I’ll write something up more complete tomorrow morning and will post pictures, too. But here are two videos from the Tabernacle concert tonight starring David Cook.

While he has been doing Cutting Crew’s “(I Just Died) In Your Arms Tonight” as the cover song in his set recently, he decided to go back to Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher,” which he has played numerous times earlier on the tour.

And here is his song “Declaration,” which should have been a single. He jumps into the area for security and hangs with the crowd near the end. He first says he’s going to sing “Come Back to Me.” But then he realizes his error and cracked: “I lied to you. I never learned to read.” He had just talked about how the Kansas City Chiefs had lost Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons and how pained he was about it - thus, the Gonzalez reference.

-MTV gave a review of reactions to Adam Lambert’s jaw-dropping appearance on the American Music Awards Sunday …

Continue reading David Cook at the Tabernacle »

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The Twitter bugs are all buggin’ over Adam Lambert’s risque performance Sunday night to close out the American Music Awards.

He sang his single “For Your Entertainment.” The stage was packed with dancers in what appeared to be a pseudo S&M club. Adam at one point had a guy on a leash. Moments later, another dude grinded his face into Adam’s crotch. (The camera turned away too late for that one. No wonder this aired at 10:55 p.m. EST! It was apparently edited out on the West Coast feed.). He later kissed the keyboardist, who looked like a girl to me but apparently was a guy.

He used his vintage Adam screech frequently and was oddly offkey at times. Was I entertained? Not enough. Overall, it was a bit of a mess and way over the top. He seemed to be trying way too hard to amp it to 11. I anticipate the Adam acolytes will lap up this …

Continue reading Adam Lambert goes all S&M during the American Music Awards »

Jordin Sparks had to cancel a trip to Australia to have an appendectomy.

She is recuperating now.

Her last tweets last night:

I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. (rip appendix) Goodnight twittlets.

For those who missed my tweets earlier…I got appendicitis on tues & took the appendix out last night. So I’m recovering!

-The label RCA Nashville has decided to go for a more upbeat song than “It’s Only” called “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me.”

What you think? Smarter move? Ballads are usually tougher sells on the country charts.

- Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson will be performing at the American Music Awards this Sunday. I’ll post the results.

Continue reading Jordin Sparks recovering from appendectomy, Danny Gokey’s single »

I grew up gorging on MTV videos of the 1980s. So I’m delighted to see Allison Iraheta’s director channel a bit of that spirit in the singer’s new video for “Friday I’ll Be Over U.” Judge for yourself. And just to make you feel old, Iraheta wasn’t even around in the 1980s. She was born in 1992.

The video definitely evokes imagery from the era of leg warmers, “Flashdance” tops and skinny ties. For example, Scandal’s “Goodbye To You”:

Or the Waitresses’ “I Know What Boys Like”

And of course, A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” with the cartoon drawings:

The paint splotches and lyrics being thrown onto the screen are very early 80s but I’m having trouble remembering which videos or used those effects. Can someone help me? The only thing I can think of when it comes to the pallette is the cover of the Police’s Synchronicity album.

-Jennifer Hudson nabs another great film role, playing Winnie Mandela in an upcoming biopic.

“Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m …

Continue reading Allison Iraheta’s ‘Friday I’ll Be Over U’ video out; Jennifer Hudson thrilled by Winnie Mandela role »

Too much going on for me to hold stuff. So here’s a bonus blog entry for the day.

Breaking at 5:50 p.m., thanks to Kelly&CarrieFan! Q100 is hosting its annual free concert for its listeners at the Loft (capacity 650 people) with headliners Kelly Clarkson and Jay Sean (No. 1 song “Down”). Two things to note: only way to get in (besides connections) is to be a friend of Q100 online or to win tickets on the station. And Kelly will be doing a “power acoustic” set for just 25 minutes, according to Q100 OM Rob Roberts. This will not be a full concert so don’t expect one. But it should be cool in such a tiny setting. Wasn’t I just complaining about her not coming to Atlanta? This isn’t exactly an ideal situation in terms of getting all her Atlanta fans a shot to see her, but it will be a treat to the lucky few who do get in.

Not surprisingly, Adam Lambert has used Twitter to bite back at the nasty bite-the-hand-that-just-fed-you Out magazine editor:

“Chill! Guess ya gotta get …

Continue reading Kelly Clarkson’s Q100 concert; Adam Lambert bites back at Out magazine, makes People’s sexiest; Kris Allen’s first-week sales weak »

I’m late on these bits of news since I spent Tuesday focused on writing up my David Cook interview.

hmm… let’s see. gets a civil restraining order against his stalker on top of Ryan Seacrest last month’s criminal restraining order.

