Controversy over Top Chef’s frozen scallops
Frozen scallops are no laughing matter in the culinary world. On last week’s Top Chef, contestant Spike Mendelsohn was sent home after using frozen scallops in the Elimination Challenge. Spike had the poor taste to blame guest judge Rick Tramonto for having the questionable items in his restaurant’s walk-in freezer. This defense failed to save Spike, and now all of the parties involved are doing serious damage control. According to Colicchio and Tramonto, the scallops were provided by Top Chef’s own supplier and did not come from Tramonto’s Steak and Seafood.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Rick Tramonto implied that the show’s producers deliberately planted the scallops in the freezer “to see…who would use them or not.” Spike was annoyed that the scallops were there at all, and called the situation “trickery at its best” in his exit interview.
Tom Colicchio spoke up for Tramonto in his Top Chef blog, and blamed Spike for choosing the scallops in the first place. As the Quickfire Challenge winner, Spike had first pick of anything in the freezer (which included fresh items) and took frozen seafood. Colicchio failed to mention if the scallops were planted as a test, however. What I don’t understand is why Top Chef supplies its contestants with items that they don’t want them to use. If the producers aren’t setting the chefs up to make mistakes, why give them substandard ingredients? To use Colicchio’s own words, “it’s nearly impossible to turn a mediocre ingredient into something tremendous, even if you cook it well.” I would have liked more of an explanation about this.
That said, Spike is responsible for his own downfall. He had first pick and knew that cooking with frozen scallops would be difficult. Although he had a right to complain about the frozen scallops’ presence in the freezer, it was petty to embarrass the guest judge in an attempt to save himself from elimination. As much as I hate grouchy Lisa, Spike deserved to go home last week.
Do you think Spike got a fair shake, or is the show at fault for providing the chefs with frozen ingredients?
[via TiFaux]
AI OD: Congratulations to David Cook
It seems that even after winning American Idol’s seventh season, David Cook still expected David Archuleta to have won the whole thing. in the exit interview with David Cook, he describes the twelve million votes he won by as a “discrepancy” and said he “thought Archie was a little bit ahead” of him.
He thanks the show for allowing him to grow as an artist, and shrink at the waistline. “I’ve lost probably about 10 to 15 pounds. There was definitely a progression for me on this show. Early on … the vocal coach really hit home for me … Going into this, I had built up a wall, sort of a protective barrier between me and the audience. She forced me to break that down and I think it helped for my performances.” I can agree that there was something keeping him from standing out in those early weeks as he came to later.
I’m sure much will be said, or at least should be said, about the story that David keeps reiterating about how he came to audition for the show in the first place. He’d initially come only in support of his younger brother, who was auditioning. Then, as he explains, “Standing in line … a producer comes by and interviews my brother and then turns to me. I said, ’I’m not auditioning’ and he’s like, ’Well you are now.’” Essentially, Cook was recruited onto the show, and I for one would like to know more about this. Had the producer ever heard him sing or did they just like his look? Does this make him the first Top 24 contestant who’d never intended to audition in the first place? Certainly I’d think he’s the first winner. Does it matter?
Of his pending album, Cook said, “It will probably be a rock record but I think that’s a pretty vague generalization. I just want to make a record that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, … a record that’s going to stand out on its own, long after I’m gone. If I can do that, then I’m set. I’m ready to get back into the creative process of writing songs and basically baring my soul on these records.” In fact, Cook isn’t even concerned necessarily about tailoring an album for commercial success. “Even if it doesn’t do well commercially,” he explained,” as long as I can put out a record that I’m proud of, that’s the goal. Hopefully … the success with follow.”
The question that stands now is will Dave have an epic battle with the producers like Bo Bice did when he tried to make a real rock album that suited his songwriting style and the music he loved; a battle which he ultimately lost leading to the sub-par The Real Thing, or will they allow his muse to direct the album. I think the lesson of Chris Daughtry’s success, and the success of Jordin Sparks under the Jive label has finally taught them that the kind of musician America fell in love with on the show is the kind of musician they should find on those contestant’s albums. Sad that it took so many years for them to get there. But I think Cookie will benefit from their growth and might even put out a true David Cook album right out of the gate.
