Jimmy Iovine Denies Pitching Reality Show

[Miguel]

The New York Post's Page Six column reported Monday that Iovine -- who offered McCreery and company a mix of real-world and fatherly advice for music stardom -- is pitching employees at his label an idea that would focus on him being a "kingmaker" for would-be pop stars.

That's news to Iovine, who told THR: "I couldn't do a show, I have about as much talent to do television as you know ... it's not what I do. I wouldn't know where to begin. [The New York Post story] it's so crazy. It's nuts."

One should always add an element of truth to make a rumor believable:

Although his rep denied the report, a source is cited as telling the newspaper that he wants to branch out further into the TV and movie business, and "thinks he is more credible than the judges on the shows on air right now."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-wo...um=twitter

[john]

Although his rep denied the report, a source is cited as telling the newspaper that he wants to branch out further into the TV and movie business, and "thinks he is more credible than the judges on the shows on air right now."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-wo...um=twitter

I agree with that. While I took exception to a couple of his comments regarding Haley and I didn't see most of his comments about non-Haley contestants, I liked a lot of what I heard him say (of course not being a live judge he was subject to edits that can distort things in a big way) . I recall his advice to Jacob (and others) not to bring the big stuff all the time (forgot his words exactly) - save it for the right spots, whereas Randy was like if you got it use it (all the time). Randy's advice was bad advice (over-sing it always) but it showed partly where he came from. So Haley was never given permission from Randy to "show her soft side" - she could wail and growl so she should always do that in Randy's mind. Although Jimmy was nudging her to define her sound, he gave her Rhiannon, praised her vocals on Blue, recognized that she "laced" You and I, and otherwise appreciated the range of things she could do with her voice (and then he had the good sense to sign her to a recording contract).

[john]

JACOB LUSK -- JIMMY IOVINE GOT ME BOOTED!!!
"American Idol" reject Jacob Lusk is telling friends he's not to blame for the TERRIBLE song choices that led to his elimination this week ... insisting he got BAD advice from Jimmy Iovine.



TMZ spoke with a source extremely close to Lusk ... who tells us Jacob never wanted to perform the Jordin Sparks /Chris Brown duet, "No Air" on Wednesday's show ... but Iovine pressured him into it.

We're told Lusk really wanted to perform the Gnarls Barkley hit, "Crazy" -- but Iovine was so insistent on "No Air" that he basically "beat it into his brain" until Lusk finally gave in and agreed to perform the song.

During the show, Randy Jackson told Lusk, "I don’t think that’s the direction for you ... I don't think anybody on this stage should be doing duet songs."

Sources connected to the production tell us ... Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has told every contestant the decision on final song choice is made by the singer ... and NOT the mentor.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/05/06/american-i...y0VEcVSTFI

---

Axl not to blame for Chinese Democracy dramas
Stinson says legendary delay was down to label execs… most of the album was 10 years old by release date

Screwed: Tommy Stinson

Guns n’Roses bassist Tommy Stinson says Axl Rose is not to blame for the dramas which saw the band’s Chinese Democracy album take 14 years to appear.

The record has become notorious for the re-records, squabbles, lineup changes and confusing public statements surrounding its production and final release at the end of 2008, exactly 15 years after the band’s previous album.

It’s often been assumed Rose was responsible for the difficulties, with his attempts to pursue recording perfection leading to long episodes of reworking.

But Stinson, who joined the band in 1998 and has been present for most of the album’s troubled history, says Rose was not to blame – and reveals the majority of the final work was completed a decade earlier.

The bassist tells AV Club: “My summation is that Interscope, when they took over Geffen, led Axl to believe the chairman Jimmy Iovine would be involved, would help get the record done and make it happen.

http://www.avclub.com/twincities/article...son,56282/

“But basically what he did was late it completely fall apart.

“At first we were in the studio a lot, working on the writing aspect of it, but it just kept going on. We had Jimmy intervening in a not-so-productive way, and other guys coming and going with nutty ideas.

“Jimmy had this great idea to bring in producer Roy Thomas Baker to make it sound better – but all he did was re-record everything three or four different times, trying to make it sound like something it didn’t need to sound like. And he spent $10million in the process.

“All the talking heads were saying, ‘Make ‘em sound better, make ‘em ...

http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/axl-n...amas/1937/

[My Alter Ego]

JACOB LUSK -- JIMMY IOVINE GOT ME BOOTED!!!
"American Idol" reject Jacob Lusk is telling friends he's not to blame for the TERRIBLE song choices that led to his elimination this week ... insisting he got BAD advice from Jimmy Iovine.



