American Idol Recap: Numbers Games
One of the main mysteries of Lost centered around a set of inscrutable numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42), and now American Idol has its own enigmatic digits: 327, 168, 18, 5, and 0. Indeed, try as I might, I’m having a hard time making sense of the mathematical breakdown of tonight’s episode — which followed this season’s wannabe Carrie Underwoods and Kris Allens through the first round of Hollywood Week. Let’s review:
Read more at TV Line
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‘American Idol’ recap: Hooray for Hollywood Week
As “colossal pressure cast its shadow onstage, ” the misery of Hell Week was palpable. Couples therapist Ryan Seacrest chatted up various contestants as their most basic bodily functions failed them time and time again. People were dropping dead all over the place. They’d be going home to nothing. Why can’t you understand that?
Read more at EW
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Something Pitchy: ‘American Idol’ Saves Best for Last With San Francisco Auditions
Leave it to those crafty producers to leave one of the best audition episodes of the season ’till the very end. San Francisco was bursting with potential finalists, including automobile accident survivor Stefano Langone, Colombian refugee Julie Zorrilla and Asperger’s/Tourette sufferer James Durbin. OK, so maybe this line-up sounds more like an episode of ‘Dateline’ than ‘American Idol, ‘ but all three of these contestants backed-up their sob stories with solid performances. Myself, Rickey Yaneza of Rickey.org and MJ Santilli of MJ’s Big Blog reflect on all San Francisco had to offer (including the Autobot!) in this episode of ‘Something Pitchy.’
See the Video at TV Squad
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More Recaps after the JUMP…
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Seven Things American Idol Wants You To Know About Hollywood Week
After a lot of crying and a lot of craziness (and way more filler than any TV show should be allowed to contain), American Idol has made it to Hollywood Week! The judges seem happy about this development as well, gelling as a panel a bit more than during the audition process and getting into the idea of being authority figures to the young hopefuls placed in front of them. Steven Tyler frequently put on his glasses and gave himself a Serious Schoolmarm look while lecturing contestants on decorum; Jennifer Lopez stared down contestants intently; and Randy Jackson took on the Simon Cowell role of being The Real Talker. But it wasn’t just the contestants who had to learn about the ins and outs of the show; the audience was also treated to a few lessons about just how this season of Idol is going to pan out.
Read more at Popdust
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‘American Idol’ Hollywood Week Overtaken by Teenage Talent
As American Idol eased into Hollywood Week on Thursday, viewers were revisited by many of their favorite auditioners — and were forced to relive Season 10’s vast number of “sob stories.”
Nearly all of the contestants who won our sympathies — including favorites Chris Medina (from Milwaukee auditions), Paris Tassin (from New Orleans auditions) and James Durbin (from San Francisco auditions) — made it through this week, along with 184 others. Judges Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler trimmed the contestant pool down from 300 as “Idol” heads into group competition next week.???
Read more at THR
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‘American Idol’ Hollywood Round, Part 1 Recap
Double the contestants! Double the drama!
Welcome to Hollywood, kids, where lyrics are forgotten, tears are shed and dreams are crushed!
Actually, tonight’s first dip in the deadly Hollywood waters wasn’t all that shocking. As expected, the judges cut some of the lesser talent while keeping most of the early favorites on board for next week.
Read more at TV Squad
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American Idol, The Day After: San Francisco Recap
Last night’s final “American Idol” auditions offered a few San Francisco treats, but in the not-so-humble opinions of myself and my Yahoo! Entertainment colleague Matt Whitfield, “Idol” definitely did not save the best for last. Still, there were a few standouts, like hilarious karaoke host Clint Jun Gamboa and polarizing, Post-It-Note-dependent James Durbin…whom we discuss, quite passionately (and with props!) in today’s edition of “The Day After.”
Read more at Reality Rocks
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‘American Idol’ Recap: Hurray For Hollywood Week!
“Countless dreams will be tested [read: crushed] as we start this epic journey known as Hollywood Week, ” Ryan Seacrest gravely intoned in the cold open of Thursday’s “American Idol” episode. Yep, forget about Shark Week. When it comes to manufactured reality-TV calendar events, Hollywood Week is the one that always brings the drama. And so far, Season 10 appears to be no different.
