American Idol News

posted by Administrator on Feb 29

Simon Cowell isn’t planning to predict American Idol’s next champion.

“I’m not going to [make a prediction] this year, only because I don’t know for sure,” Cowell said during an appearance on Wednesday’s Live with Regis and Kelly broadcast. “But I can see the three, four, five or six who are the obvious ones. I think when we get to that stage of the show, it’s going to be a good show.”

He did however opine about who he thought the strongest singers were so far.

Cowell loved David Archuleta performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine” during Tuesday night’s performance episode broadcast.
Saying, “I’ve got to tell you, you’re the one to beat”. “Right now, there are 19 very miserable contestants sitting here tonight. Trust me.”

Cowell has also made little attempt to hide his fondness for Carly Smithson. While he still doesn’t think she’s made the correct song choice yet to showcase her powerful vocals, Cowell feels Smithson is Archuleta’s chief rival for Idol’s seventh-season title.

“I think you are — I’ll put it on record — an incredible singer. I don’t think any of these girls can touch you vocally,” he told Smithson following her Wednesday night performance of Heart’s “Crazy on You.” “I think you’re the girl they’ve all got to beat. I generally do.”

In addition, Cowell said semifinalist Kristy Lee Cook has “potential;” called Ramiele Malubay “one of the Top 3 best singers in the competition;” and labeled 16-year-old Alaina Whitaker as “one of the dark horses in this competition.”

“There’s this kind of feeling at the moment that we found 24 Madonnas or something. But we didn’t,” he said on Live with Regis and Kelly. “We found three or four — maybe five — good people. The rest are a complete waste of time.”

posted by Administrator on Feb 21

Country music star and former American Idol Carrie Underwood is set to appear in the first new installment of “Saturday Night Live” in three months.

The famed sketch comedy show was shut down due to the Writers Guild of America strike, which started Nov. 5 and ended last week.

Underwood will be the show’s musical guest, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

“It’s been frustration, occasionally turning to rage,” the show’s executive producer Lorne Michaels said of not being on the air. “It’s the first time in the history of the show we hadn’t been on during an election cycle.”

Michaels told the Daily News “everybody is thrilled to be back, and excited.”

posted by Administrator on Feb 14

After four weeks of open audition broadcasts and two more episodes that gave viewers a look at the competition’s Hollywood Round, last night’s American Idol seventh-season broadcast ended with the mega-hit Fox reality show finally revealing the identities of this season’s Top 24 semifinalists.

Twenty members of Idol’s seventh-season Top 24 group are 25-years-old or younger — a marked difference from last year when half of the sixth season’s 24 semifinalists were 25 or older. (Despite that, 17-year-old Jordin Sparks became the youngest Idol winner ever). One third of Idol’s seventh-season semifinalists are teenagers, including the first 16-year-old since 2006’s fifth season.

American Idol 7’s 12 male semifinalists — and their Fox-released biographical information — are:

David Archuleta, a 17-year-old from Murray, UT

Archuleta, born in Miami, FL but raised in Murray, UT, began singing at age 7. Currently a junior at Murray High School, he has performed with an a cappella choir group and plays the piano.

Colton Berry, a 17-year-old from Staunton, VA

Berry is a senior at Wilson Memorial High School. He began singing in church when he was 5 years old. Active in community theatre, he also mentors children in a music class at a local elementary school.

Robbie Carrico, a 26-year-old from Melbourne, FL

Carrico began singing at age 16. He has been a member of two groups, Boyz IV Girlz and Missing Picket. Before auditioning for American Idol, he was working as a painter with his father. In his spare time, Carrico enjoys racing cars.

Jason Castro, a 20-year-old from Rockwall, TX

Castro, born in Dallas but raised in Rowlett, TX, grew up playing drums and played in a band called Keeping Lions. Before auditioning for American Idol, Castro was majoring in Construction Science at Texas A&M University.

David Cook, a 25-year-old from Blue Spings, MO who currently resides in Tulsa, OK

Cook was born in Houston and graduated from Central Missouri State University in 2006. He has been singing since he was in the 2nd grade and also plays the guitar. Cook was a member of two bands, Axium and MWK.

