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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: Will Lauren Alaina Be Home In Time For Prom?

Posted 5/12/11 1:02 pm EST by in American Idol

After a season of blowing smoke and patting contestants on the head like they were the ninth place finishers in a eight-person third grade decathlon, things finally got really real on "American Idol" on Wednesday night.

When Randy Jackson went all-in on Haley Reinhart after her screechy, hoarse mess of a Michael Jackson cover, the singer hit back with withering stares and some backstage dissing of her own, cranking up the tension on an otherwise vanilla season.

Normally, that kind of sassy backtalk is a prescription for a one-way ticket to Iowa Cattle Fair 2012 Apple Dumpling Stage opening act-ville. But there's a part of me that thinks Haley's rants and eye-rolls might have earned her some support from a fanbase that is so used to seeing nothing but marshmallow kisses and unicorn hugs from the judges that they will be incensed at the slight tinge of negativity.

Don't get it twisted. She was awful, and while her second performance was much better, at this point that's like saying that "Attack of the Clones" was better than "The Phantom Menace," i.e. they both sucked, but one sucked just a bit less.

All that said, I don't think Haley will go home tonight. I think her fans will rally, and it will be Lauren Alaina who gets the boot. Why? She was fine, but her little girl at the prom in a puffy dress and cute smile shtick is so bland and old it might just have lulled her fans into complacency. Most of my expert panel agreed with me.
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'American Idol' Recap: Don't Stop Believing, Haley!

Posted 5/12/11 10:09 am EST by in American Idol

A wise woman (and a rapping cat hallucination) once sang, "I take two steps forward, two steps back. We go together 'cause opposites attract." "American Idol" bought into that reasoning by booking Lady Gaga as a mentor for Leiber & Stoller night. They snagged one of the biggest pop stars making music today ... to talk about songs that may have been written before Scotty McCreery's grandparents were born. (Anyone know how old Grandma Piquita is? Tweet me! This is important!)

The top four had added pressure to be "in it to win it" because next week's home visits are dangling in front of them like a carrot on a string. Nobody wants to go home before home visits! Your "hero" parade is canceled! That's like going to a wedding and leaving before the main course is served. A free filet mignon is a terrible thing to waste.

In an added twist — and this is an exclusive — the "Idol" team informed me that Haley Reinhart's hometown parade will be canceled regardless of her status on the show. Plus, she will be banished from the entire state of Illinois. Them's the brakes, kid!

Before I go on a rant about the increasingly disturbing audience signs supporting various Seacrest Hairstyles, let me remind you to join my weekly Web show, "Idol Party Live," right here in this very blog at noon EDT. New York Times writer Jon Caramanica will be my co-host. (You may have caught his razor-sharp — and sometimes controversial — "Idol" recaps on the Times ArtsBeat blog.) Plus, we'll be rolling back my batsh-- interview with Jacob Lusk. Spoiler: He looks in a mirror.

Now, on to the performances!
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Steve Jones Who? New 'X Factor' Host Joins List Of Previously Unknown Presenters

Posted 5/9/11 2:34 pm EST by in American Idol, Television

We're all nobody until somebody notices us, right? That's probably what Simon Cowell is hoping with the choice of Steve Jones as the co-host of the American version of his reality singing competition, "The X Factor."

Yes, the former model is well-known to British audiences thanks to appearances on a number of popular shows, including the children's variety program "T4," the "Guinness World Records Smashed!" special as well as upcoming series “Drop Zone,” “Wedding Crashers” and “101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow.”

But in America? He's as blank a slate as a guy named Ryan Seacrest was before "American Idol" launched in 2002. It's hard to remember now, but back then Seacrest was just a radio guy in Los Angeles, not the new Dick Clark with an exploding multi-media empire that threatens to swallow all of entertainment.
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'American Idol' Prediction Results: Jacob Lusk Called Back Home To ... Compton

Posted 5/6/11 12:09 pm EST by in American Idol

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times ... won't get fooled again. After weeks of plaid-based fashion crimes, self-righteous audience threats, horsey falsetto screeching and more awkward stage moves than an army of Paul McDonalds, Compton, California's Jacob Lusk was finally booted from "American Idol" on Thursday night.

