MY FAVORITE TUNES FROM IDOL GRADS

In celebration of the return of “American Idol” for Season 9, Entertainment Weekly published a gallery of their “28 Top Tunes From Idol Grads.” Here’s my list, lopped down to 20… and keep in mind that I haven’t heard every post-Idol Idol album, so if your favorite isn’t here, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

20.  “I Got You” – Blake Lewis

From Blake’s first post-Idol album, “Audio Day Dream,” a great pop song that shows Lewis can always start a second career as a producer of boy bands…

19.  “The Trouble With Love Is” – Kelly Clarkson

My favorite song from Kelly’s debut, “Thankful”…

18.  “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You” – Kellie Pickler

A ballad so good, it’s on both of Kellie’s albums…

17.  “The Difference In Me” – Diana DeGarmo

My favorite pop-rock song from Diana’s “Blue Skies” album…

16.  “Tattoo” – Jordin Sparks

While “Battlefield” turned up on a lot of Top Ten lists this year, this is still my favorite single from Jordin…

15.  “Change” – Brooke White

Brooke put out a quality CD before “American Idol.” This is my favorite cut from “Songs From The Attic”…

14.  “Eighth World Wonder” – Kimberley Locke

Kimberley showed every Idol contestant how to launch a career without being signed by 19 after the show with this great single…

13.  “When You Say You Love Me” – Clay Aiken

There are a number of great songs on Clay’s debut like “Invisible” and “Measure Of A Man,” but this breezy love song co-written by Darren Hayes is my favorite…

12.  “Soul Thing” – Taylor Hicks

The Soul Patrol anthem, it should have been a single…

11.  “Nothin’ To Lose” – Josh Gracin

Josh does his best country speed rap, and hit number one on the country charts in the process…

10.  “I Could” – Kimberley Locke

One of the many winners from Kim’s first album, “One Love”…

9.  “Do I Make You Proud” – Taylor Hicks

Probably the least liked Idol finale song, at least until “No Boundaries” came along, but it really grew on me as time went on…

8.  “Wasted” – Carrie Underwood

Because I have trouble relating to songs about duplicitous men (see “Before He Cheats” and “Cowboy Casanova”), this blazing vocal from Carrie is my favorite from her…

7.  “Best Days Of Your Life” – Kellie Pickler

Uh, unless it’s Kellie telling off a duplicitous ex…

6.  “Vehicle” – Bo Bice

Yes, I have plenty of Bo’s songs on my Ipod like “You’re Everything” and “The Real Thing,” but this Ides Of March remake just plain rocks…

5.  “Home” – Daughtry

If you live away from the place you grew up, this is your theme song…

4.  “Forward” – Ayla Brown

A beautiful ballad from someone I wish had made it a little farther into the competition…

3.  “The Time Of My Life” – David Cook

While his album rocked out, David’s finale song crosses all boundaries…

2.  “Love Story” – Katherine McPhee

Pop candy at it’s best…

1.  “Since U Been Gone” – Kelly Clarkson

Not just the best Idol single yet, but one of the best songs of the last decade. I’ll never understand how this failed to make it to number one…

MY LIFE AS A RESEARCHER

I’m working out of my home this week, as I fulfill my duties as the researcher on ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” While the three writers of the show are freezing in New York City, I’m handling their research requests right here in my bedroom. I thought I’d give you a rundown of the kind of things I have to do for the job.

When I first started work on the show a few weeks ago, the first order of business was to put together some montages with such themes as the biggest music hits of the past year and the biggest films at the box office of 2009. Of course, thanks to the huge holiday movie attendance this past week, I can tell you that our original pick for number five has changed places with the former number four biggest hit of the year. Since we knew there was a chance of that happening, the editors put together two versions of the movie montage. Let’s just hope “Avatar” doesn’t make it to number five before New Year’s Eve. Keep your fingers crossed!

