Big Picture
Ashlee & Vincent Take NY Plus, Nicole Kidman hangs out with her family and Bradley Cooper is a grizzly guy. The latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (974)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (695)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (479)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (394)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (392)
- Morning Mail! Is Lea Michele Ready to Walk Like an Egyptian? (286)
- Twilight Director Talks Kristen Stewart and Ex Michael Angarano: "They Were Such a Great Couple" (261)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
Top 10 Stories
- Did Sony Try to Cash In on Whitney Houston's Death? Label Apologizes for Pricing "Mistake"
- Whitney Houston Death Probe: Doctors, Medical Records Sought in Investigation
- So True? So False? Did Billy Bob Thornton Use Bizzarro Relationship With Angelina Jolie as Basis for New Movie?!
- Sienna Miller Shows Off Baby Bump at Fashion Week Fête
- Teen Mom 2 Finale Recap: Jenelle Rehabs, Leah Divorces, Kailyn Gets Dumped and Chelsea... Sigh
- Playmate Claire Sinclair Describes Scene of Alleged Domestic Dispute With Marston Hefner
- Glee-Dux: Guess Who's Back?! V-Day Episode Delivers Romance, Smooches and Shockers!
- Blake Lively Gets Restraining Order Against Man Who Wanted to "Guide" Her
- 19 Kids and Counting Alleged Extortion Plot: Singer Laughs Off "Intimate Photos"
- Rumer Willis' Hollywood Hills Home Burglarized
Fashion Police
Angelina: Going Grey! Plus, Christina Hendricks, Vanessa Hudgens, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Michelle Williams and Kristen Wiig. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
Ladies First on "American Idol"
The heat is on for the girls of American Idol.
The top 12 female semifinalists sang for their voting public for the first time Tuesday night, and while America's top contenders won't be revealed until Thursday's results show, the judges made no secret of which performances they considered to be the most impressive.
Plus-sized contestant Mandisa took the stage first and set the bar high, wowing even her toughest critic, Simon Cowell, with her rocking rendition of Heart's "Never."
"I think you've just thrown down the gauntlet to the other 11 girls and I think we are going to see you all the way through to the finals of the show," Cowell said.
The reviews were mixed as the night went on, but when it came to the performances of Paris Bennett, Lisa Tucker and Katharine McPhee, the judges were unanimously positive.
Bennett, who bopped around the stage energetically during her performance of Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia," left Randy Jackson tripping over his tongue as he struggled to find the words to describe her stage presence.
"Yo, man, you surprised me, man," Jackson said. "I was like, 'whoa, what is all this moving?' You groove this like you've been doing it all your life...I'm just like...I was just blown away. That was amazing."
Sixteen-year-old Lisa Tucker, the youngest female contestant, showcased powerful vocals on Jennifer Holiday's "I Am Changing," and earned cloyingly sweet compliments from Paula Abdul.
"I look at you and you are this precious little gift," Abdul said. "You light this fire inside my heart."
McPhee, the final contestant to take the stage, earned Cowell's highest praise of the night, with her performance of Barbra Streisand's "Since I Fell for You."
"There were four very, very good vocalists tonight," Cowell said. "And you were the best."
Of course, the judges dished out plenty of negative feedback as well, but the ultimate decision of who stays and who goes rests with Idol voters. The two girls who receive the fewest votes will be booted during Thursday's results show, along with their two male counterparts.
According to Fox, Tuesday's two-hour episode racked up an average audience of 29.9 million viewers, soundly beating NBC's Olympic coverage, which drew an average of 22.7 million viewers.
At least one Idol alum is keeping a somewhat wistful eye on the show's monster ratings. Brian Dunkleman, who served as Ryan Seacrest's cohost in the first season of the talent contest, told Inside Edition that he still wonders if he blew his shot at fame and fortune when he chose to walk away from the gig.
"It was my decision," he said in an interview scheduled to air Wednesday. "I'm not saying it was a good decision because, obviously, with the success of the show, it's a difficult decision to think back on and think I did the right thing."
Since leaving the show, Dunkleman has landed guest roles on several sitcoms and regularly performs in comedy clubs.
He is currently making something of a return to his talent search roots by running an online Idol fantasy game at IdolGoHome.com.
0 Comments
Now loading...