TVNZ Vote Rigging No Enquiry Necessary

TVNZ see no need for an enquiry into vote rigging after Nik Carlson's mum Leigh Warburton, and fan Jill Clarke accused TVNZ of vote rigging on reality TV singing contest Pop's Ultimate Star.

We checked in with TVNZ and found that they see no need to conduct any sort of inquiry into the voting for Pop's Ultimate Star. A spokesperson told us:

The voting for Pop's Ultimate Star was collated by an independent body, and TVNZ is satisfied that the process was accuarate and fair. Particularly since voting happened 'on the night', so there would never have been any time for 'rigging'. Also, Joe Cotton was very far ahead in votes right from the first performance. TVNZ has seen no reason for an enquiry.

Photos: TVNZ

Pop's Ultimate Embarrassments, Minties Moments and scandals

Okay, so we know Pop's Ultimate Wannabe Star is over, but some memories live on. After the awards ceremony we looked back over the series and discovered that some of the Minties Moments deserve extra recognition, so today we present Pop's Ultimate Embarrassments - the tragic outfits, the ones they forgot to do up and all the thrills and spills of reality television.


Lip-synching scandal
TVNZ categorically deny any lip-synching or vote rigging. Okay, we accept there was no lip-synching on Pop's Ultimate Star, but we do have a query about Joe's comment in her interview:

I love the fact you do something and you do your very best and still people criticise you and find fault. I have never lip synched in my life. It is always live.

A couple of hundred people who watched TrueBliss perform 'live' at Lynn Mall say otherwise...so did the Western Leader. As for the vote rigging? They jury's still out on that one, so we'll keep you posted on the official investigation.


Word Blunders
Of course, Big Matt Saunoa probably wishes he could have lip-synched his way through the final after blowing it by forgetting the lines of his song. And it’s not the first time... Big Matt made a wowser of a boo-boo in the final when he missed two whole lines of the second verse. But he wasn't the only one.

Ben Lummis also forgot the words to his song in an earlier show and who can forget Ben's use of the word "Jew", instead of "You" during his performance of 'Every Breathe You Take' by The Police?

David Wikaira-Paul and Camillia Temple also struggled with the word "ask," using "aks" instead. Tut tut.


Voting Scandal
As for the voting I have one query...
How did TJ win Virtual Pop Star when he wasn't in the top 10?


The Trippers
Maybe the glass stage and stairs were a bad idea. The contestants seemed to struggle with their balance, and a few of them tripped. Ben's stumble wasn't obvious to everyone but others were more obvious.

Some of the ladies dresses made them a bit unstable and others had hiccups during their performances:

• Keri Harper managed to trip on her jacket
• David Wikaira-Paul's stumble down the stairs
• Ben Lummis tripped twice.
• Emily Williams tripped over gawd knows what (must have been her high-high-high heeled boots) and...
• Matt had a bit of a stumble on the glass stage, but managed to make it look like part of his dance moves.

The Tragic Outfits.
We were really spoilt for choice when looking back over the series fashion shockers. From Camillia's awful 80's get-up, to Steve's Drag Queen ensemble, to Emily's Street Walker look, there were more lows than highs. Although nothing got lower than the neckline on Joe's dresses!

On a bright note, if Mother Goose ever needs another Humpty Dumpty, there's always Matt.


The abuse
Joe Cotton's win wasn't popular with everyone. Matt Saunoa's partner, Lisa-Jane MacKenzie abused the judges on the final night and stormed out of TVNZ's Avalon studio, after Matt received very average feedback from the judges. Heck Lisa-Jane, those guys are big influencers in the music industry. Jordan Luck is looking for new talent to perform songs, somehow we don't expect Matt will be getting a call.

Messageboards were active with allegations of vote fixing and dodgy judging. Some went as far as threatening Joe Cotton after her win, believing she was unworthy of the title. In the end, the abuse was so extreme that TVNZ made the decision to close their messageboard.


The Scandals - Drugs, Sex and Alcohol
Matt gave us some goodies with his infamous night at the Casino, and the Play Station incident. Not to mention the drama that played out on stage between him and Harry over Matt's lack of professionalism.

