February 2009 News Archive

Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen are officially American Idol finalists. Congrats to the trio!

Here are excerpts of interviews each singer gave this week to TV Guide:

Adam Lambert on...

... his first musical theater role: "It was a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I was 10 years old, and I played Linus. It was downtown San Diego, and it was pretty wild!"

... fear of country music: "Range-wise, there isn't anything I'd be scared to attempt. But as for styles, country week would be a stretch for me."

Allison Iraheta on...

... American Idol aspirations: "I've been wanting to audition since [age] 9! I had my face against the TV screen, wishing I was on the show."

... Simon's critiques: "He doesn't know me. He says I'm boring, but honestly I'm not. I'll just chill a little bit more because the nerves got to me a little [this week]."

Kris Allen on...

... a theme he'd embrace: "Doing The Beatles would be so amazing. I feel like you can do a lot with their songs. That would be the coolest thing ever."

... tackling Michael Jackson: "I decided on ["Man in the Mirror"] a while back, so it was a little scary. But I was really confident in what I was dong. I was just happy I didn't get any compared to him."

Six down, six to go.

Three more finalists were named on American Idol last night, as Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen received the most viewer votes.

Who is your favorite new finalist?

They join the first trio of singers to move on to the show's round of 12: Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver.

Next Tuesday, a dozen more semifinalists will compete for three spots in the competition's final round.

After they have been chosen, the judges will pick the last three finalists after a special wild card round.

There were two big winners from last night's second round of semifinal auditions on American Idol.

1. Adam Lambert.
2. Anoop Desai.

Allow us to explain:

Lambert put on the best performance - by far - of an otherwise woeful series of auditions. Yes, Allison Iraheta surprised the judges and the viewers. But Lambert was the true star.

He closed the show with a rendition of "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones that Simon called "brilliant" and caused Paula to yammer something about how the nation was attending a special Adam Lambert concert.

So, why was Desai, who peformed last week but did not advance to the finals, also a winner? Because no other contenders emerged last night, especially considering that two singers (aside from Lambert, of course) will be voted through to the next round tonight.

This means that Anoop will have very little competition during next week's Wild Card round. We expect him to make the finals, after all.

Who was your favorite peformer this week?

Who will win this year's American Idol title?

Simon Cowell doesn't know for sure, but he revealed a few of his feelings about season eight so far during a recent interview with People Magazine:

On who which gender will win: “[It will be a] boy this year"

On the Joanna Pacitti controversy: “I like scandals. It’s not American Idol without a scandal. In fact I hope we have some more, I really do.”

On the new semifinal format: “The fact that we change these middle rounds makes it less monotonous. It’s a more interesting group of people than last year, a bit more personality, different types of singers.”

A boy, Simon? Who do you think he's referring to, readers? The obvious choice so far is Danny Gokey, but you never know what will happen over the next few weeks!

One second you're an American Idol semifinalst, the next second, the dream is over.

Such is the life of a contestant on the world's most popular reality show, as proven this week: Danny Gokey accepts a berth in the final round of 12, while Tatiana del Toro is left in tears.

This photo says it all...

This wasn't on par with Michael Johns or Chris Daughtry being voted off earlier than expected, but we definitely didn't think Michael Sarver's name would be called last night.

The oil rig worker gave a decent rendition of Gavin McGraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" on Tuesday, and we agree with Simon Cowell that he seems like a very nice guy, but did Sarver deserve a spot in the finals over Anoop Desai? Or even Ann Marie Boskovich?

Joining Sarver as the other two highest vote-getters from the week were a pair of obvious selections: Alexis Grace and Danny Gokey.

The ride isn't officially over for Desai, Boskvoich or any other semifinalist: there will be a wild card round this season, during which a trio of contestants will have a second chance to move on to the finals.

Let the campain begin now: Anoop for Wild Card!!!

One-third of American Idol's 36 semifinalists took to the stage last night during the first round of fan voting.

While Jackie Tohn kicked the show off with an energetic performance of "A Little Less Conversation," and while Anoop Desai once again proved that his vocal talent belies his youthful, innocent appearance, two contestants truly separated themselves from the others.

• Fans were shown the original, awkward audition of Alexis Grace, during which Kara told her to go home and make love to her fiance. After her rendition of "Never Loved a Man" by Aretha Franklin, however, it seemed like the judges wanted to make love to Grace. Even Simon was impressed.

• Danny Gokey closed the show, meanwhile, and received a standing ovation for his version of Mariah Carey's "Hero." Paula already has him selling out arenas, while Simon said he wasn't buying all of the hype just yet... but was clearly impressed.

Who was your favorite contestant last night?

The top male and female will move on the final 12, along with the next highest vote-getter. We'd be shocked if Grace and Gokey aren't included in this group.

The opening round of season eight's semifinals kick off tomorrow night.

Only 12 of the show's final 36 contestants will sing for the judges, and we've uncovered the identities of this initial set of American Idol hopefuls.

Prepare to vote on the following competitors tomorrow night:

• Tatiana Del Toro
• Stevie Wright
• Anne Marie Boskovich (pictured)
• Jackie Tohn
• Casey Carlson
• Alexis Grace
• Anoop Desai
• Michael Sarver
• Stephen Fowler
• Danny Gokey
• Ricky Braddy
• Brent Keith

Earlier this week, Joanna Pacitti was disqualified from the round of 36 on American Idol.

The show cited the singer's connections to executives at the record label associated it. Was the decision to cut Pacitti a fair one?

Here's what a few past finalists have to say about it:

Season 2 champion Ruben Studdard: "This opportunity wasn't for her. Maybe God has something else for her."

Season 1 runner-up Justin Guarini: "I believe in second chances. I don't think I'd be here without a second chance, and probably a third or fourth chance. Everyone needs to be held up to the same standards on American Idol... Unfortunately, she was disqualified from the show, but I think the exposure is going to be huge for her."

Season 6's Chris Sligh: "I think a lot of contestants don't actually read the contracts that they give you. I actually read every word of it so I knew that I couldn't have a record deal, which I didn't have, I couldn't have a publishing deal...So if you're dumb enough to be that dumb, then oh well."

Season 7's Michael Johns: "One thing you cannot do is know people who work for Coke or Fox or 19 [Production Company] or anything like that. That's why I could never go on Wheel of Fortune: me and Pat Sajak go way back. It's never good to hear that she never got a chance."

Do you think the Joanna Pacitti disqualification was fair?

We got it mostly right.

The previously-released list of American Idol semifinalists was almost spot-on, with one notable exception:

According to a Fox press release issues this morning, “it has been determined that Joanna Pacitti is ineligible to continue in the competition."

Looks like the singer's previous connections with executive at 19 Entertainment, as well as a deal in 2005 with A&M records, were too much for the show to justify her inclusion any longer.

Aside from that controversy, most of the contestants that have moved on to the round of 36 are familiar names. Among our early favorites:

• Danny Gokey
• Lil Rounds
• Anoop Desai
• Kristen McNamara

Follow this article's jump to get a close look at each semifinalist, along with his/her name, age, hometown and picture...

Continue Reading...