The Civil War reenactor from last week's episode of "American Idol" wasn't joking -- the guy actually pretends to be a soldier from the 1860s in his spare time ... and TMZ has obtained a photo to prove it.
Sources in Nathaniel Jones' Civil War reenactment group -- called "Muskets and Memories" -- tell TMZ, the 22-year-old from Wisconsin has attended the historical dramatizations for years with his family.
Our sources had no comment on Nathaniel's singing ability (or lack thereof) -- but said they were excited he was reppin' for their pretend regiment.
As for Nate's fake soldiering ... we're told he usually sports a Union uni -- and is "always serious, but very polite."
It was a civil war, after all.
Showing posts with label Idol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Idol. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
'Idol' Reject Files Lawsuit -- Third Time's a Charm!
Former "American Idol" contestant Ian Benardo is trying his luck again ... suing the show for discrimination for the third time -- but this time, he's asking for a lot less money.
Benardo has filed this suit twice before -- claiming "Idol" producers "exploited" his sexual orientation by asking him to "gay it up" on their show -- and it was tossed out on a technicality each time.
This time Benardo and his lawyer, Matthew Blit, think they have their ducks in a row and filed the suit again in federal court on Friday.
But get this ... the first time Benardo sued for $300 million, the second time he asked for $100 million, and this time ... he's asking for just $5 million.
If this gets tossed out again, the next lawsuit will be for bus fare.
Benardo has filed this suit twice before -- claiming "Idol" producers "exploited" his sexual orientation by asking him to "gay it up" on their show -- and it was tossed out on a technicality each time.
This time Benardo and his lawyer, Matthew Blit, think they have their ducks in a row and filed the suit again in federal court on Friday.
But get this ... the first time Benardo sued for $300 million, the second time he asked for $100 million, and this time ... he's asking for just $5 million.
If this gets tossed out again, the next lawsuit will be for bus fare.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Former 'Idol' Chikezie -- Arrest Warrant Issued
Smells like more trouble for "American Idol" alum Chikezie Eze -- because a judge has issued a bench warrant for the 25-year-old in connection to his cologne arrest ... TMZ has learned.
According to court records, Chikezie -- who's on probation for allegedly buying cologne with a phony credit card last year -- failed to show up for a court hearing in L.A. on January 14.
After the no-show, the judge in the case -- Marsha Revel (Memba her?) -- immediately revoked Eze's probation and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Calls to Chikezie's people have not been returned.
According to court records, Chikezie -- who's on probation for allegedly buying cologne with a phony credit card last year -- failed to show up for a court hearing in L.A. on January 14.
After the no-show, the judge in the case -- Marsha Revel (Memba her?) -- immediately revoked Eze's probation and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Calls to Chikezie's people have not been returned.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
'Idol' Waitress Loses Job After 'A.I.' Audition
The "American Idol" wannabe who was introduced on "A.I." as a singing waitress at a New York diner was "let go" from her gig at the eatery after the show got in the way of her work schedule ... TMZ has learned.
When Devyn Rush got her golden ticket to Hollywood, sources close to the singer tell us she informed her bosses at Ellen's Stardust Diner in NYC about her trip and expected to have a job when she returned.
But, we're told, when Rush got back and asked about her schedule, she was informed that her services would no longer be needed.
Staff members at Ellen's tell us they simply couldn't hold Devyn's position because the Hollywood trip happened to line up in the midst of the diner's "busy season" ... and they needed to fill the spot.
A rep for the diner tells us the issue is still in "limbo" -- and both sides are trying to reach an amicable resolution.
When Devyn Rush got her golden ticket to Hollywood, sources close to the singer tell us she informed her bosses at Ellen's Stardust Diner in NYC about her trip and expected to have a job when she returned.
But, we're told, when Rush got back and asked about her schedule, she was informed that her services would no longer be needed.
Staff members at Ellen's tell us they simply couldn't hold Devyn's position because the Hollywood trip happened to line up in the midst of the diner's "busy season" ... and they needed to fill the spot.
A rep for the diner tells us the issue is still in "limbo" -- and both sides are trying to reach an amicable resolution.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
10 Things "Idol" Judges Need to Do This Year
"American Idol" is in transition this season, as the show heads into its 10th year. Last season, it said a tearful goodbye to Simon Cowell and gave a cheery slap on the back and plane ticket home to Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. With Randy Jackson the only holdover, it's up to the new blood to revitalize the flagging Fox ratings juggernaut.
Can Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez combine with Jackson to form a trio that can rival the glory days of the Randy-Paula-Simon juggernaut and hold off the charge from the increasingly unafraid other networks? Only time will tell, but here are 10 things I hope to see from the new team as it prepares to make its debut in season 10.
