American Idol News

posted by Administrator on May 22

David Cook, a bartender from Missouri, was declared the winner of the U.S. singing competition show “American Idol” Wednesday night.

He beat out his fellow finalist David Archuleta for the honor.

“I am absolutely at a loss for words,” Cook said, tearing up as he learned the news. “This is amazing. Thank you.”

The show’s two-hour Season 7 finale featured performances by the finalists, the season’s castoffs and recording stars Bryan Adams, Donna Summer, ZZ Top, George Michael, Graham Nash, OneRepublic, Carrie Underwood and the Jonas Brothers.

Jimmy Kimmel stopped by to poke fun of host Ryan Seacrest and judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, while actors Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller and Jack Black acted as backup singers in a virtual performance of “Midnight Train to Georgia” with Gladys Knight.

More than 97.5 million votes were cast for the finale, Usmagazine.com said.

Seacrest said on the show that Cook won by 12 million votes.

posted by Administrator on May 21

The Arch triumphed on “American Idol,” but this is still a democracy, after all.

David Archuleta brought his A-game on Tuesday’s final sing-off, earning the praise of Simon Cowell, who called it a “knockout” performance.

If it were up to Cowell, he’d hand the doe-eyed teen from Murray, Utah, the “Idol” title right now. Archuleta out-sang competitor David Cook and has been the one to beat since the beginning of the Fox show’s seventh season.

Cook, 25, of Blue Springs, Mo., delivered solid performances, rocking and emotional as usual — but didn’t measure up to his 17-year-old rival. Archuleta performed as if it was his last gig on earth, singing the right songs for his smooth voice, hitting the right notes and squeezing the right amount of emotion from each lyric.

And yet, America’s votes would decide. Results will be announced on Wednesday’s finale.

Each David performed three songs in the live telecast, which opened with Michael Buffer (”Let’s get ready to rumble!”) introducing the finalists, who came bounding out in boxing robes and gloves.

Three rounds later, Cowell made his traditional prediction:

“You came out here tonight to win,” Cowell said to Archuleta, “and what we have witnessed is a knockout.”

In the first round, Cook and Archuleta received stellar reviews; Cook for his rendition of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and Archuleta for the Elton John anthem “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” All the same, Cowell declared Archuleta the winner.

Cowell also handed the second round to Archuleta, whose performance of the inspirational ballad “In This Moment” impressed the judge more than Cook’s take on the power ballad “Dream Big.”

For the third and final round, Archuleta went back to the well: he closed the show with a repeat of his version of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which cemented him as a favorite earlier in the competition. Cook, who chose a song he hadn’t yet performed in Collective Soul’s “The World I Know,” didn’t stand a chance against that.

It pays to pick the right song on “Idol,” especially in the final number, and Cook might have sealed his loss with the stale ’90s tune that Cowell called “completely and utterly the wrong song choice.”

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt Cook to finish second. Several runners-up — unburdened by the pressure of winning the show — have had more commercial success than some “Idol” champs. The best example: Chris Daughtry, who placed fourth in season five, yet came out on top when his debut album out-sold winner Taylor Hicks’ post-”Idol” disc by a landslide.

Album flops aside, the goofy, homespun Hicks charmed viewers into rooting for him and proved the show is more than a singing competition: it’s a popularity contest, too.

And it’s easy to root for baby-faced Archuleta, whose father, Jeff, stirred up “Idol” drama this year with reports that he was too heavily involved in his son’s rehearsals. That controversy could make fans more sympathetic to the shy, sweet singer.

Archuleta and Cook exchanged compliments during the live telecast.

“This guy’s awesome,” Archuleta said about Cook, who called The Arch “consistently nice.”

“As far as I’m concerned,” Cook said, “competition’s over and we’re just having fun.”

Source: AP News

posted by Administrator on May 21

Luke Menard fought as an American Idol seventh-season semifinalist, but now he’s facing a much more serious battle.

The 29-year-old from Crawfordsville, IN has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a representative for the singer’s a cappella group Chapter 6 confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday.

“Luke had a lingering cough and was having trouble breathing deeply, so he went to the doctor to have it checked out,” Jane Victor told CBS News. “The suspicion was walking pneumonia. But after a chest x-ray doctors saw a mass and did more testing, which is what led to the stage II Hodgkin diagnosis.”

