American Idol 9: Top 8 Men Perform

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

The Top 8 men of American Idol 9 performed on Wednesday night, following a few amazing performances by the competition’s female contenders from Tuesday’s performance round. It’s all boiling down to Thursday night, where four more contenders will be released from their reality duties. The Top 12 will subsequently be voted off one at a time.

Lee DeWyze kicked off the show with “Fireflies.” As usual, Lee delivered engaging vocals that got the crowd fired up immediately. It was another solid performance from DeWyze, who has been winning high praise from the judges. “For me, it was a strange song choice,” Randy Jackson critiqued. “But, you made it work,” he offered a positive note. “I think it was great,” Ellen DeGeneres smiled at him and called DeWyze “adorable.” “You looked confident tonight,” Kara DioGuardi observed, saying “I think you made the song a better song.” “There’s nothing to rave about,” Simon Cowell told him, however Simon thinks Lee has “a great chance at making the Top 12.”

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American Idol 9: Top 10 Guys Perform

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

Due to a “last-minute change of plans,” American Idol 9’s Top 10 men performed on Tuesday, a decision that was made only hours before the show was scheduled to air. Crystal Bowersox had to be rushed to the hospital and was deemed unable to sing, which is why the switch was made. Rehearsal schedule changes were also made to accommodate the change.

The Top 10 Guys would be given no quarter, surprise command performance or no. “It’s still the boys against the boys, the girls against the girls,” as Randy Jackson said.

Michael Lynche began the show, revealing a love of theater in his intro clip. He chose to sing “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown, starting out very strong. Lynche’s wardrobe was much nicer this week, and his vocals were beautifully on display. It was a much better song choice this week. Randy Jackson gave Lynche a standing ovation, calling him an “R&B star.” Ellen DeGeneres found his performance to be “the one to beat.” Kara DioGuardi thinks Lynche is “potentially a great artist.” Simon Cowell thought Michael went “from being a pussycat to a lion in one week,” and found it to be “by far” Lynche’s “best performance in the competition.”

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American Idol 9: Top 12 Guys Perform

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

Wednesday’s performance episode opened with American Idol’s Top 12 male competitors. Tuesday’s performance episode was so lackluster, it would be hard for the men to sound anything but fantastic.

“This group of guys…I’m really pulling for,” Randy Jackson commented in the opening banter.

“It’s totally different here than at home,” Ellen DeGeneres explained. “If we’re saying you don’t sound great here, you’re sounding worse at home.”

“If you lose it tonight, if you forget the lyrics, your career is over,” Simon Cowell was the voice of doom. Would his dark works be enough to shake up the contestants who would perform?

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American Idol 9: Did Todrick Hall Scam a Bunch of Kids?

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

Your kid comes home from school one day all lit up and smiling. Oz: The Musical is coming to town, and the production needs kids who can be munchkins. Here’s the kicker: every kid gets in. As a parent, you pay a fee and then get to see your kid in the play…or, maybe not. Some parents only received a brief e-mail - no monetary refund - stating that the show had been canceled. And rumor has it that Todrick Hall, American Idol 9 Top 24 contestant, is one of the architects of all this sadness.

The former Broadway actor apparently took Oz: The Musical on tour around the country, a show that he himself created. According to several statements from parents, cancellations occurred from February 2009 through the summer in various locations, and refunds were not given.

Vote for the Worst is collecting horror stories, and they’re piling up. Kimberlee Edwards says she shelled out $75 for costumes and rehearsal space, discovering later that the town gave the production rehearsal space at no charge. After a little digging, VFTW discovered that checks were written to Mr. Money, Magic Money Productions. Mr. Money is Greg Money, who owns Pistolutions.net. Ozthemusical.com is registered to todrick.hall@pistolutions.net.

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American Idol 9: Top 24 Revealed

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

American Idol 9’s Hollywood session finally came to close Wednesday night, when the remaining members of the season’s Top 24 contenders was slowly, painfully revealed. How close is the reality to the spoilers that were released weeks and weeks ago? There’s only one way to find out.

Michael Lynche, Aaron Kelly, Didi Benami, Casey James, Todrick Hall, Lee Dewyze and Katelyn Epperly were all revealed as Top 24 contestants at the end of Tuesday’s two-hour marathon episode. Wednesday would narrow the remaining 37 would-be Idols down to a mere 17.

