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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > January > 20 > Entry
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!
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By Deirdre
January 20, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this
I still have the Idol Rewind with Clay and Ruben on my DVR. I’ll be watching it later today and I’m looking forward to tonight’s episode. I think season 2 was my favorite….a lot of talent!
Kimberly seems like a pretty tough cookie….I think she’ll do well in the business…if not famous, at least well enough to be making a pretty good living at it!
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
January 20, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this
thanks anyway Rodney, lol, I’ve already got the Jordin CD you sent earlier!
No snow at all; in fact, by morning, even the roads were dry because of high winds…so even tho it was 24 degrees, no ice…thank goodness!
later!
By Elise
January 20, 2008 6:35 PM | Link to this
Rodney where’s the stuff about Gone Country that you promised for this week? I thought you were going to review the first episode and post parts of your interviews with the cast?
By Elise
January 20, 2008 6:37 PM | Link to this
Rodney where’s the stuff about Gone Country that you promised for this week? I thought you were going to review the first episode and post parts of your interviews with the cast?
By lisa of cactusiv.com
January 21, 2008 1:45 AM | Link to this
hey… i like your blog a lot. have fun talking to jordin sparks in a few hours. i have an “american idol” columnist who writes here: http://www.cactusiv.com/category/american-idol/ maybe you wanna check her out. - lisa
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 7:56 AM | Link to this
Morning bloggers!
I know I said I’d be full-time today but I forgot about a morning doc appt. I’ll be on in the afternoon.
I watched the third round of semi-finals of season 2 on Idol Rewind last night. Vanessa and Rickey were the winners of this round. I don’t know HOW a great singer and triple personality plus gal like Vanessa got eliminated first in the top 12. something was really wrong with that. And there were at least 2 other singers that were FAR better than Rickey. Nice as he is, I don’t understand HOW he made it to the finals!
By MItch
January 21, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
Hey all, hope everyone had a good weekend. We were forcast to have about 4 inches of snow on Saturday. It snowed for about 8 hours but the temps never dropped below freezing so we just got ended up with wet ground.
Have any of you been watching “Dance Wars” on Monday nights? The actual competition starts tonight. It is 2 teams of 6 competing. They sing and dance. There is some very good talent on there.
I did hear that the AI San Diego tryouts are to broadcast tomorrow night but not sure about Wednesday night.
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this
linny is a big fan of Dance Wars, Mitch and I think kellyfan has been watching, too!
I can’t believe your temps didn’t drop! We’ve been well below freezing for 2 days now and got about 2 inches of snow. I think linny was only rain over in Athens.
By MItch
January 21, 2008 8:41 AM | Link to this
We are well below freezing now. The temps finally dropped after it quit snowing. It is in the teens this AM.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this
Mitch…brrrr!
yes, i’m a big Dance Wars fan; i’m looking forward to how this particular style of competition is handled!
and hey! Nashville Star coming to ABC? do you think that’s just because of the writer’s strike, or do you think it would have come over anyway? It will be interesting to see if they change the format (which i like a lot as it has been).
and, just to get the requisite football reference in, so it looks to be a NE/NY Superbowl; funny how so often the teams will play somewhere soooooo NOT near home! I guess if you need to take a vacation from New England or New York, Arizona’s a GREAT place to have to go!!!
I’ll admit I was ambiguous about the Packers winning… i really wanted it for Favre, but was secretly rooting for the Giants, I think. And no comment is necessary about NE winning… i doubt anyone expected differently, with the exception of the Chargers, of course.
I’m looking forward to the report on the meeting with Jordin; I think she’s a talented young lady with a lot of potential… it will be interesting to hear where she is right now following her success on AI but prior to any real success in the industry in general.
ok….2 minutes to 9, will slip away for a while and check in as work allows… you know how it is!! ~¿@
and top o’ th’ (cold) mornin’ to ya!
By kellyfan
January 21, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
Good morning y’all!
Mitch I’ve been watching Dance War! (Good memory, D.) My faves are Elizabeth and Zack. So it’ll be interesting to see how they do. BTW, sorry the snow didn’t stick. There was still some in my yard and deck this morning.
WE, sorry the Pack didn’t make it. I was rooting for them too. Now I definitely have to say, Go PATS!
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this
Mornin’ kellyfan… I sort of agree re Zack and Elizabeth — Funny that we like the seemingly most experienced, mature guy, and the “underdog” female who vowed to fight her way up…and did!
