The dawn of the new year means we’re that much closer to the start of the new season of American Idol on ABC.
It also means a lot of our Idol alum are getting involved in new things, from new music and tours to other new projects. To get you up to speed on your favorite artists, we have your rundown of all things Idol to kick the year off.
New Music
This past month was a busy one for our Idol winners. Season 11’s Phillip Phillips released his first album since his split with Idol‘s label, 19 Entertainment, entitled Collateral. The singer has described the album as deeper and more emotional and a demonstration of how much he’s grown since the last album. Phillips also plans on touring North America for the new few months. The Idol winner also returned to the small screen when he sang the National Anthem at the AFC Championship game and played a bad guy on CBS’s Hawaii 5-0.
David Cook’s new album “Chromance” out Feb. 16. [Credit: Analog Heart Music]
Other Idol winners, including Season 7’s David Cook, Season 9’s Lee DeWyze, and Season 10’s Scotty McCreery have all been busy with albums and tours of their own. Cook’s EP Chromance and DeWyze’s LP Paranoia both drop on Feb. 16. Cook and DeWyze are also busy touring the country. Both albums are also available for pre-order, so fans can hear a couple songs before the official release. McCreery’s album Seasons Change, featuring his hit single “Five More Minutes,” will be out March 16 with an album release show planned in NYC on Jan. 19. Even Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks teased at new music on her Instagram recently.
Other Idol alum have also been busy making music. Season 14’s Rayvon Owen released his new single “Gold,” the follow-up to his ground-breaking coming out anthem “Can’t Fight It” almost two years ago. Season 10’s Casey Abrams also announced that he was working on a new album and planning a tour, on top of continuing to work with Post Modern Jukebox, who have also teamed up with Season 4’s Constantine Maroulis for their tour. In music video news, Season 7’s David Archuleta and Season 5’s Mandisa both released new music videos for this songs “Seasons” and “Bleed the Same” respectively.
Other News
Another Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has been busy in her own right, between presenting on the Golden Globes with ex-Idol judge Keith Urban and meeting her own person idol Meryl Streep, to getting nominated for a Grammy Award in Best Solo Pop Performance for her new single “Love So Soft,” to filming her stint as a coach on Season 14 of NBC’s The Voice.
After her own residency on The Voice, the multi-talented Jennifer Hudson is at it again, announcing that she will be playing the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic about the singer’s life.
Lee DeWyze’s album “Paranoia” is out Feb. 16. [Credit: Shanachie Ent. Corp.]
Season 4 Winner Carrie Underwood has had a tougher few months. After announcing to fans that she had taken a nasty fall that required 40 stitches to her face and injured her wrist, Underwood also released a triumphant anthem entitled “Champion” with rapper Ludacris for this year’s Super Bowl. We’re wishing her a speedy recovery!
Speaking of football, Season 5 Runner-up Katharine McPhee has been cast as a judge on Most Valuable Performer, a CBS series where football players will showcase their other talents including, the likes of singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and even dog tricks. Sounds like a lot of fun! Also from Season 5 is Kellie Pickler whose talk show Pickler & Ben, hosted by her and Emmy winner Ben Aaron, and produced by country superstar Faith Hill, was renewed for a second season!
The third All-Stars season of RuPaul’s Drag Race on Logo and VH1 will also featuring some familiar Idol faces including Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert and Season 9 semi-finalist Todrick Hall. With their talent and personalities, it’s sure to be a riot!
The filming of Idol’s new season is also in full swing, with Hollywood Week taking place this past week and the official Idol twitter and judges posting plenty of pictures to tide fans over. The judges and others involved in the show also participated in a panel at the Television Critics Association Press Tour. There they confirmed Idol will air four hours a week — two on Sunday and two on Monday — for the first seven weeks, and then once a week starting April 23, with no results shows. The season would be the shortest ever and would compete head-to-head with NBC’s The Voice in trying to find the music industry’s next big star. It definitely sounds like the competition is going to be fierce!
Are you hyped for Idol‘s new season now that we know more details? Are there any Idol tours you’re planning on attending or music you’re jamming to? Let us know in the comments below!
The Hudsucker 
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