ChevyVanMiller Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 I know that a lot of you follow AI. Thought you'd find this interesting. Mario Vazquez Drops Out of 'American Idol' By Gary Susman, Entertainment Weekly Getty Images / FOX Nikko Smith (right) will replace Mario Vazquez as a Top 12 Finalist. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the 12 American Idol finalists reconvene on Tuesday for their first co-ed competition, a certain newsboy cap covering a certain set of curly locks will be conspicuously absent. In a shocker of an announcement, Fox revealed on Sunday that fan favorite Mario Vazquez has dropped out of the competition, citing unspecified personal reasons. He'll be replaced by Nikko Smith, the top vote-getter among the male semi-finalists ousted last week. In fact, he already has been at the Idol website, from which Vazquez has been purged, Soviet politician-style. Vazquez, voted by his own fellow contestants as the finalist most likely to win, has offered few clues as to the reason behind his dropping out. Talking to TV Guide Online, he said his departure had nothing to do with the show itself ''It's just a personal family thing,'' said the 27-year-old. The Bronx-bred singer said he had ''to take care of some personal issues with my family in New York. And with Idol being a live show, it just wouldn't have worked out schedule-wise.'' But his mother, Ada, told the New York Post she was unaware of any family crisis. ''I don't know his reasons, but whatever they are, I respect him for it and will be very supportive,'' she said. ''I feel so hurt. Maybe it's something Simon did. We are always blaming Simon.'' Vazquez's older brother, Rich, told the Post that Mario was equally mysterious in telling him about his decision. ''He said, 'This is not a life-threatening situation. It's for the best reasons. But I can't talk about why,''' the elder Vazquez said. ''I know he wanted it so bad, so it was a shock to me. I thought that maybe his life was in danger, but that is not the case.'' Before his reinstatement, Smith, 22, told hometown newspaper the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he wasn't overly disappointed with his loss last week. ''I'm happy to get all that exposure,'' said Smith, the son of baseball Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith. ''Millions and millions of people watch the show, and hopefully somebody saw me and liked what they saw.'' Guess he'll find out for sure now. 3/14/05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 The guy was a legit talent, too......the show really took a hit with his departure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Interesting article on the creator of AI and the contracts the contestants have to sign.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3943498 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Interesting article on the creator of AI and the contracts the contestants have to sign....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3943498 274613[/snapback] That was definitely interesting......Drudgereport.com was speculating earlier today that Mario had been advised to drop the show and not sign the contracts, but I don't know if that's the real reason he quit. I tell you what, though.....I can't imagine anything cooler than to be a successful recording artist. Chances are most of these folks on the show wouldn't ever become stars if left to their own devices - the same would also be true of myself lol. So given that this Simon Fuller guy has devised a way to allow for the creating of a fan base prior to releasing a record, I don't think I'd have any problem agreeing to his contract demands. Even if someone like Clay Aiken is splitting half of his earnings with this guy, I'd much rather have half of a bizillion dollars than the 60k I make now lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Well...there goes a perfectly good day shot to hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 What's funny is all the speculation going on here. CNN has a story saying it's either: "He didn't want the "American Idol" contract.", "He's got a skeleton in his closet. (that he doesn't want America finding out about)", or "He's going to testify in the Michael Jackson case" (seriously). I think it's pretty damn obvious what the real reason is. As it stands, he had a 1 in 12 shot of winning and being Fox's, American Idol's, and Simon Fuller's B word for the next few years. Yes, lots of money, which is the upside. However, that was a 1 in 12. Now, EVERYONE who watches that frigging show is talking about HIM, and only HIM. No such thing as bad publicity. He had someone very smart on his side, and this was a great PR move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachChuckDickerson Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 However, that was a 1 in 12. Now, EVERYONE who watches that frigging show is talking about HIM, and only HIM. No such thing as bad publicity. He had someone very smart on his side, and this was a great PR move. 275118[/snapback] I'm not so sure about that. In 2 weeks nobody with give a sh-t about this kid. Who was the 12th, 6th, or even 3rd person voted off last year? Who knows and who cares. His family had money so he really had no worries anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Who was the 12th, 6th, or even 3rd person voted off last year? 275136[/snapback] That's my point. No one would remember him if he got voted off anywhere in the next 10 weeks. Unless you win (or come in second and people love you) no one remembers you. You have to do something to make them remember you. Quitting now is a pretty good start. I would love to see what he knows about Michael Jackson, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 That's my point. No one would remember him if he got voted off anywhere in the next 10 weeks. Unless you win (or come in second and people love you) no one remembers you. 275143[/snapback] Except for William Hung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackur Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 everybody, especially the woman here at the office loved him...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 I heard the real reason he quit was that he had heard a rumor that the AI finals were going to be aired against ABC's new hit show "Jake In Progress," and he knew there was no competing with "The Stamos." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puhonix Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Did Ruben even win Idol? I mean, I know he's the winner of the second season, but the way Clay is treated, you'd think he lost it. Mario leaving is really suspicious, I'm wondering what's up with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 What's funny is all the speculation going on here. 275118[/snapback] What's even funnier is grown men are actually sitting around talking about this. Let's get back to the important pre-teen topics like Cablelady stuffs her bra and VABills think she is "super hot"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 What's even funnier is grown men are actually sitting around talking about this. 275239[/snapback] ...and even funnier than this, is the people reading and posting in this thread saying how ridiculous the whole thing is. Is there something misleading in the thread title that you didn't realize it was a thread on Amercian Idol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 ...and even funnier than this, is the people reading and posting in this thread saying how ridiculous the whole thing is. Is there something misleading in the thread title that you didn't realize it was a thread on Amercian Idol? 275250[/snapback] and even funnier than that is people replying to the people who replied to the person who commented on American Idol.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 and even funnier than that is people replying to the people who replied to the person who commented on American Idol.... 275253[/snapback] Don't you have to clean out your desk or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 (edited) ...and even funnier than this, is the people reading and posting in this thread saying how ridiculous the whole thing is. Is there something misleading in the thread title that you didn't realize it was a thread on Amercian Idol? 275250[/snapback] And the funniest is people saying how ridiculous someone saying how ridiculous a thread about........oh hell, nevermind. Call me when there is real news and Luigi quits. Bowser will then rule the world. Damn...thinking like Stevestoejam now. I need a drink. Edited March 15, 2005 by kegtapr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 And the funniest is people saying how ridiculous someone saying how ridiculous a thread about........oh hell, nevermind. Call me when there is real news and Luigi quits. Bowser will then rule the world. Damn...thinking like Stevestoejam now. I need a drink. 275256[/snapback] Well now that we are done with being ridiculous about being ridiculous, who is getting voted off this week? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 What's even funnier is grown men are actually sitting around talking about this. 275239[/snapback] NO KIDDING. POST OF THE YEAR!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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