Joe Jonas To Judge American Idol

I never watch American Idol but this will get some people excited. Joe Jonas will be a guest judge. FOX News reports Joe will join American Idol season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson at next week's audition series as celebrity judges.

Other guest judges on the audition circuit for Season 9 include Shania Twain, Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham and Mary J. Blige.

Also, Joe and his brothers will be hosting a live webchat on Saturday, August 22 starting at 2PM ET/PT. You must RSVP, so head over to Facebook.

What do you think of the Jonas brother judging the auditions?

Photo:ContactMusic

Idol Judge Outs Adam Lambert?

American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi thought she should mention her thoughts on Adam Lambert's sexuality while on The View.

"I don't think that Adam was ever in the closet," she said of 27-year-old Idol alum, "I think he was always openly out."

Barbara Walters asked her if Adam's shocking loss could have been connected to his perceived sexuality, Kara said, "I hope not. Because we should be judging on talent and viability in the music industry, and they both had that."

I don't think anyone should mention if he's in the closet or not. It's no ones business.

What do you think of Kara DioGuardi talking about Adam being in the closet or not?

Photo:AmericanIdol.com

Clay Aiken Rants About Idol And The Runner Up

Clay Aiken thought he needed to rant about American Idol runner up Adam Lambert and American Idol itself. There was talk about Clay collaborating with Adam on a track, but I don't think that will be happening any time soon.  A fan asked Clay what does he think about the Idol finale. Clay responded with the longest answer EVER.

"Now that it's all over, and for the record.... I couldn't be happier about the way AI ended this year. I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing 'Ring of Fire' and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn't really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him. Granted, I never saw another performance (and many folks who I trust said that he was great) but I can't imagine I would have enjoyed it. Just not my cup of tea at all. To each his own. I never saw Kris sing on the show, but whether he was good or not is really relative. It's usually a matter of taste, right? But Idol is not always a matter of musical taste only. It's about the person you like. From what little I saw, Kris seemed likable. (That's not to say that Adam isn't just as likable as anyone.. maybe more so... I don't know) When Ruben and I were standing next to each other every night (many years ago) you had two equally talented, equally unlikely, equally unpolished contestants.... so it really was a matter of taste as to who was voted for. While some may argue that one of us was hyped more than the other, I don't feel that was the case. However, this year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don't think I am alone."

If you think that was the final answer. Clay continued on even more.

"In my opinion, it all often comes down to that last night of voting. Until the finale, folks are voting for the contestant that they want to see continue. But, I believe that on that last night, the dynamic changes. No longer forced to choose one person that they want to see win, the audience can effectively vote AGAINST the person that they don't want to see win. In the case of season two this might have happened. There may have been some folks who voted for myself or Ruben because they didn't like the other of us. I was the nerdy little girly boy who some didn't want to see win, so they may have voted for Ruben. I don't know. .. But again, I feel that Ruben and I were fairly matched. We both had our detractors and negatives, but I feel we were both very worthy of being on that stage in that moment, and either of us would have been worthy of winning. The show was different then, and folks made it in seasons 1-3 because they were 'real' people who happened to sing/entertain well. But, somewhere along the way, AI stopped being about real people.

In a battle between David and Goliath, my money is on David!

I think many voters got sick of being 'told who to vote for'. I think many were turned off by the blatant favoritism shown towards one contestant. Therefore, on that last night, they used their votes against a contestant that they were tired of hearing about and for the contestant who had been written off. And, at the same time, I think they voted AGAINST an American Idol that has, for four years now, been more about the slick productions and polished contestants than it has been about finding the raw talent that it did in its first three seasons.


Those votes for Kris were also votes to return the show to its roots of finding 'real' contestants with undiscovered talent and giving them the chance to grow and shine. They were votes that said 'we're tired of seeing contestants who already seem to know it all'.


Will American Idol choose to listen to the resounding and clarion call that those voters gave them?.... 'Enough with the pretention. More Rubens, more Clays, more Fantasias and Tamyras and Kellys please.' My faith has always been in the voters. I think they have gotten it right every year (mine included). It's now up to American Idol to decide if it will finally REALLY listen to the folks that keep it on the air."

If you didn't read the whole thing and just skipped to the end, I don't blame you. I can't understand how he would take a simple answer and turn it into a rant. Is Clay Aiken feeling a little bitter about something? Leave your thoughts on Clay and his whole rant.

Photo:Babble

Kris Allen Is The New Idol Winner

The 2009 American Idol crown went to Kris Allen. EW got a chance for a quick chat with the winner. Kris mentions talked about why he's still surprised he's done as well as he has on the show, when he and Adam Lambert learned they would be rocking out with Queen, and which Oscar winners nearly brought him to tears.

You seemed really surprised up there when Ryan announced you won.
Always. [Smiles] I'm always surprised, man. For me, making it through each week -- everyone is so talented, and, I don't know, to make it through each week is crazy.

