Wednesday, December 31, 2008

William Balfour appears in court

The man accused of killing Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew back in October was formally indicted by a grand jury yesterday when he appeared in Cook County court. William Balfour, 27, is Jennifer's brother-in-law and is accused of slaying the three Hudson family members on Oct. 24 inside their Chicago home.

Balfour's attorney, Joshua Kutnick, said there is no case against his client, as he stated in court:

"The police believe it is William Balfour, but the problem is what they have done. They find their suspect and build evidence around the suspect. That's not the way it should work."

Kutnick also asked that Balfour be moved to Cook County prison rather than the state prison he is currently being held in, but the judge delayed the decision on the request until Jan. 20.

There have been no comments out of the Hudson family regarding the indictment.

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Free download - Camile Velasco's "Open Up"

Camile Velasco's song "Open Up" is now available as a free download when you add Camile as a favorite on QMania.com. To redeem the track you must first register an account with the site, then add Camile as a favorite by visiting her page. When asked to enter the password, type qmania and enjoy. The song can be previewed on her official music MySpace page.

You can also redeem a free autographed 8x10 photo of Camile (plus $3 shipping & handling) by entering the password guavajellyoct14. Both offers expire Fri., Jan. 2, 2009, so act fast. The offers are courtesy of Up Above Records, the label that Camile is signed with and via which her debut album will be released sometime in 2009.

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IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008 - Part 2

And now the continuation of IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008. If you missed moments #10-6, catch up before you proceed.

05) Clay Aiken (finally) comes out

If this wasn't Hollywood's worst kept secret, this story would have been sitting in the top spot for sure. Season 2's runner-up had dodged the gay rumors for years before finally deciding to put an end to them in September after an awkward in vitro fertilization with record producer Jaymes Foster that gave Clay Aiken a son earlier this year.

Only time will tell if this decision was a wise one for his career, but conventional wisdom says any news could propel his next album over 156k copies.

04) Idol alums' stars burn out

Although this was more of a series of moments, collectively they warrant an important news story that has landed at #4 on this countdown. It is no secret that Idol is not an instant success story for everyone that is fortunate to become a part of the franchise, but it is alarming when finalists that actually finished near (or at) the top are shown the door.

It began when Ruben Studdard lost his record deal with J Records in the final days of 2007, then became a bigger story when Season 5's top two finalists Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee were dropped by Arista and RCA Redords, respectively, in January. Then Blake Lewis was released from his contract in June and Phil Stacey was released/dropped from his deal in October. And the latest casualty was in fact Season 7's own seventh-place finalist Kristy Lee Cook, who was dropped for the second time by Arista Nashville in December.

Although things are looking good for the latest crop of finalists, these droppings are surely a word to the wise that winning Idol is not even enough to guarantee a fruitful career of stardom in the music business.

03) Paula's crazed fan commits suicide

In what has to be one of the most bizarre Idol-related stories of 2008, Paula Abdul was left in a frenzied state following the shocking suicide of a crazed stalker named Paula Goodspeed just outside of her house in November.

The fact that Goodspeed was once featured as one of those token "bad auditionees" on Idol in Season 5 led to a controversy between Abdul and Idol execs over the decision to include Goodspeed's audition for entertainment value despite being against her wishes. The two sides aired their dirty laundry over the course of a few days in the media before Paula was told to put a lid on it. This story definitely sums up the tensions that have settled in among the Idol family and will only continue to strengthen before they burst.

02) Jennifer Hudson's family tragedy

Even more tragic than the death of Goodspeed was the family tragedy that claimed the lives of third season seventh-place finalist Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew. The news was something that gripped the nation and even prompted a statement to be issued from the president-elect. It was later learned that Jennifer's brother-in-law, William Balfour, was the chief suspect in the rampage and he was charged with the murders shorty after.

The extremely painful situation caused Jennifer to cut promotion for her self-titled album and film The Secret Life of Bees short, and she has not made any statements in public on the tragedy. Hopefully 2009 is kinder to Jennifer, maybe a Grammy win is in store?

01) David Cook wins American Idol

Yes, it's predictable, but the story on its own deserves #1. A 25-year-old bartender/beer-pourer rising to fame as a result of his ill brother's musical aspirations, only to be challenged for the crown by a like-named 17-year-old from Utah. Although there was much competition on his road to success, David Cook was able to personalize every performance he delivered on the show and connect with his fans on a whole new level.

If there's one thing Cook's win proved, it is that America loves to see a success story. And judging by his album sales to date, it looks like America loves his music as well.

So there are your Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008 as compiled by IDOL LIVE. Do you agree? Don't forget to voice your opinion in the poll of the week for your most memorable Idol moment of the year.

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Poll of the week: Wild card round makes a comeback

IDOL LIVE readers are sure glad the wild card round is being brought back for the eighth season of Idol, at least that is the conclusion that can be drawn from the results of the latest poll of the week, which was extended by six days due to the Christmas holiday. That change was voted the one fans are most looking forward to regarding the forthcoming season, as it received 32 votes (30%) of the 105 votes cast.

The next most popular change was the addition of Kara DioGuardi as a fourth judge, as that option garnered 23 votes (21%). There were some that were unsatisfied with the changes that are being made, however, as 20% of the votes cast were to voice the opinion that some are not looking forward to any of the changes.

In this week's poll of the week, IDOL LIVE readers as asked to vote for their most memorable Idol moment of 2008. You will have exactly eight days to vote.

Kara DioGuardi added as a judge 23 (21%)
Auditions shortened to 3 weeks 5 (4%)
Hollywood extended to 2 weeks 8 (7%)
Wild card round brought back 32 (30%)
Top 36 instead of Top 24 5 (4%)
Elimination of 'Idol Gives Back' 3 (2%)
More behind the scenes footage 8 (7%)
I'm not looking forward to any changes 21 (20%)

Total votes: 105

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Buy tickets for Kimberley's "Locke & Loaded" cruise

Kimberley Locke is no stranger to cruise ship singing (much to Simon's chagrin), and her upcoming "Locke & Loaded" cruise with fellow Celebrity Fit Club star and expert fitness guru Harvey Walden is being marketed as "7 days of sun and fun and music and fitness and wow!"

Although the Caribbean cruise is still a good nine months away, tickets are now available to purchase for the extravaganza on LockeandLoaded.com. Prices range from $849-1,950 per person.

The Liberty of the Seas launches from Miami at 4:30 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 12 and returns Sat., Sept. 19 at 7 a.m. (full itinerary found here). Other Idol alums that will be joining Kimberley include Jon Peter Lewis and Vonzell Solomon, with a possible appearance by Diana DeGarmo if Kimberley can talk her into it. Guests will be treated to two concerts by Kimberley, one by Jon and one by Vonzell with additional artists getting play time as well.

There's no word yet if Kimberley's Celebrity Fit Club "friend" Dustin Diamond will join the crew on the high seas for the occasion. IDOL LIVE is willing to bet he won't.

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Jordin, Haley to be bridesmaids at Gina's wedding tomorrow

It's going to be a mini Season 6 reunion tomorrow at the Naper Settlement chapel in Naperville, Ill. Gina Glocksen will wed her fiance, Joe Ruzicka, while Jordin Sparks and Haley Scarnato will fill two of the eight bridesmaid spots.

Gina had originally asked Jordin and Haley to fulfill the roles back during the Idol Tour last year, on which Gina got engaged to Ruzicka in Aug. 2007. Unsurprisingly, the two have kept their word. Gina is definitely appreciative giving the date of the wedding. She told The South Town Star:

"New Year's Eve is one day you can't ask a performer to take off."

Jordin and Gina will also perform at the reception at the Bolingbrook Golf Club. As for other Season 6 alums that may attend, look out for Chris Richardson and LaKisha Jones to be among the 300 expected guests.

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Monday, December 29, 2008

Keeping up with John Stevens

Idol's signature red-haired crooner John Stevens made the show's third season popular for reasons he probably would not like to remember. After generating such memorable performances as "Crockodile Rock" and "King of the Road," the then-16-year-old delivered spectacles that would make Sanjaya jealous.

But John's vocal talents were the kind that could not been heard on an Elton John track, and so he was given a bad wrap while on the show. Still he was able to finish sixth, which is a testament to his appeal to many across the country. This led to a record deal with Maverick Records in 2005, courtesy of which he released his debut album Red. The album, which was produced by David Foster, did well enough to make it into Billboard's Top 10 Jazz albums chart but failed to muster much in the form of sales, totaling roughly 21k copies since its release.

John's debut single was "Come Fly With Me," a cover of Frank Sinatra's 1957 hit. He also covered Maroon 5's "This Love" and The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere."

After departing Maverick, John joined his fellow Season 3 alum Leah LaBelle at Berklee College of Music in Boston where his is now a student and should graduate in 2010.

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IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008 - Part 1

IDOL LIVE has compiled a list of the 10 most memorable moments of 2008 in relation to everything Idol. Everything from joy to tragedy, odd to oddly a big deal are included in the countdown. The bottom five moments are listed below:

10) Jordin Sparks makes waves at MTV's Video Music Awards

Jordin Sparks had a big year in terms of success and opportunities to wow audiences, from her Grammy nomination to the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLII. One of her more contentious moments, however, was when she came to the defense of The Jonas Brothers at MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards after host Russell Brand lambasted them in his opening monologue for promising chastity until marriage.

Jordin retorted when it was her turn to present an award, saying that people wear purity rings because "not everyone wants to be a slut," which set off a firestorm of praise and criticism on from everyone, whether on morning shows, blogs or mainstream media outlets. Jordin eventually appeared on FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes to clarify her statement.

09) Contestants' pasts come back to haunt them

2008 was the year that the term "plant" took on a whole new meaning. As soon as the Top 24 was announced, stories emerged on certain contestants' musical backgrounds, many of whom had previously been signed to major label deals and released albums. Carly Smithson was the largest target after it was revealed that she only managed to sell 300 copies of her album Ultimate High while on MCA Records as Carly Hennessy despite a $2 million promotional price tag.

Other finalists that had record deals before joining the show with either major or indie labels were Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns, Brooke White and David Cook, while some like David Archuleta had appeared on talent shows like Star Search.

And then there was David Hernandez, whose stripper past overshadowed his short stay on Idol in similar fashion to the media's fascination with Antonella Barba's racy pics from last year.

If history is any indication, we are only going to see more of the same with the next crop of hopefuls.

08) Michael Johns ousted in "cruel shocker" on "Idol Gives Back"

Australia's Michael Johns was considered by many to be the frontrunner for the title of American Idol winner 2008. But when it came time for the results to be read on "Idol Gives Back" night, everyone seemed to be doubting the warning issued from Ryan that someone would indeed be leaving, unlike the "surprise" that kept Jordin Sparks from going home the same night the previous year (although Jordin did not have the lowest vote totals anyway and was never in danger).

But when the results were read and Ryan held out the possibility that once again the lowest vote-getter would be spared, it was like a dagger to the heart for many fans when he said that Michael would indeed by leaving. This generated much criticism of Ryan from the media for being "cruel." While the fact that Michael was ousted when he was did not put this moment on the countdown on its own, the way it was carried out by all those involved and the circumstances were enough to make this the eighth most memorable Idol moment of 2008.

07) Big changes announced for Season 8

After signs that America's #1 show was waning in popularity became too blatant to ignore, the executives behind Idol announced some sizable changes for the upcoming season of the show, beginning with the firing/departure of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.

Lythgoe's exit was followed closely by Kara DioGuardi's entrance, as the songwriter was hired as a fourth judge. More substantial changes to the show were announced in December, with the establishment of a Top 36 instead of a Top 24, the bringing back of the popular Wildcard round and the slashing of the "Idol Gives Back" special.

Hopefully these changes are enough to reignite the spark that has been slowly waning in regards to the excitement factor of the show.