Anyway, after tracking down trailers for the movie montage (not too hard to do thanks to the free trailer section of Itunes) and music videos for the music hits montage (many of which were already in house from the American Music Awards), I just had to obtain some photos for a third montage that I won’t name but that you can see during the 10:00 hour of “Rockin’ Eve.” The theme of the montage actually changed four times on the last day we had to complete it. Some of the ideas you won’t be seeing: the most searched for celebrities on the internet and the greatest gadgets of the past decade. Fortunately, we went back to our original idea, for which I already had collected most of the photos we needed, but not all. Thanks to the Christmas holidays, some of the stars I needed photos of were either on hiatus and had closed their offices or were too busy taping their final shows of the year to okay photos, which is why two hours before the deadline, I was driving around Hollywood visiting photo shops to buy what I needed. Fortunately, Hollywood Book & Poster came through and I was able to drop off the photos with the editor in time to get to a screening of “Sherlock Holmes” afterward.

Although I breathed a sigh of relief thinking the hard work was done, it didn’t take long for me to realize it had hardly begun. Since the writers arrived in New York late last week, I’ve been bombarded with questions about things they wanted to include in the script. First I gathered some fun trivia and updates about guest stars Jennifer Lopez and Daughtry that could be included in their introductions and dialogue with host Ryan Seacrest. Next up was the updating of facts about New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Things like changes to the Famous Ball (288 of the  Waterford Crystals covering the Ball have been replaced with newly designed ones) and how much confetti is dropped (over a ton). The writers also wanted to know things like who were some of the honorees who in the past helped push the button that starts the Ball on it’s downward journey (Christopher Reeve, Muhammad Ali and last year Bill and Hillary Clinton) and how big is the cleanup crew that tidies up Times Square after the big event. Well, I’m still waiting for the New York Department of Sanitation to call me back with the answer to that one, but for the most part, I’ve found the answers on the internet or by asking the very helpful staff at the Times Square Alliance, the organization which is responsible for promoting Times Square.

My deal with the show says I have to be available for questions right up until midnight New Year’s Eve. That’s East Coast Time of course, so I have time to go out and celebrate if I want to. But I’ll probably stay in and watch the show and clap when my name shows up in the credits.

To you and yours, have a Happy New Year!

TOP TV SHOWS OF 2009

While I see a lot of movies thanks to my job covering movie junkets for the Interview Factory, the truth is I enjoy the TV shows I watch more than all but just  two or three of the movie I see each year. Here’s what I loved in 2009 (and you’ll notice I loved so many shows, I made the list a Top Twelve):

12. “PSYCH” – I just started watching this show in the last year. It has a lot of things going for it, with the fast talking chemistry between stars James Roday and Dule Hill first and foremost. I first got hooked thanks to a terrific tribute to slasher movies, and have since been impressed by some of the mystery plots, which are actually a challenge to solve.

11.  “CRIMINAL MINDS” – I stopped watching this show early on during the first season and only recently tried it again… if by try, you mean watching it non-stop thanks to the omnipresent re-runs on Ion and A&E. The show is the television equivalent of the thriller books I read, and does a good job of coming up with varied plots week after week. This is the kind of show where the actors could easily get bored and you have to admire the way they bring their A game every epiosde. And one more thing: producer Edward Allen Bernero is the Joss Whedon of serial killer thrillers. Whenever he writes and directs an episode, the show is at it’s best.

10.  “AMERICAN DAD” – As much as I love “Family Guy,” “American Dad” pays more attention to each week’s plots, making the show more reliably funny. The fact that I can actually remember the plots (including a hilarious satire of “Apocalypse Now” set at a golf course recreation of Vietnam) proves it.

9.  “FRINGE” – Here’s a show that’s really improved in it’s second season, thanks to making Joshua Jackson’s Peter a full partner to Anna Torv’s Olivia. With John Noble’s Walter Bishop the most enjoyable to watch eccentric genius on TV and a new focus on the show’s mythology driving the action, “Fringe” should keep rising up this list in the years to come.

8.  “HOUSE” – While some critics and viewers haven’t enjoyed the revolving door changes of House’s staff, I haven’t minded it, as it gives House a different cast each week to bounce ideas off of and bother. Add in more time for fave characters Wilson and Cuddy and the continued great writing of House’s quips and you’ve got a show that continues to be a lot of fun every week.

7.  “MONK” – In recent seasons, the mysteries may have gotten easier to solve, but the writers continued to find interesting situations that forced Monk to battle his phobias. But this is on the list for the perfect way “Monk” ended, giving closure to one of the most likable casts on TV. Seeing Adrian wear something different  in the final scene warmed my heart.

