Advice for Idol's resident rocker Gina Glocksen
Gina, this one's for you. You were almost in tears up there and you mentioned how nasty blogs get you down, so I thought I'd throw you a nice one. I want you to stick around for a while.
Don't become a parody of yourself. Inevitably every year as contestants hear more and more about what people like and dislike about them, they try harder and harder to live up to whatever that is. Then, usually it gets to the point where it's blatantly obvious to the audience, and they stop caring about what made you cool in the first place. I think last year's winner and his low record sales are evidence of that.
Don't trip out; you don't have to try too hard to be a rocker. You already have that vibe, so just sing whatever you have to from week to week and it'll come out. That's about as much rock as Idol will let you have anyway.
Now, if you really wanted to be rock and roll, you'd do a line of coke in the dressing room before the show, flip off the camera and grab one of those violins out of the orchestra and smash it to bits during your song. I can't say that'd do much for your Idol career, but I'd forever respect you for the largest cojones ever.
I'm not sure if they'd kick you off or not, but I guarantee you'd be getting calls off the hook either way. Besides, places three through 10 are all just about the same. Same publicity, same money -- and winning is great only if you want a really watered down version of rock anyway.
So, Gina, make a decision: Avril Lavigne or Chicks with Dicks. Either way, choose one, stick to it and relax. The reality is, there's stiff competition and you probably won't come in first. Enjoy what time you've got and start planning on what you'll do after the show. You could have a career off of this if you're smart.
Jon Peter Lewis was a finalist on the third season of "American Idol." His newly released debut album, "Stories From Hollywood," is available everywhere online and can also be downloaded at americanidol.com. Visit Jon's Web site for more.
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