January 2007 News Archive

Welcome to Los Angeles, fans.

Last night's American Idol auditions in Birmingham were decent, but this is Hollywood. Let's see if the contestants can step it up ...

Most unexpected: It's actually not Olivia Newton-John. The well-known singer from Grease is more welcome than this panther dude. He actually seems surprised to be rejected.

Most awesome assonance: Alaina Alexander. That hoarse voice could help her make it as a sex operater - or an American Idol, apparently, considering she's moving on to Hollywood. Or remaining in Hollywood. Either way.

Most surprising Taylor Hicks wanna-be: Phuong Pham. Her mom told her she was no Katharine McPhee? Ouch. No golden ticket? Double ouch. That dancing? Let's just move on.

Most experienced: Brandon Rogers (pictured). A back-up singer for Christina Aguilera and Anastacia? That almost seems like cheating. But there are no rules against it and Brandon seems likable.

Most boy band ready: Brian Miller. Simon forgot him from last year. Never a good sign. But he may cry if we don't give him a golden ticket. Thanks, guys.

Best closing note: We wish Simon hadn't embarassed Eric Mueller like that - but how could he not with such rich material as the help he tried to recieve from a Randy and Paula CD?

So long, L.A. San Antonio on Tuesday has to be better.

Many fans of American Idol this season already have a favorite - and his roots run deep.

Indeed, Sundance Head has almost been preparing for these auditions since birth. That's what happens when you have a father with a numner-one single in the 1960s. His name is Roy Head.

Take a look/listen below and see how Sundance's apple hasn't fallen very far from his papa's talented tree:

While Amerian Idol judges have been a bit overly harsh this season, there's another group of people who, perhaps, deserve even more of our collective criticism than the judges. FOX News is talking about the parents in this commentary.

Sometimes, the disturbing parenting is obvious, like when a concerned-seeming mom is comforting her completely tone-deaf child by saying they should go home right away and start practicing for next year.

But other times, the signs of slightly off parenting are more difficult to spot.

In the case of Nichole - a 17-year-old accompanied by a group of people wearing bright pink "Team Nichole" T-shirts during last night's American Idol auditions in Birmingham - it seemed like the family was really supportive at first.

After all, who but a blindingly proud parent would wear such a heinously misguided shirt?

But then Nichole confessed that her mom essentially thinks she's talentless. And when the girl was dismissed by the judges, her mom stopped comforting her to ask whether or not she actually did her best.

Your kid has just been "Simonized" and you're on national television wearing a T-shirt that's meant to show how supportive you are. Is that really the question you want to ask?

Then there was Tatiana McConnico, another 17-year-old girl who was about as adorable and self-aware as they come and happened to actually have an outstanding voice.

When she returned from the audition room - triumphant, clutching the golden ticket and surrendering to the familial hugs - you can hear her mom say: "We made it."

Look, we know the girl is 17 and that her mom was probably incredibly proud. But we? Um, Mom, we didn't see you in there when Tatiana was putting Aretha to shame.

Of course, the same can't be said for Victoria's mom, who stood ramrod straight in the audition room, proudly listening to her girl sing Josh Groban with all the pizzazz of an agoraphobic high schooler trying out for a church choir.

And while the mom in this case didn't do anything overtly creepy on camera, influencing your daughter to never cut her hair has got to be considered a crime in some parenting circles.

Finally, there was Jamie Lynn — aka Kellie Pickler 2007 — who sang sweetly and, in just as sugary tones, explained to the judges that her dad was paralyzed because he shot his ex-wife and then himself.

We know that one of the people hearing this story is Paula, so rational behavior isn't going to prevail, but this is essentially handled like it's a precious little tale of a pretty daughter hoping to pull the family up by its bootstraps by singing her way to American Idol fame — and that's just plain weird.

Katharine McPhee released her debut album yesterday.

And now we have this exclusive shot of last year's American Idol runner-up getting in touch with her sexy side during a shoot for the CD's first music video, "Over It."

It could serve as inspiration for Tatiana McConnico and other young hopefuls in Season Six:

There's a reason why rival television executives not-so-fondly refer to Fox's American Idol as the "death star."

The talent show, which attracted more than 32 million viewers for each of its audition episodes, eclipsed everything in prime-time TV last week and was particularly cruel for the shows unlucky enough to air at the same time, Nielsen Media Research said on Tuesday.

ABC's new comedy Knights of Prosperity (3.6 million viewers), NBC's critical favorite Friday Night Lights (5.7 million) and CBS' dead-on-arrival reality show Armed & Famous (4.2 million) are some of the programs that wilted last week in direct competition with American Idol.

One of the few shows that seemed impervious to the Fox phenomenon was Univision's Spanish-language soap opera, "La Fea Mas Bella," which had more viewers at 8 p.m. Wednesday (6.3 million) than anything NBC, ABC or CBS had to offer.

Don't start writing your thank you speech for winning American Idol just yet, Sundance Head.

After last night's auditions in Birmingham, Tatiana McConnico may have something to say about the final outcome. Let's get to know this young hopeful a bit better ...

Tatiana won the 33rd annual Hal Jackson Talented Teen International Scholarship (pictured here) when she was 14. By doing so, the Douglasville, Georgia native won trips to London, Paris, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla - along with a $5,000 scholarship to the college of her choice.

“My advice to other teen girls who want to enter a scholarship competition is this: Enter because you want to, not because your mom, dad or anyone else thinks that it is a good idea," McConnico said at the time. "If you don’t want to do it, you won’t put your heart into it, and if your heart is not in it, you won’t do your best.”

