Posted Aug 25th 2008 4:43PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Judges, News and Gossip, Casting
Even though she just got the call about the gig a few days ago,
new American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi took some time this afternoon to sit down and chat with the media via a massive conference call. As we were going along, I found myself listening as much to how she carried herself conversationally as I was to what she had to say. After all, this is going to be one of the four most listened to voices in America come January when
American Idol's eighth season kicks off.
She came across as smart, knowledgeable, a bit funny and clearly overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation into which she's been thrust. She spoke about how for most of her career she's been being the scenes, as a songwriter and producer. I would say that you may have seen her on ABC's
The One: Making a Music Star, but then nobody saw that. But it means she's been called to judge a singing competition before, and even saw last season's Syesha Mercado there. Hell, she's practicaly a veteran at this now.
Continue reading American Idol's new voice speaks out
Posted Aug 25th 2008 10:42AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Judges, News and Gossip, Casting
Maybe they got tired of the criticism the current panel has been getting for their devolving into piles of cliche-ridden goo. Maybe it's a test run to see if they can find someone the audience can embrace so they can get rid of one of the other three judges. Maybe it's just because they wanted to have four judges from the beginning and it just took them a long time to get there.
Kara DioGuardi joining
American Idol as a fourth judge is an interesting choice. As an award-winning songwriter and producer she definitely has the credentials to be involved as a judge on a singing competition. but the show almost never features original songs. You'd think that having a great songwriter on the panel would inspire the addition of a songwriting aspect to the show. I'd love to see the contestants challenged to write their own music, or in some cases bring some of the original music they've already created to the stage.
Continue reading Randy, Paula, Simon ... and Kara? Idol adds judge
Posted Aug 4th 2008 7:00PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, American Idol, News and Gossip, So You Think You Can Dance
It's been several years since I've cared about the outcome of
American Idol. The contestants are all starting to look the same to me and half the time I get them confused with people on
Top Model. Apparently, I'm not alone. While it's still a ridiculously high-rated show, Last season's
Idol did experience a ratings dip. Now,
even its executive producer is jumping ship.
Nigel Lythgoe has produced
Idol for seven seasons, but according to sources, he's grown tired of the singing competition and has said privately that he's "not passionate about it anymore." Instead, Lythgoe is going to spend more time with his
other successful Fox competition show,
So You Think You Can Dance. This comes on the heels of news that
Fox has picked up Dance for a 5th season.
Even though
SYTYCD is a summer show, it attracts a good audience and a lot of buzz. Plus
its stars are adorably crazy, as opposed to Paula Abdul crazy. Which show is your favorite? Are you still devoted to
Idol, or does
Dance take the formula and do it better?
Posted Jun 24th 2008 1:02PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, TV on the Bigscreen, American Idol, Video, Celebrities, Judges, News and Gossip
Simon Cowell is
producing One Chance at Paramount. The film will be about Paul Potts, the opera singer who competed on
Britain's Got Talent. The performance on the show was his last effort at a music career. Potts, a cell phone salesman, had hit a streak of bad luck and only auditioned on
BGT in 2007 on a whim. He ended up blowing away the judges, Cowell one of them. Potts won the show, went on an international music tour, and released an album.
Justin Zackman, the scribe from
The Bucket List, will write the screenplay. Zackman is also working on
Planetwalker, an environmental drama for Universal.
This is the
American Idol judge's studio debut. Cowell is also working on a project about a musical reality show called
Star Struck. I wonder if that will be anything like
American Dreamz which starred Mandy Moore and Hugh Grant.
The video of Paul's audition for
Britain's Got Talent is after the jump.
Continue reading Simon Cowell producing Paramount's One Chance - VIDEO
Posted Jun 15th 2008 8:04PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, News and Gossip
Now, that
Nick Hogan is cozied up in a new cell for his prison sentence,
his father might be joining him. VH1's Matthew Muro is reporting that Linda Hogan, the Hulkster's estranged wife, wants to send the former pro-wrestler to jail for not paying his portion of a Las Vegas condo, a property worth 4.2 milion dollars. If Linda gets her wishes, Hulk Hogan would be put in Pinellas County Jail in Florida, the very same jail that holds his son.
