American Idle

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!

McSkat Medley @ Yahoo! Video

The VH1 ladies took to the stage this evening, Paula Abdul particularly, and they rocked it out!

Abdul, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks and Leona Lewis took to the stage in a musical extravaganza this evening, and it was all on VH1.

Hudson really tore the place up and Clarkson didn’t do too badly herself, but the star of the night was Adele, whose video you can see below.

hometown diva @ Yahoo! Video

Then to cap the historic night off in true diva style, Adele took the stage with India.Arie, singing “Because I Am A Queen.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself. A magical night for all, indeed.

The latest issue of SELF Magazine (set to hit newsstands on August 25) is creating quite a controversy, because Kelly Clarkson’s cover photo is just a tad Photoshopped. OK, it’s really Photoshopped.

Clarkson is a tad overweight, but you wouldn’t know it after the SELF gurus got a hold of Clarkson’s photo and went to town.

Now after the backlash (naturally, because nobody really looks like that) SELF’s stupid editor has written a blog, defending her mag’s stance. The only problem? She comes off like a doofus.

From SELF Magazine:

Of course we do retouching (though it’s technically not Photoshop, but that is semantics). We correct color and other aspects of the digital pictures we take and then publish the best version we can. Here is what I have to add to this conversation:

When I ran the marathon five years ago, I was so proud of myself for completing it in under five hours and not walking a single step. But my hips looked big in some of the photos (I was heavier then), so when I wanted to put one of them on the editor’s letter in SELF, I asked the art department to shave off a little. I am confident in my body, proud of what it can accomplish, but it just didn’t look the way I wanted in every picture.

Well, lady, if we wanted to look perfect in every picture, then it wouldn’t be reality. So whatever. Then, to make matters worse, her equally stupid assistant blogs about the same topic. Sounds like somebody didn’t do their job correctly. Uh-oh…

From SELFy Blog:  

We all know celebrities are human (at least, we all should know), so why do we get bent out of shape when a magazine alters an image to portray a celebrity in their best light? No one wants to see a giant picture of some star’s cellulite on the cover of a monthly mag–that’s what we have tabloids for!

Kelly Clarkson climbed back on stage after going off on Ryan Tedder when he reportedly used the same melody in her song “Already Gone” for Beyonce’s song “Halo.”

If true, it’s really messed up that Tedder would do something like that! I mean, who would do that, really?

Anyway, I’m glad to see that knowing that Tedder is a cheapskate of a songwriter hasn’t dampened her enthusisasm.

Here Clarkson is performing “Already Gone” on Good Morning America this past week, on Central Park as part of their Summer Concert Series.

Kelly Clarkson - “Already Gone”

Big crowd for a morning, eh? That’s what I though, but it’s safe to say Clarkson’s career is on the rise, again, and she’s expertly handled the Tedder crisis, in my opinion.

Buy her new album here on American Idle. Click the link below.

In case you don’t already know, here’s the scoop: Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic wrote Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone.” Okay, but the real controversy? Tedder wrote the same melody for Beyonce’s song “Halo” and Clarkson is pissed, thinking Tedder ripped her off.

Kelly Clarkson - “Already Gone”

Say what? Yeah, that’s what I thought, Tedder. Anyway, Clarkson, knowing that Tedder wrote the same melody for both songs, didn’t want “Already Gone” as her third single on her album.

So, she told CBC that “Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyone else,” Clarkson begins, gritting her teeth. “He’s from Oklahoma, I’m from Texas; we got along really well and had some of the same influences. We wrote about six songs together, four or five of them made the album. It was all fine and dandy. I’d never heard of a song called Halo. Her album came out when my album was already being printed. No-one’s gonna be sittin’ at home, thinking ‘Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonce and Kelly the same track to write to.’ No, they’re just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said, ‘I don’t understand. Why would you do that?’”

The palpably frustrated Clarkson claims she “fought and fought” to try and prevent her label from releasing Already Gone as her third single, out of respect for Beyonce.

“In the end, they’re releasing it without my consent,” she sighs. “It sucks, but it’s one of those things I have no control over. I already made my album. At this point, the record company can do whatever they want with it. It’s kind of a shitty situation, but.… You know, you learn.”

And here’s “Halo,” the Beyonce song. Notice the similarities?

