January 2007 News Archive (Page 10)

Interested in seeing your favorite American Idol contestant live or on TV? Here's a look at various schedules for the week:

Tuesday, January 9
- Constantine Maroulis opens Off-Broadway in “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris”. For ticket information, check out the Jacques Brel website.
- Frenchie Davis co-hosts Good Day New York.

Wednesday, January 10
- Daughtry is the musical guest on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35/11:35c on CBS.
- Anthony Fedorov co-hosts Good Day New York.

Thursday, January 11
- Daughtry appears at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, CA.
- Kevin Covais co-hosts Good Day New York.

Friday, January 12
- Josh Strickland (S2 semi-finalist) co-hosts Good Day New York.

Sunday, January 14
- Jon Peter Lewis, Kimberly Caldwell, Lindsey Cardinale and Mikalah Gordon appear in a benefit for the Northwest Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center at the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, MO. Tickets are $10-$20 and are available through Ticketmaster or by calling the Civic Arena box office @ (816) 271-4717 or toll free at (800) 821-5052.

Monday, January 15
- Kellie Pickler appears in an outdoor concert at the Paddock Mall in Ocala, FL. The free 30 minute concert starts at 6 pm.
- Taylor Hicks plays golf with other celebrities during the Bob Hope Golf Classic. The 7-day tournament begins today.

Tuesday, January 16
- Diana DeGarmo co-hosts Good Day New York.

Kellie Pickler will be one of the supporting acts on the 2007 tour by country star Brad Paisley, the Bonfires and Amplifiers tour.

The 37-date our kicks off April 26 in Chattanooga and winds up August 23 in St. Paul. Kellie's fellow opening acts on the tour will be Jack Ingram, who's an excellent Texas country singer/songwriter; and Taylor Swift, a talented teenage singer and songwriter with a cool name.

Are you ready for American Idol chocolate bars, American Idol ice cream and American Idol Monopoly games?

More revenue: All of the above are either done deals or in stages of negotiation and are part of a push by American Idol owner Fremantle Media to wring even more revenue out of what already may be the most lucrative multimedia property of all time.

Conservatively valued at $2.5 billion as a franchise, the American Idol empire already brings in $500 million a year in TV ad dollars, including a number of $30 million to $50 million core sponsorship packages, music sales, live tours - read: more sponsorship revenue as well as ticket sales --and an explosion of products from 40 licensees.

Entire program online: But that's just the beginning. Despite the TV show being crammed with ads from 137 marketers in the past two years - along with three core partners integrated into the content - Fremantle Media, the rights holder to Idol, is making room for new ad opportunities by streaming the entire program at AmericanIdol.com after it airs.

Already signed on to support the website are marketers including McDonald's and MasterCard.

Keith Hindle, Fremantle Media Licensing Worldwide exec VP-integrated marketing and interactive-Americas, said the goal is to make American Idol, which hits the Fox airwaves with season six Jan. 16, a year-round phenomenon.

"The top line about everything this season is the desire for interactivity," he said. "We are trying to kick-start that across all elements of the show. Last season, Idol attracted 570 million votes, 65 million text messages. That's a ridiculous amount of interactivity. We are taking that concept that people want to participate and are strengthening that into other things."

Sponsors Ford Motor Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Cingular Wireless are working harder to squeeze more juice from the Idol juggernaut for which they paid $30 million to $50 million, according to adage.com.

Ford plans a contest that will give regular viewers a chance to appear in the music videos featuring final contestants. In addition to Coca-Cola's Red Room and its ubiquitous cups - the most widely seen product placement on TV, according to Nielsen Monitor Plus - Coke will sponsor a promotion that invites viewers to submit questions for contestants through MyCokeRewards.com.

Continue Reading...

In the last preview of American Idol season six - courtesy of Entertainment Weekly - we talked about how awful the auditions were this year.

Now, we're gonna delve into a new part of the show ...

3. The songwriting competition
Purists agree that last year's finale - featuring Prince, Mary J. Blige, and that painfully awkward Claymate who nearly fainted on live TV - was a high point for the entire series. But all that brilliance came to an ear-bleeding halt when Taylor Hicks was forced to sing the dreadfully sappy ''Do I Make You Proud.''

Sure, his winning version debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart a month later, but as Cowell gleefully admits, ''that song was horrific.''

Producers agreed. This year, they're planning a national songwriting contest to determine a winning single; the competition, which is not yet finalized, is slated to be open to anyone - signed or unsigned - who submits a tune to a to-be-named website. That is, if the show's executives can work out the specifics.

''The short list of songs will be [chosen by] the three judges and the producers,'' predicts Warwick.

But Lythgoe says the judges should have nothing to do with the final choice. His solution?

''I would love to do two or three shows with past [American Idol] contestants singing the songs, and then have America judge the songs,'' he says. ''But that is not confirmed with Fox yet.''

