Idol News - 4/5/10

Hi gang. I have been slacking on some recent news about our idols so figured I would try to get caught up some with the latest. Here goes:

Seems Carrie Underwood had more to celebrate than her 27th birthday which fell on March 10th. She is the first idol to achieve 12 #1 hit singles on the Billboard charts. Her single "Temporary Home" off the Play On album made it official. She currently is on tour promoting her album.

This brought up how well our idols have hit the Billboard charts since American Idol began. Below are the number of times each of the named idols have been on the charts:

Kelly Clarkson - 56
Carrie Underwood - 45
Chris Daughtry - 35
Fantasia - 21
Ruben Studdard - 16
Jennifer Hudson - 13
Clay Aiken - 11
Mandisa - 10
Kimberley Locke - 8
Josh Gracin and Jordin Sparks - 7
David Cook - 6
David Archuleta, Kellie Pickler and Elliott Yamin - 4

Taylor Hicks - 3

Others have also charted:

Bo Bice and Bucky Covington - 2
Paris Bennett, Jason Castro, Diana DeGarmo, Tamyra Gray and last but not least William Hung - 1

Congrats to all the idols as they have surely made an impact on the music world!

On March 29th, Justin Guarini gave the 8th grade students at St. Sebastian School in Los Angeles a rare visit. He treated the kids to songs and also told them about his idol experience plus gave tips on how to get started in the music business. As you all know Justin is not only a singer but a host on many programs including "Idol Tonight". Belated best wishes go out to him and his new bride. On September 26th, Justin married his girlfriend Reina Capodici and also became new step-dad to Reina's daughter Lola. Currently, Justin is working on his 3rd album. You can visit his website for further details on this talented guy.

Jon Peter Lewis from season 3 is working on a new full album. Recently he released a new EP which went over very well. His last full album "Break The Silence" was a huge hit for his fans. Nice going Jon.

Anoop Desai of season 8 has debuted a single called "My Name" which is available on ITunes. It came out March 23rd. Coming out in May of this year he will have out a new EP called "All Is Fair". I'm looking forward to that one!

As you all know Constantine Maroulis has been a big hit on Broadway and has also received a Tony Award nomination for his role as "Drew" in the play "Rock of Ages". Seems on March 18th his caricature has been added to the famed wall of Sardi's restaurant in New York. Being added to this wall is a plus for any Broadway star. The play continues to be a success at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Congrats Constantine!

Matt Giraud of season 8 recently made an appearance with Scott MacIntyre on the top 16 results show of this season. He and Scott did a great duet to the song "Tell Her About It" which is a Billy Joel classic. Matt is currently working on a new EP. He also has a #1 hit on the Jazz Itunes chart which features Anna Wilson on their duet of the song "You Don't Know Me". He stays in touch with several of the idols of his season and is also currently working on a promotion for Oreo Cakesters with none other than Anoop Desai. Great news, guy!

Speaking of Scott MacIntyre on April 11th he will be performing in Tokyo, Japan for the "Billboard Live" show. This event raises money for the Tyler Foundation which is a charity for children who have Cancer. He also has a new cd out entitled "Heartstrings". Way to go Scott!

Bucky Covington did great with his last self-titled album and has now released a new single called "A Father's Love" which is climbing the country charts. Look for a new album called "I'm Alright" from this country gent coming out sometime this fall. Good job Bucky!

On March 23rd two new cds came out featuring some of our idols. The "Now That's What I Call Faith Music" has Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel", Jordin Sparks "One Step At A Time" and Chris Daughtry's "Home" on it. The other "Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 33" features Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying", Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me" and also Daughtry's "Life After You". Good job everyone!

Some other idols who are touring include Kelly Clarkson who is doing the All I Ever Wanted tour internationally. Jordin Sparks has been touring with Britney Spears but on April 24th will begin her Battlefield tour. Nice going girls.

Brooke White of season 8 recently performed in Los Angeles at The Hotel Cafe. She was there on March 17th and March 30th. You can catch up on all the news about Brooke on her personal website.

