A new place to read Reality Check recaps

Hello reality TV fans. If you thought it odd that I didn't have a Canada's Got Talent recap up this morning, it's because there's a new place to read my reviews. You'll find recaps for all the shows I normally cover (American Idol, The Voice, The X Factor, Survivor, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Canada's Got Talent, Canada Sings, Battle of the Blades, plus whatever else takes my fancy) at TheStar.com/tvreviews. That includes my recap for the March 4 Canada's Got Talent premiere. You will still be able to comment on posts there or you can chat to me via Twitter @realityeo or on my Facebook page. Or you can email me at dyeo@thestar.ca.

American Idol: The first results (spoiler alert)

(Jermaine, Colton, Eben and Deandre wait to hear their fate from Ryan Seacrest in a Fox photo by Michael Becker.)

In the excess that was a two-hour American Idol results show (why? no need for it to be that long) there were two things that gladdened my heart: most of the top 13 choices and the return of Jimmy Iovine.

Jimmy, curmudgeon that he is, was a welcome breath of fresh air in Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson's land of "everything is beautiful." I agreed with almost everything he said about the contestants and it was nice to hear some honest assessments.

Basically on Thursday night, Ryan Seacrest brought the 25 contestants on stage in groups of three or four, sent some directly to the top 10 as chosen by voters, and some to await the judges' wild card picks.

Near the end of the show, the judges chose six people to sing for their lives and put three into the top 13.

Here's a look at who made it through:

Phillip Phillips: I would have been shocked if Phil hadn't made America's top 10. He's got a good voice, honest delivery and an endearing aw-shucks manner. Jimmy said, "We desperately need originality on this show. Phil Phillips has that ... I believed every word he sang. I'd sign this guy on the spot."

Jeremy Rosado: I thought Jeremy sang very well on Tuesday but wondered whether votes for cuter boys would bump him out of the top 10. Jimmy said he was one of the nicest people on the show, "but you have to have much more than that these days to win this thing." Those words may yet prove prophetic, but Jeremy basically opened his heart and bled all over the stage during his save me song, earnng a wildcard spot. He couldn't even finish the song for crying and broke into even bigger sobs when he heard he'd made it.

Hollie Cavanagh: Hollie has a quieter personality than some of the other girls and you never know how that's going to play, but I figured her big voice would see her through. Jimmy said she could have been more believable, "but give her the right material, she could do some real damage in this game."

Jessica Sanchez: Here's another no-brainer. This powerhouse has the potential to go all the way to the end. Jimmy said, "she has talent from A to Z. If anyone has a pole position in this race, it's Jessica. She's the one to beat."

Joshua Ledet: After stealing the show on the boys' performance night, Joshua was a shoo-in. Jimmy said, "This Joshua's the real deal ... and there's no question in my mind he's gonna get through. If he does get through, it's my job to make sure we don't turn it into Sister Act 3."

Heejun Han: Heejun wasn't at his best on Tuesday, so I can see why Jimmy was confused, but I also figured that voters have taken him to their hearts and would put him into the top 10. Jimmy said Heejun has "sort of a good voice" but "this isn't American Comedian, this is American Idol."

Shannon Magrane: Jimmy and I part ways on this one. I hated Shannon's song choice and I wasn't digging what she did with her voice on Wednesday, but Jimmy said she had a great voice and sang beautifully.

Skylar Laine: I wasn't as big a fan of Skylar's rock chick turn as the judges, but I am not surprised that the energetic performance got her voted through. Jimmy said Skylar brought a lot of charisma and stage presence. "I would have voted for her."

Erika Van Pelt: Erika did not make top 10 but got a wildcard spot. She has one of the better female voices in the competition, so I'm not sure what isn't connecting with the voters. "I like this girl," Jimmy said. "She has music in her blood. It's very, very natural to her." Her save-me song, Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory," didn't seem like a great choice but was still more convincing than Jen's or Brielle's offerings.

Elise Testone: I think Elise is brilliant and it would have been a serious upset had she not made top 10. "She has a lot of character," Jimmy said. He added that he'd like to see her sing her own material and that she should be careful not to push her voice too much.

Jermaine Jones: Man, would it have sucked for Jermaine Jones to get called back to the top 25 only to be booted off the next night. Luckily, he made top 10, but I didn't get to hear what Jimmy said about him.

Deandre Brackensick: I didn't love what Deandre did with Earth, Wind and Fire on Tuesday and agree with Jimmy that he wasn't ready for that song. Deandre was not a top 10 pick but did earn a wildcard berth with a performance that was more heartfelt than what he did earlier in the week.

Colton Dixon: I didn't buy Colton's jumping on the piano performance on Tuesday, but America did. Jimmy called him "really talented, probably one of the most talented kids on this show" but said he should pace himself and not do too much too soon.

Here's what Jimmy said about the ones who didn't make it.

Chase Likens: "You have to bring something fresh, original and exciting, and I saw none of that." Couldn't agree more.

Brielle Von Hugel: Jimmy said she has a lot of charisma and is a real entertainer. I find her so grating I can't really agree with that. Brielle picked Adele's "Someone Like You" for her save-me song, despite Jimmy warning contestants off being Adele wannabes, but didn't do anything original with it and messed up some of the notes.

Hallie Day: I enjoyed Hallie's performance Wednesday but wasn't sure how it would play with voters. Jimmy said she was "really poised, restrained" and had "great tone in her voice. I'm not sure who the audience is gonna vote for, though." 

Adam Brock: To me, Adam was just dull. Jimmy said, "Supposedly, Adam has a large black woman trapped in a white body. As of right now, he's not pulling them off at the same time. He's got to merge them and come as one person."

Baylie Brown: Baylie had no chance after her pitchy performance on Wednesday, no matter how pretty she is. "Beautiful girl, nice tone, but she lost the plot," Jimmy said. "Out of tune, I believe out of here."

Chelsea Sorrell: If you're going to cover one of Idol's most famous alumni, you better blow it out of the water and Chelsea failed to do that. "Carrie Underwood karaoke is just not gonna fly," Jimmy said.

Reed Grimm: I'm still a Reed fan, but I concur with Jimmy: his Tuesday performance was too far off the beaten track to win votes. "It was way too cutesy for me, way too cabaret," Jimmy said. Surprisingly, Reed got a chance at a wildcard spot but squandered it with an erratic, self-indulgent version of Bill Withers' "Use Me."

Aaron Marcellus: This was a mild surprise. I thought Aaron was one of the best male singers even though his Tuesday performance didn't knock my socks off. "Now this confused me," Jimmy said. "Because the judges and audience gave him a standing ovation and I'm watching this, saying 'This is cheesy.'"

