The road to Hollywood, fame and fortune begins in...

... East Rutherford, New Jersey?

That's the hope of thousands of area residents, at least, as the cavernous Continental Arena plays host to local auditions for American Idol 6.

What takes an hour or two to cover on TV is actually a marathon week that tests the nerves and voice of every hopeful singer who makes his/ her way to Exit 16W. To guide you through the process, a local publication offers the ins and outs of the auditions, thanks to insight from someone who's been through it -- JP Molfetta of Ramsey, N.J., who tried for Season 4.

According to the oddsmakers, there's a 1-in-7 chance the next cog in the American Idol machine will be at Continental Arena next week.

The road to stardom and next May's season finale begins with the audition process, and for the first time that includes East Rutherford, the second of seven cities Idol will travel to during the next two months.

Given that thousands are expected to try out, what makes one stand out? What are the steps that send someone on the road to Hollywood with a shot to become the next Kelly Clarkson (right)?

We've got you covered.

Coordinating producer Patrick Lynn, along with Molfetta and his brother Rich, who made the rounds of audition cities and got a bit of airtime in Season 4, helped map out a plan for future hopefuls:

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Clay Aiken is being sued for more than $250,000 by the author of an "unauthorized tribute" to the second season American Idol runner-up.

According to People and MSNBC, Jeannie Holleman of Raleigh, N.C., claims Aiken defamed her and conspired to hinder sales of her 2005 book, Out of the Blue - 'Clay' it Forward.

Holleman, 50, describes herself as a lifelong friend and neighbor of the McGhees, a Raleigh family that was close to Aiken's mother, Faye Parker. Holleman says she took in Parker and a young Aiken when Parker left her abusive husband. The book is a compilation of interviews with the McGhees, along with the author's recollections and anecdotes from Aiken fans.

In her lawsuit, Holleman alleges that Aiken, his mother and others denied her stories and unfairly criticized the book on Aiken fan sites.

She is seeking at least $260,000 in damages, and has asked that the court order Aiken to retract his critical comments or endorse Out of the Blue on his official website.

Yesterday, Aiken issued a statement.

"[I've] instructed my attorneys to not only vigorously dispute the claims that have been made but to also pursue all possible remedies against those involved in the perpetration of these untruths," Aiken said.

"As a so-called 'celebrity' I have become used to scurrilous allegations and untruths being made about me and my work. I have always taken the path of not reacting to these matters and have accepted them as, somehow, coming with the 'job.' However, I cannot, and will not, stand by when these attacks are made on my family," he continued.

Clay's upcoming and highly-anticipated album, A Thousand Different Ways, is due out September 19.

NOTE: American Idol Worship supports Clay in his efforts to settle this dispute amicably and permanently, and welcomes comments from fans with greater insight on the issue.

The mogul is scheming.

His groundbreaking project is the behemoth that has come to rule not only television, but also much of the entertainment landscape.

But if you thought Simon Fuller, the British creator of American Idol, would be sitting back by now celebrating his success, think again.

"I'm hungry," he tells the Los Angeles Times, and presumably he's talking about more than lunch.

Next item on Simon's agenda is taking the unscripted talent show to even greater heights, this time starting a songwriting competition that will be incorporated into the show and produce a song that will be sung by the next American Idol.

After that, he plans to revolutionize the entertainment arena further using his production company, 19 Entertainment, and other partnerships. He wants to start using unique strategies that, in his estimation, will change the way talent is developed and exposed.

Even by the lofty standards of the unassuming, soft-spoken Fuller, 46, who first came to prominence as the marketing and creative force behind the Spice Girls, it has been a crazy year for him and his production company.

Already a cultural phenomenon, American Idol is spawning a domino effect in which its alumni are now regularly appearing in theater, summer concerts and even making trips to the White House. The series finale scored 36.3 million viewers, and the show received eight Emmy nominations.

Former Idols like Kelly Clarkson (Season One) and Carrie Underwood (Season Four) have been transformed into bona-fide pop and country hit-makers. Lifetime will soon air a TV movie based on the life of Season Three American Idol winner, single mother and inspiring rags-to-riches story, Fantasia Barrino.

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Former American Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell, 24, was in Pasadena, Calif., last month to chat with TV journalists.

She's now a program host on the TV Guide Channel, but it was her past experience touring with American Idols Live in 2003 that occupied one particular Q&A session.

The Texas native dished a bit about tour accommodations. Yes, the group spends more time on buses than it does on planes hopping from concert to concert. No, they don't have to double up on hotel rooms. Then somebody asked what an Idol contestant gets paid for touring.

"I don't want to talk about that," Caldwell said.

Caldwell might have been asserting old-fashioned manners. It's not polite to talk about money, after all.

