The Unofficial Danny Gokey FanSite |  |
- Almost $45 Million Raised for Charity by Idol Gives Back
- Adam Lambert Tops the Charts
- ‘Idol’s’ biggest charmers
- Tim Urban looks back on his time in ‘La-La Land’
- Adam Lambert announces Glam Nation tour, Wango Tango appearance at Staples, returns for O.C. Fair
- Lingerie ad and smoking endorsement woes in ‘Idol’-land
| Almost $45 Million Raised for Charity by Idol Gives Back Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT
The Idol Gives Back fundraising effort, which culminated Wednesday night with a two-hour television event, has raised almost $45 million to benefit various U.S. and international charities including the Childrens Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Childrens U.S. Programs and the United Nations Foundation. Learn more about these charities. This year, Idol Gives Back was broadcast live from the American Idol stage and The Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where Queen Latifah emceed the evening and some of musics biggest stars, including Sir Elton John, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, The Black Eyed Peas, Annie Lennox, Jeff Beck & Joss Stone and Mary J. Blige & the All-Star Band, performed. The evening also featured special appearances by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham, Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes, George Lopez, David Cook, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Bill and Melinda Gates. Once again, I am over overwhelmed by the generosity of the American Idol viewers, our sponsors and our special benefactors. I am so thankful to all of the celebrity guests and performers who appeared Wednesday night to support Idol Gives Back said Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol. Still to be added to the extraordinary total, the iTunes Store, the No. 1 music retailer in the U.S., will donate net proceeds from sales of the Top 7 finalist performances to Idol Gives Back. In addition, … read more
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT Season 8s runner-up, Adam Lambert, made it to the top of the charts for his first time. Just after mentoring and performing on Season 9 of American Idol, Adams hit single, Whataya Want From Me, brought him to #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales and Hot Dance Singles Sales charts. He becomes one of only 27 finalists (William Hung makes 28) to reach number one on the charts. Adam also announced this week that hes going on his very own tour around the country on the Glam Nation Tour. He has chosen his fellow Season 8 pal Allison Iraheta, as well as Orianthi, to open for him, and they will kick-off the tour in Adam and Allisons hometown Los Angeles. See if Adam is coming to a town near you:
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT 1. David Cook: At five minutes to midnight on Season 7 finale night, after doing too many interviews to count, a bleary-eyed and weary Cook grabbed a chair and sat for one last post-show Q&A. From there, he could sleep for a couple of hours, but then it was back to TV come 4 in the morning, when the East Coast's gears start grinding. Was he the least bit testy? Bored? Antsy? Annoyed? The complete opposite. Cook was focused, engaged, thankful, humbled and, yes, charming — all gleamed from a 10-minute interview that felt as fresh as his first of the night. After two years and 1.3 million albums sold, nothing has changed about this man — except maybe the hair. Cook doesn't know from jaded, he treats his band members like family and his family members like stars. As for the news media, a little respect goes a long way, so pay attention Season 9ers!
5. David Archuleta: Here's another portrait of an Idol charmer: It's no more than a two-minute walk from the "Idol" stage doors to the parking lot, but for Archuleta, who came in second to Cook on Season 7, that can take more than half an hour. That's because the well-mannered Archie insists on hugging and catching up with each and every member of the crew, from the producers to wardrobe staffers, security and even the dude at the craft services table — all people with whom he's on a first-name basis. In truth, not even the burliest stagehand can resist Archie's dimples, nervous laugh and aw-shucks shrug to anything even slightly out of his comfort zone, and neither can this seasoned "Idol" observer. What do you think of my picks? Who did I leave out? Has an Idol ever charmed you? Leave your thoughts down below. – Shirley Halperin Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter. Photos, from top: David Adam Lambert at the Season 8 finale at the Nokia on May 20, 2009. Credit: Contestants Didi Benami and Casey Kellie Pickler reacts to Spc. Zacari Pytleski, who felt very comfortable joining her onstage during her hit song "Red High Heels," on a USO tour to the Persian Gulf in January. Credit: Dave Gatley / USO
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| Tim Urban looks back on his time in ‘La-La Land’ Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT – Shirley Halperin Photo credit: Nino Munoz / Fox
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| Adam Lambert announces Glam Nation tour, Wango Tango appearance at Staples, returns for O.C. Fair Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT In other Adam news, Adam's second single, "Whataya Want From Me," tops the Billboard hot singles sales and hot dance singles sales charts this week. A much deserved congrats to "Idol's" hardest-working runner-up. Check out the announced tour dates after the jump, and here's Adam performing "Music Again" at last weekend's GLAAD Awards — a preview of what's to come? 5/15: Staples Center in Los Angeles 5/22: Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass. 6/4: The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 6/5: Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, N.J. 6/6: Dutchess Stadium in Wappinger Falls, N.Y. 6/8: Omni in Toledo, Ohio 6/10: Harrah's Ballroom in Council Bluffs, Iowa 6/11: Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn. 6/12: Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn. 6/14: LC Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio 6/15: Riverside Theater in Milwaukee 6/17: Shoehorse Casino in Hammond, Ind. 6/18: Royal Oak Theater in Royal Oak, Miss. 6/19: Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto 6/22: Nokia Theater in New York 6/24: MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn. 6/26: Borgata Spa & Resort Event Center in Atlantic City, N.J. 7/15: Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Mo. 7/28: OC Fair – Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa 8/13: Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pa. Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter Photo: Adam
