After months of exciting competition, IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series for 2010 is finally coming to a close. Per usual, the second-to-last round consisted of the champions from all nine seasons matched up against each other, and the results were among the closest of all rounds this year.
Considering she is probably the most popular winner to date, it's not unheard of that Carrie Underwood would take the title here, as she nabbed 29 of all 94 votes, good for 30% of all votes cast. With this win, Carrie will represent all winners in the finale. Coming up behind her was Jordin Sparks, who took in 17 votes (18%), followed by Kelly Clarkson with 15 votes (15%).
Even David Cook reeled in 13 votes for 13%, and Kris Allen took in 10 votes for 10%. Not surprisingly, the less popular winners didn't do so well in this poll, as Lee DeWyze (4%), Fantasia (4%), Ruben Studdard (1%) and Taylor Hicks (1%) each amounted vote totals in the single digits.
Now that we have had finalists from all nine seasons of all finishing positions square off against each other, it is only fair that the victors from each round take on each other in the finale of the champion series. In this final round of voting, readers will be asked which top-ranked finalist from each placing is their overall favorite of all nine seasons. Voting will be open for not one, but two weeks. Happy voting!
Kelly Clarkson 15 (15%)
Ruben Studdard 1 (1%)
Fantasia 4 (4%)
Carrie Underwood 29 (30%)
Taylor Hicks 1 (1%)
Jordin Sparks 17 (18%)
David Cook 13 (13%)
Kris Allen 10 (10%)
Lee DeWyze 4 (4%)
Total votes: 94
Showing posts with label lee dewyze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lee dewyze. Show all posts
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Poll of the week: Carrie Underwood is champ of choice
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Chat live with Season 9's Top 5 finalists (today, 5:30 p.m. ET)
Is there something you've been wanting to ask Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox, Casey James, Michael Lynche or Aaron Kelly? If so, then today's your lucky day, as Idol's ninth season's Top 5 finalists will be available to answer their fans' questions in a live chat sponsored by AT&T. The chat will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT) and last approximately 30 minutes, taking place over on AT&T Share's Facebook page. The chat will be simulcast live here on IdolLive below:
AT&T is of course sponsoring the American Idols Live! Tour, which is currently stopped in Anaheim, Calif. and will wrap up on Tues., Aug. 30 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: total of 26,000 turn out for Milwaukee, Nashville auditions
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>The Season 10 auditions kicked off in Nashville on Thurs., July 15, where about 10,000 hopefuls stood in line on the first day (16,000 in all performed in front of producers). This week, auditions journeyed to Milwaukee, where another 10,000 turned out for a shot at becoming the next Lee DeWyze. Per a post by EW's Michael Slezak:
“The numbers of people turning up to the American Idol auditions in Nashville and Milwaukee have been incredible,” said show creator Simon Fuller, in a release. “These attendance figures are significantly up on the last few years, and there is clearly renewed excitement and interest in the show, which is great to see.”
Ryan Seacrest took us on a behind the scenes tour of the Bradley Center to see what things are like, well, behind the scenes. Watch the piece below:
Auditions will next hit New Orleans, La., on Monday. If you're interested in giving Season 10 a shot (and at this point, you might as well throw your hat in the ring!) be sure to check out AmericanIdol.com/Auditions.
>As you've probably heard by now, Chris Isaak is the latest replacement for Simon Cowell being floated around. The rumor du jour comes on the heels of a Reuters and Hollywood Reporter piece claiming Isaak met with FOX twice in recent weeks for consideration of taking over for Simon. Per the piece:
While Fox insists no decision is imminent, the clock is ticking to replace Cowell as preliminary auditions get under way for the talent show's 10th season. Peter Rice, the network's new entertainment chairman, has said he expects the new "Idol" judge to join the audition roadshow by early September.
Other potential replacements that keep coming up in the media include Harry Connick, Jr., Bret Michaels and now...apparently...Donald Trump (huh!?). If Team FOX care about sparing fans from hearing about all this speculation, they'll hurry up and name a replacement fast.
>Lee DeWyze took time to speak with AmericanIdol.com about how the tour has been going with his fellow Season 9 Top 10 finalists. Lee covered a limited range of topics dealing with the tour and offered up a limited range of answers questions posed by both fans and AI.com. One of Lee's more interesting responses:
As the American Idol, Lee is the headliner of the Season 9 tour. Since he’s the last person to perform at each show, what does he do to pass the time while he’s waiting for his set? “I’m still trying to figure it out,” Lee remarked. “I have time to listen to a full album, so I’ll pick one and listen to it. I just try and chill, because if I just sit around and wait, I’ll get tired. During Casey’s and Crystal’s sets, I’ll go watch them and listen to the crowd and get pumped up.”
