Celebrity Portal » Television

Susan Boyle beaten in talent show final

celebrityportal.org — Sun, 31 May 2009 08:45:01 +0000

London – Street dancers Diversity were the surprise winners of television contest “Britain’s Got Talent” on Saturday, beating favorite Susan Boyle who became an Internet phenomenon and global celebrity after appearing on the show.

The troupe, which includes three sets of brothers and comes from southeast England, won 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and the right to take the stage at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen.

Of the 10 finalists, Diversity were the bookmakers’ sixth favorite to win going into the show, but their acrobatic performance choreographed by 20-year-old Ashley Banjo was described by judge Simon Cowell as “utter perfection.”

“If I had to give marks on that, that is the only performance tonight I would want to give a 10 to,” Cowell said after their performance.

Boyle was runner-up, but so overwhelming were the betting odds in her favor that the result was seen as a major surprise.

The 48-year-old unemployed church volunteer from Scotland, who once joked she had never been kissed and has been described by newspapers as “frumpy” and a “hairy angel,” was the antithesis of what many considered a celebrity to be.

Yet her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables” in April was downloaded on the Internet more than 150 million times and made her a household name.

Film crews camped outside her home in the small town in Scotland where she lives alone with her cat, tabloid reporters followed her every move and she appeared on U.S. chat shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Larry King.

PRESSURE

The pressure appeared to tell this week, when she threatened to pull out of the show and had an altercation with journalists.

In his blog, judge Piers Morgan wrote: “Let me tell you now, there is a downside to fame. People start criticizing you, sniping at you, trying to trip you up, belittle you, harass you.

He said Boyle had learning difficulties after being deprived of oxygen at birth, and was nicknamed “Simple Susan” at school.

“I am calling today for everyone to just give her a break.”

Boyle sang I Dreamed a Dream again on Saturday, and while her rousing performance was warmly received, it was not enough.

“You’ve had a weird seven weeks and you had every right to walk away from this and you could have walked away,” Cowell said after she sang. “You can walk away from this, win or lose, with your head held high, Susan. I absolutely adore you.”

Boyle, who praised Diversity after the public telephone vote was announced, said earlier in the show that the whole experience had been “well worth it.

“The pressure put on me has been overwhelming. I’ve got to put that aside now. When I step on that stage tonight it’s the accumulation of 40 years of dreaming.”

Despite not winning Britain’s Got Talent, Boyle is widely expected to land a lucrative recording contract as a result of her global fame and impressive voice.

Susan Boyle beaten in talent show final

Jessica Simpson plans new reality TV show ‘The Price of Beauty’

celebrityportal.org — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:39:15 +0000

Jessica Simpson is coming to a television set near you.

The singer, who has repeatedly faced public scrutiny for her fluctuating weight, has reportedly visited TV networks to pitch a reality series titled “The Price of Beauty.”

The show will be based on society’s outlook of women’s bodies, Us Weekly reports in its upcoming issue.

“She and a friend set off on a road trip around the world in search of what people find beautiful and why,” says a source.

Simpson, whose first attempt at reality television was with ex-husband Nick Lachey on MTV’s “Newlyweds,” will be working closely with the show.

The 28-year-old will even try some of the “shocking things that women do to make themselves beautiful. Picture ‘Fear Factor.’”

The singer’s rep tells Us, “Jessica is indeed working on a new show, but network details have not been finalized at this time.”

Jessica Simpson plans new reality TV show ‘The Price of Beauty’

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Idol Winner Kris Allen

celebrityportal.org — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:28:27 +0000

After shocking almost everyone — including himself — by winning the season 8 of American Idol last week, Kris Allen told reporters, “I’m not a man of many words.” We noticed! PEOPLE caught up with Idol’s dark horse from Conway, Ark., Saturday, and finally got him talking. Here’s what we learned:

1. He Drives a Clunker: Before leaving Arkansas for Los Angeles, Allen, 23, drove a silver 2001 Pontiac Bonneville. “It’s the most comfortable car to drive,” he says, “but it has a lot of problems. The speedometer doesn’t work; the gas gauge doesn’t work; the windows won’t roll down; there’s something wrong with the gas pedal. But it drives!” Allen admits he couldn’t afford the $300 to fix the fuel gauge — and got stranded as a result. “I’ve ran out of gas a lot,” he says. “Probably four of five times.” Hopefully, those days are over. On the finale, viewers saw season 7 winner David Cook hand Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert the keys to a 2009 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

2. He Married His Best Friend: “She’s been my best friend for a long time,” Allen says of his wife, Katy, who he began dating his junior year of high school. “She’s the coolest chick in the world.”

