Idol Headlines for 11/28/07

He also pulled off dancing with a giant gecko that stormed the stage during à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Movinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ On,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the first song on his self-titled debut CD.

Yep – he sure did! I have the pics to prove it!

Please share the pic, Lu. I would love to see that. LOL. None of those are on the train yet.

Blake’s drummer has a list of upcoming appearances up on his myspace. I’m gathering that the radio dates are Jingle Ball concerts…the one in Nashville is this Friday. I wanna go but you have to win tickets, and I’m too far away to listen to the station to try to win them. :sad_tb: Sucktastic. Anyway it looks like they’ll be part of the Z100 Jingle Ball lineup too. And they’re going to be on Ellen also…

Now this is an interesting approach to explaining her low sales. Black Friday as a hindrance? Seriously? Seems like a real stretch to me.

Elliott really got some great reviews on this leg of his tour. Way to go Elliott! You’re making Richmond proud!

I’m pretty sure this was never posted, if so I apologize!!!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9InAEMZ6fME

Kat on Access Hollywood with Mcphee Outreach. Enjoy. :bye_tb:

I’ve posted pictures on my My Space from Elliott’s show at the Roxy in Boston Saturday night…

I am so happy and proud of Elliott. :clap_tb: :unsure_tb:

oh..sorry.. the other smiley is meant to be next the sentence..What on earth happened to Jordin’s numbers.. :unsure_tb:

I think having a Washington Post critic compare you to Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake to compliment you is pretty fantastic. There haven’t been a ton of reviews on Elliott’s tour but all have have been pretty great. His management needs to put together a little blurb with all the best ones.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve posted pictures on my My Space from Elliottà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show at the Roxy in Boston Saturday nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

MJ –
Do you mind if I post that link on the etrain? Also, I may want to get some of those pics – fantastic!!!!

Blake is going to be on Ryan Secrest’s show this morning. You can listen live here.

He’s also scheduled to appear later during JoJo’s shift.

MJ -
Do you mind if I post that link on the etrain? Also, I may want to get some of those pics – fantastic!!!!

Sure no problem!

MJ, Great pictures of E in Boston. They’re good enoughto be album covers. Are Taylor and the (fake) gf still together?

MJ, Great pictures of E in Boston. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re good enough to be album covers.

For real… definitely cover material. You’re good MJ!

The fake gf blogs are all atwitter at the news that Taylor’s girlfriend is leaving her anchor position.

I’m surprised she hasn’t filed a defamation lawsuit yet. I really am.

MJ -
Do you mind if I post that link on the etrain? Also, I may want to get some of those pics – fantastic!!!!

Sure no problem!

I’m sorry, mj…I was too excited to share I posted the link at etrain and my local forum without asking you first… :embarassed_tb:

Kat – Please help me out. What’s truth and what’s fiction?

RE: Interestingly, her HSM gig almost never happened. A young Hudgens was all set to audition for American Idol.

So, how do you think she would’ve done competing against the likes of Jordin Sparks or Blake Lewis ?

I’m not certain she has the pipes to perform various musical genres.

In a sense her not going to American Idol was a great decision. One does not have to be the best or most talented singer/performer in order to be famous.

Converserly, one can be a great talent ( e.g. Melinda Doolittle ) and still not make it to the top.

MJ -
Do you mind if I post that link on the etrain? Also, I may want to get some of those pics – fantastic!!!!

Sure no problem!

I’m sorry, mj…I was too excited to share I posted the link at etrain and my local forum without asking you first… :embarassed_tb:

Are Taylor and the (fake) gf still together?

This phrase in the article gives us some hint perhaps :

“…Taylor Hicks, something she’s not interested in talking about.”

Kat – Please help me out. Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s truth and whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fiction?

Hahaha. I have no inside scoop. All I know is that there are some blogs claiming that the woman Taylor was seen frolicking with on the beach is not the woman currently claiming to be his girlfriend. They base this claim primarily on the assertion that the woman on the beach is tall, while Taylor’s current GF is short. The blogs are accusing her of being a liar and a fraud and of manipulating her “friends” in the press to write positive articles about her. Now that she’s not returning to her job, they’re claiming that she’s been fired. Apparently, there was also a claim that the photos of Taylor and his girlfriend were Photoshopped. The blogger said they brought them to a professional to have them analyzed. Which is pretty scary, if true, that someone would go to the trouble of analyzing photographs of people that they don’t actually know.

