American Idol News

David Cook’s debut album due this fall

Administrator — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:07:56 +0000

“American Idol” winner David Cook has teamed up with producer Rob Cavallo for his debut album, 19 Recordings/RCA Records said Tuesday.

The record label said Cook’s CD is due out this fall.

Best known for his work with Green Day, Cavallo has also produced records for artists such as Kid Rock, Eric Clapton, My Chemical Romance and Goo Goo Dolls. He is also working with the Dave Matthews Band on an upcoming release.

Cook has been in the studio when not on the road performing with the “American Idols Live” tour. He co-wrote many of the upcoming album tracks, alongside “some of music’s hottest rock songwriters,” his label said.

Bo Bice’s wife gives birth to baby boy

Administrator — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:06:44 +0000

Bo Bice’s publicist has confirmed to Usmagazine.com exclusively that the U.S. singer’s wife has given birth to a baby boy.

Caroline Fisher gave birth to little Caleb Tuesday, the entertainment news Web site reported.

The couple, who married in July 2005 and who live in Nashville, also have a son, Aidan, who will turn three next month.

“(Caleb) is a good biblical name,” Bice explained on the “American Idol” finale show this spring. “We stuck with that with both kids — good Irish and good biblical names… We’re just blessed to have such a beautiful family.”

Bice was the runner-up in the fourth edition of the singing competition show.

Kellie Pickler interested in ‘Dancing with the Stars’

Administrator — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:59:28 +0000

Julianne Hough has gone country and Kellie Pickler might go dancing.

The former American Idol fifth-season finalist told the two-time Dancing with the Stars professional champ that she’s interested in participating in the ABC reality series, OK! Weekly reported Thursday.

“I told Julianne I thought it would be fun,” Pickler told OK!.

While Pickler said she “used to do gymnastics for a while” and can “go to the clubs and shake it,” she added she’s also unsure how well she’d fair with the technical aspects of Dancing with the Stars.

“It would be a challenge for me to learn the technique,” Pickler told OK!.

Should Pickler compete on Dancing with the Stars, it would be quite the role reversal for her and Hough.

While Pickler is entertaining the idea of going Dancing with the Stars, she assured fans that making music is still her top priority.

“It’s only a couple months,” she told OK!. “It’s not like you’re signing on for the rest of your life. I will always be part of country music for as long as the country music family will have me.”

‘Idol’ Cook to endorse Skechers shoes

Administrator — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:57:13 +0000

U.S. recording artist David Cook said he is excited to be part of the ad campaign for Skechers shoes.

The 25-year-old “American Idol” winner and former Tulsa, Okla., resident has signed a deal to endorse the shoes in Skechers advertisements, starting this fall and continuing through December 2009, the Tulsa (Okla.) World reported Thursday.

“I have always viewed Skechers as a cool company, so I am excited to be a part of their campaign,” Cook said. “They’ve had some sensational singers like Carrie Underwood and Christina Aguilera as they were starting out and it will be great to be a part of the Skechers roster.”

Former ‘America Idol’ finalist Kristy Lee Cook signs recording contract

Administrator — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:50:46 +0000

Simon Cowell had stated Kristy Lee Cook’s odds of winning American Idol’s seventh season were “one million to one,” but that hasn’t prevented her from inking a record deal.

The 24-year-old Selma, OR native has signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville, and her debut album is currently scheduled to drop this fall.

“I’ve wanted this for so many years. To have the chance to be a country singer — to make the music I love — and to have enjoyed the support of so many American Idol fans this past season, it all means more than I can put into words,” said Cook. “Thank you so much to everyone. I’ll do my best to make you proud!”

Cook is the third seventh-season Idol finalist to have a recording contract signing announced, following in the footsteps of champ David Cook with 19 Recordings/RCA Records and runner-up David Archuleta with 19 Recordings/Jive Records.

Similar to RCA Records and Jive Records, Arista Nashville is a label that operates under the Sony BMG umbrella.

“Simon Cowell told Kristy Lee Cook on American Idol that she is a country singer. We definitely agreed and followed her very closely during the season,” said Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante. “We have been anxious to get her into the studio. Kristy Lee will be very relatable to the country audience and is destined to have hits.”

Of course, while Cowell did say Cook was a “country singer,” he didn’t say she was a particularly good one. During a Larry King Live appearance in April that featured Cowell and fellow Idol judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, Jackson was the one who thought Cook would make a good country recording artist.

“I don’t think she’ll win but I think she definitely could have a recording contract somewhere down the road,” said Jackson during the appearance. “She’d definitely make a good country girl.”

“The trouble is, I mean, she does sound okay doing country music,” retorted Cowell. “She’s just not a great country singer, that’s the problem. It’s all about being invisible and forgettable.”

Cook subsequently finished seventh during Idol’s seventh season. She then revealed she had been engaged to boyfriend Andy Dobner since March 15 but decided to keep it secret because she “just wanted to focus on music and American Idol.”

