'Idol' odds 'n ends: Cook & Arch are swine flu-less in Manila

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

>David Cook and David Archuleta are taking the stage together, only this time there's a little less competition. The seventh season's winner and runner-up are over in Manila, Philippines, where they will perform in concert together at the Mall of Asia concert grounds on Sat., May 16. The two passed clearance in their H1N1 tests, so all things are a go.

>Another Season 7 finalist, Brooke White, was in the news this week when a press release was issued regarding her upcoming album release, High Hopes & Heartbreak. The album was originally set for a June 2 drop date but has since been delayed until July 21. It will be released on the newly formed June Baby Records and will be produced by Randy Jackson.

>Blake Lewis was on FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra Wednesday night, where he sat down with co-hosts Jillian Reynolds and Ace Young for a few words before performing Rihanna's "Disturbia."

Looks like Blake's into auto-tuning and relying heavily on backing tracks for his live performances. His upcoming album will be out Oct. 6 and will feature the single "Sad Song."

>With "I Told You So" reaching the pinnacle spot atop the Mediabase country airplay chart this week, Carrie Underwood has become the first country artist to have her first 10 singles hit #1 on a key sales or airplay chart, including Billboard's Hot Country Songs and the Radio & Records country airplay chart among others.

>Clay Aiken made an appearance on last night's 30 Rock finale on NBC on which he played the cousin of regular Kenneth the Page. Watch a clip featuring Clay below:



Other celebrities that appeared on the star-studded finale include Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello.

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Ace Young to host 'American Idol Extra'

Season 5's Ace Young was announced as the new host of FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra. Joining him with hosting duties will be Good Morning LA co-host and FOX NFL Sunday weather girl Jillian Reynolds.

Now in its fourth season, AI Extra will premiere on Thurs., March 26. There is no word on why Ace replaced former host J.D. Roberto, but many would consider this a upgrade.

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Gina Glocksen gets married

Who needs a ball drop when you can have wedding bells on New Year's Eve? Here's the photo of newly married Gina Glocksen with two of her bridesmaids, Jordin Sparks and Haley Scarnato, courtesy of SunTimes.com.

According to an article that appeared on the Web site, Gina and her new husband, Joe Ruzicka, exchanged vows to a standing room only crowd before the bridal party walked down the aisle to Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," followed by Gina's escort by her parents to U2's "With or Without You."

No word yet on whether Chris Richardson or LaKisha Jones were able to attend the reception. The article states that Gina attends to return to Hollywood to serve as correspondent for another season of FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra.

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Keeping up with Haley Scarnato

Since placing eighth on Season 6 and wrapping up the Idols Live! tour last September, Haley Scarnato has had a whirlwind series of events take place. After the tour, she broke up with her fiancé, Bobby Krudwig, whom she was set to wed in January of this year. Haley then moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music, but left the city in March after her house as broken into multiple times and some of her belongings were stolen.

When Haley returned to American Idol Extra in March, she faced tough questions from host JD Roberto, who asked her about a possible relationship with runner-up Blake Lewis, to which she said "next question!" after appearing flustered. She performed the Roy Orbison classic "Crying" on the show.

Haley has sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at many events, including the third game of the western conference semifinals between her hometown San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns, the 2008 NHL Final Four and at Sea World's 20th Anniversary in San Antonio, Tex.

Haley's new single, "Girls Night Out," was posted for sale on her official Web site, along with a studio version of "Crying." A clip of "Girls" has been posted on Haley's official music MySpace. She is signed with T.H.E. Records and expects her debut album, tentatively titled StrongHeart, to be out sometime this year.

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Keeping up with Constantine Maroulis

The greasy-haired Greek rock star may have only finished sixth on the fourth season of American Idol, but Constantine Maroulis has opted to take (almost) everything that has come his way, rather than sit on his hands and do nothing.

Although things did not necessarily work out for Constantine as frontman of the indie rock group Pray for the Soul of Betty, the 32-year-old did find a solo career and put out his debut album, Constantine, on Aug. 7, 2007. To date, it has only sold roughly 25,000 copies.

Earlier in 2007, Constantine appeared on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, which was his first crack at acting on television. He had previously starred on Broadway in The Wedding Singer for an eight-week run in Sept. 2006 and Off-Broadway in a six-week run in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in Jan. 2007.

Constantine is currently a co-host of FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra alongside Season 6 ninth-place finalist Gina Glocksen and JD Roberto.

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Ruben and Haley on AI Extra

Ruben Studdard and Haley Scarnato appeared on FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra on Thursday. Ruben performed his winning single "Flying Without Wings," while Haley performed the Roy Orbison classic "Crying."

In his interview, Ruben told host JD Roberto that he wished he could have performed with Rickey Minor and the band while he was on the show, but other than that it had not changed much since Season 2. Rube also said he would be joining the cast of "Ain't Misbehavin'" for its 30th anniversary tour this summer.

Haley's interview was a little less comfortable, as she was asked if the rumor that she and Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis "hooked up" on New Year's Eve was true (she never did answer the question). She also said she's been in the studio recording her debut album and she wishes she could still be on tour.

Below is Haley's interview and performance.

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Melinda Doolittle performs on AI Extra

Season 6 third-place finalist Melinda Doolittle returned to FOX Reality Channel's American Idol Extra last Thursday night to perform her new single "My Funny Valentine." You can watch the performance below.



You can now download "My Funny Valentine" on iTunes.

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