Paula Abdul: No One Can Replace Me on ‘American Idol’
Call her the unsinkable Paula Abdul. During eight seasons of “American Idol” there have been over 300 episodes filmed, thousands of ambitious contestants judged and jilted, and any number of controversies involving judge Abdul.
The award-winning choreographer and recording artist has helped make “American Idol” the number one show in the U.S., with 20 million people tuning in each week. From week one, Abdul has played the role of the “nice” judge, the person to whom contestants can turn for a kind word when the notoriously tough — some might even say nasty — Simon Cowell pounces.
Kara DioGuardi: I Quit!
On last night’s American Idol live broadcast, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson did very little to hide their disdain of new judge Kara DioGuardi.
When Kara interrupted Randy’s critique of Kris Allen’s performance, the irritated dawg shot a look down the table to Simon, who not-so-subtly proceeded to flip his middle finger (while pretending to scratch his ear) at Kara while she spoke.
Kara DioGuardi Opens Up About Eating Disorder
Kara DioGuardi was treated for an eating disorder, she admits in a new revealing interview.
“I’ve never spoken about this. I had kind of a binge eating disorder where, instead of dealing with my emotions, I would stuff them down with food, ” the American Idol judge tells Extra.
“I never threw up or starved myself, ” continues DioGuardi. “It was an eating disorder. I actually went into a treatment center for it…I would get up and eat in the middle of the night.”
DioGuardi blames her food problems on insecurity while growing up.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Two singers sent home on ‹American Idol
The …American Idol field was reduced to five on Wednesday, as two more singers were sent home. That marked the end of the road for one early favorite and for one singer who spent weeks barely hanging on.
Lil Rounds lost her mojo on Motown Week and never got it back, turning from one of the show’s leading contenders into the singer who most exasperated the judges. She ran out of chances to rebound, and Tuesday disco night proved to be the straw that broke the voters dialing and texting fingers.
‘American Idol’: On the scene for Top 7.2 results night
Idoldome. Tonight. Had people. In it. Archie sang. Screaming happened. I am being brusque. Just like how Ryan tossed Lil Rounds to the curb. She had kids. She was courageous. And outspoken. She had a lot of fun up there. She is now dead to us. And Anoop left. He’ll be missed. Maybe not as much as his parents. But still. This message was brought to you by Ford, Coca-Cola, and iTunes. Catch me on tour this summer. More after the jump. Like how Allison Iraheta is my new personal life guru. Disco Night. Fever. Catch it. Wow. It’s a lot easier to write like this.
We now return you to my regularly-scheduled run-on sentences…
‘American Idol’ Recap: Double whammy!
Contrary to widespread rumors of its untimely demise, disco hasn’t died. In fact, tonight, the erstwhile superstar got its AARP card, some ill-fitting, age-inappropriate clothing, and a performance slot on American Idol’s results-show telecast.
Sigh. As a longstanding disco fan ‘ uh-huh, you read that right! ‘ it pains me to say that the lowest point of tonight’s particularly abominable results-show telecast had to be the medley of dance classics from Freda Payne, Thelma Houston, and KC (controversially operating sans Sunshine Band).
Phil Stacey blog: Double elimination is here
My guess is now that the judges’ “save” has been used up, we are in for a surprise elimination tonight. Seemingly, Matt, Lil and Anoop have all been on the brink of elimination for quite some time now, but it just feels like only one of them will go home tonight.
Many may remember I was eliminated on a double elimination much like tonight. The producers spared us all after the first “Idol Gives Back” episode. Had only one of us gone home, it is entirely possibly, if not unlikely, that Chris Richardson or myself could have stayed and made it into the Top 4 ‘ or even further! But the twist does make it interesting.
American Idol’: The ill-fated destinies of Anoop and Lil Rounds
“American Idol’s” eighth season took a big lurch closer to its final act as the journeys of Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds came to an end in a rare double elimination on Wednesday night. The extra body count was required after last week first-ever invocation of the “save rule” by the judges, which prevented piano player Matt Giraud from being sent home.
The save proved valuable for Giraud, who despite drawing mixed reviews with a performance of “Stayin Alive” in Tuesday’s Disco Week show, sailed through to the Top 5.
Lil_tonight3 The eliminations came after 45 million votes were cast this week, a total host Ryan Seacrest called “record-breaking, ” though it was not immediately clear what record was broken.
