IDOL LIVE: July 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

'Idol' odds 'n ends: Ju'Not Joyner claims AI is "rigged"

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

>In the dog days of summer, it does not take much to get one's name out in the news. Exhibit A is Ju'Not Joyner's stirring of a hornet's nest earlier this week with his claims that Idol is rigged. The Top 36 contestant from Season 8 said the following in an interview with AI Now:

"What I mean is that people think AI is a talent show. No. It's a reality show with writers!! We're all actors. All these shows have writers that guide the public opinion. The Hills, Real World. All of them."

So far there has been no comment from the 19E/FremantleMedia camp, and it would be a surprise if anything substantial came from them period.

>One of the aspects of the "Idols Live!" tour that Kris Allen must not be thrilled about are the pesty fans that bug him and the other alums backstage. In the following video, Kris is interrogated about his t-shirt that reads "I'd trade my girlfriend for a Coke":

Obviously Kris does not have a girlfriend, since he is married. Oh well, this is just an example of the joys and pains of allowing backstage passes.

>While Paula Abdul's future with Idol still hangs in the balance, Kara DioGuardi's time on Season 9 as a judge has already been reserved. Although full details of the contract are not yet available, it is assumed that Kara will be making substantially less than any of the other judges, but that's apparently not a problem for her.

>The first season of Idol acquainted millions of people with a few big names like Kelly Clarkson and Tamyra Gray, but Kelli Glover was not one of them. The Top 30 contestant was recently featured on the fourth season of America's Got Talent, but was eliminated in Las Vegas before the show got to the live voting portion. Watch Kelli below:

Kelli sang "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" back in the wild card round of the semifinals, after performing "I Will Always Love You" in group 1.

>Apparently Jordin Sparks and Leona Lewis made a pact to record a track together that will appear one either of the artists' next albums. Jordin allegedly told the British tabloidThe Daily Star:

"I love Leona. We made a pact to duet together but my record was already finished"

Only time will tell if the pact comes to fruition, but Lewis' sophomore album is due out in November, so it could come sooner than expected.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

'Idol' Hot 100: "Battlefield" #10 (8/8/09)

A few small movements were overshadowed by one big jump in terms of Idol-related singles on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Aug. 8.

Leading the charge was Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which entered the Top 10 for the first time in its existence thanks to a sales boost from the release of her sophomore album by the same name. The song was up 15 spots to #10, marking the song's peak to date. Jordin makes Idol history by becoming the first alum to have their first five singles (including the coronation single) chart in the Top 20 portion of the Hot 100 (previous peaks include "This Is My Now" #15, "Tattoo" #8, "No Air" #3 and "One Step At a Time" #17). Jordin also saw her album track "Walking On Snow" just miss the Hot 100, instead landing at #2 on the Bubbling Under chart.

Aside from Jordin, the rest of the Idol-related activity on the chart was boring. Daughtry's "No Surprise" fell one spot to #28, despite continued strong sales of the band's sophomore album Leave This Town. Kellie Pickler's best-selling single "Best Days of Your Life" continued to show its muscle, rebounding #52-50.

And David Cook's "Come Back to Me" was in familiar territory, as it hung out on the lower rungs of the chart once again, slipping one spot to #79.

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

Hot 100
10 25 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"
28 27 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
50 52 Kellie Pickler, "Best Days of Your Life"
79 78 David Cook, "Come Back to Me"

Bubbling Under
02 -- Jordin Sparks, "Walking On Snow"

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Poll of the week: Syesha's fans put the "yes" in her name

In what can only be considered a last-minute "Hail Mary" of a play in IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series, Syesha Mercado was crowned the victor in the Top 3 edition of the poll.

The seventh season's third-place finisher was able to reel in 52 votes (41%), enough to shut down Jasmine Trias' 31 votes (24%), who had been leading for the majority of the week.

The three other finalists that were able to nab similar amounts of votes include Elliott Yamin (15 votes, 11%)m Melinda Doolittle (12 votes, 9%) and Danny Gokey (12 votes, 9%). Season 7 has seen its candidates win each round of the champion series poll with the exception of Top 6 and Top 4.

With just two weeks before the final round of the champion series poll begins, the next installment asks readers which runner-up is their favorite of all eight seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

Nikki McKibbin 0 (0%)
Kimberley Locke 4 (3%)
Jasmine Trias 31 (24%)
Vonzell Solomon 0 (0%)
Elliott Yamin 15 (11%)
Melinda Doolittle 12 (9%)
Syesha Mercado 52 (41%)
Danny Gokey 12 (9%)

Total votes: 126

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Free download: Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone"

In an attempt to jump start awareness of Kelly Clarkson's third single off All I Ever Wanted, "Already Gone," RCA is allowing fans to download the song for free on Toyota's community music MySpace page. A blog post on Kelly's official Web site reads:

Have you heard Kelly's new single "Already Gone"? If not, take a jump over to the Toyota Community MySpace page and you can download the single for free! What's more to say about a free download...you should be already gone!

Although it's nice that fans are getting a free download out of this, it looks pretty desperate considering the song's sluggish sales and chart performance to date, especially on the heels of the somewhat disappointing performance of her second single in this era, "I Do Not Hook Up." It might actually end up being canceled out by all the negative press surrounding Kelly's remarks in a recent interview with CBC and Ryan Tedder's blog posts on his MySpace page. Hopefully it works out in the end.

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'Idol' BB 200: 'Leave This Town' #2 (8/8/09)

Once again, a partial list of sales figures is all we can go off for Idol-related albums on the Billboard Top 200 chart for the chart week of Aug. 8.

Unsurprisingly, it was Daughtry's Leave This Town that claimed the top Idol spot, as it slipped #1-2 and took in 100.8k copies for the week for a total of 370.1k after two weeks of release. At the same time, Daughtry's debut continued to rake in profits despite slipping 19 spots to #84 thanks to an additional 5.3k copies for a total of 4.499 million.

It was a semi-surprise, however, that Jordin Sparks' sophomore album Battlefield was only able to manage 48k in its opening week, as it debuted at #7 (just as I called the latter in my predictions).

Up next was the Season 8 Walmart exclusive album, which sold 8.2k for a total of 43.3k and fell #49-53. Kellie Pickler's sophomore effort was up nine spots to #72 thanks to a weekly take of 6k, while Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted also moved 5.3k copies and fell 11 spots to #86.

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride continued to hang around, this week at #88, off six spots from the previous week, with a take of 5k. David Cook's self-titled album pulled in similar numbers, as it took in 4.8k and fell #86-90.

