February 2007 News Archive (Page 4)

Do we already have our next American Idol?

After all, Simon did basically tell the 23 other contestants to book their tickets home after Lakisha Jones closed last night's show - and he wasn't alone in his never-ending praise for this star.

Here are a few samples - taken directly from our comments section - of how you, the viewers at home, felt about this talented single mother after her rendition of a Jennifer Hudson song last night:

Honey, you just won American Idol with tonite's performance. You are ten leagues ahead of everyone else. The competition was won by you with Melinda Doolittle as runner up. Gentlemen.... pack it in and go home.
GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. Amazing voice. She blew everyone away. And I sat in awe.
If by chance she does not win. I really feel someone will pick this POWERFULL singer up. Bet that.
I will be so happy if she wins. God bless her and her daughter with an easier life.

Tonight America and Canada and the world witnessed the birth of a star. Tonight on television, a cultural event. Lakisha Jones tonight is a star rising over America. It is a one-minute-and-thirty-second moment I will remember for years. And when her album comes out I hope "I Am Telling You..." is on it to keep that memory alive.

Bravo Lakisha! You are clearly this year's winner, but in any case win or lose, you've arrived and I don't think you'll be going back to the bank...at least not as a teller! :)

Last night, the men of American Idol pained us. It was sad, but true.

So let's see if the women can pick up the pace this week. And if Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell can make nice for two hours ...

- First up is Stephanie Edwards. We don't know a lot about her - but after this rendition of Alicia Keys, it's safe to say we'll be learning a lot more about this talented singer.

- Did anyone follow Simon's candle metaphor? Either way, Amy Krebs is decent, but we've heard "I Can't Make You Love Me" so many times on Idol.

- Sorry, Leslie Hunt. But this isn't a good sign: Paula can't come up with anything nice to say about your audition. May have been smarter to avoid a toughie such as Aretha Franklin.

- Whoa, where did Sabrina Sloan come from? Simon can't say enough about this contestant, the one that's barely received any air time until now.

- We think she'll see more.

- We're still thinking about those Antonella Barba pictures. But the beauty is singing now ... and, uh-oh, now she's hearing it from Simon. A lot. This may actually deliver enough sympathy votes to keep Antonella around. But she still didn't make Aerosmith proud.

- Everyone likes Jordin Sparks (pictured). How can you not? See you next week, Jord.

- And now is time for the least known of all the American Idol semi-finalists: Nicole Tranquillo. We kinda liked her take on Chaka Khan. The judges? Not so much.

- You gotta at least admire Haley Scarnato for tackling Celine Dion. That star has range, no matter how you feel about her music. Guess we'll see tomorrow whether or not she becomes Haley ScarNOTo. Sorry, couldn't resist.

- Since You've Been Gone, Melinda Doolittle, we've been wondering how you'd live up to the hype of being a favorite. Pretty darn well, it turns out.

- Did anyone else think Alaina Alexander might run out of breath? Maybe it was just us. But we've got a feeling this hopeful will have run out of time on the show by this time tomorrow.

- Nothing significant to report about Gina Glocksen. We thought she'd go for more of a rocker sound. That may have served her better.

- Are they saving the best for last? Most Lakisha Jones' fans believe so.

- And so do we. It's a bold move to take on Jennifer Hudson right now, but Lakisha is up for the task - and stands out as the best among all 24 guys and gals as we head to the first round of cuts tomorrow ...

We like Sanjaya Malakar. We really do.

But this American Idol contestant was probably the biggest bust of all the top men last night. While Blake Lewis impressed the judges, Malakar even left Paula Abdul straining to find a compliment.

At least Sanjaya seems aware of his difficult outing. He reacts below:

On seasons four and five of American Idol, when the semifinals featured 24 singers, one-third of them were teenagers — eight each season.

When this season's semifinalists were named on Wednesday, only three of the 24 were in their teens: 17-year-old Sanjaya Malakar, 17-year-old Jordin Sparks and 19-year-old Stephanie Edwards.

The numbers prompt the question from MTV.com: Is Idol growing up?

Since raising the age limit to 28 for season four, singers approaching 30 have dominated the show, from Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry and Elliott Yamin to Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis and Nadia Turner. And in season six, eight of the remaining contenders are 27 or older, including early favorites like Chris Sligh, Melinda Doolittle and Jason "Sundance" Head.Jacob Clifton, who covers American Idol for TelevisionWithoutPity.com, believes stocking the top 24 with older contestants is a practical decision from a television-marketing standpoint.

