January 16, 2008

• And So It Begins…

  Sorry I’ve been MIA the past couple of weeks.  I’m going to be pretty swamped with work through February and have been trying to make time to get some other things done that I’ve been neglecting (not to mention a stack of unread books).  Since American Idol starts tonight though, I thought I would post this article from VFTW about how the Idol machine has become increasingly supplanted with existing “talent”.  I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more about this as the next 4 months unfold.  It’s too bad, but maybe the show has run its course.  At its best, it extolled the American Dream.  At its worst, it brought out the schadenfruede in all of us.  I still feel the same way about the audition shows, and I hope they don’t exploit any retarded people this year!  I’m sure I’ll be at the finale again though, sneaking on to the red carpet for a photo of Sanjaya.     Check out some of these great Simon Cowell insults though:

  
  When American Idol debuted in 2002, its supposed goal was to find the
  best undiscovered talent in America. Singers like Kelly Clarkson and
  Clay Aiken, who had dreams of stardom but never had the connections,
  were catapulted to megastardom. The producers found diamonds in the
  rough and launched their careers. But a disturbing trend has surfaced
  with the spoiled contestants of American Idol 7 – they’re no longer
  even remotely undiscovered talent. A large percentage of them are
  failed singers and entertainers who have already had their shot at
  fame. Yet Idol thinks that repackaging these failures is a good idea to
  make us watch their show. Gone are the days where you or your friends
  could try out for Idol and make it big. Now you have to already have
  connections. Read on to find out more about how this year’s show will
  just be a boring hash of recycled pseudo-celebrities who weren’t good
  enough to make it the first time around. And keep checking back as this
  article is updated almost every day with new information.

  Vote for the Worst has been checking out the contestants who have
  allegedly made it to the top 50 of American Idol 7. The top 24 has not
  yet been decided, and the dreaded chair episode has not yet been
  filmed. But already, we’re seeing a disturbing trend. To try to combat
  Sanjaya fever from last year, American Idol producers have gone out of
  their way to place people into the top 50 who already had a shot at
  stardom in the past. It seems like a good idea at first- they’re
  stacking the deck with professionals to try to prevent a Vote for the
  Worst takeover. But then you realize, if these people didn’t make it
  big before, it’s highly unlikely that people will care any more about
  them now. And if all of these people with industry connections made it
  to the top 50, what about the average Joes who are looking for their
  shot at stardom? Were they just cast aside this year to make way for
  the plants? It’s likely that if you tried out for the show and failed,
  or if a friend with an amazing voice tried out and was turned away, it
  was to make room for the established professionals. This is not to say
  that these ringers are any less deserving of stardom, or any less
  decent or nice, but that the days of everyday people becoming the next
  American Idol are over.

  The biggest offender by far is Irish singer Carly Hennessy. During season 5, Carly was pimped by Simon Cowell
  before the show even started as “the only person I can genuinely
  remember from the auditions.” Simon said something similar about Carrie
  Underwood the season prior. Carly was fortunately dropped from the ranks for not having a visa. Nigel Lythgoe, one of the obnoxious executive producers of Idol, is already back to hinting about her even though she’s never said a word on the show. So why is Carly getting so much hype, and what happened in her past?

  Carly Hennessy is the epitome of a record industry failure. She was
  brought to America by MCA Records and recorded a bland pop album that sold only 300 copies
  (that’s not a typo). Then she faded into obscurity. Now, a mastermind
  behind the scenes at Idol has decided that instead of just signing
  Carly to an Idol-affiliated record label, she should be pushed down
  America’s throats as a contestant on American Idol. Back with brand new
  tattoos and an “edgier” sound, the record execs connected to Idol are
  probably hoping that Carly will finally catch on when she’s featured on
  the #1 TV show in the country. To make things even messier, one of the songwriters for Carly’s album
  also wrote songs for the debut albums of Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken,
  and Kimberley Locke. There’s a definite Idol connection here, folks.

