As he's proven so many times, Clay Aiken is about more than just great music. The American Idol runner-up often comes in first when it comes to charitable causes.
This is no different.
According to the White House, Aiken has been named to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. The committee was originally formed in 1961 by President Kennedy as the President's Panel on Mental Retardation.
Kelly Clarkson is doing many surprising things these days. Aside from joining heavy metal groups in videos, the occasional dare devil is giving NASCAR a try. Sort of.
The first-ever champion of American Idol served as grand marshal of the Nextel Cup Series at the Calfornia Speedway on Sunday. She's seen here posing next to Jeff Gordon (top, right) and then taking a break like a seasoned racing veteran:
Confused Mario Vazquez fans can take solace: his debut album really is hitting stores shortly.
While the season four contender's self-titled CD was originally slated for an August 29 release date, fans can now circle September 26 on their calendar instead. On that day, they can pick up the disc that boasts collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Scott Storch and Ne-Yo, among others.
Right now, the Vazquez hit, "Gallery," is number-32 on the Billboard Pop 100.
"It's everything I love - a bit of R&B, hip-hop, reggaeton and pop ballads," Mario said of the impending album. "I feel like people know me as kind of a crooner [or] a soft singer so I wanted to just remind them [of that]. Ne-Yo wrote a beautiful song - [he] gave me a golden ticket."
Of course, Vasquez is best known right now as the guy that mysteriously dropped out of American Idol last March before the final round, citing family issues.
"I feel like I've accomplished something major but I also feel like I have a lot to prove," he said. "With this record, I hope it answers people's questions of why I left, artistically."
The singer's next single will be "Cohiba," named after a brand of Cuban cigars.
"There's a bit of innuendo and it's edgier," said Vasquez. "It's just showing another side of Vasquez."
That makes American Idol Worship happy to hear.
You may not have heard a lot from Tamyra Gray since the first season of America Idol, but the finalist is back in the news ... with some very happy news of her own.
Gray married songwriter and producer Sam Watters in Capri, Italy, on Saturday. The pair has been dating for two years.
The wedding took place before 45 guests on a cliff overlooking the ocean. After the ceremony, People magazine reports "they walked through the city and townspeople were opening their windows and cheering for them," Gray's manager, Lisa Braudé, said.
Since becoming a fan favorite on American Idol in 2002, Gray has ventured into acting: she had a recurring role on Boston Legal in 2003, appeared in the 2005 indie film The Gospel and played a waitress on NBC's Las Vegas in March. In 2004, she released an album, The Dreamer.
Watters was a member of the early '90s R&B group Color Me Badd, which was most well-known for the unforgettable hit, "I Wanna Sex You Up." Since then, he's worked with partner Louis Biancaniello as a writer and producer for artists such as Jessica Simpson (he co-wrote her song "A Public Affair"), Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson.
He also co-wrote, produced and arranged several songs on The Dreamer.
As the American Idol Tour wound down this summer, it became a tradition: Taylor Hicks (sometimes alone, sometimes with pals named Elliot and Bucky) would surprise customers at some local watering hole after a show.
It took place again last week, two hours after the American Idol winner sang in front of 17,000 people at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Hicks played guitar and harmonica, while singing for about 150 devoted fans in an after midnight surprise show at a local club.
A fan in attendence blogged about the event for The Mercury News and stated emphatically that no one there was let down, as Hicks ran through a medley of soul and funk hits. The audience was about 85 percent female and flashbulbs popped and video cameras ran throughout the performance.
"There's something about this year, with the variety and genres of music that has brought in a variety of people, young and old," said Modesto accountant Alice Pierson, 53, who stood in line outside Club Angel four hours before Hicks took the stage. "It's renewed an interest in music for the Baby Boomers."
Pierson, like millions of others, said she was impressed with Hicks's "charisma, looks and voice."
Hicks was backed by the Birmingham, Ala., quintet LiMBO, with whom he played before a record-number of fans gave him the title over Katharine McPhee this year.
Marcy Feldman, 46, a Los Angeles-based independent consultant for television programming, caught the band in Birmingham and LA. Heck, she enjoyed it even when Hicks didn't show up.
"Their energy is amazing," she said. "You can't sit still. I'm stuck in the seventies. I love Billy Joel and Michael McDonald. There is nothing in the last 15 years that has interested me. But this has brought me back to music."
