I just saw Kellie Pickler on The Tonight Show, she was talking to a bunch of the players from both teams at the Superbowl. She was hilarious. She was clever, funny and cute. I have to wonder if that was all her or if she was fed lines. I know it’s been a couple years since her Idol stint and she could have wised up in that time but if that was all her then for me it lends credence to the theory that her “dumb hick” act during American Idol was just that, an act.
But anyway, I found her a lot less annoying than when she was on Idol. And good for her for still having a career two years after Idol.
I didn’t see the segment you are referring to, but I think it’s more likely that she 1) has grown up a little and matured, and 2) most of the segments on American Idol where she looked especially ditsy were probably heavily edited to give that impression. The idea that she was savvy enough to contrive and act that persona for publicities sake seems like a bit of a stretch from an amateur who had no idea if she’d even be selected for the show.
The Pickler isn’t stupid at all. No, she isn’t book smart, but she’s as sharp as a tack when it comes to charisma, self-promotion, and (for want of a better word) networking. There’s lots of pretty blondes around who can sing okay, but she’s the one clever enough to project a persona that got her on TV.
Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say. I still don’t think she could hold her own on Jeooardy or was ever that totally clueless about what she was saying on Idol but I think she has refined her technique some in the past couple years. I thought she was pretty quick-witted during her piece on Leno and if she didn’t have anything witty or funny she just covered with being cute as a bug.
Still not a fan but I don’t find her as annoying as I used to.
She made a joke about a player wearing the number 69. She made a joke about a player whose name was “Gay.” How quick a wit do you have to be in junior high?
And remember she was there for hours and they edited the entire time down to a few minutes. Those were the best jokes they could find.
Cute? Sorta. Quick-witted? Not really. Smart? No evidence.
Relying on highly edited television footage for any information at all is a fool’s game. Thinking that what you see of a celebrity on television has anything to do with what they’re truly like is futile.
I don’t know anything about Kellie Pickler. I saw her last night. I still don’t know anything about Kellie Pickler. I never will, either.
Well, I never said smart, just that she wasn’t the dumb hick she has come off as in the past. And yeah, gay jokes and 69 jokes may not be all the witty but not that many people could think on their feet either. I don’t think she could be the dumb hick that she pretends to be and still be able to be funny and engaging. Acting just plain dumb isn’t funny or entertaining and that’s what she used to do on Idol. Frankly, I don’t think Jay Leno could have come up with better without advance help from writers. In fact his monologues have been terrible and painful since the writer’s strike (more so than usual), perhaps it was just that Kellie was much more funny in comparison to Jay that made her seem that much more impressive.
I’m not saying it was the best smartest performance ever just that I was pleasantly surprised that she was actually entertaining and not annoying as I have found her in the past.
I disagree about Leno’s monologs, since I find that they’ve held up remarkably well.
But “not many people could think on their feet”? Please. You talk into a microphone for several hours and any editor worth the salary can make you look as good - or as bad - as desired.