Carrie Underwood dominated the first-ever American Country Awards on FOX last December, taking home six awards, including Artist of the Year. She won’t quite be able to match that feat in 2011, but when nominations for the second ACA show were announced this week, Carrie was on the list four times. Billed as “the show…
Of course, the big news on the Billboard music charts this week was Scotty McCreery landing at number one on the Billboard 200. It’s the first time an Idol has done that since way back in second two when Ruben Studdard’s debut album accomplished the feat. But that’s hardly the only good news on the…
Hey, Simon. Hey, The X Factor. Nice job with Thursday’s episode. After last week’s “Mission Impossible” type ending to the boot camp episodes, I was really worried about what was in store for us at the judges’ mansion. Lots of silliness. Lots of stroking of the judges’ egos. Nope, The X Factor went straight to…
A little confession: I was not a Lauren Alaina fan during season 10 of American Idol. One of my main gripes with the show is the way producers pick their favorites, then foist their favorites on us every chance they get, not even pretending to play fair. Lauren Alaina Suddeth was one of those contestants…
At some point early last year, returning executive producer Nigel Lythgoe predicted that American Idol’s season 10 winner would break big when he or she released his or her debut album. At one point, that would have been a given. After Kelly Clarkson made it big, Idol winners could be counted on to debut in…
And then a funny thing happened. The critics prefer Lauren Alaina over Scotty McCreery. Seriously. Reviews are starting to pop up for Lauren’s debut album, “Wildflower,” which hit stores and online sites Tuesday. And, generally, they’re very good. In contrast, Scotty tended to get glowing reviews from county music sites and far less than glowing…
David Cook and Gavin DeGraw kicked off their month-long tour Sunday night at Penn State University. Meghin Moore, writing for Onward State, reports that the crowd “went insane” when David took the stage after opening act Carolina Liar. “By that, I mean that many of the older women in the bleachers went slightly more crazy…
Ready to rock American Idol style? Well then, you might want to circle Tuesday, Nov. 21, on your calendar. That’s the day we’ll get a third album from Idol’s most successful rocker, Chris Daughtry and his band. And that’s the day we’ll get a debut album from Idol’s newest rocker, James Durbin, the fourth-place finisher…
Last week, it was Scotty McCreery’s turn in the spotlight. This week, it’s Lauren Alaina’s turn to hit the publicity trail in support of her debut album, “Wildflower.” The American Idol Season 10 runner-up’s CD hits stores and online retailers Tuesday, and there are special offers available if you pre-order it through Lauren Alaina’s website. As…
So, The X Factor has picked its 32 mansion-bound contestants. My first impressions … * Much of the suspense of the final elimination was gone because you just knew — like on Idol — the most hyped contestants were going to survive. That would include Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro, Chris Rene and Tiah Tolliver. * Did…