Janelle Wheeler was the first to be featured on the episode. The pretty blonde auditioned in Orlando and won her shot to Hollywood on a split decision from the judges. Wheeler was disappointed in her final solo performance in Hollywood, admitting that she “couldn’t take the pressure” once it was all over. Ellen DeGeneres led Wheeler’s interview. “It’s hard to tell somebody that has a great voice that they’re not going to go through,” she said, then surprised Janelle by giving her the good news - Wheeler is indeed in the Top 24.

Tyler Grady, who has something of a Jim Morrison vibe, was the next to face the judging panel. Kara DioGuardi remarked on his 70s-ish performance style, then smilingly welcomed him into Top 24.

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American Idol 9: Hollywood Solo Performances

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

Hollywood’s final solo performances are the last chance for the remaining American Idol 9 contestants, a huge field which was narrowed down to the seventy-one at the start of Tuesday’s episode. The show began with the final deliberations, beginning near the end of the process which will give us 24 Top singers who will compete to be our Idol.

Per formula, the contestants were put into three different rooms. Angela Martin was in Room 3 with Hollywood standout Jessica Furney. Martin’s entertaining performance was only passable vocally, though Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson both seemed to enjoy it.

Casey James was in Room 1, while his Hollywood Group member Jermaine Purifoy waited in Room 2. Both their solo performances were incredibly enjoyable and vocally strong, though extremely different from each other.

Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens and Jermaine Sellers also waited in Room 1. Earlier in the day, Sellers made the bold choice to sing “Man in the Mirror,” and some of the notes seemed to escape him. His rather rigid performance might not have won over the judges, but Sellers definitely has a great voice.

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American Idol 9: Group Night

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

It’s group night in Hollywood, which is always a drama-filled festival filled with massive amounts of tears, screaming…and some singing, too. It’s likely the best episode of American Idol 9 , and what a pity it comes so early in the season.

Group night is about performance and showmanship, and some singers are more apt to bring that than others. The most talented performers often find each other, as was once the case with Blake Lewis, Chris Sligh, Rudy Cárdenas and Tom Low in Season 6. It’s the task of every group to choose a number, assign parts and work out some choreography. Naturally, some are more successful than others, but those with real chops usually manage to come out of group night unscathed.

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American Idol 9:  Hollywood Week Begins

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

We’ve sat through seven audition cities and eight weeks of watching singers vie for their chance to compete on American Idol 9 . On Tuesday, this patience was finally rewarded with the beginning of Hollywood Week. This grueling round of auditions is always filled with drama, despair and dashed dreams. In other words, it’s tons of fun.

Tuesday’s opening Hollywood Week episode was the first to feature now-permanent panelist Ellen DeGeneres , who was called to serve on Idol when Fremantle and Paula Abdul could not come to terms on Abdul’s contract. The Idol wannabes gathered at the Kodak Theater, as per show tradition. One hundred and eighty-one contenders arrived from all over America and all walks of life to sing, cry and perhaps watch their dearest dreams come true. But the road to fame is not easy. As one contestant observed, “there’s hundreds of people here, and I have to stand out.”

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American Idol 9: Dallas Auditions

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

American Idol 9 visited frequent host city Dallas, Texas in Wednesday’s installment. Soaring skyscrapers, wide-open skies and southern charm were offered aplenty. The show’s steadies - Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson - attempted to guess who the day’s guest judge would be.

Neil Patrick Harris, best known for his role on How I Met Your Mother, answered the question. His goal was to make “two, three dozen people cry.” I’m on board with that. Original American Idol champ Kelly Clarkson came from the show’s first Dallas auditions. Also present at this first year was Julie Kevelighan, who returned in Season 9 for a little redemption.

Clad in an ill-fitting sparkly blue dress, Julie launched into a warbly rendition of “Black Velvet” to further prove that she’s just no Idol. Neil Patrick Harris critiqued Julie’s sign before telling her he didn’t really care for the singing. “Everything was wrong,” Simon Cowell summed it up. Julie kept right on singing as the panel groaned. Security eventually swept her right on out the door. “That’s just annoying,” the guest judge remarked.

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