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Where's the breakout star on American Idol?
by Jason Hughes, posted Apr 27th 2009 4:27PM
You can say Adam Lambert is the breakout star of American Idol this season, and you'd almost be right. But he's not. He's too over-the-top most of the time (keep your tongue in your mouth!) and though he's come closest, he still hasn't had that "moment" Simon is waiting for. In fact, none of them have. This is about as bland a "Final Five" as we've ever seen. After all these weeks, there should have been a performance from almost everyone that forced me to back up the DVR and experience it at least once more. It hasn't happened.
American Idol: Who goes home?
by Jane Boursaw, posted Apr 16th 2009 12:11AM
I love the movie Flashdance, so I got all excited when the Idols started singing "Maniac" for their group number. But then I quickly deflated when I realized their version is nothing like the movie version with Jennifer Beals doing her butt dance. I'm not a lesbian, but watching that scene always makes me wish I was. Bring on the leg warmers and ripped sweatshirt.
After that, we had some footage of the Idols attending the red carpet premiere of 17 Again and getting to meet Zac Efron, Leslie Mann and the other stars of the film. Zac was in the Idol audience, too, wearing some goofy ski hat and looking like nine miles of bad road, but whatever.
American Idol: Results Show (1 of 9 goes home)
by Jane Boursaw, posted Apr 2nd 2009 12:12AM
Well, most of you correctly predicted who would go home on American Idol this week. A whopping 1183 votes for the predicted loser were logged in our poll!
But before we got to find out who it was for real, a whole bunch of other stuff happened, starting with Kara saying she appreciates the audience and their passion for the Idols. That was in reference to the heckling she got last night.
And Paula tried to redeem herself by saying that while she put the spotlight on Adam Lambert (you know, that Mick Jagger/Steven Tyler comment), she knows that all of the Idols have something special. Alrighty then.
American Idol: Top 9 Perform
by Jane Boursaw, posted Apr 1st 2009 12:15AM
I kind of like the beginning of American Idol these days. The judges enter on the stage, so we get to see whatever awesome dress Paula is wearing. Not sure about last week's tutu, but I like her tulip-inspired red dress tonight. Then Ryan descends from a big long stairway on the stage, like he's some old-time movie star or something. It's a little weird and cheesy, but also kind of fun. The theme this week is wide open, with the contestants choosing any song that's a popular download on iTunes. Let's get to it.
Anoop Desai started things off with Usher's "Caught Up." He cranked the pop factor up a few notches and showed that he's got the chops to switch it up a bit. Randy's a little torn and doesn't like the song choice. Kara thinks it's like a bunch of "frat guys dared you to get up and do Usher." Paula loves his more playful side, but says Anoop's stage presence needs a little work. Simon thinks it's "a complete and utter mess," saying, "It actually gave me a headache."
Think you know who's going to make it? Join our American Idol fantasy league!
by Kona Gallagher, posted Mar 27th 2009 3:25PM
In covering American Idol for this site, there's one thing I've learned: You all have very strong opinions on who the next Idol should be. But the question is, do you know who the next Idol will be? To that end, we've teamed up with Buddy TV to create a TV Squad American Idol Fantasy League, and we want you to join!All you have to do is click on this link for the fantasy league and make your picks for elimination. Once you have, it will prompt you to login or register. Do that, and you're all set... to lose horribly to me (kona99). Oh, that's right. The smack talk is starting early, people. Let's go and see what you can do!
If you have any problems or questions, please feel free to comment below and we'll try to get them sorted out for you.
American Idol: Top 11 Perform
by Jane Boursaw, posted Mar 18th 2009 12:15AM
It's country week on American Idol! It's always fun to see the country singers shine, and the rockers and R&B singers try and muddle through. Randy Travis was on hand to offer advice to the singers, and you can tell that most of them were star-struck about having a one-on-one with him. Let's get to it:Michael Sarver sang "Ain't Goin' Down Til the Sun Comes Up." He did a pretty good job with it, other than flubbing the lyrics a little in the middle. Randy Jackson liked the song, but wasn't sure about the vocals. Kara thought it was fun, but she missed the big notes. Paula thought the genre suited him, and Simon said it was clumsy and he couldn't understand the words. On a scale of 1 to 10, he'd give it 1.2. Really? It didn't seem that bad to me.
American Idol: Judges' Wild Card
by Jane Boursaw, posted Mar 6th 2009 12:15AM
This episode raised the hopes of a few, while simultaneously dashing the hope of many. For some, I shudder to think what they did after the show (cough*Tatiana*cough). There are three places left in the top 12 ... or... are there ... ? If you haven't watched the show yet, I guess you'll have to read to the end of this review to find out just how many people are actually in the top 12. Until then, the eight singers chosen to come back in the judges' Wild Card Round sang their little hearts out. Let's see how they fared ...
Jesse Langseth starts things off by singing "Tell Me Something Good." Her voice is bluesy, and she looks hot, too. You can tell she's really trying to bring it, and while Randy likes the song, he doesn't think she sang it that well. Kara likes her swagger. Paula is impressed with her tenacity and determination, and says she has a lot of soul. Simon says she's the last girl they chose for the Wild Card Round, and she sang a lot better than last time. But he thinks the song choice is "slightly indulgent." I have no idea what the judges mean when they say that, and Simon must be reading my mind, because he explains that it's all about the singer, when it should be about the judges. Wait...what?! In fact, WTF?! Moving right along...
