American Idol - Peter's Reviews

American Idol - Finale Rumors

Here's some various American Idol finale news (updates as they come in):

• The big rumor is that the cast of Dreamgirls will all perform on the finale. That's fine but I'd rather see Prince again.
• Oprah wants Jordin Sparks to win.
• Simon isn't sure but thinks Jordin is the better singer but Blake Lewis is the better entertainer.
• Simon thought the whole "vote for Sanjaya" thing was funny but is glad he's gone. Look for Sanjaya to make an appearance in the finale.

Click here to comment on these rumors

American Idol News - Paula Breaks Her Nose

American Idol judge, Paula Abdul got off-balance while her pet chihuahua was at her feet and in the act of avoiding stepping on her pet, Abdul fell and broke her nose. She also broke a toe and get pretty bruised up. I've seen pictures of her and she looked OK, although she admitted that makeup was covering up some nasty bruising on her face. Anyone who has had a broken nose or any facial trauma will know that sometimes bruising and swelling doesn't happen until the next day so we'll be looking closely at Paula's face tonight! Click here to comment on this story.

Video: American Idol's Constantine Maroulis Interviewed

Here's an interview with American Idol finalist, Constantine Maroulis where he talks about Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, his new CD, his role on the Bold and the Beautiful and more. Click here to comment on this video.

American Idol's Producer Nigel Lythgoe Interviewed

Here's an interesting interview with the producer of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, Nigel Lythgoe. He talks about the American Idol finale, Melinda, Simon and much more. Click here to comment on this video.

This Week's American Idol News - 07/21/07

Well we're already at the week of the American Idol Finale. What's in store for the two finalists, Jordin Sparks (who will probably win) and Blake Lewis? To the left is a picture of Jordin Sparks as a young girl. Click here to view more pictures of the American Idol stars as kids at TMZ.

• Sanjaya Malakar claims that when he was on the show he wanted to sing Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz" but the American Idol producers wouldn't let him because Ford is a sponsor of the show.
• Kimberly Locke releases her CD and gets mediocre reviews.
• Paris Bennett releases her CD to mediocre reviews. She at least attempts some dance music and grown up fare but is anyone believing it? Personally, I think the duet with Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais completely makes her CD a joke.
• Phil Stacey got the OK from the Navy to go on the American Idol tour. I wonder if they're forcing him to wear his uniform just like he has on all of his appearances since he got booted from Idol?

Click here to comment

Video: Ryan Seacrest Interviews Melinda Doolittle

Ryan Seacrest gets the first interview with Melinda Doolittle after she got voted off of American Idol last night. Click here to comment.

American Idol - Shocking Results Show 05/16/07

By the look on everyone's face last night, Melinda Doolittle getting voted off of American Idol came as a shock to all, including Simon, Melinda and Blake. That means that the final two will be Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks.

It hardly seems fair that the best singer was voted off. Melinda never seemed to have a bad performance the entire show which is probably a first. Not even Kelly Clarkson went the whole show without one bad performance.

Is it just me or does this season now seem like a slam-dunk for Jordin? She has the looks, youth and voice that she seems like the perfect person to be the American Idol. Blake, while talented might not appeal to as many people as Jordin. I guess my pick will still be Jordin but I can guarantee that more people will be looking forward to seeing what Blake will do with a solo career.

Perhaps the real question that needs to be asked is, "Who has the most promising career out of the top three?" Clearly, Blake was the only contestant this season who tried anything really original. Jordin and Melinda turned every style into R&B. While they were great at doing so, it wasn't exciting as waiting for Blake to remix a song into something cool, although it didn't always work. I liked how he would take chances. The last guy to do this was Chris Daughtry and his career is going great. I think Jordin has a good chance at a career but I'm not exactly what Melinda can do that will make millions of fans shell out money. We'll have to see. Click here to comment.

Video: Debra Byrd - American Idol's Voice Coach

Debra Byrd has been the vocal coach for American Idol since the first season with Kelly Clarkson. She's helped all of the contestants deal with vocal problems and gave them the confidence to do their best. In this video interview, Debra talks about Kelly Clarkson's voice, dealing with the different problems that arise on American Idol and more. She's also selling a DVD to help people with their voices

Click here to visit Debra Byrd's official website and check out her DVD

If you're interested in singing, be sure to check out American Idol, Singer's Advantage. It uses Seth Riggs' speech level singing program which I highly endorse. Click here to comment.

