American Idol: March 2008 Archives

Just got off a conference call interview with Chikezie Eze who got booted from "American Idol" last night - unfairly in my opinion. I don't think the judges did him any favors this week, ripping him apart for what was actually a solid performance of "If Only for One Night" during a week where there were some truly dreadful outings by his fellow contestants.

"I knew I'd be in the bottom three and I knew I'd being going home," he said. "I was fine that it was at a point where I'd still be able to come back and do the tour."

The singer had said on Tuesday's show that he had avoided doing ballads after an earlier attempt got panned. But he decided to follow his heart on the Luther Vandross song which the judges - epsecially sour Simon Cowell - predictably panned.

"I didnt care - honestly," Chikezie told me. "I already knew that Simon wasn't going to feel it no matter what. I knew when I picked the song...I did the song anyway. I had to do what I felt was right."
He added that knowing Simon would hate it "took a lot of the pressure off. Now I'm just performing for the sake of performing."

Chikezie didn't seem overly upset over being voted off because since he is in the top 10, he will be a part of the "American Idol" concert tour around the country this summer: "I tend to be pretty happy because I just feel so blessed to be in this position, to have this opportunity. Last night I was glad that none of the other guys had to go home. That's probably the hardest part of the show, saying goodbye to your friends....It becomes a family. We basically just formed these bonds where we're helping each other out. We created this amazing support system."

Looking ahead, Chikezie said "I'd like to see myself getting at least one Grammy. I really want to get started with my music career, making records that make me feel good and make other people feel good....I'd like to see what I can do, to see what my boundaries are."

You keep wondering if it's a fluke, that David Cook just picked a good song that week. He wowed us with "Hello" several weeks ago then "Eleanor Rigby" but his very, very, best performance came last night in a brilliantly reworked version of "Billie Jean" that didn'y make me think of Michael Jackson ONCE! He beyond nailed it - he was a revelation and if the competition ended today, he should be the winner and could be considered the front-runner at this point.

I'm also really excited by the talent of Brooke White who is at her best behind the piano singing a ballad. She did the Police's "Every Breath You Take" and was just lovely. The judges felt like the song should have remained simple with just her and the piano without the band kicking in. I see what they mean but it was really good anyway. And I don't get the rap on Carly Smithson who did "Total Eclipse of the Heart" which was a terrific song for her. She has the pipes for it. She is judged on a different scale and it's not really fair because she is terrific - one of the top five. I also thought David John's "We Will Rock You/We Are the World" was solid and good but he leaves me cold.

Kristy Lee Cook finally wowed the judges with "God Bless the USA" which was an inspired song choice and a solid performance. She'll get through and might not even be in the bottom three. David Archuleta sang some wacko song but was still good enough as was Syesha Mercado ("If I Were Your Woman") and Chikezie ("If Only For One Night").

Ramiele Malubay had a cold, went first, and sucked. She should be voted off and I predict she will. But adorable Jason Castro is also wearing thin. I was bored during his song. He was coasting and maybe he'll coast right off the show this week or next.

Amanda Overmyer doesn't know if her stint of "American Idol" will mark the beginning of her career as a "rocker chick" or merely be her 15 minutes of fame.

But you get the feeling that no matter how things go, she'll be just fine.

"I'm a very ambitious and driven person by nature and I'm going I'm going t o take a calculated risk to achieve success," she told me Thursday - the day after she was eliminated from the singing competition. "But everyone's definition of success varies from person to person. Success to me is a strong, healthy family and success in whatever job that you do. If this is just 15 minutes of fame, I'm not going to chase it my whole life trying to get it back."

Amanda's rocker version of The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." was panned by judge Simon Cowell and resulted in her getting the lowest number of votes among the remaining 11 finalists.

"I was kinda surprised," she admitted. "It really is such a crapshoot."

I wondered if the Indiana resident if she had any second thoughts about her song selection.

"I don't think the song choice had anything to do with it," she said. "You'll never hear me pissing and whining...I definitely had hopes for position six or seven but it is what it is."

In the end, the 23-year-old was determined to be true to herself.

"When I was done singing, I was done singing," she said. "When those judges would give their comments, I wanted to be respectful, but those comments weren't going to sway me one way or another. The comments from the judges are based more on the idea of trying to win and I had a different agenda."

Amanda believes that her edgy rock and roll style probably didn't appeal to the younger viewers but she is still grateful for the level of support she got.

"Yesterday wasn't the most traumatic thing that's ever happened in my life," she said. "I just got voted off a TV show."

