IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 3 Perform (5/18/10)

Tonight marks the most important point of Idol's ninth season so far, as the Top 3 finalists aim to earn a spot in the coveted Top 2. Although everyone and their mother seems to be pegging Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze as the pair to beat, don't count Casey James out! If you really care about the show, vote goat!

We already know the judges' picks for each contestant, as one third of their performance sets were revealed to them when they returned to their hometowns over the weekend. Will Lee be able to top Tim Urban's version of "Hallelujah"? Will Casey be karaoke on "Daughters"? Will Crystal resonate with anyone for her rendition of "Maybe I'm Amazed"? Well, you can only find out by tuning in (or following along here!)

As usual, please feel free to add your two cents throughout the one-hour blogcast. Coverage starts just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Chikezie, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Jordin Sparks and We Are the Fallen.

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HITS estimates: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro' #20 w/ 18.5k

Jason Castro helped infuse some excitement among Idol-related albums into the latest edition of HITS Daily Double's Top 50 building album sales chart.

Jason Castro bowed to 18.5k copies, which was within the 15-20k window HDD originally predicted and above my prediction of 13k. This figure was good enough to debut at #20, which is not a bad feat for a new artist.

Also seeing big boosts this week were CDs by Adam Lambert and Carrie Underwood. Adam's For Your Entertainment was up to #31 thanks to a 13.7k take due to his appearance on Idol last week, while Carrie's Play On increased 13% to 12k thanks to her big night at the ACMs, resulting in a two-spot drop on the chart to #35.

Full sales data and chart positions courtesy of Billboard should be published later this week.

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HITS predix: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro' to debut with 15-20k

According to initial predictions, HITS Daily Double is calling for a 13k bow for Jason Castro's eponymous release, which hit store shelves nationwide yesterday. Among fellow Season 7 alums, this would place the album above recent releases by Brooke White and Michael Johns, but obviously below David Cook and David Archuleta's efforts.

This figure is just a tiny bit higher than my original prediction of 13k copies. Be sure to be back here next week when official sales data will most likely be available courtesy of Billboard.

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Out today: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro'

Today marks the release of Jason Castro's first post-Idol album, Jason Castro. The album, courtesy of Atlantic Records, features tracks like the first two singles "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" and "That's What I'm Here For" as well as a cover of "Hallelujah."

Although it came out last week, be sure to check out Kimberley Locke's new single "Strobelight," on which she worked with Randy Jackson. The single is courtesy of Jackson's label Dream Merchant 21 Entertainment.

Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Albums
Jason Castro, Jason Castro

Amazon - ($8.00 standard, $13.99 exclusive) - Buy: standard
, exclusive
Amazon MP3 - ($8.00 standard, $11.99 deluxe) - Buy: standard
, deluxe
Barnes & Noble - ($7.99) - Buy
Best Buy - ($9.99) - Buy
Buy.com - ($8.99) - Buy
CDUniverse.com - ($7.14) - Buy
iTunes - ($9.99 standard, #12.99) - Buy: standard, deluxe
Sears - ($8.99) - Buy
Target - ($9.98) - Buy
Walmart - ($8.00) - Buy

Singles
Kimberley Locke, "Strobelight"

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

The Amazon exclusive version of Jason Castro features six bonus tracks including an acoustic version of "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" and a cover of "Over the Rainbow."

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IDOL LIVE predix: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro'

Jason Castro becomes the latest Idol alum to release an album with his name attached to it, as the self-titled disc hits stores and digital retailers nationwide tomorrow.

Jason Castro, which comes to us courtesy of Atlantic Records (the first album from an alum to sign with the label), features songs crafted by Marc Roberge of O.A.R., Gregg Wattenberg (Five For Fighting), Zac Maloy (David Cook), Espionage (Train) and of course Jason himself. There are covers of classics that Jason has undertaken in the past, including "Hallelujah" and "Over the Rainbow," as well as brand new tracks like "Let's Just Fall In Love Again," "This Heart of Mine" and "If I Were You."

