Insider's Look From the Idol Audience

TMZ.com "secured entry" to Wednesday's Idol results show with Jennifer Lopez and says it has "the dirt" on what went on behind the scenes.


After going through metal detectors, checking their cell phones and cameras at the door, and depositing gum into the CBS Studio page's blue cup (no gum chewing allowed on camera), TMZ was ushered to their seats. Celebrities in the audience included Eva Longoria, Sharon Osbourne, J.Lo BFF Leah Remini and Donna Mills.

Remini made an entire row get up and move so she and her hubby, Angelo Pagan, could sit on the aisle. When a page tried to get Leah to dispose of her gum, she shot him a look that sent him cowering back to his post.

Booted finalist Chris Sligh entered the studio and the crowd roared with applause and cheers. Sligh must be a fan of "King of Queens," because he made a beeline for Remini and introduced himself. Preteen fans roamed the set asking for autographs from ex-"Idols" like Sligh, Alaina Alexander (who traipsed around in red 5-inch heels), and Season 5 diva Mandisa. Some Fanjayas even approached Shyamali Malakar, Sanjaya's sexy sister.

Just prior to going live, judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul entered the studio while high-fiving fans with their bodyguards in tow. When they weren't on camera, guards never left their sides. Abdul made it a point to go up to fan after fan during commercial breaks, while Randy and Simon waved from their perch.

Akon's performance was not live. The studio audience watched a pretaped performance on a screen, just like everyone at home. Before J.Lo's performance, Longoria chatted up Remini and her husband, while Simon and his newly named "America's Got Talent judge Sharon Osbourne kibbitzed on the side.

Everyone was on their feet when Lopez went on stage and sang her new Spanish-language single "Que Hiciste?" The fiery performace filled the studio with so much smoke, that the production staff scrambled to air out the set by the end of the next commercial break.

When Ryan Seacrest revealed that Phil Stacey was safe, Sanjaya's mom and sis let out cheers (don't they like Haley?).

After the show ended, producer Simon Lythgoe announced that Marc Anthony, who was backstage with his wife, was asked at the last minute to tape a humorous segment for the upcoming "Idol Gives Back" charity special. Marc obliged and lip-synched a version of "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees in front of a green screen.

The evening's final surprise came with one more unannounced performance: P!nk was in the house to tape a segment for an upcoming episode (like Akon). Simon, Paula and Randy didn't stick around to watch, so audience members sat in for them. Wearing a form-fitting dress, P!nk sang her hit "Who Knew," while the remaining "Idol" finalists sat in the back, groovin'.

The audience was released four hours after arriving to the "Idol" set.

ALAINA'S DARK SIDE

Of course, had you been at the "Idol" results show, you might not have recognized former finalist Alaina Alexander, because she has gone over to the dark side ... well, at least as far as her hair color is concerned.

The newly raven-haired singer is flaunting the sexy new 'do on her MySpace page. She has also come up with a new career strategy: She played a small gig last week at Hollywood's famous Cat Club on the Sunset Strip and, according to TMZ.com, Alexander's plan is to play "a gig a month."

The gossip site, which also previously linked Alaina romantically with fellow finalist Chris "Timberfake" Richardson, wonders if that romance is dead, as its cameras recently caught Richardson flirting with "The Hills" star Lauren Conrad, who has recently been embroiled in a possible sex-tape scandal.

Moments before the two met up at L.A.'s Les Deux, Conrad was on her cell phone outside the club, playfully telling whoever was on the other line, "I'm so mad at you right now, hurry up!" Moments later, Richardson arrived, much to the delight of the giddy blonde.

The two were then ushered into Les Deux, bypassing the huge line outside, where more people recognized "The Hills" star than the "Idol" crooner.

LOPEZ'S IDOL COMMENTS ...

