Dish Of Salt: Friday TV Dish (One-On-One With Didi Benami)

This morning I was up bright and early to chat one-on-one with eliminated “American Idol” contestant Didi Benami. The poor girl was exhausted and admitted that during the show’s run she had only about three or four hours of sleep per night. Fortunately, she was not too tired to answer my burning questions. Plus, I have news on a country legend heading to “Dancing with the Stars” and exciting details on where to see the “Lost” alternate endings after the finale. It’s all in today’s Dish.

One on One with Didi Benami

Things got rather uncomfortable on “American Idol” when host Ryan Seacrest pressed a little too hard to get Didi Benami to admit for whom she sang the song “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” on Tuesday night. “I think it’s important that people know why,” Ryan said to Didi. Although Ryan was referring to the fact that Didi’s best friend Rebecca had passed away while they were in college together, Didi laughed the comment off by not mentioning her friend and joking about Ryan, “He wants me to say him.” A chuckle in the audience and a scolding from Simon to Ryan made it seem as if Didi might have had her heart broken by a boyfriend to some viewers.

However, that was not the case at all and Didi explained to me this morning in our one-on-one interview why she chose to keep silent about Rebecca that night. “Anybody that knows me knows that that’s what I was singing about,” she told me. “I didn’t want to keep talking about it on stage and on ‘American Idol’ because people already knew that. I was kind of frustrated when Simon said it was over-dramatic because I was like, ‘Well, it was a very dramatic time in my life.’ It was something that changed my life.”

Didi told me she plans to use Rebecca’s songs when she eventually puts out an album of her own. “Yes, absolutely. I still have to talk with her parents,” she explained. “I actually asked if I could sing (one of her songs) on the show but I couldn’t. But yeah, I’m definitely going to. There’s several songs like ‘No Destination,’ ‘Shoot for the Moon,’ and ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Journey’ that I definitely want to re-record. Yeah, I was thinking about it this morning.”

Didi also took the time to clarify something she told reporters in a conference call yesterday – that she had lived out of her car at one point while trying to make it in Hollywood. “I slept in my car once,” she explained. “But I’ve lived in and out of my car — like had everything in my car and and bunked on people’s couches and stayed with people I knew, but there was only one time in particular where I actually slept in my car, which was really scary in Hollywood. It’s like… never wanted to do it again. There’s homeless people and it’s like, you never know who anybody is walking by the car, and it’s not good for a girl to be doing.”

Watch the video of my interview with Didi HERE.

Didi will be coming to Access Hollywood to perform on our show so be sure and check that out on Monday!

Aloha To “Lost”

“Lost” ends its six-season adventure on May 23 with a huge two-hour finale. Immediately following the local news, Jimmy Kimmel will host a special goodbye party for the series with “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost,” a special one-hour analysis of the finale. Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will be on hand to answer burning questions, as will be several cast members. Best of all, we will be treated to alternate endings. Now that’s worth staying up late to watch!

Reba Goes “Dancing”

It’s a trio of Reba songs on “Dancing with the Stars” next week. Country music star Reba McEntire will perform two numbers from her album “Keep On Loving You” on next week’s results show. Former series pros Lacey Schwimer and Dmitry Chaplin will return to accompany her on the dance floor. She’ll also sing her fan favorite hit “I Want A Cowboy.” In addition, Mark Ballas, who was eliminated this week with his partner Shannen Doherty will return to perform an acoustic paso doble song on guitar.

“Pretty Little” Lowe

Chad Lowe is set to the join the cast of ABC Family’s upcoming drama “Pretty Little Liars.” Based on a series of young adult books, the show is about four young girls who begin receiving mysterious messages after a friend disappears. Chad would play the father of one of the girls. His last recurring role was in 2007 on “24.” A little TV trivia for you: Chad won an Emmy award in 1993 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the ABC show “Life Goes On.” “Pretty Little Liars” premieres on Tuesday, June 8 at 8:00PM ET/PT.

Check out a promo for the show HERE.

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