BuzzSugar

Video of Nigel Recruiting Paula, a Britney Opera, and Who Made VF's Best Dressed!

Molly — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:15:57 -0700

Last night Paula Abdul took to her Twitter to announce that she is not returning to Idol. BuzzSugar was attending a SYTYCD taping in LA and was able to get Nigel Lythgoe's comments on the big news - watch what he has to say below! That's not all we have in today's PopSugar Rush. Check out Fab's take on this year's VF Best Dressed list, a Britney opera, and Robert Pattinson's arrival in LA. Watch it now!

TV Tonight: American Idol Is Back!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:30:03 -0800

I know this will sound a little doomsday-ish of me, but lately it's hard to shake the feeling that each new season could potentially be American Idol's last. There's always some foreboding sign that the end is near: bad ratings buzz (though even when it's down, it's still been bigger than anything else on TV), rumors that Paula ~~has totally lost her mind~~ is leaving the show, the departure of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, the simple fact that few shows ever go beyond eight seasons, etc.

So I'm greeting tonight's return of Idol with joy and relief. The Idol powers that be are always promising improvements, but this year a lot of things are being changed up, including a return to the wild card round, a longer Hollywood Week, and adding a new fourth judge. It seems to me that if these things don't make the this-could-be-the-end vibes go away, nothing will, so I'm curious to see how it turns out.

Are you ready for a new season of American Idol? Do you think a fourth judge will make a difference? What part of the show are you most looking forward to? I personally want to see if any of the San Francisco hopefuls I hung out with make it on the air!

The Phoenix auditions kick things off tonight. For a reminder of how American Idol spins dreams into a reality for a destined few plus a couple of other promo clips for season eight, just read more.

Photo courtesy of Fox

So You Think You Can Dance Rundown: Six Left!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:30:44 -0700

I guess we're at that point in the So You Think You Can Dance competition when I shouldn't feel all that surprised when someone is in the bottom two, especially when it comes to the guys (well, and the girls who aren't Comfort). Even still, I got the wind knocked out of me a little bit early on in Thursday's results show when the first of the two guys in danger of elimination was revealed. I wasn't the only one who was emotional, though: The results were clearly hard on the dancers - and the studio audience, for that matter. I'm still feeling sad, so let's get to chatting. To see what went down last night, read more.

Well, no shocker on the girls' side: Comfort's headed home-again. And we watched her goodbye highlights reel - again. It was obvious that Courtney was really bummed out to be in the bottom two, maybe even a little shocked. But if anything, this might be a good thing for her, as it could remind fans of the tiny brunette that they have to vote for if they want her to stay.

Mark's reaction to the fact that he wasn't in the bottom two was the most genuine "I'm safe" response we've seen on the show this season. He really lucked out (and knew it!) given how awful his foxtrot was. And it was so sad when they told Twitch he might go home! Were those actual tears? I wanted to hug him!

But, wow: They sent Will home. Can you even believe it? I'm still in shock. He was, to me, the best dancer on the show, and maybe that's what doomed him. As Nigel explained, so often on these shows, if a contestant is assumed to be safe, they don't get the votes and go home prematurely. Not to be a drama queen here, but I can't believe there will be no more Will dances! I wasn't ready for this to end. I might actually go through withdrawal! It should have been Mark, people. It should have been Mark.

I have to shake it off, so in the meantime, here are some of my other thoughts:

There was something about the first dance - maybe the costumes, maybe the camera angles - that reminded me of the Fly Girls on In Living Color.
Please show those vintage Toni Basil dance videos again! They were so awesome in all their '80s glory. I also loved her quote: "Dancing is my drug of choice." Check out the video for "Mickey."
A first: I don't think I've ever heard ballet "woo"-ed before. The crowd went wild for those grand jetés!
Nigel noted that millions vote every week for American Idol and SYTYCD and asked that we Americans apply that enthusiasm for phone voting on reality shows to our actual democracy. Duly noted.

Are you as shocked as I am about Will's elimination? Or are you a Mark fan who thinks he deserved to stay? Are you angry, confused, bewildered? Let's all comfort each other in the comments below!

Photos courtesy of Fox

So You Think You Can Dance Rundown: The Top 8 Work It Out

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:30:45 -0700

Last night on So You Think You Can Dance, we learned what inspired each of the contestants to become a dancer, and my personal favorite story was Will's. When he talked about seeing Patrick Swayze's moves in Dirty Dancing for the first time and wanting to do that too, I could totally relate! The difference between us, though, is that Will went on to be discovered by Debbie Allen, and I went on to . . . recap SYTYCD.

