Posts Tagged ‘Katie Rhames’

Idol Watch: Alexis’ Fall From Grace

March 19th, 2009

There’s one thing we can say about American Idol’s new "Judges’ Save"—it sure makes for some good suspense and, we’re sure–good ratings. But is it really being used in the best interests of the Idol contestants?

On Wednesday night’s live elimination show, Ryan Seacrest told the petite, pixie-haired Alexis Grace that the judges were considering using their "save" to keep her on the show. America had voted her off, but now she had one last chance to keep her spot, by singing her final song for the judges. As she belted out the words to Dolly Parton’s "Jolene" Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson huddled together, whispering just feet from where Grace stood performing.

When she was done, Ryan asked Simon to announce the judges’ decision. "It was unanimous," Cowell said, pausing dramatically before saying, "but it was not good enough. It’s the end of the line for you." It was a shocking decision–partly because all four judges really made it seem like they were going to keep her on the show.

It’s hard not to wonder how any contestant, aware that their final song is their only chance of not going home, doesn’t crumble under the pressure with the four Idol judges huddling and hissing opinions directly in front of them.

On a lighter note, there was a much happier vibe on set this week as opposed to last Wednesday’s first elimination round. Simon and Paula were back to their old tricks. The two were almost late to their chairs as the producer counted down the last seconds back from the break and as Paula went to sit down, Simon pushed her chair in so that she couldn’t get into it. What a jokester!

And it looks like Idol favorite Adam Lambert has his first groupie! During the breaks, a 10-year-old girl in the "mosh pit" kept staring at him and grinning until finally he agreed to sign an autograph for her. Even the audience seemed more amped up than usual. Two different cheerleading teams were in the crowd and entertained during commercial breaks with their competing routines.

And who could forget a live performance from country music star Brad Paisley along with a duet by Carrie Underwood and country legend Randy Travis, which brought this week’s Grand Ol’ Opry theme to an end.

So it’s bye-bye Alexis, but hello to next week’s top 10 Idol finalists.

By Katie Rhames

Idol Watch: And Then There Were 11

March 12th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Before this eighth season of American Idol began, the producers of the hit show promised they were going to shake things up. And, for better or worse, they’re doing a good job of that already in just the first round of the finals.

Thirteen finalists came into Wednesday’s live elimination broadcast, but at the end of the evening, only 11 were left standing.

At the top of the show, host Ryan Seacrest explained the new Judges’ Rule, which would allow the four AI judges a one-time-only pardon to any finalist they felt the public had made a mistake in eliminating. So maybe the double elimination announced on Tuesday wouldn’t happen after all?

The tension on-stage was already evident during the opening group sing-along, as a nervous-looking Megan Joy Corkrey lost her footing and almost fell off the stage. During breaks in the show, the contestants guzzled water and fidgeted uncomfortably on the couches while they awaited their fate.

And, where one night earlier Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell were practically playing footsie under the table, you could hear crickets chirping around the judges on Wednesday night, as they watched 16-year-old Jasmine Murray and 20-year-old Jorge Nunez say goodbye to their chance at stardom.

Following her elimination, Jasmine burst into uncontrollable tears during the break and had to be consoled by Idol producers. During their final songs, the judges swiveled noisily around the table in their chairs, whispering and conferring with each other, hands covering their mouths as Jasmine and Jorge each tried — unsuccessfully — to impress them one last time.

"It was so awful," one audience member told OK!. "It’s hard enough having to perform knowing you’ve been voted off and then you have the judges whispering about you while you’re up there, deciding whether to keep you around."

The silver lining in Wednesday’s show was, of course, the return of the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, who, despite looking a bit heavy in a shimmery black leggings ensemble, killed with her live performance of "My Life Would Suck Without You." Even the normally stoic and poised Ryan Seacrest was bopping back and forth off-camera, mouthing the words to the chorus.

And then there was Kanye West, who brought the house down with his hit "Heartless."

