Reality Rocks
  • In my last American Idol blog, I lavished praise on the fierce and fearsome elimination-night performance by season 3 Idol winner Fantasia Barrino.

    Well, after browsing through the comments on that blog, it seems like a LOT of readers didn't agree with me. Some people even thought that was my trademark sarcasm at work. But I wasn't joking, dear readers. I love me some Fantasia. And I loved that controversial performance.

    Allow me to explain.

    On Wednesday night, a newly fuchsia-haired Fantasia belted out a song called "Bore Me." Well, she didn't bore me, that's for sure. There have been plenty of moments on American Idol this season that have bored me, but the three minutes Fantasia was rocking the stage (and doing the unthinkable: rendering Simon Cowell speechless) certainly were not among them.

    Nope, "boring" is not an adjective that will probably ever be used to describe Fantasia, at least not by me. Fanny shook her fanny (or, to quote one of her song titles, her "Baby Makin'

    Read More »from In Defense Of Fantasia
  • ...Syesha Mercado!!

    Oh, come on now. Did you REALLY think either of the Davids would get cut tonight? Puh-leeze.

    Yes, this just might've been the most anti-climactic episode of  this season. I don't mean this as a burn on Syesha, who's definitely a genuine talent. But many viewers (myself among them) were shocked she made it this far, and it was hard to imagine she could go any farther at this point--not unless one of the frontrunning Davids a) pulled a Mario Vazquez and voluntarily withdrew or b) pulled a Corey Clark and entered into a scandal-mongering affair with Paula Abdul. (I could image the second scenario, maybe, with Cook...but not with Archuleta, of course. Yuck!)

    So yeah, it was inevitable that Syesha was a goner tonight. We knew it, the judges knew it, Ryan Seacrest knew it...and I think Syesha knew it, too.

    But just because tonight wasn't a particularly suspense episode didn't mean the AmIdol producers weren't going to stretch the show out to a full hour, as usual. So

    Read More »from And “The Least Shocking Elimination In Idol History” Award Goes To…
  • Hello, and welcome to the most anti-climactic top-three week in American Idol's seven-season history. I say that because, let's face it, Syesha Mercado probably has less chance of making it to next week's finale than previous third-placers like Jasmine Trias and Nikki McKibbin.

    Sure, Sy is talented--much more so than Jasmine or Nikki--but this season has been steadily marching towards an inevitable David-vs.-David showdown ever since former frontrunners like Michael Johns and Carly Smithson got out of the Davids' way. If Syesha manages to triumph over either Cook or Archuleta this week, it'll be such a massive upset it'll make Chris Daughtry's elimination seem less shocking than the night that Colton Berry and Garrett Haley went home.

    Speaking of going home, tonight was the "hometown" epsiode, during which the final three were supposed to receive heroes' welcomes in their respective hometowns. But this season's homecomings were surprisingly un-homey. I mean, where were the tickertape

    Read More »from Top 3 Night: Idols Go Big Or Go Home
  • A little insider info here: Clay Aiken's new video, "On My Way Here," got lost on its way here. To my office, that is. It was supposed to arrive first thing this past Monday morning at Yahoo! Music HQ, but the longer I waited with baited breath beside the Y! mailbox, the clearer it became that the video was M.I.A.

    So a SWAT team of trusty Yahoo! mail clerks was swifty dispatched on a mission to solve this mystery of the missing tape...which basically meant they placed multiple harassing phone calls to hapless UPS switchboard operators.

    This was important, people! THE NEW CLAY AIKEN VIDEO WAS LOST IN THE MAIL!!! Did no one understand the heart-stopping gravity of this situation???

    Well, eventually, after a series of only-funny-in-hindsight mailroom mishaps, "On My Way Here" did make it way to my office on Tuesday. So, after all the anticipation that'd been building for 24-plus hours, me and my fellow Claymate staffers finally popped Clay's rescued BETA tape into our fancy high-tech

    Read More »from New Clay Video: An Aiken Void In My Heart
  • If there was ever an American Idol alum whose music deserved the remix threatment it's...Clay Aiken.

    Nah, just kidding, folks. I don't forsee Mr. "I'm Not Trying To Be Justin Timberlake" collaborating with the Neptunes any time soon. I'm talking about a different popular second-placer: last season's Blake Lewis, of course.

    The only Idol to ever pass the mic with Doug E. Fresh, beatbox almost every dang time he opened his mouth, and publicly call Taylor Hicks a "d**chebag," Blake actually has been trying his best to be Justin Timberlake. And he hasn't done too shabby a job of it, either. He's brought a little bit of sexy back to AmIdol, that's for sure.

    So the beatboxing wonderboy has just released The Remixes EP, featuring electro reworkings by such DJs and producers Dave Aude (Annie Lennox, Britney Spears, Blake's ulitmate idol BT); DJ Dan (Fall Out Boy, New Order), and Jake Benson (Billie Myers, Erika Jayne). If you're curious to get in the mix, listen to it HERE.

    Read More »from Blake Lewis Is All Mixed Up
  • "Before He Cheats," the most successful song by the most successful American Idol of all time, is arguably one of the finest woman-scorned anthems in the country music cannon. Nashville Star alum Miranda "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" Lambert is probably still so peeved she didn't get to sing this tune, it's a wonder she hasn't taken a tire iron to Carrie Underwood's Ford auto herself.

