Jason Castro may have forgotten the lyrics to "Mr. Tamborine Man" on "American Idol" this week, but that doesn't mean he didn't want to win the singing competition.

I mentioned to Jason during a conference call Thursday that judge Simon Cowell had speculated that the dreadlocked hearthrob had intentionally flubbed the song because he wanted to be done with the rigors of the show.

He laughed then said: "I definitely did not do that on purpose. I couldn't believe I forgot such a popular line, something that's, like, written on your soul. Somehow it slipped my mind, but I definitely didn't do it on purpose."

So, I asked, he still wanted to win?

"Yesterday I wanted to win, and the day before that," he said. "I think what it came down to was just my inexperience. Once we doubled up on songs, I wasn't really able to focus. ... My mind was split, and I just couldn't deliver either/or.

Jason had made it to the final four but was voted off Wednesday night leaving David Archuleta, David Cook and Syesha Mercado as the final three.

While Brooke White cried tears of anguish a week earlier, Jason could not have appeared more carefree when he got the boot.

"I was as happy last night as I was when I found out I made the top 24," he said. "This whole time, I had a blast. And I was trying. But it's just really been hard. ... I remember before we found out about the results, I was really starting to fear the week ahead. If I had made it, (I thought)'How am I going to do three songs?' I can't even do two right!" With the hometown visit, it was just going to be a lot of work, even though it would've been so much fun. I was just freaking out about it. That was all building up...I loved my time on there, and I would've liked to go farther, but I don't think I could handle it. I'm content."

You gotta love this kid's honesty!

Jason, 20, didn't pick up a guitar until his freshman year I college and his public performances consisted of about a dozen shows in his hometown of Rockwall, Tx. late last year as practice for "Idol."

So it's been a big adjustment being on national television each week and being mobbed by fans.

"It's kind of a weird thing, I don't really get it yet," he said of his newfound fame. "It kind of takes me off guard when people are so crazy. But it's cool, it means they like you, it's flattering."

Jason does not hold any kind of grudge against host Paula Abdul who judged one of his songs a few weeks back before he had even sung it!

"That was kind of funny, I was just kind of confused," he said. "It was an honest mistake and I don't think it really affected my next performance."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My interview with Robert Gant which ran last week was seriously lacking in beefcake shots from his new movie "Kiss Me Deadly." Thankfully, AfterElton.com has now posted a review of the movie and I've snagged some of the pics! Go to theuir site to read the review. Here is a LINK to my interview with Robert...

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest Britney Spears appearance on "How I Met Your Mother" airs on Monday. She has a date with Neil Patrick Harris' Barney. Here is a sneak peak...

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Top American tennis player Andy Roddick is having a terrific year so far but he has never fared well on the red clay courts of Europe. Still, Andy won his first match at the Masters Seires tournament in Rome today. It used to be known simply as the Italian Open.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was so fun to talk to Patrick Duffy a few days ago, one of my early TV crushes. He was the McDreamy of his day and pretty much still is!

Patrick Duffy made his first big splash on television in the late 1970s as the amphibious superhero on "Man From Atlantis." But it was his role as Bobby Ewing on "Dallas" that made him a household name. He starred with Larry Hagman, Victoria Principal, Linda Gray and the rest of the prime-time soap's large cast during most of its historic run from 1978-91.

After a few years, Duffy decided to leave the show and filmed a scene in which he "died." Fans were upset at his departure, he recalled when we spoke this week.

"After the episode aired, a few days later I went shopping and a woman accosted me in the parking lot of Gelson's," he said. "She was wailing and crying and saying: How could you die?"'

Duffy was persuaded to return to Dallas, and writers had to figure out a way to bring him back. In a plot twist that required viewers to suspend disbelief, writers made his death and the entire 1985-86 season, a really bad dream.
He was reintroduced to viewers when Pam Ewing (Principal) opened the shower door, sees Bobby lathering up and tells him of her nightmare.

"That resurrected another three years of my life on the show and I appreciated it to no end," he said. "Anytime you can be even a small percentage connected to an iconic moment in TV, it's like a little Medal of Honor.

"I feel the same way about the shower scene and I know Larry feels the same way about the `Who Shot J.R.?' episode."

Duffy, 59, moved from Los Angeles six years ago to his ranch in Oregon. He returned to L.A. to film episodes of "Bold and the Beautiful" on which he has a recurring role. He's also taking on new challenges like hosting "Bingo America" on the Game Show Network.
"It's a different set of muscles," he said of hosting compared with acting. "It's something I felt that I could do but it took about 4-5 shows before I really felt I was confident. The activity is relentless and you have nothing to fall back on. It's all you."

He's enjoying the gig ("I love giving away other people's money") and hopes to return for a second season.

Duffy, after all, is a man used to long runs. He and wife Carlyn have been married 34 years, "Dallas" ran more than a decade, and he starred for seven years on the ABC sitcom "Step By Step" with Suzanne Somers.

"It was the most fortunate set of circumstances to go from working with my best friend Larry Hagman then I met Suzanne Somers and she became my new Larry Hagman (on `Step By Step')," Duffy said. "We stay in touch with each other and we love each other. When I'm in L.A., Linda, Larry and I still have our lunches and dinners. But I can't tell you where."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...Darren Hayes who turns 36 today!

