Before rock critics start harassing me in the comments, hear me out.

Both Brooke and Elvis had infamous false starts on live television. Elvis freaked out NBC execs when he sang a few bars of "Less Than Zero" before ripping into "Radio Radio" on "Saturday Night Live" in 1977. Meanwhile, Brooke re-started "You Must Love Me" after having a brain fart over the lyrics on Andrew Lloyd Webber night.

Both Brooke and Elvis also love wearing hats. And both Brooke and Elvis released singles called "Radio Radio."

But don't assume Brooke's "Radio Radio" is a cover, kids. ("Idol" singers don't just do karaoke! I swear!) As Brooke White told us this week, the only thing her "Radio Radio" shares with Costello's is the title.

Ironically, this "Idol" title mix-up isn't the only one.

Brooke's first post-"Idol" album, High Hopes and Heartbreaks (out this week) also includes a song called "Hold Up My Heart," a name that's strikingly similar to another season seven "Idol" contestant's release, Michael Johns' "Hold Back My Heart." (Both Johns' and White's albums were produced by the same dude, Dave Cobb. Brooke swears it was just one of those happy accidents.)

But wait, there's more! Jordin Sparks' Battlefield also hit stores this week, just as her co-star Blake Lewis' new single "So Sad" debuted. The first line of his song? "Waking up in a battlefield."

[Slaps forehead!]

What's the problem, Idols?! Do producers hand you all the same thesaurus right after you watch your "America Hates You" montage on the elimination show? It's bad enough that the final "Idol" victory songs all sound the same. Let's try and keep the confusion down to a minimum post-Seacrest, okay?

(In all seriousness, though, Brooke White's new album is a fantastic throw-back to '70s singer-songwriters. And while she doesn't cover Elvis Costello, she does do a gorgeous rendition of the Kings of Leon tune "Use Somebody.")

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Alicia KeysLike a velvet painting of Jesus playing cards with Elvis, Bob Marley and Jim Morrison, somewhere out there, we hope, is a poker game in a smoke-filled basement featuring all the male "American Idol" ghosts of major-label-glory past.

Maybe Ruben Studdard is dealing, Taylor Hicks is mixing up some beer-tinis, Bo Bice is playing a bit of Skynyrd on an acoustic guitar in the corner, and the newest recruit to the Hall of "AI" Shame, Blake Lewis, is quietly beatboxing "You Give Love a Bad Name" while drowning his sorrows in a bowl of Funyuns.

Read More...

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Blake Lewis

· That was quick. Season-six "American Idol" runner-up, beat-boxing '80s-lover Blake Lewis, has been dropped by his label, Arista Records, after only one album. Audio Day Dream only moved 300,000 copies. The "Idol" boys curse strikes again.

· So, it turns out the California blogger who posted those nine Chinese Democracy tracks over the weekend didn't just get shut down by Guns N' Roses' label, he also got a visit from the FBI.

· Radiohead are offering 10 live recordings of In Rainbows tracks on the iTunes store. The songs are from a recent show at the Hospital in London and were recorded by frequent collaborator Nigel Godrich. Read More...

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DavidCookBlog

In a season light on star-making performances from guys not named Archuleta, “American Idol” had a “moment” Tuesday night when an emotional David Cook roughed up guest judge Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.”

The Train-meets-Nickelback-style cover -- which, for the record, some of us thought was a trainwreck of mush-mouthed, grunty vocals plowing into a car crash of muddy accompaniment, but that's just us, apparently -- drew rave reviews from the judges, who pegged it as one of the most original, gutsy performances so far this year.

The Cook-ie party of praise got us thinking about seven other “Idol” breakout performances that still stick in our brains. Some of those contestants went on to win big -- while others peaked too early. Our list after the jump. Read More...

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