January 2007 News Archive (Page 4)

TV Guide Channel wants to make sure American Idol fans who just can't get enough of the show are satisfied.

The network will launch a second season of Idol Tonight, the live preshow for Fox's Idol, in March, at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, after the contestants have been whittled down to 12 finalists.

Idol Tonight features interviews with former finalists, industry insiders, fashion stylists and vocal coaches, among others.

Justin Guarini (pictured), runner-up on the first season of American Idol, will co-host with Season 3 finalist Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez, one of the winners of WB Network's "Popstars."

TV Guide Channel president Ryan O'Hara said Idol Tonight is one of the network's highest-rated regular series.

"American Idol is like the Super Bowl week in and week out, and our fans can't get enough of it," he said. "We're positioning ourselves as a destination for all things American Idol."

O'Hara added that because Idol Tonight airs from the CBS Television City studios in Los Angeles - from where American Idol six is also broadcast - "there's all the energy and excitement from the fans and contestants. It's the ultimate pregame show."

In an unusual, impressive feat, the Daughtry album has reached number-one on the Billboard chart - in its ninth week of release. Way to go, Chris!

The sales total is now 1.29 million. Other Idols on the chart include:

• Carrie Underwood is back in the top 10, moving from No. 15 to No. 9 by the simple feat of selling the same number of records as the previous week. Total: 4.76 million

• Taylor Hicks inches up 53-50, selling 15,000, compared to 14,000 the previous week, for a total of 587,000.

• Kellie Pickler, who did some major TV last week, leaps 83-51, selling 14,000 after dropping under 9,000 the previous week. Total: 387,000.

• Fantasia creeps up 68-66, with 12,000, a bit more than her previous-week total of 11,000. Total: 254,000.

• Clay Aiken sold about the same as the previous week (1,900) to bring his total to 496,000.

Was there big talent in The Big Apple? Did anyone step up to knock Sundance Head off the headlines? Let's sum up American Idol's New York auditions and find out ...

Most tiresome reality TV wannabe: Ian Benardo. You didn't make it on So You Think You Can Dance and you didn't make it here. Time for a new career path.

Top tear contestant: Sarah Burgess. Her sob story of no daddy support won over the judges. But she'll have to actually perform well, not just cry well, in order to make it in Hollywood.

Best audition: Kia Thorton. Great name. That always helps. Sort of reminds us of a smaller Mandisa, which is meant as a compliment. This gal has potential.

Best BFF: Amanda Coluccio and Antonella Barba. They looked a bit like they got lost on their way to a Pussycat Dolls tryout, instead of American Idol. Nevertheless, looks are part of making it big, too. Can't blame them for hotness.

Most harmful to Paula's sanity: Jenry Bejarano. We don't think Paula Abdul was drunk during this audition, just a fan of a guy who can definitely carry a tune. Still, he is a minor, Paula. Be careful.

Second weirdest name: Jory Steinberg. Sorry, Jenry has you beat by a tad, Jory. But you can get him back in Hollywood when that whole singing competition really takes off.

Slammingest Body: Porcelana Patino. She wasn't a terrible singer. But the look and attitude is what will give this gal a chance on the big stage.

The following numbers and results are based on information courtesy of LYCOS, Incc, a leading community destination for broadband entertainment content.

Not surprisingly, Internet users are once again hooked on American Idol - searches for the show are up 480% in interest this week.

A bit unexpected, however, is the fact that Paula Abdul is the most searched for judge - by far - across engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Specifically, people wish to know about "Paula Abdul drunk," as 20% of queries regarding this occasionally slurred singer involve those words.

Meanwhile, searches for Simon Cowell have risen 90% this week; and those tracking down "American Idol auditions" have also done so at a more frequent pace than prior weeks.

As the weeks go by, it's safe to assume individual contestants who impress viewers will grow in popularity. Two that standout after last night would be Melinda Doolittle and Sundance Head.

After last night, we have an early favorite for this year's American Idol:

Sundance Head.

