More Stalkerazi: The Idols Leave Tour Rehearsal
TMZ caught up with Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud and Lil Rounds on their way back from tour reahearsals last night. Danny says the best thing about American Idol is money,money monay! Lil swears she wears more eyeliner than Adam Lambert, and Anoop says he’s never used his status as an Idol to pick up girls.
Funniest bit is when the camera stalker, walking backwards, nearly runs into a tree. “You’re a new guy, aren’t you,” says Danny.
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123 Responses to “More Stalkerazi: The Idols Leave Tour Rehearsal”
I have never been a Danny fan(and never will be). Especially because he might be the biggest reason Adam didn’t win this year (Danny votes went to Kris…). However, now I feel a little sad for the guy. With Adam, Kris and Alison all signed with a record deal, it got to feel like a slap on the face for Danny. AI really just built him up then dumped him without mercy. If you think about it, he actually is the ultimate victim out of this whole thing…So guys, just give him a break.
I’m not comfortable with the insinuation that if I don’t like Danny, it’s because I subscribe to a gang mentality. I totally reject that theory. I form my own opinions and if I don’t like Danny, I just don’t like him. I’ve been avoiding the Danny threads because I don’t want to continually rag on him, but I had to respond to this.
You say “in the real world” every person you talk to likes Danny. But that is your world, the place you live and work, the circles you run in, the people you know. I can say that most people I talk to don’t like him. I live in a different place and hang around different people. So you can’t go by what your circle of acquaintences thinks, that’s a tiny spec in the swarm of humanity.
Please rethink your theory because most of us aren’t sheep playing follow the leader. Probably people of like minds tend to congregate on various blogs, so this blog probably has more non-fans of Gokey than some other blogs might. You might also ask what kind of people use the internet, are they more educated, for instance? There are a lot of ways to look at it, but thinking we are all being hypnotized by the internet blogs to dislike Danny is not a workable theory.
I don’t blame Danny for being excited about the $. The reality is for him, Scott, Lil, Sarver, and probably Megan, this tour will be the most money they ever make. They need it for their families. Let’s face it, you go on AI for fame and fortune and there’s nothing wrong with being upfront about it.
I understand what you are saying. And of course this would not apply to every single person. I still think that many people are like sheep. Hey, I’m a teacher…I see this mentality all the time. I have actually been shocked at times by how much the posts on some boards (please don’t think I’m referring to MJs) resemble the behavior of, not my high schoolers, but rather the 6th graders I taught a few years back.
So yeah, maybe you, personally, are not influenced by what you have seen and read and so on. I can certainly believe that on an individual level. But, that certainly doesn’t mean that many people are not. It seems it became the popular/cool thing to do to hate on Danny.
Now, let me just say, I am not talking about hating his singing, song choices, stage presence, etc. I am talking about the people that hate him so bad that they feel the need to rip apart every little word, expression, and run it in the ground. They have, of course, every right to do so.
Also, I understand about the whole “my demographics” versus yours. I’ve thought about that, too. Still, I do come in contact with hundreds of teenagers every single day (I know, same community, but still), I do think it odd that not one person, regardless of their preference for another contestant, thought Danny to be the antichrist.
Also, if Danny was so hated by the general public, he wouldn’t have made it top 3.
I still stand by my original statement, although I do agree that it obviously does not apply to every single Danny hater.
Reminder:
Wow. A couple of you are VERY CLOSE to getting banned. FOLLOW MY RULES.
DO NOT:
1. Fingerwag or lecture posters.
2. Question the motives of posters or put words in their mouths.
3. Hijack the thread or take it off-topic
4. Criticize posters or their opinions.
5. Adam and Kris ARE NOT THE SUBJECT OF THIS POST.
Those of you who have been posting in this thread need to check back at my edits. I edited quite a few posts.
And people get to do that here without being treated like they are members of your 6th grade class. Disagree, but don’t lecture OR fingerwag.
I’m sorry, mj. Thanks for putting the clip up, anyway. I enjoyed it. I’ll do better.
aek, I didn’t even vote for Danny. But at this point I swear I hope he kicks all their asses. I understand how you feel honey. :bye_tb:
I thought the clip was funny. I loved seeing Anoop and Danny was pretty funny especially with the “you’re a new guy” comment. I’ve been skipping the Kris and Adam threads but happy to see some of the others.
