Ellen DeGeneres Quits American Idol

Remember when Ellen DeGeneres joined American Idol? Well, that was almost a whole year ago. Ellen decided a while ago she’d had enough and will not be returning for season 10, which has already started its audition process.

Ellen says, “A couple months ago, I let FOX and the ‘American Idol’ producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me. I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on ‘Idol’ and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

That means that half the panel is now gone, and rumor has it that Randy and Kara may well be following Ellen and Simon Cowell out the door.

Meanwhile, Nigel Lythgoe apparently already thinks he’s on American Idol.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 19

The top 6 danced (again) in So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 18. Tonight two will be sent home.

Lauren had to go to the hospital for dehydration, but she is fine now. Hopefully she doesn’t get injured like everybody else.

Kent Boyd and Jose Ruiz are first. Let’s face it that Kent ain’t going home no matter how much the judges don’t like his facial expressions. Jose, however, returns to the bottom three.

Billy Bell and Aechike Torbert are the next pair. Billy Bell again returns to the bottom three.

Robert Roldan and Lauren Froderman are the final pair. By some miracle, Robert is safe, and Lauren is in the bottom three. Is she being Punk’d?

Jose Ruiz, Billy Bell, and Lauren Froderman will be dancing for their lives.

The judges have made a unanimous decision, which they say is the hardest decision ever on this show, although the answer is obvious. Lauren needs to stay. Either of the other two should have been cut last week. Jose has mastered routines really well, surprising the judges as to how well he has done. Billy has been in the bottom three for the last 5 weeks, in spite of his talent. This is Lauren’s first trip to the bottom three, and she is safe. Jose Ruiz and Billy Bell have been eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 20, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Big Brother 12 Episode 10

Brendon won veto in Big Brother 12 Episode 9, thereby ruining everybody’s plans, or lack thereof. So tonight, one of two floaters, neither of whom is actually a floater, will be sent packing.

Rachel’s angry about Andrew’s speech. Brendon promised he would keep it a secret. That didn’t last very long. The rest of the house believes that Rachel was just acting. They think wrong, as usual.

Trying to patch things up with Rachel, Brendon tells her he loves her. She does not care.

Kathy is working as much of a sob story as she can muster.

Andrew has a warning for Kathy and Kristen. Don’t play him like a fiddle. What’s the point of this, dude? Kristen and Andrew both blame each other for not talking to each other. He doesn’t get that he can’t be waiting for people to come talk to him when he’s up on the block. This leads to a loud shouting match. Let’s see how loudly Kristen can scream.

Matt proposes that Andrew may be worth keeping because he’s a big target, whereas nobody notices Kathy.

The houseguests will be granted a one week break from the thoroughly pointless have not twist for this week.

Matt’s wife says that he’s extremely intelligent but lacks common sense.

Matt says that, if there is a weak link in his alliance, it’s Hayden, who may well be hooking up with his possible secret friend and/or cousin Kristen. In his pre-vote speech, Andrew reveals their relationship, which he overheard due to their excessively poor inability to understand the concept of the term secret.

But wait. There’s more. Kristen does not like the way Britney talks. She thinks Ragan is in her pocket. Hayden does love Lane… but he’s just taking him to drop him at fourth or fifth. The things they said about Enzo’s intelligence were wrong. Oh, and Hayden, you gotta get out of this relationship now. Awesome speech, but it’s a little late.

Votes
Kristen: Andrew
Rachel: Andrew
Britney: Andrew
Enzo: Andrew
Brendon: Andrew
Lane: Andrew
Hayden: Andrew
Ragan: Andrew

By a vote of 8-0, Andrew has been evicted. Hell of a way to leave the house, though.

Rachel’s a bitch to yet another departing houseguest, once again saying that he’s not getting in between her and Brendon.

The HOH competition is a series of questions based on previous competitions. They will take turns in pairs, and whoever is right will eliminate their opponent and choose the next two contenders. This should offer some insight into who wants to get rid of whom.

Hayden and Britney go first. Hayden answers correctly. Brendon and Rachel are up next. Rachel answers correctly. Kristen and Hayden go next, an indication that perhaps Andrew’s speech may have had an impact. Kristen answers correctly. Kathy and Rachel are next. Kathy answers incorrectly. Kristen and Enzo are next. Kristen answers correctly. Rachel and Ragan are next. Rachel answers correctly. Kristen and Lane are next. Lane answers correctly. Lane and Rachel are the final two. Rachel answers correctly to win HOH.

A new saboteur may be unleashed on the house based on America’s vote. Hey, CBS. Didn’t you get the memo? Your twist was stupid and failed miserably. Do we really need to relive it?

