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What's on this page?
The latest 10 entries, with the newest at the top. The guys finally appear to be taking things seriously.
Well, some of them at least.
The performances this week were, for the most part, worlds better than last week s. Of course, it d be pretty hard to get any worse.
Phil Stacey: I Ain t Missing You, John Waite. Dude, we get it. You served in the military.
You have our thanks but not necessarily our vote. Want it? Then stop staring into the (expletive) camera.
You re not all that. Not yet at least. Remember that before things get ugly.
Our grade: B-
Jared Cotter: Let s Get It On, Marvin Gaye. Nothing says sexy like a black suit and white running shoes. Once we got past that fashion no-no, we still weren t buying the whole sex-symbol thing.
Not a wise song choice. Not at all. Our grade: C
A.
J. Tabaldo: Feeling Good, Michael Buble. He s gonna get the boot.
Sorry, there s no way around it. Nothing at all special about that voice. And all that strutting around the stage?
We re not a fan. Apparently the judges were watching someone else perform. Simon: I have to say that was actually, nearly very good.
Our grade: C-
Sanjaya Malakar: I m Stepping Out, Irving Berlin. We ve found Michael Jackson s stunt double. No, seriously.
Sanjaya is super-talented, but Idol isn t the right arena for him. Just look at the songs he chooses to front. No clue whatsoever about who s watching.
Randy: This really didn t work for me, dude. This was not good. Our grade: D
Chris Sligh: Trouble, Ray LaMontagne.
We still think he s one of the top guys. Once you get past the goofy looks, he s a rock-solid singer. One nit: Ditch the suit.
It s totally not the look for you. Our grade: A-
Nick Pedro: You Give Me Fever, Peggy Lee. We really like Nick.
Seems like a great guy. And he s got a great voice. But he s painfully awkward on stage.
The cameras only magnify that self-consciousness. Paula: Just let go. You don t have anything to worry about.
Our grade: B-
Blake Lewis: The Future s Made of Virtual Insanity, Jamiroquai. He gets it. He really gets it.
Hallelujah! Blake knows the Idol audience. He has the pipes.
And he definitely has the moves. A total package, if there ever was one. And this song showed it all off.
Heck, he even threw in a little beatboxing. Solid. Paula: You re making smart choices.
Our grade: A
Brandon Rogers: Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper. That smile s only gonna get you so far, buddy. Left his comfort zone and it didn t work.
Seemed to be mumbling at the start. Did he forget the words? Let s hope not.
Our grade: C
Chris Richardson: Geek in the Pink, Jason Mraz. Stellar performance by the Justin Timberlake lookalike. Picked a song he was clearly into and it paid off handsomely.
Great stage presence. The crowd ate it up. So did we.
Randy: Chris is in it to win it tonight. I even think that was hotter than the original. Our grade: A+
Sundance Head: Mustang Sally, Wilson Pickett.
Sundance is back and he had the audience on its feet. Even Paula got out of her chair. The message here: Stick with what you know.
Paula: Sundance, you ve got to bring it like that every week. Our grade: A+
Our picks to get voted off this week are A.J.
and Sanjaya. Also worth noting: Sundance s stock has gone up considerably. Who d you like?
Who d you hate? We wanna know.
For the first time in a long while we have new artists that can actually sing.
I was so sick of the marketing machines turning out sensations like Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls SERIOUSLY! If you re a record company with unlimited funds Artists can share their songs on American Idol Underground. Pflugerville songwriter Speedro had the #17 song on Idol s Faith-Based charts for the week of Feb.
11-17.
Haley sounds like she s performing in the talent portion of a beauty competition. There is something very annoying about: enunciating the words precisely when you sing.
Of course, garbling the words is equally as bad for instance, when the Jimmy definitely should have made it. He has more talent then most of the people up there. Call the tabloids!
Trashy pics of an American Idol semi-finalist are apparently floating around the Web.
One of the not-so-family-friendly photos allegedly shows Antonella Barba topless, while another reportedly has her engaging in a sex act, . There s also apparently a photo that shows her on the toilet.
Classy.
Friend Amanda Coluccio tells that the tamer pics are in fact of Barba. But not the racy ones.
The really bad ones aren t her, she said. I ve studied them. It s not her nose.
She s never had (acrylic nail) tips (like the woman in the photo) in her life. She s the least slutty person I know.
Barba, who is being kept away from the media by Idol execs, is extremely distraught over the whole fiasco, according to Coluccio.
She s been crying. She s horrified. She s most upset about what her parents think.
We should think so.
Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe doesn t seem too upset though.
We have really good background checks on everybody, and we deal with that every season, he told .
It s sad, isn t it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the Web?
Barba, you may recall, isn t the first Idol hopeful to have X-rated pics surface. was axed back in 2003 after it was revealed she had posed on a pornographic Web site.
Hudson walked away with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar Sunday night for her role in Dreamgirls. (Click and for pics.
)
Four down, 19 to go.
The nation has spoken, and American Idol semi-finalists Paul Kim, Rudy Cardenas, Amy Krebs and Nicole Tranquillo were sent packing Thursday night. (For what it s worth, we correctly called two of the four: and .
)
Paul was a no-brainer. His cringe-worthy performance of Careless Whispers scarred us for life.
Rudy s departure was a bit puzzling.
His take on Free Ride wasn t half bad and, in our humble opinion, there were several fellas who turned in far worse performances. But that s how the voting goes
Nicole was no doubt done in by her strange facial expressions and those bizarro gyrations while singing Stay. Kinda hard to get past that.
Up against a stellar group of female singers, she never, ever had a chance.
We liked Amy. A lot.
The judges, however, said she didn t take enough risks with I Can t Make You Love Me. Apparently the masses agreed.
The news was good for both Texans: San Antonio s Haley Scarnato and Porter s Sundance Head survived.
Neither seems to have a real shot at winning, but it ll still be interesting to see how far they can get.
