Jennifer Lopez joins American Idol - The Big Story: Steven Tyler will be an American Idol judge - The New 'American Idol'

Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are your new judges in America Idol

Even though everyone knew about it and didn�t care, American Idol still made a spectacle of announcing Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler as the two new judges.

Asked what she was looking for in an Idol contestant, Lopez said, �I�m looking for the next Michael Jackson. We�re looking, we�re looking, like Randy said, for the best American Idol ever.�

Steven Tyler�s corpse also mumbled something but it wasn�t clear what.

I bet �descending unto Earth like an angel from the heavens� was part of Jennifer�s diva demands for appearing on AI. Every show is going to start like the picture above. Jennifer on a cloud in the sky floating to the stage as harps play behind her and a beam of white light illuminates her body. I for one welcome our musical Messiah.

Jennifer Hudson �can�t wait to perform� in slim body

�Dreamgirls� star Jennifer Hudson said yesterday she can�t wait to perform again, now that she has a slim new look.

Hudson, 29, has dropped five dress sizes since joining a Weight Watchers programme last year � and having her first baby.

�I can�t wait to perform again � with my new body,� Hudson told Reuters at a New York school, where she helped launch Weight Watchers �Lose For Good� campaign to help fight obesity and hunger in young people.

Hudson, who is a Weight Watchers spokeswoman, said her new svelte frame would enhance her stamina when she hits the road to support her second album, expected in early 2011.

But the struggle to stay fit will be a lifelong challenge.

�It�s a lifestyle. It�s not an on and off switch,� she said.

Hudson dropped five sizes after signing up with Weight Watchers last year



Hudson, a former �American Idol� contestant, won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in the 2006 musical �Dreamgirls�. Her 2008 debut album �Jennifer Hudson� yielded a Grammy and has sold more than one million copies.

Hudson recently finished shooting her role as Winnie Mandela in a movie about the life of the controversial ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

The singer said she was in the early stage of working on her new album but said she wanted the music to be �more flexible, more diverse�.

�I definitely want it to be more personal than the first album, and just more me � whatever that is, I don�t know yet but I�m going to find out,� Hudson said.

Jennifer Lopez Signs With 'American Idol' gets $12 million deal

Following months of upheaval that saw three of the four American Idol judges leaving the show and everyone from Elton John to Howard Stern rumored as replacements, it seems as though the judges' panel for the next season of Idol is finally in place: According to People , after a summer of much-publicized negotiations, Jennifer Lopez has finally sealed a one-year, $12 million deal to join Idol. Lopez will likely join a revamped judges' table that includes Randy Jackson, the only remaining judge from Idol's first season, and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, as the show returns to a three-judge format.

Jennifer Lopez alleged to be next America Idol judge paid USD12 million.



Lopez had long been rumored to fill one of the vacancies on Idol, but talk of the singer's demands from producers led to a breakdown in talks. At one point, country star Shania Twain was mentioned as the producers' new target to join the show, but Lopez and Idol reengaged in contract talk soon after. It was suggested that Lopez was holding out for a Fox contract that included development deals and movie options, but People reports she simply settled for the $12 million.

While no official announcements have been made -- Us Weekly writes that Fox will announce the judges in early October -- Lopez seems to bring stability to panel that's seen many recent changes. Idol's fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, announced two weeks ago that she was leaving the show after two years. DioGuardi's exit followed that of Ellen DeGeneres, who felt her role wasn't the "right fit", and Simon Cowell, Idol's marquee name, who left the show to work on the new American version of Britain's The X Factor.

Although FOX has not made the official statement, according to People.Com and The New York Post, it appears that Jennifer Lopez has signed a one-year deal to be an �American Idol� judge.

There�s been speculation Lopez was coming to the reality TV block for weeks, but the rumor was that she wasn�t getting the deal she wanted.

But the reports now indicate she signed for just over $12 million.

