After months of swirling rumors, Paula Abdul has confirmed via her official Twitter account that she will not be returning to Idol for the show's ninth season. In her own words:With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all..Cont'd... 39 minutes ago from web
I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon. 38 minutes ago from web
Paula seems to be holding her head up high, though, as she thanked her fans, who actually voted her "Ms. Twitter USA" earlier today:What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me 37 minutes ago from web
It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month 37 minutes ago from web
I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all 37 minutes ago from web
Although it is sad to see Paula leaving under these circumstances, this does not come as a shock by any means. It was just over two weeks ago that her manager, David Sonenberg, claimed it was unlikely she would return as a judge for Season 9. The timing for this announcement also makes sense, as the second round of auditions are set to begin filming in the next few days, requiring the judges to be on-site for the tapings.
Regardless of what happens with the future of this show, it will surely not be the same without her.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Official: Paula Abdul will not return as judge
HITS estimates: 'Leave This Town' 61.3k
For the third week in a row, the Idol representation on HITS Daily Double's Top 50 building album sales chart was fronted by a guy from North Carolina and his band.
Daughtry's Leave This Town came in at #5, down two spots from the previous week, for a weekly take of 61.3k according to estimates. The drop of 38% was not as steep as the drop from its first week, which is common and suggests the album is stabilizing.
Jordin Sparks, on the other hand, saw her sophomore album Battlefield take a tumble in its second week of release, sliding 65%. Although this generally is in line with most second week sales depreciation rates, the fact that the album opened to low figures in the first place does not help. The album slipped 19 spots to #29 and took in 16.8k.
Finalized figures courtesy of Billboard should hopefully be out this week, but if not, chart positions will once again surely be posted later on in the week.
Out today: Leslie Hunt's 'Your Hair Is On Fire'
Today marks the release of Idol Season 6 Top 20 contestant Leslie Hunt's latest album, Your Hair Is On Fire, courtesy of Ellenel Records. Although it was supposed to be available on the independent digital retailer CDBaby, there seem to be some issues with getting the album up on the site. Per a tweet from Leslie earlier today:My CD is being held hostage by the horrible customer service over at CDBaby. This is such a disaster! It's supposed to be available 2day!! about 2 hours ago from web
Despite the glitch, Your Hair Is On Fire is available to purchase beginning today at Reckless Records in Chicago and the Borders location in St. Charles, Ill., and will be available to download on iTunes beginning next week. In the meantime, don't forget to download Leslie's single, "American Dream Man," for free via her official Web site.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Flashback: Adam Lambert's "Tracks of My Tears"
Top 10 week of Idol's eighth season was hardly different from any other week during the season, as one performance overshadowed the rest. Adam Lambert's rendition of Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears" struck a chord with many audience members. Re-watch the performance below:
Adam's performance during Motown theme week was more important for his chances of making the finale than possibly any other week with the exception of Top 3 week, as he was able to show that he could sing ballads in addition to his usual out-of-your-seat rock 'n roll crowd-pleasers. In the face of some highly regarded performances, this one remains one of his strongest.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Kelly Clarkson performs on 'Good Morning America'
Kelly Clarkson performed a set on ABC's Good Morning America on Friday as part of the morning program's "summer concert series." Unsurprisingly, Kelly's current single off All I Ever Wanted, the controversial "Already Gone," was included on the set list. Watch Kelly's acoustic performance of the song below:
Kelly also spoke with the co-hosts of GMA between songs, explaining why she had a fan on stage (to help limit her perspiration) and explaining why she loves performing live. Not surprisingly, the topic of the controversy surrounding "Already Gone" did not come up in the chit chat.
While on stage, she churned out some past crowd pleasers for the audience in New York City's Central Park including "Walk Away," "Since U Been Gone" and "My Life Would Suck Without You," as well as "If I Can't Have You."
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Carrie Underwood collaborating with Ryan Tedder?
In anticipation of Carrie Underwood's third studio album, currently slated for release on Tues., Nov. 3, there are many rumors swirling about which songwriters will be contributing to the disc. One of the biggest names that just popped up is Ryan Tedder, the in-demand songwriter and fronting member of OneRepublic. The photo on the right of Carrie and Tedder at the NightBird Studio in Los Angeles, Calif., adds fuel to the flames of this rumor. But there are other possibilities for the leakage of the photo.
Is this, perhaps, a way of getting back at Kelly Clarkson for her recent outspokenness about her disappointment with Tedder and her current single "Already Gone," which she claims is a rip-off of Beyonce's hit song "Halo," which Tedder also had a hand in writing. Tedder has written for other Idol alums, including Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis, so maybe it really isn't a stretch for him to be collaborating with Carrie.
As for Carrie's confirmed collaborations, she has once again been writing with Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey ("So Small," "Twisted") and Ashley Monroe ("Flat On the Floor" according to Carrie's listings on BMI and ASCAP. Possible song titles that are widely suspected of making the cut include "Cowboy Casanova," "Faith, Hope, Love," "Lord Help Me" and "Oklahoma Wind." Her lead-off single for the forthcoming album is expected to be released sometime later this month.
Free downloads: Brooke White's "Follow Me," Michael Johns' "Heart On My Sleeve"
Following in the footsteps of Phil Stacey, two other Idol alums are featuring singles of theirs as free downloads available on Amazon MP3. Brooke White's song "Follow Me" from her debut album Songs From the Attic and Michael Johns' current single "Heart On My Sleeve" off his new album Hold Back My Heart are now available to download on the digital music retailer.
There is little doubt that the fact that the songs are free is for the purpose of generating interest in the two seventh season finalists' albums, as Brooke just released her sophomore effort High Hopes & Heartbreak a few weeks ago. So far, things seem to be working, as "Follow Me" is currently #3 on Amazon's Top Free Songs chart and "Heart On My Sleeve" is listening to the former's title, as it is right behind at #4. Back when Phil's single "You're Not Shaken" was available to download free of charge, it managed to get to #2 on Amazon's Top Overall Songs chart.
Regardless of whether or not these freebies result in higher album sales, they should bot be passed up by Idol fans at any cost (unless, of course, you already own the albums these songs appear on).
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.
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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