Kris Allen Kills No Boundaries, Replaces It With Killers Song

Kris Allen continues to surprise, somehow managing to get the American Idol tour producers to, in an unprecedented move, drop "No Boundaries" from his set and replace it with the lively "All These Things That I've Done" by the Killers.

I gotta admit that I never envisioned Kris doing the Killers, but he really picked the perfect song (YET AGAIN!) and killed it in Sacramento tonight. When he got to the "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" part, he really engaged the crowd. Hell, he engaged me at 1:50 in the morning on a small laptop via YouTube. I started singing along and clapping with my hands over my head before I realized what I was doing (and that what I was doing was totally dorky!).

Here's the video, shot by apriljoiex83:

There Are No (More) Boundaries

Holy doodles! The LA Times is reporting that "No Boundaries" is going to be dropped from Kris Allen's set on the American Idol tour, starting tonight!

From Richard Rushfield: "In reviews of the tour, "Boundaries" has been singled out as a misstep, generating a tepid crowd response compared with the other numbers.

The tour's producers have been listening to the sound of few hands clapping. Starting tonight in Sacramento, "No Boundaries" will be disappear from Allen's set, according to sources with the production.

A new song will take its place in Allen's set down the road later this week."

I love Kris, and I actually do kind of like the song (when he sings it), but can I get a HELL YEAH?!

PLEASE, PLEASE let it be replaced with "Falling Slowly". Or even better - his first single! Or one of his songs from Brand New Shoes (highly unlikely).

I'm not liking the sound of that last sentence, though - a new song will take its place "later this week"? Does that mean the audience gets gypped out of a fifth song till then? And if "later this week" doesn't mean by Thursday, I'd rather take "No Boundaries" than no fifth song.

Video Of The Day - United Breaks Guitars

This video was made after a band, Sons of Maxwell, was traveling on United Airlines to Nebraska and saw baggage handlers throwing around one of their guitars. The $3500 guitar was damaged, and United representatives would not compensate the band members for it. So they wrote and song, made a video and put it on YouTube as payback. Haha! The video is funny too. LOL at the chalk outline of the guitar like it was a murder scene.

Happiest SYTYCD Elimination Show Yet

Although two dancers - Caitlin Kinney and Phillip Chbeeb - were eliminated from the competition on So You Think You Can Dance, the frowns turned upside down in a hurry when executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe announced that the two of them would be going on the tour.

This isn't really a big surprise here for a variety of reasons. First of all, they've been adding extra dancers the last two seasons in case of injury and/or to include some memorable dances, such as Hok's hummingbird dance. Secondly, they NEED Phillip for the hip hop group dances. Plus, he's one of the few to have any signature dances this season.

The show started with a hip-hop group dance choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon to "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon. That dance was DOPE! They're forgiven for that dumb engagement ring prop in their "Halo" dance.

Before they got to the results, Nigel announced that there was not going to be a Michael Jackson tribute anymore because Sony or the Jackson family would not clear the music. WTF?! That is quite unfortunate. And a shame. Because that would have been the shit.

The bottom three consisted of Caitlin/Jason for the third time, Jeanine/Phillip for the second time and Melissa/Ade for the first time. Wow, Evan has a shitload of fans, doesn't he? After announcing Jeanine & Phillip in the bottom, Nigel made a comment about taking "swing" dancers (and not the Benji Schwimmer type!) on tour, which pretty much clued me in on Phillip's demise tonight.

After some Season 6 audition footage (music was Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock" and Jason Mraz's "If It Kills Me" if anyone was wondering), the bottom 3 couples danced for their life.

Caitlin - "Stand By Me" by Playing For Change
I'm not sure what that was. I guess she was trying to show personality. I did not really like that.

Jason - "Calm Touching" by Evaline
I guess Jason's trying to show skin. That spin jump was a little sloppy, and he looked to be flailing a bit too much.

Jeanine - "Baby's Romance" by Chris Garneau
Fun fact - Jason danced to that song in Vegas week last season. Jeanine's solo was very controlled (except maybe for the end of the attitude turn?). She has nothing to worry about (except for that ugly cutout in the middle of her dress)

Phillip - "The Diva Dance" from The Fifth Element
He uses his musicality very well. And wow those contortions are nuts.

Melissa - "Kashira" by Kodo
That was unexpected! I was expecting something more classical.

