While many television networks scramble to prepare Michael Jackson-themed content commemorating the recently deceased “King of Pop,” after the 50-year-old passed away suddenly Thursday in Los Angeles.

Fox network has come up with a simple way to give homage: Just push play.

In an unprecedented move by Fox, the network will replay reality singing show American Idol’s Top-13 round – Michael Jackson Week – as a tribute to the fallen star.

Originally aired on March 10, the episode features a breakout effort by eventual Season Eight winner Kris Allen (Remember the Time), an edgy Black and White by runner-up Adam Lambert and a rousing Michael McDonald-like slant on P.Y.T.  by third-place winner Danny Gokey.

Hopefuls Jasmine Murray (I’ll Be There) and Jorge Nunez (Never Can Say Goodbye) were eliminated the following evening.

Viewers anticipating the trendsetting Jackson to give instruction or perform may be disappointed.

According to former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe, executives made numerous attempts to land Jackson as one of their weekly musical mentors. During the show’s Spring 2007 sixth season, it was rumored that Jackson had turned to Idol creator Simon Fuller to help mastermind his comeback – a  report that turned out to be false.

“No. It’s not true… just not true,” said Lythgoe at the time before subsequently being asked if the decision to have Jackson on Idol was still up in the air.

“No, we won’t be seeing him,” he replied.

Speculation rose again this spring of a possible sighting, as Jackson began preparation for an intense 50-concert comeback series at the London O2 arena, with a new record and a world tour to follow. But Jackson did not surface as a mentor or spectator during the popular singing competition’s cover of his songbook.

Such intense preparations may have contributed to his death. It is possible that Jackson, who possessed a very slight frame and suffered from a cracked vertebra, may have overdosed on pain medication or other non-prescribed pharmaceuticals. An investigation and tests by the county coroner’s office are still under way.

This very special American Idol will air tonight, June 29, at 8 pm ET/PT on the Fox network.

BMI MOURNS THE LOSS OF ITS ICON AND LONGTIME SONGWRITER MICHAEL JACKSON

June 26, 2009 – NEW YORK – Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) mourns the loss of its BMI Icon and longtime songwriter and publisher Michael Jackson. BMI has set up a section on its homepage – www.bmi.com – for some of its most performed songwriters to comment on Michael and his legacy. Included in the site are comments from BMI Icon and legendary songwriter Lamont Dozier (Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown) and R Kelly. Reflections from other leading songwriters will be added throughout the day.

BMI Statement on Michael Jackson:

“BMI mourns the passing of Michael Jackson. A BMI Icon, he was one of the greatest entertainers of our era. His songwriting skills, composing both music and lyrics, were as influential as his singing, dancing, personal style and humanitarianism. In an era in which most songs are composed by teams, Michael was the sole composer of dozens of songs that endeared him to audiences around the world. A BMI songwriter since 1976, his catalog contains more than 150 songs, more than 20 reaching multi-million performance status on American radio and television. Our hearts are with his family, especially his children, at this sad time. He will be missed by millions, but we can be comforted that he will live on, young and vibrant, in his music and videos.” - Del Bryant, President & CEO, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).

Read on for more Michael Jackson death news

Michael Jackson dead: what we know so far
Remembering Michael Jackson
UCLA Medical Center statement on Michael Jackson’s death
Michael Jackson’s 5 greatest entertainment moments
10 Michael Jackson performance videos
Photo gallery tribute to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s most famous albums: a photo gallery
Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett: 1 day, 2 icons lost
BMI Music Publishing releases statement on death of Michael Jackson

Singers start early for “American Idol” auditions at the Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on Saturday. Tryouts were pared down to about 150 or fewer after three or four more rounds.
AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Vino Wong

A visiting production crew hoped Atlanta singing talent would be as hot — if not balmy — than the city’s summertime temperatures as reality series American Idol held tryouts at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.

More than 9,200 wannabees gathered in the near-100 degree heat for a chance to be part of the show’s ninth season and a future recording career. Even the calmest hopefuls hosted sweaty palms (and more) as humidity measurements reached near 90 percent.

Talk about the Dawg days of summer.

Patrick Lynn, Idol’s supervising producer, said two dozen representatives of the show would screen performers. Chosen ones would advance, where they would sing for a group of executive producers.

Then the heat will really be on. Those surviving that cut would sing for the show’s celebrity judges later this summer.