3. He Said ‘I Do’ In Front of 400 Guests: Allen married his high school sweetheart, Katy O’Connell, on Sept. 26th 2008. “We have a lot of family and friends, and we didn’t want to leave anybody out,” Allen says of his wedding, which took place at sunset on the Arkansas River. “We set out 300 chairs and people were standing up!” At the reception, which was catered by Katy’s grandmother, Allen sang the same song that he auditioned with: “A Song For You.” “We just had a blast,” he says of the day.

4. He’s Got a Sweet Tooth — And Loves Lazy Days: Guilty pleasures? He has a few. “I love Twizzlers,” Allen says, adding, “I love any kind of candy. My favorite TV show ever is Boy Meets World, and my favorite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. For me, my guilty pleasure is that if I don’t want to do anything one day, I won’t. I’ll just sit around, not shower, hardly even eat, and just watch TV.”

5. He Really is Friends with Adam Lambert: “Right before we went to bed [at the Idol mansion,] we’d sit around and talk about the competition, talk about our pasts. We really got to know each other,” he says. “He’s very real. He says exactly how he feels.” Allen explains the two didn’t feel like they were competing against each other. “We both had a lot of confidence in ourselves, and we said, we can’t compare.”

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Idol Winner Kris Allen

Jon & Kate Plus Eight grabs huge ratings

celebrityportal.org — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:28:10 +0000

Their marriage may be crumbling, their faces may be plastered on the cover of every supermarket tabloid, and their eight children may soon be living in a broken home, but at least Jon and Kate Gosselin can find one upside in their endless marital drama: the ratings for Monday’s season premiere of Jon & Kate Plus Eight were huge.

The hourlong episode attracted an astounding 9.8 million U.S. viewers, nearly double the audience for March’s Season 4 finale, Entertainment Weekly reports. It was also TLC’s most-watched show ever.

The episode benefited from an increased interest in the reality TV family, since allegations of the Gosselins’ rumoured affairs and marriage troubles have dominated the press for weeks.

Though the episode attempted to follow the reality show’s usual kid-focused format — with Kate corralling the troops to organize a fifth birthday party for the sextuplets — it also managed to address the couple’s marital woes. In separate interviews, the 34-year-old mother said her husband has “made poor decisions and we have to live with it,” while Jon maintained that he did not cheat on Kate and that “people are getting paid off [by the tabloids] to say whatever they want to say.”

“I did not sign up for the public scrutiny of everything,” added Kate.

Their supposed hatred of the media attention did not stop the pair from releasing a statement to the press immediately after the episode aired, saying: “As many couples do, we are navigating a very difficult time. Our current situation brings us together around the children and some times sets us apart. We keep our faith that we will make the right decisions for our family.”

Jon & Kate Plus Eight grabs huge ratings

‘Idol’ attack suspect cites revenge

celebrityportal.org — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:48:25 +0000

American Idol judge Simon Cowell thought his ex-girlfriend was joking when she called him to reveal she’d been attacked on Tuesday night – but now accepts the incident was “terrible”.

TV presenter Terri Seymour was covering the American Idol in Los Angeles when a woman attempted to choke her.

Friends helped fight the attacker, Janice Thibodeaux, off and police later arrested her, but Seymour was so shaken up by the incident she called her ex-boyfriend.

Cowell says, “(It was) a frenzied attack, (she was) nearly strangled… She called me… It was some crazy girl (who is) locked up. It was bad. I felt sorry for her (Seymour).”

The Brit, who is a judge on Idol, admits he thought Seymour was joking when she first called and then his mind went elsewhere: “Naturally, I assumed it was somebody who was jealous.”

Thibodeaux, who remains in police custody after her attack on Seymour, has told RadarOnline.com the attack was motivated by footage of Cowell pretending to throttle fellow Idol judge Paula Abdul on the show.

Thibodeaux claims she approached Seymour to confront her about Cowell’s behaviour on a recent episode, during which he placed his hands around Abdul’s neck.

She says, “I wasn’t cool with Simon Cowell choking Paula Abdul on the show… and with her crying-out ‘help’ as he did so. Nobody said anything about that so I wanted to confront him about it because that is not appropriate behaviour, is it?

“I knew she (Seymour) was his girlfriend so I went up to her to tell her how I felt. We started arguing and then I put my hands around her neck and started choking her just like Simon had done with Paula.”

Thibodeaux is facing a felony charge of battery.

‘Idol’ attack suspect cites revenge

Kara strips – as American Idol gets champ

celebrityportal.org — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:01:03 +0000

AMERICAN Idol judge Kara DioGuardi stripped down to her bikini at the show’s final last night – and the new champ was revealed.

The celeb-filled audience was stunned when Kris Allen, 23 from Arkansas, was crowned the winner instead of favourite Adam Lambert, 27.

The student looked shocked as host Ryan Seacrest delivered the news and clutched his trophy in disbelief.

