American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, is definitely a hit with the ladies.  He was swarmed by a group of them when he returned to his hotel in Manchester, England.  I don’t know what got into these women but I’m guessing there wasn’t any paper around since they asked him to autograph their body parts. 

In the image on the left, Simon signed the breast (see a better angle of the breast signing!) of one fan and then in the picture on the right, he is signing another woman’s belly!  Click on the images to enlarge.

image credit: splashnewsonline.com

Kelly Clarkson was a guest on So You Think You Can Dance this week and Access Hollywood caught up with her to ask her how she felt about appearing on the show.

The original American Idol winner explained that she loves all kinds of dance styles and said that she grew up learning hip hop and said it might be cool to learn ballroom dancing.  I have always wanted to learn too!  She made it clear, though, that she would never agree to be on Dancing With the Stars (she actually said “hell no” and that she would look like “a big ol’ fool”). 

She also talked about her duet with Chris Daughtry, her weight and the death of Michael Jackson.  It was a fun interview so if you’re a Kelly fan, you will love it!

Let me just get this out of the way – I’m not a big fan of Lady Gaga or her music for that matter.  I know that “Poker Face” is very catchy (I’ve sung along to it on occasion) and I respect that but I can’t say that I love it. 

Anyway, Chris Daughtry did an acoustic version of the song and I think it is soooooo much better than the original.  I actually was able to pay attention to the lyrics and it feels like the song is actually telling a story. 

Check it out, tell me what you think:

American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, was spotted with his ex-girlfriend, Terri Seymour, as they left the Vanilla club in London, England.  I took a quick glance at the hot spot’s website and it looks like it has a pretty cool lounge (kind of a futuristic feel to it) and a limited menu.

I’ve got to say that these two little awfully cozy for a couple who is broken up.  Why would Terri fly all the way over to England if there wasn’t hope that this relationship could be rekindled.  Either way, I’m not always a fan of her clothes but I think that she looks very nice in this blue dress.  I also think Simon is a very sexy man but I can’t condone smoking – he loses major points with that cigarette in his hand…

image: Bauer-Griffin

Yesterday, People reported that American Idol Season 6 runner-up, Blake Lewis, will be releasing a dance-pop album to follow up his 2007 effort, Audio Day Dream. 

The new album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, is expected to be released by Tommy Boy Entertainment on October 6, 2009.  His new single “Sad Song” will make its debut on July 21, 2009.

Of the project, Blake said: “The music in the dance scene gets me out onto the dance floor to lose my inhibition.  The title is an ode to all the record stores that have been closing down due to my industry eating itself. These are the stores that brought inspiration to all of us music lovers and have led me to make the music I create today.”

I’m pretty excited about this news.  I love dance music and I think that he could do a good job.  He’s been working with producers Rodney Jerkins and Dave Aube who have had a lot of success creating music with Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and the Pussycat Dolls.

I can’t wait to hear “Sad Song.”  I could use some new music for my iPod-fuelled workouts!

image: Amazon

American Idol Season 7 finalist, Carly Smithson, has been tapped to perform during the Opening Ceremony of the 2009 State Games of America on July 30 at the Colorado Springs World Arena. 

“This will be something special for the athletes and the fans,” said Colorado Springs Sports Corporation President/CEO Tom Osborne. “Carly Smithson is one of America’s most popular performers, recognized by millions of young fans everywhere. We are grateful to our Opening Ceremony sponsor, AT&T, for its support and huge role in helping us bring Carly Smithson to the event.”

Uhhh, I love Carly Smithson and she was a real sweetheart in person (very energetic!) but I don’t know if I’d say that she was recognizable to millions just yet (although, she might quickly rise to fame as part of the new group We Are the Fallen).

I have to admit that I had never heard of this Olympic-style event so I looked it up.  It seems pretty cool.  There are a wide variety of sports to take in from archery to diving and soccer.  For more information, check out www.stategames.org! 

