After years of trying to make something happen, two of my favorite Idol alums are finally joining forces for a new track. Confirmation of the duet was revealed during a recent interview Richard Marx had with a radio station. The 80s balladeer who co-wrote the track, titled “One More Yesterday“, has heard a rough mix of it and has nothing but amazing things to say about it.

“I’ve heard the rough mix of it, and the singing can’t be beat, between the two of them,” – Richard Marx

Kelly has long teased that her upcoming album would feature a duet that her fans have longed for. Back in 2008, Clarkson and Daughtry were supposed to record a track, but was nixed by the label who weren’t happy with the result. They tried again over the years, but nothing ever came to fruition. Though the vocals have been laid down, we’ll have to wait for a few months before we hear it. Unless someone leaks it of course.

The first-ever American Idol winner apologized to her fans that her new album won’t be available til September. She wrote on her Facebook: “I realize that is a long time but that’s the best time to release it apparently so I’m sorry for the wait but I promise you it sounds great!”

listen to a past live duet performance by the two after the jump

Last night, Patrick, Tyrell, Brian and myself were lucky enough to score tickets to American Idol’s result show. It couldn’t have been better timing since Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson were both performing. By now you probably know who was booted, so I won’t bore with details as you’ve probably seen the show. Instead, I’ll give you some insight on what went on when the cameras weren’t rolling. But for those who haven’t seen it. I’ll post a quick paragraph at the end of the post.

Let’s get a few production details out of the way. First, the venue is a lot smaller in person than on television. That wide lens really does wonders. Over the years, Simon Cowell to present day judges have commented how differently the performances sound in person from the televised version. I can honestly say, that is 100% true. Everyone sounds really good in the venue.

What You Didn’t See On Television

If you watched the show you know Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Marc Anthony, Pia Toscano and Mary Hart were all in the audience. By the time the cameras were on Chaka Khan was sitting in the row behind the judges with Anita Baker, BUT that’s now how it started. At first Chaka was about nine rows behind Anita, before Baker motioned Khan to join here. How dare the producers put Miss Chaka up in the Idol nose bleeds. Oh wait, that’s where we were. LOL. By the time Mary Hart came, there were no more prime seats, so she had to sit where Chaka was originally sitting. SCANDAL-O.

read how J.Lo was after the jump

Yesterday on Ellen, a former American Idol took to the stage at Universal Studios and rocked the house with a performance, jam packed with her hits. I’m talking about Kelly Clarkson. In a performance that was pre-taped on Sunday, Kelly reminded us all of why she won Idol in the first place. Opening with her first ever hit, Miss Independent, Kelly sounded great and looked like she’s been slimming down again. Her voice is sounding a bit strained but overall, I’m ready for a Kelly Clarkson comeback.

Kelly’s performance was part of Ellen’s action packed week in Orlando Florida at Universal Studios. With a big outdoor stage, Ellen’s team pulled out all the stops to make her shows in the sunshine state absolutely memorable including a new game called “City Walk The Plank”. Eric Stonestreet was the first victim and lets just say watching him fall into the water was hilarious.

A while back, I told you about some exciting updates that Kelly had been sending her fans via her Facebook page. Well I can now tell you that her album will be coming out this fall. I was really hoping for some summer Kelly jams but who knows. Maybe a new single is our near future?

Check out Kelly’s ‘Ellen’ performance here.

Kelly Clarkson began recording her fifth studio album in late 2009, early 2010 and now, according to her official Facebook fan page, she has one song to go and then the album will be complete. Honestly, I am the most excited. Kelly’s last album, All I Ever Wanted hit Number 1 on the US Billboard charts and Number 2 in Canada.

Her latest status updates about the album have stated the following:

PS I record my last song on the 25th of this month and then we will be releasing the album! This album was influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Radiohead and there’s a little bit of a Country vibe/influence on a couple of songs.

Oh and also one of my favorites on the new album is highly influenced by Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Eric Hutchinson wrote it ….the album is gonna be a great pop record! I can’t wait for y’all to hear it!

More album details after the jump…

It’s been a while since I selected a musician as my weekly Man Crush, so I decided to remedy that situation today. After you see my choice, you’ll agree it was long overdue. The object of my affection this week is a bonafide triple threat. He has Abercrombie & Fitch model looks, has a sexy deep singing voice and he’s sexy as f*ck. Ladies and homos, let me present to you Mr. Jon McLaughlin.

