Posted Wednesday, May 23, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Maddie Poppe pulled a Clay Aiken. The season 16 winner peeked at Ryan Seacrest's results card and knew what was coming, she told Ryan on "Live with Ryan and Kelly." This is what happened season two, which is why Clay had such a goofy look on his face when Ruben Studdard's name was announced.
For a few seasons, Ryan had held a blank card. I guess that's going to happen again, eh?
Ryan was shocked she and Caleb had peeked but then admitted the card was huge and he's short so it's easy to look over his shoulder.
And here is Caleb from Wednesday's "Live with Kelly and Ryan." Ryan noted both Caleb and Maddie - now publicly a couple - have compatible senses of humor. "We're both twisted," he said.
He then re-enacts Lionel Richie's voice giving him advice. And then he does Ryan: "This... is American Idol!"
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Jimmy Kimmel on his show gathered several former "Idol" folks for a mock "We are the World"-type song. All are from the first 10 seasons when the show was still super popular. Among those willing to take the joke: William Hung, Sanjaya Malakar, Antonella Barba, the Chewbacca girl, Renaldo Lapuz, Haley Reinhart, Kevin Covais (wow, he's aged!), Scott McIntyre and Atlanta's General Larry Platt (Mr. "Pants on the Ground"). They each noted what they've done: Covais had a part in "Transformer 4" and is a notary public! And Haley sang for a Wrigley's commercial!
Then they had winners Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks joke about why they were even there given their past success.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Could it be beginner's luck or just the Magic of Kelly Clarkson? In her first effort as a coach on "The Voice," one of her picks won: Brynn Cartelli.
Cartelli, at age 15, is the youngest winner ever. The bad news: "The Voice" in its 14th season suffered its lowest ratings ever, probably hurt by the return of "American Idol." (It may be a little revenge on the part of "Idol" because "The Voice" effectively superseded "Idol" when it debuted in 2011. And NBC booked Clarkson in part to keep her away from "Idol.")
Below is Brynn's winning single "Walk My Way." Kelly told media afterwards that she plans to help Brynn promote the song to radio. " That is why we were so excited about that particular song [Walk My Way] … it's such a radio hit already... We are going to hit radio hard."
"The Voice" is still awaiting its first superstar winner.
"Idol" and "The Voice" had almost identical ratings for their season finales. "Idol" finished with 8.65 million while "The Voice" drew 8.71 million overnight viewers. (Live+3 and Live+7 DVR numbers might shift which show ultimately brought in more eyeballs.) Among the coveted 18-49 demo, "Idol" edged out "The Voice" 1.6 to 1.5.
Both Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson will return as coaches for the 15th incarnation this fall.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Adam Lambert, current Queen lead singer, didn't think Queen's late lead singer Freddie Mercury went out of his way to hide his sexuality in the 1970s and 1980s but his flippant responses were not always taken at face value.
"There were interviews where they were asking if he was gay and he said: 'Yeah as a daffodil… gay as a daffodil,'" Lambert said to Attitude magazine. "And I don't know if they thought he was being flippant, but he never really said, 'No, I'm not.'"
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Clay Aiken Tweet of the Week
Clay goes nostalgic. Fifteen years, y'all!
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