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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > August
August 2008
8/31: Jordin Sparks concert and interview
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since this is Labor Day weekend, I held off on printing the interview I had with season six winner Jordin Sparks until I took some photos at the concert this morning at White Water Amusement Park after the U.S. 10K Classic charity runs were finished. In fact, I’ll start with the photos before the interview. It’s a holiday! Interview is after the photos I took:
This is one of my best shots. I like the dramatic effect at this angle. Jordin’s hair is a bit different but she still has that girlish charm and self-possessed confidence from the show.
Jordin sang a 10-song set. She’s still new so she sang six songs from her album, including her three top 10 hits (“Tattoo,” “No Air” and “One Step at a Time”), and wisely avoided the crap coronation song “This Is My Now”. She filled the gaps with four cover songs: “Superstition,” “Fallen” (in homage to Alicia Keys, who she opened for at Philips Arena back in May), “Give Me One Reason” and a reprise of one of her better performances from season six, Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.”
Loads of pre-teens and young female teens crowded the front of the stage. Although 12,000 people participated in the races, I’d say only about 10 percent stuck around for the entire post-race concert. Most probably wanted to hit the showers.
It was a perfect day for a concert. Light breeze, overcast, not too hot. And Jordin sounded immaculate. She hardly ever hits a bad note.
She has this really strange red tinge in her hair. Not sure I like it.
Compositionally, this shot works for me somehow. Maybe it’s that background with the trees and the bus.
I didn’t have a lot of time to interview Jordin, but I did a quick catch up while she’s finishing up her tour with Jesse McCartney before she did a sound check in Washington D.C. Friday. She came across as humble and sweet. She only said “amazing” three times. (I remember that being her favorite adjective during one press conference.)
How’s the tour going with Jesse McCartney?
It’s been really good, a lot of fun. Jesse is really sweet. So is his whole crew. Amazing people. It’s taken some getting used to doing an hour vs. 20 minutes when I opened for Alicia Keys.
How is different for you besides being on stage a lot longer?
A lot more songs. It’s a little more strain on your voice. But I’m doing pretty well so far.
Congrats on your third top 10 with “One Step At a Time.”
I know. I just heard that a few days ago. I am so incredibly psyched. It’s all part of a big gamble. I’m new. I didn’t automatically assume people would buy my music since I was on “Idol.” I really wanted to prove myself. We put out “Tattoo” first. That did well. Then “No Air” came next. That really helped. I had no idea it’s be that massive. [It’s her first No. 1 top 40 hit.]. Now I have a third single. It’s amazing but people like me!
You’ve become the queen of downloads. More than 5 million! Yet despite three hit singles, your album hasn’t even sold 1 million copies. What’s up with that?
It’s really crazy. The industry is changing. Sometimes I don’t want to buy an entire album unless I know most of the songs are any good. I understand that from a customer’s point of view. At the same time, I am just how happy how things are going. I’m happy about the download sales. I’m happy about the tours I’ve been able to go on. And going international has been amazing.
So what’s your schedule looking like this fall?
After hit tour ends, I do a few more shows and the VMAs. [The MTV Video Music Awards.] Then I go to Australia for a promotional tour. I’m so excited. I’ve never been there. Then I’m going back to Europe for a couple of shows. I will take a short break for Thanksgiving. Then I got back on tour with Alicia Keys in Australia.
Why did you decide to do this U.S. 10K Classic?
It’s a great charity. I’m singing the National Anthem. I’m kind of nervous. It’s 7 in the morning! But I’m excited doing an event like this to help out kids.
Do you think you sing better in the morning or at night?
I definitely think I sing better after I’ve been talking awhile and been awake. My voice sounds three octaves deeper in the morning sometimes!
So is a fourth single coming?
Yes! But [the label] hasn’t confirmed what song yet. I think it might be “Freeze” or “Permanent Monday.” Not sure!
I suspect her label Jive Records really wants this album to sell 1 million copies. (It’s at about 892,000 right now.) Amazon has Jordin’s album on sale for just $7.99..
And if you want to see a gallery of various “Idol” related photos I’ve taken the past year or so, check this site out.
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8/29: Jordin Sparks interview forthcoming, Jennifer Hudson’s national anthem
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll be talking to Jordin Sparks at 3 p.m. today for a quick interview before her 10K Classic appearance on Labor Day here in metro Atlanta. Her appearance is only available to folks who run the charity race (or volunteer) and she’ll be singing in the morning around 9:30 a.m., I think.
Anybody have any questions, email them to me at rho@ajc.com.
In “Idol” news:
-Here’s Jennifer Hudson singing the National Anthem Thursday night before Barack Obama’s speech (actually nearly four hours before so it’s still daytime and the stadium is far from packed) Fans of Hudson will not be disappointed:
-Carrie Underwood is the first country artist to sell more than one million ringtones each of two songs: “Before He Cheats” and “Jesus Take the Wheel,” according to this item.. The ringtone charts are usually dominated by hip-hop tunes.
-For possibly the first time, a reviewer didn’t totally slam Ramiele Malubay, this time out of Oklahoma.
Ramiele Malubay performed a faithful rendition of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” but she was only mildly effective with Taylor Dayne’s “Love Will Lead You Back” and Maroon 5’s “If I Never See Your Face Again.”
And a bow to David Cook:
The “American Idol” machine can seem overpowering in its artifice and calculation, but when Cook was on stage, the machine fell away to reveal an exceptional regular guy who deserves his “Idol” title.
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8/27: Check out Kara DioGuardi on her first reality show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I got kind of busy Wednesday and neglected to update the blog. My apologies. It’s a crazy week for multiple reasons, though maybe not as crazy as it is for Kara DioGuardi. A lot of debate on the Web whether she’ll help the show or not.
We really won’t know til we see it. The questions are:
1- Will she drive Paula even more batty or balance her out?
2- Will she force the others to shorten their comments because of time restraints? Will this peeve Simon even more? Will it improve flow? I’m not sure if four judges is a good thing though “So You Think You Can Dance” sometimes has five or six.
3- Who will break ties when deciding talent during auditions?
4- What order will she be placed?
5- Will she provide truly useful advise given her position as a singer-songwriter with an impressive resume (Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson and Lindsay Lohan notwithstanding) She seems pretty grounded.
6-Will this improve dynamics and inject some new life into the judge’s table? Simon told AP Tuesday “It’s like, you know, having dinner with three people for seven years, and getting quite bored of each other. So it’s having a fourth person, new opinion, I think it’s gonna be interesting.”
Naturally, someone taped “The One: Making of a Superstar,” the pitifully poorly received “Idol” ripoff Kara was on in 2006 and it’s on YouTube. This is definitely a good sign if she’s like this on “Idol.” She shows passion and knowledge. She berates the contestants (including Syesha Mercado, who has to thank her lucky stars was nixed after two weeks):
Fox 5 in New York City shows the first video of Kara entering the NYC auditions Tuesday here.
-Here’s the Mavid doing the Locomotion at the 2 minute point of this video from Dallas:
-Idol Chatter reports the usual three “Idols” on the top 200. As usual, Carrie Underwood is tops at No. 35 with 11K in sales and 2.30 million total. Daughtry holds at 7K in sales and 4.19 million. His single “What About Now” is moving up the download chart and is at No. 161 with 9K sold. It’s now at No. 30 on the top 40 chart with a bullet. Jordin Sparks is at 7K for the week, too, with 892K. Her single “One Step at a Time” is up to 16 on the download chart and 492K total in sales. It also jumps to No. 1 on the top 40 chart, her third top 10 hit on the radio, according to Radio & Records. David Archuleta’s “Crush” drops to No. 6 with 89K for the week and 256K total. It’s jumped to No. 31 in its second week on the top 40 charts (just behind Daughtry) and will soon overtake David Cook’s “Time Of My Life,” which is stuck at No. 29 (with a bullet though) on the top 40 chart. Cooks’ single has sold 29K, down 32 percent with 822K total.
