'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.