As if it wasn't bad enough that America voted off the talented and lovely Alexis Grace on last night's American Idol, leaving the far less talented Michael Sarver in the competition and on the tour, the poor girl wasn't even allowed to exit the show with dignity. Instead, she was forced to "sing for her life," while the judges decided whether or not she was worthy of using their "save" on.
Gross!!!!!
Now, I can't say I disagree with the judges' choice not to use the save, but forcing Alexis to desperately make her case, just moments after being told she received the fewest amount of votes in the Top 11, was just wrong. What happened to the lovely send-off video and kind words from the judges? Gone. Instead, she had to plead her case to the judges via the very song they said they don't think she should have chosen, and then listen to Simon tell her "You were good, but not good enough."
I repeat -- gross!!
There's got to be a better way for the end of the show to go down, right? Right????
2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba
Ok, I'll Say It -- The New Judges Save/Sing-For-Your-Life Is Icky!
X-Factor's Danyl Johnson - Bisexual?
Below is a video of X-Factor contestant Danyl Johnson, who Simon Cowell said gave the best first audition he's ever seen. I mean...it's good, sure, and the guy certainly has stage presence, but methinks Cowell overstates just a bit.
I'm more interested in a quote he gave to London's The Mirror, in which he declares he dates both women and men, and says, "I don’t like to conform or be put into one box or another and if I’m honest all the judges are good-looking. If I like someone’s personality it doesn’t really matter what they look like or what sex they are."
Looks like Adam Lambert is not the only singing contestant who likes the fellas!
Gay, straight, bisexual -- do you love this guy? And is he the next Susan Boyle? Let me know your thoughts.
SYTYCD's Will Wingfield Joins Broadway's "In The Heights"
So You Think You Can Dance is taking over the world!
First Lacey Schwimmer, Dmitry Chaplin and Chelsie Hightower infiltrated Dancing with the Stars, Travis Wall returned triumphantly as a choreographer on the show, Kherington Payne got cast in the remake of Fame and Neil Haskell showed up Off-Broadway in Altar Boyz and on Broadway in 9 to 5. Now Season 4's Will Wingfield will be the new "Graffiti Pete" in In the Heights!
I saw Will, who was egregriously kicked off in the Top 8 of SYTYCD two seasons ago, this summer at City Center Encore's The Wiz, where he played the head monkey. Though he didn't have much to do, he danced fabulously, and certainly had more energy than star Ashanti. I mean...
Also coming to the Great White Way this fall is Season 3 runner-up Danny Tidwell, who will be a featured dancer in Memphis. Love!
Now we just gotta find a place for Katee Sheean and Janette Manrara!
Idol Thoughts Interviews So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe
I just got off the phone with Nigel Lythgoe, and here's a few nuggets of information he shared about Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance:
-Because of scheduling issues, the season finale episode will feature the Top 6, instead of the usual Top 4. This was to avoid starting with a "Top 18". By my estimations, this would put the finale on December 16, 2009.
-Adam Shankman joining the show does not mean the end of guest judges -- in fact, Jennifer Lopez, a big fan of the show, has expressed interest in joining the panel, and Nigel still hopes to get Paula Abdul from time to time.
-If the show is not successful in the fall Nigel expects it will return to the summer -- he can't imagine Fox would throw the baby out with the bathwater.
-Nigel thinks this past season was booooooooooooring, and though the dancers were technically adept, he thought they were seriously lacking in personality.
-He thinks Danny Tidwell is the best dancer the show has had, and thinks Travis Wall was a better dancer than Benji Schwimmer, and, in this past season, Brandon was a better dancer than Jeanine.
Episode 2 of the new season of SYTYCD airs tonight!
Listen to a Clip of American Idol champ Kris Allen's New Single "Live Like We're Dying"
I'm a big Kris Allen fan. Big. And I couldn't be more excited that the 23-second clip below of his rumored new single "Live Like We're Dying" sounds AWESOME. Like, One Republic meets Jason Mraz AWESOME. It's a cover of a song by a band called The Scripts, but since no one's ever heard of them, or the song, who the heck cares? The song is (have I mentioned?) AWESOME!