HIS AMERICAN IDOL JOURNEY IN VIDEOS
Winning Moment and performing Idol single “Time of My Life”
Top 2 (3) - “The World I Know,” Collective Soul
Top 2 (2) - “Dream Big,” Emily Shackleton (writer)
Top 2 (1) - “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” U2
Top 3 (3) - “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Aerosmith
Top 3 (2) - “Dare You to Move,” Switchfoot
Top 3 (1) - “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” Roberta Flack
Top 4 (2) - “Baba O’Riley,” The Who
Top 4 (1) - “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran
Top 5 (2) - “All I Really Need Is You,” Neil Diamond
Top 5 (1) - “I’m Alive,” Neil Diamond
Top 6 - “The Music of the Night,” The Phantom of the Opera
Top 7 - “Always Be My Baby,” Mariah Carey
Top 8 - “Innocent,” Our Lady Peace
Top 9 - “Little Sparrow,” Dolly Parton
Top 10 - “Billie Jean,” Michael Jackson
Top 11 - “Day Tripper,” The Beatles
Top 12 - “Eleanor Rigby,” The Beatles
Top 16 - “Hello,” Lionel Richie
Top 20 - “All Right Now,” Free
Top 24 - “Happy Together,” The Turtles
Hollywood week:
Initial audition:
IDOL SEASON 7 FAREWELLS
#2 - David Archuleta
#3 - Syesha Mercado
#4 - Jason Castro
#5 - Brooke White
#6 - Carly Smithson
#7 - Kristy Lee Cook
#8 - Michael Johns
#9 - Ramiele Malubay
#10 - Chikezie
#11 - Amanda Overmyer
#12 - David Hernandez
#13 - Danny Noriega
#14 - Asia’h Epperson
#15 - Luke Menard
#16 - Kady Malloy
#17 - Robbie Carrico
#18 - Alaina Whitaker
#19 - Alexandrea Lushington
#20 - Jason Yeager
#21 - Colton Berry
#22 - Joanne Borgella
#23 - Amy Davis
#24 - Garrett Haley
AI OD: A farewell to David Archuleta
Poor Archie, he fell victim to a Clarkson-style assault. In Season One of American Idol, Justin Guarini was picked as the early favorite to run all the way to the finals and win the whole thing. Meanwhile, nobody even noticed the nondescript little waitress from Texas in there midst until Kelly Clarkson just kept growing and growing through the competition and ran away with the whole thing.
Sure, David Cook was good, but virtually nobody saw him as an early favorite to take the title, and the ’50s theme in week one didn’t do anything to light him up. Then Archuleta let loose with “Imagine” the following week and pretty much sealed the deal as the front-runner. He even encored with the number in the finale, knowing that it had been his season’s high point.
In the exit interview with David Archuleta, he said that Cook “just proved week after week that he deserved to be the ’American Idol’ … My main priority wasn’t to win the competition … just to do my best. We both gave it our all. To make it to the top two, I don’t think there’s any reason to be disappointed with that.”
As for specific future plans, David was quick to say, “I’d like to keep trying to do school while I work on music … I think school is really important. It was my main priority before this, because I wasn’t sure if I was going to get anywhere with music. Even if music does turn out to go somewhere for me, you’ll never know how long it can last so I just want to have something that can back me up on that. I’m still looking at options and careers I’d be interested in the future.” It’s actually refreshing and a bit surprising to hear someone who’s just wowed the nation with his singing and come in second on Idol to say that he’s still looking at various career options and isn’t sure how long a music career can last.