6.  “CSI” – Thursday night at 9 is TV’s biggest battleground. I watch three shows at that time, so I’m glad that “CSI” is on Hulu. Yes, I miss Gil Grissom as much as the next fan, but every week the show serves up an intriguing mystery with great production values.

5.  “AMERICAN IDOL” – This year’s exciting duel between Kris Allen and Adam Lambert made “Idol” more exciting than ever, but the real surprise was Paula Abdul’s final year as a judge had her making the most sense on the panel.

4.  “24″ – “24″ tried a new format this year. Rather than trying to string a threat along through too many episodes, the show became almost a series of mini-movies (my favorite: “Die Hard” in the White House). “24″ also seemed to have fewer stupid plot points with even the White House intrigue and the coming of Kim Bauer adding to the fun.

3.  “BURN NOTICE” – While this is one of USA’s top rated show, I often run into people that have never heard of it, and that’s a shame. “Burn Notice” has a retro feel in that it mixes the plotting of “Mission Impossible” with the likable cast and tropical feel of “Magnum P.I.” Just pure fun…

2.  “SUPERNATURAL” – Here’s my nominee for most improved show. While it’s always mixed exciting horror movie type plots with outstanding comedic episodes, the past two seasons have seen the show raising it’s game with the rising of Lucifer and subsequent battle against the devil. And in the midst of all the end of the world seriousness, they haven’t stinted on the comedy with recent episodes showing the Winchester brothers visiting a “Supernatural” fan convention and surviving being trapped inside various hellish TV shows.

1.  “LOST” – Not just my favorite show of the year, but perhaps my favorite show of all time (oh “X-Files,” what could have been!). I probably spend more time reading about “Lost” on the internet than I spend watching other shows! Let’s just see if they can stick the landing this coming year.

I’ll admit the fifth season brought us some illogical plot turns like why Juliet, Sawyer and Kate got off the sub or the method the 815′ers used to get back to the island, but it also brought us the usual great acting from Terry O’Quinn, Michael Emerson and company, interesting time travel conundrums and yes, answers! But while I think I finally have a handle on what’s been going on these past five seasons, I don’t think the surprises are over yet. Bring it on, Darlton!

TOP SONGS OF 2009

While it usually takes an interesting lyric I can relate to for me to like a song, this list of my faves from the past year shows that a catchy melody certainly helps. As usual, country hits lead the way, with six of the ten showing at least a hint of twang.

10.  HER DIAMONDS – Rob Thomas

Heard this once while driving through Pennsylvania and started singing along with the chorus immediately.

9.  PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME – Pink

Like it came through a wormhole from the eighties!

8.  PLEASE DON’T STOP THE RAIN – James Morrison

A friend of mine always buys the CD’s that come out under the “Now That’s What I Call Music” banner in England. Unlike the American versions, the British ones are two CD’s and usually provide either a great dance remake of an old song or some fun unheard in America blue eyed soul, like “Dream Catch Me”  by Newtin Faulkner from 2008 or this gem from the singer that previously scored with “Wonderful World .”

7.  “DIDN’T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVED YOU” – Kellie Pickler

I’ve loved this song since 2006, when it appeared on Kellie Pickler’s first album. It was never released as a single, but Kellie gave the song another shot on her latest album and it finally become the hit it deserved to be all along.

6.  “THEN” – Brad Paisley

While Brad has been churning out clever hits about such up to date subjects as the internet and tabloid celebrity, he hasn’t forgotten how to write an affecting love song, and here’s the proof.

5.  “I RUN TO YOU” – Lady Antebellum

Just a catchy fun song that’s great to sing along to.

4.  “KISS A GIRL” – Keith Urban

Another country star who’s superb on both rockers and ballads, this showed the uptempo side of Keith’s personality.

3.  “FALLIN’ FOR YOU” – Colbie Caillat

I found Colbie’s “Breakthrough” to be a big step forward from her debut album, with this song leading the charge and bringing back the sound of California rock to the radio.

2.  “FIFTEEN” – Taylor Swift

For those that complain Taylor just isn’t country enough, try to remember that great country songwriting is in the details, and no writer this year has put more of the details of real life into their songs than Taylor. Plus she’s no slouch at coming up with a memorable melody. I can’t wait until her songs catch up with her age and take on a more adult perspective.

