Grammy Nominations

Wow, Idol is all over the Grammy nominations list. This is awesome for the show! Congratulations to Chris Daughtry for receiving 4 nominations! Here's a rundown of what happened...

Daughtry
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Home
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - It's Not Over
Best Rock Song - It's Not Over (nominated with Ace!)
Best Rock Album - Daughtry

Carrie Underwood
Song of the Year - Before He Cheats (technically, it's a songwriter's award so Carrie herself isn't nominated, but still...)
Best Female Country Performance - Before He Cheats
Best Country Song - Before He Cheats (again, a songwriter's award)
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - Oh Love (with Brad Paisley)

Fantasia
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance - When I See You
Best R&B Song - When I See You (songwriter's award)
Best Contemporary R&B Album - Fantasia

Kelly Clarkson
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - Because of You (with Reba McEntire)

Mandisa
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album - True Beauty

Good luck to everyone! I hope they spread the wealth and everyone gets at least one.

Melinda Doolittle's Post-Idol Success

Dear friends,

I am very confused as to why Melinda Doolittle from Season 6 of American Idol has not be snatched up by a record label. I have been craving some of her soulful singing and I think the world needs as many REAL singers as we can find.

Instead, the only thing I have seen her do is a commercial for a restaurant? A CHICKEN restaurant? Oh lord...



"Crunch, crunch, mmmhmmmmm."

Elliott Yamin - "One Word" Music Video

Why did the make Elliott Yamin jump around and try to dance in his music video for "One Word"? And is it just me or are his khaki pants belted too high? Also, he looks best in the car (natural/casual) rather than the big hair, trendy fedora or semi-slicked (pictured) looks.

His voice is great, I love this song but I think the video feels "forced."

American Idol Season 7 + Blake Lewis' Album Cover

The next edition of “American Idol” doesn’t start until January - but the Hollywood phase of the show, where scores of hopefuls are narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, is about to begin and a new season is officially underway.

Several changes are in the works, officials say, including:

- changing the format to let singers show other musical talents, such as guitar playing.

- many fewer “mentors,” those established musical stars like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett, who appeared every week last season and took attention away from the contestants.

- and next summer, the annual “Idol” live tour may be combined with the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour - to create a show with both singing and dancing.

Clay Aiken Sings 'Solitaire' for Neil Sedaka Tribute

Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride

Today, MSN Canada posted a full sneak peek of Carrie's new album, Carnival Ride which will hit the stores on Oct. 23. I have listened to the whole album once and have some initial thoughts. First, it's a good album but I don't think it's as good as Some Hearts. When I first heard Some Hearts I didn't think it was a very good album and was a little disappointed in it. However, after listening to a couple of times I grew to love it and it's one of my favorite Idol albums yet. I feel like Carnival Ride is trying to be a little more "serious" and the songs don't have the same fun feel to them that some of the songs on Some Hearts did.

The other big thing that I noticed about it is that they are really trying to show off Carrie's voice. We all know that she has a powerful voice but it seems like every song has a power note in it that she's always going for. After a while it gets really old and begins to sound as if she's yelling through every song (I Know You Won't is the worst offender of this. I almost just skipped the song because I got tired of the high note over and over again).

With that being said, I did hear about 4 songs that will probably make radio play and I am sure that those songs will only give Carrie many more awards in the next year or two. I am sure that this will be another huge album for her. Grade on the initial listen: B-. I am sure that will change after I've listened to it a couple of times.

To hear the album go to MSN Canada.

Fantasia!?

Hell to the NO! Why comes, Tay Tay? Why comes?

This recently leaked picture of Fantasia on vacation shows a little more of our Idol than we wanted to see (ok, maybe a lot more!) Why would Fantasia go out and do something like this? Yeesh!

After seeing this, I need to cleanse my palette a little. Where are the shirtless pics of Chris Richardson?

Thanks to lovebscott.com for posting the pics.

Clay Aiken in Spamalot!

Clay Aiken will make his Broadway debut in "Spamalot" this January reports Playbill. He will play the role of Sir Robin originated by David Hyde Pearce. He will play the role through May 4th.

Director Mike Nichols said, "Clay Aiken is amazing beyond that glorious voice. Turns out he is an excellent comic actor and a master of character. People will be surprised by his wide ranging talent, since the first impression is of great country charm and a singer to remember. This guy is not only a star, he is a lot more. We are lucky to get him for Spamalot."

Elliott Yamin Christmas Album

The NBC Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection is now available at Target stores.

Yes, Elliott Yamin is Jewish, but he loves Christmas music. The songs include: “This Christmas”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “Merry Christmas, Baby”, “The Christmas Song” and “Jingle Bells”.

Elliott also recorded three originals: “A Very Merry Christmas”, “Let’s be Naughty (And Save Santa the Trip)” and “Warm Me Up”.

Shayne Ward - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

A short while ago I posted about a young man named Shayne Ward and a video for his sexy single, "No U Hang Up". After viewing that video a few times I started checking out his performances on X-Factor. Turns out, he's really talented, really cute and really really sweet! Check out this video and watch the entire 6.5 minutes (you can do it) to see him talk about how important the competition is to him and how much he wants to be a professional singer:

Kelly Clarkson - Don't Waste Your Time

Here's Kelly Clarkson's newest video/single, "Don't Waste Your Time". It's one of the more radio-friendly tracks on her album My December, however I think we're all ready for a HAPPY Kelly. All her songs are so bitter that I'm starting to get a permanent sour taste in my mouth. Let's hope her next album (Clive-influenced or not) will focus on some new life themes.

We still love you Kelly and you look beautiful in this video!

Best line of the song:

Don’t waste your time on me my friend
Friend, what does that even mean?

**UPDATE: Apparently this is the single for the UK. The US single is "Sober" and the video is going to be released next week.

Zach Efron vs. Clay Aiken

It's not really a showdown of singing abilities, but more a chance to compare and contrast their looks...

Shayne Ward

Although Shayne Ward is not technically under the "Idol" umbrella he was the winner of Simon Cowell's X-Factor show in 2005... so I think it's OK to discuss him here.

I'm not sure how I stumbled on Shayne but I've really been into his sound for the last couple of days (which is a long time in my attention-frantic life). He's an R&B white guy with a little bit of boy band thrown in for good measure.

I think his new single is really sexy:

He also kind of looks like Wade Robson.

What do you all think? A bit of pop fluff or potential star?

Revisionist Idol - Season 6

1. Melinda Doolittle (actual finish, 3rd): VINDICATION! Melinda won by a comfortable margin. Most of the negative comments about her dwelled on her "boring" qualities, but I think there was a widespread acknowledgment that, on the basis of singing alone, she was the best.