  
  So what’s wrong with this? Well, it’s forcing Idol to expose its hand
  as the premiere marketing tool for struggling artists. Instead of
  discovering the next big superstar, music executives are deciding who
  should be popular and getting them on to Idol. Many people watch
  American Idol because they think they can help make the next big music
  star out of an Everyday Joe or Jane. But Carly and her large number of
  has-been companions are merely failed artists who are being planted on
  the show by their sources to promote themselves. Would the hundreds of
  thousands of people who auditioned this year be happy to learn that
  their spot was given to someone who already had connections?

  American Idol judge Randy Jackson was quoted in a Rolling Stone article
  as saying that people watch Idol for “the Rocky story in it…We’re not
  out to find the poster kids and say, “Let’s sign them.” We’re out to
  find the best undiscovered [talent] and really herald that.”

  “The best undiscovered talent”, eh? Apparently that quote was only
  valid back when it was said to Rolling Stone in 2006. And when he said
  it here in 2005. And here. And about 1000 times on the show. Simon says it here,
  that they ask every contestant when they try out if they think they are
  the best undiscovered talent in America. What is someone like Carly
  supposed to say? “Well, I’m talented, but technically not
  undiscovered.”

  
  The sad part is that Carly is not an exception this year. There are
  many, many more contestants who are supposedly in the top 50 and have
  failed careers. Michael Johns is another notable contestant. An Australian import, he was formerly the lead singer of a band called The Rising
  and changed his name from Michael Lee. Michael was signed to Maverick
  Records and was supposed to release a debut album in 2003 after
  allegedly screwing over
  The Rising by leaving the band. Apparently, many of the band’s fans
  hate Michael for doing this and for claiming that he wrote some of
  their most popular songs (he didn’t). This guy sounds like a real
  winner. I wonder why he isn’t already famous?

  It doesn’t stop there. Here are some more has-beens who have failed at becoming famous yet snuck their way onto the show:

  

  Kristy Lee Cook was signed to Arista Nashville, had Britney Spears lined up to appear in her debut video in 2001, and is managed by Marty Rendleman,
  who previously managed Leann Rimes. She also apparently loves to
  alienate most of America by singing in front of a Confederate flag in a
  video. Looks like her connections may not help her after all…

  

  Lorena Pinot was in a post-Gloria-Estefan version of the Miami Sound Machine and toured internationally. She has recorded a solo CD and was planning on releasing it this year. How convenient.

   

   

  

  Jason Castro was on the television show Cheyenne and played the love interest of the main character.

  Robbie Carrico is a failed singer from the pop group Boyz N Girlz United (check out their terrible music video). The band opened for Britney Spears and LFO before disbanding, and he was even one of Britney’s first boyfriends. Robbie now fronts the band Missing Picket that rocks just about as hard as Daughtryback. 

  

   

   

  Syesha Mercado was on the failed television show The One and is the daughter of a Motown backup singer.

   

   

   

  

  Shaun Barrowes is an established songwriter and producer
  for artists on Sony and Universal Records. His website states that he
  has “recorded, collaborated, and trained with some of the best
  musicians and music producers in the country; musicians with artist
  credits such as Madonna, Michelle Branch, Destiny’s Child, Stacie
  Orrico, Joe Cocker, ZZ Top, No Doubt, and many more.” 

  

  Joanne Borgella is a plus sized model and won the televised beauty pageant Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance in 2005. She previously sang with Patti Labelle, Mary Mary, and American Idol’s own Bo Bice for a Christmas special. Joanne also appeared on the Tyra Banks Show, Good Morning America, and Hot 97 with Miss Jones. 

