Things weren't necessarily all downhill for Whitney Houston at the time of her sudden death in February at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The singer was working on getting her pipes back in fighting shape, and she'd worked on a film that was nearing its release. Today, the trailer for that film, Sparkle, has arrived. more ›

Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,... more ›

How would they fill up two hours in the American Idol finale? That was the question on LAist's mind tonight. (And we were particularly bummed since we had to give up the first hour of Lost for this!) Since the show seemed just as long as the Oscars, it was only fitting that AI had filler like the "Golden Idols" -- awards for the freaks during the early part of the show. Remember the... more ›

So after LAist got over the initial shock of Melinda Doolittle (the best singer this year) getting the boot from American Idol last week, we had to sit through tonight's reality -- one hour of two OK performers, their three songs and packaged childhood retrospectives. Tonight's second-to-last show pitted the beatboxer (Blake Lewis) against the 17-year-old power singer (Jordin Sparks). They each sang their favorite song from a past show, a cover song they'd... more ›

Now we freaking completely understand how someone like George W. Bush gets into the Oval Office: American voters are stupid. Tonight on American Idol, calling voters kicked off the best singer in this popularity contest national singing competition. Melinda Doolittle, the most experienced singer among the remaining three, got kicked off the show by the nearly 60 million callers. We don't mean to sound bitter, but seriously...is it because she didn't have Jordin Sparks'... more ›

The last three contestants on American Idol fought for a place in the finale last night. Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle sang three songs each: one picked by a judge, one picked by the producers and one of their own choosing. Of course, to fill the hour, the show followed the contestants back to their respective hometowns. Uber-perky-to-the-point-of-annoying Jordin traveled back to Glendale, Ariz., where her local mall was mobbed by fans.... more ›

LAist only made it eight minutes into last night's American Idol results show before hitting the remote control. We just couldn't watch anymore. Watching Ryan Seacrest interview tourists at The Grove for the umpteenth time to get their opinions on the prior night's show was just too painful. Plus, it was Bon Jovi night -- all the more reason to change the channel. So we'll cut to the chase: Phil Stacey (the bald guy)... more ›

As a product of the ’80s and growing up outside Philly, this particular LAist poster never got into Bon Jovi. Maybe it was the big hair. We don’t know. But we preferred the skinny, pasty guys from England. Think John Taylor from Duran Duran or Martin Gore from Depeche Mode. So we were really, really not excited to cover tonight’s American Idol. By 8:03 PM, we were having flashbacks and could already smell the... more ›

We can see the finish line. American Idol is down to the final six finalists and this seemingly never-ending season is almost over. Thank God. We need to watch real TV. Like Tori and Dean: Inn Love. But tonight the show focused less on the lame Ford-commercial filler and actually tried to inspire the millions of people watching. (But not necessarily with the music -- which has been pretty average this season.) The Idol... more ›

Country music proved to be an Achilles heel for many of our American Idol contestants. The night started off on a good note, with baldiePhil Stacey doing a decent job on Keith Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends" and Jordin Sparks doing an even better job on coach Martina McBride's song "Broken Wing" (which is a lot of chutzpah for a 17-year-old). Then came Sanjaya. With permed hair in a do-rag, he butchered a song... more ›

It was Latin night on American Idol with coach Jennifer “don’t call me J-Lo” Lopez. But, unfortunately, like her movies of late, the music pretty much tanked. The songs that reflected the beats south of the border were not kind to our eight finalists. (And really, can’t we do a little better than picking boring Gloria Estefan or Carlos Santana songs?) >> Melinda Doolittle started off the show with “Sway,” and this was the... more ›

LAist will cut to the chase and do in less than a minute what American Idol took 30 minutes to do tonight: Rocker chick Gina Glocksen is out and Sanjaya Malakar just took another step toward the finals. If you need a few more details than that, then read on... The nine finalists were split into three groups: >> Group 1: Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson and Sanjaya Malakar >> Group 2: Haley Scarnato, Gina... more ›

Tonight on American Idol, octogenarian crooner Tony Bennett coached the remaining nine contestants. While we were semi-excited to hear the Idols take on the standards, LAist was really anticipating what form Sanjaya’s shape-shifting hair would take on this week? Maybe a salt and pepper gray in honor of Mr. Bennet? No such luck. This week, Sanjaya wore a ’do that was much tamer than the faux-hawk: just the simple slicked-back crooner look. But we... more ›

In the six seasons of American Idol, LAist can't recall a more average group of singers -- in voice and personality. Tuesday nights so far have been two hours of tedium, except for one or two standout performances a night. Last night -- British Invasion Night -- was no different. The song choices were unappealing to those under 40, and it's a safe bet that many of the contestants never even heard of their... more ›

There are three months left of American Idol. And judging from last night's show, that's three very long months to whittle down from 12 to the two finalists. The singing overall on the Diana Ross-themed show was pretty lousy, except for a few of the usual suspects: Jordin Sparks (who we think sang a Diana Ross tune from The Land Before Time, Melinda Doolitte belting a song from The Wiz, and show-stopper LaKisha Jones singing... more ›

So the girls hit the American Idol stage last night, and they proved once again that they can sing so much better than the boys this season. So the question on our minds this morning is whether co-front-runner Melinda Doolittle (heads and shoulders above the pack with LaKisha Jones) is just frontin. Can she really be that meek and unsure about her singing? She comes on stage like a lion and leaves like a... more ›

Soul sisters reigned supreme during last night’s American Idol. It was time for the 12 girl finalists to step up to the mike – and five women blew the rest of the girls – and all the guys –out of the water. more ›