Lewis, One of 2007's Hottest Bachelors

Well, he didn't make the cover like Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks did last year, but Blake Lewis needn't hide his sexy head in shame. People magazine has named Lewis one of 2007's Hottest Bachelors, in their issue of the same name that hits the stands tomorrow featuring Matthew McConaughey on the cover.

The magazine's Web site says that the "American Idol" runner-up admits that, deep down, he's the sensitive type: "I'm the dozen roses kind of guy. I've done some serenading. In an intimate setting singing to a girl is beautiful."

What does Lewis look for in a woman? Independence, spontaneity, a heart of soul; someone who can take care of herself and is not too needy, is attractive ("there's got to be some chemistry"), likes to have fun and "likes cheesy white guys, like myself."

The biggest turn off? Someone who whines and complains a lot, is negative, pessimistic ("I'm very optimistic, focused and driven").

You can watch a video of the People photo shoot of Blake Lewis here.

SINGING THE SAME TUNE

Included in a USA Today article titled "They sing to their dads' tunes" was Sesaon 6 semi-finalist Sundance Head and his day, singer Roy Head.

The offspring: A 2007 American Idol Top 24 finalist, Sundance, 28, impressed judges with a performance of Bobby Blue Bland's "Stormy Monday." A blues shouter by nature, he plans to record an album of R&B duets with fellow Idol contestant Sabrina Sloan.

The springboard: Roy, 66, had a No. 2 hit in 1965 with "Treat Her Right," a horn-drenched rave-up that practically defined the notion of blue-eyed soul. A dancer who could hang with the likes of James Brown and Jackie Wilson, the elder Head also had a string of minor country hits during the '70s and early '80s and still tears it up on the oldies circuit.

How dad was instrumental: "As soon as I realized I couldn't be the showman that he was, I decided to play guitar," Sundance says. "That way, I didn't have to move. I started out using the guitar as a shield, but I ended up being pretty good at it."

On Idol, "they were giving us a song a day to learn. I called Dad and said, 'I've gone over (this song) so many times that I don't even know what it is anymore.' He said, 'You're over-studying it. If you're on stage and you forget the lyric, just make up lyrics that sound like the ones you should be singing. If you act like nothing's wrong, nobody will even notice it.' That got me through the L.A. auditions."

AYLA BROWN MOVING 'FORWARD'

In a story about Season 5 semi-finalist Ayla Brown, Billboard.com says:

She may have missed making it into the top 12 on season four of "American Idol" by one spot, but former contestant Ayla Brown has still managed to stay in the public eye over the past year. Eighteen-year-old Brown has done a number of live performances in support of her debut album, "Forward," which was released last October via Double Deal Brand Records, and she is also a prominent member of Boston College's women's basketball team.

"It's really important to me to be able to sing as well as play basketball," says the Wrentham, Mass., native. She adds that although she wasn't one of the 12 finalists on "Idol," she's pleased with how everything turned out. "At first I was devastated because I didn't know where my life, musically, would lead me. I thought, 'I'm gonna go play basketball now; there's going to be no music in my life.' I really just thought that I wasn't ready for it. But after 'Idol,' I was offered [the chance] to make a CD, and I saw that as a door opening up. Thank goodness I took it, and now I'm able to do both."

"Forward" features songs penned by Diane Warren, Tommy Sims and David Eriksen, among others. Brown co-wrote two songs, "Thanks to You" and "Falling Into You." The album's initial singles, "Know You Better" and "I Quit," were released in September, and the current single, "Forward," is at mainstream AC radio now.

"I love this song," Brown says of the title track. "Mostly because of the bridge -- it comes in with this full chorus of people. It becomes almost this gospel sound." She adds that when performing for a middle school-aged crowd, she always includes the song "Love You Better" because "guys and girls love to get up and dance to that one."

Not only does she want to get tweens out on the dance floor, Brown hopes she serves as a role model to her audience as well. "A lot of younger artists are making bad decisions with their lifestyles," she says. "I really want to be one of those people who says, you can play sports, you can sing, you can be a good student, and no one is going to punish you for it."

