Posts Tagged ‘Anoop Desai’

Idol Hangover: The Morning After

May 21st, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Wednesday night’s American Idol finale was nothing if not fodder for water cooler discussions around the country this morning. From Kris Allen’s surprise victory over presumed front-runner Adam Lambert to Kara DioGuardi’s bikini-bod showdown with Katrina Darrell, there certainly was plenty to keep both die-hard fans and curious newcomers talking for days.

And people certainly were talking over at OK!’s <a href="http://twitter.com/okmagazine" target="_blank">Twitter page</a>.

Here are some choice Tweeted tidbits:

ON THEIR FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE NIGHT:

Crysssss: I couldn’t pick a favorite part if you paid me.. The whole show was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

DolceVitaRita: Kara getting on stage to show up the bikini bimbo!

deannsprankle: my fave part of finale when [Black Eyed Peas] took the stage! it was great! and allison’s duet. worst: when the result announced!

marissaberman: definitely the bikini girl part and when that other girl ran up on stage and stole the mic from ryan

SPEAKING OF THE BIKINI BATTLE, SEEMS LIKE OK! READERS PREFERRED KARA OVER KATRINA!

dianasorace: [Kara is a] wicked singer, wicked body. But still think she should be dropped from the show. wicked annoying.

stephvaz: omg that was one of the highlights of last night. totally made all of those criticisms about her as the 4th judge go away   

mysugarisraw: Kara DioGuardi !! Katrina is fake, needs to get over herself. p.s - she cant sing either.

WHERE DO YOU SEE KRIS LAMBERT’S CAREER IN A FEW YEARS?
shawnalynch: I like both of them; however, Adam will have the "career"

JennCleveland: I think peeps didn’t vote 4 [Adam] cuz of his personal choices & not his talent. It’s bull! AL will sell millions of records anwy.

dianasorace: Adam Lambert will be VERY successful, he doesn’t need the show or "crown" to succeed.
   
nicki_: nowhere. american idols a good show but they ever REALLY turn into idols. people just wanna see the next one its a failed system.

deanaontheradio: Opening for runner-up!

louie88: Backup singing for @adamlambert on his universal tour!

skiingscooter: ok here’s a ? 4 U…where is Ruben or Taylor for that matter???about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to OKMagazine

rosienybk: like justin guarini

Nora_Kaulitz: Four words: Concert at Balloon Festival. Adam however, three words: On The Rise!!

ILoveMyDVR: I see Kris doing as well as artist lke Jason Mraz. If he can write songs as well as he can sing, he will do well.

Have your say — go to twitter.com/okmagazine!

MORE PICS FROM THE IDOL FINALE!

TV Weekly Recap: Nigel, Sandra Lee and Dolly Parton!

May 1st, 2009

What a week!

Not only did I have a visit with Idol castoffs Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai (read all they had to say in the upcoming issue of OK! magazine, on sale, Thurs. May 7), So You Think You Can Dance judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy popped in too.

I asked the question everyone is dying to know: Will Sex be back?

“Yes, David is back,” Nigel revealed. He refuses to call Sex, a.k.a. David Soller, by his self-appointed stage name. We can relate.

“This time we put him through,” Nigel declared.

O.M.G. That’s going to be TV that cannot be missed.

Look for Sex and the rest of the So You Think You Can Dance crew to return Thurs. May 21 at 8 p.m. on Fox.

I also enjoyed a delicious breakfast made by semi-homemade queen herself Sandra Lee at a launch party for her new cooking show, Sandra’s Money Saving Meals.

On the new series, Sandra teaches cash-strapped families how to best shop the grocery stores for the best prices on food, and then whip up those thrifty purchases into an incredible meal.

“It’s is an aspiration, it’s attainable and it’s affordable,” she shared.

Sandra’s Money Saving Meals premieres just in time for Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10 at 12 p.m. on the Food Network.

Still the week wasn’t complete until I was on the red carpet for the opening night of 9 to 5: The Musical, now running at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway in New York City.

(You may recall, 9 to 5 was actually turned into a TV series in 1982 and returned to air in 1986!)

There I met the gracious and amazing Dolly Parton.

Even though she had done a slew of video interviews on the carpet, the petite country diva was kind enough to return over to us print reporters saying, “Sorry I didn’t mean to skip you all.”

Oh Miss Parton, all the more reason to love you!

 

FYI: If you’re a fan of the NYC Housewives, the network is hosting first ever live ultimate virtual viewing party for the finale of The Real Housewives of New York City, Tuesday, May 5 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Fans of the show can chat about the series via Twitter, Facebook Connect, and live mobile chat!