American Idol: 3 of second 12 go through
by Jane Boursaw, posted Feb 27th 2009 1:12AM
People sure take American Idol seriously! 25 million voted last night, choosing the next three singers to advance to the top 12, joining Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey, and Michael Sarver. Based on the chosen three tonight, this is gearing up to be a great competition. So far, everyone can sing and there really aren't any Sanjayas in the group yet. Yes, Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle is a novelty act. but he can sing and he's really entertaining. But before we got to learn which three went through, the producers tortured us with yet another group number, with the Idols awkwardly dancing and singing Neo's "Closer." I'm not a big fan of the group numbers, and the singers don't look like they're having that much fun either.
American Idol: Hollywood Round #4
by Jane Boursaw, posted Feb 12th 2009 1:14AM
Hollywood Week continues, and the field has narrowed to 54 contestants, all vying for 36 spots in the official Season 8 lineup. But the Idol peeps switched things up by putting the judges in this giant house called "The Judge's Mansion" (???), and forcing contestants to take the long walk through the mansion and face the judges in a European parlor-type room. It's all very Vanity Fair-meets-Dallas. Anyhoo ...
Anoop Desai was first up, and the judges quickly moved him into season 8. "Love that kid," said Paula.
Von Smith addressed Simon's remark about his Hollywood Week song being "self-indulgent nonsense." But the pressure is off, at least for now, because Von made it through to the next round. And his mom couldn't be happier.
American Idol: NYC and San Juan Auditions
by Jane Boursaw, posted Jan 30th 2009 1:50AM
For this edition of American Idol, the crew traveled to New York City and San Juan, Puerto Rico. One of my favorite things about the auditions is seeing the expressions on the judges' faces – when they're witnessing true talent and also when they're being tortured by the voice of the devil.
Despite the distracting bobbing boat behind the judges (and a guy ON the boat at one point!), I tried to keep focused on the auditions in New York City. Let's get to it:
Adeola Adegoke, 19. She sang "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and she's so sure of her singing abilities that she quit her job. Bad move. Simon calls the audition "shockingly bad" and then calls her former boss to try and get her job back. Thank goodness it works. Adeola is going back to her day job instead of flying to Hollywood.
American Idol: Kansas City Auditions
by Jane Boursaw, posted Jan 15th 2009 12:34AM
(S08E02) Kona kicked off TV Squad's American Idol coverage last night, and the auditions are now in full swing. This episode found Ryan Seacrest and the judges in Kansas City, home of last year's American Idol winner David Cook. In fact, Ryan talked to David Cook's parents, who just happened to be walking down the street! Ok, not really, but they made it seem that way, which was kind of funny.
Also, included in the crowd of 11,000 people was Michael Castro, Jason Castro's brother. More on that later.
After the jump, the auditions...
AI7 Report Card: The season that was
by Jason Hughes, posted May 27th 2008 1:03PM
We scoured the earth (and the archives at various record companies for failed projects that showed vocal promise) to create the greatest assemblage of singing talent American Idol has ever seen! So what happened? After last year's virtual snooze-fest, how did a season that truly did give us perhaps the greatest depth of talent we've ever seen (an argument could be made for Season Five) give us such lackluster shows?After Sanjaya-gate last year, the biggest controversy to come out this year was that finalist David Hernandez used to be a stripper and David Archuleta's dad might be a Mr. Meany-Pants. And we got to be pissed that Kristy Lee Cook outlasted the likes of Michael Johns. Not until we got to the finale of Davids did things get really intense.
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American Idol outcome could have a deeper significance
by Debra McDuffee, posted May 22nd 2008 11:05AM
Like Jason wrote in his reviewcap of the American Idol finale, I too think that America got it right. But more than that, I think the outcome of last night's vote has some deeper significance to AI's future.First of all, it was not only a record-breaking number of votes, but the outcome was more distinct than in years past. That means that America really wanted David Cook to win. That's not to say David Archuletta can't belt out a good tune, but for America to pick the more original contestant who brought a unique style to everything he sang is notable.
The relevance to future Idols is this: If America actually picked the more talented contestant, the singer most likely to have a bang-up career, the hipper, cooler dude who should have had more appeal, then the future is bright for AI.
Idol Polls: The Top 2
by Jason Hughes, posted May 21st 2008 8:03PM
Welcome back to our weekly American Idol polls round-up. Each week we look at various online polls that were conducted from the end of last week's results up to the performance show Tuesday. And then a few that were conducted after the performance show, but before the results were revealed.This way we can analyze how the week's performances affected a contestant's overall popularity, which turns out to be not very much except in a few select cases anymore. And this week we're mixing it up a bit, bringing you this column before the "Results Show" airs. As this is our last time to look at polls, why not see how many, if any, properly predict the David that comes out on top. Personally, even though you won't see her on these lists, I think Syesha still found a way to come in last on all of them.
Which is the best American Idol finale?
by Anna Johns, posted May 21st 2008 6:06PM
Going into last night's finale of American Idol, I was very excited to see the Davids battle each other for the title. It was the first American Idol in a while that did not have an obvious winner at the outset. Even though it really was David Archuleta's night, I still hold out hope that David Cook might pull out a win. He's the one with the most potential and is the better performer. Little Archuleta has that killer voice, though.Anyway, last night's epic battle got me thinking about past American Idol finales and whether any of them were this much of a contest. It seems like we've gone into most of the American Idol finales with obvious winners. Here's a breakdown of the past American Idol finales, and whether they stack up to last night's performances:
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