Dread-ful elimination on 'American Idol'
By Daniel Fienberg
May 07, 07:08 PM
With the
American Idol finale just two weeks away, Wednesday (May 7) night's hour saw the show cut its talent pool down to the Top Three. Would the most logical suspect (Jason Castro) go home, or did
Idol have another surprise in store?
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'American Idol' can't stop the rock
By Daniel Fienberg
May 06, 06:25 PM
Tuesday (May 6) night's
American Idol theme is about as vague and wide-open as the Top Four could possibly hope for. Songs from the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame? What does that even mean? Working from the Hall's list of 500 influential hits, surely everybody should find great tracks to sing, right? Let's see...
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Brooke runs dry on 'American Idol'
By Daniel Fienberg
April 30, 07:22 PM
After a Tuesday show that saw the musical attributes of the
American Idol Top Five overshadowed by Paula Abdul's perplexing and new-found ability to predict the future, which contestant would be heading home on Wednesday (April 30)? And why can't Paula just tell us the results in advance and save me an hour?
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'American Idol' seeks a Diamond in the rough
By Daniel Fienberg
April 29, 06:33 PM
I got no thrills from Dolly Parton Night. Mariah Carey Night didn't thrill me at all. So tell me why, should it be right, that I'm hoping to get a kick out of Neil Diamond Night? Would the
American Idol Tuesday (April 29) Two-fer Tribute to the Jazz Singer live up to my expectations?
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'American Idol' plucks an Irish Rose
By Daniel Fienberg
April 23, 07:27 PM
Tuesday's Andrew Lloyd Webber Night seemed to bring out the best in some
American Idol contestants (Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson, for example) and the worst in others (like Brooke White and Jason Castro). Would that make any difference in Wednesday's (April23) results? Hint: No.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber Grills 'American Idol' Top Six
By Daniel Fienberg
April 22, 06:25 PM
The
American Idol producers have set their second straight booby-trap. As hard as it was for the
Idol singers to handle Mariah Carey last week, Tuesday's (April 22) challenge is The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a theme whose difficulty is matched only by its irrelevance in terms of finding a contemporary popular artist.
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Too Many Cooks in the 'American Idol' Kitchen
By Daniel Fienberg
April 16, 07:20 PM
We did it, America! It's April 16, which means we survived both Tax Day and Mariah Carey Night on
American Idol. All things considered, both big days could have been better, but they also could have been worse. But would Wednesday night's
Idol results leave viewers as shocked as they were by the departure of Michael Johns last week? Let's see...
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'American Idol' voices Carey
By Daniel Fienberg
April 15, 06:29 PM
For six-and-a-half seasons now,
American Idol contestants have heard near-weekly lectures from the judges about how covering certain singers -- Whitney, Christina, Celine, Mariah -- is just a recipe for disaster, Tuesday (April 15) night's show is dedicated entirely to karaoke versions of Mariah Carey hits. Gee. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?
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Rocker Shocker as 'American Idol' cuts to Seven
By Daniel Fienberg
April 10, 06:11 PM
After taking a night off for Miley Cyrus Gives Back,
American Idol returns on Thursday (April 10) for what we're promised will be an elimination episode. How many plugs for charitable giving will we get beforehand? Here's the
website, in case you've forgotten. Now on to the recap...
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'Idol' Gives Back 2008: Minute-by-Minute
By Daniel Fienberg
April 09, 05:45 PM
On Thursday (April 10) night,
American Idol will eliminate another contestant, punishment for Tuesday's mighty mediocre Inspirational Songs Night. But Wednesday is all about giving back, which is why the 150 minute telethon is called, um, Idol Gives Back. But if it's Wednesday and
Idol is on, I'm recapping. So here it goes...
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'American Idol' Top Eight Fails to Inspire
By Daniel Fienberg
April 08, 06:32 PM
Wednesday night will be all about pleas for charity, but Tuesday (April 8) night's
American Idol is all about pleas for your votes. In other words, it was business as usual as the
American Idol Top Eight sang Inspirational Songs.
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'American Idol' Results: Hello Dolly, Good-Bye...
By Daniel Fienberg
April 02, 07:14 PM
How did the great Satchel Paige used to say it? Don't look back,
American Idol might be gaining on you? Wednesday's bloated
Idol result shows just keep on sneaking deeper and deeper into the 8 p.m. hour and this week's (April 2) episode manages to start at 8:57 p.m. ET. How did we spend our hour before elimination? Well, let's see...
