Frankie Grande: Overwhelming No

[Stinger97]

So, probably not the wittiest title, but @chad directed me to ONTD and apparently Frankie is claiming he's 28 in interviews while the graphic in the video is revealing his actual age of 31. And according to posters there, pictures from his 30th birthday are posted to social media. So, what I've deduced is that he's vain and dumb. Perfect for BB. 

[Kromm]

So, probably not the wittiest title, but @chad directed me to ONTD and apparently Frankie is claiming he's 28 in interviews while the graphic in the video is revealing his actual age of 31. And according to posters there, pictures from his 30th birthday are posted to social media. So, what I've deduced is that he's vain and dumb. Perfect for BB. 

Well, he has Ariana controlling his Twitter account now, and she's slightly more intelligent than him, so maybe she'll fool people into thinking he's not as dim as he really is.

[Katesus7]

He has said in interviews he "hopes" he does not get recognized, and does not plan on telling anyone who his sister is. I am extremely confident in saying that before the first full week of live feeds is done, he will have managed to put it out to the whole house who his sister is, and why he should get recognized. I'm calling it now. His listed job is a "YouTube personality". He won't be able to help himself, his entire being is wrapped up in everyone knowing who he is.

[Maverick]

He won't be able to help himself, his entire being is wrapped up in everyone knowing who he is.

Who the hell is he?   And who is is sister?   Is he supposed to be someone because he's a YouTube personality?  So were those twits on the Amazing Race and no one knew who they were.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Stinger97
Removed double post.

[Kromm]

Who the hell is he?   And who is is sister?   Is he supposed to be someone because he's a YouTube personality?  So were those twits on the Amazing Race and no one knew who they were.

I realize Youth Culture is not everyone's culture and there's a whole parallel track of people who don't choose to follow or know about it.  But his sister has been a fairly big star on the Disney track for about 5 or 6 years, and in the past year and a half has become a mainstream music star pretty much at the very top level of record sales and radio play and media appearances. Her album was #1 last year on the main Billboard chart.  She has, for example a million more twitter followers than Mariah Carey (16m to Mariah's 15m).  Her latest song had it's video posted on YouTube, to use another meter, a mere three weeks ago, and is already at about 37 million views.  A song she did a year ago's video is clocked currently 159 million views.  That's no joke.

 

Frankie is a hanger-oner and inherent nobody it's true.  But he's kind of akin to one of the lesser Jenner/Kardashians arguably, hanging on the orbit of Kim.  He's a Step-Star, I'd call it.  Icky, but whether or not his sister is on your radar, she's on most of America's, and I do think that transfers to him quite a bit.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Kromm

[gunderda]

I bet there will be ONE person that recognizes him.  If nothing else than BB purposely put someone in there that knows of him. Or is a huge fan of his sister. 

And I agree - by the end of day one he will have told half of the people in the house.

[Kromm]

I bet there will be ONE person that recognizes him.  If nothing else than BB purposely put someone in there that knows of him. Or is a huge fan of his sister. 

And I agree - by the end of day one he will have told half of the people in the house.

I suppose all it would take would be one person who lives in LA and in part of the party/socializing scene.  Or one person who's not just an Ariana fan, but subscribes to her Twitter.  Reading up on the relationship between the two it sounds like Frankie is even more of a hanger-on-er to his sister's star than most star sibs.  He's apparently there always, everywhere she goes.  So he's all over her social media constantly (in other words, 16 million people know him for sure, and maybe others who don't technically follow her but check in), and all over her mainstream press/P.R., in the "edges of the photo" kind of way.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Kromm

[Lady Calypso]

He does seem like a bragger. I've briefly gone through his twitter page and he does seem to brag about being friends with celebrities, and I know he did a video or something with last year's houseguest Nick, so that's another thing. I think he's said that he's a fan and he's applied like everyone else instead of recruited, but I do consider him the equivalent to the Rachel/Elissa scenario. The only difference is that Rachel is a Big Brother celebrity, and Ariana is a mainstream celebrity, and both are very much different. 

[gunderda]

I don't really see it as any different than celebs/famous athletes getting cast on Survivor. 

other than we don't get to vote to 'help' the celebs on survivor.

[Machiabelly]

I think that with the level of famewhoredom that usually shows up pn BB, telling them who he is and that he can for sure get her to meet them would probably keep him safe for weeks

[Gregg247]

MANY years ago, when I was 22 and just out of college, I got my first "real" job, and one of the guys I worked with was a 29 year old macho jerk.  He used to continually brag about how he spent all his weekends at the Georgia Tech campus with his young frat brothers.  He would buy all the beer and liquor (since most of the guys were underage) and they'd hang out all weekend, getting drunk and hitting on "chicks".  I always thought it was weird that this old guy (in my mind, at least) was hanging out with all these kids my age and younger.  (I understood why they'd keep him around though, what with the free cash and valid I.D.!).  He had a definite case of arrested development.

