Idol Chatter

Syesha's nine lives

Fri, 02 May 2008 17:28:14 -0800

Syesha has already used up six of her lives. If she has really has three more lives, she'll be in the top 2.

Dolly Parton and country week

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:49:07 -0800

Here's the rumored song list for tonight's Idol show. Since Dolly Parton is the guest mentor, the contestants are singing her songs. It'll be interesting to see what Jason Castro does with "I WIll Always Love You" and whether Ramiele will be able to pull off "9 to 5."

David Cook: "You Know I Love You"
Kristy Lee Cook: "Two Doors Down"
Michael Johns: "Islands in the Stream"
Carly Smithson: "Jolene"
David Archuleta: "Travelin Thru"
Ramiele Malubay: "9 to 5 "
Brooke White: "Coat of Many Colors"
Syesha Mercado: "Eagle When She Flies"
Jason Castro: "I Will Always Love You"

Where in the world is Danny Noriega

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:45:04 -0800

Don't worry. He's still around. He's doing plenty of live chats and they're on Youtube. Check it out.

Thanks to Vote for the Worst for the link

Geico commercial rip-off

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:35:38 -0800

You've seen those annoying Geico commercials. The one where the announcer says something like: "Mary Jane is a real customer, not an actor. So we've hired a real actor to tell her story." Mary Jane speaks, and the person next to her (a minor celebrity, a crazy actor) paraphrases what she just said, either in a dramatic, music or comedic way.

Here's Chikezie on Jay Leno, doing pretty much the same thing...

Nicknames

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:08:34 -0800

In Chikezie's exit Q&A with Entertainment Weekly, he mentions a couple of nicknames: Archie for David Archuleta and Cookie for David Cook.

Reading the whole interview made me sad. Chikezie sounds very sweet and kind, someone who can be friends with anyone. And it doesn't appear like he's high maintenance or has a big ego (Ahem, Danny Noriega...)

The Chikezie no know really knew

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:33:41 -0800

There's so much we didn't know about Chikezie. And now he's gone.

Here's an exit interview:

Mike Hughes • Gannett News Service • March 27, 2008

As Chikezie ended his "American Idol" run, viewers still didn't really know the guy.

In fact, they didn't know how to say his last name. That's why he dropped it, he told reporters today. "It was constantly mispronounced."

He entered the competition as Chikezie Eze. Judges kept assuming that names rhyme. Not so, Chikezie said. In his first name, each "e" is long; in his second, each is short.

There are many things that don't fit expectations. His parents are Nigerian natives who wanted a strict upbringing, he has said. For instance:

He wasn't supposed to date until he's 16.

He's never been to a concert, he said today, the day after being voted out. Still,
this isn't a music novice. Classes at Santa Monica College had a huge impact. "It's what made me the singer that I am," Chikezie said. "I would not be on 'Idol' if it weren't for that."

Damage control

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:16:45 -0800

Ryan Seacrest was doing some damage control for the whole "BIllie Jean"/Chris Cornell/David Cook issue on his radio morning show today.

Here's the story. David Cook sang Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" Tuesday night. But he sang the Chris Cornell version of it. When Ryan Seacrest introduced David Cook, he said it was Chris Cornell's version. But Ryan was also surrounded by a mob of screaming girls, and he judges apparently didn't hear "Chris Cornell." After David's performance, the judges threw heaps of praise on him, and it seemed like the slower, rock version of "Billie Jean" was David's original idea. It wasn't.

Bloggers, Youtube viewers and Chris Cornell fans quickly pointed out that David wasn't doing his own version, but Cornell's.

Today: On his morning show, Ryan was heavy on the spin control. Over and over, he told listeners it was Chris Cornell's version of "Billie Jean." Chris Cornell called in and said he's performed that song many times live and that it's in his studio album as well. When Chris first told people he was going to sing "Billie Jean," a lot of people thought it was crazy. After hearing his slow rock version, they love it. Chris praised David's performance and singing, adding that he hit every note in the runs in the same way that he does it.

Ryan speculated that the judges didn't hear his intro for David Cook on Tuesday night. But, both Ryan and Chris were surprised that Randy, whom Ryan called an encyclopedia of the music industry, didn't mention or know that David sang Cornell's version.

This song-and-dance show with Ryan and Chris went on for several minutes. We get it. Chris Cornell is great. David Cook wasn't all that original. American Idol judges may have goofed. It wasn't Ryan's fault. David Cook did Chris Cornell proud.

