Tonight's theme on AMERICAN IDOL was replete with symbolism reminding us that being in the Top-10 of something is a big deal, no matter what that something is! This week, the top 10 contestants sang Top-10 songs, then Bo Derek came out of an elaborate onstage pool wearing a gold bathing suit and braids!
After two weeks of appropriately vague themes allowed the neophyte contestants to explore their individual artistry, I became more than a little apprehensive when Ryan said the top-11 would be singing the “Songs of the Cinema.” The lame OCEAN'S ELEVEN cold open, completed by the cheesiest “This is AMERICAN IDOL” ever to come out of Seacrest's mouth, made me worry that this could be a cheesetastic disaster. However, I forgot that the majority of this year's remaining contestants have shown a surprising talent for avoiding the cliché, and made this the best week of IDOL all season!
Well, after last week's mini-disaster of a top-13 week, there was not much that American Idol could have thrown out on stage tonight that wouldn't have been an improvement. The home-visit episode, where the final three contestants receive ticker tape parades in their respective hometowns, has been the most emotional in each of IDOL's first 12 seasons. So apparently, new producer Per Blankens decided to use some of that emotion in the early stages of this season. While both the vocals and performances were stark improvements over last week, I'm not sure that this episode is going to harken back to the Golden Days of AMERICAN IDOL's dominance.
On last night's AMERICAN IDOL performance night, dubbed 'This Is Me,' the Top 13 stormed the stage to perform the songs they most identified with. Take a look back at the highlights!
There have been a number of noticeable improvements to Season XIII of AMERICAN IDOL, including the inclusion of the best judge in the show's history, Harry Connick Jr., and the Boot Camp featuring Idol-made stars Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry. On the other hand, the new Rush Week was all kinds of disappointment; from Randy Jackson's not-so-triumphant return as the show's new mentor to the contestants having to sprint from their holding chamber to the stage to perform (mostly poorly) just moments after having their fates announced. Unfortunately, that unevenness reared its ugly head again in this week's Top-13 show.
Below, check out the IDOL hopefuls who made it through last night and will compete in next week's first-ever 'Rush Week' with in-house mentor Randy Jackson.
In this context, 'monkey' is slang for an obstacle. Where obstacles are, collisions follow. City collides with country, middle class collides with working class, age collides with youth, and women collide with men.
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest with judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, television's No. 1 is now in its milestone 10th season airing Wednesday and Thursday nights on FOX. Here's photos from Wednesday, February 2 on Fox!
Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the nation audition for a shot at stardom. The show's judges travel across the country in search of the next AMERICAN IDOL. They winnow down the competitors to a select group of semifinalists who sing their hearts out each week in front of a studio audience and television viewers. Here's photos from the show's Nashville auditions!
CR: Michael Becker / FOX.
Here at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, we re always on the lookout for fresh voices and undiscovered talent. With this aim at heart, we launched our second annual Fiction Contest in June 2009. By the contest s mid-November deadline, our mailboxes at the Festival HQ were heaving with a total of 662 entries.