New URL for the American Idol buzz blog!
Please go to the new American Idol Buzz blog at http://blogs.ajc.com/american-idol-blog/
Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > July > 18 > Entry
7/18: Interview with LaToya London, Jermaine Dupri works with Elliott Yamin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Season three’s LaToya London was too busy to do a face-to-face interview but I caught her by phone after working out and on her way to lunch here in Atlanta. She’s in town for two weeks doing the national touring production of “The Color Purple,” which opened earlier this week at the Fox Theatre.
She was very nice, very polite but content wise, this interview wasn’t exactly “60 Minutes” or even “Entertainment Tonight” quality. On the quotability scale, Kellie Pickler, she is not. More like Kimberley Locke. In a nutshell, she started playing Nettie in “The Color Purple” last spring and signed on for a second year that runs through March of 2009. She’s clearly very good at that tough role and enjoys it immensely.
“It’s a beautiful story,” she said. “I don’t mind it at all. Every night, I still get moved by certain parts of the story. I never get tired of it.”
LaToya, an Oakland resident, loves the hot weather here. She’s been to Apache Cafe to see some bands but otherwise has no grandiose plans while she’s here. She isn’t into touristy places like the aquarium. “Just soaking up the sun, soaking up the city,” she said.
She gives props to the Fox Theatre for its “authenticity. I love the elevators where you have to pull the doors open.” Opening night celebs Tuesday? R&B and BET reality show star Keyshia Cole is the only notable one she remembers.
Since “Idol” in 2004, she’s kept fairly busy, doing plays and gigs. She was talented enough not to have to get a regular 9 to 5 job and isn’t averse to joining other “Idol” alums doing package deals like many are doing in San Francisco and Branson right now.
She wants to do funky R&B on her next album. (Her first album “Love & Life” was a blend of jazz and R&B and sold about 58,000 copies). She hopes to have it out by fall of 2009. “I’m taking my time and actually cultivating what I want to do this second time around,” she said.
London doesn’t sound as if she’s tight with that many past “Idols.” She was closest to Jasmine Trias, not Fantasia or Jennifer.
-MJ found this video of Elliott Yamin in the ATL: he’s working with our local R&B producer/impresario Jermaine Dupri at So So Def Records in Atlanta. After Dupri mocks Yamin over his Lakers shirt, Yamin razzes the Hawks.
Comments
By Deirdre
July 18, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this
LaToya always seemed a step apart from the others. I never saw her as outgoing or dynamic in any way.
By JTesla
July 18, 2008 7:22 PM | Link to this
Funky R&B? So in other words she doesn’t want to make any money.
By Justin
July 19, 2008 6:54 PM | Link to this
Well, no one’s around, so I’ll probably post this in the next thread…and get ready cus it’s long..interested or not here is…
My Current Annoyances with Idol that need change before the 2009 season:
1) The Ryan/Simon gay jokes. Funny to a point, but then just plain annoying.
2) The bad auditions. Bad auditions/auditions in general have been a joy to me, but it’s not as funny anymore b/c it’s too predictable and obviously an act b/c the preliminary judges wouldn’t let them through. Some people tune in for just the auditions and they are cheating out your show for their satisfaction, so punish them and make the auditions shorter! HA for that!
3) …which leads me to my next point. AUDITIONS ARE TOO LONG. One week is enough, just make it 3 times a week, 2 hours per night. Weeks of auditions is ridiculous.
4) Make Hollywood week longer! It’s intense and it’s fun to watch. More than one night please.
5) SHOW EVERYONE WHO MAKES TOP 24! It’s unfair to show a select handful, as those not shown before competition begins often don’t make top 12.
6) DON’T LEAK TOP 24 SPOILERS!!! Though it gives us ahead of time favorites and allows us to get to know the contestants, it sucks to watch the top 24 choosing show knowing the people already. Hey, spoilers are tempting.
7) JUDGES: Be fair to everyone. Don’t tell us who is going home before we even vote, and don’t over-pimp your favorites. HATE HATE HATE that (yeah I’m talkin’ to you Simon).