06) Paula Abdul flubs her lines on Idol

It was the single most horrific train wreck Idol had ever seen (until Fantasia's screamfest of a performance a few weeks later). Paula Abdul mysteriously critiqued Jason Castro's second song before he had even sung it, sending the contestants, the judges and the millions watching at home into a frenzied confusion. Apparently Paula could not handle the quick adaptations television can prompt its stars to make when under the gun of fitting everything into an hour or two.

But it caused more than just a brief bit of confusion. It reignited the long held suspicion by many that Idol is in fact rigged. Even after many apologies were issued by Paula, her coworkers and the show's execs, there still lingered a feeling that all was not right in the state of California. But just as it has done with the countless other controversies that have emerged, the show weathered the storm and more or less so did Paula's seemingly bulletproof reputation. It is going to take a lot to finally bring her down.

Stay tuned for the remainder of IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008, as moments #5-1 will be revealed tomorrow. Do you agree with the choices for moments #10-6?

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Sunday, December 28, 2008

Carrie Underwood: Commercial Queen

Evidence that Carrie Underwood's popularity has transcended Idol and country music is so apparent that one does not need to look far in order to spot her staggering presence. She is now being featured in two commercial on two separate networks: one for the eighth season of Idol on FOX and one for the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on CBS. Watch the Idol commercial below:

For the PCA commercial, scenes from Carrie's music video for "Last Name" are used parsed with shots of host Queen Latifah letting audiences know of the upcoming awards, which air Wed., Jan. 7, at 9 p.m. on the eye network. Watch it below:

Carrie will perform at the show and is nominated for a pair of awards (Jordin Sparks also has two nominations).

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

IDOL LIVE gets a makeover

As you may have noticed, IDOL LIVE's layout has been redone in anticipation of what is looking to be a very promising new year. In addition to the layout, there will be a few exciting new features that will be popping up on the site, the first of which is the incorporation of our very own Google group, which can be found here.

On the group, readers can join to be connected with IDOL LIVE in a more efficient way to post feedback, tips & tidbits of what could make good stories for the site and a generally more interactive community setting for readers to converse in. It will also be used as a way to send out breaking news alerts to all members in a more effective manner.

Also coming in the next few weeks is the all important IDOL LIVE blogcast for all American Idol episodes powered by CoverItLive, which will include a host of new improvements to make the blogcasts run as smoothly as possible.

So in order to raise awareness for the upcoming season of Idol it would be helpful if everyone could spread the word around the net and hopefully we can have a great showing for Season 8!

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Jordin featured on 'Shock Value II'?

The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:

>Rumors are swirling that Jordin Sparks is going to be featured on one of the tracks on Timbaland's upcoming album Shock Value 2, out in February. The song title is rumored to be "Rain" and may be released as a single.

>Katharine McPhee sent her fans a Christmas gift on Christmas Eve in the form of a MySpace bulletin that thanked them for their Christmas presents and informed them of an update on all things web-related that are coming in the new year.

>Idol alums that will be making the rounds on the networks' New Year's Eve specials on Wed., Dec. 31, include David Cook and Daughtry on FOX's New Year's Eve Live (11 p.m. ET), while Kellie Pickler will perform on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (10/11:30 p.m. ET) which will be co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest for the fourth year in a row.

>Carly Smithson put up a new blog entry on her official music MySpace page yesterday to let fans know about her Christmas celebrations. In the blog she hinted at her plans to write material with "a certain Season 5 rocker whos RAD" (Chris Daughtry, perhaps?)

>One song that is seeing a huge post-Christmas surge on the iTunes Top 100 Songs chart is David Archuleta's "Crush." after sitting around the mid-30s prior to the holiday it has re-entered the Top 20 at #19 thanks to heavy spending from gift card recipients.

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Arch, Cook at Disney's Christmas Parade 2008

David Cook and David Archuleta both made appearances today during the broadcast of the 2008 Disney Christmas Day Parade. The special, which was taped earlier this month, aired on ABC at 10 a.m. Watch Cook perform "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" below:

Arch did not perform, but he did read a two-minute commercial for Walt Disney World's MGM Studios theme park, including the brand new "American Idol - The Experience" attraction that opens at the park early next year. Watch the segment below:

Amidst all the rest of the performers and parade participants, Ryan Seacrest co-hosted the annual broadcast from Disneyland in California while Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa once again fulfilled their hosting duties from Florida.

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas from IDOL LIVE

IDOL LIVE would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Take time to enjoy time with friends and family and relax to Michael Johns' performance of "Another Christmas" from NBC's Today Show on Tuesday:

And just a note: the current poll of the week has been extended until Tues., Dec. 30, at 10 p.m., so be sure to get everyone to vote. And be sure to watch David Cook and David Archuleta perform on tomorrow's Disney Christmas Day Parade on ABC at 10 a.m.

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'Idol' Hot 100: "Light On" #40 (1/3/09)

David Cook and David Archuleta are the only two Idol alums that have singles in the Top 50 portion of the Hot 100 for the chart week of Jan. 3.

Cook's "Light On" took the lead for the first time since the chart week of Oct. 18 when it debuted at #17. The track came in at #40 for the week, up eight spots from the previous one.

Arch's "Crush" slipped #43-45, marking its first time not leading all Idol-related tracks since the week of Nov. 1 when Jordin Sparks' "One Step At a Time" led the pack.

Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:

Hot 100
40 48 David Cook, "Light On"
45 43 David Archuleta, "Crush"

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Digital sales roundup: "Crush" #39 (12/19/08)

It was another light week on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart in terms of tracks by Idol alums.

David Archuleta's "Crush" was once again the leader of the pack with "Crush," which slipped two spots to #39 despite an 11% climb to 30.9k downloads. Its total now sits at 1.176 million.

David Cook's "Light On" was the only other Idol-related track on the chart, as it rose #48-46 as a result of a 26% increase to 26.9k downloads. It now totals 346.4k.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:

39 37 David Archuleta, "Crush" 30,929 11% 27816 1,176,439
46 48 David Cook, "Light On" 26,918 26% 21290 346,423

Total sales are in bold.

