'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.

>Allison Iraheta's latest single was unveiled earlier this week. Her third release will be a revamped version of "Don't Waste the Pretty" featuring Orianthi, who Allison will be touring with this summer. According to Michael Slezak at EW.com:

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.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Kara DioGuardi poses nude for 'Allure'

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

>Kara DioGuardi was one of five female celebrities to pose nude for the latest issue of Allure magazine. The photo, which can be seen to the right, shows a side of Kara none of us have seen before. Of the shoot, Kara said:

"This shoot was less about beauty than about taking a risk and showing people a side of me they never have seen," says the American Idol judge. She was proud to have the confidence to strip down for the camera after struggling with binge eating and depression in her early 20s. "Back then I was a size 6 or 8; now I'm more like a size 2. Food is not what I use to anesthetize myself anymore." She didn't diet or work out like a maniac in preparation, but she did make one change: cutting way back on salt. "I can really retain water," she says.

Others to take part in the shoot, which was titled "THE NAKED TRUTH: 5 CELEBRITIES BARE IT ALL FOR ALLURE," include singer Colbie Caillat and actress Regina Hall.

>Katharine McPhee has been busy filming her new NBC pilot The Pink House, and there have been a few moles that have gone to tapings to report back. Below is a very low quality video capture of a scene featuring Kat:



According to reports, Kat and her fellow female co-star Ashley Madekwe are not the main focus of the show, but are still integral to the plot. Instead, the two guys who move from Mineapolis to California, played by Michael Cassidy and Zach Cregger, are the main focus.

>Kris Allen performed a set at the Zone Lounge in Sacramento, Calif, on Tuesday, where he had nothing but positive things to say to his fans, especially about Walmart and Chris Daughtry. Watch him talk about the two former topics and perform his original "Send Me All Your Angels" below:



Kris talked about how there are "three Walmarts in every town" in Arkansas and how Daughtry teased him when he visited the Season 8 Idol contestants during rock week. Daughtry helped Kris co-write "Angels," which is why his name came up during the pre-performance banter.

>Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young chatted with BroadwayWorld.com about their experiences in the Broadway music Hair thus far alongside fellow castmember Kyle Riabko. Watch the interview below:



Diana, Ace and the rest of the new tribe can be seen at the Al Hirschfeld Theater at the following times: Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday @ 2pm & 8pm, Thursday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm.

>Ayla Brown, who joined the team over at CBS's The Early Show last week as a special contributor, appeared yesterday to do a piece on a six-year-old cancer patient named Hannah Lowe, and a song Ayla wrote and recorded for her through the Songs of Love Foundation. Watch the piece below:



The song, appropriately titled "Hannah's Song," is now available to download for a small $5 donation. Funds raised through the organization will go toward putting smiles on the faces of children like Hannah, so go ahead and donate for a good cause!

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Carrie Underwood receives six ACM Award nominations

Carrie Underwood is already having a great week, and it's only Tuesday. The nominees for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced this morning on CBS's The Early Show, which revealed that Carrie nabbed six noms in all, tying Miranda Lambert and just one shy of Lady Antebellum. An interesting tidbit is that Carrie is the only Idol-related artist to be nominated for any awards.

This comes one day after Carrie made her guest appearance on the "Hook" episode of CBS's sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Below are the categories that Carrie has a chance to be victorious in (keep in mind - the "sixth" nomination is Carrie's role as a producer on "Cowboy Casanova" in addition to being the song's artist):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company(s)]
American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley (Arista Nashville)
Produced by: Chris DuBois, Frank Rogers
Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum (Capitol Records Nashville)
Produced by: Victoria Shaw, Paul Worley
Play On - Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville)
Produced by: Mark Bright
"Quitter" Produced by Max Martin & Shellback for Maratone Productions and Mark Bright
Revolution - Miranda Lambert (Columbia Nashville)
Produced by: Frank Liddell, Mike Wrucke
The Foundation - Zac Brown Band (Southern Ground / Bigger Picture / Atlantic)
Produced by: Keith Stegall, Zac Brown

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood
Composers: Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood
Publishers: Brett James Cornelius Music (ASCAP), Carrie Okie Music (BMI), Rincon Ave Music
(ASCAP), Stage Three Songs (ASCAP)
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Composers: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott
Publishers: EMI Foray Music (BMI), Darth Buddha (ASCAP), Dwhaywood Music (BMI), Hillary Dawn Publishing (SESAC), Radiobullets Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Year Of The Dog Music (ASCAP)
People Are Crazy - Billy Currington
Composers: Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones
Publishers: Crozier Music Enterprises LLC (BMI), Mighty Nice Music (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
White Liar - Miranda Lambert
Composers: Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
Publishers: Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Tiltawhirl Music (BMI)
You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
Composers: Liz Rose, Taylor Swift
Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Taylor Swift Music (BMI)

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company] (Off Camera Award)
Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins (Reprise Records / Warner Music Nashville)
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Honky Tonk Stomp - Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons (Arista Nashville)
Producer: Ronnie Dunn, Terry McBride
I Told You So - Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis (19/Arista Nashville)
Producer: Mark Bright
I'm Alive - Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews (Blue Chair/BNA)
Produced by: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
Seeing Stars - Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin (Big Machine Records)
Produced by: Jack Ingram, Jeremy Stover

Las Vegas' MGM Grand will be the setting for the ACMs, which will be televised live on CBS on Sun., April 18 at 8 p.m.

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More Katharine McPhee appearances during album's release week

Katharine McPhee made multiple appearances this past week in support of her sophomore album Unbroken, which was released this past Tuesday. Kat stopped by FOX News Channel's On the Record with Greta van Susteren for a 10-minute chat on Thursday, which can be viewed below:

In addition to the usual chatter about her music and hairstyle, Kat was able to discuss her involvement in the "McPhee Outreach" program that has enabled her to fund a pre-school for about 90 kids in the African nation of Burkina-Faso.

Yesterday, Kat performed "Had It All" and "Keep Drivin" on CBS' Saturday Early Show during the show's "Second Cup Cafe" segment. She chatted with co-host Erica Hill about her songwriting and what it was like for her to take time off from recording between her first and second albums. Watch the performance of "Had It All" and a short interview below:


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Kat also made a few small appearances, including a few performances on New York's CW affiliate WPIX, where she also performed "Had It All" and "Keep Drivin."

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'GMA' cancels Adam Lambert's concert set for tomorrow

Well, looks like the first casualty of Adam Lambert's controversial performance at the 2009 American Music Awards is the second-biggest promotional venue during his album release week. Good Morning America has officially canceled Adam's concert at the Hudson Theatre, which was set to air tomorrow on the ABC morning program.

According to a GMA official:

"Given his controversial American Music Awards performance, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning."

This was pretty much guaranteed to happen after ABC, which also broadcast the AMAs, received 1,500 calls from viewers complaining about Adam's performance, and web pages to Adam's concert on ABCNews.com began to disappear last night.

Instead, the third-string broadcast morning program, CBS' Early Show, will have Adam as its musical guest. Maybe this will serve as a a wake-up call for Adam before he sabotages his own career.

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Kris Allen and Adam Lambert perform on 'The Early Show'

Still fresh off the eighth season's finale, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert visited CBS' The Early Show on Thursday to tape performances that were broadcast on yesterday's episode. Watch Kris' interview with co-host Maggie Rodriguez and performance of "No Boundaries" below:

Kris came flat out and stated he would not be taking the country route with his post-Idol album after Rodriguez strangely found time to ask if that was the genre of music he would be pursuing.

Adam got the same treatment as Kris, complete with a mini interview with Rodriguez and a performance set of his own ("Mad World"). Watch his segment below:



Adam laughed about his rocker screech and taught Rodriquez how to do it (with the tongue out to boot) and he said his album will be "glam rock/pop/electro" and "a little bit of everything."

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Keeping up with Chikezie

Chikezie has come a long way since being called "jacuzzi" by Simon on the seventh season of Idol. The 23-year-old fan-turned-fan favorite of the show is currently touring with fellow Idol alums Diana DeGarmo, Kimberley Locke and season mate David Hernandez in Michael Orland's production of "American Stars in Concert for the Holidays," which runs nationwide until Dec. 21.

The four of them appeared on CBS' Saturday edition of The Early Show on Nov. 29, where Chikezie performed a duet with Kimberley of "Last Christmas." He will next appear with them on The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet on Fri., Dec. 12.

Aside from the tour, Chikezie has stated he is working on a solo album that should be due out sometime in 2009. His debut single will be "I Have Dreams."

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Diana & David H. - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Diana DeGarmo, David Hernandez, Kimberley Locke and Chikezie stopped by The Saturday Early Show on CBS yesterday to promote their "American Stars for the Holidays" tour, which launched last night. Watch Diana and David perform "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" below:



To close out the show, Kimberley and Chikezie sang "Last Christmas." The 15-city tour last night kicked off in Milwaukee and wraps up in Waukegan, Ill., on Dec. 21.

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