The final Idol-related album to chart was Brooke White's High Hopes & Heartbreak, which was down significantly from its impressive digital-only debut last week. It collapsed to 4.7k and was off 53 spots to #93.

Full chart positions and partial sales numbers courtesy of Under The Radar on Pulse as follows:

02 01 Daughtry - Leave This Town 100,826 269,299
07 -- Jordin Sparks - Battlefield 47,972 67
53 49 Various Artists - American Idol: Season 8 8,164 10,016
72 81 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler 5,965 5,575
84 65 Daughtry - Daughtry 5,348 6,811
86 75 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted 5,248 5,912
88 82 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 5,045 5,546
90 86 David Cook - David Cook 4,794 5,275
93 50 Brooke White - High Hopes & Heartbreak 4,673 9,835

Total sales are in bold.

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Digital sales roundup: "Battlefield" #7 (7/24/09)

An Idol-related album release greatly helped the sales of its title track and current single according to the latest edition of the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart.

Jordin Sparks' single "Battlefield" was up 12 spots to #7 with 101.4k downloads sold, representing an 87% sales surge. The single has sold 544.1k to date, marking a gold certification. Jordin also saw two album tracks from Battlefield chart thanks to the release of the album, with "Walking On Snow" debuting at #79 with 21.2k and second single "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" coming in at #147 with 11.5k.

Placing second among Idol alums this week was Daughtry's "No Surprise," which dipped 9% to 46k for a grand total of 542.5k, making it the second Idol-related track to achieve gold certification in this chart week. On the chart itself, it was down two spots to #26.

And David Cook's single "Come Back to Me" was off 3% to 13.5k, dropping #119-120 for a total of 287.6k.

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

007 019 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 101,427 87% 54,195 544,131
026 024 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 45,991 -9% 50,522 542,464
079 --- Jordin Sparks, "Walking On Snow" 21,248 999% 0 21,248
120 119 David Cook, "Come Back to Me" 13,495 -3% 13,913 287,552
147 --- Jordin Sparks, "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" 11,525 999% 0 11,525

Total sales are in bold.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

HITS estimates: 'Leave This Town' 99.2k

In its second week of release, Daughtry's sophomore album Leave This Town was still the top-billed album by an Idol alum according to HITS Daily Double's Top 50 building album sales chart.

Leave This Town dropped three spots to #3 for a weekly take of 99.2k, off 63% from its cume from the previous week. The more surprising Idol-related charting album, however, was Jordin Sparks' sophomore album Battlefield, which debuted at #10 with 48.4k copies, less than HDD predicted based on its revised sales forecast. If this position holds, Battlefield will come in smack dab on the #7 entry I called it would have, but well below the 65k first week total I predicted it would be able to nab.

Finalized figures courtesy of Billboard should be out this week, but if not, chart positions will definitely be posted later on in the week. Hopefully we get full numbers this week.

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Jon Peter Lewis announces 200-song giveaway on vlog

Jon Peter Lewis announced just a few hours ago that as a special thank-you to his fans, he will award 200 free song downloads on iTunes. All you have to do is sign up for the e-mail list at his official blog, AmericanNobody.com. JPL tweeted about the promotion:

A thank you for the support. 200 iTunes Song Drawing. Sign up at the email list at americannobody.com. A little something from me to you.

JPL's latest vlog, "The American Nobody Show," is also up on the site, which can be watched below:

In the episode, JPL shows off a personalized front panel cover for his XBOX360 that he received from a fan, his friends discuss So You Think You Can Dance? judge Mary Murphy's "hot tamale train" and a segment called "Dude on the Street" is introduced.

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Monday, July 27, 2009

Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" music video leaks

Falling in line with what is expected of the leakage of music videos prior to their intended release dates, Kelly Clarkson's video for her current single "Already Gone" hit the net yesterday ahead of schedule. Watch the video, which was directed by Joseph Kahn, below:

A self-playing orchestra? The video is extremely boring, but then again, RCA probably does not see the point in shelling out the proper amount of dough to get a more lively product. When Kelly herself has to joke about her Letterman performance sounding "less like 'Halo,'" it's easy to see that the two parties are not seeing eye to eye on this song as a single choice.

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Flashback: Clay Aiken's "Everlasting Love"

Clay Aiken is unquestionably the glory note king of the Idol franchise, but when it comes to fast-paced selections, he does not retain his same powerful singing mantra. Just refresh your memory by watching his performance of "Everlasting Love" during Top 9 week's disco theme:

As usual, Clay's up-tempo singing style pleased Randy, Paula and the guest judge of the week (this week, Verdeen White of the group Earth, Wind & Fire), but left Simon unimpressed. In fact, he used the "T word" to describe his reaction to the performance. Even though it was not his greatest moment, Disco Week was a good indicator for Clay of what genre was not the best choice for him.

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Sunday, July 26, 2009

'Idol' BB 200: 'Leave This Town' #1 (8/1/09)

Although the report is fairly incomplete, there are at least numbers for the latest weekly takes of all Idol-related albums on the current issue of the Billboard Top 200 chart for the chart week of Aug. 1.

Leading the pack was none other than Daughtry's sophomore release Leave This Town, taking in 269.3k in its first week of release. This number is well below my original prediction of 390k. Additionally, the band's debut album jumped 35 spots to #65 thanks to 6.8k worth of sales, resulting in a total of 4.494 million.

The next Idol-related entry was a full 48 spots behind, as the Season 8 Walmart exclusive album slid #36-49 and took in another 10k copies for a total to date of 35.1k. Brooke White followed one spot behind with the debut of her album High Hopes & Heartbreak at #50. The album sold 9.8k on digital sales alone and should see a nice increase next week thanks to traditional sales being added.

Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted continued to slip in sales as it moved 5.9k in its latest bout, down from 7.6k the previous week. It was off 21 spots to #75. Kellie Pickler also saw a decrease on the chart, but her Kellie Pickler only dropped one spot to #81 with sales of 5.6k, down from 5.7k the week before.

Carrie Underwood was the last female alum to see her album chart this past week, as her Carnival Ride saw a 13-spot drop to #82 with 5.5k copies sold, down from 6.3k. And David Cook's self-titled effort improved from 4.7k to 5.3k and was up 12 spots to #86.

