Gina Glocksen
She beat out thousands of singers who auditioned for a coveted spot on American Idol. Then she made the cut for the top 24, the top 12 and, finally, the top 10. Now, Gina Glocksen is living out of a suitcase on tour with American Idols Live! TV Guide stole a few midtour minutes with the Naperville, Illinois, native.
TV Guide: How's the tour going? Gina Glocksen: I'm having an amazing time.
TV Guide: Is it different than you expected?Gina: It's absolutely completely different than what I expected.
TV Guide: How so?Gina: I was expecting to be tired all of the time and not get any sleep. Also, we're a really close group and I thought that the bad parts about us would come out on tour. But so far, nothing has happened. If anything, we're closer, so it's kind of weird.
TV G
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Jordin Sparks
Thirty-one million viewers watched live as she became the reigning American Idol. But, despite the Nielsen ratings, Jordin Sparks still insists her face isn't nearly as recognizable as her name. Hours before she took the stage in Sunrise, Florida, with the American Idols Live tour, the Season 6 winner spoke with TV Guide.
TV Guide: When did you get to Florida?Jordin Sparks: We got to Florida on the 1st, so we've been here for a week, you know, tanning and soaking up the sun and rehearsing....
TV Guide: Have you done any sightseeing yet?Jordin: We had a day off where I rode the WaveRunners and we all just kind of chilled. It was really fun.
TV Guide: Was that your first time on a WaveRunner?Jordin: It's like a Jet Ski, which I
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Sanjaya and Shyamali Malakar, American Idol
In the very, very, very beginning of this wild season of American Idol, there were two Malakars: Sanjaya, 17, whom we've heard a thing or two about in the preceding months, and Shyamali, 19, who joined her younger brother for the Hollywood leg of the experience, but couldn't crack the top 24 (let alone the top eight). With Sanjaya sequestered as he braved this past week's performance and results shows, TV Guide invited Shyamali to offer insight into her brother's moment under the pop-culture magnifying glass.
TV Guide: How has Sanjaya been doing?Shyamali Malakar: I am proud of Sanjaya and how he handles the controversy around [Idol]. He doesn't read the blogs and doesn't watch TV — he's isolated in the environment — so he doesn't have to be as ex
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Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez take on American Idol.
Call 'em the Great Eight. As Blake, Chris R., Haley, Jordin, LaKisha, Melinda, Phil and Sanjaya move a big step closer to the finish line, TVGuide.com has questions. Like, did rocker gal Gina Glocksen get punk'd? Is Phil perhaps better than we think? Can Haley's pins earn her another free pass? W
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Speaking with Gina Glocksen the day after her American Idol dismissal, I, a professed fan of the rocker chick, couldn't help but suggest that the livelier rendition of "Smile" she gave us Wednesday night might have kept her around if she had delivered it, you know, 26 hours earlier. "That's what Randy [Jackson] said!" Gina responded with a laugh. Still, she doesn't regret her decision to tone down her act (if not her pierced tongue) this week: "I was happy to show America that I also have a voice, and not just a rocker image."OK, maybe she does have one regret: bidding adieu before the Jon Bon Jovi/"rock" week. "I was going to sing "Livin' on a Prayer," she told TVGuide.com. "Everything happens for a reason, though!"
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If I wasn't blogging AI for TV Guide, I would stop watching this show right now. Before I even get to a brief blow-by-blow, I have to step out of my usual banter and say something about the state of this competition. I understand "drama" makes for good television. I understand that the producers can’t be happy with everything going along as it should. “Life isn’t fair,” I can hear them shout. But that any lackluster singer can remain safe while perfectly great singers get sent home is just a travesty to the competition and to singing in general. I realize that since pop music often consists of “artists” who have no voice to speak of and are merely offering manipulated tracks under heavy musical artillery (Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson, you get the point), it makes complete sense that AI voters are engaged in keeping Sanjaya, Phil and Haley around. Unfortunately, I am really discouraged by the outcome of this week’s show, (though losing AJ, Sabrina a...
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Wow, the good ones get better and the bad ones, well, you get the picture. There were nine contestants going into this week of Idol and as far as I am concerned, there need only be six, possibly five. I will name names at the end. Actually this was a pretty good show. Aside from the aforementioned three or four, the remaining performances were outstanding. I would pay money to see a few of them. Wait, I rescind that. Justin Timberlake (the original one) is performing in L.A. to the tune of $150 a ticket, and that’s before the astronomical fees that that horrific master of tickets adds on to every seat. So by the end of the day, you’d pay over $200 to see JT. I’m not saying he’s not worth it, but I could fly to Hawaii for just a few dollars more, and frankly, Maui sounds blissful by comparison. What I am rambling to say is, if the tickets were a reasonable price, I would go. I would download Melinda, Chris R. and Gina’s performances this week if I could get a...
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Finally, I got one: I won the American Idol office pool this week by predicting the timely demise of Mr. Sligh from our little show. I’m sorry to see him go before both Haley and Sanjaya, but he has been consistent only in his lack of caring and he was bound to get tossed off the island soon. I liked Phil on Tuesday night’s show. I know why he made it into the bottom three, but I’m hoping he can hold on for a couple more weeks. Haley remained, and I have no doubt it was the shorts and heels of last week’s show. “She's got legs, she knows how to use them!”The saddest moment in the show was poor Gina’s face (she looked simply crestfallen) as she was told along with Sligh that one of them was in the bottom three, and then they had to sit through that dreadful song of Gwen’s until they found out. I knew she'd be safe because her Pretenders cover on Tuesday was fantastic.Now, as I’ve mentioned previously, I always liked No Doubt, but Ms. Gwen&...
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No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani, who traded ska for yodeling, graced the Idols with her presence this week. She is one pretty girl. It’s hard to believe this is the same pleasantly plump high school student from the O.C. who started singing in a band as a teenager and is now married to Gavin Rossdale. Gwen has been performing to sold-out crowds for 20 years, but I don’t know that I would run to her first as a singing coach. But her divine presence meant it was "pop" week! (Not to be confused with "contemporary pop" week.) Yippee! LaKisha opened the show with Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” and it was pretty darn good. Not much else to say. She looked good and everyone loved her boots. Chris Sligh sang The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" after joking that he knits and crochets in his spare time backstage. Gwen told him in rehearsal that his tempo was off and the judges agreed with her. In fact, we all did. It was a bland performance from Chris. He ha...
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I went to a TV Guide party last night instead of watching AI in real time. TV Guide hosted the “Sexiest Stars” party at Bar Marmont in Hollywood. (You can pick up the “hot” issue on newsstands Friday.) I spent quite a bit of time joking around with Jesse Spencer from House, asking where his fiancée “J-Mo” was. He was a good sport and referred to himself as “J-Spo”. I said it wouldn’t sell, but he is sexy. My good friends, after last night, we are tight. There were a lot of cuties. Shemar Moore, Eric Mabius, Mandy Patinkin... I cannot name them all. (That last one was a joke — tee-hee — but I love the M-Po!) I met a guy at the party who voted for Sanjaya over 30 times just to mess up the competition. I wanted to hate him, but he was so nice I had to push my feelings of anger aside. However, this sort of sabotage makes a farce out of the competition, and as easy as it is to make fun of the contestants, you want people there ...
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