I'm not saying I wanted him gone, but when America finally heard what I've been hearing for weeks (i.e., a singer whose commercial potential makes last year's "Idol" winner Lee DeWyze look like Lady Gaga), well, let's just say I felt vindicated, at the very least.

All but one of our experts correctly predicted Lusk's demise this week and "Idol" blogger MJ Santilli shared my feelings about the news. "I suspect if he had performed the way he really wanted to on 'Idol,' he would have been out weeks ago," she said of his wayyy over-the-top sing-off. "Lusky Stank had his moments on the show, but really, he was never able to top 'A House Is Not a Home' — the semi-final performance that ensured his place in the Top 13. I can see Jacob with a career singing gospel music, but as a pop star? Not so much."

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'American Idol' Castoff Casey Abrams Answers MTV News' 10 Questions!

Posted 5/5/11 6:35 pm EST by in American Idol

By Kara Warner, with reporting by Jim Cantiello

Sad times for Casey fans that the unique musician was voted off the show last week, but lucky us in that Abrams stopped by MTV News in New York to chat a bit about his experience, the most entertaining gem being how he likened the "Idol" judges to jelly beans. But also, he answered our always interesting and fun 10 questions!

Here are the highlights:

Casey's favorite TV show is "Modern Family." He called it "the new 'Simpsons.' "

His least favorite word: "Déjà vu. I love the concept, hate the word," he said. (We'll give him a pass even though that's two words.) "It just doesn't work. Re-glimpsing, that's what it should be called."

The movie he has to watch when it's on: "300." The reason? "Sweaty men in thongs," Casey joked. "It's a perfect combination, man."

The title of his album, whenever it may be recorded and released: "Underneath This Beard ... Is Another Beard."

Outside of these surprising and fascinating facts, Casey also surprised us when he said he read all the negative comments about himself online while he was on the show.

"What you have to do is kinda, you have to translate it. If they're saying negative things about you, you take away the swear words and like 'I hate you' and you read what they're actually trying to say," he said. "And, if [they wrote] 'Casey sucked this performance, he sounded like a dog,' I take it as 'Casey, stop growling so much.' And if I see more than, like, 10 comments like that, I'm going to take it as a sign, and I'm going to try to ease up on the growling."

Also, going back to the jelly beans comment, because it makes me giggle every time I think about it, Casey picked out a special flavor for judge Jennifer Lopez.

"The buttered-popcorn jelly bean would have to be J.Lo," Abrams said of the judge he famously smooched on the show. "Right? She's buttery?"

What do you think of Casey's comments? Would you buy Underneath This Beard? Tell us in the comments!

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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: Jacob Lusk's Duet Will Turn Into a Solo

Posted 5/5/11 12:08 pm EST by in American Idol

There was a time, like a season or two ago, when "American Idol" judge praised contestants for taking chances and thinking outside the box with quirky arrangements and oddball song choices.

And while they dinged Haley Reinhart pretty hard on Wednesday night for covering the as-yet-unreleased Lady Gaga tune "You and I" on the "Then and Now" performance show (nicely played, Jimmy Iovine -- Born This Way, coming soon!) they really took out their knives when Jacob Lusk attempted to perform a duet, with himself, on former "Idol" champ Jordin Sparks' "No Air."

Was it as terrible as they said? Well, yes. We've been predicting Jacob's demise for weeks … and we've been wrong every time. I've not been shy about saying that I think Lusk has little-to-no commercial prospects as a result of a grating personality and, let's face it, pretty annoying vocal style.
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'American Idol' Recap: Haley Reinhart's Sun Also Rises

Posted 5/5/11 8:53 am EST by in American Idol

Wednesday night, the "American Idol" atmosphere was "electric" thanks to regal Oscar winners, Jacob Lusk crotch grabs and James Durbin's armpits. The producers had a fool-proof script banged out for our "enjoyment," which included the phrases "in it to win it," and "finding your perfect song." And the night's guest mentor told MSNBC back in 2007 that "['Idol'] undermines art in every way and promotes commercialism, I am sad people love it so."

