David Archuleta – More on Papagate
Rickey covered the story this morning–David Archuleta’s vocal coach ran interference for the family on the CBS Early Show Monday morning. I clipped the interview later in the afternoon, and when I went back to check a few hours later, it had over 1000 hits!
This story still has legs! It continues to wind it’s way through the news cycle.
Randy Jackson weighs in in an interview with The Canadian Press. Besides predicting a David and David finale, he downplays Papagate while at the same time admitting that stage parents can make the Idol experience even more stressful for a contestant:
“We’re never backstage and we don’t have that interaction with the contestants at all,” Jackson said from Los Angeles. “I think there’s probably more of a press story there than a reality.”
Still, Jackson admitted that parents can make a tough situation tougher by adding to the anxiety of a youngster already shaken by the prospect of singing live on television.
“It’s hard on the kids, regardless,” he said of the weekly “Idol” broadcast.
“You can put yourself back into high school where your parents are at every show, every stage play, every game, every whatever. I think it’s the added pressure – you want to do good in front of them. … I think the show’s tough on these kids when you imagine that 25 or 30 million people could be watching you that night.”
Indeed, Jeff Archuleta isn’t Idol’s first stage-parent-from-hell according to the stories I’ve heard…
And there is more. Read what MTV, New York Magazine, Idolator, Good Morning America, and Entertainment Weekly have to say. ABC News even has a pictorial review of famous showbiz stage parents!
How will Archie do without Daddy running interference with the Idol staff on his behalf? It’s one more stress for David, probably one he doesn’t need. While there’s always rehearsal time back at the apartment, and cell phone calls that can be made throughout the day, when push comes to shove, it’s going to be Davey vs the Idol staff. I think the Idol staff will win ’cause Davey isn’t use to sticking up for himself. With the Idol staff in a position to exert some influence, David’s performances will likely take on some new dimensions.
It won’t matter, however. I agree with the pundits who think this will be a win-win situation for Archie. If he stinks up the joint, he’ll get a flood of pity votes. If he’s good, there will be much ohhing and ahhing over his ability to succeed without Daddy Dearest.
I’m thinking there is more to this story than is being reported. The whole Sean Kingston/Beautiful Girls kerfuffle may have been a handy excuse to finally get Daddy, who had become a huge pain in the ass, out of the Idol staff’s hair, and also away from the contestants as they prepare for the last push to the Idol crown. If the worst is true–that Daddy has been harassing the contestants–he should have been kicked to the curb weeks ago, not the last two weeks of the competition. It’s going to be an interesting week.
Video after the JUMP…
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43 Responses to “David Archuleta – More on Papagate”
I just watched the clip you put up mandalay and I thougt that Daniel seemed more like a teenager than David .In fact if I did not know I would have thought he was the older brother .Thats just my take on the clip
All this arrangement talk has got me wondering how contestants like Kellie Pickler got across to the band when she didn’t even know what key was.
I wholeheartedly agree with Kirsten.
Kirsten, we need a top ten list of the people Jeff has bullied. :mrgreen_wp:
Deleting posts now.
React without anger or lashing out at your fellow posters.
Perhaps shutting off your computer and taking a walk is the thing to do instead.
I agree with Kirsten with regard to Jeff psyching out the other contestants. And, furthermore, neither David C. nor Jason appear to me to be weak enough people to let someone’s stage-daddy get in their heads.
I also wholeheartedly agree with Folk. If the contestants are responsible for coming up with their own arrangements in conjunction with the band, voice coaches, etc. then that’s how it should be for all of them. Just because someone is young – they shouldn’t have their own personal, musical advisor in the room. But, I guess the “unfair advantage” isn’t really that big of a deal, since Jeff A doesn’t appear to be very good at it (at least to my ears anyway).
Kerfuffle à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ not Kerfluffel.
I doubt how much effect Jeff A could have on DC and I don’t know that he would even bother Syesya. David Cook is a man who is not new to the music scene. He used to have to stand out front passing out CD’s to get people to come and see the band. In his senior year as a pitcher for his high school he was 5 wins 1 loss. He played music all the way through college while getting his degree and did theater to boot. Pressure is not a new thing to him. His hometown visit was handled with grace and maturity. It seems to me that he has enough experience to handle whatever was thrown at him other than the personal family stuff. Maybe he just had a bad sound mix that day because on HLTW all I could hear at home was vocals and hardly hear the band.
At this point it is all speculation, (tho I really do appreciate someone bringing the Tiffany Evans story over.)
And I live for the speculation.
I’ve always thought it was the ‘badgering’ of contestant(s) that forced TBPB to finally act.
Initially I was worried that it was Syesha but there’s Hess, and then when the camera flashes to the audience there’s Syesha’s cousins so i think she is quite well managed and protected.
So if it is Jason and/or DavidC I do not buy in to ‘they should be used to the pressure line’ because throughout the history of Idol there has always been the ethic of contenstants supporting each other. That is part of the attraction of the show.
And good musicians bring a degree of sensitivity to the stage. That is what makes them good muscians. And that is what makes them vulnerable. And that vulnerability is exacting what JeffA is trying to exploit.