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 12 Episode 11, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 18

12 more acts performed in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 17, and tonight four more will advance.

The South Philly Vikings, CJ Dippa, and Haspop are the first group. I like CJ Dippa, but Haspop is the clear favorite here. Haspop does advance to the next round. Howie thinks this is the right decision. He’s raw, great talent.

Chipps Cooney, Studio One Young Beast Society, and Polina Volchek. Not even any question here. Chipps was a disaster, and Polina was just confusing. Studio One advances.

The Strange Familiar, Debra Romer, and Luigi are next. The Strange Familiar and Luigi blew their chance with bad song choices. Debra Romer, meanwhile, may not be the best singer, but she had a good performance. That said, Debra advances to the next round.

The final three acts of the evening are Kaya & Sadie, Jeremy Vanschoonhoven, and Harmonica Pierre. I’d say the belly dancing duo’s gotta go first, but the harmonica just is not mainstream enough for people to keep around. Harmonica Pierre has been eliminated. The two remaining acts placed fourth and fifth in the audience vote, and the judges will decide who goes to the next round. Sharon votes for Jeremy. Piers agrees. Jeremy Vanschoonhoven proceeds to the semifinals.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 19, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 18

Because they just make the show up as they go, nobody was eliminated in So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 17. Toni Redpath is this week’s guest judge.

Kent Boyd with Anya
Style: Cha cha
Choreographers: Jean Marc-Genereaux & France
Song: My First Kiss by 3oh!3 feat. Ke$ha
Nigel: Ended up as a man. Could take a little more control with your strong hands.
Toni: Better than the first time. More grounded, better footwork, but sacrificed your posture.
Mia: Moved your hips the right way, but felt a little crunchy, as opposed to soft shelled.
Adam: Super solid performance but needed to dance like a tall person and relax.

Robert Roldan with Kathryn
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Katie Thompson
Nigel: Loved the connectivity. Robert is growing and maturing to be better than expected.
Toni: Yes, I would want to be the woman dancing with you.
Mia: Really mature and selfless allowing the story to just go forward.
Adam: Supported each other magnificently. Killed it.

Adechike Torbert with Courtney
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Manteca by Dizzy Gillespie
Mia: Great performance, but you have to find a balance of style to go with the power.
Toni: Looked like fun.
Nigel: Enough energy and fabulous moves, but not enough abandon.

Jose Ruiz with Comfort
Style: Hip hop
Choreographers: Marty Kudelka & Dana Wilson
Song: Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding
Nigel: Not your style in this. A little uncomfortable in places.
Toni: So absorbed in the character.
Mia: No swag. Did not tap into Marty’s gift. Kooky.
Adam: Something that should have been darker and more intimate became fun.

Lauren Froderman with Allison
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: Who’s Got the Pain from Damn Yankees 1994 Original Broadway Cast
Adam: Lauren’s an all star already.
Mia: So solid. Nothing to critique. Ahead of everyone.
Toni: Strong is sexy. Hit the facial expressions just right.
Nigel: First time we’ve seen this on American Idol, or whatever show this is. Hit everything at the right level. Will be in the finale.

Billy Bell with Ade
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
Song: Mad World (Alternate) by Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules
Nigel: Quite brilliant. Most mature I’ve ever seen from you.
Toni: Some pieces transcend dance.
Mia: Sheer perfection. Favorite performance from you this season.
Adam: Just born on the show. Dropped into the zone.

Jose Ruiz & Kent Boyd
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Song: From This Moment on from the Kiss Me Kate Soundtrack
Adam: Fantastically executed. Seeing it coming down between Kent and Lauren. Born to do this. Jose is unbelievable for a hip hop dancer.
Mia: Fantabulous. Kent needs to live in this world. Even the faces work. Jose kept up.
Toni: Kent is a contender.
Nigel: Nothing Kent hasn’t done brilliantly. Worst thing for Jose was having to do it with Kent. May be Jose’s last week here.

Lauren Froderman & Adechike Torbert
Style: Foxtrot
Choreographers: Jean Marc-Genereaux & France
Song: Fever by Beyonce
Nigel: Did some things better than a ballroom dancer but some things didn’t sit right.
Toni: Fantastic ballroom choreography but didn’t look like it.
Mia: Feel a disconnect when Adechike steps away from his partner. Lauren’s grace, sensuality, and presence make it look like she’s done it a million times.
Adam: Just more proof Lauren can master anything. Adechike looked very concerned making sure his partner was safe, which he should be, but it shouldn’t show.

