UPDATE: Jacob tells TV Guide that he wanted to sing “Ain’t No Way” and maybe a Whitney song, but “it got changed” by Jimmy Iovine. He takes responsibility for the decision, however.
Look what TMZ just posted:
“American Idol” reject Jacob Lusk is telling friends he’s not to blame for the TERRIBLE song choices that led to his elimination this week … insisting he got BAD advice from Jimmy Iovine.
TMZ spoke with a source extremely close to Lusk … who tells us Jacob never wanted to perform the Jordin Sparks /Chris Brown duet, “No Air” on Wednesday’s show … but Iovine pressured him into it.
We’re told Lusk really wanted to perform the Gnarls Barkley hit, “Crazy” — but Iovine was so insistent on “No Air” that he basically “beat it into his brain” until Lusk finally gave in and agreed to perform the song.
During the show, Randy Jackson told Lusk, “I don’t think that’s the direction for you … I don’t think anybody on this stage should be doing duet songs.”
Lusk isn’t the first person to claim they were pressured into changing songs — Haley Reinhart also insinuated there was some backstage manipulation this week and when the judges ripped her song choice she told them, “I should have followed my gut.”
Sources connected to the production tell us … Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has told every contestant the decision on final song choice is made by the singer … and NOT the mentor.
I wonder what’s going on here? Jimmy Iovine’s aggressive and brow beating ways are not exactly new or news. Why is it suddenly fodder for Nigel’s friends at TMZ?
BTW, “Crazy” has NEVER been cleared to sing on “Idol”, and it’s Danger Mouse, not Cee Lo who has been the stumbling block. It’s the reason why we never saw Jason Castro’s audition.
