Jessica Sanchez signs with Interscope Records; Kellie Pickler loses her record deal
AP photo
Good news: “American Idol” season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez confirmed on Twitter that she is now signed with Interscope Records. Expect an urban vibe.
Bad news: Season five country singer Kellie Pickler has lost her deal with Sony after her latest album “100 Proof” failed to take off. Her previous two albums did well enough but this shows how tough it is in this business. One bomb and you’re out!
Her manager Larry Fitzgerald said in a statement to ABC News Radio, “Kellie’s contract with Sony came to an end and they mutually decided not to renew.” (I love how they spin these situations as “mutual.”)
Meanwhile, season 11 winner Phillip Phillips continues to mend after his sixth kidney stone surgery. He tells E! Online: “I’m doing good, just been recovering and just taking it easy,” the singer tells us. “But also pushing myself to get my strength back and just get some energy back.”
The official Whitney Houston/Jordin Sparks “Celebrate” video is out. Bittersweet. But Sparks looks incredible and sounds vibrant:
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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92 comments Add your comment
Jessica Sanchez Debut Album : The Latest Fuzz
June 29th, 2012
12:39 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
8:24 am
OK, “Magic Mike”… Saw movie with an audienc
Jenny
June 29th, 2012
8:25 am
Morning y’all! Work is clobbering me and I’ll prob continue to be MIA… but I HAD to pop in and say how upset I am over what the Today show did to Ann Curry. Haven’t caught up, don’t know if yall discussed, but I am so upset by this.
She is a wonderful, accomplished, BRAVE journalist… and the viewers want fluff and cute and comfortable, over her talent?
Hmmm… sounds like a certain pattern on Idol!
Talent can’t win. (Haha, just tying it back to the blog.)
Anyway, you could tell Matt, Al, Nat, etc. were *pissed*.
Probably can’t chat today, but everyone have a good weekend!
Miss you!
Sam-A
June 29th, 2012
8:31 am
Sister Jenny: I agree about Ann C – I really like her. And it’s not her fault that ratings are down – lordy, they’re down everywhere – that’s one of our main Idol topics around here. Things go in cycles, and Today is just in one. And the bit about Ann and Matt not clicking – I never experienced that, and I watch the first 45 mins of Today every day. Matt actually looked near tears. Sure would like to have seen some sort of tribuute. God’s sake, when that gal on Sat Today left a couple weeks ago to move to weekday Today, they did a long film tribute. Ann is courageous, talented and beautiful – hope her new move at NBC will skyrocket and she’ll come out the big winner in the whole mess.
PS: I have never really cared for Savannah Guthrie – I’d rather have seen Natalie Morales or Hoda KotB move over. Actually, wish, if this had to happenm, they’d grabbed Katie Couric back – I always enjoyed her.
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
8:32 am
Dang, computer got stuck. Anyway, saw movie with an audience mostly made up of women 30+, and they were READY for those “Magic Mike” strippers… hooting and hollering as Matthew McConaughey, half-nekkid, appears on screen in the first scene, then patiently waiting for Channing Tatum, himself an ex-stripper, to reveal HIS ripped bod in some orgiastic “dance”. Channing obliges, as does Alcide from “True Blood”, and some other, not-so-memorable actors. More cheering and actual swinging of arms from those lusty moviegoers.
Then the story – yes, “Magic Mike” has a storyline – turns dramatic and tragic. Stripping is tawdry, the sexy hangers-on dirty, and even the money is unclean, Don’t think audience had expected THAT cold shower.
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
8:36 am
Elvis Presley’s grand-daughter Riley Keough, a model, has a tiny part in “Magic Mike”. Pretty to look at, she plays a drugged-out hooker fondling her pet piglet. Wonder what Grandma Priscilla will think of that.
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
9:04 am
I really connected with “People Like Us” – probably because like Chris Pine’s character Sam, I too discovered, when one of my parents died, that I had an older half-sibling.
Since it’s a movie, Sam’s story is of course much more dramatic. His estranged record-producing dad has died, leaving Sam a bag with a bunch of money and a mysterious note, with a name, an address and a plea – “take care of them”.
