American Music Awards

The 2013 American Music Awards have come and gone and there were no wins for the American Idol alumni association this year. Neither Carrie Underwood nor Phillip Phillips won their nominations in their respective categories, Favorite Country Female Artist and Favorite New Artist of the year. 

The only presence of the American Idols came in the form of presenters. The Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson graced the stage as a presenter. She is currently promoting her new single, I Can't Describe. It's a fun R&B groove that I have been playing in heavy rotation on my playlist, but since it has failed to appear on any charts yet, I could be the only person playing it. 

Season 5 Miss American Idol 3rd runner up, Chris Daughtry, was also there as a presenter. He is promoting the release of his 4th album, Baptized. The album has just made its debut on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart at #6 with just over 55,000 units sold. This means that all four of his albums have made it to the Top 10 on this chart. His last album, 2011's "Break the Spell," debuted and peaked at No. 8 off a start of 129,000.

Country Music Awards

Well, Country's Biggest Night, The CMA Awards have come and gone and none of the American Idols went home winners. They may not have won any awards, but they still made the best of things.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, was not only nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, but she is now a full-fledged member of country music family. Reba is her mother-in-law!!! And there is also good news that was just announced - Kelly and her new husband are expecting their first child together.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, was back hosting the CMA Awards for the 6th time with Brad Paisley. They were funnier than ever in their opening routine singing and telling jokes. The Season 5 Miss American finalist and Dancing With The Stars winner, Kellie Pickler, was even utilized during the opening segment to facilitate one of their jokes. Carrie also looked amazing in an assortment of glamorous and stylish gowns.  

The CMA Awards are now history, but there is a second chance for these Miss American Idols to win at the upcoming American Country Awards. Carrie Underwood has four nominations including Touring Artist of the Year and Single by a Female Artist. Carrie is also competing against Kellie Pickler for Video by a Female Artist and against Kelly Clarkson for Female Artist of the Year.

The Winners of the American Country Awards will air live on Tuesday Dec. 10th.

Adam Lambert on Glee!

The Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Adam Lambert, has made his first appearance on the hit musical TV series, Glee.

Adam plays a struggling artist in New York who auditions to be in a band that is being formed by main character, Kurt Hummel. Adam's character goes by the name, Starchild, and he blows everyone away with his first song, a cover of the Lady Gaga hit, Marry The Night. It is a spectacular, over the top glam rock, high energy performance. Kurt is initially threatened by Starchild's talent, but he eventually gives in and agree to put him in the band.

There is definitely some flirtatious chemistry going on between Kurt and Starchild, so in coming episodes this could pose a threat to Kurt's engagement to Blaine who is back at him.

Ruben is not the Biggest Loser

Season 2 Miss American Idol winner Ruben Studdard has been eliminated from the show "The Biggest Loser" after failing to lose 11 pounds in a week. In just four weeks on the dieting and exercise show her lost a total of 39 pounds, but his team needed him to lose an extra 11 before Tuesday night's televised 'weigh-in', and he was asked to leave.

The 35-year-old, who, at his heaviest, tipped the scales at 462 pounds, said, "I worked really, really hard this week. I swam extra. I walked extra."

He then added, "This experience is one of the toughest things I've been through. I've been through two-a-day football practices; I've been through the 'American Idol' experience; I've been through a lot of mentally and physically challenging experiences in my life, and this ... ranks right up there at the top."

But he's determined to keep the weight off and lose more, revealing the show has given him the incentive he needed to slim down. He stated, "America, my voice may be soulful, but the next time you see me, my body will be sexy."

Seeing Scotty McCreery Tonight

The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, makes his debut at #6 this week on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart with his album, See You Tonight. It sold 52,000 copies in its first week. This was good enough for a #1 debut on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart this week. His rookie album "Clear as Day" opened at #1 two years ago on both the Billboard Top 200 Albums and the Top Country Albums charts. .

Scotty McCreery becomes the second solo male to debut at No. 1 with his first two sets of original material in the nearly 50-year history of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.  

"See You Tonight," McCreery's title-cut lead single from his new set, grabs Digital Gainer honors on Hot Country Songs (19,000 downloads sold, up 94%) and jumps 36-32 on the list, its best rank since it debuted at No. 28 on the April 27 chart. The track also reaches a new peak of No. 30 on the Nielsen BDS-based Country Airplay scorecard.

American Idols nominated at the American Music Awards!

The nominations were just announced for the 2013 American Music Awards and the names of a couple of Miss American Idol winners were on the list.

Season 11 Miss American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips, has been able to stay on the airwaves for over a year with his coronation anthem, Home. It was used last year as the theme song for the USA Olympics Women's Gymnastics Team and it seems like almost every insurance company is also using it in their commercials. All of this attention has lead Phillip to be nominated for the American Music Awards New Artist of the Year.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, is nominated for Favorite Female Artist - Country once again this year.

Voting for the American Music Awards is done online by the fans by going to https://ama.votenow.tv/

Fans can vote once a day. The show will air on ABC on Sunday November 24th.

More Ruben Studdard

It has been a decade since Ruben Studdard was crowned the Season 2 Miss American Idol winner and launched a successful music career. Now he returns to television on a very different stage, Season 15 of the Biggest Loser, hoping to lose weight and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. 

This is not the first time a Miss American Idol finalist has participated in another reality competition show. Earlier this year, Season 5 finalist Kellie Pickler danced away with the championship mirror ball on Dancing With The Stars. Last year the Season 2 Miss American Idol 1st runner up, Clay Aiken, ended up being the 1st runner up again, but this time it was on the Celebrity Apprentice.  

Born in Germany and raised in Birmingham, Alabama with an older brother, Ruben recalls being overweight since the age of 10. He received a football scholarship to Alabama A&M University, where he studied music, but continued to struggle with his weight as an adult due to a poor diet. "When I turned 34, I realized I wasn't young anymore," he says, "and that I wanted to live a long time. It was time for a change." Now 35 years old and 462 pounds, Ruben suffers from sleep apnea and high blood pressure. 

Professionally, the Velvet Teddy Bear (as nicknamed by Gladys Knight for his smoothly soothing vocal style) is a Grammy-nominated artist with a number of gold and platinum albums. His urban radio hits include "Sorry 2004," "Superstar," "Make Ya Feel Beautiful" and "Change Me," and he also scored a No. 1 gospel hit with the song "I Need an Angel." In addition, he created The Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in the Music Arts, promoting the arts in education through learning initiatives for students in the Birmingham area. 

After all his accomplishments, Ruben now hopes to achieve success in the weight-loss arena, and most looks forward to shopping for clothes and going to an amusement park after he loses the weight.

The Biggest Loser premiers on Tuesday Oct. 15th. Tune in the see if Ruben can win it all.