There can only be one winner…and it should be Candice Glover.
Wow, can you believe American Idol is wrapping up its twelfth season already? I feel like the auditions were just yesterday, and speaking of…from the moment the season began, we had our frontrunner. That never changed, not even after tonight. With a killer conclusion to a very strong season (though not perfect by any means) of Idol, the winner was clear as day. Candice Glover and Kree Harrison both impressed tonight, but the show is designed to reward only one with a shower of confetti and the many rewards that come afterwards. Thank goodness my objectivity and subjectivity aligned on the most important night of competition. Here goes the review session, one last time… Read more on American Idol Recap: Finale Review…
Candice Glover once again lands in the ‘Idol’ Hall of Fame.
Last night’s American Idol Top 3 showdown was as epic and competitive as we could’ve hoped for. Of course I miss my girl Amber Holcomb, but Kree, Candice and Angie all made such a strong impact yesterday that it would be tough for anyone (including me) to reject their participation this deep in the competition. While one contestant makes it easy for me to single out as a superstar, the other two are neck-in-neck as to who I felt took command of the show better than the other. Check out what I have to say about the Top 3 and their (mostly) spectacular performances after the jump… Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 3…
Angie Miller: frontrunner by default?
Despite sharing the judges’ enthusiasm for prodigal talent Amber Holcomb, their slander and dismissal of Candice Glover on last night’s American Idol really boiled my blood. No contestant walked away unscathed as far as performances go — and don’t even get me started on those yucky duets — but to suggest Candice was in some way commercially irrelevant after twisting an R&B/rap song into a beautiful ballad is utter blasphemy. I won’t stand for it, and neither should you! Below you’ll find out just how dirty I can dish it. Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 4…
Amber Holcomb conquers Streisand.
After watching American Idol last night, it’s beyond evident who should be in the final two. In fact, I’ve felt this way since the Top 10. There are two girls that simply outshine the rest with their voice, stage presence, and exemplary taste in music. No way in heck is America going to follow through with this just course of action, but I thought I’d make it known here who I am rooting for (and have been for quite some time) for the remainder of the season. With that said, it’s time to take the plunge and critique the five women still standing. Whatever happens in the end will outweigh the bad since the new Idol crown will at last be worn by a female. All five girls deserve their placement in the Top 5, and all are winners in my estimation. Okay, enough with the sappy talk — let’s review!
Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 5…
Candice Glover serves perfection on two silver platters.
I have to admit, sometimes I have my doubts about American Idol. When I see the show continue to roll out ancient themes that have no relevance to today’s music scene, I begin to understand why ratings are dropping like frogs in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. The Voice, meanwhile, allows freedom of expression and song selection, not to mention the judges’ chemistry is endearing enough on its own to make the show a success. In other words, I absolutely get why The Voice is the preferred choice by many. However, when Idol is at its best (like last night), there is not a damn singing competition in existence that even comes close to it. Whatever “issues” I might have had with this current season were put to rest after a performance show like none that I’ve seen in awhile. How crazy is it that one of the most successful nights in the show’s history — including a performance so incredible it instantly finds a seat in the “Top 15 Best Idol Performances Ever” — can also contain one of the worst vocals in the program’s twelve season run? Low and behold, such cataclysmic events did indeed occur, which makes the entire experience all the more memorable and legendary. I’m about to hyperventilate, so let me catch my breath while you jump on down to my recap… Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 6…
Amber Holcomb: cool, calm, and unbelievably talented.
Last night on American Idol, the Top 7 tackled one hell of a great theme: Rock Week/No Ballads. It was rumored that the contestants could only choose classic rock songs to sing, but the last performance of the night obviously stated otherwise. I love all different genres of music, but rock is where my heart is at, especially classic rock. My dad was a hippie of sorts in the 1960s, so growing up the discography in my household consisted of Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc. Those bands and other rock legends not mentioned are musical education at its finest, so thank you, dad, for instilling in me the greatest music known to mankind. I don’t expect the Idols to instantly transform into the next Bon Jovi or Freddie Mercury; all I want is for them to live inside the song and embrace the anthemic, hardcore melodies while simultaneously transcending that same raw emotion. Only two brought it home on Rock Week, but it was still a good show nonetheless. Let’s recap… Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 7 (Rock Week/No Ballads)…
Read more on American Idol Recap: Reviewing the Top 7 (Rock Week/No Ballads)…
 The Top 8 American Idol hopefuls took the stage tonight taking on the music of Detroit with Motown legend Smokey Robinson in tow to guide them through the process. This theme and genre has been done countless times on American Idol and hopefully Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe is getting wind of that and will bring some fresh sounds to the themes in the coming weeks, and hopefully future seasons.
