In what had to be the most competitive round of IDOL LIVE's 2010 edition of the poll of the week champion series, Season 5's Kellie Pickler ruled her fellow sixth-place finalists.
Kellie nabbed 13 votes, or 35% of all 37 votes cast, compared with Season 7's Carly Smithson's 12 votes (32%) and the club's newest member, Siobhan Magnus of Season 9, at nine votes (24%). These three independent women were the only ones who really excited IDOL LIVE readers, and it's easy to see why when considering their not so popular comrades from the six other seasons.
In the next round, readers will be asked which 5th-place finalist is their favorite of all nine seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
Christina Christian 0 (0%)
Carmen Rasmussen 1 (2%)
John Stevens 0 (0%)
Constantine Maroulis 0 (0%)
Kellie Pickler 13 (35%)
Phil Stacey 0 (0%)
Carly Smithson 12 (32%)
Anoop Desai 2 (5%)
Siobhan Magnus 9 (24%)
Total votes: 37
Showing posts with label carly smithson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carly smithson. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Poll of the week: Pickler picked once again among sixth-placers
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
HITS estimates: 'Tear the World Down' #31 w/ 13.7k
We Are the Fallen, a group composed of Season 7 sixth-place finalist Carly Smithson and former Evanescence band members, saw its debut album Tear the World Down debut at #31 with 13.7k copies, which is relatively healthy for an album having to do with an non-winner alum from a few seasons ago nowadays.
Down only two spots from the previous week to #33 was Carrie Underwood's Play On, which fell a mild 32% sales-wise this week for a 13.4k weekly take.
Try this: I dare you to look for full sales figures from Billboard later on in the week.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Carrie Underwood & Kellie Pickler receive CMT Award noms
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
Kellie and Carrie also saw their music video directors receive noms for Director of the Year (Deaton Flanigen, "Temporary Home" and Roman White, "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" / "Best Days of Your Life"). The CMT Music Awards will be hosted by Kid Rock and will air live on the network on Wed., June 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
Are you referring to after “Idol”? What kind of things were you turning down?
After “Idol,” a lot of people misunderstood where I was trying to go as an artist. I remember having a conversation with my husband where I said, “No compromise.” I had to start writing the music myself, because nobody is there to understand exactly what your goal is, but I knew and when I met these guys, I saw it was their goal too. So we all came together and just blended perfectly. We complement each other. For me, I was either gonna have this or nothing at all. I had to have the realization that I could be completely screwing myself forever, by being so adamant that this was going to be the only type of music I was going to make, but it all worked out and I’m stoked.
We Are the Fallen has had its lead single "Bury Me Alive" featured on various TV shows, from MTV's The Hills to The CW's Vampire Diaries. Tear the World Down is now available to purchase at Amazon.com
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>It was announced on Monday that Kris Allen will be supporting Maroon 5 alongside V.V. Brown on the band's current North American tour on four select dates beginning Aug. 19 at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater in Miami, Fla. Ticket sale information is available at Kris's official website. This news comes after it was revealed two weeks ago that Kris will be keeping busy during the majority of the summer by co-headlining a tour with The Barenaked Ladies beginning July 8 at Harrah's in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
>Following his elimination last week, Aaron Kelly followed in the footsteps of his fellow Idol castoffs when he appeared on CBS's The Late Show with David Letterman Monday night for a little back and forth with Letterman and a mini performance. Watch what transpired below:
Aaron got chastised for mumbling his hometown and going to school via a computer. Aaron's performance of "My Girl" was nice but nothing to write home about. Still, the country vibe it had was custom tailored for Aaron's style.
Does Simon ever lay into you the way he did Paula?It's a bit of a surprise that neither Carrie Underwood nor Katharine McPhee made the list this year. Maybe that's a sign Kat shouldn't have gone blonde? Either way she's back to brunette, so maybe Kat already had an inkling she wouldn't make the cut this year?