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Out today: "A Little Too Not Over You"

David Archuleta's music video for his second single, "A Little Too Not Over You," is now up on iTunes. It premiered on Yahoo!'s "Y! Music" last Monday. In other release news, The House Bunny starring Katharine McPhee hit stores last Friday on DVD and Blu-ray. Links to purchase both can be found below:

Music Videos
David Archuleta, "A Little Too Not Over You"

iTunes - ($1.99) - Buy

DVD/Blu-ray
Katharine McPhee, The House Bunny

Amazon - ($16.99 / $26.99) - Buy
Best Buy - ($16.99 / $27.99) - Buy
Borders - ($20.29 / $40.99) - Buy
FYE - ($19.99 / $29.99) - Buy
Walmart - ($16.86 / $26.86) - Buy

The House Bunny was a moderate box office success despite being released in theatres during the traditional dumping ground of late August. It took in a total domestic gross of $48.2 million with a worldwide total of $70 million.

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Monday, December 22, 2008

HITS estimates: Cook 132.5k, Arch 81.7k

In a surprise early posting due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, HITS Daily Double released its estimates for the sales week earlier today. All albums saw increases on the chart as expected, including the two Idol-related entries.

David Cook's major label debut album led the Idol representation with another 132.5k copies sold, up 27% from the previous week. It came in at #13, and will mark its first week outside of the Top 10 since its release if the numbers hold.

David Archuleta followed suit with his self-titled debut, which came in at #22 with 81.7k copies sold. It was up 37% over the previous week, and unless these numbers are extremely overblown, Arch's album has now earned itself a gold certification.

Finalized figures from Billboard should be out sometime later this week.

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Keeping up with Nikki McKibbin

Nikki McKibbin, Idol's original red-haired rocker chick, has recently kept busy on the reality TV circuit, ending up right back where her career started.

Nikki's run on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew just wrapped up airing on Dec. 18, but she has already agreed to take part in a spin-off series called Sober House in which her post-rehab activities will be monitored with those of other celebrities that appeared on the predecessor in a "controlled environment." Other celebs that are slated to live in the house are Mary Carey (not to be confused with Mariah), Andy Dick and Rodney King among others. Sober House will premiere on VH1 on Jan. 15, 2009.

On the music front, Nikki put out her debut album Unleashed in 2007 courtesy of Chenoa Records. She released "The Lie" as a single and even filmed a music video for the song.

Nikki also has a track featured on the Idol compilation American Christmas, which was released Nov. 25. She can be heard singing "Alone with the Christmas Lights."

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Don't make Melinda hit you with her pocketbook

Melinda Doolittle had to fend off Michael W. Smith and George Huff among others from stealing the flowers she received from her fan base (the Backups) while on Smith's Christmas tour. Melinda played the role of the "defensive" recipient and lip-synched to Jennifer Hudson's "Pocketbook." Watch the skit below:

The tour was stopped in Portland, Ore., at the time of filming. Melinda's official Web site is now up and running and her single "It's Your Love" is now on iTunes. Her debut album Coming Back to You will be out Feb. 3, 2009.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Kelly says hi (and sets a date)

Kelly Clarkson gave her fans something to stuff their stockings with on Friday when she recorded a shout out with holiday wishes in addition to letting everyone know that her new official Web site, KellyOfficial.com, will be operational in the near future. Watch the message below courtesy of Yahoo!:
The release date for Kelly's fourth studio album was also confirmed to be March 17, 2009, as per her current official Web site, with its first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You," set for a January 19 release to Top 40 radio, with a digital release TBD.

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HITS predix: Cook 125-130k

In their predictions going into the final weekend before Christmas, HITS Daily Double included David Cook's major label debut, pegging it to sell anywhere from 125-130k for the week.

David Cook will be battling it out for the #10 spot with Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, venerable compilation series album NOW 29 and Anthony Hamilton's The Point of It All, all of which are trending toward the same total. It would not be a surprise, however, if the actuals are substantially higher than these numbers.

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'Idol' BB 200: 'David Cook' #10 (12/27/08)

With only one full week of shopping left before Christmas, Idol alums saw generous returns in their album sales for the week. For the fourth week in a row, David Cook led all other Idolrelated albums on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for the chart week of Dec. 27.

Cook's major label debut pulled in 103.5k, up 19%, and landed at #10 for the second week in a row. It has now tallied 582k copies sold in its first month of release. David Archuleta's debut followed at #21, down two spots from the previous week, and sold 59.1k copies, up a simple 6%. The album has sold 430.5k copies in five weeks and should attain gold status by next week.

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride was up next, rising #53-50 thanks to a healthy 35% increase to 26.9k copies. It has sold a boastful 2.517 million since its release roughly one year ago. David Foster's Hit Man CD/DVD combo featuring Katharine McPhee and Michael Johns was up #75-58, aided by a 21.6k weekly total, up 60% from the previous week. The release has sold 71.1k copies to date.

Moving further down the chart, Jennifer Hudson's debut sold 15.2k copies, down nine spots to #81 despite an 8% sales increase. Her album now stands at 503.7k, just enough for a gold certification whenever her label gets around to it. Daughtry's Daughtry also saw positive movement, climbing 33% to 11k copies sold with a seven-spot advance on the chart to #104. Its massive total now stands at 4.315 million.

Kellie Pickler's Kellie Pickler followed, rising #141-140 with a sales gain of 24% to 8.3k copies. It has totaled 129.2k. Jordin Sparks once again rounded out all Idol-related chart entries with her newly-certified platinum debut, moving #199-191 to 5.4k copies for the week. Its 18% increase now puts its total at 970.6k.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of tony on Pulse as follows:

010 010 David Cook - David Cook 103,544 19% 87,069 582,048
021 019 David Archuleta - David Archuleta 59,077 6% 55,699 430,492
050 053 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 26,942 35% 20,017 2,516,976
058 075 Various - Hit Man: David Foster... 21,597 60% 13,480 71,089
081 072 Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson 15,223 8% 14,087 503,728
104 111 Daughtry - Daughtry 11,046 33% 8,291 4,314,738
140 141 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler 8,333 24% 6,745 129,189
191 199 Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks 5,431 18% 4,603 970,649

Total sales are in bold.

