Hollywood week started in Pasadena so “Idol” is whittling the numbers as I write this.

In the meantime, I stopped by the Q100 Jordin Sparks meet and greet yesterday but wasn’t able to talk to her. I had come at the last second and the West Coast Jive label reps hadn’t “pre approved” me to talk to her. Her manager could technically have allowed me to talk to her since she is high enough on the totem pole, but she didn’t want to peeve the corporate communications folks who provide access for interviews. Politics, she said. Seriously, Jordin is hardly a loose cannon. What’s the big deal? The manager did try to reach the West Coast PR folks, but it was too early. In the end, I didn’t get ugly about it. “She’ll need me one day,” I told her, only half facetiously.

Jordin was pre-approved to talk to Q100’s Adam Bomb. Her take on how she put her CD together. The fact the CD sounds even half decent is a testament to the power of “Idol” to put together decent songs and Jordin’s abilities:

“I was kind of scared. They told me I had to record it by a specific time. I had the tour to do. We did 59 shows. And I was singing eight songs a night five nights a week. It was really insane. The days off when I was supposed to be recording and relaxing, I ahd to record on those days. My voice was gone sometimes. A lot of times, I was really raspy. I would still have to sing. I don’t know how it turned out the it did but it worked out. I think I recorded five songs over the summer. The tour ended Sept. 23. I had until the first of October ot finish the album. I went to New York, wrote and recorded a few songs and did some more in L.A. By October 1, we had 20 songs recorded. It was a lot on my voice, a lot on me being in the studio 24/7. But I’m really excited. I’m very proud of the album.”

Here’s a shot of her I took before I left:

And sure, Jordin’s CD didn’t blow anybody away in the sales department last week but at least on the download side, “Tattoo” is doing well. It was No. 8 on that chart selling 77,000 and 372K total, according to Idol Chatter..

Ken Barnes notes other sales: Daughtry’s “Over You” is at No. 23, 34K weekly sales, 526K total; “Home” is at 56, 18K weekly sales, 1.14 million total download sales; “It’s Not Over” is at 148, sold 7,000 and 1.52 million total.

Carrie’s “So Small” is at 40, 23K weekly sales, 373K total; “Before He Cheats” is up to 1.93 million in sales.

Elliott’s “Wait For You” sold 6,500 or so and has sold 792K to date.

As expected, Jordin Sparks’ new CD opened with just 119,000 in sales, by far the worst among all “Idol” winners. She barely made the top 10. This is even lower than my modest prediction a couple weeks ago of 150,000 to 200,000.

Here’s the count year by year for first-week sales:

Kelly Clarkson’s “Thankful”: 297,400

Ruben Studdard’s “Soulful”: 416,500

Fantasia’s “Free Yourself”: 240,000

Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts”: 315,000

Taylor Hicks’ “Taylor Hicks”: 298,000

Jordin Sparks’ “Jordin Sparks”: 119,000

It’s also worse than the opening weeks for Clay Aiken’s “Measure of a Man” (612,850) and Daughtry’s self-titled CD (304,000).

And this despite the fact Jordin’s CD was introduced during one of the biggest sales weeks of the year. Plus, she has a hit on her hands with “Tattoo,” which is currently No. 12 on the top 40 chart and on pace to hit the top 10 soon. It shows how she simply didn’t resonate in a way to attract buyers. Maybe she should join a Disney Channel TV show, work with the Jonas Brothers or Aly & AJ!

Yes, I’ve got Disney on the brain. I’m writing about the “Hannah Montana” concert at Gwinnett Arena. Pray for me.

Jordin will be at a special Q100 meet and greet Thursday morning. I’ll report from there if I make it.

ABOVE: Here are shots of Kelly I took from about 20 rows back with my cheapo Cybershot. Robb Cohen will have a photo gallery ready hopefully by the morning and I’ll link to that when I find out what the url is.

Kelly Clarkson is a beguiling dichotomy. On the surface, she still seems like that sweet, innocent gal we all remember from the days of “Idol” when she would utter “Cool beans!” and cried through “A Moment Like This” after being crowned the winner.

But at age 25, she’s not only asserted her independence, her “breakaway,” so to speak, she’s channeling some serious anger issues percolating underneath her sunny exterior, much of it stemming from ex-boyfriends. Her boss Clive Davis tried to reign in the Evanescence-tinged cuts, tried to nudge her current album into more pop friendly territory but instead, she did it her way, got into a public tiff with Davis and watched the public reject her first single “Never Again.” Before Davis could say, “I told you so,” her summer arena tour was nixed due to slow sales and she’s back to smaller theaters such as Cobb Energy Centre Tuesday night where she sold out the 2,750-seat venue.

For die-hard fans, a more intimate setting was just the ticket. Clarkson proved as usual that she could sing the instructional manual from a DVD machine and make it sound great. Sure, some of the same-sounding cuts on her “My December” album aren”t much better than said instructional manual (“Judas,” anybody?), but if her label RCA hadn’t thrown in the towel so quickly, it could have pitched at least a couple of the more melodic tunes on “My December” to top 40 radio such as “Don’t Waste Your Time” and “How I Feel.” (The label inexplicably released the downbeat, hook-deficient “Sober” as a second single and it went nowhere.)

