America’s Got Talent Season 6 Episode 1

It’s time for another dose of the summer’s singing contest. With a couple of variety acts mixed in for good measure. We start off the season in LA.

Frank Olivier comes on stage with a unicycle, some torches, and a need to switch to decaf. Either he’s incompetent, trying to scare Howie, or really good. Fearing for his life after fleeing from the stage, Howie buzzes. Piers and Sharon quite enjoyed seeing Howie get tortured.

Ryan Andreas sings Angel by Sarah McLachlan and plays piano. Piers is very impressed. Even more impressive is that he’s never performed for an audience before.

Music teacher John Jacobson plans to… teach music. He teaches the double dream hands dance, which somehow has 3.5 million views on Youtube. At least Nick and Howie are making the most of it, while the audience boos and Sharon and Piers buzz.

Brian Bausch falls on his horse. Stephanie Sanson is in need of an exorcist. Louie is a fart impersonator. Wow.

Since seeing his first magic show at age 7, Landon Swank has been a starving magician. Whatever happens, he’s got the women in the audience on his side. He makes a vase appear, then makes a girl disappear. He’s going to Vegas, where he lives.

The Body Poets impress with their dance routine. Brennan Figari takes his shirt off, then peforms an aerial routine. Olivia Bellafontaine is a burlesque rock dancer, if there is such a thing, who comes out with a whip.

Debbie has a parrot (Danny), which she has raised for 21 years since he hatched. He’s part of her act, Vegas Birds. Piers says that’s the most intelligent animal he’s ever seen, even smarter than Howie. She promises to come back with more parrots that do even more, like painting and reading minds.

Frank Miles will juggle 500,000 volt stun guns. Don’t try this at home. Oh, and then he steps in a container filled with water.

Udi Abagnale sings all around Los Angeles. Not well. The dancing’s so bad that he can’t even sing before the judges axe him. Nick insists that they allow him to make a fool out of himself. The judges agree. Then buzz him again.

Next we head to the south (apparently California is not in the south), Atlanta.

Miami All Stars is a group of 24 dancers. Way too many people. Howie calls that phenomenal, sexy, amazing. Sharon’s happy to see men dance like men. Piers is happy to see women dancing like women.

Scott Alexander is a magician, who makes a woman levitate on water. Preston Weber, 12, is a Samoan fire dancer. The Yellow Designs Stunt Team do some bicycle tricks when their bikes aren’t breaking.

5-7 year old rappers Young Jay, Tobias, and Little Josh (SH’Boss Boys) are guaranteed to get through on cuteness no matter what. Good thing they have the cute factor down.

Primitivo Montoya says he’s singing and dancing. Then he falls off the stage. After buzzing him, Howie would like credit for saving his life.

Forever Young Dancers, age 50-75, are wearing diapers for some unexplained reason. Metatron is, uh, rapping, I think. He falls off the stage, too, except he’s a lawyer.

Nicole & Mike (The Crossed Swords) are a swordfighting couple. After much booing, Piers still refuses to X them. Suddenly, Piers, Howie, and Nick are on stage getting into their own duel.

Team iLuminate combines a dance group with a computer programmer. Piers says that is the single most exciting audition ever.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 6 Episode 2, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 Episode 1

With Idol being put out of its misery for the season, that means it’s time for So You Think You Can Dance. Mary Murphy is returning after having been benched last season. Lil C joins Mary and Nigel. We start off in Atlanta, GA.

Colombian salsa dancer Bianka Hinklerian starts things off on the right foot and heads to choreography.

Melanie Moore is an art major whose father died at a young age. At that time, she was not good at dance. Nigel is amazed but worried she’ll fall apart in Vegas. Mary is overwhelmed.

Deon Lewsa, Jr. and Damon Bellmon are under the mistaken impression they’re ladies’ men who are going to land Cat or some other female who they view as desperate. They have better odds of just hitting on each other. At least they’re entertaining dancers. They’ll be heading to Vegas. This is the start of a record setting 10 dancers in a row who go straight to Vegas.

