On the left, the cover of the ever-annoying Katy Perry‘s One Of The Boys as signed off on by the EMI art department. On the right, the cover of a copy of One Of The Boys that blogger Susie Of Arabia bought at a shop in Saudi Arabia for her kid^*. You may notice a difference between the two—although you may not notice, given the fact that you’re looking at the two covers on a screen, that one is colored in with marker. It’s the work of Saudi Arabia’s Committee For Protection Of Virtue and Prevention Of Vice, which keeps sexism alive and well makes sure Saudi citizens adhere to Islamic guidelines regarding dress, morality, and prayer. The committee even has police, who are apparently armed with felt-tip pens for any trips they might make to the record store.

Susie explains the doctoring, which also happened to other photos within:

Now those of you who have purchased CDs know how much trouble it is to take that plastic wrap off. And then to remove the front insert and especially removing the back insert from the CD case without breaking the plastic case can be tricky. So what it all boils down to is that the Saudi government is actually paying religious police members of the Committee for the Protection of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CVPVP) to remove the plastic wrap from these CDs, open up the CD cases, remove the front and back inserts, and carefully and painstakingly color in with a marker any photos baring exposed female flesh that is deemed objectionable. Hence, while the general public is protected from such vulgarity, the CVPVP members get to view photos with women’s flesh abounding and then get to stroke on colored markers over the exposed women’s skin. I wonder what they are thinking or how they feel as they stroke those markers onto the smooth female flesh in the photos. I wonder if it makes them feel good that they are shielding young teenage boys from such crude displays of the nubile female form.

I’m going to leave that question up to Susie, since she knows a lot more about the ins and outs of the committee. What I’m really curious about is the whole notion of whether or not the version of Boys that made it to shelves over in Saudi Arabia is lyrically censored, since I would imagine that barbs like “you PMS like a bitch, I should know” would make the morality cut—never mind that whole fake-lesbian thing. Is it a sign that Perry’s music isn’t as “sexy” as she would like, or is it just harder to sell CDs that have bits scratched out?

X-Treme Censorship [Susie's Big Adventure via Current; HT Christopher R. Weingarten]

^* Not to get all morality-police, but do you want to talk about questionable parenting decisions? Sheesh.

Last night’s American Idol was supposed to be the episode where the well-meaning, Timberlakeish Michigan native Matt Giraud got sent home for making the United States’ viewing public sit through a second Bryan Adams song in the space of one hour. But he was granted a week’s reprieve thanks to the brand-new “judges’ save,” which basically allows for even more drama next week, when two people get banished from the couches. (Honestly, did anyone think that he wouldn’t get to sing for his life next week, given the way Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi practically climbed over the table to prove that, yes, he really did know how to love a woman?)

Anyway, all this has resulted in next week being extra-suspenseful, because now the bottom two will be sent home instead of just the lowest vote-getter. It is also “disco week,” which garnered the predictable grousing from Simon at show’s end. Were this crop of singers a little better overall, I would probably try to be contrarian toward Mr. Cowell and say that while the whole concept of a “disco week” that doesn’t have James Murphy involved in 2009 is probably going to come off at least a little dated, the genre has been historically undervalued, and that even Idol‘s inept licensing team will be able to find at least a couple of diamonds for the kids to sing. But then the image of Danny Gokey flapping around to “Disco Duck” takes over my mind, and, well, yeah.

American Idol [Official site]

Dave Matthews

announced the free availability of the first single from his crazy popular band’s forthcoming album Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King via his Twitter, which has 410,212 followers (and counting), a couple of hours ago. “Funny How It Is”—which you can add to your hard drive for the low price of an e-mail address—will be available for $0.00 for the next week. “Funny” doesn’t exactly break new ground in the band’s catalog, although the electric-violin solo and Matthews’ slightly adenoidal vocals are surrounded by what i daresay is music with a bit of crunch. [Twitter / RCA]

I bet he doesn’t even like them. [kanYe West: Blog]

Eminem’s “We Made You” debuted on MTV earlier this morning, and its hodgepodge of slightly dated cultural references—Sarah Palin, “Gimme More”-era Britney, Jessica Simpson’s Dukes Of Hazzard cameo, the Lohan-Ronson romance, the words “rock star” being the linchpin of the chorus—make me wonder just how long he’s been working on this track, and if he’s been adding scenes to this clip since he first had the idea for it back in 2005. Which is too bad, because I actually like the side-of-the-mouth delivery he’s employing, as well as the way the chorus sounds. Clip after the jump.

