American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, sure has been making the rounds in the talk show circuit and last night, she stopped by the Late Show with David Letterman.  She wore some of the jewelry that she plans to debut on QVC this coming weekend and it was great because they are recession-friendly – the prices range from $13.99-$200. 
She also mentioned her new show "Rah!" which is a her new cheerleader championship on the MTV network on January 3, 2009.  That could be good!

For today’s American Idol Christmas post, I decided to put up a video of David Archuleta singing “O Holy Night” instead of writing about an entire album.  He sang the Christmas song at “Holiday of Hope” tree-lighting ceremony in Hollywood.  The event benefited “One Heartland,” an organization that raises money to improve the lives of children, youth and families facing HIV/AIDS.  What a worthy cause! 

David did a great job!  I really love how natural his tone is but I would like to see him become a bit more comfortable as a performer (he’s getting better, I think!). 
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Police have formally arrested William Balfour, the brother-in-law of American Idol star, Jennifer Hudson, in connection with the murder of her mother and brother and seven-year-old nephew, Julian King. 
William, the estranged husband of Jennifer’s sister, Julia, was already in jail for a parole violation when he was charged.  Last month, it was discovered that he possessed a gun that matched the one used in crimes.  This story is so sad on so many different levels.  I hope the Hudson family can begin to find some peace in all of this sorrow.

Do you remember Nadia Turner from the fourth season of American Idol?  She is now appearing in a World AIDS Day ad that promotes the use of condoms, even in committed relationships.  When one of her "friends" asks her if she uses them all the time she says "Either use it, or girl, you lose it." 
Great message!  Check out the ad here:

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Yesterday, Mr. Clay Aiken celebrated his birthday. The American Idol star turned 30 (me too, this year! It was a crazy feeling to reach a new decade!).  I hope he had an excellent day!
He was also on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last week.  Watch the video here:

Have you seen any of the new ads for the 8th season of American Idol?  They feature last year’s winner, David Cook, and it shows him enjoying fame today and then rewinds to the moment he walked through the door to audition for the show.  Very sweet!

Okay, I was surprised when I found out that Justin Guarini was at the IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade (since I didn’t realize that there was even such a thing!) but then I found out that American Idol finalist, Syesha Mercado, was also there!  She sang “One Rock and Roll Too Many” and she looked super cute in her cap and coat. 

David Archuleta appeared on yesterday’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  It’s always nice to see your favorites in the parade but, of course, you aren’t tuning in to see their performance since everyone has to lip-sync.  Still, he was convincing and he looked so cute with his red little nose (it must have been cold!) and hat/scarf.  Check it out:

American Idol season 7 winner, David Cook, was on New York’s 102.7 earlier this week where, of course, he answered questions about winning the hugely popular talent competition and talked about his feelings surrounding his success and his new album.  I thought it was a pretty cool interview. 

David performed an acoustic version of his new single "Light On" and I thought it was pretty good.  I’m not a huge fan of the song, to be honest, but, then again, there are days when I can’t seem to get it out of my head so, go figure!

American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, continued her domination of the country music scene by winning "Female Vocalist of the Year" at last night’s CMA Awards, where she performed her song "Just a Dream." 
She was nominated against Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Taylor Swift (quite an incredible group of ladies!).  Watch Carrie’s acceptance speech here:

She also performed her song "Just a Dream" after being introduced by Leslie Ponder, the widow of Master Sergeant James "Tre" Ponder.  It was very touching and Carrie’s performance was emotional and really just beautiful.  I was in tears.

image credit: Newscom