The king of Jingle Ball concerts took place last Friday at Madison Square Garden, when New York City's Top 40 radio station Z100 hosted its installment with musical guests including Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and John Mayer. Not surprisingly, a few Idol alums were among those included in the lineup, as Jordin Sparks and Kris Allen performed while Adam Lambert co-hosted the event.
Below are video segments from MSG's "Road to MSG: Z100's Jingle Ball 2009" special that will air tomorrow at 11 p.m. ET on the regional cable network MSG Network. Included are clips from Kris and Adam:
For photos and more features from the Jingle Ball, check out MSG's Jingle Ball Central. Also check out the site for more information on the "Road to MSG" special.
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Tonight marks the biggest Jingle Ball of all, as New York City's Z100 Jingle Ball takes place at Madison Square Garden. Among the list of artists are none other than Kris Allen and Jordin Sparks. Other artists scheduled to perform include Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Boys Like Girls. More content on the Jingle Ball can be found on Madison Square Garden's official site including photos and video from past shows with other Idol alums.
Last night at another Jingle Ball hosted by fellow clear channel station, Boston's Kiss 108, Bieber helped Jordin out on "No Air," as he sang Chris Brown's part of the duet. Watch a bad-quality fan video below:
Jordin will next perform at the Y100 Jingle Ball in Miami tomorrow night, which will be co-hosted by Adam Lambert.
>Speaking of Adam, he was busy this week being named one of Barbara Walters's "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009," an annual TV special that aired on ABC Wednesday night. His segment lasted about two and a half minutes and can be viewed below:
Adam's interview and performance of "Whataya Want From Me" on The View also aired this week in which he said his "Dreidel spins the other way."
>While getting paid an insane amount to perform in the Cove Atlantis resort in the Bahamas last weekend, Carrie Underwood was caught by TMZ's cameras on Monday while she was relaxing on the beach. Watch below:
Carrie always seems to gain attention when she's out on the beach. Wonder why?
>In other Carrie news, she announced her 2010 tour promoting her latest album Play On. The tour will kick off on Thurs., March 11, at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa., and will conclude on Sun., May 30, at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash. Opening acts include Craig Morgan and Sons of Sylvia, the later of whom helped out Carrie on her track "What Can I Say." Billboard has a full list of dates and destinations.
>Jessica Sierra became the latest parent in the Idol world, as she gave birth to Kayden Cash Sierra on Sat., Dec. 5, at UCLA Medical Center. She told RadarOnline.com:
"Things happen in life, and don't let your past get you down. You can always overcome -- you can overcome anything you want to and be a better person. Don't let people tell you that you can't."
The baby's father is apparently an ex-boyfriend. IDOL LIVE wishes Jessica the best in her new role as mother.
After many weeks of anticipation and speculation, Kris Allen's first post-Idol single was this morning officially premiered on the "Elvis Duran & The Morning" show on New York's Z100-FM. Take a listen to the track below:
As previously reported, this is in fact a cover of Irish band The Script's 2008 bonus track. Despite this fact, Kris definitely gives the song his own spin and it sounds exactly like the genre of music he should be pursuing. If his label handles this release the right way, this could be a serious contender at both CHR and HAC radio.
Kelly Clarkson spent her Presidents Day weekend in the Bahamas, where was one of the featured performers at Z100's Party Plane at the Atlantis Paradise Island. Watch video of her performance of "My Life Would Suck Without You" from Sat., Feb. 14 below:
The song sounds a little bit different live, like she took it a half-step down or something. Kelly also performed "Addicted," "Beautiful Disaster," "Because Of You," "Behind These Hazel Eyes," "Chivas," "Don't Waste Your Time," "Gone," "How I Feel," "Miss Independent," "Never Again," "Since U Been Gone," "Up to the Mountain" and "Walk Away."
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>David Cook's first webisode documenting his first solo tour was posted on his official Web site last night, titled "Pork Beans." Watch it below:
>Jennifer Hudson took home another three awards last night at the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards, which were broadcast on FOX. She also performed "The Impossible Dream," which can be viewed below:
The three categories she won in were Outstanding Album, Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration and Outstanding New Artist. She also took the stage with her co-stars to accept and award for Outstanding Motion Picture for The Secret Lives of Bees.
>The women of ABC's The View yesterday had a few words to say about Simon Cowell slighting Kristen McNamara during the Top 36 reveal episode on Wednesday, as they defended Kristen for being a little on the hefty side (or as Sherri said, she had "a little more flesh").