This summer, Brown will make a number of public appearances, some of which will feature performances by fellow Massachusetts "Idol" contestant Nick Pedro. The two recently shared the stage at the Jimmy Fund's Scooper Bowl in Boston on June 6.

While there's no set timetable on a follow-up album, Brown says she wants to contribute more as a songwriter the next time around. "At first I didn't really know what the [songwriting] process was about," she admits. "I'd always been a basketball player growing up. But through the process, through 'American Idol,' I learned so much and what you can contribute."

And here are some excerpts from an interview with Brown done last month by The Sun Chronicle:

On who will have a more successful recording career, Blake Lewis or Jordin Sparks: Probably Blake, because he can do reggae and he can do the whole beat boxing thing. I could see him doing that whole contemporary vibe sort of thing and being extremely successful with it. [Jordin] would be successful too. However, we've seen singers like her in the past.

On which Season 6 contestants should have advanced further in the competition: I was disappointed that Stephanie Edwards didn't get put into the top 12, and Sabrina Sloan. I think those two were ones that America really got wrong in the earlier competitions, and I feel like if they had gotten in it would have been a different story.

On who will likely have the most successful career out of the Top 12: I think Chris Richardson will end up being pretty successful just because all the females seem to really, really like him. He's kind of like the next Justin Timberlake ... And I don't want to say Sanjaya [Malakar], but somehow I think Sanjaya's going to come out and be really successful. People can't get enough of him.

On how long the show can remain a ratings juggernaut: Everyone that I talk to, honestly, every single person watches it and none of them seem to be sick of it, and they've been watching it since season one. Based on trends that are happening with voting, people want different (types of contestants) in the competition and that's why they're voting for Sanjaya and Blake and Taylor Hicks. So I don't know if people are rebelling or just want someone obscure and unseen. But honestly I can't see "American Idol" fading out anytime soon.

On the likelihood of Season 6 contestants releasing albums: I'm curious to see how many release albums this year. It just seems as though season five had so many talented people that had the ability to release an album because they were just popular or talented enough. (Bucky Covington, Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee have all released relatively high-profile albums since last season).

Her thoughts on her album, "Forward": I'm just so thankful to have the opportunity, and that someone saw the potential in me to make an album, because not all the people in the world get the ability to have that happen to them, so it's really a good feeling.

On what would happen if any of the "American Idol" judges changed: I think if there were judge changes, people wouldn't watch it. And because it's such a popular television show, I don't think "Idol" would take that chance.

SEASON 4 ROCKERS PLAN CD RELEASES

MTV interviewed "American Idol" vets Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis on their CDs, due for release later this year.

So much for striking while the iron's hot. Instead of rushing out an album right after his ouster from the 2005 edition of "American Idol," Constantine Maroulis has spent the past two years indulging his love of musical theater, acting in a soap opera and putting together an empire under his snarkily named Sixth Place Productions banner.

"I'm an actor, I love to host and I'm a singer. I did Broadway, and I produced my own tours and started my own label," said Maroulis, who appeared on Broadway in "The Wedding Singer" musical and is currently playing a singer on the daytime drama "The Bold and the Beautiful." "Would I trade all that work for making one successful album right off the show? I don't have that answer. I think this record is better than the one I could have made right off the show. It's more grassroots — I picked the band, financed it and co-wrote a bunch of the songs."

The album, titled "Constantine," will drop August 7 on his label, with distribution from Sony/Red. Self-proclaimed "blue-collar guy" Maroulis is confident that his fans will find it and buy enough copies to keep him on the road. "I can sell a couple hundred thousand copies and do what I love to do: play clubs," he said. "I don't need to be a huge star."

Just in case, though, he did bring in some ringers, including Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas, who co-wrote a song on the album, as well as Nashville songwriter Angie Aparo (Faith Hill's "Cry"). "It's got a distinctly rock sound, kind of an East Coast Bon Jovi/Rob Thomas vibe with great pop hooks," Maroulis said. The first single, "Everybody Loves," has been featured on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and is on iTunes now. The next single, "Girl Like You," will soon be tied to a story line on the show.

