ANTM: Finally, a winner that real girls and women can relate to
When Whitney won the title of "America's Next Top Model" Wednesday night, I shoved my right fist into the air just as actress Camryn Manheim did when she won her Emmy Award and proclaimed to the audience: "THIS is for all the FAT girls!"
Whitney Thompson isn't as full-figured as Manheim. But she is the first full-figured winner on a show spotlighting the modeling industry's unrealistic and painfully thin expectations that women should be skin-and-bones. I'd say Whitney is a Size 8 -- which is still less than the average woman's size of 12-14 in the U.S. In modeling lingo, she's a "plus-size" ... like "addition" is a four-letter word.
The odds were stacked against Whitney. She was surrounded by twigs angled into unhealthy, emaciated looking shapes: Young women with no chests and no hips and no bootie. Their average size was 0-2 ... Size 0. I've never understood how zero -- which means nothing -- can be a size.
Well, Whitney had plenty of chest and hips and bootie, and she was proud of it. ANTM, for all its push on exterior veneers, also requires personality. And Whitney had plenty of that, too. Yes, she struggled to ratchet down her tendency toward beauty pageant demeanor and, at times, a show's assignment would befuddle her.
But she won! And she hopes to be an inspiration to other young women. You can read more about her win in this story from Salon.com. All I can add is my standing ovation.
Well, there was very little doubt, after Tuesday's performances, that Syesha Mercado was headed for the exit. More than 56 million votes were cast this week, and Syesha got the deflating news Wednesday. She just didn't have enough fire power to finish ahead of either "D" locomotive that pulled most of the load fueling interest in Season 7.
I'll give Syesha this much: She was the last woman standing in a female field that included gifted Carly Smithson and the season's true original, rocker Amanda Overmyer. I mean, how many times was Syesha in the Bottom 2? Or among the lowest vote-getters? I still can't figure out how she came in third. (Can you imagine if she had competed against past winner Fantasia? The Season 3 champion's guest appearance Wednesday was an explosive force of nature.)
But now it's Cook, the ex-bartender who can style up a song, vs. Archuleta, who's apparently been groomed from birth by his stage dad for a moment like this. AI producers, I'm sure, want to replicate the Season 2 showdown of Ruben Studdard vs. Clay Aiken. And both Davids have the vocal gusto to live up to the moment. Stage presence? Well, Archuleta needs to work on that one. But let's hope they both let rip with something memorable for this sagging season's finale ... Please!
UPDATE: Donald Munro reacts to Wednesday's results.
AMERICAN IDOL: It will be a David vs. David showdown
Yes, it will be the finale that "American Idol" producers want -- David Cook vs. David Archuleta. The Innovator vs. The Teeny Bopper. The Growling Rocker vs. The Theme Park Performer. The ... oh, you get the picture of who I want to win this thing and end this sorrowful season.
Tuesday's show -- a true sputtering to the finish line -- was a night of lame song choices (gee, how many times have we lodged that complaint this year?) and mostly amateurish performances from the Final Three. The show also aimed a laser beam at each one's weaknesses because each had to sing three songs.
Despite their own missteps, David and David will be the last two standing. It has to be: if Syesha Mercado breaks up this party, AI producers will be downing their antacids and aspirins by the bucket loads.
And the rest of us will be bored beyond belief.
For now, however, Donald Munro and I dissect Tuesday's tedious hour.
I had a blast last October when '60s Lemoore rockers The Brymers played their reunion show at a packed Hanford Civic Auditorium. The Brymers were among the hundreds of teen garage bands around the country in the mid-'60s who released one or two singles locally, had a big following in and around their region, and then disappeared -- only to be resurrected years later by zealous record collectors looking for great, raw, obscure rock'n'roll.
These days, high-profile garage festivals such as Cavestomp! in New York (which has rounded up ? and the Mysterians,The Remains,The Monks,The Standells,Richard & the Young Lions,The Chocolate Watchband and The Sonics) are populated by music fanatics and affected hipsters from around the world, many of whom were too young to have seen these bands in their day. However, this Brymers show was much more like what I imagined a mid-'60s show would have been -- lots of friends hanging out in a big room, socializing and dancing to good tunes. (Except that most of the people were much grayer and/or balder, teen dances didn't sell beer, and there were way too many Hawaiian shirts instead of the long-lost groovy threads of 1966.) It was a purely local experience, just as it was in '66, and a hell of a lot of fun.
