Amanda Overmyer

American Idol, Amanda Overmyer revealed that the worst thing that happened in her life was when she was pleaded guilty to DUI back in October 2006 near her hometown of Mulberry, In. She received a suspended sentence of 60 days and was placed on 180 days probation, which ended in August 2007.

Brooke White

Brooke White told and revealed to us that her most embarrassing moment was when she was in the church and she hugged the wrong person! “That was really embarrassing! I thought he was my dad! But he wasn’t! All I’m doing was pleading and telling him to go home because I was hungry and when he looked back, he wasn’t my dad! Haha, too embarrassing.”

Carly Smithson

When we asked Carly about her secrets of winning, she just simply told us, “Try to be a good person to others, to be well-traveled and educated, and make Ireland proud”.

Chikezie Eze

Chikezie told us that he had a favorite comfort room in high school, but he only found out it was a women’s comfort room when one day the door was closed! His secret in winning is he totally stole his entire performance from Elliott Yamin.

David Archuleta

David told us about his feelings in American Idol and here it is! “I’ve definitely feel like there are things that can happen this year. And the show just opened so many doors for me and even if it’s not winning American Idol, you know that’s what I’m hoping for, but even more just hoping that I will be able to make a career.”

David Cook

“I guess I should not say my secret!” said David, but we pleaded him to say his secret and he told us that word “Nerd!”

David Hernandez

His secret: “in the 80s, I spent a bit of time as Mary Lou Retton.”

Jason Castro

According to him, his recipe of winning is he hates doing interviews, basically anything that is not music stuff.

Kristy Lee Cook

Surprising us and probably you too! Kristy told us that her horse saved her life twice!

Michael Johns

Michael told us that his secret of winning is he’s a bit of a jock. Sometimes just to take his mind off everything he play a sport. His sport is killing hobos.

Ramiele Malubay

“If I don’t become the next American Idol, I don’t think I’m going to get all discouraged or anything like, “Oh no, I’m never going to sing again.” I mean like, of course it’s a big experience, you learn all this until the point you get taken off and you just take what you’ve learned and learn from it. I’m probably going to go back to school for nursing ’cause I had to stop.”

Syesha Mercado

One of the secrets that Syesha is keeping is when she was in high school and she was overcoming a house fire! This story makes her cry every time she is telling it.

Author: Caterina Lenards
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With its seventh season now nearing its climax as one contestant gets eliminated each week until the final two pit their singing talents against each other, there has been a general lack of controversy and scandal this year, unlike that of previous seasons when many American Idol fans tagged onto every news bit that emerged from the show. Even the three judges of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson got into the act at times which drummed up even more media hype. This season’s contestants appear to be genuinely interested in singing and having a chance to establish themselves in the music industry, rather than generating fanfare and interest from other sources.

However, there has also been a noticeable lack of personalities this year. The initial drama generated from the likes of Asia’H Epperson, Kristy Lee Cook and Amy Davis has quickly dissipated as two of them were eliminated early in the competition, while Kristy Lee Cook has been shown to lack any performing abilities and vocal range. The men themselves have looked shy or apprehensive on stage, with the exception of David Cook, whose overbearing confidence can be easily construed as overriding arrogance by many.

Without a doubt, the remaining contestants such as David Cook, David Archuleta, Michael Johns and Brooke White have showcased their vocal talents. But the lack of a performance edge has dulled the show on many occasions. Proponents of the show would applaud this development as they would now be able to concentrate on the genuine singing abilities of the finalists, but this could easily alienate the other fans of American Idol who are genuinely enamored of the star qualities from previous editions such as that of Katherine McPhee’s, who is now a regular feature in celebrity gossip columns. Whether this would lead to a stronger show in the long run is anybody’s guess, but American Idol is as much about show business as it is about singing, and it remains to be seen if the producers’ decision to go mainly for talent this year would be worth the risk.

Author: David Johns
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Viewers were encouraged to make donations via the internet and toll-free telephone lines. Sponsors of the show, such as AT&T and Coca-Cola, donated money to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund, which in turn distributed the monies to various charities throughout Africa and the United States. One of these charities was Malaria No More, an organization that provides mosquito nets and other essential resources to aid in the prevention of malaria.

