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American Idol Season 8 Episode 11

Last night was more Hollywood in American Idol 8 Episode 10. 1 of the 4 rooms were sent home, mostly people we never heard of before except for Michael Castro, India Morrison, and Leneshe Young.

Tonight, the final 54 will be heading to the judges’ mansion and will be weeded down to the top 36. For some reason, although last night and many of the previous nights this season felt rushed (were New York and San Juan really so useless as to be packed together into 1 hour?), tonight’s episode will be filler full and two hours long. The twist this year is that some of them will have to sing for their lives.

Anoop Desai makes it through.

Von Smith (who Simon called the self indulgent child) decided on the final day of Hollywood to not listen to his family, which was the right move and enough to convince the judges to let him into the top 36.

Cody Sheldon, the horror film maker, will be singing one more time. Cody sings Love Never Remains the Same by Gavin Rossdale. Alex Wagner-Trugamn will be in the sing off against him. Alex sings Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, which Clay Aiken covered a few years back. Alex will be advancing, not suprising considering the sing off. Randy tells Cody to come back next year.

Adam Lambert’s one of the singers with professional experience, but his experience is in the theater, which the judges haven’t been sure is what they’re looking for. Adam is through to the next round.

Taylor Vaifanua has gone from regular high school student to would be American Idol singer. She goes through to the next round.

Jamine Murray is also through, as are Arianna Afsar, Casey Carlson, Megan Corkrey, Mishavonna Henson, and Stevie Wright. Yeah, we didn’t need to see any of those six for more than a couple seconds.

Joanna Pacitti is without a doubt the most established American Idol singer in history, having already been given multiple chances to be a professional singer, with her last ending when she was dropped by her record label just over a year ago. Despite her experience, she forgot her words in every song in Hollywood week. She has made the top 36, but the judges tell her now is the time to finally bring it.

TK Hash has been cut, as have Chris Chatham, and Reggie Beasley.

Kendall Beard, the blonde who auditioned in Puerto Rico, makes it through.

Jenn Korbee auditioned with her husband Tom, but he was cut in Hollywood. She will be in another sing off, and she sings Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks. The other half of this sing off is Kristen McNamara, who had to deal with Nancy Wilson on group day. She sings I Will Always Love You, made famous by Whitney Houston. Simon asks: do you want to keep the very attractive blonde girl or the other one? Kara suggests just having a bunch of models come on the show, which may well be Simon’s next show, as he seems to like the idea. The judges say that Jenn made the wrong song choice despite being a pretty girl. Kristen’s told she has a strong voice but needs an image makeover. She will be going through to the next round, although Simon’s not happy about it. Don’t worry, Simon, it won’t take much work to turn her into a cute blonde.

Alexis Grace will have to spend time away from her young daughter sinces he is going through.

Scott MacIntyre is also going through.

Lil Rounds, mother of three, hopes this will put her and her kids in a good place. She advances to the next round.

Felicia Barton (not unanimously), Ashley Hollister, and Devon Baldwin are cut.

Frankie Jordan is in the next sing off. She sings The Story by Brandi Carlile, which the judges say has made it easier. Jesse Langseth sings against her, singing a song that Simon calls horrible. Simon suggests not picking either of them. Both of the songs are odd because they were songs for survival but were not songs that really showed what they can do. Jesse advances. Simon offers Frankie a consolation: she wouldn’t have won anyway. And Jesse, she has no chance either.

Shera Lawrence and Derik Lavers are the next to be cut.

Allison Iraheta got off to a rough start but shined in Hollywood. She is going through.

Jamar Rogers and Danny Gokey are back together again (and again and again). Danny is up first and advances. Jamar follows him but gets bad news, as he’s told the risks he took in Hollywood didn’t pay off.

Ricky Braddy, Matt Giraud, Ju’not Joyner, Jorge Nunez, and Brent Keith are going through.

Stephen Fowler thinks he was doing excellent until the last day of Hollywood. Despite the huge blunder that day, he will be going through.

