American Idol is a SMASH!!!!

The auditions for Season 12 of American Idol have started and we already have a clear front-runner! Lazaro Arbos provided the most inspirational audition yet as he overcame his speech impediment with his outstanding singing voice. I wish him the best as he moves on to Hollywood week.

But that's still a few weeks away, so there's other exciting American Idol music to look forward to in the meantime.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, has been announced as a performer at the Grammy Awards on February 10th. She will likely sing her latest single, Two Black Cadillacs. The long anticipated video for this great new single will make it's debut before that on January 23rd.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has been given the honor of singing at the Inauguration of President Obama on January 21st.

The Season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Katharine McPhee, will be returning to weekly television as the 2nd season of Smash premieres on February 5th. We can look forward to more great singing and fantastic production numbers. I know we all can't wait to see how the Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will be integrated into the story. We all know that Smash is the most anticipated show of the season. It recently was the cover story on an issue of Entertainment Weekly. But the REALLY EXCITING news as that we don't have to wait any longer!!!!

The premier episode of Smash is NOW available for FREE download from itunes!!! Go get it and let the entertainment begin!!!

And on top of that, the music from the show Bombshell is being released on February 12th so we can finally enjoy all the amazing original songs that were written for the show.    

And Season 12 Begins!

In less than a week American Idol will start it's 12th Season and the search for another superstar will begin! Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend an American Idol Premiere advance screening event with a live Q&A with the new panel of judges.

It was right after work so I had to finish things up for the day and head out so I could make it to the movie theater in time to meet my friend Ryan and get in line. It was so great to be there with other American Idol and Mariah Carey fans who are all looking forward to this next chapter. While waiting in line the local FOX News cameras came by to film all of the energy and anticipation of the eager crowd. One of the most notable things about the group in the line was how diverse it was.

A lot of credit has to be given to the American Idol producers for selecting a panel of judges that is going to attract all demographics. Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj are all very different and the same is true for their base of loyal fans. We were surrounded by fans young and old, gay and straight, black and white, lovers of country, soul, hip hop and R&B.

The screening included a free box of popcorn and a diet coke for everyone in the theater. We had a chance to see the first round of auditions on the big screen. There were a few really misguided bad singers as usual, but there were also some very inspirational talents to be found. I am sure everyone is hoping to see the young man with the stutter make it far in the competition this year. He had the entire theater crying along with him.

The Q&A afterward had the new panel of judges on their best behavior. We got a chance to see a sample of how they will be interacting during the competition. Keith is an easy-going guy who knows what he is talking about and what he is looking for in a new talent. Nicki is out-spoken, opinionated and speaks her mind loudly and proudly. Mariah also has a strong point of view, but the difference is that she expresses it in a more subdued manner.  

Just like it has been widely reported that there is some dysfunctional friction between the new judges, the same was to be found among the fans in the theater. The Nicki Minaj fans were the most vocal of the group to sing her praises to the extent of coming off as loud, obnoxious, unpleasant and rude. While the more classy and respectful Mariah Carey and Keith Urban fans had to endure all of this enthusiastic drama during the screening, the good thing to be found in it is that a whole new group of young people has discovered American Idol for the first time.

Yes, these immature Nicki fans threw popcorn around the theater and kicked the back of people's chairs, but hopefully, by the end of the season they might learn that some professionalism and respect is also a part of being a pop superstar.

At the end of the screening we are all given free American Idol hats and t-shirts. I am sure to be wearing mine quite a bit over the next few months!

Artists of the Year - American Idol Superstar - Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

Since becoming the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood has set the standard  for crossing over into the music industry mainstream. Winning the Grammy for Best New Artist was just the beginning. Her collection of awards amassed since 2005 is almost too high to count and her impressive album sales continues to increase.

In 2012 she released her 4th album, Blown Away, and it spent its first two weeks in the #1 position on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The first single, Good Girl, is a high energy fusion of pop/rock and country that showcases the fact that she is still the best vocalist in the game right now.

The video for Good Girl became an immediate hit. In the video Carrie looks fabulous showing off a variety of high fashion, glamorous looks as she struts in her "goodbye shoes". On the CMT Top 20 Video Countdown, Good Girl leaped to #1 and it stayed there for a record breaking 14 weeks! At the CMT Video Music Awards, Good Girl ended up winning the Buckle for Video of the Year.

The second single from Blown Away was the title track. The video is a cinematic masterpiece utilizing outstanding special effects to convey the tragic story in the lyrics with a reference to the most famous cyclone  in the Wizard of Oz. Blown Away repeated the success of Good Girl and became another #1.

At the American Music Awards, Blown Away won the award for Favorite Country Album. With this win, Carrie has now won the American Music Award for Favorite Country Album for all four of her albums!

At the American Country Awards this year, for the third year in a row, Carrie has won the award for Favorite Female Artist. She now has a three year total of 11 American Country Awards - more than any other artist.

Carrie's Blown Away Tour has been selling out all over the country and she is delivering an amazing night of her hits. All of this success has lead to CMT including Carrie as one of the 2012 Artists of the Year. At the Grammy Awards every year since her debut, Carrie has been nominated for Best Country Vocal Performance and this year was no exception.

