Tidbits 10/31

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Don't miss Salamader's hilarious Halloween treat ... click here!

• USA Today Idol Chatter - Carrie Underwood tops chart with new album, but Clay's MOAM 1st week record stands firm -

  Full Idol sales details are coming later, as usual, but an earlier bulletin is called for to report that Carrie's Carnival Ride sold 527,000 copies to enter the Billboard album chart at No. 1, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That was nearly five times the sales of the No. 2 album, and also eclipses the first-week sales of her Some Hearts album, which sold 315,000, on its way to nearly 6 million.
  
  It's the second-biggest Idol debut ever (Clay's Measure of a Man holds the record with 613,000) and her first No. 1 on the album chart.
  

• Gearing up for November sweeps -
• Fresno Bee -

  "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" 8 p.m. today, Nov. 8 and 15, KMPH, Channel 26: Clay Aiken, Regis Philbin, Tony Hawk, Billy Bush and Kellie Pickler compete for their favorite charities.

• Palm Beach Post -

  Shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are nothing more than big, fat popularity contests. The best contestant or star doesn't always win, but the most popular one usually does.
  
  Except if your name is Clay Aiken.

• Something That Really Happened - getting ready for "5th Grader"
• Carolina On My Mind - 5th Grader

  Clay Aiken Set for 'Fifth Grader'
  
  Even Yankee fans in the Clay Nation ranks rounded up appropriate pom-poms and cheered the Boston Red Sox to a World Series sweep so there would be no doubt that Singer Man would appear on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? on Nov 1.
  
  We could easily have backed the Colorado Rockies, who made their first appearance ever in the championship series. Coming in second is fine, as any Clay Aiken fan can tell you.