American Idol: Jason Castro Misses Cleaning Pools

May 12, 2008 07:42:52 by Joe Reality

Recently eliminated American Idol finalist Jason Castro won’t be going home right away, because he has to travel to make appearances and the finale is only a little over a week away.  However, Jason is anxious to get back home, because he misses his day-to-day life.  In a recent conference call, Jason explained, “I just miss home.  And I love being home in the summer and just – I kind of miss working, working in the summers with my dad.”

When asked what type of work he did for his dad, Jason Castro revealed, “Well, he has a company that designs and builds custom swimming pools, and I’ve worked with him since I was 15, and I just did drafting and did some outside work.  I would survey lots and clean pools and stuff like that.”

Not only has Jason Castro been so busy that he’s been missing out on cleaning pools, but he also revealed he hasn’t had time to return calls from celebrities.  When asked if any famous people had called him wanting to work with him, Jason replied, “Actually, nothing about wanting to work with me, but Chris Sligh called me the other day.  He was apparently hanging out with one of my friends that’s a guitarist who’s doing some studio work in Nashville, and they were hanging out.  And I came up in conversation, and he gave him my number, and he was just extending friendship.  And I haven’t called him back yet.”

Jason continued, “I haven’t had time.  That’s how busy this thing is.  That I can’t even call back a celebrity.”  Chris Sligh finished in tenth place on American Idol 6, and Jason Castro made it all the way to fourth place on American Idol 7.

Reality TV Magazine is your source for American Idol news. For other great American Idol news, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: American Idol.

Photo Credit: Reality TV Magazine

Topics: American Idol | No Comments »

American Gladiator: Season Premiere!

May 12, 2008 07:29:12 by Candace_Young

The season premiere of American Gladiators kicks off with Hulk Hogan declaring it to be the biggest, baddest competition on prime time television! The show begins with 40 determined competitors facing off against the Gladiators, who have three new members! There are new events, and the grueling Eliminator is even tougher than last season!

First up is construction worker Randee Haynes who dedicates his showing to his wife, and Jay Martinez a police officer and S.W.A.T. member! He claims to fear nothing! Jay and Randee head straight to the new event, Rocketball, where they will face Wolf and Toa. Contenders try to score in baskets high in the sky while the Gladiators try to stop them. With a howl from Wolf they’re off, flying on bungee cords through the air. The event ends with Jay and Randee tied 2-2!

Next up, the female contenders! They are Elena Maskalik, a firefighter from the Ukraine, and Melissa Trinidad, a feisty single mother. Together they will face the daunting climb up the pyramid as well as Gladiators Crush and Venom! The ladies don’t have much luck, however, as neither woman is able to get anywhere near the top of the pyramid!

Hang Tough is the next event, with contender Randee saying, “Who’s afraid of the big, bad Wolf?” Wolf, of course, being a very intimidating figure on the rings. Randee breaks free from the Wolf claw once, but in the end, gets pulled down into the water below. Since he hung on just until the buzzer went though, he is thrilled to get 5 points! Wolf climbs back up ready to take on Jay, who claims he’ll be ‘Lord of the Rings”! The riled up Wolf takes less than 10 seconds to pull Jay down into the water! Leaving it 7-2 in favor of Randee after two events!

Next, Laila Ali announces that the ladies will be taking on Crush in the joust! Elena goes first and in spite of holding her own rather well, falls into the water with 11 seconds left on the clock. Melissa is up next, motivated by the sight of her daughter holding up an “I love you mommy” sigh, but is knocked off the podium rather quickly by Crush, who dominates in this event!

The men next face the Gauntlet, with Titan, Toa, Militia, and Justice serving as barriers to the end of the road! Jay attempts to run the Gauntlet first and gets through with very little problem! A pumped up Randee faces the Gladiators next and has a little more trouble handling the huge ‘obstacles’, ultimately failing to get past Justice, and leaving the score at 13-12 in favor of Randee after three events!

Melissa next gets the news she’ll be taking on Hellga in Assault! She accumulates 4 points before getting nailed by Hellga! Then Elena comes forward for her attempt to beat Hellga. She makes it to the sand pit and finds the bazooka, but points it the wrong way - almost taking out the camera guy. The event finishes with the ladies tied 4-4!

Jay draws the massive Justice, and Randee lands Titan, as the men face the Pyramid. The whistle blows and Jay gets one knee in the scoring zone before being pulled down! In the end, neither contender is able to log any points, leaving the final score at 13-12, which means Randee will have a half-second lead in the Eliminator!

