Haley Scarnato's Exit Interview

TVGuide.com: I know for the past couple of weeks, you were shrugging off Simon’s comments about just that. But deep down, was it bothering you each week that you weren’t getting much feedback on your voice, and on your vocals, but just about what you had on?

Scarnato: I little bit. They always say this is a singing competition, etc., but it is what it is. You just have to brush it off and do the best that you can do.

Zap2It.com: Do you think that not responding to Simon’s comments was the right decision?

A: That’s who I am. I’m on national TV and I don’t want anybody to think – I still want to stay on that frame of mind of, you’ve got to respect him. He’s Simon Cowell, and you’ve got to set an example. It does hurt a little bit, but you just kind of brush it off and try to get through it.

Zap2It.com: Last night you had your farewell performance, and you totally could have just stood there on the stage and just sung it; but you actually went out into the crowd and you played to the audience. It was very enthusiastic and energetic. Did you consider just doing it straightforward? Or did you always know that you were going to go and do the whole thing?

A: whether I’m wearing shorts or not, I’m not strutting around just because I’m in shorts. Do you know what I mean? That’s just who I am, no matter what I was wearing. I was wearing pants and I was still strutting around. That’s the style of the song. The song was about basically in your face, the rhythm, it’s funky, and it was Latin, so it is a sexy vibe. That’s just kind of what I was going for. But no matter what I was wearing, it was still the same vibe.

Zap2It.com: I’m just talking about last night after the elimination announcement. Often that ends up being a sentimental, sort of sad sing-off, and you made it into something much more lively than that.

A: Right. As a performer, when it’s time to sing, it’s time to sing. That’s my home. It’s like my second home. It’s very easy to clock in and get the job done. It was good to sing again and have fun with that song. It was easy. It’s not hard. I was still kind of tearing up, but I was just enjoying my moment.

People Magazine: What was it like to work with J-Lo as a mentor? What was she like in person?

A: It was amazing. She was great. She was very warm and comforting, and she had a lot to tell us. You could tell she really did want to help us. It was a very good experience on my part and I think everybody felt the same with it.

People Magazine: Did you get to spend a lot of time with her?

A: A little bit, it was like ten minutes, so it was good to hammer out the song and stuff.

People Magazine: Did you get to meet Marc Anthony at all?

A: Yes, we did. That was really cool, too.

People Magazine: What was he like?

A: He was great. He was really, really nice. He loves her and he adores her, so that’s really cool to see. They just look really happy.

Soap Opera Weekly: What challenge did you not expect in this competition?

A: That’s hard, there’s so much. You can’t prepare yourself for something like this. You expect picking the right song is a huge deal, but just making sure it gets cleared. I didn’t know it was going to be that tough to try and get the song cleared. That was pretty tough and it affected us a lot, because then if it didn’t clear, we had to change the song, and we had to pick another song. It would just hold everything up. That was pretty much it.

Soap Opera Weekly: Did any celebrity mentor give you good advice that we didn’t see?

A: No, not really. Lulu was amazing. That was all on TV. Her and Jennifer Lopez were great. I loved them. What you see is what you get. They try to put everything in as much as they can.

The Houston Chronicle: Who were some of the artists that influenced and inspired you, even before Idol?

A: Definitely Celine Dion, Martina McBride, I love her, Faith Hill. I’m trying to think of who else.

The Associated Press: When Simon first started commented on the way you looked, did you ever think about changing the sort of outfits you were going to wear, so that you wouldn’t play into what he was saying?

A: You get so much feedback from everybody, and they’re like, “Keep it,” I never really changed my look. Since Hollywood week, I showed my midriff a little bit and stuff like that. Not really, I want to stay true to who I am. It’s fun dressing up and playing the part of the theme week and the song that you’re signing. Like with Latin week,
it’s more of a sexier vibe. I don’t think I wore less clothes than before, so I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think I stayed true to who I am.

The Associated Press: Does it bother you that you got voted off before Sanjaya?

A: No, oh my gosh. Sanjaya is a great personality; he has a great energy backstage, and on stage. I think he did a great job last week. He’s a great kid and I wish the best for him and all of the other contestants.

