Idol Chatter & Voice Views

*** Favorite Tweet from last 24 hours ***

LaceyBrown (Season 9): “Is it strange that once a month I stay up till 4am reading the missed connections section on Craigslist??? Or just sad???”  Moments later:  “….Yeah… It’s just sad.”

*** Idol without Ryan Seacrest? ***

American Idol wants Ryan Seacrest to hang around.

Ryan Seacrest can’t imagine “not being on (the show) every week.”

But there are no guarantees he’ll be back for Idol’s 12th season next year.

His contract expires at the end of Season 11, and the question seems to be how much money it will take to lure Ryan back and whether he’ll have better options elsewhere.

“It’s a tough negotiation and one that will come to conclusion, I think, pretty quickly,” Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said Sunday as FOX executives promoted the upcoming season of Idol. Read the full AP story here.

*** Scotty McCreery touring with Brad Paisley ***

Scotty McCreery kicks off his tour with The Band Perry and Brad Paisley this week with a Thursday show in Grand Rapids, Mich. The tour will land in Baltimore, Md., at the First Mariner Arena on March 1. For those interested, here’s a link to ticket information.  Tickets range from $25 to $59.75, plus fees of course.

Scotty says he’s fortunate to go on first, because he’ll still be able to catch American Idol after he performs most nights.  And as he wraps up his senior year of high school with the help of some accommodating teachers, he’s starting to think about college, according to a column in The Tennessean.

“That’s going to be a whole another monster,” Scotty says. “But we’re going to figure out a way to do it.”

Scotty’s “Clear As Day” is still number three on Billboard’s country album charts, 13 weeks after it’s release. In fact, last week marked the first that it’s been bumped lower than number two on that chart.

*** Kelly Clarkson on SNL ***

Kelly Clarkson was the guest performer on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. She sang the first two singles from her new album — “Mr. Know It All” and “Stronger” (aka “What Doesn’t Kill You”).

If you missed the performances, head here.