
Danny Noriega and Kady Malloy by Frank Micelotta/Fox
They came close, but received no cigar. TV Guide caught up the four American Idol hopefuls that didn't make the Top 12. Read on to see who believes she may have won by losing, who plans to make like a male Tyra Banks, and who finds Simon's nastiness rather unnecessary. Carita RizzoAsia'h Epperson"On Wednesday, when they said, 'You're [singing] first,' I called my mom and said, 'I think this is going to be the last time I'm performing.' Knowing the strategy that goes into it and it's 100 percent strategy I figured that it was just too much, too quick. If I'm in the audience, [a performance of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"] is just hitting you over the head. But everything happens for a reason, and clearly God just has a bigger and better plan for me. I believe this was a great stepping stone for me, this is what I needed, and that's it."Kady Malloy"Let me put it this way it's a TV show. It's hard [to take criticism] in front of so many p...
read more
As bummed as I was after last weeks results show Im pretty OK with all of the eliminations made tonight I was puzzled by one choice among the four who went home but all in all I think this seasons top 12 is looking pretty solid No group performance tonight and instead we got Blake Lewis I was a big fan of his last season loved his You Give Love a Bad Name and it was good to see him again but his song How Many Words was totally ho-hum Speaking of ho-hum for those who didnt catch it Paulas single is not the No 1 downloaded song on iTunes as Ryan sort of implied but rather the top music video Which is only slightly less disturbing Anyway the first couple of guys to take their seats were no surprise namely David C who did some weird thing with his tongue as he was waiting to hear his fate and David A who seemed to think it was a foregone conclusion that he would be safe When it came to the girls turn it was no surprise that Brooke was t
read more

Danny Noriega by Frank Micelotta / FOX
Did the TVGuide.com Power Rankings wield some power? On Thursday night's American Idol, Kady Malloy who in this week's reader poll placed dead last on the girls' side got sent home. Also now packing their bags are Danny Noriega and Luke Menard, who this week combined for a mere 2.5 percent of the vote on the guys' side of things. The other gal out of the running is Asia'h Epperson, handicapped in large part by a thoroughly subpar Wednesday performance.For the top 12 remaining wannabes, it's now party time literally and TV Guide, TVGuide.com and TV Guide Network were on the scene for the after-show festivities. Check back Friday morning for the full recap of the soiree as well as scads of pics.For you the viewers, meanwhile, it's time to vote. Who of the remaining dozen contenders is your current pick to be named this year's American Idol? The poll is here. The new Power Rankings come out Monday.Vote here.
read more
Youd think that tonights show was all about the girls but alas no the biggest divas of all were sitting behind the judges table Thats right Paula Simon and Randy were the stars of tonights episode and not in a good way I got utterly tired of Randy and Paulas self-congratulatory name-dropping Well when I worked with Oh yes I choreographed and Simons bitchy retorts not to mention the way the three of them held court just for themselves They seemingly spent forever on their own indulgent nonsense but when it came to actually critiquing the performances they gave several of the girls most notably Syesha barely a minute of attention Paula at least did seem somewhat more sober tonight though she spent a disturbing amount of time draped all over Simons lapBut unlike the judges I will not ignore the girls performances which were after all the whole point of tonight So without further ado On to the performancesAsiah Epperson
read more
All right Ill admit it Im disappointed In fact Im seriously bummed I know that Alexandra didnt have the best performance last night but did she deserve to go Not even close I dont think that her If You Leave Me Now was bad at all in fact I thought it was a far bit better than several of the other girls efforts and when she sang it again tonight I was reminded of just how gifted she isDid anyone else notice David Archuleta weeping during Alexandras swan song and then sharing that touching moment with her when she finished singing Could there have been some little sparks flying there perhaps Or were they just really good friends [Update These two have been friends since competing against each other on Star Search years ago] Regardless it was sweet Alexandra showed poise and good humor in her departure even though it was clear how disappointed she was I sincerely hope that she keeps singing because Id love to see how she
read more
Well this was definitely a letdown from last night I mean there were a few really good performances by the girls tonight but the vast majority were just so-so just there in a way that didnt make them memorable And I hate to be petty but my first impression when the girls filed by in the intro was Yikes Amandas hair yikes Bride of Frankensteins got nothin on this gal And why Ryan felt the need to talk about the fact that Randy wears a size 13 12 shoe I cannot explain Also Ryans silly thing of not thanking Simon at the end of the show is just annoying now He needs to stop I guess it might have been amusing to him the first time but at this point its just foolishThe two high points of the night came courtesy of Carly and Brooke I kept rooting for some of my other favorites to pull out show-stoppers but alas it never happenedOn to the performancesCarly Smithson Crazy on You Clearly Carly likes herself some Heart as this is the second song by
read more
Last night on American Idol, America's first vote was revealed, sending Garrett, Amy, Colton and Joanne home. That brings us to 20 wannabe Idols. Who is your current favorite? Vote now for the best male and female.Poll: The Top 10 Guys: Your TakePoll: The Top 10 Gals: Your TakeRelated: Read Nina's in-depth American Idol recaps!
read more

American Idol's Ramiele Malubay by Frank Micelotta/Fox
What a weird first week for American Idol, and what a disaster to pick a theme (songs of the 1960s) for the contestants first nights in the spotlight. Why not let them stay in their individual comfort zones at least for the introductory week, the better for us to get to know them by letting them do their thing (whatever it may be) without a period straitjacket? Of course, the fact that more than a few were battling the flu didn't help matters. (You can find Nina's complete Idol recap here.)As with Tuesdays boys night, Wednesdays inaugural ladies night was a decidedly mixed bag, with too many personalities held in check by overcalculated (and often miscalculated) performances. Its not that these people — girls or guys — cant sing. Its just that in their first week out, they needed to prove they could bring down the house, not just make it through a song. Too few lived up to that challenge. Too few proved that theyve ...
read more
I have to say right off the bat that I like several of the girls who sang tonight have the flu The judges didnt have much sympathy for them but let me just say I can barely write about them and they were actually up there singing their hearts out Thats pretty darn amazing Some of the performances really were impressive even if they generally didnt blow me away As Randy put it Season 7 is turning out to be the year of the young ones I couldnt agree more three of my faves thus far Alaina Whitaker Alexandrea Lushington and David Archuleta are all under the age of 18 Though I felt like smacking Ryan when he commented on the fact that Alaina was sweating after her performance he used to do that all the time to Elliott Yamin Its like one of his favorite man-handling comments Is that really the most interesting thing he can talk about in those few seconds of banter He is so very very oddOn to the performancesKristy Lee Cook Rescue Me I
read more