Tell you who puts me off a bit, tho’ he’s a good dancer, is Phillip. All that posing with the “model” style flipping of his jacket/vest/chest, whatever, puts me off off off! And while I do think that they eliminated the right girl last week to finalize the teams, I wasn’t totally convinced that the right guy was let off….
once I saw the last 3 guys dance … i was hoping they’d be kept together … they made quite a troupe! but they guy with the shaggy hair that was cut… his voice really intrigued me, so i was sorry to see him go… a little ambiguity there, i guess.
have you heard exactly what the voting will be for? what effect votes will have, week to week? i mean, i understand they are competing as teams… surely they are not going to vote dancers off the show! i guess, LOL, i’ll have to wait till tonight to get told, eh?
By MItch
January 21, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this
I’m glad that Nashville Star is moving to a major network (NBC, linny). The article stated that USA Network had decided not to renew it. Auditions start next month and it will air in Summer. This year it will be open to soloists, duets & bands.
I just the winners would get the respect that AI has gotten. Bucky, Kellie & Josh have had country success but the winners of Nashville Star all seem to fade.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
OOPS…did I say ABC? my bad!! thanks Mitch… I think Rodney mentioned something about duets and bands too, or maybe I heard that somewhere else. I’m looking forward to it, however.
Exception: Miranda Lambert was a 2003 NStar finalist, right? and she’s doing JUST fine! i think it took her a little longer without the “machine” behind her… hopefully the Hackers will do as well! she shoulda won, lol! well maybe not, maybe NOT winning drove her a little harder!
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
Back from my annual breast crushing! :-(
I haven’t been watching Dance Wars because I’ve become a Sarah Conner Chronicles fan.
Re the football game…..did anyone else notice that it looked like the Giant’s coach was about 10 minutes away from frostbite on his cheeks when the game ended. Those guys are all going to be grateful to play in Arizona…although I hear it can get pretty cold there at night during the winter.
By MItch
January 21, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this
Miranda Lambert finished 2nd or 3rd the first year behind Buddy Jewell. Buddy had good chart success with his first CD but not much since. Brad Cotter, Erica Jo, Chris Young & Angela Hacker have had almost no chart success at all with Chris Young being the only one to really break the top 40 Country Chart with Drinking Me Lonely.
By MItch
January 21, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this
Phil Stacey releases debut in April Friday, January 18, 2008 – American Idol season 6 finalist Phil Stacey will release his debut CD on Tax Day. The album is produced by Grammy Award winner Wayne Kirkpatrick. Stacey’s debut will include his first single, “If You Didn’t Love Me,” which was just released to country radio last week. The song was written by Wendell Mobley, Jason Sellers and Rascal Flatts’s Gary LeVox.
In 2007, Stacey came to national attention when he performed for 11 weeks during his competition on American Idol. His renditions of the country hits “Where The Blacktop Ends,” “The Change” and “I Need You” were among his most praised performances of the season. Following his time on American Idol, Stacey toured with his fellow contestants over the summer on a 55-city tour before moving to Nashville with wife Kendra and their two daughters to pursue his country music career.
By kellyfan
January 21, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
Linny, I’m not sure about the voting. I seem to remember it being something like, you vote for the groups. Bruno and Carrie Ann choose the weak link and those get sent home. Of course, I could be wrong since that doesn’t sound very fair…
And here’s a lesson to read slower: I read D’s line as “back from my annual breast cruising…” So I read that again, and it made a LOT more sense the second time. Sorry, D! I hear them things are painful. Invented by a man, no doubt.
Mitch, you’re like the country encyclopedia. Thanks for sharing…and I do like Miranda Lambert. I’m guessing War Eagle does too. If only a little. ;)
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
I always liked Phil Stacy…nice guy, good voice. have you heard his single, Mitch?
By MItch
January 21, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this
I haven’t yet, D but I have been looking for it. I will let you know when I do.
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this
kellyfan…the old joke about mammograms is..try to imagine lying down in your garage and having someone drive an SUV over your breast. Only…that’s no joke! They’re supposed to get easier as you get older but I haven’t really found that to be the case yet!
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 11:07 AM | Link to this
Thanks, Mitch…I’ll look around, too!
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this
kf…. cruising, LOL! no, believe me, it’s pretty crushing — and painful too! you almost have to be a masochist to tolerate it!!! shudder!
