Tag Archives: durbin

‘American Idol’ Finalist James Durbin Dropping LP Same Day As Daughtry

Durbin’s debut, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster, will hit on November 21. By Gil Kaufman James Durbin Photo: FOX Though he was most often compared to “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert last year during his rebel-yelling run to a #4 finish, classic rock lover James Durbin will end up being measured against another head-banging “Idol” finisher when his debut drops in November. Durbin will release his debut, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster, on November 21 on Wind-Up Records (home to Evanescence, among others). That just happens to be the same day that season-five fourth-place finisher said he will serve up his band’s third album, Break the Spell. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Durbin’s debut was produced by veteran hard-rock helmer Howard Benson, who has worked with My Chemical Romance and, yes, Daughtry. While Daughtry’s sound leans toward gritty, swelling arena rock, during his time season 10 Durbin was an unabashed fan of old-school metal, a genre he vowed to revive if given a chance. Shortly after his elimination, Durbin told MTV News that he wanted to work with Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, reunite with guitar legend Zakk Wylde and bring out his “secret weapon,” his best friend from home who is a shredding guitar player. Given the chance, he said what he wanted most was to re-create the sound of his favorite record, the 1983 debut from late Black Sabbath metal screamer and solo star Ronnie James Dio, Holy Diver. “I’m gonna keep it real my post ‘Idol’ career. I’m not gonna pretend to be somebody else on the show and then do something completely different with my career,” Durbin promised . “I know who I am, I know what I wanna do, and I know where my fans are. And I know what they want.” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Artists James Durbin

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‘American Idol’ Finalist James Durbin Dropping LP Same Day As Daughtry

James Durbin Weeps, Scotty McCreery Wows On ‘American Idol’

Plus, Haley Reinhart redeems herself with bluesy ‘House of the Rising Sun’ on Then and Now-themed night. By Gil Kaufman James Durbin performs on “American Idol” Wednesday Photo: FOX The theme for Wednesday night’s (May 4) top-five “American Idol” performance show was Then and Now, and the remaining contestants went out of their way to let viewers know exactly what musical pocket they’ve settled into with their song choices. Helping to guide them along was Grammy-winning superstar Sheryl Crow. And while some, like front-runners Scotty McCreery and James Durbin, hit a pair of home runs — including a Durbin performance that was one of the most emotional in “Idol” history — frequent bottom-three dweller Haley Reinhart stumbled in the judges’ eyes with an unreleased Lady Gaga song, only to storm back into their hearts with a show-closing, vocal-fireworks display. After a detour into sensitive singer/songwriter land last week, rocker Durbin was back in his bombastic lane with 30 Second to Mars’ “Closer to the Edge.” Crow did a duet with Durbin to get him in the groove and lead mentor Jimmy Iovine dubbed it the perfect song choice. James started out a bit shaky, his vocals flat and a tad tinny, but after pumping up the room and rising up into his head voice, he walked out into the crowd and doled out the high-fives, working the stage like an arena-rock veteran. With pyro shooting off behind him, he made a clear attempt to reach the folks all the way in the back of the room. “I think you kicked that song’s ass,” said Steven Tyler, deeming JD ready to rock stadiums. Jennifer Lopez agreed, saying “it’s yours to take,” and Randy Jackson liked how it made Durbin feel contemporary and took him out of his 1980s hard rock zone. Jacob Lusk was feeling confident about his chances of winning and proved it by taking on Jordin Sparks’ “No Air.” Crow deemed the tune difficult, but felt good about Lusk’s chances of nailing it, even though he was attempting to sing both the Sparks and Chris Brown parts. Lusk was in fine voice, using his breathy falsetto to its full power and adding a funky body wave to his repertoire, but the solo duet was a bit awkward. J.Lo’s always liked his showmanship and called his voice one of the best ever on the show, but said she wondered what his career might look like. If the Sparks song was it, she counseled him to stick with that sound. “I don’t think that’s the direction for you,” countered Randy, saying it was mostly sharp and was a mistake to sing both parts. “I don’t see you as Chris Brown or Jordin Sparks,” he added, saying Lusk should focus on being a more Luther Vandross-style crooner. Teen Lauren Alaina chose Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor,” and Crow suggested she stand still and just belt it! Wearing a sassy outfit with silver tassels hanging around her waist, Alaina took their advice and shimmied in place while putting all her sass and country swagger into the fiddle-rocking tune for one of her strongest performances to date. “That is the direction for you!” Jackson said, psyched about the fun, energetic side Lauren showed. Tyler agreed and Lopez said, simply, “You ate that up!” It was back in the down-home groove for McCreery with Montgomery-Gentry’s gritty rocker “Gone.” The first few lines were delivered in his signature baritone — with a bit of stilted over-enunciation — but once he broke into the chorus, Scotty looked and sounded like a future Grand Ole Opry veteran as he owned the song and put some kicky emotion into it. “Up to now you’ve been like a puritan, but I swear to God I saw you dance with the devil tonight, and that’s a good thing … that showed a whole other side of you,” offered Tyler to Jackson’s utter confusion. Lopez said Scotty just owned the stage and whooped about his growling, by which she meant the good kind, not the Casey Abrams kind. Talk about a coup. Iovine gave Haley Reinhart the as-yet-unreleased Born This Way Lady Gaga tune “You & I,” and with Gaga’s blessing, she played it as a jazzy torch song. With a seductive purr and her trademark guttural growl, Reinhart bumped and grinded her way across the stage and sang the tune like a show-stopping, hands-in-the-air bluesy encore at a 5,000-seat theater. Though she loved some moments in the song, Lopez wasn’t sure about the choice of the unreleased tune and felt it didn’t showcase Reinhart’s gifts. Jackson agreed that picking a song no one knows was risky, but Tyler said it did spotlight her strengths. “I think you’re just one perfect song away from being an ‘American Idol,’ ” the Aerosmith singer offered. Durbin couldn’t stop crying listening to the sensitive piano ballad “Without You” by late Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. Choked up thinking about his son and fianc

