‘Idol’ adds extra finalist spot, saves Anoop
When does 12 equal 13? Apparently, the answer is “When 'American Idol' selects its finalists.” Thursday’s wild-card round was supposed to send three singers on to complete the traditional group of 12 finalists. But a last-minute curveball delivered by Simon Cowell offered up extra-special news for one of the audience favorites. Lucky 13: Anoop Desai suffered the unkindest cut in his semifinal heat, falling about 20,000 votes short of Michael Sarver for the final spot. It looked for a...

American Idol 8: Idol Thoughts - Motown Week's Failed Potential and an Appraisal of the Front-Runners
American Idol disappoints me sometimes.  Really a lot.  They are the biggest moneymaker on television.  They have the means to purchase the rights to any song they want.  And, yet, it's not difficult to figure out that the list of Motown songs given to the Top 10 wasn't terribly expansive.  Were there even twenty possible song choices on the list?  Look at the breakdown: two Marvin Gaye songs, two Smokey Robinson songs, and three Temptations songs were performed...

'American Idol' Runner-Up David Archuleta Shows His Range On Debut Album
"American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta talked to us about his debut album, his voice changing and the smooth transition he's had from the TV show to the recording studio.

Correction: Disqualified "Idol" contestant story
In a Feb. 12 story about the removal of contestant Joanna Pacitti from " American Idol ," The Associated Press reported erroneously that Pacitti had performed in the musical "Annie" on Broadway. Pacitti, 23, portrayed the title role during a national tour, but was replaced by an understudy weeks before the revival was to hit Broadway in 1997. Pacitti was 12 at the time.

'American Idol''s Top 10 Sing Motown
"American Idol"'s top 10 flew to the Motor City (Detroit) to get their groove on for this week's theme: the Motown song book. Then back in Los Angeles, they were mentored by no one less than Motown-great and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Smokey Robinson. Matt Giraud launched the night playing piano and singing to Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." Randy Jackson enthused, " Yo, man. You set this off on a tone. I know there are some other boys that are the frontrunners, but that run you...

\"American Idol\" Wardrobe -- Where'd They Get That?!
Luxaholics has the inside scoop on exactly what the "American Idol" wannabes were wearing this week! Was there a look you liked? Shop it!Some looked fab while others looked in need of some help, but if you liked the choices of any of the Idols, they can now be yours! Here's the rundown on the top 13 contestants' wardrobe choices -- which we're told they picked themselves!

Tidbits: -Success is the best revenge' for Abdul: PHOTO
If the show must go on without her, ex-“American Idol” judge Paula Abdul plans to have revenge in the form of a hit show of her own .

American Idol Wants Torrent Users Kicked Off the Internet
executive, Tony Cohen , wants people who download the show via torrents to have their internet access cut off.  WHAT?  Cohen is the CEO of Idol’ s production company, FremantleMedia , and he’s clearly crazy. I can understand that he has an opinion, and I can even understand his perspective, but the relationship between consumers and their internet service providers should not be policed by the producers of television shows. 

Battle for American Idol Crown Intensifies with Nine Remaining Contestants
On the March 31, 2009, edition of American Idol, the lyrical flavor of the week was the AT40 iTunes list.

‘American Idol’: Goin’ to Kansas City
They’ve been to Phoenix. They’ve been to Kansas City. The two-night premiere of American Idol Season 8 is over. And, already, I think there’s a chance we’ve seen the singer who will win the title crown. I’m not sure who it will be personally, but I do have my favorites. The Kansas City auditions were filled [...]

TV review: It's Isaak time, now cut him loose
With a bit of hunting, you can track down television series dedicated to music - like PBS' "Soundstage" - that aren't the clown competition found on "American Idol" or the ignore-them-till-the-end habits of late-night talk shows that let buzz bands play three minutes of material before the credits roll.