Despite Hodgkin lymphoma — a cancer of the immune system — being inoperable, it is currently considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer, and Menard’s family remains optimistic.

“They’ve been told that it’s treatable and manageable,” Victor told CBS News. “Luke is currently in Los Angeles and plans to return home to Indiana soon.”

Menard auditioned for Idol’s seventh season last summer in Omaha and made it through the show’s subsequent Hollywood Round to become one of the Top 24 semifinalists. He was eliminated in early March on the cusp of becoming one of the Top 12 finalists.

Following his elimination, Menard told reporters he planned to pursue a career in both acting and music.

posted by Administrator on May 16

Syesha Mercado was a late-blooming American Idol seventh-season finalist, but once she hit her stride, she rode it all the way to the Top 3.

“When I first stepped into the competition, I was really in a little shell,” Mercado told reporters during a Thursday conference call.

“I don’t feel like I was at my full potential because of the entire negative mind frame that I was in because of, like ‘Oh, nobody really sees who I am.’ And I was so focused on that that it was really harming my performance. And once I got my mind right again… I became more comfortable with myself and the stage. And the feeling of being overlooked completely subsided, and it was just a matter of being consistent every week and eventually, people would recognize me, and that’s exactly what happened.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE @ RealityTVWorld.com

posted by Administrator on May 16

The “American Idol” alum will join the Broadway cast of “Grease” on June 6, playing Teen Angel in the revival of the popular musical.

The gray-haired singer — whose “Idol” fan base was called “The Soul Patrol” — said he plans to add “soulful flavor” to his performance of “Beauty School Dropout.” The flashy role, he said, is “a classic fit for a classic performer.”

“It’s a big number, and, you know, I’ve made some pretty grand entrances before,” Hicks told The Associated Press on Thursday. “And this one is probably the grandest entrance I’ve had in my career.”

Well, besides “Idol.” Hicks, 31, took home the title in the fifth season of the top-rated Fox show — the biggest stage on television.

He later lost his record deal with J Records, a label within Sony-BMG, which signs the show’s singers, and had been looking for the perfect part to make his debut on The Great White Way.

“If you’re gonna be a great entertainer and you’re gonna be a great performer, than these are the things that you have to do to season yourself in that manner,” said Hicks, who views this “opportunity of a lifetime” as a way to improve his “Idol”-tested skills.

The Alabama-born crooner’s run ends Sept. 7. He’ll be the latest “Idol” to hit Broadway, following runs by season-three winner Fantasia Barrino (”The Color Purple”) and a host of also-rans including Clay Aiken (”Spamalot”), Diana DeGarmo (”Hairspray”) and Constantine Maroulis (”The Wedding Singer”).

Hicks’ self-titled, post-”Idol” album, released in December 2006, has sold a respectable 702,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. But it didn’t reach the 1 million mark or register a hit song, unlike previous “Idol” winners.

This summer, Hicks intends to finish up a follow-up album — on his own terms.

“I’ve had the creative freedom and the time to write some of the best music that I’ve ever written in my whole life. … The options are unlimited and there has been some great interest now that I’m a free agent, so to speak,” he said.

Source: AP News

ERIN CARLSON

posted by Administrator on May 14

For anybody with at least one functioning eardrum, David Archuleta’s victory on this season of American Idol has seemed inevitable, pretty much from the day his audition was televised back in January. And, since then, Idol’s producers have been perfectly happy to play up this obvious fact, with David frequently getting the much-coveted “pimp spot” (i.e., having the advantage of performing at show’s end, so fans do not forget that he exists before the voting opens), and judges withholding all negative criticism, even after the times he intentionally flubbed lyrics to trick viewers into believing that he’s a real boy.

But on last night’s episode, the surviving finalists sang three songs: one chosen by the judges, another by the contestants themselves, and one by the producers. And not only did David not get the pimp spot, he was forced to sing a Dan Fogelberg song so bad it almost made us think that Syesha had a chance of making the finale. Just kidding! God, could you imagine?

