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American Idol Chit Chat

Bloggergal1 — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:26:47 +0000

Hi Everybody!

Can you believe it’s Sunday already? We’re right smack in the middle of NFL playoffs (go Vikings!), but before you know it Tuesday will be here! American Idol auditions are in the windy city of Chicago. Guest celebrity judge is Shania Twain. Check it out Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

In the meanwhile, stealing the spotlight away from AI contestants this week was Atlanta’s Larry Platt. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but he is the writer and performer to the newest Internet hit “Pants on the Ground”. I hesitate to even say those words out loud because I find that it leads to me singing the silly ditty all day long! My local newspaper had an interview of his and he’s shocked about all the attention he’s receiving. He said that he hopes people will concentrate on his message more so than his fame. His inspiration hit when seeing a father with his pants hanging walking down the street with his children. He feels that isn’t the message that a parent should be conveying. You go, Larry!

Remember Skii Bo Ski (Anthony Wheeler) who sang I Heard It Through the Grapevine? Well, it turns out he has quite a criminal past with a number of arrests. His last arrest as recent as a few weeks ago! According to my radio-listening hubby, American Idol has kicked him off the show. However, I haven’t been able to find verification of that. Many Internet fans are questioning if American Idol does background checks of the contestants prior to putting them on TV. Do you think they should? Comment and let me know!

Have a good rest-of-the weekend! Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Could The Next Idol Be Irish?

soonerryan — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:55:02 +0000

Boys and girls, we’re a week away.

But what if this year’s American Idol isn’t even American? Yep, it’s a possibility, as rumors have swirled that an Irish lass has made a big impression on our judges.

However, Carly Hennessy has way more experience in this business than you might believe. As of just a few years ago, MCA Records had spent $2.2M on her, only to have her sell about $5,000 worth of CDs — a massive, massive bomb.

Blogger Matt Goyer posted an article from the Wall Street Journal that explained further:

Eighteen-year-old recording artist Carly Hennessy is packing up her small apartment. Her promotional posters will go into storage, and the beige rental couch will be returned. A weight-control message that the slender teen scrawled in marker on the refrigerator — “NO, U R FAT” — will be wiped clean. For two years, Vivendi Universal SA’s MCA Records paid the rent here while Ms. Hennessy prepared for pop stardom. And that’s not all: The label so far has spent about $2.2 million to make and market her new album, an upbeat pop recording called “Ultimate High.” “Some people just struggle,” she says. “I was very, very lucky.”Not lucky enough. “Ultimate High” was released in stores nationwide three months ago. So far, it has sold only 378 copies — amounting to about $4,900 at its suggested retail price. In many other industries, this would be considered an extraordinary bomb. But in today’s troubled recording and license music business, it’s routine. Of the thousands of albums released in the U.S. each year by the five major record companies, fewer than 5% become profitable, music executives say. The high failure rate has become the focus of an escalating battle. On one side are big names such as Don Henley and Sheryl Crow, who are fighting the industry’s practice of holding top performers to multiple-album contracts that can take decades to fulfill. They complain that labels unfairly enforce such deals because they need to offset their lavish spending on ill-conceived acts that never make it. “We’re expected to indefinitely fund the record company,” says Mr. Henley, a solo artist and member of the Eagles, who calls the industry’s high percentage of flops “shameful.” He and other top performers are staging concerts Tuesday night — on the eve of Wednesday’s Grammy Awards — in part to support an amendment before the California legislature that would limit recording contracts to seven years. That’s the current cap on contracts for actors and other service workers, under a state law that originated from a 1940s legal case that helped break up the Hollywood “studio system,” which tied movie stars to multiple-film contracts. In 1987, the music industry successfully pushed to exempt record contracts.

Nevertheless, Season 7 wasn’t the first time Hennessy tried out for Idol. In 2005, visa issues precluded her from striking it big in the states.

However, according to a November 2007 New York Post article, Nigel Lythgoe was quoted as saying:

“There are one or two that stand out – there are three girls who are superb, including one girl we saw three years ago who wasn’t an American citizen [and is now] and we’re happy to have her this year,” he says.

This wouldn’t be the first time that a contestant with some foreign roots made it far on the show. In Season 3, Seattle native Leah LaBelle made it to the finals, but only after a name change. See, she’s originally from Bulgaria, and if I remember right, her mother was a vocal teacher of some sort.

Either way, both LaBelle and Hennessy are American citizens, so I don’t think there is any controversy there.

What bugs me though is that MCA spent $2.2M on Hennessy, and she managed to sell only 378 units. If our favorite show is to continue its phenomenal run, how can it do so with a singer whose commercial worth is a punchline? Look, it might not be a punchline right now, but by the time Hennessy gets to the Top 24, as it seems like she will, this will be a bigger story.

