I don’t know if it’s about being really tight and mutually supportive or if it’s about being a tad histrionic. I’m sure you got the e-mail, but maybe your Spam filter blocked it.
I don’t know about being classically trained but he speaks five languages, was an elementary school teacher and the only person I’ve ever seen make Oprah blush.
Oprah: Just exactly how long is your tongue anyway?
Gene: Long enought to make me your very best friend?
She had no response. Just turned beet red.
I can’t wait to see him.
Actually, the rule is that if you make it to the semifinals (televised rounds where the audience votes), you can’t come back. Scooter-girl can try out again. Past contestants who made it to Hollywood and tried out again include Matt Metzger (made it to final 48 season 2 and semifinals season 3), Lisa Leushner (made it to Hollywood season 2 and to semifinals season 3), and Kira, whose last name I don’t know but who told Simon he must be gay (made it to Hollywood both seasons 2 and 3 but not the semifinals). In addition, rumor has it that the following people who previously made it to Hollywood will be there again this season:
Bao Viet, Cassie LeBeau, and Marcus Butts (season 3), and Alden Wynn (season 2).
Actually Scooter Girl was not allowed to audition. She showed up in Orlando and was told she couldn’t.
The excuse they gave her was the fact that she was under contract already with the musical “Rent”, which would of course disqualify a contestant. But Nicole had not yet signed the contract for “Rent” knowing she was going to audition for AI4.
Many believe, Nicole was snubbed because of her part in the behind the scenes segment of Reality TV show that she appeared on. If I remember correctly…Nicole mentioned something about going to last year auditions and seeing many good singers. She realized that the only way she would have a chance at getting past the judges was to come up with a gimmick, so she came of up with the scooter and came up with the wacky personality.
Her idea was just to use it as a way to get in and then wow the judges (Randy, Simon and Paula), which worked to her favor, but Nigel the producer was not happy, because he thought he got played. Some bad singers are let in to the competiton on purpose for entertainment value and he thought Nicole was one of them.
So when Nicole showed up to audition in Orlando she was denied the right to audition. Another thing also changed this year was that the gimmicks that were allowed to past were also made to sing the exact song they sang and the exact way they sang it to get past to the final judges. Nigel learned that mistake from Nicole. So if you had planned to use a gimmick just to get by to the final judges and then tried and change your song…you were in trouble.
Thanks, EhhMon; I hadn’t known that.
This is particularly interesting. I don’t know if anyone remembers John Stevens’ audition last year, when he started out doing an impression of a drunk Dean Martin singing “That’s Amore”. Simon asked what his real voice was like, and he did a straightforward version of “The Way You Look Tonight” and was unanimously voted in.
I’ve since found out that in the second judging round, before the Big Three, those judges recommended that he start out doing Dino, figuring that if Simon gave him a second chance, okay, but if not, they’d still have a gimmicky audition to broadcast. Hm.
Where do you find out these things?
Some of the idol participents had their own websites and documented their experiecences. Nicole had her own up as well, it was more of a blog, but hasn’t been up since she tried to audition in Orlando.
Also other contestants who had tried to get thru using a gimmick. they had the same idea as nicole, but were eliminated when they appeared in front of the three judges, when they tried to change their song. not eliminated by randy, paula or simon, but by Nigel.
See? That’s why the phone-tree system is still in use.
Hell yes. That is hilarious. Just thinking about that tongue, oh my. 
And really, if anyone knows about being an American Idol and making it big, Gene would be a good guy to ask. KISS is a brand name, and basically, the music is really the least of it, the marketing is the real genius.
I’d rather hear Gene bust out a tune than any of the winners thus far. But of course, I don’t care for the Celine Dion stylings that most of them use.