Note, also, the recurring theme of “jealous of lesbians” that runs throughout the clip. Someone’s feeling inadequate!

Eminem – We Made You [OnSmash via Rap Radar]

In addition to sending Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, and Jorge Nunez through to the Top 12, last night’s peppy-for-an-elimination-episode edition of American Idol set the field for tonight’s Wild Card round. And… well, it’s more than a little disappointing. People who completely botched their initial performance—Matt Giraud? Jasmine Murray??—made it through while the velvety-voiced Ju’Not Joyner, who actually sang well on Tuesday night and brought something different to a Dullsville track, sat on the sidelines. Could he be this year’s Alex Lushington, an R & B smoothie who was just too understated for Idol? Given that Tatiana Del Toro, who seemed to have been driven back to madness (perhaps from staring at the nightmarish collision of patterns splashed across her dress for too long), also made it into tonight’s pool, I’m going to say “Probably!”

There was one pleasant surprise in last night’s mess of affairs—Jesse Langseth, who proved to be something of a corker in her initial performance, was granted entry to the Wild Card round. I was somewhat surprised that last-minute replacement Felicia Barton didn’t sneak her way in, either; maybe the producers realized that a 33% worship-leader quotient would have been too much?

And now, my odds for tonight’s show, which will feature one performance by each contestant and be capped by the judges sending three people through to the finals:

Anoop Desai. EVEN. Something tells me that the judges carried over the whole “pimp spot” concept to the Wild Card announcements. I have no problem with this at all, honestly.
Megan Corkrey. 2-1. I like her. The judges like her. She got the secondary pimp slot. She’s pretty much golden.
Jasmine Murray. 5-2. I have a bad feeling about her, to be honest. She can’t sing very well and her personality is blander than bland, but Kara can’t stop going on about how she’s a “package artist,” and how she should sing Rihanna because they look vaguely alike. Plus, I suspect the producers are nervous about the male-female balance, since right now the top 12 has six men and three women. (Dear Idol: Can you please stop calling them “girls”? Thanks.)
Matt Giraud / Ricky Braddy. 3-1. One of them will make it. Not both.
Jesse Langseth. 5-1. Love her, but she’ll probably only break through if both Megan and Jasmine really blow their performances tonight.
Tatiana Del Toro. 10-1. She’s definitely going to be the last person eliminated, though.
Von Smith. 30-1. Sorry, dude. Here’s hoping you get a copy of Punch-Out!! as a consolation prize.

American Idol [Official site]
[Grab courtesy MJ's video rip]

Our look at the closing lines to the biggest music reviews continues today with a roundup of reactions to the opening night of Britney Spears‘ comeback tour, a circus-themed production that kicked off last night at the New Orleans Arena:

• “But anyone who thinks her lackluster would do well to remember what she really is: a burlesque performer, a carny’s dream born a century or so too late to be fated to ply her art upon the midway, but able to fulfill the spectacle of blond ambition now.” [Ann Powers, LA Times]

• “When she wrapped the concert about 90 minutes after emerging, she seemed more relieved than anything that it was all over.” [Chuck Arnold, People]

• “And by the time she said good night with another great one-two wallop (‘Womanizer’ and a reprise of ‘Circus’), dressed in a sexy policewoman outfit, she looked exhausted. But happy. And why not? She brought the circus to her hometown, and it was a huge, sold-out, screaming success. It probably just would’ve benefited from a little more Britney Spears, that’s all. ” [James Montgomery, MTV]

• “But all the sex, fire and stomp-and-slither choreography can’t disguise the fact that the production needs a bigger, purely musical core (a few more songs from the current album would have helped) – and some spontaneity. It wasn’t until Spears finally called out “Thank you, New Orleans” after finishing her Womanizer encore that the crowd got a glimpse into the heart of their homegirl from Kentwood.” [Jerry Shriver, USA Today]

• “woah.” [Andrew Kuttler, [britneylive @ Twitter]

Phil Collins

has renounced his life of overly self-referential videos and mugging for the camera for a new passion: The Alamo, the former Roman Catholic mission that was the site of the Texas Revolution’s Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Collins is in Texas for the anniversary of that battle, and he took some time out to tell a San Antonio News-Express reporter that he’s basically given up on his music career so as to fully indulge his obsession with the structure. Luckily, his esteemed stature went unnnoticed by a lot of Alamo enthusiasts who had no idea who he was!

