Although Jennifer Hudson nabbed an Oscar and Kelly Clarkson has her legion of pop fans, no American Idol vet has climbed the success ladder higher than country star Carrie Underwood. Since winning the competition in 2005, Underwood has sold over 12 million albums and her latest album, “Blown Away,” was released this week. Even with her monumental achievements, Underwood continues to call American Idol a home away from home, and she fondly recalls her interactions with judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell. (Click on the audio player to hear Carrie Underwood)
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Carries Underwood returns the American Idol stage tonight performing her new hit single Good Girl tonight at 8/7 central on FOX.
“The X Factor” is gearing up for its second season — in fact, initial auditions are already taking place. While Simon Cowell was pleased with many aspects of the show’s first season, he also saw a lot of opportunities to change things for the better in its sophomore year. He recently spoke to us about his desire to take “The X Factor” to a whole new level in Season Two .
Preliminary auditions for the second season of The X Factor are in full swing, and the buzz over who will be filling the 2 remaining judges’ chairs is deafening! There have been plenty of rumors, with huge names like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey all being tossed around as possibilities. We’ll finally get our answer in the coming weeks as auditions go into the judge’s round, but while we wait for Simon to let the cat out of the bag, we had some questions about why he decided to shake things up in the first place. He let us in on why he believes change is necessary, and also told us who the most important host of the show is!
Who would you most like to see sitting beside Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid as judges next season? Let us know in the comments!
The Twitter world has been working overtime the last couple of days, with rumors circulating about who the two new judges will be for the second season of “The X Factor.” Will it be Mariah? Pink? Katy Perry? Janet Jackson? Beyonce? Britney? While most everyone has a opinion on who would be perfect for the job and why, one man’s opinion counts a little more than most: X Factor judge and creator Simon Cowell.
When FOX All Access spoke exclusively with Cowell and fellow “X Factor” judge L.A. Reid, they gave us a laundry list of the mandatory requirements they are looking for in whoever gets hired. While fun, entertaining, and competitive are on the list, the most important attribute is something that Simon says doesn’t come naturally to artists. (Click on the media player to hear Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid.)
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So, the question is, of the names being tossed around, who do you think best matches the requirements they’ve set forth: Funny, sense of humor, competitive, and willing to put their own self aside and find a star? Or do you have a better suggestion? Let us know what you think!
As many know, the NBC reality series America’s Got Talent has hired the great radio show host, Howard Stern, as a judge. Stern will replace talk journalist Piers Morgan, who departed the talent show to focus on his news talk show on CNN.
When it was announced that Stern would join the show, many family advocate groups were appalled claiming that Stern shouldn’t have been allowed to be on the series due to what some say is his outrageous behavior. While at the X Factor finale, we spoke to judge Simon Cowell (who produces AMGT) and he told us exclusively what we can expect from Stern.
Stern will definitely add an element to the show which we think will excite the audience. America’s Got Talent returns for its seventh season this Summer on NBC.
We caught up with Melanie Amaro right after Wednesday night’s finale performance to find out what she was feeling and what it felt like to see all her family and fans in her Church. She also explains the one gift Simon has given her, and her dreams for 2012.
Drew was an emotional one on stage last night, but by the time she got to the press line for interviews after the show she was feeling more reflective. We talked to Drew to find out how she was feeling, if she had regrets, and more importantly, if she had the opportunity to talk to her bestie, Shelby!
So our question to you… Did you vote for Drew? Do you feel bummed that you didn’t get a chance to see her let loose and hear all that she’s capable of? Let us know, and then be sure to tune in next Wednesday when The X Factor contestants take to the stage to sing their hearts out twice! It all goes down on Wednesday at 8PM ET/PT on FOX.
So the topic around The X Factor watercooler is…. How much was Simon at fault for Drew’s elimination? According to Nicole Scherzinger in our interview with her, none (wait, what????). Simon had a different take however, and told us that in addition to taking full responsibility, calls the experience a “wake up call” for him. Check out our chat with Nicole and Simon.
So will Simon be able to keep his girls out of the Pirannaha bowl this week? Is this wake up call just what’s needed to bring the very best out of Rachel and Melanie? Tune in Wednesday when The X Factor competition continues with the contestants taking on two songs each. It all goes down Wedensday at 8PM ET/PT on FOX.
If you caught the Tuesday night “Giving Thanks” edition of The X Factor then you know it was a pretty emotionally charged evening. It’s hard to say who had the most moving performance of the night. Rachel Crow and the girls of Lakoda Rayne took the uptempo route to thank their families. LeRoy Bell and Marcus Canty’ paid moving tributes to their moms. Astro sent a redemptive thanks and personal shout out to his fans, while Drew took the very personal route and made a very heartfelt thanks to her bestie Shelby (and reminded us that we all need a Shelby). Then there was Melanie’s high octane performance that moved her so much that she laid it all out and revealed her authentic Virgin Island accent that she’s been hiding all along. Last but not least, there was Chris Rene’s courageous tribute to his rehab conselor, Tim. We caught up with each of the contestants backstage after the tear inducing show, and asked them about their performances and how it felt. check it out!
So the question now is will there be more tears tonight than last night? And who the heck is going to be eliminated? (BTW, is it just us or does it feel mean to be eliminating anyone on Thanksgiving week? Just saying!) Catch tonight’s show with special performances by Bruno Mars and Kelly Clarkson – it all happens at 8PM ET/PT on FOX. P.S. Stay at your TV and enjoy the rest of the evening with Howie Mandel’s latest Thanksgiving friendly special “Mobbed” – right after The X Factor.
2011 is going to be quite an unusual Thanksgiving experience for The X Factor Top 9. On top of missing their traditional family gatherings they’re going to have to perform like they’ve never perfromed before in order to survive the double elimination on Wednesday night. As Astro, Chris, Drew, Josh, Lakoda Rayne, LeRoy, Marcus, Melanie, and Rachel prepare to show their “Thanks” in song this week, we thought it would be interesting to find out what home-cooked Thanksgiving foods they’re going to be thinking about the most . Check it out!
So our question to you…. If you could have any X Factor contestant over for Thanksgiving – who would it be and why? Tell us! Then make sure to tune in to The X Factor tonight for some gratitude infused performances at 8PM ET/PT on Fox and remember to VOTE! Because TWO contestants are going to be eliminated tomorrow, and that ain’t no turkey. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!
Although Jennifer Hudson nabbed an Oscar and Kelly Clarkson has her legion of pop fans, no American Idol vet has climbed the success ladder higher than country star Carrie Underwood. Since winning the competition in 2005, Underwood has sold over 12 million albums and her latest album, “Blown Away,” was released this week. Even with her monumental achievements, Underwood continues to call American Idol a home away from home, and she fondly recalls her interactions with judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell. (Click on the audio player to hear Carrie Underwood)
