Idol Stalker - Watching American Idol

American Idol 8 Salt Lake City Auditions

Posted: 28 Jan 2009 09:21 PM PST

American Idol went to Salt Lake City, Utah for the auditions tonight. If you remember, SLC gave us David Archuleta as well as the High School Musical films. David Osmond, of the famous Osmond family, is the son of Allan Osmond who has been battling multiple sclerosis and, unfortunately, David also has been fighting MS for the past three years. The 29-yearold from Provo, Utah chose to sing "Something Within Me" By Take Six and it was quite good. He had great control and I was really inspired by his story. He was in a wheelchair not too long ago! Despite some hesitation by the judges, David was put through to the next round!

Tara Mathews (21-year-old bill collector from Salt Lake City, UT) says that she can tell when people are going to die. She maintains that she has ESP but couldn't answer the question about whether she would win. She sang "One Day I'll Fly Away" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. It was, unfortunately, terrible. The judges were not impressed. She even said "I'll just leave now since you didn't like it." Ouch. She even ended up giving the camera the finger.

There were a bunch of unsuccessful auditions shown:

Aleesha Turner (age 19 from Herriman, UT) sang "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood. Katie Sullivan (age 18 from Orem, UT) sang "Gorgeous." Rich Kagel (age 27 from Salt Lake City, UT) sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and Chris Kirkham (age 26 from Ogden, UT) brought a friend in a rabbit suit and sang "Roll To Me" by Del Amitri. Not one of these folks was successful.

Frankie Jordan (24-year-old waitress/mother from Hollywood, CA) sang "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse and I really loved her! She needs a little more personality but her voice is great! All of the judges said yes – she's going to Hollywood!

Meghan Corkrey (age 23, font designer from Sandy, UT) sang "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." She had just filed for a divorce when she found out Idol was coming to SLC and felt it was an opportunity (it was also her birthday!). I thought her voice was really interesting so I was happy when the judges put her through. Simon said that she was one of the few he would remember.

Andrew Gibson (age 21 from Kearns, UT) sang "Oh Let Me Fly" by Harry Belafonte and it was absolutely terrible! Wow. I was stunned!!! The ending was so awful I'd be embarrassed.

Austin Sisneros (age 17 from Riverton, UT) sang "When I Look to the Sky" by Train and also "It Takes a Village" by Raffi. I think Austin is positively adorable and very likable. All of the judges agreed with me put told him to pick "younger" songs.

Jarrett Burns (age 24 from Orem, UT) sang "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae and he was put through (although, they didn't show the judging).

Taylor Vaifanua (age 16 from Hurricane, UT) sang "Joyful Joyful" which is one of my favorite hymns. She could use some experience but there's definitely something good there. They all put her through to the next round.

Rose Flack (age 17 from Rathdrum, ID) has quite a story. Her father died when she was just 13 years old and then her mother passed away just two years later. Her friend's family took her in and I was almost in tears looking at the courage and resilience in this young woman. She chose to sing "I Feel The Earth Move" by Carol King and the judges put her through. I'm so happy for her!!!

Tomorrow night, the auditions will be from New York City and San Juan Puerto Rico!

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David Archuleta Talks About Disney’s American Idol Experience

Posted: 28 Jan 2009 01:31 PM PST

American Idol season 7 runner-up, David Archuleta, had some advice for those who plan to audition at the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Opening on February 14, 2009 to the general public, the attraction gives people the chance to live through the American Idol audition process which includes receiving feedback from a panel of judges and an audience (the audience gets to vote!).

The finalists get to try out for the real judges and get priority placement at one of the show's real auditions. Archie had some tips for standing out during the process at Disney:

image used with permission

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Kellie Pickler’s Big Hair on Access Hollywood

Posted: 28 Jan 2009 01:07 PM PST

Kellie Pickler is the new spokeswoman for SexyHair products and filmed a segment (using the BigSexyHair line) for Access Hollywood about the experience.

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After watching the behind-the-scenes footage from the photoshoots, I have to say that this ad campaign in hot!!! Wow! Kellie is, obviously, a very beautiful woman so I'm happy she was able to enjoy herself with this new gig.

Tags: big sexy hair, kellie pickler sexy hair, kellie pickler video

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Kat McPhee Releasing New Album This Year

Posted: 28 Jan 2009 09:16 AM PST

American Idol season 5 runner-up, Katharine McPhee, has plenty to sing about. She's been signed to a new record label (Verve) and will be releasing a new album.

Kat's last album, Katharine McPhee, enjoyed moderate success and I remember reading (I can't seem to find it now) that she wasn't happy with how it came out. The two big singles were "Love Story" and "Over It." I actually really liked "Over it" and was surprised it didn't do better than it did (although, it was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA).

Of the deal, Verve Music Group president/CEO Bruce Resnikoff said: "The album she is working on will show many new sides to her talents as an interpreter and a songwriter, and show everyone just how special she is."

image: Bauer-Griffin

Tags: katharine mcphee album, katharine mcphee record label, katherine mcphee album

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Josiah Leming Covers “The Freshmen”

Posted: 28 Jan 2009 08:57 AM PST

With opening chords that sounded eerily reminiscent of Daughtry's hit song "Home" the infamous, Josiah Leming, covered "The Freshmen." You may remember him as the emotional (but outstanding) contestant whose elimination from the Top 50 last year on American Idol shocked a lot of people (even Ellen Degeneres had him on her show and felt he deserved some good prizes).

Anyway, so back to the cover. I'm a real fan of The Verve Pipe's "The Freshmen" which is rumored to be used on Idol (I don't know how). I'm not sure if I believe it's a coincidence that Josiah chose to cover this particular song this week but I'm just going to go with it. Josiah does a great job but it's hard not to love the original just a teeny bit more.