Nick Mitchell is himself today, hopefully done being that stupid Norman Gentle character that got old quickly. Simon wants to change the mind of the others, but he’s outvoted, with Nick/Norman advancing.

Jackie Tohn goes through to the next round.

Following Jackie’s comparatively mild outburst of celebration, we’re now stuck dealing with Tatiana del Toro again. Simon’s annoyed from the second she walks in the room and asks her to try for once to not be annoying. In a not unanimous decision, she’s going to be around to annoy us even more. Hopefully Ryan Seacrest is not deaf after having this chick scream in his ear.

Jackie Midkiff will be in another sing off. He sings Michael Bolton’s When a Man Loves a Woman. Kara asks: why is he in this position since he’s so good? Nathaniel Marshall tells the story of why he’s so over the top emotional. He’s been bounced from relative to relative since his mom was in prison. He sings I’m Already There by Lonestar. Nathaniel will be advancing. Based on this sing off?

Jeanine Vailes advances (not unanimously), as do Kai Kalama, Anne Marie Boskovich, and Kris Allen.

The welder and the roughneck will be going up against each other. Matt Breitzke sings Satisfied by Ian Moore. Simon doesn’t like the song. Michael Sarver is up next. Simon likes both of them but is not sure either of them could win. They should both advance, and they both do.

The list of the American Idol Season 8 top 36 is:
Adam Lambert
Alexis Grace
Alex Wagner-Trugman
Allison Iraheta
Anne Marie Boskovich
Anoop Desai
Arianna Afsar
Brent Keith
Casey Carlson
Danny Gokey
Jackie Tohn
Jasmine Murray
Jeanine Vailes
Jesse Langseth
Joanna Pacitti
Jorge Nunez
Ju’not Joyner
Kai Kalama
Kendall Beard
Kris Allen
Kristen McNamara
Lil Rounds
Matt Breitzke
Matt Giraud
Megan Corkrey
Michael Sarver
Mishavonna Henson
Nathaniel Marshall
Nick Mitchell
Ricky Braddy
Scott MacIntyre
Stephen Fowler
Stevie Wright
Tatiana del Toro
Taylor Vaifanua
Von Smith

Over the next three weeks, the top 36 will perform in groups of 12.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol Season 8 episode 12, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Nick Cannon Is America’s Got Talent 4 Host

NBC today revealed that Nick Cannon is the new host of America’s Got Talent, replacing Jerry Springer for season 4. So who is Nick Cannon? According to NBC he’s like famous or something. I’ll take their word for it. It appears he’s most known for a handful of Nickelodeon shows a few years back. I’m not sure I get the progression here. Regis Philbin. Jerry Springer. Nick Cannon.

“This is just the first of multiple projects we are looking to do with Nick at NBC,” added Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC and Universal Media Studios. “He’s a true triple threat, a multi-talented producer, actor and musician. We are excited to welcome him to the NBC family.”

“I’m thrilled to be with working with NBC,” said Nick Cannon. “Ben Silverman and Paul Teledgy understand my vision as not only an entertainer but as a creative show producer. I look forward to working with the network and their executive team on ‘America’s Got Talent’ and other shows to come.”

Update: I just got an e-mail confirming Nick Cannon’s actual claim to fame. He’s been Mr. Mariah Carey since May.

American Idol Season 8 Episode 10

American Idol 8 Episode 9 was group night in Hollywood. India, Justin, Kris, and Matt sailed through, as did Danny, Jamar, and Taylor. Bikini girl Katrina finally got cut, as did David Osmond.

The field has been narrowed down from 103,000 to 72. They will perform today with a band, backup singers, and instruments if they choose.

Adam Lambert is first, following mixed reviews earlier in Hollywood week. He sings Believe by Cher. Good voice. Wacky song choice.

Matt Giraud plays the keyboard while singing. This appears to be his element, and he gets a standing ovation.

Jamar Rogers sings Hey There Delilah. His buddy Danny Gokey also gets yet another bit of screen time. Both of them have proven to be strong singers and have a great advantage over many of the others who have not had the fortune of being in four episodes already this season.

