‘American Idol’ notes: Nicki Minaj, Phillip Phillips, Kris Allen
For our Thursday edition of “American Idol” notes, we’re starting things off with something that every news organization loves to be a part of: conspiracy theories! Of course, we are specifically talking about the ones suggesting that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey’s random feud from earlier this fall was somehow a setup in order to increase the show’s ratings and buzz leading up to its return next year.
So what does executive producer Nigel Lythgoe have to say about all of this? Basically, he is calling shenanigans on the whole thing. In a new interview with TMZ (that happened, of course, on the middle of the street), Nigel makes a pretty logical argument: why would he create a publicity stunt five months before the show came out? Personally, the part of this video (which you can see below) that we love the most is Nigel pretty much ‘fessing up and saying that it is only in his best interest to do things for ratings starting a month before the show is set to premiere.
Phillip Phillips is in the top 5 – Just for those of you looking for a brief airplay update on Phillip Phillips’ “Home,” here’s what is going on at the moment. The song has done a phenomenal job rising all the way into the top 5 on the Hot AC chart, and it could peak as high as #3 given our current estimations. Unfortunately, we have a hard time seeing it hit #1 unless it can continue its current growth rate for several more weeks.
As for the Top 40 chart, he is picking up some serious steam. In the past week, he has seem the song garner an addition 400+ spins, and is now at a new high in #23. If he makes it to the top 20, this is a huge achievement for any “American Idol” star, especially since we are not sure anyone other than Kelly Clarkson has done so in the past year.
Kris Allen rocks out – Finally, we have an awesome video of Kris Allen rocking out recently to “The Time of Your Life” while at a recent event with Little Kids Rock honoring Steven Van Zandt. Really, this just has to be more of an honor than we can put into words.