Full chart positions and partial sales numbers courtesy of Taylor and Under The Radar on Pulse as follows:

001 --- Daughtry - Leave This Town 269,299 269,920
49 36 Various Artists - American Idol: Season 8 10,016 35,089
050 --- Brooke White - High Hopes & Heartbreak 9,835 9,835
065 100 Daughtry - Daughtry 6,811 4,493,988
075 054 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted 5,912 7,598
081 080 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler 5,575 5,660
082 069 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 5,546 6,267
086 098 David Cook - David Cook 5,275 4,702

Totals are in bold.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

HITS predix: 'Battlefield' 50-55k

After originally calling an opening week ballpark figure of 45-50k for Jordin Sparks' sophomore album Battlefield, HITS Daily Double has revised its predictions for the album to a slightly higher 50-55k.

Although this number is potentially 10k higher than what the original prediction was calling for, this is not good news for Jordin or Jive. Battlefield is expected to retain its place in the Top 10, but it is currently tied with Hannah Montana 3 and Now 31, each of which are also expected to pull in 50-55k. When the three Michael Jackson albums are removed from consideration, however, Jordin's chances improve, as she could see Battlefield debut anywhere from #7-5.

Jordin is without a doubt aware of her album's performance, as she tweeted:

#iwish I could sell my album for $2.00. Seriously. :)

If these numbers hold, it will be fairly close to my original prediction of 65k. Hopefully things trend upwards for Jordin.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Kimberly Caldwell signs with Vanguard

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

>It was announced on Wednesday via a press release that Season 2 seventh-place finalist Kimberly Caldwell has signed with Vanguard Records. Kimberly had the following to say about the signing:

Kimberly stated, "There are no words that can truly express how thrilled I am about joining the Vanguard Records family. Music has always been my first love so I'm beyond excited to release my debut album and it's such an honor to get to do so alongside the amazing artists who call Vanguard home."

According to the release, Kimberly's debut album will be produced by Marshall Altman and is expected to be out early next year. (Photo courtesy of Matt Beard.)

>Kelly Clarkson will be one of four female artists taking part in VH1's Divas special alongside Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis and Adele. Per the press release issued on Tuesday:

Continuing in true Divas tradition, the evening will feature a night of unforgettable performances from various performers, presenters and special guests. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

This is the first Divas special the network has hosted since 2005. VH1's Divas will be broadcast live on VH1 from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House on Thurs., Sept. 17 at 9 p.m. ET.

>Chris Daughtry tweeted yesterday to alert fans that lyrics for four bonus tracks off Leave This Town had been posted on his band's official Web site. The songs are "Long Way," "Traffic Light," "Get Me Through" and "One Last Chance."

>As part of her continuing promotional tour for her sophomore album Battlefield, Jordin Sparks appeared on MTV's talk show It's On with Alexa Chung on Wednesday. Watch the first segment from the show below:

In the second segment featuring Jordin, she played "Will You Drink It" in which she had to drink concoctions ranging from "Red Devil" (tomato and pineapple juice) and "Rootbang" (rootbeer and tang).

>Phil Stacey launched his new official Web site last week to coincide with his upcoming sophomore release Into the Light (Aug. 25) on Reunion Records. In his welcome message, Phil said in part:

This new project represents my heart. I come from a long line of ministers. These songs are lessons I have learned along the way that I feel have drawn me closer to Jesus. I am excited to share them with you.

In the meantime, please check out my tour dates. I have a lot of events coming up, including a tour with Michael W. Smith this fall. I would absolutely LOVE to see you out there on the road. Until then, God bless you! Be safe.

Phil's new single, "You're Not Shaken," is currently #3 on Amazon MP3's Top 100 downloaded songs chart. It has been available as a free download for the past few weeks.

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

'Idol' Hot 100: "Battlefield" #25 (8/1/09)

There were some nice gains, some unfortunate falls and a few singles resistant to move spots on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for the chart week of Aug. 1, as Idol alums saw their singles go in every which way.

Leading off was Jordin Sparks, whose single "Battlefield" was boring this week and took a break by remaining at #25. Look for it to see an uptick on the chart next week thanks to the release of Jordin's sophomore album.

Daughtry was up next with "No Surprise," which was up 10 spots to #27 thanks to the release of the band's album Leave This Town. Another song from the album, "You Don't Belong," debuted on the chart at #95.

A pair of Kellie/ys followed, with Kellie Pickler seeing her "Best Days of Your Life" rise two spots to #52 while Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up" took a hefty fall down #39-53.

David Cook brought up the rear with his single "Come Back to Me" at #78, up six spots from the previous week.

Full chart positions courtesy of 2m over on Pulse are posted below:

Hot 100
25 25 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"
27 37 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
52 54 Kellie Pickler, "Best Days Of Your Life"
53 39 Kelly Clarkson, "I Do Not Hook Up"
78 84 David Cook, "Come Back To Me"
95 -- Daughtry, "You Don't Belong"

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Poll of the week: Daughtry does it again

For only the second time this year, a Season 5 alum has been deemed the winner of a round in the champion series of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week.

Although it was a close one near the poll's end, Chris Daughtry was able to nab first place thanks to 23 votes (36%), which means he will represent all fourth-place finalists in the finale of the champion series. Although Allison Iraheta's fans put up a good fight, she ended up finishing a close second with 19 votes (30%).

Farther behind with 11 votes (17%) was Season 7's Jason Castro, and no other contestant polled over 4%.

As we approach the final weeks of the IDOL LIVE poll of the week champion series, the next installment asks readers which third-place finalist is their favorite of all eight seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

Tamyra Gray 0 (0%)
Josh Gracin 1 (1%)
LaToya London 3 (4%)
Anthony Fedorov 3 (4%)
Chris Daughtry 23 (36%)
LaKisha Jones 3 (4%)
Jason Castro 11 (17%)
Allison Iraheta 19 (30%)

Total votes: 63

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Digital sales roundup: "Battlefield" #19 (7/17/09)

It was a much healthier selection of tracks by Idol alums on the latest Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart, as the release of Daughtry's new album breathed new life into the franchise's lacking assortment of late.

But it was Jordin Sparks who kicked things off, as her current single "Battlefield" increased in sales by 9% ahead of her sophomore album's release. "Battlefield" was up #37-19 and sold another 54.2k, putting its total at 442.7k. It should go gold in time for next week's chart.

