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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > February > 17
Sunday, February 17, 2008
2/17: Gone Country, Jordin Sparks opening for Alicia Keys, chart update
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hope you’re all having a nice, quiet weekend.Tomorrow, I’ll post my interview with Irish gal Carly Hennessy Smithson, who lived in Marietta from 2003 to 2005. (Vote For the Worst Sunday today noted that Randy Jackson was an A&R head at MCA Records when Carly was there from 1999 to 2002. Could this be construed as a conflict of interest? I would have asked Carly if I had known this before I talked to her Friday. Oh, well…) On Tuesday, I’ll post my interview with Douglasville’s own Alexandrea Lushington. The boys, by the way, are on Tuesday, the gals on Wednesday.
Here’s the top 24 commercial.
Not much to say about this past Friday’s episode of “Gone Country.” The group did a car wash to raise money (Nope— nobody wore swimwear. It was all very G rated.). Then they visited a children’s hospital in Nashville, a tradition for country artists in Nashville. Bobby Brown was especially affected by a woman whose child was dying and he cried, cried a lot. In other words, it was all about Bobby again. Given his drinking issues, this might eventually turn into “Celebrity Rehab with Bobby Brown.” In the last minute or two, we finally seeing them start working on their songs at the end of the episode but we don’t catch anything Diana did.
CMT, by the way, noted that Diana has essentially ensconced herself in Nashville, staying at 13 acre dig. Here’s the scoop.
“I figured if I want to do it, I’ve got to be here,” she says. “So I’m here. I’ve been living the country life. I had wild turkeys in my carport a couple of days ago, and I about had a heart attack. I have deer in my yard all the time. I had some country history, so I’ve had a lot of old friends come out of the woodwork and say, ‘Finally! You finally came back from the dark side!’ It’s been fun. I’ve had lots of really huge writers and producers [contact me], so it’s all falling into place.”
And she gets into some detail of what her country album may sound like:
“Sort of like a country pop record, more in the vein of Martina-meets-Faith, with a little Dolly Parton thrown in, just because I’ve got to,” she says. “‘Jolene’ is my favorite song! I respect her and love her so much.”
Jordin Sparks, when I interviewed her last month, said she was trying to solidify an opening slot for a big star. Well, that big star is Alicia Keys. That’s an excellent pairing. They hit Philips Arena May 28. I won’t be in town. Bummer.
Kimberley Locke’s lyrical memories will be tested on a future episode of “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.”
How about sales? MJ’s blog reports that Jordin saw a small boost after her Super Bowl appearance and now is up to 491,000 (with 17K last week), so she should hit the 500,000 mark this weekend. With “No Air” one of the fastest climbing singles on the top 40 charts right now, she should be on pace to sell 15 to 20K for the next few weeks. That would get her within Taylor’s 698K by June, which is currently the low point of sales among past winners prior to Jordin.
Daughtry, with a hot fourth single “Feels Like Tonight,” is still in the top 20 after more than 15 months on the charts and is up to 3.8 million. Carrie’s “Carnival Ride,” with “All American Girl” another top 10 hit for her, is now up to 1.8 million while “Some Hearts” (the Grammys didn’t hurt here) up to 6.3 million, the most of any “Idol” album thus far.
