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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > June > 18
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
6/20: David Cook hot People bachelor, Vanguard distributing Taylor’s new album
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
David Cook gets some love from People magazine as a hot available bachelor, joining the likes of Mario Lopez, Gerard Butler and Bret Michaels. (Bret Michaels?????)
He may be a bachelor but he was seen partying at an L.A. club with his squeeze Kimberly Caldwell for his bro’s 21st birthday while security guards kept it nice and private. More here at Eonline.com
-MJ reports that Vanguard Records will distribute Taylor Hicks’ next album, which he is self releasing at Modern Whomp Records. It appears to be mostly cuts from his previous indie albums.
-Carrie Underwood has a Vitamin Water ad showing her as a “horse whisperer.” I know, I know, totally random but she does get to sing:
-Best performance of the week from “So You Think You Can Dance” Wednesday: Joshua and Katee doing a delightful Broadway dance. Just lively and fun. Check it out here.
-Ken Barnes over at Idol Chatter is back to tracking downloads and sales. Not much happened last week except Clay’s album fell off the top 200 after a month. Sales are only at about 140K and he moved just 3,000 copies last week. He’s may have trouble selling even a third of what his last album did. Tis not good. The top selling “Idol” album is Carrie’s “Carnvial Ride,” which moved 18K and 2.18 mil total, followed by Daughtry moving 13K and 4.12 mil, then Jordin at 11K and 816K total. Carrie’s “Some Hearts” took home 8K and is at 6.46 mil. Kellie’s album and Kelly’s “My December” are both at 768K. Josh Gracin is at 50K, Phil at 30K and Bucky at 348K. Elliott is up to 511K, Blake is just shy of 300K, Bo is at 57K, Sligh is at 6K, Mandia at 92K, Fantasia 514K, Randy at 31K, Taylor 702K, Kat 372K, Kimberley 21K
-Jordin Sparks’ “No Air” is the top “Idol” download and has moved more than 2 million copies. Her latest “One Step At a Time” isn’t doing that well, having moved 114K so far and is only ranked 121. I don’t think this bodes well for Jordin’s efforts to get another top 10 hit but it only “officially” got pitched to radio on June 10 so we’ll see whether it will start showing the big momentum. Carrie’s latest (and fourth single off “Carnival Ride”) “Just a Dream” is just starting to get airplay on the radio. Daughtry has had a couple of rock hits, plus four pop hits. Amazingly, the label is offering up a seventh song “What About Now” to pop radio set to be released early next month.
-Ma Connie Seacrest gabs about son Ryan in Parade magazine.. She’s helping him out on a new reality show casting called “Momma’s Boys.” She didn’t really say much but it’s worth a look on a slow day like this if you’re a Seacrest junkie:
Not everybody loves Ryan. How do you feel when he gets criticized?
“I don’t like it much. But a couple of years back he said, ‘Mother, you’re going to have to get tough skin. You’re going to have to toughen up.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll try.’ I’m still trying.”
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6/18: Paris Bennett interview forthcoming!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lo and behold, season five finalist (and very briefly, a Fayetteville resident) Paris Bennett was willing to speak to me today by phone to promote her appearance this Satuday for her Philips Arena appearance at a big AARP concert with Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick and her grandma Ann Nesby.
I wondered whether she’d even remember our little “lunch” date last year. {If you want to go back in time and read about it, it’s here.](http://www.myajc.com/post/idolblog/22lunchkindawithparis.html). Paris was supposed to eat lunch with me but had already eaten so she just sat there. She wore sunglasses indoors and acted like she didn’t want to be there, evoking an impressively blase air about her. I was not impressed with the diva act.
I mentioned to her upfront today that we met last year but she didn’t convey as if she recalled or even remembered talking to me before. I have no clue if she just acted that way or really didn’t know who I was. Seriously, the only “Idol” person who even has admitted to reading this blog is Chris Sligh. (Thank you Chris!) Who knows if she’ll even see this one?
But alas, we talked for about 15 minutes about her career and it went fine. I can’t say it was one for the ages but here are the highlights:
-She has done two films, playing the younger sister to Atlanta’s Ciara in “Mama, I Want To Sing,” which is set to come out later this year. No duets but Paris gets to sing a song from her album. “It’s kind of cool to finally get to work with Ciara,” she said. Her grandmother Ann Nesby knows Ciara through a common hairstylist, Paris said. She also just finished playing a fantasy dream singer in an upcoming musical called “Baby O” in which a failing talent manager (David Proval) who falls in love with his client, a jazz singer. “I like the movie thing,” she said.
-Her take on her first album, which sold about 20,000 copies and generated no radio hits: “It was cool. It was fun. But that’s not me. I’m more of a jazz person.” She has done a holiday album with jazz flavors and is working on a record through Koch Records (Yes, the label that sold oodles of William Hung albums, which I mentioned to Paris but she didn’t exactly play off that joke). She is recording a mix of originals and jazz standards (Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan) with some neosoul. She’ll tackle “Summertime” by Billie Holiday and promises more of a “Billie” twist than Fantasia did back in 2004.
-She’s looking forward to the concert this Saturday. She has met most of the headliners before thanks to the fact many are buds with her grandmother Ann Nesby. She’ll be doing duets with Ann and will be on stage for a big finale number with the big stars. She plans to blog about her experience there for Us Weekly and take pictures backstage.
-After this, she’s off to Idol Camp in California and will be joined by Ace Young, her bud from season five. She said she, Lisa Tucker and Ace always seem to run into each other. She also talked to Taylor recently about his “Grease” appearance. And she sent her condolences to Elliott Yamin after his mom died.
I also talked to season two contestant Frenchie Davis at 3 p.m. and will post that interview closer to the July 3 appearance she’s having with Expose, Thelma Houston and CeCe Peniston at the Atlanta Civic Center for Atlanta Pride. Her publicist said not to ask her too many questions about “Idol.” I guess she either doesn’t follow it very closely or is tired of answering the same questions she has answered 1,000 times from five years ago.
In other “Idol” news:
-David Cook has raised $30,000 for the American Cancer Society. His brother Adam has brain cancer. More here.
-Quote of the day: “Oh, no, I don’t write songs about the guys I date. Every song, though, has to have a character in it. You definitely relate certain characters to certain people. Even if I write a song, I pick a song and sing a song, I have to relate them to certain people that I know. So I may relate a little bit to friends or family or guys that I have been around.” - Carrie Underwood, at CMA Festival last week, to OK magazine.
-Quote #2: “I am the queen of putt-putt,” said Kellie Pickler to People.com at Monday’s outdoor fund-raiser on behalf of United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee.
-The Miami Herald pillories “Nashville Star,” mostly deservedly so.
Jason [Castro] would outshine the 10 remaining NS contests — that’s how low the bar for this show is.
I tend to agree in terms of country talent, this crew isn’t likely to generate another Miranda Lambert.
-Anybody catch “America’s Got Talent” last night? Loved those hip-hop violinists, the male baton twirler and the adorable four year old singing the cutest version of “Somewhere Out There” ever. The sound mix on my advance CD was kind of poor and I couldn’t fully embrace the big opera singer dude.