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Friday, December 19, 2008

'Idol' odds 'n ends: Simon done with 'Idol' next year?

The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:

>In a conference call with reporters on Wed., Dec. 17, Simon Cowell said he will "make a decision about (whether to stay with the show) next year," prompting many to speculate that Simon is tired of judging the show or perhaps there might be too much on his plate at the moment.

>There were a few Idol-related certifications issued this week by the RIAA. David Cook's David Cook was certified gold, while Jordin Sparks' Jordin Sparks finally received a platinum certification.

>Carly Smithson was featured on the front page of AOL.com today for a story by the company's Pop Eater blog on a story Carly did with the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. The Pop Eater story paints a bleak future for her and many other Idol alums. Carly was in the studio earlier this week working on a demo.

>David Archuleta performed at the last "jingle" ball/jam/etc. concert on his schedule on Wed., Dec. 17, this one sponsored by Atlanta's Star 94 FM. At the concert, his band gave him a birthday surprise - a big ol' birthday cake equipped with trick candles.

>Antonella Barba posted a blog entry on her official music MySpace page today to thank her fans and let them know that she will be in the studio working with Interscope/Aftermath producer and aFam Records CEO Bernard Edwards in two weeks.

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Jason Castro's "White Christmas" free on Amazon MP3

If you haven't done so already, head on over to Amazon MP3 and download your free copy of Jason Castro's version of "White Christmas." If you're not in the U.S. at the moment, you're still in luck. Just visit Jason's ReverbNation page and download it there for free as well.

Jason's take on the Christmas classic is something that would be heard in a Hawaiian beach side resort, as the ukulele really adds an interesting touch that is one hundred percent the same Jason that we all saw on Idol.

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Can you picture Kelly singing this?

As reported earlier, Kelly Clarkson is rumored to have recorded "Hook Up," a song that was cut from Katy Perry's One of the Boys. If this is true, do you think this is the direction Kelly should be taking? Listen to Katy's version of the song below:

It's definitely more Breakaway than it is Thankful or My December, but is it necessarily smart that Kelly is taking on Katy Perry rejects? Before rushing to judge Kelly, though, it's important to remember the situation she is now in.

After basically getting her way on My December despite turning down a $10 million offer from Clive Davis to include a few more "commercially friendly" tracks that included Kelly's turning down of a Lindsay Lohan song, she is basically a slave to Davis and must record material that he sees fit for her image.

Whether or not this is true, it appears we'll know in a few short weeks when the track list for Kelly's album is made public.

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Brooke's "false start" makes AOL TV's Top 5 Trainwrecks

It seems like only yesterday, but Brooke White's infamous restarting of her performance of "You Must Love Me" during Andrew Lloyd Webber week made AOL TV's Top 5 TV Trainwrecks of 2008, coming in at #2. Refresh your memory by watching the moment below:

Watch more FOX videos on AOL Video

Brooke was ultimately safe for the week, but ultimately finished fifth during Neil Diamond week.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

'Idol' alums make Z100's "Top 100 of 2008"

The nation's premier Top 40 station, New York City's Z100, compiled its list of Top 100 songs of 2008. Leading the pack of Idol alums was unsurprisingly Jordin Sparks' duet with Chris Brown, "No Air," which came in at #3. The rest of the Idol representation can be found below:

04) Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown, "No Air"
12) Jordin Sparks, "One Step At a Time"
46) David Archuleta, "Crush"
57) Daughtry, "Feels Like Tonight"
77) Various Artists (ft. Carrie Underwood), "Just Stand Up!"
79) Jennifer Hudson, "Spotlight"
88) Daughtry, "What About Now"
94) David Cook, "Light On"

For what it's worth, Chris Brown's "Forever" was named the radio station's top song of the year.

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Kelly's "My Life Would Suck Without You" video filming

The release of Kelly Clarkson's latest single "My Life Would Suck Without You" is still a month away (Jan. 13), but she's already filming its music video.

The video will be directed by Wayne Isham (David Cook's "Light On," 'N Sync's "It's Gonna Be Me," "Bye Bye Bye") and filming will take place Dec. 20-21 in Los Angeles. The synopsis?

Cute tale of romance from childhood into adulthood

Below are the parts that had to be auditioned for today:

Role
LEAD GUY / Non-Union / Lead / Male / Caucasian / 24-29
Rugged, Cool, Edgy, All American Good Lookin Guy. Not a bulky jock or a skinny rocker guy. Also must be able to act and be comfortable kissing Kelly Clarkson.
Rate: $1000 Negotiable
Role Added 12/15/2008 3:04:00 PM

Other Current Roles
LITTLE LEAD GUY / Non-Union / Featured / Male / Caucasian / 6-8
I need a talented lead guy to play our tbd lead male on the play ground. Must be a strong actor and have up to date paperwork
Rate: $200
Role Added 12/15/2008 3:08:00 PM

LITTLE KELLY / Non-Union / Featured / Female / Caucasian / 6-8
I need an extremely talented little actress to play Kelly Clarkson on a playground meeting her future true love. Please make sure all paperwork is up to date and research Kelly's current look. Thank you
Rate: $200 Negotiable

"My Life Would Suck Without You" was written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Other songs rumored to be on the album include "Save You," which she co-wrote with Ryan Tedder and "Hook Up," a Katy Perry reject that was cut from her One of the Boys album (ouch at the latter).

Her fourth studio album is tentatively scheduled to be out March 17, 2009.

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Poll of the week: Elliott's kind of holiday

IDOL LIVE readers chose Elliott Yamin's Christmas release My Kind of Holiday as their favorite Idol holiday release of 2008 in the latest edition of the poll of the week.

My Kind of Holiday received 64 votes (55%) of the 116 total votes cast. Carrie Underwood's special Walmart release of Carnival Ride including five Christmas tracks finished right behind with 34 votes (29%).