Even so, what happened? Obviously by now everyone’s heard about David’s crazy stage dad — our idol, Jeff Archuleta — being banished from rehearsals following last week’s incident. So are the producers exacting more revenge by trying to engineer a David Cook victory? It sure seems like it! Last night, Cook — performing in the pimp spot, no less! — sang a pitchy version of Diane Warren’s “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” prompting Simon Cowell to declare him the evening’s winner, even though he hit more wrong notes than the crappy Michael Bay movie for which the song was originally recorded. Meanwhile, Archuleta, who admirably attempted to make lemonade out of Fogelberg’s driveling “Longer,” was criticized not for his singing — which was flawless — but for the producers’ lame song choice, which was clearly a last-minute bid to torpedo his imminent (?) victory.

According to OK! magazine, Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe was seen “raising his fists over his head and dancing around in joy” after Cook sang, and when Randy Jackson’s review was less than a rave, Lythgoe was reportedly overheard asking, “What’s with Randy?” Additionally, TMZ claims that Jeff Archuleta was seen shooting Lythgoe dirty looks, but “seemed chummy” with Randy (they “bro’d out” during commercial breaks, apparently).

Are producers trying to set the stage for a win by Cook? (Yes.) Or just create a little suspense going into the finale? (We doubt it.) Do they even care who wins? They shouldn’t, since both contestants have already signed binding, lifetime contracts with Idol’s production company (and, really, it’s not like either is likely to have much of a postshow career anyway, given the crappy luck of other recent ex-finalists) — which is probably all the more reason to throw Archuleta under the bus over a tiny grudge.

posted by Administrator on May 14

American Idol’s Top 3 seventh-season finalists took the stage during last night’s live performance episode, as each performed three songs and had three phone numbers for viewers to call and vote to determine which two would compete in next week’s finale.

Each finalist performed a song chosen by one of Idol’s three judges; followed by a song each finalist personally selected; and then closed with a song chosen by the show’s producers.

“It is a pivotal moment in the lives of our three finalists,” said host Ryan Seacrest at the beginning of the broadcast. “The way they perform and the way you respond could truly affect the closest race this show has ever seen.”

Both David Archuleta and David Cook became one step closer to making it a David vs. David finale, while Syesha Mercado faltered in trying to continue to improve upon the expectations she set for herself in recent weeks.

On Wednesday night beginning at 9PM ET/PT, one finalist will be eliminated based on home viewer votes cast immediately following last night’s broadcast, revealing the seventh-season’s Top 2 finalists.

posted by Administrator on May 8

Jason Castro expressed a desire to go home and voters obliged to send him there, as he was revealed to be the ninth finalist eliminated from American Idol’s seventh season during last night’s live results show on Fox.

The 20-year-old from Rockwall, TX was ousted from Idol’s seventh season after host Ryan Seacrest said “nearly 51 million” home viewer votes were cast immediately following Tuesday night’s live performance broadcast that saw the Top 4 finalists each singing two songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I almost feel like you’re relieved,” Seacrest said before Castro delivered his exit performance.

“A little,” replied Castro. “It was three songs next week. I don’t know what I would have done.”

Castro performed “I Shot the Sheriff” by Bob Marley for his first performance on Tuesday night, and both Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson thought the only similarity between the two were the dreadlocks. Jackson further described it as “really karaoke” and added it “wasn’t good.”

“Well Jason, stand back,” said Cowell to Castro before he laced into him. “That was utterly atrocious. That is a song you do not touch. The arrangement was atrocious and the singing was as bad as I’ve ever heard it. This was honestly like a first-round audition massacre. Honestly, I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Even Paula Abdul panned it.

“I wasn’t crazy about the performance or the song actually,” she said before trying to be positive. “But you’re so real, you’re so genuine — your artistry always shines through — and that’s who you are. You’ve won me over just for that.”

Castro then sang and played guitar on Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” during Tuesday night’s episode, but it got off to a rocky start when he blanked on some of the lyrics.

“Jason’s not in the zone tonight,” commented Jackson. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Jason,” added Cowell, “I’d pack your suitcase.”

Prior to Castro’s elimination last night, Syesha Mercado, a 21-year-old from Sarasota, FL who currently resides in Miami, was revealed to be the finalist who received the second lowest amount of home viewer votes following Tuesday night’s episode.

Before Seacrest revealed the results, he asked Castro why he thought he had such a difficult time on Tuesday night.

“I think it’s just getting tough for me. I think my inexperience is coming in,” he replied.

In addition, Seacrest said the “nearly 51 million” home viewer votes cast Tuesday night was the “highest this season.”

“And it was close,” he added. “The Top 3 all had within one million votes of each other.”