In case you missed it, here's the audition from Memphis:

With a new look and new sound, Katharine McPhee is promoting her debut release, which hits stores on Jan. 30.

During a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with AOL Television editor Geoff Bennett, McPhee opened up about her new album, an upcoming role on Ugly Betty, and what was really going through her mind during the American Idol finale.

AOL has exclusive excerpts of your new CD, and I have to admit I was expecting it to be Streisand-lite. But it's way more Beyonce than Barbara. How difficult was it to make a CD so different from what people would expect?
You know, on the show, you're just trying to get by. I didn't necessarily think that if I chose a song, it was also the kind of sound my record was going to take. I was just thinking about Katharine the competitor, not Katharine the recording artist. When it was time to make the record, it wasn't hard to make the decision; it was hard to communicate that to everybody. If anyone ever asked me what kind of record I wanted to make, I'd always say a pop/R&B record.

But those aren't the songs you chose on the show.
On American Idol, I kind of went with what was naturally safe for me. People are like, "Oh, she made such a different record than we thought." But no one really knows what kind of artist you are going to end up being. No one really knew that Kelly Clarkson was going end up being pop/rock. With Chris Daughtry, it's great because he had a direct vision. But it's different for everyone.

So you feel like it's an accurate representation of who you are as an artist?
Yeah, it's my first record, so I think my second - if, God willing, I get another chance to make another - you'll find more pieces that are really me. It can't be a perfect record; it's the first. It was made really quickly and all that kind of stuff, but I'm really proud of it, and it definitely expresses who I am.

You have a couple dance tracks on there. Are you going to dance in your videos or on tour?
I don't think I ended up with as many dance tracks as I wanted. (Laughs) But I'd really like to.

I imagine you spent a lot of time envisioning what being a pop star would be like. What's been the biggest surprise?
Well, there's a lot. For me it was [realizing] all the people who are involved in making the record and how long it really does take to just sing a line [while recording]. A producer will make you sing it over and over and over again. And as an artist, you do a lot of photo shoots. And it's amazing how many people are standing behind the camera to make you look beautiful. It's so glamorized, and [in reality] it's just really not. You hear celebrities say that all the time, but you really just don't understand it until you are in that position.

And how will American Idol figure into your future? Will you try to distance yourself from it?
I would love to come back this season. I know where I came from, and I'm really grateful and excited to see the people I was with for nine months. Your credibility, if you become successful, will come. Kelly Clarkson has made herself very credible and accepted. And I don't think there's any rush to separate yourself. I think people are accepting 'Idol' more and more as a legitimate competition for talent.

Do you think it's even important to win anymore? I mean, what benefits did Taylor get that you didn't?
Well, at the moment, really nothing. (Laughs) I mean, I think it just depends on luck or destiny. But look at Chris. He's doing amazing, and Jennifer Hudson won a Golden Globe. So I think you don't have to win to do really well. I think you need to make an impression, though.

• Bucky Covington debuts this week at No. 57 on Billboard's Country Tracks chart with his first single, "A Different World."

• Elliot Yamin will be released his first CD through an independent label on March 20. It will preceded by a single, "Movin' On," set for air play on February 13.

It's safe to assume hopefuls from last night's auditions in Memphis, such as Sundance Head, hope to enjoy such endeavors in the future.

It's time for Memphis hopeful to show us their American Idol chops. Let's hope they can top last week's Seattle auditions. Shouldn't be that tough ...

Most enthusiastic of the night: Frank Byers. Or, sorry, "Frank and Beans." He didn't get through, but maybe Simon would've changed his mind if those cheerleaders had actually dropped Ryan.

Most similar to a film festival: Jason "Sundance" Head (pictured). With a father named Roy Head - he of the former number-one hit in the 1960s - this uniquely named fellow expected to make it big a long time ago. At 27, his time may have finally come.

Most sentimental: Travis McKinney. Apparently, crazy dancing equates to emtotion for some. We're sorry. We can't go on right now. Too many tears flowing ...

