Idol Chatter

KRIS WINS!!

2009-05-20T21:04:00.002-05:00

Yes, we're a little shocked, but Kris definitely deserves it! CONGRATS!

Well guys it's been a fun season. We can't wait to see Michael in the Idol Tour in Dallas. SEE YOU THERE!!!

Till next season

-Enterprise out

One show to go, one Idol to name

2009-05-19T19:01:00.006-05:00

This is the final performance show.
This is the final performance blog.
And thissssssssssss is American Idol.

As Ryan said, it's the battle of the guy next door versus the guy liner.

Tonight Adam Lambert and Kris Allen each sang three songs: they're favorite from the season, the producer's pick, and this season's "cover" song, written by judge Kara Dioguardi.

Adam started out with his most favorite performance of the season, "Mad World" by Gary Jules. The judges did exactly what the judges do - Randy gave his dawg some props, Kara talked "artist," Paula looooves him, and Simon gave bad news with his good news (this time Adam was too theatrical).

Kris' favorite was "Ain't no sunshine," by Bill Withers. We remember this as the first time we heard Kris sing and stopped to say, "Wow."

Randy: Dawg.
Kara: Artist
Paula: Looooove
Simon: Good news. Bad news.

Simon called the first round - as Simon always calls the finale rounds - and gave it to Kris.

After Adam's second performance, the producer's pick (with a name we totally missed because we ran for beverage, sorry), the judges all hailed him as the best thing to hit the music scene since the electric guitar. Paula said he will be "iconic." Simon said he was back in the game. We love Kris as much as the next fan, but after hearing his version of "What's going on," think Adam was much better. Simon did, too. "Too laid back," he said, giving points from the second round "a million times" to Adam.

The third song is the season's title track. The first single. The uplifting, motivational song that could double as the anthem for the Olympics. Dioguardi's "No boundaries" is this year's choice. Judges' comments went something like...

Randy: Didn't like the song, but you sing your face off, dawg.
Kara: I wrote that song. It's so cool that you sang it. Kelly didn't do as good with my other songs.
Paula: Adjectives can't express. I don't know them anyway. Fan forever. Loooooove.
Simon: You rock, Glambert! You ROCK!

Like Randy said, Kris was a better fit for the final song. And all the judges agreed, he's done an amazing job this year - coming from someone we never saw on camera until the group rounds to the final two. Essentially it sounded like...

Randy: You aren't going to win, but we like you.
Kara: Thank you for making my song sound better than he did.
Paula: Fan forever. Looooooove.
Simon: Second place out of like 3 million is pretty awesome, lad.

We made a little sideline observation: Did you think the other judges were sort of making fun of Kara's song? She looked tight-lipped and a tad upset as she listened to the other comments about the song not being right.

So... place your bets.
Who will be the next American Idol?

Tomorrow is going to be a humdinger of a show, with lots of performances and a sure appearance from Michael Sarver! Join us here to talk about it after the votes are handed out.

Until then, Enterprise out!

Who will make the final two???

2009-05-13T08:37:00.002-05:00

Danny and Adam?
Adam and Kris?
Danny and Kris?

Who's it gonna be????

We think last night's show deserves a little water-cooler talk. And it's not Adam and Danny we want to talk about, it's Kris! All we can say is: O-M-G. What a fantastic performance of Kanye's "Heartless"!

DialIdol predictions are sketchy today, since the final three are apparently running a pretty tight race. Probably the closest Idol has ever seen at this point (that's an Idol Chatter prediction, of course).

But we want to know what you think.

Who will be heading home tonight?

The misadventures of Sassy Sarver

2009-05-04T15:41:00.004-05:00

Michael Sarver is getting a new nickname.
Forget Pork Chop. We're rollin' with "Sassy Sarver: Jasper Diva."

One of our Enterprise Idol fans found a story earlier today on KJAS.com about the Parade Grand Marshall for Jasper. This story somehow disappeared shortly thereafter (and we're thinking the reason can be tacked to the bottom of that diva list), but a true Idol fan has copies of such things.

According to the story, Michael Sarver is going to be the only Grand Marshall for the Lions Club 63rd annual Jasper Lions Club Rodeo Parade. Awesome, right?! That's a pretty cool accomplishment!

Wait... hold the applause.

Apparently Michael was supposed to share that title with Jasper's new head football coach Mike Bickham. But, and we quote, "Lions Club Vice President and Parade Chairman Lequin Hilderbrand said on Monday that the change occurred after receiving a telephone call from Michael Sarver Monday morning."

Bickman will instead be "Parade Boss," along with JISD Athletic Director Thomas Brooks.

We certainly don't want to make assumptions, but it sounds sort of like Michael went all Diana Ross and pitched a hissy for not being the coolest thing in town. And let's be honest here, we're super proud of Michael and we back him 100 percent. We can't wait to hear his first CD. But 10th place doesn't exactly call for an event contract and a dressing room full of Evian and fresh fruit. And lets not forget this is Texas. Idol is great, but football is right under God.

We're not sure why the story was removed. We could be wrong. We're hoping so.

Idol tour skipping Houston

2009-04-22T09:23:00.002-05:00

Tickets for the American Idol Top Ten Summer Tour, which includes Jasper's Michael Sarver, go on sale May 9. But Southeast Texans will have to drive to Dallas for the concert.

Houston isn't on the list of 50 cities the tour will hit, according to the American Idol Web site. There also are no dates booked in Louisiana.

At a welcome home event in Jasper April 8, Sarver told fans he expected the tour to have a Houston date and that he hoped to hear his Jasper fans there. The tour begins July 5 in Portland, Ore., and the group will be in Dallas July 23.

Are you as upset as we are? Leave a comment below and we'll forward them to Idol producers.

Photo recap: The historic save

2009-04-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

"We're going to sing this group song now, which has gotten way awkward since we got busted lip-synching."

"Who's gonna go? Who's gonna go? We don't know!
(But we know who won't...)

"Welcome Jennifer Hudson - proof that winning Idol isn't everything. Jennifer was voted out in 6th place and still makes way more money than all of us!"

"Here's your bottom three. Some of them are getting used to this."

"You're safe, Noop Dog.
Go, Dog, Go."

"And here we have teen queen Miley Cyrus: Proof that Allison really is the only teenager who can actually sing."

"Oh no, say it a'int so! Lil is STAYING?"

"Welcome back, Lil. Please don't mess it up again next week."

Matt gets to sing the very song that got him voted off the show
in hopes that the judges somehow missed it the night before...

"Save him! Save him! None of us are ever going to need it!"

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?"

"No, really, what are you gonna do?"

"Oh my God, they saved him! History has been made! But next week is Disco Week and everyone except Adam is going home!"

Two-judge format for ever?

2009-04-17T09:28:00.002-05:00

The Associated Press released this story this week:

Kara Dioguardi says the two-judge format could be a one-time thing on “American Idol.” Tuesday’s show switched things up by allowing only a pair of judges to review a singer because of time constraints. But Dioguardi, the fourth addition to the judges’ panel, expects the series will return to normal next week, giving everyone a chance to chime in. Dioguardi, who was paired with Randy Jackson, says she learned of the format change shortly before the telecast. She says it was a “safety” measure because last week’s performance show ran over schedule. Simon Cowell blamed her and Paula Abdul for talking too much. Dioguardi jokingly responds that Cowell will never blame himself for “Idol” snafus.

Matt Giraud saved by Idol judges

2009-04-15T20:47:00.007-05:00

It was Disney Channel night on Idol tonight with appearances by Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron.

We kid of course. Oscar-award winning Jennifer Hudson brought up the caliber of talent with a hit off her 2008 album.

Surprisingly, some of the Idol contestants sounded better to us than the two stars with recording contracts. Unfortunately, America could not vote Miley Cyrus off. Her rendition of "Climb" was so pitchy it made us want to 'climb' behind our couch until her segment ended.

No, tonight America tried to send Matt Giraud home. Callers apparently did not "really, really looovvvve" Matt.

The poor woman's Justin Timberlake, however,seems to have swayed the judges.
Simon told Matt: "I really don't think you have a chance to win this ... but, it's good news."

Following the big announcement, Simon cautioned all Idol contestants not to "celebrate too much". Next week is "Disco week" and two Idol wannabes are going home.

Our prediction, it won't be Adam Lambert!

We're predicting a Gloria Gayner "I Will Survive" surprise from Adam. Can't wait.
Until then, Enterprise out!

Top 7 perform songs from the movies

2009-04-14T19:17:00.008-05:00

The Top 7 took on songs from the movies tonight, with director Quentin Tarantino as their mentor (which had us sort of scratching our heads, seeing as how he doesn't sing).

The ever-rockin' Allison kicked off the show and was praised for Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing." Paula said she's a lot like Matt, keeping it real every week. Simon said she's the only girl that can really win the competition. Seeing as how she's one of only two girls, and the other is Little Miss Tina Turner, I'd say that's a pretty good prediction to make. According to DialIdol (and her frequently sitting center stage), Allison fluctuates from super safe to bottom three week after week. Allison fans, you need to spend a few extra minutes voting tonight.

Anoop took on the well overdone "(Everything I do) I do it for you" by Bryan Adams from the Robin Hood soundtrack. And just like Randy, when we heard he was singing this we sort of clenched our teeth. But, while we really haven't been Anoop's biggest fan these days, we have to give him credit for this one. Probably his best performance.

Our Idol extrovert Adam Lambert is "Born to be wild." Adam doesn't actually have to sing anymore to impress us. He could just stand on stage and smile and we'd give him the award for best act of the night. He hit notes that might have cracked our TV. Once the star-struck teenagers stopped screaming, the judges gave him big props. Paula said he's one of the bravest contestants ever. Simon said he's becoming incredible, but did say it was a bit like something from Rocky Horror Picture Show. But as far as songs go, this really wasn't his best. Either way, we'd vote for Adam if he sang "Mary had a little lamb," and bet it'd be the best &%$# song we've ever heard. We're just sayin'.

Matt Giraud took on Brian Adams as well, with "Have you ever really loved a woman?" from Don Juan DeMarco. The truth is, he didn't do a really fantastic job. Judges agreed, with Randy saying he failed in more places than he won and Kara saying something we completely missed because we were watching Simon make really strange faces in the background. But we don't want to openly admit the truth, because it might jinx him. And we love him. So we are pretending he raised the roof.

~~Robert Downey, Jr.~~ Danny Gokey came out sans glasses for Lionel Riche's "Endless love." There were harps. It was...hmmm...well...we snored. Honestly it was something we'd have expected in the waiting room at the dentist's office. Paula loved him. Paula always loves him. We don't trust Paula's judgement where Go Go Gokey is concerned. Simon was disappointed with the traditional take on the song. We're starting to like Simon more and more. Simon did the forbidden and brought up Danny's wife, and so the votes will flood in. I can almost hear the crying women dialing now...

Kris Allen earned extra points immediately for choosing the awesome but not-so-well known song, "Falling slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (one of our favorites...lets add a few more points). Randy said he wasn't sure about the performance. We don't like Randy right now. We agree completely with Kara in that it was one of his best performances. Kris has been bringing some serious competition the past few weeks. We recently made the statement to another Enterprise Idol fan that Kris was "vanilla" - always a great flavor, but just not as good as chocolate. We have officially upgraded him to "The Great Divide" - a fine mix of chocolate and vanilla that makes us stand up and cheer.

Much to our surprise, Lil Rounds didn't pick the Titanic song. Instead she went with the equally hated "The Rose" by Bette Midler. This song painfully reminds us of 7th grade choir. But once she hit her second verse, we had to stop and say, "Whoa." Paula said something we totally didn't understand. Simon said she got it wrong again. While we don't agree completely agree with Simon, we just can't put Lil high on our list anymore. We didn't care much for her back talking, either. Brooke White, anyone?

Here's how we're ranking tonight's performances:

1. Kris
2. Allison
3. Anoop
4. Adam
5. Matt
6. Lil
7. Danny

And for the big one...
Who do we predict will go home tomorrow?
(drumroll, please)
LIL ROUNDS!

Or maybe we just hope.

Ready... set... vote!!!

8 becomes 7

2009-04-09T16:42:00.007-05:00

Your bottom three.

Will it be Anoop? Will it be Scott?...

...It's Scott.

America said goodbye to Idol-hopeful Scott MacIntyre last night, bringing our Top 8 to a Top 7. While we've secretly hoped for Scott's elimination for some time, the actual event was a bit tearful and sad. A great musician and inspiration to all, Scott just didn't belong on Idol's pop star platform. But we expect to see him more in the future.

Some contestants stepped up their game Tuesday night, and some just seemed to quit playing.

Here's how we rate Tuesday's songs from the year they were born...

Great Performance of the Night: Adam Lambert, who made it snow in hell when he brought Simon to his feet for his first standing ovation in 8 years.

Great-But-Not-Quite-Adam Performance of the night: Allison Iraheta, who at just 16 years old, makes us feel a bit like failures every time she opens her mouth. Randy said she sang her face off. We agree. We also feel a little old when she sings "I can't make you love me" as a song from the year she was born.

Most Under-Appreciated Performance: Kris Allen's "All she wants to do is dance." The judges said he was overshadowed by the horns and strange arrangement. We disagree. We think the arrangement was a nice change to the otherwise karaoke song.

Most Over-Appreciated Performance: Danny Gokey's "Stand by me." Okay, so he can sing, but the man has his limits. The judges praised his performance like it was the best thing he's ever done. We expect to hear that version as a free gift when you buy 3 or more CDs from Hallmark.