American Idol - Who's Going Home Tonight 07/16/07

The people over at American Idol really are setting Melinda up to be the winner. They placed her in the last spot, gave her good songs to sing and praised her heavily while criticizing Blake and Jordin even after they gave good performances. Needless to say, the oddsmakers are heavily favoring Melinda. Right now, Blake might be in the bottom but not by much. Who does American Idol want to win? It looks like Melinda but I think that Jordin Sparks could make more money than Melinda because she's young, pretty and has a great voice. Blake probably would have a better solo career if he didn't win. He could pull a Chris Daughtry and release an album without the pressure of being the AI winner. Look for Blake to go home tonight. Click here to comment.

This Week's American Idol News - 05/15/07

This week the final three American Idol contestants, Blake Lewis, Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks will perform 3 songs each! No word on what styles they'll be singing. Tomorrow's show will feature performances by Elliott Yamin and Maroon 5. Click on the article title to comment.

Here's some random American Idol News

• After getting nothing but negative reviews over his darker hair, Blake might go back to blonde.
• Tamyra Gray will join the cast of Rent. Too bad her solo career never took off since she's one of the best to ever compete on the show.
• Taylor Hicks' career is dying as quick as it started.
• The Howard Stern show is claiming that American Idol staff knew LaKisha was going to lose at the start of the week and even booked tickets for her to go home before the performance show aired. They claim that someone inside the organization says that the show is rigged.
• LaKisha is in love with Ryan Seacrest. She's not only delusional but probably barking up the wrong tree.
• Chris Richardson might be dating Alaina Alexander as they've been spotted out together. Nice one Chris!
• According to People, William Hung claims that he's earned over $1 million since his appearance on Idol.

American Idol - Who's Going Home Tonight 05/09/07

Is there anyone who doesn't think that it's finally LaKisha Jones' turn to go home? She's proven herself to be one -dimensional even though that single dimension sounds pretty fantastic. I think very few of this year's contestants have shown any versatility at all. Anyway, everyone including me is expecting that it's LaKisha's last week.

See ya, LaKisha.

WagerWeb.com Predicts Jordin Sparks Will Win American Idol

There are a lot of people out there who are predicting that Melinda Doolittle will win American Idol but who better to listen to than the people who are actually in in the betting business like WagerWeb? They're predicting that Jordin Sparks will win. After last night's performance, I totally agree. She's not only doing everything that the other contestants are doing but she's also spending hours every day doing schoolwork! Heck, if I were here parents, I might just give her a pass on school until the show ends. If you think you know the winner, are you willing to put money on it?

From WagerWeb: Blake Lewis, the 25-year-old from Bothell, Washington, blasted out a surprisingly good rendition of the Bon Jovi standard "You Give Love a Bad Name". As the last man standing (literally) in this competition, Lewis could ride a vote all the way to the final two, or end up getting squashed next week if he delivers a lackluster performance. Lewis is a tough call at +400.
Then there's Lakisha Jones. The 27 -year-old from Fort Meade, Maryland, may have the best singing voice left in this competition.
Despite the great vocals don't be surprised if Lakisha is handed her walking papers next week even though the theme (Boogie/Dance/Disco) should play to her strength. The best singer hardly ever wins this popularity contest. Lakisha is our long shot at +1200.
Last is Melinda Doolittle, and at 29 years of age she is the oldest contestant remaining. No matter how many complements Doolittle gets from the judges, she still sports extreme humility (some are calling it an act) that would make a Saint proud. Playing the humility card hasn't hurt Doolittle at all and she's actually one of the favorites. An Internet poll asking who people believe will win out of the Final Four has Doolittle leading with a whopping 56% of the votes. We'll keep Melinda in second for now, at +125.

Video: American Idol's Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey Performance and Interview

Here's one of the first post-American Idol performances of Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson.  Be sure to watch until the end for a funny vocal ad-lib during Chris' song.  Good luck to both of them on solo careers.

Video: Simon Cowell's Girlfriend & Mom Interviewed

After last week's comments by Ryan Seacrest that insulted Simon Cowell's girlfriend, Terri Seymour is interviewed trying to get down to the meaning of the insult.

American Idol - Who's Going Home Tonight 05/02/07

It was a surprising night because it showed that none of the singers could do a convincing rock vocal.  The only way they could tackle the songs last night was for each to change the song to their style.  While this doesn't exactly show much versatility, certain singers like Blake Lewis took chances and really stood out

Now, who is going home?  I predict LaKisha Jones.  Her and Chris Richardson will definitely be in the bottom two but combined with last week's bottom two of Jordin Sparks and Phil Stacey, I'm not sure how the votes will fall.  We'll see.  I predict LaKisha, Phil and Chris to be in danger of going home with the probability going toward LaKisha.