What began as a boyhood passion as he saw actor Fess Parker portray Davy Crockett now is a full-time pursuit for Collins, 58.

“He’s very well read,” said Jim Guimarin, who owns the History Shop and has traveled with Collins to battle sites.

Last year, standing under a moonlit sky among the walls at Mission La Bahía in Goliad, it was as if he and Collins had been transported back to 1836. Collins was given a private tour of the San Jacinto battleground, where the Texans defeated Mexico and won independence April 21. This year, they may visit a historic site near Corpus Christi where 35 Texans were killed or captured.

Collins also plans to attend Friday’s commemorations of the Alamo battle and is set to speak to the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association on Saturday.

Some Alamo history enthusiasts who weren’t familiar with Collins’ hits – such as “In the Air Tonight” and “One More Night” – didn’t know who he was when he appeared unexpectedly at last year’s events on the battle’s March 6 anniversary.

Tom Jackson, president of the Travis chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, was a featured speaker that day. He said he knew who Collins was, but was shocked to see him there.

Jackson said Collins’ zeal could help stimulate an interest in Texas history in others.

“Phil has a strong passion, and I think that’s wonderful. There’s a great deal of well-written history for anyone with a desire to learn,” Jackson said.

Collins is narrating a 13-minute “diorama light and sound show” at the site’s attached shop, as well as working on a collection-themed book, at least one chapter of which will be devoted to the making of the book.

Alamo is new passion for singer Phil Collins [My San Antonio; HT bg5000]

OK, OK, so the shows planned for this summer are actually in honor of the 40th anniversary of the “peace, love, psychedelics, and total-bummer traffic jams on the New York State Thruway” version of the festival that took place in 1969, but something tells me that the timing of these concerts and the forthcoming Limp Bizkit reunion is more than a mere coincidence. [TheRockRadio via RS]

The latest merchandising screw-up worth a giggle comes from the UK, where a pressing of the new album by Britain’s Got Talent winner Faryl Smith—a 13-year-old opera singer who even Simon Cowell likes (I can already hear the “you’re only 13!” echoes in my head)—was given music from a person who shares Smith’s surname, but not her style. Yes, that’s right, people expecting to hear Faryl Smith’s dulcet versions of standards like “Amazing Grace” and “Ave Maria” might instead be treated to the grumblings of Mark E. Smith, whose 2008 album Imperial Wax Solvent wound up being pressed to hundreds of copies of the disc, which is officially in shops a week from today. This has resulted in “severe words” beng flung the pressing plant’s way, as well as a chance for us to compare the vocal stylings of the two. Think of it as Britain’s Got Talent… But What Type Of “Talent” You Prefer Might Vary Widely!

Faryl Smith:

Mark E. Smith (“Exploding Chimney” from Imperial Wax Solvent):

You know, this could result in a life-changing moment for some poor kid whose ears were used to nothing but tear-jerking melodrama. I’m just saying. (Also, how great would it be to get Mark E. in front of Simon C.? So much chest-rubbing! So many bleeps!)

[The Sun via Jon Solomon / Matablog]

Tonight in Orem, Utah, concertgoers will be able to take in a historic double bill of Vanllia Ice and MC Hammer; the Salt Lake Tribune preview is loaded with great quotes from Vanilla Ice, and when I checked the wires for a recent picture of one or both of the hip-pop stars, I found the above shot of MC Hammer riding a bumper car in the Wisconsin Dells. Combined, it’s just too much for a blogger to resist.

The biggest pop-rappers of the early ’90s haven’t shared a stage in nearly twenty years, but somehow, a promoter in Orem, Utah, pulled off the impossible.

In an interview, Vanilla Ice — who identified himself by his real name, Robert Van Winkle — said it simply was an offer they couldn’t refuse. “Me and him, we set the world on fire,” Ice said. “We’re going to do it up in Utah.”

