With a third of a year to go before American Idol returns, the least we could do is this roundup.  Because there's a world outside the last crop of finalists--and then there's David Cook hitting platinum with "Light On".  Had to mention that because a friend's been goading me to mention it when I mentioned Adam Lambert's album release...

Item one: Rave reviews for Fantasia Barrino.  Spotted from the Chicago Tribune's review of her performance in the musical The Color Purple:  "[She] is about six cuts above the typical touring alumnae--and I've seen bucketloads--of that trumped-up talent contest.  Fantasia can actually act.  Fantasia is not afraid to be subsumed by character.  Fantasia is emotionally connected to the whole.  And, yes, Fantasia is a star."

I wonder about who else will get that kind of remark from someone?  Question is, who else will go theater?

Item two: Idle Idol time?  Non-existent.  Well, for some of them at least.  An interesting bit from The Star-Tribune about what the currently touring Idol finalists are doing on their days off.  To be exact, it was the day before their Minneapolis-St. Paul concert, and apparently, some caught up with friends.  Like what Megan Joy did to Top 36 girl Jesse Langseth.

Apparently Scott MacIntyre spent his free day tweeting about the six-meal course he had.  Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver and Matt Giraud went to the Minnesota State Fair and met people--and animals, too.  Anoop Desai met up with an old friend of his.

And Kris Allen?  He went to Dan Wilson's house and wrote songs with him.  He's the vocalist for Semisonic (I'm humming to "Closing Time" as we speak) and has written for KT Tunstall, Rivers Cuomo and James Morrison, too.  So he is busy at work, yeah.  Stark difference, thinking that only four of the 13 finalists have record deals at the moment.

Item three: Someone ties the knot, sort of.  Gay marriage is still a tricky question, but not for season 1's Jim Verraros, who announced that he's tying the knot with his boyfriend, Bill Brennan.  Never mind that same-sex marriages ain't legal in Illinois, where they plan to exchange vows.

"This wedding is a culmination of our lives so far, and our lives from this point onward," he wrote on his website.  "It is so imperative to the both of us that our friends and family see just how in love we are, and how happy we are to share it with everyone."

It's a fun story, come to think of it.  Bill met Jim on MySpace, and he thought they'd never talk because he's a recording artist and all that.  Well, look at them now.

Item four: And the obligatory Allison Iraheta mention... because you all know I'm a fan of hers.  Spotted on one of those long interviews with the Los Angeles Times, which is still not finished as I write this: "A lot of us said, 'We're going to sleep in the car.'  But then I saw some people walking in.  I said, 'Hold on.  Why does this guy have a sleeping bag and he's walking in and I'm in the car?  Oh, hell no!'  I get out of the car and I start running.  I saw a line of about 20 people already camping out.  I said, 'It's 7pm and I'm going to start waiting in line.'  So I stayed.  We were one of the first 50 people to go in."

And to think camping wasn't allowed?  Where did that get you now?





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of Chicago Tribune)