After leaking to the Internet a bit earlier than expected, Taylor Swift’s new single “Mine,” off her upcoming album “Speak Now,” has been formally released on iTunes and should soon be popping up on radio. Destined to be an early hit, the song is nonetheless not perfect–and a quick journey through Swift’s history as...
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The ABC Family audience has consistently proven that quality is not its priority when selecting shows to sample. Evidence is in the fact that the fresh, critically-acclaimed “Greek,” which many television analysts and a cult of fans feel more accurately captures teen/college life than any soap on television, simply cannot find an audience while...
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Two seasons ago, David Archuleta outperformed David Cook on the final “American Idol” performance show yet cleanly lost the competition to the latter, more popular contestant. Last year, in a well-contested finale, Kris Allen managed to upset frontrunner Adam Lambert with a dominant victory in the “Idol” voting. From Ruben Studdard defeating Clay Aiken...
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In 2006, “How I Met Your Mother” ended its brilliant first season with a touching montage set to Bloc Party’s “This Modern Love.” In 2010, the show wrapped its worst season to date with A Fine Frenzy’s gorgeous “Lifesize.” But while the season itself was a disappointment, the episode, entitled “Doppelgangers,” was outstanding for...
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Predictably, the “Lost” finale sparked a wave of mixed emotion from its fanbase that has fans expressing everything from joy to sadness to absolute rage. While the episode itself received high marks, the final sequence–which focused on explaining the alternate timeline in closing the story for good–spurred intense debate with cries of confusion and...
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In the past several weeks, Lee DeWyze began emerging as a potential rival to presumed “American Idol” winner Crystal Bowersox. Across his two performances on Tuesday’s top three performance show, DeWyze did one better: he created a situation in which anything other than a Lee DeWyze “American Idol” victory would be a shocker. After...
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The entirety of “Glee” cannot be better epitomized than by the very existence of “How I Met Your Mother”‘s Neil Patrick Harris. He acts. He sings. He is in tune with musical theatre. He cracks some of the best jokes each week on television. He possesses no shyness for self-deprecation. His appearance on the...
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Prior to Tuesday’s “American Idol” performance show, Lee DeWyze had finally done the impossible. Through steady growth and maturity as a performer, as well as consistently strong vocal showings, Lee DeWyze had eclipsed odds-on favorite Crystal Bowersox as the contestant to beat. In one song Tuesday, DeWyze almost undid everything he accomplished. His opening...
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Though it will probably serve as a storyline setup for her triumphant road to victory in a few weeks, frontrunner Crystal Bowersox once again failed to make a true mark on “American Idol,” this time forfeiting dominance to Lee DeWyze and Michael Lynche. DeWyze, who often fails to strike perfection in the pitch department,...
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In recent weeks, the “American Idol” frontrunner pack has essentially limited itself to two contestants–Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox. Both are judge favorites, both have remained out of the bottom three and both have consistently delivered some phenomenal performances. Yet on a night built around the songs of Shania Twain (who also served as...
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Borrowing a reaction from judge Simon Cowell, Tuesday’s Inspirational Songs-themed edition of “American Idol” was anything but inspirational. With all seven remaining contestants–yes, that includes Tim Urban–having demonstrated an ability to deliver great performances this year, the hope was that the group would use motivational songs to reach new heights on stage. That absolutely...
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Aware of Tim Urban’s proclivity to incorporate goofball antics into his performances, ala Jon Peter Lewis, who would have ever predicted that he would outperform frontrunner Crystal Bowersox on Elvis night? He did, however, delivering one of the more memorable performances Tuesday as “American Idol” served up another dose of the top 9 (thanks...
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No network show in the past few years has returned with as much pressure to deliver as FOX’s “Glee.” Even with the benefit of the “American Idol” lead-in for its pilot/preview presentation, FOX’s musical comedy did not emerge as a surefire ratings winner. Its initial critical acclaim, while generally strong, was similarly not game-changing....
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In one of the more bizarre, critically-panned “American Idol” seasons to date, one thing has been consistent: Crystal Bowersox always brings something special to the stage. But in recent weeks, some of the other contestants have found ways to join her at the top of the heap. In the first week of the finals,...
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A combination of a male mentor in Usher and the suitability of the soul/R&B theme led the “American Idol” males to run the table this Tuesday. Of the females, only one made any sort of impact, and even her “moment” shared the limelight with two fantastic performances on the male side. From day one,...
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On paper, the idea of teen Disney star Miley Cyrus mentoring the eleven remaining “American Idol” contestants struck a nerve for the bulk of the show’s critics and diehard fans. And while some were quick to point out the fact that Cyrus, regardless of age, represents the pop “idol” that the contestants are technically...
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Throughout the semifinals, previously-unhyped Siobhan Magnus started gaining traction with “American Idol” fans and critics. But because she had yet to truly nail a performance, there was some doubt about whether the buzz was due to her ability or due to her, for lack of a better word, weirdness. Whatever the case might have...
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Based on the volume of coverage they received in the pre-taped portion of the competition, Michael Lynche and Andrew Garcia were undoubtedly the frontrunners going into the “American Idol” semifinals. Following Wednesday’s male performance show–the final performance show of the semifinals–only one remains at the top of the pack. Michael Lynche, that successful contestant,...
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Though Tuesday’s “American Idol” finally brought two one-time frontrunners out of their shells, it was the consistent female standouts that ultimately stole the show. Those individuals–Crystal Bowersox and Lilly Scott–were leagues above the rest of the competition and, barring some massive surprise, should enter the Top 12 with serious momentum. If forced to select...
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The early “American Idol” performance episodes are rarely slam dunks, but the judges usually find one or two contestants to hype as the future of the competition. That was not the case for Tuesday’s episode, which kicked off the season nine semifinals with performances from the Top 12 Girls. From start to finish, not...
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