Season four's other rocker, No. 2 finisher Bo Bice, is also prepping an album for later this year: His yet-untitled sophomore release. His 2005 debut, "The Real Thing," featured assists from Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and former Evanescence member Ben Moody that were brokered by Bice's label. The longhaired Southern rocker says he called the shots this time around.

The album, which Bice is recording with noted country producer Frank Liddell (Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks), features the music hound's wish list of famed session masters. "I was throwing around ideas of the people I wanted to play on it," Bice said. "And I was like, 'Yeah, sure, these guys will play on my album. Right!' " But a few phone calls landed him Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell — who Bice met a decade ago when he delivered a package of Christmas CDs to Leavell's house — as well as Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, legendary session guitarist Waddy Wachtel (Keith Richards, Tom Waits) and bluegrass icon David Grisman.

"It's a star-studded cast, and I'm the only one on there who's not famous," the ever-humble Bice joked. "I picked and co-wrote the songs that if I was a guy who would be spending my hard-earned money buying an album I would want to hear." That means original back-to-basics Southern rock and country-tinged singer/songwriter tunes co-written with A.J. Croce (son of 1970s singer Jim Croce) and Chris Tompkins (Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats").

Bice said he wrote 31 songs for the album and is narrowing down the list to 10-12 that will make the final cut, including four songs that are currently vying to be the first single.

"I didn't have a lot to do with the first record," said Bice, who took time off in late 2006 to have another surgery to finally correct a nagging intestinal blockage that hospitalized him 15 times last year. "It was very RCA and Clive [Davis]-driven. It was an excellent album, but it was a revolving door of one guy in this week, another guy the next. This time I was here for every aspect [of it], and I'm a lot more comfortable."

Bice and Maroulis were the trailblazers for rock singers on "Idol." They paved the way for the show's latest breakout star, last season's No. 4 finisher Chris Daughtry, a fact Bice takes pride in.

"It made me proud that Chris said I was part of what inspired him to audition," said Bice. "There was never a bone in my body that thought I was going to win or make it that far. To see people progress and see more rock people on there makes me proud."

SIGHTING

"American Idol" third-place finisher Melinda Doolittle, outfitted in jeans, T-shirt and Prada bag, trying on sneakers at Niketown on E. 57th Street in Manhattan with a male sidekick, says the New York Daily News.

SHERMAN PORE VIDEO

Watch video of Season 6 "contestant" Sherman Pore singing "Eternally"


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© 2007

Porcelana Patino: Pay Attention to Me!

Maybe she didn't like being known as the girl from New York whose name was the same as a face cream that fades dark spots on your skin. Or maybe she didn't like that Jamie Lynn Ward was getting the Idol Season 6 sympathy vote a la Season 5's Kellie Pickler. Or maybe she just wanted more attention.

Porcelana Patino managed to grab another few seconds in her 15 minutes of fame after some New York tabloids received calls on Friday Feb. 2, informing them that Patino's father had been injured in a hit-and-run accident and that she, an "American Idol" contestant, was at his bedside at Elmhurst Hospital. But called in by who? You see, this was not a breaking news story. It turns out that Mario Alfonso Astudillo, Patino's father, who suffered four broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a broken leg in the incident, was actually hospitalized either on Wednesday Jan. 24 (the night his daughter's New York Idol audition aired on Fox/5), or on Monday Jan. 29, depending on whose version of the events you want to believe.

As Elmhurst resident Patino, 27, delicately expressed it to the New York Post, "The day everybody in the world sees the freaking show, I was here. I got a taped copy. I'm on the ICU floor with my dad, and everybody's like 'I just saw you on 'American Idol.' Is that you?' I have no makeup on and I'm bawling."

Patino told the Post on Friday Feb. 2 that her father had just awoken the day before for the first time since the accident. "My dad just woke up," she said. "My father's response was 'I'm going to miss the show, the show, I'm going to miss the show.' All he is interested in is watching his daughter on the freaking show. Can you believe that?" Er, yeah.