2. Blake Lewis (2nd): Blake gets the runner-up trophy again.

3. Jordin Sparks (1st): And the actual Idol is dethroned. Interestingly, just like two other dethroned Idols in this poll (Ruben and Taylor), she fell all the way to third. (Carrie managed to hang in as a close second to Bo, while Kelly and Fantasia held on to their championships.) A recurrent comment on Jordin was that she needs more seasoning, or something to that effect.

4. LaKisha Jones (4th): So the top four remains, with Melinda and Jordin switching positions. LaKisha got a lot of respect for her voice, with complaints mostly centering on her perceived arrogance and uncomfortability in the spotlight.

5. Phil Stacey (6th): A nice little bump for Phil, who came very close to knocking LaKisha out of the final four. In retrospect, after all the Nosferatu jokes, he seems very well-liked.

6. Gina Glocksen (9th): Where did that come from? All of a sudden Gina is anointed the high-potential rocker deprived of her rightful status by an early exit.
7. Chris Richardson (5th)
8. Stephanie Edwards (11th): Well, she would have made the tour if this poll determined it. Tied with Gina for the biggest jump from reality, on votes obviously based on her potential. I agree; I would have liked to see what she could have done, and wonder if she actually had more to offer (in the sense of being able to handle a wider variety of music) than LaKisha?
9. Chris Sligh (10th): Just a hair behind Stephanie, but still manages to improve his standing. Still, a preponderance of comments suggested he blew it for himself, either by slacking off or mouthing off.
10. Haley Scarnato (8th)
11. Sanjaya Malakar (7th): Biggest divergence from reality in the vote, and not unexpectedly -- most true Idol fans tended to resent the sideshow he created. It sure would have been a lot easier to handle if he'd managed to sing half-decently.
12. Brandon Rogers (12th)

Revisionist Idol - Season 5

via Idol Chatter

1. Elliott Yamin (finished 3rd on the show): I think Elliott was fortunate enough to have both a dedicated core of fans and at the same time be the finalist who was most liked by dedicated fans of other singers. I think he has just become (or may always have been) the most likable, least polarizing finalist of the season.

2. Chris Daughtry (4th): Chris' fervent fans, and those impressed by his post-show dominance on the sales and airplay charts, were enough to offset his detractors and net him the retrospective runner-up trophy.

3. Taylor Hicks (1st): He always was a polarizing figure on the show, and his lower profile since (which is quite likely at least partially by choice) may have cost him in the long run.

4. Kellie Pickler (6th): How about that? Many commenters mentioned how impressed they were with the way her post-show career has developed (must not insert bad joke here...). A new country artist selling more than 600,000 records is remarkable; to expect her to equal Carrie's sales is unrealistic -- Carrie's career is one of those rare, perfectly aligned combinations of timing, circumstance and talent. Kellie's album showed off surprising depth and a knack for lighthearted, upbeat country, and clearly it (and her public persona) impressed a lot of you, enough to give her a two-notch boost in the rankings.

5. Mandisa (9th): Now that surprised me. It is a consistent result with the retrospective boosts received by Tamyra, Nadia and La Toya, adding to the feeling that Idol frequently gives short shrift to talented African American female vocalists. But I'm not sure that alone, and her modest post-Idol career, explains her extremely strong showing in this vote.

6. Bucky Covington (8th): Close behind Mandisa (it's a very tight little cluster between positions 7 to 4), the season's other emergent country star improved on his original ranking. I think his chart success and artistic growth were factors, as well as his evident likability, which only became more apparent from his diary entries on this blog earlier in the year. Plus he gave Taylor-haters a Southern rockish guy to vote for.

You may have noticed the absence so far of a very prominent Season 5 finalist, who can finally be found at ...

7. Katharine McPhee (2nd): Wholly surprising! (Well, partially surprising, anyway.) This was easily the most radical rejection of a top-two finisher so far. Factors presumably include her relatively sluggish sales (although, at least at this point, they're in the same neighborhood as Elliott's), dissatisfaction with her post-Idol musical choices, and a strong feeling (one that kept coming up in comments) that she was an unlikable personality, an overprivileged type, or an erratic singer (or two or three of those things). Something of a shocker.
8. Paris Bennett (5th): Paris also took a tumble in the rankings, likely a combination of her perceived immaturity and widespread disappointment with the album she recorded.
9. Ace Young (7th): Not having an album out yet surely didn't help his cause. It was interesting to see how many people who voted for him cited Father Figure (which if I recall he sang in the semifinals) as their reason for picking him.
10. Lisa Tucker (10th): Finally, down in 10th place, someone's revised ranking actually matches the historical finish. Lisa got some nice comments about how well she performed on tour, but many felt her youth held her back.
11. Melissa McGhee (12th)
12. Kevin Covais (11th)

Revisionist Idol - Season 4

via Idol Chatter

Clearly, fans of the winners don't have nearly the same fierceness of motivation as the "wronged" fans. The winner already, well, won, so there's not a huge need to mobilize to make sure it happens again in a re-vote such as this.

1. Bo Bice (actual finish, 2nd): Shocking, considering post-idol success.

2. Carrie Underwood (actual finish, 1st): It was actually a close race. The margin of difference amounted to a little more than 2 1/2 percent of the total points earned by Bo and Carrie. I think it was that Bo's fans cared more than Carrie's -- I've got to think in sheer numbers, Carrie's got more fans -- certainly the kind that buy records (although I wouldn't blame any Bo fans for boycotting his debut album, which I agree with most of you was not representative of his talents).

3. Constantine Maroulis (6th)

4. Nadia Turner (8th): Like Tamyra and La Toya before her, people thought she was a superior singer who might have lost personality points to other, inferior finalists.

5. Vonzell Solomon (3rd): Vonzell just didn't seem to inspire a whole lot of reminiscent passion. We might be forgetting how much she improved over the course of the show; finishing third, she was a sleeper, but a much more talented one than, say, Jasmine.

6. Anthony Fedorov (4th): Fans complimented his voice, heart-tugging back story and nice-guy personality, but the combined Constantine and Nadia movement kept him from matching his actual rank.
7. Jessica Sierra (10th): She has a lot of fans she may not know about; many rated her above Carrie (rather questionable), but the enthusiasm for her vocal stylings was stronger than expected.
8. Anwar Robinson (7th)
9. Nikko Smith (9th)
10. Lindsey Cardinale (12th): Voters in this poll don't seem to think Idol gets it right in the early eliminations. For a last-placer, Lindsey drew a surprising amount of support, praising her versatile vocals.
11. Scott Savol (5th): And the award for the biggest divergence from his actual finish goes to the smooth, soulful singer with the weird personality. His legal run-ins have done him no favors in the memories of Idol fans, apparently, as he was mentioned on very few ballots.
12. Mikalah Gordon (11th): Whew. Any other result and I would have strongly questioned your collective sanity. The novelty contestant of Season 4 is listed in the thesaurus as a synonym for "abrasive."

