Reality Ravings

There is love blossoming in the Biggest Loser household, something that was not expected, I mean whoever looks hot when they are madly exercising, sweaty and read faced. Or feels like flirting when they haven't eaten carbs for weeks! Also doesn't not eating carbs make you breath stink due to the ketones?

Though I suppose if it can happen on Survivor it can occur anywhere, at least the Biggest Loser contestants have access to toothbrushes.

However Who Magazine reports that two contestants Sheridan Wright and Michael Sandford are having a romance, even though hooking up is discouraged in the White House.

"It was pretty obvious early on that we had a connection, and he's been an amazing support," Sheridan 26 said of Michael, a 25 year old accountant from Orange NSW.

Apparently they were caught on camera discussing their attraction to each other on 28 Feb episode.

The pair are on opposing teams. They are the first people to hook up on the show.

Channel Ten must be stoked as this should improve ratings.

Hopefully Biggest Loser watcher Onadrought will provide an update this weekend.

Mary Murphy has hit Sydney to be a guest judge this weekend for the final 16 show on So You Think You Can Dance, she also will be trying to see some of Mardi Gras.

Reality Raver who thought she had her finger on the reality tv pulse must confess she did not even know Mary was here until today. It will teach me to fast forward commercials.

Who Magazine online has a interview with her Click here

I like her openness and the fact she actually eats which she says makes her somewhat unusual in Hollywood. I hope she enjoys her stay.

I wonder which judge she will be sitting next to to here her ear piercing screams.

Matt, Bonnie, and Jason are probably playing rock, paper, scissors now to try and work it out.

Since Australia does not get the elimination show for American Idol until 48 hours after it has screened I have attached an article for those who cannot wait to find out who got turfed.

Link here.

I am surprised at one of the girls that went.

Mary Murphy and her hot tamale train has hit town, to be a guest judge on the So You Think You Can Dance Australia top 16 show, which will be filming tonight.

She will bring a bit of fun to the panel. Cannot wait to hear her scream.

But if you cannot wait to hear her scream Ted from http://bloggingsytycd.blogspot.com/2008/02/mary-murphy-to-guest-judge-top-16.html has downloaded a skit call the Mary Murphy Alarm Clock.

It is hilarious.

I had not been interested in the Amercian reality TV show The Moment of Truth until I read this article in the Daily Tele about a women confessing to adultery to win money.

Channel 9 has the rights to the show but have not said when it will be screened.

Her husband was in the audience.

At least she may have made some cash out of it compared to just confessing her sins on Oprah.

Lauren Cleri - who was hooked up to a lie detector - said she was cheating
on her husband and wished she was married to an ex-lover. The 26-year-old said
she made the confessions to become rich and famous, only to walk away with
nothing but an angry husband – 24-year-old New York Police
Department officer Frank Cleri.

Her husband told the newspaper that he had known about her cheating ways,
but was not prepared for her to tell millions of viewers about it for money.

I may need now to watch the show.

Here are the odds from Centrebet on So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

Anthony Ikin at this stage is favourite paying $4.00 for the win.

However Henry, Jack and Rhys are at good prices at $8.00 and $9.00. I could be motivated to put a lazy ten dollars on them.

Link to centrebet page below.
http://centrebet.com/cust?action=GoSports&ev_sub_type_id=8691

It was the girls turn tonight to get down and funky with the '70's night, however disappointingly I thought there was not one standout performance.

The highlights of the evening were:

• Asia'H Epperson's biggest missed note in Idol history or at least this season;
• Kady Malloy's funky black dress with coloured stones on it; and
• Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell's banter.

What is with Ryan Seacrest and his three day growth like George Michael, it is not going to kill those gay rumours. Just shave.

The pre song video was the same as the guys the girls had to reveal something about themselves that the viewer would not know.

First up was Carly Smithson who revealed she worked in an Irish pub - from huge record contract to pulling beers that is a big come down, no wonder she was desperate to come on Idol.

She sang "Crazy on You" by Heart (again apologies if I get the songs wrong as they are not announcing them in Australia as they must have edited it out).

She looked so much sexier this week in the black dress and boots compared to the frumpy sack she wore previously. Also she appeared to be over her flu.

Her voice is great, and it was a great rock song however she just does not make me want to pick up the phone and vote for her.

Randy Jackson said "Over hit some notes", "Alright"

Paula Abdul said "Amazing singer"

Simon Cowell said " Much better performance", "Don't think you have connected with the right song".

Syesha Mercado reveal was that she had done a lot of commercials, and it was great to see one, this girl just wants to be famous. Though if Idol falls through she can always fall back on her baby crying impersonation as it was pretty good.

She looked sizzling hot with a colourful scarf in her hair, but the hottnest faded once she started singing bland "Me and Mrs Jones". Again it was sung well, but I just did not connect with it.

Randy said "Soft bits I did not like", and "Didn't mind the end"

Simon said "Bit of indulgence - song not written for a girl", "Not a clever choice." Why didn't he say the same thing last night to Michael Johns woeful rendition of Stevie Nicks singing a Fleetwood Mac song.

Brooke White was up next and her cutsie pie image is starting to irritate, gosh I hope someone finds a soft porn photo of her soon.

She played the guitar and sang the iconic Carly Simon song "Your So Vain". I thought she did pretty well with it, however at times I thought she looked to happy and bouncy for such bitter lyrics. She did look very comfortable up on stage.

Simon at the end of the song said "He did not like the way she is looking at me as she is singing that song" though in the end he did admit he "thought the song was about him"

Randy said "He liked the Carly Simon fit", "Did not do anything different with it".

Simon said "I absolutely loved it"

Then she beamed and said thank you about 10 squillion times and looked smug as her voting number was read out.

Oh if anyone cares her revelation was she was a beauty school dropout.

Ramiele Malubuy sang "Don't Leave Me This Way". I love this '70's disco tune, however she did not wow me. Her voice was not as flawless as it was last week. Also her clothes were dull, she needed something flashier for the song, not faded jeans and a singlet.

Randy said "Ok for me vocally", "Song choice weird"

Simon said "Much better last week as she showed more personality and stood out." "I have heard this song so many times at ghastly weddings" Clearly his girlfriend Teri Seymour won't bother proposing to him on 29 Feb.

Ramiele said she had swapped song from ballad as she was worried about being called Lullaby instead of Mullabuy. Clearly she has been reading the Idol forums.

Kristy Lee Cook revealed she was a tomboy. She sang "Your No Good" by Linda Ronstadt. Her vocals were much better this week with a country twang, so she too has recovered from the dreaded flu. However I thought she was trying too hard to be sexy, and her "saddle sore" leg stance was off putting.

Randy said "100% improvement from last week", "I liked it"

Simon said "Got real potential ", "Don't know what type of singer you are"

Next was rock chick Amanda Overmeyer who revealed she was a book worm. She sang a Kansas number (never heard of them ) song really badly. I knew at some stage she would give us a train wreck, but I was disappointed it was at week 2. The Elvira hairstyle has to go.

She is in real danger of going home. On a positive note she sure knows how to dance.

Randy said "Wasn't right song choice", "Too much melody", "Keep it bluesy/rock".

Simon said "Everything felt contrived, felt not natural", "Ugly song I couldn't wait for it to finish."

Seventeen year old Alaina Whittaker said she did not like different food touching each other on the plate. Obviously going for the obsessive compulsive vote.

She sang the iconic Olivia Newton-John song "Hopelessly Devoted To You". Personally I think it is one of the more boring songs on the Grease soundtrack. She has a big voice but I just did not connect with the song.

Randy said "Not right song" "Verses really pitchy", "Not my favourite"

Paula said "Real good job"

Simon said "I like you, however it is almost like your grandmother prepares you for the audition," "Should make yourself looking less pageanty." "I think you are the dark horse in the competition".

In the Simon and Ryan banter, Simon managed to imply that Ryan wore dresses. No wonder he did not say thank you to him at the end of the show which he did with the other two judges.

Aleandrea Lushington showed us how to look young and funky, she has a great voice and a great sense of style. She sang a Bee Gees number. I thought it was a bit slow, but her ending was good. Maybe the lack of Bee Gee type harmonies did not do her any good.

Randy said " So safe for you", "Boring choice"

Paula said "I have never heard a female take on that song"

Simon said "Struggling right now - in tune, out of tune", "Boring".

Britany Spear impressionist, Kady Malloy was next, she revealed she actually sang opera. She looks a bit like Britany having that same slutty sexiness.

Her dress was hot with the coloured buttons on the black dress. She sang "Magic Man" by Heart.

Her voice was all over the shop but I hope she stays.

Randy said "Never found pitch", "Didn't work"

Simon said "I am struggling - all your film is good but not working on stage", "1 million per cent wrong song".