The Australian singer-songwriter debuted in 1996 as the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden which had the hots "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back," "Truly Madly Deeply," "I Knew I Loved You" and "The Animal Song." Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001. Hayes released his first solo album, "Spin" in 2002 and last year released "This Delicate Thing We've Made," his most personal collection of songs - ever.

Darren entered into a civil partnership with his boyfriend of three years, Richard Cullen, on June 19, 2006 in London and announced it on his official website the next month. I interviewed him last fall and here is what he had to say about being an out singer:

"I don't see myself as a gay artist at all. I see myself as a human being. On the surface, I don't think my marriage or being gay reeally colors my music. But being out and being in a beautful relationship has made me feel better about myself. What that has done is made me brave in every area of my life. From launching my own label, making a double album. It's made me really brave and i think that kind of shows in the music that I''m making."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is so fun to see all the attention Rami Kashou got and continues to get after his top-four finish on "Project Runway." I've known Rami socially for 3-4 years and from the very beginning, was so impressed with his drive and his passion. He's also a fantastic cook!

We did our first on-the-record chat at the GLAAD Media Awards a few weeks ago that I want to share but first some bio from Rami's MySpace page: Known for his dramatic red carpet gowns, Rami Kashou has draped the silhouettes of celebrities and trendsetters such as ,Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez, Portia De Rossi, Fergie, Amy Smart, Lucy Lui, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Penelope Cruz and Shiva Rose to name a few. His designs have been seen on the pages of In Style, Flaunt, Vogue, Lucky, Elle, Angelino, Interview, People and Us Weekly. Kashou was also commissioned to design the costumes for the March 2005 America's Next Top Model ad campaign that resided on billboards across the nation.

Greg: This is Rami who I knew way back when. So how is this whole fame thing working out for you?
Rami: You know, I see it as recognition, like being recognized for what it is that I do. So in a way, it's great. I don't view it so much as fame. People like my work and my product and being recognized for that is such an honor.

Greg: How has business changed for you? (I remember when Rami worked out of his apartment!)
Rami: A lot of things are happening fast. Working with new celebrities. One new client who I love is Heidi Klum which is amazing. I just designed something for her. I dressed for a the Hot Hollywood Party."

Rami told me he will appear on HSN on May 15 with Scoop Boutique where he will be selling one of his exclusive designs. He was set to meet with Becki Newton of "Ugly Betty" last week and just dressed Kelly Ripa.

"There's been all these wonderful things," Rami said. "And other things are in the making."

At this point, a handler grabs Rami and drags him to the Bravo interviewer so we agree to do another on-the-record chat soon. Meanwhile, here is a clip of Rami's appearance on "The Tyra Banks Show" where "young designers to watch" were profiled:

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We knew the two Davds were a lock but I'm just relieved and thrilled that the talented Syesha Mercado has also taken her deserved position in the top three. That leaves Jason Castro as odd man out. The dreadlocked cutie was not in the least disappointed, sensing that he and his limited talent had already overstayed their welcome: "There's three songs next week - I don't know whatI would have done."

Castro said this week he tried to pick songs he knew -- "Mr Tambourine Man" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" -- and yet he "screwed it up." When a viewer asked on Wednesday's show what the contestants' biggest challenges were in the competition. Jason answered: "Just the brain being dead."

Since the show strained to fill an hour, we were treated to performances by season four runner up Bo Dice and - best of all - Maroon 5 and its oh-so-handsome lead singer Adam Levine. He's so good looking that who could blame heterosexual host Ryan Seacrest for hugging Adam twice.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Got an email yesterday from Lorri Jean, the inspiring executive director of the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, with some news about Women's Night held last Saturday.

Lorri was thankful to a surprise auctioneer, the gorgeous and gracious Sharon Stone, they raised more than $210,000! In the crowd-thrilling ten minutes Sharon was at the microphone, she raised $55,000 from individual and group bidders.

Proceeds from Women's Night support all of the Center's services for women and girls. Below is a picture of Lorri and my pal Jim Key who invited me to the event and who did a stellar job keeping the red carpet running smooth. You know how much I love a red carpet.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Star Jones may have been low-profile in regards to her split from Al Reynolds but she blasted Barbara Walters Wednesday over what Babs wrote about Star in her new book "Audition: A Memoir."

Barbara writes in the book that she knew about Star's secret gastric bypass surgery long before she admitted it to the public. She said she and the rest of panelists on "The View" lied to keep it a secret because Star clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"She decided to have a gastric bypass operation, but then she decided not to tell anybody," Walters said in an interview this week on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "Then we had to lie on the set every day because she said it was portion control and Pilates. Well, we knew it wasn't portion control and Pilates."

In the book, Barbara wrote of Star's stormy departure from "The View" : "I still feel it might have been easier for her to find a new position if she had left the program in the graceful way we had suggested."

Star had this to say: "It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book," she told Us Magazine. "It speaks to her true character."

Star was referring to an affair Walters had with a married senator during the 1970s.

My take: Star is a troubled and angry woman who would like us to believe she is taking the high road in her various controveries. There doesn't seem to be anything authentic or honest about her and my feeling is that Barbara wrote nothing but the truth.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)