There was hardly an unpleasant word spoken last night (save for the ones after Comfort and Mark's second dance, but more on that later), as all the dancers trotted out their A-game for routine after routine. I did have to cringe, though, when Mary tried to start one of her feedback segments with a bit about finding "Ashton" because she thought she'd been "punked." Oof. that just fell pretty flat. I love Mary when she's sharing actual dance feedback and insight. I just wish she'd leave the comedy to the experts.

But enough about that. Let's chat about who looked adorable trying his hand at hip hop, the best dance of the night, the dancers in danger, and who Nigel thinks has the biggest "bum" in the competition! To see my thoughts, read more.

There was one routine I enjoyed so much I hit rewind and watched it twice: the first dance from Katee and Twitch. That was hands-down the most fun of the night, and I loved the story that went along with it. Plus, Katee was a little Winehouse-esque with the beehive and wing-tipped eyes. Both dancers should feel plenty safe tonight.

Coming in a close second place for me behind Twitch and Katee's contemporary dance was Courtney and Will's samba. On the shallow side, seeing Will move his hips like that was just so hot. They also blew the judges away with their slowed-down hip hop routine to an Alicia Keys song, and Will turned in a truly memorable and amazing solo. I loved that he did something different with that James Brown impersonation - it was definitely unexpected and was the kind of thing that viewers (and voters!) remember.

Joshua and Chelsie are really memorable in the chemistry department. Their personalities not only shine through on the dance floor but they're also the only two whose studio segments I remember clearly. They make a great team, and they're probably safe. Plus Nigel couldn't help but point out Josh's booty size, which can't hurt.

Comfort was pretty lucky to draw hip hop again, and her routine with Mark was entertaining. Mark was pretty cute trying to keep up, and he definitely held his own on stage. Comfort got smacked down a little, though, when Nigel told her she needs choreography because her solo was weak and unfocused. Things got worse for the pair when the judges weighed in on their foxtrot, with Nigel calling it "amateurish" and Mary calling one move the worst she'd ever seen. The two of them ought to be worried.

So what do you think? Has Comfort's luck finally run out, or do you think she has yet another life in this competition? Which pair was your favorite last night? And do you remember any other solo other than Will's?

View 8 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Fox

So You Think You Can Dance: Jessica's Out!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:30:50 -0700

Big news for So You Think You Can Dance fans from Monday's session at the TCA press tour. Jessica King, who slipped into the top 10 last week, is out with an injury, and Comfort's taken her spot in the competition.

Nigel Lythgoe wouldn't be specific about the nature of her injury or the time that it happened - though he said he hopes Jessica herself will be available to do that on the show this week. Comfort hadn't left LA yet when Jessica had to drop out, and she was back in rehearsal as of Monday morning.

In fact, all of the top 10 dancers were in rehearsal, which was a bit of a bummer, since I'd really been hoping to check out Twitchington in the flesh. Instead, we got a foxtrot from Kourtni and Matt (who really are that tall) and a solo from Thayne (who really is that smiley) before Nigel, Mary Murphy, Cat Deely, and Mia Michaels took the stage for some Q&A. Some highlights:

Mary explained that she'd been using her "hot tamale train" expression for years to describe dancers - typically fiery ballroom dancers. The hot tamale train typically doesn't pull into the station during more emotional performances, no matter how much Mary likes them; she's usually too close to crying for that. Also, if some couple gets two tickets on the hot tamale train, that means Mary thinks they're headed for the finale. Now we know.
Mia doesn't think she's a mean judge. "I'm just being very honest," she said. She insisted that in rehearsals she's "Mama Mia" and the dancers look to her for tough love.
When the choreographers work with the dancers, they have an hour and a half on Friday and three hours on Saturday - and that's just about it.

For a little more - including a new pairing Nigel accidentally revealed - just read more.

Courtney and Joshua will be dancing together! Woohoo!
Nigel was still obviously upset when asked about Robert quitting earlier this season. "No dancer should quit," he said. "At any point. Ever." He said he'd be curious to see if Robert backed down from his potential dance battle with Phillip Chbeeb next. Ouch.
Nigel's philosophy on SYTYCD, American Idol, and other shows where the audience votes: "The public often get it wrong. But at the end of the day, they sort of put it right - it's along the way they get things wrong." He used as an example Tamyra Gray getting kicked off Idol but Kelly Clarkson rightfully winning.
Nigel noted that that the past two years, the finale has pitted a brilliant dancer (Travis, Danny) against a brilliant performer (Benji, Sabra) and the performer has come out on top.