Last was Asia'H Epperson who said she was formally a cheerleader, so that explained her perkiness. She looked hideous with her hair straightened and an acid washed denim skirt.

She sang the classic song "All by Myself". I thought she struggled with it, and in fact the first time she attacked the chorus she completely missed a note. A fact none of the judges mentioned. I think they must want her to stay in the competition or we were listening to two very different songs.

Randy said "Really good job due to degree of difficulty"

Paula said "You brought it home"
Simon said" One of the diva songs of all times, have to be one heck of a singer to pull it off, unfortunately you are not.", "Song to big for you"

It is really difficult to know who will be eliminated as there were so many mediocre performances, I suspect Amanda Overmeyer, and Kady Malloy will be the two to go.

Sydney Star Observer was always going to take an interest in So You Think You Can Dance, as it is so their demographic.

There is a revealing interview with the judge Jason Coleman. He is clearly not looking to go to the US with his quote "Americans have so much bravado, they’re so fucking out there with the whole ‘I’m so fabulous and everybody look at me’. Australians are much more humble,” he said.

Link to article here.

And to all those people googling "Jason Coleman gay?" the answer is revealed in the article.

Ryan Seacrest bounded on stage obviously recovered from the Gary Busey incident at the oscars , and ready for the final ten guys to sing '70's songs. Ryan thankfully did not succumb to wearing '70's gear, and stuck to his usual preppy look.

Tonight's interviews with the contestants theme was 'something we don't know about them'. Clearly they should have been asked 'tell us something interesting about themselves'. As most of the reveals were pretty dull.

First up was the spunky Australian Michael John who told us he was a bit of a jock and played tennis. Yawn, can we please bring back the ice addict auditioner I am sure she could do better then that.

He sang a Fleetwood Mac song "You Can Go Your Own Way" (in Australia they are not introducing the song so some of my song titles may be wrong.

Brave choice singing a song whose vocals are mainly a) a females, and b) a female that are as original as Stevie Nicks. However if he had pulled it off the judges would have been gushing.

But he didn't. The vocals were shaky and pitchy, not helped by him bouncing around on stage.

Clearly the judges want him to get through as they were very kind for a very average performance.

Randy Jackson said " Kind of liked it", "Nice tone", "Good singer"
Paula Abdul said "Great way to start the show"
Simon Cowell said "Ok", "By far your weakest performance", "Weak choice of song".

Next was the US equivalent of Australian Idol contestant Dan England, Jason Castro, though I have to admit Jason is cuter and not so grungy.

His thing we did not know about him was that he did not like doing interviews.
He sang "I just want to be your everything". Again he played his guitar. I thought he was ok, and he is definitely appealing, however the judges want to see him without his guitar as the keep on reminding us "this is a singing competition"

Randy said "Vocals weren't that great"
Simon said "Song horrible", "Too schmaltzy", "Of all the songs of the decade". Now I thought that comment was a bit disingenuous of Simon as this year they only get 50 songs to choose from each week. Reality TV has a good article on it and highlights that Garret Haley one of the eliminated last week, did not even get to choose his own song.

Luke Mennard who was totally forgettable last week was next. He revealed he was in a accapella group that has performed all over the world. We even got a sneak peak of him mangling Bohemian Rhapsody in one of these performances.

He was not going to leave those Queen songs alone and tonight he sang "Killer Queen". Now Freddie Mercury is one of the great rock singers and this guy even though he was heaps better then last week (because the song is so good), still managed to sound squawky.

Now this guy is very good looking and you think he would be sexy and smoulder, but he just leaves me cold.

Randy said " Pretty good", "Couple of pitch problems"
Simon echoed my thoughts when he said "The guy who sang that song had charisma and personality and you don't".

Robbie Carrico - the boy band turned rocker was next to perform a Foreigner number "Hot Blooded". I got very excited with his "tell us something we don't know about you" I thought he might tell us about shagging Britany Spears, but unfortunately he started rabbiting on about drag racing. Yawn.

I tend to agree with the judges is this guy just a faux rocker, as he is still just using all the old boy band moves and microphone techniques. Also is his long hair extensions?

His voice is fine and it is always in key he will continue to get through for awhile but I don't see him taking out the competition.

Randy said "Not sure about the rock", "Not sure the voice is strong enough"
Simon said " Thought vocal off tonight"

Next up is one of my favourites Danny Noriega - please America keep this guy in he just cracks me up.

Firstly Danny congratulations on making Dlisted - Hot Slut of the Day . Now what was he to tell us something we did not know about him? He was unable to tell us he was gay, as we already know that. So he told us about the punk band he was in in Grade 9. He was hilarious "We realised we sucked so ended it".

Please, please, please bring him out for Mardi Gras next year.

He sang a Carpenters song, which was good, but was not great.

Randy said "I am a fan", "Problems in voice", and "Don't over think"
Simon said "Better then last week", "Over concentrating", "You standout in a crowd, you are interesting, and you look good on camera".

Again he made the judges laugh.

David Hernandez revealed he used to do gymnastics when he was young. Again yawn. There have been rumours on a website which say he may have been a go go dancer at a gay bars in Phoniex.

Who cares. He certainly butched it up tonight singing "Papa was a Rolling Stone". It was funky and fabulous. One of the best performances of the night.

Randy said "That was hot"
Paula said "Perfect"
Simon said "Best vocal of the night" "Not a fan when you got through, but now a fan".

Next up was Mr Bland, Jason Yeager whose said he knows how to play three instruments, not that we have seen him play one yet, and on tonight's performance I don't think we will get to see him play them.

He sang a Doobie Brothers number which all the judges panned. He needs to go sing on a cruise ship, and he could also double as a male gentlemen ,you know the ones who get the 70 year old ladies to waltz around the dance floor as he has some moves.

Randy said "Pitchy kind of like karaoke"
Simon said "Last week boring, this week awkward and ordinary"

Jason started blathering on to Ryan Seacrest, and Simon said "He was getting irritated by the length of the speeches. "It is like the Oscars".

Chikeze revealed his name was Nigerian, and is pronounced differently then Chick-Eze. He really kicked it tonight with a song called ?"I Believe", by Danny Hathaway.

So much better then last week. He was funky tonight. He sang and moved well. My only gripe was the boring Ralph Lauren polo t-shirt he was wearing.

Randy said "That was hot, and Chickeze is back"
Simon said "Very clever choice of song" "One million times better then last week."

David Cook the rocker revealed he was a huge word nerd and loved crosswords. Then he tried to prove how intelligent he is by sprouting words greater then three syllables.

He played guitar tonight and he did rock it up with "All Right Now". It was a much stronger performance then last week, and the guitar added some much needed sex appeal.

Randy said " Real rocker for the boys this year" Was this a backhander to Robbie Carrico?
Simon said "Solid, believable", "Don't have a lot of charisma"

David then said "I only have to win over other people"

Simon then rolled is eyes and put him back in his box by saying "I think I know this competiton ...."

Last up was the cute seventeen David Archuleta singing John Lennon's "Imagine." He revealed he had met the season 1 American Idol finalists and sung for them as an 11 year old.

This guy is so much better then Zac Efron, when is the Disney Channel going to sign him?

The song was beautiful, and he has such a modesty about him even when showered in praise. Then again maybe this is the image he wants to portray, but somehow I think it is the real him.

Randy said "One of the best vocals I have ever heard on this show"
Paula was all teary "one of the most moving performances"
Simon said "Risky doing a John Lennon song, but it worked", "Your the one to beat".

Matt Corby could have taken a few lessons in humility from this guy.

It was a much stronger night tonight with the worst vocal performances being Jason Yaeger, Luke Mennard, and Michael Johns. I think it will be the former two to be eliminated.

Courtney say "Marko was my First Love"

Just before you all start adjusting your gaydars, Courtney revealed they met at The Johnny Young Talent School when they were eight and dated in high school.

Courtney's spoke to NW about it. "We were each other's first girl and boyfriend" she says. "He is such a beautiful person and an amazing dancer. He is the funniest one there - he's hilarious!"

Daily Telegraph has an interview with Hilton and Kassy.
Hilton reiterates that viewers need to vote for their favourite dancers, otherwise they will be eliminated. He sounds like he felt he was a bit hard done by, and to be honest I think he was.
Article here

On the subject of voting TV Tonight says that he won't vote until the voting is free. Is it free in the US?

Matt Lee and Kassy Lee related?????
BYSYTYCD the US SYTYCD blogging site has a little vignette about rumours circulating that Matt Lee, the judge, and Kassy Lee are brother and sister.

I think the rumours are false - if it was true the internet would have been going off, also Matt Lee would lose any remaining credibility.

Daily Tele article on the freshness of SYTYCD compared to Australian Idol - for the fanatics only.
article here.