Daughtry followed closely behind with "No Surprise," which added 25 spots to its ranking at #24 thanks to a 39% uptick in sales. The release of Leave This Town was undoubtedly responsible for a chunk of the extra 50.5k tracks that were downloaded, resulting in a near-gold total take of 496.5k. The band saw two of its album tracks debut on the chart as well, with "You Don't Belong" entering at #71 with 24.3k and "Life After You" barely making the cut at #200 with 8.1k.

Another new entry on the chart came in at #114, as Brooke White's cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" earned 15.2k worth of sales. Brooke's new album High Hopes & Heartbreak was released to iTunes one week early and featured prominent ads on the music store's main page, which greatly helped digital sales.

Rounding up the pack in terms of Idol representation was David Cook and his "Come Back to Me," which was up 33 spots to #119 thanks t a small 9% sales increase. The single sold 13.9k for the week and is now up to 274.1k in all.

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

019 037 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 54,195 9% 49,896 442,704
024 059 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 50,522 39% 36,425 496,473
071 --- Daughtry, "You Don't Belong" 24,278 999% 0 24,278
114 --- Brooke White, "Use Somebody" 15,186 999% 0 15,186
119 152 David Cook, "Come Back to Me" 13,913 9% 12,768 274,057
200 --- Daughtry, "Life After You" 8,149 999% 0 8,149

Total sales are in bold.

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Jordin Sparks performs "Battlefield" on 'Late Night'; chats on 'Today'

In her second nationally televised performance of the day, Jordin Sparks last night give it her all on stage at NBC's late night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Unsurprisingly, Jordin sang a rousing rendition of "Battlefield," and the audience members overlooking Jordin and her band most likely would agree. Watch the performance below:

Earlier this morning, Jordin was interviewed by Kathie Lee Gifford and Tori Spelling on The Today Show about her tour with the Jonas Brothers and her new album Battlefield. Watch the segment below:

In addition to discussing her vocal hemorrhage scare last year, Jordin was asked if she has any crushes on the JoBros, to which she replied "No, oh my goodness no. They're great people but no."

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

HITS estimates: 'Leave This Town' 270.1k

For the first time since Kelly Clarkson's album All I Ever Wanted opened atop the chart back in March, an Idol alum has seen their album debut at #1, at least according to HITS Daily Double's Top 50 building album sales chart.

Daughtry's sophomore album, Leave This Town, is expected to pull in 270.1k copies according to the estimates and land in the no. 1 position in its first week, the latter of which the band's previous album failed to do back in 2006. Although these numbers are significantly lower than my original predictions, they are slightly higher than the 240-60k HDD was calling for the album last week.

Surprisingly, this was the only Idol-related album to chart in the Top 50, as Brooke White's release High Hopes & Heartbreak looked to be doing strong, as it pulled in 8.3k from iTunes sales alone with 69.4% of retailers reporting, but it was not enough to hang onto its spot at #45 when all was said and done.

Finalized figures courtesy of Billboard should be out this week, but if not, chart positions will definitely be posted later on in the week.

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Kelly Clarkson's "All I Ever Wanted" tour schedule posted

After months of anticipation, the specifics of Kelly Clarkson's much anticipated "All I Ever Wanted" tour were finally unveiled today via a note posted on Kelly's official Facebook fan page. The note in part stated:

The high-energy tour kicks off in Uncasville, CT on October 2nd and concludes in Hollywood, Florida on December 13th, covering 32 cities.

Below is a full schedule as of today's date, as dates and venues are subject to change:

Oct 02 2009 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino
Oct 04 2009 - Portland, ME - Cumberland County Civic Center
Oct 06 2009 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
Oct 09 2009 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel & Casino
Oct 10 2009 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center
Oct 13 2009 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena at Boston University
Oct 15 2009 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama Entertainment Centre
Oct 17 2009 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
Oct 19 2009 - Pikeville, KY - Eastern Kentucky Expo Center
Oct 21 2009 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum
Oct 23 2009 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theatre
Oct 25 2009 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
Oct 27 2009 - Chicago, IL - Rosemont Theatre
Oct 29 2009 - Lincoln, NE - Pershing Center
Oct 31 2009 - St. Charles, MO - Family Arena
Nov 02 2009 - Cedar Park, TX - Cedar Park Center
Nov 04 2009 - Lubbock, TX - United Spirit Arena
Nov 06 2009 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
Nov 07 2009 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona State Fair
Nov 18 2009 - Victoria, BC - Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
Nov 20 2009 - Calgary, AB - Saddledome
Nov 22 2009 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place
Nov 24 2009 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
Nov 28 2009 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
Nov 29 2009 - San Jose, CA - Event Center at San Jose University
Dec 01 2009 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center at Fresno State
Dec 03 2009 - Las Cruces, NM - Pan American Center
Dec 05 2009 - Beaumont, TX - Ford Park Arena
Dec 07 2009 - Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
Dec 10 2009 - Columbus, GA - Columbus Civic Center
Dec 11 2009 - Pensacola, FL - Pensacola Civic Center
Dec 13 2009 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena

Tickets for the tour go on sale on Sat., Aug. 15. For more information about the tour, see here.

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Jordin Sparks performs "Battlefield" on 'Regis & Kelly'

For the second day in a row, Jordin Sparks appeared on a nationally televised morning program based in New York City to promote her sophomore release Battlefield, as she performed the album's title track on Live with Regis & Kelly. Watch the performance below:

Jordin will next visit Jimmy Fallon on his Late Night program, which airs tonight/tomorrow morning at 12:35 a.m. on NBC.

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Out today: Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield'; Brooke White's 'High Hopes & Heartbreak'

For the second week in a row, an Idol alum has a shot at seeing their sophomore release debut atop the Billboard 200, as Jordin Sparks releases her much-anticipated Battlefield. The album features tracks like "Walking On Snow," "Faith" (written by Jordin and Toby Gad) and second single "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)."

Also out today is Brooke White's first post-Idol album, High Hopes & Heartbreak, courtesy of June Baby Records. It includes songs like first single "Hold Up My Heart," the follow up "Radio Radio" and a cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody."

On the singles front, Blake Lewis drops "Sad Song," the lead off single for his forthcoming album Heartbreak on Vinyl.

Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Albums
Jordin Sparks, Battlefield

Amazon.com - ($9.99 standard, $15.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Amazon MP3 - ($ 8.99 standard, $13.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Best Buy - ($9.99 standard, $14.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Buy.com - ($13.88) - Buy
CD Universe - ($15.18 standard, $18.50 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
iTunes - ($9.99 standard, $13.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Sears - ($12.59) - Buy
Target - ($9.99 standard, $17.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Walmart - ($13.88) - Buy

Brooke White, High Hopes & Heartbreak

Amazon.com - ($9.99) - Buy
Amazon MP3 - ($8.99) - Buy
Best Buy - ($12.99) - Buy
Buy.com - ($12.89) - Buy
CD Universe - ($11.18) - Buy
iTunes - ($7.99) - Buy
Sears - ($10.79) - Buy
Walmart - ($12.88) - Buy

Singles
Blake Lewis, "Sad Song"

iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy

The deluxe edition of Battlefield includes two bonus tracks: "Papercut" and "Postcard," in addition to a separate DVD that has four videos: "Hangin' with Jordin Sparks," "Battlefield Behind the Scenes," "Battlefield Photo Shoot" and the music video for "Battlefield." Fans that pre-ordered the album on iTunes also receive another bonus track in "Vertigo."

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Jordin Sparks performs "Battlefield" on 'Good Morning America'

To kick off her promotional campaign for her sophomore album Battlefield, Jordin Sparks stopped by ABC's Good Morning America to perform a few songs off the record in addition to chatting with GMA meteorologist Sam Champion. Watch Jordin perform "Battlefield" below:

In her short interview, Jordin talked about preparing for "Jonas Mania" before joining the Jonas Brothers on tour. By the way, can anyone identify the Idol alum serving as Jordin's back-up singer? (hint: she's the rightmost back-up singer).

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IDOL LIVE predix: Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield'; Brooke White's 'High Hopes & Heartbreak'

Season 6 champ Jordin Sparks is the second major Idol alum to release an album in the span of a week, and just like Daughtry's first album, Jordin's self-titled debut eventually was certified platinum. The two releases also were each released Thanksgiving week, albeit a year apart (2006 for Daughtry, 2007 for Jordin Sparks).

This fact makes predicting first week sales for Jordin's latest album Battlefield a bit trickier, as proved by my overambitious prediction for Leave This Town just one week ago. Another important factor to consider in predicting the kind of numbers the album will open to is the relevant competition.

Opening against Jordin are Demi Lovato, Brooke Hogan, Sugar Ray to name a few. Out of that crop, the biggest threat to Battlefield is Lovato's Here We Go Again, which is benefiting from a top-selling single and Disney-related promo from her Disney Channel show Sonny with a Chance. As for Hogan, her single is not faring nearly as well, and with limited promo she should expect a very soft release.

Jordin's first album opened at #10 on the Billboard 200 chart with 119.1k copies, but again, this was Thanksgiving week and nearly two years ago. The story this time around will undoubtedly be the fact that "Battlefield" is not half the single "Tattoo" was, which will diminish the chance of a big opening week. Although Jordin is a part of the hottest tour (Jonas Brothers) at the moment, and she has more than 200k followers on Twitter, on which she has been alerting fans about her album's release for weeks now, it appears that a safe bet for a prediction would be somewhere in the 65k range. As for where it will place on the BB 200, a Top 10 showing at #7 sounds about right.

As for Brooke White's first post-Idol album High Hopes & Heartbreak, an extremely healthy pre-release week on iTunes has earned it between 8-10k according to estimates. In its first week of nationwide release, a slightly higher take should be expected, probably somewhere around 16k. On the chart side of things, an increase to #35 seems like a plausible scenario.

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Album review: Brooke White's 'High Hopes & Heartbreak'

Singer/songwriter Brooke White knows a thing or two about recording an album. Therefore, it is no surprise that she excels on her sophomore album, ‘High Hopes & Heartbreak,’ on which she wrote 11 of the album’s 12 songs. The album is the first courtesy of June Baby Records, a label formed by White and ‘American Idol’ judge Randy Jackson.

The track tasked with introducing audiences to ‘Heartbreak’ is the catchy “Radio Radio,” the album’s second single. The song, which was co-penned by White and Dave Cobb, shows the bubbly side of White’s personality that many fell in love with while she was on ‘Idol,’ and the song is without a doubt a feel-good one. This song marks the beginning of the presence of White’s piano talent on the album, which meshes extremely well with the disc’s overall Carole King / Carly Simon sound.

This upbeat, sing-song theme is found elsewhere on ‘Heartbreak,’ most notably on “Phoenix,” which is the closest comparison to material by Carole King on the album. The dated instrumentation works in White’s favor, as it gives the song an eclectic feeling. The album’s title track, “High Hopes & Heartbreak,” is another up-tempo track that fuses seventies influences with a folksy background.

On “California Song,” White invites listeners to sing along and have fun without worrying about getting the lyrics wrong. The incorporation of different elements of California life in the lyrics allows listeners familiar with the state to identify with the song.

The album’s first single, “Hold Up My Heart,” sets a serious tone that allows for White’s vulnerability to shine through, as a story is told through the song’s lyrics (“When I am weak try to always find the best of you and me / but I will always be the one who understands you”) and allows listeners to identify with the feeling of weakness yet retain a sense of hopefulness.

On “Out of the Ashes,” White expounds on the quiet confidence she builds in “Heart” to result in a pretty vocal performance, as she is aided by Steve McEwan’s vocals on harmony. “Little Bird,” which White co-wrote with fellow Season 8 alum Michael Johns and Cobb, is an area where the Carly Simon vibe is felt, and the sound effects added throughout the song give it a laid back feeling.

“When We Were One” is a ballad that features a chorus with a hook, allowing White some leverage as a potential single. The song itself sounds as if it could have been set to any style of music that is in at the moment, but her choice to apply her own style to the song results in a unique and ear-pleasing result that fits right in with the album’s other songs.

White’s strongest effort on the album comes in the form of “Smile,” a sweet, subdued-sounding ballad that has matching lyrics (“It might take a while`/ maybe a couple million miles / until I forget your smile”). The addition of stringed accompaniment that enters near the end of the song adds another aspect that heightens the emotional effect the listener feels. “Sometimes Love” is a close second in terms of quality, as the simplicity of the melody results in a powerful effect on listeners.

‘Heartbreak’s only cover comes as its sixth track, as White tackles Kings of Leon’s hit single “Use Somebody.” The arrangement is obviously very different, but the experiment works quite well.

To close out the album, White advises listeners to “Be Careful” in a nurturing, friendly manner. The stringed accompaniment adds a sense of sentimentality.

The bottom line of ‘High Hopes & Heartbreak’ is the fact that Brooke White possesses a single characteristic that many artists nowadays lack: she knows exactly what kind of artist she was born to be. She is not out to become the next huge pop superstar, instead she is concerned with showing fans that she is confident in the genre of music she records. This confidence shows immensely.

