I’ve been catching American Idol occasionally this year, but I haven’t kept up with it because it’s just so long. Some of the episodes are like two hours and I have better things to do than sit there through so much filler and dramatic music. You can fast forward, I know, but I always feel like I’m going to miss something. They need to repackage that show for the YouTube generation and stop trying to squeeze so much out of it.
Spoiler for last night’s episode
Anyway the guy who got voted off last night by the voting public, Casey Abrams, was saved by the judges after what was undoubtedly a lot of hand-wringing and dragging out of the process. (There will be two eliminations next week to make up for the save.) The ginger-bearded Abrams was sick this season and was hospitalized twice for ulcerative colitis. He was still allowed to compete after all he went though and generally comes across like a nice guy with a solid voice. Abrams will have to do more to win over the audience if he wants to stay on.
In this week’s Enquirer there’s a story that claims that judge Jennifer Lopez’s husband, Marc Anthony, comes up to her and gives her input on commercial breaks during American Idol. He does it so much that he’s supposedly considered like a “fourth judge” on the show. Here’s what the Enquirer says:
“J.Lo wants to be the most thoughtful and helpful evaluator on ‘Idol’ and Marc is her No. 1 adviser,” an insider divulged.
“He’s been huddling with Jennifer on her picks at home and on breaks during the show. His input truly influences her decisions…”
Marc – the top-selling salsa artist of all time with 30 million albums – attended a number of “Idol” auditions and has either been in the audience or his wife’s dressing room for each live show, the insider revealed.
“What TV viewers don’t see is that during commercial breaks, Marc often leaves his seat and meets with Jennifer at the judges’ table to discuss how the contestants are doing and influence her comments,” the insider said. “If it were up to him, he’d have a fourth chair right next to his wife, Steven and Randy.”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, April 4, 2011]
This really bugs me, because I find it unfair. Anthony is a musician and I can understand him influencing Lopez’s decisions on the show with a few conversations at home, of course they’re going to talk about it. He shouldn’t be interrupting her at work like that and trying to influence what she says. The judges’ comments do make a difference.
It seems surprising to me that he would be at her job every day. I’m surprised these two are even still together.
Photos are from 1/17/11, 2/13/11 and 12/22/10. Credit: WENN and Fame