Read more at Reality Rocks
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‘American Idol’: Serious Talent, Serious Cuts
Now, it gets serious. “American Idol” starts to get down to business.
The 327 Golden Ticket winners from the seven previous auditions in Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Nashville, Austin, L.A. and San Francisco, arrived in Hollywood, grouped in lines of 10, then separated into front and back rows, where the eliminations left 168 hopefuls, to eventually get cut down to 40.
Those lucky, mostly taletned 40 are apparently already known in the blogosphere, reported earlier this week in the N.Y. Post by way of Joe’s Place Blog, which claims 100% accuracy in predicting the Top 24 last year.
Read more at Fancast
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‘American Idol’ Hollywood Week: Lauren Alaina, More Survive Day One
Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before.
At the top of the first night of Hollywood Week on “American Idol” on Thursday (February 10), Randy Jackson and host Ryan Seacrest assured us that without a doubt, for sure, guaranteed, the 327 singers who snagged their golden tickets at the outset of season 10 are the very best group of singers they’ve ever had. Ever.
Read more at MTV
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‘American Idol’ Season 10: Hollywood Week Begins
It was time for some California-dreaming for 327 singers as Hollywood week kicked off on American Idol. At this stage of the competition it is do or die — no feed back for each singer and just one quick shot at continuing.
Ten at a time, singers took the stage. Each one stepped up, sang on their own and once they’d all taken a crack, they were told who in the group would stay and who would go.
Read more at Wall Street Journal
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‘American Idol’ goes to Hollywood: We watch so you don’t have to (video)
Countless dreams will be tested, epic journeys will be taken — it’s the start of our Hollywood Hell on “American Idol, ” show host Ryan Seacrest gloats Thursday.
With Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul, and Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen DeGeneres all gone, it’s left to “Idol’s” only surviving judge, Randy Jackson, to deliver the “the talent is most definitely better than ever” gag that traditionally kicks off the Hollywood elimination rounds.
Double the contestants, double the drama, says Seabiscuit. Double the talent, he adds – not realizing Randy already covered that base.
Read more at Washington Post
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‘American Idol’ Recap: Hollywood Week Thins The Herd, Hurts The Ears
Thursday night (February 10) kicked off Hollywood Week on “American Idol, ” where water bottles are liberally used as microphones, pajamas are considered appropriate TV attire and the judges can cut all the sad sacks with sob stories who they felt guilted into advancing the first time.
In other words, this is my now.
Seacrest knows what’s up. In the intro, he wistfully intoned, “Countless dreams will be tested as we start this epic journey.” I salivated with anticipation. (I also shuddered when I tried to imagine my dreams being tested. Please don’t test that one dream where I’m a house cat and I get to sleep and snuggle 23 hours a day, Seacrest. It’s my favorite ever! Purrrr.)
Read more at MTV
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Hollywood Part 1: So Much VFTW Potential
Hollywood week is where the drama begins. It’s also where Randy Jackson always says, “This year is better than ever.” Which he did again. But since these episodes are just a blur of people off and on, there isn’t really a lot for me to write about. But I can talk about the people who made it past this week while showing VFTW potential (which is basically everyone).
Rachel Zevita is awesome by just showing up. That’s that.
Brett Loewenstern, Teen Carrot Top, is really awful looking and his voice is really shaky and odd. This guy has VFTW written all over him and his caricature kind of draws itself.
Read more at VFTW
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Paul F. Tompkins Recaps the Kickoff of American Idol’s Hollywood Week
Welcome back to all of you who’ve stuck it out with me since the beginning. And a special welcome to all of you new readers, the cowards who didn’t have the emotional fortitude to suffer through the audition episodes! Please collect your feathers in the comments section. Four each.
At last, it’s Hollywood week! 327 contestants will parade across the stage, but only none of them can justify this arbitrary number of people. 327? This truly is idiotic. A flat hundred would have been overkill. But okay, you need a ton of people to drag the show out, I get it. Let’s say I spot you an extra couple hundred people. Do you really need the final TWENTY-SEVEN?
Read more at New York Magazine