Danny needs a crash course in dealing with the paparazzi. Here he talks about money, money, money and at the finale afterparty he asked a fan if the fan was going to sell his autograph while on camera.
The “fan” wouldn’t let him make it out to anyone. He knew that the guys there were selling all of these autographs on ebay, and he said “Come on, let me make it out to someone.” And then he said, “I’ll just make it out to ebay.”
He was polite to the guys, but he did say “How much do you guys make off of us?” And then he told them they should donate some of the money to charity. I got the sense that he had already talked to these guys and signed things for them before because the one guy said, and I’m paraphrasing, “I’ll give to Sophia’s Heart Foundation, because you took care of me back at (somewhere).
Danny said “No, you don’t have to give to my charity, I’m just saying that if you are gonna sell these, then you should give some money to help other people out. (Again, paraphrasing)
I find it very annoying when nonfans get these autographs and sell them on ebay. I remember being at a tour concert in NC back in Season 5 and seeing some guys with like 15 8X10 pictures of Taylor standing out there waiting with the others for autographs. When Taylor walked by, they yelled out for him to come and sign autographs. Taylor didn’t come immediately and they were calling him a “jerk.” Then when he does come over and sign, they give him this envelope with all of these pics to sign, tell him they just want his name, and Taylor patiently signs every single one of them. I know he knew what their agenda was. I found these guys very distastful, and so I don’t begrudge Danny for speaking his mind, and sort of calling them out on it.
Aek, might be a little late to comment on this but I am totally with you on viewing a mob or gang mentality in regards to Danny hating.
I think this orginated from within the media and my theory is some media with a vested interest in a certain contestant got together to create a propaganda war against Danny.
In a way, this is why I am very pro-Danny. He’s the little guy with no connections going up against the massive media machine.
I am sure it is an easier pill to swallow to think that your fav is the target of a massive “hate” campaign than it is to understand that Danny did and said a lot of things that were more than distasteful to many people who are just fans of American Idol. And, if the big media machine would have been in play I am sure that Kris would have fallen under the same “hate” umbrella.
Danny is and will always be the American Idol finalist that I have the least respect for. The man has no filter and offends constantly.
Kris was never, even up until the end, perceived to be the threat to the favorite that Danny was.
And in many ways, Kris did end up being dissed by the media in the end. But it was too late to build a campaign against him, he had already won. However, I will say, that Kris’s personality is such that there is not really much that you could pull out and spin in a negative way. Both Adam and Danny have “bigger” personalities…not better, but definately bigger. Kris is just a person that you can’t imagine anyone not liking.
Anyway, I don’t really think the broader media perpetrated any kind of campaign against Danny, I really only saw this with EW and AI blog sites..again, an Internet thing. That’s why I feel that it’s mainly only the people who frequent Internet AI sites that realize that Danny is despised.
About Danny being my favorite. He actually wasn’t…Adam was. Danny was a second favorite, based on his singing voice, which I love. Adam, really, had it all going on. I actually watched AI rather casually in the beginning this year, paying more attention after the top 10 were chosen. Believe it or not, my sister had to remind me in late March that Danny’s wife had died…when she told me, I was like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.”
I happened on the Internets in mid April, and it was only then that I realized that there was such negativity surrounding Danny. So then I started trying to find out all that I could about him to see where/why this was happening. Well, I couldn’t find anything in his background that should justify the slaying that he was getting. From there, I suppose it’s almost a motherly instinct that has kicked in. I just can’t stand what I perceive as injustice. But I understand that everyone’s perception is their own reality…what can you do?
aek thanks for your answer, it’s true that people often do like to play it safe and follow the crowd, I’ve always been more of a rebel or individualist (which doesn’t always lead to popularity).
Since I dislike Danny, it’s easy for me to think that people truly do dislike him and aren’t just jumping on a bandwagon. If anything, it’s probably possible here to diss him, so he is dissed, but it’s also possible to diss the other idols, and that happens too, but maybe they have more fans here who defend them.