Over 18 songs and 85 minutes, Kelly was in top form vocally, with just a hint of a rasp. She hit all the big notes with only one exception that I could ascertain (she skipped the big high note on “Behind These Hazel Eyes” early on). She wore a garish purple satin getup possibly stolen from “Dancing With the Stars” with black bell-bottoms which didn’t exactly accentuate her strong points, but her always beautfiul smile and that trademark high intensity more than made up for such visual deficiencies.

And the crowd stood by her from beginning to end, singing lustily along to the big hits such as “Walk Away,” “Because of You” and the perfect pop gem “Since U Been Gone.” But they also treated her non-singles with near-equal enthusiam, including “Addicted,” her self-proclaimed favorite cut off “Breakaway,” and “Gone,” where she did her trademark pogo-stick dance. Heck, they even gave some of the darker cuts respect, including encore song “Sober” and “Hole.”

Her three-song acoustic set two-thirds through the concert was a highlight as her voice hugged every nook and cranny of the new venue, which opened Sept. 15. Her encore featured “Chivas,” the most playful kissoff song on her CD which she said she wrote at a bar on napkins after spying an ex.

ABOVE: Kelly waves goodbye after singing her final song “Since U Been Gone”

A couple of observations about the venue if you plan to go for future concerts: as you are pulling into Cobb Galleria Parkway off Cumberland, beware of seemingly helpful men with flags directing you into a shopping center and asking you for $7 to $10 to park. It’s a ripoff. Not only do you have to walk an extra block, but the venue has 1,300 parking spots for $5 right next to the venue. So keep right on going.

And how about this for bizarre? The Cobb Energy security staff “wanded” everybody and checked bags thoroughly, acting as if this Kelly Clarkson crowd might be packin’. At worst, attendees might be packing cell phones or maybe some Tylenol. Most concertgoers looked like they probably don’t even cheat on their taxes much less pose a danger to anybody. The search was more thorough than those you get at Philips Arena or HiFi Buys.

Also, thank you Sammie for joining me at the concert with my “plus one” ticket. He’s certainly not an obvious “Idol” fan— he’s a 47 year old Union City divorcee who looks about 15 years younger and works at Atlanta Dairy. He’s very gracious, very nice. Thanks for coming! And a shoutout to Erin (who I hung out with at the last “Idols Live” and “So You Think You Can Dance” concerts) and Jill (my Clay buddy from back in the summer). I hope you two enjoyed yourselves, too!

Here’s the set list, which is the same as those from most other dates this fall. She sang one cut from “Thankful,” seven from “Breakaway,” eight from her current release “My December” and one cover song from Patty Griffin. And not a second of “A Moment Like This.”

1- One Minute

2- Behind These Hazel Eyes

3- Don’t Waste Your Time

4- Never Again

5- Maybe

6- Gone

7-Hole

8- Addicted

9- Because of You

10- Up To the Mountain (MLK Song) (that Patti Griffin cover song)

11- Be Still

12- Miss Independent

13- How I Feel

14- Breakaway

15- Walk Away

Encore

16- Sober

17- Chivas (the bonus track on “My December”

18- Since U Been Gone

I’ll be reviewing the Kelly Clarkson concert later today at the Cobb Energy Centre. The capacity is 2,750, slightly more than the Tabernacle. A quick search on Ticketmaster this morning indicates it’s sold out.

First-week sales numbers for Jordin Sparks’ CD will be out later today but it appears the 125,000 to 150,000 estimate will be close, based on partial sales counts by hitsdailydouble.com. This will by far be the worst of the six winners by a wide margin.

And since it’s such a slow morning, I’ll post info I got from Ruben Studdard last week, an interview made available thanks to the folks at “American Idol Rewind.”

We first talked about his connections with the Boys and Girls Club since he’s come to Atlanta twice in recent months for B&G events. He wants to open a club in Birmingham “focused on the performing arts. We’re in the development stages.” He has no plans to leave Birmingham as his primary home though he’s only home four or five days a month. He spends tons of time on a bus which fits a queen-size bed in the back for Ruben.

He said he’s naturally enjoying watching “Idol Rewind.” (Wouldn’t you, knowing the outcome?) He Tivos the show since he’s on the road so much and catches up later.

“It’s awesome to get a chance to watch and learn and see where I’ve come from in such a short time,” he said. “I’m always critical of myself. When I watch it, I always think I could have done better than that.” And many of the moments captures on film he can’t even remember “and I was there!” he noted. Looking at folks like Kimberley Locke and Clay circa 2003, he said, “we’ve all changed for the better.”

He is still in touch with Clay and Kimberley and recently saw Rickey Smith in Oklahoma City. Smith is still trying to get a record deal four years later, poor guy. About the brief talk of a reunion of the three on stage that Kimberley mentioned a few months ago in Billboard magazine, he said, “I’d love to be on stage with Clay and Kim. I love them both.” Clay publicly nixed the idea, at least for now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened eventually. It would be huge!

