The push has been excessive by American Idol powers that be in their overwhelming promotion of Phillips Phillips as their GOLDEN BOY to win the title yet he can't sing - (FOX photo   American Idol's in house mentor and record producer Jimmy Iovine has some unworthy positive comments of Phillips Phillips talent. One thing is certain Iovine is not Quincy Jones - (FOX photo

American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez has a thing for boy toys seen here with her current dancer boyfriend Casper Smart grinding it out

Video Beat EXTRA EXTRA Part 2 - AMERICAN IDOL PLEADS FOR THE PHILLIP PHILLIPS SYMPATHY VOTES

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

So now it's down to the BIG DAY of eliminating someone to shape up the almighty American Idol finale. With the way things have gone this season yes... we support our belief that racist attitudes trumps talent and the inferior voiced Phillip Phillips will triumph over the more talented Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet. We're as judge Randy Jackson often says… JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT REAL! - Recommended TV Listings

Wednesday May 16, 2012

JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT REAL! - THE JIMMY IOVINE CONNECTION

This season's American Idol has been cluttered with mysterious decisions without a clear explanation for the reasons why. From the beginning the Jermaine Jones exploitation has been largely criticized as being unnecessary to embarrass and humiliate a contestant in front of an International television audience for having warrants that he did not disclose.

In previous seasons the show had other controversial contestants that had a dark history but were dignified enough to deal with their situations in private and off camera. Media reports noted that the disingenuous treatment of Jones was Idol's attempt to boost TV ratings.

As the season progressed there was an evolution of giving contestant Phillip Phillips a tremendous amount of attention. The problem was it wasn't worthy of his limited talent. Excuses were made as he failed to execute satisfactorily in his performances but at the same time in contradiction they praised his talent.

Phillips voice has a limited vocal range that lacks the ability to sing high notes. He also often growls when singing and his true voice is buried beneath the facial expressions. the other mystery is the mysterious bond, partiality and compliments bestowed upon him from judge Jennifer Lopez who has a reputation and lifestyle in appreciating the attention of boys young enough to be her children given the 43-year-old entertainers relationship with her 25-year-old back-up dancer that she pays $10,000 a week and appointed him as her choreographer.

Phillips has been promoted by Idol as being the DARK HORSE of the final three that includes Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet yet he's the only contestant that has NEVER BEEN IN THE BOTTOM THREE ALL SEASON while Ledet has been there twice and Sanchez was eliminated and saved by the judges at the Top 7 results show.

Much was made of Phillips fearless dedication to the competition when he underwent a kidney stone operation and returned the following day to compete. From that point on it appeared that the judges, in house mentor Jimmy Iovine and host Ryan Seacrest paid more attention to Phillips than all of the remaining contestants combined.

"How do you feel," asked host Ryan Seacrest recently to Phillips prior to his performance in an apparent attempt to draw attention to the singer having had an operation and continued to compete indicating that he went extra mile under the circumstances. It's an effort that reeks of appealing for the sympathy/pity vote.

The red flag continues to rise as THERE IS TOO MUCH ATTENTION GIVEN IN PROMOTING PHILLIPS and there is no sound logical reason WHY. The abundant comments about how handsome he is encourages the youthful voters (?) that have nothing to do but vote and send text messages to vote for Phillips.

In our previous column we noted that given their ratings of having 15 + million viewers their proclamation that they had 50-70 million votes logically indicates that EVERY VIEWER VOTED AT LEAT 4 TIMES. We didn't vote and doubt that many adults did either. Quite frankly we believe that the voting is a con and the decisions of who will be eliminated are made by the shows powers that be which include the sponsors, producers and the FOX TV network.

Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch who is currently embroiled in another controversy the phone hacking scandal in England where some of his News of the World newspaper employees are subject to jail time. It is well known that Murdoch rules all of his companies under this News Corporation entity with an iron fist and no decision goes down without his approval according to the documentary Game Changers on the Bloomberg TV Network.

On the Idol show Iovine, who is a record producer as well as the head of Interscope Records has mentioned numerous times how much he loves Phillips work and how as a producer he must find the right material for the singer. Those statements indicate that Iovine is thinking of signing Phillips to a record deal.

Iovine was also overwhelmed with Ledet's version of James Brown's "It's A Man's World" last week. He went on to say, "How can we find a song just as good as that for his album." Obviously Iovine also has plans for the Louisiana man.

His comments on Sanchez's growl in a negative manner while he ignores the repeated growls of the no voice Phillip Phillips. He went on to say that he would avoid having Sanchez growling on a recording. Does that mean he intends to produce her?

When Hollie Cavanagh was eliminated from the how last week it brought tears to Ledet and Sanchez's eyes but not to Phillips. Ledet suffers the most as Cavanagh was his closest friend on the show. Talk about an odd couple this is it but it is cute way. It shows how music and entertainment can break down racial barriers and bring people together.

