This isn't as shocking and Clay Aiken and Chucky, we know.
After all, from the first show of the season, Randy Jackson referred to Chris Richardson as a clone of Justin Timberlake. As the pictures below depict, it was an apt comparison.
Constantine Maroulis (No. 6 finalist, Season 4) will join the cast of CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful May 15.
He'll play music producer Constantine Parros, who "becomes embroiled in the career and life of heiress Phoebe Forrester (Mackenzie Mauzy). He will perform a number of songs from his upcoming solo debut album over the next several months on the show."
We'll keep you posted on this news.
Meanwhile, the New York theater is increasingly becoming a destination for former Idols. Closely following Fantasia's Broadway The Color Purple starring role, Anthony Fedorov (Season 4's No. 4 finalist) will join the off-Broadway cast of the new revival of The Fantasticks on May 1.
One of Simon Cowell's habits strikes people as rude, even for him: While American Idol hopefuls are singing their lungs out, he's often seen idly chatting with Paula Abdul.
"I'm taunting Paula throughout the performance," Cowell explains on Monday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I'm saying to her, 'Try to say something interesting, try not to use the words mountain and lakes in your critiques because it's always: You'll climb mountains, you'll swim lakes, whatever.' "
So how can he judge the contestants if he's so busy bugging Abdul? "I'll tell you a secret," he says. "I watch the dress run so I actually hear much, much easier what they really do sound like."
As for his Idol picks, he goes with the favorites Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle, but says, "I wouldn't write off Blake Lewis or LaKisha Jones.
Life and love and loss and freedom. That's how Jon Bon Jovi describes the themes of his band's new album, Lost Highway, due June 19.
The band will perform a new single, (You Want to) Make a Memory, on American Idol Wednesday, May 2, following performances of its songs by contestants on the previous night's show.
No one is more surprised than Bon Jovi that the band has another record so soon after the overwhelming success of Have a Nice Day, featuring the crossover hit Who Says You Can't Go Home with country band Sugarland.
"If you would ever have told me I would have a record in the fourth quarter of last year, having just completed a world tour," Bon Jovi says, "I would have said you can bet all the tea in China, it's just not going to happen.
"But because of the circumstances around our lives, they were very fruitful, and a lot of the inspiration was watching what was happening in Richie's life (bandmate Sambora split with wife Heather Locklear and is dating Denise Richards), compounded by all the good things that were happening in all our collective lives."
Bon Jovi says Lost Highway isn't a conscious attempt to capitalize on the crossover success of Who Says, which won a Grammy and became the first song by a rock band to hit No. 1 on the country charts.
"But the feeling came, and when it does, you have to know to go with it," he says. "And we went to Nashville in September, and by December, 10 of the 12 songs were written and recorded and ready for mixing. It was just in the last couple of months that, because I always do this, I pulled the record back and wrote five more, two of which made the record."
Bon Jovi thinks the crossover appeal of Who Says and the new album is the result of country radio getting closer to the band's sound, not the other way around. Two of the songs feature Big & Rich and LeAnn Rimes, and Bon Jovi says his country influences are new artists as much as the "real gods," including Johnny Cash.
"Different people, different reasons," he says. "It's all a big soup. Everybody adds a little ingredient, and that's what makes the next generation go on. You can't be a rip-off of one guy. You don't find an influence; you find your influence's influence. You take a little piece of that and a little piece of this and a little piece of the other thing, and then that's what makes you and how you get to be here for 25 years."
Today, longevity in the music industry also requires embracing multimedia opportunities to connect with audiences, such as American Idol, which Bon Jovi just recently watched for the first time.
"It's not that I didn't want to; I just didn't," he says. "I've had a lot of guys cover our songs on it, and then giving them songs subsequently for their records, but (had) never seen it. That's 30 million that watch TV, so these days, being on American Idol certainly isn't a bad thing.
"You got to get music out there however you can," Bon Jovi continues. "Radio is getting smaller and smaller; the record business is getting smaller and smaller. There are things that are fantastic, like the Internet, (but) it's tough because it's created something none of us knew 10 years ago, and you have to learn to roll with those punches. But it's not the way it used to be; it's not the record business that I grew up in."
