Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

America’s Next Top Model was trucking along with the expectable blips of excitement that fans of the show have come to expect. Then, bam! The ending completely knocked me off my seat.

I’ll get to that a little later …

The girls completed their first fashion show. Some contestants – Marvita especially – were dreadful. There was the obligatory catfight, where Fatima hit Marvita in the face. Was it an accident? Fatima says it was; Marvita wanted to open up a can of whoop….

After the girls' first runway challenge – it was held in Time Square -- they went to Elite Model Management and got a taste of Paulina Porizkova.

The Dancing With the Stars alum wasted no time speaking her mind. She said: Amis (used to be Amy) has bad skin; Dominique looks like a transvestite; and Marvita has a scrunched face. Basically, she was fabulous!

“You are going to be critiqued like crazy in this job,” Paulina told the hopefuls. “It’s not only going to be truthful, it will be hurtful. You might as well get used to it right now.”

I was going into last night’s episode hopeful that I would not be forced to watch: Tyra and the two “J’s” pretended to drink breast milk; Claire admitting to drinking her own breast milk; and Shalynda and Shaya (they’re both gone) attempting to fight Fatima.

I was pleasantly pleased by the appearance of Paulina, who is a welcome replacement for that timid Twiggy. Paulina’s sass is exactly what Top Model needs. The show’s judging has been hurting since Janice Dickinson departed for the “greener pastures” of the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

The girls' first photo shoot had a homeless youth theme. Marvita and Fatima both revealed that they had been homeless at one point in their lives. The two kind of patched things up after that. (We’ll see how long that lasts.)

During the judging we learned that Anya is one of Tyra’s favorites; she took a great photo. Claire did a fantastic job! Katarzyna is a force to be reckoned with. Whitney did her thing. Fatima was strong. Dominique also did pretty well.

And then model mayhem. Kimberly pulled an Ebony and asked to be removed from the show! She said she wasn’t a fan of high fashion. (Gasp!) In addition, she didn’t think that it was right for people to pay $2,000 for an outfit.

Tyra, and the rest of the judges were none too pleased. (Miss J ripped up Kimberly’s photograph; Tyra eventually used the ripped picture to fan herself.) Some of the contestants looked on in disbelief.

To be honest, I didn’t think the Reese Witherspoon – I totally think Reese is prettier -- lookalike had much of a chance. (You can read my rant about Ebony’s abrupt departure last year to get a sense of how I feel about contestants who ask to leave the show early. I won’t devote any additional keystrokes to Kimberly. )

Tyra then announced that there was still going to be an elimination.

Atalya, the 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, was given the boot. This really wasn’t all that surprising. Most of the judges had hinted that they didn’t care too much for her.

In the season premiere, Tyra said: “Her audition photo: wrong.”

Enough said about Atalya.

Who are you’re  favorites this season? Share yours, and I’ll respond in the comments section.

In the meantime, keep catwalking!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

So apparently 31 million votes were cast this week on American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest says. But we're all here to see who is going home.

The Top 20 come out for the group sing, which is possibly even more cheeseball than usual. (Mmmm, cheeseball. Now I'm hungry.)

The guys are up first in the hot seat(s) after the break. Ryan asks Luke Menard and Jason Yeager if they are as nervous as last week. They are, as they should be. The back row stands, and Jason Yeager is out, leaving Danny Noriega, Chikezie, Jason Castro and Michaels Johns safe. So Jason and his dumb bleach stripe come up to talk to Ryan and says he didn't pick the right song. Simon tells him his problem is that he doesn't stand out in the crowd. "You're not a bad singer, you just don't stand out." He revisits Tuesday night's Doobie Brothers song for his sing-out and basically proves what Simon just said about him.

Then the women prepare to find out who is leaving. The back row stands to find out their fate. Kristy Lee Cook is safe. Asia'h Epperson is, too. Brooke White: safe. This leaves Amanda Overmyer and Alexandrea Lushington. Amanda is safe, and Alexandrea is out. I am shocked. She was great last week and way better than most of the rest of the girls. Paula reminds her that this is just the beginning. She sings again, and seriously, she should not be out already.

The women are still under pressure after the break. The front row stands. Carly Smithson is safe, as are Ramiele Malubay and Syesha Mercado, leaving Kady Malloy and Alaina Whitaker. Kady is safe. Alaina is out and she starts crying. She says she can't sing right now and she's so embarrassed. Paula tells her she is a "gifted, bright young talent ... We think you're promising. You have so many good experiences ahead of you." The audience persaudes her to sing, and the other girls come out to help her. She manages to pull it together, though, and sings it on her own.

Cat Deeley, host of So You Think You Can Dance, is in the audience. Hey, I met her last week, when she was in D.C. for auditions.

March 11, when it's down to the Top 12, the theme will be the music of the Beatles, now that the Lennon-McCartney songbook has been released. And April 9 will be the return of Idol Gives Back. Ryan starts listing names of celebs who will be participating, and Miley Cyrus gets a bigger scream from the audience than Brad Pitt.

Ryan gets right to the point with the remaining guys, calling Luke Menard and Robbie Carrico forward. And Robbie is out, and Luke is safe. What?? Simon plays the authenticity card on him again and says it never felt real. Well, I never bought Luke as a finalist.

For whatever it's worth, we're losing a few more people who got zero backstory during the first several weeks.

Anyway, Robbie sings "Hot-Blooded" one last time.

What do you think of these results?

(Photo of Robbie Carrico courtesy of Fox)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: American Idol
        

The whole point of tonight's episode of Project Runway was to see who was making the final cut -- would it be Rami or Chris March?

But it was repeated again and again that they would have to make it through the final challenge in order to show at Fashion Week. And yet, since Fashion Week happened a while ago, Chris, Rami, Jillian and Christian -- as well as Sweet P -- all got to show because otherwise it would be obvious who had been cut.

So Rami made the final three and still has a chance to win the whole thing. But don't feel too bad for Chris March -- his collection was shown, too.

Next week, the top three will face off, and we'll learn the winner. Who are you rooting for?

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Maryland reality contestants, Project Runway
        

The Top 10 women are up tonight, after watching the Top 10 men last night. And the 1970s theme continues ...

Carly Smithson is first up tonight. She says that even though she and her husband own a tattoo shop, she works in an Irish bar around the corner. Her song tonight is "Crazy on You" by Heart. First up, let me say that I adore this song. Lots. And I guess she's probably trying to "make it her own," but I don't really like how she takes the staccato delivery out of the chorus. That said, her voice sounds pretty good. Randy: "It was good toward the end," but he felt like in the middle it was a little pitchy. "It was all right man, it was all right." Paula is glad she is healthy again and says it's obvious that she loves Heart. Carly says it's her favorite song ever, and Paula tells her to "go crazy on him," gesturing at Simon. Simon says it was a much better performance than last week, but "I still don't think yet you've connected with the right song yet. ... I think you are, I'll put it on the record, an incredible singer. I don't think any of these other girls can touch you vocally." But he says that she needs to find the exact right song, and she'll be the one to beat.

Syesha Mercado says she has acted in a lot of commercials in Miami and she does her baby-crying impression. She sings "Me and Mr. Jones," which is typically "Me and Mrs. Jones," and the whole first part of the song is really quiet and breathy and then the last two lines she has some big notes. Randy says it wasn't a good song choice "for you for me," because for those small moments, it didn't really work for her. Paula says she goes off during the softer notes but she's great with the big ones. Simon: "I thought it was a bit indulgent. ... I was put off as soon as you started it, and it's not really a song that's designed for your voice anyway."

Brooke White says her surprise for the audience is that she went to beauty school and loves doing hair. She comes out with her guitar and sings Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," adding a little tiny twang to it. Simon's mike is on, and I don't think he knows it, as we clearly hear him saying, despite the crowd noise, "I like the way she was looking at me while she sang the song." Ruh-roh, George. Randy says it was a great a song choice for her and that even though she didn't "put anything new on it," he still liked it. He mentions that she was staring at the judges' table the whole time and asks her whether she was singing it to them, or "another guy other than me?" Paula calls it the perfect song choice because "it totally suits you." Simon: "I absolutely loved it. It was the absolute perfect song for you. ... It absolutely connected; the song didn't sound old-fashioned." Ryan says he liked it because he thought the song was about you. "Actually, I thought it was," Simon says.

Ramiele Mabulay talks to Ryan about how upset she was at the goodbye show last week, and she says it was because her roommate and Colton, one of her closest friends, both left. In her interview, she says she used to Polynesian dance as a kid. On stage, she sings "Don't Leave Me This Way." She has fun with the song, but sounds much better on the big notes for sure. Randy says it was a little rough for him because of the song choice. Paula says she is one to beat here and that her vocals are "truly amazing," but it's the same notes over and over, so she didn't get to "perform your magic." Simon agrees with Paula "astonishingly," and says she was much better last week, and that this wasn't super memorable. He says she is one of the top three singers in the competition, but this song didn't work. Ramiele says she had a tough time with song choice and changed her mind several times.

Kristy Lee Cook says she's a tomboy who loves fishing, softball, sports, camping, etc. But she also likes dressing up sometimes. Her song for the evening is "You're No Good," made famous by Linda Ronstadt. She has a growly note go seriously awry, but other than that, it's pretty good. Randy says it is a 100 percent improvement over last week, though she didn't quite have any breakout moments. But he still liked it. Paula says it was a good song choice for her. Simon says he can't remember what she sang last week, so this was better, but at the moment, he doesn't quite know how to classify her. He adds that if she goes a more country direction, she might make more of a statement.

Amanda Overmyer's hair scares me. In her interview, she says that something surprising about her is that she is a bookworm and is always looking to become more educated. She sings "Carry on, My Wayward Son," by Kansas. I ask my husband for confirmation on the band, and he tells me Kansas sings it, then immediately says, "She shouldn't be singing it!" This from someone who's been able to ignore the whole first half of the show. But yeah, skunky-looking giant hair, totally flat performance, awkward dancing, screamy vocals. Not my favorite of the night by a long shot. Randy: "For me, man, it wasn't the right song choice for you. ... There was way too much melody in there for a bluesy girl." Paula says she has some moves and can dance and that she knows Amanda is worried about not doing too much Janis or whatever, but that she needs to do what suits her. Then she pulls out her favorite line (and her line that annoys me as much as Randy's "for me for you"): "You are needed in this competition." Simon: "I thought actually in your film you came over as very natural, very cool, and then after that, everything felt contrived. ... I couldn't wait for it to finish."

Alaina Whitaker says her strange fact is that she keeps all her food separate and that she used to actually use a different fork for each food, but she's gotten better. OK, then. She sings "Hopelessly Devoted to You," and suddenly, I feel like we're back on Grease: You're the One That I Want. She's OK, but things get kind of ragged during the chorus. And I'm still having flashbacks from hearing that song 400 times during the aforementioned show. Randy says he loves the song, but he doesn't think it was the right song for her, and that she was pitchy during the verses. Paula says she did a "real good job," and that she doesn't think it was as bad as Randy said. Simon: "It's almost as if your grandmother prepared you for this audition. ... It was all a bit pageanty for me, if I'm being honest." But he says she's one of the dark horses, she just needs to sort herself out "and become relevant. Simon also picks on her dress, and when Ryan goes back to talk to Alaina, she's still worked up about them not liking her outfit. Randy says it's a nice blue dress, and Ryan says he's the expert on women's fashion. Simon tries to get Ryan to weigh in on the outfit, and he says, "Heels and blue dresses, this isn't really my thing." Simon: "Well, that's not exactly true." Zowie.

Alexandrea Lushington sings Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now." Her voice sounds good, but the song is so subdued, it's kind of a letdown after last week. Randy says it was "so safe" it didn't show off her "mad vocal skills." Paula says she let got and made it her own and adds that she's relevant. Simon says she is struggling right now and that the song is "absolutely stuck in its time period. ... It just wasn't you. You look terrific, but it was boring." She tells Ryan she tries to intake and apply all their advice.

Kady Malloy says she's been singing opera since she was about 9. She creeps down the stairs, singing Heart's "Magic Man." She's pretty much overwhelmed by the song and the band until the very last line. Randy asks if she loves that song. She says yes. He says he loves this song, but "it never found its pitch ... you never quite found the notes. ... It just didn't work." Paula says when she powered up, she sounded great, but low, not so much. Simon says he's very frustrated because "on film" she is great, and then when she comes on stage, it doesn't go anywhere.