>Katharine McPhee sent out a follow-up bulletin last night on her official music MySpace page thanking her fans for sending in their suggestions for her new official Web site. In the bulletin, Kat said:
There were so many suggestions that I am thrilled as to what we will come up with in the future. Because there is a lot going on and I am traveling a lot, it is going to take a little time to get everything up and running but we are all working on it. A week doesn’t go by that we don’t meet to put ideas down for when we get everything going. By the way, the label was incredibly excited about how many suggestions came in.
Kat said she would definitely put some vlogs out in the near future, as the was the number one request, and also thanked her fans for being patient.
>Out of Orlando and now in the Bahamas, Kelly Clarkson today filled some spots on three radio stations' morning shows, as she spoke with KISS FM 103.5, Z100 and Kidd Kraddick ahead of her four day-long performance committment to Z100 in the caribbean.
New York's Elvis Duran and the Z100 Morning Show premiered Kelly Clarkson's new single "My Life Would Suck Without You" this morning. Listen to the song in full below:
Today is the day the single was officially sent to radio, although it was expected to be released later this evening. "My Life Would Suck Without You" will be available to dowbnload on Amazon MP3 on Fri., Jan. 16.
The nation's premier Top 40 station, New York City's Z100, compiled its list of Top 100 songs of 2008. Leading the pack of Idol alums was unsurprisingly Jordin Sparks' duet with Chris Brown, "No Air," which came in at #3. The rest of the Idol representation can be found below:
04) Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown, "No Air" 12) Jordin Sparks, "One Step At a Time" 46) David Archuleta, "Crush" 57) Daughtry, "Feels Like Tonight" 77) Various Artists (ft. Carrie Underwood), "Just Stand Up!" 79) Jennifer Hudson, "Spotlight" 88) Daughtry, "What About Now" 94) David Cook, "Light On"
For what it's worth, Chris Brown's "Forever" was named the radio station's top song of the year.
As reported earlier this afternoon on Rickey.org, David Cook has confirmed that the first single from his upcoming album will be titled "Light On" and will drop sometime next week. No word yet on whether it will be released to radio or iTunes or maybe even both, but if everything pans out the way it is supposed to, it will be available to listen to in some form by this time next week.
The news came while Cook co-hosted a meet & greet and mini-concert with David Archuleta at Ford Day at the Ford Conference and Event Center in Dearborn, Mich.
ETA: Apparently Cook sent out an e-mail earlier confirming the single's title but that there will be "more details" about it and where it can be heard next week, which suggests it will not be released to radio nor iTunes. But that does not rule out a "world premiere" on a radio station (Z100?). Best advice is to stay tuned to IDOL LIVE and DavidCookOfficial.com.
Debuting over a week ago on New York's flagship Top 40 radio station, Z100, David Archuleta's first post-Idol single, "Crush," has been making headway on radio. After only one day of airplay, "Crush" was able to debut on Billboard's Pop 100 (#93) and Pop Airplay (#57) charts. After taking one listen to the track, it is not hard to imagine why it has bad such preemptive success.
David Archuleta strikes first for the seventh season of American Idol with "Crush," a stylized mid-tempo about a subject 17-year-olds deal with on a regular basis.
"Crush," produced by Emanuel Kiriakou (Celine Dion, Taylor Hicks), starts out pretty generic, as Arch's "ooohs" swim in and out of the piano sequence and overused hand claps. But as he moves into the pre-chorus the song builds in excitement, as if the listener does not know what to expect, but knows it will be something big. Then guitar riffs introduce a melodic sugar fest accompanied by Arch's innocent vocals, leaving the target demographic feeling like they are floating through Candyland. The chorus resembles something JoJo would have put out in 2006, but the pop-rock and r&b elements mixed together keep "Crush" relevant.
Despite the many positive elements of the song, it is not without a few low spots. For example, there are a few songs that sound like they were ripped off for the sake of producing "Crush" together. The Stargate-esque drum beats in the pre-chorus could have been in any song they produced, whether it was Jordin Sparks's "Tattoo" or Beyonce's "Irreplaceable." And the chorus echoes many similarities to JoJo's "Too Little, Too Late."
David Archuleta did not win Idol. But the fact that he is under Jive Records' control should put his fans at ease, as "Crush" demonstrates that his career is on the right path.
"Crush" will be available at all major digital retailers on Tues., Aug. 12. Arch's album is scheduled for a Nov. 4 release.
David Archuleta premiered his new single "Crush" on Elvis Duran & The Morning Zoo on New York's Z100 this morning. Listen to it here. The single will be available at all digital retailers including iTunes on Sept. 2.
A more in-depth analysis will be coming from IDOL LIVE in the very near future.
IDOL LIVE is the place to stay up to date with the most current news on past, present and possibly future American Idol contestants, in addition to discussing the show in real-time as it happens.
