On the Scene: The Paula Abdul ‘Idol’ gaffe heard ‘cross the nation
“Oh gosh’ we’ve never had to write these things down, uh, fast enough, ” she said. “Jason, the first song, I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear.” So far so good. “Um, the second song, I felt like your usual charm, it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty.” Huh? The audience began tittering with confusion, and Nigel and Debbie both began quietly freaking out. Paula continued, unaware. “The two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.” By this point, several audience members were openly cracking up, Debbie had to stop herself from stepping on camera to end the madness, and Nigel was frantically gesturing a single finger to anyone who could see him: ONE SONG! THEY’VE ONLY SUNG ONE SONG!
“So, David Cook, ” Paula continued, until Randy saved the day: “Oh, they’ve just done the first song though, just the first one.” The tension was finally broken with this apology (of sorts) from Paula: “I thought you’ Oh my god, I thought you sang twice! ¦You know what, this is hard! You know what, I’m looking at, it’s your notes, David [Cook]. You were fantastic.” As Simon swooped in for his chance to scold the Idols, Nigel stepped off stage to, I’m assuming, get the on-site EMTs to give him some oxygen. At the ad break, the judges were all whisked out of the studio, Syesha Mercado, David Cook, David Archuleta and Brooke White left waving to the audience, and Jason Castro was left on a stool, stage center, contemplating what, exactly, had just happened.
Neil Diamond in the Rough
I never thought I would have occasion to feel sorry for Neil Diamond, but “American Idol” always seems to introduce me to new and uninvited emotions. Tuesday’s show, devoted to the songbook of the estimable Tin Pan Alley rocker, did him a great injustice – and it didn’t do much for the tremulous Top Five Idols, either.
Maybe they’re still processing the slaying of Carly last week, or perhaps they’d gotten into whatever made Paula render judgment on Jason Castro’s second song before he sang it – but with one exception, all five contenders seemed a little, well, glazed.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
Paula After ‘Idol’: The Star Talks About Her Misunderstanding!
Just in: PAULA ABDUL talks exclusively to ET about her misunderstanding on Tuesday night’s “American Idol” performance show!
Discussing the small slip of the tongue she experienced while assessing finalist JASON CASTRO’s first performance, Paula explains: “It got very confusing … the producers come up to us in the dark and said, ‘We are not going to have you guys judge after each performer, we are going to have all the performers go once, then twice and at the end critique them.'”
Surprised by the last minute switch in judging procedures, Paula recounts, “I am feverishly trying to write notes for every performance.”
‘American Idol’: Rough Diamond
I know some of you are asking, ”What’s a nice Wizard of Oz quotation doing in a TV Watch like this?” But tonight, in the immediate wake of what will from here on be referred to as Paulagate, I’m feeling as duped and bewildered as Dorothy at the exact moment she realized the great and powerful Oz was just a sad old man, one who didn’t have the power to send her back to Kansas, let alone provide her ragtag pals with a brain, a heart, and some courage.
Am I being melodramatic? Yeah, of course. But I can’t help myself after witnessing the moment American Idol’s loopiest judge made what is indisputably the biggest (and most credibility-crushing) gaffe in the show’s seven-season history. (Yeah, even worse than Janay Castine’s season 4 semifinal rendition of ”Hit ‘Em Up Style.”)
“American Idol”: Holly Holy! It’s Neil Diamond Night!
“American Idol” comes unhinged on Neil Diamond Night.
For starters, each of the remaining five Idolettes gets to sing not one but two Diamond tunes. Then, to save time, the show’s judges — Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, won’t get to critique the Idolettes until each has performed both tunes.
“Bring those perky contestants in, ” Diamond says in a taped bit, giving us hope this week might be as good as last week’s Andrew Lloyd Webber night, if only Diamond’s being sarcastic.
Sadly, he’s not, which becomes apparent as he prattles on about his songs being written to be joyful.
