Tampa Bay Idol winner and runner-up move up

Samantha Leigh's shot at American Idol fame came down to about 15 seconds; the amount of time she got to blast through Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady during her audition today before American Idol producers in Orlando.

Leigh was the singer I helped choose for a special audition slot handed out through WTVT-Ch. 13's Tampa Bay Idol contest, working with four other judges to sort through 80 applicants and watching 10 finalists sing at a Brandon mall.

Turns out, she and second-place finisher Brad Iturriaga did well, moving to the next stage in Idol's audition process.

Leigh's win guaranteed an audition before the show's producers ahead of the 10,000 people who crowded around Amway Arena today, joining about 50 people who had won similar contests around the region or done well at Disney World's Idol Experience.

 According to Leigh, singers were split into groups and asked to sing when pointed at, standing before four casting producers. Generally, singers got through about 15 seconds of a tune before they were stopped -- nothing like the longer auditions with feedback they show during the Idol broadcasts.

(Here's Leigh with WTVT's Charley Belcher, me, WFLZ's Meredith and singer Belinda Womack last week in Brandon.)

"They tell you ahead of time not to introduce yourself, not to ask for feedback, they just point to you and you sing," said Leigh, 22, who works as a hairstylist and performs at Busch Gardens  in Tampa. "It was crazy, nerve-racking . . . almost surreal."

Leigh and Iturriaga will perform for the show's executive producers later this month -- Fox doesn't publicize those auditions the way they hype the big stadium cattle calls -- and won't face on-camera judges such as Simon Cowell, if they're lucky, until next month.

Leigh didn't even get to meet Idol host Ryan Seacrest, who was there to film some of the opening sequences for the audition shows. "I did get to stand 20 feet away from him," she said, laughing. "Maybe I'll meet him next time."

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My top 11 moments from today's Michael Jackson memorial

Her voice had never been heard by the public before, somehow shielded from the searing spotlight which had turned her father into the biggest pop star on the globe.

But when 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson finally spoke to the world, she brought a simple message about Michael Jackson which cut through all the controversy, gossiping and recriminations threatening to overshadow the memorial service Tuesday for the King of Pop.

“Ever since I was born…daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” Paris Jackson said, sobs catching in the back of her throat after the star-studded, four-hour tribute, flanked by her aunts and uncles. “And I just want to say I love him so much.”

Forget the sniping about who was or wasn’t there. Forget the speculation about who will get his millions, what his drug habits were and why some mourners seemed so eager to find a spotlight after his passing. Paris reminded us, at the heart of all this bombast was a father leaving three children far too soon.

Like he did so often when alive, Michael Jackson took centerstage in one final showbiz extravaganza that was ultimately so moving and momentous you had to give it up, one last time.

Along with Paris’ tender tribute, here’s my list of the other moments that made Tuesday’s memorial a singular, fitting recognition to the pop star:

10. Jackson’s backing singers leading the final song, a soaring version of We Are the World. Nice that, in an event featuring so many boldfaced names, a few unknown talents could shine so brightly.

9. Brooke Shields reminding the audience that it is possible to grow up as a child star and become a reasonably well-adjusted person. Her speech, constantly on the edge of tears, seemed more heartfelt than any but Paris’ words, as she recalled her teen friendship with Jackson and her first reaction to his trademark sequined mitten: “What’s up with the glove?”

8. Al Sharpton delivering a sermon filled with enough thunder and righteousness to remind us all there’s a “reverend” in front of his name for a reason. His best line, to Jackson’s kids —- “Ain’t nothing strange about your daddy; what he had to deal with was strange.” — was true and not in the same moment.

7.Britain’s Got Talent star Shaheen Jafargholi may have been a little pitchy, dawg, but the 12-year-old earned major props for tackling Who’s Lovin’ You in front of  Stevie Wonder and Lionel Ritchie.

6. Magic Johnson marveling that a star big as Jackson ordered in Kentucky Fried Chicken when the two hung out at his home.

5. A very pregnant Jennifer Hudson, rebounding fro the tragedy of seeing her mother, brother and nephew killed just months ago, anchoring a soaring, churchified version of Will You Be There.

4. Motown Records owner Berry Gordy topping an emotional speech by calling Jackson “the greatest entertainer that ever lived.” Almost made you forget he nearly turned down the Jackson 5 when they auditioned for his label.

3. Jermaine Jackson, once the family’s second-biggest star, struggling to get through a version of Charlie Chaplin’s song Smile, his voice challenged by grief and the Staples Center’s cavernous acoustics.

