Katharine McPhee is in the headlines every single day and she wasn't even participating in the American Idol Tour until last week. Season Five winner Taylor Hicks is piling up the endorsements and public appearances left and right. McPhee, Hicks, and popular finalists Chris Daughtry and Kellie Pickler have all signed record deals. The question on the minds of many Idol freaks -- why is this year's third-place finisher, Elliott Yamin, still unsigned?

The irony is thick.

By and large, the record industry seems to stick with signing artists that have a certain hook, that fit a certain mold. Without a doubt, this is what's hurting Yamin right now, as he struggled in that department even as he made it all the way to the final three. And it is this unwritten rule that makes labels prone to overlook unique talent, which is precisely what has made American Idol such a runaway success.

Think about it. If you look back at the American Idol contestants that have gone on to successful careers, most of them are different in both look and style from your typical pop artist. If the record industry didn’t wake up after the success of Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, then you would think that the grey-haired soul man who won Season Five would have given them a clue. If it works, it works. America wants quality, uniqueness, diversity, and fun.

Born in California to a Jewish father of Iraqi heritage and a Jewish-American mother, the 28-year-old Yamin made it to the top three this year with a mere fraction of the screen time given other singers. That attests to his popularity with fans, and one would think recording companies would be doing everything they could to court him. Here is a young guy that does not need a marketing machine -- because he's going to make a quality record that sells itself.

Hopefully, Elliott gets a well-deserved deal real soon.

The first time columnist Malcolm Mayhew saw Kelly Clarkson -- whose U.S. tour rolls through Dallas tonight -- was probably the first time most of us did. On American Idol.

The new show was becoming a surprise sensation (hard to imagine that now), with the competition nearing the finals and tearing the country in half like a virtual, musical Civil War. Mayhew, a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, saw little special about the program or Clarkson, figuring she was just a young girl (left) out to win a TV show.

The next time the reporter saw Clarkson, she was a star with a hit debut record, Thankful. Still, his impression was that after her 15 minutes of fame, she'd fade from the limelight.

Then, the next time he saw Kelly, the paper's music writer gave her follow-up album, Breakaway, a mediocre B-minus review.

But he's finally come around.

There's no denying Kelly's star status now, as Breakaway still floats in and out of the top 50 on Billboard’s albums chart, 85 weeks after its release. It has become an equivalent of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, even Nirvana’s Nevermind in terms of chart-topping staying power. Like all three of those records, it has struck a chord with kids and adults, local fans and people all around the country, even people across the world and of all ages.

The reason? Breakaway speaks our language.

It mirrors our emotions. It knows how we feel, whether it’s the relief we feel after we end a disastrous relationship, the devastation of loss, the optimism of rebuilding a broken life, the freedom of getting in your car and just driving away... everything.

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American Idol Season Four winner Carrie Underwood will be touring with a fellow country star and Arista Records label-mate, Brad Paisley, beginning this September.

Their joint venture September 22 in Birmingham, Ala., and continues through December 8 in Chicago, Ill. Paisley released his smash hit CD, Time Well Wasted, in August 2005 and is currently supporting the effort on the road with Eric Church.

Underwood is currently on the road with Kenny Chesney, and will perform at a handful of state fairs in early September before embarking on her tour with Paisley.

Take a look at this list of Carrie's tour dates to see if she'll be rolling through your neck of the woods.

There's so much Katharine McPhee news these days, we can barely even digest it all. With her voice rested and career opportunities abounding, the 22-year old co-hosted The View with Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck yesterday morning. Katharine looked glowing as usual, and was unfazed when her co-hosts gave her some friendly razzing over the age difference between herself and beau Nick Cokas.

The dialogue:

Joy: "Don’t you have a boyfriend also now these days?"
Katharine: "Yes."
Joy: "Tell us about him."
Katharine: "He’s cool. His name’s Nick and we’ve been together for about a year."
Barbara: "He’s a little older than you?"
Katharine: "Oh, a little... 19 years!"
Elisabeth: "What does your dad think about that?"
Katharine: "Everyone was pretty cool about it in the beginning. You know, it happens a lot, and it is a lot of years but I’ve always been a little bit older than I am."
Joy: "Think of it this way; when you’re sixty he’ll be eighty."
Katharine: "I mean it isn’t really that big of a difference... once you’re old, you’re old!"