I first noticed this sexy pop rock singer/songwriter while watching “Enchanted“. He was the dude singing “So Close” while Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey were dancing at the ball. Then I took notice of him again when he performed that same song at that year’s Academy Awards. During our Oscar party, there was a collective gasp when he appeared on the TV.

McLaughlin has released two albums so far. “Indiana” (2007) and “OK Now” (2008), which sold 90,000+ and 107,000+ respectively. He’s been working on a third album since 2009, but no release date has been announced. As if being talented and hot wasn’t enough to be green with envy, the dude toured with Kelly Clarkson for months. Lucky bitch. In February 2010, he signed on as an ambassador for UNICEF.

For all of you wondering, unfortunately, Jon is off the market. Sorry fellow mos, he doesn’t play for our team. He’s married (Amy) and the two have a place out in California. But hey, you never know, he could switch. In an interview for Seventeen Magazine, he answered Jake Gyllenhaal as the person he’d like to portray him in a movie. Plus he mentioned his favorite chick flick movie was “Sleepless in Seattle“. If those two answers don’t scream borderline, I don’t know what does. Check out the collection of pics I found for you. I guarantee, there’s one picture in particular that will give you food for thought.

view sexy pics of Jon McLaughlin after the jump

Perhaps Lee DeWyze should’ve picked a different title for his debut album instead of “Live It Up“. That title certainly don’t describe his first week sales of his debut album. His first post-Idol CD not only debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200, but it only moved 39,000 units. That number represents the worst figure ever for an Idol winner debut. In fact, it’s even lower than any of the runner-ups as well. Diana DeGarmo previously held that record with 47,000 records.

Some might argue that the recording industry has changed since DeGarmo competed. In other words, people don’t buy full records like they used to. That may be true, but last year’s winner, Kris Allen, sold 80,000 while runner-up, Adam Lambert, moved almost 200,000. While I liked DeWyze, I didn’t feel he was the rightful winner from Season 9. Just like Allen, they were the token guitar-playing cute guys who won the hearts of the tween girls across the US. Both Lambert and Bowersox were robbed. In the end, record sales is the sweetest revenge and Glambert certainly proved that. I hope Crystal Bowersox can do the same when her debut, “Farmer’s Daughter” hits December 14th.

see how previous idol winners and runner-ups fared during their first week after the jump

The 44th annual Country Music Awards took place last night in Nashville, and it was an epic three-hour event on ABC hosted by country music royalty Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. Most people will remember Carrie Underwood from her shot to stardom on season four of American Idol, while others will simply remember Brad for his boy-next-door charming good looks. This is an event that I have been tuning in to watch for as long as I can remember and the 2010 awards show boasted a musical talent line up line none before.

The talk of the town this year was the premier performance by actress-turned-singer Gwyneth Paltrow taking to the stage to showcase her vocal talent. Performing the title song to her latest movie venture, Country Strong, alongside another country music legend, Vince Gill. Needless to say, the entire world was waiting on the edge of their status updates to judge her performance.

This particular awards show is comparable to the Grammy Awards, except solely honoring the stars of country music from the previous year – aptly named country music’s biggest night. There were a lot of stars on hand to both present and accept awards. Fresh faces were speckled throughout seasoned all-stars, and the one thing that continued to shine through was the overall jovial family feeling that goes hand-in-hand with the Country music community.

watch Gwyneth’s performance after the jump

Let the official countdown to “American Idol Season 10″ begin. The following two ad spots (30 sec and 60 sec) started airing during Fox’s World Series coverage. With all the extensive changes the long-running show has undergone over the summer, I was worried the upcoming season would focus on Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Thankfully Nigel Lythgoe and company focused instead, on the talent. You even get to see a handful of auditioners at the end.

Both clips feature all of American Idol’s previous winners in their respective hometowns. The commercial spots reminds us all the star-making potential this show has. Without it, we would’ve never known the joys that are Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks. You can also add plenty of other names on that list who’ve appeared on the show but never won.

Every year I look forward to “American Idol“, but in the last few years, it’s certainly lost its way. Just look at the picture above. The first six winners, love them or hate them, are memorable. I really hope the producers are true to their word and focus the show on finding the next music superstar and not about the judging drama or weekly mentors.

view both promos after the jump