Photo courtesy of Fox

So You Think You Can Dance Rundown: The Top 18

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:32:03 -0700

It's week two of So You Think You Can Dance, and we're starting to know the remaining 18 finalists a little bit better. We can see which couples are working well together and which aren't really feeling the chemistry. And we can see who are the judges' favorites (Will's gonna be in the top four, get it?) and which dancers have to struggle for recognition (Matt's kind of adorable; why does Nigel think he lacks personality?).

I never would have guessed that after two weeks of competition, Katee and Joshua would be my favorite couple. But right now, they're two-for-two, having hit another standout routine last night. Their Broadway dance was a total joy - as Nigel said, entertainment at its finest. (Anything that can inspire Nigel to go that crazy with the yelling and the dancing in the aisles has to get my vote.)

Courtney and Gev made up for their subpar disco last week with a contemporary routine that I thought was performed with skill and passion. The judges disagreed about whether the emotion was believable - but I mainly cared about how well they partnered together and how darn cool all those lifts were. I'm starting to think Gev is this year's Dominic: He's a breaker who can turn it on in other styles, and he makes lots of comments about pretty girls. Meanwhile, Chelsie H. and Mark managed to turn their sweet big brother-and-little sister dynamic into a passionate tango with some of the coolest footwork I've seen on the show in a while. And Kherington and Twitch cemented their status as favorites with their waltz, which came complete with a moving story from Jean-Marc. They simply glided in their pure white outfits, and I think they'll get some sympathy votes as well after Mia bizarrely tore into Kherington for her smile. Not that those two need sympathy votes.

Others, though, didn't fare as well. To see who I think is in danger of going home - plus check out photos from all the dances - just read more.

Oh, Susie. The judges ran on and on about how she wasn't living up to expectations - but I don't think many of us at home had such high expectations of her in the first place. She brought so little fire to her salsa, and Marquis didn't, or couldn't, do much to help out. I was hoping she'd surprise me and they'd be able to pull off a tough routine, but no. I think those two are in trouble tonight.

Chelsea T. and Thayne could be joining them in the bottom. The concept of their dance was cool, but it boiled down to a lot of character and not a whole lot of dancing - nothing too impressive compared to what came later. I suspect being first will hurt them, too; a so-so routine with a lukewarm reception from the judges probably puts them in danger. Kourtni and Matt were disappointing this week, too, with a foxtrot that was cute but seemed a little too fake. Last week, I thought Matt let the couple down; this week, Kourtni couldn't quite sell her part. It wouldn't surprise me to see either Comfort and Chris or Jessica and Will in danger of elimination, either. Both couples got hammered for their krump/hip-hop routines not being hard-hitting enough, but if it were up to me, I'd pass Jessica and Will through - mostly because Chris krumping with those hanging-down butt suspenders was sweet, not tough, and because I really wouldn't mind seeing Comfort do a solo.

Which couples are your early favorites? Are there any you think the judges hammered unfairly? And who do you think needs to go home tonight?

View 9 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Fox

TV Tonight: Idol Gives Back Week Begins

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0700

Idol Gives Back, which airs its second annual special this week on Fox, is a curious blend of Hollywood event and fundraising telethon. It's also a good look at what can happen when the biggest TV show in the nation and the biggest names in entertainment come together to ask everyday folks to give. In the first year, the special certainly succeeded, raising $76 million for various charities. This year's goal, according to executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, is even higher.

The work begins tonight, when the top eight American Idol contestants sing songs that inspire them. Last year, the contestants got a reprieve with a surprise non-elimination round during Idol Gives Back, but it doesn't sound like this year will be quite so charitable. Nobody will be eliminated during Wednesday's two-and-a-half-hour special - but there's still an elimination show set for Thursday. But Idol Gives Back shouldn't be about a clever trick or a big twist, Lythgoe told reporters last week. He said:

Idol is Idol; that is always going to be watched, and for some 17-year-old like David Archuleta to come forward and say, hey, give your money because we need it - it isn’t a question of blackmailing an audience; it’s time to inform and educate an audience to realize they should be doing this.

After tonight's performances, the Idol top eight will go on phone duty, taking donations from callers during Wednesday's show and maybe even singing for a few lucky givers.

Part of Idol Gives Back was taped over the weekend, while still more performances will air live on Wednesday. This year's beneficiaries will be American Save the Children, America's Make it Right, Children's Defense Fund, the Children’s Health Fund, Malaria No More, and the Global Fund. How are you feeling about a second year of Idol Gives Back (not to mention the whopping four-and-a-half hours of Idol-related TV this week)? And what inspirational songs would you like to hear tonight? To watch a preview for Idol Gives Back, just read more.