VH1 offers the following as reasons why Hulk has not paid his bills: "Is he short on cash? Probably not. Is he planning to hit the slammer intentionally to protect little Nick? No way. Or could it be that he's trying to cut off Linda's cash flow so that she can't lavish any more gifts on her 19-year-old boy toy? Bingo!!"
Continue reading Hulk Hogan to join his son in jail?
Posted Jun 9th 2008 2:23PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, News and Gossip
The Hulkster's son, in jail for a driving accident that put his friend in a coma, just got moved last Friday into a new jail cell. He was serving
his eight-month prison sentence in solitary confinement after pleading no contest to the three charges: reckless driving, drunk driving, and having tinted windows on his Supra.
In a conversation with his mother, Linda Hogan, Nick (real last name Bollea) described the jail cell as half the size of his bathroom with no windows. According to
Nancy Grace, the cell measures 12 X 16. Nick's new digs include a cable television, unlimited phone use, a snack bar, and three other juvenille inmates. According to the Sherrif's office, he was being held in solitary confinement becuase he is seventeen and therefore too young to be with the rest of the criminal population. His lawyers apparently
filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office saying that the decision to keep their client in solitary confinement is a violation of his privacy.
What do you think? Should Nick have stayed in solitary confinement until July 27th, his eighteenth birthday?
[via
VH1]
Posted Jun 8th 2008 8:56PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, News and Gossip
Here's what's going on with MTV's resident morons this week...
Whitney Port is getting
her own show. I bet you
the nipple slip awhile ago sealed the deal. According to Us Weekly,
The Hills star will be working bicoastally for a fashion PR firm called People's Revolution. Now, she'll be involved in hijinx on both coasts. Apparently, in New York, Whitney will befriend socialite
Olivia Palermo.
Heidi and Spencer have made three million in two years of off "their work as douchebags" according to
VH1. And no, the three million is not their combined salaries from
The Hills. The couple just shamelessly sells out: club appearances, clothing lines, photo ops. I love that VH1 used the phrase "their work as douchebags." It's so true.
And here's the
sneak peek of season 4 of
The Hills coming this August. Lauren will find a new guy. Audrina and Lo will fight over LC's affections. And Stephanie will make the awful decision to invite LC and Heidi and Spencer to her birthday party.
Posted Jun 5th 2008 5:22PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Celebrities, News and Gossip, Reality-Free
The
Law and Order actor was
charged with three counts of carrying a loaded weapon. All charges come from his May arrest when he was detained by airport security while trying to board a plane. The former police offer of nearly twenty years tried to get by security with a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his briefcase. Farina is looking at up to two and half years in jail and $3,000 in fines if he's convicted on all three misdemeanors. The first count is carrying a weapon in a secured area. The second is possession of a concealed weapon. And the third is possession of a loaded weapon in a public place.
However, the LA county District Attorney is not charging the 64 year-old actor with a felony which would have carried more serious punishment and a larger fine. A spokesman for the DA explained that the office felt a misdemeanor was appropriate.
About the arrest Dennis Farina has said, "It is my own stupidity to find myself in this embarrassing situation."
Posted Jun 4th 2008 4:26PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: American Idol, Celebrities, Contestants, News and Gossip
David Archuleta is
American Idol's bitch. Like the other contestants, he signed an incredibly restrictive contract. All of his public appearances and performances are closely monitored and approved by AI managers.
That became painfully clear for Archuleta and his rabid fans in Salt Lake City this week when the runner-up was
forced to cancel a 'Thank You' concert. It was to be this Friday night and the proceeds were to go to charity. But
American Idol nixed the whole thing because of Archuleta's "contractual obligations" to the show. It was an
Idol-sanctioned event. Plus, Archuleta is scheduled to begin touring with his co-contestants on Saturday.
