'American Idol' bits: Kellie Pickler, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Jax, Kelly Clarkson
By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, June 8, 2015
Lots music this week. Here's Kellie Pickler (season 5) and her latest single "Feeling Tonight."
It's been a long while since she's had a hit. As we all know, women always have a tougher time on the country charts. It has a decent hook. Maybe this will break her cold streak:
She is also starring in a new CMT reality show (working title "I Love Kellie Pickler." Don't we all?). Ryan Seacrest is involved. Filming begins this week and it's set to air Sept. 18.
"I've been offered reality shows since Idol," Pickler told Rolling Stone. "With Ryan it just felt right. We've been talking about it for years, and just have never made it a priority."
She told the magazine it will be a bit of "I Love Lucy" mixed with "Friends." And given her refreshing candor and lighthearted nature, it should be fun to watch.
Pickler said to People: "We start shooting the week of the CMT Awards (June 10 on CMT) and the CMA Music Fest (June 11-14 in Nashville), so there will be a lot going on. We're still in the creative process, but it will have music of course since that's what [her husband and producer] Kyle [Jacobs] and I do, and our personal lives, but nothing dramatic! We have fun together and do normal things.":
L.A. Reid, just a couple of weeks after Mariah Carey told an Australian radio station that 'American Idol' was the worst experience of her life, said something similar about his two seasons of Simon Cowell's failed U.S. version of "The X Factor."
"It's the worst thing I've ever done," the renowned producer said at a Pepsi-sponsored Midem breakfast chat on Saturday, June 6 in Cannes, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "The first season, yes, I had a great time. It was a little bit of a vacation. I'd been making music, working at running labels for a long time, and it was a little bit of, 'Let me just have some fun.' But the second season I was fully engaged trying run a label, and it wasn't fun anymore."
He said ultimately "The Voice" "cleaned our clock." And the show adversely affected his musical taste.
To me, he came across a wee bit pretentious at times and seemed checked out a bit season two. I didn't mind "The X Factor" season one but lost interest season two.
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You can listen to the entire new Adam Lambert album ("The Original High") for a short time here.
His single 'Ghost Town" is No. 22 on the Hot AC chart and No. 30 on the Top 40, according to Mediabase 24/7.
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Carrie Underwood's single "Little Toy Guns" is up to No. 4 on the country Mediabase 24/7 chart. It's her 19th top 5 hit on the country chart over a decade.
She has clearly worked hard to get rid of her baby weight, with good reason:
Looking slim and toned just four months after welcoming son Isaiah, the singer modeled outfits from her CALIA by Carrie Underwood collection, which can be found exclusively at Dick’s Sporting Goods and on the line’s website.
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Nick Fradiani's single "Beautiful Life," in its second week since released to radio, is at No. 45 on the Hot AC chart, played by 21 stations, and No. 42 on the top 40 charts, spun by 59 stations. It's still new so we'll see if it can gain any real traction.
Season 14's third-place finisher Jax was understandably peeved about the way "Idol" eliminated her.
The "Idol" producers eliminated her in the penultimate episode in a tone-deaf and callous way, without giving her a chance to say goodbye or sing a song. Here's what she told MyCentralJersey.com in an extensive interview:
Jax said that Connick came to see her in her dressing room after the show. After he introduced Jax to his wife and daughters, he let Jax know how he felt about the night.
"He was angry at the show," she said. "He said that it was inhumane. He said 'I don't take any credit for that. I was not behind that. I had no idea that's how they were going to do that.' "
I still have high hopes for her. Maybe Scott Borchetta can still work with her in some capacity. We'll see.
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Kelly Clarkson performed a cool cover of Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money" for BBC Radio. In four days, it has been viewed nearly 1.5 million times. I first saw this on HuffPost:
She'll be performing at the pre-taped IHeartRadio Summer Pool Party, airing on the CW this Thursday.
And here she is on Ellen DeGeneres singing her latest ballad "Invincible."
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Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis doing a cool jazzy rendition of Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive."
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MJ reports that Jason Castro (season 7) had a baby daughter with his wife.
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About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
