Colton Dixon to Return to American Idol During Series Finale April 7

Colton Dixon will return to the American Idol stage Thursday, April 7 to perform at the 15th and final season of the popular singing competition. The finale will air live on Fox from 8-10:06 pm ET.

American Idol helped launch Dixon’s career when he made it to the top seven on Season 11.

American Idol’s grand finale will be filled with surprise appearances and star-studded performances as the show pays tribute to the past 15 seasons before the final American Idol is crowned. Thursday’s final episode will have all-star performances by former contestants, including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Scotty McCreery, Chris Daughtry, Clark Beckham, Danny Gokey, Diana DeGarmo, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lauren Alaina, Melinda Doolittle, Pia Toscano, and more.

Casting Crowns at #1

Adele's "21" jumps back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week (rising 2-1). With Adele's rise back to the top this week, she blocks Casting Crowns from earning its first No. 1. The latter's "Come to the Well" settles for the runner-up slot, selling 99,000 in its first week. It was initially projected that there was going to be a battle between Casting Crowns and Adele for the top slot, but Adele was able to ultimately hold on and beat out the Christian group.

"21" sold 106,000 copies last week according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the eighth week in a row the album has moved more than 100,000. Further, "21's" total sales now stand at 4.1 million -- it just surpassed the 4 million threshold this week. It's by far the year's biggest selling album -- as it's more than 2 million copies ahead of the No. 2 set: Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" (1.9 million).

"Come to the Well" is the fourth top 10 set for Casting Crowns, and their second to reach No. 2, following "The Altar and the Door" in 2007. The band's last album, "Until the Whole World Hears," debuted and peaked at No. 4 in 2009 with 167,000 sold in its first week.

Scotty McCreery's former No. 1, "Clear As Day," rises 4-3 (57,000; down 36%), while Lauren Alaina's "Wildflower" rounds out the Top 10.

Two Idols in the Top 10

Last week's No. 1 album, "Clear As Day" from 2011 "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery, falls to No. 4 with 88,000 (down 55%). Adele's "21" holds at No. 2 with 111,000 (down 1%).

A second 2011 "Idol" alum joins McCreery in the top five, as the woman he beat, runner-up Lauren Alaina, debuts at No. 5 with "Wildflower." She sold 69,000 her first week.

This is the first time since 2008 where both the winner and second-place finisher of "Idol" posted top five-charting albums (or top 10, for that matter). The last Nos. 1 and 2 placers to do so were '08 victor David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta. Their debut albums respectively bowed and peaked at Nos. 3 and 2, respectively.

Scotty McCreery Hopes to Follow in Carrie Underwood's Footsteps

Life after the post-show American Idol Tour has continued to be a whirlwind for American Idol season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina.

The talented teens have each been promoting their debut albums, which release a week apart. Scotty’s Clear As Day bowed October 4 and Lauren’s Wildflower hit stores October 11.

Produced by former head of Christian label Word Records, Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), the impressive collection suits Scotty’s values and showcases his considerable vocal gift.

Songs like “That Old King James” about a grandfather’s Bible handed down from generation to generation and “Water Tower Town,” a reflection of Scotty’s small-town roots growing up in Garner, NC, an ode to the water tower across from where Scotty played baseball in his youth.

When he heard the song “Dirty Dishes,” he kicked another song off the album to make room for it. “Mama heard it and she sat down crying,” he shares. Scotty says the song about a mother’s prayer as her family sits down to dinner “struck a nerve... It brought back a lot of good memories.”

Scotty says Bright was a perfect choice as producer.

“It was a really cool thing that Mark and I got together because he’d worked with Carrie Underwood and had been through my exact situation,” Scotty says of Bright working with Underwood after her American Idol win. “Also he’s had a background in Christian music, so he knew exactly where I was coming from in the country format as well as my background in church and the Christian aspect in my life.”

Full article at GMC.

American Idol Runner-Up Is Aware She Is a Role Model

Season 10 American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina is cognizant of her status as a role model for young people and wanted the songs on her debut album to reflect her values.

