I was watching American Idol tonight (can we say BORING. Where is Normund when we need him?) when I see a commercial for special guest on the news after the show. Who do they show on my TV, NORMUND. I'm watching the clock tick, waiting not so patiently for Normund to be in my TV, where he is meant to be.
I sit through the news and when they start talking about Normund I quickly pull out my camera and video tape! I was disappointed to say the least when Nick showed up on my TV.
He admits he used Normund to get on TV. He claims "he" was all a joke. Shame on you, Nick! Shame on you. We all know Normund is real.
*Did you all see Normundy.com flash on the screen? On another part they actually showed the website page but my cat jumped on my leg and caused me to drop my camera. I think she was angry at Nick too.
Jackie Strause on the TV blog (scroll down) at the New York Post gives us a shout-out:
Norman (it's actually Normund) Gentle (aka Nick Mitchell) may not have made it through, but "Idol's" "most entertaining performer" - according to Randy - has finally launched his own site.
Right on for getting his name right! But sadly no - we aren't Normund - we're just his most hopelessly devoted fans.
So says Joal Ryan posting on E! Online's uberblog:
Nick Mitchell's Top 36 Inclusion Explained: In terms of total viewers, last night's American Idol peaked in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour, scoring 25.1 million for Mitchell's Norman Gentle aerobics, preliminary Nielsen estimates showed.(Link here).
It's time to give America what it really wants - Normund for the Wildcard! Normund for America!
(And we'll forgive the mispelling of Normund's name. For now).
Over at MTV, a certain discerning soul, by the name of James Montgomery has authored a masterpiece entitled Why Normund Gentle Is The Greatest 'American Idol' Contestant Ever. Link here.
Let's take a closer look.
A few weeks ago, after Normund Gentle (or, if you prefer, Nick Mitchell) inexplicably slipped into the "American Idol" top 36, we published a piece in which we called him "either the most annoying contestant in the show's illustrious eight-year history, or the most brilliant." At the time, we weren't really sure which was appropriate.
Aack! Normund? Annoying?! Does not compute. Though human nature being what it is, whenever we're confronted by greatness many people's first reaction is befuddlement and confusion.
Now, after Wednesday night's vampy, campy performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," we've made up our minds: Gentle is the greatest contestant in "American Idol" history.
Indeed he is, Mr. Montgomery! Indeed he is. Like there was any doubt.
Here's why: For starters, he's infinitely more interesting than anyone else in the "Idol" annals, despite the fact that he isn't even real — or, more specifically, because he isn't real. In Normund Gentle (who has been identified on the show as "Norman Gentle" but, according to his Web site, is actually "Normund"), Mitchell has created a cabaret caricature that pokes fun at everything the show is about: the over-the-top emoting, the cheesy numbers, the fact that this is basically a beauty contest.
First of all - SQUEEEEE for the shout-out. (While normundy.com does not have an official relationship with Normund - he's a little busy right now - we do aspire to be the be-all and end-all for all things Normund. At the end of the day, we're just a bunch of normal everyday folks who had the foresight to recognize his fearsome talent before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon). The rest of the paragraph about Normund not being "real", is over my head. Then again I failed Philosophy 101 three times.
Gentle is definitely not beautiful: He's gawky, his short shorts ride uncomfortably high, he wears a headband, and yet, he survives. He is cheesiness personified, his performances so overly emotional that they border on being terrible (like, during last night's performance, when he literally got on his knees and begged the audience — and the judges — to let him stay on the show). He is, if one is being generous, an incredible slab of performance art ... either you get him or you don't. He is multifaceted. Complex.
The only part of this that I understand is 'multifaceted' and 'complex'.
Having said all that, you cannot merely write Gentle off as a "joke," despite all evidence to the contrary. This is because Gentle — or Mitchell — can actually sing. For proof of this, check out his version of "Amazing Grace" during the "Idol" auditions, or the extended, lung-sapping "Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" he capped his performance with last night. Sure, he did this after chucking his glasses into the audience, pawing at the "American Idol" sign and wading into the studio audience like a lost puppy, but still, you cannot deny that he has pipes (and at least he doesn't use them to shatter eardrums like theater-trained emo kid Adam Lambert). He is not merely a one-trick pony.
Normund's voice is that of a soaring angel and those fools who think he's a joke are sad, bitter people with no beauty in their lives.
Finally, as if everything he's done up to this point is not proof enough, Wednesday night's performance only proved that Gentle (and, by default, Mitchell) has absolutely no pretenses about actually winning "Idol." In fact, he seems hell-bent on single-handedly destroying it. His routine brought last night's show to a screeching halt, it left the judges agape, and it had the audience in complete hysterics. It's as if, in one moment, everyone watching, judging or producing "Idol" realized, "Wow, this thing really is ridiculous." He blew holes through the show's entire premise. As opposed to going out there and singing for his very life (which everyone else did, with underwhelming results), Gentle took the stage in a white tuxedo jacket and decided to screw around. It was either the work of a madman, a mastermind or both.
