Archive through January 21, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: American Idol (FOX): American Idol 2: Archive through January 21, 2003

Abbynormal

Tuesday, November 05, 2002 - 05:35 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
We are having an Alabama Idol here also. It's still going on, they are down to the top 10 now. My oldest son's best friend's girl friend (geez) made the top 20. She didn't make it past that. The girl can SING! Some of the top 10 just make me want to poke my eye out. I think one little girl is 10 yrs old and whiiiiiiiines. It really is just a popularity contest at this point IMO.

Azlen

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 11:32 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Abby, Hasn't it always been a popularity contest?

Abbynormal

Wednesday, November 06, 2002 - 01:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Azlen, it's starts out that way of course. But I feel that the people who vote do come to their senses later on and vote for the most talented, that why I said "at this point".

Jbean

Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 03:25 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
woo hoo! the new season starts jan 21st! i can't wait! i hope we don't have a lot of wannabes of the last group. have a feeling there will be lots of nikki-wannabes, etc. the talent could likely be better, though, since more people know about it this time around.

Seamonkey

Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 06:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I wonder if Angie was one of the dj's we saw when the "Making the Band" kids were on their scavenger hunt in NYC??

I do understand how hard it would be to be brutally honest with the hopefuls, but a judge is supposed to judge and if someone really has no talent, I don't think it is a good thing to encourage them. Even if they were good fans of said judge.

I'm eagerly looking forward to AI 2.

The previews for Star Search smack of a smug attempt to steal the thunder from AI and Arsenio Hall looks.. almost crazed!! I was shocked, hadn't seen him in a long time.

Anyway.. bring on Simon!!

Jbean

Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 07:21 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i didn't watch making the band, so don't know. i do know that angie martinez is also a singer, and has a song out right now. if you know just by looking at her, you could prolly find her on the net.

i agree about star search. saying they were the only ones to have "real stars" come from their shows. hate to break it to them, these AI kids are now "stars" themselves. i will probably watch it though, anyway. i wish i had USA, i would also like to see the country search.

btw, did you see the VH1 Driven episode about Kelly? it was pretty good. i think she is awesome!

Jbean

Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 06:24 am EditMoveDeleteIP
just a week and 2 days til the new A!! woo hoo!

Enbwife

Saturday, January 18, 2003 - 10:00 am EditMoveDeleteIP
It starts this Tuesday! Can't wait. Love Simon!!!

Djgirl5235

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 05:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
One More Day!!!!

Hermione69

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 09:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I am excited!!

I wish they had gotten rid of Ryan Seacrest, though. I never liked him and then I just heard about how he made a very tasteless joke at the expense of a 12-year old girl in the audience at the American Music Awards. I liked Dunkleman much better (which isn't saying much), but I guess they wanted to keep the pretty boy.

I guess he is the show's necessary evil for me! LOL!

This is going to be goooood!

Djgirl5235

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 10:57 am EditMoveDeleteIP
They offered the job to both of them, and Seacrest was the only one to accept - apparently Dunkleman wanted more money... I don't really like either of them - Seacrest always makes me think that he's taken speed right before showtime... I cannot wait until tomorrow night!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ketchuplover

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 01:51 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think Simon is on letterman tonight :)

Hermione69

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 01:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ohh, DJ, I heard all kinds of rumors that Dunkleman had been "fired." Yet another reason why I should know better than to believe everything I read on the internet, LOL!

27 more hours!

Grooch

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 01:57 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Age bias charge filed against 'American Idol' in Miami

Associated Press
Posted January 20 2003, 1:32 PM EST

MIAMI -- The hit television series ``American Idol'' violated anti-discrimination laws when its producers wouldn't let a 50-year-old college professor audition because he was too old, his attorney said Monday.

Drew Cummings, a visiting professor of film and television at Miami-Dade Community College, said he was turned away from a Nov. 2 tryout in Miami Beach because the Fox TV show's rules say auditioners cannot be older than 24. He has filed complaints with the state and federal agencies that enforce anti-discrimination laws.

``I find it hard to believe that age plays a part in determining the next American Idol,'' Cummings said in a statement. ``Age discrimination runs rampant in the entertainment industry and corporate America. It's time that someone did something about it.''

His attorney, Frederick Kramer, said that state and federal officials, including those from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, have 180 days to review Cummings' charges. Cummings could then file suit. State and federal officials were not available for comment Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Fox-TV spokesman Joe Earley did not immediately return a message left at his Los Angeles office Monday. The show's second edition, ``American Idol 2,'' debuts Tuesday night.

The talent show's co-executive producer, Ken Warwick, has said 70,000 people nationwide auditioned for ``American Idol 2,'' after the program's first edition proved to be a smashing success last summer.