The Season 3 Idol winner made her on Thursday night s results show after performing I m Here.
The American Idol have nothing on the this season.
Seriously, it s not even close.
If a woman doesn t win this competition, we ll be shocked.
Shocked, we tell you.
Stephanie Edwards: How Come You Don t Call Me, Alicia Keys. Such an expressive singer.
Timid? Not her. She gave it her all and then some.
Had the crowd the moment she opened her mouth. Paula: You are a star. Way to go.
Our grade: A
Amy Krebs: I Can t Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt. Great voice. Great smile.
Looked quite comfortable on stage. In one word: flawless. The judges, though, thought she didn t take enough risks.
(Note to the judges: Don t fix it if it ain t broke.) Randy: She s better than the song she chose, and she didn t sing it that good. Our grade: A
Leslie Hunt: You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman), Aretha Franklin.
Ugh. Stop staring at the camera! And the go-go boots?
No, no, no. Seemed to be trying way too hard. Singing was nothing special.
Not awful. Not great. Simon: You look very embarrassed, ungainly, a bit all over the place when you perform, as if you don t really want to be there.
Our grade: D+
Sabrina Sloan: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin. Absolutely amazing. Looks and talent.
Wow! Totally worked the stage. She s gonna be really, really hard to top.
Randy: Yo, whoever ain t sang or sang last night or whatever, that s the one to beat right there. That was hot. Our grade: A+
Antonella Barba: Don t Wanna Close My Eyes, Aerosmith.
What was that? Many have questioned how Antonella got this far and rightfully so. She couldn t have been any worse if she d tried.
Simon: It was way, way, way too big for you. I think this has seriously damaged your chances of remaining here another week. Our grade: D-
Jordin Sparks: Gimme One Reason, Tracy Chapman.
We like no, love her. So much energy. Great dance moves.
An amazing voice, too. Another serious contender. Paula: It was fun.
You have natural talent. Go for it, go for it. Our grade: A
Nicole Tranquillo: Stay, Chaka Khan.
Awful song choice. Strange facial expressions. Not much range.
And what was up with those funky gyrations? Please. The other semifinalists will eat her up in no time.
Randy: That was rough for me. I didn t get that at all. Our grade: D-
Haley Scarnato: It s All Coming Back to Me Now, Celine Dion.
Great stage presence. Golden voice. Can t help but smile as you watch her in action.
Will this Texan win it all? We definitely think she s got a shot. Paula: You did a good job, and it sounded nice.
Our grade: A
Melinda Doolittle: Since You ve Been Gone, Luther Vandross. We can t quite put our finger on it, but something about her just looks and sounds right. Sign her to a record deal yesterday.
Simon: You are an incredible singer. You have a fantastic story. You are a fantastic person.
I really hope you do well. Our grade: A
Alaina Alexander: Brass in Pocket, Pretenders. Nope.
Not gonna happen. This is Idol, not some talent competition at the county fair. Keep on marching right off that stage.
Simon: The irony was you kept singing that line I m special and it wasn t. Our grade: C-
Gina Glocksen: All by Myself, Eric Carmen. Lose the goth look.
Pronto. And get out from behind the mic. It blocked half your face.
Once we got past all that, the singing wasn t half bad. Paula: It was the right song to sing tonight. Our grade: B-
LaKisha Jones: And I Am Telling You, Jennifer Holliday.
They saved the best for last. In fact, why even drag this thing out? She s going to win it all.
You read it here first. Perfect everything. So engaging.
Amazing to behold. Paula: LaKisha, you have so much to be proud of. This is where you belong, honey.
Our grade: A+
Antonella Barba and Nicole Tranquillo are our picks to get the boot Thursday night. Who d you like? Who d you hate?
Let us know.
Feeling Bluu?
You will be soon enough.
Catch Season 5 American Idol castoff Friday night at 9 at , 408 Congress Ave. He ll be performing soulful songs from Bluu Suede, his upcoming album. Rumor has it several former Idol hopefuls will be there.
The show s an event, so be sure to track down our photographer and pose for a pic.
I really don t know why 30, but I guess we re just about managing to cope with the hundreds of thousands (of applicants) that we re getting at the moment. Opening up any more and I m frightened to death how many people we ll get.
So, it appears, life may not end at 28.
Nice to hear.
Tickets are gone, according to .
Fantasia s returning to her American Idol roots.
The will perform on Thursday night s results show, according to a breathless news release Fox issued this morning.
She s also set to make a major announcement.
We can hardly wait. No, really.
Jennifer Lopez is also Idol bound, according to .
Catch her April 11.
)
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007, 10:18 PM Two hours down, three more to go.
God help us.
American Idol kicked into high gear Tuesday night, with the front and center. And, in true made-for-TV fashion, there were plenty of ups and downs.
Without further ado, here s how we rated the fellas
Rudy Cardenas: Free Ride, Edgar Winter Group. A strong, strong start to the show. Good stage presence.
Nice moves. Worked the crowd. We were digging him.
Randy, however, was not: It was really corny, man. Our grade: A-
Brandon Rogers: Rock With You, Michael Jackson. He definitely has the pop-star look, we ll give him that.
But looks aren t everything especially in this competition. The song seemed a strange choice. Came across a smidge uncomfortable at times.
No love from the judges. Simon: It was just a very safe and predictable song to do. Our grade: C+
Sundance Head: Nights in White Satin, Moody Blues.
What s the fascination with this guy? Extremely uncomfortable on stage. Had a death grip on the microphone for most of the song.
The judges appear to be losing their patience, and rightfully so. Paula: Sundance, I think you picked the wrong song. Our grade: D-
Paul Kim: Careless Whisper, George Michael.
Horrid. What the heck was that? We were tempted to hit mute.
Sounded like karaoke night at the corner bar. Maybe (read: hopefully) it was just nerves. Simon: To me, it sounded like a third-rate version of that song.
