Heejun Han is an absolute wonder on American Idol. When you hear his backstory he’s not shy about the fact that this is his first attempt to chase his dream. He’s shy and insecure having struggled with depression in the last few years. When he watches everyone around him, he’s quick to compare only having negative things to say about himself.

The judges have loved Heejun from the beginning and are continuously impressed with his consistency. As he made the walk up to the judges he admitted that he would immediately hug and kiss Jennifer Lopez if he made it to the top 24. “That is every Asian man’s draem,” he said. “It’s the American dream.” Read more & comment »

Reed Grimm is easily the most unique contestant this year on American Idol. During Hollywood week he pulled a miracle out of his back pocket when he completely revamped his last  performance within 30 minutes per producers’ request. He stood out with his group in Las Vegas, always leaving the judges nearly dumbfounded with his talent.

As Reed sat talking with the judges in Las Vegas awaiting his fate, anyone can see he’s nothing but confident in his musical ability. During this stressful time he managed to have a smile on his face, telling the judges that he just wanted to show how talented he is. “I think part of me with the drums that showed more of my drumming and playing abilities,” he said. Read more & comment »

American Idol’s Adam Lambert has more than a new album to celebrate, he’s confirmed he will play a U.K. festival this summer with legendary rockers Queen. The band announced it will perform at the Sonisphere 2012 festival on July 7, the same festival that Freddie Mercury last performed with the band in 1986 before his death.

This is not the first time that Adam Lambert performed with the band. During American Idol the glam rocker took stage with his heroes and also performed just last year with them during the European MTV Awards. Read more & comment »

Steven Tyler has an obvious favorite this season on American Idol. He doesn’t get quite the amazed and excited look on his face for anyone else like he does when Jen Hirsh sings. When comparing the other girls it’s fair to say that no one can even compare to her talent. Few realize that Jen didn’t just pop out of nowhere. She’s been working hard at a career for a few years with some major players in the indie pop world.

In 2011 Jen and guitarist Adam Tressler wrote an album called “Myself in Two.” Release via iTunes, the album is described as indie, pop and soul. Jen worked with producer Max Coane to complete the album. His resume includes Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin (both of Andrew McMahon fame). Upon release Jen toured the country in support of the album. Read more & comment »

Simon Cowell is ready to settle the feud between The X Factor, American Idol and The Voice once and for all. Since The Voice and The X Factor both his American airwaves last year, critics can’t help but notice the similarities between the two shows. All the judges and coaches from all three shows can do is defend their shows through talent and ratings. (Sorry The Voice and The X Factor, but American Idol is far ahead on the talent competition.) Read more & comment »

We first met Colton Dixon last year as he auditioned with his sister Schyler on American Idol. He stood out against the competition because of his boyish good looks, piano skills and dedication to his sister. Though Schyler was cut early, Colton made it all the way to the top 24 last year. Schyler was determined to try out again this year, but Colton was only there for support. When the judges heard he was in the hallway waiting they made him try out again, too. The Dixon siblings made it all the way to Las Vegas. Colton made it through to the top 40, while Schyler was cut on the second day of Las Vegas performances.

Already the Internet is abuzz with Colton support, he was even one of the few contestants trending this week during Las Vegas performances. With over 10,500 loyal Twitter followers, many are pushing for Colton to make the top 12. Just who is Colton Dixon? Read more & comment »

Symone Black and Imani Handy didn’t make it to the Las Vegas performances, but they wont’ be forgotten any time soon on American Idol. During initial Hollywood auditions, Symone passed out after her performance due to dehydration. Just days later Imani followed passing out twice- once before and once during her group performance. Nerves got the best of Imani.

Jennifer Lopez recently told Jay Leno about the ordeal. “It was brutal. They were just tired, the pressure, something.” She said. “I think she fainted once already earlier, if I remember correctly. She came out and we were kind of hoping she could hold it together.” The judges let her go because she couldn’t handle the stress. Read more & comment »

Not every American Idol elimination ends in distraught heartache. For Travis Orlando it’s possible that getting cut during Hollywood Week was the best thing that could happen for the 18-year-old performer.

We met Travis (again) in Pittsburgh. He auditioned last year but was told to come back. After his audition his family broke up, leaving his father, brother and him homeless. The New York native dropped out of school to pursue his singing career and was ecstatic to receive the golden ticket to Hollywood. Read more & comment »

Can’t get enough of Jennifer Lopez on American Idol? Good news! Q’Viva: The Chosen, you know- her “other” reality show, is coming to Fox. The network confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that it picked up the Latin talent search to fill a Saturday time slot.

Starting March 3 an English version of the show will air in two-hour blocks until its finale on April 7. This will catch American viewers up to the in-progress show. Though the show was originally filmed in Spanish, talking will be “dubbed” in English or translated with English subtitles. Read more & comment »

Tonight’s American Idol was full of drama as the judges made two rounds of cuts. The talent is so strong this year that the judges, who originally planned to cut the 70 contestants down to 40 after a second group performance, had to make ANOTHER cut after everyone was done performing on the second day. Some of the final cuts were completely shocking.

Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine, Cari Quoyeser and Chase Likens kicked off Las Vegas performances. The group struggled at first with harmonies, but eventually made a good impression on the judges. Cari was the only one cut from their group. Read more & comment »