sanjaya malakar

American Idol's season six winner Jordin Sparks and first runner-up Blake Lewis are hitting the studios to record their individual debut albums. With possible release dates as early as Thanksgiving, America will learn soon enough if the latest batch of Idols are "turkeys" or not.

Jordin said, "I'm trying to mix everything together. I'm loving all the songs I'm recording, so hopefully that will come off the album when you listen to it and you'll be able to feel the emotion."

I used to love watching Ozzy on The Osbournes, even if he did make about as much sense as Paula Abdul. But I guess Ozzy isn't as "out of it" as I thought. According the New York Post, Ozzy was scheduled to perform during the American Idol May 23rd finale, but canceled at the last minute when he found out he'd be singing a duet with Sanjaya Malakar.

Ozzy reportedly called Sanjaya "a hairstyle-challenged idiot" and refused "be on stage with that idiot." Aerosmith's Joe Perry apparently had no problem appearing on stage with the infamous Sanjaya.

With 70 million votes pouring in after last week's American Idol, it's pretty safe to say that hardcore fans of the show do exist.

Luckily, the American Idols Live tour dates were released yesterday and should help to alleviate the fan depression that comes along with the shows looming finale.

The tour is slated to occur between July 6th and September 22nd and lands at 50 different locations across the country and includes a stint in Canada.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Is romance blooming before our eyes on American Idol? For entertainment purposes, let's go with "yes!"
  
• Sanjaya has a theory about why men don't like him.
  
• Kevin Federline has been quiet lately but he's back in the news with a new job and some gems of K-Fed wisdom.
  

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Weeks ago, Simon declared that he'd quit if Sanjaya won American Idol. But now that Sanjaya is gone, it looks like even Simon has a soft spot for this season's most controversial contestant.

Simon reportedly said, "I do miss Sanjaya in a way. Even though I had problems with his vocals, I always looked forward to him coming on each week. I never knew what he'd wear or what he'd do."

I have to agree with Simon. I never cared for the kid's singing. But he did give us "something to talk about." And without controversy, isn't Idol just Star Search with phenomenal ratings?

Vote for the Worst may have lost Sanjaya, but after polling their fans, they've decided to throw their support behind Phil Stacey.

Phil gave one of his best performances during last week's country week. But other than that, his singing has been consistently uneven. He's also hampered by his pale looks, and is often compared to Nosferatu or Bat Boy. Phil, no stranger to the bottom three, might just hang on a bit longer with VFTW's support.

• Simon Cowell's London home was ransacked, with thieves making off with jewelry, silver, and electronic equipment. Simon left his house keys with building contractors who were working on his home, which the police called "unwise." Apparently, someone copied the keys and gained access to the house.

It was a little eerie to hear all the shouts for joy when Sanjaya's name was announced as the one to leave Idol this week -- even though I felt just as glad as the audience sounded.

And, while I was happy to see him go, I ran into him backstage on Wednesday, and that stripped away all the dehumanizing effects TV watching had on me. I felt a little guilty about being so happy and felt empathetic for the media blast he's got to face.

It's easy to look at the characters we see on TV and pick them apart, and sometimes we forget that that person is real. Well, in reality TV anyway. I'd forgotten until the other night when I saw the on-staff psychologist. Directly after you get the boot, you have an immediate counseling session. Poor guy -- he's gonna carry some scars around for a while.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• American Idol booted of Sanjaya, finally. I'm a little bit sad. I'll miss the drama.
  
• It's Thursday! That means Lost easter eggs and analyzing!
  

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On American Idol, Paula is the "sweet one." However, she wasn't so "sweet" on a recent Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Burbank, California. "She pulled a major diva trip," according to someone on the plane.

Paula annoyed her fellow passengers by demanding first-class treatment on a sold-out flight that didn't even have a first-class section. She tried to get special boarding treatment (reserved for those flying with young children, people with disabilities, and the elderly), declaring, "I'm famous! I need to go on first!"

Laughter erupted from fellow passengers after one of them shouted at her: "You're no Sanjaya! You have to board like everyone else."

After she finally boarded the plane, Paula reportedly kept her head down, and appeared to be "twitchy."

(S06E31) Tonight's episode starts with Simon Cowell setting the record straight about that unfortunate eyerolling V-Tech incident from last night. A sincere and apologetic Simon says, "I may not be the nicest person in the world, but I would never ever ever disrespect those families or those victims."

And then, to verify that Simon was talking to Paula about Chris' nasally singing and didn't hear what Chris said, they show us footage we didn't see on air last night. And the defense rests their case in the courtroom of public opinion. Ryan echoes what I said in my post earlier, that there would be less confusion, if Simon chatted less, and listened more during the show.

But enough about all that unpleasant business. Is Sanjaya going home or what?

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• So maybe I was a little off yesterday. Survivor is headed to China, not Canada.
  
• American Idol country night was a flop, but I'm getting good at guessing Sanjaya's next hair move.
  
• BBC Worldwide is teaming up with Live Aid founder Bob Geldof for a massive documentary on the history of humankind. Geldof is so excited he can't stop swearing about it.
  

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(S06E30) The show begins in a subdued mood tonight, with Ryan giving "our thoughts and prayers'' to all the people affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

However, the hush doesn't last long. The crowd is fired up. They really, really love their Top 7 Finalists. Not only do they boo Simon a lot throughout the night, but the angry horde also turns on Miss Paula. They boo loudly during her critique of LaKisha's shouting.

Meanwhile, Simon has obviously had ENOUGH of Sanjaya. He's done being nice. He's done holding back. He's done trying to ignore Sanjaya with the hopes he'll go away. All I can say is -- it's about time, Simon. It's no fun watching Idol, unless an outspoken Simon is "telling it like it is."

AND. THIS. IS. AMERICAN. IDOL.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• It's country night tonight on American Idol! And as if you needed another reason to watch, check out the commercials directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet.
  
• Survivor is seriously considering a cold-weather location for an upcoming season.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Haley Scarnato is talking about life after American Idol, and wearing other people's hair.
  
• Carson Daly is a Fanjaya! (And it's because of the hair?!)
  
• A scene from The Office causes Wikipedia major problems with their entry on "negotiation."
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Who is Olivia Mojica and why is she the focus of this week's American Idol scandal? Apparently, the Season Two contestant made a very lewd sex tape with her boyfriend and it's about to surface, courtesy of Vivid Entertainment. TMZ, of course, has the exclusive first look. Until this scandalous announcement, few of us remembered Olivia. Hopefully, a week from now, she will go back to being a footnote in Idol's history.