Like Matt, Scott MacIntyre’s getting his shot behind his keyboard, singing Daughtry’s Home.

Texas native Kendall Beard impressed the judges in Puerto Rico but not so much in Hollywood. She sings Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats.

From here, I can tell it’s going to be speed night. This was so much better when Fox had no other shows that anybody actually watched and was forced to stretch these things out more than 10 seconds per person.

Mishavonna Henson got cut in Hollywood previously but is back to try again.

Tatiana del Toro, who’s a wee bit creepy, is back again. She sings Whitney Houston’s I’m Your Baby Tonight, and I’m still wondering why she’s here.

Nathaniel Marshall gets to play the guitar in his final audition, hopefully over the drama queenness for the time being.

Stephen Fowler was up all night rehearsing. It doesn’t show. He starts over, only to not be able to finish a second time.

Norman Gentle is back. Why? Just… why? He sings Georgia on my Mind. For some reason, the judges still find him funny.

Ann Marie Boskovich is worried about standing out since it seems like everybody’s singing I Hope You Dance.

The judges have the math wrong and have decided to move Tatiana from one room to another. It seems she’s on the bubble, which probably means not close enough to make the cut in the next round even if she does make it.

Kaylan Loyd was unable to make it through her song without Simon putting himself out of her misery.

Kai Kalama likewise struggled with his voice after the stress of Hollywood week.

Roughneck Michael Sarver continues to impress the judges.

Simon’s fleeing the country and heading to London, leaving Randy, Paula, and Kara to break the news to the contestants.

Room 2 hears the news first. They will be going through. The group includes Alexis Grace, Joanna Pacitti, Casey Carlson, Kai Kalama, Arianna Afsar, Jasmine Murray, Stephen Fowler, Nathan Marshall, and Michael Sarver.

Room 3 is next. They are at the end of the road. Michael Castro, India Morrison, Kaylan Loyd, and Leneshe Young have been cut.

Room 1 was the first group to be placed, and now they hear the news. They were probably the favorites who all the judges were easily able to agree about. They will be going through. Anoop Desai, Scott McIntyre, Danny Gokey, Jamar Rogers, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez, and Jackie Tohn will advance.

Room 4 is last and hoping a third room will be picked. While they’re making the contestants sweat, Tatiana’s already crying and praying to God. This group gets through as well. So… why did they make Tatiana switch rooms? Tatiana del Toro, Matt Breitzke, Cody Sheldon, Nick Mitchell, Ann Marie Boskovich, and TK Hash are among this group.

Tomorrow night the top 36 will be revealed.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol Season 8 episode 11, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The Biggest Loser Couples 2 Episode 6

After being given a bunch of chances, Joelle’s team finally got their chance to get rid of her and Carla in The Biggest Loser Couples 2 Episode 5.

Mike & Ron, having fallen below the yellow line two weeks in a row, are trying to figure out what’s been going wrong. They’re well aware they lucked out last week being up against who they were up against.

At the pop challenge, whatever that is, they’ll all stand on one foot. Reward is a visit from a loved one for 24 hours. Ron is out at 9 seconds. Mike follows at 20, eliminating the brown team quickly. Kristin is out at 35 seconds. Dane drops at 2:23. Tara’s out and in the pool shortly thereafter. Cathy is out next and eliminates the purple team. Shanon falls and takes Helen down with her to eliminate the pink team. Laura’s down, eliminating green. Sione is next to fall. After Mandi pitifully begs him, Filipe (who gave David a lecture about how bad he missed his wife a couple weeks back) drops on purpose so she can see her husband. As you’ll recall from a few weeks ago, Mandi’s the one who deserves to see her family the most, apparently. Blaine gets suckered into it, too, and Aubrey drops. Mandi wins the challenge and gets 24 hours with her husband.

Bob figures the brown team’s problem is their diet. He knows they’re not eating enough because they’re putting in the work in the gym.