Marko Germar was shot in 2009, and the bullet’s still in his shoulder. He said he’d be back and be a beast, so here he is, being a beast. He’s headed to choreography.

Bianka makes it through to Vegas, and Marko will be joining her.

Kimalee Piedad is given compliments across the board and is going to Vegas.

Then we get a Lil C montage. Nobody knows what he’s talking about as usual, even himself.

Uncoordinated white boy John “White Chocolate” Palermo believes he’s a hip hop dancer. I guess it really doesn’t matter what kind of dancing he does because it will look equally bad regardless. Before he leaves, he wants a hug from all of the judges.

Kyre Batiste has a familiar face at the judges’ table, as his grandmother is pulled up from the audience. She turns out to be his toughest critic, one who hits Lil C with her belt. He gets two votes for choreography, if you count his grandma, which they do. That’s as far as he’ll get.

In San Francisco, Tyce Diorio and Toni Redpath join Nigel.

Amber Williams always has people asking if she’s on something, for good reason. Her excess of quirkiness is distracting, but the judges enjoy her dancing and are sending her to Vegas.

Nigel calls Bboy Timothy Joseph stunning but wants to see if he can make it in choregraphy. Toni’s not impressed by anything more than the tricks and votes no, but Tyce gives him the second vote he needs.

Ieshia Moss didn’t know the auditions were coming to town until she turned on her local news. Too bad she had to turn on her local news. She fancies herself a stripper, but at least she’s keeping her clothes on. The booty shaking and missing front tooth are bad enough. She sticks around to encourage Marcos Pieto in his similarly trainwreck performance.

Danielle Ihle has been homeless since her father lost his job, kept it from the family, and then abandoned them. Toni likes the spinning and the dancing, but she lacks the emotional connection. Nigel would rather have seen a happier audition, but he’ll let her go to choreography.

Ashley Nicole Rich wows the judges, who will be sending her to Vegas… and then singing.

D’on-que (if that’s his real name, his parents are mean) Addison warns us of a pending rising of the underdogs. He will not be part of that rising, whether he breaks down crying or not.

Saying he tweaked his knee, Timothy opts to bow out. Danielle heads to Vegas.

Jeffery McCann is another bboy. The critique he gets is “heck yeah,” which apparently is sufficient explanation for his trip to Vegas.

Ryan Ramirez returns after getting cut last season from the top 24.

Levi “I Dummy” Allen brings us turf dancing, which originated in Oakland. He heads to choreography but not to Vegas.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 Episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 10 Winner

The top 2 perfomed in American Idol Season 10 Episode 38. Tonight either Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina will win the crown of American Idol Season 10 winner based on America’s votes.

I hope you’ve set your Tivo for half an hour extra. The show’s scheduled to run over by 7 minutes after 2 hours of filler, but American Idol producers aren’t exactly known for their understanding of the concept of either time or DVR viewing.

Going into the first Simon Cowellfree season, I didn’t expect much. Problem is I didn’t even get not much. Jennifer Lopez made something resembling an effort, but Steven Tyler is a waste of a judges’ position. May as well just record him saying “beautiful” and pay him royalties to hit the button after every performance. The lack of any real judging neither helped to weed out the bad contestants nor improve the good ones, while eliminating perhaps the best singer early.

Nonetheless, the show remains #1, although the better and fresher The Voice is the first show in the genre to be moderately competitive and has managed to put NBC on the map for a change. At least Simon will be back in the fall for X Factor.

With 4 minutes left, it’s time to dim the lights. Looks like Seacrest may get done on time. The American Idol Season 10 winner is Scotty McCreery.

American Idol Season 10 Episode 38

Haley Reinhart was finally eliminated in American Idol Season 10 Episode 37, leaving us with a final two battle between young country singers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina. Thankfully tonight’s show is only 1 hour long.

Lauren blew out one of her vocal chords, but the doctor says she’ll be fine to make it through the hour. At least the rumors of Haley returning did not end up coming true.

Scotty starts off with Gone by Montgomery Gentry, and Lauren kicks off the night with Flat on the Floor by Carrie Underwood.

