Kris Allen

Age: 23
Lives in: Conway, AR
Occupation: Kris Allen is a student at the University of Central Arkansas
Singing since: 13 years old.

Megan Joy Corkrey

Age: 23
Lives in: Sandy, UT, with her 2-year-old son, Ryder
Occupation: self-professed “foodie”
Singing since: 3 years of age

Anoop Desai

Age: 22
Lives in: Chapel Hill, NC.
Occupation:working on his Master’s degree in Folklore at the University of North Carolina.
Singing since: in the childhood he was a member of the UNC Clef Hangers, an a cappella group.

Matt Giraud

Age: 23
Lives in: Kalamazoo, MI
Occupation: piano player and singer in local clubs and hotels

Danny Gokey

Age: 28
Living in:Milwaukee, WI
Occupation: president and founder of a non-profit organization

Alexis Grace

Age: 21
Living in Memphis, TN
Occupation: member of the Concert Choir at the University of Memphis
Singing since: 7 years old

Allison Iraheta

Age: 16
Lives in: Downey
Occupation: high school junior
Singing since: 5 years of age

Adam Lambert

Age: 27
Living in: Hollywood
Occupation: musical theater performer
Singing since: 10 years of age

Scott MacIntyre

Age: 23
Originating from: Scottsdale, AZ
Scott graduated from Arizona State University at age 19, and attended graduate school in London, England
Musical skills: plays piano, guitar and drums.

Jasmine Murray

Age: 17
Living in: Starkville, MS
Occupation: student at The Mississippi School of the Arts
Singing since: 3 years of age

Jorge Nunez

Age: 21
Lives in: in Carolina, Puerto Rico
Occupation: student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

Lil Rounds

Age: 24
Living in: Memphis, TN; she is married, with three children.
Singing since: 3 years of age

Michael Sarver

Age: 27
Living in Jasper, TX; he is married with two children
Occupation: oil rig worker

Out of the 13 finalists, Anoop Desai was the last one to find a wild card. He knew he didn’t make the top 12, but he got a great surprise to discover that the top 12 is actually Top 13, for the first time in the American Idol.

These are the first day’s contestants:

Tuan Nguyen

Weird and looking pretty much like one of Michael Jackson’s ballet robots, his dance made the audience smile not only once. Although he might have some musical talent, his voice does not always obey his brain, so at times it becomes very hard to listen. If he doesn’t improve some things quickly, he’s not going to make it to the 2009 finale, or at least I guess so.

Emily Wynne-Hughes

She’s good and she has a beautiful and strong voice. Her song, Barracuda, is difficult even for experienced singers, yet she handles it awesomely. Her pop-rock star look, her crazy hair and the scene attitude qualifies her to go on in the show, and I’d say she stands a good chance to be the next American Idol.

Randy, the guitar guy

The first contestant who started to cry in front of the judges. Simon Cowell surely had a great contribution to this. Too bad Randy doesn’t make it, although he didn’t sound really bad.

J.B. Ahfua

Nothing special with Ahfua, a pretty good voice, maybe a bit too high-piched for my taste, but the judges gave him green light.

Michael Gurr

Shy, stressed and extremely nervous, Michael sounds very strange, so he’s not making it further. One of his songs was by Kara DioGuardi, the new judge in the American Idol show. She must have been horrified by the sound.

Will Kunick

“Mad World” by Tears for Fears was his song, but the performance was rather poor, so he needs more practice for the next editions, if he’s determined to compete further on.

D.J. Bradley

This Seattle guy sings Celine Dion in such an original manner that he is off the show.

Aundre Caraway (aka X-Ray)

He is surely original, he has some good scenic movement, but when it comes to singing, there’s a long way to go, so he left the stage with a big NO.

Arrianna Asfar

Her chosen song was “Put Your Records On,” by Corinne Bailey Rae. She sings pretty much OK, so she passes on to the next stage. She’s 16.

This concludes Day 1 of Arizona’s auditions.

Arizona Day 2 Auditions – American Idol 2009

Elijah Scarlett

Elijah is singing “My First, My Last, My Everything”. It was indeed his last, as none of the judges liked his performance.

Leah Marie

Big fan of Kara DioGuardi, all dressed up in pink and full of hopes at her 16 years of age, Leah Marie fails in convincing the judges that she has what it takes to go to Hollywood.

Stevie Wright

Her song was “At Last” by Etta James. I liked the way she performed, and the judges gave her a yes, but with a shroud of a doubt. Time will tell if she’s that good.