Our grade: F
Chris Richardson: I Don t Want to Be, Gavin DeGraw. Just when we thought things couldn t get any worse, along comes this guy. Weird voice.
Weird movements. Weird everything. Wait, hold up.
The judges actually liked this? Well, two of the three. We can always count on Simon: If I m judging it on the vocals, it was below standards.
Our grade: F
Nick Pedro: Now and Forever, Richard Marx. Lots of potential here. Beautiful voice, but painfully lacking in confidence.
Bad song choice. Too slow for the Idol crowd and apparently for the judges, as well. Randy: It wasn t good for me.
It was very, very boring. Our grade: B-
Blake Lewis: Somewhere Only We Know, Keane. Weird to see the beat-boxer sitting (relatively) still.
Pulled it off pretty well. Has the looks and the voice. Seems like we ve got a pretty serious contender on our hands.
Even Simon liked it: By far the best performance we ve had. Our grade: A
Sanjaya Malakar: Knocks Me off My Feet, Stevie Wonder. Sorry guy, we re not buying it.
Looks (and sounds) like a 12-year-old singing a lounge tune. Are any of these contestants thinking about the audience watching Idol ? Sure doesn t seem like it.
And the judges held nothing back. Randy: Dude, it wasn t even remotely close. It was really bad.
Our grade: D
Chris Sligh: Typical, Mute Math. Holy crap. This guy rocks.
Absolutely amazing. We can t even think of anything snarky to say. Clearly the front-runner in the group.
Randy: I am a Chris fan. I loved it. I like you.
So do we. Our grade: A+
Jared Cotter: Back at One, Brian McKnight. Silky smooth voice.
If we had closed our eyes, it s entirely conceivable we would have thought Brian McKnight was behind the mic. Great stage presence. Few, if any, complaints.
Judges weren t as convinced, though. Randy: It was all right, man. It wasn t your best, but it was all right.
Our grade: A-
A.J. Tabaldo: 1,000 Kisses, Luther Vandross.
Tone. It. Down.
Seemed to be trying way too hard. Too much posing and posturing for our tastes. Once we got past that, the voice was rock-solid.
Paula: A.J., you can definitely sing.
I thought you did a great job. Our grade: B-
Phil Stacey: I Could Not Ask for More, Edwin McCain. Killer voice.
A bit over-performed. Totally sang to his wife the entire time. Very sweet.
And very talented. Randy: Phil, from the Dog, you get the best vocal prize of the night. Our grade: A-
Our picks based solely on tonight s performances to get the boot?
Paul Kim and Chris Richardson. Sundance Head wasn t far behind. Who d you love?
Who d you hate? Let us know.
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007, 10:01 AM Let s stipulate that American Idol is a monster hit.
Let s also stipulate that even reality TV foes like me are addicted to it.
But even the best dark chocolate can make you sick if you eat too much. Ditto Idol.
This week and for a couple more weeks, Fox s Idol gobbles up three nights of TV instead of two. The Top 12 female contestants compete tonight at 7; the Top 12 male contestants compete Wednesday night at 7. Each performing night is a two-hour telecast.
And then Thursday, a one-hour results show at 7 p.m. will reveal the rejection of two male and two female wannabes.
Isn t five hours of Idol just a tad too much? Especially for a live show that most people actually watch live, rather than record, because everyone will be talking about it the next day at work or school.
So, yes indeed, the three-night, five-hour schedule is way too much.
And unnecessarily so.
Besides dozens of ads during each half-hour, there will be program padding a-plenty, including clips from past shows and lots of segments with host Ryan Seacrest making glib comments and needling the testy judges.
So here s my plan: I m going to watch as much of the performance episodes tonight and Wednesday as I can and skip the Thursday results show altogether.
The results will be immediately available online, and I don t need to slog through all those after-the-break moments.
The only results show I ll watch will be the May finale.
It doesn t take a genius to figure out why Fox is stuffing excessive amounts of Idol down our throats.
The network was sagging pitifully until the January return of favorites such as Idol and 24.
To the dismay of competing networks, the sixth season of Idol is turning out to be even hotter than the previous five. Last season Idol averaged 31.
7 million viewers per episode. This season it s averaging 33.5 million viewers.
In the multichannel, network-sagging universe, that s amazing.
Nevertheless, I think there s a good chance viewers will grow weary of and saturated by three nights of Idol a week.
We knew it was too good to be true.
American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe swears up and down in an that Michael Jackson will not play a role in this season s competition.
It s not true, is what I can say, just not true, Lythgoe insisted.
Jackson s people are just as adamant.
There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Michael Jackson is going to appear on American Idol, a spokesman told
But there will apparently be a surprise of some sort.
It s the biggest thing that s happened to Idol in five years, Lythgoe teased.
Despite the TV Week interviewer s best efforts, the tight-lipped showrunner refused to cough up details.
So, will it be a celebrity appearance? A new twist in the competition? Or something entirely different?
Let the guessing games begin
Meanwhile, Yahoo!
has released its own rankings, based on the number of searches its users are conducting on each of the contestants.
Who do you think will win it all? We ve posted photos and short bios on each of the 24 finalists to help you make an educated guess.
Click and
Not only is she likely to win an Academy Award on Sunday, former Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson is striking a blow against the too-skinny standards of beauty that fashion magazines promote. By landing on the cover of Vogue, Hudson is breaking ground in the fashion world. Here s a great article from The News Observer in Raleigh, N.
C., about Hudson and the magazine cover.
You might want to save that next issue of Vogue.
Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson is on the cover.
Sure, it s noteworthy because she s only the third African American woman on the cover in the magazine s 115-year-history.
But look again.
This is Vogue, the fashion magazine with unprecedented power to sway fashion trends and where skinny girls the size 0s or 2s without round hips, big butts, or God forbid, voluminous cleavage historically have been considered the most beautiful.
