A recent article mentioned that Tamyra Gray, fourth-place finisher in the inaugural American Idol season, thinks that you have to be really careful what you say and do (on TV, presumably). Here’s what I don’t get. Ms. Gray mentions that when talking about La Toya London, who said she was already a winner. To me, that sounds like positive thinking, and I really don’t understand. Sounds catty if anything.
For a better example of watching what you’d say, I’d look to Ms. Gray herself. Near the end of that article, she is asked where she would be if she hadn’t been on American Idol. Her answer? Probably Broadway. That sounds much more like a boast to me. She may have gone to Broadway, and she may or may not have made it – she does have some talent – but to simply assume she would be working there? That might be a bit much.
And while I’m talking about Things Idols Say, what is up with Fantasia Barrino? This year’s Idol winner said in her acceptance speech that she had worked for everything she had. I’m sorry? I don’t begrudge Ms. Barrino anything, and out of the competition she faced, I think she was easily the most talented. But we’re talking about a 19 year old who gets picked for a reality show, wins it, and gets a recording contract. Even fourth-place finisher Gray has had spots on TV shows essentially thrown at her. Where exactly does the working part find its way into the story?