People kept referring to you as the dark horse. When you got to the Top 36, we'd barely seen you. Did it add any pressure, or make it easier, being the perpetual underdog?
For me, it was kinda nice. That's kinda who I am, and having the spotlight on me would've been weird. That's me. I'm that laid back guy. I stick my head behind everyone else and every once and a while peek out and say, "Hello!" [Chuckles]

So you've just won American Idol. You've obviously got tremendous musical talent. You know what kind of artist you want to be. You've got a beautiful wife. You're very good looking. You've got an amazingly supportive family.
From all I can tell, you're a really nice guy. I just gotta know, what is wrong with you?
[Laughs] Um, I am the biggest procrastinator in the world. Yeah. That, and I'm not the cleanest person in the world.
That's just terrible.
I know, right?
It's unforgivable.
Maybe there's other stuff, but I won't say anything. [Grins]

What was it like singing with Keith Urban tonight?
I got to meet him yesterday for the first time. Great, great guy. It's really nice to meet someone like that who's a huge, huge star, but really down to Earth. He just embraced me and was just like, "Let's just have fun." And that's what we did. We went out there and had fun.

And Queen?
Oh my gosh. We found out last night that we were going to be singing with Queen. Brian May walks in and my jaw just dropped. I felt like such a frickin' fan. I was just like [in a nasally voice] "Hey, Brian May, can I get your autograph?" So he was like, "Yeah, man, sure." He was such a really, really nice guy. To do that duet with Adam, it just felt like such a celebration. To do it with Queen as well? Whoa. Oh my gosh.

Your friendship with Adam has been really great to watch over the course of the season. On paper, you don't necessarily have a lot in common. How did you guys find that common ground?
For me, I feel like I relate to a lot of people. And we got to be roommates. It was just like this closeness, you know? I don't know what happened. I think we just felt each other's energy, and it was nice. It just became this really good friendship. Yeah, I adore the guy. I think he's a really great guy. I'm proud of him.

Finally, what was one of the best behind-the-scenes highlights for you during the season?
You know, the coolest thing was talking to some of the mentors, like, off camera. They would whisper in your ear nice things, like, "Dude, you're awesome, man." Hearing that stuff from, like, Smokey Robinson or Jamie Foxx or Quentin Tarantino or Randy Travis, any one of them -- it's just, like, mind-boggling, you know? I got a gift from [Once stars and songwriters] Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova after I sang "Falling Slowly" [from the film]. They were just like, "Thank you so much. You were great." Like, it almost brought me to tears. They gave me this vinyl of the [Once] album, and they signed it, and wrote this letter to me. That meant so much.

So many people are VERY upset that Kris won. I don't watch the show and can't stand it. Who did? Share your opinions on the finale performances and who you thought should have won.

Photo:ONTD

Will Britney Perform On American Idol?

Britney Spears has been bringing her Circus tour all over America, but is the Circus set to stop at American Idol?

It is rumored that the pop star will be performing at the season finale. Brit's performance hasn't been confirmed but Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas and Keith Urban will be there. Idol alums Carrie Underwood and David Cook will also make an appearance.

The producers of the show haven't confirmed Brit's appearance, but "Extra" believes it's true. The show is believing their source, FOX, since they air "American Idol" on their network.

Do you think Brit will make an appearance? I would say no since she doesn't sing live a lot. American Idol is based on live music. I love Britney but I would say no.

Photo:BritneyZone

2009 Kids' Choice Awards Winners

Winners at the 22nd annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards:

Favorite Movie: "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."

Favorite Movie Actor: Will Smith, "Hancock."

Favorite Movie Actress: Vanessa Hudgens, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."

Favorite Animated Movie: "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie: Jack Black, "Kung Fu Panda."

Favorite Song: Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)."

Favorite Male Singer: Jesse McCartney.

Favorite Female Singer: Miley Cyrus.

Favorite Music Group: Jonas Brothers.

Favorite TV Show: "iCarly."

Favorite Reality Show: "American Idol."

Favorite TV Actress: Selena Gomez, "Wizards of Waverly."

Favorite TV Actor: Cole Sprouse, "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."

Favorite Cartoon: "SpongeBob SquarePants."

Favorite Male Athlete: Peyton Manning.

Favorite Female Athlete: Candace Parker.

Favorite Video Game: "Guitar Hero World Tour."

Favorite Book: "Twilight" series.

Quick Updates

Fox is readying to announce some American Idol format changes. The alleged memo revealed that the show’s producers plan to reduce the number of audition episodes, up the number of selected contestants to 36 from the previous 24, and add a wild-card round.

The Dave Matthews Band will launch its spring tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 14, the same day its new studio album arrives in stores.

Kristy Lee Cook Gets Signed

Kristy Lee Cook signed a record deal with 19 Recording and Arista Nashville just like Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. Her first album is expected in the fall and her single 15 minutes of Shame is due to play on country radio in August. The singer was signed to arista back when she was 17 but they dropped her before she could record music. The idol singer is currently on the American Idols Live tour.

Source
Billboard
Photo: ET Online