June 2007 News Archive

Jordin Sparks will make one of her first major appearances since winning American Idol next week during Macy’s Fourth of July Spectacular, the annual holiday special on NBC. She’s excited and nervous about the opportunity.

“I’m so excited to do this program,” Sparks said. “I have no idea what I’m going to be doing on it, and right after that, I leave to start the tour. It’s going to be so much fun, I can’t wait to get started on all of it.”

Fellow finalists Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle will also perform on the Independence Day show. Also scheduled to appear are Martina McBride and Joss Stone, while Natalie Morales and recent NBC hire Tiki Barber will host.

“It’s kind of tripping me out,” Sparks said. “You watch it on television and think it’s such a big event. I love the fourth of July. Melinda actually was the one who told me we were going to be doing this, and I said, ‘What are we going to (sing)?’ She said, ‘I have no idea. We’ll talk about it later.’ I just love her and Blake; we have such a good time when we’re all together.”

The occasion will allow Sparks to be in one place for a while. A few weeks ago, “everything was going so fast, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I really just need to sit down.’ So I did, and I thought of everything I’d done, and it all just hit me. It was unbelievable, and it’s still a whirlwind sometimes. It’s just this crazy cycle.”

It won’t abate with the American Idol Live tour that launches July 6, in Sunrise, Florida, and continues through late September.

“It’s going to be a blast,” Sparks said. “Most of us are going to be doing songs we know we can succeed in doing and that we love to perform. There will be different groups and duets. I went to the season-four Idol tour, and this is so much different. It’s going to be really intense, so I hope people come out and see us.”

We’re somehow guessing that won't be a problem.

 American Idol 2006 winner Taylor Hicks rocked through Atlanta Thursday night. He hit the Southern Star Stage at Six Flags performing before hundreds of fans.

WSB TV reports that the gray haired Hicks has been touring since February promoting his most recent

Of course, the road is nothing new for the Alabama native. Long before American Idol fame came calling, he was hitting the roads all across the southeast, playing in bands since he was 19 years old. He adds that touring back then has prepared him for the lifestyle now, a lifestyle that includes performing at night, sleeping during the day from time to time, and plenty of time of the open road.

While some past contestants of American Idol have been quick to abandon their ties to the show, this isn't the case for Hicks. He says he understands what a great opportunity performing on American Idol in front of millions was - and he continues to learn more and more about it each day.

From here, Hicks continues the tour, a tour he describes as high impact soul aerobics, a modern day approach to soul. Next month, Hicks the artist turns into Hicks the author. He's got a new book coming out called 'Heart Full Of Soul'. In it, he tells how a gray haired guy beat the odds, finding his own voice and seizing the opportunity when it came his way.

He'll be back in Atlanta on July 24th at the Barnes & Noble on Cobb Parkway to promote it.

The following is a review of Hey Paula from the Chicago Tribune...

And now for what not to watch: If you want to see a petulant, annoying Paula Abdul up close and personal, then Hey Paula (9 p.m. Thursdays, Bravo) is the show for you.

We suppose there could be a certain voyeuristic thrill in seeing that her bizarre behavior on American Idol continues behind closed doors and that she's not particularly fun to work for – but couldn't you have guessed that?

Though the episode Bravo sent for review was only a half-hour long, we quickly grew tired of the American Idol judge, who is cosseted around the clock by a team of publicists, assistants, stylists and sundry other hangers on. Oh, and she's also surrounded by a pack of teacup-sized dogs that she apparently finds adorable.

Not so adorable: The close-up shots of their, er, waste.

Would that this series were adorable in any way, but it promises only tiresome narcissism, something the entertainment world is not exactly lacking in.

Who loves Chris Daughtry?

Here's a better question: Who doesn't love Chris Daughtry?

The song "Home" was the second-most-added song on the Christian Adult Contemporary chart in Radio & Records (which means five stations out of 54 added it). It also had the fifth-biggest increase in number of plays on those stations, although it still didn't make the top 30.

It should eventually do so, however.

Whether it was his intention or not, Daughtry conquers another musical genre.

Melinda Doolittle will be teaming up with First Lady Laura Bush for a trip to Africa as part of a Malaria No More campaign.

During the four-day tour, Reality TV World reports, Doolittle will participate in malaria prevention programs and see the devastating impact that the infectious disease, which kills more than 3,000 children every day, is having on the African continent.

Doolittle first learned of Malaria No More, a non-profit organization focused on ending malaria deaths, through April's Idol Gives Back charity event that raised over $70 million for programs aiding children in Africa and America. Her visit will be a part of the First Lady's five-day tour through Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zambia.

"Traveling to Africa has always been a life-long dream of mine," said Doolittle. "I am very excited to travel with the First Lady and Malaria No More and to show the impact the viewers of American Idol have had through their help and support during Idol Gives Back."

As part of the trip, Doolittle will assist in the distribution of 500,000 bed nets in Lusaka, Zambia, which represents the use of the first installment of funds contributed to Malaria No More by Idol viewers during the Idol Gives Back campaign.

