When I got the call to fly out to Salt Lake City, Utah and hit up the hometown of “American Idol” contestant David Archuleta, I have to admit that I had NO idea what this kid was about. I had a similar chance to do a “homecoming” piece last year, for Idol champ Jordin Sparks, but by that time she was already in the top 10, so we were optimistic she was going to be star-worthy. We weren’t even there yet this year but there’s something about this Archuleta kid…

It was a sort of a homecoming for me, as I had attended college at Brigham Young University (a million years ago). When we arrived at David’s high school, Murray High, we were pretty impressed. Nice campus, well kept although we were disturbed by the kids that were rocking shorts and sandals when its 35 degrees in the middle of February. But hey, who am I to judge?!

I want to tell you about meeting David’s principal and his friends and all their confessions about some of Archuleta’s best-kept secrets. I want to tell you about how, on our first night in Utah, like the rest of the country, we were blown away by David’s performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” But first, I need to share with you the amazing thing that happened on the second day. After the jump.

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“Weezy bad, better yet I’m good / Feels like a T-Rex is under my hood”

Finally. Finally. Final-damn-leee. I made it to New Orleans to catch the tail end of NBA All-Star. I usually try to go to NBA every year because as we all know, sports are hip-hop are forever married. This year, though, was really a pain because were supposed to be doing this huge Lil Wayne interview right at the top of All-Star weekend. Then our interview kept getting pushed back, then pushed up. Yes, these are some of the inner workings AKA headaches of the job sometimes. Finally we made a schedule that everybody agreed on. Hit New Orleans on Sunday go to the Hot Boys reunion concert with Wayne, chill Monday and do the Wayne sit down on Tuesday.

More on my time with Lil Wayne after the jump.

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Here’s the video. This is F-R-E-S-H.
That cable-access show host looks familiar. Hmmm…

· Will.i.am. has just posted his promised second Barack Obama tribute clip, with cameos from Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillippe, George Lopez, Zoe Kravitz, John Leguizamo and Theo Huxtable!

· Finally, the “American Idol” finalists can stop massacring songs from the ’60s and ’70s and move on to something important, like off-pitch, drunken cabaret versions of songs from the Lennon-McCartney portfolio.

· Just weeks before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dave Clark Five singer Mike Smith died on Thursday.

· He’s got no label and no new record coming out, but Ruben Studdard has Kenny Loggins [ Hollywood Reporter]

· Here’s the thing. Shia LaBeouf feels like a real “nincompoop” about that whole getting arrested and refusing to leave a drugstore thing in Chicago a few months back. Nincompoop? Was he arrested in 1956?

· New mom Nicole Richie has been offered the role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of “Chicago,” Us Weekly reports. Ashlee Simpson played the same role when she starred in a London production of the long-running musical last year.

Dispatch from crack reporter Chris Harris:

This week, several popular blogs and online media outlets have reported that, over here at MTV, a decision has been made not to air “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul’s latest video – for the track “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” – which debuted on “Idol” last week. One such blog claimed to have spoken to sources, who said the video would not be added to the network’s rotation. An unnamed source, who allegedly spoke to MSNBC, apparently said “the only thing worse for a star like Paula to not have her video on TV is to have it actually rejected by MTV.”

Well, we’re flattered. The truth is, the department that makes such decisions here at MTV hasn’t even seen the clip – no one has submitted the video for airplay consideration. But they’ll be getting their first glimpse of the video on Monday, according to the scuttlebutt inside the building.

So there.

Big moment in the halls of the Newsroom earlier this week. Kid Sister, the Chicago club rapper who is quickly becoming the hot thing in the music world, was in the building for her TRL debut.

That’s a big deal, yo! A lot of artists traffic in that world of underground cool and don’t get a chance to break out. And Kid Sister is getting her shot to become the face/sound of a long-bubbling movement of hipster hip-hop. Now, it helps that Kanye gave her the homie discount and showed up on her first single, “Pro Nails,” but even without the hi-pro cameo, we think Kid Sister would be making moves.

More on Kid Sister’s visit, a look at her first interview ever and a sneak peek at her next video after the jump.

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Ministry’s Al Jourgensen has penned a new fight song for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. For serious. Jourgensen’s connection to Chicago, obviously, is from his and his band’s days on Wax Trax. The song was commissioned by Newsroom friend Danny Wirtz, whose family owns the Blackhawks.

Wonder if this will get the ‘Hawks into playoff contention.

Also, for fans of Jourgensen’s other band, Revolting Cocks, and that era of industrial/Wax Trax in general, this book written by the band’s Chris Connelly is a fantastic read.

Also, this will likely be our only Ministry/Revco post ever.

Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson, he of perpetual smiles, was the victim of a hit and run on the streets of London early Friday morning. But don’t fret: he’s doing ok! A spokesperson for his label says that he was just banged up and after a brief period in the hospital to make sure he had all his facilities about, he’s been released.

According to the NME, Tomson was hit by a car outside the Hoxton Hotel after leaving a party for the NME Shockwave Awards. They’ve had to cancel a promo gig in London today but no word on how this will affect the rest of their trip overseas.

(Tomson is second one on the right in the photo up there. And he’s a swell guy, so go leave him some love on his MySpace or Facebook page or something).

UPDATE: Official statement from Vampire Weekend’s label, XL, that you’ll no doubt see all over the internets: “Vampire Weekend’s Chris Tomson was the victim of a hit and run accident last night while walking in London. He has since been released from the hospital and declared 100% fit, despite some bangs and bruises. The band was in the UK for some shows and promo and will be returning to the US this weekend.”

This is where one’s love of Elliott Smith conflicts with one’s love of graffiti. [The Daily Swarm]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Following the Black Crowes debacle earlier this week, Maxim magazine got caught again. This time, they “reviewed” the new Nas album even though, well, there was no new Nas album to review.

But here’s the thing, kiddies. Even if the album actually existed, and even if the writer had a chance to listen to it, there is an ugly truth to this business of music that would’ve reared its head. Nas’ album most likely would’ve been played only once, in a noisy conference room full of uninterested music critics, with an entirely different track-listing than would’ve ultimately been released in stores, months and months down the road (this is Nas, remember, who’s never late but never on time, either). So the real crime is not the indignity of a non-review review, but the fact that anyone is reading music reviews in Maxim in the the first place.

Anyway, the laddy mag’s editorial director, James Kaminsky, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the mistake his rag really made was by using star-ratings for the pieces when they were intended only to be previews, not actual album reviews. MTV News’ own Jayson Rodriguez got a statement from the Nas camp telling us that Maxim hadn’t actually heard any of the album at all, not a single note. The statement says, “Nas is putting the final touches on the highly anticipated new album. He has not played any music yet for press, but is looking forward to doing so very soon.”