Carrie’s “Just a Dream” has sold 114K so far with its best week so far (22K last week.) It edges up to No. 14 on the country chart. No guarantee it will make the top 10. If it misses the top 10, it’d be a first for a major single. Bucky Covington is sneaking up on the top 20 with “I’ll Walk,” which is at No. 21. It’s his third top 25 hit. Kellie Pickler is still gaining airplay but is jammed at No. 28 with “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful.” Kristy Lee Cook is stuck way back at No. 46 with “15 Minutes of Shame.”
Jennifer Hudson edges up to No. 149 on the download chart with another 9K sold of “Spotlight.” It has sold 78K total. The single has stalled on the urban chart, though, losing airplay but moving up to No. 23 from 24.
-I have an autographed photo of the top 10 if anybody wants it. I got it just as they were finishing a round of autographs last week during a NetJets meet and greet at the Gwinett Arena. I forgot I had it til today. I kind of joked with some of them that they do so many autographs, they’ve become virtually illegible. Brooke White showed me her fancy big autograph on a separate sheet of paper in comparison to what you see on the photo with a smiley face and such. I need to take a picture of the picture and post it on the blog. I’ll do that later this week. How do you think I should give it away? A contest? Random?
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8/27: More on the new judge Kara DioGuardi, Ace Young on Broadway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ryan Seacrest got some more info about Kara DioGuardi on his KIIS radio show this morning via Paula Abdul.
“We’ve known each other for years since 1999,” Paula Abdul said. She ran into Kara in 1999 outside the Brooklyn Diner in New York. Kara was working at Billboard magazine at the time. They sat down and had a meal. “I talked to her. She told me she was an aspiring singer songwriter. I said, ‘Are you good?’ She said yes.” Abdul asked for her songs and she liked them. Abdul told her she is really good and told her to move to Los Angeles.
And Abdul roomed with DioGuardi for a year! Abdul hooked her up with all sorts of important people including the guys in Sweden who did those Britney Spears songs.
Listen to the interview here.
-MJ had a post about an ABC Radio interview with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, who worked on the upcoming Kelly Clarkson album. It appears that she is not going country if what he says is accurate:
Saying the sound of the record is “all over the place,” Tedder explains, ‘She’s gonna have really aggressive, in-your-face rock/pop, but she’s also gonna have orchestral, Mozart moments of classical rhythmic stuff. It’s great.”
I’m looking forward to it, whatever she does!
-Ace Young is taking the role of Kenickie on the Broadway production of “Grease” starting Sept. 9, two days after Taylor Hicks leaves as Teen Angel.
-Paris Bennett’s label Koch sent out a press release I never got about her Christmas album, coming out in October. Credit Idol Chatter.. Her baby is due then as well. The Christmas album is called “A Royal Christmas.” I guess cos she’s called “Princess P.”
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8/25: Kara DioGuardi talks to the media
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I listened to reporters barrage Kara DioGuardi with questions for 45 minutes and here are my impressions:
-She seems fairly level headed but not terribly colorful in terms of quotes. It’s certain she won’t be flighty like Paula or harsh like Simon or catchphrase-happy like Randy. What she’ll be we won’t quite know until she sits down tomorrow and begins her job. “I will be a straight shooter,” she said. “It’s flattering to think they even thought of me. When I got the call, I thought they were calling the wrong person. I’m the new kid on the block. I hope everyone goes easy on me… I am a lucky lucky gal.” She dubbed herself “a little feisty.”
-She was a judge on the very short-lived reality show on ABC “The One,” an “Idol” ripoff that was cancelled after just four episodes and alarming low ratings in 2006. I just noticed Syesha Mercado was on the show. Nobody asked DioGuardi about that.
-She has no clue where she’ll be sitting. I’m sure leaks will come out tomorrow from contestants in the know. I bet she’ll go before Paula but after Randy.
-I asked about how she got into music. She was a would-be singer who ended up becoming an in-demand songwriter/producer in the pop field. She has an impressive resume and has worked with many Idols.
-Her favorite Idol to work with was Kelly Clarkson. (Cool beans!) She produced Kelly’s hit “Walk Away.” Of the contestants last season, she liked Brooke White the most. “She looked like an artist, felt like an artist, had an interesting tone.”
-“Idol” called her literally just days ago and flew her to New York, where the first later-round auditions start tomorrow. “I almost fell off my chair.”
-She’s closest friends with Paula Abdul. They co-wrote a Kylie Minogue song together. It’s called “Spinning Around.” It was a worldwide hit, never released in the U.S.:
-She has done A&R work to find artists though nobody asked if she discovered anybody notable.
-On being on TV and thrust into the limelight: “I’m putting some money into buying more makeup. I’ll be ready for the camera.”
In other “Idol” news:
-Access Hollywood reports that Jennifer Hudson will be performing the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday before Barack Obama speaks.
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8/25: New “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, Fantasia in Atlanta over the weekend (UPDATED)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve decided to add this to the existing Fantasia item:
“Idol” is adding a fourth judge in Kara Dioguardi. This is the first time since season two that the show has fiddled with the judge lineup, which will otherwise remain the same with Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.
This is the show’s first major move since executive producer Nigel Lythgoe stepped down.
I know nothing about this gal but based on a quick look on the Web, she appears to have an accomplished resume. She has produced work for the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Celine Dion, Clay Aiken, Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Raven-Symone, Diana DeGarmo, Lindsay Lohan, Bo Bice, Pink, Jewel, Jesse McCartney, Paris Hilton, Katharine McPhee, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Jonas Brothers and Christina Aguilera.
Here are two quotes from the press release:
“We are turning the heat up on ‘Idol’ this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table,” said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”
“We had originally intended for American Idol to have four judges,” said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “We’ve seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers.”
There’s a press conference for her at 3 p.m. EST. I’ll create a fresh blog entry for that.
Back in season two, Angie Martinez started as a judge but quit during the auditions, saying at the time “it became too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up on their dream, especially when I realized that many of them have supported my musical career.” Where did that career go by the way?
I caught a short set by Fantasia at the Atlanta Civic Center Saturday night.
She co-headlined with comic Rickey Smiley at the Atlanta Civic Center and proved what made her so appealing to a broad audience on TV. She looked and sounded much better than she did in the spring when she revisited “Idol” and was a hot mess to the point Simon Cowell looked downright dumbfounded.
While she’d revert to “screech” mode on her vocals on occasion, the inspired, energetic Fantasia turned the center into her very own church, capped by a tour de force version of “Free Yourself.”
And showing how connected she was with the audience, she spent almost as much time in the crowd as she did on the stage. She danced and laughed it up with the folks in the first few rows, who got their $94 worth. She even evoked a bit of “Idol” by doing a medley of old classics including “Tell Me Something Good” and a rousing “Purple Rain” that would have impressed the Purple One himself.
I was about 20 rows back and she was such a whirling dervish, it was tough to get good shots with my camera. Here’s the best one I got, of her in the audience:
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8/25 American Idol Rewind rewound, Simon Cowell promises changes, Ruben Studdard’s tax woes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“American Idol Rewind” gets a revamp after two years in syndication and will likely air on different stations. (Locally, it was on WATL-TV and WGN-TV nationally.) Instead of focusing on one season, seasons 3 and 4 are both featured. I’m not sure besides TV Guide Channel, which local TV station will air it this fall. I’ll post that as soon as I know when and which network.
From TV Week:
“This year will be more highlight-driven as we focus on the journeys of some of the contestants from seasons three and four who became household names,” said Tracy Verna Soiseth, executive producer of “American Idol Rewind.” “With some of the names ranging from Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia to Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice coming out of these shows, there is a lot of fun stuff for us to explore where you get to see the best and worst of ‘Idol,’ including [cult favorite] William Hung.”
The new season will focus more on the memorable moments and unaired footage, from auditions to the finale. Season three takes the stage for the first half of “Rewind” and season four is the focus of the latter half. In addition, producers have planned a Carrie Underwood special for the final episode of the season.
I kind of liked the old format of re-living specific episodes but we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.
-I missed the Simon Cowell press conference by phone Friday afternoon for a work-related meeting. He was there to talk about “America’s Got Talent” but he naturally got into “American Idol,” too. Access Hollywood summarized what he said here..
He said there will be changes and he’ll get more involved with Nigel Lythgoe gone. No details, though. He said season seven felt kind of tired and he got a bit bored partway through.