Mosquito Nets for Malaria No More

The charitable organization, Malaria No More, was a recipient of a portion of the funds raised by “Idol Gives Back.” This particular charity’s goal is to promote awareness of malaria in Africa, in both the public and private sectors, and to help those communities obtain resources, such as mosquito nets, to prevent the spread of mosquito-related illnesses.

Malaria is transmitted through a bite from an infected mosquito. Africa is home to the most efficient species of mosquito that propagates the illness. Although malaria is preventable and treatable, it still continues to account for over 1 million deaths a year in Africa, many of those being children. Malaria is estimated to cost Africa more than $12 billion US annually. It could be controlled for a fraction of that amount.

Due to the show’s success, over $9 million was raised for Malaria No More and $8 million for other malaria-related causes. Aside from the monetary gain, Malaria No More was able to convey their important message to 60 million viewers and educate them on the topic of malaria and what they can do to help. With the precious donations, this organization provided mosquito nets and other critical resources to over a million mothers and children in Angola, Mali, Madagascar, Uganda and Zambia.

Idol Gives Back Again

Malaria No More was a recipient once again for American Idol’s second installment of “Idol Gives Back” held in late April of 2008. The special, more ambitious than ever, showed snippets of the trips to Africa taken by past Idol finalists Elliot Yamin, Melinda Doolittle and Idol’s 2008 winner, Jordin Sparks. The former Idols were shocked to the point of incredulity when they realized how something as simple as mosquito nets could significantly aid in the country’s ongoing battle against malaria.

Former Idol Continues the Cause

Recently, former Idol contestant Brooke White teamed up with the Malaria No More people to launch the “Save the World Summer” campaign. The campaign urges students to raise funds for charity during their summer vacation. Although they do not have to donate their funds to Malaria No More and may choose any charitable organization they deem worthy, Malaria No More provides an incentive – the person who raises the most money for mosquito nets will be rewarded with two tickets to next season’s American Idol finale.

Author: Anna DeGaborik
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Information

In 2008, the Top 10 finalists will undertake a massive tour this summer. Like previous years, the concerts are likely to be a mix of some of the great highlights of the tv journey, and some of those exquisite group numbers.

In case you were living under a rock, the top two were:

David Archuleta: This 17-year old baby-faced high school student has excelled on American Idol. Archuleta’s heartfelt ballads and strong vocals make the young girls scream, and have earned him a massive nationwide fan base

David Cook: Beginning with a brilliant performance of Lionel Richie’s “Hello”, this guitar-playing rocker has brought something original to his performances each week. It is likely that David Cook will be among the American Idol concert tour’s biggest draws this year.

The two Davids were favourites throughout the series to make it to the final. And the rest of the American Idol stars for 2008 … hope you haven’t forgotten them:

Syesha Mercado: Syesha will make you want to buy your American Idol tickets as she has an outstanding Broadway-style voice and presentation. She’s a dynamic diva with a glowing smile that is known to bring the house down from time to time.

Carly Smithson: Carly is often spoken as one of the purest talents on this year’s American Idol show. She is an Irish-born singer who delighted judges and fans alike with her powerful voice and playful personality.

Jason Castro: Jason has an easygoing style that made him very popular with thousands of young fans. He has a mellow yet sincere style, and this dreadlocked performer could not escape comparisons to laid-back stars like John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Brooke White: Brooke comes through like a ray of sunshine, with performances that reflect this authentic spirit. Her gentle voice is perfectly suited for heartfelt melodies. Brooke evokes comparisons to classic singer/songwriters like Carly Simon and Carole King.

Kristy Lee Cook: Kristy Lee is an emerging country star with a winning personality and a huge fanbase to match. She’s most at home singing up tempo country classics, and we expect her to be a lot of fun in the American Idols Live! performance setting.

Michael Johns: Michael is an Aussie who was given rave reviews for his bluesy performances, as well as his renditions of classic Queen songs. With large numbers of female fans, he’s going to be hugely popular on the American Idol tour.

Ramiele Malubay: This pint-sized dynamo has a huge voice that made her an early favorite to win American Idol. She’s at her best on the uptempo pop songs, and her personality wins the room.

