'Idol' odds 'n ends: Season 10 auditions adds last-minute Los Angeles stop

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

>TMZ is reporting that Jennifer Lopez is back in the good graces of Simon Fuller and co., as she will most likely sign a deal next week that will permanently put her in the seat once held by Simon Cowell/Ellen DeGeneres.

Sources connected to the negotiations tell TMZ ... contrary to some news reports ... there has been no drama and no diva demands. As one source puts it, "It's been typical negotiating."

Well, I guess TMZ has been at the forefront with all the replacement judge drama, so this bit of info is probably as reliable as anything else out there. As to whether or not J. Lo is "the key to re-energizing the show," that is certainly still up to debate.

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>The nominations list for the 44th annual CMA Awards was revealed on Tuesday, and one Idol alum was able to score some nods as usual. Carrie Underwood is up for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Play On. Although Carrie has a pretty good track record at these award shows, it looks to be Miranda Lambert's year, as she received a record nine nominations and looks to take home a lot of awards.

Still, it's good to know Carrie received more nods than Taylor Swift, who is only up for one category - FVotY. The 44th annual CMA Awards will air live on Wed., Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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>Just as the disappointing Season 9 Idols Live! Tour concluded on Tuesday, Season 10's auditions have been extended to later this month when auditions will be held at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Wed., Sept. 22. Per Idol's website:

For the milestone 10th season of American Idol, we just couldn’t stay away from Idol’s hometown, Los Angeles, CA. In fact, this is the show’s sixth time holding hometown auditions in L.A. The goal during hometown auditions is to get a ticket Hollywood, and successful singers in L.A. won’t have to travel very far for the final round of auditions. Katharine McPhee, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, and Andrew Garcia are among the talented Idol stars from the City of Angels. L.A. is where the Idol finalists reside while competing for the prize, and it’s the place many Idol alumni settle to pursue their music career.

It's pretty interesting that the producers think adding a last-minute stop in LA of all places will help ensure we don't get another Season 9, since LA is one of the blandest, most uninteresting places to find talent. But whatever, if they want to attract teens from skipping school for the day, they're certainly free to do so.

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>Katharine McPhee has landed another role, this one in the horror pic Shark Night 3D. Other actors recently added to the cast include Sara Paxton (The Last House on the Left) and Dustin Milligan (Extract). Per DigitalSpy:

The trio will join the recently announced Sinqua Walls, Chris Carmack, Alyssa Diaz and Joel David Moore in the 3D horror movie.

The Final Destination and Snakes On A Plane helmer David R. Ellis is behind the camera for Shark Night, which centres on a group of people who are attacked by sharks while on vacation in the Louisiana Gulf area.

Well, at least it's not Piranha 3D. But Kat, is this really the best you could do? Shark movies never hold a candle to Jaws, and 3D is getting pretty tiring by now. Still, it's good to see she's continuing to get roles.

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>After only a few performances on Broadway in the musical In the Heights, Jordin Sparks injured her hip last Saturday during a show. She was understandably bummed, but like the pro that she is, she turned to Twitter to apologize to her fans and offer them a token of appreciation for coming out to see her:

"Thank you so much to everyone who came tonight. Sorry I couldn't sign. :( It's hard to stand/walk. Hopefully the physical therapist can fix me! :)

"If you'd like, you can send your playbills/tkts/pics w/ a stamped return envelope to the theatre & I'll get them back to you. Thank you for understanding. It means the world. Love you guys. <3"

Jordin is now back in tip-top shape and said she is "so attached to the cast & show already!"

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: Steven Tyler preps for 'Idol' judgeship by falling off stage

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

>Steven Tyler is all but confirmed to be a judge for Idol's 10th season, but he doesn't seem to be slowing down to save his energy for coming up with critiques, as evidenced by his multiple falls while performing onstage, including the most recent episode at a show in Toronto. Per Zap2It:

After quickly rebounding from his accidental stage dive, Tyler sprung up and yelled to the crowd, "It ain't gonna happen again!"

Let's hope not. The lights and video floor on the "American Idol" can be awfully disorienting.

That's actually really good advice, especially since if the lights don't disorient him, they'll probably at least melt his face clear off. Then who would replace the replacement?


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>Jordin Sparks has been busy this week in New York City gearing up for her big premiere in the Broadway musical In The Heights. As per usual, making appearances on the talk show circuit were included on her itinerary, including Live with Regis & Kelly, on which she performed the song "Breathe" yesterday. Watch the performance below:




Jordin's Broadway debut came last night, which marks the kickoff of a 12-week run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. For schedules and ticket information for In The Heights, visit InTheHeightsMusical.com.


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>After much delay, Kris Allen's music video for second single "The Truth" premiered on VH1 on Tuesday. Watch the video below:




The video was directed by Marco Puig, who was at the helm of Kris's video for "Live Like We're Dying," and featured model Cindy Vela and Train lead singer Pat Monahan. Was the video worth the wait? Not in my opinion, unfortunately.