Michael Johns was up next with 11 votes (9%) for his charity single "Another Christmas," with proceeds from the single benefiting the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease.

In this week's poll of the week, readers will be asked what change to the eighth season of they are most looking forward to. You will have exactly one week to vote.

A Royal Christmas (Paris Bennett) 0 (0%)
American Christmas (Various Artists) 4 (3%)
Another Christmas (Michael Johns) 11 (9%)
Carnival Ride [Walmart Christmas Edition] (Carrie Underwood) 34 (29%)
It's Christmas (Mandisa) 3 (2%)
My Kind of Holiday (Elliott Yamin) 64 (55%)

Total votes: 116

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Bo, LaKisha perform on "The Spirit of Christmas"

Bo Bice and LaKisha Jones performed on My Network TV's "The Spirit of Christmas" televised special, which aired last night on the network. Watch Bo perform "Merry Christmas Baby" below:

Bo also performed "A Very Merry Christmas," an original song. In addition to Bo and LaKisha, Natalie Cole and Brian McKnight performed on the special as well.

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'Idol' Hot 100: "Crush" #43 (12/27/08)

For the chart week of Dec. 27, three singles from Idol alums made appearances with only one seeing positive movement.

David Archuleta's "Crush" led all Idol-related tracks, falling #35-43. Jennifer Hudson followed four spots behind with "Spotlight," which took a heftier fall of nine spots to #47.

David Cook's "Light On" rounded out the Idol representation on the Hot 100, as it rose #56-48, marking its re-entry into the Top 50.

Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:

Hot 100
43 35 David Archuleta, "Crush"
47 38 Jennifer Hudson, "Spotlight"
48 56 David Cook, "Light On"

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Digital sales roundup: "Crush" #37 (12/12/08)

In what was another thread bare selection of singles by Idol alums on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, David Archuleta's "Crush" unsurprisingly prevailed.

"Crush" fell five spots to #37, off 12% in sales from the previous week as it pulled in another 27.8k downloads. Its total now stands at 1.146 million. David Cook's "Light On" was the only other Idol-related track to appear on the published portion of the chart, as it saw positive movement by marching forward #60-48. Its 21.3k downloads sold was up 11% from the previous week, and the single now totals 319.5k.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:

37 32 David Archuleta, "Crush" 27,816 -12% 31,511 1,145,510
48 60 David Cook, "Light On" 21,290 11% 19,262 319,505

Total sales are in bold.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

HITS estimates: Cook 104.5k, Arch 59.5k

There were increases seen all around for Idol alums' albums according to HITS Daily Double's estimates published today in what was a promising sales week overall.

David Cook's David Cook fell one spot to #10 on the company's Top 50 chart but jumped 18% in sales to 104.5k copies for the week. David Archuleta's David Archuleta followed with a healthy 9% increase to 59.5k copies sold. It fell #19-21 on the chart.

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride was also able to move back onto the chart despite a crowded field. It landed at #50 with 27.7k copies sold for the week.

Finalized figures from Billboard should be out by tomorrow night.

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Monday, December 15, 2008

"A Little Too Not Over You" premieres on Y! Music

David Archuleta's music video for second single "A Little Too Not Over You" premiered on Yahoo's "Y! Music" today. Watch the video below:

The video is a bit more interesting than the video for "Crush" and the use of photo stills in sequence is a relatively creative angle. Arch's awesome pad with the rain pouring down the windows is the highlight, though.

"A Little Too Not Over You" goes for adds on Jan. 6, 2009 according to All Access.

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Keeping up with Lindsey Cardinale

Known to Idol fans as the girl that "knocked on wood" on the fourth season of the show, 23-year-old Lindsey Cardinale has moved on from her 12-place finish and tackling disco tunes and has transitioned to the country genre instead in an attempt to reconnect with her southern roots.

Lindsey has put out a few singles since first getting noticed by the public back in 2005 including "Drive" and "Nothin' Like a Dream" and "Let It Rain" featuring Stephen Cochran. The two former songs can be listened to on her official music MySpace page along with her cover of "You Were Always On My Mind."

Lindsey is currently working on her debut album with producer Paul Jackson and was left record label-less following a brief stint with Aria Records in 2007. In the meantime, Lindsey recorded the Christmas classic "Away In a Manger" for the Idol Christmas compilation American Christmas, which was released on Nov. 25.

Lindsey became friends with Carrie Underwood while on Idol and the two remain friends to this day.

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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Tomorrow's 'Idol' press conference rendered meaningless

Idol execs were eagerly awaiting tomorrow's press conference in which they would outline the all-new developments and changes to the show's eighth season, that is until TMZ spoiled it for everyone on Friday.

So Season 8 will include the following:

>The shortening of auditions to three weeks, while Hollywood will have two weeks (so far so good).

>A swelling of the semifinal rounds, from a Top 24 to a Top 36 (could be good).

>The re-introduction of a wild card round (coming five seasons too late, but ah well).

>The slashing of "Idol Gives Back" (a positive side effect of the disastrous economic situation).

>Showing more "behind the scenes" footage to show who the contestants "really are" (didn't ABC have a show like that that lasted four episodes?)

>The addition of Kara DioGuardi (already knew this months ago).

Looks like FOX should keep an eye on who has access to its internal memos.

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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kellie performs "Santa Baby" on 'Bonnie Hunt'

Kellie Pickler performed "Santa Baby" on The Bonnie Hunt Show yesterday. Watch the performance below:

She did her very best to make the song fit the season but something did not feel right. It just did not feel like Christmas. Maybe it was the lack of a nicely-themed set or the absence of red and green.

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Friday, December 12, 2008

'Idol' odds 'n ends: Cook to perform on New Year's Eve Live

The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:

>David Cook will perform on FOX's "New Year's Eve Live" special on Dec. 31, 2008 with Scott Weiland. The show is hosted by Spike Feresten and Mark Thompson and will begin at 11 p.m.

>Amanda Overmyer's debut album is available to download on her official Web site. The 12-song album is titled Solidify and "Play On," "Iroquois Lane" and "Fail to Compromise."

