The X Factor: The top 16 ... (spoiler alert)

Adorable Rachel Crow had it right: Tuesday's X Factor was a roller coaster.

It was the night we found out which 16 acts from the "judges' houses" round of auditions made it through to the live shows and which 16 got sent home.

Some of the choices were pretty much preordained since the first audition shows; a couple were head-scratchers; a couple were gut-wrenching; one made me want to slap Simon Cowell upside the head.

I'll spare you a blow-by-blow recap of the drama leading up to each reveal. It was pretty consistent stuff: contestant explains what getting to the next round would mean to them and how badly they want it; judge gives them compliments on their singing then throws in a "but"; judge says he or she has come to a decision; judge delivers the decision, sometimes with the screen cutting between multiple wannabes to keep us guessing a little longer; judge hugs contestant, whether or not they were successful, and sends them on their way; contestant gets a hug from host Steve Jones and dissolves into tears of joy or sadness.

The mentors had all disappeared by the time each hopeful faced the music. I guess breaking hearts wasn't in the contract.

What follows is each judge's picks and what I thought of them.

The Boys according to L.A. Reid: Brian "Astro" Bradley; Phillip Lomax; Chris Rene; Marcus Canty

Was there ever any doubt that Chris Rene was moving ahead after that first audition where he revealed that he was fresh out of rehab? Duh, not with that back story. I didn't love his audition at L.A.'s house in the Hamptons, but he's likable and someone that I'm sure viewers can root for, which likely has as much to do with why he's going to the live shows as his singing and rapping. Speaking of rapping, Brian's a talented kid but still too smarmy for my taste and it would have been nice to see somebody like Brennin Hunt, who'd been knocking his head against a music industry brick wall for years, get a break. The boy band-style phoniness could have been drummed out of him. Phillip and Marcus were both among my picks for the top four boys.

The Groups according to Paula Abdul: Brewer Boys; Lakoda Rayne; inTENsity; Stereo Hogzz

If I'd been Paula Abdul, even if I'd already made up my mind not to pick Stereo Hogzz, I would have changed it after seeing those flashy Crayola-coloured suits. I guess they ruined them by jumping fully clothed in Paula's pool after getting the good news, but it made for fun TV. And I should add that they can sing, too. Lakoda Rayne and inTENsity were also two of my picks for groups. These were the two cobbled together by the judges from failed solo contestants: four young women for Lakoda Rayne (yeah, still a pretentious name, but they can sing) and 10 youngsters for inTENsity. I didn't love the Brewer Boys' take on "Only Girl (in the World)" last week, but they can sing, they're cute and quite articulate for their ages (14 and 17), so they'll be fine.

The Over 30s according to Nicole Scherzinger: Josh Krajcik; Dexter Haygood; LeRoy Bell; Stacy Francis

I would not have wanted to be Nicole in this episode, despite the lovely home in Malibu. This was the most emotionally wrenching category to watch because this was a last chance at a music career for some of them, and with families to support and bills hanging over their heads, they had way more to lose than the kids in their teens and 20s. The pre-ordained pick in this group was Stacy. She'd had so much of a buildup that it seemed impossible for her not to make the live shows, especially with Simon calling her first audition one of the best he'd ever seen, but that doesn't mean it's undeserved. She killed "Purple Rain" in front of Nicole and Enrique Iglesias. I'm thrilled Josh made it through (you could argue that with his well-established back story as the burrito maker that he was pre-ordained too) because I love his voice. And LeRoy is such a good singer and it's so cool that he's doing this at the age of 60 that it's great to see him included. But man, do I feel sorry for Tiger Budbil. If his story about his house being up for auction and only getting work as a DJ two days a week is on the up and up, then it's pretty awful that he didn't get picked, especially since he really can sing. Nicole praised his voice and spirit and energy but said she wanted more from him as "an artist." I do believe those were genuine tears she shed after poor Tiger told her he felt his heart drop at the news. It's also a shame for James Kenney, whose voice I really liked and who said he works daily from 7 a.m. until 1 or 2 the following morning supporting his family. The big surprise for me was Dexter. Even he knew his audition at Nicole's place had not gone well. And is it mean of me to say he seems a bit unstable? I lost track of how many times he cried on camera on Tuesday. On the other hand, who would be churlish enough to not cheer on a homeless musician getting his break on a big-money reality show? 