New news: Chris Cornell announced that Timabland is producing his third solo album. Timbaland also called into the morning show saying that the album is the best work he's done in his career, better than Nelly and Justin. Cornell said he hasn't been this excited about an album in years.

Predictions

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:37:28 -0800

Diol Idol predicts the three contestants safest contestants are: David Cook, David Archuleta and Carly Smithson.

Everyone else is in the nebulous yellow cautionary area. Here's their order from safest to least safe:
Michael Johns
Kristy Lee Cook
Brooke White
Syesha Mercado
Ramiele Malubay
Jason Castro
Chikezie Eze

Two takes on 'Billie Jean'

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:05:38 -0800

Here's Chris Cornell's version of "Billie Jean," which I think is more rich and soulful than David Cook's. Of course, David Cook is an amateur, right?

And here's David Cook's version

And here's the original by Michael Jackson.

Review

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:30:38 -0800

At this point in the season, I'm not at all excited about the show or any of its contestants. So I'll keep this short.

Ramiele Malubay
“Alone” by Heart
She almost pulled it off.

Jason Castro
“Fragile” by Sting
He's fun to watch on a reality show, but would you buy tickets to his concert?

Syesha Mercado
“If I Were Your Woman” by Whitney Houston
She sounds great, but I don't think she has a large fan base.

Chikezie
“If Only for One Night” by Luther Vandross
What has this show become? An medley of tunes from the easy listening radio station? He also sounds just like Ruben.

Brooke White
“Every Breath You Take” by The Police
Why is she singing a stalker song? The piano was nice, but at some point she should have walked away from it. It limited her from really shining in the big notes.

Michael Johns
“We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” by Queen
Michael Johns can only sing Queen. You know he's sung these two songs several hundred times in his life. Michael's range needs some improvement.

Carly Smithson
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
Electrifying and scary.

David Archuleta
"You're the Voice" by John Farnham
Why can't this kid sing a contemporary song? All of his performances are 20 years too old for him. He did well, as usual.

Kristy Lee Cook
“God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood
Hating Kristy's performance would be unpatriotic. It wasn't on par with some of the other contestants this season, but it was Kristy's personal best. Doesn't say much.

David Cook
“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
David is probably the smartest contestant on the show. It was a great performance. That said, it wasn't original. Chris Cornell did it -- and better.

From best to worst:
David Cook
Michael Johns
Carly
Syesha (though no one will remember it)
Brooke
David Archuleta
Chikezie
Kristy
Jason Castro
Ramiele

Music from the year you were born

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:30:59 -0800

Tonight's theme is Music From the Year You Were Born. That means Carly Smithson will sing something from 1983 and David Archuleta will pick a song from 1990. Expect more 80s hits and if we're very very lucky, a Paula Abdul
song.

Phil Stacey at the Opry

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:55:54 -0800

Phil Stacey is making his debut at the Grand Ole Opry this weekend.

Press release
Grand Ole Opry site
Phil's web site

Other performers at Saturday's show are: Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels, Kellie Pickler, Neal McCoy, Ralph Stanley, Jimmy C. Newman, Bill Anderson

Josiah Leming news

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:45:47 -0800

Remember Josiah Leming, the kid who lived out of his car? Knoxnews.com is reporting that the ex-Idol contestant has nailed a major record deal with Warner Bros. records. He has an agent and he's bought his dad a new truck.

If that's not enough, here's more Josiah news:

Profile on Josiah: "Leming estimates he has sold close to $40,000 worth of his music off the Internet since his "Idol" experience."
Simon Cowell says they shouldn't have cut him
Josiah gets free car, clothes and other gifts

Brooke White lookalike

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:03:37 -0800

From what I've read on other Idol fan sites, a lot of people think Brooke White looks like Skeletor. (Just don't tell prep sports editor Fred Robledo. She's his favorite.) Thoughts?

So refreshing

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:15:41 -0800

Even if you didn't like her singing, you have to admire Amanda Overmyer's down-to-earth attitude about getting voted off. She's definitely no diva. Here's an excerpt from the Entertainment Weekly exit interview.

You sound very grounded and normal about this whole experience. Good for you.
That's the attitude I've had with all of this. I'm thankful to be here and feel very privileged to have come this far. But I absolutely refuse to be nostalgic about it. You know why? That's when you lose a sense of reality. I saw it happen with a few people. It's just ridiculous. We have the potential to be stars right now. We're not stars. All we are now is recognizable. That's it. I've got a hell of a lot more work in front of me before I can exhale and say, ''Alright. I've made it.''