‘American Idol’: On the scene for the Top 3 results
Can I just tell you that after last night’s results show was over; after Ryan told Kris Allen he had become the first Idol cannon fodder to have a real shot at winning the whole shebang (as opposed to, you know, Diana DeGarmo); after Danny Gokey learned his fairy tale story — i.e. going from true tragedy to the fleeting “triumph” of becoming a judges’ favorite on a reality singing competition show — had ended in third place; and after Simon caused viewers everywhere to make a bumble-fuzzed “wuzzah?” face when he called next week’s finale a “big ding-dong, ” I witnessed one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen in my three years of covering this infuriating, invigorating national obsession. The moment the show was off the air, Kris Allen’s mother raced over to Adam Lambert’s mother and the two women gave each other pretty much the biggest Proud-Mamas hug ever. I could’ve sworn my snark demon Smirkelstiltskin had a tear in his eye, although that probably was just because he’d no longer have the pleasure of watching Danny Gokey “meditate” by placing a single finger upon his stubbly chin.
‘American Idol’ In 60 Seconds
‘American Idol’ Recap: Adam Lambert Vs. Kris Allen
This week concludes with Danny Gokey being voted off, leaving Adam Lambert and Kris Allen to battle it out for the top spot. (5.14.09)
It Adam vs. Kris in ‹Ameican Idol final
So much for that Adam Lambert-Danny Gokey final that Paula Abdul predicted months ago.
After more than 50 minutes of video clips, guest performances and lots of random filler and product placement, Kris Allen was the first of the three remaining contestants to hear hed made the finals, which shocked both him and the judges. That left Adam and Danny fighting for one spot, and Adam is the one who will join Kris in next week finale.
More Headlines after the JUMP…
‘American Idol’ recap: It’s Shock-Tale Hour!
You see, for 10 weeks running now, Paula, Simon, Randy, and Kara have been marching in lockstep and beating the drums for a Danny-vs.-Adam Lambert showdown. Oh sure, Paula and Simon offered less subtle sound bites than their colleagues, but everybody ultimately seemed to be working from the same script. There was Paula, dancing around the ankles of her favored duo like an overstimulated Chihuahua, intermittently reminding them since Top 13 week that she’d see ’em in the finale. Simon, meanwhile, seemed contractually bound to predict a Danny-Adam face-off during every media appearance he’s made dating back to mid-March. Randy earned himself an Emmy consideration last week for convincingly giving Danny an ”A for effort” despite the fact that his ”Dream On” caused a widespread wave of PTSD among Aerosmith fans nationwide. And Kara’s semifinal mantra (”You give us all hope!”) set the ridiculous tone for her season of superlative Gokey praise.
Ann Powers: Danny Boy, the pipes are calling
Dannygokey3 When I was a kid, my dad used to sit me and my brother on his knee and sing us the saddest song in the universe. It was “Danny Boy” — that old Irish ballad of familial separation, which begins with a haunting call away and ends in a graveyard. I still get misty every time I hear that upward-drifting cadence. So it’s no surprise that it came to mind when Danny Gokey was voted off “Idol” tonight.
Gokey’s story was the saddest song of this year’s competition, maybe in its history. Entering the battle just a month after his young wife, Sofia, died from a congenital heart ailment, Gokey carried his grief in his slightly bent shoulders and his gruff, dusky voice. I was no fan of Gokey ‘ I found his singing style overly forceful and manneristic, and many of his musical choices sentimental. But I respect his ability to translate his own pain into blue notes so many others could feel.
American Idol: Thoughts on last night’s results
I was too busy watching “Lost” last night to so much as glance at “American Idol, ” but I know who was eliminated, and who’s in the final two. If you want a recap of what happened, go read Fienberg, but after the jump, I’ll offer up some quick thoughts on the result, and where I think the Top 2 stand…
So, Danny Gokey goes home, and Adam and Kris are our final two. That seems right to me. While Danny looked like the obvious frontrunner back in the semi-finals — he had the double backstory (dead wife, plus the friendship with Jamar), the love of the judges, and a killer voice — he never really evolved, never surprised, never delivered the kind of show-stopping performance that both Adam and Kris provided from time to time, and he seemed least connected to contemporary pop music. Like I said last night, he was a younger, somewhat better Taylor Hicks, and we know how Taylor’s career has worked out.
‘American Idol’ recap: It’s Reigning Men!
