April 2007 News Archive (Page 2)

Whoa. We thought Jordin Sparks went home last night for a second and were about to give up on American Idol forever.

Fortunately, it was a ruse and all contestants are safe for another week. It was a fitting end to a show that raised $30 million for a worthy cause.

In honor of the event, here's a look at some memorable photos from it. Let's begin with Jordin, Melinda Doolittle and the other Idols decked out in white ...

As usual, Ellen DeGeneres did a fine, funny job as a host ...

Showing his caring side, Simon Cowell spent time with poverty-stricken children in Africa ...

When writer/director Richard Curtis (Love Actually) puts on a TV fundraiser for relief programs in England, he wonders whether the audience will show up. That's not an issue with Idol Gives Back, Wednesday night's two-hour charity special wrapped into American Idol's weekly elimination

"We haven't thought about the audience once here. I've got a feeling about 28 million people will definitely watch," says Curtis, an executive producer of Idol Gives Back.

He expects the English special on which IGB is based, Red Nose Day, will have raised 60 million pounds (about $120 million) from its March broadcast when all contributions are counted.

Money raised on Idol will go to Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) and other groups such as Save the Children and America's Second Harvest, with relief programs in Africa and the USA.

IGB, like the English version, will feature singers, actors and comedians. Live and taped performances include Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Josh Groban, Il Divo, Rascal Flatts and Earth, Wind & Fire. Ellen DeGeneres will host.

Bono will appear, talking to the six remaining American Idol singers about ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. The finalists will sing American Prayer, a song written by Bono and Dave Stewart about Africa's AIDS crisis.

IGB also will feature films showing the people and areas that will be helped with contributions. In one, Idol judge Simon Cowell and host Ryan Seacrest visit Africa. New Orleans, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, also will be featured.

Curtis, who wrote Notting Hill, worked on 1985's Live Aid, the celebrated international concert that raised money for African famine relief. He started what has become Red Nose Day, named for the clown-like noses sold to gain attention for the event, in 1988.

"These big events, which make the public aware of issues, really are helpful to the cause," he says.

IGB viewers can donate via phone or the Net. News Corp., Fox's owner, has pledged $5 million, and other corporations will make donations. Curtis says just 49 cents can buy a pack of pills to treat malaria.

"The general message is an empowering one, that if people give money or ring in tonight, then person-to-person they can affect the life of one individual somewhere else," Curtis says. "It's the same theory as when you ring in and you vote for your Idols."

No pressure, viewers, but your calls won't just affect the future of American Idol. They may affect the future of the world. So let's get started ...

- Ryan shows us a glimpse of himself and Simon Cowell in Africa. It's a side of these two we don't see very often. And it is rather moving.

- To begin the actual auditions, Chris Richardson takes on an Eric Clapton classic. It's gotta be hard for the judges to be critical under these circumstances. For example, Randy seems overly complimentary. And even Simon praises C-Rich like he just invented the wheel.

- We now go across the country and see some of the poverty right here in America. The money from tonight's show will assist these areas, as well. It really is impressive that Idol is doing this.

- But it does makes performances such as the one by Melinda Doolittle now seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Maybe that's the point, though. As usual, Mindy Doo looks overwhelmed and baffled by the applause. It's well deserved, though, as all judges give Doolittle the props she's earned.

- Ouch, they really ask Blake Lewis the biggest sacrifice he has to make to be on the show? During this sort of telecast? Sort of an unfair question when compared to the plight of others we've seen. Tough song choice by Blake here - can anyone really sing like John Lennon in this case?

- Lakisha Jones is up. We're not sure if she's smiled once throughout the competition. The judges are so hung up on Fantasia, though, that Paula can't even talk. Not that that's unusual. Cowell comes down pretty hard on LJ, the crowd comes down on Cowell and the world is right again.

- And now let's hear from last year's surprise top performer, Phil Stacey. He goes with Garth Brooks, yet another major artist for an Idol to emulate tonight. Pretty solid. Again. Who knew?

- Let's close things with our favorite, Jordin Sparks. Gosh, she's really just 17? She just keeps getting better and better ... and better. Brilliant, Simon says. Sums it up to us.

American Idol is giving back tonight. But, first, TV Guide's experts are breaking down the ramifications of last week's results show ....

