American Idol: A Fix Of Pro Life For Jordin Sparks
AMERICAN Idol enters the final gasps and Tabloid Baby senses scandal, controversy and other things that might just make the show more intersting than the usual karaoke on the end of the pier. Contestant Jordin Sparks met Simon Cowell before the show. Is it all a fix?
As TB writes, “Now that Jordin Sparks has moved into the forefront of the American Idol race, the backlash is underway, with conspiracy theories in full swing– and a political hot potato that’s jumped from the back burner to center stage.
We told you about the initial controversy over Jordin’s entry into this season’s contest (aided by Idol sponsor Coca Cola), and suspicion that her victory has been in the cards all along. Now, photos showing Jordin with Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, supposedly taken three years ago, have led speculation that the judges may have pretended not to know her when she auditioned– and that she’s indeed been groomed for Idoldom in some secret lab.
And now add the Christian Right to mix!
Jordin’s never been shy about her Christian faith. She recorded a CD with “Jesus music” pioneer Matthew Ward, toured with Christian singer Michael W. Smith, placed second in 2004 at the Gospel Music Association’s Music in the Rockies national competition for aspiring Contemporary Christian Music artists (the same one that Chris Sligh competed in two years earlier). And the GMA says it recognizes Jordin and fellow finalist Melinda Doolittle as Christian artists who are “keeping the faith.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with a big organized Christian Idol voting bloc (remember those phone centers in India?), but the controversy gets down to politics, in the form of abortion.
Though she’s only seventeen and probably won’t have to think seriously about the issue until she goes on the Idol tour and finds out she’s been knocked up by Sanjaya, Jordan is well-known in her home state of Arizona and among the Christian crowd as a “pro-life”– or anti-abortion– crusader. And until recently, she apparently had this picture on her MySpace page:
Photos of Jordin at anti-abortion events and stories about her activism have been on line for months, but only reaching mainstream attention now that she has the best chance of taking the American Idol title.
The stir that’s brewing is similar to last year’s storm over contestant Mandisa and her connection to the “ex-gay” movement. And with some expressing concern that Jordin will use her American Idol platform to preach against abortion, this sort of fight is one that will bring out votes on both sides.
May 12th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
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May 13th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I think that Jordin should be disqualified from the competition based on the fact that she has ties to the shows corporate sponsors and that she has known the judges prior to meeting them on the show. She has a huge advantage over the other contestans, she and the judges have been dishonest with the American public, and she should be out of the contest. I will never by a cd or any other product that Jordin is affiliated with.
May 13th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I think that what happened a year or two years ago really does not matter when it comes down to it. She has made it to the top 3 on her ability to sing..nothing else. We all have opinions and beliefs, i mean should we teally be attacking her for her beliefs?
May 17th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I don’t care whether Jordin knew sombobdy in the past or not at this point. That didn’t get her the votes to put her where she is now. But it WAS silly to hide the fact that she met them before, no matter how innocent for goodness sake. But she is NOT the first contestant that one of the judges admitted to knowing a member of their family. I remember a couple of contestants in the top 12 this year and last that Simon admitted knowing their father or mother from also being in the music business. You can’t say that Jordin doesn’t have talent and she appeals to young people that do the most voting. No matter if someone pushed her entry into the show or not, she had to audition and it was good. People like her voice, her personality, and her look, and that is why she is in the finals. And of course if we didn’t let people win because of their personal beliefs, then we would have no one to vote for!
May 18th, 2007 at 4:02 am
I really don’t care about her. I am so disappointed that Melinda was voted off the show. Melinda was the most talented. I am upset that Jordin may win because Melinda had the strongest voice by far. I no longer have any interest in watching the show and this further emphasizes how this show may be fixed. Melinda is the one who should have won!!!!!
May 18th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Those are FAN PHOTOS taken of Jordin and her little brother because they are FANS of the show. Trying to make it seem like Simon and Randy KNEW Jordin is just dumb. I got Kelly Clarkson’s autograph, but I don’t KNOW her. There is a huge difference between a photo and KNOWING someone.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Wonder why we don’t move on to something of importance and stop wasting our time on petty trivia?? Give me a break. It’s a singing contest, for crying out loud!! Anyone who makes it into the top few have got it made if they have any talent whatsoever, anyway. I never would have voted her top singer, whether Simon of Randy or anyone else would have, or not. As always, let the fans decide and whoever wants to buy her music, will. Those who have a major problem with pro-life issues can keep their money in their pocket.