This is where Mr. Montgomery completely loses me. Normund is not a destroyer. Normund is love! I like the bit about him being a mastermind though. (Because it's true!)
And here's the thing: Gentle's act could continue. Despite Simon Cowell's urging that he be voted off (or, probably, because of it), Gentle may survive. He's already being championed by the Vote for the Worst folks, and he seems like a shoo-in to receive the votes of every single person in this country who hates "American Idol" and wants to see it brought to its knees. And Gentle could be the person who does just that. Or he may just be sent packing Thursday night (February 26) — who knows?
Again with the weird hate thing. Normund's not out to destroy American Idol. He's here to save it!
Either way, he's already attained greatness. It just depends on your definition of the word.
In my dictionary, "greatness" has a picture of Normund next to it.
For the few Nicktards around here, here's an article about him:
Nick Mitchell defies 'American Idol' norm with alter-ego Norman Gentle
By Derrik J. Lang, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - It seemed like just another dead-on-arrival "American Idol" audition: Nick Mitchell lunged into the popular Fox singing competition's New York tryout, performing not as his unassuming self, but as a saucy character he'd named Norman Gentle.
Decked out in a terry cloth headband, oversized glasses and a sparkly shirt, he wailed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from "Dreamgirls." It was clear from the start that this guy was not here to advance a serious singing career.
But after some candid banter - some of it funny enough to make Simon Cowell laugh out loud - and an almost-earnest "Amazing Grace," the judges actually voted to put Mitchell through to Hollywood Week.
Kara DioGuardi said he didn't have "a shot in hell," so his improbable ascension seemed destined to end on the West Coast. But the 27-year-old crooner from Brookfield, Conn., has kept going and going in the competition.
The judges have bought the shtick so far. Will America?
Mitchell - or perhaps Gentle? - is scheduled perform for viewer votes Wednesday for the first time. The crowning of such a jester has left many in the "Idol" audience wondering: Who the heck is this guy?
Bob Appleby, a friend and former classmate who started the "Brookfield Loves Nick Mitchell" group on Facebook, said Mitchell is "a natural entertainer."
"Growing up, he got along with everyone," said Appleby. "He would always sing and make everyone laugh. He was known for doing spoofs. He was always entertaining everyone in elementary school, junior high and high school - and he still is. I think a lot of us in Brookfield are excited that the rest of the country gets to see how entertaining he is."
After graduating from high school, Mitchell studied at Marymount Manhattan College and Western Connecticut State University, and he took classes at the Singers Forum and Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, according to his MySpace page. His family owns Mitchell Oil in Danbury, Conn., but by all accounts, he's just another struggling performer.
"I decided to audition for 'American Idol,' to be honest, just to hopefully get on camera and see if I could possibly get some work out of this or an agent," Mitchell said in a video posted on AmericanIdol.com. "I'm not the normal contestant, I guess you'd say. I hope that's OK. I'm a sketch comedian, but I also am a singer."
Mitchell said he crafted the Gentle persona a few years ago to be able to "get away" with singing Whitney Houston and "Dreamgirls" tunes.
Seeing Gentle was a first for Julie Gabriele, who attended high school and starred in a production of "Little Shop of Horrors" with Mitchell.
"I didn't know what it was," Gabriele, who now lives in Chicago, said of Mitchell's alter ego. "Since I've never watched 'American Idol' before, I wasn't sure if creating an alias like that was something that other contestants did. I'd never seen that character before, so I know that he didn't really sing like that. Nick can sing really well, actually."
The show's four judges have agreed, selecting Mitchell as one of the eighth season's 36 semifinalists after Mitchell performed as himself and as Gentle during Hollywood Week. For the record, they preferred Gentle. No other intentionally over-the-top contestant - Sanjaya Malakar was never this self-aware - has ever achieved such "Idol" success.
Like the judges, Appleby believes that Mitchell needed Gentle to put his "good" singing over the top.
"Seeing as how they were basically interviewing 103,000 people, he might have been overlooked," Appleby said, "but by going in there and having an edge, using comedy to get noticed, I think that was the deciding factor that got him noticed during of all his auditions."
The "Idol" stage isn't Gentle's first moment in the spotlight. Mitchell appeared as the character on "The Wendy Williams Show" last year after sending in an unsolicited tape of himself dancing around his living room while lip-synching to the syndicated talk show's theme song. Executive producer Rob Dauber said he knew Mitchell deserved a second look.
"Right away, his sense of humour and sense of fun came right through that screen," said Dauber. "We all loved it, and Wendy loved it, so we decided to book him to come and open the show. He was beyond excited. He came, and he stayed in character the entire time he was here. It's obvious he's wanted this for a long, long time."
Seems someone is taking all the credit for Normund's success. Fame-leech.
