Arizona has been representing on reality shows this season. For better or worse.
In the fifth season of USA's "Nashville Star," which just wrapped up last week, Tempe country singer Rickiejoleen was one of 10 finalists. She showed up, sang, stayed on the show for about a half-hour and was the first person eliminated.
This past Sunday, Phoenix-area publicist Jenn Hoffman heard the ever-dreaded words — "You're fired" — from Donald Trump on "The Apprentice." Lasting seven weeks, she fared a bit better but was eventually felled from a challenge involving Lexus cars and go-karts.
But the Grand Canyon State has at least two bastions of hope left on the tube.
Tonight at 7 on Fox, Glendale's Jordin Sparks (blissfully controversy-free this far) will find out if she'll make it to the next round of "American Idol." If Sparks makes the cut, she'll be in the illustrious group of 12, performing in the one-elimination-a-week rounds, which guarantees good exposure even if you don't make it all the way (Chris Daughtry, a fourth-place finalist last season, is selling a lot more records than that Taylor Hicks goofball).
People are also reading…
Former Pima Community College student Max Crumm is one of four remaining Broadway wannabes looking to land the lead role of Danny in a "Grease" revival on NBC's "Grease: You're the One That I Want." "Grease," however, may no longer be the word for him by 7 p.m. Sunday, when one of the men will go home. Oh, well-oh, well-oh, well-oh.
AZ is still looking for its breakout reality TV star. We've had some memorable contestants, sure. Obnoxious ASU student Wes Bergmann was on "The Real World: Austin" and has moved on to compete in the seemingly endless cycle of "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" shows. Phoenix-area journalist Tammy Leitner had a good run on the fourth season of "Survivor." But we've had no Kelly Clarkson, no Kristin Cavallari, not even an Omarosa (well, that might be a blessing).
Our state has even served as the setting for two reality shows — shows with the distinction of being two of the genre's worst ever. "The Will," centering on Scottsdale developer Bill Long and his quest to find a worthy heir to his Kansas ranch, debuted in January 2005 and is one of the few TV series in history to be canceled after one episode.
"Tuesday Night Book Club," also set in Scottsdale, lasted a bit longer — two episodes. The show suffered from its fair share of false advertising; the participants barely talked about books, some of them weren't actually in this "club" before producers matched them up, and a couple weren't even from Scottsdale (to the show's credit, though, it did indeed air on Tuesday nights the two times it was on).
Keep your head up, Arizona. One day you'll produce a next top model. Or at least a new Pussycat Doll.
