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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > February > 15
Friday, February 15, 2008
2/15: Nigel Lythgoe says 60s theme next wk, defends Carly Smithson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe fed us media folks some tidbits today.
For instance, next week’s theme will be ’60s songs. This is the first time the semifinals will feature a theme. There will be a new set for the final 12. He also made sure the singers will sing more familiar songs that were cleared. “These are the 50 songs you can choose from the 60s,” he said, as opposed to letting the semifinals pick a potentially obscure song or one that doesn’t get cleared and they’re forced to swap out at the last second.
He promises only four celebrity guest coaches this year but hasn’t named any yet.
And the results show will feature more background packages on the contestants themselves and a “Where are they now?” segment. He referenced two examples of folks who will likely come back: Kimberley Locke and our very own Diana DeGarmo.
Plus, singers will have the opportunity to use instruments during the regular competition (as they did for the first time in Hollywood.) He said this worked well in Australia.
Nigel also incorrectly insisted that “Idol” had revealed Carly Smithson’s past with MCA Records. He was wrong. But he got rather testy when a reporter challenged him on it. The show did reveal her past visa problems so he might have simply forgotten. He said he wasn’t hiding people’s pasts at all, though “Idol” has conveniently left out record contract deals. Did they mention Joanne’s win on Monique’s Fat Chance or David Archuleta’s “Star Search” win? I can’t recall myself.
He also downplayed the potential backlash Carly is getting on the blogs for her failed time at MCA, saying that most people who vote don’t read the blogs and boards. And since “Idol” isn’t saying anything on air about it, indeed, it probably won’t matter. He did get quite testy over this line of questioning. Credit the wonderful Star Ledger writer Alan Sepinwall. I emailed Sepinwall and he merely wanted to know (before he got cut off) if they were going to mention their past recording contracts sometime in the future.
Finally, Nigel explained why they dropped group sings during Hollywood. Last year, he said, they cut people because they couldn’t remember lyrics. (Remember that Carrie Underwood 16 year old last year who they loved so much?) “It’s got to be their talent that lets them down. We didn’t ask them to spend a night with two or three contestants arguing and haggling over choreography. We don’t make them do that during the season. Why do it there? It was always done for the contentious side, get then aroused, get them tired, see how they coped under the pressure. [This year,] we just wanted to base it on talent. The proof will be in this season… We concentrated on their performances and gave them a second opportunity to sing. [In past years,] nerves would come into play and people were getting cut willy nilly. This season, we give them an opportunity to sing the next day.”
I got in line first and asked Nigel about the three “Idol” contestants with known Atlanta connections:
Alex Lushington: “She’s 16 and still remarkable. I think she’s one of those who took us a little by surprise by how quickly she realized what she had to do to get through the competition and really perform. Every time, there was no let off.”
Carly Hennessy Smithson: “She had a recording contract. She came to us a couple of years ago. We thought she was terrific. She did a Prince song. She sent chills down us. We lost her because of the visa. She returned. She stands a very good chance this year. She’s quite known by the public [courtesy of “Idol“‘s editing choices, of course] and she’s got a lot of talent.”
Michael Johns (Lee): “Wow. When he sang “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it was one of the best renditions I’ve ever heard. So amazing!”
He was also as bemused as I was that the two foreigners both happened to live in Atlanta at some point.
And when I asked if there would be any backlash to either Michael or Carly because they aren’t, well, American, he said, “We’ve never said you had to be an American citizen. You just have to be legal. And most of this country came from somewhere else, so I don’t see where the backlash is.”
He has no clue what has happened to Josiah Leming, the kid who lived in the car. He said the reason he didn’t make it was his voice was a wee bit shaky at points and he picked the wrong song at the end.
Another Atlanta angle: three contestants, including Asia’h and David Archuleta sang “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley at one point in Hollywood. They got clearance from Atlanta’s Cee-Lo but not DJ Danger Mouse in the end. So they couldn’t air those performances. He also said one of the Jasons sang it but I’m not sure which one—but that cost that dude airtime.