TVGuide.com: Do you feel a sense of relief now that Sanjaya is gone?
Kimberly Caldwell: I feel a sense of relief for him. I think that now the competition can really be taken seriously. But I think that Sanjaya is going to be greatly successful after this, no matter what.
Rosanna Tavarez: Relief?! No! I actually felt for Sanjaya when the little one got booted. He was a contestant who made the most of his experience on Idol and got a lot of attention for his idiosyncrasies (specifically the hair ones). Though I was tough on the guy (like a lot of the more critical viewers), in the end I felt the kid was just doing his best.

TVGuide.com: Were you shocked that he left this week?
Kimberly: I had heard that it was going to be a shocker, so seeing how he hadn't even been in the bottom three lately, I was kind of expecting it.
Rosanna: I wasn't really shocked since he didn't give his best performance. It was, however, a rough week for a lot of the contestants, so judging by previous weeks, I had already resigned myself to not knowing what to expect.

TVGuide.com: Do you think that the show will do better or worse without him?
Kimberly: I think the show is definitely going to be more credible with Sanjaya no longer in the competition.
Rosanna: Great question... um... have no clue. It'll be interesting to see what happens now that we don't have an Idol media saturated with talk of pony-hawks and peach-fuzz facial hair.

TVGuide.com: What the heck happened with the bottom three? How could LaKisha Jones and Blake Lewis have been there?
Kimberly: With Blake, I'm guessing that everybody just figured that he was safe, as always, and didn't pick up their phones to vote. And I think that LaKisha had a rough [performance] this week and was kind of out of her comfort zone so, with only a few left, somebody's got to be in the bottom three.
Rosanna: No kidding! Then again... why did Tamyra Gray get sent home earlier than she should have? And so goes the competition on Idol.

TVGuide.com: What was your opinion on Melinda Doolittle sitting on the stage and not picking a side?
Kimberly: You go, girl! It's the same thing I would have done.
Rosanna: I knew it was coming.... I would have done the same. It's the only sane thing to do.

TVGuide.com: How do you think the contestants did with country week overall?
Kimberly: I think everybody, every year, has a hard time conforming to country week, but I think everybody pulled it off.
Rosanna: Overall they did fine, considering they're not country singers. "Yay, Phil!" by the way... the twang suits him. He should twang in every song, even if it's "Hollaback Girl." Hmmm, that would make a great country song, I think.

TVGuide.com: Did anyone really surprise you this week?
Kimberly: Personally, I thought that even though the judges bashed him, Chris Richardson did a pretty good job right up until he said that "nasally" was a form of singing.
Rosanna: Phil.

TVGuide.com: This seemed like a good week for Phil Stacey. Were you shocked that he wasn't in the bottom three? Do you think he has a chance to win?
Kimberly: I think everybody who's left has a shot at taking it home because it's a pretty equal game at this point. Who knew Phil was a rockin' country boy?
Rosanna: Do you think he has a chance to win? My last two responses answer how I feel about your last two questions. But as for [that] one, hmm....

Continue Reading...

The Sanjaya Malakar publicity tour isn't over yet!

A couple days after attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner - and hanging out with model Petra Nemcova! - Sanjaya appeared on David Letterman last night to read the show's famous Top 10 List. This evening's edition?

The Top 10 Things I Learned on American Idol. And they were ...

10. The camera adds ten pounds to your mohawk
9. Work hard and make sacrifices, you can finish in 7th place
8. It's very important to "keep it real, dawg."
7. I should have gone for the Immunity Idol -- oh wait, that's "Survivor"
6. On-camera Simon Cowell is a bit nasty, but off-camera, he's a total jerk
5. Voting for yourself 100 times an hour causes some wicked carpal tunnel
4. When you forget the words, just do this (Sanjaya belts out, "OHHHHHHH")
3. Honestly, I thought I was auditioning for "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"
2. Nothing
1. America loves performers with bad hair - right, Dave?

American Idol season-4 winner Carrie Underwood helped Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo celebrate his 27th birthday in Dallas over the weekend – and the pair looked very cozy, sources tell People magazine.

Could the romance each has denied be surfacing now?

The two showed up together Saturday night at Dallas's hip Ghostbar, where they were joined by nearly the entire Dallas Cowboys team.

"Carrie and Tony were having a great time in the deejay booth," an insider said. "They were laughing, singing together, holding hands and their arms were around each other all night."

