"American Idol" Threatens Legal Action Against Josiah Leming

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Just two days after he released his album-teasing EP, Josiah Leming is already facing record company drama as the entertainment company behind American Idol threatened to pursue legal action if he releases his debut album through Reprise Records. Even though Leming was booted from the show before the show narrowed its cast to 24 contestants, AI's 19 Entertainment claims that each singer signed into a contract that gave 19 exclusive rights of refusal for management, merchandising and recording, with Sony/BMG the preferred label of choice. "Josiah was the only Idol contestant ever to get a record deal who didn't make the top 24, and one of only four contestants to get a deal this year," a Leming representative said. "He has personal reasons for getting his music out, threat or not." The personal reasons include wanting to rush-release his debut album so he can share the achievement with his mother, who is dying of cancer. But American Idol is seeking to prevent that from happening, sending a letter to the Leming camp that stated "threatening legal action if he puts out his record in January as planned." Leming inked a record deal with Warner Bros. and Reprise all the way back in May, which makes American Idol's timing a bit curious, but here's guessing the producers never really got over that "glorified karaoke" comment he made.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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