Jillian’s concerned about Mandi winning the challenge. She says that Mandi is the last person she’d like to have won it because it may not go perfectly and could negatively impact her performance.

Bob loves doing yoga with his team and feels it’s a great way to get a workout.

Jillian doesn’t consider Laura particularly motivated, with a lack of intensity behind her actions despite saying all the right things.

At the challenge, each team member will hold either end of a bar above their heads for as long as they can. Reward is immunity. At the 1 hour mark, Alison makes them choose one arm. Filipe and Sione seem to be distracted and are the first ones out. Mike & Ron are out after 1 hour 45 minutes. Blaine & Dane are next, leaving the women left standing. At 2 hours, they’re instructed to keep both hands on the bar. Shanon & Helen are the next team eliminated. The teams pass the 3 hour mark, and Mandi & Aubrey are eliminated. That leaves pink up against green, like the jumping challenge. They pass the 4 hour mark, bringing them to midnight and 38 degrees. Tara wants to cut a deal: they won’t vote against them if they fall below the yellow line. Purple team’s not interested or concerned. Laura’s arms finally give out, and Kristin & Cathy win immunity after 4 hours and 40 minutes.

When they get back, Mandi’s husband Rusty is waiting for her in her room. She says she wishes she could see her boys, and the knock at the door answers that. They’re there as well.

With Mandi’s family visiting, it’s got Aubrey thinking about her own family, and she breaks down crying in the middle of the last chance workout. Mandi hasn’t even bothered to show up, though, until long after everybody else. She wants to stay with her family for another hour rather than working out. Jillian lets her go but is not happy about it.

It’s time for the weigh-in. Only 1 team will go below the yellow line.

Kristin: 303 pounds (+2)
Cathy: 264 pounds (-4)
Purple Total: 567 pounds (-2, 0.35%, immune)

Helen: 211 pounds (-5)
Shanon: 241 pounds (-5)
Pink Total: 452 pounds (-10, 2.16%)

Laura: 249 pounds (-3)
Tara: 229 pounds (-11)
Green Total: 478 pounds (-14, 2.85%)

Filipe: 298 pounds (-10)
Sione: 305 pounds (-11)
Blue Total: 603 pounds (-21, 3.37%)

Blaine: 299 pounds (-4)
Dane: 329 pounds (-5)
Black Total: 528 pounds (-9, 1.41%)

Mandi: 215 pounds (-6)
Aubrey: 223 pounds (-1)
Yellow Total: 238 pounds (-7, 1.57%)

Mike: 317 pounds (-13)
Ron: 361 pounds (-5)
Brown Total: 678 pounds (-18, 2.59%)

Thanks to immunity, Kristin & Cathy have been spared despite a bad week. Mandi had a good week despite the distractions, but Aubrey was not so lucky. However, they managed to squeak by. Blaine & Dane have fallen below the yellow line after having put up huge numbers week after week, and now the others must choose between the two of them. Blaine asks them to send him home. This quickly turns into an argument about gameplay versus not gameplay, going back to Damien versus Joelle.

Votes
Helen & Shanon: Dane
Mike & Ron: Blaine
Laura & Tara: Blaine
Filipe & Sione: Blaine
Kristin & Cathy: Blaine

Bob’s team has honored Blaine’s request to send him home instead of Dane. Blaine hopes to do an Ironman before heading back to the finale. He is down to 279 pounds from his starting weight of 365.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser 7 Episode 7, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Bachelor 13 Episode 6

Jason narrowed down the choices to his final four, sending Stephanie home in The Bacheloer 13 Episode 5.

Tonight’s episode of The Bachelor is delayed by 1 hour due to the Presidential address.

Following last week’s Seattle dates, now it’s time for the final four (Naomi, Molly, Melissa, and Jillian) to invite Jason to their own hometowns to meet their families. First, though, we apparently need a recap of the whole season, as if it’s the finale or something. They need to be more subtle about the fact that they’re trying to kill time.