“I started to get bored because of the middle sections of the show because we had 24 people. By the time we hit say, show five of the live show I felt I had known them for years. The other problem was that they were so media savvy, these contestants, that they never showed us, or you, their true personality. In parts they were like robots. I didn’t know much more about them at the end then I did at the beginning. I think it could be just more interesting and controversial than we did last year and that will change.”
-Ruben Studdard owes the IRS and state of Alabama nearly $200,000 in unpaid back taxes, according to AL.com.
Byron Perkins, a Birmingham attorney representing Studdard, said the singer is in good shape financially and should be able to pay any debts.
-Obsessive fans alert: poor David Archuleta brought a female friend to a concert and his fans just went after her though I have no clue how those fans got her email address based on this account below:
I just had to ask: Does Archuleta have a “Crush” of his own? “I’m just afraid to mention anything now,” confessed Archuleta. And he’s right to be afraid. Recently, after one of Archuleta’s female friends attended his show, she received a deluge of hate mail from Archuleta’s fans. “They said, ‘You’re not good enough for him, and you’re ugly,” Archuleta said, shuddering. “You can see why people want to keep things to themselves.” Despite the fact that his rabid fans harassed his guest, however, Archuleta continued to defend them. “They’re just really protective,” he concluded.
-TMZ reports that Kevin Covais is in the hospital because of the stress of his press tour for the upcoming film he’s in “College,” TMZ says. Details are sketchy.
-I went to a nightclub MJQ Concourse on Ponce de Leon tonight and guess who I saw? Bryan Gaynor, the awesome robot dancing dude with scoliosis from “So You Think You Can Dance” last year. Here’s a reminder of his performance:
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8/22: Katharine McPhee’s movie debut in “The House Bunny,” Idols on “Larry King Live”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not a lot of “Idols” have made it on film. There’s that disaster called “From Justin to Kelly.” Tamyra Gray was in “The Gospel.” Oh, and some gal named Jennifer Hudson landed an Oscar for “Dreamgirls.”
Is Katharine McPhee Oscar bound with “The House Bunny? Uh… no. The movie looks awful on the surface but reviews have been better than expected. Then again, I doubt I’ll be seeing it this weekend.
On Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews,, 45% of reviewers liked it.
Anna Faris plays a dopey Playboy bunny who gets booted from the mansion by Hef and ends up being the den mom for a bunch of sorority sisters, including a pregnant Katharine McPhee character who wears flowery dresses and totes around peanut butter.
Here’s a Q&A with Kat McPhee, Emma Stone and Rumer Willis from mtv.com
MTV: Katharine, what are you hoping to accomplish with your next album?
McPhee: I’m really just hoping to bring me to the record. I would like to have an authentic record that comes from the heart and is really my story and my thoughts. Not that the first one wasn’t, but …
Stone: You’re over it.
McPhee: [Laughs] I’m over it. [Singing] I’m so moving on.
And the Los Angeles Times interviewed her.:
Though “Idol” offers enormous exposure for finalists, it does cement contestants in people’s minds solely as singers. “There’s still a lot of proving to do on my part,” she says. “I just came from an audition with a big director,” she adds, though she won’t drop names so as not to jinx her chances.
McPhee may not have many lines, but she does sing twice — once in a very un-“Idol”-like karaoke performance, and once doing a modified cover of the Waitresses’ 1982 hit “I Know What Boys Like,” which plays over the credits.
On set, McPhee was able to improvise and came up with some funny moments that stayed in the movie, including one in which she squeegees her character’s pregnant belly during a sexy carwash scene.
McPhee attended the Boston Conservatory so the Boston Herald interviewed her.:
For her first movie role, McPhee learned not just about makeup, sisterhood and the rigors of wearing pregnancy pads (“Kind of itchy at times”) but how to handle a live pig.
“I felt bad for the pig,” she said. “Dana Goodman had to wrestle the pig and I was, ‘Please be careful.’ ”
-The B-boys from Vegas Super Cr3w beat SoReal Crew on “Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew.” Jackson showed up to give them the prize - $100,000, a trophy and a spot on the tour coming to the Atlanta Civic Center Sept. 20. Buy tix here.
They were definitely sharper and more skilled than runner ups SoReal Crew, who for some reason were never voted in the bottom two. I had a soft heart for Fanny Pak in the end but Super Cr3w earned it.
-And tonight, “Larry King Live” aired the taped and not-so-live interview with the 10 “Idols” from the Gwinnett Arena Monday. I watched the interview but was focusing on taking pictures because I couldn’t hear Larry’s questions, only the answers. I figured someone would transcribe the highlights. MJ, of course, did it in record time. I forgot it was on but here it is from MJ. Larry King is incredibly clueless as usual asking dumb questions and the contestants make lots of faces as he botches Syesha and Ramiele’s names. Jason has no clue when Larry compares him to baseball player Manny Ramirez. Brooke gives a quick synopsis of the long day. (I later complimented her about her ability to summarize.)
Kristy Lee Cook and Carly make jokes about the “Mavid.” Naturally, King has no idea what they’re talking about. “I’ve been dancing since I came out of the womb, Larry,” Michael Johns joked. “When you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
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8/21: David Cook reflects on life so far, David Archuleta’s “Crush” opens big
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two days after the “Idol” concert in Atlanta, David Cook became reflective on his Web site blog here.. The guy’s a good writer! Here’s a portion:
So, I promised that I wouldn’t really try to process all of this madness until I got an extended break, but something happened today that really made me reflect. Well, I may be getting too generic. A lot of small things have happened lately that correlated into some fresh perspective. Let me explain…
We had a much-needed, much-deserved day off in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, today. I took it as an opportunity to rest myself not only physically, but mentally. The strain of trying to put everything I have into this tour, on top of the scheduling conflicts that inevitably arise from doing a record while on the road, and not to mention the crazy press commitments, have left me, and all the idols, with an almost humorous non-distinct stare as we enter the home stretch of this tour. So, today I did little but stay in bed and walk around. I went with MJ and Chik to go see “Tropic Thunder”. I give it 4/5 stars. Tom Cruise was the only part I didn’t like about it. Don’t know why.
After the movie, we went and grabbed dinner, and then split up upon returning to the hotel. I went out to the beach, and plopped down on a chair to watch the waves and the lightning in the distance. (Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Massive Nuisance Fay) All at once, it hit me full on what has happened to me this last year. I thought about Omaha, and my brother, Andrew, and the Green Mile, and the top 12 red carpet event, and the hotel, and the finale, and this tour. It really became apparent to me at that moment that the tour will be done in about a month, and we’ll all, hopefully, go on to amazing careers and lives away from this “Idol Machine” and apart from one another. After a year with these guys, that thought looms ominous and scary.
I want to say thank you for the support you guys have shown, but more importantly the understanding you guys have shown to my limitations as I try to meander through this very new lifestyle of actually being acknowledged for doing something I love.
-David Archuleta landed at No. 2 on the Top 100 singles chart thanks to being the top download sale single with 166,000 sold for “Crush.” The song debuts at No. 40 on the top 40 chart and should easily exceed “The Time of My Life,” Cook’s coronation song, which is now at No. 29.
Hah! Here’s his vlog shooting the “Crush” video. It looks like he taped it on Tuesday, the offday in Florida after Atlanta. He even says nice things about Atlanta but otherwise, not a lot of content here but Archuleta fans will be thrilled:
“Had a great show yesterday. The crowd was just amazing… it was one of the best nights I had.”
-The Miami Herald reviewer enjoyed the “Idols Live” tour Wednesday, the first one since Atlanta.. Hometown gal Syesha Mercado got plenty of love:
Of the 10, Syesha Mercado of Sarasota, who finished in third place behind the two Davids, looked the most like a seasoned star. She earned the night’s first — and only real — standing ovation for her rendition of the Dreamgirls tune, Listen. (The audience rose for the two Davids afterward but that was more out of adoration than for anything they did — though both Davids played to their strengths.)
Oh, and here’s the gratuitous Ramiele slam:
The Miramar native has such a thin voice and lack of command on stage it’s a shock she even made it through the Idol auditions. She, more than anyone, doesn’t belong here.
