FANS OF ORPHAN IDOL
I KNOW A LOT OF YOU WERE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO POOR ORPHAN IDOL.
HERE IS AN UPDATE (AND AN EXCUSE TO POST THIS PIC THAT HAS CARDBOARD KRIS IN THE BACKGROUND)
'Idol' Scandal: Chris Golightly Does Not Go Quietly
Posted Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:21pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
This week the new top 24 American Idol semifinalists were announced, but all the attention has centered not on who actually made the cut, but on one conspicuously absent contestant who didn't. According to widely circulated top 24 spoiler lists leading up to Hollywood Week, Chris Golightly was supposed to be among the 12 chosen males, but on Wednesday night, his was the one name on those lists that didn't actually make it through. This omission was cause enough for gossip and conjecture in the Twitterverse/blogosphere, but Chris's easy-to-spot Sideshow Bob-haired presence in one of last night's top 24 Idol scenes (shown below in a screen capture by the Idol blog Joe's Place) created even more of a stir:
Obviously, something was not right in Idol Land, and speculation immediately ran rampant about whether Chris had been disqualified or had unexpectedly dropped out. It turned out the former scenario was the case, according to Fox reps, who told UsMagazine.com: "It has been determined that Chris Golightly is ineligible to continue in the competition...Tim Urban has replaced Golightly as part of the top 24."
However, this scandalous saga is a lot more complex than Fox has let on, and today Chris granted interviews to Joe's Place, USA Today, and AI Now telling his shocking side of the story. It's a truly heartbreaking bad-luck tale of a Hollywood dream crushed by the all-powerful Idol machine...or at least by a series of unfortunate events and the type of TV misunderstandings usually only seen on Three's Company reruns.
"This is not fair; I don't know what to do," Chris told USA Today. "Everything was fine when I made the top 24."
Chris explained to AI Now that he had a previous recording contract with a boy band called D.R.E.A.M. 5, but that it had expired in June 2009 (a month before his Idol audition) and that he'd informed producers of the contract at the time. Everything then proceeded seemingly without a hitch, but then last week the situation imploded, when he received a fateful phone call from American Idol/Fremantle Media telling him he'd "filled something out wrong where it asked if [I] was in a recording contract."
Producers apparently informed Chris that by answering "no," he had provided "false information." Chris told AI Now he eventually provided (initially misplaced) documentation proving that his boy band contract was no longer binding, but these documents were ignored by producers, and he was thus dropped from the show at the last minute, this week--but only after dismantling his entire life to come out to Hollywood and compete (he gave up his apartment and sold his car); doing top 24 photo shoots and interviews with the press; and even having an official "AI9" Twitter account set up by Idol in his name.
"It hurts, man. This hurts me so bad because I sleep in a garage. I have no money. I grew up in the foster-care system all my life, being abused and everything. Music has always been my outlet. This is messed up what they're doing," the three-time auditioner despondently told AI Now. Chris also told Joe's Place that it "killed him" to watch Wednesday night's top 24 reveal episode, in which his triumphant walk out of the Kodak Theatre was left on the cutting room floor, hastily replaced by Tim Urban's happy new reaction shot.
However, Fox reps told UsMagazine.com: "This is not about whether or not the contract in question was either active or inactive or valid. It's crucial you tell the truth in the audition process...That is why he's being disqualified." And in USA Today, Lawrence Franklin, head of Chris's old record label Dream Projects Entertainment, claimed Chris was still under a two-year contract when he auditioned for Idol, although Franklin also said he contacted 19 Entertainment asking for release documents so that Chris could legally compete. Such requests were ignored, according to Franklin.
"We did want Chris to succeed," Franklin told USA Today. "We want him to continue. I don't think it's fair how they're doing him."
Joe's Place additionally reports that Chris is now meeting with a high-powered attorney, and he just might have a good case here, in light of Idol's inconsistency regarding disqualifications. A couple weeks ago, it was rumored that Season 9 contestant Michael Lynche would be kicked off the show because his father violated Idol's confidentiality agreement by prematurely talking about his son's success to the press--but it appears Idol producers let that transgression slide, and actually allowed Michael to stay.