Ade - "Windowdipper' by Jib Kidder
Holy SHIT. Now THAT is how you dance for your life. He is such a better tumbler than Jonathan and even Neil.

After the dances, there was a "live" performance of "When Love Takes Over" from Kelly Rowland and DJ Guetta. This was taped last Tuesday. And it sounded way better in person than it does on TV.

On to eliminations. With the girls, Nigel said the decision was more about keeping two girls than dropping one, and that person was Caitlin. That was no surprise. With the guys, it was a unanimous decision to let go of Phillip, who has only been strong in his own style. Phillip looked really sad, but Nigel cheered him right away by announcing he and Caitlin would be on the tour.

After the elimination video, Phillip gave an awesome speech about hopefully inspiring others who may not have the money to train in a studio. All you need is passion and creativity to do whatever you want, he said. I may or may not have cried a little bit. Ahem.

So next week - new partners! Can't wait to see who gets who!

Idol News Roundup - 7/9/09

Allison Iraheta talked about the Idol tour for an article on the American Idol website. She described the first two shows as "amazing, fun, and great" and talks about what she does on the tour bus and backstage while waiting for her set. She also revealed that she did not watch the Michael Jackson memorial on the bus "because she thought it was best for her not to, since she knew it would make her very emotional" (Anoop, Adam, Matt and Kris did on the boys' bus, according to some of the boys' Twitter).

Megan Joy interviewed with her hometown newspapers, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake City Tribune in advance of their concert in Salt Lake City on July 14. Megan talked about her caw caws, traveling without her 2-year old son Ryder and how touring is going to help her be able to raise him by herself. She also talked about received mixed messages from the Idol producers and judges. After getting through to Hollywood on the strength of a jazzy "Can't Help Loving That Man", she was told to "steer clear of girls that sounded like me", i.e. Amy Winehouse and Adele but was criticized on the show by the judges for not doing those types of songs.

Also in that same Salt Lake Tribune article as Megan, Danny Gokey says he still has not received a record deal by 19E but is not worried because other music producers have said that they would sign him if 19E passed. Danny again states that he does not want to be a Christian music artist because he wants to be mainstream and not exclude anyone from his "message" of raising awareness of heart disease.

I'm not sure when the interview with Scott MacIntyre took place, but he was pretty secretive with the Riverside Press-Enterprise about the show (as if nearly every song isn't on YouTube already?), not divulging if he and Matt Giraud were doing dueling pianos and saying only that the group numbers are "not going to be cheesy". It's no wonder this article is pretty damn short.

Adam Lambert offers up his thoughts on Michael Jackson for Rolling Stone. An excerpt:

When we had to do our Michael Jackson show this year, I was thinking, "What song should I choose?" They're all so good. It was either "Black or White" or "Thriller," but I wanted to make more of a statement the first time out, and "Black or White" comments on culture and racial harmony in a very eloquent way. It also means a lot of other things. To me, personally, it was it doesn't matter if you're straight or gay, either. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. I loved the sentiment there. What was really cool about Michael is that he straddled a really fine line of race and sexuality. There was something very androgynous about him, and very race neutral. People criticized him for lightening his skin or whatever, but he was like his own race. A lot of people saw it as bad, but it was kind of fascinating. And very original.

Adam was able to watch Michael's dancers rehearse when the Idols shared rehearsal space with them and was told that Michael was interested in meeting with him. Unfortunately, it never happened.

And David Cook talks about his tour, band, his brothers, and watching American Idol in a new way after being on the other side of the fence in an article in the Saginaw News. Cook had this interesting comment about Simon Cowell: "It took me about two weeks to figure out the trick with Simon. You can't take what he says at face value. Take the bluntness out, forget the pain it causes, and you'll find constructive criticism you can use. And if Simon says you sound good, you know you're doing something right."

Kradam, Krallison Interviews

Yeah, yeah, the nicknames. I know. It's just a lot easier and a lot less redundant that way.

Anyway, here is a link to a new video interview from Young Hollywood with Kris Allen and Adam Lambert (not together - they are paired with Allison Iraheta and Megan Joy, respectively). Megan says her favorite trait about Adam is that he always makes her feel beautiful and always makes her feel good. Allison says Kris is always there to help her and is "such an amazing guy". She and the interviewer also joke with Kris about frosting his tips blond like Ryan Seacrest used to. Kris was not feeling that. haha.