Kanye West Joins Katy Perry On ‘American Idol’ For ‘E.T.’

Duo play up hit song’s intergalactic theme with laser-heavy performance. By Adam Graham Katy Perry performs on “American Idol” Thursday Photo: FOX Katy Perry transported “E.T.” to the “American Idol” stage Thursday (April 21) and even brought a special guest along with her: Kanye West. The two reprised their recent #1 hit on the “Idol” stage in a pre-taped appearance during the “Idol” results show. The performance kicked off with Kanye’s opening verse piped in via music video, so it was a surprise when the Coachella headliner appeared onstage with Perry later in the song. Perry was carried on to the stage, arms outstretched, by three dancers dressed in alien getups, who hoisted Russell Brand’s better half high above their heads. Perry was decked out in a white, form-fitting bodysuit tricked out with pink LED lights and a long white cape. She wore some sort of futuristic space crown atop her head, making her look like the queen of a far-off pop planet. Green lasers crisscrossed the darkened “Idol” stage as Perry was placed into a throne-like cage, which was carted across the stage by her team of a half-dozen alien dancers. West took the stage in a leather coat accented with a fur overlay and exercised self-censorship on his verse’s “alien sex” line. West and Perry faced off at center stage, moving toward and away from each other to play up the tension between them. In the song’s closing moments, Perry softly caressed West’s cheek before retreating back to her throne, where the lights dimmed and her suit lit up with blinking, zigzagging lights. Perry and West both have a history with “American Idol.” Perry chipped in as a guest judge during the early rounds in season nine, at one point threatening to throw a Coke in Kara DioGuardi’s face, and performed “Waking Up in Vegas” — in an Elvis jumpsuit, no less — on the show during season eight. Earlier that same season, West took to the “Idol” stage to perform “Heartless,” from his 808s and Heartbreak LP, which would later be transformed into a winning performance by that season’s champ, Kris Allen . What did you think of Perry and West’s performance? Let us know in the comments! Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances Related Artists Katy Perry Kanye West

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Kanye West Joins Katy Perry On ‘American Idol’ For ‘E.T.’

