What an amazing night for the women again, it’s funny before the top 24 started competing I thought for sure it was a guy’s year – that one of the top 12 males would win. I’m going to go ahead and change my mind and say it’s a woman’s season. I’m a female, I reserve the right to change my mind – and change it often if I need to. However this is one that I don’t think I’ll be changing – the ladies owned the stage.
Melinda Doolittle chose the jazz standard “My Funny Valentine” and immediately sent chills up and down my spine. This was her week to own and that is exactly what she did – she owned it. Randy Jackson was pumped at the end of her song and quickly jumped in with his impression of the performance. “I tell you what man, we got a competition going on right now, because Melinda Doolittle came out here tonight to win it…so check it out…you made the mark tonight, you are the one to bet, you, that was hot, wow” Jackson said. Paula Abdul gave Doolittle a standing ovation.
Even Simon Cowell was wowed by Doolittle’s performance saying “That was incredible – without question the best vocal we’ve had throughout the competition…you have this fantastic talent, great voice, and you are…what I like about you is you don’t know how good you are and I don’t think you’re someone who would change…I think you are a breath of fresh air and it was a fantastic performance” So now we have week 1 going to Lakisha Jones and week 2 to Melinda Doolittle; I wonder who’s going to own week 3.
USA Today reports that the Antonella Barba scandal was the talk of a recent bash at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Hugh Hefner himself commented on the scandal calling the condemnation “hypocritical and dumb.” You know why he’s saying this, right? He saw the pictures and wants to book her for a Playboy Magazine layout. Hefner then went on to say “I think in America we have a very strange attitude toward sexuality and nudity, and it makes no real sense.”
In addition to Hefner, Idol judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson finally commented on the ordeal. Simon Cowell said “These people haven’t done anything illegal; that’s their private life” and that the pornographic photographs should “not affect her standing on the show, and if the public wants to keep her in, they’ll keep her in.”
Randy Jackson agreed saying “Nobody’s clean in the entertainment business.” Even Ryan Seacrest chimed in on the matter saying that he would “absolutely let her stay on. If American Idol is a true representation of American youth, we’re going to find imperfections. And it’s OK to be imperfect.”
It’s OK to be imperfect. Imperfect is allowing Antonella Barba to continue on whereas Frenchie Davis was removed for the same imperfection.
Thankfully a few of the top ten males took the girl’s seriously and stepped up their game a bit. I don’t think that they came anywhere near the stellar performances that so many of the females brought to the stage last week but overall the guys improved tenfold over their performances from last week – thank heavens!
Since I’m a Sundance Head fan I’m going to start off by saying YAY! I am so glad that Sundance brought back a little of the performer we got to see in his original audition; that is what attracted me to him in the first place and I knew he had it in him to bring it out again. He aptly chose to sing “Mustang Sally” and dedicated it to his infant son, Levi. This was a great performance and a perfect song choice. When he finished Randy Jackson immediately jumped in saying “Wow, wow, wow” then when on to say “Welcome back, Sundance. That’s the reason you’re here.” Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell both agreed with Cowell saying “I’m glad we got the Sundance back that we really like…I still think you can do better.” I agree with Cowell, I know Sundance can do better and I can’t wait to hear it!
The other big standout for the night, in my opinion, was Chris Richardson who chose to sing “Geek in the Pink” by Jason Mraz. Randy Jackson feels that “Chris is in it to win it tonight! I think that was hotter than the original…I am lovin’ you tonight.” Richardson even captured Simon Cowell’s attention; “You’re somebody to watch…best tonight by a mile.”
It’s hard to pick a bottom two but I’m going to have to sadly say that Sanjaya Malakar belongs in the bottom. His performance was just corny and this is coming from a fan! Like Randy Jackson said “This was really weird for me, it was like a bad high school talent show.”
Tomorrow night we get to see and hear the girls again – I’m excited to see if they all bring their ‘A’ game.
According to Extra TV, Nigel Lythgoe is reporting that Antonella Barba will not be removed from the show and that her fate is in the voter’s hands. If this is, indeed, the case then I’m crying foul! Frenchie Davis was booted for topless photographs published on an adult website. Even if the alleged pictures of Antonella Barba engaged in a sex act turn out to not be her but a look-alike, there are still the photos of her prancing about in a very tight, very wet, very white t-shirt and thong in the fountains at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
This whole debacle could blow up in American Idol’s face if the site Vote for the Worst has any say in the matter; they are currently encouraging fans to vote for Barba as well as Sundance Head. Could you imagine if Little Ms. Show Off Your Tits actually won the entire competition with her half-assed voice? Wait; don’t imagine that, the thought could be rather frightening. Seriously though, how would they spin this if she did win over the likes of Lakisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle? “Well, it was America’s choice.” Yes it was, and they did this to make a mockery of American Idol.
Of course this could all be moot if she sucks ass again this week (likely) and actually gets booted like she should have last week. Fingers crossed the men of America that actually take the time to vote think with the head on their shoulders. *laughs*
No official word has come from American Idol producers or staff regarding the Antonella Barba sex scandal but her BFF Amanda Coluccio has finally spoken up. Coluccio spoke with staff from the website Outside The Beltway and here is an excerpt from the interview:
“They were meant to be seen by one person and one person only,” Coluccio said at her Holmdel home. “The really bad ones aren’t her. I’ve studied them. It’s not her nose. She’s never had (acrylic nail) tips in her life. She’s the least slutty person I know.”
Coluccio then goes on to say
“She’s been crying. She’s horrified,” Coluccio says. “She’s most upset about what her parents think.”
