From the other side of the fence comes Stefano Langone, one of the three lucky contestants who got into the wild card round and even managed to pass it with his rendition of Smokie Norful’s “I Need You Now”. On passing the wild cards and getting into the Top 13, Stefano Langone had this to say: “Man, it was an honor. It really was. There were 23 of us earlier in the day and there’s only 13 of us now. To get the opportunity to go out there and show what I had and work for it was just a blessing. And I was really happy I got to go out there and give it my all and make it happen.” Well the fact that he’s a wild card means that Stefano Langone is going to have to put in a lot more than he has until now if he wants to make it far.
Here is the “American Idol” Top 13 of Season 10:
Scotty McCreery
Pia Toscano
Lauren Alaina
Karen Rodriguez
Jacob Lusk
Casey Abrams
Thia Megia
Paul McDonald
Haley Reinhart
James Durbin
Ashton Jones
Stefano Langone
Naima Adedapo
American Idol may not have let Chris Medina through but he’s already ahead of everyone else. If you recall, Chris is the guy who touched everyone’s hearts and possibly made us cry with his heartbreaking love story about his fiancé who’s currently suffering from brain damage due to a car accident. As the first example of the new partnership between AI and Universal Music Group, the singer has now been given the opportunity to release his debut single online. “What are Words”, which hit iTunes last week is a beautiful ballad inspired by Chris’ dramatic story. The song was written by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, specifically for Chris. Wow!
Chris Medina – What are Words – New Song
Chris Medina – What are Words – Lyrics
Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I’ll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you’ll see
How every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most
What are words
If you really don’t mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they’re only for good times
Then they don’t
When it’s love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we’re gone
And I know an angel was sent just for me
And I know I’m meant to be where I am
And I’m gonna be
Standing right beside her tonight
And I’m gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most
What are words
If you really don’t mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they’re only for good times
Then they don’t
When it’s love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we’re gone
Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I’ll be there
And I’m gonna be here forever more
Every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most
I’m forever keeping my angel close
Last night on American Idol it was Casey Abrams’ turn to sing for his life and see if he can gat into the Top 24. Needless to say, Casey Abrams nailed it by bringing in his stand-up base once more and singing “Why Don’t You Do Right?” by Kansas James McCoy. This American Idol contestant does seem to have a knack for Soul and the judges seem to like it too, especially Randy Jackson who says he’s probably the most talented singer the show has ever seen. Even though it wasn’t as mind-blowing as his “Georgia on my Mind” performance, it does look like Casey Abrams might just make it all the way.
Casey Abrams American Idol Sing for your Life performance:
The highly talented American Idol contestants who simply awed the judges last week with his solo on a stand-up bass has apparently encountered some medical difficulties. It seems that Casey Abrams was hospitalized last night due to severe stomach pain. However, he is supposedly going to be released today and is going to tape his performance on Friday, which means that he probably is among the show’s Top 24. However, it is a rather delicate situation for Casey Abrams since he is among the most favored contestants and if he misses his Friday slot he will get eliminated from the game and it would be a real shame not to see him competing further in the show.
When it comes to American Idol, perhaps the most interesting part of the audition process comes during the dreaded group round of Hollywood week. While it’s a nightmare for the aspiring singers, it’s a gem to watch for us fans of the reality TV talent show as the pressure cooker of group round forced the remaining 168 contestants to team up with each other, learn a song and choreograph a routine in one night. What follows is a sleepless night filled with tears, cat fights and all around drama. This year was no different. Some couldn’t find groups. There are some who became frustrated with their bossy leaders. One actually decided to swap groups in the middle of the night and another left her teammates hanging as she decided she wasn’t cut out for the competition. What was your favorite moment of the night?
Even though the show’s contestant number dropped dramatically during the two-day Hollywood auditions, there were those lucky enough to make it through. Among them are the ones you would expect like Chris Medina and Lauren Alaina, but there are also a few surprises. Tiffany Rios for example isn’t a contestant most might have seen getting any farther in the contest, but it looks like the American Idol contestant has quite the mouth on her, both for singing and other activities. She pretty much nailed the Hollywood vocal, unfortunately it was at the expense of Travis Orlando and a few others. Chris Medina was actually the only one to make it out of his group so that was probably a touchy moment for all of his new fans out there.
