(S09E10) ELLEN! I've been waiting for this. I've been a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan for years, so I was psyched to hear she was going to be a judge this year. A lot of people are worried that she'll rely too heavily on the comedy, so tonight is a big night; we finally get to see how she does.
It's also a big night because it's the beginning of Hollywood week. I always feel terrible for the people who get sent home, but I'm trying to remember this: at least they got a sweet free trip to Hollywood. That's something, right? All in all, it's a pretty good group of people, but there are several who just completely biff their auditions. How does that happen? It's a mystery for the ages. Let's ponder it together, shall we?
Luckily, FOX has just released a promo for Hollywood week, which is next week. At that point, DeGeneres joins the judges table for the first time to whittle down the 181 people who received Golden Tickets to 24 semi-finalists. For those of you who have watched the show in previous seasons, you know it's not a quick process: these contestants will be performing over three nights, with the Top 24 not being revealed until Wednesday, February 17.
(S09E08) This is the last episode before we get to Hollywood, and you know it's going to be good for two reasons: Victoria Beckham's back, and they start it off with "Pants on the Ground" (Although, how could they leave the classic Brett Favre version out of the montage?).
However, Beckham is only back for a little while, as this is a montage of auditions from all of the stops that we haven't seen yet. It's kind of weird how it's set up, because even though we haven't seen these people before, this still seems like a strange kind of clip show. In any case, it wraps up the audition process, in which 181 golden tickets were handed out, and gets us ready for the real show to start next week, when Ellen DeGeneres permanently joins the cast, which is what I've been waiting for.
Wow, there were a few whack jobs at the Denver auditions of 'American Idol,' including Bikini Boy (see above). But also an adorable kid who drew pictures for the judges, as well as a few good singers who got sent through to Hollywood. After the jump, let's take a look at some of the Denver auditions.
(S09E06) So last night, Avril Lavigne made me want to kill myself, and Katy Perry was surprisingly tolerable. I'm thinking things are going to be better tonight, as we have Neil Patrick Harris who is great, and Joe Jonas, who is a Jonas Brother, and as such is supposed to be cute and sweet, right? That's their thing? Anyway, we're in Dallas, home of Kelly Clarkson, so the big question is, does the city have the next Kelly on its hands?
I don't know about that, but I do know that NPH is my new idol. He asserts himself, and is tough while remaining charming. In fact, it seems as though he even takes the lead and goes over Simon's head a little bit: I like that.
Franco appeared in not one, but two seasons of Runway, and was made out to be sort of crazy. He didn't win, and is apparently testing out other avenues in the realm of reality television. He doesn't mention anything about this endeavor on his website, but then again, he hasn't updated his blog since 2007. It doesn't appear as though Franco got a golden ticket, so we'll never know how his singing ability stacks up to his design ability. More importantly, we're missing out on the Project Runway/American Idol mashup that we never wanted.
(S09E05) 11,000 people showed up for the Los Angeles auditions, which actually seems like kind of a low number to me. Maybe they heard the guest judge was going to be Avril Lavigne and said, "eh, maybe I'll skip this one. There's always season 10!" Okay, that's not nice. I'm sure Lavigne is a perfectly lovely lady. But who really cares? All that matters is whether or not she's a good judge.
...Except for the fact that she's a 25-year-old divorced woman who is wearing a hoodie with devil horns sewn into it. Not only that, but she insists on wearing the hood with devil horns sewn into it up on her head, while inside a building, so she can show off said devil horns, while she is evaluating people who are singing their hearts out to her. Because, God forbid she let anyone's hopes and dreams, or you know, professionalism, take precedence over her pseudo-punk lifestyle. Dear Avril, you are no longer 15; please dress and act accordingly. *Deep breath* Okay, that's better. Now on with the show.
(S09E04) Sweet! Kristin Chenoweth is the guest judge, which means that this episode is going to be awesome. Okay, perhaps that's overstating it a bit -- it is the audition rounds after all, but it's surely going to be just a bit sunnier. I'm really looking forward to this one, especially since Chicago had such a disappointing turnout (I mean, really... 13 Golden Tickets out of 12,000? Seriously?).