Then Scotty sings Check Yes or No by George Strait (chosen by George Strait). Seems we’re not going to be getting much judging tonight. Not that we normally do. All we get from this panel is how everything is beautiful. Lauren follows with Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tillis (chosen by Carrie Underwood, who at least didn’t pick her own song).

Randy gives round 1 to Scotty, but he gives round 2 to Lauren. Jennifer agrees with him. Steven offers no useful insight. Next they’ll both sing their winner’s songs, which typically just get chucked aside quickly. The only memorable one is Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This.

Scotty McCreery
Song: I Love You This Big
Randy: Not the perfect song for you, but the range was great. Brilliant vocal.
Jennifer: Amazing job.
Steven: Come a long way.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-01 or 1-866-IDOLS-03 or 1-866-IDOLS-05 or 1-866-IDOLS-07

Lauren Alaina
Song: Like My Mother Does
Randy: Great song. Finally the Lauren we grew to love in Nashville.
Jennifer: You may have just won.
Steven: You are it in my eyes.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-02 or 1-866-IDOLS-04 or 1-866-IDOLS-06 or 1-866-IDOLS-08

Randy gives round 3 to Lauren. Jennifer just says it was a tight race. Steven finally makes a decision, giving Lauren the win.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 39, where we will find out who the American Idol Season 10 winner is, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The Biggest Loser Season 11 Winner

Sisters Hannah and Olivia managed to secure the first two spots in the finale in The Biggest Loser Season 11 Episode 20.

Jay and Irene are competing for America’s votes for the final spot in the top 3. The winner of America’s vote is Irene, so no matter what happens, this year’s Biggest Loser will be a woman. In a season full of quitters, there were a few shining stars. I think we have the right trio there.

Tonight marks Jillian Michaels’ final episode of The Biggest Loser. Supposedly, she was leaving to focus on being a mom, although recently we found out she’s got a gig with Dr. Phil.

Jay now joins the other eliminated contestants to compete for the at home prize of $100,000.

Ana: 146 pounds (-109, 42.75%) – a high starting mark to beat for somebody who left in week 1
Courtney: 213 pounds (-110, 34.06%)
Marci: 152 pounds (-86, 36.13%)
Dan: 163 pounds (-124, 43.21%)
Don: 179 pounds (-130, 42.07%)
Q: 344 pounds (-93, 21.28%)
Larialmy: 217 pounds (-84, 27.91%)
Moses: 287 pounds (-153, 34.77%)
Kaylee: 179 pounds (-54, 23.17%) – 14 pounds gained since leaving campus in week 17
Ken: 219 pounds (-158, 41.91%)
Austin: 222 pounds (-174, 43.94%)
Sarah: 155 pounds (-106, 40.61%)
Deni: 131 pounds (-125, 48.83%) – excellent numbers for this season’s oldest female at age 59
Arthur: 344 pounds (-163, 32.15%)
Jesse: 210 pounds (-83, 28.33%)
Justin: 192 pounds (-173, 47.40%)
Jen: 164 pounds (-114, 41.01%)
Jay: 219 pounds (-181, 45.25%)
No Rulon (if anyone cares)

Deni is The Biggest Loser At Home winner. Well done. Her daughter looks like a completely different person, too.

Next we head into the battle for the top prize. As The Biggest Loser on campus, Irene will decide the order.

Before we get into the final weigh in, it’s time to announce the newest trainer. Because three is not enough, apparently, even though two has been plenty for the past seven seasons. Anna Kournikova will be joining the show as of next season. Perhaps they’re getting rid of Brett and/or Cara. Who knows? What we do know is Bob’s not going anywhere.

Hannah: 128 pounds (-120, 48.39%)
Irene: 139 pounds (-116, 45.49%)
Olivia: 132 pounds (-129, 50.19%)

Beating out her sister, Olivia Ward is The Biggest Loser for season 11. Not to be outdone, her husband has lost 113 pounds.

With its continuing popularity on an otherwise lackluster network (thanks for cancelling The Event and Outsourced by the way), The Biggest Loser will be back in September.

