TV Hot Spot: News

American Idol: David 'Cooks' Up Some Romance!

Post by: Sal


Source: FOX & E! Online


E! Online Video:




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Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

'American Idol' Exit Interview: Brooke White!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2it

Every contestant has a unique and individual reason for going on American Idol. Many crave music industry stardom, but some would be satisfied with Broadway or a movie role or the chance to eventually host a two-bit cable reality series. For Wednesday's (April 30) bootee Brooke White, though, it almost sounds like Idol was a form of therapy.

Talking to reporters the morning after her Idol elimination, White continues to frankly discuss the confidence issues that occasionally threatened to knock her journey off course.

"I was very honest and open about that struggle I have and, to be honest again, it escalated at times during Idol and other times I felt like I had a better handle on it," she admits. "It was very much a roller-coaster ride. Tuesday I think I felt kinda a resurge of confidence that I hadn't felt in a long time, a lot of joy, gratitude for being in that place, and I think that's what gave me that boost. It felt great and even though I went home, it was wonderful to leave on that note. I know that Simon [Cowell] said it was a nightmare or whatever, but personally I think it was a great moment and I've such incredible support from fans, which also helps to kinda reassure you."

White continues, "Finding that inner confidence is something that's definitely been a struggle for me, but I'm learning and I'm growing and Idol definitely helped me work on that. We always say that this show brings everything to the surface which might be an issue for you and that one is certainly one of them, but I worked through it and I at times had to work through it in a very public way and that's hard. It's a very vulnerable position to be in, but ... to be honest, it feels good to work through it and to face that challenge and work through it."

It's hard to imagine a contestant on a reality show as competitive as Idol doubting his or her ability to sing. Even Sanjaya Malakar probably would said he has a good voice. White, though, says she's never been so sure.

"Definitely I've had comparison issues my whole life," she says. "I didn't start singing until I was a teenager, til I was like David Archuleta's age. And I never thought that I had a nice voice. It wasn't pretty. I thought it just this low, raspy thing and I didn't have a big range and I think I was very intimidated by other singers and especially on American Idol where it's so focused on vocals, I didn't know how well I would do or if I'd survive and often times through rehearsals I'd hear everybody sing and I'd think, 'Wow, how did I get here?' It was amazing and these people are incredible and sometimes it was easy to feel ... intimidated. But you know what? I'm learning that everybody's different."

As White mentioned, her elimination came after a week when Cowell called her rendition of "I'm a Believer" a nightmare and, as you might imagine, facing harsh criticisms like that can be difficult if you're already plagued by fears about your adequacy.

"Not that it always turns out the best, but I always give my best and when you're standing there in a place of vulnerability it's hard to know what you should take and what you should not take," she says. "I think sometimes he has some valid points and sometimes I think his delivery is just plain mean. And I like him. I think he's a good guy... Paula [Abdul] said last night that someone has to give hope to [contestants] for their dreams, someone has to be positive and I think she gets that. And I think Simon comes from another side, that he wants to push you to do your best and his way of doing that is being harsh and very blunt. So that's his style. Sometimes I take it. Sometimes I leave it."

It's no surprise that when asked what she didn't get to do in her Idol time, White says she wishes she'd been able to just stop and enjoy things more.

"Honestly, the pressure was gigantic," she says. "I didn't even tune into the media, I wasn't even into it, but just your own insecurities that you feel throughout the whole thing and the pressure and the workload -- physically, emotionally, mentally -- it's huge. But you still have to try to find a way to enjoy it and I did in so many ways, but sometimes on that stage I just let it get to me. But I gave it all. I totally gave my heart and I have no regrets because of it."

Other highlights from White's exit interview:

On her emotional Wednesday exit: "I kind of anticipated it in a strange way, it was in my gut. I thought I was strong. I really did. I felt so grateful and happy and then Boom, it hit me. This is done. This is over. And the finality of that phase of the experience being over was sad and the fear of going back into the real world and what does the future hold and also excitement, so it was just a lot feels that I guess I was feeling. So yeah it was emotional and I hoped so much that I could have been strong, but you know, I guess I'm an emotional girl and I'm passionate and, I guess, really came across on the stage, because I felt very vulnerable every time."