Danny Gokey finally released his long-awaited debut album called "My Best Days" on March 16th. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard Country Charts and also #4 on the Billboard 200. He is currently touring with Sugarland. You can see the dates in the news section of the American Idol site. I bought this album and I must say in spite of not really liking country music that much it is indeed a great one by Danny. I really dig it!

Since we are talking country just wanted to let you know Kellie Pickler will be part of the 2010 Country Music Association Festival which will be held this coming June in Nashville, Tennessee.

Adam Lambert has been doing great since season 8. He currently is on tour in Australia promoting his album "For Your Entertainment". His song "Whataya Want From Me" is a big success not only here in the states but also in Europe. Recently he was on an "Un-plugged" special on VH1 (you can still view this on that site). His single has also been in the top 5 of Vh1's top 20 countdown for several weeks. Last week he was at #1 and this week is #2 on that chart.

In March Chile had a 8.8 magnitude earthquake. Seems our own Elliott Yamin was there for the Vina del Mar International Song Festival when the earthquake hit. He was shaken up but is well. He also made a visit to Africa for the up-coming event which is "Idol Gives Back" with Kara DioGuardi. This special show will air on April 21st. You can check out the AI site for more details on this worthy cause.

Lots of tragedy lately in several countries. David Archuleta will be on the Spanish version of the song "We Are The World" which all proceeds will go to help the people of Haiti who also had a monsterous earthquake which practically wiped that country off the map. If at all possible, try to give a little for this country who still need our support.

Coming out on May 11th is the new debut album from season 7's Carly Smithson with her new band We Are The Fallen. The album is entitled "Tear Down The World". I have heard some of the tracks and this indeed will be a very good rock album.

Birthdays:

Kimberley Caldwell of season 2 turned 28 years old on February 25th. As you know she has been a host for a number of shows which include "Idol Tonight" and "Idol Wrap". On April 6th she will have out a new album entitled "Without Regrets".

March 8th saw the birthday of season 2's Julia DeMato who turned 31 years old. Since her idol days she has married and now devotes her time to her son James Peter.

Vonzell Solomon of season 4 turned 26 years old on March 18th. Vonzell is a busy girl these days with being the CEO of her own record company called Melodic Records. On March 8th she released a new single to Itunes called "Dirt Bag". She also hosts a weekly online show called "The Baby V Show".

March 25th saw three of our idols celebrating their birthdays. They are as follows:

Katharine McPhee turned 26 on this day. She has released two albums since her season 5. She is currently promoting her second album called "Unbroken". On March 8th she made an appearance at the White House and sang her single "Surrender" for none other than President Obama. The event was in honor of the International Woman's Day. Kat has also been acting. She was in the movie "The House Bunny" and will be featured in the up-coming release of "You May Not Kiss The Bride". She did a television spot on the show "Community" and is also working on a new show called "The Pink House".

Season 7's Jason Castro turned 23 years old. Busy guy Jason did a mall tour last summer after his single release "Let's Just Fall In Love Again". On January 2nd, Jason married his sweetheart Mandy Mayhall. Also in January he released an EP called "The Love Uncompromised". He toured from coast to coast with Matt Hires to promote his music. Look for Jason's debut album coming out on April 13th.

Carmen Rasmusen of season 2 celebrated her 25th birthday. She made it to 6th place on her season after having been called back as a "wild card". In 2004, she released an EP album and followed that up with her debut album "Nothin Like The Summer" in 2007. Carmen stays busy these days being the wife of Utah Governor's Gary R. Herbert's son Bradley and mom of son Boston.

March 29th, Michael Sarver of season 8 turned 29 years old. Since the idol tour ended last summer, Michael has been signed to the Dream Records/Universal. He is working on a debut country album. He has released two songs which are "You Are" and "Cinderella Girl". Recently he was on the "American Stars In Concert" tour with Alexis Grace of season 8, David Hernandez of season 7 and Gina Glocksen of season 6.

Our best wishes to all these talented idols!


Whew this has been a mouthful. So gang that's a wrap for now. Hope you enjoyed reading about so many of our wonderful idols. Until next time, take care!

I totally agree. Congrads to all the idols on their success and much more for the future.