This week's American Idol news:

• Sanjaya Malakar's mom has been busted in the past for possession of 310 marajuana plants!
• Sanjaya's sister, Shyamali probably had knowledge of the plants and probably indulged.
• Gina Glocksen wants her buddy, Chris Richardson to win.
• Pink and Gwen Stefani were cut from the Idol Gives Back show due to time, not to crappy performances.

American Idol - Who's Going Home Tonight 04/25/07

I think that LaKisha has looked exhausted the last two shows and I believe her votes have really gone down.  I think she might be the one going home tonight but it also might be Chris Richardson.

Tonight on American Idol...

Well, if you believe TMZ.com, Elvis will make a return from the dead to do a duet with Celine Dion . Whoopeee. The good news is that American Idol uses its power for good with a two part "Idol Gives Back" Theme.

Here's some short rumors from the past week:

• Katherine McPhee voted for Sanjaya.
• Paula isn't concerned about Sanjaya going home.
• A delusional Sanjaya was on the Ellen show saying that Vote for the Worst and Howard Stern didn't have any affect on the votes.
• Phil Stacey is the new Vote for the Worst poster boy.

Click here to see what the contestants are singing tonight (spoiler alert)

Video: Sanjaya Malakar on the Tonight Show

Sanjaya Malakar appeared on the Tonight show to do a little comedy bit with Donny Osmond.

Video: Sanjaya Malakar's First Post-American Idol Interview

There's actually been a lot of speculation about Sanjaya being voted off American Idol.  Some refuse to believe that the kid who placed in the top three just last week got the fewest amount of votes just one week later.  Could it have been his growing ego?  Simon's harsh comments?  Or could it have been the American Idol producers who have the ultimate authority to manipulate the vote any way they see fit?

In this interview, Sanjaya talks about his aspirations as a hairdresser, model, singer and Broadway star.  Before you're too rough on this kid's delusions, just remember that he's only 17 and remember how dopey you were at that age (assuming you're older).

Dial Idol Predicts Sanjaya Will Go Home Tonight!

Could this actually be Sanjaya's last night on American Idol? Simon Cowell really seemed to take off the gloves and let Sanjaya and America have it, saying that this whole "vote for Sanjaya" thing was fun but now we have to get back to what American Idol really is, a singing competition.

According to DialIdol.com, Sanjaya got the lowest amount of votes last night. If they're correct, and they claim to have an 87% accuracy rate for last season, he could be gone tonight!

Dial Idol measures the amount of busy signals to determine how many votes all of the contestants are getting. Assuming that their calculations are correct, it proves that the votes are directly affected by the previous night's performance. Phil Stacey, who has been consistently in the bottom 3 got the most amount of votes. Pretty interesting. If they're right, Dial Idol will instantly gain a lot of credibility.

Thoughts On Last Night's American Idol - 04/17/07

It was an odd night for American Idol. A lot of the singers seemed off, possibly the only one that had an excuse was Chris Richardson who claimed to have friends who went to Virginia Tech. First off, let me address the controversial Simon Cowell snub to Chris. This morning Ryan Seacrest and Simon were talking about the incident that looked like Simon rolled his eyes when Chris mentioned the Virginia Tech shooting but Ryan went on to say that the way the stage is set, most of the time they can't even hear each other. In fact, many times the contestants can't always hear the criticism from the judges. Simon facial expressions were just him replying to Chris' lame comment, "I was trying to sing nasal", not his VT comment. And that "nasal" comment was stupid. That's like trying to say singing out of key is a style.
Anyway, the real big news is that Nigel Lithgow, the producer of American Idol already knows who's getting kicked off tonight and he said that we might be surprised. Could it finally be Sanjaya's night to go home or is LaKisha Jones going home? LaKisha had a bad night. She looked tired and uninspired. Usually, one bad performance wouldn't send her home but this season, no one is safe!

Could it finally be Sanjaya's night to go home or is LaKisha Jones going home?

My prediction for who is going home tonight is either LaKisha or Chris Richardson. My pick for the best of the night and the one who should win remains Jordin Sparks. Jordin was so popular last night that even the dress she wore, a Nicole Miller dress, sold out at Saks Fifth Avenue. Click here to check out the dress online.