Creighton Fraker: I didn't think Creighton stood a chance at top 13 way back in his first audition. As Jimmy put it, "Creighton has an interesting voice (but) the top end is screechy. It annoys me."

Jen Hirsh: If you'd asked me during Hollywood Week, I would have called Jen for top 10 for sure, but her Wednesday performance was lacking. Jimmy said it was "a lot of vocal pyrotechnical techniques in place of soul," which sounds right on the money. Unfortunately, after she was picked as one of the six to sing for their lives, it was more of the same, with the addition of some unpleasant screamy notes near the end.

Haley Johnson: She was a dead girl walking mere seconds into her awful version of "Sweet Dreams." "Wow, she sang out of tune the entire song," Jimmy said. "How do you get around that?"

Eben Franckewitz: Yes, that Adele song was way too big for Eben and it cost him. Jimmy said he's "a really talented kid with a lot of great potential, but in my opinion he's not ready for prime time." He lamented the fact the show's rules won't allow Eben to come back next year.

That's it till next Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CTV when the top 13 perform. You'll find the recap right here.

Survivor: One World - Look Who's Dysfunctional Now (spoiler alert)

It's funny what a rainstorm, a carefully chosen challenge and a new storyline will do, isn't it?

The perpetual losers of the women's Salani team have started to win on Survivor: One World and the pretty boys of the men's Manono tribe are now at the mercy of a group of average joes, led by a gay Republican.

Things weren't looking so upbeat for the ladies at the beginning of Wednesday's episode. A savage-looking rainstorm rolled in, punishing the tribes with cold and wet.

With their fire out and no tarp like the men's, the women sat up all night, huddling together in a vain attempt to stay warm. They beetled over to Manono when day broke to crowd around the guys' fire and share their tale of woe.

"I just wanted somebody to punch me so I could be knocked out last night," Sabrina said.

Matt was pitiless, complaining that the women were sitting in the shelter, on the bed, soaking wet. "There's no extra room for the girls," he grumped.

The lightning and rain were still coming as the tribes headed to the reward challenge. So what were the chances the waterlogged women would find the wherewithal to beat the men? Extremely good, it turned out, when the challenge had nothing to do with physical strength.

The teams had to square off one by one, memorizing a series of objects displayed behind a curtain then racing back to their stations to recreate the series.

The women had it in the bag, well, up until Kat stepped up. It took her seven tries to get it right. She was just lucky she was up against Troyzan, whose memory was just as awful. One might argue Kat's age, 22, means she has the short attention span of a kid raised on the Internet, but Troy's 50. What the heck is his excuse? 

Christina clinched the win for her tribe and the women returned to their beach with fishing gear and a canoe waiting for them. But that didn't help with the problem of restarting their fire. After Monica discovered that all their coconuts were wet, rendering their flint useless, she and Kat went to the men to beg an ember from their fire.

The men grudgingly handed it over but told the women they wanted use of the canoe in exchange for their kindness. The ladies stonewalled on that and the men were losing patience by the time Chelsea and Alicia came back over to warm their hands at the fire (guess the ember didn't work). 

"I love some of those girls, but if they aren't going to give me anything, I'm sorry, I am not the type of person - I'm a Republican; I am not a Democrat. I don't believe in handouts," said Colton.

After Alicia exchanged testy words with some of the men - "Don't come at me like I'm crazy," she said - the welcome mat was withdrawn from the men's camp until the women could reach a consensus on lending them the canoe.

Luckily, the sun finally came out and the women took the canoe out and managed to catch some fish. But were three little fish enough fuel to beat the men at the immunity challenge?

The tribes entered to the shocking site of Jeff Probst in a black rather than a blue shirt (I was kind of shook up by that, weren't you?).

Jeff explained that the teams would be blindfolded in pairs, with one member calling out directions and guiding them past obstacles to water towers, where pulling a rope would douse them with coloured water (man, those producers are sick puppies, aren't they? more water after a night and day of rain?) and release a bag of puzzle pieces. Once all five bags were collected, the caller on each team would solve the puzzle.

Despite all her colourful sayings, Sabrina turned out to suck as a caller. Bill was already working on the puzzle for the men by the time the women had collected their five bags. But in the kind of turnaround that makes you wonder if these things are fixed, the women suddenly discovered the value of teamwork and finished their puzzle first.

So we got to see the men scrambling for a change.

Colton and his alliance of Tarzan, Troyzan, Jonas and Leif had the numerical advantage and were deciding whom to vote off. Colton was keen to gas Bill, whom he called "ghetto trash." Tarzan argued for ousting Matt, whom he saw as a danger.

Speak of the devil, Matt came strolling up while the five were chatting but wandered away again when it became obvious they weren't going to tell him anything. They allowed fellow musclehead Jay to stay, though, and told him they were voting out Bill.

It might have stayed that way had Matt not decided to try to take control of the game, not having grasped the reality that it's Colton's world and he just lives in it. Matt pulled aside Troy to invite him to join a counter-alliance that Matt dubbed "the roosters": Matt, Troy, Mike, Jay and Jonas.

"Things have changed around here and I'm still in the front of it," Matt boasted to the camera.

Too bad his "ally" Troy was already confessing that he had no intention of voting with Matt. "It ain't Survivor unless you're lying," Troy smiled.

At tribal council, cards were cheerfully laid on the table, including the alliance of the five ordinary joes and the fact that Colton had an immunity idol, which he swore he was going to play. "I'm not gonna be a James. I'm not gonna have an idol and go home. That's stupid," he said.

Colton and Jeff had an amusing exchange about whether Colton would be a target because of his close ties with the women. Colton insisted there was nothing untoward about all the time he spent at the women's camp. "You look at me and say 'duh.' It actually is a reverse duh double dare on you," said Jeff as Colton's tribe mates snickered.

Colton explained that the women were more nurturing: "They pet you and tell you you're gonna be okay."

"Do you realize what kind of a target you put on your back when you say that?" asked an incredulous Jeff.

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna vote with those women," replied Colton.

Bill, asked by Jeff to explain how Colton's stance made sense, said that Colton had judged the other men and assumed they wouldn't "take him in" because he's gay.

Then Tarzan defended Colton. "Colton's highly intelligent. He' s invaluable with regard to understanding how this game plays. He already has allegiances with females over there and when we combine, he's already set. He's real smart. If we value our survival, we need him in the first few plays here."

Alpha male Matt sure didn't like that. 

He objected to Tarzan's use of the word "we" and then said, "I think Tarzan's put out a cry for help to whoever it is, that the five guys are with him. It does seem like Tarzan's shivering in his boots over here and I'm just getting sick of him using big terms. I want him to talk turkey."