But her reticence might have had another origin -- first-year Idol contestants signed contracts that threaten $5 million fines for revealing any information relating to the series.

Since 2002, when an entertainment lawyer posted online a copy of the company's first-season Idol contract, the question of compensation for these show biz newcomers has lingered. It's natural to be curious about famous people's paychecks, and some observers of the Idol phenomenon are wondering whether the contestants are exploited -- what they may have unknowingly signed away for a shot at fame.

"American Idol is one of those things where you have to realize that you're being used for entertainment," first-season runner-up Justin Guarini told Entertainment Weekly in 2004. "And you better use it back."

With American Idols Live on the road for a fifth year, it's easy to imagine the latest crop living large. Four of this year's finalists, winner Taylor Hicks included, have signed record deals.

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For a 19-year-old, Diana DeGarmo has come a long way.

The second place finisher on the third season of American Idol, who lost by less than 1 percent to Fantasia Barrino, toured for much of 2005 to support her debut album, Blue Skies.

In November of last year, DeGarmo appeared as Maria in the American Musical Theatre of San Jose production of "West Side Story." On February 7, 2006, she made her Broadway debut as Penny Pingleton in the musical "Hairspray" at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City, drawing rave reviews.

Now she returns to the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose as the title character in "Brooklyn," a musical, urban fairytale, which runs August 9-13 and also stars Tony winners Melba Moore and Cleavant Derricks.

Not bad for a theatre newbie!

The San Jose Mercury News caught up with the songstress and, using entirely questions from Diana's fans, sought the skinny on everything going on in her life. Is there life after Simon? Does she ever have revenge fantasies about Fantasia? When will she return to the recording studio? And what's with the NASCAR obsession? Here is the real deal with DD:

Q: Hey Diana, I think you are an amazing singer and performer. I have a couple of questions for you: What was your favorite part in "Brooklyn The Musical" and why? Are you going to do a tour for your second album? If you are will you be coming to AZ?

-- Serenah

A: My favorite part of Brooklyn The Musical is when I get to sing "Streetsinger" with Cleavant Derricks. We have so much fun on that song. I would like to do a tour with my second album, but I don't know when or where we are going. We will keep you updated, though!

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Everyone is fascinated with American Idol these days, even those who admit they aren't even big fans necessarily, but can't stop watching. Take Justin Timberlake for example. The wildly successful former member of NSync and current solo artist looks and sings like someone we'd here on the show -- only he's not impressed with some of the candidates, including winner Taylor Hicks.

"I have a strange relationship with American Idol. I despise it, and yet I’m completely fascinated. The guy who won -- he looks so normal, and he’s so sweet, and he’s so earnest, but he can’t carry a tune," he said.

Still, Timberlake realizes the pressure of being anonymous one day, and placed on a pedestal the next.

"Do you realize how much pressure it is to put on somebody all of a sudden? If he has any skeletons whatsoever... It’s too much pressure," Timberlake said, no doubt with former bandmate Lance Bass, who recently came out of the closet, in mind. "But that’s what we do in America. The American dream is still to be young, rich, and famous."

Interesting point. We're not sure if Justin watches the show too closely, because Taylor sure can sing -- at least a well-known record label and the better part of 60 million-plus voters seem to think so! He sure makes us proud!

Katharine McPhee may be grabbing the headlines with her recent appearances as TV guest hosts and attempts to break into theatre production, but don't count out Taylor Hicks in the quest for media royalty.

The reigning American Idol winner, 29, has singed a deal to write a book, People reports -- and commanded a sizable advance of $750,000 from Random House's Crown imprint. Hicks's agent, Alan Nevins, says the memoir will be ghost written by David Wild, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone.

The book, Heart Full of Soul, hits shelves in Spring '07.

Hicks, once a struggling singer in Alabama clubs, will chronicle the obstacles he overcame on his road to success, and discuss the whirlwind of emotions he felt along the way. We're big fans of Taylor, and have no problem with him cashing in on his talent. But at 29 he may well become the youngest performer to ever publish a memoir!

In other news, Taylor will appear alongside fellow American Idol stars and Alabama natives Ruben Studdard (Season Two winner) and Bo Bice (Season Four finalist) on a new billboard from the state's Bureau of Tourism and Travel.

According to the Associated Press, the billboards will feature photos of the trio, and will be emblazoned with the message, "Where America finds its voice. Alabama."

Lee Sentell, the state's tourism director, said that six billboards will go up shortly before the American Idol auditions begin in Birmingham, Ala., on August 21. They will be displayed for four months leading up to the start of Season 6.

Between 10,000 to 15,000 hopefuls are expected to try out as Fox holds auditions in Birmingham for the first time. Given that the city boasts two of the five AI winners (Hicks and Studdard) a huge turnout isn't surprising. It turns out the two Birmingham products have more than that in common -- Taylor's middle name is Reuben. Who knew!

Today is a big day for the Season Two duo which first captivated audiences back in 2003. Clay Aiken has officially announced that his third album, A Thousand Different Ways, is due out September 19. Now, the man who bested him on American Idol, Ruben Studdard, says he will make his return to R&B with his third album, set for release September 26.

The album’s title, fittingly, is The Return. Its first single, "Change Me" hit radio stations July 31 and is already getting plenty of air time.

Studdard's third CD signifies his mainstream after recording the successful gospel album, I Need an Angel, in 2004, MSNBC reports.

"I’ve had people ask me where I’ve been in the past few years so I thought calling it The Return made sense,” said Studdard.

The first track, which refers to the nickname Ruben affectionately earned on Idol, also served as inspiration for the album title.

"The first track on the new record is 'The Return of the Velvet Teddy Bear,' so I just shortened it and made it the title of my CD," Studdard said. "With The Return, I’m letting all the people who’ve followed me from American Idol until now know that basically I’m back."

The 27-year-old Alabama native's debut album, Soulful, was released in 2003.

Studdard, who has been in his home state working with his foundation and music camp this summer, will be performing with some fellow Alabamans -- the R&B/Soul quartet Just A Few Cats -- on August 10 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

As we reported yesterday, Clay Aiken is gearing up for the release of his long-awaited and highly-anticipated new album. A Thousand Different Ways will hit shelves September 19 (giving it a nice two-month buffer before the November 14 Idol onslaught), and consists of 14 songs, 10 of them covers.

Clay will cover a variety of songs from the '70s, '80s and '90s, in addition to his four original recordings. Here's the complete track listing, and list of original artists when applicable, for A Thousand Different Ways. Thanks to USA Today for providing this.

In alphabetical order:

-- "A Thousand Days" -- NEW
-- "Because You Loved Me" -- Celine Dion
-- "Broken Wings" (Mr. Mister)
-- "Every Time You Go Away" -- Hall & Oates (original), Paul Young (best-known)
-- "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)" -- Bryan Adams
-- "Everything I Have" -- NEW
-- "Here You Come Again" -- Dolly Parton
-- "I Want to Know What Love Is" -- Foreigner
-- "Lonely No More" -- NEW
-- "Right Here Waiting" -- Richard Marx
-- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" -- Elton John
-- "These Open Arms" -- NEW
-- "When I See You Smile" -- Bad English
-- "Without You" -- Badfinger (original), Nilsson (best-known)

Interestingly, Aiken will receive a co-writing credit for "Lonely No More," while Jon Bon Jovi co-wrote "These Open Arms." In a press release about the album, Clay expressed his excitement in recording songs from his youth.

"These are songs I heard growing up. I loved them then and I still love them today, but we decided to do them a little differently. They have new arrangements, and we put our own style on some of them," he said.

Aiken, 27, expounded further on the pure emotion of some of his selections, and how that led to the name of the new album:

"This is an album of love songs, but they are about all different kinds of love. Romantic love, friendship, unconditional love. There are a thousand different kinds of love; a thousand different ways to tell someone you love them. And, on top of that, since so many of these songs are covers, it's realistic to say that many of them have been or could be sung a thousand different ways."

We're eagerly waiting to hear the different ways in which Clay performs these classics, as well as his new material!

Just days after joining the American Idols Live tour after recovering from a nasty bout with bronchitis and laryngitis, Katharine McPhee has suffered yet another setback.

The 22-year-old American Idol runner-up and venerable media darling injured herself Tuesday by tripping backstage before a concert at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C., the New York Post reports.

Not wanting to disappoint fans, McPhee carried on, singing two songs while wearing slippers. X-rays taken at a hospital afterward revealed a hairline fracture in her left foot. In spite of the injury, McPhee says she will remain on tour.

"She's in discomfort, but she's fine. She will continue on the tour and is not defaulting," said Roger Widynowski, a representative for McPhee's record label, RCA.

Although the Idols' nationwide tour kicked off on July 5, McPhee missed the first three weeks, citing doctors' orders not to sing while she was sick.

She was scheduled to debut with her fellow finalists Elliott Yamin, Taylor Hicks, et al., on July 27 in Pittsburgh, but her flight was cancelled due to bad weather. Katharine finally made her first performance June 28 in Washington, D.C. Announcing that she was still under doctors' orders to limit her vocalizing, she skipped the group numbers, but sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree."

Katharine's boyfriend, actor/producer Nick Cokas, is certainly getting a workout these days. Having served as her de facto interpreter during her throat ailments, he may now be asked to carry McPhee up flights of stairs! How romantic.