Many names have been rumored regarding the seats on the judge panel for this coming season, including Snoop Dogg and Steven Tyle. Talk about Workplace diversity!

Snoop Dogg tweeted last month, �Steven Tyler + Snoop Dogg = ??!?!?!�

Walk this way with gin and juice?

Although Snoop sounds like excited, Tyler�s best bandmate, Joe Perry does not. He said in the interview with the Calgary Herald this month: �It�s [Tyler's] business, but I don�t want Aerosmith�s name involved with it. It�s a reality show designed to get people to watch that station and sell advertising. It�s one step above �(Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles.��

�American Idol� accepts 15 year olds, no word on new judge

�American Idol� producers yesterday lowered the age limit for contestants to 15, but there was still no word on a new judge to replace Simon Cowell as auditions were announced for next month.

Fox television said auditions for season 10 would be held in six US cities, beginning in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 17. Producers of the TV singing contest, whose ratings have slid, said the minimum age this season would be 15 instead of 16.



�A lot of young, talented people are now seeking careers and representation before they turn 16,� said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, executive producer of �American Idol�.

�Lowering the age limit allows us to tap into this talent pool,� she said in a statement.

A month after Cowell bid farewell to �Idol� in the show�s May finale, there has been no word on who will replace him.

But auditions before the panel of judges are not due to start until September, after thousands of wannabe singers in cities around the nation will have been eliminated by producers in the mass July and August try-outs.

The schedule allows more time for producers to name a new judge and have him or her in place by September.

Last year, �Idol� producers enlisted celebrities ranging from country singer Shania Twain to actor Neil Patrick Harris to sit on the judges� panel, after the abrupt departure of Paula Abdul.

Ellen DeGeneres did not take up her new role as a judge until early 2010, when singers who made it past the first auditions performed in Hollywood. That move indicated a similar hiatus is possible this year for Cowell�s replacement.

�American Idol� has been the most-watched TV show in the United States for the past seven years despite a 9 per cent ratings drop in 2010 to an average 23.9 million, from a 2006 high of 30.8 million.

Cowell, 50, left to launch a US version of his British �X-Factor� talent show on Fox in the fall of 2011.

'American Idol' Winner Lee DeWyze To Sing At NBA Finals On Sunday-Before the Lakers and Celtics face off in game two at the Staples Center, DeWyze will perform the national anthem.

Lee DeWyze

Lee DeWyze Talks First Single

This time 12 months ago, "American Idol" season-nine champ Lee DeWyze was probably kicking back with some pals at a Mt. Prospect, Illinois, bar while watching the NBA Finals. What a difference a year makes. DeWyze will have a front-row seat for Sunday (June 6) night's game two of the Los Angeles Lakers/ Boston Celtics series at L.A.'s Staples Center when he sings the national anthem before tip-off.



The gig will be DeWyze's first performance at a major event since he won "Idol" last Wednesday, and ABC will air it live beginning at 8 p.m. ET. DeWyze will join good company, as the NBA has featured nearly all the "AI" winners at its championship games since 2004, including Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook and Kris Allen.

The slot in front of 20,000 screaming NBA fans will be good practice for this summer's American Idols Live! tour, which will hit 49 markets beginning on July 1 with a show at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and keep the top 10 on the road through a September 16 date in Portland, Maine.

DeWyze also made his official debut on the Billboard Digital Songs chart this week. And while the numbers were tame, the former paint store clerk said he was not sweating it.

"You can't complain about that, regardless of what it is," DeWyze told MTV News. "But this is the first season that we did a cover song for the finale, and that's obviously different from past seasons, whatever part that has to do with it. ... There [were] things presented, and, you know, that was the right song for the moment, I felt. And I'm glad I did it."

DeWyze's coronation song, a cover of U2's "Beautiful Day," landed at #12, while four of his other remakes from the show, "Hallelujah," "The Boxer," "Everybody Hurts" and "Simple Man," also charted in the top 200, along with his duet with runner-up Crystal Bowersox of "Falling Slowly."