Most Oh-My-God-That-Did-Not-Just-Happen Performance: Lil Rounds with "What's love got to do with it." Even if we weren't sorta over Lil, we'd have stood their with our mouths on the ground. There's almost no way to make that song original, but that doesn't mean be Tina. From her walk to her eye movements, Lil Rounds became Ms. Turner's shadow. It was like watching Angela Bassett in the closing credits of the movie. Not good, Lil. Not good.

Most Please-Let-Him-Be-Next Performance: Anoop. He can sing. So could the guy that wore the sparkly headbands. Doesn't mean he needs to be there.

Most Can't-Wait-For-Him-To-Make-A-CD Performance: Matt Giraud. It doesn't matter what he sings, we love him. And we totally think he would win... if Adam wasn't there... and Danny dropped out... hmpf.

Most-Like-The-Year-They-Were-Born Performance: Scott's version of "The Search is Over" was a flashback to the 80s. We think he could rock a REO Speedwagon or Air Supply cover band.

Rumor is next week will be "Songs from the Cinema" night.
Anyone wanna vote Lil for "My heart will go on"?

Finally ...

2009-04-02T08:35:00.002-05:00

...the right person went home at the right time. Goodbye Megan. You held so much promise and we were excited about the originality you could bring to the show. But alas, you failed to deliver.. again. (See ya on the tour)

You asked, Michael answered

2009-04-01T16:18:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for us to ask Michael today in our one-on-one interview. Here's what he said. Watch for the full audio of the interview later and read the story in tomorrow's Beaumont Enterprise.

QUESTION: I recently viewed a clip interviewing Danny Gokey about your departure; he spoke of a song that you had written that he wants on his 1st album. With all the talent in the top 10, besides Danny, because its apparent that the both of you have become friends, do you see yourself working along the side of other top 10 performers from Season 8? Will the opportunity exist to write for, and even perform with, these other contestants besides the releasing of your own material?

ANSWER: Yeah, I could see myself working with Allison (Iraheta), definitely; Kris (Allen), we have some things in common musically. If they’ll have me, I’ll be there. They probably say the same thing about me. There’s a mutual respect between us. If the opportunity arose, absolutely.

QUESTION: I loved Michael on American Idol. I enjoyed his singing but even more than that was his personality. He has the best attitude I've ever seen. I can tell Jesus just flows out of him. My question would be would he consider Contemporary Christian. I think he would be great at that. I'd love to hear him sing it.

ANSWER: I actually would, But I’ll tell you this much. People will be surprised to see when my album comes out, it will have some inspirational on it. I am choosing the secular music world just for the sake that I believe that once you gain a voice you can speak about those things you believe but until you gain a voice and the respect of people. You can’t just expect them to listen to you just because you are.

QUESTION: When will we know dates and places for the tour?

ANSWER: – That’s actually a question I’d like to ask. We’ve not received any information ourselves about dates.

A murky future

2009-04-01T07:49:00.004-05:00

DialIdol's prediction of who will advance tonight is a little (read a lot) unclear. Five of the nine contestants are said to be in danger of being eliminated, with Megan in the most danger. Who's safe: Danny, Kris, Adam and Lil. (Of course, they said Matt was safe last week and he ended up in the bottom 2).

Top 9 perform

2009-03-31T20:54:00.002-05:00

We really missed Michael tonight. Sorry, but we just don't enjoy watching the show as much now. Here’s how we ranked tonight’s contestants Kris, Adam, Allison, Danny, Michael, Scott, Lil, Matt, Anoop, Megan ... can't blame us for trying.

Speak to Michael

2009-03-31T17:58:00.003-05:00

We have our first interview with Michael tomorrow and we want your help. If you were able to ask Michael one question, what would it be?

Although we can’t promise to ask him everything, The Enterprise will try to include some of your questions in Wednesday afternoon’s interview.

Submit your questions to DConstantine@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Welcome home party planned

2009-03-31T13:55:00.001-05:00

A Welcome Home Celebration for Michael will be held on NEXT Tuesday, April 7 at 6 p.m. on the courthouse square in Jasper. This celebration will be hosted by the Jasper Chamber of Commerce and Harvest Church. Michael is being awarded a resolution by County Judge Mark Allen. Following this presentation and introduction, Michael will answer a few questions and sign autographs. Michael will not be performing at this time.

Elimination night photos

2009-03-28T13:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Michael!

2009-03-28T12:44:00.005-05:00

Michael turns 28 today! Leave a birthday message for him below.

Michael not ready to return to oil rig

2009-03-27T17:30:00.001-05:00

By the Associated Press
Michael Sarver, latest castoff from "American Idol," isn't ready to go back to the oil rig.

"I don't think it would be a great idea to get out there and take a chance on hurting myself and not being available for the tour," he told a teleconference Friday, a day after being eliminated from the Fox singing competition.

"I'm going home, and I'm going to take some time off to spend with my family. I believe they deserve my undivided attention for a little while and that's exactly what they're going to get."

Sarver will take part in the "Idols Live" tour with the rest of the top 10 contestants this summer. Dates have yet to be announced.

He said he didn't take it personally when judge Simon Cowell told him this week that there's no way he could win. "It didn't necessarily tick me off, nor did it insult me, but it kind of made me giggle, because he knows better than that. We didn't get there by mistake," Sarver said.

And he's not just an oil worker who sings. "I am a serious writer, and I have written over 890 songs since the age of 14," he said. "There's a lot of stories, a lot of ... hard-lived life, good-lived life, and my happiness that I experience in life now all through my music and I'm going to share it."

His favorite "American Idol" moment? Shooting hoops with the guys. Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai and Sarver would play basketball to blow off steam.

"It was quite fun. I was horrible, of course," he said, adding that Desai is an intense player. "When Anoop missed, he did not like it. He would beat himself up until he got it."

Michael's latest studio recording

2009-03-27T14:09:00.001-05:00

Ain't Too Proud to Beg

Michael interviews

2009-03-27T13:48:00.004-05:00

Michael begins a week-long press tour today. We'll posts video and snippets of his interviews as we get them:

Rickey Michael
by krunkyou

Michael Exit
by krunkyou

Quotes from today’s press conference:

Is having young kids a disadvantage?
“Actually, I would consider myself at an advantage because I have a level of inspiration from something that someone without kids doesn’t get to experience. They are rock solid and they are the core of my purpose. They’ve driven me into this and have been so inspiring in the way that they love me and support me and if anything it would be an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Without a doubt difficult and very hard to deal with at times, missing them, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

He describes the album he’ll make, “It’s definitely gonna be an R&B pop soul album. I really like the R&B pop style of Justin Timberlake, all the way across the aisle to Gavin Degraw and bringing in some of that soulful rock, just a combination of those kinds of things.”

Does Simon and Paula’s horsing around frustrate him?
“Number one, I enjoy that because what people need to understand is that this is supposed to be a fun thing. It’s supposed to be enjoyable, it’s supposed to be the time of our lives and they help make it that by goofing around–like Simon coloring on Paula’s face. That was just absolutely hilarious. It does make it complicated sometimes when, if you may feel like they’re not really listening to you, but overall the fun that they’re having on the show makes everybody smile and that’s what entertainment is all about–bringing a positive light to the TV world.”

He and Danny and Anoop played basketball the other night. What kind of player is Anoop?
“Anoop can play some ball, but I’ll tell you he’s a very intense basketball player…and when Anoop missed he did not like it. He would beat himself up until he got it. Very intense, very passionate about a sport that he loves very much.”

Michael is a songwriter, “There’s something that America does not know so much about me, but they’ll find out. I am a serious writer and I’ve written over 890 songs since the age of 14. And there’s a lot of stories…a lot of life, hard lived life, good lived life and my happiness that I’ve experienced in life now all through my music and I’m gonna share it.”

Michael's final song

2009-03-27T07:43:00.002-05:00

Michael's final hurrah

2009-03-27T07:33:00.001-05:00

After weeks of love from the judges and fans, the roughneck is going home, just in time to celebrate his birthday Saturday with his family.

Motown night proved to be an unexpected stumbling block for Jasper's Michael Sarver, and, coming hard on the heels of Grand Ole Opry night, his crooning just wasn't enough to keep him safe. The 27-year-old sang "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," but it wasn't enough for the fans, apparently.

The judges weren't particularly happy either. The grace Sarver has received from Simon Cowell for most of the season was gone again this week as he told Sarver he had "no chance of winning" the competition.

Sarver was on the hot seats with Matt Girard and Scott McIntyre, but in the end, it was Jasper's own singing for his life. "I think they almost decided to keep him," said Jo Helen O'Gilbert, a member at Harvest Church, where Sarver has been a praise and worship leader.

Fellow church member Rosa Mijares agreed. "I thought that was not fair that Simon just blurted out he was going to make a decision and Michael was going home," Mijares said by phone.

"The good thing was, you looked at him, looked at his face, he was so secure and calm. We're so proud of him even though he didn't make No. 1." For the judges to save someone, the decision has to be unanimous. So, though Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardia looked to be pulling for him, Simon's dissent was enough to send Sarver home.

Read the full story HERE.

LIVE BLOG - Motown Results Show

2009-03-26T18:43:00.035-05:00

6:49 - Alright folks, thanks for joining us again tonight! Stay tuned with us - and FOX too, of course - for the next hour as we find out if our own Pork Chop, er, Michael Sarver will stay or go.

7:01 - Seacrest kicks things off by telling us that over 36 million votes came in...the most in the history of the show.

7:03 - Seacrest, Simon and Paula...awwwwwkward! Time to revisit last night.

7:06 - BUT FIRST...we MUST have a medley! Along with some really bad choreography. The ladies look great. The guys, mostly look like they just rolled out of the frat house.

7:14 - Oh Lord...now we have to sit through this heinous commercial/music video.

7:15 - Give it up for Ruben Studdard! It was nice of him to top by "Idol" before going to party at the Playboy mansion later...Sorry...we're being told he's actually wearing a suit and not fancy pajamas. Our bad.

7:19 - Time for the bottom three...dim the lights, please. No rejection in brightened hues, please.

Adam...is safe!
Matt...is NOT???? Whoa!
Kris...is safe!
Lil...is safe!
MICHAEL...is NOT!!!! YIKES!!! Not good folks.

7:27 - Smokey Robinson and Joss "Shoes are not my thing" Stone sing "You're the One For Me" and the sound great, but OH MY GOD WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SMOKEY'S CRAZY EYES??? Seriously.

7:35 - Time to find out who else is in the bottom three.

Allison...is safe!
Anoop...is safe!
Danny...is safe!
Scott...is NOT!
Megan...is safe!

7:38 - Scott, Micheal and Matt are in the bottom three. Randy doesn't think Matt belongs. TOO BAD DAWG...because SCOTT is safe...it's now down to Matt and Micheal.

7:44 - Simon says that they judges will decide to use The Save based on their final performance. BUT FIRST...and Motown medley featuring Stevie Wonder! Who...we have to say, sounds a bit off key...he's probably still traumatized from performing with The Jonas Brothers at the Grammies. Still...Stevie rules.

7:50 - This just in...Stevie loves Barack Obama. Despite being finalists, contestants lack rhythm while dancing.

7:56 - Who will sing for survival tonight...it's Michael! NO! Now he's got to sing to stay. Let's see how he does...don't think this was the performance that would win the judges back. But...if they didn't like this the first time around, why would hearing it again change their minds?

7:58 - Looks like Micheal Sarver's time in LA has come to an end...WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU MICHAEL AND ALL YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED!

Seriously man...we've had a lot of fun on this blog, but are in awe at what you've accomplished. You should be proud of yourself...WE are ALL proud of YOU!

8:00 - With sadness and pride for our hometown boy...Enterprise out.

A dire predication?

2009-03-26T08:00:00.004-05:00

Ok, we've got DialIdol's prediction of who will leave us tonight. Click "Read more" below if you want to see.

So it doesn't look good for Michael. DialIdol puts him at the bottom of their list behind Scott and Megan. BUT there's been some confusion during the past few weeks about what DialIdol's prediction means. DialIdol does NOT predict the exact order the contestants will finish in that week. If you look at the last column, you'll see a range of numbers that predict what placeS (more than one) they might finish in. This is where they are usually very accurate. So they predict Michael will finish in places 8-10. They also predict Scott and Megan could finish 10th. So don't despair. He's not out yet.

Michael's Ain't Too Proud to Beg

2009-03-26T07:55:00.002-05:00

Michael's church cheers

2009-03-25T22:11:00.001-05:00

Friends and family of Jasper's Michael Sarver gathered at Harvest Church on Wednesday to watch him sing on "American Idol."After he hit the bottom three last week, Sarver needed a big comeback to stay in the competition, and those watching from his hometown think he got it. But the judges had fewer assurances.

"I think Michael did a good job," said Jo Helen O'Gilbert, a fellow church member from Jasper. "This week, the judges, I think they were a little bit harsh on everybody.

Read the story here.

VOTE NOW 1-866-436-5706

2009-03-25T20:55:00.003-05:00

Let those dialing fingers loose. Voting is open from now until 11 p.m.

LIVE BLOG - Top 10 Performance

2009-03-25T18:52:00.048-05:00

6:52 - Awww yeah Southeast Texas! It's almost time for our LIVE BLOG EVENT! Tonight the "Idolaters" are singing songs from Motown. We think Micheal should do well - the boy's got some soul, after all. Adam...let's just say we're curious about the spectacle he turns out.

7:00 - THISSSSS...is Seacrest being a massive tool. Seriously. We can't wait until he falls down the stairs. Simon says the singers have to make the songs original. Let's see how they do...!

7:05 - Or...we can pause for a Motown Montage. Time for a ROAD TRIP TO DETROIT!

7:08 - Let's just get this out of the way...Smokey Robinson is a legend. But what's the deal with his eyes? Is he part Lynx?

