Since American Idol already sucks up way too much of my time, I don't usually do a pre-show post. But a couple of things are going on with this particular batch of contestants (or ex-contestants, in one case) that I need to discuss.
First up is one of my least favorite contestants, Didi Benami—she of the affected vocals and endless supply of crocodile tears. Now, every year there is at least one Idol hopeful who seems to have "plant" written all over him or her. I've never really gotten too riled up over these so-called plants because most of them are just people who have tried and failed to make it big, and American Idol is just another avenue for them to go down. That's fine. But when these plants have possible ties to the AI judges (see: Carly Smithson) or 19 Management (see: Joanna Pacitti, who was infamously disqualified last year), well, that's a problem.
And it seems that there is a problem with Didi. Her "roots" to Kara DioGuardi are showing. According to a story in the LA Times, Didi once collaborated with songwriter Jason Reeves, who just happens to be a frequent collaborator of Kara's. And Didi's Hollywood audition song, "Terrified," just happens to be a DioGuardi/Reeves track, which just happens to be on Katharine McPhee's new album, which just happened to be released a week before the Hollywood Week shows aired. And, of course, after that audition, the digital sales of Kat's version went through the roof and "Terrified" is slated to be her next single. My, how coincidental this all is!
Jason has responded to the controversy (via Twitter, what else), saying, "For the record, I never told Kara anything about Didi, or any of the judges. She made it in as fair as everyone else." OK, but Hollywood Week is filmed during the summer. How did she audition with a song that hadn't even been released yet? Either Jason just used his friend Didi to give his song a boost (and sell more records for the AI machine), or there's something a little more shady going on. And, of course, I vote for shady. I mean, if the judges hadn't been tipped off about her, wouldn't they wonder how she knew about "Terrified?" But no one batted an eye. If you watch the audition on YouTube (linked above), it certainly seemed like a planned PR stunt for Kat's record. Simon talked about how much he liked Kara's song, and then he tried to make everyone think that Didi has absolutely no ties to anyone in the music biz by mentioning that she's a waitress several times. Nice.
This is all just a lot of words to say that I hope this broad gets voted off. And soon. (Well, maybe not too soon. I just picked her to be part of the Top 5 in some dork's AI pool.)
Next up is one of my favorite contestants, Alex Lambert—he of the smooth voice, silky mullet and puppy dog eyes. Poor little Alex was eliminated last week, which immediately sent the Internetz into a tailspin. "Alex Lambert" immediately became the hot Twitter trending topic (and it's still going strong), and people everywhere expressed their outrage over his ouster.
One fan actually created a petition, demanding that Alex be let back on the show. According to the creator, 400 signatures were collected within two hours of posting the petition online. It now has over 15,500 signatures and may very well reach its goal of 25,000—though probably not before 8:00 pm tonight.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I signed the thing. I'm not really one for this attitude of "when you don't get your way, whine until someone caves," but I think it's kind of interesting that Alex is the first Idol hopeful to inspire this kind of action. This may not be the first AI-related petition ever made, but it's the only one I know of, and it's the only one that's gotten this much attention.
I'd like to point this out to fellow blogger, Travis, who responded to my conspiracy theorist rantings last week with, "Two choices...accept that people like who they like and they may not like who you like, or quit watching." Ah, you see, all of that rambling wasn't just about my personal preferences. I realize that not everyone likes the same contestants. But I pay attention. I listen to all the Idol gossip and lurk around the messageboards, so I know who has the biggest and/or most vocal fanbases. So, when someone with a huge fanbase gets booted in favor of contestants no one talks about (like Paige, Lacey and Aaron), you have to wonder what happened. Two choices...either devoted fans simply don't vote enough or TPTB are effing with the votes. Being the jaded, untrusting soul that I am, I usually lean towards the latter. Besides, what's easier to believe: rabid fans who would follow their favorite Idol to the ends of the earth just decided not to pick up the phone or AI producers are manipulative scum?
So now, I'm actually intrigued to see what would happen to AI if they do cave to the public (and Demi Moore) and bring Alex back. You know that all of his fellow contestants who were crying when he was eliminated will be singing a different tune if his return means that one of them might have to go in his place. And if one contestant can circumvent the voting process, why couldn't they all? Every subsequent elimination would be disputed! It would be anarchy! And then this show would implode and I'd find something more productive to do on Tuesday nights.
