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Promising singers and disturbing ending in pressure-packed start to Hollywood Week
By Carla Patton
"American Idol" Hollywood Week is finally here! The preliminary auditions are over, and now we get a brief glimpse into what the contestants are like under pressure before FOX dresses them up and edits them into neat and tidy packages. The drama, the rapid-fire eliminations, the tears, the heroes … I love Hollywood Week. Have you seen all the people collapsing and falling in the previews for this one? Hell, yes.
Bing: More about 'American Idol' | Photos: See the hopefuls
As a side note, why would Howie Mandel organize a flash mob to reunite a biological father and son? Oh, because flash mobs solve everything. I forgot. Anyway, wheel out the stretchers. Hollywood Week is upon us.
More: 'American Idol' on BuddyTV | Plus: Non-winner 'Idol' successes
They begin at 309. The "REC" with a red dot next to it means they recorded this travel footage themselves! It's so personal I could get sick.
Look at Jennifer's leather-bow blouse! I bet you didn't know they could make blouses out of leather. But they did, and she isn't sweating a drop. The first round is Sudden Death, meaning half of the singers will go home the first day. They sing individually with no feedback.
Up first are that guy Johnny Keyser and my ultimate favorite of all, Heejun Han. I am obsessed with Heejun and will always be Team Heejun. Johnny sings first, and the judges obviously loved it. So much for "no feedback." Heejun sings next and is intimidated by Johnny, who he recognizes as the guy Jennifer fell in love with.
Heejun's mom helped him pack! He is nervous because everyone else is "so tall and pretty." OK, I love Heejun. But he needs to sing something besides that one Michael Bolton song. Jennifer loves him, too, clearly. Will Heejun and Johnny make the cut? Yes, obviously they will. But those people we never even saw will not be so lucky. 
Elise Testone is a new face, and she was good! Baylie Brown is also in this group, along with Hallie Day, who killed it. They all made it through, along with some guy with a huge, blond flat top! Why can't we meet that guy? Why can't we see someone I hated getting eliminated? Who will be the first person to fall? Literally.
Jen Hirsh was fidgety, but managed not to fidget up the song. Lauren Gray, the last auditioner in St. Louis, got too into the song and kept singing way after Randy tried to cut her off. Was it cute? Meh. Jen and Lauren made it through, along with some other people we may never meet. (Evidently we can meet them all here. But LOL, who would do that!?)
Some singers we met just to see how bad they were. That one girl who kept asking to sing "just a tiny bit more, please … please?" was out just for ticking off Randy (Maybe? I don't know her fate. Or her name).
Another Steven Tyler pep talk later, Phillip Phillips is ready to perform. He's a little too Casey Abrams for me this season. But isn't he just so lovable? Speaking of Casey Abrams-types, Reed Grimm is in this group. He sang the "Family Matters" theme for his audition, and this time he's singing "I Got a Golden Ticket." He is overwhelmingly jazzy.
Ugh, Travis Orlando. He's too tragic for me to want to see him all the time. He just always looks pathetic and hopeful. And he's gone. Not this year, Travis. Not last year, either. But keep shaming your mom on national TV.
The guy who was born without ears got sent home, and so did Giant Mechanic Wolf. He managed to both go big and go home.
Who is this Adam Brock character? I do not like him. He's got a baby daughter and a 'tude that is unbecoming. He's got a good voice, but he needs to be less of a jag. Jim Carrey's daughter is also in this group. She looks like Miley Cyrus, another daughter of a famous dad. 
Adam is in. Jane is out. They both called their featured family members, one of whom needs formula.
I bet J.Lo was happy to see all those girls that Randy and Steven voted in (just based on looks) go home.
David Leathers Jr., "American Idol" novelty, and Shannon Magrane, famous-dad-having-giant, are in the same line. Shannon sang "Fallin,'" a song that needs to be put to rest. And David sang "Because You Loved Me." I like his voice and his cardigan. Randy likes those things, too.
Jessica Phillips, the woman "The Vow" could have been loosely based on, is also in this group, and she brought her adorable boyfriend. Her voice is even smoother than it was in her audition. Have we already discussed how much her boyfriend looks like Twitch from "So You Think You Can Dance"? Anyway, they all make it through, along with the vintage glitter queen and the cheerleader.
Oh, my god. I hope she's OK. But I cannot wait to see that girl fall off the stage.
