Good news for everyone who wants to skip ahead to the good stuff! According to reliable sources, the top 12 guys and gals have been leaked. I’ve placed the list of names under the cut so that those who don’t want American Idol season 9 spoilers can skip ahead. Here they are, arranged in no particular order. Some of them have MySpace, Facebook accounts, or interviews; simply click on their names to view it.
I checked out the Boston round of American Idol auditions and I must say – I don’t actually miss Paula one bit. It’s weird because I thought her absence would be noticeable but I actually didn’t remember that she was gone until the show is almost over. Maybe I’ll start to feel it when the live show begins, but if I don’t notice her absence now I’ll probably end up forgetting about her completely once the auditions are over.
Victoria Beckham was the guest judge for the Boston auditions and her presence didn’t make much difference. She didn’t say anything very helpful, she was overshadowed by the others – typical Idol guest judge.
I liked a couple of contestants from this round. 18-yo Mike Davis sang a good rendition of Yesterday, which the judges liked. Simon thought he was confident without being obnoxious, and Kara likes that he’s emotional. Randy said no though, but Mike made it to Hollywood! Tyler Grady was among the more interesting yet talented contestants. He shattered both his wrists but it sure didn’t affect his singing – he sounds like a 70’s rock star. I also love his curly hair. Four yeses from the judges for him! Among the girls, think Ashey Rodriguez might make it far, though I’m personally not a fan. She’s the package deal – the look, the polished commercial sound, the wholesome personality. Ellen Degeneres even showcased her on her show today. I much preferred Leah Laurenti, whose overly religious parents never let her listen to music that wasn’t about God. You can tell that she’s very passionate about what she’s doing, and she has this gorgeous, jazzy voice. She got four yeses from the judges and is on her way to Hollywood!
Stay tuned for more Idol updates.
After nearly ten years of Simon Cowell’s biting commentary as a judge of American Idol, he’s going to be leaving the show after 2010 to launch another one on the same network. Just today, Simon signed a contract with Fox executives to leave American Idol and launch X Factor, another talent show that hails from the United Kingdom. The UK show is pretty much his baby, and his new contract with Fox will bring the series to the United States. Simon believes that X Factor will help him find someone with unusual talent, especially since the show has a lot of key differences from American Idol. For one thing, X-Factor has no age limits – kids as young as 14 and as old as 100 are free to audition. X-Factor will be hitting the US airwaves on 2011. And according to rumors, Simon feels a little bitter about not being a part owner of American Idol, which he developed with his former friend Simon Fuller.
I’m not sure I can imagine American Idol with Simon Cowell gone. Well, I kind of can, but I imagine it to be a rather dull and boring show; Simon’s comments added a lot of life to every episode, and I don’t think Randy Jackson’s antics will be enough to keep it interesting. It looks like the new judges Ellen Degeneres and Kara DioGuardi have to make an effort to keep American Idol exciting, but not too much effort – I hate it when the judges blab away about nothing important.
American Idol contestant Jason Castro was the third serious musical artist crush I’ve ever had (the other two were Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Brian Molko of Placebo, in high school and college respectively) and last Saturday, he broke the hearts of all his adoring female fans when he announced his marriage on Twitter.
Fox announced Wednesday that Ellen de Generes, talk show host and comedian, who admittedly has no formal music experience, just a passion for tunes, will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for the ninth season. The announcement all but seals the departure of Paula Abdul, the original third judge who announced she was quitting amid a contract dispute in July.
I wonder if Ellen really has the talent to discern the quality of a singer. Or maybe she can also get training on the judging aspect.
By now, I’m sure you’re well aware of the fact that during season 9 of American Idol, there are several celebrity guest judges who will be sitting in the place that Paula Abdul left empty. Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry were the first, Shania Twain was in Chicago to guest judge the auditions, and Neil Patrick Harris will be judging the Dallas auditions. Let’s take a brief moment to look at the other rumored American Idol guest judges and speculate about how well they’ll do.
I’m not really a fan of Katherine McPhee but I am totally digging her blond locks in her latest album cover. Her sophomore album, Unbroken, will be released on Verve Records on October 6 and I’m guessing the tracks will sound pretty much like your standard pop tunes. The first single from the album, Had It All, was written by Kara DioGuardi and is available on iTunes now.