Judge Simon Cowell told the finalists, “I thought you were both brilliant, unusually, incredibly nice people and I think both of you should be incredibly proud of what you achieved last night.”

A hundred million votes were cast to decide which of the two would take the crown on the show, which aired in the States last night.

It was revealed that 624 million votes were cast throughout the series, making it the most successful season ever.

During the episode failed “Bikini Girl” act Katrina Darrell made a return – and was joined on stage by a scantily-clad Kara for a special performance.

The Black Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Urban, Queen Latifa and Carlos Santana also appeared on the show.

Other famous faces who came to see the winner get crowned included Heather Locklear, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Jason Mraz.

Kara strips – as American Idol gets champ

Kara DioGuardi co-writes ‘American Idol’ winner’s single

celebrityportal.org — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:59:33 +0000

Kara DioGuardi — the now and possibly future judge of “American Idol” — has co-written the winner’s first single. The song, entitled “No Boundaries,” was written with Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allan.

Before her season-long “Idol” tenure, DioGuardi was best known as a songwriter for such artists as Pink, Christina Aguilera and Kelly Clarkson. “No Boundaries” will be the first radio offering of either Adam Lambert or Kris Allen, who will face off on tonight’s performance show; the winner will be crowned Wednesday night.

For years, the “American Idol” winner has been saddled with mediocre debuts. In an interview last month, when asked whether she might offer her expertise to break this cycle, DioGuardi said: “I’ve been asked to. I’ve submitted something.”

When pressed for details, she said: “I did write one that – I won’t say it’s what they all write about. But it is, kind of. Because they asked for that! It’s not like you can submit anything, they have a criteria.”

What is it, like, I’m so happy?

“It’s about finding your dream,” DioGuardi said. “And the struggle. That’s what they want.”

And was that hard?

“No. It’s easy for me to talk about dreams and struggles. I’m in one right now. I’m in one right now!” She laughed, and continued. “Right? A dream and a struggle. At the same time. We’ll know soon enough if the fourth judge is on the chopping block. Won’t we?”

Kara DioGuardi co-writes ‘American Idol’ winner’s single

How Allen ascended from meek audition to ‘Idol’

celebrityportal.org — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:56:13 +0000

Not much has changed about Kris Allen since his mostly forgettable “American Idol” audition. Well, except for the winning-it-all part.

When the 23-year-old college student from Conway, Ark., first auditioned with Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” in Louisville, Ky., he seemed nothing more than a boy-next-door “Idol” hopeful, lacking the instant juggernaut feel of showy 27-year-old runner-up Adam Lambert or even plucky 17-year-old spark plug Allison Iraheta.

A newsboy cap pulled down around his eyes, Allen was asked back then by the judges if he was the best singer.

“You know, there’s probably people who are better than me,” was his response, a humility that Simon Cowell said he found off-putting.

“Idol” producers must have agreed. Back in February, viewers had seen less of Allen out of all the crooners that moved forward in the competition. During Hollywood Week, neither of Allen’s solos were aired, just his “I Want You Back” group performance. In fact, more footage from his original audition was aired during Wednesday’s eighth season finale than in any previous episodes.

Once selected as a finalist, Allen got off to a rocky start after his first performance. The judges were decidedly mixed over his rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” yet his charming nice-guy demeanor quickly emerged when it was revealed that the longtime Jackson fan had been helping the other singers — his competitors of all people! — tackle their takes on the King of Pop.

Allen himself seemed the most surprised about his shocking win by a margin of votes that, unlike last season’s landslide victory by David Cook over David Archuleta, was not publicly declared by host Ryan Seacrest.

“I’m exhausted, and I’m shocked,” Allen said backstage after winning the title. “I’m really shocked.”

In the beginning, the judges simply seemed, if not in love, then “in like” with Allen — not heaping the same amounts of love on him as Lambert until later in the season.

The panel’s initial feedback bordered on superficial. Paula Abdul once gushed he was “adorable/sexy” while Cowell teased the smiley newlywed for introducing his wife so early in the competition, at risk of scaring of female fans.

He always seemed to take their remarks in stride, content to forge ahead with his earnest singer-songwriter vibe no matter the outcome, never telegraphing a drive to best his fellow contestants.

Instead, Allen stuck to focusing on his guitar and piano on the “Idol” stage, impressing the judges with his folksy, heartfelt interpretations of such songs as “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “She Works Hard for the Money” and “Falling Slowly” from the indie musical “Once.” He hit a crescendo last week when he transformed Kanye West’s robotic tune “Heartless” into a soulful, acoustic ditty.

“I had written you out of the competition, but that has changed after that performance,” Cowell boasted afterward.

