Jennifer Hudson may be the only American Idol alum to be an Oscar-winning actress, but she’s not the only one who was bitten by the big-screen bug.

Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee appears as a pregnant sorority girl in the underdog comedy, The House Bunny. The film opened Friday and, I must say, is one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen in some time. The humor star Anna Faris brings to the big screen is as good — maybe better — than that of today’s other comedic heroes — Seth Rogen, James Franco and Steve Carell, included.

There’s just something laugh-out-loud hysterical about Faris’ portrayal of a Playboy Bunny-turned-Zeta house mom. Her over-the-top take on an American icon is just too good for words. At the same time, McPhee is somewhat overshadowed by the completely powerful Faris. But she still has a significant role in the film. It’s just that she’s surrounded by so many supporting cast members it’s hard to think of anything other than, “Hey, that’s Katharine McPhee. From American idol.”

This weekend, fellow Season 5 finalist Kevin Covais will make his film debut in another film set on a college campus. This one simply titled College. Covais, who TMZ and other news outlets reported was hospitalized late last week, has been promoting the film for some time.

In an interview with www.watchingamericanidol.com, Covais told me of the script, “Immediately, I thought it was one of the funniest things I’d read.”

College was filmed in New Orleans, La., and will be released Friday by Lionsgate films.

American Idol contestants are about to get a little bit more criticism — or support, if they’re doing things right.

Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul will be joined by a fourth judge for the upcoming season of Idol. Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter and music producer known for working with the original Idol winner — Kelly Clarkson — will pull up a chair to the judging table for an added twist to Season 8.

“For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges’ table,” Mike Darnell, president ofalternative programming of Fox wrote in a statement. “With Kara by her side, Paula has some backup and now there is going to be a lot more ‘girl power’ on the show.”

Girl power or not, the fourth judge is not something all too uncommon for Idol fans. During the first season celebrities guests and mentors for the week joined the three most famous judges on reality television to share their thoughts and give contestants feedback.

But adding DioGuardi, who also has worked with Faith Hill, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood and others, will be a new kind of voice, so to speak. Her expertise and hands-on work with at least to past Idol winners (Clarkson and Underwood) will bring another industry opinion that could provide new insight to the show.

What may be interesting to see is how DioGuardi’s expertise will shift the focus of the show. It also will be interesting to see if she pens the upcoming winner’s Idol finale song. In the past two years, a songwriting competition has determined the first Idol single.

David Cook may have gotten more votes than David Archuleta to take the American Idol crown. But it’s the younger David who is getting the numbers where it really matters — on the charts.

Crush, the first single from Archuleta’s upcoming CD debuted No. 2 on the Hot 100 singles chart, one spot higher than Cook’s No. 3 opening with The Time of My Life. Crush also made its way to the No. 1 position on iTunes (it’s now at No. 6) for top downloads on the day it was released.

We haven’t seen this kind of winner vs. runner-up chart battle since Clay Aiken showed Ruben Studdard who American really liked back in 2003.

Still, Cook has plenty of reasons to smile. Time of My Life sold 236,000 digital copies in its debut week, crushing Crush, which only was downloaded 166,000 times in its opening week. In time, I’m betting the reigning Idol champion will outlast the younger David. But you just never know …

Clay Aiken will reprise the role of Sir Robin, beginning Sept. 19, in Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway.

It’s been a big week for Clay Aiken, who announced Friday that his first child had been born.

Now the Season 2 American Idol runner-up is getting ready to get back to work. Aiken will return to the Broadway stage to reprise the role of Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot. The singer ended his initial run on the show May 4. He returns Sept. 19 and has signed on to continue the roll through Jan. 4.

According to unofficial reports, Aiken’s first tour with the New York-based show increased ticket sales dramatically. It’s likely the most successful Broadway appearance by an Idol alum — and there have been plenty.

Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino performed in The Color Purple, both Frenchie Davis and Tamyra Gray have or are appearing in Rent, Taylor Hicks in Grease, Diana DeGarmo in Hairspray and the list goes on and on.

There’s something about an Idol castoff that seems appealing to Broadway producers. It may be the instant stardom and playing off the instant success of the young stars. It definitely has to be a lot less expensive to bring in an Idol castoff than a big-time star, which also has been a formula used to try and increase ticket sales. (Think Mario Lopez in A Chorus Line.)