I don’t think the blogs are really widely read, but if, IF, Taylor’s girlfriend lost her job over the controversy, she’d be a complete idiot (or — heh — an actual fake girlfriend) not to file a cause of action for defamation.

This phrase in the article gives us some hint perhaps :

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Taylor Hicks, something sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not interested in talking about.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Lots of people don’t like talking about their private relationships in public.

Sorry for the double post. I wanted to delete one but I couldn’t. :s

That’s weird, the Taylor and fake girlfriend stories.

The blogs are accusing her of being a liar and a fraud and of manipulating her à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“friendsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in the press to write positive articles about her. Now that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not returning to her job, theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re claiming that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been fired. Apparently, there was also a claim that the photos of Taylor and his girlfriend were Photoshopped. The blogger said they brought them to a professional to have them analyzed. Which is pretty scary, if true, that someone would go to the trouble of analyzing photographs of people that they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t actually know.

OMG, is this for real??? That’s beyond fanatic. It’s malicious. I feel really sorry for both Taylor *and* Caroline. :blink_tb:

The fringe of the Idol fanbase seems very scary. Even the most devoted can be fine if they can laugh about it but the super crazies are too into their made up, paranoid world to do that.

I think it’s really gotta be fringe groups. I did google yesterday based on the info here, but I didn’t find much at all on it. Just one blog. I remember seeing a photo on one of the main Taylor sites that showed him at an appearance on the east coast last summer during his book tour, there were a lot of people around him, including the girlfriend. He’s been very quiet about the relationship but he didn’t deny it in an interview last summer – just said he was very happy or something like that. Ah well. What do I care about that anyway? :lol_wp:

They base this claim primarily on the assertion that the woman on the beach is tall, while Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current GF is short.

The weirdest part about that was that in the picture these blogs were using, they were standing in the sand by the shoreline, and both Taylor’s and the girl’s legs and feet were covered with water. The first thing I though about was shifting sand. I mean, how do you judge someone’s height based on that? The whole thing was just nutty.

Oh god. I can’t believe I actually just participated in the madness. LOL! Please forget I ever said anything.

On a more serious note, Elliot looks, dare I say it, kinda hot. How did that happen? He needs to write a book or something for pulling that one off.

Can you imagine if Vanessa Hudgens had tried out for Idol, then those nude pictures of her surfaced? LOL! Antonella 2.0, anyone?

Elliott was always hot (to me). It was just the goofy haircut and the bad teeth. But he always had the great profile and charm. In person, he’s really cute with a nice bod. Equal opportunity comment: Taylor who looks goofy to me in pictures is handsome in person also. Must break away from computer and do actual work now.

Oh god. I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe I actually just participated in the madness. LOL! Please forget I ever said anything.

thanks, best laugh I’ve had yet today! and yeah, Idol really does underscore a lot of bizarre elements of our culture. which of course is why I love it.

Elliott was always hot (to me). It was just the goofy haircut and the bad teeth.

Yeah, I always saw him as goofy-cute. But not hot – as in “I might wanna DO him” hot. Until now. He could get it now. :thumbup_tb:

Incidentally, as much as I loves me some Taylor, I have never, ever wanted to do him. Something about the spazzy, jerky movement thing makes it seem kind of dangerous. Like he might get excited and accidentally punch me in the eye or something. Hug him, yes. Do him, no.

thanks, best laugh Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve had yet today!

I googled last night after reading about it here also. A couple of minutes into each of those sites was all it took to realize someone needs some serious meds & a good look into the *real* world. It’s just plain nuts that all those folks crossed the line between *fans* and *lunatics*. Taylor’s personal life should remain just that, personal. What a sad thing for them both.

Re: “doing Elliott”. Do you have good medical insurance? :devil_tb:

I can see it now: Fox’s new reality-based detective show featuring Rogue helicopter guy vs. Idol fanbase fridge. I’d watch :lol_tb:

Rogue helicopter guy vs. Idol fanbase fridge. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d watch

Fringe or fridge? Actually, they could do an AI cooking show – What’s in *your* Idol fanbase fridge?

uh, jpfan, what are you trying to say? You cannot be implying that our newly minted hearthrob Elliot is no longer the shy nice guy he once was? Is there some reason to think that his nether regions may have come in contact with the type of conditions that would require medical treatment of some sort? That perhaps he has fraternized with some, um, overly-friendly young ladies while on tour, young ladies that may have engaged in multiple types of intimate contact with many other young (preferably rich or famous) men?

