Ticket Sales Scuttle Clarkson Summer Tour

Jessica Sanchez gets standing ovation for Whitney Houston cover

(NEWSER) - Sixteen-year-old Jessica Sanchez "made 40 million people cry" last night when she performed Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" on American Idol, judge Steven Tyler told her. The San Diego high school student enjoyed a standing ovation after her performance and reaped praise from all three judges; Randy Jackson called her "one of the best talents in the whole country." Last night's Idol featured Stevie Wonder songs for the male contestants and Houston songs for the females, the AP notes. More»

DeGeneres talks Cowell, Paula Abdul as American Idol returns

(NEWSER) - Ellen DeGeneres makes her debut as the newest American Idol judge on Tuesday, and she talks Simon Cowell (he’s “smart,” but “mean” and “insensitive”) and more with the Wall Street Journal :

• Paula Abdul: “I don't know if I'll be as nurturing as she is. I'll probably try to be somewhat encouraging. But I'll be honest. I don't think it helps anybody to be encouraged and not told the truth.”

Clarkson explains fiasco, didn't mean to copy Knowles

(NEWSER) - Kelly Clarkson is battling her record label again, this time for releasing a song that appears to copy the Beyoncé single “Halo,” the New York Post reports. When Clarkson realized that the backing track songwriter Ryan Tedder had given her for “Already Gone” was the same as the one on “Halo,” she “fought and fought” to stop her version from being released, she told Canada’s CBC radio network—but to no avail. More»

Madonna 'devastated' by news

(NEWSER) - The collapse of a stage where Madonna was to perform this weekend has claimed a second victim. A 32-year-old British citizen has died, CNN reports. The first casualty was a 53-year-old Frenchman who died yesterday; three more are in the hospital in Marseille, and seven were treated and released, says a hospital spokesperson. Madonna was “devastated” at the news, she said in a statement yesterday. More»

Yes, Kelly Clarkson made the top five

(NEWSER) - Now that 2009 is more than halfway over, James Montgomery runs down the best albums of the year—so far—on MTV:

• Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion: The No. 1 pick is “the only thing I can remember that has actually lived up to the hype, if not exceeded it.”
• Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: “Retro pop hyper-focused on a futuristic re-imagination of post-modernism and neo-classicism as proletarian touchstones? That you can dance to?” earns album No. 2 spot.