7:09 - Matt Giraud starts if off with "Let's Get it On"...wow. BIG song choice for him. He slows it down at first with the piano - good choice. Than he brings it home with the mike at center stage all while wearing Mr. Rogers' sweater.
JUDGES - Randy dug it. Kara liked the piano and than when he stood up. Paula thought he was classy and spot on. Simon thought he cemented his frontrunner status.

7:14 - Kris Allen is up next. He's also going with Marvin Gaye and "How Sweet it Is." Let's see if he's got the soul for this performance...he does a fine job, but our thing with him is that when he sings, he kind of looks like a toddler trying to form words for the first time...just saying.
JUDGES - Kara says he did everything right. Paula is proud of him. Simon thinks he needs some more confidence. Randy thinks he hit his zone.

7:30 - Next up is Scott McIntyre...singing "You Can't Hurry Love"...in pink pants. OK we're not so in favor of this version starring Happy Peppy Scott McIntyre and the Crazy Giddy Peppettes.
JUDGES - Paula thought the backup singers brought something different. Simon thinks he's better than that performance. Randy thought it was average. Kara thought the execution was imperfect. Than Paula gave Simon colors and a coloring book...?

We just decided to make this a drinking game. Clearly the judges have.

7:42 - Here's Megan Joy singing "For Once in My Life"...and, sure this song might have actually been in a Carnival Cruise line commercial once...but she didn't need to interpret that literally. She sounds like the afternoon entertainment on the Lido Deck.
JUDGES - Randy thought it was a train wreck. Kara thought it was all over the place. Paula thinks she's stunning, but agrees. Simon thought it was horrible.

7:50 - Next up is Anoop Desai...and he'll sing "Ooo Baby Baby."

(PAUSE - OK...seriously, Smokey's eyes are CRAZY, right?)

Back to Anoop...He sounds really good...yet he's dressed like a Math-lete.
JUDGES - Kara thought it was pretty good. Paula wants to see more confidence. Simon liked it, but wanted more showmanship. Randy liked his lil' "Anoop Dawg."

ONE HOUR WRAP-UP: So far, we think they break down like this: Matt, Kris, Anoop, Scott, and Megan. BRING IT ON PORK CHOP!

8:05 - Here's Mr. Chop himself...he sings "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"...and it's solid! His vocals are good. He sounds a bit out of breath, but we'll chalk that up to nervousness. This, Pork Chop, was WELL DONE!
JUDGES - Paula didn't think he dominated enough. Simon doesn't think he can win with performances like that. Randy thought he made it too corny. Kara didn't think he showed who he was as an "artist."

8:17 - Lil Rounds is next...she sings "Heat Wave." Actually she belts it out. She goes low in a couple points, which is original, but mostly she just owns the song.
JUDGES - Randy didn't think it was her best. Kara thought she should have nailed it more. Paula disagrees and also thought she owned it. Simon thought she should have chosen a different song.

8:31 - Adam Lambert is next and...umm...he looks interesting - more 1950's and less vampire. Sort of liked he's double booked for a sock hop-themed DVD release party for "Twilight." He's singing "Tracks of My Tears." Great song. Great arrangement. And he sings it really, really well. We'd have to say it's the best of the night.
JUDGES - Kara thought it he showed artistry. Paula thought it was exciting! Simon thought it was the best of the night. Randy dug that he showed his range.

8:40 - Danny Gokey is next to sing...and he's going with "Get Ready." His voice sounds great and he works the song in his favor. But his movements are a bit awkward...how's his eyesight?
JUDGES - Paula thought it was first-class. Simon didn't love it. Randy was feeling the energy. Kara thought good, not great.

8:50: - Last one to go is Allison Iraheta singing "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." Perfect song choice for her gravelly, soulful voice. She's up there with Adam as the best of the night.
JUDGES - Randy thought it was blazing hot. Kara thought it was amazing. Paula thought she was awesome. Simon thought it was one of her best performances.

That's all folks! Lines are open for the next couple hours. So CALL AND VOTE! Based on the judges comments, here's how we see them stacking up: Adam, Allison, Matt, Kris, Anoop, Lil, Danny, Scott, Michael, and Megan.

Thanks for watching with us...ENTERPRISE OUT!

Mikey likes ice cream, excited about tour

2009-03-25T08:09:00.004-05:00

From The AP
The top 10 "American Idol" finalists say they already count themselves as winners: They've earned a place on the show's nationwide concert tour. For Adam Lambert, the summer tour means the chance to buy a condo. Danny Gokey sees it as a financial boon as well. Michael Sarver fervently echoes that and looks forward to his version of a rock-star perq — ice cream, and lots of it.

"I have a major problem with ice cream. I should probably go to Ice Cream Anonymous meetings," he said. Sarver and his fellow contestants laugh when asked about any divalike demands, but they're serious about the opportunity ahead of them.

"I didn't know my situation if I had to go back home without the tour. ... things are not easy right now," said Sarver, 27, an oil-rig worker from Jasper, Texas, who's married with two children. "This says I have work this year. It's a blessing."

Lambert, 27, of Los Angeles figures it's about time he owned his own home. Megan Joy, 23, from Sandy, Utah, is looking forward to a little personal space for her and her toddler. "I get to finally move out of my mom's house," she said, gleefully.

Dates and tour locations have yet to be announced for the tour, which follows the show's May 20 finale. On this week's shows the contestants were set to perform Motown tunes. What they'll be paid for the tour is kept under wraps by producers. Even the contestants were uncertain a week after making the cut.

"I keep hearing that it's plenty," said Kris Allen, 23, of Conway, Ark. "That's nice."

Of course, there's more than money at stake — the chance to connect with fans and to build a career are the real plums, the finalists said. "It still seems like a dream. ... I can't wait to see what I learn doing it," said Matt Giraud, 23, of Kalamazoo, Mich.

The tour is "an amazing opportunity," agreed Anoop Desai, 22, of Chapel Hill, N.C., calling "American Idol" the "biggest stage and best stage of all." The typical "Idol" concert swing lasts more than three months and includes 50 or 60 concerts, including stadiums. The contestants travel by bus.

"That's what I've been dreaming about since I was a little kid, is going on the road and playing night after night ... to share my music with whoever will listen to it. That's what I'm here to do," said Scott MacIntyre, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

The finalists have bonded as housemates during the course of the TV show and expect the camaraderie — and the fun — to continue on tour, Lambert said.

Asked if he expects to be the demanding pop star, he laughed. "No, I take what I can get. I only like to play the part of the diva when I'm actually performing, but I don't like to act like that otherwise," he said.

Most expect to travel light, with cell phones and computers among the items mentioned as must-haves. Gokey, 28, of Milwaukee, whose wife died shortly before he auditioned for "American Idol," says his computer has "all my pictures on it. Basically, my whole life's on it."

The youngest finalist, 16-year-old Allison Iraheta of Downey, Calif., will be bringing along her schoolwork and maybe a parent.

"My mom might be going on tour with me, so it will be interesting," Iraheta said.

Lil Rounds, 24, of Memphis, Tenn., is hoping her husband and three children can visit her when the tour is close to home. "The babies understand what I'm doing and they're proud," Rounds said. She and her fellow contestants are just beginning to grasp their sudden shift in fortune.

"I went from singing at a church in front of maybe 70 to 80 people to a national tour. It's absolutely amazing," Rounds said.

For all the excitement the concert tour promises, the contestants want to believe it's just the start of something big.

"I'll definitely be sticking around, I hope, after all is said and done. I'm not stopping," said MacIntyre.

Gokey wants the same.

"It's so exciting to be on the road and fulfilling the dream that I've had. I'm hoping it's just the beginning," he said.

Top 10 tour golden for Michael

2009-03-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

From The Beaumont Enterprise
Although all aspire to be the next "American Idol," making the top 10 is no small accomplishment. Making it that far on the show gives contestants the chance to go on a national tour, and Michael Sarver of Jasper is no exception.

No matter what happens in the coming weeks, Sarver will still be a part of the tour that made 53 stops last year with the 2008 Top 10 singing to more than 490,000 fans. The 2008 tour was the 24th highest grossing tour of the year, making more than $29.9 million, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Figures differ as to how much the Idol Top 10 make on tour - estimates run from $2,000 to $5,000 per appearance, a range that will put Sarver earning in the six-figures. Although those numbers aren't official, the not-so-tangible gains are as good as gold for mostly-green participants.

Read the full story HERE.

Michael sings TOMORROW

2009-03-24T12:47:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder that American Idol is on Wednesday and Thursday this week due to President Obama's speech tonight.

Alexis on Regis

2009-03-23T13:41:00.001-05:00

Alexis Regis
by krunkyou

Motown artists

2009-03-21T11:23:00.004-05:00

Michael's already sung from Motown's catalogue this season with songs by Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men song. Here's a list of some of the more popular Motown artists that Michael could choose from this week.

Commodores, Four Tops, Funk Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Jackson 5, Rick James, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Teena Marie, Marvelettes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross, The Supremes, Temptations, Stevie Wonderj, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie, Billy Preston, Boyz II Min, Queen latifah, Erykah Badu, 98 Degrees, Ashanti, Nelly, Shontelle, Brian McKnight, 702, India.Arie.

Or see a list of Motown singles that hit No. 1 in U.S. here. Have a song suggestion for Micheal? Let us know.

More on church support

2009-03-21T11:16:00.002-05:00

By Corey J. Hodges, pastor of New Pilgrim Baptist Church in Utah
In a recent article, MTV.com highlighted the Christian singers on this season of Fox Network's "American Idol." The piece pointed out that a number of the contestants are either worship leaders or have strong affiliations to their church. The story was ridiculed by some for its suggestion that the contestants' faith will resonate with viewers and affect the final outcome of the show.

For world-renowned singers such as Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston and Amy Grant, the church was their initial exposure to public singing. Houses of worship have always been a training ground of sorts for up-and-coming musicians; choirs, worship teams and church bands afford artists a unique and invaluable opportunity to hone their skills. There is of course mutual benefit -- the musician is seeking experience and most churches do not have the money to hire professional musicians and are happy to accommodate aspiring artists.

But opportunities for religious musicians outside the church are even scarcer than in the secular industry. Incomes are considerably lower and thus many religious-bred artists opt to pursue their careers in more mainstream genres. Not surprisingly, some of these aspiring singers end up on shows such as "American Idol."

Previous "American Idol" success stories such as Academy and Grammy award winner Jennifer Hudson, who began singing in her church choir at age 7, seemed considerably more polished than her peers not only vocally but also with her stage presence throughout the competition. What usually allows such individuals to break away from the pack is experience; the typical church vocalist sings in front of audiences each week and has had plenty of practice. Not only are majority of this year's finalists church singers but three of the seven "American Idol" winners -- Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Jordin Sparks -- were all known to have started singing in church.

In a follow-up article, MTV noted that some readers did not believe that a contestant's faith had anything to do with their singing or their ultimate standing on the show. This is debatable. For some contestants, their religious influence is evident during their performance either because they choose a Christian song or because of their musical style. When watching Barrino, the season three winner who began singing in her church at age 5, it was clear her singing was influenced by gospel music.

Fox also occasionally highlight's the finalist's personal lives, which sometimes reveals a commitment to faith. Some readers responding to MTV's column criticized Christians for voting for a contestant simply because of a shared faith, but this is a reality of human nature; last season most Utahns were rooting for the runner-up David Archuleta of Murray.

If "American Idol" was strictly about technique, then the singer with the best combination of talent, experience and training would always win, but popularity plays a big part. Were the stakes higher this may be problematic, but in this context, a person of faith rooting for another person of faith is natural and has no real consequence.

Michael's church support grows

2009-03-20T15:25:00.004-05:00

The LA Weekly is reporting that Michael and his wife Tiffany attended a service at Los Angeles megachurch Angelus Temple yesterday where Mike Huckabee was the guest speaker. During the service Pastor Matthew Barnett brought Michael Sarver and his wife to the stage, urging worshippers to vote for Sarver. Now we know how Michael is getting so many votes in California!

Elimination night photos

2009-03-20T10:19:00.006-05:00

Ain't Goin Down studio recording

2009-03-19T19:48:00.001-05:00

Here's Michael's studios recording of this week's performance. Sounds great!

Michael's sick

2009-03-19T17:31:00.003-05:00

The Detriot Press is reporting that 8 of the Top 10 arrived in Detroit today to film video for next week's Motown theme. Megan and Michael didn't make the trip. Both are sick. Michael missed a mentoring session inside the Motown museum by Smokey Robinson. We're told Megan, who had a bad case of the flu last week, had been quarantined in a room next to the kitchen. We can only assume they'll be keeping Michael a safe distance from the other contestants too.

Get well Michael!

Photos from Tuesday night

2009-03-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Next week's theme: Motown

2009-03-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Next week is a Motown theme, with a focus on the 50th anniversary of Motown. The Detroit Press reports that Idol cameras will be at the Motown Historical Museum Thursday to shoot footage for next week. In Motown’s old Studio A, Detroit icons Berry Gordy Jr. and Smokey Robinson will mentor the show’s 10 finalists through a series of Hitsville song selections, sources said. The taped segments will air next week before the contestants perform the songs live on the show’s Los Angeles stage.

Idol dinner and Michael speaks to daughter

2009-03-18T22:59:00.001-05:00

LIVE BLOG - Michael survives! .. barely

2009-03-18T19:35:00.017-05:00

7:55 Here we go again. :) Good luck Pork Chop!

8:10 Ryan says the results tonight may shock us – FINALLY, maybe we won’t fall asleep this week. Oh.. this is American idol. (almost forgot that). Ryan hints that the judges save could be used tonight (but he’ll say that every week). And now a reminder of how boring last night was. And now the group number! AH, they put Scott at the piano…lol. How come Michael and Danny are always standing together in the group numbers? Ok, this song is horrible. Hasn’t anyone heard of “harmony”.. surely a group this talented can sing more than one note. Sorry, but Scott needs to leave. We miss our cheesy Disney Channel choreography.

