‘American Idol’ notes: Phillip Phillips, Ryan Seacrest, Haley Reinhart

For our Tuesday “American Idol” notes, we’re starting off with some pretty funny stories, and then later transitioning into something that is really just quite frankly cool. (Any former contestant with a residency, even a short one, makes us excited.)

Let’s kick things off here courtesy of Phillip Phillips, who appeared on “The Today Show” Tuesday morning in promotion of his new album “The World from the Side of the Moon.” The reigning champ had a little bit of fun out on the streets of New York; first, he helped to get presents for people in need from some people who showed up for the live taping of the show; and in following that up, he also gave a brief reading of the national weather report alongside Al Roker. (The video is coming to us via Mjsbigblog, and she left in a local reporter who had a pretty funny reaction to Phillip’s weatherman skills.)

Ryan Seacrest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” – Meanwhile, we are pleased to report that Seacrest still has quite the sense of humor when it comes to his life. The “American Idol” host made an appearance on Kimmel’s show Monday, which is actually a pretty rare thing for him to do on its own. We personally find the guy very captivating to listen to, so with that in mind we’ve posted all three parts of the chat below, as he talks about everything from girlfriend Julianne Hough to the upcoming season of the show and Nicki Minaj.

Finally, good news for Haley Reinhart fans – If you are still stinging from the season 10 star reportedly being dropped from her Interscope record deal, maybe this will take some of the sting off: Haley will be appearing in a three-night residency at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas from December 6 until the 8th. This is a great gig for Haley, mostly because in many ways her jazzy, bluesy sound works well in a Vegas environment more so than it would many other singers from the show.