I thought it was gonna be a snooze of a results show. OK, I'm game. Let's go through all the fake drama, the stupid viewer phone calls (must. stop. those. now.), the lameness of Ryan Seacrest who just had to remark how much Kellie Pickler had GROWN when he introduced her to sing. Yes Ryan, we can tell, she had a BOOB job. Oh boy! She sang terrifically and deserved better than that adolescent behavior on the part of the show's host.

Anywho, I'm figuring Kristy Lee Cook is a goner - she's going home. How many weeks can you spend in the bottom three before it ends? Also in the bottom three - a real head-scratcher - was the surpremely talented Carly Smithson. But you kinda knew she'd be safe and onto the top 10.

So when Ryan announced it was Amanda who was out, there was geniune shock. Kristy was ready to sing that final time but instead it was Amanda who struggled through "Back in the USSR" a song I'm sure she will hate forever now. She sang it fine but maybe people got turned off when she gave the judges a little lip but it could have, again, been the curse of having to perform first. Or maybe it was the two-toned hair, I dunno.

I'll be part of the conference call tomorrow morning and will try and get some questions in to Amanda and share 'em with you by the afternoon.

Rosie O'Donnell is a woman of her word.

After Danny Noriega was voted off of "American Idol" a few weeks back, Rosie immediately invited the teenager to go on her next R Family Vacations cruise. Danny is now on his way to Mexico with Rosie!

"Look who's on the cruise," O'Donnell excitedly announces in a video blog clip, telling Danny "Let me just say, I love you. I love your attitude. I love your spunk. I love your sassy ways. And I love your voice." Answers the eccentric Danny: "I love your guts."

There with his cousin, the former Idol contestant was invited by O'Donnell to sing aboard the boat as part of O'Donnell's R Family Vacations. Danny described Rosie as "such an inspiration to me." Also on the cruise are Ross "the Intern" Mathews from "The Tonight Show and comedian ANT.

Here is more from David Hernandez who was surprisingly upbeat and gracious during a conference call with the media this morning. We were warned that if the questioning strayed too far from David's experience on "Idol" that the call could be terminated!

When it was my turn to ask a question, David wondered if we were related because of the last name that we share. I told him I didn't think so although I have an uncle named David. But he's nearly 60!

"Maybe further down the line we are?" he wondered.

I replied: "I'll have to consult the family tree."

Then he wanted to know if I could sing.

"Well, at karaoke," I replied.

But hey, I'm the one asking the questions here, pal. I asked David about last week when he was in the eye of a media storm following the news that he had worked as a stripper at a gay club for three years pre-"Idol." Yet he was able to walk out on the stage and gave one of the best performances of the night.

"I think adversity is my best friend," he said. "It's something that inspires me and makes me work harder. I don't have anything to say to the people who tried to count me out...you have to have a thick skin." ..."If this is the worst thing that comes out in my career," he said, referencing the dancing gig, "then I'm pretty good to go."

David said "Idol" producers were well aware of his past employment: "If they weren't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have been on the show."

He added: "I'm not ashamed of anything I've done in my past. The only thing I was worried about was my song selection...."i think it was my time to go...and I'm grateful for the opportunity."

Admitting that he is currently unemployed, David said his immediate plans - other than appearing on Ellen Degeneres' show and on "The Today Show," are to return home to Arizona: "I'm looking forward to having pork-flavored ramen noodles...I just want to go to my mom's house and lay on the couch with her cats for about 48 hours and watch nonsense TV."

David had wanted to sing "Let It Be" this week but had to go with his second choice after another contestants got it. The Beatles' songbook is also going to be used next week and had he been competing, David was prepared to sing "Yesterday." He was also looking forward to singing "I Believe I Can Fly" as well as Chaka Kahn's "Ain't Nobody" down the road.

He had this advice for future contestants: "Never doubt yourself, always go with your instinct and usually your first song selection is your best one."

Here is video of David being voted off and the video montage that followed:

Just hung up from a conference call with David Hernandez, formerly of "American Idol" and he was pretty even-keeled for someone who less than 24 hours earlier had been booted off the show:
"I was genuinely shocked," he said. "I really didn't think that I'd be going home. Based on all the things the judges have said about my vocals, I thought I'd be in the bottom three. I didn't feel that I deserved to go home...I was definitely shocvked. [But] there are probably a lot of doors that will be opening with this one closing."

He was upbeat and focused on his future, mentioning oh about 25 times that he's "looking for a major record deal and hopefully have a record out within a year." He also brought up being on Broadway several times.