There’s a new (little) man in Clay Aiken’s life.

On Friday, the Season 2 American Idol runner-up announced on his Web site that his first child, Parker Foster Aiken, was born in North Carolina. The 29-year-old fathered the child with friend and music producer Jaymes Foster. The two met during Aiken’s time on Idol.

Since appearing on the FOX series, Aiken has become one of the most talked-about finalists ever to appear on the show. His legions of fans — Claymates — have supported him through multiple album releases, a Broadway run in Monty Python’s Spamalot and, now, becoming a father.

“My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken,” Aiken wrote on his site, adding that Parker is “healthy, happy and as loud as his daddy.”

Even though there was a great deal of buzz around Aiken’s pending fatherhood earlier this year, it will be interesting to see if that buzz continues post-birth. Will the first pictures of the baby be as valuable as some other celebrity offspring? It’s not likely to be a Brangelina situation, but you never know.

You don’t see him as up-close-and-personal as you do on So You Think You Can Dance, but Nigel Lythgoe was running the show on American Idol for the first seven seasons. But that’s all about to change.

Lythgoe, the show’s executive producer, is leaving his most popular show behind to focus on regional versions of So You Think You Can Dance in South Africa, Canada and Australia. He also is working on a new project with 19 Entertainment.

Fox executives released a statement this week saying, “[Nigel] is an extraordinarily talented producer whose creative contributions to the No. 1 show on television has been immeasurable. While we are disappointed that he will no longer be executive producing American Idol, we are pleased to continue working with him on So You Think You Can Dance.”

Some “exciting changes” are expected to keep Idol fresh as it enters Season 8, according to the network. That change in direction has been rumored by some media outlets as the reason for Lythgoe’s departure.

The new executive producer has not been announced for Idol, but who really cares about that part, right? We just want to see some good singers. And maybe some snarky comments from Simon.

She may have lost to now country superstar Carrie Underwood, but now it’s Mikalah Gordon who’s going country. The Season 4 American Idol finalist is one of the competitors on the CMT reality show Gone Country.

It’s the second season for the show, which features singers, actors and other celebrities who are not currently country singers. Each week they compete to stay in the competition, which results in a the winner recording a country single.

Aside from Gordon, this season also includes contestants Sebastian Bach, Irene Cara, Jermaine Jackson, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lorenzo Lamas and Sean Young. Gone Country 2 airs at 8/7c Fridays on CMT.

Gordon finished in the Top 12 on Idol, where one of her most-noted performances was Billie Holiday’s God Bless the Child. Aside from her singing, Gordon was known for her resemblance — and similar accent — to Fran Drescher. Even after the show, she guest-starred on the sitcom Living With Fran.

Find out more about Gone Country 2 at www.cmt.com.

He may have been the last to lose, but American Idol’s newest runner-up, David Archuleta, isn’t wasting any time on releasing his own music.

The teenage favorite from Season 7 will release his first single, Crush, to radio on Aug. 12 (available for airplay Aug. 11). The full-length debut is expected in early November.

Archuleta is working on the recording while also fulfilling his obligation to the American Idol summer tour. Other contestants, including winner David Cook and Kristy Lee Cook, also are working on their new CDs.

American Idol, David Archuleta

Buzz is building around Jennifer Hudson’s much-anticipated debut CD release. And now even more buzz is building around the release, as the cover artwork shows a much, um, different looking artist than the healthy Jennifer Hudson we know.

If you compare the CD cover artwork with the recent photo of Hudson, taken July 10 at a red carpet event, you’ll notice a bit of a difference. Of course, maybe the Photoshop shrinkage is coming to us in anticipation of what the singer is expected to look like by the time the CD drops on Sept. 30.

I have to imagine, though, Ms. Hudson wasn’t behind this idea. Her full-figured look has become a signature for her, even as she did press interviews alongside her super skinny Sex and the City co-stars.

American Idol, Jennifer Hudson

He won the latest season of American Idol and got to sign a record deal. Now David Cook has signed another contract.

The Season 7 Idol champion has agreed to be a celebrity endorser for Skechers. The singer’s face will be shown in billboard and print advertisements for the popular shoe company.

Cook, who is working on his debut release and touring with the Idols summer tour, isn’t the first winner of the show to work with Sketchers. Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood also endorsed the brand.

American Idol, David Cook, Carrie Underwood