In other words, this is "American Idol X: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here."

The theme was "Now & Then" which meant the contestants had two performances to rehearse. One was a current song (or in the case of Haley's to-be-released "Born This Way" deep cut, a future song) and round two was all about songs from the '60s. (Or, um, the '70s, if your name rhymes with Tames Surbin.)

Before I go on a rant about how "Idol" has revealed itself to be a total farce and has messed with my head so much that I'm even starting to question whether Haley Reinhart is secretly the producers' favorite, let me remind you that my weekly Web show "Idol Party Live" is happening right here in this blog at noon ET. [We taped it already, but it's repeating in that video player now!] We're not only gabbing about "Then & Now" week, but we'll also be debuting hilarious new segments from my recent sit-downs with Casey Abrams and season-eight champ Kris Allen. Plus, we recently scored some time with "judge" Jennifer Lopez. So click play, drop us a tweet using the hashtag #idolparty and join the fun.

On to the performances!
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Miley Cyrus 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' But There Have Been Worse

Posted 5/3/11 12:26 pm EST by in American Idol, Miley Cyrus

Miley CyrusWe were pretty sure Kurt Cobain had rolled over in his grave enough a few weeks ago when just-booted "American Idol" finalist Casey "Wolfman" Abrams performed his tortured, crazy-eyed stare cover of Nirvana's breakthrough hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Yes, it was awful, hard-to-watch and just kind of offensive to lovers of music. But when we saw footage of Miley Cyrus doing her studded leather and Crest White Strips shimmy to the song during a recent concert and, well, a new bar was set. Cyrus, of course, has more vocal chops, but her karaoke party blitz through the tune effectively stripped it of every ounce of angst or aggression, replacing the original's intent with peppy cheerleader charm.
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'American Idol' Predictions Results: Casey Abrams Goes Growling Into The Void

Posted 4/29/11 11:32 am EST by in American Idol

Unlike the judges on "American Idol," I'm not going to mince words here: good riddance, Casey Abrams.

Yeah, the bearded lothario showed off some impressive musical skills during his improbably long run on the show. But in typical "Idol" fashion, we were expected to not pay attention to the fact that his vocals were frequently terrible and, frankly, sometimes just kind of disturbing, creepy and awful. It's a singing competition, right? Not a tryout for the "Wolfman" reboot?

I'm sure he's a nice fella (though his forced kisses on audience members as he made his way into the "Idol" netherworld were totally disconcerting), but he proved week in and out that he just wasn't right for this competition. "American Idol" isn't looking for the next quirky jazz star who will sell a "respectable" 100,000 copies.
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'American Idol' Elimination Predictions: Jacob Is Headed Back To Church

Posted 4/28/11 12:06 pm EST by in American Idol

Say what you will about Jacob Lusk's colorful ensembles on Wednesday night's Carole King-themed "American Idol" performance episode. But all the purple bow ties and electric-blue vests in the world cannot distract this viewer from a simple fact: It's time for the guy to go.

Though I've been in a (very vocal) minority for weeks about Jacob, telling anyone who will listen that his grating personality, screechy falsetto, preening stage presence and complete lack of commercial prospects are reason enough to get rid of him, it seems my fellow "Idol" experts have finally come around and seen the light.

For one of the first times all season, all four prognosticators in this column agree: Jacob is headed for the "Idol" phantom zone.

"There was an audible 'boo' after Jacob survived last week, so I imagine he had the most to prove last night, and while the judges loved the growling 'character' he debuted on 'Oh No Not My Baby,' I think it will get him sent home," opined MTV News "Idol Party Live" host Jim Cantiello. "Not to mention that the South was being overcome with storms and tornados, so the gospel loving community supporting their hometown hero may have had more pressing things on their mind. (Jennifer Hudson got booted when a huge storm hit her Chicago hometown.)??"
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