 

Last night, watching Frankie, a 31 year old man, excitedly bragging about how his sister is such a HUGE star among the teens, and how wonderful she was for kids to look up to, and how everyone in the world adored her, reminded me of my former co-worker.  Frankie seems to be stuck in middle/high school in his interests and outlook.  I wonder how many gay men his age meet him, listen to him prattle on about teen topics for a few minutes, roll their eyes, and move on.  I hope, as the weeks go by, we'll see that there's more to this guy than Tiger Beat magazine and Nickleodeon concerts.

[legaleagle53]

As I said about him in the episode thread, he'd actually be rather cute if he let his hair grow out a little at the sides and kept the color to a shade resembling something more human.  He would also be much less annoying if he dialed the flame-thrower back several notches, or at least acted his age.  Dude, you're not fooling anyone -- we all know you're over 30, so quit trying to convince us that you're still a hip, edgy 18-year-old twink.  There's suspension of disbelief, and there's hanging it by the neck until it's dead.  You seem to want everyone to do the latter.

[Stinger97]

Here's my thing, though: I don't have a problem with Frankie being flamboyant. There are certainly gay men out there just like him. In fact, I have my own moments at times (typically when Beyonce, Mariah, or even -- *gasp* -- Ariana, comes on the radio). That said, I always take issue with gay men who seem like nothing more than one big affectation. And that's not limited to just gay men, as I can't stand women who fall into the "I'm so dumb! I need a man to help me figure out this super hard math problem!" persona. If Frankie is being his genuine self, more power to him, but I suspect that that's not actually the case. He's desperately holding onto his fading youth, which comes off less "cute" and more "pathetic." Stop lying about your age and own it, dude. 

[legaleagle53]

Here's my thing, though: I don't have a problem with Frankie being flamboyant. There are certainly gay men out there just like him. In fact, I have my own moments at times (typically when Beyonce, Mariah, or even -- *gasp* -- Ariana, comes on the radio). That said, I always take issue with gay men who seem like nothing more than one big affectation. And that's not limited to just gay men, as I can't stand women who fall into the "I'm so dumb! I need a man to help me figure out this super hard math problem!" persona. If Frankie is being his genuine self, more power to him, but I suspect that that's not actually the case. He's desperately holding onto his fading youth, which comes off less "cute" and more "pathetic." Stop lying about your age and own it, dude. 

 

Right. That was my point, actually -- it's not the flamboyance itself that's off-putting; it's the over-the-top nature of it that is, to say nothing of the fact that he's trying way too hard to come across as hip, edgy, and about 18 instead of 31.  The only thing that would be more pathetic than trying to pass himself off as an 18-year-old twink at 31, in my opinion, would be if he were still trying to do it at my age (53).

[Giuseppe]

I'm not yet seeing the extreme annoying flamboyance that a lot of others are. He's a bit extra for sure, but nowhere near the levels of a lot of guys I've encountered, lol.  Anyway, I like him so far. We have two very different personalities, but I think in the house I'd find him fun to get to know.  And he does have great legs, haha.  Of course, I reserve the right to reverse this opinion as the summer goes :)

[methodwriter85]

I think it's funny that in trying to look young, he's actually relying on an old fallback that was cute when he actually was 18 (the bleached blond hair with manic panic dye), thus reiterating how desperate and old he actually is. Seriously though, it's okay to be 31. I'm 28. Sometimes I cringe about it, but in general I'm okay with no longer being the spring chicken. I like to stay hip to what the young people like, but I don't live by it.

 

I don't find him that bad, though. Not yet. I do really wish he'd cut off that fried, bleach hair and let his actual color come through.

Edited June 27, 2014 by methodwriter85

[PhilMarlowe2]

I didn't find Frankie that bad in pre-interviews - his flamboyance, for lack of a better word, seemed to be his honest personality and he was clearly intelligent. But I am actually finding him more annoying in the house. He just seems "on" all the time and every dramatic reaction seems to be all about bringing attention back to himself. He is just kind of exhausing to watch and his DR's aren't all that clever.

[Skittl1321]

I just watched two of his youtube videos (at Disney) and OMG- the amount of annoying he is in those makes him look downright calm in the house.

 

I have no idea how he has subscribers. I thought I was going to have a seizure with all the camera twirling around. And so much yelling.

