Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

I don't know about you, but when I first heard reigning "American Idol" champion Scotty McCreery's debut single, "I Love You This Big," visions of backyard BBQs didn't exactly spring to mind. But apparently that was the vision that director Shane Drake had, as Shane's video for the song--Scotty's first music video, finally out this week--boasts a simple summertime theme, all about family fun in the sun and nothing more.

While I'd expected a more romantic, literal video for this puppy-love ballad, with Scotty serenading a lucky young Southern belle instead of a backyard full of regular folk, in defense of the "I Love You This Big" vid, it's completely age-appropriate, as well as Scotty-appropriate. He is only 17 years old, after all, and while he may have made his first mark on "Idol" singing a sexy song about locking doors and lowering lights, he is quite an innocent (as his cross-kissing reaction to Lady Gaga's scandalous "Idol" mentorship clearly proved).

Though this video may be

In a bizarre act of failing to pace themselves, the "American Idol" powers-that-be released THREE new Idol videos over the past 24 hours, by this year's Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and Pia Toscano. That's a whole lot of Idoliciousness to take in all at once. I've written individual reviews of each video (click for Scotty, Lauren, and Pia), but now it's time for an "Idol" rematch of sorts. Pia may have stalled in ninth place and Scotty may have won Season 10, but when it comes to their videos, they rank very differently.

Of course, not all videos are created equal, and while none of the Idols' vids are perfect, they're good first attempts. But who filmed it best? Read on...

CATEGORY: BEST CONCEPT
Pia's song, "This Time," is a Bedingfieldian female empowerment anthem about escaping a dysfunctional relationship and breaking out on one's own. But her video features no scenes of her packing her bags, standing up to her controlling boyfriend, or really doing anything other than posing

Kristy Suddeth, the blonde-bouffanted young mom of "American Idol" runner-up Lauren Alaina (Suddeth), almost became as big a star during "Idol" Season 10 as her daughter did, and she sometimes seemed to be enjoying the "Idol" experience even more than Lauren was. (She has actually been tweeting from the road while chaperoning Lauren on this summer's Idols Live Tour.) One of Lauren's most memorable TV moments, in fact, was when she serenaded her mom in the audience during her finale week performance of her debut single, "Like My Mother Does." So it's only fitting that Mama Suddeth has a prominent role in that song's music video, which is finally out this week.

Following in the tradition of fellow country "Idol" Carrie Underwood's "Mama's Song" video, which starred Carrie's own real-life mom, "Like My Mother Does" also celebrates motherhood. But while Carrie's wedding-themed video came at a juncture in Carrie's life when she was getting married and leaving the nest, the much younger

Katy Perry returned to the city she now calls home, Los Angeles, on August 5 for a three-night stint at the Nokia Theater, the latest stop on her California Dreams Tour. And while her crowd-pleasing set was packed with surprising covers (including Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and a mashup of Rihanna's "Only Girl In The World"/Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair"/Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'"), it was another cover, of Rebecca Black's "Friday" with fellow California gurl Rebecca herself joining in, that was the biggest surprise of all. And it just so happened to be a Friday night!

Katy seems determined to help Rebecca Black--or "the infamous Rebecca Black," as Katy introduced her to the Nokia crowd--extend her 15 minutes of fame. Rebecca recently made a cameo in Katy's "Last Friday Night" video (playing the BFF of Katy's geek-girl alter ego, Kathy Beth Terry), and when the two reunited onstage this week, Katy beamed at her like a proud mother figure. Their surprise duet ended with

Kara DioGuardi and Jewel's songwriting competition "Platinum Hit" may have been a ratings disaster for the Bravo network, which gave up on the show mid-season and moved it from Mondays to Fridays. But those few of us still watching "Platinum Hit" got to see quite a few talented singer-songwriters pen and perform quite a few genuinely good songs--some good enough to compete on the radio alongside the hits of today. And this Friday, the competition came down to R&B man (and Jordin Sparks's creative director) Scotty Granger, who placed third; indie-girl underdog Jes Hudak, who came in second; and powerhouse diva Sonyae Elise, who ultimately took home the $100,000 grand prize after her finale song, the Blige-like ballad "My Religion," won over the judges.

While there's no doubting that Sonyae is a natural talent and the best lyricist among the three "Platinum Hit" finalists, I do find it surprising and interesting that the winner of the show was the ONE contestant who didn't possess the

Since Adam Lambert is undoubtedly an endless one-man supply of soundbytes, watercooler-chatter subject matter, and blog fodder--seriously, the guy parts his hair on the other side or grows a goatee, and it's frontpage news--it's no surprise that VH1 decided to do a "Behind The Music" special on the Glamerican Idol before he'd even gotten around to releasing a second album. And while the special doesn't totally delve into areas of Adam's life that diehard fans haven't already gleaned from his E! "True Hollywood Story," Barbara Walters one-on-one, Rolling Stone cover article, etc., it's the way the rock doc spins his saga that really makes this must-see TV.

Yes, Adam's "Behind The Music" covers the fact that...wait for it...he is gay. Shocker, huh? There's a great deal of emphasis on his sexuality throughout the special, perhaps too much emphasis--I personally would have enjoyed more music talk and more footage of him in the studio working on that second album, recording new songs like

This week on "So You Think You Can Dance," last season's champion and runner-up, Lauren Froderman and Kent Boyd, returned to the show to reprise their iconic, Travis Wall-choreographed, Emmy-nominated "Collide" routine, complete with a reenactment of their famous onstage smooch. Kent also served as an allstar for Sasha's amazing wall dance (the most "Deeley chills"-worthy routine of Wednesday night), following Lauren's return as an allstar last week in a surprisingly sexy jazz routine with Tadd.

It sure was nice to see these two come back as seasoned pros, but when the two reunited backstage at "SYTYCD" for a quick chat with Reality Rocks, they proved they're still a coupla crazy kids. Yes, "Boyderman" (as I like to call them) may have offered some sage pre-finale advice for Season 8's final four, and may have had some very sweet sentiments to say about their own "SYTYCD" journeys...but their interview eventually descended into totally cute chaos. And I wouldn't have had it any other

This week on "So You Think You Can Dance's" results show, the judges decided to honor the public vote and just eliminate the two lowest vote-getters, Ricky and Caitlynn. This left America's four favorite dancers so far--Melanie, Marko, Sasha, and Tadd--in the running to win the ultimate title of "America's Favorite Dancer" next week.

While the results were hardly surprising--the final four have been frontrunners all season long, and have all earned their rightful spots in the finale--the judges still had plenty to say backstage after Thursday's eliminations. Click the videos below to see Nigel discuss why he still thinks a girl will win this season, and what weaknesses each contestant needs to respectively overcome in order to win; to see Mary make her own predictions and reveal why the male contestants have been underestimated this season; and to see Lil' C colorfully and colloquially describe each contestant and reveal what sort of routine he would've choreographed for Sasha if he'd