Tarzan laughed it off, but Matt continued to glower, prompting Jeff to ask him if he was agitated.

"Some of the things that have been said here tonight agitate me, mainly Tarzan. Tarzan's always talking and everybody's always laughing at Tarzan, but the downside of that is you don't know how much of him you can take seriously. I'm more of a guy that when I speak I want people to listen and take me seriously," said Matt.

Oh, I just bet you do.

Asked by Jeff how the vote would change the game for him, Matt responded, "We all get one chance to make a move that sets the ball in motion and that's tonight. I think the game does change all the time; you always have to be willing to reassess and always be changing what you're doing."

How'd that work out for you, Matt?

The men were sent off with a rousing call to vote from Bill. "This is intense, man. This is emotion right here, you know what I mean? Like we're sitting here, nobody knows who's gonna go home. I'm on the edge of my seat to see what happens. I'm so jacked up right now," he ranted.

"I might go home, I might not, but I am so happy I got to play this game, man. Like this is real intense and there's nothing else like it, man. I'm so ready to do this."

Ah, OK.

Anyway, Matt soon discovered what everybody else knew, that he was in charge of zero and he was going home. He voted for Colton, who didn't play his idol, and everybody else voted to oust Matt, except Mike, who voted for Bill.

"I was probably Enemy No 1, the biggest threat they had and that spelled my disaster," Matt philosophized after the fact.

Next week, it appears that a betrayal shakes up the men's tribe and Colton wants somebody's head on a platter.

Tune in at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Global TV and look for the recap here.

(The photo of Colton is by Monty Brinton for CBS.)

American Idol: The top 12 girls perform

(Elise Testone performs on American Idol Wednesday in a Fox photo by Michael Becker.)

Somebody got the memo or read the blogs or something, because the judges were judging on American Idol on Wednesday night.

Not everyone was "beautiful" or "nice." Some constructive criticisms were shared and Randy Jackson admitted that "we were, I think, a little lenient and a little soft on some of the boys last night," referring to Tuesday's top 13 guys' performances.

When it came to the girls, a couple of the outings were so weak that Randy and his colleagues would have been hard-pressed not to call them out. Baylie Brown and Haley Johnson, come on down.

At the other end of the scale, Elise Testone showed everybody how it's supposed to be done and Jessica Sanchez showed that she can command a stage even with swollen vocal chords.

As a group, I'd say the girls did a little better than the guys, but there were still some clunker notes, some uninspired efforts and at least one contestant who sets my teeth on edge. Here's how I rated them, from best to worst.

Elise Testone: Oddly, two contestants, Elise and Jen Hirsh, covered the same song, Adele's "One and Only." Elise's version blew Jen's away. It had passion, it had gorgeous tone, it had interesting breaks in the notes, it had power and range. And for me, it was the best of the night. "For me, you're one of the best singers, maybe the best singer here," said Jennifer Lopez. "Still, I hope that America got it." Well, if they don't, they're boobs.

Jessica Sanchez: Yes, Randy, I'll marvel along with you: only 16 and already belting it out and working the stage like a pro. Jessica was at a disadvantage compared to the other contestants, with swollen vocal chords forcing her to cut her rehearsal time. We never would have known that when she performed, had we not been told. Although I found the lower parts of the song a teensy bit unsteady, Jessica's big notes were truly impressive. And she was one of the most comfortable working the stage. She got the only standing O of the night from the judges. 

Hollie Cavanagh: Hollie's a bit like Jessica in having a surprisingly big voice for such a little girl. Can't say I loved the song choice, Christina Aguilera's "Reflection," but I can't fault the power of the vocals. As Randy noted, the execution wasn't perfect: it was a bit shaky on the first verse and Holly looked pretty nervous, but that was soon forgotten when she let loose on the chorus. (By the way, I was trying to place the accent we heard when Hollie was speaking. I suspect it's a leftover British accent, since she was born in Liverpool, England.)

Erika Van Pelt: First off, I think the makeover is working for Erika. The hair looked great and the plaid shirts are gone, thankfully. I concur with Jennifer that she could have pushed her voice more, but the vocal was satisfying if not edge-of-your-seat fantastic. Too bad she picked the overdone Heart ballad "What About Love?" for her debut. 

Hallie Day: This Kim Basinger look-alike didn't just sing a song; she gave a performance. Some points were lost for the wardrobe (sparkly striped T-shirt with black jacket and blue tights? huh?) but gained for the confidence with which Hallie stalked the stage. Aside from a slightly shaky bit in the middle, Hallie delivered "Feeling Good" with a strong, uncomplicated vocal. Steven Tyler said she has a "real old-timey and old-fashioned voice," but Randy was already demanding to know what kind of artist she wants to be. It's her first show, Randy: back off.

Jen Hirsh: Even before Elise's home run, Jen's version of "One and Only" was disappointing. Jen seemed to be pulling her punches vocally. In place of palpable passion, we got fake-looking stage gestures. And when she did reach for a big high note, it didn't quite hit the mark. She certainly didn't live up to Randy's contention that she's "one of the greatest singers in this competition." 

Skylar Laine: Points to country girl Skylar for the episode's least obvious song choice, a cover of the Faces' "Stay With Me." But the delivery was all at the same strident level and the dancing was kind of spastic. JLo said Skylar's performance was "like Tina Turner went country now," which makes me think she hasn't seen much Tina Turner. 

Shannon Magrane: I guess, according to the judges, we should all be oohing and aahing over this 6-foot 16-year-old. But for me, it was more a case of "Yawwwwn. Is Shannon done yet?" I've never heard of Kathy Troccoli's "Go Light Your World," but I thought it was a boring choice. And, unlike Randy, I hated the vibrato on Shannon's notes. I sort of felt like I was watching someone sing the national anthem at a stadium, lots of pomp, not much substance.

Chelsea Sorrell: I have never been a Chelsea fan and this show-opening performance just reinforced my antipathy. Chelsea's version of Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" was stultifyingly ordinary. She couldn't always maintain control over her notes, her gestures were hokey and the crouch-dancing was kind of bad. JLo found it a bit nasally, and Steven said Chelsea has to watch her phrasing and timing.

Brielle Von Hugel: Oh dear, the judges praised Brielle, so her ego will get even bigger than it already is. She tried to be sultry at the start of "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," but the notes were too low and she looked like she was going to eat her microphone. Some of the higher parts sounded sharp and I disliked some of her phrasing. Plus Brielle just seems so full of herself that she annoys the heck out of me. And as far as comparing her to Janis Joplin, oh puh-leeze. A little rasp on a couples of notes does not a Joplin make. Also, I do not find her mother Camille charming or humorous, so can we please stop looking at her on TV?