Speaking of Matt and the Sky City Casino, during the NZ Idol series, the contestants went for a jump off the Sky Tower. Matt was unable to participate because of his size and weight. Ouch!

As for Kim Willoughby, she does have a son with Temuera Morrison, although she is not listed on any celebrity profiles as being the boy's mother. Tem also has full custody of their son. That's pretty unusual. We wonder why...

And how about David Wikaira-Paul's Singing Coach? She coached him straight out of the competition. All credit to David - He did better than anyone predicted, but does anyone know what happened to his promised TV appearance? In Dave's elimination interview, he mentioned that we would see him on another television show a couple of weeks after the end of Pop's Ultimate Star. Did we blink and miss it?

Nik Carlson's ultimate embarrassment is being a mummy's boy, after letting his mother fight his battles for him. His everlovin' mum accused TVNZ of vote rigging. We're still waiting on the results of that enquiry, but given that TVNZ take three months to cough up the money that celebs earned for charity on Dancing with the Stars, we're not holding our breath.

One final question Nik, please answer the question...Are you Gay? We put our questions to him, but he chose to ignore us. Big mistake Nikster. Making up gossip is MUCH more fun! He's never denied it, and various messageboards have talked about his ex-boyfriend, so until we hear otherwise...


Emily's on again off again album news
Emily Williams did her bit with rumours circulating about drug use and alcohol problems. One eye witness claims that Emily frequently drinks alcohol during performances. She certainly seemed vague during her interviews.

Emily signed to Sony in January 2006 and the press release at the time stated that her album would be released during 2006, but her album is yet to be released. Some have speculated that Em's drinking is the holdup. During her interview with NZ Reality TV, Em told us she would be recording her album on her return to Australia. Em's man has been saying there may be an album from Emily and sister Lavina during 2008. There will also be a second album from Emily's band Young Divas in November 2007, with a single from the group in September 2007. We'll keep you posted.

Rachel Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:41 am
The reason why sony is not releasing anything yet, on emily is because she arrived to a showcase for sony looking disorientated and drugged out, maybe emily is taking this opportunity for granted, me and my partner watched her perform in sydney a few months back at a gay bar and we were shocked to see her sculling cups of wine or beer backstage.

We hope she wasn't drinking during P.U.S, since she claimed, on Studio 2, that she only drinks cups of tea before going on stage.

That reminds me. Perhaps Em should have gotten a few more hours sleep after her elimination night. She was looking terribly under the weather when she appeared on Studio 2. In fact, I think she was still drunk from the previous nights efforts. In her elimination interview she admitted to being horribly hung over. Fair enough, but is this a habit with Young Diva Emily?

After she ran the 'Celebrity Gauntlet' on TV's Studio 2, Emily had to drink a shot of Wheat grass, suck an orange wedge, and sing the first line of the New Zealand National Anthem. It took a mighty effort on her part not to vomit. How embarrassing. But according to TVNZ she was a "trooper" and a good sport about the whole adventure.


Immunity Rout
The public spoke out and the public were heard. Full credit to the person responsible for axing that madcap idea. Camillia, Nik, and Ben were given immunity from elimination before it was thrown in the bin. And not before time - what a ripoff, scamming voters out of money, and then awarding immunity. Tsk tsk Touchdown. It's bad enough that you force us to watch mediocre singers being praised by namby pamby judges, but then you force us to watch those singers get caked in your sponsor's products (if only it had been the toothpaste, instead of the mascara - that would be entertaining), and take money from teens under the guise of letting them choose who gets eliminated from the show.


Hide Under A Rock - Zipper Slip!
Resident goddess Rosita Vai, might not have noticed, but Cerise did. Performing on National telly with your zipper down ranks up there with going to school in your pyjamas. Cringe factor 10.
Thanks for the chuckle, Rosita. We especially loved Rosita's elimination interview when you told us WE were the weird ones!


Most Desperate Fan
Thanks to MaryCherry for this little gem...

I reckon Boyband's Rob Arnold deserves an award for Saddest Attempt To Get on TV. He was in the audience a few times holding big sings for Joe, wearing a TrueBliss T-shirt and having insanely bad hair. Surely that deserves something?