I sometimes get the feeling that fans of Danny are shocked that people don’t like him because maybe on other boards/blogs he is well liked (and they probably aren’t the boards/blogs I would go to) (i.e. they are probably more conservative or religious)
I have suspected groupthink on these boards though because there is such agreement on some issues:
1) taylor swift can’t sing (I disagree)
2) Roger the publicist is a jerk (though nobody will say why)
3) Kellie Pickler can’t sing (again I disagree)
4) Larry King is a terrible interviewer (I disagree)
I could go on. So see, Danny isn’t the only one who gets dissed here. Maybe you’re just more sensitive to it when it comes to him.
I like that you came up with a theory and expressed it well. Though I assure you that I don’t like Danny and neither does my friend, and not because anyone influenced us. It’s one of the few times I’m in the majority viewpoint here (or most places).
I’m not a sheep and I don’t follow anyone. I have my own mind and made it up the first time Danny mentioned his wife’s death, which was during auditions. It should never have been mentioned to begin with–and yes, he did mention it throughout the competition, referring to it either directly, or indirectly by mentioning his “foundation” (which is an organization asking for money and another thing that should never have been mentioned until after the competition) and by talking about his “tragedy to triumph”.
I find any evangelical religion questionable, and that is what Faith Builders is. If you want to talk about mob mentality and people blindly following–check one or two of them out. They either are or border on being, cults. They prey (not pray) on people who are looking for someplace to “belong” or “fit in” and take advantage of that dire need.
I question any religious group who constantly asks for money and tells people the more they give, the more God likes them and the better their chance of getting into heaven. I especially question one whose pastors flaunt their own riches (and where did those riches come from?) with material things. I question any religious group whose pastor is clearly commiting one of the Seven Deadly Sins–gluttony–when there are probably people going hungry in his own community.
I question a contestant who represents a “foundation” that asks for money to help children while he flaunts his many eyeglasses–which don’t come cheap. I have never heard of any truck driver or church music leader–in other words, your average “Joe”–being able to afford so many pairs of prescription glasses. If you are going to create a foundation that asks people to give money–people who may not even have a pot to piss in–then you should not be spending your own money on excessive, wasteful, non-essential things. Danny should be leading by example, and he clearly does not.
When someone asks you what some of the “perks” of being an Idol are and the first word out of your mouth is “money”–you deserve any criticism you get. While they may deserve to earn the money, and enjoy it–it is utterly tactless, not to mention shallow, to have that be the first thing that comes to your mind and announce so blatantly. However, I found it very consistent with Danny’s previous behavior.
I have no respect for Danny. He has demonstrated his shallow, self-absorbed personality throughout the Idol competition and continues to do so post-Idol. In addition, he just isn’t–in my opinion–that good of a singer to begin with.
By the way, I saw his twitters from yesterday–regarding his “money” remark–and, me thinks thou doth (once again) profess to being a “jokester” too much.
So, no, I do not like Danny Gokey and no one told me not to like him. I base my dislike on my own observations of his behavior, and the behavior of those he represents.
The funny thing is that Danny was totally pimped by the judges all along until the end. They wanted him in the finale and they said that since day one. People complain about Adam being pimped but Danny was pimped far more and I didn’t think his performances justified it. That contributed to my not liking him, as well as his personality, his fundamentalism, his smile which looks like a smirk, I’ll stop there. Except to add that I also suspect he is homophobic, that he and Sarver are both that way and that is why Adam is uncomfortable around him and why Gokey and Sarver pal around together, they have a lot in common when it comes to their views.
Lots of assumptions being made. And in fact it sounds like stereotyping to me.
If you are religious, you are homophobic ….
If you are religious, you shouldn’t like money and should give all your money away….
Maybe you are spending too much time on message boards and need to go outside and get some fresh air? Anyways, i give all the contestants credit for going out and exposing their lives to such scrutiny.
@canuck:
I don’t know which post(s) you are referring to, but, for the record, I assumed nothing (I drew conclusions from my own observations) and sterotyped no one. I said I “question”. And I didn’t make either of those “religious” statements regarding homophobia or money.