Lee said he's aiming for a "folk-rock" sound on his forthcoming album and he's been writing "everything so far." Lee, who apparently has been writing since he was 16 years old, said he's anticipating his hometown stop of Chicago because all his family and friends will be there. Read the full interview at AmericanIdol.com.
>Kellie Pickler had to break some bad news to the organizers of the St. Joseph County Grange Fair in Centerville, Mich., as she backed out of her scheduled show to close out the fair on Sept. 25 due to an extension of Rascal Flatts' tour, on which she is an opening act. This news came in conjunction with fellow country artist Chris Young's withdrawal as an opening act scheduled to perform at the fair on another day. Per an article from SturgisJournal.com:
“Next year we wouldn’t be able to touch Kelly Pickler or Chris Young … they’ll be priced way out of our league,” Johnson said. “If they honor the rate we were giving (for the September shows), it’d be a bargain.”
Ironically, Johnson noted, Rascal Flatts was an opening act at the fair several years ago.
Johnson did not indicate what the fair was to pay Pickler, saying only that it was a five-figure amount. Through Wednesday, about 950 tickets to Pickler’s show had been sold. Ticket prices ranged between $25 and $35 each.
All in all, not a good situation for the organizers of the fair.
>Jordin Sparks sat down with Oliver Trevena of YoungHollywood.com this week to chat about her Battlefield tour and other things on her mind. Watch the segment below:
Jordin recounted a memorable moment on the tour where a pregnant woman was waiting by her bus and she said "the baby's coming," Jordin was asked to sign her shirt and was freaking out because the baby needed to be delivered. She said she had never encountered that before (not many have, Jordin).
She also talked about her upcoming 3-month stint on Broadway in In the Heights, which kicks off on Thurs. Aug. 19.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Crystal Bowersox and Didi Benami show kindness at 'GMA' concert
After my scathing review of Season 9's Top 10 finalists' group medley of "It's My Life" / "My Life Would Suck Without You" on ABC's Good Morning America two Fridays ago based solely on television coverage, Tony Rossi of The Intersection offers up a review of his own since he actually attended the concert in Central Park in person. Per Tony's blog post:
The two I would single out especially are Crystal Bowersox and Didi Benami. Because I have 2 friends who work for GMA, I was lucky enough to get backstage and meet a few of the singers.He then goes on to give evidence of Crystal's and Didi's kindness:
A young girl accompanied by her grandfather was in a scaffolded area under the stage hoping to talk to and get autographs from Crystal & Didi. Both Crystal and Didi literally had to get on their hands and knees to interact with this young fan and sign her pictures.This account is great to hear since I was so hard on their singing. I'll reiterate that even though I was disappointed with how the performance came across over the broadcast, this season's finalists seem to be some of the kindest. In fact, I'd go as far to say this season's Top 10 is very similar to Season 6's Top 10 for this reason in addition to a few others regarding their stage presence and vocal abilities.
Also, below is a backstage interview with the Top 10 posted by GMA that I just stumbled upon:
The interview includes footage of Lee and Michael beat boxing in between performances in addition to questions about things we don't know about the finalists.
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Lee DeWyze performs "Hallelujah" on 'The View'
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Continuing in his "Idols Live!" tour-promoting mode, Lee DeWyze stopped by The View on Monday for a brief chat with co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd in addition to an acoustic performance of "Hallelujah." Watch the segment below:
Lee didn't have much to say in the interview, but that's not surprising considering the questions he was fielded. Luckily, he delivered an alright performance to make up for it.
>Also on The View this week was Clay Aiken, who served as guest co-host on Tuesday's episode. Surprisingly, Clay "cussed" during a segment in which the ladies discussed spoiled children (or something to that effect). Watch Clay's exit interview in which he apologizes below:
The full episode can be viewed on ABC's website. Clay is planning to begin his "Timeless Tour" with fellow Season 2 alum Ruben Studdard on Fri., July 23 in Asheville, N.C., on which he will promote his new album Tired & True.
>Katharine McPhee promoted her work with the campaign being sponsored by ConAgra Foods and Feeding America on Friday's episode of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren on FOX News Channel. Watch the segment below:
In addition to talking about the campaign, Kat also said she will spend roughly three months putting together her upcoming yet-to-be-titled Christmas album, which she already began recording.
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Photos from the set of the shoot were released, however, showing that Kris' wife, Katy, is standing by to show him some support.
>David Cook posted one of his world famous vlogs this week to tease fans about his upcoming release. It basically consists of black and white shots of recording sessions in the studio. Watch the vlog below:
David sang roughly six seconds of a new track, which turns out to be David Hodges' "Hard to Believe."
Friday, July 9, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Lee, Crystal and crew perform in concert at GMA
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>As noted in the previous post, Season 9's Top 10 performed in concert on Good Morning America as part of the ABC morning program's Summer Concert Series in Central Park. While the group medley was abysmal, Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox did pretty well with their solo offerings. Watch them both below:
Lee singing "Treat Her Like a Lady":
Crystal singing "Piece of My Heart":
You can tell by the close-up shots and quick camera cuts that there was a very sparse crowd at the show. Lee, Crystal and the rest of the gang will next perform in concert at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.
