Fan Fare

Who is bound for the “Idol” finale?

Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai sang their swan songs Wednesday night on “American Idol,” meaning the singing competition lost its two most uniquely named contestants in one fell swoop.

Nostalgia for “Little” and “Anoop Dogg” aside, their joint offing was hardly unexpected. Lil, a 23-year-old mother of three from Memphis, struggled to gain the judges’ respect through most of her time in the show’s Top 13. Desai, a 21-year-old from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, meanwhile, was among the show’s Bottom Three vote-getters for four straight weeks.

Now, the show is down to five singers, and the big question is which two will make it to the season finale. Adam Lambert has emerged as the frontrunner, but who could challenge him?

Allison Iraheta‘s chances appear slim, after having thrice landed in the Bottom Three, including this week. She is also by far the show’s youngest contestant, at just 16. But could Allison benefit from being the only woman left standing?

Matt Giraud also seems unlikely to make it, having been eliminated from the show twice already by viewers (and each time saved by the judges) — once in the Top 36, and once last week. The fact that he is still around, however, means he must have something going for him. He could prove to have nine lives, after all.

Kris Allen, the show’s “pretty boy” contestant, is a big hit with women viewers. The guitar-strumming Arkansan’s performances, however, have also won huge praise from the judges nearly every week. To use an “Idol” word, he could be among the most “commercial” of the remaining contestants.

Danny Gokey, like Lambert, has been a frontrunner since his first “Idol” audition in Kansas City. The widower and church choir director, whose personal story has pulled at viewers’ heartstrings, is also considered among the best vocalists left in the competition.

Adam Lambert keeps “Idol” judges entranced

Before he went on stage, the camera swooped down on “American Idol” contestant Adam Lambert as he stood beaming in the crowd. But as usual, Lambert was more than just a face in the crowd on Tuesday night, as he again wowed the judges and solidified his frontrunner status.

It was Disco Week on “Idol,” and true to the theme Lambert sang the Bee Gees hit “If I Can’t Have You,” effortlessly hitting the high notes and inspiring judge Paula Abdul to gush that his performance made her feel his “pain.” Abdul was not alone. All the judges said they loved the performance, with alpha judge Simon Cowell commending Lambert for surprising him by picking a Bee Gees song.

“I would have put $10,000 you were going to do Donna Summer, but that’s what’s so good about you, you did something we weren’t expecting,” Cowell said.

Speaking of betting, it seems the smart money is on Lambert. Online betting firm BookMaker.com, which usually confines itself to sports gambling, said on Tuesday that the “Idol” title appears to be Lambert’s to lose, if he does not slip up.

At the other end of the spectrum, embattled singer Lil Rounds continued to leave the judges unimpressed. She sang the Chaka Khan hit “I’m Every Woman,” and although her performance was energetic and confident, judge Randy Jackson faulted her for a lack of vocal control. Lil said that she had a good time with the song, which only gave Cowell an opening to tear her down.

“I’m glad you had fun, because I think this is going to be the last week we’re ever going to see you,” Cowell said.

Cowell had a similarly biting critique for Anoop Desai‘s version of the Donna Summer song “Dim All the Lights.”

Can “Idol’s” Adam Lambert be stopped?

Seven singers are still vying for this year’s “American Idol” crown following Wednesday’s offing of Scott MacIntyre, but already there is no longer a pack of frontrunners. Rather, there is one.

Adam Lambert has outshone many of his rivals on this season of “Idol,” winning over fans with his unique showmanship and mindblowing vocal range. Since he entered the show’s Top 12, only one performance has received so-so reviews from the judges, and that was during the notoriously difficult Country Week. Remember Lambert’s “Ring of Fire”?

This week, Lambert’s special shine all but transformed into utter domination of his competitors. Not only did his Tuesday night rendition of the Gary Jules version of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” receive a shocking standing ovation from persnickety judge Simon Cowell, but Jules himself praised Lambert publicly on Wednesday, calling the performance “fantastic.”

At the same time, some of Lambert’s top rivals appear to be struggling. Diva Lil Rounds ended up in the Bottom Three on Wednesday after several weeks of negative comments from the judges, and reviews have been mixed for performances by Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen and Anoop Desai.

To be fair, Danny Gokey is still a formidable opponent to Lambert. It’s up for debate, however, as to whether Gokey can stand out as much as the offbeat Lambert in voters’ minds.

So can the Adam Lambert train be stopped at this point? And if so, who will run him off the rails?