Orlando doesn't disappoint, and actually ends up getting 31 people to Hollywood. However, Kristin is only there, for the first day, so I feel a little ripped off. If I have to deal with Avril Lavigne at some point, shouldn't I get at least two days of Kristin Chenoweth? Come on!
(S03E09) We begin the show with Frank Sinatra's, "Chicago," which puts me in a good mood, but it's ruined by a bunch of never-weres sharing their heavily-bleeped opinions of American Idol and the judges. However, I am quickly buoyed by the woman waiting in line who says confidently to the camera, "I believe I have what it takes to become America's Next Top Model." God Bless you, ma'am. Thank you for being real and saying what no one else will: sometimes it's just about being on TV.
You would think that since it's the 3rd time Idol has held auditions in Chicago, that we would end up with a great group of talent, but you would be wrong. They may have used up most of the good ones the first two times, because Chicago doesn't actually turn out too many golden tickets.
Alright, everyone! It seems like just moments ago that Kris Allen was crowned the new American Idol, but now he and runner-up Adam Lambert are old news. It's time to find the next superstar. This is going to be a big season: It's the first one without Paula, the first one with Ellen, and the last one with Simon. So let's just sit back, relax, and enjoy some auditions!
We start out with a look back at last season, and I'm sure Kara DioGuardi loves the fact that they're opening up with her ripping her dress off onstage with The Bikini Girl. Ryan talks about Paula leaving and shows a clip of Ellen announcing that she'll be the new judge. She looks so cute and excited! I can't wait for her to get on the live episodes. For now, however, we have guest judge Victoria Beckham. Am I the only one who forgets that she talks? I'm just so used to her posing, hearing her voice freaks me out.
A year has passed and there has been a lot of best and worst lists here at TV Squad. I know tons of reality television shows have grazed my TV so I've compiled a list of the best and worst reality shows of 2009.
Finding the best shows are easy, but it's hard to pare down the worst list. I define "worst" as shows that had potential and never did anything with it. While shows like I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here and anything involving the words "Real Housewives" aren't mentioned, they aren't the worst because they started at rock bottom and had nowhere to go. Several of the worst shows I've mentioned could just go through some tweaking and it could have been amazing.
Oh man, that variety show format worked so well for Nick & Jessica! Remember what a smash sensation the Osbournes variety show was? Boy, Rosie O'Donnell sure rewrote the book on how to do a great variety special! The networks remember how great these attempts to revive the long dead TV format went, because they're at it again.
If the networks really do believe they can revive the variety format, this is a good way to do it. The holiday season seems to be the best time to lure American audiences into one-off specials and different kinds of programming. If the special does well, they can look for another one next year maybe. Or perhaps they'll have found something to do with all those former Idol contestants.
To be fair to the other judges on the show, Bice does say that if they got rid of either Randy or Simon it would be equally devastating. I don't quite think this is true of Jackson, Paula and Simon really are the heart of the show (along with Ryan Seacrest).
American Idol fans might remember Alexis Cohen, who auditioned for the show twice. She was hit and killed by a car a few days ago and the police have arrested the driver for reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Here's video of one of her auditions and her blow up after being rejected by Simon, Paula, and Randy. I thought she had a pretty good voice. Maybe not for Idol but for a rock band.
(S05E12) We're welcomed to the show by Cat Deeley lamenting Thursdays. I'm often confused by Cat mentioning the dancers dancing their "own style." It must have been a Donyelle rule. I guess we'll never see Karla channel her inner Boogie Bot.
The sound quality was off tonight, proving that part of the show was live; when they transitioned from live to the clips, you could hear the echoes. The biggest culprit was the transition to Kelly Clarkson; the audience applause didn't sound the same at all.
(S09E08) This is the last episode before we get to Hollywood, and you know it's going to be good for two reasons: 
Oh man, that variety show format worked so well for Nick & Jessica! Remember what a smash sensation the Osbournes variety show was? Boy, Rosie O'Donnell sure rewrote the book on how to do a great variety special! The networks remember how great these attempts to revive the long dead TV format went, because they're at it again.
Bo Bice, who was the runner-up on 
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
