newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Idol’ finale draws record-low ratings

NEW YORK

Ratings for the “American Idol” finale plunged to a record low for the 12-year-old show.

According to Nielsen Co. figures Friday, Candice Glover’s victory over Kree Harrison was watched by 14.3 million viewers. That’s a 33 percent drop from the year before, when 21.5 million viewers saw Phillip Phillips claim the “Idol” crown. That represented the show’s previous record-low finale audience.

“American Idol” saw an even steeper 44 percent drop among advertiser-coveted young adults for Thursday’s finale.

The lack of interest in the winner of this year’s contest parallels the show’s declining ratings for the season. Fox is scrambling to revive the singing contest that once dominated TV, revamping the judges’ panel and making yet-to-be-detailed format changes.

Original judge Randy Jackson already has announced his exit.

Sugarland’s Nettles making solo album

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles is releasing a solo album.

Nettles says Friday in a news release that she is working with Rick Rubin and will release the album in the fall.

Rumors that Nettles would release a solo album have been prevalent for a while. Grammy Award-winning Sugarland includes Kristian Bush and is one of country music’s most successful and honored acts. The duo remains together, but each is working solo.

The news comes six months after the 38-year-old singer had her first child, a son, with husband Justin Miller.

Nettles says in the release she is “absolutely thrilled and wholly proud” to work with Rubin, an acclaimed producer who helped country act The Dixie Chicks win a best-album Grammy.

‘Mad Men’ star at regional theater

NEW YORK

To find their Mr. Darcy, the Guthrie Theater in Minnesota has turned to a Mad Man.

Vincent Kartheiser, who plays the malcontent Pete Campbell on AMC’s “Mad Men,” will star this summer in a new Guthrie production of “Pride and Prejudice” as the brooding hero of Jane Austen’s most famous novel.

“It’s interesting playing a character that people have such strong feelings about before I’ve even begun playing him,” he said Friday by phone from Los Angeles. “I don’t have a lot of experience playing famous characters, and it’s an interesting expectation that lays on my head.”

Kartheiser is a native of Minneapolis and first appeared at the Guthrie in 1986 at age 7 as Tiny Tim in “A Christmas Carol.” He returned to play small roles in the company’s 1990 productions of “Henry V” and “Henry IV.”

Associated Press