Baylie Brown: As far as train wrecks go, Baylie was certainly a lovely one. But her good looks could not salvage a performance of Lone Star's '"Amazed" in which she struggled to hit notes. As Randy rightfully pointed out, she never seized control of the song. You know it's bad when the judges spend as much time complimenting her appearance as discussing the singing.

Haley Johnson: I think Randy said it best about Haley's version of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams": "It was a bit of a nightmare for me instead of a dream." Haley started out okay then vaulted up into a completely different key and never found her way back. And some of the notes that she couldn't find, she screamed instead. It was a mess and not a hot one. Bafflingly, Jennifer referred to "all of the special things you were doing with your voice there." Is special a synonym for bad?

Now we've heard the top guys and girls, and the votes are in. On Thursday at 8 p.m. on CTV Two, we learn which five of each got voted through to next week and whom the judges choose for wild card picks. And I'll have the recap here.

(The photos of Jessica and Skylar are by Michael Becker for Fox.)

Survivor: One World - Nina's exit interview

As a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, Nina Acosta is used to challenges, both physical and mental. She even tried out for the LAPD's SWAT team twice, a gruelling experience if ever there was one. So who knew the 51-year-old Clovis, Calif., resident would be torpedoed by a bunch of dysfunctional women on the latest edition of Survivor? Here's an edited version of my chat with Nina on Tuesday.

DY: Were you surprised when you got voted off?

NA: No, the short answer is no.

DY: There was a lot of tension around the camp that day, I'm guessing.

NA: It was interesting; after we got annihilated in the second challenge I finally had to say something about our performance. I know that Kat was making a pitch that she was trying hard and 'Give me another chance' and 'I want to do well for my tribe' ... I finally had enough. Let's face it, there's not a lot of time out there. Since I was on the outside of the alliance of five, every mistake that was made put me closer to leaving, so it was either say something or just go out without a fight.

DY: Fighting was the more dignified way to go out, I suppose.

NA: I think so. It also was really a last ditch effort to at least make my case. And if you watched the last show, if I’d had a couple more hours I think I could have brought Kim and Chelsea around. That would have meant they would have brought Sabrina around. It would have been nice to see how it played out.

DY: It's funny how everybody tends to do the herd thing on these shows.

NA: I think women, well, I don't know if it's women. I think they had decided early on that they were going to stick with their alliance. I guess you could argue that maybe I should have argued for Christina. Let’s face it, there was a lot of tension between her and Alicia. And I think Alicia would have been happy to get rid of Christina, so that was probably an option I could have looked at to try work a case for Christina getting voted off, but I was so disgusted with Kat's performance and so tired of having her around. She was just a liability to the tribe, so I really thought I could have made the case to get rid of her

DY: Didn’t Christina vote against you?

NA: Yeah, she did, but she was voting the majority. I think she was hoping that would put her in good graces with the majority so who knows?

DY: Myself, I kind of doubt that, but as you say, who knows?

NA: I got along with Christina fine. She was a little bit irritating at times. She seemed like a pretty nice person, but she was definitely watching out for herself; she had a target on her back early on, so I can't blame her for trying to save her own skin. I had never formed an ironclad alliance with her at all.

DY: Did you have an ironclad alliance with anybody?

NA: Ultimately, yes, Monica and I were pretty tight and we had a lot of mutual respect for each other. And I would not, under any circumstances, have voted against her.

DY: Yet she voted for Christina (instead of Kat), which was kind of weird.

NA: No, it's not. I think if you think about the strategy, Monica is a competitor and a fighter, and I think she wanted to prove to the alliance of five she wasn't going to go against them, so I think really it's a good strategic move on her part.

DY: When I looked at your bio, you mentioned having tried out for the SWAT team. Who do you think was tougher to get along with? The members of Salani or the SWAT team?

NA: It’s a little difficult to compare the two. I got along with the guys great. It wasn’t so much that individually, the guys, I didn’t get along with them; it was more an institutional thing on the part of LAPD. They didn’t want me in the SWAT unit.... I always got along with my co-workers when I was with the police department. It's very, very different than women and, in particular, this group of women. I have a great group of women friends: they’re fun, they’re leaders, they’re confident. So if I’d had those gals with me we could have kicked ass and taken names, definitely.

DY: What do you think is the main problem for this group?

NA: Where do you want me to begin? Immature, self-absorbed, self-centred, collectively not very bright, although there’s some shining spots there. And they’re working against each other, with absolutely no concept of what teamwork means. And really that's what needs to be the focus, at least early on in this game, and they are not bringing it.

DY: Do you think if teams had been mixed up, men with women, it would have made a difference?

NA: It would have made a difference for me, if that's what you're asking.... Men, they don’t look at each other and go, 'Oh, that dude's old.' They 're going to let people's strengths speak for themselves. Women tend to judge other women by first appearances.

DY: Speaking of appearances, you had to walk around for a while with a pretty banged-up looking face.

NA: That's not one of my best moments in life, that’s for sure, but I'll tell you what: I'm gonna own that look. I'm owning it. It is what it is. I thought the worst thing that could possibly show up on television for me was, OK, a few wrinkles here and there, no makeup, my hair looking messed up. Ok, I'm dreaming for those days. The face plant was not pretty and I had no idea what it was gonna look like until I saw it on TV. It looked worse than it felt, let me tell you that.

DY: Do you think there’s anything you could have done to get along better with those women?

NA: Short of losing several thousand brain cells, no. It was mind-numbing the conversations that went on and I just honestly didn’t get it. You can call it a generation gap, call it whatever you want. I felt like we needed to focus and discuss, 'Hey, let’s talk about a strategy. How about that for a change?' It was very difficult. And there were ... little groups of conversations, very gossipy discussions. And I just remember thinking, 'This is the exactly the kind of stuff my little girl tells me about that goes on at school.' And I felt that was exactly what was going on. I was back in elementary school. It was terrible.

DY: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the social part was for you probably the toughest part of the game.

NA: I don't think that’s going on out on a limb. It absolutely was the hardest part of the game and I had an idea that the soical part was going to play a big part in it. That’s what Survivor is. But I really felt that my physical attributes and my mental toughness and my work experience and just life experience would have brought something to the game. But in this particular set-up of the tribes, with men vs. women, that wasn’t the case; it didn’t matter. I don’t think anybody would have cared if I told them I flew to the moon and back.