On Paula Abdul's unexpected prognostications this week: "You know what, it's live television. Anything can happen. I mean, last week I stopped and restarted my song. It's just human moments that happen on the show. And I don't know exactly what happened with Paula, but you know, stuff happens on the show. When it's live, things can change very quickly and they kind of decided in the middle of the show to change something and I'm she just kind of got lost in the moment. You know what? She's a good-hearted woman and you just move on."

On what her own album would be like: "I would love to write, or at least co-write, and kind of build an album around that organic sound -- keep real, keep it raw, keep it fresh. I know it's 2008, so you've got to make it current, but I definitely think that's my avenue. I want to play the piano, I want to play the guitar and I want to be very involved with the music and just connect with people on a very honest level."

On this season's gender gap: "Well, you know what? The boys are awfully popular this year. And I know that because their fan mail came in great humongous stacks and the girls got like three-a-day. It's amazing, but the boys are very talented and very charming. Yeah. Oh to be a boy this year."


Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

American Idol: Paula's Mishap on Idol!

Post by: Sal


Source: FOX & E! Online


E! Online Video:





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Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

'American Idol's' Katharine McPhee Gets Married!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2It

"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee said, "I do" over the weekend.

The singer-actress and her fiancee, actor-producer Nick Cokas, tied the knot Saturday afternoon (Feb. 2) in Beverly Hills, reports People.

"[Nick] is the love of my life," said McPhee. "This is a once in a lifetime occasion and everything is just perfect."

McPhee sore a strapless ivory Manuel Mota gown and diamond and platinum Neil Lane jewelry to walk down the aisle of the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church. Among the 305 guests were fellow Season Five "Idol" contestants Kellie Pickler and Mandisa.

The couple met in 2005 when they were both performing in a Los Angeles production of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." Their friendship continued through her "Idol" experience, when he drove her to her San Francisco audition. After that, romance began to bloom between the 23-year-old from Sherman Oaks, Calif., and the 42-year-old.

They were very quiet about their engagement last year.

McPhee is delving into acting on the big screen, recently wrapping the comedy "I Know What Boys Like," playing a pregnant hippie. The film also stars Anna Faris, Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and Colin Hanks. She will also join Cokas, who will produce, for the upcoming indie film "The Last Caller," in which she plays a narcissistic woman searching for love.

McPhee's self-titled debut album dropped in January 2007, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.


Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

FOX Sets 'Idol' Schedule Through the Top 12!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2It

FOX has set out a detailed schedule for the upcoming seventh season of "American Idol," letting even fair-weather fans know when they should start tuning in.

Absolute "Idol" completists know that TV's No. 1 show in most key measures returns with a two-night, four-hour event on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16.

The early audition episodes, culled from cattle-calls in San Diego, Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Charleston, Miami and Philadelphia, will continue through one-hour episodes on Jan. 22, 23, 29 and 30, as well as Feb. 5 and 6.

That's eight episodes or 10 hours of auditions. Good times

Some viewers, though, aren't partial to the geek show aspect of the "Idol" auditions, preferring to wait until at least some of the cream has risen to the top. Those pickier viewers should know that Tuesday, Feb. 12 will be the first episode of the Hollywood Round, beginning with a two-hour episode. A second one-hour Hollywood episode will air the following night, culminating in the reveal of the Top 24.

For even pickier "Idol" fans, then, the Top 12 males and Top 12 females will perform in two-hour episodes on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and Wednesday, Feb. 20, followed by the season's first round of fan voting, leading to the elimination two men and two women on Feb. 21.

Tuesday will continue to be male night, as the Top 10 males sing on Feb. 26 (8:00-9:30 p.m. ET) and the Top 8 do battle on March 4 (8-9 p.m.). And the women will claim Wednesdays, with the Top 10 going on Feb. 27 (8:00-9:30 p.m. ET) and March 5 (9-10 p.m.). Eliminations will be Thursdays at 8 p.m., culminating in the reveal of the season's Top 12 on March 6.

That means, for those of you who don't like to start tuning in until the Top 12 is set, that the first performances by the Top 12 will air over two-hours on Tuesday, March 11. The season's first single elimination will be the follow night.

