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Entertainment behind the scenes
“Idol’s” Matt Giraud feelin’ the love
He may have lost the race to become the ”American Idol” but Matt Giraud says he couldn’t have wished for a better way to go out of the TV singing competition than with his rendition of ”My Funny Valentine” in jazz week.
“Going out with Simon (Cowell) calling you brilliant and comparing you to Nat King Cole is pretty much the best way you could go…I was at complete peace with myself, ” Giraud, 23, told reporters on Thursday after being voted off the show .
The dueling piano player said that being saved by the judges from elimination two weeks ago under the new “judges save” rule introduced this year, was something he will always remember.
“I’ve never felt so much love in the room. It was one of the coolest moments of my life…I really didn’t know that people felt that passionately about me,” he said.
“Idol” goes topsy-turvy as Adam hits a speed bump
“American Idol” golden boy Adam Lambert hit a big speed bump on Wednesday night after he landed among the show’s Bottom Three vote-getters for the first time this season.
And, just when it seemed lone woman contestant Allison Iraheta was standing on thin ice, she skated handily into the next round.
On “Idol,” it’s a man’s world this season
On “American Idol,” it appears to be a man’s world after all.
It’s no secret that male contestants like Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey have trounced their female counterparts in the singing competition since early this season. And, with just one woman in the show’s Top 5, viewers on Tuesday night were left wondering if the final four contestants would all be men for the first time in “Idol” history.
It’s been a long time since two women — Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo — competed for the “Idol” title in the finale of the show’s third season in 2004.
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.
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.
Jennifer Hudson sings of love in “Idol” return
A lot has happened to Jennifer Hudson since she last took the stage on “American Idol.” In her highly anticipated return to the show on Wednesday night’s broadcast, Hudson sang “If This Isn’t Love” from her Grammy-winning 2008 debut album.
If the performance was not as poignant as her power ballad “You Pulled Me Through” during the Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, it was a moment to be savored for a singer who has experienced life’s highs and lows since she finished a disappointing seventh in 2004. Ironically, when producers this season introduced a rule allowing them to save one contestant from elimination, Simon Cowell mentioned Hudson’s early exit as a justification for giving him and his fellow judges veto power over America’s votes. And on the same night that viewers saw Hudson’s performance, they saw the judges use their save power to rescue Matt Giraud.
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”?
“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.”
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.
