photo: ABC Family"So You Think You Can Dance" won't return to the airwaves until this summer, but thankfully, "SYTYCD" diehards have been tided over lately by a slew of guest TV appearances by "SYTYCD" alums. This past Monday, reigning co-champions Chehon Wespi-Tschopp and Eliana Girard and judges Mary Murphy and Tyce Diorio made cameos on Fox's "Bones," and that same night, Season 5 winner Jeanine Mason made her debut in a recurring role on ABC Family's beloved "Bunheads." (Jeanine is the second "SYTYCD" star to appear on "Bunheads," following Season 7 runner-up Kent Boyd last year.)

And now, Jeanine fans eager to see the Season 5 stunner return to the small screen don't have to wait until next Monday's "Bunheads" episode, as Reality Rocks has an exclusive preview clip right here. In the scene, Truly Stone (Stacey Oristano) has been kicked out of her dress shop by her landlord and has therefore taken over the Paradise Dance Academy studio--so Jeanine's character, Cozette, decides to make the crowded studio work, dancing among the boxes and with the mannequins. Naturally, adorableness ensues...reminding us all why Jeanine is still one of America's favorite dancers after winning that title almost five years ago.

Following the gladdening news that "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox just signed to Shanachie Records and is planning to release an album in March 2013, her Season 9 co-star, winner Lee DeWyze, has announced via a video to his fans that he too has inked a new record deal, with Vanguard.

Nicki Minaj at the 'Idol' Season 12 premiere [photo: Jonathan Leibson/WireImage]"American Idol" Season 12 doesn't officially begin until January 16, and it remains to be seen if this upcoming season will uncover/discover a new singing superstar of Clarkson- or Underwood-esque proportions. But judging from a 45-minute "Idol" preview that screened in 11 locations across the nation on Wednesday, January 9--a full week before the Fox network's premiere--Season 12 may already have a breakout star: the one and only Her Minajesty, Nicki Minaj.

Nicki was in fact so watchable, and so unexpectedly likable, that I almost wondered if the whole reason behind that much-hyped Nicki Minaj/Mariah Carey "Idol" feud was Mariah's, well, jealousy. You see, Mariah may've claimed that Nicki once threatened to shoot her, but maybe Mariah really felt threatened by Nicki's massive, scene-stealing, scenery-chewing presence. Because honestly, when Nicki was on the screen this Wednesday, I barely noticed that Mariah, or anyone else, was even sitting at the judges' table. It was totally "The

photo: FoxThe golden boys of last year's "X Factor," Emblem3, have made it official: They've signed to their mentor Simon Cowell's label, Syco Records, via Columbia. This makes them the first act from Season 2 to land a record deal--aside from winner Tate Stevens and his much-ballyhooed $5 million contract with former judge L.A. Reid's Epic Records, of course.