Now it seems Vogue s editor, Anna Wintour, who has been so notoriously size-conscious that she even asked Oprah Winfrey to lose weight before appearing on the cover in October 1998, has new ideas about weight. With Hudson on the cover, Vogue s new full-size message, not only to the millions of people who live for the magazine s style insight but to the weight-obsessed fashion industry, is that too-skinny might soon be so last season.
It s history in the making, says Andre Leon Talley, Vogue s editor-at-large, who wrote the story on Hudson after helping style her for this season s awards shows.
The March issue, which publishes Tuesday, is timed beautifully. In recent months, Madrid and Milan have set weight guidelines for runway models in the wake of several deaths of models who suffered from anorexia.
Then during New York s recent Fashion Week, several unhealthy and dangerously thin models were pulled from runway shows while the debate over too-thin models continued among designers, modeling agencies and show producers. However, New York s fashion industry has yet to set restrictions, instead offering an education plan to teach models, fashion designers and others about healthy eating and eating disorders.
In her March Letter from the editor column, Wintour hints change might be coming.
There is no more inspiring example of the power of talent and tenacity than Jennifer s rise from American Idol reject to Golden Globe winner, Wintour writes. (She s) also a style icon whose happiness in her own skin is something we can draw strength from. The question of body image is a current one, and I can t think of a more compelling and beautiful argument for the proposition that great fashion looks great on women of all sizes than the sight of Hudson in a Vera Wang dress on the red carpet
Vogue isn t the only industry player to take a stand on healthy body image.
Tyra Banks, the former supermodel who has been ridiculed by tabloids for adding about 20 pounds to her 5-foot-10 frame, is speaking out about her weight gain on her show by wearing the bikini she posed in when she graced Sports Illustrated with a few pieces of added material to show that she s still beautiful at 160 pounds.
But for Vogue, which sets fashion tones and influences style around the world, taking this step likely will have a broader impact. According to a 2002 study cited in the Journal of Counseling and Development, many girls rely on magazine and TV ads for information on weight loss and appearance.
Those who value those sources possess the most negative body image, according to the study. An earlier study found that women who read fashion magazines reported a lower ideal body weight and had greater body dissatisfaction than women who read news magazines.
Those pushing for industry changes say Vogue s move is a positive first step.
I m hoping they are taking a health stance, says Cynthia Bulik, a University of North Carolina professor of eating disorders and director of the school s Eating Disorders Program. I hope they are the first ones to stick their necks out and acknowledge this.
She says the impact of Hudson on the cover will be significant among teenagers and young women who read the magazine.
We re looking for healthy and diverse role models for girls, she says. We don t want eating disorders to be glamorous. We don t want ultra-thinness to be glamorous.
Liv Goodwin, owner of the Curves fitness center on Duke Street in Durham, N.C., says the magazine cover also will inspire the women who work out at her center.
You cannot believe what we have to go through to put additional incentives out there for women, she says. They see these super skinny, beautiful girls out there. They don t see that these girls are really starving themselves.
Liria Mersini, who writes Your Guide to Plus Fashion at about.com, says Hudson on the cover is part of a larger trend of bigger women being recognized for something other than their size. For instance America Ferrera recently won a Golden Globe for her role as the plump assistant at a fashion magazine in ABC s Ugly Betty, and Chandra Wilson, a healthy-sized actress, recently was nominated for an Emmy for her role on ABC s Grey s Anatomy.
Vogue doing this with Jennifer Hudson is indicative of the next wave, Mersini says. There is more of an acceptance of the women who are larger than we ve been used to seeing.
Talley, who in recent years has lost weight through the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham and later penned his weight struggles in his Vogue column, said Vogue has always supported healthy eating.
We constantly embrace and endorse that healthy is the most important thing, he says. It s a healthy issue, not a vanity issue.
However, the magazine has for the most part steered clear of what the industry considers full-figured models or celebrities.
On the cover, Golden Globe winner Hudson, who is up for an Oscar for her role in the movie, shows off her ample cleavage in a satin ruby red Carolina Herrera gown. She also posed in a Vera Wang gown during a photo shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Talley says the cover is important not only because she s a black woman, but because Hudson came out of relative obscurity in just a short time, from American Idol loser to Oscar nominee, all in three years.
This is the first time a normal citizen, an actress, has ever been on the cover, he says.
Normal indeed. Hudson, who said she put on 20 pounds to play the full-figured Effie White in the movie, is more typical of most American woman than almost all of the women on many of today s fashion magazine covers.
The average woman is 5-foot-4 and wears a size 14. Most models and celebrities on fashion magazine covers are size 0, 2 or 4, while the average runway model is 5-foot-11, and wears a size 0 or 2, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The change of climate is important, Talley says.
We re sending a message to people that you can be all you can.
The former Idol contestant was in Houston recently. Here s a report from the Houston Chronicle
Bucky Covington s first stop was a Houston TV station at 8 a.
m. He had bused in late the previous night from Dallas. Still, he looked squirrelly and spirited.
Kind of like a musician on his first tour.
Covington, 29, traveled around Houston recently, making several radio and TV appearances and sneaking in a short nap before performing at the Armadillo Palace, signing autographs, watching American Idol with fans and then heading out on Interstate 10 to San Antonio to start the process again.
That s the former Idol contestant s routine for the next few weeks.
He ll break away from the bus from time to time to jet to Tennessee or Florida, where he ll cut the remaining tracks for his self-titled debut album, which is due in April.
How could you complain about that? he asks.
This is about trying, seriously trying, to make a career. I want this record to turn out right.
For the time being, he s promoting Different World, his new single.
And he s promoting Bucky Covington as a new country music entity.
All American Idol winners have done fine. Its runners-up have a spottier track record.
And the popular show s also-rans like Covington, who made the final eight often find themselves trying to stretch their 15 minutes to no avail. Covington s Season 5 pal Chris Daughtry and Season 4 s Jennifer Hudson have turned also-ran-dom into superstardom.
