Carrie Underwood-related stories
Posted Oct 13th 2009 1:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, American Idol, Music and Variety, Contestants, Alumni, News and Gossip, Casting, Reality-Free
Oh man, that variety show format worked so well for Nick & Jessica! Remember what a smash sensation the Osbournes variety show was? Boy, Rosie O'Donnell sure rewrote the book on how to do a great variety special! The networks remember how great these attempts to revive the long dead TV format went, because they're at it again.
This time, FOX is dipping back into the
American Idol well and plucking out plucky season four winner Carrie Underwood. They've scheduled
Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special for a December 7 air-time. Luckily, since Underwood is doing just fine in her recording career, this isn't likely to be an attempt at a weekly series.
If the networks really do believe they can revive the variety format, this is a good way to do it. The holiday season seems to be the best time to lure American audiences into one-off specials and different kinds of programming. If the special does well, they can look for another one next year maybe. Or perhaps they'll have found something to do with all those former
Idol contestants.
Posted Mar 19th 2009 12:06AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: American Idol, Judges, Reviewcaps, Contestants, Host
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that it's been a couple of years since I've seriously watched
American Idol. I've caught episodes here and there, but haven't sat down with a full season in a while. I bring this up because I'm not sure if it's just that I've been away from it a while or if this year's group of finalists is especially good. We're still not even to the Top 10, and no one's performance was a complete disaster. Sure, I had my favorites, but nobody embarrassed themselves, which seems new to me.
What I love/hate about the results show is how, even if the contestants manage to get through the performance show embarrassment-free, that inevitably comes to an end the next night. Between the Ford commercial and the group sing, I have never watched a results show without spending a good portion cringing.
Speaking of cringing, tonight's result is kind of surprising, and I think it's going to polarize a lot of people. Someone who I thought would make it pretty far in the competition got the lowest number of votes.
But does that mean he or she is going home?Continue reading American Idol: Top 11 Elimination Results
Posted Feb 11th 2009 1:24AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: American Idol, Judges, Reviewcaps, Contestants, Performances, Host
(S08E09) Seacrest begins the show with some cold, sexy numbers. We started this season with over 103,000 American Idol hopefuls, and now, going into the last night of Hollywood week, we're down to 72. Now that we're under the century mark, we get to be fancy: the contestants have backup singers, bands, and can play instruments if they want.
The way they're doing this is pretty hardcore: Each singer takes the stage, but receives no feedback afterward. Since this is their last chance, it kind of doesn't matter if Simon makes them cry, or Randy calls them Dawg. Either they're good enough or they're not. After they're finished singing, they have to wait until the end of the day, when the entire group is broken up into two groups: those who are going forward, and those who are not. Or, those who are immediately fading into obscurity and those who will fade more slowly, singing some goofy songs while hamming it up in some sort of Ford vehicle on the way.
Continue reading American Idol: Hollywood Round #3
Posted Jan 13th 2009 10:14AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: American Idol, Watercooler Talk, Interviews, Judges
The premiere of
American Idol's new season is tonight; can you stand it? Last year brought us a format change with the addition of instruments; this year, we have a new judge. Controversy has been following
Kara DioGuardi since she was named
AI's fourth judge. Is she taking Paula's place? Are there catfights? Will she screw up the balance of the show?
To help drum up enthusiasm about the new season and ostensibly to answer some of these questions, FOX set up a conference call with Kara. Unsurprisingly, she stayed as far away from minefields as humanly possible, instead gushing about how wonderful everyone on the show is and how well they all get along, and blah blah blah, puppies and rainbows. Luckily, she also chatted about what she thinks of the newest crop of contestants as well as past Idols.
Continue reading American Idol's new judge, Kara DioGuardi, loves everyone
Posted May 27th 2008 1:03PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Judges, Contestants, Alumni, Host, Predictions and Trends, News and Gossip
We scoured the earth (and the archives at various record companies for failed projects that showed vocal promise) to create the greatest assemblage of singing talent
American Idol has ever seen! So what happened? After last year's virtual snooze-fest, how did a season that truly did give us perhaps the greatest depth of talent we've ever seen (an argument could be made for Season Five) give us such lackluster shows?