... Have her sounding like a Scientologist, according to the New York Daily News making the paper ask the question: Is Jennifer Lopez still flirting with Scientology? When host Ryan Seacrest asked the singer what she thought of the judges' critiques of the contestants, Lopez said that, in contrast to the stinging put-downs of Simon Cowell, she believed that "concentrating on the rightness brings more rightness."

The paper says "rightness" comes up frequently in the lexicon of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Former OT III-level church member Margery Wakefield writes in "The Language of Scientology" that "rightness" was one of his buzzwords. Among Hubbard's manifestoes: "Rightness and Wrongness" and "Recognition of Rightness of the Being."

Lopez said recently that, while she was raised as a Catholic, her dad, David Lopez, "has been a Scientologist for 20 years. It's weird people want to paint it in a negative way." She and husband Marc Anthony have also been spending more time with Scientology star couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, while Leah Remini, J.Lo's BFF, is also a Scientologist and mutual friend to the Cruises. She also attended the "Idol" results show (see above).

J.Lo and Anthony seemed to think her "A.I." performance was on the "right" track. They happily met up with Eva Longoria and other friends after the show at L.A. hot spot Social. Despite OK! magazine's claim that they've "split," Anthony was overheard toasting Lopez as "the love of his life."

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© 2007

Haley Didn't Have a Leg to Stand On

Note: Last night's results story appears beneath this one

So when all was said and done we discovered that sex sells -- but not long-term, otherwise Phil Stacey would be winging his way back home today instead of Haley Scarnato. It's good to know that in the end talent sometimes does prevail on "Idol."

We neglected to give you the complete Bottom 3 lineup last night with the results. Sinking to the bottom along with Haley were Chris Richardson (deservedly) and Phil Stacey (not so deservedly). It was interesting that as Ryan Seacrest had each contestant stand to have his or her fate revealed, when he got to LaKisha Jones, he said, "And in a big surprise ... you are safe. You can sit down, LaKisha." Does that mean that the show's producers thought she would fall in the bottom three -- or nearly had? She should have been standing in Phil's spot, and we predict her luck won't hold out with country music next week. It should offer as great, if not more, of a challenge to her as Latin music, though she'll be spared from having to walk and sing, which winded her more than it should have for her weight and age.

Stretching this results show to an hour made it almost unbearable. They had to fill with so much fluff, that viewers not only had plenty of opportunities for bathroom breaks, they could have taken a shower and washed their hair and still have missed nothing of significance. There was:

• Extended banter between Ryan and the judges



• Shots of Eva Longoria and Sharon Osbourne in the audience (Ryan even said "Hi Eva" the second time they showed her just in case we didn't get it. BTW, Micky Dolenz was in the audience Tuesday night)



• A man-on-the-street survey where Ryan asked about five adults and/or children what they thought of the previous night's performance show



• The requisite highlights reel of Tuesday's performances



• The idiotic what color is the sky contest (or was that who sang with Meatloaf at last's season's finale -- Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee or Taylor Hicks)



• An update on the Songwriters' Contest: They've received 5,000 entries to date



• More film of Jennifer Lopez mentoring the Top 8



• A performance by Lopez



• An unannounced performance by Akon, apparently shot the same night a couple of weeks ago when he performed with Gwen Stefani (at least he got to perform this time, instead of just standing around taking up space)



• A group sing of Enrique Iglesias' "Bailamos"



• The Ford commercial set to "Happy Together," with the contestants and cars morphing into one another



• And an extended Idol Gives Back pitch during which we were told that Celine Dion has been added to celeb roster for the April 24-25 event, that Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, the parent company of Fox Television, had pledged $5 million to the event, the largest amount to date (and why shouldn't they? That's a drop in bucket compared to the hundreds of millions they've made on "Idol"), leading Ryan to bait Simon with:

Ryan: If we raise $10 million dollars will you sing?
Simon: Me? No.
Ryan: 12 million?
Simon: No, you'll need to raise a lot more than that.

