The Unofficial Danny Gokey FanSite |  |
- American Idol Reveals Top 24 Semifinalists
- Song Choices from Hollywood – Top 24 Reveal
- Kris Allen to Kick Off Idol Gives Back
- Idols on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
- Adam Lambert hand-delivers supplies to needy school
- Your Season 9 Top 24!
- ‘Idol’ Top 24: Who got jilted (Chris Golightly, Shelby Dressel, more…) [Updated]
- Simon Cowell talks Season 9, wishes Howard Stern ‘good luck’
| American Idol Reveals Top 24 Semifinalists Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST Auditions ended last night for the ninth season of American Idol, and the judges remaining picks for the Top 24 semifinalists were revealed. The Top 24 semifinalists are: (females) Didi Benami, Crystal Bowersox, Lacey Brown, Michelle Delamor, Katelyn Epperly, Siobhan Magnus, Paige Miles, Ashley Rodriguez, Lilly Scott, Katie Stevens, Haeley Vaughn and Janell Wheeler; (males) Lee Dewyze, Andrew Garcia, Tyler Grady, Todrick Hall, Casey James, <a href="http://… read more
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| Song Choices from Hollywood – Top 24 Reveal Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST The Top 24 contestants were revealed during a dramatic show on Wednesday night. Songs were played to set the mood, and we also heard songs that the contestants performed throughout the audition process. Here are the song choices from Hollywood Night’s Top 24 show: Title: House Of The Rising Sun Title: American Boy Title: Love Story Title: Lets Get It On Title: Home Title: What A Wonderful World Title: Natural Woman Title: For … read more
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| Kris Allen to Kick Off Idol Gives Back Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST American Idols Kris Allen will travel to Haiti with the United Nations Foundation to raise further awareness of the countrys continuing needs after last months earthquake. During the Idol results show on Thursday, Feb. 25 8/7c, Kris will perform and will share footage of his trip to raise awareness and funds that will benefit those in need via one of this years Idol Gives Back beneficiaries, the UN Foundation. During the show, viewers will be asked to support the efforts in Haiti by donating much-needed funds. Donations will be accepted online and via text-messaging, and proceeds will go to the Idol Gives Back Foundation to help the UN Foundation and their work in Haiti. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation that Haiti is currently facing, said Kris. I am truly honored to be traveling to Haiti to see the UNs relief efforts firsthand and to help out in any way that I can. We are proud to partner with the Idol Gives Back Foundation, FOX and American Idol on this special episode, said Kathy Calvin, CEO for the United Nations Foundation. We are working directly with the UN to help Haiti address the medium and long-term challenges of reconstruction. The UN needs our support so it can continue to provide food, water, shelter, medicine, security and economic opportunities to the earthquake victims. The UN and Haiti are rising to the challenge and we all have a chance to help them re-build their future. Since the earthquake, the United Nations has been working hand-in-hand with Haitians to help them recover. In the … read more
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| Idols on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST Some of your favorite American Idol finalists have appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Ellen invites the most recently eliminated contestants to her show each week and she sits down and interviews them right before they perform. Often times, the American Idol-fan-turned-judge invites past winners and the judges onto her program. Since Ellen is good friends with Ryan Seacrest, he often stops by her show, and he even brought his mom Connie on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for Mother’s Day. As an admitted fan of American Idol, Ellen now gets the best seat in the house on one of her favorite shows. Take a look back at some memorable moments of Idols on Ellen. Photos Credit: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
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| Adam Lambert hand-delivers supplies to needy school Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST
Along with a select group of 45 Belvedere Middle School music students, we were treated to a very special Adam Lambert performance Thursday. So special that it was one of those rare times when you truly appreciate how incredibly fulfilling it can be to cover "American Idol." Now, charity is nothing new in the "Idol" arena. On most seasons, we get more than a healthy dose via the show's all-star philanthropic effort "Idol Gives Back" (this year should be no exception, with Kris Allen traveling to Haiti and Kara DioGuardi and Elliott Yamin helping in Angola), but rarely does one get to witness the act of giving. Most of us donate money and hope it makes it into needy hands, but we never really know. Well, Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert opted to be completely hands-on, delivering much-needed supplies to the school's Contemporary Rock music class himself. At the same time, it was entirely a group effort. After Adam teamed up with DonorsChoose.org, his fans donated nearly $300,000 to the cause, allowing the school to purchase guitars, strings (1,000 to be exact – the school boasts 300 guitarists!) and batteries to power up the keyboards. The kids, who were hand-picked by teacher Sarah Fuller based on skill and had no idea that Adam Lambert would be showing up at their class that day, not only got to meet Adam and ask him a few questions (one of which was: "How did you feel when you won 'American Idol?' "), but after weeks of practice, they also got to accompany him on his first single "Whattaya Want From Me" (see video below) as well as perform two songs on their own, the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" and an original number. Even with some minor key issues at the start, that room sounded stellar, thanks to the strums of 30 guitars, a row of recorders and a capable backing band (not to mention Adam's own guitarist, Monte Pittman, helping along). Adam, ever the consummate showman, adapted with ease and, in the end, charmed the pants off of everybody. Belvedere students have certainly seen their share of celebrities — Edward James Olmos and "Napoleon Dynamite's" Efren Ramirez both have visited the school — and for good reason: 94% of Belvedere students qualify for free or reduced lunch, meaning that the student body comes overwhelmingly from low-income families. That unfortunate fact was not lost on Adam. "Public schools don't get the budgets for materials in the arts programs," he told Idol Tracker. "We've raised an insane amount of money. Music classes, drama classes, art classes … these are the programs I really wanted to focus on because, as a kid, I was fortunate enough to have great funding in my district. That's not always the case for people, so this is really important and great." – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photo: Adam Lambert looks on as student Jacqueline Morales, 12, sings "Satisfaction." Photo: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
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| Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST
After weeks of determined but mostly delusional auditioners, the final judgment is upon us as Season 9's Top 24 are officially announced. Yesterday's episode rolled out seven contenders. Tonight, we learned the identities of the other 17. Read on for the full list… 1. Michael Lynche 2. Didi Benami 3. Katelyn Epperly 4. Casey James 5. Aaron Kelly 6. Lee Dewyze 7. Todrick Hall 8. Janell Wheeler 9. Tyler Grady 10. Lacey Brown 11. Ashley Rodriguez 12. Alex Lambert 13. Joe Munoz 14. Crystal Bowersox 15. Katie Stevens 16. Lilly Scott 17. Siobhan Magnus 18. Michelle Delamor 19. Jermaine Sellers 20. John Park 21. Haeley Vaughn 22. Andrew Garcia 23. Tim Urban 24. Paige Miles
–Shirley Halperin Follow Idol Tracker on Twitter Videos Credit: Fox
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| ‘Idol’ Top 24: Who got jilted (Chris Golightly, Shelby Dressel, more…) [Updated] Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST No one ever said "American Idol's" audition-to-semifinals process was a perfect system. In fact, over the years, the show has had more than its share of background-check oversights, including racy or nude photos (Season 2's Frenchie Davis, Season 6's Antonella Barba), a few posted on the Fox-owned MySpace; run-ins with the law (Season 2's Corey Clark); conflicts of interest (Season 8's Joanna Pacitti); and former professional contracts. So it should come as no surprise that Season 9 would have its own unexpected disqualification. Sadly, it seems to be the fate of Chris Golightly, who, according to blogs and tweets ricocheting all over the "Idol" world, was apparently disqualified over the issue of a previous contract with a boy band. Speaking to Joe's Place blog, Golightly, whom we saw in a segment that aired during the Los Angeles auditions, contended that contract had expired in June 2009 and was not valid when he auditioned a month later. The shoe salesman with the Carrot Top hair was an early favorite thanks to a stellar audition and his story of having grown up in foster care (see video below). And he seems to be taking the news pretty hard. "Watching 'Idol' for Chris tonight just killed him," writes Joe's Place. "They acted as if he Making matters even more discouraging for Golightly, he was allegedly told he could not audition next year as a result of having made the top 46. We're going to get to the bottom of that one. After all, we saw on Wednesday's episode that semifinalist Lacey Brown was in contention for the Top 24 last year and was seated next to Megan Joy when she received the news, yet she was back for another go. Consistency is not always this show's forte. And as we probed last month, confidentiality is subjective when it comes to sensitive information, which is especially hard to control when it comes to your family members. Still, if