First Jason will be heading to Colona, British Columbia, Canada to meet with Jillian’s family. They meet at Lake Okanagan where there’s supposed to be a monster named Ogopogo, who she’s touched before. Then they head to a winery, where she reveals that her mom was diagnosed with depression, which lasted for about 15 years. Now, though, her mom has finally recovered and is doing fine after a rough road. From there it’s time to go home and meet the family: her mom, dad, cousin, and her cousin’s husband. Everybody seems to be getting along well. Jillian’s cousin says she could tell just by seeing her that she feels something for him. As the night winds down, Jillian’s granny shows up. She thinks Jason is hot. The whole night goes smoothly, and Jason fits right in.

The next stop is Molly’s hometown in Michigan. She only brought one guy home before, and since her father didn’t like that guy, the relationship failed. With that in mind, if her parents don’t approve, she’s going to drop Jason like yesterday’s tuna. They go golfing, and she thinks him being able to golf is sexy. That’s a new one. Then they go to meet her parents, who pull out a stupid hat box and make him an Indian. Her mom makes him draw a picture of Molly’s face. Is this some sort of art therapy or something? Molly’s dad makes her promise that, if she doesn’t make it all the way, she won’t cry. It doesn’t appear as though Jason got any tough questions here, but everybody had fun.

Naomi’s hometown of Lake Elsinore, CA is the next stop. Jason’s still not so sure she’s actually at the point where she’s ready for his life. She’s worried that Jason may be freaked out by her wacky family. He meets her mom, dad, sister, brother, niece, nephew, and half sister. The first activity is for everybody to grab a hula hoop. Jason…. tries. Then her mom’s got a story about how a dove hit her car, which is now in a bag in the fridge. Jason has the honors of burying the dove and saying the eulogy. This is quite possibly the creepiest moment this show’s ever seen. Her father wants to convert Jason and thinks he should take religion more seriously. Her mom has premonitions and believes Jason has had at least one lifetime as a mom. Seriously, is this scripted? This is all just too weird. Naomi tells her father that she doesn’t care whether Jason’s very religious or not, and he agrees to support whatever decision she makes.

Melissa’s hometown of Dallas, TX is the final stop. Jason’s looking forward to meeting Melissa’s family. But her parents do not approve of the publicness of their relationship and refuse to meet him, so she’s going to introduce him to some of her friends instead. Before she breaks that news to him, though, she gives him a tooth fairy box for Ty. They meet a couple of her friends, complete with little kids around Ty’s age. Her friends have never met a guy she’s dated, and she’s apparently dated a bunch of losers before. Despite all she has going for her, she doesn’t believe she’s worthy, at least not until now. Jason hopes to get some answers from her friends about the family, but they don’t even know her parents.

Roses
Molly
Jillian
Melissa

Naomi’s departure was to be expected, as Jason’s doubts about her finally caught up. She’s disappointed that his reasoning is that he feels they’re in different places, as opposed to that he feels stronger about the other women. As of right now, she feels she’s just better off on her own.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Bachelor 13 Episode 7, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC.

Dancing with the Stars 8 Cast

Dancing with the Stars 8 premieres Monday March 9 at 8/7c on ABC. The cast of 13 contestants who will be competing on the show are:

Belinda Carlisle (Singer, Go-Go’s)
David Alan Grier (Actor, In Living Color)
Jewel (Singer)
Shawn Johnson (Olympic gold medalist, balance beam)
Lil’ Kim (Rapper)
Gilles Marini (Actor, Sex and the City movie)
Ty Murray (Rodeo champion)
Steve-O (aka Stephen Glover, Actor)
Nancy O’Dell (Co-anchor, Access Hollywood)
Denise Richards (Actress)
Lawrence Taylor (Ex-NFL star)
Chuck Wicks (Country singer)
Steve Wozniak (Former Apple designer)

Hell’s Kitchen 5 Episode 2

Chef’s Ramsay was back and yelling in Hell’s Kitchen season 5 Episode 1. Despite an impressive start, both teams failed to finish their meals before the customers walked out on them. Based on the lousy performance of Giovanni as a waiter, the men lost and nominated Wil and Seth, with the hope that Seth would go home. Ramsay didn’t agree with them, though, and sent Wil packing.