I confess I've been in a funk all day after reading this interview with Nick that some Connecticut online rag published yesterday. Especially this quote:
I didn't really want to go online, because some people were like 'He's so funny I love him,' and some people were like 'I want to kill him!'
I feel hurt for Normund that he wasn't contacted for an interview. And I just *know* he's coming online to read because our whole purpose is to show him our love. I wish there was some way to write something to the woman who wrote that article - just a quick comment to let her know we don't appreciate her unbalanced reporting. I think that if enough people contacted her and told her of the joy and delight that Normund brings people, she'd surely want to interview Normund. Can you imagine how many more readers she would get?
Hang in there Normund fans. Tuesday is a day of reckoning!
On some blog called Reality TV Magazine - which is infested with pop-ups, let me tell you - Randy Jackson gives his completely off-base opinion about Normund Gentle, predictably sabotaging him.
When it comes to two of the most annoying, and to some, entertaining contestants, Tatiana Del Toro and Nick Michell (aka Norman Gentle), Randy Jackson tries to explain why they got into the semi-finals of American Idol Season 8. As for Nick, Randy says, “[Nick's] a bit of a comedian, but when he puts his mind to it, he’s actually a really good singer; he’s actually got a voice there,”
Don't even bother going there, it's just a big shrine to Nick.
One day, Normund, they'll all pay for their insolence. With over-priced concert tickets through the newly combined mega ticket franchise of Ticket Master/Live Nation!
Look what was printed in some blog called eCanadaNow.com:
One can't help but feel a little odd about the contestants who are left. Norman Gentle, for one. This guy has been a comedic act from day one and manages to put Simon down every chance he gets. He does not have the greatest voice or a great personality or look. So, I was thinking this should have been the last night for him. Nope. He is among the 36 who have made it through. What an odd pick.
Well, the ultimate experiment is here in the form of Nick Mitchell, a/k/a Norman Gentle. He's a swishy doughboy straight out of a 1989 jazzercize video who managed to crack the judges up at his New York audition enough to get him to Hollywood. Last night, he belted "And I Am Telling You," with priceless shout-outs to "Balcony!" and "Seacrest!" Norman Gentle gets a standing ovation from his competition. Randy is so blown away, he calls him "Bnoodles." Paula asks him to take off his clothes. I'm ready to declare this blog the official Norman Gentle Fan Club. Is this our next Idol? God I hope so.
That's right - but step off Village Voice, we were here first.
Recent polls reveal that Normund is up 40 points in the lucrative Over-65-Under-90 demographic, thus taking him from contender to front-runner status.
When asked about Normund's appeal, one snarky senior responded, "There is none. We're voting for him to fuck with the show. Diana Degarmo was like the sweet, pure granddaughter most of us never had. And you saw what they did to her. It's payback time, baby. We're all spending our grandchildren's inheritance on unlimited text plans."
I am so happy Normund is gaining fans by the bucket full! This is so good for his career. He is going to be something big!
OTOH, I am continually outraged that people insist on calling him Nick Mitchell. Do your research people!
Nick Mitchell aka "Norman (or Normund) Gentle" has injected American Idol with a bucket load of fun and become a shoo-in for Season 8's first career launch.
....
Nick didn’t show up to the American Idol auditions wearing a bikini or a pink bunny suit as others did, but he did shimmer and shine in a disco shirt and headband that could pass for Richard Simmon’s workout gear. It isn’t that Nick has no fashion sense. It’s that his attire is part of his effort to launch his Normund Gentle character onto the national stage. Nick may be sly like a fox, for win, lose or draw on American Idol, he’s already stolen the spotlight long enough to capture an ever-burgeoning fan base.
It's not Slezak (aka Persona Non Grata) but *someone* from ew.com is welcome here.
We should all stop kidding ourselves. Nick/Norman has shown us the light, and done so brilliantly. It would be Andy Kaufman-esque were it not for his willingness to drop the shtick and turn into a wadded-up Kleenex for the producers every time they turn the confessional cameras on.
That's right, Whitney Pastorek. Normund is here to show us the light. (Didn't 'preciate the implication in your blog that Normund's a stoner though. He's a positive role model. He's a boozer, not a drug abuser.)
'Norman' Gentle "SHINES" says some blog called Newsvine.
The most memorable performance of American Idol's first round of Hollywood Week was not that of a vocal powerhouse. Instead Funnyman Nick Mitchell - aka Norman Gentle - wowed the judges with his humor.
But under all that jesting lives a bit of vocal talent, at least enough to send Nick through to the next round.
Yes, we're glad to see blogger love, but we here at Normundy live to educate.
First of all, it's Normund. NorMUND. Spread the word!
Second, "under all that jesting lives a bit of vocal talent" is completely misleading. Normund's vocal talent is no "bit" and it's not "under" anything. His talent is palpable and delicious.
Last, Nick didn't get through to the next round. Normund did. N-O-R-M-U-N-D.
