Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

"American Idol" is grass-growingly dull this season, which is why I so wish the Taiwanese TV talent show "Super Star Avenue" was broadcast over here. That show's breakout sensation, Whitney Houston-mimicking boy diva Lin Yu Chun (aka Taiwan's answer to Susan Boyle), is more entertaining than most of the people on "AmIdol" this year.

Luckily, this week Lin Yu Chun finally graced American airwaves, when he visited TBS's  "Lopez Tonight" on his first American late-night talk show appearance. And he sang a duet of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" with...William Shatner.

Yep. You read that right. Shatner! Mr. Golden Throats himself! Don't believe me? I have proof of this awesomeness here. Watch, gawk, and enjoy:

Poor Kelly Clarkson can't catch a break. Whenever she isn't battling with Clive Davis and Ryan Tedder, being digitally slimmed on the cover of Self, or getting ruthlessly attacked in the tabloids over her weight, some other controversy comes around to drag her down. These days, she's at the center of a smoking debate--which is bizarre, since she isn't even a smoker herself.

This week, billboard and TV advertising in Indonesia for her upcoming concert in Jakarta raised eyebrows and debate, because they were branded with a logo for the Indonesian cigarette company L.A. Lights. This fired up anti-tobacco crusaders around the globe, who are rallying to ban cigarette-related sponsorships in Indonesia (one of the few countries that still allows such blatant tobacco advertising).

"If Kelly Clarkson goes ahead with the concert, she is by choice being a spokesman for the tobacco industry and helping them to market to children," said Matt Myers, president of Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids, who

Apparently "inspirational" is a very relative term. Some people are inspired by corny R. Kelly songs like "I Believe I Can Fly." Others are more inspired by, say, parts 1 through 12 of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet." My point is, the top seven didn't necessarily sing gospel hymns or the songbook of Up With People on "American Idol's" Inspirational Night (a theme tied to this week's "Idol Gives Back" charity special)...and while I didn't necessarily expect them to, I still found some of their perplexing song choices very uninspired. While there were some very solid performances on Tuesday, the only one that was truly inspired or inspiring was by the normally reserved Crystal Bowersox, who finally experienced a genuine emotional breakthrough onstage. Crystal's poignant performance left her, and everyone in the audience, in tears. In a good way.

Other performances were equally emotional...that is, if frustration can be considered an emotion. Many of the contestants, who were mentored

This season on "American Idol," I've been disappointed by the weekly themes, so I've been coming up with fantasy concepts for imaginary "Idol" episodes. So far I've suggested Goth Night, Hair Metal Night, and Bowie Night, and this week, I'm suggesting some smooth stone grooves. Cough.

Now, first let me make clear that neither I nor [disclaimer alert!] my employers condone the ingestion of illegal substances of any kind. However, today is 4/20, and since "American Idol" is pretty much THE most family-friendly show on television, I'd get a subversive thrill if this week's theme was...STONER ROCK NIGHT!

THEME: Stoner Rock Night
Considering Crystal Bowersox's laid-back cool, Lee Dewyze's mellow demeanor, Tim Urban's fondness for Jack Johnson-style reggae (note his "Under My Thumb" cover) and tendency to constantly giggle, Casey James's hippie-jam vibe, and some of Siobhan Magnus's wacky outfits which could only be justified by regular drug use, this theme actually might work for the top

Earlierthis year, several format changes were announced for Season 7 of "So YouThink You Can Dance," the most exciting of which is that the finalists--insteadof being paired up with each other--will be partnered with allstar contestants frompast seasons.

Uponhearing this happy-dance-worthy news, I immediately started brainstorming aboutwhich past favorite dancers I'd like to see return to the "SYTYCD"stage, excitedly checking my Twitter feed as judge/producer Nigel Lythgoerolled out the allstar names one by one. Today he announced the final dancer,Season 3's Neil, much to my delight.

A few of mypersonal faves are sadly not on the list, namely Season 2's Travis (who isobviously too busy choreographing for the show these days); Season 3's Danny, Lacey,and Hok; Season 4's Katee; Season 5's Kupono and Brandon; and last season'sJakob, Ellenore, and Legacy. But overall, I am pretty thrilled with the list of 12,especially since my all-time favorite "SYTYCD" finalist, MarkKanemura, has signed

Last year when it was announced that the mercurial Amy Winehouse would be playing California's Coachella festival, I thought to myself, "Yeah, right. Like that'll happen." And sure enough, my skepticism was confirmed when Amy cancelled. This year I experienced a similar reaction when I learned that classic-rock casualty Sly Stone--whose bizarre "comeback" performance at the 2006 Grammys was the biggest bomb to hit the awards show since Soy Bomb, and who has long been infamous among concert promoters for his flaky behavior--was scheduled to play Coachella's Gobi Tent on Sunday afternoon. However, this time the unreliable artist in question did manage to show up; he just arrived four hours late, in a different tent than advertised, and frankly seeming more stoned than sly.

"Sly Stone & Friends" (or, as I more fittingly dub them, "Sly Stone & Enablers") were set to play the Gobi stage at 7pm on Coachella's third day, and while I had my serious doubts about whether Sly would actually

This "American Idol" season, Reality Rocks is visiting the "If I Can Dream" house every Friday night to break bread with that week's eliminated "Idol" contestant. It's an "Idol dream date" of sorts, and this week's dish session was a double date, with Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens.

There Andrew and Katie were reunited with former castmate Alex Lambert (who now lives in the Dream house full-time) and chatted with Alex and the other housemates--musician (and recent "Idol" musical guest) Justin Gaston; model Giglianne Braga; and actors Kara Killmer, Amanda Phillips, and Ben Elliott--about Ryan Seacrest's recent erratic behavior, the "Idol" judges, tattoos, and more. And after dinner, Katie, Andrew, Alex, and Justin staged a little jam session of Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning."

Here's how it went:

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It's amazing, considering how many reformed bands have famously played Southern California's Coachella festival (including this year's Specials, Pavement, and PiL), that it took 11 years for one of them to get around to covering Peaches & Herb's "Reunited." But in a pure-genius move, that's exactly how regrouped San Francisco punk-funk-metal gods Faith No More opened their Coachella 2010 set on Saturday evening.

Standing in front of a screen emblazoned with the words "Faith No More: Second Coming" and wearing a flashy devil-red zoot suit, vocal powerhouse Mike Patton ironically yet earnestly belted out the schmaltzy love ballad in a moment that was reminiscent of FNM's early '90s remake of the Commodores' "Easy." This effectively set the tone for a fun, high-energy spectacle--which, incidentally, also included a daring Patton crowdsurf and a few bars of Michael Jackson's "Ben."

Of course, Faith's setlist was also crammed with hits--like "Epic," "Out Of Nowhere," and, surprisingly,