Buy plenty of bottled water! Say goodbye to your loved ones! Go on a shopping spree you'll never have to pay off! It's “Top Downloads Night” on "American Idol." Contemporary music on "Idol?" CLEARLY the end of the world is near!! This very well could be our final "American Idol" live blog together!



The contemporary quandary is one that's always plagued the show. How are these contestants expected to compete in a current pop landscape after the show's over when all they've had to do up to that point is sing Barry Manilow and tunes from the Great Depression? It baffles me that TV's biggest show hasn't figured that out yet. Pop music is less about singing ability and more about image. Just ask Lady Gaga. (Oh wait! The contestants can because rumor has it, she's slated to appear in some capacity this week.)



Ironic, then, that America and the judges are finicky about showing love to "Idols" covering songs still on the radio. Sound too much like the original = failure. (Poor Felicia Barton!) But deviate too much and they send you packing anyway! (Ju’not Joyner and Dead Wife Guy's buddy never stood a chance!)



That's why I'm concerned for Allison tonight. She shines when she can connect to a song on an emotional level, and there ain’t that much emotion in Akon's catalogue. All signs point to a Kelly Clarkson cover, and it's nearly impossible to tackle one of those without sounding like you're rocking out at a karaoke happy hour.

Megan's doomed too, unless she can find a way to deconstruct a pop song and make it play to her strengths. I guess her strength is her beauty, so perhaps she'd be better off turning her song into an instrumental and just stand there and look amazing. Hell, I'd still vote for her!

MTV.COM user pickles had some hilarious ideas regarding Megan’s always-changing name. She wrote, “Whenever I hear Megan Joy, I always think of Almond Joy. Actually, if her name changes to Almond Joy next week, I don't even think I'd be surprised. She seems to have a new name every week. And the whole 'Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't...' phrase kinda suits her. Ooooh. Maybe she can get Lil on this whole name changing bandwagon and she could show up as Lil Mounds.” Hilarious! And delicious!

And lastly, sad news in the Gokey household, as Danny’s grandfather passed away this past week. But look at the bright side, Gokester. At least you have another corpse to dig up and exploit! That will help you last another 3-4 weeks easily.

But what's with all this projection?! Enough pointless predictions. Let's get live-blogging already!



7:52 pm - Whew! I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Florida. I got to check out the awesome, brand new "American Idol Experience" attraction. Stay tuned for a blog entry tomorrow.

7:55 pm - Did you miss last week's Motown drama? There's still time to catch up by watching my latest "Idol" in 60 Seconds recap. Clicky.



7:58 pm - Fun fact: tonight's episode is 85 minutes long, the same running-time as "Cloverfield." And just like the monster in Cloverfield, Danny Gokey is frightening New York hipsters.

8:01 pm - Oh my Zoe! We're only 60 seconds in and there are already too many styling disasters to mention.

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This year's "American Idol" has already seen some serious star traffic thanks to return engagements from three of the show's first four winners: Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Carrie Underwood. This week, last season's champ, David Cook, is dropping by to sing his new single.

Last week, we asked you who you'd like to see back on the "Idol" stage and by a huge margin, loveable, dreadlocked season-seven strummer Jason Castro beat out the competition. In fact, Castro stole the show with 45 percent of the vote, easily outpacing the tie for second place between season-three seventh-place finisher Jennifer Hudson (who is rumored to be returning to the show) and season-five sixth-place finisher Kellie Pickler, who each got 13 percent of the vote. Read more...

By Matt Harper

Asher Roth is a true man of the people. A few weeks ago, the young MC hinted that he was going to start a revolution down at South by Southwest — and Asher did not disappoint.

After his packed performance at Club de Ville, Asher took to the crowded Austin streets with our MTV News crew. Despite going to the doctor earlier that day because of an irritated throat, he insisted on hanging out with the throngs of music lovers wandering the streets.

Asher lit up when he got the MTV News mic (or, as he affectionately referred to it, his "magic wand") and immediately started talking to all the fans on the street. So what did Asher want from the SXSW'ers? He asked them to give their Twitter-size assessment of their experiences thus far. Although the request confused many of the inebriates on Austin's famed (and debaucherous) Sixth Street, Asher is a charming and convincing dude and was able to coax answers — albeit many incoherent ones — out of everyone.

By this point, it was well after 2 a.m., and we were all getting a bit famished. We dashed over to the closest pizza place (a ridiculous $4 a slice ... a far cry from Asher's college days). Seeing the daunting SXSW lines, Asher flashed a smile and challenged two girls near the front to a game of rock-paper-scissors for their place in line. It took about 30 seconds for him to lose 2-nil ... but the girls were nice enough to let Asher order with them, and of course he returned the favor by shelling out for the pizza.

So with pizza in hand and a bunch of new SXSW friends in tow, our night ended. And Asher Roth had once and for all secured the title of SXSW Man of the People.

By Melanie Wolfson

This past weekend, I put friends (and a term paper) on hold, because one of my favorite bands -- the Gaslight Anthem — was in town ... twice. Sort of.

After seeing my fellow New Brunswick, NJ natives perform time and time again since their debut in 2007, it was a no brainer that I’d be at both area shows on their first-ever U.S. headlining tour, Friday night at New York's Webster Hall, and then Saturday, at the Trocadero in Philly. This was more important than some term paper.

