American Idle

I knew somebody from American Idol–or a person who has been on the show–would speak on Ju’Not Joyner’s remarks that Idol is “rigged.”

The person was Phil Stacey, and he put up a bulletin on his MySpace page, while promoting his new album, “Into The Light,” which hits stores on August 25. Clever…Anyway, here’s Stacey’s bulletin in its entirety (my comments follow):

Friday, July 31, 2009 

Is American Idol rigged? In light of today’s blogs, I’ve had several people ask me my opinion on if American Idol is rigged, so here is my two cents… .. .. If I own a restaurant, I’m not going to serve people a different dish than they wanted.  It just wouldn’t be good for business.  Even if I gave them a tastier dish, they wouldn’t even try it.  They would DEMAND what they asked for.  So if I want people to come back to my restaurant, I better give them what they ordered.  .. .. It’s the same for American Idol.  They aren’t going to serve you something you didn’t order. .. .. OF COURSE we’d like to think the show’s rigged!  We lost!  Haha…  But unfortunately, in my personal experience, there is no reason to believe it is. .. .. Are the contracts reasonable?  Yes.  They are more than fair.  In fact, I guarantee that if the contract were offered to any of my friends that are trying to break into the business, they would gladly sign it…  And on a side note, all respect intended, if you “understand” the music business and “understand” how recording contracts work, become an entertainment attorney instead!  There’s far better money in it!  As an artist who has experienced and benefited from three major deals, I still have no idea how they work…  A recording contract is full of technical jargon that is meant for lawyers…  That’s why they get paid the big bucks. .. .. Are the lawyers they provide working for Idol or the contestants?  They are working for us contestants.  We are talking about some of the most high profile music attorneys available.  In fact, I continued to work with our lawyers long after my time on American Idol had expired.  Of course, we have absolutely no bargaining chips, no fan base, nothing to bring to the table and 100,00 other people who would gladly take our place, but I felt our attorneys got us a great deal! .. .. Do the judges have favorites?  Let me answer this question with another question…  Do you have your favorites?  If so, than I think it is perfectly fair for the judges to have theirs.  We all have the same opportunity to make them like us.  If we don’t take advantage of the opportunity, should we blame them or ourselves?  I’m just saying… .. .. Am I writing this blog because I want to shamelessly self-promote my new album?  Heck yes!  My new record, “Into the Light” is in stores everywhere August 25th…  you can get it today on philstacey.com for $10 and you’ll pay no shipping….  Haha .. .. Now back to my restaurant analogy.  If I have a favorite dish, I am going to highlight it.  I’ll feature it as the item of the day with pretty pictures and hope people order it.  There’s nothing wrong with that…   Now add me as a friend and I’ll talk to you soon!  :  )

OK, after reading this rebuttal of sorts that is carefully worded, Stacey is saying nothing about the actual process through which the Idols go, and that’s disconcerting.

What he’s saying is that because the system is the way it is, there is no way in which the system can be changed. In other words, he’s saying others are happy with the status quo.

Also, I don’t care much for his blase attitude towards a situation that other musicians and artists find repressive. And it says little about fixing the problem. His bulletin is putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.

I’m sure others will speak out in due time; this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. But it’s good to see that dialogue is beginning to take place within the Idol ranks. I’ll bet it’s not pleasing the lawyers, however.

Well, we have finally heard from Chikezie, after he disappeared for awhile, presumably to put together rocking songs like this one. Wow, what a difference a year makes.

He covers the classic “It’s Alright” at the Ford Center as the Idols Spring Break Tour stopped in Michigan. Chikezie is there along with Gina Glocksen, who just got married but is now back performing music, and Melinda Doolittle.

Here Glocksen is below singing “Alone.”

Is it as good as some of the stuff we’ve heard on Idol 8? Maybe not. But it’s nice to see her singing again, anyway. And below we have the foursome singing a Motown medley.

With the talk around the water cooler now switching from what could be to what will, the eighth season of American Idol is five days from fruition. That said, there are many changes to the show’s format that will have an effect, good or bad, on your viewing.

First off, what effect will new judge Kara Dioguardi have on the other three more established judges? Do the other three like her? According to Paula, she and Kara go way back, since Dioguardi has written and produced a song for Abdul. So does that mean the two won’t clash when it comes to singers? It sounds like Dioguardi is opposite of Abdul when it comes to critiquing. She’d rather take Simon Cowell’s lead. The other noticeable thing you will see is backstage. Will that mean fighting? More importantly, is Idol 8 gonna go the way of Jerry Springer? And what effect will the wild-card rounds have on the judges? These are all important questions to answer, along with the fact there will be younger mentors. - Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2009/01/season-eight-co.html

Guess who’s blogging for season 8? Phil Stacey, the bald dynamo from season 6 who made it all the way to the final six, will be doing his play-by-play for the Naples News, a Florida newspaper. He’ll be doing it on a weekly basis, giving us behind-the-scenes looks at Idol 8 the way only a former Idol can. He describes his experience on Idol 6 as one in which he felt like Willy Wonka at the Chocolate Factory. He’ll go into the way auditions are done, and which contestants you should “keep an eye on.” All told, Stacey was a formidable opponent himself in season 6, garnering a record deal as well as performing on some of the biggest stages around. - Naples News http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/08/american-idol-blog-former-idol-finalist-write-week/And finally, some Idols cleaned up at the People’s Choice Awards. Carrie Underwood won three such awards, garnering “Favorite Female Singer,” “Favorite Star Under 35,” and “Favorite Country Song.” In the above video (thanks MJ) she sings “I Know You Won’t” during the awards ceremony. And Jordin Sparks took home a trophy, a “Favorite Combined Forces Award,” for her song featuring Chris Brown which was called “No Air.” don’t you just love these award titles? LOL Anyway, it’s good to see so many Idols staying in the spotlight. Hope it continues.