Archive for the ‘Idolator’s American Idolatry’ Category

‘American Idol’ Top 4: Jessica Sanchez & Joshua Ledet Take Us To Church

May 10th, 2012 // 9 Comments
must-see performance!
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Jessica Sanchez, "And I'm Telling You..."
Joshua: "Man's World"
joshua ledet american idol
Watch the Top 4 Idol tear the roof off James Brown's classic. Watch »
Phillip: "Volcano"
Phillip phillips american idol
The soft-spoken strummer tries his hand at Damien Rice. Watch »

The crowd was extra screamy on American Idol Wednesday night (May 9); they wanted a spectacle. And early in the episode we got the sense we’d get one, as the final four Idols seemed to be in that rare phase where competitors push each other to new heights. We’re not saying it was The Beatles vs. the Beach Boys, but let us enjoy the moment, ok?

We had two themes last night: songs about California or from California-based artists, and songs that the contestants wish they had written. But when the singing’s good enough, you forget about categories and rules and genres. And last night, the singing was good enough to toss that crap to the side. Both Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez treated us to seething, passionate, otherworldly second performances. The kind of vocal displays that pulverize the thick leaden shell surrounding our cynical hearts and cause us to get all overwhelmed and verklempt. Let’s get to it. More »

‘American Idol’: Coldplay Cruises, Carrie Underwood Crushes, Skylar Laine Scoots

May 4th, 2012 // Leave a Comment
carrie underwood blown away american idol
Carrie Underwood - "Blown Away" (American Idol)
Skylar's Last Song
Skylar Laine American Idol
Watch her and the rest of the Top 5 sing the '60s. Read More »

We knew a tough elimination was coming on last night’s American Idol results show, but we never thought it’d be lone country holdout Skylar Laine. Isn’t this supposed to work like the presidential primaries — once it’s whittled down to one country candidate, the country fans all show up in support of the lone survivor, right? Anyway, poli sci was never our forte. But at least we got to witness two Coldplay songs and Carrie Underwood‘s triumphant return to the Idol stage before our little spark plug burned out. More »

‘American Idol’: The British Are Coming … For Joshua Ledet, Mostly

May 3rd, 2012 // 2 Comments
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Joshua Ledet - To Love Somebody
The Idols Salute Queen
Skylar Laine American Idol Queen
Watch last week's Top 6 performances. Read More »

Wednesday night’s (May 2) themes on American Idol were the ’60s and Britpop, which got us excited to see who pulled the lucky straw to sing Oasis‘ “Wonderwall,” and maybe even some Pulp action! (Now Jarvis Cocker is a mentor we would literally pay money to see.) Alas, by Britpop they apparently meant any British songs other than the Beatles, Stones or actual Britpop.

Steven Van Zandt of E Street Band and Sopranos fame was this week’s mentor, and he managed to dispense pretty good advice despite sitting like A.C. Slater the whole time. With only a few weeks left, the contestants can see the finish line, and it looks like they’re getting that final burst of adrenaline, which is great for us. It’s getting a lot harder to separate the contestants at this point, so read on to see who has the edge. More »

‘American Idol’: Katy Perry Gives “A Part Of Me,” Elise Testone Gets A Send-Off Salute

April 27th, 2012 // 5 Comments
Katy Perry Part of Me American Idol 2012
Katy Perry - Part Of Me (Live on American Idol)
Elise's Swan Song
Elise Testone American Idol season 11
Was the Top 6 finisher's Hendrix cover a misstep? Read More »

American Idol‘s live elimination show on Thursday night (Apr. 26) was “over the top,” as Steven Tyler would say, bursting at the seams with three performances and a field trip (the contestants descended into the second circle of Hell a/k/a the TMZ offices). Before we learned that raspy rocker Elise Testone had tallied the fewest of the week’s 58 million votes, we were treated to the debut of the Queen Extravaganza, as well as performances by Katy Perry and Season 10′s Stefano Langone. Read on to see how it all played out. More »

‘American Idol’: Queen Open Their Songbook To The Top 6

April 26th, 2012 // 3 Comments
Skylar Laine American Idol Queen
Skylar Laine - The Show Must Go On (American Idol)
Queen Perform Live
Queen medley on American Idol
Watch Brian May join the Idols for a medley of Queen's hits. Watch »