Tatiana also was a Star Search finalist and starred in Alliance Theater productions of The Color Purple and The Wiz.

We're live from Birmingham, Alabama!

Let's see how these American Idol auditions compare to those from New York last week.

Highest expectations set: Ryan Seacrest. Alabama is the home to former Idols, Bo Bice, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks. Those are two of the show's five winners. But no pressure, newcomers.

Most Muppet-like: Katie Bernard. Just don't talk on your way to Hollywood, ok? But bring alike your shy, cute husband. He seemed to be the only thing standing between Paula and a nervous breakdown.

Most well-grounded: Tatiana McConnico. Pictured here at age 13, this is a straightforward, down to earth 17-year old who seems quite ... normal. An American Idol oddity, sadly. Great name, too. Sundance Head has some competition.

Birmingham-ing-est: Bernard Williams II. The man has serious Alabama pride. He knows his Rubens, Taylors and Bos for sure. He also knows his Randy Jacksons, apparently, as a plea to his "dawg" gets Bernie through.

Saddest, prettiest story: Jamie Lynn Ward. A paralyzed father. Blue eyes. Blonde hair. And an actual voice. A new contender has emerged.

Biggest surprise: Chris Sligh. A goofball at heart - but, no, Simon it's not Justin Guarini. It may, however, be this year's runner-up, just like Mr. Guarini. Sligh is sly. Who knew this Screech Powers look-a-like could sing?

We'd take Paula Abdul drunk over Courtney Love sober.

For some reason, American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has reportedly contacted Kurt Cobain's widow and asked her to appear as a celebrity judge on the show.

"He called," Love tells Us Magazine. "He was wondering if I was interested. I thought it was kind of weird but brilliant."

Is FOX lining up a replacement for slap-happy Paula Abdul? Or just looking to spice up the show with the always-entertaining, often-insane rocker/actress?

Love, who is currently in L.A. recording a solo album, declined to reveal any more specific details. Allow us to go on record as being very frightened, however.

Last week, American Idol experts Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez reviewed the opening week of the show.

Today, they're back for more. Read on for their recap of the Memphis and New York City tryouts.

TVGuide.com: Who are you liking from Week 2? I have a good feeling about "Sundance" Head, the blues guy....
Kimberly: Sundance Head is my favorite as of right now.
Rosanna: My favorite is 16-year-old hippie girl. I loved her.

Kimberly: Oh, my god... she could do every single type of music, she was so versatile. I think we are all going to be super, super surprised about what comes out of this girl. I think everybody thought that she was just going to be a character and a joke, but this girl really has something special. The fact that she is so unique and so out there is really going to work in her favor.

TVGuide.com: At this early stage, how big a factor do you think the ultimate marketability of the singer is? It sometimes seems like a gal with merely "promising" pipes but in a pretty package can coax a yes out of Simon.
Rosanna: I really think that first it's the voice, second it's the stage presence, and third is how you look.
Kimberly: Yeah.
Rosanna: If you happen to look great, it's to your benefit, but I really think the first two are the priority.
Kimberly: You don't have to look like Britney Spears to be an American Idol. Take Ruben Studdard: You wouldn't look at him and go, "Yeah, he's going to win American Idol." Or Clay Aiken... they don't look like typical pop stars, and I think that's why people fall in love with them.

TVGuide.com: Week 1 gave us the brother and sister going to Hollywood, and Week 2 gave us two girls who are best friends. Is there real value in such "Awww" factors, or is it simply not going to save their bacon at the end of the day?
Kimberly: No, it's just part of the reality show, and that's pretty much it.
Rosanna: Right. I think they're all good singers, as well, but probably one of them will wind up going on, and the other will be sent home. That's always the "dramatic twist."
Kimberly: The one [of the Week 2 BFFs] without training, I think, will definitely wind up in the top 12, and the one with training will wind up going home.

TVGuide.com: My wife was commenting on how the song choices can veer toward the obscure. Because of music-rights issues and what not, is there a set list of songs an auditioner has to choose from?
Kimberly: There's a list of songs that you can choose from. During the first audition, it's really large, and the third time you go in front of the judges, they give you another list that's shorter.
Rosanna: I was definitely thrown off by the Jets song, circa 1985, that was thrown in there! I think it was, like, "You Got It All over Him." The Jets were a group from Hawaii, there were about 12 of them, and they were one of my favorites in the '80s. It was a weird song choice, and yet it was there.
Kimberly: There are copyright issues, so if you choose to sing a song not on the list, you're less likely to get on television.

TVGuide.com: I'm a bit surprised by the lack of Chris Daughtry-esque rockers so far this season. Are you?
Kimberly: I'm actually pretty surprised that there aren't more rockers, but at the same time we have to understand that a lot of people don't get shown. We've seen all the really, really, really bad people, and then we've seen maybe five awesome people.
Rosanna: It's nice that they're not playing by the same token roles: the rocker, the country, the pop girl.... It's nice that we're skipping over the rock thing, at least maybe for a little bit.
Kimberly: But I know who I do have my eye on: His name is Chris Richardson. A 22-year-old little Justin Timberlake look-alike and sing-alike.
Rosanna: [Laughs] Are you always looking for a date?!
Kimberly: Yes, I am.

Clay Aiken is known almost as much for his charitable ways as for his vocal talents.

To help further one of this American Idol star's causes, we've included a recent Public Service Announcement he helped record on behalf of UNICEF. Take a look now and find out how you can contribute to this worthy charity: