The accolades and awards for Carrie Underwood continue to mount up. The latest is that the Season 4 American Idol winner and country sensation has been named Country Breakout Artist of the Year by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM).

The award was one of several honors bestowed by the not-for-profit music trade association on behalf of its members in recognition of artists who have contributed significantly to the health of the industry through sales and creativity.

Carrie took a day in between tour dates this week to perform in New York's Bryant Park, as part of Good Morning America's summer concert series. See below.

While in the Big Apple, Underwood will pre-tape a performance for the CBS Early Show, which will air next Wednesday, August 16!

Elliott Yamin is on the summer road trip of his life, but it's no vacation.

The third-place finisher on the most recent season of American Idol has been performing as part of the "American Idols Live Tour 2006" since early July, not to mention promoting the heck out of it. When he's not on the bus, that is.

The lifestyle has proved trying for the Jewish R & B singer, whose real name is Ephraim, as he adjusts to his newfound celebrity and schedule, according to a story in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.

"If you take away all we do -- the media, the shows -- just the traveling alone is pretty grueling," Yamin said, speaking from Duluth, Ga. "There is no schedule. Unless we have a day in town, we're moving on to the next venue."

That means sleeping on the tour bus quite often, one talent Yamin said he has not perfected. It caught up with him on a recent stop in Washington, D.C., where the American Idol finalists were to meet the President of the United States. Yamin showed up late to the White House, having overslept after arriving in the nation's capital very early that morning.

"I got there just in time to take some snapshots with him," Yamin said.

Before he arrived, Yamin's fellow performers, including Idol winner Taylor Hicks and runner-up Katherine McPhee, received a tour of the White House by the first lady's press secretary, Susan Whitson, who was once Hicks' ninth-grade English teacher, and who helped arrange the visit.

In addition to trying to keep up with his hectic work schedule, Yamin said he keeps abreast of the political situation in Israel, a matter of personal concern to him because so much of his family lives there.

"I have a huge family out there, some of whom are... fighting this battle. I just want to tell them how much I love them and God keep them safe," he said.

While he may be suffering from mid-tour fatigue, Yamin says the love shown by Jewish fans has meant a lot. The Jewish community in his hometown of Richmond, Va., in particular, has proved to be a hotbed of activity for "Yaminions."

An early effort that received national attention came from Jordan Shenker, executive director of Richmond's Weinstein JCC, who sent out a mass e-mail urging the community to vote for the "nice Jewish boy" on American Idol earlier this spring.

Support has come from his brethren outside Virginia, too, to say the least. Elliott received more than one Passover seder invitation while taping the show in Los Angeles, and was recently extended a bat mitzvah invitation during his tour stop in Bridgeport, Conn.

He's made quite an impression on fans across the country, But perhaps nothing quite compares to a t-shirt Yamin received from an 11-year-old boy one night on tour. With the Star of David superimposed atop the Superman emblem, it reads "You're My SuperJew."

"All the guys call me SuperJew when I wear it," Yamin said.

The owners, producers and network behind the American Idol franchise have filed a $500,000 countersuit against Adam Pick, the fan of the hit TV series who claims the Idol brain trust defrauded him.

"I'm shocked. First, American Idol stole my ideas. Now, they have sued me for using those ideas on my own website," Pick said.

The American Idol countersuit was filed on July 26, 2006, two months after Pick originally filed a complaint against FremantleMedia North America.

He asserts that American Idol Productions and Fox Television Stations broke numerous laws, including breach of implied contract and fraud.

Pick created and developed several ideas for a website that featured an interactive fantasy game in which American Idol fans, acting as fantasy judges, would pick the next American Idol contestant to go home -- as in be eliminated from the show.

Pick's website idea -- IdolGoHome.com -- was combined with an online platform for American Idol fans to post their own personal blogs and photos. In his complaint, Pick alleges that the owners of American Idol stole his ideas and incorporated them into the show's official website (AmericanIdol.com) after he pitched the ideas to them.

The defendants responded to Pick's complaint with a cross-complaint, asserting Pick illicitly used his ideas at IdolGoHome.com.

The defendants are seeking to recover at least $500,000, plus punitive damages, to make an example of Pick.