Stefano Langone Eliminated From ‘American Idol’

Haley Reinhart and Jacob Lusk also land in the bottom three. By Gil Kaufman Stefano Langone on “American Idol” Photo: FOX Wednesday night’s “Music of the 21st Century” wasn’t kind to most of the “American Idol” contestants, but even with a few missteps, host Ryan Seacrest revealed on Thursday’s (April 21) results show that more than 52 million votes were cast for the top seven. After an unrelenting march of early female departures, the remaining two ladies were safe for a second week, though Haley Reinhart did land in the bottom three again, if only for a moment before behind ushered back to safety. That left often-on-the-brink wild card Stefano Langone and Jacob Lusk sweating out their fate by hour’s end. The fourth time, alas, was not a charm for Langone, as his luck finally ran out and Lusk lived to sing another day. Looking like his usual cocky self, Langone smiled and seemed happily resigned to his fate as he watched his highlights package. “It started my career and … you can’t put a price on that,” he said in response to Seacrest’s question about how the show had changed Stefano’s life. He then happily sang Stevie Wonder’s “Lately” one more time, giving the audience another taste of his cruise-ship talents as rocker James Durbin openly wept at the sight of his pal grabbing the mic for the last time. In fact, Durbin couldn’t control his emotions and ran out to bear-hug and spin Langone around as he finished the song before the car-crash survivor was enveloped in a group hug. Earlier in the night, the first two to get the results were Lusk and Casey Abrams, with Seacrest still talking about the spontaneous kiss Casey sprang on judge Jennifer Lopez the night before. Even after the return of his scary-face singing on Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” Abrams was safe, while Lusk was back in the bottom three after failing to convince viewers with his cover of hero Luther Vandross’ “Dance With my Father.” When Seacrest asked Lauren Alaina, Durbin and Langone to take the long walk, it was no surprise that Langone was back in the bottom three after his tepid take on Ne-Yo’s “Closer,” which meant Alaina and Durbin were safe. And it seemed pretty obvious when Scotty McCreery and Reinhart were the last two to get the news that front-runner McCreery would likely be safe, and he was, meaning once again Reinhart was facing elimination after her good notices for Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” She wasn’t down long, though, as Seacrest ushered her to safety just moments later. Earlier in the night, Lauren, Haley, Stefano and Jacob sang a version of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” to open the show that managed to make the fluffy pop confection even frothier. That was followed by Casey, Scotty and James singing a “Glee”-ky version of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida,” during which a self-assured Durbin stole the show coming off like the seasoned showman next to a pair of flat amateurs with shaky stage presence. The show also found season-seven winner David Cook coming home to sing his new single, the midtempo rocker “The Last Goodbye,” and Katy Perry taking the stage in a glowing white space suit to sing her hit alien love song “E.T.” with a surprise cameo from fur-decked collaborator Kanye West. Next week, the top six take on the catalog of 1970s pop icon Carole King on Wednesday night and Bruno Mars drops in to perform on Thursday’s elimination show. Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances

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Stefano Langone Eliminated From ‘American Idol’

Billy Ray Cyrus Has One Wish for Daughter

In his continuing attempt to mend his family , Billy Ray Cyrus has made clear his one wish for daughter Miley: unadulterated happiness. “My wish for her is to be happy. To love what she’s doing,” the famous father tells Parade . “We’ve always had a slogan in our family: ‘If you ain’t happy, it ain’t working.’ You need to love what you’re doing. As long as she’s happy and loving making music – and I know she loves acting – that’s all that matters.” Miley kicks off a tour of Australia later this month and Billy Ray says it’s been incredible to watch her journey as an artist. “I think music is an evolution of what an artist is feeling and going through in their lives. We’ve always been the fans of singers and songwriters who live what they’re singing and sing what they’re living.” The elder Cyrus famously went off on Hannah Montana and the concept of celebrity a little while ago, but sounds like he’s changed his tune now: “I try to focus on the positive. Fame can be dangerous. I think it’s important to stay focused on where you wanna go, what you’re all about, and what you want to do with your work. And there will be a lot of distractions out there. That’s why it’s all the more important to stay focused on what you believe in.” [Photo: Parade]

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Billy Ray Cyrus Has One Wish for Daughter

