The Savannah auditions must have been a reunion of sorts considering the number of Season 10 golden ticket recipients who returned for another shot at the American Idol crown. Count Asheville, N.C., rocker Caleb Johnson among them. A year ago, he impressed the judges with his rendition of “Rusty Cage.” At the time, he was…
His name is Deneco Pittman, but he performs as Neco Starr. A fitting stage name, I suppose, for someone who wasn’t bashful about telling Idol cameras back in Season 9 that he “has that star quality.” Deneco made it to Hollywood that year, but says he was sent home because of a bad song choice….
So The X Factor has axed host Steve Jones, and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul are leaving, voluntarily or involuntarily. Apparently someone had to pay the price when the show failed to meet Sir Simon Cowell’s expectations of getting American Idol-like viewership. Yep, that’s going to fix The X Factor, all right: Firing a…
Last year, Scott Dangerfield dashed into the Idol audition room looking like anything but a star, but dazzled the judges with his rendition of Amos Lee’s “Dreamin’.” Jennifer Lopez declared him one of her favorite male performers. But he dropped out of Idol before Hollywood Week because he was also a student-teacher working on his…
Top 8 — I Like It Top 8 — I’m So Excited (with Hollie Cavanagh) Top 9 — Sometimes I Cry Top 10 — Only the Good Die Young Top 11/12 — Endless Love Top 13 — Master Blaster Wild Card — Georgia on My Mind Semifinals — Reason Deandre Brackensick was just 16 last…
Disaster turned into motivation for Su Charles, of Aurora, Colo. She’s Haitian-American and she’s a nurse, so she headed to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January 2010 that killed tens of thousands. “Seeing the loss of life led me to realize I need to do what I was born to do, and that’s to…
Lauren Daigle advanced to Hollywood on Season 9 and returned for Season 11 after deciding what she wanted to do with her life. For the student at Louisiana State University, that means singing and using her music to draw attention to the plight of those who can’t help themselves, including victims of human trafficking. “I’m…
Meaghan Cooper’s reaction to getting her golden ticket: “It’s about time.” The 25-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, was auditioning for Idol for the fifth time when she got a golden ticket at the Galveston try-outs. “Five seems to be my lucky number though,” a smiling Meaghan says in her golden ticket interview. Meaghan has performed…
Constantine Maroulis sent out a tweet on Friday that massive news was coming. That prompted all sorts of guesses from fans of the Season 5 Idol contestant, from whether he was releasing a new album to whether he would appear in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The announcement came late Sunday: Constantine is heading back to Broadway,…
You won’t have to wait for Jen Hirsh to do well on American Idol to check out her music. After all, she released a 10-track album named “MySelf in Two” in March, following up on a 5-track jazz EP “Sweet Words” that came out in 2008. Both are available on iTunes. Back in Season 9, she…