"I think it is a huge mistake for the defendants to sue one of their fans for putting up a website utilizing his own ideas," said Jeffrey Valle, Pick's attorney. "There are a number of fans operating American Idol sites who I suspect will be quite surprised and unhappy when they learn what the owners of American Idol have done."

Valle also pointed out that the American Idol defendants failed to even allege independent creation of the ideas Pick presented them.

"This is quite telling. The Defendants' failure to assert such a defense is consistent with my client's allegation that they stole and significantly profited from his website ideas," Valle said.

Many of this past season's American Idol finalists are making headlines these days, but how do they stack up in terms of sales?

No individual albums have been released yet, though several members of the cast have singles out, and two others have record deals in place.

In the interest of an early comparison, however, USA Today has compiled a list of downloads from this season's Idol anthology, Season 5 Encores.

These young men and women have given meaning to the term "signature cover," and each Season 5 finalist has at least one downloadable track on the compilation. It should be noted that Katharine McPhee has a single and a B-side available in addition to what's on the Idol CD, while last season's winner, Taylor Hicks, also has another digital track.

Those three songs have gotten a lot more publicity and promotion than most of the others, but below are the approximate totals as of August 6. It's interesting to note that Hicks has overcome the early lead of Chris Daughtry (pictured below) who remains wildly popular, and that the group is pushing half a million digital songs sold collectively.

And to think these are just the legal downloads!

1. Taylor Hicks, "Do I Make You Proud" -- 114,000

2. Chris Daughtry, "Wanted Dead or Alive" -- 94,000

3. Taylor Hicks, "Takin' It to the Streets" -- 69,000

4. Katharine McPhee, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" -- 67,000

5. Katharine McPhee, "My Destiny" -- 47,000

6. Elliott Yamin, "Moody's Mood for Love" -- 23,000

7. Katharine McPhee, "Think" -- 21,000

8. Ace Young, "Father Figure" -- 11,000

9. Paris Bennett, "Midnight Train to Georgia" -- 9,100

10. Kellie Pickler, "Walkin' After Midnight" -- 8,400

11. Mandisa, "I'm Every Woman" -- 7,400

12. Melissa McGhee, "What About Love" -- 6,400

13. Bucky Covington, "Superstition" -- 4,000

14. Lisa Tucker, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" -- 3,700

15. Kevin Covais, "When I Fall in Love" -- 2,600

American Idol Worship has learned, courtesy of a Clay Aiken fan site, that popular Season 5 finalist Elliott Yamin will soon be releasing his first single, "The Storm."

The fan favorite, who finished third on the competition despite being overshadowed from the beginning of the finals, is reportedly close to signing a record deal. His first single's release marks Yamin's first creative effort as both a vocal artist and co-writer.

The soulful Elliott and his best buddy, producer/co-writer, Terry "Big Planz" Thompson quietly spent time together in a recording studio in between when the Virginian was voted off the program and the beginning of the American Idols Live tour.

"The Storm" is the result of their collaboration, with 20 percent of all sales have been designated to helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and another 20 percent earmarked for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

Yamin (left, with AI5 winner Taylor Hicks) is a diabetic himself, and by setting aside 40 cents on the dollar for charitable causes, it's great to see him following the lead of Aiken, a renowned philanthropist.

"The Storm" will be available by the end of August on iTunes, as well as other web sources such as Amazon.com. It will hit music stores shortly thereafter. as Tower Records and other music stores. Fans looking for more information can check out Thompson's official site.

They came by bus, car, airplane, roller skates and sheer force of will.

They wore low-cut evening gowns and hair curlers and banana suits.

And they sang, sang and sang some more.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, as many as 20,000 American Idol aspirants began standing in line at 3 a.m. Tuesday at the Rose Bowl with dreams of landing on the country's biggest show, and becoming a star.

An audition could get them there (you never know), and this week's mark the first of seven over the next month as the search for the Season 6 cast gets underway.

"You need a lot of patience for this. But everyone's here for the same thing, so we're all keeping it positive. Being here is something to remember," said Francesca Lucioni, 23, of Pasadena, who planned to sing something from The Little Mermaid when her turn came.

