"I'm still glad I did it!" she exclaimed.

[left, Ashley Ferl and mom Stacy at the American Idol auditions]

I spoke to Ashley this morning - the Riverside, California teen who gained national fame two and half years ago for her tearful reaction to seeing season six contestant Sanjaya Malakar perform live during Top 11 week on "American Idol." 

In April she turned 16, which made her eligible to audition for the show. Despite having no true singing experience she went for it!

"I just kind of practiced in my room and that's about it," she told me this morning.

"Not really. There were like a few people behind us that kept like talking and singing on the top of their lungs," Ashley explained.

The gates opened at 7:30 AM -- and after sitting in the stands for 90 minutes -- it was finally her chance to shine. She and four others stood in line to sing for one of the producers. She chose the song "Tim McGraw" by Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, the audition didn't go so well.

"He called us all up and then he just told us all no. He did say that we weren't ready. That's pretty much it. I was crying."

Ashley says it took her about 45 minutes to stop crying. Being rejected though hasn't deterred her from trying out again. Although this time vocal lessons may be in her future.

"I want to... my mom is looking into it," she confirmed.

So was she watching Sanjaya during his recent stint on NBC's "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!?"

"Of course I did," she giggled. "I thought he did really good. He should have won!"

But sorry Sanjaya... you're so two years ago! Ashley has a new favorite... this year's runner up Adam Lambert.

"I really cried like the hardest ever when Adam lost."

In a conference call with reporters Jake admitted to being a, "god fearing man" and hit us with this declaration,

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you know, shall God strike me down with lightning... if I am mistaken and he did not tell me that."

I have to admit Jake did make quite the case for himself when he repeatedly made it clear that Wes, a country singer from Austin, TX, told him he went on the show to further his career, and that he had a girlfriend named Laurel waiting for him back home. Laurel is the same girl who also dated "The Bachelor's" Brad Womack. 

"I know 100 percent that he [Wes] and Laurel are together. They were together during the show. Brad introduced them." Jake revealed.

"He told me he loved her [Laurel]. I said, 'Are you developing feelings for Jillian?' He said, 'It's just not the girl. I am going to break her heart.'"
 

Jake claims Laurel was in cahoots with Wes the entire time to help him gain publicity for his music career.

"They had an agreement that they were going to put their relationship on the back burner so that he could go on there and sell CD's. His biggest fear was he makes it far enough that they have to go behind closed doors. He was so worried about that because that wasn't going to be OK with Laurel."

Hmmm.... So could Wes be the guy who experiences problems in the bedroom as promos for the show have been hinting at the last couple of weeks?

While Jake maintains there was no fuzzy editing going on with Wes, another "Bachelorette" reject claims Wes is getting a raw deal.

"He is a really good guy. He is getting edited kind of badly," Michael Stagliano told reporters this morning.  "I don't think Jake is a liar. I think Jake probably heard something that was disconcerting that he thought he needed to confront Wes about and tell Jillian about. I just don't know whether it's fact or fiction."

The 25-year-old was eliminated by Jillian this week in favor of Ed, who returned to claim her heart after making an unexpected exit, citing work commitments two weeks ago.

"It's all about Jillian, and if Jillian really cares about Ed and really liked him, than by all means he should be back and be able to get a rose and continue on."

Both men believe, however, that the best man for Jillian in the end is Kiptyn.

Meanwhile, rumors have been circling that both Jake and Michael are being considered to be the next Bachelor. Jake says he would consider it. Michael revealed if he does do the show, it could be a double whammy. He would go on the show with his twin brother, Steve.

"I think Steve and I would make it a really fun show. We would spice things up a notch," he said. "It's also extremely exciting to think that Steve and I could find our girl at the same time and propose at the same time. So, we are absolutely considering it."

"NYC Prep" aired its second episode last night where cupcakes were the hot topic du jour. Not really -- but between Sebastian, Taylor and Kelli's obviously forced love triangle and PC's, "whoa is me... I'm single" rants, not much else was going on in the show.