The order issued Tuesday requires Chidi Benjamin Uzomah Jr. to stay 100 yards away from the radio and television personality. A criminal court judge granted a similar order against Uzomah earlier this month.

And Adam Lambert’s handlers apparently tried to downplay his gayness in conversations with Out magazine. The editor in this letter (scroll down to read it) seems bitter about the situation despite the fact Adam comes off refreshingly candid in the actual interview.

Here’s a link to part one of the interview. It’s extremely long. Here’s a very brief excerpt:

Are you usually attracted to straight boys?
No, actually.

Kris seems like a real straight guy.
He is a real straight guy. He’s very straight. He’s just…cute.

He’s …

Continue reading Ryan Seacrest gets restraining order; Adam Lambert’s handlers vs. Out magazine »

CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

David Cook, winner of Season 7, has been touring almost nonstop since the end of his “American Idol” run.

He knows he has to strike while the “Idol” iron is hot before forging his own true post-”Idol” career. Touring is the ticket in this day and age. And Cook, who has honed his stage skills for years before he came on the show, is having no trouble selling tickets for venues such as the 2,500-capacity Tabernacle November 23.

Cook wasn’t originally planning to come to Atlanta for this current Declaration tour, which was set to end over the summer. But with sales going so well, he extended the tour into December.

Burnout alert? Cook denies being cooked.

“I’m good, man,” said Cook, who was on the phone between gigs in Ontario, Canada. “My life is pretty much my job. I sleep as much as my job allows me. I expend most of my energy on stage. It’s great cardio!”

His first post “Idol” album has actually done well, selling 1.2 million copies. (Only a …

Continue reading David Cook interview for Tabernacle show November 23 »

The news is pretty darn thin today on “Idol.” But I will be talking to David Cook today at 3 p.m. I’ll write up the interview for tomorrow. Carrie Underwood is also doing a press conference to promote her upcoming Christmas special on Fox. Cook will be on the special so I’ll ask him about that. Anybody wants to ask him a question, email me by 2:30 p.m. EST at rho@ajc.com. I may use it!

Here’s a positive review of his concert in St. Louis. (He’s coming to the Tabernacle Nov. 23):

As the show went on, Cook prowled the stage, making sure to pay attention to the crowd upstairs in the balcony and on all sides of the room. In fact, during the song “Declaration,” Cook unexpectedly left the stage, ran through the crowd to the back of the hall and upstairs, singing the final part of the song surrounded by enthralled supporters

The Detroit Free Press talked to him recently, too.

Q: You recently took in a Bruce Springsteen concert in New York, where he played his entire “Born to Run” …

Continue reading Talking to David Cook today, Carrie Underwood to perform at ‘CNN Heroes’ special »

I got a copy of Kris Allen’s CD in advance. It comes out Tuesday.

My initial impressions of the pop-rock album: it should satisfy his fans and remains true to what we think about Kris — dollops of Jason Mraz and John Mayer with more soul. The 13 tunes are a mix of mostly mid-tempo rock songs with ballads. My early favorites include “The Truth,” which sounds like Daughtry, the pretty “Red Guitar” and the sadly emotive ballad “I Need to Know.” “Written All Over My Face” has top 40 potential. The only song I found really offputting is “Can’t Stay Away,” which tries to rock out but he isn’t really good at reallyh rocking out. His cover of Kanye’s “Heartless” is still amazing.

He spoke with Reuters about his album, which was recorded in multiple cities. He had a hand in writing several of the songs.

His single “Live Like We’re Dying” is struggling to get much airplay and does not appear to be a massive hit. But he feels it has potential:

“It’s got a really jumpy chorus that I …

Continue reading Kris Allen’s new album, Danny Gokey’s Georgia connection w/ the single »

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

As a presenter at Wednesday night’s Country Music Awards,Kellie Pickler, for the first time, dropped the blonde and went reddish-brown . Shockingly, she looks good though I expect she’ll go back to blonde soon enough. She also fills out her dress nicely, of course.

Later in the show, Randy Houser’s little son looked peachy keen happy sitting next to Pickler. The cutesy tot even gave her very presence a thumbs up. Good taste, young tyke!

Taylor Swift broke Carrie Underwood’s three-year stranglehold on Female Vocalst of the Year.

Underwood sang “Cowboy Casanova” in a questionable pink gown and spangly short shorts. But she manages to pull it off.

As host, she doesn’t have the comic chops of Brad Paisley, her co host, but the pair do have chemistry, which is why the CMAs brought them back. She did do the song parodies with aplomb, even the lame “Swife Flu” song in place of LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue.”

The other “Idol” connection is Daughtry dueting …

Continue reading Kellie Pickler goes red, Carrie Underwood loses to Taylor Swift at the CMAs »