[Mr Burroughs]

If you've been watching "American Idol" this season you've seen Ayla Brown, the 17-year old basketball player from Massachusetts who sings like … well, like an American Idol contestant.

Brown is interesting for a few reasons.

1)She's tall. Brown stands a full six feet barefoot, and when she competes she wears high heels. This makes for some very amusing shots with Ryan Seacrest, the show's 5'7'' host. On last night's show he stood on his toes to interview Brown, then dropped back to his heels for comic relief. Standing straight up, his eyes go to Brown's collarbone. On previous episodes Seacrest brought a little crate to stand on when he was talking to Brown.

2)She's got muscles. Brown is a first-rate basketball player with a free ride onto Boston College's team, and the homey "how I got here" films that play before her performances have shown her jogging in sweats, shooting hoops, and lifting weights. Not that she's a bodybuilder or anything, but she has well-defined shoulders and arms. Here's a pic, although it catches her in a fugly facial expression.

Women perform Tuesday nights, so if Brown survives this week's voting (she's got talent, but it's hard to tell if the voters resent someone so rich, tall, and cute), check her out.

[Mr Burroughs]

Oh, thanks to YouTube.com, we have a video of some of the workout footage and Seacrest mugging I just talked about.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HZKV9w3lbVE

I actually lowballed Seacrest's height before – his eyes just come up to her chin.

[Anonymous]

I feel sorry for anybody who'd resent a seemingly decent, obviously well-parented 17 year old. More young people (especially girls) like this need to be put in the spotlight (for lack of a better word).

Nothing wrong with a little self-effacement on Seacrest's part. Would you rather he be condescending or belligerent about Brown's height?

[Mr Burroughs]

Oh, I'm not sure that many voters actually resent her. If the chatter at Television Without Pity's Idol forum is any indication, there was a little initial bias against this "overachieving rich girl" that's simmered down after she performed so well. Her height might even work to her advantage – she's <i>so</i> tall that it's almost an underdog characteristic, a kind of gawkiness.

Still, start watching her segments of the show sooner rather than later. It's hard to predict the votes of Idol watchers.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I'm not sure that many voters actually resent her. If the chatter at Television Without Pity's Idol forum is any indication, there was a little initial bias against this "overachieving rich girl" that's simmered down after she performed so well.

I see. I realize that there are a lot of people out there with no self-esteem. Regardless of her family's "wealth" (jeez, does her Daddy own General Mills or something?) and her personal success, if she's the best singer, she should get the votes. I realize it's just a popularity contest. I just don't think I appreciate people who'd intimate that in order to be worthy of winning American Idol, you have to be some kind of long-suffering, hard-luck boob with no previous achievements in life. I admit I'm not as readily receptive to "underdogs" as some. I tend to think if you're perpetually the underdog, you've been standing in the wrong place too long.

[Lingster]

Please modify original post to include date, time and broadcast information, as specified in the new posting guide for this category.

[Mr Burroughs]

Unfortunately, Brown was kicked off the show last week. So this topic's dead.

The good news: Losing out on American Idol freed Brown to take a scholarship at Boston College. So, look for a 6 foot basketball phenom (more, if she has the Maria Sharapova growth serum) from the Bay State in the Fall.

[Author]

Posts