Asia'h Epperson is closing the show. Her fun fact is that she was a cheerleader all through middle school and high school. She adds that delivering personality and spirit is something she carries with her on stage, too, so it's apt. She sings "All By Myself." When she gets into the chorus, her voices totally disappears on the word "by," so she powers up through the rest of the song. Randy says he knows she is sick, but that with the highest degree of difficulty, she did a pretty good job. Paula says she had some trouble with the low notes, but the ending is what counts on this song. Simon says it is one of the diva songs of all time and that she isn't a big enough (or good enough) singer to take on this song, so the song "showed you up."

After watching the montage of numbers, I don't think this was the best night ever. Pretty much only Brooke White got across-the-board positive comments, and nearly everyone else got dinged for song choice. What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: American Idol
        

Beatles songs will show up on this season of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest said on his show today. After a lot of back-and-forth with the music publisher, the go-ahead was finally given.

You can read more here.  

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: American Idol
        

This season of Big Brother is just not working for me.

I don't really keep up with the feeds because I just don't have that kind of time, but so much interesting has been going on that I keep finding out about things ahead of time. 

The huge fight that centered on Amanda last week was showing up on YouTube -- though the clip that I saw cut off before the worst of it. Joshuah said she needed a halo, someone else said "or a noose," and he replied, "Just like her dad." Amanda had revealed to her housemates that her father had hanged himself. She managed to deal with all the other horrible things hurled at her, but once they crossed the line into that personal territory, she finally (and justifiably) lost it.

Last night, the show revealed that two contestants -- Amanda and Allison -- had gone to the hospital at the same time after Amanda had a hypoglycemia attack, passed out and convulsed, and Allison had an allergic reaction that puffed up her face and made her throat close. (These were unrelated but happened nearly instantaneously.) I heard about this on Saturday, but it didn't make the broadcast show until Tuesday.

The way the show is set up, it seems to steal its own thunder at times, which leaves the broadcast show foundering -- and pretty boring.  

Although it was pretty interesting last Wednesday when Jen, posturing and trying to stay in the house since she was on the block, turned on her real-life boyfriend Ryan and started telling people that he was a racist. (And then when he caught wind of it and confronted her about it, she claimed she hadn't said it. Um, hello, it's on tape, it's on the Internet and there are people keeping transcripts of the live feeds. So, sorry!)

Since then, Jen and Parker were voted out, James and Chelsia won HOH, Amanda/Alex and Matt/Natalie were nominated for eviction, and Sharon and Joshuah won POV and elected not to use it. Meanwhile, Sheila and Allison took back their lie about being a couple outside and house and got into a huge fight when Sheila (the oldest person in the house) went all seventh-grade on Allison and decided that Allison didn't like her anymore.

I also think this couple thing has got to end soon because after tonight, there will only be five couples left, and that makes the season pretty darned short. 

Is anyone else watching? Are you checking out the feeds or the Showtime 2 footage? If so, how has that affected your enjoyment of the regular broadcast show? 

(Above: A nurse and James help Amanda after her attack // Courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Big Brother
        

Tonight, the Top 10 guys take to the stage on American Idol. We'll see how they do -- and what this week's theme is.

Judge Randy Jackson hopes the guys' nerves are gone now that they're through the first week, and Paula Abdul says they are finding their comfort level. Simon says everyone needs to "be better."

And this week's theme is: the 1970s. Wow, what a departure from last week!

Michael Johns interviews about his love for tennis and how it helps keep him centered. He sings Fleetwood Mac's "You Can Go Your Own Way." He's a little bouncy and overly dependent on the vibrato for my tastes, but let's turn to the judges. Randy says it wasn't his best, but he got into it and let go. Paula says he's "consistent, consistent" and has the whole crowd behind him. Simon: "Michael, it was OK; it was by far your weakest performance in the whole competition so far." He says he didn't have "a moment." Michael says it's been a dream of his to sing a Fleetwood Mac song, so, regardless of what Simon has to say, it was the right choice for him.

Jason Castro is very low-key and doesn't seem to enjoy the whole interview process, calling himself out for making weird faces because he doesn't know what to say. On stage, he's got his guitar again, and he sings "I Just Want to Be Your Everything." The guitar de-discos it a little, which works in his favor in terms of Simon's favorite "relevance" argument. Randy says that, minus the guitar, the vocals were only "OK." Paula thinks it was a clever choice but that next week, she'd like to see him without the guitar. Simon: "I thought the song was horrible." He says it was schmaltzy and didn't suit him at all. "You didn't do yourself any favors tonight." Well, so much for my interpretation. Heh.

Luke Menard says he's part of an a capella group called Chapter 6 and that he loves the challenge because you have to be "flawless." He says it was the best preparation for AI. On stage, he sings Queen's "Killer Queen." He is ... not flawless. Nor is he "fastidious and precise," as the lyrics go. Randy says he picked a very difficult song and that this seemed more like his vibe, and that despite some pitch problems, it was good. Paula is glad he had a good week. Simon says: "It was a mistake. ... You're always going to be judged with the original. ... You suffered by the comparison." He adds that it was "theatrical and verging on whiny." I feel like I watched a different performance than the judges (except maybe Simon). I even went back and watched it again, and I just really think an a capalla group singer should not have that many problems blending with backing singers.

Robbie Carrico talks to Ryan about how he has to prove his authenticity to Simon. In the interview, he says a surprising fact about him is that he drag-races cars (at tracks, not on the street). He hits the stage to sing "Hot Blooded." Randy says he's not totally sure that Robbie has enough "uuuuuhhhh" (my best approximation) to be true rock. Paula says no one knows who you are but you. But she says he played it a little safe this week and that he lost his "character" somewhat in it. She suggests that he "up the ante." Simon says he doesn't have to get that defensive and that he thought the vocal was pretty good tonight. Robbie says he's just trying to absorb it all and step it up every week.

Danny Noriega interviews that something unexpected about him is that he was in a punk-rock band in the ninth grade. On stage, he sings "Superstar," and it's decent but not super-engaging. Randy says he's a fan because Danny's such a fun guy, but that there were some problems with the song vocally. "I felt like you were thinking while you were singing every line. ... Let it go." Paula says he has amazing vocal skill, but he needs to take a deep breath "and forget about us ... just perform." Simon says this was better than last week's disaster. He agrees that he was overconcentrating. Danny tells Ryan that he agrees that last week was a disaster, even though he gave Simon the head-bob about it. Simon says, "So you agree with me?" Danny: "-ish." Hee.

David Hernandez says he was in gymnastics when he was a kid and that he was pretty good at it back then. He comes out to sing "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." I really like his voice and I think he handles the song pretty well (with a little bobble on the final note). Paula gives him a standing o. Randy: "Now this is the David Hernandez that we fell in love with. ... That's how to put it down, show your personality, all those vocal skills." Paula says his voice pierces right to the heart and the notes are "right in the pocket. ... Perfect." Simon: "David, this may surprise you, but in my opinion, that was the best vocal of the night so far. ... I like that when you get some criticism, you don't sulk; you treat it as a challenge."

Jason Yeager says he plays multiple instruments, and he's largely self-taught. He sings the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'." This is a good match for his voice, I think, and a step up from last week's "Moon River." His delivery is still a little cheeseball, but it's still an improvement. Randy says the 1970s are one of the best times in music and that this song didn't do him justice because it's not a singer's song. He says it was a little karaoke and kind of pitchy. Paula says, "From last week to this week, it was good to see this side of you." She says the song doesn't have a lot of notes, so it didn't show off his voice. Simon: "Last week was boring, this week was awkward and ordinary." He adds that the end was corny and that overall, he's "a quite good singer who can't perform." Jason says he thought about it long and hard and tried to dance and have fun this week.

Chikezie says his "crazy name" is Nigerian and that the true pronunciation got dropped a long time ago, but he's used to it now. He sings "I Believe to My Soul," and it's all right, but I'm not that into it. Randy disagrees, saying, "Chikezie is BACK! ... This is the guy we fell in love with." Paula says it was brilliant and really fun. Simon says he looks better, he sounded better, it was a good choice of song, and that "it was a million times better than last week." Simon says Chikezie must have watched the tape of himself after the show last week and seen "the horrorshow that was you." He responds that the biggest problem was that he let Simon get to him and that kind of messed him up. He says he loves his suit and he would wear it again, but not on TV because you can't do a replay: "Only you do that!" He tells Ryan that he lucked out beacuse the theme had one of his favorite songs, by Donny Hathaway, and also that one of the backup singers is Hathaway's daughter Kenya.

David Cook says that he is a word nerd, which I can totally relate to. He comes out on stage bearing an electric guitar to perform "All Right Now." He manages to play to the crowd and work the guitar and stage without being too self-indulgent. Randy: "Listen, to me, you're the real rocker of the boys this year. ... I really liked this." Paula says he's the real deal, and, "You've got it!" She calls it very smart, fun and relevant. Simon: "David, it was solid, it was sort of believable. I don't think that film helped you. Tennis to drag racing to ... crosswords." He adds that he doesn't have any charisma, which is a problem. David backtalks and says then that it's good he doesn't have to win Simon over. Oh, just shut up and go sing some more! This is the part where you get judged.

David Archuleta is last up. He says that when he was 11, he got to meet all the season one finalists and sing for them. He's going to sing "Imagine." He just has a lovely, pure voice, and I think I could listen to him all day. Randy: "Dog, that's one of the best vocals I've ever heard on this show. ... You were born to do exactly what you're doing there." Paula, bawling: "David, you are ridiculous, I want to just squish you, squeeze your head off and dangle you from my rearview mirror. Honest to God, that was one of the most beautiful songs ever written and one of the most moving performances I've ever heard. You're destined for superstardom." Simon says it is very, very risky to take on John Lennon, but it worked. He says David is the one to beat, and there are 19 very miserable other contestants.

Montage of the night's performances, which reminds us that the three Davids did pretty darned good jobs tonight. Who were your favorites, and who do you think is at risk of getting the boot on Thursday?

(Photo of Michael Johns courtesy of Fox)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: American Idol
        

Hundreds of people lined up around the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington today to try to get their chance in front of the judges on So You Think You Can Dance. It was fiercely cold, which led to more bundling up and shivering than dancing in the streets during the waiting period, but it was still a fun time. Check out the video above or the photos below for more:

The line snaked around the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

And it was coooooooold.

Brittny Sugarman, an 18-year-old dancer, left the warm climes of Florida and was the first in line at the SYTYCD auditions in D.C. She was hoping to make it to the top.

Long Island's Marlon Glenn called himself a "hip-hop reggae krumper," and went on: "I mix it all up into one and just do my thing."

Tiffany Howard, a dancer from Virginia, said she hoped to impress the judges with her hip-hop and street-dance moves.

Ziva Gibb, of York, Pa., was sidelined by an asthma attack during the Atlanta auditions after nearly making it to Vegas last year. She's hoping for better results this time around. (See more of her story in the video at top.)

At long last, host Cat Deeley announced that the doors were opening for auditioners.

And the potential contestants rushed the doors. On behalf of the cameras. This was where you could see a little bit of the sausage-making. Producers had the first 40 or so people rush in, after which they returned to an orderly single-file line and went in for real. But that would be boring TV.

Host Cat Deeley talks with another Fox staffer about what happens next.

Speaking of which, my understanding is that first round continues tomorrow, and then callbacks take place on Saturday and Sunday at an undisclosed location.

Were any of you there? What was it like inside? (We media types weren't allowed in, but then neither were parents or other supporters.)

The last two audition cities are Los Angeles (March 6) and Milwaukee (March 20), and the season kicks off after Idol wraps up in May.

(Photos from the auditions by me)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: So You Think You Can Dance
        

Four folks are leaving American Idol's Top 24 tonight. Host Ryan Seacrest says more than 28 million votes were cast. (Well, he says "over," but he means "more than.")