 
Between eliminations, Simon couldn’t get off the set fast enough, while Paula and fellow judges Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson lingered during breaks to talk to fans and the contestants’ family members.

So was Simon feeling a bit guilty about eliminating two finalists?

"Oh no," a source close to the show told OK!. "He was probably just going to his trailer or to hair and makeup. There’s also craft services backstage."

By Katie Rhames

Idol Watch: What You Didn’t See Last Night

March 11th, 2009


American Idol kicked off the first round of the finals on Tuesday night with a bang — a "Bad" bang!

The top 13 contestants got the audience and judges grooving to the beats of Michael Jackson, as they belted out their best versions of the pop legend’s songs with the hope of not being eliminated tomorrow night.

Of all the Idol hopefuls, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey, and Matt Giraud emerged as early contenders, but it was Adam Lambert who stole the top spot in the judge’s eyes with his rockin’ rendition of "Black and White."

But while the camera stayed focused on the contestants, things were just as electrifying off-camera!

When the cameras weren’t on them, the usually squabbling pair of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul spent most of their time whispering and flirting with each other, leaving the other two judges, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, looking like they’d been left out of an exclusive club!

At one point, while everyone was watching one of the pre-taped contestant profiles, Simon actually slung his arm around Paula’s chair and ran his eyes over her short, white dress, causing her to giggle and roll her eyes like an enamored school girl.

Perhaps it was all a bit too much for Paula, who felt compelled to leave the judges’ table during each commercial break. "Every time they went to break, she’d shoot up from her chair and have two crew members help her down the two steps so she could leave the the set for the whole break," one audience member tells OK!.

And during one of these breaks, Simon followed Paula out and suddenly reached out, giving her a playful pat on her rump, prompting her to turn around and shoot him a look of mock anger.

But if Simon was in a good mood, it was only for Paula. With the contestants he was his usual ornery — borderline offensive — self, even managing to insult songwriter Siedah Garrett, who was in the audience and co-penned Jacko’s "Keep the Faith," which finalist Scott MacIntyre chose to sing.

"I must apologize to the songwriter, because I hated the song," he blurted out amid boos from the audience.

And then it was back to Paula, who — not surprisingly — jumped up from her chair during performances to dance, shaking her hips and waving her hands in the air.

Half-way through the show, the former Laker Girl got caught up in her microphone cord, and Simon immediately helped her unwind so that she could sit back down. When she jumped up again later during the show, Simon grabbed her by the elbow and kept her sitting.

But was Paula upset? No! She just started dancing in her chair!

Celeb chef and reality star Gordon Ramsay arrived for the second hour, taking a seat in the front row and chatting up Simon during commericals. Season One runner-up, Justin Guarini and The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who’s in L.A. to shoot the show, along with Idol Season 7’s Chikezie helped cheer the contestants on from the audience.

Tun in Wednesday to see who makes the cut!

 

By Katie Rhames

Joel: My Whole Life Centers on Harlow

November 24th, 2008

It’s no secret that Joel Madden and Nicole Richie are in love – and the Good Charlotte singer and father to Harlow says that strong family love is a big influence on his music.

"Obviously, when you’re in love, you write songs about it," he told OK! at Saturday night’s Good Charlotte Album release party at Ecco Lounge in Hollywood. "It’s inspired some songs. It’s definitely something that I write about."

 

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Nicole Richie gallery!

 

Those songs inspired by his family are also a big part of their life, as Joel reveals he plays his music at home for his baby and girlfriend while they spend time together.

"My whole life is centered around her," he gushes about his daughter, "The only thing you really have is work and family."

 

His new role as dad, along with his rocker status, has definitely had an effect on Joel, as he admits of being a father, "Your whole life… your whole lifestyle changes."

Joel isn’t just Mr. Serious Dad though, showing a bit of a sense of humor with reporters, saying she’s "doing chemistry now," when asked what milestone Harlow had passed recently.

 

But seriously?

"She’s doing great, she’s growing up really fast."

