American Idle

Well, it’s official; Kellie Pickler has now performed as a redhead. Dunno if I like the look as much as her blonde hairdo, but everything takes some getting used to, right?

Here she is performing at the Country Music Hall of Fame last week, clad in a hat and a snug top.

Listen to it below:

Whoa, nelly, it’s acoustic! Actually, despite my overall objection to her new look, the song itself is good.

A little twangy, and overpowered by her background players, but good. Also somewhat goofy is an interview superimposed in parts over the performance, which is like listening to a wall of noise.

At any rate, Pickler has embraced her new look and she’ll probably be more sassy and sexy, than before. Guys can only hope.  But she likes to still be herself, apparently, enjoying laying down in bed. Heh.

Carrie Underwood strutted her stuff at the Country Music Awards, and although she didn’t win Female Vocalist of the Year (she lost it to her best pal Taylor Swift) there probably weren’t any hard feelings, since Underwood has won it all before.

Anyway, Underwood definitely benefited from less publicity than Swift, since Kanye wasn’t all up in her grill at any point in time. Is there a possibility that Kanye’s little stunt had something to do with voting Swift as top female vocalist? Maybe.

At any rate, Underwood showed she still knows how to put on a raucous show with her hit song “Cowboy Casanova” last night.

In a performance that bordered on raunchy, Underwood shed some of her conservative skin (well, actually, she shed alot of skin, but that’s for another day) and did her thing.

Meanwhile, Kellie Pickler surprised everyone at the awards, coming out as a redhead. You know what? I liked the look! Tres sexy, Miss Pickler, even though she’s still a goofball. Here it is below:

Carrie Underwood has been on a press tour of New York City all week, and continued plugging her new album, “Play On,” with a stop at Good Morning America.

There she played two of her hit songs from the album, “Cowboy Casanova” and “Last Name,” the latter of which is getting some decent buzz.

Underwood continues to be a force in the music business, in spite of her fellow Idols (Adam Lambert included) who are having, shall we say, difficulties making it happen.

That’s the thing about this business; it’s make-or-break, and sometimes, it’s just about getting a break, as opposed to not getting one at all.

You can have all the talent in the world, ergo Taylor Hicks, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you have the right representation and the right music.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that Underwood is fairly attractive, blonde and appeals to a certain demographic that frankly, doesn’t actually care about what somebody sings. That’s the reality, I suppose.

In all actuality, Underwood is very talented and she has staying power, as is the case with “Last Name.” Listen to it below:

She’ll be on other shows as the week rolls on. In the meantime, support our blog and buy her new album below!

Remember Danny Noriega?

Well, the headline grabber from American Idol season 7 is back in the news, and this time, he actually has a song.

No, really, I’m not joking here. Noriega, who is more known for his video blogs and diva attitude, is seen above belting out his new single “Inside My Head.”

Some are saying that the song is a retread of a David Archuleta song that was dropped from Archie’s last album.

Either way, it’s amazing, frankly, that Noriega actually put out a single, let alone an album. In my view, that now puts him ahead of Jason Castro, another season 7 alum who can’t get his crap together.

So we’ll see if this actually sets Noriega off in a decent direction now, or if this is too little and too late.

Chris Daughtry has been a hitmaker, one of very few American Idols with such distinction, in fact.

But the reason–and it’s probably one other Idols should look toward if they plan on following his massive footsteps–is because of Daughtry’s work rate.

That’s obvious after listening to his latest single, “Life After You,” which like his other fare, is another likely chart-topper.

He played it for current Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, and from the sounds of the audience, it was a winner.

Daughtry very simply could be the hardest working person in show business, and he seems to love what he does. Not bad for a guy who was playing dive bars with his band before Idol.

Also, considering this is Daughtry’s latest single off his new album tells you that the guy isn’t going away anytime in the near future.

First you saw official snippets of Katharine McPhee’s new music video off of her highly anticipated new album “Unbroken,” and now comes the real thing!

K-Mac has had, shall we say, a less than successful music career to date, but hey, anyone can get a break now and then, right?

This video for her new song “Had It All” has me at a loss for words, really. Whose idea was it to make K-Mac a blonde? That’s the first real foible in the video.

Also, the intro is on the cheesy side. The lyrics are basically an encapsulation of her career in music. Did I mention the song was cheesy, too?

Well, it is. And I don’t think this song will do much for McPhee’s future in singing.

Carrie Underwood continues to be a chart-topping country diva with “Cowboy Casanova,” her hot single.

Now comes word that her album, upon which her new single is the lead song, will be called “Play On” and it will hit on November 3, reportedly.

Of course, anyone with a knowledge of release dates knows it can be bumped up or pushed back, so we’ll just say November is her target release date and leave it at that.

It remains to be seen if Underwood’s newest album will enjoy the success of her last, but it’snever a good idea to count her out.

Her track list is below, with the songwriters in parentheses. Carrie also helps write her songs, so that’s a plus.  

 1. Cowboy Casanova (Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood)
2. Quitter
3. Mama’s Song (Kara Dioguardi, Martin Frederiksen, Luke Laird, Carrie Underwood)
4. Change (Katrina Elam, Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins)
5. Undo It (Kara DioGuardi, Martin Frederiksen, Luke Laird, Carrie Underwood)
6. Someday When I Stop Loving You (Hillary Lindsey, Steve McEwan, Gordie Sampson)
7. Songs Like This (Martin Dodson, Jerry Flowers, Tom Shapiro)
8. Temporary Home (Luke Laird, Zac Maloy, Carrie Underwood)
9. This Time
10. Look At Me
11. Unapologize
12. What Can I Say (featuring Sons of Sylvia-formerly the Clark Brothers) (David Hodges, Steve McEwan, Carrie Underwood)
13. Play On (Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird, Carrie Underwood)

David Cook continued what seems like his endless tour on Saturday night, this time ending up in Ottawa, Canada.

Considering that Cook has always had some of the most rabid fans of all the former American Idols, you know you’re in for a show when Cook takes the stage.

Usually, the show comes from the fans, too, who have been known to throw bras and other assorted things onstage while ransacking his tour buses afterward.

Ah, it’s all part of Cook’s charm, right? Anyway, here’s Cook singing Bon Jovi’s “Livin On A Prayer,” which is obviously not a David Cook song but is entertaining with a capital E.

And, it’s an acoustic version to boot. Listen below:

Kelly Clarkson continued bringing in fans as her “All I Ever Wanted” Tour kick started everyone’s heart last night at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

Clarkson has already had wild successes and her newest album, also called “All I Ever Wanted” has been at or near the top of the Billboard charts for months now.

Clarkson will continue her American leg of the tour until Christmas. In 2010 she’ll head across the pond and do some European gigs as well.

Here is a brief, but scintillating video of her kickoff performance last night in Connecticut.

Kelly Clarkson - Live At The Mohegan Sun

As you can see from the video above, Clarkson can rock it out but she can sing just as well as she can dish.

So look for Clarkson at a venue near you!

Jennifer Hudson helped out the folks at Netflix in a big way during their 70th anniversary of the hit movie “Wizard Of Oz” on Central Park last night.

Hudson is definitely making a comeback from the horrific deaths of her family members, and making it back where she should be after wedding reality TV star David Otunga.

Her career looks like it’s headed on the right track as well, making for what should be a very successful 2010 for the pop diva.

Singing “Over The Rainbow” may be tough for some, but not Hudson, as she belted out a terrific version of the song on this night in Manhattan.

The girl can work it out wherever she goes, and knock out whatever she sings.