When are Channel 10 going to come clean regarding the Sabra visit in April???
Guest judge, choreographer or dancer. Apparently she is coming here with Cameron. So maybe they will just be special dancers on the show? Possibly at the final?

We also need to pressure Channel 10 to screen the US of SYTYCD at the same time it is screening over there. American Idol is screened on Fox 8 like this and it is fantastic as you can link into the blogs in the US.

Blogging SYTYCD the comprehensive SYTYCD fan blog in the US has an interesting poll on it at the moment.

It asks which routine was the best? The three routines with the lowest votes from lowest to highest is Marko and Stephanie, Camilla and Sermsah, and JD and Rhiannon.

So do different people vote on polls then phone vote?

I of course love the results as it was in line with my bottom three predictions from last night, which again got shattered once the results were read out.

By the way for those who want to know Demi and Jack garnered 50% of the vote, how popular are they?

The poll is still going if you want to vote here at http://www.bloggingsytycd.blogspot.com/

TV week magazine that font of reality TV gossip again gave some good snippets on SYTYCD contestants.

Demi has broken up with her girlfriend Nikki.
We met both Nikki and Demi at the Melbourne auditions where Demi got through to the top 100, but Nikki through a tantrum in the toilet after being eliminated.

Demi's brother Carlo confirmed the split saying "They are not together anymore"

He said they did not split because of the show, but he did give Nikki a talking to after she threw the tantrum.

"I said to her - you should be happy for the Sorono family and she said why can't I be upset for myself?"

Carlo encouraged her to try out in Sydney, which she did and she then made it through to the top 40.

Even though Demi and Nikki have broken up, Carlo is still on good terms with her as she acts as his manager. "She gets me lots of gigs" he said "in a business sense, I respect her."

Graeme girlfriend has moved to New York
For the girls or boys who think Graeme is a spunk, after March this year his girlfriend will have moved to New York on a ballet scholarship. His mum says "He is a bit upset, but they're still close friends. She's lovely."

So he may become available shortly after that.

Anthony Ikin not the only one to have a famous sports person in their family.
Jack Chambers cousin is the sprint swimmer Jodie Henry, and she hopes he can go the whole way. I think he will come close, though he may need to build up some arm muscles for the lifts.
Him and Laura doing a disco routine would have been a calamity.

Jack wants to move to New York to perform in musical theatre.

Hiltons girlfriend: Hands off my man.
Hilton's girlfriend of a year Jessica Stokes finds it difficult watching Hilton dance sexily with another woman (well she won't have to anymore now he has been eliminated).
"It is very hard" Jess said. "At the live performance, I wanted to go up there and dance with him but I couldn't."

Jessica came close to making the top 20 herself.

While she does trust him she admits her boyfriend's heart-throb status does bother her: "I know there'll be lots of girls after him but he's worth keeping - I'll try my best!"

Maybe Hilton will be watching her dance sexily boys in next years season of SYTYCD Australia?

Again reality raver only picked one out of the bottom three couples, I hope I do better in my works footy tipping competition.

Tonight the second elimination night showed how controversial this contest is going to be.
The three best girl dancers landed in the bottom three making it very tough for the judges.

However before the tears a few thoughts on the show:
Natalie Bassingthwaite looked hot tonight particularly her bling around her neck and fingers, but had JD pinched the matching earrings?
Bonnie Lythgoe finally covered her cleavage but unfortunately Jason Coleman was showing his;
Matt Lee was wearing a cap which said I heart VZ (sorry I did not get it) was it the initials of his boyfriend or girlfriend?
Also can the judges quit whinging about being so upset about eliminating two dancers and how they don't want to do it - it is a part of the show - Nigel does not get a tremor in his voice Jason.

The opening number to a ?Michael Jackson song was invigorating, and it was choreographed by Matt Lee. It was pretty good. They were dressed in all white and it was a tribal type number.

The contestants were brought up three couples at a time.
First up were Demi and Jack, Camilla and Sermsah, and Kassy and Graeme.
Demi and Jack were told they were safe, however then the bad news was given to Kassy and Graeme. Kassy was speechless.

The next three couples were Marko and Stephanie, Jemma and Rhys, and Henry and Vanessa.
I was speechless when I found out Stephanie was safe for another week, she was easily the worst dancer last night.

They were all declared safe, but that was pretty obvious because of the way they set it up. We need more suspense guys.

Then the final three were brought on stage not looking happy as they knew the odds of being in the bottom three were now very high.
Kate and Hilton, and JD and Rhiannon were told they would be dancing for their lives. Popular couple Anthony Ikin and Laura were always going to be safe.

At this point I was a bit shocked as the three best female dancers were in the bottom three - this was later reiterated by Jason Coleman.

So you knew their solo's were going to have to be sensational to stay.

Kassy came out first with a sort of hip hop jazz routine, she did her signature shake her arse to the camera and jumped around on stage, towards the end she did a few more kicks and turns. It was not smooth.

Graeme was next and his solo was good, but he really needs to work on his personality. I have seen footballers give more articulate answers to interviewers.

Kate was next and I felt she did not do enough in her solo it was a bit dull, and thought that might put her in danger.

Hilton came out flipping and twisting and gave good interview with Natalie at the end.

Rhiannon's solo was next and again I was a bit disappointed with it she just ran around the stage with a few movements here and there.

JD did is signature smooth laidback hip hop, neither exhilerating or dull.

Jason then berated the solo dancers for their quantity over quality. I was glad when Natalie asked him what he meant. He said (and I am paraphrasing here) that they were not choreographed well, just lots of moves put into 45 seconds.

Then the judges with much teeth gnashing went off to decide who would go.

I think I mused in another post, about how soon it would be until an Australian Idol contestant would be on the show, so was not surprised at only week two that Guy Sebastian was a guest.

Guy who has just released a Blues album had his Memphis backing band with him singing blues covers of "Soul Man" and a song from the Blues Brothers movie. Maybe I have been watching to much American Idol but I thought his performance was "joyous" as well as being entertaining.

After the ad break time for the verdict.
Jason first said he was "shocked" at the three girls that were here before him. Clearly he thinks the voting public are morons.

The girls were to learn of their fate first.
Rhiannon was told she was safe, then Jason told them the final verdict was based on their solo. At that point Kassy knew she had the noose around her neck, and she was gone.

Then the boys were up. Graeme was given the good news first that he was safe, and then Jason went into this whole monologue about how they had decided upon the persons fate. He also said both decisions were not unanimous.

The boys fate was decided upon previous performances, what they had seen so far and who was best embracing different genres. And then as Jason's voiced trembled (pull yourself together boy) Hilton was told he was going home.

I was a bit surprised by both decisions. I thought Kate may have been eliminated not because of her dancing but because of her age. Isn't 29 the equivalent of 70 in dance years?

Also I thought Hilton was unlucky as I think he is a better dancer then Graeme. Also I think they kept JD in because he is the only hip hop male dancer left in the competition and they want to keep some diversity in it. However I thought JD did pretty poorly last night.

Poor Kate now has another new partner this week with Graeme so it will be interesting to see how that goes I am sure she would like a week out of the bottom three.

It was the second week of the finals and the judges had decided to take the gloves off after their gentle approach in the first episode.

The dancers were getting to know their partners and expectations were high that the standard of dance would improve. But did it? Overall I think it did.

Just some quick thoughts on the episode:

• Natalie Bassingthwaites hair was not copying Krystle Carrington this week, however the silver lame dress was. But bonus points are given for her amazing ability to stay upright in 20 inch heels.
• Natalie was also more relaxed and natural and gave good banter this week, except she still needs to work on her autocue technique as her eyes always look a little stoned when she is reading from it.
• There needs to be a lift workshop as a lot of the couples are still struggling with lifts.
• I like Bonnie Lythgoe but everytime I looked at her this week, all I could think of was Shirley Valentine. The dress with her cleavage hanging out, her tan, and the blonde bouffant hair, and the brassy english accent; and
• Is Rhys going to have his own float at Mardi Gras next week, if not he should as himself not his drag queen identity. He is hilarious, and will be in the competition for a while.

First on tonight were the new pairing Kate and Hilton, as their partners Khaly and Courtney had been eliminated last week.

They had to do the Foxtrot with Jason Gilkison as their choreographer.

I am quite excited about this pairing and I think they will go far. It was a very modern foxtrot ( well actually I don't know what parts of it were a foxtrot) to a Kylie song "Two Hearts".

It was good, fairly smooth, with a lot of lifts. The lifts were good but not great you could see the effort it was taking.

Matt Lee said " Elegant, sexy slick".

Bonnie wants "Hilton to up his game"

Jason Coleman said " Kate owned that routine" "Hilton don't get lost as you are working with a fine dancer". Is Jason becoming the judge whose opinion does matter to the contestants ala Simon Cowell?

