Friday 5/28/04

~You can PRE-PURCHASE Fantasia's single, I Believe / Dreams / Summertime at Amazon.com! It will be released on June 15, 2004.

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Friday 5/21/04

~It was announced that Simon Fuller, creator of the Idol shows, is now branching out even further into the music business by launching his own record label, 19 Recordings. And he is doing so in grand style, as the first album released will be that of Tamyra Gray, who came in fourth place in the first American Idol despite being thought of as a major contender at the time.

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Friday 5/14/04

~Next week, according to ET, Clive Davis is the guest judge with him picking a song for each of them.
Then the girls pick a song for one another and they pick one for themselves.

~Totally Hits 2004 debuted at #14. It includes songs by American Idol’s Big Three — Kelly Clarkson (who sings “The Trouble With Love Is”), Ruben Studdard (“Sorry 2004”), and Clay Aiken (“Invisible”).

~Kimberley Locke’s much anticipated debut album, One Love, debuted at #16. 

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Friday 5/7/04

~Next week's theme is Disco and Donna Summer will be the guest judge.

~Tamyra Gray's CD Dreamer will be out on May 25, 2004. You can pre-order it by clicking here. Tamyra will perform 2 songs on the May 19th episode of American Idol.

~Josh Gracin self titled CD will be out on June 15, 2004. You can pre-order it by clicking here. Josh is climbing the charts with his “I Want to Live” which jumped three spots to #20 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, while Radio & Records Country Airplay chart has him up four notches from #26 to #22.

~The CD Women & Song debuted at #67 on the Billboard 200 chart this week. The album features Clarkson’s hit single “Low” among songs from various other well-known female artists.

~American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics CD entered at #23 on Billboard’s Top Internet Albums chart.

~Clay Aiken had the top-selling single in the country with 'The Way' for the eighth consecutive week. Unfortunately for Kimberley Locke, after holding the #2-selling single in the country for a respectable six weeks, her “8th World Wonder” dropped to #3.

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Friday 4/30/04

~Next week's theme is Big Band. Ironically, the genre that booted idol John Stevens would have certainly nailed.

~Clay Aiken, who wrapped up his stint with Kelly Clarkson April 16, will return to the road on July 8 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The crooner will play 28 concerts, eight of which are at state fairs. Dates are scheduled through September 19 in Springfield, Massachusetts, and one additional show has been booked for October 18 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Friday 4/23/04

~Kimberley Locke, RJ Helton and Tamyra Gray appeared on ABC's Primetime live on Thursday April 22nd about being 'Fallen" Idols.

~Kelly Clarkson sang on "The View" on Thursday April 22nd.

~Clay Aiken's Measure of a Man plummet 18 spots from #73 to #91 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, his “Solitaire” single was the third most added adult contemporary song of the week, according to Radio and Records, with 14 stations adding the single to their playlists. Clay had the top-selling single for the fifth consecutive week with “Solitaire/The Way,” while Kimberly Locke had the second-best-selling single, “8th World Wonder,” for the fifth straight week. Josh Gracin climbed from #27 to #31 on the Radio and Records Country Airplay chart with his single, “I Want to Live.” Kelly Clarkson  contributed her song “Low” to an all-female compilation album called Women & Songs set to drop next Tuesday.

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Saturday 4/17/04

~Listen to Kimberley Locke's new album by following this link. See the video of 8th world wonder by following this link...

~According to NBC4 Columbus, troopers allegedly found marijuana on a former American Idol contestant's tour bus, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Troopers stopped one of Ruben Studdard's tour buses Monday in Cleveland. Studdard was not on the bus, but three people who were face charges. The bus was stopped because it did not move over or slow down for a trooper who was on the berm, according to the Highway Patrol. The trooper was with a K-9 unit, which allegedly found the drugs on the bus.

~According to Billboard, former "American Idol" contestant RJ Helton has signed with the management company of Mathew Knowles, best known for launching the careers of his daughter Beyonce Knowles and her group Destiny's Child. A top-five finalist on the talent show's first season two years ago, Helton recently saw his debut album, "Real Life" (B-Rite Music), bow at No. 14 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. He was previously managed by his mother, Sue. Knowles says he plans to promote Helton to the pop, Christian and gospel communities via his Music World banner, a division of U.K.-based music conglomerate Santuary Group. Helton is confirmed for several upcoming TV appearances, including "American Idol" on Wednesday (April 14), where he will promote the album and its lead single, "Even If," and "Prime Time Live" with Diane Sawyer next month.