The Celebrity Apprentice 4 Winner

Following the interview round elimination of Lil Jon and Meat Loaf in The Celebrity Apprentice 4 Episode 11, the final two of John Rich and Marlee Matlin got to work on their final task for 7UP Retro.

First thing’s first. Donald Trump has made the ever so shocking announcement he has no plans to run for President. Although it was all just an attempt to grab some attention, Trump’s not the worst person I can think of to run the country. He’d be hard pressed to do worse than we’ve seen the last several years. Immediately after NBC said he was expendable and would be replaced on this show if he were to run, he all of a sudden made the decision to stick around. Some fresh blood wouldn’t be the worst thing for this show. It’s not like Survivor where Jeff Probst is a critical element to the show’s success. Sure, they don’t want to do another Martha Stewart season, but it wouldn’t be difficult to drop a business person into the show’s current format and basically keep things going as is.

We were left with a cliffhanger, one that I doubt will hurt either team for long.

First, Marlee’s team is dealing with Geoffrey Holder refusing to sign his contract. Yeah, because I’m sure an 80 year old who’s most well known for some commercials in the 1970s has more pressing matters than appearing on the season finale of a popular TV show. Eventually, he does show up as expected.

Meanwhile, John Rich has to deal with Def Leppard. Unlike the other team, which has no backup plan, John is willing to just do the show and send these guys packing, complete with all the bad publicity that refusing to do a celebrity performance would entail. They still refuse to bow to his idea of using a kickdrum, but they’re willing to work with him. I don’t get the sense they weren’t willing to work with him. This is so lame.

Ivanka is pregnant. I’m sure we’ll see her child appearing on the show some time soon, like the rest of the Trump family. Remember when people who were not related to Trump used to be able to get on this show? Or people who were friends of Trump were not given instant get out of jail, go straight to victory cards no matter how poorly they and their offspring performed? Don Jr. is expecting his third child. We’ve already seen his other kids on this show. Speaking of which, Marlee’s basketball game is the perfect opportunity for them to make another appearance.

Marlee’s team knows they have things to do. Except they just don’t know what needs to get done, or who’s supposed to do it, as nothing has been delegated. La Toya’s getting worried John Rich is going to win. By the time the Globetrotters show up, they seem to have everything in order.

The whole cast is back for the live show, minus the jailed Richard Hatch. Even NeNe the quitter is back, although the season’s other quitter Jose Canseco is not. David Cassidy is happy Hatch is in prison. Lisa blames Star for her departure. She’s not alone, but for all the people complaining about Star, she was just better than they were.

It’s not a fundraising task, but that’s not stopping John Rich from getting donations without trying. He raises $25,000, then he gets another $250,000, putting him over the $1 million mark.

Marlee had Meat Loaf greeting people at the door. John Rich decides not to greet anybody, including Trump.

John has another problem. He’s running ahead of schedule. It’s 6:40 when he introduces Def Leppard. He told them 7. They’ll be down at 7 and not a minute sooner. His resolution is to play some songs to fill time. I find him more entertaining than they are.

Both events go well. In the end, I’m not clear how it would have been possible to screw up either.

The 7UP execs have decided they will be using the cans from both teams, which isn’t going to help Trump in making a decision about the winner.

NeNe stands by being a raving lunatic. Star is embarrassed for her. La Toya says NeNe has a good heart, deep down.

Now for the final boardroom. First up, they bring out the cans. La Toya says the other team’s can pops.

John’s defense for the timing mishap is that he was rattled by having raised $275k just before they went on stage. This puts Marlee on the defensive, although Trump says he’s not going to give a bonus for it.

In total, almost $3 million has been raised this season, mostly by Marlee and John.

Everybody initially dances around the question of who should win. Meat Loaf says Trump’s broken the rules already, and should break the rules again and let them both win. In season 4, Trump made this offer to the winner, but Randal declined to share. Star finally gives an answer, saying the money raised in the final task by John Rich takes it over the top. Lil Jon obviously supports his buddy John. La Toya continues this trend. David supports Marlee. Mark McGrath supports John because he had the best season ever, not just one great week.

They keep talking about how close this is, but it has been John Rich’s to lose from the beginning. Either way, they’re both a lot better than either Joan Rivers or Bret Michaels were.

