The Unofficial Danny Gokey FanSite |  |
- Make a Difference with Idol Gives Back’s “Help Me Give Back” Campaign
- Happy Birthday, Katharine, Jason, and Carmen!
- Kris Allen has dinner, gets groovy with ‘Dream’ cast
- Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas admit to ‘Idol’ butterflies
- Sanjaya caught speeding in Seattle
- Critics may complain, but ‘Idol’ ratings are actually up
- Paige Miles: ‘It wasn’t my best and the judges ripped me for it’
- Diddy to perform on next week’s ‘Idol’
| Make a Difference with Idol Gives Back’s “Help Me Give Back” Campaign Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT Be a part of something special this year and help those in need by raising funds to support Idol Gives Back and its beneficiaries before the show airs Wednesday, April 21 at 8/7c on FOX. Join the Help Me Give Back program, an online initiative that empowers individuals and teams to raise money for Idol Gives Back, now at www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback and start fundraising today for this worthwhile cause. Viewers and fans can give back by creating and joining fundraising teams on the Help Me Give Back website, which tracks fundraising goals and progress of individual members. Additionally, participants can create individual Help Me Give Back pages, set fundraising goals and get the word out to friends, family and co-workers through feeds and widgets as well as via social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The individuals and teams who impress the shows producers with their campaigns before the deadline of 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, April 20 could hear Ryan Seacrest say their name on the Idol Gives Back broadcast the following night or even find themselves at an upcoming American Idol show. The brainchild of Simon Fuller, Idol Gives Back is the Emmy Award-winning television event and musical celebration raising awareness and funds to benefit various U.S. and international charities. This years beneficiaries include Childrens Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Childrens U.S. Programs and the United Nations Foundation. The special has made history by raising over $140 million for charity to date, … read more
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| Happy Birthday, Katharine, Jason, and Carmen! Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT Three former American Idol finalists share their birthday today: Katharine McPhee, Jason Castro, and Carmen Rasmusen. Season 5s runner up, Katharine McPhee, turns 26 today. She has made quite a name for herself since stepping on to the Idol scene. Just days after the finale, Katharine was signed by 19 Recordings and RCA Records and released her debut self-titled album in 2007. Earlier this year, Kat released her sophomore album, Unbroken, and has been promoting it on talk shows, late night shows, and more. Singing isnt all Katharines been up to; you may have seen her on your TV screen or movie screen lately. In late summer of 2008, Katharine had a supporting role in The House Bunny. Last week, the brunette-turned-blonde had a guest spot on Community. Later this year, Katharine will star in another movie, You May Not Kiss The Bride and shes also filming a pilot for a show called The Pink House. On March 8th, Katharine performed at the White House for International Womens Day. She sang a song that she wrote called Surrender from Unbroken. The President and the First Lady were sitting in the front row for Katharines performance! Season 7s dreadlocked singer, <a href="http://www.americanidol…. read more
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| Kris Allen has dinner, gets groovy with ‘Dream’ cast Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT
Kris Allen is a good guy. Not that I had any doubt, having interviewed the Season 8 winner on more than one occasion, but knowing that 12 hours before he was due to get on a plane headed for Rwanda, and with his wife sick at home from the seven shots she received earlier in the day, he still honored his dinner commitment with the "If I Can Dream" kids? Respect. It must be the Arkansas in Kris, because while he and his wife Katy currently call our fair city home, he's about as far from the stereotypical Angeleno as it gets. As in, Kris follows through. Case in point: his TOMS Shoes initiative, in which Kris will personally deliver and distribute 35,000 pairs of the lightweight canvas shoes to Rwandans in need, has nothing to do with "Idol Gives Back" (Kris' recent trip to Haiti will be featured on that April 21 special) and is, in fact, Kris giving back entirely of his own free will. He told us a bit about the trip and the celebratory Barefoot concert he'll play in Little Rock, Ark., upon his return on April 