Ryan asks Paula Abdul whether having previous experience matters, and she says it doesn't because they all went through the same lines, the same headaches, etc., to get here. She goes on to say that a lot of previous contestants have had deals, including Kelly Clarkson. Which is interesting because when I was working on my story from earlier this week, my research indicated that the producers were then saying that Kelly worked with songwriters on a demo and didn't have an official deal. So there was either backpedaling going on then or it's going on now. Who knows. It'll probably all come out in the wash since it wasn't necessarily the folks with deals who came out strongest last night and Tuesday.

Then the Top 24 appear in a music video accompanied by a Daughtry song, after which they sing a medley of 1960s song. I never think that these group sings bring the "relevance" that Simon is always preaching, but what do I know?

The guys are in the hot seat first. After a montage, Ryan calls Garrett Haley up first and tells him straight-up that he is out.

Then, it's the ladies' turn. Ryan calls Kristy Lee Cook forward and tells her she is safe. Then he says that Amy Davis is out.

So that's two!

Randy Jackson talks about his new album, which includes a track by Paula Abdul. Now, the world premiere of her video. Ryan brings over a fan to re-create the wind machine scenes in the video. Heh.

Back to the results. Amanda Overmyer and Joanne Borgella are called forward. Everyone else is safe, but these two are not. But first, a break. And the person out is Joanne. Randy says he thinks her nerves got the best of her. Simon says it was her worst performance, "and that's what happens." She says next, she will keep on singing because she loves it.

Ryan calls Chikezie and Colton Berry to the stage. And Colton is the one who is out. Paula says he should keep going for it. Simon tells him to get a good job and keep singing on the side, but not as a career.

Montage of goodbyes. Is it a coincidence that three of these four got neglible screen time before this week? Oh well.

We're down to 20.

What do you think about the cuts? I thought Colton outsang a couple of the other guys, but I don't think he would have lasted super-long. The other three didn't surprise me too much.

Have your say in the comments ...

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: American Idol
        

Today, the third-to-last round of auditions for the next season of So You Think You Can Dance took place at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in D.C.

I hung out there starting around 7:30 this morning, and the line was around the building in Northeast Washington. It was super-cold, and people had been lined up for hours, but they were all pretty excited about it.

I made a video and took some more photos, which I will post later this evening. 

(Photo of SYTYCD host Cat Deeley interviewing contestants by me)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: So You Think You Can Dance
        

I still don't know why Project Runway airs its reunion before the finale, but I guess I'm kind of used to it by now. Here are some highlights:

* Jack, who had to leave because of a health issue, is back and talks about how he made the right decision, but it was still really hard. There is a weird exchange where they ask Victorya, who is seated defensively, arms crossed tight around her, about how she felt about the scenario. She says "upset" is the right word, but it doesn't seem to be upset in the same way as the other designers who were crying upon his departure (and upon viewing the clip thereof). Heidi says to Tim, "Victorya's always a little uptight, no?" So what's the deal here? Was she mad about Chris March being able to return or what? Weird.

* There's a viewer question for Kevin about whether he's really straight. He says yes, but then they show a montage of amusing clips of him talking to his girlfriend about having lots of new girlfriends, but of the same gender, and more. Tim tells him: "If being on Project Runway didn't turn you gay, nothing will."

* Viewer Molly wants to know who the designers think will win the fan favorite prize. They guess Chris March, with a couple of people saying it's either Christian or Chris.

* They are also asked if it is really as grueling as it seems. To a person, it's a yes. Christian calls it at "tranny mess."

* Montage of Elisa's weirdness, including spit-marking, writing backward in her journal and spraying something to "repel negative energy" on one of her pieces.

* They're asked about their favorite challenge of the season. Kevin says the weight-loss challenge. Christian says the avant-garde, as well as the last one.

* Montage of Ricky crying, interspersed with him saying he can control his emotions and that he doesn't actually cry that much. Back at the reunion, he looks annoyed. He says the experience was really emotional for him. "I didn't realize I was going to cry like a woman," he says. That doesn't go over well. Chris March says he thinks they all cried, and Rami says he admires how open he is with his emotions.

* Carmen says she felt very hurt with some of the comments after she left the show, that Sweet P said "at least it wasn't me," and that Kit said the outfit would be bad even if she had finished. Jillian very nicely says that her dismissal was the first really confusing thing that happened, right when they were all getting to know one another. And Jack says that knowing the "state of duress everyone was under, I give people some license." Tim takes the moment to say that a lot of people were able to laugh off the comments, which is a transition to Heidi's impression of Chris March's laugh and then a bunch of clips of him cackling, and all the other designers mocking him.

* Nina Garcia and Michael Kors join the party. Tim says there was one challenge "that broke the poker-faced veneers of our judges." That would be the WWE Divas challenge, of course. They show footage of Michael Kors losing it after Ricky's model did this pelvic thrust on the runway. But it just continued as the runway show went on. Tim Gunn introduces a montage of the designers talking about what their wrestler name would be. Tim says his would be "Polysyallbicus."

* The designers say Heidi has become the toughest judge so far, which surprises her. Nina says she is glad there is another bad cop. She tells a story about a person coming up to her and calling her "Meana Godzilla."

* Montage of Heidi's "greatest hits," the best of which is probably her talking about "dangling sausage" in front of the designer's faces. Which was probably supposed to be carrot, but that's OK.

* Viewer Martha asks the judges who had the worst single design. Nina and Michael says the men's clothing challenge was definitely the hardest one. Heidi brings up the lack of shirt, and Carmen is NOT happy. They said their favorite was the avant-garde challenge, especially Chris and Christian's work. Asked about the single worst look, Sweet P volunteers her WWE challenge outfit.

* The designers get to ask the judges question. Chris March wants to know what they write on the cards. They say there are numbers and immediate reactions.

* Marion says he thinks he deserved to go home on the $15 challenge because he didn't handle it well, but that he would have liked to stayed longer.

* A viewer asks how they could let Kevin go during prom. Kevin says he thinks that everyone was off their game during the challenge. Christian is asked whether he thought he was going home in that moment, and he says absolutely. Kevin says if that had happened, he would have said that he himself should leave because Christian had so much left to show and to create. Awww, that's nice. Then Christian is mean about his model again and says she was uncooperative, and he would have rather had Kevin's girl. Nice! The judges say part of why he stayed was that his dress looked like an inordinate amount of work had gone into it, which helped save him.

* Victorya says what she does on TV, doesn't necessarily translate into real life. Carmen clarifies that they are in this stressful situation, in which they are being themselves but under crazy circumstances.

* The winner of the fan favorite, by the way, is Annapolis' own Christian Siriano. He wins $10,000 as a result. Michael Knight from last season comes out to bring the giant check. Michael says he invested his into his business, and he's in the process of releasing his first fragrance. He adds that Christian is fierce, which leads into a montage of Christian being, well, himself, and saying "fierce" a lot. "I'm not saying it one more time on the entire show," Christian says.

* Heidi asks for predictions on the winner. Sweet P says Rami. Stephen says it's anyone's game, but mentions Christian and Jillian. Carmen picks Rami. Elisa says they are all talented, and it's going to be a tough decision. Kit and Ricky pick Jillian. Victorya says she thinks Christian has the most talent. Kevin says Christian or Jillian. Marion choose Rami. Jack says it's anyone's game. Tim says, having seen the collections, he doesn't envy the judges.

Who do you think has it in the bag? Next week, the two-part finale.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Last night, the Top 12 guys got their turn, and tonight, the women are up on American Idol. Let's see how they do during 1960s week:

Host Ryan Seacrest notes that the flu has hit the finalists hard, but "the show must go on." He asks Simon how he feels when a contestant "spars" with him, and he says he likes it.

Then there's a montage of the girls making it to Hollywood.

Kristy Lee Cook of Selma, Ore., is first. She retells the story of selling her horse to afford a trip to Philly to audition. (Wasn't there a closer audition city?) One of her goals is to buy her horse back if she finds success on the show. She sings "Rescue Me." She does a decent job with it, I guess. The song is kind of an odd fit with her semi-twangy sound, though. Randy says he knows the pressure is crazy, but that it wasn't her best performance, and it was rough around the edges. Paula says she has a double-whammy of being sick (aha) and being the first one up. "Don't ever let that get in the way of your shine," she goes on. Simon says that in this section of the competition, "we see what you're really made of." He adds that we didn't see much from her and calls her performance "robotic." "It just wasn't anything to grab hold of."

Joanne Borgella of Hoboken, N.J., says she waited about 10 or 11 hours on the last day in Hollywood to find out whether she was in the Top 24. She sings "I Say a Little Prayer." I wonder whether she's having the illness issues, too, because at some points, she also has the "rough around the edges" problem that Randy mentioned about Kristy Lee. Randy says she felt a little unsure in her performance. Paula says she's had a true confidence and sense of herself in the previous auditions, and they would like to see that again. Simon says, "I didn't like it at all. This is the point of the show when you have to come out and nail it." He says he couldn't get a hold of her vocals, either.

Alaina Whitaker talks to Ryan in the red room. They discuss that she is the youngest contestant and also that tomorrow is her birthday. Her biggest wish, of course, is to not go home on her birthday. She is from Tulsa, Okla., and a junior in high school. Aha, she is the one who responded, "Shoot!" after Simon said he didn't think she was as good as she thought she was during the first round of auditions. I remember that. For her song tonight, she sings "More Today Than Yesterday." She starts slow and quiet and then launches in, and she's definitely the strongest one so far. Randy says season seven is "turning out to be the year of the young ones." He says once she got started, it was like, "What?" Paula says she nailed it, and that she had the best ending she's heard on that song. Simon: "I think you're very good. First time tonight we haven't seen any nerves." But he says he doesn't personally like the song because it's so corny, but if she can make "that bad of a song" sound good, she will do great with a good song.

Amanda Overmyer, the rock n roll nurse from Mulberry, Ind., is next. She says she is going to lay off the Janis Joplin because, like Simon said, she doesn't want to pale in comparison to her. She comes out to rock to "Baby, Please Don't Go" complete with scatting and lots of camera cuts. Randy wants her pants (literally, he likes her patchwork trousers), and likes her blues-rock sound. Paula likes her, too. Simon: "I really like you because I genuinely think you're authentic." He accuses her of forgetting the words halfway through, but it was one of the scat breaks. She asks him whether he's ever heard the song before, but he hasn't really. Even so, he still enjoyed her performance. Ryan says she seems pretty unflappable and asks if anything has unnerved or intimidated her. She says, yes, "When I had to dance in front of the camera after they announced the Top 24, and they show it like all the time on TV; it's embarrassing." Ha! That is great!

Amy Davis of Lowell, Ind., says being in the Top 24 is like "100 Christmases for a 6-year-old girl packed into one." She sings "Where the Boys Are." It's, um, pretty awful, and Randy starts laughing before she is even done with the last note. Randy says when you "scoop up to the note" like country singers do, you have to hit the note exactly, and she didn't, so it wasn't great. Paula says the camera loves her, but that overall, the performance was "lackluster." Simon: "You looked great, but you didn't sound great." He adds that it was pretty boring, and that "it wasn't you at all." Amy tells the best way to describe how she felt before she started is "shaky." That definitely came through in the performance, unfortunately.

Brooke White (pictured above) from Mesa, Ariz., sings "Happy Together," which she does a little more traditionally than David Cook's version last night. Randy says the first part of the song was decent, but in the second part of it, she started "slaying" it. Paula says this competition is all about originality and that she has a really unique voice. Simon says it was a good song choice, but he is starting to feel like he's trapped in a commercial for "washing-up liquid" from the 1960s because of all the "happiness." "It was very you, but I'm struggling with the relevance. ... I just presume you're going to be nice throughout the competition." "Is that all right with you?" she asks. "No, not really!" he replies. Ryan makes Simon clarify that washing-up liquid is dishwashing soap, which usually has sunny, happy commercials.

Alexandrea Lushington from Douglasville, Ga., is 16. She's the one whose great-grandmother was there during her audition. She sings "Spinning Wheel" and she tears it up. She's confident, engaging on stage and has a great time. What is going on with the teens tonight? Randy: "You blew the doors off that. ... You stayed on the notes, you got it, it was hot!" Paula says, "You took control of your entrance and your performance. ... I saw more confidence in your performance tonight than any others." Simon: "I didn't get it. I didn't think the vocals were great. It reminded me of one of these horrible little shows you see where people do an awful musical." Randy and Paula tell him he's wrong and that she's totally relevant. Alexandrea corrects Ryan on how to pronounce her name, but somehow it's charming and kind of funny. Simon says he hasn't yet heard "an outstandingly good vocal" yet. 