Photo courtesy of Fox

"So You Think You Can Dance": Final Four, Finally

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:31:29 -0700

Well, Nigel Lythgoe's plan to keep spoilers from leaking about the "So You Think You Can Dance" final four worked like a charm, even though the couples in question are well on their way to performing their routines for the finale. The dragged-out wait for results this week only made me more anxious to see which guy and which girl would not be advancing to the finals.

On the girls' side, Lacey was the first to get through to the finals, leaving what I thought was a fairly easy choice between Lauren and Sabra for the final round. The guys' side seemed a bit tougher, with Danny making it through first and the second slot coming down to Neil vs. Pasha. To see who made it in, read more

Sabra claimed the second girls' spot in the finale (no surprise there), but I really wasn't sure where the line would fall on the guys' side. In the end, Pasha was sent home, while Neil advanced to the finals.

I mostly agree with the decision. I don't think Pasha's solos were ever strong enough to earn him the "America's Favorite Dancer" title, and Lauren disappointed me for several weeks (though sadly, I thought she was finally coming into her own). I wish one of the other girls - Sara or even Jaimie - could have had Lacey's spot in the finale, but barring that possibility, I'm satisfied with the results and eager to see what the choreographers cook up for us in the finale.

What about you? Do you agree with the decision? Is there an eliminated dancer you'd most like to bring back? And is anyone else starting to get the feeling that Danny could actually win this thing?

Photo courtesy of Fox

How "So You Think You Can Dance" Kept Its Secret

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:41:41 -0700

This being the Internet, I was sure we'd have spoilers by now about the "So You Think You Can Dance" eliminations. The results show that normally would have aired on Thursday was preempted for football last week, but the show was already taped, so I thought for sure that members of the live audience would be leaking secrets left and right about which four dancers advanced to the finale.

Well, here we are on Monday, the day the delayed results show will air, and nobody (except the dancers and judges, presumably) actually seems to know who got kicked off. How did they do it? Well, it's simple, really - the producers just made the audience leave the room before revealing the actual results.

One account posted on the show's forum on Television Without Pity described the live audience being told each of the top six were moving on to the finals - presumably to get reaction for tonight's show - and then being ushered from the auditorium. From there, fake spoilers have been abundant, including on the show's Wikipedia site, which had to be locked because of the editing frenzy.

You know, I really didn't think Nigel Lythgoe and the producers could control the spoilers, but it seems like they've managed to keep their secret until the show airs tonight at 8 p.m. Well played, Lythgoe. Well played.

Photo courtesy of Fox

TV Tonight: "So You Think You Can Dance"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:28:26 -0700

It's "So You Think You Can Dance" night, which means I finally have an excuse to fill you in on what happened during the show's session at the TCA press tour earlier this week (besides Nigel Lythgoe's comments on "American Idol," that is).

All of the top 10 dancers came to the session, and - even though they were right in the thick of perfecting their routines for this week's show - six of them performed for the group of reporters. Sara and Pasha totally brought down the house with their West Coast swing routine from the other week (pictured above), and Sabra and Dominic were even hotter with that hip hop routine with the chairs than I remembered from TV. We also got to see Jaimie and Danny dance solo.

Speaking of Danny, he talked about what it has been like to end up in the bottom three for several weeks in a row. "It's really difficult in any situation to try to make somebody want you," he said. "I mean, it takes a toll on my emotions, but I try not to focus on that as much as possible."

More fun things from the panel, so read more

The dancers were sitting roughly in boy-girl pairs, so I asked if I could read anything into that for how the pairings will end up this week. Jaimie said the seating order didn't suggest anything about the new couples, but she added that getting a new partner at this stage of the competition is tricky. "After that four weeks, you know your partner so well that when they hand you a new one, you're like, 'Oh, I have to get used to you!'" she said.

Dan Karaty said this was the toughest season to pick contestants to eliminate: "The first few weeks [before], there was always a dancer who stood out and wasn't as good as the others," he said. "It's not that way this year."

Lacey got a question about whether it's good or bad that her brother Benji is a previous winner. "I'm not here to win," she responded. "I'm only here to have the experience portion of it. I try not to compare myself to him because I'm not him."

A couple of other random notes:

One poor out-of-the-loop reporter asked Sara to explain what a "B-girl" was, since he'd always thought the term was slang for hooker. Lacey mimed covering up Sara's bare midriff as she answered that the B really stood for break, Bronx or beat.
Anyone remember Claire, the blonde dancer from the season two auditions who hurt her ankle and was promised a certain trip to Vegas this year? Nigel said she was having a baby, which explains why we haven't seen her in the competition this time around.
Nigel on Neil and Lauren's Sprite-commercial-esque contemporary routine: "I thought it looked like two tadpoles dancing."

Photo courtesy of Fox