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American Idol / Lee DeWyze / Illinois Travel / Celeb Travel / Chicago Travel / → All Tags

Follow 'American Idol' Lee DeWyze's Winning Path Around Chicagoland

Two nights ago on May 26, American Idol's ninth season ended in Hollywood, naming Illinois kid Lee Dewyze as winner and immediately giving him and runner-up Crystal Bowersox sweet record deals. Like with any talented Idol contestant, DeWyze has a devoted following of fans, who will now follow his career and keep up with his live performances. For the truly obsessed, you can always track down the places that have meant so much to Lee on his trail to Idol stardom, and luckily they're all in the Chicagoland area.

Here are the top 3 Le DeWyze hotspots to visit:

· The United Center: Originally the huge stadium that's home to the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, the United Center also held the Chicago-area auditions for American Idol, and it's where Lee was included as one of only 13 finalists to continue on to Hollywood. To get into the United Center, you can buy a ticket to any of the many shows or games held here, and—bonus—even if you go for the cheap seats and end up in the nosebleeds, you'll truly get to appreciate the huge space in which Lee had to nervously perform. 1901 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL.

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Party Dispatch Report / Virgin Atlantic / American Idol / BritWeek / Richard Branson / Chris Rossi / Victoria Beckham / David Archuleta / Mel B. / → All Tags

'American Idol' Star David Archuleta Rings in BritWeek 2010

Last night we attended the kick-off of BritWeek 2010 in Beverly Hills, an annual celebration of the accomplishments of Brits in the entertainment industry. Of course, the biggest thing on everyone's mind was the volcanic ash, and there were quite a few ashy jokes being passed around. But eventually folks carried on with the festivities, which included a special singing appearance by David Archuleta, who did a beautiful rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine" as well as an acapella version of "Prayer for the Children," both of which we managed to record snippets.*

One of the major sponsors of BritWeek is Virgin Atlantic and thus Sir Richard Branson was trotted out on stage for a Frost/Nixon style interview, done with actor Michael Sheen who plays David Frost in the movie (he is also appearing this season on "30 Rock"). Frost...er, Sheen interviewed Branson on a wide range of topics from his start as an entrepreneur, to his thoughts on capitalism and even on plans for Virgin Galactic.

But the event wasn't entirely about patting chaps and mates on the back for their work in California...

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Celeb Travel / How To Get Tickets To / American Idol / Justin Bieber / → All Tags

Justin Bieber Makes Girls Swoon From London to Los Angeles

Justin Bieber, aside from being the hottest topic on Twitter in March, has a way of making teen girls lose their minds just by sending a tweet or pointing a finger.

Last month, the teen singing sensation, not realizing the power of the tweet, sent a message out to fans letting them know exactly where he was going to be during a brief stay in London. "Everyone keeps asking me where I will be today... gonna (sic) be at the Mayfair Hotel in London at 6.30 to party with the bosses," he tweeted.

The tweet resulted in mayhem at The Mayfair, one of London's poshest hotels. Hundreds of screaming fans showed up, forcing Bieber to miss out on his "party with the bosses," and he was immediately rushed out the back door.

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Laid-Off Travel / Paula Abdul / Celeb Travel / American Idol / Travel Deals / → All Tags

Three Vacations For Paula Abdul's New Funemployment

The Internets went crazy last night when Paula Abdul tweeted that she was leaving "American Idol" after eight seasons of telling contestants that America loves them. Coming on the heels of an announcement that new judge Kara DioGuardi had re-signed for another season, the scuttlebutt holds that producers were trying to replace Abdul all along; according to the New York Post, the "Opposites Attract" singer had asked for up to a $15 million pay raise to stay on as a judge.

Our advice to Paula: It's time to get out of Los Angeles for a bit! It doesn't matter whether you jumped or were pushed. If you sign up for a new reality-TV project, you're only going to look desperate and hate yourself. Put down your Blackberry and enjoy one of our handpicked getaways:

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I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here / Reality Television / Television Travel / Heidi Montag / The Hills / Spencer Pratt / Sanjaya / American Idol / Stephen Baldwih / Lou Diamond Phillips / Torrie Wilson / John Salley / Janice Dickinson / Rod Blagojevich / Patti Blagojevich / Celebrities / → All Tags

Travel Advisory: D-List Celebs to Descend on Costa Rica Next Week

Sick and tired of recessionomics and staycations, America is in dire need of distraction by a good D-Listy celebrity travel show, and boy is NBC coming through for us.

Starting next week, the new season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here will air live from the Costa Rican jungle, with viewers getting to choose which harrowing challenges to dump on what looks like the most villainous reality show cast yet.

Heidi and Spencer from The Hills will be conniving against American Idol's Sanjaya, Stephen Baldwin, Lou Diamond Phillips, wrestler Torrie Wilson, retired basketball star John Salley and Janice "I'll go on any reality show" Dickinson. The last addition to the cast is Patti Blagojevich, the former first lady of Illinois, who filled in for her disgraced husband Rod when a judge ruled he couldn’t leave the country, even for as important a matter as this.

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Theme Parks / Walt Disney World / American Idol / Disney / → All Tags

Disney Gets A Piece Of The American Idol Pie

Things over at Mickey’s house have been less than stellar lately. They just had to show a bunch of management the door, and we’re thinking that the budget for the next great ride has already been cut. Luckily, The American Idol Experience snuck in under the wire, and recently welcomed the masses to its home in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Contestants will try out in the park, and if they’re good enough, will be promoted one of the several shows that run throughout the day. Once making to Disney’s version of Hollywood they’ll have to do their best to impress the judges who take on the personalities of the usual Idol crew—except we’re at Disney so even the meanest comment is going to be nice. They probably don’t want to make anyone cry on their vacation with their parents.

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Missed Connections / American Idol / David Cook / Celeb Travel / Bars / Middle America / → All Tags

Missed Connections in Tulsa: American Idol Winner Edition

David Cook, the winner of the seventh season of "American Idol," may have been born in Houston, Texas, but when the 26-year-old graduated from college he decided to pursue his career in music in... Tulsa, Oklahoma. (To be fair, he didn't audition there but in Omaha.)

We hope the city's borders are prepared for an onslaught of shaggy, sideburned dudes with a weakness for rock ballads. If you are one, or want to meet one, you might do well to look in these hot spots:

Club Maverick :: Maybe leave the mustache at home when frequenting this bear-friendly gay bar. 822 S. Sheridan Rd.

Four Aces Tavern :: Live local bands stop by this watering hole every weekend, but you and your friends can also do karaoke there and live your local-stardom dreams. 11035 E. 41st St.

River Park :: Desert, schmesert! Wander along the city's source of fresh water alone or with man's best friend. Hwy. 44 and Riverside Dr.

Related Stories:
· Missed Connections coverage [Jaunted]
· Tulsa Hotels [HC]

[Photo of a statue on the Arkansas River: Tulsa Topics]

Celeb Travel / Reese Witherspoon / American Idol / → All Tags

Do-Gooder Travel: That's Miss Witherspoon To You In Nola

The arrival of a substitute teacher is usually cause for celebration, name-switching and tabletop football games breaking out in the classroom. Of course, if your sub is Tracey Flick, maybe you'd be more inclined to pay attention.

When Reese Witherspoon dropped in on a New Orleans classroom this week at the Children's Defense Freedom Fund School, those kids probably snapped right up when she asked to help them out.

Reese's outreach is part of the Fox initiative "Idol Gives Back," which apparently is no longer limited to singers, "Idol" alums or actors who think they can sing. She's treading on Super World Travelers territory: Brangelina has been spending a lot of time there since Brad Pitt shot "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in New Orleans last year.

Related Stories:
· Volunteer Travel: Beers Beget Building [Jaunted]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]

Celeb Travel / American Idol / → All Tags

Baseball Travel: Carrie Belts, Red Sox Score

All rise! Here's Carrie Underwood singing the National Anthem at Denver's Coors Field for the third game in the 2007 World Series, featuring the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies.

With last night's game, the Red Sox won their second World Series in 4 years, and if you want to sit next to a celebrity, you ought to root for them: Everyone from writer Stephen King to actor-director Ben Affleck has declared membership in Red Sox Nation. Pity the Rockies, who can at least drown their sorrows in Coors now that the series is over.

Related Stories:
· "American Idol" Hopefuls Swarm The W In Dallas [HotelChatter]
· Adventures of Link: It Ain't Easy Being Blue [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]

Celeb Travel / Kelly Clarkson / American Idol / → All Tags

Kelly Clarkson's Mess at The Mandarin Oriental

American Idol songstress Kelly Clarkson was in Manhattan this weekend at the uber-posh (and pricey) Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle with her bro Jason and promoter Jay Galvin.

The threesome apparently made a mess (and a scene) in the hotel's swank bar area, when Jason slopped a glass of whiskey "all over himself" (Kelly was sipping white wine to avoid stains, luckily). Ms.Clarkson then stood up just before midnight and announced, quite loudly, that she "had to go to bed" because she "had" to sing in the a.m.

We're guessing she stayed there overnight too, though no one's confirming it. The MO loves its celeb guests. You may remember it as Ashlee Simpson's hotel hideout post-SNL-gate, but it looks like Kelly was just there for a drink and expensive nap rather than crisis control.

Related Stories:
· Fluid Motion [Page Six]