But then again, when you look at the struggles some Idol alumni have had in keeping a career afloat, it’s a very intelligent thing to say. At seventeen years old, Archie is showing that he’s kept some wits about him in all the chaos of the show. So if singing doesn’t work out, what then? “Lately I find the ear/nose/throat doctor really interesting. It would take a lot of education but it’s something that really interests me. It’s something that helps people who’ve had the same problems as me. I’ve had so many issues with that stuff so it would be great to study into that more and be able to help out with all those problems.” Maybe someday, if music doesn’t work out, it’ll be Dr. Archuleta helping you out with your nasty ear infection.
As for future plans musically and romantically (David is single) he said, “I so do not want to deal with the drama [of a relationship] right now. I just want to focus on music.” I love this answer as he goes on to explain how dramatic it is when his friends are devastated at relationships ending. He feels, like most of us who are older do, that they’re just teenagers. “You’re 17!,” he thinks in those situations. “What are you talking about?,” he says. I like how down to earth Archuleta is, and I think that grounding will help him in the industry.
As for those allegations against Papa Archuleta, David reiterated his earlier statements, avoiding specific examples except for one about him being denied water, and just praising his familial support system. It’s an incredibly awkward position to put a kid that age in. Even if he feels his dad is heavy-handed at times, he has to live under his roof and abide by his rules still so what is he supposed to say. “Yeah, my Dad’s a dick. Man, I hate him … Okay, are you ready to drive me home, Dad?” Whatever’s going on there, David seems to be a great kid with smarts and realistic expectations of the industry. That’s better than most aspiring musicians twice his age, so he should do just fine in whatever he winds up doing.
DAVID’S AMERICAN IDOL JOURNEY IN VIDEOS:
Finale - “Apologize,” One Republic (performed by David Archuleta & One Republic)
Top 2 (3) - “Imagine,” John Lennon (encore)
Top 2 (2) - “In This Moment,” Ryan Gillmor (writer)
Top 2 (1) - “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” Elton John
Top 3 (3) - “Longer,” Dan Fogelberg
Top 3 (2) - With You,” Chris Brown
Top 3 (1) - “And So It Goes,” Billy Joel
Top 4 (2) - “Love Me Tender,” Elvis Presley
Top 4 (1) - “Stand By Me,” Ben E. King
Top 5 (2) - “America,” Neil Diamond
Top 5 (1) - “Sweet Caroline,” Neil Diamond
Top 6 - “Think of Me,” The Phantom of the Opera
Top 7 - “When You Believe,” Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston
Top 8 - “Angels,” Robbie Williams
Top 9 - “Smoky Mountain Memories,” Dolly Parton
Top 10 - “You’re the Voice,” John Farnham
Top 11 - “The Long and Winding Road,” The Beatles
Top 12 - “We Can Work It Out,” The Beatles
Top 16 - “Another Day in Paradise,” Phil Collins
Top 20 - “Imagine,” John Lennon
Top 24 - “Shop Around,” The Miracles
Hollywood week
Initial audition:
IDOL SEASON 7 FAREWELLS
#3 - Syesha Mercado
#4 - Jason Castro
#5 - Brooke White
#6 - Carly Smithson
#7 - Kristy Lee Cook
#8 - Michael Johns
#9 - Ramiele Malubay
#10 - Chikezie
#11 - Amanda Overmyer
#12 - David Hernandez
#13 - Danny Noriega
#14 - Asia’h Epperson
#15 - Luke Menard
#16 - Kady Malloy
#17 - Robbie Carrico
#18 - Alaina Whitaker
#19 - Alexandrea Lushington
#20 - Jason Yeager
#21 - Colton Berry
#22 - Joanne Borgella
#23 - Amy Davis
#24 - Garrett Haley
AI OD: A farewell to Syesha Mercado
She blew us all away with her tenacity and grace, but in the end she was facing forces of popularity that she just couldn’t touch. Much like Kimberly Locke had to accept her fate in light of the inevitability of a Ruben-Clay finale in Season Two, I think Syesha knew the writing was on the wall as we careened toward next week’s David-David collision.
