William Balfour has been indicted on the four counts he was charged with in relation to the murders of American Idol finalist, Jennifer Hudson’s mother Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew, 7-year-old Julian King.  A hearing is set for January 20, 2009.

Balfour has formally been charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion.  Personally, if he’s guilty, I hope he never gets out of prison.  The crime he committed was so heinous, particularly concerning the cold-blooded murder of that little boy. 

He has denied any involvement in the crimes.

image: Newscom

American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, was spotted smoking a cigarette while jet skiing on vacation in the Caribbean last week.  Wow.  Who goes jet skiing with a cigarette?  I guess Simon does! 

By the way, does that look like a Mason symbol on the watercraft?  It does to me but I’m not completely sure.

image: Bauer-Griffin

American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has had a tough time these past couple years.  She seemed resentful of having had less control over her first albums and wanted to try to write her own songs and shape her own identity.  She basically alienated and attacked the ones who had made her successful and, after her album My December failed to generate the kind of sales she was used to, she apologized for her behavior and ended up going on tour with Reba McEntire instead of releasing another album. 

Now, she’s releasing a new single “My Life Would Suck Without You” next month and will be dropping a new album in March.  What do you think?  Are you looking forward to this new album?

image: Amazon.com

American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, was spotted at Beso with a man who is rumored to be her new boyfriend.  I hope Paula has found some happiness since it’s been a tough year for her but I do have to question why she chose to take this date to Beso – it’s owned by her ex-boyfriend JT Torregiani.  Can you say awkward?

What do you think?  I think it’s good that he looks closer to her age than JT did but I hope he’s not just some jerk looking for a famous girlfriend…

American Idol has another promotional ad for the upcoming season and, this time, it features Carrie Underwood.  Watch it here:

I love that, like the one with David Cook, it reminds viewers of where it all began which is a nice way to also help them remember why the show is worth watching.  However, I understand why they chose to use Carrie’s “Just a Dream” in the background but the actual song’s meaning is not relevant to her success after Idol and, because of how powerful those lyrics are, it almost made me cringe to think the song was used to promote a television show.  Maybe it’s just the holidays making me more sensitive but that’s how I feel.  What do you think?

Today’s the day – sweet little David Archuleta has turned 18 and is now legal!  I wonder what last season’s American Idol runner-up is doing to celebrate.

My son’s birthday is not too long from now and I’ve always hated that his birthday is so close to Christmas but it’s not this close!  I hope he got double the love and, of course, double the presents!

Ryan Seacrest and Paris Hilton were spotted dining at STK in West Hollywood.   They were accompanied by Paris’ friend, Brittany Flickinger.  The three of them checked out the action at Hyde nightclub afterwards.

Okay, first of all, is this a weird grouping to you?  Clearly, I don’t personally know Ryan Seacrest but doesn’t he seem a little out of place?  And while I’m at it, can I just say how hideous I think Paris’ shirt is?  Come on!

So, what do you guys think?  Is there anything to this story?

More pictures after the jump!

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American Idol (season 7) finalist, Michael Johns, was on the Today Show where he performed his holiday song “Another Christmas.”  Proceeds from the song are going to charity and Michael explained to Matt Lauer that he was inspired to give back after his friend Nancy O’Dell (Access Hollywood) lost her mother to ALS earlier this year.  How sweet and sad! 

I wasn’t a real fan of the song (or the performance) but the lyrics and purpose made it all worthwhile.  Watch the video here:

Canadian Idol judge, Zack Werner, feels that cancelling the show sends the “worst possible message” and I kind of have to agree with him.  I was always under the impression that the show did incredibly well in ratings and sponsorship. 

Metro News reported that Zack said that he was always aware that the show was “prohibitively expensive” to produce and that it had always been a “hard sell” with Canadian advertisers.  He also talked about the fact that CTV paid $100 million for the Olympics and would have to sell the advertising for that (read more on that in the whole article).

More importantly, Zack said that, times are bleak (understatement of the year) and cancelling the show show sends the “worst possible message” because it makes it seem like kids shouldn’t dare to dream anymore.  He felt the show demonstrated that people can work hard and have options which, of course, is something we all need to see.  I’ve felt discouraged this year and, while I’m not sure Canadian Idol would exactly make me feel better or inspired, I do get Zack’s point. 

What do you think?  Is it bad to take a show like Canadian Idol off the air?

image: CTV

Daughtry will be performing on Fox’s New Year’s Eve Live this year along with American Idol winner, David Cook, Scott Weiland and Lynyrd Skynard.  The show, broadcasting from Las Vegas, will air on December 31, 2008 from 11pm-12:30am ET (tape-delayed broadcasts will air in different time zones). 

Sounds like a great show!  I always have a hard time finding the right countdown so I hope to catch this one!

image: Bauer-Griffin