Inconsistent contestant disqualifications are nothing new on this show. For instance, Season 2 hopeful Frenchie Davis was let go over her leaked online topless photos, a controversial decision that oddly did not apply to Season 6 contestant Antonella Barba's similar racy MySpace pics (Antonella was not booted off). Season 7's Carly Smithson competed on the show despite her past ties to MCA Records back when judge Randy Jackson was employed there, but last season's Joanna Pacitti was disqualified for having similar industry connections. And then some singers with criminal records (like Season 4's Scott Savol, or this season's teenage bank robber Matt Lawrence) were permitted to compete, while others (like this season's early disqualified favorite, Danelle Hayes) were not.
Even more confusingly, Chris has been told he is ineligible to audition for Idol again, because he made the top 50 already--a decision that makes absolutely no sense considering that this season's Angela Martin and Lacey Brown were top 50 contestants last season, and Lacey actually made the top 24 this year.
So why do Idol's breach-of-contract rules seemingly apply to some contestants, but not to others? It remains unclear, especially since Chris claims he really didn't do anything wrong here, other than temporarily misplace some (supposedly legitimate) paperwork or hire a disorganized manager. Chris was not my personal favorite on the show this year, but that's beside the point: Until this week he apparently was a favorite of the producers and judges, and therefore I feel he should have been allowed to remain in the competition. My heart goes out to the poor kid. A foster child who'd grown up in dozens of broken homes, Chris had one of the sobbier sob stories this season, and this was the big break he truly needed.
"It's like all my dreams, all my sweat, blood, my late nights...it's all been leading to this one moment. I just want to get picked up by a label or somebody," Chris lamented to AI Now. "I rightfully earned this! I want to get a shot at doing my music that I love to do. I want a shot at a record deal or something."
I wish Chris luck and hope he gets that shot someday. And I hope he is able to move on with his career and not dwell on what might have been.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/316970/idol-scandal-chris-golightly-does-not-go-quietly/
THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'LL USE THIS ICON. BEST OF LUCK ORPHAN. YOUR HARD KNOCK LIFE JUST KEEPS KNOCKIN YOU AROUND.
HERE IS AN UPDATE (AND AN EXCUSE TO POST THIS PIC THAT HAS CARDBOARD KRIS IN THE BACKGROUND)
'Idol' Scandal: Chris Golightly Does Not Go Quietly
Posted Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:21pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
This week the new top 24 American Idol semifinalists were announced, but all the attention has centered not on who actually made the cut, but on one conspicuously absent contestant who didn't. According to widely circulated top 24 spoiler lists leading up to Hollywood Week, Chris Golightly was supposed to be among the 12 chosen males, but on Wednesday night, his was the one name on those lists that didn't actually make it through. This omission was cause enough for gossip and conjecture in the Twitterverse/blogosphere, but Chris's easy-to-spot Sideshow Bob-haired presence in one of last night's top 24 Idol scenes (shown below in a screen capture by the Idol blog Joe's Place) created even more of a stir:
Obviously, something was not right in Idol Land, and speculation immediately ran rampant about whether Chris had been disqualified or had unexpectedly dropped out. It turned out the former scenario was the case, according to Fox reps, who told UsMagazine.com: "It has been determined that Chris Golightly is ineligible to continue in the competition...Tim Urban has replaced Golightly as part of the top 24."
However, this scandalous saga is a lot more complex than Fox has let on, and today Chris granted interviews to Joe's Place, USA Today, and AI Now telling his shocking side of the story. It's a truly heartbreaking bad-luck tale of a Hollywood dream crushed by the all-powerful Idol machine...or at least by a series of unfortunate events and the type of TV misunderstandings usually only seen on Three's Company reruns.
"This is not fair; I don't know what to do," Chris told USA Today. "Everything was fine when I made the top 24."
Chris explained to AI Now that he had a previous recording contract with a boy band called D.R.E.A.M. 5, but that it had expired in June 2009 (a month before his Idol audition) and that he'd informed producers of the contract at the time. Everything then proceeded seemingly without a hitch, but then last week the situation imploded, when he received a fateful phone call from American Idol/Fremantle Media telling him he'd "filled something out wrong where it asked if [I] was in a recording contract."
