Are you a really big fan of American Idol? If so, you might be interested in these party supplies which I think could be perfect for birthday parties, karaoke parties or even Idol parties (do any of you have get-togethers for the season finale?).
If you visit the Birthday Express site, you might be surprised by the variety of items to choose from ranging from candles to table cloths to dinner plates (you can even get microphone shaped pinatas and disposable helium tanks!). You can also save your self the hassle of assembling all the items by choosing from one of the convenient party packs.
I thought this collection of party favors (currently retailing for $4.99) was really adorable. It includes an American Idol notepad, sticker sheet, tattoo, bubblegum in CD shapes, pretend microphone and a box of 4 crayons.
Ever since she appeared on American Idol, the show’s sixth winner, Jordin Sparks, has been barraged with comments about her weight. It got so bad, in fact, that the National Action Against Obesity went as far as to say Jordin is “too fat” and accused her of being a poor role model. At that time, Jordin said she was happy with her body but the criticisms continued.
The 19-year-old recently revealed that she doesn’t stress about her body. “I hike when I’m at home. I ride bikes, and I eat healthy. I’m all up for working out and being healthy and eating right, but I don’t have to be a size four and I’ll never be a size four. If I ever get to that, you have permission to say ‘Jordin, what the heck is wrong with you?’ because I would blow over.”
She went on to say that people are always going to be obsessed about weight but that it is sad when you see how much is affects people, even little kids. I was happy that she said she feels good about her appearance: “I love the way I look. I love my curves, I love being able to fill out a dress and be like ‘yeah, I look really good today.’ But I do have my days where I feel like ‘I really wish I could stay inside right now.’”
She said that her parents raised her in a healthy environment with her mother teaching her to eat in moderation and that her father, a former football player, encouraged the family to be active.
What do you think of what Jordin had to say about her weight? Is this a normal healthy size and would losing weight cause her to “blow over”?
Last night on American Idol, the Top 7 (again!) sang disco songs in an effort to make it to the Top 5 (two will be eliminated this week). Some people really turned out a great effort while others missed the mark.
Lil Rounds kicked off the evening with her own rendition of “I’m Every Woman” (Chaka Khan) but the judges were not too fond of her performance. Some even described it as being all over the place and I have to agree. I was not overly impressed either.
Kris Allen was next and he chose to sing the Donna Summer classic “She Works Hard for the Money” which really surprised me. After some strange comments about shopping in the women’s section by Paula, it was clear that the judges loved the original arrangement (it did remind me of “Long Train Runnin’” by the Doobie Brothers, though).
Danny Gokey tried to sing “September” (Earth, Wind and Fire) all the way to church and he almost got there. The singing was really good but I think most of the judges agree that Danny needs to break out, take some risks and become more original.
Allison Iraheta took on “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer) which I consider one of the more cliché disco songs out there. It’s been in a million commercials and I just would not have picked it. She tried a different arrangement on it but not all of the judges liked it. Still, Simon said it was brilliant considering her age and the genre.
Adam Lambert might have been the most surprising with his version of “If I Can’t Have You” (Bee Gees) from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I think everyone was expecting him to jump out of a cake wearing leg warmers or something but he, again, proved to be unpredictable and the judges loved it.
In contrast, Matt Giraud picked the most predictable and obvious song for Disco Week and it wasn’t even that good. He sang the Bee Gee’s iconic track “Stayin’ Alive” and, like Simon, I thought it sounded desperate and corny. Matt can sing but he needs to take it down a notch.
Anoop Desai, sporting brand new facial hair and a bright pink sweater, closed the show with his rendition of Donna Summer’s “Dim All The Lights” and it was not his best performance, in my opinion, and Simon agreed with me. The other judges seemed to enjoy it though.
Two YouTube videos have surfaced, one of American Idol season 7 winner David Cook and the other of his runner-up David Archuleta, and they have great news! Fans in Manila, Philippines will have double the David during the May 16, 2009 show at the Mall of Asia Open Ground. That’s fantastic. The videos are really short but worth seeing if only to brighten your day a little bit.
Check out Archie’s announcement (looks like he’s in a nice hotel room!):
And here’s Cookie’s video (I love the Kansas City Royals cap!):
This is all kinds of outrageous. According to reports, American Idol top executive, Tony Cohen, wants people who download the show via torrents to have their internet access cut off. WHAT? Cohen is the CEO of Idol’s production company, FremantleMedia, and he’s clearly crazy. I can understand that he has an opinion, and I can even understand his perspective, but the relationship between consumers and their internet service providers should not be policed by the producers of television shows.