And sorry Michael Johns, he didn’t like you:
Michael Johns squandered his opportunity with hamfisted vocals on classic rock (he wasn’t helped by the tepid backing band).
-MJ reported some more “Idol” attendance numbers, most 80% or more. Atlantic City even hit 100%. Yet Cincinnati was the big bomb— just 59%. Of 22 concerts, the average attendance has been 85% and average revenue of $588K. MJ—you are working your buttocks off. Great blogging the past couple of days!
-Meanwhile, over at Idol Chatter,, Ken Barnes reports that the three “Idols” on the Top 200 in album sales moved up. Carrie’s “Carnival Ride” jumped to 38 and sold 11,000, up to 2.29 million. Daughtry jumped to 70 and sold 7,000 copies for 4.19 million total. Daughtry nabs his fifth top 40 hit with “What About Now” debuting at No. 35. Jordin edges up to 71 with 7K more and 885K total. At this pace, it could take quite a long time for her to hit 1 million copies. She is about to have her third top 10 hit with “One Step At a Time,” which is at No. 11, according to Radio and Records. And the song sold 54K copies on the download chart for 554K total. Counting her coronatioin song, she has now sold more than 5 million downloads. Impressive!
On the country chart, Carrie Underwood’s “Just a Dream” is at No. 15 (with her single selling 18K for the week and 92K total) while Bucky Covington’s “I’ll Walk” is stuck at No. 23. Kellie Pickler’s “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” is still gaining airplay but her song fell from 26 to 28 as other songs leapfrogged her. Kristy Lee Cook’s “15 Minutes of Shame” is at No. 46, up from 60.
Chris Sligh’s single “Empty Me” is at No. 8 on the soft Christian pop chart after 23 weeks.
Jennifer Hudson’s “Spotlight” is at No. 24, showing modest airplay increases.
Taylor HIcks’ “Early Works” moved 2,300 copies and missed the Top 200.
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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.
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8/18: Idols in concert in Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After mocking various critics who were forced to watch this concert tour, I come in knowing the purpose of “American Idols Live” is somewhat different from most concerts. It’s merely a celebration of ourselves and the folks we picked to make the top 10, a visual and mental souvenir. We validate ourselves with the success of these singers, many of whom will never sing in venues this large again while a select few will use this as a springboard for bigger and better things.
From that standpoint, the concert was a rousing success, highlighting the depth and breadth of talent this year. Sure, the TV show itself is getting gray around the edges (like me), but there are a few solid reasons the show sold out: David Cook and David Archuleta (with a few Jason Castro fans thrown in for good measure.)
The staging was simple, the backing band solid, the opening host Corey aggravating to the nth degree. (Yes, he’s the type of host who had to exhort people to stand up, clap and do the hokey pokey.) And adding a level of corporate surrealism, big Pop Tarts characters walked around. The crowd was your usual blend of families with kids and gobs of middle-aged women.
Let’s run down the top 10. In fact, the show itself for the first time celebrates the countdown on the big screens behind the singers.
Chikezie (below) is facile on stage, with the chops to handle both slow and fast songs. He lacks a certain something that would make him a big star. I can’t quite figure out why but he isn’t Ruben Studdard.
(PHOTO CREDITS: Rodney Ho)
What can I say about Ramiele without being mean? Well, there is only one point on stage where the audience can touch the contestants stage right. When Chikezie, Michael, the two Davids et. al. went over people stood up, cheered, reached for them, took pictures. When Ramiele came over? Nothing. They just sat there. Ouch. She was so robotic during her “I Want You Back,” I watched the backup singers, who were given their one chance to show off their dance moves.
Michael Johns got a great reception from his hometown crowd. (In fact, he had a separate meet and greet afterwards for more than 100 people. I’m going to post a blog entry about that Tuesday.) He sounded great, looked comfortable and even introduced “Dream On” as “the song that got me kicked off ‘American Idol.’ ” But alas, he still likes the song too much to care.
Kristy Lee Cook feels very calculated, very rehearsed but that sheen of professionalism got her through her three songs, including (of course) Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” She, like most of the other women, went all sparkly, probably because it can be seen in the back of the arena.
Carly Smithson, without the pressure of the judges or the weight of her past, let loose with Evanescence, Heart and Cyndi Lauper. When she’s more comfortable, we feel more comfortable. And she pulled off this dress below far better than 99% of the population. She can still scrunch her face up impressively when she sings passionately.
Brooke White is a joyous presence on stage, even when she partly tripped getting up from the piano. As the second coming of Carly Simon, she even had ’70s-style wavy hair.
During the U2 “Pride” group sing, I caught the two former Atlantans together on stage here. They should definitely do some duets at some point:
After the break, Jason Castro came on with a lovely rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” followed by his emotive take on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” that we missed on “Idol” because they couldn’t get full clearance. Castro noted he was really nervous doing it in Hollywood but now has more confidence or something like that. The dreadheads were out in force. Somebody in line sight of me kept waving a big “No. 1” foam finger with dreads on it.
I still have a hard time finding a real identity behind the polished and professional Syesha Mercado but she is amazingly good at imitating the likes of Alicia Keys and Rihanna. And I managed to get the best photo of the night despite how far away I was from the stage (about 30 rows back on the side).
David Archuleta received screams almost as loud as those I heard for the Jonas Brothers a few months back. He sounded amazingly good as always and acted as if he’d never heard such feedback before. I don’t even think it’s an act. It’s just Archie. And he has this nervous tick of saying “hah!” every time he paused between thoughts.
The winner David Cook came on finessing both “Billie Jean” and “Hello” into grunge-like Cook masterpieces just like on the show. And he managed to make both his coronation song “Time of My Life” and the execrable Aerosmith song “And I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” palatable. He also brought out a video camera and taped the crowd, a sweet souvenir. He still comes across as a less arrogant, more supple Daughtry and that’s why he deserved to be the winner. Folks closer up said he does like to wear a lot of eye liner along the lines of Dava Navarro:
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8/18: Idols Live meet and greet at Gwinnett Arena, new Daughtry video
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Larry King wanted to tape an interview with the 10 Idols so CNN ended up taping it today at Gwinnett Arena. That kind of threw off the standard Q&A interview portion but I got to take some shots of them during the interview below and got to finally meet the two former Atlantans Carly Smithson and Michael Johns. The “Larry King Live” is set to air Friday.
I got a few more tidbits from Michael Johns about this upcoming post tour plans. He will be working with Andrew Farriss from INXS in October on a song. He’s also hoping to attend the Elton John celeb-am tennis match in a few months. He also expects to move back to Atlanta next year. He’s working with the same people as Elliott Yamin to get his album out. He also gave a shout out to www.michaeljohnsonline.com for being such a great fan site.
He described the umbrella bit they did last night at Charlotte, which is already online. Michael, Syesha and I watched it on this computer:
Johns said by pure coincidence, he had heard Turner Classic Movies had paid homage to Gene Kelly of “Singing in the Rain” fame that same day.
As I was putting these pictures up in the meet-and-greet area, Kristy Lee Cook came up and looked through them. Brooke came by, too. Sweet gal. And Michael hated his shot below, says he looks kind of weighty. I said he looked fine but what do I know?
ABOVE: Kristy Lee Cook with Michael Johns.
A side shot with Jason Castro, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael and Chikezie Eze.
Usually, the “Idols” get to meet and greet fans outside at around 2 p.m. but today, because of the “Larry King Live” shoot, they couldn’t do it, leaving disappointed fans to hang outside.
I got to meet Carly in person. She remembered that I knew Jennifer Ordonez, who wrote that WSJ piece about her. She has amazing blue eyes. She has no concrete plans post tour yet but she’ll be working an album of course.
Brooke White with Jason Casto.
My favorite shot: David Cook with a mischievous grin while David Archuleta does his grin.
Carly with Chikezie.
Jason with Kristy.
David Cook recently got this tattoo of an eye. Not sure why or what it means. I wasn’t listening carefully to his explanation during the taping.
My artsy shot of the day from the second floor over some sweatshirts set to go on sale soon.
Ah… yes. The fans!
Michael, Carly and Chikezie from the side.