After Sanjaya-gate last year, the biggest controversy to come out this year was that finalist David Hernandez used to be a stripper and David Archuleta's dad might be a Mr. Meany-Pants. And we got to be pissed that Kristy Lee Cook outlasted the likes of Michael Johns. Not until we got to the finale of Davids did things get really intense.
Continue reading AI7 Report Card: The season that was
Posted May 23rd 2008 10:20PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip
Welcome to the final installment of
"AI Aftermath," where we explore
Idol's past. Each installment, as one more
American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of David Cook's crowning as your
American Idol, we will look back at other winners
.
This week: The Winners, featuring Kelly Clarkson (Season One), Ruben Studdard (Season Two), Fantasia Barrino (Season Three), Carrie Underwood (Season Four), Taylor Hicks (Season Five) and Jordin Sparks (Season Six).
Continue reading AI Aftermath: The Winners - VIDEOS
Posted May 21st 2008 6:06PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Alumni, Predictions and Trends, TV Squad Lists
Going into
last night's finale of American Idol, I was very excited to see the Davids battle each other for the title. It was the first
American Idol in a while that did not have an obvious winner at the outset. Even though it really was David Archuleta's night, I still hold out hope that David Cook might pull out a win. He's the one with the most potential and is the better performer. Little Archuleta has that killer voice, though.
Anyway, last night's epic battle got me thinking about past
American Idol finales and whether any of them were this much of a contest. It seems like we've gone into most of the
American Idol finales with obvious winners. Here's a breakdown of the past
American Idol finales, and whether they stack up to last night's performances:
Continue reading Which is the best American Idol finale?
Posted Apr 10th 2008 11:20AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Alumni, News and Gossip
How much cooler would it be to send your stalker letter to Kelly Clarkson with a Kelly Clarkson stamp? As Ryan Seacrest announced on last night's
American Idol "Idol Gives Back" special, PhotoStamps has inked a deal with the show to produce commemorative stamps featuring the likenesses of each of the
Idol winners so far, including this year's winner. In fact,
Kelly Clarkson's PhotoStamp is already available, with subsequent stamps released each Tuesday.
So if you're planning to kidnap one of Kelly's hats and send her a ransom note with cut-out letters from various newspaper articles about her, demanding that she go out on a date with you if she ever wants to see it again, go that extra mile and show her you really care in that extra-special creepy way by using a Kelly Clarkson PhotoStamp! Remember, net proceeds from the sales of these stamps go to charity. And while you may be crazy, that doesn't mean you don't care!
Posted Apr 9th 2008 7:45PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Reviewcaps, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip, Celebrity Commentary, Episode Reviews
(S07E29) Well, this is what you've all been waiting for, right? What's that? Finale? Yeah, I guess that'll be cool, too. But if you've listened to Ryan all season then you know TONIGHT is really what it's all about! If you're looking to find out who got eliminated by vote last night you're going to have to wait until tomorrow. But if you're looking for two-and-a-half hours of entertainment chock full of celebrities and song and charity, then you're looking for "
Idol Gives Back."
Last year's inaugural edition was very good, and
Kristin's report of the Idol Gives Back taping from this past Sunday was also very positive. We don't have any pesky (non) eliminations to deal with like last year, so just kick back, donate and enjoy. And, if you want, join us online and chat about it in real-time with other giving
Idol fans.
You can join the chat starting just before 7:30/6:30pm CDT by following this link. Look for the full episode review right here later tonight.Continue reading American Idol: Idol Gives Back 2008
Posted Apr 9th 2008 10:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Video, Interviews, Alumni, News and Gossip
Way back in the early days of
American Idol, and by early days I mean "Season Four," there was a girl who was a little bit country and a long-haired fellow who was a little bit rock and roll. I think we all know who went on to win that season, but that southern rocker was a pretty amazing presence of his own. In fact, they were so strong together in the final, they both released "Inside Your Heaven," the
Idol single for that year. And they even swapped spots at number one with the track.
Now Bo's out promoting
See the Light, his latest album
which is more true to his southern rock roots. But that doesn't mean he's not willing to take a break from his touring schedule to spend some quality time with the kids down at
American Idol Camp this summer. The program, which began last year, is for 10-15 year olds and runs in five two-week sessions throughout the summer.
