posted by AINews on Apr 22
Although America has yet to choose its 2008 “Idol,” contestant David Cook has the No.1 downloaded album on Amazon.com, FoxNews.com says.
Cook released his CD “Analog Heart” in 2006 and although it failed to shoot him to stardom back then, downloads of it beat Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2″ on the Web site this past weekend, Fox columnist Roger Friedman notes.
It marks the first time an “American Idol” contestant has marketed a product before the end of the season and murks up the show’s stated goal of making stars of undiscovered artists, Friedman wrote.
While fingering Cook as a “ringer,” the columnist gave him props for possibly being smarter than judge Simon Cowell by releasing his music digitally — thus possibly avoiding the mandatory first refusal right all “Idols” are required to give to recording giant BMG.
posted by Administrator on Apr 22
U.S. viewers may be getting the so-called seven-year itch when it comes to FOX TV’s hit series “American Idol,” ratings indicate.
Overall ratings are down 7 percent compared to last year and although 29.2 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at, Nielsen Media Research figures indicate the show has suffered a surprising loss of young fans and women between the ages of 18-34, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Nearly one-fifth of those female viewers and one-fifth of viewers between 2 and 11 years old have turned off the talent competition in its seventh year, the figures show.
Last week’s performance show was “Idol’s” lowest rated in five years and the elimination show the following night drew its weakest audience between the ages of 18 and 34 since 2002, the Times said.
Although the Times speculated “Idol” could be suffering show fatigue, Fox’s Preston Beckman noted the reality competition “has defied the odds.”
“‘American Idol’ has held up better than any other show, scripted or unscripted, on television,” he said.
posted by Administrator on Apr 21
The leadoff performer on an Idol finals night stands a disproportionately greater chance of being eliminated than those who follow, according to an analysis of Idol’s seven seasons.
In 69 finals episodes, 20 singers in the No. 1 spot have been voted off, seven more than would be expected based on statistical probability, says Nick Straguzzi, co-founder of WhatNotToSing.com, which collects and analyzes Idol data. In four out of six weeks this season, the first finalist has been in the bottom three, twice being eliminated. “The No. 1 slot is by far the most dangerous for finalists,” Straguzzi says.
Eliminations at the other slots came closer to what could be expected at random, except for lucky 7, a spot from which only one has been bounced. And no one in the 11th or 12th spot in a finals week has been eliminated; only one (Kristy Lee Cook) has been in the bottom three.
Producers decide the singing order except for the finale, which is a singer’s choice after a coin flip. (Only one finale leadoff singer, Ruben Studdard, has won Idol.) They vary the order each week to be fair, but also try to arrange singers and their songs to make the most entertaining show, executive producer Ken Warwick says.
“It’s worked out with two things in mind: where the kid (performed) last week, and if it’s a slow, ‘dirgey’ ballad, I try not to open with that,” he says.
Speculation about the danger of the leadoff spot, including fan chatter about a first-performer jinx, grew after the surprise elimination of Michael Johns, 29, who led off two weeks ago. Possible reasons (especially in weeks singers perform once):
•Fewer viewers at the start. Idol’s ratings grow throughout each show, with more viewers — and potential voters — watching singers at the end than at the beginning. On April 8, Idol went from 22.8 million viewers in the first half-hour to 26.4 million in the second, a 16% increase.
•Judging standards. Viewers compare each singer to the one who preceded him, which helps if you follow a bad performance, says Olivia Fox Cabane of Spitfire Consulting. “The problem when you are first is people are comparing you to whatever abstract standards they were hearing before you, i.e., professional singers or whoever they heard on the radio that day,” she says.
•The singing-voting gap. Many Idol watchers believe performances later in the show have a stronger hold on viewers than those earlier in the show.
Warwick acknowledges such factors create “a little bit” of a disadvantage. The order “is done as fairly as it could possibly be, but someone has to go first.”
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
posted by Administrator on Apr 21
Naomi Judd knows about being a stage parent and thinks David Archuleta’s dad might be the worst.
The Can You Duet? judge said she first encountered the American Idol seventh-season finalist and his dad Jeff when the now 17-year-old David was a Star Search contestant in 2003 and she was serving as a judge on the show.
“I want to give a shout out to his dad. Leave [David] alone,” said Judd during NBC’s Today broadcast on Thursday morning. “His dad is like the worst stage dad… They had to put him in the security guard’s little box.”
Similar statements about Jeff’s demeanor when David was a Star Search contestant have been circulating since he became an Idol seventh-season finalist and have included rumors that Jeff was banned from the Star Search set for attempting to intimidate another contestant.