Syesha and the two Davids cutting up. One random observation about Archuleta I got from Johns. Archuleta eats constantly, usually healthy stuff, but he eats a lot. I saw him grabbing a few corn dog bites from the MarquisJet NetJets food spread. Ah… the advantages of youth!
Here’s other “Idol” news:
-This from a press release I got from CNN:
CNN today announced that platinum-selling recording artists Daughtry have rerecorded “Feels Like the First Time,” originally made famous by Foreigner in 1977, as the theme song for the network’s League of First Time Voters initiative. The music video will premiere on Campbell Brown: Election Center on Monday, August 18, and will be available on CNN.com via video on-demand.
The single will appear on Daughtry Deluxe, the band’s upcoming deluxe version of its debut album, due out Tuesday, Sept. 9.
“We strongly believe that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as you vote,” said Chris Daughtry, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band. “Getting to rerecord a classic song like this was a real honor for us, and we hope it helps inspire people to vote.”
-Word is from SOHH.com that Fantasia is in town working on her third album with Rock City.
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8/15: Remember Mikalah Gordon? She’s baaack in “Gone Country 2”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Mikalah with Chris Kirkpatrick of ‘N Sync. credit/CMT
ABOVE: The cast (l-r). Sebastian Bach, Mikalah Gordon, Sean Young, Lorenzo Lamas, John Rich, Jermaine Jackson, Chris Kirkpatrick.
Mikalah Gordon was a polarizing figure from season four in 2005. She started out with a lot of refreshing attitude, then kind of melted into confusion over her image and sound. And her diction while singing was odd to say the least.
She didn’t quite disappear after “Idol,” doing some hosting work for Fox Reality Channel’s “Idol” roundups for a couple of years, acting as a correspondent for “The Tyra Banks Show,” plus playing a spoiled pop star on “The Unit.” She also portrayed Fran Drescher’s cousin on Fran’s sitcom “Living With Fran.”
And now she’s on her first big reality show since “Idol” called “Gone Country 2,” where this Jewish, Italian gal from Vegas attempts to “go country.” She’s now 20 years old and while she says she wants to be a country star, this is also a good way to get some (any!) exposure and a paycheck, too.
“I find country music very genuine and passionate,” she said. “I think it’s time for something unique in country. I know what I want to do. I want to sing.”
Growing up, she listened more to old-school country such as Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. “Kris Kristofferson is an in incredible songwriter,” she noted. She’s a fan of some modern-day stuff by Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Tim and Faith. Plus, she likes southern rock along the lines of Lynyrd Skynrd, a style she would tend to prefer for herself.
She joins a wacky “Surreal Life”-type cast: actor Lorenzo Lamas (pretty looking even in middle age), the slightly nutty actress Sean Young, the “Dee Snider” character in Sebastian “Skid Row” Bach, Jermaine Jackson (yes, one of those Jacksons!), Irene “Fame” Cara and Chris Kirkpatrick of ‘N Sync fame. Like Diana DeGarmo the first time, Mikalah is by far the youngest. And Mikalah is less well known than Diana, having finished 11th (as opposed to second).
One thing she said John Rich doesn’t do to her the way he did to Diana was make her cry. “I don’t cry,” she said.
The show debuts tonight at 8 p.m. I watched a preview. Mikalah comes off more mature and level-headed than she was on the show because, well, she is 20 years old, not 16.
Mikalah voluntarily jumped into clearing the air about “Idol” without me even asking. She said she made some serious mistakes on “Idol” but chalked it up to being young. “I was really really insecure,” she said. “I know I came off as kind of annoying. I had a really big mouth. I used that more as a cover. I really thought this could make me a huge star.”
Here’s Mikalah’s original audition where she shows some of her sass:
She works over Simon during Hollywood week:
But after making the top 24, she looked at the message boards. Big mistake. “I saw what people were saying about me. I was devastated. i was heartbroken.” (They insulted her attitude as well as her singing style.). She felt at that point to show her “more gentle or softer side. I was so confused. I was just trying to please everybody but myself.” She said she grew up without a lot of real life experiences and wasn’t used to be criticized.
She never saw herself as a diva on the show. “My mom would have kicked my ass if I ever became one. I had good intentions. I just didn’t know what I was doing.”
Here’s the “too mature for a 16 year old” take on a Barbra Streisand song “Somewhere.” It’s actually not bad in my opinion but I think she got reamed for it by Simon.
After the show, she stopped singing publicly for at least two years. She moved to Los Angeles and waitressed to pay the bills between TV gigs. “I made hardly any money from ‘Idol,’ ” she said. (Missing the top 10 for the tour didn’t help matters.) “I didn’t make money until I started doing some hosting gigs,” she said. During her time in L.A., she said she was tempted to go back home to Vegas and go to beauty school. But she stuck it out. “Now I’m self sufficient and independent,” she said. “I’m now more confident though I’m not cocky.”
She also got herself a vocal coach to help her reduce her nasal tone in her voice. She had to think about speaking only from her diaphragm.
She recently did the Razz Room in San Francisco with Gina Glocksen and Ricky Smith and got to meet Trenyce and R.J. Helton. She sang “Last Dance,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” and “God Bless the Child.” (She’s even planning to do a Wizard of Oz charity event in Lovett, Texas, in which she plays Dorothy and R.J. plays the Tin Man.)
Her take on each contestant besides herself:
Sebastian Bach: “He’s wild. I learned a lot from. He stays true to himself. I don’t know what his true intentions were for being on the show. But when he gets on the stage to sing, you see so much love for what he does.”
Sean Young: “Crazy girl! She was in one my favorite movies! [Ace Ventura]. She was very much in her own little world. But for what it’s worth, she was nice to me… her main goal was to write a song. And she did. She knew she wasn’t going to get a career out of it.”
Lorenzo Lamas: “He’s a good looking man! He’s way handsome for an older man.” [I teased her about the fact he’s more than twice her age.] “I wouldn’t go there. He was very serious. He does a lot of gigging around. You can’t help but respect him.” How was his song? “You have to watch and judge for yourself. At least he’s good looking.”
Jermaine Jackson: “I wanted to kill myself being there with a Jackson! I have to say, I was intimidated. He’s really wise and spiritual and humble. I was surprised how humble he is being a Jackson. And his wife is so cute.”
Chris Kirkpatrick: “”He was my best friend in the house. He was closest to my age. Funny thing— I was the rebel when I was 11. I refused to listen to ‘N Sync. My girlfriends were all in love with Justin. I listened to a lot of soul and my father was a jazz musician… I think his main objective was to prove that he can stand on his own. He did a good job. There is some tension between him and John Rich. But at the end of the day, Chris wrote a genius song. I think he did what he set out to do.”
Irene Cara: “You’ll see. Nothing I can say about that.” Hmm….
-Diana DeGarmo’s gig this fall with “Godspell” on Broadway is in trouble before it even started, according to Variety. Financial problems are being cited..
-Carmen Rasmussen is pregnant, according to people.com..
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8/13: Michael Johns interview is now up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The fans at michaeljohnsonline.com sent me more than 20 questions for Michael Johns. Thank you! I only had 15 minutes by phone but I asked as many key ones today as I could in advance of the “Idols Live” tour at Gwinnett Arena August 18.
Johns lived in Buckhead for several years before moving to Los Angeles to try to break into the business and “Idol” identified the neighborhood as his “city” of residence.
Going indie: He noted that he’s been on two major labels and an indie. He plans to go on his own like Elliott Yamin and hopes to find distribution any way he can. “I want control back,” he said. “It’s not like I need a label to get me noticed. This is one of my last shots to be in this situation.” He also plans to do separate deals in Australia and the U.K.
So far, so good: To date, he says he’s recorded eight songs (two songs by Diane Warren), most done before the tour started. He hopes to get 25 done by Thanksgiving and pick 12 for an album set to be released in January or February. No producer named yet. “I can’t believe producers are returning my calls!” he said. “Ultimately, we’ll write as much as we can then figure out what producer to stylize it.” He admits he has fought off the INXS vibe but realizes he’s good with the bluesy-soul blend and will stick with it. He has no plans to use any songs from the past. He expects the album will include all new songs. “It’s an album hopefully you can dance to, work out to, chill out to.”
