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.

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Mikalah Gordon appears at AT&T Store for 'Idol' ticket giveaway

Mikalah Gordon, who placed 11th on the fourth season of Idol, will today appear at the AT&T Store in North Las Vegas, Nev., where visitors can enter to win a chance to attend a live taping of an episode of American Idol. The store is located at 750 Dorrell Lane and Mikalah will be there from 2-4 p.m.

Mikalah recently hosted a Top 12 special for the current season of Idol for the TV Guide Network with fellow alum Justin Guarini, who was runner-up to Kelly Clarkson on the show's first season. Photos from the special can be viewed here.

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Kelly Clarkson to perform at Samsung Summer Krush in LA

Kelly Clarkson will be headlining the final Samsung Summer Krush concert on Mon., Sept. 14, at the Central Courtyard in Hollywood, Calif. Free tickets are still available to fans by entering at the event's official Web site, where they can submit their e-mail address and cell phone number in exchange for the tickets.

The Summer Krush series, which was kicked off in July with a concert by Daughtry in Seattle, Wash., and over the summer featured artists including T-Pain, The Offspring and Darius Rucker.

ETA: The promo code to get tickets is LA2.

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Kris and Adam address "textgate"; perform on 'Today'

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert shared the stage for the first time since last week's finale, as the two this morning performed at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City for NBC's Today Show. Watch Kris perform "Heartless" below:

On the other hand, Adam performed "Mad World," which is widely considered to be his best vocal performance on the show. Idol's musical director, Michael Orland, accompanied him on piano. Watch the performance below:



The two alums also chatted with Today Show co-host Natalie Morales prior to taking the stage. Adam and Kris each said the opposite deserved to win, and Kris addressed "textgate," the swirling controversy kicked up by The New York Times about the AT&T phone giveaways in Arkansas, by joking about not having to call them up asking for more votes, while Adam said he thinks people need to relax and he wants to move forward with their careers.

Adam also flat out said he would not be joining Queen as the band's frontman, which puts that rumor to rest. Watch the interview below:



Kris also sang an acoustic version of his winning single, "No Boundaries," which seems to be the style of choice to perform the song in while he makes the rounds on the talk show circuit.

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NYT says AT&T gave free phones to Kris' supporters

The New York Times is stirring up trouble with an article that was published today stating AT&T gave away phones free of charge to two Arkansas-based voting parties that were held in honor of the state's favorite son Kris Allen last Tuesday so that the attendees could vote via texts for free. According to the Times:

Representatives of AT&T helped fans of Mr. Allen at the two Arkansas events by providing instructions on how to send 10 or more text messages at the press of a single button, known as power texts. Power texts have an exponentially greater effect on voting than do single text messages or calls to the show’s toll-free phone lines. The efforts appear to run afoul of “American Idol” voting rules in two ways. The show broadcasts an on-screen statement at the end of each episode warning that blocks of votes cast using “technical enhancements” that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out.

This is much ado about nothing and is a sorry attempt at creating controversy out of thin air. In the grand scheme of things, the votes from a few free phones in Arkansas were not going to significantly effect the nearly 100 million votes cast last Tuesday, especially considering the fact that it was a landslide victory in favor of Kris.

The competition is over. Kris and Adam will both go on and have their own careers. So why are people (and the Times of all people) trying to discredit the results? People need to move on.

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Cook's "Come Back to Me" music video premieres

In a coordinated effort to maximize exposure, David Cook's music video for his second single "Come Back to Me" premiered on ATT.com earlier this evening just hours before he launched the song by having a pre-taped performance air on the Idol results show. A 30-second preview of the video was also shown in a commercial break during the results show. Watch the video, which was directed by Gavin Bowden, below:

The video is set in an airport terminal and features a cool filming technique where Cook is shown doing everything backwards while the camera films in reverse, creating a dream-like effect. The video has a cool concept and makes the single's release a little more bearable, as it livens it up a bit.

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Kelly's music video for "My Life Would Suck Without You"

You've probably already seen it, but just in case you haven't, watch Kelly Clarksons music video for "My Life Would Suck Without You" below:

The video premiered on AT&T's Mobility service and on ATT.net for 24 hours. It has also been added to playlists on VH1, Fuse and MTV.

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