Doolittle will assist in loading the bed nets onto the bikes of community health workers who will then deliver them to the remote African communities. The bed nets will be specifically distributed to Zambia's at-risk population to help curtail the spread of malaria, which is the number one killer of children under 5-years-old in Africa. Worldwide, the disease is responsible of the death of over one million people a year.

In addition, Doolittle will put her vocal chords to work for a good cause as she plans on performing a song as part of the program. She'll embark for the trip on June 28, and the following day she will travel with U.S. Malaria Coordinator Admiral Timothy Ziemer to visit various malaria sites, including a health clinic where children with the disease are treated.

Malaria No More is helping to fund the bed net distribution in conjunction with the President's Malaria Initiative as well as the Global Business Coalition to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Dreamgirls stars Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson led the way at Tuesday's Black Entertainment Television Awards in Los Angeles.

People magazine reported that Hudson kicked off the three-hour ceremony with a duet of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" with Jennifer Holliday, who made the song famous on Broadway almost three decades ago.

The Oscar winner snagged the best actress trophy ("I can't believe I'm still winning awards!" she said) and best new artist award.

Knowles, who led the nominees with six nods, picked up awards for best female R&B artist and video of the year for "Irreplaceable."

She also performed a show-stopping rendition of her dance anthem "Get Me Bodied" – followed by her Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland singing "Like This" with cameos from Eve, Michelle Williams and Beyoncé's sister Solange Knowles.

Later in the evening Diana Ross was given the lifetime achievement award, and urged younger performers to "keep it classy." Introduced by Alicia Keys and Ross's five children, the former Supreme was feted with a multi-song tribute that kicked off with Erykah Badu's cover of "Love Hangover."

Sadly, the new album by Kelly Clarkson is not receiving rave reviews.

But we still love the original American Idol. Here she is performing on Good Morning America this week as she hypes up the CD, My December.

Here's a look at how American Idol artists are faring on the Top 40chart, courtesy of USA Today...

• Daughtry and "Home" are still thriving, moving from No. 4 to No. 3.

• Elliott Yamin, Wait for You" is just shy of the top 10, moving 12 to 11.

• Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats," is falling on this chart, 10-12, but has been an impressive crossover hit for her.

• Not so impressive is Kelly Clarkson and "Never Again," which drops a spot to number-28 and is pretty much dead in the water on this format.

 Carrie Underwood and Kevin Eubanks have been named the "world's sexiest vegetarians" in PETA's annual contest.

Underwood, 24, a Grammy-winning country singer, won the title in 2005. Eubanks, 49, leader of NBC's "Tonight Show" band, is a newcomer to the winner's circle.

Eubanks leapt ahead of his competitors with help from Jay Leno, who encouraged viewers to vote for Eubanks and "bring honor" to the late-night NBC talk show.

"I'm gonna keep this campaign going," Leno said during a recent show after sharing a photo of a shirtless Eubanks with his audience. Leno said the shot, in which Eubanks is holding a backpack and posing against a woodsy backdrop, wasn't doctored.

Runners-up in the contest, which the animal rights group said drew more than 110,000 votes on its Web site, included Joaquin Phoenix, Milo Ventimiglia, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto and Lisa Edelstein.

The Washington Post recently ran the following review of Kelly Clarkson's new album, My December...

The angsty and intense scorned-girl rock of "My December" comes across like a lesser version of Alannis Morissette's music circa "Jagged Little Pill" (with shades of Pat Benatar, too). It's confused and angry and anguished, featuring crunchy power chords, crashing drums, a little bit of distortion and more than a few digital studio tricks. The therapeutic, highly produced sound of cathartic release, in other words.

"I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green," Clarkson hisses on "Never Again." "I hope when you're in bed with her you think of me."

On "Haunted," she's back to moping: "I'm still stuck in this moment of wanting you here."

Then again: "It's over, / It's over, / It's over !" she declares on "Don't Waste Your Time."

The songs might work better if not for the fact that, as a writer, Kelly Clarkson doesn't seem to have a particularly strong sense of melody. Most of these songs don't suit her voice particularly well, and they tend to drone on, too, with a few exceptions: "Be Still," a gentle, almost jazzy lullaby whose lyrical phrasing echoes Edie Brickell, of all people; "Yeah," a sinewy soul song sassed up with R&B horns; and the quiet, contemplative "Irvine," on which Clarkson sings directly to God over an acoustic guitar.

Otherwise: Eh.

Clarkson sounds shrill throughout "My December," which is surprising, given just how gorgeous her voice can be. Consider her stirring version of "Up to the Mountain," on which she lays a soaring, emotion-drenched vocal over churchy piano and Jeff Beck's bluesy guitar licks.

Written by Patty Griffin and performed by Clarkson this year on American Idol, the song is a stunner, falling squarely in the young singer's sweet spot.

Unfortunately, while the live performance was released as a charity single, it's not included on "My December."

It's admirable - laudable, even - that Clarkson wanted to take control of her artistry, but she's a much better singer than songwriter. No shame in that, but maybe the next time she wants to express herself, in her own words, she might consider blogging about her feelings.