Idol Fans News

Sean Daly of the St. Petersburg Times attended the American Idols Live concert in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, drawing a sellout crowd of 16,534 and creating a spectacle befitting of entertainment's unstoppable machine.

The names, the faces, the nicknames that devoured great chunks of his brain for six straight months were back in in full effect. Elliott Yamin, Taylor Hicks, and, of course, Mandisa. No last name or nickname need apply.

Men and women, boys and girls showed up to this family affair with homemade "Soul Patrol" T-shirts -- the battle cry of Hicks, the show's unlikely champ.

There were also more than a few handmade posters pledging "I Love You Chris - Dead or Alive" (a nod to immensely popular rocker Chris Daughtry).

This one was critic-proof. If the concert, which featured 9 of 10 finalists from Season Five, proved to be as cheesy and addictively watchable as the TV program, it would be a success. After all, no Idol fans bought a ticket to American Idols Live expecting anything more.

The show kicked off with ... Mandisa!

"I'm really just a simple girl looking for a good man," she said before dedicating, Alicia Keys' "If I Was Your Woman" to Season Two Idol winner Ruben Studdard.

Just when I was really enjoying my Mandisa fix, that curly-haired cutie-pie Ace Young showed up, joining her on "I'm Your Angel."

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Everyone is fascinated with American Idol these days, even those who admit they aren't even big fans necessarily, but can't stop watching. Take Justin Timberlake for example. The wildly successful former member of NSync and current solo artist looks and sings like someone we'd here on the show -- only he's not impressed with some of the candidates, including winner Taylor Hicks.

"I have a strange relationship with American Idol. I despise it, and yet I’m completely fascinated. The guy who won -- he looks so normal, and he’s so sweet, and he’s so earnest, but he can’t carry a tune," he said.

Still, Timberlake realizes the pressure of being anonymous one day, and placed on a pedestal the next.

"Do you realize how much pressure it is to put on somebody all of a sudden? If he has any skeletons whatsoever... It’s too much pressure," Timberlake said, no doubt with former bandmate Lance Bass, who recently came out of the closet, in mind. "But that’s what we do in America. The American dream is still to be young, rich, and famous."

Interesting point. We're not sure if Justin watches the show too closely, because Taylor sure can sing -- at least a well-known record label and the better part of 60 million-plus voters seem to think so! He sure makes us proud!

Despite being largely overlooked by the show's producers, American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin nonetheless won over a legion of fans with spirited performances this spring. Last weekend, he helped one special fan's dream come true.

The singer, who finished in third place in the most recent season, took time during the American Idols Live tour stop in his native Richmond, Va., to hang out backstage with Amanda Jones, a die-hard fan who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.

To the left is a picture of them that appears on People magazine's website.

Jones, 19, from Jonesboro, Ark., received her diagnosis just two weeks ago, and immediately had two questions for her doctors:

-- Is the disease curable?
-- Could she go to Richmond to see American Idols Live?

"I had to see my Idol in his hometown," says Jones, who not only made it to Richmond on Saturday night, but -- thanks to a connection through a Yamin fan forum -- nabbed a backstage pass from a friend of Yamin's who'd heard about Jones' diagnosis.

She was ecstatic.

"He is, by far, one of the sweetest people I ever met. He was rubbing my back and told me not to worry and that everything would be okay," Jones said.

In May, Jones camped out at Graceland in nearby Memphis to catch a glimpse of him when the top Idol contenders visited Elvis' former home. Now, she says, Yamin has become her inspiration. A true Idol -- regardless of what the voters decided on the third-to-last episode.

"He's my hero. He went through so much in his childhood, struggled through so much, and in the end, he came out on top. That's what I pray and hope I can do," she said.

Yamin, 28, suffers from Type 1 diabetes and is 90 percent deaf in his right ear. After a series of ear infections during his childhood, and ear-drum replacement surgery at 13, he says his hearing hasn't been right. As for his ability to sing in spite of that?

"I don't know how to explain it, because I'm not a religious person. It's a gift," he told People in March.

Backstage at the Richmond show, Yamin, who is expected to sign a record contract in the near future signed Jones's program, writing:

"Amanda, thank you for all your support. I thank you for driving a long way to see us. God bless you, sweetheart."

In return, Jones gave Elliott a card and a LiveStrong bracelet. As she turned to leave, Yamin hugged her one more time.

"That just boosted me up," Jones said. "I forgot I was the kid with leukemia."

For the past two months, fans in Bridgeport, Connecticut have been brimming with anticipation at the chance to see the American Idol finalists in person.

Tuesday night, the wait finally ended as the American Idols Live tour came to town.

"My mother told me about the tickets a while ago, so I'm really glad it's finally here. It's really exciting," KellyAnn McManus of Woodbridge, Conn., said before the show Tuesday.

There was even more excitement that night for McManus, who ran into Idol singer Elliott Yamin (left) near the backstage area at the Arena at Harbor Yard before the concert started and asked him to pose for a picture with some friends. He gladly obliged.

"We came in through the back entrance and he was just there. I love American Idol and now I have a picture to hang in my room," she said.

Yamin was showcased at the event along with fellow finalists Ace Young, Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Tucker, Mandisa, Paris Bennett and, of course, Season Five king Taylor Hicks.

Katharine McPhee, who has suffered throat problems for the entire month of July, and who will be making her debut tonight in Pittsburgh, was absent, leaving many McPhans disappointed. Kim Arthur of Meriden, Conn., who had heard on the Internet that McPhee was going to be ready by Tuesday night, was sad to miss her favorite singing starlet.

"I'm really disappointed," said Arthur, decked out in her "McPhee-ver" t-short at the concert. "I like Chris and Taylor and Elliott, but Katharine's my favorite. I liked her all the way."

The fans were warned, however, that McPhee wasn't going to take part. A sign announcing the 22-year-old's absence was posted at the doors of the arena. Fortunately, there were still plenty of other Idol members to cheer for, and cheer fans did -- often while wearing custom shirts like Arthur's to support of their favorites.

The most popular, not surprisingly, was Hicks and his group of followers, known affectionately by many as the "Soul Patrol."

"If I got to the door and I saw a sign like the one they had for Katharine that said Taylor wasn't going to perform, then I'd have been ticked," said Nora Tenk of Stratford, Conn., who came to the show as part of a group that included her daughter and some of her grandchildren.

The Tenk contingent was very representative of the crowd on Tuesday night, which was largely female but spanned multiple generations. Soaking it all in was Mary Beth Nevins, also of Stratford, who attended with two friends who drove in from Cape Cod, Mass., to see the show.

"This is insane. This is absolutely insane," Nevins said of the pre-show scene. "I've never seen anything like this."

As we reported earlier, President George W. Bush will be welcoming Season Five's American Idol finalists to the White House Friday.

All in all, regardless of what you think of the man, 2006 hasn't been the best year for W. His lame duck status has led to a decreasingly compliant Congress, the occupation of Iraq has pushed many to their breaking points, energy costs are off the chain, and turmoil continues from North Korea to Lebanon. So hopefully, a visit from the American Idol stars will be a welcome distraction.

In anticipation of the event, Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino offers a facetious, blow-by-blow account in his blog. Some excerpts:

"President George W. Bush characterized his White House meeting Friday with the contestants of American Idol as a 'constructive and productive exchange of ideas and songs.'"

"... When told about the opportunity for a visit, Bush initially declined, thinking the show was called American Idle, and was one of those derogatory West Wing kind of shows about his leadership."

"'[Bush] even asked if during the next season we could just eliminate all the voting, and simply allow him to be the decider,' Hicks said."

Click on the link above for the full version of this phony but highly amusing post.