Happy Birthday, Aaron Kelly!

Season 9 finalist Aaron Kelly turned 18 on April 2^nd! It was a big birthday for Aaron-he got his driver's license!

Aaron's fans, The Twangers, put together a cute video wishing their Idol a very happy 18^th birthday. Aaron is currently in third place out of 14 on J-14.com's Rising Star Awards (Season 8 American Idol Kris Allen came in first!).

It's amazing to think that Aaron's Idol journey started when he won the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios and advanced to the front of the audition Season 9 audition line in Orlando. The teen made it all the way to fifth place when he was eliminated during Frank Sinatra Week. On the Idols LIVE! 2010 Tour, Aaron took on country hits by his idol, Rascal Flatts, as well as Keith Urban and Marc Cohen.

Currently, Aaron is working on his debut album in Nashville. He has shows coming up May 22^nd in Bloomsburg, PA and four shows in Nashville from June 8 - 10.

Happy 18^th Birthday, Aaron!

Aaron grew up before our eyes on the Idol stage. View photos of his transformation.

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

Anthony Fedorov Opens Up About His Experience in Japan

Last month, Season 4's Anthony Fedorov was in Tokyo, Japan starring as Joseph in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Unfortunately, he was there when the devastating earthquake rocked the nation. In this exclusive interview, Anthony had only great things to say about Japan and its people.

Now that Anthony is back in the United States and better rested, he has reflected back on his time in Japan. "I've been able to put everything into perspective," Anthony said. "You see how small you actually are against Mother Nature. It was a pretty crazy experience to go through. It was my first earthquake. When we felt it we were in the theater watching a matinee of the Japanese production of Beauty and the Beast. The audience began to chatter amongst themselves, and the Japanese are so polite and respectful during performances so we knew something was wrong. We were sitting right under the balcony-I was with two of my cast mates-and during "Be Our Guest" the theater started to shake. It was pretty nerve-wracking. We went outside and waited for 20 minutes but there were aftershocks which prevented the show from continuing. We then found out our show was canceled for the evening, and eventually it was cancelled going forward. There was damage to the roof of our theater and it was unsafe for the audience. This was the first performance of Joseph in Tokyo, so it was a bit of a historical run, although it turned out to be a short run. The show was in English but there were ... read more

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader

Carrie Underwood and Steven Tyler's Performance and News

The 46^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards happened last night in Las Vegas. There were many show highlights, but everyone is buzzing around the water cooler about one very special duet. American Idol judge Steven Tyler joined American Idol champion Carrie Underwood on the award show stage for a duet of Carrie Underwood's "Undo It" and Steven Tyler's "Walk This Way." The duo had a blast with the up-beat songs, and Carrie nailed the fast-paced lyrics of the Aerosmith song. The Checotah, OK native even added some sparkly scarves to her microphone, much like Steven typically does.

Steven Tyler and Aerosmith will release a new album entitled, Tough Love: Best of the Ballads, on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. The album features 12 popular singles from their 30-year-plus career.

Carrie is in the middle of many diverse projects these days. She will appear on Randy Travis' upcoming duets album, Anniversary Celebration, which will be released on June 7, 2011. The album celebrates the 25th anniversary of Travis' country-music career.The two collaborated a couple years ago on the song "I Told You So," and it earned them the 2009 Grammy Award for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals." View photos of their duet on a Season 8 Idol results show.

Also, Carrie announced she is working on a duet called "Remember Me" ... read more

Source: "American Idol 10 Live Feed" via Glen in Google Reader