Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,......

So after LAist got over the initial shock of Melinda Doolittle (the best singer this year) getting the boot from American Idol last week, we had to sit through tonight's reality -- one hour of two OK performers, their three songs and packaged childhood retrospectives. Tonight's second-to-last show pitted the beatboxer (Blake Lewis) against the 17-year-old power singer (Jordin Sparks). They each sang their favorite song from a past show, a cover song they'd......

Now we freaking completely understand how someone like George W. Bush gets into the Oval Office: American voters are stupid. Tonight on American Idol, calling voters kicked off the best singer in this popularity contest national singing competition. Melinda Doolittle, the most experienced singer among the remaining three, got kicked off the show by the nearly 60 million callers. We don't mean to sound bitter, but seriously...is it because she didn't have Jordin Sparks'......

The last three contestants on American Idol fought for a place in the finale last night. Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle sang three songs each: one picked by a judge, one picked by the producers and one of their own choosing. Of course, to fill the hour, the show followed the contestants back to their respective hometowns. Uber-perky-to-the-point-of-annoying Jordin traveled back to Glendale, Ariz., where her local mall was mobbed by fans.......

LAist only made it eight minutes into last night's American Idol results show before hitting the remote control. We just couldn't watch anymore. Watching Ryan Seacrest interview tourists at The Grove for the umpteenth time to get their opinions on the prior night's show was just too painful. Plus, it was Bon Jovi night -- all the more reason to change the channel. So we'll cut to the chase: Phil Stacey (the bald guy)......

As a product of the ’80s and growing up outside Philly, this particular LAist poster never got into Bon Jovi. Maybe it was the big hair. We don’t know. But we preferred the skinny, pasty guys from England. Think John Taylor from Duran Duran or Martin Gore from Depeche Mode. So we were really, really not excited to cover tonight’s American Idol. By 8:03 PM, we were having flashbacks and could already smell the......

We can see the finish line. American Idol is down to the final six finalists and this seemingly never-ending season is almost over. Thank God. We need to watch real TV. Like Tori and Dean: Inn Love. But tonight the show focused less on the lame Ford-commercial filler and actually tried to inspire the millions of people watching. (But not necessarily with the music -- which has been pretty average this season.) The Idol......

Country music proved to be an Achilles heel for many of our American Idol contestants. The night started off on a good note, with baldiePhil Stacey doing a decent job on Keith Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends" and Jordin Sparks doing an even better job on coach Martina McBride's song "Broken Wing" (which is a lot of chutzpah for a 17-year-old). Then came Sanjaya. With permed hair in a do-rag, he butchered a song......

American Idol should be thanking their lucky stars. Here they are turning the corner and there are no super hot chicks, no super fantastic singers - except for maybe LaKisha Jones - and the only remaining dudes are boyband rejects. If it wasn't for Sanjaya this would be the worst American Idol ever. And Simon can smirk and squirm every time the 17 year old doesn't suck, but the truth is Fox fucked up......

It was Latin night on American Idol with coach Jennifer “don’t call me J-Lo” Lopez. But, unfortunately, like her movies of late, the music pretty much tanked. The songs that reflected the beats south of the border were not kind to our eight finalists. (And really, can’t we do a little better than picking boring Gloria Estefan or Carlos Santana songs?) >> Melinda Doolittle started off the show with “Sway,” and this was the......

LAist will cut to the chase and do in less than a minute what American Idol took 30 minutes to do tonight: Rocker chick Gina Glocksen is out and Sanjaya Malakar just took another step toward the finals. If you need a few more details than that, then read on... The nine finalists were split into three groups: >> Group 1: Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson and Sanjaya Malakar >> Group 2: Haley Scarnato, Gina......

Tonight on American Idol, octogenarian crooner Tony Bennett coached the remaining nine contestants. While we were semi-excited to hear the Idols take on the standards, LAist was really anticipating what form Sanjaya’s shape-shifting hair would take on this week? Maybe a salt and pepper gray in honor of Mr. Bennet? No such luck. This week, Sanjaya wore a ’do that was much tamer than the faux-hawk: just the simple slicked-back crooner look. But we......

American Idol was only an hour and seven minutes tonight, which we think meant shorter songs clips and shorter packaged coaching segments with guest judge Gwen Stefani. And the shorter show was just fine with us because (1) most of these “Top 10” singers are good -- but they’re not great; (2) while the song choices were better than last week’s British Invasion, they were ripped right from the Adult Contemporary radio station playlists......

In the six seasons of American Idol, LAist can't recall a more average group of singers -- in voice and personality. Tuesday nights so far have been two hours of tedium, except for one or two standout performances a night. Last night -- British Invasion Night -- was no different. The song choices were unappealing to those under 40, and it's a safe bet that many of the contestants never even heard of their......

There are three months left of American Idol. And judging from last night's show, that's three very long months to whittle down from 12 to the two finalists. The singing overall on the Diana Ross-themed show was pretty lousy, except for a few of the usual suspects: Jordin Sparks (who we think sang a Diana Ross tune from The Land Before Time, Melinda Doolitte belting a song from The Wiz, and show-stopper LaKisha Jones singing......

So the girls hit the American Idol stage last night, and they proved once again that they can sing so much better than the boys this season. So the question on our minds this morning is whether co-front-runner Melinda Doolittle (heads and shoulders above the pack with LaKisha Jones) is just frontin. Can she really be that meek and unsure about her singing? She comes on stage like a lion and leaves like a......

Can we fast forward through the rest of the American Idol season? We already know the two finalists will either be Melinda Doolittle vs. Lakisha Jones (if America has its way) or Antonella Barba vs. Sanjaya Malakar (if the site votefortheworst.com has its way). It was boys' night out on American Idol and as a bunch, they were pretty bad sucked. Some of the lowlights included: >> Sanjaya with a new, straighter (more masculine???)......

Dedication rounds continued last night with big voices, little skirts, and enough Whitney and Celine worship to maketh us puke. But these chicks mean business. With their breathy and booming display of vocal control they overpowered and outsang the boys for a second straight week. Gina Glocksen (Dedicated to: Her Boif) Punky hair stripe, tattoos, big heels and a fancy, red satin dress. Simon is confused about her image. We approve of her rocking......

Soul sisters reigned supreme during last night’s American Idol. It was time for the 12 girl finalists to step up to the mike – and five women blew the rest of the girls – and all the guys –out of the water. Judging from last night’s performances, here are our front runners for the competition. If they keep it up, one of these five women could be your next American Idol: Jordin Sparks has......

Last night American Idol whittled down its ranks to 24 finalists. While it took nearly an hour to cut people on TV, which was bad enough, we can’t understand why it took the entire day for the judges to deliver a “yay” or “nay” to each contestant. Did Simon need a smoke break every five minutes? Was there a four-hour lunch break? Anyway, some of the judges choices probably stemmed from a likeability or......

Clearly, things are amiss in Memphis. Maybe it’s something in the water. Maybe it’s too humid there. I really don’t know. Whatever the reason, it brought some truly special behavior to last night’s auditions. Simon yelled at cheerleaders and band nerds. Paul pinched nipples and hugged strangers. Ryan cursed and got huffy. And everyone was either being flipped off or giving someone else the finger (yes, I know the finger). Talentwise, the episode was......