By Katie Rhames

Britney’s Lawyer Describes Her as “Fragile”

October 21st, 2008

After the surprising news today that Britney Spears‘ trial on misdemeanor traffic charges had ended in a mistrial because the jury could not come to a unanimous decision, OK! spoke to the pop superstar’s lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, to find out why his client never took the stand in her own defense.

Flanagan told OK! that he had gone to Britney’s house on Oct. 13, only days before the trial began, to discuss the case with her and attempt to convince the singer to testify in court. However, he revealed, "She is not very strong. She is still very fragile. I had to explain things to her."

"I said, look, if Britney testifies, we have a 90% percent chance of winning. If Jamie comes in, we have a 50/50 chance," Flanagan recalled. "But she refused. She said ‘I can’t face all those people. I don’t want to deal with all the people.’"

Flanagan then revealed that Jamie pulled him aside later. "He said, ‘If you need Britney to win, I can get her to testify.’ But a few days later, Jamie called and said ‘Britney’s not going to testify. She can’t do it."

Brit’s attorney also confirmed that he was the one to give the good news to Jamie Spears about the mistrial and that Jamie’s reaction was, not surprisingly, "ecstatic".

By Katie Rhames

Mistrial Declared in Britney Case

October 21st, 2008

The judge in the Britney Spears misdemeanor trial for driving without a California license, has just declared a mistrial after the deadlocked jury said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict following nearly three days of deliberation.

"It’s clear to me you worked very hard and I appreciate your time and effort," the judge told the jurors after they affirmed they were hopelessly deadlocked on a verdict.

It was revealed following the court’s announcement that the jury’s consistent 10-2 votes on all five ballots had been leaning toward acquitting the pop star of the charges, with only two holdouts feeling she should be found guilty.

Jury foreman, Gary Moy, 45, of Reseda, Calif., told OK! after today’s announcement that he was one of the two that had consistently voted to convict Britney and said he felt the remaining 10 jurors were biased toward acquitting her because of her superstar status.

"The prosecution did a fine job presenting the evidence," said Moy.

At 1:30pm, the prosecutor confirmed suspicions that they would be closing the case against Britney and not attempt to re-try her on the charges.

"We felt that after talking to the jurors and evaluating the evidence that was before the court, that we put our best foot forward," prosecutor Michael Amerian said outside the courtroom, adding that he was surprised by the outcome.  "Any time I bring a case to trial, it’s because I believe that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges that have been made. And I felt that given the evidence, we had a strong case."

 Brit’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, said the only thing surprising him would have been for the prosecution to attempt to re-try the case.

"Can you imagine re-prosecuting a misdemeanor?" he said today.  "They don’t even re-prosecute murder trials."

Flanagan also said he felt that the prosecution was vindictive of Britney, given her superstar status.

"They offered her a chance to buy her way out of the case," he said about an earlier rejected plea deal. "But she wanted to be treated like an ordinary person and have her case heard by a jury."

CLICK HERE for OK!’s exclusive Britney gallery!

At 10:35 am on Tuesday, the jury told the judge that they were still deadlocked, and he then gave each attorney five minutes to once again run down their side of the story for the panel of eight women and four men in the Van Nuys, Calif., courthouse.

The prosecutor in the case, Michael Amerian, reminded the jury that, as late as a week before the parking lot incident, Britney had actually signed a legal document claiming she was a resident of California. He also claimed that, even if the jury allows that Brit is indeed a Louisiana resident, there is no proof she had a valid Louisiana license at the time.

Countering these claims, Brit’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, repeated his assertion that Britney had been intending to move back home to Louisiana in August 2007, when she accidentally hit another vehicle in an L.A. parking lot, and that she only stayed in California to fight the custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

He also pointed out that the pop star’s father, Jamie Spears, testified under oath that his daughter did indeed have a Louisiana license at the time of the accident.

"I want to escape this case," Flanagan told OK! after giving his second closing argument. "I’ve tried about 500 cases and I’ve never seen something like this, I’ve seen hung juries before but never have I had to give additional closing arguments for a case like this… They should have declared this a mistrial a day ago. I looked at the jury and they did not look happy. I did not see a lot of happy faces."