Producers apparently informed Chris that by answering "no," he had provided "false information." Chris told AI Now he eventually provided (initially misplaced) documentation proving that his boy band contract was no longer binding, but these documents were ignored by producers, and he was thus dropped from the show at the last minute, this week--but only after dismantling his entire life to come out to Hollywood and compete (he gave up his apartment and sold his car); doing top 24 photo shoots and interviews with the press; and even having an official "AI9" Twitter account set up by Idol in his name.
"It hurts, man. This hurts me so bad because I sleep in a garage. I have no money. I grew up in the foster-care system all my life, being abused and everything. Music has always been my outlet. This is messed up what they're doing," the three-time auditioner despondently told AI Now. Chris also told Joe's Place that it "killed him" to watch Wednesday night's top 24 reveal episode, in which his triumphant walk out of the Kodak Theatre was left on the cutting room floor, hastily replaced by Tim Urban's happy new reaction shot.
However, Fox reps told UsMagazine.com: "This is not about whether or not the contract in question was either active or inactive or valid. It's crucial you tell the truth in the audition process...That is why he's being disqualified." And in USA Today, Lawrence Franklin, head of Chris's old record label Dream Projects Entertainment, claimed Chris was still under a two-year contract when he auditioned for Idol, although Franklin also said he contacted 19 Entertainment asking for release documents so that Chris could legally compete. Such requests were ignored, according to Franklin.
"We did want Chris to succeed," Franklin told USA Today. "We want him to continue. I don't think it's fair how they're doing him."
Joe's Place additionally reports that Chris is now meeting with a high-powered attorney, and he just might have a good case here, in light of Idol's inconsistency regarding disqualifications. A couple weeks ago, it was rumored that Season 9 contestant Michael Lynche would be kicked off the show because his father violated Idol's confidentiality agreement by prematurely talking about his son's success to the press--but it appears Idol producers let that transgression slide, and actually allowed Michael to stay.
Inconsistent contestant disqualifications are nothing new on this show. For instance, Season 2 hopeful Frenchie Davis was let go over her leaked online topless photos, a controversial decision that oddly did not apply to Season 6 contestant Antonella Barba's similar racy MySpace pics (Antonella was not booted off). Season 7's Carly Smithson competed on the show despite her past ties to MCA Records back when judge Randy Jackson was employed there, but last season's Joanna Pacitti was disqualified for having similar industry connections. And then some singers with criminal records (like Season 4's Scott Savol, or this season's teenage bank robber Matt Lawrence) were permitted to compete, while others (like this season's early disqualified favorite, Danelle Hayes) were not.
Even more confusingly, Chris has been told he is ineligible to audition for Idol again, because he made the top 50 already--a decision that makes absolutely no sense considering that this season's Angela Martin and Lacey Brown were top 50 contestants last season, and Lacey actually made the top 24 this year.
So why do Idol's breach-of-contract rules seemingly apply to some contestants, but not to others? It remains unclear, especially since Chris claims he really didn't do anything wrong here, other than temporarily misplace some (supposedly legitimate) paperwork or hire a disorganized manager. Chris was not my personal favorite on the show this year, but that's beside the point: Until this week he apparently was a favorite of the producers and judges, and therefore I feel he should have been allowed to remain in the competition. My heart goes out to the poor kid. A foster child who'd grown up in dozens of broken homes, Chris had one of the sobbier sob stories this season, and this was the big break he truly needed.
"It's like all my dreams, all my sweat, blood, my late nights...it's all been leading to this one moment. I just want to get picked up by a label or somebody," Chris lamented to AI Now. "I rightfully earned this! I want to get a shot at doing my music that I love to do. I want a shot at a record deal or something."
I wish Chris luck and hope he gets that shot someday. And I hope he is able to move on with his career and not dwell on what might have been.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/316970/idol-scandal-chris-golightly-does-not-go-quietly/
THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'LL USE THIS ICON. BEST OF LUCK ORPHAN. YOUR HARD KNOCK LIFE JUST KEEPS KNOCKIN YOU AROUND.