reality tv – Page 296

Big Brother 9 Episode 3

Parker & Jen were the first power couple of the game and should have had a simple decision with no hard feelings. Instead, once Jacob opened his big mouth in Big Brother 9 Episode 2, they decided they needed to target him instead of the couple everybody was in agreement about (the overly annoying Sheila and Adam), making Jacob and Sharon the first team to be evicted from the Big Brother house. Having won HOH, Amanda & Alex now have the power. As those of you keeping tabs on the Big Brother 9 Spoilers page are aware, it’s been one of the more eventful first weeks in the house, which should make for an interesting show tonight.

Alex says he’s upset because he really didn’t want to win, since winning is generally not a good thing. Chelsia is not happy to see Amanda in power.

Amanda is displeased with her picture on the memory wall. Matt is absolutely in love with his picture. Jen makes a comment about her picture being first on the wall, a harmless comment that gets blown out of proportion, largely by her partner, who after overreacting last week is claiming that if he loses it will be because of her, rather than the enemies he’s made an effort to make in the house.

Allison’s letting her jealousy take control of her game, and she’s ranting about it to Parker. She threatens to reveal the secret about Jen and Ryan dating, which is just ridiculous and stupid.

Amanda tells the story of how her father hung himself when she was 21, a couple years ago. The last time she heard from him he was a voicemail message in which he told her she never answered when he needed her, so because of that he was going to kill himself. She says this is why she’s always happy because it’s better to be that way than be sad all the time. Her partner Alex also lost his father at a young age.

Allison doesn’t want to play other people’s game. Instead, she wants to play her own very stupid game. Those who need to trust her think she’s a ticking time bomb, which is not a good thing to have people thinking about you in this house.

Adam is uncircumsised, so of course Jen wants to see it. The mature level of conversation in the BB house is just so refreshing.

Allison needs to talk with someone, so she kinda sorta dances around the subject with Sheila, but doesn’t actually say anything worthwhile. She just lets her know she’s keeping something from her. I’d avoid her after that myself.

Rather than letting Allison spill the beans, Parker & Jen decide to tell the secret. He tells Alex and Matt that Jen and Ryan are dating. They don’t like that he waited two days to tell the secret, especially since he woke everybody up at 4am and yelled at them for not telling who called him a snake. Then Parker & Jen tell Natalie and Amanda, who are also pissed off.

Allison plays innocent with Matt, who likes her anyway, so he’s okay with it in terms of her role. Then he brings her out into the room with the others, where she and Jen get into how they hate each other.

Allison turns on the waterworks when she reveals this information to Joshuah, and he gets a bible for people to swear on that they all don’t know each other. Yeah, that worked so well for those who believed James when he swore on the bible in Big Brother 6. Matt doesn’t think it means anything because half these people aren’t even religious. He’s right to be skeptical. Even if it’s true that nobody else does know anybody, believing this little ceremony is just setting yourself up for being blindsided.

Alex and Matt form an alliance, and they bring Amanda and Natalie in on it, who are comfortable that they have a strong foursome that can control the house. They plan to win HOH or POV every single week. Silliness.

Allison doesn’t care whether her teammate hates her. She confides in Sheila, who knows what it’s like to hate her partner as well. They play a trick on Joshuah and pretend that they’re a lesbian couple. They know he can’t keep a secret, and he immediately goes and tells. Then they tell Chelsia, who believes it as well. Somehow, they believe this will help their game. Has Allison not been paying attention to the fact that she’s a target because she’s with a partner who is dating someone else?

Alex and Matt don’t mind Adam, and they let Sheila know that not only do they not mind him but they actually don’t like the way she treats him. Adam asks what he did wrong to make her hate him so much. She swears, calls him a loser, and runs off crying. She won’t win an Emmy, but it may win the award for biggest drama queen of the house.

If the HOH couple is not able to come up with an agreement, they’d be nominated, and the team that finished in second would be HOH.

Nominations
Sheila & Adam – Safe
James & Chelsia – Safe
Matt & Natalie – Safe
Neil & Joshuah – Safe
Ryan & Allison – Nominated
Parker & Jen – Nominated

As much as they may want to point fingers and blame each other, all four nominated people have played their own role in this, and none of them is being very smart. Alex is looking forward to them burying themselves even deeper.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Big Brother 9 Episode 4, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on CBS.

