Perhaps threatened by the high-impact stage presence of Mariah Carey’s boobs, Nicki Minaj has begun to fancy her constant side-eyes as two more main characters on American Idol (read EW’s full recap here). Can she please cut it out and cede the spotlight to the real stars of the show — Keith Urban’s highlights? So rude! Oh, or the contestants. That’s right.
See this devastating performance in action below…. READ FULL STORY »
“I am the next American Idol because I got something ain’t nobody got,” announced the (overbearingly?) quirky Reed Grimm, 26, before settling in on the Hollywood Week stage to begin the episode’s 78th cover of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind.” What had Reed got? A special “GrooveSauce”? An impressive music collection of exclusively TV theme song CDs and movie soundtracks?
No! I mean, yes on the latter for sure, but what Reed wanted to pull out of his underwear tee and lord over the others was his impression of Animal from the Muppets. READ FULL STORY »
It’s a terrible headline and a terrible request for the use of your time. But if you’re as frustrated as I just was after Fox teased the heck out of one contestant’s impressive Hollywood Week stage-to-floor story arc — only to let our DVR recordings get brutally cut off by a bump for new series Mobbed — you can watch 16-year-old Symone Black fall off the stage here.
Don’t expect to find out whether she lives or dies! You’ll just have to tune in tomorrow.
I’m such a deeply loathsome creature right now, and yet I’m only trying to help. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Lewis Jacobs/NBC
Let me start by saying I’m an unflinchingly devoted American Idol fan. I’ve watched all 11 seasons religiously — never missing an episode, except when I boycotted the remainder of season 4 out of principle once Scott Savol outlasted Constantine Maroulis — and can even remember the names of contestants that never made it past Hollywood. (Well, hello there season 10′s Aly Jados, who was also cut from The Voice last night!) Even in the past few weeks, when friends and family have been trying to convince me that I need a new obsession, since the ratings-troubled Idol is “so over,” I have covered my ears and launched into a five-minute tirade about how Idol will last forever because it has to, because how would I or America cope without it, you can’t tell me it will ever die, it can’t! Phew. Calm down, Kate. Go soothe yourself with a YouTube viewing of David Cook’s season 7 performance of “The World I Know.”
Okay, soothed. But, regardless of my love for the show that fuels my existence, I have to give props to its hot-on-its-heels competitor: The Voice‘s auditions are so much better than Idol‘s. READ FULL STORY »
It’s an important milestone in any doughy young boy or doll’s life. Watch American Idol season 10 standout Casey Abrams (have his dad) shave his beard after the jump. Then tell me what frustrates you more — the kid’s complete inability to groom himself or his neglect to put Haley Reinhart on speakerphone?!
Image Credit: Lewis Jacobs/NBC
There’s currently a war of words going on between the popular talent competition shows American Idol and The Voice. But, as is so often the case with most disagreements, both parties could actually have more to learn from each other then they’d think.
While The Voice‘s Adam Levine may have disagreed with American Idol‘s Randy Jackson’s diss of his show, regarding first-season winner Javier Colon (“[He] was an artist who had a deal at Capitol Records for several years, a failed contract… That show was almost ‘second chance people,’” Jackson had said), there are certain things Levine and his Voice cohorts Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton can learn from the more polished Idol as their second season kicks off this Sunday on NBC after the Super Bowl. Of course, there’s plenty Idol can learn from fresh-faced newcomer The Voice, too. Whether or not the shows will call a truce is still up in the air, but in the meantime, here’s what these shows can take away from each other:
READ FULL STORY »
Okay, maybe not, but at least that’s the lasting impression American Idol wanted us to have after Thursday’s St. Louis auditions. The episode was framed as a Carrie Underwood tribute (the Oklahoma native had auditioned there), so naturally the final contestant of the night was a friendly down-home gal with a killer voice.
“Eight years ago Carrie Underwood launched her career in St. Louis,” boomed Seacrest. “Maybe this is the start for Lauren Gray.”
Jennifer Lopez said the 22-year-old Arkansas singer had “one of the best female voices we’ve heard.” Was it? I thought Lauren’s rendition of Adele’s “One and Only” was a bit too shouty, but after watching a few videos of her performing with her family’s band, I can appreciate that she was just making the song her own and that Lauren’s power rasp works very well for her. Take a look at Lauren’s audition and a couple other performances. READ FULL STORY »
We’ve finally found him!
Congratulations to American Idol reject Ben Harrison for having such hilarious genes!
My recap of the Portland auditions will be up shortly. Conan and Andy’s twisted little lovechild was pretty much the high point of the episode for me.
Update: Here’s my recap. What did you think?
Read more:
‘American Idol’ recap: Portlandia
‘Idol’: 10 Rejects Who Came Back Stronger (PHOTO GALLERY)
‘Idol’ Flashback! EW’s First Impressions of 24 Series Standouts
‘American Idol’: What we want to see from the judges
Image Credit: Patrick Ecclesine/Fox
During a speech last Thursday at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, President Obama wowed the crowd with a brief rendition of soul legend Al Green’s hit, “Let’s Stay Together.” In response, American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe tweeted an invitation to the commander-in-chief:
@BarackObama we loved your vocal performance so much we’d love to invite you on to#AmericanIdol this Season for a duet with Al Green.
In keeping with the vein of asking the President to do ridiculous things, this seems to be a relatively solid idea. The nation’s second biggest O (after Oprah, obviously) would do wonders for the show’s falling ratings, and would help Obama reconnect with the average Joe Idol-lovin’ audience — who, let’s not forget, are familiar with the voting process. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
Even if the groundhog sees his shadow on Thursday and winter sticks around, awards season is still heating up. Tonight’s Screen Actors Guild awards will honor the industry’s best — and feature some of Hollywood’s hottest names. Later this week, Super Bowl madness begins, starting with Lenny Kravitz at the NFL Honors on Saturday and running straight through to a halftime show starring Madonna and LMFAO that’s sure to blow Indianapolis away. We’ve got all the info on the week for your pop culture needs. xoxo, EW.
SUNDAY
SAG Awards, TNT and TBS (8 p.m./7 p.m. Central, live on the West Coast at 5 p.m.)
With the lead actor’s race in hot contention, the annual Screen Actors Guild awards are a clash of the (heartthrob) titans this year, as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio are all up for the prize. Check back to EW.com for the winners and on-the-scene updates later tonight! READ FULL STORY »