2. Smokey Robinson laughing as he recalled how a 10-year-old Jackson sang a version of Who’s Lovin’ You so well, Robinson had to remind some fans he sang — and wrote it — first.

1. Mariah Carey picking I’ll Be There as the memorial’s opening song and being smart enough to bring backing singer Trey Lorenz onstage, even as grief or lack of practice brought her usually soaring vocals to earth a bit.

Michael Jackson Memorial coverage notes: Will biggest news be who doesn't show up?

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 Watching Smokey Robinson read an awkward tribute from Diana Ross at Michael Jackson's just-underway memorial at the Staples Center, it strikes me: The biggest news from this event may be who doesn't show up.

Already, longtime Jackson pal Elizabeth Taylor has said she won't appear, sending messages through Twitter -- Liz Taylor is on Twitter?!? --  ""I've been asked to speak at the Staples Center. I cannot be part of the public whoopla....And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word...I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

Snarkier minds may theorize that Taylor just doesn't want to appear before a worldwide audience these days -- she has been seen in a wheelchair in public recently. But I wrote this morning about how Jackson's story can seem to corrode whomever it touches -- perhaps friends such as Ross and Taylor just don't want to share space with obvious parasites like dad Joe Jackson.

Though the coverage has just begun, we've already seen a few interesting moments: an NBC reporter who had to be reminded that Betty White is not buried in Forest Lawn cemetery -- in fact, she's not dead -- but Bette Davis is; Fox news anchor Shep Smith sounding a little irritated as the channel tracked the progress of Jackson's casket through traffic noting "they're shutting down freeways for this funeral?" and ex-MTV VJ John Norris wearing a hairstyle (or hairpiece) which looks like a toupee stolen from Donald Trump and stapled to his forehead.

Commentators are comparing the spectacle to Princess Diana's death -- but this may be even bigger thanks to the worldwide audience funneled in by Facebook, Twitter and loads of Web sites. Shades of coverage seems to vary little -- though black-focused BET seems to be very deliberately avoiding any talk about the seamier sides of Jackson's life or legacy.

And it makes a certain kind of sense that the memorial for Jackson, who always seemed to exist in a time a bit apart from everyone else, would start late and have a huge pause in the beginning.

As Michael Jackson memorial saturation coverage begins, here's a playlist of overlooked gems

One of the the things I always hated about the weirdness that surrounded Michael Jackson's life was the impact it had on the public's perception of his work.

As the full court media press gears up for his memorial Tuesday, it's happening again. TV talking heads speculate on the fate of his fortune, his children, his doctors and his former home -- but not much energy left for what will be his most lasting product: his songs.

So here's my list -- compiled with help from a few friends on Facebook and Twitter -- of his most-overlooked tunes. While others are cranking Billie Jean and Thriller on Tuesday, these are the jams I'll be banging while the world's media descends to pick once more at his public image.

2000 Watts, from 2001's Invincible:
A club jam from New Jack king Teddy Riley and his boys, overlooked mostly because the slowed-down vocal track doesn't sound much like what we're used to from MJ. If he hadn't been chasing blockbuster hits, he would have put this jam in the clubs and watched all the haters jam out to one of his best late-era dance floor workouts.

This Place Hotel, from the Jacksons' 1980 album Triumph:
Besides the fact that it's a smoking, sultry jam, this tune shines as the kind of tune that powered his solo debut, Off the Wall; a sinewy, jazz-inflected R&B jam, with his trademark, easy to overlook vocal gymnastics. Even though the hook repeats the phrase "Heartbreak Hotel," the tune's name was changed to avoid confusion with the hit by pop rock's other King.

Working Day and Night, from 1979's Off the Wall:
Rock With You and Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough were bigger hits, but the real dance floor jam in my Gary, Ind., neighborhood from Off the Wall was this song, which perfectly melded producer Quincy Jones' L.A.-style funk with MJ's muscular vocals.

Jam, from 1991's Dangerous:
Much as people rave about Bad, this workout is Jackson's real attempt to really be bad -- hooking up with gangster funkster Teddy Riley to create a hip-shaking, head-nodding groove topped off with a master rap from Heavy D. Too bad the video features an odd duel with basketball king Michael Jordan.

Stranger In Moscow, from 1995's HIStory:
A textured and soulful ballad, it would have been one of his most touching slow jams -- if it hadn't been written about how he felt while touring Russia after child abuse allegations surfaced against him back in America.