The series seems completely flat when you compare it to Bravo's fantastic drama fueled "Real Housewives" franchise. I don't know... maybe it's because I'm not a teenager anymore that these kids' lives just seem lame and boring. I like little Sebastian and his crazy hair, mean girl Jessie and even PC (who they are trying to make out to be the bad boy of the show). Although, to me he's more Jack from "Will and Grace" than Dylan from "Beverly Hills 90210"... if you catch my drift. They just need to lose the other three girls. Perhaps bring in a few Jersey teens in to shake things up and rattle some tables.

"You want to be a philosopher? How do philosophers get paid? Like, just, you like think?"

- Sebastian to his date Taylor.

"I like his hair. Sebastian looks kind of like a surfer and French guy mixed into one. It's a good combination"

- Taylor about her date Sebastian

"It would be social suicide to mess with her."

- Camille on mean girl Jessie.

"I have like a really weird obsession with cupcakes. Like, I like them more than cake."

- Kelli's musing after Sebastian brings her cupcakes.

"I flush the toilet before I'm done peeing. Maybe I'm a little impatient."

- PC to his therapist.

"Like, I'm fine with like... making friends with guys, but like... girls are kind of weird."

- Zoe, Jessie's friend about having invited more guys to her 18th birthday party. 

"The fashion industry is hard and it's cut throat and I don't have time to like dilly dally with people I don't know."

- Jessie after finding out Camille and Kelli said she was a bitch.

I'm sorry isn't Jessie still in high school? Since when was she moving and shaking in her high powered fashion industry job?  

Last night was like sensory overload. After yet another doctor appointment (someone please figure out what's wrong with me soon!) I was not allowed to go to the gym. So, I arrived home at 6 PM with nothing to do. Fortunately, my TV was calling my name with tons of goodies. "Weeds" was on at 7 PM on Showtime  I ponder - do we want Nancy with the evil mayor slash drug lord or should she and Andy, brother-in-law of dead husband, hook up? I can't decide.

"Nurse Jackie" followed at 7:30 PM. How can Jackie be cheating on that adorable, hunky and might I add younger (Go Edie Falco!) husband with the balding pharmacist guy!? I don't get it.

Then it was two hours of "The Bachelorette" on ABC, which was by far the MOST craptastic episode ever. Fans of the show will get that joke. Jillian goes on her hometown dates. I decided I need to marry into Kiptyn's family who clearly have some moolah. She zips through three other hometown dates in record time. At this point it's 8:50 PM and I'm wondering how they will fill the next hour and ten minutes. Then pilot Jake returns to stalk Jillian in Austin.

Jake, for some reason deciding it would be a good idea to wear his pilot uniform (as if this makes him more official), rats out Wes then later cries on the balcony...hopefully because he knows he looks like an idiot on national TV and not because he still has the hots for Jillian. Jillian confronts Wes. Wes denies. Then wham bam Ed returns, which was not really a surprise to me since my boy Reality Steve already found out this juicy info. He gets all the good scoops -- but remember I promised not to dish any dirt this season. I do have that envelope buried still which names the final four, whom I learned about prior to the show starting. Are they the right names? You'll have to come back and find out.

Trust me. It's worth it.

Back to Ed, who left after deciding "work was too important" and came back because he couldn't stop thinking about Jillian and just had to come back for her. If you believe that... I have some snow to sell you in Alaska. 

Wes, Kiptyn, Reid and Ed each get a rose and poor hyper Michael, the guy with the puppy love crush on Jillian gets sent home along with winemaker Jesse.

Next, I just had to check out Oxygen's new show "Dance Your Ass Off," which if you haven't watched, you must tune in next week. It's like a "Saturday Night Live" skit except everyone is in on the joke. You know you shouldn't laugh but you do anyway -- and the great thing is everyone on the show is laughing too. It's better than a train wreck, it's a clown car wreck. I loved every second of it and will be tuning in every week to laugh my ass off.

Finally, went to bed around 11:30 PM only to have the clock chime five hours later. It was "American Idol" audition day here in Los Angeles. As I arrive to the Rose Bowl I'm pretty confident it will be a smaller crowd than we saw in season six which took place a couple of months after season five aired -- the most watched season ever. Clearly there is no way more than 8,000 people will show up for season nine.

