2/17 Show Discussion *Spoilers*

[I'm MEL]

Yes, that was sad when she got cut.

Isn't Shelby going to be on Ellen's show this coming week? Ellen is a huge fan of Shelby and invited her on the show. I read that somewhere on the forum.

That's great! I'll have to look for it and DVR it.

[carolinamom12]

Oh sorry to hear she got cut. I liked her too.
Thanks for letting me know.

[jammyjoe]

A-ha! We have a new perspective. Brian Mansfield (Idol Chatter) of USA Today has the story from several perspectives, including Chris's former manager:

Read the whole article for the quotes from 19E attorneys as well.

If this is true and Chris had a active recording contract, then Idol was being extremely generous in giving him the chance to get out of it before competition started.

I read it here:

Chris Golightly Disqualified From 'American Idol' Top 24 - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News

But it's not fair to Golightly if his manager was the one who screwed up. There's no reason why AI can't make it a top 25 since they've bend the rules last year with a top 13 instead of a top 12. They should be more sympathetic and right the wrong that has been done which is not Golightly's fault. These kids took tremendous time and effort to make the cut, the least that AI can do is be more considerate. They should have investigated it in the first place before making a hasty and unwise decision. The replacement, Tim Urban is not even very good and will be gone the first week...book it!

Anyway, why wouldn't AI ask Dream Projects proof if Chris was really still under contract? AI speculated that Chris was still under contract so they kicked him out. Innocent until proven guilty. It should be AI that's investigating which they did to Joanna Pacitti who eventually got DQed. In Golightly's case, they just took Dream Project's word.

[TopCatDC]

But it's not fair to Golightly if his manager was the one who screwed up.

If AI or the Dream 5 manager screwed up, then I completely agree with you. However, according to the USA Today report, Chris was under contract throughout the entire audition process. Lawrence Franklin (manager of Dream Projects) asserts that Chris signed a contract renewal in May 2009, and did not ask for a release until last month (January). He says he was willing to give him the release, but they couldn't get the paperwork done between them and 19E before Idol dumped him. Andy Stinson, one of the 19E attorneys seemed to be of the opinion that release or no release, Chris should be disqualified because he had a current contract which violates his Idol contract.

Now, this is a different version of events than Chris's story. Chris says he was released in June. So you can choose who you want to believe. And then when things fell apart he felt like the victim.

For me, Lawrence Franklin's version holds water because I don't see anything in it that really benefits him. He says he was willing to release Chris; he hopes he does well on the show; and he thinks that Idol is treating Chris poorly. That last statement makes it unlikely that he is in cahoots with Fox.

The most plausible explanation of this whole thing to me, is that Chris foolishly tried to keep is options open until he got past Hollywood week.

[libgirl2]

The most plausible explanation of this whole thing to me, is that Chris foolishly tried to keep is options open until he got past Hollywood week.

I'm thinking that too.

[jammyjoe]

American Idol Castoff Angela Martin Gets Big Surprise From Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres surprises Martin by promising her a Kara DioGuardi song, aims for label deal.

Here's the story

Here's the video:
Angela Martin on Ellen

[marlap]

American Idol Castoff Angela Martin Gets Big Surprise From Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres surprises Martin by promising her a Kara DioGuardi song, aims for label deal.

Here's the story

Here's the video:
Angela Martin on Ellen

awww, that is fantastic!