‘Idol’ contestant cut after dad talks to paper
Lynche’s father violated confidentiality agreement, according to report

A moment of pride has turned to sorrow as an “American Idol” contestant has been cut from the competition after violating a confidentiality agreement, according to a report.

Michael Lynche (a.k.a. Big Mike) was reportedly told to pack his bags after his father revealed to his local Florida paper, The St. Petersburg Times, that Michael had made the top 24 — a violation of Idol rules requiring the singers and their families to keep the Hollywood week results quiet until they’re broadcast.

The New York Post, citing Idol spoiler site Joe’s Place, says Michael was replaced in the top 24 over the weekend. FOX has declined to comment on the report.

If Lynche has indeed been booted, he wouldn’t be the first. Last season, Joanna Pacitti was replaced by Felicia Barton on the list of top 36 contestants. FOX would not give a reason other than Pacitti was found to be “ineligible to continue in the competition.” But her dismissal followed reports that she had connections to executives at Idol producer Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment.

Source: MSNBC

Peace, BBBlogger

With auditions for American Idol heading to Los Angeles this week, I started thinking.  What is the audition process really like?  Do you realize how many truly amazing singers must be turned away every year?  On Friday night, my husband and I attended Temecula Live.  This all country music talent-type show has become a tradition in Temecula, California.  The show is held for three nights and has different performers each night.  The singers are always amazing and range from little kids to adults that have taken up singing later in life.  Every time one of the singers hit the stage, I would turn to my husband and say, “They could make it on Idol”.  But they don’t.  Why?  Because for every one of the singers on the Temecula Live stage there is probably a hundred just as good.

So what do you need to be an American Idol?  Something besides a good voice that’s for sure.  Maybe a sad story that will lead to a happy ending?   We always love those, don’t we?  Members of the military/police have a bit of a better shot.  It doesn’t hurt to have an unusual look or dress a little different–but be careful–not too different!  I’m not sure what the formula is.  Perhaps it changes year to year or even audition to audition?  Well anyway, I’m sure Los Angeles saw its share of really good performers not make the cut; but Tuesday at 8:00, we’ll see who does.

Enjoy the playoffs today.  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

First to receive a golden ticket in Orlando is Seth Rollins.  He was praised by all four judges.  Seth is a very caring father of an autistic son.  He wants to succeed both for himself and his family.  He definitely pulled me into his corner!

Jermaine Purifoy auditioned in Season 7 and he’s back for a second try.  He sings a Tony Bennett song.  I don’t think I mentioned that Seth sang a Frank Sinatra song.  Must be crooners’ night.  Randy says Jermaine was the best he heard this season so far.  Another four Yes votes.

Shelby Dressel is an 18-year-old trying out for Idol for her first time.  She has a bit of nerve damage on her face, but it doesn’t affect her beauty or her beautiful voice.  Once again, four Yes votes.

Day two auditions are minus Kristen Chenowith. First up today is Jay Stone.  Okay, now this one is “sorta” unique.  If you remember Blake Lewis, though, maybe not.  Jay is a beat boxer–but he’s different from Blake because he mixes the beat boxing right in with the singing.  I guess you have to hear it to understand.  Simon says No, Kara says Yes and then Kara talks Randy into the second Yes needed to send Jay to Hollywood.

We hear tiny bits of  Janell Wheeler, Brittany Star James and Kasi Bedford sing and all three receive Golden Tickets.

Cornelius Edwards lists his dance skills on his bio, so during his song, he tries a split.  Lucky for him, his voice is good, because his pants ripped and his dancing talent wasn’t winning him any prizes.  We’ll see him again in Hollywood.

Would a season be complete without siblings?  Next we have two very hot sisters from Jersey.   Bernadette and Amanda Desimone can hold their own while singing…oh and did I mention that they are hot…and also Hollywood bound.

As you know, I’ve been ignoring the No contestants, but I can’t help but comment on Jarrod Norrell.  After singing Amazing Grace, the judges try to let him down easy with three No’s but he won’t leave and ends up being taken out in handcuffs.  For the judges sake, I hope this was put on because this guy was scary.

Last story of the night focuses on Matthew Lawrence.  When he was fifteen-years-old he robbed a bank with a BB gun.  He ended up in jail for over four years.  Now, he’s grown up and wants to make up for his huge mistake.  Simon’s quote is “brilliant”.  That’s high praise.  Kara and Randy both are bowled over by Matthew.  He, of course, gets a ticket to Hollywood.  The judges think he will make it to the top 12.   Maybe.

That’s it for week two of American Idol.  Next week, AI heads back to Los Angeles where there is never a lack of talent–at least in my experience.