Ruben is wrapping up a small tour of his first stage play called “Heaven, I Need a Hug” co-starring with Robin Givens. (Yes, that’s Mike Tyson’s ex.). It hit cities in the Southeast but didn’t make it to Atlanta. “It’s really just getting out and getting my stage legs,” he said.

In fact, it’s a warmup to a much bigger role he is playing that he said will come to Atlanta: Fats Waller in the national touring company of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” “They’ll be a lot of singing and dancing,” he said. How is Ruben’s dancing? “I think I can cut a rug. We’ll see.”

He plans to take a break through to work on his next album before hitting the road for the play.

Ruben is also an unlikely vegetarian, an idea which came to him soon after he left the Duke Health and Fitness Center last year. “It’s really not that hard. There are a lot of vegetarian meat substitutes that are really good,” he said. Reports at the time was he lost about 100 pounds but I didn’t get a specific update from him this time, just a general “everything is good… I’m going to start training hard again before I go out.”

If you haven’t seen season three’s George Huff in awhile, check him out dueting with season five’s Mandisa on Atlanta-based Gospel Music Channel Christmas Channel. They sing that classic “The Christmas Song.” And yes, they even dance. It’s quite charming. Both have done well in the welcoming arms of the gospel world. (MJ picked this up. She’s amazingly good at finding “Idol” related clips all over the TV dial!)

And though Bo Bice is getting virtually no radio airplay for his song “Witness,” his fans have helped vote his song “Witness” to the top of the VH1 top 20 video countdown. Congratulations! Check out the countdown here. As of this week, Daughtry is at No. 2 with “Over You” and Jordin is at No. 5 with “Tattoo.”

Nobody expected Franklin Bridge to be out last week but this week’s departure of Cliff Wagner & the Old No. 7 wasn’t all that surprising, especially after last week’s languid performance. I got it right so I’m four out of six so far in my predictions. (The show finally gave the departing band time to speak though I find it odd they aren’t giving them the “Idol” video montage farewell.)

So we’re now halfway to the winner of a show hardly anybody is watching. The remaining bands are Tres Bien, Denver & the Mile High Orchestra, Sixwire, Light of Doom, the Clark Brothers and Dot Dot Dot.

Sixwire and the Clark Brothers both proved why they will likely be the final two rockin’. Sixwire’s “The Last Time” felt muscular and energetic. I missed a drumbeat on “Gimme Shelter” but the percussion-less Clark Brothers were mesmerizing nonetheless, a true musical tour de force.

Tres Bien, who did “Get Off Of My Cloud,” was okay but the band’s ’60s schick isn’t growing on me. I enjoy the big band group in general and its version of “I’m Free” wasn’t half bad, but that lead singer really is missing a little joie de vivre, that kick in the pants that would take them to the next level. But the weakest performance to date for Light of Doom may doom them for elimination as the lead singer struggled with the voclas for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Dot Dot Dot at the end was fun and Rose’s guitar solo hit the spot.

At this stage, order of performance still matters. Being first is bad but not the worst. Being second and third out of seven is bad news for both Denver and Light of Doom. Tres Bien performed well enough to likely escape the ax. Dot Dot Dot was in the driver’s seat. They’re definitely safe. Naturally, Sixwire and Clark Brothers are around another week, too. I think it comes down to Denver and Light of Doom for the big heave ho.

My prediction: Light of Doom will face the darkness and have to face puberty away from the TV cameras.

I’m sorry I was so late today. I had a couple of other things I had to do with the other blog and the print edition. (Yes, I have multiple masters and I’m still recovering from Thanksgiving!)

Kelly Clarkson, in Atlanta on Tuesday, performed “Never Again” at the Cowboys/Jets NFL game Thanksgiving with the cheerleaders dancing along. That’s not the easiest song to choreograph but those Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders would look good dancing to a polka tune. And, hey, Kelly is definitely singing, not lip-synching. I always admire the logistics of creating a full-fledged half time show in a matter of minutes, making it sound good, then dismantling it minutes later.

By the way, a big “Idol” fan named Sammie will be joining me at the concert on Tuesday. I’ll definitely be blogging from Cobb Energy Centre and give everyone a read on how it goes.

Meanwhile, first-day sales of Jordin Sparks’ new CD indicates a likely 125,000 to 150,000 for the first week, according to www.hitsdailydouble.com. That’s pretty close to what I predicted earlier this week. It would also be by far the weakest debut of any “Idol” winner so far and barely half of what Taylor Hicks pulled in last year his first week. This despite the fact she is opening on one of the busiest sales weeks of the year and she’s benefiting from a top 15 single in “Tattoo.” Obviously, the downside is the lack of buzz for her or any of the other Idols this year in terms of fan fervor and the down sales in general for all CDs. She at least is doing okay on the download chart.

According to USA Today’s “Idol Chatter,”, “Tattoo” is now No. 12 on the download chart (50K last week, 295K total) and No. 13 on the Radio & Records top 40 airplay charts. Daughtry’s “Over You” is at No. 32 on the download charts with 30K (and 492K total) while it jumps to No. 5 on the airplay chart, Daughtry’s third top five hit. His CD drops to 49 but he still moved 23K and has sold 3.29 million total.