Starry Constellation Magazine: The judges seem to give a lot of conflicting advice when it comes to your performances and, of course, Simon mentioning your legs all of the time. How do you adjust and correct your performances for the next time when it comes to those times when they give that kind of conflicting advice?

A: If I was still going to be here next week, I was going to wear a choir robe. I was going to be fully clothed. You just take it for what it’s worth and just try to brush it off, and just know that you still have to perform. I felt good about it, so I’m okay with it.

Starry Constellation Magazine: Now that the tour is coming up, what are you most looking forward to when it comes to the shows?

A: Just seeing the fans and the excitement that they get, and the excitement that we get from it, so it’s just going to be crazy. I can’t imagine the feeling that we’re going to all get from it.

Gannett News Service: They showed Tony Bennett giving a couple of people advice and the people ignored the advice. They went ahead and they did different fruit from Tony’s side and they did pretty well with it. You followed his advice, but I’m not sure if you wouldn’t have done well ignoring it. You had this funny, silly, vampy version that you wanted to do, “Saving My Love For You,” where it was kind of playful, and he told you to do it seriously, and you switched it to seriously. Do you think maybe your playful approach would have worked, too?

A: I think I still kept the playful vibe. I just didn’t do the you-and-you-and-you like he didn’t want me to do.

Gannett News Service: That’s what kind of made it humorous. Like I’ll be true to you in my fashion, kind of a humorous touch to it.

A: The version that I was leaning towards was the Broadway version. It’s more characters, and more cutesy kind of vibe. But he’s Tony Bennett, so you want to respect him. I took his advice, and took what I wanted, and still gave it my flavor.

Gannett News Service: One other thing, we get revisionist with Simon, and we think he always hated the look. But the truth is, he and everyone else seemed to really like the British invasion look when you had the shorts and you danced around. It seemed very fresh and youthful. I was wondering, how did that idea first come up? Did one of the fashion people suggest it to you, or did you come up with, "I want to wear the shorts and the high heels and dance around."?

A: I thought about the shorts because it’s more of an upbeat kind of song, and it would be comfortable to wear. Art just finished the style and he molded it together.

Edmonton Journal: First Simon, a powerful judge on the show, is telling you how great you look, and he’s praising you for your legs and stuff like that. And then this episode, he’s basically saying, “Geez, you’re showing a lot of skin in order to stay on the show.” Is this confusing? What do you make of what he’s saying when you’re taking this in?

A: You can’t please everybody. It’s just one of those things. I didn’t go shorter. I didn’t wear less clothes. I just did the same thing. It was going to happen eventually and I figured that. But I got a good vibe from the judges and I didn’t want to lose it because I didn’t really get any great vibes from them before. My stylist liked it and it just seemed to kind of work. Everybody was liking it, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Edmonton Journal: What did you think of his accusation that you’re basically showing off your body to get ahead on the show? When he said that, what did you think?

A: It hurts, of course. It’s just legs. It is what it is, it’s legs. I don’t even know what to say about it. It’s frustrating because I’m just trying to go out there and perform and entertain and sing. It is a singing competition and I wasn’t … to me anymore, but I’m okay with it.

Edmonton Journal: It’s not exactly strange for pop stars to dress like you were dressing, either. It’s the role you’re playing and then to get hammered for it.

A: Exactly, but that’s okay. You can’t please everybody, like I said.

The Virginian Pilot: What were you and Chris Richardson saying to each other when it came down to the showdown last night? Secondly, what do you think of him? Do you think now that he has as good a chance as anybody to win this?

A: Everybody is so supportive. It’s a great feeling to know that they’re there for us. It feels really good. We love each other and we want everybody to do well. I think Chris is going to do great in this competition. I think his chances are so great. I love him. He’s a great friend of mine. I hope the best for him and for everybody else.

The Virginian Pilot: Did you all talk to each other when you were standing there waiting for Ryan to give the bad news? Did you chat with each other?

A: I little bit. We just let each other know that we love each other and that we’re here. That’s pretty much all we can do when we’re standing out there in the middle.

The Virginian Pilot: Then when it was over, did he say anything to you?

A: Yes, of course. He was great. He’s a great guy and he has a great heart. He’s a really good friend of mine, one of my best friends here. He was great.

The Flint Journal: A question for you about when you were in the bottom three the first time, what goes through your mind when you first hear that? How does that affect your thinking going into the next week?

