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The Amazing Race airs tonight on CBS at 8 pm. Plus, check out Celebrity Apprentice at 9 pm on NBC. Watch for our recaps!

American Idol Surges on Social Media – Despite dropping about 30 percent in the ratings year-to-year, Fox’s “American Idol” attained the top spot in social media mentions among all Broadcast programs for the week of March 4. Including a special Tuesday night (March 5th) episode, it was the program’s first week for the public to vote for the contestants, as they went from the top 20 to the top 10. Even Fox’s “Glee,” which aired following a special 90-minute “Idol” results show announcing the official top 10, got a boost, placing 6th among broadcast. – Read more at Media Insights

American Idol singer Haley Reinhart to put out new EP – The singer, who was in town to promote the 12th season of Idol, which is currently airing on cable TV here, told Life! last Friday of her new material: “I think there will be elements that will be different about the music as a whole (compared to Listen Up!), but it will still have soulfulness to it.” She said there is no release date for the EP as yet, but it is something she is working to put out as soon as possible. Read more at Straits Times

Q&A: Curtis Finch, Jr. Defends Nicki, Talks Post-’American Idol’ Plans – The first of the Top 10 was sent home Thursday night when gospel singer Curtis Finch, Jr. was voted off “American Idol.” Though she was absent from her judges seat during his performance the night before, Nicki Minaj told the St. Louis native that if he got sent home, she was going home. It was revealed that Curtis was in fact in last place and was therefore given a chance to sing for his job. Despite the audience’s pleas to “Save, save, save” him, the judges did not come to an agreement and Curtis was eliminated. In true diva fashion, Minaj blurted out “Are you kidding me?” and got out of her set as if she were going to leave. Minaj calmed down and retreated back to the bench but maintained her position that America had made a bad call. – Read more at Billboard.com

Haley Reinhart – ‘I don’t regret any of it’ – “They really let me do things freely. They let me write an album that I wanted to write and now I’m just going to continue doing that… I’ll just look for a place that really connects with me as an artist and find exactly where I sit. “It was the start of something amazing and I got to release an entire album with their support, so it was great,” said the singer. Not having a record label isn’t stopping Reinhart from achieving her dreams as her schedule continues to be packed. Reinhart said: “Aside from being in awesome Singapore (to celebrate FOX International Channel’s welcoming of Sports to their family), I’ve got this Fight Night gig coming up where we honour (former heavyweight boxing great) Muhammad Ali, which will be held in Arizona, and after that we’re headed to Japan and Bali too. Read more at AsiaOne

Bucky Covington One Of The “Good Guys” – Bucky Covington was ecstatic on Saturday August 11th when he got the chance to drive a Legends Race Car and play a full band show for fans at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, all in support of Help The Good Guys. Although Covington only got a few practice laps the week before the race, he had a strong finish in the middle of the pack with no damage to the car. The track presented Bucky with a 7-foot tall trophy to recognize his work on behalf of Help The Good Guys, an organization that supports fire fighters injured in the line of duty. Also, attendance at the Fairgrounds Speedway was boosted because of the Covington’s involvement in the weekend’s festivities, reaching a final count of over 10,000 spectators. – Read more at Nashville.com

What a cute carry-on! Katharine McPhee totes around her two chihuahuas in her handbag as she arrives in Los Angeles to work on her music – Once Katharine had exited the airport she put her dogs on a lead and let them walk on the floor. The 28-year-old star was dressed in a monochrome palette teaming a leather biker jacket with a white lace maxi skirt. The skirt consisted of very little and Kartharine wore a long cotton vest dress underneath and stepped out in black ankle boots. – See more at The Daily Mail

‘Smash,’ ‘Amazing Race’ Win GLAAD Awards – The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation honored NBC’s Smash and CBS’ The Amazing Race during a ceremony Saturday. The New York leg of the watchdog group’s 24th annual Media Awards series also honored the documentary How to Survive a Plague, and saw Madonna present Anderson Cooper with GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award, which honors openly gay media professionals who have made a difference in promoting equality. (WHAT THE HELL IS MADONNA WEARING?) – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter

‘Smash’ Producers ‘Disappointed’ by Viewership, Stars Urge Fans to Rally – “The future is still up in the air. We’re very disappointed that not many more people are watching it because we think it’s a very ambitious show and we think that people should watch it,” executive producer Neil Meron told The Hollywood Reporter at the GLAAD ceremony. “It’s ambitious, it’s musical, it really is a terrific show and we just want to get more word out.” – Read more at Hollywood Reporter