>Kady Malloy added a new original song to her MySpace called "Autumn Leaves."

>Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest will appear on the Family Entertainment Awards tonight at 9 p.m. on the CW network. Miley Cyrus and Leona Lewis will perform.

>Katharine McPhee appeared at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces gala last night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with David Foster, Charice and Lionel Richie among others. It benefited 30 members of the Israel Defense Forces.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Paula & 'Idol' execs not sharing holiday cheer

It looks like Paula is trying her hardest to make this season season of Idol her last as a judge. TMZ is reporting that Idol execs told Paula to tone down her loud chastising of them while making stops on her recent press junket to promote her jewelry.

The latest development according to the gossip site is that Paula was told to "put a lid on her feud" with the show's producers prior to her appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last night.

Things started to go sour publicly yesterday when Paula told Barbara Walters in an interview on Sirius' XM Radio that producers did not heed her warnings of the consequences of letting her crazed fan/stalker, Paula Goodspeed, make it to TV time on Idol. She said:

"It's fun for them to cause me stress. This was something that would make good television."

This caused a certain famous former producer to fire back, with Nigel Lythgoe telling People.com:

"The very fact that this happened, I'm really sad for her family. It happened about four weeks ago. For it to come back four weeks later, I'm really sad we're still talking about it."

Sure, Nigel. The only reason you're sad that it's still being discussed is because it makes you and your crew look bad. The longer it stays in the public domain, the worse things will be for Idol producers' reputations.

As a result of this latest Paulaversey, look for an announcement of Paula's intentions to leave the show to come midway into the eighth season. Considering all the times it seemed Paula was about to get the axe, it's kind of sad it had to happen this way.

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Arista Nashville KO's KLC

In what has to be one of the quickest turnarounds for an Idol alum to be signed and dropped, Kristy Lee Cook has been shown the door at Arista Nashville for the second time.

After being signed in June, Kristy Lee released a second album (she had previously been signed before her time on Idol) with the label's "help" but it never really caught on, and her single "15 Minutes of Shame" barely registered any airplay. Five-and-a-half months later, it looks like she might have to pursue another line of work unless a competing label wants to go out on a limb and pick her up. But in the current music climate, that appears unlikely.

Some other quick Idol drops are as follows (specific dates are when the news of a signing/dropping was made public):

>Blake Lewis: signed Aug. 24, 2007, dropped June 2008 (9.5 months)
>Phil Stacey: signed Oct. 2007, dropped Nov. 21, 2008 (11 months)
>Justin Guarini: signed Oct. 9 2002, dropped Dec. 3, 2003 (14 months)
>Katharine McPhee: signed June 6, 2006, dropped Jan. 11, 2008 (16 months)
>Taylor Hicks: signed May 31, 2006, dropped Jan. 11, 2008 (16.5 months)

Hopefully this is the last drop for a while, but IDOL LIVE is willing to bet Fantasia will be the next to lose her deal.

Kristy Lee's 5.5 months takes the cake in terms of brevity of calling a record label home, and it looks like it may be a while before someone else steals that title away from her.

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Poll of the week - Fans surprised at Daughtry snub

Although it appeared that IDOL LIVE readers were most shocked at the fact that Carrie Underwood's album Carnival Ride failed to receive a nomination for Best Country Album for the majority of the duration of this past week's poll, it appears some Daughtry fans wanted to give their two cents before the poll closed.

And so the final results of the poll asking readers what surprised them the most about the 51st Grammy Award nominations regarding Idol-related noms, the fact that Daughtry did not receive a single nomination received 76 votes (36%). Next was the fact that Carnival Ride did not get a nom for Country Album, with 68 readers (or 32%) finding that to be the most surprising development.

33 votes (15%) were cast representing disbelief that Jordin Sparks did not get a nomination for Best New Artist (but the Jonas Brothers did), and 17 people were surprised by nothing.

In this week's poll of the week, readers are asked to vote on what is their favorite 2008 Idol Christmas release, either album or single. You will have exactly one week to vote.

Jordin wasn't nominated for New Artist 33 (15%)
Carrie's 'Carnival Ride' wasn't nominated for Country Album 68 (32%)
Jennifer received four nominations 10 (4%)
Daughtry didn't receive a nomination 76 (36%)
Carrie's "Last Name" was nominated for Female Country Vocal instead of "Just a Dream" 4 (1%)
Nothing surprised me 17 (8%)

Total votes: 208

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Bid on a kiss from Kellie

Well, more like a kiss print. Kellie Pickler is one of many country musicians lending their kiss prints for a good cause - to raise money to fight domestic violence in support of Mary Kay's "A Kiss For Country" bidding taking place on UBid.com.

In addition to the print, Kellie signed the plaque and wrote "Blessings!" on it. At the present time there have been seven bids placed on Kellie's print, more than many other artists', with the current bid standing at $525. If you're in the Christmas spirit, it looks like it would be a worthwhile investment, especially if you've always wanted to see what Kellie's lips look like up close and personal.

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'Idol' BB 200: 'David Cook' #10 (12/20/08)

With only two weeks until Christmas, Idol alums had a fairly strong showing on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for the chart week of Dec. 20. David Cook's self-titled album spent its third week in the Top 10, holding steady at #10 with a modest 22% decline in sales. The album moved another 87.1k copies and has totaled 478.5k.

David Archuleta's debut followed for the third week in a row, holding steady at #19 and selling 55.7k copies. Despite falling 16% compared to the previous week, Arch's album has posted a total of 371.4k copies, just 100k shy of his former competitor. Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride was up next, rising three spots to #53 despite a 6% slip in sales. It sold 20k copies, putting its total at 2.490 million.

Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut sold 14.1k copies for the week, down 25% from the previous week, sliding 10 spots to #72. It has now sold 488.5k copies since its release in October. David Foster's CD/DVD combo Hit Man saw a 57% surge in sales, selling 13.5k copies and rising #113-75. Its total now stands at 49.5k.