But somehow this report doesn't make sense. The Feb. 3 New York Post article first states Patino was at her father's bedside hours after he was injured, and that a "hit-and-run driver mowed down her father the very night Fox aired the episode [which was Wednesday Jan. 24]..."

Later, the article said that "Astudillo was struck at around 5 a.m. Monday [which would have been Jan. 29] in Elmhurst as he headed to work as a maintenance man for LSG Sky Chefs."

Another newspaper account is even more vague, stating Astudillo was the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Queens last month, and that hours (not days) later in Elmhurst Hospital Center Patino's father had only one thing on his mind: To watch his daughter's quest to become the next American Idol. But according to Patino's version in the New York Post, her father was unconscious until Thursday Feb. 2. So who's zooming who here? In the words of our idol, Judge Judy: "When you tell the truth you don't have to remember your lies."

And we think Patino, who reportedly sings in the choir at St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Jackson Heights, maybe should start praying there as well; praying that she doesn't get caught in any more of her publicity-seeking stunts.

JAMIE LYNN WARD'S FAMILY RESPONDS

In an interview with the The Eden Daily News, Beverly Emory Ward, Idol contestant Jamie Lynn Ward's stepmommy, says she has trouble remembering much of Feb. 25, 2006 or who called the police that night. She's also not sure what made her husband, James Woodrow Ward, so angry that he shot her three times in the back and left arm with a 9-mm handgun, resulting in numerous surgeries and the loss of use of that arm.

But she said, "I remember seeing blue lights. I remember looking back at my husband, and I remember him looking at me like I was somebody he didn't know. I remember him saying, 'God forgive me for what I'm about to do.' I remember him pointing the gun at me, and I remember him shooting me three times."

But she never dreamed that stepdaughter Jamie Lynn would tell a national audience the story, so she said she had told relatives to watch the Idol Birmingham show. After Jamie's audition aired, Ward's her phone started ringing with relatives asking if she knew of Jamie's comments beforehand.

"Emotionally, it just about destroyed me," Beverly said. "She was on 'American Idol.' She should have been talking about herself and not dragging this back up." She also said Jamie Lynn's story wasn't accurate and that she wasn't cheating on James and wasn't caught in the act. "There wasn't anyone else in the house," she said.

"He had been drinking and had taken a Valium," Beverly said. "When he wasn't drinking, he was very kind. Ordinarily, he's a kind and generous person, but sometimes when he started drinking, he would think things that really wasn't so."

Beverly said she didn't press charges because she didn't think the person who shot her was the same person she had married. "That was just not my husband," she said. "That was just something I would have never expected him to do. If he hadn't been drinking, and hadn't taken that Valium, it wouldn't have happened."

Beverly said she didn't talk to James, who was paralyzed from the shooting, for six months after the incident. "He apologized," she said. "I really felt like my husband was sorry for what he had done. ... I know it does sound kinda weird," she said. "But I can't hate him for what he done. I might not understand why he did it, but I love my husband."

Since their June 2006 reconnection, Beverly has been helping to take care of James, but says that despite what Jamie Lynn told the Reidsville Review on Thursday, she has no plans to move back in with James. "My husband and I are not living together," Beverly said. "We haven't made any definite plans because I'm still in therapy, trying to get my medications right."

Sue Ward, Jamie Lynn's grandmother and James' mother, said that the family wasn't made aware of Jamie's comments on "American Idol" until they aired. "I don't know what possessed [Jamie] to say that," she said. "I don't know if it was her nerves or if they just pressed her for her story."

Since the show aired Sue Ward said she's been wary of speaking to the press because of the way words are edited and taken out of context. "It seems like everything you say is just twisted around," she said. She also doesn't like the way the story is focusing on James instead of Jamie. "I don't want publicity for Jamie because of James," she said, adding that she hopes Jamie's singing talents, not her background story, will make her successful.

... In case you haven't heard, "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says that he never called Courtney Love, and there are "no plans to add to or replace" Paula, Randy, or Simon. Lythgoe says he's "afraid someone may have misrepresented me." Meanwhile, in a post on her Web site, Love said she "woul dnever [sic] ever do that" and "i couldnt even get ON that show nor would I wantt o" and the Us magazine story "misrepresented and misquoted" her. Perhaps she just needs a good typing school.