Jeremy Sarver

His voice has a very pleasant sound, so the judges are impressed and let him go on in the contest.

Katrina, the Bikini Girl

She is not at all a bad singer, however Kara DioGuardi dislikes her. Despite this, the Bikini Girl gets the ticket through to Hollywood.

Eric Thomas, Sexual Chocolate

Eric doesn’t stand a chance, as his performance is not so good quality to convince the judges.

Brianna Quijada

She’s rather an average singer, yet she manages to get through. I think she’s going to leave the competition pretty soon, as her voice is not as good as others I’ve heard so far in this American Idol season.

Deanna Brown

Her song was “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding, she sang it nicely, so she’s got her ticket.

Cody Shell

His song was “Wonderful World” by James Morrison. He has a good voice and a good show presence, so he is accepted.

Alex Wenger-Troutman

His song: “Baby Come to Me,” by James Ingraham. Judges disagree on his performance, but in the end he gets accepted.

Scott McIntyre

The guy plays classical piano and he’s blind. Despite his blindness, he manages to write songs, dance and sing. His song was “And So it Goes” by Billy Joel. All judges agreed to give him the ticket for Hollywood. I also liked him and I hope to see him in the 2009′s final.

Some of the funniest contestants were “Bikini Girl” and “Sexual Choolate”, but we’ve also noticed Scott McIntyre the blind guy with great voice, Cody Shelton, who was appreciated by all four judges, Emily Wynne-Hughes, the red headed girl from California and Arianna.

Golden tickets awarded tonight in Phoenix, Arizona: 27.

This was mainly the American Idol Season 8 opening. We are coming back to you with photos, videos and more news as the show advances.

Simon Cowell is also involved in the British version of the American Idol, called X-Factor. Indirectly, the UK show is bringing him a very nice, passive income, thanks to one of the show winners, Alexandra Burke, who has been extremely successful with her version of the well-known song Hallelujah.

Paula Abdul to Judge American Idol in 2009

Paula Abdul was one of the American Idol judges in the 2008 contest. Despite the rumors that she’s not going to be in the team for the 2009 competition, it seems that she’s going to stay with the show for one more season. This is good news, because Paula is very popular among Americans, so she’ll be welcome. The judges team will expand with the addition of Kara DioGuardi, a famous song writer and music producer. She has written songs for artists such as Santana, Christina Aguillera, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani or Carrie Underwood, and she’s really cool and energetic, and a true professional, committed to her work.

Changes for the New American Idol Season

One of the main changes is that the number of judges will increase by one. Another change is getting back to the wild-card system. Moreover, there will be 36 semi-finalists in 2009, by comparison with past editions, when there were only 24 contestants competing in the semi-finals. Rumors tell that in this new reality show, we are going to see more of the off-stage interaction of the contestants. This means that the broadcast time will be probably increased compared to previous years. It’s interesting how Idol Watchers will receive the new format. In case they might not be true fans of Big Brother, they’ll lose interest in the American Idol and not watch what’s going on in the house on regular basis.

On the contrary, the changes may bring in new watchers, new fans for the Idols to be, and more money from TV commercials, of course. Besides, it is possible that more viewers will be tempted to vote for their favorite contestant.

The group will be winnowed down to 12 finalists, with nine chosen by audience voting and three wild-card singers selected by judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and a previously announced newcomer, singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

In 2008, the American Idol contest was won by David Cook, voted over runner-up american idol David Archuleta.

For many of us, these words have a special meaning. Unfortunately, George Carlin, the great comedian and host of the entertainment show called 7 Words You Can Never Say on TV, died yesterday, at the age of 71 by a sudden cardiac arrest.

Carlin began his adventure back in the late 70s, when he got the radio station in trouble because of his 7 words show. The radio station got accused of offensive language and it was in danger of getting suspended or pay a big fine.

Spoken comedy has got a new meaning, once George Carlin started Saturday Night Live, the show which entertained so many comedy lovers across so many years. During his long and fruitful career, he got multiple Grammy awards and he was nominated for Emmy awards. If you didn’t know it yet, find out that George Carlin was also a writer: he wrote a comedy book which got him the Mark Twain award.

Now George Carlin dies, but he is still alive in our memory. We will remember him as he was the rebellious guy who even got arrested for disturbing the peace of the community while he was living in Milwaukee.

Rest in peace, George Carlin. Thank you for being you. These are the Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV.