Back in 2011, I religiously watched Platinum Hit, Bravo’s songwriting reality contest featuring Jewel and former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. I don’t watch much reality TV other than singing contests like The Voice; Platinum Hit was right up my alley, moreso because the contestants wrote their own songs and one can see their process of doing it on the show. Some of the songs were great, too — I still listen sometimes to the studio version of Love It Or Hate It. Sadly, it was not renewed for a second season because of poor ratings.
While updating my blog to its new layout, I came across an old post that I wrote when douche contestant Johnny Marnell got eliminated. (I am not a frequent blogger; I must have really been into the show to actually blog about it lol.) It made me wonder about the current fate of the contestants — are they still chasing the dream of having a publishing and/or record deal? Without further ado, I share with you, fellow few and far between Platinum Hit fans, the results of my Google-Fu:
12. Nevin James
I barely remember this guy. Right after the show, Nevin milked his 15 minutes of fame to promote his short-lived “social justice rock opera” called Death & Victory in Paris. He’s also quite into Jesus and appeared on The 700 Club in 2012. A peek into his Facebook, the only site with recent updates about him, reveals he’s still playing the piano.
11. Blessing Offor
Even though he was booted out second, it’s hard to forget Blessing Offor because of his memorable name and the fact that he was the only blind guy in the show with a guide dog. So when I saw a preview of the third Blind Audition episode of the latest season of The Voice, I immediately recognized him. The episode just aired yesterday, and sure enough, it was him, sans guide dog.
Blessing got a four(!)-chair turn and chose to be on Team Pharrell. He’s up against some pretty stiff competition, though; I don’t think he’s going to survive past the Knockout Rounds. Still, good on you, mate!
10. Karen Waldrup
Karen’s quite the busy country artist! The gal is really working hard to be the next Taylor Swift (unlike fellow early oustee Nevin James who seems to have given up on dreams of stardom). From her bio: “Karen Waldrup is an adept artist with enough ambition and drive to become a household name.” You go, girl! She just released a new single this month called Sharing The Night Together.
Karen is quite active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Plus, she has one sweet-looking official website. The girl sure is serious about making it! (Note to aspiring young up-and-comers: get whoever made Karen’s website to do yours.)
9. Amber Ojeda
Amber is also still trying to make it big, but with considerably less glitter than Karen. According to her official website, she’s working on her third album, but her bread and butter seems to be placements of her songs on TV and film. Perhaps you’ve heard one of her songs on Snooki and Jwoww and Basketball Wives. Like Karen, Amber has an active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Stay tuned for Part 2: Melissa Rapp, Jackie Tohn, Johnny Marnell, and Brian Judah.