Are you able to contain your enthusiasm and excitement for that long?


Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

'Idol' Will Give Back Again!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2It

For the second straight year, FOX's reality behemoth "American Idol" will use its powers for good, rather than evil.

FOX has scheduled a new "Idol Gives Back" special for Wednesday, April 9, 2008, airing live from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET.

All aspiring "Idol" contenders can probably mark that on their calendar as a non-elimination night.

The 2007 installment of "Idol Gives Back" raised $75 million for a variety of charities benefiting underprivileged children in the United States and Africa. One part of the telecast was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles and Ryan Seacrest on the "Idol" stage and featured performances by industry heavyweights as well as past "Idol" winners.

In telethon form, viewers were invited to either call in or make donations online, while a variety of corporate sponsors also gave generously.

The seventh season of "American Idol" is set to premiere with a four-hour, two-night onslaught on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16.


Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

Jessica Sierra Sex Tape Haunts Idol's Return!

Post by: Sal


Source: TVGuide

Someone sign this gal up for worst month ever. Not long after she was arrested for disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer, and subsequently held without bail, American Idol alumna Jessica Sierra is being threatened with the dissemination of a homemade (or, more apparently, a seedy hotel-made) video in which she poses in states of undress, sometimes even seductively. These days, that gets you the headline-friendly catch-call "sex tape" categorization. Should you doubt the debauchery of it all, she is seen holding a cigarette in TMZ's frame-grab!

According to TMZ, a major porn company hopes to release the racy vid before the end of the year, conveniently timed to (yes, the gift-giving season, but also) the mid-January premiere of Idol's seventh season. Now that's something I'd like to see Simon, Paula and Randy review.


Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

MTV Goes to the Dawg!

Post by: Sal


Randy Jackson will be all over America's television screens in a couple of months, and not just because of "American Idol."

The "Idol" judge and ex-Journey bass player is opening a new branch of the Dawg Pound at MTV, where he'll executive produce a series seeking America's best dance crew. The working title, fittingly, is "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew."

The show, scheduled to premiere in the first quarter of 2008, will pit five- to seven-member dance teams against one another in a series of performances to determine the best. As happens with just about every other competition show, viewers will vote for their favorites each week. Auditions will take place in December in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

If the premise of "America's Best Dance Crew" sounds a little familiar, you are both right and a careful observer of TV coverage. NBC originally picked up a version of the show, then called "World Moves," as a midseason show at May's upfronts. The new regime passed on it, Jackson took it to MTV, and with a narrowing of the contestant pool from the world to the United States, presto: "Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew."

The show's producing team has remained intact in the mov from NBC to MTV. Jackson will executive produce with Rob Lee, Howard Schwartz, Karen Schwartz and Harriet Sternberg. Joel Gallen, a veteran of numerous MTV series and awards shows, is also exec producing.

Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

Report: 'American Idol's' Katharine McPhee Engaged

Post by: Sal

"American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee is definitely engaged ... or at least that's what one source insists.

Speculation about the betrothal has been swirling around the singer for months, and another unnamed source has come forward to tell People magazine that McPhee and her boyfriend, actor Nick Cokas, will tie the knot soon.

"Katharine is bubbling over with excitement for her upcoming wedding," the source says. "She is all smiles when she talks about the planning. It sounds like everything is going very smoothly."

McPhee has also been spotted showing off her ring from Cokas.

The couple met in 2005 when they were both performing in a Los Angeles production of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." Their friendship continued through her "Idol" experience, when he drove her to her San Francisco audition. After that, romance began to bloom between the 23-year-old from Sherman Oaks, Calif., and the 42-year-old.

So far, however, there has not been any official statment from McPhee's rep.

McPhee is delving into acting on the big screen, recently wrapping the comedy "I Know What Boys Like," playing a pregnant hippie. The film also stars Anna Faris, Rumer Willis, Emma Stone and Colin Hanks. She will also join Cokas, who will produce, for the upcoming indie film "The Last Caller," in which she plays a narcissistic woman searching for love.

McPhee's self-titled debut album dropped in January, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Take Care,

Sal

TV Hot Spot: STRIKE!

