'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.

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Lee DeWyze doesn't know the U.S. borders Niagra Falls

In their last TV appearance before this week's two-night finale, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze appeared on Idol judge Ellen's talk show this morning to play a round of "Know or Go," which involves two audience members standing on platforms with trap doors that open if two guests incorrectly answer trivia questions.

This segment was almost as boring as the season itself until Lee was asked which country Niagra Falls borders besides Canada. What happened after that is below:

Alright, so there's pretty much no excuse for that. True, the question could have been phrased better, but whether or not Lee was nervous is beside the point, since he's had all season to ditch his nerves. The fact that he doesn't have a quality mental image of the North American continent is a little sad. For that reason alone, Lee shouldn't win on Wednesday. Harsh, but warranted.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Simon Cowell opens up to Oprah before leaving 'Idol'

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

>Simon Cowell's big sit-down on Oprah's couch (out of studio, far away from a studio audience) aired on her eponymous show yesterday, and he didn't hold back on any topic, addressing things ranging from his brushes with depression to "horrific mistakes" that led to him living out of his car when he was younger. Watch a clip below courtesy of The Insider:

Simon said he thinks this season has been too much about the judges, but what does he expect when a) the contestants are horrible and b) it's his last season. The judges are the most interesting part of this season.

>Casey James talked with the press today following his ouster Wednesday night. Casey was asked about "losing his shirt" during his audition in Denver and whether or not he would have done it again if he had the chance to go back to that point. Casey said:

"There's a possibility (that) had I not done that I might not have made it past that first round. It definitely wasn't something that I thought of, or even realized was going to happen. (But) it obviously worked out," he added.

Casey also appeared on Ellen this morning to talk about his time on the show. Watch a clip of his segment below:



Ellen was sure to say she thought he was a "great singer" and Casey mentioned how he hadn't seen Idol before he was on it because he didn't own a TV (something we all already knew), but he added that he finally bought one as well as a PS3. Good choice, Casey.

>Forbes.com released a list of the Top 10 earning Idol alums for the May 2009-April 2010 year, and it is less than spectacular. Even though the top earners are still raking in millions, the totals are far less than they were just years ago. Below is an abbreviated list of the Top 10 earners:

01) Kelly Clarkson ($8 million)
02) Carrie Underwood ($7 million)
03) Chris Daughtry ($5.4 million)
04) Kellie Pickler ($4.3 million)
05) David Cook ($2.3 million)
06) Jennifer Hudson ($2 million)
07) Jordin Sparks ($1.8 million)
08) David Archuleta ($1.4 million)
09) Clay Aiken ($800,000)
10) Kris Allen ($672,000)

When last season's winner is making less money in a year than a runner-up from seven seasons ago, that tells you something about the trajectory of this show and its contestants.

>Tomorrow's big KISS Concert sponsored by the Boston Top 40 radio station KISS 108 FM will feature three Idol alums, as it was announced yesterday that Ayla Brown will join a roster of 17 other acts including Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Per a press release:

Brown, who will graduate from Boston College on Monday and is now a special contributor for CBS’ The Early Show, joins an impressive lineup of 17 fellow artists and bands including Ke$ha, Jason Derulo and Kevin Rudolf. Fellow American Idol alums Kris Allen and Adam Lambert are also scheduled to perform.

Upon receiving word that she was invited to take part in KISS Concert, Brown said she was ecstatic.

"I’m so excited that KISS asked me to perform at KISS Concert because they always put on a first-rate show," Brown said. "Just to share the stage with some of the biggest names in music is a great honor.”

Ayla will perform at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass., at 2:15 p.m, while Kris will take the stage at 8 p.m. and Kris will close out the show at 9 p.m. A live webcast of the concert will be available at KISS108.com beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

>Bo Bice was out promoting his brand new album 3 this week, which included a stop at FOX & Friends on FOX News Channel. Watch him perform "You Take Yourself With You" below:





Bo explained the significance of the album's title, including the fact that he and his wife have three kids and this is his third studio album since finishing as runner-up on Season 4. The album is available in stores nationwide and at digital retailers including iTunes and Amazon.com

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IDOL LIVE predix: Jason Castro's 'Jason Castro'

Jason Castro becomes the latest Idol alum to release an album with his name attached to it, as the self-titled disc hits stores and digital retailers nationwide tomorrow.