Continue reading Idol has its claws in David Archuleta
Posted May 27th 2008 1:03PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Judges, Contestants, Alumni, Host, Predictions and Trends, News and Gossip
We scoured the earth (and the archives at various record companies for failed projects that showed vocal promise) to create the greatest assemblage of singing talent
American Idol has ever seen! So what happened? After last year's virtual snooze-fest, how did a season that truly did give us perhaps the greatest depth of talent we've ever seen (an argument could be made for Season Five) give us such lackluster shows?
After Sanjaya-gate last year, the biggest controversy to come out this year was that finalist David Hernandez used to be a stripper and David Archuleta's dad might be a Mr. Meany-Pants. And we got to be pissed that Kristy Lee Cook outlasted the likes of Michael Johns. Not until we got to the finale of Davids did things get really intense.
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Continue reading AI7 Report Card: The season that was
Posted May 27th 2008 11:06AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip
It seems that even after winning
American Idol's seventh season, David Cook still expected David Archuleta to have won the whole thing. in the
exit interview with David Cook, he describes the twelve million votes he won by as a "discrepancy" and said he "thought Archie was a little bit ahead" of him.
He thanks the show for allowing him to grow as an artist, and shrink at the waistline. "I've lost probably about 10 to 15 pounds. There was definitely a progression for me on this show. Early on ... the vocal coach really hit home for me ... Going into this, I had built up a wall, sort of a protective barrier between me and the audience. She forced me to break that down and I think it helped for my performances." I can agree that there was something keeping him from standing out in those early weeks as he came to later.
Continue reading AI OD: Congratulations to David Cook - VIDEOS
Posted May 26th 2008 10:26AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip
Poor Archie, he fell victim to a Clarkson-style assault. In Season One of
American Idol, Justin Guarini was picked as the early favorite to run all the way to the finals and win the whole thing. Meanwhile, nobody even noticed the nondescript little waitress from Texas in there midst until Kelly Clarkson just kept growing and growing through the competition and ran away with the whole thing.
Sure, David Cook was good, but virtually nobody saw him as an early favorite to take the title, and the '50s theme in week one didn't do anything to light him up. Then Archuleta let loose with "Imagine" the following week and pretty much sealed the deal as the front-runner. He even encored with the number in the finale, knowing that it had been his season's high point.
In the
exit interview with David Archuleta, he said that Cook "just proved week after week that he deserved to be the 'American Idol' ... My main priority wasn't to win the competition ... just to do my best. We both gave it our all. To make it to the top two, I don't think there's any reason to be disappointed with that."
Continue reading AI OD: A farewell to David Archuleta - VIDEOS
Posted May 23rd 2008 10:20PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip
Welcome to the final installment of
"AI Aftermath," where we explore
Idol's past. Each installment, as one more
American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of David Cook's crowning as your
American Idol, we will look back at other winners
.
This week: The Winners, featuring Kelly Clarkson (Season One), Ruben Studdard (Season Two), Fantasia Barrino (Season Three), Carrie Underwood (Season Four), Taylor Hicks (Season Five) and Jordin Sparks (Season Six).
Continue reading AI Aftermath: The Winners - VIDEOS
Posted May 22nd 2008 9:03AM by Michael Maloney
Filed under: American Idol, Interviews, Judges, Contestants, Host, News and Gossip, Celebrity Commentary
The battle of the Davids has come to a close, with David Cook emerging as the victor for the seventh season of
American Idol.
The highly anticipated finale had everyone -- bloggers, fans and even celebrities -- buzzing about which David would be the next Idol. But even after David Archuleta's much-praised performance Tuesday night (and Simon Cowell's endorsement), many were predicting Cook to win the title.
Still, backstage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the result had the press gasping. Cook himself seemed surprised that he received the majority of 97.5 million votes cast. "I walked into this competition with no expectations and I'm walking out with out any," Cook told the press.
Continue reading Backstage at the American Idol finale
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