American Idle

Because of a bizarre week in which American Idol 8 will air Wednesday instead of Tuesday this week, we’ll catch up with some of our former Idols who have been busy furthering their careers. Kind of.

Actually, the Idols we’ll focus on this week got a touch of bad news. But first, the good news. They had something called the Academy Awards last night and Randy Jackson looked like a big stick of Extra gum. (The picture proof, as they say, is above.) Now on to the bad.

First up, it was reported this week that Clay Aiken was dumped by RCA Records, but it actually happened two months ago. (Sneaky.) Anyway, word on the street is the label wanted to “refresh” its talent roster, and apparently Aiken playing to the squeals of silver-haired ladies chucking their panties on stages the world over wasn’t enough. So basically the moral of the story is, going double-platinum may not even enough for a singer to stay on a label.

Ruben Studdard may have a new single called “Together” under the Sony/ATV banner and Hickory Records label, but since it’s tax time the IRS would like to let him know that before he thinks about making any profit from his record sales, he will first need to pay out some back taxes. Like $254,119, according to state and federal tax records. Ouch!

And finally, Jon Peter Lewis does his best Ryan Seacrest impersonation (and mimics several other Group 1 singers from last week) in this funny You Tube video, which I have posted above. Halfway though his show gets more serious and he interviews an A&R guy. It’s not that funny, but it is informative.
And the Jaded Insider blog on Billboard (the same folks who gave you the Aiken news) reports that Joanna Pacitti may have been disqualified from Idol 8 but she’s planning to make it big and the plans may even include her boyfriend, Mark Ballas. (of the Ballas/Hough Band)

Top 36 Group 2 preview tomorrow! Don’t forget to sign up for our Office Pool. Click on info box on the left. Thanks for playing!

In a stunning move today, after booting Joanna Pacitti off of American Idol 8, FOX sent out a statement alleging “improprieties” between Joanna Pacitti - who recently made the Top 36 on Idol 8 - and executives from 19 Entertainment.

Big news, considering Pacitti was a hot property on the show and seemed to have the inside track on a finalist’s berth. But Joanna also had a past, including her infamous run on “Annie” and the talk show circuit as a child and recently having had a song of hers covered by none other than Britney Spears.

What I think happened is her ringer-ness finally caught up to her, and I certainly know from my emails that the public is getting sick and tired of all the ringers on American Idol.

Pacitti is a prime example of somebody who really shouldn’t be on a show like this, but you could say the same for Brent Keith Smith, who’s had a song on the “Dale” soundtrack, for crying out loud! How is he an amateur?

The coming days and weeks will reveal the truth between the lines, but for now just know that Pacitti has been replaced by Felicia Barton, which I actually think is a logical choice. That said, you know Pacitti won’t be the only person going home early for supposed improprieties. I think Idol has pulled the wool over our eyes long enough.

So Michael Castro is gone…and Norman Gentle is still here. Wow. It was probably inevitable since Michael Castro, the brother of Jason wasn’t really that great a singer compared to the bonafide ringers they have competing on Idol 8.

Thinking about the fact that Castro actually outlasted an Osmond, though, has to be something that the rooster-tailed brother of the white Bob Marley will remember.  

On what had to be one of the truly stranger nights on American Idol 8 to date, Norman Gentle (uh, Nick Mitchell in the above photo) stole the show by actually singing great even though he used his alter ago.

That said, Mr. Gentle, or Mitchell, or whatever he is this week is becoming a force of nature during Idol 8. At first I thought this guy was a joke but now he is proving me — and every other Idol follower — to be dead wrong in our assumptions. He may be the next Weird Al.

And that reminds me: assuming — as my mom always said — makes an ass out of you and me — and so Mr. Gentle will now have a place on my site from here on out.

And don’t look now, but Michael Sarver, the oil rig roughneck is carving himself a place on the Idol mantle and could be the runaway shocker of the season. The other shocker is that Casey Carlson (second from top photo) yet again survived despite singing okay. It wasn’t a shocker at all, however, that ringer Adam Lambert made it. Same with Scott McIntyre, who despite the fact he’s 99 percent blind, is also a ringer. Ditto for Joanna Pacitti.

Some surprise people who made it were Tatiana Del Toro, that raging hormonal bull from Puerto Rico who basically can’t shut up or stop doing it up for the cameras. I doubt that Del Toro ever hated a camera, but she might hate the media once her run comes to an end, which, hopefully, will be very soon. I don’t honestly know if I can take much more of her.

So…tomorrow we will have a Top 36! It’s about time. And don’t forget to sign up for my new betting pool. I know you have opinions on who you think is gonna win. Soooo…do something about it! Tell me which ringer is gonna make it all the way to the end.

They got about 15 seconds to sing the song they picked on the stage of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood this evening, but it was enough for some of the stronger singers to get through to tomorrow night’s Group Round.

Danny Gokey (below photo) had a great audition in Kansas City and he needed just a few seconds to cement his place in the Top 104 going into tomorrow night’s Group phase. Same with Lil Rounds (above photo), who sang Whitney’s classic “I Will Always Love You” and in that short time span, still tore the roof off the theater. Man can that girl sang! Video also above.

As for David Osmond, he had better bring the noise tomorrow or else he might be going home early. It Didn’t even look like he was trying out there. If somebody can tell me what was going on I would appreciate it. I’ve been a fan of his from day one, but his rendition was weak.

And word to the wise: do not change your song before you go up and sing it. Emily Wynne-Hughes did that and if not for some sympathetic judges — and the fact she’s basically a pro — she would have been sent packing.

Other new faces making the cut on day one of H-Wood Week were Jeremy Michael Sarver, who is a roughneck from Texas and can sing like an angel. The chances of him making it past Hell Week, though, are pretty slim. This field is loaded with talent, perhaps more than before.

Another newcomer to keep an eye on is Jackie Tohn, who is a ringer but seems to have a unique voice, a la Amanda Overmyer. And then there was Nick Mitchell, or Norman Gentle. The boy can sing, but can we please get rid of the outfit?

 And Von Smith was put on notice too, so expect more from him tomorrow.

One other good note was that Rose Flack barely survived the cut, as her group was whisked away to the next round. And Anoop Desai’s solo was shorter than most, but good enough to get through. Same with Scott McIntyre.

By the time you watch the Louisville auditions this evening during American Idol 8 you will have seen Joanna Pacitti, arguably the most talented singer to have ever been on the show. She has had a record deal with A & M Records, which puts her up there with Carly (Hennessy) Smithson, obviously.

And then you can decide for yourself if you think she is worthy of all the hype; the run on the musical Annie on Broadway as a youth and the subsequent legal action her family levied when Pacitti was wrongfully terminated. Then she toured all the talk shows and her story was heard everywhere.

Now she’s all grown up. She has had some success, albeit not as much as she may have if she were to go far in Idol 8. So listen to one of her earlier releases above, called “Watch Me Shine” and judge for yourself.

This is her chance at a comeback. Let’s see what happens. Full recap and my take on the evening and Miss Pacitti’s performance when it concludes at 8 PM MST!

UPDATE - Well, Pacitti started out singing Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” with a fizzle, rather than a bang. Then about 30 seconds into the song…it happened. She belted out some words and basically did what she needed to do, to get to Hollywood.

She got her golden ticket, cried some tears of relief like Carly did last year and walked out the door with her parents and boyfriend. So if you ever thought being on American Idol wasn’t real, just watch her expressions during the audition.

BTW I’m working to get up the audition feeds. Be patient; this issue should be resolved next week, when the auditions move to Jacksonville.