If you have recently used the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store on the iPhone or iPod touch, then you may have noticed a new tab that Apple added. In the "Featured" category, you will find an "American Idol" tab beside "New Releases" and "Genres."

Now you can get your American Idol fix any time you're around a Wi-Fi signal!

Thanks, shon.

OK, guilty pleasure alert -- I kind of love American Idol. In fact, I have previously referred to it as, "my crack." I even named my MacBook, "Simon" because it was purchased with money I made writing about the show last season (and because I am a GIGANTIC dork). And even though I'm not professionally covering the show this year, I remain a huge fan. Hey, we're all allowed to have our vices, and looking at the TV ratings, millions of other people are just as lame as me.

Last year, performances and "singles" from the #1 show on television didn't come to iTunes until AFTER the season had ended. I don't know if it was because Apple and Fox couldn't work out an agreement early enough (iTunes did feature the Idol Gives Back charity singles/videos), or what, but I have a feeling a lot of potential money was lost by not having performances available on iTunes earlier. This year, iTunes is in on the action from the very beginning.

Starting this week, the audio performances from the Top 24 contestants will be available on iTunes for $.99 a piece. Starting March 11, the full video performances from the the Top 12 finalists will be available for $1.99 a piece. Fans can even "pre-order" performances from their favorite contestants from within iTunes, and those songs or videos will be automatically downloaded the day after the show airs.

iTunes is also providing, in their words, "exclusive direct links from the free streaming performance videos on americanidol.com".

If they follow last year's trend, the contestant's will record their chosen song each week in a studio BEFORE performing live on the show, and that audio file will be available the next day. The video footage will be from the live performance and from slightly different angles than what is used for the television broadcast.

The Top 24 starts tonight, meaning the first batch of downloads will be available tomorrow.

The question of Sanjaya's hair-styles aside, American Idol is a music phenomenon. Carrie Underwood's American Idol Gives Back recording of "I'll Stand by You" just became the first iTunes-exclusive track to debut in the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10 according to Country Standard Time.

"I'll Stand By You" is set to appear at #6 on that top ten list for the week ending May 12th. Apparently there have only been six on-line releases to debut in the Top 10 and "I'll Stand By You" is "the only track to do so without having been serviced to radio for airplay", selling nearly 125 thousand copies since it debuted in late April.

iTunes will donate net proceeds from "Idol Gives Back" singles and videos to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund.

Phill Ryu's My Dream App has officially launched today. What is My Dream App? Think American Idol for Mac software, think America's Got Talent with software developers and no Hasselhoff.

The idea is that non-programmers have ideas for apps they would love to see, but they lack the skills to make them a reality. Enter My Dream App, people submit their app ideas to the contest. The entries are whittled down to 24 and then the visitors of the website vote until there are only 3 left. The remaining 3 will become be developed by a team of a designer and a developer and then become real life products for sale (the person who submitted the idea gets royalties).

Submissions are open until Friday, September 1st (extended from the original Aug. 25th).

Oh, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I am serving on the panel of judges for My Dream App (along with Steve Wozniak, Leo Laporte, and Kevin Rose, just to name a few) though I have no vested interest in the contest.

Just in case you haven't heard by now, there are two new sections in the iTunes Music Store, one of which I think is brilliant and the other which I am sure will be popular (but doesn't float my boat).

Commercial Success is the answer to all those situations when you heard a song on some Coke commercial and you just had to have it. At the moment there are only 27 track available, but I am sure there will be more coming.

As Heard On American Idol features songs sung by the hopeful pop stars on American Idol. You can hear the songs as they were meant to be heard, and really isn't that what it is all about?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.