We had to watch Erika Van Pelt and Creighton Fraker, who is looking more and more like Justin Timberlake by the day, and Aaron Marcellus, who I just love, before we could see anyone fall down. All three of them made it through.
Lauren Mink and Jeremy Rosado sang, but their performances were soon overshadowed by the moment we've all been waiting for: Symone Black falling off the stage.
And then we get a "To Be Continued" after Nigel called out, "Medic, please"?! You've got to be kidding me. Also, I thought she just got carried away in the heat of the moment. But it appears that she actually was just passing out. It was not as funny as I wanted it to be. It was very much like when that girl on an early cycle of "America's Next Top Model" passed out at judge's panel. I can't believe they would end the episode this way.
What did you think of Wednesday night's episode?
"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.
Host offers insight into why NBC series is beating 'Idol,' 'X Factor' in ratings
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"Voice" host Carson Daly has credited the show's blind auditions as the reason for the its success. Unlike rival shows, the coaches on the show can't see the auditioners: Their evaluations are based solely on singing quality. Daly believes the format is the prime reason it has trounced "American Idol" and "The X Factor" in TV ratings.
Daly tells Zap2it.com, "We just liked the pureness of it, hearkening back ... Is there a place for pure? In this day where you have to be beautiful and popular ... Yeah, they can sing, but what do they look like?" Daly also pinpoints another interesting dynamic only present on "The Voice": the judges being rejected. He explains: "It's the power shift. A 24-year-old sandwich maker, and he gets three chairs to turn around. Now they are in it for the right reason, and he, all of a sudden, he gets to interview them. And where else do you get that shift in power? Multimillionaires interviewed by a kid who makes sandwiches for a living."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
'X Factor' judge says she and ex enjoy a 'great friendship'
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"X Factor" judge Demi Lovato has developed a "great friendship" with Joe Jonas, three years after their breakup. In an interview with ABC's "Nightline," the singer admits to having been "really mad at him" following their decision to call it quits in 2010. But time has healed old wounds, and the two are good friends once again.
Lovato says, "I can fortunately say that him and his brother Nick have always been there for me and are literally family and like brothers ... We have a great friendship. And we may not be as close as we used to be, but that's OK." Jonas, 23, proved the former couple had buried the hatched by tweeting his support for her new album Demi on May 14. He wrote, "Congrats (Demi Lovato) on the new record! So happy for you!"
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
Wanted star says he 'felt like a king,' eager for fans to see how group really lives
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Wanted star Max George hopes the group's new reality TV show is a big hit because he became quite accustomed to life in Hollywood while filming it. "The Wanted Life" debuts June 2, and George, for one, loved the idea of having his own mansion with his band mates for the show. He says, "It was a little bit different than being in Manchester, England. I could definitely get used to it. First of all, it was nice to wake up every morning and see the whole of the city ... That was just insane. But it was the little things to me that meant the most, like having your own bar, your own swimming pool and the run of Los Angeles. I felt like a king."
George will definitely be watching the show because there were a few unexplained mysteries that might be solved on the program -- like which band mate left their underwear hanging from the chandeliers and who trashed the Jacuzzi. He tells Ryan Seacrest, "I think we'll have to watch. I think we'll find out a lot of mysteries when we see it ... I think I'm probably going to learn a few things about myself I didn't know." As for what fans will learn about him from watching the show, he adds, "Definitely the bond I have with my brother ... and the bond I have with my mom ... I'm very, very close with them two. As a group, I think people will realize when we say we get on like brothers actually do. I think a lot of the time bands have to say that or if they didn’t people will think, 'Surely it doesn't work.' But we genuinely do really get on, and we don't just work together. We actually do everything else away from work most of the time with each other, as well. (And) we actually do party as much as we say we do."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
'Orange County' newcomer wasn't prepared for 'intense' castmates
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"Real Housewives of Orange County" newcomer Lydia McLaughlin got a real shock when she began filming the reality TV show earlier this year because she didn't expect her castmates to be as "intense" as they are. The 32-year-old, who owns her own high-end magazine that chronicles the lavish lifestyles of Southern Californians, admits she was really naive when she first signed up to join the longest-running "Real Housewives" franchise in February. She thought appearing on the show would be a breeze. However, she quickly learned it wasn't going to be an easy ride with outspoken veterans Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Barney, Gretchen Rossi, Heather Dubrow and Alexis Bellino as her castmates.
