Kellie Pickler’s turn in the limelight

Taylor Hicks may not have enjoyed the same success rate as, say, American Idol Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson, but Season 5, in which Taylor won, is now officially the most winning season ever. It has produced the likes of Katherine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, Elliot Yamin, and now, catching up with them, is Kellie Pickler!

Kellie, if you can remember, is the roller-skating-waitress-turned-bubbly-contestant who played “small town, dumb blonde” to the hilt. In the semi-finals, she endeared herself to many viewers because of her candor. Host Ryan Seacrest asked her how she was enjoying Hollywood, and she raved about this dish she has never heard of before, calamari. Later into the season, judge Simon Cowell called her “a saucy little minx,” and, all cute and wide-eyed, she sincerely asked what a minx was. She finished 6th, but in the Idol finals, a comic clip was shown of Kellie with Wolfgang Puck, with the renowned chef introducing her to some unusual gourmet food—which she daintily spat out.

Post-Idol, Kellie graced Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (the US version of Kakasa ka ba sa Grade 5?) and became an instant YouTube hit. She was asked the question “Budapest is the capital of what European country?” Her reply: “This might be a stupid question, but I thought Europe was a country.” When she was told the answer was Hungary, she did not believe the host. She said, “Hungry? That’s a country? I’ve heard of Turkey, but Hungry? I’ve never heard of it.” Check out the YouTube videos. She’s really funny.

She’s so funny, in fact, that she was supposed to have her own sitcom developed after her small town life. It never panned out, but it all worked out for the best because a couple of nights ago, Kellie was the big winner in the 2008 Country Music Television Awards. She got three awards: Performance of the Year (for “I Wonder” from 41st Annual County Music Association Awards), Breakthrough Video (also for “I Wonder”), and Tearjerker Video (again, for “I Wonder”).

Kellie wasn’t around, but she issued a shout out from Scottsdale, Arizona, where she was tied up in a singing engagement: “Thank you American Idol, you are the rocket that launched my career!”

Another Season 5 also-ran, country singer Bucky Covington, is not far behind. His self-titled album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.

Call for submissions for Philippine Speculative Fiction IV

Dean and Nikki Alfar are calling for submissions for Philippine Speculative Fiction IV. According to Dean, “Speculative fiction is the literature of wonder that spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism or falls into the cracks in-between.”

There’s a complete list of requirements at deanalfar.blogspot.com, but here are some of them: Works must cater to an adult sensibility, must be written in English, and must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry. Preference will be given to original unpublished stories, but previously published stories will also be considered. First time authors are welcome to submit, but multiple submissions are not allowed. Word count should be no fewer than 1,500 words and no more than 7,500 words. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2008.

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