Poor Nikko Smith. He may not be one of American Idol's most memorable performers, but we'll never forget his yo-yo routine as a contestant.
First, the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith struck out with Idol voters. Then, Mario Vazquez quit the competition for mysterious reasons. That opened the door for Nikko's return — at least until two weeks later, when he was voted off again. Worse yet, the two-time loser was cut in lieu of creepy Scott Savol, whom Idol watchers had expected to see eliminated because of his domestic violence scandal. When this guy gets more votes than you do, that's gotta hurt.
"I was just prepared for anything," Smith says, "because the show's been so crazy so far that anything can happen. It went down the way it went down. That's the way th
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Friends, family and fans of Fox's American Idol contestants have been gathering across America to party, swap stories, cheer and cast votes for their hometown heroes. We dropped in on three of these supercharged events.
Vonzell Solomon's Party
Fort Myers, Fla.
Local postal workers in this Gulf Coast city have been trading in their government-issue duds for the "Vonzell Solomon" uniform, complete with a big, blue button emblazoned with a photo of their favorite AI contestant.
They're out to support Solomon, a 20-year-old mail carrier. What started as a small gathering of coworkers has grown into hundreds of fans turning out to celebrate this local girl at five different places. On a recent Tuesday night, more than 70 people showed up at Hurricane Harry's bar and restaurant for one of the biggest Vonzell gatherings. Amid the faux-tiki hut decorations, fans stomp, clap and jump around as Vonzell belts out "Respect."
"It's like one of my
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Last week, American Idol voters finally whittled down the number of crooning contestants to an even dozen. That was too bad for the foursome — Amanda Avila, Janay Castine, Nikko Smith and Travis Tucker — who suffered the last group hook and departed en masse. Fortunately for Smith, the sudden departure of Mario Vasquez over the weekend means he'll get a second chance to shine this week. Even so, reprieved or no, all fallen Idols must sing their swan songs to TVGuide.com. Got your earplugs ready, kids?Amanda AvilaSimon Cowell said he wanted to come back as her microphone in his next life... How does Mandy feel about him — and that comment — now? "We know that Simon's a little strange," she laughs. "He meant it as a compliment. As a female trying to make it in this industry, worse things have been said
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