This year, three former American Idol contestants have been nominated for Grammys. They are:

Adam Lambert - nominated for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for “Whataya Want From Me.” Two of his producers have also been nominated for their work on Lambert’s songs.

Fantasia - her song “Bittersweet” earned her the nomination for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance (Solo) and Best R&B Song (goes to the songwriter). Her album, Back To Me, is nominated for Best R&B Album.

Carrie Underwood - she makes a return appearance (she’s won once already), this time nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song “Temporary Home.”

You can watch the 2011 Grammy Awards when they air on February 13th on CBS. To see the full list of Grammy nominees, go to Grammy.com.

Lopez and Tyler are replacing show creater Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, as well as the recently departed Kara DioGuardi and Ellen Degeneres, all of whom have left for varying reasons.

The TV ratings for the show have been in slow decline the last couple of years, so the execs were looking to shake things up in the wake of these departures and hopefully recapture a younger audience. With this in mind, the choice of J-Lo (age 41) and Aerosmith frontman Tyler (62) is somewhat puzzling. Neither one of them screams “tweener,” but maybe Fox knows something we don’t. Time with tell.

At the moment, the American Idols Live 2010 tour has finished up its 40-city mega run and auditions for the tenth season with a 3-judge panel (Randy Jackson returns as the sole survivor of the original lineup) are set to begin shortly. In the immortal words of host Ryan Seacrest, “This is ‘American Idol.’”

In a recent interview with the New York Post, he said he would make a pretty good judge, “I’m very judgmental of the guys in the band.  I know when to say, ‘Don’t bore us - get to the chorus!’ and I think I’d bring credibility to that forum if I was asked to do it.”

As for Jennifer Lopez grabbing the other vacant spot, it has been said that she will not be joining the show due to contractual obligations.  The media has already hit the ground running, gossiping that Shania Twain is next in line.

It seems that FOX network’s ambiguity is only fueling the fire.  With only a month to go until auditions, the cat will be let out of the bag soon enough!

Barrino’s manager, Brian Dickens, told USMagazine.com that her injuries “are not life threatening.”

“Fantasia is stable now. She will be released from the hospital soon.” Dickens said. “Fantasia is a fighter and a survivor. This is not the hardest thing Fantasia has endured. Fantasia will be stronger, smarter, and better for it. Her work has always inspired her and served as a source of strength.”

USMagazine.com also reported that a North Carolina police report classified the injury as an attempted suicide, which may have come as a result of rumored sex tapes that featured Barrino and a married man, Antwaun Cook. The tapes caused Cook’s wife, Paula Cook, to file for divorce.

Dickens explained that the two had been dating “…on and off for about eleven months. Fantasia believed Mr. Cook when he told her he was not happy in his marriage and his heart was not in it… Fantasia fell in love with Mr. Cook and believed that he loved her.”

Despite all the drama surrounding the former American Idol winner, her next album Back to Me is still scheduled for release on Aug. 24.

In other news, the most recent group of American Idol finalists–Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Crystal Bowersox, Didi Benami, Katie Stevens, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Tim Urban and Lee DeWyze–have concerts scheduled throughout the end of August. (All five September dates have been canceled.)

Here’s your chance to see them as a group one last time, get your American Idols Live tickets today!

Replacing DioGuardi will be Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. He and multitalented actress Jennifer Lopez have finalized deals to join Randy Jackson for the show’s upcoming 10th season. The trio will be the judges for the show premiering in January. Auditions are being currently held.

Simon Cowell will also be leaving the show, after being on the show for all 9 seasons. He quit to focus on a new series called The X Factor.

Her official statement, “A couple of months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me… I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next.  It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.  I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings.  I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had.  I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

Executives and Producers of both American Idol and FOX are said to see Ellen go and respect her decision.  Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller summed it up nicely, “I loved Ellen’s passion for the artists and her nurturing skills… She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly.”

With two judges down, the show has quite the challenge to get ready for the January start of the 10th season.  Maybe this will prove to be the face-lift the show is in desperate need of.

Keep checking back for more American Idol news.

I sat down just as Katie Stevens finished up “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera. One of the things I liked most about the show was that none of the songs were very obscure. In other words, everyone in the audience was able to sing along.

Preceding intermission, the first six performers (contestants 5-10) came back on stage and sang Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb.” I think the song was a very good description of their journeys to make it on the show and into the top ten. All of the singers did a fantastic job even though the temperature stayed in the 90’s the entire time.

Crystal Bowersox struck me especially as a very talented performer. In one song, she played the guitar and the harmonica at the same time. You could tell she had far more potential than just as a singer. Lee DeWyze was also amazing. He sang “Hallelujah” as one of his songs and did a very beautiful job.

The finales of the show were “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi and “My Life Would Suck Without You” by Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the first season of the popular television show. Loud applause followed what was an amazing night.

According to Pollstar.com, concert ticket sales dropped 17 percent for the top 100 North American tours during the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.

Luckily, American Idols Live tickets are still available for 39 concerts, down from the 46 that were originally scheduled for this year. In addition to the decrease in tour dates, they’ve also moved a few dates around, like Bridgeport, Conn., Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

The canceled concerts include Omaha, Portland, Kansas City, Maine, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Hopefully the folks planning the tour are through with the chopping block. Until next time…

Crystal Bowersox, 24, of Elliston, OH, admits to never having stage fright and believes that separating herself from the competition lies simply with being herself.  For her, “Success ain’t about the money, it’s about doing what you love,” taking a quote from an artist that inspires her, Melissa Etheridge.

Lee DeWyze, 24, of Mount Prospect, IL, strives to always live in the moment.  To stay focused and battle stage fright, Lee practices.  He also shares Crystal’s view that being yourself is the means to differentiate yourself from the competition.  But that’s not the only thing they share in common- this season the top 2 contestants have never had any formal singing training!

The season finale will air in two parts.  Tuesday, May 25 will feature Crystal and Lee battling it out on the Idol stage for one last time.  Wednesday, May 26 the winner will be revealed in a 2-hour special results show!  Tune in to find out the winner of American Idol Season 9!

Keep checking back for more American Idol news. And note: American Idols Live tickets are already available for the tour this summer!  Check out all your favorite top 10 contestants live.

Top performer of the night, Casey Jones had his best performance to date singing his version of “Don’t.”  Lee Dewyze recovered strongly after a little hesitation with his rendition of “You’re Still The One.”  Michael Lynche gave his most confident performance to date with the ballad, “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing.” 

For the first time in many weeks, Crystal Bowersox was not one of the judges favorites. Although vocally stunning as usual, they criticized that “No One Needs To Know” lacked conviction.  Aaron Kelly was back in the zone performing “You’ve Got A Way,” pleasing all the judges.  Finally, Siobhan Magnus stepped away from playing it safe and had some fun with a brassy version of “Any Man Of Mine.” 

Fans eagerly await tonight’s results to see who is still in the running. Keep checking back for more American Idol news.