Five years ago, around Christmastime, 11 Idol winners from around the world congregated in London for the World Idol competition. There was future Grammy
winner Kelly Clarkson flying the flag for the US, the original Canookian Idol Ryan Malcolm, Australia's Guy Sebastian, Diana Karazon of Jordan (the winner
of the pan-Arabian Idol contest and the only contestant from an Asian country in the contest), hunky Heinz Winckler of South Africa, Jamai Loman from the
Netherlands, Belgium's Peter Evrard, train-wreck deluxe Alexander Klaws of Germany, Poland's Alicja "Alex" Janosz, eventual winner Kurt
Nilsen of Norway, and of course, Great Britain's Will Young.
I remember the Christmas broadcast of the performance show very well, as well as the New Year's Day result show. Some of my favorite moments:
01) Alicja Janosz telling off her inebriated countryman Kuba Wojewodzki (one of the judges) in Polish.
02) Peter Evrard ripping Simon Cowell a new asshole. "Who are you to judge me for being real?!"
03) Alexander Klaws defecating on the legacy of "Flashdance" with a terrible rendition of "Maniac". And the "Pan-Arab" vote gave him top points.
04) The other Belgian entry, Jonatan Cerrada, was supposed to represent France (the home of the Francophone Nouvelle Star competition) but it fell through.
05) Ant and Dec showing more chemistry and personality than Ryan Seacrest ever had.
06) Diana Karazon was the only contestant to sing in a language other than English, and she made the night classier than it had every right to be. And she got third place in the American vote.
07) Nina de Man, the Belgian judge, looked eerily like Lisa Loeb.
08) Kurt Nilsen dominating the vote from beginning to end (though the pan-Arab vote put him in the bottom half) and ruining what many expected to be Kelly Clarkson's international coronation. Simon Cowell must have been one pissed motherfucker.
09) Victoria Beckham's performance on the result show, proving that she is the least talented woman of our time.
It was a shame that this was a one-off contest. This was also the last time that the original Pop Idol stage (the template for all Idol shows thereafter) was used. I wish that there was a World Idol contest every year, or every two years. If there were one, and countries with Idol franchises selected their best contestants, winners or otherwise, it would be great. Of course, it will never happen. :-(
I remember the Christmas broadcast of the performance show very well, as well as the New Year's Day result show. Some of my favorite moments:
01) Alicja Janosz telling off her inebriated countryman Kuba Wojewodzki (one of the judges) in Polish.
02) Peter Evrard ripping Simon Cowell a new asshole. "Who are you to judge me for being real?!"
03) Alexander Klaws defecating on the legacy of "Flashdance" with a terrible rendition of "Maniac". And the "Pan-Arab" vote gave him top points.
04) The other Belgian entry, Jonatan Cerrada, was supposed to represent France (the home of the Francophone Nouvelle Star competition) but it fell through.
05) Ant and Dec showing more chemistry and personality than Ryan Seacrest ever had.
06) Diana Karazon was the only contestant to sing in a language other than English, and she made the night classier than it had every right to be. And she got third place in the American vote.
07) Nina de Man, the Belgian judge, looked eerily like Lisa Loeb.
08) Kurt Nilsen dominating the vote from beginning to end (though the pan-Arab vote put him in the bottom half) and ruining what many expected to be Kelly Clarkson's international coronation. Simon Cowell must have been one pissed motherfucker.
09) Victoria Beckham's performance on the result show, proving that she is the least talented woman of our time.
It was a shame that this was a one-off contest. This was also the last time that the original Pop Idol stage (the template for all Idol shows thereafter) was used. I wish that there was a World Idol contest every year, or every two years. If there were one, and countries with Idol franchises selected their best contestants, winners or otherwise, it would be great. Of course, it will never happen. :-(
