In the upcoming weeks and months, we’re going to be seeing Idols all over the place. As we know, Jennifer Hudson will guest star on Smash, and a full clip has been released of JHud performing an original song. But in less than two weeks, Kelly Clarkson will be one of the big performers during President Obama’s Inauguration — read on to find out which song she’s taking on, as well as the other artists joining her. Also in today’s Roundup, Crystal Bowersox will release a new album in the spring. And three Idol winners are on the Billboard 200 this week.
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Video: Jennifer Hudson Performs on Smash
NBC is hoping that bringing in a slew of guest stars to Smash season 2 will help the show’s ratings. And for us Idol fans, we’re looking forward to Jennifer Hudson’s three-episode arc. She’s already been heavily featured in promos, and now a full clip has been released featuring Jennifer performing “I Can’t Let Go,” an original song, during her character Veronica Moore’s “televised concert.” This scene takes place in episode 4, and according to EW, Derek, the director of Bombshell, is also the director of this concert. We know JHud can belt it out like no one else, so take a look for yourself below:
This week, BuddyTV has been providing coverage from the 2013 TCAs. Check out what news and spoilers came out from the Smash panel.
Kelly Clarkson Performing at Obama’s Inauguration
When President Barack Obama takes the presidential oath for the final time on January 21, there’ll be some major star power taking part in the ceremony. The Presidential Inauguration Committee has announced who will perform three of our most iconic and patriotic songs, and one of them is our very own Kelly Clarkson. The inaugural Idol champ (pardon the pun) will sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” succeeding Aretha Franklin, who performed the tune four years ago.
Kelly tweeted this morning, “Excited and honored to announce that I’ll be performing ‘America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)’ at the 57th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 21!” If you’ll recall, there was a big uproar last year when she said she’d be voting for Rep. Ron Paul during the Republican presidential primary season. But once the two eventual nominees made their way through the general election, Kelly did mention to the press her intent to vote again for Obama, as she did during the previous election.
Also on Inauguration Day, Beyonce, who we all remember beautifully performing “At Last” during Barack and Michelle Obama’s first dance together as President and First Lady, will take on the National Anthem. And “America the Beautiful” will be performed by James Taylor.
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Crystal Bowersox to Release New Album in March
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one disappointed when season 9 runner-up Crystal Bowersox was dropped from her record label. But good news came in October when we reported that Shanachie Records added her to their roster. And now more info is coming out regarding this new partnership as well as when to expect a new album.
Randall Grass, the label’s general manager, said in a press release, “On American Idol, Crystal Bowersox stood out as a real singer with a big voice who made an emotional connection with the audience, similar to the way Adele does. Yet we feel the true depth of her talent as a singer and songwriter has not yet been fully exposed and we look forward to achieving that with her new album.” Being on a smaller label, it sounds like she’ll have more freedom to create the music she feels most connected to. Crystal said, “Shanachie is a good fit for me and my music. I am happy to join the label’s growing list of critically acclaimed and well-respected recording artists. I am really looking forward to working on this new project.”
It’s also been announced who she’ll be collaborating with on the new record: “So, the cats out of the bag!!! Mr. Steve Berlin is Producing this next record, and Mr. @jakobdylan and I sang a little diddy together.” And for all you Crystal fans out there, I’m sure you’re wondering when the album will be out. In March. Yes, you read that right — March, as in two months from now. But it sounds like the project is farther along than we thought, as she tweeted, “Holy Toledo!! I can’t believe today is our last day in the studio!” We’ll keep you updated on this exciting news in the weeks ahead.
The Top Idol Album Sales
Christmas is now behind us, so you would think album sales are decreasing. Overall, you’d be right. But Phillip Phillips is still basking in the success of “Home” and his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, because his sales keep going up, up, up, rising 8% from last week. Check out which three Idol winners are currently on the Billboard 200, courtesy of USA Today:
Phillip Phillips’ The World from the Side of the Moon at #4, Selling 63,000 units (Total: 596,000)
Carrie Underwood‘s Blown Away at #22, Selling 23,000 units (Total: 1.226 million)
Kelly Clarkson’s Greatest Hits — Chapter One at #35, Selling 16,000 units (Total: 211,000)
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(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
