This show hasn't even started and it's already getting into my nerves.
After being pulled out from the American version of The X Factor, which premieres in the upcoming fall schedule on Fox, reports are coming in that Simon Cowell and Co. are asking Cheryl Cole to return to the show as a judge.
As I've posted here, Cole was asked to leave the program, but no official reason was given by the showrunners. But allegedly, her ouster was due to her strong British accent which American viewers may find difficult to understand. Nicole Scherzinger, who's originally one of the hosts for the show, was reported to have replaced Cole as the fourth judge.
But who cares? Cheryl Cole still has a judging stint in U.K.'s X Factor, right? Wrong. Cole has been a judge in the British counterpart for a couple of seasons now. But during the announcement of its newest season, Cheryl was shockingly missing in the list of judges, which includes former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland. It was said that U.K. producers gave Cheryl a chance to return to the original show, but she might not have been answering calls from them due to her sudden removal from the American version.
And now, after this whole debacle, Cheryl Cole received another offer to return to The X Factor U.S. together with judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid. The question now is whether Nicole Scherzinger will return as Steve Jone's co-host when Cole indeed returns as a judge. (But I'm hoping she'll just be entirely removed from the show.)
If I was Cheryl, I won't take the offer purely because of pride. But then again, she has the opportunity to become a part of this surely hit show. (Just look at how J.Lo's career took off once again after being a judge in Idol.) And I bet the offer involves a huge amount of money.
So do you want Cole to return? Do you feel bad for her as much as I do? And do you think Nicole should just be ousted if Cole does come back?
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In Utah and NYC, it was all about personality. Check out the following auditions that had me pressing the rewind button multiple times.
Chyna Smith - She may not be the strongest dancer we've seen so far, but she's got presence! Chyna also seems to have a wonderful personality that's perfect for the show; and we all know personality takes a dancer further into this competition than technique.
Tadd Guaddaung - Yes, Tadd was definitely entertaining in this audition piece. I just hope his musicality also translates to the other types of dance come Vegas Week.
Samara "Princess Lockeroo" Cohen - This girl is fiery and fierce! She can certainly waack. (Just look at those deadly spinning arms!) Princess Lockeroo is awesome at what she does best, but I'm not sure if she can be flexible enough for SYTYCD. (I'm hoping she'll wonderfully surprise me.)
Brandon Jones - Brandon's a strong dancer. He just seems to float around on that stage, no?
Virgil "Lil O" Gadson - I think Lil O has a really good chance of cracking the Top 20 if he doesn't mess up Vegas Week. We was charming, entertaining and actually good in his audition piece. I liked how he threw in a little bit of krump in his bboy piece to show everyone how he can adapt to other forms of dance.
Jess Leprotto - Jess is really strong and clean here. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing! I didn't mind the judges' mixed reviews. I just loved his audition.
Stay tuned for more SYTYCD updates!
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Sink your teeth into these new True Blood season 4 sneak peeks.
Also, here's the first 3 minutes of the 4th season premiere. We'll get to travel back to fairyland with Sookie's fairy godmother. And guess who's back? It's Barry the bellboy! But there's something iffy about this whole fairy thing, right? What are these (gorgeous) fairies up to? As I've posted here, they have the ability to abduct humans, so I guess it's not gonna be all glowing fruits, rainbows and fairydust?
I'm so ready for this surely sexy season. Sookie and Bill breaking up? Alcide? Werepanthers? Witches? And Eric telling Sookie "You. Are. Mine."? I'm sold.
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TVLine.com reports that Glee is now looking for a recurring female character who is described as "Adele meets Susan Boyle". Interested actresses, aside from being great singers, must look like high school students.
Another female student also being cast by producers is Rebecca. She's described as someone beautiful who can sing all types of music. A potential rival to queen bee Quinn perhaps?
Any suggestions for Glee producers? I'm excited to meet young Adele/Susan and hear what she'll sound like. But I think this will be a challenging task for Glee. Can anyone really rival the talents of Adele?
And don't forget about the other recurring character who'll come from The Glee Project! The winner of the reality show will get a 7-episode arc in our favorite musical dramedy. I hear writers are specifically gonna write a character for the winning contestant.
