Tag: American Idol

Raymond v. Bieber?

Posted by Kat – April 7, 2010

While it took two years to really get the album out and to the public, Usher’s “Raymond v Raymond” album has hit the markets and has proven to be just as exciting and as wanted by the fans as we all hoped. The album, which features hits like “Lil Freak” and “OMG”, has officially bumped Justin Bieber’s album (oh, thank god and finally, that took long enough) to the number two slot. Now that Usher’s album is at the top of the list with a whopping 329,000 copies sold just in its first week available, it looks like Usher’s fate is secure for this particular album. Even though some critics state that some of his album is very typical, the sound is still fresh and shows an even more sexy player side of Usher than his last album. Granted, his recent divorce probably gave him plenty to  come up with for his more girl-crazy aspects of his album, but it has some punch and passion regardless.

To help promote his new album, Usher had been at American Idol last week, as well as the Ellen Degeneres show, where he performed “OMG” on both of the shows. Now, we’re all just waiting to see what the actual chart says to find out just how high “OMG” will debut. Unfortunately for anyone who would like to see Bieber drop further down the charts, his slip to second was buffered by all the Easter sales last week that probably made him an ideal present for parents to give to their kids. With luck, though, Raymond v Raymond will stay on the top of the charts for at least a little while, ensuring that Usher’s newest endeavor is secure. I dunno about you guys, but Lil Freak’s been stuck in my head for days, and it should be stuck in yours, too!

Simon’s Old Seat On Idol Being Heavily Eyed By Steve Lillywhite

Posted by Kat – March 6, 2010

When it comes to American Idol, the news of Simon Cowell’s last season hit a while ago and seems to have caught the attention of celebrities and music bigwigs far and wide. Most notably, though, is Steve Lillywhite, the Grammy-winning producer who has worked with Phish, Morrissey, Jason Mraz, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band and U2, just to name a few. And Steve Lillywhite has told people that he wants to help the US find the next Elvis Presley, and to do that, he feels he’d be best suited to take over the much-talked about seat that Simon Cowell will be vacating. While Simon Cowell will be leaving to go bring out a U.S. version of the incredibly popular “X Factor” British TV series, Lillywhite has already hired on a publicist and an agent so that he can get started on the process of campaigning for the role.

If you’re curious to see what his reasoning is, Lillywhite had put up a YouTube clip already to talk about his qualifications and his reasoning for wanting to take Simon Cowell’s spot. He’s planning on releasing a slightly more formal and professional video in the next week or so, but the main thing is that Lillywhite really does have a fantastic series of credentials that will be able to make him an ideal judge for American Idol. His knowledge of the pop industry and the rock industry makes him invaluable for knowing what is popular and what will sell, which will definitely be in need for when Cowell leaves.

Unlike some other celebrities who have offered a run on American Idol, Lillywhite is very aware of the six-month run every year and the fact that it takes full commitment to really invest in American Idol, and he is more than willing to do just that. He already watches Idol as it is, and so he’s sure that he would be great with working on the show. He already tends to agree with Cowell’s choices the most, and for Lillywhite, there is no question. He should easily be a candidate.

A Trip to Haiti from American Idol Champ Kris Allen

Posted by Kat – February 24, 2010

Season 8 of American Idol was the season that brought Kris Allen into the official spotlight as the champion. But it seems that now, he is taking some of the notoriety and fame he has gained to put it to a good cause. After the simply devastating earthquake that has all but destroyed Haiti, Kris Allen, like so many other celebrities and musicians recently, made a trip out to the country to see first-hand the pain inflicted upon the people and to help find ways that he could assist in helping the country rebuild. The result? The “Idol Gives Back” Concept that originally popped up after the disaster will be revisited on Thursday as Allen will reappear on Idol during the episode to help bring awareness and humanitarianism to the front of everyone’s focus.