On the promo side of things, Jason will benefit from his mostly small scale tour, which begins Sat., April 17 at The Loft in Dallas, Tex. He has also been getting some press, mostly in the form of album reviews by People magazine and Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly. But his next big television appearance won't be until April 22, when he performs on Ellen, so first week sales will not be helped out on that front.

There are also a few underground promo campaigns going on, like the photo competition being held on IBeatYou.com in support of Jason's latest single, "That's What I'm Here For." But these kinds of promotional efforts are not really dependable for moving CD units.

As a result of the above reasoning, I see Jason Castro fit for an opening of around 13k copies, which would be a pretty good feat for a debut entry with little promo. This would be above where fellow Season 7 alums Brooke White (High Hopes and Heartbreak, 10k) and Michael Johns (Hold Back My Heart, 7k) saw their post-Idol releases open at.

Jason Castro is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com
.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Jennifer Hudson dishes on weight loss on 'GMA'

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

>Jennifer Hudson appeared on ABC's Good Morning America this morning to chat with Robin Roberts about how she slimmed down after giving birth to her son, David Jr. Watch the segment below:

Jennifer treated her TV audience to her "sweetest little baby in the whole wide world" song that she gets David Jr. laughing with and talked about the privilege she has in playing Winnie Mandela in an upcoming biopic.

>Stephanie Edwards, who placed 11th on the sixth season of Idol, was arrested Monday night in Savannah, Ga., for being stupid (and fighting in public). Per RealityTVWorld:

Edwards told police that the woman, Laquilla White, had been harassing her all day with phone calls -- so she decided to travel to her home and confront her, which is when things got physical, Moore said.

Stephanie and the other woman were let out on $1,300 bail. Now she can go back to having a career in music, right? Right...

>Not as funny (but equally as law-related) was the news that Chikezie Eze will be charged with more serious charges after his botched attempt at shoplifting $1,200 worth of cologne at a Neiman Marcus in LA last month. Per EOnline.com:

Now the Los Angeles D.A. is charging him with misdemeanor attempted grand theft and misdemeanor identity theft. Eze's pretrial hearing is set for May 2.

Something tells me Chikezie will have a lot to talk about over the next month. Wonder if he'll find a TV show willing to hear him out?

>TV Guide Network recently profiled Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre in a "Where are they now?" segment, which focuses on their post-Idol activities. Watch the segment below:



It's not surprising that Matt is still fond of how he was the first finalist to ever be saved by the judges. Scott is great at keeping a positive outlook on his career and it's good to see he's still getting noticed for things other than his visual impairment.

>Jason Castro announced his upcoming summer tour in support of his debut self-titled album, kicking off at the Palladium Ballroom on Sat., April 17, in Dallas, Tex. Per the press release:

Castro will kick off his first headlining tour in his home state of Texas with an April 17th show at Dallas's The Loft. The trek will then traverse the US through mid-May (see itinerary below). A further slate of summer tour dates will be announced shortly.

The tour will wrap up at The Note in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sun., May 16. Jason Castro features the single "That's What I'm Here For" and is set for a Tues., April 13 release.

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Perform (3/30/10)

Tonight the Top 10 finalists try to recover from last week's embarrassing showing and turn to songs from the R&B/Soul catalog (they got to choose from around 100). Usher serves as the guest mentor, which is a few steps above who they had to turn to for advice one week ago.

Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Adam Lambert, Chikezie, Diana DeGarmo, Gina Glocksen, Jason Castro, Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen, Melissa McGhee and Michael Johns.

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 11 Perform (3/23/10)

Tonight the Top 11 finalists take on songs that have landed at #1 on the esteemed Billboard Hot 100 chart, not the horrid "teen idol" theme that was originally misreported elsewhere. Therefore, it is only fitting that Miley Cyrus will serve as the contestants' mentor. Right?

Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Blake Lewis, Bucky Covington, Carly Smithson, David Cook, David Hernandez, Diana DeGarmo, Jason Castro, Katharine McPhee, Leona Lewis, Michael Sarver and Stephanie Edwards.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Simon Cowell shares laughs and love on Leno's 'Tonight Show'

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

>Simon Cowell stopped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Monday night to talk Idol, X Factor and life in general. Not surprisingly, the topic of Simon's recent engagement to makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy came up, which prompted her to join her fiance on the couch. Watch the segment below:

Leno continued to badger Simon for the duration of the interview, asking when the wedding would be and whether he'd get married in the states or over in England. Simon also mentioned that he likes Crystal Bowersox (she was the only finalist he mentioned by name).

>Kimberly Caldwell has been out and about promoting her new album Without Regret, and on Tuesday she appeared on Ellen, the latest Idol judge's talk show. Watch her perform her new single "Mess of You" below:



Without Regret is scheduled to be out April 6 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com, while "Mess of You" is now available to download on iTunes.

>ABC's special The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding aired Monday night, featuring Jason Castro and his ukulele. He served as musical guest at the outdoor wedding ceremony in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Watch him perform "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" below:



Jason also performed his own song "That's What I'm Here For," which can be downloaded at iTunes as of today. The special averaged 9.27 million viewers, which is a mere fraction of the audience Jason was exposed to while he was on Idol.

>Jordin Sparks announced she will be lending her voice and vocals to the Nick Jr. program Team UmiZoomi for an upcoming episode. Jordin tweeted:

TheRealJordin In the studio recording a voice-over & song for Nick Jr. TEAM UMIZOOMI!
3 minutes ago via TwitBird iPhone

This news comes as Jordin continues to tweet about her songwriting sessions, as she was in the studio writing for and with DEZ Armstead among other artists.

>Kelly Clarkson has been busy overseas on the European leg of her tour in support of her album All I Ever Wanted, and concert goers at her show in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday got a bit more excitement than they were expecting when Kelly disappeared for a few minutes mid-performance. Watch a video recap below:



After performing "How I Feel" Kelly explained that for the first time in eight years she just "couldn't hold it." TMI, Kelly. TMI.

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Guys Perform (3/2/10)

Following a surprise switcharoo due to Crystal's complications from diabetes, the Top 10 guys will try to best their collective poor showing one week ago tonight instead of tomorrow night. It will indeed be a challenge, but there are a few signs of talent that could shine through if given the right song choices to demonstrate goo vocals.

Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Danny Gokey, Daughtry, David Cook, Elliott Yamin, Jason Castro, Kris Allen and Taylor Hicks.

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 12 Guys Perform (2/24/10)

After last night's live performance show kickoff by the Top 12 girls, it's time for their male counterparts to show America what they have to offer when they too take on songs that have grace Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Who will surprise? Who will falter? How did Ellen do in her first live showing?

Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Adam Lambert, Chris Sligh, Daughtry, David Archuleta, David Cook, Elliott Yamin, Jason Castro, Kris Allen and Michael Johns.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Paula Abdul says Howard Stern "hates" 'Idol'

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

>A lot of Idol alums were dishing their two cents on the rampant rumors that Howard Stern would be replacing Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul refused to sit herself out of the discussion. When TMZ caught up with her earlier today, she had a few things to say about her matter. Watch her comments below:

Paula's remark that Stern "hates the show" is pretty strong, but she's probably right. Countdown to Paula being bashed on his Siruis radio show in 3...2...1...

>Kelly Clarkson continued her streak of outspokenness when she subliminally dissed her record label, RCA Records, and the "men in suits" she's had to work with all these years at the opening night of her European tour. Watch her speak to fans candidly about the remaining two albums in her six-album contract below:




Kelly performed at the Manchester Apollo in Manchester, UK, on Sunday. She will next perform in concert tomorrow at O2 Birmingham Academy in Birmingham, UK.

>Jason Castro got some nice promotion for his upcoming debut album release, as his current single "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" is featured in Overstock.com's latest commercial. Watch the ad below:




Jason excitedly tweeted about the commercial. After releasing The Love Uncompromised - EP in January, Jason's self-titled album will be out April 13.

>Jordin Sparks was one of many female celebrities to strut her stuff on the catwalk at last night's Heart Truth's Red Dress Fashion Show in New York City in support of Heart Disease Awareness Month.