The contestants are under enough pressure. They shouldn’t have to put up with bullshit from fellow contestant’s parents.
We know that David’s Dad is banned from the rehearsals, but I would say that the behind the scenes information, as detailed by TMZ is still unsubstantiated. Even if it’s true, I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions about why Cookie or Jason had an off night last week.
Ultimately, it’s the contestant’s responsibility to pull off a performance, no matter what the circumstances.
Who knows, without Daddy’s “skillz” as a producer/arranger–David’s performances may actually improve! I’m with those who think his influence on Archie hasn’t been all that…
Oh, what fun is that? We rarely get anything directly from the horses mouth. Ah, I remember the wonderful speculative weeks when we hotly debated the words of a hotdog vendor at a concert venue. Next time somebody goes to one of those Idol rehearsals, I expect a full report of what the Gum Pages have to say. Maybe then, we will uncover the truth.
Official spokespeople rarely give us the good stuff. We must rely on leaks and speculation.
And, if we really wanted to “Get a Life” none of us would be posting here. So, way to shut down MJs blog. LOL
Top 10 Ways JA has wrecked this season of Idol:
1) Theme Nights – Convinced Nigel that theme nights should be at least 30 years old. Nigel had lots of ideas about “iTunes Top 100 songs”, “Songs Released this Century”, “Songs that You Hear on a Top 40 Station” and “Songs we Have Never Sung On Idol Before”, but Jeff, the master manipulator, convinced Nigel to change his mind to “Songs so Old Your Grandma thinks they’re Square”
2) Mosh Pitt – Jeff is fully responsible for the Evils of the Mosh Pitt. He personally ripped out all the chairs that used to be there and are holding them hostage in a storage locker in Van Nuys. He also teaches the girls how to sway out of synch before each show.
3) Styling – Jeff is a 40 year old man. The contestants all dress like 40 year old men. You do the math.
4) Sound Mixing – In addition to Jeff’s other skills, he is also a sound mixer. He got Fuller to hire him to do all the sound mixing. The only person he does not sound mix for is his son (he sits in the audience for his performances). When David A sings, a monkey does the sound mixing. I leave it up to the viewers to decide who does the better job.
5) Cleaning – In his spare time, Jeff does all the janitorial work. I don’t mean to blame him, but if he’d done a better job of sanitizing door knobs and phone handsets, perhaps all the contestants might not have gotten sick. The ugly rumours about vials of viruses stolen from the CDC and found in the Idol trash has not been confirmed.
6) Hair – One would think that you would not hire a bald, 40 year old man who wears a hat all the time to be a hairdresser, but you would be wrong.
7) Grumpy Pants Simon – Jeff hid all of Simon’s cigarettes. That’s why Simon is so crabby this year.
9) Cannon Fodder – Did you notice how much of the Cannon Fodder was male this year? Well, Jeff stole all the film footage for Colton, Luke, Garret and Jason.
10) Scandals – Jeff has created each and every scandal this year. Carly’s album? He caused the first one to tank by hiding all the copies in every store in the country. David H stripping? Not true. Jeff stole all of David’s clothes one day when he just happened to be in a strip club. Danny’s Santa video? Photochopped. Amanda burning down her deck? Nope, all Jeff. Who put Analog Heart on Amazon only to rat it out to TPTB. Jeff again. Arrangergate? Obviously, that was Jeff. He stole all those arrangements and then tricked Cook into thinking that he had done them (using hypnosis). He also got any references to crediting the original arrangers removed from the intro videos. Oh, I could go on and on.
Drat. Another Top 10 list into moderation. LOL
Well, David A bores me as does the Daddy story. SO, I’ll express my observation that I found a tiny bit funny – Randy said “25-30 million viewers”… “They” can’t so confidently say 30-35 million anymore! Why that tickles me, I have no idea…
Kirsten, I pulled your post out of moderation, I’m not sure why it went in. Maybe because you replied to a post that I moderated.
Yes, I’m deleting posts this morning! If you’re angry, go take a walk or work out or something.
Kirsten, thank you for the voice of reason. JA is not a good guy, but he isn’t superman. However, Kirsten may well be superwoman!
*spits coffee* OMG the thought of Jeff snatching David H’s clothes and Simon’s cigs.. I can picture it! *DL*
I did my Pilates today MJ – so I should be pretty well-behaved
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/05/nigel-lythgoe-o.html
Didn’t see this listed – I apologize if I missed it.
American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (top right) spoke with EW.com today about the recent reports that Jeff Archuleta (bottom left, with David and mother Lupe), the father of 17-year-old Idol contestant David Archuleta, has been barred from participating in his son’s preparations for the show. Here’s what Lythgoe had to say:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There have been reports that Jeff Archuleta was banished from backstage, but then David’s vocal coach gave a radio interview in which he said that wasn’t the case. What light can you shed on this?
NIGEL LYTHGOE: “Banished” is a terrible word, isn’t it? It sounds like we’re in some far-off kingdom. He has been asked not to participate in the choice of music with David or be in the room when David is working out his routines that he wants to sing. He’s fine to be in the studio — nothing wrong with that. We just want David to be able to be free like everybody else to get on and do what they want to do….
That’s an interesting way of putting it.