THE "AMERICAN IDOL" universe at large appears to be mostly pleased with the news that Ellen DeGeneres will be filling the judges seat vacated by Paula Abdul earlier this summer.
A swing through the Twitter feeds of former Idolites big and small revealed several truths: a) Many of them like Ellen DeGeneres; b) Many of them also like to overuse punctuation; c) Semi-famous people throw spelling to the wind while on Twitter, too.
Here's what some of them are saying, unedited, unfiltered and in some cases possibly unconscious:
» Ryan Seacrest, "Idol" host: Wow all went down fast. yes ellen d will be coming to idol. she and paula are both very good friends of mine. E.D. On radio show 2morrow
» Melinda Doolittle, season six contestant: DUDE!! DUDE!! DUDE!! Ellen DeGeneres...the new AI judge! DUDE!! I love me some Paula, and...I adore me some Ellen too. DUDE!!! Thoughts???
» Brandon Rogers, season six contestant: @mdoolittle Ellen's no @PaulaAbdul but Paula's no Ellen either. It's like comparing apples to cucumbers. Only thing in common is the seeds
» Anoop Desai, season eight contestant: Cool, looks like Ellen is the new fourth judge on American Idol
» Phil Stacey, season six contestant: What do you all think of Ellen DeGeneres officially taking Paula's place on Idol next season. Should make for funny TV.
» Chris Richardson, season six contestant: @TheEllenShow wow!! Can't wait... Congrats on A.I ,love
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Ex-Contestants React to Ellen DeGeneres' 'American Idol' Move" »
NOW, HERE'S A DEVELOPMENT I didn't see coming: Actress, talk show host and dance, dance revolutionary Ellen DeGeneres will become the new permanent judge on "American Idol," Fox said in a statement Wednesday. She'll replace Paula Abdul and join Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi and Simon Cowell in critiquing scads of wannabe singers.
According to the announcement, DeGeneres will sidle up to the judges' table after the auditions air in January, and after her chair is kept warm by guest judges including "Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Kristin Chenoweth, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain."
I think my bolder just broke.
Anyway, although I wouldn't have predicted this turn of events in a million years — I actually kinda thought Paula might return to the fold after an extended time-out — DeGeneres in retrospect seems like a perfect choice. She's Hollywood. She's passionate. She's a dyed-in-the-wool "Idol" fan who had the lion's share of show castoffs on her talk program after their ousting.
She's also a notorious nicenik, but one who has the gift of the witty comedic rejoinder. Which means she not only will disagree vocally with Simon's often caustic put-downs, but she has the arrows in her quiver to pierce through his smug facade like it's William Tell's apple.
That could be fun to watch, no?
I think she'll gel like nobody's business with Randy, and with Kara she'll probably share some gal talk and a love of capitalized letters inside words. But will she really critique the singers or will hers be the Mom-like vote of blind reassurance that was nearly always Paula's stock-in-trade? Guess we'll have to watch and see.
Below, you'll find Fox's release on the subject, minus their seemingly minute-by-minute account of DeGeneres' career. (Seriously, guys, a little restraint is in order.)
But below that is our comments section, in which I invite you to leave your thoughts on DeGeneres' selection. Will she fit in on the show? How do you think the other judges will react to her? And will her joining up make you more, less or just as likely to watch?
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Ellen DeGeneres to Replace Paula Abdul" »
A FEW WEEKS AGO, a person who knew I blogged about "American Idol" asked whether I thought Paula Abdul would leave the show. The question came after her manager told a few interviewers that he thought her "Idol" days might be done.
Pish posh, I thought (channeling Simon Cowell, apparently — who also said he wanted Paula to stay on). "No way," I said assuredly. "It's just a contract negotiating technique. She's playing hardball. She'll be stumbling over her words on national TV again in no time."
I hate it when I'm wrong.
The news leaked out late Tuesday evening via this series of posts on Paula's Twitter feed, presented here punctuated like poetry:
With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to #IDOL. I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all..Cont'd... /I'll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon. /
What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me /
It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month /
I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: For Paula and 'Idol,' There's Apparently No Tomorrow" »
IF YOU WATCHED "American Idol" this year, you know that the TV singing competition came down to a one-on-one between two guys: Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. Both brought, as competition judge Randy Jackson might say, mad skills (, dawg,) to the proceedings, but only one could be crowned the winner.
It was Allen. And if you think many of Lambert's fans don't still insist their guy got shafted, just do a Google search or two. Or read the comments that poured in after Express' interview with Allen was published earlier this week. There's passion there. And maybe just a hint of crazy for flavor.
So, one might ask, what happens when you put both men on a stage and let the fans vote with their voices? That's exactly what was on the menu at the American Idols Live show Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.