First up is one of my least favorite contestants, Didi Benami—she of the affected vocals and endless supply of crocodile tears. Now, every year there is at least one Idol hopeful who seems to have "plant" written all over him or her. I've never really gotten too riled up over these so-called plants because most of them are just people who have tried and failed to make it big, and American Idol is just another avenue for them to go down. That's fine. But when these plants have possible ties to the AI judges (see: Carly Smithson) or 19 Management (see: Joanna Pacitti, who was infamously disqualified last year), well, that's a problem.And it seems that there is a problem with Didi. Her "roots" to Kara DioGuardi are showing. According to a story in the LA Times, Didi once collaborated with songwriter Jason Reeves, who just happens to be a frequent collaborator of Kara's. And Didi's Hollywood audition song, "Terrified," just happens to be a DioGuardi/Reeves track, which just happens to be on Katharine McPhee's new album, which just happened to be released a week before the Hollywood Week shows aired. And, of course, after that audition, the digital sales of Kat's version went through the roof and "Terrified" is slated to be her next single. My, how coincidental this all is!
Jason has responded to the controversy (via Twitter, what else), saying, "For the record, I never told Kara anything about Didi, or any of the judges. She made it in as fair as everyone else." OK, but Hollywood Week is filmed during the summer. How did she audition with a song that hadn't even been released yet? Either Jason just used his friend Didi to give his song a boost (and sell more records for the AI machine), or there's something a little more shady going on. And, of course, I vote for shady. I mean, if the judges hadn't been tipped off about her, wouldn't they wonder how she knew about "Terrified?" But no one batted an eye. If you watch the audition on YouTube (linked above), it certainly seemed like a planned PR stunt for Kat's record. Simon talked about how much he liked Kara's song, and then he tried to make everyone think that Didi has absolutely no ties to anyone in the music biz by mentioning that she's a waitress several times. Nice.
This is all just a lot of words to say that I hope this broad gets voted off. And soon. (Well, maybe not too soon. I just picked her to be part of the Top 5 in some dork's AI pool.)
Next up is one of my favorite contestants, Alex Lambert—he of the smooth voice, silky mullet and puppy dog eyes. Poor little Alex was eliminated last week, which immediately sent the Internetz into a tailspin. "Alex Lambert" immediately became the hot Twitter trending topic (and it's still going strong), and people everywhere expressed their outrage over his ouster.One fan actually created a petition, demanding that Alex be let back on the show. According to the creator, 400 signatures were collected within two hours of posting the petition online. It now has over 15,500 signatures and may very well reach its goal of 25,000—though probably not before 8:00 pm tonight.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I signed the thing. I'm not really one for this attitude of "when you don't get your way, whine until someone caves," but I think it's kind of interesting that Alex is the first Idol hopeful to inspire this kind of action. This may not be the first AI-related petition ever made, but it's the only one I know of, and it's the only one that's gotten this much attention.
I'd like to point this out to fellow blogger, Travis, who responded to my conspiracy theorist rantings last week with, "Two choices...accept that people like who they like and they may not like who you like, or quit watching." Ah, you see, all of that rambling wasn't just about my personal preferences. I realize that not everyone likes the same contestants. But I pay attention. I listen to all the Idol gossip and lurk around the messageboards, so I know who has the biggest and/or most vocal fanbases. So, when someone with a huge fanbase gets booted in favor of contestants no one talks about (like Paige, Lacey and Aaron), you have to wonder what happened. Two choices...either devoted fans simply don't vote enough or TPTB are effing with the votes. Being the jaded, untrusting soul that I am, I usually lean towards the latter. Besides, what's easier to believe: rabid fans who would follow their favorite Idol to the ends of the earth just decided not to pick up the phone or AI producers are manipulative scum?
So now, I'm actually intrigued to see what would happen to AI if they do cave to the public (and Demi Moore) and bring Alex back. You know that all of his fellow contestants who were crying when he was eliminated will be singing a different tune if his return means that one of them might have to go in his place. And if one contestant can circumvent the voting process, why couldn't they all? Every subsequent elimination would be disputed! It would be anarchy! And then this show would implode and I'd find something more productive to do on Tuesday nights.
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In a related note, I read on CNN today that the American Idol producers are running the North Korean presidential election.