Is Atlanta’s Usher the ‘Idol’ mentor for the top 10?
“American Idol” may trying to keep this week’s mentor a secret but it looks like we know who will be mentoring for the top 10: Atlanta’s own R&B star Usher. Conveniently, he has a new album out that same day called “Raymond v Raymond.” (Raymond being Usher’s last name that we seldom hear.)
Usher’s Web site lists his busy schedule which is listed as follows:
3/29 Good Morning America Live Interview
3/29 Late Show with David Letterman performance
3/30 Good Morning America live performance
3/30 American Idol appearance
3/31 American Idol live performance
4/1 Ellen DeGeneres live performance
4/1 Lopez Tonight live performance & interview
4/2 CBS Early Show interview & performance
Usher’s has his fair share hits though only a few are iconic to a broader audience such as “You Make Me Wanna,” “Yeah!” “Burn,” and “Confessions Part II.”
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78 comments Add your comment
Deirdre
March 21st, 2010
4:16 pm
Usher’s web site says he’s appearing NEXT week, not this week….unless they’re all trying to fool the blogsters…which isn’t nice!
JTe$la
March 21st, 2010
5:17 pm
Well if it said “next” week last week wouldn’t that make it this week?
Deirdre
March 21st, 2010
5:40 pm
The DATES…look at the dates! He says he’s going to be on Idol on the 30th and 31st. That’s NOT this week.
This Tuesday is the 23rd, not the 30th.
JTe$la
March 21st, 2010
6:30 pm
American Idol 2010 | Is Atlanta’s Usher the ‘Idol’ mentor Tuesday?
March 21st, 2010
6:41 pm
[...] more here: Is Atlanta’s Usher the ‘Idol’ mentor Tuesday? [...]
Rodney Ho
March 21st, 2010
7:47 pm
Whoops! I didn’t look at the date carefully but you’re right. We still don’t know who the guest mentor is this week, do we?
Dominic C
March 21st, 2010
8:34 pm
The real reason Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA5wBoSq_Tw
Bada Bing!
Quick Rick
March 21st, 2010
9:27 pm
yuck
Nutmeg?
March 21st, 2010
10:52 pm
Yesterday, Highlander expressed a preference for more narrow theme nights. I agree that it better shows the range and creativity of the contestants, but it does seem to increase the chance I won’t like anything done that night… Of course, my least favorite theme = country, which seems to happen just about every year.
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
12:28 am
Never heard of this “Usher” character.
Deirdre
March 22nd, 2010
7:25 am
Morning!
The future d-i-l is in town for wedding meetings. I will be in and out today and tomorrow while we put this event in motion.
While “teen idols” has a certain train-wreck appeal, I’m not at all upset that the theme has been changed. Billboard # 1 offers an opportunity for each contestant to show off his/her abilities. And many of them desperately need that opportunity.
Highlander
March 22nd, 2010
7:47 am
Morning, all! Wow! A forecasted high of 48 degrees today for Atlanta. Thank God for global warming! (Oh, sorry, …climate change!)
Quote for the day: “The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” — Socrates
Highlander
March 22nd, 2010
7:56 am
D, I agree that “many of them desperately need that opportunity” (to show their ability) but I also agree with someone (sorry, don’t remember who it was) on an earlier thread who pointed out that the Billboard theme is pretty much what we’ve heard the last few weeks! We’ve simply gone from Billboard Top 100 to only #1 hits.
I would argue that they’ve all already had the opportunity to show us their ability by now! Time to really start separating the wheat from the chaff. (Unfortunately, there seems to be an abundance of chaff this season!)
Highlander
March 22nd, 2010
8:01 am
If I am correct, Nana is due back from her retirement vacation next week and will take back the ‘quote of the day’ duty.
D, good luck with the wedding planning.
Harm, hope your healing process is going well!
Deirdre
March 22nd, 2010
8:26 am
Supposedly, we have the best of the best now. But I’m not willing to admit that yet. I think a few of them need to show us why they’ve made it as far as they have. We have one more elimination to take care of before we have a tour group. And picking a winner at this point is foolhardy(as last year proved)
What we know for sure is that the current favorites will be in the top 5 this year but what we don’t know is who else will be top 5 with them.