In addition, Jeff reportedly brought David to tears after yelling at him about his son’s arrangement of “We Can Work Out” during an Idol recording session.
However not everyone agrees with Judd’s assertion that Jeff is “the worst stage dad.”
“There’s no way I would feel comfortable being around this man if I felt he was a bad person to his kid,” singer Diane Gordan, David’s friend and mentor, told People. “Jeff is a very loving and supporting dad. It’s easy when you hear one person say something about someone, taking it and blowing it out of proportion, and then it just spirals out into a whole different story and keeps escalating.”
posted by Administrator on Apr 21
V
ocal problems have forced Jordin Sparks to temporarily withdraw from Alicia Keys’ tour and cancel all performances for the rest of the month, a representative for the “American Idol” champ said Monday.
“All of her April activities have been postponed or canceled so she can take care of her voice properly,” 19/Jive Records spokeswoman Wendy Washington told The Associated Press.
The 18-year-old singer, whose hits include “Tattoo” and “No Air,” was scheduled to be the opening act on Keys’ tour, which kicked off over the weekend in Hampton, Va. Washington said in addition to missing the tour’s first month, Sparks was forced to cancel a planned performance at the Earth Day Network & Green Apple Festival concert in Washington, D.C.
Washington said Sparks is expected to rejoin Keys’ tour in May.
“Jordin Sparks is on vocal rest and is expected to make a full and complete recovery,” according to a statement from 19/Jive Records. “Sparks has been going nonstop over the past two years and now she’s going through the normal course of learning how to manage and care for her voice.”
Sparks was the youngest winner of “American Idol” when she won the talent competition last year. She released her self-titled debut album late last year.
Via AP
posted by Administrator on Apr 18
By Joal Ryan
Kristy Lee Cook’s American Idol run was marked by a number of stays in the bottom three and, as it turns out, a secret engagement.
Cook’s boyfriend popped the question in the sauna of her Idol apartment on March 15, days after she survived her first elimination round as a finalist.
The country-inclined singer was able to share this detail with reporters Thursday because she did not survive Idol’s latest elimination round Wednesday night.
After an especially Byzantine results show, Cook, 24, was revealed to be the odd singer out, exiting in Mariah Carey week with the inaptly titled “Forever.”
“I was kind of upset that I went home because I thought I was getting stronger and stronger,” Cook said. “I thought ["Forever"] was my best performance so far. I thought I had at least another week in me.”
Read the Full Article >>>>
posted by Administrator on Apr 17
The praise of Mariah Carey couldn’t rescue Kristy Lee Cook from elimination on “American Idol.” The 24-year-old resident country singer from Selma, Ore., was the latest casualty as the Fox sing-off narrowed the competition to six finalists.
Though guest mentor Carey said Cook’s rendition of “Forever” gave her chills, Simon Cowell was not so impressed.
Brooke White and Syesha Mercado joined Cook with the lowest number of votes on Wednesday’s results show. When asked to predict the loser, Cowell said: “Maybe Kristy — you know, your time’s up this time, sweetheart.”
Cook cried but took the eviction in stride. She directed her reprisal of “Forever” to Cowell, who grinned awkwardly.
The telecast also featured performances by “Idol” also-ran Elliott Yamin and Carey, who sang “Bye Bye” from her new album “EMC2.”
By ERIN CARLSON (AP)
posted by Administrator on Apr 16
April 16th, 2008
Posted by: Nichola Groom
It must have been conceived as some sort of cruel joke.
For seven seasons now, the judges of “American Idol” have repeatedly told contestants to steer clear of singing songs by Mariah Carey, ostensibly because the singing competition’s up-and-coming star wannabes could never hope to measure up to one of the great voices of pop music.
So, let’s just say it was a little strange to find Carey as the guest judge on Tuesday night’s show. Because you know what that means: the contestants were allowed to perform an old Mariah song, a new Mariah song, or any other Mariah song of their choosing.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE @ Reuters >>>>>
posted by Administrator on Apr 16
Simon praises one “Idol,” but compares another to “ordering a hamburger.”
Watch the full video here >>>
posted by Administrator on Apr 16
Mariah Carey turned ”American Idol” into a release party for her new CD, and most performers did her songbook proud
By Michael Slezak
Pop quiz! In addition to the obvious fact that they’ve all been booted from American Idol’s season 7 finals, what else do David Hernandez, Amanda Overmyer, Chikezie, Ramiele Malubay, and Michael Johns have in common?
Find the answer and read the full article >>>>