The Biggest Loser 5 Episode 7

Jackie’s played the game hard from day one, which I’ve liked about her, but she seemed to be confused last week between playing hard and asking the dumbest of all reality show questions: do you swear on your family? Seriously, when has that ever worked out? As per usual, it didn’t work out for her when she was voted out, and as per usual, she got up on her high horse about it. I’m not of the belief this is a bad thing myself. On the contrary, I don’t think that question should ever be asked, and if someone’s willing to stoop to that level and ask it anyway, they should be prepared to be blindsided.

When they return from elimination, the black team is not happy to see what’s gone down. Dan’s making an effort to avoid his teammates. This isn’t the way you stay in this game, dude. Granted, this lame couples twist and Bob’s stacked deck don’t leave him a lot of room to ensure he’s not the next one gone. The black team asks Jillian to approach Dan and ask him to join their team, but she knows better than to get involved in that.

Bernie is The Biggest Loser of the week. He chooses gameplay. His card is 50% off at this week’s challenge, which is not readily apparent what it means.

Eventually, Dan realizes that moping and whining and going off on his own isn’t going to get him anywhere. So he pretends he’s forgotten what happened and is willing to patch things up with his team. Jay & Mark apologize for having lied to him.

They walk to the challenge and see water, which they know isn’t good since they’re already cold. Two pairs from each team will stand on balance beams. There’s a rope with the total weight they’ve lost during their time there. Bernie will only be carrying half of the weight he’s lost because of his reward. Whoever wins can give immunity to two people, one from their own team and one from the opposite team. Since it’s about balance (actually, it’s more about strength than balance), Trent obviously sits out. Despite his lack of balance, the 50% off convinces Bernie to stay in, so Kelly sits out. Mark and Dan must hold 130 pounds; Jay and Roger have 107. Maggie and Paul are holding 85 pounds, and Bernie and Brittany have 62. Roger and Jay are the first ones out, and Mark and Dan follow. Black team wins.

Trent tells Bob that, even though others around him may be playing the game, it’s not about gameplay for him, as he just wants to lose the weight so he can be there to watch his son grow up.

Jillian comes up with a plan. She’ll put the names in a hat, and whoever’s name comes out last gets immunity. Maggie wins immunity. The theory was that this wouldn’t cause hard feelings, but it’s pretty obvious that Maggie is the weakest link of her team, so this does not sit well with Paul.

Deciding some things are beyond her knowledge, Jillian brings in a professional. A therapist. Scary. She has her mom come in to meet with her team. Bob also asks his team if they want to meet with her, but they’re not interested. They want to walk it out, not talk it out, so they go for a hike. Despite his knee injury, Trent is able to make it to the top of the mountain.

Brittany says her weight stems from her parents getting divorced, which was followed by being told that her biological father actually died when she was 4. Kelly, likewise, had to deal with her parents’ divorce at a young age, and to top that off, her family led her to believe that she was responsible for her mom having a stroke following a fight they had. Paul doesn’t remember much about his childhood, except that he was abused by his father, which he’s never talked about before.

Before the weigh-in, the black team reveals who will be getting immunity: Jay. Hmm. Interesting. I’d have gone with Dan since it would have driven a wedge between the blue team and split up another couple. Of course, that’s assuming they think they can win the weigh-in, but after last week’s win, another black team win is unlikely.

Kelly: 225 pounds (-8)
Paul: 241 pounds (-10)
Bernie: 216 pounds (-7)
Brittany: 188 pounds (-1)
Maggie: 204 pounds (-2)
Total: -28 pounds, 2.54%

Dan: 237 pounds (-7)
Roger: 292 pounds (-9)
Trent: 349 pounds (-8)
Mark: 215 pounds (-6)
Jay: 244 pounds (-4)
Total: -34 pounds, 2.48%

By the slimmest of margins, black team wins the weigh-in. Paul is the player of the week. Unfortunately, Kelly let it be known during the weigh-in that she didn’t trust her team, so that may not bode well going forward. Jay has immunity, and so does Roger. Since Dan missed Roger’s mark by 0.1%, it’s pretty obvious who’s going home here. Instead of breaking up another pair, they can just make the easy decision. Bob’s not happy with his team’s loss and walks out of the room before Alison finishes talking.

