Sanjaya Rocks "American Idol"; Blake Lewis Does His Thing; Howard Stern's Presence Felt


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Sanjaya Rocks "American Idol"; Blake Lewis Does His Thing; Howard Stern's Presence Felt

Let’s get this out of the way: The two best vocal performances last night on “American Idol” were Melinda Doolittle (”As Long as He Needs Me”) and Jordin Sparks (”I Who Have Nothing”). Jordin, though, is the one showing us something new each week. Melinda will need to add something, or risk getting boring.

So, here’s my full disclosure: I got into a blind “Idol” pool with some friends for $5 a square. It’s blind because we end up being randomly assigned two contestants among the final 12 for each square you buy. I bought two spots. There are a few ways to win small money — like half your money back, or your entry fee back (I think). But what you really need to know is that I would win a much bigger sum if Blake was the winner and Sanjaya was the runner-up, or if Chris Sligh were the winner and Sanjaya was runner-up.

Now, I didn’t think this would become a problem (I found out about my picks after last week’s vote off) because I thought for sure Sanjaya would be voted out fairly quickly. But it seems that along with votefortheworst.com, Howard Stern has now thrown his weight behind Sanjaya. This could mean trouble for many of the other contestants — the Stern Nation is formidable, no doubt.

All that said, the two standouts Tuesday night — and I’m not kidding — were Blake Lewis, with his very cool updated version of “Time of the Season,” and, yes, Sanjaya Malakar, rocking out to, get this, “You Really Got Me.” Sanjaya wasn’t really “good,” but somehow it seemed appealing. He just let it fly and it was fun.

Lakisha Jones was still solid (”Diamonds are Forever”); Chris Richardson too (”Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying”); Chris Sligh was pretty good (”She’s Not There”).
Stephanie Edwards faltered a bit (”You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”); Phil Stacey is just not memorable (”Tobacco Road”); Gina Glocksen also forgettable (”Paint it Black”).

Haley Scarnato was pretty hot … uh, what did she sing again? Oh, yeah, “Tell Him.” Hot.

This could be the end for Phil Stacey or Gina Glocksen.

AMERICAN IDOL NEWS

Josh, Bucky and Phil’s 4th of July Performances

Second Season’s Josh Gracin will spend July 4^th in McKinney, Texas for a show at Craig Ranch before returning home to spend the remainder of the long weekend with family in Tennessee.

Season 5’s Bucky Covington will play the Red, White and Boom Festival in Lexington, Kentucky on July 4. (One can only imagine that if Bucky were at home in Nashville over the holiday, he’d be waterskiing or motorbiking around.)

Finally, Season 6’s Phil Stacey will play the Wild West Fest in Hays, Kansas on July 4 before vacationing with family in Oklahoma.

Check out Josh's profile, Bucky's transformation gallery and Phil's latest interview with us.

Jordin, Kat and Taylor Perform for 4th of July

This year’s Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks Spectacular will feature the singing talent of two American Idols: AI Season 6 winner, Jordin Sparks and AI Season 5 Runner-up Katharine McPhee! Jordin will be performing her latest single, “One Step at a Time” and Katharine, who is working on her second album, will perform “Save The Last Dance For Me.”

Meanwhile, from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, AI Season winner Taylor Hicks will perform at the 2008 Fourth of July Concert in Washington, D.C.

Check out the transformation galleries for Jordin, Kat and Taylor. See how they changed over their season on Idol!

Paris Bennett Is Mom To Be

Season 5’s Paris Bennett is pregnant with her first, according to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Paris, who will be 20 years old when the baby arrives in October, is maintaining her privacy with details including the identity of the father.

According to the Star-Tribune, some high profile celebrities have said they will be attending the August baby shower with the intention of spoiling the baby mercilessly, with or without Paris' permission. Queen Latifah reportedly told Paris, “You’re the Princess, I’m the Queen!”

Since finishing fifth place on American Idol, “Princess P” as Ryan Seacrest liked to call her, released a debut album, “Princess P” on May 8, 2007.

Check out our Season 5 transformation photo gallery for the new mom!

Who Will Be The Next Singing Superstar? Auditions for the eighth season of American Idol begin Thursday, July 17, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA, and will continue in seven other cities. Once again, auditioners will have an extraordinary opportunity to perform before millions of TV viewers and become household names, with one winning the coveted American Idol title and a major recording contract. The official docs for the auditions are as follows: FAQs Rules Release Form Guardian Release Form Auditions will be held as follows: Thursday, July 17 San Francisco, CA The Cow Palace Monday, July 21 Louisville, KY Freedom Hall Friday, July 25 Phoenix, AZ Jobing.com Arena Tuesday, July 29 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena Saturday, August 2 San Juan, Puerto Rico Coliseo de Puerto Rico Friday, August 8 Kansas City, MO TBD Wednesday, August 13 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Tuesday, August 19 East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center at the Meadowlands Specific information for the San Francisco auditions is below. More details for the additional audition cities will be announced shortly. San Francisco American Idol Auditions WHO: Men and women 16-28 years old as of July 15, 2008, who are eligible to work in the U.S. Some restrictions apply – please visit americanidol.com for specific information. WHERE: The Cow Palace 2600 Geneva Ave. Daly City, CA 94014 WHEN: Thursday, July 17 HOW: Wristbands will be distributed from 7:00 AM on Tuesday, July 15 until 8:00 AM on Thursday, July 17. Auditioners will not be permitted to camp out; therefore, once they obtain their wristbands, they will be asked to return to the Cow Palace on Thursday, July 17. Take a look at some of our favorite photos from Season 7's Auditions!

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