A: It’s definitely tough to be in bottom three. It’s emotionally just draining. You just have to get through it and know that you do have fans, and that they’re very loyal. I’m very thankful for that and completely blessed, so you just kind of keep going.

The Flint Journal: From this point on, besides the tour and the album, what is your obligation to Idol? Are there appearances that you’ve got to make, interviews, and things like that beyond today?

A: Yes, there are a few interviews and appearances. I’m excited and looking forward to it.

The Flint Journal: Just beyond that, do you have some free time before we have to prepare for the tour? Or do you have other Idol commitments you have to make?

A: I think I have some free time. I need to go plan my wedding, so I think I have some free time.

TMZ.comE Online: There was some reports earlier on in the season that people said the show stylist recycled the Katharine McPhee hair extensions. Do you know if you got old Katharine McPhee hair extensions yourself?

A: That I got ...

E Online: At one point early on in the season, they said that you were wearing hair extensions that have previously been used by Katharine McPhee on the show the season before, the hair stylist reused them.

A: Yes.

E Online: Did you know they were Katharine McPhee hair extensions at the time?

A: Yes.

E Online: Any particular thoughts on wearing old hair extensions? Did you think they’d bring you good luck? Did you think it was weird?

A: No, I think it’s cool. It’s fun. They can wash them. It was fun. It was kind of cool to wear Katharine McPhee hair extensions.

AccessHollywood.com: Usually after the show, the judges come up on stage and wish the people well. Did that happen and what did they say to you?

A: They were great. Did you say before the show?

AccessHollywood.com: After the show, after you were voted off.

A: Everybody is so supportive. We all love each other. It truly is a cast kind of environment. It was really nice.

AccessHollywood.com: What did Simon say to you?

A: I didn’t talk to Simon.

AccessHollywood.com: You didn’t talk to Simon. My other question is you said that you need to go plan your wedding. When is your wedding, and how stressful has it been being in this competition, knowing that you have that to deal with?

A: The wedding was November 10th, but we have to move it back because the tour is running into it, so we’ll see how it goes.

AccessHollywood.com: And it didn’t cause you any extra stress, knowing that you had to deal with that while you’re dealing with American Idol?

A: No. Because I pushed it to the side for a little bit because I planned a lot of it before, and then I have time to plan before the tour, so I just kind of pushed it aside and focused on American Idol.

MTV News: I just had a quick question, even with all of the negative feedback you got from the judges, are you happy that you were part of the competition?

A: Oh my gosh, yes, my life changed. It truly was a blessing. I’m very thankful, so definitely.

MTV News: Obviously, you had a pretty big fan base to take you this far in the competition. Did that help you get past the bad comments?

A: Definitely, it means a lot. The bad comments are hard, but it helps to know that there are people out there that do like me. I thank them so much for voting and supporting me. I couldn’t do it without them.

The San Antonio Express: After all of this excitement, is it going to be tough maybe coming back to San Antonio? Or do you not have any plans for your future here? Or would you like to just strike it out in Hollywood or New York on Broadway? You seem to have a Broadway vibe about you.

A: I’m open for anything that comes my way. This is such a great experience and great exposure, so I’m up for anything, definitely.

The San Antonio Express: What’s going to be your first thing you do when you get back to San Antonio?

A: What’s going to be the first thing?

The San Antonio Express: Yes. Did you miss anything? Did you miss the food?

A: I’m definitely going to eat Mexican food.

The San Antonio Express: Have you gotten any other opportunities yet, any other opportunities offered right off the bat?

A: I haven’t even slept last night. I have no idea what’s going on, so it’s just been crazy. Until I venture off, I don’t know anything yet. Hopefully, something will come in, but we’ll see.

The Oklahoman: I wanted to ask you about this latest part of the competition, the Latin music competition. There’s been a lot of criticism that it wasn’t a good fit for a lot of the performers. Could you address that? Was there a lot of tension among the contestants about whether or not they could really pull it off in the Latin music department?

A: We were all really excited about the Latin theme. The band sounded awesome. I thought everybody did a great job picking the right songs for each voice and just performing it well. I felt really good; I guess it just wasn’t working for the judges, but everybody did a great job and that’s all that really matters.