Here’s Tedder’s uh, reply, I mean, excuse, the one he originally wrote before he thought better of being a jerk and had his PR person write one and deleted this one…or so he thought:

 From his deleted MySpace page:  

Hey everyone, Ryan here. So…..i’m in Europe on vacation with my wife yesterday when I get a flurry of emails with links to gossip sites and media outlets saying “Kelly clarkson throws producer Ryan Tedder under the bus re: Already Gone” etc etc etc… Alleging that I copied myself or “pulled a fast one” on Kelly Clarkson. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and the whole thing is absurd….however, I need to actually read what the hell is going on, make a call or 2, and be fully informed of it, then I assure you I will have a proper, respectful response. I don’t take allegations of this nature lightly- ESPECIALLY when it’s in regards to artists I respect and admire. Nor do I let things like this go unaddressed. So, give me a minute, and I’ll tell u whatsup and what really happened, or in this case, “didn’t” happen.

Then he had his PR hack write a statement, um, better excuse for ripping Clarkson off so that his career as a songwriter doesn’t go in the toilet. Oh, wait, it’s too late for that. But here’s his statement, anyway:

“Already Gone” is one of the best song I’ve written or produced since “Bleeding Love” and stands tall on it’s own merits apart from “Halo”.

They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically, & lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyoncé into recording over the same musical track, the idea is both hurtful & absurd.

I think when people hear “Already Gone” they will hear what I hear-one of the greatest female vocalists on earth giving her most haunting and heart-breaking performance on a song she helped write.

I challenge people to listen and form their own opinions.”

I’ve formed mine and Ryan Tedder is a rip-off artist.

Past American Idol superstars have been busy this week, hitting the talk shows with their new singles and albums.

First up, Kelly Clarkson debuted her new single, “Already Gone” during The Late Show With David Letterman on Monday.

Kelly Clarkson - “Already Gone”

Meanwhile, Daughtry gears up for what will be a busy, busy week. He was on The Today Show this morning, he’ll be on The View tomorrow morning, The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien ther following day and he’ll wrap up his insane week with a visit to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Friday.

Four shows in four days? Yipes! That’s a lot of publicity appearances for one person, but it’s in the spirit of his fine album, “Leave This Town.”

And you can buy it right here!

Kelly Clarkson was one of several headliner entertainers at the MuchMusic Awards in Toronto, Canada last night.

She performed “My Life Would Suck Without You” to a packed audience that has been obviously suffering from Idol withdrawals, ever since their own country’s “Idol” extravaganza, Canadian Idol, was pulled last year.

But Clarkson did her own thing and is doing her own thing personally as well, not paying attention to the rumors that she’s too overweight to be a pop star.

Personally, I find the attention Clarkson’s receiving about her weight to be ridiculous, since there are plenty of pop stars who have been a little on the chubby side. I actually think it’s a better, more healthy look for the Texan and so people just need to get off their high horse about it.

Clarkson’s performance was also slightly overshadowed by the news that blogger Perez Hilton was reportedly attacked by Will.I.Am and other members of his entourage last night for things Hilton’s blog said about Will and other members of the Black Eyed Peas posse.

Kelly Clarkson continued her press tour. Following up her hugely popular “All I Ever Wanted,” is her new single, “I Do Not Hook Up,” which Clarkson hopes will be as big a seller as her previous venture back into pop music.

I think she’ll be just fine after hearing this performance this past week on Good Morning America. Wow, If that’s a message to all the guys out there, uh-oh. LOL But if it isn’t then that’s OK too. All I know is Clarkson is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the music world.

She may be the next Idol to become a superstar. She’s always been on the cusp, you know, but a lot of her new material reminds me of Alanis Morrissette, that angsty, somewhat adult but mostly teenage rock and pop.

Hopefully she doesn’t fall off the face of the Earth like Alanis did after “You Outta Know” but she’s definitely got the bases covered when it comes to snarky songs.

It was nice to see an Idol from the past doing so well in the present, especially with so many Idols struggling to make it in the music business.

The cool thing about Kelly Clarkson is she’s always done things her way, even if they don’t meet the expectations of her managers, producers, etc.

This album is no exception; it has a nice variety of music and is the reason why it’s doing so well on the pop charts. With albums forthcoming from Taylor Hicks, Brooke White and even Elliott Yamin and an EP from Diana DeGarmo, the Idols of yore are making a comeback.

About the Clarkson song: she’s put on a little weight (and so have we all), but she sounds great and looks like she’s been doing this for decades. There has always been this look about Clarkson that makes you think she’s wise beyond her years.

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!!