American Idol 8: Top 3, Live Results

Gokeface has made the final three on American Idol, much to my music-loving chagrin. Danny Gokey is a good singer, but he's the kind of singer who exists in every city in America. A guy with a really great voice, who's kind of awkward and has no musical ability outside of that voice. You won't be finding an Adam Lambert in Milwaukee, that's for damn sure. You might find a Kris Allen, but even Allen is a rare musical talent, combining a great voice, the ability to play multiple instruments and a real understanding of how to make songs uniquely his own. There is no question that Kris and Adam are greater talents than Danny Gokey. This is why if Kris or, somehow, Adam are eliminated tonight, all hell will break loose. After his incredible performance of "Heartless," Kris Allen deserves a spot in the finale. He absolutely does. Yet, the Idol producers and the Idol judges seem to believe that Danny Gokey is the man worthy of the final two, a preference as offensive as it is baffling. Let us, then, get it on. Tonight's results show will have some special guest performances (Jordin Sparks and Katy Perry), but the main event is and always will be the results. Hopefully, I will no longer have to desecrate the Temple of Gokey this season. Hopefully, we will have an exciting final week of American Idol. Strap in, grab a tasty beverage, snack on some pistachios and join me for another raucous night of American Idol results

Tim Roth just walked in slow motion out of his Lie Detector Institution, which means it's time for American Idol.Ben Stiller opens the show tonight at the "American Idol Desk" saying that Seacrest hurt himself in a bikini waxing incident. It's a shameless promotion for Night at the Museum 2, but we also get Bill Hader, Hank Azaria, Bill Hader and Jonah Hill. It's kind of funny, yet shameless at the same time. Yay, cross-promotion!Kevin Bacon in the house!!! Seacrest informs us that over 88 million votes came in last night. That's right. 88 million. Only one million votes separated the top 2 tonight. That's cool news, meaning the finale should be close. Randy Jackson is wearing lavendar tonight, Kara rocking the female mohawk thing (is there a name for this?) and Paula is wearing another one of her prom dresses.Ford Music Video: It's another half live-action, half-cartoon. The three men face challenges, like snarling dogs, clouds and a street blocked off by cars. The Ford intern on mushrooms strikes again. The fine-looking Alicia Keys comes on stage to talk about Idol Gives Back type things.A guy named Noah performs a song called "I Am the World's Greatest." Apparently he's been making money for HIV prevention in Rwanda. Noah is a little kid who bounces around jubilantly on stage. It's not a very good song, unfortunately. Halfway through the song, Noah "breaks it down." Cute kid, crappy song. This is going to be a long, long night. After this first commercial, we're going to watch some long video packages of the top 3 traveling to their hometowns. I don't need to see Milwaukee.

fromwww.buddytv.com

'American Idol' Plans To Embrace Extra-Long Shows (NWS)

Earlier this year, there was some grumbling among DVR users and Fringe fans when a few Tuesday night American Idol episodes scheduled for an hour ran over.
But Idol creator Simon Fuller tells Billboard that he has a plan to deal with that: he's going to embrace those longer shows.
One of the things we've learned and will address next year is that there were a couple of shows that we didn't have enough time on; we tried to cut to an hour too early. Now everyone is in agreement that next year we'll make those shows hour-and-a-half shows and we'll have more time to benefit from having four judges.
Um, has he discussed this with Fox yet?
We're pretty sure Fox would change their schedule around to accomodate its cash cow, but the problem is that Fox might not have an appropriate half an hour comedy to slot after Idol. Granted, it's still early, Fox hasn't even announced its schedule for this fall let alone next winter, when American Idol comes back. But if Idol's planning to go ahead with that hour-and-a-half format, that might mean Fringe, which has been a hit after Idol at 9, could get moved to another night, which could affect its ratings—not so much because it wouldn't have the Idol lead-in but because of competition from other networks on different nights.
And what does Fox even have that it could pair with American Idol for that remaining half-hour? The following are half-hour shows already renewed for next year or ones that could be picked up:
Already renewed:
American Dad
Family Guy
The Simpsons
'Til Death
Likely to be renewed:
COPS
Pilots likely to be picked up:
Sons of Tucson
Cleveland
Brothers
We doubt Fox will move any of its Sunday night animated series to Tuesday or Wednesday, and it's likely that Seth McFarlane's new animated series, Cleveland, will get a spot on Sunday too. And COPS? Please.
That leaves returning sitcom 'Til Death and newcomers Suns of Tucson and Brothers vying for the post-Idol spot. Since Sons of Tucson and Brothers seem so male-centric, we doubt they'd be a good fit with Idol, and Fox will probably want to pair them together. Our bet is that if Idol does go to an hour-and-a-half, 'Til Death will get the 9:30 slot, which could give a ratings boost to a show that hasn't attracted much of an audience.

from www.businessinsider.com

how adam lambert single handedly save "americanidol"

