If you watched American Idol Tuesday night, you may have noticed a bit of controversy. Contestant Chris Robinson sang a somewhat nasally version of the country tune “Mayberry” by Rascal Flatts. While Randy and Paula said they couldn’t feel any connection between Chris and the song, Simon insisted it was nasally and a non-descript vocal. Chris argued that nasally was a form of singing. If that is true, then there is still hope for me as a singer!
Anyhow, after that exchange, Chris who hails from Chesapeake, Virginia, threw in a quick note about the Virginia Tech tragedy that had occurred earlier that day, saying that he had friends there and his “heart and prayers go out to Virginia Tech.” The camera quickly cut to Simon who rolled his eyes. What? Brit Simon Cowell was making fun of a nationally tragedy? A bit later in the program, Simon said the judges too were thinking about the Virginia Tech community, but the statement seemed a bit awkward.
The Internet was flooded the next day with people accusing Cowell of being insensitive. I mean after all, Simon does have a reputation of being a bit…nasty. Over the seasons of American Idol, he has told contestants they were terrible, atrocious, and ghastly and those were some of his nicer comments.
Turns out, all the stories and gossip online were much ado about nothing. Apparently, the judges talk amongst themselves while the contestants are on stage as Ryan is talking to them. Simon never heard Chris’ VT comment and last night on American Idol, they showed a clip of the previous night with Simon’s mike. What he was actually frowning about was Chris saying that he intended the song to be nasally and you hear him talking to Paula about it.
Last night, Simon apologized for the mishap of the camera showing him rolling his eyes as Chris sent out his love to the Virginia Tech community. He said, “I did want clear this one up because this is a very sensitive subject. The irony was is that we did want to set the right tone on the show.” As he ended his speech, he even seemed to choke up a bit. Who woulda thought it – Simon Cowell has a heart.