Daughtry and Kellie Pickler each followed, with the former's debut selling 8.3k copies, down 6%, while the latter's sophomore effort sold 6.7k copies, down 5%. Daughtry fell two spots to #111 and has a total of 4.304 million while Kellie Pickler fell one spot to #141 and has a total of 120.9k copies.

And then there's Jordin Sparks' Jordin Sparks, which made a surprising resurgence into the Top 200 at #199 with 4.6k copies, up 1% from the previous week. It has sold 965.2k to date.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of tony on Pulse as follows:

010 010 David Cook - David Cook 87,069 -22% 111,623 478,504
019 019 David Archuleta - David Archuleta 55,699 -16% 66,175 371,415
053 056 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 20,017 -6% 21,199 2,490,034
072 062 Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson 14,087 -25% 18,786 488,505
075 113 Various - Hit Man: David Foster... 13,480 57% 8,596 49,492
111 109 Daughtry - Daughtry 8,291 -6% 8,815 4,303,731
141 140 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler 6,745 -5% 7,103 120,856
199 --- Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks 4,603 1% 4,557 965,241

Total sales are in bold.

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'Idol' Hot 100: "Crush" #35 (12/20/08)

Only one Idol-related track saw positive movement on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of Dec. 20.

David Archuleta's "Crush" took a sizable hit on the chart, falling #27-35. Since airplay is really slowing down it looks like the single will exit the Top 40 in the next two weeks.

Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight" fell five spots to #38, and this also looks like its last week in the Top 40 portion of the chart. Carrie Underwood's "Just a Dream," on the other hand, dropped #44-49, spending what looks to be its final week in the Top 50.

And then there's David Cook's "Light On," the only Idol-related track to see positive movement, rising #60-56. It looks like the single might be showing signs of life after all.

Full chart positions courtesy of bks over on Pulse are posted below:

Hot 100
35 27 David Archuleta, "Crush"
38 33 Jennifer Hudson, "Spotlight"
49 44 Carrie Underwood, "Just a Dream"
56 60 David Cook, "Light On"

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Digital sales roundup: "Crush" #32 (12/5/08)

It was pretty lonely on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart for Idol alums as once again only two were represented in the published portion of the chart.

David Archuleta's "Crush" post sales of 31.5k for the week, down 35% from the previous week, causing a 10-spot drop to #32. Its total is now 1.118 million.

David Cook followed with "Light On," which saw positive chart movement despite negative figures movement. The single rose #67-60 but fell 5% to 19.3k for the week, placing its total at 298.2k.

Full numbers and chart positions courtesy of bks on Pulse as follows:

32 22 David Archuleta, "Crush" 31,511 -35% 48,681 1,117,694
60 67 David Cook, "Light On" 19,262 -5% 20,300 298,215

Total sales are in bold.

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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

HITS estimates: Cook 88.4k, Arch 54.4k

According to HITS Daily Double's estimates published today, David Cook and David Archuleta are staving off more downward trends following one of the busiest shopping weeks of the year.

Cook's self-titled release rose one spot on the chart to #9 despite a 19% drop in sales, with an additional 88.4k copies sold in the week. Arch's self-titled debut, on the other hand, fell one spot to #19 with a 20% cut in sales, as 54.4k copies were sold.

Both releases are experiencing sales declines similar to other albums on the chart, and there should be no concern that they are not performing as well as they should be considering the economy.

Finalized figures from Billboard should be out by tomorrow night.

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Out today: 'Another Christmas'

Today marked the release of Michael Johns' Christmas charity single "Another Christmas," with proceeds of the track benefiting Lou Gehrig's disease. The single is an iTunes/Amazon exclusive, with links to purchase it that can be found below:

Singles
Michael Johns, "Another Christmas"

Amazon MP3 - ($0.99) - Buy
iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy

The release is in partnership with Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O'Dell, who lost her mother to the disease in June.

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Monday, December 8, 2008

Paula hawks her jewlery to Robin Roberts

Poor Robin Roberts had to fend off Paula Abdul when she was in the middle of one of her salesperson pitching sprees in an interview on ABC's Good Morning America this morning. At one point Paula tried to peer pressure Robin into taking some bling for free, which Robin wisely declined more than once. Watch Paula in all her glory below:

Paula appeared on The View later on in the morning to hawk her faux fur and accessories in addition to chatting about the death of her crazed fan/stalker, Paula Goodspeed. In fact, Paula said she had a "premonition" that something had gone wrong before she was made aware of the tragedy.

P.S. don't forget to tune into HSN to watch Paula in action with her sales skills. It airs sometime this month, possibly Saturday night.

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Stars come out for Carrie in Nashville

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride tour has been generating such positive reviews that a bunch of celebs - including a few Idol family members - decided to come out and see what all the buzz was about at her Nashville stop last night at the Sommet Center.

Among the 10,000 audience members in attendance in the music city, a partial list of celebs includes Simon Cowell, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Mark Bright (produced Some Hearts and Carnival Ride), Ashley Clark and Roman White (directed all of Carrie's music videos).

Watch a clip of "Wasted" from the show below:

In addition to her long and impressive original setlist in her 100 minutes on stage, Carrie was able to throw in covers of Guns n' Roses' "Paradise City" and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" with Little Big Town.

In addition to her tour, Carrie will take a break to tape a special at the Grand Ole Opry on Tues., Dec. 16, which will air on GAC on Sat., Dec. 20.

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Keeping up with Chikezie

Chikezie has come a long way since being called "jacuzzi" by Simon on the seventh season of Idol. The 23-year-old fan-turned-fan favorite of the show is currently touring with fellow Idol alums Diana DeGarmo, Kimberley Locke and season mate David Hernandez in Michael Orland's production of "American Stars in Concert for the Holidays," which runs nationwide until Dec. 21.

The four of them appeared on CBS' Saturday edition of The Early Show on Nov. 29, where Chikezie performed a duet with Kimberley of "Last Christmas." He will next appear with them on The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet on Fri., Dec. 12.

Aside from the tour, Chikezie has stated he is working on a solo album that should be due out sometime in 2009. His debut single will be "I Have Dreams."

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