Radio, radio: J.D. asked if Michael Johns can get on the radio without major label support? (Elliott Yamin pulled it off but he’s the exception.) “I’ll get an aggressive street team and radio commercial team. There are businesses who do that.”
**The “Mavid Bromance”: The fans seem bemused by the close relationship David Cook and Michael Johns have developed. And they are wondering if the pair will work together. “I can’t see how we wouldn’t work together. We’re such great friends. Even though we’re a bit different stylistically, I used to do that kind of sound back in Atlanta. We really have a good connection. We keep each other sane. Working together - it’s something we talk about all the time.”
The “Movad” dances are back!: Ah, yes. Fans have enjoyed the silly dances the pair have done during Rihanna’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music” at most concert dates. I posted the video yesterday off YouTube showing a compilation of those silly dances, ranging from the Robot to the Running Man to the “Terrible Towel” to “King of the World!” But a week ago, the tour managers asked them to stop doing it. For a couple of dates, they complied, just did the song straight. M.J. and Cook fans through a hissyfit on the Web. Heck, there was even a petition!
Johns confirmed that they were told to stop doing the dances. He protested but relented. He is even familiar with the video compilation above. “It’s hilarious!” he said. He said a few concerts in, during soundcheck, he and David began coming up with a silly dance. “Every day is different,” he said. He was surprised but pleased that “everyone has been spazzing out about it. The fans love it. We were told to reel it in. But the fans wanted it back. They were up in arms!” So the concert organizers reversed the decision and let them go back to business. In Baltimore a couple days ago, Johns and Cook did the Rocky Balboa fists in the air dance in celebration.
Tattoos?: Jasela wanted to know if Johns has any tattoos. Nope. “Never will,” he said, then imitating Austin Powers, says, “It’s not my bag, baby!”
Early release: He asked to be released from the 19 Entertainment contract that is normally thrust upon all “Idol” finalists (at least the top 12 that I know of) for six months after the finale or the end of November. But Johns asked to be let go early and for the first time that I know of (though it may not have been the first), 19 agreed. “They were amazing to me,” Johns said. “They said, ‘Look- we realize you’re 29 years old. Good luck.’ I was so thankful. I’ve been able to work and get things done instead of wait around.”
Off to the races. Michael Johns will be singing the National Anthem October 26 at the Pep Boys Auto 500 and he’ll do three songs as well. You can buy tix here..
Why no instruments? Karen from Atlanta asked why he didn’t use instruments like the two Davids, Brooke and Jason, he said “the right song hadn’t come up yet for me. I was actually going to do it for Neil Diamond. But look—I’m a singer foremost, being a front man. Instruments weren’t going to define me. Not necessary.”
How about the Boston Herald critic calling you the “slightly edgier Michael Bolton:” “If I can sell 50 million albums like him, I don’t care! He was 37 when he broke it big and that’s amazing. Major labels nowadays don’t care about people over 25. ‘You’re 27? Forget about it!’ That’s over the top!”
I ran out of time. With one question left, I asked whether he plans to play golf on Monday when he’s in Atlanta. (That was one fan’s question.). His answer—no. He plans to spend the morning he’s here to visit his friends here and he has plenty here.
In the interim, here’s some “Idol” news:
-Daughtry will be performing at a private party during the GOP national convention in Minneapolis in early September along with the likes of LeAnn Rimes and Sammy Hagar.
-New papa Clay Aiken is giving “Spamalot” another stint after taking the summer off. More info here.. I’m surprised he didn’t embark on a more aggressive concert tour to promote his current album, which has not done well at all. He will be on Broadway from Sept. 19 through Jan. 4, 2009. E! has a picture of Clay holding hte baby but we can’t really see the baby here.
-After relatively low turnouts in other cities, 11,000 people are estimated to have shown up at Jacksonville for today’s auditions. More info here.
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8/12: Daughtry gets expanded treatment, Michael Johns interview forthcoming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Daughtry’s first CD has already sold 4 million-plus copies but according to USA Today, the label is releasing an “enhanced” version featuring acoustic versions of “What About Now” and “Home,” as well as a live version of “It’s Not Over” and a cover of Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time.” A DVD features the videos from his five singles and concert footage.
Acts such as Chris Brown and Rihanna have created “bonus” CDs. This is the first time an “Idol” alum has earned such an honor. Or a desperate way for the label to make a few more pennies. And believe me, those labels need every penny because albums seldom sell 1 million copies nowadays, much less 4 million.
You can pre-order here.. It’s out Sept. 9.
-I have a Michael Johns interview set up in advance of the “Idols Live” tour coming to Gwinnett Arena Wednesday. Any questions I should ask the former Buckhead man? Email me at rho@ajc.com.
One of his fans sent me this video of Michael and David Cook doing goofy dances at varous “Idols Live” concerts ranging from “The Robot” to “The Running Man” to some sort of “Grease” takeoff. Word is that they’ve been told to stop it from the Powers That Be. I’ll definitely ask if this is true.
-And yes, it was no problem getting a hold of season four’s Mikalah Gordon. I am talking to her Wednesday as well for “Gone Country 2” debuting Friday so if you have any questions to ask her, please email me as well.
-David Archuleta’s “Crush” is now available on iTunes and Amazon. Have at it fans!
-The Boston Herald reviewer gave the show a lukewarm review.
Funny (or mean, depending on your mood) line about Michael Johns, who the writer felt lacked movement:
The weathered Aussie rocker has the chops to churn out Queen and Aerosmith anthems, but in terms of mannerisms he’s a slightly edgier Michael Bolton.
-I wrote an advance print story about the “Idols Live” tour which is here.. I basically did a comparison of the two Davids.
-Carrie Underwood states the obvious in Allure magazine: fame makes dating hard. Really!
“You never really know why somebody wants to be around you, or if they do genuinely like you,” Underwood, 25, tells Allure magazine in the September issue. “I wish everyone had a label on their forehead so you could automatically tell their intentions. Sometimes you just wish that no one wanted anything from you.”
-Do you want to know what Ryan Seacrest looked like shirtless in 1994? TMZ provides this classic pose.
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8/11: Gone Country reunion, David Cook’s “Time of My Life” makes Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CMT on Friday decided to run a mix of “best of” and leftovers from the original “Gone Country” featuring Atlanta’s Bobby Brown and “Idol” alum Diana DeGarmo.
John Rich brought the originals back together. A moment we missed was the folks skeet shooting on Gretchen Wilson’s ranch. Funny line from Bobby Brown:
“There was a segment in which we were shooting guns. I don’t think they want to see black men shooting guns, especially on CMT.” Sisqo was especially good at it. “He had too good of an aim with the skeet shooting,” Diana said.
“Maureen [McCormick] had a shotgun which was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life,” said Dee Snider.
Fan favorite moment was Bobby almost peeing on Dee Snider with his sleepwalking. “Watching myself sleepwalk was weird,” Brown said. “I’m getting help for it. Working on getting sleep earlier in the day. Going to the bathroom before I go to sleep.”
McCormick and Carnie Wilson accidentally saw Brown’s junk when he kicked his covers off. She also got major infections from wearing boots without socks. She wondered if she got it slipping on Bobby’s urine.
“I have Tourettes,” Carnie Wilson said. She cussed and farted tons. They repeated the Bobby/Maureen flirtation. Diana burping.
John Rich’s take on Diana DeGarmo: “There’s no doubt in my mind that Diana Degarmo when she gets it all right will be a big star in country music.” But his rationale for picking Julio Igelsias Jr., which confused all of us: “You can see the entire audience move toward him and he moved toward them… That was a very big click in my head why he should win… I’m te kind of guy who always wants to see country music push beyond its boundaries.”
Carnie imitated Julio, asking if that’s country music? (No, it’s not.) “I wanted to win!” Diana said. Bobby fake cries. Oh, well.
Since the show, John produced Julio’s song “The Way I Want You.” (No radio airplay that I can tell.) Bobby is working on country as well as R&B/hip-hop. Carnie and Sisqo aren’t doing much countrywise that I can tell. Dee Snider no longer hates country music. Diana, of course, moved to Nashville and is working with John on an album. Maureen says people now see her for “Gone Country” as well as Brady Bunch.