And the last Fancast pairing with Kris and Allison. Allison admits that she didn't remember Kris during Hollywood week but remembered him during Top 36 week when he sang "Man In The Mirror" (Kris responded with "I don't want to remember that.") Allison went on to say that, "the first time I heard him … damn! You know?" Kris' first impression of Allison came during "Hollywood week. She sang and I was like, where the heck did this girl come from? And I was like, dang this girl is really good. And so I was really impressed by her. She was a 17-year-old kid who got up there and has a great voice. It blew me away the first time I heard her."

Video Of The Day - Michael Jackson Tribute In Stockholm

I saw this on the morning news today. A dance group in Stockholm came up with the idea for this Michael Jackson tribute. Although the choreography from the "Beat It" video is iconic, I think it would have been cool to do the "Bad" choreography at the train station in homage to that video too.

Idol Tour Reviews - Vancouver

The American Idol Top 10 ventured out of the country last night to play in Vancouver, Canada.

The Province has a review of the concert, plus another article about the tour in general, focusing on Adam Lambert and Anoop Desai.

The review singled out Matt Giraud, saying he was the "first performer to look like a viable recording artist"; Allison Iraheta, who "demonstrated why she was the last female standing on Idol this season with a fiery rendition of the Janis Joplin classic, 'Cry Baby.'"; Adam Lambert, who "swaggered around the stage, looking and sounding every bit like a rock star straight out of the 1970s" and "thrilled the audience with a showstopping David Bowie number"; and Kris Allen, "an unlikely but refreshing Idol" who "had the whole arena smiling with singalong standard 'Hey Jude,' a song that appeals to almost everybody."

In the Adam/Anoop article, Adam once again has to field questions about his sexuality. It's pretty ironic that he acknowledged it to the media partially to stop the speculation and to have them focus on the music instead, and yet a lot of the media still can't let it go. Anoop is relieved to be on tour instead of the show and says he felt boxed into the ballad singing by the judges and that "you knew sometimes [the judges] knew what they were going to say before you even got done singing."

The Vancouver Sun brought out a reviewer who seemed to have disdain for the whole Idol phenomenon before he even got to the show. If you scroll down to about halfway through the article, you can finally get to the review. It's filled with backhanded compliments, such as Scott MacIntyre "actually turned in a solid Keane cover"; Matt has a "good voice" but "time will forget most of these performers, and they'll take their place in obscurity"; Danny's "Maria, Maria kind of made him look like a substitute teacher doing karaoke (although he would totally win the prize money in the film, Duets)"; Kris is a "solid singer, but (with) none of Lambert's chrisma, presence or guy-liner." Adam also got some backhanded compliments: "Sure, his rendition of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love sounded a bit showy (think Sebastian Bach rather than Robert Plant), but this kid's got a serious set of pipes. (Although, for some reason, I kept thinking I was the evildoer in a Andrew Lloyd Weber goth musical.)"

And for much more detailed (and better-written) fan reviews, check out these two from MJ's Big Blog.

Dancers Slip But Don't Slide On SYTYCD Top 12

There were a few miscues on the Top 12 show of So You Think You Can Dance, with at least four noticeable slips during dances. Those dancers made it such, though, that those slips did not matter one bit thanks to superior dancing either before or after it.

The first to slip was Brandon, during his quicky intro solo after an aerial cartwheel. But he was on more than firm ground the rest of the night with two outstanding routines that prompted Nigel Lythgoe to say he would be shocked if he and his partner Janette were not the highest vote-getters of the night. Their Argentine tango was like watching professionals dance, and they received the first standing ovation from the panel this year. Their Wade Robson jazz routine was so in sync and so ON. Those two are so connected as partners. It's a shame that this could be their last week together.

Melissa and Ade had a miscue at the end of their high-flying disco number with her partner, with Ade unable to hold Melissa in the final pose, causing her to drop to the floor. Luckily, she was on her feet and not all the way up in the air like she was earlier. Holy crap those lifts were insane! Their second dance, the waltz, again featured some nice lifts, but some of the non-lift parts were not as impressive.

Phillip slipped twice in his jive with partner Jeanine, but, like he did when his pants tore on their Broadway number, Phillip soldiered on and barely missed a bit. The judges acknowledged Phillip's slip but also said that was his best routine not in his style all season. And Jeanine was FANTASTIC. Nigel slipped himself during the first dance, saying he's not so sure they should have had them do the Russian Folk Dance. Your own fault, Nigel. Between the costuming and the dancing, it all looked kind of cartoony to me until the end when they did their solos and then came together for that sit spin. That was pretty awesome.

