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Which American Idol Judge Would You Ditch?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:30:59 -0800

There have been rumors flying recently that Paula Abdul could be on her way out of American Idol to work on other TV projects. Adding fuel to the fire is the addition of a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, which means the panel wouldn't be shorthanded if Paula did take off. Now, her publicist has said the rumor is "absolutely untrue," but it got me thinking. If you could get rid of one of the original three judges, which one would you choose to ditch, and why?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 07:30:05 -0800

Welcome to Caption It, a new game on BuzzSugar! Every other Wednesday, I'll post a funny TV or movie photo here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption; the winner will get a fabulous BuzzSugar T-shirt!

I certainly didn't expect a tie in our first-ever Caption It poll, but that's exactly what happened: Karla Sugar's "What do you mean 'it came from the American Pie soundstage'?" and alynn's "Welcome to Madame Tussauds. Can you spot the real dish?" deadlocked the voters, so in the end, they're both getting BuzzSugar T-shirts!

Now, here's your next challenge, from an audition episode of American Idol:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PST on Monday, Jan. 28 to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun! To see a photo of the BuzzSugar T-shirt, just read more.

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Photo courtesy of Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 12/5

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:33:06 -0800

The Hollywood Reporter has news that Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco have joined Sean Penn for the Harvey Milk biopic, Milk.
The stage musical version of Mary Poppins will begin its U.S. tour in Chicago during the spring of 2009, writes Variety.
Michael Urie of Ugly Betty will host a Miss America special on TLC starting in January; details are at The Futon Critic.
E! Online has news about the tour John C. Reilly will do to promote his mock musical biopic Walk Hard.
Randy Jackson is auditioning hip-hop crews for an upcoming MTV show, TV Guide reports.
According to Variety, Edward Norton will star in the comedic thriller Leaves of Grass.
Dancing With the Stars professional champion Julianne Hough is launching a singing career, Billboard reports.
Old episodes of Pop-Up Video will start airing online via VH1 Classic, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

Source

BuzzSugar at Conan: The Frolf Champ Showed!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:01:46 -0700

Day Two of Late Night With Conan O'Brien at San Francisco's Orpheum theater offered some of the same things as Wednesday's taping: a wildly enthusiastic crowd, dancing Conan and the trumpeter guy who could hold a single note out for so long I feared for his health. In general, I've decided that being a part of a live studio audience is simply So. Much. Fun. It's like a spectator sport with some live music and a natural-born entertainer as your host.

Thursday's guests included Randy Jackson, comedian Patton Oswalt, musical guests Bob Weir and Ratdog (Bob Weir formerly of the Grateful Dead) and - one day late - the Frisbee golf national champion David Feldberg! The hour-long taping was action-packed and super energetic. After witnessing these tapings, I have a newfound appreciation for Conan O'Brien: He has a truly unique talent for entertaining and owning a crowd. It's almost old-fashioned the way he can appeal to a live audience and still be funny when the show is presented in canned form on TV. To check out my highlights from Thursday's show, read more

The series of San Francisco jokes continued, with medical marijuana, the ban on plastic bags and the Tenderloin district being both the city's cultural hub and biggest stain among the top subjects.
Apparently, they held a Conan look-alike contest in downtown San Francisco so the winner of the contest joined Conan on stage. The similarities, both visually and in the way this man adopted Conan's mannerisms were uncanny. As Conan shook the man's hand he said, "I've had nightmares like this." It really was a little eerie.
Randy Jackson comes across as a nice, laid-back, friendly guy. I'd forgotten that he was in Journey, so one of the best parts was when he and Conan sang together to show off Conan's "range." Priceless.

Patton Oswalt was funnier than I'd expected him to be. His comedy has sometimes put me off for being tiresomely snarky, but after Thursday's performance I'm more fond of him. I especially enjoyed his comments about the Go-Cars here in San Francisco, these bright yellow three-wheeled mini-cars you can take around the city for sightseeing. Apparently, a guy tried to convince Patton to rent one by saying that there's an extra seat so he could "pick up a chick," which, if you've ever seen a Go-Car, just isn't going to happen.

In case one didn't understand what it meant that Bob Weir used to be a part of The Grateful Dead, there were screens behind Bob Weir and Ratdog with swirling lava lamp-type images while the band played. Nooowww I get it... hippies!
Frisbee golf looks hard! Frolf national champion David Feldberg showed Conan how to toss the discs at a metal cage/basket thingy with the audience reacting hugely to every miss and every success. It looked like a lot of fun. At one point Conan and Feldberg just gave up and started winging the discs into the audience to the delight of everyone.

