posted by AINews on Jul 19
“American Idol” Carrie Underwood doesn’t want to spend her life jaded, waitin’—or just resting on her laurels. Arista Records and 19 Recordings announced Monday that the follow-up to the country crossover star’s mega-hit debut “Some Hearts” has been slated for an Oct. 23 release.
While it seems as if Underwood must be on her third or fourth album by now, that’s only because the multiplatinum-selling “Some Hearts” took up residence at number one on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart back in 2005… and managed to return to that spot multiple times over the next two and half years, according to E! Online.
The hit-filled album, which dropped Nov. 15, 2005, has been certified six-times platinum in the U.S., is the best-selling country disc/download of 2007 so far, with nearly 1.1 million copies sold just this year.
“Some Hearts” spawned seven singles, three of which went platinum, and Underwood also had a hit with her cover of the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You,” which she performed on the Idol Gives Back charity special in April.
The 24-year-old Oklahoman’s as-yet untitled sophomore effort is being produced by Some Hearts collaborator Mark Bright and will feature some more songwriting by Underwood, who co-penned the tune “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore” on “Some Hearts.”
posted by AINews on Jul 15
Recovering from a tough year, American pop singer Kelly Clarkson is taking a chance on a gutsy new album — and has divulged she once ate a pot-laden treat.
Her latest album, “My December,” chronicles her breakup from a relatively obscure musician who cheated on her, USA Weekend reports.
Her record label’s frosty reception when she submitted her new album has highlighted her less-than-friendly relationship with RCA producer Clive Davis.
“I’m going to be real honest with you: I am not a fan [of Davis] …. I do respect him, but I don’t want to barbecue with him,” she said. “We don’t braid each other’s hair. And, despite the rumors, he is nowhere near a father figure.”
Clarkson, who isn’t into the drunken debauchery of many of her fellow entertainment industry 20-somethings, does admit to using marijuana once in the form of a cookie. Since she ate the wacky snack in Amsterdam, Netherlands, however, it was not illegal. Since then, Clarkson said, she has been “oregano free,” the magazine said.
posted by AINews on Jul 12
According to Entertainment Weekly it looks like Katharine McPhee is set to co-star in an untitled comedy produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison.
McPhee will appear in the film alongside Scary Movie actress Anna Faris, who according to Entertainment Weekly, will play the role of a Playboy bunny who gets evicted from Hugh Hefner’s mansion. She then finds herself teaching a group of sorority girls at a nearby college how to be cool and hip, with McPhee reportedly playing the role of one of the sorority girls.
The 22-year-old first began gushing about wanting to become a big screen actress after last year’s Idol, and she received her first real chance at attaining that goal in early June when she reportedly signed on to star in the dark romantic comedy The Last Caller. McPhee will reportedly play a self-obsessed woman in-search of love and the hope of finding herself in the “coming-of-age” independent film.
The Last Caller is reportedly scheduled to begin filming in and around New York in the fall, with Sony “aiming for a late summer start date” to begin shooting the Happy Madison production, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Last August it was rumored that McPhee was being considered for a film version of Wonder Woman, but she discredited those reports shortly thereafter, claiming the prospects for a Wonder Woman movie weren’t very good.
posted by AINews on Jul 11
Bucky Covington hit another career milestone this week as his first single, “A Different World,” cracks the Top 10 on country radio, delivering the country singer his first Top 10 hit. The song is currently reaching a weekly audience of 21 million listeners, according to the American Idol official website.
The good news of Bucky’s first top 10 radio hit comes following a weekend of travel woes for the singer. It all started last Thursday when Bucky and his band, including twin brother Rocky, flew from Las Vegas to New York City following a show on Independence Day. After a five-hour delay the group finally arrived in the Big Apple, however their luggage and instruments remained in Las Vegas, which explains why all showed up on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends wardrobed in “I Love NY” t-shirts. Bucky and his bandmates finally connected with their lost luggage and instruments two days later in Charlotte, NC, hours before a show at the Charlotte Knights baseball game.
Bucky Covington’s self-titled CD debuted at #1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Country Top 75 Chart with not only 2007’s biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992
posted by AINews on Jul 9
With over 30 million viewers each week, “American Idol” has become synonymous with great music and leading fashion. Recognizing this harmony between music and fashion, Lyric Jeans, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: LYJN) today announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with FremantleMedia, co-producer and licensor for “American Idol,” to create a lyric-inspired “American Idol” branded apparel line for department stores, mid-tier and mass market retailers. The initial Lyric Jeans-”American Idol” collection will focus on the contemporary juniors and girls market and expand into other areas including children’s wear.