This dude knows how to stay on message!

David told us that he did not think that the media storm last week following the news that he had worked for three years as a stripper in a gay club was the reason why his journey on the show came to an end:
"I actually believe it was based on song selection. I think America is smart enough to know that people's personal lives should not infuence your career. It's been a roller coaster. Through all the madness and chaos, I think I've gained a deeper respect for myself and a newfound confidence as a performer."

Last week, all of his fellow contestants huddled around David and surrounded him with a group hug: "It's like a family," he said. Fellow contestants echoed some advice that David got from Jim Carrey over the weekend at the premiere of Carrey's film "Horton Hearts a Who!"
"He said, 'Stay off the TV, don't get on the Internet.' He's awesome."

Even though it was his performance this week that got him sent home, I asked David about last week. It was then that he was in the middle of the media storm and yet walked out on the stage and gave one of the best performances of the night. I wanted to know hoiw he was able to pull that off since I could barely breathe as he walked out to do his song.

"I think adversity is my best friend," he said. "It's something that inspires me and makes me work harder. I don't have anything to say to the people who tried to count me out...you have to have a thick skin."

He's one cool customer.

David said "Idol" producers were well aware of his past employment: "If they weren't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have been on the show."

I'll have much more from David in a bit. I've got to interview Steven Guttenberg.

The bottom three was really no surprise but most assumed it would be Kristy Lee Cookinstead of David Hernandez who would be given the boot. After surviving last week amid widespread media coverage of his three-year as a stripper as a gay club, David was left to sing for his place on the show. He was amazing last week but on Tuesday, notsomuch.
When he sang "I Saw Her Standing There" again tonight, it was a reminder of what lackluster a choice it was for him. But, he remained stoic before leaving the stage: "Honestly, things happen for a reason. I think we all have a plan. ... This isn't it for me."

I'm planning to participate in the conference call tomorrow with David and hope to have it posted before lunch! Here is what he said in the new issue of TV Guide: "It's strange, because I feel like my personal life is no longer personal anymore. I wish more people would focus on the talent than our personal lives, but I guess it's just the name of the game. It's invasive and sometimes annoying, but if you let it get to you, then you won't really focus on the singing. And that's just not cool."

I get home and flip on the TV, ready for two hours of "American Idol." The screen is blue...something is wrong with my cable connection. I turn the TV off, back on. Still blue. Turn the cable box off and back on. Still fricken blue.

Nooooooooooooooo!!!

Call Time-Warner and to my shock, got someone on the line pretty quickly and she sent a jolt (or something like that) to my cable box and within 30 seconds, it was back and working. It was 7:55 p.m. and I thanked the girl so profusely you'd think she donated her kidney to me or something.

Onto the show:

OK, so what's up with David Hernandez? He was a stripper at a gay club until "Idol," right? So what's this pizza joint he's talking about? I dunno, sounds like this dude is a big liar and it doesn't help his case that he absolutely sucked last night. He pretty much spazzed out the whole time while singing "I Saw Her Standing There" and, for once, I can't quibble with cruel Simon Cowell's blunt assessment: "I thought it was corny, verging on desperate to be honest with you."

David could be voted off this week based on that performance. If he isn't, then he can thank Kristy Lee Cook for being, at least in the judge's eyes, worse than he was! I felt sorry for the girl who did a country version of "Eight Days A Week" and even Paula didn't like it. Simon called it "horrendous." I hope she gets to stay on next week - she deserves better than she's getting from these judges. I'd rather see Ramiele Malubay go. She sang "In My Life" and she's just OK,

Other just OK performances: Syesha Mercado's "Got To Get You Into My Life" and Michael Johns' "Across The Universe."

Nice enough but not my cup of tea: Amanda Overmyer's "You Can't Do That" and Chikezie's "She's A Woman."

Biggest fall from grace: David Archuleta who sang "We Can Work It Out" and forgot the words! Oh. My. God. But he steadied himself and I think did well enough to make it through. It's stunning though that he could turn in such an off-performance. Maybe this will help him though and take away the pressure of being the front runner. We know he's mortal now, not some cute singing robot.

The best: I was so blown away by Brooke White who played piano barefoot and sang "Let It Be." She cried, I cried. What is it about this girl? Love her! It was my favorite performance of the entire night.

