American Idol 2007--Live Thread (Part I)

FOX ^ | 1-15-07

[Netizen]

I didn't watch AI the season Frenchi was on. I went to the link. Is the woman on the right Frenchie? I suppose she could be muslim, but, the posing for adult pics would seem to go against that, but if so, it would seem odd that a Muslim group would defend that. Well, no more odd than those pure Muslims that spent the day before 9/11 at the strip joins, boozing it up, before boarding their flights to Hades.

[Palladin]

Interview with eliminated finalists (they all seem to be OK with Antonella):

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1553768/20070302/id_0.jhtml

[Palladin]

"So what the heck is the Islamist crowd doing involved in this dust up?"

That is truly bizarre, but as they used to say in Vaudeville, "Everybody wants to get into the act!"

[Palladin]

You are so right. The same thing happened five decades ago when Shirley Jones, an 18-year-old from Pennsylvania, took Broadway by storm.

http://www.nndb.com/people/795/000023726/

Some talents are just too great to be overlooked.

[Palladin]

OMG! They've turned him into a metrosexual.

I think I liked his old look better.

(Sorry, misterrob.)

[Texas2step]

The funny thing is that while AI has produced Carrie, Josh Gracin and Bucky, the first of the total AI rip offs, Nashville Star, has yet to produce a star. :)

Actually, Chris Young, last year's winner, has done really well. He'll outsell Josh Gracin, IMO. Buddy Jewel, season one winner, had several hits off his first CD release, but I haven't heard anything lately from him. Miranda Lambert, who finished back in the pack in season 1, I believe, has also had several hits.

What's really cruel is that the talent level of NS is much higher than AI, but NS doesn't really pull in a very large audience over on USA network (was almost cancelled twice) so nobody has heard these folks sing.

For some reason, the folks voting on USA have consistently picked the wrong person to win, as well. For 3 of the 5 NS seasons, including this one, the best singer and one most likely to really succeed has finished 2nd. IMHO.

[Netizen]

They always seem to be ok with all of the other contestants. I suspect they are not allowed to speak out against one another.

[Netizen]

You know, I think Cowell, just stirs the pot for attention. For him and for the show. Just last week he behaved the opposite.

Simon Cowell Blasts Jennifer Hudson for American Idol Stepping Stone Comment 3/5/07

http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/march07/article030507-6.html

Music mogul Simon Cowell has blasted Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson after she called American Idol "a stepping stone" - insisting she wouldn't have been cast in Dreamgirls without the US talent show.

Hudson was a contestant on Idol in 2004, but was voted off before the final.

Over a year later, she auditioned for the role of Effie White in the big screen version of the musical Dreamgirls and was cast.

When Hudson accepted her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Dreamgirls last weekend (25FEB07), Cowell was disappointed she declined to mention the show.

He says, "Jennifer Hudson said American Idol was a 'stepping stone' for her.

Stepping stone? It was her big opportunity to become noticed and she got noticed and she got Dreamgirls.

"Singers like her deliberately turn against the show that made them successful. The reason (people) come on the show is because all the doors had been slammed in their face."

[Netizen]

Frenchie Davis Supporters Claim Racial Bias on American Idol

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/american-idol/frenchie-davis-supporters-clai-4664.aspx

March 5, 2007

Remember Franchelle "Frenchie" Davis? She was booted from the 2003 edition of American Idol for having topless photos taken in her youth, which were not even available on the Internet anymore. So why did she get the boot when Antonella Barba is allowed to stay? Because she's black and Barba is white, say Davis' supporters, who are planning a protest on Tuesday morning at the American Idol Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

The "Anti-American-Idol" rally was organized by civil rights activist Najee Ali, of Project Islamic Hope, who says the producers are clearly biased. The protest promises to include unnamed "celebrities and community leaders" as well as Tarvenia Jones, a producer on American Idol in season one.


"They can't have a rule for white contestants and have [a] different rule for black contestants," Ali said.

Davis herself commented "I couldn't help but notice the manner in which she was dealt with was the complete opposite of how I was dealt with…I'm certainly not interested in pissing people off, but this is an unfairness that can't be ignored."

When Davis first started on American Idol, she was completely candid about her past and the topless pictures. While the producers didn't seem to have an issue with it at the time, they later kicked her off the show, saying it was a family program and she was unsuitable.

"It's obvious that it's a racial bias ... when you have a situation where a black contestant is punished and a similar situation happens to a white contestant and there is no punishment and they're allowed to continue on the show," said Ali.

Frenchie Davis is currently appearing in the Broadway production of Rent.

[silent_jonny]

Speaking of Carrie, she was nominated for five more Academy of Country Music Awards today (she won two last year).

Top Female Vocalist

Album of the Year (Some Hearts)

Single Record of the Year (Before He Cheats)

Song of the Year (Before He Cheats)

Video of the Year (Before He Cheats)

The 42nd ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS ceremony honoring country music’s top talent as well as the industry’s hottest emerging talent, will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network

[Netizen]

Before He Cheats is one of my favorites. I'm excited for her! :)

[Palladin]

I had never seen Frenchie Davis before tonight. They showed her AI tape on MSNBC. She didn't get booted because she was black. She screeched, she was grossly overweight, and she is butt ugly. And Fantasia was a better singer (or whoever won that year.)

Nude pictures of Frenchie? YUCK!

[Netizen]

I can't imagine nude pictures of her either. I'm not sure what year she was on, first or second.

[conservativebabe]

That's great! I'm happy for her. I bet she wins at least one, probably more.

Before he cheats is a great video. Carrie looks amazingly beautiful in it.

[Wolfstar]

She'll win some or even all of them. I don't follow Country music as much as Pop/Rock, but as far as I know there was no other album by a female as successful as hers was, although it was released in 2005.

[Netizen]

Simon Cowell Couldn't Stand American Idol Winner Taylor Hicks 3/6/07

http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/march07/article030507-19.html

Survey - Who Is Your Favorite American Idol Judge?

Music mogul Simon Cowell has blasted the most recent American Idol winner Taylor Hicks for lacking the talent to become a pop superstar.

Cowell, who is a judge on the hit reality TV show alongside Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, confessed last Thursday (01MAR07) he wanted to axe Hicks early on in American Idol last year (06).

And British Cowell isn't surprised 30-year-old Hicks has struggled to sell records, while fellow contestant Chris Daughtry has.

He says, "They (Abdul and Jackson) loved him. I couldn't stand him. I didn't get it.

"At the end of the day you have to find a bona fide recording artist. Just because you win the show doesn't mean you will sell a lot of records. Chris is the one who sold the albums, not Taylor."

[Apple Blossom]

He looks a little like Billy Currington.

[conservativebabe]

I won't be on the thread tonight during the show. Having dinner with my folks. I'll catch up with it later on tonight.

Have a good time! Miss me! ;)

[retrokitten]

Miss me! ;)

We will. :-(

[Netizen]

In my excercise class, one of the songs we work out to is Taylor's single, "The Runaround". It's surprisingly good! All I've heard is how horrible his album is, but that song is awesome. I think I'll take a little shopping trip to Amazon...

I listened to it again. I guess it isn't as bad as I thought, though I was disappointed with the songs that he did prior to idol. I thought the pre idol versions were better.

For Simon to speak to speak so poorly of Taylor's sales, Simon can take part of the blame for that. But, as pointed out earlier, Daughtry's first week only sold 6,000 more than Taylor and Daughtry's sales fell a lot, too.

Not to mention that they belong to different genres, so its like comparing hamburgers and pizza.