The Oklahoman: Now do you have any particular long term plans after the tour? Do you have things set up to where you want to go after the wedding and after the tour?

A: I would love to get a record deal. That’s exactly what we all want, so that would be a dream come true. Like I said before, I’m up for anything. I’ll try anything. We’ll see.

e-mail Idol Addict
© 2007

Don't Let the Show Catch You Crying

Or something along those lines, at least where Ashley Ferl is concerned. Who is Ashley Ferl? Well, you probably know her as the blond, blue-nailed Crying Girl, whose copious tears flowed continually during Tuesday night's show, gushing into a virtual waterfall when Sanjaya Malakar performed.

We said yesterday that it smelled like a setup, and it was to an extent. Idol didn't intentionally bring in this little ringer. According to the L.A. Times, Ashley got tickets to a taping of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" from a Web site. The deal also included seats for either the dress rehearsal of that show or the dress rehearsal of "Idol." She picked the dress rehearsal of "Idol," and according to the Times, that where the waterworks began.

"Her prowess was quickly brought to the attention of 'Idol' producers who summoned the clan to a ringside seat of honor at the final taping." Uh-huh. Never underestimate the publicity-seeking noses of those "Idol" producers. So, we're still calling this a setup, because the producers knew exactly what they had and manipulated the situation to reap maximum benefits from it.

In an appearance last night on "Inside Edition," the 13-year-old Riverside, Calif., resident said she began crying hysterically because she was overwhelmed at Tuesday night's taping (but she started crying during the dress rehearsal, sez us). "Just being able to be there and everything about it ... it was so unbelievable."

"I love his [Sanjaya] voice and his hair," added the middle-school student, who rocked a T-shirt with a picture of Sanjaya on "Inside Edition."

Ferl's mother, Stacey, said her daughter has not stopped crying since the show's taping(!), "She was actually crying this morning again ... she's just so excited about all the media attention and talking about what happened last night on the show." Mom also said her daughter is also an aspiring singer (perhaps she should switch to professional crier), has attended all three "Idol" concert tours and can't get enough.

"Extra's" Terri Seymour (Simon Cowell's girlfriend) also sat down with Ashley, and she told Seymour that she hopes Cowell will "be nicer to Sanjaya," though Ferl admitted that most of her friends are rooting for Melinda and Lakisha. About Sanjaya, Ferl declared, "He is so bad!" And when asked if Sanjaya has a good voice, she exclaimed, "Uh-huh, yes!"

Watching the show, Ashley said, was the "best night of her life." Ferl's mother said, "She cried on the way home and at the restaurant," adding that this is not the first time her daughter cried over "Idol." She also cried and cried during a recent "American Idol" concert tour, when Carrie Underwood performed, and at last season's Top Three show.

A couple of points: This child's behavior is not normal. This is not merely a case of Sanjayamania. Any child, even a 13-year-old one, who would cry continuously for more than 24 hours over the excitement of seeing a star is either emotionally unstable or developmentally challenged. We'd wager that any therapist would say this is not a normal affect -- not for that amount of time anyway.

But we're even more disturbed by mommy Stacey's behavior. Mommy dearest seems to be milking this incident for every piece of face time she can get for Ashley (and herself). Shouldn't she have been concerned by her child's (over)reactions? Don't you think she'd want to protect Ashley from any further media glare? If this woman isn't already a publicist she ought to become one immediately. Right after Child Protective Services removes her child from her custody. Sheesh!

YES, VFTW CHALLENGED SLIGH

A more thorough reading of Dave's Vote for the Worst posting after Chris Sligh's shoutout does indicate that the site had baited him to pay homage to them. In his roundup of Tuesday night's performances, speaking of Sligh, Dave said,

"Chris Sligh then does She’s Not There. I’m a little underwhelmed by the performance, but it’s fairly good. The judges comment, and then it happens. Chris yells out “Hi, Dave”, not once, but twice. On the VFTW message board, we’ve always told contestants to give me a shoutout as a joke to show that they actually read our site. Smarterthanpickler wrote this [on March 17]:

This is a reminder to Chris:

Tuesday is coming, and this will be your final chance to reclaim your manhood. Remember, two simple words:

"HI DAVE"

Say these two words and I swear I will never bash you or call you a pussy again and that I'll use whatever influence I have to get you votes. Don't say these two simple words, however, and I will endlessly bash and humilate you until you are voted off the show.

