Chris always gave this angry!pissed!ready to kill kind of performing that is great for rock fans but can be seen as toolish and pretentious. He has a great voice, but like many niche singers, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no versality or musical layers to it.

I think this had something to do with him leaving the show when he did. This does not mean he was a bad singer.

That Rickey! Spilling the beans! Heh. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m taking the train into Manhattan tomorrow to participate in a roundtable at the MTV studios with Jim Cantiello (MTV) Michael Slezak (EW) Maura Johnston (Idolator) and Michael Slezak (EW). I was absolutely flattered to be contacted to do this, and though Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a tad nervous, did not want to miss it.

Wow! Congrats!

Larry King said that he would have all 10 Idol finalist on his show starting next week.

ummm, rockdeadhead. Look in the mirror.

Rant:

I wanna know why that dimwit put Rickey #1 !!!! Did he pull a Syesha and cry? Did his fans bombard that poor reporters email? What?

Want OTT hysteria, gnashing of teeth, cyber death by association, fandom gone wild, winner chosen by fear of losing hits? Go to Rickey.org! Nothing real happenin’ there!

ok.

Could someone tell me what the cougar thing is about with DC?? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sooo outta touch with important details this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

A cougar is a sexual aggressive *ahem* mature woman with a taste for younger men. Think Samantha Jones.

The current Broadway production, which opened in August 2007, stars Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, who won their parts on the TV reality series “Grease: You’re the One That I Want.”

Hicks is likely to be the most recognizable name in the cast, despite his relatively small part. Teen Angel tends to be a flamboyant force in the show, typically wearing a large, fluffy set of wings.

Will Hicks continue that costume tradition? “I might,” he said. “I might be flying, too.”

Large fluffy wings? OMG.

Taylor Hicks said being in New York for three months will allow him to continue working on his next CD. He’s been writing songs and recording demos in Nashville, Hicks said, and hopes to release a new single in the fall. The Hoover native and former “American Idol” winner, 31, will perform in the musical through Sept. 7. Hicks plans to announce his Broadway run on television this morning, on NBC’s “The Today Show.”

“It’s a cool song,” Hicks said. “I can see myself being able to Taylorize it. Who knows? Maybe I’ll do the Elvis meets Aretha Franklin meets Joe Cocker version of ‘Beauty School Dropout.’ I don’t think anybody’s taken that approach yet. I’ll get with the producers and sink my teeth into the role.”

2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will join the Broadway cast of GREASE as The Teen Angel, from June 6 – Sept. 7.

Woah. I did not expect that.

Here is the role.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m surprised heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll want to tie up the whole summer for that.

It’s a small role. Maybe he’s recording in New York? Maybe he has a job parking cars in New York. Maybe he’s moved up to being a cabbie?

Here are notable people who have played the role:
Donny Most, Davy Jones, Chris Colfer, Eddie Mekka, Chubby Checker, John Farnham, Mary Bond Davis, Jennifer Holliday, Al Jarreau, Darlene Love, and Felix Healy.

2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will join the Broadway cast of GREASE as The Teen Angel, from June 6 – Sept. 7.

As has been suggested here before – use some of the behind the scenes footage of Q&A’s from AI Extra! Producers, you want people to get invested in your contestants? Show that kind of stuff!!

Just read on cnn.com that Fox is cutting the results show back to 30 minutes next season. Disappointed with this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ratings, it said.

The results show generally gets higher ratings than the performance show (why, I’ll never understand. Just watch the last five minutes. I guess filler is more popular than I thought).

What 30 minute show with 22 million viewers does Fox plan to place there instead?

I suppose we should count our lucky stars that the performance night is also not cut down to 30 minutes.

I know, I know. A lot of people are complaining that the 1 hour shows are too long. They are not too long. They are just badly utilized.

When they go back to the 30 minute format, the first things to be jetisoned are the group numbers (and group numbers used to be fun. Fire the group number director this year!!!!!!!!) and sing outs. I hate it when we don’t get the sing outs. TPTB never seem to want to get rid of the recap (anybody interested in the performances watched them the previous night…maybe they do it because it gives them an extra pimping opportunity) or the guest singers or the STUPID judge/Ryan banter. Or the stupid recaps of “Simon said”

Here’s an idea. Next year, just have 30 minute group numbers. Ryan can flit between the Idols and tap each one on their shoulders to declare them safe (they will then sit down on the couch). He can fake us all out by deking one way and then the other. The last person standing gets a solo and the boot. Mentors can join the sing-a-long as needed. Paula can do her standing O dance. Simon can wear his What-The-Hell-Did-Fantasia-Just-Sing look for the entire show. And Randy can just sit there and be useless.

Actually, all this tweaking won’t guarantee they get more audience. They have to face facts: the TV audience is leaving ALL the shows – new and old, people don’t have time to sit through an hour show…they’re busy on their computers or vid games…or just in bed trying to catch some zzzsss. Also, consider the DVRs that people have. We don’t have to watch the show when THEY WANT US TO WATCH THE SHOW. We can watch it ANYTIME.

Sorry if this is duplicated but Bill Zwecker in the Chicago Sun-Times today is talking about how Simon wants to “blow up” the show. He thinks they need to re-think how they do everything. He also thinks the age for contestants needs to be reduced from age 16 to age 14. I don’t agree with that at all.

Also Simon thinks there should be a second female host to complement Ryan. Kinda like how Samantha Harris complements Tom Bergeron on DWTS.

The best news is that the results show being cut back to 30 min. like it was in the beginning. Stretching that show out to one hour is gratingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.whatever happened Wednesday could have been condensed down to 30 minutes.

I think they did it this year initially because of the writers strike. They had no idea how long it would last, and there was definitely time to fill.

Wow! And to think that Idol wants to go lower with the age down to 14! Stage parent hell will break out if they allow the age limit to drop to 14. Bad idea Simon…bad idea.

The best news is that the results show being cut back to 30 min. like it was in the beginning. Stretching that show out to one hour is grating….whatever happened Wednesday could have been condensed down to 30 minutes.

Now I ask you — how much control does Nigel have over Idol compared to the bigwigs at Fox? Who do you think is calling the shots?

I post rarely on Rickey’s site, I do lurk there and read. I like it most of the time. I like MJ’s better because it is definitely more adult oriented. While MJ may have her favorite I don’t see it being crammed down my throat 24/7 and she respects the differences in her posters and she respects that they disagree with her and with others. That is what is cool about this site. Yes we may all disagree with something someone says, and may even do some subtle name calling or whatever on occasion but there isn’t the backstabbing there is on other sites. Just my opinion.