But there’s a light on the horizon for Dan. Trent doesn’t feel he’s contributing enough because of his injury, so he volunteers to be voted out. Not to be outdone, Mark also volunteers to go home. If we’re going based on what’s best for the team, the solution here is really simple. Jay should quit, or at least ask to give up his immunity.

Votes
Jay: Trent
Mark: Trent
Trent: Mark
Roger: Trent

If not for the injury, Trent could have won this thing. I don’t think they were quite ready to let him go yet, but they honored his wish to do what he felt was best for them going forward. He returns home to see his family, and then goes to the local high school where he trains athletes and are holding a pep rally for him. From his starting weight of 436 pounds, Trent is now down to 324 pounds today, for a loss of 112 pounds. He’s also passing the lessons he’s learned on to his wife.

It’s not over yet, though. Alison calls everybody into the elimination room and tells them they’re going home. Just how much have they learned, and how much self control do they have? We’ll find out next week.

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

The Amazing Race Asia 2 Winner

With the elimination of Ann & Diane in The Amazing Race 2 Episode 12, we’re now down to the final three teams: Rovilson Fernandez & Marc Nelson of the Philippines, Vanessa Chong & Pamela Chong of Malaysia, and Collin Low & Adrian Yap of Singapore. This season has really been a story of the complete dominance of Rovilson & Marc, although unlike everybody else, Adrian & Collin have given them a run for their money. While it can be suggested that these two teams had it too easy, I’d argue they could take on the best players and still perform strongly.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Rovilson & Marc (5:09am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (5:25am)
Third: Pamela & Vanessa (5:34am)

Teams must drive themselves to District Six Museum in Cape Town, the home of the first black South African community, who were forcibly removed from their homes during apartheid.

Pamela & Vanessa point out something I had not realized previously. The teams remaining are the only teams to win a leg. Marc & Rovilson have placed first an astonishing 9 times (with three second place finishes). Adrian & Collin, who usually placed second behind them, managed to come in first two times. And way back in episode 1, before their various nervous breakdowns, Pamela & Vanessa won the first leg and came off as one of the early strong contenders.

The museum opens at 8am, and the drive there is long enough that the first team to arrive, Rovilson & Marc, don’t have to wait for the hours of operation. Once there, they need to figure out a computer password from a list of streets. Once they get that, they must read one paragraph about the history from the walls of the museum.

The detour is a choice between search or assemble. In search, teams must make their way through Scratch Patch and search through hundreds of semi-precious stones to find the designated race rocks. In assemble, teams must go to Bishop’s Wires & Bead Craft, where they will learn how to make a South African wire art radio.

Radio: Rovilson & Marc (after trying search), Vanessa & Pamela
Search: Adrian & Collin (turns out to be not as hard as it sounds)

From there, teams will drive to the soccer field at FC Kapstadt next to the construction site for the 2010 World Cup soccer stadium, where they will need to score three goals from the penalty line.

After that, they’ll drive to the Atlantis Dunes and ride quad bikes along a flagged course to search for a clue. There are 18 possible checkpoints. One has a clue. The others have an hourglass that must run out before they can move on. This game of dumb luck is potentially the opportunity the trailing two teams have been waiting for. Rovilson & Marc take the time to perfect their sand angels and sand breakdancing. Adrian & Collin are using the fact that they’re in second to their advantage, as they’re avoiding anywhere they believe Rovilson & Marc have already been. Having spent some time spying on Adrian & Collin’s strategy, once they do get the clue, Rovilson & Marc decide to wait and pretend it’s an hourglass. They don’t buy the acting, though, and grab the clue a few minutes afterward (after recovering from a wipeout).

Once they’re done playing in the sand, they’ll drive to Cape Point and go by Funicular to the Upper Station then walk to the Cape Point Historic Lighthouse. They have to tell the lighthouse keeper the country they think they’ll be travelling to next to get their next clue. When they arrive, Rovilson & Marc miss the point of the clue, allowing Adrian & Collin to take the lead. They find out they will be travelling to Singapore next, which gives them the home country advantage.

