Josiah Leming’s run on American Idol 7 is over.
I really hope that Josiah Leming seeks out some form of professional help in the future, or surround himself with friends who will look after his well being and offer some perspective. Whatever Josiah Leming wanted to do by being on American Idol obviously backfired. The producers were unsympathetic and portrayed him in the worst possible light leading to his elimination: that of a spoiled brat who thinks he is god’s gift to the human race.
Josiah Leming gave a great performance of “Grace Kelly” and has the potential of leading a cult following on the show, but the producers did not want American Idol to be his playground. I think Josiah Leming miscalculated during Hollywood, and clearly was not thinking straight. I guess he did not understand that Hollywood Week is not the place to be a “demanding artist”. Oh what could have been.
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29 Comments for Josiah Leming — American Idol 7 — It’s Over.
I love you Ricky, but I think you are over-cynical this season! Besides having terrible vibrato and pitch problems, I also thought that Josh was WAY too confident. If it wasn’t for his “sob story”…he wouldn’t have even made it past the first round.
I am sooo sad, I really liked him!! I hope he comes back next year or will make it some other way.
noooo! i don’t wanna watch it again! poor little guy. =[
i seriously think that he wasn’t being a spoiled brat or anything. i think he was frustrated, that’s for sure. & omg, kudos for doing it alone, josiah. just wow.
i agree 100%, rickey.
i don’t even know if i wanna watch this season. i don’t have a favorite anymore.
ugh. he needs an indie label to sign him…fast. i need my josiah fix!
i could go on about how much i love him, but i’ll stop. haha.
Gee, let’s look at the reality of Josiah Leming’s situation: he’s one of 8 kids. He’s 18 years old. He lived in a car and dropped out of high school. He’s obviously incredibly creative and sensitive which often does not lend itself to good social skills because you just don’t deal on the same level as everyone else around you.
I think this kid probably never had a chance to get the kind of nurturing and attention he needed from his parents in order to focus his capabilities and personality in a structured way. I’m sure his parents love him very much, but highly creative children, and just children in general, need the kind of discipline and teaching from their parents that suits their particular needs. Josiah had a ton of siblings and probably did not get much individual rearing or support, and that most likely resulted in his becoming overly-independent and distrustful of others. Can’t blame him.
He’s shown he’s an unusually strong person through his ability to persevere in music, and he’s one contestant in particular who I think should not be picked on ruthlessly because it looks like the odds have always been stacked against him. Why tear down a creative person who’s suffered a setback instead of cheering them on and pointing out that learning from mistakes makes us stronger and better? This just seems kind of mean, Rickey.
I think your description of Josiah’s Hollywood experience was on target. He really does need to get back with some friends or family folks who can steer him and balance out his ambitions.
He is pretty young so this isn’t a now or never kind of situation. I know he probably doesn’t feel like that at this moment.
I don’t think he’s spoiled really after thinking about it. I think he’s just VERY immature w/ his talent.
I think he’s the type that pictures what he wants in his head, and when it doesn’t go his way, he can’t cope w/ it and crumbles. Which is what I think might’ve happened w/ his inability to perform w/ the band.
I don’t think he would’ve done well at ALL if he had made it through.
I totally agree that he needs to get himself some good friends or get back to his family and just get that support he really needs.
You’re totally wrong about the show showing him in a negative light. Well.. at least to his fans. They are going absolutely apecrap over on the AI message boards.
Maybe Josiah can write the winning AI song this year. Do they still have that contest?
I wish he had made it but he’s really young and has a lot of time to develop as an artist. The exposure is going to give his career a good boost and hopefully he’ll be able to capitalize on that opportunity.
Judging from Myspace, a lot of people must really like him. Yesterday, he had about 2500 friends, this morning 4200 and now 7976. More than several of last year’s top 10 have.
I really don’t get everyone’s obsession about his crying when he was sad and frustrated. It was a natural reaction. I did feel really bad for him when he came out of the elevator and there was nobody there but Ryan to comfort him.
Go Josiah!
I really have to wonder… would he have such a following if we didn’t know he was living in his car?
IMO…..I don’t think so….
i think he just succumbed to the pressures in the competition. he does need a support system, i agree.
duuuuude. lame.
I think the producers set him up. The judges didn’t like his second audition, why did they let him through? Oh the DRAMA!
Thanks again Rickey for the vids — my VCR is broke.
Does anybody know a site where I can see the whole episode? Thanks.
Am I missing something? The only thing this guy was good at was making interesting television. That’s why I’m stunned he didn’t make top 24. It’s like this season’s shock elimination. Were they afraid of another Sanjaya phenomenon?
i’m going to buy some of his stuff from his myspace page. i really liked the guy.
the fear of a sanjaya-like craze may very well have played into their decision. he totally would have had a following. but i think it was probably mostly that he wasn’t a good fit. he would have driven the band crazy with his arrangements.
how could they have spent so much time on someone they cut and hardly show us some of the others? what the **** idol.
it was the first time they’ve actually surprised me in a while.
good analysis Ripley. and i totally agree with Zomgaubrie, he’s not a spoiled brat, he’s just frustrated. i felt bad for him too when there’s nobody there to comfort him when he got elimnated.
they probably are afraid of a Sanjaya repeat. IMO Josiah has a better voice than Sanjaya but sad to say, he does not have Sanjaya’s charisma.
