Three month into this. Who has overstayed their welcome?
Has it really been three months (as Ryan Seacrest mentioned)? It feels much longer.
45 million votes came in (up from last week).
Group sing tribute to Diamond: is it me or do these things get more and more uncomfortable to watch with each passing week? Not since Up With People has pop music felt so...generic. I actually feel sorry for these kids.
With mere minutes to go in the results show, Cristian de la Fuente finally revealed the extent of his Monday night arm injury: a ruptured tendon. Though his doctors said it will require surgery to repair, de la Fuente said he is delaying the surgery, especially after he and partner Cheryl Burke were saved to dance another week.
As predicted here, Shannon Elizabeth was voted off, after ending up in the "bottom two" alongside Marissa Jaret Winokur and her partner Tony Dovolani. Go figure. Marissa had her best night so far on Monday with two exceptional dances. Again, it comes down to fan base and she just may not have enough fans out there to carry her past next week. Too bad. She's shown more spirit and dedication and spunk than most of the other celebs this season.
In a downright "this really stinks" move, the judges acquiesced to the competitors' constant whining and bitching by announcing that starting next week, the dancers may include one "lift" per dance as long as it's integral to the dance they are performing. Lifts are a big no-no in professional ballroom competitions, and have been the bane of many a contestant in every season of "Dancing" including this one (Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska were penalized Monday night for using a lift, by accident, in their routine). Why not make the rule change effective next season? How would lifts have affected the judging up to this point? Would it have helped competitors now long gone? Would it have changed the current standings on the leader board?
And what was with Samantha Harris' Medusa-like 'do? Clearly a case of big hair gone wild.
And let's hear it for Def Leppard, who turned in two electrifying performances, first with "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and later with "Nine Lives " off their new CD (released today) "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge." Totally surreal moment but totally cool. They sounded great!
With just three more weeks of competition in the season, "Dancing with the Stars" changed the rules tonight, with the announcement by head judge Len Goodman that the couples can now include one lift in their routines if it's in keeping with the integrity of the dance they're performing.
In the past, couples were penalized one point if a dance was included in the routine (it's a big no-no in professional competitions, it seems). Jason Taylor and partnery Edyta Sliwinska suffered the penalty Monday night when her tiny talented toes failed to touch earth during one elegant spin.
Why change the rules with just three to go? What if that rule change would have helped one of the other competitors, given them an edge in the scoring early on, who are now long gone? Franky, to change the rules at the 5-yard line just plain stinks.
Brooke White pulls it together for "I Am...I Said."
"That is one of the tougher ones to sing," Jackson said. "Nice job."
"I really, really hated the first song. it was like a girls night out at a karaoke bar," Cowell said. "This was the Brooke we like. It was a million times better than the first song."
Archuleta continues to implode with another boring performance, this time "America." I'm longing for the days of Kristy Lee Cook. She would have known how to milk this cheese loaf for all it's worth.
"It was absolutely the right choice. Check. Check. Check," Cowell said.
Syesha Mercardo is last with "Thank the Lord For the Night Time."
There's some pitch problems, but girl looks like she's trying to make the most of what is probably her limited time left on the "Idol" stage.
"You've finally realized who you are," Jackson said.
"First song...that vulnerable side is beautiful. Second song showed a different side," Abdul said.
"This is officially the stra
"What you demonstrated again is you are a very good actress slash singer," Cowell said. "I think you might be in trouble tonight."
I think Cook and Mercado were the knock outs in round one.
Jason Castro gets soulful with "September Morn." It's palatable in an "easy listening radio" kind of way.
Jackson says "It was just ok."
"You need to get out of your comfort zone."
"We don't recognize you. You're not the person we put through to this competition," Cowell said. "There was no attempt to make the arrangement your own."
David Cook is looking more and more like the one to beat with "All I Really Need Is You."
"I'm a huge David Cook fan right now," Jackson says.
"I feel like I'm already looking at the American Idol," Abdul says.
"I thought the first song was ok and the second song was brilliant," Cowell said.
Archuleta is a little boring on "Sweet Caroline." The song never builds much.