>Two Idol alums separated by four seasons and many placings will perform in concert tonight in an intaimte show at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville when Diana DeGarmo of Season 3 and Cardin McKinney, Hollywood contestant from Season 7, take to the stage alongside Robin Meade and Victoria Shaw. Tickets are still available to the show, which is meant to showcase songwriting and acoustic singing, begins at 9 p.m.
>Carrie Underwood will be getting married tomorrow! After a few months living life engaged to each other, Carrie will wed her Ottawa Senators player, Mike Fisher, in a ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton Lodge in Greensboro, Ga. To be sure the pesky photogs stay away for the day, Carrie went all out. Per an article at SFGate.com:
...the happy couple has booked every room at the venue to house their guests for the night, costing a whopping $268,000, according to local paper The Herald Journal.The article also said Carrie will be arriving in style via a helicopter. Not a bad way to start the weekend.
The publication's editor, Carey Williams, says, "She has blocked off all 251 rooms at the hotel."
>Kris Allen will be taking part in the benefit concert for the people of Tennessee who are still recovering from the floods that ravaged the Nashville area in May. The concert will take place at the Cannery Ballroom on July 23 and all proceeds will go toward the efforts being undertaken by the Community Foundation. iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove will also perform at the concert. To purchase tickets, visit Ticketweb.com.
>Katharine McPhee is doing her best to ensure her current single "Terrified" stays on the right track at radio, so she had a webisode filmed to document the recording session she had with Zachary Levi of NBC's Chuck. Watch the webisode below:
As for how the single is performing on the charts, it's safe to say "Terrified" has seen better days. It has virtually disappeared from all charts, both airplay and sales.
Was the Top 10's performance on GMA this morning a joke?
In case you missed it, Season 9's Top 10 finalists took a break from their busy Idols Live! tour (in fact, they even moved a show for it) this morning on ABC's Good Morning America. Following solo performances by Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox, it was time for all 10 finalists to take the stage for a medley of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You." Below is how it all went down:
I don't think there's ever been less of a reason to attend an Idol concert as this one. It was like George Stephanopolous and Robin Roberts raced up and down 42nd Street and grabbed the first 10 young people they saw, rushed them to Central Park, pushed them up on stage and forced them to sing on the spot.
Now, I'll give them the excuse that the cramped stage minimized their ability to move around, so dancing in place a la Aaron Kelly was pretty much the only other option. But c'mon, that was an embarrassment to group performances. The sloppy harmonies, the awkward poses the cameramen caught, the rampant out of tune singing, it never ends. In fact, it's more sad than anything, because they seem like a great group of people.
So as the show cancelations keep a'comin', is anyone really surprised why the tour is flailing around? I would not pay to see this on stage, and apparently many others feel the same.
Friday, June 18, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: New (old) Jordin Sparks tracks a'leakin'
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>It seems Jordin Sparks is now getting the Kelly Clarkson treatment, as a few songs have leaked over the past week including "Die Tryin'" and "Alive." Listen to "Die Tryin'" complete with annoying DJ voice overs below:
You can also listen to a clip of "Alive" here. Both songs were most likely leftovers from the Battlefield era, so it's probably unlikely either will appear on her forthcoming third album. Still, not a fun situation for Jordin.
>The nominees for the 2010 Teen Choice Awards were revealed Monday, and as usual there was no shortage of Idol-related entries in the various categories spanning music and TV. See a list of all categories including Idol-related entries below:
Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
“American Idol”
“America’s Next Top Model”
“Dancing with the Stars”
“Project Runway”
“Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew”
Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star
Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, “Jersey Shore”
Lee DeWyze, “American Idol”
Brody Jenner, “The Hills”
Bret Michaels, “Celebrity Apprentice”
Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, “Jersey Shore”
Choice TV: Female Reality/Variety Star
Crystal Bowersox, “American Idol”
Kristin Cavallari, “The Hills”
Lauren Conrad, “The Hills”
The Kardashians, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, “Jersey Shore”
Choice Music: Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Jason Derulo
Drake
Adam Lambert
Usher
Choice Music: Female Country Artist
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Gretchen Wilson
Well, some of those look like they'll be a cakewalk (Carrie's, Adam's), but others will be a little bit tougher (Crystal's). The 2010 TCAs will be broadcast on FOX on Mon., Aug. 9.