Simon Cowell becomes a stand-up guy

It’s an unusual night on “American Idol” when the normally sharp-tongued judge Simon Cowell offers a contestant a standing ovation, which is exactly what he did at the end of Tuesday’s show in reaction to Adam Lambert’s performance. Granted that Cowell had to offer succinct praise because the show was out of time, but he was definitely acting out of character when he stood up and gushed over Lambert’s singing.

Lambert chose the 1982 hit “Mad World” by Tears for Fears, a selection much less well known than the songs other contestants performed. This week, the Idols had to pick a song from the year they were born. The judges were tough on a couple of them over their song choice, with Lil Rounds getting the worst of it.

The judges slammed her for a lack of originality on her version of the 1984 Tina Turner hit “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Randy Jackson said: “You can do a lot of stuff but Tina is not you. And that year, there’s an amazing bunch of songs you could have sung that would have been really you.”

Kris Allen also got slammed by the judges for his version of the Don Henley song “All She Wants To Do Is Dance.” Cowell was not his usual creative self in criticizing Allen, falling back on his standby disses of “indulgent,” “boring” and “forgettable.” That prompted host Ryan Seacrest to joke, “Simon, your critique was indulgent and predictable.” Cowell responded the way he often does when Seacrest jibes him, saying “Ryan, Ryan, Ryan,” as if he can keep Seacrest in line. It’s clear that Cowell has the most power on the judging panel, but often his exchanges with Seacrest seem a bit like verbal footsie.

As usual, contestants Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta pleased the judges with their singing, and this week they avoided the daring outfit choices that the judges criticized them for in past weeks. Gokey sang “Stand By Me” and Iraheta performed “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” with her version of the Bonnie Raitt hit prompting Jackson to compare the 16-year-old to Season 1 “American Idol” champion Kelly Clarkson.

Matt Giraud impressed the judges with his take on the Stevie Wonder classic “Part-Time Lover,” as did Anoop Desai with his rendition of 1980s hitmaker Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.”

At the other end of the spectrum, aside from Lil Rounds the judges also condemned the performance of Scott MacIntyre, who sang “The Search is Over” by Survivor. Will either Lil, Kris or Scott be voted out on Wednesday? And depending on who loses, will the judges use their new save power, or save the save for another week?

“Idol” Top 9: Cowell zingers and a turnaround for Scott

“American Idol” is already down to nine singers, and as the contestants have honed their performances, judge Simon Cowell has refined his famous one-liners. This week he was in top form, sparing only a select few from his special brand of humiliation.

Here were his top proclamations of the night for each contestant:

Anoop Desai, who performed Usher’s “Caught Up”

Simon: “It was a little bit like a college boy wanting to be a pop star and failing. It actually gave me a headache.”

Megan Joy, who sang Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low.”

Simon: “All of the things we liked about you are disappearing.”

(In fairness, Randy Jackson had the most devastating line for Megan: “It was like watching paint dry”)

A night for crayons and Motown on “American Idol”

Earlier this week, “American Idol” judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson said on late night program “The Tonight Show” that they expect a male contestant to win the singing competition this year.

Well, they’re the experts and on Wednesday night it was male contestant Adam Lambert who brought the heat, eliciting a standing ovation from celebrity mentor Smokey Robinson for his version of “The Tracks of My Tears” (which, incidentally, Robinson also wrote).

Then, judge Kara DioGuardi stood up herself and called it “one of the best performances of the night.” Cowell himself went so far as to say it was the night’s best performance.

Unlike last week, when Lambert soured the judges during “Country Week” with an eccentric Middle Eastern-inspired version of the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire,” he sang his Motown song with a restraint that cunningly played down the soaring crescendos of Robinson’s composition. Lambert’s acoustic version of the song pleased all the judges.

But showing that women have something going for them this season, 16-year-old contestant Allison Iraheta countered with her version of “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” by The Temptations, mixing some staccato vocals with her gravelly-voiced soul.

“You sing like you’ve been singing for 400 years,” DioGuardi said, in an attempt to dispel any lingering doubts about Iraheta’s maturity. “That is from God, you can’t teach that,” the judge said.

It was Motown week on “American Idol,” and next to Motown singing legend Smokey Robinson sat the 79-year-old Berry Gordy, founder of the record label named after Detroit’s auto industry.

On “Idol,” country night takes down frontrunners

“Country Week” is always a mixed bag on “American Idol”, alternately filling viewers with anticipation and dread.

Tuesday night’s tribute to the “Grand Ole Opry,” with country icon Randy Travis as guest mentor, certainly didn’t buck that trend, taking several of the show’s frontrunners down a notch and allowing dark horses to emerge.

