Well, it looks like the plot will thicken even more during the third season of Fantasia Barrino’s hit VH1 reality series, “Fantasia For Real.” After Season 2 detailed the “American Idol” winner’s breakup from her then-married boyfriend, Antwaun Cook, and the subsequent fallout (her emotional breakdown and attempted suicide), this weekend Fantasia announced onstage at a charity concert that she is pregnant–and while she didn’t say who the baby’s father is, it very well may be Antwaun, with whom she was recently spotted vacationing while sporting a sizable baby bump.

“You are the first that I share this news with,” Fantasia announced during a July 31 benefit show at the opening of the Riverview Apartments in Jacksonville, Florida, as she placed her hand on her belly. “And I share this with you because I can relate to you. For a while I walked around thinking, ‘What will they say? What will they think about me?’ But now I tell you, I don’t live my life for folk. So I tell you, this child that I carry, God has given me this child, and I don’t have to hide it from none of y’all!”

Interestingly, last year during Antwaun’s divorce proceedings with his now-ex-wife in a North Carolina court, Fantasia shockingly confessed that she had gotten pregnant by Antwaun and had had an abortion around the time of her infamous suicide attempt. This makes her new pregnancy announcement even more of a surprise. (Fantasia has a 10-year-old daughter, Zion, from a previous relationship.)

I’m happy that Fantasia seems happy, and I hope things work out for her now, after what has been an extremely difficult period in her life. I cannot help but scratch/shake my head over some of Fanny’s dubious life decisions, but I wish her–and Antwaun, or whoever the father is–the best of luck. She may need it.

Courtesy: Yahoo Music

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Surprise American Idol earners for 2011

$URPRI$E: ADAM’S BIG DEBUT- Adam Lambert makes his first showing on the list…and he’s all the way up in the second spot, tied with fellow robbed rocker and road warrior Chris Daughtry, with an impressive $6 million total. He actually beat out the superstar likes of Jennifer Hudson (who holds steady at number six, with $2 million) and even Kelly Clarkson (who drops from number two to number five after a relatively low-key year in which she earned $2.5 million). Adam wasn’t even on last year’s list, which was a surprise in itself since his Season 8 castmate, Kris Allen, was. (Kris is a “near miss” on the list this year, according to Forbes, but now that he’s lucratively starting to write songs for other people, like “Glee” star Matthew Morrison, he may make a reappearance next year.) While Adam’s first album, For Your Entertainment, sold 821,000 copies domestically and was certified gold or platinum in six other countries, his success is also largely attributed to his gigging: His 116-date Glam Nation Tour was a rare success in 2010′s troubled concert industry, and it also spawned a vast array of merchandise (like Glambert disco-ball keychains!), a live EP, and a concert DVD. If Adam if he can keep up this pace after his sophomore album comes out, he should rank high again in 2012.

$URPRI$E: FANTASIA’S BIG COMEBACK- Fantasia Barrino is well known for her money troubles (she almost lost her home in 2009, and once told People that she was so in debt, she couldn’t afford a pizza), and last year she wasn’t on the Forbes list at all. But this year she’s all the way up at number three, with a tally of $4 million. This is thanks to her reality show “Fantasia For Real,” which was VH1′s biggest hit of 2010, and her comeback album Back To Me, which was her highest-charting album to date (it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200) and has so far sold almost 500,000 copies. After a year of many setbacks–she was caught up in an extramarital affair scandal, then tried to take her own life–this high Forbes ranking is very good news for Fantasia.

$URPRI$E: LEE’S NO-SHOW - Lee DeWyze, the most recent winner with available data applicable to this list, didn’t make the cut at all. (He’s another “near miss,” as his runner-up from Season 9, Crystal Bowersox, which means he definitely earned less than $1 million.) Perhaps this isn’t that huge a surprise, considering that his post-”Idol” album, Live It Up, is the least successful winners’ album ever, disappointingly debuting at number 19 and selling only about ­­­­143,000 copies to date. But as mentioned earlier, Lee’s predecessor, Kris Allen, did make the list before. However, Kris starred in a Ford commercial that ran on Fox throughout last year’s “Idol” season and featured a song, “Alright With Me,” that Kris co-wrote. Lee didn’t get such a residual-generating opportunity.

