Katie Tobin
@ Tattoo
Q:How do you keep your life clean?
A:"I don't own any cars and I do almost all my shopping from farmers markets."
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" »
I LEARNED AN IMPORTANT lesson over the weekend: If you compare Adam Lambert and Li'l David Archuleta, you will raise the interest — and, in some cases, ire — of two vocal camps of fans.
A contingent I haven't heard much from, though, is the group that supports Adam's competition for the "American Idol" title, Kris Allen.
A case in point: When Adam, Kris and Danny Gokey went back to their hometowns for a little music and adulation, I wrote two blog posts about each contestant's trip. Both of Adam's got a wild response — the first received nearly four times as much traffic as the story about Kris; the second got 15 times more visits than Kris'. Even Danny's stories outpolled Kris's.
That Adam/Archuleta post from last week? It's got nearly 120 comments so far, which is much more than we get on a typical "Idol" post. That's how rabid Adam's fans are. Well, and Li'l David's. But still.
HE'S ONE OF "American Idol's" most lauded contestants. He came pre-loaded with serious stage experience and he even had a measure of success with his singing before he auditioned.
Once on the show, he was recognized at once as a tremendous talent and received constant waves of praise from the judges — except for occasional, predictable jabs by Simon.
The ladies love him — and some of the guys do, too. He's humble and self-effacing in interviews and appears to get along well with his fellow contestants and pretty much everyone else.
He was predicted for weeks to have a lock on the "Idol" title.
Who did I just describe? If the topic is "American Idol" season seven, it's David Archuleta. But step forward a year. Don't all of the attributes listed above also fit Adam Lambert?
Despite high expectations, David Archuleta didn't win "American Idol." Adam Lambert might not, either. And if he doesn't, it'll be for many of the same reasons.
Continue Reading "Idol Chatter: Is Adam Lambert This Year's David Archuleta?" »
Express' Greg Barber recaps the unveiling of the final, um, finalists on "American Idol."
88 MILLION. That's how many votes were cast to determine which of the "Idol" top three — Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey and Kris Allen would advance to next week's finale.
If each of those votes was made by an individual — and hoo boy, they weren't — that crowd would be larger than the populations of the 50 most populous U.S. cities put together. Not too shabby.
That number just underscores how very, very serious the business is that "Idol" is transacting tonight. But just as your boss often tries to deflect an impending criticism ("You know, you sound like an idiot in meetings") with humor ("So, the guys and I were joking about how you sound like an idiot in meetings"), so too does "Idol" give us something of no use whatsoever to kick off a night of import.
It's the Ford entertainmercial!
The song: "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. The plot: The Idolites encounter several obstacles between them and a lovely day cruising in their Ford: a pack of dogs (really?), clouds and traffic. But they've got to keep on movin'!
Each obstacle is overcome when one of the guys morphs into a drawing and deploys cartoonish super powers to: chase away the dogs (Adam), blow off the clouds (Kris) and part the traffic (Danny). Think A-Ha's "Take On Me" video, except with crappier animation and no one getting a wrench to the head.
Next, Alicia Keys takes the stage to follow up on last night's Idol Gives Back update. She's global ambassador for Keep a Child Alive, and introduces us to Noah, a Rwandan boy who dreams, she says, "to make an album so he can help children living with HIV/AIDS in his country."
And OK, this is kind of cool — "Idol" brings to its stage Noah himself, singing "I'm the World's Greatest" by R. Kelly. He's energetic for sure. And Danny could learn a thing or two from his dancing. It also does my heart good to hear that his song is downloadable on iTunes. There's the kind of dream I like to see come true.
Express' Greg Barber recaps the penultimate performance show of this season of "American Idol."
THEY'VE COMPETED for weeks in the public spotlight. They've been feted at home. They've endured round after round of cuts. They've been poked and prodded, learned choreography and stagecraft. And now, the "American Idol" finale is within sight and Kris Allen, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert must endure just one more elimination round in order to get there.
They'll sing two songs each, one they chose themselves and one that was chosen for them by the often-unpredictable judges.
Two will reach the finale. One will stop just short. And the train keeps a-rollin' all night long.
Let's hop on.
DANNY GOKEY, PART 1
Danny gets the honor of singing a song chosen by Paula — she being the same judge who, during season six, forced Blake Lewis to warble "Roxanne" by The Police, which didn't do him any favors.
Danny's task was unveiled during an appearance at a Milwaukee radio station last week: "Dance, Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby.
"How do you feel about that?" a faceless DJ asked.
"Don't know it," Danny said. Me neither.
It's a far better fit for Danny than "Roxanne" was for Blake — in fact, it's the kind of song he should have been singing all along. Despite a shouty beginning, once Danny found the song's groove, he hewed to it pretty well, with his voice remaining at its raspy best.
The performance has energy and a distinct lack of earnestness, which is refreshing. Although its cheese factor isn't quite nonexistent — a singer trading notes with the sax player will never, never be hip. Never.
"I think it goes something like 'Let the games begin,' right?" Randy says. "Sounding good in that hoarse kinda tone. ... That was dope for me, dude."
"You know, Paula, I like that you picked that, because it keeps him in his money spot in his tone," Kara says. "But I gotta say, the dancing was a little too gyratey for me. ... You're a great singer, but am I gonna remember that performance tomorrow? I just don't know."
"Well, I'm a choreographer, and I think you did really good," Paula says. "I thought you did a fantastic job."
"I thought the dancing was a bit desperate," Simon says. "My biggest problem was the toy saxophone solo in the middle. ... And, actually, I think Paula was on the right track with Terence Trent D'Arby, I just think it was the wrong song."
How does Danny respond to the dogging of his dancing?
"To me, it's about coming out and having fun," he says. Indeed. Oh, and fame. And fortune. But fun for sure.
Speaking of fun, during the reading of Danny's numbers, Paula and Simon apparently launch into a game of grab-ass so intense that the "Idol" director won't cut to it. Despite Danny's pleading. We could see Simon covering Paula's mouth, and Seacrest refers to Paula punching Simon's left breast.
Don't they know that by leaving us no visuals at all that we'll fill in with the most terrible, depraved, ghastly image possible?
They're doing algebra. There, I said it. Write my bosses if you want to. I won't blame you.
Addison Road