The Top 8 are receiving some legendary help with their performances this week in the form of Smokey Robinson. Also in today’s Roundup, both Katharine McPhee and Carrie Underwood are set to return to American Idol over the next two weeks to perform — read on to find out which band the Smash star is performing with. The music video for David Archuleta’s single has been released, presented in a very intriguing style. And Casey Abrams’ Idol appearance is doing wonders for his album sales.
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Smokey Robinson to Mentor Motown Week
For the past couple weeks, Jimmy Iovine has been the only mentor for the season 12 finalists. But that’s about to change, as legendary Motown artist Smokey Robinson will be this week’s celebrity guest mentor for none other than Motown Week — officially called The Music of Motor City. While it doesn’t appear that Idol has made an official announcement, the contestants have done the work for them, tweeting away about spending time with Robinson:
Devin Velez: “Meeting Smokey Robinson for the first time was such a pleasure! he’s so nice & genuine! & did I mention that he’s a man of God?”
Lazaro Arbos: “I just met smokey Robinson it was such an amazing talk.”
Candice Glover: “Just met the LEGEND that is our mentor this week. Think I got lip gloss on his shirt.”
This isn’t the first time Smokey Robinson has appeared on American Idol in this role. He also mentored during season 8’s Top 10 week for the same theme, where we saw the likes of Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Matt Giraud take on the classics like “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Papa was a Rollin’ Stone” and “Let’s Get It On.”
Katharine McPhee and Carrie Underwood Returning to Idol
NBC’s Smash may have bombed in the ratings this season and is being relegated to Saturday nights, that’s not stopping star (and season 5 runner-up) Katharine McPhee from returning to her old stomping grounds. During this Thursday’s results show on March 28, OneRepublic will perform their single “If I Lose Myself,” with guest vocals by Katharine. Incidentally, both she and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder shared scenes together on Smash last year. Also making an appearance the same night is season 11 alum Colton Dixon.
It’s good to see Idol bringing back former contestants each week. This tradition continue next week as well when Carrie Underwood stops by to perform her new single “See You Again” on April 4. Three days later, Carrie will perform at the ACM Awards — she’s nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (Blown Away).
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David Archuleta’s “Don’t Run Away” Music Video
It’s an exciting week for David Archuleta fans. First, his new album No Matter How Far, consisting of previously unreleased tracks, is now available to buy. And the music video for his latest single “Don’t Run Away” has been released. The entire video is styled as hand-drawn pencil animation. So if you want to see an animated David Archuleta sing, check out the music video below:
Now that you’ve listened to “Don’t Run Away,” you can hear the entire album for free on AOL First Listen. (Crystal Bowersox’s new album All That For This is also streaming there as well.)
Album Sales: Idol Puts Casey Abrams on the Billboard 200
Justin Timberlake’s new album The 20/20 Experience may have sold 968,000 copies in its first week and is topping the charts, but that doesn’t mean our Idols are nowhere to be found. Rather, one in particular — Casey Abrams — has received a tremendous boost in sales of his self-titled album, an increase of 2000%, to be more specific. This follows his appearance on American Idol, where he performed the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Here are all the Idols on the Billboard 200 this week, courtesy of USA Today:
Phillip Phillips’ The World from the Side of the Moon at #17, selling 21,000 units (Total Sales: 792,000)
Kelly Clarkson’s Greatest Hits — Chapter One at #41, selling 10,000 units (Total: 340,000)
Carrie Underwood‘s Blown Away at #44, selling 9,000 units (Total: 1.366 million)
Colton Dixon’s A Messenger at #119, selling 4,000 units (Total: 61,000)
Casey Abrams’ Casey Abrams at #131, selling 3,000 units (Total: 27,000)
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(Image courtesy of WENN)
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.