Plus there was more film of Ryan and Simon Cowell in Africa. This actually led to the funniest moment of the night, with Ryan opening the clip with, "One of those two lumps on Simon's chest is actually a heart." In the clip, Simon, surrounded by children, explains how with only $183, "a school in a box" can be purchased for eight children, demonstrating all the materials that would be included in "the box" (frankly, it didn't look like that much to us; seems as if they could have gotten a better deal at Costco). Then a little girl shows Simon the picture she drew of him. In it Simon has breasts. Simon asks her why she has given him breasts when they should be on a woman, not a man, then makes a sarcastic remark about maybe the kids really don't need a school after all. Back in the studio, Ryan quipped, "Even in Africa they think you need a bra," causing Simon to actually blush.

FORMER FINALISTS CAMP OUT

Idol Camp, the performing arts camp based on the show, has announced a partial lineup of Idol finalist alumni who will teach at the camp this summer.

Season 5 finalist Bucky Covington and Season 2 finalist Kimberley Locke are set to teach special Master Classes. Other Idol finalists scheduled to instruct include Season 4's Vonzell Solomon, Season 3's Jon Peter Lewis and Season 2's Carmen Rasmusen. Additional talent is to be announced soon.

Camp director Donna Milani Luther said, "This roster of Idol Camp instructors helps to reinforce our commitment to creating a unique American Idol experience while providing children with the ultimate performing arts education. All of these talented individuals have something special to offer our campers and we're looking forward to working with them this summer."

The first summer session of Idol Camp begins July 7th in Northfield, Mass. Enrollment for Idol Camp summer's sessions is open to 12-15 year olds throughout the United Stated through April 18. Check americanidol.com/idolcamp or idolcamp.com for details.

NASTY IDOL SEX TAPE

TMZ.com (who else) reports that Olivia Mojica, a top 24 contestant on Season 2 of "American Idol," has a sex tape that will be released soon.

The site says:

"We're told the tape is 'very explicit' and features 40 minutes of 'smoking hot sex.' One source who says he has seen the tape put it this way -- 'It's the nastiest tape I've ever seen.'

"We're told the tape was shot with her boyfriend, but we don't know when. A website featuring a preview of the tape will launch soon, similar to the site created specifically for Kim Kardashian's sex tape. We're told Vivid Entertainment is the front-runner to distribute the tape. Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of the company, said he cannot comment at this time."

Mojica was 18 when she appeared on Idol. Lately, she's been singing with the East Coast rock band The Watchdogs. TMZ.com said Mojica could not be reached for comment.

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© 2007

She Couldn't Get a Leg Up on Them

She might have turned the beat around with her Tuesday performance on "American Idol," but finalist Haley Scarnato failed to turn the voting public around and was eliminated after placing in the bottom three for the third consecutive week and receiving the fewest of the over 35 million votes cast.

The San Antonio, Texas, wedding singer, 24, who has relied heavily on her good looks, long, shapely legs and a decreasing amount of clothing to attract voters, had been harshly critiqued by the judges the past few weeks. After her performance of "Turn the Beat Around," for which she wore hot pants and a transparent zebra-print blouse over a bustier, judge Simon Cowell told her, "I think you have a very good tactic at the moment, Haley: Wear the least amount of clothes as possible. ... I’ll be honest with you, you can't do well in this competition based on your voice, because there are much better singers."

The contestants were mentored by Jennifer Lopez for the Latin-themed week. Wearing a flowing, kimono-like dress with leggings and knee boots, Lopez performed "Qué Hiciste" from her current release "Como Ama Una Mujer."

Akon, who seemed more a part of the chorus when he accompanied mentor Gwen Stefani on "Sweet Escape" a couple of weeks ago, also performed last night, singing "Don’t Matter."


The show included a pitch for the charity special "Idol Gives Back," during which host Ryan Seacrest announced that Celine Dion had been added to the roster of celebrities who would appear.











Next week singer Martina McBride mentors the remaining seven finalists for a country music-themed performance show.