Kady Malloy is ready to hit the stage. She is from Houston and a recording-studio assistant. She is also the one with the killer Britney impression, but her goal is to prove she has her own voice. She sings "Groovy Kind of Love." She's kinda pitchy, but the last part isn't too bad. Randy: "This song was OK for me. It was so restrained and controlled. ... I thought you got lost in the song." Paula says she looks "really pretty tonight," but they want to see more of her fun side. Simon says he agrees with Paula. He says the performance "was like Night of the Living Dead. When you do Britney, you're brilliant, and then when you do you, the lights go off. ... You came across as 80 in that. You've got to lighten up. I don't know who could impersonate you. A pencil, maybe?" Ouch. She tells Ryan she was being serious because it was a serious song (which makes me think of "serious cat").

Asia'h Apperson is from Joplin, Mo. She is the one whose father passed away two days before her initial audition, at which she sang "How Do I Live?" and made me and countless others cry. She says her dad will definitely be with her because she's "living his dream." She sings Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart," having fun on stage. Randy loves that she did her own thing with the song. Paula: "You had fun up there; you had some really good moments in that song." Simon: "For me, it was my favorite of the night. You let go! You had fun, you're likable. ... It's what it's all about."

Ramiele Malubay, of Miramar, Fla., says she wanted them to think she has "a big voice for a little girl." She sings "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," and the producers are having fun with dramatic camera cuts again. Randy: "You took your time, you built it up, you saved it for the end, you stuck to the melody, you made it your own, almost like a pro!" Paula: "You are a force to be reckoned with. ... I just thought, 'Right on.'" Simon says he didn't initially like her, but that through Hollywood rounds, she was the most consistently good singer, and that tonight, she outsang everyone. She's floored and excited.

Syesha Mercado, who lost her voice entirely during Hollywood week but gave an amazing final audition there, is from Sarasota, Fla., and a working actress in Miami. She comes out and belts "Tobacco Road," with a killer final note. Randy says she has a big old powerful voice and he liked it despite some pitchy parts. Paula says it was joyful and fun. "Syesha, way to go." Simon agrees that it wasn't her best performance, "but I don't think it really matters because you are probably one of the most talented girls in the competition. ... I thought it was terrific."

Carly Smithson, the Irish singer with the onetime record deal who has caused so much commotion, actually gets to talk about how she had had a contract with a label that later imploded. (They gloss over the $2 million the label spent and the fewer than 400 copies that sold part, which is what's been getting the attention.) She says she sees this as her second chance for sure. She sings "Shadow of Your Smile." I couldn't figure out what song she was singing until the last line. Randy: "That's what the show is all about. You have bronchitis and all that ... Best vocal of the Top 24 this week!" Paula calls her the "lucky penny" and mentions beautiful inflections. Simon: "Once again, I'm on my own here. I didn't get it. ... There's buzz about you. I thought the song was way too old-fashioned for you. I even thought your mike technique was cabaret. ... I was genuinely expecting something fantastic, and I didn't think it was fantastic." I'm going to go with Simon on this one. Meanwhile, Randy specifically disagrees with Simon's assessment of her mike technique.

So who was good? Who's at risk? Who's your new fave? I think Amy Davis, Kady Malloy and Kristy Lee Cook might be in danger, and I'm excited to see what some of these others singers (Alexandrea, Asia'h and Syesha, among others) are going to do next.

Ryan talks to the judges about what they think about the whole week so far. Randy says he thinks the women have an edge at the moment. Paula babbles about nerves and stress and blessedness. Simon says he can't follow her at all, and I'm with him on that and too tired to rewind and try to figure it all out. He adds that the guys and girls are about evenly matched so far.

(Photo of Brooke White courtesy of Fox) 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: American Idol
        

Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:

It feels like just yesterday that I was cracking up about Chantal’s disastrous runway incident, but it’s time for a new cycle of America’s Next Top Model.

This season our beloved show, which premieres at 8 p.m. on the CW, will head back to its roots in New York City for more high couture and catwalking!

I’ll be here every step of the way, blogging, and keeping you abreast of all the happenings, theories and predictions floating around the Web.

Aside from moving the show to New York (the show has been based in L.A. since Cycle 4), there will also be a new host (already told you in December that Twiggy was being replaced by Dancing With the Stars alum Paulina Porizkova). In addition, the group of girls has been increased from 13 to 14 contestants.

 (Just a side note.) The last time a famous reality-show returned to New York (the tenth season of the Real World) we were introduced to reality-celebs Coral and Mike “The Miz”. Hopefully Top Model can deliver us some memorable characters to file away for future reality trivia.

But back to the models. (Warning, if you do not want a spoiler for tonight’s episode, stop reading this entry right now!)

One of the contestants to make the final 14 this season will be a familiar face.

Marvita, 23, from San Francisco was a semi-finalist from Cycle 9. You can remember Marvita, right? She’s the model who grew up with some serious abandonment issues. She’s also the one that got into a little tiff with infamous Cycle 9 contestant Ebony “I don’t feel like being a model anymore” Morgan.

Luck and history are on Marvita’s side. The last time a semi-finalist returned the next year she won the whole darn thing. (Can you say Jaslene from Cycle 8?)

It’s a little too early to make predictions, but after tonight’s episode I’ll give you my initial thoughts. (Remember, I accurately predicted last year's final three!) I also welcome your comments. Hint, hint, Carrie O. and Aprill!

 

Here’s a list of the hopefuls with comments about a couple contestants:

Aimee, 18, hostess from Spanaway, Wash.

Allison, 19, hostess from Waunakee, Wisc.

Amy, 20, waitress from Bartlesville, Okla.

Anya, 19,  in retail sales and from  Honolulu, Hawaii

Atalya, 18, student from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Claire, 24, production coordinator from New York City

Dominique, 23, receptionist from Columbus, Ohio

Fatima, 22, student from Boston: What an exotic looking entry. She definitely has distinct African features. That should play to her advantage. We need a new Iman!

Katarzyna, 22, in finance and from Roslyn, N.Y.: I’m not 100 percent sure about her lineage, but I would wager that she’s got some Russian ancestry running through her veins. Give us more of that Kremlin catwalking!

Kimberly, 20, in customer service and from Worcester, Mass.

Lauren, 22, artist from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Marvita, 23, in retail sales and from San Francisco: Has an androgynous look to her that could prove to be an asset.

Stacy Ann, 22, student from Miami: She definitely has that Miami look. Pretty, smooth Caribbean skin. She should do well.

Whitney, 20, student from Atlantic Beach, Fla.: Appears to be this year’s "plus-sized" model. Can she break the curse? A plus-sized model has never won Top Model.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

In case you missed it, I wrote a story for today's Sun about the so-called controversy over whether there are too many people in the American Idol Top 24 with professional background experience. Feel free to weigh in on the issue in the comments below.

Also, check out the photos and sidebar here.  

And big thanks to Joe R at Television Without Pity and Eric at idol-mania.com for talking to me for the story. 

(Photo of Carly Smithson courtesy of Fox)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: American Idol
        

I watched Sunday night's Big Brother 9, but I didn't have much to say about it because really, not a lot happened. (Well, other than everyone finding out that Ryan and Jen are dating, and Allison and Sheila deciding to tell everything that they are a couple outside the house, too, just to throw everyone off.)

Yesterday, though, it became clear that a lot was going on on the live feeds. Gossip blogs were posting links to huge fights and also to footage of sexual activities grabbed during the hours that the contestants are shown live on Showtime every night. (Do these people not realize that 1) their grandmother could be watching and 2) these videos are going to live on in the perpetuity that is the Internet? Yuck.) I don't want to give too much away since hardly any of it has been aired, but hopefully tonight's episode will elucidate some of what's going on behind the scenes.

The other BB news that broke yesterday involved Adam. Last week, my cable was out for a bit, and I came in in the middle of a fight about something he had said about the autistic kids he works with. A national autism group is now calling for an apology from CBS. Read more about that here.

Let's see what goes down on tonight's episode:

First, we revisit the nominations, where HOH couple Amanda and Alex nominated Jen and Parker and Allison and Ryan because Jen and Ryan have an unfair advantage over everyone in the house. And Jen gets really upset, and Parker interviews that this is all her fault because of the secret and then being cocky and declaring that she was going to win the whole thing.

Suddenly, Joshuah interviews that Neil was leaving due to an "urgent personal matter" and that he was able to choose his own partner (well, out of Sharon and Jacob). So Sharon is back in the house, and she and Josh are partners now. The houseguests catch her up on all the drama of the past few days.

Amanda begs for someone to give her a massage. Her partner, Alex, won't, but Parker does, and everyone thinks they are too flirty. Alex gets all frustrated with her paying attention to other guys, and consequently, taking her mind off the game.

Jen and Ryan whine about not being able to be intimate (besides all the making out). And, uh, so they sneak into the bathroom to do whatever.

Meanwhile, Sheila and Allison's story about being a couple outside the house begins to spread, as Chelsia shares with James. James begins to examine the house looking for clues and decides there must another couple in the house based on this puzzle thing in the guinea pig cage. He talks to Alex about it, and Alex thinks Amanda and Parker are together.

Alex and Amanda fight about whether she is lying. She tells Parker, who comes in and says they don't know each other, but yes, he does have a crush on Amanda. So then, of course, Parker and Amanda go yell at James and everyone else in the backyard.

Later, in the HOH room, Amanda and Alex have it out. He says he is jealous because he has feelings for her and she's "prancing around half-naked" all the time. He's rude to her about her clothing choices (which, yeah, are pretty revealing, but there's a weird judgmental overtone about the whole thing, and you just know he was enjoying the view until he decided he didn't want anyone else to look at her that way).

For the veto competition, the two nominated couples, the HOH couple and a random couple (Natalie and Matt) get to participate. One of each pair gets strapped to a spinning heart, and the other partner spins them as fast as possible, trying to get to 300 revolutions first. But the person on the heart has to keep their hand on a panic button, and if they let go, the count stops. Allison's finger slips off the panic button at 135 revolutions, so they are out. Parker and Jen are way behind, but Alex and Amanda are out when her hand slips off the button. In an interview, she reveals that she did it on purpose because they had huge targets on their backs already. Meanwhile, Jen berates Parker, which is so helful. But Matt and Natalie get to 300 first, and they are the winners.

Parker is sure Matt will save him, but Matt says he has different plans.

Amanda and Alex have a conversation in which he says that if they don't decide to be physical with each other, then neither of them should be couple-y with anyone else in the house. She gets frustrated and leaves, and he creepily watches her on the HOH screen while she talks with Chelsia and later, Parker.

At the veto ceremony, Matt and Natalie opt to leave the nominations as is.

Parker is peeved and now says he no longer cares. Jen says if Ryan leaves, there is no more "nice Jen."

First eviction is tomorrow night, so we'll see soon enough. And hey, once we have the first live show, the broadcast show can't get that far behind the live feeds, and that should be helpful.

(Photo of Adam courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Big Brother
        

Tonight, the men's contingent of the Top 24 on the seventh season of American Idol will perform for viewer votes (and some of them will introduce themselves to us for the first time).

Ryan Seacrest asks the judges about the season thus far. Randy Jackson says that in the auditions, he saw "more originality in these dudes up here, you know." Paula Abdul calls him out for getting three dudes and two mans into that short answer, which is pretty pithy for Ms. P. Simon Cowell says he's looking for "personality, originality, and honestly, you've got to sing well."

Montage of "how we got here," including some never-before-seen footage of several of the contestants.

Tonight's songs are all from the 1960s, so we've got a theme working this week.

David Hernandez of Glendale, Ariz., is first. He sings "The Midnight Hour." He's pretty comfortable on stage and starts strong, considering his opening has no backing from the band or backup singers whatsoever. Last run is a little iffy, but overall, he gives a good opening performance. Randy says he liked the gospel vibe of the opening and that he remembered him from the auditions and that he can really "blow" (in a good way). Paula says, "It was really cool, really cool, good job." Simon says the beginning was great and then ragged in the middle and fell apart at the end, but that "it was better than he thought it was going to be," though he didn't hear anything "distinct" in his voice.

Chikezie of Inglewood, Calif., comes out next. He's apparently dropped his last name since Hollywood. He made it to Hollywood last season, but not to the finals, and feels like he stepped it up. He hits the stage in this pumpkin-colored suit and sings "More Today Than Yesterday." He starts out pretty shaky and weak, like it's too low for him, but he gets better when it gets higher. Randy says that since he's an old-fashioned singer, he needs to make songs his own, especially during theme weeks like this one. He deems it "a'ight." Paula says he's come a long way and says he's "a great throwback to R&B." Simon: "Here's my problem, Jacuzzi, Chikezie. ... The suit is hideous." Chekezie calls him out for only wearing black, gray and white. Simon goes on, "The wink was hideous, the woo was hideous. ... It was all old-fashioned, corny, cheesy, and to be honest with you, this could have been something we filmed 30 years ago, 40 years ago." Chikezie says he was trying to take a '60s song of one genre and take it into another genre. I don't think back-talking the judges, even Simon, is going to build much goodwill among the audience. But I could be wrong.

Rocker David Cook is the next performer. But first, in the red room, Ryan introduces Colton Berry, who wants everyone to know that from certain angles, he looks like Ellen DeGeneres. Well, okie dokie. Back to David, who is a bartender and musician from Blue Springs, Mo. His song of the night is "Happy Together." He gets better and stronger when the song speeds up and gets rockier. Randy: "It started and it was a little weird for me, but you worked it out and made a rock joint out of 'Happy Together'!" Paula says he "rocked it and made something original" (unlike her sentiments, which are basically exactly what Randy said). Simon says he thought it was good, but that he shouted some in the middle, and that he "almost made it believable."

Jason Yeager from Grand Prairie, Texas, auditioned in Dallas in front of his young son, who thought it was the coolest thing ever. For his performance, he sits atop a stool and sings "Moon River." He stands up and really launches into it, but it's still kind of cheesy, which isn't that helpful for him since this is the first screentime he's gotten all season. Randy says he did a pretty good job with the song, even though it's hard to sing because of its simplicity. He suggests he never lose his concentration while singing a song like that. Paula agrees and says the song means a lot to her since she did her first ballet recital to it. Jason says he dedicates it to his grandmother who taught it to him. Simon says it was very "cruise-ship, the whole performance. And I think there are going to be a lot of young people at home watching that performance with a big question mark over their heads." He says it was very middle-of-the-road and then compares him to a "dependable old dog." Jason says he knew he was taking a risk of being too old-fashioned and he gave it his best shot.

After the break, it's time for Robbie Carrico. He's from Melbourne, Fla., and says he was in a boy-girl band a few years back (Boyz N Girlz United) that toured with Britney Spears in 2000, but he really wanted to do rock. He sings "One" by Three Dog Night, and he's at home on stage as he gives a straight-forward performance. Randy: "Nice one, Robbie." He says it's one of his favorite songs and that he did a nice version of it. Paula says he's authentic and stays true to himself and his vocals weren't over the top. Simon: "I would say it's the only performance we've seen tonight that has any semblance of making sense. It's the only current performance. ... I'm struggling a little bit with what Paula said about authenticity." Robbie says, "No, I am definitely not a pop singer. I can sing anything, but I really like rock."

David Archuleta, who is from Murray, Utah, says it was fun when he auditioned in San Diego and Randy sang along with him. He sings "Shop Around," and he closes with a big ole note that gets the crowd excited. Randy says he's a big fan, and "that was really brilliant." He says David sang it very maturely for his age (17). Paula says it was a brave and bold choice and that he comes out on stage as an "unbelievably confident older soul." Simon: "When you've got it, you've got it, and that was, by a comfortable mile, the best performance of the night so far." David had it together during his performance, but then he's totally shocked and shaken afterward by their praise. He can't stop nervously laughing.

Danny Noriega from Azusa, Calif., says he wasn't being himself last season when he tried out. He says that won't be the case this time. He swaggers down the stairs and sings "Jailhouse Rock." Randy says he knows how to have a good time no matter what's going on. He says it was pretty good, but the vocals were only "OK," but he loved the performance, which was "kinda hot." Paula says it was "kinda warm, almost scalding." She says this was a safer song that let him really perform. Simon says the "performance was verging on grotesque. If you're going to take on Elvis, at least do it well. ... It was awful." (There's also a lot of back and forth with Paula about something she said about him having lots of colors of Danny.) Randy says it was good because he wasn't trying to be Elvis. Danny tells Ryan maybe his song choice went wrong, that he picked it because he thought it would be fun, but "some people" (with a hilarious look at Simon, who cracks up) didn't think so.

Luke Menard, who we haven't seen much before, is from Crawfordville, Ind. He auditioned in season six, and it didn't work out at all, so he worked really hard to improve. He sings "Everybody's Talkin'," and it starts out as nondescript as his hoodie and doesn't get much more interesting after that. Randy says it was pitchy the whole song, and acknowledges that he and Paula say that a lot, but that it seemed like it was sharp the entire way through. Paula agrees that it wasn't the best song choice for him, and that she's grateful to have heard his other, better auditions. (Too bad for the rest of us.) Simon says that whether it was pitchy or not, "it was forgettable." Luke tells Ryan that people will remember it because he was comfortable and content on stage. We'll see.

Colton Berry, of Staunton, Va., is the guy who was the last one to find out he was through. He says this is his "biggest dream and all I've ever wanted." He sings "Suspicious Minds" wearing some remarkably royal blue pants and jumps at the end. Randy says he did a pretty good job on the song after he started finding his way with it. Paula says it was nice to see a different side of him instead of all the ballads (none of which we have seen). Simon says it was "OK and not as bad as the other Elvis song." He says he didn't get anything from the performance, that it didn't show any relevance to becoming a recording artist. "It was a complete waste of time." He says he wishes people would spend more time on their voices than their hair, to which Ryan replies: "It's called hopeless, that box cut you've got." A surprisingly good-natured Simon cracks up, yet again. What is going on?

Garrett Haley talks with Ryan about how he has liked the show since he was 9 or 10 (OMG, I am 754 years old) and that he, too, looks like Ellen DeGeneres. Not really. Ryan says more like Leif Garrett. He's from Elida, Ohio, and had a great time during auditions. He sings "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," and I really wish one of the stylists had told him to shave his upper lip before he went on HDTV. His performance is OK, kind of boring. Randy says: "You didn't do anything with it. Don't be afraid to make a song your own. ... It was just kind of boring." Word, Randy. Paula says when you have a song like this, it's all right to talk to the bandleader about readjusting the song. Simon says it was boring, he sounded whiny and he looked terrified. "You look like you've been shut up in your bedroom for a month," he adds. Paula drops her head on the table because she can't believe it.

Jason Castro is from Rockwall, Texas, and auditioned in Dallas. He says his whole life, he's kind of stayed in the back, "so tonight is the biggest performance of my life." He takes up the producers on their offer to let the contestants play instruments. He plays guitar as he sings "Daydream," and mixes it up a little. He also shows more personality than he did in his interview segments, in which he was pretty reserved. Randy says he liked the guitar vibe and that he tried to do some interesting things vocally and that it was sharp at times, but OK. Paula says he was joyful and exemplified "less is more." Simon says it "was in the top two performances of the night. You, like David, have got it. ... You made it sound current and made my point, it doesn't matter how old the song is." Jason tells Ryan it's scary up there, and he seems to be in shock.

Michael Johns (you know, the Australian rocker who blew them away with "Bohemian Rhapsody" on Hollywood Week) is the closing singer. He sings the Doors' "Light My Fire" to a backdrop of digital flames, natch. He has fun on stage, but in the middle part goes a little flat. But he has a strong finish, which is always helpful. Randy: "What a way to end a great night. You throw caution to the wind. ... You're like a Michael Hutchence, it was great!" Paula agrees and says he's a great part of the show. Simon says he's the most consistent of their contestants, though he didn't like it as much as "Rhapsody." "You've got it," he adds, which is the line of the night. I guess no one else thought he had a few little pitch problems, though I still thought it was pretty great.

So who are you rooting for? Who do you think is in danger? I think Luke Menard, who I had already forgotten about until they reviewed the performances with the phone numbers, Garrett Haley and Jason Yeager are in danger (and I think they were not helped by having no back story whatsoever).

(Photo of the AI Top 24 by Timothy White / Fox)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: American Idol
        

Is anyone really excited about tonight's finale of Dance War? I'm glad it's going to be over, that's for sure.

But I think the thing people are most interested in tonight is the announcement of the new cast of Dancing With the Stars. Let's simplify this, since they spread out the announcement throughout the two-hour show. The new cast is: Actress Marlee Matlin, 6-feet-6 magician Penn Jillette, Hairspray stage star Marissa Jaret Winokur, radio host and actor Adam Carolla, Olympic ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi, "Latin heartthrob" Crisitian de la Fuente, tennis star Monica Seles, Baltimore singer Mario, actor Steve Guttenberg, NFL star Jason Taylor, actress Shannon Elizabeth and Priscilla Presley. The two-night premiere starts March 17.

Here's how the rest of the Dance War episode went down:

According to the clip show we're seeing thus far, this is all about Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba and how hard it's been for them. I thought it was about the contestants? We haven't heard much from them as of yet.

Twenty minutes in, host Drew Lachey performs with all the remaining finalists, singing "Steppin' Out With My Baby."

While there is more filler, I'm just going to reflect on the many things about this show that don't make any sense.

Votes are cast based on performances that are given before people are kicked off from the previous week's results. (For example, this means that tonight, a team will be named a winner, and the audience has never seen one of the teams in its current permutation.)

We know next to nothing about the contestants, so the audience isn't really invested in either team.

If it's about dancing, why does the winning team get a recording contract?

Why do the team leaders (Bruno and Carrie Ann) judge each other's teams?

Is anyone going to go out of their way to see whichever team wins in concert or buy its CD?

Why are Bruno and Carrie Ann so fixated on their teams stepping it up for their final performances when all the votes have already been cast?

Anyway, Team Bruno reprises its performance to "These Boots are Made for Walkin'." That is a fun one, at least. Then Team Carrie Ann does "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" again and tries not to be overcome by the smoke machine.

Here's the real reason people are tuning in tonight: part of the announcement of the next Dancing With the Stars cast. Here are three: Actress Marlee Matlin, 6-feet-6 magician Penn Jillette and Hairspray stage star Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Drew reminds us that the winning team will get a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Both teams recorded a single to prepare for the experience. Phillip says of the recording, "If we win, this is going to be our life." Um, I wouldn't get too used to it. I feel kind of bad as the contestants talk about this being their one shot at achieving their life's dreams. If that's the case, it's really too bad the ratings haven't been better. (Nothing against the contestants -- they seem pretty talented, but this disjointed show hasn't served them well.)

Team Bruno comes out on stage to sing its new single "Fallin' in Love." Shockingly, Bruno loved it. Carrie Ann congratulates them, too.

Here's some more DWTS people: radio host and actor Adam Carolla, Olympic ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi and "Latin heartthrob" Crisitian de la Fuente. After the break, three more: tennis star Monica Seles, Baltimore singer Mario and actor Steve Guttenberg.

Next, Team Carrie Ann works on its single, which she says is perfect for them because it's "a little street." Okie dokie. This team also talks about its dreams and how this is everything. Then the group comes out to sing the single "Come With It." Again, the judges/team leaders lurrrrrved it.

And the last three DWTS cast members are: NFL star Jason Taylor, actress Shannon Elizabeth and Priscilla Presley.

One last mass-group dance, as the teams reunite to perform "One Night Only," followed by a montage of team members talking about why their team should win.

Drew gathers the teams so the winner can be announced. The winning team (of the "first season of Dance War," Drew says optimistically) is: Team Bruno. He's at a loss for words and thrilled for his team.

Carrie Ann says nice things about her team and how things are just getting started for them.

Only time well tell whether this plays out into actual fame for the winning team. Meanwhile, what do you think about that DWTS cast? Got some Baltimore connections in there, which isn't too shabby!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Dancing With the Stars
        

Just checking in to see whether there are any fans of American Idol out there who are a little disillusioned with the number of non-amateurs running around this Top 24.