~According to TV Guide, when Nikki McKibbin took 3rd place on the first season of American Idol, RCA wanted to turn her into a country crooner. She would have none of that and walked out of the deal. She states "I have no label at the moment; I'm working on this album on my own, hoping to get picked up along the way."

~Next week's theme for the AI3 contestants will be Barry Manilow's songs, with guest judge the "man" himself, and the week after that will be Salsa with guest judge Gloria Estefan.

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Friday 4/9/04

~Next week's theme will be...music from the movies! Guest judge will be Quentin Tarantino. What the heck does he know about music you ask? I have no idea.

~Want to listen to Kimberley Locke's new CD? Click Here. You can pre-order it HERE. 

~Tamyra Gray's first  album "The Dreamer" will finally be released in June. Tamyra wrote all the songs except for one, and her first single will be "Raindrops Will Fall".

~The AI3 CD "Greatest Soul Classics" will be released on April 27, 2004. You can pre-purchase it NOW at Amazon.com!

~Marque Lynch, who was in the top 32, will play Tyrone Jackson in Fame on 42nd Street — the Off-Broadway show based on the hit film and subsequent television series, which traced the lives of aspiring artists at the High School for the Performing Arts.

~Barry Manilow will be a guest judge on the 20th according to Entertainment Tonight. Can't wait!!

~“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell will be special guest on the April 10 episode of “Saturday Night Live” featuring Janet Jackson as host and musical guest. 

~Justin Guarini made an appearance on Hollywood squares last week! It was a hoot!

~For the week of Week of March 22-28, 2004, American Idol was the #1 show according to the Neilsen ratings!

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Friday 4/2/04

~Next week's theme will be...? Some reports say Elton John songs, other say Big Band. If it is Big Band, we might finally see an awesome performance by John Stevens.

~Enter to win a trip to see Ruben Studdard in concert!. 

~"Kimberley Locke has been signed to join the guest star roster of the ABC-TV special "Motown 45," saluting the 45th anniversary of Berry Gordy's legendary record company. This special will mark Locke's first prime-time network
performance outside of "American Idol.".

~Take a peek at Kimberly Locke's photo shoot here.

~Kimberley Locke Becomes First Idol to #1 with Non-Idol Song. Her single 8th world wonder is available NOW at Amazon.com while her album "One Love" will be available on May 4th. You can pre-purchase it NOW at Amazon.com!

~On January 9, Ruben's debut J Records CD Soulful was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Platinum certification means that, in the judgment of the RIAA, the CD has shipped sufficient copies to sell over one million units at retail.

~Kimberly Caldwell, an ex-Idol contestant is now a TV Guide Channel correspondent. She states that Randy Jackson and [songwriter] Diane Warren are producing her album.

~Julia DeMato, another ex-Idol contestant, is getting married to one of the guys from the management team at 19 Entertainment. They fell in love when they were on tour. 

~William Hung's "Inspiration," which includes Ricky Martin's "She Bangs," will be released on April 6.

~on April 7, Tamyra Gray is scheduled to perform on the American Idol 3 results show, singing "Raindrops Will Fall," a power-ballad and a potential first single which she wrote herself. Gray wrote the song about a hard time in her life, and the "raindrops" symbolize tears. Her still untitled album is currently set for a June 1 release, with the artwork and finishing touches almost done.

~Ruben Studdard will perform the U.S. National Anthem as part of pre-game ceremonies for Jackie Robinson Day, April 15 at Shea Stadium. Studdard's performance will take place prior to the game between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, which will be broadcast live by MLB national broadcast partner TBS.

~ Clay Aiken will be performing at the 2004 SpringFest, scheduled June 18-20, in downtown Pensacola.

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Friday 3/19/04

~Next week's theme will be COUNTRY

~One of the coming-up themes for the show is a Barry Manilow night, and Mr. Manilow himself will be one of the judges. 

~"What's Done In The Dark". The cast includes Rickey Smith, known for 

~American Idol alumnus Kimberly Locke debuted at number one selling 4,000 copies of "8th World Wonder." News from E!

~American Idol alumnus from season 1 RJ Helton's "Real Life" is being simultaneously released by B-Rite Music in mainstream and Christian markets. It was produced in part by Tommy Sims, who worked with Kelly Clarkson. Helton wrote many of the lyrics, and he worked with writers on the other songs. He even sings in Spanish, though he doesn't speak the language.

~Kimberly Locke will be featured on Friday's ET. Her single 8th world wonder is available NOW at Amazon.com while her album "One Love" will be available on May 4th. You can pre-purchase it NOW at Amazon.com!