Jason Castro, which comes to us courtesy of Atlantic Records (the first album from an alum to sign with the label), features songs crafted by Marc Roberge of O.A.R., Gregg Wattenberg (Five For Fighting), Zac Maloy (David Cook), Espionage (Train) and of course Jason himself. There are covers of classics that Jason has undertaken in the past, including "Hallelujah" and "Over the Rainbow," as well as brand new tracks like "Let's Just Fall In Love Again," "This Heart of Mine" and "If I Were You."

On the promo side of things, Jason will benefit from his mostly small scale tour, which begins Sat., April 17 at The Loft in Dallas, Tex. He has also been getting some press, mostly in the form of album reviews by People magazine and Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly. But his next big television appearance won't be until April 22, when he performs on Ellen, so first week sales will not be helped out on that front.

There are also a few underground promo campaigns going on, like the photo competition being held on IBeatYou.com in support of Jason's latest single, "That's What I'm Here For." But these kinds of promotional efforts are not really dependable for moving CD units.

As a result of the above reasoning, I see Jason Castro fit for an opening of around 13k copies, which would be a pretty good feat for a debut entry with little promo. This would be above where fellow Season 7 alums Brooke White (High Hopes and Heartbreak, 10k) and Michael Johns (Hold Back My Heart, 7k) saw their post-Idol releases open at.

Jason Castro is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com
.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Simon Cowell shares laughs and love on Leno's 'Tonight Show'

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

>Simon Cowell stopped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Monday night to talk Idol, X Factor and life in general. Not surprisingly, the topic of Simon's recent engagement to makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy came up, which prompted her to join her fiance on the couch. Watch the segment below:

Leno continued to badger Simon for the duration of the interview, asking when the wedding would be and whether he'd get married in the states or over in England. Simon also mentioned that he likes Crystal Bowersox (she was the only finalist he mentioned by name).

>Kimberly Caldwell has been out and about promoting her new album Without Regret, and on Tuesday she appeared on Ellen, the latest Idol judge's talk show. Watch her perform her new single "Mess of You" below:



Without Regret is scheduled to be out April 6 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com, while "Mess of You" is now available to download on iTunes.

>ABC's special The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding aired Monday night, featuring Jason Castro and his ukulele. He served as musical guest at the outdoor wedding ceremony in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Watch him perform "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" below:



Jason also performed his own song "That's What I'm Here For," which can be downloaded at iTunes as of today. The special averaged 9.27 million viewers, which is a mere fraction of the audience Jason was exposed to while he was on Idol.

>Jordin Sparks announced she will be lending her voice and vocals to the Nick Jr. program Team UmiZoomi for an upcoming episode. Jordin tweeted:

TheRealJordin In the studio recording a voice-over & song for Nick Jr. TEAM UMIZOOMI!
3 minutes ago via TwitBird iPhone

This news comes as Jordin continues to tweet about her songwriting sessions, as she was in the studio writing for and with DEZ Armstead among other artists.

>Kelly Clarkson has been busy overseas on the European leg of her tour in support of her album All I Ever Wanted, and concert goers at her show in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday got a bit more excitement than they were expecting when Kelly disappeared for a few minutes mid-performance. Watch a video recap below:



After performing "How I Feel" Kelly explained that for the first time in eight years she just "couldn't hold it." TMI, Kelly. TMI.

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Kellie Pickler Mardi Gras it up on 'Ellen'

As we all know, Ellen DeGeneres is pulling double duty this season as she has retained her daytime talk show in addition to serving as judge on the ninth season of Idol, and sometimes her two TV roles mix. Take yesterday's appearance by Kellie Pickler on the Mardi Gras edition of Ellen, where the country singer had a ball talking about her goings on. Watch the segment below:

A few gems Kellie offered up during this appearance:

"First time I ever had a hurricane too, have you ever had one of those? Your butt will be hugging the toilet."

"I got pulled over...I didn't have my license again..."

"I can't stand when people drive the speed limit."

"If your driver's license ever falls down in the drier you need to reach it with a wire coat hanger, not a plastic one because it will break...and use bubble gum..."