Carrie’s “So Small” drops to No. 36 on the download chart (26K last week, 350K total) but jumps to No. 1 on the country airplay charts. I think this is at least her fourth No. 1 hit on the country charts after “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Wasted” and “Before He Cheats.” Her sophomore CD “Carnival Ride” sold 113K last week in its fourth week (932K total) and should break 1 million next week. “Some Hearts” is up to 6.03 million.

Blake’s “Break Anotha” debuts at No. 97 on the download chart, selling 11K.

Kellie Pickler is up to 654K on her CD after selling 5,000 last week. She is still within shooting distance of exceeding Taylor Hicks’ CD in sales (he’s at 697K after selling 200 last week.) Her single “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” holds at No. 33 on the country chart (but is still increasing in airplay.)

Bucky sold 2,000 this week and is up to 295K with his second single “It’s Good To Be Us” stuck at No .30 but also showing modest airplay progress.

Bo Bice sold 2,000 copies in his fourth week and has moved 21K, exclusively at Wal-mart.

Elliott Yamin’s CD, up to 441K in sales, after another 4,000 in sales. His 2nd single “One Word” isn’t showing much momentum on the top 40 charts. He’s ranked at No. 48, according to Mediabase 24/7 with 451 national spins, up from 428 a week earlier. Star 94, which is hosting him at the station’s Jingle Jam Dec. 10, gave the song 22 spins last week.

Clay’s latest total is 519K, Fantasia, 492K, Kat, 360K, Kelly Clarkson’s latest at 698K and 2nd CD at 5.88 mil, Kimberley, 17K, Mandisa 57K, Paris 20K, Ruben 235K.

Before we get started with Jordin, season four’s Jessica Sierra in Tampa got probation and extensive drug testing for hitting a man with a cocktail glass. That seems apt given she had no prior record. According to the Fox affiliate in Tampa, Sierra didn’t offer any apologies.

Here’s Jordin performing “Tattoo” Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” sounding great. (thank you MJ!)

And if you want to sample the songs off Jordin’s new CD, you can listen to all the tracks here at aol..

Reviews have been generally positive across the country, more so than those of the debut CD for Taylor Hicks, season five winner who so far has been the lowest selling winner of the first five.

While Jordin, at age 17, hasn’t quite found herself yet, she not only showcases her warm voice but exudes enough charm and personality to pull of this pop/R&B confection of an album. She used songs from plenty of big-shot producers who helped make the palatable tunes with sweet, PG-rated lyrics, but ultimately, Jordin herself is why the CD works as well as it does in ways that, say, Kat McPhee’s was lacking.

The CD opens strong. Besides Jordin’s charming radio hit “Tattoo,” the next cut “One Step At a Time” is catchy and confident. She proves her soaring vocal skills in an atmospheric duet with Chris Brown “No Air.” “Freeze” gets the toes tapping. Midway through, there are probably a few too many songs with similar cadences, a happy mid-tempo pop beat. Among the better ones: “Now You Tell Me” and “Next To You.”

Jordin takes a modest stab at dance club tunes with “Shy Boy” (featuring electronic vocal manipulations which Britney overuses) and the mildly diverting “Young and In Love.”

Are there any “Since U Been Gone”-type winners here? Not really. But it’s on par with Kelly Clarkson’s first CD “Thankful.”

Problems only really pop up near the end of the CD. Cut #11 “See Your Side” is too simple and repetitive to stick. “God Loves Ugly,” despite the intriguing title and lyrics (“God loves ugly/He doesn’t see the way I see/God takes ugly/And turns it into something beautiful/Apparently, I’m beautiful because you love me”), sounds like 1,000 other generic ballads. And the CD unfortunately ends with “This Is My Now,” the coronation song nobody will care to remember or may have already forgotten.

While Simon Cowell produces shows such as “America’s Got Talent” and “American Inventor” and Paula Abdul fumbles with a bad reality show on Bravo “Hey Paula,” Randy Jackson has finally gotten into the act with “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew.”

This new MTV show set for early next year will feature top hip-hop crews facing off for a touring contract and some cash. This won’t feature solo acts but teams. This could be fun! Randy won’t appear on the show (probably because of “Idol” contracts, the same reason why Simon does not appear on his shows.)

Here’s a quote from Hollywood Reporter: “I have always wanted to do something with MTV,” said Jackson, who is not expected to appear on camera. “MTV has the biggest voice, especially as it relates to music, dance and entertainment.

Interested? Check the casting call info and application at mtv.com. Here’s where you need to go if you want to try out December 4 from 10 to 6 p.m. at Gotta Dance Atlanta studio at 1778 Ellsworth Industrial Drive, NW, Atlanta GA 30318. Atlanta, GA 30318. Good luck!

Before I get started, I just found out I have an extra ticket to the Kelly Clarkson concert at Cobb Energy Centre November 27 for anybody out there who would like to join me. Email me at rho@ajc.com if you’re interested, first come, first serve! (These are the benefits of reading this blog. You just might to get to hang out with me! Wait—did I say that was a benefit?)