You’ve got to give her credit, though, for not going down without a fight (though one could argue she didn’t put up much of one on her last night in the competition). These past several weeks have seen a blooming of talent and presence that have been nothing short of astounding. Perhaps not since Season One’s Kelly Clarkson have we had a contestant who kind of muddle around the middle of the pack for awhile and then just started to shoot for the stars (though I can’t say they’re in the same class vocally–sorry, Sy). In Syesha Mercado’s exit interview she even stated that she considers her Top 3 finish a success.
She made peace with her inevitable elimination on Tuesday night. “I got too many bad comments from the judges to keep me there,” she said, “And at this point in the game you can’t have had too many bad comments to be [in the finals]. I made peace with it. I couldn’t be happier right now.” It kind of makes you wonder if Syesha would have been able to win The One: Making a Music Star. Considering ABC just dropped the show mid-run without ever declaring a winner, she just might have made it without the two Davids in her way.
Her father, who’s been struggling with addiction most of Syesha’s life, has been inspired to try and stay clean and sober through her successes and achievements week after week on American Idol. Syesha is determined to help her dad keep up this great streak. While she is engaged, she’s not yet ready to put a date out for a wedding, but whoever he is, he’s one lucky man.
As for future plans she is willing to declare, she’s perfectly ready to jump into the studio and record an album in the style of Diary of Alicia Keys or Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics. But she also has those Broadway aspirations so many have said she’d be perfect for, as well as feature film ambitions (hey, she’s done commercials so she’s seasoned). She’d also like to start a charitable foundation for something and even open a restaurant.
Earlier in the interview, she mentioned possibly writing a book about her father’s struggles as well, so I guess maybe she covered everything. Talk show? How about a theme park? Dolly Parton has one. And why not become a comic book superheroine while you’re at it, Syesha. You’ve got the figure for it. You could have the superpower of elasticity. No matter the odds, you always seem to bounce right back into the thick of things. With her brains, talent and beauty I don’t predict any problem for Ms. Mercado in making her mark on the entertainment world.
Her Journey in Videos (with some bonuses at the end):
Syesha eliminated and swan song:
Top 3 (producer’s choice) - Gia Farrell, “Hit Me Up”:
Top 3 (contestant’s choice) - Peggy Lee, “Fever”:
Top 3 (judge’s choice–Randy Jackson) - Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You”:
Top 4 - Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”:
Top 4 - Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Proud Mary”:
Top 5 - Neil Diamond, “Thank the Lord for the Night Time”
Top 5 - Neil Diamond, “Hello Again”
Top 6 - Starlight Express, “One Rock & Roll Too Many”
Top 7 - Mariah Carey, “Vanishing”
Top 8 - Fantasia, “I Believe”
Top 9 - Dolly Parton, “I Will Always Love You”
Top 10 - Stephanie Mills, “If I Were Your Woman”
Top 11 - The Beatles, “Yesterday”
Top 12 - The Beatles, “Got to Get Your Into My Life”
Top 16 - Whitney Houston, “Saving All My Love for You”
Top 20 - Billy Paul, “Me and Mr(s). Jones”
Top 24 - The Nashville Teens, “Tobacco Road”
Hollywood Week:
Initial audition:
Check it out, Syesha had experience doing Ford commercials before Idol:
Syesha don’t need no stupid phone card:
I don’t remember the KFC Wrap Star in my area!:
Here’s a very strange Florida commercial showing some Syesha ’tude we’ll say farewell on:
IDOL SEASON 7 FAREWELLS
#4 - Jason Castro
#5 - Brooke White
#6 - Carly Smithson
#7 - Kristy Lee Cook
#8 - Michael Johns
#9 - Ramiele Malubay
#10 - Chikezie
#11 - Amanda Overmyer
#12 - David Hernandez
#13 - Danny Noriega
#14 - Asia’h Epperson
#15 - Luke Menard
#16 - Kady Malloy
#17 - Robbie Carrico
#18 - Alaina Whitaker
#19 - Alexandrea Lushington
#20 - Jason Yeager
#21 - Colton Berry
#22 - Joanne Borgella
#23 - Amy Davis
#24 - Garrett Haley