Mario Vazquez

[meu]

Eventually we'll probably get the facts of why Mario left. I don't think that this is earth shattering news and I NEVER thought that he would actually win the entire competition.

I do think that he is talented and I hope that things are okay with him and his family.

I have no intention of believing any rumors and will wait for Mario to speak for himself (if he does).

The show will go on and it probably won't affect the outcome.

I do feel badly for his fans who wanted him to go forward and wanted to vote for him.

I think that he will not disappear from the music scene so maybe they can take comfort in that.

[Google]

 

[JonasGrumby]

Originally Posted by weathergirl91

WHOA! Surprising! I just heard about this, and I was in shock. I mean, he made it to the top 12, and then he dropped out. I guess the personal reasons were pretty personal. I think he had an amazing voice, but so did Nikko. I wonder if theres even a point in putting Nikko back in. I mean, he was obviously voted off for a reason. If he didnt recieve that many votes, its not a fair competition to put him back in. Just my opinion. I am still sad that Mario left! We will miss you Mario!!!

You are counting Nikko out. Don't you even think that he may have had garnered more votes than some of the girls? So there is a likely chance that he may go further than some of those girls. Some of those girls don't command the stage as much as the guys (and they already lost Aloha. Maybe if Mikalah quits we'd get Aloha back, unfortunately they would put Amanda instead.)

[Candybar]

Is it possible he has a contract conflict?
Is too old?
Is he a US citizen? I think the bio says he is from NY but it doesn't mention his pace of birth. I am sur ehis fans know.

I really know nothing about him.

It just seems sad he would come this far and withdraw.

[redzz04]

It will be interesting to find out the real true reason. He is so talented I think he will still go far. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to sign a contract that would hinder his rights as an artist. At any rate its ashame to see him go. I really liked Nikko he has an amazing voice and it will be interesting to see how things will go now.

My choices: Bo, Anwar, Nikko, go guys! Mario would have been on my list too

[flapbreaker]

Well unless there has been new developements in his life that has prompted the change of heart I think it's a crappy deal for all involved. I don't understand how someone could get to this stage of the competition and back out. If he is doing this for another contract then he is sadly taken a big risk. Although he is very talented I doubt that he has gained enough of a fan base to warrant bailing now. Oh well I'm sure that we'll find out what the deal is. Someone will talk...

[Grisabella]

Originally Posted by meu

I wonder what his "personal" reasons were? I was thinking that maybe a record company offered him a good deal that would be better than being under contract to 19 Entertainment (Simon Fuller's company) and he left to pursue something more advantageous to him. Just a thought.
Clay left Fuller's company not to long ago because he wasn't being paid enough and now he is making a lot more money.
It will be interesting to see what follows. ...

The thing is, Clay was able to dump 19M as his management company and get out of the 19E contract that dictated who could handle his concert tours, etc., at the end of 2003 - less than a year after AI2 ended. You'd think Mario could have done the same kind of thing, provided he didn't actually win the title this year. It's really only the winner that has the really gawdawful contract, I think.
... Which makes me wonder if Simon Fuller was unhappy about not having tight enough (financial) control over the commercial success of former Idol contestants, so that maybe they tightened up the contract since 2003. Maybe Mario would not have been able to get out of his AI contract(s) as quickly in 2006 as Clay did in 2004, had he not withdrawn at this point.

I do think it would be strange if 19 would let contestants have up to 3 weeks of major TV exposure as semi-finalists, though, without having pretty tight rein on their ability to use that publicity as a springboard to a career with some other non-BMG recording company.

The fact that Mario's said he "can't talk about" what happened -- as opposed to "I don't want to talk about it" -- suggests to me that there are legal wranglings still going on.

[Grisabella]

Originally Posted by weathergirl91

I wonder if theres even a point in putting Nikko back in. I mean, he was obviously voted off for a reason. If he didnt recieve that many votes, its not a fair competition to put him back in. Just my opinion. I am still sad that Mario left! We will miss you Mario!!!

Why on earth would they not put Nikko -- or whover the 7th-ranked guy was -- back on in Mario's place?
It's now supposed to be a competition among the top 12 contestants, not the top 11. Mario withdrew before the top 12 competed against each other for the first time.
And, for all we know, the 6th-ranked guy might have beat Nikko by only a single vote. All we know is that each of the other guys got more votes than Nikko did. We don't know that there was a substantial difference in viewer support between Nikko and any of the guys who made the top 6.

[Misty8723]

Have to say I'm not too sorry to see him out of the comptetion, he was my least favorite of the guys (and most of the girls). But I wish him well, and hope he gets whatever the problem is straightened out. I think he has a good career waiting for him if he so chooses.

[danny]

I am soo gutted i really am.
Ill get over it though - lol, but I just really wanted to see him come alive on the big stage you, know?
Ach well, ill totally need to get over it quickly - I jjust keep wondering what the Finals mightve been like with his energy there, but I guess we'll never know!

[pillbeam]

Originally Posted by lobeck

This show has been on for 3 seasons now, so, unless Mario was living under a rock, I don't see how he couldn't have known about the strict contract beforehand. So what...he goes this far and then decides to quit supposedly because he didn't want to be "tied" to an exclusive contract? He knew about the contract going in...he should have thought about all that meant before now.

I'm not sure whether Mario, even if he was a viewer of AI for three years, understood the nature of the contract beforehand. The only reason why I know about the nature of the contract is from reading one article in Salon.Com two years ago and participating in the FORT forum. I never read about it in mainstream newspapers or heard about it on TV.

On the other hand, if Mario did know about it, he might have tried to get as much exposure as possible on the show before ducking out before the contract signing. That would be disappointing to his fans, I understand.