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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > April > 02
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
4/2: Top 9 results show - bye bye Ramiele Malubay!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ramiele is cute and has a decent voice but she’s got several issues: awkward stage presence, minimal charisma and a poor ability to pick songs. In summary, bland and forgettable, as Simon might say. So it’s time for Ramiele Malubay to go home tonight. And thank goodness, she does. I was never a real fan, never loved any of her performances.
On the bright side, she was far better than several past contestants such as Lindsey Cardinale, Camile Velasco, Mikalah Gordon, Julia DeMato and last year’s yawner Haley Scarnato. Faint praise, I fathom.
I’m at a Ron White concert but someone texted me that I finally got it right after four weeks. I also got Kristy Lee Cook correct as part of the bottom two but instead of Carly, it was Brooke’s first appearance in the bottom three. This means every gal now has been in the bottom three and only the two Davids and Michael have escaped that fate.
UPDATED: It appears I didn’t miss too much else. The group sing of “9 to 5” was amusing mostly because the singers hung out with the judges. The Clark Brothers were impressive as always. And will Simon stop apologizing when he insults somebody, as he promised after someone asked him why he did that. The “what’s up with past Idols” piece out of Nashville was fun. A little catch up with Bucky Covington (who I interviewed last week for a CMT preview next week.) and Phil Stacey, who has added some facial hair (if not hair on top of his head.) They also did a short bit with Bo Bice, who noted he had severe intestinal surgery and took a year off. He noted how his new album is more to his roots than his first album. “Do what you love, genuinely give it what you’ve got and that’s what ‘See the Light’ is all about,” he said. And he’s a dad.
In terms of the order of safety and elimination, Ryan had all nine in the back and brought them out one by one. He placed Michael, Carly and the two Davids in the safety zone before placing Ramiele and Kristy to the bottom three seats. Later, he gave Syesha a thumbs up. Brooke and Jason are given the last slots. Brooke is at the bottom three. I think the fact she went first hurt her because I thought she didn’t do badly at all.
Simon agreed with the bottom three (all roomies!).
In advance of “Idol Gives Back,” there’s a video showing how difficult life can be in Ethiopia and how some of the $76 million raised last year helped out some children there, including a reunion of two sisters. Finally, there’s Dolly Parton doing “Jesus & Gravity.” She sounds a bit rough but she did a better job than Diana Ross last year. The choir helps hide some of the vocal flaws near the end. And for a 62 year old, she looks better than Priscilla Presley. (Her plastic surgery isn’t quite so plastique.)
And yes, Ramiele, even through tears, did better with her song post elimination than the day before. The producers also managed to ensure she got her entire song in before 19 logo came up. They’ve had better luck doing that this year. I think the times when they cut people’s exit song occurred more often when they had only 30 minutes.
Not much happened from the Nigel Lythgoe press conference today about “Idol Gives Back” except that he confirmed the TMZ report about David Cook’s heart palpitations and high blood pressure. He also said Mariah won’t be doing a duet with the late Marvin Gaye because the show couldn’t get clearance. He’s psyched to see Heart come on the show. And he’s looking forward to whatever antics Robin Williams will be up to. Part of the show is going to be taped Sunday and part will be live on Wednesday. And yes, Ellen DeGeneres can’t host the Sunday portion due to some strange production conflict. He said after two questions about Cook rather emphatically that he would only take questions about “Idol Gives Back’ so I dropped asking him about Michael Johns and went to the “is the Mariah/Marvin duet going to happen?” At least I got a newsworthy answer.
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4/2: Michael Johns viewing party photos at Tin Roof Cantina
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Jason Ingram, 34, a production graphics expert from Atlanta, shares a laugh with Soozz Graham, an Australian native and 32-year-old nanny living in Buckhead. Johns gave his long-time friend Ingram a ticket to see the March 25 show. (Johns gets four tickets per show.) Graham is set to go next Tuesday, April 8.