Now I will go outside and get some fresh air. Care to join me?
jilc – Danny did NOT keep mentioning his wife death throughout the competition, it is what you perceived. Danny lost his wife 4 weeks prior to audition, this is who he was, the producer thought that was a great story and ran with it, and if you watched how the producer persuaded Kris and his wife to post with a cute apron and thought it was a good idea, you should know that there was very little the contestant could do about what the producer wanted to go for a story. How could Danny keep the secret? I am sure you need to reveal if you’re single or married, and yes if widowed to the AI producers before you signed the contract.
His brother in law did show the couple’s photo during the Top 30 week when he sang Hero, and he already addressed it and it was not his idea. You certainly can choose not to believe it.
After that he did not mention his death wife until he was eliminated at T3, yes there had been constant mentioning on his death wife by the bloggers and no less at EW Idolatary. There were posters saying after he sang Endless Love that he looked up as if he was addressing his wife, saying that was “disgusting”, to me this is ridiculous and Danny bashing to the extreme.
Many posters in this thread even most non Danny supporters thought the video clip was funny and saw nothing wrong with that, you are entitled to your opinion but you and a few other posters are clearly seeing something what you “think” you saw and what most of us did not see.
@jlc – Fresh air was really nice. I’m too lazy to go back and quote, yes homophobic one wasn’t attributed to you.
Guess it’s ok not to like a performer but from my viewpoint, i never get my knickers in a knot if i don’t like a performer. In fact there are piles of performers that i don’t like but i respect their contributions to entertainment. Just off the top of my head, i despise Rod Stewart – i think he is really sleazy but yes some of his songs are iconic.
Now about the dead wife business( I even hate typing that). I remember that photo at the beginning and it seemed wrong to me. Idol people really exploited that didn ‘t they? I kind of felt sorry for Danny then, thought it was kind of an unusual support group there too. Where were his parents? Kind of out his control that one and too bad.
I don’really remember him bringing up his wife other than that. The money and religion well I said what I thought of that already.
@kokko – i thought idolatry was crossing the line too . Personally i don’t get off on virtual contestant stoning so i have stayed away ever since.
.
i have kind of wondered if they actually did cross the line and could have been considered to be harassing someone. i don’t
think that would be allowed in Canada though.
I thought Danny Gokey was an average singer in the beginning, not outstanding but ok, it was his behavior that started to make me dislike him and just to expand on that a little, here’s how it happened for me. 1. The Gokey/Sarver comments on contestants interview each other week and the telling comment “we love each other in a Godly way” when there had been much spectulation on Adam’s sexuality and Kris’ and Adam’s friendship. To me they both showed their TRUE COLORS and that color was Homophobic. 2. The unforgivable way Gokey invited Adam to a public place for dinner with his family and ridiculed him by bringing out a picture of Adam with green body paint and dressed in what most would consider drag and asking Adam to sign it for him. (It actually was a picture of a play Adam acted in called Herlon or something to that effect.) The vindictive E-Mails that were hacked of Gokey’s relatives and the hateful comments they made about Adam were very hate filled and needless to say this signed picture would have apparently been a joke shared by all the family in a “Godly way”, of course. 3. The sucker punch Gokey took at Adam on Larry King Live when the 10 finalists appeared while looking straight at Adam “some people are not showing their true colors” wqs not even responded to by anyone including guest host Ryan Seacrest. It was a very low blow and inappropriate. 4. Gokey tried to copycat Adam shamelessly through Season 8, first with the boots identical to Adam’s. then came the chunk chain, the same black jeans Adam had worn, “borrowing the stage mannerisms from the way Adam looked at the camera to his stance, running downstage to perform in front of the judges, and then the final embarrasment for Gokey trying to do an Adam ending high note to “Dream On” and sounding very ridiculous and thankfully getting voted off the show after that tackiness. 5. On Regis and Kelly Live talking about his ‘”products” when Adam had previously made the statement about sharing a bathroom with Kris and mentioning Kris only had 2 or 3 “products” as compared to Adam’s 30 or 40. This was making Gokey look pretty pathetic.