Host Ryan Seacrest gave us a breakdown of the show with not only the eight contestants performing solos but the infamous return of the duets/trios that plagued us all so much last year during Season 11. I guess we’re stuck with this for the next two weeks until we’re down to six or they use the save. I’ll only be going in-depth on the solo performances from this evening. Read more on American Idol Season 12 – Top 8 (Detroit Theme) Recap…
Categories: Article, Editor, TV/Music Tags: amber holcomb, american idol, American Idol Season 12, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor, Candice Glover, Devin Velez, Janelle Arthur, kree harrison, Lazaro Arbos
 The results show tonight was a little weird. Host Ryan Seacrest announced to the contestants backstage if they had made the Top 10 in a closed out green room where the audience and the judges could not hear. After they were announced as a part of the Top 10, they would sing their “victory” song.
For the boys, Paul Jolley was announced first. Surprised? You bet I am. After a decent version of “Just a Fool,” I didn’t think Jolley had a strong enough fanbase to put him through. I was wrong. Jolley sang “Alone” by Heart. Keith Urban praised it. I thought, like all his other performances, it was overdone.
Burnell Taylor was next and to no one’s surprise since he’s my single favorite male contestant this season. After the crowd went wild, Burnell sang “Ready for Love” by India Arie. Again, Burnell’s diction and tone is simply incredible. Read more on American Idol Results – Who’s in the Top 10?…
 The boys and girls took the stage this week for the first set of LIVE shows. Joseph B. has done a fantastic job doing a recap of the performances and ranking them accordingly. The producers are setting this up for a girl to take the crown this year but they’ve tried these tactics once before the year Crystal Bowersox ended up losing to Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze. Not only did Bowersox, who has head and shoulders above a lot of the competition that year, lose in the finals, but managed to be the last girl standing after the surprising Top 6 elimination of Siobhan Magnus. If the producers keep “letting us know” its a girl’s year, the tween-voters will revolt and go after their hearthrobs that are in the race. Devin Velez and Burnell Taylor could fit that criteria.
There’s also a good chance we are getting a wildcard show tonight since the show is scheduled for 90 minutes which doesn’t take that long unless someone’s (or some people) are singing. I’ll be looking forward to it since those shows are usually quite enjoyable. Think back to Stefano Langone and Clay Aiken episodes for reference.
Let’s take a look at the girls first: Read more on American Idol Top 20 Result Predictions…
 American Idol LIVE shows officially kick off next Tuesday! The Top 20 have been chosen by the judges, with some head-scratching omissions, but does it look like a girl can finally win American Idol since Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks. Staff Writer Joseph Braverman has done an outstanding job thus far recapping each episode and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season.
While I’ll be bringing the Power Rankings of the contestants each week, I’ll also be kicking off our Past Idol series this Sunday with Season 11 Top 24 contestant Hallie Day who will be making a guest spot on The Awards Circuit Power Hour.
Before the first episode aired, the talk circled around judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey and their ongoing feud. While no obvious disagreements have sparked any fights on the panel so far, the LIVE shows could kick things up a notch. Nicki’s critiques have been mostly useful while Mariah seems to be Paula Abdul-ing herself all over the place. A little incoherent at times, their seems to be an obvious click and war between Nicki and Keith Urban and Randy Jackson and Mariah. Grammy-winner Urban has been an absolute delight on the panel this year although a little soft on some contestants, I’m happy with his inclusion thus far. Read more on American Idol Season 12 Power Rankings and Preview…
Tears, sweat, blood, and shattered pride: This is…Hollywood Week. In what was a first for the long-standing television behemoth, American Idol decided to switch things up by having all the men compete against one another in this grueling yet pivotal round, then whittled down to twenty men standing by the end of the week (the women will duke it out next). I know many are crying foul that the competition was separated in such a manner, especially by gender, but in my estimation this was one of the most successful “switcheroos” I’ve seen in the show’s ten year history. These past two episodes, from an audience perspective, were time well spent. Airtime was solely dedicated to the progress made by our favorite contestants we’ve grown attached to, and by that I mean incredible displays of talent in acapella solos, group performances and final solo rounds. Do you remember that horrific episode last season where no one even sang, but instead the episode revolved on the stupid drama that ensues right before the groups perform for the judges on stage? Yeesh, thank god none of those shenanigans reared their ugly heads this week, and instead we got a mostly drama-free two episodes that gave us the goods at a quick and appropriate pace. Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, well done gentlemen. You’ve listened. Read more on ‘American Idol’ Recap: Hollywood Week Pt. 1 (Guys)…