So anyway, I had so much fun with your local garage legends that I thought I'd return the favor and tell y'all about a recent compilation of garage legends from my old part of the world.
Can "American Idol" producers show us some mercy by axing a week out of this sorry season and just give us the David vs. David finale? Now that Jason Castro split the scene Wednesday -- after nearly 51 million votes were cast -- it seems only fitting to cut to the chase.
That means Syesha Mercado misses out but, really, she's not going to be in the Top 2 ... and, if she is, it will just stamp Season 7 as a bona fide bomb. No, everyone wants the D. Cook and D. Archuleta Show, hoping it can rival Season 2's showdown between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.
As for Jason, I give him props for being the nearest thing to an amateur this year. Early on, he exuded charm as a young John Travolta look-alike with an endearing awkwardness. (And I had to chuckle Wednesday when Jason, asked what his biggest obstacle was to overcome this season, replied "the brain being dead.") His act, however, wore thin as he showed no progress and seemed happy just to be hanging around (thanks to ample support from teenybopper votes). Too often, he rivaled Sanjaya for sheer melodic atrociousness.
At the end, even Jason seemed to know the gig was up. He said his "inexperience" led to his exit. Probably. But, in this tepid and shaky season of AI, his goofy ineptitude at least provided some wacky water cooler chats.
UPDATE: Donald Munro shares his farewell to Jason.
Sorry about the oddness on The 'Hive. We forget to feed the code monkeys and they threw a little revolution. You'd be amazed at what 100 monkeys with keyboards can do.
AMERICAN IDOL: You call Tuesday's mess rock 'n' roll?
After weeks of shaky themes that rattled most finalists' confidence, you would think a rock 'n' roll week would infuse some fun and verve back into this downward spiralling season of "American Idol." No such luck.
It was a night when usually inventive David Cook -- who should have flourished with a theme set up for him like a fat pitch over home plate -- seemed disinterested and disengaged.
But he just reflected an overall ennui as AI trudges to its finale. The series is creaking and groaning from the weight of its own self-importance, and Season 7 will go down as one of the most uninspired and disappointing. AI needs a renewed spirit and sense of purpose that won't come just by dumping Paula Abdul or Ryan Seacrest.
Tuesday's listless show committed the tacky mistake of making rock 'n' roll boring ... and that's a label that AI is perilously close to having tacked permanently onto its own cracking ego.
First things first, however: Donald Munro and I dissect Tuesday's performances.
AMERICAN IDOL: Can it be? No jive? Brooke's gone? Yes!
Sorry, Brooke White fans. Little Miss Sunshine is gone, and I'm feeling no pain. In fact, as the immortal James Brown put it with gusto, I feel good.
In this wacky-bordering-on-dull season of "American Idol," voters Wednesday finally brought some fleeting sanity back to the proceedings. I don't know what happened to Brooke's fan base. Maybe Neil Diamond theme week turned them off. Maybe they thought she was safe and didn't dial in or text in as much as normal. But when Ryan Seacrest said 45 million votes were punched in, compared to 38 million last week, that provided an ample margin to send someone home who deserved to go home.
Both Donald Munro and I have been flabbergasted at Brooke's longevity. Her admirers saw a sunny, charming, vulnerable singer. I can let Donald speak for himself, but I found her vocals weak and her increasingly shaky demeanor a bit unsettling. And, after watching her so emotionally overwhelmed by her dismissal, I doubt she could handle the rough-and-nasty rigors of show business.
So this leaves us with the two Davids -- which is the final that AI producers obviously hunger for -- plus Jason Castro and Syesha Mercado, who again fell into the Bottom 2. I had picked her to go home this week, but I'm so happy to be wrong.
