'American Idol' notes: Phillip Phillips, 'Idol' judges, Scotty McCreery

Phillips is a pretty low-key guy so the fight in and of itself seemed out of character. But he clearly drew a line on his integrity in terms of how he felt he was treated and the settlement enabled him to find new management (Mick ) and a new record company (Interscope).

He released a single last summer "Miles," which softly addressed his legal challenges. His new album is largely more about more traditional emotions of love and loss, a mix of songs he has collected over the years. The most sentimental is "Dance With Me," a pure romantic tune he used as his first dance at his wedding with his long-time sweetheart Hannah in 2015.

Phillips is psyched to perform in Athens for the very first time. He said in his pre-"Idol" days, he has spent time there partying and performing at frat parties. ("I wasn't smart enough to get into UGA," he said.)

And after performing for ESPN, he and his Alabama grad wife were able to enjoy the game in a suite during the National Football Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week. He's a Dawgs fan, enjoyed most of the game. She had to be in the UGA area, though, which bummed her out and she was pretty quiet until the end. Alabama came back to win and suddenly she was the loudest person in the suite.

He called his album "Collateral," using the definition that the songs were largely written while he was awaiting results from his lawsuit. "It was hard times, confusing times but also a lot of love," he said. "I got married. So all these emotions go through these songs. I thought the title fit really well."

Phillips wrote all dozen songs. One of his favorites is the first one, the rock-heavy, energetic "Magnetic." "That's a fan favorite live already," he said.

This is his first solo tour in three years. (He opened for the Goo Goo Dolls last summer.)

"It's scary but fun, too," he said. "People come out just to see you. There's pressure. I want to make sure everything is tight with the band."

He plans to do a 75 to 90 minute show each night and hasn't decided on what covers to do, though songs by the late rockers Tom Petty and Chris Cornell are candidates. "It's hard to do choose and you want to do it right," he said.

***

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

"Idol" haters at ABC love sneaking info to TMZ. They did so regularly during the network's struggles to find celebrity judges. And now they are trying to create drama by saying that Katy Perry is regularly late to auditions by (gasp!) 10 to 25 minutes. Then there is the "problem" that the judges don't bicker enough, not even jokingly like Blake Shelton and Adam Levine on "The Voice." Why that even matters seems odd to me. As we have said here many times, "Idol" is not exactly positioned to be a hit for ABC given the circumstances and relative lack of hunger for its return by most anybody since it just left the airwaves a mere 20 months ago.

***

Credit: Getty Images

Credit: Getty Images

Scotty McCreery will perform at the Georgia Swarm lacrosse game on February 17 at Infinite Energy Arena. He will play 10 minutes during halftime and then a 30-minute show after the game. I will try to procure an interview with him and see how he's doing. Buy tickets here. 

***

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Kellie Pickler's syndicated Nashville-based talk show with Ben Aaron has been renewed for a second season. It airs daily on CMT as well as in certain markets on broadcast channels (just not in Atlanta.)

***

Credit: Getty Images

Credit: Getty Images

David Cook releases his new EP "Chromance" next month on February 16.

He is using the PledgeMusic campaign – giving fans an opportunity to pick up  signed guitars, personalized voicemail messages, a Cook Instagram takeover of your account and other limited-edition items.

***

Clay Aiken social media post of the week. No politics! Just a blurry selfie featuring Jason Mraz and Sara Bareilles!