Next up was Camilla and Sermsah and they pulled hip hop.

In the pre-routine vignette, Sermsah again got edited as saying he did not feel worthy of being in the final 20. Which Jason Coleman who clearly the love of Sorry Week of had evaporated, said "Enough of the don't deserve to be here" "I don't want to hear it again."

Phillip Haddad choreographed the routine. The dancers came out dressed in the blue and white striped jail gear, which looked like pyjamas, and frankly I thought the routine was dull all over the shop. There appeared to be just a lot of strutting on stage, and even to my amateur eye I could see they were not in unison.

Camilla in couple of places really pumped it but not all the way through.

Matt Lee said "Genre had not been kind to you.", "Sermsah to out of control", and "Both gave 150%."

Bonnie said "Both made mistakes", "Camilla I think you are creeping up there, and " Thought you pulled it off together."

Jason said "Unison not together enough," and he liked the choreography, which I thought ordinary.

Kassy and Graham danced a contemporary lyrical to a Sarah Boulton routine. Just an aside was Kassy one of the dancers in the Bonds ad that was on tv during the show? I thougt I caught a glimpse of her.

Considering this was both their genres it was good, but it was not fantastic. The theme of the dnace was a dream sequence of two young happy lovers. So it was a flashier routine which was joyous, and some of the lifts were difficult and they did pull it off, but it just was not seamless. But both of them looked fabulous in white.

If Graeme does not develop some personality he is going to be in danger of being voted out.

Matt Lee said "Lifts dangerous" He was on the edge of his seat.

Bonnie said "A little bit of magic"

Jason said " Lift good, however the rest was a bit laboured" "I could hear you land" and "Didn't really nail it."

Next were Stephanie and Marko and they were dong Swap, which is a cross between hip hop and Swing.

The choreographer was Rose Edwards, and I thought her routine looked great. If another dancer other then Stephanie had been dancing it, it would have been sensational.

Poor Marko seems to now know he has been stuck with a dud. She was apparently filled with negativity in the rehearsal, and she did a fake cartwheel lift over his back. They will struggle to stay out of the bottom three this week.

The last lift they did looked really awkward.

Matt Lee even got critical on the routine. " Steph like a fish out of water, didn't have the steps", "Lifts really laboured", and " Wishy washy".

Bonnie said "Stephanie you have got to get lifts together" and "Marko loved what you did."

Jason said "Stephanie you got left behind, your shoulders are around your ears", and "Not good enough".

After all the criticism Stepanie then tried to hit back by saying "Dancing is about having fun, and the dance had no story line"

Jason quickly put her back in her box by saying "Dancing is not about fun it is about following the choreography." Steph was starting to look upset by this stage.

Another person lacking diplomacy tonight was Anthony Ikin who danced disco with Laura. The choreographer was Aleeta Blackburn.

Anthony said he was not looking forward to dancing the routine in front of the judges as both Jason and Bonnie were around in the disco era.

Jason was not happy "How old do you think I am?" and "Now we have established Anthony is in the bottom three...."

This was a fun routine, and Laura looked fabulous in her gold lame dress, and Anthony just reminded me of John Travolta. Which he confirmed he had been channelling as the previous evening they had rented out Saturday Night Fever. There were five great lifts, and it was high energy the whole way.

Anthony will go a long way in this competition.

Again not all the lifts were smooth.

Matt Lee said "Crowd favourite" and was critical of Laura's bent leg.

Bonnie confirmed she was around in the '70's by saying it was authentic.

Jason said that Laura was number one with car dealers, as they all wanted her number. Apparently he was out shopping for a car last week.

He also said "Laura not enough technique and core", and "He would have liked to have seen more Anthony".

At this point I noticed former Australian Idol contestant Ben Mckenzie in the audience.

JD and Rhiannon had to do a contemporary jazz routine to a Kelly Aykers number.

The dance was to a Prodigy song. Rhiannon was dressed as a zombie similar to how dancers a dressed in Tyce D'Orio routines.

Rhiannon just was great, but JD was tres ordinary, and as Jason said "he chased the routine" JD has to hope Rhiannon pulls him through to the next round. I have to say I have been underwhelmed by JD in the last two weeks. So if he gets through this week I hope steps it up next week. I am not sure about his versatility.

Matt Lee said "Rhiannon outdanced you"

Jason said "JD not strong, clean and sharp" also he wants to see "Rhiannon extend herself as she dances very closed".

JD was looking very worried as they went into the commercial break.

The ever popular Demi and Jack were up next to dance the Samba with routine from choreographer Paul Green. Well I have to retract my words of last week when I queried if Demi would be able to pull off the more sexy feminine dances.

She wowed it tonight and she managed to do it in high heels. Jacks charisma was again evident, and these two are going to be up there towards the end of the competition.

Demi shimmied and slither but it was not over the top sexy, and Jack just moved smoothly. However if Mary Murphy was judging she would not have been happy with the technique, but it may have got a tamale train comment.

Matt Lee said "Great job" to both of them.

Bonnie said " worked together, great eye contact" and " Sexy and saucy"

Jason said "whole transformation" and "routine of the night - it went pop", "was not technically perfect."

Jemma and Rhys were next dancing a Jazz routine. The choreographer was failed top 20 contestant Michael, who I still think if he had been better looking may have made it through. However he was given the opportunity to choreograph this routine.

It was a vampire routine to an INXS song. Rhys is one of my favourites and this continued tonight, even though the routine wasn't 100% fabulous. In fact I thought ballroom dancer Jemma did very well with all the kicks. I think they will be safe for another week.

Matt Lee said " Did a really great job Jemma - but I could see you thinking" and "Rhys great job"

Bonnie said "Routine did not feel polished"

Jason said "Not enough staccato - it blended a bit" and "Good but not great this week"

Last were Vanessa and Henry doing an animated hip-hop (how many forms of hip hop are there???) to a Nacho Pop routine. Why does nacho always have a toothpick in his mouth, has he just quit smoking?

In rehearsal it all got a bit much for ballerina Vanessa and she started crying, however she also endeared herself to the shows sponsors with a Maybelline head band.

They came out wearing masks which I think helped the routine, as they did not have to worry about their facial expressions but just concentrate on the stop start dance moves.

Animated hip hop is hard to describe it was a cross between popping, but a more robotic movement. It was interesting to watch. It did look like something out of a Thomas Dolby music clip.

Matt Lee said " More memorable for the masks then the performance"

Bonnie said "Did a great job Vanessa as so out of your zone" and "It worked for me"

Jason said " Henry so versatile as a ballroom dancer loved you in routine" and "Vanessa thought you were going to be crap but you did a great job", and "Did not totally love it, but you made it look easy".

My bottom three predictions are: Marko and Stephanie, Sermsah and Camilla, and JD and Rhiannon. I only picked one out of the three last week so hopefully I will improve this week.

Just before you get too excited they are not nude in the photos together!

NZ Reality TV blog has photos of Survivor hunk and host Jeff Probst and the cute Ozzie who is currently on the Survivor Fans V Favourites series naked, as well as previously being on Survivor Cook Islands.

And to think I thought the only talent Ozzie had was being a good swimmer.

Here is the link to NZ Reality TV

PS I just did google search, and the Jeff Probst ones may be fake.

PPS. I would advise NOT clicking on the above link if you are at work.

Tonight American Idol was a mixed bag with a few girls standing out with others just really bland. As Randy Jackson said the young 'uns are the ones stepping up to the plate. Simon also seem mildly flirtatious with a few of them , which I found vaguely disturbing.

Again it was '60's songs, which I find a bit of a weird genre to kick off with, but at least they get it over with, even Simon Cowell hadn't heard of some of the songs.

Nigel Lythgoe producer, revealed in an interview with Reality TV World that the contestants only had 50 songs to pick from to make clearance of the titles easier for the producers.

Kristy Lee Cook the 24 year old from Oregon was first up sing "Rescue Me". I am just not buying this girl. We had to sit through the whole "I sold my horse to get to the Philidelphia auditions" story again.

The country yokel act is annoying considering everyone knows she has previously had a record contract. Also her boobs look fake so did she have to sell a horse to pay for them?

Her performance I just found bland, yes she is pretty, but she was doing some weird eye thing into the camera which was not a good look, and she could have done more with the song.

Randy said "Pitch problems all the way through" and " Not best performance".
Simon said "Got not alot out of it." and "Song did not suit".

Kristy had been one of the girls hit by the flu but Simon was as ever unsympathetic, saying he had done the show sick, as Paula tried to defend her, Simon responded and "you have done the show sick as well". I wasn't sure if Simon was alluding to the infected fingernail incident a few seasons back or the ?hungover Paula at the Omaha auditions this year.

