Reality Roll Call

Maybe it wasn’t Kloe Kardashian’s intention to come off as a punk, but after telling Ryan Seacrest that her 173 minutes in jail were “terrifying,” I realized that she could probably get mugged for her shoes in broad daylight by any big-boned woman in a pair of khakis.

Kloe, who stars with her sister Kim and family in the E! reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, spent 173 minutes in jail for violating a DUI charge. On Seacrest’s radio show, she said that she was made to watch a film on how to be a good inmate. She actually didn’t spend time with the prison population, so three hours of incarceration was spent in solitary. It was kind of like a grown woman being given a “time out”. Or being sent to her room without dinner, except that it’s worse than being sent to her room. There were no ammenties!

What a strange coincidence that reality show host and producer Ryan Seacrest was bitten by a shark during Shark Week! Sounds like some kind of promotional deal was worked out with the sharks and this century’s cross between Dick Clark and Casey Kasem.

Seacrest’s life was hardly at risk…unless the shark’s mother was waiting in the wings to maul him. It seems that the American Idol host was offshore in waters that were 4 feet deep when a shark the size of a cat bit him on the toe, leaving three holes in his toe.

Okay, it’s not that bad, but if you have been watching Shark Week on Discovery, you’d realize that had it been a bigger shark, Seacrest might have certainly been out. Permanently.

by Deb Porter-Jones

Tonight’s season finale is chock full of live performances by the likes of such superstars as, Donna Summer, George Michael, Idol alumni Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard and Jordin Sparks, and much, much more!

We begin with a performance by the final 12 paired with the dancers from Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” They sing “Get Ready”, by The Temptations. Then the two Davids sing a duet of some song that I don’t know but it’ so obvious that Cook is definitely a cut above Archuleta. His voice is gritty and soulful and he reminds me of Daughtry; another one I thought should have won Idol.

by Deb Porter-Jones

Tonight’s show features the song stylings of the musical singer-songwriting legend, Neil Diamond. He’s also written such iconic hits as “I’m a Believer” sung by the Monkees, “Solitary Man” and Sweet Caroline”. Diamond is probably most well known for penning the music performed in the film in which he also starred, “The Jazz Singer”. This man is truly a legend and our young contestants are truly blessed to have the opportunity to be in the presence of and learn from this superstar.

Our contestants are to sing two of Neil Diamond’s songs and then face a bit of nerve-wracking critique from the judges.

Jason Castro is up first and he performs “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “September Morn”. In the former, he plays guitar and sings rather well. Jason’s a really laid-back fellow so obviously you believe that he’d rather be “Forever in Blue Jeans”. That’s a no-brainer and he did a great job. I give him a B.

Tonight’s show includes more footage from various stars’ visits to Africa last year.  We begin with Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, best known for his phenomenal portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.  Whitaker is joined by his wife, Keisha, in Rwanda where they visited the family of a man who was blinded by a land mine.  This man lives as a beggar on the streets of Rwanda, and is assisted by his 6-year-old son as they walk through the streets begging for coins on a daily basis to pay for food to feed the family.  Whitaker and his wife were invited into the home of this man and his family, three children in all, who sleep in a hut on a dirty mattress.  Whitaker and his wife also visited an orphanage where not enough children are taken in, children who have been orphaned by the ravages of HIV/AIDS.  The people who run the orphanage are angels who have made it their life’s work to make a difference in the lives of children who would have ended up lost.  Idol fans were again encouraged to donate in an effort to also make a difference in the lives of people who are in such great need.