Filed under: Blogosphere, Life After 'Idol', Hot Topics
Adam Lambert is ready for his close-up.
Season 5 finalist Mandisa has been nominated for a Gospel Music Channel Music Video Award. Her nomination is in the Contemporary category for her "He Is With You" music video.
To vote for Mandisa's video, click here. The voting for round one ends today, Thursday, October 8, and the top six videos in each category will be up for another round of voting, which will begin on Monday, October 19. The top videos will be revealed in January.
He Is With You is off of Mandisas sophomore album, Freedom. Released on March 24, 2009, Freedom reached #4 on the Hot Christian Albums chart and #4 on the Top Christian & Gospel chart. He Is With You was released on March 3, 2009 and reached #28 on the Hot Christian Adult Contemporary chart and #32 on the Hot Christian Songs chart.
Good luck, Mandisa!
Mandisa changed up her hairstyle and fashion each week during Season 5. Check her out in our transformation gallery.
Filed under: Life After 'Idol', Hot Topics
Season 5s American Idol, Taylor Hicks, is celebrating a birthday today. When Taylor auditioned for American Idol, Simon Cowell who shares a birthday with Taylor said that Hicks would never make it to the final round of Season 5. After Taylors first live TV performance for the voting public, Simon admitted he was wrong and that Taylors personality is what makes him stand out. Taylor became the new American Idol on May 24, 2006, winning the title over Katharine McPhee, with over 63.4 million votes cast in total and in front of 200 million television viewers. Taylor became the oldest contestant to win American Idol, and he was the first male contestant to win without ending up in the bottom two or three.
After Idol, Taylor signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings Limited/Arista Records. His self-titled debut album was released on December 12, 2006 and landed at number 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. One month later, the album was certified platinum. Taylors first single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. In July 2007, Hicks released his autobiography, Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way.
On March 10, 2009, Taylor released his second album, The Distance, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records. The first single, What's Right Is Right, reached #24 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. During a read more
Judge Simon Cowell is celebrating his 50th birthday today. During a Season 8 results show of Birth Year Songs, Simon tried to deny that he was approaching 50 and pretended he was nearly 40 nice try Simon!
To celebrate the big birthday, Simon had a party in the London area and hung out with almost 400 of his closest friends! Among the celebrity guests were American Idols Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest.
Simons frank honesty as a judge has made him a household name. In 2009, Simon was named No. 1 in Hollywood Reporters Top 50 Most Powerful in Reality TV. A 20-year veteran of the music industry, Simon is an executive with Sony Records and has helped shape modern pop music. Over the last 15 years, his acts have achieved sales of more than 150 million albums, and he has had more than 100 No. 1 records.
So put on your favorite black v-neck t-shirt and celebrate 50 years of Cowell!
Happy Birthday, Simon!
Allison Iraheta, the rockin red head from Season 8, has released the first single off her debut album. The song is called Friday Ill Be Over U and it is a fresh and catchy track that shows off Allisons personality. Shes been hard at work in the studio putting the finishing touches on the album, due to arrive in stores and online on December 1st via 19 Entertainment and Jive Records. Allison paired up with some of the best writers and producers in the industry including Max Martin (who worked on Kelly Clarksons Since U Been Gone and Behind These Hazel Eyes and many other popular hits), Howard Benson (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry among others), and Kevin Rudolf (singer of Let It Rock). For more information, visit www.AllisonIraheta.com.
We interviewed Allison earlier this summer when she was touring around the country with her fellow Idol finalists. She mentioned that the album was "coming along great. I'm really happy." Read the full interview.
View photos of Allison performing on Season 8 of American Idol.
As the humble second runner-up on Season 6 of American Idol, Melinda Doolittle won over fans as the back-up singer who broke out of her shell on the Idol stage. Since her time on the show, Melinda has been busy releasing new music and getting involved with charity work.
In February of 2009, Melinda released her debut album, Coming Back To You. On this 13 track CD, Melinda shows off her powerful vocals and her love of R&B standards. The album debuted at number 58 on the Billboard 200 chart during its first week of release, selling just over 10,900 copies.
Melinda is heavily involved with the Malaria No More charity. In June of 2007, Melinda joined First Lady Laura Bush in Zambia to distribute life-saving bed nets and to raise awareness with the Malaria No More organization. Malaria No More will be one of the charities featured on this Aprils Idol Gives Back show. Melinda also works with The Boys & Girls Club of America and The League, a community-driven organization that empowers children to help out their neighborhood. Many of Melindas concerts raise money for good causes. Tomorrow, Melinda will perform in Brentwood, TN to raise money for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Samoa. On October 24, Melinda will perform at the Hearts & Hands Gala, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, to benefit two Atlanta area Ronald McDonald Houses.
Happy Birthday, Melinda!
View Melindas transformation from back-up singer to Idol star in ... read more
They didn't have it last year, thinking it'd be odd to ask people for donations in the middle of bad economic times. This year, Idol Gives Back returns, and it probably means the economy's working fine now, right?Filed under: News & Rumors
Get ready to set your DVRs, because 'American Idol' has announced the return of their charity telethon Idol Gives Back. Now the only question is this: Will any money actually be raised?
(Reuters) - American Idol contestants (from L-R) Brooke White, David Archuleta, Kristy Lee Cook, David Cook, Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado and Michael Johns sing at the "Idol Gives Back" show at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood, California April 6, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni