Sunday, March 2, 2008

Ryan Continues His World Takeover


My friend on vacation in California told me she took a picture of Ryan Seacrest’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for me.

That’s not the same as giving him my phone number, but oh well.

Besides, I’m not sure when he’d have time to call me since he’s so busy trying to take over the world…

His latest endeavor is taking his L.A. morning radio show across the country through a syndication deal. The five-hour show will be condensed to three and Ryan will tape localized comments for each market. Stations could use the show for middays and afternoons.

The unique thing about this deal is that Ryan will own and control a portion of the show’s advertising time, meaning he will actually do the selling himself. The hope is that he can bring in some of the national advertisers he already works with, including Coca-Cola and Procter and Gamble.

On Oscar weekend, Ryan wined and dines Coca-Cola execs at his home with a dinner cooked by Wolfgang Puck.

Wow! I’d be in…

Ryan says eventually he may move his show to afternoons or evenings because he doesn’t know if he can stick to the “grueling” morning schedule…

Ryan will also re-launch RyanSeacrest.com, where key moments from the show will be streamed on the Internet, allowing product placement (a la the “Idol” judges’ Coke cups). The show will originate from the E! studios.

This new project comes in addition to his duties as host of “American Top 40,” his hosting duties for E! and his projects with Ryan Seacrest Productions, including “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and that blasted Denise Richards reality show.

Plus, there’s that little thing called “American Idol”…

On second thought, Ryan, surely you could squeeze in just a second for me. I won’t talk long…

TMZ Digs Up the Dirt on Amanda and Robbie

“Idol” contestants used to fear “The Smoking Gun” website. Now it’s all about TMZ…

The website, with the help of the “National Enquirer,” reports that Amanda Overmyer pleaded guilty to DUI in October 2006. She received a suspended sentence of 60 days and was placed on 180 days probabion, which ended in August 2007…

And as I told you Thursday night, TMZ is also reporting that Robbie Carrico’s rocker hairstyle was actually a wig. The website said that Robbie never talked about the hairpieces and that it made production members “feel like it’s the blonde elephant in the room.”

Maybe Robbie was a fake after all…

Michael’s Real Name


Here’s a little fact about Michael Johns…

His real name is Michael Lee, but when he was with his band, The Rising, he went by Michael Lee Johns.

So what’s the story?

Michael stopped talking to his real father when he was 15. So, he wanted to get rid of his last name, Lee, and honor his stepfather, John. Since Michael’s middle name is John, he made his last name Johns to reflect the two Johns…

The “HSM” Connection


Two members of the top 24 have a connection to KayCee Stroh, who played Martha in both “High School Musical” movies…

KayCee and David Archuleta performed together at a benefit in Park City, Utah a few years ago. She was 18 and he was 12 and she says she was “blown away” by him.

KayCee also had a connection with Joanne Borgella since they both modeled for Torrid, a plus-size clothing line. Joanna had to suspend her modeling after joining “Idol”…

Speaking of “HSM,” Zac Efron is a huge fan and has been in the audience for several episodes in past seasons.

Zac told “MTV” he admires the way the contestants handle their instant celebrity status…

Josiah Moves On


For those of you who were concerned for Josiah Lemming, don’t be. He’s going to be just fine…

Josiah has posted a message on his MySpace page that says he’s meeting with record labels this month with the goal of getting an album out before summer so he can do a summer tour.

Okay, I said he was going to be fine. I didn’t say he was realistic…

As for why he was eliminated, Josiah told “People” he blames the producers. “I think all the judges were in my corner…The producers were the ones who didn’t want me on the show…[Producers] like to put [contestants] in whatever genre they choose [and] I’m a very genre-specific singer…They want to mold [you] and have creative control. And I think they could tell from the get-go that I wasn’t going to be that person.

Okay, maybe delusional is more like it. I believe the judges saw how difficult and obnoxious he could be and that’s why they didn’t let him through. If he was that dismissive of the band in the auditions (He told “People” they never got along.), imagine what he would’ve been like during these theme weeks…

In case you’re wondering, Josiah has moved back home with his parents in Knoxsville, Tennessee. In her blog, Josiah's mom, Sharon, said Josiah left home looking for opportunities in music, but his family did not know he was living in his car until a week before the show...

Paula Returns to the Charts


Paula Abdul’s “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 this week at #80. It’s her first chart appearance since 1995.

Meanwhile, “OK!” is reporting that Paula is unhappy with the song’s video and that if Randy wasn’t involved, she would say something.

Personally, I don’t think Paula has anything to complain about, but if it’s true, she’s not the only one who doesn’t like it. MTV told “OK!” they currently have no plans to play the video.

I wasn’t aware that MTV played any videos…

You know I think the song and video both rock, so I’m hoping big things for both of them…

Jordin Comes Up for “No Air”

Jordin Sparks has another Top 20 hit on her hands, but I’d look for it to go much higher…

“No Air,” her duet with Chris Brown, is this week’s top digital gainer on the Billboard Hot 100, moving it to #13. The track sold 73,000 downloads this week.

You can see the video for “No Air” here. It’s a HUGE improvement over “Tattoo.” I love them singing to each other in silhouette and they have tons of chemistry together…