Who needs American Idol when we’ve got… YouTube! Internet phenom Marie Digby (pronounced Mar-ee-ay), 24, achieved online buzz and borderline fame in 2007 with simple videos of herself singing and playing the acoustic guitar, doing covers of hits by other artists as well as her original songs.
Millions and millions of views later, here’s Marie Digby performing her beautiful version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” on Last Call with Carson Daly last year …
Reigning American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will get the rare opportunity to sing the national anthem in her hometown just before the kickoff to Super Bowl XLII.
According to The Arizona Republic, Sparks, who hails from Glendale, Ariz., and won Season 6 of the popular Fox reality TV competition this year, was tapped to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” before the February 3 football title game.
Last week’s announcement that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play the Super Bowl halftime show was unexpected, but speculation had been mounting for months that Sparks would have a role in the day’s entertainment.
Her hometown is hosting its first Super Bowl, her father Phillippi Sparks played for 10 years in the NFL, and American Idol’s network, Fox, will be airing the sports spectacle to tens of millions of living rooms.
She’s #1: Jordin Sparks will kick off the Super Bowl.
News of her selection comes weeks after the 18-year-old released her self-titled debut album, Jordin Sparks, which was preceded by the single “Tattoo.”
The big Super Bowl appearance should certainly help keep momentum from those two releases, which has been slow but steady, going a bit longer.
This influx of publicity is no doubt welcomed by Jordin Sparks, who is expected to do a concert tour in 2008. Her album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, the weakest album opening to date by an American Idol winner.
Jessica Simpson is getting back to her roots.
No, not reality TV ditz-dom. We mean singing!
Struggling mightily to remain relevant, the one-time pop star and actress has begun recording a country album, according to several industry sources.
“I am a country girl,” she said. “I grew up in Texas, and country music was what I listened to. I always wanted to wait until the time was right.”
Why now, though? Well, Simpson’s movie efforts have sputtered, with her most recent flick, Blonde Ambition, getting only a limited theatrical release and 2006’s Employee of the Month also failing to find a large audience.
Her last pop CD, 2006’s A Public Affair, also underperformed. Her previous three efforts - released in 1999, 2001 and 2003 - were all commercial successes.
Jessica Simpson says she’ll even be writing some of her own songs!
“Writing is a huge release for me,” Jessica Simpson said. “It’s a way for me to tell my story. That’s not to say I wouldn’t record a song that I didn’t write. It’s just that it has been a while since I have opened the book.”