Rob Sheffield’s complete American Idol piece, “Whole Lotta Lambert,” is on newsstands now in our new issue. He will also take over RollingStone.com to live blog the Idol finale on May 20th.
American Idol is back on top, and it’s all one little black-leather-clad demon prince’s fault. For the past few seasons, Idol seemed to be dying of boredom, but Adam Lambert, a goth studlet with mascara, black nail polish and a falsetto from deep in the larynx of Lucifer, has single-handedly rescued the franchise. He can do sincerity and ridiculosity all at once, exactly the algorithm Idol has been striving for all these years. Lambert combines the different Idol archetypes, delivering the complete star thrill heretofore doled out one sliver at a time. He has the burning “say my name, bitch” thing of Chris Daughtry, the cutthroat vanity of a Carrie Underwood, but also that innocent desire to give pleasure à la Kelly Clarkson. He packs a whole Gong Show of Americana into one pair of striped spandex tights. (Savor the spandex and guyliner in these photos of Lambert’s finest Idol moments.)
Where the hell did they find this guy? There’s a “boy who fell to Earth” quality about him, like David Bowie’s Lady Stardust come to life. It’s a little hard to believe that, until a few months ago, he was toiling away as an obscure understudy in the L.A. production of Wicked. He’s easily the most fun Idol ever, a flam-bam-boyantly queeny California boy who has devoted his nights to making Midwestern housewives slobber into their tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra. Whether he’s slutting up a rocker like “Born to Be Wild” (”wiii-eeee-iiyaaaiild!”) or sobbing his way through “Mad World,” he oozes pure awesome-stosterone.
Having Adam around seems to cheer everybody up, including the other singers, who know the pressure’s off. Hell, even Simon looks happy. Yeah, it’s supposed to be a competition, but part of Glambert’s charm is that by removing all the bogus suspense from the show, he’s made it watchable again.
We don’t know for sure if Glambert is gay — all he says is he has nothing to hide or deny — but if not, it’s the gayest embodiment of flaming youth by a straight guy since Bowie sold the world. Glambert plays off the new gay stereotype that has been reality TV’s gift to our culture: the hyperfunctional gay dude who has his shit together in contrast to all the neurotic, insecure straight guys around him. He reverses the joke from Mean Girls — he’s too gay not to function. Somewhere along the line, this has become an iconic gay image in the mainstream — seen more recently in I Love You, Man, where the only person with any confidence is the gay Andy Samberg character, who gets to be strong while all the straight boys are sulky little bitches. …
For the rest of Rob Sheffield’s thoughts on American Idol — including why Lambert reminds us of 1973 Triple Crowd winner Secretariat — check out our new issue, on stands now. And don’t miss his live blog of the Idol finale here at RollingStone.com on May 20th. Check out all our Idol recaps and news, too.

from http://www.rollingstone.com/

Jamie Foxx Offers His 'American Idol' Prediction, Advice

As Kris Allen and Adam Lambert prepare for their head-to-head battle in the "American Idol" finale, Jamie Foxx said he already knows the name of the winner.
"Kradam! That's both of them," Jamie joked with Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell. "Adamis!"
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'American Idol's' Final 3: Adam Lambert, Kris Allen & Danny Gokey
Joking aside, Jamie — who got a chance to work with each of the finalists as one of this season's special guest mentors – said he thinks the title of "Idol" will go to the man who has been the frontrunner most of the season.
"Adam is gonna win, I believe," Jamie admitted.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'American Idol's' Season 8's Top Ten Visit The Access Hollywood Set
However, the Oscar winner and platinum-selling artist said he sees nothing but big things ahead for Kris.
"For me, this is my opinion, that Kris dude, I guarantee you, he's got something special," Jamie told Nancy. "And if you notice, most of the people that don't win usually end up with crazy careers."
In fact, if Kris is looking for anyone to duet with, Jamie told the aspiring singer he's ready.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'American Idol' Season 8 Contenders & Their Celebrity Look-A-Likes
"I told him. I said, 'I'll do it right here with you,'" the actor recalled of his mentoring session with Kris. "Because the way his nuance is, he's not trying to win the contest – he was just giving you the real thing."
"He sang something and he looked in my eyes, I was like, 'Oh man!' you know. It was crazy. I said, 'Dude, you got something.'"
And while he was clearly impressed with Kris' singing chops, he did offer some advice to the "Idol" hopeful.
"I asked Kris what he wanted to do. He said, 'I want to do pop music.' And I told him there is no such thing as pop music," Jamie continued. "You do the music from your soul and then you hope it becomes popular."
The new "American Idol" will be crowned on May 20.

