American Idol
Gossip (Page 6)

It's an American Idol tradition, on par with receiving criticism from Simon Cowell and smiling through Paula Abdul's jibberish.

Each year, the show's finalists attend BritWeek, an event created by producer Nigel Lythgoe. The event celebrates the link between Great Britain and the Los Angeles area.

At the 2009 edition, Adam Lambert and company got into the spirit of the occasion, posing for pictures and boogieing the night away with an Austin Powers impersonator...

Click on the photos above to enlarge images of American Idol's final five finalists at BritWeek.

And then there were five.

American Idol is coming down the home stretch of season eight, as it eliminated two more contestants last night (due to last week's save of Matt Giraud by the judges).

The first finalist to go was Lil Rounds, a frequent occupier of a spot in the bottom three. She was comforted by kind words from Ryan Seacrest.

“We need someone like you in this competition,” he said of her drive, adding that Rounds was “one of the most courageous contestants.”

Next, Anoop Desai got the boot. A fan favorite, the crooner lacked the vocal chops to go any farther in the competition.

Did America make the right choice by saying goodbye to Anoop and Lil?

Last season's runner-up, David Archuleta, also performed on the results show. He sang “Touch My Hand,” and said the following to Desai and Rounds: “It’s amazing to see where you can go after this."

What a nice fella.

This just in:

Adam Lambert did not put on our favorite American Idol performance this week. For the first time all season, another finalist showed creative range equal with the eventual, surefire champion.

While Lambert was his typically creative, talented self - the singer performed "If I Can’t Have You," slowing it down as a ballad emitting perfect pitch and emotion - Kris Allen also struck an original chord.

He sang Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money,” also taking it slow, armed with an acoustic guitar a Tracy Chapman-like sound. Kara DioGuardi echoed our thoughts when she told Kris: “You took a real risk... and it paid off big time.”

Our other two top performances from the night were:

• Allison Iraheta, who chose the Donna Summer song, “Hot Stuff," changed up the arrangement and, once again, belted out a classic like a veteran star, as opposed to the 16-year old she is.

• Danny Gokey did his usual (impressive) thing with a sultry version on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” Kara called him “an incredible vocalist.

Who was your favorite finalist this week? Click on the pics below for a closer look at each...

Last night's installment of American Idol made show history.

Did fans shockingly send favorite Adam Lambert home? Was a contestant saved from elimination? Did Paula Abdul express her undying love for Simon Cowell?

Read on. Find out.

Continue Reading...

The second best performance** on last night's edition of American Idol - during which finalists sang songs from various movies - belonged to Allison Iraheta.

We still can't get over the fact that this singer is only 16, as she belted out an Aerosmith classic, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," like it was written solely for her.

Following the audition, Simon Cowell said what's been on the minds of viewers for weeks: Iraheta is the only female with any chance to win this season.

Click on the photos above to enlarge images of each contestant during his/her audition.

Other top performances from the night included:

• Danny Gokey, sticking with emotional ballades and belting out Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love." Paula Abdul described it as “a beautiful, beautiful rendition.”

• Anoop Desai, who chose the Bryan Adams’ classic “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Kara DioGuardi said it was one of the singer's top vocals: “I really felt connected to you.”

• Randy Jackson and Kara were split on Kris Allen, as he chose an obscure song, “Falling Slowly,” from an obscure movie, Once. We thought it was cool he went with something that clearly had meaning to him.

** Because Adam Lambert clearly puts on the best performance every week, we wanted to give the second-best singer on the night a chance to shine. For the record: Lambert, as always, did not disappoint. Check out his incredible rendition of "Born to Be Wild" right now!

Adam Lambert was eliminated from American Idol last night.

JUST KIDDING!

In reality, Scott MacIntyre received the lowest number of votes this week. The affable, humorous, talented singer/songwriter went as far as his limited range could take him on season eight.

MacIntyre offered an encore of Survivor's "The Search Is Over," but it was wasn't enough to convince the judges that his time on the show should continue.

"Two people think you should stay and two people think you should go," Simon Cowell said before announcing Scott's fate. "This is really tough. I really, really like you, Scott...Look, someone's got to make a decision here... I'm going to say it's the end of the competition [for you]."

Relive MacIntyre's journey below. Click on each photo to enlarge it...

It's a "Mad World" for Adam Lambert. All other American Idol competitors just live in it.

The singer put on maybe his best audition last night. We know that's saying a lot, but here's all you need to know about Lambert's rendition of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears: Simon Cowell gave him a standing ovation!

You really need to watch this performance RIGHT NOW.

In the interest of fairness, here's a look at who else impressed the judges last night:

• Danny Gokey kicked off the night in style with an emotional version of "Stand By Me."
• Matt Giraud, rocking a Justin Timberlake-like fedora, was told by Kara that his “Part-Time Lover” was “incredible on every level.”
• Allison Iraheta tackled Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” She turned the ballad into an emotional rock song and received praise from Paula: “You gave all of your heart in this song."

Click on the photos below to relive every finalist's performance. Then, write in and let us know who you think will finish second. Because, come on, Lambert has this thing won...

And then there were eight.

Following the unsurprising ousting of Megan Joy from American Idol last week, the competition heads into tonight's performance show with a lot on the line.

How do our Power Rankinks reflect the status of various contestants? Let's find out...

5. Lil Rounds: This is your last chance, Lil! Drop the outdated looks, abandon the ballads and let loose! We all know you have the vocal chops, but your performances have grown more stale with each passing week.

4. Matt Giraud: Simon Cowell gave his best advice of the season to Giraud last week: you're talented, stop trying to emulate other artists. We didn't appreciate this crooner's attempt to replicate a hit from The Fray a week ago. We hope to see something more original tonight.

3. Kris Allen: Holding steady. Last week's wonderfully arranged "Ain't No Sunshine" was his best routine of the season. Continues to prove that he's more than a pretty face.

2. Danny Gokey: We go back and forth on Gokey each week. Following his most recent performance of "What Hurts the Most," though, we're back to being Gokeheads!

1. Adam Lambert: It's official. He's our favorite American Idol contestant of all-time.

Which of these finalists is your favorite? Click on each photo to enlarge it.

The cawing has come to an end.

Megan Joy, who enjoyed making the sound of a crow on stage, was the latest American Idol finalist to be sent home. She was joined in the bottom three last night by Anoop Desai and Allison Iraheta.

Did America send the right singer home?

Megan seemed resigned to her fate from the outset of this week's results show.

The judges didn't even give Joy a chance to earn their save, as Simon Cowell seemed turned off by her cheerful indifference to her plight.

Perhaps the singer was just ready to go home, though. She cried when talking about her two-year old son.

Click on the pics below to relive Megan's time on American Idol...

On last night's American Idol, Allison Iraheta received praise from the judges on her vocal stylings. The panel mostly agreed that she knocked No Doubt's "Don't Speak" out of the park.

When it came to this aspiring rock star's outfit, however, the criticism was as pointed as the praise was effusive.

Randy Jackson said he didn't get the ensemble at all, while Simon Cowell said it looked like something out of The Addams Family.

Take a look at the pink hair, ruffled pink and white dress, black leggings and white shoes for yourself and let us know your thoughts on Iraheta's attire:

Allison Iraheta's outfit is...