In other words, are you implying Elliot has a germy penis? I must alert the lunatic fringe of his fanbase at once!

Or maybe you just meant he has a cold. Nevermind.

:innocent1_tb:

Fringe or fridge? Actually, they could do an AI cooking show – Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in *your* Idol fanbase fridge?

Dang, little d ate my n.

http://www5.commercialappeal.com/ph…7/nov/26/24808/

Taylor Hicks was a big hit on “American Idol” and AutoZone Liberty Bowl expects he’ll be a big hit with football fans next month when he performs during the halftime show.

Still trying to get confirmed info on this, but if true, this is HUGE. Liberty Bowl is a major deal here in Memphis.

and yeah, Idol really does underscore a lot of bizarre elements of our culture. which of course is why I love it.

Whenever I feel I’m getting overinvested, it’s always nice to be able to point to people who are crazier than I am. So at least those blogs are good for something.

Amazon TopCD’s of 2007

Elliott is #36 and Katharine is #55, so congrats to both of them. :smile1_tb:

Nanny, you missed Kelly’s “My December” at #27 and Carrie Underwood’s “Carnival Ride” at #93.

I love how the featured review for McPhee describes her as having a “warm, wide-eyed Alice in Wonderland quality.” Heh.

Oh, Soundscan’s in: Jordin sold 119K and debuted at #10.
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003678333

Nanny, you missed Kellyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My Decemberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  at #27 and Carrie Underwoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Carnival Rideà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  at #93.

I didn’t do it intentionally, so congrats to them all!!!!

I love how the featured review for McPhee describes her as having a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“warm, wide-eyed Alice in Wonderland quality.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I love it too, but for totally different reasons, different strokes for different folks. :lol_wp:

I guess Jordin’s low debut kinda sets the “season 6 was the worst season EVER!” sentiment in stone.

“The worst season produced the worst debut.” I think that’s how it’s going to be remembered.

Tina – You must have missed the most banned AI post ever from about 1 1/2 years ago (I think.) I did not mean to imply that Elliott had a contagious disease of any kind just that he’s a little guy with a big….voice.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The worst season produced the worst debut.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s how ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be remembered.

That is interesting. When Taylor “flopped,” it was largely attributed to his supposed lack of talent. If Jordin flops, I think the blame won’t be placed on her voice or her album, but on how Idol didn’t do right by her. It will be very fascinating to watch.

I wonder if Jordin’s 119,000 amount is rounded up or rounded down. I guess that a lot of people felt the same way that I did about Season 6.

I hope that the press won’t be too hard on Jordin and her sales numbers. After all, she’s only 17. (I hope that AI judges do not have an irritating mantra next season. That “only 17″ bit got old very quickly.)

Tina – You must have missed the most banned AI post ever from about 1 1/2 years ago (I think.)

Uh-oh. I did indeed miss this notorious post you are talking about, since I have no idea what you mean. Is mj gonna kick my butt or something? Did I do a bad thing? I didn’t mean it! LOL!

On another note… poor Jordin. I think her fate may lie with what happens to Blake’s album. If he succeeds, then I predict her album’s “failure” will be blamed mostly on her. Look for everything from her weight to music choices to personality to come into play. We’ve already seen one media outlet blame it on Clive not having a heavy hand in the production. They could start floating “diva” stories about her any minute.

But if Blake tanks too, then the Idol franchise will take the media hit. We’ll hear all about how Idol is over, how the people are getting tired of bland pop, how the evil machine treats artists like dirt, etc etc.

They could start floating à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“divaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  stories about her any minute.

Or that stage parents interfered…

I suspect the same Media critics who trashed Taylor will make excuses for the poor 17 year old girl. They don’t want to look like bullies.

Jordin’s “problem” is that she put out a totally forgettable CD….

Blake is too “gimmicky”…. (not to mention unlistenable for me, makes my ears bleed)….a ‘flash in the pan’ at best.

Kat suffered from a serious lack of identity and TPTB trying to make her into something she was absolutely not, IOW, an “Urban, hip hop” type star…….with ZERO ‘street cred’ in those circles…not to mention a serious CF by releasing her CD in January.

Taylor appealed to his niche’ fanbase and then went straight to the ‘oldies’ circuit of shows….IOW, right back to where he started.

