After being crowned the American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks sat down with People magazine for a cute little interview. Jordin fans will love it!

Have you gotten your driver’s license? And are you a good driver?
Yeah, I have my driver’s license. I actually got it July of last year, so it was about before I went and auditioned. So, I’m ok, I haven’t gotten any tickets or anything yet. I’m all right.

How did you do on your driver’s test?
Well, my driver’s test I think I did pretty well. The permit test, I kind of had a problem with, but then I went and studied and I passed – so it was good.

How do you think will handle the pressures in Hollywood to be super thin?
Oh, that super thin stuff? Hollywood needs to get over it, but I don’t know. I’ve got a really good family around me and I love the people that I’ve got around me and I’m pretty sure they’ll keep me grounded – I know they will because they’re always like, “Don’t let it go to your head, Jordin.” And I’m like, “Okay.” And I know that my mom, and my dad and my grandparents – as long as I got them with me I’ll be okay.

How did you emotionally handle the shows various pressure throughout the season?
It’s cool because since I am a minor I have a guardian with me and so I had my mom or my nana, because they would switch off. I would have them with me throughout the season, so it was cool to have them to lean on.

Who is your celebrity crush?
I’m going to have to say Brad Pitt. Why?
I don’t know – he’s just really cute. I don’t know him so I don’t know anything else except he’s just really good-looking.

What was your greatest moment before winning Idoll?
Oh my gosh, you’re going to laugh at me but getting my braces off. I’m just a normal quirky 17-year-old girl and getting my braces off was awesome. I did get my license and that was cool. And then just making it through the first round of auditions I was just – it amazed me because I didn’t think that I had a chance because so many people auditioned.

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Post from: Idol Stalker

So, it was pretty clear that Blake Lewis was uncomfortable singing that final song and he confirmed his displeasure when he said the following about “This is My Now” - “It’s definitely not my style, a song I would never sing if I didn’t have to. And I honestly think they should have had two songs that were tailored to both of us.”

He went on to say this to People magazine: “I’m kind of glad I didn’t win for, like, contractual reasons. I think if you’re first you might have to come back for like three years or something… I’m a child of the ’80s, so it’s definitely going to have very advanced thing to it with more of a melodic jazzy, like Maroon 5, Jamiroquai, but definitely more on the hip-hop and electronic kind of thing.”

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Melinda Doolittle went home last night. I am beginning to wonder about some of the theories circulating out there. One of the most popular is that they want Jordin to win, so in order to do that, they had to remove the biggest threat – Melinda. I love Blake and that is not meant as an insult, nor is it a suggestion that Jordin is not talented, but I can kinda see the logic. This is a sad day. To tell the truth, any one of the three going home is tragic. They were all so different and so talented in their own way. I think the absolute saddest part was Simon Cowell’s reaction. He was visibly upset by the news. I don’t know if I have ever seen him react like this:

Goodbye, Melinda. You are a class-act, amazingly talented and have grown so much as a performer. I hope to see your name in lights someday soon!

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Melinda Doolittle

Okay, I need to voice my frustration here. Melinda is a fantastic singer. Tonight, she delivered a good performance of “Sway.” That’s right, I said good – not great. Aside from looking like Martin Short with her dance moves, I’m totally tired of her not picking challenging songs. If she is going to consistently pick easy, repetitive tunes, she needs to blow me away – she didn’t. She did look great in that black dress tonight, though.

Lakisha Jones

Lakisha is another strong singer who isn’t trying very hard. I loved when Jennifer Lopez told her that she doesn’t “have to do too much” Right – because J.Lo has never been known as the queen of excess. Moving on… If you had the Pointer Singers of “Neutron Dance” fame cover Gloria Estefan’s “Conga” you would get tonight’s performance. Lakisha really brushed off Paula’s constructive criticism which falls in line with her total dismissal of the advice from Tony Bennett, Gwen Stefani and Lulu. Keep ignoring the advice, Lakisha, and you might be sent packing.

Chris Richardson

It almost pains me to say that Chris was one of the better performers tonight, but he was. I love Rob Thomas and Santana’s “Smooth” and, although he did not quite get there, the second half of his performance was decent enough.

Haley Scarnato

She sang, “Turn the Beat Around” but I wish she sang “Turn the Volume Down.” Okay, the backup vocals are so strong during the chorus of this song that it might be easy to ignore her terrible singing but when she started singing on her own, the truth was undeniable – it was a mess. For half of the song she was so out of breath that she couldn’t even complete her words properly. Does she really think that those short-shorts are going to get her a record deal? I think we learned our lesson with Jessica Simpson – shaking your booty is just not enough.

Phil Stacey

This was probably Phil’s worst performance. He sang, “Maria, Maria” and let’s hope it was in prayer because only a miracle could make people think he sang in tune. He was ahead of the music at least twice and it was so boring that I think it was actually worse than Haley’s performance. At least he wore a hat.