Kris Allen’s performance will be a major change for him, given that the last time he was on the stage for Idol was to finish the competition and claim victory. But, before he was an Idol competitor, he had done missionary work, and for Allen, it only seemed natural to go out to Haiti to help now. He was there under the United Nations and spent his time helping people at the temporary shelters, visiting and talking and even singing “Amazing Grace” for some of the people. He also handed out bags of rice whenever he could, and spent his time there gathering footage to show people what was really happening there and how they were rebuilding.

Allen’s performance on Idol will be a rendition of “Let It Be” by the Beatles, and footage, as well as his personal thoughts on his trip. He’ll be encouraging donations by text and providing people a much-needed first-hand account of how the relief effort is going in the torn country. For Allen, though, he is grateful and glad to be of help.

Ouch. American Idol Does A Kansas City Shuffle

Posted by Kat – February 18, 2010

For those of you who aren’t fans of the movie “Lucky Number Slevin,” you might not know what a Kansas City shuffle is, but it’s basically when everyone looks left so you can go right. AKA, you distract and run. And it looks like for the fans of this season of American Idol, that’s exactly what’s happened here. The twenty four semi-finalists were finally shown just yesterday, but it was a little bit of a quick switch. With nary a word to the viewers, Chris Golightly was supposed to be one of the Top 24 for Wednesday’s episode, yet suddenly, instead of Golightly, we saw Tim Urban show up, although his actual entry wasn’t shown. Instead, we saw his face and his name at the end of the episode, and that was about it.

So what the heck happened and why was there such a big and quick switch, the big wigs at American Idol’s Fox headquarters won’t specifically come out and say why they swapped out Golightly for Urban. It was a quick switch and all they said was that it had been determined that Golightly was disqualified and it had been determined that he was not eligible for the competition. It’s kind of funny, though, because Tweets flew all over as people tried to figure out what was going on. And it was a response by Ryan Seacrest via Twitter that was vague but implied that the major ways to get disqualified from the competition is to break a rule or have a music deal somewhere else without  telling the network.

As we’ve hit the tenth season of this show, you would think that the judges would have some sort of checks and balances in place BEFORE choosing semi-finalists to determine that someone is ineligible, especially when it comes to recording deals like that. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and it looks like different sources that works closely on the show have stated that Golightly had a deal with a different company and were supposed to tell the network way before it got this far.

American Idol About To Be Simon-less

Posted by Kat – December 25, 2009

For just about everyone out there who watches American Idol, it’s impossible to imagine a season with the most negative man possibly on the face of the earth, the man who has established a reputation as being able to smile and backhand your ego at the same time: Simon Cowell. But, now that Fox is looking at their contract negotiations, they have decided to try bringing another 3 seasons after its current contract expires, but it seems that Simon Cowell has already considered leaving.

After losing Paula Abdul due to bizarre circumstances, Cowell leaving would be another blow to the show, but probably nothing that Fox can’t handle. After all, Fox knows that people tune in to watch the talent, and not just the biting, sarcastic and downright low criticisms that Simon dishes out with no regard for anyone else. But, it does beg the question: Why the heck is he leaving in the first place? Wasn’t X-Factor his baby back in the UK, and didn’t he help make American Idol what it is?

Well, it seems that X-Factor will be exactly the problem. As Simon Cowell’s brother Tony told people in his podcast last week, Simon doesn’t plan on staying past 2010, and wants to bring X-Factor over to the United States. So, not only would American Idol lose their dramatic and insulting judge, that judge would be bringing direct competition to Fox. Of course, that’s not for another year, and he hasn’t actually signed a contract with Sony, the owners of “X-Factor” in the first place. Once those deals are done, though, it’s possible we’ll see Simon Cowell gone forever from American Idol and permanently working on involving himself in X-Factor as much as possible.

So will Fox really get the new seasons of American Idol they want after Simon leaves, or will they find themselves directly competing with the show he brings over? We’ll have to wait and see.