American Idol

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According to this article in Reality TV Magazine, Bo Bice did an interview with John Kasich of the Fox News Channel program  “Heartland”.  Bo was Kasich’s red state oops ;), I mean “Heartland Hero of the Week” for giving up his house in Alabama to a family who was displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  The interview was typical–you’re awesome yada-yada cakes–until Kasich quizzed Bo about statements he made regarding NOT wanting to win American Idol.  As Bo is answering, the scroll underneath him reads, “Bice lost to Carrie Underwood by only 134 votes”

134 points??? WTF????

No mention of vote totals was made at all during the finale last year.  Why they’d suddenly announce it now and in a stupid Faux News scroll during a Bo Bice interview, is bizarre to say the least.  I think it may have been an attempt to drum up a little controversy for publicity’s sake.  Considering nobody seems to have noticed or care, probably 1)  Nobody really believes it.  2).  Most everyone is happy with the outcome, even Bo Bice fans cause he keeps repeating that he didn’t want to win anyway.  I expected a little noise from the Constantine fans, but he’s doing so well,  they probably don’t care either.  Fox is going to have to try a little harder to drum up trouble ;).

Looks like  Simon will be back for AI5 next year.  And he’s settled his dispute with Simon Fuller over the UK show “X-Factor.”  19 Entertainment will receive “receive a minority interest in certain intellectual property and programming
related to the X-Factor television program as well as other specified rights with respect to the show.”  Interesting those two have been embroiled in litigation while working together for a while now, and they managed to keep all pretty low-profile.

Here are some of the specifics of the deal between Simon Cowell, 19Entertainment, Freemantle Media and Fox:

Under the terms of the new agreement with FOX, 19 Entertainment and
FremantleMedia will receive a significantly increased license fee per
season from FOX, reflective of the previously announced increases in
advertising rates for the coming season.   Additionally,
19 Entertainment will receive an annual payment tied to its recording
agreement with SonyBMG.

In addition to guaranteeing at least four more seasons, the agreement
provides for an automatic renewal for up to two additional seasons upon
the show achieving certain readily obtainable minimum ratings in the
fourth and potential fifth years of the deal.

Commencing with American Idol 5, FOX, whose parent company News Corp.
has recently announced substantial investment in internet-based
properties, will, at its own expense, build and host americanidol.com,
which is expected to become the show’s official website.
19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia and FOX will work together to develop
content for the website, and will share the revenue generated under an
agreed upon formula.  19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia, however,
retain the exclusive right to develop and offer premium services on the
website.

19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia have granted to FOX certain
wireless telephony rights, including show-related or inspired
ringtones, realtones and video footage.  The parties will share the
revenue generated from exploitation of these rights under an agreed
upon formula.

FOX has agreed to pick-up at least two original shows produced jointly
by 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia over the next five years. This
is in addition to FOX’s recent decision to renew 19 Entertainment’s
summer hit So You Think You Can Dance?.

19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia will produce certain agreed upon
shoulder programming to be broadcast on the Fox Reality Channel and the
TV Guide channel.

SonyBMG will continue as the designated record label for winning
American Idol contestants and 19 Entertainment will receive from
SonyBMG a larger percentage of the revenue from the sales of recorded
music from future American Idol artists.

Note that Idol will run for at least 4 more seasons, and as many as six under this agreement.  Simon Cowell has signed up for 5.  And a new website, americanidol.com, will be the new official website of the show.  Fox will develop the site with 19Entertainment and Freemantle media– with 19E and Freemantle retaining exclusive rights to develop premium services for the site.

I was pretty sure Simon would be coming back.  It would be bad news for the show if he left.  Actually, I think it would be bad news for the show if ANY of the judges left.  I think those three are an institution at this point. Hee.  In my opinion, even Paula Abdul could drive a hard bargain if she decided to shake things up.

Fun fact to know and tell:  CKX, Inc., which bought 19 Entertainment last year, also own Graceland…

AI has  announced its start date and will be keeping its Tues/Wed schedule.  Mark your calendars, kids–AI5 Starts Tuesday, January 17.  Whoo Hoo!