P.Y.T., from 1982's Thriller:
Inexplicably panned by reviewers who loved the rest of MJ's biggest record, this funky pop confection was even left off early CD versions of that classic album. Too bad, because it now stands as one of MJ's best overlooked hits.

• 2000 Watts by Michael Jackson
• This Place Hotel by The Jacksons
• Working Day And Night by Michael Jackson
• Jam by Michael Jackson
• Stranger In Moscow by Michael Jackson
• P.Y.T by Michael Jackson

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Tampa Bay Idol winner heading to Orlando auditions: Could she be the next American Idol?

 After a week helping judge WTVT-Ch. 13's Tampa Bay Idol contest, now I understand why Fox is backing up the money truck for Simon Cowell (at last count, a salary of $144-million per season was in the offing).

Joined by MJ Morning Show personality Meredith, area vocalist Belinda Womack and WTVT-Ch. 13 feature reporter Charley Belcher, we slogged through 80 video submissions last Thursday.

Then on Wednesday, we saw 10 finalists sing their hearts out before a crowd of a couple hundred people at the Brandon Mall. But as much as I wanted to unleash my inner Cowell -- best I could do was letting one fella know, gently, that his appearance wasn't quite up to snuff for the gig -- the contestants were just too good.

One kid came looking like a backup singer for Chris Brown and unleashed an amazing take on Somewhere Over the Rainbow (think Jennifer Holiday-meets Sam Harris). Another guy stepped up looking like a roadie for Kid Rock and uncorked a spine-tingling version of Oleta Adams Get Here.

In the end, the crown went to Tampa resident Samantha Leigh (left), who ruled the stage with an energetic cover of Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady.

In addition to having great vocal chops, though, she had a sexy, spunky look, a great outgoing performance attitude and the kind of unexpected act -- punky girl with the soulful vocal chops -- that might make an impression with Idol producers.

Leigh gets a gas card worth $100 and a guaranteed spot before the show's producers when they come to Orlando July 9 to audition Floridians.

We were just hoping to pick someone who might pull a Jordin Sparks and go from local affiliate contest winner to overall Idol champ. (photos courtesy of Fox 13)

Take a look at the video below. I think you'll agree that we may have pulled that off.

 

How I channeled my inner Simon Cowell to help pick the Tampa Bay Idol finalists

In the middle of a day that eventually saw the demise of both Farrah Fawcett and the King of Pop, I gathered with a spirited crew of Tampa Bay area media and music people for a more positive purpose.

For the first time, I joined St. Petersburg Times music critic and colleague Sean Daly, MJ Morning Show personality Meredith, area vocalist Belinda Womack and WTVT-Ch. 13 feature reporter Charley Belcher on Thursday to help judge WTVT's Tampa Bay Idol contest.

The 10 folks we selected will perform in person -- and without music -- at noon Wednesday in the Westfield Brandon mall, to be judged in person by our motley crew. (And no, I am not planning on using the words "dawg," "pitchy" or "dude." Well, maybe dude.) 

This is one of the contests held by Fox affiliates nationwide to send a local person into a guaranteed audition slot at a nearby American Idol cattle call audition.

The winner in Tampa Bay, who will get a slot in the Idol auditions planned for July 9 at Amway Arena in Orlando, still face incredible odds -- they just get a ticket into the first rung of auditions before the show's talent producers.

Facing the show's star judges isn't even an option -- Randy Jackson Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi won't join the audition process until later in the year -- assuming they all decide to continue on the show.

But last year's Tampa Bay winner Cesar De La Rosa (left) traveled to the auditions in Hollywood; Idol winner Jordin Sparks got back into the contest as a local affiliate winner, after trying to audition off the street at a different cattle call.

So we sorted through about 80 eligible applicants and came up with a slate of 10 competitors and two alternates.  Our great hope: that the local Idol winner pulls a Jordin Sparks.

For anyone thinking of doing this again, let me offer a few pointers as someone who saw lots of audition tapes:

1) The background matters -- try to find a nice-looking space to film your video. And if you do it in your bedroom, at least make the bed and pick up the dirty clothes in the background (shudder).

2) Pick a song that has more than two notes in the melody and gets interesting early. Too many singers almost got doinked because the songs they chose took too long to get interesting. Also, try to pick songs that are familiar, but not typical audition fodder -- several applicants chose the classic ballad At Last, which can feel monotonous after the fifth time.

