American Idol has become such a ratings juggernaut that it’s always a little surprising when something actually tops it. The Grammy Awards were able to do just that last week, thanks to the best ratings for the show since 2004. The other big event for the week was the return of Lost on ABC. It didn’t approach the Idol or Grammy numbers, but it did finish the week as the number one scripted show in the adult demo. Granted, it was the season premiere, but knocking off Grey’s, House, 2 ½ Men, and Big Bang Theory is always worth noting. On cable, the big surprise was probably the performance from USA’s White Collar and Psych. Both were well down from last week. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no doubt that American Idol has been a bit of a chore this season. Even I am having difficulty keeping a cheery attitude. Snort.

But, because I’m all about being helpful, I hereby present the following for your dining and dancing pleasure. You can thank me later.

25 Things You Can Do That Will Help You Get Through The Idol Auditions:

* Wait patiently for your chance to comment on How Reaper Would Have Ended, Straight Form The Creators on CliqueClack.

* Head to the Home Depot website and determine which grit sandpaper Kara DioGuardi’s voice is comparable to.

* Go for that third bowl of Rocky Road ice cream. What the hell. You deserve it.

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It was a bit of a slow week of television. Football on FOX sent all the other networks scrambling on Sunday. Then Obama took over all the channels on Wednesday. Add in an oddly quiet Thursday and we had three pretty weak nights of numbers. Not to worry though, there was still the occasional cause for celebration. To call the NFC Championship a success would be a terrible understatement. How terrible? How about it more than doubled the Idol numbers? In non-gridiron results, FOX took advantage of the quiet Thursday, garnering some very good results for Bones and Fringe. Castle managed to grow their numbers again. And Vampire Diaries tied for second in the demo! Read the rest of this entry »

Lackluster.

The last two episodes of American Idol have been dreadfully boring.

There’s no zip … no action … little to write home about.

Oh, they tried to make things interesting. They tried to brew up a bit of a storm between Katy Perry and Kara DioGuardi in Hollywood. (Seriously: Listening to Kara anymore is a reason to go straight for the brain bleach.) They made a stir (or attempted to) between Simon Cowell and Neil Patrick Harris. “The Powers That Be” at Idol desperately wanted some of those feel good stories to be oh, so feel good. But it just didn’t work.

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The complete implosion of Heroes just never gets old. I’m fascinated by it, and the show found an all new low last week. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of shows fall from their once lofty heights. But to see one crash so fast, and in such a dramatic fashion, is a rare thing. On a brighter note, the week that was also brought a host of premieres, including 24, Human Target, White Collar, Burn Notice, and American Pickers. And if you want to see some really crazy numbers, click through and take a look at what iCarly did. Read the rest of this entry »

H’okay … let me get this straight, because I’m a bit confused about the Chicago and Orlando episodes of American Idol:

- Shelby Dressel does a Nora Jones stint … and gets 4-voted into Hollywood (while prefaced with a feel-good story and the fact she’s not bad, she isn’t terrific. This poor girl is going to get eaten alive in Hollywood.)

- The dippy Desimone Sisters — Bernadette and Amanda — get through to Hollywood, despite Simon Cowell’s post-audition admission to the girls Bernadette is clearly better than Amanda (Kara DioGuardi: “How do you break these two up?”)

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Second week, third city for our American Idol audition tour. Tonight – Chicago! Who’s going to wow us? Who’s going to make us wince? Who’s going to be the guest judge? Will anything ever be as catchy as “Pants on the Ground?”

Join us here at 8:00 PM EST as we live-blog the good, the bad, and the ugly on this week’s American Idol.
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