The Holiday has put me a little behind.  I have an Internet Gossip Roundup coming up, maybe in a few hours…

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I mentioned in my  last post  that  would be coming back to Hollywood this year.  She was part of  top 44 contestant, Janay Castine’s,  group sing.  Somebody mentioned to me that Natalie was “robbed” after she was the only one eliminated after the group performed “Where Did Our Love Go”.  I got curious, so I dug out a .wmv of the episode to check it out.  It wasn’t an incredibly dynamic group sing (they usually aren’t with so little rehearsal time), but Natalie was certainly as good as the two girls she performed with who got through.  Yeah, she was definitely robbed.  That’s all I got tonight.

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I’ve read from a few sources, including a comment on my site here that Brad Kish was cut in Hollywood.  Sorrow.  Actually, not really.  I’m sure he’s a really nice guy, but judging from his music he’s an average singer whose musical sensibility is rather pedestrian.  Later dude, we didn’t even get to know you.

Becky O’Donahue is the gal standing in the picture I posted in my last entry. Her twin sister’s name is Jessie.

I’m skeered.  Somebody from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has been reading my blog after Googling Ayla Brown.  I said I already hated her.  Warning:  I could get snarkier.  I just hope this person doesn’t get pissed enough to initiate an audit.  I got enough problems!  Thank you. :)

More folks who made it to Hollywood according to Survivor Sucks:

Natalie Weiss - She’s a returnee from last year, I believe
Tina Novak
Jenny Anderson
Paris

No info on them yet.  Except, when I Googled Tina Novak I found this.  This Tina Novak appears to have a recording contract–I’m thinking it’s not the Tina Novak on the list.

Someone who claims to be in the “know” over at Idol forums says there is no Jenny Anderson on the list, and that he’s almost positive that Jordan Southerland didn’t make it to Hollywood.

So many rumors–so confusing to sort through.  I’ll give it a shot, though…

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(starting in January) and I thought I’d post some of the rumors, news and gossip I’ve found around the Web.

Apparently, Simon has found the next Idol :

“The only person I can genuinely remember from the auditions that I’ve done for this season is an Irish girl that we saw in Las Vegas who now lives in America…I think she sang a Chaka Khan song and afterwards I said, ‘I think we may have found someone as good as [first season winner-turned-superstar] Kelly Clarkson.”

Oh, and then Simon adds that “he forgot the contestant’s name”.  Yeah right.

This statement has caused some serious ripples in the online Idol world.  Those who watch Idol closely know that Simon picks his horse early on and somehow that contestant manages to win!  You know, cause Simon is so smart and prescient and stuff.

RIGHT ;).

Shortly before auditions started it was announced that the Top 44 from last year would be ineligible to audition this year.  This was a surpise, because in past competitions only the Top 32–the folks who got to go on and audition for the top 12–were ineligible to try out again.  Only 24 contestants auditioned for the top 12 last year.  So it was generally assumed–though the format was a bit different–that the 20 who were cut from the last round would be able to audition again.   Simon even comforted Jaclyn Crum, the weepy 16 year old singer from Ohio cut from the top 44, by encouraging her to give it a go the following year.  Not that it matters to her now, as she is about to become a a 17 year-old baby mama.  JR Aquino, a 17 year-old Alaskan is plenty pissed, however.

Of course, every year there are those who feel they just did not get enough abuse from Simon.  They come back for more.  Here’s a list of repeat auditioners I found on the AI Forum at Survivor Sucks

From AI4:

Dezmond Meeks  -  He’s the guy that Paula successfully fought for with Simon and Randy to get through to Hollywood last season.  She prolly wanted to do him ;).  From his bio “Often compared to legends in the recording industry such as Prince, Michael Jackson and Tina Turner, at the age of 21…”  Well, OK if you say so.  I remember him being sort of a James Brown knockoff–not very original with a middling voice.

Katrina Reece  -  Heh.  Cannibal Girl.  Her audition featured a lovely anecdote about eating human flesh in a college biology class.  Other than that, I got nothin’.

Sarah Sue Kelley  -  Sarah Sue sang “I Could Have Danced All Night” in a very operatic soprano.  That alone would probably take her out of the running–well unless she was extremely HOT in the meanwhile.  Unfortunately, she’s a Plain Jane even beyond her morbid obesity.  Yes, she’s very fat.  Here is an article about her decision to try out again.  Like last year, this year she got to audition in front of the judges.  Sad.  She doesn’t seem to get that she was exploited for yucks.