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| Lingerie ad and smoking endorsement woes in ‘Idol’-land Posted: 24 Apr 2010 04:19 AM PDT
Kelly Clarkson came under fire earlier this week for allowing a concert she's set to perform in Jakarta, Indonesia, to be sponsored by a cigarette company, L.A. Lights. Although this week's "Idol" mentor, Alicia Keys, responded to a similar outcry over a cigarette company's sponsorship of a show she put on in Indonesia two years ago by refusing to perform until the sponsorship was pulled, which it was, and apologizing to her fans, Clarkson initially indicated no such intentions. In a post in her blog, Clarkson said she was as surprised as anyone to discover her face plastered on billboards and TV ads next to a tobacco company logo, and hadn't known L.A. Lights was sponsoring the Jakarta tour date. "I was not made aware of this and am in no way an advocate or an ambassador for youth smoking. I'm not even a smoker, nor have I ever been," she wrote. Yet she said she would not cancel the concert as a result of the sponsorship, despite the outcry. "I can't justify penalizing my fans for someone else's oversight. This is a lose-lose situation for me, and I am not happy about it but the damage has been done and I refuse to cancel on my fans." She added, "I think the hardest part of situations like this is getting personally attacked for something I was completely unaware of and being used as some kind of political pawn." Ultimately, however, the promoter of Clarkson's Jakarta show, Adrie Subono, opted to pull the tobacco company's sponsorship, telling the Associated Press, "There will be no [L.A. Lights] media promotion at the Kelly Clarkson concert." Clarkson's not the only one in the "Idol" world combating an ad-related public relations mess this week. In a blog entry on its website, Inside Curve, plus-sized women's clothing maker Lane Bryant has accused Fox of having "a double standard" by refusing to run an ad for its new lingerie line during "American Idol" — demanding "excessive reedits" and then relegating the ad to the last 10 minutes of next Wednesday night's show "only after we threatened to pull the ad buy." "We knew the ads were sexy, but they are not salacious," wrote Inside Curve's blogger. "Our new commercials represent the sensuality of the curvy woman who has more to show the world than the typical waif-like lingerie model. What we didn't know was that the networks, which regularly run Victoria's Secret and Playtex advertising on the very shows from which we're restricted, would object to a different view of beauty. If Victoria's Secret and Playtex can run ads at any time during the 9pm to 10pm hour, why is Lane Bryant restricted only to the final 10 minutes?" Fox sources have told Adweek that the company routinely asks advertisers to reedit spots to comply with its standards for "American Idol" and denied that the company has a bias against plus-sized models. And ABC, which also relegated the Lane Bryant ad to the final 10 minutes of "Dancing With the Stars," insists it too treated the clothing company no differently than it would any other advertiser. "We were willing to accommodate them," ABC said in a statement, according to AdWeek, "but they chose to seek publicity instead." – Amy Reiter Photo: Kelly Clarkson performing On "American Idol" in March 2009. Credit: Ray Mickshaw / Fox, Associated Press
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A confession: Tim Urban charmed me. Some, like L.A. Times music critic Ann Powers, might call it pointed manipulation, but I've met the kid and there's not a deceitful bone in his happy-go-lucky body. To the contrary, Tim is a gentleman. He was home-schooled and raised right. He doesn't swear, says gosh instead of God, and good performance or bad, his eternally optimistic outlook never diminished. In fact, it was contagious. So in honor of his recent exit, and because the bushy-haired comeback kid reminded me of getting-to-know-you moments with a few "American Idol" favorites, here's my top five picks for "Idol's" biggest charmers. (Surprisingly, they're not all from the South.) 
3. Casey James: Here's a portrait of Season 9's resident charmer: Casey walks into a room, and whether big or small, crowded or sparse, he'll start to make his way from one female to the next, flashing that good ol' boy grin, making casual conversation. He might even whip out the acoustic guitar for a little serenade, all the while putting a Southern spell on all who gaze into those deep blue eyes. And once he's done with the girls, he moves on to the guys. If it's any wonder how this Fort Worth native is still in contention for this year's final spots, look no further than Casey's abundance of gentlemanly charm. Hats off to Mama James, who raised her boy right. 
4. Kellie Pickler: Whether she was desecrating the English language or foisting heaps of country cuteness on the "Idol" stage, Season 5's Kellie Pickler had viewers smitten with her North Carolina drawl and bubbly personality, not to mention her heart-wrenching back story. And since her "Idol" run ended with a sixth-place finish, she's turned the country charm on overdrive, releasing a string of hit songs, appearing as her adorably ditzy self on shows like "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" and even traveling to Iraq with the USO (pictured), where she had a hangar full of burly soldiers wrapped around her little finger. We too salute the Pickler. 
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