'Idol' odds 'n ends: J-Hud is the new EW cover girl

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

>Jennifer Hudson is the latest Idol alum to grace the cover of Entertainment Weekly, as she will be featured in the magazine's issue next week. A snippet of the story from the issue can be read below:

Jennifer Hudson sits inside an L.A. recording studio, her eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, her braided pigtails peeking from under a pageboy cap. Eight days from now she will kick off a national concert tour, and today is her first rehearsal with a new band. But while the musicians warm up, she doesn’t say much, keeps her head down, fidgets. She’s so unassuming that her backup vocalists, two glitzy gals with easy laughs, seem like the only divas in the room. And then Jennifer Hudson begins to sing, and all doubt is erased. It’s not just her voice. The music seems to transform her, elevate her. ”In church we call that the Anointing, that’s what you’re feeling,” she says. ”Music is my home. When I’m trying to find my inner peace, when it seems like everything is overwhelming, I put music in my ears.”

>David Cook was part of an April Fool's Day prank on DJs Jojo, Reagan and Sarah of Baltimore's Mix 106.5. The three unsuspecting DJs had a little fun with lip-synching "Light On" when unbeknownst to them, Cook himself appeared behind them. Watch the video below and judge for yourself whether or not they were genuinely shocked:



Photos of Cook with the gang are up on Mix1065.com.

>LaKisha Jones is having a good week. First, it was revealed that the fourth-place finalist from the sixth season was pregnant with her second child, the first one with husband Larry Davis. Then, LaKisha's latest single, "Let's Go Celebrate," was released on iTunes and Amazon MP3. It will appear on her forthcoming debut album, So Glad I'm Me, which will drop Tues., May 19, and can be listened to on her official music MySpace page.

>Syesha Mercado has been in the studio working on her debut album with producers Joshua Bass, Tyler Sherrit and others. They all recorded a (very dark) vlog two weeks back in which a short instrumental clip of a song Syesha is recorded is played near the end. Watch the vlog below:



No word yet on when the album will be out, but Syesha has been keeping fans updated via her Twitter account.

>Season 7 Top 50 contestant Colton Swon apparently has a country album out with his brother. The duo, billed as The Swon Brothers (new JoBros?) released Another Day on CDBaby. It includes songs titled "Home," "Leavin' Love" and title track "Another Day." It has not been put on iTunes as of now.