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'American Idol' Champ Scotty McCreery Makes A Plea To The College Board

Posted 6/1/11 2:13 pm EST by in American Idol

You learn a lot by being on "American Idol." You get shown the music biz ropes by the finest in the business, are offered the opportunity to perform for the biggest audience on television every week and oh, yeah, if you're season 10 champ Scotty McCreery you also get a fat recording contract and a chance to live your life-long dream of being a country superstar.

But try telling that to your high school teacher. While "Idol" runner-up Lauren Alaina got to go back home to Georgia to attend her brother's graduation, McCreery had to fly home to Garner, North Carolina to take a final exam in the midst of his celebration.
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Cheryl Cole Double-'X Factor'-ed

Posted 5/31/11 1:24 pm EST by in Television


British singer Cheryl Cole knows plenty about the ravages of instant fame thanks to her employment in the once-red hot girl group Girls Aloud. Cole got her mojo back, though, as a solo star and a panelist a few years ago on the British version of Simon Cowell's "X Factor" reality singing competition.

But in a move that surprised everyone at a time when TV singing competitions are increasingly turning to A-list (and some B-list) American talent to serve as judges on shows like "American Idol" and upstart hit "The Voice," Cowell chose Cole to rehash her role on his upcoming American "X Factor."

Well, the wheels quickly came off, as Cole was unceremoniously dumped last week after reports variously claimed she didn't click with fellow panelist Paula Abdul, had a too-thick British accent to be understood by Yankee audiences, wouldn't do the promotional rounds or listen to the show's wardrobe people.

The other shoe dropped over the weekend, when Cole's name was also left off the list of judges on the new season of the British "X Factor". It appears she's been aced out in favor of another girl-group refugee, former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland.

So, to sum up, Cole went from being an unknown British star on the verge of landing a Beckham-like media assault on these shores to being a twice-fired pop singer within one week. Ouch.


Do you think Cole has been treated fairly by Simon Cowell? Let us know in comments below.

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'American Idol' Predictions Results: Scotty Rewards Our Faith

Posted 5/26/11 12:39 pm EST by in American Idol

There are no sure things in life, but Scotty McCreery winning "American Idol" on Wednesday night was about as close as it comes.

The self-assured, bullfrog-voiced good ol' boy from Garner, North Carolina, had a Ruben Studdard-like untouchable march through the finals that couldn't be stopped by the strongest force of all: a blatant heart-string pulling "I love my mama" song from rival teen Lauren Alaina.

And, after a dismal season of prognosticating in which none of our experts could come within Skoal-spittin' distance of .500, we finally all got it right for once. (Even if it feels like getting one of those participation trophies kids get these days just for showing up.)
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'American Idol' Finale Predictions: It's Scotty's Time

Posted 5/25/11 12:21 pm EST by in American Idol

For a minute on Tuesday night, I had a flutter of joy at the fact that Ryan Seacrest wasn't turning to the "American Idol" judges for their comments on the performances from Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina.

Because aside from dinging Haley Reinhart from time-to-time, Randy, Jennifer and Steven have been on autopilot for much of the season when it comes to constructive, useful criticism. But after going into the night's show assuming McCreery would wipe the floor with his cutie-pie Southern belle competitor (especially after learning she was almost scratched from the finale due to injured vocal cords), I started having doubts.

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My Armageddon Playlist: The Ramones And The Simpsons

Posted 5/20/11 5:13 pm EST by in Music, Television


If Saturday is truly the end of times, then I've been ready for judgment day for most of my adult life. Aside from my hard drive, my family and my SLR (because when that Rapture comes, you need you some high-quality digital images, right?), the only two things I need to grab are: The Ramones and "The Simpsons."

If I have to spend eternity cooling my heels in heaven or sweating it out somewhere else, is there really any better musical accompaniment than the Ramones' 1976 debut album? Perhaps the most perfect punk disc ever recorded, this classic has been the soundtrack to my life on Earth, so why not in the great beyond?

From "Blitzkrieg Bop" to "Beat on the Brat," "Judy Is a Punk," "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and "Loudmouth," not to mention "53rd & 3rd," "Let's Dance," "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" and the apocalyptically pop "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World," this album has it all. Chainsaw guitars, pinhead-dumb lyrics repeated ad nauseum, just the right patina of girl-group love, deviant behavior and the perfect combination of power-pop, surf, punk and New York attitude.

And speaking of dumb, what trip to the Great Beyond would be complete without the smartest dumb thing every created by man: "The Simpsons"? No sitcom in TV history has been as consistently funny, amusing, shocking and just plain brilliant as Matt Groening's so-dysfunctional-they're-back-to-functional nuclear family. I'd take all the seasons with me if I could fit them in the Great Celestial Glass Elevator, but if forced to choose, I'd definitely grab #3, with such classics as "Stark Raving Dad," which featured the voice of Michael Jackson.

