumbling jumbling indecipherable "singing" with her take on "Back in the USSR" After actually doing not half-bad last week, Amanda responded to Simon's suggestion that she do a ballad by exclaiming "ballads are boring!" Well, so is singing the same exact style of music every week.

But the rock 'n roll nurse wasn't the only one to receive negative feedback. Brooke White seemed to get more of a reaction from her bright yellow sundress and her awkward dancing than from her singing, which was probably her weakest vocal delivery to top it off. Simon called her rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" "terrible" and "wet" among other things, prompting Brooke to nervously talk over his critique as she tried to excuse her performance away.

Another finalist that drew the ire of the judges was Michael Johns, who by their accounts should be doing much better than he has done the past few weeks. Although his performance of "A Day in the Life" wasn't "a mess" as Simon called it, it was definitely lackluster. Paula also found herself back peddling when she tried to explain that it was because Michael was wearing an ear piece that caused his underwhelming vocals, only to be told by Michael that he was not wearing one. So much for that theory, Paula!

And then there's Chikezie, who basically decided that because the theme was the same as last week's, he had the green light to deliver the same exact performance as he did last week. Starting out slow with "I've Just Seen a Face," then morphing it into a southern/country/rock mesh of harmonica-playing and toe-tapping, the judges were split on what they had just witnessed. Randy liked the second half better than the first, while Simon hated the first half and only disliked the second. He said it was gimmicky and that there were too many artists mixed into one performance, which Paula vehemently disagreed with.

Jason Castro also got mixed reviews for his take on "Michelle." Although his performance was boring to the max, he did score points with the French-speaking population by nailing the annunciation of the infused foreign lyrics. Too bad France and Canada can't vote. Randy and Paula pinpointed his lifeless performance on the fact that he was disconnected, especially since he was away from his guitar, though they still thought it was "alright." Simon put it more bluntly, saying if it were a radio show instead of a television show he would have turned it off. Ouch.

But it was Kristy Lee Cook who once again took the worst beating of the night for her delivery of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." Described as being "musical wallpaper" by Simon, the performance was very up and down in terms of the stark contrast between her upper and lower register (the latter being much worse). He also said she's only memorable when she's terrible like last week. But her comeback to Simon of "I can blow you out of your socks next week and you know it!" pretty much made up for her awful performance.

But the night wasn't all a wash. David Cook pulled off another week of solid rock with his version of "Day Tripper," which he performed in the Whitesnake arrangement. Despite being accused of being "smug" by Simon (oh, so he really is the next Daughtry?), Cook's talents of playing the guitar, voice box and singing showed that he was talented more than he was full of himself.

Carly Smithson also had strong vocals, though "Blackbird" never did sound so dreary as it did last night. After Paula and Randy gave praise to her control, emotion and inflections among other things, Simon picked on Carly for the song's subject matter and lyrics, and calling her choice "indulgent." The discussion got more philosophical than he bargained for when Carly said the lyrics were meaningful to her as they represented how the music industry is a cruel place and like birds trying to learn to fly free she was trying to break the stranglehold the industry has on her, to which Simon launched into sarcasm mode ("Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were all poor little birds on this show").

But it was David Archuleta who showed the most improvement from last week's lyrical disaster. He once again proved that he's the one to beat, as his rendition of "Long and Winding Road" was definitely more in his comfort zone. It wasn't nearly on an "Imagine" level but it sounded like a Grammy-winning performance compared to the rest of the finalists. All three judges lobbed comments like "amazing!" "wonderful!" and "that was hotness!" his way, and the world returned to order once again.

The big surprise of the night was Syesha Mercado, whose vulnerable and controlled performance of "Yesterday" won her mostly praise from the judges. Although she looked beautiful and sounded pleasant compared to her usual over-singing and sometimes even shoutfests, Paula wasn't the only one to notice her blatant disregard to look into the camera or at the studio audience. Instead, she opted to fix her eyes on something on the stage floor (maybe Ryan left a gum wrapper down there?). Either way, the judges liked it, and Simon predicted she would make it through to the Top 10.

Finally, Ramiele Malubay closed out the show with "I Should Have Known Better." It was definitely a step up from last week's snorefest, and she was wearing a cool hat. But the judges still gave her bland comments, probably the most generic of the night. Randy liked her confidence but said it was "alright." Paula liked her better this week than she did last week. And Simon thought she picked the wrong song and the whole thing was amateurish. So Ramiele will just have to make do with whatever all that is supposed to mean.