By dawn, thousands stood warming up their voices, hoisting signs saying things such as "Simon for President in '08" (whether that meant surly judge Simon Cowell or creator Simon Fuller is unclear), chatting on cell phones and keeping toasty beneath blankets and sleeping bags.

Continue Reading...

Katharine McPhee may have just fought severe laryngitis for three weeks, then fractured her foot on stage upon joining the American Idols Live tour, but you wouldn't know it to look at her. Well, except for the cast.

Point being, the starlet is still in great spirits. McPhee, 22, who tripped and broke her foot backstage at an August 1 concert while sprinting to see Kellie Pickler's performance, is shown below in Sunrise, Fla., having a good laugh with Pickler and their fellow Idol finalist, Mandisa.

"I’m a hobbler on the stage!" she joked to Us Weekly.

McPhee also made herself available to young fans at the Marriott hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before boarding the Idols' tour bus.

"You just don’t realize the number of people you reach on that show until you go into smaller towns," she said.

Who will rise to the top and be the next American Idol?

Who's "life is nothing but an awful song?"

The auditions for Season 6 are officially underway, with many thousands of hopefuls from in and around Los Angeles, Calif., turning out Tuesday at the world famous Rose Bowl.

Thousands of Idol potentials showed up at the crack of dawn to take a stab at their luck of going to Hollywood.

Which, for them, wouldn't exactly be a big deal, at least geographically. It's right nearby!

In any case, our friends at TMZ.com were on location and caught up with a few American Idol wannabes, some of whom shared their talents -- or lack thereof -- for the cameras.

Who will make it through to the next round of auditions and get the chance to actually sing in front of Simon, Randy and Paula? Only time will tell, but you can get a sneak peak at some of the aspirants by following the link above!

To a bigger house, that is -- in addition to the most-downloaded charts. AIW has learned that Chris is moving from his small hometown of McLeansville, N.C., to a bigger town and house.

The 26-year-old American Idol sensation, who finished fourth on this year's Fox talent competition despite of being considered one of, if not the most talented performer the show has ever produced, has moved to Oak Ridge, N.C. The town has a population of about 4,000 and is located north of Greensboro.

Daughtry and his wife, Deanna, paid $690,000 for a four-bedroom, 3,782-square foot home with a swimming pool and a putting green on a little more than an acre of land. McLeansville, also in Guilford County, N.C., has one barbershop, one grocery store and no gas stations.

"If you look at the houses here, and the type of people here, they're very upscale business people, and they're going to go about their daily life," said area resident Steve Spalding, who works in the summer child care program at Oak Ridge Elementary.

The raw-voiced rocker has been signed to a record contract and is on tour at present with the rest of his American Idol cohorts. Last month, RCA Records announced that Daughtry had signed to work alongside music mogul Clive Davis, with plans to produce an album by the end of the year.

Daughtry has been married to Deanna since November 2000. They live with their step-daughter, Hannah Price, born to Deanna in July 1998, and their adopted son, Griffin Daughtry, born in January 2000.

With auditions for a new season of American Idol practically underway, it's time for a little sage advice -- from some of the select few who have actually survived the early rounds and gone on to make a name for themselves in Hollywood.

"Be yourself and pick songs that make you stand out," advises Carrie Underwood (right).

"Be yourself and sing like it's your last time singing," Fantasia Barrino urges.

"Be you," suggests Paris Bennett. "And no theater songs. Boring."

Be realistic about your talent, recommends Katharine McPhee: "Don't sing Etta James' 'At Last.'"

And for those taking part in the nationwide Season 6 contestant search, which begins today in Southern California, here's a practical tip from Bucky Covington:

"Plan to go to two cities. A lot of good people get cut in the first round," he says.

A key step is, obviously, not to fake it. Know thyself, as Plato told us, and then be thyself, as Underwood et al. instruct.

In song terms, think "I've Got to Be Me" -- but don't actually sing the Broadway tune made famous by Sammy Davis Jr. Theater songs are boring, remember?

That's all well and good, but there must be more to making it with American Idol. There is a need for something more, said Season 4 finalist Constantine Maroulis, who took a break from his current tour to speak with Forbes.

Continue Reading...