Chikezie Eze – Known on American Idol by his first name, Chikezie takes risks across genres as diverse as R&B, pop, and country. This L.A. native promises to be an exciting live performer on the American Idol stage.

To go straight to the cheapest tickets on the net for American Idol concerts go here, and for all other tickets check out www.concert-ticketdeals.com

Author: Martin Paul
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker

The opening number had the top 12 and dancers from So You think You can dance. Dressed all in white and sing Get Ready they all sounded good and frankly Syesha looked hot.

We come back with David Cook singing Hero. Unfortunately Archuleta came in a ruined the moment. I can’t wait to see press coverage of David Archuleta’s first solo tour with all the video of Mormon Gone Wild.

The Guru Pitka montage was hilarious. I believe The Love Guru will be a complete flop until it is on the Unrated DVD.

Syesha gets to sing Waiting for You. She both looks good and sounds good. Then all of a sudden we get to have Seal come out. He tries not to steal the song, but does only accomplishes it if you aren’t watching. I keep looking over at the TV and find myself looking at Syesha and not hearing anything.

Jason Castro reprises his best performances with Hallelujah. I still like the Rufus Wainwright version better, but this is a good song for him. If they made an album of this year’s best this would be among them.

]]> http://bradstinyworld.com/idol/feed/ 1 http://bradstinyworld.com/american-idol-rigged/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=american-idol-rigged http://bradstinyworld.com/american-idol-rigged/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:07:58 +0000 BradHart http://bradstinyworld.com/3948/is-american-idol-rigged/ Continue reading →]]> After last night’s surprise elimination of Alexis Grace most critics have shut up about the report that the top four for this season and previous seasons were predetermined.  I am still not convinced the results are ever real.  Too often the people the show pimps hard are the one who are still standing, even without having good performances.  So what happened with Alexis Grace since they were pimping her so hard?

I see three possible answers here.  This was not her best performance granted, but they have said several times they thought she had what it took to win the competition.  That said not saving her has an air of suspicion that the rumor was true.  She was named as one of the predetermined top four, so did they get rid of her as a sacrificial lamb to cover their asses?  Did they get rid of her only so next week they could say “Guess what, immediately after they show we reconsidered sending her home and thought that was the wrong decision here she is again.”  Idol needs a little drama since as often as not they screw up any sense of anticipation we have in announcing who is going home.  Could it be they were just talking out their asses with all the praise they were showing her.  I am going with one of the first two notions, but not sure which.

In the end, does it matter if the show is rigged, fixed, or manipulate?  The answer is yes and no in my opinion.  First there is a huge legal issue if it is ever determined that the show is fixed.  Too many people send in text messages to vote and that in my book would constitute consumer fraud to the tunes of tens of millions of dollars.  I am sure there are those who would be personally offended and hurt if the show was rigged, but I don’t think any contestant could ever claim to be hurt professionally by a fixed vote.  By the time you hit the American Idol Top 12 you have been seen often enough by enough people to have made a name that will get you into the business if you have what it takes.

For me personally I am not emotionally invested in the show and could care less who wins.  Oh sure I have my favorites and I like to see them do well, but for me the show is about new artists.  A year or three from now when I am listening to the likes of Brooke White, Alexis Grace, and some of the others who got their initial exposure on Idol, I won’t give a damn whether they made it out of Hollywood week or won the damn thing.  What I will care about is if they have a great song.  Sure I will be able to say I remember them when they were on American Idol, and be able to point to a post, but in the end it is the music not the hype that matters to me.  I wish Alexis well and can’t wait to see what sort of album she puts out.  I expect it will be among the first released from this seasons contestants, and probably one of the best.

Michael Sarver starts us off with his forte singing Ain’t Going Down Till The Sun Comes Up.  He knows what he is doing and the sound is great.  Randy Jackson didn’t think it challenged his vocals.  Kara missed the big notes.  Michael replies country music is all about having fun.  Paula recognized the fun he was having.  Simon couldn’t understand the words, and bit clumsy but thinks this is the right sort of music from him.  Michael doesn’t put up with any crap from Simon.  I think he knows how to work the “We Hate Simon Crowd!”

