'Idol' Nearly Mum on Contestant's Past

Tue Mar 4, 2008 3:15 PM EST
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LOS ANGELES — David Hernandez's stripper past didn't come back to haunt him on Tuesday night's "American Idol." Hernandez's three-year stint as a male stripper wasn't even mentioned during the live telecast, which featured the 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., performing a rendition of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." However, acerbic judge Simon Cowell did mutter something about stripping, off camera, immediately after the song ended.

Randy Jackson called Hernandez's singing "pitchy" but said he had a "big ol' voice." Paula Abdul raved that Hernandez had some of the "best vocals." And Simon Cowell said it wasn't as good as last week, but Hernandez had secured himself a place in the finals.

On Thursday, 16 semifinalists will be narrowed down to the final 12 contestants.

Other than Cowell, no one alluded to Monday's news that Hernandez worked for three years in Phoenix at Dick's Cabaret. There, he would appear fully nude and perform lap dances for the club's "mostly male" clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan told The Associated Press on Monday.

It apparently wasn't Hernandez's "most embarrassing moment" either. (Contestants had to 'fess up about theirs during the show.) In a taped segment before his performance, Hernandez said his red-faced moment happened when he discovered he had "a pea-sized booger" in his nose following a photo shoot.

Fox and the producers have declined to comment about Hernandez.

In 2003, semifinalist Frenchie Davis was dismissed from "Idol" because of her appearance on an adult Web site, but Antonella Barba remained in the competition last year after racy photos of her surfaced on the Internet.

Third-place finisher Nikki McKibbin from the first "Idol" season briefly worked as stripper before the show, according to Joe Cannizzaro, president of McKibbin's record label, Chenoa Music. Like Hernandez, McKibbin wasn't dismissed from the show when her history as a stripper was publicly revealed — nor was it disclosed on the show.

Dick's Cabaret manager Bryan told the AP he was aware that Hernandez was a vocalist, but that Hernandez never sang at the club. Bryan said he now believes Hernandez stopped working at the strip club on Sept. 30, 2007, because of his participation in "Idol."

On a video posted on AmericanIdol.com, Hernandez said he broke the lease on his apartment and lived out of his car before auditioning for "Idol." And, when asked in a Q&A posted on the site which talent would he would most like to have if he couldn't sing, Hernandez responded: "Dancing! I'm horrible at that."

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AP writer Erin Carlson in New York contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

American Idol: http://www.americanidol.com/

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":1540688,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
Division by Zero

I hope they sent a letter of apology to Frenchie....

{"commentId":1540688,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
    Reply#1 - Tue Mar 4, 2008 7:07 PM EST
    {"commentId":1542254,"authorDomain":"biggerthebetter"}
    biggerthebetter

    I think the difference is that the site Frenchie Davis posed on gave the impression that it had underaged girls on it, and targeted men who are into underaged girls....

    {"commentId":1542254,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"biggerthebetter"}
      #1.1 - Wed Mar 5, 2008 7:48 AM EST
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      {"commentId":1541219,"authorDomain":"DanLS"}
      Dan LS

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

      {"commentId":1541219,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"DanLS"}
        Reply#2 - Tue Mar 4, 2008 9:47 PM EST
        {"commentId":1543591,"authorDomain":"insite101"}
        Insite101

        You know what makes me sick I gotta Britney Spears run around in her underwear but this guy who is trying to change his life every one has to destroy so what if he was a male stripper life wasn't as easy for him as every one else does that mean that yet again we should spit on him and not allow him the opportunity to change his life. It is reporters like this that make me sick to scared to gives things like this a shot themselves so anyone who has the guts must be torn down in the public eye just cause they aren't the popular one. Grow up. The was a stripper mind you in not one of the classiest places ever but so what that was his past and the past is past get over it if he isn't doing it anymore then what the hell business is it of anyone. People will do anything to strip down the confidence of every one around them. It is no wonder that I hate walking outside my door every day.

        {"commentId":1543591,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"insite101"}
          Reply#3 - Wed Mar 5, 2008 1:45 PM EST
          {"commentId":1545406,"authorDomain":"DanLS"}
          Dan LS

          Yea... I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that David Hasselhoff got his start as a male stripper, and he grew into the widely respected actor and musical artist that we see today.

          {"commentId":1545406,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"DanLS"}
            Reply#4 - Wed Mar 5, 2008 9:19 PM EST
            {"commentId":1546137,"authorDomain":"jrongo"}
            jrongo

            It is unfair that Frenchie Davis was dismissed from Idol because of her participation in an adult website where other performers such as Hernandez are kept alive on the show.

            However, I do believe that the past should not play a role in American Idol. If contestants such as Hernandez choose to participate in the show then they should be given an equal chance regardless of what their profession was in the past. I do not believe that the past has anything to with affecting neither the competition nor the votes. After all, being a stripper in the past does not make one a better singer. To sum up, American Idol should not discriminate contestants based on their profession in the past. It makes no difference in their performance and it does not harm anyone.

            {"commentId":1546137,"threadId":"229345","contentId":"1343288","authorDomain":"jrongo"}
            • 1 vote
            Reply#5 - Thu Mar 6, 2008 2:12 AM EST
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