Predictions
Bottom 3: Kristy Lee, Amanda, Chikezie
Bottom 2: Kristy Lee, Amanda
Eliminated: Kristy Lee

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 11 Perform (3/18/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 11 performance show at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the finalists again take on songs from the Lennon-McCartney songbook.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Monday, March 17, 2008

Keeping up with Phil Stacey

After receiving a free pass to an eighth week in the finals thanks to "Idol Gives Back" last season only to be eliminated the following week along with Chris Richardson, Phil Stacey has been actively pursuing a career in country music. The music video for the sixth=place finisher's debut single "If You Didn't Love Me" premiered on CMT.com on March 11, and the single is currently on its way up the country charts. You can watch the video below.



Stacey, who is signed to Lyric Street Records, is working on his debut self-titled album, and expects it to be released in April. You can listen to his single on his MySpace page.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

VFTW nets $40K in 2007

Only halfway through the seventh season of American Idol, the infamous Votefortheworst.com (VFTW) has made the headlines for its unconventional approach to the hit FOX show and breaking news many times since the start of 2008. In today's New York Times, however, the site's founder, Dave Della Terza, was profiled. The reason for giving Della Terza a valuable spot on the Times' layout: the revelation that the controversial site netted him roughly $40,000 in revenue in 2007.

Terza said the revenue came mostly from Google Ads, and it has been gaining every year since the site's inception in 2005. Della Terza told the Times the following:

"It didn’t start out as a moneymaking venture; it wasn’t an attempt to leech off the ‘American Idol’ brand."


VFTW's most notable story leaks include the controversial photos of season 6 semifinalist Antonella Barba and news that season 7 finalist David Hernandez had worked as a stripper in the past. The site is currently encouraging members to vote for Amanda Overmyer.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Melinda Doolittle performs on AI Extra

Season 6 third-place finalist Melinda Doolittle returned to FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra last Thursday night to perform her new single "My Funny Valentine." You can watch the performance below.



You can now download "My Funny Valentine" on iTunes.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Friday, March 14, 2008

Return of the crying girl


Who could forget Ashley Ferl, the infamous "crying girl" that shot to fame following her violent sobfests on American Idol's sixth season. According to LATimes.com blogger Deborah Netburn, her 15 minutes aren't quite up. Netburn has learned that Ashley will attend the Top 10 performance show thanks to a few tickets from executive producer Ken Warwick.

Since garnering instant recognition from her crying at the Top 11 performance show during Sanjaya Malakar's rendition of "You Really Got Me," Ashley has met dozens of former Idol contestants, and has cried at meeting every single one of them. She has even been parodied on Saturday Night Live. But she apparently won't be as excited to return this season as she was last year despite having five favorites. Why not?

“There’s no Sanjaya this season!”
Regardless, it would be a bit naiive to think audiences won't catch at least one tear being shed.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Unexpected but understandable


Looking back on last night's results, it is amazing that more people did not predict David Hernandez would in fact be the one sent packing. The overwhelming majority of viewers believed Kristy Lee Cook's ear-offending country arrangement of "Eight Days a Week" was more than enough to seal her fate, but once again the country vote was underestimated.

In recent seasons past, the "obvious" boot left in Top 12 week (Melissa McGhee in Season 5 and Brandon Rogers in Season 6 - both of whom delivered sub-par performances including forgotten lyrics). In this case, however, David had all the makings of a Top 12 finisher, from his forgettable rendition of "I Saw Her Standing There" that was filled to the brim with melisma, to his weak attempt to distract the American public from his stripper past by laughing about being fired as a pizza deliveryman (as if it was his only previous job) in his pre-performance package Tuesday night.

Some want to believe his ouster was a conspiracy to keep David from making the tour, but that is simply not true. If all of the performances are scrutinized at the same level, it is easy to see that although his performance was not the worst, it was far from the best.

On another note, Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee returned to the Idol stage for the first time since losing the title to Taylor Hicks two years ago. She sang the George Harrison-penned "Something," and was accompanied by producer David Foster. Following the performance, Foster confirmed rumors that the two have been working on an album together, but no other details were revealed.