This is a preview for “Gone Country 2,” which premieres next Friday. I’m going to try to talk to Mikalah Gordon this week. What should I ask her?
-NBC used David Cook’s “Time of My Life” during the montage at the end of the TV coverage of the Beijing Olympics. Rickey.org has it here..
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8/8: Clay Aiken’s baby has arrived!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TMZ reports that Clay Aiken now has a son named Parker Foster Aiken.
Aiken provided the sperm for his friend 50-year-old Jaymes Foster to be artifically inseminated. This is similar to the David Crosby/Julie Cypher/Melissa Etheridge deal a few years back.
Aiken’s mom Fayes told a local Raleigh, N.C. TV station that the dark-haired Parker weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz and was 19” long. She says her son is “smiling from ear-to-ear.”
Aiken and Foster met while he was on the “American Idol” in 2003. She’s the sister of record mogul David Foster.
According to msnbc.com,, he posted the following note on his Web site (though I didn’t see it on the home page.)
“My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited,” Aiken wrote. “Wow … 8:08 … 08/08/08. The little man is healthy, happy and as loud as his daddy. Mama Jaymes is doing quite well also.”
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8/8: Obama not too keen on “Idol,” Ryan Seacrest gets name boost for “Rockin’ Eve”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Barack Obama told ew.com that he isn’t a huge “Idol” fan.
Are there any shows you two argue about?
She likes American Idol, her and the girls, in a way that I don’t entirely get.
Have you or any member of your family ever voted for an Idol?
I think the girls did vote in last year’s contest. I don’t know who they voted for, but I recall that a vote was cast. They were very excited about it. [Obama’s camp won’t comment, but rumor has it that his daughters, Malia and Sasha, were big David Archuleta fans last season.]
-Ryan Seacrest, apparently recuperated from that shark bite, will have his name added to the ABB New Year’s celebration. Originally known as “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” it’s not “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.”
According to TV Week:
The company [Dick Clark Productions] has triggered a three-year option on its deal, which means Mr. Seacrest is now locked in through 2010.
Back in 2005, Mr. Seacrest signed a long-term deal with DCP that called for him to eventually take over as sole host of the franchise.
-Seacrest interviewed Nigel Lythgoe about his departure from “Idol” here.. He said the time pressure to deal with both SYTYD and “Idol’ was tougher and tougher. “I needed a break to do something else,” he said. He said leaving “Idol” was not as tough as coming to America and leaving the U.K. “It is one of those things. It’s the love of your life you need to give up purely and simply because I have to move on and the program has to move on. I hope they don’t tweak it too much.” Who will take his place? He doesn’t really answer that. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. I’m such a control freak, I never let them off the leash.”
-Sorry to be so late on this one: Bo Bice weclomed child no. 2 on Tuesday, People.com reported.
The baby boy, named Caleb, was born in Nashville. He joins big brother Aidan, who will be 3 in September.
-“Gone Country” on CMT debuts August 15 at 8 p.m. with season four finalist Mikalah Gordon (as well as Jermaine Jackson, Irene Cara, Lorenzo Lamos, Sean Young, Sebastian Bach and Chris Kirkpatrick of N Sync.)
-Remember when Natalie Cole “dueted” with her late great dad Nat King Cole? Well, Elvis will be “dueting” with a bunch of country stars, many who weren’t even born when he died. Carrie Underwood is one of them, singing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Kind of nauseating though how can this beat Celine Dion singing to his hologram during “Idol Gives Back”?
-“Nashville Star” winner Melissa Lawson actually made it to the top 75 season four but got zero airtime! Here’s the excerpt from an ew.com interview.:
Give me an example of one of those times when you’ve been knocked down and you can now look back and say, “Okay, that was just a step in my getting here.”
You know, probably one of the ones that people would relate to most is American Idol. I competed Season Four and made the top 75, but after going through all of that, I never got airtime at all. It was almost a slap in the face, and it just made me feel like there was no validation there at all, no respect for the time that was put in. It just made me feel horrible. That’s one of many. Overall, I’ve paid a lot of dues to get where I’m at today, and I feel very, very fortunate to have won last night. Time is ticking in such a weird manner right now, I can’t believe it was just last night.
-A quick summary of sales from Idol Chatter: Jordin Sparks’ “One Step at a Time” increases sales 9% and is up to No. 28 with 44K sold and 328K total. The song in Radio and Records is up to No. 16 from 22. It’s positioning itself nicely for a top 10 spot, Jordin’s third. David Cook’s “The Time of My Life” edges up to No. 33 on the top 40 charts. I doubt it will get much higher.
Her album is picking up, too, from No. 108 to No. 69, up 22%, bringing totals to 871K. Daughtry moved up, too, to 78 with 7,000 sold and 4.17 mil total.
On the country chart, Carrie’s “Just a Dream” is up to No. 21 while Josh Gracin’s song started slipping and given its age, was quickly dropped off the chart. Bucky’s “I’ll Walk” moves up to No. 28 from 30 while Kellie Pickler holds at No. 31 with “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” but still gaining airplay (albeit slowly.) Kristy Lee Cook’s “15 Minutes of Shame” debuted at No. 58.
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8/7: David Archuleta seeking that “Miley touch”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, that headline doesn’t mean David Archuleta has the hots for Miley Cyrus.
Over the next two weeks, David A. will record at least two Rock Mafia-sanctioned songs that 19 Recordings and RCA Records are hoping could turn into hit singles, the source said.”
He already has a likely hit on his hands with “Crush.”
-Ryan Seacrest wants to tease Simon Cowell by putting up a billboard to countdown Cowell’s 50th birthday, according to an interview Seacrest did with Cowell’s younger brother Nick.. “That would flatter him,” Nick said. “People think he looks older than 50.”
-Yes, even the New York Times reviews the “Idols live” tour.. The reviewer was less than impressive with David Cook’s performance, which he felt was “perfunctory” while David Archuleta was “charming and impressing.” But he left the best words to Carly Smithson, the first time among all the reviews I’ve read in which she gets singled out in such a fashion. (Somehow, he didn’t even bother to mention Ramiele!)
Ms. Smithson has a pleasantly brassy voice, though she was erratic on the show. But while television might not have suited her, the stage did. Here, her three songs — Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life,” Heart’s “Crazy on You” and Cyndi Lauper’s “I Drove All Night” — were stunning. She hit the big notes. She drew the audience close through careful deployment of volume. She dramatically dropped to her knees. All in all, it felt strangely like a concert.
In Albany, the reviewer liked Smithson, Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook. over David Cook.
But the real star of the show was — the Show. Stage runways, multiple large projection screens, MTV-style camerawork, screaming tweens, embarrassed parents, huge arena space, AI theme song introduction to the program — it was all there and all encompassing.
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8/6: Audition numbers so far: are they down from last year?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry. It’s been a distracting day with all the upheaval here at the AJC. And I won’t know my fate in terms of what my job will be come August 31 until August 18. I hope I get to do what I do because I do love it. Anyway, upward and onward to “Idol” news!
-Audition numbers are often sketchy and sporadic since “Idol” flacks seldom provide anything but grandiose figures. (They’re stingy with vote totals so why not actual audition figures?) You can count the folks in line but that’s not the true number of people who actually audition. That includes friends and family waiting as well. I was able to sneak into the actual Georgia Dome last year just before the start of the auditions and estimated the number of folks waiting by counting seats. I calculated about 12,000 people inside. I guessed half the people had family or friends with them for support so maybe 8,000 to 9,000 actually auditioned. Even if only a quarter brought buds who didn’t audition, that means 10,000 people max.
MJ checked around and gets the impression “Idol” audition numbers are down across the board so far vs. last year. Factors she cited include a poor economy making it more expensive for folks to travel to auditions and waning popularity in the show period. Those are excellent and very rational reasons. I found a Salt Lake City publication say 6,000 tried out there. The San Jose Mercury News said 7,000 showed up for the San Francisco auditions. Again, I’m not sure if these numbers include friends and family or not. She has more numbers on her site here.. (MJ—you’re working far harder on this than I am!)
Every year, the show throws out “100,000 people tried out” but I doubt they’ll be anywhere near that number this time around (if they ever even were.)