Joanne Borgello the 25 year old plus size model sang "I say a Little Prayer for You".
She appeared very nervous, and it effect her voice which was extremely shaky.
Also she was trying to many vocal gymnastics and it all came out a bit screechy. Not with standing that I wouldn't mind hearing her sing again.

Randy said "I liked it, I did not love it"
Simon said " I did not like it at all - you have got to come out and nail it" and "Cabaret version"

Alaina Whitaker the 16 year old student whose birthday is today I liked. She appears to have a bit of spark and personality.

There was a lovely sultry start, and then she built it. I did not like the song much but I liked her she looked funky and fun.

Randy said "It is the year of the young 'uns."
Simons said " I think you are very good did not like the song" and then he gave her the jinx of "You are safe and through to the next round." Which means people don't vote for you and you get booted.

Next was rock and roll nurse Amanda Overmyer, she is apparently only 23 but she looks so much older. I loved her jeans with the patchwork on them they were extremely groovy.

She sang "Please Don't Go" (I apologise if I have names of songs wrong as they were not introducing them, and I am not a '60's song buff).

Her voice is different and I would like to see her stick around for a few weeks, but I fear she will become one dimensional. I thought the rock and roll scatting in the middle of the song was exceedingly dodgy.

Randy "Loved it"
Simon said "I think you are authentic" and " a little all over the place".

Twenty five year old Amy Davis was up next with a very dull song I have never heard of ?"Where the Boys" I think it was a Patsy Cline song.

I have barely seen her before this show, so clearly she has no tragic story or anything interesting to tell.

She was dull. And as Randy would say Pitchy. She will be very lucky to survive any further then this.
Randy said "Not great for me"
Paula said "The camera loves you"
Simons said "Looked great, didn't sound great" and "Boring, cabaret".

Brooke White the 24 year old happy clean living girl who is a bit folksy looked like she was channelling Kim Carne tonight with the mane of blond curls.

I don't buy this I am so straight and "I am not coming to the dark side Simon" act, and I bet some ex boyfriend has some nude photos of her that will soon be circulating around the internet!

She sang "Happy Together" which I did not show her originality. It would have been great if she had sang some sort of 60's folk song.

She also looks much more comfortable with her instrument. Some of her dance moves were a bit gawky. However I hope she sticks around for awhile.

Simon said " Struggling for relevance" and "Thought sung quite well".

Alexandrea Lushington who is 17 sang "Spinning Wheel". Top song, top performance that looked great, however there were some weaknesses in her voice. Nerves perhaps.

Randy loved it, however Simon "Did not get it and thought the vocals were a bit weak".

Kady Malloy the 18 year old who does those great Britany Spears inpersonations was a bit bland when she sang "Groovy Kind of Love". She appears to have a voice but I would have liked her to have picked a fun song.

I hope she sticks around.
Randy said "Too restrained"
Paula said "I want to see the fun Kody" I agree Paula.
Simon said " It was like the Night of the Living Dead".

Maybe one night she should do a Britany or Celine parody, she would get heaps of votes.

Asia'h Esperanto the 18 year old just kicked ass. She sang the Joplin song "Piece of My Heart" She looked hot, moved well, and sang well. Oh and the extra point for being the one person who trully had a heart breaking story (her father died two days before the audition) and she never milked it.

I was disappointed when Randy didn't say "You are the bomb".

Randy was "impressed"
Simon said " Favourite of the night"

The tiny phillipine girl Ramiele Malubuy sang "Believe Me". She has a great strong voice, but I was bored half way through.

I was in the minority here as:
Randy " That was hot"
Paula said " A force to be reckoned with"
Simon said "Out sung everyone".

Reality TV regular Syesha Mercado the 21 year old from Florida sang "Tobacco Rd". She is a pro when working the camera as when she was talking to Ryan prior to her performance she kept on looking into it.

She looked great, and sounded great and gave the big ending which voters love. She will stick around for awhile. I did not see her dad the rehabilitated drug and alcohol addict. Maybe they thought sinful California might be too much for him, or maybe a reformed addict hanging around is not a good look to the voters. Is he expendable now the tragic story has been told?

Randy said "Really liked it - not favourite performance" I was surprised I thought he would have been gushing.
Simon said "Most talented girl in the competition"

Carly Smithson the irish girl got the lucky last position - my theory is singing last you get more votes as people remember you. This did nothing to disprove that Idol producers want her to get through.

In her pre performance talking to camera, the controversial record contract was mentioned for the first time.

She also wins the prize for worst dressed perfomer of the even, in a big red top over tights. It just looked bland. I think she needs a make over.

Carly has an amazingly strong voice, but I found the performance boring. It will be interesting to see if the record contract controversy stops her from getting votes.

Randy said "Best vocal of the top 24"
Simon said "Song way old fashioned, it was a let down".

In the US the who gets eliminated is screened tomorrow night (their thursday night), whereas Australians have to wait until Sunday. So much for the almost live by satelite, but Fox 8 must not want to waste that show on the low rating Friday night.

I also find it interesting that the voting lines are only open for 2 hours. If anyone knows the rationale for that can they let me know.

Jack Chambers the dark horse to win So You Think You Can Dance.
Apparently Anthony Ikin is currently the favourite to win SYTYCD Australia, is this because of his dancing or his brother Ben's wealthy footballer mates?

However Courtney and Khaly think Jack, the one that reminds me of Benji Schwimmer is the dark horse to win.

Full article from the courier here.

Some footage from You Tube of some of JD's choreograhy work
Here is some footage from You Tube of JD's work from when he was on a four month overseas trip. It is quite interesting if you are a fan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwRQXd_IYeM

You Tube footage of some of Marko Panzic choreography
http://www.youtube.com/user/MarkoPanzic
He is Sydney based and works out of Brent St Studios.

The Melbourne Herald Sun has a very revealing article with Bonnie Lythgoe, judge from So You Think You Can Dance Australia highlighting why her marriage to Nigel Lythgoe fell apart.

If she is hoping for a reconciliation (which I thought was on the cards) she may have wanted to be a bit more circumspect.

Some quotes from the article:

• Lythgoe says Nigel liked being the leader and so her career always came
  second to his. ‘‘He's denied me a lot of roles and ... it saddens me, because
  I'm so supportive of him and just wanted him to give me that same support back
  and he didn't,'' she says.
• Lythgoe says her husband didn't seem to want her to
  be on the SYTYCD judging panel and would cut her off mid-sentence, leaving her
  feeling insecure and full of self-doubt.
• ‘‘The good thing with Nigel is that he can do a show with me and at the end of the day he can walk away and forget about it,'' she says. ‘‘I couldn't. I was taking it home with me and I was getting more and more upset and more and more frustrated.''
  
• Lythgoe says Nigel's growing fame made their rift worse.
• ‘‘I need somebody to put their arms around me and love me just for me,'' she says. ‘‘We all need to be told that we're loved and Nigel kind of didn't have the time. Though I knew he loved me, he didn't have the time for me. ‘
• ‘We used to go out for dinner, and I'm a real romantic, some candles and a nice glass of wine mean everything to me. Nigel's on the phone half the night making this person feel OK or that person feel OK. Well what about me? I want to feel OK too. It was a problem for me.
• ‘‘Sometimes I'd be on his arm and I felt like Mrs Cellophane. They'd look right through me. I was just nobody.''
• Lythgoe says it was only after she found independent success as a judge on the UK series E4 School of Performing Arts that she felt confident enough to work on SYTYCDA.
• ‘‘I'd been knocked down so much by Nigel that I got to the stage where I thought I was probably not very good,'' she says.’’So I did this E4 series and I just grew and grew and felt so comfortable. It gave me the most amazing confidence.''
• Lythgoe now hopes that her success on SYTYCDA may help to reunite her with her husband.

Full article here

I like her honesty, but I am not sure what Nigel would think if he read the article.

A big thank you.

Apparently whilst SYTYCD was going live to air on Monday, one of the boys in the bottom three let the f**k word go. Frankly I missed it. But it was heard in lounge rooms throughout Australia.

Channel 10 say they were embarassed. Why?? I think they are over reacting.

However Daily Terror has the full story here .

Well my ability to predict the bottom three appears to have continued from my Australian Idold form with only one of my predicted couples, Khaly and Kate, in the bottom three.

It was the first elimination night, and Natalie again appeared to be having difficulty between the balance of being sad about two dancers going and trying to have fun. Nat it is meant to be a fun show. Also Natalie was curling lip, sighing out loud and rolling her eyes at times. On the positive side her hair looked good.

Bonnie as well was keeping with the sleeveless, plunging clevage look in a ruffled blue taffeta top, however teamed with white pants I would have to give the outfit the thumbs up.