More in the morning ...

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© 2007

Why Sligh?

(Results show story in earlier posting below) ...

It is obvious that we were disappointed to see Chris Sligh eliminated from the competition, but he just never seemed to live up to his potential on "Idol," especially for those of us who have seen what kind of great music "chubby" can produce. Not to beat a dead contestant, er, horse, but here's one last pitch for our readers who haven't before looked to check out the first video for the band Chris leads and is the main songwriter for, Half Past Forever. You can listen to more album clips here. We especially love "In a Moment" and "Know." And we love them for the music as much as for the vocals. They're a good band with great potential.

By this week, Chris seemed almost ready for defeat. He faced the judges like a beaten dog and only weakly defended himself. Maybe he wanted to go home at this point. We did think that he left with dignity, especially going over and hugging his fellow contesants as he sang his way out last night. Although we did wonder why Phil Stacey said to him, "I owe you 50 bucks" as they embraced. Sounds as if they had a wager on who was and wasn't leaving (probably Phil thought he was and he did come damn close for the second time).

OTHER NOTES ON LAST NIGHT'S SHOW

... Why the hell was Akon there to "accompany" Gwen Stefani if he wasn't allowed to do his rap? He stood around looking like window dressing, contributing less to the song than the backup singers. Are the producers that scared to introduce any hip-hop or rap to Idol? Scared of alienating Mr. & Mrs. Middle America? What a waste. There's been tons of that type of music on "So You Think You Can Dance" and it has only attracted larger audiences. Not that "Idol" is in any danger yet (as Nigel Lythgoe has said, they could lose half their audience and still be in the Top 3), but the show has been losing ratings all season -- this week's performance show had 12 percent less viewers than last week's two-hour performance show -- and eventually the producers will have to try something new to keep their old viewers, or attract new ones. Trying to threaten "Dancing With the Stars" by running over into the time period for its results show had little, if any, effect. "Dancing" garnered the biggest ratings for any of its results show ever this past Tuesday. So is this the first chink in "Idol's" mighty armor?

... Is it just us, or is anybody else getting tired of the endless amount of commercials -- wrapped as programming -- inside the Idol results shows? We read that nearly 15 minutes of the results shows are devoted to advertising if you include the appeals to buy the MP3s on the "American Idol" site, the lame weekly viewer multiple-choice call-in contest and the pleas to corporate America to get behind "Idol Gives Back." And that doesn't even include the weekly celebrity performance which is shameless promotional payback to hawk the mentors' new CDs or tours. Each results show has approximatey 5-7 minutes of actually programming, and yesterday Fox announced that a number of future results shows -- on April 11, April 18 and May 2 -- will be increased to an hour in length. We can't, ahem, wait.

CHRIS RICHARDSON'S SHOWMANCE?

TMZ.com reports that "American Idol" semi-finalist Alaina Alexander and finalist Chris Richardson may have sparked more than just a friendship on the show. An inside source revealed that the pair "hit it off instantly," and even after Alexander was voted off A.I. island, their relationship is afloat. TMZ said that what they share is "beyond just friends." It seems not to be a coincidence that the wannabeen Miss Alexander has a really sweet picture of the two on her MySpace page. Also adding fuel to the romance rumors ... last week when they panned the audience to show Richardson's adoring friends and family, Alaina just happened to be in the crew. "A.I." reps had "no comment."

IF IT WORKED FOR ANTONELLA ...

TMZ.com had another recent story about Alaina, only it involved the somewhat revealing photos of her on her MySpace.com site:

"American Idol" castoff Alaina Alexander is showing off her other assets on her new MySpace music page. Her alleged music page features four songs she's laughably categorized as her "Greatest Hits," and like any good 'ol American idled wannabeen, she's added some racy pics over which her teen admirers may care to drool.



