Simon Cowell

Ten Potential X-Factor Replacement Judges

The list of former judges on FOX's The X-Factor reads like the attendance list at a Passages Malibu: Addiction Cure Center for celebrities obsessed with proving their talent (Nicole Scherzinger, 2011 and Demi Lovato, 2012), relevancy (Cheryl Cole, 2011 and LA. Reid, 2011-12), sanity (Britney Spears, ... More >>

Escape From Planet Earth

I'm A Judge On Brazilian TV Tonight!

I'm the Simon Cowell of Sao Paolo, the Randy Jackson of Rio. They have a show called Broadway Dreams (Dancando na Broadway) whereby talented folk sing the songs and do the dances from the classic musical that's the theme of that week as a panel of judges observes and picks the best one. And the ep ... More >>

Live: Labrinth Brings The New And Old Schools Together At Santos

Labrinth Santos Party House Tuesday, June 5 Better than: Watching American Idol. Labrinth has a bit of a foul mouth. It's jarring—his boyish looks and feel-good pop tunes don't betray any sort of edge, but the rising U.K. singer/producer dropped a healthy amount of F-bombs last night at Sant ... More >>

Il Divo

One Direction, Booster Club

The British boy band's shot in the arm for young women

Six Things To Know About One Direction, The Quintet Taking Over The Metropolitan Area For The Next Few Days

Beginning tonight and spooling out over the weekend, a pack of five British youths will blitz the tri-state area with performances and signings and, eventually, a Rockefeller Center-stuffing appearance on NBC's Today. The five young men make up the vocal group One Direction—a five-member boyba ... More >>

Michael Sandlofer, 1st Husband to X Factor's Stacy Francis, on Her Past, Her Scientology, and Her Problems With The Truth

X Factor's Stacy Francis​"I have to defend what I know. And I know how serious domestic violence is, and I'm not with that. To be potentially accused of that is gross." An exclusive here at the Voice this morning. We have the first interview with Michael Sandlofer, the first husband of X Fact ... More >>

Kelly Clarkson: Miss Independent

The singer offers more real talk on Stronger

Fall Arts: Music Picks

Here's Something Else To Do Before The Summer Ends: Attend A Free Concert Put On By A Morning Chat Show

Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina at Central Park this morning.​Yesterday my wonderful colleague Jen Doll penned a list of 11 things to do in NYC before the summer ends, and I'd like to add one item to her list: Catch one of the outdoor concerts put on by the national morning shows. This morning I ... More >>

Dispatch From The X Factor Auditions: Makeovers, Preening, And Missing The Machine

​In Seattle on Wednesday, The X Factor was doing its damndest not to be American Idol. Producers had overseen the first round of auditions, and now, in front of an audience of 4,000, the few acts who had passed muster would perform for judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid, and Nicole Sc ... More >>

What Cheryl Cole's X Factor Dismissal Means For British Pop In America

​ Deep at the heart of Cheryl Cole's abrupt dismissal from the American edition of X Factor earlier this week is a twisted take on My Fair Lady. Here we have a pop star who takes leave from her U.K. homeland--where she's a household name thanks to her tenure in the hit-making girlband Girls Al ... More >>

Christie Brinkley Singing and Dancing?

​When it was announced last week that model-turned-divorcee Christie Brinkley was going to play Roxie Hart in Broadway's Chicago revival, someone on "All That Chat" posted the immortal comment, "World to end. Story at 11." But the woman can kinda sorta dance right? After all, she strutted aro ... More >>

American Idol, Season 10: No One Cares That Your Cousin Has Cancer

This man may or may not be running an organ farm. Credit: Michael Becker/FOX.​Midway through tonight's Nashville-set American Idol audition show, there's a mid-montage moment where some big gumpy white guy is singing "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," and all three judges are singing along at the top ... More >>

Was 2010 The Best Year For Music Ever? American Idol Wobbles, R&B Thrives, And The '90s Rise Again

Welcome to Sound of the City's year-in-review rock-critic roundtable, an amiable ongoing conversation between five prominent Voice critics: Rob Harvilla, Zach Baron, Sean Fennessey, Maura Johnston, and Rich Juzwiak. We'll be here all week! At least one song on this record is really good!​Gent ... More >>

The 20 Worst Songs of 2010, #15: Susan Boyle, "Hallelujah"

F2K10 is a countdown of the 20 worst songs of 2010. Track our progress here. ​Leonard Cohen's ode to sex and music theory "Hallelujah" reached a certain saturation point this year--there was a moment when it seemed like there would be one overwrought cover of the track appearing on TV per mon ... More >>

Lynyrd Skynyrd+Bret Michaels

We Have Only Ourselves to Blame for the Downfall of American Beer; Would You Pay $1,082 for a Mai Tai?