"I'm sure that the mean viewer demographic has increased in age over the six seasons of the show as it goes through the cool cycle, so I'd imagine that has something to do with it," he said. "People want to see themselves on TV."

"Because we saw so little of the Hollywood round, it's difficult to say much about the particular contestants," added David Bloomberg, editor of FoxesOnIdol.com. "But it did seem to be a particularly harsh Hollywood round, and it might simply be that the older contestants were better able to handle it than the teenagers."

"Idol" co-executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, however, was not so quick to say older singers have an advantage.

"I think you get tired and a little more jaded when you get older, and you feel as though it's your last chance, and that can be very emotional and affect you greatly in this competition," he said. "Whereas the 16-year-olds bounce from one thing to another, they don't know half the music they're singing."

Lythgoe is fully supportive of how the contestants reaching the semifinals have been getting older each year, though. In fact, he wants to raise the audition age limit to 30 next season.

"I think [28] brought us some more maturity and a little more professionalism in certain areas and we're happy about that," he said. "I don't know why 28. 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."

"I think it's a great idea," Daughtry said. "I think there's a lot of great, talented, untapped talent out there that has been doing the bar scene for a long time. Most of the guys in my band are over 30. And I don't think it stops there. I think that's when a lot of people are getting discovered.""I don't think it's a bad thing," Katharine McPhee added. "By the time the record is out they're like 31, 32. By the time the second record is out they're like 35. But, hey, 30 is the new 20!"

And, finally, how would last year's winner feel about raising the age limit?

"I think it's a good idea, because the experience helps," Taylor Hicks said. "And you can never look too old either, take it from me."

The following is a press release:

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. congratulates Leslie Hunt, of Chicago, Illinois for making it into the Top 24 finalists on American Idol.

Hunt was diagnosed with lupus at a young age and includes on her American Idol profile that living with the autoimmune disease was the toughest obstacle of her life. Now 24, she has a new passion for life and is taking a proactive approach to overcoming the limitations she experienced while growing up with lupus.

Lupus is a chronic disease where the immune system goes into overdrive, attacking the body's own healthy tissue causing severe inflammation, pain, and tissue damage to various parts of the body. Lupus can lead to organ failure, disability, or death. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans have lupus. Ninety percent of the people with lupus are women.

On behalf of the millions of Americans who are directly and indirectly affected by lupus, the Lupus Foundation of America extends its best wishes to Leslie Hunt on her journey to become the next American Idol. Her efforts will inspire all who are greatly impacted by lupus and struggle on a daily basis with the debilitating and disabling consequences of the disease.

As a tear rolled down her face, Lakisha Jones received the news she so badly wanted to hear: She was an American Idol semifinalist.

The 27-year-old single mother and bank employee who hails from the blue-collar city of Flint long has dreamed of making it in the music business. Now, she is a step closer thanks to the hugely popular FOX TV talent show.

Jones, who bears both a vocal and physical resemblance to Aretha Franklin, also from the Detroit area, wowed the judges with a pair of the Queen of Soul's standards: "Think" and "Until You Come Back To Me." After her initial audition earned her a trip to the next round in Hollywood, Jones jumped into the embraces of her waiting family, snatched up her daughter and broke into tears.

Even ultra-mean British judge Simon Cowell smiled. "Love this girl," he said. "Love you, Lakisha. You're a good old-fashioned belter."

FOX declined a request to interview Jones. But in her appearances on the show and a video posted on the American Idol website, she appears humble before the judges and passionate about her family — especially her daughter, Brionne, who turns four today.

"I just believe in being real, being who you are and staying strong in your beliefs," Jones said on the video.

Jones says the performer she most admires is Whitney Houston, who has had her share of ups and downs. She also identifies with Fantasia Barrino, a single mother who won in the show's third season.

"It's hard juggling, trying to live your life dream of becoming a singer and also being a mom, a full-time mom," Jones said.

Jones' grandmother, 89-year-old Ruth Morris of Flint, recalled how Jones' passion for singing has grown since she got her start at age five at Flint's Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

"She is a person that loved people and she's always been great, wonderful," Morris, who was among the family members who traveled to the New York audition, said in a telephone interview. "She loves the Lord, she loves the singing."

To continue reading this article, click here.

The judges from American Idol invaded Jay Leno Monday night.

And while they certainly focused on season six of our favorite show, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest first focused on a certain, bald pop singer backstage with Terri Seymour (Simon's girlfriend) from Extra.

“Re-release ‘Hit Me Baby, One More Time,’” Simon suggested to Britney Spears.

“She needs a huge song,” Randy said, before Simon butted in with his two sense: “Big record; forget the shaving of the head!”