A Chaotic Neil Diamond Night
The Idoldome was a colder, emptier place on Tuesday night than it had been a mere week ago, when the most electrifying singer in American Idol history, Carly Smithson still walked amongst us. In the life of every Idol partisan, sooner or later this day must come, when one must look defeat dead in the eye and search for new reasons to keep faith in the system.
In the end, democracy can not be just a way to force one own candidate into office, the means must be more important than our individual ends and, bitter though it may be, the will of the electorate must be embraced. Were it not for American Idol, one must recall, we would have never known Carly Smithson at all. However, taking my seat in the Carly-less Idoldome, I recounted the words of the Polish poet Zbignew Herbert in his Elegy of Fortinbras, when he wrote, putting words in the mouth of Hamlet sole survivor,
Diamond adds sparkle to ‹American Idol
David Cook impressed, but Jason Castro and Syesha Mercado are in danger
Continuing their season-long effort to find mentors more appealing to baby boomers than people who actually watch the show, …American Idol brought in the legendary Neil Diamond this week to work with the remaining five finalists. But unlike Dolly Parton and Andrew Lloyd Webber before him, Diamond got to watch each contestant sing two of his songs instead of one.
His goal was to encourage the finalists. …Dont be nervous at all ¦ the songs are written to be joyful, and for you to enjoy singing them, he told the …Idol hopefuls. More enjoyable for the viewers: the 10 songs in one hour of TV time left little time for banter among the judges.
American Idol: Top 5 perform
Well, it was inevitably coming but I have to say that I’m disappointed that in the week in which the contestants start singing two songs apiece, they had to pull both from Neil Diamond’s catalog. This was an opportunity for the contestants to finally sing something without a theme behind it and give us an idea of what kind of singer and performer they see themselves as. Since we were robbed of that in the rounds up to the Top 12, I thought we’d get one Neil Diamond song and one contestant’s choice. But no, it’s Neil Diamond and Neil Diamond. To speed things up, the contestants
‘American Idol’ seeks a Diamond in the rough
I got no thrills from Dolly Parton Night. Mariah Carey Night didn’t thrill me at all. So tell me why, should it be right, that I’m hoping to get a kick out of Neil Diamond Night? Would the American Idol Tuesday (April 29) Two-fer Tribute to the Jazz Singer live up to my expectations?
American Idol Fix Exposed
Paula Abdul’s stupor may have pulled back the curtain on the plot to destroy Jason Castro tonight’ it was the first night that the contestants sang two songs each, so they ran through all their initial performances, then came out to be judged at the end of the first half-hour. And Paula used this opportunity to tell Jason, who went first, that while she liked the use of his lower vocal register on “Forever In Blue Jeans, ” his second song “felt like your usual charm was missing for me… it left me a little empty. The two songs made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the top four.” But he only performed one song!
Carly Simon: Nobody does it better than Brooke on ‘Idol’
NEW YORK (AP) ‘ Carly Simon has more than a passing interest in this season’s “American Idol” and leaves no mystery about who’s her favorite remaining finalist ‘ Brooke White.
Simon was tipped to turn on the television at her home in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., the night White won over the judges by performing her hit song “You’re So Vain” during 1970s theme week.
“I thought, `Oh my God, this girl is so talented and she sings the song so much better than I ever did or ever could, ‘” said Simon, interviewed during a rehearsal break with her band at a Manhattan studio. “I was so flattered that she chose the song and … more than impressed. I think she should win.”
Simon was preparing for a showcase performance of songs from her new bossa-nova flavored album, “This Kind of Love, ” her first album of original new songs in eight years, which was released Tuesday.
‘American Idol’ Front-Runner David Cook’s Former Bandmates Recall His Early Years
Long before David Cook was an “American Idol” front-runner, a spiky-haired heartthrob or even a bartender in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he was just another kid from Blue Springs, Missouri, obsessed with baseball, chasing girls and playing rock and roll.
At least that’s how Bobby Kerr remembers him. He and Cook first met as teammates on the Blue Springs Bombers when they were 12 years old, and over the next decade, they became best friends and bandmates, bonding over a shared dream of rock superstardom and all the trappings that went along with it.