As for whether or not Kristy Lee can recover in time for next week when she must decide how to approach a second helping of Lennon-McCartney songs after receiving resounding disapproval over this week's country arrangement, it is fair to say that anything could happen at this point.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 12 Results (3/12/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 12 results show at 9:00 p.m. ET, when one finalist is eliminated and Katharine McPhee performs with David Foster.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Beatles night shows competition is still fluid

Besides the tired infighting between the judges, Ryan's usual flirting with Simon and a new monstrous set, the Top 12 for the most part managed to take control of the 25 limited Lennon-McCartney songs they had to choose from.

The show opened up on a forgettable note when Syesha Mercado tackled "Got to Get You Into My Life." Although the vocal wasn't all that bad, it really was very lifeless despite her use of the Earth, Wind and Fire arrangement. The arrangement factor truly played a big role in the night, as it made or broke many of the finalists' performances. In Chikezie's case, his folk-turned-southern rock interpretation of "She's a Woman" really validated why he was still in the competition, and his performance was actually one of the better ones. Carly Smithson also pulled off another surprise, as she put her special touch on "Come Together," one of her favorite songs. The sound was very reminiscent of something Sheryl Crow would do, and she won much praise from the judges. But in Kristy Lee Cook's case, the arrangement led to her downfall, as "Eight Days a Week" was never intended to be sung in an up-tempo country style.

While the arrangements were important factors in many performances, other finalists' vocals defined how well they did. In Ramiele Malubay's instance, her vocals on "In My Life" were pretty but too reserved, which garnered criticism from the judges that she played it "too safe." David Hernandez gave the word "melisma" a whole new meaning when he took on "I Saw Her Standing There," which also brought forth a barrage of calls to not overdo it, and even David declared he would "try to turn it down a notch" next week (if there is a next week).

Two consistent performers did even better tonight than in weeks prior. Coffee shop soul/pop chanteuse Brooke White delivered a knockout punch with a beautiful rendition of "Let It Be." Her talents on the piano coupled with her rich vocals really give her an under the radar frontrunner status. The other finalist that was on top of his game was David Cook. After he delivered a stellar rocked-out version of the Lionel Richie classic "Hello" last week, David again channeled Chris Daughtry in his performance of "Eleanor Rigby." He received praise from the judges as being a dark horse, with Simon even toying with the possibility of an outside shot of him winning.

Proving that falsettos should only be used every once in a while, Jason Castro's version of "If I Fell" gave Paula a heartfelt connection, but his vocals were otherwise very vulnerable and showed his style of singing definitely has limits. Amanda Overmyer was also only lukewarm this week after she nailed her song last week, which was possibly the only reason she made it through. Her take on "You Can't Do That" was a certified, signature rock 'n roll nurse performance, though it was not nearly as bad as some of her past ones. Michael Johns also was only so-so once again, as he sang "Across the Universe" well but didn't really go anywhere with it, which drew the ire of both Simon and Randy.

But the biggest shock of the entire night was hands down David Archuleta's awful Stevie Wonder version of "We Can Work It Out." The favorite to win did everything from forgetting the lyrics to losing his meter and missing some key notes. If this was the first time the American public saw him perform, David would be on the first flight back to Utah. But his dedicated fanbase and history of amazing performances will be more than enough to sail him through to next week.

Predictions
Bottom 3: David H., Kristy Lee, Syesha
Bottom 2: Kristy Lee, Syesha
Eliminated: Kristy Lee

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 12 Perform (3/11/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 12 performance show at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the finalists take on The Beatles.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Monday, March 10, 2008

Keeping up with Ace Young

Since placing seventh on season five of American Idol, Ace Young has laid the foundations of a musician's career. After releasing his debut single "Scattered" to iTunes in Oct. 2006, Young co-wrote "It's Not Over," the No. 4 debut single of fellow Idol alum Chris Daughtry's band Daughtry. Young was nominated for a Grammy Award for the writing credential.

Young is now assembling his debut album, and he addressed his fans in a vlog late last month on the album's progress, which can be viewed below. A snippet of his new single "Addicted" is now up on his MySpace page.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Diana DeGarmo loses Gone Country


Diana DeGarmo, runner-up on the third season of American Idol, was not named the winner of CMT's Gone Country, a reality series hosted by John Rich in which seven musicians competed to have a song produced by Rich in an attempt to take a shot at country music. Julio Iglesias, Jr. was instead chosen as the winner.