The ball's in your court, chubby.

And Chris did it! This man is my hero. He wants VFTW to love him. Was it just me or did the judges look pissed? I just have to tell Chris, since we know he’s reading this site now, you are the man. Dude, we so need to go get a few drinks after this is all over and laugh about the show. You complete me. We totally can’t switch to you this week after all the work we’ve put in for Sanjaya, but if you keep it up, you’re guaranteed some VFTW votes once Sanjaya is gone."

So there you have it. Documented and apparently true. VFTW rules, at least as far as Sligh is concerned.

And we couldn't help but post this Sanjaya doll photo that appeared since yesterday on VFTW's home page. Love the site or hate it, anyone who doesn't laugh isn't breathing. (BTW guys, manufacture them and we'll buy one.)

THE REST OF THE RESULTS SHOW

Away with the easy stuff first, the week's Ford commercial had the contestants singing Sam Cooke's "Another Saturday Night" at the Laundromat. It wasn't bad compared with most of the Ford spots, but it really is commercial filler that we tend to ignore.

When Ryan Seacrest was about to reveal, as it turned out, seated in the stands with the contestants was Brad Garrett, in a not-so-subtle reminder that his Fox series, " 'Til Death" now follows the results show, and in fact, has been garnering much better ratings since it was moved there. Of course, he was the first person that Ryan sent home.

And we need to emphasize again how great we thought this week's mentors -- Lulu and Peter Noone were. They listened and gave sound advice to the contestants, even if it was not always followed (not their faults). But we were especially impressed by their performances last night. It is clear that Lulu's range is not what it once was, but she updated "To Sir With Love" to suit her current voice, plus she is the consummate stage performer. We would love to see her in concert. BTW, some interesting facts about Lulu that we wrote about earlier, but you may have missed:
She was married to Maurice Gibb (of the Bee Gees) from 1969-1973, and Tina Turner's hit "I Don't Wanna Fight" was written by Lulu and her brother Billy Laurie.

And Peter Noone is just tried and true. His "There's a Kind of Hush" sounded little different than when he performed it with Herman's Hermits in the '60s. He still tours extensively in the U.S., so you might want to catch one of his shows if he plays near your hometown. To check his concert dates, click here.

Finally, as you already know, Stephanie Edwards was eliminated. We expected so much more of her that we're not saddened too much. She wasn't going to get much further anyway. Chris Richardson, who is near the bottom of our list as far as this season's talent goes, surprised us by getting the second least amount of votes. We're obviously not a supporter of his, but we thought he had heavy fan adoration. In any event, his near-death last night should bring out his hoardes next week, protecting him from elimination for at least 2 more weeks. It seemed to work for Phil and Sanjaya this week. They were both safe, even though they were in the Bottom 3 last week. And so it goes.

Next week, Gwen Stefani will mentor the contestants and will perform "The Sweet Escape" with Akon on Wednesday's results show. It will be a pop-themed week, as contestants pick their favorite songs from that genre.

e-mail Idol Addict
© 2007

No Love for Stephanie

She sang "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," and they didn't. Stephanie Edwards was eliminated from American Idol tonight, leaving the 10 contestants who will tour the country over the summer after the sixth season ends.

In a change-up from the usual "Bottom 3," Ryan declared three groups of three safe, before telling Stephanie and Chris Richardson, who had sung "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" on Tuesday night, that they were the Bottom 2 contestants after over 30 million votes had been cast.

Other highlights of the evening included Peter Noone singing "There's a Kind of Hush" and Lulu looking fabulous as she sang "To Sir With Love."

More in the morning on Crying Girl, Chris Sligh and VFTW ...

e-mail Idol Addict
© 2007

The British Are Coming!

Fox has announced that the theme of next week's show is British Invasion Week, with the contestants being mentored by Lulu and Peter Noone (lead singer of Herman's Hermits) on hit songs picks from the 1960s.