Jordin Sparks

Is no one else bothered by her yodeling? And her vibrato is so distracting that she sounds almost like a sheep. Am I the only one who feels this way? She’s got decent intonation, she can definitely carry a tune but something just annoys me. I thought the performance was boring and her twitchy behavior was odd. Her clothing was moderately better, though. I liked the top a lot.

Blake Lewis

I think Blake came out on top tonight, which, considering how everyone else did, is not a major accomplishment. He sang, “I Need to Know” by Marc Anthony, who, despite looking a bit like Skeletor from the He-Man cartoon of the 80s, can sing his butt off. Marc’s version is stylish and Blake’s was very straight. However, it was a smart song choice since it suited his voice and, in the end, he managed to pull it off.

Sanjaya Malakar

I can say, for the first time in the 12 top performances, that I did not think that Sanjaya was the worst. In fact, I think he did reasonably well. The song choice (Besame Mucho) was great, singing in Spanish won him some points and as Randy said, he’s “one of the smartest contestants” ever. I don’t know how he does it, but I don’t think he’s going home tomorrow.

Breakout performance – Chris Richardson. It was more than I expected.

Most Surprising – Sanjaya Malakar. He actually sounded okay.

Worst of the Night – Haley Scarnato. No further comment.

Biggest Risk – No one. It was very safe and boring.

Prediction for bottom three – Haley, Phil and Jordin with Jordin being safe.

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Post from: Idol Stalker

They wouldn’t allow me to grab any bites of the interview, so you’ll have to go to their website for the entire interview. They also have the interview available as a podcast.

I will say this about Brandon’s comments in the interview. Lots of excuses about his song choice. I’m sorry, but at Season 6 and as much as it’s said, why anyone would pick songs they like over songs that highlight their abilities is beyond me. Sign your first record deal and then you can choose all the songs you want for yourself.

Post from: Idol Stalker

If you haven’t seen them yet (are you in a coma?) here’s the Final 12 for American Idol Season 6. You can choose who you think will get voted off this week, but here’s my prediction for the rest of the season in order of who’ll get voted off each week.

1. Sanjaya Malakar
2. Haley Scarnato
3. Brandon Rogers
4. Phil Stacey 
5. Gina Glocksen
6. Jordin Sparks
7. Stephanie Edwards
8. Chris Sligh
9. Chris Richardson
10. LaKisha Jones
11. Blake Lewis
12. Melinda Doolittle – Season 6 Winner!

I’ll duplicate this post on “My Predictions” page for future reference if you’re interested.

Post from: Idol Stalker

So who are these 24 people we’re going to start seeing much more of:

You can now visit the American Idol site on Fox and get all the contestant information and bio stuff.

Post from: Idol Stalker

But as America’s most popular show prepares to kick off its sixth season Tuesday, it’s getting harder and harder for music snobs to deny its cultural import. “American Idol” has consistently churned out multiplatinum stars, Grammy-nominated artists and engaging celebrities (and, just maybe, an Oscar nominee in “Dreamgirls” star and “Idol” alum Jennifer Hudson).

“There were a lot of naysayers,” says Randy Jackson, who along with Abdul and Simon Cowell are the judging trifecta of “Idol.” “(But) it validates itself every season because somebody great comes out of it every season and does really well.”

After reading the article, you really get an idea for just how much of an impact American Idol has made on the music industry and pop culture in general. There have been quite a number of talented artists coming from the show, and not just the winners.

It will be interesting to see what Season 6 has in store for us, be sure and come back here, where I’ll be live blogging tomorrow’s night’s debut episode for Season 6.

Source: mailto: Music cred strong as `Idol’ returns

Post from: Idol Stalker

• Tuesday 01/16/2007 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 1 – Minneapolis Auditions
• Wednesday, 01/17/2007 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 2 – Seattle Auditions
• Tuesday, 01/23/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Memphis Auditions
• Wednesday, 01/24/2007 (9:00-10:00 PM) New York City Auditions
• Tuesday, 01/30/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Birmingham Auditions
• Wednesday, 01/31/2007 (9:00-10:00 PM) San Antonio Auditions
• Tuesday, 02/06/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Los Angeles Auditions
• Wednesday, 02/07/2007 (9:00-10:00 PM) “Rest of the Best” Auditions
• Tuesday, 02/13/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 1
• Wednesday, 02/14/2007 (9:00-10:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 2 – Top 24 Semifinalists Announced
• Tuesday, 02/20/2007 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, 02/21/2007 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, 02/22/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) First Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off
• Tuesday, 02/27/2007 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, 02/28/2007 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, 03/01/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off
• Tuesday, 03/06/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Top 8 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, 03/07/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Top 8 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, 03/08/2007 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off; Top 12 Finalists Revealed
• Tuesday, 03/13/2007 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Finalists Perform
• Wednesday, 03/14/2007 (9:00-9:30 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – One Contestant Voted Off

Post from: Idol Stalker

Visit the American Idol website to get a sneak-peak at American Idol Season 6. The sneak peak provides clips of a variety of the audition locations that have already taken place.

Post from: Idol Stalker