Definitely. It's hard for me to say something negative to a contestant without giving something constructive back, and that annoys Simon. But they're kids, and you feel for them - especially when they have a story, like they've overcome cancer or something.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 11 Perform (3/23/10)
Tonight the Top 11 finalists take on songs that have landed at #1 on the esteemed Billboard Hot 100 chart, not the horrid "teen idol" theme that was originally misreported elsewhere. Therefore, it is only fitting that Miley Cyrus will serve as the contestants' mentor. Right?
Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.
Tonight's blogcast features the music of Blake Lewis, Bucky Covington, Carly Smithson, David Cook, David Hernandez, Diana DeGarmo, Jason Castro, Katharine McPhee, Leona Lewis, Michael Sarver and Stephanie Edwards.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Girls Perform (3/3/10)
Tonight we blog during the Top 10 female semifinalists' performances, which will have to work hard to be worse than last week's offerings. Considering neither of the girls that went last week were unexpected, tonight should go a little smoother and should feel lighter with less voices needing to be packed in together. Hopefully Crystal will be well enough to perform.
Please feel free to add your input throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.
Tonight's blogcast features the music of Antonella Barba, Carly Smithson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Kelly Clarkson, LaKisha Jones, Megan Joy and Melinda Doolittle.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Flashback: Carly Smithson's "Come Together"
Carly Smithson was a force to be reckoned with at the outset of Idol's seventh season. After breezing through the semifinals, Carly came out with a bang during Top 12 week on the first helping of Beatles night when she performed "Come Together." Watch the performance below:
Carly received praise from all three judges for this showing, which sent her into an excited state of disbelief, especially considering she expected Simon to once again declare her song choice "wrong." Carly's second song from The Beatles' catalog, "Blackbird," was not as big as a moment for her, but it still showed that she was a savvy contestant in terms of varying her performance styles.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
We Are The Fallen testing "Bury Me Alive" on HitPredictor
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There was a big hoopla surrounding Carly Smithson and ex-members of Evanescence with the announcement of a new collaboration through the formation of a new band, We Are The Fallen, in late June. Although things have cooled off since the announcement, the band has still been posting regularly on its official Facebook fan page.
One thing the band stated back when the announcement was made was that they would be taking a nontraditional approach in releasing music. Instead of recording a bunch of songs and then releasing an album, they are going to release songs as singles every so often and then create a compilation out of the singles in the form of an album. But when it comes to the band's first single "Bury Me Alive," not much has been happening with the song since it was put on its official music MySpace page and made available as a free download to the first 100,000 fans. It did, however, appear on the music testing site HitPredictor.com (formerly Promosquad.com), which signals that the band might be interested in sending the single to radio.
The only question is, which format is being targeted here? The mystery will continue to unravel.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Poll of the week: Fans still pick Pickler
It was a spirited week of voting on IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series for the favorite sixth-place finalist of all eight seasons, and the competition broke the win streak of Season 7 finalists for the first time this voting period.
Leave it to Kellie Pickler and her faithful fans to stand in the way of Carly Smithson and her equally passionate fans. The fifth season's lovable country star netted 296 of the 582 total votes, which equated to 50%. In comparison, Carly was able to take in 267 votes (45%). The two were tied in the count with just one hour left to vote, which is when Kellie's fans eked out a win by fewer than 30 votes.
The poll's six other contenders failed to excite voters, as Anoop Desai only took in nine votes (1%), and Constantine Maroulis was only able to generate six votes (1%).
In the next installment of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series, readers are asked which fifth-place finalist is their favorite of all eight seasons. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
Christina Christian 2 (0%)
Carmen Rasmusen 0 (0%)
John Stevens 0 (0%)
Constantine Maroulis 6 (1%)
Kellie Pickler 296 (50%)
Phil Stacey 2 (0%)
Carly Smithson 267 (45%)
Anoop Desai 9 (1%)
Total votes: 582
Sunday, July 5, 2009
'Idol' alums celebrate the Fourth
While Americans everywhere spent yesterday held cook outs and watched fireworks in honor of our nation's birthday like any self-respecting U.S. citizen would, Idol alums were out in full force doing the same.