High Hopes & Heartbreak hits stores nationwide tomorrow and is now available to purchase on iTunes.

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Blake Lewis debuts new single "Sad Song"

With all the new material from alums of Idol's sixth season, Blake Lewis wants to let fans know he is not sitting idle. In an e-mail alert sent out to fans today, Blake premiered his new single "Sad Song" on OpenDisc.net. Listen to the single below:

Did anyone catch the word "battlefield" used multiple times in the lyrics throughout the song? Interesting, eh? The song is a much more techno-sounding than most of the tracks found on Blake's Audio Day Dream, and has European influences.

"Sad Song" is the lead single off Blake's forthcoming sophomore album Heartbreak on Vinyl, which is due out Tues., Oct. 6, and can now be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

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Flashback: Jordin Sparks' "I (Who Have Nothing)"

Season 6 may not be considered to be a season that created a ton of memorable performances, but one indisputable performance was Jordin Sparks version of Shirley Bassey's "I (Who Have Nothing)" on "British Invasion" night for Top 11 week. Reacquaint yourself with the exhibition below:

This performance, although it occurred early in the season, is what made people take Jordin seriously as a contender for the crown. The interesting thing about it is the fact that the song seemed like it would feel too dated and would not fit someone who was only 17 years-old. But Jordin not only made it sound current, she sounded mature enough to be singing it.

It will always be known as Jordin's greatest performance on the show, as well as one of the highlights of the entire season.

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Manager: "does not appear" Paula will return for S9

In a story broken by The Los Angeles Times yesterday, Paula Abdul's manager, David Sonenberg, said "it does not appear that she's going to be back on Idol."

Big surprise. Not.

Apparently, Sonenberg claims Fremantle and 19E are being "kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful" in not replying to Paula's interest in sticking with the show for a ninth season. This should come as no surprise to Paula, though, as there have been many signs leading up to this point.

First of all, the addition of Kara DioGuardi last August was a punch in the gut to Paula, as she claimed she and Randy were never consulted before Kara was invited on board. During a season of sharing the limelight with Kara, there were stories of Paula pleading with show management to renew her contract while in impromptu meetings in her dressing room, all to no avail.

Also during the show, Paula was most likely not a fan of the headlines Simon Cowell was making for his then-take of $36 million annually from the series, a number that has since been increased exponentially. Paula's puny $2 million per year salary was commonly used as a footnote in these articles, which obviously did not come off looking very good for her. At the completion of the show's eighth season, her contract had still not yet been renewed, but Paula remained optimistic as recently as two weeks ago.

This scenario is something I have seen coming ever since the day Kara was announced as the fourth judge. Season 8 was merely a test run for Kara, and if she did not totally bomb, Paula's spot would be hers for the taking. Since most agree Kara did an average job as judge but she did not blow it, this is apparently good enough for the producers.

Whatever ends up happening, it should be noted that Paula has been a judge on this show for eight years, and without her we would not have had finalists like Trenyce or Leah Labelle, not to mention the countless times Paula's vote was a tiebreaker or at least a counter to Simon's votes in the earlier rounds of the competition.

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Jordin Sparks hints at "Walking on Snow" for single no. 3?

Ahead of her sophomore album Battlefield's release this coming Tuesday, Jordin Sparks hit New York's 92.3 NOW FM the other day to talk with Lisa Paige of the radio station's "6 Questions in :60" segment. Near the end of the segment, Jordin asks fans to request "Battlefield," "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" and "Walking on Snow. Watch the interview below:

This ask courtesy of Jordin herself to her fans is interesting, because the first two songs she suggests requesting are already confirmed singles, so does she mean to say she would prefer "Snow" be sent to radio third? If so, it would probably be an alright choice, but not nearly as strategic as something on the slower side would such as "It Takes More" or "No Parade."

Only time will tell if this is actually what Jordin wants, and whether or not it will prove to come true.

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Daughtry performs "No Surprise" on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

For the second night in a row, Daughtry visited a late night show to promote its sophomore album Leave This Town. Yesterday, the guys appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! and had a concert for fans as part of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live! Concert Series" that took place in an indoor theatre. Watch the band's performance of "No Surprise" below:

Daughtry additionally performed "Every Time You Turn Around" to close out the show while the credits rolled.

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Album review: Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield'

Coming off her certified platinum debut, 19-year-old Jordin Sparks shows evidence of a transformation from a girl into a young woman on her latest disc ‘Battlefield.’ With help from veteran songwriters/producers like Ryan Tedder, Claude Kelly and Benny Blanco, Sparks proves that when you surround yourself with experienced, top-notch people, the product is very rich in quality.

Sparks chooses the bouncy, feel-good “Walking on Snow” to begin her album, which reminds listeners of what they loved about the self-titled predecessor. This makes it a little easier to swallow the more grown-up tracks that follow. But before arriving at the “Beyoncé meets Rihanna” style that Sparks described ‘Battlefield’ as consisting of, listeners are met with the album’s first single and title track.

“Battlefield” is a stylized, inspirational call to armor in the game of love complete with a ringing chorus that includes classic Tedder repetition (“Why does love always feel like a battlefield / a battlefield / a battlefield”). This track, which is different than anything that was found on ‘Jordin Sparks,’ opens the door to “Don’t Let It Go to Your Head,” a cover of the 2005 Fefe Dobson song that marks a clear departure from Sparks’ earlier material. Synths are in heavy use here, as they are throughout the album.

This new dancy, upbeat sound is a common theme on ‘Battlefield,’ as it is thread through songs such as the second single, “S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)” and the fun “Emergency (911).” On “S.O.S.” Sparks sounds mature yet immature at the same time, as lyrics like “That crazy chick don’t know who she’s messin’ with / look in her eyes she’s mentally undressing him” mark a new turn for the artist, but the Rihanna-esque sampling of Shannon’s 80’s anthem “Let the Music Play” helps keep the song youthful. “Emergency,” which was co-written by Sparks, is enjoyable (“Why don’t you call me? / aren’t you my boyfriend? / you were supposed to be here like an hour ago”) but does nothing in terms of building her musical repertoire.

