Hot New Idol Music from Daughtry, J Hud, Scotty, Lauren, James and More

While Fox is busy trying to make The X Factor happen and failing miserably at it (the show is a disastrous mess), the talent competition that started it all, American Idol,  is gearing up for season 11. Following season 10′s rebound with great singers, strong ratings and a fun new judging panel, the top two finalists, Scotty & Lauren, both released hit albums and are now unleashing follow-up singles. But, they’re not the only Idols with new songs out. Take a look at the latest from some of your favorite Idol alumni and head to iTunes here to grab all their music.

Scotty McCreery: Since winning the competition this year, Scotty’s debut album, Clear as Day, hit # 1 on the Pop and Country charts and is about to hit Gold status. He hit the top twenty with his coronation single “I Love You This Big” which is almost platinum, and now his first official single “The Trouble With Girls” is nearing the top 30 on the country charts.
Scotty McCreery “The Trouble With Girls”

Lauren Alaina: this year’s runner-up hit the Country top forty with her coronation single “Like My Mother Does” and it’s nearing Gold status while her debut album hit # 2 on the country album chart and # 5 on the pop chart. Now, she’s releasing her first proper single “Georgia Peaches” and it’s starting to impact country radio. It’s a really fun song and check out Lauren looking amazing, singing the crap out of it on the Ellen show below.
Lauren Alaina “Georgia Peaches” (live on Ellen)

James Durbin: the fourth place finisher from this year has his first album, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster, set for release on November 21st and his first single is out today. The rocking track “Love Me Bad” is surprisingly good mixing his pop and metal influences perfectly. We’ll see if he has similar success to his Idol classmates in the weeks ahead.
James Durbin “Love Me Bad”

Casey James: remember him? Casey was the blond hottie who finished third in the dubious season 9 behind Lee (who won, then tanked with his first album, and has since been dropped from his label) and Crystal (the runner-up who sold ok with her first album~ about 100k more than Lee , but has since parted ways with her label as well). Now, he’s released his first single “Let’s Don’t Call It a Night” which just hit the country top 40. Watch for his debut album later this year or in early 2012.
Casey James “Let’s Don’t Call It a Night”

David Cook: Season 7′s big winner had great success with his debut album. However, his follow-up This Loud Morning, has been a huge disappointment and disappeared off the charts despite a top ten debut. We’ll see if his second single “Fade Into Me” (previously heard this summer on So You Think You Can Dance) will propel sales and bring him back to Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio where he had hits in the past.
David Cook “Fade Into Me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EJp8NZFwCEU’

Jennifer Hudson: the Grammy and Oscar-winning superstar released her second # 2 album, I Remember Me, earlier this year and just released her third single “I Got This”. I expect it to hit her sweet spot with Urban AC and Urban radio like the previous singles “Where You At?” and “No One Gonna Love You”. Check it out below and watch for Hudson in the film biopic Winnie as Winnie Mandela later this year.
Jennifer Hudson “I Got This” (live at AOL sessions~ how amazing does she look?! …. And yes, that’s George Huff on background vocals who finished 5th on Hudson’s season~ two spots ahead of her, ahem….)

Chris Daughtry: after two # 1 hit albums and  8 hit songs with his band Daughtry, Chris and company are back with their third disc Break the Spell on Nov. 21st (yes, the same day as James Durbin’s album is released). The first single from the set “Crawling Back to You” is already top 20 at Hot AC and has hit the top 40 on the Hot 100.
Daughtry “Crawling Back To You”

Kelly Clarkson: The Grammy winning superstar’s fifth album, Stronger, was released last week and is expected to debut at # 2 tomorrow giving her a 5th consecutive top three album. She’s up for two CMA Awards next week for her massive smash duet with Jason Aldean “Don’t You Wanna Stay” next week, will have a VH1 Unplugged special later this month, is performing at the American Music Awards on Nov. 20 and will headline the next VH1 Divas special (alongside Hudson) in December. The first single off of Stronger, “Mr. Know It All” is sitting pretty in the top 5 of the Hot AC charts and gone top 15 at Pop, Adult Contemporary and the Hot 100. Watch for it to fly into the top ten of those charts this week. And now, she has a new dance remix of the single hitting the clubs. Take a listen below.
Kelly Clarkson “Mr. Know It All” (dance mix)

And there you have it~ a quick update on new music from some of your favorite Idols. Keep an eye open in the months ahead for new Idol music from Carrie Underwood (her fourth album is rumored to drop in March), Adam Lambert (his sophomore release is due in March with a single in January), Kellie Pickler (her third album, 100 Proof, drops on January 24, 2012), and this year’s third place finisher Haley Reinhart whose debut is due early next year.