You can find out whether the dysfunction continues on the Salani tribe. Watch Survivor at 8 p.m. on Global TV and look for the recap here.

(The photo of Nina is by Monty Brinton for CBS.)

American Idol: The top 13 guys perform

I'm with Steven Tyler: I'll take dark chocolate over white any day of the week, but what I especially can't abide is vanilla. And it felt like we got almost an entire two hours of that on the first live American Idol performance show of Season 11.

There were a few shots of flavour here and there, but mostly it was weird song choices, uninspired delivery and ra ra commentary in place of judging.

When Jennifer Lopez said, while commenting on Jeremy Rosado's performance, "I'm drawn in and I forget that I'm on a show and I'm judging anything," she could have been describing virtually her entire tenure on the series so far.

Randy Jackson told the media near the beginning of the month that they would see a change in JLo and Steven Tyler, that they would be "a little more stern" with contestants.

Oh puhleeze. Steven used the word "beautiful" at least eight times on Tuesday and threw in one "stupendous" for good measure.

Among JLo's critiques was telling country singer Chase Likens, "Tonight is about showing America who you are and you definitely did that with that song" after he sang a country tune. And they're paying her how many million a season for insight like that? 

Randy, meanwhile, has taken his role as senior judge to heart and started acting like a moderator, inviting Jennifer and Steven to speak while adding nothing substantive to the commentary in his own right.

As for the singing, well, it's the first live show so I suppose allowances have to be made for nerves and inexperience. On the other hand, it's the first live show and more than half of these guys will be gone by next week, so why in heaven's name aren't they singing like their lives depend on it?

Here's how I rated the performances:

Joshua Ledet: Jacob Lusk left such a bad taste in my mouth last season that I've become wary of vocal gymnastics, but Joshua can do the runs without falling off the edge like Jacob often did. He was one of the few who performed as if he believed in what he was singing (the song was Jennifer Hudson's "You Pull Me Through") and probably the only one whose standing ovation from the judges was truly deserved. 

Jermaine Jones: When you think about it, Jermaine was the only logical choice of the four names floated for the mystery callback by the judges. Richie Law's too derivative and too annoying; Johnny Keyser didn't make enough of a mark in Hollywood and Vegas; and David Leathers Jr. is young enough to keep trying. There wasn't one false note in Jermaine's version of Luther Vandross's "Dance With My Father." I just wish Ryan Seacrest had let him stand on his own two feet and not brought Jermaine's mother out onstage for yet another reminder of what a mama's boy this 25-year-old is.

Jeremy Rosado: I wasn't a big Jeremy fan early in the competition, but I'm starting to think he has one of the purest voices this season. His rendition of Sara Bareilles' "Gravity" was heartfelt and well sung, if slightly sibilant. He seems like a really nice kid, too, so hopefully he won't get overlooked for the preteen girl bait. He gets extra points from me for being one of the few contestants who didn't prowl the catwalk reaching out for girls' hands as he sang.

Phillip Phillips: First off, why Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight"? There's nothing about that song that seems a natural fit for Phil's growly vocals. Secondly, with the arrangement slowed down and dominated by a sax, it seemed alternately dream-like and dirge-like. Yet that big guttural "Yeah" at the end made it all worthwhile. In a rare example of a judge actually judging, Randy said he wasn't crazy about the "reharm," i.e. reharmonization of the melody. 

Aaron Marcellus: Does Aaron have a good voice? Sure. Did he push it anywhere near its limits on the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye"? Not even close. So why were the judges jumping out of their seats?It was respectable but not particularly moving, so I have no idea what Steven was talking about when he said Aaron had raised the bar for himself.

Reed Grimm: I have generally gravitated to the more quirky singers on Idol, like Siobhan Magnus and Casey Abrams, but there's quirk and then there's quirk overload. Reed's show-opening performance was the latter. "Moves Like Jagger" is a pretty cheesy song to begin with, but the catchy melody makes it bearable (at least for me). By turning it into a slowed-down jazz ditty, complete with incongruous drum solo, Reed increased the cheese but cut the catchiness. I still like his voice a lot and hope he makes it through to next week.

Chase Likens: What can I say about Chase? He's nice-looking and he has a pleasant voice. But his "Storm Warning" seemed more like "Light Breeze Watch" to me. Steven seems to think he's this season's cougar bait, telling him he looks like Brendan Fraser from The Mummy movies and "you're gonna set some hearts on fire, some mommies at home."

Heejun Han: Maybe Heejun's not as good a singer as I thought he was and I've just been blinded by his wit (Wednesday's line: "Tonight I'm going to show the world that Asian people can not only get a high score on SAT; an Asian can also sing and melt their heart"). Certainly, he did nothing particularly interesting vocally with "Angel" and his stand-and-deliver style was boring. If his personality gets him through to next week, hopefully he'll pick a better song.

Creighton Fraker: I suspect Creighton will be one of the unlucky ones next week, a suspicion Jennifer seemed to allude to when she said, "With a voice like that, I don't want you to go home." On the bright side, Creighton dialled down the usual histrionics on Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," but he didn't do anything fresh with it either, contrary to what Steven said. The ending was quite nice, though.

Colton Dixon: I might have rated Colton a little higher if not for the affectations during his performance. He said during his pre-song interview he was "gonna shock a few people," which apparently meant getting up from behind the piano during Paramore's "Decode" and doing what I call Durbin lite, with some rock star posing on the catwalk and a leap onto the piano. Both JLo and Steven praised him as being a "relevant artist," which I guess means doing something the kids might want to download. 

Adam Brock: Adam dragged out his "I have been told there is a large black woman trapped inside of my body" line again and called himself, apparently unironically, "white chocolate." If the black woman part is true, she must have been dying to get out so she could slap him upside the head for that tepid rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Think." Black woman, my ass. Dull white guy is more like it. 

Deandre Brackensick: This is one calculating young fellow. Everything from the falsetto notes to the hair flips to the reaching out to the girls in the audience to the side glances at the camera seemed very contrived. Apparently, he sang Earth, Wind and Fire's "Reasons." I couldn't make out any lyrics, so I couldn't really tell. But the judges all seem to be head over heels for him as no doubt will be many of the young girls watching.

Eben Franckewitz: Sweet as Eben is, he was way over his head with Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." It needs a big, bold voice to pull it off, but instead we got tentative, occasionally flat vocals that seemed in danger of being drowned out by the orchestration. The judges at least acknowledged the pitch problems in what seemed more of a pep talk than a critique. "Shake it off a little bit," Steven advised him.

So were you as underwhelmed as I was with the first live show of the season? Were you happy to see Jermaine return? Comment  here, tweet me @realityeo or visit my Facebook page.