>Although he's been out of the Idol picture for the past two seasons, it would be out of character for Nigel Lythgoe to keep his opinions of the show he produced for seven seasons. In a recent article published by Canada's Times & Transcript, Nigel was quoted as saying Season 9 "wasn't a vintage year" among other things. Per the article:
"The team took their eye off the ball a little bit and was more worried about the judges and what was happening with them than it was regarding the talent last year. It became about Kara (DioGuardi) joining and making the fourth judge, Paula (Abdul) leaving, Ellen (Degeneres) joining and Simon leaving and much more about them and concentrating on that than on the talent that they were finding."Even though Nigel can be annoying much of the time, he's right on the money here. However, I wouldn't put it past Nigel to be using this strategy in the hopes of plopping himself at the judges' table in the spot reserved for the "acid-tongued Brit."
>Crystal Bowersox is currently collaborating with Wayne Wilkins ahead of her forthcoming debut studio album, and as Billboard reported yesterday, Crystal is already impressing him with her songwriting experience. Per an article on Billboard.com:
"She's the real deal," producer/songwriter Wayne Wilkins -- who hit the studio with Bowersox on Wednesday (June 16) -- tells Billboard.com. "I've only worked with a couple of 'Amerian Idol' contestants before, and in terms of songwriting, she's the most developed on that front. She literally could sit in a room with anybody, grab a guitar and start writing."
Wilkins has previously collaborated with Jordin Sparks on "Battlefield" and David Archuleta on songs like "Touch My Hand," and he said Crystal already brought an album's worth of material to the table. The two have also been writing with Priscilla Hamilton. Sounds like things are running pretty smoothly over in Camp Crystal.
>Speaking of upcoming Idol-related albums, Fantasia's team updated us on the status of her upcoming release, including a title, track list and album cover. For starters, Fantasia's third studio effort is titled Back to Me, and it will be released on Tues., July 27. Per the press release:Comedian, actor and radio personality Steve Harvey also became involved in the album process by coming up with the album title after a recent radio interview with the songstress. “Steve Harvey suggested the album title and it describes perfectly where I am in my life right now,” states Fantasia. “I’ve willingly let the world into my life through my book, the Lifetime television movie and now the VH1 reality show. Now, it’s time to go back to how things used to be when America first laid their eyes on me on American Idol. I want to focus everyone’s attention back to me and back to music that everyone can relate to and enjoy.”
The album's lead single, "Bittersweet," is currently #9 on the Urban Adult Airplay chart. Back To Me
is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com.
Friday, June 11, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Ryan Seacrest wants another talk show?
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Is it possible Ryan Seacrest could become the next Oprah? There are rumors floating around that he's considering launching back into the daytime talk circuit with a show of his own, but not until 2011. Per Zap2It.com:
According to LARadio.com, Seacrest and CBS are sidling up to talks for Seacrest about hosting and executive producing a show that would premiere in the fall of 2011. It would also likely be a package deal that would include his radio shows as well.
The rumblings about Seacrest making a move come as the end of his current radio contract nears its end. He's currently with KIIS-FM, a Clear Channel-owned station, but his deal there expires in November.
If anyone is thinking to his or herself, "wait a minute, didn't Ryan already have his own talk show?" your mind isn't playing tricks on you. Back in '04 Ryan spent his afternoons on On-Air with Ryan Seacreast, which had a lifespan of only a few months.
>Adam Lambert's "Glam Nation Tour" with fellow Season 8 finalist Allison Iraheta and Orianthi kicked off at the Kirby Center in Wilkes Barre, Pa., on Fri., June 4. Watch fan video of him performing "Fever" below:
Adam, Allison and Orianthi will next perform at the Shining Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn.
>As his peers previously had done, Lee DeWyze stopped by CBS's late night talk show The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday to chat with host David Letterman and perform his winning single "Beautiful Day." Watch his performance below:
Lee's talk with Letterman was, well, rather boring but he seemed more personable than usual. Lee talked about working in a paint store and the full year process of him working with Idol, calling Simon a "genuinely nice guy."
>Only three months since joining the Hair tribe, Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young will be looking for a new paycheck as they were given their two weeks notice yesterday that the Broadway revival will be closing its doors at the Al Hirschfeld Theater on June 27. Per Broadway.com:
The closing release emphasized that Hair recouped its entire $5,760,000 investment four months into the run and has generated a profit. The show weakened at the box office after the original cast departed for London, grossing $351,992 for the week ending June 6 and playing to 46.50% of capacity. The London production, which opened in April at the Gielgud Theatre will close on September 4, and according to a statement from the producers, “Many of the members of the current Broadway Tribe and London Tribe will take part in the tour.”
If you were planning on seeing Diana and Ace in the show sometime this summer, there's still time to see it over the next two weeks. See here for tickets starting at $37.
The photos are courtesy of JordinSparks.cc and come after EW.com posted a first look of the scene from the video two weeks ago. The song, which was originally a duet between Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, will be sung solely by Jordin.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
'Idol' Hot 100: Carrie Underwood's "Undo It" #25 (6/19/10) [plus sales figures!]