8:18 And now the Ford music video.. maybe we’ll actually get to see it this week (thanks Fox). And it’s a water balloon fight ..around a car. (yawn). And now we get to relive last week’s elimination.. can we get some results already? Some heartwarming video of last week’s “afterparty” is played.. with LOTS of snapshots of Michael and the fam! Michael tells Ryan (looks like he’s going to cry) that his daughter misses him. Ok, Michael just won a lot of fans with that!!!!!!! OK, results time. Those that advance make it into the national tour: Hokey, safe. Lil Rounds, safe. Anoop, safe. Allison and Michael up next! Michael looks NERVOUS! Allison’s in the bottom 3!.. and what about Michael? He’s in the BOTTOM THREE. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Ok, we are freaking out .. so nervous for Michael right now. When they gave Michael a chance to speak to his daughter earlier we suspected that he would be in the bottom three. But he’ll pull through .. just wait.

8:32 Our first musical number of the night. Tame compared to Kanye West last week. What is up with these country folks? first Randy Travis, now this guy (no, we don’t know his name).. both put us to sleep. We feel like all the energy is being sucked outta the room. Kanye West’s hand towel was more entertaining. (ok, so maybe we’re just depressed about Michael)

8:40 We’re back. Allison and Michael looking dour on the silver seats of sadness. More results: Scott is safe. Megan, safe. Matt (does the mole in the middle of his head bother anyone else), safe. Kris, safe. Alexis and Adam up last. Randy called Alexis “Allison”..HA, all those rocker girls look the same. Alexis is in bottom. And now Alexis, Allison and Michael are bottom three and.....ALLISON is safe. The bottom two are Michael and Alexis.. YIKES. Ok fans, if Michael survives tonight you better WORK those dialing fingers next week.

8:52 Of course we’re going to have to wait a bit for the results. Carrie Underwood’s up! (She kinda looks like Megan here (sans tattoos of course). Singing a duet with Randy Travis. Carrie sounds great. Randy was just background music. And now back to Alexis and Michael.. Simon says the judges would consider saving one of them.

8:55 The moment of truth.. will Michael make it into the Top 10 and get to go on the Idol national tour. DialIdol this morning predicted Alexis got the least number of votes, but they’ve been wrong before and WE ARE NERVOUS. Just breathe. Here we go. Michael is SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9:00 Alexis gets one last song to convince the judges to save her. If they save her it won’t be because of this song… yikes, out of tune and bad. That said we do love her, usually, but not now. And it’s a no. Alexis is going home.

Who loves Michael? Pennsylvania and California

2009-03-18T10:47:00.003-05:00

DialIdol released it analysis of last night's vote by state. Some big surprises: Michael won the most votes in Pennsylvania and California! Pennsylvania we can understand as they've got a large working-man population, but California, really? It must have been Michael and his family (who were in Cali last night) voting on 30 phones lines. Another shocker: Texas voted for Danny Hokey. Here's the map:

What others are saying ...

2009-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so if you're a die-hard Michael fan (or if you are Michael), you may not want to read these. Let's just say the media and blogs weren't big fans of Michael's performance last night. We think it was much better (and entertaining) than he's getting credit for. We tried to put some of the better ones up top:

Newsday
It's a really hard song, fast and tons of lyrics; Sarver's actually not bad, very authentic and believable. Not my cup of tea, but the audience loves it and he just sounds like a country singer; maybe not a whole lot of range in the song, it is all kind of a monotone. And I hate it when the contestants just keep talking back--they're usually illogical, and it just seems defensive. This isn't a debating contest; and if it were, my money wouldn't be on Sarver.

MJs Blog
I like Michael the ballad soul boy better, but he’s doing OK. He lost a couple of the words. He looks real comfortable up there, rather than nervous–he looks like he’s having a good time.

From MTV
Mark 8:11 pm down as the moment Michael Sarver announced he was a country music artist. I KNEW this would happen. “If we were all perfect, we wouldn’t need this show.” Michael Sarver is a sass machine. The country folks are gonna love it.

From Fox News
With a country music theme and Randy Travis as a mentor you’d think this would have been Michael Sarver’s week to shine. But instead the welder’s version of “Ain’t Goin’ Down Til the Sun Comes Up” just made me wish the sun would come up already.
The only thing more monotonous than Michael’s performance was Randy Travis’s as a mentor. It’s like someone slipped him a memo saying that for every contestant he should just blabber on about being unsure about their song choice then act totally amazed at how brilliantly they “made it their own.”

New Jersey Star Ledger
Michael Sarver, "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)": This theme should be right in the roughneck's wheelhouse, and if this is the best he can do on the theme, he should start packing his bags. This was karaoke Garth Brooks at best. Props for not running out of breath on some of the longer lines (which is more than could be said for the very next performance), but completely unmemorable.

Associated Press
Michael Sarver, the 27-year-old oil rig worker from Jasper, Texas, disappointed judges in a genre he might otherwise have nailed. Rating Sarver's rendition of Garth Brooks' "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)," Cowell said the unassuming singer came across not as a star but "a likable guy who likes country music who is a bit clumsy."

Baltimore Sun
First up is Michael Sarver, who is going to sing a speedy song, Garth Brooks' "Ain't Goin' Down Til the Sun Comes Up," and Randy Travis warns him not to biff the words. He handles it swimmingly, though the manic harmonica player sitting on the stage is a little distracting.

Grand Rapids Press
Michael Sarver: It's never a good sign when the best thing a judge can say about you is that you remembered all the lyrics, as Kara suggested. Simon didn't have any of Kara's break-it-to-him-gently manner: "You could've been singing in Norwegian," he sniffed.

Hartford Courant
Michael Sarver seemed to be the one finalist who could really sew up the category. He's one of those guys who makes what he's singing sound like country no matter what. But he blew his opportunity to sing just about anything for the rushed garble of Brooks Ain't Goin' Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)" in which it was all he could do to keep up with the lyrics, let alone add any vocal power.

Reality TV
I just want to reiterate, for the record, that I like Michael Sarver. I have to see him deliver in a live performance the way I know he’s capable of, though. The vocals on this are something we could hear in any karaoke bar. Randy Jackson basically agrees with me. Thank you, Randy. On a positive note, Michael happens to be a really likable guy and hopefully, that’ll be enough to get him into the Top 10 and on to the tour.

From Washington Post
This season's token twangster, Michael Sarver, may be in his genre, but unfortunately, he's not exactly in key while lumbering through Garth Brooks' "Ain't Going Down." Most likely he is, come Wednesday night's results show. (Um, can we vote that hot harmonica player through, instead, please?)

DialIdol predicts ...

2009-03-18T07:53:00.005-05:00

Spoiler alert: DialIdol is usually correct. Click Read More below if you want to know the results of last night's vote.

Michael is safe! DialIdol, which measures often each contestant's phone line was busy last night to calculate how many votes they got, puts Michael with the 7th most votes (the margin of error puts him anywhere from 4th place to 10th). Here's the ranking: 1. Danny 2. Anoop 3. Lil 4. Matt 5. Kris 6. Adam 7. Michael 8. Scott 9. Megan 10. Allison 11. Alexis. Either Megan, Allison or Alexis is predicted to go home tonight (only one is eliminated today). We think there's a good chance the judges would use their "save" on any of these girls.

Michael's Top 11 performance

2009-03-17T23:34:00.001-05:00

VOTE NOW 1-866-436-5701

2009-03-17T21:04:00.002-05:00

You can vote for Michael Sarver as many times as you want (we logged over 850 calls last week) between now and 11 p.m. Happy dialing!

LIVE BLOG - Top 11 performance

2009-03-17T18:40:00.020-05:00

6:45: Yeehaw! Grand Ole Opry Week is here. Ok, so we're not as excited as we were for Michael Jackson week, but tonight's show determines who makes the Top 10 and the American Idol national tour. Plus, "country" week is always .. uh, interesting, especially for the rockers. We'll be here all night, sharing our Idol expertise, or lack thereof.

7:12: T H I S S S S is American Idol. Are we doing the movie guy’s judge intro again? Why? So we’re a little disappointed none of the judges are wearing cowboy hats. Randy says this is always the tough week. Kara is wearing a silver jump suit. Paula.. actually looks nice, and Simon’s got on a …wait for it … wait for it… V-neck T-shirt (at least it’s grey this time). Randy Travis was this week’s celebrity mentor (he’s looking really bad). Michael Sarver’s first and he’s singing what we thought, Ain’t Goin Down.. CROSS YOUR FINGERS. Travis tells him to be careful not to lose the words. We find that we are holding our breath to see if he misses a word, but great start. Damn this is a fast paced song. Ok, Michael made us a believer, we were worried about the song, but great job. Too bad we couldn’t understand half the words, but we had fun watching it.

JUDGES: Randy, fun, but song choice didn’t show off voice. Kara: We got to see personality, but missed hearing the big notes. Paula: …is not making any sense. Still not. Something about a harmonica and the genre suiting him. Simon: Couldn’t understand a word Michael was singing (ok, we agree with this). Clumsy and sounded “Norwegian”?? Likable guy…Michael’s kinda sassy tonight will all the comebacks. Simon gave it a 1.2 on a scale to 10..yikes, it wasn’t that bad.

7:22: Alisson’s next. Three notes into it and we love it already… and now we’re getting bored. It was solid. But the audience loved it. JUDGES: Kara, loved it. Paula, (showing A LOT of cleavage). ..again, not making since, tells Allison to be “built”? Simon: Good but procosious (spelled right? Too many syllables for us). Simon translates: that means dope.

7:28 Kris is next. The teenage girls will love this, but it is boring the hell out of us. Sorry, fell asleep for a second. But we’re told it was beautiful. JUDGES: Paula, pleasantly surprised. Some pitchy notes. Simon thought it was terrific. Randy, loved the tender moments, calls him a “tender dawg” HA. Kara, “that’s opryland?”

7:40 And Lil Round is here.. she got a makeover. Ok, she definitely doesn’t look like a “Lil Rounds” now. Singing Independence Day, A little pitchy already. It sounds like she is TRYING to sing country and not just being herself (and she’s not a country singer). Ok, not sure what’s wrong with us, but everything’s boring us tonight (except Michael of course). JUDGES: Randy, struggled to like it, didn’t feel comfortable on her (good, it wasn’t just us). Kara not a fan of song, but liked that Lil standed her ground. Paula, who is obviously celebrating St. Patrick’s on her own, slurred through another. Simon didn’t like it, even a lil.

7:55: If we forget to post at the next commercial break, someone call and wake us up. Oh, Adam’s next, never mind. Doubt anyone could sleep through one of his performances. Singing Ring of Fire …an Indian, Middle Eastern version that left Randy Travis speechless and a little scared…ROFL. That was so freakin funny. Randy just thought the painted fingernails were the scary part. Well, it’s definitely original, not sure about the beginning, but there are some “interesting” moments near the end. Can’t wait to hear what the judges say. JUDGES: Kara called that country music??.. which country?. Says it was strange but loved the drama and smokey eyes (it’s called eye shadow). Paula loved the sitar-Kashmir-Led Zepplin sound.. uh huh. Simon ‘WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT’.. HA. Randy said it was young and fresh.. but what does he know.

Randy Travis is still speechless.

8:08 Scott is singing with his piano, again. Randy Travis liked… the piano playing. We’re gonna take a nap. Has anyone else noticed his ‘vampire’ teeth… sorry, we were trying to find something interesting. He’s going home. JUDGES: Paula, you worked hard but piano is crutch. Simon says: Paula’s stupid, bad song choice and sounded too much like last week. Randy bored. Kara, ditto (not to be confused with ditz).

Here’s our ranking thus far: Allison, Kris and Michael (tied), Adam, Lil, Scott

8:15 Alexis (yea!) is next. She DOES look like Dolly Parton (not the chest but everything else). We never noticed before. She’s singing Jolene. Hmm.. not rolling our socks up and down. It has a few nice moments, but where’s the dirty?. JUDGES: Randy didn’t enjoy it. Kara felt she lost her edge (YES) and it was flat. Paula didn’t mind pitch problems?? Why not? Simon says it’s just ok, no originality, forgettable. Wait, who just sang?

8:25 Ok, Michael’s sitting in a pretty good position right now. They need to get rid of country week in the future. Danny Hokey.. we mean Gokey is next, singing Jesus Take the Wheel. He was star struck in front of Randy Travis and couldn’t sing..really. If only.. He’s wearing a white pimp jacket.. it’s more like a pimp cargo jacket. Or a pimp cargo polar expedition jacket. Not a fan of the beginning but he sounds great later. It feels like he’s trying way too hard. JUDGES: Kara loves him when hits stride, but first half of song not so good. Paula brilliant. Simon hates the jacket (HA). Randy, pitchy but great singer.

8:35 Anoop is up singing You are Always on My Mind. Randy Travis loves it. Let’s see if we agree. Chills here. WOW. More chills. Great performance, best of night for us. JUDGES: Paula “Anoop is back”, tender, sweet vocals. Simon: Anoop “went from zero to hero” (isn’t that a line from the Hercules movie?) His fave of night. Randy: proved you could sing. Kara: amazing, biggest surprise.

8:50 Megan Caw Caw is up next. Wow, another great makeover and she’s left the arm flails at home. We usually love her voice, but she sounds a little squawky tonight. OH, she’s sick (got the flu), that explains it. JUDGES: Simon, pretty good, really worked. Kara, perfect song and look. Paula tells us Megan’s been in hospital today and couldn’t make it to dress rehearsal. (great, now she’ll get the sympathy vote) Simon: You should have flu every week.

