American Idol Winners

Jordin Sparks didn't win the sixth season of "American Idol" because she was the most consistent performer - that was pro ace Melinda Doolittle - or the showiest entertainer - hello busy beat-boxing runner-up Blake Lewis. The 17-year-old won, in part, because she lived up to her surname by applying the kind of bright-eyed "why not?" enthusiasm that only an overachieving teenager could to everything from moldy, aged melodramatic ballads to spunky contemporary rock songs. Even as she floundered through Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" she was obviously having fun and the most dial-happy viewers of "Idol" - teens likely doing a little vicarious living - rewarded her moxie. On her self-titled debut, out today, Sparks and a cast of au courant pop producers combine that sense of sparkle, striving, and her powerful pipes for an age-appropriate, uniformly pleasant release that shouldn't disappoint those voters. Unlike many of her "Ido

Full recap to come, but I gotta say... Mia Michaels' genius knows no boundaries. She is almost single-handedly responsibile for my newly discovered love of dance, by creating pieces that allow real and honest emotion to come through on the stage, in a way that is different from music or theater. I didn't know I could love her more than I already did after season 1's finale dance for Melody and Ashley, last year's park dance with Travis and Heidi, and the number she created earlier this season for Lacey and Kameron. But then she went and upped the ante. I love her. I love her. I love her. Yeah, I'm a little obsessed. Sue me. And while I'm at it, Lacey Schwimmer should win So You Think You Can Dance . She is ridiculously versatile, she can be both sexy and funny, and she has been a part of two of the season's best dances (tonight and Mia Michaels' Top 20 piece for her and Kameron). Sabra is amazing, Danny is a ridiculously gorgeous dancer, and Pasha and Sa

RALEIGH, N.C. - As its third season draws to a close, “American Idol” has taken on a distinctly Southern-fried flavor. When North Carolina’s Fantasia Barrino and Georgia’s Diana DeGarmo perform Tuesday and Wednesday in the TV talent show’s season finale, they’ll be following footsteps that have most often walked south of the Mason-Dixon line. Past winners of the Fox contest include Kelly Clarkson of Texas and Alabama’s Ruben Studdard. Last year’s runner-up, Clay Aiken, is from North Carolina. Even season one’s second-place finisher, Justin Guarini of Pennsylvania, actually grew up in Georgia. “I think it’s an honest realism,” said Latimer Alexander, mayor pro tem of Barrino’s hometown of High Point. “Their character seems to come forward. People are drawn to others who are real...You can say that’s a Southern trait.” Jerry Oberholtzer, mayor of DeGarmo’s hometown of Snellville, Ga., was born in Allentown, Pa., raised in New Jersey, and has lived in the South for 23 years. He also belie

Less than a week after kicking off his 25-city “Jukebox Tour,” Clay Aiken performed in Greenville, South Carolina. After performing an energetic review of hits from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, he concluded with a few original songs, including “When You Say You Love Me,” which was on his first album, “Measure of a Man.” As he began to sing, he stumbled, arriving at the wrong words at the wrong time. The music kept playing but Clay turned to the singers on stage with him and said, “That’s the third night in a row!” He laughed. “I don’t know the words to this song!” Then Clay pretended to sulk off stage, letting one of his back-up singers take over, but he quickly came back to give it another try. Then, in the front of the Peace Center’s auditorium, near stage left, a fan held up a sign. But she wasn’t proclaiming her love for Clay; instead, she was offering assistance. “Are those the cue cards for that song?” he asked, walking over toward her. In her hands were, in fact, homema