Let’s begin our recap of American Idol’s eighth-season Top 3 performance night with a quiz:
Which of the following unexpected events and scenes did NOT play out during tonight’s Idol telecast?
A. A fearsome howler monkey wrestled the mic away from a backup singer and offered aggressive, unwanted support to Adam Lambert as he performed Aerosmith’s ”Cryin’.”
B. Kris Allen swiped some nailpolish off the top of Adam’s dresser.
C. Simon upgraded from bargain-store undershirt to an elegant, tailored suit.
D. Randy was the least annoying member of the judges’ panel.
E. Ryan’s play-by-play included the exclamation: ”Paula’s just punched Simon in the left breast.”
…American Idol Is Ready To Be Heartless
kris-allen-01-2009-05-12Only three people left on American Idol! And it was the 300th episode! And there was a shoutout to …Idol Gives Back even though that episode was canceled last year! And the judges spent way too much time fighting, because they are a bunch of children who cant stand the idea of their time in the spotlight coming to an end next week. Ratings and reactions after the jump.
Ryan Seacrest: Please end the gay-baiting banter on ‘American Idol’
Much like the ritualistic baring of Paula’s cleavage and the mind-numbing critiques of Randy Jackson, ugly gay-baiting banter between Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell is a time-honored American Idol tradition.
This season, however, has been mercifully light on ”Ewww! You’re a homo!” back-and-forth. That is, until last night, when during a discussion of Danny Gokey’s boogie moves, Ryan tried to score a laugh by declaring, “I love it when Simon criticizes dancing. Randy, we’ve seen [Simon] dance in Vegas in those heels he wears. Not really a lot of rhythm.” Really, Ryan? In 2009, you’re still courting Emmy nominations as Best Reality-Show host by using tired cross-dressing barbs?
Did Simon Cowell’s Lobbying For Adam Lambert Cross The Line?
If you watched Tuesday night’s “American Idol, ” you’re no doubt buzzing about Kris Allen’s left-field take on Kanye West’s “Heartless.” But you’re probably also talking about the actions ‘ and comments ‘ of Simon Cowell.
The cantankerous “Idol” judge spent the early portion of Tuesday’s show sparring with fellow judges Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson, and closed the night out by openly campaigning for contestant Adam Lambert, telling viewers to “take nothing for granted” and vote the flamboyant singer into next week’s finale.
How Adam Lambert Single-Handedly Saved …American Idol
Rob Sheffield complete American Idol piece, …Whole Lotta Lambert, is on newsstands now in our new issue. He will also take over RollingStone.com to live blog the Idol finale on May 20th.
American Idol is back on top, and it all one little black-leather-clad demon prince fault. For the past few seasons, Idol seemed to be dying of boredom, but Adam Lambert, a goth studlet with mascara, black nail polish and a falsetto from deep in the larynx of Lucifer, has single-handedly rescued the franchise. He can do sincerity and ridiculosity all at once, exactly the algorithm Idol has been striving for all these years. Lambert combines the different Idol archetypes, delivering the complete star thrill heretofore doled out one sliver at a time. He has the burning …say my name, bitch thing of Chris Daughtry, the cutthroat vanity of a Carrie Underwood, but also that innocent desire to give pleasure à la Kelly Clarkson. He packs a whole Gong Show of Americana into one pair of striped spandex tights.
VIDEO: Allison Iraheta: Adam Lambert’s “Like My Older Brother”
“[On the show], it felt like I was with my three older brothers, ” Iraheta, 17, tells Usmagazine.com in an exclusive interview. “We’re like family — they’d tease me and pick on me, but I’d do the same. It was pretty awesome being the only girl with the guys.” (Watch a clip above.)
One contestant she developed an especially close bond with? Front-runner Adam Lambert, with whom she performed on the May 5 episode.
“We got closer when we did the [“Slow Ride”] duet, ” she explains, adding that the pair’s performance was one of her fondest memories from her run on the series. “We’re definitely thinking about singing it on tour, because we had a blast!”
VIDEO: Idol’s Allison Reveals Her Fave Performance, Answers Reader Questions
In Part 1 of our video Q&A with Allison Iraheta, the American Idol castoff shared her satisfaction in sassing Simon, and addressed talk that she’s already been signed by a label.
Here in Part 2, Allison reveals her favorite performance, and also ponders if there is one that she’d like to take back! The spitfire 17-year-old then answers TVGuide.com reader questions about being the only girl in the Top 4, and her album plans.