But Idol has found secret success with country music, which is less prone to speedy chic cycles than pop is.
Carrie Underwood is one of the show s two most successful winners, having sold 5 million copies of her debut as a fresh-faced country newcomer. That s the audience Covington seeks, evident in Different World, a nostalgic, old-values kind of song with big harmonies and Covington s twangy vocals sounding more polished and confident than they did during his charming but erratic Idol run.
But Covington who before Idol was working in his father s auto body shop in North Carolina lovably took his lumps on the show.
There s some of that aw-shucksness in his manner, although he frequently peppers conversation with offhand remarks that suggest he doesn t want to come across as too squeaky clean.
When the Super Bowl comes up, he mentions he spent the game at Idol Season 4 runner-up Bo Bice s house. I went over there, and we pulled one, he says enthusiastically, suggesting a robust round of partying.
He quickly winks. Um, what I meant is we hung out quietly.
He talks about time in Los Angeles, perceptions of folks he s crossed paths with (Paris Hilton, Slash you know, the guitarist with the top hat and all ), but just about stops dead in his tracks when he learns the Houston station is where Judge Alex tapes.
Who? one of his handlers asks.
Judge Alex, he replies.
Nothing. So he explains. You know Judge Judy?
It s like that, but Judge Alex.
On the way out, Judge Alex walks by and greets all. Covington smiles.
Who was that? another handler asks.
Judge Alex.
You know Judge Judy? It s like that, but Judge Alex.
Outside the Armadillo Palace that evening, he works the charm.
Two teenage girls stop dead in their tracks on the way to the front door when they see Covington outside mid-photo shoot. They quickly pull out their cameras. He smiles and makes a little wave with his index finger, prompting one to do an excited little jig.
Such fans are a good start, but Idol s tens of millions of viewers and voters don t necessarily translate into record buyers.
Covington seems committed to making a serious run, though. He was signed to Lyric Street records by Sawyer Brown s Mark Miller, and he s been playing with members of Miller s band.
Post-competition, a different Covington has arisen. Some rough edges have been smoothed out capped teeth, a snazzy wardrobe but he s maintained the Buckyness that earned him a loyal legion on the show.
His music reflects that, contempo country with flashes of rock.
I try to put in as much rock as they ll let me, he says.
Most of his record will be written by outside parties. There s just so many good writers in Nashville, he says, although he s planning to cut a co-write, Carolina Blue, this week.
A Kentucky kid, I mention North Carolina basketball the loathsome N.C. Tar Heels and the worse Duke Blue Devils likely make us adversaries.
You know, with that title, you might think it s about basketball, but it s really about being away from the ones you love.
I feel silly.
Plus I don t really care about basketball or sports in general.
Only NASCAR.
He rattles off a bit of NASCAR history and its roots in races among moonshiners.
Those guys, he says of the drivers, they re as big as any stars out there, but you wouldn t know it.
They re always giving back, always remembering who they are and where they came from.
It s a relief to be rid of the really bad warblers, but last night s American Idol elimination episode was, well, weird.
First of all, we lost Jimmy McNeal, the terrific 23-year-old singer who is a senior at Texas State University in San Marcos.
I thought for sure we d get to see this super-talented Waxahachie native for at least a few more weeks.
It happens. It s alright, McNeal said this morning after the Hollywood rejection, which actually took place weeks ago.
I m very, very happy that I did it. This was my fourth time to try out, and I ve never gotten past the first round before. I guess I just wasn t what they were looking for then or now.
It s a TV show.
Grumpy judge Simon Cowell had praised McNeal in an earlier audition, comparing him favorably to former Idol winner Ruben Studdard. So it was surprising when the boom was lowered in picking the final 24 contestants.
I m very hard on myself, McNeal said. Even if I have my best performance ever, you always think there s something you could do better. But I thought I was good enough to make it.
I guess they thought different.
Texas State students and faculty had rallied around McNeal, as had friends and family in Waxahachie. There were even plans for Idol T-shirts featuring the impeccably mannered and popular student.
McNeal, a music major, hasn t given up on his dream. He plans to pursue a singing career after he graduates. Because of a holding contract Fox has with all Idol contestants, he can t do anything professionally until after the May finale airs.
This is a stepping stone for me, he said. I m thankful to American Idol for showing my audition I wasn t sure they would.
Also last night on Idol, the fabulous Robyn Troup, who won the My Grammy Moment competition and got to sing with Justin Timberlake on The Grammys, got the hook.
Good enough for Grammy, but not good enough for Idol. The Idol episode was taped before the Grammys, but the Houston native has such obvious talent you d think she would have made it to the Final 24.
Next Tuesday, the top 12 male singers perform, and, on Wednesday, the top dozen women follow.
The men who made the cut are Chris Sligh, 28, Greenville, S.C.; Sanjaya Malakar, 17, Federal Way, Wash.
; Brandon Rogers, 28, West Hollywood, Calif.; Philip Stacy, 29, Jacksonville, Fla.; Blake Lewis, 25, Bothell, Wash.
; Rudy Cardenas, 28, Los Angeles; Paul Kim, 25, Saratoga, Calif.; A.J.
Tabaldo, 22, Santa Maria, Calif.; Nicholas Pedro, 25, Taunton, Mass.; Chris Richardson, 22, Chesapeake, Va.
; Jared Cotter, 25, Kew Gardens, N.Y., and Jason Sundance Head, 28, Porter, Tex.
The women competitors are Melinda Doolittle, 29, Brentwood, Tenn.; Gina Glocksen, 22, Naperville, Ill.; Haley Scarnato, 24, San Antonio, Tex.
; Jordin Sparks, 17, Glendale, Ariz.; Stephanie Edwards, 19, Savannah, Ga.; Leslie Hunt, 24, Chicago; Alaina Alexander, 24, West Hollywood, Calif.