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: Michael Becker / FOX

According to People.com, American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, has been offered a guest starring role on Drop Dead Diva.  The show, which premieres on July 12, 2009 on the Lifetime channel, is about a vain woman named Deb who, after being killed in a car accident, is denied access to heaven because the gatekeeper, Fred, thinks she’s too self-centered (kind of an odd coincidence since the title of this show reminds me of the movie Drop Dead Fred –weird). 

Deb successfully pleads to return to earth but comes back to life in a totally different form – a recently-deceased, smart, plus-size lawyer named Jane Bingum. As you might have guessed, the whole thing is to help Deb find her inner-beauty and be less shallow. 

As if that wasn’t creepy enough, Deb (as Jane) tries to reconnect with her boyfriend and learns how it feels to go through life as an overweight individual.

Paula will play the part of a Judge Nina Hodge while she’s on the show (she presides over a case about a store that refuses to sell plus-size clothing).  She had this to say about the upcoming experience: “I am very excited to guest star on Drop Dead Diva.  All of the people are extremely talented and it’s a charming, wonderfully written new show.”

A lot of guest stars have been announced for the new series and I’m not at all surprised to see plus-sized actresses like Liza Minnelli, Nia Vardalos, Rosie O’Donnell and Kathy Najimy on the list (among others).  Of course, Paula has also battled with her weight over the years.

Have you heard of this show before?  I hadn’t but it does sound somewhat interesting.  I don’t think I will go out of my way to watch it but I’ll certainly give it a chance if I see it on.

image: Bauer-Griffin

The American Idol top 10 from Season 8 will perform in their first show this Sunday (July 5, 2009) in Portland, Oregon and I’m sure their fans are excited to see them perform live.  I never get to go since I’m up in Canada and they don’t have any stops here (but they should - Canadians watch the show too!).

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX

I had never thought about it but I read on E! Online that there are just two tour buses (one for guys and one for girls) but the guys have it a little rougher since there are just three girls on the tour while there are seven of them!  Scott MacIntyre and Michael Sarver both complained that their bus was overcrowded with Sarver saying: “I just wish it was part of the budget to have a third bus. It’s like the testosterone tour this year. No one is looking forward to the cramped boys’ bus.”

In the article, they asked each of the 10 contestants about what they will be doing on the tour (lots of goodies so check it out) and it definitely sounds like it will be a tour with a lot of variety since each set is tailored to each contestant’s style.  During the season, I was so amazed by how different the contestants were from each other so I think it will be a fun concert.

We know that one of their group numbers will be “Don’t Stop Believing” but I thought that the info about Adam Lambert’s and Kris Allen’s sets was very interesting.  Lambert will be doing a David Bowie medley and I know it’s going to be incredible!  I love Lambert and I love Bowie so I’m super jealous of any of you who get to see it.  Oh well, there’s always YouTube.  Kris will be doing five songs including my favorite Beatles song “Hey Jude.”

For more tour information, check out the American Idols Live page on the official site.

Former American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, performed at the 2009 Country Stampede Music Festival which took place from June 25-28.  The four-day event is the largest annual music festival in Kansas and, this year, it featured a great lineup including Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley and Blake Shelton among others.

It looks like Kellie really enjoyed herself which is great.  It’s so important to love what you do and I always hate to see someone performing who looks like they’d rather be somewhere else.

Read More - Kellie Pickler Performs at the 2009 Country Stampede

David Cook appeared on The Fuse’s No. 1 Countdown where he talked about his eclectic taste in music.  I also love music from all genres so I think that’s pretty cool.  He also mentioned how weird it was to see his own face all over iTunes after he won American Idol – I can’t even imagine how crazy that must have been.  He credits his father for encouraging him to play the guitar and for shaping David’s musical style. 

He also talks about a lot of different topics including what it was like when he moved out on his own for the first time, what kind of instruments he’s been learning to play and which groups influenced him when he put together his own band.  It’s a fun interview, check it out!