9:00 And finally, Matt G, singing another Carrie song. Is Paula smelling Simon’s arm??? Solid, no complaints. JUDGES: Kara, special. Paula, authentic, piercing hearts. Simon “you ARE a heart piercer” AWWWWWW. Out sang Danny. Randy: Favorite of night.

Our final ranking: Anoop, Allison, Matt, Kris, Danny, Michael, Megan, Adam, Alexis, Lil, Scott

Ain't Goin' Down

2009-03-17T18:01:00.006-05:00

So we hear that Michael may be singing Garth Brooks' "Ain't Goin' Down Till the Sun Comes Up" tonight. We sorta hope that's wrong, as it's one of those songs that doesn't really show off the singer's voice and are pretty sure Simon'll say it's a bad song choice. Here's Josh Gracin singing the song in the second season of American Idol:

Tonight's songs?

2009-03-17T17:46:00.004-05:00

Someone claiming to be at today's dress rehearsal says this of tonight's show, but we've been punked before:

Matt Giraud - So Small (played piano)
Scott MacIntyre - I recognized his song, but for the life of me I can’t
remember the name of it. (played piano)
Michael Sarver - Ain’t Goin’ Down Till the Sun Comes Up
Allison Iraheta - Blame It on Your Heart
Kris Allen - To Make You Feel My Love (sat on a stool)
Adam Lambert - Ring of Fire (very sexy Eastern-influenced version that pretty much made every woman over the age of 20 in the audience ready to jump him)
Lil Rounds - Independence Day
Danny Gokey - Jesus, Take the Wheel (partial standing O)
Alexis Grace - Jolene
Anoop - You Were Always on My Mind

"Not sure if the performance order is correct since I didn’t take notes. The first four are definitely correct, although again we don’t know where Megan is in the lineup since she didn’t perform (wardrobe malfunction). It definitely seemed to me like they were saving the “fan favorites” for the second half. Adam and Danny by far got the biggest audience reaction, both before, during, and after their performances. Right now it seems like they are the clear front-runners. Everyone else was good, but they both had that extra something."

Send Michael a birthday card

2009-03-17T16:24:00.003-05:00

Just in case you didn't know, Michael's birthday is Saturday March 28, just time enough for you to send him some birthday wishes. We've just obtained the address for Michael's snail mail address in LA, so bombard him with support.

Send all fan mail to:
Michael Sarver
C/O American Idol
7800 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036

American Idol to release trading cards

2009-03-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

“American Idol” fans will soon be able to trade Carrie Underwoods for Michael Sarvers.

“Idol” production company FremantleMedia and trading card publisher Upper Deck are launching a new line of trading cards featuring images of past and current contestants and the judges and host of the Fox singing competition. The 138-card line is set to debut April 21.

Six special cards autographed by past “Idols” will be randomly slipped into the five-card packs. Regular cards will feature rejected hopefuls such as William Hung and Nick Mitchell, past winners like Ruben Studdard and David Cook, and popular finalists including Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson.

What to expect

2009-03-17T11:19:00.010-05:00

What to expect tonight (in no particular order)
Danny Gokey - Having learned his lesson about pelvic thrusting, Danny will introduce a new move: the butt shake.. or the robot, maybe both.

Alexis Grace - Will adapt pretty well to the theme, showing her voice can fit a lot of different genres.

Michael Sarver - Will offer up another solid performance and answer the age-old question: Should every Texan be a country artist?

Adam Lambert - Could get in trouble with his song selection this week unless he changes a song up like David Cook did last season. That said, the judges will still gush over him and probably credit him with re-inventing country music.

Allison Iraheta - A poor song selection will prove to everyone that she should stick with rock. (Also, she'll dye her hair a shamrock green)

Kris Allen - Will attempt playing more than one note on his guitar but will continue singing out of the side of his mouth. Paula will swoon.

Scott MacIntyre - Will give another solid but boring as hell performance. And he'll prove that he does have moves by standing at the piano instead of sitting this week.

Megan Corkrey - More swaying and less bird flapping this week (we hope), her quirky style should work in the country theme.

Matt Giraud - Will sound exactly like Danny, again.

Anoop Desai - Anoop doing country?? Really?? He's hasn't got a chance. (but maybe they'll dress him like John Wayne?!)

Lil Rounds - We predict another power ballad coming with an amazing glory note at the end, but we'll still be underwhelmed.

Vegas oddsmakers on losing end

2009-03-17T08:46:00.003-05:00

For all you who were upset with Las Vegas oddsmakers who consistently put Michael as the underdog: Wagering on the show has been suspended because of the new "judges save" rule introduced last week:

“We were forced to suspend betting on American Idol in order to protect both the betting public…and ourselves,” says T.J. Kendrick, BetOnline.com spokesperson. One concern, says Kendrick, is the possibility of the entertainment industry version of “insider trading” - industry insiders placing bets on a contestant and later lobbying contacts within the show to have them remain, even if the public votes them off - via a judges’ veto. While Kendrick says BetOnline.com has not yet been the victim of this sort of insider trading, some competitors have. “A few years ago, several betting sites were forced to suspend wagering on Survivor and other reality series due to strong suspicions of insider trading,” Kendrick said.

We're liking the "judges save" more and more each day :)

Sarver, Idol shine light on music ministries

2009-03-16T23:43:00.002-05:00

From the Beaumont Enterprise
Every Sunday, Matt Byars and Cameron Wolfe get up at 7 a.m., grab their trumpets and head to church. The two play with First Light, First United Methodist Church of Beaumont's praise and worship ensemble. The band is, in part, the reason why the pair shows up to service each week. "The church gives everyone the opportunity to play and sing," Byars, 19, said after last Sunday's service. "It's a great place to get experience." American Idol contestant and Jasper resident Michael Sarver, as well as several of his competitors, are drawing national attention to music ministry, sharing their church backgrounds with the nation. He and at least five of the remaining 11, including Danny Gokey, have strong church connections.

Read the full story HERE.

Backstage with Oprah

2009-03-16T18:21:00.002-05:00

The big O went backstage with American Idol last week. What we learn: Danny did the pelvic thrusts even in the dress rehearsal (no one told him to stop??), Simon has his own compound of trailers near the sound stage, and Seacrest knows the result an hour and a half before the show.

Ryan does a tour
by krunkyou

Moving on up

2009-03-16T16:24:00.002-05:00

Michael's slowly but surely moving up Entertainment Weekly's weekly contestant ranking.

11. Megan Corkrey: (Last week: No. 11)
10. Scott MacIntyre: (Last week: No. 9)
9. Anoop Desai: (Last week: No. 2)
8. Michael Sarver: (Last week: No. 12) Looked like the weakest link heading into Michael Jackson week, but his "You Are Not Alone" was on pitch and heartfelt, if not particularly electrifying. Says he's not a country singer, but his Texas drawl is a better fit for Grand Ole Opry week than most of his competitors, and that may be enough to get him to the Idol Tour.
7. Lil Rounds: (Last week: No. 7)
6. Matt Giraud: (Last week: No. 8)
5. Kris Allen: (Last week: No. 6)
4. Alexis Grace: (Last week: No. 1)
3. Danny Gokey: (Last week: No. 3)
2. Allison Iraheta: (Last week: No. 4)
1. Adam Lambert: (Last week: No. 5)

Read the full story HERE

April fools? We hope not

2009-03-16T16:08:00.004-05:00

David Cook will be performing on the Wednesday April 1 elimination show as part of the string of past American Idol winners that will be returning this season. The performance is scheduled to coincide with the release of his singles "Come back to me" and "Bar-ba-sol." Carrie Underwood will be performing this Wednesday, along with Randy Travis.

Jorge wanted Michael's song

2009-03-16T15:50:00.003-05:00

In an appearance on Regis and Kelly this morning, Jorge said his last song "Never Can Say Goodbye" was not first song choice. He wanted to sing “You Are Not Alone” but Michael got it first. “Never Can Say Goodbye” was the only ballad left, and he sang it, even though he’d never heard it before.

Here's the video of Jorge and Jasmine's interview

What should Michael sing?

2009-03-16T10:11:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow night is Grand Ole Opry night and we want to know what Michael should sing. Click "read more" below to see the full list of songs the contestants could choose from.. then tell us in the comments section your recommendation.

Alan Jackson - Don't Rock the Jukebox
Alan Jackson - Summertime Blues
Alan Jackson - Chattahoochee
Alison Krauss - When You Say Nothing At All
Alison Krauss - Baby Now That I've Found You
Barbara Mandrell - If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right
Brad Paisley - Celebrity
Brad Paisley - Mud on the Tires
Brad Paisley - When I Get Where I'm Going
Carrie Underwood - Jesus Take the Wheel
Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats
Carrie Underwood - Wasted
Carrie Underwood - So Small
Carrie Underwood - All-American Girl
Carrie Underwood - Last Name
Diamond Rio - Beautiful Mess
Dierks Bentley - What Was I Thinkin
Dierks Bentley - Come A Little Closer
Dierks Bentley - Every Mile a Memory
Dierks Bentley - Feel That Fire
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Dolly Patron - I Will Always Love You
Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again
Dolly Parton - 9 to 5
Dolly Parton - Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That
Garth Brooks - Friends in Low Places
Garth Brooks - The Dance
Garth Brooks - Shameless
Garth Brooks - More Than a Memory
George Jones - She Thinks I Still Care
George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today
Hank Williams - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line
Josh Turner - Your Man
Josh Turner - Would You Go With Me
Josh Turner - Firecracker
Lorrie Morgan - Watch Me
Martina McBride - Wild Angels
Martina McBride - A Broken Wing
Martina McBride - Anyway
Pam Tillis - Cleopatra, Queen of Denial
Pam Tillis - Maybe It Was Memphis
Patsy Cline - Walkin' After Midnight
Patsy Cline - I Fall to Pieces
Patsy Cline - Crazy
Patty Loveless - Blame On Your Heart
Randy Travis - Forever And Ever Amen
Reba McEntire - Fancy
Reba McEntire - Why Haven't I Heard From You
Ronnie Milsap - It Was Almost Like a Song
Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man
Terri Clark - Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Trace Adkins - Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
Trace Adkins - You're Gonna Miss This
Travis Tritt - I'm Gonna Be Somebody
Travis Tritt - T-R-O-U-B-L-E
Travis Tritt - Tell Me I was Dreaming
Travis Tritt - It's a Great Day To Be Alive
Trisha Yearwood - She's In Love With The Boy
Trisha Yearwood - Walkaway Joe
Trisha Yearwood - How Do I Live
Vince Gill - I Still Believe In You.

Odds still stacked against Michael

2009-03-16T09:27:00.002-05:00

Despite Michael's success last week, Las Vegas oddsmakers still put him as the underdog. Obviously, noone in Vegas watches the show. Here's how they rank:

1. Adam Lambert 7/4, 2. Danny Gokey 11/4, 3. Lil Rounds 5/1, 4. Allison Iraheta 10/1, 5. Scott MacIntyre 15/1, 6. Matt Giraud 10/1, 7. Alexis Grace 10/1, 8. Anoop Desai 20/1, 9. Megan Corkrey 30/1, 10. Kris Allen 30/1, 11. Michael Sarver 40/1

Pool rule changes

2009-03-15T15:19:00.004-05:00

Don't forget to join in on our American Idol pool fun. Because of the judges' save, we've made a few rule changes. Sign up for the pool HERE. Read the rule changes below:

If the judges save a contestant, points WILL be awarded as if
that contestant was eliminated, so you are always predicting who
receives the least votes. Bonus points will also be awarded as long as
the bonus answers still make sense.

If more than one contestant is eliminated, points will be
awarded for both contestants. You can still put all 20 points on one
contestant even if you know two will be eliminated.

Studio recording of You Are Not Alone

2009-03-15T01:11:00.003-05:00

Listen to Michael's studio recording of You Are Not Alone, even better than his live performance!

Supermodel, at least on his way

2009-03-14T01:54:00.006-05:00

From the Top 11 photo shoot: Michael looks like he's getting the hang of it. Click "read more" to see all of this week's pictures.

New photo shoot

2009-03-13T21:48:00.002-05:00

And watch the video of them making it here

Growing up Michael

2009-03-13T20:48:00.001-05:00

People Magazine has a baby picture and short feature on each of the Top 11. Here's Michael's

The Christian Idols

2009-03-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

From MTV
This season a large number of those faithful viewers have more than a casual pop-culture interest in the show: They're Christians who are also watching because more than half of this year's crop of finalists — including Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Kris Allen, Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud and Lil Rounds — either have a strong affiliation with the church or are worship leaders in their communities.

"I think that Christians probably watch the show all the time but maybe don't admit it. But this gives them someone to root for in this cast who is not just talented but also follows their faith, and people want to get behind contestants who align with their views," said Joanne Brokaw, who writes the Gospel Soundcheck" column for the spirituality Web site BeliefNet.com. "Christian music has always had this cheesy label attached to it, and this shows that a Christian singer can have artistic integrity and they are people who can really sing."

Brokaw, a freelance writer who contributes to a number of Christian media outlets, began live-blogging "Idol" this year for BeliefNet, and she said the show's inclusion of such worship leaders as front-runner Gokey and Texas roughneck Sarver piqued her interest early on. "I think someone like Danny Gokey allows mainstream audiences to see that Christian music is not scary," she said. "He's not preachy. And the story of how he lost his wife is so heartbreaking, but you can see there is a joy in his performance that speaks to people. He doesn't have to talk about God for people to see that he's a Christian and see past the stereotype."