Matt Lee continued to be as bland as blamange. With Jason Coleman the only judge at the moment really stepping up to the plate.

The opening group dance sequence was a standout. It was choreographed by Kelley Abbey and it was up there with the top routines from the US series. Kelley was also a guest judge during the top 100 week. They need to bring her on again as a guest judge as well she was straight talker.

The weird thing was Demi the B-Girl from Melbourne was dancing with the boys dressed in a suit, whereas the rest of the girls were in the short mini dresses. At one stage I thought Rhys was going to emerge in drag to balance things out.

However it did make me think what is Demi going to do when she will inevitably have to do the sultry female in ballroom? I think she will struggle with a rumba.

It was bottom three time, with the usual showing of clips dancing from the previous nights show and generally dragging it out to ensure it will run at least 10 minutes over time.

The dancers were brought up on stage three at a time. It was at this point I realised I had forgotten to vote. Duh. I would have voted for Rhys and Gemma, as Rhys is my favourite at this point, closely followed by Jack Chambers. Though the boogaloo routine was not my fave of the night.

I am unsure which of the girls is my fave.

The first to be announced in the bottom three were Hilton and Courtney. So there goes my theory that Hilton would pull Courtney through. She was dragging him down.

Henry and Vanessa also were bottom three, as were Kate and Khaly (the one couple I predicted).

Just an aside, no wonder Anthony and Laura were put as partners together as they are about a head taller then anyone else. Khaly would come up to her breasts.

It was time for them to dance for their lives. They had 30 seconds to dance their own style to their own music.

Courtney wearing a skimpy top and shorts, I have seen more coverage by bikinis was out first and did an unspectacular routine.

Hilton - came out doing flips and then did a kind of hip hop routine which I thought was risky as he is stronger in other styles.

Vanessa was just beautiful to watch, but is she going to be diverse enough to dance the other genres? Hip hop could be her death knell.

Henry danced well considering he was a ballroom specialist and he managed to sizzle again showing his chest hair. I wish he would shave the designer stubble off his face though.

Then it was Kate's turn, and this was the first time I had really seen her dance, as she has had limited air time. I thought she was good, but she is lacking a bit of charisma.

And last was the popular Khaly who got a huge cheer with his head spins and tricks.

After a break where The Veronicas played (those girls look liked they had not eaten carbs in months) it was time to see who was a eliminated.

Jason Coleman is obviously the lead judge as he did all the talking. The decision for the girls was unanimous.

He said decision was based on growth and potential. Kate was the first to be made safe. Then Courtney was told we don't think you are going to get better considering you danced in your genre jazz lyrical last night.

This decision was not a surprise. She said she was "Feeling disappointed", and then whined that her genre is not "lyrical jazz, but hip hop jazz". Jason kindly slapped her down and said it's jazz. For god sake girl you were just not as good as the other girls. There were tears and lots of them from her.

Now it was time for one of the boys to go.

With Hilton, Henry, and Khaly standing there it was the equivalent of seeing either Danny, Pasha or Hok being eliminated the first week in the US version. Yeah it sucked, they were all great dancers. Please note Henry is not as hot as Pasha.

The judges did not say whether this decision was unanimous. Hilton was first to be made safe - no surprise there. Khaly was eliminated as they were not sure if he had more to give us.

There were boos from the audience, and Natalie reminded us if we wanted our favourites to stay we need to vote. Also Fremantle media makes more money if we do....

The plus side out of these eliminations is that the new pairing will be Kate and Hilton, and they should be great together.

Just a thought when will the Australian Idol past contestants start being guest stars on the Monday night shows? Or will Delta Goodrem wearing one of her signature caftans beat them to it.

This week's edition of TV Week has an article on what has inspired four of the top twenty dancers in So You Think You Can Dance.

But it was stuff we already knew. So I really blew my money.

For example:

• Sermsah mother died last year, the anniversary is coming up on February 19.
• Kassy nearly losing her leg because of a tumour.
• Khaly's family not thinking dancing is a career for their son they would like him to go to Uni.

There was one thing I did not know that Rhys Bobridge (who I am a big fan of) is the Elf in children's entertainment group The Fairies.

It is now a TV show on Channel 7. Channel 10 have not mentioned this previously as it would mean promoting a show from another network. Not that they appear to have that problem with all the Dancing With The Stars dancers auditioning and now choreographing!

In more romance news, apparently Vanessa is seeing someone she met through the show, though she won't reveal his identity.

"He's wonderful and has a very kind heart," she reveals. "And he's an excellent dancer."

However she is not the only one who has managed to spark up romance on the show. Laura from Adelaide met Rodolfo also from Adelaide during the show, even though Rudolfo did not make top 20.

Rudolfo was in the audience last night, which explained why Anthony Ikin was not hugging Laura after the routine, or maybe he just does not like her.

Jordan Loukas to try acting
The Daily Terror today states taht Jordan Loukas has signed on with Mark Byrne Management to try her hand at acting.

Her modelling career has not taken off as hoped after the reality series Runway to LA that was screen last year on Fox 8. Loukas has now been bitten by the acting bug. She has already been to castings for a soap opera, a drama and a new series. Good Luck.

Jason Coleman to open a dance studio in Melbourne
Jason Coleman one of the judges on SYTYCD Australia, is planning to relocate from Sydney to Melbourne to open a dance studio. He plans to open it in May.

It should be a popular studio, as his profile has now sky rocketed into the mainstream since his gig on SYTYCD.

How dumb are you Denise lunch lady from Survivor China?
Denise the lunch lady who finished top 4 on Survivor China at the renunion had said that she had not been able to get her old job back, and Mark Burnett the Producer, gave her $50,000.

However there was more to the story then meets the eye, as apparently prior to her leaving she was given the janitor's job which is a higher wage. Clearly she was not totally transparent about her situation, and obviously she was going to be found out. Click here for full story including the schools press release refuting her sob story.

Lesson if you are going to spin bullshit make sure it is not on a high rating tv show, as you will get caught out. Clearly she does "suck at life".

It was game on as the first show was tonight and it was time to start dancing to be Australia's favorite dancer, oh and the $200,000 first prize wouldn't be bad either.

Tonight we saw how hot the Australian dancers were, they are right up there with the US competitors, however the same cannot be said about choreographers.Before we get into a recap of the show a couple of comments:

• Natalie Bassingthwaites hair was a cross between Farrah Fawcett, and Crystal Carrington, and NOT in a good way;
• Jason Coleman must have been reading forums and blogs and got his spiky mullet hair cut, and it looked much better;
• The male dancers are stronger then the girls;
  
• The Sydney Star Observer (Australia's leading gay newspaper) editorial team must be having a meltdown as who are they going to back?; and
  
• I am struggling to see the role of Matt Lee on the judging panel, he did not add much value tonight he repeatedly said "You did a great job".
  

It was great to see the Australian version was going to be similar to the original. Same set, same introductory solo dancers, and Natalie even did a Cat Deeley like shimmy as she came onto the set.

However there was no opening group routine, or will we see that tomorrow night?

Natalie was obviously nervous and this was particularly noticeable as she was reading off the autocue, but I expect that she will have mastered this by next week.

First dancers up were Rhiannon the 18 year old from Minto, Sydney, and JD the adopted hip-hop dancer choreographer from Melbourne. This looked like it was going to be a good match.
JD scored big time as their first routine was hip hop. Their choreographer was to be Manuela, who had devised a routine to the song "Kiss, Kiss".

There appeared to be a bit of friction between her and JD in rehearsal where she said she thought JD was a bit narrow minded.

JD and Rhiannon came out pumped and they danced well, but the choreography lacked pizzazz. Rhiannon if she can get past this round will be a strong contender as she was hot. JD was good but you would expect that as this is his style.

Matt Lee said "What a way to start the show", and "JD you were cool calm and collected".
Bonnie Lythgoe said "As a couple you worked well together" and gave Rhiannon a huge wrap.
Jason Coleman said "Your unison could have been better"

Next were Courtney, the 23 year old dancer from St Kilda, Melbourne and Hilton the 18 year old whose parents are Haitian from Sydney. They danced a jazz lyrical routine. Kelly Aykers choreographed their routine.

This partnership raises the question of will Hilton pull Courtney through, or will Courtney's lesser dancing skills drag Hilton into the bottom three. I would say the former, as I think Hilton is a definite contender to take out the title. I barely noticed Courtney, but the difference in their technique was noticeable.

The theme of their dance of Romeo and Juliette which after the opening few bars I kind of lost that story. Hilton was superb except he flubbed the lifts. The routine was good but not memorable.