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
8:28 am
Good morning. Much going on here today, but I will try and peek in from time to time. I agree with changing from the teen idol theme. I like them more open-ended, too.
One thought. When I watched Alex Lambert on Ellen, it came to light that he actually wanted to sing another song other than “Trouble,” but the producers talked him into the latter. On Ellen, he sang the one he had previously picked out, and it was much more current sounding, or at least fit his voice and personality better. I can’t remember us addressing the producers pressure on the contestants re: song choice. Forgive me if I am re-hashing something that has already been talked about.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
8:41 am
Happy Monday, y’all…
So, can anyone tell me WHY there’s fluffy white stuff falling from the sky? Hello, it’s spring!
Anyway…most of y’all don’t seem to care, but I’m devasted! Devastated, I tell you…that we won’t be having the “train wreck” Idol. That would’ve been great TV, y’all. *sigh* But noooo, we get Billboard # 1. Yawn. I mean, yay! (Which BTW, reflects how I feel about this season so far….)
Harriett, I heard that too, and can’t help but feel bad for Alex. The producers see the contestants as puppets and try to manipulate them as much as they can…but then again, devil’s advocate point: “If someone’s a great singer, they can sing anything!” Problem is, IMO, Idol hasn’t has a truly great singer in a while. I’m talking a Kelly/Carrie caliber singer. And before I have to duck, it’s not saying I haven’t enjoyed Cook, or even Kris.
Deirdre
March 22nd, 2010
9:06 am
It’s snowing at my house.
Deirdre
March 22nd, 2010
9:09 am
Melinda Doolittle was a truly great singer. But she didn’t win. I’m not sure she was capable of the success that Kelly and Carrie have had but that’s mostly because they are more current. She is at least as good a singer as they are.
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
9:12 am
I think the idea that producers are pushing the contestants into songs they don’t want is something that needs to be fully exposed. I find it very troubling.
Deirdre
March 22nd, 2010
9:23 am
Me, too, Neg. These contestants should be allowed to choose what they want from the available list and the producers should let them shine or go down in flames depending on that choice.
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
9:26 am
Good morning, ok I’m going to through up one of Neg’s “WARNING READ AT OWN RISK” disclaimers.
K&C fan, “Problem is, IMO, Idol hasn’t has a truly great singer in a while. I’m talking a Kelly/Carrie caliber singer.”
IMO Kelly is not a great singer. Yes, I know blasphemy right? Sorry, but her voice has a shrilly screechy sound to it for me. She has gotten better since her Idol days though, I’ll give you that. Her career success is because she’s blond, hot, and in country. Good singer? Sure. Great singer? We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Kelly however is a great singer.
Now feel free to rip me a new one
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
9:31 am
Oh, thought I’d share something. Over the weekend I was skimming through the cable channels and found a concert. It was Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffet on stage together. They performed each other’s hits. It was one of the best TV concerts I’ve seen. They sounded great. It was pretty cool seeing Jimmy Buffet sing “Chicken Fried” and Zac Brown singing “Son of a Sailor” and “Margaritavile” ect.. I’m not sure if there is anything on youtube of them or not, but it’d be worth looking into if anyone is interested.
I liked the concert so much, it made me pull out the guitar and play along putting on a show for my 8 month old daughter. I also watched it 3 or 4 times all weekend.
JTe$la
March 22nd, 2010
9:33 am
Thou shall not blasphemy Kelly Clarkson.
Producers picking a song: it’s happened before, it will happen again. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
9:43 am
Rx, I’m confused… IMO Kelly is not a great singer…Her career success is because she’s blond, hot, and in country.
Umm, I mean, Kelly IS a natural blonde, and she’s dabbled in country, but did you mean Carrie? If so, that’s alright. I can see what you mean about Carrie…now if you meant Kelly, well, them’s fighting words.
D, Melinda does have a great voice, but I don’t think people really expected that she’d win. Jordin was clearly the “safer” choice.
Neg, I agree..it’s disturbing and frustrating. Let the kids sink or swim on their own. But I guess they want to exert what control they can. It lends credence to the conspiracy theorists out there…
Zac Brown/Jimmy Buffett CMT Crossroads…have not seen it, but does sound like a good one. That series is always entertaining.
