Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

Much like the burning questions "Will a plus-size girl ever win on America's Next Top Model?" and "Will a rocker ever win on American Idol?," the question "Will a breakdancer ever win on So You Think You Can Dance?" is a matter I've often pondered.

It never seemed like a b-boy (or b-girl) had a chance on SYTYCD--they were always great in their own specialty genre, sure, but whenever they had to pick up choreography or, say, do a Viennese waltz, they just fell apart. (This season's Robert Muraine, winner of tonight's finale faceoff with Philip Chbeeb, is a perfect example: He got so discouraged and exasperated during this season's audition rounds, he quit against the judges' wishes.)

Well, zaftig Whitney just won ANTM this year, and of course rocker boy David Cook triumphed on AmIdol too. So maybe, I thought, 2008 would be Twitch or Josh's year, too.

But still, I never really imagined it would come down to two b-boys in the SYTYCD finale. Especially over Katee!

Yes, tonight SYTYCD

Hard as it may be to imagine, Madonna is celebrating the big 5-0 on August 16. So to commemorate her 50 years on this planet that she continues to dominate, we're counting down the 50 most memorable Madonna moments of all time. (SPOILER ALERT: Shanghai Surprise is not among them, sorry.)

Between now and Madge's big day, we'll be doling out a daily dose of highlights (and a few lowlights) from her illustrious career--the hair colors, the fashion makeovers, the videos, and of course the scandals that have kept Madonna in the news, on the charts, and on MTV years after her original '80s peers have faded into VH1 Classic Where Are They Now? obscurity.

If you don't see your personal favorite Madge memory on this list yet, please refrain from leaving indignant posts on our message board, because there's a good chance that such moments will appear on the list somewhere between spots 1-45. But do feel free to start sharing your own favorite memories on the board below, or just post your

Tonight was a bittersweet occasion for So You Think You Can Dance fanatics.

Sweet, because the final four had come so far. And sweet, because all the finalists got to dance in all sorts of new configurations tonight--not just solo or in boy/girl duos, but also with same-sex partners (I mean that in a G-rated way, gutter-minded people!) and in a final four-person group number.

But tonight was still bitter, because it was the last competition round. The season comes to an end this week, you see.

Sigh. It went by fast, huh? Too fast.

You know what else I was kind of bitter about tonight? The judges' treatment of Courtney. Yes, Mary Murphy did tell her she was a role model for all the little girls out there watching--a really kind and genuine comment that brought tears to Courtney's big brown eyes. But during most of the remainder of the show, the judges slipped in these nasty little digs here and there, making it obvious that they probably would have preferred Chelsie in the top four

Regular readers know I love me some underdogs. Danny Noriega and Josiah Leming on American Idol, Fanny Pak on America's Best Dance Crew 2, Sisley on The Search For The Next Pussycat Doll...for some reason, I always seem to root for the less obvious contender. I don't do this to be contrary. I don't do it to generate "controversy." And I certainly don't do it because I enjoy getting a jillion posts on my message boards telling me I'm fulla shiz and Yahoo! should fire me.

What can I say? I guess I'm just one of those types that prefers the road less traveled. Or the contestant less voted.

Case in point: This just-completed sixth season of Nashville Star. As pleased as I was when Melissa Lawson won last night, I was still really rooting for the dark horse, Shawn Mayer. And I also must admit, from episode one I had soft spots in my heart for Third Town (the Vegas cutups who were actually eleventh-hour understudies), Charley Jenkins (the one guy whom the public never even had the chance to

Last night, the black-haired bad girl with a heart of gold, the woman who left the love of her life back in small-town Iowa to pursue her Nashville dream, the woman who was in the bottom two so many times she probably thought she never had a chance of winning...well, she didn't win, but she did make it all the way to third place on Nashville Star.

Shawn may not have been the frontrunner on this show, but she is a major undiscovered talent, so I don't think this is the last we've heard from her. Because in a tour bus interview, caught on camera just an hour or so before the finale taping, Nashville Star judge and Shawn mentor Jeffrey Steele indicated that he'd still be supporting his protégé's career long after the NStar cameras stop rolling.

And Jeffrey wasn't shy about taking some credit for her success, after Shawn "fired" her original mentor John Rich:

And just moments after the finale taping, Shawn met with me and some other enquiring-minded press types to discuss her reaction

When I first arrived in Nashville yesterday for the Nashville Star finale taping, I had a hunch that Gabe Garcia was going to win. I figured this car parked in front of my hotel, the Opryland, was some sort of sign:

But oh well, so much for omens. Because last night at the Acuff Theater, Gabe Garcia came in second, losing out to equally worthy contender Melissa Lawson. However, the Texican from the little town of Lytle may still be the man to bridge the country and Latino markets in a way that John Rich's hapless handpicked Gone Country protégé, Julio Iglesias Jr., could not.

In this backstage interview, caught on camera just an hour or so before the finale taping, Nashville Star judge and Gabe mentor Jewel explained why the timing just may be ideal for Gabe to launch his country career:

And just moments after the finale taping, Gabe--a true gentleman till the very end--met with me and some other enquiring-minded press types to discuss his reaction to the results and his plans for

As many people reading this already know, last night on Nashville Star it all came down to finalists Rob and Russell:

Just kidding! These are crew guys who were standing in for Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia during the finale rehearsal taping yesterday afternoon. But you have to give them kudos for how they emoted, as they pretended to hear Billy Ray Cyrus announce the results...

In all seriousness, the real winner was Melissa, proud mother of five. And not only did I predict she'd win in my blog last week, I declared her a frontrunner back when the season began. Once again, just call me Miss Cleo!

Surely John Rich--Nashville Star judge, Melissa mentor, and the man who'll produce the winner's album--must be pleased with these results. He certainly seemed in good spirits in this preshow interview, taped just moments before the finale began; not only was he dressed to the nines for this special occasion, but he freely admitted that he still has a little crush on his protégé:

Later

Hey everyone...I'm at the Acuff Theater in Nashville right now, at the Nashville Star live taping, so I won't be able to blog in detail about the N-Star finale until later tonight. But here's the one piece of vital info you need to know right now, just announced:

MELISSA LAWSON IS YOUR NEW NASHVILLE STAR!

Yes, the thirtysomething Texas mother of five, who at one time assumed it was too late for her to launch a country career, has just won a record contract with Warner Bros. and a slot singing at the 2008 Olympics. It's such a heartwarming story, I imagine The Melissa Lawson Story made-for-TV biopic is already in pre-production over at the Lifetime Network.

Melissa's a major undiscovered talent, so I think America got it right this time. The mood here in the Acuff is positively jubilant. So thanks for rocking the vote, N-Star fans!

Come back later for a full report on my backstage finale experience, but feel free to start posting your comments about the season 6 outcome now, and let me