3) Look at your tape after you make it, and record it again if the tape didn't turn out well. We got one video where you literally could not see the face of the singer, because he was shrouded in shadow. Other recordings cut off the beginning of the performances or had other obvious, glaring problems. And make sure the video file, DVD or VHS tape actually works before you mail it.

Here's the list of Tampa Bay Idol Finalists – in no particular order:

    * Antoinette Smith, Tampa
    * Amy Weaver, St. Petersburg
    * Alexandra Amor, St. Petersburg
    * Syreeta Banks, Bradenton
    * Samantha Leigh, Tampa
    * Derrick “DeeJay Young Jr., Tampa
    * Brad Iturriaga, Plant City
    * Caroline Kelly, Wesley Chapel
    * April Slazas, Clearwater
    * Daniel Pate, Auburndale

Alternate #1
Krystal Lambert, Orlando
Alternate #2
Kelly Sykes, Tampa

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Talking Michael Jackson and the duality of his legend on National Public Radio

At the risk of overloading on Michael Jackson coverage, I'll post a link here to my appearance on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, where we waxed philosophical on the King of Pop during the roundtable Barbershop segment.

Initially, we were planning to talk this week about the craziness on Jon & Kate plus 8 (Jon Minus Kate Equals Hate, perhaps?), maybe slip in a little Ed McMahon and Mark Sanford material. But when TMZ declared Jackson dead at 5:20 p.m. Thursday, we knew all that had to change.

Check out my discussion with blogger/host Jimi Izrael, activist/writer Arsalan Iftikhar, columnist Ruben Navarrette and host Michel Martin.

I also appeared on WTVT-Ch. 13's Your Turn and offered some quotes to WMNF-FM for their news show later this evening.

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Twitter, Facebook prove invaluable as Michael Jackson story exploded in media

Twitter and Facebook have emerged as valuable tools in tracking stories where access is tough; consider the unrest in Iran and terrorist attacks in Bombay as recent examples.

But as news of Michael Jackson's death unfolded Thursday, these online tools offered ways to track the exploding story closer than the continuous coverage offered by cable TV news and more conventional outlets.

The race started when Jackson was taken to the hospital, said to be in cardiac arrest, which is fatal unless treated immediately, but no one had many details on his condition -- at least, until the entertainment Web site TMZ posted an entry at 5:20 p.m. Eastern time stating that Jackson was dead.

It was a declaration the Los Angeles Times wouldn't confirm for nearly an hour, forcing cable TV outlets and news Web sites to cite TMZ's reporting. Accounts that Jackson wasn't even declared dead until 5:26 p.m. leave lots of questions about how TMZ got its info. ("Everything starts with a tip," TMZ managing editor Harvey Levin told the Associated Press Thursday.)

The news raced across the microblogging service Twitter, making subjects such as RIP MJ and #michaeljackson among the most popular topics. A half hour before the Los Angeles Times would confirm Jackson's death, radio personality Ryan Seacrest tweeted "I am hearing from a source at ucla medical center, michael jackson has died. I am checking other sources right now."

Given the visibility of celebrities on Twitter, it makes sense that so many would express their condolences online. Even as cable TV channels scrambled to find big names for their shows, Paris Hilton told her followers on Twitter  "  :( I can't believe Michael is gone." Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, noted "It just feels like the end of an era for so many reasons." And MC Hammer said "I will be mourning my friend, brother, mentor and inspiration."

As a prank rumor began to spread that actor Jeff Goldblum might have died in New Zealand, a tweet from actor Kevin Spacey, who had spoken with Goldblum's manager, knocked that down (even CBS News passed along the message to its followers).

According to the Los Angeles Times, the explosion of interest doubled Twitter's update frequency and tripled Facebook's activity, as friends traded lists of favorite Jackson songs, links to treasured videos and commiserated on the unfolding media circus.

 By the time the big TV networks could offer prime time retrospectives Thursday night, fans with Twitter feeds and Facebook accounts had already seen loads of quotes, lists and video clips, traded and retweeted by a growing community of users who reacted more intensely than when Iran erupted after its recent elections and swine flu spread across the world.

"Already been asked several times if I'm 'disappointed' in Twitter for going much crazier over MJ than Iran election or Swineflu," tweeted Laura Fitton, author of the book Twitter for Dummies. "But see, Twitter's about 'What do we have in common.'  500 million have just Thriller in common, let alone the rest of his life/career."     

