Mariah Carey
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

If there's one thing "American Idol" fans should expect from the show's sixth season, it's familiar faces, both in the early audition episodes and later in the finals.

When the series premieres Tuesday (January 16), the usual hodgepodge of good and bad singers and the judging drama that goes along with them should take up a fair share of the airtime. But there'll also be something the show hasn't seen a lot of in the past: repeat contestants and the even more intense judging drama that goes along with them.

"There's kids who've tried three times already, and they've worked hard and lost weight and hired a music coach and still don't make it," said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, chief executive officer of FremantleMedia North America Inc., which produces "Idol." "There's a few you'll remember. There's a couple who come back and do make it, which is nice. Then you have the others who don't make it and don't want to take no for an answer, either. They're begging and pleading and saying, 'You don't know how much this means to me.' It's a lot of great, sad, heart-wrenching stories — very genuine actually."

Once the wannabe "Idols" are narrowed down to the coveted final 12 (on March 8), the familiar faces will arrive in the form of celebrity guests, who will be more recognizable than in previous seasons. Think more Elton Johns and Rod Stewarts, less Paul Ankas and Verdine Whites.

"We have some really exciting names coming up and that's really where we're focusing our efforts, getting greater and bigger stars to come on the show and work with the kids," Frot-Coutaz said.

No one's naming names yet, but the long-gestating Paul McCartney rumors are more rampant than ever — perhaps that's the big mid-season stunt Frot-Coutaz has teased? — and Randy Jackson has been tempted to tap into his much-hyped Rolodex, beginning with Mariah Carey.

"We've tossed it around a bit," said Jackson, who oversaw Carey's touring band last year (see "Mariah's Summer Adventure: No 'Rolling Crib,' But Makeovers For The 'Classics' "). "I think she'd be great because I think still, for me, she and Whitney [Houston] and Celine [Dion] are those three big, great divas -- some of the better singers of our time. I mentioned it to her. ... She's definitely open to it, so we'll see what happens."

Frot-Coutaz also mentioned she'd like to book a few former finalists. "You have to fit with the themes, but we like to have people back from the season before," she said. "Chris, Katharine, Taylor. It's a great way to tie it in and show the [current] contestants what these people are like a year later."

Chris Daughtry's "Home" is also in contention to replace Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" as the show's unofficial elimination song, although producers are also looking at a number from Will Young, the original "Pop Idol" winner in England. "We're trying to keep it in the family," Frot-Coutaz said.

As for what else to expect in season six, as always, the contestants seem to be influenced by the previous season, with even a few gray-haired Southern gentlemen turning up in hopes to repeat Taylor Hicks' success.

"There was more rock guys because of Chris Daughtry and there were a couple of more Taylor Hicks kind of guys that were kind of in the middle somewhere," Jackson said. "I think fortunately for us every year, the show gets more validation because people see that there's great people that have won and gone on to great careers. So we get a lot more talented people every year."

Although the show traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, this season for tryouts (home of Hicks, Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice and Diana DeGarmo), Jackson predicted the winner will come from somewhere else. He wasn't, however, about to predict a male or female victor, as he's done in the past.

"Simon and I have been saying it's more like season one — I think it's going to be somebody that really grows during the competition," Jackson said. "There are a bunch of standouts, but what we've seen over the years is that you see these people audition in their audition city and they're great. Then they come to Hollywood week and they're not so great and the tension just gets worse and worse and worse as the season goes on. So it's who can really stand in there and take it and show up every week and be amazing."

On the other side of the judging table, Frot-Coutaz said Simon Cowell is as grumpy as ever and Paula Abdul is becoming more critical (especially during the Seattle tryouts, which have been dubbed "the disaster in Seattle"). "Every year she goes a little more towards the dark side," Frot-Coutaz said of the usually affable Abdul.

As for Jackson, well, expect more signature Randy. "I'm going to wear more yellow and lime green in honor of Gnarls Barkley," Jackson said. And he's serious, dawg.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• Mariah Carey
• Paul McCartney
• Daniel Powter
• Taylor Hicks
• Daughtry

Daniel Powter
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

Do you want to strangle little James Blunt when you hear "You're Beautiful"? Are you, like, totally over Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten"? Does Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" make yours worse?   If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, then you are certainly not tuning in to your local adult-contemporary radio station.

While those songs are cringe-inducing reminders of way back when we feared the bird flu (and the Steelers!) for the typical top-40 fan, they're current hits on the AC radio format, where "current" is a relative term.

"Unwritten" is the #1 single on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks this week, and it's been on the chart 34 weeks. "Bad Day" is #3 after 43 weeks, followed by KT Tunstall's "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree" (25 weeks). "You're Beautiful," at #10, has spent 63 weeks on the chart, topped only by the #9 single, Lifehouse's "You and Me," with 70 weeks. (Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You," Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" and Rob Thomas' "Ever the Same" are also in the top 10.)

In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life. "Right now I'm starting to look at this Gnarls Barkley record, 'Crazy,' " said Gary Berkowitz, a radio consultant who specializes in the adult-contemporary format. "Pop-radio people are probably sick of it, but to my wife, it's a new song."

For the record, "Crazy" hit the Hot 100 25 weeks ago. "I used to pride myself on picking the hits," Berkowitz said. "Now, I don't do that. I play the hits."

Since the adult-contemporary format was created in the mid '70s to appease advertisers frustrated by the teen-targeted top 40, it's always been a chameleon format, playing what 25- to 54-year-olds would like from a variety of genres.

AC peaked in the mid '90s with Sarah McLachlan and the Lilith Fair acts, but as Berkowitz noted, "The format [has] never been known for making its own hits. As I always say, AC listeners know what they like and they like what they know. Familiarity and comfort-ability is really important in this format, and what we've discovered is new music is not that important to our listeners."

Still, other factors have influenced the staleness of the format in recent years, beginning with the decline of the boy bands at the end of the '90s. While Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC crossed over, providing AC with dozens of hits, today "pop radio is all about hip-hop and R&B, or hard rock, and none of that is compatible," Berkowitz said.

Clarkson and Lachey are exceptions, but otherwise, there's little competition for adult-leaning acts like Rob Thomas and Lifehouse. "Over the last six years, I don't even know if we've added 10 new records a year in the format," Berkowitz said.

"There's definitely a lack of product being released into adult contemporary," added Steve Hunter, operations manager for several stations in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including the AC format Mix 96. "I do wish the songs would move a little faster, but I also think the record companies sometimes don't release the right singles. I mean 'Bad Day' wasn't supposed to be released and look what happened to that record," he said, referring to the song that shot to popularity after it got its shot on "American Idol" (see " 'Bad Day' Singer Powter Says He Doesn't Watch 'American Idol' "). "Michael McDonald's 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' was released for that format and did well, but there are very few records that are released directly for adult-contemporary radio."

So why don't more record labels go after what seems to be airplay for the taking? Well, apparently a loyal AC listener doesn't translate into a loyal fan. "Let's put it this way," answered Roy Trakin, senior editor at radio trade magazine Hits. "It's a song-based format, it ain't a personality-based format. There's no guarantee that the next James Blunt or Daniel Powter single is going to go on right away. Probably half the people don't even know who the artists are when they're listening. They just know the song, and the songs are fairly indelible."

"A lot of the artists playing on adult contemporary radio right now are one-hit wonders and it's unfortunate," Hunter added. "They're not really building that bond. I don't know if our listeners are going out and buying the album or if they're downloading the single. My guess is that they're downloading the single, but they're not making that connection. Where in country, Toby Keith is going to put out another hit record, and one right after that."

Playlists are getting tighter in all formats, however, and Trakin believes that's just a sign of the times. "No one wants to take a chance on putting new stuff out there," he said. "Programmers feel hamstrung, so they find something that's successful and they beat [you] over the head [with it]. The stakes are that much higher because you have more choices. People will click away in a second. That's the Internet mentality."

AC programmers also back their low turnover with market research, which includes testing for "burnout," the industry term for overplayed. At Mix 96, for instance, the station tested 100 songs and "You're Beautiful" was the most popular.

"We spend a lot of money on research," Hunter said. "And we tested the Fray and Snow Patrol, but it takes so long for those songs to test well. We find out what the listener wants and we give it to them. It's not the music director's favorite songs or the disc jockey's favorite songs."

For artists, there is a silver lining to the AC format, according to Berkowitz: "If your song does make it in AC radio, it's probably going to be there forever."

• Gnarls Barkley
• Kelly Clarkson
• Rob Thomas
• Natasha Bedingfield
• James Blunt

"Idol" personalities Simon Cowell, Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson
Photo: George Lange/ FOX

The owners and creators of "American Idol" are being sued by a fan who says the show stole his idea for a Web game based on the singing competition. Adam Pick claims in a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court that he invented an interactive fantasy game called "Idol Go Home," in which people could reverse the voting process by picking who should get booted instead of who should win. "It's fantasy football with a reality-TV twist," Pick said of the game, which would let users post blogs and photos as well. But after pitching the idea and giving "Idol" a prototype of the site, Pick claims show representatives said they weren't interested, but that Pick could launch his own site. Once he did so, Pick says, "Idol" demanded that he shut down the site, while at the same time, according to his lawsuit, "Idol" modified its site to incorporate Pick's ideas. Pick is seeking monetary damages and an injunction restraining the show from using his idea. Fox had no comment. ...

Prince will be presented with lifetime-achievement honors at the 10th annual Webby Awards, set for June 12 in New York. One of the first artists to release a Web-only album (1997's Crystal Ball), Prince is being recognized for his innovative use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with fans. "Besides being a musical genius, Prince is a visionary who recognized early on that the Web would completely change how we experience music," Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain said. Previously announced special-achievement honorees include Gorillaz and the founders of MySpace. ...

Hilary Duff's dog Lola now has her very own blog, hosted in the fan-club-only section of the singer/actress' official site, HilaryDuff.com. And what does the pampered pet of a pop star have to say? So far the Chihuahua has posted her endorsement of a dog-care book written by the owner of a Maltese pal. ... Black Eyed Peas are starring as superheroes who spend their days making candy and their nights defending hip-hop in a series of digital films — a.k.a. online commercials — promoting Snickers. The "digi-sodes" launch Monday on InstantDef.com. ...

When AFI's new album, Decemberunderground, hits stores Tuesday, the most devoted fans might want to pick up four copies. The band has placed one of four different collectible booklets behind the disc's cover insert, each featuring the face of a group member. The limited-edition booklets will be available exclusively in the album's first pressing. ... Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty have donated $200,000 to the Consortium for Worker Education, a resettlement agency aiding music education in Gulf Coast high schools affected by Hurricane Katrina, The Associated Press reports. Thomas will also raise money for the fund during his current tour with Jewel, which hits Portsmouth, Virginia, on Wednesday (May 31). Music instruction in school will "groom generations of musicians who are so vital to rebuilding New Orleans, its infrastructure and its culture," Thomas said in a statement. ... Now that he's through sending off ousted "American Idol" contestants, Daniel Powter is hitting the road. The "Bad Day" singer will launch a U.S. tour beginning July 17 at Philadelphia's Theatre of the Living Arts. The trek wraps up with a two-night stand at West Hollywood's Roxy Theater on August 4 and 5. ...

Foo Fighters have added two more dates to their upcoming acoustic jaunt, which the band has nicknamed its "Afoostic" tour. But that's become something of a misnomer, now that the Foos have announced that one of the just-announced shows will be performed electric. That performance will be held August 18 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, while the band will play a proper stripped-down set August 15 at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. ... Tegan and Sara will release their first DVD, "It's Not Fun. Don't Do It!," August 8. Content includes a full concert shot at the Phoenix in Toronto, a tour documentary filmed by the twin sisters, the making of 2004's So Jealous and all the duo's videos. ...

A National Guardsman who lost his right arm near the shoulder and left arm above the wrist in Iraq filed suit Friday in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, against filmmaker Michael Moore for allegedly including him in "Fahrenheit 9/11" without his permission, claiming defamation and invasion of privacy. Sergeant Peter Damon, who was injured in October 2003, was featured in a 10-second clip in Moore's documentary that depicted him awaiting surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. But those 10 seconds of footage were from an interview with NBC News' Brian Williams, and Damon claims that he was never asked, nor did he consent, for the interview to be used elsewhere. Damon says he disagrees politically with Moore and that the interview made it appear as if he were complaining about the war effort instead of talking about the pain he felt when he lost his arms. (Moore has denied any intention to demean the service of U.S. troops through the film.) Damon's seeking $100 million and also named Harvey and Robert Weinstein, Miramax, Lionsgate and NBC in the suit. The Weinsteins, NBC and Lionsgate had no comment. ...

Former Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros frontman Perry Farrell will deliver the keynote address at the upcoming CMJ Rock Hall Music Fest, to be held June 14 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Farrell's DJ alter ego, Peretz, will man the ones and twos along with Mike Boogie and Prince Paul during the festival's opening-night shindig. ... Original Black Flag singer Keith Morris and onetime Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke joined L.A. punks the Bronx onstage for the last show of the band's monthlong residency at Los Angeles' Spaceland Monday night. Clarke produced the Bronx's 2003 self-titled debut. ...

Third Eye Blind's hits have been compiled for a CD/DVD set aptly titled Third Eye Blind: A Collection. The 19-track CD includes "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's It Gonna Be" and "Jumper," along with B-sides and bonus tracks. The DVD features all seven of Third Eye Blind's videos as well as two clips for the previously unreleased "Losing a Whole Year." ... Canadian indie rock veterans Sloan are lining up festival dates in the U.S. and Canada, but they don't plan to kick off a full-fledged tour until the fall. According to a post on the band's Web site, Sloan continue to work on their next album, which is due in September. But fans won't have to wait that long to hear something fresh from the foursome. "Look to criticize the new single in July," the update notes.

05.30.2006

The African nation of Namibia offered Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt the privacy they sought for the birth of their child, and now the couple are giving back. Jolie and Pitt, who welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt in Namibia on Saturday, donated $300,000 toward the medical treatment of new babies in the country's hospitals and gave $15,000 for a school and community center in the town of Swakopmund, The Associated Press reports. "We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to us at this time," the couple said in a statement. ...

Cingular Wireless announced Friday that more than 64.5 million text-message votes were cast throughout the fifth season of "American Idol." That smashes last season's record of 41.5 million. ... The Raconteurs are playing in-stores at Amoeba Music in Hollywood and San Francisco on the same day: June 8. The L.A. show is scheduled for 11 a.m., followed by the San Fran set at 9:30 p.m. ... Still aren't convinced Beck's about to issue his third LP in two years? A post that appeared on Beck.com late last week further confirmed the hard-to-believe accomplishment: "Beck has just completed his new album, which he's been in the studio working on with Nigel Godrich," the post read, referencing the producer who worked on 2005's Guero and 2002's Sea Change. "The album is due out this fall." ...

It turns out Korn haven't decided to axe guitarist Rob Patterson after all. Patterson, who had previously played with Otep, was recruited last year to fill in for Brian "Head" Welch as Korn's touring guitarist. But last week, during the European leg of the band's See You on the Other Side tour, fans noticed Patterson — who plays offstage during Korn shows — had been replaced by Fear Factory guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers. According to the band's management, that lineup was only temporary. "Korn played three shows with their longtime friend Christian to start the tour in Europe, but Patterson is now back at that position." ...

Snow Patrol were forced to postpone a pair of shows — Monday night in Atlanta and Wednesday in Washington, D.C. — in order to give frontman Gary Lightbody's voice a rest. Lightbody made the announcement on the band's site, SnowPatrol.com, writing, "My voice is in pieces. ... When we began the Eyes Open tour in February, I was told by my doctor a few days beforehand that I had laryngitis and it would be best if I took a week off to recover. I told him I didn't have a week, as we had shows pretty much every day." He added that he's seeing a specialist in New York and that the band will make up the postponed shows in mid-August. It's not known if Lightbody's ailment will also force Snow Patrol to bump their upcoming gigs in New York and Philadelphia. ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a cheat planned for their "Cheated Hearts" video: make someone else do the work. The band is looking for a few good fans to take their best shot at Karen O for the next clip from Show Your Bones. According to the announcement posted on the band's site, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are seeking video submissions from people who "dress the part" and "get lost in the song" against a white wall with the track blaring in the background. Entries must be submitted on DV, postmarked by June 12 and include a signed release form. Head to YeahYeahYeahs.com/cheatedhearts for additional tips and a copy of the release. ...

James Blunt, who won the most performed song of the year prize at Thursday's Ivor Novello Awards, called it the "Most Overplayed Song" award while accepting the trophy, and now one radio station is doing its part to keep the former British army officer off the airwaves. Essex FM, an adult-contemporary station serving the eastern English county, has banned Blunt's music, citing listener demand. "We don't have anything against James Blunt," program director Chris Cotton said in a statement on the station's Web site. "We're pleased he's been so successful, but we really need a break. While his songs have been very popular, there is a tremendous amount of industry pressure to play certain artists very frequently. Often this can be out of step with the audience's tastes, which results in songs being overplayed." ...