One person who handled that tension with no sweat is season eight finalist Alexis Grace, who was on hand as a correspondent for TV Guide Network’s Idol Tonight. Grace made it to the top 11 before being voted off the show in March.

Chicago’s United Center will be the next American Idol audition host on Monday.

"American Idol" hopefuls huddle as they wait in line for auditions to begin at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday.

As of Sunday, Season Eight champion Kris Allen isn’t the only one whose refrain is “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

Thousands of American Idol tryout hopefuls endured a soaking while pursuing five minutes of Golden Idol fame or better at Boston’s Gillette Field yesterday. It was the kickoff of auditions in seven U.S. cities for the popular Fox reality entertainment singing series that will run through the fall.

For serious singers it will take more than Mom’s approval — a rain slicker may help — to snare a goldenrod pass to Hollywood, though. Only after preliminary tryouts in front of show producers (in June/July) will hopefuls get a chance to sing for judges sometime later this fall; a way for American Idol to start auditions while concurrently negotiating with panelists Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi.

Ayla Brown of Wrentham, Mass., a past American Idol contestant, believes patience is a large factor. The 21-year-old Brown, now an NCAA basketball star at nearby Boston College, experienced much of what this year’s Boston crop is dealing with. In 2006, Brown said she waited nine hours in line the first day to get a wristband.

But that was only part of it.

“The second day was another nine or 10 hours in the pouring rain,” Brown told the Boston Herald recently. “I remember my dad coming at hour six. I was soaking wet and he brought me some dry clothes. My mom put a jacket over me and I changed right in line. How crazy is that?”

History appears to be repeating itself.

Following this week’s stop in Boston, former “Idol” stomping grounds Chicago and Atlanta are on the upcoming show tryout calendar. The pair have rendered worthy talent in the past. Chicago last held auditions in 2005 at Soldier Field. A ninth-place finisher in Season Six, Mandisa Hundley was the top performer emerging from those auditions.

This summer’s return to Atlanta (last visit in Season Six) will be the show’s fifth stop in “Hot ‘Lanta.” Big name “Idol” past auditioners from Atlanta include Clay Aiken (second, Season Two), Grammy Award nominee Fantasia Barrino (champion, Season Three) and Golden Globe Award winner Jennifer Hudson (seventh, Season Three).

Auditions will continue in Atlanta (June 16-18), Chicago (June 20-22), Dallas (June 24-26), Los Angeles (28-30), Orlando (July 7-9) and Denver (July 12-14).

According to AmericanIdol.com, wristbands will be distributed at each location early on the first day. Tryouts will be held the second and third days in each city. Camping out will not be permitted.

A golden voice and talented fingers are important, but initial steps of the process may be as much a battle of attrition as anything else.

“Honestly, I hate to say it, but tryouts are all about standing in line,” Brown said.

Dry clothing and sip of ginger tea, anyone?

It seems like just yesterday that controversial American Idol Season Eight champion Kris Allen was bathing in championship ticker tape.

The show’s summer has yet to start (July 5) a 50-city jambourie, many are still buzzing about what show host Jimmy Fallon has called “textgate,” while Adam Lambert fans are pensively awaiting the next issue of Rolling Stone where it’s alleged that the runner-up will lift a season-long cloud about his gender preference.

Yet Fox producers are already talking about the initial phases of American Idol part nine. Wow. Does the show have an off-season anymore?

A first round of tryouts for the Fox reality entertainment television series start in mid-June. Later “return invite only” rounds conventionally run through fall.

Fox Networks released a tentative schedule (see below), spending three days in each city; the first two days “registration” and the last day “audition.”

Boston, Gillette Stadium: June 12-14
Atlanta, Georgia Dome: June 16-18
Los Angeles, Rose Bowl: June 28-30
Orlando, Orlando Arena: July 7-9
Denver, Mile High Stadium: July 12-14
Chicago: Location and dates to be announced
Dallas: Location and dates to be announced

Time to start practicing again, American Idol wannabees.

Danny Gokey

Like most of us across the country if you watched American Idolrooting for and cheering on Danny Gokey, you’re not alone. Well, the Gokester plans to thank his Milwaukee crowd, his hometown, at an event to raise money and awareness for his charity.

In memory of his wife, Sophia, Danny Gokey started Sophia’s Heart Foundation. Sophia passed away last summer after surgery for a congenital heart defect. A fundraiser will be held at the Hilton in Milwaukee to raise awareness and founds. While Gokey has a full schedule with a Top 10 American Idolfinalists tour in July we know once thing’s for certain: after the tour wraps that will not be the end of hearing from Danny Gokey.