In the face of this new sound, it is on the mid-tempos where Sparks’ vocals shine. “It Takes More” is a high point, as the pre-chorus transitions beautifully into a simple yet meaningful chorus. It is the seventh track, however, where Sparks delivers her best performance on ‘Battlefield.’ “No Parade” includes everything a hit song should possess, and her pristine vocals that reach amazing heights in the final chorus are the icing on the cake. The lyrics are also powerful (“There was no parade / no lights flashing / no song to sing along the way / there was no parade / no waves crashing / there was no one else around for days”).

On the ballad front, Sparks really tones it down on “Was I the Only One” and “Faith,” both of which she had a hand in writing. “Only One” remains fairly mellow throughout the song’s 3:21 length and finishes on a soft note, whereas “Faith” builds throughout the song’s duration and proves that Sparks is not only a talented singer, but she shines as a songwriter as well, as lyrics like “When the sky is darkest you can see the stars / when you fall the hardest you find how strong you are” erase the doubts raised in lyrics found in “Emergency.”

Although ‘Battlefield’ maintains a generally similar sound, Sparks experiments with a few styles that are not necessarily her forte. On the T-Pain-produced “Watch You Go,” Sparks experiments with a more urban sound that complements her vocals surprisingly well. Although it is a little different than the rest of the album’s offerings, it holds its ground against the rest of the tracks’ poppier sound. On “Let It Rain,” however, the guitar riffs just do not work out very well, and the song comes off as being more of a lamb than a lion in terms of rock edge.

In a culmination of all the sounds and styles found on ‘Battlefield,’ Sparks brings it home on “The Cure,” which is the most beautiful offering on the album. Her vocals are pure and angelic, and the simple song structure maximizes the effect felt on listeners.

The deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks “Papercut” and “Postcard,” the former of which Sparks also co-wrote. Neither song is amazing, but they are definitely an extra incentive to spend the extra few bucks.

Looking back at what Jordin Sparks has to offer on ‘Battlefield,’ it is amazing to think of how far she has come since winning ‘Idol’ back in 2007. The fact that she has been able to harness her vocal talents and mature in such a short span of time is remarkable, and her ability to conform to the style of music that’s in at the moment while maintaining her originality and individuality. Although it is not perfect, ‘Battlefield’ should be looked to as a model album for up and coming artists to draw influence from.

Battlefield drops on Tues., July 21, and is now available to pre-order on iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Daughtry performs "No Surprise" on 'Tonight Show'

Daughtry visited Conan O'Brien and friends on NBC's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien for the band's first late night performance in support of its sophomore album Leave This Town. In keeping with a pattern established with their previous performances, the guys performed "No Surprise." Watch the performance below:

Following the taping of the episode, Chris tweeted about the experience:

Just finished taping Conan. I had my ear monitors way too friggin loud! Hopefully it turned out ok. You can be the judge tonight:) about 20 hours ago from TwitterFon

Fortunately for Chris, everything sounded fine. In fact, they sounded better than their previous few televised performances earlier this week.

They will next perform tonight on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: 'Idol' scores two Emmy noms

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

>The nominations for the 61st Emmy Awards were yesterday morning announced in Los Angeles, and Idol once again was nominated in the "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program" category alongside Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef and, of course, The Amazing Race. This is the series' seventh nomination since the category was introduced in 2003.

Ryan Seacrest also received a nom for "Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program." The category is in its second year after being awarded to Survivor's Jeff Probst last year. The Emmys will air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS on Sun., Sept. 20.

>Melinda Doolittle saw her exclusive dance remix EP of her single "It's Your Love" quietly released to iTunes on Tuesday, as it was overshadowed by major Idol releases from Daughtry and Brooke White. Per Melinda's official newsletter that alerted fans to the news:

The soulful and moving song "It's Your Love" gets reworked by some of the hottest remixers/DJs in the world, including Jason Nevins, Mike Rizzo, and Smashmode, to create a pulsating rendition of the song that will be sure to get everyone out of their seats. The EP features three club versions of each track, as well as two radio remixes and a free bonus copy of the original music video for the song.

The newsletter also stated that the radio remix done by Jason Nevins will be sent to Top 40 radio at the end of July.

>Playbill.com announced that Diana DeGarmo will be joining the cast of the off-Broadway musical The Toxic Avenger on Fri., Aug. 14. In a statement, Diana said the following of the show:

"I am so excited to be coming back to New York to join the cast of The Toxic Avenger. When I saw the show, I laughed my head off. I can’t wait to start rehearsal – and to be blonde again!"

Diana will star as Sarah, a "sexy blind librarian" for at least three months. The show plays at New World Stages in Manhattan.

>SketchedOutTV.com, the ridiculous brainchild of Justin Guarini and Shaun Ingram, had its latest vlog posted yesterday. The vlog, titled "Sketchy Blog #3," features Justin and Shaun talking about putting our fires and something about a fish. Watch the vlog below:

A GIF of a pad of paper tackling a pair of scissors talking to two girls titled "Pad's Revenge!" was also posted. Who needs to sing for a living when you can post this kind of stuff on the net?

>Kris Allen will no longer be performing his atrocious "corny-n"ation song "No Boundaries" on the "Idols Live!" tour. According to an article posted on LATimesBlogs.com's "'Idol' Tracker":

Reviews of Season 8's finale show widely trashed the victory number and the chilly reception has followed "Boundaries" onto the road. In reviews of the tour, "Boundaries" has been singled out as a misstep, generating a tepid crowd response compared with the other numbers.

The tour's producers have been listening to the sound of few hands clapping. Starting tonight in Sacramento, "No Boundaries" will be disappear from Allen's set, according to sources with the production.

The song that Kris has chosen to replace "No Boundaries" is The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done," which he premiered at the Sacramento show on Fri., July 10. Watch the performance below:

The tour will next stop in Ontario, Canada, where the Top 10 finalists will perform at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Allison Iraheta performs "Barracuda" on 'Tonight Show'

Allison Iraheta last night performed Heart's classic "Barracuda" on NBC's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Watch the performance below:

"Barracuda" is one of Allison's two songs on the "Idols Live!" tour, which she was promoting on the show. The fourth-place finalist was a last-minute replacement for Kris Allen, who canceled his scheduled appearance due to a death in his family.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Poll of the week: Brooke's fans have high hopes

After a bump in the road in last week's champion series poll of the week results with a victory from Season 5's Kellie Pickler, Season 7 restarted its streak this week with a convincing win for fifth-place finalist Brooke White.

Brooke took home the honors with 28 votes, good for 52% of the total amounts of votes cast for the week. No one came even close, as the second-most voted for finalist was Matt Giraud, who was able to pull in 12 in all (22%).