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
9:45 am
WHOOPS, I meant Carrie as you could probably tell by my discription of “blond, hot, and country”
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 am
That was it, the CMT Crossroads. Apparently they do that with a number of different musicians. I’d never heard of it, just got lucky and stumbled across it. It’s a really great idea. I’m surprised they can get musicians to do it. For enterainment purposes, I’m glad they do.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 am
Well, actually…some of us think Kelly is hot! And Texans are country…. and now I’m just giving you a hard time.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
9:53 am
CMT Crossroads: It’s a great series. And speaking of dabbling in country…that was how Kelly and Reba first got to work together. Watching Reba rock out to Since U Been Gone? Classic. There’s been plenty of those, including the misguided Taylor Swift/Def Leppard. But some classics: Brooks & Dunn with ZZ Top, Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews, Sugarland and Bon Jovi.
Susie
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 am
I am really frustrated with how Idol is going this year, mostly about Alex Lambert getting kicked off. Yesterday, Alex’s cousin uploaded his version of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. It was filmed in his backyard, singing for his family the night of his Dallas audition. Listen to this and how can you deny he shouldn’t still be there??? Makes me mad all over again.
Mercedes S.
March 22nd, 2010
10:05 am
Good Morning, and good luck to all wedding planners and broken arm-healings!
Forgot to record the Alex show. Thanks for info, Harriett, about how he was forced to sing a song he didn’t care for. This is nothing new on Idol. One contestant I personally know of , the sister of my d-i-l’s best friend from high school, was voted off after “being told” to sing a completely different song than the one she had picked (and which had been cleared) and practiced on for months.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
10:28 am
Since we were on the Carrie subject, did y’all hear the sad news about one of the truck drivers on her tour? He was in a terrible wreck and passed away. I saw the video of the show where she dedicated Temporary Home to him…
On a much non-Idol lighter note, JT, this one’s for you.. Kim K. http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20353287,00.html#20758346
JTe$la
March 22nd, 2010
10:51 am
Hello Kim!
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
10:57 am
In a slightly related matter, while Carrie is prettier than Kelly, if given the option I’d rather bang Kelly. I dig that full booty and feisty attitude of hers.
Now, speaking of hot do-ability and big voices, MJ is reporting that Christina Aguillera will be the mentor this week.
Mercedes S.
March 22nd, 2010
11:01 am
Usher seems barely able to mentor himself, what with his mom making his dentist appointments, and Usher being married – for a while – to an older woman…curious to see what advice he’ll give.
Candlerboyz
March 22nd, 2010
11:09 am
Morning all. I have seen some buzz about Christina Aguilera being the mentor as well
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
11:13 am
NEG! LMAO! Telling it like it is, I see. You will find no arguments on that logic. One of my favorite quotes of Kelly’s ever was that she wished she could be so passionately in love with someone that they could be arguing one minute and making love the next. Feisty and bipolar…sounds like one of my (more fun) exes.
Rickster
March 22nd, 2010
11:13 am
Looks like I picked a great week to stop watching television!
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
11:14 am
I just think in a case where the contestant has a good idea of their comfort zone with a song, it is almost criminal to pressure them to change–especially if a song has already cleared. You can see Alex on Ellen via youtube. It is all there, along with him performing the song he originally wanted to sing. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIY3125nLWc
Rickster
March 22nd, 2010
11:14 am
Of course… since Rodney got married he’s stopped looking for dates, right?
wreckedpizza
March 22nd, 2010
11:46 am
What’s all the fuss about Kim Kardashian? I mean besides the killer bod, hair, face, etc. what does she have going for her???
Have to disagree that Carrie’s success is only due to being blond, hot and in country. I think she has some talent there also and it is not confined to the genre of country music. Or maybe my eyes deceive me and I haven’t seen her videos on non-country outlets like VH-1. Just sayin’.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
11:57 am
Well, I certainly think the girl can sing…and became a bigger fan after I saw her live. She was spectacular and can hit some insane high notes. My criticism of her performances had been the lack of connection with the audience, feeling scripted in her chatter, etc. Now, I’ve heard that she’s improved a lot on that. Unfortunately, she’s not coming to Atlanta in this round of the tour, so I’m saving my opinion until I see her again. If there’s no announcement, I might just have to catch the show in Birmingham when she’s there in June.