There was no shortage of messages exclaiming their patriotic festivities on Twitter, as many used the micro-blogging service to prove they were busy celebrating. Exhibit A:
David Archuleta
Have a good 4th of July weekend everyone!!! 12:32 PM Jul 4th from txt
Diana DeGarmo
i only got one morning glory sparkler done b4 it started raining......boooooo 9:14 PM Jul 4th from mobile web
Josh Gracin
Happy 4th of July Weekend.Me and the family have just got back from our lake trip.No firework emergencies to report at this time...Maybe one about 10 hours ago from web
Leah Labelle
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!! i'm in canada lol. so we will jus make our own 4th here. gettin up for the day is young... 2:50 PM Jul 4th from web
Blake Lewis
To all the fans, Thanks for your love and support. I hope your having an amazing 4th! Send your love to our troops and there families. about 24 hours ago from Tweetie
Scott MacIntyre
Had some great bbq food today in honor of the 4th:) Dress rehearsal is going on now with full hair and makeup for the first time. about 23 hours ago from txt
Syesha Mercado
It's times like these where I really miss being home with the family. Really missing those yearly 4th of July cookouts. 9:29 PM Jul 4th from web
Carly Smithson
Yesterday was so good . Fireworks were so magic . Sat on the water with todd and watched all three beaches go off at the same time about 7 hours ago from web
Jordin Sparks
"Im proud to be an American where at least I know Im free. And I wont forget the men who died and gave that right to me..." 10:00 PM Jul 4th from web
Lisa Tucker
reggae music, tamales, fantas...yesterday was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th of july. about 7 hours ago from web
Brooke White
God bless America, My Home sweet HOME!!! Happy 4th everyone!! 2:46 PM Jul 4th from web
Other alums took to the stage to perform patriotic songs in honor of the holiday. For example, Felicia Barton sang "God Bless America" with the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra:
And of course, we cannot forget Ryan Seacrest's famed contributions nor can we overlook Paula's nonsensical words of wisdom when discussing Twitter:
Ryan Seacrest
Happy b-day America! And happy 11th b-day Malia Obama! She started celebrating on thur w/ 20 girls at camp david. Now thats a slumber party. about 21 hours ago from TweetGenius
Paula Abdul
Hope everyone is enjoying their pool parties and bbq's! Have a safe holiday and remember to keep your pets inside so they don't get scared! 5:42 PM Jul 4th from web
Words to live by, Paula. Words to live by.
Monday, June 22, 2009
We Are the Fallen releases single amid tech difficulties
Carly Smithson's new band, We Are the Fallen (previously known as The Fallen), today released its much anticipated debut single "Bury Me Alive" as a free download on its official Web site to the first 100,000 subscribers of their newsletter. The only problem: the downloads were not sent to subscribers. Hear it straight from Carly's mouth below:
In the meantime, fans can hear the single on the band's official music MySpace page.
Friday, June 19, 2009
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Carly Smithson to front new band The Fallen
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Carly Smithson will serve as the lead singer of a new start-up band consisting of three former members of Evanescence (Ben Moody, and a bassist that worked with Kelly Clarkson and Disturbed. Per the original article by Brian Mason of USA Today:"This all happened by accident," says Smithson, who sang Evanescence's Bring Me to Life during the 2008 Idols Live tour. She's friends with Moody's housemate, Monique Morrison. "I met him once or twice (at the house) before the band thing," says Smithson, who had been working on a solo project.
The Fallen will release its first single, "Bury Me Alive," on their official Web site (WeAreTheFallen.com) on Monday and plan to release songs individually over the course of the next year and a half before working on an album.
>People magazine's 10th annual "Hottest Bachelors" edition was revealed this week, and a certain Idol runner-up made the cut. Adam Lambert was named as one of the hottest bachelors alive. Upon hearing the news, Adam said:"Am I really? I'm not hot!" Adam Lambert responds in disbelief when Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell reveals the news that he is listed on People magazine's 10th annual list of Sexy & Single Men in 2009. He, however, quickly adds, "That's pretty cool. That's really cool."
The current issue of People is now available on newsstands everywhere.