The judges are none too happy at the prospect of being cut out of the song-selection process.

''People always ask, 'Why did you pick that song?''' Abdul says. ''It's weird. We have everything to do with the rest of the season and nothing to do with the final song.''

Whichever side emerges victorious, two facts remain: The most popular finale song was season 1's ''A Moment Like This,'' and that was the one winning Idol tune that Cowell - who's since been booted from the selection committee - personally commissioned. (He's releasing it again as the first single for Leona Lewis, winner of U.K. sensation The X Factor.)

''It's no skin off my nose,'' he shrugs, ''but if I hate [the song] I'm going to say it.''

And Randy's thoughts? '

'Finding a hit song at any time is one of the hardest things in the world. I wouldn't want to be the guy looking through them all.''

We're sure this will be the first of many awards to come her way.

But Jennifer Hudson took home the best supporting actress award at the Film Critics Circle Awards in New York over the weekend. She even had joking, parting words for a certain judge as she left the festivities:

"Who cares what Simon Cowell has to say?"

Simon Cowell is set on promoting his new favorite singer.

The American Idol judge will be bringing X Factor winner, Leona Lewis, to the States for a guest appearance on the FOX show's sixth season, slated to begin January 16.

Since winning the hit show - Britain's equivalent to American Idol - the 21-year-old singer has dominated the UK music world. She's remained atop the charts overseas over veteran competition such as U2 and Pink Floyd.

Cowell, who is the Leona's manager, has been comparing his protégée to American divas such Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

However, it is unlikely the starlet will perform her current single. How come? Because it's actually "A Moment Like This," the track made famous by former American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson.

With the sixth season of American Idol just days away, The Concord Monitor checked in with local voice instructor Ellen Nordstrom Baer of the Concord Community Music School.

Baer, an opera singer, has taught students that have made it to American Idol's top 150, along with Star Search's top 50. She's also been featured on the MTV show Made. The paper asked Baer for the inside scoop on singing contests.

• What are the American Idol judges looking for?

Someone that reaches your soul ... that connects with the audience. I believe they're also looking for things that are unusual. Maybe a different kind of lick on a general ballad.

• Clay or Ruben?

[Clay Aiken] has the audience appeal, but Ruben had the better voice, if you ask me. But Ruben, I don't know where Ruben is. (He's) the next Luther Vandross, but he just hasn't marketed himself.

• Simon or Paula?

Oh honestly, I actually like Simon. I do believe he's honest and he knows what he's talking about. I think he gives tough love.

• What's a song you would recommend no one ever sing on American Idol?

"I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston.

• Will any of your students be auditioning this year?

Not this year. But I do have someone who's interested in the Rock Star: Supernova show with Tommy Lee.

Kelly Clarkson is versatile.

The American Idol will soon guest star on the sitcom, Reba. At the same time, she's been busy recording six songs with punk bassist Mike Watt for her upcoming album.

"I was really impressed how she sang her ass off," Watt tells Billboard magazine. "It was intense. I'm really glad I had the experience."

There's no word yet on when this new CD will be ready - but if it does as well as Daughtry album sales, Clarkson will be one happy lady.

In part one of the American Idol season six preview we quoted from Entertainment Weekly, the focus was on a wide open field.

In part two, let's delve into the less than ideal auditions themselves ...

2. Auditions hit all-time lows
American Idol fans fall into two camps: those who live for the season-opening weeks of early tryouts, when William Hung types crawl out from under their rocks and shame themselves, and those who wait until the top 12 are chosen so they can watch them blow their pipes each week.

Fan of the former variety? Brace yourself for some new lows.

''Season 6 has the most delusional people I've ever seen,'' says Paula Abdul. ''If people love that part of the show, they'll love this season.''

And they'll be positively besotted with the city of Seattle, which Lythgoe says ''stands out as possibly the worst city I've ever seen for crazies. Maybe they're drinking too much coffee.''

The lack of talent wasn't the only thing in the Pacific Northwest that made early auditions so excruciating. Three guest panelists — Olivia Newton-John, Jewel, and Grammy-winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager — were invited to help make judgment calls, and Cowell wasn't having it.

''It's rather like having a dinner party for four people you know very well,'' he says, ''and then somebody says there's a fifth person you don't know. One year, we're going to say to [the producers], 'We'd like someone to work with you for a while. We don't think you're doing a good enough job.'''

According to Warwick, things were so awkward that Bayer Sager, who was ''really quite subdued,'' could have most of her critiques edited out. (When reached for comment, Bayer Sager said she was ''very happy'' with the experience.)

''Lovely lady,'' Warwick says, ''but how can I put this nicely? She didn't add much.''

Take a look below: Simon Cowell isn't a meanie ALL of the time!

Sure, the man may often make snide remarks about American Idol hopefuls, but it looks like he has the occasional softer side. Especially when it comes to cute puppies. That's gotta count for something, right?