American Idol Fan

Former American Idol finalist, Nikki McKibbin, says that Simon Cowell drove her to drink and do drugs.  Sure, it’s always easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility for your own actions.

McKibbin, who finished third in Season 1 of American Idol, says that Simon Cowell’s particularly harsh comments to her about her singing and talent led her into a downward spiral that included drugs, depression and alcohol.  During one period, McKibbin ended up in a mental hospital because of her problems.  She said that American Idol did a real number on her self-confidence.

McKibbin will appear on the new season of the VH1 reality show, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Source

If I were Paula Abdul, I would be pissed!  According to this article I read on MSNBC.com, Nigel Lythgoe reports that Simon Cowell is making a whopping $36 million a year on American Idol.  What is Paula Abdul making in comparison?  Abdul is raking in approximately $5 million - $8 million dollars a year.  That’s nothing to sneeze at but compared to Simon Cowell, that’s a rip off. 

The article says that Paula knew that Simon was making more money than her but she never realized he was making that much more.  I’m sure this can cause a lot of problems if she lets the news work on her emotionally.

American Idol has definitely bore some great stars!  Former Idol winners, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks, and 4th place finisher, Chris Daughtry of Daughtry have all received American Music Award nominations.  Season 6 Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, received one AMA nomination while Carrie Underwood and Daughtry each received two nominations. 

Carrie Underwood’s very popular Carnival Ride CD is nominated for Favorite Country Album.  Carrie won an AMA Award in this category last year.  Underwood’s other nomination is for Favorite Female Country Artist, where she will be up against Taylor Swift and legend, Reba McEntire. 

Daughtry is nominated for both Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist and Favorite Pop or Rock Music Band, Duo, or Group. Jordin Sparks is nominated for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.

Congratulations to all three for their nominations!

Word on the street is that Jason Castro’s little brother, Michael, auditioned for Season 8 of American Idol.  Dreadhead fans and Castro fans everywhere will be waiting impatiently until January to find out if Jason’s little brother made it to Hollywood.  According to Jason, his little brother is the real talent in the family so we’ll have to wait and see if he really is better than his brother. 

Michael and Jason look nothing alike.  While Jason has all of that hair, his little brother has very little in comparison.  You can watch the video at the link below where Jason talks about his brother and his talent.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Former American Idol contestant finalist, Paris Bennett, became a new mommy on October 7th.  Paris gave birth to a baby girl she named Egypt, who entered this world weighing 5 lbs., 15 ounces.  What a tiny baby!  I guess she is going to be a petite little thing like her mommy! 

Paris was a tough competitor during Season 5 of American Idol.  Since first seeing Paris on the show, it has always amazed me how such a powerful voice comes out of such a petite little woman.  If I remember correctly, I believe Paris comes from a family of singing women - her mother and her grandmother? 

According to American Idol News, Paris is also going to release a Christmas album this year.  Her first holiday album titled A Royal Christmas will be released on Tuesday, October 14th. 

Carrie Underwood will be hosting the 42nd Annual CMA Awards with country music star Brad Paisley on Wednesday, November 12th.  This will be a first for both Underwood and Paisley, as neither one of them have ever been hosts for this popular country music awards show. 

Even better yet?  Carrie Underwood will be performing and so will Brad Paisley!  I will definitely be watching this show just to hear Carrie sing.  I love to watch her perform. 

Along with her hosting and performing duties on the CMA Awards, Underwood also has a couple of nominations for awards.  She has been nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Carnival Ride. 

You would never know when you saw cute, perky Kellie Pickler perform that she was fighting a battle with depression.  Kellie tells People that last year, while her professional life was going great, she felt her personal life was crumbling.  Kellie says she spent last year struggling with depression and having reactions to anti-depressants she was taking for her depression.

Pickler said she was depressed due to family issues and the end of her relationship to boyfriend, Jordin Tootoo.  Pickler reported that the anti-depressants weren’t a help because they made her feel crazy. 

Kellie is strong and she had her friends Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and her new boyfriend to help lift her spirits and break her free from depression. 

Taylor Hicks, the Season 5 American Idol winner, has announced that he will release his new album in February 2009. 

The new album for Hicks will be released under his own label, Modern Whomp Records.  The album is being produced by Simon Climie, who is known for his work with stars such as Eric Clapton, Faith Hill and Carlos Santana.  The album will be distributed by independent music distributor, Artist to Artist.  Hicks had this to say about his new album:

In this digital age, when artists can connect more directly with audiences, this is a partnership that makes a lot of sense. I’m very much enjoying being in the studio with Simon working on the new album and look forward to releasing it through A2M early next year.

Simon Cowell is super proud of his latest famous discovery, singing sensation Leona Lewis. Lewis was on Simon Cowell’s show, Britain’s Got Talent, and he has been parading her around on different shows ever since, including American Idol and America’s Got Talent.

Simon may not have the greatest people skills in the world, but he does know talent when he sees it. Leona has had great success with her hit, Bleeding Love, and now with her new song, Better In Time. I really love Better In Time. I have it as my ringtone on my cell phone now.

Enjoy the video!

David Cook’s new single, Light On, was released earlier this week and I love it!  Watch the video and let me know what you think!  The song was co-written by Chris Cornell, the lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave. Light On will be the lead off single for Cook’s debut album that will be out in November.

I’m not surprised that Chris Cornell co-wrote a song for David’s album. Cook performed Chris Cornell’s version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” on Idol during Season 7. I was surprised when I first heard that Cook was going to sing Billie Jean on the Idol show but he rocked it out and did an excellent job. Cornell’s version is much better than Jackson’s.