Colbie Caillat
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'American Idol' alum will join Ke$ha, Tegan and Sara, festival founder Sarah McLachlan and more.By Jocelyn Vena Kelly Clarkson Photo: RCA Kelly Clarkson will soon take her pop anthems on the road as the latest artist to join the Lilith Fair. It was announced on Thursday (March 4) that Clarkson, The Bangles, The Go-Go's, Dixie Chicks' Emily Robison and Martie Maguire's side project the Courtyard Hounds, Martina McBride and Suzanne Vega will be the latest ladies hitting the road for the female-focused festival. They join previously announced acts like festival founder Sarah McLachlan as well as Ke$ha, Colbie Caillat, Tegan and Sara, Corinne Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Emmylou Harris, Metric, Jill Scott, La Roux and Loretta Lynn, to name a few. Although the name Lilith Fair conjures up visions of folk singers, pop star Ke$ha said that she's bringing her own glittery vibe to the mix with raucous pop anthems like "Tik Tok" and "Blah Blah Blah." "I think it's cool," Ke$ha told MTV News about being included on the tour. "I definitely will bring the glitter and I think I can also bring a youthful fun, like a strong woman but in just a kind of a fun way, to Lilith." So what does she think made her the perfect candidate for the tour? Her girl power, obviously. "I think I'm on Lilith because it's famous for standing for women and strong women and I'm really excited and honored to be in that group and classified as a strong female woman," she explained. "I'm really excited to be included in that its kind of a big deal. It's scary now that we're talking about it." No dates have been announced yet, but the following cities have been announced as stops on the tour: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Montreal, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C. and West Palm Beach, Florida. Related Artists Kelly Clarkson

Janell Wheeler and Crystal Bowersox have an edge, while Michelle Belamor and Paige Miles need to make up for a lack of screen time.By Eric Ditzian Janelle Wheeler Photo: FOX And now, the show finally begins. "American Idol" has bid farewell to dudes in bikinis and chicks with whips, to rocker moms and warring groups of singers caught in bad romances. This week brings the start of the semifinals, when the manufactured reality-show drama gives way to 24 singers taking their turn alone on the stage in the hope they'll live to sing another week on TV. On Tuesday night (February 23), the women kick off this next phase of "Idol" season nine. Who's sure to be voted through and who might be going home? Let's take a look at how these 12 ladies stack up. Ashley Rodriguez This 22-year-old Berklee College of Music student is perhaps the most polished of all the female contestants, from her confident presence onstage to her warm, genuine personality off it. Thus far, we've heard her belt out fierce takes on Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" and Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable." It's far too early to suggest she might follow in the "Idol"-winning footsteps of the singer she channeled during Hollywood Week, but that performance of Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" made clear Rodriguez is a serious season-nine contender. Crystal Bowersox Resist the urge to call her the female Jason Castro or this year's Megan Joy, because "Idol" has never seen someone like Bowersox, a dreadlocked single mom with a voice that's part Aretha and part Janis. One thing she'll likely have in common with those two vets, though, is that she'll stick around the competition for a long time. Katie Stevens Stevens arrived in Hollywood Week with perhaps the most recognizable face of all her fellow competitors, thanks to an audition-episode focus on how she cares for her ailing grandmother. She followed up that exposure with an impressive group performance of Alicia Keys' "No One." Stevens has vocal skills far beyond those of your average 16-year-old, and America will be rooting for her. She's not going home for a while. Janell Wheeler Wheeler counts Fleetwood Mac, Shania Twain and the Spice Girls among her biggest musical influences, and it is that odd-yet-endearing eclecticism that has made the singer someone to watch. We'll have to see whether she veers more toward her rock and soul comfort zone (as she did with "House of the Rising Sun" and Estelle's "American Boy") instead of the more poppy territory of Taylor Swift (as happened with her shaky version of "Love Story"). We have a feeling she'll make the right choice. Didi Benami Some might say Benami has milked the memory of her deceased best friend to propel her forward in the competition. Others would argue the girl's raw vocal talents are what has thrust her into the top 24. Whatever the