Tempted to keep the money for himself, Sam looks up the name and address and discovers an unknown half-sister (Elizabeth Banks) with a problem child. The expected complications ensue and worsen as Sam delays informing his mom (Michelle Pfeiffer), sister and girl-friend (Olivia Wilde).
A bit slow-moving, but heartfelt and with a great ending. Recommended!
blkshepherd
June 29th, 2012
9:17 am
G
Remember the Time(No not Michael Jackson’s hit Remember the time
but when Whitney Houston bursted on the scene..Clive guided her career with pop songs All at Once, Didnt we almost Have it all, Saving all my love, and her biggest hit written by a country artist(Miss Dolly Parton)I Will Always Love you..and it certainly had no R&Bs or neo-soul to it.
As a matter of fact all of Whitney’s early smashes were All Pop. causing her to be booed at a Soul Train Award show which hurt Whitney personally. she felt the black community regarded her as a sell out only singing Pop songs and putting on this Image she actually was Not. This was something Clive created (the Greatest love image Pop Princess and for a time she Was Pop’s Queen after I will always Love you and Star Spangled Banner)but she then went the urban R&B hip hop route “I’m Your Baby tonight” I’m Every Woman and later Its Not right but its ok years givining her a more soulful Flavor and audience to appease her black audiences aka Soul Train and Prove she had not abandoned her roots or the black audience.
Unfortunately she began dating Bobby around this same time which I still suspect along with her painful reception at the Soul Train awards she went for the more soulful stuff and her sales suffered. Her cds didnt sell near as much as the Saving all My love. How will I know Pop stuff. and of course combined with her love of drugs..well you know the rest of the story..
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
9:19 am
Mark Duplass is not movie-star handsome, but his rumpled, jowly look feels honest, and he’s very convincing as “guy, who is great, once you get to know him.” The other week he was the unkempt charmer of “Safety Not Guaranteed”, today he opens as another troubled character in “Your Sister’s Sister”.
This time, his Jack is still grieving his brother’s death a year earlier. To help him find solace, the brother’s girl-friend, and Jack’s best friend Iris (the always luminous Emily Blount) suggests he go hole up in her family’s now deserted summer house for a week.
He goes, by ferry and bike, to a beautiful island, finds the house – and an occupant already in it. Iris’s older half-sister (popular theme this week) Hannah (Rosemary DeWitt) also wants some peace and quiet to contemplate HER life crisis, the painful break-up from her partner.
“Your Sister’s Sister” only involves these three characters, who keep forming different partnerships with each other. It’s a quiet movie, full of emotional upheavals, told with great understanding of how things “just happen.” Terrific acting.
DanJ
June 29th, 2012
9:27 am
Well I’m happy for Jessica and I will buy her CD regardless what genre it is. I think she has a great voice and I’m happy she’s signed. I feel bad for Kellie but this is a: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY WORLD! You’re only as good as your last CD sales.
Pitchy
June 29th, 2012
9:46 am
I’m definitely going to see Magic Mike. Love Matthew Mc (can’t spell his last name).
Glad to hear the news about Jessica. Looking forward to hearing it.
Guest
June 29th, 2012
9:56 am
I prefer mixed genre for Jessica. She should not focus on urban vibe; so much competition with the very popular, more mature singers/performers. She should add a couple of power ballads in her album as these types of songs made her show her powerful vocal range with so much control and landed her in the top 2 of American Idol.
Cammi317
June 29th, 2012
9:59 am
I am still weary about this Sparkle re-make. The original was sooooooo amazing and I am afraid of being disappointed.
G
June 29th, 2012
10:04 am
blkshepherd
June 29th, 2012
9:17 am
“Remember the Time(No not Michael Jackson’s hit Remember the time but when Whitney Houston bursted on the scene..Clive guided her career with pop songs….”
I remember it like it was yesterday. Excellent jog by Clive. Pop brought more money and fame to Whitney than R&B would. She was talented enough to pull off any genre. Clive used it to his advantage.