1. Freshness
“American Idol” was indisputably stale in 2010, which isn’t surprising given that everyone seemed to be running on autopilot. It was easy to predict what each of the judges would say because we had seen it so many times before.
"Idol" became a paint-by-number show, particularly on results night when the same old group sing was followed by the same old product-placement videos followed by the same old banter. Forget about the audience for a second ... even the judges looked like they were falling asleep.
Bringing in new blood should help make the show less predictable, which can only help it regain its former momentum. At the very least, we'll hear a lot less about singers with "chops," or comparisons between singers and bananas, or similes likening poor singers to whatever random soda-induced hallucination was going through Simon's mind on any given day, now that we have a new crew.
2. Consistency
If you’re a singer who lasts a long time on “Idol” and you want to be a good student who follows the judges' advice, all that has gotten you in the past is a headache. It seems like every week, the singers received contrary instructions. “Do a little more of this” one week, “do a little less of that” another. It’s enough to give a less confident singer a crisis of confidence, which has helped doom many a promising hopeful to an early exit.
This is where music producer Jimmy Iovine should have an impact. He’s the permanent in-house mentor, and with his experience, he should be able to guide the singers toward their musical careers. If nothing else, it will help to have the same voice talking to them every week, rather than hearing the mixed bag of soundbites offered by the guest mentors of the past.
3. Better story lines (or no story lines)
Please, for the love of all things sacred, no more cougar jokes like the ones last year between Kara DioGuardi and Casey James.
And on that note ...
4. Know when to shut up
Being a judge is a delicate balance of action and inaction. Unless you’re Simon, people are tuning in to see their favorite singers first and you second. And yet, ultimately, what the judges say is what people remember, since the singers all tend to blend together in the early rounds.
A good rule of thumb is to talk over the bad performances, not the good ones. Go ahead and cut on the singers who do poorly, since we’re doing that ourselves on Twitter anyway, but let the great performances speak for themselves.
Also, take heed of what was taught in preschool — don't talk if you don't have anything to say. Or at least, don't belabor the commentary. Better to say a sentence or two and move on than to drone on for 10 minutes and make everyone wonder if you somehow got a hold of Paula's old Coca-Cola cup.
5. Know when to shut Ryan up
Ryan Seacrest is a very good host, but he has one primary fault. Like a good party host, when he sees a lull in the conversation and senses the audience's attention wandering, he jumps in with something to kick-start things and add some energy. In this case, that throws off the balance of the show, as Ryan is much better as a supporting actor than in the lead role.
So when Ryan inserts himself into the process, that's the time to say something to cut him down or to change the subject, and get him back to being the narrator and not the story.
6. Honesty
If someone is terrible, it’s OK to tell them they’re terrible. And the faster, the better. Be mean or don't be mean, but don't belabor the obvious. Get them off the TV screen, ASAP.
7. Fun
This isn't a Senate confirmation hearing or a UN debate. It's supposed to be a fun little entertainment program that makes the audience forget about the troubles of their workday for an hour or two every night. Smile, laugh, joke around. Make it seem like it's fun to be there. There were plenty of times last season when Ellen looked as if she'd come from a root canal and Simon as if he were there only because his lawyers told him he had to be. Don't be like that.
8. Spontaneity
It often seems like the judges script their one-liners beforehand, as if they tasked high-school students to help them with a “Write Similes About Bad Singing” contest. It's natural to plan ahead, but it’s also lazy and makes the show seem less fresh. And in some cases, preordained, like a few seasons ago when Paula criticized a song that Jason Castro hadn’t even sung yet.
The performance shows may not be the first time the judges are seeing the contestants, since they get to listen to the rehearsals, but they are the first time the audience is hearing these songs. The judges words shouldn’t sound like they were written in advance, but should be focused on the music that the crowd is hearing now.
9. Confidence
What made Simon Cowell a legend among reality TV judges isn’t his expertise, since there are plenty of folks with similar skills as a judge of talent. It’s that he seemed to be 100 percent confident in everything he said. If it’s snowing outside and Simon says it’s a great day to go to the beach, he says so in a way that implies that you are the biggest idiot in the history of humanity if you don’t show up to the studio with your bathing suit and suntan lotion. That’s what made him so easy to love or hate, and it's what made him a must-watch TV star.
All of the show's other judges have hedged their bets, offering some sort of way out for a bad performance. Don’t do that, new judges. Stand by your convictions.
10. Chemistry
The big test for the new crew will be how quickly they gel as a unit. The good news is that the bar they have to reach is very low.