Idol Casts Out Two Contestants, Celebrates Swedish Indie Pop
Last night’s episode of American Idol provided a double dose of rejection, with Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds both getting the boot following the judges’ decision to save Matthew Giraud from elimination last week. Though we are somewhat disappointed to see Anoop axed at this stage of the competition, our major point of interest in the episode was actually the song used in the typically cheesy Ford-sponsored music-video spot featuring all of the remaining contestants ‘ Lykke Li’s blog pop mini-hit “I’m Good, I’m Gone.” Clearly this is a very good week for Swedish pop, what with Robyn turning up on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and Li getting major exposure on the most popular television show in America. If these sort of things come in threes, perhaps Fever Ray will turn up in an episode of Two and a Half Men, or RÃ ¶yksopp will be announced as Jay Leno’s new house band. You can check out the Idol cast’s take on the Lykke Li song after the jump.
Anoop Desai: In Memoriam
Last night American Idol saw the exits of two contestants, as well as a bunch of weird stuff that made me wonder if Paula Abdul had secretly added producing the show to her choreography duties. There was a little bit of old (the disco medley that trotted out a bunch of disco-era stars, who were definitely not lipsyncing), a little bit of new (Lykke Li …Im Good, Im Gone soundtracking the Ford ad), and a ghost of last year Idol (David Archuleta, who was forced to fill a minute with an awkward pep talk about Idol-derived …opportunities for this week elimination candidates). Lil Rounds, as expected, went home, and was informed that she would be doing so in an elimination sequence that was as awkward as it was short. And then there was Anoop Desai, who had an off performance this week but who really deserved better from the judges during the course of the competition.
Kris Allen Takes His Disco Ball To The Streets
Last night, American Idol showed the world just how finger-on-the-pulse its method for finding this country newest music superstar was by holding Disco Night, in which Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, and Yvonne Elliman finally got their due. The night went pretty much as expected’Lil went diva, Danny was cheesy, Adam rendered a radio staple somewhat unrecognizable in a good way’although one surprising development came when Kris Allen took the stage, and maybe the front-runner position as well.
American Idol: Disco? Balls.
So Disco Night happened on American Idol. Everyone still with us? Ten toes, ten fingers? All right, good. We made it. That wasn’t so bad, was it? I mean, it could have been much worse.
I mean, what is Disco, really? The anthem of annihilation. The dizzying denouement of America’s golden age. Look, everyone! Our clothes are getting uglier and so are our cars and our buildings and no one cares about the small stuff anymore, and cities will soon be shopping malls, so let’s just boogie our behinds off and shove drugs up our noses. That’s kind of what Disco was! Or is! Or I don’t know!
Allison Iraheta’s Family Watch ‘Idol’ Hopeful ‘Living Her Dream’
LOS ANGELES ‘ Allison Iraheta is setting the “American Idol” stage on fire all by herself. The 16-year-old dynamo has consistently wowed the judges with her powerful pipes and preternaturally mature attitude. But just in case, her family gathers every week to cheer her on and wear out their fingers voting for the singer who grew up wanting to be the next Kelly Clarkson.
“Family and friends come every Tuesday to watch the show, ” said Allison’s sister, Sarah Iraheta, a science teacher at Animo Ralph Bunche Charter High School in Los Angeles, where the younger Iraheta is a student. “And after we watch the show, we get our voting fingers ready and vote for two hours to try and get as many votes in for Allison.”
Ann Powers: Why Adam couldn’t go disco on disco night
For many faithful fans (and one judge, considering Paula Abdul’s absorption in his every move), this year’s “Idol” has exactly one contestant: Adam Lambert. Others may earn our affection, and even sometimes even impress. But compared with the 26-year-old former chorus boy with the glam-punk mop and unearthly vocal range, they all fall somewhere between “average” and “decent.” America may love Danny Gokey like a brother and think Allison Iraheta is pretty cool, but in Lambert they confront something never before seen on the show: the kind of pop star who can change people’s lives.
Kris Allen’s ‘She Works Hard For The Money’: The Story Behind The Cover
Kris Allen was nervous about disco night on “American Idol.” The shy 23-year-old from Conway, Arkansas, has made a name on “Idol” with his measured, Jason Mraz-ish, blue-eyed-funk sound, but he said Tuesday that taking on a tune from the boogie-fever era made him a bit tense.
But borrowing a page from the trailblazing book of this year’s leader of the “Idol” pack, Adam Lambert, Allen showed his versatility by turning Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money” on its head and completely reinventing the song. Switching it up Santana-style, Allen strummed his acoustic guitar on a stripped-down arrangement in which he was joined by a pair of percussionists and an electric bass player for a salsa-fied take that was more John Mayer than John Travolta.