…

The success of the two artists helped move hip-hop and rap to the mainstream. Or as Ice tells it: “Eminem can use my career as a guideline.”

In November, after years spent on the reality-TV circuit, Ice released “Vanilla Ice Is Back: Hip Hop Classics,” a compilation of classic songs that he re-recorded, such as Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain.” “It turned out pretty entertaining,” said Ice, who counts Public Enemy and EPMD as his biggest influences.

Ice promised to raise the entertainment level at the McKay Events Center. “I’m going back to the old school, with cannons and pyrotechnics.”

Sure, the show is going to be awful. And probably not just awful, but trainwreck, disastrously bad. That hasn’t stopped the fine people of the McKay Events Center from charging $32.50 to $38, with meet and greet passes starting at $100. The upside, the tickets aren’t being sold by Ticketmaster. Also, most of the audience and Hammer will have one thing in common: magic pants. (Zing! Tip your waitresses!)

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Vanilla Ice’s film tour de force Cool As Ice, so enjoy this exciting tribute to the film, created by someone who might want to reconsider how they spend their time.

Music: Vanilla Ice and M.C. Hammer reunite in Orem [Salt Lake Tribune]

Poor Thom Yorke. He just wants to make his music and post cryptic blog updates, and everyone has to be getting in his face, whether it’s about his band’s digital-distribution experiments or their Grammy antics. Why can’t people just leave him alone? Ha ha, because it gets them press, of course.

First, there’s Robert Smith, who was banging on about the band’s “pay what you want for the low-quality MP3s of our album before we release it properly” experiment:

“The Radiohead experiment of paying what you want – I disagreed violently with that.

“You can’t allow other people to put a price on what you do, otherwise you don’t consider what you do to have any value at all and that’s nonsense.

“If I put a value on my music and no one’s prepared to pay that, then more fool me, but the idea that the value is created by the consumer is an idiot plan, it can’t work.”

Hmm. I wonder how Bob feels about In Rainbows‘ fixed prices for all its physical formats? Oh wait, nobody asked him about that because every lazy reporter out there misunderstands the whole “Radiohead model” concept. Sigh. Someday, maybe they will learn.

Then Kanye West got into the act, whining during a taping of VH1 Storytellers that took place on the Friday after the Grammys that he was annoyed by Thom Yorke snubbing him at the awards show. Apparently these comments were so controversial they were cut from the broadcast—and yet they weren’t too controversial to be leaked to the press the day before said curiously underpromoted broadcast aired. Whew!

During the taping, according to a Reuters reporter, West was aggrieved that Radiohead singer Thom Yorke had allegedly snubbed him backstage at the Grammys five days earlier. That hurt, West told the audience, because he idolizes the British band, and considers it one of his few creative rivals.

“So when he performed at the Grammys, I sat the f—- down,” West said.

And yet West thinks that Chris Brown should get a break because “everyone makes mistakes in life.” So you tell me: Does dude need a heavy dose of perspective, or a self-esteem boost since he obviously needs more results on his personal Google News alerts?

Robert Smith blasts “idiot” Radiohead [Music Radar]
Kanye West’s Radiohead tirade cut from VH1 Storytellers [Reuters]

Video footage of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon performing “This Is A Low” at last night’s NME Awards in London—their first live appearance together since 2000—has finally surfaced, and man is it making me hope that Blur announce at least one Stateside date. The person who put it up disabled embedding on the clip, unfortunately, but I won’t be too mad at you if you click away. [YouTube]

Spotted while looking for updates on the NME awards show. Not that I don’t have a fondness for a lot of their catalog, but “the most popular band in existance [sic]“? Has this person seen the SoundScans for 4:13 Dream? [Twitter]

Last night, three people made it through to American Idol‘s semifinal round—Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Chosen One Of Season Eight Danny Gokey. (Anoop Desai was bested by Sarver by some 20,000 votes; yes, he was robbed, but I’m hoping that narrow margin results in him being a wild-card lock.) The way the show was set up, though, seemed especially cruel to Tatiana Del Toro, who was the last one standing with Gokey at show’s end, despite the worship leader’s path to the semifinals being divined, oh, as soon as Kara DioGuardi screamed about the awesomeness of his mawkish performance of Mariah Carey’s “Hero” on Tuesday night. I’m guessing the producers were hoping for a good old-fashioned Tatiana meltdown, and guess what? They didn’t get one. (Good for her.) Click through for video.