Last year’s group often looked like they had met for the first time in the green room before the show. The interplay among them sounded forced and unconvincing, and everyone was more worried about their own sound bites than anything else. It all sounded disconnected, like four individuals and not a team.
On the other hand, the original Randy-Paula-Simon trio had a much more free and easy banter. Paula would say something wacky, Simon would call her mean names, Randy would jump in ... it was like watching a family bickering over the Thanksgiving table where you know exactly how the argument's going to go but still want to watch it play out.
The new team can’t replicate Simon’s barbs, but if they can work well together it won’t matter. The more they act like they're actually listening to what their companions are saying and play off of each other's comments, the better the show will be.
And finally: Retire the word “pitchy.”
Enough said.
Can Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez combine with Jackson to form a trio that can rival the glory days of the Randy-Paula-Simon juggernaut and hold off the charge from the increasingly unafraid other networks? Only time will tell, but here are 10 things I hope to see from the new team as it prepares to make its debut in season 10.
1. Freshness
“American Idol” was indisputably stale in 2010, which isn’t surprising given that everyone seemed to be running on autopilot. It was easy to predict what each of the judges would say because we had seen it so many times before.
"Idol" became a paint-by-number show, particularly on results night when the same old group sing was followed by the same old product-placement videos followed by the same old banter. Forget about the audience for a second ... even the judges looked like they were falling asleep.
Bringing in new blood should help make the show less predictable, which can only help it regain its former momentum. At the very least, we'll hear a lot less about singers with "chops," or comparisons between singers and bananas, or similes likening poor singers to whatever random soda-induced hallucination was going through Simon's mind on any given day, now that we have a new crew.
2. Consistency
If you’re a singer who lasts a long time on “Idol” and you want to be a good student who follows the judges' advice, all that has gotten you in the past is a headache. It seems like every week, the singers received contrary instructions. “Do a little more of this” one week, “do a little less of that” another. It’s enough to give a less confident singer a crisis of confidence, which has helped doom many a promising hopeful to an early exit.
This is where music producer Jimmy Iovine should have an impact. He’s the permanent in-house mentor, and with his experience, he should be able to guide the singers toward their musical careers. If nothing else, it will help to have the same voice talking to them every week, rather than hearing the mixed bag of soundbites offered by the guest mentors of the past.
3. Better story lines (or no story lines)
Please, for the love of all things sacred, no more cougar jokes like the ones last year between Kara DioGuardi and Casey James.
And on that note ...
4. Know when to shut up
Being a judge is a delicate balance of action and inaction. Unless you’re Simon, people are tuning in to see their favorite singers first and you second. And yet, ultimately, what the judges say is what people remember, since the singers all tend to blend together in the early rounds.
A good rule of thumb is to talk over the bad performances, not the good ones. Go ahead and cut on the singers who do poorly, since we’re doing that ourselves on Twitter anyway, but let the great performances speak for themselves.
Also, take heed of what was taught in preschool — don't talk if you don't have anything to say. Or at least, don't belabor the commentary. Better to say a sentence or two and move on than to drone on for 10 minutes and make everyone wonder if you somehow got a hold of Paula's old Coca-Cola cup.
5. Know when to shut Ryan up
Ryan Seacrest is a very good host, but he has one primary fault. Like a good party host, when he sees a lull in the conversation and senses the audience's attention wandering, he jumps in with something to kick-start things and add some energy. In this case, that throws off the balance of the show, as Ryan is much better as a supporting actor than in the lead role.
So when Ryan inserts himself into the process, that's the time to say something to cut him down or to change the subject, and get him back to being the narrator and not the story.
6. Honesty
If someone is terrible, it’s OK to tell them they’re terrible. And the faster, the better. Be mean or don't be mean, but don't belabor the obvious. Get them off the TV screen, ASAP.
7. Fun
This isn't a Senate confirmation hearing or a UN debate. It's supposed to be a fun little entertainment program that makes the audience forget about the troubles of their workday for an hour or two every night. Smile, laugh, joke around. Make it seem like it's fun to be there. There were plenty of times last season when Ellen looked as if she'd come from a root canal and Simon as if he were there only because his lawyers told him he had to be. Don't be like that.
8. Spontaneity
It often seems like the judges script their one-liners beforehand, as if they tasked high-school students to help them with a “Write Similes About Bad Singing” contest. It's natural to plan ahead, but it’s also lazy and makes the show seem less fresh. And in some cases, preordained, like a few seasons ago when Paula criticized a song that Jason Castro hadn’t even sung yet.