Robert Roldan & Billy Bell
Style: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul dev Mahajan
Song: Ganesh from Bombay Dreams Soundtrack
Nigel: One of the best Bollywood routines with two guys. Robert’s hands were fantastic.
Toni: I like burgers more than pizza, and Robert’s a big cheesy hamburger. Really love what he does.
Mia: Everything right in that. Hopefully nobody got injured.
Adam: Huge night for Billy. Robert was brilliant.

Jose Ruiz: 1-888-6-BEST-01
Lauren Froderman: 1-888-6-BEST-02
Billy Bell: 1-888-6-BEST-03
Kent Boyd: 1-888-6-BEST-04
Robert Roldan: 1-888-6-BEST-05
Adechike Torbert: 1-888-6-BEST-06

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Episode 19, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on Fox.

Big Brother 12 Episode 9

Following Matt’s HOH win in Big Brother 12 Episode 8, he chose to nominate Andrew and Kathy.

Nobody understands Matt’s nominations, not the nominees, not those who are against him, not those who are in his alliance. I’m pretty sure even Matt doesn’t understand what he just did.

Hayden wants the nominations to change so that Brendon can go home.

Rachel puts peaches in the iced tea, which apparently causes Andrew to become possessed. He says that this means the have nots cannot drink it, so like every other action Rachel makes in the house, it bites him. He couldn’t stand to be in an alliance with her, although he’d like to be with Brendon.

Seeing as his whole alliance wants the backdoor to happen, Matt seems to be onboard with it.

Andrew’s a neat freak. He’s cleaning everything, whether it’s dirty or clean. And he dresses like a ninja while he’s praying. Lane didn’t realize that Jews dressed up like ninjas. That’s what he likes about this show, learning about different cultures.

It’s time to pick players for the veto competition.

Matt chooses Brendon at random. Nice pick.
Kathy picks Lane at random.
Andrew picks Rachel at random. Well, that didn’t work out too well.

Enzo is dressed up like a genie. He leads them outside where they are given 10 minutes to look at items. To earn a point, they must be closest to the amount of objects. They can stay or fold. So basically the strategy is as usual, folding every time and letting people drop. Brendon, Andrew, Kathy, and Rachel fold the first round. Matt scores a point, and Lane is eliminated. In the second round, Brendon and Kathy fold. Andrew scores a point, and Matt is eliminated. There goes the Brigade. Andrew and Rachel fold in the third round. Brendon gets a point to tie it 1-1, and Kathy is eliminated. Rachel and Brendon fold in the next round, giving Andrew the lead 2-1. Rachel and Andrew fold, giving Brendon the 2-2 tie. Everybody stays the final time. Brendon is closest, and he wins the power of veto.

Time to figure out plan B. There is no plan B. There really wasn’t a plan A, although Matt insists his target all along was Brendon. Whatever happens, it’s just a wasted week.

It goes without saying that Brendon is not going to use the power of veto. If he did, they’d just nominate Rachel and screw him over, not that she’s not weighing him down. At the veto meeting, Andrew announces that he’s going after Brendon and Rachel, a fake ploy of desperation. Oh, and by the way, Brendon, since I’m coming after you, please use the veto on me. The veto is not played.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 12 Episode 10, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 17

Four more acts advanced in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 16: Michael Grimm, AscenDance, Alice Tan Ridley, and Antonio Restivo. Tonight 12 more acts perform: Harmonica Pierre, The South Philly Vikings, CJ Dippa, Polina Volchek, The Strange Familiar, Haspop, Luigi, Chipps Cooney, Kaya and Sadie, Jeremy Vanschoonhoven, Debra Romer, and Studio One Young Beast Society.

The South Philly Vikings usually perform in a parade. Piers gets in there with his first buzzer of the evening, calling them overgrown schoolchildren in robot costumes. Sharon apologizes for him. Howie’s confused what category they’re supposed to be in. They don’t seem to know either.

CJ Dippa is a good young rapper with a lot of confidence, although he’s not a dancer even if he’s convinced himself otherwise. He hopes to show people that he can write about what he feels. Piers couldn’t understand a word he said, but he can’t understand any rap songs anyway.

Harmonica Pierre owns more than 150 harmonicas, but he can’t play five of them at the same time. Rather than his usual classical music, he plays Hey, Soul Sister by Train. Howie felt like he was in his doctor’s office. Piers calls him one of the best harmonica players.

Polina Volchek is a hula hooper who started gymnastics at age 7. Well, at least I thought we’d see some hoops anyway. Rather, she’s got a rope. Piers buzzes. He was bored. Sharon appreciates the movement and could watch that for hours.