UPDATE: Donald weighs in on Wednesday's results show:
While Donald Munro and I have slogged our way through "American Idol" Season 7, I've wondered if we're just self-involved grouches, or if there really are cracks in this monolith's facade. From our view, the performers -- for all the hype that this is the best field ever -- have mostly offered performances ranging from lukewarm to downright hideous.
AI in the past has withstood rough patches, keeping its titan ratings in tact. But this season is a different story, spurring signs of concern for the show's producers:
The ratings may still be huge but are in troubling slippage mode. (USA TODAY)
The survey results may wipe that insipid smile off Ryan Seacrest's face. (The Los Angeles Times)
It's time to seriously start worrying about what goes on in Paula Abdul's head. (Associated Press)
Tuesday's show drew the kind of reviews, like this one from The Washington Post, that would close a Broadway show on opening night. (The Washington Post)
And, finally, I'll never listen to a Carly Simon song again. (Associated Press)
Oh, I digress. Which is easy given the mushy mess most of the Final 5 offered Tuesday. It was so lousy after Round One that Simon Cowell pleaded with these folks to step it up. They were taking the songs of Neil Diamond, whose music I've enjoyed since I was a teenager, and turning these gems into caricatures. Especially Brooke White. Seriously, BW fans, why do you keep voting for her? The wattage of her smile cannot mask the weakness of her performances.
Thank goodness Paula Abdul provided my other highlight. It was a busy two-songs-per-finalist show. The judges were given a few minutes to critique after the first round. Ditzy Paula starts with Jason Castro and then launches into what she thought of his second song ... I always suspected she heard things the rest of us didn't. It was just too hilarious and truly entertaining.
Unfortunately, Donald Munro and I can't say that for most of the show.
Local artists will show at Infusion in Los Angeles
What began as a meeting of like-minded artists in 2007 has shaped into the California Contemporary Art Collective. It's a small group of familiar and recognizable artists from Fresno and outlying areas who have banded together to seek a wider audience for their work.
"We've all been working artists for a number of years," says member Trude McDermott. "We're a really good team of working artists who had the same vision of what we wanted to accomplish ... We really wanted to get greater visibility for ourselves."
On Thursday, they will open an exhibition at Infusion Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. It runs through May 25.
The Culture Bucket: Carly Smithson was sent home because why?
Here's a roundup of stories that caught my eye this week:
Internet chat rooms are humming about another reason that Carly Smithson was sent packing from "American Idol" on Wednesday, and it had nothing to do with her tattoos. (Idolator)
You just broke up with your boyfriend. It sucks ... but, wait, you still have the jewelry? Consider this (NBC'sToday show)
I want Isiah Thomas' job. I'm removed as the lousy coach of the hapless New York Knicks. But I'm still in the organization: I report only to the general manager, even though I have no title and apparently don't oversee anyone or have any real duties. But I still get paid. Sweet! (Newsday)
And, finally, when you're Heir No. 1 to the English throne, you can do whatever you want with a multi-million dollar military helicopter. Who cares what the little people think. (Associated Press)
When Ryan Seacrest announced Wednesday that golden-throated Carly Smithson was the bottom vote-getter on "American Idol" this week, your first reaction probably was "Whoa, what?!"
But, hold on. Was it really a surprise?
OK, I know I picked Jason Castro to exit, while my colleague Donald Munro hoped for either Jason or Brooke White. Both just plain stunk Tuesday night when the contestants tackled the demanding compositions of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Jason destroyed "Memory," a classic song for big-voiced divas. Brooke flatlined on "You Must Love Me."
What we were reminded of Wednesday, however, is that a contestant's longevity is greatly rooted in the fan base that he or she develops. Jason has his teeny-boppers. Brooke has a brigade of admirers who think she's as endearing as sunshine. With 38 million votes cast, neither one was even in the Bottom 2.
Carly? She apparently never really built a sizable fan squad and was left out in the cold. Well, at least you can catch her on the just announced 2008 AI Tour featuring the Top 10 finalists -- It stops in Fresno on July 3 at the Save Mart Center.
UPDATE: Read what Donald has to say about Wednesday's results after the jump.
This week's challenge sounded daunting from the moment we heard about it: The final 6 had to choose from the formidable songbook of Broadway musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is the man whose smash award-winning productions include "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats" and "Evita."