However, it was runner-up Lambert who always received the most praise — by both judges and screaming fans — right until Tuesday’s final performance. All the while, Allen was apparently neck-and-neck with Lambert when it came to viewer votes: The only time either was in the dreaded bottom-three was after their Rat Pack-themed performances.

Last week, only 1 million viewer votes separated them — a tiny margin considering that nearly 100 million votes were cast for the finale.

“I knew it was going to be a close race,” Lambert said backstage. “I think Kris is incredibly talented, and he’s a good person.”

Though never referenced on the show, Allen’s religious background may have also played a role. Allen has worked as a worship leader at his hometown church, traveling on mission trips around the globe. His pastor, Brandon Shatswell, said Allen told him that his first time on the “Idol” stage reminded him of only one thing: going to church.

How Allen ascended from meek audition to ‘Idol’

‘Dancing’ finalists look forward to post-show life

celebrityportal.org — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:36:56 +0000

Now that the “Dancing With the Stars” mirror-ball trophy has been awarded, the show’s three finalists are looking to the future.

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, the show’s youngest competitor ever at 17, was named the new “Dancing” champ Tuesday, beating out fellow finalists Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft. But with the show’s 20 million weekly viewers, all three are enjoying newfound popularity.

“This has given me so many opportunities,” Johnson said. “It opened up a whole new world that I’ve never even known about. It’s just been the best experience ever.”

Johnson has already taken on her next project, but her publicist declined to say what exactly the high school junior will do next.

Marini, a French actor best known for his shower scene in the “Sex and the City” movie, said job offers have been pouring in, but that’s not why he signed up for the ABC dance-off.

“I really did the show toward seeing my daughter twirling around in a tutu. I thought she might like to see her daddy dancing on a big stage like that,” he said. “That was, for me, the bigger thing. And then things come naturally workwise. And it’s great, but I never thought about it.”

The 33-year-old said he “turned down so many parts” during his 11 weeks of “Dancing.”

Rycroft has more short-term plans.

“I’m going home,” said the native Texan. “And I’m going to get a puppy.”

The reality-show star (she was jilted on this season of “The Bachelor”) said her boyfriend promised her a puppy if she reached the finals.

With a score two points behind Johnson and Marini, Rycroft was eliminated during Tuesday’s two-hour finale, leaving her fellow competitors to vie for the trophy.

Johnson and Marini came into the final showdown tied with 58 points. Viewer votes were combined with judges’ scores to determine the winner. Show host Tom Bergeron said the remaining finalists were separated by “less than 1 percent.”

A new season of “Dancing With the Stars” is slated for the fall.

`Dancing’ finalists look forward to post-show life

Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen: Who Will Be America’s New ‘Idol?’

celebrityportal.org — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:32:21 +0000

They say it’s all about the singing. But there’s much more than just talent to talk about as Adam Lambert and Kris Allen step up to the stage for tonight’s season eight finale of “American Idol.”

Tuesday night, Lambert showed off his vocal prowess by making good of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” while Allen belted out “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Both contestants also sang a song penned by newbie “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi, “No Boundaries.”

It all led up to the main event of the season — tonight’s two-hour finale, which will determine which contestant scores the coveted “Idol” crown and recording contract with “Idol” affiliated label 19 Entertainment.

Among the stars expected to grace the stage for the final Lambert-Allen showdown: The Black Eyed Peas, Queen Latifah, Keith Urban, Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper and last year’s “Idol” winner, David Cook.

Hanging over tonight’s finale is the overwhelming speculation that Lambert will win it all. Online betting sites tout the 27-year-old musical theater veteran as the almost certain victor: Betfair.com gives Lambert a 76-percent chance of taking the “Idol” title.

One factor that could tip the scales in Allen’s favor: fans of Danny Gokey, who was eliminated from “Idol” last week, putting their votes towards the underdog. Some 88 million votes were cast in the last round, with only 1 million votes separating Lambert from Allen, according to host Ryan Seacrest.

But in recent weeks, Lambert has also emerged as the favorite of “Idol’s” judges, guest performers and critics. The usually snarky Simon Cowell came out in full support of Lambert earlier this month, telling Oprah Winfrey that there’s no way Lambert won’t win because he’s fearless, he’s unique and “he’s got swagger.” Paula Abdul called Lambert the Michael Phelps of the current competition.

Last Wednesday, pop star Katy Perry wore a cape bearing his name for her “Idol” performance of “Waking Up in Vegas,” the same week Entertainment Weekly gave him a cover.

The attention showered on Lambert hasn’t been lost on his fellow “Idol” contestants. After losing to Lambert in the eighth week of competition, Matt Giraud spoke out about the judges’ perceived alliances.

“The judges have their favorites, and they’re going to make sure they do well,” he told ABC News Radio. “There were times when I felt, like, invisible in the competition.”

Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen: Who Will Be America’s New ‘Idol?’

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