~Kimberley Locke will perform her hit single "8th World Wonder" next Tuesday night (March 23rd) live on American Idol.

~Ruben Studdard, who has a small role in the new Scooby Doo movie, will attend the premiere. A concert featuring Ruben Studdard, Simple Plan, and Big Brovah will take place prior to the premiere screening of “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” this Saturday at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. All three acts are on the film’s soundtrack, which will be released on March 23.

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Friday 3/12/04

~Clay Aiken's album 'Measure of a Man' went Triple Platinum on March 5th,

~Tamyra Gray 'should' appear on the show 'Tru Calling' on April 14th. She will also appear on the ABC news program 'Prime Time Live' sometime in May.

~Here is a link to listen to two songs from Josh's upcoming album... click here! 

~William Hung (yes... the 'She Bangs' guy!) signed his $25k recording contract on March 8th. Is this a joke? I hope so. 

~Ruben Studdard performed at the NAACP Image Awards on Thursday, March 11. He won best new artist after crooning from his seat in a performance early in the night. Very strange to say the least. Is he okay? He accepted the award from none other than AI's judge Randy Jackson.

~Next week's American Idol show's theme will be "SOUL"

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Friday 3/5/04

~On February 27th, ET took a peek at the darling duo (Clay and Kelly) as they revealed how they spend time in between gigs on their tour.

~‘From Justin to Kelly’ was given a Golden Raspberry... an awards show that “honors” the worst of 2003 – the Razzies, or the Golden Raspberry Awards. While the movie did not 'win' any awards per se, it was given a Special Governor’s Award for Distinguished Under-Achievement. The award was specifically given to Travis Payne for choreography that they said “was deemed too amusingly awful to go un-dissed.”

~People magazine (March 8th) has an article on Kim Locke and another article with Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard. 

~Kelly and Clay performed on the Today Show on March 3rd.

~Funeral services were held Monday for Vernon Grissom, the birth father of pop singer Clay Aiken. Grissom died Friday at Franklin Regional Hospital in Louisburg. He was 68.

~Straight from Kelly Clarkson: "I've already written my second record, actually, And right after touring I'm taking a little time off, and then I'll jump right back in the studio and get that out hopefully around Christmastime."

~The video of "The Way" from Clay Aiken is up at airplay central  http://www.airplaycentral.com/temporaryvideo.htm

~Clay Aiken’s fans have waited a long time for his version of “Solitaire” to be released. Finally, the wait looks like it’s coming to an end. Clay’s “Solitaire” and “The Way” to Be Released on CD March 16

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Thursday 2/26/04

~Donnie Williams, who was supposed to perform in Group 4 next week, was arrested Monday morning for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding at over 100 miles per hour. He was no longer listed in Group 4, nor does he appear on the official website. Instead, George Huff has been brought back.

~Simon Cowell guest starred on the Simpsons last Sunday. 

~Vanessa Olivarez, the former "American Idol" contestant remembered for her pink hairdo, big voice and bubbly personality, is Tracy Turnblad in the Canadian production of Hairspray, starting rehearsals Feb. 23 in Toronto.

~Ruben Studdard guest starred on UPN's ONE ON ONE Tuesday at 8pm ET.

~Barry Manilow will be one of the celebrity guest judges on the current season of "American Idol," Billboard.com has learned. In live episodes airing April 19-20, Manilow will sit in as a judge alongside Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. The episodes will feature the contestants performing Manilow songs, and Manilow himself will perform on the April 20 edition.

~For the week of Feb 16th-22nd American Idol's Tuesday's show was in 3rd place for the Nielsen ratings. The result show was on #7.

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Thursday 2/19/04

~Ruber Studdard appeared on GMA last Friday.

~Ruben Studdard is planning a spring U.S. tour. A short list of confirmed theater dates is coming together, beginning with a March 4 show at Los Angeles' Pantages Theatre. More news at billboard.com

~Kelly Clarkson sang at an NBA all-star game on February 16th.

~Also on February 16th, both Kelly and Clay appeared and performed on ON AIR with RYAN SEACREST.

~On February 17th Kelly and Clay appeared again together, this time co-hosting parts of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT.

~On Tuesday February 17th, Jim Verraros, from season 1 of AI appeared as a courtyard correspondent on ON AIR with RYAN SEACREST.  

~Carmen Rasmusen, former American Idol finalist is the celebrity courtyard correspondent for ON AIR with RYAN SEACREST on Friday, February 20th.