$URPRI$E: KAT JOINS THE PACK - Katharine McPhee’s career never quite took off after her Season 5 “Idol” run, and her most recent album, Unbroken, only sold about 46,000 copies. But this year she squeaks onto the Forbes list, tying for ninth place with the Season 7 Davids (Cook and Archuleta) after earning a cool million. This is due to her upcoming, much-buzzed-about NBC series, “Smash,” and a new label deal with Columbia Records in conjunction with that show. If “Smash” is, well, a smash this fall, expect Kat to move up this list. Perhaps 2012 will really be her big year.

$URPRI$E: WOMEN CASH IN - Of the dozen Idols on the combined Forbes list, seven of them are women. This is an interesting development, considering that no female contestant has won “American Idol” since Season 6′s Jordin Sparks. (Jordin surprisingly places fourth on this year’s list, with $3 million, and tells Forbes, “‘American Idol’ kick-started me in my career. It gave me an amazing fan base money can’t buy.”) Additionally, only five of the top earners on the list are singers who actually won “Idol.” So apparently the way “Idol” fans vote with their pocketbooks differs from how they vote with their cell phones while the show is actually on the air.

So, will this year’s newest confirmed “Idol” signings–Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and Pia Toscano–make the Forbes list next year? That remains to be seen, since Scotty’s $250,000 record deal is actually less lucrative than previous winners’ deals. We’ll just have to wait until next year to find out which Idols rake in the big bucks.

FULL FORBES LIST
1. Carrie Underwood: $20 million
2. Daughtry: $6 million (tie), Adam Lambert: $6 million (tie)
3. Fantasia Barrino: $4 million
4. Jordin Sparks: $3 million
5. Kelly Clarkson: $2.5 million
6. Jennifer Hudson: $2 million
7. Kellie Pickler: $1.8 million
8. Clay Aiken: $1.5 million
9. Katharine McPhee: $1 million (tie), David Archuleta: $1 million (tie), David Cook: $1 million (tie)
Near misses: Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox, Ruben Studdard

Courtesy: Yahoo Entertainment

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TV’s most-watched show exploded into litigation today as American Idol creator Simon Fuller sued Fox claiming he should be paid a rich fee for the upcoming Simon Cowell competition show The X Factor.

According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Fuller negotiated a hefty executive producer fee and credit on X Factor as part of a settlement of a 2004 copyright-infringement lawsuit against Cowell when X Factor launched in the U.K. Fox, which airs Idol and will debut X Factor in September, and Fremantle North America, which produces both shows, are now refusing to honor that deal, according to the suit.

“Fox and Fremantle made hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to the creative efforts of Fuller,” the suit states. “Now, when it is time to finally perform on these unequivocal promises, Fox and Fremantle refuse to provide Fuller his executive producer credit for Defendants’ new television show, The X Factor, and refuse to pay Fuller an executive producer fee ‘commesurate with his duties and stature in the entertainment industry.’ Defendants refusal to honor their promises made to Fuller is particularly malicious given that but for Fuller’s agreement, the X Factor show would not be able to broadcast in the United States at all.”

Back when Cowell lauched X Factor, Fuller sued, claiming the show was a blatant rip-off of Idol, which had aired in the U.K. and U.S. for several seasons with Cowell as the lead judge. The rancor between the two Simons threatened to derail America’s No. 1 show, so Fox helped broker a 2005 settlement of the litigation that kept Cowell on American Idol for five seasons and gave him a bigger stake in the Idol franchise in exchange for keeping X Factor out of the U.S. until 2011. Fuller agreed to yank Pop Idol off the air in the U.K. (giving X Factor a big boost there), but he became entitled to a fee on X Factor and a credit on the show if it ever came to America.