To those of you reading this who are too young to remember the '60s, or think that the only British group that came out of that era was The Beatles ... well, they weren't. Musically, it was a great time to be a teen, with music from not only the Fab Four pouring out of your transistor radio, but also the Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, The Troggs, The Zombies, The Hollies, the Kinks, The Blues Magoos, Dusty Springfield, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Procol Harum, Petula Clark, Chad & Jeremy, The Seekers, Peter & Gordon, The Byrds, Badfinger, Marianne Faithful, Donovan, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Animals, Manfred Mann, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Turtles, Jonathan King, Traffic, The Yardbirds, The Spencer Davis Group, Them, Van Morrison, The Easybeats, Sopwith "Camel," The Tremeloes, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Freddie & The Dreamers, Small Faces, Oliver, plus a ton more. So the song selection should be really great!

For the uninitiated, Scottish singer Lulu, born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Laurie on Nov. 3, 1948, is probably best known for singing the theme song for "To Sir With Love," a million-selling No. 1 hit in the U.S. She also did a turn as Barbara "Babs" Pegg in the beloved 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier. Lulu will perform the song on Idol, as well.

Other "fun" Lulu facts:

• At the age of 15, Lulu and her backing band, The Luvvers, reached No. 7 on the UK charts with their version of The Isley Brothers' "Shout."
• She had her own TV series in the UK.
• She was married to Maurice Gibb (of the Bee Gees) from 1969-1973.
• David Bowie produced and arranged her hit version of "The Man Who Sold The World."
• In 1974, she sang the title song for the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun."
• In 1993, the title track of her release "Independence," co-produced by Bobby Womack and London Beat, registered strongly on the UK and US charts.
• Tina Turner's hit "I Don't Wanna Fight" was written by Lulu and her brother Billy Laurie
• She was awarded the OBE in June 2000 for her contribution to the entertainment industry.
• Her 2002 duets album featured collaborations with Elton John, Paul McCartney, Sting and newer artists Atomic Kitten and Westlife.

Peter Noone, was born Peter Blair Denis Bernard in Manchester, England, where he studied voice and acting at St. Bede’s College and the Manchester School of Music and Drama. As a child, he played Stanley Fairclough in the long-running British soap opera "Coronation Street." He was also featured on other TV series. At 15, he achieved international fame as the lead singer of the '60s pop band Herman’s Hermits. Their hits include: "I'm Into Something Good," "Silhouettes," "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," "Just a Little Bit Better," "Wonderful World," "There's a Kind of Hush," "Listen People," "The End of the World," "Dandy" and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." Noone will perform "There's a Kind of Hush" on the results show.

Other "fun" Herman's Hermits facts:

• The band ultimately sold over 65 million recordings.
• In all, 14 singles and seven albums went gold.
• The Hermits were twice named Cashbox’s "Entertainer of the Year."
• Noone graced the cover of nearly every international publication, including Time Magazine.
• He performed on hundreds of top-rated TV shows, and appeared with such luminaries as Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye.
• He starred in ABC’s musical version of "The Canterville Ghost," the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of "Pinocchio" (in which he played the title role) and the feature films "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter," "Hold On!" and "When the Boys Meet the Girls."
• Throughout the '70s, Noone performed, composed and produced recordings with such artists as David Bowie and Debby Boone.
• In the '80s he starred on Broadway as Frederic in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of "The Pirates of Penzance."
• He later guest-starred on the TV series "Married With Children," "My Two Dads," "Quantum Leap," "Dave’s World," "Easy Street," "Too Close for Comfort" and "Laverne and Shirley."
• For four years, Noone hosted VH1’s "My Generation," a retrospective of popular music.
• His fans are known as “Noonatics.”
• In 2001, VH1 selected Noone as their viewer's choice for the "Sexiest Artist of the Year."
• Noone starred in the recurring role of Paddington on "As the World Turns."
• He still performs approximately 150 live concerts a year.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH PAULA ABDUL

"Extra's" Terri Seymour sat down with Paula Abdul for a candid one-on-one about love. This is what Paula had to say:

On finding Mr. Right: "Mr. Right is the complete opposite of Simon! The truth of the matter is he [Simon] does make me laugh at times and humor to me is everything. I find that attractive."

On Seymour dating Cowell: "You [Seymour] are the perfect complement to him … you are the bright light and he is the king of darkness."

