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“American Idol” Season 7 winner David Cook has released a snazzy lyric video for his new single “Laying Me Low.” The former Tulsan invited his fans to participate in a contest to create the official lyric video, and the winner was Entry #21 by Olivia Brown.

“American Idol” contender Jessica Sanchez is joining the all-star lineup for PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert airing at 7 tonight on OETA. Sanchez will perform “God Bless America” at the annual tribute honoring the service and sacrifice of all our men and women in uniform, their families at home and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

“American Idol” Season 7 winner David Cook released today a new single “Laying Me Low,” at iTunes and other digital retailers. The former Tulsan will return to the “Idol” stage Thursday to perform the single. The reality show airs at 7 p.m.

Oklahoma country music superstar Blake Shelton seemed to do it all Sunday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards. He cracked bawdy jokes with co-host Luke Bryan, whom he later congratulated and comforted when Bryan was overwhelmed with emotion after winning the entertainer of the year.

“The one and only Carrie Underwood” – as Ryan Seacrest called her – triumphantly returned to “American Idol” Thursday night. After a video flashback to her “Idol” days, the Checotah native, looking gorgeous in a coral-color gown, belted her new single, “See You Again.” “See You Again,” as described by Billboard as “truly a taste of heaven,” was written by the 2005 “American Idol” victor along with Hillary Lindsey and David Hodges.

Pop-rock band OneRepublic, lead by Tulsa native Ryan Tedder, and “American Idol” Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee performed a duet of the band’s new single “If I Lose Myself” last week on “American Idol.” “If I Lose Myself” is off OneRepublic’s new album “Native,” also released last week.

As previously reported, Oklahoma country music superstar Carrie Underwood, who recently celebrated her 17th No. 1 song, will perform her new single “See You Again” tonight on “American Idol.” “See You Again,” as described by Billboard as “truly a taste of heaven,” was written by the 2005 “American Idol” victor along with Hillary Lindsey and David Hodges.

Oklahoma City Concerts & Shows on wimgo Four-time Grammy Award winner and “American Idol” judge Keith Urban is firing up for his “Light The Fuse Tour 2013” with Little Big Town and special guest Dustin Lynch. As previously reported, the tour will feature two Oklahoma stops: The tour will include a show in Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Oct.

Fresh from international stops across the Atlantic, Checotah native and Academy of Country Music double-nominee Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away Tour” has returned to play a string of sold-out arenas in North America to rave reviews. All 22 tour dates performed so far this year have been sell-outs, including Buffalo, N.Y.’s First Niagara Center, Hamilton, Ontario’s Copps Coliseum, Spokane, Wash.’s Spokane Arena, and Fresnom Calif.’s SaveMart Center, each with sold-out crowds of over 10,000 attendees.

Oklahoma country music superstar Carrie Underwood’s latest single “Two Black Cadillacs” drove straight to the No. 1 spot last week on the Mediabase country airplay charts, giving the Checotah native her 17th No. 1 single and her eighth No. 1 as a songwriter, according to a news release.

Oklahoma country music superstar Carrie Underwood, who recently celebrated her 17th No. 1 song, will perform her new single “See You Again” next Thursday, April 4 on “American Idol.” “See You Again,” as described by Billboard as “truly a taste of heaven,” was written by the 2005 “American Idol” victor along with Hillary Lindsey and David Hodges.

Flamboyant belter Zoanette Johnson, 20, of Tulsa, has been eliminated from the Season 12 competition as “American Idol” revealed its top 10 Thursday night. As previously reported, Johnson started her “Idol” run when she auditioned in Oklahoma City last summer. A native of the African nation of Liberia, Johnson made the top 20 cut last week when she gave her strongest “Idol” performance to date, belting out “Circle of Life” from the 1994 animated film “The Lion King.” But the Oklahoman failed to impress the judges this week with her big and energetic but uneven and imprecise performance of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” posted below.

Ernie Fields Jr., the music contractor for “American Idol,” “The Voice,” and “The X Factor”; and his sister Carmen Fields, an acclaimed journalist in the Boston area, have donated items from their famous father Ernie Fields Sr., and some of their own work, to the planned Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.

Tulsa resident Zoanette Johnson wowed the judges and the audience Wednesday night on “American Idol” and made it through to the top 20 on the reality TV show. As previously reported, Johnson started her “Idol” run when she auditioned in Oklahoma City last summer.

When ventriloquist Halie Hilburn, a 2008 Oklahoma Christian University graduate from Texas, returned to Oklahoma City to try out for “American Idol,” she initially got lots of giggles from the judges for her yodeling and for her canine puppet pal Oscar.

Tulsan Zoanette Johnson is among the “American Idol” Top 40 semifinalists who will be heading to Las Vegas to perform on the stage of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles “LOVE” Theatre at The Mirage, reports NewsOK TV blogger Melissa Hayer. As with her audition in Oklahoma City, Johnson’s Hollywood Week tryout was a wacky and over-the-top experience.

It’s Hollywood Week on “American Idol,” airing at 7 p.m. today and Thursday on Fox. After all is said and done in Hollywood, only 20 guys and 20 girls will make the cut. As previously reported, three performers with Oklahoma ties that appeared on the reality TV show’s Jan.

As my fine colleague Heather Warlick reported in her live blog, “American Idol” aired clips from its Oklahoma City auditions Thursday night, the final night of audition episodes. As usual, the “Idol” producers seemed more interested in showing performances that were unusual or heartwarming than in just spotlighting really strong singers.

Tulsa native Matt Farmer, who apparently now lives in Phoenix, was featured on Wednesday’s “American Idol” as auditions from Long Beach, Calif., aired. Although his performance was undeniably strong, questions have been raised about the validity of his claims to have been injured during military service in Iraq.