The Girls according to Simon Cowell: Simone Battle; Drew Ryniewicz; Tiah Tolliver; Rachel Crow

I think you could say 13-year-old Rachel and 14-year-old Drew were the preordained contestants in this category (and I would like to alter my previous poor opinion of Drew's judge's house performance: you were right, I was wrong, she was great) but I think it would have been a travesty if Simon had not included them, not least because Rachel shouldn't be denied her separate bathroom. Simon told Drew somewhat ominously she wasn't the best teenager who auditioned, then added, "You were the best contestant of the whole day. You are in my final four." Drew responded, "Are you kidding? Are you serious? Are you legit? Are you real?" which was the cutest reaction of the night. I grudgingly accept Simone, because she did sound better at Simon's house and she seems to have tempered the I'm too cool for school attitude, but I still would have liked to see Jazzlyn Little get another shot. Hopefully, that grit that Simon talked about seeing in her is for real and she doesn't let this setback become permanent. But I still think Simon made a mistake pushing through Tiah. To say she had "pitch issues" is an understatement. Maybe Simon's a genius after all and he'll turn Tiah into a great singer, but I have my doubts.

Meanwhile, how could he include Simone and Tiah and leave out Melanie Amaro, who could outsing those two with her vocal cords tied behind her back? Turns out he didn't leave her out. In a scene that seemed genuinely heartwarming, Simon showed up on Melanie's doorstep in Sunrise, Fla., and to the delight of her family apologized and asked her to come to the live shows. "You're a true man," someone whom I assume was Melanie's father told Simon. "He has a heart, baby," the dad told his daughter. "I have a heart," agreed Simon.

So the top 16 are now 17. And I have to say they cleaned up pretty good from what we saw of them at the very end of the episode.

Next Tuesday, we get two and a half hours of X Factor (so set your PVRs accordingly) as the acts go through yet more auditions, this time in a live show, to become what Fox calls the "top finalists." It starts at 8 p.m. on CTV and you can look for the recap here.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the judges' picks. You know the drill: comment here, on Twitter @realityeo or on my Facebook page.

(The photos of Chris, Dexter and Drew are by Aldo Rossi for Fox.)

Dancing With the Stars: Cheers to jeers (spoiler alert)

We knew it was only a matter of time. They couldn't keep sending good dancers home forever.

And so Carson Kressley's run on Dancing With the Stars came to a halt on Tuesday.

As Tom Bergeron joked, it was "the ultimate injustice to me, one week shy of Broadway Week."

We can only imagine how over the top Carson could have gone, but let's be honest, dancing-wise it's been downhill since his tango a couple of weeks ago.

Carson, known best for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, was the opposite of a diva when he got the news.

"Thank you to everyone involved with Dancing With the Stars," he said, singling out partner Anna Trebunskaya.

"This has been pure joy, and I just hope I could make people smile and laugh and have a great time ... I can't say enough about what a great positive experience this was and I'll be back every week cheering for my cast mates," Carson added.

Carson's ouster puts the pressure back on Chaz Bono since Carson was the only thing standing between Chaz and the bottom of the score board the last two weeks.

We don't really know how Chaz has fared in voting, since the couples put in jeopardy every week aren't always the ones at the bottom of the rankings.

This week, for instance, David Arquette and Kym Johnson, and Hope Solo and Maks Chmerkovskiy joined Carson and Anna in the spotlights of doom. And boy, was Hope ever giving out some serious stink-eye! Especially after David and Kym got sent to safety, and she and Maks had to stand next to Carson and Anna waiting for Tom (or Brooke Burke, I can't remember who said it) to say who was going home.

It's clear from the backstage footage that Hope is angry and frustrated over the judges' criticisms, but she'd be better off to can the pouting and focus on the dancing.

Here are some other things that struck me about Tuesday's episode:

1. Len Goodman, asked to give his opinion about how the season is going so far, said he thought Kristin Cavallari and Chynna Phillips would have been "fighting for the final." Nah. The only way Kristin would have got to the final is if the judges boosted her marks like they did Chelsea's last year. And Chynna had already become annoying enough to not be finale material, in my humble opinion. Unless they screw up badly, it's down to Ricki Lake and J.R. Martinez, I think.

2. Carson may have been the zany one on the show, but David is the truly wacky one. "I'm still kind of floating on a cloud because Len finally accepted me," he told Brooke in one of those annoying, time-wasting interviews. And then, after she'd asked J.R. about his confidence level, David blurted out, "I voted for you, J.R.!"

3. I think Kelly Clarkson might be the best musical guest ever. For one thing, she can sing, no Auto-Tune required. And she doesn't need an army of backup dancers to keep your attention. For another, I love her self-deprecating sense of humour and the fact she actually interacted with Tom. She was commenting on how hot dancers Tristan and Kym had been during her performance of "Mr. Know It All" (I concur) and said, "They were doing some 'hello' on the floor. I liked it. If I could dance like that I would be on this show, but I can't." "We can teach you," said Tom. "Your show would turn into a comedy," replied Kelly. Shall you start the petition for Kelly on Season 14 or shall I?