While Cook is currently participating in the American Idol Live 2008 tour, she is also working on her debut album with producer Brett James between stops.

Her first single — “15 Minutes of Shame” — is slated to hit the radio on August 11.

Former ‘American Idol’ finalist Paris Bennett pregnant with first child

Administrator — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:49:15 +0000

Paris Bennett is making the leap from pint-size powerhouse to parent.

The former American Idol fifth-season finalist — who will turn 20 on August 21 — is expecting the birth of a baby girl in October, Bennett’s mom Jamecia told the Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune on Thursday.

“I’m proud of how she did it. I was 16 when I got pregnant,” Jamecia told the Star Tribune.

Jamecia declined to comment on the identity of the baby’s father at his request.

“He chooses not to be in the public eye,” she told the Star Tribune. “I respect that.”

While the father may not want to be identified at the time being, Jamecia told the Star Tribune that he has given Bennett a “ring” — making mom “hopeful” that a wedding is in the works.

An August baby shower is currently being planned for Bennett, according to the Star Tribune, and the guest list could include such celebrities as her grandmother, gospel and R&B singer Ann Nesby, and singer and actress Queen Latifah.

Nicknamed “Princess P” during her Spring 2006 Idol run — in which she finished fifth — Bennett’s second album is reportedly slated to drop later this year.

Former Idol Champ Studdard to Wed

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:22:02 +0000

He won the affection of millions of people on “American Idol,” but this weekend, Ruben Studdard is giving his heart to one woman.

A representative for the former “Idol” confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that Studdard, 29, plans a Saturday wedding. He and Surata Zuri McCants, 30, took out a marriage license on Monday, according to court records.

The Birmingham native, nicknamed the “Velvet Teddy Bear” on the show for his big frame and sonorous voice, has released three albums since his 2003 win, including the platinum CD “Soulful.” He is working on a new album.

Simon Cowell: Josiah Leming should have been ‘Idol’ semifinalist

Administrator — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:39:37 +0000

Simon Cowell admits that Josiah Leming should have been an American Idol seventh-season semifinalist, however he’s placing the blame for why it didn’t happen on his fellow judges.

“We should have put him through,” Cowell told the Knoxville News Sentinel in a Friday report. “I was all for it. I wanted him in the competition.”

Leming auditioned for Idol’s seventh season last summer in Atlanta and wowed the judges with “To Run,” a song he wrote. He made it through to the Hollywood Round and continued to impress the judges with both his vocal ability and piano-playing skills on “Grace Kelly.”

However he faltered badly during his final Hollywood Round performance when he was ill-prepared and sleep deprived, singing a rendition of “Stand By Me” with no musical accompaniment.

While Randy Jackson called it Leming’s “worst performance” and Paula Abdul added it “didn’t work,” it’s not as though Cowell was completely blameless, as he characterized the 18-year-old as being “a teensy-weensy bit annoying” and singing with “overconfidence.”

Still, Cowell said he wanted to send Leming through to the Top 24 only to be shot down by both Jackson and Abdul.

“I don’t know what they were thinking,” Cowell told the News Sentinel. “I wanted him through.”

Idol’s loss worked out pretty well for Leming, who recently signed a recording and publishing contract with Warner Bros. Records. His debut album is currently scheduled to drop in September.

“I think I was proven right,” Cowell told the News Sentinel.

Paula Abdul and restaurateur J.T. Torregiani no longer dating

Administrator — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:12:12 +0000

The American Idol judge and her restaurateur beau have called it quits on their romantic relationship, her publicist Jeffrey Ballard told E! News in a Friday report.

“They broke up months ago,” Ballard told E! News, while a rep for Torregiani “insisted” the two are still together.

The 45-year-old Abdul and 32-year-old nightclub owner first met last April following an Idol taping and began dating as the sixth-season wrapped its broadcast run last May.

The couple moved in together last October, however Ballard told E! News that Torregiani — who is a partner in The Dolce Group, the Los Angeles restaurant group that was co-founded by Big Brother second-season houseguest and All-Stars winner Mike “Boogie” Malin — is currently living with a friend in the Hollywood Hills.

“[They] still are friendly, though,” Ballard told E! News.

David Cook to perform at charity dinner

Administrator — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:02:52 +0000

Singer David Cook is to perform and comedian Jimmy Kimmel is to act as host of a California charity event to raise money for cancer research, organizers said.

The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at UCLA, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising private funds for highest priority cancer research, said it is planning its 13th annual Taste for a Cure event June 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Fox Broadcasting Company President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly will be honored with the Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award, while Kimmel will emcee the event and 2008 “American Idol” winner Cook is to perform.

Taste for a Cure is a wine and food tasting reception followed by a seated dinner with creations by award-winning chefs selected to prepare the tasting menu and dinner.

This year’s chefs are Lee Hefter and Ari Rosenson of CUT; Joachim Splichal of Nick & Stef’s; and Paul Villa and Nick Kislo of BOA Steakhouse, the foundation said.