American Idol~ Now Season 7!

[ralf23]

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From Yahoo news:

Another American Idol hopeful may have sung his last note on the talent search.

Jose "Sway" Penala wowed the judges with his rendition of Luther Vandross' "Superstar" at the San Francisco auditions, earning himself a pass to Hollywood. However, according to realitytvmagazine.com, Penala, 27, may have been in violation of the competition's strict eligibility rules at the time of his tryout last summer.

The American Idol rules state that contestants can not have be signed to any current recording or talent management contracts in order to be eligible for the show. Prior contracts, on the other hand, are permissible, as long as they are no longer in effect at the time the contestant auditions.

Speculation exists that Penala was signed to E-Real Records with his band, 6th Day, at the time he auditioned for the show last August.

In September, the band released a CD titled Forever Starts Today via the site brownjungle.com, where it can be purchased for $11.99. Around the time of the album's release, a Filipino newspaper reported that Penala was still a member of 6th Day and that the band was performing mall shows in Manila.

However, another member of 6th Day has come forward claiming that Penala never signed a contract with E-Real Records and that he cut ties with the band and its management when he decided to audition for American Idol.

Fox has not commented on Penala's situation and it is not known what action, if any, will be taken against him.

Controversy aside, the fledgling singer has already earned himself a dedicated network of supporters, as well as his very own fansite, www.josepenala.com, which offers music samples, photos and a biography of the "star in the making."

Meanwhile, as seems to be the trend on Idol, the criminal record of another contestant has been unearthed. According to TMZ.com, Halicia Thompson has been arrested a number of times and twice convicted of crimes.

In 1998, Thompson was arrested and convicted of criminal trespass following a confrontation with a waitress in a restaurant. Three months later she was arrested again and convicted of disorderly conduct.

The singer told TMZ.com that she has since improved her relationship with the police, and has even enrolled in a criminal justice college. "I broke down and joined them," she said.

Thompson and Penala aren't the only Idol contestants coping with the downsides of their newfound fame.

Last week, Fox "uninvited" twin brothers Terrell and Derrell Brittenum from the competition after reports surfaced that they were wanted on identity theft and fraud charges.

The fifth season of the talent quest continues to attract an enormous audience, with 35 million viewers tuning in for Tuesday's two-hour episode, making the show easily the weeks' most-watched. Wednesday's episode trailed only slightly behind, with 32.4 million viewers--good for a second place finish.

Ratings for the show are already up 15 percent over last season. Tuesday marks the final audition episode before the next round of the competition begins.

[wham]

fearless forecast ninyo kung kinsa mudaog b...
ako paris benett

katherine mcphee lng ako!

[totsie79]

my top 3 are ace young, katharine mcphee and sway penala.


but of course, im rooting for Sway! all the Way!

[akosidede]

where's sway.. di man siya ang lead jud tingali ani nga band..
naa line nga.. blah blah blah sway and jay blah blah blah..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRIP0...arch=6th%20day

[ygen]

bias kau mga judges mga doh!! pareha atong guy nga ni kanta og stevie wonder nga song yesterday la ko kbw sa iya name, d bya kau nindot iyang tingog unya giingnan man hnuon cya ni simon nga sa 5 seasons sa american idol cya kuno ang pinaka nindot nga male vocals.

ahhh!!! yawa ra!!Â*

Pasabot lang ana BUNGOL mo (jokjokjok) or dili lang mo kahibaw mo-appreciate og nindot nga interpretation sa kanta ni Stevie Wonder.Â* It was not necessarily a great song by Stevie Wonder but Elliott made it his own and it sounded so good.Â* Siya maoy usa sa pinakanindot nga nikanta.Â* Siguro nadistract lang mo sa iyang nawng.Â* Suwayig paminaw balik.Â* I love the way the song started fast then slowed down in the middle where Elliott was able to showcase his soulful vocals here (naa nay kakompetensya si Taylor) and then went back on its fast tempo again.

You can try this link if you want to HEAR and SEE the performances (you need to register first):
http://theidolshow.com/forum/index.p...6&showforum=22

Besides, wala mo-ingon si Simon that he's really the best from 5 seasons.Â* Simon specifically said he's "potentially" the best male vocalist.Â* Keyword : POTENTIALLY.Â* Walay formal training si Elliott sa singing.Â* Tig-karaeoke lang siya pero para nako nindot kaayo iyang tingog.Â* He's a diamond in the rough.Â* He MAY become the best among them.Â* Based lang sa performances last week, I personally think he was VOCALLY the best among the other good ones.Â* We'll just have to see if Elliott lives up to the potential that Simon said to him. Hopefully he doesn't disappoint.

Ranking of the only noteworthy performances from the top 24:
1.Â* Elliott
2.Â* Chris
3.Â* Katharine
4.Â* Taylor
5.Â* Mandisa
6.Â* Ace
7.Â* Lisa

I love Paris's audition piece but lately she's been heading to mediocre land.

[esamar]

Hello friends. To all american idol fans, one of the finalists is a filipino-american guy. His name is Jose "Sway" Penala. He's very talented and I'm sure if we give him our support, he'll easily get to the top 10. To those filipinos living in the states, it is easy to vote. Just watch the show every Tuesday and call in to the approprirate number, and I believe it's free of charge.

[img width=500 height=231]http://www.josepenala.com/josep2.jpg[/img]

[iloveyou4ever]

did this guy made it to the top 10? kay off man jud cable dire sa amo. Next month pa daw balik cable dire.

[lindsay]

i don't think the judges are biased. they are just being honest. these are music expert people and knows what they're talking about. though simon gets overboard sometimes.

[jugs_06]

biased jud.. tan-awa ra gud na si simon OA ra kaau.

[lindsay]

i don'tÂ* thinkÂ* OA c simon.Â* thoug he isÂ* rude and grumpy......anyways, i don't they're biased at all....