The airport is the great equalizer and makes the rest of the leg moot. All three teams are on the same flight to Singapore, 9700km away. The first stop is the Raffles Statue at the Asian Civilizations Museum. They will now head to Tanjong Beach at Sentosa Island by taxi. Rovilson & Marc, mere seconds ahead of Adrian & Collin, catch a break. They kept their taxi waiting while they read their clue, but the other guys didn’t.

The road block is to place the flags of the countries they have visited on the race in order. This turned out to be the difference between losing and winning for the hippies in The Amazing Race 9.

Road block (in order of arrival): Rovilson, Vanessa, Adrian

Rather than choosing to pick the person who would have done better, Rovilson & Marc stick with their strategy of alternating road blocks. While that’s worked well for them thus far, now’s not the best time for it. Eventually, the other two teams catch up, so the race comes down to who can finish it first. Adrian, who had a book of flags when he was younger, takes the lead by finishing the task first. Vanessa gets it next. Rovilson finishes, but it’s not looking so good.

The final pitstop for this leg of the race is the Rainbow Bridge at the Chinese Garden.

First: Adrian & Collin
Second: Vanessa & Pamela
Third: Rovilson & Marc

And The Amazing Race Asia 2 winners are Adrian & Collin. While they were a good team, it’s hard not to feel that Rovilson & Marc should have won this race after dominating it so much. Still, they ran a good race having won almost every leg, and they took the time to stop and smell the roses along the way, making them perhaps the most entertaining team from any season of The Amazing Race.

With the success of the first two seasons, it’s likely we will see The Amazing Race Asia 3. Applications are currently being accepted and are due February 25, 2008. Filming is expected to begin later this year. As with this season, stay tuned to dingoRUE for recaps.

Sex in the Big Brother House

Normally, the cast members are able to control themselves to prevent any embarrassing footage from being shot. The only previous exception was David and Amanda from season 4.

Last night, just two days after the first episode of Big Brother 9, two of the couples hooked up. Dating couple Jen and Ryan had a very brief bout of sex in the bathroom. As if that weren’t enough, Matt and Natalie hooked up for her to give him oral sex (during which he told her he doesn’t want her to get attached to him).

Considering everybody has been partnered with their “soulmates” and all the contestants are single, looking for love, and in their 20s (Sheila notwithstanding), we probably haven’t seen the last of this. This season has the potential to become even more racy before it’s all said and done.

American Idol 7 Episode 10

The judges narrowed it down to 50 in American Idol 7 Episode 9. Now that Hollywood round is over, it’s time to narrow it down even further to the top 24.

Ronald Hodge, who we haven’t seen yet, is up first. He’s eliminated. Multiple others we haven’t seen proceed to be eliminated as well.

Carly Smithson, whose first album sold 378 copies with the backing of $2.2 million from MCA, is next. She’s the first one to make the top 24. Maybe if she wins Idol, her next album will sell 379 copies.

David Cook, who Simon said he wasn’t so sure about without a guitar, also makes it through.

The judges were concerned that every time Amanda Overmyer sings it will sound the same, but she was obviously going to get through.

Simon tries to scare David Archuleta, but we all know he’s going to be in the top 24.

Kristy Lee Cook has stood out each time she’s sung Amazing Grace. So what more is there to her? She gets through.

Brooke White says she was nervous the whole time she was on the stage. It didn’t come across that way when we saw it the first time. She’s already crying on the elevator ride up. She makes the top 24.

Danny Noriega, Jason Castro, Luke Menard, and Alexandrea Lushington are the next to get through, as does Ramiele Malubay.

Michael Johns shined in Hollywood, and that momentum carries him through this.

Syesha Mercado had a difficult Hollywood week and lost her voice, but she managed to get it together enough to be able to go forward.

Robbie Carrico also goes through to the top 24.

Garrett Haley, Kady Malloy, Chikezie Eze, Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker, and Jason Yeager get through.

Asia’h Epperson, who recently lost her father, also makes it to the next round.

David Hernandez makes it through, but it’s not unanimous. Simon said no.

Josiah Leming, who also had a tough week in Hollywood, gets the boot, based largely on his final performance keeping a bad lingering vibe. He tells them he got overconfident, interestingly enough. Despite the rejection, he’s the first success story of the season, as he’s been getting quite a bit of attention and selling his songs on his Myspace page. Of all the people eliminated, this is the one that makes the least sense.