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Remembering Michael Jackson: As a fellow Gary native and former Motown artist, I shared lots with the King of Pop

You wouldn't think a fortysomething journalist would have much in common with the late King of Pop.

But my life and Michael Jackson's have run along somewhat parallel lines for years, back to our earliest days growing up in the shadow of steel mills in Gary, Ind.

I still remember the day, more than 30 years ago, when my father pointed to a house a few streets over from my grandmother's home. The address: 2300 Jackson St. -- the legendary space, really just a modest house tucked into a row of millworkers' homes -- where the young Jacksons honed their performing skills and dreamed of something better.

The Jacksons were already gone by then, but their legend in Gary was massive -- held aloft by a proud citizenry who were happy someone, starting from nothing, could scale the highest heights. Six years younger than Michael, I watched him scurry across stages on The Mike Douglas Show and Soul Train,  dreaming my own fantasies of escape and achievement.

Though I never met him, Michael and I shared a few odd similarities, starting with our Gary heritage. He was one of Motown's brightest stars; I eventually made a record for Motown in the '80s, just before legendary founder Berry Gordy sold the company. (Suffice to say, unlike Mike, however, Berry never really liked our group's work.)

When Michael locked lips in the most awkward kiss ever televised, plastering trophy wife Lisa Marie Presley in a stilted display which left no doubt how little physical passion actually existed between them, I was just a few feet away, chronicling the oddest start to the MTV Video Music Awards ever in the bowels of Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

But the only thing I learned from such synchronicity, was how to separate the man from the material. From the moment he sang a love song to a pet rat in 1972's Ben, we always suspected something was odd about the shy performing dynamo; when his skin began to grow as light as pal Elizabeth Taylor's, the suspicions were confirmed.

In Gary, folks seemed to have a love/hate relationship with the Jacksons, particularly as Michael's fame grew in the late '80s. I still remember how many in Gary hoped that a post-Thriller, superstar Michael Jackson might revisit the crack-ravaged city and lend a helping hand.

Instead, legend has it a few of the lesser-known Jacksons -- perhaps Tito and Marlon? -- stopped by in an armored car. Even Gary's most famous sons were too scared to return home without serious protection.

In an odd way, that same dynamic played out across the media the night he died, as news outlets struggled to memorialize Michael Jackson in a manner befitting the world's largest pop star, while also acknowledging that he was one screwed up dude (click below to read more).

Here's my fave MJ moment on TV; his first televised moonwalk:

Weeks after American Idol ends, Tampa Bay Idol auditions begin

For more than a few seasons, I've burned to be the fourth judge next to Simon Cowell on American Idol.

Forget Kara: Had I been in one of those driver's seats, America might have made a difference choice a few weeks ago (okay, probably not). And now I'm going to have my chance to affect, however slightly, the course of the next Idol.

By helping judge the Tampa Bay Idol competition.

I blame pop music critic Sean Daly for getting me into this; he's the one who lit up the Idol discussions on WTVT-Ch. 13 during the show's run, and was nice enough to suggest me as a possible judge when they were looking for people to handle to local contest.

Each year, WTVT offers one audition spot before Idol producers to the winner of their Tampa Bay Idol contest. You can enter by sending a non-returnable video DVD or VHS videotape of an “a cappella” performance (singing without music) to WTVT at FOX13 TAMPA BAY IDOL 3213 W. Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, Florida 33609. You also need to fill out an entry form found here; tapes must reach the station by next Wednesday, June 24.

Sean and I will join longtime local singer Belinda Womack, Meredith from The MJ Show on WFLZ-FM and WTVT reporter Charley Belcher sifting through the tapes to choose 10 semi-finalists and two alternates.

The semi-finalists will sing during a competition at noon at the Westfield Mall in Brandon on July 1; the winner gets an audition before Idol producers -- not star judges Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson -- on July 9 in Orlando. WFLZ will provide a $100 gas card to cover transportation. 

A few tips: Videos should be no longer than 4 minutes. Entries from minors must be accompanied with a letter of written consent from his/her parent or legal guardian. Entrants must be aged 16 to 28 as of June 12, 2009.

After 30 years as a musician, including a record deal with Motown, time spent playing gigs everywhere from New York City to Japan and nearly 20 years as a journalist, I feel all my experience has prepared me for this moment.

And yes, I'm ready for lots of Randy Jackson jokes.

So send those entries in and maybe you could be the next Kris Allen -- or at least the next Sanjaya.