‘Idol’ updates: David Cook’s songwriting suitors, the ladies of the touring Top 10 and Simon Cowell’s first flick
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I have to give props to Entertainment Weekly, whose “American Idol” scoop continues to impress months after the last piece of confetti was swept off the Kodak Theatre floor. I tend to burn out on the show within two days of its seasonal run. Many of the links below are from EW.com, so I offer a big Remote Access salute to the EW CrEW.
Rock group Hinder has made a pitch to write songs for recently crowned “American Idol” champ David Cook. Hinder’s the band that scored a hit with the cliché snoozefest “Lips of an Angel.” Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea for Cook, either.
Cook, runner-up David Archuleta and the rest of this year’s Touring Top 10 kicked off their nationwide “Idol” tour July 1. The Davids have earned their share of raves in the early going.
In the Los Angeles Times’ recent short-but-sweet video interview with the Top 5 women, we learn that the vastly underrated Carly Smithson will be busting out Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” on the tour. ROCK. THAT. Compared to previous seasons, this might be the best top-to-bottom “Idol” tour yet, especially since Amanda Overmyer missed the cut in the final week.
Kristy Lee Cook (pictured right), whose engagement and inconsistent vocals I’m conveniently ignoring, has been signed to the same record label as Carrie Underwood (yay!) and Kellie Pickler (less yay!).
Season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry prepares to release a “big huge rock album” next year. As opposed to his first album full of ‘60s folk songs.
News and commentary about Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis, Season 2 champ Fantasia Barrino and “Idol” judge Simon Cowell are after the break.
Bad news for a couple of “Idol” alums: Lewis was dumped by Arista and Barrino was dropped by 19 Management (although she’s still got a deal with J Records… for now). Both have legit talent—Lewis for his innovative arrangements and beat box skills; Barrino as a pure vocalist.
Despite an infectiously catchy first single in “Break Anotha,” Lewis was marketed poorly (if at all) and didn’t seem to get a fair shake. That said, I’m told the album barely had any beat-boxing at all. And, while I’m not sure whose fault that is, that’s just plain stupid. It’s like signing Alex Rodriguez to a massive contract but telling him to only hit one home run a year.
Barrino’s best original song, “Hood Boy,” is just as addicting. But I can’t name another single of hers to get (or deserve) radio play.
From the music to the movies: Cowell’s plan to produce a “Britain’s Got Talent” success story for the silver screen became more of a reality recently. The Hollywood Reporter reported that “One Chance,” a biopic about opera singer Paul Potts, would be penned by Justin Zackham, whose credits include “The Bucket List.” Expect some schmaltz, yes, but the real-life story is nothing short of amazing. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and watch the clip that blew away audiences and might just convince you that not all reality TV is inherently evil. “One Chance” marks the first motion picture endeavor for Cowell, a judge for both “Idol” in the States and “Talent” abroad.
And while we’re on the “Britain’s Got Talent” kick, this find—courtesy of my coworker, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy—had me in stitches.
(Photo of Cook by Frank Micelotta/FOX.)
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pm by Chris Serico.
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