Carrie Underwood held down the fort with her newest hit "Undo It," which was once again at #25 for the week. The single sold 64.1k tracks and now stands at 284.1k. Continuing to descend the chart was Adam Lambert and his "Whataya Want From Me," as it slid #35-40 and pulled in 29.1k for a total of 1.296 million.
And then there was Lee DeWyze, who witnessed his winning cover of "Beautiful Day" tumble #24-72 thanks to a 61% drop in sales to 37.4k tracks. It has sold 132.6k after two weeks. Lee's other tracks on the Hot 100 - "Hallelujah" and his duet with Crystal Bowersox on "Falling Slowly" - were down as well, but not as badly. The former dropped #44-76 and sold 33.4k while the latter fell #66-80 and sold 29.7k. Their totals stand at 96.4k and 73.7k, respectively.
Full chart positions courtesy of Billboard are posted below:
Hot 100
25 25 Carrie Underwood, "Undo It"
40 35 Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me"
72 24 Lee DeWyze, "Beautiful Day"
76 44 Lee DeWyze, "Hallelujah"
80 66 Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox, "Falling Slowly"
Full sales figures and chart positions courtesy of tsw2008 over at Pulse are posted below:
Hot Digital Songs
020 018 Carrie Underwood, "Undo It" 64,144 -7% 69,159 284,118
045 012 Lee DeWyze, "Beautiful Day" 37,392 -61% 95,162 132,554
052 020 Lee DeWyze, "Hallelujah" 33,407 -47% 62,988 96,395
056 038 Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox, "Falling Slowly" 29,655 -33% 44,002 73,657
057 049 Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me" 29,113 -8% 31,737 1,295,939
119 032 Crystal Bowersox, "Up to the Mountain" 14,578 -70% 48,864 63,442
127 105 Kris Allen, "Live Like We're Dying" 14,024 -10% 15,645 1,457,226
161 061 Lee DeWyze, "The Boxer" 10,900 -58% 26,245 37,145
164 139 Daughtry, "Life After You," 10,569 -10% 11,801 736,555
168 157 Carrie Underwood, "Cowboy Casanova" 10,322 -1% 10,374 1,369,386
180 159 Carrie Underwood, "Temporary Home" 9,886 -4% 10,273 502,113
Total sales are in bold.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
RCA posts press release on Lee DeWyze's forthcoming album
Read the press release courtesy of 19 Recordings/RCA Records below:
Dewyze's Debut Album is Set for Release in Fall 2010
LOS ANGELES, June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- American Idol Season 9 winner Lee Dewyze has been signed to 19 Recordings/RCA Records. He is preparing to start work on his debut album which is due for release in fall 2010.
The 24 year old Mount Prospect, IL native impressed millions throughout the season taking home this year's American Idol winning title. Dewyze is a self taught musician who began singing and playing guitar in his teens. Auditioned in Chicago, Dewyze was the only male contestant never to land in the bottom three during American Idol Season 9.
"Lee is the People's choice, the working class hero who won the hearts of America to become The 9th American Idol," says Simon Fuller – Creator of American Idol and Founder of 19 Entertainment. "Lee has a powerful voice, integrity and a passion for music that literally brought tears to his eyes. We are all looking forward so much to Lee recording his new album to be released in the late fall."
"Lee struck a real chord with the American public this season on Idol. His humility coupled with his vast talent and musicianship should make him a big artist for a long time to come," says Barry Weiss, Chairman & CEO RCA/JIVE Label Group. "We at the RCA Label are excited to work with Lee and 19 on an album that speaks to his widespread appeal."
"Looking back on the last few months and all I gained from my experience on American Idol, it is incredible to know that this is only the beginning for me. Being signed by 19 Entertainment/RCA Records is a dream come true," says Lee. "I know that by working with them, I have the support that will allow me to record the best possible album I can – an album I'm proud of and confident in."
Lee will be recording his album over the summer while on the road with the American Idol's Live tour. The tour kicks off July 1 in Auburn Hills, Michigan and ends September 14 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
So, what do you think? Will Lee's album be as rushed as the rest of the debuts have been? Will it be more David Cook or Kris Allen? Either way I'm willing to be a cover of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" will appear on there.
Crystal signed with Jive Records, but we've yet to see a press release detailing her release.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Lee DeWyze sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals game 2
Lee DeWyze continued the tradition of having the most recent Idol winner do National Anthem duty at an NBA Finals game, as he did so at game 2 of the Boston Celtics / LA Lakers championship series this evening at the Staples Center in LA. Watch him sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as televised on ABC below:
How'd Lee do? Was he in tune? I have my opinions but I'll let you be the judge. Speaking of past National Anthem performances at NBA Finals games, be sure to check out those done by Kris Allen (2009), David Cook (2008), Jordin Sparks (2007), Taylor Hicks (2006), Carrie Underwood (2005) and Kelly Clarkson (2004).