Jordin and her fellow female celebs were all decked out in red dresses to raise awareness for the special occasion.

Other celebrities to walk down the runway included Kristin Chenoweth, Kim Kardashian, Estelle, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Robin Roberts and Raven Symone among others.

>Kimberly Caldwell has been hitting the pavement in support of her forthcoming debut album Without Regret, and her appearances on HLN's The Joy Behar Show was just her latest venue to dish on all things pop culture. Watch her serve as a panelist in the following collection of clips from Monday's episode:




Joy Behar has been making the inclusion of Idol alums on her talk show a regular habit as of late, as Katharine McPhee will appear on the show tonight and Ayla Brown will tape a segment for Monday's episode.

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Out today: 'Idol' iTunes update

A lot of new releases by Idol alums have gone unreported over the past few weeks, let's take a glance at what's found its way onto iTunes recently from the franchise.

Now available on iTunes:

EPs
Ayla Brown, Circles - EP - ($4.95) - Buy
Jason Castro, The Love Uncompromised - EP - ($4.95) - Buy

Singles
Fantasia, "Even Angels" - ($1.29) - Buy
Jennifer Hudson, "Let It Be (ft. The Roots)" - ($0.99) - Buy

Music Videos
Carrie Underwood, "Temporary Home" - ($1.99) - Buy
Danny Gokey, "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" - ($1.99) - Buy
Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me" - ($1.99) - Buy

Also featured now on iTunes is Kris Allen's celebrity playlist podcast, which features songs like MGMT's "Electric Feel" and Radiohead's "High and Dry."

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'Idol' BB 200: 'Play On' #16 (1/30/10)

Picking up where we left off, Idol representation on the Billboard Top 200 album sales chart for the chart week of Jan. 30 was particularly healthy considering it's, well, January.

The amazing staying poser of Carrie Underwood's third studio album Play On is remarkable, as it only dipped 2% to 21.8k copies for the week. It was actually up two spots to #16 and it's sold 1.227 million in all. Carrie was also represented by her debut album Some Hearts, which made its way back onto the chart at #186 with thanks to a 24% surge to 3.1k copies. Its 6.923 million total to date speaks for itself.

Adam Lambert's album For Your Entertainment was up all around, moving ahead #40-35 to 12.3k thanks to a 9% sales uptick for a 457.3k total. Daughtry also had two entries on the chart, with Leave This Town holding steady with 8.5k copies coupled with a six-spot jump to #53 while the band's original LP slid 1% and five spots to #184 with 3.1k. Current totals are 899k and 4.620 million copies, respectively.

Moving onto newer material, Kris Allen's Kris Allen was up 13% to 6.1k copies for the week. On the chart side it lunged ahead #97-84 and now sees its total standing at 239.5k. An even new debut followed in the form of Jason Castro's EP The Love Uncompromised, which came in at #94 with 5.7k copies.

Also on the newer side was Katharine McPhee's sophomore effort Unbroken, which tumbled 80 spots to #107 in its second week of release. The album was down 67% to 5k for a total of 20.4k. And Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted was off 6% and eight spots to #169 at a very unique 3,333 copies for the week. Its total is now 822.4k.

Full sales and chart positions courtesy of leilamaurizia of Pulse below:

016 018 Carrie Underwood - Play On 21,793 -2% 22,220 1,227,099
035 040 Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment 12,275 9% 11,211 457,320
053 059 Daughtry - Leave This Town 8,492 0% 8,491 898,571
084 097 Kris Allen - Kris Allen 6,128 13% 5,430 239,528
094 --- Jason Castro - The Love Uncompromised EP 5,692 0 5,692
107 027 Katharine McPhee - Unbroken 5,025 -67% 15,346 20,400
169 161 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted 3,333 -6% 3,530 822,346
184 179 Daughtry - Daughtry 3,075 -1% 3,115 4,619,577
186 --- Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts 3,064 24% 2,478 6,922,536

Total sales are in bold.