The shocking results: People, um, kinda like both of them. And for good reason. But there was a lot to enjoy in an evening that drew in an audience from tweens to bluehairs and everything in between.
The Idols stage show is, unsurprisingly, a lot like the "Idol" broadcast — but only if you remove the judges, delete Ryan Seacrest (try not to smile gleefully as you do it), pump up the volume and give the contestants another month's worth of on-stage seasoning. What you get is a show that's not only more vibrant than the TV show, but — for all its obvious and necessary staging — more indicative of the contestants' personalities.
Continue Reading "As Seen on TV: American Idols Live at D.C.'s Verizon Center" »
DID AT&T GIVE "American Idol" contestant Adam Lambert the finger? Or more to the point, did some AT&T employees turbo-charge the fingers of fans of his opponent, Kris Allen, to help Allen win the mega-popular singing competition?
It's possible, according to a report in the New York Times, which alleges that AT&T employees in Arkansas taught Allen fans how to "power text," or send a super-charged text with the strength of 10 our puny human text messages.
The Times makes reference to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story that reported on Allen's win and opened the door to questions about how so many text messages were sent so quickly. When you read the text of the story, it's no wonder folks got curious. An excerpt:
In Conway after Tuesday's performances, fans at the Estes Stadium watch party took out wireless phones and started making calls and firing off text messages - some voting on their own devices and others on phones borrowed from AT&T, which supplied about 50 display units and representatives to teach multiple "power texting."AT&T also made about 30 phones available in a "texting zone" at a watch party at the Peabody Little Rock hotel, where Megan Lynch and friend Rainey Gibson, both 22, watched Allen perform his first song of the night, Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine."
And then, there's this from another Democrat-Gazette story:
Among the Arkansans who helped Allen gain the title with their votes was Erika McMahan of Conway, who held a sign at her hometown's watch party that read: "We voted 11,692 times for Kris Allen last night."Said AT&T in a statement to the Times:"There were three of us. It wasn't all me!" she said.
Bobbie Kierna of Greenbrier, who wore a Kris Allen shirt to the Peabody finale party, said she stayed up texting until 11:48 p.m. Tuesday and sent 10,840 votes for Allen.
In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.No such assistance was apparently offered to Lambert fans, the Times reports.
Continue Reading "Fleecing Lambert: Did a Texting Trick Throw 'Idol' for Kris Allen?" »
EPILOGUE: Curious about how folks across the country reacted to Kris Allen's "American Idol" win last night — and Adam Lambert's loss? Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some selected videos from New York to Adam's home town of San Diego to Kris's home town of Conway, Arkansas and beyond for a little late afternoon "Idol" fix.
Oakland, Calif.: Kris reacts
National: Adam reacts on Fox News Channel — very interesting back-and-forth about a possible offer from Queen. Watch this one.
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: A Goodbye Kris -- Allen and Lambert React" »
Express' Greg Barber recaps the "American Idol" finale.
THIS IS IT, AMERICA. The popcorn is popped, the drinks are poured, the athletic protectors are settled into their appropriate places (Seacrest must be prepared at all times, right?) — it's the "American Idol" finale.
Just two singers remain: Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. They've already sung the final songs on which they'll be judged. In fact, they've already been judged. The die is already cast. All we have to do is find out whose number's up.
And the winner is: ... something that'll be announced after more than two freakin' hours of plugs and promos and performances and other star-studded razzamataz.
Get comfy, people. We're in for the long haul. A haul so long, in fact, that Adam and Kris will be blasted off into space before it's over!
Wait, those white outfits they're both in aren't space suits? Darn. Well, that's less than exciting.
What is exciting? Random Celebrity Cutaway Theater! Wherein we're treated to split-second shots of faces we should recognize, but don't always.
Among the first people we see are ... hooo boy, people I don't recognize. Is Mo'Nique one of them? Then, there's a gal who looks like the love child of Sarah Jessica Parker and Mayim Bialik (which, I'm proud to say, I spelled correctly on my first try!). Sigh. Celebrities are getting less interesting to me.
Holy crap, what the hell is up with Randy? Yesterday, he rolled in looking like a poor man's Willy Wonka. Tonight, he's wearing the latest ensemble from the Orville Redenbacher collection.
I like the Randy "for me, for you" montage that the "Idol" team prepared, though. Almost as much as Kara's "sweetie" barrage, Paula's word-nerdery and Simon's cavalcade of questions. Aaaaaand the fact that we spent a good couple minutes just on the judges' introductions sets the scene for how very, very long a show tonight's "Idol" experience will be.
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Kris's Krossing -- Allen Wins 'American Idol'" »
Express' Greg Barber recaps part 1 of the "American Idol" season finale.