The final spot for the guys is between Colton Berry and Kyle Ensley. It’s no surprise that Colton, whoever he is, makes it through. Simon says he disagrees with the decision and that Kyle should have been given a chance.

For the girls, it comes down to Joanne Borgella and Cardin McKinney. Joanne, who says she’s had problems in the industry because she’s overweight, is the last person to make the top 24.

The top 24 contestants of American Idol season 7, who will move on to compete for America’s votes, are:

Alaina Whitaker
Alexandrea Lushington
Amanda Overmyer
Amy Davis
Asia’h Epperson
Brooke White
Carly Smithson
Chikezie Eze
Colton Berry
Danny Noriega
David Archuleta
David Cook
David Hernandez
Garrett Haley
Jason Castro
Jason Yeager
Joanne Borgella
Kady Malloy
Kristy Lee Cook
Luke Menard
Michael Johns
Ramiele Malubay
Robbie Carrico
Syesha Mercado

Half of these people we either don’t know or barely know, which is one of the things I’m not thrilled about with the start of American Idol. They spend so much time on disasters that they can’t give most of the more deserving people enough attention.

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

The Celebrity Apprentice Episode 7

Stephen Baldwin started The Celebrity Apprentice Episode 6 with a moment of clear stupidity, dropping the men for the women, and neither side wants him any more. Trump finally got his way, though, as he managed to get rid of Nely Galan.

Piers Morgan still hates Omarosa’s guts. Not that he’s alone. Omarosa knows what she needs to do to keep from being fired (didn’t work the first time, although she has managed to save her ass quite often).

Trump wants to see everybody back in the boardroom immediately. He’s getting tired of the women being beaten. The new teams are:

Empresario: Tito Ortiz, Marilu Henner, Trace Adkins, Stephen Baldwin
Hydra: Lennox Lewis, Carol Alt, Omarosa, Piers Morgan

Trump, you so silly. Putting Omarosa and Piers on the same team? Yeah, this is really all about having evenly matched teams.

The task is to run horse and carriages in Central Park. The team to get the most money wins. George is back as a guest judge.

Trace is the project manager because everybody else has been. Stephen calls up Billy Baldwin, who’s even less well known than Stephen is, to bring his checkbook. Marilu’s very happy with her new team.

Piers wants to be project manager again. His first order of business is to let Omarosa know they need to bury the hatchet until the task is over. He tells his team the people who raise the least money will be going into the boardroom with him. He’s concerned Omarosa won’t be able to raise money because she’s not really a celebrity.

Omarosa and Piers’ truce lasts until the next morning, when she starts shouting and swearing (and swearing and swearing) at him, then attacks his family. Omarosa, you’re embarrassing yourself.

After they get off the van, Piers fires Omarosa because she’s a revolting creature, but she doesn’t care. Lennox and Carol decide to just keep them apart.

Trace Adkins doesn’t know Billy/William Baldwin. As if anybody does. People agree to ride with him, though.

Piers has had about 5 of his contacts show up, but he’s hoping for more. They decide to hold back carriages just in case they get a big ticket person. Omarosa ignores him and continues to sell the ones they’re holding. Then she insults his children in front of customers. I’ve said it before, but this time I really mean it. Get off my TV screen.

Tito gets a donation from his girlfriend and takes a carriage ride with her.

Ivanka visits Hydra to see Piers and Omarosa still arguing. She expects them to lose.

Country singer John Rich shows up to help out Trace, with a $5,000 donation.

Trace is very happy with his team, and they’re very happy with him. Everybody’s working well together.

Piers wants Omarosa to raise just $1. She can’t. I suggest setting a lower goal.

Piers draws the line. If he has to work with Omarosa again, Trump better fire him.

Trump, this was a ridiculous and stupid decision to put them together just for the “drama.” Step in and break up this nonsense already.

Unlike the other team, Trace is happy with his whole unified team.

Empresario made $29,673. Hydra made $35,184. They won. Which means Omarosa lives to see another day. Trump wants Omarosa to move to the other team next week.

Piers doesn’t want to celebrate the victory, and Trump’s not happy either. He’s got to punish the team that worked together better. It’s your own fault. Shouldn’t have put Omarosa together with Piers over hope of improved ratings.

