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 ›

We have to admit that an hour of the American Idol results show is excessive -- even for LAist. So we skimmed the show and cut straight to the results: Sanjaya Malakar is still safe, and weak Haley Scarnato finally gots the boot. No surprises there, really. Haley's style is so bland that she makes Hillary Duff look, umm...what's the word we're looking for? Talented. But what did kind of surprise us was that... 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 ›

Fan favorite Sanjaya Malakar has taken another step toward American Idol-hood. Tonight, it was portly Chris Sligh— the Jack Osbourne lookalike — who got the boot. Now we admit that Chris had an off night last night with a cover of The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," but at least Chris can sing in tune. We can’t say the same for Sanjaya, whose tone-deaf fans obviously voted him into the American... more ›

American Idol was only an hour and seven minutes tonight, which we think meant shorter songs clips and shorter packaged coaching segments with guest judge Gwen Stefani. And the shorter show was just fine with us because (1) most of these “Top 10” singers are good -- but they’re not great; (2) while the song choices were better than last week’s British Invasion, they were ripped right from the Adult Contemporary radio station playlists... more ›

That little Riverside girl who cried and cried over Sanjaya on American Idol last night must have voted a bazillion times on the way home because America's favorite bad singer with no personality has made it through to American Idol's Top 10. (Yeah and you have no one to blame for that because you didn't vote and the folks over at votefortheworst.com did.) So after 30 million votes, Sanjaya stays and Stephanie Edwards is... 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 ›

Can we fast forward through the rest of the American Idol season? We already know the two finalists will either be Melinda Doolittle vs. Lakisha Jones (if America has its way) or Antonella Barba vs. Sanjaya Malakar (if the site votefortheworst.com has its way). It was boys' night out on American Idol and as a bunch, they were pretty bad sucked. Some of the lowlights included: >> Sanjaya with a new, straighter (more masculine???)... more ›

The remaining 10 guys performed on American Idol last night, and thankfully, it wasn't two hours of excruciating torture like last week. First, it was only a 90-minute show to make room for Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. (Hence, the shameless Jeff Foxworthy shots in the AI audience. He hosts the show, so you know it's gonna be redneck good.) And while the guys greatly improved from their first outing, they still... more ›