OK, i checked out the official site…. here’s what i found:
Toll-free voting will remain open for 1 hour after the show subject to time zone and broadcast feed limitations, and online voting will be open until 9pm ET/6pm PT Tuesdays. You may vote up to 5 times per phone number or per email address. Any votes that exceed this limitation will not be counted.
which begs the question: why can’t AI limit votes like everyone ELSE seems to be able to do? or why DON’T they is probably a better question.
and to answer the more important question about Dance Wars, the site says:
The fate of the teams is in the hands of viewers who will vote for their favorite group each week. The captain of the lowest scoring team — whether it be Bruno or Carrie Ann — will face the dilemma of having to choose one of their performers for elimination. The champions will win a life changing prize - they’ll go on tour as the opening act for a major performing artist and a chance to start a thrilling career as part of a brand new all-dancing, all-singing act.
so not only does the TEAM need to work hard and work hard together, so that the TEAM doesn’t lose a member, each member best be in top form to try to avoid being removed IF their team loses that week’s vote! WOW. This could be really interesting!
Mitch, I have to say, watching Nashville Star actually raised my enjoyment of listening to country music, and Bucky’s CD was just so much fun too… I’ve always been a bit on the fringe of country music… found myself actually tuning it in more often now! (well….to be honest YOU helped too, feeding information and links that enhanced my enjoyment :-) thanks!)
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this
I found one, Mitch!
mjsbigblog.com/first-listen-to-new-phil- stacy-single.htm
Or google Phil Stacey single release
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
I’m confused about providing links. Do I put the site to link to in the brackets and follow it with ajc.com in parenthesis or do I write text to be linked in the brackets and follow it with the site link in parentheses?
By flats
January 21, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this
I’m back….Strange weather!!!Looking back on some comments last Friday!!!..:-)….Pats and Giants!!!!!Pats will blow the out by 21.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 11:59 AM | Link to this
D, I’ve never really figured it out either, but i THINK you put text such as “Phil’s New Single” in brackets with the actual site link in parens… in fact let me try it here…
Phil’s New Single
and let’s see what happens… (using the link you had above)
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this
I guess we put the link in the brackets!
By MItch
January 21, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
Thanks D, I just listened and it is very good. I can’t wait to see what it does on the charts.
I had to search a little bit but try this link:
http://mjsbigblog.com/first-listen-to-new-phil-stacey-single.htm
(may not have worked for me without the “http”) then click the “Philnatics” link.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
ok well the CONCEPT was right…evidently the LINK was not, LOL… i probably didn’t copy it entirely or something…
hey greg! you were gone? duck
let’s see, i’ll try another one that should work: click the link for Dance Wars information :-)
By flats
January 21, 2008 12:11 PM | Link to this
LOL!!!!!!I stretched out 2 snow days!!!Just happy to see the blog doing well.
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
I liked it, too, Mitch! I’ve always liked his voice and think it’s very suited to country.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this
i enjoyed Phil’s song also :-)
later…lunch!
By War Eagle (from home)
January 21, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
Hello Everyone.
I got MLK day off and i’m taking advantage by cleaning the garage.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
oh gee War Eagle, that sounds like fun! It also sounds like the kind of thing I should have done over the weekend, LOL! But… didn’t :-(
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
Wow, War Eagle!!! That’s no way to spend a day off!
I just got back from Krogering and it’s still VERY cold out there!
By War Eagle (from home)
January 21, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
I’ve been putting it off Linny, I’m one of those kind of men that don’t throw anything away because I might need it “one day”
By War Eagle (from home)
January 21, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this
Hey D, I’ve put it off to long. It was starting to get embarrassing
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
GAWD! is there a self-help group for folks like us, WE? My husband’s worse than I am, and I’m not exactly an amateur at it, LOL! “Honey that fan is falling apart, the plastic is brittle, the blades are even getting a bit ragged, the stand is rusty….can’t we just throw it out?” “No, dear, I might be able to fix it one day…”
yeah. “Dear, do you really need to keep all this yarn left over from projects you worked on 10 years ago?” “Of COURSE I do! I might want this exact color on my very next project!”
yeah. On top of which we moved 22 years ago from a larger house than we own now… AND it had a functional attic! This one has an attic but it’s almost totally inaccessible, and has only a dirt-floor basement (well it’s MORE than a crawl space…)
so i gotcha, totally!
By War Eagle (from home)
January 21, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this
Well’ I’m gonna get back at it. I’ll be back tomorrow.
By flats
January 21, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this
Eagle..enyoy your MLK holiday.I forgot all about today being a holiday..been trying to call my bank all morning!!Happy MLK Day everyone.
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 2:17 PM | Link to this
I understand about needing to finish a project, War Eagle…you should see the state of my bathroom!!!! :-)
By Rodney Ho
January 21, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
Elise: The show debuts Friday so I’m going to post the Gone Country stuff later in the week. I promise!