Friday, June 4, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox perform on 'Today'
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox paid NBC's Today Show a visit yesterday to perform in concert at Rockefeller Plaza. Watch them duet on "Falling Slowly" below:
Lee took the stage to perform an acoustic version of "Beautiful Day," while Crystal did an acoustic rendition of "Me & Bobby McGee" as Michael Orland accompanied the two on piano. In their pre-performance chat with Meredith Viera, Lee was asked what his favorite brand of paint was, and he gave a cop-out "the're's plenty of good ones" answer." Crystal said she'd like to use her celebrity to raise awareness for diabetes, especially in underdeveloped countries.
>After staying out of the limelight for an extended amount of time, Clay Aiken seems to be taking on a higher profile as of late, with a performance on ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday and details of yet another cover album leaking out. Watch Clay and his new hairdo perform "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" below:
Clay's latest cover disc, Tried and True (more like "Tired and Too Much"), hit stores on Tuesday to little fanfare. Before his performance on GMA, Clay chatted with co-host Robin Roberts and called summer tour mate Ruben Studdard "one of the best performers on stage" he knows.
>David Archuleta has been busy on his book tour in support of Chords of Strength, which is described as "a memoir of soul, song, and the power of perseverance. So far he has hit up Ridgewood, N.J., New York City and Long Island. Below are a few tweets courtesy of Arch from his travels during the tour:
Finished the book signing in Manhattan! Andy Garcia, Kasey James, and DiDi Benami all stopped by. Such a cool surprise!
9:19 PM Jun 2nd via txt
"you smell like really good baby powder." well I haven't heard that before but thanks! I'm glad I don't smell bad! Haha
about 12 hours ago via txt
Lake Grove on Long Island was awesome!! Thanks so much too everyone who came and thanks to Barnes and Noble too!
about 9 hours ago via txt
While in the city, Arch also performed "Works For Me" on FOX & Friends yesterday with friend Toby Lightman. He will next be at the Barnes & Noble at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn., tomorrow at 2 p.m.
The Orianthi-infused “Don’t Waste the Pretty” hits iTunes June 8, according to a rep at Allison’s label.
Jive must really believe in Allison since they've previously released two singles that have failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, especially considering they only got behind two singles on David Archuleta's first release and Jordin Sparks's Battlefield.
>Diana DeGarmo visited CBS's weekend morning program The Saturday Early Show over Memorial Day Weekend to perform a few songs from Hair, which she is currently starring in on Broadway. Watch her perform "I Believe in Love" and a snippet of her song of appreciation of the men and women serving in our military, "Thank You," which was fitting for the weekend, below:
Last week, Diana together with SunTrust Bank unveiled a campaign called "Solid Salute," which allows people to send personalized e-greetings to men and women in uniform using her song "Thank You." You can also download the track for free at LiveSolid.com.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
'Idol' Hot 100: Lee DeWyze's "Beautiful Day" #24 (6/12/10)
Finishing just one spot behind "Beautiful Day" was Carrie Underwood's "Undo It," which improved 34 spots to #25 after jumping 14 spots from #73 on the previous chart. Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me" continued to decline, as it was off six spots to #35 after falling only one spot on the previous chart.
And Crystal Bowersox had just two songs make it into the Hot 100 (including "Falling Slowly"), as her lead single "Up to the Mountain debuted at #57.
Full chart positions courtesy of Billboard are posted below:
Hot 100 (6/12/10)
24 -- Lee DeWyze, "Beautiful Day"
25 59 Carrie Underwood, "Undo It"
35 29 Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me"
44 -- Lee DeWyze, "Hallelujah"
57 -- Crystal Bowersox, "Up to the Mountain"
66 -- Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox, "Falling Slowly"
88 -- Lee DeWyze, "The Boxer"
Hot 100 (6/5/10)
29 28 Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me"
59 73 Carrie Underwood, "Undo It"
Poll of the week: "The Time of My Life" is coronation song of choice
Cook, who has been able to shed the embarrassing lyrics despite having an actual radio hit with "Life," would probably appreciate the 31 votes cast in favor of the track, which enabled him to take 44% of all 69 votes cast over the past week.
Not surprisingly, "A Moment Like This" was runner-up in this competition, as the original coronation single by Kelly Clarkson nabbed 14 votes (20%), while Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven" was right behind with 11 votes (15%).
The only real surprise was that "No Boundaries" didn't finish last. Kara DioGuardi must have worked pretty hard to vote five times, giving the track she wrote 7% of all votes cast. Less surprising was how badly Lee DeWyze's "Beautiful Day" performed, as it could only manage four votes (5%). The other four tracks were basically negligible.
In the latest edition of the poll of the week series, readers are asked who their choice to replace Simon Cowell as judge would be. You will have exactly six days to vote.