According to Brokaw's research, at least six of the remaining top 11 contenders have ties to the church. Among them are Gokey, who she said ran two services in two different cities every Sunday for Faith Builders International until his wife's death; worship leaders Sarver and Allen; gospel-quartet member and churchgoer MacIntrye; Giraud, who has released two Christian CDs; and Rounds, who has said she "grew up in church."

When Jordin Sparks won the competition two years ago, Brokaw said Christians took notice because of her strong faith and her background in gospel and Christian music. She followed in the footsteps of other avowed Christians Chris Daughtry, who has gained a strong following thanks to his spiritually inclined lyrics, and first-season singer RJ Helton, who represented early on in the show's run but reportedly quit singing inspirational music after coming out as a gay man.

The show also built what Brokaw thought was an overt bridge to its Christian audience last season when the top eight sang the evangelical Christian tune "Shout to the Lord" during the charity fundraiser "Idol Gives Back"; the song was covered by season-two winner Ruben Studdard on his 2004 gospel album, I Need an Angel.

"Even if contestants don't come out and say it, we can all spot someone [who is Christian]. The more that there are contestants that we can connect with — who we can say, 'That person is like me' — the more it will probably help drive viewership this year," Brokaw said, pointing to a moment on Tuesday's performance show when the judges praised Allen for helping other contestants work on their songs, which Brokaw said brought a knowing nod from Christians who know of his church background.

"We see what kind of person he is, and if you talk to people in his church they'll say they're not surprised." Brokaw said. "But people who don't know that he's a worship leader or actively involved in a Christian church might say, 'Why is he doing that? This is a competition!' Those are the values people want. We love it as much as anyone when Simon gets snarky, but watching a contestant perform with integrity and treating fellow contestants with grace and dignity speaks to us."

Just as this season kicked off, freelance writer CJ Casciotta penned an essay for faith site ConversantLife.com titled "American Idol — Good for TV. Bad for Church," in which he questioned whether the show's shunning of the "awkward, the socially inept, the ugly, the difficult" during the often cruel early rounds shouldn't be a call to action for the rest of us to embrace those whose lives are a struggle.

Casciotta's interest was piqued when he heard "Shout to the Lord" on "Idol" last season, and he suspects that the inclusion was an overt attempt to court Christian viewers. "The people at 'American Idol' are not idiots. They realize that there's this huge percentage of America that watches TV as a family, and a lot of families go to church. ... [The viewers] know worship leaders and musicians in church, and why not bring that aspect to the show?" he said.

He suspected that the inclusion of so many people of faith on "Idol" this year is part of a trend Christian music has been undergoing over the past decade, growing out of its cloistered corner and going more mainstream without losing its core values. "People who are Christians have a platform through 'American Idol' to write their songs and share their stories, and it doesn't have to fit in with the traditional Christian or worship genre," he said.

In fact, Casciotta said, he thinks Christian voters could end up being the deciding factor in this year's finals. "I would hope for people of faith that they would judge solely by talent," he said. "But if it came down to it, and the two [finalists] were equally talented and one was Christian, people would vote for that person who shares our faith."

In Michael's head

2009-03-13T11:19:00.005-05:00

After seeing photos from Wednesday night's show, we felt pretty sure we knew what Michael was thinking:

Michael: "Woah, did Danny just do a pelvic thrust? You can't do that in church." Adam and Allison: "HA"

Michael: "I'm definitly better than this Adam guy"

Michael: "Matt's safe?? Fuhget about it"

Michael: "Damn Danny, enough with the moves already"

Jimmy Kimmel nicknames Michael

2009-03-13T09:27:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday night’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, Jimmy gave the ‘American Idol’ kids nicknames. Kris Allen is “That White Guy”, Adam Lambert is “Joan Jett”, Anoop Desai is “Anoop”, Lil Rounds is “Lil Rounds”, Scott MacIntyre is “The Blind Guy”, Megan Joy is “Tattooine”, Alexis Grace is “The Parakeet”, Danny Gokey is “Okey-Gokey”, Michael Sarver is “Pork Chop”, Matt Giraud is “Justin Timberfake”, and Allison Iraheta is “Kool-Aid Head”. Watch the comedy clip below.

The group performance

2009-03-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

A umm...shorter elimination show

2009-03-12T21:54:00.003-05:00

In case you missed Wednesday's elimination show, or even if you didn't, check out this HI LAR I OUS recap video

Fox looking for 'missing clips' after blunder

2009-03-12T21:40:00.006-05:00

Ok, as many of you know, American Idol was interrupted twice last night when FOX aired commercials at the wrong time. And of course it happend during the worst two moments of the show... Here's what we've found out:

From Beaumont Enterprise
"Local viewers of "American Idol" missed Michael Sarver's moment of truth Wednesday as well as the Top 13's music video when technical difficulties caused commercials to interrupt the show at those points."We are talking to Fox about trying to get the video now," said KBTV Fox 4 news director Angel San Juan on Thursday. The station is trying to link to the lost footage on its Web site, San Juan said. "Our general manager learned that this was a problem with several Fox stations across the country," he said.The problem occurred with the commercial breaks schedule, San Juan said. Fox sent the stations a schedule for commercial breaks, but Wednesday night, that schedule was wrong, San Juan said. That resulted in the commercials running over parts of the program, he said."

You can watch the Ford music video here

Jorge's final word

2009-03-12T20:25:00.003-05:00

Some interesting tidbits on who's friends in the mansion and the contestants' anticipation of finding out the twist.

From USA Today
Q. What are you going to do now? Are you going to law school or are you going to pursue a music career?
A. This show is so amazing, and I've gotten so much exposure that I'm going to do both.

Q. Why did you pick that song?
A. I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to stay in the same vibe and sing ballads the whole show. It's such a big stage that I wanted something I could play with on that stage.

Q. What helpful words did you get from judges?
A. The judges did encourage both of us (Jasmine Murray was also eliminated) to keep going . And I think the thing that I have now is God, and I know that everything is going to be great.

Q. What did you learn from the experience?
A. I've learned that being a singer is more about staying true to who you are, no matter what other people might think. Everyone has an opinion. It's the artist who believes in who he is and what he wants. I have no regrets.

Q. What was your biggest challenge?
A. Even though that PR (Puerto Rico) has a lot of influence, we are a country by ourselves. We have our own culture, and we listen to music in Spanish. My biggest challenge was picking songs for the show that is not the kind of music that I'm used to singing at home. But I think I did a good job.

Q. Ryan Seacrest got a text from Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony praising you. Have you heard from them since?
A. Up to now I haven't heard from them, but I don't know. I'm pretty sure that that was just a sign that things are going to be great for me.

Q. Were you hurt about being eliminated?
A. I was not hurt, because I believe that a person should not have any excuse, and when something happens, it's meant to be, and I took it like a man. And you know, it's the start of something much, much bigger for me.

Q. What was your family's reaction?
A. I've got lots of text messages saying wonderful things. None of them said I'm sorry. They all said "you have a great voice" and "things are going to be great for you." That's what I mean about my reaction toward what happened. I see it as a great opportunity. My family is just so happy that I could be on the show. I can't wait to go home, because it's been a month that I've been here, and I can't wait to go home and eat some Puerto Rican food.

Q. When you were told that there was going to be a twist announced, did you have any predictions?
A. We all (in the mansion) were wondering what was going to happen. We didn't know. It just happened that same moment. I kind of imagined that it would be something like that, being that this year there's so much talent on the show.

Q. Do you think the Judges Save is a good thing?
A. I think it's a good thing, because there have been people like Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken that didn't win but did great, and they should have gone further.

Q. What would you have sang next week during Country Week?
A. Actually, with the country pick, that was intimidating for me. If I ever got to sing country, I bet I was going to be not only the first Puerto Rican finalist on Idol, but the first Puerto Rican singing country ever in the history of Puerto Rico. I had a few songs picked, like I Know You Won't by Carrie Underwood and Anyway by Martina McBride.

Q. What did you think about Simon's comment about Michael Jackson's song Bad? A. The thing is that Simon is the kind of person that whenever he says something, he's very fast and he's very smart. He's going to get you at the moment. It was funny, but it was also like, "Simon, come on." And that's the first time that he told me something like that. I know that he liked me in some way.

Q. Do you think that the language barrier hurt you in the competition?
A. It's something that is really logical. My first language is Spanish, so when I do my best and I'm emoting and showing passion to people, it will be in my own language. I had to work harder, but I don't think it affected me, and I think I did a great job.

Q. Anyone you would have liked to get to know better?
A. If I had to pick, I would say Lil Rounds. She called me Georgito (it means Little George in Spanish), and Allison, 'cause she's Latina too. We spoke in Spanish a lot at the mansion. And Jasmine. We're really close.

Q. Any closing remarks?
A. I want to say that this has been such an amazing experience and there's nothing to be upset about, especially when you've done so good and been in the top 13 of (thousands of) people. And you should pursue your dream; this is just the start of something that's much, much bigger for me. I'm very happy. You're going to see more of me.

Final interview with Jasmine

2009-03-12T20:17:00.003-05:00

Some interesting tidbits about the contestants mansion, what they knew (or didn't know) about the surprise twist and what songs contestants were considering for country week.

From USA TODAY
Q. What advice did the judges give you after the show ended?
A. They were just encouraging me to keep going and keep doing what I'm doing. I'm glad they did; they're so nice.

Q. What are your plans now?
A. Well, after this I have to finish high school. I'm a junior in high school. And then I'm going to go to college and pursue music. Music is really where my heart is.

Q. What would you say was your biggest obstacle?
A. Everyone has their opinions, and I really value that, and I tried to give it my all every time I got onstage. I really enjoyed being up on stage and singing every time.

Q. What do you think of the new twist, Judges Save? Were you surprised when they didn't use the save for you?
A. No. You never know in this type of competition. You always have to have hope and faith, and it could happen. And they could have said yes, but they didn't. They know what they want for the competition, and they probably wanted to save it. That's OK with me.

Q. What are you going to miss the most about the new mansion?
A. The practice room. We have a big, spacious area, and it had wonderful acoustics and a keyboard. I'm glad they had that for us. I used to go down there all the time and practice my skills. I'm going to miss that part of the house.

Q. How does it feel to have support from people from all over, even places you haven't even heard of?
A. Support from people means so much to me. I really appreciate it. It's really unbelievable because Idol really does get you out there. I'm so lucky to have fans, and that people like to hear my singing, and that they voted for me.

Q. What's the buzz among the singers about the Judges Save?
A. No, we had no idea at all. So it was a mystery. We were all wondering, of course, but we didn't know.

Q. Is the Save a good idea?
A. I think that's a good idea amongst the other things, with the 36 semifinalists and 13 finalists. They've given people extra chances to get closer to reach their dreams and achieve their goals. It's a great idea.

Q. With the Save, do you think that Americans will feel that judges don't trust their decisions?
A. I don't think so. The judges put us all here in the first place from the first audition, and America decides the ultimate outcome.

Q. Did you have time to spend with the judges since last night?
A. No, we don't get to spend time with the judges, and they came up to encourage me and to keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. What's been the most rewarding thing about your experiences on the show?
A. For me, it's been being able to perform, and that's what is the most important thing anyway. Getting up there and showing what you can do. I feel like I have been able to really do that, and I'm so glad to do that.

Q. Living in the mansion — was Mom there?
A. Kinda. She's my mom. She's a mom. She's always supporting and coaching me and helping me do things.

Q. How did it feel when you were eliminated?
A. It felt like any other time that I've performed and the judges judged me. I was just happy to be back on that stage. The lights and the audience and the energy you get from all of it. I'm really glad I got to do it.

Q. In pageants, they honor poise, but American Idol wants people to be more loose. Did you feel that it was hard to get out of pageant mode?
A. I can remember seeing Paula was happy because I was poised on stage. And I think it's good to be poised on stage. So, I was just myself every time I got up there.

Q. Country week is next week. Did you have anything in mind?
A. I had various songs I was thinking, something like LeAnn Rhimes or something from Carrie Underwood.

Q. Why did you pick your song I'll Be There?
A. I thought it was a good choice. It's a beautiful song, and it was made when the Jackson 5 were young. I thought it was a good song choice.

Q. Closing remarks?
A. Just thank you for everything.

Interview with Michael

2009-03-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

From last week's Top 13 party

Michael's first music video

2009-03-12T10:51:00.003-05:00

Did you miss last night's Ford music video? (thanks Fox) You can watch it HERE. There's also a nice "making of" video afterwards.

More photos from Tuesday

2009-03-12T10:00:00.013-05:00

UPDATED with more pictures! Click "Read more" to see them all.

See previous pictures here.

Next week - Grand Ole Opry theme

2009-03-12T08:59:00.002-05:00

Idol is about to join forces for a week with the “Show That Made Country Music Famous”! American Idol will feature a Grand Ole Opry theme on March 17 & 18, as contestants will select and perform songs popularized by Opry members! In addition, Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis will sing together on Randy’s classic hit and Carrie’s current single, “I Told You So,” plus Brad Paisley will make the television debut of his new single, “Then,” from his forthcoming summer album. Vote For the Worst posted the song list that the top 11 will choose from HERE.

Michael advances!

2009-03-11T21:17:00.005-05:00

Michael was the first to find out tonight that he'll advance to next week's shows. Jasmine and Jorge were eliminated. Read our live blog below for a blow-by-blow of how it all went down. CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL!

LIVE BLOG - Elimination night

2009-03-11T18:45:00.028-05:00

8:08 THISSSSSSSSSSSS … is American Idol (ok, so Ryan doesn’t have a lisp, but it would be funny eh?) 33 million votes came in last night. .0000000000000001% of those were ours! .. Paula left her bird at home today. And the twist, to stop an uproar if the wrong contestant leaves too early… "the judges save”.. aka the veto. As reported, they can save one contestant from being eliminated during the season. We’re seeing the contestant’s new diggs for the first time .. very judges “mansion”esque.. without Simon in a red velvet chair that is.

