‘Idol’ fever: Thousands line up in S.L. for shot at fame
American Idol fever is alive and well in Salt Lake City.
A mere 9 1/2 weeks after Murray’s David Archuleta finished second in Fox’s top-rated talent show, thousands who hope to follow win his footsteps ‘ or beyond ‘ lined up at EnergySolutions Arena in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
“I’m here because I think I’m the next American Idol. Why else would I be here?” said 16-year-old Jasmine Welch of Salt Lake City. She endured a bit of mocking from her friends for her bravado, but they showed up with her at 12:30 a.m. to get places at the front of the line.
And, as she pointed out, “You’ve got to have confidence or you’re not going to get very far.”
Town turns out for Luke
Growing up, Luke Menard was shy, afraid of E.T. and singing in public – and he loved to overeat at Dari-licious.
At least that was the message from his sister Rebekah to the sell-out crowd attending the benefit concert for her brother at Crawfordsville High School Saturday night.
Also on stage Saturday was an electric guitar signed by this year’s ‘American Idol’ Top 10, which will be raffled off to the public.
“When the Top 10 heard I had cancer, they wanted to do something and this is what they came up with, ” Luke said.
He added that he’d received a text message from ‘Idol’ winner David Cook shortly before the concert promising to match whatever amount the guitar brings in.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
Review: ‘American Idol’ finalists flat at Rochester concert
The only similarity that the punk bands of the Warped Tour, where I was on Thursday, share with Sunday’s 10 American Idol finalists is that both shows featured carbon-based life forms.
In an evening of extraordinarily flat entertainment, the 10 Idols, lifeless as road kill, were overshadowed by the overly dramatic graphics introducing them on the video screens looming over the stage at the Blue Cross Arena.
Among the 7, 000 were three fans wearing blindingly neon-yellow, homemade T-shirts: Sarah Byrne, Casandra Callipore and Andrea Schiliro, all from Rochester. “This was the best year by far, ” 17-year-old Byrne said. This despite the two-year death spiral that American Idol’s TV ratings have experienced, which cultural sociologists have concluded is residue from the show’s 2006 albatross, Sanjaya. But for Byrne and her two cohorts, the savior is, as Byrne said: “David!”
‘Idol’ hopefuls pluck up courage and register
Benson Ate woke at 6 a.m. Sunday. He was feeling nervous and scared – there was no way he could go alone.
The 21-year-old West Jordan resident has sung since he was a kid, but he has never auditioned for anything, much less “American Idol.” He knew he needed the support of his two childhood friends, Tina and Lia. It took a lot of courage just to believe he should go for it.
“If I don’t go away with anything, I just want to do it for the experience, ” said Ate, a customer-service representative.
Ate was one of the thousands who registered to audition for “American Idol” on Sunday at EnergySolutions Arena.
There was a line when registration started at 7 a.m., but with about 25 people helping to register folks, it went quickly.
‹Loud rock from Chris
MANILA, Philippines – Although Chris Daughtry band carries his hame, he insists he just part of it and everything that people see onstage is the result of a collective effort.
The band is pretty interesting because it has, among its members, bassist Josh Paul who played with the thrash metal group Suicidal Tendencies. Another member, drummer Joey Barnes, sang with another band called Suicide Darlings.
Success has a name, and it Daughtry
Not a lot of people would probably give a rat yahoo about this band called Daughtry if its lead singer personal campaign to break into the recording business did not pay off quite well.
Chris Daughtry was reported to have tried for the other reality TV show, Rock Star: INXS, but did not make the cut; which proved a blessing anyway because he did get on American Idol an experience that changed his life forever.
‘Idol’ finally rocks and it’s Daughtry’s fault
Rock band Daughtry visits Manila for the first time and finds “home” in Eastwood City.
American Idol has not yet produced a bonafide rock star alum, but Chris Daughtry has managed to even out that score a bit. Much has been said about Chris Daughtry’s shocking ouster from Season 5, him having been predicted to have a very strong finish’ possibly all the way to the top. But truth is, he has much to be grateful now. On the night that he got kicked out of the show, he revealed to Rolling Stone that he got a call from Priscilla Presley who was fuming mad, to put it mildly, about his premature exit. But when asked now if he hoped he had won instead, his answer is, “No way!”
ITTY BITTY BITS: J.Lo’s b’day; Paula’s meltdown?
*The New York Post’s Page Six is reporting that Paula Abdul had another meltdown in a public setting. The “American Idol” judge was reportedly in a courtyard outside of her gynecologist’s office Wednesday on Crescent Boulevard in LA when she was spotted “sobbing on the phone to her friends and clutching papers from her doctor” for two hours. Her rep told the column that she wasn’t “sobbing, ” but rather “laughing and giggling” following her doctor’s visit.
So You Think You Can Dance: Behind the Scenes
Hip-hop choreographers Tabitha DUmo & Napoleon DUmo take us behind the scenes of So You Think You Can Dance in this video. They choreographed the Top 12 group dance and it was spectacular. In the clip, they show us how they went about putting the moves together to make the right neon affects. If you recall, they had neon strips on the dancers shoulders and the lights were dimmed. So the dancers movements made the shapes of a star and a heart with an arrow going through it. Check it out:
Exclusive Interview: Will Wingfield of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
It was a scenario that many So You Think You Can Dance fans didn’t want to see. Twitch Boss and Will Wingfield, two of this season’s frontrunners, landed in last night’s bottom two and one of them had to go. Will, who has landed in the bottom a few times this season, was the one that pulled the least amount of votes this week and was sent home. Will is Debbie Allen’s protege and she had to step down as a judge this season so that he could participate. Was that move a blessing or a curse? In Will’s exclusive interview with BuddyTV today, he addresses that as well as how he feels about his fellow competitors.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
