Javier Colon, the first winner of "The Voice"! CREDIT: NBC

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iTunes did not lie. The top two sellers there were also the top two vote getters.

But the top seller did not win. Javier Colon, in a mild upset, defeated Dia Frampton. The R&B man from Connecticut who struggled for years to break it big in the business now has his biggest opportunity yet. He wins $100,000 and a guaranteed record deal.

“Wow,” Colon said. “I thank you. I don’t know where to begin except to say the three women behind me are absolutely awesome. It was a pleasure to be here and I want to thank everybody at home who believed in me and voted for me. Thank you all. Thank you, my family!”

Carson Daly said the two finalists were separated by just two percentage points. That is impressively close.

I was not a big fan of Colon throughout the competition. I found …

Continue reading Who won ‘The Voice’? »

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AP photo

While Jennifer Lopez hems and haws about coming back for another season of “American Idol,” Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson are good to go, according to EW.com.

Tyler would be working his second year and hopefully, he’ll drop the adjective “beautiful.” And maybe Randy, who has been there since day one in 2002, might give up the “in it to win it” line.

But don’t count on it.

Host Ryan Seacrest has signed on as well.

It’s not clear how much time Lopez has before she has to make a final call. My guess is August. I’m also sure “Idol” is seeking a back-up female judge in case Lopez moves on.

And it sounds like Nigel Lythgoe, widely credited for helping resurrect “Idol” this year, will return, too.

Continue reading Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler signed on for 2012 »

CREDIT: NBC

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NBC stretched this baby out to two hours.

It included four original songs by the artists. (Take that, “American Idol!”)

And it featured four duets with the singers and their coaches. (Also something that couldn’t happen on “Idol”)

There were appearances by Ne Yo and Pitbull, plus the  always delightful Brad Paisley. The opening number (Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure’) by the quartet of coaches was fun, far better than their earlier Queen medley a few weeks ago.

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Based on iTunes sales (and that seems like a fair if not perfect correlation), cutie-pie Dia Frampton is going to win. Her passably appealing song “Inventing Shadows” just beats out Javier Colon’s surprisingly good “Stitch by Stitch.” Way behind is Vicci Frampton’s disappointing “Afraid to Sleep.” …

Continue reading ‘The Voice’ recap: who is going to win? »

Crystal at the Voice at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in January, 2011. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

There are three dates where virtually any decent “Idol” performer can get a solid pay day: Thanksgiving, New Year’s and July 4th.

Thanksgiving lighting ceremonies like the one at Lenox Square Mall has hosted “Idol” contestants in the past, including George Huff and Katharine McPhee. New Year’s is probably the biggest one and anybody with a half-decent name should be able to get a decent paycheck that day.

Folks who host July 4th fireworks celebrations often like to spend a few extra bucks on big-name entertainment. This year features two “Idol” alums at two different fireworks events. Diana DeGarmo will be at Lenox Square, as reported a few days ago. I just heard on Q100 (a sponsor) that another “Idol” runner-up Crystal Bowersox will be headlining the Centennial Olympic Park festivities. (Last year, they had the Smithereens.) She begins performing at 8:30 p.m. before the …

Continue reading Crystal Bowersox headlining Centennial Olympic Park July 4th festivities »

Javier Colon is one of the final four performing tonight on "The Voice." Finale is tomorrow. SOURCE: NBC

NBC’s ‘The Voice’ will be touring starting in July, according to tweets from Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Details are forthcoming. “Idols” live tour starts next week, too. Reportedly, the top eight will be on the road, so former “Idol” Frenchie Davis will get some stage time.

The Gwinnett Arena date for “Idols Live” July 26 is long sold out.  Last year, the show had what I think were its lowest attendance numbers ever in Atlanta, barely filling two-thirds of the arena. Most years, the show has sold out (and yes, I’ve been to every single one except the second “Idols Live” date season five, the only year the show came twice.)

- “Platinum Hit” last night featured songs about love, arguably the most common theme in music. Jes, the former “Idol” contestant, found herself in the bottom two but her singing partner Melissa from Hawaii was clearly the least inspiring of the …

Continue reading ‘The Voice’ starts tour in July competing with ‘Idols Live,’ which is sold out at Gwinnett »

Constantine Maroulis, center, performs with the cast of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages in New York. (Joan Marcus/Barlow Hartman Public Relations/Associated Press)

Constantine Maroulis in 2009 became the first “American Idol” contestant to receive a Tony nomination courtesy of a role tailor made for Maroulis’ theatrical rock persona in “Rock of Ages.”

