TIME is having readers chose “The Most Influential People of the Year - The TIME 100″ from a list of 200 candidates.
Here’s the early voting:
Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, is leading the pack at the moment, followed by Korean pop singer Rain, comedian Stephen Colbert, Shigeru Miyamoto (the guy who designed the Nintendo Wii), and J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter author), the singer Bono, and rising hockey star Sidney Crosby.
I am somewhat skeptical of the methodology. At least President Bush is beating out former American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar. Of course, when Howard Stern (currently high on the list himself) weighs in, that might change.
In all honesty, Sanjaya Malakar has a great sense of humor… you can’t help but like him. Here’s hoping he can make some sort of career out of his experience.
Right Voices linked with Joe Biden: If only the Gingrich revolution were over and Democrats controlled Congress, things like Virginia Tech wouldn’t happen.
Dumb Ox Daily News linked with Lessons from Virginia Tech Massacre......
It’s official: The sex tape featuring an “American Idol” castoff is real … real dirty.
TMZ has obtained the exclusive first images of the shocking video, featuring Season Two contestant Olivia Mojica. Here’s one pair of lungs Simon won’t dis!
The video, which Mojica made with her boyfriend a month ago in her New York City apartment, is set to hit shelves on May 3, courtesy of Vivid Entertainment, the adult entertainment company behind Kim Kardashian’s X-rated romp. Vivid is currently hosting the uncut trailer at hardcoreidol.com.
Reps for Vivid, who claim they obtained the footage through an unidentified third party, are currently trying to contact Mojica to see if she will help promote the video and share in revenue from its sale.
Click here for the video. Egotastic has saved a copy, too, in case that one goes away.
Derek Hail is very enthusiastic: “The Olivia Mojicasex tape is real and is as raunchy as all the hype suggested. In what seems like the dirtiest sex tape I have ever viewed the preview of, Olivia puts Kim Kardashian’s sex tape and Keeley Hazell’s sex tape to shame. It’s much dirtier and probably a lot more entertaining.”
OLIVIA MOJICA MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST “AMERICAN IDOL” CONTESTANT TO GO HARDCORE
Beautiful brunette singer Olivia Mojica just missed becoming a finalist on “American Idol” but she will now show she can go all the way in another field - the first contestant on the show to make a hardcore sex video.
A Texas native, the vivacious, green-eyed Mojica is the latest celebrity to see a video she recently made with her boyfriend find its way into the public arena and get broad distribution from Vivid Entertainment, the world’s leading adult film company. The DVD is titled “Hardcore Idol” and preview footage is available to view at www.hardcoreidol.com. The DVD will be in stores across the country on May 3rd. Vivid is the same firm that is currently distributing the blockbuster sex video made by sultry socialite Kim Kardashian and R&B artist Ray J.
“We have a great combination here.” ‘American Idol’ may be the most popular show in the history of television. Olivia is really cute, the sex is really hot and there is much controversy surrounding the show.” said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid. “If she was in the adult business, she would be an instant superstar.”
Mojica was ranked as one of the “best of the rest” in the second season of the wildly popular Fox TV show “American Idol,” when she was just 18. She performed last on March 3, 2003, singing “Because You Loved Me” made popular by Celine Dion, but lost out to a field that included Ruben Studdard, Corey Clark and Clay Aiken. She is currently singing at clubs and other venues across the country as well as working on a full length album which is expected to be in stores nationwide in the first quarter of 2008.
The video, which Mojica made with her boyfriend Adam Roberts, a month ago in her New York City apartment, was obtained by Vivid from an unidentified third party. Vivid is currently trying to contact Mojica to see if she will help promote the video and share in revenue from its sale.
A bit of scandal seems to surround the “American Idol” show each season. This year it to revolves around Sanjaya Malakar who may be getting votes generated by Howard Stern, despite of his lack of singing ability. Olivia Mojica’s role in the show’s history is bound to be noted as well.
Thank God this isn’t a Ruben Studdard sex tape! I’ll wait for the Kelly Clarkson sex tape.
UPDATE: The Olivia Mojica Sex Tape Video Capture Photo was temporarily removed after someone claiming to be Olivia Mojica filed a fraudulent Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice threatening to sue if her copyrighted image was not removed. OTB Media counter-claim disputing the authenticity of the copyright as well as the fair use right to use a single image from the video as part of our news reporting on the controversy. It has been restored as of this writing.
When his tenure does eventually end, Larry King said his first choice to succeed him would be Ryan Seacrest, the “American Idol” host and disc jockey, presuming he is interested.
“He’s the classic generalist,” Mr. King said, his eyes peering through rectangular lenses that evoke flat-panel televisions. “The only thing I don’t know, and I’ve gotten to know him pretty well, is how versed he is in politics, world affairs. Does he read the paper? Is he interested in Iraq? Because if he is, he’s going to be very good.”
Told of Mr. King’s comments, Mr. Seacrest, a sometime guest host on “Larry King Live,” said through a publicist that he was flattered. When Mr. Klein was asked about Mr. Seacrest, he was complimentary, though diplomatically noncommittal.
I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty sure, Seacrest wouldn’t know Barack Obama from Sanjaya Malakar.
For the last few years, three-quarters of the network television executives in Hollywood have tried to figure out how to derail “American Idol,” the Fox juggernaut that dominates the prime-time ratings.