Time for the group number.. starting with some bad dance moves from Jorge and Kris. Ok, watch Scott try to keep up with the moves. We know we shouldn’t laugh, but it is HI LAR I OUS. (Thank God for TIVO..we can’t wait to watch this back and devote our whole attention to Scott).. WAIT.. did Danny just do pelvic thrusts?? NOOOOOOOO. We won’t sleep tonight. Overall, a decent performance. Michael had some great parts in it, including some amazing rifts there at the end.

8:15 Time for last night’s recap: Paula still looks drunk. And now some results finally. Maybe. Ryan and Michael have a nice little chat.. (go Michael with the extra TV time) Michael says “Working is the word” and that he’s struggling with dance moves. He also got to make his first music video. WAIT, our TV cut to a Market Basket commercial before the Ford music commercial.. what happened? Damn TV station..

8:25 MICHAEL’S first .. and the TV cut out again (this time to a Jack in the Box commercial? COULD THIS COME AT A WORSE TIME).. $%&^#@$ FOX! .. wait, it’s back on AND he’s in!! Allison’s next.. and she’s also safe! Thank God! And Matt’s safe. Kris and Megan are up next. Kris is safe. Megan’s in the bottom with Jasmine. And the first person going home is Jasmine! We knew it! They should have left her in the wildcard. Megan’s singing “I’ll Be There”.. but she doesn’t mean on Idol. And we’ve got our first tears of the night. As if it isn’t bad enough for Seacrest to tell contestants they are out.. they then have to wait for the judges to tell them they won’t save them. It’s double the pain and humiliation.. we love it.

8:35 And Kanye West’s up. What’s up with the hand towel sticking out of his back pocket? And did anyone see the shoulder pads on that backup singer? Ok, we can’t stop staring at the hand towel.. what is it? We keep waiting for him to wipe something.. anything. But no.

8:45 More results: Scott’s first and he’s safe. “Naughty” Alexis safe. Danny Gokey safe. Anoop “beats it” to the hot seat.. (of course he’ll be joined by Jorge soon). Adam is safe. Jorge KNOWS he’s going home… just look at that face. But first, Lil’s safe. And the person going home.. will be revealed after the break. (but we’ll have to wait two breaks)

8:50 Kelly Clarkson’s up! Cue awkward banter between Kelly and Ryan. Kelly’s singing “My life would suck without you” Ryan sings along to Simon. (and backstage, Kanye sings to his hand towel)

9:00 Wow they’ve crammed a lot into this hour. It seems like the results were an afterthought. Speaking of, we’re back to Anoop (who should go) and Jorge (who will go). Anoop is safe. Adios Jorge. And now we have to hear him sing that awful song again (ok, it’s a little better than we remember). And now time for the second rejection from the judges.. and it’s a no. Ouch, this double rejection hurts ☺ Well, another week down and 11 left. If (we mean “when”) Michael makes it into the Top 10, he’ll get a spot in the national Idol tour. So rest your dialing fingers and watch again next week. –Enterprise out.

We predict ...

2009-03-11T18:21:00.004-05:00

Who'll stay and who will go?? We'll know soon enough. Here's our prediction for tonight's episode. Top vote getters: Danny and Adam. Going home: Jorge and Jasmine. Big twist: Judge's will get to veto one of America's votes this season (and if Allison ends up in the bottom two tonight, will they use it so soon in the season?) Group number: another Michael Jackson song (will we finally get a moonwalk?!) Group performance cheorgraphy: Scott sits or stands in place. Guest appearances: Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West (ok, this isn't so much a prediction as a fact. Any chance Michael Jackson will make a surprise appearance?)

David Archuleta is "way too busy"

2009-03-11T13:48:00.011-05:00

So last season "Idol" runner up David Archuleta - shown left in at an ultra-recent "concert" in a Utah club called "church" - is performing tonight at Scout Bar on Crockett Street. Since that's one block from our office, and his tour bus is idling out in front, we decided to trot over and try to interview him.

"Ha! HA!" said the shoeless sleep deprived tour manager who answered his tour bus door.

Actually, he didn't say that, and was quite polite, but did say that David was "way too busy" and they had "so much going on right then."

Really? "Way too busy?"

Let's be honest...he's an 18 year-old Mormon kid on a national tour. While, he's not snorting lines of blow off a glass mirror, he's probably resting up for his show, or kicking it playing Wii. Which is fine, because that's normal.

If he doesn't want to talk with the press, that's no biggie. We are the press, and sometimes we don't want to talk to us. But come on - and this goes out to tour managers everywhere - just tell us the truth. WE'RE FINE WITH IT!

Get your picks in now!

2009-03-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to make your picks in our American Idol pool. It's not too late to join the fun. Entries must by in 6 p.m. today. Good luck! Click here to play.

Will judges get veto power?

2009-03-11T11:00:00.004-05:00

Ryan Seacrest interviewed Idol producer Ken Warwick on his radio program today. Ken says the “new rule” that will be introduced tonight came about to solve a “problem that’s been around since Season 1.” Ken says they tried the rule out in the French version of Idol first.

According to the Wikipedia entry for Nouvelle Star, in the last series, the judges were able to exercise a one time veto on an eliminated contestant at any point in the competition. The judges used their veto during the first week, sparing a contestant named Kristov, who was eventually eliminated 3 weeks later.

Here’s how the new rule worked in France: The judge get a veto power, it means that they can save one contestant during the whole season. It works the following way, after the contestant(s) was eliminated, the judges have a meeting and decide if he is worth saving or not. If they decide he deserved it they give him another chance and the following week they start the show with the same contestants.

Snapshots from last night

2009-03-11T10:16:00.008-05:00

Click "Read more" to see them all

What others are saying ...

2009-03-11T09:40:00.002-05:00

From Newsday
Michael Sarver has to follow Danny Gokey, doing "You Are Not Alone." This has the potential to be really sappy... He's got a really smooth voice though, and it spools out big; big smile on his face, unlike with Danny I find this much more natural and believable. I like Sarver; think the song choice wasn't great, and he may not have the charisma or pipes of some of the others, but I hope he does well.

From MSNBC
Safe for another week. Did anyone not know that Michael Sarver worked on an oil rig? If they didn’t, they found out in Sarver’s pre-performance video, when he went back in his fancy new clothes to greet his old co-workers. He picked “You Are Not Alone,” which is not exactly an oil rig roughneck kind of song, but sang it well enough to win the kudos of all four judges, although Simon did snark “I just wish we knew what you did for a living.”

From MTV
Texas roughneck oil-rigger Michael Sarver brought out his sensitive side with the big-screen weeper "You Are Not Alone," standing center stage and putting some soulful gospel fire into the tune. Simon said that despite not being the best singer in the competition, he made up for it with "passion, heart" and effort.

From MJ’s AI blog
Michael visits the oil refinery. His wife says he grew up without a dad. This performance is so much better than his semi-final performance! He’s got a powerful voice and sings with a lot of feeling. Very nice. He’s ballad boy, I think. Simon says, “You’re not the best singer, you made up for it with passion, heart…you gave it 110%.” Randy says, “Your definitely one of the best tonight.” Kara says, “Tonight showed me you really can sing…you can hit those notes…you bring your game.” Paula says, “You sounded really lovely tonight.” and then some blah blah about coloring it up…

From TheWrap.com
Michael Sarver: Delivered a performance far superior to that of MacIntyre’s with “You Are Not Alone.” Only problem? He’s not blind. Still, it’s cute to think of all those roughnecks wiping oil from their fingertips to vote for their favorite contestant. He’s a good singer and likable guy, but he is no star.

From Celebrity Café
I can’t help but dislike the annunciation that he makes, like he was using too much teeth. He definitely shows some strength in the song and I believe that it connects. He hits a great glory note in the end.

From People Magazine
Michael Sarver, 27, turned “You Are Not Alone” into a solidly comfy country ballad.

From Fox News
Anyone who gets the option to sing any Michael Jackson song out there and picks “You Are Not Alone” deserves to get voted off by default. The judges however seemed to have nothing to say about Michael’s horrid song choice, or the fact that he was trying way too hard on his vocals.

From BuzzSugar
"You Are Not Alone" showed off Michael's sensitive side. Can't say I was crazy about the arrangement, which seemed to lend itself to oversinging, but he did a competent job and — as Simon said — gave it 110 percent. Paula said he sounded lovely, and Randy said he was one of the best so far (out of four. but still).

From Entertainment Weekly
“I just wish we knew what you did for a living,” Simon deadpanned as he critiqued “You Are Not Alone,” as done by the country’s best-known oil rig roughneck. The ballad, one of the harder Jackson songs to get out of your head, served Sarver well, complementing the burly family man’s warm, solid (if unextraordinary) voice.

Looks like Michael's safe

2009-03-11T08:30:00.003-05:00

SPOILER ALERT
DialIdol, which measured how often each contestant's phone line was busy last night, predicts Michael is probably safe tonight, receiving the seventh most votes (tied with Matt Giraud). Here's how they rank them. 1. Danny, 2. Adam, 3. Lil, 4. Alexis, 5. Anoop, 6. Scott, 7. Matt G., 7. Michael Sarver, 9. Megan, 10. Kris, 11. Jasmine. 12. Allison (REALLY?), 12. Jorge. Of course, the margin or error means that everyone placed 6-13 are in danger of being eliminated. But it looks like Kris, Jasmine, Allison and Jorge are in the most danger.

Watch Michael's Top 13 performance

2009-03-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow's twist

2009-03-10T21:41:00.004-05:00

American Idol will announce it surprise twist tomorrow night. We believe it will be a change to how contestants are eliminated. Our theory (which is shared by the majority of fan sites): After each week's vote, the two contestants with the lowest votes will have a singoff for the judges, who will then choose who leaves.. like the format of X Factor and America's Best Dance Crew. We're not sure how this will work tomorrow night when two contestants will be eliminated. Maybe the three lowest vote getters will take place in the "sing for your life." This should give the judges a lot more control over who stays and who goes.

VOTE NOW 1-866-436-5704

2009-03-10T21:10:00.001-05:00

You can vote as many times as you want between now and 11p.m. Good dialing!

LIVE BLOG - Top 13 performance

2009-03-10T18:45:00.027-05:00

6:45 It’s almost show time! And we thought we were excited about the wildcard round. It’s been three weeks since we last heard Michael sing. We’re hoping he’ll come out swinging! Tonight we should finally get a feel for who’s really the favorites and underdogs. Can’t wait.

7:15 Here we go! THISSSSSSS (…….very long dramatic pause……) is American Idol! Ok, what’s up with the dramatic judge’s entrance.. is that the “movie guy” announcing them? Kinda creepy. The new stage reminds us of a bad acid trip.. and Paula’s wearing a bird in it. Did she think tonight’s theme was Bjork? Simon tells us two people are being eliminated tomorrow (as we reported last week) and the theme is Michael Jackson music (also, old news). Maybe we should be a producer as well as a judge.

Lil’s first: Singing The Way you make me feel, She sounds a little like Fantasia here. Did Paula pick out her outfit? It’s okay so far, but not really wowed yet. The second half was better, but solid all the way a Lil round. (ha). Tiffany and Michael’s mom are sitting right behind the judges! JUDGES: Love her. Kara wants to hear her on radio. Paula loves Lil’s outfit.. we told you they match.. but not in a good way. Simon’s disappointed.. lazy song choice, second half better and he hates what she’s wearing (WAIT, Simon’s reading our blog?? Cool.)

7:25 Scott’s next: He was a really cute kid. What happened? Singing Keep the Faith: (sorry, but we don’t know this song) Scott’s finally gotten behind a piano. He sounds great! We were worried about him after last week’s performance, but he rocked it tonight.. should definitely advance. Standing ovation. JUDGES: Kara loves him with piano. Confirms that it’s sorta unknown Michael Jackson song. Paula said “it’s great to see your instrument at your fingertips” ROFL. Simon hated song, performance underwhelming. Paula said it was biggest selling record in NORWAY?? What? Who cares. Randy says old fashioned.. wants to see more sparks. (by the look of Scott’s hair, he’s seen a few sparks already) Danny and Michael coming up next!

7:35 Danny Gokey’s up. Singing DYT. Off to a great start. In a few spots it feels like he’s yelling at us. WOW. Great job. Is he really a music minister?? JUDGES: Paula predicts he’ll be in the final. Simon: vocal brillant, one heck (he said heck?) of a singer, but the dancing was hideous. Randy loved it all..including the dancing. Let’s hope Micheal’s got his moves together this week.

MICHAEL’S UP: And we’re in Jasper. His daughter is so cute. Michael needs to bring the blue oil rig suits to the stage! Singing You are Not alone: Sounds great so far, but the weird faces are creeping in. He’s making the song his own. He’s really into the performance .. very committed. Great last note! This was by far his best performance. JUDGES: Simon says he’s not the best singer, but has great passion, heart, gave 100%. Randy says one of best tonight. Kara: You really can sing! Paula said he sounded really lovely tonight!

7:50 Jasmine’s here. Singing I’ll Be There. She looks great .. and she sounds great. Where’d this come from? All the contestants are bringing it tonight. JUDGES: Randy impressed. Kara’s surprised, has great stage presence. Paula “you have composure and poise” and what does that have to do with singing? Simon says, good attempt, called her robotic and little girl…uh, ok.