Simon Cowell reveals depression battle in Oprah

"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell gets personal with Oprah Winfrey, opening up about his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy, Paula Abdul's departure from the show, and his low points in life. 

Simon Cowell has showed off his softer side, telling Oprah Winfrey he has suffered from depression and admitting he had made "some absolutely horrific mistakes" in the past.

The normally abrasive American Idol judge said during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he was prone to dark moods.

"I get very, very down," Cowell said.

"Pretty much depression. (But) what I always say is, 'You're taking yourself too seriously, so stop it'.

"At the same time, you should never put a painted smile on. When you're feeling down, you're feeling down."

Cowell, 50, has his own record label and also created the TV shows America's Got Talent and The X-Factor.



He said he sometimes felt drained by the demands of his work.

"You just become aware that a lot of people depend on you, rely on you, or you're not giving people the time you should be giving them. It's almost like a guilt thing - and that does drain me," he said.

Often seen as arrogant because of his stinging put-downs to aspiring entertainers, Cowell admitted he had a strong ego.

But life has not always been kind, he said.

He recalled the time 20 years ago when he lost his job, car and home and had to move back to live with his parents in Britain when a business deal went wrong.

"I made some absolutely horrific mistakes," he said.

"I believed my own ego, believed my own hype, believed my own abilities and lots of times it came crashing down. I thought I was absolutely untouchable."

Cowell's interview with Winfrey was broadcast a week before the May 26 finale of American Idol, which will mark the end of his eight-year association with the most-watched TV show in the US.


"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell gets personal with Oprah Winfrey, opening up about his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy, Paula Abdul's departure from the show, and his low points in life.

"I've never been good at relationships," he tells Winfrey. "I never thought I'd be with one person. ... I never genuinely thought anyone would want to live with me."

He explains why he never thought he was the marrying type, saying, "I'm selfish, quite weird and I need time on my own to think, and I work all night." Cowell tells Oprah that he's quite moody and has bouts with depression. "I'm very dark when I'm in those moments. I'm very down. ... Pretty much depression. ... I just get down at times."

This is Cowell's last season on "Idol" and he discloses that he thinks the finale will be "emotional." Reflecting over the seasons past where he sat alongside former judge Abdul, he comments on her decision to leave the program, saying, "I think we had a great team. ... Paula, she's a survivor. She's got great instincts. ... She's going to come back on top."

From brutal to beloved, Simon heads to "Idol" farewell

(Adds quote from "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, note strong langauge)

He began as "Mr. Nasty," morphed into one of the most beloved (and richest) stars of U.S. pop culture, and ushered in a brutal style of reality TV.

Simon "I don't mean to be rude, but.." Cowell bids farewell to "American Idol" next week, leaving a litany of stinging put-downs, an assortment of black and white T-shirts and big shoes to fill on what began in 2002 as a summer talent contest and became America's most watched TV show.



"Simon's departure is the end of an era on 'Idol.' Everybody knows the show is going to lose something big and irreplaceable when he goes," said Todd Gold, managing editor of Fancast.com.

Cowell's exit as a judge from "American Idol" is more an "au revoir" than an "adieu" for American TV viewers. (He plans to return with his own "X-Factor" show in late 2011).

But the abrasive Briton and his one-liners have established a trend that has been widely imitated on U.S. television.

"We had seen nasty people on TV both in fiction and nonfiction. But we had never seen anything quite like him before," said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University.

"It was almost when you put a panel together, you had to have certain types and one of those included the Simon character," said Thompson, recalling the arrival on U.S. shores of Brits Piers Morgan ("America's Got Talent") and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay ("Hell's Kitchen"), and Italian choreographer Bruno Tonioli ("Dancing With the Stars").

"Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi said Cowell's British accent was key to his success.

