American Idol News

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reality blurred + Clay Aiken (finally) admits he's gay

Clay Aiken revealed the most unshocking news ever today: He’s gay. He’s coming out on the cover of People magazine, which according to the AP will say, “Yes, I’m Gay,” with the quotation, “I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things.”
Clay recently became a father of a boy, Parker Foster Aiken, via artificial insemination. People is holding the story until 7 a.m., allowing time for any remaining Claymate holdouts to enjoy the feeling of keeping their heads in the sand.
The American Idol 2 runner-up is now the most high-profile contestant on the show to come out; previously, Jim Verrraros came out, as did RJ Helton. This past season, finalist David Hernandez was revealed to be a stripper at a gay club, but he didn’t come out.
Two years ago, six months after a man said he had unprotected sex with Clay in a hotel room, Clay refused to confirm or deny that he was gay on Good Morning America. He said, “It’s what I do in my private life is nobody’s business anymore. Period. You know? It’s one thing to try to be open and talk to people and try to share as much as I can, and of course I want to do that. But at some point, it becomes just really rude, you know?”
And at some point, apparently, it just becomes so uninteresting that it makes sense to start talking about it so people will pay attention to you again.

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A Baby and a Christmas CD, What More Could a Famous Singer Wish For?



It seems that life is perfect for American Idol’s Paris Bennett, as she gave birth to a daughter Monday afternoon. Bennet, also known as "Princess P” on the show's fifth season, is the proud mom of a little girl who weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. The 20-year-old was in labor for five hours in a Minnesota hospital before delivering the child.

This is the first time that Bennet has had a baby. "I'm so excited to finally see my little angel; and man, does she have lungs on her," says Bennett. 20. "I guess she's gearing up to be the next American Idol." So it seems that little Egypt Bennet appears to already be following her mother’s singing talent.

Paris began performing at the age of six and was trained by her mother and grandmother, Ann Nesby, the former lead singer of the Sounds of Blackness.

Her partner, the father of the baby, prefers to remain out of the public eye. That’s what her mother, Jamecia Bennett, told the Minneapolis StarTribue back in June when Princess P announced her pregnancy. “Paris’s mother Jamecia Bennett and her family is filled with excitement and welcomes their bundle of joy,” the statement said.

Bennett, who earned her fame by finishing American Idol’s fifth season in fifth place, will release her album, "A Royal Christmas," on Tuesday, October 14. This is mostly a traditional holiday tune compilation including; 12 Days of Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night and Deck the Halls and original songs such as Holla Day Shuffle, written by her mother, Jamecia Bennett, according to USA Today. She launched her first album, “Princess P,” in 2007.

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Former 'American Idol' Contestant Appears on 'Don't Forget the Lyrics'

People think they know the lyrics to popular songs. However, when there's a lot of money at stake, not everyone can keep singing when the music stops. Many have tried but few have succeeded. So far, the second season of Don't Forget the Lyrics, which premiered on September 12, has seen a roller-derby queen from Cincinnati, OH, trying to skate her way to the grand prize, followed by a flight attendant, a mortgage broker from New York and a country girl singer. Next week, another singer will take the center stage on Don't Forget the Lyrics and he comes in the form of former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis.

A former lead vocalist to hard rock band Pray for the Soul of Betty, Constantine Maroulis joined the fourth season of American Idol in August 2004, apparently upon an ex-girlfriend's suggestion. He earned a solid fan following though it was not enough to get him into the end of the competition. On April 27, 2005, he was eliminated from American Idol, leaving the contest in sixth place.

Following his Idol stint, Maroulis went on a solo tour of 13 cities throughout the Northeast, where he launched some of the songs featured on his upcoming CD, including various self-penned compositions. Eventually, he also created his own independent label, Sixth Place Records, a branch of Sixth Place Productions, which released his two-years-in-the-making solo album “Constantine” on August 7, 2007. The self-titled CD consisted of 12 tracks and debuted at number 75 on the Billboard charts.

On Friday, October 24, the former Idol contestant will attempt to win it big for the charity Broadway Cares, the theatre community's response to the AIDS crisis. Maroulis, who has done several Broadway plays, aims to help this organization by raising funds for people with AIDS, HIV, or HIV-related illnesses across America.

Will Constantine Maroulis belt out the correct missing lyric or will he freeze under pressure? Catch next week's episode of Don't Forget the Lyrics at 9pm on FOX.