'Idol' Finalist Locke Signs With Curb
Kimberley Locke, who finished in third place behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken on the second season of "American Idol," has been signed to Curb Records. "I was pulling for her to win," Mike Curb, chairman of the Curb Group, tells Billboard.com. "When she didn't, I thought she's the one I wish I had [on my label], then I didn't think any more about it."
When Curb learned through Bryan Stewart of his A&R department that Locke was available to sign, he flew to Memphis to see her in concert with the "American Idols Live" show and offered her a contract on the spot. The deal was finalized on Saturday [Sept. 6].
"On 'American Idol' we watched her sing everything from Neil Sedaka's 'Where the Boys Are' to Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" to 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' to 'Over the Rainbow,'" said Curb. "She put her own stamp on these classic songs. She's a true pop artist who can sing in all genres."
Locke, 25, will begin recording her debut album for Curb Monday in her hometown of Nashville. Her first meeting with Curb and Stewart was captured on video in Memphis and will be seen in a Fox TV special featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the "American Idols Live" tour. The special will be telecast on Sept. 24.
In other "American Idol" news, RCA Records has confirmed that "Invisible" will be the follow-up to Clay Aiken's platinum single, "This Is the Night" / "Bridge Over Troubled Water." There will be no commercial single, but a promo single is going to radio and the song will be included on Aiken's self-titled debut album, scheduled for release on Oct. 14.
Singer/songwriter Warren Zevon dies
Warren Zevon, who struggled with terminal cancer while finishing his latest album, The Wind, died Sunday in his sleep at his home in West Hollywood, Calif., a spokesman said.
Zevon was 56.
He was the author of such wry tunes as Werewolves of London and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
His illness, diagnosed a year ago, resonated in the lyrics of his new album. He beseeched in the fragile Please Stay, "Will you stay with me to the end?"
Zevon succumbed to mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer usually linked to asbestos.
Housebound because of his illness, Zevon finished The Wind by recording his last session at his home. He lived long enough to see his daughter Ariel give birth to twin boys in June.
OLD FRIENDS
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel scheduling a "special" press conference Tuesday in New York City. Speculation is that they will announce a reunion tour, their first in more than a decade.
'Dickie Roberts' Takes Over Box Office
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The band of grown-up kiddie actors in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" beat back the bloodthirsty bat-creature of "Jeepers Creepers 2" at the weekend box office.
"Dickie Roberts," a comedy starring David Spade as a down-on-his-luck former child star, debuted at No. 1 with $7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film appealed to family audiences, according to distributor Paramount Pictures, because it lacked gross-out gags and had an uplifting story about reclaiming the former star's lost childhood.
Still, it earned less in its opening weekend than Spade's trailer-trash comedy "Joe Dirt," which debuted in April 2001 with $8 million.
"He was more successful (co-starring) with the late Chris Farley," said Brandon Gray, proprietor of movie tracker BoxOfficeMojo.com. "I mean $7 million in this day and age is a pretty mediocre opening at best, but they can brag about being No. 1 and it could have been a lot worse."
Last week's top film, "Jeepers Creepers 2," about a flying beast that feeds on a group of stranded teenagers, was nudged into second place, earning $6.7 million for the weekend.
The movie offerings generally attracted little interest, however, following the end of summer and the start to school for many children. Overall ticket sales of $50.4 million were down more than 14 percent from last year, when "Swimfan" topped the box office.
"It was a pretty typical post-Labor Day weekend: nothing spectacular, nothing too terrible," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.
He said the $7 million collected by "Dickie Roberts" doesn't compare to the $40 million to $70 million debuts of summer blockbusters, pointing out that this kicks off the downtime between summer extravaganzas and the next popular moviegoing season, the holiday weeks full of would-be Oscar-contenders.
"The Order," a supernatural thriller starring Heath Ledger as a priest searching for a man who absorbs the sins of other people, debuted weakly in sixth place with $4.3 million. The film was the subject of squabbling between its makers and studio and was dumped into theaters without screening for critics.
Meanwhile, "American Wedding" became the 20th film released in 2003 to cross the $100 million mark.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" saw its cumulative total surge to $282.1 million, edging "The Matrix Reloaded" for the second-highest grossing film of the year. "Finding Nemo" is No. 1 with $333.9 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," $7 million.
2. "Jeepers Creepers 2," $6.7 million.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," $5.5 million.
4. "Freaky Friday," $5.1 million.
5. "S.W.A.T.," $4.6 million.
6. "The Order," $4.3 million.
7. "Open Range," $4 million.
8. "Seabiscuit," $3.7 million.
9. "Freddy vs. Jason," $3.2 million.
10. "Uptown Girls," $2.4 million.