4. Best backstage line of the night: Chaz to Lacey Schwimmer when she told him his fly was open during their samba. "I was getting ready to get down on it later. I just wanted to get down on it as quickly as I possibly could." (In case you missed it, they danced to Kool & the Gang's "Get Down On It.")

5. I'm pretty sure I saw Nancy Grace tell Tristan MacManus as they were waiting to hear their fate, "We're going to be safe," which they were. Smug much?

6. Tom's best line of the night: As the crowd booed Carson and Anna being in jeopardy, Brooke inexplicably said, "A hush fell over the ballroom." Tom replied, "It sounds like a pretty angry hush." (I can't take credit for this, but some of the posters over at EW.com are suggesting replacing Brooke with Carson as co-host. Works for me.)

That's it until Broadway Week next week, which is sure to be a blast. I will be away from Thursday to Tuesday, so I won't have my regular Monday recap, but I'll catch up on Tuesday night. You can still watch all the fun Monday at 8 p.m. on CTV.

(Carson and Anna do the jive on Monday's show in an ABC photo by Adam Taylor.)

The X Factor: Not so safe as houses

(Paula Abdul and Pharrell listen to an audition at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif., in a Fox photo by Jeffrey Niera.)

Now that we've seen the second "judges' houses" episode of The X Factor, it's seems like having hopefuls audition at judges' homes is more cruel than cool.

Here you go, struggling wannabe pop star, all this could be yours: the mansion, the pool, the beautiful, manicured lawns. Oops, never mind, you're being eliminated.

Some of the contestants' reactions to their surroundings were comical, like the member of the Stereo Hogzz from Houston, Texas, who marvelled at the "nice grass with no ants."

And then there was broke Seattle wedding singer Tiger Budbil, with the auction of his house looming, picturing his wife and child and 83-year-old mother living in Nicole Scherzinger's Malibu home. "She'd just sit up on that deck and look out for the rest of her life," he said tearfully.

It's going to seem extra nasty if he's one of the 16 acts sent packing on Tuesday's show.

Thanks to baseball messing up the TV schedule and The X Factor clashing with my regular Sunday night blogging of Battle of the Blades, I'm posting this later than I normally would and not devoting as much time to it, but here's a quick rundown of who we saw on Sunday, followed by my wish list for the top 16 acts.

The Girls (with Simon Cowell in France): It seemed like Jazzlyn Little might have blown it with her slow cover of "I Will Survive," which vocal coach Savan Kotecha said sounded "a little high school talent show to me." Whoever set up her backing track should be shot. I was almost afraid to breathe before Rachel Crow sang in case the 13-year-old flamed out, but she sounded super on "I Want It That Way." Let's hope Simon's comment about her not being able to deal with pressure as well as others was just a red herring to throw us off. Let's also hope that Simon wakes up and realizes that Tiah Tolliver can't sing. Yes, she can wear tight pants and gyrate, but is it really appropriate for a man his age to be paying attention to that? Finally, Melanie Amaro still has probably the purest vocals in the group, as expressed on her cover of "Will You Be There?" but her performance style could be more dynamic. 

The Boys (with L.A. Reid and Rihanna in the Hamptons): Brennin Hunt is still lovely to look at and has a great voice, but he threw so many fake-looking gestures into his song that Rihanna declared him "like, '90s boy band." Tim Cifers did a good job on "Dance With My Father," but L.A. said he was expecting more. Marcus Canty can sing, although he overdoes the vocal flourishes at times and was pretty cheeky singing "All My Life" while staring right at Rihanna. I didn't love Chris Rene's part-sung, part-rapped "Everyday People." Sometimes he sounded like he was getting drowned out by the backing track. 

The Groups (with Paula Abdul and Pharrell in Santa Barbara): Stereo Hogzz looked and sounded good. The one knock against them was an over-reliance on their lead singer, whom Pharrell described as "an old Motown guy mixed with Ginuwine." 2squar'd, thanks for coming out. Their cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" sounded like bad karaoke to me. Illusion Confusion was okay, more style over substance, I think. InTENsity, the group the judges cobbled together out of 10 rejected adolescent singers, was a pleasant surprise. They were fresh and sassy on their mashup of "That's Not My Name" and "You Make My Dreams Come True."