CLICK HERE for OK!’s exclusive Britney gallery!

By Katie Rhames

Eli Stone Cast Gushes Over Katie

October 21st, 2008

Following her whirlwind romance, pregnancy and marriage to Tom Cruise, many Hollywood insiders wondered if Katie Holmes‘ career could ever recover from more than two years off work. But if you listen to the stars of ABC’s Eli Stone, on which the former Dawson’s Creek actress will guest star on Tuesday night, Katie is more than Suri’s mom.

"Working with Katie was great," says show star Jonny Lee Miller to OK!. "It was fantastic.  She was a really nice person to have around.??.. She’s a phenomenal actress."

And Jonny knows a thing or two about talented young actresses, having been briefly married to Angelina Jolie early in both of their careers.

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Katie Holmes gallery!

Jonny’s feelings are echoed by another of Katie’s Eli Stone co-stars, Natasha Henstridge. "She’s just a star," Natasha tells OK!. "Everyone loved working with her.????.. She’s wonderfully talented and I think people forget a little bit. So much of the buzz was about her being married that you forget how talented she is.??"

In her role on Eli Stone, Katie looks sexy and svelte in black tights and a leotard, with her pageboy hair teased and flipped a la 1920s Chicago, as she sings and dances her way through the role of a dream girl who turns out to be a real-life heartbreaker.

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Katie Holmes gallery!

"Katie’s a sweet girl," says actress Julie Gonzalo. "I didn’t see any of what you read in the papers. She’s sweet and normal. She brought her husband and daughter with her to set."

By Katie Rhames

Holly & Rodney Peete Respond to ‘Savage’ Autism Remarks

July 21st, 2008

Football great Rodney Peete and his wife, Holly Robinson-Peete, lashed out on Monday at remarks radio host Michael Savage made about children diagnosed with Autism.

The controversial remarks originally aired July 16 on Savage’s radio show, The Savage Nation, during which he called the disorder "a fraud, a racket…In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out…They don’t have a father around to tell them ‘Don’t act like a moron…Act like a man. Don’ t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.’"

 

In a statement obtained today by OK!, Rodney and Holly (who have an Autistic son) addressed Savage’s comments, saying:

"As a mother and father who have dealt with Autism for over a decade, we find it shocking that the individuals who name call and pass judgement on families like ours, have had zero experience with the disorder or its effects on a child and his/her family.

"Attacking fathers and insinuating that kids with Autism are ‘brats’ is irresponsible, insulting and painful to our children and furthers the backlash they face every day. In the African-American community many children go undiagnosed until the "window" of opportunity for treatment has been slammed shut. They are diagnosed on average 2-4 years later than other more affluent subsets of society. The American Academy of pediatrics recent and long overdue decision to encourage pediatricians to have every child tested for Autism by the age of two may help these children get a diagnosis and treatment, which needs to come early, hard and fast.

"For Savage to portray this important mandate negatively is malicious and misguided. We have seen our son beat the odds because he had an early diagnosis and access to treatment. We continue to work every day to help other families provide the same opportunity to their children."

Omarosa Vs. Wendy Williams

July 21st, 2008

Frankly, it’s not surprising to hear that reality TV villainess Omarosa is getting press for her crazy backstabbing antics, but this morning it was an all-out cat fight on the set of the Wendy Williams Show, which airs on FOX owned stations.

Omarosa was on to promote her book, The Bitch Switch, when the insults started flying between the Celebrity Apprentice/Surreal Life castmember and the radio/talk show queen.

The slings and arrows started when Williams warned Omarosa "This is not the time to try and look for your moment." She then continued to call Omarosa "The stereotypical angry black woman" which prompted the reality TV star to begin attacking William’s appearance, asking her if she’d had a nose job and that maybe she should consider wearing a better looking wig, all the while delivering the insults through cackles and toothy grins.

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