Live Blog: ‘American Idol’ Motown Week
Live blog of tonight’s ‘Motown’ week on American Idol. R&B legend Smokey Robinson is the mentor for Motown week. Smokey has written over 4,000 songs and is most famous for ‘Tears of the Clown.’ He Motown founder Barry Gordy told him early on, “We’re not going to make black music. We are going to [...]

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/22/2009
American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson took this week's #1 spot for a second straight week with her RCA Records release All I Ever Wanted . The Pop star had some debut company. After U2 's No Line On The Horizon and the Twilight soundtrack,  The-Dream 's [ click to read ] fell two spots with Love Vs. Money [ click to read ]. Def Jam 's hit-making songwriter, producer and performer sold roughly a third of the units moved during his previous week's debut. Bad Boy Records 's ...

Three Indian Americans among US science talent contest winners
Washington, March 11 (IANS) Three Indian-Americans students have made it to the top 10 in what has been described as the brainy version of American Idol, introducing America’s next top scientist. Narendra Tallapragada from Virginia was ranked fourth, Preya Shah from New York eighth and Nilesh Tripuraneni from California ninth in the Intel Science Talent Search [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Three Indian Americans among US science talent contest winners", url:...

'Close Enough' Counts - FOXNews
They say close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but this year it’ll also get you pretty far on American Idol. Eight "close enough" contestants were given the grand consolation prize of a second chance Wednesday after the show revealed the last three to be admitted to the finals courtesy of America. As predicted Lil Rounds, Scott McIntyre and Jorge Nunez are the latest additions to the Season 8 Top 12. The Wild Card picks, however, were a bit more surprising. Especially for...

Raising a joyful sound: Philly-area church choirs vie for national gospel music title: PHOTO
ELEVEN CITIES. 86 choirs. One ultimate winner. It's "American Idol" for gospel and it's coming here on Saturday. Seven Delaware Valley church choirs will take the stage in one of the city's largest venues to have their shot at being named the Best Church Choir in America during the Verizon Wireless "How Sweet the Sound" concert series. The national event kicked off last Saturday in Houston and has been weaving its way around the nation from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., and...

Caption This (337): PHOTO
Live East Coast Blog For American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Survivor, Big Brother and many other reality shows.

Anoop Desai bounces back on 'Idol,' wows Cowell and company with 'Always on My Mind'
The "American Idol" judges are willing to give Anoop Desai one more chance to keep them satisfied. By ERIN CARLSON Associated Press Writer

Was Idol Saving Up Paula Cash for Simon?
Everyone's favorite slurring sycophant may be gone (right?), but American Idol's resident dream crusher is just about back and raring to go. Simon Cowell is thisclose to locking...

Another Emmy Win for American Idol
Congratulations to American Idol Director Bruce Gowers on winning a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Series. Bruce accepted the award last night at the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Award show. The award was given to Bruce for his work on show 833, "The Final Three," in which Kris Allen , Adam Lambert , and Danny Gokey sang their hearts out for a chance to advance to the American Idol finale at the Nokia Theater. View photos from the episode, here ....

American Idol: Twice the Elimination, Twice the Pain!
American Idol announced a major change to its rules last night.So far, though, it's merely served to double the pain of Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez.Early in the hour, Ryan Seacrest said the competition would enact the "judges' save" this season. Under this rule, Kara, Simon, Paula and Randy have an opportunity to keep a contestant around, even if he/should received the lowest number of viewer votes that week. The rules for the save are:The judges must agree unanimously on the singer;It may...

TV Extensions, Renewals and Cancellations (2/26)
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New ABC sitcom bombs in ratings
NEW YORK - "American Idol" may have some competition on its hands. ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" finished closer to "Idol" than it ever has in a week where both shows were on the air, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Dancing" reached 21.2 million viewers last Monday, while "Idol" had 21.9 million on Tuesday. "Idol" fared much better when the games' results shows aired. "Idol" is in the midst of its semifinal rounds, where interest has...