Humility could doom David on ‘Idol’
David Archuleta has an incredible voice, delivers age-defying performances, has charm and charisma, and holds the front-runner status on “American Idol 7.”
He also has a problem: those things are actively working against him. In fact, everything that has led to near-universal praise for the “American Idol 7” semifinalist may actually prevent him from winning.
Strip Club: ‘Idol’ Once Danced Here
“American Idol” contestant David Hernandez once entertained audiences by removing his clothes instead of singing tunes, a manager at a male strip club in Phoenix told The Associated Press.
The 24-year-old finalist from Glendale, Ariz., once worked as a stripper at Dick’s Cabaret, appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club’s “mostly male” clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan said Monday.
“He had the look and the type that people like, so he made pretty good money here,” Bryan said.
‘American Idol’ Power List: Ranking the Top 16
1. David Archuleta
The American Idol equivalent of a newborn puppy has some fans wondering if season 7 is all wrapped up after his soaring rendition of ”Imagine” left Paula in tears and the audience in screaming rapture. Still, it’s not advantageous to peak too soon in the competition — just ask Melinda Doolittle. (Last week’s Power Ranking: No. 1)
2. Jason Castro
Granted, the sweetly befuddled dude fumbled the big note on his cover of ”I Just Want to Be Your Everything,” but why didn’t the judges give him credit for reinventing Andy Gibb’s disco-era nugget into a folksy delight? Not a big ”vocalist” like Idol winners past, but is that necessarily a bad thing? (Last week: No. 2)
`American Idol’ Brings Back Charity Show
The second “American Idol” charity event is set for April 9, with a lineup that includes Bono, Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood.
Last year’s “Idol Gives Back” show raised $76 million to benefit underprivileged children.
The Fox network announced the date Monday. Football stars Peyton and Eli Manning are also scheduled, along with John Legend, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, Reese Witherspoon and Snoop Dogg. Fox said more names will be added in the coming weeks.
‘American’ made
The best, most mind-blowing “American Idol” season EVER! That was the advance word from the “Idol” brain trust, and if this seventh season hasn’t measured up yet, it hasn’t been for a lack of tested talent.
Young David Archuleta is a “Star Search” winner. The San Diego-based Carly Smithson recorded with a major record label, as did the Australian-born Michael Johns. Kristy Lee Cook had a recording contract and a songwriting deal.
All of this is great conspiracy fodder, but that’s all it is. Because if there is anything we know about “American Idol,” it’s that nobody knows anything. Just ask LaKisha Jones, the Season 6 favorite who finished in fourth place after being blindsided by Bee Gees Night.
Mormon Pop: Looking back, ahead for ‘American Idol’s’ Mormons
Although considered by some to one of the best songs of all time, “Imagine’s” first verse lines about “no heaven” and “no religion” lead others to consider it “anti-God and controversial.”
When asked by judge Randy Jackson why he didn’t sing the first verse, David meekly (and innocently?) replied that he liked the last verses better. But several media onlookers, myself included, wondered if David didn’t sing the first verse because of his Mormon faith (maybe that theory got blown out of the water, when this video appeared of David singing the complete song on “Good Things Utah” when he was 13).
But my point is this is exactly the kind of unexpected situation that happens in real life for LDS entertainers. You sing the second half of a song you like cause it fits the time constraints and the moment. But then — unexpectedly — your choice takes on a life of its own, perhaps becoming a signature performance and signature song. And then you have to decide whether or not to perform it on tour, on a best-selling CD, etc.
MORE SEXY PHOTOS FROM “IDOL” RAMIELE MALUBAY
CelebTV.com has unearthed more risque photographs of “American Idol” finalist Ramiele Malubay.
Last week CelebTV.com uncovered racy photos of Malubay, 20, goofing around with some girlfriends on a fan Facebook page.