8) Do not underrate talented people just b/c you don’t want them to win (ex: Carly, Syesha, Elliot). Do not overrate limited/specific songs talent.. (ex: Jason Castro, Nikki)
10) Results #2: Stop “faking” the bottom 2. Excellent example- Top 5 results: Brooke and Syesha…Idol- don’t try and fool us by not mentioning them as the bottom 2. Don’t manipulate the thoughts of the viewing audience. Half of us rely on DialIdol.com. Brooke was @ the bottom, Syesha @ top. OBVIOUSLY Syesha wasn’t in the bottom 2 so… don’t make it look that way.
11) No more semi-final theme nights (this season). It doesn’t allow contestants to choose songs which showcase who they are or want to be. It allows talent folks (Kady, Asia’h) to miss top 12.
12) JUDGES: Quit criticizing the contestants for song choice when they didn’t choose the song. Biggest ex: Katharine McPhee of season 5- “I Believe I Can Fly”
13) PRODUCERS: Don’t throw a contestant under the train by giving them a song clearly made to vote them off (Syesha- “Hit Me Up”).
14) PRODUCERS: Don’t NOT let a contestant choose a song they want to sing just b/c it might launch them into the finale or b/c of little Mr. Simon p** pants’s fueds (Syesha- “Listen”).
15) JUDGES: Don’t put people in the top 24 who are average if someone you cut is clearly leaps and bounds more talented (Amy Davis).
16) Though they were pleasant singers, don’t put people through b/c they use instruments. Brooke and Jason—glad they were in the top 24, but BOTH being in the top 5 is a little too much (?!) You’re comparing them to freakin’ Paris and Chris, who alos came in 5th and 4th during season 5!
By Deirdre
July 19, 2008 7:36 PM | Link to this
Justin…I actually agree with everything you said….although I’m a little confused by #14…perhaps you could rephrase it.
By Aric Almirola
July 19, 2008 11:35 PM | Link to this
Elliott Yamin looks so much better since he got his teeth done.
Aric Almirola
By sunday school lessons
July 20, 2008 2:29 AM | Link to this
Latoya could sing.
sunday school lessons
By flats
July 20, 2008 6:59 PM | Link to this
WOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!”MR SPARTANBURG”CHECKING IN ON THANGS!!!!!!
By flats
July 20, 2008 7:03 PM | Link to this
WHAT UP JUSTIN????WONT BE LONG DUDE!!!!!IDOL RETURNS!!!!!
By flats
July 20, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this
jUSTIN..Do you thank a gil or a guy will the thang next year in 09?
By Menana
July 21, 2008 6:50 AM | Link to this
Good Morning all you sleepy heads!!!!
Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was great but tiring. Took Dad to Savannah. Got home last night (this morning) around 12:15, got in bed around 2:00, up at 4:00 and already been at work for 45 minutes, so I am beat. But the w/e was great.
Will be off and on today, so will chat with y’ll later.
By DawnH
July 21, 2008 7:30 AM | Link to this
Good morning everyone, and Happy Monday! Well, I spent this weekend at Turner Field watching the Braves get their a*******es kicked by, I believe, the worst team in baseball (Nationals)!? Guess which players for the Nationals did the most damage against the Braves… the players that Atlanta traded! AGGHHH!
By Deirdre
July 21, 2008 7:47 AM | Link to this
Morning!
Sorry Dawn! But pretty soon you’ll have lots of elbow room in those seats. I remember going to Braves games in the late 80’s and we could pretty much spread out and use up a whole row…and nobody sat in front of us either! Aw those were the days! :-)
Menana, I wish my mom was well enough to take on a trip to Savannah. She decided this weekend that she wants to go into an assisted living/nursing home type place. She said that she doesn’t want to ruin my life anymore and it’s time I got on with living it again. She has reached a point where I don’t have the knowledge or the training to help her. And I was not born with a viable nurse gene. Not sure what will happen next…we’re still in the ‘talking about it’ stage.
By Menana
July 21, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
D: My heart breaks for you and your Mom. Some hard decisions seem to be coming your way and with God’s guidance, you all will make the right one.I am very fortunate that my Dad is well enough to travel. He will be 93 in September, still lives by himself and is very self sufficent. The only problem he has is that he is legally blind due to macular degeneration. He still preaches every Sunday at the church where he is ministering. I hope and pray that things will work out for you.
By flats
July 21, 2008 8:19 AM | Link to this
Good morning Dawn.What up D?D,DMX got busted.Dawn,i tried to warn you about the sucky Braves.”Mr SPARTANBURG” PREDICTED THIS DISASTER.Atlanta fans put up with the crap.Oh well…Greg Norman blew it yesterday.I woke up early to watch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-(
By kellyfan
July 21, 2008 8:21 AM | Link to this
Hi y’all… D, sorry to hear about your mom. Hope things work out for the best for both of you.
So, not sure if this has come up, but any truth to the rumor I read that they’re skipping season 3 of AI Rewind and going straight to Carrie’s season? I’ve read Lindsey Cardinale and Carrie were working on the commentary for it last week. And Anthony Federov posted about it on his myspace.
By Lara
July 21, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this
Good morning blogsters!
D - I am sorry to hear about the trouble you are going through. Stay strong, your mom needs you.
Justin - while there are many things on your list that are interesting and some I would agree with….if they made all those changes, what would be the fun of watching?
By Deirdre
July 21, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
Thanks for all the good thoughts! :-)
kf…I can’t imagine that they’d skip season 3, especially with Jennifer Hudson being an Oscar winner. However, at the same time, season 3 was my least favorite season and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that.
By Deirdre
July 21, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this
Speaking of Justin…did anyone else get what he was saying on #14?
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
July 21, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this
{{{{{{{{{D}}}}}}}}
Hang in there, D. I know this is the toughest decision — I remember my mom when her mom lived with them, and then a few years ago, when my mom was in need of specialized care — and one of my sister DOES apparently have the ‘nursing gene’ — even for them it was hard. [since i live 500 miles away, i didn’t share the immediate responsibility and sometimes i feel guilty about it, but my sisters and dad dealt with the same sort of things you must be going through right now.]
and Good Morning mushbloggians one and almost all! Perhaps they are just going ahead with interviews and preparations for the AIR4; they probably did a lot of AIR3 a year ago in preparation for (haha) airing season 3. But I’m with you D, Season 3 may have been my “least” favorite year. I didn’t watch Season 1 (kelly’s year) so it’s sort of been a catch-up on that one for me; i started right after season 2 began, i think it was.
aneeewho… y’all have a great Monday!
By Negativo
July 21, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Latoya was screwed over in season three. Many, including me, think she should have won the whole thing instead of that low-talent screaching ho, but if you don’t connect well with women and tweens you are toast. Guys loved her looks, smooth style, and cool demeaner, but women never felt the “bond” they needed to emotionally support her, and her music style was a little too mature for the tweener set.
I sincerely hope she does well. Latoya was all class, but that year America wanted trash (and got it wrong).
By JTesla
July 21, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
Deirdre, I was confused by #13 and #14, they don’t really go together.
By flats
July 21, 2008 9:10 AM | Link to this
Hey Neg.
By flats
July 21, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
JT…..Justin might have held one too many!!!!Did u have a good weekend???????
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
July 21, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
NegseeeeBaybeeee!!! laughing seriously, good to see your smirki… i mean SMILING … face again!!! So how’ya been?