J is especially upset that Seth is still around.

Coi apologizes to Lacey for being a nutcase. Lacey’s not particularly thrilled with this discussion or the apology, which leads Coi and LA to begin swearing and ranting.

Before 6:00 the next morning, they’re awakened by a band (three people) playing loudly.

They won’t be digging through the trash, but they will be digging through the scallop crates. Ben would have preferred the garbage. Colleen falls inside one of the crates. The actual challenge is to clean the scallops up to the chef’s standards. They must remove the scallop from the shell without any gashes and remove the muscle surrounding it. Andrea will be sitting out for the girls. It doesn’t appear anybody has ever done this before.

Carol: 8 out of 8
Paula: 1 out of 10
Coi: 6 are acceptable
Colleen: 5 out of 6
LA: 8 out of 8
Ji: 4 are acceptable
Lacey: 3 out of 6
Total: 35

Ben: 3 out of 11
Danny: 9 out of 10
Giovanni: 13 out of 15
Robert: 5 are acceptable
Charlie: 2 are acceptable
Seth: 3 are acceptable
J: 1 out of 6
Total: 36

The men win the challenge thanks largely to Danny and Giovanni. They’ll spend a day on Catalina island, which they will arrive at via helicopter. The women will be setting up the raw bar.

When they get back, Lacey is crying and thinks they would be better off without her, which is probably true. Ji tries to comfort her.

Because of the helicopter insurance policy, Robert can’t go with the others by helicopter because he weighs over 300 pounds (over 400 for that matter). However, they will allow him to head over by ferry.

Lacey stays in bed crying while the others get started on the seafood. None of the women liked her in the first place, and it’s not getting any better.

Seth is a stalker. He knows more about Chef Ramsay than he probably should.

6 hours into the red team’s punishment, Lacey stolls on in. “Sorry I’m late.”

Robert gets off the ferry. Chef Ramsay tells him they all had a great time and that he needs to turn around because everybody’s going back on the ferry. This is just mean.

Ji has injured her ankle on the floor and may have sprained it. She thinks she’ll be okay and hopes she’ll be able to get through service. Paula and Robert are assigned to the raw bar. The raw bar will hopefully give them enough time to actually get finished cooking.

Carol burned the garlic. Then the risotto sticks to the pans.

Charlie’s risotto doesn’t stick to the pans, but it’s not cooked properly either. Ben agrees to show him how to cook it right.

The guests seem to be impressed by Robert’s charm.

Then Chef Ramsay flips out on Colleen, who is going to be tutored on how to cook in a busy kitchen by Lacey of all people.

Ramsay likes Ben’s and Lacey’s results.

The men have cooked spaghetti lobster… without lobster.

Obvious advice for Colleen: quit already. Don’t put yourself through this. Despite the chef trashing her as a person and her reputation, she says he won’t break her, though. He’s seen enough of her and throws her out to be a waitress.

Chef Ramsay is pleased with Danny’s performance.

Ji’s struggling but trying to forget her injury.

The chef announces that the women have 5 tickets left while the men have 4 tickets left. Whoever gets through them all first will win. The men end up winning by 1 ticket.

Afterward, the women are concerned about Ji’s injury, but they think she did a good job with or without an injury. Ramsay is impressed with her determination and not giving up.

There are three obvious potential nominees: Lacey, Carol, and Colleen. Had Lacey not whined all day long, she probably wouldn’t be on the list.

Colleen is the first nominee because she didn’t listen well. Lacey is the second nominee because of her lack of confidence in herself.

As Ramsay’s about to announce his decision, Ji speaks up and volunteers to leave. He accepts this and tells her she should be proud because she’s done well. Both teams know that Ji is better than both of them combined.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Hell’s Kitchen Season 5 Episode 3, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on Fox.