Fast-forward to Jess, and you gather she has the same potential (with more grooming of course). I believe she performs both pop and r&b well, but pop may suit her a bit better. Anything outside of an r&b ballad may be a bit risky for her. JMO
G
June 29th, 2012
10:05 am
Job
David Puddy
June 29th, 2012
10:08 am
Jessica was the best talent on Idol, but was burdened by young girls blindly voting for the good looking male singer. What Philips bring s to the table is not a sustainable model; Jessica’s is.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 29th, 2012
11:11 am
Whoa, whoa, whoa…comparing Jessica to THE Whitney? Ummm…right. No. I’m sorry, I’m not the biggest Whitney fan in the planet, but that’s just crazy talk. I wouldn’t even say that about Kelly. And y’all know I love me some Kelly. Anyway. Carry on.
Mercedes, I appreciate your reviews as always! I figured Magic Mike will have a bit of a Boogie Nights feel to it. I’m going in with low expectations. Glad to hear you liked People Like Us, I was curious about that one…so I’ll try to check it out.
Al
June 29th, 2012
11:38 am
It is about time a real singer gets a recording contract. I am sick of looking at the lip-sinking stars of today, a real artist can last the distance not just until their boobs-sag, good luck to the girls and I will buy her album.
Harriett
June 29th, 2012
11:47 am
Good morning!
Unfortunately, Al, technology has allowed and encouraged the proliferation of folks who can’t really sing, but that fact is able to be masked in the studio with computers. They can find any sort of physically or sexually attractive young person, give them a mic and put them up to lip sync their auto-tuned songs ad nauseum. Those who can “really” sing are few. Having said that, though, the practice of finding physically attractive young people and giving them recording contracts has been around since the early days of rock and roll. Fan clubs were established in their names, they appeared on American Bandstand, and even had movie roles. Sing? Nope, not a lick.
Pitchy
June 29th, 2012
12:02 pm
Cammi317 – I too am leary about the remake of Sparkle. I feel like I have to go see it, but that movie is a classic, and I would hate for them to mess it up. Hell, I was upset when Jean Carr didn’t put out the record or the single, but instead Areatha Franklin did. I thought that was messed up at that time.
JTesla
June 29th, 2012
12:19 pm
The great thing about technology is that we can have singers without even having a person. Hatsune Miku doesn’t do drugs, wreck her car, or get a pretentious snotty attitude. We don’t need singers who can’t sing; we can just make it all up and get better results.
Regarding Sparkle: didn’t see the first one, won’t see the new one. It’s how I roll. Same goes for Magic Mike, didn’t watch Showgirls, won’t watch Mike.
G
June 29th, 2012
12:28 pm
@K&C. Not trying to compare Jess to Whitney in terms of talent……only on path to success.
G
June 29th, 2012
12:30 pm
Come to think of it…….If a young Whitney was on Idol as a contestant this season, she probably would’ve fallen short to PP too. Go figure.
Jenny
June 29th, 2012
1:21 pm
Sam@ 8:31 – agree completely. Imagine that!
Harriet@ 11-ish, ditto. Jess is one of the shrinking numbers who can really sing.
Jenny
June 29th, 2012
1:22 pm
And G, no, even a young Whitney couldn’t have derailed WGWG mania….
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
LOL, y’all are nothing if not consistent.
I think Whitney would have mopped the floor with P2. Jessica is talented but lacks owning her identity when performing, Whitney had it in spades!
So, Sam-A, I think we might be the only ones watching… ABC’s Duets (4.2 mil/1.0) dropped 17 percent to cue up its lowest rating to date.
(Disclaimer: I wasn’t able to watch last night’s show. But it is on my DVR)
Sam-A
June 29th, 2012
1:50 pm
Well, K&CF, here’s a shocker: Kelly had gone very blonde, and I don’t think it looks good at all. She was looking so great with that nice,shiny dark hair, but this stuff isn’t good for her.
I’m off to the Dentist in a few, and then off all next week. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a fun and safe 4th!
G
June 29th, 2012
2:04 pm
@K&C. I think Jenny and I have the hang of it now………next season we’re just going to guess which WGWG will win it all. Is Hollywood week too early?