Reviews were mixed for Kayla and Kupono, who shined in a Mia Michaels contemporary (which ... really? Can we try to not show such obvious manipulation, Nigel? We get it! You want these two in the Top 10!) but didn't connect in a Broadway number. The Mia Michaels piece was a very intense dance about "addiction" that really hit close to home with Kupono. He struck the perfect tone for the sinister character, and Kayla looked just a like strung-out junkie. Not a good look for her, btw. I was not as impressed with Kayla's acting as I was with Kupono's. She looked like she was acting a little too much at times. They probably should have saved some of their acting for the Broadway number, although I'd blame some of the meh reviews on that piece to choreographer Joey Dowling. I am just not impressed by her work on this show so far, particularly in the pieces of music she chooses. This piece did absolutely nothing for me, and I totally love West Side Story.

Caitlin and Jason got a little bit shafted with choreography as well, getting two routines that weren't very memorable - foxtrot and an unremarkable lyrical jazz. Both were danced well, particularly the jazz, but I don't think either will be anything that will inspire people to vote for them.

On the other side of the spectrum, Randi and Evan had two really well choreographed numbers that I wished someone else had danced. The hip-hop was too white bread to do anything for me, and their samba was too tame for the hotness of that choreography. They hit all the right moves, but they didn't exude them to the audience. At times they look like two kids having fun on the dance floor.

I see a bottom 3 of Caitlin/Jason, Kayla/Kupono and probably Jeanine/Phillip or Randi/Evan (should be the latter, and they were my faves the first couple of weeks!).

Tonight's music and dances:

Round 1
Melissa/Ade - Disco, choreographed by Doriana Sanchez ("Move On Up" by Destination)
Kayla/Kupono - Contemporary, choreographed by Mia Michaels ("Gravity" by Sara Bareilles)
Caitlin/Jason - American Foxtrot, choreographed by Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin ("Minnie The Moocher" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)
Jeanine/Phillip - Russian Folk, choreographed by Youri Nelzine & Lilia Babenko ("Kalinka" by Barynya)
Randi/Evan - Hip Hop, choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon ("Halo" by Beyonce)
Janette/Brandon - Argentine Tango, choreographed by Leonardo Barrionuevo & Miriam Larici ("Libertango" from Forever Tango)

Round 2
Melissa/Ade - Waltz, choreographed by Ron Montez ("Natural Woman" by Mary J Blige)
Kayla/Kupono - Broadway, choreographed by Joey Dowling ("The Dance At The Gym" from West Side Story)
Caitlin/Jason - Lyrical Jazz, choreographed by Mandy Moore ("Show Me Heaven" by Maria McKee)
Jeanine/Phillip - Jive, choreographed by Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin ("Stuff Like That There" by Bette Midler)
Randi/Evan - Samba, choreographed by Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis ("Ritmo De Bom Bom" by Jubaba)
Janette/Brandon - Jazz, choreographed by Wade Robson ("Ruby Blue" by Roisin Murphy)

KIRO, Fox All-Access Interviews

Two new fun video interviews of the Idols from KIRO TV's SeattleInsider and from Fox All-Access.

Here's the Fox All-Access video, where the paired up Idols ask each other questions:



There's a lot of adorably hilarious sibling-like interaction between Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta. Kris cracks on Allison's interview skills after she freezes when asked what the one thing is she's dying to know about him. "She doesn't care about me, everyone! Here we go!" he says. Kris also asks Allison to name 3 things he should take on tour with him, and she names one - his phone - before freezing again. When the video comes back to them, she repeats his phone again, and Kris replies, "That is still one!" And when she is asked what celebrity she'd like to have as a personal roadie, she says, "Kris Allen", prompting Kris to sarcastically say, "Well. You're reaching pretty high there!"

Also hilarious was Megan Joy with Adam Lambert. She imitated Adam's salad eating, cawed the word "birds" and rapped. Other highlights: Scott MacIntyre imitating Lil Rounds' laugh but then realizing that it was more Matt Giraud, and Anoop Desai saying he'd have Simon Cowell be his personal roadie "so I could make him carry all my shit around"

The SeattleInsider interview was conducted backstage before the Tacoma concert, and the participants are asked a lot of really random funny questions, such as: What's your favorite knock-knock joke? What celebrity scandal would you most rather have?, Would you rather have Ryan Seacrest's fake tan or Simon Cowell's weird haircut? What is your favorite strange smell? And if you could change anything about me, what would it be?