I have not seen any “Idol” official deny the pitiful 300 number out of Puerto Rico. In the New York Times, producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz gave this comment:
Ms. Frot-Coutaz said the producers of “Idol” had expected a small turnout in Puerto Rico because it is an island, but that they went there “to give a different flavor to the show.”
-Entertainment Weekly wrote an interesting thought piece on Nigel Lythgoe’s departure. Since we were not there behind the scenes and the fact he had two other executive producers, it’s hard to say how much influence he had on the show. I suspect he did have a lot to say about the rules (ages, instrument use), themes and guest judges.
He also brought up some interesting ideas to improve “Idol” next year. For instance, how about a live announcement of the top 24? This would stunt the ability of folks to do spoilers the way they did big time this past season. Also, why not ensure the top 24 get a fair hearing by giving all of them some air time. Inevitably, the more interesting stories do deserve the air time, I understand, but it is a bit unfair for some that they have to fight extra hard to avoid elimination in the semifinal round simply because nobody knows who they are. And he thinks the show might improve if there was a bit more spontaneity to it.
-Constantine Maroulis, who was already doing theater before “Idol,” dips his fingers back in the game with an off-Broadway production of “Rock of Ages.” Broadway.com, crediting Variety, has the news here..
Since “Idol,” he has done parts in “The Wedding Singer” and “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.”
“Rock of Ages” centers on a 1980s Hollywood rock club threatened by developers that serves as the backdrop for a romance between a wannabe guitar hero and a small-town girl. The show incorporates music from that era, including songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Styx, Twisted Sister and Whitesnake.
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8/5: Puerto Rico to “Idol”- huh?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Typically, thousands show up to “Idol” auditions in cities stateside. But when “Idol” this week travelled to Puerto Rico, UPI reports that only 300 people showed up. (UPI is still around?)
Actually, UPI didn’t do any real reporting. It credited El Nuevo Dia.
Since “Idol” typically pares down 97% of first-round auditioners before they get to Paula, Randy and Simon, that would mean about 5 people and a very short audition day for the trio. But in reality, I’m sure this means the odds of seeing the three judges went up 20-fold for folks who bothered to show up. It’ll be like season one all over again.
Here’s video from the day, though it doesn’t indicate how few people were there. One person actually yodels to the cameras.
-“Nashville Star” concluded Monday night with our favorite Melissa Lawson beating Gabe Garcia, the runner up, and what’s her face, who came in third. (Sorry, her name has already beaten a quick retreat out of my brain.) I’m glad she won. I can’t imagine we’ll ever see her again but stranger things have happened and I hope she can put together a good record. And yes, Billy Ray Cyrus pulled “Achy Breaky Heart” out of the coffers for all to sing. Ah… the memories!
-Two “So You Think You Can Dance” dancers were sent to the hospital for dehydration. More details here though names were not released. People said it was Twitch and Joshua. Did someone forget to bring water to rehearsals?
-My hometown pub Newsday on Long Island gave a very reasoned, very fair review of the concert there.. He noted the relative lack of duets and trios that tended to litter past “Idol” concerts, sometimes to good effect, sometimes not so good.
But that was this year’s vibe — more about individual artistry and satisfying voting blocs than collaboration or fun. This may have been the most talented “Idol” Top 10 ever, but that didn’t make them more exciting.
-Here’s what my colleague Sonia Murray got from Jennifer Hudson Friday. This ran in today’s Peach Buzz:
Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson fondly recalled her history with the ATL backstage at Sugar Hill in Underground Atlanta over the weekend. “This is where I got my start,” she told us. “This is where my audition was for ‘American Idol,’ so I feel like this is where my star, I guess, was first conceived.” Hudson was likewise warmly received by a capacity crowd during her 40-minute set. Included (believe it or not): Mac Davis’ “I Believe in Music”; “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” and her current Ne-Yo-penned single, “Spotlight.”
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting on,” she told the crowd of V-103 listeners. “When y’all sing my song back to me!”
-“Idol” won best reality music program on the Teen Choice Awards aired Monday night. David Cook won best male reality star. Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown won “choice hook up” in music with “No Air.” Carrie Underwood won choice red carpet fashion icon female. David Archuleta won choice most fanatic fans.
Rickey.org had this video from the show with David Archuleta, David Cook and Jordin Sparks:
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8/4: Nigel Lythgoe leaving “Idol” (UPDATED)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I decided to keep the Jennifer Hudson item up all weekend by its lonesome because on occasion, a blog entry deserves its time in the sun for an extended period. Here’s some fresh news:
TMZ said producer Nigel Lythgoe has decided to step down from the show after seven seasons. Here’s the press statement I got at 3:36 p.m. today:
Contrary to online rumors, producer Nigel Lythgoe is not leaving 19 Entertainment. Lythgoe, recognized as one of the most celebrated and influential TV producers of the last twenty years, is currently negotiating a new deal with 19 to begin a new joint venture with Simon Fuller, with whom he created the Emmy-nominated show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“I’ve worked with Nigel for over ten years, and he is the best producer I have ever worked with. We are a great team and have shared phenomenal success,” stated Fuller. “Under our stewardship, 19 has grown into a formidable force and we are now looking at developing a number of shows through a new joint venture.”
“Due to the huge success of ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ my summer will be taken up by travels to South Africa, Australia and Canada to work on local versions of the show,” stated Lythgoe. “I will step back from my day-to-day producing work on ‘American Idol’ and will be devoting my time to a new venture with Simon Fuller. I have very much enjoyed my personal and professional relationship with Simon. He is without doubt, a man of vision, and I look forward to partnering with him on new and exciting challenges in all forms of entertainment.”
Clearly, Lythgoe’s passions are veering toward “So You Think You Can Dance,” in which he also judges. (Fox just renewed that show for a fifth season. No surprise.)
I’m not sure what impact this would have on “Idol” down the road, but he clearly was highly influential in how the show is structured and paced and such. He was much more the public face of the show among the three executive producers, more so than Ken Warwick or Cecile Frot-Coutaz.
Unless the show itself fundamentally shifts, the average viewer won’t care since the three judges and host are not changing. But if things don’t seem quite the same season eight, though, we’ll know why.
-Anyway, MJ found the most random appearance of “Idols” ever— they rang the Nasdaq stock market bell while in New York last week. The Nasdaq dude butchers Ramiele and Syesha’s last names. Then David Cook thanks the various sponsors including Sports Entertainment Enterprises or CKX, which is on the Nasdaq and oversees the “Idol” franchise. “The only person I don’t thank today is our tour manager,” Cook cracked. He speaks at about the 2:45 point. Interested in investing in the stock? Get more info here.. Stock is trading at about $8 a share with a market cap of $800 million. A quick glance at the financials and it appears the company is doing well.
-Random thoughts from the Jennifer Hudson booting. After talking it over with my boss, I realize there were at least five routes I could have taken to deal with the restrictions (see my previous blog entry for details). 1- I could have just said no, I don’t do restrictions. But I’m not that pure of principle. 2- Argue. As we saw, this one didn’t work. 3- Just ask the questions anyway. Jennifer, since she asked not to be asked those questions, might have gotten a wee upset or complained to the PR folks afterwards. 4- Try to ask the question in a roundabout way without asking the question and see if she’d bite. This would come down to creative execution and Jennifer’s willingness to bite. 5- Accept the restrictions, then bitch about them on the blog here. That would be the classic passive aggressive approach.
Also, I am still amused by how Theola Borden, the J Records publicist, went with the passive grammatical structure to lock me out of the interview. Instead of saying, “I’ve decided to cancel your interview,” she used the Voice of God, “Your interview has been cancelled.” It reminded me of Clive Pearse, the host of HGTV’s “Design Star” who intones in that distinctive British lilt every time a contestant is gone: “Your show has been canceled.”
If you’ve never heard Clive’s proclamation, you can hear him utter that phrase at the 1:46 mark of this segment from “Design Star 2007.”:
-If you’re into other reality shows, EW did a nice “whatever happened to..” here.. It features a catchup with Joe Millionaire (who got deeply depressed after the show and is back in construction) and Joe Schmo (A humiliatied Matt Gould drank away a lot of his cash, the moved back to Pittsburgh to get married and work at a logistics company.)
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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.
