American Idol
News (Page 8)

We're halfway to a completed set of 12 American Idol finalists.

With Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Michael Sarver - all of whom were voted through to the next round a week ago - looking on, the show announced its next trio of finalists last night.

They are:

• Adam Lambert (pictured)
  
• Kris Allen
• Allison Iraheta

Lambert and Iraheta were no-brainers, as they were the only two impressive contestants on Wednesday night's performance show.

Allen, however, was a slight surprise. He beat out Megan Joy Corkrey for the last spot.

Next week, a dozen more semifinalists will compete for three more spots in the competition's finals.

After that, American Idol is switching it up this season: the judges will pick the last three finalists as part of a special wild card round.

Last night's American Idol was terrible. There's just no other way to put it.

The one contestant that stood out was Adam Lambert. He showed incredible range during a rendition of "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones.

Watch Lambert's performance below:

Simon Cowell is never shy about voicing his opinion.

Therefore, when asked about season eight of American Idol, the British judge told the following to People Magazine:

On who will win: “[It will be a] boy this year"

On the Joanna Pacitti disqualification: “I like scandals. It’s not American Idol without a scandal. In fact I hope we have some more, I really do.”

On the new show format: “The fact that we change these middle rounds makes it less monotonous. It’s a more interesting group of people than last year, a bit more personality, different types of singers.”

Hmmm, a boy, huh? Our money would be on Danny Gokey or Matt Giraud.

Which American Idol semifinalists will be taking the stage Wednesday night? Here's a look:

• Nick Mitchell
• Adam Lambert
• Megan Corkrey
• Kris Allen
• Mishavonna Henson
• Matt Breitzke
• Kai Kalama
• Jasmine Murray
• Jesse Langseth
• Matt Giraud
• Allison Iraheta
• Jeanine Vailles

Which of these singers do you think will advance to the finals?

Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver and Danny Gokey have made it through to the finals of American Idol.

They are the first three season eight contestants to do so.

Grace is the pink-haired single mother; Sarver, the oil rigging everyman; and Gokey, the soulful crooner whose wife passed away weeks prior to his initial audition.

Which of these singers is your favorite so far?

Alexis Grace and Danny Gokey advancing to the finals of American Idol were surer bets this week than Rush Limbaugh coming down hard on Barack Obama's stimulus plan.

But the show pulled its first surprise of the season, as early fan favorite Anoop Desai was passed over in favor of oil rig worker Michael Sarver.

Sarver didn't really impress judges on Tuesday with his rendition of Gavin McGraw's "I Don't Wanna Be," but Simon Cowell said he hopes the nice guy gets a second chance - and voters apparently agreed!

Hope isn't lost for Desai supporters, though: in a few weeks, American Idol will hold a Wild Card round of auditions, during which a select few semifinalists will receive another opportunity to advance. Our hopes for that round?

Anoop and Ann Marie Boskovich.

How about you?

The first 12 semifinalists on American Idol took to the stage last night.

While Jackie Tohn opened the evening with an energetic performance of an Elvis classic; and while Ricky Braddy came out of nowhere with a winning rendition of "A Song For You," we have a strong feeling that the following three contestants will be voted through to the next round.

Alexis Grace performed third on the show, but Randy Jackson said she truly kicked off season eight with her performance of "Never Loved a Man." She has a child, so we know this isn't literally true. But it was still a solid audition.

Anoop Desai sang "Angel of Mine," a slow song that wasn't as much fun as his rendition of "My Perogative" in Hollywood. But it's clear the judges all hope to see more of the crooner known as "Noop Dogg."

Danny Gokey closed the show with a rendition of Mariah Carey's "Hero" that might have cured cancer. That's how Randy, Kara and Paula responded to it at least. The crowd - or, as we're gonna start calling them, "Gokeheads," - gave this contestant a standing ovation.

Which of these contestants was your favorite semifinalist? Click on each photo for a larger version.

The eighth season of American Idol becomes an actual talent show tomorrow night. For the most part.

While the occasional Sanjaya Malakar still pops up once the show is whittled down to its semifinal group of contestants, vocal chops are typically focused on from here on out.

With that in mind, here are the 12 contestants - out of the final 36 - scheduled to perform tomorrow night:

• Tatiana Del Toro
• Stevie Wright
• Anne Marie Boskovich (pictured)
• Jackie Tohn
• Casey Carlson
• Alexis Grace
• Anoop Desai
• Michael Sarver
• Stephen Fowler
• Danny Gokey
• Ricky Braddy
• Brent Keith

Well, we got most of it right.

Our previously-reported list of American Idol semifinalists nailed almost every one of the top 36. The one major exception?

Joanna Pacitti, whose ties to show executives and 2005 record deal were too much for the series to handle. It disqualified this contestant in favor of Felicia Barton.

With that in mind, follow this article's jump for the full list of 36...

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Can you hear that, American Idol fans?

The show is inching closer and closer to an actual focus on singing. Sorry, untalented, attention-hungry contestants. You had your chance in the audition spotlight.

The official list of top 36 contestants will be announced tonight. We'd be shocked if the following contestants, all of whom impressed judges last night, weren't included on it:

Lil Rounds: Sang “I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys. Weird name, incredible voice, high expecations for this crooner.

Anoop Desai: Rocked out - and we mean rocked out!!! - to "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown.

Adam Lambert: Was his rendition of Cher's "Believe" too theatrical? Not for us. We like his style.