And Idol will face some criticism.

Then again, perhaps our li’l talent competition is a haven for second chances. That’s the ticket, and I like looking at things from a perspective of positivity and good energy.

Besides, if you’re asking me, this video from Hennessy — outside of the weird wind-blowing — wasn’t half bad. The song that is.

Season 7 Sneak Peek: Brooke White

soonerryan — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:20:39 +0000

Among our rumored Top 50 Season 7 contestants is Hollywood, Calif., resident Brooke White.

One look at her MySpace page suggests she plays the piano. In fact, one track on her MySpace site is a pop version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” and the piano is pretty solid. Kind of a white-girl Alicia Keys thing going on.

Vocally, she sounds pretty good, and I was partial to the tune “Free.” But her version of “Dream On” was a fairly decent arrangement in terms of the update she gave it. You never know if they do these things in their bedroom, dorm room or at an actual studio.

Not a terribly powerful voice, but she has a pop clarity that puts her in the realm of let’s say a Vanessa Carlton.

Like I noted when I posted something about Cardin Lee McKinney, our pre-Idol looks at potential Top 50 contestants isn’t scientific. I’m just checking out all the pages so you don’t have to and then detailing the ones that catch my ear.

If I had to compare her to McKinney, I’d say Cardin Lee is more soulful and polished. However, Brooke sounds a bit more unique, potentially, and if she plays the piano on these tracks, she could be that type of more-than-singer type of contestant who could really make a splash on Season 7, which officially begins in one week and six days.

Not that we’re counting.

Early Season 7 Sleeper: Cardin Lee McKinney

soonerryan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 08:47:12 +0000

While I can’t proclaim to have checked out every MySpace or Facebook page of each of the 40 or 50 prospective Idol contestants this season, I can tell you that — so far — one stands out.

Cardin Lee McKinney lists india.arie, Corinne Bailey Rae, Joni Mitchell, Floetry and others as her primary influences. I note these particular influences cited by the Nashville resident because they seem to associate most tightly with the sound of her music.

And that sound is highly, highly polished with a smoky, soft vocal that reminds me of, perhaps, Colbie Caillat. In fact, the first tune on her MySpace page, called “Teach Me,” is good enough that I would personally buy it right now.

Last season, I perused all the MySpace pages, and only found one with music I liked: Chris Sligh. Sure, most of these singers haven’t spent big money on demos or have a ton of serious songwriting experience, but I think you can take quite a bit about the artists they become from listening to their music right now.

And for Cardin Lee McKinney, it portends a ton of potential and, dare I say, greatness.

On the other hand, some of the forums suggest she didn’t do that great in Hollywood. However, the music doesn’t lie, and this young woman has something well beyond anything I’ve heard from any of the other contestants thus far.

Want an early peek at the TOP 40-50 contestants on American Idol 7?

Ryan Seacrest — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:01:43 +0000

Searching the Net…looking on all the American Idol Forums…I found an interesting list!!

Personally…I do not think this is a 100% accurate list by any means…however if you do not want to wait and want to start looking at who will be moving beyond the first rounds of the new season (which is less than a month away!)

It is worth at least checking them out on their MySpace sites, YouTube videos or Facebook sites. Personally I like being able to get a taste of what is to come…and no matter if this list is legit or not….it WILL BE AN AMAZING SEASON and American Idol Blog will be a part of all the fun this year!

Peace, Ryan Seacrest of American Idol Blog

**POTENTIAL SPOILER BELOW**READ ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE**

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

**SERIOUSLY**

———————————-

SOURCE: Taken from an Online American Idol Forum

Can’t wait for the seventh season of American Idol to begin? Well, wait no longer! A list of finalists for season seven of American Idol has been leaked….. Here’s your chance to size them up early. It’s going to be a good season!

Brandon Green
http://www.myspace.com/brandongreenmusic

Cardin McKinney
http://www.myspace.com/cardinmckinney

David Archuleta
** David won Star Search when he was only 12 years old
http://youtube.com/watch?v=z8SJXDPE_sQ

Jason Castro
http://www.myspace.com/jasoncastromusic

Jermaine Paul
http://www.jermainepaul.com

Lisa Aukerman
http://www.myspace.com/lisaaukerman

Lorena Pinot
http://www.myspace.com/lorena_pinot

Michael Preston
http://www.myspace.com/ugotitbad4meeee

Natasha Syesha Mercado
http://myspace.com/syesha

Alisha Dixon
http://www.myspace.com/alishadixon

Beth Stalker
http://www.myspace.com/bethstalker

Brian Lam
http://www.myspace.com/brianlammusic