Posted on 03/13/2007 5:46:36 AM PDT by silent_jonny
I agree with all you said. You’d think they’d learn. The other night they had the TV Land awards on and I decided to watch it. They had k.d. lang present an award to the cast of HeeHaw. She looked like really fat guy up there in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. As they panned the audience, the look on Maureen Mcormick’s (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia) face was priceless. Her expressions was like, ‘what the hell is that up there?) lol
Hopefully we'll get some audeince reviews today...
Bono to Appear on “Idol Gives Back” 4/24/07
http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/april07/article042407-15.html
BONO TO APPEAR ON “IDOL GIVES BACK” ON BEHALF OF ONE: THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE POVERTY HISTORY
“AMERICAN IDOL” SPECIAL TO RAISE MONEY AND AWARENESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST EXTREME POVERTY IN AFRICA AND THE U.S. TUESDAY, APRIL 24, AND WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, ON FOX
As part of his ongoing efforts to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa, U2’s Bono will participate in the IDOL GIVES BACK fundraising special airing Wednesday, April 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The two-night special begins airing Tuesday April 24 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).
The Irish singer will meet with the six AMERICAN IDOL finalists to talk about the work of ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History (www.one.org) and how the IDOL audience can help. The IDOL contestants also will perform “American Prayer,” a song written by Bono and Dave Stewart about the AIDS emergency in Africa.
Bono joins an illustrious group of celebrity participants on the special, including Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Earth, Wind & Fire, Il Divo, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Josh Groban with the African Children’s Choir, Jack Black, Helen Mirren, Rascal Flatts, Quincy Jones, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox and many more.
IDOL GIVES BACK will raise awareness and funds for Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) and other organizations that provide relief programs to help children and young people in extreme poverty in America and Africa. Corporate sponsors of IDOL GIVES BACK are led by News Corporation, Ford, Coca-Cola and AT&T. Allstate and ExxonMobil will make matching contributions to Save the Children and Malaria No More, respectively, via CPEF.
On the performance show Tuesday, April 24 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), the Top 6 finalists will sing “life anthem” songs of compassion and hope, in keeping with the IDOL GIVES BACK theme. After the show, viewers will vote for their favorite singers via toll-free numbers and text messages, as usual, and corporate sponsors will donate money to the charity.
The special two-hour results show Wednesday, April 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) will be a star-studded evening featuring live performances from the AMERICAN IDOL stage as well as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, where Ellen DeGeneres will serve as host. Viewers will be able to make their own donations via toll-free pledge lines and the Internet. Ford will contribute generously by producing a very special music video that will air on Wednesday night. This video, as well as other music segments from the night, will be available for download after the show. Proceeds from the money generated will be contributed to IDOL GIVES BACK.
CPEF is a new charitable organization established to raise money and awareness to help combat extreme poverty in the U.S. and throughout the world, particularly in Africa. CPEF’s mission is to use the power of entertainment to drive positive change to achieve its vision of creating a just world free from poverty. CPEF is inspired and supported by the UK charity that invented Red Nose Day.
CPEF is a supporter of ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, a new effort by Americans to rally Americans — ONE by ONE — to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is a coalition of over 2.4 million people and more than 100 of the nation’s leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations joining together to help save lives in Africa and the world’s poorest countries.
In the United States, CPEF has selected Save the Children, America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Children’s Health Fund as beneficiaries. These organizations deliver support to poor children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country, providing them with medical care, food and grocery products, health and life skills, literacy programs and obesity prevention, among other important initiatives.
In Africa, funds will be dedicated to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Save the Children and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Each organization will receive funds to support efforts to battle poverty through various health and education programs, including delivering medical supplies and providing clean water. These organizations also aim to control and prevent malaria through practical resources and programs, including providing life-saving bed nets and other activities tied to Africa Malaria Day on April 25.
AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
- FOX -
Well, I’m back from the AI Dress Rehearsal Taping. Some interesting little tidbits...
