American Idol News

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Access Hollywood - Celebrity News, Photos & Videos

AOL reality TV poll:

Best reality villian-Simon Cowell

Worst reality judge- Paula Abdul

Best reality show-American idol

Hottest hook up- David Cook & Kimberly Caldwell

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American Idol News

Happy birthday Amy Adams season #3

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Ryan Seacrest bit by baby shark at beach this weekend


Ryan Seacrest Bitten By Shark

Ryan Seacrest Bitten By Shark Suspiciously Close to Shark Week

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest was attacked by a shark recently while swimming at a Californian beach.

Seacrest is perfectly unharmed though, retelling the story on his radio show.

"I thought it was a stick!" he said. "I wasn't quite sure what had happened... I saw it swim! He took a bite, and he left."

Seacrest said he was in a bit of pain, but just needed to take "an Advil"! Lucky!

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Taylor Hicks on broadway in Grease

Taylor Hicks News

Another "American Idol" is Broadway bound. Taylor Hicks, who took the "American Idol" title in Season 5 with the help of his "Soul Patrol" fans, will make his New York stage debut as "Teen Angel" in the current revival of the musical "Grease" at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Hicks will join the cast of the show, whose leads were chosen by viewers of the NBC talent competition "Grease: You're the One That I Want" in 2007, on June 6, following in the tradition of an eclectic list of celebrities who have played the role -- among them jazz notable Al Jarreau and rock 'n' roll icon Chubby Checker in a 1990s revival.

Some of the other "Idol" contestants who have taken their talents to Broadway, with varying degrees of success, are 2005 winner Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple"), 2005 finalist Diana DeGarmo ("Hairspray") and 2003 finalist Josh Strickland (Disney's "Tarzan").

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Melinda Doolittle gets record deal

"American Idol's" Melinda Doolittle Lands A Record Deal

"American Idol" season six contestant Melinda Doolittle was a fan favorite on the reality singing show, even though she finished in third place.

Now, more than a year after her third-place departure, Doolittle has finally found a record deal.

According to EW.com, Doolittle will join the roster at independent label Hi Fi Recordings, the current home to Todd Rundgren. Doolittle's debut is expected to be released this fall, although a solid date has not been announced.

The label also has had a hand in successful efforts by Avril Lavigne and Spacehog, among others.

Hi Fi, founded in 1995 by music industry vet John Hecker, was originally a joint venture with major labels Elektra, Arista, and Virgin Records.

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Ruben headlines Bessie Smith Festival

7/30/2008 -Ruben Studdard Headlines First Annual Bessie Smith Heritage Festival

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David Archuleta's single "Crush" out

Archuleta single "Crush"


“American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta has debuted his first single, “Crush.”

The young singer dropped the new single on the syndicated Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on Friday morning.

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Ramiele Malubay speaks

Catching Up With Ramiele - American Idol News

Once Ramiele Malubay was chosen as one of the top 24 contestants in season 7 of American Idol, life for her has been anything but dull. After competing for five weeks knowing that she would be on tour during the summer, Ramiele stayed in L.A. This worked out well for her, as rehearsals for the finale and the tour began in earnest before the season even ended.

Life in the Idol world is always fast paced. As soon as the finale ended, rehearsals really kicked up and then the top 10 Idols were on the road, touring America from coast to coast. Luckily for us, Ramiele took some time out of her busy schedule while she was in Newark to share some thoughts about the past year.

Ramiele has had a great experience on the road and she notes that "every city is different. We try to get off the bus, put our stuff inside and go and sign autographs before we have hair and makeup done and do press and whatnot." Later, she followed up, "I really didn't come into this with any expectations. I just love getting off the bus in other cities. I love waking up in different cities."

While it sounds glamorous and exciting, being on the road can be somewhat exhausting. Ramiele, though, exclaims, "It's less exhausting than the show." Without having to stoicly receive feedback from the judges after every performance, she confirms there's just less stress. This is how Ramiele describes a typical day on the road for her:

"Usually, after a show, if we have a show the next day, we'll travel to the next city and it will be, like, a four or five hour drive. We get out of the bus, take all of our stuff out, go and sleep for a couple hours, get ready, get all of our stuff back, get our hair and makeup done, meet the sponsors, perform, meet people after the show and, then, we go sign autographs outside and, then, we go and do the same thing all over again." Whew.