case, America has definitely responded to her: she currently has the second most Twitter followers of anyone of the show. Haeley Vaughn From Vaughn's very first appearance onscreen, the judges have gone gaga over the musical territory the 16-year-old explores in her quest to become "the first black pop-country mainstream singer." Yet Vaughn isn't a novelty act or a one-trick pony, as made clear by her renditions of songs from both Carrie Underwood and Jason Mraz. She should sail through the next couple of weeks. Lacey Brown Brown didn't make the Hollywood Week cut last season, and while her remixed version of "Over the Rainbow" at the Orlando audition was one of that city's most memorable, she hasn't had nearly as much camera time as some of the other women. High on the quirk factor and with a rooster-like red 'do, though, she's a tough one to forget, and shouldn't have a problem sticking around. Katelyn Epperly After a series of middling Hollywood performances, Epperly found her groove with Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly," which followed up on the promise of her Chicago rendition of Duffy's "Syrup and Honey." If Epperly can tone down on the heavy-handed references to her parents' divorce and ramp up that connection to the words she's singing, she just might surprise a few folks by staying in the competition for more than a few episodes. Lilly Scott Is her hair see-through blonde? Gray? Who cares. The sandwich artist-turned-jazz impresario's voice communicates an old-world soulfulness and her goofy personality should make viewers smile. But will they vote for her? And will she still have that gray/blond hair after the "Idol" stylists have their way with her? Siobhan Magnus It was certainly a surprise when the 19-year-old Massachusetts native — criticized early and often for singing like a woman four times her age — made the top 24. Magnus apparently had impressed the judges during her final performance when she ditched the party dress and delivered a suitably youthful take on Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City." It's gonna take more than a jean jacket and a Ramones patch, though, to keep it up. Michelle Delamor Who? Of all the top 12 women, Delamor might have received the least exposure thus far. And that lack of name recognition shows: She's currently the second least-followed "Idol" contestant on Twitter. Can she overcome that handicap? If people are talking about her tomorrow, we'll know that she has. If there's Web silence about Delamor, it might be the end of the road for her. Paige Miles The same can be said for Miles. "Idol" producers didn't even show any of her final performances before they sent her through to the top 24. Miles needs to deliver a water cooler-worthy turn onstage if she expects to keep her "Idol" dream alive. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos The 'American Idol' Season 9 Top 24

Jamie Foxx, cast of 'Jersey Shore' and more stars will chat with Leno during his first few weeks back hosting 'The Tonight Show.'By Jocelyn Vena Kristen Stewart Photo: Stephen Lovekin/ Getty Images "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" is set to make its return on March 1 and some of the biggest stars in Hollywood will be stopping by as Leno begins his second tenure as the host of the late-night program. Jamie Foxx, Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn and Brad Paisley will be the show's first guests on Monday. Sarah Palin, Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White, the cast of "Jersey Shore," Chelsea Handler, Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, Avril Lavigne, Matthew McConaughey, Jason Reitman, Morgan Freeman and Meredith Vieira round out the guest list for Leno's first week back. Week two sees everyone from Simon Cowell to Kristen Stewart stopping by to chat, with other second-week guests including "Inglourious Basterds" star Christoph Waltz, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kim Kardashian, Colbie Caillat, Dakota Fanning and Judd Apatow. After the cancelation of his 10 p.m. show, Leno took the "Tonight Show" seat back from Conan O'Brien in a move that had many fans and celebrities speaking out against NBC, including Sarah Silverman and "Southland" star Ben McKenzie. "I had a show; my show got canceled," Leno told Oprah Winfrey on her show last month. "They weren't happy with the other guy's show. They said, 'We want you to go back.' I said, 'OK.' And this seemed to make a lot of people really upset. And I go, 'Well, who wouldn't take that job, though? Who wouldn't do that?' And it was really agonizing. And I would spend a lot of time just thinking about it, going, 'I think I'm a good guy. Am I not a good guy?' Maybe I'm just one of those guys who thinks I see everything with the rose-color glasses and the world is falling around you."