Wondering who I'm talking about? Well, among others, Kristy Lee Cook was signed with Arista Nashville, Carly Smithson had an album out with MCA a while back, and Robbie Carrico was in a boy band that once opened for Britney Spears.

If you have feelings about this either way, drop me a comment (please include your email address -- that won't publish, but I will be able to see it in case I want to ask you a couple of follow-up questions).

Thanks! 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: American Idol
        

Finally trying to get caught up on The Celebrity Apprentice. I gather that Piers Morgan hasn't been getting along with a number of people, but the combination of him and Omarosa was not pretty.

Check out the clip above to see just one of their fights. This doesn't address the parts where she repeatedly made comments about his children and said in interviews that she was purposefully hitting him below the belt. (Yeah, she's a great person to have on your team. Especially when you're playing for charity.) Piers tried to fire Omarosa, but that didn't work too well. She's good at working a situation -- as soon as Ivanka showed up to gather information, she said nothing about him, and he went on and on about her being a piece of trash.

In the end, despite the madness, Piers' team won, beating out the new Empresario, all of whom worked very well together.

Trump was flummoxed and couldn't figure out what to do and finally decided that since this is for charity, he wouldn't fire anyone.

Next week, Omarosa and Marilu Henner are swapping teams to keep O away from Piers. Probably a good plan.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Sometimes, it's so satisfying to see a contestant who feels 100 percent safe get sent home.

That happened to Mary on last night's Survivor, but it's so early and we know so little about everyone that some of the drama was muted.

Mostly, the experienced "favorites" thrived with their awesome shelter, unstoppable fire-building skills, and, of course, Ozzy. And the flirty couplings escalated to making-out sessions, at least on the part of Amanda and Ozzy. And the non-coupled foursome (Jonathan, Yau-Man, Ami and Eliza) decided to pick up Cirie as their fifth (not that they had much choice).

On the "fan" side, things were not so rosy. Their shelter was a disaster, and even with flint, they couldn't get a fire going. The "older" crowd (Chet, Tracy and Kathleen) whined some and then started scoping out new places for a shelter. They found Jason and a couple of others cleaning out a cave and thought it might make a good spot for everyone, but Jason said, literally, that they weren't welcome.

So the trio took the machete and built themselves a pretty great lean-to, at which point most of the others realized they were being morons and asked for advice for how to expand it using their model. But not very nicely.

At the challenge (which involved locks, puzzles, swimming, balancing, breaking tiles and all the other usual Survivor accouterments), the fans were already running behind when Chet started totally foundering in the water and took forever to get back to shore. They never caught up after that, and the favorites got immunity as well as a fishing boat and gear (like they needed that, when they already had Ozzy, who caught a fish in his bare hands on their way back from tribal council).

At this point, the new Exile Island twist was revealed. The favorites chose Kathleen and then found out someone else from their own tribe would also have to go. Cirie volunteered. These two ran all over the island following clues to try to find the hidden immunity idol, but as far as we were shown, they never got to it.

Back at the fans' camp, Mikey B fancied himself master strategist and became fixated on the idea that Kathleen would find the hidden idol and use the one from the first episode to save herself and the hidden one to save one of her two allies. (Of course, it would make more sense to hold onto both idols herself since one was only playable at the first tribal council. But I digress ...) He came up with a plan for the guys to vote for Chet and the women to vote Tracy, so if one of them was saved, one of the others would still be out.

Joel the giant firefighter became concerned about a couple of things -- first, that Mikey B thought he was running the game and second, his attraction to and alliance with Mary. He decided that they should shake him up and vote out Mary. He ran around and convinced some people of that, and then approached the elder outsiders, who also agreed to go along.

Tribal council was kind of a wash, except maybe for Chet being totally delusional about his challenge performance. In the end, Mary was voted out, and Mikey B was flabbergasted. As of this week, I think he's neither as funny nor as smart as he thinks he is.

But did you notice in the credits that Joel, who masterminded the entire plan, voted for Tracy? What was that about? Just to keep her off-balance? She had clearly done the math and thought they'd been double-crossed when her name came up a few times during the vote "tally." Or did he just do it for plausible deniability with Mikey? Who knows. It was an interesting move, though.

(Photo by Monty Brinton/CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Survivor
        

After last night's Big Brother 9, I am a little unclear on the rules about the existing-couple twist. I thought it worked like America's Player from last season, that if other players found out that Ryan and Jen are a couple in real life, they would lose some prize or be disqualified or something.

But instead, Jen and Ryan both shared the news with their game partners in last night's episode, which means the big secret lasted about three days.

Jacob pulled a boneheaded move and got himself and his partner, Sharon, evicted. He told Parker that "everyone" thought Parker was a snake, and Parker called a house meeting to find out who said it. No one would admit to it, so everyone decided that Jacob was just stirring things up. (I haven't been watching the feeds -- anyone know whether Jacob was indeed just making this up?) Sharon, in an attempt to save them, tried to claim it was Ryan. But that didn't work because he wouldn't have said something to target his girlfriend's game partner down the road.

I'm OK with that result. Putting split exes together as a team in the house was pretty brutal, and it sure didn't seem like they were on the road to forgiveness. The only bad news about Sharon and Jacob being evicted is that Sheila and Adam are still there.

Sheila hates her partner, and she hasn't shut up about it yet, even to his face. Boring. And annoying. (He's no prince, either -- my cable dropout last night meant I missed the first few minutes, and I came into the episode as people were discussing something offensive he said about the autistic kids he works with.) I hope they are next.  

(Photo of Sharon and Jacob courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

What an eventful episode of Project Runway!

We knew the contestants would be trimmed from five to three so that the final three would be judged at Fashion Week.

For the final challenge, they went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had to pick a piece of artwork to inspire them for their last look.

Rami went straight for a statue of Aphrodite because of the -- you guessed it -- draping. Sweet P chose a painting of peacocks. Annapolis' Christian Siriano found a painting of a Spanish soldier, and Jillian chose a painting of the battle of the Argonauts. Lastly, Chris March found a painting of an 18th-century royal woman in a gown.

The designers all went in different directions with these inspirations:

Rami created yet another gorgeous gown, but the fact that it was draped -- AGAIN -- garnered the most notice. Sweet P made a pretty, but not all that interesting dress. Christian, super-quick at the sewing machine (and pretty jerky about it), made pants, a detailed shirt, a jacket and an over the shoulder piece. Jillian proved to be the queen of jackets again, as she created a gorgeous, detailed, gold-lined jacket that evoked the uniforms in her painting, as well as a great short, gold dress. Chris March's dress was gorgeous, but too evocative of the avant-garde piece he and Christian made a few weeks back.

The judges, including guest judge Roberto Cavalli, loved Christian and Jillian's looks right off the bad. They were kind of bored by Sweet P's dress, though they found it perfectly fine as a commercial look. Nina Garcia was most frustrated by Rami and his incessant draping. And while Cavalli loved Chris March's look, the other judges weren't as enamored, since its thunder was stolen by the previous piece.

In the end, Christian was the winner, Jillian a close second, and Sweet P was out. But then, a twist. Two were supposed to be eliminated, but the judges were deadlocked, so Rami and Chris March were both in and both able to create collections, but one will be eliminated before the finale.

(Of course, this elimination is a little misleading -- since Fashion Week was last week, all five of the remaining designers got to show at Bryant Park. You can see more photos here and a closer look at Christian's collection here.)

(Photo of Christian Siriano at Fashion Week by Associated Press)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I'm having some cable problems, so I missed the first few minutes of tonight's American Idol, during which the Top 24 will be revealed from the Top 50.

So the first guy who is out, I don't have his name. Ronald something. I'll try to track it down afterward.

Nina Shaw is also out. Same with Mycale Guyton and Lisa Aukerman.

Carly Smithson, the Irish woman who made it to Hollywood in Season 5 and then had visa issues, is next. Paula goes on and on, and Simon asks her to give Carly the answer, and Carly cries. She is in. As she walks out, Simon takes Paula to task for "torturing that girl."

Rocker David Cook didn't impress Simon with his guitar during Hollywood week, but I still predict he will be in. He is!

Amanda Overmyer, the rock-n-roll nurse, is in.

Brandon Gree, Amanda Hawkins and Buck Smith are out and have to make the long elevator ride back downstairs.

David Archuleta (see a clip in last night's AI entry) is next in the hot seat. Simon says they have to take more time with people under 18, but they think he's worth it, so he is in.

Kristy Lee Cook heads upstairs to the judges. Paula and Randy try to drag it out, but they don't do that good of a job. She is in. (Side note: It's really annoying when Paula tries to drag out the news.)

Brooke White is next and starts bawling just waiting for her chance to see the judges. We see footage of her messing up during her audition in round one of Hollywood week, which we definitely did not see yesterday. But she's in.

Danny Noriega goes crazy with nerves in the elevator. It's a yes.

Jason Castro, Luke Mendard and Alexandrea Lushington all get yesses (though we've seen very little of them otherwise).

Ramiele Malubay (tiny girl, big voice) is in.

Shaun Barrowes is out. Lorena Pinot and Drew Poppelreiter (the farm boy) and Nathasha Block are also out.

Michael Johns (Australian rocker) tells Ryan he feels pretty good, but he starts freaking out on the way to the judges. He is in.

Syesha Mercado lost her voice during Hollywood week, but gave a killer final audition. Paula points out that Y-E-S is in her name, and yes, she is in. Simon taunts Paula for her dumb joke

Robbie Carrico is told that he is through to the Top 24.

Garrett Haley is in, as are Kady Malloy and Chekezie Eze, Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker and Jason Yeager.

Asia'h Epperson, whose father passed away a day before her initial audition, feels he is with her no matter what. Paula says they have been impressed with her and that she is in the Top 24.

David Hernandez finds out it wasn't unanimous. He is the one who was nervous backstage and then right on track on last night's episode. He is in. Simon says he is the one who said no and that David is going to have to work "a heck of a lot harder" to have a shot at winning.

Josiah Leming calls this "the most important day of my life." He thinks he is in, at least in his gut. He agrees that he was overconfident after his first Hollywood audition (but that didn't stop him from saying he thought he was in). He is not in, which I gathered as soon as they showed the clip of him saying he thought he was in. They say he should keep pursuing music and that he is really talented. He cries when he gets downstairs. He gets hugs from a bunch of the finalists who made it through.

So now there are four people left and two spots.

Colton Berry and Kyle Ensley are the last guys standing. Colton is in, Kyle is out, but Paula says they know he is going to go on to bigger and better things. Simon tells Kyle that he disagrees with this decision and thinks he made more impact and that people would have enjoyed him. I think maybe more of his charisma comes across in person than on screen because while Kyle seems like a nice guy and has a good voice, I don't see him as a music star. I don't have much to say about Colton Berry because I think this is the first time he's gotten much screen time at all.

Cardin McKinney and Joanne Borgella are the last women. Joanne says it's been an amazing experience and a looooong day. Cardin says it's been good but she's emotionally tired. Joanne is in, and Cardin is out, but Paula says she needs to come back. They both cry and hug.

Montage of people who didn't make it and didn't get their names on screen. Oh, well.

And now we're down to 24! And now is the time on Sprockets when they dance. (I'm sorry; I'm not in charge.)

That was a pretty good Hollywood week, all things considered. I didn't even miss the group sings!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: American Idol
        

Sometimes, a random show that I don't mean to watch will grab my attention. Such has been the case lately with Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker. I'm not really into dating shows, as I've mentioned, and the rich and vapid lives of the Real Housewives crew aren't my thing, either.

But somehow, it's still kind of fun watching matchmaker Patti Stanger work with the moneyed but often clueless men. She can be obnoxious with them, but most of the time, it seems like she's right. Yes, "edgy" dude, lose the bad facial hair. Yes, quiet, dorky guy, lose the suit at meet-and-greet functions. Yes, spiritual martial arts man, 26 is too young for you. Sorry, best buds, but you need to get over double-dating, at least on the first few dates.

Yet something about the whole process is very ... weird. Going through the women's profiles and making sure they fit the needs of the millionaire clients ... sure, that's necessary. Requiring women to straighten their hair before an event? That's pretty yucky. And 20 hand-picked women there as options for the two (or sometimes three) chosen men? That also has strange undertones. And how do you screen out the people who are only in it for the money? Some of them will be obvious, but not all, I would imagine.