Actor Paul Gleason, best known for his portrayals of Clarence Beeks in "Trading Places," Deputy Police Chief Dwayne Robinson in "Die Hard," and hard-as-nails Principal Richard Vernon ("Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns") in the teen-comedy classic "The Breakfast Club," died Saturday in a California hospital. He was 67. The AP reports that Gleason died of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer linked to asbestos. Gleason appeared in more than 60 films and later in his career made several notable television appearances in TV shows including "Friends" and "Seinfeld." He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a granddaughter. ...

The Rollins Band will team up with Los Angeles punk legends X for the 18-date As the World Burns Tour, which kicks off July 28 in San Francisco and runs through an August 19 stop in Boston. ... Helmet's forthcoming album, Monochrome, has been slated for a July 18 release and will hit stores as the band travels the country on this summer's Warped Tour. The disc, the follow-up to 2004's Size Matters, will feature 10 new tracks including "Swallowing Everything," "410 and Goodbye" and "Money Shot." ... Sleepy Brown, Washington, D.C., duo Panacea and Waco, Texas' the Strange Fruit Project have joined previously announced headliner Big Daddy Kane and Chicago's Lupe Fiasco and Rhymefest on the lineup of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, set for June 24 in New York's Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, located between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. For more information and to register for tickets to the free show, head to the fest's site, BrooklynBodega.com. ...

Gary Glitter is due in a Vietnam court June 15 to appeal his child-molestation conviction, Reuters reports. Glitter's lawyer said the one-day hearing to appeal the singer's three-year sentence will take place at Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City. Glitter has been incarcerated in the resort town of Vung Tau since March. ... Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are no more. In a Friday post on their Web site — titled "Gorky's Zygotic Mynci RIP (Rock in Peace)" — the Welsh band, which formed in 1990, announced that it's splitting up. "Richard, Megan, Euros and Pete would like to thank everyone who came to the gigs and bought the records over the years," the statement read. ...

• 'American Idol' Season Five Final 12

• Prince
• Hilary Duff
• Black Eyed Peas
• AFI
• Rob Thomas

Daniel Powter
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

While Daniel Powter's hit "Bad Day" is the song "American Idol" contestants hear just after being eliminated, his next single could work just before Ryan Seacrest reads the results. It's called "Lie to Me."

"The lyric is [about] when you talk to people and they say, 'Just tell me what I want to hear,' " Powter explained. "You know, 'I'll tell you what you want to hear, but it's not gonna be true.' It's the story of my whole life. Don't give me the bad news, man, just tell me what I want to hear."

Powter has released different second singles in other countries already, but he likes "Lie to Me" for the United States because it's so different from "Bad Day" (see " 'Bad Day' Singer Powter Says He Doesn't Watch 'American Idol' ").

" 'Lie to Me' is more groove-oriented and I sing it falsetto," Powter said. "I grew up listening to a lot of Motown music, Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Stevie Wonder. That shows you how old I am. All the stuff in my house is vinyl. And 'Lie to Me' was one of those songs that was inspired by the backbeat, the accenting on the tune. I'm not trying to mimic or emulate Motown, but it's sort of shaped a lot of my sensibilities about songwriting."

In the U.K., Powter found success with "Free Loop," and in France, where he first debuted, his "Bad Day" follow-up was "Jimmy Gets High," a song he hopes to eventually release Stateside.

"I might have to battle some of the governing laws here to allow people to get high on the radio, but we'll see what happens," he joked. "As we get a little deeper into the record, it's gonna get more important to release the more important songs to me that I can just relate to, like 'Jimmy Gets High' and all those songs that I really did write about my friends."

Powter's in no rush to push aside "Bad Day," which just dropped to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after five weeks at the top, but he wants a new single in time for a headlining North American tour scheduled in August.

"I want to do the small rooms, which is really my thing," he said. "I don't want to blow it out and do something like the opening stadium act show. I did that in Europe and had a hard time with it. Up onstage in front of 80,000 people, a whole lot of people who didn't know who I was, it was a drag and I didn't want to do that here. I love being able to see the whites of people's eyes, try to connect with them a little bit. So if that means I have to take more tour support and play smaller rooms, then I'll do that. I don't care about people paying to see me, I just want them to come and see it. I'll pay them to come to the show."

Fans probably shouldn't count on that, but they certainly can expect to be made a part of Powter's show. At a recent club gig in Bakersfield, for instance, when a fan yelled out that he could play "Free Loop" (which had yet to be released at the time), Powter invited him onstage to prove it.

"That's how I grew up playing music, man," Powter said. "My mom was this great piano player and it was all about community music. It was all about your friends coming over and she'd hand every one of them an instrument. We would all sit around and it was like 'Kumbaya' in Daniel's living room. So when I get up onstage, the first thing I am doing is incorporating the audience into the show."

Powter, who has already been touring the world for 18 months behind his self-titled debut, isn't sure how long the fall trek will last, but he's hoping at least into 2007.

"I am gonna work this record in America until they tell me to shut up," he said. "For me, it's not about having a hit song. It's about playing music for people. I think all of us musicians are always looking for that. We want that connectivity with people because we weren't getting it somewhere. We are narcissist buggers."

• Daniel Powter

Daniel Powter
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

Daniel Powter would like to thank "American Idol" for using his single "Bad Day" as the soundtrack to their eliminated-contestant montages each week, surely bolstering its current three-week reign as the #1 song in the country.

Someday he might even return the favor and watch it.

"I grew up doing these things called the Kiwanis Music Festival, and I used to go up there and get adjudicated by playing violin and I'd get booed off the stage by these judges," Powter said. "So there's a little bit of irony in that. And I don't watch it. I think it would kind of break my heart to watch these kids. I'm one of these wimpy, sensitive guys.

"I mean, no I'm not," he laughed. "F---in' get rid of them. Get them off the stage! They suck!"

Wimpy or not, Powter is arguably one of the hottest singers in the world at the moment. "Bad Day" has been a smash for more than a year overseas, where he's already on his second or third single (depending on the market). And last week in his home country, he won Best New Artist at Canada's version of the Grammys, the Junos.

"They just did a ['Bad Day'] parody on 'Saturday Night Live,' " Vancouver-born Powter said last week. "That's when you know you've actually arrived."

All the more interesting is that Powter never expected any sort of success, which is part of the reason he believes he's receiving it.

"I got signed more or less after we made the record, so I think if I had that in the beginning, I probably would've sang about my rims," explained the singer, whose piano pop and falsetto voice have earned him comparisons to Elton John. "Instead it was the exact opposite. I'm singing about Styrofoam in certain songs. ... I'm singing about stuff that you probably wouldn't put on a record if you thought you were supposed to go out and sell a lot of them. It's kind of been a blessing in a way, though, because it's me."

Powter, who recorded the album with producers Jeff Dawson and Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow), wrote "Bad Day" after the melody came in his head and remained there for two weeks.

"It was driving me nuts, so I laid it down," he recalled. "I was looking for a lyric — and I thought it probably would've been the cheesiest song of all time if I'd written it really up and poppy — so I decided to make it have more of a negative connotation to it. So it's sort of like a conflict. You've got a melody going one way, which is very up, and the lyric is supposed to be a little bit more of making fun of you, sort of like a tease. The whole record's kind of like that. It's that combination of a darker element with a melody."

The lyrics loosely refer to Powter's days as a struggling musician, making $20 last a week, although there's no one bad day that inspired him.

	'Idol' Season Five Performances
	Photos Of The 12 Finalists

"I think everybody knows what it's like to be thrown in the f---ing garbage can," he said. "But mostly it's about phonics. It's about words that sing great, and bad day was one of those. I was mumbling something, and those words came out right in that part."

With "Bad Day" on wax, Powter was able to score a record deal, and through use of the song in a Coca-Cola commercial overseas, he quickly found an audience. In France, he broke a 20-year-old chart record.

With that momentum, he turned his focus to America, which in many ways was the inspiration for the album.

"I grew up with American music," he said. "And when I wrote the record, I was so inspired by this music that that's the stuff that came out of me. This is stuff that was on my radio every day."

Powter had no idea his label had licensed "Bad Day" to "Idol" but happily says, "I'll take it, man."

If he has any fears of one-hit-wonderdom with the song and its "Idol" connection, Powter hides them well. "I'm gonna get past that," he said. "I got past this song in other countries already."

And Powter's already being proactive on turning the success of the song into a career. When his label pushed him to do a radio promotion tour, he agreed only if he could play small clubs in each city on those nights.

"It was one of those things that I will never forget," Powter said. "It's more important than Billboard magazine, I will tell you that much. I got to meet people and play music for 300 people who would show up to these intimate little gigs. And they would ask me questions, and I would ask them questions, and it was beautiful. That will be forevermore the most inspiring tour I ever did."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• Daniel Powter

LL Cool J
Photo: Jason Campbell

Ladies may love James Todd Smith — better known, of course, as hip-hop icon-turned-actor LL Cool J. But apparently not enough of those ladies ventured into record stores last week to pick up a copy of LL's 11th studio LP, Todd Smith. Instead, it was Rascal Flatts' adoring fanbase — female or otherwise — that stepped up to the proverbial plate for a second straight week, ringing up another 345,000 copies of the country trio's latest offering, Me & My Gang, to keep the Flatts on top of the next Billboard albums chart.

According to the latest SoundScan totals, those Rascals have surpassed the 1 million copies sold mark, making Me & My Gang 2006's year's sole release to break that barrier within two weeks. Last week, the disc opened at #1 with nearly 722,000 scans, which earned it the distinction of being the year's healthiest week-one sales performer. And that's all great news for Rascal Flatts. For LL, on the other hand, it's not so good.

With Todd Smith selling just 116,000 copies its first week out, J finds himself debuting at the chart's #6 opening — despite the album's inclusion of guests such as Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Teairra Marí, 112, Ginuwine, Freeway, Mary Mary and Juelz Santana. It's not LL's finest opening; 2000's G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith: The Greatest of All Time bowed at #1 with 209,000 scans, and 2002's 10 debuted at #2 with sales of 154,000 plus. The most recent of his previous outings, 2004's The DEFinition, opened as Billboard's #4 entrant, selling more than 173,000 copies.

This week's #2 spot belongs to another of country music's most beloved artists: Toby Keith. His White Trash With Money is the week's highest-charting debut, with sales nearing 330,000. Right behind Toby is the 21st chapter in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which features hits from artists including Mariah Carey, the Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy. That album scored week-two sales of 293,000 and change, slipping one spot to #3.

The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" holds the chart's #4 opening, with yet another 256,000 copies flying off store shelves — pushing total sales of the album past the 1.5 million sold mark during the disc's 14th week in stores. T.I.'s King drops two spots this week to #5, with 136,000 scans, while Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: Reflected, slides two to #7, racking up an additional 116,000 copies sold. Pink's fourth studio outing, I'm Not Dead, slips two to #8, selling close to 90,000 copies.

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Canadian songwriter Daniel Powter's self-titled debut lands in the #9 slot, with week-one sales reported at little more than 89,000. Never heard of Powter? Well, his hit single "Bad Day" has become the exit theme for booted contestants on this season's "American Idol," so his top-10 debut comes as little surprise. James Blunt's Back to Bedlam follows at #10, with 83,000 scans.

There were a number of other noteworthy newcomers to the chart in what was a strong week for retail in general. Queen's Stone Cold Classics collection bows at #45 with 27,000 copies sold (The band also had an "Idol" connection, with their songs serving as the theme for last week's performances). In at #46 (selling just 77 fewer copies than Queen) is The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2, a 92-track box set featuring reissues of the Beatles' 1965 American releases The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help!, and Rubber Soul. The third album from Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry, 15, checks in at #48 with 26,000 scans.

Cam'ron Presents DukeDaGod - Dipset: The Movement Moves On, which features selections from Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Hell Rell and the rest of the Dipset clique, opens at #53 with 23,000 units sold. MTV2 Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge, a metal-heavy compilation featuring Mudvayne, Korn, Slipknot, Opeth, Lacuna Coil and a host of others, debuts at #60 with 21,000 scans. Built to Spill's You in Reverse follows at #63, selling 19,000 copies, while Saves the Day's Sound the Alarm bows at #67 with more than 18,000 scans. The Eagles of Death Metal's second LP, Death by Sexy, owns the #113 slot with 11,000 scans, and rockers Calexico open at #156 slot, selling almost 8,000 copies of their latest, Garden Ruin.

• LL Cool J
• Rascal Flatts
• Daniel Powter
• Toby Keith
• Cam'ron

MTV.com LIVE: Daniel Powter 03.08.2006

• Daniel Powter