I got an email from somebody who claims to know Idol bandleader Rickey Minor. He says a 5 piece band WAS there last Tuesday, but they were hidden behind the American Idol screen. According to friend-of-Rickey, the 5 piece band consists of:
Rickey Minor – bass, Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar, Herman Jackson – piano/keyboard 1, Dave Delhomme – keyboard/guitar 2, Teddy Campbell – Drums.
Apparently, Dave Delhomme wasn’t there last week, and the three backup singers weren’t the usual 3 either. Apparently, Ken Warwick wants the focus for the semis to be all about the contestants. Since we only have a short time to some of them, he didn’t want any distractions.
Also, TMZ spoilers from Tuesdays dress rehearsal mention Anoop Desai having to start over a couple of times because of problems with the band.
As I said in my post here, the invisible band makes the entire enterprise seem cheap. Not allowing contestants to play instruments in the semis? Completely baffling. I don’t understand how stepping the show back to 2004 is supposed to reverse Idol’s ratings decline.
ETA: Commenters are wondering if invisible band members cost less. If so, the set up could be all about FOX imposed budget cuts for the current TV season…