There, kids can go to learn about the music industry and hone their craft as musicians, as well as experiencing all the traditional things that make summer camps fun, just with the added bonus of hanging out with and learning from
Idol alumni like Bo. For more on Idol Camp check out the official
American Idol Camp website. For more on my chat with Bo Bice, follow me after the jump.
Continue reading Bo Bice: The TV Squad Interview - VIDEO
Posted Apr 7th 2008 6:00AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol
Last night I went to a taping of the second installment of
Idol Gives Back at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. This year the charities that benefited were Malaria No More, Children's Defense Fund, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Children's Health Fund, and Save the Children.
Keep in mind, there will be spoilers. It's not like I found out the secret to
Lost, but I figured I would still give fair warning. The show will air on Wednesday April 9th at 7:30 pm ET / PT. For what happened at the taping and in the press room, read on after the jump. And check back for
Jason's review Wednesday night.
Continue reading My visit to Idol Gives Back
Posted Mar 19th 2008 1:27PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Daytime, Talk Show, Contestants, Host, News and Gossip
In a press release today, FOX announced that
Ellen DeGeneres would again be taking on co-hosting duties with
Ryan Seacrest for the 2nd "Idol Gives Back" special, airing Wednesday April 9 7:30 - 10:30 pm ET. Just like last year, Ellen will host from the Kodak Theatre while Ryan covers from the
American Idol stage.
The talent roster continues to expand as well. The complete list (so far) now includes Maroon 5, Heart, Gloria Estefan, Boyz II Men and The Clark Brothers along with already announced Bono, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Fergie, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox, John Legend and Snoop Dogg. Most of these will be the pre-recorded "Give, give, give" but I'm looking forward to seeing Boyz II Men back in action.
Continue reading Ellen DeGeneres to co-host growing roster on Idol Gives Back
Posted Feb 24th 2008 1:14PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Video, Episode Reviews
(S33E05) Cold Open (CNN Democratic Debate): After seeing all those rumors about adding a new cast member to specifically play Barack Obama, I had resigned myself to seeing a new black guy. Hey, don't pretend you didn't think the same thing. In my mind, Fred Armisen never, ever entered into the equation, so imagine my surprise when Armisen popped up on screen next to Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton and was immediately identifiable as Obama. It was the ears and the super-serious look of concern, I think.
This sketch was all about the some members of the "unbiased" media's blatant negligence of Clinton. Yeah, the content was all right, but I spent most of my time trying to figure out if I liked Armisen as Obama. He had the look down, but only part of it. Obama's frowny face was pretty spot-on, but what about his signature grin? And the voice didn't work at all. Perhaps this will improve with time, because I don't think it's likely that Armisen expected this new role and didn't have much time to intensely study Obama's voice and mannerisms before the end of the writers' strike.
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood - VIDEOS
Posted Jan 12th 2008 3:03PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: American Idol, Alumni, News and Gossip
Not every
American Idol winner or runner-up has the massive success of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. In just the last three weeks, Sony BMG has dropped three
AI contestants/winners from its record label.
The latest to be dropped is season five runner-up Katharine McPhee. She released an album in 2006 that has only sold about 365,000 copies, according to
MTV news.
Continue reading American Idols dropped from record labels
Posted Nov 19th 2007 3:01PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Industry, American Idol, Watercooler Talk, Host, WGA Strike
With Daughtry, fronted by American Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry, and former Idol winner Carrie Underwood each taking home three trophies at this year's American Music Awards (AMAs), it's clear that the music landscape continues to be shaped by the dominant FOX reality competition. Daughtry, who didn't win his season of AI but has gone on to more commercial success than any of his season's compatriots thus far, picked up awards for favorite pop-rock album, breakthrough album and adult contemporary artist for his band's self-titled debut Daughtry. While Daughtry acknowledged the show's role in his success, as reported on AOL.com, he insists "the show didn't make me who I am. It just gave me a chance to show everybody else who I am."
Underwood, meanwhile, continued her award show success with trophies for favorite female country artist, country album (for Some Hearts) and the T-Mobile text-in award. For the first time in its 35 year history, winners this year were chosen by online voting. With the AMAs being essentially a "popularity contest" it should come as no surprise that two of the most popular artists ever on one of televisions most popular television shows ever would have a good showing.
Continue reading Idol dominates AMAs with two triple-crown winners
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