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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2006 > April > 24
Monday, April 24, 2006
4/24: Bocelli on Idol Wednesday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s the official press release on the Andrea Bocelli appearance Wednesday. Good news: Idol will run a 32-minute results show again.
Monday, April 24, 2006
INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR ANDREA BOCELLI TAKES THE “AMERICAN IDOL� STAGE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, ON FOX
“Classic Love Songs�-Themed Performance Show on Tuesday, April 25 To Feature Finalists Rehearsing with Bocelli and Producer David Foster
Andrea Bocelli, whose voice has transcended all languages and spoken to the hearts of millions around the globe, will perform “Because We Believe� from his platinum album “Amore� on the AMERICAN IDOL results show Wednesday, April 26 (9:00-9:32 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. On tomorrow’s performance show (Tuesday, April 25, 8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the finalists will sing classic love songs after receiving guidance from Bocelli and the Grammy-winning producer of “Amore,� David Foster, and one of the contestants will sing one of Foster’s songs. The show will feature highlights from the finalists’ first meeting with Bocelli and Foster, who gave them advice as they prepared to perform their songs.
Born in the Tuscan countryside near Volterra, Italy, Bocelli was shaped by the region’s traditions and his parents’ insatiable thirst for their son’s success. Opera greats such as Mario Del Monaco, Beniamino Gigli and Franco Corelli set a high standard for Bocelli, fueling his musical passion and increasing the intensity with which he pursued his dreams. In albums such as “Romanza,� “Songo� and “Andrea,� Bocelli brought his boyhood dreams of becoming a world-renowned singer to life. He became the top-selling classical recording artist in history, selling nearly 50 million albums worldwide to date.
“Amore,� Bocelli’s newest release, was recorded under the Tuscan sky at his home studio. The album’s concept came from “Amore� producers Foster and Humberto Gatica, and co-producer Tony Renis. The result is a pairing of some of the most beautiful love songs of the world with arguably the most romantic voice in the world. Featuring guest performances by Christina Aguilera, Stevie Wonder and Kenny G, “Amore� also includes the classic “Besame Mucho,� the Olympic theme “Because We Believe� and a heartfelt rendition of “Can’t Help Falling In Love.�
Producer and songwriter Foster is a 14-time Grammy Award winner with an unprecedented 43 Grammy nominations. Over the course of a stellar three-decade career, he also has received seven Juno Awards, an Emmy Award and three Oscar nominations. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Madonna, *NSYNC, The Corrs and Natalie Cole.
Fourteen-time Emmy-nominated AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
For photos of Andrea Bocelli and David Foster with the IDOL finalists, please go to www.FOXFLASH.com. Go to AmericanIdol.com for all of your AMERICAN IDOL news. Check out the special, behind-the-scenes photos and information on AMERICAN IDOL.
-FOX-
4/24: Elvis theme coming & other Idol revelations
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Executive “Idol” producer Ken Warwick did a press phone conference today from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. At least 15 reporters asked questions, from In Touch magazine to mtv.com to the Birmingham News to the Washington Post. It was a great hour.
He revealed to me that an Elvis Presley theme is forthcoming in “a couple of weeks.” He also said it breaks his heart that he can’t get clearance to do Beatles songs and can’t convince the Eagles to do a theme week.
To reduce busy signals, there will be two phone numbers for each of the six contestants Tuesday.
The performance snippets we see at the end of the performance show comes from the rehearsal, which many of you have noticed.
He never spoke directly with Prince reps about Prince doing the show so it never got very far.
He will reject any big star who refuses to work wtih the kids.
He said he decides the order of the contestants on a number of factors. He prefers upbeat songs to open or end the show. He won’t have a contestant open or close a show two weeks in a row.
He said it’s unlikely the show would film Kellie seeing her dad leave jail because it would be unfair to the other contestants. But he might do it on the final results show if she’s still around once the votes are in and if she’s willing to do it.
He was bemused that “American Dreamz” didn’t do well this past weekend. “People have been copying us since series two and doing a pretty lousy job of it. It’s another one for the pile.”
Greensboro was his favorite audition ever, that this will influence future audition cities.
I asked him about dialidol.com but he didn’t seem to mind its existence since only he, Nigel Lythgoe, the Fox standards & practices office and the third-party company that does the voting know who the bottom three really are.
He also noted that the finalists get paid a standard AFSTRA weekly fee for being on the show. I’m not sure how much that is but it’s probably only $2,000 a week or something relatively modest.
He also noted that no finalist can release an album until three months after the winner’s album comes out. He said they can do other things within reason but need to ask. Fox oversees that process, he said.
4/24: Love, American style
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are you looking forward to tomorrow night? Since this is love songs, I presume there will be a lot of ballads. Could we be snoozing through this one? Will we get goosebumps?
Also, Simon Cowell talked to the NY Post. Here’s the story. As usual, he is Simon and the Psost gets some good quotes. Such as:
His take on some post-“Idol’ finalist careers:
“It’s like every artist in the world today, particularly when you don’t write your own material. You are always at the mercy of what your next song is. I can’t sing you one of Ruben or Fantasia’s songs. But I can remember in my mind all the big Kelly songs. The simple answer is Fantasia’s songs aren’t as good as Kelly’s are.”
On Ryan Seacrest:
“Ryan [Seacrest] is the most competitive person on the planet,” says Cowell of the show’s host, “and I just wind him up.”
“If he reads about something I’ve done professionally, he’ll get straight on the phone to his agent: ‘You’ve got to get me something, now.’ ”
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