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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Another ‘Idol’ sex scandal
Antonella Barba must be so thankful right now.
Another “American Idol” sex scandal has surfaced, taking the oh-so-bright spotlight off her, at least for a few brief moments.
Several sites are reporting that Mario Vazquez, who mysteriously walked away from the Season 4 finals, is being sued for sexual harassment. American Idol Productions, Fox and Freemantle Media are also named as defendants.
The accusations come from a former “Idol” staffer who claims he was fired shortly after reporting a bizarre incident that allegedly happened in a bathroom at the studio where the show is filmed. We’ve chosen to link to a fairly tame account of what reportedly happened. Savvy searchers should have no trouble finding the more lurid stuff.
True? That’s for the courts to decide. But it certainly would explain the sudden departure of Vazquez for “personal” reasons two years ago.
Idol chatter …
- Simon Cowell’s lending his support to a new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign.
Look for the “Idol” judge to appear on TV soon urging folks not to leave their dogs in hot cars.
“Far be it from me to be critical, but I find it really appalling that this year, thousands of dogs will die of heatstroke inside parked cars,” Cowell says in the public service announcement, which is set to air all summer.
Simon? Nice? Stranger things have happened …
First-night jitters
Guest blogger Rodney Ho from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution fills us in on Tuesday night’s show:
Nerves definitely were playing into the generally disappointing performances tonight. The bigger stage, the new lights, the pressure, et al. didn’t help. In the past, the first night has tended to be a letdown so people shouldn’t be surprised. (Click here to view Fox’s video recap.)
And as usual, Melinda and LaKisha are the dominant forces to be reckoned with.
Who should be out? Well, Sanjaya Malakar of course! Who will be out? I am still opting for Haley Scarnato. I almost think Simon said nice things about her to get her fans complacent. Brandon Rogers, who botched the lyrics and opened the show (a disadvantage), will be in the bottom three along with the other two.
But hey, let’s torture Sanjaya another week! The poor kid is going to need some serious counseling after this! He seems so fragile.
The Simon-Ryan taunting continued, with Simon not being, um, very subtle about Ryan’s lifestyle choices.
After Melinda Doolittle said she hates high heels, Ryan asks Simon, “Any advice on the high heels?
“You should know Ryan,” Simon said. Yup, Ryan walked right into that one!
“Stay out of my closet!” Ryan said. Another softball!
“Come on out!” Simon said.
“This is about the top 12, not your wishes,” Ryan said. Melinda places her hands on her head, wishing she wasn’t there.
Diana Ross looks good, even though her hair puts Chris Sligh’s to shame. (“I can’t get mine to go out like that,” he noted.)
LaKisha Jones (“God Bless the Child”) - She should have no problem singing a Diana Ross song. She seems to have a little bit of Diana in her. This is actually a BIllie Holiday song Diana sang. She really knows how to parse a song and wring out its emotion. Another commanding performance. Randy: “Perfect song choice for you. I love the outfit. Check it out. Unbelievable vocal. You didn’t overdo it. That was sensational.” Paula: “Your heart comes through when you sing.” Simon: “You’ve either got it or you haven’t got it. You’ve got it. The quality difference between you and Melinda and the other singers so far. You two are in a different league. It was a very very controlled performance. You were in control. Outstanding. Melinda Doolittle (“Home” from the Wiz) - She looks great. I’m not familiar with this song. It’s a vocal showcase song, though it’s probably not the most melodic song I’ve ever heard. She has such warmth in her voice, makes up for the shapelessness of the tune itself. Randy: “It was still really really strong. I give that the girls one, boys zero. That was hot baby.” (She’s practically crying.) Paula: “You’re feeling so much joy.” (Now Paula’s crying! Yeesh!) Simon: “You made a very boring song fantastic. You remind me of a young Gladys Knight.”
Phil Stacey (“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”) - He finally starts out of the gate at a decent speed. Overall, his vocals are the best I’ve heard in awhile from him. He even hits the final note. Good job! Randy: “The performance was a little boring but the vocals were hot.” Paula: “Your vocals sound really good. That song. It needs to be a little more uptempo.” Simon: “You were wrong. That shouldn’t be an uptempo song. That was the right tempo. It was okay. It was a good choice of song. You have a tendency when you hit the big notes, you shout. You have to control that. It wasn’t outstanding. It wasn’t awful. It was better than last week.”
Blake Lewis (“Keep Me Hangin’ On”) - He noted that this song has been covered so he hopes to put his own spin on it. Again, his vocals aren’t the best but he possesses a fresh, modern persona. He’s just fun to watch. Was it his best? No. But it’s good enough for now. Randy: “There were some good things about it. You don’t have to Blake-ize every song. You actually sing better than that. Sometimes, let the classics be the classics.” Paula: “What you did was different than Chris. I think you can have a hit in that.” Simon: “I didn’t get that. I understand why you wanted to put your own take on it which is fair enough. If you had heard that in isolation on the radio, you woudln’t like it. It didn’t work changing the melody.”