I'd also pack up season four, which was highlighted by "A Streetcar Named Marge," (in which Marge realizes Homer may actually be the real-life Stanley Kowalski) and one of the all-time classics, "Marge vs. the Monorail." I, literally, reference this episode on an almost weekly basis almost 18 years after it first aired. Why? So many reasons. But mostly its genius "Music Man" homage and the cameo from "Star Trek" alum Leonard Nimoy (and a sly reference to his amazing 1970s E.T.-hunting show "In Search Of") and sly allusions to everything from "Star Wars" to "Beverly Hills, 90210," "The Silence of the Lambs" and Tim Burton's original "Batman."

It may be the most perfect "Simpsons" of all time. And if you turn down the sound and play The Ramones at the same time. Forget about it.

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'American Idol' Prediction Results: We Feel Haley Reinhart's Pain

Posted 5/20/11 11:25 am EST by in American Idol

The math just doesn't add up. Three contestants, two of them Southern church charmers who sing country music, and one Northerner who belts bluesy rock and has the underdog mantle.

But, somehow, Haley Reinhart stumbled one last time amid a record-setting 95 million vote landslide that pushed charming teens Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery into the finale spotlight.

It was the final smackdown after a series of harsh words from the judges, who struggled all season to find even one bad thing to say about a cast of often mediocre karaoke stars. It also proved once and for all that all our prognosticating is just so much whistling in the wind.
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Scotty McCreery Used To Sing Tenor, For Real

Posted 5/19/11 3:01 pm EST by in American Idol

It's pretty hard to believe, but not that long ago likely "American Idol" top two finisher Scotty McCreery didn't always sing in that signature bullfrog croak.

In fact, Meredith Clayton, the choral director at his high school, Garner Magnet High School, told MTV News this week that the country cutie who rocketed to within reach of the crown on Wednesday night with another trio of flawless performances, used to have a way different sound when he crooned for her.

(Don't miss our hometown stories on Haley Reinhart and Lauren Alaina!)

Clayton, who also taught Scotty's older sister, Ashley, said she first got wind of Scotty a few years ago when she took Ashley's advanced choir class to New York for a field trip and the senior's choir-boosting parents asked if they could bring their sixth grade little man along.
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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: The End For Lauren Alaina?

Posted 5/19/11 12:39 pm EST by in American Idol

I'd have to go back and look, but it feels like making the call on which two "American Idol" finalists will make the cut for next week's finale is the hardest one yet. It seems like a lock for country hunk-in-the-making Scotty McCreery, who nailed it on Wednesday night, pretty much like he has almost every night of season 10.

Which leaves this year's two female finalists to battle it out for the other berth, which is where it gets a bit trickier. After a testy time last week, Haley Reinhart appears to have gotten back into the judges' good graces. And despite falling on her face during a solid Led Zeppelin cover, nailing Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" and nearly getting thrown under the bus with the tricky judges' pick of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," the 20-year-old blues belter came out looking pretty good.
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'American Idol' Prediction Results: We Didn't See it Coming Either, James Durbin

Posted 5/13/11 11:45 am EST by in American Idol

Sometimes we "Idol" prognosticators get it totally right and then there's this week.

All around, we couldn't have been more wrong about what was going to happen on Thursday night's "American Idol" elimination show. After all the Haley Reinhart talk and the certainty that the blues grunter would be sent back to Chicago (where there are, it should be noted, tons of perfectly decent cheesy blues bars eagerly awaiting her return), James' booting was a bolt of heavy metal thunder that came totally out of the blue.

"Season 10 has had more insane plot twists than M Night Shyamalan's filmography!" said MTV News' own "Idol" expert Jim Cantiello. "After surviving last week's results without even landing in the bottom three I thought James was untouchable. His fans protected him through his worst showing on 'Idol,' so if he had a better run on Wednesday common sense would suggest he'd be planning his parade this morning."
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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: Will Lauren Alaina Be Home In Time For Prom?

Posted 5/12/11 1:02 pm EST by in American Idol

After a season of blowing smoke and patting contestants on the head like they were the ninth place finishers in a eight-person third grade decathlon, things finally got really real on "American Idol" on Wednesday night.

When Randy Jackson went all-in on Haley Reinhart after her screechy, hoarse mess of a Michael Jackson cover, the singer hit back with withering stares and some backstage dissing of her own, cranking up the tension on an otherwise vanilla season.

Normally, that kind of sassy backtalk is a prescription for a one-way ticket to Iowa Cattle Fair 2012 Apple Dumpling Stage opening act-ville. But there's a part of me that thinks Haley's rants and eye-rolls might have earned her some support from a fanbase that is so used to seeing nothing but marshmallow kisses and unicorn hugs from the judges that they will be incensed at the slight tinge of negativity.

Don't get it twisted. She was awful, and while her second performance was much better, at this point that's like saying that "Attack of the Clones" was better than "The Phantom Menace," i.e. they both sucked, but one sucked just a bit less.

All that said, I don't think Haley will go home tonight. I think her fans will rally, and it will be Lauren Alaina who gets the boot. Why? She was fine, but her little girl at the prom in a puffy dress and cute smile shtick is so bland and old it might just have lulled her fans into complacency. Most of my expert panel agreed with me.
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