That group was whittled by judges down to 234 and will be trimmed to 32 semifinalists in the second week. Viewers vote on the semifinalists.

The nationwide winner, along with gaining immediate fame, receives a recording contract. Nearly 23 million people watched last year's series finale, in which Kelly Clarkson became the first ``Idol.''

Kitt

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh for goodness sake! Some people will sue over anything!

Hermione69

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 02:27 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeha, sounds to me like that was his end goal all along. He probably didn't really want to be the new American Idol, just wanted to see if he could make some money off of it.

Next thing you know, someone is going to want to open up the Miss America pageant to men.

Seamonkey

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 10:41 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, a total crock.. yet another frivolous lawsuit.. I hope they charge him and the attorney with all the court costs.

Ketchuplover

Monday, January 20, 2003 - 10:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Look how many people tried out with a narrow age range. I can't imagine how many would apply if they let 50 y/o in.

Seamonkey

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 09:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm so ready for this to start. I saw the end of an interview with Simon (looking so fine), Paula and Randy (heck, even those two looked like long lost friends after some of the reality dreck of late).. Simon says we'll see some really amazing stuff, that he thought nothing could top last season but this does.

Grooch

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 10:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Caustic 'Idol' judge Cowell to become more outspoken
Published January 21, 2003


Hollywood · Simon Cowell thinks he needs to be more outspoken.

Television's most caustic critic is a master at promotion. However, the British record producer, whose vicious barbs were instrumental in making American Idol last summer's hottest show, says he isn't kidding. He really thinks he held back too much and vows to fully speak his mind during the second season of American Idol.

"As I reached the end of the first series, I sat there and bit my tongue on the last two or three shows, because I thought, `I'm going to work with these people. Maybe I should be nice to them.' I will never ever do that again. I regret that I behaved that way, because there were certain things I would have liked to have said on those last couple of shows that I didn't. But I will next time."

Cowell, unable to leave such a delicious tease dangling, gave an example: "I would have told Nikki McKibbin to go back to the strip club. I know it sounds unkind, but I believe you should say what's on your mind and, as I watched her, I thought, `You are a better stripper than you are a singer.'"

Cowell promises not to pull punches with his colleagues, either. His icy relationship with Paula Abdul, who is as easy on talent as Cowell is tough, is not an act, he says. "I'm not going to lie. We don't get on particularly well. If she irritates me, which she probably will, I'll tell her to shut up." As for the other judge, "Randy [Jackson] is just as bad sometimes," Cowell said.

Jackson is characteristically positive that the level of talent on Idol II will be superior just because of sheer numbers. More than 50,000 wannabes auditioned for the second show, five times the turnout for the original. "It's like the kids who didn't believe in the show in the beginning came out and said, `You know what? This thing works. It's one of the best ways for me to get noticed. I'm going for it.'"

The thousands of mostly deluded wannabes will be culled during the first three shows to a manageable 234 for the round of cuts that will determine some real TV exposure. By Jan. 29, the field will be winnowed to 32, each dreaming of being the next Kelly Clarkson. The first Idol winner's debut single, A Moment Like This, has gone gold and she is about to release her debut album. Clarkson and Justin Guarini, the personality kid who was the first runner-up, are also co-starring in a movie about their experiences. The final night of Idol attracted 23 million viewers, one of the biggest audiences in Fox history.

Also staying in character, Cowell isn't as optimistic as Jackson about the caliber of talent for the sequel. "You can get 5 million to turn up and, at the end of the day, you're going to get three or four who are really good. We had 50,000 people turn up. We had 40,000 who couldn't sing."

Some were intentionally awful, figuring it was their big chance to make the show, however briefly. Cowell was ready for them. "As far as I know, there were three people who got through the net. No question about it, they were there to get themselves on TV, to say to their friends that they sung badly and were humiliated. We spotted them a mile off. Every time we let them audition, they sang badly on purpose. And we said, `Actually, you know what? You're really good. You don't realize how good you are. You actually have a lot of talent.' They'd be like, `Oh, OK, thank you very much.' And off they went."

Poseurs are a rarity, however. "Let me tell you," Cowell said, "every single person, bar the two or three I mentioned, came in and stood in front of us absolutely desperate to get praise and to get through to the next round. No one was there to be insulted."

Even if the talent isn't better this time, the music should be. The show's status as a phenomenon has given it access to a wider playlist, according to co-executive producer Ken Warwick.

"All publishers are very wary, especially in America, of the kind of light their music is going to be put into. So the success of last year has made it a lot easier to get music cleared."

There is, however, one important holdout. "We still can't do a Beatles song, which drives me mad," Warwick said.