A Moment Like This 14 (20%)
Flying Without Wings 0 (0%)
I Believe 2 (2%)
Inside Your Heaven 11 (15%)
Do I Make You Proud 0 (0%)
This Is My Now 2 (2%)
The Time of My Life 31 (44%)
No Boundaries 5 (7%)
Beautiful Day 4 (5%)
Total votes: 69
Saturday, May 29, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox visit 'Ellen'
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Lee DeWyze made his first talk show appearance on who else's show but Ellen DeGeneres' very own Ellen yesterday. Watch his interview and performance of "Hallelujah" below (why he didn't perform "Beautiful Day" I don't know):
Crystal Bowersox also appeared on the show, where she performed "Up to the Mountain" after joining Lee on Ellen's signature couch.
>It looks like Paula Abdul is getting the last laugh after all. CBS announced earlier this week that Paula will star as executive producer, lead judge, coach, mentor and advocate of the network's new reality series Got to Dance. Per TheWrap.com:
Based on a popular British show that began last year on Sky TV, the series will see the former choreographer return to her dance roots. Like "Idol" or "So You Think You Can Dance," amateur contestants from across the coutnry will audition for Abdul and a panel of experts before performing live in the semi-finals and finals to compete for the "Got to Dance" championship.
So basically it's CBS's version of So You Think You Can Dance? Good for Paula. Regardless, it's not impossible for her to also co-judge X-Factor in Fall 2011, so hopefully there's still room for that to happen.
>Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson took part in the tribute special for Brooks & Dunn on CBS's ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn - The Last Rodeo, which aired last Sunday (if you didn't know about this it was probably because you were watching the Lost or The Celebrity Apprentice finales). Watch Carrie perform the duo's "Neon Moon" below:
Watch Jennifer's performance of "Believe" below:
Who knew Jennifer could sing country so well? The special was a way to say a final farewell to Brooks & Dunn, who are in the process of breaking up after 20 years of performing together and are doing one last concert tour together. Ratings-wise the special pulled in a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating and an average of 10.1 million viewers over two hours.
>Aside from having winners and runners-up on her show, Ellen DeGeneres might be setting herself up with a backup career to supplement her talk show if the Idol producers yank her contract prematurely, as she announced on her show Wednesday that she was starting her own record label, eleveneleven, with the first artist signed being 12-year-old YouTube sensation Greyson Chance. Per Reuters:
"Greyson ... inspired me to start a record label called eleveneleven. He is my first artist and we are making a record together," DeGeneres said in a statement released on Tuesday.
DeGeneres said she will continue to use her show as a platform to find new artists, whom she will sign to eleveneleven. The record label is being set up in collaboration with Telepictures Productions.
Greyson visited Ellen to perform on Wednesday. Watch his performance of the original song "Broken Hearts" below:
So what do you think, will this move give Ellen the street cred she needs to hang onto her judging slot on Idol? She's signed for something like four seasons anyway, but if there was a real need she could easily wiggle out of that commitment. Regardless, this might end up being the smartest business decision Ellen has made yet.
>It's not surprising this year's Idol season finale was the lowest-rated (and watched) one on record, but it's amazing to actually compare these numbers with the numbers from seasons' past. Robert Seidman at TVBytheNumbers put together a handy chart of rating scores and total viewers from all nine seasons:
09/04/2002 American Idol - Season 1 10.8 23.02
05/21/2003 American Idol - Season 2 16.8 38.06
05/26/2004 American Idol - Season 3 12.0 28.84
05/25/2005 American Idol - Season 4 12.5 30.27
05/24/2006 American Idol - Season 5 14.2 36.38
05/23/2007 American Idol - Season 6 11.5 30.76
05/21/2008 American Idol - Season 7 11.4 31.688
05/20/2009 American Idol - Season 8 10.0 28.86
05/26/2010 American Idol - Season 9 8.2 24.2
Wow, the word "ouch" seems to come to mind when looking at those figures together. Although TV ratings have been on a steady decline in general over the past 10 years, Idol's finale seems to be an exception to the rule and is more based on factors like the quality of its competitors and the general buzz going into the finale, which explains Season 2's, Season 5's and Season 7's high numbers, as well as Season 3's (and now Season 9's) low numbers. This might be one trend that won't continue after the quality of this past season left a bad taste in most people's mouths.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
American Idol: 2002-2010
The title pretty much says it all. Tonight is the night that American Idol died.
I was thinking about how I would recap Idol's ninth season, and I decided instead of duplicating last season's marathon rant about how horrible the season was, I will keep it short and sweet.
Following last season's finale I was on the verge of not coming back to continue this blog for Season 9. I wanted to quit so many times, but my enjoyment of following the careers of alums from seasons past kept me motivated to continue blogging. By the time January rolled around, I was about to announce I would not be live blogging the season, but something made me decide to give it another try in case the season ended up being good. Sadly, that did not come to be.