Despite the fact her single “Tattoo” is closing in on the top 10 of the pop charts, Jordin Sparks’ self-titled CD out today isn’t getting a lot of advance hype. On Amazon, it’s only ranked No. 46 as of this writing. It’s hard to say how well she’ll do. Taylor Hicks last year pulled in 298,000 in sales his first week and Carrie hit 315K the year before. I doubt she’ll hit 300,000. I’m not even sure 200,000 is likely given how album sales are trending in general. My prediction is 150,000 to 200,000. We’ll see.

I haven’t gotten an advance copy of the CD, will probably have to pick one up at Best Buy today. I’ll post a blog entry later about it if I have the time.

Jordin, fresh off her Soulja Boy appearance with Jimmy Kimmel on the AMAs Sunday, will be doing the TV rounds this week. She would probably do Leno if Leno’s writers weren’t on strike. But she still has Good Morning America Tuesday, Regis Wednesday and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parad on Thursday on NBC.

Blake’s CD “A.D.D.” is set for December 4. MTV News provides plenty of details.

“It’s my new genre I made up,” the singer, who was heavily influenced by 1980s pop, proudly told MTV News during a recent interview. “I call it 2080, because it’s a mix of all the great pop music that’s inspired me.” Lewis claims the record is a blend of electronic elements fused with funk, soul, rock and pop — pretty much everything, kitchen sink included.

Oh, and Simon Cowell has had Botox but denies dying his hair, according to a Daily Mail interview. And he has no desire to get married or have kids. But his competitive drive is alive and well.

“Every year I want to do better than the last year,” he tells the Mail. “Make more, do more, achieve more. It’s a killer - but what can you do?”

It was all about “American Idol” on the American Music Awards last night as Daughtry won three and Carrie Underwood won another three.

And I’m always looking for Atlanta ties and “Idol” ties. I got both by 8:15 p.m. After a dull opening featuring Fergie, Will.I.Am and Nicole Scherzinger, host Jimmy Kimmel came up and noted that he couldn’t actually do a monologue opening since he’s a member of the Writers Guild and that part of him is “on strike.”

His alternative? He grabbed a couple of folks in the audience to help him do the Atlanta’s Soulja Boy dance to “Crank That.” Those two folks? Kellie Pickler and Jordin Sparks. They attempted the dance for a bit, then introduced Carrie Underwood for the first award, the Breakthrough artist.

Carrie announced the winner: Daughtry! Oh, yes, it was all about “Idol” for about 10 minutes there!

And Daughtry made sure to thank Clive Davis and Simon Fuller “for coming up with this little show so I can show the world what we can do.”

Ryan Seacrest introduced Maroon 5. Kellie Pickler announced the winner of best soundtrack— “High School Musical 2,” of course. Carrie Underwood (who won breakthrough artist last year) won best female country singer. “I have the most wonderful fans ever and they prove that to me 5 million times a day every single day,” she said. She later won the “T-Mobile text in award,” beating out Akon, Daughtry, Norah Jones and Fergie.

Daughtry also won best adult contemporary artist. What an oddball place to put him! I bet he’s confused, too. But he isn’t complaining. Finally, he won a third AMA for favorite pop/rock album. And Daughtry (the band) later performed the “Idol 2007” farewell song “Home.”

MJ was nice enough at her blog to provide this video of Daughtry’s performance from the show:

Finally, Carrie won best country album for “Some Hearts.”

The Atlanta connections were big. T.I. (currently stuck at home) won favorite male hip-hop artist and album. Akon won best R&B/soul male and Ne-Yo performed a duet with Rihanna. Usher presented an honorary award for Beyonce and gave some kind words about Kanye West’s late mother. Plus, Sugarland, in a pure out-of-left-field performance, dueted with Beyonce with a country-fied version of “Irreplaceable.” That’s inspired! Finally, McDonough’s Casting Crowns won for best contemporary inspirational Christian act after being nominated last year and losing to Kirk Franklin.

If you missed Kellie Thursday night, hulu.com offers up the entire episode of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”. This became the highest rated “5th Grader” episode this fall.

“I actually tried to study,” she said, with Kat McPhee, the night before. Donations went to the American Red Cross and organizations that help grandparents who raised grandkics (just like her!) She confessed she is “not smarter than a 5th grader” before her first question.

Her most embarrassing moment in school. She “cut the cheese” in class in second grade and everyone laughed at her. Awww…

She was adorable as always, using her story about a meeting of a French dude saying “bonjour” to help her get one question and her knowledge of the Road Runner(“Beep-beep!”) to get another. She struggled to know whether a piccolo is a woodwind, strings or percussion. Her logic included thinking that piccolo is percussion because they have the same first letter. Oops. Thank goodness she was saved by Olivia. (I”m going to get a swirly after class. That’s where they dip your head in the commode and they flush your head so you get a swirly.”)

Oh, and she thought Europe is a country. “I don’t think France is a country,” she noted. She has no clue what country Budapest is in but fortunately, Nathan knew “Hungary” was a country. “Is that a country? Never heard of it!” she said.

After being asked which of the following, Johns Hopkins, Franklin Pierce or Brigham Young, was a U.S. president, she was stumped. “I feel like an idiot right now,” she said. “Waiting for an answer from you is kind of like being in a checkout line behind an old woman with coupons,” Foxworthy cracked. She picked Pierce because her ears are pierced and her last name starts with P, too. This is what we will call from now on “Pickler logic.” That last one got her to $50,000.

The $100,000 question: “How many canine teeth are in a typical adult human mouth?” She actually got it right (four) but chose to walk away.

And here’s a link to the new Elliott Yamin “One Word” video.. One word for the video gal’s sheer red dress: amazing!

For the first time, the public got it wrong. Talented funk-rock band Franklin Bridge was toppled, bringing in the fewest votes Friday night.

It didn’t help that they came first last Friday and I don’t think their version of Billy Joel’s “Big Shot” was memorable enough to generate votes now that the four weakest bands are gone. I wish the producers had given Franklin Bridge a fond farewell (as “Idol” finalists get) or even a chance to say a few words but all we got was a wave and not much else. That’s a shame. With only seven bands playing songs in an hour, they certainly had time.

Anyway, the theme Friday was Lieber and Stoller songs, a vast legion of tunes covering different genres from “Hound Dog” to “Yakety Yak” to “Poison Ivy.”

Overall, it wasn’t a bad night. Two top bands, Sixwire and Clark Brothers, didn’t impress me too much. They’re burdened, of course, by high expectations. The Clark Brothers’ “Saved” was technically great but I just didn’t like the song and I don’t think any guitar prowess could have helped me there. Sixwire picked the wrong song (Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’ “) and it lacked enough angst and edge. Light of Doom started a bit slow but they ultimately rocked “Jailhouse Rock.” The pre-teens should have at least another week. Bluegrass band Cliff Wagner and the Old No .7’s “Poison Ivy” was okay but didn’t blow me away.

I again was charmed by Dot Dot Dot, who modernized “Love Potion No. 9” with panache. And I actually liked the funky take of “Ruby Baby” by Denver and the Mile High Orchestra (which Johnny Rzeznik hated). The final band standing of the night, Tres Bien, got my pulse pumping with a spirited rendition of “Some Other Guy” and was my favorite of the night.

Who will go home? Tough call after last week’s surprise. I always think Tres Bien is on the bubble but given they were near the end and exceeded expectations, they’ll be safe. I think Cliff Wagner will get the heave ho.

I missed Pickler’s appearance on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.” She ended up with the relatively modest sum of $50,000 for charity. That doesn’t exactly surprise me. The new comedy duo: Pickler and Foxworthy! What a combo! The show pulled in about 9.6 million viewers, the best of the season.

According to a Chris Sligh fan site,, the season five finalist from Greenville, S.C. (now living in Nashville) told TotalAxxess (hosted by Wally, formerly of 99X) that he has signed with Brash Records, an indie label out of Atlanta. Go Chris!

CREDIT: Craig Sillitoe

Ian “Dicko” Dickson spoke with the media Wednesday for an hour, trying to drum up interest in “Next Great American Band,” on air tonight at 8. (It’s probably to no avail but you have to give him credit for trying.)

I got to be the first one on to ask him some questions. The obvious first one is why he thinks the show isn’t doing well. He through out a bunch of theories, most of which probably have some merit.

“It’s another reality talent show. We may have tested the patience of the public too far. It might be bands are hard to get your arms around. It’s easy to embrace a single diamond in the rough, some person with aspirations from the middle of the country singing in the shower and unleash their talents on the public. That’s a great story. It’s easy to get that to resonate. I’m told friday nights are not a great night for TV. People are watching. They’re just not choosing us. The ratings did turn upward [modestly]last week. Maybie it’s just a slow starter.”

Then he added, “people who like bands may be out watching bands” on Fridays. And finally: “We haven’t driven enough people to it. We have to do more publicity.” (Thus, this call.)

What’s his thoughts on the public’s picks so far. (Four bands have been cut, eight remain.) “The public has been good about cutting the wheat from the chaff.”

His thoughts on the pre-teen metal band Light of Doom? “They’re a great idea but in the cold heart reality of the industry, if they win this, got shot out into the commercial environment, I don’t know if they’d feel exposed.” (And he wasn’t talking about the first week when we had to see their topless “pre-pubescent pimply bodies.”) He later notes that he wonders why 12 year olds care about 80s metal. “I feel at times it’s their parents living their lives vicariously through their sons. I can’t work out if hte dads were Iron Maiden roadies or the moms were Iron Maiden groupies.”

I told him I was amused by Dot Dot Dot, the goofy emo-style band with an homage to the ’80s. “Amusing bordering on rubbish,” he said. The lead singer “is actually a good entertainer, like a children’s entertainer. Mr. Bubbles for the emo world.”

How about the big three, Franklin Bridge, Clark Brothers and Sixwire? “They all look pretty strong. But all of them have some flaw to them. Franklin Bridge over-complicates. Sixwire looks like hormone therapy for housewives. They need to rough it up and show some masculinity. And the Clark Brothers. They are fabulous, magically engaging presence. They’re still an acoustic trio. They really need to tear it up.”

(The next few questions were asked by others) And Denver & the Mile High Band? “It feels classy. It feels like money. It’s great TV with all the bright lights bouncing off those brass instruments.”

The two bands he’d buy? Definitely Clark Brothers, possibly Franklin Bridge.

A future band theme? Jagger/Richards. He said other themes are still being negotiated.

I got to ask him a couple of follow up questions:

When are they playing originals again? He said there isn’t enough time this week or next. But they will bring them back.

His thoughts on fellow judges Sheila E and Johnny Rzeznik Sheila E “is deeply religious and doesn’t swear. She has this swear box and charges us $5. Johnny and I swear and we reach into our jeans for another $10. She’s like Mary Poppins… John’s great, he’s becoming a fine friend of mine. He has a great way about him, a great sense of humor. Everytime you talk to him, he looks like he just woke up from a 1,000 year sleep. He looks constantly surprised by life.”

He also hates how the audience is goaded by the warmup jokester to boo the judges every time they are remotely negative. “I find it quite demeaning to the audience. Surely they’d like the opportunity to make their own minds up.”

Another reporter got him to talk about fame and evidence of how few people are paying attention:

“I haven’t signed an autograph and the show’s been on four weeks… I’m a complete nobody here [compared to Australia, where he is mobbed all the time] and it made me realize how ridiculously attached to fame I really am. It’s embarrassing to admit.”

Tomorrow, I will detail some of the comments made by “Next Great American Band’ judge Ian “Dicko” Dickson during a phone conference Fox held with media Wednesday. The guy truly wants to get some buzz for the low-rated show, but even he said if ratings continue to sag, there is no prayer the show will ever come back. I like the show. It’s really a shame it’s doing so badly. His theories were similar to everybody else’s— band fans aren’t home on Friday nights, Friday is a bad night for this type of show period, not enough promotion from Fox, et. al.

Anyway, Ken Barnes over in Idol Chatter land has outlined another “Idol” ripoff, an odd show called “Clash of the Choirs.” It’s only a four-day run where Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton go to their hometowns (New Haven for Bolton, Philly for LaBelle, Cincy for Lachey, Houston for Rowland and Oklahoma City for Shelton) and seek out great choir for a singoff in New York City. On NBC, the show will air December 17 to 20. The network managed to get a hit out of “Deal or No Deal” two years ago doing the same “event”-type show but I just don’t see this one clicking. Do you?

He also reported that Jordin’s “Tattoo,” which is approaching the top 10 on the top 40 charts, is also doing well on the digital download charts, up to No. 14 with 47K in sales last week and 245K total. Carrie Underwood, with her CMA victories, saw her CD in week three slide from 3 to 5 with a 29% drop and 818K total. “Some Hearts” moved over the 6 million mark, the first “Idol” to ever hit that mark. Daughtry’s CD keeps on selling 20K a week and he’s now up to 3.25 million.

And in a special Country People magazine for fall 2007, there’s a story about a dozen “Idols” congregating in Nashville, from Bo Bice to Bucky Covington to Carmen Rasmussen. It’s a newsstand only magazine. I’ll have to fish around and get a copy.

Daughtry will perform at this Sunday’s American Music Awards on ABC. Kellie Pickler, Ryan Seacrest, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks will be presenting.

Finally, a note to the regular bloggers and Choc in particular. I understand why you’ve started your own “AI exile” blog but to paraphrase Simple Minds, don’t you forget about us here! We’ll always be around - at least as long as “Idol” remains relevant.

Last week, Clay Aiken got his time on Fox’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and did well.

Now it’s Kellie Pickler’s turn Thursday at 8. I have a sneaking feeling she won’t do quite as well but she’ll be adorable, as this promo shows:

I was fishing around for a video of Stewie from Sunday night’s “Family Guy.” He performed Debbie Gibson’s “Lost in Your Eyes” and got reemed by the actual voice and animated character of Simon Cowell.

“One of the worst I ever heard. Stewie, you shouldn’t actually even be alive, you snivelling little creep. I hate you so much I want to shoot you in the face.”

The portion of his audition is part way through this video..

And Carrie Underwood is going on her first headlining tour, hedging her bets by co-headlining with Keith Urban. The dates are not set but she will be at the Gwinnett Arena. Given she’ll be with Urban, that should be an easy sellout. I’ll post date and ticket info when I get it.

Here’s some basic info on Carrie’s web site.

It’s wonderful to watch the Hollywood rounds of “American Idol” on “American Idol Rewind” from season 2 in 2003. Here are a few highlights to tickle your memories from that magical year. (It’s on at 6 p.m. on WATL-TV Saturdays and Sundays and WGN-TV at 8 p.m. Sundays) The show has been tweaked to include 2007 interviews with dozens of notables from that year and a focus on the ones who ultimately made it to the final 12 or got lots of ink, like Frenchie Davis.