Tattoo - Jordin Sparks

Jordin has finally released the first single from her debut album. The song is titled "Tattoo" and it's a mid-tempo pop/r&b song. Personally, I love it. Jordin sounds perfect on it. I think the song is very catchy and the lyrics aren't overly horrible. It sounds like something that Beyonce would sing (actually I've heard people say that it sounds a lot like Irreplaceable.) This a good sound for Jordin. I will be very curious to see if she stays in this route or tries to fit into a different genre. I look forward to hearing the rest of her album.

You can listen to Tattoo here on AOL Music.

Revisionist Idol - Season 3

1. Fantasia Barrino (actual finish, 1st)

2. Diana DeGarmo (2nd)

3. LaToya London (4th): Here's where we start to diverge from the historical record. Many felt she was robbed; I have to admit some degree of satisfaction that she won third place in this poll, displacing Jasmine Trias, whom I couldn't buy as a third-place Idol (she equates to the equally overrated Nikki McKibbin, rather than other, more stellar third-placers such as Kimberley Locke, Vonzell Solomon, Elliott Yamin and Melinda Doolittle. Speaking of Melinda, LaToya seems highly comparable to her and Tamyra Gray -- undeniably excellent singers whose cooler demeanors (as opposed to the more fiery Fantasias and LaKishas) seemed to arouse indifference in the hearts of Idol voters.

4. Jennifer Hudson (7th): Before we started on Season 3, I thought Jennifer might make it all the way to No. 2 based on her subsequent high profile. Indeed, she did very well, but a lot of people were still put off by her personality and unimpressed by her inconsistency. This placing seems pretty close to justice in my book -- she definitely didn't deserve to go out as soon as she did, but Fantasia cleaned her clock on the show. (We'll see what happens in the record marketplace when Jennifer puts her album out.)

5. George Huff (5th): I thought of George as an inferior version of Ruben, but probably more family-friendly. Given more of a shot, Brandon Rogers may have aspired to George's level.

6. Amy Adams (10th)
7. Camile Velasco (9th)
8. Jasmine Trias (3rd): Huge drop from the 2004 result, belated recognition, I like to think, that she was way over her head in finishing third.
9. Jon Peter Lewis (8th)
10. Leah Labelle (12th): I wonder who the most undeserving 12th-place finisher is -- Leah? Vanessa? Or some of the names to come?
11. Matthew Rogers (11th): Ended up matching his actual finishing point. Works for me. A friendly disposition is not enough to make an Idol.
12. John Stevens (6th): Poor Red.

Revisionist Idol - Season 2

Just like the last post, this was based on comments left on the blog Idol Chatter about how viewers would rank past season contestants in the present day. No surprise that Season 2 should have been won by Clay Aiken.

1. Clay Aiken (2): Duh!

2. Kimberley Locke (3)

3. Ruben Studdard (1)

4. Josh Gracin (4)

5. Trenyce (5)

6. Rickey Smith (8): Big move up for Rickey, whose residual popularity I was unaware of. His supple voice and friendly personality seemed to be his big strong points.
7. Kimberly Caldwell (7)
8. Carmen Rasmusen (6)
9. Vanessa Olivarez (12): How about this? She very nearly knocked off Carmen for 8th, retaining a lot of good will despite getting to perform in the finals only once.
10. Julia De Mato (10): A few strong supporters but clearly not enough.
11. Charles Grigsby (11)
12. Corey Clark (9 -- eliminated without a vote for failing to disclose a previous arrest): Corey has clearly left a very bad taste in the collective minds.

Carrie Hits A(nother) High Note

Carrie Underwood's new single, So Small, the lead track from her second album (due Oct. 23), makes its debut on the Radio & Records/Billboard country chart at No. 20. That's the highest debut position for a solo country female singer in Nielsen BDS history ... as well as the highest debut for any song this year.

GO CARRIE!

Revisionist Idol - Season 1

This is a cool idea asking blog readers/Idol fans to re-imagine the results of past season of American Idol. Would your favorite contestant still win? Who made it too far or not far enough? Season 1 was pretty obvious (see below) but the what about the other seasons?

Leave a comment with your opinion on how Season 2 SHOULD'VE gone down.

Via USA Today's 'Idol Chatter' blog.

1. (and still champion) Kelly Clarkson (1st): Kelly didn't win in a landslide -- it was a pretty tight battle -- but the result was clear. I've got to go along with this verdict -- Kelly has done the franchise proud, and I don't know that anyone else in this crop could have come close to equaling her subsequent achievements.

2. Tamyra Gray (4th): Clearly the feeling is that Tamyra got robbed by the original voters. She was far and away the No. 2 vote-getter in this poll, a lot closer to Kelly than to the No. 3 finisher. As a postscript to the interesting but perhaps overheated discussion that cropped up about her post-Idol accomplishments, maybe she did make the right decision in gravitating toward acting and songwriting, but it would have been nice to have seen what she could have done as a singer with a big push (rather than an album that snuck out well over a year after her Idol season concluded).

3. Justin Guarini (2nd): Justin's fast fade from the public eye (aided and abetted by the From Justin to Kelly movie, which strangely didn't seem to affect Kelly's image at all, and the corporate neglect suffered by his first album) is reflected in his loss of standing retrospectively. He was the clear No. 3 choice, but was way behind Tamyra in the voting, and only a couple of people cared enough to vote him No. 1.

4. Christina Christian (6th): Substantial support for Christina, who on this vote joins Tamyra in what could be, by the time this exercise is complete, a substantial subset of African-American female singers who people now feel got a raw deal from the voters at the time. It'll be interesting to see where Kimberley Locke, Trenyce, Jennifer Hudson, La Toya London, Nadia Turner, Vonzell Solomon and others wind up in the revisionist vote.

5. RJ Helton (5th): A bit of a surprise, not that he equaled his actual finish but that he beat real-life third-place finisher Nikki McKibbin to do it (by the slimmest margin between any two finalists). I found RJ inoffensive if bland, but a superior singer to Nikki, so I was pleased to see this result.

6. Nikki McKibbin (3rd): Biggest gap between actual finish and revised vote, and well-deserved if you ask me -- I always thought Nikki was overrated, and her claim as a "rock chick" quite dubious -- Gina Glocksen could probably sing rings around her.
7. Ryan Starr (7th): Fairly substantial gap between Nikki and Ryan, who struck me as substantially more bogus than Nikki -- although she was arguably better than her piano-climbing male namesake on Rockstar: Supernova. She was kind of the Haley Scarnato of her day (in terms of teenage boy appeal), but less wholesome.
8. E. Jay Day (9th): E Jay carves out a small triumph by getting voted a notch higher than his actual finish. Having zero memory of his singing ability, I can't comment as to the merits of this result.
9. A.J. Gil (8th): The boy-band-esque A.J. was the victim of E. Jay's success, falling to ninth in the revisionist standings. No great loss, if I recall.
10. Jim Verraros (10th): And as it was in the beginning, so shall it be for eternity (or until the next poll comes around). Coming out didn't gain Jim a lot of retroactive support, it appears.