>Another runner-up was in the news this week, but for more negative reasons. David Archuleta's father, James Jeffrey Archuleta, was nabbed for solicitation of a prostitute at a massage parlor back in January in Midvale, Utah. Archuleta's attorney, Erik Bauer, responded to the news:“He did not go there for sex and that was it and pure, plain and simple that’s the way it was,” Bauer said. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s a good man and we hope this story won’t cause his family any embarrassment.”
The services reportedly cost $582, so it seems that Arch Sr. asked for the works.
>Chris Daughtry appeared on FOX Business Network's America's Nightly Scoreboard on Tuesday to promote his band's forthcoming album Leave This Town. Watch the interview below:
Chris discussed the diversity of the music found on Leave This Town and responded to a question regarding the possibility of attempting to do musical theatre in the future, saying that he's thought about it and has done some acting (like the 100th episode of CSI: NY) but he is solely focused on music at this point.
>Fantasia did a photo shoot with Derek Blanks. More photos from the shoot can be seen here.Fantasia will next return to the musical The Color Purple as Celie, only this time she will be joining the national tour for its Washington D.C., Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles dates. The tour currently stars Fantasia's fellow Season 3 alum LaToya London. In addition to the tour, Fantasia will have the chance to reprise the role of Celie on the silver screen when she begins filming later this year.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
IDOL LIVE Blog: Top 8 Perform (4/7/09)
Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 8 finalists' performances of songs from their birth years, which basically translates to a whole lot of eighties music. There have been a few rumors circulating regarding possible song choices, but y'all will just have to tune in at 8 p.m. ET to find out exactly who chooses what and how everyone does.
Tonight's blogcast will feature music from Joanne Borgella, Daughtry, Haley Scarnato, Carly Smithson and Carrie Underwood.
Tonight's numbers:
Danny: 1-866-43657-01
Kris: 1-866-43657-02
Lil: 1-866-43657-03
Anoop: 1-866-43657-04
Scott: 1-866-43657-05
Allison: 1-866-43657-06
Matt: 1-866-43657-07
Adam: 1-866-43657-08
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
IDOL LIVE Blog: Top 10 Perform (3/25/09)
The Top 10 finalists offer their best renditions of Motown's classics in a 50th anniversary celebration of the genre. They will be mentored by legendary Motown singer Smokey Robinson. The blogcast will last two hours on this special Wednesday episode and will begin at 8 p.m. ET.
Tonight's blogcast will feature music from Jason Castro, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, David Hernandez, Michael Johns, Kimberley Locke, Melissa McGhee, Carly Smithson and Jordin Sparks.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
IDOL LIVE Blog: Group 3 Performs (3/3/09)
Join us tonight as we blog during the third and final group of 12 semifinalists' performances in this two-hour extravaganza. Will they heed the judges' warnings and choose the right songs? Probably not, but that will make for good TV at least. The blogcast begins at 8 p.m. ET as usual.
Tonight's blogcast will feature music from Alexandrea Lushington, Antonella Barba, Blake Lewis, Brandon Rogers, Carly Smithson, Chikezie, Danny Noriega, Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Analysis: Boring results show brings no surprises
And just like that, Group 1 of the Top 36 is no more. Kind of disappointing, isn't it? Unlike the past four seasons, this is the last we will see of most of the semifinalists that performed on Tuesday, save for the three that automatically advanced last night and of course whichever ones are lucky enough to be called back to perform as potential wildcard choices. With that in mind, is it safe to say that the Top 12 of Season 8 is off to a bang?
I think not.
Although Alexis Grace definitely was the strongest vocalist on Tuesday, she is lacking in star quality, which is something someone like Ann Marie Boskovich exuded. It's too bad that one performance pretty much dictates whether or not a contestant will advance the way this format is set up, whereas in years past all it took was for there to be two contestants that were worse than someone else for that person to stick around to try and improve their chances.
As for the way Ryan handled the reading of the results, it was very shoddy and disorganized. Really, Ryan, did anyone honestly think Danny didn't have the most votes of all 12 from that group? Did you not think it might be more exciting to announced Danny first, then announce Alexis and hold out on leaving it between Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai and Tatiana del Toro for the third ticket to the Top 12? Maybe it's just me, but I think that would have been much more watchable.