Allison then wraps things up by reacting to the props given her by Season 1 Idol Kelly Clarkson as well as Reba McIntyre.
Watch it all below.
Idol talk
Anoop Desai, in a half-an-hour phone-a-thon from the US, talks about his life post-American Idol
For the millions of American Idol fans around the world, the name Anoop Manoj Desai more than just rings a bell. Born and raised in North Carolina, Anoop Desai or ‹Noop Dogg as the judges christened him on the show, finished sixth on the popular talent hunt show. The show has brought to the fore some of the best talents seen in recent times. Beginning with Jennifer Hudson, the Grammy-cum-Oscar winner, to Kelly Clarkson to Chris Daughtry, all of whom have been able to establish themselves and carve a niche for themselves in this big, bad world of music.
David Cook Fans Leave Condolences at Blue Springs City Hall
BLUE SPRINGS, MO. – David Cook’s fans have left no stone unturned as they try to express support for him following the loss of his brother, Adam.
Since Adam Cook’s death from brain cancer, Blue Springs City Hall has gotten calls, cards and messages from fans who think they have a line on the singer.
City Spokesperson Merideth Parrish told the Blue Springs Examiner “It’s amazing and touching what people do.” But, she said, the city doesn’t have direct contact with David. “We get people who drop off messages even to the parks and recreation department, ” Parrish told the paper.
David Archuleta impressed by Kapuso singers
American Idol Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta brought the house down when he performed live on the GMA-7 morning show SIS Thursday morning.
Singers from the Kapuso Network serenaded him with their interpretation of David’s own songs and American Idol hits like Crush, Long and Winding Road, And I Am Telling You, Angels, and Touch My Hand.
David narrated that he started to sing at the tender age of six. “First thing that got me into music pretty much was when I watched the 10th anniversary tour of Les Miserables. I was 6 and I couldn’t stop watching it!”
The first song he learned, also from Les Miserables, was “Castle on the Cloud.”
American Idol stars checked for H1N1 flu in Philippines
MANILA – The two top contenders from last season’s hit US television show “American Idol” faced H1N1 flu checks by government doctors after landing in the Philippines to perform a concert, officials said Thursday.
David Cook and David Archuleta, winner and runner-up respectively of the seventh season of the highly popular reality show, immediately consulted their lawyers when quarantine officials came knocking as they rested in their hotel rooms late Wednesday, a day after arriving in the Philippines.
The officials were enforcing health regulations aimed at keeping the Southeast Asian nation of 90 million people free of the A(H1N1) virus, said Edgardo Sabitsana, director of the quarantine bureau.
Stars morph into fans as Archuleta drops by GMA
MANILA, Philippines – And the stars morphed into fans when David Archuleta wowed the crowd at GMA Network …SIS” on Thursday.
As the first runner-up of “American Idol Season 7” whisked the red carpet, hordes of adulating fans, mostly relatives of GMA employees, became amateur paparazzi clicking their digital cameras and camera phones to freeze the image of the adorable 18-year-old celebrity with a mega-watt smile.
Wild Filipino welcome for 2 American idols
MANILA, Philippines’ It was …pandemonium.
This was how an organizer described the welcome American Idol Season 7 winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta received at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Tuesday.
The two Davids are in Manila for a joint concert at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) in Pasay City on May 16.
Cook arrived at 1:15 p.m. on a Singapore Airlines flight from Los Angeles. Archuleta came in two hours later via Qatar Airways from London, where he had a concert.
Justin Guarini Still Hopes To Be On ‘New Moon’ Soundtrack
Long before rumors emerged that Kelly Clarkson may have a song on the “New Moon” soundtrack, fellow “American Idol” alum and “From Justin to Kelly” co-star Justin Guarini was launching a campaign to get his song “I Can’t Live” on the album for “Twilight” sequel.
Believe it or not, Guarini insists that he’s not just trying to bank on the success of the franchise. He says it’s because he’s a big “Twilight” fan. “I’m a fan of the books, ” Guarini told MTV News. “At the time I went in to write this song, the two other writers were talking about the books, and we got into a conversation about it. As we were writing it, we thought, there’s a new movie coming out, and so why not give it a shot? And so, we sent it in.”
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Season 5 American Idol alum Mandisa is walking lighter these days.