“I represent all the young girls. My mom and my managers have made that very clear to me,” the 16-year-old Georgia native says. “I can’t sing songs that are inappropriate for young girls to listen to. I have adult fans too, but I feel like the adults would respect me more singing songs that are appropriate for my age than singing grown-up songs. I wouldn’t want to do that anyway because I’m a Christian and I feel I represent a different lifestyle. That was the biggest thing I was worried about – finding songs that were appropriate for me – but my label is awesome and they did a really good job helping me out with that.”

Lauren’s debut single, “Like My Mother Does,” showcases her impressive voice and the emotion she brings to a well-crafted lyric. “It’s a beautiful song. As soon as I heard it, I fell in love with it because my mom and I are best friends,” she says. “We do pretty much everything together, especially over the past year because we packed up and moved to California. I tell her everything and we talk about everything, but being on American Idol, I feel like it brought us even closer.”

Lauren began writing songs at age nine. “One of my aunts had a car wreck and I wrote a song for her called ‘Miracle’ that made my whole family cry. When that happened, it made me realize that was something I needed to be doing. I became addicted to it,” she says. Her debut album includes “Funny Thing About Love,” which she co-wrote with Brett James (“Jesus Take the Wheel”) and Luke Laird (“Mama’s Song”).

Lauren recorded the album during downtime on the American Idol tour, working with veteran producer Byron Gallimore (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill). One of her favorite songs on the album, “Eighteen Inches,” was written by one of her heroes.

“When they were sending me songs, someone gave me a heads up that one of them was written by Carrie Underwood and I got really excited,” Lauren says of the tune. “I liked the song before I even heard it because I knew she wrote it and I’m such a huge fan of hers. Then I heard it and it has such a beautiful message. I have a friend that that entire story happened to her. It reminds me of her so much.”
The title track, “Wildflower,” hits even closer to home. “In elementary school I was a tomboy,” she reveals. “I know that’s hard to believe ’cause I’m not a big tomboy now. I played softball. I didn’t ever fix my hair and I didn’t care about matching my clothes. I was like that until my grandmother passed away. She wasn’t like that at all and when she passed away, I wanted to be like her so I started fixing my hair and wearing nice clothes, which my mom was really thankful for. The song talks about young girl like that. I can relate to that ’cause that was me before.”

Lauren hopes her music will speak to other young girls and help build their self-esteem.

“When you talk to me, you wouldn’t know I’m insecure ’cause I hide it very well, but I really am,” she admits. “I get insecure and the people closest to me know that. I tried not to show that on [American Idol], but it showed a little bit. It’s normal for a teenage girl. I learned a lot over the past year being on American Idol. I am who I am. People voted me as runner-up. I’m not perfect. No one is, but people still love me the way I am. If other people can love me, if strangers can love me, I need to know to love myself. I feel like that song represents that completely and that’s the biggest thing I want to share with young girls.”

full article here

American Idol's Scotty McCreery Makes History at No. 1 on Billboard 200

"American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery makes history as his debut album, "Clear as Day," bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 197,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

McCreery is the first country act to debut at No. 1 with their first studio album, and at 18-years old, the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with their debut release.

Previously, the youngest male to bow at No. 1 with their premiere album was Omarion, who was 20 when "O" started at No. 1 in 2005.

Surprisingly, McCreery, who turned 18 on Sunday (Oct. 9), is also the first "Idol" winner since 2003 to hit No. 1 with their first studio set.

Ruben Studdard was the last "Idol" champ to start their career with a No. 1 album, when his "Soulful" entered the tally dated Dec. 27, 2003, with 417,000 sold. Kelly Clarkson, the original "Idol" champ, also bowed at No. 1, with "Thankful" on May 3, 2003 (297,000).

"Clear as Day" also marks the biggest debut sales week of any "Idol" winner's first album since 2008, when David Cook's self-titled set started with 280,000 at No. 3. Kris Allen saw his eponymous 2009 debut launch with 80,000 (No. 11) and in 2010, Lee DeWyze's "Live It Up" arrived with 39,000 (No. 19).

Next week, watch for 2011 "Idol" second-place finisher, Lauren Alaina, to arrive on the Billboard 200 with her debut, "Wildflower."