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 29th, 2012
2:41 pm
Sam-A, yeah, I knew about the blonde…she’s actually a natural blonde, but I think she looks better with darker hair.
G, LOL! That sounds like a fun idea for next season! “Spot the WGWG!”
Mercedes S.
June 29th, 2012
3:26 pm
Chief Justice goes rogue and TomKat splitting up! End of days or what?
JTesla
June 29th, 2012
3:56 pm
I was expecting the TomKat thing, I think if it lasted over 10 years I would have then worried about the apocalypse. I have to disagree about the Chief Justice going rogue, since he simply toed the Republican and the Mitt Romney line by supporting the key provision that they pushed (individual mandate). As such, it really surprises me that the Democrats aren’t crying foul over that decision.
Yes, I went there
Jessica Sanchez Signs With Interscope Records; Kellie Pickler Loses Her Record Deal
June 30th, 2012
7:54 am
[...] SOURCE VN:F [1.9.18_1163]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)VN:F [1.9.18_1163]Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)Remember, if you like the songs you hear, go buy the album when it comes out. These songs are for promotional use only. Make sure to check out Audioboombox.com for more goodies. [...]
Judge&equity
June 30th, 2012
7:39 pm
good luck to jessica S…your looks? hmmm it’s ok but you need a makeover…
and kellie P…be positive as always one lost deal is not an end to your career…but an inspiration to work harder…go girl..
Kelly
July 1st, 2012
3:41 pm
Sounds like Jessica will just be handed songs that Interscope has around. Sounds like American Idol all over again. They are not asking her to do any writing. They also gave her the death spot of an Oct release – with no song on the radio. This looks like a disaster in waiting.
Deirdre
July 2nd, 2012
8:04 am
Morning!
I’m back! Went to a wedding on Long Island this weekend where the temps were only in the high 90’s. Returned to 106 here in the ATL. I hope I brought some of the “cooler” weather back with me. And btw, worst wedding reception I EVER went to. We had a 2 hour drive back to my in-laws and at 11:30pm we STILL had not had our entrees(this was after sitting down at the table at 8:30.) Salad and appetizers arrived at 9pm……….pasta course(dried out) at 10:30 and we left before the main course. Heaven knows when those people got to go home. Add to that, the DJ was a combination recording and drum band. They’d play a recorded song then a guy would play the drums along with the song….couldn’t hear the melody at all and pretty soon we all became deafened by the drums. During one particularly long set, in which the drummer played the same beat for nearly 30 minutes, a 75 year old uncle stood up and shouted “F***, shut up!!!!!!!” Unfortunately nobody but our table could hear him.
Harriett
July 2nd, 2012
8:38 am
LOL@Deirdre!! Good morning, and what a story! Can’t stop laughing. It comes close to the nightmare I went through at a wedding reception in New Jersey about six years ago. Our designated driver fell off her wagon and passed out at a table in the bar at the club. Her daughter, a thirty-something, got so smashed she passed out on the commode in the “unisex” bathroom, with the door ajar. These folks happeded to be my cousins, and the sister and niece of the father of the bride!!! But, the good news was, we did have good food and were out of there at a reasonable hour. Unbelievable hour, Deirdre! Did anyone apologize?
Deirdre
July 2nd, 2012
8:54 am
The mother of the groom(who is my husband’s cousin) apologized profusely but it wasn’t her doing so we couldn’t blame her. The bride and groom never went to any tables(except their friends’) to welcome us and thank us for coming. Two of the bridesmaids spent the whole evening swilling beer from a bottle. Classy!
Rickster
July 2nd, 2012
8:59 am
“couldn’t hear the melody at all”
much like when PP sings!
Harriett
July 2nd, 2012
9:19 am
Hahaha! What a wedding reception! Poor mother of the groom must have been horrified.
G
July 2nd, 2012
9:20 am
Lol @ Rickster! Good one.
Rickster
July 2nd, 2012
9:45 am
Deidre’s wedding story sounds like an deleted scene from the “An American Wedding” installment of the “American Pie” movies.
Rodney Ho
July 2nd, 2012
9:46 am
New blog entry up but man, it’s a sloooow day in “Idol” land…