Matt Lee said "Courtney you have a high likeability, however your technique will only take you so far in this competition."
Bonnie said "Felt the chemistry between the two" and "Hilton great, however nervous with the lifts"
Jason said "Even though they missed the lift, they got back on the horse" and "Courtney you need to work on your extension."

Vanessa the beautiful ballet dancer from Sydney, who has not danced seriously in three years, and Henry the ballroom dancer, will make a great partnership. Henry could not believe his luck to be dancing salsa in the first week. Luda Kroiter and her salsa partner Oliver were the choreographers. Luda has also been seen on Dancing With the Stars, and danced with comedian Anh Do in the finals.

Henry was outstanding, and was also going for the women who like chest hair vote. He will go a long way in the comp, as will Vanessa as she is just so sweet. However she managed to turn on a sexy sizzle for the salsa, looking very cute in a fluro pink number. Some bits of the routine were not completely smooth but they should avoid a bottom three finish tomorrow.

Matt Lee said "Good job, Vanessa a bit more strength in the upper body needed"
Bonnie said "Henry you helped her tremendously" and "Vanessa don't hold back"
Jason said "There needs to be more plie` and bend" and "Job well done for a ballet dancer"

Camilla the 25 year old from Ipswich, Queensland, and Seramsah the indigenous dancer from Western Australia were to dance a musical theatre number to the Shirley Bassey classic "Hey Big Spender". The choreographer was Adam Williams (for those that care he is Sydney celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey's partner).

Adam thought Seramsah needed to believe in himself more as he is a great dancer.
This routine was sexy, and fun, and if they had nailed the lift it would have been flawless but they stumbled there. One of the papers today said that Sermsah was carrying injuries into Friday nights taping.

Matt Lee said his usual insipid "Great job".
Jason said "Energy needs to be centred to lift"

Next were Jemma an 18 year old ballroom dancer and Rhys a contemporary dancer from Melbourne. This week the Herald Sun were trying to beat up a gasp shock horror story that Rhys performed as a drag queen in Melbourne. Heeeellllllllloooooo anyone would have guessed that when we saw him dance in high heel boots to the Prince song Kiss in the top 100 week.
Rhys has both the technique and personality to win this competition, and he is definitely one of my favorite dancers.

They were to dance the waltz, a dance I always think is a death knell for couples. But the Jason Gilkison choreography was great, and they danced it beautifully. Jemma will be safe for a few weeks because Rhys will see her through a few rounds, however when she has to dance for her life she may be in trouble.

Apparently this was the first time he has danced with a partner, but it was flawless, he almost looked butch as he gazed lovingly at her throughout this romantic dance.

Matt Lee said "Jemma in bare feet you have to make sure your feet are stretched"
Bonnie said "Stunning" and "Rhys did extremely well, likeability factor high"
Jason said " I loved the routine" and "Favourite routine of the night so far"

Next was Laura from Adelaide and Anthony Ikin the gymnast from the Gold Coast. There has been discussion in the papers today about whether he was gay, and he was refusing to discuss the matter. Fair enough it is his business, and all we should care about is his dancing. But after tonight's episode if I was a betting person I would say yes he was.

They were to dance a contemporary lyrical routine by Juliette "Jet" Verne who is a Director at the Urban Dance Centre. It was a girl clinging to a guy who was trying to break up with her.
Juliette said that Anthony tended to over act his emotions, must have been all those aerobic world championships he competed in.

Anthony had no problem with the lift however the whole routine was a bit forgettable.

Matt Lee said "Julia complemented their strengths" and "Laura you did step up tonight, however when you do a layout make sure your leg is straight"
Jason also said a the same" Laura you came up to the mark tonight". The judges obviously don't think she is the strongest dancer in the show.

Stephanie the 18 year old ballroom dancer, and Marko the 22 year old contemporary dancer danced the jive choreographed by Jason Gilkison.

I found Marko a bit of a worry when he said he used to follow everything Michael Jackson did. Hopefully not everything...

In rehearsals Stephanie really struggled but she did well in the performance. However the it was more of a hip hop jive, while they were wearing punk like gear.

Jason Coleman summed it up when he said he did not understand the colleration between the music, the costumes and the dancers. He thought "two danced separately but not together", also "they were hitting the bottom of the beat at different times".

Bonnie said "I loved the costumes" is this the dance equivalent of when you say I loved the cinematography when the film is really crap?
Matt Lee said "Marko one of the best dancers in the competition".
I agree but he lacks personality. This pair will be bottom 3 tomorrow night.

Kate a 29 year old contemporary dancer was matched with hip hop artist Khaly. This guy is our Hok in our competition.

They were to dance a contemporary jazz routine by Sally Clark. It was to a jarring Silverchair number, but they were dressed in 1930's type outfits, and Kate was doll like.

There was a height difference with Khaly shorter then Kate, which made him look like he was being crushed during the lift.

I thought the routine was unremarkable, but both are good dancers, and I hope they both stick around for awhile.

Matt Lee said "Did a good job" and "Kate best female dancer in the competition"
Bonnie said "Khaly didn't have eye contact with her, but understandable considering this style was not what he was used to.
Jason said "Houston we have a problem", "Didn't like the routine" but he did compliment the dancers and said they did a great job with what they were given.

Needless to say Sally Clark probably did not have a drink with him at the after shoot party.
Demi, the 27 year old b-girl from Melbourne, and Jack the dancer from Queensland danced the Boogaloo, which is a funk orientated type dance from the '70s. Nacho Pop choreographed a routine to the Parliament song "Flashlight".

Jack just reminds me of Benji Schwimmer, that similar personality so he could be the dark horse of the competition. Also Jack's sisters were a hoot, can we see more of them?
They danced the routine really well, but I worry that once Demi gets out of her comfort zone she is going crumble.

The routine was fun but it did not hit any great heights, most of the time they were dancing separately around the stage.

Matt Lee said "I felt that funk - so joyous"
Bonnie said "Demi just lovely" and "Jack spot on great"
Jason said "Huge threat in the competition", "Up there in likeability" and "Routine did not reach a crescendo"

In the lucky last spot (my theory you get more votes in this position) were Kassy and Graeme both from Sydney and both trained dancers. They danced a hip hop lyrical number by Yannus Sufandi. He was one of the three stand out choreographers of the night, with Jason Gilkison, and Adam Williams. However I did not see much hip hop in the routine.

Kassy's leopard underpants beneath her petticoat dress should garner the male vote.

Matt Lee thought "Brilliant" and "Kassy stepped up to another level"
Bonnie said "Beautiful routine", "Kassy you weren't cold tonight" and "Danced it well"
Jason said "Graeme you need to work on your feet they were like dead fish hanging on the end of your legs"
Graeme quickly replied "At least I wasn't a salmon" alluding to the girl in the auditions who danced as a salmon.

It was a pretty good show for the first one, and there were certainly some exciting dancers there, however they need to find some good choreographers to add the sparkle this competition needs.

The standout judge was Jason Coleman. Matt Lee, and Bonnie did not add much to critique of the dances.

My prediction for bottom three are JD and Rhiannon, Stephanie and Marko, and Kate and Khaly.
JD and Stephanie to be eliminated.

Well, the Biggest Loser has been on for a couple of weeks yet as this show is just about fat people dieting and exercising, you have to wait for the bitching and slander to start before it gets really interesting.

This week saw the wrath of Michelle towards the red team for their booting out of JJ. I was surprised at Michelle's response as she had already had run- ins with JJ, and being that he was so difficult (read repulsive) to be around, that it would be a no-brainer that he would be first to go. She criticised Rachel for only losing 3kg, yet JJ, a big burly bloke only lost about the same. And as one of the girls said, Michelle was only around him one hour a day, and they 24.

Now I know the game should be about strategy and that keeping a big burly guy in, may have been a wise move, I could not have watched it another minute if he stayed. His whiney voice, hirsute sweatiness, his "too bad, too sad", his misogynism. He was one of those guys that pay out on women with no right to. It's always, the fugly ones in pubs that you hear picking not so bad women apart, basically because they CAN'T GET ONE! (I am refering to, when eliminated, JJ said well' there were several fat women that had been bullied all their lives for being fat, so were sore about it. Well der, JJ, aren't you fat too?)

Even though he told Michelle not to get emotional with him, he did have issues, and one being he was recently dumped! No doubt he'd be a bad root too (shit shouldn't have gone there, yucky just visualising it).Why did Cosi think JJ such a great mate? This only brings Cosi to that level.Now Michelle's issue with Rachel, who in Michelle's eyes as a young girl only pathetically lost 3 kgs. What is this show trying to encourage? A healthy weightloss is 1 kilo a week, no wonder previous losers pile on the weight once they leave boot camp.

Also what was that 6 hr torture session that Michelle made Sheriden endure? Note to viewers, do at your own risk! Granted Rachel said she wouldn't mind leaving, maybe she's not as obsessed with body image as the others and in her butch dykeness escapes society's stereotyping of beauty. Lucky girl!