Queen returned to the American Idol stage Wednesday night (Apr. 25) to perform a medley of their hits with the final six contestants. Unfortunately, Roger Taylor and Brian May traveled sans Freddie Mercury hologram. (And in case his little stint with Lady Gaga didn’t convince you, May’s still got it, people.) After the medley, each Idol sang one Queen song and then one song of their own choosing. Find out who rocked us and who’s gonna bite the dust below. More »

‘American Idol’: LMFAO Rock Colton Dixon’s Farewell Party

April 20th, 2012 // 1 Comment
Colton's Swan Song
Colton Dixon
Was his cover of "Bad Romance" really that bad? Read More »
Goodbye, Dick
Ryan Seacrest bids his mentor farewell on Idol. Read More »
Change This Now!
We named our 11 biggest beefs with American Idol. Read More »
LMFAO American Idol
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After 53 million votes cast (good job, America!), we’re down to six contestants on American Idol. Colton Dixon found himself in the bottom three for the first time this season, but in a bit of a shocker he didn’t beat out consistent bottom-dwellers Elise Testone and Hollie Cavanagh. So the dreamy Colton and his skunk-hawk bid adieu, but not before we got to see a couple performances by LMFAO and Season 8 winner Kris Allen. More »

‘American Idol’: The Top 7 Singers Bring Their A-Game

April 19th, 2012 // 7 Comments
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Goodbye, Dick
Ryan Seacrest bids his mentor farewell on Idol. Read More »

It was a Top 7 double dose on American Idol as the contestants each performed a hit from the 2000′s as well as a retro soul song. But overshadowing all that, and the drama of Jessica Sanchez‘s save, was the death of Dick Clark. So the show began with Ryan Seacrest saying a few words honoring his friend and mentor, before we got to the action. This week, we were spared the fashion montage and celebrity mentor, meaning it was two hours of all the singing and judging (and whatever it is that Steven Tyler does) that you could possibly handle. More »

‘American Idol’: Jessica Sanchez Sinks To The Bottom; Jennifer Hudson, Ne-Yo And James Durbin Perform

April 13th, 2012 // 37 Comments
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Jessica's "Stuttering"
The Idol hopeful gives Jazmine Sullivan's song a soulful spin. Read More »

After 11 seasons of American Idol, we all know the results shows are just an hour-long Idol commercial. Sure, you get some quality performances thrown in (and last night’s by James Durbin and Jennifer Hudson were very entertaining), but usually it’s just a “fast forward until they announce the bottom three” affair. That was not the case Thursday, as the befuddling results almost turned the night into American Idol: Beyond Thunderdome. More »

‘American Idol’: Akon And The Top 7 Go Au Courant

April 12th, 2012 // 7 Comments
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Gwen Lends A Hand
No Doubt's Gwen Stefani serves as American Idol mentor. Read More »

Last night’s American Idol was a weird one. Akon outdid Diddy as the season’s most inconsequential mentor (shocker!), while Steven Tyler went on an animal bender: He wore a gator skin robe and said things like “the crows may crow, but the hens deliver the goods.” (Translation: This season’s males can sing, but the females are next-level). The Top 7 took on songs from 2010 to today, which gave us a good look at the market value of the remaining contestants. In a pleasant surprise, some of our retro crooners had no problem going au courant. Head below to find out who’s ready to move some units right now and whose stock went down. More »

‘American Idol’: The Wanted Perform, And DeAndre Is Unwanted

April 6th, 2012 // 1 Comment
Good Coach? No Doubt
Gwen and Tony from No Doubt coach Idol's Top 8. Read More »
The Wanted On Leno
The British boy band rock "Glad You Came" on Tonight. Read More »
The Wanted's Favorites
The boys share discuss Twitter and bad hair days in our video chat. Read More »

Last night’s American Idol elimination show offered up the clubby pop of British sensation The Wanted and the return of Season 5 country cutie Kellie Pickler. But it was the melodramatic montage featuring Tears For Fears’ “Shout” that set the tone for the night, because Idol voters delivered one of the first shockers of the season. After turning in one of his best performances on Wednesday, 17-year-old falsetto crooner DeAndre Brackensick got the boot, despite inferior outings by Hollie Cavanagh and Elise Testone (and a last-minute plea by Jennifer Lopez). Sometimes that’s the way the ringlets bounce. More »