"Somehow everything they (the British) say is, like, lovely and fabulous. Even when they say, 'It was terrible,' it almost sounds nice. It rolls off the tongue well. Whereas if I said, 'That was awful,' it's like, 'Bitch!'," DioGuardi told Reuters at a music industry event this week.

"He gets away with a lot of stuff, and I think that it's because he has conviction. He doesn't look back, he doesn't care what people say, and he's helping these kids," she added.

"GHASTLY" ?

Whether he was rolling his eyes in exasperation, mocking fellow judge Paula Abdul, or introducing Americans to curious British expressions like "ghastly," or "a bit wet," 50-year-old Cowell was a breath of fresh air in the tried-and-true talent show formula, media watchers say.

He quickly became known simply as Simon, inspired a wave of T-shirts with slogans like "Simon Said I Was Good," and made "karaoke" a dreaded epithet.

"Simon dragged us into the reality that not every wannabe singer should be told to follow their dreams...It was a refreshing point of view that needed to be heard on U.S. television," said Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak.

Gold said that in previous American TV talent shows, the criticism was either polite, or camouflaged in comedy, Cowell was direct, personal and funny.

What's more, his unscripted, jaw-dropping comments helped revive a tradition of live "anything can happen" entertainment at a time when packaged broadcasting had become the norm.

In a 2003 autobiography, "I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But..." Cowell said he produced his first insult at the age of four. He told his mother bluntly that she looked like a poodle.

By 2009, the man who started out as a talent scout for a British record company, had parlayed his success on "Idol" into a career as a TV producer on both sides of the Atlantic, launched his own record label, Syco, and turned singers Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis and Il Divo into international stars.

He was named by Forbes.com as the top-earning man on prime time U.S. television with an estimated haul of $75 million in 2009, and topped the 2009 Hollywood Reporter list of the 50 most powerful people in reality television.

This ninth season on "Idol" however has seen a milder Cowell, often relying on a menu of stock insults like "cruise ship," or "worst I've ever heard," Idol watchers said.

Audiences have also slipped some 9 percent this year.

"He does seem a little checked out this season. I think he's already dreaming about his new love," said Slezak, referring to Cowell's planned U.S. version of "The X-Factor".

But that doesn't make the job of filling his "Idol" seat next year any easier.

"Replacing Simon Cowell could be good for 'American Idol'", said Thompson, noting the show's age and shrinking audience.

"But it is probably the most difficult casting decision to come along in American television in a long, long time."

American Idol recap Connick'd Four.

SWING AND A PRAYER The Top 5 endured two group performances, but at least they got to wear nifty tuxes.


PUT YOUR DREAMS AWAY Michael Lynche and Aaron Kelly await the sting of Ryan Seacrest's axe.


GAGA OH LA LA Lady Gaga brought her standard-operating raciness/wackiness to the Idol stage.

With just three weeks and six episodes remaining, American Idol's ninth season is sputtering to its conclusion like a wind-up toy running out of juice. Is there any way to inject some electricity back into this machine? Let's turn to our panel of experts!

Harry Connick Jr.? Nope, domestic violence jokes and vaguely creepy tales of elevator encounters with Frank Sinatra aren't gonna cut it.

Randy Jackson? Dude, I'm sorry, but wearing a fluorescent orange V-neck isn't the answer, either.

Ken Warwick? You got anything? Nah, we weren't looking for gratuitous butt shots of Casey James or a double dose of group performances, for that matter.

Crystal Bowersox in fetching man-drag? Better � but not enough to hang a season on.

All right, Seacrest, let's just get on with it. Go ahead and dim the lights and tell us the name of the person whose Idol ''journey'' is coming to an end...



