American Idol
Enlarge PhotoPop Idol hottie Will Young appeared on American Idol tonight celebrating the release of his new CD, Leave Right Now. The album has been available digitally, but it is out in stores now for those souls who insist on having that plastic disc hanging around the house after ripping it.
Hunk du Jour favorite Jim Verraros has toned up for some sexy new promotional shots for his upcoming CD release, Do Not Disturb.
He mentions on his MySpace blog:
A lot of people have asked me how I changed my body. Well, I'll let you all in on a little secret: there IS NO SECRET. I've been busting my ass for four months in the gym, weight training 6 days a week, increased my protein intake, and slowed down my cardio. There is no pill, no secret workout video or piece of shit machine that I bought on a late night infomercial--- nothing. Just hard work, and diet.
[ Jim Verraros - MySpace Artists Page ]
[ Jim Verraros - Official Site ]
While I usually skip the American Idol results shows, tonight I'll be watching as sexy Seattle native Blake Lewis premieres his new single, "How Many Words." Blake was runner-up to Season Six winner Jordin Sparks.
Five more photos after the jump!
UPDATE: Check out screencaps from last night's episode at Men on TV. (They also have great screencaps from Torchwood episodes.)
[ Blake Lewis - Official Site ]
[ American Idol - Official Site ]
[ Blake Lewis - MySpace ]
Love him or hate him, Ryan Seacrest is a Hollywood juggernaut who you'll only be seeing more of in the next few months. Last night marked the return of American Idol, which FOX is expecting to steamroll over their strike-weakened competition.
I don't really know what happened on the show last night, because I usually skip the "awkward auditions" week(s) of the program and join in at the semi-finals. (Doug watched, so he might have some more insights.) Let us know in the comments if there were any particularly hot and talented guys who auditioned that we need to watch out for.
We love the new Blake Lewis song... the video's alright. You'll probably remember Blake as the beat-boxing contestant on last season's American Idol competition.
UPDATE: They removed the video from DailyMotion -- but you can check out the official (and non-embed-able) YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAVZtPB8bxk.
[ Source: NewNowNext ]
Last week I had the great pleasure of speaking with the adorable Jim Verraros about his American Idol roots, the Eating Out movie franchise, and life in the music business. He was as sweet as he is handsome, and was delightful to talk to.
Read the entire interview after the jump and hear about the inevitable post-Idol crash, being an openly gay artist, the changing importance of music industry labels, seeing yourself onscreen, and how getting back to basics lead to an inspiring discovery about his own voice.
Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds
My sister called me from Westlake Park in Seattle today, just outside her office. Blake Lewis performed a mini-concert there during the lunch hour and reportedly gave the crowd a good show.
I also read on The Stranger's SLOG that today is being declared Blake Lewis Day in Seattle. Strangely forboding that yesterday y'all voted him the Hunk of the Day for today... I'd like to delude myself into thinking we had something to do with it.
[Note: My moratorium on "Blake is gay!" vs. "Blake is straight!" comments is still in effect. Ya mention his sexuality and I delete your comment. Feel free to hate me, but that tired argument isn't entertaining to read anymore.]
One of the few guys on American Idol we can stand listening to is Blake Lewis -- this hot Washington native (go home team!) has made it into the Top 12 finals. He's known for his eclectic song choices and beat-boxing backups during Hollywood week and beyond.
Good luck in the finals, Blake -- Washington State is rooting for you!
Congrats to American Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry. His band, Daughtry, is celebrating another week on top of the charts and has the new "Goodbye, you're going home" song on Idol.
Speaking of Idol... the boys this week really stunk up the joint. At least the girls are bringing it!
Last week when American Idol's 6th season revealed their top 40 performers I was intrigued by the hot blond with the beautiful voice that performed in the group sing with two of my other faves from this season, Chris Sligh and Blake Lewis. I thought to myself, who is this poised hottie with the voice of an angel? I wasn't surprised to see him move to the top 40 and thought for sure that when the group was narrowed down to 24, I and the rest of the world would get to know him better.
Alas, delicious Tom Lowe did not make it to the AI semifinals round. Shocking, especially after seeing his initial audition from Seattle (damn! this cute boy was in my city and I didn't know about it?). They never aired his audition here, but did in the UK, because Tom is British and hails from Manchester. Thank goodness for YouTube:
There's a lot of rumour and controversy brewing about why Tom might not have made it into the voting rounds. Was it because he had already had some limited success in the UK as a member of the boy-band North and South? Could it be because Tom is openly gay and has posed on the cover of Harvard University's sex magazine kissing a boy? (Tom's the one on the left - too bad you can't see his face or body)
I guess we'll never know why; but I think it's interesting that the brief reaction shot that they showed of Tom on last week's AI when he got cut was not one of devastation. He actually looked sort of elated. Could it be that Simon Cowell offered him a contract of his very own? Hmmmm...
For now we'll have to content ourselves with keeping tabs on Tom through his current Boston-based band called Tommy and The Tigers or by watching old student films that he did at Harvard.
Jim Verraros survived American Idol and came out as a gay man. He's since released his own solo album, as well as appear in the movie Eating Out. (Which of course isn't Oscar material, but he was actually recognized as one of the brighter performances.)
He's also had a pretty major change in style since his beginnings on Idol -- now opting for rock t-shirts and moody stares instead of geek chic glasses and full-on smile. Check out the other photos after the jump.
