Clay Aiken - In The News

“American Idol’s” New York auditions are underway — and new judge Kara DioGuardi is fitting right in.
“She’s going great,” Randy Jackson told “Extra.” “I think she’s doing swimmingly well.”
Another big change? Ryan Seacrest’s bod! He’s shed some major pounds and told us, “It’s just about choosing to focus on health and taking time for myself.”
Just don’t expect Simon to notice his new look. “Simon hasn’t noticed another human being ever so the answer is no,” he quipped.

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. Already producer Nigel Lythgoe has left the show, leaving judge/producer/show creator Simon Cowell to increase his involvement in the show’s production.
The first big change is already upon us.
American Idol
is adding a fourth judge. Grammy-nominated songwriter
Kara DioGuardi
has joined
American Idol
as a fourth judge. One of the industry’s most sought after songwriters and producers, DioGuardi’s songs have appeared on more than 100 million records. Her songs have been recorded by Grammy award-winning artists including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Santana, and Pink. Many major recording artists including Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Pussycat Dolls, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Ashley Tisdale, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Lachey, and Marc Anthony have also released DioGuardi’s songs. In 2006 she won the BMI Songwriter Of The Year award.

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“American Idol” Ruben Studdard, 29, has a hefty tax debt of nearly $200K in unpaid taxes, reports the AP, citing court filings showing that the Feds and Alabama have placed liens on Studdard’s property.
It seems the singer has a problem with unpaid income taxes for 2003 and 2005, but his Birmingham attorney, Byron Perkins, told the Birmingham News that his client has the dough to pay. Ruben was named “Idol” in 2003, just edging out Clay Aiken for the title.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken, who has gone onto a singing career, said his “dear friend,” music producer Jaymes Foster, gave birth on Friday to a son fathered by Aiken.
Aiken, 29, wrote on his Web site that his child, named Parker Foster Aiken, was born at a hospital in North Carolina.
“My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken,” he said.

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Many observers have opined that "American Idol" needs to shake things up. Well, the show has done so. For its upcoming eighth season, the music contest has added a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, a successful songwriter for hire.

"Her songs have been recorded by Grammy award-winning artists including
Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith
Hill, Carrie Underwood, Santana, and Pink. Scores of major recording
artists including Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Pussycat Dolls, Miley
Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Ashley Tisdale,
Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Ashlee Simpson,
Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Nick
Lachey and Marc Anthony have also released DioGuardi’s songs," according to a Monday Fox press release.

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Idol Adds a Fourth Judge Gina Serpe Mon Aug 25, 4:44 AM ET Los Angeles (E! Online) -
It's time to get a bigger table. Five months before the new season of
American Idol
is set to kick off (and apparently trying to steal some of Dancing With the Stars' thunder), producers are shaking things up in a big way, messing with what was until now a winning formula and adding a fourth permanent judge to the table.

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runner up David Archuleta's new single, "Crush" debuted on this week's
Billboard
Hot 100
chart at #2. "Crush" is the highest ever debut for an
"Idol"
song not performed on the series. It is also the highest new entry for 2008. Archuleta lost to David Cook on
American Idol
, but he beats the
Idol
winner on the charts. Cook's single, "The Time of My Life" debuted at #3 on the Hot 100 back in May.

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First Listen: All-Star Charity Single
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First Listen: All-Star Charity Single
Here it is: The first listen of “Just Stand Up,” a charity single recorded by 15 all-stars in anticipation of the Sept. 5 “Stand Up for Cancer” telethon.

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