; Sabrina Sloan, 27, Studio City, Calif.; Lakisha Jones, 27, Fort Mead, Md.; Nicole Tranquillo, 20, Philadelphia; Amy Krebs, 22, Federal Way, Wash.
, and Antonella Barba, 20, Point Pleasant, N.J.
Say it ain t so!
Texas State University-San Marcos student Jimmy McNeal was just cut by the American Idol judges.
For the second night in a row, producers opted not to show McNeal s performance. (What s up with that, anyway?
) We did, however, have a front-row seat when the crushing news was delivered.
Jimmy, we ve made a decision, Simon Cowell told him. You haven t made it.
McNeal looked mighty dejected, but seemed to take it all in stride. No tears. No cursing.
Right now, I m just thinking about how I m gonna tell my mom, McNeal said as he walked out of the auditorium.
What s next for Waxahachie s most talented resident? We ll let you know as soon as we find out.
Paula Abdul isn t a lush.
She s a good girl, goshdarnit. Honest!
Sick of the never-ending rumors surrounding her bizarre behavior this season, Abdul to set the record straight.
I ve never been drunk, she insisted. I have never done recreational drugs.
Just look at my 20-year career. Tell me someone who is into partying or doing drugs that could have done that.
Abdul seems to forget that awfully big gap between her Straight Up days and her re-emergence from Nowheresville when American Idol debuted in 2002.
But we digress
There have been 100 million lies about me, she continued. I m squeaky clean. I ve worked my (expletive) off my entire life.
(But) being involved in the show causes people to question everything.
Maybe she s right. Maybe we are reading too much into .
Then again, maybe we aren t.
(Go ahead.
Insert your best joke here. You know you want to.)
Secret meetings between Jackson and Idol execs are apparently ongoing, according to the magazine, and an announcement could be just days away.
Bye, bye, .
Adios, .
And the list goes on.
Let s just say Texans had a rough time on Tuesday s American Idol. But the news wasn t bad for everyone. Judges whittled 172 hopefuls down to 40 finalists by the end of the hour, and we ve still got a handful of folks to root for including .
Idol producers nearly left McNeal s many fans here and in his hometown of Waxahachie hanging. His performances didn t air, but we were thankfully treated to glimpses of him celebrating in the show s final moments. Let s hope McNeal gets a little more exposure Wednesday night, when Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson choose this season s 24 contestants.
Another Texan who made the cut was . We re still not sure how that happened.
Head, the favorite to win it all on many Idol gossip boards, turned in a couple putrid performances.
You sang through your nose, and halfway through it looked like you d been boiled, Cowell told Head after his first time behind the mic. You were all red.
And he s supposed to be the best Idol has to offer this season?
We don t think so.
The second performance was no better. We do, however, have to give Head some credit for admitting he stunk up the joint.
I am not an example for anyone that is trying out for this show, he told the cameras. I ve got to get something right or they will send me home.
Count on it, buddy.
There s still hope for all you fans.
reports that has moved the sold-out Feb. 23 show outdoors, opening up a few more seats.
Snatch em now, before they re gone.
Daughtry, featuring Chris Daughtry from American Idol Season 5, has the right now. It s Not Over, the group s impressive debut single, can be heard on a number of Austin radio stations, including and .
Not bad for an Idol reject.
Hmmm. Can Hicks sell out the Travis County Expo Center? We re beginning to wonder.
The Dixie Chicks may be getting all the attention after Sunday, but they weren t the night s only success story.
(Click and to see photos.)
Lost in all the hubbub is Season 4 American Idol winner , who took home a trio of awards: New Artist, Female Country Vocal Performance and Country Song.
Not too shabby, we think you ll agree.
And, when it came time to give thanks, and respect it deserves.
There are so many people to thank, she said after accepting the award for best new artist.
I m going to start at the top. Thank you, God. Thank you, Mom and Dad.
Thank you, Simon Fuller, who created the show American Idol that got me here.
No thanks for Simon Cowell? Gee, we wonder how that happened.
The victim is his wife, according to the magazine s Web site. Sounds like a really nice guy, huh?
You can read more on the Season 6 front-runners today on our Web site. And, if you re looking for a spoiler or two, check out , which claims to know the 12 male and 12 female finalists who will be unveiled Wednesday night on Fox.
Singing Cupid confidently in the last contestant spot, Texas State University-San Marcos student Jimmy McNeal nabbed his golden ticket to Hollywood on American Idol on Tuesday night.
Well done, Jimbo, Simon Cowell said. You re like a little fun Ruben, aren t you? It s good, authentic, I think you re very likeable.
Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, Paula Abdul said. Keep that voice smooth.
Welcome to Hollywood from the mighty state of Texas, Randy Jackson said.
Work it out, baby, work it out.
Amazingly beautiful, McNeal, 23 and originally from Waxahachie, told host Ryan Seacrest in the San Antonio hallway Aug. 11, when asked how it felt to be chosen.
When McNeal leaned over to tell a unimpressed young family member: I m going to Hollywood, she replied So?
Idol airs again 8 p.m.
tonight (Wednesday).
Everything s bigger in Texas.
Especially the tempers.
Jasmine Holland, all meek and mild, entered the audition room, confessing she was a little shy.
Yeah, right.
After a horrid song that left Randy Jackson all choked up and not in the good way Paula Abdul tried to let Holland down gently.
That just was not the best audition, Abdul said. It seems like you re really sad.
That s a pretty nice rejection by American Idol standards.
But Holland wasn t about to take no for an answer.
First target? Randy Jackson.
What do you do? she asked Jackson as she exited the audition room. Because I haven t heard of you until American Idol came.
You do nothing. You re in the background, right?
Then it was Simon s turn to take a little heat.
Simon what is he? she asked host Ryan Seacrest. He s not even American.
Then back to Jackson.