We agree.


The Thank You Queen
We know someone brought you up real good Camillia, but the incessant toadying and thank yous were a bit much. We like the real Camillia. The one who tells it like it is in her elimination interview and shows she's got sass. Of course, your manners were a lot better than NZ Idol judge Megan 'Girlfriend' Alatini, who argued with the DWTS judges, but perhaps something in the middle would be a bit more realistic, huh?

Compiled by Cerise, Miss Prozac, a bottomless glass of Chardonnay and a few bottles of beer

Nik Carlson's mum says votes were rigged

There has been a lot of speculation about the voting for Pop's Ultimate Star and now Nik Carlson's mum is asking for an official investigation into the voting for this singing contest, accusing TVNZ of rigging the votes.

We've spoken to TVNZ about this who categorically deny any claims of vote rigging. Their spokesperson told us that the voting is nothing to do with them, and is arranged by producers Eyeworks Touchdown, who in turn employed Lateral Profiles to aggregate the text votes (and take a wee fee along the way). The same company was responsible for collecting the text votes for NZ Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

TVNZ have told us in writing that the votes were not rigged.

Nik's mother Leigh Warburton is leading a group of supporters, querying the voting results for Pop's Ultimate Star.

Ms Warburton said in a letter to TVNZ that she "would like to be presented with proof that everything was above board" and wants to know the number of votes received for each contestant.

I think we'd all like to know that, however TVNZ is reluctant to release these figures as it would reveal the income that is being made from this show. TVNZ have also refused to reveal voting numbers for Dancing with the Stars, despite pleas from judge Craig Revel-Horwood, who notes that UK celebrity dancing contest, Strictly Come Dancing, releases voter numbers.

TVNZ public affairs spokeswoman Megan Richards said an independent company collects the votes and the number of text votes received over the course of the show is "fully auditable if required".

Lateral Profiles general manager Norman Holtzhausen said, "the leading contender (Joe Cotton) was ahead virtually the entire series, about two to one against the runner-up. It was a little embarrassing," he said.

Mr Holtzhausen said the vote count for the grand final was three times greater than the previous shows although the relative difference remained the same between Cotton and Carlson.

Nik was saved from elimination by the judges on four separate occasions. Was he a victim of vote rigging? Polls have consistently put Matt Saunoa behind Nik, yet he was never in the bottom two until the final. Naturally this raises questions. However, polls don't take into account the fact that text voting allows individuals to make multiple votes.

The lack of disclosure of voting numbers, and the elimination of popular contestant Ben Lummis, has created a lot of questions. We welcome this inquiry - we'd especially love to see the exact number of votes each contestant received. More than anything, we think this controversy proves that this system of selecting a winner is flawed. Perhaps voters should be asked to vote for the person they think should be eliminated, instead of the person they would like to stay?

Tell us what you think. Do you think the votes were rigged? Is there a better system for choosing the best singer?

Added: While we're on the subject of hinky voting - check out our post on Virtual Popstar. TJ won but he wasn't voted into the top 10 when we checked at the time he received his prize.

Nik Carlson Australian Tour Planned

According to Wairarapa Times Age, Pop's Ultimate Star runner up, Nik Carlson is planning an Australian tour:

Carlson is to tour Australia next month beside fellow Auckland performers Ardijah, Adeaze and Nesian Mystik, he said, and there are songs yet to be released, including a single recorded with his brother Shane Carlson called Inside Out and a joint single with members of Nesian Mystik titled Dream City.

"I've done Idol and the Idol reunion thing and now this, so now I'm going to concentrate on getting some original music out and get on to the next thing."

Images: TVNZ

P.U.S Awards Ceremony

Joe Cotton may have won the title of Pop's Ultimate Star, a Kia Rio, and $50,000, but everyone was a star, and they all deserve some recognition.

That's why we have come up with our very own Awards Ceremony.

The Piffler Award goes to Jordan Luck, for the most unintelligible dribble ever spurted forth on the show.

The Agreement Award goes to Harry Lyons, for the amount of times he agreed with Kim.

Kim Willoughby gets The Time Warp Award, for being firmly stuck in the 80's.

