American Idol

Oh what a difference a year makes.  The top rated show “American Idol” gets ready for the upcoming 2011 season with some major changes.

The biggest news is that three of last year’s judges are gone. Of course, lead judge Simon Cowell has left the show but news soon followed that Ellen DeGeneres had quit and then Kara DioGuardi had been let go. That left Randy Jackson as the only hold over judge from last year’s “American Idol”.

This upcoming season, the 10th for American Idol, brings two music icon legends, as Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler join Randy to form the American Idol’s judging trio.

When asked about his two new side-kicks, Randy Jackson replied, “We’ve got the rock legend, we’ve got the triple threat. We’re gonna be good.”

Of course, the glue that holds the show together, Ryan Seacrest will be back as the popular host.

With Simon Cowell’s departure, one big question is who will play the role of villain. Simon has well known for his candid and often brutal comments towards the contestants.

Personally, I don’t see either Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, or Steven Tyler being the bad person but all three bring years of music industry experience.

In fact, their professional insights will likely be more beneficial to the show’s young contestants who in past seasons, have crumbled under Simon Cowell’s evil tongue lashing.

Starting this week, American Idol will premier with two shows followed by three more weeks of traveling around the country, airing singing auditions of the good, bad and ugly.

For the contestants that survive out of Hollywood week, they will fly to Las Vegas to perform famous Beatles songs on the hit Cirque du Soleil LOVE stage on February 23 and 24. On the 24th, the judges will announce who their Top 20 semifinalists (10 males and 10 female) will be.

The semifinalists next go at it on Tuesday, March 1 and Wednesday, March 2. After that, we see who will be the top five male and five female contestants are as voted by the fans.

Lastly, the American Idol judges choose their “Wild Card” picks to create the finalists on Thursday, March 3.

So it’s time to sit back and watch and see if another diamond in the rough can be discovered, like Carry Underwood or Adam Lambert.

Katharine McPhee explains, “I’ve totally struggled with body weight and stuff like that. Before American Idol it was like was part of my struggle with being an actress was I up and down with my weight, and I would get such good feedback from casting directors.

It’s part of Hollywood and it’s a shame that you have to be so skinny and in such good shape and it was just such a huge struggle for me.”

Katharine McPhee continues, “I actually met a dietician before American Idol because I wanted to get all my stuff in check. And she just taught me to eat normally and to have like peace with food and stuff like that.”

If “Idol” hadn’t happened, what would she be doing now? “I’d have moved to New York by now to try to pursue acting or theater. Or maybe I’d have stayed in L.A., trying to be an actress, pounding the pavement.”

After the American Idol season ended, Katharine McPhee was signed by show creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Recordings Limited label and released her first single, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny; it became the second best-selling single of 2006.

Excited about her first movie role for Adam Sandler’s “House Bunny”, actress Katharine McPhee will wear a Nicole Kidman hand-me-down. A very unique hand-me-down.   “I tried on ‘Knocked Up Star’ Katherine Heigl’s belly. I tried on Nicole Kidman’s belly. And they said, ‘Oh, this one fits perfectly. We don’t need to try any more.’ I was so happy, because I didn’t have to sit through hours of prosthetic fitting.”

Katharine McPhee is now a bit TV star on the NBC show “Smash.” Katharine McPhee plays the role of Karen Cartwright who is a young girl from Iowa and has a dream of making it on Broadway. McPhee’s character walks into a musical play audition for the role of Marilyn and kills it – a star is born!

Photographer: Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

Adam Lambert is a 27-year-old musical theater veteran and to most, is the clear front runner of this season’s “American Idol” show. Lambert seems to be in a league all his own, with a wide range of musical talent and incredible stage presence.

Whether it’s an emotional ballad or an upbeat rockin’ song, Adam covers them all with ease, dedication and complete confidence.

Adam Lambert caught the music bug at an early age. His father was a DJ and introduced him to various types of music. At the San Francisco “American Idol” audition, Adam sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He also spent time in a production of the hit play “Wicked”.

One of my favorite performances by Adam was his rendition of “Mad World”, originally done by the hit band “Tears for Fears.” It earned a much deserved standing ovation from the crazed crowd, as well as hard-nosed Idol judge Simon Cowell.

Here are Adam Lambert’s American Idol performances (courtesy: iTunes):
No Boundaries
A Change Is Gonna Come
One
Cryin’
Whole Lotta Love
Slow Ride (duet with Allison)
Feeling Good
If I Can’t Have You
Born to be Wild
Mad World
Play That Funky Music
The Tracks of My Tears
Ring of Fire
Black and White
I Cant Get No Satisfaction

Adam has a MySpace page. Here is the link –
http://www.myspace.com/adamlambertmusic

From Lambert’s look and maneurisms, there have been rumors about whether Adam is gay. He has never publicly acknowledged whether or not he is gay. When asked by “Access Hollywood,” Lambert replied “I have nothing to hide. I am who I am. And this is about singing … nothing else.”

(M Becker/American Idol 2009/Getty Images for Fox)

We will all find out in several weeks to see if the front-runner ends up winning the American Idol crown. Whether he does or not, Adam Lambert will definitely have a very successful musical career. He could be as successful or even bigger than Carrie Underwood.

Good luck Adam!

The new season of American Idol kicked off this week and there’s a new feisty kid on the block. It’s American songwriter, record producer, and singer, Kara DioGuardi.

Kara DioGuardi is responsible for producing songs for such stars as Pink, Christina Aguilera Gwen Stefani, and Ashlee Simpson.  There has been much speculation since the announcement first hit the news wires. Many have wondered if Kara DioGuardi is actually being groomed to replace the often goofy but always nice, Paula Abdul.