Have a great weekend!  Bloggergal1

Jarrod Norrell

American Idol heads to Chicago and leaves with only 13 contestants going to Hollywood.  Maybe it had something to do with Randy’s shirt.  Did you see that thing?  I was shopping in Beverly Hills awhile ago and saw him coming out of one of those posh stores.  It may have been expensive, but I still don’t like it!

The first contestant is  Katelyn Epperly.   Her story is that her parents are divorcing and she’s doing this mostly for her mom because she loves American Idol.  She moves on to Hollywood, but she needs to want this for herself to become the next American Idol.  My husband didn’t like that tattoo on her back and he thought her dress was too child-like.  So in other words she needs some updating to her look.

Off topic, did you see the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis cruise ship commercial?  It has a merry-go-round–can you imagine?  I need to get on that ship!

Sixteen-year-old Charity Vance from Arkansas sings Summertime.  Randy says she has a “small voice but an interesting sound”.  Simon told her she sounded great.  She gets four yes votes and moves on to Hollywood.  All the judges are amazed that she is only sixteen.  Well, if you watch American Idol regularly, you know what’s coming next.  When she starts choosing her songs, the judges will say she is choosing songs that are too old for her, right?

The next section shows a large number of really bad singers, mixed in with reactions from the judges.  My question is did the judges really see all those lousy singers, or did AI producers piece together that section?  I just can’t imagine those famous people sitting through all those contestants.  Why would American Idol waste their time?  There has to be a ton of really good singers in Chicago.

Next up is three time contestant, Angela Martin.  The first time she made it to Hollywood, her dad passed away and this affected her.  Angela made it last season to the top 50 but had to drop out because she had to appear in court for a traffic violation.  Will third time be a charm?

After the commercials, another whole segment devoted to terrible, not even funny, contestants.  How about American Idol divides the show up–one show of terrible contestants and one that shows just the good ones, even if they don’t make it to Hollywood?

Finally, we get to a Hollywood-bound contestant, John Park.  He’s a twenty-year-old college student.  I think his audition is really dull.  He’s going to need to show some personality to keep going on AI.  Shania critiques him and uses what can only be called questionable language.  I think John was pretty confused by her, as was I!

Paige Dechausse, also a college student is the next to be highlighted.  She had a close call when she was little with a severe asthma attack.  Simon thinks she’s “indulgent” and votes no.  Kara and Shania think she deserves a shot and vote yes and then they harass Randy into saying yes.  Do I think this was all a put on?  Well, what do you think?

The last segment highlights three guys…Justin Ray with amazing hair, Keith Semple holding his guitar and Marcus Jones.  All three get yellow tickets.  I think that Keith Semple has a very interesting tone to his voice and I’ll be watching out for him in Hollywood.

Tonight American Idol goes to Orlando, Florida.  I wouldn’t mind going to Orlando, would you?  Anyway, hopefully they’ll find more talent there.  So, stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Can you believe it’s Sunday already?  We’re right smack in the middle of NFL playoffs (go Vikings!), but before you know it Tuesday will be here!  American Idol auditions are in the windy city of Chicago.  Guest celebrity judge is Shania Twain.  Check it out Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

In the meanwhile, stealing the spotlight away from AI contestants this week was Atlanta’s Larry Platt.  I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but he is the writer and performer to the newest Internet hit “Pants on the Ground”.  I hesitate to even say those words out loud because I find that it leads to me singing the silly ditty all day long!  My local newspaper had an interview of his and he’s shocked about all the attention he’s receiving.  He said that he hopes people will concentrate on his message more so than his fame.  His inspiration hit when seeing a father with his pants hanging walking down the street with his children.  He feels that isn’t the message that a parent should be conveying.  You go, Larry!

Remember Skii Bo Ski (Anthony Wheeler) who sang I Heard It Through the Grapevine?  Well, it turns out he has quite a criminal past with a number of arrests.  His last arrest as recent as a few weeks ago!  According to my radio-listening hubby, American Idol has kicked him off the show.  However, I haven’t been able to find verification of that.  Many Internet fans are questioning if American Idol does background checks of the contestants prior to putting them on TV.  Do you think they should?  Comment and let me know!

Have a good rest-of-the weekend!  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

American Idol goes back to Atlanta for its next round of auditions.  After the typical first bad singer, the show quickly zips through four talented singers–all female–Keia Johnson, Miriam Lemnouni, Noel Reese and Tisha Holland.

The first male to get a golden ticket is Jermaine Sellers.  His career is church singer.  I never realized that you could be a church singer for a living, but good for him.  He also takes care of his ailing mom, she has  Spina Bifida.  The judges think he’s the best they’ve seen so far.  His spirituality and genuine talent should help him in Hollywood.