TMZ spoke with a source extremely close to Lusk ... who tells us Jacob never wanted to perform the Jordin Sparks /Chris Brown duet, "No Air" on Wednesday's show ... but Iovine pressured him into it.

We're told Lusk really wanted to perform the Gnarls Barkley hit, "Crazy" -- but Iovine was so insistent on "No Air" that he basically "beat it into his brain" until Lusk finally gave in and agreed to perform the song.

During the show, Randy Jackson told Lusk, "I don’t think that’s the direction for you ... I don't think anybody on this stage should be doing duet songs."

Sources connected to the production tell us ... Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has told every contestant the decision on final song choice is made by the singer ... and NOT the mentor.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/05/06/american-i...y0VEcVSTFI

---

Axl not to blame for Chinese Democracy dramas
Stinson says legendary delay was down to label execs… most of the album was 10 years old by release date

Screwed: Tommy Stinson

Guns n’Roses bassist Tommy Stinson says Axl Rose is not to blame for the dramas which saw the band’s Chinese Democracy album take 14 years to appear.

The record has become notorious for the re-records, squabbles, lineup changes and confusing public statements surrounding its production and final release at the end of 2008, exactly 15 years after the band’s previous album.

It’s often been assumed Rose was responsible for the difficulties, with his attempts to pursue recording perfection leading to long episodes of reworking.

But Stinson, who joined the band in 1998 and has been present for most of the album’s troubled history, says Rose was not to blame – and reveals the majority of the final work was completed a decade earlier.

The bassist tells AV Club: “My summation is that Interscope, when they took over Geffen, led Axl to believe the chairman Jimmy Iovine would be involved, would help get the record done and make it happen.

http://www.avclub.com/twincities/article...son,56282/

“But basically what he did was late it completely fall apart.

“At first we were in the studio a lot, working on the writing aspect of it, but it just kept going on. We had Jimmy intervening in a not-so-productive way, and other guys coming and going with nutty ideas.

“Jimmy had this great idea to bring in producer Roy Thomas Baker to make it sound better – but all he did was re-record everything three or four different times, trying to make it sound like something it didn’t need to sound like. And he spent $10million in the process.

“All the talking heads were saying, ‘Make ‘em sound better, make ‘em ...

http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/axl-n...amas/1937/

Hmmm -- so John, are you suggesting that "in Jimmy, we shouldn't trust"?

Haley has said that some of the song picks on which she received the nastiest critiques ("Call Me" and "You and I" spring to mind) were not her first choices.

However, given that Jacob doesn't come across as someone adept at facing himself in the mirror (he can only preach that message, not live it), I don't place much, if any, stock in his comment.

[fover]

JACOB LUSK -- JIMMY IOVINE GOT ME BOOTED!!!
"American Idol" reject Jacob Lusk is telling friends he's not to blame for the TERRIBLE song choices that led to his elimination this week ... insisting he got BAD advice from Jimmy Iovine.



TMZ spoke with a source extremely close to Lusk ... who tells us Jacob never wanted to perform the Jordin Sparks /Chris Brown duet, "No Air" on Wednesday's show ... but Iovine pressured him into it.

We're told Lusk really wanted to perform the Gnarls Barkley hit, "Crazy" -- but Iovine was so insistent on "No Air" that he basically "beat it into his brain" until Lusk finally gave in and agreed to perform the song.

During the show, Randy Jackson told Lusk, "I don’t think that’s the direction for you ... I don't think anybody on this stage should be doing duet songs."

Sources connected to the production tell us ... Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has told every contestant the decision on final song choice is made by the singer ... and NOT the mentor.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/05/06/american-i...y0VEcVSTFI

---

Axl not to blame for Chinese Democracy dramas
Stinson says legendary delay was down to label execs… most of the album was 10 years old by release date

Screwed: Tommy Stinson

Guns n’Roses bassist Tommy Stinson says Axl Rose is not to blame for the dramas which saw the band’s Chinese Democracy album take 14 years to appear.

The record has become notorious for the re-records, squabbles, lineup changes and confusing public statements surrounding its production and final release at the end of 2008, exactly 15 years after the band’s previous album.

It’s often been assumed Rose was responsible for the difficulties, with his attempts to pursue recording perfection leading to long episodes of reworking.

But Stinson, who joined the band in 1998 and has been present for most of the album’s troubled history, says Rose was not to blame – and reveals the majority of the final work was completed a decade earlier.