"Perhaps this little songbird should've flaunted that taut bod a little earlier in the singing contest. Like Haley Scarnato, whose singing puts one in the mind of performing televised tracheotomies, showing off her physical prowess might have kept her on the show until the inevitable vote-off."

So is Alaina upset about the TMZ.com story? Nah. The girl knows good publicity when she sees it. A posting on her MySpace.com blog even provides a link to the TMZ story and reads:

"Tuesday, March 27, 2007

TMZ!!!! what can I say........

Hello to all my peeps!!
First off wanna thank you for all the love and support. You make me soooo happy!!

Ok now lets get started on a little website called TMZ.For those of you who dont know about it, it gives the scoop on the juiciest celebrity gossip.I must admit, even I'm a sucker for the occasional celebrity scandal.

A little bird told me there was a recent article on me. "Wow me?".
So I checked it out. It talks a little about my myspace, my music.........then of course my pictures.Now people , is it really that bad to have some flirty but classy photos?.
I mean, I'm young, free spirited and just trying to have a little fun.
Can I get an Amen?
So check out the article and let me know what you think!
Once again thank you, all of you, for your love and support.
a.a

Click HERE to read it on TMZ!"

BEEP! BEEP!

And lest we spare you from any TMZ.com muck, the site also had a field day ridiculing Sanjaya Malakar's ponyhawk on Tuesday's show (but who's laughing now? Not Chris Sligh), by saying he looked like the Road Runner from Looney Toons:

"From Diana Ross to Halle Berry, you never know whose weave will inspire "American Idol" wannabe Sanjaya Malakar. This week, his hairspiration was none other than Looney Tunes character, Road Runner. Acme Hair Spray, anyone? *beep beep*

Sanjaya's mindboggling pony-hawk was enough to almost distract from his butchering of No Doubt's "Bathwater." Almost. Unfortunately, a more appropriate song choice for Sanjaya would have been the power pop band's 90s hit, "Don't Speak," which Timberlake-alike Chris Richardson ravaged. *beep beep*

If Sanjaya survives another week, he's going to have a busy day in the studio -- the hair studio that is!

That's all folks!"

ANOTHER VIEW OF VFTW

In a posting called "American Anti-Idol," Michael Bloxham writes on MediaPost's TV Board:

"This week is about viewer involvement in programming and the rich potential for subversion that exists. Having been weaned at the tender age of seven on the earliest episodes of “Monty Python” in the U.K. in 1969, I have to confess a deep-seated love of the subversive and that which pokes fun at the conventional wisdoms and practices of everyday life.

So, naturally, I find myself irresistibly drawn to VotefortheWorst.com (VFTW) — a Web site entirely based on the notion that if enough people vote for the crappiest singer, then “American Idol” can be way more fun. Interestingly, it’s a site that has developed something of a following — especially since Howard Stern got behind it and encouraged people to join in the subversion of the core format of the show.

First established in 2004, the site’s owners are claiming some degree of success and make a habit of targeting campaigns of tactical voting aimed at blocking the progress of those they think the producers want to win, by elevating those who appear to be there for pure (and excruciating) entertainment value.

Of course, whatever the motivation to vote, every vote cast still generates revenue for the program’s stakeholders, and it all goes to increasing the program’s social currency (though you may define it as counter-currency in this case).

It also suggests that maybe there’s a market among these sorts of talent / reality shows for the versions that bring together the worst rather than the best of previous contestants (less “American Idol All-Stars” and more “American Idol No-Hopers”) — probably not sustainable over a full series. But let’s face it, seeing the least talented people in the nation is a major reason for tuning into the audition rounds of the show.

If nothing else, VFTW is a great example of how a program can be extended by an audience in ways that the producers didn’t dream of, while still building an actively engaged community that quite probably wouldn’t be as engaged otherwise, thereby increasing the overall equity of the show.

Anyway, take a look at the site, have some fun and see if you can think of sites of a similar nature that other shows are crying out for but don’t yet have."

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© 2007