Carrie's New Single!! - So Small

Carrie released her new single (the first from her upcoming album) today to radio stations. It seems like a station in North Carolina was the first to play it. I was able to hear it, and I gotta say I think Carrie has a HUGE hit on her hands. This is a song very similar to Jesus, Take the Wheel in theme and her voice really soars all over it. I am sensing a ton more awards are going to be coming her way this next year. And if this song is any indication of what the rest of her album is going to sound like then I think Carrie will indeed be the best selling Idol of all time.

Thanks to Kevipodmusic.blogspot.com for ripping it and posting on their site. If you would like to hear the song click here.

My December Review

I did a once through of the new album last week. I figured I would allow myself to listen to it just once and get an initial reaction and then wait until the CD came out to buy it and listen again. When I listened to it last week I wasn't all that impressed. In fact, I was a little bored with it. I left it that and waited until last night when I went to Virgin Megastore at midnite to buy it.

I put it on in my car and drove home with the music blasting. This time around I was surrounded by some great rocking songs that caught my attention. I wasn't a big fan of Never Again when it first came out but it really grew on me. I love hearing it now. It's like "Since U Been Gone" part 2.

Next up was "One Minute" which is a 80s sounding pop/rock song. I think this would sound great on the radio right now. I really like this song.

"Hole" is another fast pop/rock song. After these three upbeat catchy songs I was hooked.

Then we get the ballad "Sober". Kelly has said that this is her favorite song on the album and I have to agree. The music is so soft and simple but hearing Kelly's voice slowly crescendo into a full out belting just gives me chills. I love this song.

"Don't Waste Your Time" is another 80s sounding upbeat song that has a catchy chorus. I can also hear this on the radio right now. However, this is the first song where I thought the lyrics were pretty elementary.

"Judas" is an upbeat song that really does nothing for me. Lyrically, nothing stood out. I didn't care for the chorus. And her voice didn't do anything exceptional. This is a skipper for me.

"Haunted" is a crowd favorite from the live shows. A lot of people were hoping she put this on her last album. This song is the most "Evanescence" sounding song on the CD. You can easily hear Amy Lee singing this. It also reminds me a lot of Addicted from the last album. It has a softer verse but a rocking chorus. It's good. However, of the two, I prefer Addicted.

"Be Still" is a ballad. Kelly's voice is very soft on this one and shows some yearning emotion. It's pretty but I feel that it's a little boring.

"Maybe" is another ballad, however this one is much better than Be Still. Again, Kelly's voice really shows off the emotion of the song. This is a strong song.

"How I Feel" is another upbeat song that has a chance at radio play. I think it's a fun song but it does have some twinges of Ashlee Simpson in the vocals (if Ashlee could actually sing). I do like this song though.

"Yeah" kinda bores me so I dont' really know what to say.

"Can I Give You A Kiss" is a midtempo song that never really takes off. I feel like her voice is too big for the song so it sounds a little awkward.

"Irvine" sounds as if it was recorded in a closet. Everything about it is small and cramped; including Kelly's voice. This song is supposed to be very personal but I think it's just a little boring.

"Chivas" is another song that sounds as if it was recorded on the fly outside of a studio. It's a fun little bar type song. I love her little laugh at the end that shows that she's just having some fun with it.

Overall, I like this album a lot more than I thought I would. I can see Clive's concerns with it because it's definitely NOT a radio album (meaning a lot of the songs aren't radio friendly). So for a person that is in it for the money I can see him wanting to make a lot of changes. I feel like this album is much more of a singer/songwriter type instead of pop. Yes, there aren't a lot of radio hits that will have people bouncing around and wanting to sing at karaoke but that doesn't mean the songs aren't good. In fact, about half of the songs are really good. People just need to not be expecting Breakaway again.

Best songs:
Sober
Never Again
One Minute
Hole
Don't Waste Your Time
How I Feel
Maybe
Haunted
Chivas

Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson - Because of You

Elliott Yamin LIVE - June 12, 2007

I had the pleasure to see Elliott Yamin perform live at the small, but famous venue Slim's in San Francisco. With less than 400 people inside, it was an intimate show where we were all afforded a fantastic view and could easily hear his beautiful voice.

After the show, he stayed as long as he could for meet-and-greets even though he needed to be on the bus ASAP in order to get to L.A. for press at 5am the next morning. I brought my copy of his CD and he autographed it and shook my hand while thanking me for supporting him.

I hope he continues to make music and tour because I am officially a Yaminiac!

The Future of Kelly

There has been so much news surrounding Kelly Clarkson recently that you can't help but wonder how it's going to affect her and her career. Back in April we got word that Clive Davis didn't like her new album and wanted to scrap the whole thing and get professional writers to write new songs for her (Kelly either wrote or co-wrote her entire album). Then, at the Idol finale Clive takes a dig at her by saying that Carrie and Daughtry were so sucessful because of the professional writers they had for their albums. The Kelly announces that she's going to release the new album regardless of what Clive thinks because it's so personal and it's what she's about right now. Then goes on to say in an interview that she's never been in love, never said "I Love You" to anyone, doesn't give a crap about fame, money or celebrity, and is just all about the music. Then her album leaked and people got a sneak peek at what everyone was talking about. And most recently we get the news that her ticket sales are so low that she's cancelled her summer tour. That's a lot that's been happening in two months. And on the eve of her new album dropping we have to stop and wonder "has everyone suddenly turned against Kelly?"

Well from my perspective, I'm glad that Kelly is actually standing up for what she believes in and is trying to do her own thing. It's so hard to do that in the music industry when it's all about sales. Not to mention that she still has Idol attached to her persona. But, having listened to all the official sneaks (basically anything that is on AOL Music) I think I'm actually agreeing with Clive on this one. I liked Never Again, but I didn't love it (but it has grown on me a lot). And the three other clips from AOL Music didn't really impress me at all. In fact, the three clips were so different from each other that it made me wonder if she really knows what kind of an artist she is yet. The styles are so different from each other. While that's not a bad thing if you do it album to album, it's a little distracting when you do it song to song. The album won't have a cohesive flow to it. When AOL released the full version of the second single Sober I listened to it and wasnt' expecting much but i LOVED it. I think that's the song that could save Kelly from falling into a disaster with this album. The song is very heartfelt and the music is simple and gorgeous. I am very excited to see how that one does.

I am concerned about Kelly's ticket sales. Maybe she just isn't ready to sell out arenas. But that really does surprise me when she's one of the biggest artists on the planet right now. Plus Britney can sell out arenas and she doesn't even sing at her conerts. I'm hoping this whole thing is not some sort of backlash against her because of what Clive said. Maybe she just isn't ready yet but once this album drops and some new songs get released she'll be right back up there.