And Randy looks like a fat slob, like he just got up and put on anything, she continued.
Abdul somehow managed to stay clear of the venom.
Lucky her.
We re still waiting for someone anyone from Austin to materialize.
Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have all been represented.
Heck, even Krum, Texas, scored a mention. But no Austin. Not yet at least.
Judging by the caliber of the performances tonight, maybe that s a good thing.
There have been a few bright spots. Simon Cowell yes, Simon fought to get Ashlyn Carr a ticket to Hollywood.
Carr, a resident of Sugar Land, was turned away after belting out Feeling Good by Nina Simone. Why? The judges said she made weird facial expressions.
But Cowell was convinced a mistake had been made. And what Simon wants, Simon gets. So take two.
There s something about you, Cowell said after the second performance. You re like an old-school Dionne Warwick, and I think you re too good to pass up.
So off to Hollywood she went.
It was supposed to be a package deal.
Cousins William Green and Akron Watson traveled together from Dallas to San Antonio, hoping to both score golden tickets. After all, with just $3 between them, they didn t have much to lose.
American Idol is everything, Green said. We re both unemployed. We both have no source of income.
But things didn t work out as they had planned. Green s take on Amazing Grace bombed.
Watson, meanwhile, is bound for Hollywood after a brief scare.
You re a good singer, Simon Cowell said, but there is just a massive personality/charisma problem here. I was bored, and it wasn t that long.
Yikes.
Better try that again.
And, thankfully, that second song was much better because $3 won t get you very far these days.
A zero and a hero.
Welcome to American Idol, Texas style.
An estimated 11,000 hopefuls turned out at the Alamodome last year, hoping to impress Idol judges. Bryan Kyrish didn t.
Haley Sarnato did.
Kyrish kicked the hour off, shouting and thrashing to Billy Idol s In the Midnight Hour.
I want them to feel my fire, he said before entering the audition room.
Instead, Kyrish was left feeling the judges fire.
It was a lot of shouting without a lot of melody, Simon Cowell told him.
And off he went.
Sarnato was next in line. And, with a beautiful rendition of Bonnie Raitt s I Can t Make You Love Me, she narrowly made it to Hollywood.
I thought you were good and controlled, Paula Abdul told her.
It was OK.
You look good, Cowell added. You sound good.
It s a bit cabaret. Not much originality.
Mixed messages anyone?
The L.A. Times hangs out with last season s runner-up:
LOS ANGELES On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Katharine McPhee was sashaying through a coffee shop in a red crystal-covered minidress.
The leggy singer with the cascade of brown hair knocked her hips from side to side theatrically. I feel like I m doing what Beyoncé does, she giggled, to a small but appreciative audience that includes her boyfriend, her publicist, a representative from Swarovski (which made the dress) and the barista and kitchen crew.
This dress barely covers my butt, she said, swinging it vigorously.
Baby, if I m going to be wearing this I m going to have to get to the gym, she said as she nodded to boyfriend Nick Cokas.
McPhee is at the vertiginous moment of her career when she can still change in the bathrooms of coffee shops and not create a major commotion. She s famous as a reality star the winsome runner-up from last season s American Idol but she s not yet a genuine rock star in her own right, and her new album, Katharine McPhee (released this week), will largely determine whether McPhee ascends into the winner s circle of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood or joins the crew of Idol has-beens such as Justin Guarini.
She arrived at this coffee shop a local haunt she s been frequenting since high school after a long day of publicity. Her farm-fresh features had been meticulously lacquered for photo shoots and interviews, and the famed mane now included hair extensions. Decked out in a slouchy brown sweater and jeans, she toted a white paper Williams-Sonoma shopping bag filled with shirts and cowboy boots that enabled her to change her look between various interviews.
So often on Idol, McPhee seemed a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice in search of an identity. I think the hardest thing about that show is finding who you are in front of everybody else in the whole world, she said. Especially for her because, and I don t mean this egotistically.
I am a little bit versatile. I can sound like the singer who sings jazz. I could do my little R B, so it made it difficult for people to pinpoint me.
In person, McPhee, 22, appears more distinctive and scrappy she did, after all, do some starving-actress years, living at home with her parents, failing on auditions and making money by singing in local musical-theater productions. She thinks her best performance on Idol came at the beginning of the season, when I was the most calm and still kind of in reality. I wasn t absorbed in this bubble.
She got rattled by nerves in the contest, especially as it went on. When I got into the Top five is when I really started to lose it. Just getting like emotional during rehearsals.
Just doubting yourself a lot. Having nerves you can t really control. I did the best that I could, but it was the best I could do in that moment.
I don t think it was necessarily my best.
The new album appears to be a snapshot of McPhee at this point in time recorded in the few months since the Idol tour ended last summer. Her image and sound have gone a little more sultry.
The cover features McPhee in a loose but clingy gold-and-black striped sweater dress, her legs provocatively splayed, encased in foreboding thigh-high black leather boots, and her thatch of hair doing its requisite tumbling.
The songs alternate between power ballads and up-tempo girl-power tunes. She and her record company part of the Sony/BMG empire, like all the Idols had intended to just sit back and see what songs were sent to them by songwriters, but McPhee wasn t happy.
It was stuff that I wasn t identifying with, so the record company packed her off to Virginia Beach, Va., for 10 days to work with Nate Danja Hills, the record producer who co-produced (with Timbaland) Nelly Furtado s hit single Promiscuous and Justin Timberlake s SexyBack.
They produced nine songs in 10 days, including three to which McPhee contributed lyrics: Neglected, about leaving a bad relationship ( I don t like this feeling whenever I m around you.
I want to be respected, but I m just neglected ), and a kicky ode to shoes, Open Shoes. What s the other song I co-wrote on? Why can t I remember it?
she says. It turns out to be Not Ur Girl, another song about dumping a bad guy.
The daughter of a vocal coach and a TV producer, McPhee has been performing since she was 7, when she sang Jingle Bell Rock at her mom s church.
