:::Idols in America::::

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Carrie Underwood will be touring the Persian Gulf this winter. But if they told you where, they would have to kill you!

Carrie Underwood has announced plans for a USO tour to the Persian Gulf this winter although no specific dates or locations have been revealed due to security reasons. Underwood wrapped her concert tour with Brad Paisley on Friday night (Dec. 8) in Chicago. Her next domestic tour date is Dec. 31 at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minn. Underwood also sang "Jesus, Take the Wheel" during her first appearance on Oprah on Monday (Dec. 11), then joined Tony Bennett, Michael Buble and Josh Groban to sing Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life."

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Taylor Hicks

Taylor Hicks' cd hits stores today. Will it be the same trash that you can kind of expect from American Idol or will Taylor make this album worth buying?

When Taylor Hicks become the fifth "American Idol" champion in May, he was the TV juggernaut's most unusual winner yet.

Not because he was a prematurely graying 30-year-old with frantic dance moves and an odd habit of punctuating his sentences with "Soul Patrol!" but because he was a fully formed singer with a style developed from years of performing on the road.

If any "Idol" champ could hold his own against that daunting task of building a post-"Idol" debut album, it would be Hicks, right? Well, apparently not.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Hicks Ready for Big-Time With CD Debut

LOS ANGELES -- Kicking back on a couch with a hot cup of tea, Taylor Hicks looks as comfortable backstage at the "Tonight Show" as he might in his own home. When Jay Leno pops into Hicks' dressing room to say hello, the gray-haired soul singer is unfazed _ a moment that reflects just how much "American Idol" has changed the 30-year-old's life.

A year ago, Hicks was a struggling musician unknown to those outside the small Southern clubs where he performed. Today, he is a bona fide TV star and major-label recording artist whose self-titled solo debut hits stores Tuesday.

Saturday, December 9, 2006

‘Idol’ contestant Chris Daughtry makes the leap to the recording studio

DURING THE LAST SEASON of “American Idol,” hunky rocker Chris Daughtry won fans with his rock sound, enthusiastic performances and manly good looks. With an undeniable talent and fan base, it was the season shocker when Daughtry was voted off a couple weeks before Taylor Hicks was crowned.

After months of work, Daughtry is back exactly where he belongs: as a front man in a rock band. The band is DAUGHTRY (yes, it’s supposed to be in all caps, the better to differentiate the singer from the group), who just released a respectable self-titled debut album.

Why name your band after yourself? Do you really want people to think that you're that vain? He should have http://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifnamed it "Next on The OC" since that's when most people are going to hear his music.

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Friday, December 8, 2006

Yamin's new smile gets him in People

Elliott Yamin has a new reason to smile - $50,000 in dental work.

His new smile, courtesy of Beverly Hills dentist David Frey, puts him on the cover of the Dec. 18 issue of People, right below the "Jen and Vince Split" and "Eva & Tony Surprise Engagement" stories.

Inside are two full pages of before and after pictures of Yamin, Richmond's contribution to this year's "American Idol" competition. Yamin, talking about his new look, was also interviewed on Wednesday's edition of "Extra."

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Crunch time for Hicks: "Idol's" CD is on its way

Here are a few things you might learn about Taylor Hicks during an interview with the newly minted pop star and "American Idol" winner.

No. 1: The silver-thatched, 30-year-old vocalist will be all over the TV talk-show circuit and newsstands this month, promoting his first major-label album. (Titled "Taylor Hicks," it comes out Dec. 12.)

No. 2: Hicks may soon play a theater or big nightclub (but not a sports arena) near you. His first national solo tour kicks off in late February â€" and Seattle's Paramount Theatre will be a likely stop.

No. 3: One song getting a lot of play on the Alabama-bred soulster's iPod is a certain Paul Simon oldie.

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Taylor Won't Watch

Taylor Hicks, winner of American Idol, said that he's not going to be watching the show that made him famous.

"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks is biting the hand that made him a star.

The gray-haired pop-star says he won't watch the FOX show anymore -- and just wanted to use the exposure he got from winning "Idol" to further his career.

"'American Idol' for me is fizzling out," he tells the latest edition of Relix magazine, a publication formerly devoted to following the Grateful Dead.