[Kromm]

To be fair, it DOES seem like compared to the outside videos, he's toning it down somewhat in the house.  Probably smart of him.

[grainofsalt]

I find him more high energy than flamboyant.   The one thing that bothers me about him is his constant watching the camera.  The rest of them don't seem to pay that much attention to them but he is always trying to face them.  

 

If he would relax and tone it down a bit, I bet he would be very popular both in and out of the house.

[methodwriter85]

That's what I figure is the most frustrating thing about Frankie. It's not like he's a worthless try-hard. There's actual talent and actual charm there. But he just tries too hard and always plays "on" because he desperately, desperately wants your attention, as a 31-year old aging dancer twink in a world where 25 is over the hill.

Edited June 28, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Abra Came]

I find Frankie much easier to take now that the pink is fading from his hair!

[methodwriter85]

Has anyone else realized that Frankie nor anyone else yet on the show has explicitly called Frankie gay? Redundant, or is he playing the Johnny Weir dancing-around-it-but-not-really-saying-it game? Contrast to Brittany in Season 12 going on about how as soon as she heard Ragan talk, she knew they'd be BFF because he is a homosexual and homosexuals are her favorite people.

 

Or did I miss something?

Edited June 28, 2014 by methodwriter85

[chilis]

I think he did mention it yesterday when he was talking to Victoria about her extensions.  He told her that he hadn't realized that they were extensions, and that if the gay guy didn't notice, then nobody else would either.  

[SteveAC10]

 

Or did I miss something?

I think times have just changed even in the three years since BB12. It may also be that BB is keeping that sort of talk out of the diary room this season. 

[Kromm]

Even if he's toning down the camp more than expected, and even though he defies a few stereotypes by being pretty athletic, Frankie would stand as little chance of hiding his sexuality as Pickler's Janitor would of hiding his accent.

[methodwriter85]

   I really like how Frankie is bonding with the guys by showing off his workout prowess. If there's one thing bro straight guys can respect, it's showing off that you're fit as hell.

 

   I do think he's playing all sides just a bit too much, though. Nominating that one woman he declared a BFF really might backfire on him, especially since she got herself off the block.

[Kromm]

   I really like how Frankie is bonding with the guys by showing off his workout prowess. If there's one thing bro straight guys can respect, it's showing off that you're fit as hell.

 

   I do think he's playing all sides just a bit too much, though. Nominating that one woman he declared a BFF really might backfire on him, especially since she got herself off the block.

To me it communicated that as good a social game as Frankie SEEMS to be playing, he's also totally controllable by Caleb.  I don't know if Caleb outright told Frankie who to pick or not, but he definitely led him down the path.

[methodwriter85]

It's kinda impressive (and kinda scary) that as much as a homophobe Caleb might be in real life, he's able to compartmentalize and work with Frankie because he recognizes that Frankie is pretty useful.

 

In any event, Frankie in his non-"ON" moments actually comes off as a pretty smart guy. It's sad he feels like he has to put on the "SUPERSTAHHH!!!!" jazz-hands persona to get people to like him.

[LakeGal]

Frankie's problem might end up being that he is too well liked.  The others are noticing he is popular and others go to him.  Nobody wants to be at the end up against Frankie.  They also seem to think he comes from money.  That will be used against him when the usual "he doesn't need the money" conversation happens.

[methodwriter85]

Yeah. He's playing TOO good of a social game, to the point where it'll take him out of it.

[Kromm]

Frankie's problem might end up being that he is too well liked.  The others are noticing he is popular and others go to him.  Nobody wants to be at the end up against Frankie.  They also seem to think he comes from money.

Well I suppose he does (now at least).  Checking up on their past few years of social media a bit, it looks like Ariana drags him everywhere.  So presumably she's paying.

[Ananayel]

Does the house know who his sister is yet? I can't imagine CBS would let a montage of people finding out languish on the cutting room floor, and I haven't heard anyone talk about it on BBAD at all. I think he's mentioned having a sister, and maybe called her "Ari," but has he spilled the rest or anyone connected the dots? If not, he might not blab it, because he seems to be doing just great as is, and it might upset the dynamic if people knew.

[firedancer41]

Wow, just googled for pics of Ariana and Frankie, and he looks WAY better with darker, presumably natural hair. JMO.

[Kromm]

MTV.com July 10, 2014: 9 Times Ariana Grande Was The Biggest ‘Big Brother’ Fangirl Of Them All

[njbarmaid]

Ariana's show on Nickelodeon was just cancelled after one season.

[Skittl1321]

Ariana's show on Nickelodeon was just cancelled after one season.

I think with her singing career taking off, she doesn't really need a Nickelodeon show.