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Yes, you heard it right. NBC will be reviving this classic reality show with all its high-adrenaline stunts and gross-out challenges!
According to EW.com, Paul Telegdy, NBC's head of alternative programming, thought of bringing back the show because of the high ratings Fear Factor repeats are getting in NBC's sister channel Chiller. He said that episodes of this reality show really stood the test of time.
Now that stunt and camera technologies have developed quite a lot since the show ended in 2006, Fear Factor 2.0 plans to go bigger, but it doesn't "necessarily need to do the stuff with maximum shock value." The show will definitely be shinier, but maybe we'll see less of those vomit-inducing, difficult-to-watch challenges. (I personally enjoy them. But apparently, not everyone shares my taste in reality shows.)
We still don't know if Joe Rogan will return as the host and when Fear Factor 2.0 will actually be shown. But rest assured, I am looking very much forward to its return. Are you?
UPDATE (06/03): EW.com also reports that Joe Rogan is indeed high on NBC's list to be the host of the reality show. But the network still has to sit down with Rogan and actually talk about whether he wants to be a part of the show again or not. NBC has already ordered 10 episodes, but scheduling has not yet been announced.
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Finally, The Voice revealed its Top 16! (quite a bit late, no?) I am thoroughly excited about the live performances next week. Who will bring it? And who will crash and burn. Here, I ranked the final 16 from the contestant I am least rooting for to the artist who I want to win it all.
Those in bold are the last 4 finalists who made it through during the last Battle Rounds. You can see my rankings of the first 8 and first 12 finalists by clicking this and this.
16. The Thompson Sisters(Cee-Lo) - Yes they were cute and adorable, but Kelsey did a much better job with Unwritten. She was in pitch and there's something about her voice that I think will do great in records and radios. These sisters better bring the harmonies in the live rounds if they want to win me over.
15. Raquel Castro(Christina) - She's our youngest contestant this season! Although she was indeed superior in the Rhianna performance, she definitely had pitch problems. I have to be honest and say that I think she doesn't stand a chance in this competition. If she had only waited a couple more years before joining The Voice...
14. Patrick Thomas (Blake) - I disagree with Blake's decision here. Yes, Patrick does have a good and powerful voice. And maybe Patrick's only moving onto the next round because he's a country singer and he's more in Blake's wheelhouse. But I think Tyler Robins outshined Patrick in the Battle Rounds. Tyler sang beautifully and he certainly had more soul. Also, he listened to Blake's advice of making the runs and riffs count and not oversinging. Just ask the other coaches, they agree with me!
13. Frenchie Davis (Christina) - Our resident diva had good control in Single Ladies; and she didn't oversing the Beyonce anthem (ahem. Tarralyn Ramsey. ahem.) Plus, she definitely had stage presence (I guess all that Rent experience payed off.) But I'm not rooting for her though. She simply doesn't have that extra edge the other finalists have. I feel like others will outshine her in the competition. She has to be exciting and not just be a generic diva singer to actually go far.
12. Lily Elise (Christina) - This girl certainly has range! And she knows how to work that stage. I just don't think she has the best control of her vocals yet; and this may cause her to sound a little unpleasant (in my opinion, at least) when it comes to her higher register.
11. Xenia (Blake) - Her tone is to die for! I am seriously in love with Xenia's voice. Sadly, she's not bringing it in the performance department. If she only breaks out of her shell and lets loose, she can be in the competition for the long haul.
10. Jeff Jenkins (Adam) - Jeff has a lovely voice, no doubt. I just don't think he'll be an exciting enough of a performer to make me root for him. He's not the overall artist that some of his fellow contenders are.
9. Nakia (Cee-Lo) - As much as I liked Nakia better than Tje Austin in the Blind Auditions, I think Tje did a much better job singing Closer. Maybe the song was just a much better fit for Tje? Nakia should have toned down a bit. But don't get me wrong, he sings well. He just needs to pick songs that fit him in the live rounds, because as Cee-Lo mentioned in his first audition, Nakia is one of those "exceptions to the rule."