My all NEW American Idol Top 11 Power Rankings

Holy crap, American Idol actually had a shocking and totally suspenseful results show last night. Not only did it feature the surprise ouster/save of previous front-runner Casey Abrams, but we also had amazing live performances from Jennifer Hudson, Sugarland, a surprise from Stevie Wonder and an appearance by the Hulk (Hogan, that is). I swear, the only thing that might’ve made you want to fast forward was the Ford commercial. Yes, even the opening group number (“River Deep Mountain High”) was pretty good, and hoorah, they’re still singing live on those! … I’m still a bit shocked that Casey was in the bottom three along with Stefano and Thia. The bigger surprise is that the annoying Haley made it thru before the three of them. However, when Casey was announced as the lowest vote getter (over Stefano), I nearly spit out my Diet Coke. Now, yes, I like Stefano better than Casey, but this was truly a shocker America! … I wasn’t so shocked that our illustrious judges quickly cut off his “Sing for his Life” moment and easily announced they’d save him. But it was some great television and was anyone else concerned that Casey was having a heart attack?! Thank goodness he wasn’t… And now, he can see how he ranks in my all NEW Top 11 Power Rankings. Check them out below.

My American Idol Top 11 Power Rankings (all new style)
1. Pia: my personal favorite maintains her position at the top of the list with another fantastic performance. Her vocals are simply flawless, plus she just looks and acts like a star. Now, if she shows some versatility with an upbeat number next week, she’ll continue increase her lead. (last week~ 1)
2. James: the rollicking rocker and wrestling lover sails back up to the on deck position after his fantastic “Living For the City” perf. He becomes more fun and likable every week and could be a serious challenger for the title. I certainly wasn’t thinking that a few weeks ago. (lw~ 5)
3. Lauren: the lady who we all thought was most likely to win before the top 24 started has regained that mojo and moves back up the chart a notch. She has grown vocally for the past two weeks showcasing more confidence and the sass that we loved when we first saw her. (lw~ 4)
4. Jacob: with a gigantic performance that brought the audience to its feet, Jacob ruled Motown week and moves back up the list. Could he be the next Ruben Studdard or will he end up the next George Huff ~who wound up in 5th place in season 3… but hey, he’s Jen Hud’s backup singer now! (lw~ 6)
5. Scotty: with a surprisingly good performance this week in a theme totally outside of his wheel house, Scotty acquitted himself nicely and looks a solid bet to remain in the top five or higher for the rest of the competition. (lw~ 3)
6. Paul: ok, I don’t really get the appeal of his voice, but he clearly has a following. He’s also a fun good-looking fella who I’m sure the ladies love. If he can keep giving these lackluster performances and remain safe, I’m confident he could end up midpack when all is said and done. (lw~ 9)
7. Naima: arguably the most exciting singer in this top 11, Naima continues to march to a different drummer (or drummers as she did on Wed) and give us interesting interpretations of each song. She clearly has a strong artistic voice and I’m thrilled she’s still hanging on. (lw~ 10)
8. Stefano: oh dear did my fave male singer take a tumble this week. His “Hello” apparently left viewers wanting to say “goodbye” as he barely escaped elimination. Mr. Langone needs to step it up quick next week and reclaim his former glory. (lw~ 2)
9. Casey: well, we all can see that Casey is no longer a likely contender for the crown as he was psuedo-eliminated this week. I’m glad he was saved as he deserves to hang on for a few weeks and is a unique talent. The question is how far can he go now that we know this likable yet strange guy is on shaky ground. (lw~ 7)
10. Thia: despite giving her best performance to date, Thia remains a perennial bottom three dweller. I highly doubt that will change. The question is just where will she land when all is said and done… at # 9, 10 or 11th place… (lw~8)
11. Haley: seriously, America, you didn’t even put this mess in the bottom 3 this week? What are you thinking??? Well, I still say she’s on borrowed time and will surely get the boot next week. (lw~ 11)

There you have it, my updated Idol Power Rankings! As you can see, Pia remains my pick to win (both because I want her to and because I think she will at this point) and Haley, Thia and Casey have their work cut out for them. We’ll see if any of them can turn it around next week when the singers tackle the songs of Elton John! And they better bring it because it will be a big double elimination (at least all 11 will get to tour though)… Oh and Idol contestants, if you wanna stay in the competition, just sing like J Hud below. She’s amazeballs as the kids say…

Jennifer Hudson “Where You At?” (live on American Idol 3/24/11)