October 10, 2008
Paris Bennett, the fifth place finisher on the fifth season of American Idol, has created a little mini-Idol of her own. Earlier this week Bennett, 20 years old, gave birth to her first child. This might come as something of a shock to American Idol fans, who might remember Paris as the teenage sensation from American Idol 5. The child is named Egypt Bennett. Paris was in labor for five hours. In a statement to the press, Bennett said that she's "so excited to finally see my little angel. Man, does she have lungs on her. I guess she's gearing up to be the next American Idol." You heard it here first: Egypt Bennett, front-runner on American Idol 22.
October 2, 2008
David Archuleta, runner-up on American Idol's seventh season, is going to try his hand at acting. The impish teenager, who has never acted before (unless you count those horrible Ford commercials), will make an appearance in an episode of Nickelodeon's iCarly that will air next Spring. iCarly is a show focused on a high-schooler who runs a video blog with her friends. Archuleta will make his appearance in an episode entitled “iRocked the Vote.” Archuleta will play a contestant on a show suspiciously similar to American Idol, called America Sings. David's character will receive a huge boost in votes after gaining the support of the iCarly blog.
September 26, 2008
American Idol's Clay Aiken officially came out of the closet earlier this week after years of speculation. Nothing was particularly unexpected about this except for the timing. Aiken timed it so he could have a cover story on People Magazine easily enough, but his coming out is years after the speculation began. One of the other stated reasons by the Aiken camp is the fact that, now that Aiken is a father (he artificially inseminated his friend), he wanted to be completely open about who he is. After the news broke, BuddyTV readers had the chance to respond (or, depending on your view, “non-news”). Below you will find a number of those comments.
September 23, 2008
Sexuality is a touchy subject. Celebrities, since the beginning of time, have had their sexual leanings called into question. Some dodge the issue, some take it head on, others leave it ambiguous. No matter what you think celebrities owe to you, they have no obligation to let the public know where their sexual preferences lie. They don't. They don't have to tell you anything about their personal lives. Granted, in this day and age, with TMZ and US Weekly and the litany of invasive, scum-bag bloggers out there, famous people are having an increasingly more difficult time in keeping their private lives private. When the press sniffs sexual ambiguity, they get rabid. Ever since Clay Aiken hit the scene on American Idol, people thought he was gay. Fans have embraced the possibility, fans have become overly defensive about the possibility, fans have remained indifferent. Now, we have a definitive answer, thanks to People Magazine. Clay Aiken is gay.
September 23, 2008
It definitely seems that the fine line between reality TV and scripted television is quickly disappearing as several reality celebrities have dipped their toes into the pool of primetime series. While Paris Hilton and Lauren Conrad opt to appear as themselves, some take on the challenge of actually playing a role and becoming an actor for a day. Chris Daughtry, season 5 finalist of American Idol, is no exception. In fact, the 28-year-old rocker from North Carolina will be appearing in the upcoming season of CSI: NY, specifically its 100th episode.
People further reports that Daughtry will play a character named Machiavelli Taylor. Other guest stars this season include rapper Nelly, actor Scott Wolf, former NFL star Marshall Faulk, actress Julie Ormond and Rumer Willis, daughter of action star Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
September 19, 2008
Is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the most important news show in America? That may sound like a cynical question, but think about it. There's so much competing noise these days in the cable news world that The Daily Show probably is, at least on cable, as formidable in the news world as Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olberman. The Daily Show has won the Emmy for Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series for five straight years. There's no reason it won't happen again, but the competition isn't anything to sneeze at either. The Emmys are only two days away, folks. Below we'll take a look at the Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series category, as well as the Best Reality-Competition Series category.
September 19, 2008
American Idol winner David Cook has announced an official release date for his debut album. In order to get the album out in time for the holidays, Cook moved up the release date to Tuesday, November 18. There is no official name for the album just yet (though I suspect it might be self-titled), but that information should be released within the next month or so. Cook's record will be released on the 19 Entertainment/RCA Records label, the same recording companies that are so closely linked to American Idol. David Cook enlisted award-winner Rob Cavallo for producing duties on his album. Cavallo has produced for such big names as Green Day, Kid Rock and Eric Clapton.
September 9, 2008
American Idol winner and proud wearer of a promise ring Jordin Sparks had had enough of host Russell Brand at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. Brand had repeatedly mocked the Jonas Brothers and their promise rings, rings that symbolize their vow to not have sex until they are married. Jordin Sparks, heated, decided to take advantage of her award presenting duties and went off-book, blasting Brand and endorsing promise rings, saying "It's not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut." Sparks found herself having to answer to press after the show, and she didn't totally back down. "I don't feel bad for what I said (but) I didn't mean to offend anybody if I did,” Sparks said.