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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “Nine Finalists Compete”

By PETER BROWN 03/20/2013

Janelle Arthur performs the Beatles on AMERICAN IDOL | (c) 2013 Frank Micelotta/FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: March 20, 2013 It was a mild shocker on the elimination of Curtis Finch Jr. last week on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL. But after the women kicked the crap out of the men in the first round, it wasn’t that much of a surprise to see a dude go. So it’s week 2 and nine karaoke kids are left singing for America’s vote. And guess what, it is Beatles night … again …sigh. Can […]Read On »

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AMERICAN IDOL Recap: Curtis Finch Jr. Kicked Off, 9 left

By PETER BROWN 03/15/2013

Curtis Finch Jr is eliminated on AMERICAN IDOL Season 12 | (c) 2013 Michael Becker/FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: March 14, 2013 It was decision time on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, as we get the first of the eliminations of the final contestants. Of course, by now you know that Curtis Finch Jr. was first to be kicked off with Devin Velez and Paul Jolly also in the bottom. Before we go there, however, there was a host of filler. I won’t bore you with the details of Phillip Phillips singing, or Bon […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “Top 10 Perform Live”

By PETER BROWN 03/14/2013

Amber Holcomb performs on AMERICAN IDOL | (c) 2013 Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: March 7, 2013 It was traffic that may have grabbed the headlines on the opening night of the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, thanks to the tardiness of judge Nicki Minaj, but the real question is will the boys be able to keep up with what seems to be a very strong contingent of women singers this season. The opening competition of the Top 10 focused on songs that previous IDOL winners have done – whether […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – SEASON 12 – “Finalists Announced”

By PETER BROWN 03/08/2013

Lazaro Arbos makes it into the Top 10 on AMERICAN IDOL | (c) 2013 Fox/Michael Becker

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: March 7, 2013 It was decision time on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, as the Top 10 performers are chosen by America and the finals begin next week. In case you missed this week’s performances, I recapped the women and men. I loved the Seacrest opened the show trying to prove how “dynamic” this season was because they had more votes than they did last season at this point. Of course, this is out there […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “2nd 10 Semifinalists Perform”

By PETER BROWN 03/07/2013

Charlie Askew performs on AMERICAN IDOL | (c) 2013 Michael Becker/FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: March 6, 2013 After an up and down battle between the ladies in the first part of the Top 20 performing on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, the biggest question about tonight is will Keith Urban love every single performance and will Mariah Carey actually say anything worthwhile. It appears as if I might have been wrong about Nicki Minaj. If last night is any indication as to how things are going to be with […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “1st 10 Semifinalists Perform”

By PETER BROWN 03/05/2013

Breanna Steer performs on AMERICAN IDOL Season 12 | (c) 2013 Michael Becker/FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: Feb. 27, 2013 Finally, America gets involved on the world’ greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, as we are down to the Top 10 chicks and Top 10 dudes that make up the finals. Does anyone care is a good question to ask given the bottoming out of the ratings but we’ll just put that on the back burner for the duration. First up is the ladies of the competition, the next night will be the dudes and […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “Semifinalist Round 3”

By PETER BROWN 03/01/2013

Breanna Steer in the Sudden Death Round of AMERICAN IDOL | (c) 2013 Michael Becker / FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Network: Airs on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm Original Telecast: Feb. 27, 2013 It was more of the live performances to decide who would make up the Top 20 on the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL. Admittedly, I have watched only bits and pieces of this year’s show, as it turns out I’m not the only one that isn’t tuning in. IDOL is at its lowest point in terms of ratings in more than a decade (when the show was just into its second year run). […]Read On »

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TV Review: AMERICAN IDOL – Season 12 – “Audition No. 1” – Season Premiere

By PETER BROWN 01/17/2013

Gurprett Singh Sarin auditions on AMERICAN IDOL "Audition #1" | (c) 2013 Michael Becker / FOX

Stars: Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Maria Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Seacrest Airs: Wednesday and Thursdays on Fox @ 8 pm Original Telecast: Jan. 16, 2013 This is the worst time of the year for me. Football is slowly coming to an end. We have at least another two months of winter. All the major holidays are far away. And, yes, the world’s greatest karaoke competition, AMERICAN IDOL, is back on the air. Yes, time for the most popular of the talent shows to once again give us a healthy dose of overexposure, bad auditions and not enough actual good singing. […]Read On »

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News: New AMERICAN IDOL judge Nicki Minaj says she’s not looking for a rap IDOL – TCA 2012

By CARL CORTEZ 01/08/2013

AMERICAN IDOL Season 12 judge Nicki Minaj | ©2012 Fox/Michael Becker

With AMERICAN IDOL adding new judges for Season 12 with diva Mariah Carey, country crooner Keith Urban and rap-pop princess Nicki Minaj, the show is going to be more eclectic than ever. At today’s Fox’s Winter TCA 2013 session, Minaj even discussed what being a judge on IDOL means to her and how serious she takes it. “Even up until the last day, before I had to sign the contract, I was still not a 100 percent sold,” says Minaj. “AMERICAN IDOL is so big, you can’t do this unless you commit fully. I realized I made a lot of […]Read On »

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TV Review: THE X FACTOR – Season 2 premiere – “Auditions No. 1” (Austin and San Francisco)

By CARL CORTEZ 09/13/2012

Britney Spears, Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid are the judges of THE X FACTOR - Season 2 | ©2012 Fox/Nino Munoz

Stars: Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato Network: Fox, airs Wednesdays and Thursdays Original Telecast: September 12, 2012 Well, here’s a big surprise – THE X FACTOR Season 2 is actually pretty damn good. In fact, it’s the show THE X FACTOR should have been in Season 1. Yes, there are many tropes of the genre still hanging around that prove to be annoying (like purposely bad singers allowed on stage), but with a refreshed judging panel and a different approach in showcasing talent, THE X FACTOR is starting to feel more like an original show called THE […]Read On »

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