Trace has difficulty throwing anybody under the bus. Stephen similarly can’t answer. Up next, Marilu can’t answer either. Tito remains solid with his group. George offers no advice. Trump asks if somebody wants to resign. No takers.

Trump says the team understands it’s all about charity, and he’s feeling charitable. He fires nobody. A fair decision.

Next week, Marilu’s heading to the other team.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Celebrity Apprentice Episode 8, which airs Thursday at 9/8c on NBC.

Survivor: Micronesia Episode 2

There was a lot of plotting and scheming in Survivor: Micronesia Episode 1, and it was all fairly interesting. Then Jonny Fairplay, who both sides on the favorites camp tried to bring in as a fifth member, stepped forward to be a quitter, and, well, that all went out the window.

Even though they won the challenge and have flint (but are struggling to get fire), the fans are still in chaos and learning what the heck they’re doing. To be expected, but it still gives the favorites a leg up. In addition to all their other problems, there’s a generation gap forming, with Tracy, Chet, and Kathy being shunned.

Ozzy and Amanda are getting closer. He wants to stay away from her, though, because if he doesn’t, he’ll have a giant target on his back (dude, you’ve already got a giant target on your back, but at least this time you’re socializing with someone). Amanda’s worried about this screwing up her game. She didn’t have to worry about this last time and played a great game. It will be interesting to see what impact a relationship has.

After wasting a lot of their flint, the fans finally make fire. They claim now that they’re more unified. Once that’s said, Joel makes it known he wants to get rid of the three outsiders.

Mikey B is flirting with Mary, giving hope for another possible relationship.

Cirie hears the sounds of jungle love during the night. This scares her about the couples. Interestingly, nobody has to even approach her, as she’s taking it upon herself. Jonathan’s also up, and they start to chat. This should make for a solid 5 to compete with the couples, but ultimately, Cirie is the power player since nobody bothered to approach her before.

The favorites get applause from the fans for taking out Fairplay. It’s an immunity/reward challenge. Immunity, fishing gear, and exile island up for grabs (yeah, the damn hidden immunity idol’s still alive). Kathy sits out. The challenge is largely about swimming. Ozzy takes a quick lead over Jason. Ozzy’s lead is pretty much maintained, until Chet can’t find his key in the water, giving the other team a huge lead. It’s obvious this challenge is over. Jonathan screws up and is unable to find his key as well, but it’s still not enough. Once they get five keys, they need to work on opening a chest with five locks. Probst tries to convince us the fans are still in it. Once the chest is open, they then need to solve a puzzle, a map of Micronesia. Favorites win immunity and reward. They send Kathy to exile… why? Now the favorites must choose someone from their own tribe. Cirie volunteers.

Here’s the really odd thing. Cirie and Kathy are working together. They get the first clue. Kathy gets the second clue and shares it with Cirie. Cirie finds the third clue and shares it with Kathy. So then they get a fourth clue. As much as they’re complaining about it being a workout, it doesn’t seem that difficult to find clues. Of course, if there are 100 clues, maybe it’s harder than they’re letting on.

Chet’s performance in the immunity challenge is problematic. But instead of just running with this obvious plan, Mikey comes up with the theory of worrying about the hidden idol and splitting up their votes. Joel is not happy with Mikey.

Joel starts talking to the others about how he doesn’t put it past him to stab someone in the back. Instead of taking out Mikey, he wants to take out his closest ally, Mary. Ironically, this gets people to thinking that Joel’s trying to take too much control.

Kathy has the idol she got at the beginning of last week. She’ll obviously use it.

Jeff takes some time to point out the obvious: Chet sucked at the challenge.

The fans have two shelters, one for the seven and one for the other three. Wow, this is pitiful.

Votes
Chet
Chet
Tracy
Mary
Mary
Mary
Mary
Mary

Impressive blindside by the fans.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Micronesia Episode 3 I Should Be Carried on the Chariot-Type Thing, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

American Idol 7 Episode 9

After eight episodes of auditions, some good, some… whatever… it’s time now for the Hollywood round.

Ryan Seacrest starts off the show by promising us a brand new Hollywood week. Simon has his own warning for the contestants. Only 50 are going through, and about 110 of them are going to have a really bad time.

