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.