Chris Sligh (“Endless Love”) - Where are the glasses? Chris changed the song around in terms of chords and timing. Diana Ross didn’t like it. Will America? I respect the fact he wanted to modernize the song. But it’s more interesting than good. A for effort, C in execution. Randy: “The bad part of that for me, it sounded like Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound.’ It was a weird thing to do to that song. The melody changed everywhere. You have to sing your heart out. That was a mess for me.” Paula: “That song is so recognizable. Sometimes I wonder if you are trying ultrahard to be ultrahip and cool. Sometimes let the melody play, listen to the lyrics sing the song.” Simon: “I think you murdered the arrangement. You turned a beautiful song into a complete utter drone. It was unemotional, uninspiring and I’d keep your glasses on. It’s you.” “I went with my gut and you know, I felt like it was a good arrangement… It had more to do with the arrangement than the vocal. But that’s part of the whole thing.”
Gina Glocksen (“Love Child”) - Diana wanted her to enunciate better. Gina looks good, best I’ve seen her so far. She even has a tongue piercing. She starts strong but my mind started wandering partway through the song. It’s just good, not great. Randy: “It wasn’t my favorite performance. I’m a Gina fan. It was pitchy in spots. I didn’t feel any excitement.” Paula: “It’s such an exciting song. You’re better than how you did tonight. There were times you were shouting. Enunciation and ptich were off.” Simon: “You can’t say much about it. It wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t fantastic. You chose the right song for you. It’s good you stayed in this image. It’s a little bit forgettable. It’s a middle-of-the-pack performance.” Touche!
Brandon Rogers (“You Can’t Hurry Love”) - Song choice is crucial and he picked a perfectly amiable song and did a perfectly amiable job. Amiable isn’t good enough. And he forgot the lyrics during a portion of it and didn’t cover it up well at all. Not a great start for the evening. Randy: “You came out like you had reverted to being a background singer. It was boring, uninteresting. You forgot the words. The last two notes of the song you sounded like you wanted to be in front.” Paula: “We don’t need to tell you what you did wrong. (huh???) There are many things you do right.” Simon: “That was a complete letdown. It was a very predictable version. The dancing was terrible. You forgot the words. You came in as a background singer of a background singer. No star quality. Absolutely not good enough. Sorry.”
Sanjaya Malakar (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) - Diana feels motherly toward Sanjaya but you could tell he struggled to get a feel for the song. He has frizzed his hair out like a messier version of Justin Guarini and did he steal that shirt from Bobby Brady? Ugh, his voice is so weak for this song. He’s being swallowed alive! The backup singers showed more energy vocally than he did. At least he mostly stays in tune but bleh! Randy: “I do not even know what to say. Dude, it wasn’t very good. Thank god for the backup singers. That song was almost unlistenable for me. It was really really weak. But the hair is rockin’. Hair Idol you’ve got it jumpin’ off.” Paula: “You’re pure love. You are the sweetest soul. You smile and it warms people’s hearts. You sang on pitch. I understand what Diana was saying. You have to grab the audience. When a song like that you have to let go. You have to explode with your vocals and jump out.” Simon: “When you hear a wail in Beverly Hills, that’s where Diana Ross is watching this show. She’s going to freak when she hears that. The only similarity is the hair style… I’ll be positive. You’re very brave. I’ll give you that.”
Haley Scarnato (“Missing You”) - This is Diana’s version, obviously, not that other “Missing You” by John Waite we heard Phil sing a couple weeks ago. Diana felt she wasn’t showing enough emotion. With Antonella, Haley gives us some pup action to distract us from the languid take on this rather sad song. She’s got her eyebrows scrunched like she’s trying to be “serious.” She then misses a lyric. (Second one tonight!). I didn’t feel it, dawg. Randy: “You gave it a valient effort. Forgetting the words and stuff. You sounded nervous and your pitch is usually better than that.” Paula: “You look lovely tonight. But Haley, that’s not what you want to hear. It’s the same thing with Brandon. It’s a brand new day up here. Forgetting the words is never a great thing to do. And your pitch, eh yah yah.” Simon: “I didn’t think it was that bad. You have real presence up there. You look like a star up there… very very impressed with your presence on stage.” (Huh? Did he just swap places with Paula???) Missing words, “I feel like a schmuck.”
Stephanie Edwards (“Love Hangover”) - Diana Ross wants her sexier. But she thinks Stephanie has star quality. In my opinion, Stephanie’s vocals are solid but the performance is not terribly memorable or interesting. Randy: He noted she forgot some words but I didn’t catch it. “It was a perfect song for you but I was waiting for the uptempo part.” Paula: “
Looking for more “Idol” chatter? Check out Diane Holloway’s TV blog.