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Last night’s American Idol show (May 23, 2007) was a fix. Give me a break! Anyone think it odd that the format of the show allowed the producers to pick a song that both contestants (Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis) had to sing that was biased towards one singer? The song was definitely Jordin and not Blake’s style.
Blake was sandbagged by having to sing a song that did not fit his style. Why did the producers pick this song for both? Answer: They did not want Blake to have any chance to win. Follow the money. Jordin can make it for them. Blake does not have the same potential. Disgusting, deplorable and dishonest. I think that Jordin should have and would have won anyway, but to do it like this is not right.
May 24th, 2007 at 7:57 am
The American Idol song is hideously sappy every year. Dreck. Of course it was biased toward Jordin. Every year it has favored one singer’s style/voice over another’s. We knew Blake was diddled before the show started because we knew the song would be a wah-wah-wah ballad.
But then he surprised us and actually gave it some pep. We thought he did as much with that song as any non-Celine/Whitney wannabe could have.
When Jordin sang it, it sounded sooooo depressing. Like she had to take a handful of antidepressants just to get out of bed every morning. If that girl is going to go on tour, they had better put some Mexican jumping beans in her shoes. I have never seen a 17 year old with less ability to move to the music. She just walks out there and parks herseld in front of the mike like a load of dumped gravel. The most movement you see is when she arches that one eyebrow to play to the camera.
Blake is better off without the constrictive & limiting AI contract. They would have tried to turn him into a Disney balladeer. I think he’ll do fine. If he never sang another note, he could still have a brilliant career as a producer with his amazing “musical smarts.” I didn’t even start out as a uge fan or anyhing, but I quickly came to admire how he played to his strengths, had breadth and depth of musical knowledge, and could entertain the crowd. I think he’s just SMART when it comes to advancing his career. When I heard that beat-boxing way back, I’d have never thought he’d get to the top two. But if you pay attention, these is a lot more going on in that head of his than beat-boxing and that’s how he made it to the top 2.
Jordin will benefit much more from the AI machine. They can possibly teach her how to move (not dance….just moving would be nice) on stage and with any luck, get her out of that belt-it-out ballad box. She can only ride that pony so long. Kelly Clarkson did not get where she is on ballads, but wowed people with versatility after winning AI. But KC showed she could do that during the contest while Jordin had some really rough nights when she got out of her box. She needs to follow up that SAS Idol song with something with more sass and kick.
May 25th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Who wants some dim-witted, half-baked half-breed to win anyways?
May 25th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Half-breed? Haven’t heard that term since the 50s…
May 26th, 2007 at 12:28 am
The winning song, “This is my Now”, was not chosen by the producers. The top 20 finalists in the song-writing contest were put up on the American Idol site for people to listen to and vote on. I was one of the people who voted, and I actually picked “This is my Now” as my second favorite of the 20. Apparently, I was not the only person who gave it a high score. Since the sentiment of the song very much fits what American Idol is all about, it’s no surprise to me that it won the vote. By the way, among those 20 songs, there were only a few that would have worked well with Blake’s voice, so the odds were against one being chosen that would be good for him. Since the song contest finalists were chosen weeks before the American Idol finale, it wasn’t some conspiracy against Blake. The songs are still up there, if you want to check them out.
To Sweetcheeks: Such bigotry makes me so ill I feel like throwing up. Thank goodness American Idol doesn’t share your bigotry. Oh, and, for your information, Jordin gets A’s and B’s in school, so she’s anything but dim-witted.
Congratulations to the beautiful, talented Jordin for her win!
May 30th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
This show is a farse. The producers can rig the voted and choose whoever they want. Sanjaya was never voted off. Producers just thought he had become a liability and didn’t like the criticism that show was under every week he stayed.
Producers kicked him off.. not the voters Just like producers gave the show to Jordan… Commie bitch
August 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Jordin Sparks is really great! I love what she does! http://www.deezer.com/en/jordin-sparks.html
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Artemis
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