Cowell honored the arrangement and left Idol in 2010, when Fox and producer Fremantle announced that X Factor would launch in fall 2011 with Cowell as its producer and star, while Idol would be rebooted without the personality that had defined it.

The explosive lawsuit is the latest and most brazen move in a yearslong chess match over the billion-dollar Idol property. Fuller created the Idol format in 2001 in the U.K. and hired Cowell, then a friend and music industry executive, as a judge. When Idol came to the U.S., a three-way partnership was formed between Fuller’s 19 Entertainment, Fox (led by reality chief Mike Darnell) and Fremantle (whose top U.S.-based exec is Cecile Frot-Coutaz). But Cowell didn’t own the show.

When Fuller sued Cowell in 2004 over X Factor, it reflected a relationship that had become strained even as the program dominated ratings around the world. “The battle between Fuller and Cowell that played out in the British courts — this was the undercurrent of everything that went on from the beginning of Idol,” a show insider told author Richard Rushfield for his recent book American Idol: The Untold Story. The lawsuit is said to have helped make Cowell determined to someday bring X Factor to the U.S., and the feuding put Fox in the awkward position of trying to keep both powerful men happy.

Now Fox is in business with both Simons, and clearly one of them is unhappy. In the lawsuit, Fuller even takes a shot at the network’s owner News Corp. and the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the company.

“Fox, and ultimately its parent company, News Corporation, have demonstrated a callous disregard for Fuller’s rights which, given recent developments, reflects a corporate culture — if not a pattern and practice — of wrongful behavior,” the complaint states.

Damages are not specified, but it’s safe to say that given the parties involved and the value of the X Factor franchise, this is a multimillion-dollar claim.

We’ve reached out to Fox for comment and will update with a response.

UPDATE: Fox and Fremantle send us this comment: “Mr. Fuller has not been hired, nor performed any duties, on the U.S. version of The X Factor. His suit seeks payment and credit as an executive producer despite his neither having been approved by the required parties, nor hired, as such. We believe this lawsuit is without merit, and we expect to prevail.”

The suit comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Idol team. Having successfully rebooted the show with Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and a positive vibe after many believed the departure of “nasty” judge Cowell would kill it, Fox has shifted its attention this summer to promoting X Factor, which took an unsubtle dig at Idol’s touchy-feely judges in a promo that debuted during Fox’s coverage of baseball’s All-Star Game.

Even as Idol was in production this spring, there were rumblings inside Hollywood that the Fuller team was unhappy because Fox and Fremantle were more interested in launching X Factor than in stewarding the Idol flagship.

Now that bitterness has become litigation.

The suit, filed by Dale Kinsella and David Swift of Santa Monica’s Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert, seeks damages for causes of action including breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, promissory estoppel and declaratory relief.

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Congratulations to Garner, North Carolina’s Scotty McCreery, winner of  American Idol Season 10.

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Tonight, America crowns its winner of American Idol Season 10.  Last night Scotty McCreey and Lauren Alaina battled it out, singing three songs each.  The judges gave the night to Lauren Alaina predicting she would win American Idol.

Stay tuned tonight to see who’s crowned the next American Idol.  My bet is Scotty McCreery.

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It’s that time already… and so quickly it has come, American Idol Season 10 Top 3 sing tonight.  Here’s hoping Scotty McCreery does Garner, NC well.

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We’ve been talking politics for awhile and I thought since Obama was on his 60th trip to the golf course we should take a break too.

Have any of you been watching American Idol this season?  First, let me be one of the first to raise his hand and I say that I had doubts about the casting of judges.  I mean who could imagine the chemistry of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson working?  I couldn’t.  To my surprise, it has.