Something tells us this American Idol’sa winner in our hearts and will be around for a long time to come! Check it: remember that little known star Jennifer Hudson who didn’t even make it to the final three on Idol? One Oscar Award and Grammy later, we all know her now. How about Constantine Maroulis from Season 4? Well, this rocker has been nominated for a Tony Award for best actor in a Broadway musical, Rock of Ages.
While we have no idea what Justin Guarini is up to from Season 1, point being: once the majority of talented singers like Danny Gokey get the old heave ho, odds are the talent rises to the top. Clay Aiken and Frenchie Davis were on Broadway as was season 5 winner Taylor Hicks.

Whether the contestants on American Idol technically end up in first place or not, history has shown the limelight shines brightly on the singers so yeah, technically they’re all winners!

For American Idol fans, these are the worst of times and these are the best of times.

And although Charles Dickens had not been an eye witness to the eighth season of Fox’s popular reality singing competition, his adage holds true in its singers, producers, judges and fans.

Emotions tied to the parallel premises runs through the veins of this writer in equal volume and vigor.

This self-admitted Glambert honk was still swinging from an emotional shower rod nearly 24 hours after Kris Allen was crowned champion and before World Wide Casa de Slezak offered some therapeutic reading on the topic. (Chances are it will take longer for the concept to fully sink in for Allen. The humble Conway, Ark. native was purely in shock when announced winner Wednesday night.)

Why the emotional upheaval? After all, it’s just a tee-vee show, right?

Sure, the same way the National Hockey League is just a few fellas ice skating together and a May day at 5 p.m. in my motherland Phoenix is just “a little warm.”

Like the aforementioned, American Idol is crunked with mad talent and in the immortal words of panelist Randy Jackson is “molten hot, baby!”

What started out four years ago as a twice-weekly recap coverage lark of an amateur talent development show has morphed into a weekday newsy outpost that enlightens readership throngs on an event considered by many as American’s fifth major sport.

And it fostered a different, more serious attitude.

The pendulum swung away from absorbing and relaying the joy of vibrant, young upstart vocalists (and remaining benign to all else), to the strategic sorting, posturing, slicing, dicing, puree-ing and evaluating of prospect music industry talent. Literal translation: The joy that a jut-jawed, cool crooning Allen brings during a heart stealing Ain’t No Sunshine (39 times later I’m admittedly still left a bit foggy-eyed by it) or the fiery euphoria generated by Adam Lambert’s KISS cameo Detroit Rock City can periodically gets blurred by the judge pandering, production overrun, rule restructuring and other heapings of minutiae that can easily dampen the spirit.

Does that make me a sufferer of Brett Favre-like fatigue from 11 straight weeks of live performances and a ghastly month tryout precursor?

Perhaps the glut of spin and apology in our daily lives makes pundits takes on Lambert runner-up talk rationalizing the move as ok — let alone beneficial — come offs as schlocky and insincere.

Like Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men, I come to want and demand substance — the truth.

The truth is that American Idol is a television show; one predicated on ratings, as sordid as that may seem. Its judges (Hear no evil, Speak no evil, Do no evil and Flash “Bikini Girl” no evil) are part of the show (but not the focus, a point they sometimes forget). As representatives of a company, they tow the company line, even if it means cajoling and manipulation that creating outcomes beneficial to the show. The general voting public — a population that can be skued by age, gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location and other variables — uses a subjective (and often ambiguous) process to evaluate contestants.

(Repeat after me…) It’s a television show.

That means the loosely interpreted “best” may not win, giving way to the most popular. After a motherlode of media backlash from Lambert’s runner-up placement, panelists conceded that point.

Lead panelist Simon Cowell’s head-on response called Allen, “… the right win in terms of being a nice guy,” but felt differently about his vocal chops. “I wouldn’t have said he was the best singer in the competition, though. I think he was like a little puppy dog.”

Season Seven winner David Cook thought it was more about personal taste.

“I don’t know that either one of them would have surprised me.” Cook said. “Singing is an aesthetic thing for me, it kind of depends on what you like. They [Allen and Lambert] are both great performers.”

The idea that falling short of first place may serve as a better outcome for the bombast of Lambert’s voice and stage theatrics jerks with the long-standing concept of victory rendering the maximum spoils. But first-year judge Kara DioGuardi believes the dramatic, guy-linered Lambert has potential to follow in the successful footsteps of another prematurely dismissed Idol.