Next up is a small town country girl.  Vanessa Wolfe is from a tiny town in Tennessee.  She’s country for sure, right down to her $4.99 dollar store dress.  She’s a country singer and does a good job.  But what will happen when this country girl has to sing a different genre?  Hollywood is going to be a rough ride for her.

I won’t give American Idol the satisfaction to comment on Jesse Hamilton, the three-time almost dead guy.  Ditto for Mary J. Blige’s loss of control.

Holly Harden otherwise known as “guitar girl” surprised everyone by actually being able to sing.  She’s cute, but Mary J. Blige just didn’t get her.  Lucky for her, Randy, Kara and Simon give her a shot in Hollywood.

Joining the country girl singers is Mallorie Haley.  She’s another good singer, but we’ll see what happens in Hollywood.  She receives four yes’s.

What can I say about Skibo Ski?  Did you hear him sing?  If he can find his sanity, he can be a contender.

Carmen and Lauren, the BFF’s try out together.  Carmen makes it but Lauren doesn’t.  I have to go with Simon on this one, neither of them should have made it.  Once again, American Idol is just looking for a hook.

Police officer Bryan Walker kicks butt both at his job and in his audition.  He’s interesting and I look forward to watching him on his journey.

Larry a 62-year-old veteran sang “Pants on the Ground”.  I loved that song and Larry.  It’s very catchy, isn’t it?  Unfortunately at age 62, he’s too old to be chosen to move on to Hollywood.  I have a funny feeling he’ll be there anyway.

Well that’s it for the first week of American Idol.  A couple contestants stand out in my mind, but not necessarily for their singing.  Stories seem to be the order of the day for AI contestants. But stories will only get you so far, you better have a voice and stage presence to make it to the final 24.

Have a great end of week and weekend.  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

I hope you are enjoying your summer!  I know I am!

Last night was the American Idol concert in my area, Ontario California.  As you would expect, it was crowded, loud and filled with screaming women.  Following the tradition of past concerts, before the show started a huge movie screen showed past Idol stars and American Idol information.  It was interesting that EVERY time Adam Lambert’s face hit that screen, the audience would scream.  This was my first American Idol concert in California, having seen all the others in Pennsylvania and the audience was a bit different.  There were a lot of older people here.  In PA, the audience was filled with teens and preteens.  I saw only one or two signs in the audience.  In PA, signs praising the fan’s favorite idol were everywhere.  I’m not sure if the reason for less kids was the price or not.  I paid A LOT for my seat in the 17th row.  But, one good thing was parking was free, so maybe it was written in to the ticket price.

The concert started out with the number 10 Idol–Michael Sarver.  He performed two songs.  His personality really comes across to the audience when he performs.  I liked the way he connected with various fans in the audience while he was singing.

Next up at number 9 was Megan Joy.  She’s a skinny, pretty, sexy girl.  I still don’t like her singing, but oh well.  She sang two songs as well.

Scott MacIntyre, number 8, rose up onto the stage from below with his piano.  He did a good job and his banter with the audience was fun.

Anoop Desai had the audience rockin’ and his dance moves had the girls screaming.  After each number you could hear the constant chant of “Anooooppppp”.  What can I say…he’s a cutie!  Anoop was the first to do three songs.

Lil Rounds sang next.  I wasn’t counting, but I’m pretty sure she performed one more song than the others.  The audience really seemed into her songs and I have to admit, I was surprised by their enthusiasm.  Don’t get me wrong, her performance was great.  I was just surpised at how much the audience seemed to be into her.

Notice I didn’t number Anoop and Lil Rounds.  If you remember from the show, both were eliminated the same night.

Matt Giraud was the last to perform in the first half of the concert.  He was eliminated at the number 5 position.  Of course, he performed with his piano.  He is amazing on the piano.  He’s quite the performer and everyone loved him.  His signature hat brought screams from the audience.

Before intermission, all the above performed together.  It was fun to see Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre dual it out on matching grand pianos.

After a 10 minute intermission, the audience geared up for the final four.  By the way, during intermission, Ford holds a trivia contest that you can enter through your cell phone.  Winners get back stage passes.

First up in the second half, in the number 4 spot is Allison Iraheta.  Allison performed with her guitar and did an amazing job.  Her rendition of Janis Joplan’s “Cry Baby” was one of my favorites of the night.

