Auditions for American Idol's ninth season ended Tuesday, and, according to a Ryan Seacrest tweet, Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" was the most popular song on the road -- "for real." What do we think this means for next season? As someone who's (privately) fallen prey to that song's driving chorus, I cannot judge. So I'll leave that to you. On the upside, it sounds like we could get an Idol whose voice actually suits the inspirational tune that he or she will be forced to record as a first single. (Though the odds of that song being anywhere as good as "The Climb"...)
Ryan Seacrest just signed a three-year contract estimated at $45 million for his continued American Idol hosting duties. Congrats to that stinkin' rich so-and-so. But! Before you, dear reader, attempt to make a joke, realize that everyone -- truly, everyone -- has beaten you to the Dunkleman punchline. Everyone on Twitter at least. Our favorite comes from @BrianLynch: "Sure Seacrest is getting 45 million dollars for doing AMERICAN IDOL, but half of that goes to Dunkleman via alimony payments." Oh, snap!
We already got the shocking, NO-WAY! reveal in Rolling Stone -- American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert is gay. Still, as Chris Connolly points out in the video embedded here, last night on 20/20 was the first time he talked about it on TV. Oh! Well that is an event. The seven-plus-minute segment didn't unearth much -- he's gay, he didn't want to put it all out there during the Idol competition, he played dress-up as a kid. There is a sentimental-piano-backed moment where his mom lovingly and casually talks about supporting her son throughout his life. I guess if I had to pick one highlight from the interview, it was the moment he provided hope for all the swooning tween girls unbothered by the fact that Adam likes boys: "I wouldn't ever give myself the label bisexual, but bi-ciurous, yeah. I've been known to make out with girls from time to time. Couple drinks invovled, you know, it's fun. And who knows, maybe it'll go further someday, I dunno. Who's the lucky woman..." Keep those gals-a-gushin'. Smart move, Glambert.
American Idol has seen flamboyance, pre-Adam Lambert. Remember season 7's polarizing Danny Noriega? Well, he's back. He was the guy who famously responded with a sassy "ish" to Simon Cowell's question of, "So you agree with me?" "Ish" -- representing "sort of" or "maybe" -- quickly became his catchphrase. He was also BFF with contestant Ramiele Malubay and botched "Jailhouse Rock" and "Tainted Love" during the semi-finals round. Remember him yet? He swung his ample head of hair around a lot, too.
Anyway, he just released a equal-parts hilarious and tragic single called "24/7," as well as an accompanying video, and it's definitely flamboyant. The whole crazy production sounds and looks like he made it himself, although the video credits the thing to Diamond Cuts Productionz (yes, Productionz!). And there's some lady named Diamonique rapping part way through the song. Noriega actually starts off the song by summing up the whole situation rather well: "This is gonna be..." he intones, amid synthesizers and with a glowing purple body outline, "T...M...T...H!" Too much to handle, certainly. In the worst way.
I won't hold you in suspense anymore. Enjoy/laugh at the video here:
What's your favorite aspect of this trainwreck? Noriega's insistence that he's "no American Idol"? All the weird, dated usage of acronyms (FYI, LMAO, TMTH, etc.)? His gratuitous use of "bitch" repeatedly? The rap by the illustrious Diamonique? Sound off!
You've all had a lot to say about my colleague Adam Markovitz's post from yesterday concerning Adam Lambert's sexuality. On The View, Kara kind of, sort of, went ahead and outed him. The American Idol judge showed up on this morning's episode in a pre-taped interview, during which she told Barbara Walters and Co. this about the Idol runner up: "I think he was always openly out."
I'm still not sure how I feel about Lambert's persistent coyness about his sexual orientation. I'm pretty sure though that Kara DioGuardi isn't really the person who needs to weigh in about it. What do you think -- did she cross the line? And how far?
American Idol is over and done for the year, but there's still plenty of chatter about Adam Lambert's envelope-pushing image -- much of it from the man himself. I rooted for Lambert on the show and devoured Mark Harris' spot-on cover story about him. But a recent comment that the singer made to People just isn't sitting right with me: "It's a really, really cool thing...to be able to show people that you can be yourself," he said. "It feels really amazing to be able to try and pass that on to kids and young adults who don't have a role model like that."
But how exactly is he doing that? By hiding his own identity? By
letting an open secret define him? By fanning the flames with the kind
of ambiguous double-speak that's usually reserved for politicians in
crisis-management mode?