Part 1, with the requisite “after the break” cliffhanger bit:

Part 2:

Also, is Danny the least gracious winner or what? I’m sure his “woo” was in honor of his Lord And Savior And Memory Of His Wife Who By The Way Passed Away Didn’t You Know, but honestly.

Anyway my personal hope is that Anoop comes back on a wild card berth and crushes them all, because he’s probably the most commercially appealing of the guys who performed on Tuesday. Danny Gokey has an almost Hicksian appeal, i.e., a very old-timey one that will probably break the show all over again should he win.

[video via MJ]

Last night’s American Idol finally brought us to the semifinal round, with 12 hopefuls—including this season’s Officially Chosen One, the sad-backstory-filled-yet-optimistic Danny Gokey—making their way to the Idol stage. The theme was “Hot 100 songs through the years,” although most of the contestants trotted out old Idol reliables (Mariah, Whitney, Aretha) with decidedly mixed results. Rankings and reactions after the jump!

12. Stephen Fowler. The guy who forgot his lyrics during Hollywood Week did not redeem himself, singing a terrible version of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With U” that was torpedoed even further by that song’s band being replaced by some dudes who had missed a wedding in the adjoining studio but were all warmed up and ready to go. Seriously, how bad were those backing vocals? If I were him, I’d be pissed, although not too angry since he completely botched the song as well.

11. Stevie Wright. Taylor Swift doesn’t have the best live voice, but fellow teen Stevie managed to do it one worse on “You Belong With Me,” totally botching any lower-register notes and meandering through various keys. Next time pick Melanie, girl! Oh wait, there probably won’t be a next time, since Vote For The Worst already has its sights on Tatiana.

10. Casey Carlson. The bubble-tea saleswoman did not learn from the hard lessons of Chris Sligh and sang “Every Little Thing SHe Does Is Magic,” which was full of sorta-flubbed words, slip-sliding syllables, and awkward “dance” moves. Where are the coaches in situations like these? There were so many unfortunate song choices tonight, it’s hard to think that there isn’t an Idol-wide conspiracy to clear the path to Danny Gokey going top two as quickly as possible. (Free Jamar!)

9. Brent Keith. Felt bad for him because his pre-performance package a) wasn’t cued up properly, almost forcing him to perform earlier than scheduled and b) talked about his paycheck-to-paycheck existence, but his anonymous performance of the Toby Keith ripoff “Hicktown” (it’s by Jason Aldean, in case you were wondering) was very karaoke, and exposed his complete lack of a lower register.

8. Ann Marie Boskovich. Her “Natural Woman” would have paled in comparison to Alexis Grace’s performance regardless, but her aimless runs did her few favors. (Note to hopefuls: When Randy starts off his critique with “So… how do you think you did?”? That’s never a good sign.) The Kara DioGuardi fangirl did have the best opportunity for the overemployed Ryan Seacrest to get saucy, however:

Ann Marie (sitting on the couch): “I just sat right on the hard part!”
[Beat.]
Ryan (irritably, to his in-ear monitors): “You know, we can hear everyone’s joke.”

Will Ryan soon be hosting Match Game ’09 on Fox? We can only hope.

7. Tatiana Del Toro. A new, reserved Tatiana picked Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You,” and her performance was just bad enough that the denizens of Idol sabotage factory Vote For The Worst are still OK with voting for her. Weird shimmying, unfortunate runs on the bridge; she hit the glory note at the end, but her idea to travel into Whitney territory was ill-advised. At least her post-performance critique generated this gem:

Kara: “… is she a character or an artist?”
Tatiana: “It’s world music. It’s all genres.”

Look for Tatiana Goes Putumayo on iTunes next year!

6. Michael Sarver. Decent performances of that Gavin DeGraw song about not wanting to be anything but yourself? That’s what the middle of the pack was made for.

5. Jackie Tohn. Raspy-voiced rocker who sang “A Little Less Conversation” while looking like an extra from Breakin’ 2. Terrible song choice, but she had spunk, and I liked how she snuck a totally Long Islanded out “tawkin’” into her song.

4. Danny Gokey. Went last. In his pre-show package he said, “It was four weeks after my wife had passed, but I felt like there was new hope on the horizon.” Then he sang “Hero” by Mariah Carey. And dedicated it to “people coming out of tough situations.” Yes, Danny is American Idol‘s own hybrid of Barack Obama, Michael Bolton, and a Sunday-morning televangelist, and the producers are milking that blend for everything they can. And Kara’s in line, too; at the end of his performance, she was screaming about his awesomeness, even though his growly, phlegmy singing was sort of average, not to mention has no place on commercial radio. (Sure, the night overall was weak, but come on.) Thankfully Simon acted as a corrective, saying he didn’t believe in Danny’s hype, but at this point he’s serving as reverse-psychology for viewers. Only as high as he is on this list because everyone else was pretty terrible.

3. Anoop Desai. Has the best taste of all the contestants by far, talking about how he loved “My Prerogative” and his selection of Monica’s “Angel Of Mine” being rooted in the fact that it was (gulp) the first R & B song he heard on the radio. Handled the song admirably, with a voice that sounded in spots exactly like Robin Thicke’s did on his last album. I’m already comfortable with saying that I would definitely buy an album of his.

[Von Smith's mouth-sized gap here]

2. Ricky Braddy. Performed a blinky and bland, but overall pretty solid, rendition of “A Song For You.” Although it probably wasn’t a good sign that, despite his parents wearing matching T-shirts declaring that they were in “The Braddy Bunch” (look, there’s even a Web site), I had a tough time remembering his name.

1. Alexis Grace. The spunky pink-haired mom from Memphis came out on stage looking like a pint-sized Christina Aguilera, and her “I Never Love A Man” had something that’s often lacking in Idol performances: A nice dollop of grit. I spent her whole audition hoping that her early-in-the-show spot wouldn’t cause her to be forgotten by voters, and at the very least I suspect she’s a shoo-in for the wild card round if Tatiana somehow makes America really remember her.

WHO I VOTED FOR: Alexis, Ricky, Anoop.

WHO’S PROBABLY GOING TO WIN: Danny, Alexis, Anoop.

REVEALING DIOGUARDISM OF THE NIGHT: To her No. 1 fan, Ann Marie: “It’s been a challenge for you to lose the demo-singer thing.” Then she said that the willowy brunette should have performed… “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles?

Back in November, designer and blogger Andrew Hearst wanted to see AC/DC at Madison Square Garden. The only problem? The show was sold out. So he and a friend took a flier on a pair of $60 seats from a possibly disreputable gentleman standing outside the arena, and in exchange for their money, they were given two tickets in the style of the one above this paragraph. Study the ticket closely, and then see if you can guess what happened next:

She took one glance at mine and said, “I’m sorry, sir, this is fake.” She and her co-workers clearly felt sorry for us, but we just laughed and said we had a feeling they were probably fake. I asked her to show me a real ticket, and sure enough, it looked like all the others I’ve bought over the years. She said there aren’t other styles….

The main giveaway isn’t the use of Arial throughout; corporate behemoths like Ticketmaster have never been shy about using that awful typeface. No, the forgery is obvious because the typesetting is so amateurish. There’s an errant space in the Live Nation URL; an impossible slash in the AC/DC URL; and a stupid comma in “NOV, 13 2008,” to name just a few things.

Oh, URL proofreading! Meanwhile, Hearst took some time to scan the backs of his phony ducat and a real ticket from an earlier show (the fake one’s on top):

A few obvious differences there, although I’m sure they’d pass most peoples’ harried “it’s 9:30 and the band was supposed to go on at 9:15″ smell tests in the low lights of the street.

The Unbearable Lightness of a Counterfeit AC/DC Ticket [Panopticist]

Last night’s episode of American Idol was the first installment of Hollywood Week’s semifinalist winnowing process, and boy did it seem like not a lot had changed at all since we were last in the cozy confines of Southern California. Barry Manilow as a mentor who basically gave an inspirational speech! There was a Ford commercial by a bunch of unnamed hopefuls who haven’t even made it through to the second part of Hollywood Week yet! Well, I guess Fox needs to squeeze as much money out of its sponsors as it can in these rough times.