JT, you’re right, 13 & 14 don’t really make sense when taken together, tho 13 DOES make a lot of sense. It FELT like sabotage a couple of times with the judge’s “pick”, not just this year!
i THINK justin’s point on 14 was trying to, again, show that the judges/producers/show had some favoritism issues, tho what he tried to say sure didn’t come out coherent on THAT point, lol. Had to read it a few times to get where i thought i had figured it out.
truly one of my biggest gripes is when they limit the song choices, or at the end when they assign songs, then you surely hear at least one judge say “that song wasn’t right for you” … well DUH! (ok, so i put it more nicely than the judges usually do, but you get my drift)
if i had to pick two of the list, i’d say (1) shortening the audition bad-act shows combined with MORE of HOLLYWOOD, and (2) get RID of single act and/or genre shows as a regular thing — it doesn’t hurt to have a “broadway” night perhaps, or a “year you were born” night, tho that’s usually kinda weird, at least it’s pretty open-ended. I dunno. I’m ready for the new season to begin, however, LOL, whatever they do I am absolutely certain we won’t like all of it!!!
~¿@
By Negativo
July 21, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this
Just smirkin and lurkin, Linny.
By Menana
July 21, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
14 makes some sense to me. I think I can see where he’s coming from. Sometimes, the judges and or producers do pick a bad song for someone they don’t particularly care for and a very good choice for someone they do. This is MO only. One can always tell when a contestant does not connect with a judge(s). For instance, ALL the judges liked Fantasia from the get go. Why, I don’t know when there where others who were better. I don’t think they ever gave Fan a bad remark about any of her performances. On the other hand, no matter what Syesha did, they hardly said anything good about her.I also think that they should stick to a particular style instead of just one artist. That’s not cool!! There are so many styles and eras in music they can choose from. Stay away from ONE ARTIST.
By Deirdre
July 21, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this
Up way too early again, JT????
Actually, if I’m reading them both right, # 13 and # 14 go together. Like linny said, both seem to address the ‘favoritism’ issue. In other words…don’t give someone a song because it will win a finale spot and don’t give someone a song because it could lose a finale spot. Justin also seems to believe that some people were denied song choices BECAUSE of the effect it would have on their chances. Conspiracy theories!
The producers choice for Syesha last year was crap…..however, that girl wasn’t going to the finale anyway…not with the 2 Davids around.
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
July 21, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this
to switch shows for a moment, but on the voting issues — SYTYCD is reaching a point similar to the “diva” vote splits — the 4 best AND most versatile dancers on the show are arguably Joshua, Will, Katee, and Twitch. Will Joshua, Will and Twitch end up splitting vote tallies? I think Katee could have a huge chance at winning because the other option will be a male dancer — but which ONE of THREE? any thoughts on the similarity to the 3Diva split on AI?
By flats
July 21, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
40 DAYS TIL COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!GO DAWGS!!!!!!
By Deirdre
July 21, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this
linny…I think there has always been ‘diva splits’. And because of them, one would have thought that, of the 2 Davids, one of them would have left earlier. However, they stood out so far above the rest of the competition that both went to the finale. I think the 2 Davids explains why a good singer like Michael Johns left as early as he did…there wasn’t room for ANOTHER good male singer. After that, the voting was based almost entirely on popularity.
SYTYCD’s elimination method allows the best to remain until near the end.
By JTesla
July 21, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this
Deirder: Up too early, but still confused with 13 and 14. One way to look at it is that the producers in #13 are bad, but somehow they are good in #14. I don’t know that they will ever be viewed in favorable light. Song selection can’t be done without bias, because no matter what they select some segment of the audience is going to find fault with that selection.
Flats: the weekend was ok, sorry to hear that you had a typical sports weekend. Did anyone you were rooting for win?
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
July 21, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this
Precisely! Now that it’s strictly audience votes, however, it should get pretty sticky. I think about this point, no matter WHO gets voted off, someone will be screaming bloody murder and conspiracy, LOL.
ah well — makes for good competition, eh?
and to give you a little back-up i meant to last week — there IS a huge difference between the MC/host being taped and doing actual LIVE broadcasting — will anyone who saw it EVER forget Tom Bergeron’s face as Marie Osmond slumped to the floor on Live TV????? Bless the director(s)’ hearts they worked REALLY hard to minimize the effect as soon as it happened, but… what a moment!