Three other faves: The adorable Jason Castro who played guitar and sang "If I Fell." I thought it was beautiful - judges be damned. Carly Smithson is obviously a real pro and was completely awesome singing "Come Together" and making it her own. And David Cook knocked it out of the park again, this time with "Eleanor Rigby." I find his confidence and his utter joy while performing absolutely inspiring.

Before Danny Noriega's conference call interview yesterday afternoon, we heard from Luke Menard, the 29-year-old tenor with the movie star looks. Compared to Danny, Luke is a little bland but he is also articulate, unfailingly polite, and seems to be a fully-formed and happy man.

This has been a good experience for him and made even better by the fact that his wife was a winner on "The Price Is Right" during his time on the show! Hey, did you expect her to just hang around and wait for Luke to finish rehearsing all day?

Luke told us that the one thing he really wants to do is go to a movie, sit in a dark movie theater and just not think about memorizing lyrics. Here is some of what he had to say:

"Absolutely I'm disappointed," Luke said of being eliminated Thursday night.. "But I'm excited about having made the top 16....I'm hoping that this will spur a big career for myself."
Luke plans to do more than record. He wants to use his "Idol" exposure to do some acting and to pursue a Broadway career. "The fact that (the show) is seen worldwide is surreal to me,"

He was pretty squeaky-clean and not the topic of Internet stories about his past like David Hernandez and others. But, Luke said it's hard to get caught up in the outside world since participating in the show is so all-consuming: "I've made a decision to not worry about what people are saying about me...I've just decided to just ignore that and to try and stay focused."

Even though his song choice of "Wake Up Before You Go-Go" was panned by Simon and got him voted off the show, Luke said he chose it because he wanted to show off his tenor range.

"I learned to tune out his criticism...I just really took that with a grain of salt," Luke said of snarky Simon, who he noted did not have a single word of constructive criticism for him - ever. "You have to have tough skin and be persistent with what you are trying to accomplish."

When Simon told Luke he was "forgettable," his wife told him: "Everybody's going to remember you."

Whatever happens with Luke's career, I will say this: he is far more of a gentleman than the bully Simon Cowell ever will be.Simon is in the position of power and these contestants put themselves on the line each week that they survive. He can be critical without being cruel and show some respect. I do not like the man, at all.

After listening in on a conference call a little while ago with voted-off "American Idol" contestant Danny Noriega, it became clear to me that this kid is young - so young that he doesn't often speak in complete sentences which makes your notes look pretty unusual. But, I will share what I learned.

First off, Danny does not at any time say whether or not he is gay. Everyone assumes he is it seems because of his flamboyant appearance and manner and he was asked out it. He just kept referring to himself as "different." He also said he was often advised "to tone it down" but did not say by who.

"You always want to stay true to yourself," he said. "I definitely was like, really really "different."

So, what about his sexuality? He said: "Your personal life and your job are two different things and I think people should respect that. ...I think it has nothing to do with your job."

Uh boy. Get this boy a manager, quick!

Anyway, Danny is "different" in the way that Justin on "Ugly Betty" is it seems. We don't give it a name. His being "different" did result in a lot of younger kids reaching out to him, Danny told us during the interview:
"I love the little fans letters that I'm getting from little kids. They are admriing me for being myself...They've never seen that befiore. I'd like to inspire those kikds who feel that they can't do anything."

The sassy attitude toward Simon: "I try to just be myself and not overthink things. Last year (when he unsuccessfully auditioned) I was just totally not being myself...I was trying to create an image. This year I'd just be myself and see if it would work...You can't please everybody. It's important to be yourself....I can't change myself for anybody. It's so important to be yourself in this compeition."."

On the controversial YouTube video that included various goth rants: "That is something that is like so forever ago...almost like another person ago. I'm actually kinda shocked that they used that one. There are more itneresting ones. It's more of an acting kind of show I used to put on."
"We're all trying to be something in life right now and we don't understand why people would be trying to tear it down like that. it was pretty sad," he added. "We all try and stay away from the Internet but it's hard to avoid when you turn the TV on in the morrning"

On his version of "Tainted Love" which got him voted off: "It was so much fun. I was really happy with the performance, I don't care what anybody says...I was excited about it and had a blast doing it."

On being voted off: "I was semi-surprised...I definitely kind of had a little bit of confidence...You get all the fan mail and you think you're doing something right for a second. But, it is what it is."

David Hernandez is in the top 12 of "American Idol" and was asked by OK! Magazine last night at a party celebrating the top dozen about the controversy this week over his past as a stripper for gay clients.

