This was posted Wednesday, January 25, 2017 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Three 'American Idol" winners are coming to town within three weeks of each other: season 12 winner Candice Glover will be here March 15, followed by season 9's Lee DeWyze March 30 and season 5 winner Taylor Hicks April 8.
Glover and Hicks will be at City Winery and DeWyze at Eddie's Attic.
The three winners faced disparate circumstances when they won. Hicks was there when the show was at its peak of popularity. His name is now part of the pop vernacular. He was seen by 30 million people a week. He never became a huge star along the lines of Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson but he got what he always wanted: the ability to tour and make a living as a musician.
By season 9, "Idol" was beginning its downswing when DeWyze won. That was a very weak season and he was the third white dude with a guitar to win in a row after David Cook and Kris Allen. The show was already starting to lose a lot of steam with a bored Simon Cowell on his way out the door and Ellen DeGeneres' ill-fated arrival as a judge. DeWyze, who had a song featured on "The Walking Dead," has performed at Eddie's Attic multiple times before. Eddie's is also a favorite of season 8 winner Allen.
When Glover won in 2013, the show was hitting its nadir, as producers panicked with the rise of 'The Voice" and hired bickering divas Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. That disaster failed to distract from the fact the male talent that season was embarrassingly lacking. Her win came amid zero buzz whatsoever and she has struggled ever since to get any attention despite a great voice.
For Hicks and Glover, buy tickets here.
The City Winery in Atlanta has only been around a few months but has already hosted season 7 winner Cook.
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Danny Gokey's new album "Rise" this week hit the top of the Christian album chart and No. 32 overall. As I've noted, his career is going well. His single "Rise" is at No. 3 on the Mediabase 24/7 Christian chart and the Billboard Christian airplay chart.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Carrie Underwood is "almost" vegan. In Self magazine:
Underwood now calls Nashville home, and says the vegan options are plentiful there, too. But sometimes, she can't stick to it 100 percent. "I want to be vegan so badly, all the way, 1,000 percent," she says. "But traveling and stuff, it just kind of gets hard. Sometimes I may have to do some egg whites or something for breakfast," she says.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Ryan Seacrest productions has already expanded into scripted series with NBC's Jennifer Lopez project "Shades of Blue." Now he is developing a sitcom for ABC via CBS Television Studios with Gabriel Iglesias, Variety reported.
The concept is Iglesias as "a commitment-phobic bachelor who reconnects with his friend who has just broken up with the woman he has been with since pre-school."
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
"Celebrity Apprentice' runner up Clay Aiken is a liberal who does not necessarily see gloom and doom under a Trump presidency:
Then again...
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Phillip Phillips and Luke Bryan are scheduled to hold a benefit concert to help victims of the storms in Southwest Georgia a few days ago..
According to the Albany Herald, both Leesburg natives have agreed to perform though logistics and dates are still being worked out.
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