Now Howard Stern, of all people, says he has found the way.
For the last two weeks, Mr. Stern has been promoting a Web site created by a 24-year-old “American Idol” fan that encourages people to support the worst performer on the popular talent show. Their candidate has been Sanjaya Malakar, the off-key, lyric-fumbling, elaborately coiffed teenager who is perhaps the most talked-about “Idol” contestant ever.
“We’re corrupting the entire thing,” Mr. Stern said on his Sirius Satellite Radio show Thursday, the day after Mr. Malakar secured a place in the top nine finalists. “All of us are routing ‘American Idol.’ It’s so great. The No. 1 show in television and it’s getting ruined.”
By promoting Mr. Malakar, Mr. Stern says, he hopes to turn the talent competition into a farce and destroy its popularity.
The stakes of the battle are not insignificant, either for Fox or for the contestants. In its sixth season, “American Idol” has drawn an average of 32 million viewers each week, nearly 50 percent more than the next highest-rated show and better than the show has measured in any previous season.
Mr. Malakar, who at 17 looks like a 1970s pop star of the David Cassidy/Bobby Sherman/Andy Gibb variety, had been among the lowest two or three vote-getters in the first weeks of the season. But after Dave Della Terza, the founder of a Web site called votefortheworst.com, first appeared on Mr. Stern’s radio show on March 20, Mr. Malakar has not been among the lowest vote-getters. (”Idol” does not release total vote tallies, but each week reveals which performers are in the bottom slots.)
A number of those voting for Mr. Malakar may be genuine fans, many of them in the pre- and early-teenage brackets, to judge from posts on a number of Internet bulletin boards dedicated to the show.
But the fans also include older women and Indian-Americans, and Mr. Malakar’s progress is being tracked voraciously by Indian newspapers in both the United States and India. And they probably include executives at Fox, the television network that is riding “American Idol” to the top of the ratings.
[...]
A Fox spokeswoman said, efforts like Mr. Stern’s do not affect the results. “With 30 million votes every week, and hundreds of millions of votes over the season, the power of true fans of ‘American Idol’ dwarfs any attempt of people trying to gain notoriety,” the statement said. “Despite the press coverage, these campaigns don’t affect who moves forward in the competition.”
Mr. Stern, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed for this article. Unlike Mr. Stern, Mr. Della Terza, a community college teacher near Chicago, said he did not want to destroy “Idol.”
“We’re not out to take the show down,” Mr. Della Terza said in a telephone interview. “We like the show. We want to keep around the guy we think is funny and corny.” His aim, he said, was simply to spice up the show by toying with the results, keeping what he calls the “cheesiest” contestants on for as long as possible.
In a recent interview on Mr. Stern’s radio show, Mr. Della Terza said he understood that his efforts might be affecting contestants who are better singers. “Everyone tries to say we’re crushing dreams with what we’re doing, but we’re trying to help Sanjaya’s dreams,” he said. “He wants to be the American Idol too.”
Ms. Hudson, coincidentally, was the first contestant to be recommended for support on votefortheworst.com, something that is not lost on Mr. Della Terza.
“We picked her the first week because of her crazy outfits and over-the-top singing,” he recalled. But she improved, and the site switched its recommendation to another contestant. Last year the site also picked Taylor Hicks, the eventual winner, as the worst performer when five competitors were left.
“If we had not recommended him, maybe he wouldn’t have won,” Mr. Della Terza said. It is unclear how many voters have been influenced either by Mr. Stern or the Web site.
Sirius has six million subscribers but does not release listener figures for its individual shows. According to Mr. Della Terza, votefortheworst.com had been receiving a million or so hits per “Idol” show this season; that number jumped to more than three million after his first appearance on Mr. Stern’s show.
Much to the dismay of the Gone Hollywood staff, it wasn’t Sanjaya Malakar. Chris Sligh, who completely butchered his performance, was given his walking papers.
Remaining Contestants:
gina glocksen
haley scarnato
blake lewis
jordin sparks
lakisha jones
chris richardson
melinda doolittle
phil stacey sanjaya malakar
Gwen Stefani coached the “American Idol” contestants this week with their “pop” song choices. Like the rest of us, she was not impressed with Sanjaya Malakar.
Rumor has it, that Sanjaya wanted to sing No Doubt’s “Bathwater” to Gwen’s dismay. She urged him to choose an 80s song instead. [no doubt, she felt he couldn't pull it off - yes, pun intended]
During dress rehearsals yesterday, Gwen still wasn’t happy with Sanjaya’s choice and went to the Executive Producer and demanded something be done. They apparently gave him Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning” and the entire studio was left feeling very uncomfortable.
She should have asked him to sing “I’m Just a Girl.” That’s more his speed.
Here’s the song selections:
Blake Lewis - “Love Song” by the Cure
Chris Richardson - “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt
Chris Sligh - “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by the Police
Gina Glocksen - “Just Like a Pill” by Pink
Haley Scarnato - “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper
Jordin Sparks - “Hey Baby” by No Doubt
Lakisha Jones - “Love Has a Mind of Its Own” by Donna Summers
Melinda Doolittle - “Sunset People” by Donna Summers
Phil Stacey - “Every Breath You Take” by the Police
Sanjaya Malakar - “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5