Not being on a kids channel is probably good for her, since she isn't a kid.

 

Frankie should have worked out how he was going to talk about his sister- he seemed visibly uncomfortable when they were asking questions, and the questions were so generic.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Skittl1321

[Nashville]

 

Frankie should have worked out how he was going to talk about his sister- he seemed visibly uncomfortable when they were asking questions, and the questions were so generic.

I expect a lot of the uncomfortable-ness was the edit - inserting pauses to try and amp up the appearance of "DRAMA!!!".

[Kromm]

Ariana's show on Nickelodeon was just cancelled after one season.

Yeah, but apparently not for any reason as simple as ratings. 

Frankie should have worked out how he was going to talk about his sister- he seemed visibly uncomfortable when they were asking questions, and the questions were so generic.

I'm curious.  The most basic question people tend to ask about family is their NAME.  Now the name Ariana isn't totally unique, but it's uncommon enough that by itself it should kind of be a huge hint.  So has that question been asked of Frankie?  And if so, what did he say?

 

I'm presuming of course if asked about his last name he's been lying all along.

[Skittl1321]

He called her Ari.

[Morbs]

I've seen him call her Ariana before, on her birthday I think. I had never heard of her before Big Brother started, but now I see her name everywhere, so I wouldn't be that surprised if no one in the house had any idea who she was considering the demographics of her sitcoms and how many people with hit songs just disappear from the zeitgeist. I was surprised that Frankie talked about using the American player money for charity, because doesn't that say to the other houseguests that he doesn't really need the money? Frankie doesn't strike me as an extremely selfless person, so if I heard he was going to give that much to charity I'd wonder about family money.

[Skittl1321]

I feel like some of the younger house-guests would know who she was because of her music, not necessarily her TV show. She performed on the DWTS season finale, for instance.  I don't listen to pop music so I had no idea who she was then, and fast forwarded through her, but now I know her name because of Frankie. But she is on the radio a lot now that I recognize her name...

 

But I agree that talking about giving the money to charity does seem suspicious on Frankie's part.  These shows always seem to have a "do they need the money" component (which I generally find stupid...but it is still there.)

Edited July 14, 2014 by Skittl1321

[ShaNaeNae]

You know what has been driving me crazy about Frankie all summer? Not his Beiber Fever, or his hands making a heart or his Broadway pirouettes. It's all his damn sounds he's always making.  It reminds me a little of little boys (I have 2 and when they were little they were always making car or siren sounds), but, he's a 31-or-something year old man. And I know he hardly acts like a man, but dude shut up. Please. If I was in the house with him, I might have ended up punching him just to shut him up. It's always something. Alien sounds, helicopter sounds, you name it, he's doing it.

[Kromm]

I feel like some of the younger house-guests would know who she was because of her music, not necessarily her TV show. She performed on the DWTS season finale, for instance.  I don't listen to pop music so I had no idea who she was then, and fast forwarded through her, but now I know her name because of Frankie. But she is on the radio a lot now that I recognize her name...

Here's proof that yes.  Some of them know who Ariana is.  We could call this "Frankie gets arrogant", I guess...

 

[JerseyGirl]

Ariana Grande Visits 'Big Brother' Set to Cheer on Frankie

 

http://www.justjared.com/2014/08/08/ariana-grande-visits-big-brother-set-to-cheer-on-frankie/

[Kris117]

She can barely even smile in that picture or in the still of her in the BB audience. Either she needed a root canal, or she's been dipping into the Botox too heavily. 

[Kromm]

It'd be pretty shocking if a 21 year old was really getting Botoxed, wouldn't it?It's bad enough that allegedly all those years of dying her hair bright red for her Disney TV role supposedly left her half bald (allegedly under her hair extensions, which is supposedly why she only wears the same single dopey hairstyle that conceals the problem)

EDIT - Yes, I realize her show was on Nick, not Disney, but I seem to be having problems editing my posts.

[AndreaK1041]

I think that's just how she looks.  She was on American Idol this year bc one of the contestants had a crush on her and she just came on stage with that same frozen face.  Maybe she is shy? 

[Kris117]

That could be—maybe she only feels comfortable when she is singing or acting, not being herself. 

[AndreaK1041]

I would like everyone in the house to keep saying: Frankie isn't famous, his SISTER is famous.  Frankie actually agrees that he is famous.  He is not!!!  I looked on twitter and he has 689K followers.  His mother has 160K followers, so right there at least 25% of his following is b/c of his sister.  Then there is the Big Brother bump (Zach has 34K followers), and just color me unimpressed. He is not a "mogul".  He's an ass.