Bing: More about Lydia McLaughlin
She tells People.com, "It is more difficult than I thought it would be! I was just like, 'Yeah, what do I have to lose?! What would people not like about me?! I'm just going to be myself, and I'm going to be positive, and have a different type of voice!' When everyone is screaming and yelling, you really can't win in this type of show. It's intense, and those women are intense and they have an opinion, and that's why they've been on the air for so long." McLaughlin insists the drama fans see on-screen is only a small portion of the crazy antics that really take place on set: "I think that the ladies are genuinely who they are on the show, and that there isn't a lot of acting."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
Season 12 starting to experience the downside of becoming a winner
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"American Idol" winner Candice Glover has spent the days since her TV victory last week blocking haters on Twitter. The singer, who won the TV contest at her third attempt, was a favorite throughout much of the competition. But not everyone watching was a fan. And now she's really experiencing the downside of becoming an "Idol" champ. She tells "Access Hollywood," "I can't even count how many people I've blocked in the past couple of days ... I'd get more negative tweets the further I made it in the competition. They'd talk about how you look, how you sing: 'You suck!' 'You can't sing!' I think it's natural instinct to go past the good tweets. But when you see that bad one, that's the one that sticks with you, and it doesn't feel good to feel that. But I think I've grown a lot over the show ... and I know that, no matter what anybody says on the Internet, that way I can't see them face to face, I know that I'm beautiful."
Bing: More about Candice Glover
Glover has opened up about the feud between "Idol" judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, insisting she had to stay focused on her goal of winning the competition to avoid the distraction in front of her on performance nights. She adds, "Backstage, we were so focused on our performances and not going home the following day ... That really didn't even bother us. We were so determined to do a good job."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
'Project Runway' host resorts to cash to keep her brood disciplined
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"Project Runway" host Heidi Klum has confessed she bribes her children to start off their days with a healthy breakfast. The German beauty has four kids -- three of them by her ex-husband Seal -- and admits she runs a disciplined household to keep her brood in check. Klum has developed a "points" system to reward the youngsters for good behavior. But when it comes to getting them to drink a healthy smoothie for breakfast each day, she resorts to paying them a dollar a time.
She explains to the Times, "At least I know they've eaten something healthy." And she can only hope the kids keep eating healthy through the day. She says, "Their lunchboxes (containing more healthy food) come back empty, so I don't really know what they've eaten."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
Newly crowned 'American Idol' champ heaps praise on the judge who backed her
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"American Idol" Season 12 champ Candice Glover is hoping to collaborate with judge Nicki Minaj in the near future. Following her big win, Glover heaped praise on the judge who backed her throughout the competition and revealed that Minaj offered up some top tips on how to survive in show business. Speaking with reporters after the finale, Glover said, "She (Minaj) reminded me to not be a diva. She always tells me to have fun and be myself ... I love Nicki and hope I can collaborate with her."
Bing: More about Candice Glover
Glover's duet dream comes after Minaj told Zap2it.com, "I predicted that she would win, so someone owes me money ... Her voice has always surpassed everyone, every night. And I'm so happy that America got it right and did this based on true talent."
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
Hygiene concerns over stained, unwashed two-piece motivated decision by eBay
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The bikini "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham wore for the photo on the cover of her sex tape has been pulled from auction on eBay -- because it was unwashed. On Saturday, bosses at the auction website yanked the listing by porn studio Vivid Entertainment after deciding the pink crystal-encrusted two-piece did not meet the site's hygiene standards. The item had stains from her fake tan among other clear signs of wear and was listed as "used." It had not been washed since the MTV star wore it for a private photo shoot.
Bing: More about Farrah Abraham
TMZ.com obtained a letter sent to Vivid by eBay chiefs that explained why the listing had been removed. It reads: "Due to health and hygiene concerns, our policy does not allow used clothing to be listed on the site unless the item has been washed first." Reportedly, the bikini will be washed and re-posted on the site. The original listing that started at $500 on Wednesday ignited a bidding war that caused the price to reach $14,700 just before it was pulled from auction.
Plus: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale preview | 'Felicity': Where are they now? | 'The Bachelorette' Season 9
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Entertainment journalist Deanna "TVDeeva" Barnert visits sets, interviews industry players and critiques the final product. Buzz's daytime TV queen covers it all for MSN TV, but loves her sitcoms, soaps and any juicy drama that doesn't call itself Reality TV.
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