American Idol 8 News (Page 3)

A new twist to the American Idol elimination system was not enough to save Jasmine Murrary or Jorge Nunez.

The contestants were voted off the show last night, even after performing their Michael Jackson renditions for the second consecutive evening. Allow us to explain:

Early in the show, Ryan Seacrest announced the "judges' save." Under the new rule, the panel will have the power to save one contestant from being eliminated each week, until the top five finalists are selected.

If the judges unanimously agree, no singers will be eliminated that night, and then a pair will be sent packing the following week.

Unfortunately, this change only served to double the pain for Murray and Nunez. Already aware that they were at the bottom of the viewers' vote, the twist forced them to sing once again... and then be told by the judges that they were still eliminated. Ouch.

American Idol eliminated two hopefuls last night. Did it make the right choices?

Might American Idol have already found its top two singers? Is there even a reason to continue with the competition?

Okay, we might be exaggerating a big. But, hey, we're not alone!

Paula Abdul pretty much crowned Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey the final two last night, after each performed a rousing rendition of a Michael Jackson favorite.

• First, Gokey received a standing ovation for his performance of "PYT." Simon mocked the dance moves, but said the vocals were brilliant. Abdul said: "I think you're on your way to the finals."
• Lambert, meanwhile, truly brought the house down. He was confident in his over-the-top performance of "Black and White," causing Kara to say he hit notes she didn't think existed, while Cowell admitted he was in a league of his own.

Who else stood out? Only Lil Rounds, really.

Other previous favorites - such as Jorge Nunez and Anoop Desai - failed to impress. We fear that at least one of them gets sent home tonight. What do you think?

Neither Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey nor Lil Rounds are going home tonight. Who was your favorite?

It wasn't at the level of this season's controversial finale on The Bachelor.

But American Idol threw a twist at fans this week, as the series named 13 finalists for the first time in the show's history. 

On last night's Wild Card round, the judges - not the viewers - decided that a trio of new finalists simply weren't enough. As a result, Jasmine Murray, Megan Joy Corkrey, Matt Giraud and Anoop Desai have advanced to the finals.

Anoop Desai and Jasmine Murray are two new American Idol finalists. How far do you think they'll advance?

They join the following, previously-announced season eight finalists:

• Alexis Grace
• Michael Sarver
• Danny Gokey
• Lil Rounds
• Jorge Nunez
• Scott MacIntyre
• Allison Iraheta
• Adam Lambert
• Kris Allen

We're still irate over the fact that Tatiana del Toro was named to this season's Wild Card round, but we'll get to that in a moment.

First, let's celebrate the fact that America got it right. We agree with all three finalists voted through to the next round:

1. Lil Rounds
2. Scott MacIntyre
3. Jorge Nuñez

Lil Rounds and Jorge Nunez are American Idol finalists. Congrats!

Following this announcement, Ryan Seacrest explained to viewers that the judges had selected eight singers that they believed deserved a second chance to audition for the finals. 

The inclusion of del Toro is nothing short of infuriating. The show is clearly hoping for yet another emotional breakdown from the contestant, as it aims for ratings and drama, as opposed to actual singing talent. For shame.

Here's the list of Wild Card contestants scheduled to perform tonight: 

• Von Smith
• Anoop Desai
• Jesse Langseth
• Jasmine Murray
• Matt Giraud
• Ricky Braddy
• Megan Joy Corkrey
• Tatiana del Toro

Last night's third round of semifinal auditions was highlighted by a number of impressive performance.

None was more powerful, however, than Lil Rounds' rendition of Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You." Simon Cowell said it was the best audition of the season so far... and we agree!

Take a look and judge for yourself:

To recap the rest of the night:

• Von Smith sang  “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gay and was compared to Clay Aiken. By Simon, no less!

• The judges told Taylor Vaifanua she has little personality, but a great voice on “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys.

• The panel agreed: Alex Wagner-Trugman's “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues” was fun to watch, not enjoyable to listen to.

• Bad song choice, Arianna Afsar. The judges didn't approve of “The Winner Takes it All” by Abba.

• Ju’Not Joyner showed impressive range on “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White Ts. But he's overmatched by fellow competitors.

• Kristen McNamara may have chosen a boring song - “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman - but everyone agreed she had major vocal chops.

• Nate Marshall had fun, his admitted goal with his performance, singing “I Would Do Anything for Love” by Meatloaf. But fun won't be enough to get him through to the finals.

• Felicia Barton is a definite sleeper. We loved her rendition of “No One” by Alicia Keys.

• How can you not root for Scott MacIntyre? The legally blind singer oozed emotion during “Mandolin Rain” by Bruce Hornsby.

• Kendall Beard came through for the show's country fans. Solid performance of “This One’s for the Girls” by Martina McBride.

• Jorge Nunez sang “Don’t Let the Sun go Down on Me” by Elton John... and was reduced to tears after universal approval from the judges.

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!!!