Demi Lovato Admits: I Have Bipolar Disorder

Demi Lovato is continuing to open up about her recent stint in rehab and the basis for her stay there. First, the singer/actress admitted she’s battled an eating disorder for years, later adding that she’s cut herself since the age of 11 and is leaving Sonny with a Chance to battle these demons. Now, the 18-year is opening up again to the public, making an admission to People : “I never found out until I went into treatment that I was bipolar,” she tells the magazine . “There were times when I was so manic, I was writing seven songs in one night and I’d be up until 5:30 in the morning.” Last week, Catherine Zeta-Jones sought professional help for the same disease, as Demi Tweeted her support of that star. She says she’s taking positive steps in her life to turn things around. “I feel like I am in control now where my whole life I wasn’t in control… What’s important for me now is to help others.” [Photo: WENN.com]

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Demi Lovato Admits: I Have Bipolar Disorder

Adam Lambert with Facial Hair: Love It or Hate It?

The Broadway musical Sister Act premiered last night, as celebrities gathered on the red carpet for a performance based on a movie of the same name. But one singer stood out from among the other stars lined up for photographers. That’s what happens when Adam Lambert rocks a mustache and goatee. Accompanied by friend Sauli Koskinen, the former American Idol finalist looked quite comfortable with the whiskers. But should he have? Study the look below and sound off now. What do you think of Adam Lambert’s facial hair? [Photo: WENN.com]

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Adam Lambert with Facial Hair: Love It or Hate It?

Uprising: James Durbin Muses on American Idol

Last night on American Idol, James Durbin covered Muse, conjuring up images of Adam Lambert a few seasons ago. Durbin’s song choice: “Uprising.” “I haven’t gotten to show that I can be contemporary,” he said, hoping to escape the metal/hard rock label. Suffice it to say, it worked and then some. He’s sounded better in the past. But he probably hasn’t looked better. The drums, the spinning cameras, the flashing lights and, of course, James’ natural feel for performing sent the crowd and judges into hysterics. After praising his cover of the Matthew Bellamy -led band, Steven made a crack about Durbin’s wardrobe, telling James to stay out of his closet. You are probably looking at the man to beat on American Idol … James Durbin – Uprising (American Idol)

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Uprising: James Durbin Muses on American Idol

James Durbin Wails On ‘American Idol’ Movie Night

Rocker was joined by legendary guitarist Zakk Wylde for heavy metal performance judges called ‘outstanding.’ By Kara Warner James Durbin performs on “American Idol” Wednesday Photo: Fox The buzz surrounding this week’s episode of “American Idol” was especially high, given the major elimination shocker of assumed front-runner Pia Toscano last week. And while the contestants are always dealing with the looming pressure of elimination, there seemed to be an extra sense of anxiety coming from the eight remaining “Idol” hopefuls. Nevertheless, there were a few standout performers who sang their hearts out during the always-interesting Songs of Cinema theme week. One in particular was heavy metal enthusiast and all-around rocker James Durbin . Durbin made “Idol” history earlier this season when he sang the first Judas Priest track “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” marking the first time Priest was ever performed on the main stage. On Wednesday night (April 13), he went raw rocker again and, against the recommendations of mentors Jimmy Iovine and wil.i.am, performed Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal,” from the ’80s movie of the same name. “Give metal a chance!” Durbin said to the camera in the preview package that aired before his performance. Joining Durbin onstage for his loud, energetic and guitar-solo-heavy performance was legendary Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, who said afterward that Durbin “sang his ass off.” “That felt really, really real!” a very excited Jennifer Lopez exclaimed. “I really loved that. I don’t know what these are sounding like at home but here they are killing it dead,” she said. “Who would have ever thought that on ‘Idol’ we would have heavy metal?” Fellow judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler were equally impressed. “My God, you guys were just at a James Durbin concert, at a Zakk Wylde concert,” Jackson told the audience. “I’m happy you stuck to your guns,” he told Durbin of going against mentor Iovine’s wishes. “We always tell contestants to ‘do you’ and tonight you did you. … I can see you onstage with Ozzy at the next Ozzfest! Durbin rocks!” “Outstanding, Durbin,” Tyler said. “I’m glad you went with your feelings. … Nice lip to Jimmy, man.” Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Top 24 Related Artists Jennifer Lopez Steven Tyler

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James Durbin Wails On ‘American Idol’ Movie Night

Howard Stern: "Dick Durbin Treats Me Like I’m an Idiot!"

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Howard Stern: "Dick Durbin Treats Me Like I’m an Idiot!"