Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth, Kristin Chenoweth is taking the long way home. The Tony Award-winning singer and actress announced Wednesday that she’ll kick off her first ever concert tour on May 9 in Seattle and it will end June 24 in Broken Arrow, Okla., the town she grew up in.

“I’ve sung all over the place but I’ve never committed to a tour because of my schedule,” said the petite beauty with the powerful pipes. “So now I’m finally doing it.”

Chenoweth’s 19-city North America tour will hit Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Toronto, New York, Nashville and Atlanta, among other cities. In her hometown, the main 1,500-seat stage at the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center will be renamed in her honour.

“For me, it will be very emotional,” she said.

Mark Frie, the arts centre’s executive director, said Broken Arrow has been looking for a way to honour Chenoweth since the facility opened its doors three years ago. “We’re excited to welcome her home,” he said.

On tour, Chenoweth said she’ll perform songs from her latest country-inspired album “Some Lessons Learned,” as well tunes from the TV show “Glee” and ones from her Broadway shows like “Popular” from “Wicked.”

“If I don’t do ‘Popular,’ I will go out on a stretcher. I know that,” she said, laughing. “I’ve accepted it, and you know what? I’m thankful for it. I’m glad that I have songs that I’m known for.”

While she wants to keep the list fluid, other tunes likely to make the cut include “Glitter and Be Gay,” ”The Girl in 14G” and “Taylor the Latte Boy.” But Chenoweth will also sing opera and offer audiences a few surprises, too.

“I’ll do a little of everything that I’m known for and also stuff I’m not,” she said.

Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth, The biggest names in country music and Hollywood stars alike are bringing their best fashion to the 2nd annual American Country Awards. On Monday, December 5, the likes of Carrie Underwood and Kristin Chenoweth hit the red carpet rolled out outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Carrie, who is nominated for Artist of the Year: Female and Single of the Year: Female among others, showed off a flirty look by donning a light pink, strapless mini dress. Pairing the outfit with heels and white teardrop-shaped earrings, she put her hair in a loose bun and sported gray smoky eyes.

Kristin, meanwhile, opted to go with a number that shows a lot of skin. The “Glee” guest star, who happens to be Trace Adkins’ co-host for the night, stepped on the red carpet wearing a green gown with a plunging V-neck that almost reaches her navel and a thigh-high slit on the right side.

Miranda Lambert also stole the attention with her revealing dress. The “Baggage Claim” singer, who set her hair in big curls, rocked a black and gold, low cut gown that flaunts a lot of cleavage. She was joined on the red carpet by fellow Pistol Annies members, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley.

American Idol Orlando Auditions

American Idol Orlando Auditions:Kristin Chenoweth is the guest judge, which means that this episode is going to be awesome. Okay, perhaps that’s overstating it a bit — it is the audition rounds after all, but it’s surely going to be just a bit sunnier. I’m really looking forward to this one, especially since Chicago had such a disappointing turnout (I mean, really… 13 Golden Tickets out of 12,000? Seriously?).

Orlando doesn’t disappoint, and actually ends up getting 31 people to Hollywood. However, Kristin is only there, for the first day, so I feel a little ripped off. If I have to deal with Avril Lavigne at some point, shouldn’t I get at least two days of Kristin Chenoweth? Come on!

Auditions Day 1

Before we get to the contestants, is it just me, or do you love the fact that Ryan, Randy and Simon all took a little vacation together in Miami, and rolled into the auditions all tired and obviously hung over? Because I think it’s hilarious.

When we see see people like Theo Glinton, I get confused, because I wonder if they’ve ever seen the show before. Adam Lambert, who has been openly gay in his life for years, didn’t actually “come out” until after the competition ended, many believe, because that’s the way Idol producers wanted it. Does he really think that the Princess Sparkles act is going to fly with Simon (who has a very low tolerance for B.S.) or the conservative producers? Anyway, he sings Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker,” and it’s very loud, and all on one level, if that makes sense. He starts up and just stays up. Simon proves my theory right when he tells Theo, “when you walked in like that, I mentally said ‘no.'” The other judges agree with him. Theo isn’t going to Hollywood.

Seth Rollins’ inspirational story actually gets to me, because it involves cute kids (my weakness). I’m a new mom myself, so when his son starts crying about how he wants to go in [to the audition] with daddy, I just about melt into a pile of goo. He’s singing “Someone to Watch Over Me,” which is one of my favorite songs, so all in all, I really want to like this guy. Luckily, he’s really good. He’s actually pretty captivating to watch. I look forward to seeing what he’s capable of. He gets our first unanimous “yes,” and I almost die again when he’s running around with his kids. Interestingly, someone with him has a sign that says, “third time’s a charm.” Does that mean he auditioned twice before? I wonder what happened those other two times, if that’s the case.

Next up, we have someone who has definitely auditioned before, Jermaine Purifoy. He’s singing Tony Bennett’s version of “Smile.” I love this song, and he does a really nice job with it. It’s a perfect song choice, as he has the type of personality, that as cheesy as it sounds, makes you want to smile as you’re listening to him. Randy actually says he’s the best that he’s heard all audition season, so naturally, he gets a unanimous “yes.”

Shelby Dressel’s 7th intracranial nerve wasn’t developed, so she can’t completely use the right side of her face. It’s obviously been a source of insecurity for her, so it’s interesting to see how this will go for her. She’s singing “Turn Me On” by Norah Jones, and it’s not the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, but she’s pretty good. Unfortunately, she totally forgets the words halfway through. However, she does it in such a charming way, that it actually makes the judges like her more. She gets four “yeses.”

Auditions Day 2

Kristin is gone. Sadness!

Jay Stone is up first, and he’s singing “Come Together,” by the Beatles. He beat-boxes, and he’s actually very talented, but remember how we talked earlier about Simon’s very low tolerance for B.S.? Yeah, this isn’t going to please him. Kara enjoys it and says “yes,” immediately. Jay actually starts singing, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and he’s really good. They should totally let this guy though. I like him a lot. At least he’s not going to bore me to death.

Janell Wheeler sings “House of the Rising Sun,” by The Animals, and it starts out rough, but gets surprisingly good. Brittany Starr James is similarly good, Kasi Beford sings “Something To Talk About,” and is decent, but didn’t blow me away. They all make it through to Hollywood.

Cornelius Edwards sings “Proud Mary,” although he calls it “Rollin’,” and drops down and does the splits so violently, that his pants get a rip down them that’s at least a foot long. The whole thing is horrifying. The judges give him 3 “yeses,” not because he’s that great, but because they’re so shocked.

Next up, we have a pair of sisters. Bernadette Desimone goes first, and she’s actually pretty good. She’s got a sexy, bluesy thing going on, and she sings, “Hit the Road, Jack.” Amanda Desimone isn’t as good, but is still decent. I’d like to see them both go through to Hollywood — they’ll be pretty entertaining. They don’t exactly get a unanimous decision, but they’re both going to Hollywood, nevertheless.

Jarrod Norrell believes that he’s a great singer. He sings “Amazing Grace,” because he’s “gotta give it up to God.” You guys, if you haven’t figured it out by now, he is not great. God is all, “no, really dude. I’m good. You do not, in fact, need to give it up to me.” He sounds painful — like singing this song is literally causing him pain. Kara lets him down as gently as she can, but he’s not accepting it. He cannot believe that they didn’t offer him a record deal on the spot. He keeps singing, despite their protests. Security escorts him out, and things just go downhill from there — he actually ends up in handcuffs. That’s awkward.

Matt Lawrence had a nice life, but he apparently was an idiot when he was younger. Case in point: he robbed a bank with a BB gun when he was 15. As a result, he spent four birthdays in prison. Now he’s auditioning because he wants to make his family proud. I almost hope he’s going to be terrible, because that would be hilarious. He’s singing “Trouble,” by Ray Lamontagne. I like him. He’s got a lot of natural talent, but would definitely benefit from some training. It’s pretty obvious that he’s going to go through to Hollywood, and he gets “the easiest yes” that Simon has said that day, and that gets him the last Golden Ticket.

In all, there are 31 Golden Tickets are given out in Orlando, which is much better than Chicago. What did you think about this batch of contestants?