American Idol show producers insist that they’ve always intended to have a fourth judge on the show.

American Idol’s executive producer, Simon Fuller stated, “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”
Kara DioGuardi’s initial dream of becoming a rock star didn’t happen as planned so she switched gears and became a songwriter. Kara quickly rose to the top to become highly sought after, writing hit songs for many of today’s top superstars ranging from Celine Dion to Pink.

Kara DioGuardi personally believes that her struggles and successes should earn her artistic empathy among the American Idol contestants and critics alike.

Becoming the newest judge on America’s top TV show has to be bring on a lot of pressure.

DioGuardi who is 38 years old will join the popular judging group of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. American Idol enters its eighth season on the FOX network.

Kara DioGuardi appeared on TODAY show and was interviewed by Matt Lauer.

Kara said, “I’m a straight shooter, I’m going to tell it like I see it, but I’m also going to bring some heart to the show.” DioGuardi continued by saying, “I don’t want to make anyone cry. I’m not there to destroy their dreams.

It looks like Kara DioGuardi won’t sit between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. FOX probably doesn’t want to interfere with the color exchanges, and ongoing battles that bring a freshness to the show.

DioGuardi did admit like anything new she has to get used to her new environment and the lively cast of characters.

“I’m a little nervous, believe me,” Kara told Lauer. “It’s scary, especially with the live shows coming up, and the first day, you’re there with Paula, with Simon, with Randy — they are a common trio, they are so well-known. It’s a little nerve-racking.”

It seems that Ryan Seacrest has a thriving broadcasting career and several ventures in media. Many believe Ryan Seacrest is at the very forefront of the entertainment industry.

This year marks Ryan’s seventh year as the successful host of the #1 TV show, “American Idol.”  Along with his winning personality, the show has become a true cultural phenomenon, making Ryan Seacrest a household name in the process.

In addition to TV, Ryan reaches millions through the world’s most popular radio countdown show, “American Top 40,” He took over the show from radio legend Casey Kasem. “American Top 40″ still remains an institution in radio. With Ryan running the show, it is heard on more stations and in larger markets than ever before.

Ryan states, “When I moved to Hollywood, one of the first people I ever wanted to meet wasn’t a movie star. It was a disc jockey, it was Casey Kasem.  Kasem is a legend, a guy I used to listen to growing up. And not only listen to, but pretended to be.”

In Los Angeles, Seacrest took over DJ role on the Top-40 radio powerhouse, 102.7 KIIS-FM. The program, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest,” which broadcasts weekdays from 5:00-10:00 AM, is now the No. 1 morning show in L.A.

On his love for radio, “I love it. I love the immediacy of it. I love the spontaneity of it, … I love the fact that every day you see something on TV that you have an opinion about and you want to talk about and the next day you can get on the air and do it.”

There has been many rumors about Ryan’s sexuality and whether he’s gay or not.

He comments, “I know a lot of gay males who I work with that are fantastic people and I love hanging out with them. But because I hang out and bring gay men into my life, does that mean that I’m gay? I promise you that I very much love women.”

Seacrest continues, “I’ve dated some women who have turned me on to some funny things that are strange for men to actually do, but these things have become part of my process. I think the things I do for my appearance help make me look better. I even colour my hair because I like how it makes me look.”

As American Idol gets ready for another season, there’s no doubt that Simon Cowell and his brash personality, at times overshadows the singing contestants. Along with the other two American Idol judges (Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul), Simon has brought American Idol into mainstream pop culture and every day water cooler chat.

Simon Cowell has worked in the music industry for 27 years. He started in the post room at EMI Music Publishing. After starting his own label at the age of 23, Simon joined BMG in 1989 and began a relationship that has now lasted for 20 years. During his time at BMG, Simon has sold over 150 million records and has had over 50 number one records. His artists have included Westlife whose first 7 singles all went to No 1 and most recently Il Divo, whose first 2 albums have collectively sold 15 million copies around the world.

Simon first became a household name in England as a judge of the singing competition Pop Idol. When that hit how was brought to the U.S. as American Idol, well the rest is history. He also wrote the book titled, “I Don’t Mean to Be Rude, But…”.  Beyond his role as a judge,  Simon has produced the following reality TV shows Cupid,  American Inventor,  America’s Got Talent, and Celebrity Duets.

When asked about American Idol’s popularity, Cowell answered “No. 1, it’s a great TV show. The second reason is that it only runs once a year so I don’t think the public is bored with it. Thirdly, it’s probably the most realistic reality show I’ve seen on American TV.  There are so many under the banner that have no reality in them. My idea is to make the audience believe that they are looking through the keyhole. That is the true definition of reality TV.”

When asked who his role model is, “I actually really like Donald Trump. I think he’s entertaining. There are so many unhappy billionaires, and he’s a happy one with a great sense of humor. I didn’t think I’d like him. I like people [who] don’t take themselves too seriously.”

So behind the famous Cowell scowl, is a multi-talented entertainer who has the knack for finding winning shows and winning singers.  Some people hate him and think he’s too harsh. But with his long string of successes, my bet is he’ll be around for a long, long time.

Her debut album, “Some Hearts” has sold almost 6 millions albums. As the former “American Idol” winner is about to release her second album “Carnival Ride”, Carrie Underwood shares her inner thoughts.

Dealing with industry criticism, she replies, ”I’ve learned this, that haters wanna hate. You could sing a song perfectly, you could write the songs perfectly, and some people are absolutely going to hate you.”. Full article

Photo: (Wikipedia)