Newly discovered photos show the singer is similar poses with what appears to be coworkers. Yahoo TV reports that Malubay was a hostess at a local sushi restaurant in her hometown of Miramar, Fla.
Idol finalist drops out of two days of ‘Rent’ at DeVos
Anwar Robinson, a finalist in the fourth season of “American Idol” who has been touring with “Rent,” is taking personal leave this week and will not appear in performances Tuesday and Wednesday in DeVos Performance Hall.
The role of Tom Collins will be played by Devon Settles.
Hopefuls croon original tunes on Gone Country
The Grand Ol’ Finale: “I’ll kill for country music,” Rich warns our contestants, concerned that the seven wannabes aren’t giving it their all. To quote DeGarmo, “Rich made Simon Cowell look like a pussy cat.” DeGarmo closes out the episode in tears, transforming herself into some kind of feel-good character and making her most likely to wrestle the championship away from Bobby Brown at next week’s series finale concert. Meanwhile outside, Brown prays to God — or talks to himself — for help winning next week’s finale.
Rolling Stone
Performers Announced for 2008 CMA Music Festival
The initial lineup of performers for 2008 CMA Music Festival is a potent mix of Festival faithful, cross-genre first-timers and returning superstars.
Reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Carrie Underwood, who has performed at the Festival every year since being crowned American Idol in 2005.
American Idol alumni and CMA Horizon Award nominee Kellie Pickler.
CMA Music Festival will be held Thursday through Sunday, June 5-8, in Downtown Nashville.
Straight-up ‘Idol’
Paula Abdul says there’s a reason she’s not a cold-hearted snake when she judges the contestants on Fox’s “American Idol” (Tuesday night at 8 on WFXT, Ch. 25).
Unlike cranky Simon Cowell, she has performed onstage.
“Simon will never understand how vulnerable it is to be out there,” Abdul said in a recent conference call with reporters. “It’s just a very factual difference. We all come from different perspectives and backgrounds, and mine is that of a performer, that of an artist, and that of being vulnerable and hoping and praying that you nail it. . . . I am the only one who knows somewhat of what (the contestants) are feeling.
Choir slams TV star Cowell for ‘ignorance’
EBBW Vale Male Voice Choir have criticised Britain’s Got Talent after taking part in the show’s Cardiff auditions.
Spokesman David Jenkins said: “We arrived at 12.45pm and left at 7.45pm.
“We did not know there would be an audience but we were not too worried as we are used to big crowds.
“But by the time we actually got on stage and did the job everyone was tired, bearing in mind the majority of the choir members are over 60. It was a very long day.”
They had a hard act to follow after the Maesteg Gleemen received a rapturous reception.
But Mr Jenkins described Simon Cowell as “an ignorant man”.
Simon Cowell to produce Paul Potts film
Simon Cowell is making a new film based on the life of TV talent contest star Paul Potts.
The American Idol judge will produce the movie which tells the rags-to-riches tale of how the mobile phone salesman and wannabe tenor won ITV’s “Britain’s Got Talent” last year.
Cowell created the show and was one of the judges - TV’s “Mr Nasty” was for once left speechless by Potts’ talent.
Jordin Sparks Makes Aussie Debut
This Saturday, March 8, America’s newest Idol star Jordin Sparks releases her debut single ‘Tattoo’! Written by Amanda Ghost, (who co-penned James Blunt’s breakthrough classic “You’re Beautiful”) and produced by the Norwegian duo Stargate, (Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Rhianna). ‘Tattoo’ has sold over 1 million units already in the US. Watch the ‘Tattoo’ video here!
Carrie Underwood starts tour strongly
Carrie Underwood launched her headline tour, the “Carnival Ride Tour,” on Feb. 18 and enjoyed sell-outs on the first week of shows. Underwood and special guest Josh Turner performed for more than 40,000 fans.
Is Chace Hiding Carrie From His Co-Stars?