Listen below and let me know what you think.
1 Ocak 2013 Salı
Four's a Crowd: The Bachelorette Recap
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| Is this trip to Chicago really necessary? |
Can we all just call this episode what it was? The slow andinevitable death march to Chris’s demise.
I mean, last week, we actually thought she might pick John(sorry, I mean “Wolf”)—a man who hadapproximately 10 lines of dialogue the entire season—over Chris.
Somehow, Chris squeaked out a rose, but it was obviously touch and go.Even Chris’s family seemed to know he was he about to bekicked in the kielbasa. “Let him down gently,” they all seemed to be telling Emily.“We know he’s kinda sweaty and creepy and desperate but, by God, he’s also ourson.”
Speaking of which, what was Creepy Chris’s Creepiest Momentof the Show ™ for you?Was it when Emily snuck up behind him in town square and hedidn’t so much as FLINCH? (Replicant?)
Or was it when he said, “You make me feel crazy good”—as his eyes nervouslydarted about, apparently searching for a weapon?
I will say this: “On a scale from 1 to Polish, we’re Polish”was wygranie! (That’s “winning” inPolish.)
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| Lech Walesa WISHES he was this Polish |
So now we’ve got these three guys left and I JUST CAN’TCHOOSE!Has the Bachelorette ever done some sort of polygamy theme?A happy ending where you get a ring, you get a ring, you ALL get a ring!!!
At one point, I speculated that the hunky banana Sean wasthe man for Emily. It seemed a no brainer. But I must say, I’m beginning to have my doubts—partlybecause her hometown visit to him was sobizarre. I mean, I don’t know about you, but when I have a guest, Ilike to make them as UNCOMFORTABLE as humanly possible. Break out the whoopeecushions, the fake poo, and the dog vomit—it's time to freak out the house guest!
First, there was Sean’s little “I live at home” prank, which,I suppose was meant to show Emily his light-hearted, fun-loving side, butactually seemed kind of aggressive. Like, “You may hold all the cards on theshow, but not at MY house you don’t!”And the disturbing thing is, the entire Sean family was inon it.They went so far as to decorate a whole room, like one of those horrible Febrezecommercials where they blindfold people and take them to rat-infestedhellholes.
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| "Make yourself uncomfortable" |
Then later, in case you missed it, Sean’s dad acted outthis elaborate charade of taking a foil-covered, steamed armadillo out of theoven. “This is Sean’s favorite dish,” dad said.Emily, with that pageant-ready smile of hers, managed tosqueak out a chipper “Well, if it’s Sean’s favorite, then I guess I’ll try it!”And then the whole Sean family collapsed into a fit ofmalicious giggles. Fucked. Up.
The other thing about Sean? (Other than the fact that if he were a Native American, his tribe name would be “He Who Runs Down Street Yelling Bachelorette’s Name”): Emily keeps talking about how perfect he is, but I don’t actually believe it.She’s been crushing on Jef since day 1.And she and Arie have off-the-charts chemistry.But with Sean it’s like, “Wow. Sean is totally perfect. . .zzzzzzz”I’m just not sure it’s really there.
Okay, next wehave Jef (yes, I realize I’m going out of order. . . this is MY order ofelimination at this point.)
Just as I suspected, Jef’s whole hipster thing is a charade.He’s really a good ol’ boy who shoots guns (albeit “in skinny jeans” as Emilynoted) and rides ATVs.
As for his parents, they are still MIA. In fact, did anyone else notice that when Jef said, “Myparents are in South Carolina DOING CHARITY WORK” it was totally overdubbed inpost production, possibly by a member of the crew who does a mean Jefimpression? OMG, what do you think he actually said: “My parents are in SouthCarolina overseeing the ritualistic slaughter of goats?”(I’m more and more convinced that Jef is a member of a cult,especially when his niece and nephew were climbing all over Emily’s lap, seemingly desperate: “Get me out of this place, PLEASE!” I thought I saw oneof the little tykes mouth.)