(The photos of Joshua and Reed are by Michael Becker for Fox.)

The Amazing Race: A watched pot never boils (spoiler alert)

Hi TAR fans, another recap for you from my correspondent Astrid Lange:

Again, apologies for the delayed recap. I was out on Sunday night for Oscar festivities, but better late than never!

Still in Argentina, teams began the second leg of the Race by driving to the Cafayate Town Square, where they waited for the chasqui (mountain postman) to deliver their first clue. Unfortunately for the teams in the lead, the postman didn't arrive until sunrise, so all were forced to begin at the same time.

The first clue, the Detour involved natural resources used by the locals. A choice between Boil My Water (assembling a solar kitchen and then boiling a kettle) and Light My Fire (gathering firewood and clay, loading it on a donkey and transporting it to a pottery workshop).

With the sun still rising, Art and JJ were convinced that the solar kitchen task would take longer than the firewood task. While all the other teams began assembling the solar kitchens, the border patrol agents drove and drove, looking for the firewood task, finally stopping to ask directions.

Meanwhile, all the other teams were busily assembling solar panels using a picture on the side of the box as a guide. Well, all teams except the clowns, who didn't realize there was a picture until Dave and Rachel told them.

As if they were assembling furniture from Ikea, teams grew increasingly frustrated with the solar kitchens and began swearing up a storm. Network television-friendly swearing of course: "It's hotter than shenanigans!" "Awww shnikeys!" "Son of a monkey's uncle!" One of the guidos even badly cut his hand on the panels. Yep, just like assembling Ikea furniture.

Teams finally assembled the kitchens and just had to wait for the water to boil. Fearing the old adage about a watched pot, the clowns jokingly turned their backs on the kitchen, while the other teams just yelled at the kettles. Mark and Bopper, who had worked well during this task, heard their water boil first, so they received the next clue first, which told them to make their way by bus to Buenos Aires: an 18-hour trip!

Art and JJ, who had finally arrived at the firewood task, completed it quickly and finished in second place. With Dave and Rachel, and Brenchel, these first four teams got on the first bus to Buenos Aires.  On the second bus, the clowns, Vanessa and Ralph, Joey "Fitness" and Danny, and the twins, Elliot and Andrew. Bringing up the rear on the third bus, federal agents Nary and Jamie (who told everyone they're teachers) and Kerri and Stacy. But these ladies were not in last place for long, as the second bus was delayed for almost two hours after a window shattered on the drive to Buenos Aires.

At the Road Block at a cattle market, one member from each team had to listen to an auctioneer call out the total weight of cattle in a pen, count the cows, then determine the average weight of each cow, all while a noisy auction was going on in the background.

After a couple of wrong attempts, JJ and Rachel (of Dave and Rachel) worked together on the math and finished first. On to the Pit Stop, Dave and Rachel arrived first yet again (also winning a trip to Grenada) with Art and JJ in a close second.

Reminiscent of her breakdowns on Big Brother, Rachel (of Brendon and Rachel) grew frustrated trying to do the math at the cattle market. "I'm not as smart as you Brendon!" 

Mark, who had worked in cattle yards and is good with figures, selflessly helped the crying mess, and he and Rachel finished the task. Despite the help, Rachel still whined to Brendon, "Stop blaming me, you know I can't do things under pressure." Rachel was always a blubbering mess on Big Brother. It's early Race fans, we'll see a full breakdown yet.

Arriving in third place at the Pit Stop, Mark and Bopper, followed by Brenchel, Kerri and Stacy, Nary and Jamie, Vanessa and Ralph, Joey "Fitness" and Danny, and Elliot and Andrew. 

Receiving no help from other teams at the cattle market, Dave struggled with the math, and the clowns unfortunately arrived at the Pit Stop in last place and were eliminated. But no tears of a clown here, despite the elimination, Dave and Cherie say they haven't lost as they still have each other.  All together now, "Awwww."

And did I miss it or did Phil not introduce the man at the Pit Stop mat with him?  That man just happened to be Argentinian soccer superstar Diego Maradona. I don't understand why he didn't mention it ... did he really think American television audiences (who watch another style of football) would know who he was by sight alone? Luckily, twin Andrew, also a pro soccer player, recognized the star and got to kick around a ball with him. Must have been a thrill of a lifetime for him.

Until next week, Race fans! I see watermelons in the scenes from next week. Let's hope there's no catapult involved.

(The photo of Rachel counting cows is by Robert Voets for CBS.)

The Voice: End of the blind auditions (spoiler alert)

Let the battle rounds begin.

By and large, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton got some more good ones to add to their 12-singer teams on Monday's episode of The Voice.

I might have traded Austin, Texas, camp counsellor Lex Land for hip hop/R&B/opera singer Cameron Novack myself, although if she gets a handle on her nerves Lex may end up surprising us. 

I would have picked Cameron just for the burst of opera he did for Carson Daly in the Starbucks where all the contestants gather, but this is one case where the blindness of the auditions worked against him. The coaches apparently thought he was a woman doing "You Oughta Know." Had they known he was a man and an interesting looking one at that, I'm sure he would have made a team.

They even briefly considered breaking the rules to add Cameron to Cee Lo's team. "Dude, I apologize, I made a mistake. I think you're great," Cee Lo said.

Cameron, who had bragged earlier about visualizing himself winning The Voice, responded to his rejection with a rap. I didn't write down the words, but the gist was that it didn't matter what the coaches thought because the crowd loved him.

I think it does, though. How many rejected contestants do you remember from last season? Exactly.

On the other hand, I wondered if the coaches regretted turning around so quickly for Lex, who got worse as she sang "I Can't Make You Love Me."

Nerves wreaked havoc with the softness of the first phrases, with her pitch and enunciation taking a hit and one absolute clunker of a note that had Christina, the only coach not to turn her chair, making a face.

Adam said he wanted to train the Adele mannerisms out of Lex's voice and go for more of a Sade sound, and Blake wanted to focus on her lower register and the "sexy, sultry thing" thing she had. Lex picked Blake.

Here's who else made teams.

Team Adam: Big-voiced Whitney Myer, 25, the lead singer in a band with her dad and uncle, did a version of "No One" that made Christina forget it was an Alicia Keys song. But Whitney went with Adam, who told her, "You can win this whole thing. I know that you can. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure that happens."

Adam also picked handsome Orlando Napier, 25, of Los Angeles, who turned to music years earlier after a bar fight landed him in jail. Adam praised Orlando's "impeccable, really smooth timing" on "Waiting on the World to Change."