Since their romance jumped out of the gates in October with a smooch-filled weekend in NYC, country superstar Carrie Underwood and Gossip Girl stud Chace Crawford have only been seen together a handful of times — never at red-carpet functions — and rarely answer questions about their couple-dom.
Phil’s Pages: Chapter 6 — A week in the life
he first day of the week on the American Idol calendar is Thursday. Ryan Seacrest had announced the elimination the night before, and now that you knew you were safe, it was time to prepare for the next week (except during the semifinals, where you have to prepare for the next week and just hope).
Thursday morning was about picking out songs and meeting with the arrangers and vocal coaches (who were AWESOME). Thursday afternoon was spent shopping for your wardrobe. Then, we would come together for dinner and spend the rest of the evening rehearsing our songs and doing telephone interviews with newspapers and radio stations.
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A-hem, like, David A is 17, not 16! I’m not sure if tweeny boppers only can sustain David A. All the other school-age contestants are out, however, so they can direct their dialing powers on one youngster. And is David A hip? - About as hip as a cream puff!
Should be an interesting evening tonight. If that song list is correct, I can hear Randy and Simon moaning song choice already.
There are 6 teenagers in my family and all of them feel little David is NOT hip (like Chris Brown or Rhianna who they love) They DO think he his mad cute and simply adorable with a voice and the “it” factor they love so they vote and text their little hearts out each week.
I don’t judge my favorites by demographics. Being black isn’t reason enough for someone to deserve a spot in the Top 12.
Now thinking about it, I really cannot remember Melinda singing any “current” or “pop” songs. Maybe she couldn’t connect to the younger fans for that. I thinnk David A is a better performer than Melinda.
Unrelated to David A and gay strippers….
Love the way that the press presents:
Is Chace hiding Carrie?
uhhh…and maybe vice versa…
He’s technically not the only minority. Hernandez? Noriega? And let’s not talk about the girls. Pretty diverse group.
Besides, he’s obnoxious.
Aw, but Luke is pretty! LOL!
Seriously, I want Jason Castro, Michael Johns, David A, David C and Danny. I don’t care who the 6th is.
For the girls, I want Carly, Asiah, Ramielle and Brooke. Maybe Amanda I really don’t care after that for the girls.
ealbino
Okay, you get a pass. Bless your heart.
What a mess. Just the way they like it.
carolina - haaaaaaaa…not in my immediate family..my kids are 21 and 31!! 2 each in my 3 sisters family..all girls…
We all love little David for his sweet donny osmond-like ways….but my other favs are Michael J, Jason and David H..Their favs are David C, Danny and the other loves Luke, Jason..
So if all those not being a plant or having a hot story.. or Kadys pouty face.
That leave us with Danny ,David C ,Brook and maybe Jason C(is he a plant?)The contraversy that AI enjoys to a point to get publicity the problem is the overall goods IMO thier just not”the greatest ever” 24 american Idol has or close to it..maybe just not the cleanest .
Since TPTB knew all along about David H., you have to wonder about the timing this release. It all seems to add up now: his audition wasn’t shown, Simon expressed his dislike of David during the Green Mile, and now this Antonella-esque news. I doubt he will be officially disqualified for this, but the odds of going far are stacking up against him right now. Perhaps his performance last week scared the producers a little. Looks like another fodder.
I second whoever said we should get rid of four girls this week. I have a soft spot for almost all the guys, and am enthusiastic about virtually none of the girls (with the possible exception of Brooke). Syesha, Kady, Kristy, and Amanda are all dispensable at this point, IMO.
Vote For The Worst broke the story a while back, and has been working on digging up evidence ever since. The other news outlets picked it up from there, they even credited VFTW with breaking the story. I doubt TPTB had anything to do with the timing.
Just to respond to some of the discussion going on here…there are actually a number of minorities in the guys side this year:
Chikezie, David A, David H, Jason C (is this correct?), and Danny.
That’s five of the ten!
They did show David H’s audition, plus his “Love the One You’re With” (interesting song choice in view of this disclosure -LOL).
David H. can SANG, Antonella… not so much. He seems to have a pretty good sense of himself when he chooses songs. If he gets stuck with “Celebration” I will suspect shenanigans.
And in conclusion:
I don’t think it was TPTB that was involved in the David H thing because VFTW outed it a few weeks ago.
So since we have little mini scandals, where do you draw the line from supporting them as artists and being uncomfortable with them as a person? I ask because I read some things that I wish I hadn’t and I’m trying to sort how I feel about it.
Looks like they are trying to make the last two Luke and Chikezie. Funny how this dirt surfaces the day of the men’s final. Danny is in the spotlight now.
http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/04/american-idol-punk-boys-shocking-x-mas-rant/
That Danny video was on VFTW today too. I was wondering if anyone would pick that up.
^ The above was not meant to be as dramatic as it sounded. I was just curious on how everyone else breaks things down on their entertainment.
i really hope this doesn’t hurt David H. I really wanted to see him on tour. I’m so pissed off at the clubowner. I worked for the corp ofc of a strip club (we ran 5 of them) and we would NEVER tell ANYONE who worked there. I only did so with the signed permission from the dancer. It’s for the dancer’s safety and really it’s nobody’s business but their own.
As long as I’m being entertained on my Tee Vee, I’m cool wid it.
If I ditched all the asshats, idiots, substance abusers and law-breakers out of my entertainment collection. Well, that would be a mighty big chunk.
I’ve rarely turned sour on someone due to real life behavior.
I just saw this. I’m not taking that seriously. lol.
I think Idol producers have a responsibility to show videos of David Hernandez performing in his previous capacity as an entertainer.
I know I would find that infinitely more entertaining than I have found Idol since Season Five.
Thanks MJ. That’s how I normally feel too.
THREE HOURS TIL SHOWTIMEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the 3 Davids in this order: 1. David A., 2. David H., and 3 David C.
As for David H., I hope that his “day job” (or night job, whichever the case may be) doesn’t destroy his credibility. I think he has real promise in the vocals department; now he needs to show us that he can “shake that bootie.” His “gayness” is a moot point.
David A. has a huge fanbase so I think he has more than an even chance to win. Of course, if he is good enough, he doesn’t have to win to come out the “big” winner.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_en_ot/idol_stripper
Source: ‘Idol’ stripper to stay By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer
1 hour, 8 minutes ago
David Hernandez won’t be stripped of his chance to compete on “American Idol.”
A person close to the show, who is not authorized to comment publicly and asked not to be identified, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that there were no plans to remove Hernandez from the Fox singing competition — despite the semifinalist’s past as a male stripper.
The 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., once worked as an adult entertainer at Dick’s Cabaret in Phoenix, appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club’s “mostly male” clientele, strip club manager Gordy Bryan told the AP on Monday…..
So I was just watching the game show “Shopper’s Paradise” and the category in the final was American Idol winners and the host thought Jordin Sparks was a he…… huh.
This is going to be one fascinating evening. I must say that I don’t think it will hurt his chances if he continue to perform well. If he stinks up the place, that is another thing entirely. I like the Davids too. And I love my Dannyboy. He is FIERCE! LOL. I want a competition not a coronation, so I want all of the strong to survive to the top twelve. So that means Luke and Chikiboy must go. I hope that America’s inherent homophobia won’t mess with Danny and David’s chances.
David Hernandez according to sources on IDOL will not be Stripped of his Idol contestant status..
The Danny Video, while vulgar is not a big deal, The Ramilie pictures are harmless and just girls being funny, nothing obscene or lude, the Amanda Overmyer nude pictures if ever released May Be a Big Deal.
Waiting to see the outcome of all these…
http://idol-mania.com/american-idol-fan
I first found the article yesterday while checking my Yahoo mail, too.