And then, sigh, Jef read Emily the sweetest love letter. Itactually made me cry. But at the same time, have you noticed that Jef can’tseem to profess his love while making eye contact? It’s either through amarionette or with his face buried in a letter.Man up, Bob’s Big Boy.
Finally, Arie—my new frontrunner. I agree with Emily that Arie looked “stupid hot” in hisleather race car jacket.And she always acts so excited to see him and can’t seem tokeep her hands off him.
I loved when Arie’s mom took Emily aside and told her shehad seen “a few” episodes of Emily’s season of The Bachelor (translation: DVRedthat shit and watched every episode twice.) Then she said, in her brokenEnglish, “Normally, when you are the one who be proposed to, you’re not beingthe Bachelorette.”Ha. Laughing forever over that.
So there ya have it folks. Sean, Jef, or Arie.Three men: Three guaranteed fantasy suites (use protection, kids!) . . .and thenwhat?
I'm totally unspoiled myself. So only ABC executives, Chris Harrison, Emily, her future “fiancée” and you—yeah,you, spoiler whore!—know for sure.
Hugh've Been Snubbed
Steve Nash is a great basketball player. I don't mean to take anything away from the guy. But in the years that Nash won his MVP (2005 and 2006), it was widely acknowledged that Kobe Bryant was the best basketball player on the planet. As such, the award will always be seen as a glitch, a failure of the system in some way. An oversight.
Such it is, I think, with Hugh Laurie's missing Emmy for House.
This is on my mind, obviously, because the Emmy nominations were announced yesterday and, for the first time in six years, Laurie wasn't among them. I don't think he necessarily deserved one for Season 8—it was, at best, a lazy, disjointed season of House (one sensed that everyone involved had a foot out of the door) and, at worst (as when the character House made crude comments to a woman getting a breast exam) it was downright offensive.
But with House, Hugh Laurie has created one of the most compelling, funny, sexy, dark, and indelible characters in the history of television.
In this analogy, Laurie is Kobe and, alas, James Spader is Steve Nash. It's not that Spader, who won the Emmy in 2005 and 2007, when Hugh Laurie was doing some of his best work, is not a good actor. Of course he is. But his Alan Shore (who?) was hardly an iconic character. He did not create a global phenomenon through the sheer force of his charisma and talent. And 10 years from now, who the hell will even remember The Practice? (Hell, I forgot it halfway through that sentence.)
It's almost impossible to quantify the brilliance of Laurie in House. There are the technical difficulties, of course—the limp, the pitch-perfect American accent. But mostly there is the incredible richness and complexity of the character. A less confident actor might've tried to soften some of the more unsavory aspects of House's personality. But Laurie trusted his audience, trusted his own abilities to allow House's humanity to shine through despite his seeming misanthropy. (Can any actor convey more longing and hurt with a single glance?)
This is all the more remarkable when you look at Hugh Laurie's body of work. The day I realized that the brooding, darkly hilarious House was Stuart Little's dorky, knock-kneed dad, well—suffice it to say, if I'd been drinking, a massive spit-take would've occurred.
No, just because Hugh Laurie—who became famous in his native England for, among other things, doing pun-filled sketch comedy with his partner Stephen Fry and for playing a lovable buffoon in the BBC's Jeeves and Wooster—has amazing powers of transformation, that doesn't mean he deserved the Emmy. But it's a testament to what a brilliant actor he is—to his uncanny ability to lose himself completely in a role. (Even Laurie's voice was different when he played House—it was growlier, deeper than his plummy British tones).
Anyway, I'm sad that Hugh Laurie never won his deserved Emmy for House (but certainly glad he racked up all those Golden Globes and SAGs) and I'll miss him more than I can say on my TV screen every week. But history will remember the remarkable character he created. And that's his greatest reward.
In the meantime, I'm catching Hugh Laurie and his Copper Bottom Band at Ram's Head Live! in Annapolis in September. Among all his other gifts (did I mention that he's a director and a talented novelist, too?) the guy is an absolute killer blues musician. Maybe a Grammy is in his future?