American Idol 9: Top 5 Perform

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Features, Video,

American Idol 9’s Tuesday performance episode was opened by Ryan Seacrest and Harry Connick, Jr. That’s right, folks - it’s Sinatra night. Connick, Jr. is perhaps best known for his hit “It Had To Be You.” Sinatra was best known for his baby blues and his velvety voice. He was, arguably, the greatest singer of standards, and he is certainly a legend.

Unlike most Idol mentors, Harry Connick, Jr. brought his own band members and worked on the arrangements of the contestants’ songs. He performed with them all, playing piano on the stage for all five songs.

Before the singing began, Frank Sinatra’s daughters gave Simon Cowell one of Sinatra’s monogrammed handkerchiefs, an item which is now amazingly valuable. The Sinatra connection, the Cowell connection, the American Idol tie-in…eBay would be thrown into a frenzy over such an item.

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Jennifer Hudson’s Behind-the-Scenes Idol Appearance

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip, Spoilers,

Jennifer Hudson will, at long last, return to the American Idol stage this week. The only trouble is, most of us won’t see it for a good, long while.

The Oscar-winning actress won’t be featured until after the live broadcast has ended. Hudson’s performance will be taped, not to be aired until some distant future episode FOX has yet to name. According to reports, ticket vouchers for this week’s results show promise “special performances by Jennifer Hudson and Ruben Studdard.” Studdard’s appearance has been confirmed by Idol.

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)

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American Idol 8: Third Group Results

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip, Rumors, Video,

The third group of Top 36 performers had to wait the longest to find out whether they would be moving on…or going home. At the top of the American Idol Wednesday hour, they all gathered to - finally - learn their fate.

“I think we have an amazing start of a Top 12 going on. I’m very proud of all of them,” Paula Abdul said of the contestants. Speaking of the Top 12, the first half (the six contenders who were voted in over the preceding two weeks) looked on from the sidelines as they, too, waited to hear who would join them in places of Idol honor.

The twelve performers of the week performed an upbeat version of “Hot and Cold,” yet another unrecognizable song performed by the Top 36 over the last three weeks. Despite somewhat lackluster choreography, they delivered what is arguably the best of the three group performances we’ve seen from the 36 semifinalists.

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American Idol 8: Third Group Performs

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,

As the first half of American Idol 8’s Top 12 looked on, a dozen new hopefuls took to the stage to sing out their hearts - and hopefully, to win ours.

During the pre-performance banter, host Ryan Seacrest talked about Simon Cowell’s penchant for picking on contestant song choices. Seacrest asked the judge why he doesn’t simply pick the songs himself. “Well, I will,” Cowell responded. “We’ll have a Simon Cowell week.”

I’m getting a vision of the greatest Idol week ever. But before that happens, we have to get through this last group of Top 36 contenders.

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American Idol 8: Round 1 Performances, Part 1

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,

American Idol likes to change things ever so slightly every single year, just to keep us off-balance. This year, we’ve been presented with a Top 36 instead of the usual 24 - and more contestants calls for what we love: more eliminations. The first part of round one aired last night, a group of twelve singers who will very shortly be whittled all the way down to three.

It’s cutthroat, and it’s fabulous.

After three contenders from three groups of twelve are chosen for the Top 12, three more previously-expelled singers will be brought back for the Wild Card round. But we’re not quite there yet. Tuesday night, American Idol 8 truly began, replete with live stage performances and bitingly harsh judges’ comments. Finally, the show has arrived.

And it began with Jackie Tohn, 28, who professionally entertains even when she’s not competing for FOX. She chose a song I thought would be horrible - “A Little Less Conversation” - and an outfit which really was. But despite the odd fashion and somewhat less-than-stellar vocals, Tohn delivered a rollicking performance that kick-started the evening. She was energetic, bluesy and Tohn’s got a lot of charisma. “Way to start season 8 off,” Randy Jackson cried. “You can work a stage, girl,” Kara DioGuardi complimented her. “You got me up dancing,” Paula gushed, “you are a true performer.” But Simon Cowell wasn’t ready to make nice with Ms. Tohn. “I think you actually played the clown,” right between the eyes. Cowell called her performance “ungainly” and “gimmicky” and he hated her outfit. Tohn is obviously not a favorite of the show. When asked by Ryan Seacrest if she had any regrets, Jackie flippantly answered “no, dude.”