American Idol is among just a handful of TV shows and odd performance dates in support of the album until the world tour next year. Yet Bon Jovi is busier than ever.
"Sort of like Levis, man, we're everywhere," he says, laughing.
Former American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra was arrested early Sunday on felony battery charges for allegedly hitting a man on the head with a heavy glass at a cafe, police said.
Sierra, 21, a top 10 Idol finalist in 2005, was also charged with possession of cocaine and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility after officers searched her.
Sierra was released Sunday afternoon on $11,500 bail.
For quite some time this season it appeared as if American Idol had a serious problem on their hands.
While Sanjaya was a part of that problem he certainly wasnât the whole package. Rather it was the general lack of interesting contestants and distinctive voices that threatened to take the drama out of the competition. Early on there was the belief that it was a two way race between Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones for the title.
When LaKisha began to falter and strung together a few less than impressive performances, it seemed like the right thing for American Idol to do was just crown Melinda and call it a season. But as is often the case in life, when somebody stumbles thereâs usually somebody waiting to fill the void - and in LaKishaâs place stepped Jordin Sparks.
Now things have gotten interesting. Perhaps Melinda peaked too early and wonât be able to withstand the growing number of voters that have rallied behind the 17-year-old Sparks. One thing is for certain: Simon, Paula and Randy wonât stop talking about the Jordin.
After Sparks sang âYouâll Never Walk Aloneâ on Tuesday nightâs show, Randy called it one of the best vocals the show has ever heard, on any season. Paula threw her normal compliments in about how fantastic Sparks is and added her ritualistic fare of generalized superlatives that highlight nothing specific about a performer. Simon then noted that Jordin could take the 60-year-old song and turn it into a hit record.
While the praise and accolades are fresh for Sparks, the judges are running thin on new things to say about Melinda.
Of course, she has consistently been the best performer on Idol - but when a judge tells you that he has run out of good things to say it kind of hurts your appeal. Melinda truly did a great job with âThere Will Come a Dayâ and Randy told her that she had arrived. Not sure what he meant being that Melinda had been the only one to show up for the past six weeks.
The other four performers are really just in it now. The only thing to determine is the order in which they go home. LaKisha has found herself in a bit of a free fall as of late and covering a song from a former Idol champ might not be the best way to stop the drop. She sang âI Believeâ from Fantasia Barrino and just didnât present it in the same manner.
As for the guys, theyâre interchangeable. One week one is hot, the next week their in serious trouble. Blake Lewis opted to sing âImagineâ and delivered a flat performance. The power behind that song was that John Lennon actually believed what he was singing and lived accordingly, hearing it from a kid just doesnât carry the weight that Lennon projected.
Chris Richardson took on Eric Claptonâs âChange the Worldâ and did a fairly good job, but everybody knows he is more than capable of coming out in a week and bombing, so itâs almost like you donât want to give him too much credit. All the judges enjoyed the performance, but donât expect Chris to be in the top three.
Phil Stacey is now realizing that he should have entered Country Idol rather than American Idol.
While it seems acceptable for the ladies to cross over from country to pop, it doesnât happen often with the guys. The list of women from Faith Hill to Shania Twain to Carrie Underwood proves the women can do it. Not exactly sure who Phil could follow. Kid Rock? Bon Jovi? Phil did get a positive response form the judges, but he is just in the wrong competition.
After finding herself in the bottom two last week, LaKisha could be in big trouble. Who would have imagined twelve weeks ago that of the top five contestants, three would be guys?
Kelly Clarkson will be giving her voice a workout this summer. The Grammy-winning pop star and original American Idol will be on tour from July 7 to Sept. 28, visiting nearly 40 U.S. and Canadian cities, it was announced Thursday.
"This will be the biggest tour I've ever done," Clarkson said in a statement. "It's all about the music - we're bringing extra musicians and we'll be making an arena environment intimate because I want the fans to be part of the show."
Clarkson, whose third album is set for a summer release, will open her tour with the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The tour will end in Las Vegas in September.
As one of American Idol's most polarizing figures, fans either love or hate Sanjaya Malakar â but he says he's always been popular with women.