8. Curtis Grimes (Cee-Lo) - Need You Now showed that Curtis may not be just a one-trick pony, boring country singer. (I'm looking at you Scotty McCreery.) Sorry, I'm just not into country music that much. Did the Lady Antebellum song played into his wheelhouse? Of course. But whatever, he sounded great.
7. Casey Weston (Adam) - One, Casey looks gorgeous. Two, she has this unique and pleasant tone about her. She started Leather and Lace a bit wobbly though; maybe it's the nerves. She's 18 anyway. And Blake's right, with all the potential that she has, she can really develop into a wonderful artist.
6. Dia Frampton(Blake) - I love Dia's soothing tone. It's like drinking hot tea in the middle of a cold stormy weather. (Oh wait, that was just Serabee.) I think her pleasing and unique voice has the potential to make hits. I'm just not sure if she can deliver exciting performances when she's that shy. She has to improve on her stage presence or she'll not last long in the live rounds.
5. Beverly McClellan (Christina) - Quoting Randy Jackson, "Beverly's IN IT TO WIN IT!" (Ok, that phrase should be illegal now.) But honestly, she had the most confidence among the other semi-finalists. Well, is it cockiness or confidence? No matter what it is, she knows how to work the crowd. And, again with a Randy quote, "SHE CAN SING!" She has one of the most powerful voices in the show and she knows how to work it. Beverly should indeed remain a rock singer in the live rounds, but I'd like to see her slow it down a bit, forget about all the theatrics, and simply focus on her voice.
4. Javier Colon (Adam) - After his Blind Auditions, Javier is definitely the early favorite right now; and he didn't disappoint in Stand By Me. He has a radio-ready voice that is quite nice. His Time After Time performance also showed he has the artistry that some of the so-called "artists" today lack. I just hope he can top his first 2 performances in the Final Rounds and not become the Andrew Garcia or the Casey Abrams of The Voice.
3. Jared Blake (Blake) - Jared has a strong and forceful voice; but I loved how he didn't power through Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Other singers with his type of voice might have already belted and screamed midway through the song; but he didn't. He showed control over his voice; and even without the high notes, his voice remained powerful the entire time. His performance in the Battle Rounds also gave focus to the awesome quality and tone of his voice.
2. Devon Barley(Adam) - If only because he beat my early fave Rebecca Loebe... but they both did awesome in the Battle Rounds! "Creep" literally gave me chills. And the quality of Devon's voice is pretty solid, no? He was indeed the stand out in last week's episode. If he continues with performances like this, paired with his pleasing and unassuming personality, he may just win it all!
1. Vicci Martinez (Cee-Lo) - Vicci has a really good quality about her voice. It has a raspy tone that's perfect for pop rock songs like F*cking Perfect. If she continues with these type of song choices in the live rounds, she has an absolute chance of winning the entire thing. But what's more impressive about her is that she emotionally connects with the songs she sings. From her performance of Pink's song, I can feel all the frustration and at the same time the inspiration that she wants to portray through the song. To be fair, her opponent, Niki Dawson, also did an incredible job. Too bad Cee-Lo had to pair them up together.
How about you guys? Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will rock that stage next week? And who will simply disappoint?
Whose team do you like best? From my list above, I am totally on board Team Adam!
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Here's something to wet your appetite before the June 14 premiere of Pretty Little Liars' second season. (Or are you already extremely hungry for it?)
Below are three sneak peeks for the season premiere entitled "It's Alive".
As I've posted before, the premiere takes place moments after the final scene of the first season. So we're still gonna be asking where Ian's body went. Is he alive? And who is to be trusted? (Definitely not Officer Garrett.)
The girls will have a new therapist, Anne Sullivan. Will she uncover the truth about the girls and A? Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer better start talking! They seriously need a grown-up on their side.
Oh, more family drama! But what do you expect if your sister accuses your husband and baby daddy to be a creep who takes videos of young girls without their knowledge or when your brother-in-law tries to murder you?
From the clips above, this season's definitely gonna be one crazy rollercoaster ride! I, for one, can't wait any longer.
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