Not sure how Barbara Walters felt about that last comment, but it's good to see McPhee healthy, happy with Nick and in good spirits.

Ever the humanitarian, we've received word that Clay Aiken has posted a plea to his fan club on its official site to help the children displaced by the recent Middle East conflict.

Officials say more than a third of those already killed or injured in the fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group have been children, and estimate that as many as 350,000 children forced to flee their homes.

UNICEF is working around the clock to deliver aid to the many children and families isolated by the destruction of roads and bridges, and you can continue to the effort by following the link HERE.

On the musical front, we have learned from a number of Clay's fans that his upcoming CD is in fact finished. We previously reported that it was still being recorded, but A Thousand Different Ways is apparently ready to go and rumored for a September 19 release.

This date has been reported by the likes of FYE, Variety Magazine, MTV and others, and Clay's fan club says the album and tour are still scheduled for late 2006. Special thanks to the fans who brought this to our attention -- and to Clay for his continued efforts to help the children affected by this terrible conflict.

For the past two months, fans in Bridgeport, Connecticut have been brimming with anticipation at the chance to see the American Idol finalists in person.

Tuesday night, the wait finally ended as the American Idols Live tour came to town.

"My mother told me about the tickets a while ago, so I'm really glad it's finally here. It's really exciting," KellyAnn McManus of Woodbridge, Conn., said before the show Tuesday.

There was even more excitement that night for McManus, who ran into Idol singer Elliott Yamin (left) near the backstage area at the Arena at Harbor Yard before the concert started and asked him to pose for a picture with some friends. He gladly obliged.

"We came in through the back entrance and he was just there. I love American Idol and now I have a picture to hang in my room," she said.

Yamin was showcased at the event along with fellow finalists Ace Young, Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Tucker, Mandisa, Paris Bennett and, of course, Season Five king Taylor Hicks.

Katharine McPhee, who has suffered throat problems for the entire month of July, and who will be making her debut tonight in Pittsburgh, was absent, leaving many McPhans disappointed. Kim Arthur of Meriden, Conn., who had heard on the Internet that McPhee was going to be ready by Tuesday night, was sad to miss her favorite singing starlet.

"I'm really disappointed," said Arthur, decked out in her "McPhee-ver" t-short at the concert. "I like Chris and Taylor and Elliott, but Katharine's my favorite. I liked her all the way."

The fans were warned, however, that McPhee wasn't going to take part. A sign announcing the 22-year-old's absence was posted at the doors of the arena. Fortunately, there were still plenty of other Idol members to cheer for, and cheer fans did -- often while wearing custom shirts like Arthur's to support of their favorites.

The most popular, not surprisingly, was Hicks and his group of followers, known affectionately by many as the "Soul Patrol."

"If I got to the door and I saw a sign like the one they had for Katharine that said Taylor wasn't going to perform, then I'd have been ticked," said Nora Tenk of Stratford, Conn., who came to the show as part of a group that included her daughter and some of her grandchildren.

The Tenk contingent was very representative of the crowd on Tuesday night, which was largely female but spanned multiple generations. Soaking it all in was Mary Beth Nevins, also of Stratford, who attended with two friends who drove in from Cape Cod, Mass., to see the show.

"This is insane. This is absolutely insane," Nevins said of the pre-show scene. "I've never seen anything like this."

As we reported earlier, President George W. Bush will be welcoming Season Five's American Idol finalists to the White House Friday.

All in all, regardless of what you think of the man, 2006 hasn't been the best year for W. His lame duck status has led to a decreasingly compliant Congress, the occupation of Iraq has pushed many to their breaking points, energy costs are off the chain, and turmoil continues from North Korea to Lebanon. So hopefully, a visit from the American Idol stars will be a welcome distraction.