JTe$la
March 22nd, 2010
11:57 am
“What’s all the fuss about Kim Kardashian? I mean besides the killer bod, hair, face, etc. what does she have going for her???”
Umm Wreckedpizza, you answered your own question.
Christina Aguilera… didn’t we already have her?
wreckedpizza
March 22nd, 2010
12:01 pm
Yeah, I guess I did answer my own question; so how about Kim K?!?
And no, I haven’t had Christina Aguilera yet.
Rickster
March 22nd, 2010
1:24 pm
Two quick notes:
I have to admit, Rodney looks better in his hat than Usher does in his.
In the Kim K v. Kelly v. Carrie… based on some of the without makeup vs. with make-up pictures I’ve seen, I’d choose Carrie. How they look when you wake up in the morning, without make-up, is just as important as they do with. And based on those ‘Allure’ pics… it’s Carrie by a country mile.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
2:19 pm
“By a country mile…” Alright, Mr. Cowell. I had no idea today’s blog would turn into “Who Would You Rather?” I opt for one that’ll play Lilith Fair.
But yes, I like Rodney’s hat better than Usher’s.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
2:22 pm
In breaking news, another sign of the pending apocalypse: MILEY CYRUS is this week’s mentor!
Candlerboyz
March 22nd, 2010
2:30 pm
KCF OMG I just saw it too:
Miley Cyrus as the guest mentor for the Top 11. Somewhere, Haeley Vaughn is crying.
From FOX: Miley Cyrus will appear as a guest mentor on “American Idol” and help the Top 11 finalists prepare for their performances on a Billboard No.1 Hits-themed show airing Tuesday, March 23 on FOX.
Candlerboyz
March 22nd, 2010
2:31 pm
What is her advice gonna be “MMKAY YA’LL GET YOU SOME HORSE TEETH LIKE ME THEN SANG TROUGH YOUR NOSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE..BE SURE TO NEVER SING FROM YOUR DIAFRAM, ALL NOSE AND THROAT BABY ALL NOSE AND THROAT”
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
2:33 pm
LOL CBZ!
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
2:42 pm
WTF ARE THEY DOING! Granted, it was getting to be a bit much seeing fossils like Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton being mentors in recent years, but why go to such a retarded extreme the other way? She’s barely 17~!
I hope this is a joke.
Nutmeg?
March 22nd, 2010
2:52 pm
If any of the idols do “Purple People Eater” (#1 in June of ‘58), then I will vote for that person… for the first time ever.
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:03 pm
Are you sure the Idols aren’t going to be the mentors for Miley Cyrus?
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:05 pm
Oh god, if she is the guest on the show then that means *GULP* she’s going to perform!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo………
Mercedes S.
March 22nd, 2010
3:05 pm
Anybody here watch “Nurse Jackie”? She’ll be lovely balm tonight after that annoying CTU-woman on “24″.
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
3:06 pm
Listen, folks, it could be worse. It could be Taylor Swift.
Rickster
March 22nd, 2010
3:15 pm
Miley Cyrus the guest mentor???
Now I KNOW my decision to stop watching prime time television was a good one.
What sign of the apocalypse is that one JT?
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
3:16 pm
Miley Cyrus to mentor, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato to perform…
BRUTAL!
Can’t WAIT to see Miley “mentoring” Crystal…you know, giving her tips on how she needs to improve her phrasing or switch to a different key.
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
3:18 pm
Oh, and Mentor Miley is to perform on the results show.
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
3:19 pm
Mercedes, I love Nurse Jackie…I’ve been waiting for Season 2 since it ended. Eddie = trouble.
Harriett, I’m thinking they’ll save Swift for Country Week.
Hey, it could be worse, y’all…barely, yes, but we could’ve ended up with “The Beaver” as mentor. ICK!
Mercedes S.
March 22nd, 2010
3:19 pm
So… this IS the teen song night, after all?