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Jason Castro marries girlfriend in Dallas

Jason Castro is the latest Idol alum to be taken off the market. According to People.com:

The 22-year-old dreadlocked singer-songwriter, who finished fourth on Season 7 of American Idol, wed girlfriend Mandy Mayhall in his hometown near Dallas.

Jason excitedly tweeted about the big news on his official Twitter account, posting:

jasoncastro Yesterday I married the girl of my dreams... It couldn't have been more perfect! Now, honeymoooon!!! :) about 5 hours ago from txt

Jason's debut album is now available to pre-order on Amazon.com. His first EP, The Love Uncompromised, will be released on Tues., Jan. 12 courtesy of Atlantic Records.

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Flashback: Jason Castro's "Hallelujah"

Jason Castro started out his journey on Idol's seventh season much stronger than he finished it, and a major reason he made the Top 12 was because of his take on the late Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah." Remind yourself of the performance below:

Not only was this performance responsible for securing Jason a spot in the finals, but it gave Buckley his first #1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart thanks to the track selling 178k downloads that week. So this was a particularly effective showcase in more ways than one and was probably the highlight of Jason's stint on the show.

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'Idol' alums react to Adam Lambert's AMA performance

Twitter is abuzz with Adam Lambert, as he is currently the #1 trending topic on the social media site following his performance at the 2009 American Music Awards. Naturally, many Idol alums have their own two cents on the extravaganza:

Kellie Pickler says

what's up with all the "smoke and mirrors"...whatever happened to just singing a song and selling it with the power of the lyrics?? 13 minutes ago from web

Blake Lewis says:

Thought @adamlambert was great as the closer. Don't know how it sounds or looks through the tv, but it was epic live about 1 hour ago from Echofon

Ryan Seacrest says:

Ama's...Lambert designed all the costumes for his performance..I love the jay z song. had to blaze home to get up early. Home in 6 mins about 1 hour ago from UberTwitter

Anoop Desai says:

Watching the AMAs. Waiting for this @adamlambert performance less than 20 seconds ago from Echofon

Jason Castro says:

that was disgusting. eww 32 minutes ago from web

Chris Sligh says:

Wow..I'm just replaying it. That was absolutely horrible. I'm sure there are fans who will absolutely love it...but for me it was top 5... about 1 hour ago from web

...worst performances I've seen on a tv awards show. Let's make it clear that I'm not dissing him as a person...I hope he does great, but.. about 1 hour ago from web

..everything from the vocals & dancing to the set to the dancers...I mean everything was so just not good..o and btw it was Dr. Luke not Max about 1 hour ago from web

but...one thing is for sure...people will FOR SURE be talking about that tomorrow. And that is a darn good thing for Adam! about 1 hour ago from web

I coulda done without the sodomy, kissing the keys dude, and the S&M crap. Besides that it was great. Unfortunately that's all there was. about 1 hour ago from web

Sorry...I'm just kind of in shock at how horrible it was. My hopes were high. I really wanted Adam to be the greatest artist ever. about 1 hour ago from web

After all that he added:

I will however buy his album tomorrow...I'll let you guys know what I think...I'm sure it's great. about 1 hour ago from web

It's good to know former finalists can be candid about commenting on their peers.

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Poll of the week: Fans most excited for 'For Your Entertainment'

Ahead of a busy holiday release season for Idol alums, IDOL LIVE readers have selected Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment as the album they're most looking forward to.

46 votes in all were cast in favor of the eighth season runner-up's post-Idol album, good for 40% of the total take. Adam's chief competitor, both on the show and now off, Kris Allen, was able to amass 27% of the total votes cast, which turned out to be 32 in all.

The remaining three albums that were up for voting were pretty much evenly split, as Katharine McPhee's Unbroken was next with 16 votes (13%), followed by Jason Castro's self-titled album with 11 votes (9%) and Allison Iraheta's Just Like You with 10 votes (8%).