"I don't let things get to me. I'm not really concerned with what's going on in the outside world right now," David said. "I'm here for one reason, and that's to sing. I'm trying to keep afloat on the show and pick my next songs. I'm going to keep on making my fans and the voters proud. I hope I can do that for them and they keep voting for me and keep me in the competition."

David added his thoughts as to why he should be the next "American Idol" and it has nothing to do with taking your clothes off: "I sing from my heart and soul, and I think people can see that."

Along with Hernandez (pictured with fellow finalist David Archuleta), the top 12 are: Amanda Overmyer, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, Chikezie, David Cook, Jason Castro, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns, Ramiele Malubay and Syesha Mercado.

COMING UP: In the next hour or so, I will post some of the interviews just given by Danny Noriega and Luke Menard. I was in on the conference call.

The 12 finalists have been selected and they're all terrific talents - not really any weak links, thank God.

I hate to be mean, but I was relieved to see Danny Noriega voted off from "Idol" last night. I thought he was cute and fun and all, but he just seemed a bit Sanjaya to me - more interested in being provocative than singing. That can only get you so far.

But, I wish Danny well and wonder why Ryan Seacrest was so eager to just give him a handshake when he's usually such a hugger...hmmm. Ryan was awfully touchy with the hunky Luke Maynard who wore a nice, tight T-shirt that if he had worn Tuesday night, he mighta gotten more votes. I noticed Ryan touch Luke's bicep but I'm sure it was just an inadvertant thing, right?

And David Hernandez survived stripper-gate to make the final 12! Did you see him dancing at the end of the show? He's even got good moves with his clothes on!

As for the girls, I was shocked to see Asia'h Epperson voted off. I thought she was a standout but undone by song selection of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." Meanwhile, Kady Malloy didn't have a prayer after Simon Cowell called her a robot.

On Tuesday afternoon, TVGuide.com spoke with Idol executive producer Ken Warwick about semi-finalist David Hernandez who performed triumphantly that night despite it becoming public that he worked for three years as a stripper for men at an Arizona nightclub. Here is part of that interview::

TVGuide.com: Will the revelations about David's stripper past have any impact on whether he stays on the show?
Ken Warwick: No, it won't make any difference. The truth is, we're never judgmental about what people do to earn a living. They've got to put food in people's mouths. We've had strippers on the show before. Nikki McKibbon was one in [Season] 1. We're never judgmental about people who do things like that. If it were some sort of heavy porn, then maybe we'd have to take action. But certainly not on this.

TVGuide.com: Were you aware of his past before it was reported?
Warwick: No, I wasn't. [Laughs] But the truth of the matter is, it wouldn't have made any difference. There are a lot of people I know who'd love to have the opportunity just to make a better living by taking their clothes off.

TVGuide.com: Do you feel for these kids who are suddenly thrust into the public eye and then have everything in their pasts dug up?
Warwick: Very often, I do, yeah. I mean, David Hernandez, whatever you say, is a nice guy. And he can sing. He's got a great voice. He deserves to be there, as far as I'm concerned.

Considering that David Hernandez's past as a male stripper at a gay club is pretty much the top story on all the gossip sites, it was astonishing that on Tuesday night's "American Idol" it was business as usual with most of the remaining 10 male semifinalists - including David - doing very well. But anyone watching had to be snickering when in the filmed intro, David shared his most embarrassing moment. No, he did not say: "When the whole world discovered I did lap dances for men." Instead, he told a gross story about doing an entire photo shoot with a giant booger hanging from his nose.

Charming.

He did better with his song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and even the bitchy Simon - who really grated on me last night - believes David secured himself a return next week.

Will be voted off Thursday: Luke Menard. He is a good singer and very handsome, but his song choices have been terrible and he did himself no favors this week with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Danny Noriega's "Tainted Love" was quite mediocre and he should go home but he may be too popular with fans in the way Sanjaya was last season. He sings better than Sanjaya but he's still more attitude that talent and, to me at least, annoying. Bitchy Simon got this one right: "I thought it was horrible, the whole thing, absolutely useless."

But it is Chikezie who may have killed his chances for survival after Simon ripped him for singing Whitney Houston's "All the Man That I Need," (Changed to "Woman," of course). He sang last and it just ended on a sour note for him.

Show Highlights: David Archuleta soared on "Another Day in Paradise," and played the piano at the start. It's impossible to match last week's "Imagine" but it's still damned good. And David Cook...wow! He brought it! He did a rock version of Lionel Richie's "Hello" that was thrilling. And Mr. dreadlocks, Jason Castro, was just achingly good on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Great stuff!