Michael Johns has some dedicated friends in Atlanta. Every week, about 20 of them gathered on the patio of the Tin Roof Cantina, now on Briarcliff, to cheer on Johns on “Idol.” Tin Roof used to be in Buckhead, where Johns lived and worked for many years and amusingly, is still cited as his home on the show itself although he has been in Los Angeles for three years. Virtually all these folks hung out at CJ’s Landing when he performed there regularly. They’d hold these parties at CJ’s but it was part of Buckhead Village that has since been torn down.
Cary Franklin, a former pro tennis player who spent a lot of time hitting balls with Johns, said he got drunk plenty of times watching Johns. “I went up and sang Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler’ a few times on stage. It wasn’t pretty - at least me.” He said Dean Roland of Collective Soul was hanging out backstage giving Johns some advice and support Tuesday night.
Blaine Terry, an air conditioning company sales guy, said he was still in school when he saw Johns perform when Johns was Michael Lee at CJ’s and quickly became a fan. “He was so freakin’ good. He was very in with the crowd, very interactive, an amazing voice, a good guitar player, real entertaining. He never stopped. He’d play from 10:30 til 4 a.m. And he’d sing the hits.”
Marc Thomes, another close Johns friend and an attorney, even remembers the first three songs Johns sung in his presence that got him hooked: “She Talks to Angels” by the Black Crowes, “Meet Virginia” by Train and “Black” by Pearl Jam. “He’s got that charisma and tone in his voice that immediately made me think of Bono,” he said .
His buds were very protective of the man, singing his praises, avoiding any stories related to any drunken revelry. The most amusing bit was about his love for bacon. Johns loves the Waffle House, the only obvious option in town after his late-night gigs to eat. He’d have a tip jar at CJ’s he’d call the “Waffle House” tip jar and he’d use some of that cash to order bacon at a local Waffle House. Often times, he’d order so much, he’d have to be cut off because the staff worried they’d run out, according to his friend Jason Ingram, a 34-year-old Atlanta production graphics specialist.
Several folks at the party Tuesday night have attended the “Idol” shows. Johns gets four tickets per show. His wife Stacy usually gets one but he has been doling them out to his buds in Atlanta, too. They cheered him on with gusto but were kind to the other contestants, too, though many laughed and clapped when Simon insulted Carly Smithson’s fashion sense.
ABOVE: Vince Guyomade (left) and Dave Sysko cheer on Johns after his performance of “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” on the patio of Tin Roof Cantina on Briarcliff Rd. off North Druid Hills.
ABOVE: Jason Ingram watches Johns’ performance April 1 with his wife Lacey.
ABOVE: Johns on the TV screen at Tin Roof Cantina.
ABOVE: (L-R) Australian native Brent Bacon, Christi Smith, Soozz Graham and Nikki Turpin.
ABOVE: Rebecca Terry votes for Michael Johns after the Dolly Parton show.
THE MAGIC OF TEXTING: Gabe Gehret, a 30-year-old mortgage broker, estimates he can vote up to 2,000 times for Johns in two hours thanks to text messaging, far more than you could by phone.
In other “Idol” news:
Funny quote: “I wonder what Seacrest is doing now” - Brian Dunkleman, dressed in scuba gear doing a challenge in 80 degree heat on a Malibu beach on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp.” This is indeed the Dunk’s biggest gig since “American Idol.”
The Nigel Lythgoe press conference is at 4 p.m. If he says anything fascinating, I’ll post it immediately, else, I’ll wait til tomorrow. If you have any good questions, email me at rho@ajc.com.
Mariah Carey reports on her Web site that she’s dueting with the very dead Marvin Gaye, probably similar to what Celine did wtih Elvis a year ago. The show is taping Sunday and will air Wednesday April 9. She will duet “What’s Goin’ On.” (UPDATED: It isn’t happening. I just asked Nigel Lythgoe about it and he said they couldn’t clear the rights for Marvin Gaye so this isn’t happening. I didn’t get to do a followup to ask if some other dead person might pair up with Mariah. She will be there.)
