Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

When quirky, jazz-handy ginger Charlie Askew first appeared on “American Idol” this season, he was depicted as a merry misfit, an adorkable urchin who happily marched to the beat of his own hippy-dippy drum. But when he performed on “Idol” Season 12’s live show this Wednesday, he revealed the startling darkness behind his sparkly manic-pixie-boy persona, when he suffered a minor meltdown after receiving his first (overly) harsh critiques of the season.

Last night, the "American Idol" top 10 girls competed on the first entirely live episode of Season 12, and of course, chaos ensued. Yup, you gotta love live TV. From Nicki Minaj's weird remarks to the ladies (she called Kree Harrison her "wife" and complimented Tenna Torres's "boobs") to Zoanette Johnson's bizarre (even by Zoanette standards) opening performance, there was plenty of unscripted silliness. But when it came to the other nine performances, it really was just typical "Idol" fare: lots of good singing, but not a lot of personality.

Still, there were more than enough girls (at least seven) who gave performances worthy of advancing to the overall top 10...so it'll be interesting to see which five make the cut, in the first public vote of the season. Check out the latest "The Day After" chatfest below, in which me and my esteemed Yahoo! colleague Matt Whitfield dish about all 10 Tuesday performances and try to predict which girls will get through on Thursday's big live results show.

photo: FoxBritney Spears was a one-and-done judge last season on “The X Factor,” L.A. Reid jumped off the show’s sinking ship last year, and rumors are still running rampant that co-host-without-the-most Khloe Kardashian won’t be coming back for Season 3. But at least there’s some stability in Simon Cowell’s topsy-turvy TV world, since—according to a radio interview he conducted Wednesday morning with his old “American Idol” crony, Ryan Seacrest—judge Demi Lovato and her fabulous topknot/stenciled eyebrows will likely be returning to the show this fall.

They say anything can happen on live television, and never was that old adage more apt than it was this Tuesday—and not just because judge Nicki Minaj complimented busty contestant Tenna Torres’s cleavage on the air (a bold move that would make even flirty old man Steven Tyler blanch), or because she told the viewing public that another contestant, Kree Harrison, was her "wife." No, the most unpredictable part of “American Idol’s” first live episode of the season actually came during its first five minutes, courtesy of—who else?—zany Zoanette Johnson.

Tuesday’s top 10 girls show opened with Zoanette, the wild lion queen of Season 12, so of course it was time to expect the unexpected, no matter what. But c'mon, even with that being said, I had at least expected Zoanette to remember her lyrics.

The Austin, Texas, musicfest South by Southwest—or “SXSW,” as it is often affectionately/lazily nicknamed—started off in 1987 as a springboard for unsigned acts, an industry convention where music’s next big thing could be discovered while busking on Sixth Street. (For years, this possibility was sort of the rock ‘n’ roll equivalent of Lana Turner getting scouted at Schwab’s.) But my, how things have changed: Last year’s headliners included mega-names like Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, 50 Cent with Eminem, and Jack White, and this year’s SXSW will also draw many huge acts who are more accustomed to playing stadiums than Stubb’s.

If you’re heading to SXSW—the music portion of which begins Tuesday, March 12—in hopes of seeing some Texas-sized headliners, here’s who you should check out...

The music portion of South By Southwest—or “SXSW,” as the Austin fest is affectionately known in the biz—kicks off and kicks up its heels on March 12. And while it’s been a long time since the beer-soaked, BBQ-laden Texas convention has been a platform for totally unknown, unsigned artists (last year’s big headliner was Bruce Springsteen, and Justin Timberlake is rumored to be making an appearance this year), SXSW is still a great place for buzzy baby bands to elevate their indie profiles. If you’re headed to SXSW to mess with Texas this year, here are our top 10 picks for up-and-coming acts to check out amid the March madness.

photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagicBillboard has released its ranking of the top 100 “American Idol” singles of all time, based on Hot 100 airplay, and unsurprisingly, orignal Idol Kelly Clarkson is still the hottest of all, nearly 11 years after her Season 1 win. Kelly’s music in fact accounts for literally half of the list's top 20, with 10 charting singles, four of which made the top five. Take that, Clive Davis!

However, there is one Idol who managed to break Kelly’s top-five hot streak. No, not Carrie Underwood, as you might expect, but Jordin Sparks, whose 2008 hit “No Air (a duet with a wholesome, pre-Rihanna, pre-scandal Chris Brown) came in at number three.

Perhaps not since the "Simpsons" characters joined musical forces for "Sending Our Love Down The Well," or the cast of "30 Rock" belted out "Kidney Now!" with Clay Aiken and the Beastie Boys, or Pulp hired a bunch of celebrity impersonators to spoof "Do You They Know It's Christmas" has there been a faux charity-single singalong as utterly awesome as "Can I Get An Amen."

And this one is actually not faux at all, since sales of the bizarre song, available now on iTunes, will benefit a very worthy organization: the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.