1.  “BEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE” – Kellie Pickler

A song I never got tired of hearing. And what do you know, Taylor Swift had a hand in writing this one too… as well as “You Belong With Me,” “The Best Day,” and a number of others that make this without a doubt the year of Taylor Swift…

TOP TEN POP CULTURE MEMORIES OF 2009

Credit where credit is due: Whitney Matheson of USA Today’s Pop Candy blog put together a list of her Top Ten Pop Culture Memories of the past year, which included parties, screenings and concerts.  Loved the idea,  so I copied the idea. Here we go…

10.  “THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS”:

Not quite as fun as the 2008 version, when I hung out during the show with friends who were hunting autographs and photos to impress their kids in the dressing room hallway. We  spotted such stars as Mariah Carey, the Jonas Brothers and Coldplay, who were more than happy to pose.

Still, the AMA’s make the list because this is the year I realized that with a Production Pass, you could just take an empty seat in the back of the hall during the show. But that wasn’t good enough for one of my friends who used to help coordinate the audiences for big events like this. He asked one of the staff to sit us in the front row for a while, and while we only made it to the third row (they were saving the empty front row seats for Marc Anthony as his wife Jennifer Lopez was about to perform), we still were darn close for J. Lo and Whitney Houston…

9.  “THE AMAZING RACE”:

I had the chance to spend a week in Dubai this year, so I loved seeing the two episodes of the Race that were shot in the Emirates. Like the contestants, I visited the Burj Dubai, the Gold Souk, the indoor ski resort Ski Dubai and the Madinat Jumeriah resort. I didn’t make it to that fateful water slide, but unlike Mika, I would have went down it if I had…

8.  “THE ACM ALL STAR JAM”:

While I was in Las Vegas to work on the event you’ll read about at  # 2, I got a chance to attend “The Academy Of Country Music Awards.” And while it was a great show, the real winner was the one that wasn’t on TV. Every year the ACM hosts an informal concert right after the Awards in a ballroom at the MGM Grand. And while I missed an appearance by Kenny Chesney because of a late dinner, I really enjoyed what I did see, including John Rich, the Zac Brown Band and best of all, the newly crowned Entertainer Of The Year, Carrie Underwood in the most no holds barred performance I’ve ever seen her give…

7.  THE “TERMINATOR SALVATION” PRESS DAY:

For years, I’ve been filling a copy of “The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told” with the autographs of everyone who has added to the legend of the Dark Knight, whether in comics, movies or television. So far I have fifty autographs (including the late Bob Kane, the creator of Batman who was the first person to sign the book) and not one person has personalized it by writing “Thanks, Brian” or anything like that. I’d like to keep the book pristine in that way, but it bothers me that I might have to skip getting someone’s signature for that reason. Which brings me to Christian Bale…

I’ve never seen Christian Bale sign anything without asking for a person’s name to personalize it. I brought my “Batman” book to two previous interviews with Mr. Bale, yet never brought it out for that reason. But there I was sitting beside him at the “Terminator Salvation” roundtables and I decided to chance it. Sure enough, he asked who he should make it out to. I said, “If you wouldn’t mind, could you just put your name?” Christian said, “How do I know you won’t put this on E-Bay?” Fortunately, one of the other interviewers piped up and said that would never happen, as I’ve been getting the book signed for years now. So Christian actually signed it and I breathed a sigh of relief. Now let me point you to my auction on E-Bay… Never!

6. THE “AMERICAN IDOL” FINALE:

This was just a great day, starting with lunch with Neil Sedaka and my friend Fred Bronson, great seats for the finale at the Nokia Theater (with the Kiss appearance and the announcement of the winner being the highlights) and ending with the “19″ party which featured appearances by not just this year’s contestants, but many from past years. I especially enjoyed the moment when Kris Allen’s father was telling us about how people were already leaving messages on their porch for Kris and David Archuleta piped in and said, “That’s nothing. We have people walking right into our house!”