If he is gay, Lambert's reluctance to come out is just reinforcing the idea that homosexuality ought to be hidden from the world. And if he's not, his coy comments are an insult to people everywhere who don't think sexual orientation should be reduced to a publicity stunt. He has every right to his privacy. But once you turn your secrecy into a marketing tool and encourage fans to "keep speculating," you lose the right to refer to yourself as a role model -- at least in my book.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Is Lambert off base, or am I?
Today, Ryan Seacrest furthered his quest for total entertainment-sphere domination by announcing his burgeoning production company is partnering with British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver for a six-episode ABC reality series focused on healthy eating. Say what? A food show? With Seacrest's grinning face?
Don't fret, American Idol fans -- it doesn't appear that our generation's version of Dick Clark is going the Padma Lakshmi route...at least not yet. As far as I can tell from the information out there about this unnamed show, Seacrest will just produce, like he did with NBC's reality flop Momma's Boys and E!'s reality mess Denise Richards: It's Complicated. Which is to say, he won't be on screen.
Amid so much reality crap, I'm intrigued by the general do-gooder nature of the show, which will find Oliver -- who was a judge on another ABC reality show, Oprah's Big Give -- traveling "to the unhealthiest places in America and find
ways to use nearby resources to improve local eating habits." Specifically, it looks like the targeted area will be pulled from the "fattest cities" list. That little tidbit is particularly interesting, especially when you consider that NBC's health-segment-dominating reality hit The Biggest Loseralso recently announced plans to target America's "fattest cities." Hmm, it seems like America's "fattest cities" (do you like how I keep putting that term in quotes, like it's somehow fake?) may be the hottest new reality show characters since the advent of the bitchy British judge. Are Seacrest and Oliver taking a page out of The Biggest Loser's cookbook?
What do you think, PopWatchers? Will you watch this Ryan Seacrest-produced food show? Can it possibly top The Biggest Loser in emotional connection and sheer jaw- and weight-dropping craziness?
A heartfelt poem as we head into Top 5 performance night on American Idol. When you're done reading, head on down to the comments section below to discuss the Rat Pack Night shenanigans with your fellow readers. I'll be back at 9-ish with my first impressions (update: click here to read it now!), and then again in the wee small hours of the morning with my full TV Watch recap.
I've recently decided I'm genuinely excited About the final five of season 8 My speed-dial finger's ready My emotions are unsteady Even sixth-place Anoop was pretty great I always lead the rally For Adam, Kris, and Alli My ''hell yeah!'' sent-from-heaven final three But fans of Matt and Gokey You're all quite okee-dokey Thank God 866 numbers are toll-free
Tomorrow night, Paula Abdul will appear on ABC's Nightline. And you know what that means, PopWatchers! That means it's time to revisit that old chestnut of a Paula question: Has she ever abused prescription drugs or been drunk on the air? That oldie-but-goodie was a hot topic back in 2007, when the Idol judge appeared on a morning show slurring her words and acting all loop-de-loopy. And we saw much of the same behavior on her short-lived Bravo reality series, Hey Paula (which I totally watched, albeit often with a hand over my eyes. There's only so much trainwreck a girl can take -- even a cynical one like me! Check out a clip below.) Of course, in this latest interview, Nightline's Cynthia McFadden wastes no asking Abdul to straight up, now, tell her is she had a Rx or alkie problem.
An excerpt from tomorrow's interview:
McFadden: "So let me just ask you the question straight up, absolutely crystal
clear: you have not abused prescription drugs?"
Abdul: "Never."
McFadden: “You have not consumed alcohol before going on the air?”
Abdul: "Never. I’ve never been drunk in my life. I don’t like it. It’s not my thing. Spending money on clothes and shoes, that’s another thing."
Given some of Paula's infamous on-air behavior, take a moment to contemplate that exchange, and then let us know if you'll be watching the interview tomorrow and whether you're kind of sick of the questions about her drug and booze abuse.
American Idol is over and done for the year, but there's still plenty of chatter about Adam Lambert's envelope-pushing image -- much of it from the man himself. I rooted for Lambert on the show and devoured Mark Harris' spot-on 
Today, Ryan Seacrest furthered his quest for total entertainment-sphere domination by announcing his burgeoning production company is 
