American Idol Mentors: Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, and more!
While my attention is happily distracted by the joy of Dancing with the Stars (it’s interesting! It’s exciting! I can like Bruno and Carrie again!) there is some news from the original reality/talent show American Idol:
MARIAH CAREY, DOLLY PARTON, NEIL DIAMOND AND ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER TO MENTOR FINALISTS AND PERFORM ON “AMERICAN IDOL”
Whaddaya mean, “mentor”?
Apparently the stars will help guide the finalists through the final few weeks of American Idol, and even perform live on the show. While I can see some crass commercialism here – Dollie Parton’s recent album, Backwoods Barbie, certainly won’t suffer from this added exposure, and Mariah Carey needs all the help she can get – I’m also curious as to why others are doing it.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s works have garnered him
- 7 Tonys
- 3 Grammys
- 7 Oliviers
- A Golden Globe
- An Oscar
- 2 International Emmys
- The Praemium Imperiale (the highest international distinction for achievement in the arts)
- The Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre
- The Kennedy Center Honor. A knighthood from the Queen of England
Doesn’t exactly have a lot to prove, does he?
Currently he’s casting for a revival of “Oliver!”, which is going on stage, not screen. So he’s got to be doing this for some personal reasons…and I look forward to getting a chance to see how he works with his finalists, and how they will fare against those who are coached by the Pop mavens.
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7 Comments
Neil Diamond is cool!!
BTW, did anyone see Simon’s appearance in the new comic strip “UFO” on ComicsSherpa.com a few days ago? that was fun…. It’s actually Hotel UFO located in the heart of Beverly Hills and it’s run by shapeshifting aliens…. you never know which celebrities are going to show up next! Mick and Keith were there last week….
When will Neil Diamond be on American Idol???
…maybe next week? I can’t believe Michael Johns is gone… he is terrific!
when will neil diamond appear on american idol?
I believe Neil Diamond is launching a tour….. + it must be neat to have younger audiences getting a feel of his music, and hearing a younger slant on it from the performers.
I am so happy that Neil Diamond is going to be on “Idol.” He sings with such great emotion and writes with even more. For those of you that are younger, please listen to “Lady Magdalene.” It is on his “Serenade” album. It was written with such great passion and vulnerability! The emotion with which it was sung was heartwrenching and powerful! It’s about time that Neil gets the recognition that he so deserves for being one of the most influential voices and writers in American musical history! Thank you Neil, not only for your music but also for your musical poetry. You are beyond hip, you are real!
This week on American Idol has lots of people looking for ND songs. Here is a list I’ve compiled with all of Neil’s available tracks on iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster:
http://www.song-list.net/neildiamond/songs