American Idle

David Archuleta joined Brooke White and Michael Johns during their concert in Salt Lake City last night at the Murray Theater.

Obviously there weren’t many fans there but they were indeed boisterous.

White’s singing came off as shouty, and I don’t know if that was the acoustics in the place or just the poor video quality.

By all accounts, White and Johns have played to nice, intimate settings and crowds during their tour, which is par for the course for most American Idols.

It would be nicer if the Idols played to bigger audiences, but for most Idols this is as good as it gets, I’m afraid. Unless your name is David Archuleta, in which case you are a teen heartthrob and the place goes bananas, like it did below.

Brooke White was back in action this past week, singing at a benefit in her native state of Arizona.

But the real reason for all of the excitement is that White will soon be coming out with a new album titled “High Hopes And Heartbreak,” scheduled to be released on June 2.

Also, her transition from easy-listening to country seems to be one that will be successful.

Considering the luck past Idols have had going into that musical genre, it’s amazing that more haven’t taken the plunge.

With White’s songwriting ability and the fact she sounds like a female James Taylor, I think she’ll be successful musically speaking in whatever she does.

This song, for example, is so haunting and at the same time peaceful that it’s hard to believe White is still a young pup. But she is, and that just means we have years ahead of listening to her songs and enjoying them.

Well, Idol 8 is hitting full steam now and this season looks to be one of the most promising in recent memory. But the Idols of old are doing some serious damage, too and so let’s look at a few who are making headlines this week.

Brooke White has finally released her first single, “Hold On My Heart,” which she debuted on American Idol 8 Thursday night. (Video above) It’s nice to see that White has finally taken the initiative to go out and do something; now we’re just waiting on her roommate/buddy Jason Castro to put out his own music, which many of us are anxiously awaiting.

As for Paula Abdul, she has been spending her week defending reported comments she made about fellow female judge Kara DioGuardi. Are they true? Are they not? Who knows for sure, but one thing I do know is that Paula’s spent a good portion of this week deflecting the criticism and has been busy from a PR standpoint. She also claimed this week that she is now pain-free, which does mean we won’t have to watch her doped up on TV any longer.

David Archuleta is still touring the U.S. in March, but April marks the time in which he’ll head for Europe, including a whopping two months in the United Kingdom (uh, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, etc.).

And Kelly Clarkson continues her media blitz, stopping off at Saturday Night Live as their musical guest on March 14. This of course is to drum up even more publicity for her upcoming album, All I Ever Wanted, which is due out March 10 (even though you already probably know).

More from Idol 8 tomorrow, and continue signing up for my office pool! It’s a big hit!!

We have some news from last week. It turns out that Michael Johns (above photo) and Brooke White have both been busy in the studio. Johns is releasing his album in March and it’s coming out on a Sony label. Whether that’s THE Sony label remains to be seen. White has some big news of her own. She will finally, FINALLY, release an album this summer! Titled High Hopes & Heart Break it will be featured under the banner of the Sanctuary Artists Group. More details will obviously be on the way, I’m sure.

Moving on from that big news, Kelly Clarkson is enjoying a career renaissance because of the success of her new single, “My Life Would Suck Without You.” Starting out at No. 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single shot up to No. 1 and broke the previous record set by Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” in October 2008. Congrats to Kelly on her success!

And Jennifer Hudson will release her new video titled “If This Isn’t Love” in February, capping off what will be a very successful month for the woman who lost three family members in those horrific shooting murders in Chicago last year. The release will come days after her scheduled performance at the Grammys on February 8 and if you haven’t seen her performance at the Super Bowl yesterday, click on the video link on the story below to get there.

Have a great week! Enjoy Hollywood Week that starts tomorrow everybody.

Yesterday we talked about the unsung heroes of American Idol 7 and 2008, so today we’ll talk about the stars that made the show the phenomenon it was in 2008. Some weathered the storm of controversy while others just stayed firm to what they did, making music and rode the momentum all the way to the top. The thing that tied them all together was that all of them had success commercially in different regards before coming to American Idol. And they all finished in the top 10. But the main criteria we used in determining our top 5 was the success they had on Idol 7 and the success that followed with their debut album, primiarly.

5. Kristy Lee Cook - Enduring more than her fair share of controversy since she had already had a record deal with Arista in her youth which failed, Cook was more or less another of those failed pop stars who came to Idol in an attempt to resurrect their career. The thing about Cook that immediately got her fan base was her good looks, her blonde hair, slim build and powerful voice. And a few Web sites took her to task for some racy photos, but in the end Cook was a success story on Idol 7, having been one of the first performers that season to come out with a new album, which, ironically, came out on Arista, the company with whom she first began her career.

4. Michael Johns - Again no stranger to the spotlight, the Australian played in several bands, including the L.A. band Film before making his way to the Idol stage. Johns’ bluesy tones along with his business savvy made him a star not only here but in his native Australia. His top 10 finish on Idol 7 was what many expected from the Aussie; some mention he may have been the best male singer to have ever played on Idol.

3. Carly Smithson - Clearly the most talented female singer Idol has ever seen, Smithson (nee Hennessy) is a native of Ireland who came over to the states years ago to become a star. But like many who try to make it in the tough music industry, Smithson found it tough going initially. Her record was so unimpressive that it sold on eBay prior to her Idol appearance for 12 cents. Many cried she was too good for a show like Idol and was a “ringer.” Smithson proved most of her critics wrong by showing her true compassionate side and her amazing voice. She also finished in the top 10.

2. David Archuleta - The native Utahn and devout Mormon has seen success before, appearing on Star Search as a teenager and performing often in his native Utah, even with the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But it was the manner in which Archuleta so quickly came to fame on Idol 7, with a devout fan base of mainly teenagers screaming his name every chance they got. Never had American Idol seen so many fans absolutely craving every song and every note somebody sang! (Except Sanjaya, perhaps) David finished runner-up to David Cook and cemented his place in Idol folklore with a gold debut album.

1. David Cook - The former Midwest Kings front man went to American Idol 7 auditions in Omaha with his brother and auditioned at the last minute as a lark (his brother Adam was the one auditioning). We all know what happened next, as Cook was the surprise of the show, taking what obviously looked like it would be a battle between Johns, Archuleta and Smithson and making it his own. With unique musical arrangements Cook wowed the audience week after week and quickly gained a fan base that was as broad as it was vocal. His victory proved that anyone can win the competition and made American Idol a household name heading into season 8. With a successful debut album and tour under his belt, Cook will be heard from for years to come.

Honorable Mention: Jason Castro, Danny Noriega, Chikezie, Josiah Leming, Luke Menard, Brooke White, David Hernandez.