"All of us have gotten it down to a routine schedule. We're working on getting things done quicker. You know, like hair and makeup because there are five girls and four of the girls are in the first set, so it's hard to get everybody done, but we're doing really well."

Being on tour is also quite different from being on the show in that she is now regularly performing in front of thousands and thousands of people. Laughing, Ramiele told us what kind of effect this has had on her:

"Backstage I freak out a little bit when I look into the audience. I go second, so when Chikezie is out there, I peek through the little cracks and see how many people are out there. I kinda freak out a little because there are so many people. Then, you go out there and you do the same songs every night. You don't have to learn new words or impress anybody -- you're just being yourself. Putting yourself out there for the people who have been watching you and supporting you."

Being away from family and friends for so long can be challenging, but she speaks to them often. When we spoke to her, Ramiele was missing her dog very much, but, fortunately, her boyfriend was coming into town with her dog for a visit. After the tour, Ramiele hopes to meet with some major studios and will be retuning to the Philippines in December to do a few concerts.

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Producer Nigel Lythgoe stepping down from Idol

Lythgoe Confirms His Shrinking 'Idol' Role

Nigel Lythgoe Is Really Over American Idol

Nigel Lythgoe, "American Idol" executive producer and 19 Entertainment president, is finally talking about his plans to cut back his involvement in Fox's hit reality show.

TelevisionWeek broke the news last month that Mr. Lythgoe would be scaling back his involvement in the audition rounds of "Idol" in order to focus on launching a South African edition of his other hit show, "So You Think You Can Dance."

At the time, insiders at Fox and 19 Entertainment dismissed as "gossip" the idea that Mr. Lythgoe was leaving the show completely.

On Monday, Web site TMZ.com revived the scuttlebutt about Mr. Lythgoe leaving. That prompted 19 to issue a non-denial denial.

"Contrary to online rumors, producer Nigel Lythgoe is not leaving 19 Entertainment," the statement read. "Lythgoe … is currently negotiating a new deal with 19 to begin a new joint venture with Simon Fuller, with whom he created the Emmy-nominated show 'So You Think You Can Dance.'"

TMZ's report did not say Mr. Lythgoe was leaving 19—just that he was exiting "Idol." On that point, Mr. Lythgoe left himself a bit of wiggle room.

"My summer will be taken up by travels to South Africa, Australia and Canada to work on local versions of ('SYTYCD')," Mr. Lythgoe said. "I will step back from my day-to-day producing work on 'American Idol' and will be devoting my time to a new venture with Simon Fuller."

In other words, Mr. Lythgoe won't be as active on the show as he had been—but as president of 19 Entertainment, he will still have some say in "Idol's" overall direction, not unlike Mr. Fuller and executives at FremantleMedia North America, which also produces the show.

In Fox Broadcasting's statement, the network actually admitted that Mr. Lythgoe would be stepping down as showrunner on "Idol."

"While we are disappointed that he will no longer be executive producing 'American Idol,' we are pleased to continue working with him on 'So You Think You Can Dance' and look forward to working with him on his new projects," the network's statement read

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Cook gets producer for album

David Cook to Team Up With My Chemical Romance Producer for Upcoming Record

David Cook Gets "American Idiot" Producer for Album

After David Archuleta fired the first salvo with “Crush," American Idol winner David Cook dropped news about his own debut album, revealing that Green Day's Idiot producer Rob Cavallo will man the boards.

Cook and Cavallo are squeezing studio sessions while Cook fills his obligation to the AI tour, with mid-November still the targeted release date.

Cavallo has also worked with artists like My Chemical Romance, Kid Rock, Avril Lavigne and, currently, the Dave Matthews Band. Cook has also had writing sessions with Collective Soul's Ed Roland, hoping to carve out a rock record “that's true to himself."

I think he's a great producer with the kind of sound that I want. And in talking to him, he's just a good guy. Like the song selection I had on the show, Rob just fit.
--David Cook