IMHO, if they don’t stop getting the same cookie-cutter voices (read: Leona (or who ever the hell that girl from Simon’s GB show is), Kat, Jordin, et. al.)….this whole experiment is doomed. For the love of God, please look for someone else besides the next Whitney, Maria, Celine, etc…..send “better” people through and maybe “better” people will have a chance to win America’s ears and hearts.

Daughtry worked, Carrie worked, Kelly worked, Elliot would have worked better with better backing and support…

If S7 doesn’t right the ship at AI, then it’s over….

I still think Blake will sell a lot more albums than what people are predicting.

IMO. His new album sounds awesome, at least from the three clips I heard on you tube. Can’t wait to hear the whole thing.

Break Anotha seems to be catching on as of late, his mediabase numbers are steadily going up. So we will see. I am rooting for him, but even if he doesn’t make it big he is much better than before and that’s what’s important.

His promo schedule looks very good for the upcoming weeks so he could have a late sale success. Only time will tell.

Former “American Idol” contender Elliott Yamin’s Target-exclusive Christmas offering, Sounds of the Season, enters at #169 with 7,200 sold.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1575221/20071128/jordin_sparks.jhtml

So it seems the public is not big on the x-mass tidings from the idols . Elliotts numbers for his X-mas are not great so like Bo unfortnatly it would not be called a rousing success.

Elliott the not a big push his cd songs: songs are played every top 40 station as much as Daughtry the cd. Guest on Ai where his sales doubled for cd. Radio and signings at store(including one at ny when there).The two songs that are hits are beyonce vibe to them.

Maybe people are just downloading the songs instead of buying the cd for now.I do not feel bad for Elliott non cd push at all. The guy is very lucky you should be happy for him.

The days of idol letting the power of their name do the talking are over. In fact, the label of AI winner is starting to have more negatives than positives. It is easier to lose and have freedom to make your own CD than to win and have extremely high expectations. The lack of passion for winning reflected in last year’s contestants which is one of the reasons why I thought S6 was boring (that and no backstories). Once the contestants made the top 10 (the tour) their competitive edge was gone. AI needs to put value back in the title or IMHO the show is over.

ETA: I should clarify that I mean the value of the AI title needs have value in the eyes of the viewers (not just the contestants). Or the viewers will not be invested enough to vote and thereby not invested enought to watch.

neonorange
Nov 28th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Once the contestants made the top 10 (the tour) their competitive edge was gone. AI needs to put value back in the title or IMHO the show is over.

I agree…even sent a email a few years back to the producers stating just that… for all the good it did.

Once the contestants made the top 10 (the tour) their competitive edge was gone. AI needs to put value back in the title or IMHO the show is over.

I agree. I got tired of reading in exit interviews that the person hadn’t really wanted to win and that their only goal was to make the top 10. It’s not much fun watching a competive game where most of the contestants don’t want to win.

Imagine the 100 m dash in the Olympics if the competitors only goal was to make the final heat. Athletes strolling non-challantly down the track hoping somebody else will win. “After you”. “No, I insist, after you”. “It’s now hour 73 of the 100 m dash and still, no winner. A special rule was introduced at hour 49 to allow the contestants to step off the track, normally a disqualification, to allow the closing ceremonies to occur on schedule. At least these athletes have all had time to get to know each other and we’ve never seen contestants get along so well. The runner from the Ukraine has asked the runner from Jamica to be the best man at his wedding. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this exiting race. Only 82 m left to go!!!!”

Now, what could the show do to make the contestants want to win again? They can’t threaten to not sign the runner-ups, etc because the contestants just think that they will sign with another label. They can’t say that they will move mountains to make sure that the winner is considered to be the “real winner” because their track record does not support that.

I think Nigel is going to have to open the old purse strings a little. I know that they are pretty tight, but with ad revenues of $600-700K for 30 seconds, I think he might be able to cough up a few more pennies to sweeten the pot. How about 1 million dollars? Plus the supposed 1 million contract they already give out (especially since nobody knows what that means and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to pay all that money back from royalties).

People will eat bugs for a million dollars on Survivor, so it can’t hurt to introduce a monetary prize to Idol. Hey, go all crazy and make it 5 million dollars. That will get the hearts pumping and that’s less than the ad revenue from 10 commercials (and there were what, 87 commercials Top 12 Girls night this year, so, just a drop in the bucket)

Any other ideas?

I think a monetary incentive would be a good way to go. After all, they’ve been giving the runner-ups albums since the beginning.

