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Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jennifer Hudson has claimed her first #1 hit on a Billboard chart. Her version of And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going) tops the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in its seventh week.
According to Billboard columnist Fred Bronson, Hudson claims the 112th #1 hit for the Idol franchise, but is the first to top this particular chart. Prior to Hudson’s #1 achievement, the highest an Idol contestant could muster was #5, with Kelly Clarkson’s Walk Away in May 2006.
Also, Hudson trumps Jennifer Holliday, the original Effie White, at least on the Club Play chart. Holliday’s version – actually a version by Rosabel featuring her vocals – peaked at #6 in 2001.
Yet another feather in Hudson’s sequined cap. Congrats, Jennifer!
For this week’s Thursday Thirteen (Fridays in Manila), I write down 13 reasons why American Idol finalist Sanjaya Malakar survived to make the next round of American Idol.
13. Sanjdance dances a heckuva lot better than Sundance.
12. Sanjaya kept the lyrics to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” in his hair – and as a result, didn’t forget the lyrics, unlike Brandon, Stephanie, and Haley.
11. We’re keeping him around so he can go on tour and sing Gwen Stefani songs.
10. He speaks to the little child in all of us… or he is the little child we want to speak to.
9. Somewhere out there, the spirit of Scott Savol is chanting a litany of encouragement.
8. There is magic in that Malakar hair.
7. Howard Stern is supporting him. Heavens!
6. Bollywood is gearing up for major promotional pushes.
5. VoteForTheWorst.com is sending out novenas and rosary crusades.
4. Sanjaya Malakar appeals to teenybopper girls, who think they can take him home to Momma.
3. Corbin Bleu’s hair needs some competition.
2. Michael Jackson sees himself in Sanjaya, and is bankrolling the young singer’s vote brigade.
And the number one reason why Sanjaya Malakar is still in the running:
1. Diana Ross saw herself in Sanjaya, and is bankrolling the young singer’s vote brigade!
Note: I do not dislike Sanjaya, nor do I think he deserves all the vitriol on the Internet that he’s getting. He wasn’t the worst performer last night. I just think it’s interesting that this kid continues to keep hanging on… oh, wait, that’s Blake Lewis’ line.
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
Fresh on the heels of my personal favorites for Idol’s best performances is my Top 10 least favorite American Idol (semifinals or finals) performances, inspired by this article. While everyone is entitled to her/his opinion, especially on this blog, I respectfully ask that, if you disagree, please do so in a relatively civilized way, especially since my reasons for selecting the 10 songs below are more based on performance, not a dislike for the singer. And, oh, I hadn’t seen every episode of Seasons 1 and 2, which explains the lack of performers for those two seasons. I heard Ryan Starr was atrocious. Read the rest of this entry »
After reading MSN’s Top 10 American Idol performances of all time, Cathy and I got to talking about our Top 10 favorite American Idol performances.
She’s making her list, and I’ve made mine. See how different my choices are from MSN’s.
Oh, and feel free to post some of your favorite AI moments directly in the Comments, or leave a link to your blog where you posted it. 🙂
ONE. Comelec disqualifies gay political party. Jove Francisco, Jher, and Manuel Quezon III all weigh in on the issue.
Ganns thinks:
1) The Comelec must be blind to deny the influence of LGBT Filipinos on the nation, especially, with the sheer number of gay persons in media, government, and the rest of the sectors of society, so their grounds for disqualification are terribly inadequate. Abalos’ comments, in particular, are grossly offensive.
2) Precisely because LGBT Filipinos are influential in many sectors of society, one may ask, and a good number are, in fact, well-treated, if not revered, by society, can LGBT Filipinos be considered a marginalized group that requires party-list representation and a significant overhaul of the laws regarding certain civil liberties to which LGBT Filipinos are currently not entitled? If the logic behind granting them a party-list slot is because they are marginalized, i.e., discriminated against or at a disadvantage against the majority, shouldn’t most other sub-sectors be granted party-list opportunities?
Admittedly, gays are mistreated, but then again, all people are, in one way or the other, marginalized. Sexual orientation is just one facet of a person’s total identity, after all. For instance, there are no political parties representing me as a fat person (and believe me, we ARE marginalized, with everything from clothes to airline seats). I am just as discriminated against and laughed at as an obese Filipino as the rich gay musician next to me. Women and the differently abled and the urban poor and drug addicts have their party list representatives; why shouldn’t LBGT Filipinos and fat Filipinos?
TWO. Antonella Barba is lucky, says former Idol contestant. Frenchie Davis, a plus-sized Afro-American singer from American Idol’s second season, is hinting at racial discrimination in the case of the kid-gloved handling of season six contestant Antonella Barba, whose racy pictures online have not merited her a disqualification. Davis was disqualified after photos of her posing topless for an Internet site were discovered.
Ganns thinks: While Barba’s photographs are not risque as Davis’, the principle behind them is sound, and Barba should be disqualified. If an Idol contestant is found to have violated the policies of the Idol franchise, s/he should be disqualified. Period. Think Corey Clark, the Brittenaum (sp) twins, Frenchie Davis. When you let one slip through – like Bo Bice’s Smoking Gun expose, for instance – that could be a problem. Scott Savol and Sundance Head were up front and open about their run-ins with the law, and if the Idol franchise lets ’em through, great. But if you pull one past Idol management, meh, boot you out. Barba’s not that great a singer anyway. Give her slot to Leslie Hunt so she can scat horrifyingly again. LOL
THREE. Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson has been given a day of her own!
Ganns thinks: Cathy and I just watched Dreamgirls and were blown away. Sure, many folks didn’t like it. But we did. Cathy cried several times, and I was riveted – a heckuva lot more than at, say, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, or Chicago, three other musicals-gone-silver-screen.
Hudson was luminous and popped off that stage. Beyonce was beautiful and sang – SANG! – her butt off just as greatly. A movie I’d watch again and again.
Wow, I just realized all three issues have something to do with fat. Man, I’m hungry.
The Ganns Guide 