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Parton Me: 'American Idol' Top Nine Performs
By Daniel Fienberg
April 01, 06:21 PM
Wednesday (April 1) night is Dolly Parton Night on
American Idol, with Dolly serving as guest mentor, which will force surly judge Simon Cowell to balance his hatred of country music with his love of kissing up to celebrity visitors. As for me? I suspect the entire show will feel like an hour-long April Fool's joke (though hopefully less lame than the one Ryan Seacrest uses to start the show)...
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'American Idol' Cuts to Nine
By Daniel Fienberg
March 26, 07:19 PM
For this first time this season, the occasionally reliable, semi-scientific prognosticators at DialIdol are reporting that a singer other than Presumptive
American Idol Winner David Archuleta got the most votes. That suggests that as Wednesday's (March 26)
American Idol results show begins, it's anybody's game. Well, anybody except for the person eliminated Wednesday...
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'American Idol' Top 10 sing songs from the year they were born
By Daniel Fienberg
March 25, 06:57 PM
Tuesday (March 25) night's
American Idol theme is Songs From The Year You [the contestants, that is, not me] Were Born. For Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, that could mean a third straight week of the Beatles, while for Presumptive
American Idol Winner David Archuleta, that could mean one of the lesser singles of Hanson. Sadly, only one of those two possibilities was meant as a joke...
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'American Idol' trims to 10
By Daniel Fienberg
March 19, 07:13 PM
American Idol probably shouldn't have done a second night of Beatles songs. But who would pay the price on Wednesday (March 19) for Tuesday's mistakes? Who would be this season's last contestant to miss out on the empty arenas of the American Idol Tour? Let's find out...
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Beatles well runs dry for 'American Idol'
By Daniel Fienberg
March 18, 07:18 PM
Since last week's Lennon-McCartney Night was so successful -- I'm not being sarcastic there, though I know it's hard to tell sometimes -- it's back to the well once more on Tuesday (March 18) night's
American Idol, with a Beatles theme. Would lightning strike twice or would the second time on the huge
Idol stage not be the charm? Let's find out, shall we?
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Results: 'American Idol' Cuts to 11
By Daniel Fienberg
March 12, 07:23 PM
Tuesday (March 11) night's tribute to Lennon and McCartney may have brought out the best in the
American Idol Top 12, but somebody still has to go home. And it isn't gonna be me. I'm already there. So whose
Idol dream ended on Wednesday? Let's find out...
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'American Idol' Top 12 Perform Lennon-McCartney
By Daniel Fienberg
March 11, 07:23 PM
After many years of threatening to secure the Beatles catalogue, Tuesday (March 11) night's episode finally sees
American Idol tapping into the Lennon-McCartney songbook. It's the start of the Top 12. There's a new credit sequence (lots of scary close-ups of pop singing avatars). There's a new stage (big and, um, big). But what about the singers and their interpretations of some of the finest compositions of the past 50 years?
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'American Idol' Is Down to its Top 12
By Daniel Fienberg
March 06, 06:19 PM
Thank heavens for
American Idol and the interruption it offers from wall-to-wall coverage of Brett Favre's retirement. In my book, he was maybe the ninth or 10th best quarterback in NFL history and only the seventh or eighth best
There's Something About Mary star. Does that deserve three days of non-stop ESPN coverage? Really? I mean, maybe if he'd been making his living as a stripper at gay clubs in Phoenix... So anyway, who will be eliminated on Thursday (March 6) night in the final
Idol cuts before the Top 12?
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'American Idol' Top Eight Women Perform
By Daniel Fienberg
March 05, 06:24 PM
If you were a Hillary Clinton groupie, Tuesday was Ladies Night, but if you're an
American Idol fan, the Women didn't come out to play until Wednesday (March 5). Last week, the '70s proved quite the challenge for the Top 10
Idol Women. Would the Top Eight do any better with the '80s?
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'American Idol' Top Eight Men Perform
By Daniel Fienberg
March 04, 06:23 PM
Tuesday (March 4) marks one of the most important nights of the electoral process. No, silly, not the Texas and Ohio primaries. It's the start of the final week of gender segregation on
American Idol, before we integrate into the Top 12. How did The '80s treat the Top Eight Men?
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'American Idol' cuts down to 16
By Daniel Fienberg
February 28, 06:14 PM
I've done this for a long time, but I don't remember many results shows more wide open than Thursday (Feb. 28) night's
American Idol. As the episode begins, I can't begin to guess who's going home. Let's follow the action, minute-by-minute.