Even though i'm very skeptical of this new album (and I really hope I'm proven wrong) I will be at Virgin Megastore right at midnite to buy it. I am very excited to hear the full product and see what she has in store for us. I hope that she is able to prove Clive and other critics wrong. Good Luck Kelly!

Moving Forward By Looking Back

Another season of Idol has come and gone. While it was great having our favorite show back on TV it seems like a lot of people that this was the worst season yet. People really couldn't get into the contestants for some reason. I don't really agree with that but I do agree that the excitement just wasn't the same as in past seasons. I think there are severals things the producers can do next year to help rebuild the excitement the show once had.

1) Cut back on the audition episodes. Every year we get more and more audition episodes and we see less and less actual talent. We have to sit through 3 weeks of bad auditions before the show actually starts taking place. That's just way too much. If they want to show that many bad people then I'd rather do it in two weeks with 2 hour episodes rather than waiting a full month before we get to Hollywood rounds.

2) Show more of the Hollywood rounds. It was ridiculous that we only got one hour of Hollywood week this year before we got to the Green Mile episode. How are we supposed to get to know some of the contestants if we don't see their audition and don't see anything in Hollywood? We need to see some episodes of the Hollywood round to get familiar with you is left in the show.

3) Get rid of the guest coaches each week. Idol has become nothing more but a way for current artists to sell albums. The whole purpose of this show is to find new, undiscovered talent not to help current artists make money. We just don't need to see them every single week. Having them on the show takes away from the audience getting to know the contestants a little more.

4) Better theme nights. While it's arguable that every season has its share of bad theme weeks I still think that season 1 has had the best. The themes were broad enough that the contestants were able to pick songs that fit their style but still fit the theme of the week. Choosing themes based on the artist is so limiting it's not even funny. The worst of this was Gloria Estefan week which was a total trainwreck. This year we had Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Barry Gibb week. While I actually liked Bon Jovi week I still think that these were too tight of a theme. We need to go back to 90s, 80s, jazz, country, etc. These theme are broad enough to allow the contestants to find a way to work within that theme.

5) Bring back the group performances on elimination night. Rather that have the guest coach perform and take away time from the contestants, I would rather see them perform their group numbers again. I find them fun and a great way to compare the contestants against each other.

6) Get rid of the 1 hr result shows. One hour is way too long for a 5 minute result. And the filler just isn't any good. Read #5 for more. It's a great way to cut the show back down to 30 min.

7) The one thing I did like this season were the singles each week. It was great to finally get a studio version of the song that was sung the night before. Many times you hope your favorite contestants sings that song for the final compilation CD and it doesn't happen. This is a great way to get those songs, plus create your contestant's first CD before releasing something on an official label. I hope they continue this practice next year.

So that's it. That's what I would do to make the show better. Let me know if you agree.

Kelly Clarkson - My December (snippets)

The countdown has begun until the release of Kelly Clarkson's third album, My December. June 26, 2007 is when you can get your hands on the CD but for this moment we have a few snippets available on AOL Music to whet our appetites.

My personal favorite is "Sober".

Kelly said this was her favorite song on the album because "musically, it's almost hypnotic. You just get lost in it, it's just so beautiful. This song is about surviving something you think you can get past or over. I'm not an alcoholic; that's not what it's about. It's just a metaphor. Everyone has something they are addicted to that they can do without in their life, so it could be about whatever your addiction is."

CLICK HERE to listen to "Sober" and three other tracks from the album.

Idol Run-In

Yep, that's me and American Idol: Season 5's Paris Bennett (or now I guess it's Princess P). While attending Gay Day at Great America I had the pleasure to see Paris, Frenchie Davis and Kimberley Locke all perform live. It was fantastic! I was so giddy because I have never been to an Idol taping so other than the tour (which is a different feeling) and these girls delivered a really great show. They each sang a couple of songs and talked for a few minutes about their lives.

Do you want me to post some more pictures?

Jordin Sparks Wins

I'm bored.

Finale!! Lewis vs. Sparks

So here it is, the final showdown between Blake Lewis, the beatboxer, versus Jordin Sparks, the 17 year old vocal phenom. This is actually the finale that I was hoping for since around the Top 7 or so. I didnt think that Melinda would actually get knocked off so I had no hope of actually seeing this finale happen. But then last week was a huge shock and here we are. I think tonite will be very interesting because we have style vs substance. Blake is a good singer, but not a great singer. He's made a name for himself because of his unusual song choices, great stage performance, and of course the beat boxing and song arrangements. Jordin is obviously a brilliant singer that has really grown throughout the competition. So who wins? We'll find out tonite, and I think it's going to come down to the Idol single. Whoever performs it better will be your winner. Having listened to the song choice on the American Idol website I have to say, I'm not really happy with it. The song is pure cheese and it's designed to be a "singers" song; meaning that someone with vocal chops should do well with it. It will be interesting to see what Blake does with it. If he puts his own spin on it that could make all the difference.

Blake - You Give Love a Bad Name. I'm glad he chose to do this song again. This was easily the best and most talked about performance of the season. He really made it his own. He starts the song off well (didn't miss his cue this time) and carries it throughout the whole performance. He looks so comfortable on stage and is moving around and having fun. He's engaging the audience. This is an arena type song and he's doing his best to make it sound like one. His beatboxing totally works for this song. Overall it was an excellent way to start the final night. Good for him! Grade A

Jordin - Fighter. Whoa I'm really surprised that Jordin is going for a Christina song. She's got the voice but doesn't really have the soul that Christina does. Fighter is kind of a tough song as well. It'll be interesting to see how she does. Well, vocally she's handling it pretty well. She does sound good but it's hard to hear this without hearing Christina sing it. Also, Jordin needs to do more with the song. She just walks up to the front of the stage and sings. The song is about being a fighter, being a strong woman, being tough. She should show that in the performance. She should move around and try to engage the audience. Instead, she's just standing there in the middle of the stage, as if she was singing a soft ballad. Vocally it was good but performance-wise she could have done so much more. Grade A-

Blake - She Will Be Loved. Well he seems to have found his comfort zone in Maroon5 and I can't blame him. This is the type of music that his voice works well with. He starts off alright, no major problems. The song does fit his voice quite nicely. When he goes for the falsetto notes in the chorus we finally hear him strain a little. I'm not sure if he can't sing falsetto or if the note is just a little too high for him but he never hits it. He falls just under that note every single time. Otherwise it would be a good performance. Singing the song straight shows off his nice voice but not being able to showcase the falsetto really shows how weak of a singer he is when compared to Jordin. Grade A-

Jordin - Broken Wing. This was a good song choice for Jordin. After I Who Have Nothing I think this was my 2nd favorite performance of hers. She starts off the song quietly and tells the story of the song while quietly building a crescendo. When the chorus finally comes she's in total control of her voice and everything sounds so effortless. However once again she's just standing at the front of the stage and singing the song. Although this song doesn't really call for much stage performance it would have been nice to see something different. She did really, really well with this one. I think it was one of her best performances. Grade A

Blake - This Is My Now. Well, with a title like that you can't really expect a good song out of it. We'll see if Blake did something new or just sings it straight through. And it looks like he opted to just sing. Right off the bat you can tell that he doesn't like the song. It's not his style and doesn't fit his voice at all. He seems completely uncomfortable with it. He's bopping around and interacting with the audience in the 2nd verse but he seems to have just given up. This song just doesn't work for him at all. That was really bad. I feel sad for him and he looks so defeated. Grade D

Jordin - This Is My Now. Interesting that the producers made both of them sing the same song as their last. It's like they wanted to make sure everyone knew that Jordin is the better singer and are putting the two next to each other for comparison. We'll see if she can make this craptastic song sound any better. Well right off the bat you can tell that this is loads better than what Blake did. Since it's a singers song, Jordin is able to use the different emotions in her voice and make the song come alive. This song suddenly doesn't sound so bad after all. The "tears" at the end look so fake though. She's breaking down like she's crying but there are no tears at all. It looks like she's trying to play the emotional card to get some votes. However, she doesn't need them. She blew Blake out of the water on this song. Grade A.

So there you have it. The competition is officially over this year and all that's left is to count up the votes. We'll find out tomorrow who the new American Idol is going to be. Going into tonite's show I was rooting for Blake to win. All along I have said that he's the first true male pop star to be on Idol and I think he would be unique enough to do well after the show. However, after tonite I think that Jordin will be your winner. She is definitely the better singer of the two and deserves to win based on tonite's performances. Hands down she had the better night tonite and that's most likely what America will be voting on. I will be very surprised if Blake pulls off an upset victory and takes the title tomorrow. Either way, I think both will have a deal with a record label and will be successful in their own rights.

Congratulations Jordin Sparks, American Idol 2007!

Shocked and Stunned

Well, the shocker elimination of the season finally happened last night and Melinda was eliminated from the show. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I sat there staring at the TV with my jaw on the floor throughout all of Melinda's montage footage. I could not believe that the producers actually let her go. I think that she's just too "mature" for Idol. She is already a first-class performer and singer and it seems like there is no more growth for her. She's going to have a great career so she shouldn't have to worry about that. I just think that American tends to like people that actually grow while on the show so we can see their confidence boost every week and watch their performances get better and better. We didn't get that with Melinda but we did with Blake and especially with Jordin. As stunned as I am that Melinda is gone, I am actually pretty excited with the Blake/Jordin finale. It was what I was hoping for as we started coming down the home stretch. I really think that it's an even playing field right now and both have a good chance of winning. As for me, I'm voting for Blake.

Carrie Underwood, Queen of Country

Congratulations goes out to Carrie Underwood for winning 3 American Country Music (ACM) awards last night. She won for Best Video (Before He Cheats), Best Country Album, and Best Female Vocalist! I think it's safe to say that Carrie is firmly rooted in Nashville now and will be a huge country star once it's all said and done.

In other ACM news, Kellie Pickler was nominated for Best New Female Vocalist (but lost to Miranda Lambert, who has actually been nominated for ACM awards before so I'm not sure how she's suddenly a new vocalist). Chris Young (winner of Nashville Star 4) was nominated for Best New Male Vocalist but lost (very sad about that. He's great!) . And finally, Kelly Clarkson made an appearance to debut her new duet with Reba McIntire that will be on Reba's new duet album in Sept. Reba decided to remake "Because of You" with Kelly and I gotta say, it was AWESOME! Reba added a whole new dimension to the story aspect of the song and it sounded very heartfelt. And of course, hearing Reba and Kelly singing over, under and all around each other was just great. The crowd went crazy when the song was done. Listen for it on your country station as it went out to radio yesterday. I think it's going to be a huge hit.

Top 3

Well, I wrote an entire review and was getting ready to post it when the computer froze and everything was erased. So rather than writing everything up again I figured I would just skip to the part that you want to hear.

Melinda was the best last night. She did Whitney and Tina proud. But we did finally find her weakness, the high falsetto. She went for it in the Whitney song and it was ok but definitely not what I was expecting. And then I realized that we never really heard sing anything in falsetto; she mostly belts everything. I just thought it was interesting.

Blake was the next best. I loved his Maroon5 song. That's the perfect type of song for him. It had some funk to it and it fit his voice perfectly. I also thought he did Roxanne very well. And, I actually liked the Robin Thicke song. It was nice to actually hear one of his songs since you can't understand a word he says while he's singing. I thought the beatboxing added a nice touch to the songs and didn't overpower them.

Jordin was just ok. She sounded great but her performances were just boring. She just stood there and sang the songs. Plus, her last song wasn't as good as it was the first time she performed it on the show, but was her best performance of the night.

That being said, Blake is the one going home tonite. There's no way they can deny Melinda being in the finale when she's been the best all season long. And they've been pimping Jordin so much that they won't back down now. So it's going to be a Melinda/Jordin finale. I'm not sure who I am going to vote for. I think I like Jordin better but Melinda is such a better singer and has been so consistant that I can't deny her thought. We're back to the TayTay/Diana finale. TayTay can saaaaaaaaaaang and Diana was just more personable. I think it's going to end up the same way and Melinda is going to win. It's all going to come down to who can sell the new single better. And when it comes to selling a song, it's going to be Melinda that pulls ahead.

Predict the Winner at AOL.com

CLICK HERE to vote at AOL.com for who you think will win American Idol Season 6.

More Obsessed Than I Am (Which Is Difficult To Do)

Via MSNBC.com:

Melinda Doolittle, 29, graduated from Belmont with a music degree in 1999. Everyone in the crowd was certain she’d prevail over rivals Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.

“She’s very talented, and she’s also very sweet and personable,” said Susan Belsante of Charlotte, N.C.

Belsante has a daughter at Belmont and a son graduating from nearby Vanderbilt University. She felt a little guilty about it, but she skipped the commencement speech at her son’s graduation so she could come cheer Doolittle.

“I went ‘Let’s see,”’ she said, holding up both hands like a scale, “commencement speech or Melinda Doolittle.’

“I had to go with Melinda Doolittle.”

Simon's Choice

Apparently I DO think too deeply about American Idol because today I started thinking about Tuesday's Top 3 showdown. More specifically, each contestant will be singing three songs: one they choose for themselves, one chosen by a judge (Randy, Paula or Simon) and one chosen by Clive Davis. Historically speaking, Simon pairs up with the contestant most likely to win (or at least gives them the song with the most potential to help them win).

So Idol fans, who will gain the power behind SIMON'S CHOICE?

Strategy?

Maybe I over-analyze these things, but how much do you think the contestants (especially now six seasons into this show/contest) strategize throughout the competition?

Comments have been made about certain contestants peaking too soon or conversely really turning the heat up at different points in the competition. I guess I wonder if these "kids" are really more savvy then we might think.

Consider these two ideas then discuss on the message boards...

What if Melinda has been waiting to unleash some more "WOW" performances until she is sure to be in the final? Consistent, good performances have gotten her this far and maybe she wants to blow everyone else away in the end? It seems to me that this would be right time to have an "off" night, gain some sympathy votes, slide into the Top 3 and then snap back to her semi-final quality performances.

Why has Blake started beat-boxing again? Does he realize that he needs that differentiation amongst the finalists now, more than before? Will he stop again if he makes the Top 3?

Final Four - Boogie Night/Barry Gibb

So now that we're down to the final four it's going to be an exciting competition. Well really, it's been that way since the final 6 but everyone is curious to see who the final 2 will be out of this group. I think it's a good bet that Blake and Jordin will be in the finale, but Melinda is so damn good that she could easily make it in. LaKisha is the least likely to make it in but she can saaaaaang so anything is possible. Tonite will be interesting because I think it's going to be disco night (which we already had with Diana Ross). Who knows if they'll be able to pull it off. And away we go.

Melinda - Once again, she's done an amazing job of taking a song and making it her own. She's doing a great job at singing and performing the song. She has total control over the stage. Will she ever give a bad performance?

Grade A-

Blake - "You Should Be Dancing". Blake is showing some nice falsettos. Some of the beatboxing techniques sound a little odd in the middle of the chorus. It sounds like some gay remix. However the beatboxing stuff in the breakdown section work perfectly. Hes having a lot of fun on stage and looks really comfortable. It looks like after last week's performance he knows he can win this thing. Good job.

Grade A-

LaKisha - "Staying Alive". Again, after last week she's finally starting to show some personality that we've been looking for all season. The performance is ok but nothing is really blowing me away. She's doing her own thing during the chorus but nothing is really "wow". It was just ok.

Grade B

Jordin - "To Love Somebody". Clay and Josh Gracin both sang this song on their season. It'll be interesting to see how different Jordin does it. It's different. There's more of a sense of urgency in her performance, especially near the end. I really liked it.

Grade A

Intermission: Is it just me or does Barry Gibb sound like Sean Connery? Also, I can't understand a word he's saying because he's mumbling so much. Looking at his mouth he looks like he's got new dentures in or something and he's not used to them. It's weird.

So it looks like the producers really want Jordin in the finale. This is the 3rd time she's gotten the pimp spot this season. And 2nd time in 3 weeks. I think they're really hoping for a Blake/Jordin finale like I am.

Melinda - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart". Well the song starts out sounding a lot like Barbra Streisand. The middle section sounds great but is boring. The last 3rd she really makes it her own again and throws that Melinda growl into it. She really brings it home with that. Good job.

Grade A-

Blake - "This Is Where I Came In". The song sucks. It's not a wonder why this wasn't a hit. However, Blake makes it sound like something that Jason Mraz would sing. I don't like the performance though. He sounds fine but this song is such crap that it's really hurting him. I don't think beatboxing really added anything to it.

Grade B-

LaKisha - "Run To Me". Horrible dress. She really needs a new stylist. Simon will probably talk about her shouting. it seemed to really affect her this time because she lost her voice at the end of the song. It was a good song choice for her.

Grade B+

Jordin - "Woman In Love". She's missing some notes here and there but Jordin is really learning how to interpret a song and that's what is making her do so well. She can use the softness in her voice or belt the hell out of a song. She has really grown in the competition.

Grade B

Well I agree with Simon and LaKisha and Blake are in the bottom 2 tonite. I think it's finally LaKisha's time to go. It's not going to be the shocker that I predicted but it's definitely her tomorrow. If she does stay then that will be the big shocker because the other 3 are the ones that deserve to be in the final 3.

All Hail Princess P!

Paris Bennett's debut album is now streaming this week on AOL Music. You can listen to it before you buy it tomorrow. Let us know what you think.

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Yet Another Reason Why Taylor Hicks Sucks

I was never a fan of Taylor Hicks last year. Sure, he's a hell of a performer but that doesn't translate to a CD. He's someone you have to see live to understand because if you just listen to him it's nothing special. It's pretty easy to see why he's the least successful out of all of the winners. But the Orange County Register recently did an interview with him and they claimed it's like pulling teeth to get a decent answer out of the guy. It's just another reason of why I hate him. He thinks that he's the best thing that has ever happened to the show when, in fact, he's nothing but a joke. You can read the whole article here

Good Point

"Some observers also wonder if partnering exclusively with Cingular has influenced the show's results. According to NPD Group, 44% of Cingular subscribers are in the South. All five former Idol winners hail from below the Mason-Dixon line."

--via Forbes.com

Idol Updates

• The cast of Broadway's 'RENT' will be adding American Idol, Season 1 finalist Tamyra Gray to their family. She will start performing on May 29th in the role of Mimi.
• Carrie Underwood's charity single "I'll Stand By You" set a record this week as the first ever digitally-released track to debut in the Billboard Top 10 (#6, to be specific) and without any radio airplay!
• Elliott Yamin will return to the Idol stage on May 16th to perform.
  

Appropriate Analogy

Via Reality Remix Blog:

"Nasal is a form of singing the way crashing is a form of driving." (Referencing Chris Richardson's retort to Simon Cowell about his singing technique)

Top 6 - Bon Jovi Night

I am definitely excited for this week. I love Bon Jovi and it'll be very interesting to see how they all adapt to the rock theme of the week. I definitely think the women are going to have a tough time with it but we shall see what happens.