Categories: TV/Music Tags: american idol, American Idol Hollywood Week boys, american idol hollywood week recap, American Idol Season 12, Charlie Askew, cortez shaw, Keith Urban, Lazaro Arbos, mariah carey, nick boddington, nicki minaj, paul jolly, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest
Another week, another feud, another outstanding display of talent in what’s shaping up to be an incredible season of American Idol. Somehow, each new episode either has me laughing, in awe, or incredibly jealous I’m not there in person to get my hair finger-groomed by Nicki Minaj! Okay, that’s a bit overkill but I can’t help myself! Nicki Minaj is quickly becoming my new favorite television personality, and Keith Urban is undoubtedly the most perfectly-cast judge since Simon Cowell. Urban is always entertained and invested no matter the quality of the audition, and his critiques aptly zone in on what makes that particular performer truly special. Yeah, I’m #TeamNicki/#TeamKeith for now. Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson are fine, but as accomplished as they are in the music biz, is it too much to ask for a bit of variety in their critiques, hopefully not limited to three redundant phrases? Mariah: “Yes!”, “DAAHHHHHLLLIINNNNG,” “POW!” And Randy: “DAWG,” “FOR ME, FOR YOU,” “[Insert generic hyperbole].” Thank god we have Keith and Nicki on the panel, is all I’m saying. With that, let’s get down to business as I present the Top 5 Contestants to Watch from Week Two… Read more on ‘American Idol’ Week 2 Wrap-Up: Top 5 to Watch From Charlotte and Baton Rouge…
Categories: TV/Music Tags: american idol, American Idol 12, american idol recap, American Idol Season 12, Candice Glover, Charlie Askew, fox, Janelle Arthur, Keith Urban, mariah carey, nicki minaj, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest
When it comes to reality television, American Idol is where my heart lies. As corny as that sounds, it is absolutely true. For ten years, I have watched every season, seen every episode, and rooted for god knows how many contestants to win. Not a single year has a favorite of mine won American Idol, and that still never stops me because at the end of the day this show is supposed to find superstars, and it has certainly lived up to its promise tenfold! After watching the premiere this season, I have figured out Idol‘s winning formula. Yes, you need an eclectic judging panel that spices up your television screen — and believe me, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey do the trick plenty! But when it comes right down to why no show matches Idol in the ratings or in the charts — where it counts and why such shows should exist — the answer is simple and pure: our journey with the contestants is a personal one. X-Factor and The Voice put on these huge productions and force contestants to be stars before we even get a chance to know them. That seems phony to us, even though it’s probably what goes on more often than not in the music biz. With American Idol, we witness the natural progression that a contestant makes on their way to becoming a star, and that authentic process, powerful in its intimacy, is why we rush out to buy an American Idol winner’s first album in droves (…unless you’re Lee DeWyze). The long journey through the audition stage, to Hollywood, into the Semifinals, and voting every round of the Finals makes us feel as though we, as Americans, have helped pave their career for them. It’s a joint effort between talent on-stage and nationwide support that transitions the contestant from “you-and-me,” to superstar a la Kelly Clarkson. This is why American Idol is still the best of the singing competition shows, still the best reality show on television. American Idol, for better or worse, is an all-encompassing event that irrefutably lives up to its title. With that said, we now enter Season Twelve… Read more on ‘American Idol’ Week 1 Wrap-Up: Top 5 Contestants to Watch from New York & Chicago…
Alas, another one has bitten the dust on American Idol. After signing on for only two seasons of the hit show, Steven Tyler — rock god extraordinaire of “Aerosmith” — calls it quits on his “mistress American Idol before she boils [his] rabbit.” Oh trust me Steven, your rabbit has long been boiled before Idol came a’ knockin. All jokes aside, I’m going to miss our free-spirited rocker. I know — shocking! Look, although I may be an ardent proponent of articulate and helpful judging — that isn’t limited to the words “beautiful” and “over-the-top” — you can’t deny that Tyler was the perfect remedy after Simon Cowell left behind a stench of bitterness and detachment. We needed a judge who’d bring a smile to everyone’s face, lighten up the somber mood that was beginning to plague the show, and most importantly show a genuine fondness for each contestant. That was Steven Tyler, and from the second he uttered the phrase, ““F–k a duck and see what hatches” during one of the show’s audition rounds, we all knew that FOX had struck television gold. Look, judging on American Idol has pretty much been a farce since Season Seven (America seems to only want white guys with guitars to win), so really…why not make the road to the inevitable a barrel of fun? Thank you Steven Tyler for bringing an exuberance to a show that was in dire need of it, and — at least from this Idol blogger’s end — you will be missed. So now the question is this: who will fill Steven Tyler’s shoes now that he’s decided to hang them up for good? Find out the five names I’ve got swirling in my head as replacements for Tyler…after the jump! Read more on It’s Official: Steven Tyler Quits Idol Gig…But Who Should Replace Him?…
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