Idol made a wise choice going back to the 3 judge format.  The 4th judge took too much time and by the time the 3rd judge offered his/her critique the 4th judge was simply repeating whatever had already been said.  I can’t imagine the show would be as good as it had been so far this season had they kept Ellen DeGeneres or Kara DioGuardi.  When know Kara was given the boot and based on Ellen’s boring performance and lack of original critique I wonder if Idol didn’t just ask Ellen to leave quietly.

After 10 seasons, ‘American Idol’ is still going strong.  In fact, Thursday’s night’s show saw an increase of 30.2% over last year- it’s most watched Thursday episode since 2007.  Idol has averaged 24.5 million viewers this season.  That’s an incredible amount of viewers for a show in its 10th season.

Paula?  Simon?  Kara?  It appears that America isn’t missing any of them as much as the pundits and I thought.

I’m enjoying this season of American Idol and despite hearing each year that, “these are the best singers we’ve ever had”, I can offer that its finally true- as a whole, these are Idol’s best singers.  Many have very unique voices.  Some have interesting stories and backgrounds.  And, they have personalities.

I have to hand it to the judges…  they did a great job in selecting some of the best talent Idol has ever had.

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Tonight the new season of American Idol begins.  This will be the first season with Simon Cowell.

I was interested to see how the new team of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson would mesh.  Surprisingly, I’ve been enjoying the trio.  They seem like a better fit than the oddly cast Ellen Degeneres.

What are your opinions?

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Rumors have it that Jennifer Lopez has decided to accept the job as a judge on American Idol.  The Latina Diva had tried for months to negotiated a contract that would have included a movie deal in addition to her request for $15 million.  Idol executives pushed back and JLo settled for $12 million and no movie deal.

Lopez, once considered one of the richest women of Latin decent in Hollywood is rumored to be having some financial difficulty brought on by the expensive lifestyle she has grown accustomed to.  With her movie and music career at a halt, JLo was left little choice, but to cave into Idol executives.

Lopez is hoping that her role as judge will help with sales of her new CD, ‘Love’ which is set to drop sometime this September.

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From WBTV.com

Former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino has been hospitalized in the Charlotte-area after police sources confirm that she attempted to commit suicide.

According to a report filed with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, officers responded on Monday at 8:43 p.m. to a suicide attempt call at a home on Bevington Place.

Police sources and sources close to the investigation say Barrino was found in the closet of the Glynmoor Lakes neighborhood home and she was taken to Mercy South Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center in Pineville.

“Last night, Fantasia was hospitalized. She took an overdose of aspirin and a sleep aid,” manager Brian Dickens said in a statement to WBTV.

“Her injuries are not life threatening. She was dehydrated and exhausted at the time. Fantasia is stable now. She will be released from the hospital soon.”

According to the police report, Barrino was hospitalized with “possible internal injuries” after “ingesting medication.” The police report was classified as “suicide/overdose.”

It isn’t clear if the overdose was intentional or accidental.

Fantasia’s overdose comes after a woman named Paula Cook filed a lawsuit in Mecklenburg County court last week against her husband Antwaun Cook.

According to court documents, Paula Cook claims Fantasia began having an affair with her husband last year and claims the pair even made a sex tape together.

Dickens says the former Idol singer is not to blame for the couple’s divorce.

“Fantasia is certain that she is not responsible for the deterioration of Cook’s marriage,” said Dickens.

“Fantasia believed Mr. Cook when he told her he was not happy in his marriage and his heart was not in it. She believed him when he told her he and Mrs. Cook separated in the late summer of 2009. She believed Mr. Cook when he told her he lived elsewhere. He even took her there. One of Mr. Cook’s most redeeming qualities was his complete devotion to his children. Fantasia fell in love with Mr. Cook and believed that he loved her.”

Dickens says Fantasia was heartbroken when she read the accusations against her in the court papers.

“Fantasia read Mrs. Cook’s Complaint against Mr. Cook for the first time yesterday. She knows some of the allegations in Mrs. Cook’s complaint are totally false. There are others she strongly doubts. There is plenty she does not know. Fantasia is heartbroken and is sorry for any pain she may have caused. “

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