Melody Plant

Whoever said that reality TV stars and alums can’t make it big in the real world should really start eating their words now. But in the case of American Idol alums Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry, was there ever really any doubt?

The two singers won big at the 2007 American Music Awards by picking up three awards each. Carrie won for Favorite Female Country Artist, Favorite Country Album for ‘Some Hearts’ and the Audience Text-in Award for Favorite Artist just days after winning big at the Country Music Association Awards. Chris Daughtry and his band took home Breakthrough Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Contemporary Artist.

Congrats to both!

Kelly Clarkson arrived at the 9th annual Motorola anniversary party in Los Angeles on Thursday. The American Idol alum was there not as a simple guest but a performer. She performed a 12-song set which included some of her more loveable hits, namely ‘Breakaway’ and ‘Since U Been Gone’.Her performance also included some of her newer songs, which by the way, cannot be classified as hits. But honestly, I’d rather not talk about it. It honestly pains me.

But for those that still choose to believe in her, look out for her on Monday night when she performs at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

Carrie Underwood released her sophomore album on Tuesday of this week. And based on the first day sales and projections, she is headed for the top spot of the charts and could sell up to 450,000 copies in the first week of release.

If you compare those numbers to the numbers of Kelly Clarkson’s latest CD ‘My December’, Carrie clearly wins because Kelly only sold 291,000 copies in its first week and then took a nosedive. Carrie’s radio-friendly disc is expected to ‘have legs’ as music industry people say for albums with longevity.

Congratulations goes out to Carrie and a better luck next time goes to Kelly.

Carrie Underwood is already a star but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to do some promotional work. The American Idol alum was on ABC’s Good Morning America in New York City on Tuesday where she performed a three-song set. The country singer performed two songs from her new album ‘So Small’ and ‘Flat on the Floor’ and also performed and oldie-but-goodie song of hers ‘Before He Cheats’.

Earlier that day, Carrie was spotted at Virgin Megastore in Union Square as she picked up her new CD ‘Carnival Ride’. What? She couldn’t get one for free?

It seems like she’s everywhere though because the LA Times also has an article on her.

American Idol alum Carrie Underwood is featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly for this past week. She’s on there for good reason as her 2005 album ‘Some Hearts’ is the most successful album from any Idol contestant as it sold over 6 million copies.

Along with the cover is an interview where she talks about what she thinks of those saying she’s not country, being famous and even her past relationship with NFL quarterback Tony Romo.

When people say she’s not country, she says “Okay, here’s my thing: On Top 40 stations, nobody cares that you’ll have Fergie next to 50 Cent. They’re different. Why can’t you have me next to somebody that’s more traditional country? You can call me ‘’not country’’ until your face is blue, but I sing country music.”

Fight for it honey!

Justin Guarine and Kimberley Locke are just two from countless who didn’t win the ‘American Idol’ title. But that doesn’t mean that their worlds would stop. They are charging on with their careers and doing what Tiffany does best by performing at the opening of a Texas outlet mall.

The two runners up did their best to entertain discount shoppers at the grand opening of The Outlet Shoppes at El Paso on Friday. It’s not the ground breaking at a residential development or a regional hot air balloon festival, but hey. But adding insult to injury is that Kimberley’s name was spelled wrong at one point.

At this rate, I won’t be surprised if someone like Bo Bice would be seen singing at a park.

It seems that the Idols are getting it on with the rivalries as Clay Aiken has had a falling out with fellow American Idol alum Kimberly Locke. Kimberly is quite upset about it and she’s filling everyone in on the cat fight by writing on her official site’s blog.

It seems it all stemmed from the supposed reunion tour that Ruben, Clay and Kimberly were planning. Kimberly talked with Billboard about it but the wrong things got printed and Clay read into it wrong as well.

The gist of it is, Clay is pretty much calling Kimberly a liar and Kimberly thinks that Clay is way too full of himself.

He’s been out of the spotlight of fame since American Idol ended but that doesn’t mean Sanjaya would stop chasing after it.

The American Idol alum was seen in Hollywood a few days ago when he was a guest of honor at the FOX Reality Channel Really Awards. Sanjaya and his hair walked away with the coveted Favorite Loser trophy.

Are we sure that’s an award and not an insult? One person seems to think that it’s an award when a girl was heard shouting that he was the hottest. Please tell me she’s blind or at least, at the brink of being blind.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks has pledged to wait to have sex until she’s married. The pretty teenager, who became the youngest Idol winner in May, reveals she promised her parents she’d keep her virginity until her wedding night when she was just 13. I wish her luck, I had the same intentions. Obviously, I was tricked, sweet talked e.t.c. Honestly, I think it’s a very naive thing to do. You can’t possibly know if you’ll connect with someone on that level without a test run. And God forbid she winds up with a guy who is also a virgin. Or what if she’s stuck with someone who either doesn’t know what he’s doing or isn’t willing to take her needs into consideration. But what ever she should try and stick to her ‘best laid plans’ for as long as possible. The day she finds someone who she thinks is attractive and has some brains (note girls do look for a man who has a feminine side to him and has brains too) she should take him.

