Lee DeWyze sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals game 2

Lee DeWyze continued the tradition of having the most recent Idol winner do National Anthem duty at an NBA Finals game, as he did so at game 2 of the Boston Celtics / LA Lakers championship series this evening at the Staples Center in LA. Watch him sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as televised on ABC below:

How'd Lee do? Was he in tune? I have my opinions but I'll let you be the judge. Speaking of past National Anthem performances at NBA Finals games, be sure to check out those done by Kris Allen (2009), David Cook (2008), Jordin Sparks (2007), Taylor Hicks (2006), Carrie Underwood (2005) and Kelly Clarkson (2004).

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Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen do anthem honors at NFL playoff games

There was a whole lotta Idol action at the two big NFL playoff games this afternoon, as Jordin Sparks sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts/New York Jets broadcast on CBS. Watch the performance below:

Not to be outdone, another Idol champ, Kris Allen, had anthem duties at the NFC Championship face-off between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, which aired on FOX. Watch his rendition below:



The Colts defeated the Jets 30-17 while the Saints topped the Vikings by a score of 31-28. The two champs will travel to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV on Sun., Feb. 7. Jordin and Kris, however, will not.

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Kris Allen sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals

Following in the footsteps of Idols' past, Kris Allen sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the start of tonight's Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. Watch the performance below:

Kris did alright, especially considering the Anthem really isn't his style and it sounds better on some people than others. He did, however, do a much better job than David Cook did at last year's Game 3 of the NBA Finals. As good a singer as Cook is, that was not one of his shining moments.

Kris and Cook were not the only Idol winners to sing in person at an NBA Finals game, as Taylor Hicks did the honors in 2007 for Game 4 and Jordin Sparks sang the S-SB at Game 1 the same year. Kelly Clarkson sang live from overseas on a USO Tour back in 2006.

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Out today: Melinda Doolittle's 'Coming Back to You'

After many delays, Melinda Doolittle finally unleashes her debut album Coming Back to You. The album, which will be released via Hi Fi Recordings, is a dedication of sorts to the jazz and rhythm-oriented music of the past.

Also finding its way onto iTunes today is Jennifer Hudson's rousing rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Sunday's Super Bowl. Links to purchase the aforementioned can be found below:

Albums
Melinda Doolittle, Coming Back to You

Amazon - ($) - Buy
Amazon MP3 - ($) - Buy
Barnes & Noble - ($9.09) - Buy
Best Buy - ($12.99) - Buy
iTunes - ($9.99) - Buy
Sears - ($7.19) - Buy
Target - ($9.49) - Buy
Walmart - ($9.00) - Buy

Singles
Jennifer Hudson, "The Star-Spangled Banner"

iTunes - ($0.99) - Buy

Melinda recently performed at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., on Sat., Jan. 31. Jennifer will next appear at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sun., Feb. 8 on CBS.

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Jennifer Hudson performs National Anthem at Super Bowl XLIII

If you're one of the seven people that are not watching Super Bowl XLIII right now, you missed Jennifer Hudson's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Fortunately, you can catch it below:

This was Jennifer's first public appearance since her family members were murdered last October. She will next perform (and most likely take home a handful of trophies ) at the 51st Grammy Awards on Sun., Feb. 8 on CBS.

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Ayla Brown sings U.S. & Canadian Anthems at AHL All-Star Classic

Season 5 Top 16 semifinalist Ayla Brown sang both "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" tonight at the 2009 American Hockey League All-Star Classic between the American and Canadian league all-star teams. Watch the performances below:

The game was held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., and broadcast live on NESN in the U.S. and TSN in Canada.

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Michael Johns at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Michael Johns sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Pep Boys NASCAR 500 today at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Below is the performance, which aired live on ABC:



Very good rendition of the National Anthem. It was a little lengthy, but that is just MJ's style.

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Daughtry performs SSB at Cardinals game

Not to be outdone by David Cook, Chris Daughtry sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Arizona Cardinals / Miami Dolphins NFL game on Sunday in front of 63,400 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Although the video below does not show Chris, it is easy to hear his voice soar above the crowd.



Chris has previously sang the Anthem at the 2007 NFC Championship game. The Cardinals won the game 31-10.

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Cook sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals

David Cook sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Although he looked nervous and began the Anthem a bit flat, Cook was able to recover and nail the all-important high notes. Video of the performance can be viewed below:



The Boston Celtics lead the LA Lakers in the series 2-0.

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Cook to sing National Anthem at Game 3 of NBA Finals

David Cook will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tues., June 10, at the Staples Center in LA. The performance will be carried live on ABC at approximately 9 p.m. ET. Cook is the latest Idol winner to sing the Anthem at a high-profile sports event. Relive some of the greatest deliveries of the S-SB by Idol winners below:

> Kelly Clarkson - Cowboys / Buccaneers NFL game (11/23/06)
> Fantasia - 2004 MLB All-Star Game (07/13/04)
> Taylor Hicks - Game 4 of 2007 NBA Finals (06/14/07)
> Jordin Sparks - Super Bowl XLII (02/03/08)
> Carrie Underwood - Game 3 of 2007 World Series (10/27/07)

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Keeping up with Kimberly Caldwell

Kimberly Caldwell's name has become a hot topic over the past two weeks, as the revelation of her budding romance with Season 7 winner David Cook has landed the Season 2 seventh-place finalist's name on front pages across the country.

The 26-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed country singer originally from Katy, Tex., has served as host of the TV Guide Network's Idol Tonight and its sister series, Idol Weekend, both of which go behind the scenes of American Idol.

Between performing at local festivals and her hosting duties, Kimberly has been working on an upcoming album that has been in the works for a couple of years. Three of the songs that will be featured on the album ("Who Will You Run to," "Gave Yourself Away," "Fear of Flying") are now on her MySpace.

Kimberly has also tried her hand at acting, as she starred in 2007's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, a direct-to-DVD release and sequel to 2003's Wrong Turn.

Kimberly will next sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the LA Dodgers' game tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

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Michael Johns sings Anthem at Cubs game

Season 7's eighth-place finalist Michael Johns sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at yesterday's Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game at Wrigley Field to a great amount of applause. Watch video of his performance below:

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