Brooke White was on episode 1. She’s the sweet nanny who Simon hoped to bring over to the dark side. This year, they’re allowed to play instruments (a silly twist since they won’t be able to use them after this), and she decides to play the keyboard while singing Beautiful. Very good performer. All three judges are impressed, giving her a pass to the final day.

Lorena Pinot is not as lucky, nor is Amy Flynn (the abstinence supporter from episode 4). Leo Marlowe, who was promising in episode 5, can’t even remember the words.

After a montage of people bombing with instruments, Jake Mellema decides to play the drums anyway. Decent voice overpowered by bad drums. Simon finds the only redeeming thing to be that they stopped it early.

David Hernandez had a good audition in the earlier rounds, and he shows why he got through in Hollywood as well. He’s obviously an already established performer.

Rocker Amanda Overmyer from episode 7 was in a car accident a week before Hollywood round. She sings a song from The Doors. Good, but as before, can she do anything else?

Ghaleb from episode 6 is back again. Not sure why. Disaster.

Josiah Leming, who we met living in his car in episode 7, will play the keyboard. I like him better than the audition round. Simon says he’ll remember him the most out of all the auditions.

Danny Noriega, Ramiele Malubay, Carly Smithson, and Michael Johns get lumped together in a good performances montage, but at least they get a little camera time.

David Cook sings Everything I Do while playing the guitar, and he’s the first guy to actually make the song work for him. Simon’s worried what will happen without the guitar and says no, but the other two say yes.

Kyle Ensley, the guy from episode 2 who seriously needs a makeover but anyway just wants to be governor, gets a room with two most likely hot chicks. Simon calls him abysmal, which is accurate. Paula talks about amazing spirit blah blah blah.

48 of the 164 have gotten a free pass to the final day, but 116 others were rejected and have to try again on day two. They will sing a capella for a few seconds and will be cut right then and there if the judges don’t think they’re good enough.

Suzanne Toon and Perrie Cataldo are in the first group. Both are cut. David Swope and Paul Anthony Daniels, whover they are, get through.

Amy Catherine Flynn is in the next group. Her voice coach made it to Hollywood in season 4 and is there with her. She sings Love Will Bring You Back at the suggestion of her vocal coach even though she’s never heard it before. She’s eliminated. Given a few more years, she’s got potential.

Kristy Lee Cook sings the same song she sang for her audition (Amazing Grace). Jeffrey Lampkin’s as annoyingly over the top as he was at his audition and is in Kristy’s group (his sister Michelle was eliminated earlier). Single mom Angela Martin is also in this group and just recently lost her father. Of the three, Angela is the one who does not get through.

The final day is singing with a band and three backup singers, essentially the same setup as the top 24.

David Arculeta is one of the more obvious finalists ever, despite his young age. He sings Heaven by Bryan Adams and impresses as much as he has previously. Randy says he’s the best since they’ve been there. He’s got the looks, voice, and personality to win this thing. Unlike the previous 16-year-old guys we’ve seen, this kid’s no joke.

Kyle Ensley sings You Raise Me Up. And he’s actually good. Not only that, but Simon apologizes for walking out on him the day before.

Jeffrey Lampkin is cut, followed by Joey Catalano.

Despite almost losing her voice earlier in the week, Syesha Mercado gives a strong performance and gets through.

Australian Michael Johns sings Bohemian Rhapsody, an interesting choice. Simon tells him it’s the best audition of the day.

Carly Smithson, whose visa has now cleared, is allergic to her dog but hopes she’s better now thanks to the mask she’s been wearing. The judges are impressed by how much she’s improved over the audition.

Asia’h Epperson really impresses Simon and is through.

Miss South Florida Fair Brooke Helvie gets a yes from Simon but a no from the other two, apparently based on one sour note.

Josiah Leming has been up all night and is unable to get along with the band, and he eventually breaks down at 3:30 in the morning. He performs with less than two hours of sleep, unrehearsed. When he gets on stage, he asks for the band to leave. If I hadn’t seen him before, I’d say to get rid of him. Simon suggests he’s way overconfident, obviously missing the mark. Regardless, he gets through.

It’s here we get the first listen to the goodbye song for season 7, Hollywood is not America by Ferras.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 7 episode 9.