On whether she is ready for love: "I am definitely ready for love. I've been ready. Just because I'm a famous person, it doesn't make me exempt from love."

WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE SUNG

Vocally, Diana Ross Week was not a great success. Would it have been any better had some of the semi-finalists booted the week before still been competing? MTV asked a couple of them what they had planned to sing on the show.

Sundance Head: I was going to sing "Reflections" and I was going to do a slight punk rock version of it.

Sabrina Sloan: "You Can't Hurry Love." I was already planning it out in my head how I wanted the band to do it.

GIVING BACK

The American Red Cross unveils it's sixth annual National Celebrity Cabinet with 20 new members, including "American Idol" alum Kellie Pickler. The 2007 American National Celebrity Cabinet will work to promote awareness of Red Cross services in a variety of ways, such as taping public service announcements; donating their time, money and blood; feeding victims of disaster; and generally lending a hand or a hug to those in need.

Other members of the 2007 American National Celebrity Cabinet include Forest Whitaker, Bradley Whitford, Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marcia Gay Harden, Heidi Klum, Tim McGraw, Julianne Moore, Elisabeth Rohm and Rascal Flatts.

AMERICAN IDOL EXTRA

MJsBigBlog reports on the premiere of "American Idol Extra" on the Fox Reality cable channel, hosted by JD Roberto, and co-hosted by former Idol finalists Mikalah Gordon (Season 4) and Matthew Rogers (Season 3). Here are the highlights of the first show:

Ryan Seacrest said that the worst singer did not go on Wednesday night ... Carrie Underwood said her favorite Idol performance was Heart's "Alone" ... Lisa Tucker, turning 18 soon, is working on Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101" and recording original music. She does not have a label yet ... Simon Cowell said it's better to be really, really bad than forgettable – that's why the worst singer did not leave Wednesday night.

In an interview with Brandon Rogers, the first Season 6 finalist to get the boot said:

• He was prepared to go home Wednesday because when he forgot his words on stage, he knew he was going home.
• There is no infighting or backstabbing on the show. Everyone was nice, and genuinely enjoyed hanging out together.
• He's going home because he never picked the right songs to showcase his voice. He picked songs that he liked, and now realizes that wasn't a good strategy.
• He would love to cover Donny Hathaway's "A Song for You."
• When Ryan told him that he was going home, he thought, "I want a [alcoholic beverage] with a squeeze of lime."
• He was not nervous performing Tuesday night, but was thrown off by the crowd response – he lost his focus.
• No one should feel sorry for him – it was a great ride.
• The most emotional moment Wednesday night was Blake Lewis crying after Brandon's elimination.
• Brandon cried every week when somebody left.
• He thought he earned the judges' criticisms.
• He will continue to write and make music.

The show ended with Brandon’s sing-out, which was cut from Wednesday’s show - he remembered his words.

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First 4 Semi-Finalists Eliminated

Ronnie Gill in Newsday writes:

The first cut should have been the deepest, but wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t even separate the wheat from the chaff.

Four semi-finalists were eliminated from “American Idol” tonight, and they weren’t even the worst of the lot. Ending their journeys to the Season 6 title were: Paul Kim, 25, who the judges found pitchy and very ordinary; Amy Krebs, 22, who was warned by Simon Cowell that she didn’t stand out; Nicole Tranquillo, 20, whose song Cowell said sounded over-rehearsed; and Rudy Cardenas, 28, whose performance was called corny by Randy Jackson.

Some would argue that VotefortheWorst.com, a Web site that encourages the public to vote for contestants it deems as "the worst," had an effect on the outcome of this week’s voting. It’s two “nominees,” Sundance Head and Antonella Barba, had received fairly scathing critiques from the show’s judges, but survived.

During the course of the show, host Ryan Seacrest revealed that this season’s finalists would be working with a list of all-star mentors that will include Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez (April 11), Gwen Stefani (March 28), Tony Bennett, Martina McBride, Lulu, Peter Noone and Barry Gibb. Seacrest also introduced a new contest in which entrants could win cash or a trip to Hollywood by giving the correct answer to a multiple–choice question via text-messaging or online.

Season 3 champion Fantasia Barrino made a guest appearance and announced that she would be assuming the role of Celie in the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” on April 10. She then sang “I’m Here” from the show.

More in the morning ...