... Remember Memphis contestant Sundance Head, whose dad, Roy Head, had a 1965 hit called "Treat Her Right"? Idol only showed you a teeny snippet of Roy. So, for those of you too young to remember him and his hit, check out this YouTube video of good-looking (well, the helmet-head look could use a restyle) Roy and his elastic legs on TV's "Shindig."


IDOL ALUMNI NEWS

In a nasty little bitch slap, TMZ.com says that since appearing on Idol three years ago, now 19-year-old Season 3 runner-up Diana DeGarmo has turned her look into that of a 42-year-old soccer mom. TMZ says "DeGarmo arrived at a book signing in New York this week, looking twice her age in a mid-90s menopause red 'Rachel' bob and enough pancake [makeup] to smother her entire 'Hairspray' cast. Unless DeGarmo is interested in reporting the news on Telemundo, she might want to ease up on the RuPaul rouge. Work it, mija!"

Personally, we prefer how she looked right after Idol, when she released her first album, the look shown here. Judge for yourself.

You can sample Elliott Yamin's single "Movin' On" right now on YouTube.com. Available digitally on Feb. 13, it's jazzy R&B sound is the kind Elliott performed best on Idol. With the right marketing, he could very well have a hit, especially with his "hot" new look.

Idol Chartwatch reports that in album sales:

• Pretty Ricky and the Shins’ "Late Night Special" bounced "Daughtry" down to #3 despite sales of over 80,000 albums, a 23 percent increase over last week’s sales. Daughtry was #2 on the Digital Sales chart, #2 on the Rock chart, and #7 on the Internet Album Sales chart.
• Carrie Underwood’s "Some Hearts" dropped to #14 on the Billboard 200. It remained #1 on the Country chart.
• Taylor Hicks was down to #63 on the Billboard 200.
• Fantasia was #75 on the Billboard 200 and #17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
  
• Kellie Pickler’s Small Town Girl was #56 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Country chart.
• Ruben Studdard’s "The Return" was #58 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
• Kelly Clarkson’s "Breakaway" was #38 on the Pop Catalog chart.
  

Idols on the Singles Charts this week:

• Chris Daughtry’s “It’s Not Over” was #4 on the Hot 100, #21 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, #4 on the Pop 100, #10 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart, #2 on Hot Digital Tracks, #2 on Hot Digital Sales, and #8 on the Adult Top 40 listing.
• Bucky Covington’s “A Different World” was #45 on the Country chart.
• Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” was #35 on the Hot 100, #41 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, #45 on the Pop 100, #29 on Hot Digital Tracks, #35 on Hot Digital Sales, and #26 on the Adult Top 40. Her latest single, “Wasted,” continues to climb the Country chart where it was #21 this week. It also showed up on the Bubbling Under (Hot 100) chart at #8.
• Kimberley Locke’s “Change” was #23 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
• Clay Aiken’s “A Thousand Days” was #30 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
• Fantasia’s “Hood Boy” was #31 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart, #31 on the R&B Airplay chart, and was #34 on the Adult R&B list.
• Ruben Studdard’s single “Change Me” was #22 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles, #224 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart, and #2 on the R&B Adult airplay list. It was #73 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
• Jennifer Hudson’s “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” was #79 on the Hot 100, #74 on the Pop 100, # 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart, #23 on the R&B Airplay chart, and #15 on the R&B Adult airplay list. The dance remix of the song was #38 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
• Kellie Pickler’s “Red High Heels” was #67 on the Hot 100, #71 on the Pop 100, #18 on the Country chart, and #72 on the Host Digital Songs listing.
• Josh Gracin’s “I Keep Coming Back” was #30 on the Country chart.
• Katharine McPhee’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” / “My Destiny,” was #5 on the Single Sales chart this week and Taylor Hicks' “Do I Make You Proud” / “Takin’ it to the Streets” was #20.

Upcoming Idol Releases:
Hits Daily Double is predicting that Katharine McPhee’s album will sell around 100,000 copies in its first week.

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