Bucky Covington finished just eighth on American Idol. But after the show he released one of the most successful country albums by a former contestant not named Carrie Underwood. The year was 2007 and three Bucky Covington singles — “A Different World,” “It’s Good to Be Us” and “I’ll Walk” — wound up at number…
A week into his residency at Bally’s Las Vegas, Taylor Hicks is promising special guests and a cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” At one of his shows. He won’t say which one. Taylor started his run at Bally’s last week, becoming the first American Idol finalist to headline a Vegas show. He’s…
She came within a whisker of being the first female winner of American Idol in five seasons. She came within a whisker of being the first contestant to go on to win the competition after being saved by the judges. And she came within a whisker of being the youngest winner ever on Idol. In…
The pawn shop worker did it. The guy who didn’t take up music until being inspired by his guitar-playing brother-in-law is the Season 11 American Idol champ. En route to the win, Phillip Phillips never landed in the bottom three. And he seemed assured the Idol crown the minute he finished singing “Home,” his first…
If you’re a fan of David Cook, you owe it to yourself to watch an extensive interview posted late last week from The Hollywood Reporter’s Idol Hangover show. During the course of the interview, David talks about moving to Nashville, his parting of ways with RCA, his plans moving forward and the white-guy-with-guitar phenomenon American…
Hollie Cavanagh was eliminated from American Idol in fourth place Thursday night. But before departing, she must have set some sort or record for perseverance. After all, she had made four previous visits to American Idol’s bottom three. Plus one to its bottom two just a week ago. All five times, she survived. So it…
We were introduced to Skylar Laine, the brash mud-bogging gal from Brandon, Mississippi, back in January. She was one of several aspiring country singers to try out for Season 11 of Idol. After all, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina finished one-two in Season 10, signaling that post-Simon Cowell American Idol would be more friendly to…
Colton Dixon apparently had no intention of trying out for American Idol in Season 11. He went to the Savannah auditions to support his sister, Schyler. But the 20-year-old was convinced to try to out by the Idol judges. And he wound up outlasting Schyler and all but six other contestants. He run on Idol…
Prior to his time on American Idol, Heejun Han worked as a nonprofit organizer, helping kids with special needs. “I want to show them that if you believe in yourself, you can be someone,” the 22-year-old from Flushing, N.Y., told Idol after receiving his golden ticket. And the guy known for his deadpan comedy seemed totally…
Erika Van Pelt showed up on the American Idol stage this week sporting a new look. She had shortened her hair. She had dyed it black. And then she launched into a rendition of “New York State of Mind” that got generally good reviews from the Idol judges. None of it mattered. When it came…