The Pacifier Award goes to Peter Urlich, for his timely interception in the argument between Harry and Matt.

The Personality Award goes to Dominic Bowden, because he doesn't have one.

Nik Carlson is the proud recipient of the Suave Ribbon, for excellent taste in shirts.

Camillia Temple did the best Banshee Interpretation, and gets a merit for that.

The people Most Likely To Appear On Another Reality Show are Joe Cotton and David Wikaira-Paul.

The person Most Likely To Deliver A Pizza is Ben Lummis. I wonder how long the pizza jokes will go on for?

Matt Saunoa is the person Most Likely To Have A Play Station In His Car.

Least Likely To Have A Singing Career was clearly Keri Harper.

Best Drag Queen Performance goes to Steve Broad, because he was seriously in the groove when he performed 'I Need You Tonight' by INXS.

Rosita Vai and Emily Williams deserve the Diva Award, because they were the best female vocalists of the series.

And finally Charlie, the female backing vocalist, gets the Hot Chick Award. No wonder the cameras shied away from her. She is quite stunning, and a great singer to boot.


If you'd like to suggest your own awards, let us know in the comments and we'll add them to the list. How about a Merit Award for Joe Cotton for Services to the Wonder Bra? Or an award to producers Touchdown for plumbing new lows in the reality television genre? All suggestions welcome!

P.U.S. The Grand Final.

Matt Saunoa, Joe Cotton, Nik Carlson.
In the end there can only be one. And unfortunately, the last one standing was predetermined at the beginning of the series. Tonight I bring you serious questions about lip-lynching, biased judges' decisions, and a shoddy production by Touchdown and TV2.

Sadly, I am hard pushed to give a decent review of this Grand Final of Pop's Ultimate Star, but I shall endeavor to bring you a blow-by-blow account of this evening's show.

Dig at Dom.
Considering tonight was the final episode, I expected Dominic Bowden to come out in a super suit. Instead, he came out in a black and white ensemble that had the barest hint of suave with the black/gray striped suit.

Personality-wise...again, lack lustre. The sad part is that Dom has been making a cameo appearance on Studio2 over the last couple of weeks and has shown more personality there than over the entire duration of the P.U.S series.


Tonight's Cover Girl Victim was Joe Cotton.
I don't understand these promos. Every time someone shows up for a CG make over, they come out onto the stage looking nothing like the way they exited the CG room. Do they go from the Cover Girl room to a Shiseido room?

Case in point...2 weeks ago Nik Carlson went into the Cover Girl room for his 'make up'. He still had stubble, and the foundation was applied over his stubble and eyebrows. When he appeared on stage, he was clean-shaven.

Reunion Performance

Song: Those Were Our Younger Years.
Everyone looked smashing, but Matt could've pulled his pants up. Actually, he looked like a spunky Sommelier. Vocally, and harmony wise, everyone blended nicely.

Not sure about the song choice, though. Are the judges kissing goodbye to THEIR younger years?

Virtual Popstar
What? Apart from the 2 young girls, I thought the potentials might have needed an ambulance. The girl who sang 'Part Of That World' from The Little Mermaid soundtrack did really well, considering her brother needed a good kick up the ahhhs. I think her name was Paris, and she hails from Whangarei. Yay! Good Northern stock.

TJ Taotua did a good solo effort on guitar and vocals. But, bro, go back to your roots. You have a long way to go. Sorry. Loads of potential though. Kind of ironic, that a competitor from NZ Idol should win Virtual Popstar. Although we have some questions about whether TJ should have won!

Surprise performance.

The final 3 drew straws to select their 'back-up' singers.


Nik Carlson chose Camillia Temple, Rosita Vai, and David Wikaira-Paul to support him in Soul 2 Soul's Back To Life.

I love this song, but it was a major hit and miss. Let's see what he was working with:

• Rosita: The only Diva in this competition who can belt out lower notes.
• Camillia: A walking powerhouse who can hit high notes.
• David: The Performer who draws the audience.

Should have been a knock-out performance.

Individually, everyone did well, but their skills weren't utilised. Nik should have been the central component, and the star, but he might as well have not been on stage at all.
The highlight was David's rap and beat box. But David isn't a contestant.