Season 9 is the black sheep/ugly duckling/bastard child of the Idol franchise, not only for its lack of talent (save for a few contestants), horrible production, self-absorbed judges, addition of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge, focus on guest performers rather than contestants, awkward Ryan Seacrest drunk hosting performances, appallingly bad 'Idol Gives Back' special, poor auditions, horrible mentors (Miley Cyrus? Adam Lambert?), pants on the ground (okay, that was actually pretty good...at first...before Brett Favre killed it with his "spoof"), boring Ford commercials, boring themes, old themes, tired themes, messy camera angles, dazed and confused audiences, more Ryan being drunk or stoned or just flirting with Simon, Randy's "dudes," Kara's nonsense, Simon's departure, lack of Paula's antics, Miley Cyrus's results show "performance," rejection of Angela Martin, Joe Jonas as a guest judge, basically all the guest judges, lack of a cheesy coronation single, the judges' save, Dane Cook at the finale, or its result, but for the sheer fact that it took up a minimum of two hours of FOX's prime time each week for five-and-a-half months.
In short, Season 9 basically killed what little love I had for this show after Season 8 left it dangling by a thread. I will still always have the memories of actual good seasons and their finalists. But as for the show in its current form, it's finished as far as I'm concerned.
(p.s. I realize how many times I used the words "I" and "me" in this post and would like to apologize. I'm not as self-centered as I might sound...oops there are two more "I"s!)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Watch Lee DeWyze's winning moment
If you missed it for whatever reason (or you had to do a double take to make sure he actually won), you can watch Lee DeWyze's winning moment below:
Sorry about the cam rip, it was all I could find. Perhaps it will be replaced when a quality video of the moment surfaces. But for now, this will have to do.
Poll of the week: Lee DeWyze favorite Top 2 contestant
After a less than exciting final result, Lee DeWyze can now celebrate something else in addition to his big win: he can say he was the favorite Season 9 contestant among IDOL LIVE readers.
For the final week of competition, Lee stole 56 votes from Crystal's 33 votes for a 62%-37% margin of victory.
For the overall season, Lee also won that with 345 votes in all to Crystal's 308 votes. That may not seem like a lot, and that's because it isn't. I guess people just weren't excited about voting for anyone this season (go figure).
In the latest edition of the poll of the week series, readers are asked what their favorite coronation single is of all nine season. You will have exactly one week to vote.
Crystal Bowersox 33 (37%)
Lee DeWyze 56 (62%)
Total votes: 89
Running total for Season 9:
24th - Haeley Vaughn (0 votes)*
21st (tie) - Janell Wheeler (2 votes)*
21st (tie) - Todrick Hall (2 votes)*
21st (tie) - Paige Miles (2 votes)*
19th (tie) - Joe Munoz (3 votes)*
19th (tie) - Jermaine Sellers (3 vote)*
17th (tie) - Tyler Grady (4 votes)*
17th (tie) - Michelle Delamor (4 votes)*
15th (tie) - John Park (6 votes)*
15th (tie) - Ashley Rodriguez (6 votes)*
14th - Lacey Brown (9 votes)*
13th - Katelyn Epperly (10 votes)*
12th - Lilly Scott (14 votes)*
11th - Alex Lambert (22 votes)*
10th - Michael Lynche (27 votes)*
09th - Didi Benami (56 votes)*
08th - Andrew Garcia (58 votes)*
07th - Tim Urban (60 votes)*
06th - Katie Stevens (93 votes)*
05th - Aaron Kelly (111 votes)*
04th - Casey James (208 votes)*
03rd - Siobhan Magnus (218 votes)*
02nd - Crystal Bowersox (308 votes)*
01st - Lee DeWyze (345 votes)
*indicates contestant has been eliminated
IDOL LIVE Blog - Season 9 Finale (5/26/10)
We've finally arrived. Yes, we've all survived Idol's ninth season and tonight we will celebrate the last woman (or man, just to have my bases covered) standing. But more importantly, we will celebrate the fact that everything is over! Yes it's been great chatting with everyone during these long five-and-a-half months, but I think it's safe to say we all deserve a break.
Tonight's two hour extravaganza will feature plenty of guest performers like Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias in addition to an all-star send-off for Simon Cowell featuring Paula Abdul. I wouldn't be surprised if they reprise their stupid "Golden Idols" or whatever they're called, which would all but guarantee a performance of "Pants On the Ground" by General Larry Platt. Awesome.
And of course, the rest of the Top 12 will return to perform a few medleys in an effort to eat up time before news of the winner is revealed in the last five minutes of the show.
To see who I predict will win tonight, click here. And as usual, please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast. Coverage starts just prior to 8 p.m. ET.
Once again, tonight's blogcast will feature music from Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze.
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