The wider range is music to Cowell's ears. He had to sit through certain popular songs, badly done, so often, he doesn't ever want to hear them again. "Let me start with At Last [made popular by] Etta James," Cowell said. "[Also] I Believe I Can Fly, which they can't. Crazy. Falling. What's that song I really loathe, `da, da, da on a Sunday morning'?"

"All Cried Out," Jackson said.

"Oh God!" Cowell exclaimed, discombobulated by the mere thought.

While the titles might be more varied, the period won't be. The sounds of the '60s and '70s again will predominate, even though the contestants weren't born when they were released. There's a method to this, Warwick said. "We feel those are the best songs to show off the talents they kids have. There's a lot of rap and stuff around today, which, to be honest, kids can't sing. They can say a poem to rhythm, if you're lucky, but it all sounds the same. There's no variety to it."

The emergence of copycats, such as Star Search, are of no concern, Warwick said. "We're quite used to these rip-off programs in Europe [where Idol was launched]. It never damaged us in the UK. We are quite unique in the kind of show we put on. The appeal is really different with young kids, who've got hopes and dreams."

And Simon Cowell to puncture them.

Seamonkey

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:21 am EditMoveDeleteIP
From The Watcher in our paper

It's going to be tough to follow the success of the initial "American Idol," but if the commercials are any indication, the second season might be even better.

thanks to overflow auditions, there should be more outstanding singers and more horrible singers. The tedious Brian Dunkleman is gone, and Paula Abdul reportedly will show a little more backbone this time around. Now if they can just do something about the hideous song selections.

Seamonkey

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:38 am EditMoveDeleteIP
and another article..

American Idol back in the sing: the contestants face stiffer competition this time, as does the show itself.

More Simon Cowell barbs, more sponsor plugs and maybe the worst singer ever given national exposure will be part of American Idol when it returns tonight.

"the show is what the show is. The show runs by virtue of which contestant walks through that door, said co-executive producer Ken Warwick.

The series scored in America with its fresh take on the talent-search format, including live shows and viewer voting.

Nearly 23 million people watched Kelly Clarkson win the first "American Idol" competition last September. Clarkson scored a No. 1 single, "A Moment Like This," but has yet to release her first album.

With some 70,000 people auditioning for the second season, compared with 10,000 the first time around, there is a deeper pool of talent vying for the "Idol" title and a record contract, Warwick said.

the group had been whittled down to 234 people and will be trimmed to 32 semifinalists in the second week. Viewers will vote on the semifinalists during the Tuesday shows and the results will be announced Wednesdays.

While contestants face stiffer competition, so does Fox. the relatively clear field of summer has given way to a fall season stuffed with reality shows including ABC's popular "the Bachelorette," which airs against "American Idol" on Wednesdays.

CBS' new "Star Search" and other talent shows have adopted "Idol"-like elements such as viewer voting.

Cowell, singer-dancer Paula Abdul and music industry veteran Randy Jackson are returning as judges. A newcomer, DJ Angie Martinez, dropped out because she was uneasy criticizing contestants. Ryan Seacrest will be the solo host, without Brian Dunkleman.

The sponsor plugs contained within the show itself will be back. Some critics called their inclusion jarring.

"I think it's fair to say that this show really innovated when it comes to product integration ... and we were learning as we were going along." said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz.

This time, sponsor AT&T will offer a text-message service that can be used for voting. And viewers will see the Ford Focus room, christened for the car, in which contestants can pour their hearts out for the camera after they've faced the judges.

Cowell is sharpening his tongue. The British import says he pulled punches as the field narrowed to the singer who would earn the record deal. It was a mmistake he won't repeat, cowell told reporters Saturday.

"I sat there and I bit my tongue on the last two or three shows because I thought, '"I'm going to work with these people. Maybe I should be nice to them.' I will never, ever do that again."If it seems Cowell couldn't hurl more painful insults, consider his assessment of a male contestant who gets the hook in the new "American idol" after performing Madonna's "Like a Virgin."

"there was a guy in Atlanta - I'm not exaggerating here - I thought was the worst singer in the world. I cannot believe anyone on this earth can sing as bad as him," he said.

Webkitty

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 11:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
5 more hours...............(eastern time)

Jbean

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 03:42 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
one more hour....WOO HOOO!

btw, one good thing about only having one host is that maybe they won't have stupid (supposed to be witty) banter...unless he talks to himself, which is HIGHLY likely. who cares, it is still a good show inspite of those dorks. bring it on!

Goddessatlaw

Tuesday, January 21, 2003 - 03:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I never watched it really but for the last episode last year (hated the finale - kind of like a "let's put on a show in the barn" thing) - but I'm going to watch it tonight to see what's the deal. Maris, you watching?