Cohen made the comments when addressing the audience of the Changing Media Summit in London today. What he proposed was a “three strikes” rule that allows ISPs to disconnect repeat infringers from the Net. Last year, I attended NextMediaand the Banff World Television Awards and I heard similar comments from executives. What a lot of people, including Cohen, are suggesting is an online TV system that allows viewers to catch up on their favorite shows while paying a small fee.
I know that a lot of my readers here have noticed that I don’t have as many videos up as I have in past years and this is why. FremantleMedia has been SUPER strict with removing videos of Idol performances. Since I don’t want to be accused of copyright infringement, I have had to make do without performance videos sometimes. It’s not ideal but there isn’t much I can do at this point.
What do you think? Should people who download torrents be kicked off the internet? How do you feel about paying to see a show that you already pay your cable bill to watch? I know iTunes allows you to download performances for a fee. Do any of you actually do that?
Carrie Underwood was spotted at an Ottawa Senators game which, in itself, isn’t all that surprising given the fact that she’s rumored to be dating Mike Fisher.
What was surprising was that she didn’t seem to expect to be spotted and when she realized that cameras were focusing in on her, she tried to dive out of the way. Too funny!
I was just sent this great slideshow from the private opening of the American Idol Experience attraction at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. Again, it was a great event and looking at these pictures is a lot of fun!
After the motorcade and the actual opening of the American Idol Experience attraction, we were treated to an after-party. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised by how approachable and friendly the former American Idol contestants were. The party was held outdoors near the Tower of Terror and Rock’n’Roller Coaster and the first thing you could see were these blue glowing cocktails. It was a really cool effect since it had gotten dark. We sat down to a catered meal and then we all just mingled and went on the rides (the park was closed to the public at this point).
The first person I was able to talk to was Melinda Doolittle (finalist, season 6). We were getting ready to go on a ride and I had to stop and tell her how much I enjoyed her album. We talked about the horns and live instruments and she seemed genuinely happy to hear the compliments.
I spotted Ruben Studdard quickly exiting the party (the whole resort was open to us so maybe he was going to a different park) and Fantasia was dancing with a few friends. I also saw Bo Bice with his wife and a baby stroller. I don’t think they stayed very long. There was a DJ set up right in front of the Rock’n’Roller Coaster and he played some really good music. Since he was right outside the ride, I decided it was time to go on it again. I saw Chris Sligh and Sanjaya Malakar (both finalists from season 6) up ahead but then noticed David Cook (winner, season 7), Carrie Underwood (winner, season 4), Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro (both finalists, season 7) in line with me. One of the contestants from earlier in the day at the American Idol Experience was also in line and she got the winners to take a picture with her.
I cannot put up pictures yet of what I saw while I was inside the American Idol Experience attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios but I can tell you a few things! There were five finalists and we were given instructions about how to vote for the person we liked best (there’s a voting panel on the armrests). The only problem is that you can accidentally change the vote of the person sitting next to you, which happened to me (fortunately, it was my husband).
At the event, all of the former American Idol winners were brought on stage where they were presented with awards made especially for this occasion (they looked like old-fashioned microphones). This was the first and only time that I saw Kelly Clarkson.
Season 7 winner, David Cook, did an acoustic version of his hit, “Light On” and then season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, also performed an acoustic rendition of her song “All-American Girl.” They pair then sang “You Can Go Your Own Way” together and it was such a good duet that a lot of people were later saying they should actually record and release it as a single.
There was also a pretty hilarious exchange between Ryan Seacrest and Paula Abdul while they spoke to the “contestants” before the performances. Paula went over to give them tips on how to relax and when she started massaging one girl’s shoulder, Ryan said something like “now, remember Paula about the rules regarding contestants?” The audience booed but we also laughed when Ryan referenced the situation with former contestant, Corey Clark, who alleged that he had an inappropriate relationship with Paula.
That’s basically all I’m at liberty to say but, in the meantime, here’s a video that walks you through the attraction:
Tonight we saw the fifth day of Hollywood Week on American Idol. The judges have chosen their top 36 and introduced a new way of deciding who’d make it through to the next round! Let me know what you guys thought of the results!
They switched it up a bit this week by inviting the top 54 contestants to the Hollywood Mansion where they announced the top 36 contestants of season 8! Little did the contestants know that the judges have also included a new “Sing off” challenge, where some of the Idol hopefuls would have to sing for their lives (yikes!) in order to stay in the competition.