Another red flag on Phillips was his joking comment about Sanchez receiving the save and using it up thus from that point on the pressure was on everyone else. "Thanks Jessica, (for that)," he said. It was said in fun but to joke about something you have to think about it and evidently that was a subject that was on his mind.

With Iovine talking about choosing songs to make albums for several of the Idol contestants it brought something to mind regarding why Idol has changed from seeking the best voice such as the heavy set Ruben Studdard to the WHOLE PACKAGE that includes looks, image, sex appeal etc.. The Ruben Studdard days are over. Now they are pushing contestants like Phillips to win for their looks. Why? That's a good question. One thing is certain Iovine is not Quincy Jones

Our hypothesis is that since the record business has changed due to the inception of i-Tunes and the Internet the thrust is to sell singles to be downloaded. Thus Idol's focus is to sign contestants that will appeal to the youthful audience that patronize i-Tunes and the Internet. That means more money for Iovine and Idol creator Simon Fuller and his machine of associated companies. The question is how much of the recording money (%) do the not wise to the music business contestants receive? Being managed by Fuller and his associates gives the contestants very little leverage and bargaining power.

The show is now about being a major money making televised audition for Fuller who can pick and choose the talent he wants to sign and manage. Iovine reaps the talent he chooses to record. Talent is not the main factor in that decision it also includes who he can get along with and produce. Colton Dixon challenged Iovine and the judges. After his performance he came off stage and said on camera that he didn't care about the judge's negative comments about his performance. The flowing day he was ELIMINATED.

The point being is that the shows is a pick and choose of who will win and who goes along to get along and does not challenge the powers that be. Having the best voice has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Hollie Cavanagh has a much better voice than Phillips but was picked apart by the judges almost every week. They exposed her flaws but in s stealth like way ignored Phillips.

So now it's down to the BIG DAY of eliminating someone to shape up the almighty American Idol finale. With the way things have gone this season yes... we support our belief that racist decisions trumps talent and the inferior voiced Phillips will triumph over the more talented Sanchez and Ledet. We're as judge Randy Jackson often says… JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT REAL!

Think about it what would appeal to you the most a final with a minority verses a great white hope or a girl verses a guy? Or… would you prefer two guys challenging each other or two minorities taking each other on? These are the possibilities that could be the chemistry for the American Idol finals show. THE FINAL DECISION IS NOT UP TO YOU (the voters).

Part 1 - PREDICTION - JESSICA SANCHEZ or JOSHUA LEDET to be VOTED OFF AMERICAN IDOL

Part 3 - JOSHUA LEDET WAS SET UP AND ELIMINATED FROM AMERICAN IDO

IDOL'S TOP 3

* Joshua Ledet (born April 9, 1992) is from Westlake, Louisiana. He writes songs and lyrics for and attends the House of Prayer Holiness Church. He auditioned in Houston, Texas. He originally auditioned for American Idol season 10, but he did not make it past the audition stage. He was dubbed "Mantasia" (as being the male version of American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino) during the semi-finals. He performed "Blue Suede Shoes with Shannon Magrane, Amber Holcomb, and Curtis Finch Jr. " His musical influences are Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Fantasia Barrino, James Brown, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Elton John.

* Phillip Phillips (born September 20, 1990) is from Leesburg, Georgia. He attended Lee County High School. He graduated Albany Technical College, but had to miss the graduation ceremony due to being on American Idol. He auditioned in North Charleston, singing "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with the guitar. He performed "I Only Have Eyes For You" with Heejun Han, Neco Starr, and Jairon Jackson. Many people have compared his vocal style to that of Dave Matthews, whom he has also noted as an influence. As of April 19, 2012, he is the only contestant this season to not have been in the Bottom 3 yet.

* Jessica Sanchez (born August 4, 1995 is a Filipino-Mexican-American from San Diego, California. She was born in Chula Vista, California. Her father Gilbert Sanchez is a Mexican-American U.S. Navy veteran and originally from Texas and fought in the War in Iraq. Her mother Editha Sanchez is Filipina and originally from Bataan province in the Philippines. Sanchez auditioned in San Diego. She performed "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" with DeAndre Brackensick and Candice Glover in Las Vegas. During the Sing For Your Life green mile round, Sanchez performed "The Prayer" by Andrea Boccelli. Before Idol, she was known for her appearance on the first season of America's Got Talent where she was brought back by judge Brandy during the show's wildcard round. Sanchez also participated in the YouTube edition of "We Are the World" along with 56 other YouTube artists, including American Idol season 10 finalist Thia Megia. She was saved from elimination by the judges after receiving the lowest number of votes in the top seven round, making her the first female contestant to be saved by the judges.

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