I hope he does try out again. He might be more prepared and more matured next time.
if you think hes spoiled or a cry baby , then its obvious you either don’t like him to begin with or don’t even follow him. hes so tallented i hope he does make it , i hope he tries out next year and works out his nerves over the next year. as for the first comment that said he has a bad voice? no offense but if you think he has a bad voice you don’t really know much aboout music , i really like how his voice sounds. hes a young kid full of emotion and hes emotional because this is his dream this is what he wants to do. if anything i think he lacks confidence and he needs to improve that as well.
I’m relieved he got cut. He was much too emotionally fragile and immature to handle the pressures of this competition. The constant crying, whining and pleading was uncomfortable to watch. His neediness and desperation were over-bearing. This kid was already cracking under pressure. It would only get worse. He clearly cannot deal with the stress. Maybe in 5 years.
Good luck, Josiah!
I love Josiah…
but I agree with amina and vegasbabe
Just to clear the air here, Josiah’s mom has terminal cancer. From what I have read, it has been a few years since her diagnosis. I read a little of her journal – it sounds like he was the peacemaker and maybe it has been too overwhelming. People deal with circumstances is different ways.
I wish him only the best.
Whoever posted above about creative people needing attention to develop, it looks like he was NOT given the attention based on what I have read and what their family has gone through with her illness and the effect on their family.
Go Josiah!
Josiah is a great kid, and talented no doubt. But this is a vocal competition and I think the judges made the right decision. I know I’m the only one who thought his rendition of Grace Kelly was downright awful, but my opinions aside, he just isn’t as good a singer as the others. And the judges were more than gracious to him. Frankly, I was happy to see him go.
Very talented but too unstable for such a harsh competition as this. He would have cried everytime Simon critized his performance. Good Luck in the future.
Why is it that no one thinks that all the girls that cried are emotionally unstable? The times he cried were few and when he was sad or extremely frustrated. Geez Josiah, be a man — don’t express emotions in a healthy and cathartic way.
What about that little girl whose parents hired the ex-idol finalist vocal coach to accompany and coach her during Hollywood week? The coach was with her 24/7 picking her songs and doing the arrangements. SHE cried on stage and when she got eliminated. Compare her experience with Josiah’s. Why is he held to such a higher standard for the appropriateness of expressing emotion?
I like the kid and I think that because he is a song writer and not just a singer, it might take him longer to really develop his craft. (Not to sound like Randy, but 18 year old boys aren’t exactly in their emotional or mental prime by a long shot).
The fact that he didn’t make idol but still got so much national exposure, could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for him. He’ll have to keep working hard and struggling. But in the end, that usually is what inspires growth.
Go Josiah!
Re: Laurel
I agree with Ripley’s analysis. It’s not the fact that he cries that’s the problem (it’s just a little annoying). A pageant queen crying because she got cut is in a very different place than a young homeless kid. In addition to being young and confused, he doesn’t seem to have much of a support group. There’s a major difference between being upset and having a nervous breakdown.
Personally, I think he would have cracked under the pressure if he made the Top 24. He needs to take care of himself first, and then worry about his career.
As I’ve stated before, I’m concerned about the mental health of this kid. But, along with that, I also think it’s possible his tears are, at best, manipulative drama and, at worst, a total con.
Something’s just not right about this kid.
why does people keep saying this kid has problems , you people don’t even know him , all the drama queens and princes of this show shed some tears and there normal , but he cries threw pure emotion because he wants this so bad , i did notice something about him , after every one of his performances he said thank you like he was gracious for even geting the chance to preform in front of the country, i hope so much he comes back next season or gets some kind of music contract out of this.
I think this kid is a dreamer and he has troubles dealing when he’s faced with the reality that not everything goes the way his fantasies go. His behavior is very revealing in this, how at one moment he says he loves being in his car and traveling, and the next he’s really scared and lonely, how he’s confident he’ll win the competition and the next it’s the end of the world because he can’t work with the band. Lots of sensitive artists go on emotional roller coasters. Normally I’m pretty jaded, but I felt bad for this kid. Mostly because he has so much talent. Idol material? No. His style and voice didn’t lend for that. He’d look really small on stage next to the typical big boomers Idol loves, but as the singer/song writer type, he can go places. There’s definitely a market for that stuff (eg: Nick Drake, or Elliot Smith. Hopefully he doesn’t end up like them.) All in all, the kid needs some good friends first and foremost.
His original music on youtube is getting so many views. Love it!