Chikezie Eze, a 22-year-old from Inglewood, CA

Eze began singing when he was 13 years old. Before auditioning for American Idol, he was a T.S.A. (Transportation Security Administration) screener and a cashier. He also studied singing at Santa Monica College.

Garrett Haley, a 17-year-old from Elida, OH

Haley currently lives in Elida, OH, but spent his “early years” in Alamosa, CO. Haley is a junior at Elida High School. He began singing in elementary school and has performed in local talent shows and high school musicals.

David Hernandez, a 24-year-old from Glendale, AZ

Hernandez began singing at age 6. He has performed at Urban Network Events, “Arizona Idol” and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade. He has been a member of the bands Tribet and Straight Up.

Michael Johns, a 29-year-old from Los Angeles, CA

Johns currently lives in Los Angeles, but was born in Perth, Australia. Johns moved to the U.S. in 1998 to attend Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College in Tifton, GA, then moved to Buckhead, GA outside of Atlanta to pursue singing. Johns began singing at the age of 5 and also plays the guitar. He was a member of a band called The Rising.

Luke Menard, a 29-year-old from Crawfordsville, IN

Menard began singing when he was a freshman in high school. He earned a B.A. in Communications from Millikin University in Decatur, IL, and worked for a finance company in Chicago. After realizing that was not the job for him, Menard began touring with an a cappella group called Chapter 6.

Danny Noriega, an 18-year-old from Azuza, CA

Noriega has been singing his entire life. Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Noriega had recently graduated from high school. In his spare time he likes to dance and make people laugh. He also loves animals.

Jason Yeager, a 28-year-old from Grand Prairie, TX who currently resides in Branson, MO

Yeager began singing when he was 2 years old. He was a member of a boy band called True This. He also plays guitar, piano and drums.

American Idol 7’s 12 female semifinalists — and their Fox-released biographical information — are:

Joanne Borgella, a 25-year-old from New York, NY who currently resides in Hoboken, NJ

Borgella has been singing since she was 3 years old. Before auditioning for American Idol, she was a plus size model. In her spare time she makes jewelry and designs clothes.

Kristy Lee Cook, a 24-year-old from Selma, OR

Cook, born in Seattle, WA, has sung for crowds since she was 13 years old. Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Cook raised and trained horses. She plays the piano and was a member of the band Sixshooter.

Amy Davis, a 25-year-old from Lowell, IN who currently resides in Cedar Lake, IN

Davis is a graduate student at Purdue University where she previously earned a B.S. in Horticulture. She began singing for her family at age 5 and has since performed with numerous groups, including the Amy Davis Trio and Echoes of Pompeii, a Pink Floyd tribute band.

Asia’h Epperson, a 19-year-old from Joplin, MO

Epperson has been singing since she was 3 years old. Before American Idol, she was a waitress at two restaurants in Joplin. In her spare time, Epperson enjoys dancing and acting and also has a passion for makeup and fashion.

Alexandrea Lushington, a 17-year-old from Douglasville, GA

Lushington began singing in her grandfather’s church when she was just 2 years old. She is currently a junior at Douglas County High School, where she sings in the school choir and is a member of the drama club. Lushington also plays the piano.

Kady Malloy, an 18-year-old from Houston, TX

Malloy started singing as soon as she could talk. Before auditioning for American Idol, she was singing in local restaurants and attending community college. Malloy has a knack for vocal impressions and also plays the tambourine.

Ramiele Malubay, a 20-year-old from Miramar, FL

Malubay was born in Saudi Arabia and spent her early years in the Philippines. She has been singing since she was 12 years old. Before American Idol, she was attending school and was a hostess at a local sushi restaurant. She also plays the piano and guitar.

Syesha Mercado, a 21-year-old from Sarasota, FL who currently resides in Miami, FL

Mercado was a member of The Drum Studio All-Stars band and has a strong background in theatre and dancing. She began singing when she was 3 years old.

Amanda Overmyer, a 23-year-old from Mulberry, IN

Overmyer is a health-care specialist and is earning a bachelors degree in business management. She was lead singer for the band Steeleto. In her spare time, Overmyer loves riding her motorcycle.

Carly Smithson, a 24-year-old from San Diego, CA

Smithson, born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, made her singing debut in “Les Miserables” at the Olympic Theatre in Dublin. Smithson moved to Los Angeles at age 13 to pursue her singing career. Before auditioning for American Idol, she was working in a bar and running a tattoo shop with her husband.

