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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > January > 20
Sunday, January 20, 2008
1/21: Weekend tidbits
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m planning to talk to Jordin Sparks in person at Star 94 studios at 10 a.m. Monday morning. Email me at rho@ajc.com if you’d like to me to have her personally autograph a CD for any of you. Please email me by 9 a.m. Monday so this is truly rewarding any Sunday readers and early risers on why you’d want this and provide me your name and address so I can email the CD to you.
DJSlim has provided the audio for Renaldo Lopez’s obnoxiously catchy tune “We’re Brothers Forever” here:
Here’s a mostly positive review of the Reba McEntire/Kelly Clarkson concert in Ohio.. Too bad it’s not coming here. I’d love to see that!
I watched the second semifinal round of season two on “American Idol Rewind.” This was the group with the ultimate final three: Clay, Ruben and Kimberley. A couple of the also-rans weren’t half bad though I have zero memory of several of them. Hadas? Who? She screams the chorus of “You Light Up My Life.” I liked Candice Coleman’s smokey voice and while Rebecca Bond was a bit overly stylized, she had a bit of Toni Braxton in her. Jacob John Smalley has some sex appeal though he was like Justin Lite. Jennifer Fuentes rung a very vague bell. She dared take on Whitney’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and it feels very karaoke and very loud.
Clay’s “Open Arms” was good, if not his best performance. But he clearly has something about him, a goofy charisma that we’d love (or hate.) Even skeptical Simon sensed Clay could go far. He made the top 3 but just missed the top 2. The Claymates hadn’t quite formed at that point! Ruben said he knew Clay would be tough competition and admitted in 2007 that he thought at the time: “It was a breath of fresh air. Awright! He’s going home!” But Clay came back for the wildcard episode and we know the rest.
Ruben’s charm and vocal control jumped through the screen while he sang what would become a staple song for him, “Superstar.” This joyful performance clearly helped push him to the top of the heap early on. (Those 205 shirts didn’t hurt either.) Randy gave him a standing o. Paula hugged him. “You are what this competition is all about,” Simon said. In a 2007 interview, he said he actually recycled that song from the Hollywood round because the Donny Hathaway song he was going to sing wasn’t working out with the piano accompanist.
Kimberley Locke took her earlier audition song and what would also be a signature for her, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” While that was a good performance, I wasn’t totally sold on Kimberley until midway through the competition and she sang “New York State of Mind.” Randy and Paula gave her a standing ovation, but Simon only gave her a 4.5 in personality. She sassed back at him and said he’s a zero in personality. “I thought you were sexy,” she said. “You suck!” In 2007, she said she worried afterwards if the public would take that exchange the wrong way. (They didn’t.) I forgot about that little exchange!