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>David Archuleta posted another vlog on his official YouTube channel on Tuesday in which he informed fans that work on his forthcoming album The Other Side of Down is almost complete. Watch the vlog below (if you can tolerate the annoying buzzing sound):




As expected, Arch confirmed the album has been pushed back until Tues., Oct. 5. He said he's excited to start performing live again soon and hopes he can hit the high notes in "Something 'Bout Love." The Other Side of Down is available to pre-order at Amazon.com.


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>Kellie Pickler is reportedly busy putting her own signature touch on her wedding plans, as she's looking for ways to incorporate her love of animals into the ceremony. According to a piece by Wendy Geller of Yahoo! Music:

And, we're not just talking about having a dog dressed up in a mini-tuxedo, as Underwood did at her wedding. Pickler is talking about having her reptile buddies in the mix. "I'm thinking of having the python be the ringbearer," she told PEOPLE this week.

I wonder if she'll think about asking calamari to be the flower girls? The piece goes on to say there will be no first dance with husband-to-be Kyle Jacobs because he is "'a disaster' on the dance floor." That's a little out of the ordinary, especially since Kellie is definitely the dancin' kind.

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'Idol' odds 'n ends: total of 26,000 turn out for Milwaukee, Nashville auditions

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

>The Season 10 auditions kicked off in Nashville on Thurs., July 15, where about 10,000 hopefuls stood in line on the first day (16,000 in all performed in front of producers). This week, auditions journeyed to Milwaukee, where another 10,000 turned out for a shot at becoming the next Lee DeWyze. Per a post by EW's Michael Slezak:

“The numbers of people turning up to the American Idol auditions in Nashville and Milwaukee have been incredible,” said show creator Simon Fuller, in a release. “These attendance figures are significantly up on the last few years, and there is clearly renewed excitement and interest in the show, which is great to see.”

Ryan Seacrest took us on a behind the scenes tour of the Bradley Center to see what things are like, well, behind the scenes. Watch the piece below:



Auditions will next hit New Orleans, La., on Monday. If you're interested in giving Season 10 a shot (and at this point, you might as well throw your hat in the ring!) be sure to check out AmericanIdol.com/Auditions.

>As you've probably heard by now, Chris Isaak is the latest replacement for Simon Cowell being floated around. The rumor du jour comes on the heels of a Reuters and Hollywood Reporter piece claiming Isaak met with FOX twice in recent weeks for consideration of taking over for Simon. Per the piece:

While Fox insists no decision is imminent, the clock is ticking to replace Cowell as preliminary auditions get under way for the talent show's 10th season. Peter Rice, the network's new entertainment chairman, has said he expects the new "Idol" judge to join the audition roadshow by early September.

Other potential replacements that keep coming up in the media include Harry Connick, Jr., Bret Michaels and now...apparently...Donald Trump (huh!?). If Team FOX care about sparing fans from hearing about all this speculation, they'll hurry up and name a replacement fast.

>Lee DeWyze took time to speak with AmericanIdol.com about how the tour has been going with his fellow Season 9 Top 10 finalists. Lee covered a limited range of topics dealing with the tour and offered up a limited range of answers questions posed by both fans and AI.com. One of Lee's more interesting responses:

As the American Idol, Lee is the headliner of the Season 9 tour. Since he’s the last person to perform at each show, what does he do to pass the time while he’s waiting for his set? “I’m still trying to figure it out,” Lee remarked. “I have time to listen to a full album, so I’ll pick one and listen to it. I just try and chill, because if I just sit around and wait, I’ll get tired. During Casey’s and Crystal’s sets, I’ll go watch them and listen to the crowd and get pumped up.”

Lee said he's aiming for a "folk-rock" sound on his forthcoming album and he's been writing "everything so far." Lee, who apparently has been writing since he was 16 years old, said he's anticipating his hometown stop of Chicago because all his family and friends will be there. Read the full interview at AmericanIdol.com.

>Kellie Pickler had to break some bad news to the organizers of the St. Joseph County Grange Fair in Centerville, Mich., as she backed out of her scheduled show to close out the fair on Sept. 25 due to an extension of Rascal Flatts' tour, on which she is an opening act. This news came in conjunction with fellow country artist Chris Young's withdrawal as an opening act scheduled to perform at the fair on another day. Per an article from SturgisJournal.com:

“Next year we wouldn’t be able to touch Kelly Pickler or Chris Young … they’ll be priced way out of our league,” Johnson said. “If they honor the rate we were giving (for the September shows), it’d be a bargain.”

Ironically, Johnson noted, Rascal Flatts was an opening act at the fair several years ago.
Johnson did not indicate what the fair was to pay Pickler, saying only that it was a five-figure amount. Through Wednesday, about 950 tickets to Pickler’s show had been sold. Ticket prices ranged between $25 and $35 each.

All in all, not a good situation for the organizers of the fair.

>Jordin Sparks sat down with Oliver Trevena of YoungHollywood.com this week to chat about her Battlefield tour and other things on her mind. Watch the segment below:



Jordin recounted a memorable moment on the tour where a pregnant woman was waiting by her bus and she said "the baby's coming," Jordin was asked to sign her shirt and was freaking out because the baby needed to be delivered. She said she had never encountered that before (not many have, Jordin).

She also talked about her upcoming 3-month stint on Broadway in In the Heights, which kicks off on Thurs. Aug. 19.

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