This is hardly appointment TV for me, but I still find myself watching when I stumble across it. Anyone else watching?

(Photo of Patti Stanger courtesy of Bravo TV)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

So what do you all think about this season's Big Brother twist?

The houseguests were all paired with their "soulmates" (as determined by the producers), with a couple of notable exceptions.

Ryan and Jen are a pre-existing couple who have to play the game without letting anyone know they are boyfriend and girlfriend. But they aren't paired up -- Jen's with paparazzo Parker and Ryan's with pharmaceutical rep/recovering compulsive gambler Allison.

Also, Sharon and Jacob are exes -- they started dating in eighth grade and were together 12 years, including while Jacob was in the Marine Corps. But he cheated, she said nuh-uh and split, and now they are playing the game as a unit. He seems to want to make amends, but thus far, she's not having it.

The other unhappy match is Sheila (former Penthouse Pet of the year, by the way, albeit not recently) and Adam. She doesn't think he's her type, and she was totally rude about it. For his part, Adam didn't appreciate being bad-talked immediately, so that wasn't pretty.

Anyway, the pairing up was the main drama, followed by one competition, for "power couple." Jen and Parker were the ultimate winners, and tomorrow night, they will choose who is first out.

I'd go for Adam and Sheila to decrease the whine factor, but I don't have to live in the house.

(Photo of Sheila Courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Big Brother
        

As we're reminded that 164 finalists have to be culled down to 24 during the "Hollywood Week" part of the proceedings on American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest claims that the contestants are going to be shocked because it's a whole new scenario. Hmmm, shall we buy in or remain skeptical? For now I'm skeptical.

The first trim is going to go from 164 to 50 after a single audition. Immediate yesses will go straight through to the final day of Hollywood week, and those who get a no will get a second chance.

Brooke White, the chick who hadn't ever seen an R-rated movie, is the first contestant. (Fashion note: She likes stripes.) She says her biggest issue is confidence. Now, contestants can play their own instruments, and she plays the piano and sings (in the clip you probably saw 900 times during the Super Bowl). And yes, she's good. Simon says she has potential and says she has a Carole King thing going. It's unanimous, and she is through to the final day.

Lorena Pinot gets stopped early, as does Amy Flynn. Leo Marlowe is deemed forgettable. But yes, they will get a second chance.

Alisha Dixon sings and plays guitar, and Simon didn't love it. Micheal Sanfilippo is told the guitar didn't do him any favors. Alyssa Coco and Shaun Barrowes don't get any kudos for their keyboard playing.

But Jake Mellema sings "Hooked on a Feeling" and plays a full drum kit. Randy thought it was "just OK" and Paula says it wasn't her favorite. Simon says the song choice and presentation were "horrible, horrible" and that there was nothing redeeming to it whatsoever.

Not surprisingly, many of the others opt to forget the instruments.

David Hernandez battles his nerves backstage, but once he gets in front of the mike, he is good. He sings a twist on "Love the One You're With," which gets people dancing and cheering in the audience. Randy liked it "from note one," and Simon says he was the best so far and also looked totally comfortable on stage. Of course, Paula gives him a yes, too.

Montage of yesses and nos.

Rock-n-roll nurse Amanda Overmyer had a horrible car accident a week before heading to Hollywood and has a new perspective on things. She sings the Doors' "Light My Fire." Randy giggles and says he just loves her 60s revival sound and that she could be big. Paula "honestly adores you." Simon says he needs to work some on light and shade so every performance doesn't sound the same. Unanimous yes.

And just like usual: Simon warns everyone to remember the words, but it doesn't quite stick, as we get a montage of forgetfulness.

Ghaleb Emachah, the kissy guy from the Miami auditions, is up to his old tricks in Hollywood. He sings "Everything I Do," and his voice is really not that strong. Paula appears to be really into it, but Randy just plays with his glasses. Simon stops him, and Paula says she wasn't as impressed, and Simon compares him to a waiter "murdering Bryan Adams" at a restaurant and says that it was totally corny. Everyone says no, and he is sad he didn't get to kiss Paula.

After day 1, 54 people didn't get the automatic pass and will have to give it another shot. They're coy about how many did get through, though.

For the second day, about 80 contestants are left to try to make it through the first round.

Josiah Leming, the 18-year-old who lives in his car, decides to play the keyboards even though instruments haven't done much for a lot of people. He sings "Grace Kelly" with the same British accent he had at auditions, and I was hoping he'd ditch that before now. Randy says he is "cool," and Paula says he has a "magical thing about you," and Simon says: "I think out of all the auditions, this is the one I am going to remember." Automatic pass for Josiah!

Danny Noriega, Ramiele Malubay, Carly Smithson (who has Smurf tongue from some badly timed candy or something) and Michael Johns are included in a montage of yes votes.

David Cook, who is a band frontman in Missouri, comes out with his guitar and sings "Everything I Do" about 100 times better than Ghaleb did. (He has blue tongue, too. What are they feeding these kids? "Grape" Gatorade?) Randy liked his range and tone and says he seemed experienced. Paula likes him, too, but Simon says he thinks David will be totally vulnerable minus the guitar.

Bryan Adams was a popular choice, as we get a montage of people singing that song, too, but it didn't work for everyone.

Kyle Ensley, who wants to be the governor of Oklahoma, is the last contestant of the day. To me, he is still SO high-school musical (not the Disney version). Paula says it was a little corny, but she likes his spirit a lot. Simon slams the "spiritual performance nonsense," and says it was abysmal. He says no and stomps off while Paula keeps going on about "spirit."

So ends round one of Hollywood week, but next up, the cuts begin.

48 got the automatic pass, but the 116 others are relying on their second chance.

Groups of 10 come out and sing a few seconds each, a capella, then they find out whether they're going home. Simon calls it "brutal," and that's no lie.

Suzanne Toon sings some "Summertime" and hopes for the best. Perrie Cataldo also gives it another shot. After the whole line sings, some are called forward, some stay back, and one line is in, and one is out. Suzanne and Perrie are among the back row and are going home.

Amy Flynn works with her voice coach, Angel, who was on season four, and takes the stage to sing "Love Will Bring You Back," which she learned the night before. (This is the girl who preaches abstinence at high school, in case you need a reminder.) This time, two are called forward and are going home, and the other eight are sticking around. Amy's going home.

Montage of people being told they are out.

Ryan says it's been so grueling that only four people have made it to the next round. But that's a bad edit since during the Amy Flynn segment, eight people got yes votes. Whoops!

Kristy Lee Cook sings "Amazing Grace" and aims for the best. Jeffrey Lampkin (who made it to Hollywood with his sister, who got cut earlier in the day) is in the same line, as is Angela Martin, who wants to make it to get a better life for her disabled daughter. Since the last audition, Angela's father was killed, and her sisters said she had to keep trying. Jeffrey and Kristy Lee make it, but Angela does not. She has an amazing attitude, and says it's all good because she is going to go home and take care of her daughter now.

Ryan says nearly 100 people were cut, leaving the rest for the next round.

For this round, everyone gets to sing with the band and three background singers.

David Archuleta is 16 and pretty much unfazed. He comes out to sing Bryan Adams' "Heaven," and he continues to be remarkably comfortable on stage. Randy: "That was the bomb, and the best we've heard all week!" Paula calls him a gem, and Simon says he has everything going for him. He is through.

Kyle "future governor" Ensley sings "You Raise Me Up," and though his voice is OK, the whole thing is too corny for me. But the judges still put him through.

Jeffrey Lampkin falls apart and is out. Joey Catalano is fighting a migraine and sounds OK to me, but the judges say he didn't cut it. Syesha Mercado has been fighting illness all week and gives it her all on stage -- Randy says she is "one to watch" and that she was "great." Paula says she just gave the performance of her life, and Simon says, "You did it." She can't even speak her voice is so weak, but she's thrilled.

Michael Johns sings "Bohemian Rhapsody," which seems like a risk, but it's an unqualified yes, and Simon says it's the best audition of the day.

Carly Smithson busts out some Heart for her final shot. The judges all agree that she stepped it up and showed more confidence and is through.

Asia'h Epperson gives her "best audition by a mile, I LOVED that," per Simon. Yep, she makes it.

Brooke Helvie, the kind of weird beauty queen, is next. She loses it at the end, and Simon still says yes, but Randy says no. So it's up to Paula. Brooke sings part of it again. But Paula says no, and Brooke is out. She cries about not being given a fair chance, "like everyone else." Um, you got to re-sing, and you didn't start with the part you messed up.

Josiah is freaking out about picking up the right song and crying in the middle of the night about how he can't sing with a band he doesn't know. He runs into vocal coach Debra Byrd, who talks him down and explains what went wrong with the practice session. He never really got an actual run-through with the band, and onstage, he asks if he can sing by himself and without the band. He sings "Stand by Me" "as I hear it in my head." Randy says it was it his worst performance thus far. Paula says, "Sometimes we just make the wrong choices." Josiah says it took "a hell of a lot of guts," and Simon says he is now being annoying, and that dismissing the band was not a great move, either. Randy says he is still a fan and it's a yes, Paula thanks him "for being honest and vulnerable" and gives him a yes, too, and Simon also votes yes, so through all that, he still makes the Top 50.

But now the judges have to cut the 50 down to 24 with no more auditions.

So tomorrow night will be the walk, sit, find out who made it. Also known as the longest episode every year.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: American Idol
        

Dance War is almost over, and I'm pretty sure no one is that invested in it.

The weirdness of having someone voted out at the end based on the previous week continues to make for disjointed results.

And frankly, I don't see either of these teams making it as a singing group after the show is over.

Am I being too harsh? What do you think? 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The ninth season of Big Brother kicks off Tuesday. See a preview video here.

No Marylanders this time around, although Jacob's bio says he did live in Maryland at some point.

Rumor has it that the season's twist is that the contestants will be assigned into "soulmate" pairs and have to compete as pairs (including for POV, veto, etc.).

Could be interesting. (And if it means the season is half as long, well, that works for me.)

What do you think of this twist? 

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Big Brother
        

I kind of hate to admit that I was excited about the premiere of the latest Survivor, which pits 10 superfans against 10 "favorite" players.

I was less than excited that Jonny Fairplay (in real life, Jon Dalton, he of the lying about his grandma dying to win a reward challenge) was among the favorites.

But that little thorn in my side didn't last long, since Fairplay decided he needed to go home to his seven-months'-pregnant fiancee, who happens to be former America's Next Top Model contestant Michelle Deighton. (By the way, the baby was born Jan. 16.) The editors played it up as a possibly another lie from their loose cannon, but it wasn't, and he is out. Works for me!

At this point (especially when they are starting with 20 contestants), it's hard to sort out who is who and all that, but a few things did stick out from the premiere:

It should be fun once we get to know the other players a little more and see how the faves interact with one another. I do hope they knock off the coupling. I don't watch many of the dating shows, and that's certainly not what I'm looking for in my Survivor seasons.

The one thing I will miss is watching Jeff Probst's utter contempt for Fairplay just ooze out of him every time their interacted. That was comedy.

(Photo courtesy of CBS)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Survivor
        

All of the remaining Project Runway contestants got to show collections at Fashion Week -- did you realize that? No, not all of these will make the two-part finale Feb. 27 and March 5, but they all got to show in order to keep the outcome of the show up in the air.

Don't want to be spoiled at all? Don't read the link below! (But don't fret -- it doesn't reveal the actual finalists.)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

See ya later, Ricky! I'm so not sad to see our (least) favorite cry-boy depart Project Runway. But did it shock anyone else that, after bawling in almost every other interview segment in the whole season, he didn't cry last night? I was shocked.

But anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. The challenge was, the designers had to create in-the-ring outfits for six of World Wrestling Entertainment's divas. And they thought prom dresses were taking them outside their comfort zone!

Instead of shopping at fabric store Mood, they got their supplies at "Spandex House," which was a crack-up in and of itself. And making these choices seemed to throw some of the designers for a loop. Sweet P bought these two horrible holographic silver fabrics that just fought and fought with each other (because her diva likes "sparkly" things). And Rami bought the Barbiest pink in the history of the universe.