THOUSANDS OF faces flashed through stadiums across the country. Hundreds of them flickered across our television screens. We learned a few dozen of their names. And now just two remain, both within tantalizing reach of the prize they've labored many hours and weeks and months to capture: the "American Idol" title.
The players are Kris Allen and Adam Lambert. The mission: sing three final songs and woo as many votes as they can for a final push to victory.
The night is Tuesday. The theater is packed. The host is Ryan Seacrest. And his sentences, they are stilted.
"Tonight," he tells us, "it is the battle of the acoustic rocker versus the glam rocker. Conway versus California. The guy next door versus the guyliner. It comes down to Kris and Adam."
Seacrest was born for moments like this. At most other times, he's pretty superfluous. But now, totally useful.
Adam and Kris will each reprise their favorite performance of the year, sing a song picked by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller and perform the "Idol" winner's song, co-written by some gal named Kara DioGuardi.
Yeah, did you notice how there wasn't a competition for the winner's song this year? We'll see whether that was a blessing or a curse.
And Seacrest is even kind enough to warn us that Wednesday night's two-hour finale will run longer than its allotted time. Because, y'know, the 10-second process of pointing at one of two people and saying "you win" is difficult to fit into 120 minutes.
The "Idol" producers really are the P.T. Barnums of our time, aren't they?
ADAM LAMBERT, PART 1
We learn during Adam's intro interview that as a baby, he screamed constantly. Ah, but did he do it in key? See, natural talent plus training. That's how to earn a place in the big leagues.
His do-over song: "Mad World" by Tears for Fears — but Adam's version is more in line with Gary Jules' cover of the song, which was a hit earlier this decade.
Honestly, I've never really enjoyed it when the Idolites reprise a song they've already sung — it's inevitable that it'll be compared to the original, which is a losing proposition for them. During the first performance, it was new. They'd never performed it. That's inherently interesting. It's like leftovers: Even if they started as a great meal, they always lose at least a little something with time.
Of course, doing a song over again wasn't Adam's choice but a requirement, so that certainly isn't anything we should hold against him.
He does his best to make this performance as entrancing as the original, and he by and large succeeds. It's interesting — the costume, the pacing, the wafting clouds of dry-ice smoke, even Adam's gait make me think of "The Phantom of the Opera," and surely this could be a deleted scene from the play — if plays had deleted scenes, of course.
His voice is beautifully timbred and finely controlled, which is when, in my mind, Adam is at his best. He's focused and intense. It's stunning, and it's also a reminder of how he's gotten as far as he has. Although it's also at moments like this that I wonder how fame didn't find this guy without "American Idol's" help.
"This is it. We're down to the wire," a suit-bedecked (?!?) Randy says. "Right now, that performance ... I'm gonna give you an A-plus on that one. An A for Adam. A!"
Wow. There's a "Sesame Street" moment for you. Did someone replace Randy with Mr. Snuffleupagus?
"I am so happy that you chose that performance," Kara says, "because from the first time you did that song, I knew not only were you an extraordinary singer, but you are an incredible artist. ... You rocked it again tonight."
"I just want to tell you how unbelievably proud I am that you're standing on that stage right now," Paula says. "This is a great song for you. ... I thought you did a really good job."
"I always thought this was your best performance throughout the shows," Simon says. "For some reason, maybe it was the coat, it was a little bit overtheatrical. It just reminded me a little bit of 'Phantom of the Opera.'"
I swear I wrote my critique before I heard Simon's. Honest. My cat'll vouch for me.
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Allen, Lambert Come Out Singing" »
WANT TO WARM UP your voting fingers before Kris Allen and Adam Lambert's big night tonight? Head on over to ExpressNightOut.com's Poll Center to vote in today's question: "Who do you think should be this year's American Idol?"
The results will be published in Wednesday's Express print editions, so if you participate, you'll have your voice heard by hundreds of thousands of readers. Happy voting.
WHEN ALEXANDER HAMILTON and Aaron Burr met up in Weehawken, N.J., for their storied duel in 1804, each man brandished a Wogdon pistol.
But "American Idol's" Adam Lambert and Kris Allen come to their face-off with such different skill sets that they might as well be packing a trout and a squeegee.
With last week's somewhat surprising demise of earnest soul man Danny Gokey, the "Idol" audience is left with two very varied sounds: Lambert's theatrical scream-rock and Allen's lo-fi sunny strumming. The sonic sparring begins tonight; on Wednesday, the eighth American Idol will be crowned.
In Lambert's corner is a vocal horde of Internet-savvy fans and reverberated buzz from his early star-making performances -- not to mention constant love notes in the press from opinion-shaping "Idol" judge Simon Cowell.
On the other side of the equation is Allen, whose stripped-down, melody-friendly songs have won him a steady stream of fan support.
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Lambert and Allen's Clash of Styles" »
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