American Idol Tiffany Rios Hollywood Vocal:
American Idol Chris Medina Hollywood Vocal:
American Idol Nick Fink Hollywood Elimination:
American Idol Travis Orlando Hollywood Elimination:
The show recently had auditions in San Francisco, California and apparently they hit a pretty big jackpot there as well. It seems that a lot of the contestants had their own tragic life stories and among them there was James Durbin. He’s unfortunately diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome and his father died when he was only nine years old. But to top it all off he has a very broadly ranging voice and a loving family and his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “You Shook Me” almost blew the judges off of their seats. He also did Aerosmith’s “Drive On” which impressed Steven Tyler a lot so it was an all yes from the judges and James Durbin might just be another important figure to look out for on the race for the next American Idol prize.
American Idol 2011 San Francisco Audition – James Durbin
More American Idol Auditions:
American Idol 2011 San Francisco Audition – Stefano Langone
American Idol 2011 San Francisco Audition – Julie Zorrilla
American Idol 2011 San Francisco Audition – Emily Anne Reed
Funny American Idol Auditions:
Unsuccessful Auditions – American Idol 2011 San Francisco
Simon Cowell has admitted that Susan Boyle taught him some serious lessons about judging people on their looks. Speaking on a conference call to promote the X-Factor USA, the 51-year-old confessed that he was ‘guilty’ of making snap judgements about contestants. According to Digital Spy, he said, “You just can’t put an age cap on talent. With Susan Boyle, who would have thought this little lady living on her own in Scotland would go on to sell nearly 20 million records? It’s just typical of the record business saying that you have to look this way or whatever. “I was guilty of that. She taught me a huge lesson that I have to be more open-minded. I think the American audience know what talent is and I don’t think it matters if you’re in your 40s, 50s, 30s or 14 years old. If you have it, you have it. You only have to look at Madonna. She’s still one of the most influential artists in the world. It doesn’t matter how old she is.” The X Factor USA will be open to entrants aged as young as 12-years-old. Cowell said the decision to drop the minimum age has stemmed from a change in the market.
Jennifer Lopez recently gave Ryan Seacrest the go signal to premiere her new single “On the Floor”. As announced, this is the final version of the RedOne-produced track and I’m glad to say that it’s so much better than the leaked demo. There’s more of JLo in the intro and rapper Pitbull’s minute long verse was divided into two parts, one at the beginning and another to close the song. The beat is also neater along with some improvement on the pop singer’s vocals. Overall, this version sounds and feels hotter. Now that the song is on US radio, I wonder how long it will take for her to perform it on American Idol.
Jennifer Lopez – On the Floor – New Song
Or at least this is his daughter’s opinion… no, not Liv Tyler, his other daughter, Mia Tyler. Apparently she thinks that Steven Tyler is what American Idol has been missing for a very long time. This is what Mia Tyler had to say about her dad being a judge on the show: “He’s the funniest man I know. He’s saving the show because it was kind of boring before. There’s only so many times you can watch Simon be mean to people.” So it’s clear… the fan base is polarized: there are those who couldn’t stand Simon Cowell and those who watched the show just because he was there. Well, Steven Tyler surely is a refreshing change to how the show was being done so far.
Check a few auditions from the American Idol aired last night, there is a new contestant btw she is my favorite named Lauren Alaina, she is AWESOME!
Lauren Alaina American Idol Audition:
Another promising one singer Rob Bolin
American Idol 2011- Audition- Ex Lovers- Chelsee Oaks – Rob Bolin
Very Funny one
Christine Mccaffrey American Idol Audition:
During the Milwaukee auditions of the show, one of the people who went for the gold was a 26 year-old Chicago native, Chris Medina. He sang “Break Even” by The Script and he did a damn good job of it apparently. Without any synths or chorus or instruments backing him, he actually made it sound very good so he got a yes from all three of the judges. However, Chris Medina’s motivation for being on the show has a rather inspiring story behind it which he tells during the audition. It does seem like he is a man of character. That probably did impress the judges along with his singing. Hopefully going to Hollywood and through the whole American Idol process won’t change him too much. Definitely one to keep an eye out for.