The Idols mostly have fun with this, particularly Lil, and Danny and Matt joke their way through the whole thing, but while trying to be funny, Danny comes across slightly more on the obnoxious side than the funny side.

For example, Danny's knock-knock joke is "Danny Gokey's gonna go platinum in like four months" :|

And when asked if he'd rather have Seacrest's fake tan or Simon's weird haircut, Danny makes a face and says "ewww that BOXCUT?!" and then proceeds to make fun of Simon's shirts. Matt, who is interviewing with Danny, wisely says he's not saying anything - just "fake tan, thank you!", and then Danny laughs and insincerely says to the camera, "I love you, Simon". AWKWARDDDDDD!

Idol Tour Reviews - Tacoma

From the Seattle Times: "Idol" Top 10 give fans a fun, fresh show. Great reviews for Kris Allen ("he demonstrated a musical creativity and versatility unique among his "Idol" peers, by singing a magnetic "Ain't No Sunshine" at the piano, strapping on an electric guitar for a lively romp through Matchbox Twenty's "Bright Lights," and closing with a brilliant singalong choice: "Hey Jude."), Allison Iraheta ("Put your bet on this blazing 17-year-old rock wunderkind as one of the most likely to succeed in the group." and "With the right material of her own, Iraheta could be the Joan Jett or Chrissy Hynde of her generation."), and Matt Giraud ("Opening with a brave, sizzling cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle," Giraud came on like a young, jazzier Jerry Lee Lewis, then followed up with a "Georgia" rich in bluesy keyboard stylings — and devoid of the pitchiness and vocal overkill of Giraud's TV turns.").

Anoop Desai ("he made hearts throb with Willie Nelson's "You Were Always On My Mind," sustaining notes and delivering the heartfelt lyric like a seasoned pro."), Lil Rounds ("Rounds' raw, belting vocal talent comes through much more in her live renditions of neo-soul hits by Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige than her pinched TV turns.") and Scott MacIntyre ("nudged the energy up a half-notch with some rollicking piano on Keane's "Bend and Break," a sincere take on Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles," and some wry jokes about, well, his blindness.") also got praise for their work.

And in what will surely get the Glamberts up in arms, the review seemed a little mixed for Adam Lambert. While she acknowledged his ability to whip the crowd into a frenzy and says he "really does have the makings of a revivalist, glam-metal rock avatar", she also said, "By the end of his set, though, Lambert's shtick felt a bit too predictable in its conscious excessiveness." This is the first review that I've seen that even had a hint of negativity in it for Adam, so it will be interesting to see the reaction. I'm sure it will fire up the vitriol towards Kris once again (and yep! It's already started in the comments section!).

RANT TIME!
I'm already tired of the whining about reviews from the fanbases. If someone isn't as positive about one Idol in a concert review as another, that doesn't automatically mean it's because they are fans of the other! It's called an opinion. All of us have one. If a reviewer thinks Adam stole the show and isn't so positive towards Kris, it doesn't automatically make them a bitter Adam fan! And if a reviewer favors Kris over Adam, it isn't automatically because they are Kris fans looking to validate his win. Now if someone wants to bitch away at a reviewer from the Oregonian for calling Megan "call girl Barbie", however, HAVE AT IT because that guy is a prick.

And let's get real here ... If "a bit too predictable" is the worst Adam hears all year, he's in damn good shape.

Danny Gokey also got mixed reviews after "Preacher Gokey" ended his otherwise strong set with "a sermon and the saccharin power-ballad, 'My Wish.'" Prior to that, he was praised for his "blazing" "PYT" and was said to have showed off his "soul-country credentials" with "What Hurts The Most". Michael Sarver got a "passable" comment, while Megan Joy got good comments on her looks but not-so-good comments on her vocals.