I had assumed that The Strange Familiar was just a band that unfortunately selected the same name as an existing band that has already released an album, but it seems that it is indeed the same group that had a song featured in The Biggest Loser and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. They’re talented enough that I’d say one of their originals beats this cover of Time after Time. Sharon’s not sure. Bad song choice, in spite of the voice, and they seem confused about their direction. Howie says that, strangely, this was just so familiar. Piers wants her to dump the band, including her husband.

Haspop left his family in France to pursue this dream. That is wow. Piers thinks it’s worth the sacrifice, and that was the performance of the night.

Luigi is back with his guitar singing This Love by Maroon 5. Not quite what I remember his audition being. Piers buzzes. Good but not good enough.

Chipps Cooney is tonight’s waste of time, a “magician” with very lame tricks. It gets worse. This time he starts stripping. That’s worth three X’s. Piers calls him the greatest trainwreck in the history of the show.

Kaya and Sadie are The Belly Dancing Duo. Howie doesn’t know. He was just watching.

Jeremy Vanschoonhoven is doing some more bike riding. For part of the routine, he will be blindfolded. This is not Piers’ cup of tea, but he’s slowly making it his cup of tea. Sharon calls him the new Evil Knievel. Howie thinks this would be a great live show in Vegas.

Debra Romer sings Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. Not as good a singer as Kira Leyden of The Strange Familiar, but the performance goes over much better. Howie’s not so sure about her vulnerability being a good thing, which Piers calls a load of something British, saying she’s a star.

Studio One Young Beast Society wins the competition of coming up with the longest name. Howie calls that the best dance group so far. Piers says the show has ended on a brilliant note.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 18, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Hell’s Kitchen Season 7 Episode 13

In spite of Ben’s complete mockeriness in Hell’s Kitchen Season 7 Episode 12, Jason was eliminated.

Ramsay cooks the contestants a dish. Do they think they can recreate that dish? Yes, chef. Well, that’s good because he’s going to… test their ability to teach. They all get students with the same amount of experience. Zero. Four young cool dude bachelors know nothing. The chefs are given half an hour to prepare the dish using verbal instructions only. Jay’s student is done putting on his apron after 5 minutes. Holli is concerned with flirting with her student, while Jay gets jealous and pretends he’s not. With about 9 minutes left, Ben’s student asks what they are making.

Autumn has failed to deliver much monkfish, the key ingredient in the dish. She made the decision that the poorly sliced fish was not worth putting on the plate. Jay delivers superb presentation and perfectly cooked fish. Ben’s student has delivered some raw/burned food, which doesn’t show much for Ben, who is a cooking teacher. Holli’s presentation is not great, but the potatoes are perfectly cooked. Congratulations goes to Jay and his student Rick. The dish looked like Jay had done it.

The losers get to participate in maintenance day and clean the car parking lot, as well as prep for service for the evening.

Jay will be getting something special, to be revealed later. He again chooses Holli to go with him. They will be going up in a blimp. Ben hates Holli now, but then again, who doesn’t he hate?

The chefs are given the opportunity to choose who does which station. Holli gets fish, Autumn gets garnish, Jay is on appetizers, and Ben gets the beef.

On the first order, there is no response from anybody. Not a good start.

Against Holli’s request, Autumn decides to take the fish before it’s ready. Without Autumn grabbing her food, Holli’s next attempt is perfect. Try number three, however, is no better than the first.

Jay’s first risotto is bland, which he takes to mean not good. Pretty much. As he’s getting busier, he gets sloppy, which he doesn’t see as a problem.

Ben wants to show that he can communicate with the team this time. Not only can he not communicate, but he’s drowning.

Autumn’s spinach is cold and greasy. And again. She finally starts serving heated food that’s acutally heated, but after that she doesn’t have a clue what order has been called.

Next up is Holli, who gets a lecture about the proper way to cook fish.

Ben continues to struggle on meat. This leads to him serving raw food. Jay wants to help him, and for the first time he doesn’t tell the person helping to f off, probably because that person is not a woman.

In spite of all the yelling, for the first time, no food has been sent back to the kitchen.

Following a good service, they can go upstairs and choose two nominees. Jay is congratulated for his leadership. Autumn is, as usual, a target. It really doesn’t matter what her service is like, and it hasn’t mattered to them for weeks. Just an easy placeholder for one of the spots. That will leave it between Ben and Holli, with Jay casting the deciding vote between his crush and somebody that’s else.

Autumn is the first nominee. Ben is the second nominee. He promises that he can communicate better. Again. Autumn can get herself back in line. Ben can, too. Nobody’s going home. You gotta make a choice eventually.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Hell’s Kitchen Season 7 Episode 14, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.