BuzzSugar

Pick the Golden Globe Winners, Win a Year of Entertainment!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:30:00 -0800

The Golden Globe Awards are fast approaching (with or without a televised ceremony). Think you know who's going to win? We're giving away a year of entertainment to the TeamSugar user who's best at picking the winners in the major TV and movie categories!

Just log into your TeamSugar account and fill out this ballot before noon PST on Jan. 13. The person with the best guesses wins a year of cable or satellite television OR a year of movie tickets - your choice! If you're not a registered user, be sure to sign up before filling out your ballot. For the official rules click here. Good luck!

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Snap Judgment: The Top 10 "American Idol" Girls

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:27:43 -0800

This feels like the point in "American Idol" when we're just biding our time until the top 12. The pleasant surprises happened last week, and now we're just waiting for the bad singers (and the good-but-unpopular-or-less-attractive singers) to get booted. The top 10 girls on Wednesday were a lot like the guys on Tuesday: good-but-not-great performances, mixed in with a few stinkers by popular contestants who will stick around longer than they deserve.

Crazy-ometer update: Paula hit about a 6 out of 10 for the two days combined. She was surprisingly snappy with Simon on Tuesday, but by Wednesday she'd reverted to her whole babbling "you're sooo beautiful" brand of "criticism."

You can fill out this ballot to predict which girls are going home, and to read my judgments and picks, read more

Gina Glocksen (at right): Wow, Gina's boyfriend has dyed a little red skunk strip in his hair to match hers. I like her a lot generally, but she sounded a little shrieky, and the backup singer hit the hardest notes for her. Simon spent a lot of time telling her she doesn't look edgy enough, which I think is the last of Gina's problems.

Alaina Alexander: I finally figured out who she reminds me of: an Olsen twin. I'm not familiar with the song she sang, but she did better with it than with the Pretenders last week. I'm not sure if she was off pitch on the chorus, like Randy said; I'm more inclined to go with Simon's opinion that she just ran out of steam.

LaKisha Jones: She did a pretty funky "Midnight Train to Georgia," but she didn't blow me away like she did last week. The judges told her to be less nervous, and then Simon started ragging on her outfit and her dancing, a la Mandisa, Jennifer Hudson, etc. But she'll be around next week.

Melinda Doolittle (at left): I find myself smiling the whole time I'm watching her - I suppose that because she's smiling, it's only appropriate that I reciprocate. Her voice sounded fantastic, and she's classy (almost too classy for "Idol," honestly). The judges loved it, and Simon called it the best vocal of the year.

Antonella Barba: I was psyched to hear Antonella's song dedication - maybe it will be to the person who leaked the racy photos! - but alas, it was just to her brother. She sang a too-fast, off-key, weirdly arranged version of "Because You Loved Me," and the high note wasn't the problem - the rest of them were. She tried invoking Jennifer Hudson after Simon panned her, but honey? You are no Jennifer Hudson.

Jordin Sparks: She apparently took to heart the judges' advice from last week to sing a bigger song, tackling Christina Aguilera - pretty well, I thought, until the last of the power notes, which just bombed. She cried dedicating the song to her brother and was crying again at the end, which seemed authentic coming from her. She rivals Melinda, LaKisha, and Blake for most likable contestant this year.

Stephanie Edwards: Her dedication was all about her parents pushing her to audition for "Idol." Isn't she a little old to have stage parents? She seemed to have some trouble with the tricky rhythms at the start of "Dangerously in Love" but totally pulled it together at the end. Not quite the splash of last week, but still good.

Leslie Hunt (at right): The more she talks, the more I like her; she's kind of a lovable mess. She pulled out our second "Feeling Good" of the week, with an a capella beginning and some surprising scatting at the end. Simon said she's not terribly memorable; Paula said she was "a different flavor of ice cream," and then Seacrest called Simon sorbet. I ... have no idea what happened there.

Haley Scarnato: Well, singing "Queen of the Night" was one way to banish the cabaret vibe. Oh the other hand, she didn't really have the voice to pull it off. At least she had fun this time. Maybe she should try something not sung by Celine Dion or Whitney Houston, though.