Also during last night’s download free verizon ringtones download free real ringtones for tmobile free sms ringtones free ringtones for nokia phone mobile ringtones converter free mp3 ringtones for t mobile get ringtones free nokia tracfone ringtones free nokia phone ringtones free ringtones for sprint phone boost free ringtones free verizon wireless ringtones cingular free music ringtones 24 ringtones ringtones com free yahoo ringtones metro pcs phone ringtones free ctu ringtones free gospel ringtones free nokia phone ringtones broadcast, fourth-season Idol runner-up Bo Bice performed his single “Witness” while Maroon 5 performed their new single “If I Never See Your Face Again.”

Idol’s three remaining seventh-season finalists — David Archuleta, David Cook and Mercado — will all take the stage and perform during next week’s live one-hour performance episode on Tuesday at 8PM ET/PT.

On Wednesday beginning at 9PM ET/PT, another finalist will be eliminated from the competition based on home viewer votes, revealing the season’s Top 2 finalists.

posted by Administrator on May 7

First off, anyone who cries should be disqualified immediately. This is American Idol not Old Yeller! Syesha broke down this week. I forget why. Maybe it was when Paula was blowing sunshine up her skirt, telling her what a great star she is. Of course she also said that to Vonzell Solomon, Anthony Federov, Carmen Rasmussen, and Trenyce.

But I will give her this — Syesha had the line of the night. Talking about why she chose to sing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Going to Come” she equated the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s to her journey on American Idol. Get real, Syesha! You had it so much harder.

I hate this week and next. There’s no suspense. We know who’s going to win. David Archuleta clinched that Tuesday night. The fun geezer mentors have all moved on to more drastic plastic surgery or their ninth comeback tours, we’re past the actual “theme” shows (can anything beat last year’s “Latin Night”, which did more harm to U.S./Latin relations than the Spanish-American War), your favorite has been booted off, and the Fox celebrities in the audience have been reduced to the bald guy on Prison Break.

Tonight’s theme was the “Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Museum”. (The producers must be getting a buck for every admission ticket sold this week.) This is such a narrow theme that “Baba O’Reilly” and “Love Me Tender” both qualified.

(Next year for the Top 4 why not make the theme the “4 Tops”? I’m just sayin’.)

David Archuleta’s dad chose two very good songs for him. “Stand By Me” the 1962 Ben E. King hit that David just “happened” to sing all the time in his room, thus making him the only 17 year old in America who knows of that song. (Dad picked it, who we fooling?) And then “Love Me Tender” from the Rock n’ Roll Museum’s schmaltzy wing.

But not only did he sing both great, he out-sang David Cook — and this was rock n’ roll night. David Cook’s milieu. It’s like if there were “monosyllabic grunt night” you’d expect Jason Castro to do well. Or at least passable.

David Cook’s two songs were “Hungry Like the Wolf”, which was “Boring Like the Drying Paint” and “Baba O’Reilly” - better but hardly “kick ass”. More like “accidentally brushing against ass”.

Syesha’s first tune was “Proud Mary”. She thought she was doing Tina Turner, but she was really doing the road tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin’”. Her second song was “A Change is Going to Come”. Sam Cooke originally sang it with a certain ease. Syesha almost brought her liver up through her throat.

And then there was Jason Castro. If American Idol were The Godfather Jason would be Fredo. This guy is an absolute disgrace. This week he massacred “I Shot the Sheriff” (adding the nice touch of having a guitar but never playing it) and then on “Mr. Tambourine Man” he not only killed it but then had sex with its empty skull. What does it say when he forgot some of the lyrics and that was the best part of his performance? Jason Castro has to go.

Next week I imagine is the tedious visits to the finalists’ hometowns. The banners. The proclamations. The parades down Main Street and through the trailer parks.

Just announce that David Archuleta is the winner and let us get on with our sad pathetic lives already.

You can read more from Ken at kenlevine.blogspot.com

posted by Administrator on May 7

It’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Week, otherwise known as David Cook Immunity Week, though his Duran Duran cover is nothing special. He suffers partly for reasons beyond his control from a weird sound mix that makes him seem like he’s almost singing a capella, partly because he doesn’t have the raw sexual stage presence this song needs. But also, singing in something close to his genre means he can’t do the David Cook thing of radically changing the song’s arrangement. Maybe he’d have been better off with Paul Anka Week.

— by James Poniewozik