5.  TERRY FATOR AT THE MIRAGE:

This year I went to my first Cirque Du Soleil show, “O,” at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. In spite of all the raves I’ve heard over the years, I certainly wasn’t bowled over. I found the show unfocused, meandering and not all that exciting. But that same week, I did see a show I loved, Terry Fator at the Mirage. I had never seen Terry during his winning season on “America’s Got Talent,” so I was amazed by his ability to sing without opening his mouth. Terry proved to be a master impressionist and a great singer all at the same time, combining great music with plenty of laughs…

4.  “STAR TREK”:

I have been a “Star Trek” fan since high school, and while I wasn’t too worried that J.J. Abrams would screw up the reboot as I really liked his work on “Mission Impossible III,” I never imagined this new “Trek” would be so well done, so exciting and respectful to what came before. I literally had tears in my eyes watching it, because I was so happy the movie was so good…

3.  THE “LOST” SEASON FIVE FINALE:

I love “Lost” more than anything else in pop culture right now. The Season Five finale was a true game changer, with answers revealed in the opening scene, and one of the biggest “Lost” shockers ever when we learned John Locke wasn’t quite John Locke. I can’t wait for Season Six to start…

2.  “GEORGE STRAIT: ACM ARTIST OF THE DECADE ALL STAR CONCERT”:

I was the researcher on this show and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed working on a project so much. First I got to stay a week in one of my favorite places, Las Vegas. Then I got to attend the rehearsals by each performer as they worked out their songs with the house band. It was like having a private concert by the greats of country music, including Brooks & Dunn (Ronnie Dunn’s voice in person is amazing!), Alan Jackson and Keith Urban.

I was especially pleased when Taylor Swift arrived at the rehearsals and read her script for the show. She was extremely happy with it, and after she learned it was because I had done a phone interview with her about how George Strait had changed her life, she came over and gave me a hug.

But as nice as that was, it was nothing compared to sitting in the audience at the concert and watching performer after performer show their love for the man known as King George. They did it through their words and they did it through their music.  Truly an unforgettable evening…

1.  THE “LOST” PANEL AT COMIC-CON:

It was exciting enough that I actually made it into the “Lost” panel without staying overnight in line, but I never would have guessed how entertaining it would be. Kudos to the “Lost” production staff for working so hard to make this a special occasion for the fans, complete with funny videos, revealing videos and great guest appearances by the actors. Michael Emerson’s interruption of Jorge Garcia was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen all year, and it may have been topped by Nestor Carbonell’s Christian Slater impression. And it bears repeating: I can’t wait for Season 6! I wonder if anything will be able to beat out the “Lost” season finale for number one on this list come next year…

I’LL BE BACK

Just wanted to let everybody know that I won’t be posting for a few weeks, as I’m off on my annual summer trip to the East Coast. As the song says, “See you in September”…

A RANDOM COMIC-CON MOMENT

So there I was in line at the Marvel booth waiting to get some books signed by British writer, futurist and comics god Warren Ellis. There’s a cute girl behind me in line, soon joined by a friend of hers. From their conversation, I glean that she’s a writer and from a furtive look at her badge, I see that her name is Caitlin Kittredge. I ask her what she writes and she says urban fantasy.  Suddenly Warren Ellis arrives for the signing and this happens (as recounted on Caitlin’s website):

Warren: Caitlin!
Caitlin: Warren!
[Hugging happens]
Guy in queue behind me: That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen.
Caitlin: If you want to touch my hand, it’s five dollars.

Notice she never mentions yours truly. But she has gotten some good reviews for her books, so I might read one… after I figure out why someone who lives in Olympia, Washington uses the word “queue.”

THE SDCC EXPERIENCE 2009

Just back from San Diego and five days at Comic-Con International. As always, there was fun to be had, although I’m never sure if I would have had more fun spending the same money on a real vacation somewhere else.

The show started out on Wednesday night with Preview Night, giving me a few hours on the convention floor to check out the layout, followed by dinner at the Bayfront Hilton beside the Convention Center. I had two friends staying there and they were very happy with the laidback quiet atmosphere. Meanwhile, I was staying at party central at the Hard Rock Hotel (which at night had crowds outside begging to get into the parties inside) and wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

Thursday I learned an important lesson. If you’re really interested in going to a panel, you need to get in line more than ten minutes before it starts. Thus I missed the “Burn Notice” panel, which I might have minded if star Jeffrey Donovan was scheduled to appear. Sadly, that meant I never got one of the cool “Burn Notice” bags people were walking around with.