With Blame it on Your Heart, Allison Iraheta pulls off a great vocal performance.  The crowd is worked up and so is Kara.  She thinks Allison could work the alphabet and amaze us.  I am not sure I disagree.  “Rock Solid Performance,” from Paula Abdul.  Simon thought it was good.  Randy Jackson thought it was dope.  As Katy reminded me Dope in Randy speak is good, not that any former toker needs that advice.

Randy Travis calls Kris Allen a solid ballad performance.  Singing Garth Brooks sans guitar.  It is a nice performance but I am not really moved by the song.  He shows his falsetto at the end really well.  Paula Abdul says she is really impressed.  Simon Cowell calls it terrific.  Randy was impressed that he chose to showcase his vocals.  Calls him a tender dawg.  Kara doesn’t know what else to say other than it was really great.

Lil Rounds is after the break…

Lil Rounds wants to honor the country influence rather than her R&B roots.  With Martina McBride’s Independence Day Lil shows how well she can sing.  I hope she is as pleased as I am over this.  Randy thought it was a interesting song choice, he didn’t think she felt as comfortable with it.  She said she took a risk, because she thought it was relevant.  Kara Dioguardi honored the risk and thought that is what makes her an artist.  Paula loved it.  Simon thought she looked uncomfortable.  Lil Rounds says she will take their advice to heart about song choice.

Adam Lambert is going to try Ring of Fire.  With a Middle Eastern slash Indian arrangement I am not sure what to say.  This is certainly a performance I will remember for a very long time.  I am not sure that is a good thing though. If Johny Cash can sing Nine Inch Nails, a NIN wannabe can certainly try a Johny Cash Song.  Kara starts of with “So!”  She doesn’t know what to make of this.  “Strange, but she liked it.”  Paula Abdul thinks he was true to himself as an artist.  Simon Cowell says what Randy was trying to.  “What the hell was that?”  Randy Jackson confirms my NIN reference.

Scot MacIntyre picks Martina McBride.  Randy thinks he will be fine.  Paula thought it was an impressive performance.  She thinks there is a disconnection with the piano.  Simon argues with her and reminds her of all the great artists.  He wants better songs.  Randy Jackson is looking for the stand out vocals.  Kara thinks he brings class and poise to the stage.

Alexis Grace MILF is from the south and admits they all love country.  Singing Jolene she will need to sing better than Brooke White did in Season 7.  Randy thought it had some pitch problems.  Kara thinks she lost her edge.  Paula thinks it was more effective than the others gave her credit for.  Simon thought it was just okay and lacked a little originality, but was still okay.

Danny Gokey aka Danny Gotke is going to try Carrie Underwood and shows off the fact he is a Jesus Freak.  I am going to go get something to eat.

Anoop Desai is going to pull Willie Nelson out of a hat, which is not the second pot reference of the night.  Singing You’re Always On My Mind he definitely shows he has the chops to be here, even if Idol is fixed like the news during the commercial break keeps suggesting.  Paula loved it.  Simon Cowell calls him “Zero to Hero!”  Randy reaffirms Noop Dawg deserves to be here.  Another Randy Dope.  Kara says it is almost untouchable and he owned it.

Megan Joy Corkrey is going to try Patsy Cline.  I Go Walking After Midnight is not a song easily made your own.  As katy says it is different and one I could listen too without feeling horrible.  Randy Jackson was impressed.  Kara says “Perfect Song, Perfect Performance”  Paula says consummate professional for be sick.  Simon says the performance was great and she is beautiful, but wishes the stylist would hold off a little bit.

Matt G is last after the break.  He is going to pull Carrie Underwood too.  Sitting at the piano he sounds good and plays well, but I am not really impressed.  Kara says Amazing.  Paula  called it an honest performance.  Simon Cowell thinks he outsang Danny.   Randy Jackson  says it was his favorite of the night.

At the moment I can say I am not sure who is going home, but whoever is picked I have a feeling the judges will use their pick.  The only person I can see them not saving would be Scott.

Ryan comes out reminding us it’s about the votes and asks “America, what have you done?” which makes me kind of nervous. Did Norman/Nick get through?

We have the three from last week sitting on stage. Did we really need a reminder? Is this a way to keep them in America’s mind?