I was wrong. 11,000 people showed up to audition. The most of any LA audition ever. I think I'm going to surmise that the Adam Lambert factor has people more interested in the show than ever. Oh, and guess who turned 16 and is ready to audition?

Ashly Ferl -- aka Sanjaya's crying girl.

She was apparently one of the first in line at auditions this morning. You know the producers will put her through to Simon, Randy and Paula just because it's a good story (even if she can't sing). I wonder if she cried when Sanjaya got voted out of "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!"?

So finally, in eight seasons of covering auditions I have never once met anyone in line who made it to the Top 12... or even the top 36 for that matter. However, today there was this one guy named Danny from Los Angeles. Watch the auditions video. This guy has got the "IT" factor for sure, and if he doesn't make it through it would be a shame. He's got my vote already.

Go Danny with the green Bob Marley t-shirt and the green eyes!

This morning I was up early doing back to radio interviews with stations across the country to talk about the latest news and the impact Michael had in people's lives. The one question that kept coming up was, "What are your best memories of growing up to Michael Jackson or covering him over the years?"

Two stories came to mind.

The second story is about the first time I ever saw Michael Jackson up close and personal. I've done thousands of shoots over the years and most of them have been lost in my memory bank but this one night I will never forget for two reasons. It was the night of the taping of his 30th Anniversary tribute, which was set to air on CBS. It was a two night taping at Madison Square Garden in New York City and on the second night of the taping myself, my crew and several other media outlets stood outside waiting to catch celebrities as they arrived. We were there for hours and it started out a beautiful, sunny late afternoon.

And then Michael arrived with Elizabeth Taylor.

It was the first time I had ever seen him in person. The sight of him mesmerized me and the fans were in near hysterics. His brothers arrived later to tape a reunion performance and I interviewed them about this monumental moment reuniting as the Jackson Five. Gloria Estefan, N'Sync and other artists arrived to pay tribute as well. Sadly, we did not get to go inside. So, we waited for several hours for performers to wrap up taping so that we could to try and grab interviews as they left. The weather suddenly turned from a starry night to a torrential downpour, followed by intense and very scary thunder and lightning like I had never seen before in the city.

Because of this, all the crews decided to leave and miss Michael's exit, as the weather was just too precarious -- as it turned out, it could have been a warning sign from above. The next morning the storm had cleared, it was blue skies and sunshine and then a new unfathomable storm blew in without notice when two commercial airliners hit the World Trade Center. You see...that tribute was taped on September 10th, 2001.

While sad to remember, it made me curious about what stories my co-workers had to share. Several took time out of an insanely busy day to share their memories of Michael:

"We were at Nobu in London and I asked him [Michael} why he liked Nobu and he said, 'I love Chinese food.'"

- Rob Silverstein, Executive Producer

"While working here at Access, I was around Michael in London for the better part of four days back in 2006. I was completely amazed at the power and size of his fan base... thousands following, running, screaming everywhere he went and thousands is not an understatement. At one point Billy [Bush] and I helped him get out of Nobu to his car. Even with all his security, he needed the help. At his hotel, fans lined up through the entire street the entire time he stayed there. They never left. I honestly can't think of one person on the planet that would have such a huge, wild, devoted following. I never really understood how huge Michael was, even with all the good and bad we have heard about him... until then."

- Stephen Harding, Field Producer

"I was obsessed with the Billie Jean video when I was younger. I used to re-watch the video so much, the betamax machine ate my tape."

- Felidette Blasucci, Field Producer

"When I was in high school, Michael Jackson was IT. All of us girls would put together dance routines to 'Beat It.' I even had a black pleather, military style jacket that looked like it was right off of MJ's back! Needless to say, I was the envy of all my friends."

- Ryan Patterson, Supervising Producer and writer of Glam Slam

"I'll never forget seeing Michael at the MTV VMA's in 2001 in Lincoln Center. It was the year that MTV renamed their Video Vanguard Award after him. 'NSYNC was performing their song 'Pop' and right at the breakdown a silhouette was outlined on the Etch-a-Sketch background of the stage. The refrain from 'Pop' turned into 'King offff Pop' and out popped the king himself, showing off his signature moves while Timberlake beat-boxed. It was one of my most exciting performances I had ever seen - the crowd went nuts!"