The finalists were definitely thrown out of their comfort zones, as host Ryan Seacrest promised at the top of Tuesday's show. The results ranged from downright dreadful to surprisingly good. Those who believed in what they were singing are safe ... and those who had no idea what they were doing are in peril. (Can you spell B-R-O-O-K-E?)
Donald Munro and I break down the telecast. Tell us what you thought.
Despite its still high flying ratings, the "American Idol" juggernaut is starting to show some stress and strain, according to an article in today's Los Angeles Times. See, it's all about the demographics, and there's a disturbing decline in two areas: women, ages 18-34, and kids, ages 2-11. It's quite an interesting report.
And, as if AI matters weren't worrisome enough this week, now comes word that last year's winner Jordin Sparks could have a serious voice problem.
This all just adds to my trepidation about the remaining six finalists' ability Tuesday to sing from the challenging songbook of Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. We could be in for a dreadfully gruesome evening.
Danny Federici, who played the keyboards in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, on Thursday lost his battle with melanoma. He'd been fighting the illness for three years. He died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Federici, who met Springsteen in the late 1960s, was an original member of the E Street Band. The Boss wrote a statement on his Web site about the loss:
"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much...we grew up together."
Finally, someone wrote about what "Dancing with the Stars" viewers have been fixated on all season: What happened to Priscilla Presley's face? OK, the article isn't just about her (before her exit this week), but it does provide some insight into the proliferation of cosmetic surgery in show biz.
And, finally, if you ever watched "Bambi" or "Pinocchio" or "Mary Poppins," then you have "Ollie" Johnston, Jr. to thank for some of that magic. He was the last of Walt Disney's animator extraordinaires, the "Nine Old Men."
Johns made last week's stunning exit. On Wednesday, Kristy Lee Cook -- who lifted her game in recent shows and certainly didn't rank among the worst this week -- was rewarded with the unceremonious heave-ho.
It wasn't as dramatic as Johns' departure. But the pink slip should have been handed to the way-too-chatty and whiny Brooke White. Her performance Tuesday night was just plain abysmal, with her rushed execution and total lack of nuance or enthusiasm.
But this is is how AI rolls, sometimes. Brooke's sunny personality apparently is winning over enough supporters (from the 36 million votes cast this week) to keep her afloat ... and it's distressing because she clearly is losing traction in the poise and singing department. I'm bracing for how she's going to mangle her pick next week from the oeuvre of Broadway musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Man, I can't wait to read what Donald Munro thinks of Kristy Lee's ouster. Something tells me he's not going to like it ... what did you think?
UPDATE: On the jump, an irate Donald vents his mind ...
Mariah Carey may have been the superstar guest on "American Idol" Tuesday, but contestant David Cook stole the show -- again.
Before the program, I had wondered how the men could possibly channel the 5-octave diva. But Cook and the guys shined, while the women seemed intimidated by the challenge. Cook took Carey's "Always Be My Baby," flipped it inside out and hurled it out of the AI stratosphere. The audience and judges raved it up.
It was already an emotional night for Cook, whose brother, Adam, was able to attend the show. Adam is fighting brain cancer and his fragile condition has been a constant concern for David.
As for Tuesday's production, I wish Carey (timing her appearance to coincide with the release of her new CD) had played up her fab diva-ness and laid down some diva law. She was far too nice and did the women no favors. Both Donald Munro and I agree: One of the gals is going home.
Before I get to the topsy-turvy segment of "American Idol" Tuesday night, just a reminder that tonight's show is the charity-themed "Idol Gives Back." It starts at the special time of 7:30 p.m. on KMPH Channel 26.
It also probably will include a segment shot at Goshen Elementary School, as recently reported by The Bee's Lewis Griswold. Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson visited the Tulare County campus on March 14.
Now, back to Tuesday's show. The Final 8 were supposed to sing songs that inspired them, in keeping with this week's charity theme. It's not a stellar night when I keep jotting down "good, but not great."
I'm flying solo on this one (Donald Munro, you owe me!). You can read my rants ... and let me know what your take was on last night's performances.