I was really proud to have my second-grade teacher come see me sing. Because I knew that she would be impressed. She grew up first in a marginal section of Van Nuys, Calif.
, in the San Fernando Valley, before moving to the nearby cozy suburbia of Sherman Oaks and going to Notre Dame High.
Still, that area is completely removed from Los Angeles proper. McPhee almost never went over the hill until she moved into the suite of apartments designated for the Idols, near the CBS studios where the show is taped.
The finalists, she said, are kept under close watch, with a security guard tailing them when they do real-world activities, like shop for the upcoming show s outfit. If you want to go search for the new Idol, go look at the Beverly Center on Thursday mornings, and I bet you ll see Idol sightings.
McPhee didn t much like the constant surveillance and doesn t know if it was really needed.
I think they were also just trying to make sure that you don t find another manager, she cracked. They are invested. They don t want you to leave.
Asked whether she ever felt hometown support, McPhee smirked and laughed. No. I m not going to lie.
I definitely didn t. It s typical. They were all rooting for somebody else.
L.A. can t even keep a football team.
Indeed, it was almost painful to watch the episode when the finalists returned for a celebratory hometown visit and to see competitor Taylor Hicks embraced with statewide Alabama love and thousands of fans, while McPhee had to make do with a cadre from her high school. It s pretty pathetic. I can t complain, though.
Other small towns were behind me. Otherwise I wouldn t have made it as far as I did.
It s clear as she talks that McPhee isn t the simple ingenue she so often appeared to be on Idol and she went further to crush that image when the contest was over, as she revealed to People magazine that she had been a bulimic for five years.
Before the Hollywood round of the Idol audition began, she enrolled at a treatment center and spent three months undergoing group and individual therapy, six days a week.
McPhee explained that she decided to go public because she felt the responsibility of the little girls looking up to her. When a People reporter asked how she had lost weight, she decided impulsively to come clean.
I am so sick of like having to be just like every other Hollywood story.
Indeed, while McPhee cops to still being in development both as a person and an artist she seems to have a mantra that s guiding her through the thicket of growing up in a world heady with other people s expectations. She frames it as advice to the crop of Idol wannabes dominating the TV season.
Don t trust anybody, because the producers have their agenda. I personally would just stick to your own guns and do what you think is right in your gut.
Want to Sing Like the Stars ?
Here s a tip: Don t buy Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson s DVD.
Eric Mueller did and the results were, um, interesting. Yeah, that s a good word.
We should have known we were in for a treat when Mueller made this promise before entering the audition room: People are going to hear my voice and say, You know, I haven t heard anything like that in a long time.
Indeed we haven t. Mueller sounded like a Hilary Duff song stuck on fast-forward.
I have absolutely no idea what you just sang, Simon Cowell said. You are absolutely attrocious.
So, kids, save that allowance money.
You ll need it for therapy after the American Idol judges rip you to shreds.
We re a little misty-eyed right now, and we re not ashamed to admit it.
After witnessing one of the sweetest, most heartfelt performances in American Idol history, we re fairly sure we re not alone.
At age 64, Sherman Pore should have never been allowed in front of the judges. (The cutoff is 28.) But, armed with a heart-breaking story and a petition bearing 300-plus names, he managed to get inside the audition room.
It was a wise move on the producers part.
Why was Pore so determined?
My lady and I had been together 20 years and she came down with cancer, he told the judges.
I was doing everything I could to help her keep lifted, but she passed away Friday, two days before the audition.
Pore instantly had their sympathy, but he didn t need it. His take on You Belong to Me hit all the right notes.
Even mean ol Simon Cowell had some words of praise: You re a class act, Sherman.
And, for once, he was actually right.
Her parents don t want her to sing.
Her mom even said she wasn t quite TV pretty. But nothing will stop Phoung Pham from pursuing her dreams.
Except, of course, for the American Idol judges.
They shut down the Taylor Hicks wannabe in near record time.
I don t want to be perceived as a Taylor replicate, she said, but I would like to come across as having that same passion, that same fire that he does.
No dice.
Simon Cowell s assessment after hearing Pham perform Dancing in the Streets : I m not sure what was worse: the singing or the dancing.
Alrighty then.
Out in the hall, Pham cried on Ryan Seacrest s shoulder.
To her credit, Mom was there too.
I thought I had something, Pham said. Now my dream is over and there s nothing I can do.
Another dream dashed, Idol style.
Call the zoo. A panther s on the prowl.
No, wait that s just Martik Manoukian. Welcome to Hollyweird.
Manoukian who swears he s part panther stripped, strutted and growled his way into the lead spot at the Los Angeles auditions.
Too bad he sounded like an alley cat.
The judges once they stopped laughing had few nice things to say.
What the hell was that?
Simon Cowell asked. The buildup was horrific. The outfit was horrific.
The meowing was ridiculous. And the singing was horrendous.
Unfazed, Manoukian sauntered into the hall, head held high, and made this prophetic projection: I might be blowing up as big as Michael Jackson.
Maybe bigger.
Move over, Paula Abdul.
wants your job.
And she just might get it.
Love revealed to that American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has asked her to serve as a judge.
I thought it was kind of weird but brilliant, Love told the magazine.
The troubled rocker wouldn t go into specifics, but an anonymous source insisted Love would replace Abdul, whose bizarre behavior in recent weeks has prompted rampant speculation. She even missed Day 2 of the Birmingham, Ala., auditions, which aired last night on Fox.
So, let s get this straight: Idol wants to replace one train wreck with an even bigger train wreck. Sounds like a recipe for ratings gold.
Update: Defamer now claims .
We can only hope.
Daughtry will be at on Feb. 23.
The show is sold out, but there seems to be a brisk online business in tickets, and we wouldn t be surprised to see the show move to a bigger venue. Meantime, check out this interview from the Associated Press.
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