Diamond asks Syesha Mercado for a hug (kind of creepy, Neil) and says he was impressed. She's next with "Hello Again." She's terrific. Which means she'll be in the bottom two and probably voted off.
I'm not digging the straight Farrah hair, though.
Randy Jackson thought David Cook and Syesha Mercado were in the zone.
Paula Abdul thaught Castro sang twice and liked the second song better.
Left off the fact that Neil Diamond was the first male recipient of the Razzie (the anti-Oscar) for the worst performance for one of his "greatest achievements," the 1980 flop "The Jazz Singer"
Jason Castro is the first up with "Forever in Blue Jeans"
"I think he'll bring them both off very well," Diamond says.
Even his fans will agree, Castro doesn't have the strongest vocals of the group. The song doesn't do him any favors.
God bless the folks at TMZ.com. They are again first with the songlist for tonight's "American Idol"
It's down to the final five. Neil Diamond mentors and the kids perform his work.
Brooke White: "I Am...I Said" and "I'm a Believer"
Jason Castro: "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn"
David Archuleta: "Sweet Caroline" and *cringe* "America"
Syesha Mercado: "Thank the Lord For the Night Time" and "Hello Again"
David Cook: "I'm Alive" and "All I Really Need Is You"
Alas, it was only a matter of time. People magazine is reporting that "Dancing" pro Karina Smirnoff and her one-time celeb partner Mario Lopez have parted ways. The magazine cites a reputable source for the news of the breakup.
According to People.com:
"The couple, who met during 'Dancing’s' third season, never publicly acknowledged their relationship despite the fact that the pair were living together in Lopez’s Los Angeles home. A source tells PEOPLE Smirnoff is moving out of Lopez’s digs.
Smirnoff, who is now competing on Dancing’s sixth season with R&B star Mario, has been spotted recently with E! Entertainment personality Michael Yo. The two were seen dancing and canoodling at a recent event at Hollywood eatery Beso. " (SOURCE: People.com)
Lopez is keeping himself occupied on the East coast these days, starring on Broadway in "A Chorus Line."
Yo might be wondering, who is Michael Yo?
He's a "Hollywood expert" according to, well, Michael Yo.
From his E!Online bio, this little nugget should give you lots of insight into the handsome celebrity reporter:
"What's the Deal with My Name: I am the half-black brother with the Korean mother. My mom wanted her maiden name in my full name because she said she worked too hard pushing me out not to have her name in mine. Funny, it all worked out."
As reported last night, Cristian de la Fuente suffered an injury while performing the samba with his partner Cheryl Burke on Monday's "Dancing With The Stars" on ABC.
"In the very beginning of the dance, I fell back into his arms and I heard something crack," Burke told TV Guide, who was in tears after the show. "I thought it was my dress making that sound. I didn't think it was anything else."
More photos...
"I was like, 'Oh my god, what's happening?'" Burke recalls. "I didn't know what was going on. So I just went ahead and finished the routine. I fell at the end. Whatever. You gotta keep going. It's a live show, you know?"
De la Fuente began struggling near the end of the samba. He gripped his arm and seemingly tried to shake off the pain. But it finally gave away when he couldn't hold onto Burke anymore, and she fell to the floor:
EMTs at the studio said De la Fuente pulled a muscle, but the Chilean film and television star was taken to a hospital after the show.
He was undergoing more tests this morning, and his future plans on the show will be addressed tonight.
Britney Spears will reprise role on 'How I Met Your Mother'
Josh Radnor (left) speaks to Britney Spears, who portrays receptionist Abby, in a scene from "How I Met Your Mother." which aired on March 24. Spears will reprise her role as bubbly secretary Abby in the May 12 episode. (AP/CBS)
Britney Spears, who proved she’s worth a cool million viewers to ‘‘How I Met Your Mother,’’ is paying another visit to the CBS sitcom.
Spears will reprise her role as bubbly secretary Abby in the May 12 episode, CBS said Monday.
‘‘We’re all so thrilled to have Britney joining us once again,’’ series executive producer and co-creator Craig Thomas said in a statement.
‘‘And just to head it off at the pass this time around: Yes, Mom, Britney’s very nice and no, I can’t get her autograph for you,’’ Thomas added, jokingly.
