PUBLIC MARKS from vacelts with tags entertainment & "randy jackson"

Tonight’s American Idol was more about preparing the audience for “Idol Gives Back” with each of the Elite 8 singing their favorite inspirational song. But will the performances inspire voters?

Tonight American Idol did what my husband calls “trimming the fat” (and no he’s not referring to anyone’s weight). The bottom pair have been hanging on for weeks and it was time for one of them to go.

Popularity won out over actual vocal talent and performance skills tonight as American Idol said goodbye to one of the Top 10.

Tonight on American Idol the Top 10 contenders got to choose songs from the year they were born. Besides making me feel old with only one contestant sharing the same birth decade with me, I had to wonder if the contenders could really maximize on the cool theme.

Whoever thought that the girls were the stronger of the two genders on Season 7 of American Idol only has to look at tonight’s bottom three to rethink that assessment. Apparently a second night of singing songs from the all-male Beatles did not bode well for the ladies.

Tonight the Top 11 celebrated The Beatles - again - on American Idol with even more songs from John Lennon and Paul McCartney - and one by George Harrison. But who would stand out this week?

American Idol is down to its Top 12 and the competition just heated up with performances of songs from the John Lennon and Paul McCartney Library. But can the Top 12 handle the pressure?

American Idol is down to the final cut before the Top 12 and the ladies brought their A game to ‘80s night in a battle royale for the elusive six spots.

Then they were 16. American Idol whittles its numbers down when it sends four more home in the second results show of the semifinals after 31 million votes.

Last week the women on American Idol suffered from illness, but for ‘70s week they were plagued with bad song choices.

After two nights, 24 performances and 28 million votes, American Idol held its first elimination of the semifinals with no real surprises in the results.

Tonight I got my first exposure to American Idol’s Hollywood Week, or as Ryan Seacrest called it - Hell Week. And I quickly learned which things will knock you out of the running for the Top 24. Here is the Top 5 Things Not to Do During Hollywood Week if you hope to advance.

Wednesday night American Idol closed the 7th season auditions with one more look at the good, the bad and the ugly. At first, I was dreading yet one more night of auditions. But then I started thinking about what kind of changes would entice me to tune back in next season. Here's my Top 9 Ways to Improve American Idol auditions.

Much to my relief, we’ve finally reached the last of the American Idol audition cities. While the parade of misfits (at least concerning the auditions aired) seems to have waned, the talent hasn’t? Golden tickets were issued to 20 hopefuls, but is one of them a real contender for the crown?

Already on a ratings high during the writers strike with its schedule of reality TV programs, Fox spared no expense to promote itself during the Super Bowl.

In Miami tonight, the American Idol auditions were all about the ladies. In fact, we saw the auditions of seven lucky ladies end with a golden ticket.

For years I’ve heard that you’ve got to watch the audition phase of American Idol, that it was the best part of the show. Either I’ve been misled or Idol is losing its touch.

American Idol headed to its second audition city Wednesday night. Dallas might have found Idol its first star seven years ago, but the pickings were pretty slim this time around.

After 100,000 auditions in seven cities, 49 hours of television, 609 million votes and two hours of fluff, America finally learned that the 17-year-old from Glendale, Arizona with the golden voice is the 2007 American Idol. Jordin Sparks now takes her place among the elite known as Idols.

Going into the first half of the American Idol season finale, I thought the finale was going to be like comparing apples and oranges. Songstress Jordin Sparks has the vocals while beatboxing Blake Lewis has won the crowd over with performances. However, Jordin, as Simon Cowell put it, wiped the floor with Blake with the final song and, unless the voters are deaf, dumb and blind, sealed her victory.

Simon Cowell was visibly disappointed when results of the semifinals were announced on American Idol Wednesday. Melinda Doolittle, the most consistent and versatile contestant this season, has been sent home.

The competition remains close as the Top 3 head into the final weeks of American Idol. Although all three put in outstanding performances Tuesday night, I think Melinda Doolittle edged out her fellow contenders slightly with her versatility and consistency. Down to just three finalists, American Idol altered the format of Tuesday’s competition slightly. Each competitor sang three songs this week — a song selected for them by one of the judges, a song picked by the producers and finally, a song of their choice. This variation offered an interesting twist to Week 11.