Here’s Davis’ comments before her “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” round one, Hollywood:

“I am Frenchie Davis and I am the American Idol because I believe I personify all the qualities of the star. No, I don’t have hair flowing down my back and I’m not a size two but I am fabulous.”

From 2007: “I walked in thinking ot myself. Well, French this is it. I knew in my heart my life would never be the same.”

And here are Clay Aiken’s comments on stage before round one in Hollywood:

“I thought awhile about why I wanted to the American Idol and I think the biggest thing about being the American Idol is the influence they have when they are well known. I’d love to be an advocate with people with mental disabilities. I’m a special ed teacher. Sounds like I’m on Miss America. Honestly, that’s how I feel and that’s what I want to do.” (He sang “Unchained Melody”)

In 2007: “I had enough confidence in myself to know, I’m going to do the best I can. You realize when you get to Hollywood, this is the real deal. If I’m going to get any further, I’m going to have to work with this.”

Here’s Ruben’s comments at the time:

“My name is Ruben Studdard and I believe I’m the American Idol. I’ve been preparing for this moment since I was three years old and I believe it’s my time to shine.” (He sang “Never Too Much”)

“I’ve got pretty good style and pretty good personality,” said future villain Corey “Sideshow Bob” Clark. Sure you do.

I forgot they gave lyrics and had to write a melody. “I was a disaster,” Kimberley Locke said. (It was actually good.) So was Josh Gracin. Ruben spent only 30 minutes on the song and slept well. How confident is he from 1 to 10. “Ten.” And yes, he rocked. So did Atlanta’s Vanessa Olivarez. In 2007, she said: “The reason I had chosen those lyrics because my interaction with Simon, which had been so very back and forth sarcasm. It was good to tell him he was a ‘good-for-nothin’ loser.’ “

We got to re-live two moments from Hollywood that I still recall quite vividly: Julia DeMato getting stood up by her group mates for the group sing (including Kimberly Caldwell.) And Corey Clark partying it up with two other dudes instead of rehearsing. Great stuff! He promised to be up at 6:30 a.m. but showed up at 8:23 a.m., claiming he was early when he was late. Patrick Lake from Athens was part of the suffering crew with Corey.

Ruben naturally did amazing with Rickey Smith in his trio with “Superstar.” “Ruben you have that Luther thing going with your look and sound,” Simon said. And Clay was incredible, too. “Clay-you don’t look like a typical pop star but you are unique,” Simon said.

Corey Clark improvised when he forgot the lyrics and serenaded to Paula, ahem, during “Kiss From a Rose.”

Here’s Bucky’s new video, courtesy of YouTube for “It’s Good To Be Us.” It’s a solid country song and has edged into the country top 40 (No. 35 right now on Radio & Records). It probably won’t go top 10 but has a shot at the top 20.

Phil Stacey has signed a record deal with Lyric Street Records, home to Bucky Covington and Josh Gracin, according to MJ.. Congrats! Smart move on his part. I’m still not sure if he has the appeal to sell many CDs but it’s fair to say many people thought the same thing about Bucky and Josh and both have actually done okay.

Culled from billboard.com, Mediabase 24/7, and [Idol Chatter}(http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/), here’s a quick review of radio airplay, downloads and CD sales.

Jordin Sparks’ “Tattoo” is up to No. 14 on the top 40 airplay and is the top download at No. 17, with 37,000 in downloads and 198K total.

Daughtry’s “Over You” is up to No. 6 on the top 40 chart and is at No. 25 with 29,000 in download sales with total sales of 431K. His CD is up to 3.25 million in sales including another 20,000 this week.

Carrie’s “So Small” is No. 3 on the country chart with a sold shot at No. 1. On downloads, it slipped to 28, with 28K in total sales last week and 289K total. Her CD “Carnival Ride” took a big 68% dropoff and fell to No. 3 from its debut No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Her first CD “Some Hearts” should broach 6 million next week.

Elliott’s “Wait For You” has slipped to No. 24 on the top 40 chart and dropped to 91 on the download chart with 11K and 769K total. His CD recently fell off the top 200 and sold 3,700 and 433K total.

Bo Bice caught a break because his first-week sales were not included on the Billboard charts because his CD is only available at Wal-Mart. But when the Eagles sold a whopping 711,000 copies of the act’s latest CD by selling only at Wal-Mart, Billboard included it and it opened at No. 1 That meant Bo’s second week of sales “debuted” at 150. He moved about 5,000 copies compared to 10,000 the first week. Those are relatively modest totals.

Kelly Clarkson, who has no real single charting at the moment with “My December,” saw her CD fall off the charts, moving 3,500 copies and 690K total.

Kellie PIckler, who’s single “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” (which is actually a great song) is at No. 39 on the country charts, moved 2,000 copies and is up to 643K. Her CMA appearance, I anticipate, should help her see a boost next week and if that third single goes top 20, she has a shot at breaking 700K and exceeding Taylor Hicks’ sales (now 697K). Bucky is at 291K, Fantasia at 489K (her latest and probably last single from this CD bombed out), Mandisa at 55K, Kat at 360K, Clay at 519K, Constantine at 21K, Paris at 20K, Kimberley at 16K and Carmen at 2,500.