Tonight, the finals of American Idol Season 17 on ABC with Madison VanDenburg, Alejandro Aranda and Laine Hardy. Ho hum, you say? Yes, I've scarcely watched the show this year, but the epic program tonight (here is a preliminary list of entertainers) will be three hours long, with everyone performing something at some point, even the judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry (she makes $25 million/year just as this judge) and Luke Bryan.
As voting will be live, how can Hawaii participate since we get it from 7-10PM? Well, they now show it live, from 2-5PM this afternoon, and repeat at 7.
My favorite is Laine Hardy. Why? Well, he's from Louisiana, and I spent nearly four years of my life there. I just happened to be watching one of the auditions when he walked in with Ashton Gill to accompany her on a guitar. All the judges remembered him from 2018 when he did not quite make the top 50. But in the year after being kicked off, he graduated from high school, went to Nashville, wrote and produced an album, and gained confidence. Not knowing all that, the judges asked Laine to sing something, although he had not even signed up to do anything. They liked the new Laine, and he is now in the final three. Here, with Ryan Seacrest, the moderator.
About American Idol, can you believe season one aired in 2002, seventeen years ago? The first winner was Kelly Clarkson. Judges the first eight seasons were Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. Seacrest has been moderating since the first year. Idol spawned 458 #1 hits on Billboard, 260 million downloads, 60 million albums, 80 platinum records and 95 gold records. From 2003 to 2011 it was the #1 TV show.
People credit Simon Fuller for creating the program in the UK and bringing it to America, but he borrowed it from New Zealand's Popstars twenty years ago. Simon Cowell went on to found X Factor in 2011, which ran for a couple of years. Cowell still judges America's Got Talent. To the left, the Simons.
Interested? Just click here. You need to be from 15-28 years old. No cities yet named, but the auditions for the 2020 version will be held in August and September. Costs nothing to try, except for transportation and lodging.
Not sure about the actual statistics, which I could not find, but in the early days 20,000 or so showed up just in D.C. The next step would be getting a call to return, then another to audition before the judges (read this to see how terrible an experience this can be--from Michael Barnum to the right, who did not get a golden ticket)....until they pick a winner. Your odds are one in a very large number.
If you win, you receive a record deal with a major label, and it could be for up to six albums. Earlier Idol winners got a lot more, for Maddy Poppe last year received that recording contract, plus $250,000. If you reach the top ten, there is a tour where you can earn something. It does give you exposure. Carrie Underwood, winner of the 2005 season, has six Grammys and has earned $83 million so far, and that was in 2014. However, another summary in 2018 has her only up to a worth of $85 million, total. Only.
Anyone ever heard of the Eurovision Song Contest? This one has been going on since 1951, skipped a few years, and just selected its 64th winner in Tel Aviv: The Netherlands, Duncan Laurence's Arcade, which he wrote. His real name is Duncan de Moor, and he actually composes for Korean boy band TVXQ (yes, he wrote that song).
Click here for other performances, including dentist turned entertainer, Serhat, from San Marino. They like campy stuff in Europe, such as Iceland's steampunk band Hatari, criticizing the Israeli government. In the finals, Madonna appeared and sang Like a Prayer, showed her support for Israel.
The competition was held in Tel Aviv because chubby Netta Barzilai, from Israel, won last here. Forty years ago Milk and Honey of Israel had the winning song with Hallelujah, which became the country's unofficial national song.
Nope, though, this is not the Hallelujah released in 1984, which you probably best know by Pentatonix in 2016, or by perhaps Jeff Buckley, released in 2007, a decade after he died at the age of 31. Some say this is the best version.
Just when you thought it's all over, here comes Season 14 of America's Got Talent, on May 28, with Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel returning, but Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough replacing Mel B and Heidi Klum, and new moderator, Terry Crews. Final show? Sometime in September.
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