 

Until next week, fellow fanatics!

American Idol Insider: And Then There Were Four

April 30th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

As American Idol rolls on toward the season finale, OK! reached out to one of the few people on the planet who know what it’s like to ride the AI rollercoaster for an entire season — Diana DeGarmo — who will share her unique perspective on Idol every week.

April 29
It was a tough decision, but unfortunately the show must go on. It always gets so hard to see someone go once you get down to the last few people. American Idol’s results show last night was chock full of great performances by Jamie Foxx, Natalie Cole, and Taylor Hicks. But of course, the part everyone was tuning in for didn’t happen until the VERY last second. The producers have really gotten the whole "suspense" thing down to a T.  

Surprisingly enough, this week’s bottom two were Matt Giraud and Adam Lambert. Tuesday’s performance show was so great for all of the contestants, but  I don’t think anyone was expecting it to be either of them. Even the wonderful Kris Allen was in the bottom three. 

Obviously, with so few contestants left, being in the bottom isn’t as bad, but it can still give you a good blow to your ego. I spent a few weeks in the bottom three myself so I can speak from experience!  

Each week the results show gets harder and harder to watch, let alone participate in!  When you’re sitting on that stage watching your future hang in the balance the emotions can be overwhelming. Not only are you nervous for yourself, but you’re also nervous for your friends sitting beside you. For months, you spend almost every waking moment with these people and you all become almost like family. And yet, you are still competitors. It’s kind of a funky situation if you ask me! As a person, you’re rooting for your friends to succeed, but as a contestant you’re also rooting for yourself.

In my opinion, the absolute worst part about being voted off the show is that you have to sing the stupid song that got you voted off— AGAIN!! How awful is that?!?  I mean, seriously, that is some deranged stuff!

Luckily, for Matt he sang a fabulous song last night and he got to leave the show on a pretty big high note. Unlike some contestants who’ve had to leave the show with some of the most awful songs ever. Not every finalist can fit into all the different themes they throw at you week after week, so to see someone go through a bad song again is cruel and unusual punishment for everyone.  

PICS FROM THIS WEEK’S SHOWS:


I’ll admit I had a few tough weeks during my Idol ride. Sometimes I honestly thought, "If I ever have to sing this song again I am going to die." I was fortunate enough to squeeze by on some of my worst weeks, an experience that then led me to take every week as possibly my last. I didn’t want to ever be known as "the girl who left the show singing that awful song."

Once I started taking the competition in that sense, I got a big upward swing and found myself in the final two. American Idol is a very long, strenuous, vocal marathon, and each week is like another treacherous mile that you have to make it through.  

As for the latest finalist to fall, Matt’s had a huge launching pad for his career and I can’t wait to see what else he makes of it!

Until next week!

—Diana

Diana can currently be seen performing in Back to Bacharach & David, directed by Kathy Najimy, at the Music Box @ Fonda in L.A. through May 17. And you can always keep up with Diana on her MySpace page!

An Insider’s View of American Idol

April 29th, 2009

As American Idol rolls on toward the season finale, OK! reached out to one of the few people on the planet who know what it’s like to ride the AI rollercoaster for an entire season — Diana DeGarmo — who will share her unique perspective on Idol every week.

APRIL 28
Watching last night’s top 5 show for American Idol was a total blast from the past. This week, just a short five years ago, I was standing on that same stage and — coincidentally — singing one of the same songs!

Just as Allison Iraheta did, I sang "Someone To Watch Over Me," but back then we got to sing two songs for Big Band Night. That is only one of the many changes the show has made since MY Idol days!

(Wow, I kinda sounded like my grandmother for a moment there…. So, yeah, back to THIS season!)

I truly believe that Idol has got a very strong top 5 this year. Every season has its "front-runners," "favorites," and "black horses," but based on last night’s show I feel strongly that it just could be anyone’s game.

Kris Allen’s sweet but sexy version of "The Way You Look Tonight" was an alluring sweep into the beginning of the show. He put you in the mood for the travel back in time and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance — but I could’ve lived without the "wet" comment from Simon, sheesh!

Holding it down for the ladies, Allison made me proud by singing "Someone To Watch Over Me." It was nice to see her keep her own sense about the song and not get taken away with the theme of the night. I really hope she makes it down to the finals. She has big star written all over her.

Next up, Matt Giraud started out a little rocky, but was able to swing it home on "My Funny Valentine." I agree with the judges that it was one of the more difficult songs of the night and, even though their voices are different, I was definitely having flashbacks of my season’s crooner, John Stevens. Matt could be John’s older brother for sure! Or maybe it’s just me??