Persnally, I’ve made a point of staying away from gay guy strippers. They always want to borrow your dress and they rarely give it back.
LOL! @ Carolina. That can be a pain can’t it.
Hey, TMZ has the scoop on the guys’ performances via a mole at the rehearsal!
http://www.tmz.com/
Rehearsal spoilers from TMZ (I swear, they turned up in a google alert):
The packaged pieces are the A.I. contestants embarrassing moments.
Hmmm…this could be very, very interesting given today’s developments.
Sum it up (I read it so you don’t have to):
Chikezie: Pitch and arrangement issues
Jason C: very nervous
Luke: the worst
Danny: the best
Amanda was teasing Danny about the “Christmas” video. Ryan sang during a break.
TMZ
ETA: Heh. Metta beat me to the leak, but I’ll leave my post anyway. Hi Metta!
Hi Kirsten! You provided more details. Good on you. I was too lazy! haha
Am I right that except for Danny, the songs don’t match the spoilers that were floating around?
I think my faves David A and Jason chose good songs for them.
David A - Another Day In Paradise
Luke - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Jason - Hallelujah
David H - It’s All Coming Back To Me Now
Michael - Don’t You Forget About Me
Danny - Tainted Love
David C - Hello (Lionel Ritchie)
Chikezie - All The Woman/Man That I Need
Wow, Michael and David C made horrible choices. Weren’t there any better rock songs on the approved list. David A and Danny seem to have decent taste. The rest just seem awful. ( I don’t know Jason’s song)
Based on the list, I say def Luke and either David C. or Chikeze leave.
Oh, I didn’t notice they had the actual songs (I hate to touch anything at TMZ…just going there fills me with the desire to wash my hands):
David A - Another Day In Paradise - What is this dude got to sing every socially concious song ever written? Gah. I hate this song. Can’t turn the radio station fast enough. This was Phil’s attempt to address the critics who complained that he wasn’t a serious musician. He tried too hard.
Luke - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Gah! Shoot me now. I LOVE this song. Woo! Go Luke. (I’m going to hide in shame now).
Jason - Hallelujah - Gah! What are you thinking Jason? This is perhaps the most overplayed song in the TV soundtrack cannon. Instead of the flames of pimpage, are they going to have people dying/mourning in the background? Still, it’s a great song (see! I’m not completely shallow)
David H - It’s All Coming Back To Me Now - LOL. I will have visions of Kat running away from Meatloaf all night. I wonder if the judges will tell him that he should never try to sing Celine?
Michael - Don’t You Forget About Me - Breakfast Club…I will be distracted by the thought of dandruff being used as snow.
Danny - Tainted Love - excellent choice as we’ve previously noted.
David C - Hello (Lionel Ritchie) - interesting change of pace. I’m not seeing it.
Chikezie - All The Woman/Man That I Need - LOL. Daring given how we know that Simon doesn’t like peope changing genders in songs. And his taking on another forbidden diva. And he’s having pitch/arrangement issues. This could be interesting.
Is this the order? Seems right with David A going first, but Luke went early and David C went second last last week. That seems unfair. What’s fair about Idol?
HOORAY!!!! No JOURNEY! No hearing Randy boast about the greatness of Journey! YIPPEE!
Although I was slightly hoping Luke would do father figure, dangit.
I can’t even express to you my excitement of Danny doing Tainted Love. I don’t love Danny, but if he pulls Tainted Love off flawlessly I’ll be his fan forever. Tainted Love probably ranks in my top 3 favorite 80’s song, sad yes, but true.
‘Idol’ nearly mum on contestant’s past
…David Hernandez’s stripper past didn’t come back to haunt him on Tuesday night’s “American Idol.” Hernandez’s three-year stint as a male stripper wasn’t even mentioned during the live telecast, which featured the 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., performing a rendition of Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” However, acerbic judge Simon Cowell did mutter something about stripping, off camera, immediately after the song ended…
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