Since she began her weight-loss journey last August, she’s dropped an impressive 75 pounds’ and is still going, with hopes of losing more than 100. While she’s worked long and hard on this physical transformation (including seriously cutting back on her guilty pleasures: McDonald’s french fries, Wendy’s Classic Double with cheese and no onions, and Dairy Queen Heath Blizzards), it’s the change you can’t see that prompted her to title her new album Freedom.
“I don’t just have a weight problem, ” Mandisa explains. “I have a food addiction. So the emotional and spiritual elements have been the most difficult part of this journey by far.”
Love Is
The bear-huggable American Idol champ is in predictably fine voice on his fourth studio set, Love Is, a romance-themed mix of crafty originals and sturdy covers (including ”The Long and Winding Road”). Yet Ruben Studdard also takes some unexpected stylistic chances here, giving Ne-Yo a run for his dance-pop money on the StarGate-produced ”How You Make Me Feel” and working with country star John Rich on a totally gorgeous rendition of Extreme’s ”More Than Words.” The Ray Charles of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music would be proud. B+
Jennifer Hudson Reveals Memories of Her Slain Mother
Barely seven months after her mother, brother and nephew were murdered in Chicago, Jennifer Hudson is opening up about her relationship with her mom, Darnell Donerson.
“I was always a mama’s baby, ” Hudson tells Essence in the magazine’s June cover story. “I’d go and sleep in her bed until I was 15 years old.”
The singer’s fiancà © David Otunga tells the magazine that one of Hudson’s biggest concerns after she decided to throw herself back into work ‘ she’s promoting her debut album and touring with Robin Thicke ‘ was the thought of having to answer questions about the loss of her family.
Katharine McPhee Is Surprised By Aggressive Woman
Former American Idol runner up, Katharine McPhee was running a few errands yesterday, when she ran into a gaggle of paparazzi. What she didn’t expect was that a stranger would take control of the situation in a way that was maybe a little to “hands on” for Katharine.
Katharine was surprised and startled by a woman who took it upon herself to make sure she made it through the photographer crowed. The lady was shoeing them away from her and then suddenly grabs McPhee by the arm and runs with her.
Idol Contestant Brooke White in Hutto
Former American Idol contestant Brooke White preformed for students at Hutto High School on Wednesday. White performed at the school because three students won the …I Dont Want to Miss PSA contest.
Joel Rothrock, Thomas Billington, and Sterling Roth won the contest sponsored by Clorox. The students submitted videos on what they would not want to miss if they had a cold of flu.
Mom’s memory lives on
American Idol has produced another hit-maker in Elliot Yamin. The singer exemplifies the Clay Aiken rule: winning American Idol is not necessary to become a star.
Elliott Yamin’s Fight for Love is in stores nowSince his 2006 Idol debut, Yamin has charmed audiences.
Yamin is now releasing his second album, Fight For Love.
Yamin called to dish on life after American Idol, his maternal influence that shines with him even after his mother’s March 30 passing and why Season 8 Allison Iraheta has nothing to worry about at all. …She going to be huge, Yamin says from his Los Angeles home.
DWTS’ Ty Murray: “It Was Time for Me to Get Out of the Way”
After several weeks of less-than-stellar scores, Ty Murray was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars Tuesday.
The bull rider, 39, and his dance partner, Chelsie Hightower, came into the semifinal results show in last place — with 48 points out of 60.
Still, he tells Usmagazine.com that he’s ready to move on.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m tired of learning dances! I’m so glad I don’t have to learn two more this week, I really am, ” he tells Us. “But if America had kept us on, that would be motivation. I could have bared down one more week. But I don’t have a dancer’s bone in my body.
He also admits that the final celebrity dancers remaining — actor Gilles Marini, The Bachelor’s Melissa Rycroft and Olympian Shawn Johnson — deserve to continue on.
“SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE” BEGINS SEASON SIX AUDITIONS THURSDAY, MAY 28 IN BOSTON
Auditions Also Set for Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City
The original dance show, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, announces audition cities and dates for the series’ sensational sixth season. Auditions for Season Six will begin Thursday, May 28 in Boston, and producers will continue their search for America’s Favorite Dancer Monday, June 1 in Atlanta; Friday, June 12 in Los Angeles; and Friday, July 24 in Salt Lake City. Additional cities and venue details will be announced soon. A
uditions for the sixth season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE will be held as follows:
