Question: I was watching American Idol last night, but as usual, every time I tried to call, I couldn't get through because the lines were busy. I'm not obsessed enough with the show to try more than a few times, so my question is: How can American Idol claim to ouster people with the fewest votes, when it seems like half the votes aren't even being counted because the lines are busy?! Is it possible that they're actually getting it wrong week after week? (Although, to be fair, I'm OK with everyone who has left so far — except for Mandisa!)
Answer: This question comes up every season, perhaps less this year than in earlier seasons. The voting procedure and the actual results tally are easily the most controversial aspects of the show, and I don't have a good answer on how one could possibly gauge their accuracy. (This week I actually placed some calls as an experiment on Tuesday night to see if they'd go through — also because I thought the judges were unnecessarily harsh to Katharine
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Despite some rockin' country (or is it countrified rock?) performances, North Carolinian Bucky Covington bottomed out last week on Fox's American Idol (Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET) despite serving up a solid spin on Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls." "I'd rather leave on a high note than a low note," Bucky shared the day after his swan song. "If I'm not going to win it, eighth is just as good as fourth to me, do you know what I mean?"
One of the many ladies surely sad to see Bucky say goodbye is none other than Paula Abdul, who was often spied boogying and b
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American IdolGeorge Huff was in the house, but these off-key performances probably removed the smile from his face for the first time ever. I did actually enjoy Taylor and was freaked out to be in agreement with Paula Abdul — Taylor is really great when he just stands there and sings. Mandisa wasn't at her best, but vocally she was still miles above the others. Yes, Simon Cowell, we know the "song isn't for you." If it were, it would be called "Damn You," not "Praise You." Paris definitely had the "attitude" part of "Work It Out" down, and she managed a decent vocal while doing the patented Beyoncé booty dance. Bucky was OK — though the band drowned him out a bit, he picked a good song
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Will wonders never cease? This week, two of the least deserving contestants in recent reality-TV history got the boot: the obnoxious, repellent, incompetent Brent on The Apprentice and the chirpy, twerpy Kevin on American Idol. They should never have made it on these shows in the first place. But since we usually can't depend on common sense to reign on shows like these, it's worth cheering when it happens. (It would have been a swell hat trick if the woefully insecure, gratingly unworthy Gina had been eliminated from America's Next Top Model this week as well, after her runway freak-out over the glittery cockroach accessories. But there's always next week.)
And now w
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American IdolFifties night was far kinder to the wannabes than Stevie Wonder night was last week. And the evening clearly belonged to Mandisa. Wow... just wow. A note to Paula Abdul: No woman wants to be compared to a horse. Paris thrived vocally on "Fever," but she's so young that the "vamp" thing didn't work so well for her. To quote the cinema classic and '50s-themed flick Grease, "she's too pure to be pink."
For a minute I was so excited to see Live on stage doing "I Alone." But then I realized it was Chris, stopping once again in the '90s for inspiration instead of heading to the '50s like everyone else. He's always great, but I'm waiting for Simon to coax Chris out
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