I think they made a mistake with Frenchie. Why not try to rectify that? Heck you could even turn all this into some great PR. Bring Frenchie back (not as a contestant, obviously) and let the world know you are willing to back your contestants despite mistakes they may have made in the past.
I also get the title of the show is American Idol, and I guess people have a certain image of what an American Idol should be. It’s just a body though, I don’t get it. This is almost as stupid as the whole Janet Jackson wardrobe thing.
It may be silly but the show already set the precedent with Frenchie. Again if they don’t kick her off because of the pics and find some technicality to keep her on like “she didn’t know the pics would end up on the internet” then they are indeed hypocrits.
As for letting her be voted off due to her own lack of talent, I think you may underestimate the power of “Vote For The Worst”. I believe she was their female pick and she could possibly stick around a lot longer than necessary because of that.
You might be right, but you have to respect whatever idiots the general public decide to put through. I’m not crazy about it, but the producers decided to put the fate of the contestants in the hands of the general public.
Regarding Frenchie, I just happen to think they set a stupid-assed precedent that they should endeavor to fix. I know it’ll be touchy, that is exactly why they need to admit they made a stupid mistake with her. Now that I type that, there ain’t no way they’ll admit a mistake, so as I see it there is no easy way out of this for American Idol.
They can’t ever make it up to Frenchie. Fortunately, she now has a great career on Broadway and she doesn’t need Idol or anything they could offer her. How would giving someone with less talent and more offensive pics on the web in any way rectify what happened to Frenchie? Okay, sure they can say they have decided to be more tolerant of past mistakes lest they miss out on a great talent like Frenchie again, but that doesn’t really rectify what was done to Frenchie.
They have made a point to let contestants go with certain criminal histories, but others get in. I’m not sure what their exact guidelines are on what criminal activites are okay, perhaps misdemenors are okay, felonies are not? So they have set a precedent for a having a sliding scale on what gets a pass and what doesn’t. But since they have already set the online nudity scale with Frenchie, I still feel that someone who did much more than that shouldn’t get a pass.
Re: Janet Jackson. That whole thing was ridiculous and I have nothing against nudity. However, that has nothing to do with this, my point is that AI has set the precedent for what they feel their moral requirements are for their contestants and if they give Antonella a chance just because she’s this pretty piece of fluff well, it just makes them look like even bigger hypocrits than they are.
You’re right about the precedent they set. No question.
It just boils down for me to the fact that this is a stupid precedent and a dangerous one they need to find their way out of however they can. Knowing you can make your way out from under a mistake is a good thing. You’re probably right, however, that for their sake they do have to kick Antonella out.
It’s hypocritical if they don’t but it is, as well, if they do (from a different perspective).
A copyright holder can not declare who can and can not record a song, except that they get the right to choose who records and releases it the first time ever.
If you record a song (and AI is a recorded program) without prior permission of the copyright holder, you have to pay what’s called a “mechanical license fee”, which is almost always more expensive than whatever you might work out ahead of time.
So I assume AI arranges royalties for a slew of songs before the season starts, since there might not be time to work out a royalty deal week after week. I’m sure they have to pay mechanical license fees for a lot of random songs the auditioners come in with.
Plus, I’m sure a lot of deals are struck with large music publishing companies, so that large royalties are paid on the tunes those companies hold copyrights for. Hence the limited song selection.
If I held a copyright to a song likely to be used on AI, knowing that it’s television’s most popular program, and advertising rates are set accordingly, you can bet I’d charge plenty in royalties for use of my song.
I’m just curious, what’s your background in music? Are you a singer or performer? I’m not asking to be snarky, I’m asking out of genuine curiosity as I’ve noticed that in the past few seasons, you always go squarely against the clear majority of posters and judges with your opinions and speak with such authority. So, are you basing your opinions on any technical training or is it just a lay opinion?
I thought an author could also invoke ‘moral rights’ to prevent unethical uses of his material. For instance, Carly Simon could stop the KKK from using ‘anticipation’ as the theme song for a lynching.
I don’t know how far that extends, and I imagine it’s a judgement call. Or I could be completely off base.
I’m on thin ice here, since it appears I was wrong, or at least off base, about royalties and clearance. But here goes, and if I’m wrong again, don’t hit me. It’s my understanding that you can’t have an active criminal charge. Bo Bice (possession) and Scott Savol (domestic abuse) in season 4 both had arrest records, but their cases were over and done with, so they were okay. The Brittenum twins last year, and Ashyn Carr and the “good cousin” (forgot his name already) this year, all had warrants outstanding, so they were dismissed. Corey Clark also had a warrant outstanding, but he never informed the producers of this until, oops, by the way, I have to go to court about this disturbing-the-peace thing. So he was doubly wrong: first for lying by omission, and second for neglecting to mention that his legal obligations would interfere with his committment to AI.
As far as I know, there’s nothing illegal about Antonella’s photos. If she was of age, and the guy was of age, and the photos were on MySpace or something she didn’t get paid for, then she should be in the clear. I’m not sure whether Frenchie’s actions were illegal, or if the producers created a loophole so they could claim they were dismissing her for reasons of illegality when they really objected to immorality. If they did, then they were wrong then and hypocritical now. But if they really can’t prove illegality with Antonella, then it’s up to the viewers to decide, the same way it was up to them to decide if Scott throwing a phone at his girlfriend was forgivable or not.
And really, the way people are drooling over Antonella (I don’t see it! Really, I don’t! Sabrina is hotter! Jordin is hotter! Heck, Lakisha is hotter!), this almost gives her an unfair advantage. Perhaps they should dismiss her on those grounds!
On the subject of LaKisha is hotter, I completely agree, Rilchiam. Once her hair gets frizzed out and she is dressed appropriately, complete with diva eyelashes and makeup, it’s going to be Aretha all over again. Smokin’!
On further reflection, Antonella might have run afoul of the rules after all.
If it’s standard to ask about arrests and convictions, it might also be standard now, post-Frenchie, to ask about appearances in adult films or on adult websites. That brings the question of whether Antonella was asked if any such photos were circulating, and if so how did she answer. And furthermore, is she the one who posted them on the net? As others have speculated, it wouldn’t surprise me if that so-called best friend is the one who posted these, just recently, while Antonella had been thinking they’d never be seen by anyone except the photographer and herself.
Absent a “have you ever…” clause, though, I’m still on the side of “Leave it to the voters.” I’m disgusted by the war-memorial photos, if that’s where they were taken, but if others’ opinions don’t match mine, and they still want to vote for her, that’s how it is.