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614843/20090626/jackson_michael.jhtml

- Jeremy Blacklow, Managing Editor, AccessHollywood.com

There is an inescapable question mark as to the ethics and balance of Michael Jackson that goes with him to his grave. It is most assuredly not what Michael had in mind when he set out to be pop music's "P.T. Barnum", the man in the middle of the circus.

Although, let's be real, anyone who reportedly invites a gossip tabloid to shoot him in a hyperbaric chamber courts the bizarre.

I was the last person to get Michael Jackson to go on camera. Technically, it was his last interview as I asked some questions and he answered them, but its not one I'd choose to hang my hat on.  Michael was alternately petrified and obsessed with my camera. He loved the small HD handheld 24P size camera and demanded to know where he could get one. But, before the cameras got rolling, while sitting in the small kitchen of his temporary Irish countryside cottage, Michael asked, "Is 5 minutes ok?"

Our meeting took place in October 2006 about 2 hours outside of Dublin in a recording studio. Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas was there, mixing and collaborating with Michael.  Michael was much relieved to have Will join us and in truth, Will mostly did the talking. When the music came on, MJ started tapping and moving. He got up and danced, he sang. I was 8 feet away. Wow. I'll always have that.

Of course my intent was to get him relaxed and talkative. It never really happened cuz that wall wasn't coming down. I saw the pain in Michael. I knew he could not take one more ounce of disappointment.  Michael simply wanted to be universally adored. Loved by ALL.  That leads to the ultimate conclusion of his death:

Michael will never be disappointed again. He is right now universally adored. His legacy of hits and impact on music and everyone that came after him is undeniable and EVERYONE in the music community will see to it that THAT wall does not come down. Michael will be immortalized like Elvis, Lennon and JFK. Michael never met an honor he did not want to accept. The love of yesterday and today means so much to him, so I'm sure he is finally.... happy. But back to God.

What did God say? "You are forgiven?", "I'm sorry?", "I made Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and John Landis as well as Joe and Katherine, so therefore I made  YOU!"? "You should have trusted Billy Bush and loosened up. He was NOT there to 'catch' you in any way?" (My personal regret related choice).

The enigma of that scenario is very much like its subjects, The Lord of Hosts and the King of Pop.

I'm sure at one point in my life someone probably asked me what I wanted to do for a living and I mostly likely said, "Wouldn't it be great if someone would pay me to watch TV all day?"  Who could have guessed that one day they would?!

I've always been a TV addict -- ever since I can remember. My mom would plop me in front of "Sesame Street" as a toddler where I would sit mesmerized by Cookie Monster and Big Bird. Later, as a pre-teen I would fight with my brothers about watching "The Brady Bunch." They wanted to watch "M*A*S*H" so I would steal the dials off the living room TV so they couldn't change the channel. I could not miss a minute of the wholesome family fun that Greg, Peter, Jan, Cindy, Bobby and, of course... Marcia, Marcia, Marcia cooked up. 

However, my parents allowed me to have TV in my bedroom (which certainly helped lead me on the path to being a TV addict.) but the problem was they could see the light underneath the door. So they knew when I was still up watching TV. Bedtime was 9 PM as a kid so to fool my parents I would take the TV off my dresser and put it under the bed. Then I would lie on my stomach with my head dangling over and watch "Knot's Landing" upside down. Oh, how I longed to be Abby Ewing's adopted daughter. 

In college, I could be found not at the library but rather in my dorm room getting caught up on "Beverly Hills, 90210" and all its high school drama. Now that I was a college student, Brenda and Kelli seemed so young and immature to me but I could relate to their teenage angst anyway. The irony is that we are all the exact same age now despite my superior college chip on my shoulder for these ladies. Later, "Melrose Place" would enter my life and a new ritual was born - Melrose Mondays - where my friends and I would gather round the TV for cocktails and cat fights.