Yes folks, let's put our hands together (though not raised above our heads like a Swaybot) and bid adieu to The Artist Frequently Introduced as ''High School Student Aaron Kelly,'' a polite kid who rode his cuddly teen charm, his country-twang appeal, and a single usage of the ''I'm Dedicating This to My Mom'' card (turned in during Shania Twain Week) all the way to a surprising fifth-place finish. Yeah, okay, so conventional wisdom would've had us believe Aaron's ho-hum ''Fly Me to the Moon'' on Tuesday night was enough to crack the top four, given how Casey James' goat-bleat ''Blue Skies'' was a performance only his adorably enthusiastic but always classy mother could defend. But think about it this way: Aaron made it remarkably far into the season � chugging along through 10 consecutive results-show telecasts � without once looking like a legitimate threat to take a confetti shower at the Nokia.

Didi Benami had ''Rhiannon'' and ''Play With Fire.'' Siobhan Magnus had ''Paint It Black'' and ''House of the Rising Sun.'' Casey, bless his volumizing mousse and wicked inconsistency, has at least managed to have a couple Idol Moments (TM) in ''Jealous Guy'' and ''Don't.'' But Aaron was a singer who spent his Idol run at the intersection of Too Young and Just Ai'ight � solid but certainly not devastating takes on ''Angie,'' ''I Don't Want to Miss a Thing,'' and ''You've Got a Way'' as his legacy � and thus, as Ol' Blue Eyes might've phrased it, he faced the final curtain.

Unfortunately for Aaron, his sing-out occurred while mentor Harry Connick Jr. was on stage with the band, which limited his choice of songs to ''Fly Me to the Moon'' and, well, not really anything else. (You'd have to think the kid would've given an encore of his Shania Twain Week cover, had he really had the option.) That said, my ice-cold heart defrosted at microwave speed when Aaron's mom tearfully declared ''God didn't give you that gift to sing in the shower.''

To keep that ''awww, how bittersweet" vibe in tact, let's just skip Ryan's very random question to Aaron (''How old do you think you are now?''), which seemed to propose the theory that enduring a painful reality-show elimination automatically results in a five-year flash-forward. At least that would explain Ryan's declaration to the kid that ''you truly are an inspiration.'' Alrighty then!

[Quick and shameless brag: While I�ve been wrong predicting the weekly ouster almost every week this season, on Sinatra Night, I was the only member of the L.A. Times Idol Buzzmeter panel to correctly predict Aaron's eviction. Oh shnapzzz!]

If anything constituted a surprise for me, it was the fact that Casey avoided the bottom two altogether � at the expense of Ol' Ham Sandwich (AKA Big Mike) himself. Honestly, when one judge compares your singing voice to a lamb, and another suggests you'll be playing gigs for $50 and a free meal, you've got to consider yourself pretty lucky (or pretty sympathetic) to avoid a flirtation with disaster. (I liked, though, how Casey enthusiastically declared ''thank you, thank you'' to Kara when Ryan reiterated her barnyard-comparison critique.)

But my apologies, Idoloonies, because I'm even managing to bore myself with all this talk of Aaron and Casey and Big Mike. Let's cut to some important factoids from the telecast: It's Cinco de Mayo! Lee refused to choose which duo (Casey/Crystal or Michael/Aaron) was safe! Over 32 million Idol votes were cast on Tuesday! (Um, does that last sentence really deserve an exclamation point?)

We also got a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage that was far too generic to be interesting. The contestants all explained how dramatically their Tuesday nights have changed since advancing to the Top 24, which seemed like an excuse to show us adorable contestant babehs, a motley band of judges' stand-ins, and Wee Aaron waking up in a wife-beater. (Insert uncomfortable pause here.) Oh, and yeah, we got a shot of Casey's backside going up a flight of stairs. Just wondering: Would the show's producers have made the same choice if the footage involved Katie Stevens or Siobhan Magnus?