The band's manager referred to venues such as the San Jose joint as "home for Taylor." Dean Sanders even said the smaller and less crowded, the better.
It's a refreshing point of view from a singer that's bound to become an evern bigger star before the year is over.
From California to Alabama, American Idol hopeful are lining up to audition for season six of the show. And now the same can be said about Memphis.
TV station, WMC, had the story.
Thousands of Taylor Hicks wanna-bes lined up outside and around FedExForum Friday morning to register for the auditions. Many, such as Tania Velazquez, had been in line since Thursday afternoon. She managed to make it to the front of the line.
Tiffany Wright drove from North Carolina, through Tropical Storm Ernesto, to teach her daughter a life lesson.
"You only have one chance to live," she said. "You should do whatever you can and not have any regrets at all."
American Idol was supposed to recruit in Memphis last year, but auditions were canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Velazquez was ready to see the judges. "I'm ready for the criticism," she said. "I'm ready for them."
People wanting to meet Randy, Paula or Simon, though, will face additional waits. Prospective contestants have to return to FedExForum Sunday morning and sing in front of a producer for ten seconds. Then, they go in-front of an executive producer. From there, it's a few weeks before they go in front of the real judges.
The American Idol tour may be winding down - but it's not too late to catch up with many of the performers.
Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee may be taking many of the headlines, but as images below prove, other Idols have been enjoying (and sleeping during) their time in the spotlight, as well.
Fans may still be upset that Chris Daughtry was voted off the show so early - but those that have seen the rocker in person are rather pleased.
During her recent impressions of the tour, Kellie Picker left out the part about jumping aboard a police horse. But we caught her!
Life as an American Idol is tiring. Just ask - or look at - Paris Bennett and Lisa Tucker.
Our own Kelly Clarkson walked away with the award for "Best Female Video" at last night's Video Music Awards on MTV. Well, she didn't exactly walk away, since she did not show up. The audience was surely disappointed, but what are you gonna do. Nonetheless, we congratulate Kelly on a job well done!
Interestingly, Shakira and Nelly Furtado were considered the big favorites prior to airing, while Kelly was a major underdog, despite walking away with more moonmen than any other artist at last year's VMAs. We're seeing if we can work any more "Walk Away" puns into this post, but we may have tapped out.
It's amazing that going on two years after the initial release of Kelly's second CD, Breakway, it's impact is still being felt.
In other Kelly news, California Speedway announced that the Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum artist will serve as the Grand Marshal for the SONY HD 500 this Sunday, September 3, 2006.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Clarkson will give the most famous words in motorsports, "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines," in front of the Southern California crowd and to a national TV audience on NBC during the Labor Day NASCAR weekend event.
The original American Idol winner will also lead the NEXTEL Cup Series field off pit road in the Grand Marshal car prior to the start of the SONY HD 500.
A quote from Kellie Pickler, just before the latest American Idols Live! parade of fleetingly famous finalists paused for intermission last weekend at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, added a trademark, down-home spin to a line virtually every performer uttered:
"It's amazing how much your life can change in a year! One day I'm a roller-skating waitress at a Sonic Drive-In," K-Pick said. "Now people are interested in me!"
What may also be the case, according to the Orange County Register, is a return to relative obscurity. As terrific as their show (see pics below) was this weekend, they may not have staying power.
After all, by this time next year, Kellie and most of this season's Idols will have been replaced by a new batch of vocalists, commanding a corner of our shrinking attention spans, simply because we just rooted and voted for them on Season 6 of American Idol.
The Los Angeles Times reports that reigning American Idol king Taylor Hicks has settled a lawsuit he filed last week against a Nashville producer over the rights to three songs he wrote and recorded before becoming a phenom on the FOX series this spring.
Under the agreement, Hicks gained possession of the master recordings of his material, documents filed in federal court Tuesday reveal.
The lawsuit was filed and put to rest in Hicks' hometown of Birmingham, Ala. In exchange for receiving the rights to his songs, which he alleged were released on iTunes by ex-producer William Smith illegally, Hicks agreed to cease further legal action against the producer.
Smith recorded Hicks several years ago and recently tried to market the songs. He claims he intended to give all royalties to Hicks, and only released the songs to show the true abilities of the American Idol winner. No money will change hands under the agreement.