8. We also talked about his favorite eatery, Chick-fil-A, whether "cougar" is a derogatory term (the jury was split), Justin Bieber, and I challenged Kris to try and list 20 Beatles songs off the top of his head (it's harder than you think, and he cheated!). Then, Kris taught Dream house resident Justin Gaston his favorite dance, the running man, and the two jammed in the living room, sort of. We also had a delicious dinner of Panko-encrusted chicken breast and coconut rice whipped up by the Dreamers in-house chef. Not bad for a Tuesday night. Read on for highlights from Kris' Twitter Q&A, including a question from the one and only @TheDavidCook. And expect to see the Kris Allen footage on next week's episode of "If I Can Dream," airing worldwide exclusively on Hulu. Are there any practical jokes within the band? Yes! I was staying in a hotel in Buffalo this one time and right next to the bed was a hot tub. It was the weirdest thing, right there in the bedroom. So I'm sitting watching the game or something and one of the guitar players, he puts the bubbles on and gets in, and we called in the band one-by-one. We're like, "Hey man, how's it going?" and you don't really notice the tub at first, then this guy looks over and freaks out because there's [someone] sitting in the tub naked as can be. How old were you for your first kiss and where was it? I was 5 or 6 … and it was a french kiss. It was on the playground. Older chick. It was cool. What's your favorite song right now? "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. I never turn that off. What do you do to relax on the road? I read, especially to relax when I'm on a plane. I'm reading John Lennon's biography right now. The newest one, the crazy long one. it's 800 pages. I'm on page 400. Did You try the chicken rice in Singapore? No I didn't actually. The funny thing is that when you go to Asian countries, people think you want American food! And you don't, you want to try Asian food and they're like, "Here, try the steak!" I was there a month and a half ago and they were like "here's some sandwiches" and I wanted to eat some rice, man! Who was your favorite "Idol" mentor? How would you have liked Miley Cyrus? They were all good. Smokey Robinson for sure, he's a legend. He was really cool and he's been nice to me ever since. I got the chance to sing with him after the show. How would have I liked Miley mentoring me? I don't know, it might have been a little weird, I think. @TheDavidCook: Thoughts on group numbers? Go… They're cheesy, so cheesy dude, but you got to do them. And there's dancing involved usually. Have you ever wanted to go back and change the lyrics of a song after it was recorded? Absolutely. [Which one?] I don't know, I can't think of anything. But I remember, I made a record four or five years ago. And I listen to it now and I'm like, what was that? It doesn't even make sense? It was before "Idol" and I made it on my own and it sucked. Well, some people liked it. What was the best advice that you ever received? I met [Queen guitarist] Brian May at the finale and I never asked anybody for their autograph until him, and he comes out and he's got his hair and his guitar on and he's jamming around and I'm like, "Brian May, can I have your autograph?" He's a super nice guy and he wrote "kill" and his name. That was it, just "kill" and Brian May. Kill whatever you want to, music, whatever. I kind of took it to heart. Who is your favorite "Idol" judge? It's hard. I spent a lot of time with Paula on the show and she was a sweetheart. I spent a little time with Kara after the show and she's awesome. And I've talked to Randy a few times, he's a really cool, nice guy. Haven't really talked to Mr. Cowell much. He's a pretty busy man, he's got five shows he's on now. Too busy for me. I don't know, it's hard to pick. Who is your biggest inspiration? No. 1, Kate Beckinsdale. That British thing always gets me. No. 2 is probably Shakira and I'm a K.T. Tunstall fan; I think she's super cute. Your most embarrassing moment? When I was in high school I made a video of myself singing Creed songs. Like, for real. "With arms wide open…" And then some people found it. Like my brother found it, so he let some friends see it. Your most embarrassing album? "Kris Kross." The only reason I bought it is because they spelled their name like me. Which former "Idol" contestant would you like to do a duet with from your season and all seasons? From my season, probably Matt Giraud; that's my boy. And from all seasons, Kelly Clarkson. – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photo: Top row, from left, "If I Can Dream" cast members Kara Kilmer, Amanda Phillips, and Giglianne Braga; Bottom row, from left, Benjamin Elliot, Justin Gaston and Kris Allen. Credit: Brian To.