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American Idol 8: Why Was Joanna Pacitti Thrown Out?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip, Rumors,

Joanna Pacitti auditioned before the judges and won her way to Hollywood, where she performed ably enough to score a much-coveted spot in the Top 36. The day after these lucky three dozen were revealed, a change was announced: Pacitti, after all, would not be joining the competition.

So what happened?

Pacitti started out on American Idol 8 on a controversial note. Kara DioGuardi recognized this twice-signed singer the moment she arrived to audition, which sent the media into a frenzy to learn the extent of Pacitti’s music industry connections.

The brunette, who once won a competition to star in the Broadway version of Annie, is not the first to arrive on the Idol stage with a previous recording contract under her belt. American Idol 7 viewers argued that Carly Smithson, who was also signed previously, was far too experienced. Others said that Kristy Lee Cook, who had also been signed, was planted on the show. David Archuleta even won a reality competition before - Star Search. But all these singers, at least, had the chance to compete.

Why was Joanna Pacitti denied the same chance?

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VFTW Picks Their Champion: Tatiana Del Toro

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,

She’s bubbly, she’s attractive, she’s got a strong voice - and she annoys judge Simon Cowell to no end. She’s Tatiana Del Toro, one of the heavily-featured American Idol 8 contestants, and she’s got the might of Vote for the Worst behind her.

Del Toro emerged early as a favorite for the popular Idol-themed site, which prides itself in picking the “worst” contestants every season and encouraging viewers to vote. VFTW has previously sponsored contenders like Sanjaya Malakar, Taylor Hicks and Kristy Lee Cook. Generally, VFTW waits until the singing episodes of Idol start - but this year there’s just no need. Tatiana of the dramatic behavior, endlessly annoying giggle and strange fashion choices is their pick.

Will she be yours, too? Del Toro will be performing live tonight on the Idol stage - but will she really be bad enough to win the love of VFTW readers?

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)

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American Idol 8: Top 36 Announced

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,

Fifty-four sat in the holding room of a “mansion” - or set - in Los Angeles last night on American Idol. Only thirty-six would leave the judging area with smiles on their faces. A few would be made to sing one last time, but all would have to make the long walk through the gardens and down to the throne room where their fate would be decided.

Anoop Desai was the first to make the stroll. “Anoop is in the house,” Randy Jackson cried, after Kara DioGuardi told Desai he’d made it into the competition.

Things started to move fairly quickly after that.

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American Idol: Did the Top 10 Rock You?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Editorial,

Weeks of grueling eliminations, group practice sessions, and Ford commercial shoots all boil down to the Top 10 on American Idol. Like it or not, this group will go on tour and join the pantheon of former Idols, forever to be interviewed, followed, and gossiped about for as long as the public finds them interesting. They were told to choose songs recorded in the year of their birth, given one of the world’s biggest stages, and set forth to either astound, or aggravate, all of us. So…how’d they do?

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American Idol 7: A Bittersweet Beginning

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,

Way before American Idol’s seventh season started, fans were treated to a PR blitz that capitalized on how different the show would be this time around. They believed; they watched; they weren’t disappointed. Season Seven certainly does have a different feeling and tone at times than previous episodes, and Wednesday’s final decision night struck a few sad notes.

One by one the fifty contestants were carried toward the judges who so menacingly waited. One by one they were told to take that long, disappointing ride back down without happy news to report. Enter Carly Smithson, devastating diva from Ireland who missed her Idol chance in season 5. She was the first female to win a Final 12 slot, and I breathed a sigh of relief. This talented lady has definitely earned her place. I was also pleased to see husky-voiced Amanda Overmyer and 16-year-old sensation David Archuleta join the final group. Poor blonde Brook White cried her whole way up in the elevator and grinned with relief the entire way down.

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