Fan Site Raises Money for David Cook’s Brother
A David Cook fan has started a fund to help bring Cook’s ailing brother, Adam, back to Los Angeles if David makes it into the American Idol finale.
Cathy Wood created helpbringadamback.com. Her goal is to raise the $80, 000 it would cost to fly Adam Cook to California to root on his brother.
Cashing In on American Idol’s David Cook
American Idol contestant David Cook is already a hot commodity. Despite his old albums being pulled off Amazon.com and fuzz.com, you can still buy a piece of the Blue Springs, Missouri native.
On Ebay, you can spend anywhere from $2.95 to $139 to be a David Cook fan. For $2.95 you can buy a magnet, or you can spend a few dollars more for a David Cook pillowcase, bottle cap necklace, t-shirt, pins or buttons.
You can also find a few of Cook’s old band Axium’s albums. “Blindsided” is listed for $75. “The Story Thus Far” is listed for $70-$139.
‘Idol’ finalist gets hometown cheers
Paul Ellsworth may have had a sore thumb, but it was worth it.
Last week, the Mesa attorney spent an hour hitting the redial button on his phone, getting in his votes for Valley American Idol contestant Brooke White.
It worked: This week, White is among the top five finalists in the competition, and Ellsworth and other supporters gathered at Molly Brannigans restaurant in Mesa on Tuesday to cheer on the young vocalist.
“It’s really amazing, ” says Ellsworth, whose family lives near White’s parents. “To think that someone you know could go all the way on something like American Idol? It makes you stop and think.”
AI Aftermath: 6th place finishers
Welcome back to “AI Aftermath, ” where we explore Idol’s past. Each week, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated in the same week. We’ll examine how they did on the show and what they’ve been up to since their eliminations. In honor of Carly Smithson’s elimination last week we’ll be looking at other sixth place finishers.
This week: 6th place finishers, featuring featuring Christina Christian (Season One), Carmen Rasmussen (Season Two), John Stevens (Season Three), Constantine Maroulis (Season Four), Kellie Pickler (Season Five) and Phil Stacey (Season Six).
How to vote for your Idol like a pre-pubescent girl
Tired of your fingers bleeding and still only getting 219 calls in for your favorite contestant each Tuesday night? Do you go to bed with hand spasms, because let’s face it your fingers aren’t as young as they used to be? Well, now you can still vote for your favorites like a teenager with more free time than you have left in the rest of your life without all the hassle and stress (do I sound like an infomercial yet?).
Gizmo5 is a software package that can be installed on your computer (XP, Vista and Mac!) as well as your mobile phone. A new contact is created named “Idol Voting.” Simply select this contact and select 1 to cast 25
consecutive votes for your favorite Idol contestant automagically (I know what I said; it’s magical to me!). I know it works because I tested it last week voting for Brooke and Jason and … oh! … um … sorry about that, Carly fans. Well, you can still save your favorites this week. And your fingers, too.
Five annoying American Idol cliches
The fine folks over at AOL Television put together their “11 Biggest American Idol Cliches, ” but as the self-proclaimed guru of all things Idol, I figured my legions of fan (yes it’s singular on purpose) are clamoring for my take. You have to figure that after nearly eight years on the air any show is going to rack up it’s long, long list of annoying things.
And yet, I don’t get nearly as annoyed when Jeff Probst yells “Come on in guys. [Team A] getting their first look at the new [Team B]. [Contestant Name] voted out at the last tribal council, ” even though he does it every single week. “[Team members], you’re the last team to arrive. I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve both been eliminated from The Amazing Race.” No big deal. So why do Ryan, Simon and the gang at American Idol drive us so crazy week after week?
The Idols Reveal Their Most Desired Superpower
You’d figure that the fierceness of the competition has been wearing down on these guys for quite some time now ‘ but that doesn’t stop the elite few Idols from showing their goofy side in a behind-the-scenes video. And the question posed to the Top 7 (this was filmed before Carly and Kristy Lee got the boot) ‘ what superpower would you want to possess?