“Anoop Dogg” delivered the night’s biggest surprise when his version of Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind” received universal praise from the judges. And yes, that included Simon Cowell, who last week said Anoop didn’t deserve his coveted spot in the Top 13.

“Glad to have you back, Anoop,” Cowell said.

Kris Allen was also a fave, earning the title “Tender Dog” from Randy Jackson for his version of the Garth Brooks ballad “To Make you Feel My Love.”

Matt Giraud’s rendition of Carrie Underwood’s “So Small” also made him one to watch in the competition, the judges said.

“Everyone’s been talking about Danny and Adam,” Cowell said to Giraud after his performance “I think you are quite similar to Danny. Tonight, I think you outsang him.”

“American Idol” gets personal with top 13

Now that “American Idol” has eliminated the dross, it has 13 top contestants and the reality singing competition is in full swing.

What that means is the judges get more hyperbolic about how seriously everyone has to take the competition, and the video packages on the contestants get more personal, taking viewers into their homes and giving mini biographies on each one.

Tonight, viewers learned that blind contestant Scott MacIntyre has been that way since birth, and that his sister is also visually impaired. Lil Rounds was once forced out of her home by a tornado. Oil industry roughneck Michael Sarver was revealed to have grown up without a father. Jorge Nunez told the camera that since his grandfather died, his large family has drifted apart (even though all 40 of them still pack into the same house) and that his run on “Idol” has brought everyone together.

Because a lot of the competition on “Idol” revolves around contestants’ “likeability,” the video packages play an important part, especially if a singer has a sympathetic story.

On Tuesday’s show, “Idol” had the pop star wannabes each choose Michael Jackson songs to perform. The show’s theme was good timing for Jackson, 50, who announced his comeback on Thursday, pledging to play 10 dates in London this year after living the life of a recluse since his 2005 acquittal on charges of child abuse.

As far as the singing went, Anoop Desai became the first contestant to earn the unanimous ire of the judges with his version of “Beat It.” Even the panel’s easiest judge, Paula Abdul, took a shot at the contestant, who calls himself Anoop Dogg. “I think this song is untouchable and it belongs to the consummate artist, and anything else sounds karaoke,” Abdul said.

Simon Cowell went so far as to say that he regretted last week’s last-minute decision to keep Desai in the competition as the extra, 13th contestant.

13 becomes Anoop Desai’s lucky number on “Idol”

And then there were……13??

The judges expanded the “American Idol” top 12 to include Anoop Desai and make it a top 13 for the first time in a suspense-generating stunt.

 But Tatiana Del Toro, with all her tears, ambition, drama and unpredictability, will have to find a stage other than “Idol” to emote on. Is the show better off?

Instead, we get Anoop, who has emerged as Mr. Likeability with the judges. But does he have the same rapport with viewers, who eliminated him in week one in favor of Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver.

 Along with Anoop, the judges also brought back Jasmine Murray, Matt Giraud and Megan Joy Corkrey.  Bringing them back is a way for the judges to correct the tyranny of the “Idol” majority, but do they have the chops to survive without a helping hand from the judges?

It’s a diverse line up, with Anoop, blind singer Scott McIntyre and Puerto Rican Jorge Nunez, along with teens Allison Iraheta and Jasmine.  Paula Abdul told Iraheta, 16, she reminded her of season one champion Kelly Clarkson.

Clarkson herself will perform on “Idol” next week when the competition at last gets down to serious business. Rapper Kanye West will also make a guest appearance in what could be a sign of the star quality to come over the next few weeks.

Did the judges do right by “Idol” comeback hopefuls?

Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre and Jorge Nunez moved on to the next round on “American Idol” Wednesday, but none of those names came as a surprise and the focus moved to the eight contestants who will compete in next week’s “wildcard” round.

Did the judges pick the right contestants?

 The always-dramatic Tatiana Del Toro immediately burst into tears again at getting a second shot while Anoop Desai, who Cowell called “original, likeable, talented”, looked stunned when his name was called.

The judges also brought back Megan Joy Corkrey, with judge Simon Cowell saying she was one of their favorites from the audition rounds and that it came as a surprise when the bubbly blond was eliminated in week two.

 When the “American Idol” crew reconvenes on Thursday night, the judges will make their pick of the top three from the eight. The wildcard round — brought back this season after being left out for a few years – gives the judges a chance to rectify mistakes made by the voters.

Did they hit the mark, and who should now go through to join the Top 12?