In the next installment of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series, readers are asked which fourth-place finalist is their favorite of all eight seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

RJ Helton 1 (1%)
Trenyce 0 (0%)
George Huff 2 (3%)
Scott Savol 0 (0%)
Paris Bennett 6 (11%)
Chris Richardson 4 (7%)
Brooke White 28 (52%)
Matt Giraud 12 (22%)

Total votes: 53

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HITS predix: Daughtry 240-260k

HITS Daily Double released its one-day sales estimates for the coming week, and Daughtry's highly anticipated album Leave This Town is expected to knock Michael Jackson out of the top spot. According to HDD:

After three straight weeks of Jackomania, yet another American Idol, this one named Daughtry, should be #1 on next week's HITS Top 50 with Leave This Town, his sophomore 19/RCA/RMG album, which will bow in the 240-260k range.

That's based on one-day sales reports from those retailers who still have Michael Jackson catalog on their shelves.

Continuing with my pattern of seriously overestimating first-week sales of new releases by Idol alums, I was way too optimistic with my prediction of 390k copies. Apparently the fact that it is not Thanksgiving week is playing a greater role than I expected, and the amount of promo and built-in fan base will not be enough to place Leave This Town's opening ahead of Daughtry's 304k take back in 2006.

Still, a debut at #1 is nothing to sneeze at, and it is nice that Chris and the guys will be the ones to unseat Jackson from the spot for the first time in a few weeks.

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'Idol' Hot 100: "Battlefield" #25 (7/25/09)

There was a game of musical chairs played on Billboard's Hot 100 chart among tracks by Idol alums for the chart week of July 25, as one single shot up in the rankings while another slipped further down in the rankings.

For the second week in a row, Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" was the No. 1 Idol-related entry on the Hot 100, as it increased five spots to #25. Daughtry also so its current single, "No Surprise," jumped ahead #47-37.

This left Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up" continue its downward spiral, as it fell seven spots to #39 this week.

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

Hot 100
25 30 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"
37 47 Daughtry, "No Surprise"
39 32 Kelly Clarkson, "I Do Not Hook Up"

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Daughtry performs, interviewed on 'The View'

Continuing with their full week of promotional appearances in support of their sophomore album release Leave This Town, the guys from Daughtry hung out with Barbara Walters and her crew on ABC's The View this morning, where they performed "No Surprise" and were asked a few questions by co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd. Watch the segment below:

After the performance, Chris and his band mates talked about the experience they had writing and recording this album and how it compares to the debut. Sherri also brought up a bomb scare that happened at one of Daughtry's shows with Bon Jovi when they were on tour together, which made for a funny story.

Daughtry will next perform tomorrow night on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

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Digital sales roundup: "Battlefield" #37 (7/10/09)

The Idol representation on the latest Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart was virtually identical to that found on last week's chart, with only two alums seeing sales data made public for their singles.

Once again, Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" led the assortment at #37, up five spots and 6% in sales from last week. It sold 49.9k for the week and now has a total of 388.5k.

Daughtry rounded out the Idol selection with "No Surprise" at #59, up two spots from the previous week. The single moved an additional 36.4k downloads, up 5%, and has now sold 446k.

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

37 42 Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield" 49,896 6% 47,147 388,509
59 61 Daughtry, "No Surprise" 36,425 5% 34,706 445,951

Total sales are in bold.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

HITS estimates: Season 8 Walmart exclusive 11.3k

For the second straight week, the only Idol-related album to appear on HITS Daily Double's Top 50 building album sales chart was the Season 8 Walmart exclusive album.

American Idol: Season 8 fell five spots to #44 thanks to an 18% sales dip to 11.3k copies.

Finalized figures courtesy of Billboard should hopefully be out this week, but if not, chart positions will definitely be posted later on in the week.

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Daughtry performs on 'Today'

On the day of their sophomore album's release, the guys from Daughtry took to a packed Rockefeller Plaza to perform a few songs for fans. Watch the band perform "No Surprise" below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Daughtry also performed "Home" and "It's Not Over." The guys will continue with their busy week of promo tomorrow with a performance and sit-down on The View.

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Kelly Clarkson performs "Already Gone" on 'Late Show'

Kelly Clarkson chose CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman to officially launch her third single off All I Ever Wanted, "Already Gone," to a national audience. Kelly sang a stripped down version of the Ryan Tedder-penned song last night, which can be viewed below:

Kelly's vocals are really in the best shape they have been in a long time, and she looked like she was emotionally connected to the song's lyrics. Prior to this performance, "Already Gone" has been gaining exposure over the past few weeks thanks to its use as the "goodbye song" for the female competitors on FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.

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Out today: Daughtry's 'Leave This Town'

Nearly three years after the band's debut, Daughtry returns today with its sophomore effort Leave This Town. The album, which was produced by Howard Benson, features songs including "September," "You Don't Belong" and its first single, "No Surprise."

Also releasing today on iTunes only is Brooke White's High Hopes & Heartbreak, which will be available everywhere on Tues., July 21. As part of the special one-week offer, fans can also download the music video for Brooke's new single "Radio Radio."

Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Albums
Daughtry, Leave This Town

Amazon.com - ($9.99) - Buy
Amazon MP3 - ($9.99 deluxe) - Buy
Best Buy - ($9.99) - Buy
Buy - ($10.98) - Buy
CD Universe - ($14.80) - Buy
DaughtryOfficial.com - ($19.99 deluxe fan pack edition) - Buy
iTunes - ($9.99 standard, $12.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Sears - ($12.59) - Buy
Target - ($9.99 standard, $13.98 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Walmart - ($11.86 standard, $13.88 deluxe) - Buy: standard, deluxe

Brooke White, High Hopes & Heartbreak

iTunes - ($7.99) - Buy

Music Videos
Brooke White, "Radio Radio"

iTunes - (Free) - Buy

The abundance of exclusive material available on the different retail editions of Leave This Town is astounding, as there is no shortage of bonus tracks or music videos to go around. The full list is as follows:

DaughtryOfficial.com: Two bonus tracks ("Long Way" and "One Last Chance"), 11"x17" exclusive double-sided poster
iTunes: Three bonus tracks ("What Have We Become," "Still You On the Inside," "Traffic Light" [pre-order only]), "No Surprise" music video
Target: DVD with six music videos ("It's Not Over," "Home," "Over You," "Feels Like Tonight," "What About Now," "No Surprise")
Walmart: Bonus download of "Get Me Through"

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