'American Idol' sky falls for 'Chicken Little' contestant

Sixteen-year-old Kevin Covais from Levittown, N.Y., got the boot from "American Idol"Wednesday night.
Covais, nicknamed "Chicken Little" because of his resemblance to the Disney movie character, had been a favorite of some young female fans, but this time he got the fewest audience votes.
Lisa Tucker, 16, and Bucky Covington, 28, rounded out the bottom three.
Barry Manilow performed "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" to a cheering crowd and coached the contestants on their 1950s song choices this week.
"I'm a little speechless right now. ... Mandisa's set the mark,"judge Randy Jackson said after the singer's "sexy" adaptation of "I Don't Hurt Anymore," started the night off Tuesday.
Seventeen-year-old Paris Bennett, clad in a neon yellow dress, kept the heat up with her rendition of "Fever."
"You look phenomenal. You dressed the part. ... Your vocals were impeccable," judge Paula Abdul said.
As for the guys, Elliot Yamin got an "it was fantastic" out of judge Simon Cowell.
Chris Daughtry also made his mark as he took the mike for Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line."
"You are so true to who you are, and you don't ever abandon that," Abdul said.
"You refuse to compromise,"Cowell added of Daughtry's originality.
Kellie Pickler, whom Cowell called a "naughty little minx" last week, stayed true to her country roots and impressed the judges.
Cowell said, "You got this absolutely right. You know, you were back doing what you do best. ... Welcome back."
Catherine McPhee, notably quiet in the competition, came out of her cocoon Tuesday.
"I think tonight you turned into a star," Cowell said of her performance of "Come Rain or Come Shine."
Watch the remaining 10 compete next Tuesday and Wednesday on Fox.

Dialidol.com Irks American Idol

The parent company of the top-rated Fox show "American Idol" objects to a northeast Ohio man's Web site that helps fans phone in multiple votes for their favorite contestants.
A lawyer with the Los Angeles branch of London-based FremantleMedia Ltd. sent a cease-and-desist e-mail letter to the operator of dialidol.com
The Web site offers a free download that tells a computer to make repeated calls to selected hot lines set up to vote for contestants. Jim Hellriegel Jr. receives data on the number of votes cast for each contestant and uses the numbers to post predictions about who'll win - prior to the live show that reveals the results.
The Web site went public this year. Hellriegel, 30, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, about 25 miles east of Cleveland, said about 750 people have downloaded the dialing program.
A March 14 e-mail from FremantleMedia lawyer Joseph F. Scavetta accuses Hellriegel's Web site of unauthorized and unlawful use of "American Idol" intellectual property. The e-mail says the site uses the "American Idol" logo and music and allows visitors to download clips from broadcasts.

Taylor Hicks American Idol

In an entertainment universe where Botox rules and youth is the ultimate goal, the mere suggestion of a grey-haired Idol seems like a joke played on TV viewers.
But Taylor Hicks, the effusive harmonica-playing blues singer from Alabama who looks older than his 29 years, has become an unlikely focus on American Idol, the televised singing contest that has become a pop culture phenomenon.
Even tweens who are the show's target audience applaud his individuality and unwillingless to revamp his image - even if the soulful singer isn't exactly their choice among the top 12 finalists.
"It's kind of brave of him," says Oliver, a Grade 7 student at the Calgary Girls School, where all grades study and discuss the importance of being comfortable in their own skin.
"It's risky being out there with a different sort of beauty."
Oliver and her classmates were horrified by a suggestion from Idol host Ryan Seacrest that Hicks, who started going grey at 15, is facing some pressure from the show's hairstylist to change his hair colour.
"He'd be giving in - it would be like he thought he wasn't good enough," said Jennifer.
Hicks has become a hot topic online thanks to his unusual image, which is decidedly different from that of the average pop star. After all, two of the show's most successful winners - Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson - have cover-girl looks to go along with beautiful voices.
A series of Hicks fansites have popped up on the Internet, including www.greycharles.com: a nod to both his hair and his Ray Charles influenced sound. Many include debates on whether or not he should cover the grey which even Hicks says has become his "beacon" and set him apart from the other finalists.
In fact, "grey haired idol" was Yahoo!'s top-searched buzz item after one of the Idol shows earlier this month.
Hairstylist Patrick Trudeau, who clips locks at the Ginger Group, Calgary's trendiest salon, says Hicks would be crazy to cave into pressure for a makeover.
"I love the fact that he's chosen to be natural," says Trudeau, who began going grey himself at 16. "A lot of people would say he's chosen to be plain, but in today's culture, with everybody colouring their hair, for him to choose to be natural makes him more of an individual."
It's doubtful that his infectious smile or his oddly jerky dance moves will spawn a trend of young Hicksters opting against covering up the first indications of a salt-pepper look.
But his refusal to change has made Hicks easier to identify and that's a good thing in a competition, says Arlene Oak, who teaches the connection between culture and appearance in the University of Alberta's human ecology department.
"It's a way in which he stands out and that's positive in this environment," said Oak. "He's drawing attention to himself by being himself."