Ruben Studdard, 29, married Surata Zuri McCants, 30, on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. The winner of the second season of 'American Idol' had 20 groomsmen at the ceremony, which was attended by 200 people. The 'Velvet Teddy Bear' met McCants at a Wal-Mart in Atlanta, where he was signing copies of his CD The Return in 2006. They met in the toy department where he got her phone number. Studdard is starring in the 30th anniversary tour of the musical 'Ain't Misbehavin’' this fall and is scheduled to release a new album by the end of the year. Congrats to him. After being dropped from J Records last year due to poor sales of his last album, it's uplifting to hear something nice has happened to the big and cuddly teddy bear singer.
PS. American Idol winners and finalists sure have been taking over the blog this weekend.
Sunday, 29 June 2008
'AMERICAN IDOL' CHAMP RUBEN STUDDARD GETS MARRIED.....
JORDIN SPARKS PERFORMS 'ONE STEP AT A TIME' ON 'SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE' // JET COVER....
UPDATE: JORDIN'S 'JET' COVER HAS NOW BEEN ENCLOSED.
American Idol champ Jordin Sparks performed her latest new single 'One Step At A Time' this week on dance reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance':
Cute performance. She absolutely LOVES those type of dresses. They have this tendency to make her look bigger than what she is. I look forwards to seeing what's in store for her next album. I really like this chick but she deserves better songs. More Jordin after the cut.
Jordin also graces the front cover of the July 2008 issue of Jet:
Cayute.
FANTASIA DROPPED BY MANAGEMENT?....
Since her 2004 American Idol win, Fantasia Barrino has weathered her fair share of music business shake-ups, surviving mergers and the recent repositioning of her mentor Clive Davis, who signed her to J Records. Though she still has her contract at J, EW.com now hears that as of today, Fantasia has been dropped from 19 Management. The reason for the split, according to sources, is that age-old saw "creative differences." However, like many other Idol contestants, Fantasia remains on the label 19 Recordings and will continue to share music sales profits with the company. Given the poor climate for record sales, and the lackluster sales of many Idol releases, Fantasia's albums have done fairly well. Her debut, Free Yourself, sold almost 2 million copies, and the follow-up, 2006's Fantasia, went gold and garnered three Grammy nominations. She also starred in her own Lifetime TV biopic, authored a book about her rags-to-riches story, and received top billing in the Broadway production of The Color Purple. Says one executive and Fantasia defender: "She's a star and so multi-talented in every area. Sometimes you have to sever a relationship in order to move forward, but there's no doubt that Fantasia is accomplished and has proven herself. Someone will want to represent her." A rep for 19 declined to comment, but assured EW that management deals for David Cook, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, and Blake Lewis remain intact. MY REACTION, first of all:
Sounds like Fanny is demanding a dominant percentage of control on her music. I'm also reading that this isn't the first time Fantasia had dispute with 19 management. As much as I hate to say it, she cannot manage herself. With today's declining music sales taking place, you're not selling unless you've built up a strong fanbase. Along with that, she needs a strong management team behind her. I also recall Kelly Clarkson having the same issues regarding 'creative differences'. A lot of artists want more freedom with their music and so forth which is only fair if they already established themselves as an impressionable recording artist. Still, I say good luck to her for being passionate and staying true to herself, even if it means paying a high price for it.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
OFFICIAL: PARIS BENNETT IS PREGNANT....
I knew Paris Bennett was pregnant when I posted pictures of her last weekend at the Philips Arena for an AARP concert with some of the greats. Check out the report below:
'Idol' star and teenager Paris Bennett is pregnant: By C.J., Star Tribune
'American Idol' 2006 contestant Princess P is becoming a mommy. Paris Bennett is expecting a baby girl in October and will be 20 when mommyhood arrives. "This makes five generations," an overjoyed Jamecia Bennett, told me Thursday. Jamecia, who like her daughter and mother is a singer, is absolutely over the moon about being a first-time grandmother. "I'm proud of how she did it. I was 16 when I got pregnant," said Jamecia. Who's the daddy? "He chooses not to be in the public eye," said Jamecia. "I respect that." What does he do for a living? "I can't tell," she said. "She has a ring," said Jamecia, who's hopeful that she'll be planning a wedding for Paris. The planning for an August baby shower is already underway. [Read More].... If she's happy and the father is in the picture, good for her (although that response about not knowing what he did for a living is a boldface lie, lol). As long as she won't end up being a single mother with a broke ass/unemployed baby daddy. I didn't really understand what her mom meant when she said "I'm proud of how she did it. I was 16 when I got pregnant," because being pregnant, 19 and unwed isn't that much better to me.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
AMERICAN IDOL: YOUR FINAL 24....
I watched American Idol this week which saw the hundreds of auditionees whittled down to the last 24. Here are the contestants who will be singing their hearts out for a place in the live heats:
Someone in this line-up will become the next American Idol. Can you guess WHO or is it way too early to say? Right now I think its anyone's game. They say that the talent for this season is bigger than ever, but I don't think I've seen a season that tops season 3 as far as talent is concerned. I do have 2 favourites. I like the chick who sang Mary J Blige's 'I'm Going Down' in the Hollywood auditions and I also love the chick with the afro. I haven't quite caught their names just yet but those two are really talented and I hope they both make it to the final 12.
Thursday, 17 January 2008
AMERICAN IDOL PREVIEW (FOR UK AUDIENCES)....
I'd like to add that my sister met footballers Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard today. They came to her school at Mansfield Green and took a group picture with her class. Practically, they were there to give the kids a practice run of footballing skills, and they're also looking for the next Rooney as well. Now if that was David Beckham, I'd have been kind of envious but that was pretty cool, so I thought that it was worth mentioning. But back to the topic. As many of you know, American Idol was aired on Tuesday for a 2-hour stint. As can be expected there were a lot of jokes and laughs during the auditioning process. I think this is the most hilarious part. It's when they get to boot camp stages, things start getting tame from there. I keep watching anyway because there is always a stand out act. Well, on Tuesday, there was a 16-year-old chick called Temptress Brown but for some reason I don't believe she's 16 because even my own mom look younger! The hair, clothes and um, extra body weight did her no favours. But her facial expressions cracked me up more than anything. She look like Biggie Small's long lost little sister. I did feel kinda bad for her when she belted into Jennifer Hudson's rendition of 'And I'm Not Telling You', and then she started crying when they basically told her "And I'm not telling you that you can sing cos you can't!". Well, they didn't say that exactly but pretty much. I feel bad for laughing but I couldn't help myself. Her audition is after the cut!
American Idol airs tomorrow on UK screens on ITV2 at 10pm!