Just because you were voted out early doesn’t mean American Idol contestants don’t stand a chance in the music scene. We all have William Hung to prove that. But it seems that more cast offs are finding their way into the music scene. Sabrina Sloan and Sundance Head have been signed by Universal Records Motown. The two are set to record a whole album of cover songs.

Prepare yourselves for some yummy yet cheesy renditions of duets of way back when. But either way, at least they can actually sing. I would have easily traded these two, and ten thousand of their clones, back into the show just so one Sanjaya can be booted off.

Clay Aiken was involved in an airplane disturbance with another passenger Saturday while en route to Tulsa International Airport, a newspaper reported. Interesting how they leave out the fact that Clay Aiken was asleep, having done a concert the previous night and on his way to another concert in Tulsa. He’s 6′1″ with long legs and usually crosses one over the other. So while sleeping, his foot touched the lady’s armrest. According to witnesses, she began pushing it, then yelling at him, at which point he woke up. He did not confront her or cause any problems. The media is a joke. And what a mess there is over a foot, if it were just another passenger then it would have passed as just another funny incident. The lady would have recognized Clay and therefore must have taken it as a chance to have her name in the papers.

Former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee is featured on the cover of the August 2007 issue of Stuff magazine. In an interview, she talks about dating older men, her new album cover, being popular among males and settling down.

The 21-year old singer’s boyfriend is actually a 42-year old Broadway actor. She says that at her age, it was a good time to explore. At the same time, she gravitated towards the older men because “They’re just wiser, and they’re less about themselves and more about you.”

Her new album cover was made into a big deal due to her provocative pose. She’s been labeled as a slut by some but she doesn’t care and defends herself by saying that it was all just suggested and not completely showing skin. And even though some are seeing her as some sort of sex symbol, she’s pretty humble about it by saying that some people thought that she was cute instead of pretty.

When asked about settling down, she’s all mature and said that she’s always wanted to have children of her own. That’s sweet.

Kelly Clarkson, who rails against a former flame in her new song “Never Again”, says she’s never been in love.
“I love my friends and family”, the Grammy-winning singer and original “American Idol” tells Elle magazine in its July issue. “But I have never said the words ‘I love you’ to anyone in a romantic relationship. Ever.”
Clarkson, 25, doesn’t take romance lightly.
“I am very old-school, conservative in my thinking when it comes to relationships”, she says. “Love is something you work at. It doesn’t come easily. There are going to be bad days. You are going to have to work at loving someone when they are being an idiot.”
She adds: “People think they’re just going to meet the perfect guy. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Marriage and motherhood aren’t in the cards for Clarkson — not right now, anyway.
“My point of view is that I shouldn’t be a mother at all, because I’d be horrible”, she says. “I’m not willing to be that selfless.”
Her comments speak to the singer’s frankness, which makes Clarkson stand out from many of today’s publicist-protected pop stars. In recent weeks, Clarkson has made headlines for saying the media is exaggerating reports that she and music mogul Clive Davis clashed over her upcoming CD, “My December”, to be released by RCA Records, a unit of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
It’s a sensitive subject.
“I’ve sold more than 15 million records worldwide, and still nobody listens to what I have to say. Because I’m 25 and a woman”, she says.
“I am a good singer, so I can’t possibly be a good writer”, she continues. “Women can’t possibly be good at two things. I haven’t lost my temper about it. It only drives me more. If your thing is to bring me down, cool. I’ll just work harder.”

The so-called Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne pulled out from performing at the American Idol finale after he was told that he would be sharing the stage with everybody’s favorite idol Sanjaya. Do note the sarcasm. He actually referred to Sanjaya as “a hairstyle-challenged idiot”.

So no, he didn’t go on stage because producers feared his behavior. He actually told Details magazine that he doesn’t get loaded before getting on stage… it’s after that you have to worry about.

If he had performed, I’d fear that he might go back on that just so he would be rid of Sanjaya’s image and see nothing but a blur of fur.

In a shocking turn of events, Melinda Dolittle has been eliminated from American Idol. The girl that everyone from fans to so-called psychics thought would win takes her final bow on the Idol stage. It’s highly reminiscent of the Chris Daughtry issue of last season when he was shockingly eliminated as well after being deemed as a shoe-in as well as a fan favourite.

America what did you do?!?!

Oh well… There are cases where one of the eliminated contestants actually becomes more famous or at the very least, critically acclaimed, than the actual American Idol. Take for example Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry. Given her talent, I’m sure she’d soar no matter what.