This week also saw the fall-out from the strategies used in choosing the teams. Moral of the story, don't judge a book by it's cover. Young Sam showed insight in choosing the dark horses who turned out to be the biggest losers last weigh-in. And even though the red team are floundering (how pathetic was their lack of support when Sheriden had to do her 6 hours on the treadmill - who'd want friends like that?), the blue team are starting to show cracks with Mr Deep and Meaningful aka Sean starting to grate. That psuedo intensity would get on my nerves too. And another one that grates with that everything said in a dep and meaningful tone is Sheriden and don't be surprised if she starts shitting her team too.

After searching, searching, searching for the photos of the Jordan Loukas dress malfunction which had her tit fall out of her dress in last years Australia's Next Top Model, I finally found it.

These shots were featured on the Parez Hilton website, and was mentioned again on the reality TV show which featured Jordan Loukas and Charlotte Dawson, Runway to LA.

For those interested here is the the link http://www.titomedia.com/site/show_gallery/1922

Better late then never!

The American Idol media juggernaut has gone into overdrive with the announcement of the top 24. It is amazing how so much information can been found out about these people.

LA Times Blog has a good little article that summarises each contestent.

Josiah Leming the 18 year old who lived out of a car did not make it to the top 24. I think he should of compared to some of the more bland male singers that got through. There has been much debate about his rejection.

However apparently all is not lost as it is rumoured he will appear on the Ellen De Generes show which will generate a lot of publicity. If he can tone down his whininess he should do well.

Full story at TV Crunch

The Carly Smithson the Irish singer is also getting a lot of negative press due to the fact she has previously had millions of dollars spent on producing a flop album for her. As the attached article states "Isn't Idol about undiscovered talent, she has had plenty of chances".
Article here it also states that why has Idol not revealed the record contract in the show?

Due to Valentines Day festivities I still have not watched the episode of who is in the final 24.

However here are the names:
Arizona: David Hernandez..
California: Brooke White, Carly Hennessy Smithson, Chikeze Eze, Danny Noriega, Michael Lee Johns.
Florida: Ramielle Malubay, Syesha Mercado, Robbie Carrico.
Georgia: Alex Lushington.
Illinois: Luke Menard.
Indiana: Amanda Overmyer, Amy Davis.
Missouri: Asia'h Epperson, David Cook, Jason Yeager.
New Jersey: Joanne Borgella.
Oklahoma: Alaina Whitaker.
Ohio: Garrett Haley.
Oregon: Kristie Lee Cook.
Texas: Kady Malloy, Jason Castro.
Utah: David Archuleta.
Virginia: Colton Berry.

Good to see Aussie boy Michael Johns make it.

Reality Raver disguised as a Chai Latte overheard a conversation between some Brent St students regarding So You Think You Can Dance.

They said they did not think Kassie Lee would win because she would not be able to get the audience to warm to her. Even a teacher (or an older adult) standing beside the group agreed that she was not very nice. Maybe it was professional jealousy.

Also the students were excited one of their teachers' Marko was in the top 20. Also they thought Rhiannon would give the title a good shake due to her versatility.

The non Brent St, non Sydneysider discussed was Courtney who was given the big thumbs up.

American Idol is definately sizzling this year. I don't know if it is the performers or how they are editing the show. I suspect the latter. The producers of Australia's So You Think You Can Dance should take note after the not so well edited episodes of the Top 100 and there was definately the talent there.

There were limited heart string stories and ones we heard were actually relevant, it was just singing and the judges comments.

For years on Idol we have been put through rendition after rendition of Whitney, Celine, and Mariah songs, however another name needs to be added to the list - Bryan Adams. I cannot count the number of times tonight I heard a Bryan Adams song but it was at least 30 times to many.

164 performers started the week, and by the final day they wanted it down to fifty. The format was different this year, no group songs just people singing by themselves. On the first two days singers sang solo with their instruments if they chose. If they received a majority of yes's from the judges they were through to the final day.

However if you got a no all was not lost you had the next two days to redeem yourself.

Brooke White the nanny who had never seen an R rated film was first on stage and chose to play the keyboard. She sang "Beautiful". Simon said "She had a Carly Simon, Carol King going for her" and she got through to the final day in Hollywood.

It was great to see people with instruments for the first time in the series, however some people maybe should have left them at home. Jalen Mellema played drums which always gives me Phil Collins flashbacks so not a positive thing. Simon Cowell summed it up "That was ridiculous".

David Hernandez fared better when he sang a great rendition of "Love the One Your With" "I loved it from note one" he cruised through to final day.

Amanda Overmyer the gothic looking rock and roll nurse from Atlanta sang The Doors "Light My Fire". A week before she had totalled her car and needed staples in her head, and cracked ribs but this did not stop her kicking arse with the song. Randy Jackson said "I think an artist like you could be big". She got to rest for the next two days.

Ghaleb Emachach the guy from Venezueala who is apparently a charmer. Personally I just thought he was sleazy was appalling, he sang mainly out of tune. Simon said "Clear out performance"

Josiah Leming the kid that slept in his car rocked his audition. He played the keyboards whilst singing a song I had never heard of. Was it an original? The judges were gushing.
Randy"Your cool man"
Paula " Have a magical thing about you"
Simon "This is the one I will remember"

David Cooke who is in a rock band at home sang a Bryan Adams song was put through by getting two votes out of three. Randy like his range and tone, whilst Simon "was not crazy about it.

Kyle Ensley the weeky political nerd from the south did not do a great audtion. Simon thought it was "abysmal", whilst Randy just found it corny. Simon walked out whilst they were judging, not to do with Kyle but he was fed up with Paula not being able to make a decision, can't she take pill for that?

Simon later apologised for it "As it was your moment"

48 people made it through to the final day after the first two days.

Day 3 the people who had received nos were back to sing acapella it was do or die. Suzanne Toon the single mum from Miami and Perrie Cataldo the single dad whose former partner was dead due to some illegal/unwise behaviour were both culled.

Amy Flynn the girl who preached abstinence was culled. But this girl irritated me. All this crap about not having sex, but she pouting and trying to use sex appeal to get through. I don't get it it is not ok to have sex, but to use sex appeal to get what you want is ok. This girl is a prick tease. This won't be the last we see of her as she is very ambitious she even brought her own voice coach with her to Hollywood.

Kirsty Lee Cook surprisingly had not gotten through to the final day and now had to sing acapella. She played it safe by singing Amazing Grace, the exact same song that she sang in the audition. I thought this showed she may be a one trick pony . Can't she sing anything else?

Jeffrey Lampkin the big black gay guy got culled on the final day, but hopfully he will get picked up by some other show as he was hilarious.

Angela Martin the girl with the disabled daughter was struggling, partly due to the fact her father was recently killed. Unfortunately she was eliminated.

The format for the final day was singing with a band and back up singers. There were 200 songs to pick from. If you got no's it was time to go. If you got yes's you were in contention for the top 24.

Sixteen year old David Archuleta wowed the judges with "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. He is very good. Simon even looked excited. Randy said "Best we've heard in days". Three yes's.

Kyle Ensley just snuck through with a nice rendition of "Raise me Up" I would be surprised if he gets through to the final 24, unless Idol want to put in a politico because the US elections are being held this year.

Syesha Mercardo was having a shocker of week as she had lost her voice and had been getting through on previous performances. However even with a hoarse voice she rocked it with the song "Chain of Fools". The judges looked impressed.

Michael Johns the hunk from Australia had both the audience and judges in raptures when he sang "Bohemian Rhapsody". Simon said "Best audition of the day", and "Dawg I've been a fan since day 1." So he was through.

Carly Smithson the irish girl who was able to come to Hollywood a couple of seasons ago because of visa issues, looked very comfortabl on stage but I thought she was a bit shrieky. I put this down to her recently found out dog allergy. However judges loved her.

Asia'H Eppernson whose dad was killed 2 days before her audtion in Atlanta managed to impress the judges and even got an "I loved it" out of Simon.

Brooke Helvie the irritating Miss South Florida or was it Miss South Beach, Miami? finally got culled after a horrid rendition of an Everly Brothers song. The surprising thing was Simon gave her a yes, and left Paula in the position of killing her off, much to Paula's chargrin and was squirming in her seat as she said no.

Josiah Leming had not coped in rehearsals and had not run through the whole song with the band. He boldy dismissed the band and then did a poor rendition of "Stand By Me" As Simon said "If you are going to dismiss the band, make sure you are going to deliver a great performance". However luck was with him and they kept him in.

Tomorrow we find out the top 24, unless of course you have looked at sites that already have the list, it will be interesting to see who has made it.