Phil Stacey
Phil Stacey has the country music likeability factor sewn up: Family man. Three ministers in the immediate family. He even re-upped with the Navy after his American Idol success in 2007. But is any of this enough to seek out his self-titled debut?
While on Idol (which ended in a modest fifth-place finish), Stacey carved out a niche primarily as a syrupy balladeer. So, the plunge into rock-country (one hears echoes of Bob Seger and even Boston at times) may surprise. But trouble makes itself known soon enough. Stacey’s vocal tone and technique can’t rescue the lack of hooks and lyrical insights here. It’s easy to recognize some songwriting shorthand in full effect when one either gets tee-shirt lines (“it ain’t the fight in the dog…”) or repetition of subject matter. For a breezy 11 tracks, he shouldn’t rely quite so heavily on the love as a bridge over troubled water theme. There’s also a fair share of what might be labeled undercover gospel – where the “you” may be a lover or God or both. Traditional churches would sure appreciate the message of the one contemporary Christian number, “Identity, ” but they sure might not like the racket.
Singing sailor debut album out today
The Navy doesnt pay Phil Stacey to sing and dance anymore ‘ these days, it his day job.
Stacey, the Navy ex-…American Idol contestant and ex-frontman of Navy Band Southeast rock band Pride, releases his self-titled debut album today, less than a year after being voted off the Fox reality show and just a few months after moving from the active component to the reserves.
But even though Stacey told Navy Times last May that he hoped being voted off the show would get him more time with this family, …that hasnt happened for me yet, he said. …Ive been on tour since the show was over.
Carrie Underwood on getting glamorous
Singer Carrie Underwood dishes on dieting, beauty and fashion.
Most of the time I slap on some makeup in the morning so I don’t look bad if somebody snaps a picture. Somebody, somewhere, will catch you, even if it’s a fan at the grocery store. Very rarely do I go out without makeup.
Underwood is honored for smile
It has been a week of both smiles and tears for Oklahoma country music sensation Carrie Underwood.
The Checotah native was recognized Tuesday as the 2008 “Female Celebrity Smile of the Year by the quarterly publication Dear Doctor, a consumer dentistry magazine.
Dr. David A. Garber, a renowned periodontist and prosthodontist, said in a news release Underwood’s smile radiates “youth, symmetry, harmony and balance.
‘Rent’ in Sun City West, May 10-11
Four years ago, Anwar Robinson was a humble music teacher in New Jersey. But in 2005 the 29-year-old singer auditioned for American Idol and his world changed. He successfully made it into the top 10 and toured America with future superstar Carrie Underwood. Since then he has shared the stage with R&B’s legends such as Patti LaBelle, and he has recorded an album. On May 10-11 he’ll show the West Valley his latest achievement, in the touring production of Rent. The Broadway musical, based on the Puccini opera La Boheme, is in town for four shows at the Maricopa County Events Center in Sun City West.
This is Robinson’s first foray into musical theater. He is tackling the role of Tom Collins – the AIDS-infected anarchist originally played by Jesse L. Martin, late of Law & Order.
Clay Aiken is an Easter Bonnet
Clay Aiken and Spamalot Hannah Waddingham depart from the 22nd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition, held on Tuesday at the Minskoff Theatre.
It was announced that over $3.7 million had been raised for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
In his new album On My Way Here, Clay has a track called ‹The Real Me which was written by Natalie Grant, a singer-songwriter in the area of contemporary Christian music
Rhinos to air on Country 107.3
The Rhinos have gone country.
Rochester’s top soccer team has a new broadcast partner, Country 107.3, and will welcome former American Idol star Bo Bice for a concert at the May 17 home opener at PAETEC Park.
Bice, Idol runner-up in 2004 to Carrie Underwood, is expected to play two songs in his southern-rock style at halftime of the Rhinos’ match against Charleston, then perform after the 7:30 p.m. match is over. He has released two albums since his run on Idol.
His appearance kicks off a new “Rockin’ with the Rhinos” concert series, featuring regional and national artists each Saturday. It’s sponsored by Clear Channel Radio and Nothnagle Realtors.