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'American Idol' Top 10 Women Show Heart
By Daniel Fienberg
February 27, 06:43 PM
Welcome back to
American Idol, where
saying you want to decapitate a 16-year-old boy and leave his bloody skull dangling from your rearview mirror is a compliment and a sign of thoughtfully conceived judging. Which of the Top 10
Idol Women will prove deserving of becoming disembodied automotive ornamentation on Wednesday night?
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'American Idol' Top 10 Men Perform
By Daniel Fienberg
February 26, 06:37 PM
After a week battling through the flu, I think I'm working at 65 to 70 percent as Tuesday (Feb. 26) night's
American Idol performance episode begins. As I learned from Paula Abdul, though, you can't use poor health as an excuse. You have to go out there and be yourself (or somebody very like you), expose your true colors to the world and paint every doorknob with the flavor of your dreams. The results for the Top 10
Idol men will follow...
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'American Idol' makes its first four eliminations
By Daniel Fienberg
February 21, 06:15 PM
Just one more hour until the first batch of
American Idol eliminations are announced and just 60 minutes til a week of flu-addled
Idol recapping is complete. Better health next week, but til then, join me for a minute-by-minute tour of Thursday (Feb. 21) night's show.
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'American Idol' Top 12 Women perform
By Daniel Fienberg
February 20, 07:14 PM
There has been much talk of a flu bug decimating the
American Idol women this week. Is our shared infirmity going to make me more generous to Wednesday's (Feb. 20) performances from the
Top 12 American Idol Women? Or am I going to blame them for infecting me at last week's
Idol party? We'll see... As Ryan Seacrest says, the show must go on.
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'American Idol' Top 12 Men perform
By Daniel Fienberg
February 19, 07:19 PM
"People are saying that this year's talent is the best yet," host Ryan Seacrest says, kicking off Tuesday (Feb. 19) night's performances by the season's
American Idol Top 12 Men. I guess that's why I'm weathering the flu to perform my recapping duties. If I miss somebody, it's 'cuz I went into a coma.
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'American Idol' reveals the Top 24
By Daniel Fienberg
February 13, 06:34 PM
The Top 24 for the seventh season of
American Idol were announced on Wednesday (Feb. 13) night's show. Click through to follow every filler-tastic second of drama...
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'American Idol' Hollywood Week
By Daniel Fienberg
February 12, 08:36 PM
The new Hollywood Week format showcased on Tuesday (Feb. 12) night's
American Idol had some odd consequences. On one hand, it was almost completely devoid of the sort of suspense and histrionics viewers have come to expect. That's bad. On the other hand, I felt like I actually saw some super performances over the course of the two-hour episode. That's good.
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'American Idol' best-of-the-rest auditions
By Daniel Fienberg
February 06, 07:22 PM
It's a truth universally acknowledged that it's almost impossible to win on
American Idol if you aren't featured in some prominent way in the heavily watched
American Idol audition episodes. That's why Wednesday (Feb. 6) night's Best of the Rest clip show was so important.
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'American Idol' Atlanta auditions
By Daniel Fienberg
February 05, 06:43 PM
Am I the only one disappointed that after a week of FOX promos for the Hollywood round --
Generic Idol Blonde Brooke White is much more interesting in front of a keyboard, it turns out -- Tuesday (Feb. 5) night's
Idol was just a return to audition episodes?
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'American Idol' Miami auditions
By Daniel Fienberg
January 30, 07:04 PM
I watch a lot of reality TV. It's sort of my job. And Wednesday (Jan. 30) night's American Idol auditions from Miami were like a "Where Are They Now?" special for me. Look, it's Julie from
American Juniors! Whoa, that's Syesha from
The One! Way to bring out the fresh talent, Idol!
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'American Idol' Omaha auditions
By Daniel Fienberg
January 29, 06:42 PM
Somehow I can't shake the feeling that the best moment from Tuesday (Jan. 29) night's
American Idol auditions from Omaha came when one contestant, having made it through to Hollywood despite a "No" vote from Simon, stared into the camera and declared, "I can't wait to prove Simon wrong, that I am America's Next Top Model."
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'American Idol' Charleston auditions
By Daniel Fienberg
January 23, 07:20 PM
If I heard correctly, Ryan Seacrest's voice-over said that 23 contestants made it to Hollywood out of the Charleston auditions for
American Idol. Of those 23, though, only four had any significant screentime on Wednesday's (Jan. 23) episode and each of the ones we saw were highly suspect.
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