Team Cee Lo: The Shields Brothers were an endearing pair of rockers who rehearse in the garage of their parents' farm in tiny Rixeyville, Va. "We want to punch America in the face with rock 'n' roll because we think America needs to be punched in the face with rock 'n' roll," said Tristan. Cee Lo apparently agreed after they whipped up the crowd with a rollicking verison of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself," one of Cee Lo's favourite songs when he was growing up.

Cee Lo also picked Cheesa, 21, from Honolulu, Hawaii; and Wade, 18, from Alabama, who gave a Motown groove to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab."

Team Christina: Lee Koch's sweet-voiced version of "Like a Rolling Stone" finally got the picky Christina to turn her chair around, but she waited until almost the very end when the 27-year-old baker started playing harmonica.

Not only did Christina choose Sera Hill, 24, an Atlanta hotel clerk with a powerful voice, she joined her for an impromptu duet of "I'm Goin' Down."

Team Blake: Adley Stump, 22, is a newbie, having just recently started singing in her sorority, but she demonstrated natural talent on "Last Name" and had Blake and Christina fighting over her. "You have really, really good chops," Christina told her. "What does chops mean?" said Blake. "You don't know 'cause you're not a real vocalist," teased Christina, adding, "We're still gonna go fishing." Replied Blake, "Good, I'm gonna drown you." Although Christina promised to help Adley improve her vocals, she opted for Blake's promise that she'd learn how to tell a story in song.

Blake's first pick of the night was the aforementioned Lex Land.

The bad news is that half the singers we've seen in the blind auditions will be gone by the time the battle rounds are through, but I suspect we'll be highly entertained watching them, and their coaches, fighting it out.

The first battle begins next Monday at 8 p.m. on CTV.

(The photo is of Lex Land. I can't tell you who took it. NBC doesn't think Canadians deserve access to media photos, so I am reduced to thieving off other people's websites. Thanks NBC.)

The Bachelor: The fantasy suite episode (Spoiler alert)

Bad news for all you Courtney haters out there.

If Kacie flying all the way to Switzerland to warn Ben that Courtney would break his heart wasn't enough to dislodge the model from Ben's good graces, nothing is likely to. 

And if Kacie is right and Courtney really is on the show just to win it, she's playing Ben like a pro.

All it took was for Courtney to admit she'd been immature and she wished she'd treated the other women differently for a relieved Ben to lay the subject to rest and move on to the far more interesting topic of getting laid, er, the fantasy suite card. 

Yes, it was the episode every Bachelor must dream of: getting carte blanche to have sex with three different women in one week.

Oh sure, Ben can use euphemisms like "I'm really excited to spend uninterrupted time together," but we all know it's about doing the nasty.

Ben was in picturesque Interlaken, Switzerland, with his final three: Courtney, Nicki and Lindzi. Here's how it all went down.

Date 1, Nicki: Bubbly Nicki was almost as excited about the scenery as she was about seeing Ben for the first time since he visited her hometown. They had the perfect view from a helicopter swooping over mountains and glaciers before depositing them for a hilltop picnic (not that anybody actually eats on The Bachelor; all they seem to do is drink). 

Nicki, whose nails were painted bluish purple to match her coat, wasted little time reminding Ben that she'd dropped the "L-bomb" when she saw him in Fort Worth. Ben paid her the compliment of saying that Nicki's father reminded him of his own dearly departed dad. Nicki was already visualizing life with Ben and seemed to take extra heart from that pronouncement. 

The game plan went a little awry over dinner (once again, seemingly untouched) when Ben said he wanted four kids and Nicki said she had her mind set on two. But it was quickly glossed over when Nicki said she was willing to give it her all for Ben.

Cue the card with the familiar phrase: "Should you choose to forgo your individual rooms please use this key to stay as a couple in the fantasy suite." Boom chicka wow wow.

Of course, Nicki said yes. After checking out their candle-strewn log cabin complete with fireplace, she and Ben soon repaired to the jacuzzi for some smooching and arm rubbing. 

"I'm not a cocky person, but I am confident I would make you so happy," Nicki said.

Date 2, Lindzi: Poor Lindzi, no sightseeing from the relatively safe confines of a helicopter for her. At least she didn't have to jump from a helicopter this time around, but it was almost as bad: she and Ben rappelled 300 feet down a mountainside and both looked scared witless to be doing it.

The reward was time spent in a hot tub where Lindzi got to talk about herself in the third person as "the ice queen" who was melting. 

"I love Lindzi," Ben said. "I wonder if we're going to be able to get to the vulnerable state we both need to be in that we both have those feelings of lasting love." Translation: is she going to sleep with me tonight?

Ben certainly didn't help matters by showing up for dinner in a geeky looking bowtie.

Then we got to hear for the umpteenth time about how hurt Lindzi was when her previous boyfriend broke up with her (we're talking about the guy who sent her a text that said, "Welcome to Dumpsville") and how it made her put up walls. But that's okay, because she's tearing 'em down for Ben.

"I didn't realize completely until meeting you how not good a relationship that was," Lindzi told him. "I think you have to suffer a hardcore heartbreak to know and appreciate what love is.... I feel like I absolutely know for a fact that I really like you and I'm falling in love with you."

Woops, another L-bomb. So when the fantasy suite card came, Lindzi said yes, though she let Ben know "normally I just don't go spend the night with anyone." Well, it's not like any part of this situation is normal, so have at 'er, Lindzi.

In fact, Ben and Lindzi skipped the hot tub and went straight to kissing on the bed before the cameras cut out.

Date 3, Courtney: Ben made it sound like his date with Courtney was the most adventurous of all. "She wants to discover new things and she wants to try things," he said. But all they did was take a train to Wengen, buy fruit off the back of a guy's tractor, and bread and cheese from a shop for a picnic, which they shared in a field with a bunch of cows. They also did a silly dance in the middle of a laneway inspired by garden gnomes and cooed over a bunch of goats. Wow, sign me up for that adventure.

Courtney was already starting to lay down the mea culpas over her treatment of the other girls and expressing her fear that it would ruin things with Ben, which sounds like something a producer told her to say. But Ben decided that conversation was better suited to glasses of red wine in a wine cellar than glasses of white wine in a sunny field.

Ben pointed out that he has lots of female friends as well as a close relationship with his mother and sister, so he needed to know if Courtney was going to crap all over the women in his life. 

"I think that I've been totally immature at times," Courtney confessed. "Looking back, I could have done things differently. I'm sorry that I've maybe done something that I shouldn't have or I spoke too soon because my guard was up."

