BuzzSugar

Do You Mind when Idol Contestants Sing Other Artists' Covers?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:30:00 -0700

If it's Springtime, there must be an American Idol controversy brewing. Right on cue, David Cook has stepped up as this year's rabble-rouser. Much like Chris Daughtry was slammed for performing a version of "Walk the Line" that was originally performed by Live without identifying the band as his inspiration, Cook has found himself at the center of controversies over covers of his own.

A band called Doxology is accusing Cook of using their version of "Eleanor Rigby" for a Beatles week performance without giving them proper credit. When Cook performed Chris Cornell's version of "Billie Jean" on Idol last week, the judges praised his originality - despite the fact that Ryan Seacrest identified the song as Cornell's in the intro to the performance.

Maybe Cook is really an innovative musician and performer. Maybe he's just skilled at finding cover versions of songs he likes and singing them well. Here's my question: Does it matter? Should Idol contestants be limited to the original arrangements of songs, or should all covers be fair game?

Photo courtesy of Fox

Is "Daughtry-itis" to Blame for "Idol"'s Boring Season?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:20:05 -0700

There's some discontent in "American Idol"-land as we head into tonight's country-themed performances. Though "Idol" still beats everything else on TV, its ratings are down significantly from previous years, and considering that this season's biggest highlight has been a weird crying girl, I'm not entirely surprised.

Simon Cowell, the man who can make or break an "Idol" hopeful's chances, finally weighed in on this lackluster season for a recent Entertainment Weekly cover story, and he blamed the fact that several recent contestants who didn't win "Idol" have found success. Said Simon:

"I think that we suffer from Jennifer Hudson- and Chris Daughtry-itis, which is people who didn't win getting great careers and now a lot of the contestants believing it absolutely doesn't matter.

Does Daughtry-itis involve constantly feeling like there's a Live cover band playing in your head? If so, I think I had it last season.

Anyway, I see Simon's point; J. Hud has an Oscar, after all, and Chris Daughtry had a No. 1 album this year that's still in the top 10. But I think I have a cure for Daughtry-itis - three cures, actually, named Kelly, Carrie and Fantasia - so read more

Fantasia seemed like one of those "Idol" winners destined for obscurity. There was that whole Life is Not a Fairytale thing, and her album didn't really take off. But now she's hitting her stride: When she joined the cast of The Color Purple on Broadway last week, the musical had its highest sales ever.
Carrie Underwood keeps racking up the awards, most recently a couple of CMTs to add to her Grammys and Country Music Awards.
Kelly Clarkson - who won "Idol" before "Idol" was "Idol," if you know what I mean - is the show's one true breakout star, the only one who can stand on her own so far. She's become a guilty pleasure of otherwise high-minded music fans everywhere, while Justin Guarini is ... hosting "Idol Tonight" on the TV Guide Channel.

Simon's logic is better than, say, blaming "Idol"'s rut on Daylight Savings Time. But - take note, "Idol" hopefuls - just being in the top 12 is no guarantee of success. Neither is winning - whither Reuben and Taylor? - but at least the chances are better. After all, could you name any of the people who finished behind Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice? Exactly.

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 1/24

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:42:55 -0800

Dakota Fanning defends Hounddog in USA Today, while Variety pans the movie.
Slow sales week, eh? Chris Daughtry's album, which came out in November, hits No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
A Super Bowl commercial "starring" K-Fed is offending fast-food employees, the AP reports.
The LA Times explains why producing credits for The Departed are up for debate.
NME has the details on the new album from a reformed Dinosaur Jr.
And Pitchfork tells us that Band of Horses is returning to the studio.
Fox is coming down hard on Canada’s rampant film piracy, says Hollywood Reporter.
Henry from Accounting will be hanging around "Ugly Betty" for a while, EW reports.
The Hallmark Channel is planning its own Super Bowl halftime show, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell

Announcing the Winners: The 2008 American Music Awards

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:01:50 -0800

Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Kanye West were among the big winners Sunday at the American Music Awards. Brown took home the biggest prize of all, winning Artist of the Year by beating out Lil Wayne, Coldplay, the Eagles, and Alicia Keys. It was one of three awards for Brown, who also won Favorite Male Artist in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories.

Rihanna was Brown's female counterpart, taking home Favorite Female Artist awards in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. Kanye was another double winner, named Favorite Male Artist in the rap/hip-hop category and also winning the Favorite Album award in that category for Graduation. Alicia Keys' As I Am was named Favorite Album in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories.

The night was also kind to American Idol winners, with Carrie Underwood winning Favorite Album in the country category for Carnival Ride and Jordin Sparks winning Favorite Artist in the Adult Contemporary category. Winners in all categories were picked by voters online and via text message, and to see the full list of people who took home awards, just read more.