As for their own unpredictable co-star Paula Abdul, Simon said the press is making a big deal over nothing.

“She’s always been that way, I’ve never understood a word Paula has said,” Simon said.

But Paula chimed in: “I live a clean life, and the only thing I'm embarrassed about is hanging around you guys.

As far as Idol is concerned, the judges told Extra they just want to hear good singing; and that meant bad news for the 12 guys who performed last night.

“I think they’re lucky that there are groups of boys, groups of girls; otherwise we'd end up all girls in this competition,” Simon admitted.

Speaking of girls, the gang had this special message for their favorite Dreamgirl, Jennifer Hudson.

“We actually think you’re going to walk up there and accept an Oscar, so go get ‘em,” Ryan said.

Most fans were let down by the American Idol auditions last night. Only Blake Lewis really impressed.

We've received many questions, though, about what various songs were sung by various contestants. With that in mind, here's the inside scoop on them all:

• Rudy Cardenas - “Free Ride” by the Edgar Winter Group
• Brandon Rogers - “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson
• Sundance Head - “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues
• Paul Kim - “Careless Whisper” by Wham!
• Chris Richardson - “I Don’t Want To Be” by Gavin Degraw
• Nick Pedro - “Now and Forever” by Richard Marx
• Blake Lewis - “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane
• Sanjaya Malakar - “Knocks Me Off My Feet” by Stevie Wonder
• Chris Sligh - “Typical” by Mute Math
• Jared Cotter - “Back at One” by Brian McKnight
• AJ Tabaldo - “Never Too Much”  Luther Vandross
• Phil Stacey - “I Could Not Ask For More” by Edwin McCain

American Idol Worship has learned from reliable sources that Jennifer Lopez has been scheduled perform on the show on April 11.

J. Lo joins a long line of big time acts to take the American Idol stage over the years, including Prince, Mary J. Blige, Rascal Flatts, Shakira and more.

With the competition down to the final 24 contestants, four more (two men, two women) will be voted off tomorrow night by the fans.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Michael Jackson shot down rumors that he would perform on the Idol stage this year.

"There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Michael Jackson is going to appear on 'American Idol,'" Jackson's rep Raymone Bain said.

The time has come, American Idol fans. Beginning tonight, the competition truly kicks off, as we take over the voting. Let's see how the top 12 men do, shall we?

8:02 - Ryan Seacrest calls this the "weirdest audition tour ever." Awww, we bet he says that to all his audiences.

8:04 - Randy Jackson has been taking heat this season? That's news to us, too. Hang in there, dawg.

8:10 - Kicking off the festivities? The lead singer of M-Pact, Rudy Cardenas. The man certainly has spirit; too much, perhaps. At the very least, Ryan has competition for Metrosexual of the Night.

8:14 - Don't boo Randy, people. You didn't think that performance was corny?!? Simon makes a good point about lacking originality ... but there are worse things than the audience having a good time.

8:16 - Brandon Rogers is next. Don't turn that channel! (Unless you have money on Wisconsin vs. Michigan St. Then you can go check the score ... but hurry back.)

8:20 - The OC is coming to an end Thursday. We have mixed feelings about this. Complete and utter joy? Or unabashed ecstasy?

8:21 - Chris Sligh keeps talking about people looking "pretty." And Ryan pretends that he's glad they're sitting on different couches.

8:25 - Paula's hair is more all over the place than her critique of Brandon. All judges seem to agree that he's talented, just needs to learn how to make an impact on stage as a lead singer. He'll be back, though. Better be at least.

8:27 - Sundance Head admits that he was scared in Hollywood. And embarrassed by the results. Let's see if he can redeem himself.

8:28 - Uh-oh. Paula can't even find anything positive to say. Sundance looks seriously despondent. It's like someone just threatned to shave off his bushy goatee.

8:34 - Wisconsin 47, Michigan St. 45.

8:37 - There's no pressure at all on Paul Kim. Just the hopes and dreams of Asians everywhere.

8:39 - Kim sings that he's "never gonna dance again." But will he sing again for viewers? After Randy calls his third straight contestant "pitchy," Paula urges voters to give Paul a chance. Simon disses the man's bare feet.

8:43 - Let's see if Chris Richardson can live up to his Justin Timberlake comparisons. Good luck with that, buddy.

8:46 - Randy likes his "flavor." Paula enjoys the man's "arrangement." And Simon at least apologizes for sounding "negative." All a good sign for Chris.

8:49 - Michigan St. 56, Wisconsin 51.

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