issue 17 / volume 40

Life after American Idol

» Where are they now?

 

Jaclyn Brown,
The Sputnik

I: the fast-paced world

of Hollywood, stars are
chewed up and spit back out
ona weekly basis, unless you
manage to twerk on a foam
finger or dangle your infant
from a hotel window. American
Idol is the addictive show that
gives ordinary people a claim to
fame.

However, some of the
winners seem to take the
American Idol crown but burn
out shortly after their poorly
written sentimental single
hits iTunes. You're probably
thinking, what happened to
them?

As predicted, some have
soared to international fame,
and others have fallen off the
face of the earth. Here are the
good, bad and the ugly updates
of life post-Idol.

Season 1 - Kelly Clarkson

Kelly is the prodigal child of

the American Idol family. This
girl has given me some of my

: favourite shower ballads. Her

: powerful voice has produced

: chart-topping albums since

: 2002, three of them multi-

: platinum. Kelly is still going

: strong and is currently teaming
: up with Maroon 5 for the 2013
Honda Civic tour.

Season 2 — Ruben Studdard

We really haven't heard

: much from large-and-in-charge
: Ruben since his Grammy

: nomination back in 2003.

: However, if you've been missing
: him, you can find him getting

: verbally abused by Jillain

: Michaels on this season of

: the reality weight loss show,

: The Biggest Loser. Run, Ruben,

: run!

: Season 3 - Fantasia Barrino

Although her R&B tones

: didn’t debut on the pop charts,
: Fantasia has received eight

: Grammy nominations. She hit
: Broadway post-win to perform
: in The Color Purple and is

: guest starring this year in the

: Broadway production After

: Midnight.

Season 4 - Carrie Underwood

Another wonderful gift

: given to the world by American
: Idol, Carrie has been topping

the country charts since
her win in 2005. Recently

: wrapping up her 2013 Blown

: Away tour in June, Carrie took
: on the role of Maria in the

: classic musical, The Sound of

: Music, which aired on NBC in
December.

Season 5 — Taylor Hicks

We all loved his Clooney-

: esque look and those funky

: dance moves. Memorable?

: Yes. Sustainable? Not quite.

: His bluesy tunes never quite

: made mainstream charts and

: after a few appearances on and
: off Broadway, good old Hicks

: settled for a comfortable spot

: performing at the hotel/casino
Paris Las Vegas in January 2013.

Season 6 - Jordin Sparks

This beauty sang out some

: of my favorite high school

: heartbreak songs. If you say

: you've never sung No Air into a
: hairbrush at some point, youre
: lying. Sparks has managed to

: stay in the spotlight through

: her adorable relationship with

: pop star Jason Derulo. She also
: announced this year that after

: a four-year hiatus, she will

: be returning to the industry.

: She released her latest pop

: single, Skipping a Beat,’ in

: August 2013, which is now

: available on iTunes.

Season 7 — David Cook

I had to rack my brains to

: remember this guy. However, I

: quickly recalled the memory of :
: bawling my eyes out after David :
: Archuleta (drool) lostto him. :
He managed to tour for a bit,

; then signed an endorsement

: deal with the shoe company,

: Skechers, in 2009. He released

: a mediocre rock single, “Laying
: Me Low,’ in April 2013, At least

he has nice shoes.

Season 8 — Kris Allen

Kris who? Oh yeah, that

: guy that won instead of Adam

: Lambert! He released a generic
: pop single last year, but that’s

: about it for Kris. Sorry, dude, at
: least you got your 15 minutes.

: Maybe call Adam and see if he
needs an opening act.

Season 9 — Lee DeWyze

Another forgettable

: winner—even after Googling

: his image, it’s a struggle to

: recall him. Living the old news
: and burnout lifestyle, he toured :
: a bit and managed to pump out
: anew singer-songwriter album
: called Frames in August 2013.

Season 10 — Scotty McCreary

Baby, lock them doors and

: turn the light down low! Scotty
: McCreary, one of my personal
: Idol faves, has been using those :
: deep country chords to top :
: charts as his first album went
: platinum in 2oun. After touring
: with Brad Paisley in 2012, he’s

arts // 7

: currently headlining his own

tour, Weekend Roadtrip.