The bassist tells AV Club: “My summation is that Interscope, when they took over Geffen, led Axl to believe the chairman Jimmy Iovine would be involved, would help get the record done and make it happen.

http://www.avclub.com/twincities/article...son,56282/

“But basically what he did was late it completely fall apart.

“At first we were in the studio a lot, working on the writing aspect of it, but it just kept going on. We had Jimmy intervening in a not-so-productive way, and other guys coming and going with nutty ideas.

“Jimmy had this great idea to bring in producer Roy Thomas Baker to make it sound better – but all he did was re-record everything three or four different times, trying to make it sound like something it didn’t need to sound like. And he spent $10million in the process.

“All the talking heads were saying, ‘Make ‘em sound better, make ‘em ...

http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/axl-n...amas/1937/

Hmmm -- so John, are you suggesting that "in Jimmy, we shouldn't trust"?

Haley has said that some of the song picks on which she received the nastiest critiques ("Call Me" and "You and I" spring to mind) were not her first choices.

However, given that Jacob doesn't come across as someone adept at facing himself in the mirror (he can only preach that message, not live it), I don't place much, if any, stock in his comment.

Be mindful that we are seeing one side of the coin here. In Jimmy's defense, I've never been a GnR fan, but I remember reading how they were trying to make a change to a more mainstream sound. Perhaps Jimmy thought they needed help making the transition and brought in producers he felt could make it happen.

As for Randy's comment that none of them should be singing duets... If he said that and meant it, we would have missed out on Moanin, I Feel the Earth Move, and Gunpowder & Lead... Three fantastically entertaining performances. And, if he really believes that , then he is definitely showing his ignorance for how the entertainment industry works. Duets are an an extremely important tactic used by singers to expose their sound to new fans. It's an absolute MUST DO. In fact, G&L may have won Haley some country music fans.

[john]

Hmmm -- so John, are you suggesting that "in Jimmy, we shouldn't trust"?

Haley has said that some of the song picks on which she received the nastiest critiques ("Call Me" and "You and I" spring to mind) were not her first choices.

However, given that Jacob doesn't come across as someone adept at facing himself in the mirror (he can only preach that message, not live it), I don't place much, if any, stock in his comment.

I did a couple searches looking into Jimmy's relationship with Slash and the GnR one came up. A few minutes latter I ran into the Jacob one. I thought hmmm, Jimmy has a lot of power in Haley's life and decided to put them up. No conclusion really, but Jimmy has to be on good behavior with Haley.

I just threw Jacob in there. Not news really, Jimmy tried to steer other contestants away from songs, like Casey's Nature Boy. Perhaps the heavy critique of YAI was a message to Jimmy to back off some in pushing songs on contestants, and to contestants to be careful with external pressures.

I suspect there is lot more to the story with GnR. Jimmy has a successful track record. Another aspect of the that story is that Jimmy will take time to get it right.

[My Alter Ego]

TMZ spoke with a source extremely close to Lusk ... who tells us Jacob never wanted to perform the Jordin Sparks /Chris Brown duet, "No Air" on Wednesday's show ... but Iovine pressured him into it.

We're told Lusk really wanted to perform the Gnarls Barkley hit, "Crazy" -- but Iovine was so insistent on "No Air" that he basically "beat it into his brain" until Lusk finally gave in and agreed to perform the song.

During the show, Randy Jackson told Lusk, "I don’t think that’s the direction for you ... I don't think anybody on this stage should be doing duet songs."

Sources connected to the production tell us ... Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe has told every contestant the decision on final song choice is made by the singer ... and NOT the mentor.

As for Randy's comment that none of them should be singing duets... If he said that and meant it, we would have missed out on Moanin, I Feel the Earth Move, and Gunpowder & Lead... Three fantastically entertaining performances. And, if he really believes that , then he is definitely showing his ignorance for how the entertainment industry works. Duets are an an extremely important tactic used by singers to expose their sound to new fans. It's an absolute MUST DO. In fact, G&L may have won Haley some country music fans.
[/quote]

As uncomfortable as I am about sounding as though I'm coming to Randy's defense, I suspect Randy's comment above is yet another example of Randy's inability to express himself in an articulate fashion.

Just this past week, I re-watched that magical performance of Haley and Casey performing "Moanin." Randy clearly enjoyed that.

What I suspect that he meant in his comment about duets, is that it's risky to take on a song (as a soloist) that is known as a duet. But Randy's verbal skills are so lacking that only he knows what he meant (and maybe even he wasn't sure).