Video: Taylor Hicks Gives Words of Advice to Sanjaya Malakar

Taylor Hicks was one of the first American Idol contestants to be pushed by Vote For the Worst so he's the most logical one to give advice to Sanjaya Malakar. Be sure to watch this video all the way to the end to find out what Sanjaya's dream job is.

Video: American Idol's Haley Scarnato on the Tonight Show

The latest American Idol castoff, Haley Scarnato, appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, making fun of the show, Simon Cowell and Sanjaya Malakar.

Ex-American Idol Contestant, Paris Bennett Votes For Sanjaya

Do you remember Paris Bennett from last season's American Idol? Well if you do, you might be amused to hear that she's backing Sanjaya and she actually voted for him!

"We want to see him [Sanjaya] win because it'll kind of prove that 'American Idol' is kind of losing its taste," says Bennett, "it kinda isn't going for talent anymore and more for popularity."

In a recent interview at TMZ, she claimed that she enjoys that so many people like Vote for the Worst are making fun of American Idol because they're not picking the best singers. Strange that she just noticed this. After the first season, the show has just been a big popularity contest and fallen into the routine "reality TV" formula. In the interview she sounded a little bitter and also didn't really appreciate the publicity the show gave her.

I hate when the ex-Idol contestants get so full of themselves and act as if they would've become famous without the show. If it weren't for American Idol, I doubt any of these contestants would've made it. Geez, it's ok to not like the experience but they should give credit where credit is due!

Click here to read more at TMZ

Video: American Idol's Haley Scarnato Interview

Haley Scarnato was the latest to go home this week on American Idol. She seems like a nice girl who just didn't quite have the vocal chops to stay in the competition. In this interview she talks about Simon's comments about her and planning her marriage.

Video: Gina Glocksen Interview and Performance

Here's an interview with Gina Glocksen who got booted off American Idol last week.

Click here to watch Gina Glocksen on the Tonight Show

Click here to watch Gina Glocksen on Access Hollywood

Will Sanjaya Go Home Tonight?

I'm predicting that Sanjaya might actually land in the bottom 3 tonight. Why? Because his look last night was a little more mature with the facial hair and toned down attitude. I think it was the wild hair and the youthfulness that got him the votes from all of the young kids. Sure, all of the Vote For The Worst and Howard Stern fans will flood the lines but I think it's the young girl vote that keeps him on top. Of course, not being a young girl myself, I could be totally wrong. We'll see.
One thing's for sure, Simon Cowell will not quit if Sanjaya wins as earlier reported. Why? Because he has a contract and when interviewed, talked about the contract and said that any rumors of him leaving were nonsense.

Peter's Reviews's 2007 American Idol Contestant Myspace Guide

Here's a list of some of this year's contestant's web sites. Most are run by the actual person but a few are run by a friend of theirs or was set up by American Idol. If you know of any that I missed, e-mail me or leave a comment.

Updated 04/09/07

• Alaina Alexander
• Jason Anderson - The Tekno Kid who juggled Crystal Stix while "singing"
• Antonella Barba - It's hard to tell which one is her real one
• Baylie Brown - The girl Simon liked but didn't make it past Hollywood
• Matt Buckstein - One of the cowboys who came back again this season
• Rudy Cardenas
• Jared Cotter
• Tommy Daniels - He missed the top 24 by one, he should've made it!
• Melinda Doolittle - Set up by American Idol
• Stephanie Edwards
• Gina Glocksen
• Sundance Head - This is run by a friend of his but it has a good original song.
• Leslie Hunt
• LaKisha Jones
• Paul Kim
• Amy Krebs
• Blake Lewis
• Shyamali Malakar - Sanjaya's Sister
• Perla Meneses - That girl who sang like Shakira
• Nicholas Pedro
• Chris Richardson
• Brandon Rogers
• Haley Scarnato
• Chris Sligh - Here's his band's MySpace profile
• Sabrina Sloan
• Jordin Sparks
• Phil Stacey
• AJ Tabaldo

Who Will Go Home On Tonight's American Idol - 04/04/2007

If you're the type to believe that Simon Cowell has power to send contestants home by what he says, Phil Stacey Gina Glocksen will be going home tonight. Phil was definitely the most criticized singer of last night and he's been in the bottom three several times.

Sanjaya seems to be completely bulletproof when it comes to the judges' comments. Even when they've criticized him, people feel sorry for him and vote more. Couple this with VoteForTheWorst .com and Howard Stern'sfans voting for Sanjaya, he should be safe for quite a while.

