American Idol

Here's my deal: We need to have a Crystal/Casey finale, and Siobhan needs to go tonight. While the judges loved her, my ears told me that she sounded like a cat being mauled to death last night. I honestly do not understand the praise that is being heaped upon her. I'd be just as happy if Aaron the wedding singer left, but even I can admit that he hasn't had a bad performance in several weeks.

But no matter who actually goes tonight, one thing's for certain: there's going to be about 50 minutes of filler leading up to it. Tonight, we get Rascal Flatts, Shakira, vampires, emo violinists, and a whole lot of other things that only the evil geniuses behind 'Idol' can dream up in an effort to stretch 5 minutes of show into an hour.

There are six contestants left on 'American Idol,' and everyone did really well tonight, which means it's anyone's guess who will go home. After noting that a whopping $45 million was raised on 'Idol Gives Back' last week, Ryan Seacrest introduced this week's mentor, Shania Twain, and we got right into the performances.

Lee DeWyze, 'You're Still the One.' Per Shania's suggestion, Lee starts the song with just voice and piano, adding in guitar later. It sounds a little forced to me, but I like the ending. Randy Jackson says it's one of his favorite songs of all time, and Lee found a way to make it his own. Ellen DeGeneres agrees, saying "you couldn't look cuter" and "all aboard the Shania Twain!" Kara DioGuardi likes that Lee cracked a smile a few times, and Simon Cowell thinks it was "absolutely the perfect song" for Lee. Then Simon and Kara started arguing about whether Lee smiled or had some other weird facial thing going on. He was smiling! He's still just a little nervous!

It's "Inspiration Week" on 'American Idol,' which means the Idols sang inspirational songs on Tuesday, and 'Idol Gives Back' was on tap for tonight. It's truly amazing how much this charitable endeavor helps people around the globe. It's not easy to see all of the suffering going on in the world -- especially the children -- but it's really easy to pick up the phone and make a small donation that could save a kid's life.

Tonight, celebrities reported on the huge malaria problem in Africa; Save the Children; a food bank in Monrovia, Calif.; and global health, among others. At the end of the show, Simon Cowell reported that $15 million had been raised during the two hours the show aired. That's awesome. For more info and to learn how you can give, check out 'Idol Gives Back.'

This season has actually gone by pretty quickly for me. Top 7? That's completely nuts, yet here we are. Plus, we get a bitchin' mentor this week: Alicia Keys. The theme this week is the nebulous, "songs of inspiration," which could either be completely ridiculous or pretty cool.

Unfortunately, it's a little bit more of the former instead of the latter. I don't know what it is, but when left to basically their own devices, these guys aren't very good at picking songs. Just about everybody gave pretty much a "take it or leave it" performance. Of course, it wouldn't be 'Idol' if there wasn't a standout or two in the crowd.

The critics have spoken, and most seem to agree that last season's runner-up Adam Lambert did a great job as the celebrity mentor to the Top 9 on this past week's 'American Idol.' We even think he'd make a great judge. But why was Lambert the first 'Idol' alum to be invited back in the capacity of mentor?

This hasn't been a particularly exciting season of 'American Idol.' The addition of Ellen DeGeneres has rated a 'B-minus' at best, and that's if you're grading on a curve. The contestants have failed to create the buzz we've heard in previous seasons.

The absence of Paula Abdul as a judge has given rise to rumors that she's going to be asked back next season to bring back the 'train wreck' factor. And then there's the reality that Simon Cowell has been punching the clock, sort of sleepwalking through the competition which will be his last go round with 'Idol.'

After Big Mike's dramatic save last week, this show is being set up to be super-intense. Not only have the judges used their only save, but as the title indicates, two people are going home. But before that, we need a lot of filler. We have performances by Brooke White and Adam Lambert, which wow -- I enjoyed Brooke when she was on the show, but I can honestly say I haven't thought of her since.

We don't start off the show with any of this. Instead, we start off with the longest Elvis medley ever. It was so long, in fact, that I'm pretty sure they sang every single Elvis song ever written, four songs written by Elvis impersonators, and a verse from "Allison," just to round things out a little bit.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern). All shows listed are new, unless otherwise noted.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'The Middle' -- Starts at 8:30
CBS: 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' and 'Accidentally on Purpose'
The CW: 'America's Next Top Model'
FOX: 'Human Target'
G4: 'Web Soup'

9;00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Modern Family' and 'Cougar Town'
CBS: 'Criminal Minds'
The CW: 'Fly Girls' and 'High Society'
FOX: 'American Idol' -- Results show. Special guest Adam Lambert
BBC America: 'Peep Show' and 'That Mitchell and Webb Look'
Discovery: 'Mythbusters'
SyFy: 'Ghost Hunters'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'Ugly Betty' -- Series finale
CBS: 'CSI: NY'
A&E: 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and 'Billy the Exterminator'
Bravo: 'Top Chef Masters'
Comedy Central: 'South Park' and 'Ugly Americans' -- 'South Park's' 200th episode
E!: 'E! True Hollywood Story' -- focus on Tiger Woods
Showtime: 'Inside NASCAR'
SyFy: 'Destination Truth'
TBS: 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne' -- Two 30-minute episodes
TLC: 'Addicted'
TV Land: 'First Love, Second Chance'
USA: 'In Plain Sight'

Check your local TV listings for more information. After the jump, the late night talk shows.