Source

BuzzSugar's Going to "Conan"!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 May 2007 16:47:03 -0700

If you're a fan of Conan O'Brien, you know that the comedian's late-night show is on a road trip to San Francisco this week. I was lucky enough to snag tickets to two of the tapings, so I'll be able to bring you the report from inside San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, just down the street from where we Sugar gals work and play. Barring any last-minute changes, here are the guests I'll be seeing:

Wednesday, May 2
Robin Williams
David Feldberg, frisbee golf national champion
Glide Ensemble

Thursday, May 3
Randy Jackson
Patton Oswalt
Bob Weir and RatDog

I've heard the tapings have been great, and I can't wait to see for myself. Check back Thursday for the full report on today's show - and wish me luck sneaking my BlackBerry in!

Source

What Would Make "American Idol" Better?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 06:00:51 -0700

"American Idol" is still crushing everything on TV, and yet people are starting to grumble that this season just isn't very good. Does "Idol" need to be fixed? And if so, what would return it to its former glory?

Snap Judgment: The "American Idol" Girls

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:39:45 -0800

After watching the top 12 "American Idol" girls compete on Wednesday, I'd like to propose a rule: All songs by Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston are banned from the semifinals. All it ever gets you is a judge saying the song was too big for your voice and a chorus of eye rolls from the viewers at home.

Despite the Aretha overload, though, I think it's safe to say the girls are absolutely killing the guys at this point. While there was a bad performance for every good one on Wednesday, the good ones were great - and even the bad ones were rarely dull.

I'm keeping the Paula crazy-ometer at a 4 out of 10. She got gushier with the girls, but overall, she mostly made sense. Also, is Seacrest not closing with "Seacrest out" this year, or am I just missing it?

To see which girls I think are safe and which are headed home, read more

Stephanie Edwards (at right): Boy, did she make a splash. She's smooth, she has presence, she can sing, and she totally attacked her performance - something most contestants can't pull out until a much later round. I feel like less of a fool for picking her as my winner now.

Amy Krebs: OK, she was one of the dull ones. Her performance was just eh, and she seems to have about five notes that sound good. Simon says she has the personality of a candle and that she's too forgettable to win but then goes overboard beating up on her hair and clothes, so maybe she'll get some sympathy votes.

Leslie Hunt: She's the reason behind my proposed Aretha rule, because her "Natural Woman" rendition sounded a lot like karaoke. It didn't help that she had her backup singers join the chorus, thus proving she couldn't pull it off alone.

Sabrina Sloan: I'm not sure what she sang, but it was one of those diva songs with lots of power notes. She did it well, though I don't think she trumped Stephanie. She said she picked her song because after five years of watching "Idol," she's learned that ballads don't work as well as up-tempo songs; she's right, but her blatant calculations make me like her less.

Antonella Barba (at left): I'm getting a distinct Drop Dead Gorgeous-era Denise Richards vibe from her. She "sang" "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and it was excruciating. The judges panned her, and she didn't seem to understand why, which bugged me even more.

Jordin Sparks: She's frighteningly poised for 17. She didn't really settle into her song until the end, but that's just fine; I figure we'll be hearing a lot more from her.

Nicole Tranquillo: I thought she was going to jump through my TV and punch me. That was some aggression! It was brave of her to take on Chaka Khan, especially when she seems so quiet. Randy said the song was "too urban," and I thought she got shrieky in parts, but I'll give her credit for going against type.

Haley Scarnato: I cannot like a girl who sings the Celine Dion song that has Meat Loaf in the video. Just can't do it. She doesn't really have the power to pull it off, and Simon says it sounded like a lounge singer at a fancy hotel. Well, at least it was a fancy hotel.

Melinda Doolittle (at right): I'd love her for her facial expressions alone; I had the most fun watching her of anyone all night, save maybe for Stephanie. She has a strong voice, and it's obvious that she's a professional.

Alaina Alexander: OK, I propose another rule: If you're going to choose a rock song, you'd better rock. Her version of the Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket" actually made me long for ScarJo's karaoke performance in Lost in Translation, which is to say it was pretty weak; I actually thought she'd run out of breath.

Gina Glocksen: She is capable of rocking, but instead she sang "All By Myself," which ... no. It was fairly dull until the last 30 seconds, when she really turned it on. She got sassy with Simon about whether she'd hit the power notes, but my untrained ear thought she got it.

Lakisha Jones: Singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - gutsy or tacky? Discuss. The judges, Simon in particular, are ready to anoint her the next Idol, but I'm not buying it yet; there's no denying she has a great voice, though.

Who Should Go: Antonella and Amy

Who Will Go: This is tough. I'd guess Amy and Alaina, but Haley and Leslie aren't safe either. I'd be surprised if any of those four made the top 12.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Snap Judgment: The "American Idol" Guys

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:55:07 -0800

The guys kicked off the first performance week of "American Idol" on Tuesday, and while there were a few truly awful performances, I don't think anybody really distinguished himself from the pack in terms of greatness. I would guess that the fan favorites who had weak showings will get another chance, while some of the less well-known (and marginally less-awful) guys will go home instead.