Read the entire store on outsidethebeltway.com
Idolwire.com would like to congratulate Jennifer Hudson on her receipt of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Dreamgirls. With this win Hudson has secured her place as the ultimate American Idol contestant even though she didn’t win her season. She can now place her Oscar award on her shelf next to her Golden Globe and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards for the same role.
Antonella Barba’s parade of pornographic pictures has reached sex scandal status. You know you’ve hit it big when you’ve made it into the Washington Post and your name ranks higher than Britney Spears’ on the AOL search engine. I don’t recall the Frenchie Davis affair reaching this magnitude – then again the pictures of Davis were much tamer in my not so humble opinion.
Speculation is that the photographs were released by both her ex-boyfriend and her possibly ex-BFF Amanda Coluccio. No definitive information has been found but Nigel Lythgoe, American Idol producer, had this to say about the scandal “It’s sad, isn’t it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the Web?”
In addition to the obvious controversy a lot of people are up in arms about the wet t-shirt in a fountain picture montage that Barba had taken. No it’s not just the wet t-shirt aspect but the fact that the fountain she was posing in and on was the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. People are upset stating that this tasteless act defames an honored memorial.
I think someone needs to take the shovel out of Barba’s hand because she’s dug the hole deep enough.
I keep thinking of the phrase “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” when I think about the pictures of Antonella Barba that have been leaked to the press. The floodgate of pictures has opened up with new x-rated pictures cropping up on the net. Evidently Barba created a nude calendar as a birthday gift for her boyfriend (whom she has since broken up with) and that part of the calendar has been released on the web with the rest of the calendar promised to be ‘coming soon.’ In addition to the nude pictures there are also pictures of Barba (or someone looking very much like her) engaged in sexual acts.
This is all quite sad actually. Barba is barely out of her teens and has already had pictures published of her topless on the beach, participating in underage drinking, nude, and performing sexual acts. Are the shenanigans of stars like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears having an impact on the teens of today? Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. Sorry I won’t be posting these pictures but you can easily Google them if you’re curiosity gets the best of you.
I am curious how the producers of American Idol will react to this. Dedicated AI fans will remember Frenchie Davis who was released from season two when it was discovered she had taken topless pictures to help pay her way through college. As soon as I hear anything rest assured I will report it here at Idolwire.com .
The following is a press release by Fremantle Media, Idolwire.com is not responsible for any contextual errors, typographic errors, etc.
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FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment Launch Idol Camp, the First Ever American Idol Performing Arts Summer Camp
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 — FremantleMedia, co-producer and licensor of American Idol, in conjunction with show creator, 19 Entertainment, today announced the inception of Idol Camp, the first performing arts summer camp for kids between the ages of 12-15 based on the nation’s most watched television show and #1 talent search. Born out of the desire to foster passion and creativity in young teens, Idol Camp will be a fun-filled and non-competitive training ground for America’s future stars.
“Utilizing the power of the American Idol phenomenon, we can provide a truly one-of-a-kind experience,” said Mark Brittain, Head of Commercial, American Idol, 19 Entertainment. In fact, the Idol Camp experience will include master classes from surprise celebrity guest performing artists, favorite former American Idol contestants and other top industry professionals. Daily instruction will also be provided in a variety of classes from singing, dancing and acting to song writing and audition techniques as well as traditional camp activities such as swimming and field sports.
Idol Camp is located on a picturesque campus in Northfield, Massachusetts and acceptance into the camp is based on limited enrollment and applicants demonstrating enthusiasm, dedication, a desire to perform and a passion for the arts. In addition, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment will reward a certain percentage of students with fully paid scholarships based on financial need in an effort to reach a wide range of the country’s most eager performers.
“We want to honor a diverse cross-section of educational backgrounds and opportunities and provide a valuable experience to kids displaying a passionate motivation to learn and grow within themselves through the performing arts,” said Keith Hindle, Executive Vice President, FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, North America. “As in American Idol, the goal for our kids is to soar beyond their expectations; however, because Idol Camp is not a competition, every kid goes home a winner.”
Starting today, anyone interested in learning more about Idol Camp including sample class schedules and how to apply on-line for the 2007 summer sessions can visit the official American Idol website at http://www.americanidol.com/idolcamp.
Limited enrollment into Idol Camp is not audition-based and DOES NOT GUARANTEE entrance into the American Idol television series competition, nor will it provide inside information or any other advantage in the American Idol audition process.
SOURCE FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas; 19
After 32 million votes, tonight the first cuts were made and we say goodbye to Paul Kim, Rudy Cardenas, Amy Krebs, and Nicole Tranquillo. I guess there weren’t too many surprises here although I’m sad to see Paul Kim go. His audition absolutely wowed me, if only he could have performed like that last night. What did surprise me was that Antonella Barba stayed, yes by now you probably think I’m picking on her but I thought Amy Krebs performed better than Barba last night. However she has a huge fan base which is huge at this stage in the game. I am very glad that Sundance Head and Sanjaya Malakar made it through as those were two of the guys that I really, really, like. As a matter of fact Sanjaya Malakar was one of the top four males – impressive. His performance wasn’t top notch but he also has a huge fan base (including me!) however he has much more potential than Barba vocally in my opinion.
It was also announced that the following top-notch music industry performers will be guest coaching on the show this season: Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Tony Bennett, Martina McBride, Peter Noone, and Barry Gibb. Additionally Fantasia Barrino performed her song “I’m Here” and made the “Color Purple” announcement that Idolwire.com reported on yesterday.