If anyone is interested, Blake’s official site is up and it looks good!

http://www.blakelewisofficial.com

Confirmed, just got off w/ the Peabody –

Taylor will be performing @ a Gala the night b4 the Liberty Bowl @ the Peabody in Downtown Memphis.

There is a gala on Friday night (Dec. 28) at the Peabody Hotel in Downtown Memphis starting at 7:00 pm. Taylor will play for 90 minutes during the dancing and entertainment time. He is the headliner. The gala is black tie and tickets are $175 per person.

Tix – (901) 795-7700

Monetary incentive would be a bad idea, IMHO. What makes AI stand out from other reality shows is that it does NOT offer monetary award. Just like the Olympic gold medal Kirsten just talked about, it has little monetary value in itself, but offers limitless commercial opportunties if the winner is really talented and appealing to the public. Attaching money to Idol title will degrade it to a certain degree.

I don’t think this season’s problem was that they didn’t try hard. They were just not that talented or appealing.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for the link, PJ! It looks great as do the pics of Blake. :wub_tb:

I really could care less about making the winner more important on AI. Everyone already wants their favorite to win so if ratings are down, I doubt it’s because the winner isn’t the only one to get a contract. I pick someone to root for and stick with them as long as they make it and then want them to do well in the real world. Season 5 ended for me when Chris was voted off and it didn’t matter in the least who won after that. I know some people are disappointed in how they perceive Taylor to have been treated after he won but I just don’t think the general viewing audience cares one way or the other.

Season 6 had every bit as much talent as the previous years but some of the problem was that there was too much emphasis on the power singers. You just knew that one of them would win at the end although Blake was the one that caught people’s interested and was the surprise in the final 2.

If you are going to ask people to vote then you are asking them to become emotionally invested in the contestant(s). IMO, This emotional investment is key to the success of American Idol. However, if winning doesn’t matter and producers and judges are going to publicly announce that “America got it wrong” — who wants to buy into that again. I think this was reflected in last years voting totals and slighlty in the ratings. I guess the key question is AI’s phenomenal success due to showing great singers with interesting backstories each week or is it because they are very clever at getting the American public emotional invested each week? Talent shows have come and gone in the past but AI far exceeds any of the previous shows’ success and I think it is because of that emotional investment and not because they find the best singers in America. JMHO. I think AI might agree with me that is why they will never go to one phone number — one vote.

I like Kirsten’s payment idea. America’s Got Talent winner got a cool million free and clear. To me that prize is worth more than AI’s current, devalued prize.

“Just like the Olympic gold medal Kirsten just talked about, it has little monetary value in itself, but offers limitless commercial opportunties if the winner is really talented and appealing to the public.”

I wonder how quickly the runners be racing to the finish line if the last gold medalist was ridiculed in the press because he/she didn’t get as many commercial endorsements as previous gold medalists and the Olympic judges publicly state the the real winner was the guy who got the Wheaties box deal because General Mills liked that he looked like the guys on the other cereal boxes. Heh. I’m just saying that winning should be respected on the show irrespective of any commercial success.

Season 6′s problem was that the producers tried too hard pat themselves on the back in promoting the WRONG things – they focused on guest performers and not the contestants. We didn’t know anything appealing about the contestants because they didn’t TELL us. If you wanted to know, you had to find it yourself.

When the focus is taken off the people who make the show what it is – THE CONTESTANTS – it will always be harder to reach the audience and the show will always have less appeal.

My current dilemma: Keep watching the Youtube Republican Debate or switch to project runway. What to do?

Here’s another “singing” reality show:

NBC’S CLASH OF THE CHOIRS

The show will pit five choirs, directed by famous musicians, against each other in a live competition in New York. It’s set to air Dec. 17 through 20.

http://newsok.com/article/3174442/1196248445

Oh my…. :doh_tb:

I go back and forth about what I think is the best formula for Idol.

Blake is being pimped on Kiis FM in LA tonight (and debuted earlier on Ryan’s show). He’s basically being interviewed b/n each of the top nine at nine. Not a bad promo.

I was surprised Jordin didnt sing on the tree lighting tonight. Taylor did last year and I think Carrie did the year she won. Maybe others did as well. I don’t see the push for Jordin that I’ve seen in the past either. They need to get more varied styles of singers then they did last year on AI, focus on the contestants, treat the winner as a winner and the judges need to keekp their bias to themselves and their negativity towards other contestants they dont want to win. AI is coming over too much like a done deal with all the manipulation. Takes the fun out of it, imo.