Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina Added to City of Hope Softball Challenge, Presenting Awards at CMT Music Awards
Courtesy of MJ’s Big Blog:
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina have been added to the line-up of the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge.
The star-studded lineup also includes Brett Eldredge, Chuck Wicks, David Nail, Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen, James Wesley, Jaron and the Long Road to Love, Joe Nichols, Kerry Collins (of the Tennessee Titans), LoCash Cowboys, Point of Grace, Robin Meade, and Vince Gill.
This year’s game is scheduled at 9am on Saturday, June 11 at Greer Stadium in Nashville, TN. Click HERE to purchase tickets. (Via CountryMusicIsLove)
The yearly challenge raises funds to aid cancer research
at the City of Hope cancer research center in Los Angeles. Check out this video from last year’s game, featuring Carrie Underwood and her then-fiance Mike Fisher.
Scotty and Lauren both told reporters last week that they will be appearing at the CMA Music Fest, so expect announcements about that soon. I could see the two of them making their debut at the Orpy that week.
UPDATE: Scotty and Lauren have been added as presenters to the CMT Music Awards airing on CMT June 8 at 8 pm.
BREAKING NEWS! #CMTawardspresenters: @ShaniaTwain @justinbieber @SMcCreeryAI10 @LAlainaAI10. LIVE June 8 at 8/7c! Vote: http://ow.ly/56Vbw
Congrats to both Scotty and Lauren for being welcomed, so far, into the country music scene. I wish you both the best of luck!!!
Season 10 Idol Winner Scotty McCreery Pockets $250,000
From Forbes:
Because Scott McCreery, the latest winner of American Idol, is a minor, a judge had to approve a minor’s contract protecting his rights. That gave the Associated Press an opportunity to take a peak at the contract. It says McCreery was awarded $250,000 for his win and as an advance on a record. He will also earn from merchandising and royalties on his music. Had she won, Lauren Alaina would have gotten the same deal. Instead she earned $87,500 for coming in second.
As the AP story points out, that might seem like a lot but it’s actually less than what past winners have earned.
Season Six winner Jordin Sparks received a contract that guaranteed her a $180,000 advance after the show and another $180,000 after delivering her first album. Also, in some past seasons, winners were paid a minimum of $100,000 for merchandise rights, records show. Draft merchandise agreements for McCreery and Alaina give him $50,000 and her $40,000.
Season seven runner-up, David Archuleta (who was also a minor when he won) was awarded $360,000 contingent on him recording an album.
In Pictures: The Top-Earning ‘Idols’
The slumping award money likely has something to do with the slumping fortunes of American Idol winners. Only Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry are real breakout stars among Idol alumni. Last year we took a look at recent Idol winners‘ estimated earnings. Underwood topped the field with $13 million. Clarkson ranked second with $11.7 million. Only the top four earned more than $5 million each. (Daughtry brought in $10.2 million and Kelli Pickler earned $7.6 million.)
None of the former Idol winners made our Celebrity 100 list this year. Carrie Underwood came the closest.
But former judge Simon Cowell did make our list, ranking 9th with $90 million in earnings, and current judge Jennifer Lopez did ranking 50th with $25 million in earnings, $12 million of which reportedly came from her Idol deal. Looks like at this point, the judges are the real Idol winners.
(Hat tip to The Hollywood Reporter’s Hollywood, Esq. blog for directing me to the story.)
Scotty McCreery is getting some pretty decent pay for winning American Idol, considering that the economy is still sorta rough.
All for just singing? Wow!
Scotty’s First Single, “I Love You This Big” Breaks Country Chart Record
Looks like we now have an answer to whether country music loves Scotty, they do:
It seems like Country radio stations love Scotty McCreery this big.
"American Idol's" Season 10 winner has shattered a Country chart record with his first single "I Love You This Big." The song landed at No. 32 on Billboard's Nielsen BDS-based Country Songs chart -- the highest ranking for a new artist's first single since the chart converted to BDS data in 1990. "I Love You This Big" also has a strong chance of breaking into the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 next week.
The previous record holder was Brad Cotter, the Season 2 winner of "Nashville Star," whose single "I Meant To" debuted at No. 42 in May 2004.
"Idol's" runner-up Lauren Alaina's debut single "Like My Mother Does" debuted at No. 49 and should crack the Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 100.
