American Idol Winners

Former "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood performed at the Mullins Center last night as part of her first headlining tour. She focused on most of the songs from her newest album, "Carnival Ride," along with some older fan favorites from 2005's "Some Hearts." The three years since her "American Idol" win have transformed the Oklahoma native into a completely different performer. Her stage presence has evolved, focusing more on pumping up the crowd than on showcasing her vocal talents. Underwood started off shakily with the first track off her new CD, "Flat on the Floor." She rose out of the stage from underneath, which made for an exciting entrance, but the vocals through her first few songs were mediocre as she began her set. Following the first five songs, she changed into a floor-length blue dress and transitioned into Grammy award-winning song "Jesus Take the Wheel." The song was one of her earliest singles and the

Kellie Pickler gained infamy for her dim-witted charm on Season 5 of American Idol , and has since gone on to some success in the country music field. She had a memorable return to the show that launched her career last year, facing off against Ryan Seacrest who wondered if she'd picked up a new pair of ... oh, anything with the money she'd made since leaving the show. Now, she's offering sage advice through People magazine, to this year's crop of Idol -wannabes. I'm sorry, but there's plenty of people I'd gladly take advice from, but "Pick Pickler" is hardly one of them. I still can't decide if the bumpkin idiocy is a farce, in which case she's brilliant, or real. If it's real then ... wow! Pickler's words of wisdom are pretty much the same that anyone would give about celebrity or success. Hell, lottery winners go through the same problems she mentions. "It's not necessarily you that changes but it's the people aro

On Tuesday night's 900th seventh "American Idol" audition episode of the season, Ryan Seacrest brought the gang back to his hometown, Atlanta. There was talent, there were tears, there were Ryan's parents. (If Dennis Kucinich became a televangelist, he'd look exactly like Papa Seacrest.) And of course, there were awards to be given. Giddy-up... The Scooter Girl Prize for Proof That We Shouldn't See More "Good" Singers in These Audition Episodes : Joshua Jones For a couple of seasons, die-hard "Idol" fans (myself included) have been begging for less William Hung and more Paris Bennett in the audition episodes. But after seeing glass worker Josh Jones score a golden ticket, I think I speak for many when I say, "We were wrong." Aside from the fact that the dude had to sing with his back to the judges so as not to distract them with his crazy "demonic" eyes, his Queen audition sounded a tiny bit too Tiny Tim for my taste.