American Idol Season 6 Guest Stars Announced
AMERICAN IDOL’s sixth season continues to shine, with nine new celebrity coaches and guests scheduled to appear on the show. On last night’s results show, Ryan Seacrest announced that Tony Bennett, Bon Jovi, Barry Gibb, Jennifer Lopez, Lulu, Martina McBride, Peter Noone, Diana Ross and Gwen Stefani will join the list of top musical talents who have made appearances on AMERICAN IDOL. In addition, Season Four winner Carrie Underwood and Season Five finalist Kellie Pickler will perform on the show this season. Last night, Season Three winner Fantasia had the audience on its feet with her rendition of “I’m Here” from the musical “The Color Purple,” in which she will be starring on Broadway.
Celebrities in Alphabetical Order:
Tony Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums charting in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and beyond. Signed to Columbia Records in 1950 he has a string of hits such including such chart-toppers as "Because of You," "Rags to Riches" "Cold, Cold Heart," and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He has released over 100 albums and has sold over 50 million records worldwide. Bennett has won 14 Grammy Awards, is a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and is a Kennedy Center Honoree. His latest CD, TONY BENNETT DUETS: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC recently won three Grammys awards has become Bennett's highest charting CD of his career and has been certified platinum in just three months since its release.
Bon Jovi, over the past two decades, has earned the loyalty of legions of fans around the globe. They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide and, since forming in 1984, Bon Jovi has performed more than 2500 concerts in 50 countries before more than 32 million people. Bon Jovi’s last album, the multi platinum-selling “Have A Nice Day”, was the band’s ninth studio album. Released in September 2005, the album produced the hit songs, “Have A Nice Day” and the Grammy winning “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”. The “Have A Nice Day World Tour” that followed the release of the album was one of the top-grossing tours of last year. Most recently, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, and Tico Torres have been in and out of New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, hard at work on a brand new Bon Jovi album slated for release this year.
Barry Gibb is an eight-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer who along with his brothers formed the Bee Gees, the most successful brother group in history. Their incredible career has spanned five decades and yielded more than 19 No. 1 records in North America. As an individual writer, Gibb became the second-most successful songwriter after Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
The three brothers wrote the feature songs for “Saturday Night Fever,” which is still rated as the No. 1 soundtrack of all time. Five of their songs were in the Top 10 and three in the Top 5 during 1978. They were the only group apart from the Beatles to achieve six No. 1s in a row in the U.S. Their greatest honors include induction in the International Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the British Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award and the Ivor Novello Fellowship Award, bringing the fellowship group to 11.
Jennifer Lopez, platinum-selling vocalist, movie star, movie producer and entrepreneur, gets respect wherever she goes. On March 27, Lopez will begin a new phase in her career with the release of her first all-Spanish album, “Como Ama Una Mujer” (How a Woman Loves). An electrifying concept album of state-of-the-art Latin pop, it shows Lopez growing into a new musical maturity with lyrics telling a dramatic story of love and separation, and the courage necessary to find hope and new beginnings. The first single is the propulsive opening song, “Qué Hiciste” (What Did You Do?), composed by Julio Reyes.
Lulu is a Scottish singer, songwriter, actor, model and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business since the 1960s. In 1981, Lulu returned to the U.S. charts with "I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do)," a Top-20 hit that also reached No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart despite stalling at No. 62 in the UK. She won the Rear of the Year award in 1983 and re-recorded a number of her songs. These included "Shout," which reached the Top 10 in 1986 in the UK, securing her a performance spot on the popular BBC music program “Top of the Pops.” Lulu made her debut as a film actress in "To Sir, with Love," a British vehicle for Sidney Poitier. She also had a major hit with the title song "To Sir, with Love," which shot to number one in the United States. 2003 autobiography is called Don't Wanna Fight No More after a hit song she and her brother wrote for Tina Turner, which is a song that Lulu later released in 2003, along with her The Greatest Hits album.
Martina McBride, whose powerhouse voice has earned her 23 career nominations and four Country Music Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, tying her with Reba McEntire for the most wins in this category, was the only solo female in the Top 10 Country Tours of 2006. With over 16 million albums sold and 22 Top-10 hits, McBride has earned her place as the top female country artist. Her current Top-10 hit "Anyway" is her first co-writing credit, the fastest-rising single of her career and the first single from her self-produced album “Waking Up Laughing,” which will be released on RCA Records April 3.
Peter Noone is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He became a pop music star in the 1960s, at the height of the British Invasion spearheaded by the phenomenal success of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Herman’s Hermits. Noone was lead singer, spokesperson and front man of the now-legendary 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits, which sold over 65 million records and had 11 Top-10 hits. As "Herman," the photogenic Noone graced the cover of nearly every international publication, including TIME magazine. More recently, he was the host of VH1's “My Generation” from 1989 to 1993, and in 2001 he was voted VH1's Sexiest Artist.
Diana Ross, in a remarkable career spanning over 40 years, has proven to be the consummate music artist, as well as one of the iconic female singers of all time. Beginning in the 1960s as lead singer of the world-renowned group The Supremes, and as a solo performer, Ross achieved the unprecedented feat of 12 No. 1 singles in the U.S., rivaled only by The Beatles for the position of the biggest hit group of that generation. Other accomplishments include an Oscar® nomination for her first film role, an extraordinary performance as Billie Holiday in "Lady Sings The Blues." She recently returned to the U.S. charts with her highest-debuting album in two decades, "I Love You."
Gwen Stefani is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and fashion designer. She joined Orange County, CA, ska band No Doubt in 1988. The group's third album, “Tragic Kingdom” (1995), propelled them to stardom and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. It spawned the singles "Just a Girl," "Spiderwebs" and the No. 1 smash "Don't Speak." Stefani recorded her first solo album, the three-times-platinum “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.”, in 2004. Its massive single "Hollaback Girl" became the first U.S. digital download to exceed sales of 1 million copies, and "Rich Girl" and “Cool” were two of 2005's most popular radio singles. “The Sweet Escape” (2006), Stefani's follow-up album, includes the hit "Wind It Up" and the title track "The Sweet Escape" (featuring Akon), which is currently No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Stefani is also known as a fashion trendsetter. She debuted her signature clothing line L.A.M.B. in 2003; a second line of accessories called Harajuku Lovers followed in 2005.
Past Idols Performing
Carrie Underwood, two-time Grammy Award winner, returns to the stage where she was crowned American Idol. Underwood’s debut album “Some Hearts” has sold over 5 million copies and produced four No. 1 singles. Since winning AMERICAN IDOL, Underwood has taken home two Country Music Association Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, twp CMT Awards, two People’s Choice Awards and eight Billboard Awards. She claimed another coveted trophy in 2006 by receiving her college degree after graduating magna cum laude (with high honors) in Mass Communications with an emphasis in journalism from Northeastern State University.
Kellie Pickler, Season Five AMERICAN IDOL finalist, returns to the stage where her career began less than a year ago, to perform her new single "I Wonder." Her debut album, “Small Town Girl,” was released on Halloween 2006 and went on to be the year’s best-selling debut album by a solo country artist. In January 2007, “Small Town Girl” was certified gold and “Red High Heels,” the first single from the album and one of five songs she co-wrote, was a Top-15 song. In April, Pickler will join Brad Paisley on his “Bonfires & Amplifiers” Tour, which will continue through the summer.