We also got an awful lot of Harry Connick Jr. First there was a ''wacky'' rehearsal reel of him yelling at HSSAK, joking about Crystal's insulin pump and birdtail earring, and insisting Big Mike dial back on mentions of his baby. Then we got a rambling interview with Ryan during which Harry exclaimed he doesn't hit his wife (nice to know!), then shared a story of Sinatra kissing his wife on an elevator on the occasion of his 75th birthday. This prompted Ryan, never really the smoothest with nuance and/or human relations, to squeal: ''He's still with his wife!''

And finally, we had the further front-runner-ization of Lee DeWyze. Simon, sounding like Tyra Banks trying to create a contestant story arc, babbled about Lee's ''That's Life'' cover representing the first time the Chicago rocker started believing in himself. (Cue Siobhan Magnus, covered in butterflies, singing an inspirational Whitney/Mariah ballad.) Rated HP...for Honey, Please. Lee, for his part, spent 23 minutes of the one-hour telecast telling us a) he believes he can fly; b) he's his own toughest critic; and c) he looks good in an undone bowtie. Also ''I coulda done better'' and ''I drive myself'' and OH MY GOD SOMEONE GET THE PAINT SALESMAN SOME MEDIA TRAINING.

And now, let's grade the evening's performances:

Ford Music ''Video'' Is it a Lee/Crystal romance? Or a Casey/Crystal romance? Or a Lee/Ford romance? (If he wants to win Idol, he'd better be convincing when he makes puppy eyes at the vehicle, yo!) And why do Michael and Aaron barely have anything to do? Not the worst of the product-shilling segments, but considering I'd have to check my notes to remember what the kids were singing, certainly not the best. C

The Season 9 Top 5: Sinatra medley Wait a sec. Are they lipsynching as usual? Or do I detect some singing-like activitaaaay from Crystal, and maybe Aaron? Or maybe it's just one of those backing track thingies Ashley Simpson is so fond of using. I'm confused about so many things here, especially the wretched arrangement of ''Night and Day,'' a track I thought it was impossible not to enjoy. And yet...here I sit loathing it. Crystal looking extra hot in a tuxedo upgrades this one tick. C-

The Season 9 Top 5: Connick medley If this were The Vampire Diaries and the top 5 were all blood-suckers, they'd have consumed even the marrow of ''We Are in Love'' and ''Hear Me in the Harmony.'' That's my way of saying the kids are sucking the life out of these ditties. And while at least they're cutting back on the strained choreography, I'm dismayed by the fact that I can no longer tell the difference between live performance and pre-recorded vocals. Either Aaron, Casey, and Lee are more in tune than usual, or these kids have really raised their lip-synch games. D+

Lady Gaga and a Pack of Writhing Manflesh: ''Alejandro'' Next stop: The Dante's Inferno Gym, where male dancers in high-waisted undies frolic and aerobicize for your viewing pleasure. Gaga, meanwhile, a tortured forest landscape atop her piano, a giant ballon-ish tree in the foreround, wrapped herself in a head-to-toe fishnet stocking and gives us a spectacle-over-vocal kind of performance. Has she been better than this? Sure. Am I still totally entertained? You betcha. B+

Harry Connick Jr.: ''And I Love Her'' What's with all modern-day crooners needing to sound a little tipsaaaay when they're waxing romantic? This is kinda sexy-sleepy with a couple moments of pitchy. Also: Why is Harry snarling? I assume it's because someone activated the Swaybots? In that case, he gets a slight uptick, too. B+

American Idol 9 top 9

A Hard Day�s Night - Our contestants took on the Lennon/McCartney songbook. The duo penned 35 #1 songs. More than any other songwriting team in history. The good luck (or please don�t ruin my songs) message from Sir Paul was a nice touch.

It is difficult to fill two hours with performances of 9 contestants. No mentor tonight and much mindless babble. With such a prolific list from which to choose, I had hoped the songs chosen would not have been performed by former Idols. Some yes, some no. And how could such great songs, with few exceptions, be performed so average?

Let�s break it down from the best to the rest.