The last event for the women is The Wall - it’s bigger and rougher than last year, but the goal is still to get to the top in less than sixty seconds! Melissa will have Venom nipping at her heels, while Elena will go against Jet - who incidentally was last year’s female winner! The girls get a 7 second head start on the Gladiators, which enables contender Elena to get to the top. Unfortunately, Melissa loses her grip, and in the end, Elena comes out ahead in points and with a 5 second head start in the Eliminator!

Randee and Jay prepare for the new, tougher Eliminator, which has a tightrope element added! As the whistle blows for each man, they swim through the water and start the climb up the net neck-in-neck! Jay soon falls behind though, and Randee continues on, taking a considerable lead. The only hope for Jay is if Randee struggles on the Travelator, but Randee makes it to the top on the first attempt and finishes triumphantly! Randee’s time: 2 minutes 6 seconds!

As Melissa and Elena prepare for the Eliminator, the whistle blows for Elena who has a 5 second head start! Melissa gets going and the girls wind up tied at the top of the net! Elena lets go of the hand-bike and ends up behind! The race is tight as they balance on the teeter-totter. Next up is the Travelator! Both women are exhausted and neither makes it up on the first attempt! The crowd screams as the ladies struggle to get up to the top. Both of them have to stop and rest, before Melissa finally finds the energy to finish the race, which now ends with the contenders dropping far down into a pool of water!

Second Hour

Vanessa Warren, who is a pilot in the military, is the next female contender. Her opponent will be Nikki Key from New York who says she is driven to succeed! They prepare to start out by facing Pyramid! Nikki will be facing Venom, while Vanessa, or as her family calls her, ‘Major Pain’, will face-off against Jet! The whistle blows and the action starts with both contenders making valiant attempts to climb to the top, but being foiled by the Gladiators. It’s 0-0 after 1 event and Nikki has an ankle injury!

Gerry Garcia, a teacher from Long Beach, CA, is the first male contender. He will face the giant Justice on Hang Tough! Gerry avoids trouble at first, but Justice hones in and sends Gerry for a dip in the pool! A former Para-Olympian with a prosthetic leg is the next male contender, his name is John Sicliano, and he will take on Justice as well! John looks tentative as Justice bears down on him, and soon he is in the water as well! The men are scoreless after one event!

Next, the ladies face the Gauntlet, which is defended by Venom, Crush, Jet, and of course, Hellga! Vanessa goes first. She gets by all of the Gladiators and nets herself 10 points! Nikki Key is unable to continue due to the ankle strain suffered in the Pyramid, so a new contender, Nikki Smith, steps in! She is no ordinary schoolteacher. “I’m here to fight!” She begins the Gauntlet, getting by Venom, Crush and Jet with no problem. She struggles a little with Hellga, but ultimately gets past, picking up 10 points, tying her with Vanessa!

The men, meanwhile, are preparing to face Titan and Wolf in Rocketball! The contenders have one minute to net as many points as they can while flying through the air and battling the interference of the Gladiators. When the buzzer sounds to end the match, Gerry has 5 points to John’s 1 point!

The ladies, up next, will be attempting Vertigo, another new event conducted high in the air! Nikki is up first and admits she is afraid of heights! Her opponent is all-new Gladiator, Phoenix! The whistle blows and they scale the thirty-foot poles. As the event progresses, Nikki’s fear of heights hampers her efforts to make it across the wobbling skyway, and the Gladiator finishes first, denying Nikki any score. Vanessa tries the sky-high event next, but Phoenix prevails again, leaving the women tied at 10 points apiece!

The men are back and are competing in Powerball! John and Gerry will face Titan, Toa and Militia, as they try to dart and dodge the Gladiators in order to score points! The men try their best, but the Gladiators are relentless. John finally scores one point, but Gerry is unable to do the same, so John finishes up by a point after the event.

The women will also do Powerball. Vanessa is pumped claiming she love speed and violence! Hellga, Jet and Venom appear to take on Nikki and Vanessa. The ladies give it their all and Nikki comes out with 2 points to Vanessa’s one - giving her a half second lead going into the Eliminator!

In the next event, John, is matched up against Wolf, and Gerry against last season’s winner, the new Gladiator, Rocket! They prepare to compete on The Wall. When the whistle blows, they’re off. John does well to keep away fro wolf at first, but Gerry is no match for quick Rocket. In the end, Wolf brings down John as well. Heading into the Eliminator, Gerry will have a one and a half second lead!