"My tongue is not nearly as talented as yours." - Ryan Seacrest to Adam Lambert

It was an interesting night on 'American Idol,' as that statement suggests. Obviously, Ryan was talking about Adam's tongue action while singing, but when he said it, Adam's eyebrows went up. He and Ryan would make a cute couple, wouldn't they?

Anyway, Ryan's mom was in the audience, too, which made things even more interesting. That and the fact that after Big Mike's save last week -- which I'm thankful for -- the Idols are definitely feeling the pressure. Two -- count 'em, two -- people will be sent packing this week.

Based on the performances, I'm guessing they won't be the ones we predict. Meaning that Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia will still be here after tonight. Ok, maybe not Andrew.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern). All shows mentioned are new, unless otherwise noted.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Dancing With the Stars' -- Results show
The CW: '90210'
FOX: 'American Idol' -- 88 minutes long. See below.
NBC: 'The Biggest Loser' -- Two hours
PBS: 'NOVA' -- Focus on the ever-expanding universe

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Lost'
The CW: 'Melrose Place'
FOX: 'Glee' -- Starts at 9:28. Stupid FOX!
BBC America: 'Survivors'
Discovery: 'Deadliest Catch'
PBS: 'Frontline' -- Profile on President Obama's administration
TLC: '19 Kids and Counting'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'V'
NBC: 'Parenthood'
BET: 'Tiny & Toya'
Bravo: 'The Millionaire Matchmaker' -- Season finale
Food Network: 'Chopped'
FX: 'Justified'
HBO: 'REAL Sports with Bryan Gumble'
LOGO: 'The Big Gay Sketch Show'
MTV: '16 and Pregnant'
TLC: 'The Little Chocolatiers'
Travel: 'Food Wars'
USA: 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'

11:00
Bravo: '9 by Design' -- series premiere

Check your local TV listings for more information. After the jump, the late-night talk shows.

In anticipation of the Tuesday, April 13th premiere of Fox's musical hit 'Glee,' two of the co-creators, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, met with the press via a conference call the other day. TV Squad was in on the call and you'll be thrilled with some of the big news coming up in the last nine episodes of this award-winning first season. There were some insights revealed when the cast and the other co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy were on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' yesterday, but Gleeks want more, and that's what this is all about.

Among the highlights – for all you who need encouragement -- Jane Lynch does "Vogue" in the Madonna musical episode. Kristin Chenoweth was not paired up with Idina Menzel, but Kristin's episode (the third one back) is supposed to be wonderful. And if you liked Puck's performance of "Sweet Caroline," wait till you see him do a song like a member of the Rat Pack. For all the details, read on.

Ryan Seacrest started off the show with "Prepare yourself for a surprise or two," and we definitely got that. Based on your comments on my 'Who Will Win 'American Idol'? post a few days ago, it's really anyone's game at this point. And I mean, anyone, from the shoe-ins like Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus to the dark horses like Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia. After this week's performance show, Kona thinks Casey James also falls into that dark horse category, and I agree.

After a message about Idol Gives Back, a group medley of Lennon/McCartney tunes, and a Ford commercial (kaleidoscope fun!), we got to the results.

With the success of 'American Idol,' 'Glee,' and other music-related franchises, it should be no wonder that Fox wants to milk it by having music-themed episodes of several of its shows for the end of April and beginning of May. These shows include 'The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy,' 'Bones,' 'Fringe,' and 'House.'

Before anybody panics and starts envisioning David Boreanaz or Hugh Laurie breaking out in a rendition of 'Feelings' in the middle of a dramatic moment, the article states that the episodes will be music-themed but not necessarily musicals. 'Family Guy' often has musical numbers in their episodes and it's not even a stretch to have Homer and Marge to break out in song. But the character of Bones? Or House? No way.

House will most likely treat a rock star patient and Bones will have to investigate something involving an opera singer or some such plot device. Yes, it's silly, but it could be worse. Remember when NBC went green for a week and introduced Greenzo? I rest my case.

Pretty boys don't do it for me. Long, flowing locks aren't what generally draws me to a guy. As a result, I was never particularly drawn to 'American Idol' contestant, Casey James. Of course I understood the attraction on an intellectual level -- I do have eyes after all, and he is a very pretty man. But throughout the first half of this season of 'Idol,' he remained little more than a background player to me.

Casey was talented enough, but he never knocked my socks off. I figured that he'd stick around for a while because he's good-looking and he doesn't stink up the stage with his performances, but that after a while, he'd be swept up in a cloud of blond hair and sparkling teeth and he'd become nothing but a distant, blue-eyed memory. That all changed this week, however, when he performed 'Jealous Guy.' All the sudden, I was sitting in front of my TV and a random thought struck me: "I kind of want to make out with him."

We're finally into the single digits tonight, but we're still going for two hours. It's Lennon/McCartney night, and Seacrest starts out by saying they have the most recognizable songs in the world. Would you agree with that? Do you think that they or Elvis were more popular worldwide? In any case, Paul McCartney gave his blessing to these contestants, so here's hoping they don't screw it up. Of course, just based on Siobhan's outfit alone, I'm a little nervous going into it.

Turns out, though, I have nothing to be nervous about. Overall, this is my favorite episode of 'Idol' so far this season. There were several performances that I enjoyed, and many that took me by surprise. Plus, 'Idol' instituted a new thing that I actually like: the interviews in which the contestants talk about each other. It was cool to hear how people are perceived in the house, but more than that, Crystal's comment about how she loves the fact that Andrew and Lee can get married and have lots of "little Danny Gokey babies" is still cracking me up.