Later it was "Friends" and "Seinfeld" to keep me occupied (Oh, how I miss true Must See TV!) until one hot summer in New York City I had nothing to do and along came "Survivor" - The reality show that changed everything. Sure "The Real World" had come along in the '90s and other shows that claim to be reality TV were around, but "Survivor" was something so different, so unique. I was glued to the tube along with 16 million other people on Wednesday nights, an unheard of audience for a summer TV show.

"Survivor" not only brought reality into all of our lives it brought summer programming as well. No longer were we forced to watch reruns of crappy shows we didn't watch in the first place. Now we had something new and fresh to sink our teeth into which brings up the whole reason for this blog --I am officially addicted to Bravo.

There I said it. Someone should start a 12-step program for Bravo addicts. Tonight, instead of enjoying our long day of sunlight I'm glued to my TV watching "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" verbally bitch slap each other on a reunion show. Fortunately, I don't have to watch it upside down -- though if my parents saw this trash they may actually find a way to still ground me so I can't watch it.

The thing is I never paid the Bravo network much attention until I was invited to do a story on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" last year. Suddenly, I found myself drinking in this delightful elixir of wealth, excess, bitchery and backstabbing. Then along came the NYC Housewives and the Atlanta Housewives. Then I was introduced to the "Millionaire Matchmaker" and suddenly my HGTV obsession with restless homeowners on "House Hunters" was eclipsed by watching trashy women throw themselves at unattractive, rich, older men with zero redeeming qualities. The latest up is "NYC Prep" with those snotty rich kids who think they are cool and don't want to be compared to the "Gossip Girl" gang (but secretly wish their lives were half as interesting as Chuck and Blair's). Alas, I will still watch it. 

Is all this TV bad for our brains? Of course! Shouldn't we be reading a book? Yes. Aren't there bigger problems in the world? Absolutely.

However, there is nothing wrong with escaping into someone else's drama and debauchery for a little while. It's how I survived my teens, my twenties and now in my thirties... I get paid for it!

Follow me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/dishofsalt

Not surprisingly, David blamed most of his bad behavior on the editing, claiming what we saw was only, "1 percent of me as a person and that 1 percent was the bad part of David Good."

If that's the case, I'd hate to see the other 99 percent of David Good. I don't think he really did the best job of convincing reporters on the call that he wasn't that angry guy. The only thing I believe is that he regrets how he acted now having watched it back. He says, "I was very upset with myself the way I behaved. I thought I brought a lot more to the show than that. I had to call my grandparents and apologize after the show aired." 

David admitted, "No unfortunately, I was not tongue tied. They wanted us to have plan or idea to stand out. I'm a pretty confident, borderline cocky person. I thought getting out of the car and acting like that would turn her off. So, I thought it would be funny to act nervous and star struck."

Ah, reality TV. Always so real. NOT!

So, who does David think Jillian will end up with? "If I had two guys to pick, I would say Kiptyn or Reid, he's a great guy all around. Kiptyn, he's a little shorter, they look cute together."

While the ratings for NBC's revamp of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!" continue to be unimpressive, the media coverage of the Heidi and Spencer debacle continues.

I watched the first episode of the show and found myself gagging as they were eating live bugs and rat tails. Its train wreck TV at its best but even I can't stomach the creepy crawly stuff. I have no idea why anyone would want to put themselves through this nightmare. I know they are giving money to their chosen charities but these celebs have got to be getting paid to do this!

 
Now viewers may not be tuning into the show in droves, but they are interested in reading about the drama online courtesy of Heidi and Spencer. As it stands now, "The Hills" stars have quit "ten or twenty times," according to Angela Shelton, the first celebrity eliminated from the show on Thursday night.
 
Their fate will be determined on Monday night's episode whether or not they will be allowed to return to the show, again. Angela believes her fellow celebs will allow them back without holding a grudge, but as for her, she is done with the duo.
 
"I don't think they should be able to go back at all," Shelton told reporters in a conference call on Friday. "I think he [Spencer] is very unhinged. I'm trying to figure out how he passed the pysch evaluation and by what margin."