The Tacoma News-Tribune review was fully in the Adam Lambert corner, so the Glamberts who are up in arms over the Seattle Times comment can switch their subscription to the Tacoma paper. Kidding. Kind of. The reviewer states right away that he's not a big American Idol fan, but "I must confess that, as jaded as I am, I may have caught just a smidge of Lambert mania Tuesday night." He also gave shout-outs to Megan, but mostly for her looks, methinks (he calls her tall, which she's not, and leggy and took a crapload of photos of her), Scott for his Ryan Seacrest high five joke, Anoop for getting the crowd on its feet, and Lil Rounds, who he says was "the most diva-like performer (aside from Lambert)". As for Kris, he said his set was "decent if a little bland next to Lambert’s." Oddly, no mention at all of Allison, Matt, Gokey or Sarver.

The Los Angeles Times' Richard Rushfield followed the American Idol tour on its first two stops and did not ease up on his ebullient praise for the group upon second viewing on his Twitter. His piece in the LA Times wasn't so much a review of the show but a recap of the whole experience of Idol this season. He describes the group as such:

This year, we have been given 10 young people and 10 stories, each of which contains enough human drama to fill a few volumes of Dickens. In this group, suddenly standing in the first glow of stardom we have:

- An oilfield worker and family man.
- A tattooed, single-mother, charming, eccentric, Mormon Amy Winehouse fan.
- A blind Oxford graduate
- A tornado victim and young mother whose early promise of genius seemed to wane only to burst forth on this tour in enormous glory
- An R&B nerd and collegiate preppy dreaming of becoming the next Kanye West.
- A mischievous charmer and dueling piano player now stepping out of playing hotel lobbies.
- A Latin teenager and marathon runner who sings like Miley’s evil twin.
- A church singer widowed a month before auditions who fought through the competition to forge something bigger and help the ailing in his wife’s memory.
- A musical-theater prodigy who, despite seeming like a fish out of water on the G-rated "Idol" stage, transformed the show in his image, barreling out of the show the biggest phenomenon "Idol" has seen in years.
- The soft-spoken, quiet young singer from rural Arkansas who, without anyone seeing him coming, rose on his talent to the very top of the competition and found himself holding the keys to the kingdom.

And finally, this isn't a review of the show, but I saw this blog from someone who gave the Idols Peace Tags on behalf of a corporate sponsor (photos of Kris, Adam and Lil in the link). She said she the show was "FABULOUS" and that she had two favorite moments: "Adam performed a brilliant rendition of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. (Beamed me back in time to high school ) And when Kris led the group in a spirited "Hey Jude"(one of my all time fave songs), it was magical!!!!!"

Adam Lambert, Megan Joy Fancast Interview

Here's the latest interview from Fancast, with Adam Lambert and Megan Joy. Their first impressions of each other were that they were "gorgeous". The two of them also talk about how much they have in common (independent, outspoken, diplomatic when needed) and how they connected, in Adam's words "on a real level. It wasn’t about music — it was about life. It was cool."

Adam talks about Megan's quirkiness and edginess, and Megan hints at Adam's possibly annoying salad-eating habits (apparently he eats his salads very meticulously).

SYTYCD Spoilers, Poll, Exit Interviews

Tonight's So You Think You Can Dance looks to be a good one. You can read spoilers for tonight's show at SYTYCD.ca. Two dances for each couple tonight!

Also, E! Online has a poll for Best Dancer in the History of the show. This is strictly dancing, not personality, not backstory. Just technical dancing. Early favorites are, in order (as of 11:20 am PT Wednesday), Travis Wall, Joshua Allen, Katee Shean, Danny Tidwell and Benji Schwimmer. Season 1 winner Nick Lazzarini has but 0.8% of the vote. Ouch. But honestly, he wasn't the best dancer his season. That honor would go to Blake McGrath, who only has 4.8% of the vote. And who was also an egomaniacal douche while he was on the show. But one hell of a dancer.

BuddyTV has exit interviews with last week's eliminated dancers, Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune. Karla doesn't seem blind to some of the manipulations challenges presented, saying, "Vitolio is a very strong dancer, and at that point in the season, both of us were determined to show everyone what we have to offer. Especially when we got the Quickstep: after looking around and seeing that everyone else got the genre they were good at." Vitolio talked about how Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and dancing saved his life: "I think I fell in love with dance after seeing the Thriller music video then I wanted to do nothing but that, dancing and entertain people. When I was 15 I started dancing in the streets of my hometown Petion Ville, Haiti to make some money so I could take care of my grandma and myself, and dance has been my companion since then. I did not have that many choices; it was either gangs or dance. Gang was the death road and dance was the life saving road. If I did not dance maybe today I would have been dead."