A spokesperson for Underwood, 24, confirms that the Grammy winner was on hand to celebrate Romo's birthday. Asked if they are dating, rep Jessie Schmidt told People: "They have recently been spending a little time together." But, says Schmidt, they are "definitely not boyfriend/girlfriend. It's very casual at this point. It's [in the] really early stages."

At Romo's party, the VIP section of Ghostbar was closed off for the football star's guests, who had their own private bar and seating area. But Underwood and Romo didn't stay in seclusion: They ventured into the deejay booth before midnight, where they played tunes and led the crowd in a loud version of Twisted Sister's hit "We're Not Gonna Take It."

"They sang and everybody joined in – I mean everybody," a rep for Ghostbar says. "It was pretty funny."

Underwood and Romo stayed in the deejay booth for around 45 minutes before returning to the VIP area. "They definitely weren't keeping their relationship a secret," says another insider.

And Underwood put her singing talent to good use when she led the entire club in singing "Happy Birthday" to Romo. The club also had "Happy Birthday Tony Romo" posted on all its video screens.

This weekend was not the first time Underwood and Romo have been spotted together. On Christmas Day, she showed up to watch the Cowboys play the Eagles, and Romo was spotted hugging her before the game.

But in February, the football star told reporters at a pre-Super Bowl press conference that he and the singer weren't an item. "She's a very nice, sweet girl, I care for her and whoever ends up with her will be a very lucky guy," he said at the time.

A call to Romo's rep was not immediately returned.

Here's an update on American Idol alumni album sales from last week:

• Daughtry is still top-selling Idol, still in the top 10, up from No. 7 to No. 6, though his sales plunged from 98,000 the previous week to 54,000 last week. Total is 2.26 million.

• Carrie Underwood: Up 18-14 on the chart, but also off in sales, 36,000 compared to 54,000 the previous week. Total: 5.25 million.

• Elliott Yamin: Dropped 49-59, with sales of 12,000, compared to 21,000 the previous week. Total: 153,000.

• Katharine McPhee: Fell 95-112 on the chart, selling 7,500 after amassing 11,000 units sold the previous week. Total: 299,000.

• Kellie Pickler: Down 128-142, and sold 6,300, compared to 9,600 the previous week. Total: 499,000.

• Fantasia Barrino: Will be the next chart drop-off, sliding slightly from 187 to 192 last week. She sold 4,600 copies (5,900 the previous week), and her total is 346,000.

It received more attention than Haley Scarnato and her legs.

We're speaking, of course, about Sanjaya Malakar and his hair. But how much say did this American Idol favorite have in the styles that captivated America?

“Well with my hair, I always had an idea of what I wanted. The hair person would help me to execute it," Malakar said. "With the styling of my clothes and stuff, I just wanted to really capture my personality and put it out there. Then the stylist really helped me with that. So I did have a lot of help but the ideas were mainly mine.”

Even though American Idol viewers will likely never forget the ponyhawk, Sanjaya revealed that wasn’t actually his favorite hairstyle.

“My favorite hairstyle was when I sang “Besame Mucho” minus the grease, because I’ve always wanted my hair to be curly like that. It’s a little bit curly naturally but I mean that’s like my dream hair. So I really liked it.”

Okay, but was the altered lyrics during his farewell song - “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About ... other than hair” - an expression of frustration over how his hair got more attention than his singing?

“No, because at a certain point that had kind of become my thing, because I think that everyone – like everyone looks for something to grab onto with each contestant. So I feel like my hair was that for me. So that was just kind of my little joke back-at-you thing. I just wanted to put that out there.”

Fair enough. We wonder if Phil Stacey will joke about his scary resemblance to a vampire once he's voted off.

As the current crops of American Idol hopefuls, such as Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle battle it for this year's crown, let's not forget about the original winner.

Here's an image of Kelly Clarkson from her new music video for the song, "Never Again." Why is she decked out in white?

"Not to get all artsy-fartsy, but I'm all in white, everything is in white, because it's been ripped of innocence," the Grammy winner said.

With Sanjaya Malakar eliminated from American Idol, the folks at Votefortheworst.com had to come up with a new contestant to support.

The site, which asks for visitors to intentionally vote for a bad Idol singer, has named a certain bald soprano as its new poster boy.

"We love you even if you can't be exposed to direct light," the site says about Phil Stacey.

Kinda mean ... but kinda funny, too.