Living in Los Angeles sometimes attending glitz and glam movie premieres, awards shows and such can almost turn into the norm, so it's always nice to see the stars come out and give back! I was thrilled to be invited to walk the red carpet and make a behind the scenes video at the 2nd Annual Thirst Project Awards and Gala with my good friend American Idol's Blake Lewis. I also had a blast watching "YouTube Sensation" Savannah Outen perform and catching up with the Real World D.C.'s Mike Manning. And for all you "Twilight" fans, I even had a quick fashion chat with Christian Serratos.
...

The most boring finalists ever. That seemed to be the conventional wisdom going into the evening. That, despite a strong start, this season of ‘Idol’ was destined to fall into oblivion with two dull finalists that wouldn’t be able to deliver the finale this Renaissance season deserved.

Yes, that might be true. It may have been more interesting to see James square off against Pia or Jacob take on Haley, but that doesn’t necessarily mean this is the most boring collection of contestants ever, does it?

Here’s a ranking of finale pairings from least boring to most boring:

9 (Least Boring): S...

The "American Idol" auditions are over, and we're that much closer to finding out which Hollywood hopefuls will make it to the Top 36 and get the chance to perform for a shot at the Top 12. But before this year's graduating class of performers is picked, we'd like to take a look back at the past seven seasons of the show and see which Idols (and runners up) have had the most success on and off the AI stage.

Recap of Winners

Season 1 - Kelly Clarkson (winner), Justin Guarini (runner-up)

Season 2 - Ruben Studdard (winner), Clay Aiken (runner-up)

Season 3 - Fantasia Barrino (wi...

Blake Lewis has become the latest American Idol favorite to get dropped by his record label. The season six runner-up has joined "Idol" winners Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard and fellow runner-up Katharine McPhee on the chopping block after losing his deal with Arista Records.

The move comes following disappointing sales of Lewis' debut album "Audio Day Dream."

-Blake Lewis Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

Catch OneRepublic out on the road this winter. Tour dates below.

The five-member OneRepublic was formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2003. Lead singer/songwriter Ryan Tedder, who produced a couple of songs on the album, largely produced by Greg Wells (Deftones, Mika, Pink), boasts writing, producing and/or singing credits for Paul Oakenfold's Grammy nominated A Lively Mind, Jennifer Lopez, Leona Lewis, Ashley Tisdale, Natasha Bedingfield, Baby Bash, 2Pac, Chris Cornell, and Blake Lewis.

-"Stop and Stare" Streaming Audio

OneRepublic Tour Dates:

Jan 23 Houston, TX – Meri...

Simon Cowell has spoken out about past American Idol contestants Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Katharine McPhee losing their record deals, blaming the unpredictability of the music industry for their disastrous album sales.

Singer McPhee became the latest star to be dropped by her record label, RCA Records - a subsidiary of Sony BMG - in the space of three weeks on Wednesday , after poor sales of her latest self-titled release.

But Cowell insists artists cannot get too comfortable just because they're signed to a big label.

He says, "It's a reflection on the unpredictabil...

Singer Josh Groban has tied Elvis Presley's festive record by claiming a third successive week at number one on the U.S. album chart with a compilation of Christmas tunes. Groban's Noel scored an increase in sales to claim a third week at number one, keeping Alicia Keys' As I Am off the top.

The Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden falls a spot to number three on the new countdown.

The highest new entry on the chart belongs to American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis, who debuts Audio Day Dream at number 10.

-Josh Groban Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment ...

Blake Lewis, the popular finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, will release his debut album Audio Day Dream on 19 Recordings / Arista Records on December 4th, 2007. The album will feature the single "Break Anotha" co-written by OneRepublic's Ryan "Alias" Tedder, Sam Watters and Lewis and produced by Tedder (Timbaland, Leona Lewis) which will go to radio this week.

"Blake knows music, is deeply involved and connected with the process and we all had a ball making this album. The results are so gratifying. Blake comes to the fore as a totally fresh, creative, edgy and bold ne...

Former American Idol finalist Blake Lewis has written a song all about his celebrity crush on actress Natalie Portman. The spiky-haired singer admits new tune "Know My Name" is a love song to the actress.

He says, "It's about the idea of having a celebrity crush when you see someone in a magazine and you just like her for some reason and think, 'I could be with that girl...' It's based on Natalie Portman."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

It's a curious story but the #4 song on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (issue date October 20) is actually a remix of a song from a band whose debut album has not yet been released. The remixed "Apologize," heard on Timbaland Presents Shock Value, features the rock band OneRepublic, whose debut album-- Dreaming Out Loud--which includes the song's original version, will be issued November 20th on Timbaland's Mosley Music Group imprint via Interscope Records.

Meanwhile, "Apologize" already been on the Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks. "The toughest thing to do is write a hit song," says O...

Blake Lewis is the popular runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. Born in Redmond, Washington, Lewis started singing at age five and competed in statewide talent contests while in high school. He became a beat-boxer at 17, inspired by the then Seattle-based a cappella group M-Pact. Lewis was a member of the Pacific Northwest a cappella group Kickshaw for four years. He also recorded several music videos and wrote a number of original songs.

After "American Idol," Lewis signed to 19 Recordings / ARISTA Records and started working on his debut album with a stellar line-up of pr...