8:05 Kris Allen’s next: Sorry girl’s, he’s married. He may have just lost his teenage girl fan base. Can you hear the sobs? He looks like he’s playing a guitar, but we can’t hear it. He should have left it behind. We’re not sure what to think of the performance. It was entertaining. JUDGES: Kara says the girls love Kris. Paula’s drunk again. Simon’s trying to feel her up again. Yawn. She does manage to tell him he’s sexy (Kris, not Simon).. awkward moment. Simon says Kris shouldn’t have brought the wife out so early!!! HA, we thought the same thing. Randy loved the guitar.

8:05 Allison’s next: And she’s singing in a furniture store? With a stage? She’s definitely a good performer. Where is that personality when she isn’t singing? We’re loving the rocker vibe. Great, original performance. There’s no way she’s 16.. amazing. JUDGES: Paula, you look like a rock star up there (we agree) and her hair looks great. Simon enjoyed it. Randy says she’s the one to watch (we agree). Kara “great job”

How we rank them so far Allison, Danny, Michael, Scott, Lil, Jasmine, Kris

8:15 Anoop’s next. He DID get a makeover. But they didn’t tweeze the eyebrows?!?! Singing Beat It. This should be interesting. Solid performance, but it felt weird seeing him sing it though. We mean Anoop and Beat it?? Really? At least he wasn’t making love to the microphone this time. JUDGES: Paula thought he shouldn’t have tried song. Simon hated it, said it looked “stupid” Randy and Kara also disappointed. Simon says he regrets bringing Anoop back.. ouch.

8:25 Jorge singing Never Gonna Say Goodbye. Shaky start, not sure we like the song choice. Not memorable.. kinda corny. Singing was decent but there’s something about Jorge that creeps us out. We think it’s the eyebrows..he looks like a comicbook villain. JUDGES: Randy, bad song choice, pitchy. Kara, missing emotional connection. Paula, you weren’t yourself. Simon, said it was CORNY.. he can at least give us credit for his comments.

8:40 Megan’s up: She found a song she can swing her hips and flap her arms to. We didn’t know this was a Michael Jackson song. Did she just say “caw caw” We love her voice but this song didn’t really show it off and the awkwardness is still there. That said, it was entertaining. JUDGES: Girls: quirky. Simon: “What a STUPID song choice”

8:45 Adam.. can’t wait to hear what he’s singing.. Black and White. Here come the theatrics. Is it just us or do all of his songs sound the same? AMAZING vocals, but over the top.. then again it is Michael Jackson. JUDGES: Paula: Best stage presence off all seasons and will see in finals. Simon: In a league all your own. Randy: Loved it. Kara hopes Michael Jackson is watching tonight .. and so does Ryan.

Ryan’s a tool.

8:55 Matt G. Bored. We prefer when he’s not behind the piano. Those high notes were scary. We didn’t care for it. JUDGES: Kara liked it. Paula said he was sexy. (run away). Simon and Randy said it was solid. We didn’t see it.

9:00 Alexis gets the pimp spot (and the random 13th phone number). Shaky start, but she looks like a star, great performance. It’s hard to hear her voice in this song. JUDGES: Kara “you’re a naughty girl and I like it”.. uh, ok. Simon and Randy: Not as good as you think it is. But great attitude (that would be the naughty part)

Ryan says the big twist we’ve been waiting for will be announced tomorrow night. It’ll be a change to the rules involving the judges. We can’t wait to find out! More on that later. Overall, it was a great night. Michael was strong. But we must admit to being disappointed there was no moonwalk or silver gloves.

Here’s how we rank them: Allison, Danny, Adam, Scott, Michael, Alexis, Lil, Jasmine, Matt, Megan, Anoop, Kris, Jorge

Now go and vote! 1-866-436-5704

Let the countdown begin!

2009-03-10T17:37:00.004-05:00

The Top 13 just finished up their dress rehearsal for tonight's show and we can't wait to see what they've got in store for us. We'll be here LIVE throughout the show, handicapping the race and rooting for Michael. Check back often!

Careful dialing tonight

2009-03-10T15:45:00.005-05:00

So it turns out the last minute decision by Idol producers last week to accept a 13th finalist is having some unexpected consequences. American Idol owns 12 phone numbers for America to vote with: 1-866-436-5701 through 5712. The next number in the order is NOT owned by Idol, but instead by a porno chat line.

Idol producers announced today that they will use an odd number for Anoop Desai, the 13th contestant accepted into the finals. We just hope confused people, not to mention kids, don't mistakenly call the porno line. (Don't worry, they won't hear much without entering a credit card number.) Surely this new number will put Anoop at a disadvantage. That's good for Micheal, right? Careful dialing!

iPhone users get extra Idol footage

2009-03-10T11:00:00.003-05:00

If you can't get enough of "American Idol," the producers are giving fans from the rabid to shyly closeted an official app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The release of the $1.99 app, called (verbosely) American Idol Season 8 Exclusive Videos, is opportune, just in time for the season's final 13 contestants to really battle it out as more Idols get axed.

Each week, the app will stream exclusive videos, many of them confessional, that take you deeper into the contestants' worlds -- for instance, what inspires them and what makes them tick. The "Idol" app may center around the 78 videos airing on just the iPhone by the season's end, but it also includes the same daily newsfeed and blog post you can find online, a handy section on the singers' biographies, and links to the iTunes music store, where you can directly buy the tracks performed by your favorite up-and-comers

As an extra perk, the "Idol" app lets you test your powers of prognostication with a setting to rank the contestants' bios in the order you predict they'll finish, time-stamped to keep you from claiming you knew the top dogs all along.

Michael getting makeover

2009-03-10T09:22:00.003-05:00

American Idol stylist Miles Siggins told E Online that there will be "two major makeovers." Anoop Desai and Michael Sarver.

"You should've seen how long it took us to persuade Anoop to wear that Polo shirt last Thursday," Miles tells us. "It was very adventurous for him. And Michael needs some help too. I'm going to help them look the best they can."

Oil rigger Michael tells us he's up for the challenge: "I've been shopping a lot lately and trying to take my style more seriously. I was never a shopper before." Meanwhile, Idol makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy has some big plans in store for rocker Adam Lambert: "My goal is to tone Adam's makeup down. Instead of people paying attention to his song, they're like, 'Oh my God. He has so much bronzer on.' I'm going to help him with that." Yay for Wet Wipes!

Jasper, the road back

2009-03-10T09:15:00.002-05:00

Idol cameras were in Jasper a few weeks ago with Michael filming for a segment we believe will be shown tonight. Last year, the Beaumont Enterprise did a series of stories chronicling how Jasper has changed since the death of James Byrd, Jr. nearly 11 years ago. You can find it here.

Jasper proud to be in spotlight

2009-03-09T21:29:00.005-05:00

By Blair Dedrick Ortmann/The Beaumont Enterprise

A decade ago, the town of Jasper became synonymous with hate and racism as news media across the nation reported the tragic story of James Byrd Jr.'s dragging death. Today, news organizations give Jasper air-time and print space once again. This time around, residents hope Michael Sarver's bid to become the next "American Idol" can somehow show the nation that Jasper is as humble and friendly as Sarver shows himself to be on television.

"This is Jasper, Texas, and for 10 years there has been a cloud over our city ..." Sarver said during a brief visit home three weeks ago. "This is more than about Michael Sarver. It's about Jasper, Texas, and a city that has more to give the world than hate."

In 1998, Byrd was dragged to death, chained to the back of a pickup by three white men after they offered him a ride home one late night in June.

Sarver, who spent the last two weeks watching from the sidelines, will be singing tonight for the first time since earning a spot in the Top 13. Pastor Gary Marshall of Harvest Church, where Sarver serves as a music minister, believes Sarver is keeping Jasper - and the town's reputation - in mind while he's singing to the nation.

"I do think that's his heart, not just a quote," Marshall said. "He does have multi-cultural friends, and I believe it's from his heart. I think that God gave us all a platform."

Harvest Church is Jasper's only interracial church, Marshall said, adding that it purposefully was that way.

"When (my wife and I) came, it was always with the idea of an interracial church," Marshall said. "We pray that this is fulfillment of our prayers, Michael being able to say these things on national television. We're just like any other town."

James Byrd Jr.'s mother, Stella Byrd, said she hopes that Sarver's pride in his hometown and church background will make a positive change in Jasper's reputation.

"If you say you're from Jasper, they give you a cold shoulder," she said of those not from the city of about 8,000.

"Some things have changed. Where my son's buried, there used to be a fence separating the black folks and the white folks. They took the fence back down," Stella Byrd said of her hometown. "There's a park named after my son, and all colors play there.

"I don't know what (Sarver) will do. I hope it makes a difference," she said. "I wish (Sarver) all the luck in the world."

Darci Holloway, a stylist at Capelli Salon and Day Spa in south Jasper, has experienced some of those cold shoulders Stella Byrd described.

A few years ago, in New York City, she told someone she was from Jasper.

"The whole room just went silent," Holloway said.

Many from Jasper are glad Sarver is putting the town in the news on a positive note.

Amber Stroman, administrative assistant for the Jasper-Lake Sam Rayburn Area Chamber of Commerce, said Jasper has been misrepresented in the past.

"(Byrd's death) happened almost 11 years ago, but Jasper didn't do it. The guys who did, not all of them were even from Jasper," she said. "I think that Michael's being out there as something positive from Jasper, it says that we're not all a bunch of racists. Because we're not."

Instead of shocked silence or people wondering why the town's name rings a bell, Stroman hopes that people will now say, "Oh, Jasper, isn't that where Michael Sarver's from?"

And, although she sympathizes with those who have kept quiet about being from Jasper, Stroman doesn't think silence is helping the town.

"I think maybe the more people who get out there and say, 'We're from Jasper,' the more we'll get past that," Stroman said.

Pastor Marshall first came to Jasper after the final trial for Byrd's killers to conduct a healing service for the town's pastors.

Soon afterwards, he founded Harvest Church, whose members are about 65 percent white, 30 percent black and 5 percent Hispanic, Marshall estimated.

"We do try our best to be mindful of it, with the pictures on the walls, the songs that we sing. We're not leaning to one culture more than another," he said. "I think people pick up real quick whether you're an act or sincere."

In 2003, Ted Koppel came to town to conduct a town-hall meeting about racism.

Marshall invited Koppel and his camera crews to visit the church before the town hall.

"Their eyes about bugged out, there were black people and white people worshipping together," Marshall said. "I just picked up their microphone and invited them to interview anyone in the place. The next night, at the meeting, they never said nothing."

He added that he thinks it's unique that Sarver is telling the world about racial harmony in Jasper when Koppel did not.

Lindsey Roberts, a teller at First Bank and Trust East Texas where Sarver's sister-in-law, Kayli Smith, also works, is glad Sarver is helping to change her town's reputation.

"We need something that will bring the whole community back together and this is really helping," she said of his bid for the top spot on "Idol."

And, if the signs along both sides of Jasper's main thoroughfare are any indication, support for Sarver is doing just that.

Bank branch manager Ellen Hopkins said the bank was one of the first in town to start putting up signs.

"Every time I drive through town now, there are more signs. It's spreading around town," she said, laughing.

First Bank and Trust tellers are also selling buttons with Sarver's picture to people for $5. The money goes to help Tiffany Sarver with expenses, such as flying out to see her husband in Los Angeles, Hopkins said.

The buttons, like the signs, are spreading around town.

One made its way into Jimmy Aud and Son Furniture Gallery, which also sports a Sarver sign out front.

"If you don't have your town to support you, who else do you have?" receptionist Jami Soileau asked. "Even if he doesn't go any farther, he's top 12. That's a big accomplishment. He's already won, really."

Salesman Buddy Johnson said he thinks Sarver already is in line for some type of recording contract, adding he could go farther on the show - but only if Jasper residents keep up their support.

"He'll go as far as Jasper will take him, because he's not the best male singer there," he said. "But, as long as we keep voting for him, he'll be OK."

According to a message posted on The Enterprise's Idol Chatter blog at the beginning of the month, the Byrd family will be part of the city standing behind Sarver.

"I am sending you this message to congratulate you on behalf of the Byrd family in Jasper, Texas, for your outstanding performances on American Idol," wrote Tenika Boatner Brooks, Byrd's niece, who could not be reached by phone.

"You will continue to be in our prayers and may your light forever shine through the dark clouds that have hung around our city since the tragic death of my uncle."

Who will be the first to go?

2009-03-09T16:02:00.004-05:00

This Associated Content story predicts Michael will make it into the Top 10.

"The producers threw viewers a curve by allowing 13 performers to advance rather than the expected 12. Eight guys and five gals moved on after the preliminary rounds and the wild card selections. Who will be the next American Idol will not be decided for several weeks, but someone is going home this week. Who will be the first to get the bad news?

Before we get to the people in danger in week number one, let's take a quick look at who is 'safe' for at least the first five eliminations. Among the guys, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai and Scott Macintyre should be safe bets to advance to the final eight. This baring any horrible performance or song selections. On the edge of this upper circle we have Adam Lambert and Michael Sarver ready to move in should one of the top three falter. Among the girls, Lil Rounds should have no trouble avoiding elimination, nor should Allison Iraheta. Alexis Grace should be safe, but she is on the borderline and will need a strong performance to insure her slot.

In danger in week one among the guys are Kris Allen and Jorge Nunez. They both have talent but at this level of competition I am not certain they will have enough to draw in the needed votes. Jasmine Murray is in the most danger among the girls, mostly because of her age and the fact she has seemed to struggle with nerves in the earlier rounds. Riding the fence will be both Megan Joy and Matt Giraud. Song selection and theme will be key to both of these having a chance to advance. Megan should last one or two rounds longer than Matt, but with a poor performance all could change.

The first to be voted out on American Idol Season 8 will be - Kris Allen. Next to go will be Jasmine Murray followed by Jorge Nunez."

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