Click Continue Reading below for more ' American Idol 9 top 9'



American Idol: Season 9 Top 9

Casey James � �Jealous Guy� from the album �Imagine� � only contestant to choose a John Lennon solo song, saw the powerful side of him, his personal best performance by far � Randy said loved acoustic guitar, really impressed, loved that you did this, heartfelt � Ellen said your best performance to date, soulful, beautiful arrangement, moved by it, beautiful � Kara said vulnerability, tasteful, depth, but think you can do more still � Simon said best performance of the night so far, emotional, very impressed tonight.

Crystal Bowersox � �Come Together� from the album �Abbey Road� � consistent, cool changes, couple lyrics lost (Carly Smithson slayed this in Season 7) � Randy said another solid performance, definitely worked, not your best but loved it � Ellen said need new way to tell you how great you are, made it current, loved it � Kara said one of my favorite performances, Bonnie Raitt feel, more accessible � Simon said that�s a performance I could hear on the radio, quirky, terrific, much better than last week.

Katie Stevens � �Let It Be� from the album �Let It Be� � strongest performance from her in competition, changed it up in a good way, nice vocals (Kris Allen owned this in Season 8) � Randy said best performance ever, hot vocal, ridiculous � Ellen said changed it just enough to make it your own without disrespecting it, will not be in the bottom 3 this week � Kara said great vocal, confident, blossoming, never looked and sounded better � Simon said got it right tonight, felt like you were singing it about somebody instead of robotic.

Michael Lynche � �Eleanor Rigby� from the album �Revolver� � vocals spot on, turned it soul, over performs, (David Cook�s first Beatles choice on Season 7) � Randy said I�m not sure it all worked, some great, could be on your album � Ellen said you can do anything, huge risk to change it so drastically, incredible � Kara said fire, vocals amazing, made it commercial today, great job � Simon said didn�t love it, too theatrical, too over the top, confused what kind of artist you want to be

'American Idol' finalist saved from elimination

In this publicity image released by Fox, contestant Michael Lynche performs on the singing competition series, "American Idol," Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in Los Angeles.

Michael "Big Mike" Lynche didn't get the big boot on "American Idol."

The soulful 26-year-old personal trainer and father from Queens, N.Y., was saved Wednesday by the judges on the ninth season of the Fox singing competition. Lynche was praised for his R&B take on "Eleanor Rigby" during Tuesday's performance show featuring tunes from the John Lennon and Paul McCartney songbook, but he still received the fewest viewer votes.

"We have decided we're going to see you next week," Simon Cowell declared.

Click Continue Reading below for more ''American Idol' finalist saved from elimination and news'



The one-time-only power, introduced last season and previously used on piano-playing fifth-placer finisher Matt Giraud, allows the judges to save a contestant from being eliminated � if the panel unanimously agree � up until the round in which the show's top five finalists have been selected.

With Lynche safe this week, that means two contestants will be sent packing next week.

Joining Lynche in the bottom three were 25-year-old musician Andrew Garcia from Moreno, Calif., and 17-year-old high school student Aaron Kelly of Sonestown, Pa.

Garcia and Kelly both received lukewarm receptions to their respective renditions of "Can't Buy Me Love" and "The Long and Winding Road." None of the men had previously been low-vote getters.

"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest teased the "shocking" results before revealing that 24-year-old musician Crystal Bowersox of Toledo, Ohio, 20-year-old glass blower Siobhan Magnus of Marstons Mills, Mass., and 17-year-old high school student Katie Stevens of Middlebury, Conn., were safe from elimination. Stevens had been in the bottom three for the past two weeks.

"I'm always nervous every week, so it doesn't really change," Stevens said.

The other finalists also remaining in the competition are 24-year-old paint sales clerk Lee Dewyze of Mount Prospect, Ill.; 27-year-old musician Casey James of Fort Worth, Texas; and 20-year-old college student Tim Urban of Duncansville, Texas. The singers will be mentored next week by eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert.