American Idol week in news: Kelly Clarkson takes requests, Scotty McCreery goes platinum, and more

Fall behind keeping up with headlines on Twitter? Never fear, EW.com has your round-up ofthis weeks biggestAmerican Idolnews.

Season 7 Idol alum, and Smash star, Katharine McPhee, recently headed to Africa with the charity Malaria No More. She traveled to Ghana and then to Burkina Faso to distribute bed nets. During her stay, she visited a school in Ouagadougou that her own outreach project, McPhee Outreach, helped build.

Cant wait for more music from season 10 alum Haley Reinhart? The third-place finisher performed a new song, Now That Youre Here, at a recent radio event in Worcester, Mass. The new tune is from her upcoming album, Listen Up, due in stores on May 22.

Six years after his fourth-place finish on American Idol, Chris Daughtry tells Pittsburgh Live that hes just a musician: Im not what the public thinks a celebrity is. I never wanted to be that guy, always in the tabloids and magazines. I didnt get into it for that. I wanted to do music for a living, and thats what I want to be known for. I think its amazing that there are fans who found out about us through records and this old-fashioned thing called the radio. Its a pretty amazing thing. Daughtry is currently in the midst of a North American tour. Check out the tour dates at the bands official website.

Season 10 Idol alum James Durbin hits the road with his band this spring. The fourth-place finisher and heavy metal rocker will begin his tour in support of his Wind-Up Records debut album, Memories of A Beautif! ul Disas ter, at the Viper Room in Los Angeles on April 12. James will also open for Evanescence, as well as play various dates with Buckcherry through May, and also perform at Rock On The Range music festival May 20. See the schedule on his official website.

Its a huge deal, current American Idol champ, Scotty McCreery tells The Tennessean about his nomination for New Artist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music: Its been a crazy year for us. Theres been a lot of work put into it. Its one of those things where youre recognized for all the hard work youve put up, but youre just going there to have fun. If you get it, cool. If you dont, youre still having a good time. McCreery, who was awarded his platinum record for 1 million sales of his debut album Clear as Day on American Idol Thursday night, will perform his new single, Water Tower Town, on the awards show, broadcast live on CBS from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Sunday night.

Much to her fans delight, Kelly Clarkson has been taking cover requests via Twitter, performing a different tune each night on her current North American tour. In Boise, Idaho, last weekend, the original Idol covered Christina Aguileras Beautiful. After Clarksons gorgeous rendition, she poked a little fun at Voice contestant Erin Martin, whose battle with the Shields brothers singing Tina Turners Whats Love Got to Do With It a couple of weeks ago had people talking, but NOT in a good way. I sing my ass off, and this girl goes, Wha ahh ow, joked Kelly in a dead-on impression of Erins interesting singing style.

Have you ever wanted to peek inside the lives of your favorite American Idol winners? Check out the Los Angeles crib of season 7 champ David Cook. The roc! ker recently put the house up for sale for a cool $1.5 million. The 3,000-plus-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two and a half baths, a professional recording studio, a custom-designed dog yard and an awesome view of the Hollywood sign. Sweet.

Clay Aiken has resurfaced in the media in a big way. Hes currently competing on the NBC reality show, The Celebrity Apprentice, hoping to raise money for his charity, the National Inclusion Project. (Hes already raised $50,000 after winning Sundays challenge as project manager.)Taking advantage of the latest TV exposure, Decca Records is releasing Steadfast, a collection of pop classics from the 50s and 60s. Most of those songs were what my mom played in the car when I was a child and so they became ingrained in me, Clay tells Theatermania. Some of them I had even sung on Idol. Will Aiken eventually be fired by the Donald on Celebrity Apprentice? Tune in Sunday nights to find out.

Season 8 alum Danny Gokey, who finished third behind Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, was not only known for his soulful ballads but also his eyewear collection. Now hell no longer have to go out in search of the perfect pair, because hes created his own. Last weekend, the singer unveiled his new fashion eyewear line at Vision Expo East in Long Island. Danny is also getting ready to release an EP. He tells JSOnli! ne t hat the yet-to-be-titled six- or seven-song CD will feature several styles of music. Its an experimental project to see what the fans like. Therell be country on it, but therell be different styles on it. Therell be contemporary, and maybe a pop song.

Season 9 Idol Siobhan Magnus recently released a new video of Moonbaby, the title track of her latest CD, using studio footage from her 2011 Nashville recording sessions. Check out the moody video by filmmaker Jason Millhouse.

Read more:Heejun Han says goodbye: Idol exit interviewAmerican Idol recap: Take a Sad Song and Make It BetterAmerican Idol: Step into our mansion exclusive photos at home with the Top 9American Idol alum Haley Reinhart releases video for Free, talks about her upcoming album