LOS ANGELES – The Oscar folks don’t want audiences to have to choose between watching the closing ceremonies of the winter Olympics or tuning into the Academy Awards show in 2006. So, after moving the ceremonies up to February for the last few years, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is scheduling 2006’s show for March 5 so that it won’t conflict with the Olympics’ closing ceremony in Turin, Italy on Feb. 26.

‘Idol’s sales dangerously low

Barring an impressive studio session or two, we may have seen the last of the “American Idol” albums for a little while. In the space of a month, new recordings have dropped by “Idol” winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Not-So-Barrino, as well as highly regarded second fiddles Clay Aiken and Diane DeGarmo. We’re also sure that first season loser Justin Guarini has probably purchased a CD during that time.

For the week ending Dec. 12, all five “Idol”-based recordings found a place in the Billboard Top 100, an unprecedented feat. In this holiday season, Aiken has strutted his stuff as the true “Idol” winner, while DeGarmo’s debut proved uninspiring.