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
3:21 pm
Now who thinks that Teen Idol week wouldn’t have been so much better than this mess? Hello, Donnie Osmond, David Cassidy, Jordan Knight/Joey Mac…anyone would’ve been better!
kelly&carriefan
March 22nd, 2010
3:22 pm
As far as I’ve heard, it’s still Billboard # 1…which has Miley EVER had one?
RxDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:22 pm
Actually Neg, those Jonas kids aren’t that bad. I’m not a fan, but I can recognize that they are talented. As for Miley….I’ll probably switch the channel and watch some commercials somewhere.
Mercedes, I watch Nurse Jackie. It’s a good, twisted show. I’ll be looking foward to it resuming.
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
3:35 pm
Jonas Bros are talented? Sorry, gay little douche bags doing bubble gum pop ain’t my kind of talent. I’d rather hear Lovato than any of them, actually. She’s got a bit of a wild streak in her.
Negativo
March 22nd, 2010
3:39 pm
BTW, just saw Joe Jonas and Demi Lavato are supposedly a couple…I guess that means he’s not as gay as I thought. Hope he’s hitting that!
Rodney Ho
March 22nd, 2010
4:00 pm
Sorry. I was interviewing Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC for her new VH1 reality show “What Chilli Wants” and only now posted the Miley Cyrus news. Boy, oh, boy. I interviewed her three years ago during my last trip out to L.A. for the Television Critics Association on the set of “Hannah Montana.” I think she spent part of my six minute interview texting someone else but otherwise, seemed like a perfectly nice 13 year old.
Rodney Ho
March 22nd, 2010
4:00 pm
Anyway, that news is up on the new blog entry…
Alley B
March 22nd, 2010
4:02 pm
Guys, I doubt any of that is true. Think about it. His leaving was like THE saddest most disappointing early elimination in the show’s 9 seasons!! If I recall Entertainment Weekly described it as something like Ryan brutally mauling a puppy before the nation. No-ones ever described another contestants elimination like that before. So just think about that for a second.. Considering how much they drive home that song choice is key, and that his criticism was all about, doing more with the song, and giving a comfortable performance, acoustic guitar, him just singing, being him, (Randy in a Bikini.) etc… All of which it appears he’d planed to do with the Mario song, and also would have been WAY more appealing to the majority of Idols audience. Taking all that into account, if the producer talked him out of choosing this song, Well then Kara would have been wrong, It wouldn’t have been him that was standing in way of his winning, it would have been an Idol Producer! And that, dear peeps would be everywhere, and I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere, Its probably just rumor and gossip. He probably choose this one over Mario because it was a successful perform. for a previous Idol winner… Has anyone asked him, directly why he did Trouble?
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
4:13 pm
He said so on Ellen. Check the link.
Alley B
March 22nd, 2010
4:18 pm
He doesn’t say anything about Idol producers, why he did Trouble. Ellen just says, So this is a song you’ve never done on Idol before. And hes yeah I love that song…
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
4:46 pm
Ok. There is another link that he says the Idol producers persuaded him. I will try and find it.
Harriett
March 22nd, 2010
4:58 pm
I can’t find it and it is time to go, but I promise you I HEARD him say the producers talked him out of Let Me Love you and told him he’d get more votes by doing Trouble. I heard it myself.
Alley B
March 22nd, 2010
11:35 pm
Harriet Your right!! I found it he told Entertainment Weekly the producer told him “if you do song, you’ll get more votes”!! THATS SO BS!!! I can’t believe that!! clearly if he’d have given the performance he gave on Ellen the judges wouldn’t have done all that criticizing about him being himself and comfortable, AND he woulda stole some of the tween vote!! That’s just messed up!
Hey Idol put a poll on their page, Who left too early? You think they might be bringing someone back? http://www.americanidol.com/?ref=socialmedia_2010_03_22_Poll
tina
July 17th, 2010
10:24 pm
he is so sexy i love you usher i wish you can give a show in my countrey i love you
tina
July 17th, 2010
10:28 pm
i wish you cut give a show in my countrey suriname people they love you here i am a begis fan of yours your my hero
liana
July 17th, 2010
10:32 pm
love your songs all of them and my sister tina loves you allot
Alex
July 20th, 2010
12:52 pm
I LOVE YO SONGZ COZ ARE UNREPLACEBLE, 4EXAMPLE YO SONG YEAH….