you believe that Michael Lynche broke the rules when his father divulged to a Florida newspaper that his son made the Top 24, then based on that logic, Big Mike should be ejected too. We'll have to see what the fallout is from this latest last-minute snafu. I anticipate a fair amount of he-said, they-said. Who would you believe? As for Shelby Dressel, who endeared herself to "Idol" audiences by overcoming her disability to audition, she took the road as far as it would go, but it was a no from the panel. Simon Cowell lashed out that the verdict was a mistake, and Ellen DeGeneners looked so torn, she invited the 18-year-old Florida native to be a guest on her show next week! Last, but certainly not least, is the exceptionally sad tale of Angela Martin. Her third tryout after two derailed callbacks just wasn't good enough, and no amount of hand-holding by Kara DioGuardi was going to stop that waterfall. Ditto for Thaddeus Johnson. In the end, the cheers outweighed the tears but only ever so slightly. Do you have a favorite that didn't get through? What do you make of the Chris Golightly hoopla? – Shirley Halperin [Updated at 1:17 p.m.: The headline on an earlier version of this post indicated that more than one "Idol" contestant had been disqualified. Only Chris Golightly was disqualified, while Shelby Dressel and others did not make the cut down to 24.] Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter
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| Simon Cowell talks Season 9, wishes Howard Stern ‘good luck’ Posted: 19 Feb 2010 01:58 AM PST
Simon Cowell's love life may have been off-limits during his call with reporters earlier this afternoon, but there were still plenty of rumors to clear up. America's favorite acid-tongued Brit was his usual cheery self, even after being barraged by questions concerning who else but Howard Stern. "I'm fairly certain there hasn't been an approach at any time for Howard to do the show," he clarified, adding that the judging criteria didn't "seem to fit" Stern. "He's played records, maybe that's a qualification, that he was a DJ," said Simon. "But if he wants the job, good luck to him." As for rumors that he and newbie Ellen DeGeneres weren't getting along? "I wouldn't say we didn't get on well," said Simon. "I don't know Ellen that well and it was a difficult position for her, because she started work on Hollywood Week, which is quite a difficult show to do. There was one story that [said] I'd turned up an hour late and she wanted to film. The truth is, I turned up 15 or 20 minutes late because I did a press conference earlier in the day. That was a particular problem, but there was no fallout." Simon added that he was "trying to guide" Ellen through the protocols of Hollywood Week. Still, Simon admitted that he does miss his old pal Paula Abdul. "Amazingly, even though we used to argue a lot, she was somebody I felt very close to," he said. "Over the years, we'd hang out together after the show and she always made me laugh. I do miss her." When it comes to the contestants, Simon echoed Randy's comments at the start of the season that it's bound to be a female victor this year. "I'd love to find a Taylor Swift," said Simon. "Somebody who represents what is going on at the moment … who's relevant rather than just a contest winner." He applied that same logic to his dream mentor. "We should have Lady Gaga," he said, "because she is the most relevant pop artist in the world at the moment, and I've met her and she's very smart." You could say the same of Simon's own career moves. Next up: bringing "The X Factor" to American shores. So who could possibly fill his shoes? A couple of names were thrown out, like producer Steve Lillywhite, Oasis' Noel Gallagher (whom we suggested as a potential mentor, along with his brother Liam) and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. "Perez would be funny," said Simon. "He's got good taste in music. He's a personality that could work." It's all about credibility, Simon explained. "In simplistic terms, it's like if you judge ice skating on the Olympics. To give a score, you genuinely need to know what you're talking about. Over the years, I think judges have been replaced by personalities. That in the long term will create problems because you've got to be able to spot a star. So to whoever replaces me, find somebody who actually knows what he's talking about." In that sense, how does Ellen stack up? "She actually is very responsible for the people she has performing on her own show," he said. "I know that for a fact because I've dealt with her as a record label, and she loves music and she's been an artist." With all the mentions of how "irreplaceable" Simon is, you could practically feel his face reddening over the phone line. "It's very flattering and I really do appreciate it," he said. "The show goes on and I'm going to feel sad when it all ends, but it's much nicer to be popular than unpopular." – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photo: Simon Cowell. Credit: Michael Becker / Fox
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