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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > August > 01
Friday, August 1, 2008
8/2: Jennifer Hudson refuses to talk about album cover
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this week, I heard about V-103 hosting a Jennifer Hudson “Soul Sessions,” a special concert for V-103 listeners Friday night at Sugar Hill in Underground Atlanta.
The folks at V-103 were kind enough to set aside a few minutes for me and other media tonight at 8 p.m. before her public appearance to promote her new album. A chipper, always lovely Elle Duncan escorted me into the green room. All was fine until 7:45 p.m. when Nicole Sellers, the J Records rep for Hudson, arrived. She said three of us would have her for 10 minutes. No problem, I said.
But she then said: you can’t ask Jennifer 1) about her album cover or 2) about her personal life. I hate when publicists place any restrictions on interview questions. I can grit my teeth and deal with the personal life question restriction. It’s still bull because she can always say, “I don’t talk about my personal life.” The first restriction is what really raised my hackles.
People on this blog and elsewhere have made copious comments about how blatantly photo-shopped the photo is, to make a healthy size 10 or so gal look like a size 2 or 4. I’d love to know the story behind how the photo ended up on the cover like that. Did Hudson have veto power? Did she protest it but get vetoed? Did she really like it?
Well, I’ll never know. Nicole punted and placed me on the phone with J Records’ Theola Borden, the vice president for urban publicity. In justifying the restriction, Borden said, “People have moved on with that issue.” People? What people? “Media,” she said. But wait— has Jennifer ever addressed the issue before to allow people to “move on”? No, she admitted. So if she hasn’t addressed it, how can we move on?
Then I told her that’s patently BS, that we should have the opportunity to ask her that. The album cover is an integral part of the marketing campaign for Jennifer, I told her. I said that’s fair game in context of promotion. At this point, I was really upset because I had the impression the label had muzzled Jennnifer. After I tried to reason with Borden rather aggressively and loudly, she proclaimed, “Your interview has been cancelled.” Wow! I just argued my way out of this one! She did offer an interview in the future, which didn’t make much sense to me given the circumstances.
I eventually got Borden to acknowledge that it was Jennifer herself who requested that this question not be asked. That in and of itself reflects poorly on Jennifer. Why not confront the issue head on? Not only will it generate publicity but get folks to debate weight issues among celebrities and image control and such. And why not let us reporters ask the question and give her the option to say, “I don’t want to talk about it.” I’m not the type to push it if that’s the case. No need to badger someone under those circumstances.
I’m sure someone at some point will ask Jennifer about the album cover on the talk shows or on urban radio in a situation where she’ll have to say something passably substantive. Seriously — I could have taken the less noble route, ignored Nicole’s plea and asked her anyway. But I chose to argue instead. Was that the right move or not? Probably not the shrewdest move, eh?
Anyway, I was booted from the green room just moments before Jennifer’s arrival but am still in the club right now. V-103 was not to blame for this one. I don’t even think it’s the label’s issue. This ultimately comes down to Jennifer. If anyone down the road sees or hears her comment about this issue, pass it on to me at rho@ajc.com.
Postscript I am now at home after seeing her perform for 40 minutes and honestly, she is a stunner and she sounded amazing. The crowd embraced her, knew the words to “Spotlight” and sucked in every drop of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” She even had audience members try the “You’re going to love me” line. The best one got on stage and did it with her and believe me, there were some amazing voices in that crowd. Hudson herself says she’s online all the time and on MySpace frequently.
Here are some photos I took. It was jampacked and I couldn’t get closer than 25 feet so these aren’t the best. But you can get a feel for what she looks like in real life. You can debate that page-boy haircut Rihanna made popular but I think the dress is very flattering on her:
And for a direct comparison, I’m going to show the album cover again:
My colleague Sonia Murray was there, too. She came to the green room after I left and when she asked the label rep Nicole if she could ask a couple of quick questions, Nicole let Sonia in with no restrictions. I didn’t ask Sonia what she talked about but I’ll link to it whenever she posts something. (I think she’s going to do a Peach Buzz item for Monday.) Sonia had no clue about the online buzz around the album cover so I know she didn’t ask about that.
Kev Ross, who readily agreed to the restrictions, slagged me in his blog radiofacts.com. I’m not really sure who Kev Ross is but it’s fairly clear he’s not a real journalist. And I argued with the publicist, not the performer. Plus, I don’t think the question about her album cover is “embarrassing” at all. But here’s his take on it:
I have never been one to argue or ask embarrassing questions to a performer but apparently The Atlanta Journal and Constitution’s Radio reporter felt, I surmised, that since he worked for the AJC, he had the right to ask whatever he wanted after we were instructed on what not to ask, which I thought was more than reasonable. He lost his press credential on the spot and got kicked out (ouch).
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8/2: Check out David Archuleta’s new song “Crush,” William Hung “minor league” update
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry I’m dragging today. With all the changes at the paper, today was a bit of a whirlwind and I had to finish a story for the ol’ print edition first And no, I’m not going anywhere— that I know of. We’ll know for sure by mid August.
-Anyway, Z100 debuted David Archuleta’s single “Crush” this morning. You can listen here.
It has a confectionary pop sheen, something Chris Brown could have sung. Although Archuleta’s strength has often been very adult contemporary ballad-type material, the producers clearly picked this song to give Archuleta a more modern R&B feel. I expect his big fans will eat it up and it would fit just fine on Star 94 or Q100 in between Justin Timberlake and Rihanna. Compared to other runners up, this beats the first singles by Diana, Bo, Kat or Blake and I can see it going top 20, possibly top 10. No. 1? Hmmm…
-The New York Post reports tat Paula Abdul has nabbed another reality show, this one revolving around cheerleaders.It gives credit to the National Enquirer so we can take this one with a grain of salt. Her last reality show “Hey Paula” was abysmal in every way, shape and form.
-Proving how thorough I try to be about “Idol,” here’s an update on William Hung from deadspin.com.:
He’s spending the summer singing at minor league baseball parks. No joke!
Check this out. A fine laugh for a lazy August weekend! You gotta love how the ballplayers are just working out and ignoring him. Has he improved? Hard to say…
“I’m a baseball fan in general, and I love performing in small towns,” said Hung, who estimates that he accepts “seven or eight” minor league invitations per season. And then there’s the Major League teams such as the Blue Jays and Dodgers who have invited him. “I love visiting new places and meeting people. I try to accommodate them as much as I can.”
-The top 10 finalists rang the Nasdaq closing bell today. Not sure what the point is of this but perhaps but I’m sure the “Idol” finalists will all need some good investment advice for the monies they’re starting to get.