The women are ready to face the Eliminator. Nikki and Vanessa are going at the same pace as they come up out of the water and start the climb up the net! Nikki takes a hard fall off the rope swing and Vanessa has an edge for a short time, but going into the hand-bike portion, they are once again, tied and both fall into the ball pit! As the exhausted ladies struggle toward the end of the Eliminator, they come down the teeter-totter at the same time, but Vanessa uses her momentum to propel herself up the Travelator, taking the win!

As the night draws to a close, the men mentally prepare to face the Eliminator. Gerry goes on the first whistle, and John on the second, as they dive in the pool and head to the net. Together, they start the climb, with John’s prosthetic limb possibly hampering him as Gerry takes the lead. Gerry has no problem with the hand-bike or rolling pin. John keeps up admirably, but again encounters difficulties on the tightrope. Gerry by this time has reached the Travelator but doesn’t make it up the first time. The second attempt is successful though, and with a time of 3 minutes, 3 seconds, he finishes the Eliminator in first place. The crowd cheers the determined John through the rest of the race, coming to their feet as he struggles to make his way up the Travelator, which he successfully does! What an inspiration!

Reality TV Magazine is your source for American Gladiators news! For other great American Gladiators news, please feel free to check out SirLinksAlot: American Gladiators!

Topics: American Gladiators | No Comments »

Survivor Gabon To Be 17th Season Of Survivor

May 12, 2008 07:21:44 by Joe Reality

During the Survivor Micronesia reunion show, Jeff Probst introduced a video preview of the next season of Survivor.  The 17th season of Survivor will take place in Gabon, Africa.  Probst also revealed that there will be eighteen castaways taking part in the next Survivor.

The tagline for Survivor Gabon is “Earth’s Last Eden.”  Gabon is located in equatorial Africa, and Probst described it as “one of the world’s last remaining sanctuaries for pure, untouched wilderness.”  Probst also added, “Gabon is the only place on the planet where surfing hippos ride the waves, and elephants roam with gorillas, as leopards keep watch.”

In addition to the wilderness, the culture of Gabon was also highlighted in the video preview of the 17th season.  Probst said, “The culture of Gabon reflects the beauty of this ancient land with rituals and dances as pure today as they were generations ago.”

The 17th season of Survivor will be shot in high definition for the first time ever, and the season is schedule to premiere in the Fall on CBS.

Reality TV Magazine is your source for Survivor Micronesia news. For other great Survivor news, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: Survivor Micronesia.

Photo Credit: Reality TV Magazine

Topics: Survivor | No Comments »

More Players From The Mole Revealed

May 12, 2008 05:30:20 by Joe Reality

As previously reported by Reality TV Magazine, ABC is taking phased approach with releasing the names and bios of the contestants in the highly anticipated return of The Mole. Four players were announced earlier this month, and four more players have just been announced.

The four new players are Nicole from Chicago, Illinois; Ali from St. Louis, Missouri; Bobby from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Mark from Mukwonago, Wisconsin. The occupations of the new players include OBGYN doctor, model, restaurant manager, and high school history teacher/soccer coach.

The new season of The Mole will feature brand new missions, locations, and music. There will also be online and mobile interactivity added to the game to allow for more viewer participation. The Mole is set to run for ten episodes and will premiere on Monday, June 2 from 10 PM to 11 PM ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: ABC

Topics: The Mole | No Comments »

David Cook’s Fan Club Gets a Name…

May 12, 2008 04:31:42 by Jennifer_Brown

American Idol’s David Cook made the rounds while on his hometown whirlwind tour last Friday. But it was during stop #1–an interview with Fox affiliate WDAF 4–that David gave a nod (and a name!) to his fan club.

Taking a moment to be silly during the lengthy interview, the Fox 4 Morning News anchors suggested that David’s fan club needed a name. They even had signs drawn up with several choices for David to choose from:

*David’s Diehards

*Always Cook (made to look like the Coca Cola symbol)

*Cook’s Crew (drawn into a retro-looking cassette tape)

*David is My Guitar Hero

*Hometown Hottie

David chuckles over the choices, and chooses Cook’s Crew, because he likes the retro look of the cassette tape.

After naming his Crew, the silliness continued as David took a shot at being a weatherman, standing in front of the weather screen and giving the forecast for the day.

From the looks of things during David’s concerts on Friday, I’d say most of his young female KC fans would’ve picked Hometown Hottie. But I’m sure they’ll take a spot on the “Crew” as well.

Photo Courtesy: AmericanIdol.com

Topics: American Idol | No Comments »

Survivor Micronesia Winner Is Parvati Shallow

May 12, 2008 04:18:52 by Joe Reality

On the Survivor Micronesia finale, the final four of Amanda, Cirie, Natalie, and Parvati faced off to become the sole survivor.  But first, the four women celebrated their success in convincing Erik to make the dumbest move in Survivor history by giving up his individual immunity at tribal council.

For the first immunity challenge, the final four survivors had to fill a bamboo chute with water to retrieve a key.  After retrieving the key, the survivors had to open a chest and retrieve ladder rungs.  Then, the survivors had to use the ladder rungs to complete a ladder to reach a flag.  Amanda reached and raised her flag first, and she won individual immunity.

At the first tribal council, Cirie expressed that she felt like she was at the bottom of the alliance.  After the vote, Jeff Probst revealed that Natalie was the fourteenth person voted out of Survivor Micronesia.

For the second and final immunity challenge, the final three survivors had to use two handles to balance a metal ball on a wooden cylinder.  Every five minutes two additional pieces were added to the wooden cylinder, making it even more difficult to balance the metal ball.  Amanda lasted the longest, and she won the final individual immunity.

At the second tribal council, Amanda was in total control as the holder of the final individual immunity.  Amanda voted Cirie out and took Parvati with her to the final two.

At the final tribal council, Amanda and Parvati faced the jury.  Eliza called out Parvati for talking about her behind her back, but Eliza also said that listening to Amanda literally made her want to kill herself sometimes.  Natalie said Parvati was the most masterful person in the history of Survivor to play the flirt card, and Natalie pointed out that Amanda always had a glazed over look on her face.  Ozzy professed that he was truly hurt by what Parvati did to him, and Ozzy told Amanda that he started to fall in love with her.

Back in New York City, Jeff Probst revealed that by a vote of five to three Parvati Shallow was the winner of Survivor Micronesia.  On the Survivor Micronesia reunion show, James won a $100,000 as the Sprint player of the game.

Reality TV Magazine is your source for Survivor Micronesia news. For other great Survivor news, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: Survivor Micronesia.

As an extra bonus, you can now read all of our Survivor Cast Bios!

Photo Credit: Reality TV Magazine

Topics: Survivor | 2 Comments »

The Hills Season Three Finale To Offer Live Event

May 12, 2008 04:11:58 by Joe Reality

The third season of The Hills is coming to a close with a huge live event. “Live From The Hills Season Finale” will air on Monday, May 12th beginning at 8 PM ET on MTV. On the finale, The Hills cast and fans will come together for a live event at a mansion in Beverly Hills. The event will even include a performance of “Love In This Club” by Usher.

The Hills finale kicks off at 8 PM ET with a pre-show. MTV VJ Lyndsey Rodrigues hosts the pre-show, and she will give fans the inside scoop on the cast. Cast members will walk the red carpet, and the last three episodes will be re-aired.

After the pre-show, The Hills finale starts at 10 PM ET. On the finale, Audrina wants to move out, because she is feeling shut out by the close friendship between Lauren and Lo. Even though Lauren tries to patch things up, it might prove to be too little too late for Audrina. Also, when Spencer learns that Heidi is taking a job in Las Vegas, he fears that he might lose her forever.

After the finale, there will be an after-show starting at 11 PM ET. During the after-show, Usher and Young Jeezy will perform “Love In This Club.” Jessi Cruickshank and Dan Levy will host the after-show, and they will give fans the opportunity to ask questions to the cast.

After the after-show, MTV will present a sneak peek of a new series called My Super Sweet 16 Presents: Exiled at 11:30 PM ET. Also, MTV has revealed that The Hills has been picked up for a fourth season with new episodes starting to air in August 2008.

Photo Credit: MTV

Topics: The Hills | No Comments »

American Idol: Jason Castro Blames Elimination On Inexperience

May 12, 2008 04:06:32 by Joe Reality

While many of the American Idol 7 finalists had a wealth of previous experience, Jason Castro did not.  When asked about his background, Jason revealed, “I started playing guitar at my freshman year of college and singing shortly thereafter.  And while I was learning, I was teaching myself, and so I would learn songs, but I would never learn them all the way through.  So I’d never even learned a song all the way through, and now trying to learn two in a week has just been tough.”