Sabrina Sloan: She sang a convincing version of "All the Man That I Need," but I can't really forgive her for breaking my no-Whitney rule for the second time in the night. Simon and I both liked her better last week, but she's clearly in the top half of the group.

Who should go: Antonella, please, and probably Haley, with Alaina a close third

Who will go: Haley and Leslie. Just when I was starting to like her, too.

Your turn! Use this ballot to tell me which girls are going home.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Snap Judgment: The Top 10 "American Idol" Guys

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:29:14 -0800

After last week's snoozefest, the top 10 "American Idol" guys really needed to step things up on Tuesday. And they mostly did, though I still didn't see any showstopping performances like we saw from the girls.

I was expecting a lot of cheesy ballads once I found out the contestants had been asked to dedicate their songs to someone important in their lives. Luckily, most of them didn't take the dedications too seriously, but there were a few baffling choices. You can fill out a ballot to predict which two guys are heading home on Thursday, and to see what I thought of the guys, read more

Phil Stacey (at right): I spent a surprising amount of time staring at the lace-up detail on his shirt while he sang "I Ain't Missing You." He can really belt a chorus, but he didn't sound great on the verses. Randy and Paula thought it was great, while Simon said his voice is good - for karaoke.

Jared Cotter: Remember what I said last week about wanting to hear him do a song that's not about getting a woman into bed? Yeah, not going to happen. I'm choosing not to think too much about his choice to dedicate "Let's Get It On" to his parents. He was a little off, but it doesn't matter, because he's mostly going to be remembered for this sexy hand-over-face move that Randy tried (poorly) to imitate.

A.J. Tabaldo: Oh my goodness, he was a million times better than last week. On Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," he got this smooth, slinky groove going in the second half that was actually kind of awesome. The judges liked it, maybe because they (like me) couldn't believe this was the guy with the popped collar and cheesy dancing from last week.

Sanjaya Malakar (at left): As soon as I saw his hat, I figured I was in for Michael Jackson, so "Steppin' Out With My Baby" was actually something of a relief. Unfortunately, he was striving for a Sinatra thing and ended up looking and sounding, as Randy called it, like a talent show performance.

Chris Sligh: His voice sounded good tonight, and I can understand now why so many people like him. Performance-wise, he looked a little uncomfortable, but still: good singer.

Nick Pedro: What was with the cutaway shots of the drummer during his song? Can I vote to put the drummer through instead? His voice sounded a billion times better than last week, but Simon told him he needs more charisma, and I can't disagree.

Blake Lewis: He has a style and a confidence and a stage presence that I'm not sure anyone else in the competition this year can equal. And he broke out the beatboxing for a second! Oh man, I love this guy. Simon tried to say he didn't like it, which prompted an outcry from everyone else in the room. Party pooper!

Brandon Rogers (at right): Yeesh. He seemed really off this week - behind his music, missing his notes, and pretty boring overall. And dedicating the song to his grandma plus wishing happy birthday to his dad seemed a bit much. Wow, I'm jaded.

Chris Richardson: Oh, Timberfake. I always get the feeling that he's spent hours in front of the mirror perfecting his robotic dance moves. He did Jason Mraz's "Geek in the Pink," and it played to all of his strengths - though frankly, I think Blake would have done a better job with the song. Randy, Paula and Simon were rhapsodic.

Sundance Head: Aw, he got choked up talking about his baby son. He was a lot looser than last week, though that's not saying much. I still don't see the fuss over him; he seems like a pale imitation of Taylor Hicks, to me.

Who should go: Sanjaya and Brandon

Who will go: I'm worried Sanjaya's fans will keep him in for another week. I'd bet Brandon and Jared go, but Nick will really need his fans to call if he wants another chance.

OK, your turn! Who do you think is gone? Vote here for which two guys are heading home on Thursday.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Don't Forget to Cast Your Oscar Ballot!

BuzzSugar — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:59:56 -0800

Oscar night arrives at long last this Sunday, but it's not too late to cast your Oscar ballot! Our nifty form lets you enter your picks, then check back after the Oscars to see how you did. You can submit your ballot until 5 p.m. Pacific / 8 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, right before the show starts.