“When I watched him with KISS, I almost thought, this guy could front a ridiculous rock band à la Daughtry,” DioGuardi said. Fellow panelist Randy Jackson agreed, “I actually think it’s better for him.”

Either way, the fact that more than 100 million Finals Round votes were tallied for the duo and an iTunes page was devoted to the pair — who we barely knew five months ago by first name — speaks volumes for the talent machine that is American Idol.

Perhaps it’s time for this writer to step down from the ledge, return to a contestant-driven focus and take in the American Idol top 10 singers when they tour this summer.

For good measure, I’ll add an extra eight minutes to the DVR setting next season.

Kris Allen wins

Small-town guy Kris Allen and producers of reality singing competition American Idolredefined the meaning of no boundaries during the show’s two-hour Season Finale on Wednesday.

The humble, guitar-strumming Allen, of Conway, Arkansas, overcame obscurity, and nearly five months of show twists, turns and truncations to become the show’s eighth season champion.

The 23-year-old married singer-musician landed more of the record 100 million votes than favored theatrical rocker Adam Lambert to emerge victorious. It was a final twist in a five-month journey filled with fizzled production liberties.

And nobody in the standing room 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre on Wednesday was in greater astonishment of the outcome than Allen. He used a twangy six string and deft song interpretation — along with boyish good looks and aw-shucks embraceable personality — to propel him past the seemingly larger-than-life theatrics and searing upper-register chops of former stage hand Lambert.

Allen’s struggle for words followed a blank facial expression.

“It feels good…but Adam deserves this,” Allen said. “This is…crazy.”

Host Ryan Seacrest added attributions. “The underdog, the dark horse, comes back and wins the nation over.”

Mellow bulls eyes in early weeks such as movie soundtrack hit Falling Slowly and Disco Night remix of Donna Summer’s She Works Hard for the Moneylifted the slight, diminutive Allen from also-ran to contender status. A stripped-down Kanye West hit Heartless and a heartfelt Carl Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine in Tuesday’s final round put the underdog Allen within reach of taking it all.

He and Lambert had unmemorable takes on disjointed coronation song No Boundaries, leaving judges non-committal which singer would secure the show title.

But after more than 16 weeks, one new judge, multiple late episodes due to production overruns, the pair — and all of America — would have to first serendipitously wade through 119 minutes more of bloated entertainment before learning the contest winner.

A parade of artists ranged from pop to grandpa included Steve Martin (on banjo), Rod Stewart, Carlos Santana, Pink, Fergie/Black-eyed Peas, Queen Latifah and Jason Mraz was high-class filler. “Golden Idol” spoof awards to tryout busts Katrina Darrell (aka “Bikini Girl,” whose recent augmentation and slenderizing rendered jaw-dropping expressions from judges Cowell and Randy Jackson) and Latina drama queen Tatiana Del Toro generated deprecating laughs. Along side of Darrell, first-year panelist DioGuardi revved the satire with vocal and flash physique comparisons.

Lambert and head-banging Kiss set the stage afire with a metal medley including Detroit Rock City. Adorned black, exaggerated shoulder pad-like edifice, the loudly and clearly wailing 27-year-old appeared a ready fit for the aging rockers. During a duet of Allen and Keith Urban (Kiss a Girl), the champion-to-be looked, at times, more like a wide-eyed country star trainee. Lionel Richie teamed with third place-earner Danny Gokey for ’80s classics Hello and All Night Long. Just Gorounded out a rich, sincere set that saw gospel veteran Gokey’s confidence swell throughout the routine.

Before the results were announced, Lambert and Allen had a moment of musical camaraderie: They joined together with Queen on the rock anthem We Are the Champions.

“Adam did win. So did Kris. Nobody lost tonight. These are two champions,” said Paul Stanley from Kiss backstage.

Longtime corporate sponsor Ford Motor Company awarded both finalists new 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid vehicles. Lambert was pleased while Allen was ecstatic.

“Yea! I’ve really needed a new car,” the jeans and t-shirt clad Allen said.

Following Seacrest’s final announcement, Allen had much more. A hug from season-long roommate Lambert — who’d grown to become a friend and mentor — and the small-town lad from Arkansas, enjoyed a celebratory shower of tickertape as the new American Idol champion.

Allen will lead the show’s top 10 singers on a 50-city summer tour that starts July 5.

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