Matt Saunoa chose Steve Broad and Emily Williams to back him with a Stevie Wonder song.
This is what it's about. Steve and Em were fantastic, but they never upstaged Matt.
He was clearly the central figure, and he sang wonderfully.
Full compliments to Steve and Em. They made this the 'Matt Show'.
Mattattack. Noice.


Joe Cotton chose Keri Harper and Ben Lummis to perform Be My Baby Tonight, by Whitney Houston.

I loved the menage a trois action between the three of them, but the vocals were so boring. Performance, great. But that was all.
In fact, Joe looked like a Thunderbird.
Keri stood out.


Judges' Song Choice.
First up, the final 3 had to sing a song chosen by the judges. Then we, the public, were supposed to vote on our favorite contestant. *cough*


Matt Saunoa sang Vertigo, by U2.
Great jacket. Sexy stubble.
Can I have that shirt?
Matt forgot a line or three, but since the results were predetermined anyway, who cares?
Vocally, it was 'sound', as I've heard the under-18 year olds say. Good control. Shame the song choice was likened to microwaved dog food.

Tip: More audience interaction. Let the humble folk touch you, your greatness.

6/10

Jordan said: Magic Matt. You struggled with that one.
(I say: Song choice. It's all about the song choice.)

Harry said: It was like a knock-on in goal.
(I say: Oh Harry. You really open yourself to cheap shots. But I'm a lady, so I'll just bleep myself.)

Peter said: Thank you Matt.
(I say: On behalf of Matt.You're welcome.)



Joe Cotton sang Express Yourself, by Madonna.
Joe had a great outfit, but the white paunch over her belly made her look pregnant...and not in a complimentary way.

The lyrics were superb, but the facial expressions have got to go! They are seriously annoying. The strut along the front of the audience was a nice touch, but Joe can't dance. Come on people...walking does not equal dancing!

Tip: Practise blank expressions, Joe, or tell the camera person not to do facial close-ups.

6/10

Harry said: Angle (not Angel) Eyes Cotton.
(I say: Yip. 180 degree angle.)

Kim said: Nice. Strong moves.
(I say: Yeah. Strutting is sooo taxing.)

Jordan said: Kim's mentioning moves. All I'm noticing is your parents moving closer to the car.
(I say: Are you judging the contestants or the audience?)

Peter said: Thank you, Joe.
(I say: We have a Thank You Queen. Do you want the Kingship too?)


Nik Carlson sang Careless Whisper, by George Micheal.

OMG! I HAVE to have that shirt!
A shaky start from Nik.
Vocally, it was a bit of lucky dip. It just didn't work I'm afraid.
The power notes and high notes reminded me of a child's slinky toy...all over the place.

No tip.

No score.

It bombed big time.

Jordan said: You get better every week.
(I say: Enough! Who do you think you are fooling?)

Peter said: You took it out of Karaoke-land and made it your own.
(I say: Yawnies. Whatever.)

Harry said: You're not the most versatile singer, but you made it your own.
(I say: People can see through you judges, Harry.)

After all is said and done, who are the final 2?

No surprise. Nik and Joe.


Why are we not surprised? A few weeks ago I was sent some conspiracy theories about this show. The one theory that stood out for me was that this show was conjured up because Joe Cotton intended to relaunch a singing career.

• Fact: The judges were very limited in their critique towards Joe.
• Fact: Joe had the best songs.
• Fact: Joe was allowed to promote herself on The Edge FM.
• Fact: Even though she had a small support base, she was never in the bottom 2.
• Fact: The judges said that Emily was the best singer of the contest but they eliminated her for 'poor song choice'
  

My input: You only had to look at Matt and Joe's faces.
Matt was resigned, but trying to psych himself up for a convincing 'disappointed' expression. Joe was doing her 'oh my gosh, I can't believe it' eyebrow thing...before the announcement was made.

Kisses all around. Puke!

Nik sang Angels, by Robbie Williams.
HAWT vocals. Nik rocked it out and was totally confident. Bootyful.

Lip Synching Joe sang Angel, by Sarah Mclaughlin.
I swear she was lip Synching! Sh