Clay Aiken News

According to the U.K. Daily Mirror, Simon Cowell will be knighted on June 12, 2010. The American Idol judge will be honored by Queen Elizabeth II at her birthday celebration. Cowell will enter into knighthood thanks to his charity work with victims of the Haiti earthquake, as well as his many contributions to the music industry.

ET Online is reporting that American Idol is slated to undergo formatting changes in its tenth season. Next season, along with the highly publicized departure of judge Simon Cowell, the series will be cutting the time of its weekly results show from an hour down to 30 minutes. American Idol is currently in its ninth season, which will have its season finale May 26th at 8:00PM on Fox.

Tonight, 'Idol' learned who would make the top three. Last night's performances were some of the weaker ones we've seen this season, so it was a bit unclear as to who would head home before the night began. The results show featured a wide range of performances, from R&B star Fantasia Burrino to the rock styling of Daughtry and Bon Jovi, and were a great addition to an otherwise somber night.

The top four sang songs from the silver screen tonight on "American Idol." Film and music star Jamie Foxx served to mentor, the perfect choice, since he has clearly been able to succeed in both genres. Foxx coached the contestants on how to perform for an audience, as he told them they now cannot be just a contestant; it's time to take it to the next level and show the audience who they are as an artist. Foxx made a good point: it's important to be an individual, not just have the best vocals.

'Idol' kicked off tonight's results show with the top five singing a Frank Sinatra medley consisting of The Lady is a Tramp, It Was a Very Good Year, and Night and Day. The group sounded tight as usual. I was a big fan of the way the guys began the medley, bringing out Crystal Bowersox to sing the second verse of The Lady is a Tramp. Casey James sounded a million times better tonight than he did last night; perhaps he would have done better with a different song? The group sounded great and the solos seem to get better each week.

The contestants stepped out of their comfort zone tonight on a week featuring pure crooning, something surprisingly lacking from 'Idol' this season. Stage and screen star Harry Connick, Jr. mentored the contestants on the songs of Frank Sinatra, even going so far as to create the arrangements and orchestrations for each song, as well as joining the singers on stage as the pianist. It's nice to see a mentor who put such dedication into his work on 'Idol,' though it is not the least bit surprising that this dedication came from Connick, Jr., always the consummate musician as well as performer.

According to a recent Tweet from pop star Lady Gaga, the singer will appear on the hit television show 'American Idol' on May 5th. The tweet read 'See you on American Idol. May 5th, Little Monsters.'

When 'Idol' gets down to the top six, each week is a shocker. With so few contestants left, it is nearly impossible to predict who will head home each week and, at this point in the competition, it really feels as though it's anyone's game. Tonight featured a slew of performances and was the first real reminder of how close we are to finding a winner of 'American Idol' season nine.

Tonight, 'Idol' saw the return of Shania Twain, who joined the audition process in Chicago, as the contestants sang from her vast catalog of songs. Twain is primarily a country artist, which resulted in a marked change for some of the contestants. The majority of the themes thus far have fit nicely into the pop genre and, while Twain's songs are definitely pop, the country influence allowed us to see the versatility of the performers as they tackled a new challenge.

Tonight, 'American Idol' presented a special episode, benefitting 'Idol Gives Back,' the historic Emmy Award-winning television event and music celebration, that has raised more than $140 million to benefit charities around the world and across the United States. Tonight, 'Idol' saluted a number of charities, including Feeding America, Save the Children, the United Nations Foundation, the Elton John Aids Foundation, and Idol Aid.

The top seven contestants of 'American Idol' kicked off the week with a set of inspirational songs led by the incomparable Alicia Keys. Keys was brought in due to her talent as well as her charity involvement, specifically working with families suffering from HIV and AIDS, as the show celebrates 'Idol Gives Back' this week. Some of the performances were perfect for the theme, while other lacked inspiration and felt as though they could have been performed any other week. As the competition heats up, the contestants will have to give standout performances weekly, and some of them failed to grow this week, while others had fantastic showings.

According to a recent tweet from pop star Christina Aguilera, the singer will appear on season finale of hit television show 'American Idol' on May 26th.

After much anticipation and speculation, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard confirmed plans to tour North America. Kicking off July 23, 2010 in Asheville, North Carolina, Clay and Ruben will bring their 'Timeless' tour to 17 cities including appearances at famed venues such as New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, Club Nokia in Los Angeles, and Pennsylvania's American Music Theater. This is the first time the two artists will tour together.

Superstar, songwriter, musician, singer, producer, Neil Sedaka returns to the Van Wezel on Friday, April 19 at 8 pm, to perform some of his greatest hits, such as; 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do', 'Laughter In The Rain', 'Next Door to an Angel', 'Calendar Girl' and more. Tickets are $40 - $70 with a limited number of 'smart seats' available at $30.

According to a recent Tweet from pop star Lady Gaga, the singer will appear on the hit television show 'American Idol' on May 5th. The tweet read 'See you on American Idol. May 5th, Little Monsters.'

"Idol" lost two of its contestants tonight, a consequence of Michael Lynche receiving the judges save last week. After receiving more than 34 million votes, two contestants were voted off, bringing the number down to seven. It was a tough night, as some of the audience favorites went home, but, the remaining contestants are a very solid group that is chock full of talent.

Tonight, 'Idol' saluted one of the greatest performers of all time, Elvis Presley. Tonight separated out the true performers, as Elvis is the epitome of stage presence. Thankfully, many of the performers were able to live up to his legacy and give great performances. Last season's runner up, Adam Lambert, was aptly chosen to coach this week and, out of all the coaches so far, seemed to have the most constructive criticisms for the contestants. He was almost always spot on with his suggestions and really helped up the ante for tonight's performances.

North Carolina Theatre, the region's only producer of professional Broadway musical revivals, announces Bringing Broadway Home, a spectacular benefit concert on Monday, June 21st at 8 PM in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. This one-night-only event will celebrate 27 seasons of Broadway at North Carolina Theatre and will feature Clay Aiken, Lauren Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Terrence Mann and Quiana Parler.

Superstar, songwriter, musician, singer, producer, Neil Sedaka returns to the Van Wezel on Friday, April 19 at 8 pm, to perform some of his greatest hits, such as; 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do', 'Laughter In The Rain', 'Next Door to an Angel', 'Calendar Girl' and more. Tickets are $40 - $70 with a limited number of 'smart seats' available at $30.

In a shocking turn of events, tonight featured the first of the top six gentlemen to head home. Each of the three ladies were called up first, eventually learning that they were each safe on the night. After that, the night was a complete shocker, ending on a sad note for one of the contestants.