During last night's American Idol episode, former judge Simon Cowell tweeted, "Maybe the winner of @TheXFactorUSA this yr should compete with winner of The Voice & Idol in a super final. Just a thought. I'd be up for it." Why would he be up for for such a thing, you might ask? Possibly because Cowell realizes his show is getting his head handed to it by the others, and he hopes to get The X Factor some attention by riding the coattails of the more successful shows. Of course, if you're the producers (or winners) of American Idol or The Voice, you know you've got absolutely nothing to gain by even acknowledging Simon's comments, much less taking them seriously. Sounds like Cowell's got bigger problems than just finding another female judge.
• Chris Sligh is one of the stars of October Baby, a coming-of-age film that deals with issues of adoption and abortion. The film, which also stars Rachel Hendrix, Jason Burkey, Jasmine Guy and John Schneider, is set to open March 23.
• Kris Allen introduced several new songs during a show at Los Angeles' The Mint last week. New tunes include Monster, Better With You, Out Alive, Teach Me How Love Goes and Vision of Love. He also did a "girl pop" medley featuring Rihanna's We Found Love, Katy Perry's Firework and Lady Gaga's Just Dance. Fans got video of all the performances.
James Durbin has received a Best Lead Vocalist nomination for Revolver's Golden Gods Awards. He'll also present at the April 11 awards show at Los Angeles' Club Nokia, which will be carried live on Xbox LIVE, as well as on the Xbox and Revolver Facebook pages. Fans can vote for James on the Golden Gods website through April 1.
• Season 8 finalist Scott MacIntyre starts performing with the Women of Faith One Day Tour Saturday in Billings, Mont. The Season 8 finalists autobiography, By Faith, Not by Sight, is scheduled for an April release.
• Bo Bice and Bucky Covington are among the acts participating in a benefit concert for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Autism Research March 13 in Nashville. Autism Speaks Presents "Autism Sings!" will feature Bo, Bucky and several other acts will perform acoustic sets at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.
Nashville-based Brian Mansfield began writing about music for USA TODAY in 1997 and took over Idol Chatter just before the start of Season 8. He co-authored Make Me a Star: Industry Insiders Reveal How to Make It in Music, and while he has never auditioned for American Idol, he did sing Boot Scootin' Boogie at Disney World's American Idol Experience the day the attraction opened (he lost). More about Brian | E-mail Brian