Best American Idol name: Danielle McCulloch. Just sounds right, doesn't it? Scared us a bit when she hit a high note, but brilliant compared to other singers so far. Glad she got through to Hollywood.

Best use of third person: Randy Jackson. He just referred to himself as a "dawg." American Idol Worship liked it.

Saddest story: Topher McCain. His wife left him. He watches Dr. Phil. He has a giant crush on Paula Abdul.

Best impression of a dictator: Sean Michel. Castro, bin Laden, Jesus Christ. Whatever. The guy can kind of sing.

Proudest father: Phil Stacey. We think the judges just wanted to do right by the new father. Guess we can't blame them for that.

American Idol star Chris Daughtry rocks out during a New York City performance of his single "It's Not Over" on FOX's new Morning on Monday.

"It comes so fast that it's hard to you're your head around it," Daughtry said of his growing fame.

Every week, TV Guide's Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez, the hosts of TV Guide Channel's Idol Chat and Reality Chat (both pictured here) will discuss the latest happenings and outlook for American Idol.

Kimberly, of course, was a Season Two contender. Below, her and Rosanna weigh in on the "too mean" controversy, the importance of first impressions, and the first clue that a contestant might be just a bit unbalanced.

TVGuide.com: Rosie O'Donnell, for one, last week slammed Idol's new season as "too mean." Many have countered that the singers know what they are getting into. What's your qualified point of view on the current level of meanness?
Rosanna: In so far as the kids who walk in with the extravagant and insane costumes, they know what they're getting into. They knowing they're being shticky. You can't walk in with a costume and not be laughed at. Now, the kids who genuinely feel that they are talented but sing off-key or have no stage presence, do they deserve to be criticized as harshly? No. But I could see how by the 200th contestant who walks in not singing well, the judges' patience is just wearing thin!
Kimberly: I feel like Paula is definitely more up front and more real about it, probably because it's been six years of thousands and thousands of people coming in thinking that they're the one, that they really have a shot. At the same time, Simon's probably enjoying it, because it's good TV and it's his show.

TVGuide.com: The day that Paula, Simon and Randy all become Pollyannas is the day that American Idol draws "just" 10 million viewers.
Kimberly: Exactly.

TVGuide.com: As I watch these first rounds, especially the singers with more promise, I have to remind myself, "One of these people could end up being the next American Idol." What do you remember of, say, Taylor Hicks' early auditions?
Kimberly: I remember going, "That guy's not going to win." [Laughs]
Rosanna: I thought the same thing, but for some reason my mother, who's a big fan of Michael McDonald's, was like, "You'll see. He's going to win." And after every performance she'd call me and say, "He's going to win." I was like, "Mom, sorry, but you're, like, in your fifties and... I don't think so." But he won, and I had to eat my words.

TVGuide.com: So, who are your favorites from Season 6, Week 1?
Kimberly: "Crack Baby."
Rosanna: I like Crack Baby, too.
Kimberly: I hate calling her that, but what else do you say?
Rosanna: She called herself a crack baby. [Editor's note: Crack Baby's real name is Denise Jackson.]
Kimberly: She was like wow. She was absolutely amazing, absolutely beautiful, and she's going to look awesome when they give her a makeover and "Hollywood" her up.

TVGuide.com: Was there anyone who has the look but the singing isn't quite there, yet has potential?
Rosanna: I like the girl from Barranquilla, Colombia. She definitely has the look.

TVGuide.com: Perla Meneses, the one who sang Shakira?
Rosanna: Yeah. I liked her voice, too. She wasn't phenomenal, but she had great stage presence, and she seemed really playful.
Kimberly: I think she definitely has an advantage because Simon was like, "She's great fun! Isn't she great fun?" I'm like, "You're just looking at her bottom," but that's cool.
Rosanna: I think that's what Paula told him!
Kimberly: But she is absolutely stunning, and I think in the right genre she'll be very good.