: Season u- Phillip Phillips

That adorable face

: and raspy voice made his

: post-Idol single, “Home,” a

: phenomenal hit. The song

: managed to be the theme

: fora variety of commercials,

: including promotions for the
: Olympics. He was nominated
: for the 2013 New Artist of the
: Year at the American Music

: Awards. Currently touring

: as the opening act for John

: Mayer, Phillip Phillips is still
: maintaining his stardom.

: Season 12 - Candice Glover

Power to this girl—after

: two previously unsuccessful

: auditions, she finally managed
: to finally obtain idol glory.

: Celebrity judges Nicki Minaj

: and Mariah Carey managed to

steal her spotlight last season

: but she’s been holding her

: own lately. Her album Music

: Speaks took fourth on

: iTunes, even beating out

: Drake’s Nothing was the Same.

American Idol
kicked off its 13th
season on
January 15.

 

Did you miss him?

» BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ returns for series three

§ Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

KE“ though it’s been two
years since the BBC’s
modern-day revival of Sherlock
concluded its second season,
the fan base has never been
stronger as season three
premieres this January,
hopefully giving fans at least a
few of the answers they've been
looking for.

The show was created
by Doctor Who show-runner
Steven Moffat and stars
Benedict Cumberbatch (Star
Trek into Darkness) as Sherlock
Holmes and Martin Freeman
(The Hobbit) as Dr. Watson.
The first season aired in 2010,
ending with a shocking cliff-
hanger that picked up where
it left off in the second season

: in 2012. The third season also
: airs two years later—except this
: time the show acknowledges
: the long hiatus by explaining
: what Sherlock did for the last
: two years without Watson in
: his life.

Each season consists of

: three go-minute episodes, so

: the show is more like a trilogy
: of movies than a standard

: 22-episode TV show. Season

: three, or “series three” as it’s

: referred to in the UK, aired

: from January 1-14, but Canadian
: and American audiences had

: to wait until January 19 before
: their favourite detective was

: back on the air on PBS. The

: final episode is on February 2.

Here is a quick recap of the

: season to prepare you for the
: finale:

Episode one, “The Empty

: Hearse,” sees the return
: of Sherlock to society. An
: emotional and hilarious

: public reunion with Watson

: occurs when Sherlock tries to

: “surprise” him with his return.

: Sherlock and Watson struggle

: to become friends again during
: the episode, but set aside their
: differences to solve a mystery

: together. A couple of new

: characters are introduced,

: including Watson’s fiancée,

: Mary (played by Freeman’s

: partner, Amanda Abbington),

: and the show’s next villain.

: Answers to the characters’ pasts :
: are revealed and a few new

: questions are raised. A couple

: of the scenes that are mostly

: humorous in nature seem

: designed for the fans to gush

: over, such as the Empty Hearse
: club that features Sherlock-

: obsessed characters who mirror :
: fans of the show. It’s definitelya :
: great welcome back after a long
: two years of waiting, both to the :
: show’s characters and its fans.

Episode two, “The Sign

: of Three,” is the light-hearted

: episode of the season. There’s

: character development and lots
: of chemistry between Watson

: and Sherlock. The main plot

: takes place over one day—John
: and Mary’s wedding day—but

: there are also lots of lengthy

: flashbacks, which include

: recounts of previous mysteries.
: Sherlock’s important—and

: in many scenes, hilarious—

: character development is shown :

and it all makes for a rather

: touching episode. Although

: the plot may bea bit weak—

: much like the second episodes
: in seasons one and two—it

: leaves the viewer with enough
: questions to want to know

: what’s in store for the finale.

What to expect is that
episode three, “His Last Vow,”

: will bea complex, dark, and

astounding finale. It’s hard to

: describe without spoilers, but
: it wraps the season up nicely

: while at the same time leaving

: the viewer wanting more

: and desperately begging for

: season four. It answers most

: of the questions raised in the

: season, while also raising some
: mysteries for viewers to ponder
: over until next season.

Season three of Sherlock

will leave both new and old fans
: alike begging for more. The
: complex and superb writing,

along with the schedules

: of A-List actors and writers

: prevent the series from airing

: frequently—hence the two-

: year hiatuses. However, it’s

: hopeful and likely that we'll

: see the confirmed series four in
: less than two years this time,

: especially with the show’s

: explosive popularity. It’s truly a
: pleasure to see the inhabitants
: of 221B Baker Street return.