And people are complaining about Danny being insensitive to Tatiana right before the results were read. Honestly, what's he supposed to do, stand there and pretend to be nervous? Anyone who has been following this season from the beginning (or anyone with a computer) knew it was his for the taking, and so did he. On the contrary, however, the judges better yield on their incessant praise over him, because it could end up hurting him down the road (I mean you, Kara). At least Simon is there to hold down the fort.
On the positive side, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson sounded as good as always on their duet of "The Letter," even though I feel like I've seen that before. Hopefully there are more of those nice surprises than there are with the results, because if not, we're in for a long season.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, we're 2-3 in both the semifinals and the Top 12. Hopefully next week is more kind.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Analysis: Producers demonstrate pure genius with Joanna debacle
Now that news of Joanna Pacitti's abrupt ouster from the Top 36 of Season 8 is making the rounds, it is a good time to take a step back and digest what this all means for the competition.
It was only yesterday that many (including IDOL LIVE) believed Joanna was not only a shoe-in for the Top 12, but also that she was your next American Idol. She had all the qualifications necessary to validate her as a credible champ, combining beauty, youth, a unique name, a great voice (taking Hollywood Week out of consideration), previous recording and performing experience, friends in the industry and so on and so forth. So how could things turn sour?
Before recycling the same old "omg she was a plant ya see!?" argument, it's important to realize this was never a problem with the producers. They very blatantly stressed her past brushes with the music industry over the course of the show at every possible chance, something they neglected to do last season with Carly Smithson (showing that they did in fact learn their lesson this time around), so that was surely not the problem here. Instead, it was the rumblings that were generated by Star magazine that Joanna knew a few 19 execs, specifically Roger Widynowski and Michelle Young, whom she shared an apartment building with, that was the final nail in her coffin after months of reports on her platny past.
But the producers certainly know what they're doing in this isntance, as they've had a while to mull exactly how to carry out this cut. Why else was Joanna hardly shown during Hollywood Week? Because they did not want to waste precious screen time on someone they knew very well would not be part of the show once the important voting rounds began.
In fact, this is pure genius on their part. Now Joanna will get the public's sympathy for coming "so close, yet so far away" once again (following her elimination from the Broadway revival of Annie as a little girl and her failed record deals with MCA and Geffen), which will prop her up to be signed by a label under the Sony-BMG umbrella, and 19 will be able to manage her successfully thanks to the renewed wind that will be blown in her sails.
The scandal will also be a boon for Idol, as many who were upset at the fact that the judges allowed Joanna to advance so far will now be satisfied, providing a more focused and content audience that will only have to deal with Tatiana and Nick as distractions. Add to this the fact that every time Idol creates or suffers a scandal, ratings jump.
This will also benefit Idol in that Felicia Barton will be seen as an underdog, and if she fails to make it through to the Top 12 on her first try, you can bet your bottom dollar that she will be included in the wild card round. And to make things even more interesting, she will be chosen as one of the judges' picks to the Top 12 (again barring the fact that she does not make it into the Top 12 on her own). This will keep the dark horse dreams alive and will be an interesting storyline throughout the season.
To many, Felicia seems like an odd pick to succeed Joanna. But she was in fact the logical choice to replaced Joanna with, as she shares a few qualities with the latter including similarlity in age and appearance (to an extent) and a personable demeanor. She has also attained a healthy amount of online buzz despite the lack of screen time she has received up until this point, which the producers must have taken note of. And the fact that her raspy vocals are something so different than the vocals of a cookie-cutter contestant makes her that much more interesting. And then there's the whole "Joanna was a shoe-in for the Top 12" idea, which opens up a spot that was all but guaranteed for her and will now allow another "favorite" to make the cut.