Diana's live performance of "Right Back Where We Ended," the song she co-wrote with Shanna Crooks, is available to watch on CMT.com. Video and audio downloads of the performance are also available on DianaMedia.net.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Friday, March 7, 2008

Nikki McKibbin suffers mental breakdown


Nikki McKibbin, the pink-haired rocker who finished in third on the first season of American Idol reportedly spent 72 hours in a psychiatric ward last month after possibly contemplating suicide. Star Magazine reports that Nikki was depressed after losing her mother in August, and she finally broke down on Feb. 21. She reportedly said she wanted to "live with [her] mom in heaven" and was found clutching a handful of white pills when emergency personnel arrived at her Fort Worth, Tex. home. She has since been released.

Nikki released her first studio album, Unleashed, last May on independent record label Chenoa Records.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Where are the shockers?


Four more contestants fell short of making the Top 12 last night, but something was different this season compared to seasons past. Why were there no shockers? In season four there was Amanda Avila. In season five there were Ayla Brown and Gedeon McKinney. And in season six there was Sabrina Sloan. But there was nothing comparable this season.

After Blake Lewis fell flat on his new single "How Many Words," Kady "Robot-dancing" Malloy was the first girl eliminated. She truly was one of the more talented remaining contestants, but her inability to chose the right song three weeks in a row led to her downfall.

Next was Luke "Go Go" Menard. Not much to say here except his song choice was more than fitting for tonight's episode.

It was apparent that TPTB tried to create another Ayla/Melissa or Sabrina/Haley scenario by pairing up Kristy Lee "Cage-fighting" Cook with Asia'h "Apostrohpe" Epperson, but not even Simon fell for it this time. When Ryan asked whom he thought was leaving, Simon had no problem proclaiming it would be Asia'h based on her song choice, Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," which historically has led to the exits of contestants that choose to perform the song. It's hard to believe anyone thought Kristy was a goner, and even Asia'h appeared to have accepted her defeat.

Flash ahead to Chikezie "Easy" Eze and Danny "TMTH" Noriega, the last two guys sitting on the couch. Here's another case where both could have had equal shots at going home, but Danny's attitude and sub-par vocals on Tuesday was enough to send him packing, sadly squashing any chance of Sanjaya 2.0 this season. The only question is...how will Ramiele "Cry Me a River" Malubay cope?

We'll have to tune in next week to find out. Who knows, maybe we'll be shocked.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Thursday, March 6, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 16 Results (3/6/08)

Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 16 results show at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the Top 12 will be revealed.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 8 Girls Perform (3/5/08)

Join us tonight as we blog about the Top 8 girls' performances at 8:00 p.m. ET.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 8 Guys Perform (3/4/08)

Join us tonight as we blog about the Top 8 guys' performances at 8:00 p.m. ET. This week's theme is songs from the '80s.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Monday, March 3, 2008

Keeping up with Jon Peter Lewis


Jon Peter Lewis, the eighth-place finisher on American Idol: Season 3, has accomplished quite a bit since his run on the show ended in April 2004. Famously referred to as having the look of a "pen salesman" and "the personality of a mouse" by judge Simon Cowell, JPL released his debut album Stories from Hollywood on Nov. 7, 2006 on indie label Authentic Records. Although the album struggled to reach 1,000 copies sold, JPL will release a follow-up this spring produced by Chris Garcia (Santana, Jewel).

Three of JPL's tracks from Hollywood ("Boy Next Door," "Gypsy Queen" and "Man from Amsterdam") were featured on Audio Bee's Curtain Call: New Songs from Past American Idol Finalists, Vol. 1 compilation, which was released to iTunes on Feb. 5, 2008.

JPL now has his new single "Breaking the Silence" up on his MySpace page.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Anthony Federov and Vonzell Solomon kick off 'Simply Ballroom' tour


American Idol: Season 4 finalists Anthony Fedorov and Vonzell Solomon kicked off a U.S. tour of Simply Ballroom, based on the British version of Dancing with the Stars, today at the Bushnell Center in Hartford, Conn. Anthony blogged about the tour on his MySpace page, including a full schedule of the tour. Debbie Reynolds will also take part in the tour. The tour will run from March 2 - April 6 with 27 shows in 16 cities including Baltimore, Dallas and Jacksonville. Fedorov placed fourth and Solomon third on the fourth season of American Idol.

[+/-] Show Full Post...

Search & Win