We have a quick montage of how this group of 12 made it this far. This is their goodbye as so many of them are going home after tonight. (Only not really because how else are they supposed to get the people for the wild card show?)

Oh dear God. They’re doing Ne-Yo’s “Closer”. A rap/R&B song? Really? I hate, hate, hate the group songs with a passion. And I was discussing with my youngest sister last week, how in the hell are they going to handle the group sing/dance next week when we have Scott McIntyrie (aka Blind Guy)?

Ryan says there is a “hidden” audition to come during the commercials. Is it a celebrity? Well, there it was. A girl, unidentified, singing “It’s in his kiss” with Kara providing a little back-up. Kind of cute.

We get the usual highlights from last night, including Norman/Nick’s up close and personal relationship with the stage. And the usual banter with the contestants.

Allison is brought to the stage. And then Jesse. And now Matt Breitske. What’s up with this? Allison is through. Is this how he’s going to do the rest  of the announcements? I really do like Allison, she’s my rock chick for the season.

Ryan brings down Megan and Kris. And now he brings down Matt Giraurd and Janine. One of them is into the top twelve. Wow. Who? Janine is not in. Matt isn’t either. There are disagreements amongst the judges. Kris is going through but Megan is possibly in the wild card round.

Time-waster with the retrospective that they showed last week. And now we have las season’s Brooke White who is debuting her first single. It’s called “Hold Up” and she co-wrote it. I like the sound of it.

With Mishavonna, Jasmine, Kai, Norman/Nick, and Adma yet to have been called on stage, it’s fairly obvious who’s taking the last stool. Idol did this last wekk, ruyining any semblance of suspense. It’s obvious that Adam was the best of the remaining singers and he’s going through. Because there is no way that Kris was the top male vote getter. Sorry Kris, but it’s true.

Idol did this last week too. When Ryan brought Anoop and Michael up together and then put Michael through he cited the 20, 000 votes that seperated the two. This indicated to me, and to Brad that Michael was in now way the top male vote getter, so by elimination, Alexis was the top female vote getter. So when Danny and Tatiana came on stage, it was rather obvious that Danny was the one in the top twelve. Also do notice that both Danny and Adam were put last in the line up of singers. Pushing your favorites, Idol?

So, the remaining five contestants are on stage. Ryan is reviewing what the judges says and getting reactions from the contestants. Mishavonna, Kai and Jasmine are all off. Leaving Nick/Norman and Adam. Ryan asks Simon if he’s prayed. If this isn’t the most obvious result just like last week, I don’t know what the hell is.

Adam is in, duh. At least this time he’s not got the bling.

So next week wil lfeature Lil Rounds, Nathaniel (whiny emo gay boy), Scott (blind guy), Shouty McShouterson (Von Smith) and the rest. It should be an interesting week.

I need to shout out to Claudia. This morning she sent me a list of new artists, at least new to me, and I just needed to share a few of them.

First up is Marie Digby who I apparently missed somehow a while back on Weekend Edition. If you liked Brooke White on Idol I think you will like Marie Digby. The first song I want you to here is called Fool. It is the story of a good girl picking the bad boy and it basically going wrong. This is the story I always would tell college girls as an excuse of why they should leave the party with me rather than tall, dark, and braindead.

Stupid for You, is a pretty good follow up to Fool

Marie has also done several cover songs including Rihanna’s umbrella, Linkin Park’s What I’ve Done, and Britney Spear’s Gimme More. All of these are done acoustic and are improvements from the originals. her album is out and available from Capital Records and on iTunes for $6.99. I think it is worth every penny of it from what I have heard and am putting it on the list of must buys the next time I have money. I am going to leave you with one more song from Marie Digby that any of you with teen daughters should play for them.

Miss Invisible

The next artist I give to you c is Eliza Carthy. I was just slipped a name with this a few dozen exclamation points which meant Claudia really liked her. Fortunately my friendship will survive this since I was in the right kind of mood for celtic music. Eliza is a great English folksinger and fiddle player. She has been around for some time, but like many great artists that come my way, I just hadn’t found them yet. Here are few from Eliza and for more information her own site at http://www.eliza-carthy.com/ You can hear songs from her upcoming album on her site and after listening to them they are a departure from her celtic style, but very pleasant and something I will be happy to review in full later.