It will surely be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few weeks, but just don't think that this is the last we'll see of Joanna Pacitti and that Felicia will be nothing more than a placeholder. That would be a mistake to the greatest degree.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Star-studded 'Idol' crew expected at Disney's "AI Experience" opening
The grand opening of Walt Disney World's "American Idol Experience" at Hollywood Studios on Thurs., Feb. 12, will surely be a a day to remember in the Idol world, as there will be at least 28 confirmed guests from the show itself, spanning all seasons, from winners to early exits. Six winners, four runners-up and even Paula and Ryan will make appearances. See the full list below:
Paula Abdul
David Archuleta
Fantasia Barrino
Bo Bice
Jason Castro
David Cook
Bucky Covington
Diana DeGarmo
Melinda Doolittle
Simon Fuller
Josh Gracin
Justin Guarini
Taylor Hicks
Michael Johns
LaKisha Jones
Kimberley Locke
Sanjaya Malakar
Mandisa
Syesha Mercado
Ryan Seacrest
Chris Sligh
Carly Smithson
Jordin Sparks
Phil Stacey
Ruben Studdard
Carrie Underwood
Brooke White
Ace Young
The alums will participate in a motorcade that will depart Hollywood Studios at 4:30 p.m. ET. There is a possibility that even more alums will show up, so be sure to look out for them.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Analysis: Joanna Pacitti a "failed pop star"?
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Well, it looks like Yahoo! is no fan of 23-year-old Season 8 hopeful Joanna Pacitti. The headline "Failed pop star pollutes 'Idol'" today appeared on the famed web portal, followed by an incredible hack job on Joanna by "Reality Rocks" blogger Lyndsey Parker, in which she was compared to Season 7's sixth-place finalist, Carly Smithson. Read an excerpt of Parker's blog below:
Anyway, I honestly can NOT believe the AmIdol producers are up to their old sneaky tricks in season 8. You'd think after all that Carly hullaballoo, they would steer clear of such blatant favoritism and the inclusion of what are known in the Idol blogosphere as "plants." But...no. Along with an actual (Archuleta-associated!) Osmond and Jason Castro's little brother, this season features a particularly poisonous plant: Joanna Pacitti.Parker continued to "expose" Joanna's past by unearthing music videos, an album and other projects that she has worked on in the past.
Joanna, who auditioned on Wednesday night's Louisville episode, is basically Carly 2.0.
Now, I believe the situation we have here is extremely different from last season's fiasco. Did Parker not watch the Louisville auditions Wednesday night? Did the producers not blatantly make it known to us viewers that Joanna had a past with A&M Records et al? The situation with Carly was extremely different because the producers tried to keep her past failures in the music biz under wraps (which they have now learned can never happen because someone is going to dig it up).
So although I am very critical of Joanna being included for her past, as I myself have never liked the whole plant aspect that has developed on the show over the past few seasons, I am willing to let her prove herself before crying fowl. I give the producers credit for at least putting everything out in the open.
But "polluting 'Idol'"? C'mon Parker, that's harsh.
Monday, December 29, 2008
IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008 - Part 1
IDOL LIVE has compiled a list of the 10 most memorable moments of 2008 in relation to everything Idol. Everything from joy to tragedy, odd to oddly a big deal are included in the countdown. The bottom five moments are listed below:
10) Jordin Sparks makes waves at MTV's Video Music Awards
Jordin Sparks had a big year in terms of success and opportunities to wow audiences, from her Grammy nomination to the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLII. One of her more contentious moments, however, was when she came to the defense of The Jonas Brothers at MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards after host Russell Brand lambasted them in his opening monologue for promising chastity until marriage.
Jordin retorted when it was her turn to present an award, saying that people wear purity rings because "not everyone wants to be a slut," which set off a firestorm of praise and criticism on from everyone, whether on morning shows, blogs or mainstream media outlets. Jordin eventually appeared on FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes to clarify her statement.
09) Contestants' pasts come back to haunt them
2008 was the year that the term "plant" took on a whole new meaning. As soon as the Top 24 was announced, stories emerged on certain contestants' musical backgrounds, many of whom had previously been signed to major label deals and released albums. Carly Smithson was the largest target after it was revealed that she only managed to sell 300 copies of her album Ultimate High while on MCA Records as Carly Hennessy despite a $2 million promotional price tag.
