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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > June > 23 > Entry
6/24: Syesha Mercado models in a bikini for OK magazine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Third-place finisher Syesha Mercado appears to be following the Kat McPhee post-Idol path by modeling. Here’s a shot of her from OK magazine.
Are you a fan of bikinis?
I did one photo shoot where I was doing a few bikini shots and it was fun. And it was actually somebody I knew, so I was a little bit more comfortable. But this, to me, is just a lot of fun.
Welcome to summer everyone! Thank you Syesha!
-I mentioned the Forbes Celebrity 100 last week where Simon Cowell ranked No. 22. Here’s the full feature from the magazine about Cowell. It’s definitely worth a read and just think—he makes about $1 million per “Idol” episode! And for a guy who used to badmouth precocious teens (think Diana DeGarmo), he is now supporting a move to reduce the age of “Idol’ to 14 years old. Good idea? I’m not too excited. Then again, Archuleta acts and looks about 14.
His harsh putdowns and bravado have put Cowell in position number 22 on our Celebrity 100 list. Last year he pulled in $72 million, $45 million from Idol, $15 million from Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor (he owns both and appears as a judge on each) and $12 million of profit from his record label, which features past Idol winners.
Cowell knows his days as Mr. Nasty are numbered. “You end up on a reality show and start believing you’re a TV star,” he says. “I’m not. My act is quite limited.”
So Cowell is trying to build his company, Syco, into an entertainment phenom to produce television programs, records and movies—without featuring Simon Cowell.
-And since we fellow bloggers are always willing to pat each other on the back, I’m thanking Ken Barnes of the USA Today Idol Chatter for calling my blog “exemplary.” I may have to save that for my next review!
-For those of you thinking about David Cook all the time, he’s still dating Kimberly Caldwell!. The entertainment press is still gaga over this combo!
-And interested in auditioning at the “American Idol Experience” at the Hollywood Disney studios in early 2009? Here’s the scoop from a blogger named Jim Hill.. It’s set up so only 120 people make it to the second round, then 15 to 18 to a third round. A winner each day will get a “Fast Pass” to the front of the audition line at a particular audition city the following season (presumably for 2010 for most of 2009.) Based on what this blogger heard, this sounds like a lot of fun.
-Finally, MJ talks about some changes in Canadian Idol, which added instruments before American Idol. Now they are allowing video auditions and they have dropped the equal gender requirement for the final 24. Good ideas? Bad ideas?
Comments
By JTesla
June 23, 2008 5:41 PM | Link to this
Rodney, you are my hero!
By Menana
June 23, 2008 5:51 PM | Link to this
Syesha looks hot in the ad. One can’t say she doesn’t have a bod.
I sincerely hope AI does NOT lower the age. Simon was always the one stating teens shouldn’t be on. Now he has changed his mind? If anything, I feel they should up the ages as we all spoke about earlier on the blog.
By JTesla
June 23, 2008 6:33 PM | Link to this
We’ll I haven’t spoke much on the issue, at least not that I can remember, but I say keep the age limit where it is at. I don’t think we should change it just because Archie was overly annoying. Plenty of younger former contestants were quite mature and talented.
If Syesha looked like that during the competition she would have won.
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
June 23, 2008 11:30 PM | Link to this
ok, Nashville Star report — the ladies’ eye candy (Justin Gaston the model) has gone home, 1 week too soon, because he BROUGHT it tonight… too late! Interesting show…they did pop songs made country … almost everyone pulled it off, tho’ some of the song choices were nothing short of WEIRD to me, LOL. Gabe Garcia is still getting all the lovin’ from the fans, and even though Melissa is a talent to reckon with, she’s still coming in low in the votes. She’s lost weight, sings great, and deserves more respect, imho, for her sheer talent.
nite y’all
By Harmony
June 24, 2008 12:17 AM | Link to this
Enough with all the new reality shows, I can’t keep up with them all!
Menana, hope they find the truck and the person that stole it soon! People need to leave other peoples stuff alone!
Husband had micro-surgery and skin grafts on his finger Friday,doctor expects good results.
I would have preferred Tommy Stanley leaving on Nashville Star. For no apparent reason I think Clay is the mole. I think DeAnna was right to send Graham home!
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY RODNEY!!!!!!!
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
June 24, 2008 2:36 AM | Link to this
Harmony i absolutely agree, Tommy should have been the one to go… but unfortunately for Justin, the votes were cast based on last week’s performance, and our eye candy wasn’t to hot LAST week, LOL. oh well. I hope it comes down to Gabe and Melissa… but Pearl Heart is shaping up nicely … and Laura and Sophie are improving too, on performance skills…i still don’t like the redhead-allysa?allyson? whatever her name is… i just don’t like her…
By DawnH
June 24, 2008 7:37 AM | Link to this
Good morning all. OK - I caught most of Nashville Star last night. OMG - that is the worst “talent show” on TV. What were those 2 girls wearing - and they actually liked the Ellie Mae dresses saying they hoped they would be able to wear them again! I missed Gabe but saw Melissa. She was terrific. Billy Ray… oh for Pete’s sake… it is like watching a zombie try to host a show. He is probably the worst I’ve ever seen. Somebody needs to give him a script! Pop goes country!? I don’t think so, although it certainly did go south.
If this was my first “look” at country music, I would never turn on a country radio station. And Jewel, hair pulled back with those big a$$ hoops. When she said anything, all I could see were those hoops.
Positive comments? Thank goodness they don’t have a second show to get rid of the “singer” voted off. It is all done in one night.
By Deirdre
June 24, 2008 7:42 AM | Link to this
Morning!
Tonight…Wipeout, followed by I Survived a Japanese Game Show. If you’ve ever seen a Japanese game show, this style of human humiliation is actually pretty funny. Some people are remarkably good at the ‘events’ while others are…well, you remember American Idol auditions. Not everyone’s kind of humor but worth a shot. Kinda takes you back to the old days of slapstick..Soupy Sales, Laugh-in…but in game show form.
By Deirdre
June 24, 2008 7:59 AM | Link to this
Dawn…I caught almost all of Nashville Star last night as well and was bored to tears! The talent is just ok, the judges are so-so and Billy Ray is so awful it makes my eyes water!!!! Give him a script??? Most of the time he’s reading the cue cards like a 2nd grader standing in front of his class. Monotone, pausing in the wrong place, OMG he was awful!
I like country music but that show misses the mark by a mile.
And what’s with John Rich trying to be the country Simon Cowell?
By DawnH
June 24, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this
D - I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks NS is awful. I, too, love country music but thank goodness this wasn’t my first peek at it. For those folks who aren’t into country music, I’m sure they will never give it a chance - I wouldn’t! And I seriously doubt any najor networks will pick it up next year.
As for John Rich, he lost all credibility for me when he hosted that country crossover show and then picked Julio Iglasias (sp?) as the winner. He talks about how he expects to hear country from everyone, but chose a Latin singer in the previous show. And while I didn’t watch the crossover show, I hear Julio did not sound very country!
By Deirdre
June 24, 2008 8:24 AM | Link to this
linny and Menana…I apologize…I know that y’all enjoy this show…and I’ve been entertained by it in the past. I think Melissa is good but not great. The trio was pretty good….I DID NOT get why the judges liked the guy who did Living La Vida Loca….I thought it was awful. I liked the girl with the really dark hair…other than that, :-p
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
June 24, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this
going Network has destroyed the fun that was Nashville Star, I’ll give you that! To explain the “cupcake” girls…they are 16 and 18 year old friends who’ve been singing in a group (like choir) for about 7+ years and are best friends. their harmonies are killer. but because they’re the “babies” of the contest, someone seems determined to push that image, UNFORTUNATELY.
Dawn, DITTO on JR — his i’m so pure country BS is … well just that — BS. and i could not agree with you guys more about BRC — that guy is WORSE as a “host/mc” than he was as a Dancer on DWTS!!!! i didn’t think it was possible!!!
but i’m still watching — Melissa, the “plus size” gal, is incredible vocally, frankly
and plus you guys have to understand, last nights’ songs were … well they chose them BUT they had to choose a “pop” song and make it “country” … some of the songs chosen were frightening!!!
By Deirdre
June 24, 2008 8:40 AM | Link to this
I’ll give you that, linny…the ‘pop into country’ theme was an obvious attempt to imitate Idol and it failed miserably. I’ll give the show another shot but I can’t promise much. (but then, I’m the one who has been recommending game shows….my taste may be questionable)
By harrietth
June 24, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this
Good morning, all. I have been missing all of the great conversation lately. I went down to the SC coast last week to meet some high school friends for our annual reunion lunch at Murrell’s Inlet, SC. Beautiful setting, and a great time. Of course, it has been many moons since high school, but after a class reunion about seven years ago, some of us started meeting annually, just to catch up, spend some time eating seafood, and just enjoying watching the boats go out in the inlet. Also, yesterday was the pits, getting back to work, fielding phone calls, responding to e-mailss, etc. So, this is the first time I have been able to check in. I missed everyone. Did I miss anything pertinent?