Phil - "Blades of Glory". If Phil doesn't rock it out tonite then he's gone for sure. His voice is the one that lends itself to Bon Jovi more than any other left in the competition. This song is perfect for him because it combines the country side with the rock side. This should hopefully be good. I like seeing him in the audience and interacting with the crowd. He's definitely having fun with the song and yes, his voice fits perfectly with it. He is definitely nailing it. I really liked this one. Grade A-

Jordin - "Living On a Prayer". Well, for someone that has grown up on Bon Jovi and knows all their stuff she really seems nervous about singing the song. This is a really tough one because of the octave jump in the chorus but she should be able to pull it off. However, from her first note you can see that she's scared about it. I think we may have finally found her weakness and that's the low register. We know she's great when she hits the higher notes but having to sing an entire verse in her low register is killing her. The key should have been raised a little. She's handling the octave jumps well but everytime she goes back down it's a struggle for her. This is a really shaky performance. Well, at least she admits that this was not her week. Good for her. Grade C

LaKisha - "This Ain't a Love Song". Well it's nice to see LaKisha actually showing some personality tonite. I loved her little comment about the camera showing her slim side. So I have never heard this song before but I'm glad she decided to do a ballad because she for sure would have been gone with any other song. This song, however, seemed to fit her to the T. She threw herself into and really sang it. Finally, there was no shouting in the middle of the song. Finally she showed some emotion in her voice and in her stage presence. Finally we got the LaKisha back from the semis. It was a great performance. Grade A

Blake - "You Give Love A Bad Name". So Blake is going to change it up and do something daring huh? I'm very curious to see what he does with such a well known song. Well, the opening beatbox stuff is hot. Great way to start out the song. His vocals actually sound stronger than they have in the past, that's impressive. However, he's still lifting his head at the end of every phrase. I'm getting tired of seeing that. I wish he'd just keep his head still. Oooooooh, I LOVE the beatbox breakdown in the middle of the song. He is having so much fun with this. He completely made the song his and got the crowd to buy into it as well. What an awesome job! This was the most original performance on Idol out of every season! Grade A+

Chris - "Wanted Dead or Alive". I'm very nervous for Chris with this choice. After Chris Daughtry killed it last year I think everyone is going to be comparing the two. Chris R. doesn't have the same kind of voice and I think his voice is too thin for this song. I gotta say though, his opening has really impressed me. If he can keep his voice in this lower register he might actually be able to pull it off. Hm, in the 2nd verse he started losing it a little. The vocals are fine but there's no life to the performance. He's just singing it. It's a shame because he actually did pull it off vocally. His vocals were way better than I thought he was going to be. Grade B-

Melinda - "Have A Nice Day". Finally we get to see Melinda rock out a little bit. Haha, she's so funny in her interview segment. She admits that she has no idea how to rock out or be a rocker. I like her song choice because it's so different from her character. If she throws in the right attitude she could pull it off. She seems to be doing a really good job with the song. For not being a rocker she is actually doing well and having fun with it. I love the attitude that she's throwing into it. That's what is needed to make this song work. Of course, vocally she is still superb. I liked the performance. Grade A-

Overall, this was a great night. I really liked this theme and we had some great performances. People really stepped it up tonite. If I was to choose the bottom 2 for tonite it would be Jordin and Chris. As for who is going home, I have no idea. Since everything is going to be combined with last week's votes it's all up in the air. Sadly, I do think that Chris will be one of the two going. For that last spot I just don't know. I'm going to be very nervous for the next 24 hours.

Kelly Clarkson - Never Again

Wow! Kelly is back and channelling her inner 'Alanis'. She is pissed! How can someone be so hot and so scary as hell at the same time? This is an intense video and I think it's probably Kelly's best. I love it!

Kimberley Locke - Based on a True Story

AOL.com is streaming K.Lo's new CD for the week. You can listen to it here and then go out and buy your own copy.



And speaking of K.Lo, she is part of the Season 5 cast of "Celebrity Fit Club: Men Vs. Women". I've never watched the show before (this is Ryan, BTW) but thought I'd tune in to support Kimberley.

She is the Team Captain for the women and has an on-going feud with Dustin Diamond (a.k.a. Screech from "Saved By the Bell"). Dustin is a first-class jerk and although he loves to dish out the shit, he can't handle when it's thrown back at him. There was a clip for the next episode that shows Kimberley cussing out Dustin and calling him a sad, washed-up, broke, camera-hogging child actor! Watch out!

Top 5 Caricatures

Via Pretty On the Outside. Don't worry, I've already left a comment on that site asking for a Jordin Sparks drawing.

What Should They Sing - Bon Jovi/Rock Week

Well, there seems to be a little confusion over what the theme will be this week. Because Bon Jovi is the coach people seem to think it's Bon Jovi week. But there is also talk that it's a more general "rock" week. We'll see what happens on Tues but for now let's assume that it's going to be "Bon Jovi" week. With that in mind I've tried to come up with some song ideas for everyone to sing. Let me know what you guys think.

Chris - Who Says You Can't Go Home. This song is a fun, faster paced song with a country vibe to it. I think he could have a lot of fun with this one and his voice would fit nicely. I was also thinking about this one for Phil because of the country feel but I decided on another instead.

Phil - Blaze of Glory. This was written for the movie Young Guns II. It also has a tiny bit of country in the song. Phil's voice lends itself quite nicely to this week's theme so I think he'll do well with any song he chooses. I was thinking about Living on a Prayer but that octave jump might be a little too high for Phil so settled on this one instead.

Blake - Bed of Roses. There is a great acoustic version on YouTube of this song and I think Blake could that off quite nicely.

Jordin - Always. Another great ballad that Jordin will be able to pull off.

LaKisha - admittedly, this is going to be really hard week for LaKisha. I think she's going to struggle a lot on finding the right tune. But since she's so keen on choosing songs that other Idols have done then I choose Wanted Dead or Alive for her. Chris rocked it out last year so of course LaKisha will attempt it and fail. But in reality she'll probably go for some sort of ballad so I'll say "I'll Be There For You".

Melinda - Have A Nice Day. This is also going to be really hard for Melinda as I don't really see her as a rocker. However, she could pull it off with this song. Lyrically, it doesn't really fit with Melinda's demeanor but if she sings it with the attitude that she used during "I'm A Woman" she could really make this work.

So what do you guys think? Do you agree? Disagree? Have better ideas for song choices?

Idol Chatter Dominates US Workplace

A survey by staffing company Spherion Corp. released on Tuesday found that American Idol is the most talked-about U.S. television program in the workplace for the second year in a row.

Thirty-seven percent of 2,800 U.S. workers named the FOX program as the show they most often discussed at work, up from 35 percent last year, and compared with 17 percent who named medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

The shows 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland, crime investigation series CSI, and medical series House rounded out the top five.

The survey found about one in five employees engages in Idol chatter on company time, with women more likely than men to bring up the show or discuss its contestants, according to the poll conducted for Spherion by researcher Harris Interactive.

American Idol: Idol Gives Back

CLICK HERE to donate!

This is REALLY IMPORTANT and I think if we all start getting back into a POSITIVE MINDSET we CAN make change happen. Let's put aside our cynicism, pessimism and hopeless feelings and start NOW to make the world a better place. Make a choice to not go out drinking one night this week or not buy that pair of pants you've been eyeing and do some good with your money.

Leave a comment to tell us how much you donated (I gave $100).

Seriously, this is what your money can do:

$20 - Buys a week's healthy food for 15 hungry kids in a US feeding program.
$50 - Buys enough Malaria pills to save 100 kids from Malaria in Kenya.
$100 - Buys a year's worth of food for 1 orphan in Kenya.
$250 - Buys books for a year for 3 kids at a US after-school reading program.