Blog: Idolator

This is it guys, the final week of American Idol . On Wednesday night, finalists Candice Glover and Kree Harrison gave it their all before America's last opportunity to vote for the next American Idol. And no matter what the outcome, a lady is walking off the stage with the title tonight. But even more exciting is the debut of this damn Carly Rae Jepsen single they've been jamming down our throats all season. The ladies sing three rounds of songs. The first is a choice made [...]

Did you hear? :: An obsessed Taylor Swift  fan was arrested after swimming to the singer's Rhode Island beach home. The man swam two miles in freezing water to meet the singer, but turned away after he saw her security team. Guess they knew he was "trouble" when he swam in? [ TMZ ] :: Not one to turn away from competition, Google has launched music streaming service of their own. Called "All Access," the service includes features like "Listen Now," which updates new releases and recently added tracks daily. Look out for [...]

A throbbing, insistent bassline. An electronic wall of sound. Semi-creepy synths. And Giorgio Moroder . No, we're not talking the new Daft Punk album, Random Access Memories , but rather a fresh song by revered Italian producer Moroder called "Racer," which just popped up online via his SoundCloud account today. Turns out the haunting dance number was written specifically for Google Chrome's new Racer game, which was demoed today during the Google I/O keynote . And the game is here, now — it can apparently be played [...]

• GiorgioMoroder - Racer (2013)

After teasing some "special news" earlier today, rapper and unintentionally hysterical person  Diddy  has announced via Twitter that he is joining the cast of the critically acclaimed ITV period drama  Downton Abbey.  Nothing about this makes sense and he was probably hacked, but if it is true, it is the greatest news in the history of entertainment. See his tweets below. MY BIG NEWS: So happy to announce that Im a series regular on DOWNTON ABBEY-my favorite show+i'll be debuting a sneak peek tonight 12am PST! [...]

It only took  Icona Pop  a year to snag a Top 10 single with their still-great-even-if-I'm-sick-o f-it-by-now party track "I Love It," and now that the Swedish twosome have earned some impressive success (and gone platinum), they're not going to squander it: They've announced a big, splashy North American tour with support (on select dates) from Sirah  and  K.Flay , hitting some major venues — a ton of festivals and a few more intimate theaters — and it kicks off at a festival in Ozark, Arizona (lots of Swedish pop fans there) on June 2 before closing in [...]

Iggy Azalea , what a trooper. The Aussie rapper dropped by our Los Angeles studio for a chit chat even though she was battling a wicked cold. (Not that you could tell in this clip — the Wilhelmina model looks as stunning as ever.) Did that stop Iggy from taking part in a round of Pop Associated ? Heck no! She simply sipped on some much-needed codeine between takes — because that's the kind of type-A gal she is. (See also: lyrics to "Work" .) Watch as the blond bombshell dishes on everyone from [...]

Diplo  is not impressed. The DJ-producer laid into  Daft Punk 's new album last night (May 14), firing off a series of tweets making fun of  Random Access Memories . The DJ-producer started off pretty innocuously, saying that the album "would probably be really good to take drugs and listen to on a rainy bridge." Soon, though, he was throwing out some cold disses like, "The song with todd edwards makes me feel like I'm alone at waffle house and the jukebox is broken and only micheal mcdonald plays out of it." Pretty harsh, but even [...]

Eurovision is in full swing, and last year's champion, the witchy-genius chanteuse  Loreen  — whose debut album  Heal   made such an impression on me that I included it on my best albums of 2012 list, so hey! — has seized the moment to release a new single of her own as she passes the torch onto a new champion. That new track, "We Got the Power," pounds in the way that her world-class single "Euphoria" did, more pummeling triumph than the gorgeously ambient moroseness that characterized much of her LP. [...]

Kelly Rowland shocked the world — not just some ex-boyfriends — with "Dirty Laundry" , the latest single from her upcoming album  Talk A Good Game .  The revealing ballad (penned by The-Dream ) finds the singer airing out her past secrets of an abusive relationship and how it affected her rocky friendship with Beyonce  ( peep the tell-all lyrics here ). It's one of those rare songs where the lyrics, and not the music, make the first impression. The media has been abuzz after the song's release, applauding Rowland's raw honesty. [...]

It’s another week and another round of  Pop Goes the World , where I bring you the coolest pop emerging from around the world — the stuff that hasn't made it to American shores yet (but hopefully will pretty soon). This week, there's a super-schlager Swedish track from an ex-girl group superstar, a likably twee  Norwegian Idol , a British neo-soul crooner who's tipped to break out big, a German synthpop act with hooks to spare and Australia's answer to  HAIM .  Get your passport ready. We're going all [...]

