Ban on David Archuleta’s dad stirs a lively ‘Idol’ debate
Does David minus dad mean danger for American Idol’s presumptive front-runner?
The Associated Press and other news outlets reported over the weekend that David Archuleta’s father has been banished from rehearsals by Idol producers.
The reports say that the action came after Jeff Archuleta demanded phrasing from Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls be inserted into David’s rendition of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me last week. The change cost the show additional song-clearance fees. The AP cited an unidentified source associated with Idol who was familiar with the situation; an Idol spokesman declined to comment Sunday.
David’s dad has been a strong presence behind the scenes, and observers wonder what effect the loss of backstage support would mean for David, 17, as the show enters its last two weeks Tuesday (8 ET/PT, Fox).
Idolatry
At a time when radio has lost relevance, and many fans have settled on niches that are reinforced on the Web every twenty minutes with updates and free music, …American Idol offers a recurring event that almost everybody talks about at almost the same time. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the show attracts some twenty-five million people, and invites them to then argue about what they have watched. (Seventy-four million votes were cast in the finale of the 2007 season.) For some of the younger viewers and contestants, the songs being performed are outside their niche. The two weeks this spring that focussed on the Beatles catalogue were a revelation for anyone smug enough to think that fab is forever. (Pop is too old to have a single, collective memory anymore.) Whatever objections you may have to …Idol mechanics or style, it asks singers to learn material they may not know, and sometimes even to listen to the people who wrote the songs explain them. This is something that no other content-delivery platform does right now. (A song placed in, say, …Gossip Girl or …Iron Man could eventually reach as many people as a song on …Idol, but with less context.) Any enterprise that lets Dolly Parton expand on her work for an hour is adding to the common good.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…’Idol’ superhero Syesha Mercado?
Just press play…you won’t believe what this woman can do!
American Idol: Archuleta Dad gets the boot
I love being right.
In a blog last month, I commented that David Archuleta dad was being a pain in the can backstage. I got jumped on by the Archuleta supporters (not to be confused with ‹athletic supporters that support a different kind of little prick) for making up rumors and attacking an innocent, supportive father.
And now this comes out. David Archuleta dad loses ‹American Idol backstage pass.
David Archuleta Father Banned From Backstage Of American Idol
2NEWS spoke with David grandmother, Guadalupe Mendoza who says she loves Jeff with all of her heart and could never see him as an overbearing stage father.
…Oh, he the best father in the world, Mendoza said.
Archuleta family members believe that the media are trying to dig up whatever dirt they can find. David uncle, Ward Eccles, believes that the obstacles are no match for David talent.
…No one can stop him, Eccles said. …With a voice like that, who wouldnt be optimistic?
Eccles says that he doesnt think that the news will hurt David, because he believes David is being protected from the press.
Stars Honor their Moms
Stars are giving thanks to their moms on this Mother Day.
…My mom always thought Id be famous more than I did, Clay Aiken tells me. …She was always sure that I was going to be famous and be a singer, et cetera, et cetera. I always wanted to be a teacher. She expected this of me before I did. I think she would tell you she not surprised, but Im totally surprised.
This year, Clay mom will be on a cruise, but he typically takes her out to dinner.
OK! Exclusive: On Set with Carrie Underwood
“Every facet of my life is completely different, ” admits Carrie Underwood, who rocketed to stardom after being crowned the champ of American Idol’s fourth season. “My day-to-day activities are certainly different. Before when I was on stage, itd be in front of 15 to 20 people and now some places are over 15, 000!”
Idol Ogre’s Idol: Mom
Judging by his personality, we suspected Simon Cowell was hatched in an alligator nest. But now that we see that his mom is obviously a sweetheart, it’s clear Simon honed his reptilian chops in the music industry. Flee the dark side, Simon, and hug your mom more often!
Sex And The City: The Jennifer Hudson Interview
Dazzling Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson may have come a long way, baby, to where she is now, co-starring in Sex And The City: The Movie. But no matter how long or how many times this gifted songwriter, performer and actress gets to be the recipient of major star status treatment, as she described in this interview, it still never seems quite real. Jennifer also dropped hints during this girl talk session about her upcoming album, hating heels, and still saving all her love for that mystery guy back home.
Hey Jennifer, since this movie is a lot about fabulous high heels, what are the highest heels you’ve ever worn?
Networks sweat the sweep
May sweep ratings are telling broadcasters an alarming story: Since April 24, the five major networks are down an average of 21% in the key adult 18-49 demographic compared with last year. Even the season’s ratings champ Fox has dropped 11%.
Yet the situation for overall television viewing is strikingly more optimistic. The number of people using TV has actually increased — up 1%.
For the first full week of sweep data, Fox won its 17th consecutive week in the demo. The controversy over “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul critiquing a contestant’s performance that never aired did not seem to impact the show’s ratings, with the reality hit continuing to decline only a tick (Wednesday’s episode was seen by 22.8 million viewers and earned an 8.4 adults 18-49 rating and a 21 share). Yet Tuesday “Idol” lead-out “Hell’s Kitchen” (11.9 million, 5.4/13) kept growing, last week retaining 60% of “Idol” viewers.
Sinatra 10 years later: To young stars, Ol’ Blue Eyes is an ‘all-timer’
Season 6 Idol runner-up Blake Lewis recalls watching that legendary crew ‘ Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a few other buddies who held court in Hollywood and Las Vegas in the 1950s and ’60s ‘ “in classic movies” as a child and admiring Sinatra for his “camaraderie with his chums” and “because he seemed to have fun every time he took the stage. This is what I try to emulate.”