Anoop Dogg Talks To E! About First Show

E! Online got the scoop from Anoop Desai about the first Idols Live show in Portland. Anoop said that almost all of the Idols went online after the concert to check out reviews and videos on YouTube to see what their performances looked like so they can make adjustments if need be.

Anoop was happy with his performance in Portland, rating it a 7 out of 10 and saying there were some things he still needed to clean up, such as phrasing and breathing. He said that the vibe before the show was an "eerie calm" but that Kris Allen was pretty nervous right before he went on.

He also said that he accidentally whacked Allison Iraheta in the head during their final pointy-pose on "Don't Stop Believin'" and that she had to grab onto him because she felt a little light-headed for a minute. Anoop made it up to her a little later in the interview when he singled her out after being asked whose set he likes the most, saying, "I think Allison's is one of the strongest sets in the show. She sings and I don't believe that's coming out of her."

E! will be doing one interview a week with the Idols as the tour progresses and is welcoming questions from fans in the comments section of the article.

Kris Allen Cover Story From Inviting Arkansas Magazine

Great article and photos of Kris Allen and his family in Inviting Arkansas magazine. The cover shot is great. Kind of Springsteen-esque.

Some highlights and new tidbits of info:
*Kris' parents got married less than a year after meeting when she was 19 and he was 21 and had Kris a year later (they got engaged two months after meeting - holy cow!).
*Kris went to Univ. of Central Arkansas on an academic scholarship. Yeah. The slacker guy who "hated college"
*During brother Daniel's first audition for American Idol, the producers stressed to the crowd not to sing any church hymns, and then Daniel sang "Amazing Grace" and was sent home. LOL. I don't know what part of "don't sing any church hymns" he didn't understand.
*Daniel practiced Fur Elise on piano for months. Kris heard him playing it, and after two days of practicing it, he nailed it. "He's the natural and I'm the lesson taker," Daniel said.
*The family plays Rock Band together, with mom singing, dad and Kris playing guitar, and Daniel and Katy taking turns on drums.
*Kris was really into Creed when they first started dating, and "With Arms Wide Open" was one of the first songs he ever sang to her. And now I finally found a flaw with Kris Allen - he was a Creed fan. :|
*Katy has always joked that her goal in life was to play Reese Witherspoon's sister in a movie.

Danny Gokey/Michael Sarver Interviews

Here are a couple of stray Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver interviews that have surfaced in the last two days:

The Seattle Times didn't have time to put up its pre-show interview with the two from Portland until yesterday. In this interview, Danny and Sarver talk about Twitter and joke about Sarver's accidental public Twitter to his wife about mailing a rebate coupon, and they also point out the irony that everyone assumes Sarver is a country singer (he's into R&B and pop) but it's Danny who's doing two country songs.

And the Fancast interview where Danny and Sarver are asked about each other. They also both talk a lot about family.

What was your first impression of Danny?

Michael: Unbelievable singer. That’s it. My first impression was, why did he come the year I came?

And Michael?

Danny: Real nice guy. Over-the-top gentleman. He calls everybody ma’am and sir. I was like, wow. The south breeds some really nice people down there!

Michael: We’re not always nice but we’re always respectful.

Tacoma Pre-Show Idol Interviews

From Richard Rushfield of the Los Angeles Times, here are some interviews before tonight's Idol concert in Tacoma with Kris Allen and Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud and Danny Gokey, and Megan Joy. They talk about how the first show in Portland went.

Video Of The Day - Usher Gone Too Soon

I only saw maybe half of the Michael Jackson memorial today, but this performance was one that really struck a chord. Between the lyrics of the song ("Gone Too Soon") and Usher barely being able to get through it at the end, you'd have to have a cold black heart to not be moved.



R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

Kris Allen - Bright Lights Live

Sorry - this merits a special post of its own since I was practically willing to kill someone for it. Haha. Here's Kris Allen singing "Bright Lights" by Matchbox Twenty. He starts the song on piano and ends it on electric guitar. That might be an Idol first - two instruments on one song.

Video Of The Day - Kris Allen Hey Jude

I was holding out for a full-length video of Kris Allen's Bright Lights from last night's Idol concert, but since there's only an 84 second clip at this point in time, I'm going to go with Kris' closing number, "Hey Jude". The other Idols come in at the end for the "na na na na"s.