But it did mean I got into the only panel that really mattered to me (and no, I’m not talking about “Twilight: New Moon”!). Friday morning, I rolled out of my sleeping bag at 7:30 and was in line for the final “Lost” panel of Comic-Con by 8:30. The time went by fast considering the panel was starting at 11:00 and it was worth every second of waiting. Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof went all out, spicing up the proceedings with plenty of specially made videos and live guest appearances. You can see it all at docartz.com, so check it out. Just as exciting was the afternoon panel for “Totally Lost,” hosted by Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen and Dan Snierson. I was sitting near the door and every time someone opened it, I couldn’t hear what was being said. I was getting a little peeved, when suddenly right beside me, I heard someone yell out, “What are you doing?” It was Carlton and Damon making a surprise appearance to kidnap co-producer Greg Nations before he could give up any secrets about the show. That was soon topped by acting genius Michael Emerson walking right by me to go up to the dais to answer questions for ten minutes. Sadly, they ran out of time before I got to ask a question. I also loved seeing the display of “Lost” props on the main convention floor. They had everything, and it will all be auctioned off next year.

Those were the only two panels I attended though. Still I found plenty to do, constantly scouring the DC and Marvel booths as well as Artist’s Alley for comic stars to sign my various books and draw some sketches. I especially appreciated Jill Thompson’s take on her signature character Scary Godmother, “Air” artist M.K. Perker’s detailed rendering of a demon and Ryan Kelly’s head sketch of a character from “The New York Four.” Final total: 13 free sketches and 67 new autographs. Sadly, I just didn’t think it was worth it to pay Adam West $ 40 to autograph my “Greatest Batman Stories” book after 46 people had already signed it for free…

Made it to EW’s TV columnist Michael Ausiello’s meet and greet party on Thursday night (he says he gets the most mail about “Grey’s Anatomy”), although I didn’t get into any other big parties or screenings, including a concert by Daughtry that I could see from the window on my floor when I was waiting for the elevator. Probably had the most fun just hanging out in the Hard Rock’s lobby at night, watching the girls go by as well as the stray star, including “Chuck”’s Adam Baldwin and “Buffy”’s Seth Green. Of course, the biggest star sighting was Marvel’s Stan Lee, whose co-creation of such icons as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four put him far in front in importance of any appearances by Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson in my mind.

I also spent some time at the outdoor carnival “Heroes” sponsored to promote their upcoming season, especially enjoying the free snow cones. Didn’t grab too many promotional items, although I was wowed by a copy of Detective Comics # 854 given to me and autographed by writer Greg Rucka. Beautiful artwork by JH Williams.

So another Comic-Con gone. Time to get reservations and tickets for next year!

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC

Attended my first junket in a while on Friday afternoon for the new kids’ adventure, “Aliens In The Attic.” I quite enjoyed the movie, which was rather clever and funny, and knew the press day would be just as painless to attend with just three sessions in an hour and fifteen minutes.

Interestingly, the stars we interviewed ran the gamut from an actress who first started working in live television during the 1950’s to a young actor whose first credit on IMDB was just six years ago. First up was Doris Roberts, who first gained my attention playing Mildred on the TV show “Remington Steele.” While Ms. Roberts often plays down to earth middle class types, in person she has a bit of the grand dame about her, while still remaining nice. While her longrunning role on “Everybody Loves Raymond” may be over, Doris is certainly keeping busy, with three movies ready for release. And for all her success in comedy, she admitted she never knew she could be funny until she heard the audience’s laughter while doing a Broadway play back in 1969.

Next up was Ashley Tisdale, who is well known for her role as Sharpay in the “High School Musical” movies. While a lot of actors can’t wait to leave playing teenagers behind, 24 year old Ashley is more than happy to do it as long as the parts are interesting. I asked her about creating her characters. She said that her aim is to keep things fresh when filming and so doesn’t memoritze any of her lines until the last minute. Fortunately, she has no problem with the memorization.

Last but not least, we interviewed two of the young male stars of the film, Carter Jenkins and Robert Hoffman. Robert has worked as a dancer and a choreographer in addition to acting. His training in movement serves him well in “Aliens In The Attic,” as he throws his body around quite a bit as the aliens control him. You could see during the interview he’s not much for sitting still, as he started rhythmically moving his neck. While Robert doesn’t feel the need to play gritty parts, his co-star Carter can’t wait to take on meaty roles.