Atlanta, GA                            Thursday, June 18               Georgia Dome         

Los Angeles, CA                    Tuesday, June 30                Rose Bowl

Orlando, FL                           Thursday, July 9                  Amway Arena

Denver, CO                           Tuesday, July 14                  INVESCO Field at Mile High

Chicago, IL                            TBD                                    TBD

Dallas, TX                              TBD                                    TBD

Fortunately, this gives me until June 30th to mentally prepare to check out the LA auditions. For more info go to www.americanidol.com.

This is something I have never done in any season until this year, but I made it very clear I was an Adam Lambert fan from the start. I normally try and stay objective, but Adam and I just bonded instantly when we met. Seeing him perform with KISS was such a rush. I'm disappointed he didn't win, but I'm not surprised. America just wasn't ready for someone so outside the box.

In the end, I think it's better he didn't become the American Idol. Kris Allen didn't ooze star quality like Adam and I think he needed the title to succeed in the limelight. Adam will be successful no matter what and I think it's better for him not to be tied down to a long contract (like I'm sure that the winner signs).

Here is a look back at some of my favorite moments with the contestants and the judges:

Meeting Adam for the first time. He just walked in and owned the room and I was blown away by how sweet and kind he was. I could not believe when I asked him if he Googled himself (to see what people were saying about him) that he admitted he did!

Listening to Danny Gokey tell me about how his wife is watching over him from above and that he did the show to honor her memory.

Meeting Matt Giraud at the Top 13 party and finding out he is as charming, silly and funny as his look-a-like (Justin Timberlake) even though he hates being compared to him! It's a compliment, Matt! I only wish you guys could have seen more of that personality in the show!

Watching Danny bust a move on the dance floor with the cast of "Glee" at the Top 13 party. He looked like he was having the time of his life.

Finding out at the Top 13 party that underneath all that black hair and guy liner Adam was a strawberry blonde with freckles!

Watching the joy Scott MacIntyre got when Paula Abdul surprised him with a guide dog a few weeks after he was eliminated from the show. Every minute you get to spend with Scott is a joy. Being around him warms the soul.

Being in the audience on results night with our Idol producer and my friend Felidette when the Idols sang "Don't Stop Believin'." We are obsessed with that song from having watched the pilot for "Glee." We were giddy like two twelve year olds.

Getting to know my Idol twin Kara DioGuardi. It was bizarre when we realized how much we look alike. I am so blown away by what she did at the finale. I was jumping up and down and screaming like a mad woman for her. That voice. Who knew!? I knew she had a rockin' body though and now you all do too!

Being the person in the audience at the finale who started the Boos for Bikini Girl, Katrina Darrell.

Watching Paula Abdul rehearse for her results night performance a few days beforehand. Most people made fun of it after she performed on the show, but I loved it. The second I left the rehearsal I went and downloaded the song on iTunes.

Being exclusively backstage on Tuesday night and getting Adam and Kris' reaction to their performances and realizing they truly are great friends. Adam joking that he chased Kris around with black nail polish when I asked if they had any backstage battles.

Doing TV Guide's live pre-show with Kimberly Caldwell and Justin Guarini and telling them it was so hot on the red carpet I was going to see if I could get David Cook and David Archuleta to fan me. Then, getting Cook to oblige!

Having Randy Jackson try and hook Simon Cowell and I up on the red carpet on a date and Simon saying how great it would be to not have to make small talk since we already know each other. Simon then laughing and saying, "uncomfortable" when he saw his ex-girlfriend, Terri Seymour. Although I'm not sure how "ex" they really are anymore. They seem inordinately close for a couple that has broken up.

Telling Adam backstage he was robbed in front of all the press!

Taking the limo ride with Kris Allen, on the morning after he won the show, to our Access Hollywood stage. I finally realized what a gem he is. I'm officially a Kris fan now too! 

Interviewing Idols 10 through 3 on our stage yesterday afternoon and finding out all their nicknames for each other and all the backstage dirt! 

A big thank you to my Idol team Felidette and Celeste.  I love working with you girls. And of course all my AccessHollywood.com peeps for putting up with and posting all my Idol antics. I think if they see me hug one more Idol they might toss me out the window. Also thanks to the FOX pr team for putting up with me! You are the best. Everyone get some rest and I'll see you next season!