Chris Medina American Idol Audition:
Chris Medina American Idol Images:
Jennifer Lopez recently gave Ryan Seacrest the go signal to premiere her new single “On the Floor”. As announced, this is the final version of the RedOne-produced track and I’m glad to say that it’s so much better than the leaked demo. There’s more of JLo in the intro and rapper Pitbull’s minute long verse was divided into two parts, one at the beginning and another to close the song. The beat is also neater along with some improvement on the pop singer’s vocals. Overall, this version sounds and feels hotter. Now that the song is on US radio, I wonder how long it will take for her to perform it on American Idol.
Jennifer Lopez – On the Floor – New Song
Another American Idol runner up outsells the first place winner as Crystal Bowersoxs debut album Farmers Daughter posted higher sales during its first week than champion Lee DeWyzes debut, which hit stores in November. Crystals album outsold almost 19,000 more units that Lees Live it Up in its first week by selling 58,000 copies. But while the album did better than her fellow contestants debut, sales were still weak compared to previous winners and runners up. Crystals album only ranked higher than first season runner up Justin Guarinis album, which sold 57,000 copies, and third season runner up Diana Degarmos album, which sold 47,000 copies. Ouch. Compared to numbers that Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert have put up, it doesnt seem like the show is putting out any viable music industry competitors anymore.
Rumors have come up that starting next season, American Idol fans will finally be able to vote online. Reports of the news have shown up on the reality TV shows gossip sites votefortheworst.com and ainow.org. But when asked about the reports, Fox had no comment. Assuming this is the truth, imagine how many more people will be inclined to vote now. I definitely hope the rumors are true. It will definitely save some money from having to text or call. With all the reported changes to the show, will you be tuning in and voting? I guess we all just have to wait for the kick off.
X Factor is about to get fierce as it is being reported that Nicole Scherzinger is about to sign at multimillion dollar contract to be a judge on the US version of the show. Sources say that the Pussycat Dolls lead singer will be joining Cheryl Cole who has been discussing this with Cowell for months and is ready to move to LA. That panel of judges is seemingly coming along well. I wonder who else will be joining them. Its certainly going to be interesting to watch how this show would compare to American Idol. I wonder if theres going to be any drama between the judges like there was on the UK version of the show.
It has been confirmed that Jennifer Lopez has signed a 1-year deal with American Idol. And according to sources connected with the reality TV talent competition, the Latin pop singer/actress deal is for a little more than $12 million. I find it somewhat surprising that the deal is only for one year given the nature of the franchise. Are they unsure of the shows fate after this season and wanted to play it safe with contracts or are they planning on changing judges for the show every year? Or maybe theyre really just not sure about JLo. I can believe that.
Fantasia Barrinos VH1 reality TV show Fantasia for Real is set to premiere on September 19 but since the American Idols overdose, it is reportedly being reworked. A rep for the network said [The] premiere episode will be changing. At this moment production hasnt decided what will change, its too soon for us to speak to how these events will change her show creative but Fantasia is an open book so its going to play a part in our series somehow just cant speak to how exactly. It sounds interesting but I hope they dont try to profit off of her personal woes. It might just drive the singer over the edge again.
If the reports are true that Steven Tyler will become part of the new panel of judges on American Idol, the rock singer will have a crazy schedule travelling the country on top of his band being on tour all over the country. Aerosmith is currently in the middle of a nationwide tour and its scheduled to roll through the end of September. If you know your timelines, that puts it long after the production begins on the reality TV talent show. A rep for the band still wont confirm that Steven is locked up for AI but she did say that no matter what The Aerosmith tour will continue on for its full scheduled run with Steven Tyler.
Chris Isaak is reportedly in talks to take over from Simon Cowell on American Idol.
The Wicked Game singer is said to have had two meetings with network executives about the role, with Fox’s entertainment chairman Peter Rice reportedly keen for the new judge to be in place to join the audition roadshow in September.
