Was Carly Smithson voted off American Idol because she sang "Jesus Christ Superstar," the Andrew Lloyd Webber headliner that's offensive to some Christians, who undoubtedly make up a huge portion of the losers who dial 866 numbers? MAYBE! Not even her Irish roots could save her. (The terrible Kristy Lee Cook stayed on another week after singing "God Bless the U.S.A.") Nevermind that the first inkling the same voting bloc gets about David Archuleta's sessuality will also have him canned, unless the OMG HE'S SOOOOO CUTE factor weighs heavier.
The biggest upset on last night's American Idol wasn't that Aussie hottie Michael Johns was sent home, but that TiVo, which claimed to be able to predict who would go home, got it wrong. By analyzing which performances are replayed or skipped over by a sample of 20,000 subscribers, the DVR service has accurately predicted the ejections for the last four consecutive weeks. This week, they fingered Syesha would go home. Obviously, they got it wrong; she was only in the bottom three.
Tonight’s the big night: American Idol will try to raise over $100 million for charity by pimping out Brad Pitt and punishing the world with a Teri Hatcher performance. Whitney will be there to guide you through the process tonight on Mollygood, because she is the only person who is excited about this fiasco.
The secret to staying on 'American Idol' is not talent, or looks … but keeping your mouth shut, smiling and saying nothing! [L-E]
Who says cynicism on the web doesn't pay? Actually … nobody. Not sure that argument has ever been made. But if someone does broach the subject, point them toward Vote For The Worst, the website that encourages viewers of American Idol (and other reality shows where the public gets to vote) to choose a terrible, un-deserving contestant and, through the magic of toll-free numbers and text messaging, skew the results and push 'em toward the finish line.
That site made $40,000 last year; not bad, but not exactly buyout material. Most of the advertising arrives via Google's no nonsense AdSense program, which means contextually-based ads are placed on the site automatically.
Like this one, for the new album from Blake Lewis, the American Idol Season 6 contestant that Vote For The Worst tried to have crowned the winner.
Is America ready for a gay Idol? No, really, that's the easily-answered question CNN asked last night!
Silly cable network, America isn't even ready for a gay news anchor.
CNN got curious when two fellas recently voted off were tied to gay stuff: A video of Danny Noriega rapping about being gay appeared on YouTube, and photos from David Hernandez's gay stripping era spread faster across the Internet than, well, photos of Clay Aiken's gay webcamming.
Or maybe: They were just terrible performers.
Last night it took two hours for Ryan Seacrest to get through all of the twelve contestants remaining on American Idol. Hopefully it'll take even less time to debunk the rumors that he's sleeping with Sunset Tan reality "star" Holly Huddleston.
The In Touch that's hitting newsstands today will report the Idol and E! News host is dating the E! channel personality, notwithstanding the fact that back in March 2007, In Touch's website was pleased to run a poll titled "Is Ryan Seacrest gay?" (In that week's issue, they also had "ex-girlfriend" Shanna Wall proclaim his straightness.)
Ryan also had Perez Hilton on his radio show yesterday, where the celeb blogger asked Ryan straight out if he was gay; Ryan denied it, claiming he had been with a woman for 12 hours straight recently.
How the over-employed Seacrest finds 12 hours in his day to do any single thing remains a mystery. Exposing the "I'm straight" ploy Ryan pulled last time with Teri Hatcher and the help of BFF Ken Baker (now on staff at E!) and Us Weekly, however, does not.
Look how well American Idol producers got their contestants on message! Who's got a copy of the talking points memo Nigel Lithgow & Co. distributed to cast members instructing them on how to respond to David Hernandez's gay stripping days? "We live in a bubble," they say. How quaint. And kudos to ET's Kevin Frazier for following up with "worthwhile questions"; working for the tabloid machine must be soul crushing. [ET]
The Associated Press continues to revel in gay Idol fever.
Today, the news agency asks whether or not the public can handle having an openly homo American Idol contestant. Former participant and current queer Jim Verranos insists the show’s moving closer toward a closet-free environment, “It feels like we’re closer now than ever to having an openly gay contestant on the show…I feel like there are some definite possibilities for this to happen this year.”
MainStreet.com, the just-launched DOA celebrity-focused financial site from TheStreet.com, continues to offer up evidence of its irrelevancy. CONTINUED »
… whether you'll be watching American Idol or Super Tuesday coverage tonight.
This kid we went to summer camp with was rejected on American Idol last night. Sad emoticon.
Blake’s sister was in our cabin for four years and we're still (Facebook) friends. We first heard Leslie Boshnack’s Long Island accent on Visiting Day in 1993. Nice to know that not much changed for that family in the past 15 years.
FALLING IDOL Though there's no sign of the American Idol behemoth leaving the airwaves anytime soon, its season premiere last night scored a mere 33.2 million viewers, down 11 percent from last year. [AP]
This entire clip is for the win.
Record label BMG has had mixed success with its American Idol artists. On the one hand, standouts like Carrie Underwood go platinum and pick up an armful of Grammys. And Kelly Clarkson, although sometimes causing headaches with her independence, can still deliver mostly solid sales.
And then there's the underperforming Idol types who aren't pleasing executives — which is why they're letting 'em go from RCA.
With three albums out, Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard was axed. And Taylor Hicks, the unlikely winner of Season 5, was shown the door when the industry quickly learned people will vote for the weirdo, but they won't buy his album.
And now comes confirmation that Katharine McPhee has been booted after a lackluster debut. Sure, "Love Story" was a catch single, but "Open Toes," about, um, open-toed shoes, probably forecast that scenario.
So who's next to get bumped from BMG? As much as we enjoyed Blake Lewis' record – shut up, it's a good gym workout soundtrack – we're going to handicap him as the next to go. Beatboxing is only hot if you're bringing sex back.
Editorial Director