I agree with both sides of the NS debate this morning. It certainly pales in comparison to Idol, which certainly was its inspiration. And, like you, linny, I believe much has been lost in the translation to network tv. It was a much better show the way it was—not so much attempting to be “slick.” The judges were country and not poor imitations. Having said that, D, the guy who did Livin La Vida Loca is actually the best pure country singer in the competition. That song did not fit him at all, even given his hispanic heritage. All in all, I probably wouldn’t watch it at all if there was another singing competition to be had. I will continue to watch, even though it is not great.
By Lara
June 24, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
Morning blogsters!!
I was exhausted last night and missed NS and The Mole. I will have to play catch up tonight and let you know what I though. As for the “eye candy” being gone, good, because I think he really discredited the show (not that they need help with that this year). He made it through on his looks, cause he is just a so-so high school talent show singer.
As for Simon wanting to lower the age - dude looked at his audience and the age of the ones voting and saw a cash cow!!! of course he wants to lower it, get all those 12 year old girls to use up all their texting for the month!
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
June 24, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
Lara — unfortunately, if you DVR’d or TiVo’d NS last night, you’ll see that ‘eye candy’ actually showed remarkable improvement last night — no, he was in NO way near the top of the heap, in fact, he and Tommy deservedly were in the bottom 2, i think Allison (sp?) the redhead should have been the third-bottom, personally…
i like Shawn (the dark haired hyper one) a lot, but just because she is “ballsy” — not because she’s great talent.
i just HATE what NBC has done to the show — and frankly, i don’t think the producers are happy either, because each week the format has changed —
week 1 - only BRC as host, otherwise basically similar to CMT’s version
week 2 - some blonde joins BRC in the hosting duties, but only minimally (but it helped a LOT relieve him from having to speak); no down to the wire with the voted-off NOT singing, but at least it went down to the bottom 2 before you knew WHO it was
week 3 - adding dancers, some pop group (GAWD they were AWFUL — pussycatdoll imitation JUNK), MUCH more participation by the blonde hostess, thus reducing ‘poor’ BRC’s need to read the monitor poorly, BUT announcing ONE of the bottom 2 before anyone even sang — not sure if it was good for tommy or bad, he knew he was in the bottom 2, relieving the stress of not knowing, but to have to know that for 2 hours … while others sang… sort of mean, i think
wondering if they will further reduce BRC’s participation (my son says swap him to the back room and let the blonde do the talking) — what more changes can week 4 bring? Oh, yeah, and adding “FOX-like looooooooooooong pauses and “after the break” garbage. UGH.
blah. frankly RUINING the show, imho. take it back to CMT and bring back the original format, forGET network TV!!!!!
By DawnH
June 24, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
OMG - I totally forgot about the horrible dancers and extras! That was awful too, and very distracting. I also noticed the quasi mosh pit with the arms waving last night. From bad to worse. And, for JR insisting on this being a country music show… well, I didn’t think the new Spice Girls’ act was particularly country either.
By Deirdre
June 24, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this
Happy news in Idol-land:
Second-season American Idol champ Ruben Studdard obtained a marriage license Monday in Alabama, PEOPLE has learned.
Studdard, 29, arrived at the Shelby County Probate Office in Birmingham with fiancée Surata Zuri McCants, 30, just before noon, filled out the paperwork and walked away with their license, an eyewitness says. Studdard is a Birmingham native.
“They looked really happy,” says the eyewitness.
By harrietth
June 24, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this
Billy Ray Cyrus needs to wash his hair, for another thing. Poor guy is just out of his element in the host’s job. He keeps getting worse every week. I was appalled at his hair last night—downright greasy-looking.
I don’t think the network folks who are in charge of NS have the first clue what they have done to ruin the show.
By linny ,,,=^..^=,,,
June 24, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
well, i think they have a clue that it’s not what they hoped for… but they’re trying to follow the AI/glitz model, and it AIN’T WERKIN’ !!!
By Rodney Ho
June 24, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
Linny—Nashville Star used to be on USA Network. For some odd reason, CMT had not had control of it. And yes, it’s now Watered Down Nashville Star on NBC! Yes, we need a countrified version of “P.Y.T” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (sung by a guy). That’s the ticket!
By harrietth
June 24, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this
Rodney, you are right. And what the heck? It is like the producers are afraid to BE country. They keep trying to “cool” it up, for some reason, and it falls flat. There is a tremendous market for country music, but not the kind displayed on Nashville Star—at least not on this network version.
By harrietth
June 24, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
I just took a peek at the NS message boards over on NBC’s page. Look at this thread: http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?s=353148e80a7efe409b8b2e59ce6a33ff&showtopic=795666 Folks everywhere seem to hate it.
By Rodney Ho
June 24, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
Ratings for Nashville Star have been mediocre and have actually held up week to week. 6.1 million viewers, a 1.9 18-49. Not horrible, not great.
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June 29, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this
Syesha is hot and has a huge career ahead of her!! please support her
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