Idol alums to participate in Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular
The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular will air from 9-10 p.m. on NBC. Sound like something you'd watch? I don't know if I'll be tuning in for this. I'd rather find a local fireworks show than watch one on TV.
AI7 Report Card: The season that was
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.
Continue reading AI7 Report Card: The season that was
AI OD: Congratulations to David Cook - VIDEOS
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
AI OD: A farewell to David Archuleta - VIDEOS
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
AI Aftermath: The Winners - VIDEOS
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
Which is the best American Idol finale?
Anyway, last night's epic battle got me thinking about past American Idol finales and whether any of them were this much of a contest. It seems like we've gone into most of the American Idol finales with obvious winners. Here's a breakdown of the past American Idol finales, and whether they stack up to last night's performances:
Continue reading Which is the best American Idol finale?
AI Aftermath: 2nd place finishers - VIDEOS
Welcome back to "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 Archuleta's elimination in the finale, we'll be looking at other second place finishers.
This week: 2nd place finishers, featuring featuring Justin Guarini (Season One), Clay Aiken (Season Two), Diana DeGarmo (Season Three), Bo Bice (Season Four), Katharine McPhee (Season Five) and Blake Lewis (Season Six).
Continue reading AI Aftermath: 2nd place finishers - VIDEOS
AI Aftermath: 3rd place finishers - VIDEOS
Welcome back to "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 Syesha Mercado's elimination this week, we'll be looking at other fourth place finishers.
This week: 3rd place finishers, featuring featuring Nikki McKibbin (Season One), Kimberly Locke (Season Two), Jasmine Trias (Season Three), Vonzell Solomon (Season Four), Elliott Yamin (Season Five) and Melinda Doolittle (Season Six).
Continue reading AI Aftermath: 3rd place finishers - VIDEOS
AI OD: A farewell to Syesha Mercado - VIDEOS
You've got to give her credit, though, for not going down without a fight (though one could argue she didn't put up much of one on her last night in the competition). These past several weeks have seen a blooming of talent and presence that have been nothing short of astounding. Perhaps not since Season One's Kelly Clarkson have we had a contestant who kind of muddle around the middle of the pack for awhile and then just started to shoot for the stars (though I can't say they're in the same class vocally--sorry, Sy). In Syesha Mercado's exit interview she even stated that she considers her Top 3 finish a success.
Continue reading AI OD: A farewell to Syesha Mercado - VIDEOS
Taylor Hicks headed for Broadway
With Clay Aiken having wrapped up his run as Sir Robin in Spamalot, the Idol quotient on Broadway was down. Fortunately for theatergoers, it's Taylor Hicks to the rescue. Kind of. He's a bit of a step down from Clay Aiken, isn't he? I mean, Clay's new album debuted at number four, and Taylor was dropped from his label.
Whichever way you see it, Hicks will be joining the cast of Grease to take on the role of Teen Angel. Should you be in the area, you can head over to the Brooks Atkinson Theater and hear his version of "Beauty School Dropout." An interesting TV side-note, this production of Grease stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm. You may remember them as being the winners of the ill-fated NBC show, You're The One That I Want.
Idol Polls: The Top 3
This way we can analyze how the week's performances affected a contestant's overall popularity, which turns out to be not very much except in a few select cases anymore. Of course, it's all come down to the inevitable finale everyone expected. Unfortunately, it turned out to be rather anticlimactic though it would have been a lot of fun to see our girl Syesha sneak her way into the finale. What it does accomplish is setting up a finale that's almost impossible to predict. Both Davids have been at the top of the polls for weeks now, so it may come down to what they do Tuesday. We'll be back next week on Wednesday before the results to analyze the available polls at that time and see if we can predict the ultimate winner.
Continue reading Idol Polls: The Top 3
AI Aftermath: 4th place finishers - VIDEOS
Welcome back to "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 Jason Castro's elimination last week, we'll be looking at other fourth place finishers.
This week: 4th place finishers, featuring featuring Tamyra Gray (Season One), Joshua Gracin (Season Two), LaToya London (Season Three), Anthony Federov (Season Four), Chris Daughtry (Season Five) and LaKisha Jones (Season Six).
Continue reading AI Aftermath: 4th place finishers - VIDEOS
AI OD: A farewell to Jason Castro - VIDEOS
It's easy to forget that Jason's only been singing a year or so, so unlike most of these other contestants who've been doing this for years in one capacity or another, he's not only new to singing competitions and performing, but new to the discipline of singing altogether. In Jason Castro's exit interview, he said he came into the competition just to see where it would go and didn't even consider the possibility of him winning until more recently.
Continue reading AI OD: A farewell to Jason Castro - VIDEOS
American Idol: My fantasy top ten
So I've begun to fantasize about an all-star AI top ten. Imagine if everyone that you really liked from the top ten of all the past seasons of AI were in the top ten together. I know the top ten can't be all the handsome rocker men I so adore, but it can be a good mix of good music, memorable personalities, and lasting talent.
If memory serves me correctly (and we all know it probably doesn't), these are the contestants that I'd pick, in no particular order:
1. Brooke White, season seven, fifth place
No, I'm not a sucker for a crier. I simply love her singer/songwriter style, something we really haven't ever seen in Idol and something I hope we see more of. When AI started, it was the boy-band voice, then it moved to the rockers; hopefully Brooke has started a new force of no-nonsense talent coming through.
Continue reading American Idol: My fantasy top ten
Idol Polls: The Top 4
This way we can analyze how the week's performances affected a contestant's overall popularity, which turns out to be not very much except in a few select cases anymore. Well, Syesha managed to take all those last place poll positions right into the Top 3 while Jason's miscues and forgotten lyrics made his fans forget to call in for him. It's been building toward a David-David finale, but if we believe that Jason has never placed number one in the votes, then that means Syesha has proven herself capable of beating the Davids head-to-head. Will the inevitable play out or will a David go home? We'll see next week.