Now, it’s funny to watch Idol as a "normal" viewer and be able to point out how the show is shaped and smoothed with a fine-toothed comb because, of course, to round out the evening were Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert.

Danny’s choice of "I’m Gonna Love You" was just perfect and gave me chills. I truly love his voice, but my only fear is if we have another Taylor Hicks on our hands. Taylor and Danny both have that blue-eyed soul thing going on, but I’m not sure how his voice would work on the radio today. Maybe if Danny were able to stick to a Rod Stewart meets Michael Buble type album, then who knows? — because his performance for Big Band Night was just magical.

Anyway, sorry to preach!

So, last, but certainly not least, came Adam, who PERFORMED "Feeling Good." It fascinates me to see how Adam is going to change his songs each week. His version of "Feeling Good" reminded me of how The White Stripes would cover a song like that. For those of you who noticed, Adam was the only one to make a GRAND entrance and his white suit made him stand out from a mile away.

Now, we at home will never know if all of that was Adam or the show’s doings, but it sure made his performance special. Last night’s show was the very first entire episode of American Idol I have watched in a very, very long time and I actually enjoyed myself!

Idol is a wacky, crazy, amazing experience for any contestant who has ever been a part of it so they all know what I’m talking about… Five years down the road, I can now sit back and enjoy the show for what it is again. I am more than happy to be sitting back on this side of the television and am looking forward to these last final weeks.
—Diana

Diana can currently be seen performing in Back to Bacharach & David, directed by Kathy Najimy, at the Music Box Lounge in L.A. through May 17. And you can always keep up with Diana on her MySpace page!

American Idol Top 5

April 29th, 2009

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American Idol Goes British

April 24th, 2009

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American Idolatry: And Then There Were 5

April 23rd, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Despite Ryan Seacrest’s constant use of the term "dramatic" to describe Wednesday night’s double-elimination show, the results of this week’s American Idol voting left little room for drama.

In fact, half the tension was cut almost immediately when Ryan dropped the night’s first bad-news bomb on finalist Lil Rounds, sending the mother of three back home to her family.

Speaking of which, when Simon Cowell talked to Lil after the announcement, he said, "I’m gonna miss your family screaming at me every week."

The night’s only minor surprise was that Matt Giraud, who would have been eliminated last week had the judges not decided to bust out their one-time-only "Judges’ Save," not only wasn’t eliminated — he wasn’t even in the bottom three. It remains to be seen if this means the judges made the right choice — or if Matt’s rebound will be briefly lived.

With Matt safe on the couches, that left Anoop Desai and the show’s only remaining female finalist, Allison Iraheta, to sit awkwardly while Ryan endlessly dragged out the verdict.

In the end, it was Anoop Dogg being sent to the dog house, leaving only five remaining contestants — Matt, Allison, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen and of course Adam Lambert, who most are already declaring this season’s champion.

But there’s still a month left before the latest American Idol is crowned — and if there’s one thing fans can expect out of the voters, it’s that they are very fickle. Just ask Chris Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson, both of whom had been expected to win their seasons, only to be given the boot early.

American Idolatry: And Then There Were 5

April 23rd, 2009

Despite Ryan Seacrest’s constant use of the term "dramatic" to describe Wednesday night’s double-elimination show, the results of this week’s American Idol voting left little room for drama.

In fact, half the tension was cut almost immediately when Ryan dropped the night’s first bad-news bomb on finalist Lil Rounds, sending the mother of three back home to her family.

Speaking of which, when Simon Cowell talked to Lil after the announcement, he said, "I’m gonna miss your family screaming at me every week."

The night’s only minor surprise was that Matt Giraud, who would have been eliminated last week had the judges not decided to bust out their one-time-only "Judges’ Save," not only wasn’t eliminated — he wasn’t even in the bottom three. It remains to be seen if this means the judges made the right choice — or if Matt’s rebound will be briefly lived.

With Matt safe on the couches, that left Anoop Desai and the show’s only remaining female finalist, Allison Iraheta, to sit awkwardly while Ryan endlessly dragged out the verdict.

In the end, it was Anoop Dogg being sent to the dog house, leaving only five remaining contestants — Matt, Allison, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen and of course Adam Lambert, who most are already declaring this season’s champion.

But there’s still a month left before the latest American Idol is crowned — and if there’s one thing fans can expect out of the voters, it’s that they are very fickle. Just ask Chris Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson, both of whom had been expected to win their seasons, only to be given the boot early.

American Idol Does Disco

April 22nd, 2009
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