'Idol': The Ian Effect

After the way he duked it out with Simon Cowell and yelled at Idol exectuive producer, Nigel Lythgoe on So You Think You Can Dance calling him a "British piece of crap", we knew we had to introduce him to our British import, Access New York correspondent, Tim Vincent. While there was no name calling, I don't think there was any love lost between these two either. According to Tim, "Ian is a pretty nice guy and media savvy, who knows that this is his chance at 15 minutes of fame.....I don't really think he is anti-British but if he had said anything, I was ready to defend Simon, Nigel and all the other Brits that have work visas in the U.S. !"

So here's the rub. Ian basically admitted to Tim he did it all for the publicity, "Everyone is laughing at me but I'm also laughing because I know it was ridiculous. American Idol is the biggest show on TV you can't dispute that and I realize me going on a TV show and having my name out there is free publicity. I'm gonna stretch it as far as I can. "

According to Ian what you saw on TV was not everything that was said between he and Simon, "What they didn't show is he said a lot of nastier things. He told me he wanted to send a letter to my house apologizing for me being a waste of life. I told him that I would send a letter to Buckingham Palace because he is a queen and he is a bitter old queen and I want it out there that he is a miserable person. He makes a hell of a lot of money. Smile! He called security on me because he couldn't handle it. He can dish it but he can't take it and it's ridiculous”

A singer he is not, which Ian readily admitted, "My main goal is to host my own daytime talk show like Richard Bey or Maury Povich that’s always been my dream since I was around 11-years-old." He likes to think of himself as an entertainer. According to him he has been in several movies and has one coming out next summer called Terror Talk. He also is releasing a dance record which I listened to. It's actually kind of funny and reminds me a bit of Rupaul. He talk sings lyrics like, "No matter what you do, no matter what you say, it all comes down to this.. I'm better than you in every way." They'll love it on the NY club circuit.

Ok, Ian. You've got 14 minutes left. Use them wisely.

I also tracked down 28-year-old Memphis auditioner, Topher McCain this morning. You'll recall he was the guy who was supposedly in love with Paula Abdul. I say supposedly because when I spoke with Topher he told me that the Idol producers blew that whole thing out of proportion. However, he is not complaining, "It made for a good story. I'm not dissing it. I'm glad they gave me a good story." He thanks clever editing for making him look love lorn for Paula but he is not, "a crazy stalker guy who wants to hurt Paula."

They also made it seem like his wife (who indeed had cheated on him) had just left him recently when in fact they haven't spoken to each other in almost a year, "That's the story they wanted to portray and that's what I gave them." And just in case any ladies were feeling a twinge of pity about his wife cheating on him, Topher is still single or as he puts it, "I'm not committed." Let's hope the girl he's dating doesn't read this.

Considering how so many people are saying how mean the show is this year, Topher thinks he got a good deal, " I am very appreciative of the way they portrayed me on the show as respectful and an all around nice guy. They very well could have produced me as crazy and some of the way they have produced other people on the show. I think some of the comments this year are a tad bit meaner but I think people are always going to have to have something to gripe about. That is what gets ratings and when you get in front of people they are going to make comments."

As for his singing ability he claims to be a much better performer than what you saw on the show, "I have dual feelings about that. I do not think that I sounded as bad as Simon insinuated when he asked if 'that's what I sang when my wife left me.' I didn't think it was my best song. I probably should have gone with something better. I picked a horrible song to audition."

Well, someone likes this guy. He's performing at The Warehouse in his hometown of Kennesaw, Georgia this weekend.