Trivia time: Which season two Idol contestant finished fourth, then went on to have three top 10 country hits with his debut album? See the bottom of the blog for the answer.
By MARK FRANKLIN
All I can say is thank you to the creators of “Fringe.”
FOX executives clearly want your show to succeed, so they slapped it into the 9 p.m. time slot Tuesday, right after American Idol.
That bit of ratings strategy might have been the only thing that saved us from another two-hour audition show. As it was, viewers were treated to a one-hour version that seemed simply pointless.
Let’s say you could get past the ratio of 50 commercials to 15 singers. Let’s say you could get past the contrived feuding between Simon and new judge Kara DioGuardi.
What were we left with?
There was Rubix Cube guy and rectum girl, neither of whom could sing. There was a cute guy who got a golden ticket to Hollywood because he had two cute sons the judges couldn’t say “no” to. There was a girl who thanked the judges for suggesting one of the photos in her portfolio looked naughty.But Tatiana Del Torro got a golden ticket, too, and my immediate nomination as the individual most likely to win the this year’s Danny Noriega award for most annoying contestant.
There was one really, really good singer — a guy by the name of Adam Lambert. Oh, and a heart-warming story about another male singer who has put his life on hold to care for his ill mother. He’s going to Hollywood, too. But after hearing him sing, it was a little hard to tell whether that’s because of his voice or his heart-warming story.
That was it. End of episode. Hello, “Fringe.” Not a moment too soon.
Here’s hoping tonight’s audition show from Louisville, Kentucky, features less antics and more talent.
Alas, that’s why I’ve made Idol flashback a part of these audition show blogs, as a reminder to all of us that better viewing is ahead when the real competition begins.
Last week, we left off with Ruben Studdard. So today, it’s back to season two and runnerup Clay Aiken (pictured above). Clay was and remains American Idol’s most successful transformation. The show took a geeky kid with a surprising voice from Raleigh, N.C., (check out the first clip below) and turned him into a stylish singer who made thousands of young ladies swoon.
And while Aiken lost the season two Idol finale to Ruben by the slimmest of margins, he was far and away the most commercially successful of the finalists. His 2003 album “Measure of a Man” debuted at number one and had sold 2 million copies within a month. A Christmas album released a year later also topped 1 million in sales.
From all indications, Clay has put his celebrity to good use. He’s been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2004. He also formed the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, “which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the same environment as their non-disabled peers,” according to his Web site. It’s named after Mike Bubel, an autistic friend Clay tutored in his pre-Idol days.
In the past year, headlines about Clay’s personal life have overshadowed his musical accomplishments. Then again, that tends to happen when you’re a star who fathers a child by in vitro fertilization with a woman who’s 20 years older than you, not to mention the executive producer of your first three albums. And when you follow that up a month later with a cover story in People bearing the headline: “New Dad Clay Aiken: ‘Yes, I’m Gay.'”
But the new dad’s continued to work. Album number four, “On My Way Here,” was released in May. You can hear the title track by going to Clay’s Web site and clicking on Clay Radio. And he has followed in the footsteps of other Idols by heading to Broadway, where he starred in Monty Python’s Spamalot for several months.
Now here’s something I bet many Idol fans forgot. Clay was actually eliminated from American Idol during the semifinals. He squeaked into the final 12 via a wild card slot, then made it all the way to the final two.
And guess what? The wild card is back for this year’s competition.
Now, check out these Clay clips, maybe during tonight’s sure-to-be-too-long commercial breaks. First up, Clay’s audition:
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Clay’s sings “Unchained Melody.”
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Clay sings “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
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Trivia answer: Former U.S. Marine Josh Gracin, (right) whose second album, “We Weren’t Crazy” was released last April.
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