So, was it worth it? Or, would my heart be broken by the fact that Gaslight, a band I could once claim as my very own, have now moved on to headlining tours and mainstream acclaim. And did I ever finish that term paper? Well, read on to find out.

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Sean Connery is a legend. He's Indiana Jones' dad. He's Bond, James Bond. And my interview with him from last night left me both shaken and stirred.

When I arrived at Dressed to Kilt — a Scottish benefit for American veterans — here in New York on Monday night, little did I know that by 8 p.m., I'd have had one of the most interesting experiences of my professional life. I've interviewed a good deal of people, but never someone like Sir Sean.

When he showed up to the red carpet, mayhem ensued: Publicists starting shuffling around and the press line shifted, so that all the reporters could get a quote from the legendary Scot. In a nutshell, everyone wanted a piece of him. So, when we saw our opportunity, we sort of bombarded him. And there I was, face to face with Connery.

I asked him about how he got involved with the event — why I chose such a mundane question is beyond my reasoning in hindsight. But now I'm happy I did, because here's what followed:

Jocelyn: How did you get involved with tonight's event?

Connery: I wrote in and sent my money, and they accepted it. But how did you get in?

Jocelyn: I'm kind of a big deal. So, I don't know if you've heard about me. (In the background you hear my coworker, Vanessa White Wolf, say to herself: Oh no!)

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Dear Billy,

So I heard you're looking for a new drummer. And in a manner befitting of a guy who called his last album Zeitgeist, you've taken to the Internet to find this person. This is a very big deal to me, as I have always been a die-hard Smashing Pumpkins fan (despite writing this column in 2007 ), which is why I'm here to help you in your search.

I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but there are lots of drummers on the Internet. And most of them are probably going to be emailing you their "resume, photograph/headshot [and] any music/audio showcasing [their] talents," like it says on the Pumpkins Web site. Most of these drummers are totally not fit to carry Jimmy Chamberlain's timpani mallet … amateur bashers who just want the fame and glory that comes with (maybe) playing on an upcoming Pumpkins' album.

But there are some who are worthy. And since I care so deeply, I've trolled through thousands of hours of clips to find five of them. After the jump, you'll find your next drummer. I promise. Read more...

By Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Talia Manzo

Miley Cyrus hasn't won an Oscar in her short career, but she has delivered an emotional acceptance speech. The teen queen tells MTV why she broke down at the Kids' Choice Awards.

Who's your favorite "American Idol" hopeful? Can't decide? Neither can Jordin Sparks! Jordin told MTV she's still a fan of the show that made her famous — and she even votes every week!

Of all the artists who have spoken out on the alleged Chris Brown and Rihanna altercation, we had yet to hear from Soulja Boy Tell'em ... until now.

Whitney Port became the enemy of "Twilight" fans everywhere, but she became Kim Stolz's favorite MTV reality show spin-off star during their interview last weekend.

Can't wait for the "Star Trek" reboot? Don't fret! Check out our Movies Blog for all the hints we gathered about the upcoming J.J. Abrams flick from the movie's new trading cards.

While watching some "Real World" dailies today, I was brought back to that fateful day last year when I gave Real Worlder Chet Cannon lessons on how to be an MTV News correspondent. That experience led me the next week to a visit to the "Real World" house in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where I had a return-to-reality-show-life anxiety attack. OK, not a real anxiety attack, but it was creepy!

Also, why would I teach someone else how to take my job? Idiot! Seems I lucked out though. I wrote Chet an e-mail today, wondering what he was up to.

“I'm back in NYC and will be the FriendsorEnemies.com correspondent for the upcoming music festivals," he wrote back. "I was approached by a network recently and screen-tested for a future position (fingers crossed). And I'm still waiting to hear back from MTV. ... Four months and no call back is normal, right? Haha. Maybe they lost my number. That sounds logical enough."

Phew! Read more...

With no publicist in sight, the beautiful and charming Whitney Port walked into the penthouse suite of the London Hotel in New York for her interview with us. For any reporter, the lack of a publicist around a celebrity means one thing and one thing only: You can ask anything and everything that you want (short of upsetting them quite so much that they never want to speak to you again — it's an art, really).

As the interview went on, however, it became pretty clear that Whitney is really in no need of a publicist. Unlike a couple of young stars that we've talked to, Whitney was on top of her game — articulate and intelligent. In fact, her only gaff — which was amazing and made me like her even more — was saying that she absolutely hated "Twilight," the movie. Can you imagine? A huge MTV star expressing dislike for the tween phenomenon that has taken over our lives for the past year and more? Brilliant. (She did say she loved Robert Pattinson, however.) Oh, Whitney, you are now my favorite "Hills"/ "City"/ [Whateverthenameofthenextspinoffis] character. Read more...

By Tamar Anitai

FROM BUZZWORTHY: Around the beginning of March, there was a great and mighty gasp heard 'round the Tokiosphere when, on top of his new black-and-white dreads that replaced his signature lion’s mane, Bill Kaulitz revealed another brand-new look. Gone were the kohl-ringed, heavily lined (and lined… and lined… and lined again) cat eyes, pale lips and matte skin. In their place, Bill revealed a rust-colored smoky eye, glossy lips and skin that shined in all the right places in all the right ways.

Continue reading about Bill Kaulitz's brand new look at Buzzworthy.MTV.com