Another king of smooth, Harry Connick Jr, has also been mentioned as a possible contender, while rocker Bret Michaels was given the once-over but is out of the running, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Kelly Clarkson was spotted out with her girlfriends at a karaoke lounge in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday night. So what does the American Idol alum decide to belt out? Kelly decided to sing her own rendition of fellow pop singer Ke$has song Your Love is My Drug. Its not that odd though once you realize that the two actually share the same producer, Dr. Luke. He produced Your Love is My Drug, TiK ToK, My Life Would Suck without You and Since U Been Gone. The 28-year old singer also sang Sweet Dreams, Home and Carrie Underwoods Before He Cheats.
Lee DeWyze was crowned the new American Idol last week and just like the champions before him, his debut single was rushed released into the music world. But unlike other Idols before him, the singers single is tanking. In its first week of sales, Lee has only sold 95,000 copies of his debut single Beautiful Day. It came in at #10 on the sales charts but its lack of airplay means it will come in much lower on the Billboard Hot 100. If you put things into perspective Kris Allen peddled 134,000 downloads of No Boundaries in its first week and David Cook sold 236,000 of Time of My Life and debuted at #1 on the charts. Welcome to the decline of the reality TV talent show! its the end of an era.
American Idol champion Lee DeWyze and runner up Crystal Bowersox have both signed their recording contracts. The 24-year old season 9 winner is signed to 19 Recordings and RCA Records while the 24-year old Janis Joplin sound alike is signed to 19 Recordings and Jive Records. Lee joins fellow alums Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert as label mates while Cyrstal joins Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta. I wonder which of them can come up with a hit first. Congratulations on those music deals! I hope that both of them deliver some great music and wish them successful careers.
Among the many, many surprises prepared by the American Idol producers that got leaked on the internet was also the rumor of Janet Jacksons appearance on the show. True enough, the singer did make a surprise appearance, apparently at a very good moment in order to break-up a very nasty sounding chorus formed of the contestants and sing Nothing and Nasty, which is quite ironic in hindsight. Also Janet Jackson probably took the opportunity to show off her new haircut and shock her fans some of whom might have confused her for Rihanna. She might want to get ready for a lot of that since now the two are very much similar.
The very last sing-off of American Idol between Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze apparently didnt turn out to be such an epic ending as some might have wished or hoped. It seems the shows ratings fell by 23% in comparison to what they were last year and these also have every chance of being the lowest ratings ever for American Idol. And since Simon Cowell is leaving the show, its a surprise theyre even holding auditions for another season. If there was ever a good time for Simon Cowell to start his own American version of The X Factor, this is it. His leaving does however reminisce of what rats do when a ship sinks.
Do you care who will win American Idol 2010?
And what a battle it will be! Now that this season of American Idol is drawing to a close there is great anticipation for next weeks final battle between Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze, especially since nobody knows where Casey James votes will go. It seems that Lee DeWyze is the one who will sing first as decided by Crystal Bowersox who won the coin toss on the matter. Shes the first female finalist in a pretty long time so its probably going to be a pretty interesting confrontation next week. Simon Cowell is probably besides himself with excitement, especially since this is his very last American Idol finale.
As no American Idol finale would be complete without two finalists, Crystal Bowersox has to have somebody to battle it out with and that somebody is apparently going to be Lee DeWyze. For his big performance last night Simon Cowell picked Leonard Cohens Hallelujah for Lee DeWyze saying the following about the choice: “This is his night, big, big night for him, and I wanted him to do something which shows that he has potential to be a great artist.” It looks like Simon Cowells gut really does tell him some true things because it was an excellent choice for Lee DeWyze who managed to drown the whole place in applause when he was done and he also got himself a nice first place on the idol meter.
There are only a few episodes left of American Idol meaning there?s only so much time left until Simon Cowell will be gone from the judges? table permanently. However, there?s still no replacement named. It?s being said that the snarky judge?s replacement will not be revealed until after the May 26 season finale. Fox chairman Peter Rice said ?We?re not going to rush into something. We?re not going to try to find a Simon clone who can do what he does because, you know, he?s one of a kind. But the [Idol] format itself, people love.? I wonder who they?re going to pick.
