American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, performed on Good Morning America this morning and she looked and sounded amazing.  Did you see her?
Here are some great pictures from the appearance.  Have you had a chance to listen to her new album, Play On?  I think it’s awesome!

Watch her great performance of “Cowboy Casanova.”  She really is an incredible live performer.  Make sure you check out the other videos after the jump!

NBC will celebrate America’s 231st birthday with a live broadcast of the “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular.” Of the performers, country music star (and American Idol guest) Martina McBride will open the event and Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle will perform a song together to tribute the Nation’s birthday.
The event is America’s largest 4th of July fireworks extravaganza and will feature 35,000 shells which will be set off over New York City.
Cool. Wish I could be there but I’ll just have to watch it on television!
source

Everyone saw how disappointed Simon Cowell was when Melinda Doolittle was voted off of this season of American Idol. I guess he still has a warm place in his heart for her, as he should. He does, however, seem to dislike Britney Spears.
In an interview with Goof Morning America on Thursday, Simon tells Britney to “go home to your family.” I’d say that some good sound advice. He also says that Brit-Brit is still able to say her career because she is “still one of the most talked about pop stars on the planet. …read more

So many of you have written in to ask if I saw Melinda Doolittle’s face during Jordin Sparks’ performance. I did but I did not have a screenshot of it. TallFreak has graciously provided me with one. It is priceless. Melinda’s probably just concentrating on what Jordin’s doing but I cracked up last night. In this shot, even Chris Richardson looks a little taken-aback but he is a Blake Lewis fan, so it’s understandable.
Thanks, Tall Freak!

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 …read more

Several thousand people gathered on the campus of Belmont University this morning, some arriving as early as 6 a.m., to welcome American Idol Top 3 semifinalist Melinda Doolittle back to her alma mater. Doolittle, who was once the college mascot, graduated in 1999.
Melinda, who rode through the streets of Brentwood, Tennessee in a white Mustang convertible, wiped away tears as she looked out at the crowd, many of whom were wearing “Belmont Hearts Melinda Doolittle” gear. About the homecoming, Melinda said “Wow. This is probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced, and it’s so good to …read more

Yahoo! tracks the searching habits of Idol fans not only by who is being most searched, but also what, in particular, people are searching to find out. Let’s take a look.
Sanjaya is still the overall leader (can you believe the staying power of Antonella and Alaina?)
American Idol Leaders
Rank Idol Move Score
1 Sanjaya Malakar +14
2 Antonella Barba +4
3 Haley Scarnato +5
4 Blake Lewis – 2
5 Melinda Doolittle +1
6 Alaina Alexander – 1
7 Chris Richardson – 1
8 Gina Glocksen – 1
9 Chris Sligh – 1
10 Lakisha Jones – 0
But Haley is the biggest mover (don’t we know it…)
American Idol Movers
Rank Idol 1 …read more

Wow. Some have called this season’s contestants dull and unoriginal. Tonight might have been an example. Classics are classics and must be respected but, while almost everyone sang well enough, there was little that will keep me up tonight.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TELLING CONTESTANTS TO TAKE RISKS (Haley risked a “wardrobe malfunction” but that doesn’t count)?
My co-blogger, Jason, has done a fine job live-blogging the show tonight, so I’m just going to add my two cents about the performances. 
Blake doesn’t have to beatbox every week and he’s definitely among the best (and maybe the most versatile) but he sang “Mack the Knife” so straight, …read more

Let’s see if we can get rid of Sanjaya this week with the Tony Bennett award show. One of the songs that he’s made popular is “Hit the Road Jack”, and hopefully we’ll be able to change that to “Hit the Road Sanjaya”. How old is Tony, but he’s still looking good.
Blake Lewis
Blake is singing “Mack the Knife”, which according to Tony Bennett is “pre-rap” music. He’s nailing it to the floor man! Blake is totally smooth in just about everything he does on stage. The question will be if he adds any of his flair to the rendition. His …read more

Thanks for joining us again for the second half of tonight’s performances.  
Phil Stacey
Starting off the last five contestants is Phil Stacey. “Every Breath You Take” by the Police. Gwen was surprised by how good it sounded. Just stick with the melody and let his voice deliver the song. Phil is pulling out a little flashback from last season with Ace Young knit hat look. Not quite the same, but definitely reminiscent. Phil is doing well with the song, the last run was a little weird sounding though.

Randy: actually kind of liked it, solid performance for him, didn’t push it and …read more