Ahead of the release of her debut album Don’t Look Down on July 9, Skylar Grey has teamed up with Gap's Styld.by to model some of the retailer's stylish new summer fashions , such as the above pictured laced-up boots, white top and and green-and-black-striped skirt. (Pick up the skirt here .) To give fans a taste of what's in store with Don't Look Down , Skylar unveiled her  “Final Warning” video this week, which tells the tale of a mistress whose lover attempts [...]

Backstreet Boys sat down for a Q&A with Rolling Stone  to detail their just-announced 20th anniversary tour , which they revealed will be a trip down memory lane, as they've been practicing old choreography from their biggest hits. The Boys also discussed their motive to appeal to "closet fans" with their new record , In a World Like This , and forthcoming documentary . Head below for highlights from the interview, including BSB's thoughts on their songs' new subjects and which new track reminds them of U2 . [...]

If you were getting sick of playing The Weeknd 's 20-second "John Carpenter" teaser on a loop over the past 24 hours, we've got some new material from the shadowy singer for ya! Well, "Gifted" is new French Montana , technically. But it may as well be a track from The Weeknd, because Abel Tesfaye  does the heavy lifting with his guest spot. As with his appearances on songs from Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J , Tesfaye is at the forefront [...]

If you're anything like us, then you've got Giorgio Moroder on the brain these days. And it makes total sense — after all, the Italian producer soundtracked many of our childhoods with the scores and hits he crafted for such films as Scarface , Flashdance , The NeverEnding Story and Top Gun , and now he's back in action by featuring on Daft Punk 's aptly-titled Random Access Memories track “Giorgio By Moroder,” We even heard hints of Moroder in [...]

We know what you're thinking: Daft Punk 's "Get Lucky" is just  too polished,  too  groovy. What it needs is a club-rap toad croaking over Nile Rodgers ' opening riffs. Well you're in luck! A remix featuring Pitbull  (or a really skilled impersonator) has hit the Web. As you might expect, Pitbull pounces onto the track like, well, a rabid pitbull onto a helpless toddler, with only one goal in mind: mindlessly rip the life out of this thing as quickly as possible. Pit's verse is oh so successful in that goal, [...]

Justin Timberlake will be trading his "Suit & Tie" for a pair of bell-bottoms in his upcoming film Spinning Gold .   Though he's in the midst of his music comeback, JT still has the acting bug and is making a return to the big screen as the legendary Neil Bogart , a record executive who was a driving force behind the rise of disco. According to The Hollywood Reporter , production company Foresight Unlimited has finalized a multi-territory deal with Sony Pictures who will help distribute the film. [...]

We've been extremely confused regarding the dearth of information about Beyonce 's forthcoming album during the first half of this year, but there's another blockbuster release on the way with even  fewer  details floating in the ether: Eminem 's eighth LP . Here's what we know: Em is scheduled to headline Belgium's Pukkelpop Festival in August , which would suggest new music is on the way. And there was a photo of him in the studio with Big Sean , but who knows what that was for. That's all we're working [...]

The Wanted and Avril Lavigne each performed a song on ABC's Dancing with the Stars Tuesday night (May 15). The British boy band — appearing as a foursome while Nathan Sykes recovers from throat surgery — threw a curveball by by singing "Fill a Heart," instead of new song "Walks Like Rihanna." The reason the guys did the ballad, as they explain after the performance, is because it was written to help fight child hunger in America (the group has teamed up with ConAgra for the Child [...]

Beyonce has apologized to fans for canceling a show in Belgium. The star had to postpone her concert scheduled for Tuesday night (May 14) in Antwerp after her doctor advised she rest up to stave off dehydration and exhaustion. In a letter posted to her Tumblr and Facebook page, Bey wrote, "I've never postponed a show in my life. It was very hard for me [...] I'm feeling much better now and I'm ready to give you a great show." She signed off by saying, "See you tonight," indicating she'll perform as scheduled [...]

Ke$ha 's tour is ending, but her libido has been raging since she said goodbye to Baby Spoon . And if you haven't been watching the show, I love imagining you reading that sentence with absolutely no context whatsoever. This the fourth episode in the singer's six-part MTV series, My Crazy Beautiful Life , documenting the two years Ke$ha spent on her first world tour. And it's a good thing it was well documented, because it doesn't look like her next tour is going to have nearly the same panache. [...]