  Samantha Sidley is currently pursuing her degree
  at the Berkley College of Music, which seems innocent enough. But no,
  in August of 2002 she performed “The YaYa Sisters – An Evening With
  Samantha Sidley and Katharine McPhee” at the Gardenia in West
  Hollywood. The same Katharine McPhee who became runner up during
  American Idol’s 5th season. The site also says Sidley’s “first
  tentative steps in the performing arts were as a 12 year old in a
  performance workshop with Peisha McPhee at Los Angeles City College.
  Samantha was also quoted
  as saying she would never try out for American Idol because she’s a
  jazz singer and not a pop singer. Odd that she changed her mind, huh?

  

   

  Amy Davis sang in a band with 2 members of Survivor and was a round 2 qualifier for 2007’s Nashville Star. She is also a fairly successful model.

   

   

  

  David Archuleta won Star Search at age 12. During Idol’s first season, he met all of the finalists and even sang for Kelly Clarkson and the gang. A few days later, David met with a host of record labels and producers with connections to the show. 

  And last but not least, Jermaine Paul made the top 50, but according to JoesPlace, he smartly dropped out. The biggest plant of all,
  Jermaine was already signed to J Records (home of Clive Davis, he who
  signs most of the winning Idols) and was nominated for a Grammy for a
  duet with Alicia Keys on her second album. Alicia Keys is known as
  Clive Davis’s most recent pet project. Jermaine also appeared on a
  remix to Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” as a part of the group Focus.
  Jermaine’s website has mysteriously disappeared recently.

  These are only the backgrounds from the contestants we know so far.
  There are still plenty more names to come, and we’re sure most of them
  have connections as well.

  So were the auditions just a formality this year? Because we’re
  fairly sure that if you have a Grammy winning duet with Alicia Keys, a
  producer credit on famous artists’ albums, or a prior relationship in
  show business, you probably weren’t waiting in line like the rest of
  the people who mistakenly assumed American Idol was a competition to
  find “the best undiscovered talent in America”. Then again, we all know
  what happens when you assume.

  ---

  And speaking of retards….this Aussie video of the day, had me ROTFL.  I guess Americans don’t corner the market on stupid teenagers.  He is funny though, especially at the end.  God love his famous glasses!  LOL.

  Party boy Corey flees radio interview

  Miki Perkins
  Sydney Morning Herald
  January 16, 2008 – 10:19AM

  Sorry … Corey Worthington.

  • Video: Watch him go

  
  
  

  Party boy Corey Worthington fled the studios of an FM radio
  station this morning during an interview on live radio.

  The 16-year-old from Narre Warren bolted out of the studio and
  fled down a fire escape after radio host Matt Tilley tried to
  remove his plastic yellow sunglasses, which he had kept on
  throughout the interview.

  He was chased by several news camera operators and an anxious
  radio producer but disappeared.

  Corey later returned to the studio and completed the on-air
  interview.

  Before making his escape, Corey was asked if he had anything to
  say to his parents who might be listening.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  Asked if he was planning to return to home, he said: “To get my
  clothes and stuff.”

  Asked if he ever wanted to go home again, he said: “I do sort
  of, but don’t know right now.”

  Corey also said he had been approached by DJ Lako to run an
  underage club in Melbourne.

  The hosts asked Corey if he was merely a brat who couldn’t
  handle the truth, to which he replied, “Nuh.”

  Listeners who called the studio to speak to Corey were
  overwhelmingly hostile, with one woman telling him he had no
  respect for anyone else and a man calling him a “knob” and warning
  him to “watch out”.

  Corey, dressed in a white cap, fluoro yellow T-shirt and white
  high-top sneakers, appeared tense while being interviewed.

  The teenager threw a house party on Saturday night while his
  parents were interstate, at which 500 teenagers spilled on to the
  streets, damaging property and throwing projectiles at police
  cars.

  The out-of-control party and its aftermath have attracted media
  attention worldwide and drawn speculation that the teenager could
  earn big money by appearing on TV and promoting parties.

  Victoria Police has threatened to bill the boy’s family $20,000
  in damages.

  And finally:

  
  Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

  • 5:32 am
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