The only thing that oculd derail Sanjaya Malakar's Idol reign is that he's starting to get a little cocky. Too cocky and the fickle crowd will turn on him. Tune in tonight to see who really goes home.

Tony Bennett Will Be On American Idol Tonight

Wow, American Idol really has its finger on the pulse of today's young American. They're going to have the AI kids sing Tony Bennett songs. The 80 year old Bennett is as relevant to today's music as... well, Tony Bennett. Don't get me wrong, Tony is an awesome performer and a legend but none of these kids are going to release a big band, oldies, jazz or standardards CD. At least not for 30 or so years.

American Idol really has to embrace the current trends and not rely so much on a back catalog of music that they have an interest in financially. Maybe if the show were more exciting and current, we wouldn't have to sabotage the show with people like Sanjaya.

In the meantime, if you want to hear the old school standards done right, stick with Tony Bennett's older material.

Video: American Idol's Chris Sligh Post-Idol Interview

In this post-Idol interview, Chris Sligh shows a touch of sour grapes, claiming he was unhappy and didn't want to be there. What you might not know is that Chris wanted to quit American Idol a few weeks ago. He wasn't enjoying himself and claimed that he only tried out for the show on a whim. I wonder if the whole Sanjaya thing made him feel like it wasn't a serious competition. Chris ended up staying because he wanted to go on the Idol tour and anyone who quits wouldn't be allowed on the tour.

Also, at the end of the last show, he threw down his microphone. Why? On Ryan Seacrest's radio show he claimed it was a joke that they all thought the funny way to go out would be to spike the mic and let it feed back as you walk off. Unfortunately, most weren't in on this "joke" and thought it was a sign of disrespect.

After Idol, Chris will go home and spend time with his wife until he returns for the finale and the tour. If you're interested in hearing more from this talented singer, check out his band, Half Past Forever.

Click here to check out Chris Sligh's band Half Past Forever at Amazon.com

What's Up With Sanjaya's Hair?

I'm almost at a loss of words about Sanjaya Malakar's hair on tonight's American Idol. Clearly he's given up on working on his singing and now just focuses on his image. Even Simon refused to comment on his performance.

Will Sanjaya survive another week? I'm not sure but VoteForTheWor st.com and Howard Stern will be pushing for us to vote for the vocally challenged youth so we can enjoy his shenanigans for another week. What more could he possibly do with his hair? Hopefully for his last week, he'll go all out and shave his head.

Gwen Stefani to Appear on Tonight's American Idol

Singer Gwen Stefani is set to appear on American Idol tonight. She'll probably do the usual coaching of the top 10 contestants but I don't really think she's the best person to be a singing coach for any of them. However, she has great stage presence but I'm not sure if that's something that can exactly be taught.

I'm also one of the few who preferred her work with No Doubt to the cookie-cutter pop/dance music that she's churning out now. Gwen will mentor the kids tonight (Tuesday) and she'll perform "The Sweet Escape" with Akon on the results show, Wednesday.

Click on the iTunes logo below to check out Gwen's music

The Current American Idol Betting Odds

According to Bodog.com, the bottom 2 for American Idol are Gina Glocksen and Haley Scarnato. The favorites to win are Melinda Dolittle, Jordin Sparks and Lakisha Jones. Of course we all know that this could change with next week's performance show. Also, don't count out the crazy support for Sanjaya Malakar to win.

Who was That Crying Girl On American Idol?

Eat your heart out David Hasslehoff, American Idol has a new crybaby to talk about. If you watched this week's American Idol, you saw this young 13 year-old cry her eyes out when her favorite singer, Sanjaya Malakar took the stage but did you know that her crying on camera was planned by the show?

Sitting in the audience during rehearsals, she was spotted crying by a sharp-eyed American Idol producer and invited back with a seat in the front and directions for cameras to go to her when Sanjaya sang. This turned her into the talk of the show and part of a barb directed at Sanjaya by Simon Cowell.

I sometimes wonder if this was a good thing for this girl. Won't she be embarrassed that so many people in the media are making fun of her? Won't this come back to haunt her in later years?

For now, the 13-year-old Ashley Ferl is enjoying appearing on a few radio and TV shows and she's become the star of her Riverside, CA neighborhood. I'm sure that the American Idol producers will bring her back. If not next week, she'll be there for the finale. Why not put her next to David Hasslehoff and right behind Paula. I'm sure her family is shopping around for an agent for Ashley.

Video: Blake Lewis Before American Idol