    If you're one of the few cave-dwellers out there who haven't yet seen Carrie's good-girl-gone-bad "Before He Cheats" video, or if you just feel like savoring her sweet revenge again, here 'tis:

    But did you know there was a whole lot more to Carrie's sordid saga of tequila-induced trysting and vehicular vandalism? See, much like George Lucas going back to the future for The Phantom Menace, Carrie has just released the prequel video/single "Last Name," sung from the point of view of the "other woman," to explain what went down before "Before He Cheats."

    And unlike The Phantom Menace, "Last Name" is highly

    Read More »from Carrie Underwood: Once A “Cheat”-er, Always A “Cheat”-er
  • So last night MTV aired the finale of its rockstar-offspring "talent" show Rock The Cradle, on which Crosby Loggins--son of Kenny--snagged the $100,000 grand prize.

    Congrats, Crosby.

    Crosby was certainly the rightful winner of the Cradle title, considering that the champ on this show also got a record deal and, presumably, a legit chance to follow in those mighty big parental footstep.

    Sure, Jesse Blaze Snider (oft-mohawked rocker son of Twisted Sister's Dee) and Chloe Lattanzi (certifiably psychotic spawn of Olivia Newton-John) made for better (read: trainwreckier) TV. But of the final three, good old credible Crosby was the contender with the best chance of actually making it on a major label. And probably the only one of the three that any major-label exec would want to even bother dealing with, to be honest.

    However, although Crosby tried to savor his victory and solidify his star status with performances of the Bravery's "Believe" and the Raconteurs' "Steady As She

    Read More »from Everybody Cut Footloose! Crosby Loggins Wins ‘Rock The Cradle’
  • So I've been thinking about the performances from Tuesday's not-all-that-rockin', so-called "Rock Night"--the night that "rocked" in at least one sense, as it rocked the vote more than any other night this season, according to reliable source Ryan Seacrest.

    At first, I kept thinking how much Jason Castro deserved to go, based on his horrible showing last night. Because, yes, he was truly bad, and I don't mean Michael-Jackson-bad. I mean just plain old dictionary-definition BAD. His two songs this week by the Bobs, Marley and Dylan, brought new meaning to the word "dread"--because, yes, I was literally starting to dread performances by the dreadheaded kid I once adored.

    But then I mulled it over some more. And you know, based on his entire body of work, I decided Jason still had the edge over this week's other obvious at-risk contestant, Syesha Mercado. See, by this point, Jason had at least three memorable performances (notably "Daydream" and "Hallelujah") under his hemp-rope belt,

    Read More »from Idol Elimination Night: Jason’s Dreaded Demise
  • As a proudly self-proclaimed "rock chick," I approached American Idol's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame night this week with a mixture of both delight and dread. My delight stemmed from anticipation over the prospect of seeing resident rocker David Cook storm the stage and Jason Castro do a couple of fitting '60s hippie numbers; my dread had to do with seeing the decidedly non-rockin' other two contestants, namely David Archuleta, do the same. Because let's face it, little David does a lot of things well, but rocking out is so not one of them.

    Dang, it really makes me wish that Michael Johns--or heck, even Amanda Overmyer or Carly Smithson--were still in the race this rock 'n' roll week.

    But for the time being, I didn't have to worry. Because for the first song of the night, my American Idol dream came true: My favorite contestant covered one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite all-time bands! Yes, perfectly coiffed pretty-boy David Cook crooned "Hungry Like The Wolf" by perfectly

    Read More »from Four On The Floor: American Idols Attempt To Rock
  • Clay, Remolded

    So the new Clay Aiken publicity photo landed in my inbox today...

    Yikes.

    Now, keep in mind that I expected Clay to look, well...different.

    After all, lately Clay has undergone enough makeovers to rival his fellow quickchange diva Madonna.

    For instance, there was that brunette K.D. Lang shag he rocked at the season 5 American Idol finale, when he shocked his "lookalike" idolizer Michael Sandecki as well as the entire Fox viewing audience.

    Then he packed on about 30 pounds of body fat (inspiring nasty nicknames like "Clay Bacon" and "Clay Tummy-Achin'"), and probably twice that weight in spackled-on makeup, for his role in Broadway's Spamalot.

    And still, when I unwittingly checked my email this morning like I do on any uneventful Monday, I was in no way prepared for Clay's latest look.

    Take a deep breath and scroll down:

    Oh, my Aiken eyes!

    Sorry, I don't mean to be cruel. I love me some Clay. Really, I do. But this photo frightens me.

    So what do you think of Clay 3.0? Post your

    Read More »from Clay, Remolded

Pagination

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News for You

  • NYers furious over photos taken through windows

    NEW YORK (AP) — In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap.

  • Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune "Only Teardrops," despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

  • Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

  • Native American actress proud to walk Cannes red carpet

    By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Native American actress Misty Upham never dreamt she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation. Upham features in "Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian", focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his psychoanalyst. Upham said like Picard, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, she is Blackfeet, the largest tribe in Montana state. ...

  • 'American Idol' finale draws record low ratings

    NEW YORK (AP) — Ratings for the "American Idol" finale plunged to a record low for the 12-year-old show.

  • Edward Furlong arrested in West Hollywood

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles sheriff's spokesman says 'Terminator 2' star Edward Furlong has been arrested on suspicion of violating a restraining order filed by his ex-girlfriend.

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