While the rest of us are anxiously watching the clock in the hours leading up to elimination night on "American Idol," some lucky fans are checking out the action firsthand. MTV News and Docs VP Laura Hill was one of those people last night.
I'm not going to say anything about the show itself because presumably if you're reading this you've already seen it and have your own take on things, but more important, Cantiello is only about a 1000% better than me at recounting all things "Idol." I'm just an interloper. I've worked on hundreds of shoots in my career, but I still find it fascinating to be behind the scenes of one. Here's how it went:
No problems walking onto the lot — a quick bag check and a pass through the metal detector. There are about 300 people waiting in line. There are those with wristbands (VIPs), those with soft patches (pit people) and those with tickets (general-audience schlubs like us). The ticket is beautiful — the likes of which we at MTV can't spend that kind of money on, even for the VMAs, but that's the difference between basic cable and a network show with high ratings and some heavy-hitter sponsors. Sigh.
After the jump: The show, way too much Natasha Bedingfield, and Laura's newfound TiVo appreciation.
The people in line are an interesting bunch — LOTS of nose jobs to look at. (I can lob that grenade because it takes one to know one!) Then there are the people who are clearly non-Los Angeleans trying too hard to look cool — the Bedazzler'd top, the fabric-paint-embellished jeans. Ouch. What strikes me most, though, is how old this audience is — lots and lots of 50-somethings. Of course, it is Neil Diamond night...
After about 20 minutes, we're loaded in and shown to our seats, which are (thankfully) in the last row, allowing us an unobstructed view of the stage and a quick duck down the stairs when it's time to go. A CBS page is tasked with walking around with a Styrofoam cup for the audience to dispose of their gum. Now there's a resume-building skill.
First up, the Neil Diamond pre-tape of "Pretty Amazing Grace," off of his upcoming album. It's not live live, it's just rolled into the show that way. My "Idol" companion notes that his new album is most likely titled "Home Before Dark" because he's too old to drive after sunset, senior eyes and all. Neil may be out of my demo — in fact, he stirs up early childhood memories of riding in the car with my dad, who sang along waaaaaaay out of tune — but he's a pro. Nails it in one take. Love that.
Next is Natasha Bedingfield's pre-tape. Her "Bucket of Sunshine" is all well and good and has a strong hook that's sure to be a hit, but hearing her perform it three times in a row is at least two times more than I need to.
The final pre-tape is the buzzkill call-in segment that I customarily speed through on the DVR. It's only bearable this week because of Simon's squirming through the call from his first crush.
Count down to 6:00 p.m. — and now we're into the live show:
Sadly, I can't fast-forward through the dreaded opening medley either. Are they always this out of tune in this segment?! Wow.
Now we sit through the playback of Natasha Bedingfield's pre-tape, so I get to hear "I gotta bucket, gotta bucket full of sunshine" for the fourth time. Take me away. Please.
During the commercial breaks, the audience is subjected to John, the super-cheesy warm-up guy/comedian whose only endearing quality is that he was the voice of the Pillsbury Dough Boy for eight months. Either he's lying and he just does a good imitation, or he really did have the gig, which begs the question, Why is he no longer the voice of the PDB? Was he fired? Did he get too big for his doughy britches? Hmm, I'll never know. But John does his shtick and hands out prizes to anyone who will answer an "Idol" trivia question, attempt to tell a joke or correctly identify the city and state in which they live. "Prizes" consist of $10 iTunes cards, not the hats and T-shirts one would normally expect.
Meanwhile, Randy, Paula and Simon walk offstage during breaks. Because? I'm not really sure why. The last time I saw Simon, he was lunching a Herrod's, smoking cigarette after cigarette, so I'll assume that's what he's doing (although, who knows, he might've quit since then). Or maybe they're just avoiding icky-shticky John.
Also during the breaks, Sayesha is primped, and Brooke is primped and primped and primped, while the guys sit around and look awkward as the pit girls scream to them.
Finally we get the results. My "Idol" date and I do a discrete high five for Brooke's departure. She bawled the entire time her "Celebrate Me Home" montage rolled, and, well, you saw how she sang it with no final do-over from Rickey Minor.
We make our quick exit out the back to beat the crowd. Now I'm back at the hotel watching the West coast airing and eating some room service. Hey! Look! There I am in the back row!
Comments