This morning, Tim Urban showed up with his signature smile to chat with me about his time on “American Idol.” Why will his star status being taken away when he gets home? What did Tim have to say about VoteForTheWorst.com? How much money did “Idol Gives Back” raise?
Plus, the “Project Runway” winner is revealed and “Modern Family” gets fed. It’s all in today’s Dish.
Tim’s Time Ends
Now that Tim Urban is off “American Idol,” you would think his star status at home would be through the roof, right? Well, as it turns out, since he is still living under his parent’s roof, Tim is heading back to reality. Tim tells me his mom will certainly make him a home cooked meal to celebrate but when it comes to doing laundry, he is on his own! “She doesn’t do that. Not anymore,” he laughingly told me. “Now that I’m on ‘American Idol,’ she’s like, ‘You’re a grown boy Tim, you can do it. Go find somewhere else to live!’ It’s funny I live there but uh, I’m almost paying rent.” Tim told me he wouldn’t be there for long though. After the ‘Idol” tour ends he plans on moving out to California or New York City.
Yesterday, I told you how Tim was upset that he had been picked by the Web site VoteForTheWorst.com as the contestant to throw their “support” behind. If you have never heard of the site, I think the name of it clues you into what they do. This morning his shared his dislike of the site with me. “Not a fan of that Web site whatsoever,” he said.
I wanted to find out what the site’s founder, Dave Della Terza, thought of Tim’s lack of enthusiasm for them. Dave emailed me the following statement. “I guess Tim did not understand the fact that Vote for the Worst was the reason he didn’t go home the numerous times he was in the bottom 2. But either way, I still love Timmy because he went from someone who was going to go home in week one due to his horrible falsetto to a lovable head of hair that slid into our hearts on the stage. Whether he likes it or not, Tim is a VFTW legend for his track record and his hilarious performances, so he should embrace our love.”
Though I’m not knocking what they do (as I don’t really think the site takes itself too seriously), I did feel it necessary to ask if Dave felt his site was mean-spirited in anyway.
“Vote for the Worst isn’t mean spirited at all. We merely mock the fact that ‘American Idol’ is not a talent competition; it’s a carefully crafted reality TV show. If the producers put sub par contestants like Tim Urban on the show, we should have every right to vote for them. The producers encourage us to point and laugh at the bad auditions at the beginning of the season, but then expect us to respect the contestants and vote for whoever they deem to have talent once we hit the voting rounds. It’s much more fun to vote for the contestant that everyone else hates. Besides, Tim Urban has a dream, and we just helped him live it. I say we’re like guardian angels of awesomeness.”
When I told Tim about the “guardians of awesomeness” comment his reaction was this.
“Just the way that they seem to approach things I’m not a fan of. They way they have kind of torn down other people. Yeah, it’s not something I will ever be proud of.”
Check out my interview with Tim HERE.
“Idol Gives Back” Big!
The numbers have come in from FOX’s two-hour fundraising effort and I can tell you that nearly $45 million dollars was raised. The money will benefit various U.S. and international charities including The Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children’s U.S. programs and the United Nations Funds. While not as impressive as the $60 million raised in 2008 (the last time they did “IGB”) considering the recession, that’s an amazing number.
Check out the former “American Idol” contestants lending a helping hand at an event for Feeding America HERE.
“Project Runway” Winner Revealed
Seth Aaron Henderson was declared the winner of “Project Runway” season seven, last night, after showing a ‘40s German and Russian military-inspired, 10 piece collection at Bryant Park during Fashion Week. Country crooner and red carpet regular Faith Hill guest judged to help make the final choice. Henderson walked off with an editorial feature in the July issue of Marie Claire magazine, a $50,000 technology suite by HP and Intel and a cash prize of $100,000 from L’Oreal Paris to help launch his own fashion line.
“SYTYCD” All-Stars
For the past few weeks, Executive Producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe has been Tweeting the names of the former contestants, one-by-one, who will be partnered with this season’s dancers. Today, FOX released the final list of “All-Stars” who will return. Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Comfort Fedoke, Courtney Galiano, Anya Garnis, Lauren Gottlieb, Neil Haskell, Allison Holker, Mark Kanemura, Pasha Kovalev, Kathryn McCormick, Ade Obayomi and Dominic “D-trix” Sandoval will strut their stuff alongside the top ten dancers for season seven. As has been previously reported, the new contestants will no longer consist of a top twenty — with the contestants partnering and being judged together. Instead the all-stars will dance with the new contestants, who will be judged on their performance only. They will rotate partners each week.
“Modern Family” Gets Fed
On Wednesday, April 28 the contestants of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” tackle a tough assignment. They have to cook a meal for the cast and crew of ABC’s “Modern Family.”
The show was shot last fall, before “Modern Family” had ever aired and became a monster hit. So, those chefs had no idea how lucky they were at the time!
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