I got to speak to Carter for a bit after the interviews while waiting for the valet to bring my car and told him how I worked on “Alvin & The Chipmunks.” He said “Aliens In the Attic” probably wouldn’t have gotten made without that previous hit.

It’s hard to tell early in an actor’s career if they’re going to be stars or even just continue to work on a regular basis. Based on their level heads and smarts shown during Friday’s interviews, I wish Ashley, Carter and Robert all the best in the future.

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT AT AMERICAN IDOLS LIVE 2009

Spent the day in and around Staples Center where the American Idols Live Tour lit up the night. However, for the Idols, it was a full day of work. They started with a press event at 2:30 which I attended with Fred Bronson, who was gathering quotes for a possible radio special. There were journalists and interviewers from radio, TV and print. Each participant got a minute or two with each Idol. Kris Allen had just returned from Arkansas and immediately joined the lineup.

Next up for the Idols was a meet and greet with fans, who got their shirts and programs signed and also got to take photos with their favorites. Meanwhile, I went to Starbucks, followed by dinner at Wolfgang Puck. The service was a little slow but we still made it back across the street in time for the show.

While I didn’t feel this was the best of the “American Idol” concerts I’ve seen over the years (I’ve previously attended the Los Angeles concerts for Season 3, 4, 5 and 7), it was still an entertaining show. Some of the highlights included Scott MacIntyre’s take on Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” every one of Matt Giraud’s three songs (he brought such passion and showmanship to his set, he seemed like a totally different artist than the one who competed on “Idol”), and Allison Iraheta’s “Cry Baby” and especially her version of Heart’s “Barracuda,” which had all the power and intensity of the original. Of course, the Top Three shined. I enjoyed the variety that Danny Gokey brought to his set, mixing the R&B pop of Michael Jackson’s “PYT” with the Latin spark of “Maria Maria” by Santana, then showing his heart on two Rascall Flatts songs, “What Hurts The Most” and “My Wish.” And I have to admit, after reading a bit about Danny’s interlude where he does a bit of preaching, I was worried it might spoil my enjoyment of his set but the opposite happened. Rather than making the moment about him, he makes it about the audience, encouraging everyone to follow their dreams and not to let anything stop them.

Next up was the performer the audience had been waiting for, yet it was a performer they had never seen. That’s because we were about to witness Adam Lambert unleashed. Adam showed off not just his great voice and rocking spirit, but also a gallery of rock star poses and quite a bit of hip action. The audience ate it up, and the excitement went even higher when Allison joined Adam for “Slow Ride.”

Of course, Kris Allen was the night’s final solo performer and in addition to his emotional take on “American Idol” favorites “Heartless” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Kris let out his inner rock star on Matchbox 20’s “Bright Lights.” Then Kris was joined by the rest of the Top Five for “Hey Jude.” Kris got the lyric on the first verse wrong (I asked him about it later and he just hung his head in shame), but at the time, I actually thought that maybe they had edited the song for time. Still, the sing-along chorus was perfect for the event, as was the final song, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The song started with Scott and Matt playing piano and trading off lines and believe me, they both have that famous Steve Perry falsetto perfected!

After the show, we headed upstairs onto an outdoor balcony for the after-party. For a while, we were worried that a better party for VIP’s was taking place somewhere else in the building, but eventually the Idols started showing up, so we were definitely at the right place. There was plenty of time to get a chance to talk to your favorites. I got to congratulate both Matt and Danny on their triumphs, and also got to meet the families of Allison and Scott, all of whom were super nice. Also in attendance was Debra Byrd, the “Idol” vocal coach and a longtime background vocalist for one of my favorite artists, Barry Manilow. Whenever I see Byrd, I always like to bring up a concert memory I have from the many times I’ve seen Manilow in concert This time, I talked about the night in Reading, PA when the sound went on the fritz and Barry entertained the crowd by beginning a strip tease until the problem was fixed a few minutes later!

All in all, a fun concert, so if you get the chance to see the Idols on tour, by all means check them out! All you can lose is your voice (from screaming of course!)…