Two years later, he is about to wrap up life as an ’80s arena rock god on the national tour of the kitschy Broadway production, which features hits by the likes Twisted Sister, Foreigner, Bon Jovi and Journey. His stop at the Fox Theatre from July 5 to 10 will be his second-to-last city on this tour.

“It’s been like a hit record,” Maroulis said in a phone interview last month. “It’s been an awesome journey, no pun intended. I wanted to see it through from off-Broadway to Broadway to across the country. It’s now become a worldwide brand.”

The starting off point of the play is from the lyrics of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin.’ ” …

Continue reading Constantine Maroulis feels blessed by ‘Rock of Ages,’ coming to Fox Theater July 5-10 »

Dia Frampton is in the finals.

I’m proud of myself: I called the final four exactly. It wasn’t that tough, though.

Team Christina: Frenchie Davis vs. Beverly McClellan. Who has more heart? Beverly. She got the votes. Easy call in my mind. Christina on her judges’ score wimps out with a 50/50. Viewers gave Beverly 57% of the vote.

Team Adam: Casey Weston vs. Javier Colon. I actually like Casey better but Javier has an air of inevitability to him. He wins. He gives Javier 65/35. Hey, at least he made a stand! Javier won hands down with the public, gaining 73% of the vote.

Team Cee Lo: Nakia vs. Vicci Martinez. Nakia is good but Vicci is a step better. She is going to win this in my mind. He gives Nakia 51/49. Vicci stomped Nakia in the public vote, winning 75%.

Team Blake: Dia Frampton vs. Xenia. Easy call. Dia has the it factor. Xenia has the voice but simply lacks the other elements. He wimps out like Christina and gives them each 50/50. This was the closest race with the …

Continue reading ‘The Voice’ final four »

Jordin poses with Jenna (right) and Julianne (left) Lentz, daughters of an employee at Children's Hospital. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

It was quite a day at the Voice. No, not NBC’s new hit show. The studios Ryan Seacrest created at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston near Emory University.

Dozens of hospital employees, patients and family members crowded the main entrance to get a glimpse and if they were lucky, autographs and photos with the Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block and Jordin Sparks.

Mark Kanov, Ryan’s first boss and former general manager of Star 94, now runs the Voice. He has the Rolodex and sway with record labels to get big names to come by since the studio opened last November, including “Idol” alums Kellie Pickler, Crystal Bowersox and Kimberly Caldwell. (All of them I interviewed at the Voice.) It was impressive that Kanov got all the members of both bands to be there, including local resident Brian Littrell.

As for Sparks, she has gotten …

Continue reading Not my interview with Jordin Sparks at Children’s Healthcare »

Vicci Martinez is a favorite to win. CREDIT: NBC

Before the final eight perform, we find out who are the final two on Team Cee Lo and Team Adam Levine.

Last week, I predicted America would pick Vicci Martinez on Team Cee Lo and that he would then pick Nakia for his second spot. I got that 100% right.

I also predicted that Javier Colon would get America’s vote on Team Adam. I was right. Ditto for who Adam would pick as his second spot: Casey Weston.

The country artists (Jeff Jenkins and Curtis Grimes) basically disappointed and were rightfully eliminated. The sister duo of Taylor and Tori Thompson were cannon fodder. So was Devon Barley, the guy who inexplicably beat Atlanta’s Rebecca Loebe.

So my favorite tonight was Vicci Martinez for sure, followed by Nakia and Beverly McClellan. Who will make it through?

I bet it’s Vicci for Team Cee Lo over Nakia (bummer there!). I think Beverly will eek out a win over Frenchie for Team Christina. Dia is an easy pick over Xenia for Team …

Continue reading ‘The Voice’ recap: top 8 perform »

Kellie Pickler has a new single called “Tough.” It’s now at No. 47 on the Mediabase 24/7 in its second week.

It does indeed have an tougher sound than many of her past songs and has some honky-tonk cred. She has had a few moderate hits (e.g. “Red High Heels,” “I Wonder,” “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful,” “Best Days of Your Life”) but nothing huge. I’m not sure this one will become her “Since U Been Gone” or “Before He Cheats.” We’ll see how it goes.

Here are a couple more publicity shots from BNA Records:

Continue reading New publicity photos of Kellie Pickler with new single ‘Tough’ »