Okay, it’s Christmas Eve and I am placing an obviously pre-written item for the holidays.
What do you think were the most notable “Idol” or “Idol”-related moments of the year?
Was it Sanjaya and his “faux hawk”? Sanjaya hula dancing? That Ashley Furl crying for Sanjaya? Or maybe Sanjaya singing Bonnie Raitt badly?
Was it Blake’s beatboxing Bon Jovi?
Was it Lakisha’s show-stopping rendition of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”?
Was it Celine Dion during “Idol Gives Back” doing that trainwreck duet with a dead Elvis?
Was it when Nigel and Ken decided to pull a fast one on Jordin and make it seem for a few seconds that she was eliminated during that same episode but in the end, not really?
Was it the Kelly Clarkson drama with Clive Davis?
Was it the amazing career surges for both Carrie Underwood and Daughtry?
Was it Jennifer Hudson winning an Oscar for her tour de force role in “Dreamgirls”? (I finally saw the film on HBO over the weekend. She was incredible!)
Locally, my favorite moment was interviewing Ryan Seacrest at the Atlanta auditions on camera and him teasing this poor print scribe incessantly about it. My second favorite from that day was seeing the Brittenum twins again. Gotta love those guys! My least favorite moment was showing up at the Atlanta International Convention Center in October only to realize the later Idol rounds had wrapped up early. D’oh!
I also enjoyed getting treated with diva-like ennui by Paris Bennett, who came to lunch having already eaten and wearing sunglasses throughout her interview. I wonder why haven’t heard from her since?
Another notable moment for me was when Bo Bice called me personally to thank me for the time I spent with him up at the Cumming Country Fair. He is truly a nice guy. It was a lot more pleasant than dealing with the uptight managers of Josh Gracin and Jordin Sparks who told me I couldn’t talk to their clients because I didn’t get clearance from the record labels. As if either of them were going to say anything all that problematic?
And it’s comforting to know at least one former “Idol” reads this blog, namely, the very grounded and quotable Chris Sligh. He’s da man! Thanks Chris and good luck with your new label and album! And don’t worry about those folks at {TMZ, who like to make fun of Idol contestants doing rather modest events for a few bucks. Everybody’s gotta make a living!](http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/19/idols-chris-sligh-party-like-a-not-star/#comments).
In a year when I managed to catch at least six past Idols in concert (Bucky, Kelly, Elliott, Josh, Kelly, Taylor) as well as the “Idols Live” tour, my surprise guilty pleasure was Clay Aiken at Chastain. Thank you Jill for joining me on that escapade as Clay did an incredibly lengthy TV show theme medley, followed by snippets of songs such as Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback” and Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” (More surreal: a month later, I watched Sanjaya do that same song far worse and far less campier.)
And I want to thank all of you bloggers who stuck through this less-than-inspiring season six of “Idol” and survived the drama of the Exiles and Flat Screen. Deirdre is my watchdog and she gets special thanks for being my sounding board this year on all issues blog related.