The rest of the semifinalists will be revealed on Wednesday's show.By Eric Ditzian Michael Lynche on "American Idol" Tuesday Photo: Fox Tens of thousands of potential "American Idol" winners became 181 Hollywood Week hopefuls who were then considered, criticized and often condemned until 71 singers gained passage to the next round at Los Angeles' Kodak Theatre. Tuesday night's (February 16) show saw that number winnowed once again as the first crooners of the top 24 were announced by Simon Cowell and his fellow "Idol" judges. Early notable contestants Casey James (he of the shirtless Denver audition), Michael "Big Mike" Lynche (the hulking guy who skipped the birth of his child in favor of a stay at Hollywood Week) and Didi Benami (who sang Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" in memory of her deceased best friend) all made the top 24. Joining them are dancer-turned-singer Todrick Hall, curly-haired Duffy-ite Katelyn Epperly, high-schooler Aaron Kelly and singer-songwriter Lee Dewyze. The fates of early favorites like 17-year-old Katie Stevens (tipped by Kara DioGuardi as a possible champ), Andrew Garcia (the acoustic impressario of "Straight Up" renown) and Crystal Bowersox (she of the blonde dreads and the soulful growl) were left up in the air until Wednesday's show, when the rest of the top 24 will be announced. With the reality-show circus of the audition rounds and the manufactured drama of group day behind us, one could not be faulted in thinking Tuesday's episode would focus, finally, on the music. Yet the show oddly skipped over nearly the entire round of tunes — as contestants sang for the first time with a backing band — in favor of 10- or 15-second flashes of a chosen few contestants. The result was an overall disjointed viewing experience, denying us true insight into everyone's performances and leaving us frustratingly detached from the tension of the elimination. For all the actual music "Idol" producers aired, the show rightfully should have lasted as long as a network sitcom rather than the two-hour snoozefest Fox offered up as entertainment. What little we did see veered from the enticing to the forgettable. Casey James did his cowboy-cool singer-songwriter thing with a cover of Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" and 19-year-old Siobhan Magnus came out of her shell of shyness during a lively version of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City." Crystal Bowersox hauled out the harmonica for a powerful take on Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy." Coming off his funky rejiggering of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up," Andrew Garcia stuck with the female artists as he busted out Adele's "Chasing Pavements" competently, if considerably less memorably. Meanwhile Alex Lambert flubbed a ukulele-driven channeling — a la Jason Castro — of Jason Mraz, and both Jermaine Sellers and Thaddeus Johnson found themselves struggling to stay on the same page with the band. Mom-rocker Mary Powers' rendition of Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold" had Simon saying, by way of the most backhanded of compliments, "I think she's interesting because she's old." As all this action zipped by at a frenzied pace, the contestants bided their time in one of three holding rooms and the judges traded photos of them in an attempt to cull their choices. One of the rooms, we were teased all episode, would be eliminated. To begin, judges visited room one, which housed Casey James, Lilly Scott, Katie Stevens and Siobhan Magnus. After a not particularly convincing bit of you-might-be-going-home misdirection, Ellen DeGeneres announced, "Ya'll are going through!" Room two was not as lucky — when it was Simon's turn to deliver the verdict, he told singers like Mary Powers, Charity Vance and Hope Johnson, "It's bad news. You haven't made it." The judges then popped over to room three to let those contestants — among them Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez and Shelby Dressel — that they were still in the running for the coveted top 24. "It's really hard to tell you this, but you guys are going to stay," DioGuardi said. At the end of this round of elimination, 46 contestants were left sweating it out. They wouldn't have another chance to flex their vocal cords — rather, the judges gathered onstage at the Kodak to call each singer one by one for a face-to-face elimination round. The question of why the show had to have two rounds of elimination on Tuesday — stretching the show to two hours instead of one — should hardly need to be answered after nine seasons of "Idol." In all, seven of the top 24 singers were announced. While Big Mike was called onstage first and made the cut, reports indicate he has in fact been booted from the competition after his father was said to have broken the show's confidentiality agreement. Didi Benami and Kaitlin Epperly, the second and third contestants brought in front of the judges, became the first and second women to make it through to the top 24. Casey James sauntered up in a paisley button-down and bounded away a fist-pumping, Kara-hugging member of the semifinalists. Sixteen-year-old shy guy Aaron Kelly battled through ups and downs during Hollywood Week but ended the night on a high note. Lee Dewyze, accused by Simon of having no charisma, nonetheless convinced the judges he had the confidence to go far this season. Only two singers were sent home: Shelby Dressel (who suffers from partial paralyzation of her face) and two-time Hollywood Week bootee Jessica Furney. The remaining 17 contenders in the top 24 will be revealed on Wednesday. "The drama continues tomorrow night," as Ryan Seacrest put it at show's end, just before the screen flashed to an image of a closed bathroom stall behind which a heartbroken contestant had fled to bawl his eyes out. Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
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