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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
8/20: Leftovers from Monday’s concert
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s the Dirty Bird Falcons dance David Cook and Michael Johns attempted in Atlanta Monday night. (Earlier in the song, I couldn’t tell if Carly’s mike went out or she forgot the words. Can anyone tell?) They do the Mavid dance at the 2:00 point. Although Michael told me he didn’t think David got it quite right, it looked fairly coordinated to me.
I have a friend Cheryl Monkhouse, whose husband Tim, played footie (Australian rules football) with Michael Johns when Johns lived here in Atlanta. He got sixth row seats and backstage passes for a post-concert meet and greet, which was more like a party. Regular blog reader and David Cook fan Karen Durden (below, with me), an engineer, joined me.
There is normally a backstage meet and greet with all 10 “Idol” contestants but Michael Johns had a special one just for him and 100 of his closest friends and fans. He even had free beer for everyone and encouraged them to hang out instead of just coming and going. He hugged old friends from his CJ’s Landing days in Buckhead and even a gal from his Tifton college tennis days.
(Sorry for the red eye problem here on this shot):
ABOVE: David Cook was the king of patience. He joined the Michael Johns party unexpectedly, he said, to grab a beer. But he was inundated with fans wanting pictures. I didn’t help matters by trying to take a picture of my friend here Cheryl but botching it a few times. Don’t ask. I do have to give David credit for keeping himself amused by making goofy expressions.
Here’s a Mavid shot with Caroline St. Antoine in the middle.
And David makes another funny face with Kristy Stupka of Blue Medspa.
Unfortunately, my friend Karen left before David showed up and missed him.
I stayed until about 11:40 p.m. Kristy Stupka insisted I take my picture with Michael so here it is:
Michael hung out til close to midnight when the tour bus pulled out to go to Florida. I figured he was the last “Idol” out of the arena that night though we saw Carly with her husband and some friends as we walked out.
In other “Idol” news:
-MJ reports that Justin Guarini, Gina Glocksen, Nadia Turner and Brandon Rogers recently visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan and found Brandon’s blog about his experience though he hasn’t updated since the first day August 5.
Afghanistan Day One: 8/5/08 Today I finally made it to the first stop on the “Idol Legends Tour”, (hey, I didn’t name it). After a five hour flight to DC, a five hour layover, then a fourteen hour flight my destination was reached, Doha, Qatar. Little did I know that the US had a military base on this beautiful, incredibly humid, wealthy peninsula in the Arabian Gulf. This base was an R&R base for soldiers who have been ling deployed in the middle east and just need a break. The soldiers get four days with few restrictions and lots of stuff to do. Little did Justin, Gina, Nadia and I know how much a little visit from us could brighten their spirits. They are so far from home that they feel that our taking the time and risk to fly halfway across the planet to see them was some sort of grand gesture. We tries our best to make them realize that the true pleasure was ,in fact, all ours. It was a privelege to see such brave men and women risking their lives day in and out to protect our way of life. Our hats go off to them. What a great way to start the trip.
-I got this tidbit from Extra TV:
(Los Angeles - August 20, 2008) - He’s Baaaacccck! American Idol alum, Sanjaya Malakar, is starring AND singing in a new commercial for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Malakar sat down in “Extra’s” New York Times Square studio and revealed his musical talent has improved since his Idol days. He said, “I’ve noticed while recording the [new] album, I can sing higher.”
“Extra” surprised Malakar with a video message sent from Simon Cowell who, despite constantly criticizing his Idol performances said, “Hello, Sanjaya. In a strange way, I sort of miss you.” Malakar responded, “Well, thank you Simon. I kind of miss you too.”
On Idol, Malakar debuted many talked about hairdos. Using “Extra’s” flip camera, one of his fans asked the burning question everyone wants to know - Does Malakar prefer hair mousse or gel? Malakar said, “I actually prefer water. Mousse and gel are gross. Make my hair all crusty.”
“Extra’s” interview with Sanjaya airs tonight and for all the latest celebrity news, log onto www.extratv.com.
