Latest news update of the world

Well, after four months and a record-setting 132 million votes, it's official: Phillip Phillips is the 11th American Idol. It's hardly the most surprising finale result in "Idol" history--since many pundits (myself included) had him pegged as the winner the moment he entered the audition room--but it's not one without controversy. After four male champions in a row, many "Idol" fans were no doubt hoping that runner-up Jessica Sanchez, arguably the technically best vocalist of Season 11, would be the girl to break the female curse on "Idol." And I suspect that "Idol's" powers-that-be were rooting for Jessica as well. Surely it would have been a fantastic PR development for the "Idol" franchise (which over the years has, wrongly or not, been accused of being a closed door to contestants of color or of the fairer sex, or basically any contestant that doesn't sing rock or country music) to blast out a press rele...

  Ousted “ American Idol ” contestant Colton Dixon says his performance of Lady Gaga’s hit “Bad Romance” likely turned off voters who shared his Christian beliefs. Dixon, 20, from Tennessee, said he was still in shock over being booted off “Idol” Thursday night — describing his elimination as a “bad dream” to reporters on a conference call yesterday. “By choosing ‘Bad Romance’ I think I turned off a lot of my core voters,” he said. “It was a bad risk to take because I didn’t really think it through. I think musically, performance-wise ... I was happy the way it turned out. But the message that was portrayed wasn’t really who I was. '' I overlooked that this week and I lost sight of what I normally think of first''. The “Idol” judges also disliked Dixon’s performance, and showed little enthusiasm for his second song — a stripped-down piano version of the Earth Wind and Fire hit “September.” The combination put the popular singer in the bottom three for th...

The 'American Idol' selection was very awesome.And“American Idol” results were surprising this week ... but shouldn’t have been. Jessica Sanchez , a favorite of the judges all season, received the fewest number of votes. Of course, she wasn’t actually eliminated, a decision that became somewhat less dramatic when Steven Tyler took a look at the bottom three -- Jessica, Joshua Ledet and Elise Testone -- and told Ryan Seacrest that the judges would be using their one save of the season. Still, Jessica didn’t have to sing her exit song for more than a few seconds before Jennifer Lopez led the judges on stage to make it official. Few would have predicted the bottom three vote-getters. Jessica hadn’t been in that position all season, and the praise bestowed on her has gotten more and more lavish each week. (Given her struggles Thursday, expect the judges to literally toss roses to her when she performs next time.) Joshua was at his best when he covered Bruno Mars, so it’s har...

Kimberly Caldwell and David Cook may have briefly dated, and rumors of on-set "Idol" romances swirl every season. But Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young are without a doubt THE first couple of "American Idol." Although the 24-year-old Diana, who was Season 3's first runner-up, and 31-year-old Ace, who placed seventh in Season 5, only recently went public with their inter-season reality romance, the couple have actually been an item for more than two years, and their relationship is both personal and professional. Not only is Diana signed to Young Brothers Entertainment, the indie record label run by Ace with his brother Ryan, but she and Ace co-wrote her new country ballad, "Good Goodbye," for the character she plays on the CBS soap opera "The Young & The Restless," a "gum-smacking mob princess with a heart of gold" named Angelina Venziano. "We live together, and we really work together," says Diana of her surprising...

  Heejun Han, known for his goofy sense of humor, was kicked off of TV singing contest "American Idol" on Thursday night after his second performance of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" failed to convince judges to keep him on the show.Han, who found himself in the ranks of the bottom three for the second week in a row alongside fellow competitors Hollie Cavanagh and Skylar Laine, appeared disappointed as he shook host Ryan Seacrest's hand after judge Steven Tyler informed him that he was being sent home. Han's departure leaves eight contestants remaining from 10 finalists for the show that has given rise to stars ranging from Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood to Adam Lambert.Seacrest began Thursday's show by sharing tweets from Underwood, Mariah Carey, and others praising the contestants' performances from the previous evening's singing segment, for which contestants chose their songs.R&B singer Eric Benet made a cameo appearance on...

American idol season 12 top performance night was very exciting show. Wednesday's "Idol" show, as intoned to full dramatic effect by an overly earnest-looking Ryan Seacrest...before Ryan of course took almost 90 minutes to get around to making the announcement everyone was waiting to hear. Yes, many viewers tuned in to "Idol" this week not to see this season's remaining finalists warble songs of the '80s and '90s, but to find out just what happened to one of those contestants, who'd never warble on the show again. On Tuesday evening, news had broken on TMZ that Jermaine Jones, the "gentle giant" and sweet self-declared mama's boy who was brought back to the show at the last minute as a "surprise," had been disqualified for being dishonest about his not-so-gentle criminal past. So on Wednesday, "Idol" fans were eager to learn just how this scandal would be addressed, especially since TMZ had titillatingly reporte...

American Idol returns for its much-anticipated ninth season in January 2010. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, television's No. 1 hit series empowers contestants and viewers to share their voices in deciding who will be America's next singing superstar. This new season promises to deliver amazing, undiscovered talent with plenty of surprises along the way.   Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the nation audition for a shot at stardom. The show's judges - Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi - travel across the country in search of the next American Idol. They winnow down the competitors to a select group of semifinalists who sing their hearts out each week in front of a studio audience and television viewers. This season, joined by rotating guest judges including Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, Shania Twain and Kristin Chenoweth, the American Idol judges visited Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and ...

All time super hit 24 'America Idols.When a singer wins "American Idol," it's undoubtedly his or her biggest music moment to-date. But as we've seen time and time again, winning "Idol" does not necessarily mean that one's career will follow the trajectories of Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. As "American Idol" season 11 moves forward with its Top 24 (well, technically 25) contestants this week. Will 'Idol' and 'The Voice' Ever Produce New Pop Stars? This "Idol" Top 24 list is based on chart performance on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts (through the Jan 21 issue date), using a weighted formula equally blending album sales (according to Nielsen SoundScan) with points generated by the radio airplay, track download sales and streaming plays that make up the Hot 100. 1) Kelly Clarkson   Album Sales: 11,219,000   Track Sales: 19,526,000   Radio Plays: 5...