2012 has been a great year for American Idol Superstar - Carrie Underwood!!!

Artists of the Year - Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry completely dominated both 2010 and 2011 with the most fun and fabulous string of the best pop hits ever! But why settle for just two years of world domination when you can go for three!

At the end of 2011 some fans may have been a little disappointed the the 6th single from Teenage Dream, The One That Got Away, failed to hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 like the previous record breaking 5 singles had done. But there was no need for disappointment at all. Katy had more wonderful sweets in store for the fans.

In 2012 she released a deluxe version of the album called, Teenage Dream: the Complete Confection. Katy introduced the world to a new song from this collection with a live performance of the song Part of Me on the Grammy awards. Part of Me skyrocketed to #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 the very next week! There was also a new single and video called Wide Awake that kept Katy in heavy rotation on radio all year.

But the best thing Katy gave to fans in 2012 was a spectacular all-access 3D documentary concert film that took us behind the scenes of her California Dreams Tour! This was easily the most fun to be had in any movie theater all year. It was like an amazing front row seat to see her perform all of her hits up close and personally. But even more than just seeing and hearing the great songs, we had a chance to see a glimpse of the real Katy without the costumes and make-up. We got to see a wonderful young woman be vulnerable and hurt by real life, and still be a hard working performer who is dedicated to making sure that the show goes on.

You don't become an Artist of the Year for three years in a row by being a jerk and taking your fans for granted. Katy Perry has earned all of the success she has gotten by appreciating her fans and by being committed too giving them their money's worth - no matter what!

Artists of the Year - Adele

Adele

Adele started out 2012 completely sweeping the Grammys winning both Record of the Year and Album of the Year. After that her album, 21, simply continued to dominate for the rest of the year. None of the new releases in 2012 even come close to the numbers that she has reached. In a very rare feat in this day and age, she has sold over 10 million copies of 21. For this reason alone, she has earned her place amongst the 2012 Artists of the Year.

The only new material that Adele released this year was the wonderful theme song to the latest 007 James Bond film, Skyfall. It is a grand and lush ballad that fits perfectly in the tradition of great bond themes. 

Artists of the Year - The Wanted

The Wanted

Let's hear it for the return of Boy Bands in 2012! Seriously, we were treated to some really great songs and videos thanks to The Wanted.

In any good era of Boy Bands there has to be some competitive rivalry going and in 2012 we had One Direction vs. The Wanted. They each have a collection of sleek and catchy songs, but with One Direction we have a clean cut group of nice boys, while with The Wanted we get some rougher and scruffier young men!

In their first video for Glad You Came, we are introduced to the guys as they vacation in Ibiza. It's more than just some playful fun in the sun with some cute flirty girls. We get to see all of the meeting up on the beach leading to the dancing the night away at the club. Then it wraps up with the morning after all disheveled and sweet.

The second video, Chasing The Sun, finds the guys once again out in the night time club scene. This time they are all giving into the seduction of a group of beautiful young women. It turns into a trip into the dark side as these women turn out to be vampires and one by one the guys get bitten.

The "rough around the edges" image of The Wanted is continued in their video for I Found You. Here we find the guys rescuing a girl who has been kidnapped and tied up. They find her in an old apartment building and have to beat up a group of thugs in order to get to her.

The Wanted may not be showing sales and airplay numbers as high as One Direction, but who cares? These guys are HOT!

Artists of the Year - Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan

For 5 years Luke Bryan has been bubbling under the radar releasing some pretty good songs here and there, but never really getting my attention or crossing over into the big time. In 2011 he released the album Tailgates and Tanlines and the first single was Country Girl Shake It For Me. With this song alone he definitely got my attention. It was easily my favorite song from 2011 that I loved to blast loudly while driving and loved to dance a fun and energetic two-step to.

This one single could have been it for him, but turns out the album is overflowing with great music. The next single was I Don't Want This Night To End and this one was not only a great song to dance to and blast loudly, but it also has an amazing video that really portrayed Luke as a a very likeable country music superstar star that we can all relate to and root for. I Don't Want This Night To End was part one of a video story where Luke meets a beautiful and mysterious woman, has a wonderful night, and hopes to meet her again.

Part two of the story was continued in the video for Drunk On You. Another fantastic song that is perfect for a shadow on the dance floor with your boyfriend. This video wraps things up where he finally sees her again at a stop on his tour. The current single dominating video and radio is Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.

Even though the album has been out since August 2011 it has remained one of the best sellers for all of 2012.

Luke has also enjoyed the opportunity to win numerous awards this year. He won Best Male Video for I Don't Want This Night To End at the CMT Video Music Awards. He won Favorite Male Country Artist at the American Music Awards and he was included as one of the 2012 CMT Artists of the Year. 

Luke's biggest night of the year happened at the American Country Awards where he completely cleaned up winning a total of nine awards including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year!

An important thing to point out about awards given at the American Music Awards, the CMT Video Music Awards and The American Country Awards is that the winners are all selected by votes from the fans. Luke Bryan is clearly the fan favorite!