In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked which performance from an Idol they are most looking forward to at the 2009 American Music Awards. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

'Kris Allen' (Kris Allen) 32 (27%)
'Jason Castro' (Jason Castro) 11 (9%)
'Just Like You' (Allison Iraheta) 10 (8%)
'For Your Entertainment' (Adam Lambert) 46 (40%)
'Unbroken' (Katharine McPhee) 16 (13%)

Total votes: 115

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Syesha Mercado performs on 'Wendy Williams'

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

>Syesha Mercado performed with her co-stars of the national tour of the musical Dreamgirls on Wednesday on The Wendy Williams Show. Watch a clip of the appearance below:

The tour kicks off at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, N.Y., tomorrow night, where it will run until Sun., Dec. 6. It will close 13 cities later in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 27, 2010.

>Kris Allen's music video for his single "Live Like We're Dying" premiered this morning on AOL's PopEater blog. Watch the video below:



About the video, Kris told PopEater at first it was "frustrating" that people "weren't getting it" during the production process about the vision for the video, but they were finally able to come up with a product everyone was satisfied with.

>Carrie Underwood stopped by Live with Regis and Kelly yesterday to perform for and chat with the show's co-hosts about her "brute" (aka Regis-speak for Carrie's boyfriend Mike Fisher) among other things. Watch her perform "Cowboy Casanova" below:



One of the funniest parts of the interview came when Carrie was asked if she knew how to skate. When she responded "no," she was asked if she was going to attempt to learn how to skate, which she followed up with another frank "no."

>Jason Castro's album might have been delayed until early next year, but he was in a cheerful mood last weekend when he proposed to his girlfriend. According to an article on ACESHowbiz:

Jason and Mandy are said to have been dating since 2008, but have known each other since high school. The twosome dressed as Beauty and the Beast on Halloween. He got down on his knees when he proposed to her and presented her with a ring. Besides, the singer also carved "Marry Me?" into a pumpkin.

Jason's single "Let's Just Fall In Love Again" is now available to purchase on iTunes.

>Danny Gokey premiered his new single "It's Only" on Milwaukee's country radio station 106.1 FM. Listen to the single below:



According to MJs, the song was written by Dave and Charles from Lady Antebellum and will be available to download on Tues., Dec. 14.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Jason Castro unveils video for "Let's Just Fall In Love Again"

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

>Jason Castro's music video for his new single, "Let's Just Fall In Love Again," debuted on Yahoo!'s Y! Music page. Watch the video below:

Jason's self-titled debut album, courtesy of Atlantic Records, is slated for a Tues., Nov. 17 drop date.

>Katharine McPhee had a busy week. In addition to seeing her music video for "Had It All" premiere, AOL's PopEater blog featured a Q&A session with her in which she showed off her new look. Per the article:

PE: Have you noticed people acting differently towards you now that you're a blonde?

Kat: I wish that was the case. I always thought blondes got more attention walking down the street. I'm like 'That guy totally checked her out and didn't notice me and I'm wearing higher heels!' But, I haven't really noticed a difference at all and the reason is I'm not a true blonde. Only true blondes get the real attention.

Kat also made news thanks to the revelation that "Had It All" will be included on the latest edition of the popular compilation album NOW 32 alongside three other tracks by Idol alums.

>Jordin Sparks took to the Idol stage tonight - the Swedish Idol stage, that is - to perform her current single "S.O.S." and "No Air." Watch a backstage interview with Jordin below:



Jordin sang "No Air" with Kevin Borg, last year's Swedish Idol champ. Does anyone get a "David Archuleta in five years" vibe from him?

>In another big week for Carrie Underwood, it was announced that she will have her very own Christmas special on FOX this December when she headlines the two-hour program Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, on Mon., Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. ET.

Among the guest performers like country superstars Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton is none other than David Cook. Maybe the pair will reprise "You Can Go Your Own Way"?

>Kris Allen was interviewed on Portland, Maine's Top 40 station 97.9 WJBQ tonight in which he answered a few questions that his fans have been dying to get answers to. Listen to the interview below:



Kris said he will be filming his music video for "Live Like We're Dying" tomorrow night in the desert (somewhere) and the chances of "Red Guitar" and "I Need to Know" making it on the final track listing are good.

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