2/15: Michael Johns interview (updated)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s some sort of technical glitch here I need to tell the Powers That Be about so whenever I do an advance blog entry, it doesn’t allow commenting. Then I have to re-post it, like I am now. Sheesh. Anyway, hopefully you’ll be able to comment on this one.
There’s a phone conference with Nigel Lythgoe Friday afternoon so email me at rho@ajc.com if you have any good questions for me to pose to him. And I hope to talk to Alex Lushington soon. And I just found out Carly Hennessy Smithson, the Irish gal, lived in Marietta for two years. I hope to talk to her, too!
On Thursday, i did nab a few minutes to gab with Michael Johns, the Aussie native and former Atlantan (plus an early favorite who has gotten plenty of love from the “Idol” judges and producers.)
First off, he’s 29 and for most of his life, he was known as Michael Lee. Last year, he changed it to Michael Johns. (Lee was his dad’s name and he hasn’t been in contact with his dad since he was 15.) Johns is a multiple of his middle name John and his stepdad’s name John.
Anyway, Lee/Johns came to the States first on a tennis scholarship a small Tifton college around 1997. He stayed there nine months, then decided to move to Atlanta to pursue music. He’d heard it had a decent music scene. He landed at Buckhead bar CJ’s Landing, where he worked “literally picking up glasses and trash.” The owner Phil Goode (sic?) liked him and heard him sing so he decided to stick him on the stage, first on Mondays, then weekends. He was there on and off from 1998 to 2002 doing cover songs with a guy named Hank Barbee. (CJ’s was torn down last year as Buckhead Village goes through its major transformation upscale.)
“It was the best way for me to learn about the South and what pushed Americans buttons,” Lee/Johns said. Barbee, who played with him hundreds of times, said Lee was a quick study and learned hundreds of songs. He’d keep a notebook packed with lyrics of songs that people requested. One time, he even spontaneously did a few lines of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” Barbee recalled. Barbee also said Lee/Johns had a weakness for Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, as well as Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones.
He’s now a permanent U.S. resident who is eligible for full citizenship in a couple of years. “When I went back to Australia over Christmas, I hadn’t been there in five years. I felt like a visitor,” he said. (Australia will be airing “American Idol” in almost real time, he said.)
After this posted, Iain Bluett, the former keyboardist for Film, emailed me what he said were mistakes in the following graf. I’ll post what he said was wrong after the graf in question.
Around 2002, he joined a local band named Film. They played a couple of major-label showcases. Barbee said other members wanted to go with one label. He wanted to go another. So in the end, they split up. It became somewhat bitter and a keyboard player posted a site called www.therisingsucks.com (no longer up) which accused Lee of stealing songs for his new band the Rising. He said this guy was all wrong, that it was a “smear campaign” that was “completely unfounded and untrue” and he actually gets along with the other former members of Film. (I need to track down said members of Film for affirmation. If you know any of them, email me at rho@ajc.com.)
Here’s Iain’s response, with some grammatical fixes: “He joined Film in early 2000 and left in April 2001. Barbee doesn’t know what happened - he wasn’t in the band. We didn’t want to go with one label and him with another. He left after we (the band) were offered the deal by Maverick. He isn’t in contact with any other members and hasn’t been since 2003.”
Johns joined Madonna’s Maverick Records around 2004 and recorded an album. Then Warner Brothers merged with Elektra and Atlantic and Maverick dissolved. The record never came out. The band almost signed with Columbia but then management changed with the merger of Sony/BMG. Last year, he did a solo record, but then the indie label fell apart. He admits he hasn’t been such a lucky guy.
Lee/Johns told Barbee last year that he was going to go with “Idol” because it is one of the few places left to break it big. “I truly believe their the only outlet aggressively finding new talent anymore,” he said. “I don’t know if I had been ready at age 25 but at 28 [his last year of eligibility], I was like, ‘I need to make sure I’m free and clear of everything so I can be on this show.’ “