Better yet, we're going to be giving away some glamorous, Oscar-worthy prizes to the readers with the most accurate predictions. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Prada bag, while the runners-up get $50 to $500 gift cards from Sephora, the Apple Store, and Neiman Marcus. Pretty swanky, eh? For official contest rules, click here, or check out my Oscar predictions.

2007 Oscars: My Predictions

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:04:55 -0800

Have you filled out your Oscar ballot yet? I sure have! Some categories really are a toss-up - Best Picture, for example - while others are highly predictable.

Helen Mirren has already won about a gazillion awards for her performance in The Queen, and if anyone else gets the little gold man for that category, it will truly be shocking. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories, however, could easily end up surprising everyone. As for the visual categories, I have high hopes for Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth in many of the visual categories and will be supremely disappointed if they lose.

As for the other categories, I present to you my predictions for this year's Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE
Babel

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

To see the rest, read more

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren, The Queen

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Cars

ART DIRECTION
Pan's Labyrinth

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men

COSTUME DESIGN
Curse of the Golden Flower

BEST DOCUMENTARY
An Inconvenient Truth

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Blood of Yingzhou District

FILM EDITING
Children of Men

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Babel

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Listen” from Dreamgirls
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
“West Bank Story”

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Letters from Iwo Jima

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Dreamgirls

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

ADAPATED SCREENPLAY
Children of Men

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Little Miss Sunshine

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Cast Your Oscar Ballot, Win Fabulous Prizes!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 04:20:03 -0800

Oscar night arrives at long last this Sunday, and I am obsessing more than ever about the Academy Awards. If you need something to keep yourself busy in the meantime, I highly recommend filling out your own Oscar ballot. The nifty form lets you enter your picks, then check back after the Oscars to see how you did. (Yes, I've already filled mine out, and I'll be posting my predictions later this week.)

Better yet, we're going to be giving away some glamorous, Oscar-worthy prizes to the readers with the most accurate predictions! The Grand Prize winner will receive a Prada bag, while the runners-up get $50 to $500 gift cards from Sephora, the Apple Store, and Neiman Marcus. Pretty swanky, eh? For official contest rules, click here

Cast Your Oscar Ballot!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:39:34 -0800

Oscar night is less than a week away, and I'm pretty much planning to obsess about the Academy Awards until the winners are announced on Sunday. If you need something to keep yourself busy in the meantime, I highly recommend filling out your own Oscar ballot. The nifty form lets you enter your picks, then check back after the Oscars to see how you did. (Yes, I've already filled mine out, and I'll be posting my predictions later this week.)

Also, we're going to be giving away some glamorous, Oscar-worthy prizes to the readers with the most accurate predictions! If you need some guidance, check out my full list of the nominees and my breakdown of the Oscar hopefuls. Let the Oscar predictions begin.

"American Idol" Picks: BuzzSugar vs. PopSugar

BuzzSugar — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 08:49:11 -0800

On Thursday, I gave you my thoroughly uneducated predictions for who will end up in the Top 12 of "American Idol." Now, you can make your own predictions and see how they fare against mine, with this cool "American Idol" ballot, which lets you can submit your picks for the six guys and six girls who you think will stick around.

PopSugar, of course, also has her own ideas about who will stick around. To watch a handy video showing which contestants Pop and I endorse and where we disagree, read more

Cast Your Ballot for the "American Idol" Top 12

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:48:55 -0800

After last night's episode of "American Idol," I went out on a limb and gave you my thoroughly uneducated predictions for who will end up in the Top 12. Now, with BuzzSugar's handy "American Idol" ballot, you can submit your picks for the six guys and six girls who you think will stick around until the final 12.

Be sure to cast your vote before the next episode of "Idol" on Tuesday, Feb. 20, then check back to see how you and the other BuzzSugar readers did. Happy voting!

Cast Your Oscar Ballot!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:00:09 -0800

The Oscar buzz is out in full force, and I'm pretty much planning to obsess about the Academy Awards until the winners are announced on Feb. 25. If you need something to keep yourself busy in the meantime, I highly recommend filling out your own Oscar ballot. The nifty form lets you enter your picks, then check back after the Oscars to see how you did. If you need some guidance, check out my full list of the nominees and my breakdown of the Oscar hopefuls. Let the Oscar predictions begin.