TV’s Best of the Decade: No. 7 – ‘American Idol’
I wrote my first “American Idol” recap for Zap2it in February of 2003, reporting on the performances by the second semifinal ground of the show’s second season. That semifinal group included Hadas Shalev, Jacob John Smalley and a couple other singers doomed to only be remembered by “American Idol” obsessives. Then again, the top three performers that night were Kimberley Locke, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, who would go on to spend a lot of time on America’s television sets that spring.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Dave on Demand: Vacuum tube
It was a little pitchy, dawg. At least TV’s No. 1 show, American Idol, had an eventful year, adding one judge, the bland Kara DioGuardi, and cashiering another, colorful space case Paula Abdul.
Paula and the show parted ways over contract negotiations. Apparently, she had gotten tired of being paid in Hello Kitty stickers.
The winner of the singing contest’s eighth season was pretty boy Kris Allen. No sooner were the results announced than Allen vanished from sight so thoroughly that Anthony LaPaglia couldn’t find him.
The most shocking reality TV moments
1. Susan Boyle Dreams a Dream …
… And dreams really do come true when you’re given the thumbs up by Simon Cowell. The dowdy Scottish 48-year-old stood before the judges on the April 11 episode of Britain’s Got Talent and proceeded to belt out the most glorious version of Les Miserables’ I Dreamed a Dream. Along with the rest of the world, the notoriously bitter Cowell ‘†who had been snickering with buddy Piers Morgan at the sloppy sight of Boyle minutes earlier ‘†was shockingly impressed, and the clip of her performance became an overnight YouTube sensation. Never before had reality TV made someone so famous, so fast. Boyle came in second on BGT, but copies of her debut covers album, I Dreamed a Dream, are selling like hotcakes. Now that’s 15 minutes well spent.
3. America Goes Gaga for Glambert
Kris Allen who? The real winner of American Idol’s eighth season was Adam Lambert ‘†the glamorous guylinered fan fave who rocked pretty much anything he touched (notably Tears for Fears’ Mad World) on the Fox singoff. Despite coming in second, the openly gay San Diego native has managed to keep his interest levels’ up since the competition wrapped in May. But I guess that’s what happens when you shove another guy’s crotch in your face during an American Music Awards performance.
5. Paula Abdul Eliminates Herself
After eight seasons and countless incomprehensible ramblings, Paula Abdul gave up her prime spot next to Simon Cowell on American Idol’s judging panel. And since it was 2009, she announced ‘†sorry, Tweeted ‘†her departure via Twitter: ‘With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to Idol, ‘ she wrote. Instead of seeing Abdul critique songs that haven’t been sung (lest we forget that Jason Castro confusion in Season 7), fans will now get to watch Ellen DeGeneres provide her musical expertise (assuming she has … some?). And, sadly, now we’ll never find out what Paula really put in her Coke cup.
Faces to watch in 2010: Entertainment
She’s not a new face by any stretch, but when Ellen DeGeneres takes over the “American Idol” judging position vacated by Paula Abdul, the Emmy-winning talk show host and comic is sure to become the most scrutinized TV personality of the new year.
Bucky Covington To Hold Special Event
Nashville’s Hard Rock Caf is hosting a countdown to the reopening of its doors with a series of special events. The next one will feature Bucky Covington. It is set to take place on December 29.
Tickets for the show are $10 in advance or $12 at the door, which open at 7 pm. All proceeds from the show will benefit the Tennessee Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.
Hudson, sister split on selling home where mother, brother slain: report
t’s a forlorn house — empty, boarded up and set upon a weedy lot.
Now comes word that Grammy- and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is considering selling the Englewood home where her mother and brother were slain in October 2008.
Hudson wants to sell the property on South Yale, but her sister Julia Hudson isn’t ready to move on, the National Enquirer has reported.
“Jennifer still breaks down at the thought of her mother being shot and dying on the living room floor, ” a source told the Enquirer. “But Julia has told Jennifer that she has nothing left and no one left in her life to hold on to, and she’s just not ready to let go of the house.”