"I've always gotten along with girls better because I was raised by women," Malakar tells People magazine in its new issue.
Malakar, whose parents divorced when he was three, says his ease with women comes from being close to his mom and his sister, Shyamali Malakar, who were his biggest influence growing up in Seattle. But getting along with girls didn't always work to his benefit.
"I got teased in school because people figured I must be gay because I understand women," the popular American Idol castoff says. "I think that's why guys didn't like me â because I got along with girls so well. When I went up to girls they would give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek like I was their gay friend. But I was the straight guy that understood them."
As for his dating past, Malakar, who is now 17, says: "I had a girlfriend but she became clingy, and I didn't want to get into a really serious relationship because I was 16. Before his arrival on the hit FOX show, "I just wanted to date and have fun," he says.
Thanks to People magazine for this report on last night's American Idol ...
Everybody Loves Ellen: Ellen DeGeneres, who cohosted Wednesday's Idol Gives Back from L.A.'s Disney Concert Hall, came out to greet the crowd before the show and show off some of her signature dance moves as she shook her hips and did some tricks for the roaring audience. The talk-show host got a standing ovation and the audience chanted her name â "Ellen, you rock!" screamed one fan â before DeGeneres introduced R&B supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire to kick off the night.
Heart-y Support: As the Idol Top 6 walked to the center of the stage for the show's opening, Jordin Sparks scanned the crowd to find her family. Dad Philippi caught his daughter's eye and held up his hands in the shape of a heart. She smiled and winked at her proud papa.
Life Is Beautiful: An audience member had the opportunity to ask Simon Cowell how his trip to Africa affected him and he sincerely replied, "You don't feel sorry for yourself anymore." The audience responded with polite applause.
Tearful Moment: After Josh Groban performed an emotional rendition of "You Raise Me Up" with the The African Children's Choir, they got a two-minute-long standing ovation from the crowd at the Disney Concert Hall. And over at the Idol studio, the Top 6 were equally emotional about the tender song: When the show went to commercial, Jordin buried her head into her hands and turned away from the audience as she tried to regain her composure while LaKisha Jones rubbed her back.
Chris Richardson was also in tears and quickly left the stage to pull himself together. Upon his return, Melinda Doolittle embraced him and patted him on the back.
Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up: For a crowd who had been anticipating surprise duet, there was an audible letdown when it was Celine Dion and Elvis Presley, who made a "guest appearance" next to her in the form of a 1968 performance. There were grumblings and light boos from the audience, who talked amongst themselves during the performance. Much more well-received was Annie Lennox's show-stopping closing performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." While Lennox sat down at her piano to prepare for her song, an excited DeGeneres came over to greet and hug the British singer.
All Hail Sanjaya! Only a week after being ousted from Idol, Sanjaya Malakar returned to the Idol studio as an audience member and was the talk of the night. After Jack Black's performance of Seal's "Kissed From a Rose," and Simon snarked that the funnyman sang it "worse than Sanjaya," producer Debbie McVickers asked the 17-year-old during the commercial how he liked being teased.
The smiley Seattle native's response? "I liked it!" During the next break, Simon summoned Sanjaya to the judges' table, where the he was greeted warmly with hugs from him, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. Later in the night, during another break, Sanjaya reunited with the Top 6 contestants on the stage. They all embraced him, especially an excited Phil Stacey, who picked him up and swung him around before putting him back on his own two feet.
Bucky Covingtonâs self-titled debut CD opened at number-one on Nielsen Soundscanâs Country Top 75 chart with 61,000 units sold.
The album also entered Nielsen Soundscanâs all genre top 200 chart at #4 and is the only new country act to open inside the top five this year. This puts him in good company as only two other country acts, including Tim McGraw and Martina McBride, have debuted inside the top four on Nielsen Soundscanâs Top 200 chart this year.
With 61,000 units sold in the first week, this gives Bucky Covington the distinction of having not only 2007âs biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.
Bucky Covington was released April 17 on Lyric Street Records. The current single âA Different Worldâ is poised to break into the top 20 on the country radio charts, while the video is climbing CMT and GACâs countdown shows