Idol Tour Reviews - Portland

A collection of reviews from last night's Idol concert from the media who were assembled:

I almost expected Rolling Stone to just write about their cover boy Adam Lambert, but they commented on each and every member of the Top 10. What I really like about this review is that it isn't negative towards anyone. The reviewer found the positive (or kept quiet about the negative) about everyone. Too bad the commenters at the end of that article can't follow suit.

From RS:

The two biggest stars of the show — winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert — embraced what endeared them to millions of fans throughout Season Eight. “Glambert” was out in full force, with tight pants, his otherworldly wail and a tribute to the original rock androgyne, David Bowie. Wrapped in a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans, Allen kept it simple and real, embracing the stripped-down soul sound that elevated him from dark horse to worthy champion.

Rolling Stone also talked to the Idols pre-show. Allison is quoted as saying, "You’re nervous on the show because you have these four guys who are going to tell me how much I suck in front of so many friggin’ people. With the tour, I know there are a lot of people out there who voted for me." She also says that she is working on an "alternative rock" album with David Hodges and Kevin Rudolf.

The LA Times also had good reviews for all of the Idols, noting how much improved they all were on this stage as opposed to on the Idol stage.

A couple of good quotes:

Anoop Desai, against all odds seemed the performer with the most unique and very successful vision of himself; styling as a sort of R-and-B nerd, donning his spectacles at one point, and somehow it worked. Where he often seemed tense during the season, he seemed utterly at home on the stage, reminding one of his endearing personality we saw in the competition's early days, with a set that wove together Willie Nelson, Ne Yo and Bobby Brown; like Anoop himself an unlikely combination but he made it make sense.

(snip)

The second half let the top four contestants flesh themselves out even more than they could on the show. Nervous though she may be, anyone who does not finding themselves grinning from ear to ear during Allison's rocker girl antics should take themselves directly to the hospital to have their heart examined for possible malfunction. Starting with Pink's So What, listening to Allison declare, "I want to start a fight" is one of the great pleasures of the modern arts. Danny Gokey rolled out his hinted at Latin music side with Santana's "Maria, Maria." As ever, Gokey's voice is easily strong enough to fill several arenas and his heart string-tugging set set off the waterworks in more than a few eyes in my section.

There is little to be said that hasn't been written this year about the Adam Lambert phenomenon, but his ability to fly right past what seem impossibly high expectations continues to amazing. His closing Bowie medley is dazzling, and any doubts about the great things lying ahead for him would be hard pressed to withstand the awesomeness of his set.

Kris Allen comes to the stage facing a bundle full of questions - namely, could his soft-spoken, low key style stand up as the headline act of an arena show? To all appearances, it could, handily. The show very astutely didn't try to make Kris top Adam in volume, but stripped down the production for his numbers to a minimalist, intimate feel through which his strong vocals on "Heartless" and others did manage to turn the stadium into a little theater or nightclub, a feeling his set kept coming back to until the crowd-pleasing singalong finale of "Hey Jude." In the end, one can't but feel that Kris' is the right note for the concert to end in, that of all the Idol's his likable,sweet style delivered the feel-good close that had the departing crowds still humming with good will towards mankind.

On Portland's review is a bit more critical towards the production of the show and some of the contestants, saving most of its bigger praise for Kris, Adam, Allison, Anoop and Scott and closing the review with this statement:

Despite the production shortcomings the show was very enjoyable. Between Allison Iraheta's energetic set, Adam Lambert's jaw dropping Zeppelin and Kris Allen's pitch perfect performance, there's more than enough here to justifying seeing the show.

Still waiting on a review from the Seattle Times, but they have photos and some video on their Idol blog.

ETA a review from the Rose Quarter that was just posted on July 10.

Music Fashion Magazine Idol Interview

Here is another set of interviews from Sunday afternoon's presser before the first Idol show in Portland with Lil Rounds & Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey & Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai & Kris Allen, and Matt Giraud & Megan Joy from Music Fashion Magazine.

Nothing too exciting to report here, except for some funny voices from Matt and Megan and a hilarious introduction from Anoop and Kris, where they note the similarities between Danny Gokey and the Hamburglar in the photo on their access badges. Bwah! (See photo to the left. Danny is at the top center next to Allison. And he TOTALLY does.)

Also, at the very end, after Anoop points out that his fly was undone during the entire interview, Kris aims the microphone towards that area. LMAO.