FOX Postpones '24,' Sets 'American Idol' Premiere

Post by: Sal

With the Writers Guild of America strike looming long-term, FOX has announced an overhauled spring schedule that includes an "American Idol" premiere, but no "24."

FOX is quick to note that a fast resolution to the strike could cause yet another schedule upheaval, but as of Wednesday (Nov. 7) afternoon, the seventh season of "24" has been postponed indefinitely so that when the show returns, it can have its standard uninterrupted run.

For many viewers, the most important part of FOX's Wednesday announcement is the news that "American Idol" will kick off its seventh season with a four-hour two-night premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday 16. That's happening regardless of what happens with the writers, so it's as close to set in stone as anything FOX does.

"Idol" will have its regular Tuesday 8 p.m. one-hour premiere the following week, continuing to lead into "House," though as of April 1, a new season of Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" will take the 9 p.m. hour, going through the summer. As for Wednesday nights, starting on Jan. 23, "Idol" will air for an hour starting at 8 p.m. leading into the new unscripted show "The Moment of Truth," though that line-up will get juggled to include "Back to You."

All of the shifting will cause "Bones" to move to Fridays, where it air at 8 p.m., initially paired with encores of "House" and then with the truncated new drama "New Amsterdam." "New Amsterdam," then, will be paired with "'Til Death" and "The Return of Jezebel James," which will then be paired with "Canterbury's Law" when "Amsterdam" ends its run.

Also premiering in the spring will be the comedy "Unhitched" (Sundays at 9:30) and the unscripted "When Women Rule the World" (Mondays at 8).

The schedule, while difficult to follow at times, allows FOX to maximize its original resources in the event of a lengthy strike.

Confused? We're going to try to break it down night-by-night.

Monday Nights

Beginning Jan. 14: "Prison Break" into "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (which will now have a two-night premiere on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14).
Monday, March 3: Series premiere of "When Women Rule the World" into "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"
Beginning Monday, March 10: "When Women Rule the World" into "House" encores

Tuesday Nights

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 22: "American Idol" into "House"
Beginning Tuesday, April 1: "American Idol" into "Hell's Kitchen"

Wednesday Nights

Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 23: "American Idol" into "The Moment of Truth"
Beginning Wednesday, March 12: "The Moment of Truth" into "American Idol" (9 p.m.) into "Back to You" (9:30 p.m.)

Thursday Nights

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 10: "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" and "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" remain intact. Whew.

Friday Nights

Beginning Friday, Jan. 4: "Bones" into "House" encores
Beginning Friday, Feb. 22: "Bones" into "New Amsterdam"
Beginning Friday, March 7: "'Til Death" (8 p.m.) into "The Return of Jezebel James" (8:30 p.m.) into "New Amsterdam"
Beginning Friday, April 11: "'Til Death" into "The Return of Jezebel James" into "Canterbury's Law"

Saturday Nights

Beginning Saturday, Jan. 5: Same as it ever was -- "Cops," "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted"

Sunday Nights

Beginning Sunday, Jan. 6: Comedy Encores (7-8 p.m.) into "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Family Guy" and "American Dad" [Note: On Sunday, Jan. 13, "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" will be pre-empted for the "Sarah Connor" premiere, while Sunday, Feb. 3 is the Super Bowl.]
Beginning Sunday, March 2: Everything's the same, but "Unhitched" replaces "American Dad" until April 13 when "American Dad" is back




Sal

TV Hot Spot: News

Paula Abdul breaks nose trying to avoid stepping on Chihuahua

Post by: Sal

Paula Abdul broke her nose over the weekend after she fell while trying to avoid stepping on her Chihuahua, her publicist said Monday.Abdul was recovering from the mishap and will appear on "American Idol" Tuesday and its season finale Wednesday, publicist David Brokaw said."She's a little sore but is doing fine," he said.Abdul told the syndicated entertainment TV show "Extra" she tore cartilage in her nose and fractured her toe."I took a nasty fall...trying not to hurt my dog. I bruised myself on my arm...my chest, my waist all the way down to my hip. All from my little chubby Tulip," Abdul said.The dog was not hurt, Brokaw said.

Take Care,

Sal