from www.nbclosangeles.com

American Idol Socks It To Gokey

So now we know who the American Idol finalists are. And now we know that one of them isn’t Danny Gokey. Thank heavens.
Despite being a leading contender to win American Idol from the get-go, thanks to his unique combination of tragic backstory, inability to scream properly and having a face like a remedial-level semi-melted walnut, last night saw poor old Danny Gokey ejected forever.
Gokey’s goodbye sets up a thrilling American Idol final between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen that, if we know American Idol, will be 16 hours long and drive everyone to the brink of tedium-induced suicide. Joy.
Now we’re no American Idol experts - in our mind, all the previous seasons have somehow merged into one solid, impenetrable tumour that sounds like I Will Always Love You played on a glockenspiel made out of abused circus monkeys - but has a contestant as uniformly disliked as Danny Gokey ever made it to the American Idol semi-final before?
It’s hard to imagine. For someone so fundamentally unlikeable as Danny Gokey to make it anywhere near the American Idol top three is slightly staggering. It means that people were rooting for Danny Gokey after his first audition went from tear-flecked “I’m doing this for my dead wife in heaven” tragedy to uncomfortably jockish, Durstesque whooping in the blink of an eye once he knew he’d passed to the next round.
It means that people were rooting for Danny Gokey when, during Disco Night, he danced like a baby deer with polio on an ice rink on a cruise ship in a hurricane. It means that people were still rooting for Danny Gokey when he used his rendition of Dream On by Areosmith to make a noise like a constipated pterodactyl being punched in the face. It’s bizarre.
But if there’s one thing that nobody could possibly ever root for, it’s the image of Danny Gokey standing next to a saxophone singing scat to a Terrence Trent D’Arby song. That’s an unforgivable crime, and it’s why Danny Gokey was finally eliminated from American Idol last night. Reuters reports:
Paula Abdul appeared to fight back tears. Afterward, judge Simon Cowell said Gokey’s elimination and the looming showdown between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, who was considered an underdog, came as a surprise. “None of us would have predicted this, guys,” Cowell said. “No disrespect, because you were brilliant last night, and just now by the way Danny, congratulations.”
Ah yes, the American Idol final. It’s Adam Lambert vs Kris Allen. And, really, it could go either way. It’s the plucky underdog against the season’s swaggering show-stopper. It’s the humble everyman against the snarling alien. It’s (possibly) gay against (we’re assuming) straight. It’s a man so painfully anonymous that he may as well have spent the last six months with his face pixellised like someone from Cheaters against a creepy bloke with a singing voice that we imagine sounds like Joe Pasquale ejaculating. And we wouldn’t miss it for the world.
But only out of professional obligation. You don’t think we’d actually watch American Idol if we didn’t have to write about it the next day, do you? Because, you know, it’s sort of rubbish

from hecklerspray.com

American Idol: Simon Cowell Is A Stroppy Little Madam

God, is American Idol still going? Yeesh. We want it to end now. And it’s not just us - Simon Cowell does too.
Or we assume he does, based on his pissy demeanour throughout last night’s American Idol. Last night, faced with the nightmarish proposition of Kris Allen singing One Republic, Adam Lambert singing U2 and - God help us all - Danny Gokey singing scat, Simon Cowell decided that the best way to get through American Idol was by being an arsehole.
We’re not making that up. Danny Gokey sang scat. Frankly we’re surprised Simon Cowell didn’t punch anyone in the face.
This season of American Idol has been going on since approximately the actual dawn of bloody man, so naturally people have their own personal endurance limits when it comes to watching it. We, for instance, tend to get sick of American Idol during the first tenth of the first second of the first promo announcing the first episode of the season. But that’s just us.
For others it’s the interminable doldrums of the American Idol mid-section where the public hacks away week after week at mediocre nobodies like what’s his name and whojammacallit and it doesn’t seem to make a blind bit of difference to the number of remaining contestants. And then there’s Simon Cowell, whose own personal endurance gave up the ghost during last night’s American Idol.
And for good reason, too. Last night the remaining three American Idol contestants were put through Judge’s Choice night, where each of the American Idol judges picked songs for the performers - with the exception of Randy Jackson because the song he chose, a ditty called Woo Dog Dog Dog Baby Dog Baby Hollywood Baby Dog Dog, doesn’t actually seem to exist.
Anyway, long story short, Kara DioGuardi made Kris Allen sing Apologize by One Republic. And that’s bad enough - Apologize is the sort of song that’s popular with people who don’t actually like music and just want a background noise to block out the voices in their head telling them to hurt themselves - but then Kara decided to criticise the song choice afterwards, which set Simon Cowell off on a stroppy little rampage:
“It’s a copout. … You can’t choose a song for him then blame him for doing the song,” Cowell said. “You didn’t hold up to your responsibility.” “You’re gonna tell me about interpreting songs?” DioGuardi shot back. “Have you ever interpreted a song in your life?”
As for the other American Idol contestants, Adam Lambert sang One by U2 on Simon’s say-so and Cryin’ by Aerosmith, which largely sounded identical to One by U2 and Cryin’ by Aerosmith except higher-pitched and creepier. Also, Danny Gokey, knowing that he had some way to go to top his off-kilter screeching last week, took on a Terence Trent D’Arby song that required him to a) dance and b) go “Doo-be-doop-ba-doob-a-dee-dwoop” like a hateful little tossbag.
So who’ll be eliminated from American Idol tomorrow? Honestly, we couldn’t care less. But we’d quite like it if an audience member could keep poking Simon Cowell in the back of the head with a stick until he lashes out and stabs someone, please.

from hecklerspray.com