The Celebrity Apprentice 4 winner is John Rich.

NBC has already confirmed that the show will be back next year for season 5.

American Idol Season 10 Episode 37

The top 3 performed in American Idol Season 10 Episode 36. Tonight one (presumably female) will go home.

Between Casey and Haley, I’m quite done with the growling. Quite.

With only three people left, Seacrest has a lot of time to waste. Even the first result may not come in for 55 minutes. Strangely, though, I found this episode more watchable than the typical elimination show.

It goes without saying that the first person with a shot at this season’s title is Scotty McCreery.

That leaves us with a battle between the girls as expected. The person who will compete against Scotty in the finale is Lauren Alaina. So basically neither person in the top two can drink. Or vote. 6 weeks after her first trip to the bottom three, Haley Reinhart has finally been eliminated.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 38, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

American Idol Season 10 Episode 36

With the elimination of James Durbin in American Idol Season 10 Episode 35, one of the frontrunners departed the competition earlier than many expected. Could be worse. America could have voted out Pia while keeping far weaker singers around instead. Oh. Wait. At least we get to watch Haley get all mad when the judges give her criticism.

Okay, for starters, two hours? Really? Even for three songs each, I repeat. Really? Still, less filler than the fastforwarding I’ll be doing tomorrow.

First, they will sing songs chosen by themselves with guest mentor Beyonce.

Scotty McCreery
Song: Amazed by Lonestar
Steven: Saw you get angry. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.
Jennifer: Good to see you use your vibrato.
Randy: I recorded the song. I produced it.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-01 or 1-866-IDOLS-04 or 1-866-IDOLS-07

Lauren Alaina
Song: Wild One by Faith Hill
Jennifer: Gotta attack it like that every single time.
Randy: Nice song choice. Could tell you were loving it.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-02 or 1-866-IDOLS-05 or 1-866-IDOLS-08

Haley Reinhart
Song: What Is and What Should Never Be by Led Zeppelin
Randy: What it’s all about. One of your best performances ever.
Steven: Superb.
Jennifer: I’ve fallen on stage.
Number: 1-866-IDOLS-03 or 1-866-IDOLS-06 or 1-866-IDOLS-09

The judges give round 1 to Haley. I don’t get it. For round 2, Jimmy Iovine will make the song choices. Oh joy. We’ve seen how well that works.

Scotty McCreery
Song: Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not by Thompson Square
Steven: You were living that one.
Jennifer: That’s what the zone feels like.
Randy: Great song for you. Approaching that Garth level performance.

Lauren Alaina
Song: If I Die Young by The Band Perry
Jennifer: Most beautiful tone of our finalists. Got caught up in the honesty a couple times.
Randy: What she said.
Steven: Beautiful song, beautiful voice, nailed it again.

Haley Reinhart
Song: Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks
Randy: Perfect pitch. More of a somber moment.
Steven: Remind me of why I fell in love with Stevie Nicks.
Jennifer: Thought you were going to take it a little further. Nice contrast to what you did earlier.

He may have picked some pretty obscure songs, but Jimmy didn’t do too badly after all. Steven gives this round to Lauren, while Jennifer and Randy give it to Scotty. Jimmy goes with Scotty, too, I think. The judges get to pick for round 3.

Scotty McCreery
Song: She Believes in Me by Kenny Rogers
Steven: Haven’t heard you sing a chorus yet like that.
Jennifer: I guess you showed us.
Randy: So sweet and tender in the front. Hit the chorus.

Lauren Alaina
Song: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack
Jennifer: Goosies from head to toe. You won that round for me already.
Randy: Sure Lee Ann’s watching and saying dude you slayed it.
Steven: Like you owned the Grand Ole Opry.

Haley Reinhart
Song: You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette
Randy: Some amazing choruses for you. Loved seeing you rock out. A little problem with the rhythm.
Jennifer: Nobody who can match you in the choruses.

Steven gives round 3 to Haley. Jennifer gives it to Lauren. Randy agrees.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of American Idol Season 10 Episode 37, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.