Sparks is crowned new American Idol winner
The big voice overwhelmed the beatbox Wednesday night as Jordin Sparks was crowned the newest and youngest “American Idol.”
Sparks, 17, of Glendale, Ariz., prevailed over Blake Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., after a triumphant performance Tuesday that wowed the show's judges and viewers who gave her a majority of the record 74 million votes cast.
“Mom, Dad, I love you,” Sparks, the daughter of retired NFL player Phillippi Sparks, said tearfully after a bear hug from Lewis.
The contest came down to either the stronger singer, Sparks, or the better entertainer, Lewis. Sparks delivered her songs simply and powerfully; Lewis' flourishes included his sound-effects beatboxing and sharp dance moves.
The finale pulled out the stops and the stars, with Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Green Day and more performing. The two-hour show opened with Lewis and Sparks dueting on the Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There,” followed quickly by a touring Stefani singing 𔄜 in the Morning” via satellite from Massachusetts.
Midler took the stage as the show came toward its close, singing “The Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Auburn native DelPiano back as Baldwin's agent In an about-face, Alec Baldwin has returned to CAA and agent, Auburn native, Matt DelPiano.
The big voice overwhelmed the beatbox Wednesday night as Jordin Sparks was crowned the newest and youngest “American Idol.”
Sparks, 17, of Glendale, Ariz., prevailed over Blake Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., after a triumphant performance Tuesday that wowed the show's judges and viewers who gave her a majority of the record 74 million votes cast.
“Mom, Dad, I love you,” Sparks, the daughter of retired NFL player Phillippi Sparks, said tearfully after a bear hug from Lewis.
The contest came down to either the stronger singer, Sparks, or the better entertainer, Lewis. Sparks delivered her songs simply and powerfully; Lewis' flourishes included his sound-effects beatboxing and sharp dance moves.
The finale pulled out the stops and the stars, with Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Green Day and more performing. The two-hour show opened with Lewis and Sparks dueting on the Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There,” followed quickly by a touring Stefani singing 𔄜 in the Morning” via satellite from Massachusetts.
Midler took the stage as the show came toward its close, singing “The Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Auburn native DelPiano back as Baldwin's agent In an about-face, Alec Baldwin has returned to CAA and agent, Auburn native, Matt DelPiano.
Citing personal reasons, Baldwin had left the agency late last month. The abrupt exit came as he was dealing with the blowback from a Web site leak of a four-minute voicemail tirade he left for his daughter after she missed a scheduled phone conversation. It was the latest chapter in his contentious divorce with actress Kim Basinger, who is also represented by the same agency - a situation that may have exacerbated his ire.
Baldwin, who briefly said that he didn't want to return to his series Rock” and would instead devote himself to raising awareness of parental alienation during divorces and the inequities that fathers receive from the courts, is quietly getting things back in order, as his return to CAA indicates.
Through a spokesman, Baldwin said, “I could not imagine being represented by anyone other than Matt DelPiano.”
Laurie receives honor from Queen Elizabeth II
Hugh Laurie, who stars in the hit TV medical drama “House,” was made a member of the Order of the British Empire on Wednesday.
Queen Elizabeth II presented the honor to Laurie at Buckingham Palace. The 47-year-old actor has been part of the comedy establishment in Britain for more than 20 years. He has won two Golden Globe awards for his role on “House” as the brilliant but flawed Dr. Gregory House, who heads a medical team specializing in the diagnosis of rare disorders.
- From Americanidol