Annapolis' Christian Siriano went with a leather and lace look for his diva, Kristal, and she loved it. So did Christian, who thought for sure he was going to win (and also said "fierce" about 700 times).

Chris March and his diva, Maria, discovered a mutual love for leopard print. Chris, who is used to making outlandish costumes, was much less intimidated by this challenge than many of the others, and he created this great leopard hoodie lined with sparkly black material and with flared arms, as well as a leopard top with black straps meant to signify a caged animal.

For Michelle, Jillian created a royal blue top and short-shorts (shortest short-shorts ever) with a sporty twist, thanks to some striping details.

Sweet P's outfit for Candice Michelle was supposed to be a robe and bikini outfit, but the robe offered no drama, and the bikini was ill-fitting (especially for someone getting flung around a wrestling ring). And the silver spandex only made it worse.  

Rami's pink outfit for Torrie was too frilly by half (especially the removable skirt), and the eyeball-searing pink? Also didn't help.

But Ricky made the worst misstep, creating what he saw as a cute "one-piece" outfit, but what looked to everyone else like a boring orange bathing suit. And he added this removable shift made of gold spandex covered with black fishnet that did nothing for his diva, Layla.

And so, a not-tearful Ricky was sent packing (finally!), and the remaining designers get that much closer to Fashion Week.  

(Photo and video courtesy of Bravo TV)

Note: Just for the record, I headlined my entry before I saw Bravo's caption on its Ricky video. But it's too fitting to change!

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I was trying to figure out what city they were going to be in on tonight's American Idol, and no wonder I couldn't work it out. It's a best of and worst of all of them. Sounds like a mix of awesome and excruciating.

Luke Reeder flails through his audition of "Faith."

Victor Villegas gets compared to a sheep.

Amy Davis wants to pay her mom back for all her hard work. She sings "Blue Bayou," and she's decent. Simon and Randy agree that the "possibility of her vocals" intrigues them if she can get rid of her nerves. Decent, but best of?

Tiffany McCampbell says her voice is a gift from God. The editors add in a shot of her doing vocal exercises. Well, that is what it is supposed to be. She sings loudly, and Simon asks if God has "a return policy. ... If I was given that, I would give it back." It's a no.

Then there's the bizarre story of the love triangle -- twin guys who "have the same girlfriend for the most part." OK, actually, she is only dating one of them right now. The guys are Cory and Chris Lane, and they do a little rap song about their rivalry with the Brittenum twins, which would be marginally funny, but ... one guy beatboxes, and the other one can't remember the lyrics for like five minutes. It's goofy and a no. The girlfriend, Ashley, is shocked.

Then Ashley Lawing goes into her audition and brings in her adorable tiny dog, Panda. Simon says he is going to steal her dog, and she says, in the oft-promoed quote, "As long as you put me through to Hollywood, you can have whatever you want." And yes, Simon makes exactly the creepy face you would imagine he made if you didn't actually see the episode. She starts singing, and it's not good. Meanwhile, her boyfriend (I guess) in the hallway says, "I think she thinks she's good." Zowie. Simon stops her and says, "It was excruciating." She screeches, "EXCRUCIATING?!?!" Cut to jerky twins: "We kind of told her her voice was up to par just so she would try out, but she's not that great." Ashley asks Simon, "Is it opposite day?" "I think she thinks her looks are going to take her to the top," says twin. He adds that he predicts she's not through. "We didn't make it through, but that's OK because we still have each other," the happy couple says. Um, not after this airs. (Speaking of excruciating, see the clip for yourself at top.)

Cardin Lee McKinney says she is confident and ready. She sings and has a nice voice. Simon says she seems theatrical and not contemporary. Paula says she has a mature voice. Randy says yes because he thinks she can grow. Simon says no, but Paula puts her through. Good thing, because her voice is better than a lot of the people we've seen get golden tickets.

Joanne Borgella is a plus-size model and hopes to "influence to others to be happy with themselves." She has sung the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden before college basketball championships. She sings some Celine Dion, and she's good. Paula says she has great tone and that she is stunning. Simon questions whether Paula really loved her voice, and she says she does. Simon says no, Paula says yes and Randy says yes, so she is through.

Alesha Stelzl says she was born to sing and that her voice is unique. She also sings some Celine, and yeah, "unique" is the right word. Simon asks where she sings. She says at talent boot camp. Simon asks what happens when she sings publicly. She says people like it and she gets their attention. Simon says he couldn't even recognize the song and it was dreadful. Paula says when she isn't "pushing forward," she has good tone. Randy and Paula say she should have sung some Dolly Parton. They tell her to leave, learn a song and come back. In the hallway, she and her mom say she doesn't know any Dolly songs, so Ryan sings some to them.

After the break, Alesha has learned "Islands in the Stream." Randy and Paula are pleased and love her tone. Randy says yes, and so does Paula, and Simon tells her she's going to Dollywood. After she leaves, Simon says, "I hate to admit it, but you were right. ... I was really disappointed." Then the judges lose it cracking up.

Brandi Gregorie sings and strips and it's a no. Charles Randy Leviner sings an f-word-laced song, and poorly. "When we decide to put this show out at 3 in the morning, you can try out," Simon says.

Joshua Moreland aka Jay Smoove says he so totally has the "wow factor." He's going to do an original song (oh great) called "Beautiful Lady." He sings and throws some glitter and stuff and drops to his knee ("to elicit a crowd response," as DaVinci's Notebook would say) and runs through a strange selection of high notes. Paula liked his "accoutrements." Simon thought it was corny, over the top and "revolting." Randy says he has a voice but isn't ready. Some poor PA has to come out and clean up the glitter. Then they make Ryan do it. And he makes the PA do it. Then Simon says he will do it (because he is still on camera). It's amusing.

Montage of Simon messing up people's names.

Chikezie Eze auditioned last year and he says Randy wasn't feeling him then. He sings some Luther Vandross, and it's very pleasant, and they let him get to the chorus, which is a good move, because he gets way better. But then Simon tries to stop him, and he keeps going. Simon says he is interesting, but he's not sure his voice is that interesting. Paula thinks his voice is interesting. Chikezie comes out with a golden ticket.

Danny Noriega is back after buckling under the pressure last year. He says he had a bad problem with nerves. He sings "Proud Mary" with a lot of snapping. Simon says he has a very good voice, and Randy says he loved it and that it was one of the best auditions he's seen. Danny is through, and he is thrilled.

Montage of highlights and lowlights from the auditions.

Next week: Hollywood week! 164 have been culled from the more than 100,000 who auditioned. Then they have to be cut down to 24. This is when I start enjoying the show more, so huzzah!

Are you ready for Hollywood?

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: American Idol
        

I'm a little sad because the Super Bowl ads made me think that we were through with early auditions and on to Hollywood on American Idol this week. But alas, it was not to be. We are in the home stretch, though ...

First up in Atlanta, Ryan Seacrest's parents show up to say hi because this is his hometown.

Joshua Jones is the first audition of the show. He is a glassworker and he's really passionate about it. Simon stops him because he was bugging out his eyes in a freaky way. They make him turn around and sing to the wall. Simon says he it was a little karaoke (he was singing Queen and sounding too much like Freddie Mercury). Paula says yes, and apparently Randy does, too, because he comes out with a golden ticket.

JP Tjelmeland auditioned in Season 4, two people behind Carrie Underwood, and he really wishes they had stayed in touch. He says people always tell him he has star quality, which I think is not the case. This is not going to go well. He tells the judges he is going to sing some Rascal Flatts for them. It's bad, y'all. Tragic bad. Leaving me re-enacting the photo above bad. He says he really wants to do this and that he doesn't want to do four years of school. He says he's majoring in music, in singing. They say no.

Montage of Paula not able to answer the "yes or no" question easily.

Asia'h Epperson says she is just a small-town girl who loves to sing. She says she had called and told her dad that she was on her way to Atlanta to audition for AI and that 30 minutes later, her brother called and said there had been a car accident and her dad had died. Oh, that's truly awful. She tells the judges she is going to sing "How Do I Live" instead of her original choice, in honor of her father. They let her stop before she gets to the chorus, which is good, because I think she would have lost it. She still manages to keep it together for the whole first part of the song, and I'm very impressed, because I was a puddle crying on the floor before she even got to that part, and I'm just an observer. It's a 100 percent yes.

Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie says she has been singing since she was 4. Simon: "You want to prove to me that pageant girls can sing." Paula makes fun of her for standing with one foot forward (typical pageant stance), and Randy makes a joke that no one else notices: "One foot forward ... and two steps back. ... Put them together cuz opposities attract ...?" Hee. She sings a little, and they say nice things, and she starts jumping up and down. So she gets three yes votes and asks for a hug from Simon and everyone else. Simon, after she leaves, "Possibly the most annoying person I have ever seen in my entire life. ... I didn't want her to sing well."

Montage of people being forced to sing Fergie's "Glamorous."

Eva Miller says she loves Simon and thinks he's hot. She sings "1,000 Miles" and stomps all over the floor, falling down when she steps on her number, which has fallen off. Simon says it's a joke or an act or something. She says it's serious and that she accidentally fell and that she loves Simon and has a crush on him. She starts crying about falling and says she just wanted to entertain them with her dancing. They tell her the singing was not good. Simon asks whether she still likes him, and she says she does, and asks for a hug. She tears up her number and steps on it and stomps away.

Alexandrea Lushington has brought her 93-year-old great-grandmother with her for support. She is 16 and fabulous and through in no time at all. That was abrupt!

Montage of badness and crying.

Nathan Hite says he has some "witty retorts" ready for Simon. Uh-oh. He sings "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven. He sings with some rock edge, but pacing back and forth. Simon is saying it was a "bedroom audition" because it sounds like he was singing along with the record only not as good. He tries to make fun of Simon and his lines and whether he keeps them all written down. But, uh, it's not funny at all. And he's not through.

Amanda Overmyer is a rocking, motorcycle-riding nurse. She sings some Janis with too many extras, so they stop her and ask for another song. She launches into a different song and they adore her, and she's through.

Montage of golden tickets.

Josiah Leming has been living in his car and playing shows for about 10 months to a year. He cries about how it's rough sometimes and that he's excited for his chance. Simon asks if he can win, and he says yes because he has more ambition than they will find in any other 18-year-old. He sings a song of his own writing, "To Run," with a British accent. They talk to him about it, and he says he listens to a lot of British pop. But they seem intrigued. Paula says she likes him, Randy says he's interesting, so it's a yes, and Simon says yes, too.

Altogether, 20 Atlantan auditioners are through to Hollywood. And we'll see some more tomorrow!

(Photo of me taken by my husband during "American Idol" bad auditions in 2005)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: American Idol
        

Commenter Mike makes a good point about last night's Dance War:

I thought Bruno made an appropriate comment tonight. Isn't this show called "Dance Wars"?! So why is there so much emphasis on the singing?! I thought dancing was the focal point of the show. Ok, maybe singing and dancing, with dancing being the foundation of the performance. But, when you are being judged more on your team's singing singing ability and how tight they sounded or "featured" as Carrie Ann puts it. Come on!! Give some credit where credit is due! I've been siding with Carrie Ann at first. But, tonight's performance, in MY opinion, I felt Bruno's team OUT DANCED and out sang Carrie Ann's team.

I think this is only part of the show's problem. The structure is a mess. The teams perform and then they find out which team got the most votes based on the previous week's performances. When the show is over, voting is open for an hour and theoretically based on that night's performances, but the freshest thing in people's minds is which team lost the vote last week and how they handled it. And if a team totally steps it up and puts on a great performance, it doesn't matter -- the votes were cast the previous week. It's clunky, to say the least.

Not to mention that the show is pitched as being about dancers -- or at least dancers who can sing. But the prize is a recording contract, which seems to me like it's about singers who can dance.

The whole show is kind of a muddled mess, and I can't really imagine either of these groups making it big-time.

(Photo of Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli courtesy of ABC)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I guess we shouldn't have expected less, since the Super Bowl was on Fox, but American Idol was everywhere.

Host Ryan Seacrest was covering the red carpet, and Paula Abdul debuted her new single, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow." It was both pre-taped and lip-synced, but for a dance track, I suppose it's not awful.

Also, last season's Idol winner Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem:

They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

At least we'll be done with auditions after this week and on to Hollywood.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: American Idol