From AI3:

Bao Viet Nguyen  -  All I remember about his audition is his super-stage dad and some douchy behavior.  Oh, and he’s Vietnamese and has a horrible escape-from-communism boat story to tell.  AI loves that crap.  I don’t remember any remarkable singing however.  I heard he made it to Hollywood this year.

Marcus Butts  -  The infamous Wild Card AI3 which I simultaneously LOVED and HATED.  As far as I’m concerned, this show had one of the best and one of the worst moments of that whole series.  Best Moment: Jon Peter Lewis performing the audacious “A Little Less Conversation” and getting through as America’s Pick for the Wild Card.  Worst Moment: Lisa Leuchner, a talented vocalist denied the chance to compete in the Wild Card.  Why?  Probably because she was too much of a Kelly knockoff, and Simon found her unattractive.  Instead,  we got the likes of the affable, attractive, yet mediocre-voiced Matt Metzger.  Oh wait, I was talking about Marcus Butts?  Like Lisa, he was denied a spot too, and I’ll never forget the look on his face.  He was all, “You got to be kidding!”  His problem? I suspect Simon considered him too “Broadway”, which is Simon-Speak for “Gay”.

From AI2:

Alden Wynn - “Hot” looking guy who probably didn’t sing very well.  I’m guessing Paula liked him a lot.  Just a hunch. I actually can’t remember him.  He’s obviously wearing skeery fake blue contacts in his web site pic.

And now for the newbies… 

Contestants to Watch:

Ayla Brown - This girl comes from my town, and I already hate her.  Dad’s a Massachusetts state senator, Mom’s a non-Fox TV station news reporter.  She attends a toney private school. She’s got a basketball scholarship to Boston College.  Apparently she can sing.  She’s pretty.  Here’s a picture:

There have been tons of articles written about her in the local Boston press.  Like this, this and these. You’ll notice, the first article was written after Ayla made it to Hollywood. Interesting, as all contestants signed confidentiality agreements binding them to secrecy. This has caused some fellow auditioners to call foul .

Jordan Southerland  -  This guy, from North Carolina, is rumored to have made it to Hollywood.  Looks like he initially won something called “Net Idol” whatever that is.  And, as he posted in March, it was a toss up between auditioning for AI5 or some Christian competition called “Exalting Him!”  Yeah.  OK.  Well, I have a bone to pick with TPTB at AI.  At the Boston audition’s press conference, Simon said about the talent, “‘It’s not great so far”–leading one to believe that there was no talent.  And in fact only ten auditioners from Boston made it on to Hollywood.  But then Simon finally tells the truth, ”I’ll tell you what’s missing…naivete. Everyone’s a bit over-rehearsed, and I’m looking for that rough diamond.”  And it turns out, many of the Boston auditioners were New Yorkers.  Hmmm.  Alrighty then. City slickers need not apply.  And in fact, it seems, many AI contestants in the Top 12 are heavily represented by openly Christian mid-west and southerners.  Ever find it kind of strange that so far, in all top-twelves, there have been no Jewish contestants? Hmmmm.  Why do TPTB favor devout Christian contestants from the heartland rather than them damb non-jeebus loving east and west coasters?  Maybe they figure the conservative heartland is their audience, and actually, that might be correct.  I just wish they’d throw in a few more street-wise city-dwellers like Constantine Maroulis for the heathens like me. :).  I got off track again?  Really, I got nothin’ on this Jordan dude….

Brad Kish -  I have a download  of a song recorded by this Hollywood-bound contestant.   Hmmm.  Let’s just say he’s got, in the immortal words of Paula,  a “refreshing upper register”.  Very bland in a boybandy sort of way.  And the song?  Just bad.  Like second-rate Aaron Carter. He has trouble staying on pitch.  Although he’s very pretty in that Jesse McCartney/Ryan Caberra sort of way (left). Scary that I know my Boy Banders, isn’t it? Yikes.

Well, so far that’s all I got.  But there will be more, and I’ll be posting stuff as it comes up.  Can you contain your excitement??!!? I know I can’t! ;).  Thanks to Survivor Sucks and to my chicas at the HH, who gots the AWESOME Google skillz! ;)

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