Some people come to Hollywood and become stars. Others get kicked to the curb. And yet some others faint and fall off stage. Before we get into the talent portion of American Idol's Hollywood Week (Part I!), let's cut right to the shocking moment everyone will be talking about today: 16-year-old Symone Black's performance of "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay". Everything goes fine during her a cappella audition, but during a brief chat with the judges afterwards, Symone begins to stumble, falls off the stage, and seems to be knocked unconscious. The credits began to roll as PAs (and Symone's dad) rush to her side, thus providing the most horrifying cliffhanger scene of any episode of American Idol in the show's history. More »

American Idol made its first ever audition cattle call in Portland, Oregon, and though the city is commonly stereotyped for its organic-living, irony-accepting citizens, the episode was surprisingly light on the references to Portland's alternative culture. (Though it wasn't totally scenester-free — say hello to Idol's token hipster, Brittany Zika.) Head below for the five contestants from the Northwest you'll want to keep in mind when Hollywood Week begins on February 8. More »

If you thought American Idol was aiming to be softer and gentler this season — with less emphasis on, shall we say, quirky hopefuls during the auditions for the judges to use as punching bags — then the show finally got back on track this week. We had a taste of the crazy with Magic Cyclops in Aspen. But Houston, Texas brought out Alejandro Gonzales, a 26-year-old hellbent on causing a revolution, and Phong Vu, who was hoping his spirit would make the judges "shock and wow and woooooooooo!"  These oddballs managed to throw off Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, who set up shop in nearby Galveston, and began to bicker amongst themselves during the auditions. More »

American Idol judge Steven Tyler's performance of the National Anthem on Sunday may have been an eyebrow-raiser, but who knew that just a few days later he'd have the vocal (and visual) atrocities of Magic Cylcops at the Aspen auditions to compete with? And then there was goofball Angie Zeiderman, who dazzled with her show tunes, piercings, purple hair and downright fearlessness. The offbeat singers were certainly far more entertaining than the hopefuls the judges put through to Hollywood. (And, for the record, Zeiderman did make it through — which we're thrilled about!) So let's meet this crew below. More »

Yes, you read that correctly up above — Jane Carrey, the daughter of one of Hollywood's biggest box office draws over the past 20 years or so, hopped down into the American Idol trenches and auditioned in San Diego. Her profession? She's a waitress. But that wasn't the only surprise last night's special Sunday airing of Idol (which was staged on the docked USS Midway) held in store for judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. There were also bikinis, noisy jets flying overhead, noisier foghorns blaring across the water and, at the end, there was one very big, not-so-bad "Wolf". More »

Tonight was the second episode of American Idol Season 11 — what's that? You didn't watch the first night? Well, why not? There were some great contestants, Jennifer Lopez looked painfully gorgeous as usual, and what else are you going to do with your time, read a book? Talk with loved ones? Please! Though the 11th season premiere's ratings fell short of last season's — and the previous eight seasons before that, too — perhaps folks were more interested in what talent Pittsburgh, The City Of Champions, had to offer. Head below for the five contestants to keep an eye on, even if for no other reason than the drama that may inevitably surround them come Hollywood Week.  More »

And we're back! After the inaugural seasons of both The Voice and The X Factor, we've returned to the Original Don of singing reality competitions! (Shut up, Star Search, no one remembers you.) As pointed out to us at the very start of the episode, contestants this season have had American Idol in their lives since age 6 – that's two thirds of their entire lives. For them, there basically was never a time when American Idol wasn’t on the air. (Scary, huh? Feeling old yet?) For me, American Idol premiered as I was preparing to graduate high school, not knowing where my life would take me… and it led me to a job where I blog regularly about American Idol. Funny how those things work out.

For the Season 11 premiere, the show flew down to Savannah, Georgia to seek out some talent. And, lo and behold, there actually was some! More »