“‘American Idol’ is the most powerful and iconic music brand in popular culture today and the perfect tie-in for our creative concept,” said Hanna Rochelle Schmieder, President of Lyric Jeans, Inc. “We couldn’t have dreamt of a better partner. Now music and fashion lovers everywhere can feel like a pop star and express themselves through our lyric-driven lifestyle brand,” she continued.
Nora Wong, Manager of Consumer Licensing, for FremantleMedia’s North America team, added, “Lyric Jeans has taken a unique approach in personalizing musical expression through fashion. Lending the ‘American Idol’ name to this apparel line is a fantastic extension for both brands and gets to the heart of what the ‘American Idol’ brand is all about.”
posted by AINews on Jul 8
Singer Clay Aiken reportedly had a rough run-in with a female passenger on a Continental Airlines plane he was taking to Tulsa, Okla., for a concert.
The former “American Idol” contestant was en route to Tulsa Saturday when the woman reportedly gave him a “minor shove” during an argument, the Tulsa (Okla.) World reported Sunday.
FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson confirmed the dispute was between a man and a woman and identified the man as a former singer from “American Idol,” the newspaper said.
He said the incident began when the man put his foot on the woman’s armrest. The flight crew diffused the situation and passengers were questioned by agents upon landing in Tulsa, he said. Aiken was not injured and no arrests were made.
Aiken laughed off the altercation during his concert at Tulsa’s Brady Theatre Saturday night, telling the audience he had been beaten up by a girl.
posted by AINews on Jul 7
Clay Aiken apparently has more control over his Claymates than one would think.
“The show Jericho… I loved it. I started blogging about it on my fan site. It got canceled, and I blogged about how upset I was. I said, ‘The Claymates can do anything. How do we get this show back on the air?’” Aiken told The Houston Chronicle on Tuesday.
Jericho — a CBS drama centered on a post-nuclear town in middle America — was canceled by the broadcast network when it announced its 2007-2008 primetime programming line-up in mid-May. However CBS was bombarded with emails and nuts — a reference to a catchphrase in the show — and on June 6 the network announced it had purchased seven new episodes of Jericho for broadcast as a mid-season replacement. So where did the grassroots campaign start?
“Honestly, within a week [the Claymates] had organized a campaign amongst Jericho fans to send nuts to CBS,” Aiken told The Chronicle. “It kind of started in that place. And it’s back on the air! It just blows my mind.”
An unabashed fan of television, Aiken told The Chronicle he feels he’d be “great” on the tube and added he has “probably 15, 17 different shows” to pitch.
“One of the basic ones would just be going around and letting America tell their story. Everybody has a story, if you let them tell it,” Aiken told The Chronicle.
However Aiken apparently hasn’t forgotten his roots if he were to land a recurring role on television.
“I’d love to have a variety show,” he told The Chronicle. “Like Andy Williams or Carol Burnett or Donny and Marie [Osmond]. I remember my mom watched the Mandrell sisters’ show like it was some sort of religion.”
And Aiken would probably have a good support base if he ever wanted to start his own religion. Apparently he could just call on the Claymates.
posted by AINews on Jul 7
RCA chairman Clive Davis wasn’t a big fan of the musical content of Kelly Clarkson’s third album “My December,” but her fans may be out to prove him wrong.
“My December” debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 weekly album sales chart, according Nielsen Soundscan figures for the week ending July 1. Clarkson’s third album — the first in which she either wrote or co-wrote every song — sold 291,000 copies in its first week of release.
Clarkson’s album trailed only “Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus,” two-disc 20-set set that combines Cyrus’ debut album with music from the popular Disney Channel TV show that the 14-year-old stars in. Cyrus sold 326,000 copies in her album’s first week of release.
My December’s” debut week sales surpassed those of “Breakaway,” Clarkson’s Grammy-winning 2004 second album that has since sold over 10 million copies. “Breakaway,” which was released during the more competitive holiday season sales period, debuted at No. 3 and sold 250,000 copies in its first week of release in November 2004.
Although it beat “Breakaway’s” debut, “My December” fell just short of setting a debut week album sales record for Clarkson. “Thankful,” the original Idol winner’s debut album, debuted at No. 1 and sold 297,000 copies during its first week of release in April 2003.
“My December’s” first week sales performance is the biggest Idol-related album debut since fifth-season Idol champ Taylor Hicks moved 298,000 copies of his self-titled debut when it was released in early December.
posted by AINews on Jul 1
Paula Abdul has insisted that her purpose in life is to discover new musical talent on American Idol, according to a statement she made to OK!.
The 45-year-old revealed that she derives more pleasure from serving as a judge on the TV singing contest than she ever received from her early nineties pop career.
She told OK!: “I knew since I was a little girl that I had this profound way of touching people. My purpose is bringing out everybody’s best and being that cheerleader to other people’s success.
“Being a judge on American Idol overshadows being a Grammy winner and selling millions of records.”