That was good enough for Ben, who then proffered the fantasy suite card. "I know that I'm ready to take our relationship to the next step and have uninterrupted everything," Ben told her. That's a new way of phrasing it. I'll have to remember that. 

Courtney took a little time to admire the blazing fire in the suite before she and Ben raced back out into the cold and warmed each other up in the outdoor hot tub.  

... We interrupt this recap to bring you a sneak peek of new Bachelorette Emily Maynard. I'll be honest, I was disappointed when Brad picked her over Chantal O. and I'm not convinced the Southern sweetness isn't an act. But here was Emily heading to L.A. to get advice from former Bachelorettes Ali Fedotowsky and Ashley Hebert (the only one of the three still in a TV-spawned relationship).

The sum total of it, besides helping Emily pick out a hoochie mama dress and matching jewellery, seemed to be that the roses have magnets instead of pins so you won't stab the bachelors, and the first night is all about physical attraction, on one hand, but you should leave yourself open to people you're not attracted to right away, on the other, which sounds contradictory.

Then the women went off for some product placement, i.e. a viewing of Titanic 3D, and Emily said, while watching Kate Winslet's "Rose" with Leo DiCaprio's "Jack," "I want to feel like how she feels ... I want that to be my life." Minus, the ship sinking, I guess.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Surprise encounter 1, Kacie: The longish pair of legs we saw walking down the hall to Ben's room in the promo turned out to belong to Kacie B., who got sent home after the hometown dates. No wonder Ben said "Holy f--k" when he answered the knock on the door.

Kacie was ostensibly there to find out why Ben had dumped her, though I'm not sure why a phone call wouldn't have sufficed. A clearly uncomfortable Ben told Kacie they were "worlds apart almost in where we come from. Obviously, we have two wonderful families but very different backgrounds. For me, in all fairness to you and your family, I don't think I could have given you all of the things you needed from me."

Kacie hinted that she might have moved in with him despite mommy and daddy's disapproval, but Ben was having none of it. 

Kacie wasn't done, though. She told Ben she still loved him and wanted him to be happy. And "I feel like if you were to choose Courtney you would get your heart broken.... It seems like she's in this to win it. She has made comments like, 'If it's not Ben, there are other fish in the sea.'"

Whether Kacie was truly being selfless or just trying to spite a rival, Ben didn't take the message well.

He rather briskly walked Kacie out of the room, hugged her and said, "I don't even know what to say" before walking back in the room and shutting the door. Kacie was left in the hall, where she promptly laid down on the floor, apparently overcome by seeing Ben again.

If she'd hoped her visit would rekindle a spark between them, she was out of luck. Ben declined when Chris Harrison offered to parachute Kacie into the rose ceremony.

But Ben claimed to be confused and to be questioning whether Courtney was playing him. He spent some time staring at the three women's pictures looking perplexed and claimed he wouldn't make up his mind until the last minute at the rose ceremony, which I find hard to believe.

Like I said last week, I think the fix is in for Courtney. This side plot about whether she'll betray Ben is just a device to try to prolong the suspense until the finale.

When the time came, Lindzi got the first rose. Then Ben stood and puffed out his breath for a bit before giving Courtney the final rose like we knew he would.

Ben told the castoff Nicki that he'd enjoyed every minute with her, "but I started to have doubts."

Without naming names, Nicki told Ben she feared he'd be hurt, although it was obvious she was talking about Courtney.

"I feel kind of like a fool for falling so hard and so fast for somebody who wasn't really sure," Nicki said tearfully in the back of the exit limo.

Next week, things come to a halt for the "Women Tell All" special, where Courtney will undoubtedly be a hot topic of conversation. And Shawntel Newton will be back, which ought to get the ladies good and riled up.

When the finale airs in two weeks, Ben, Courtney and Lindzi will be in a village at the foot of the Matterhorn for the moment of truth.

Tune in Monday at 8 p.m. on OMNI and catch the recap here.

(The photo of Courtney is by Craig Sjodin for ABC.)

American Idol: Part 2 of the top 24 (spoiler alert)

Somebody certainly likes their cliffhangers on American Idol.

First we had to wait almost 24 hours to learn whether Adam Brock would join the top 24 (of course it was a yes).

On Thursday, we'd just watched the finalists dancing through their introductions when we learned a 25th person will be joining them. But we'll have to wait until next Tuesday to find out who it is.

And in what seems an even stranger twist, we're told it will be one of four guys: deep-voiced Jermaine Jones, sweet-voiced teenager David Leathers Jr., country control freak Richie Law or good looker Johnny Keyser.

Jermaine or David I could see. Jermaine's ouster seemed to bother the judges most as he clung to them and cried after getting the bad news. And watching David get the hook while his friend Eben Franckewitz was put through was sort of like watching someone kick a puppy.

But Richie? God no. He sings all right, but he's annoying. And do we really need a Scotty McCreery clone this season?

Johnny's a bit of a head scratcher. I really like his voice, but he hasn't got anywhere near as much air time as some other contestants. Maybe that's because Nigel Lythgoe and his fellow producers didn't want us to see him coming or maybe he's a red herring. We'll know Tuesday. 

At just an hour long, Thursday's episode moved along briskly with few surprises, including the fact that Adam made it through. With all the attention lavished on him since the Hollywood auditions, it was inconceivable he'd get left in the dust.

I just hope they stock extra tissues when he eventually gets eliminated. Same goes if they bring Jermaine back.

Some other no-brainer picks included Jeremy Rosado, Shannon Magrane and Skylar Laine, whom I like better than her country counterpart, Chelsea Sorrell.

It's no big shock that Hallie Day and Aaron Marcellus made it, either, but why so little screen time for Hallie on Thursday, who's been a knockout throughout the auditions.

I figure Eben will battle Deandre Brackensick for the preteen girl vote, although I think Deandre is a better singer. The dreadlocked teen made it through after getting turned down last season.

Also earning spots in the top 24 were country singer Chase Likens, who hasn't really been on my radar, and second-time auditioner Hollie Cavanagh. She nabbed the last girl's place over broken-hearted Shelby Tweten, one of my early favourites, and Ariel Sprague.

My current favourites out of the 24 include Jen Hirsh, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Heejun Han and Hallie Day, and Phil Phillips is growing on me. But check back with me at the end of next week when we know who choked during the first live performances.

Besides finding out the identity of the 13th guy, we'll see all the fellows perform live on Tuesday. The girls follow Wednesday and there'll be results on Thursday.

Tune in Tuesday at 8 p.m. for the first two-hour show and look for the recap here.

And let's have a conversation. You can comment here, tweet @realityeo or visit my Facebook page.

(The photo of Hallie Day is by Michael Becker for Fox.)