Spears’ appearance in the March 24 episode won her good reviews and boosted the show’s viewership to 10.6 million viewers, in comparison to the 9.6 million who had tuned in the previous week.
When last seen, Abby was flirting with womanizer Barney (cast member Neil Patrick Harris). The new episode, which began production Monday, has Abby and Barney sharing their mutual dislike of Ted (cast member Josh Radnor) and acting on it.
‘‘Desperate to get a rise out of his former pal, Barney pops a surprising question to Abby,’’ CBS said in a release.
‘‘How I Met Your Mother’’ stars Harris, Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel (‘‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’’) as an urban family of 20-something New Yorkers.
The pop star’s camp originally approached the show about taking part, executive producer Carter Bays said earlier this month.
When is a TV show not a TV show? When it's a deceptive ad campaign
Actress Natassia Malthe as "Scarlet" speaks with director David Nutter on the set for "Scarlet," LG Electronics' marketing campaign for their new flatscreen TV.(AP)
‘‘Scarlet’’ may look like a new TV show and act like a new TV show — but it’s no new TV show.
When it came time to pitch its new series of slimmer-than-slim LCD flatscreen TVs, LG Electronics opted to coyly offer ‘‘Scarlet’’ as ‘‘a new TV series’’ from director David Nutter, whose credits include ‘‘The Sopranos,’’ ‘‘Smallville’’ and ‘‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,’’ instead of pointing out screen size and pixel resolution to potential buyers.
The big-budget advertising campaign, conceived by LG global brand marketing vice president Kwan-Sup Lee and a team of advertising and marketing agencies, stars model-actress Natassia Malthe as the sexed-up, butt-kicking, red-eyed heroine ‘‘Scarlet.’’ There’s no mention of LG — or even a prominent image of the TV itself — in the advertising materials or commercials.
‘‘To be honest, the most difficult thing for me on this campaign was to convince myself and my bosses to really own this idea,’’ says Lee. ‘‘To spend money without letting people know about our brand is really, really risky, right? But that’s the idea of this. We need a breakthrough idea to change the rules of the game.’’
Risky, sure. Isn’t it also just plain sneaky?
‘‘We’re obviously trying to fool people, but it’s done in a fun and engaging sort of way,’’ says Tim Alessi, LG director of product development and advertising.
Billboards for ‘‘Scarlet’’ began popping up in cities like Paris, Los Angeles and Singapore about a month ago while commercials and online ads began appearing on sites like Gawker, Variety and E! Online as early as two weeks ago. They all led viewers to ScarletSeries.tv, a site that features a high-impact movie-like trailer.
LG officially announced Scarlet’s identity at a ritzy invitation-only Hollywood party attended by celebs such as Lindsay Lohan, Milo Ventimiglia, Paris Hilton and Tila Tequila at the Pacific Design Center on Monday night. The company won’t say how much it has spent on the global campaign, although Alessi confirms it was millions more than a typical product launch in the U.S.
The movie-like online trailer for ‘‘Scarlet,’’ which was shot in Bangkok, sees Malthe strutting down a red carpet, performing martial arts moves and walking away from an exploding building. ‘‘I’m gonna put her in every home in the planet,’’ a suited guy foreshadows. At the end of the clip, an announcer teases, ‘‘Things aren’t always what they seem.’’
It’s not the first time marketers have used online subterfuge for promotional purposes. However, such tricky tactics are usually reserved to publicize entertainment properties such as actual TV shows (‘‘Lost’’) and movies (‘‘Cloverfield’’) rather than products available on store shelves.
The nontraditional campaign hasn’t exactly ignited ‘‘Scarlet’’ fever online. With no mention of a TV network in the ads, Internet rumblings quickly turned to trying to figure out exactly what was being sold in the ‘‘Scarlet’’ campaign. Shampoo? Clothes? Cameras? Some folks figured out the big secret, while others remained in the dark.
‘‘Looks like it could be a good series,’’ one YouTube user posted.
‘‘This feels fake to me,’’ wrote someone else.
‘‘I think that’s terrible to trick people to sell something,’’ said someone on Yahoo! Answers.