The performance shows may not be the first time the judges are seeing the contestants, since they get to listen to the rehearsals, but they are the first time the audience is hearing these songs. The judges words shouldn’t sound like they were written in advance, but should be focused on the music that the crowd is hearing now.
9. Confidence
What made Simon Cowell a legend among reality TV judges isn’t his expertise, since there are plenty of folks with similar skills as a judge of talent. It’s that he seemed to be 100 percent confident in everything he said. If it’s snowing outside and Simon says it’s a great day to go to the beach, he says so in a way that implies that you are the biggest idiot in the history of humanity if you don’t show up to the studio with your bathing suit and suntan lotion. That’s what made him so easy to love or hate, and it's what made him a must-watch TV star.
All of the show's other judges have hedged their bets, offering some sort of way out for a bad performance. Don’t do that, new judges. Stand by your convictions.
10. Chemistry
The big test for the new crew will be how quickly they gel as a unit. The good news is that the bar they have to reach is very low.
Last year’s group often looked like they had met for the first time in the green room before the show. The interplay among them sounded forced and unconvincing, and everyone was more worried about their own sound bites than anything else. It all sounded disconnected, like four individuals and not a team.
On the other hand, the original Randy-Paula-Simon trio had a much more free and easy banter. Paula would say something wacky, Simon would call her mean names, Randy would jump in ... it was like watching a family bickering over the Thanksgiving table where you know exactly how the argument's going to go but still want to watch it play out.
The new team can’t replicate Simon’s barbs, but if they can work well together it won’t matter. The more they act like they're actually listening to what their companions are saying and play off of each other's comments, the better the show will be.
And finally: Retire the word “pitchy.”
Enough said.
Onetime "Idol" Contestant Now Homeless
Alex Lambert tweets about life on the street
He showed off his talents on "American Idol," but now Alex Lambert is sleeping on the street.
Lambert, 20, made the show's top 16 during season nine. When he was finally ousted, it was widely seen as a surprise, given the Texan's impressive performances of "Wonderful World" and Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble." More than 19,000 people, including actress Demi Moore, signed a petition demanding his reinstatement..
Lambert, who went on to star in "If I Can Dream," an Internet reality series about struggling actors, models and musicians, recently tweeted that he is on the streets and at wit's end.
"Ever since "IICD" ended I've been kinda homeless!" Lambert tweeted. "Sleepin on the street and behind buildings. I have a choice to stay and pursue my career or go back to Texas and not do music! I'm usually a strong person but I can't take it anymore."
Still, Lambert, who is not related to past Idol winner Adam Lambert, he hasn't given up on a music career.
"I'm a poor boy yall! Never had nothin in my life," Lambert blogged. "Please be grateful for everything you have. Because there's people out there with nothing! There's no way I'll ever stop making music as long as I live."
He showed off his talents on "American Idol," but now Alex Lambert is sleeping on the street.
Lambert, 20, made the show's top 16 during season nine. When he was finally ousted, it was widely seen as a surprise, given the Texan's impressive performances of "Wonderful World" and Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble." More than 19,000 people, including actress Demi Moore, signed a petition demanding his reinstatement..
Lambert, who went on to star in "If I Can Dream," an Internet reality series about struggling actors, models and musicians, recently tweeted that he is on the streets and at wit's end.
"Ever since "IICD" ended I've been kinda homeless!" Lambert tweeted. "Sleepin on the street and behind buildings. I have a choice to stay and pursue my career or go back to Texas and not do music! I'm usually a strong person but I can't take it anymore."
Still, Lambert, who is not related to past Idol winner Adam Lambert, he hasn't given up on a music career.
"I'm a poor boy yall! Never had nothin in my life," Lambert blogged. "Please be grateful for everything you have. Because there's people out there with nothing! There's no way I'll ever stop making music as long as I live."
Monday, January 17, 2011
'Idol' Top 40 Contestant -- What's in a Name?
TMZ has learned one of the Top 40 "American Idol" contestants shares a name with a legendary R&B singer and works in the bar where one of the biggest names in country music was discovered.
Jackie Wilson -- whose namesake was a popular R&B singer of the 50s and 60s who was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 -- works as a waitress at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar in Nashville, TN.
Wilson performs often at the bar -- every Saturday night, according to their website -- and it's the same bar where country star Gretchen Wilson was discovered.
Sounds like a recipe for success to us.
Jackie Wilson -- whose namesake was a popular R&B singer of the 50s and 60s who was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 -- works as a waitress at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar in Nashville, TN.
Wilson performs often at the bar -- every Saturday night, according to their website -- and it's the same bar where country star Gretchen Wilson was discovered.
Sounds like a recipe for success to us.
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