Alaina Whitaker, a 16-year-old from Tulsa, OK

Currently a junior at Metro Christian Academy, she has performed at festivals throughout Oklahoma and at school functions.

Brooke White, a 24-year-old from Mesa, AZ who currently resides in Van Nuys, CA

Before auditioning for American Idol, White was a nanny. She has performed as a solo artist with a backup band. White began singing at age 15 and also plays the piano and guitar.

posted by Administrator on Feb 13

A source “close to Sierra’s family” claims the former American Idol fourth-season finalist is no longer pregnant, TMZ.com reported Tuesday. However the source could not confirm exactly what happened with Sierra’s pregnancy, which was revealed in December. The baby’s father was reportedly a rap artist.

The 22-year-old Tampa, FL-native is currently serving a yearlong stint at an in-house drug treatment facility in California — followed by three years probation — for disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest without violence and probation violation charges that stemmed from a December arrest.

Last month, Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Perry asked Sierra’s lawyer — John Fitzgibbons — about her pregnancy and if it would impact her treatment at California’s Pasadena Recovery Center.

“Their professionals know how to handle this,” Fitzgibbons told Perry. “It’s not unusual for them.”

Sierra is currently one of the subjects documented in VH1’s new Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew reality series, which follows David Drew “Dr. Drew” Pinsky as he chronicles the detoxification and treatment of several celebrities.

In addition, a sex tape starring Sierra — titled Jessica Sierra Superstar — was released last week by Vivid Entertainment.

posted by AINews on Feb 13

It looks like both finalists and viewers will have to wait an extra half-hour to learn American Idol’s seventh-season voting results.

Fox has announced it will expand Idol 7’s weekly results show broadcasts to a full hour beginning with the season’s Wednesday, March 12 at 9PM ET/PT broadcast that will send the competition’s first Top 12 finalist home.

Last year, Idol’s results show broadcasts didn’t expand to one-hour broadcasts until the Top 7 were revealed in mid-April.

In addition, Fox also officially announced American Idol 7 will air a special one-hour results show broadcast on Thursday, April 10 at 9PM ET/PT due to the network’s previously announced decision to air a special two-hour Idol Gives Back charity event on Wednesday, April 9 at 8PM ET/PT.

“We were forced into that situation because of the very nature of what we were doing,” Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told reporters during a December conference call.

“We had many discussions about it. I refused to cut anybody that night. I can’t ask America to send money in, look at these poor people, ‘Oh and by the way, Jordin Sparks, you’re cut tonight. Bye-bye, darling.’ It would have been horrible. It would have been awful, but if you know me after seven years, you know I’m not just going to say at the beginning of the show, ‘We’re not going to cut anybody.’ I’ve got to play. I’ve got to be cruel. That’s the puppet master in me, if you will. Yes, we messed around with the kids. Bless them.”

Lythgoe was quick to add he “wouldn’t dream of doing it again” like that and found a simple solution — airing that week’s results show broadcast the following night.

“We only did it then because of the situation we were in that was the only airtime we had,” he said. “Now we’re taking a separate day out altogether, so what we’ll probably do is the competition on a Tuesday; the [Idol Gives Back] show on a Wednesday; and the results on a Thursday.”

posted by Administrator on Feb 12

The song remained the same for Carrie Underwood while Chris Daughtry came up empty during last night’s broadcast of the 50th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS.

Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” won Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song (awarded to songwriters Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins) honors.

Last year, the American Idol fourth-season champ took home two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

While “Before He Cheats” lost Song of the Year honors to Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” the song continues to receive recognition from both the music industry and fans.

Daughtry’s band was hoping to capture its first Grammy award after receiving four nominations, however it apparently wasn’t meant to be for the former Idol 5 finalist.

The group’s self-titled debut lost Best Rock Album to “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” by the Foo Fighters, while the single “It’s Over You” lost Best Rock Song to Bruce Springsteen’s “Radio Nowhere.” “Home” — a ballad that served as background music for Idol sixth-season eliminations — lost to The White Stripes “Icky Thump” in the Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals category.

In addition, the album’s producer Howard Benson lost Producer of the Year honors to Winehouse’s producer Mark Ronson.