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American Idol: What You Didn't See (Paula and Simon Kiss!)

Read all about what goes down when the cameras aren't looking on the set of TV's biggest show

By Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna Mar 19, 2009 3:40 AMTags
Simon Cowell, Paula AbdulMichael Becker / FOX

Simon Cowell might give Paula Abdul hell during the judging portion of American Idol, but in reality there’s a lot of love between these two judges. So much love, in fact, that they kissed!

OK, before we get too excited, it wasn’t that kind of kiss. No romance whatsoever, just a friendly judge-to-judge smooch, as judges do. Well, as they do. It happened off camera right after Simon, Paula, Kara and Randy took their seats at their table. So even if there’s no hanky-panky going on, at least they've made up after last night's heated throwdown over Scott MacIntyre playing the piano.

K-i-s-s-i-n-g aside, the real shocker of the night was the elimination of one of our favorites, Alexis Grace. The singer, who was done in by her rendition of Dolly Parton’s "Jolene," kept calm, cool and quiet on commercial breaks as she awaited her final fate.

The same can't be said for the family of Allison Iraheta, who was in the bottom three. Her peeps wept and hugged each other as their little Allison's name was called. On a commercial break, Paula went over to Allison's family to console them. Awww, see how sweet Paula is?

Here's what else we spied at tonight's live Idol taping...

Teary-Eyed: After the show, Kara DioGuardi spent the most time consoling the exiting Alexis, giving her words of encouragement as the singer wiped away a tear.

Girl Power: Overjoyed at being safe, Allison plopped down on Megan Joy's lap, hugged her and played with her hair.

Oopsie! When Ryan Seacrest announced that Michael Sarver was safe, the stunned oil rigger started to walk off the stage without hugging Alexis, who actually reached out to him as he was turning away. He finally realized what he had done and came back to hug her.

Odd Sign of the Night: "Kripples 4 Kris" (with a blue handicap sign and photo of Kris on one side, and a heart with Simon's photo in it on the other side), by a man in a wheelchair showing his support for Kris Allen.

Most Organized Family: Lil Rounds' (by the way, Simon, Lil is not "short for Little") family came in T-shirts adorned with her photo.

Warming Up the Audience: Anoop isn't the only talented one in the Desai family. His uncle Atul was pulled onstage before the show's start to shake his booty for the audience. The man had rhythm! What a sport.

Most Signage: Megan Joy. (Yay! Megan!)

Cheer-o-Meter: The top three cheer-getters were, in order, Adam Lambert (again!), Danny Gokey (still don't get it), and Scott (surprise, but a nice one!). As for the judges, Mr. Nasty Simon always gets the loudest response.

Upcoming on Idol: Last year's winner, Cookie (as the stage manager called David Cook), performed his new single, "Come Back To Me," with a 12-piece band that included a string section. The performance—along with the presentation of a platinum plaque for his self-titled debut album—will air on the April 1 Idol. David's guitar was adorned with the initials of his brother Adam Cook, who has cancer. (Speaking of taped performances, Carrie Underwood's performance tonight was recorded last night. It's done all the time and still considered live, so let's not get our panties in a bunch.)

Mystery Solved: Ever wonder what time Ryan Seacrest, the man with many jobs, goes to bed? Joking around with the stage manager while waiting 35 (!!!) minutes for David Cook to take the stage, Ryan said, "Let's go! Bedtime is 8:02 for me." Ryan then proceeded to jokingly run through his KIIS-FM L.A. morning radio show: "We've got Commander Chuck on the scene…Ellen, what's in the Sleaze?"

Cute Moment of the Night: Obviously still pumped from their opening group number, Danny and Allison jumped around in their seats with their hands miming holding a microphone and singing as they just did on the stage. Talk about having fun!

Cutup Moment: Simon laughed out loud when they played back his "absolute indulgent rubbish" comment about Adam's "Ring of Fire."

What do you think of Paula and Simon's crazy antics? Are you as surprised as us that Alexis Grace got the boot? Do you like the behind-the-scenes tidbits? Let's hear from you!