Danny Gokey needs to shake it up…or else
Very early on, it seemed to me that Danny Gokey was a lock to be in the finals for American Idol. He has a great voice, a compelling story, a nice personality that comes across the TV screen, and unless he completely screws it up, Danny is going to be there for the really big finale shows. However, after last night’s tepid performance of “September” — or as Kona put it, he’s the “best wedding singer ever” — I have real concerns about Danny.
‘Idol’ mania strikes Faulkner County
Conway’s Kris Allen brought the Farris Center to its feet Tuesday at the official Kris Allen watch party for American Idol.
The watch party was organized by a task force made up of local business people, community leaders and friends of Allen. It was held at the University of Central Arkansas’ Farris Center. Scores of fans came out to support the Conway resident and UCA student who has made it into the top seven contestants and hopes to survive through Tuesday night’s double elimination, the results of which will be made known tonight.
UCA freshmen Krista Boncheff and Katie Jones were in the crowd. Both have been pleased with Allen’s success.
‹Idol run of changes make disjointed season
Is there something wrong with “American Idol”?
Lately, something seems off, like the show is fidgeting and can’t quite find its groove. Since the start of the current season, “Idol” has been peppered with a steady diet of small changes that subtly suggest a newfound crisis of confidence.
How else to explain the events of movie-song night, when it was decided that each contestant would face the wrath of only two judges? The official explanation was that it was to prevent the show from running long yet again. For that to make sense, though, you’d have to assume that nobody who works for “Idol” has ever heard of such concepts as “editing” and “cutting down on the filler.” (It’s “Idol, ” so they may not have.)
American Idol: How Pepsi Blew It
What would Fox’s “American Idol” be without all those cups of Coke in front of the judges and red bubbles splashed across various backgrounds?
It was supposed to be Pepsi.
“I remember trying to sell the idea of the program to a guy named Rick Rock at PepsiCo, ” Nigel Lythgoe, the show’s co-creator, told me. Lythgoe is co-sponsor of Brit Week in Los Angeles this week (more on that later). But as this season’s “Idol” heads into the final stretch-Lythgoe left the show last year-we spent a little time talking about the early part of this decade, when Lythgoe and his team came to America pitching the idea of a TV singing contest like no other. It seemed an easy sell.
They just couldn’t sell it to Pepsi.
Has a Brit knocked ‘Idol’ off its pedestal?
Does Simon even love us anymore?
Look at his face as he watches Susan Boyle, the dowdy never-been-kissed global singing sensation, on stage in Britain’s Got Talent (about 70 million have already).
No smirk. No sneer. No boredom. He believes. He is nearly transcendent. He is not wondering why he is sitting there. He is not doing anyone a favor.
He likes Les Miz.
Whereas we, American Idol nation, are like cynics in the headlights, caught mid-snark, yukking it up over the blind guy, voting for the worst, clucking over our tattoo Barbie Megan Joy, choosing from a pool of people who seemed to have already formed their backstory on YouTube.
‹American Idol Trading Cards Make Us Forget Ken Griffey Jr.
This morning, as I was digging through my mail and beginning phase two of my Master Cleanse, I came across a package from Upper Deck, the makers of fine trading cards and the chief tormentors of my youth.
Excited with the notion that the package might contain that Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card that I foolishly traded to Michael Bonito for the Billy Ripken …F’ Face Fleer back in 1989, I tore into it. Sadly, what was inside wasnt a replacement Griffey, but rather ¦ a pack of brand-new …American Idol trading cards.
This was not as bad as you might imagine. Because inside my pack of …Idol cards, I found something better than a crummy KG Jr. rookie card. What was it? Read on.
David Cook comes home to a warm reception
The last time David Cook performed in his hometown was in August to a sold-out Sprint Center. The time before that was in May, when he pulled about 7, 000 people to the Power & Light District during Season 7 of …American Idol. Cook won that …Idol crown, and now he a big-label recording artist.
Wednesday night he came back to Kansas City, and despite his immense success, he played in a relatively intimate environment: about 1, 500 people in the Grand Pavilion of the Ameristar Casino. The room was full but the atmosphere felt more like a small-town homecoming than the re-coronation of a celebrity.
For all my Archuleta lovers out there
Im going to forgive his par comeback performance of his third single, …Touch my hand. After all, he has been ill for the past week. It was still better than most.
Seeing our little Archie back on the Idol stage brought back some memories, but it was different somehow. His confidence and stage presence skyrocketed him past all his performances from a year ago ‘ combined. My how he has grown as an artist. Ive known it ever since I saw him on the American Idol Live Tour last summer, but I suspect millions more found it out just this week as he bounced around the stage with the huge smile on his face and more swagger than he had ever shown before.