It felt a little like coming home, as the show is taped in the same studio as the Rock Star shows. Believe me, though, it looks WAY different than it did. I thought it kind of odd, but Idol is taped on the CBS studio lot.
As most of you may know, the recaps at the end of the performance show are actually taped at the dress rehearsal. The only piece of the show that is really missing are the judges’ comments. Since the judges are not present, they have stand-in judges in the judges’ chairs who from the back resemble Simon, Paula & Randy. So if you see the judges during the recaps, you will actually be seeing the backs of the stand-ins’ heads! Paula’s stand-in had on a hairpiece to make her look more like Paula - it was pretty funny...
It took a while to get everything going and there was a lot of wait time... so the band played for a good 10-15 minutes. In the studio they sound terrific. As did the entire show. The sound mix was incredible - I only hope it translates as well on TV.
When they called the Idols out to the stage, out they came - minus Jordin. It took several minutes for Jordin to appear, and as she rushed in, she tripped and almost fell. I felt a little sorry for her. All of the Idols looked very nice, though Blake was a little less dressy than the others. Jordin seemed a less comfortable with her dress than the others, as she kept tugging at the waistband. At one point, the stage director had to remind LaKisha to smile. I get the feeling that she is just a very intense young woman, but contrary to what I hear a lot of people saying, she doesn’t seem to have a bad attitude at all. All of the idols were playful and having fun.
First up was Chris with “If I Could Change The World” by Eric Clapton. I’m not a huge fan of Chris, but I thought he did a wonderful job of the song. He didn’t sound at all nasal and gave a very good performance.
Next up was Melinda with Faith Hills’ “There Will Come A Day”. Wow! This girl is even better in person!
Third was Blake with “Imagine” by John Lennon with piano accompaniment. I thought he was a wee bit off on one of the transitions to falsetto, but on the whole another very good vocal and performance.
Fourth was LaKisha with “I Believe” by Fantasia. I know a lot of people are probably groaning because she is performing another song by a previous Idol, but let me tell you. She was absolutely wonderful! A beautiful, moving performance.
Next up was Phil with “The Change” by Garth Brooks. Phil also sounds wonderful live. His vocals were nearly impeccable - powerful and moving.
Lastly, Jordin performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. I thought the beginning was a little off - perhaps a little too low for her to sing comfortably - and her transitions in spots were a little off. I could be way off base, but she didn’t seem comfortable with her clothes and that may have thrown her off a bit. She finished very strong, however.
Between the clips they showed for “Idol Gives Back” and the really good performances, it was a very moving show.
This is just a quick recap - hope this whets your appetites for spoilers!!! http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=2406021&pid=7687625&st=10470&#entry7687625
Chris Richardson “If I Could Change The World” by Eric Clapton - He wore a tie and jacket.
Melinda Doolittle “There Will Come A Day” by Faith Hill - She wore a gray dress.
Blake Lewis “Imagine” by John Lennon - He wore a purple shirt and jacket.
LaKisha Jones “I Believe” Season 3 coronation song - She wore a black strapless dress.
Phil Stacey “The Change” by Garth Brooks - He wore a blue shirt and jacket.
Jordin Sparks “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical “Carousel” - She wore a beige dress.
Judges comments, from an Idol Forums poster who attended the taping: thanks to milajoy for posting these in comments
Chris - All three judges liked his performance. Randy said Chris started off the show great. Paula thought it was one of his best. Simon said it wasn’t nasally, it was a great song choice and he’s finally living up to the potential they saw in his first audition.
Melinda - All the judges loved her. Randy said Melinda showed everyone how it’s done. Simon said she made it completely her own–a masterclass performance.
Blake - Randy thought it was a little boring–blah blah cakes about being compared to the original. Paula felt his performance was quiet, sincere. Simon liked the vocal and thought it was more about the sincerity than the vocal.
Lakisha - The judges “slammed” her. Simon thinks she shout-sings. The judges preferred Fantasia’s version from Season 3. (two separate accounts say that the audience loved her and that she sounded great).