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| Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas admit to ‘Idol’ butterflies Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT In a chat with Ryan Seacrest following their appearance on "We were both — not that we were nervous — but we Despite the cool act, Lovato said she could "totally We're sure Didi Benami, who asked "Idol" mentor Miley Cyrus whether she Watch the below video, in which the couple also talk about how their relationship developed. – Amy Reiter
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| Sanjaya caught speeding in Seattle Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT Season 6 finalist Sanjaya Malakar was cited for speeding at 2:30 a.m. on a freeway outside Seattle on Tuesday. According to a report in the Seattle Times, the "American Idol" cast-off (and more recently, a cast member on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here") was driving 110 mph on Interstate 405 outside Seattle at Kirkland and was issued a $411 ticket. And just because, here's his unforgettable ponyhawked performance of No Doubt's "Bathwater." Better or worse than Tim Urban? – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter
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| Critics may complain, but ‘Idol’ ratings are actually up Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT Yes, there's a lot of carping out there about "Idol" this season. And this week the moaning may have hit a crescendo. The Times' Ann Powers blasted the contestants for "ridiculous song choices and emotionally tone-deaf performances." AOL blogger MJ Santilli wrote that the Tuesday show is "bound to go down in 'Idol' history as one of the worst nights" of live performances ever. So, how are the ratings holding up? Well, they're doing a lot better than the contestants, that's for sure. In fact, there's evidence that the ratings are actually improving as the critics and judges say the singers are getting worse. As it heads into the Top 10 phase of the competition, "Idol" is seeing its usual late-season bounce as anticipation builds for the finale. That two-hour Tuesday show that so offended the critics averaged 24.2 million total viewers, according to live-plus-same-day figures from the Nielsen Co. That's no record-setter by "Idol" standards, of course, but it still was up 6% compared with the previous week's performance show, and it climbed in all major demographics compared with last season's Top 11 show. The program also blew away anything that Fox's rivals aired, but you knew that. Wednesday's results show, which saw Paige Miles sent home, averaged 21.4 million viewers. True, that considerably underperformed the Wednesday average of 25 million this season, but it was again a solid improvement over the 20.5 million from last week. Season to date, "Idol" is still down compared with last season, but only slightly. The Tuesday shows are averaging 26.4 million viewers, for a 2% drop. Who knows? If the contestants keep annoying the critics, "Idol" might finish the season in positive territory! – Scott Collins Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter
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| Paige Miles: ‘It wasn’t my best and the judges ripped me for it’ Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT
"There was the possibility of doing permanent damage," Paige tried to explain in her barely audible rasp. "I had to take it easy. Unfortunately, it was bad timing. Awful timing. I wish I could have She was referring to her encore number, "All Right Now," which she belted with such ease, one had to wonder: Where was this Paige all along? Especially after her Tuesday performance of "Against All Odds" went down as one of the worst in all "Idol" history — so much so that the judges, led in a unanimous decision by Simon Cowell, wouldn't even allow her a chance to sing for the save. Ouch. To hear Paige reflect upon it, the dis clearly stung. "I initially thought the save was something that, even if they're not Although Paige acknowledged that her singing wasn't up to snuff this week — "It definitely wasn't my best and they ripped me for it" — she says she was still surprised to be going home. "I knew I had a poor performance on Tuesday but I didn't know it was my time yet…." So what happened? Paige blames a combination of illness and exhaustion along with the now-tired excuse of the judges sending mixed messages. But in the end, it comes down to the voters. "Sometimes they back up the person the judges ripped apart," she says. "You never really know how America is going to vote." But there was no denying her vocal issues from the beginning. "I struggled with laryngitis for three weeks," she explained. "I had swollen vocals cords and with all the Paige gave the distinct impression that if she could do it again, she might choose a different song. Not just because of the judges' critiques, but because she never really connected with the Phil Collins hit. "It was tough to find my place in the song [or find] the meat in the song where I In its underlying message, however, "Against All Odds" was an appropriate fit. Says Paige: "Me being where I was, with everything I had going against me, I felt very in the moment in that song." – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photo: Paige Miles waves goodbye to the "American Idol" audience on her elimination night. Credit: Michael Becker / Fox
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| Diddy to perform on next week’s ‘Idol’ Posted: 26 Mar 2010 06:04 PM PDT Diddy will perform on next week's elimination show, he tweeted earlier Thursday. Vibe has the scoop. With Diddy's new album, "Last Train to Paris," scheduled for release on June 22, he will deliver the track "Hello, Good Morning" (which features T.I.) on "American Idol" on Wednesday. The performance will follow Tuesday's soul and R&B theme, during which Usher will be responsible for mentoring the contestants. Never one to sing and split, will Diddy take the live performance opportunity to pitch himself as the new Simon Cowell? Does the hip-hop impresario belong on the "Idol" stage? What do you think? – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter
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