~RJ Helton from season 1 has signed with Gospocentric Records

~For the week of Feb 9-15th American Idol's tuesday's show was in 3rd place for the Nielsen ratings. The result show was on #6.

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Thursday 2/12/04

~Simon Cowell was a guest on Ellen on Wednesday, February 11th. He apologized to one contestant for not putting him through... hmmm... it was a funny show!

~Simon Cowell was also a guest on ON AIR with Ryan Seacrest, and he stated that the front runners this season are Fantasia and Diana, who were both on this week.

~Simon will be appearing on Oprah next Monday (16th February) as a guest judge

~On the week ending February 6th, the following idols were on the Radio and Records CHR/Pop Singles top 50.

# 23 Kelly Clarkson "The Trouble With Love Is"
# 41 Kimberley Locke "8th World Wonder"
# 46 Clay Aiken "Invisible"
# 49 Ruben Studdard "Sorry 2004"

~For the week of Feb 2-8, 2004, the two American Idol shows ended up in the top 3 most watched shows according to Nielsen ratings.

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Monday 2/9/04

~After last year, when three of the final 32 contestants were booted from the show for their troubled pasts, producers are beefing up the screening process. "This year, for the first time ever, we screened all of the 117 that came through to Pasadena," co-executive producer Ken Warwick said. "Normally we only screen the final 32".

~Clay Aiken was the musical guest on SNL on Saturday, February 7. Coincidentally (or not!) the ratings for this show were the highest in 11 months! Go Claymates!

~Clay Aiken was a guest on Regis and Kelly on Monday, February 9. 

~Neither Kelly Clarkson nor Ruben Studdard, which were both nominated for a Grammy, took that statuette home. I am sure they were just happy to be nominated :-)

~For the week of Jan 26th-Feb 1, 2004, the two American Idol shows still ended up in the top 5 most watched shows according to Nielsen ratings.

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Sunday 2/1/04

~Justin Guarini has announced on ON AIR WITH RYAN SEACREST that even though he was unceremoniously dropped by RCA (without even a phone call! He supposedly sold only 134,000 copies of his album - which is a travesty in my view, I own the album, and, folks, it's really GREAT!) he has signed on with new management (Benny Medina) and a new record label. While for now management is concentrating in getting him a gig in new television pilots, he stated that he will take the next several months to write his new album which will be more 'true to his heart' and it will be out towards the end of the year.

~Tamyra Gray, who was dropped from J Records, is meeting with other labels under the BMG conglomerate this week, according to her management. The popular finalist from the first season of "American Idol" is finished recording her debut album, which includes production from Scott Storch (Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé). "I've
heard Tamyra's record and it's phenomenal," Kelly Clarkson said recently.

~According to Nielsen Ratings, last week all three AI shows were in the top 5 with 17 million viewers each.

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Friday 1/23/04

~Has everyone seen that Ricky Smith is now the backup singer for Ruben Studdard? Yey Ricky!

~Tonight Clay Aiken will be on "Ed"

~Clay and Kelly will be going on tour together this spring. 

~Carmen Rasmusen performs "Be With You" in the film Pride and Prejudice. She also has a small role in the film. You may remember she has already performed in some dates with Dave Matthews last summer. "Be With You" has been getting airplay on Utah radio stations.

~On Tuesday, January 27th, don't miss on AIR with Ryan Seacrest, Justin Guarini is the celebrity courtyard correspondent and proves there is life after American Idol! BTW, I did see From Justin to Kelly and I think it's an ADORABLE movie!! 

~Tune in to watch Kimberley on the new "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" Friday, January 23.  K-Lo will be a special Courtyard Correspondent and chat-up her new single and album. No, she won't be singing "8th World Wonder." She's saving it for when her cd is in stores!

~Ryan Starr was also a courtyard correspondent for On AIR with Ryan Seacrest recently, although we do not know if she'll be releasing any album soon, she was a guest star on CSI recently... yep, she played the dead girl.  

~Josh Gracin, the U.S. Marine who was a finalist on last year's American Idol 2, has signed with Nashville-based Lyric Street Records. During his American Idol 2 appearances, he performed the Rascal Flatts hit, "I'm Movin' On." His debut album is being produced by Marty Williams, who co-produced Rascal Flatts' two albums. Currently on active duty, Gracin is spending his days off in a Nashville recording studio. His first single is expected to be released in late March.

~Okay... so am I the only one wondering what happened to the supposedly upcoming albums from American Idol 1 finalists like Tamyra Gray and Nikki McKibbin? Hmmm...