Archive: March 2008 (1-10 of 53)

Mar 31 2008 11:34 PM ET

'Beverly Hills 90210' spinoff casting begins: Dustin Milligan tapped for pilot

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Dustin Milligan (The Messengers) is the first actor to join the cast of the CW’s planned spinoff of Beverly Hills 90210 from executive producer Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars). According to the show’s producers, Milligan, who also appeared in the short-lived CW show Runaway, will play a “likable, genuine…star athlete” named Ethan who befriends the 90210 group of teens.

Published reports have said the spinoff will revolve around the Mills family of Beverly Hills whose matriarch, Tabitha, is a 60-something has-been actress and alcoholic. Tabitha’s adult son, Harry, moves back to Beverly Hills to care for his mother. Joining him are his wife Celia, an Olympic athlete-turned-personal trainer, and their two 16-year-old children who may make up the new 90210 crew.

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Mar 31 2008 10:56 PM ET

Jordin Sparks says David Cook could win 'American Idol'

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Now that we’re down to nine finalists on American Idol, the mad frenzy to project the winner has begun. Joining in on the fun was Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks, who EW.com caught up with at Saturday’s Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles. “I hate to choose because they are all good and I don’t want to discourage any of them, but based on what happened last week I think David Cook has a good chance of being the last one standing,” said Sparks, while on a break from walking the orange carpet of Nickelodeon’s annual awards fete. “He sang the heck out of ‘Billie Jean.’ I didn’t even know it was ‘Billie Jean’ when he started the song. I think that is a good example of taking a risk and it paying off. It is really hard because they want you to take risks, and the judges ream you if you don’t, but they also often come after you when you take one they didn’t like.” Still, Sparks continued, “A lot can change from week to week. Voters have short-term memories, so if David blows it next week he could go home and I’d have to pick a new favorite. It is so unpredictable.”

Sparks will appear on Idol Gives Back on April 9, and she’s scheduled to go on tour with Alicia Keys and Ne-Yo this spring. “Sometimes I can’t believe this is my life,” she said. “I still get butterflies when I hear my song on the radio.” (Reporting by Carrie Bell)

Mar 31 2008 12:42 AM ET

'Idol' contestant David Cook under fire again, this time for his 'Eleanor Rigby' performance

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Davidcook_l Though Chris Cornell was acknowledged to be the source of David Cook’s "Billie Jean" rearrangement on last week’s American Idol, another band has come out demanding Cook (pictured) credit their cover of "Eleanor Rigby." Doxology, a rock-soul group out of Seattle (who happen to be pals with last season’s runner-up Blake Lewis), claim that on March 11 Cook performed their version of the Beatles’ classic — which has been available on the band’s myspace page and iTunes since January 2007 — without crediting them.

In a statement issued to the press on Saturday, lead vocalist Luke McPherson contends, "When given the opportunity to speak up and reveal where the arrangement came from, David Cook did not. His silence on the issue implies that the arrangement is his own. It is not." The band is careful to note that they are fans of the show and they are not seeking royalties  (which they could have earned off of iTunes sales had their name been mentioned on air). Their impetus: "We just want David Cook and American Idol to do the right thing and acknowledge these facts. It’s that simple." Whether Cook was actually aware of their version is still unclear as representatives for Fox could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

Read the band’s full press release after the jump.

Seattle, WA – March 28, 2008:  After much deliberation, Doxology is releasing a statement to the press.  There are many reasons that the Seattle area band feels it is necessary to shed some light on recent events.  First and foremost, Doxology is not angry with David Cook or American Idol. They are, however, troubled by the lack of public acknowledgement that the arrangement of "Eleanor Rigby," used by David Cook on American Idol’s March 11, 2008 episode and its’ subsequent iTunes studio recording, is a near note-for-note copy of a unique demo arrangement recorded by Doxology in 2006.  The band feels that David is a great performer, and they are also supporters and fans of American Idol (Blake Lewis, a good friend of the band, was last season’s American Idol runner up). Secondly, Doxology is in disagreement with Idol’s decision to post David Cook’s performance and studio recording on iTunes.  This allows American Idol to profit from the David Cook, March 11th performance and studio recording, without crediting the source for the recording’s arrangement. This is not the first time American Idol has had to deal with this type of issue. During season 5 of Idol, Chris Daughtry used an arrangement from a band without crediting his source.   To listen to Doxology’s original demo recording of “Eleanor Rigby” and additional original song selections visit www.myspace.com/dxband.

Doxology lead vocalist Luke McPherson: "Our main issue is that when given the opportunity to speak up and reveal where the arrangement came from, David Cook did not. His silence on the issue implies that the arrangement is his own. It is not."  Luke goes on to say, "We were even more surprised when the studio recording, released Thursday morning, was even more of a note-for-note instrumental copy of Doxology’s recording.  I want to be clear. We are not seeking royalties. That’s not what this is about.  The compensation we are asking for is the easiest and least expensive around – we, at minimum, want David Cook and/or American Idol to admit that the arrangement he performed on March 11th, and then went into the studio and recorded for immediate sale, was not only inspired by, but almost completely carbon copied from our arrangement. We just want David Cook and American Idol to do the right thing and acknowledge these facts. It’s that simple."

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Mar 28 2008 02:59 AM ET

Chris Cornell defends 'Idol' contender David Cook

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David Cook’s rousing performance of “Billie Jean” on Tuesday night’s American Idol may have brought him to the front of the season 7 pack, so why are Chris Cornell fans furious? Well, it was Cornell’s version of the song, included on his 2007 solo album Carry On, that Cook covered, and though Ryan Seacrest identified it as such in his introduction, the judges went on to praise Cook for his originality in rearranging the Michael Jackson classic. But here’s the million dollar question: What did Cornell himself think of it? EW.com tracked him down and asked him.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you told ahead of time that an Idol contestant was doing your version of “Billie Jean”?
CHRIS CORNELL: No. I had no idea. On my flight back from touring in South Africa, I started receiving messages from my fansite moderator and management [saying] that fans were furious about some American Idol guy who covered my version of “Billie Jean.” It appears the judges had no idea that it was my arrangement and were giving David Cook praise about how brilliant he was in performing the song that way. My fans are very protective and felt David should have volunteered the info [at that point]. Even though he did cover it well, and it was brave of him to try and pull it off.

Were you flattered by the performance?
Very much. It was clear to me [that] he was a big fan as he followed my arrangement down to the T, including the most subtle vocal nuances. I think he did a great job at pulling it off.

Can you tell us a bit about how this cover came to be?
It was a complete reinvention of a song that no one thought would work until they saw me play it in Stockholm acoustically. It received such an enormous reaction that it prompted me to do a studio recording. It ended up on my second solo album, Carry On.

In general, do you find anything disingenuous about Idol contestants doing covers of covers?
This song is a special case, but in general, I don’t think it should be an issue to cover a cover, as long as it’s clear who the creator and/or interpretor of that piece is. I think David’s performance was great and I want to thank all my fans for their dedication!

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