Other finalists that had record deals before joining the show with either major or indie labels were Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns, Brooke White and David Cook, while some like David Archuleta had appeared on talent shows like Star Search.
And then there was David Hernandez, whose stripper past overshadowed his short stay on Idol in similar fashion to the media's fascination with Antonella Barba's racy pics from last year.
If history is any indication, we are only going to see more of the same with the next crop of hopefuls.
08) Michael Johns ousted in "cruel shocker" on "Idol Gives Back"
Australia's Michael Johns was considered by many to be the frontrunner for the title of American Idol winner 2008. But when it came time for the results to be read on "Idol Gives Back" night, everyone seemed to be doubting the warning issued from Ryan that someone would indeed be leaving, unlike the "surprise" that kept Jordin Sparks from going home the same night the previous year (although Jordin did not have the lowest vote totals anyway and was never in danger).
But when the results were read and Ryan held out the possibility that once again the lowest vote-getter would be spared, it was like a dagger to the heart for many fans when he said that Michael would indeed by leaving. This generated much criticism of Ryan from the media for being "cruel." While the fact that Michael was ousted when he was did not put this moment on the countdown on its own, the way it was carried out by all those involved and the circumstances were enough to make this the eighth most memorable Idol moment of 2008.
07) Big changes announced for Season 8
After signs that America's #1 show was waning in popularity became too blatant to ignore, the executives behind Idol announced some sizable changes for the upcoming season of the show, beginning with the firing/departure of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.
Lythgoe's exit was followed closely by Kara DioGuardi's entrance, as the songwriter was hired as a fourth judge. More substantial changes to the show were announced in December, with the establishment of a Top 36 instead of a Top 24, the bringing back of the popular Wildcard round and the slashing of the "Idol Gives Back" special.
Hopefully these changes are enough to reignite the spark that has been slowly waning in regards to the excitement factor of the show.
06) Paula Abdul flubs her lines on Idol
It was the single most horrific train wreck Idol had ever seen (until Fantasia's screamfest of a performance a few weeks later). Paula Abdul mysteriously critiqued Jason Castro's second song before he had even sung it, sending the contestants, the judges and the millions watching at home into a frenzied confusion. Apparently Paula could not handle the quick adaptations television can prompt its stars to make when under the gun of fitting everything into an hour or two.
But it caused more than just a brief bit of confusion. It reignited the long held suspicion by many that Idol is in fact rigged. Even after many apologies were issued by Paula, her coworkers and the show's execs, there still lingered a feeling that all was not right in the state of California. But just as it has done with the countless other controversies that have emerged, the show weathered the storm and more or less so did Paula's seemingly bulletproof reputation. It is going to take a lot to finally bring her down.
Stay tuned for the remainder of IDOL LIVE's Top 10 most memorable moments of 2008, as moments #5-1 will be revealed tomorrow. Do you agree with the choices for moments #10-6?
Saturday, December 27, 2008
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Jordin featured on 'Shock Value II'?
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Rumors are swirling that Jordin Sparks is going to be featured on one of the tracks on Timbaland's upcoming album Shock Value 2, out in February. The song title is rumored to be "Rain" and may be released as a single.
>Katharine McPhee sent her fans a Christmas gift on Christmas Eve in the form of a MySpace bulletin that thanked them for their Christmas presents and informed them of an update on all things web-related that are coming in the new year.
>Idol alums that will be making the rounds on the networks' New Year's Eve specials on Wed., Dec. 31, include David Cook and Daughtry on FOX's New Year's Eve Live (11 p.m. ET), while Kellie Pickler will perform on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (10/11:30 p.m. ET) which will be co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest for the fourth year in a row.
>Carly Smithson put up a new blog entry on her official music MySpace page yesterday to let fans know about her Christmas celebrations. In the blog she hinted at her plans to write material with "a certain Season 5 rocker whos RAD" (Chris Daughtry, perhaps?)
>One song that is seeing a huge post-Christmas surge on the iTunes Top 100 Songs chart is David Archuleta's "Crush." after sitting around the mid-30s prior to the holiday it has re-entered the Top 20 at #19 thanks to heavy spending from gift card recipients.
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