Phil - Randy and Paula thought he was great. Simon liked it but told him to continue going for the country-style songs
Jordin - Randy told her tonite it was the best vocal by any Idol on any season. Simon joked that “unlike Randy. I liked you tonight Jordin.” Paula liked her too.
There are two phone numbers for each contestant:
1 and 7 - Chris Richardson
2 and 8 - Melinda Doolittle
3 and 9 - Blake Lewis
4 and 10 - LaKisha Jones
5 and 11 - Phil Stacey
6 and 12 - Jordin Sparks
The phone lines will be opened for 4 hours tonight instead of 2.
Yep, I was at the taping. I'm just getting in now so haven't had a chance to post anything yet.
Overall I thought they were all really, really good. This is going to be a great show tomorrow night. Very emotional and one of the best performance shows ever!
Chris - I thought Chris was great. I liked that he started singing just sitting in the chair and then in the 2nd verse got up and started moving. It was a great, fast paced song that fit his voice perfectly. His nasalness that people don't like wasn't there. It was one of his better performances and a great way to start the show.
Melinda was amazing as always. I had never heard the Faith Hill song but Melinda sounded nothing like country. I think she may have made that song all her own. The crowd was loving every second of it.
Blake was just ok. I love Imagine but it's not really a song you can really soar on. Blake sounded good but the performance was kinda bland. I agree with the judges that his sincerity really showed.
LaKisha was amazing. I really don't understand why the judges went after her the way they did unless they're trying to set her up to be the shocker of the night. I was a little skeptical when I heard she was singing another Idol's song but she blew it out! The crowd was screaming by the end of it. I don't think America will agree with the judges comments. I am very curious to see it on TV to see if it actually sounds like what we heard.
Phil was ok as well. He sounded good and his voice strong. He didn't have the same kind of connection to the country song he had last week but I thought he performed it well. however, his song choice was the weakest of the bunch. Personally I love the song but when compared to all the rest it just didn't have the same feel to it.
Jordin really proved that she could win the competition today. Her voice was incredible, she showcased emotion all throughout and she looked like a star. I don't know if it was the best performance of all time but it was probably the performance of the season so far.
My ranking: Jordin LaKisha Melinda Chris Blake Phil
Chris sounds a whole lot more like Babyface than Clapton so that song is fitting for him and Babyface was also on it.
If Lakisha was good and the judges slam her unfairly, then I think the judges are trying to get rid of Lakisha any way they can. They can’t afford to have her hang in there and divide the votes of the three women and put either Jordin or Melinda at risk. I think the judges have made it quite clear lately that they prefer Jordin and Melinda. jmo
I’m sure Jordin’s version was good, but I still prefer Liverpool’s version of ‘Youll Never Walk Alone’ from the Champions League final four match last year, still gives me chills... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11MQnQ8QjJs
Lakisha’s version had to be far and away better than Fantasia’s that’s for sure. Glad you got to go! :) Sounds like it was fun.
Oh no! SJ, Chris is ruining Clapton!
That was WONderful ~ Thanks!
Most people think it will be Lakisha, Blake & Chris in the bottom this week
Ugh ...
You know he's gonna do that head-twist-scratch-scratch move of his during the whole song :(
ROTFL!! You know he is. He's going to really get into it when he drags out the word "change".
Someone said that Bono is mentoring the kids this week. I pray Bono took Chris outback and gave him a good old fashioned Irish butt whoopin', but he probably didn't.
You’re welcome.
I'm not a Chris fan, but then I've been watching Kelly Clarksen on the AI Rewind and I can't figure out what they saw in her back then, but I think the music behind her wasn't as sophisticated as it is now. The old shows have a more dead, hollow sound to them. Anyone else notice that?
He'll stretch it out to three sylables: "Chay--eee--yannnnge"
Head twist to the left, scratch-scratch :)
LMAO!! You know it.
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