"I Love You This Big" reached No. 1 on iTunes' singles chart.
Congratulations to Scotty McCreery for having success on the country charts!! Hope you have many hits!!
Forget Scotty, Obama Was An “American Idol” In His Recent Visit to Europe
Courtesy of the Washington Examiner:
DUBLIN, Ireland -- Observing the start of Lord and Lady Obama's (aka president and Michelle) grand European tour and the fawning press coverage, one might conclude they were imbued with royal blood.
The normally reserved and thoughtful columnist for the London Times, William Rees-Mogg, gushed about the president's speech before members of Parliament, comparing him to Winston Churchill. Obama is to Winston Churchill as Lady Gaga is to Ella Fitzgerald. Both are singers, but that's where the comparison ends.
In his parliamentary speech, which began with herald trumpets announcing his arrival (appropriate since President Obama frequently toots his own horn by overdoing the personal pronouns "I" and "me"), the president spoke favorably of Adam Smith, the patron saint of economic conservatives.
Smith's philosophy is the antithesis of Obama's "spread the wealth around" socialist philosophy. Smith is to Obama as Ronald Reagan is to Karl Marx.
Daily Telegraph columnist Bryony Gordon claimed to have had a conversation with an unnamed Secret Service agent. She quoted the agent as saying about Michelle Obama, "She has this glamour that I haven't seen before. She isn't just a first lady. She is Hollywood." Gush.
During the Obamas' brief visit to Dublin, I lined up with thousands of people waiting to get in to hear the president's speech in College Green. I was especially interested in what young people think of the president now, since it was American youth who fueled much of the enthusiasm behind his 2008 election.
A girl of high school age said she "loves" Obama and added without prompting, "I hate President Bush."
"Why?" I asked.
She stumbled, as if entering unexplored cerebral territory. "I hate all American presidents," she said (but obviously not Obama).
"Even George Washington?"
"Yes."
If this girl represents what is taught here, it would appear the state of Irish education is worse than American public education.
I interviewed a middle-age man, who was only slightly less enthusiastic than the high school girl. "What about his policies?" I asked. "He promised to close Guantanamo and quickly end wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." That bothered him, but Obama's image clearly had gotten the best of his political judgment.
It was only after the Obamas had left for the G-8 meeting in France that a few in the British press began to recover from their fainting spell. Writing in the Telegraph, Andrew Gimson said, "Barack Obama's speech [to Parliament] failed to live up to his own high standards."
There were several factual errors in the president's speech, including his contention that since the War of 1812, when the British burned down the White House, "it's been smooth sailing" between the U.S. and Britain. Not exactly. Gimson cited one example: "Suez did not seem like plain sailing."
The president claimed, "young men and women in the streets of Damascus and Cairo still reach for the rights our citizens enjoy." That is debatable, especially since the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood will be active, perhaps decisive, in the coming Egyptian election. And who knows what government will follow in Syria, should Bashar al-Assad stop killing protesters, or Libya with or without Moammar Gadhafi, or anywhere else in the Islamic world?
There were some emotional high points in the president's address, especially his reference to "the grandson of a Kenyan who served as a cook in the British Army to stand before you as president of the United States." That brought applause, as it should have, but this is biography over which the president has no control, not policy, which he sets.
The Irish and British press put their skepticism on hold during the Obamas' visit, much as the American media regularly do with most Democratic presidents. In America, the big media have a political agenda, which is that of the Democratic Party. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it was style over substance.
Forget Scotty McCreery, winner of TV's "American Idol." As host Ryan Seacrest might put it if he were announcing the arrival of Obama in Ireland and England: "THIS is our 'American Idol.' "
Examiner Columnist Cal Thomas is nationally syndicated by Tribune Media.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/05/obama-american-idol-europe#ixzz1NypJvGeF
Although I applaud him for having good reception in Ireland, I don’t consider Obama an “American Idol”.
Most people would probably consider him an “American, Idle” who has tarnished the American presidency.
I applaud what he has done, but I don’t fully agree with everything he has done in his presidency.
However, he is my Commander-In-Chief, as he is the rest of America.
The office of the Presidency deserves respect, dignity, and honor. Obama deserves the same, even if you don’t agree with him.
-D-RIZZ OUT!!!
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