Time for the final three.  Danny Gokey is on.  He was just as you saw him on the show.  Very personable and easy to love.  He sings a number called “I Wish” and talks about following your dreams no matter what the setbacks are, etc.  It’s very emotional and you can’t help but want to hug this guy.  Towards the end of his performance, you can just feel the excitement in the air as everyone prepares for who is next.

American Idol plays up Adam Lambert’s entrance.  The music and lights are loud and bright and the screaming makes it impossible to hear a thing!  Appearing in typical Adam attire, he immediately takes control of the stage and his audience.  No surpise there!  Adam does a David Bowie medley and when he sings “Fame” and flaunts his “Adam-ness” around the stage, frankly, my night was made!  LOL!  He performs with Allison and then too quickly he’s gone.

I was wondering how the audience would react to Kris Allen after Adam but everyone was just as pumped.  He starts out singing two numbers with his guitar and then moves on to the piano.  I prefer the piano over the guitar.  “Ain’t No Sunshine” is my favorite Kris Allen number and he didn’t dissappoint.  Another great number is when he sings “Hey Jude”.  My sister tells me that when she saw the concert, a number of people bailed during Kris’ performance–I guess to beat the traffic.  But, that didn’t happen in Ontario.  Everyone stayed until the end, probably because they knew that all the Idols would be out to do some more songs.  They did and it was good to hear them sing together and gave everyone a chance to take some pics of the entire group.

The whole concert runs about 3 hours or so.  My husband said it was the best Idol concert he had been to.  It’s hard for me to say that because I like certain performers from each year.  I know one thing, I will be an Adam Lambert fan for life!

See you next season…stay tuned Bloggergal1

You can also catch up to me at:  http://www.big-brother-blog.com/

Jamie Foxx is the week’s mentor for songs made famous by the “Ratpack”.  He is so intelligent and authentic. His work with the contestants’ definitely made a difference.

First up this week is Kris Allen.  He sings “The Way You Look Tonight”.  Judges are all positive.  Great start to a great night.

Allison Araheta sings “Someone To Watch Over Me”.  Ryan talks to her about her 17th birthday.  Can you imagine?  She’s 17 years old!  Her talent is way beyond her years.  I was a bit worried about her singing this week, but she kills this song.  I think it was my favorite that she’s done all season. 

“My Funny Valentine” is the choice of Matt Giraud.  This type of music is his genre.  Another really good performance.  But the judges are mixed about his number.  Getting him into the final five was a good move by the judges.

Fourth up is Danny Gokey.  He sings “Come Rain or Come Shine”.  He’s really coming into his own now.  His confidence and showmanship improving every week.  He is just so easy to love and cheer for!

Closing out the show is everyone’s favorite Adam Lambert.  Dressed in a sharp, white suit, he sings “Feeling Good”.  Another stellar Adam Lambert performance!  Hey and what about that one note he holds? Randy says he’s theatrical and I say “so?”  I want to see a performer sing AND perform.  He’s definitely my American Idol.

I don’t even want to guess (or think about!) who is going home this week.  Tomorrow evening will be a sad night–no matter who leaves. 

Did you hear Ryan mention that concert tix will go on sale soon?  I’ll be there.  I definitely have to see these Idols in person.

See you all tomorrow…stay tuned…Bloggergal1

American Idol seemed to throw their idea of a “themed” show out the window tonight when they put Frankie Avalon, Flo Rida and Kellie Pickler all on the same show.  Talk about three way different types of music!

Anoop Desai is the first to end up in the bottom three.  Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are announced safe.  The next two declared safe are Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud.  Scott McIntyre is the second to go to the bottom three with Lil Rounds following him.  Allison Iraheta is safe.  There really aren’t any surprises with the bottom three.  Ryan sends Lil Rounds back to her seat.  There are only 30,000 votes separating Anoop and Scott but Scott is the lowest vote getter tonight.  He sings and the song seems a bit better than last night until he gets to those last high notes and then “eww”.  Paula and Kara are for saving him.  Randy and Simon aren’t.  Since the judges must be unanimous, Simon breaks the news that Scott will be going home. 

While watching his American Idol journey, I did feel bad for him, but he’s just not as good as most of the others.  Anoop keeps sneaking through every week…will it be his turn to leave next week?  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1

Tonight on American Idol the final nine contestants will perform songs from the “most downloaded” list.  This gives the contestants a chance to show their marketability.  But, they also run the risk of competing with a current vocal superstar by choosing a song that screams that superstar’s name.  Since these songs are popular and everyone is still listening to them, it will be really important for tonight’s contestants to “change it up” as Randy always says.

Tomorrow night’s results show has guest star’s Lady Gaga (Poker Face) and former American Idol David Cook.

See you later!  Stay tuned…Bloggergal1