In this case, he wasn’t even being all that critical. Had Haley brought out the Il Divo the night he told her he couldn’t remember her name, everybody would have laughed it off. It was a timing issue more than anything else. Sligh wised up enough to make a non-apology (“I love Simon” = “I’m sorry I overreacted” in Sligh speak) but the shine was off the patina.
Now that it had been made clear that there was only room for one quotable asshole on Idol, next came establishing an identity. This is the Holy Grail of the Idol experience. In the real world, if you’re somebody like Haley Scarnato (an okay talent with a great body) record execs will invent one for you; on Idol, they’re after the Real Thing or something like that so you have to find one for yourself. Sligh chose “Cool & Chubby” as opposed to Blake’s “Cool & Cocky”.
Had it worked, it would have been a great idea. Like Rosie O’Donnell pointed out to Donald Trump during one of their spats, it’s not exactly news to overweight people when you call them ‘fat.’ Those extra pounds don’t render them blind, you know. So Sligh’s pre-emptive strike with “Bringing Chubby Back” was a nice touch.
It didn’t work with Simon the night of the fight (he said Sligh qualified as a teletubby) but it still worked for me because of the dig at Justin Timberlake, a man who ought to be dug out of sight in my opinion. Of course, it made you wonder what Ruben Studdard did in that case, considering he and his bulk actually won Idol but on the whole it was a nice touch.
Being chubby alone wasn’t going to deliver the competition however, especially considering fears such as the one expressed by this writer:
Although American Idol does not judge the contestants on their weight and it is possible for contestants who have been overweight on the show like Ruben Studdard (who has since lost a lot of weight on a vegetarian diet) and Underwood (who has definitely lost weight for whatever reason since she won--I thought she looked better before her weight loss), it still leaves the question about the long-term implications of whether being fat will hurt Chris Sligh when all is said and done.So then there was a matter of cool. Maybe it was peer pressure or herd mentality or they’re two peas in different sized pods or perhaps he was always inclined that way (Blake Lewis is his American Idol, he says), but “cool” in this season of Idol is what Blake does. Leslie Hunt (odd, sweet Leslie Hunt — can you have forgotten her already?) broke out the beatboxing in an ill-advised stunt and even Ryan Seacrest was moved to, um, dance. So Sligh did the “current” thing that Blake does so well.
Article comments
1 - Dawn
That was astounding. I am floored - great job Amrita!
I really liked Chris' voice, but he lost is appeal in the last few weeks. I hope he and his band do well, he definitely has talent.
2 - Kaonashi
First of all, thank you for the MeeVee links to his American Idol reviews. They were a hoot to read! And I thought I was mean to Sanjaya.
Oh and BTW, I almost choked on my water when I went on the Vote for the Worst site last night and they called a certain contestant Nos-Phil-atu. I can't stand those VFTW guys, but they sure are funny.
As for Chris Sligh, he was definitely one of my favorites early on, but then he just lost steam. I understand why now, after reading this exit interview. Chris never really took the show seriously, which is a disappointing shame because he had so much potential. I know that some musicians think they're too "cool" and "hip" for this show, but then why even try out? I recall that Bo Bice once said that he didn't really think of winning very early on, but I guess something clicked in him and he decided to actually go for it, which apparently is what Chris never did.
3 - Kaonashi
Oh, and thanks for a great read Amrita! It's about time someone wrote about a contestant other than you know who ;)
4 - Amrita
Dawn - thank you! :)
Actually, I think Chris does a good job with his band. Much better than what he did on the show. He seems like a pretty ambitious guy so I bet he'll show up again.
5 - Amrita
Kaonashi - I know! I had to get the ponyhawk one off my mind!
See that interview bothers me. I hate that whininess that emerged after a while. You'd think the judges were some sort of puppetmasters who made up our minds for us. I'm not saying they don't matter but the worst losers on this show have always ended up on the position that the judges are the ones who make up minds. And thats not true.
re: VFTW. Heh. I used to like them that first year. Then they went viral and I can't stand em anymore. Nos-Phil-atu is pretty funny though :D
6 - Kaonashi
Amrita- Yeah, like when Antonella was stupid enough to tell Simon, "You didn't like Jennifer Hudson," to which Simon countered, "We liked Jennifer. We put her through. AMERICA voted her off."
7 - Amrita
Kaonashi - Argh, Antonella! I really thought Haley was going to go the Alaina/Antonella way with her attitude but it turns out all she wanted was some sort of validation by Simon.
You know, my mind has been moving on controversies this season and I realized the only one who's consistently benefitted from AI scandal no matter what is Simon.
I think I knew it already but hadnt thought it out like that.
8 - Jon
The public often votes for those who are not the most talented, so to speculate is kind of pointless in my opinion. I didn't consider him to be snarky, just hilarious, and I thought he had a lot of talent. I didn't know he was a Christian, didn't know about the run-in with Cowell and I haven't been watching the last few weeks, but in the end, it's simply a strange competition. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the actual judges were allowed to vote for the winners. The public isn't looking for the most talented Idol, they're looking for America's sweetheart, and unfortunately, it appears as if Chris wasn't pretty, safe or nice enough to be that guy this year.
9 - Kaonashi
Amrita- Well, Simon is pretty much a publicity and money whore. But at the same time he's my favorite judge, because he's the only one out of the three who speaks in coherent sentences. I am seriously so sick of Randy's "Yo, dawg" crap. The guy is what- 45? Jeez, grow up already.
10 - Kaonashi
Oh, and I don't think we've heard the last of Antonella. I'm betting big money that you'll find her wearing next to nothing on the cover of FHM in a few months. Then, she'll become an "entertainment correspondent" on some vapid gossip show like Access Hollywood.
11 - Fletch
The fact that Sligh is a Christian did not turn me off. I try to be a good Presbytarian boy myself. It was Sligh's connection to Bob Jones so-called "University" that made me sick. Jones is the one place on earth where you can major in bigotry and minor in a blanket rejection of all logical science. They make all Christians look REALLY bad. I'm glad he's gone.
12 - Tara
Hate to tell you this, but 6 of the remaining top 9 contestants are Christians.
13 - Amrita
Jon - you and Simon think alike :) Thats pretty much what he said about Taylor Hicks winning.
Kaonashi - yeah she said she wouldn't do it but considering she doesnt have a job for this summer, my guess is the same as yours.
Fletch - well, he says he doesnt particularly want to associate with them and only went there because this was the "less crazy school" of the two choices his parents gave him. [I wonder which was the other school?] He actually got kicked out for going to some concert that the university disapproved of. I feel inclined to give him the doubt. There's no way you could list Freddie Mercury as one your favorite artists if you were drinking the same kool aid as the people of BJU, I think.
Tara - yes, I know. I wrote about it.