In fact most of Jason Castro’s experience performing in front of an audience came after his American Idol audition.  Jason explained, “After my first audition, I did a few more shows, probably about like ten to twelve up and through like the Christmas time from my original audition.  But the longest gig I did was like a 30-minute set at a local venue there.”

When asked why the judges put him through in the competition despite his lack of experience, Jason said, “I think it was the potential and just because I was so new at it.  And what I had done so far, I think it just showed enough potential that I could potentially be something.  And especially, like the nature of the show, I think I’m very much what the show was originally about.  I am kind of as raw as it gets.  I haven’t done much of anything singing-wise, and I don’t know.  Maybe I’d just be good on TV.  I don’t know.”

While some have suggested that Jason Castro intentionally wanted to get voted off American Idol, Jason tells a different story.  When asked about the rumors, Jason said, “Yesterday, I wanted to win, and the day before.  And it’s just, I think what it came down to is just my inexperience.  And I just, once we doubled up on songs, I wasn’t really being able to focus.  And both my songs were just, my mind was just split, and I just couldn’t deliver either/or, and so I think that’s what it came down to.”

Even though Jason Castro might not have had a lot of experience before American Idol, he credits the show with helping to give him more experience.  Jason explained, “Well, I’ve learned that I can do a lot more than I thought.  Before I did this, I wasn’t really confident as a performer, and I wasn’t doing it a whole lot. And well, now, I did it for a few months straight on TV.  And so I just gained a lot of confidence and learned that I can do it, and it’s cool.”

As an extra bonus, you can now read all of our American Idol Cast Bios!

Reality TV Magazine is your source for American Idol news. For other great American Idol news, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: American Idol.

Photo Credit: Reality TV Magazine

Topics: American Idol | No Comments »

David Cook to Kansas City Fans: Good Lord, Guys, That Was Awesome!

May 12, 2008 03:43:59 by Jennifer_Brown

Kansas City’s got Cook Fever, as American Idol’s David Cook made multiple appearances around the area Friday for filming of hometown visit footage for this week’s show. David began his morning Friday by sitting for multiple interviews with radio and TV stations in the area, and then capped it off with a free concert in the newly-constructed Kansas City Power & Light District.

The entertainment area was packed with fans of all shapes and sizes, from babies propped on parents’ shoulders to business people taking an early lunch break to, of course, screaming teens of all ages. Fox news was on hand to pass out “David Cook Rocks” signs, while The Examiner handed out free copies of a special David Cook edition of the paper. There were even “Support David Cook” candy bars floating around the crowd freely.

American Idol producers took the stage to greet the crowd and introduce themselves (as if the giant cameras and mikes weren’t enough to give it away) and to whip the audience into a frenzy. Wasn’t hard to do. Every time the door behind the stage opened, the crowd went wild, screaming and holding up various signs in hopes of seeing David.

Before too long, to chants of “Da-vid Cook! Da-vid Cook!” Mix 93.3’s DJ, “Rocket,” took the stage to introduce City Councilwoman Jan Marcason, who was there to declare the day David Cook Day. Councilwoman Marcason stepped up to the mike and asked everyone to pay attention to the big screen over her head. On the screen popped up the image of Missouri Governor, Matt Blunt, and his wife, who urged the crowd to make donations to fight cancer (David’s brother, Adam, as fans know, is suffering from brain cancer). Then the governor whipped out the “official proclamation”–May 9th is David Cook Day Missouri-wide!

With no further ado, Councilwoman Marcason and Rocket introduced David Cook and the crowd went WILD as he stepped out onto the stage, carrying his guitar and smiling from ear to ear. He held the proclamation in the air triumphantly and mugged for the crowd and the cameras.

After the crowd calmed down some, David stepped up to the mike. “Good Lord, guys! That was AWESOME!” he said. Then he joked, “What are you here for?” After thanking the crowd profusely for their support, he jumped right into a mini-concert.

First, David sang his audition song, Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer (Holy cow! He sounds amazing! Dare I say, his voice is smoother in person than on the show!), to much cheering from the crowd. His second, and final, song was the version of Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby that he sang two weeks ago in the competition. As he took his bow, the crowd launched a hail of candy to the stage.

The concert was over, but David wasn’t done yet. He left, weaving through the crowd, surrounded by body guards and American Idol film crews