Mister D: Is fat a double standard with this Simon guy…what about some of the guy finalists…
‘Idol’ Singer Butts Heads with Simon
STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell may have told Vanessa Olivarez, 21, to lose weight on the latest round of the FOX talent show, but the Atlanta native had no trouble gaining viewer support.
Along with Rickey Smith, 23, of Keene, Texas — who culled the most votes of the evening — Olivarez ended up one of the eventual 10 finalists vying for the $1 million recording contract.
“You have a great personality, great voice, brilliant choice of song,” Cowell told Olivarez after her performance. “You have to lose a few pounds.”
“I know I have a big butt,” she replied, “but it worked for J.Lo.”
She then traipsed over to Cowell and shook her behind at him. “You like it, but you won’t say it!” she declared.
For her moment in the spotlight, Olivarez, sporting pink hair and a leopard print dress, belted Irene Cara’s early ’80s hit “Out Here On My Own.” Judge Paula Abdul compared her to Bette Midler.
Before her number, the spunky Olivarez said she wanted people to remember her “as being a lot of fun and not just being an image, but also having some talent.”
For his part, Smith sang Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry.”
Originally from Kansas, the aspiring singer told his hometown paper, the Wichita Eagle: “Whether I’m singing in front of one person or in front of a billion people, I’m always nervous … But it’s not like a stressful nervous. It’s more like an excited nervous.”