A couple of general things:

Did anyone else think the tiny, theater-in-the-round stage was bizarre? I wonder if the reason nobody really loosened up the whole night was that they were afraid of tumbling off the edge.
I'd put the Paula crazy-ometer at about a 4 out of 10. She actually critiqued some of the contestants, but she also had a few moments of mindless babbling and that odd breast-rubbing moment after Sundance performed. (More on that later.)

To hear my thoughts on the top 12 and see who I think is heading home, read more

Rudy Cardenas (at right): Does anyone else think he looks suspiciously like Gob from "Arrested Development"? He did a fairly karaoke-ish version of "Free Ride." Randy called it corny, Simon said it wasn't unique, and I agree with both of them.

Brandon Rogers: He sang Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," and ... wow, I just got distracted by his blindingly white shoes. He was fairly safe and boring, though I do think he has a great voice. He'd better wow me next time, though.

Sundance Head: Will someone please explain the appeal of Sundance? I so don't get it. He looked awkward singing "Nights in White Satin," and I'm not sure he hit any right notes. Simon equated it to "a dad at a wedding." Then Paula gave herself an impromptu chest massage. I have no idea.

Paul Kim: Apparently, being barefoot makes him feel free, but he sure didn't really loosen up here. He sang "Careless Whisper," and it was a pretty personality-free performance. Randy thinks he has potential; Simon suggested he put his damn shoes on.

Chris Richardson (at left): Ah, our fake Timberlake (Fakelake? Timberfake?). He sang "I Don't Want to Be" with a lot of robotic hand motions, and I'm not sure he hit a single note in the melody, but Paula called it a great arrangement. One person's "arrangement" is another person's "making it up," I guess.

Nick Pedro: He was really not very good, kind of warbly and dull. Weirdly, Simon liked him, while Randy and Paula weren't feeling it.

Blake Lewis: Not a beatbox to be found in this performance, and I'm glad to discover he can actually sing. Simon said his rendition of "Somewhere Only We Know" sounded contemporary; I thought he seemed uncomfortable. Then again, maybe I'm just blinded by my love for him. And his sweater vest.

Sanjaya Malakar: If we've learned one thing from six seasons of "American Idol," it's that teenagers shouldn't sing Stevie Wonder. All the judges said it was dreary, but he's cute, so I bet he gets another chance.

Chris Sligh (at right): I have no idea what song he was singing, but he was obviously having fun, even though the performance was a little like a college open mic night. If I'd known how much support he already had, I definitely would have put him in my top 12.

Jared Cotter: He sang that Brian McKnight "Back at One" song (my notes say "hey! he can count!") that sends my boyfriend into a fit of junior high reminiscence. He's really smooth, though not the most exciting performer. I'd like him to stick around long enough to sing a song that's not about trying to get a woman into bed.

A.J. Tabaldo: He was a little cheesy with his popped collar and bad party dancing, but the singing wasn't bad. Simon called it a "theme park" performance but also said he might not have given A.J. enough credit before. I might not have, either.

Phil Stacey: Finally, a guy who's not afraid to belt one out. Randy called his "I Could Not Ask for More" the best vocal of the night, and while that might be an exaggeration, I think I underestimated Phil. I know I underestimated the extent of his baldness, because wow.

Who Should Go: Nick Pedro and Sundance Head

Who Will Go: Nick and Paul, but Rudy could be in trouble, too.

Photos courtesy of Fox

TV Tonight: "American Idol"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:30:04 -0800

It happens every year. I spend a month doing my best to hide from the "American Idol" auditions, swearing I won't be sucked in this time around ... and then I find myself scheduling my evenings around the performance episodes. I get unreasonably attached to contestants, check the stats on Dial Idol, and start to feel like choosing the next great American Idol is somehow my responsibility.

So for me, tonight is game time. The top 12 male singers will perform for the first time, followed Wednesday by the top 12 women. On Thursday, we'll find out which of the real "Idol" hopefuls will be the first to go. If you, like me, are into uneducated snap judgments, be sure to fill out our handy "American Idol" ballot. And to see who Pop and I think will make the final dozen, read more

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:50:17 -0700

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and the season premieres of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with Amazing Race and Cold Case
NBC has Sunday Night Football
FOX is all new with The Simpsons, Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad
AMC is new with Mad Men
Food Network is new with Food Network Challenge and Iron Chef America
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bored to Death and Entourage
Lifetime is new with Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives
E! is new with Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami and Reality Hell
MTV is new with Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew, Popzilla and P. Diddy's Star Maker
Showtime is new with Dexter and the season premiere of Californication