AND WE’RE OFF: The singing part of the evening started off with Lil Rounds, who took a risk by singing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”; what could have been a kinda bad move was hailed by Kara as “bold” and “brave.” (No doubt she’s seen this show before.) Her audition was followed up by Dennis Brigham’s, which came along with some slightly over-the-top facial expressions—and a singing exit capped by him saying “y’all suck as judges” and an extended rant on the price of Simon’s clothing.

THE DIMINISHING OF SIMON’S INFLUENCE, THE RISE OF THE INTERNET: Von “Famous On The Internet” Smith’s audition was more of him opening his mouth like King Hippo (see above) and sing-yelling, and his performance was rightly trounced by Simon, who broke out the old “nonsense” epithet and called him annoying. But he made it through to the next round! I know everyone wants to make it big on Digg, but come on. On the bright side, I now have a least-favorite contestant who isn’t Bikini Girl.

IT’S ALL ABOUT SONG CHOICE: The weird thing about the aforementioned Ford ad: It started off with Manilow Michael Bublé’s version of “Feelin’ Good,” the song that has been a minefield for many a past Idol hopeful. (2007, you seem so long ago now.) Perhaps this was supposed to be a lesson in what separates the real singers from the pretenders, but given that it was then cut off in favor of Barbadian pop sensation Rihanna (who, much as I love some of her songs, is more “personality” than “singer”), maybe it was just a case of a new producer being in charge of the edit.

MY FAVORITE CONTESTANTS: There are still a lot of people shuffling on and off the stage at the Kodak Theater, but a few personalities and voices are starting to stick out (video links via MJ): The raspy-voiced Jackie Tohn, who seems like a less unhinged (and better-coiffed) Amanda Overmyer; Stephen Fowler, who has a big, sweet soul voice; and the aforementioned Lil Rounds, even though she went the Whitney route. (Just don’t do it again!)

REVEALING DIOGUARDISM OF THE NIGHT: “You had me for a moment thinking maybe I was wrong, but actually, I think I was right,” Kara said to Bikini Girl. Who once again split the judges’ panel and made it through to see another day, even though her voice isn’t that great and her midriff was covered. (Yay, America!)

So, all in all, 104 contestants made it through to tonight’s round, the drama-filled group sing. There’s gonna be crying! But you probably figured that.

American Idol [Official site]
[Von Smith pic via Rickey]

Bruce Springsteen

‘s Super Bowl halftime show last night went a bit over its 12-minute limit, but I doubt few people minded as the band blasted through “10th Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Born To Run,” “Working On A Dream” (with choir accompaniment!) and “Glory Days.” Plus there was the amazing moment where the Boss took a knees-first slide across the stage and into the camera, giving people all over America highly defined acquaintanceship with his denim-clad crotch. (No word of some outraged non-Boss fan calling the FCC to complain about this bit of vaudeville yet, but give it time.) Clip after the jump.

Just in case these get deleted, too, here is a YouTube query string that will help you out.

A few other thoughts:

1) The banter between Bruce and Steve Van Zandt at the end made me want to hear the Boss’ superlative version of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.”

2) If the Cardinals had held on, I bet you at least 15 enterprising copyeditors would have used a “Born To Run” allusion in their headlines about Larry Fitzgerald; instead, we got this.

3) The Internet is very curious about Bruce Springsteen’s age. He’s 59! Also, it’s the E Street Band, not the East Street Band, unless you’re talking about the wind section of another elementary school in my hometown for whatever reason.

4) Some old crank out there is probably going to complain about the crotch shot, right? Even though so many of the ads were much, much more offensive.

Bruce Springsteen – superbowl [Dailymotion]

Well, sort of: The tween heartthrobs are, as rumored, officially going to be the musical guests on the Feb. 14 edition of Saturday Night Live, hosted by post-tween heartthrob Alec Baldwin, while the reigning Pazz & Jop champions will serve as the entertainment for this Saturday’s episode, which will be emceed by someone shilling that decidedly not acclaimed (by me, anyway) pile of chick-flick goo He’s Just Not That Into You. Well, I guess this sleight of booking will sort of help protect the psyches of the impressionable youth tuning in for a glimpse of Nick, Joe, and/or Kevin. [Just Jared Jr. / Pitchfork]