​American beer sales are falling. The culprits? Wine, cocktail culture, the lack of innovation among big U.S. breweries, and the growing American bourgeoisie. [The Atlantic Food Channel] Pugliese Vineyards on Long Island is permitted to label its sparkling wines "Champagne" because it was alr ... More >>

American Idol Season 9, Finale Results

Vince Bucci/FOX Alice Cooper and the Idols​ 8:01pm. It's a sad night, and not because we're saying goodbye to another season of Idol, not because we're saying goodbye to Simon Cowell, but because they managed to drag this out to a two-hour production of group sings and product placements. 8: ... More >>

American Idol Season 9, Idol Gives Back: Shut The Fuck Up, Alicia Keys

I don't want to be too cynical about "Idol Gives Back", the big annual charity-drive American Idol episode, because God knows the thing does more good with ten minutes of on-air banalities than I will ever do with anything in my life. But every year now, the thing is just sitting in the middle of ... More >>

American Idol Season 9, Live-Blogging Idol Gives Back & Top 7 Results

Michael Becker / FOX Baby-Hugger Simon Cowell​ Two hours? Really? Because tonight's annual philanthropic extravaganza adds an extra hour onto the already too long results show (far too much to ask of any live-blogger, in my opinion), I'll be checking in intermittently throughout the night, ... More >>

American Idol Season 9, R&B Week: Usher Clowns Tim Urban; Crystal Bowersox Teaches Typing

Michael Lynche goes India.Arie. Photo by Michael Becker / FOX. ​It's not always this way, but American Idol viewers had plenty of reason to fear the living hell out of soul/R&B week in this, the whitest Idol year in memory. Most of the remaining contestants this year look and act like they bel ... More >>

Alright, Let's Deal With This Star-Studded Haiti-Benefit "Everybody Hurts" Debacle

Here we have the gala Simon Cowell-produced R.E.M. cover, starring Susan Boyle, Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Leona Lewis, Rod Stewart, and a gaggle of not-as-famous people. Not a good look. I don't have any problems until James Blunt shows up, and no major problems until Jon Bon Jovi starts howli ... More >>

Why This Decade Sucked, Reason #9: Artists Joined The Farm League

​ We will, in the closing days of this wretched decade, list the Top Ten reasons why it sucked. Reason #10 is here. This is #9.   Name your favorite artists of the past decade. Tough one, huh? The Voice plays the best-of-decade game in the current issue, and we salute the fine crit ... More >>

Il Divo

Do We Want Paula Abdul Back on Idol?

Remember when Simon Cowell assured everyone that Paula Abdul would be back as a judge for another season? Well, maybe not this time around. Reports have had it that contract negotiations with Paula have been "hurtful" (Meaning what? Lots of slappping and hair pulling?). Supposedly, the "Straight Up" ... More >>

American Idol: Slash Piddles While Idol Burns, Musings From a 60-Year-Old Fan, Allison and Adam are Getting Married

Kris Allen is the real-life Dr. Drew Baird, the Jon Hamm character that Tina Fey dated on 30 Rock. He lives in a Beautiful Bubble. Michael Becker / FOX.Slash, Classic Rock week mentor After spending the weekend with my 60-year-old Idol-watching dad, I've gained some new insights into the show. A b ... More >>

Q&A With Cute Person Justin Tranter

Justin HyteJustin Tranter is a rock star (he's lead singer of the glammy Semi Precious Weapons) AND a jewelry designer (his sexy FETTY line sells at Barneys NY and Barneys COOP). He's ALSO a perfect subject for this widely read blog! So, in between bouts of rubbing sea kelp into my hair, I cornered ... More >>

American Idol Top 8 Results: No Future in Sight for Scott MacIntyre

Frank Micelotta / FOXBye, Scott! When "Year You Were Born" is an Idol episode theme, anything should happen, but last night's predictable mess yielded just one surprise: Simon Cowell's standing ovation for the swishiest contestant in history and new Bill O'Reilly foe, Adam Lambert. So, which boring ... More >>

Expectedly, Obama Kills on Leno

"In Washington, it's a little like American Idol except everyone's Simon Cowell" is pretty good. So's the Special Olympics joke, which his opponents would probably praise as "politically incorrect" if it were being delivered by, say, Mel Gibson. So fuck those PC dorks. Obama explains his socialist ... More >>

Toby Young Admits to Brit Bias

Wondering just how and why Toby Young scored the Top Chef judge gig? Us too.As we suspected, it had a lot to do with his nationality. As demonstrated by Simon Cowell, America loves a bitchy Brit at the reality show table. Talking to Yahoo TV, Young concedes that he got the Bravo call out of the blue ... More >>

Silda Spitzer Steps Out, David Cook Wins American Idol and All the Rest

American Idol Week Twelve: Please, God, Let It End

American Idol Week Seven: Inspiration Attack

American Idol Week Five: More Beatles, Guh

American Idol Week Four: The Beatles? Really?

American Idol Week Three: "Hallelujah" and Bullshit

American Idol Week One: Sucking So Far

What I Learned at Beige Last Night... Simon Cowell Has a Small Pecker?

Hugs and Kisses #18: The Final Episode in Everett True's Desktop Trilogy

Celebrity Rap Superstar: What Might've Been

Bon Jovi Week on American Idol: Amazing TV

Sanjaya Malakar: America's Long National Nightmare Finally Ends

Life Begins at 50

Disco-centric Boys avoid becoming boring men

American Idol Will Destroy Your Soul

Simon Cowell Owns the Universe

Identity Crisis

Three American Idol alumni follow up the process in their own, vaguely individual ways

Back to the Boys' Club

Sheriff arrives, the Strokes are sent home, drunks from Down Under take over the garage

Idol Minds

We Go Together