Kellie also joked about wanting to be the next Bachelorette. My guess is ABC would love for her to portray that role.

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Adam Lambert talks about AMA performance, performs on 'Ellen'

Adam Lambert appeared on Ellen this morning to promote his new album For Your Entertainment. When he took to her signature couch, Adam said of his American Music Awards performance that in hindsight "maybe that wasn't the best first...second impression to make" but he held firm that he and his band had fun.

Host Ellen DeGeneres said she thinks if someone is going to be offended by sexuality, he or she should be offended by all forms of sexuality. Watch the interview below:

Adam definitely seemed more hesitant about the performance, saying a mix of "maybe I went too far" and "maybe it wasn't the right judgment call" a few times throughout the five-and-a-half-minute interview. He then went on to perform "Whataya Want From Me."

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Kris Allen performs "Live Like We're Dying" on 'Ellen'

Kris Allen's appearance on Ellen that was taped last Friday aired this morning. On the show, Kris sat down with host and new Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres before performing his single "Live Like We're Dying." Watch the performance below:

In the interview, Kris spoke of his Christmas shows (Jingle Balls) promoting the album, and he said he and Adam Lambert are still pretty good friends. He also said his wife Katey will be on the road with him for a few shows in his tour, and Ellen joked that Kris doesn't look much older than eight years old after Kris said he and Katey had been together for eight years.

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Kris Allen performs "Live Like We're Dying" on 'Regis & Kelly'

Live with Regis and Kelly was the latest stop for Kris Allen in his press tour promoting his debut album, as he appeared on the talk show this morning where he performed his single "Live Like We're Dying." Watch the performance below:

Kris will next tape a performance for an upcoming episode of Ellen tomorrow and then make an appearance on VH1's Top 20 Countdown on Saturday.

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Carrie Underwood performs "Cowboy Casanova" on 'Ellen'

Two days after performing live on The Tonight Show, Carrie Underwood sat down with Ellen DeGeneres in an episode that aired today on her syndicated talk show Ellen to promote her current album Play On. Watch the interview below:

In the interview, Carrie talked about her boyfriend Mike Fisher and said they get to see each other more often than people think. She also deflected questions of marriage, children and Ellen's usual humor-filled questions. This included a series of questions directed at who the "cowboy" in "Cowboy Casanova" is supposed to be, which Carrie successfully got out of unscathed.

Carrie also performed "Casanova" on the show.

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Carrie Underwood performs "Temporary Home" on 'Tonight Show'

Carrie Underwood took a break from her "Cowboy Casanova" when she visited NBC's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien this evening, instead opting to perform the critically-acclaimed ballad "Temporary Home." Watch the performance below:

So what are the chances "Temporary Home" will be single No. 2? It seems highly likely at this point, and it would make sense for "Cowboy Casanova" to be worked at Hot AC radio ASAP, so maybe that's Arista Nashville's plan. Or maybe not...

Following the performance, Carrie sat on O'Brien's couch to chat with the host about her hosting duties at the CMA Awards last week, where she joked "it's not like hosting's hard or anything," which got a laugh out of O'Brien. She also said if Kanye West contacts her about her and Brad Paisley's joke songs about him at the CMAs she'll "blame it on Brad."

Carrie also promoted her two-hour Christmas special on FOX, which premieres Mon., Dec. 7. She will next visit Ellen on Wednesday where she will perform "Cowboy Casanova."

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Kris performs "No Boundaries" on 'Regis & Kelly' and 'Ellen'

Kris made the talk show circuit rounds this morning following the Memorial Day weekend, as his episode of Ellen aired today and he stopped by Live with Regis & Kelly to chat with co-hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa and perform "No Boundaries" on the show. Watch the interview below:

Kris talked about what he did before finding stardom on Idol and his charitable contributions in traveling to Thailand and Indonesia to provide humanitarian aid.

As for his time with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, Kris talked about how he's been playing guitar since he was 13 and when asked what he was going to buy his wife Katy since he won, he said "probably a vacation." Watch Kris perform "No Boundaries" on Ellen below:



The performance was added online last week but aired today on the show's broadcast.

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Jennifer performs "If This Isn't Love" on 'Ellen'

Jennifer Hudson finally made her much-ballyhooed appearance on Ellen today to perform her current single "If This Isn't Love." Watch the performance (and try not to be distracted by her bright orange top) below:

The performance lived up to the hype, so the performance she is taping after tonight's results show will have to surpass it because a few million more people will be seeing that than this one.

Jennifer also sat down with Ellen to chat about random things, received a bike from Ellen as an engagement gift and took part in Ellen's "singing in the bathroom" segment where the two of them sang "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)." All in a day's work for J-Hud.

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Ryan, Randy, Simon and Kara hit the talk show circuit

Between last night's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and today's Ellen, there was a lot of Idol judging going on. Ryan, Randy and Simon sat down with Leno on his program, which aired last night on NBC to chat about the current season and how metrosexual they all are. Watch a recap of the odd segment via E! News Now below:

Later on in the day, Kara DioGuardi appeared on Ellen to discuss what else but Idol. In the segment she did her best to defend her "weird" comments about Adam in the face of Ellen's persisting love for him. Watch a snippet of the segment below:



Ellen seems to be on an Idol roll, as Jennifer Hudson will perform her current single "If This Isn't Love" on tomorrow's episode.

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Alexis performs on 'Ellen'

Alexis Grace continued her post-Idol press tour today when she paid Ellen Degeneres a visit on her syndicated daytime talk show program Ellen. On the show, Alexis sat down with Ellen to discuss what might have gone wrong last week that was responsible for ending her journey.

Alexis said she is happier with her post-Idol look than the one she had when she auditioned, and even cracked a few jokes about her "dirtying up" task as handed down to her by the judges. She also performed "Never Loved a Man" for the studio audience, which will be posted here as soon as it is uploaded.

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Jasmine, Jorge perform on 'Ellen'

Following their ousters last Wednesday on Idol, 13th- and 12th-place finalists Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez, respectively, yesterday made post-Idol appearances on Ellen. Watch their interview with host Ellend Degeneres and their performances below:

As she did last season, Ellen will be having each eliminated finalist on her show the week following his or her elinination to chat and perform.

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Melinda Doolittle performs "It's Your Love" on 'Ellen'

Melinda Doolittle finally made an appearance on national television to promote her debut album, Coming Back to You, as she performed the album's first single, "It's Your Love," on an episode of Ellen that aired today. Watch the performance below:

Melinda will next appear at the grand opening of Disney's "American Idol: The Experience" with nearly 30 of her Idol friends tomorrow, at which she will take part in a motorcade that will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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Randy Jackson appears on 'Ellen'

Randy Jackson appeared on Ellen this morning to chat about tonight's season premiere. He and host Ellen Degeneres talked about Simon and his love life and decided to play matchmaker. Watch the clip below:

Possible women for Simon to hook up with included Joan Rivers and Barbara Walters. Simon would be extremely pleased.

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Cook on 'Ellen'

The episode that was taped last week featuring David Cook on Ellen aired this morning. In his sit-down with Ellen, Cook chatted about his current activities and was treated to the now viral video of David Archuleta fangirls going into self-destruct mode following the announcement that Cook had won Idol. He then performed "Light On." Watch the performance below:



Following his performance, Cook was given the opportunity to dunk Dr. Drew Pinsky of Celebrity Rehab in a Sara Lee dunk tank. Although he didn't have the greatest aim, he was able to walk up to the target and press it, sending Dr. Drew into a world of wet. All in a day's work for Cook.

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Cook on 'Regis & Kelly,' 'Ellen'

David Cook made the rounds this morning as he kicked off a week-long talk show blitz in which he was to address his fans since being crowned the American Idol less than a week ago.

After taping a two-night special with the rest of the Top 10 on CNN's Larry King Live that aired Friday and Monday night, Cook was interviewed on Live with Regis & Kelly and performed "The Time of His Life."

In the interview, Cook was asked the usual barrage of questions regarding his bartending skills (he said he does not even know how to make many drinks because his bar was more relaxed), and his new blossoming romance with Season 2 seventh-place finalist Kimberly Caldwell.

Video of the performance can be viewed below:



Following his appearance on Regis, Cook proceeded to tape an episode of Ellen, where he was also interviewed and performed "The World I Know." The interview and performance can be viewed below:

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