In anticipation of the event, Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino offers a facetious, blow-by-blow account in his blog. Some excerpts:

"President George W. Bush characterized his White House meeting Friday with the contestants of American Idol as a 'constructive and productive exchange of ideas and songs.'"

"... When told about the opportunity for a visit, Bush initially declined, thinking the show was called American Idle, and was one of those derogatory West Wing kind of shows about his leadership."

"'[Bush] even asked if during the next season we could just eliminate all the voting, and simply allow him to be the decider,' Hicks said."

Click on the link above for the full version of this phony but highly amusing post.

The Katharine McPhee sightings continue. Bouncing back from laryngitis and bronchitis, the budding starlet unveiled her ad campaign for Sexy Hair in New York on Wednesday, and this morning, co-hosted The View. Below is a picture of McPhee promoting the hair campaign, taken from People magazine.

The songstress, 22, is probably en route to Pittsburgh at this moment to join the rest of her Season Five Idol counterparts on tour. While she's anxious to make her debut on tour, don't expect any of the soaring vocals that led her the final twosome in May -- yet.

"I just have to sing easily so I can get through the tour," McPhee said, adding that she's been giving her voice the needed TLC by guzzling water and getting plenty of rest. "[My vocal chords] are very sensitive. I bruised (them) because I was doing so much coughing."

McPhee told USA Today ignored all the scuttlebutt regarding her absence from the tour. She denies any tales of battles with the record label or her fellow contestants.

"During Idol, I did not read any negative things or positive things. But the thing about being home for three weeks and being sick: You get bored, and you go online," she said. "I did happen to run into some things like that. It's all baloney. I got sick, and I had some work I had to do on my chords. The important thing is that I'm back."

Having recovered from a severe bout of bronchitis and laryngitis, Season Five runner-up Katharine McPhee is finally set to join the American Idols Live tour today.

Doctors ordered the 22-year-old California cutie to rest her voice completely since she was diagnosed at the beginning of the month, but several public sightings of McPhee over the past few weeks have cast doubt -- probably unfairly -- on the legitimacy of her illness.

McPhee has been photographed several times with boyfriend Nick Cokas, who has been serving as her de facto interpreter. She also came under attack for her decision to attend a photo shoot on July 6, the day after the tour began without her.

Then it became known that Katharine, along with Cokas and others, is producing a new Broadway play entitled Red Herring, written by Michael Albanese.

Personally, we aren't sure what the big deal is. If Katharine is using her downtime to focus on her other interests, so be it. As for rumors that her condition was not as serious as she let on? Keep in mind, people, that McPhee battled an eating disorder for years, then sang her heart out on American Idol for months. That combination would certainly be enough to wreak havoc on one's vocal chords, wouldn't you say?

With all the American Idols, past and present, in the news these days, we've taken it upon ourselves to spotlight the one who got away.

Mario Vazquez.

That's right. You may remember the Bronx, N.Y., native as the one who sent the Idol universe into shock when he voluntarily left the show's fourth season, citing personal reasons. This came right as it looked like Vazquez was a lock to make the finals and maybe even make a run at the title. His prompt exit enabled Nikko Smith to return for Top 12.

While the personal reasons have yet to be explained, Vazquez has moved on and landed a record deal with BMG chairman Clive Davis, according to Newsday. Some have theorized that he simply didn't want to get tangled into a super-restrictive record contract that success on the show carries. One current example of this is the inability of Chris Daughtry's former band's to display a picture of him on their website.

But regardless of his reasons were, Vazquez is making his move now.

His first single, "Gallery," a sweet soul ballad written by Ne-Yo, is already climbing the charts in both English and Spanish, having debuted on the Hot 100 at #99, as well as hitting #50 on the Pop 100 and #34 on the Pop 100 Airplay. His debut album is set for release August 29, according to Vazquez's official site, and is packed with producer firepower from the likes of Scott Storch, Soulshock and Luny Tunes.

"[Vazquez] has a voice and charisma that we've been trying to find for a long time," Davis says of the 28-year-old Vazquez.

But his fans already knew that. If Mario is able to build success without jumping through all the show's procedural hoops, he may have pioneered a new path to lasting Idol brilliance.