The Over 30s (with Nicole Scherzinger and Enrique Iglesias in Malibu): Despite Enrique and Nicole's misgivings about whether Josh Krajcik can be a star, I loved his version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and its soft and loud variations. I thought Leroy Bell, the oldest contestant at 60, gave a nicely emotional rendition of "To Make You Feel My Love," but Nicole seemed to think he was nervous (this was the point at which I took a close look at what Nicole was wearing and wondered if her breasts were getting a little chilly). The aforementioned Tiger Budbil was in excellent voice on "Don't Give Up for Me" and Enrique went to bat for him when Nicole questioned whether he was marketable. For the first time, I got Christa Collins. She still seems odd, but I finally heard the big voice. 

Now that all 32 acts have sung, it's decision time, with half of them getting whacked and half going on to the live shows.

Here's who I'd like to see move forward:

Girls: Melanie Amaro, Rachel Crew, Jazzlyn Little, Drew Ryniewicz

Boys: Marcus Canty, Brennin Hunt, Phillip Lomax, Chris Rene

Groups: 4Shore, inTENsity, Lakoda Rayne (despite the stupid name), Stereo Hogzz

Over 30s: Tiger Budbil, Stacy Francis, James Kenney, Josh Krajcik.

We'll find out who stays or goes Tuesday at 8 p.m. on CTV and I'll recap it here.

Dancing With the Stars: Big hair, big moves (spoiler alert)

The colours were brighter, the judges were stroppier and the stakes were higher on '80s Week on Dancing With the Stars.

The girls just wanted to have fun, but it was the men at work who earned the praise and the leader board glory (feel free to groan here). Well, except for Carson Kressley, but more on that later.

We're at the halfway mark of the competition and there are still several legitimate contenders. High scorer Ricki Lake had an off week (although I doubt she's in for a Chynna Phillips-type exit); J.R. Martinez rode his Latin groove back to the top; Rob Kardashian and David Arquette tied for second place; and Chaz Bono had another good dance. 

Here's my view of what went down in the ballroom, with routines ranked from most to least favourite:

J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff, samba to "Conga": J.R.'s got a booty and he's not afraid to use it. I think I saw one spot near the end of this sizzling routine where J.R.'s feet got a bit out of sync with Karina's, but who cares? The Iraq War vet, a.k.a. Jose Rene, promised to bring his Latin roots to bear in this performance and the result was exactly as Carrie Ann Inaba described it: "muy caliente," Spanish for very hot. In a pre-performance assessment (all the judges did video critiques of the remaining contestants), Bruno Tonioli said, "Most men fail terribly on the samba because they force it and they don't stay on rhythm," but J.R. looked like a natural. In fact, Len Goodman said, "in the future, if anyone asks how should a guy dance the samba, I'll say, just have a look at J.R."

Score: Carrie Ann, 9; Len, 9; Bruno, 10 (J.R.'s first of the season); total, 28 out of 30

Ricki Lake and Derek Hough, foxtrot to "Easy Lover": Okay, I'll admit the blue tiered prom dress was not a good look, and the running man and Roger Rabbit steps looked more silly than funny, but Ricki on her worst nights is still way better than just about anyone else in the ballroom. Despite Len's grousing about there being no body contact, I thought the parts of the routine done in hold were excellent. "You should have just stayed in hold and done an amazing foxtrot," Carrie Ann chided her. Bruno, meanwhile, was holding the non-hold moves against Ricki, noting, "I still have nightmares from all the proms I did in the '80s with the running man and the Roger Rabbit, and you did it wrong." Ricki's a competitor, so I expect her to come back strong next Monday during Broadway Week.

Score: Carrie Ann, 8; Len, 8; Bruno, 8; total, 24

Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke, rumba to "Hello": See, I'm not the only one who thinks Rob is a dark horse. In his video bit, Len noted that Rob has grown steadily from ninth to fourth place to third and "he's on the way up." And there he was in second place by the end of Monday night. Rob had to overcome his reluctance to handle Cheryl like a lover, which he did with the help of DWTS alumnus and old University of Southern California classmate Romeo Miller. By the time they hit the stage, Rob had no problem suggestively stroking Cheryl's thighs. Sure the foot placement wasn't perfect and his attempt at the splits looked awkward, but overall I was buying what Rob was selling. So were the judges, who all commended Rob for taking control of the dance. "You were totally in control of the woman ... and sexy as heck, sexy as heck even in a bright green shirt," Carrie Ann said. Maybe so, but Rob told Brooke Burke he doesn't want to take his shirt off anytime soon.

Score: Carrie Ann, 9; Len, 8; Bruno, 8; total, 25

David Arquette and Kym Johnson, tango to "Tainted Love": Last week's successful paso doble seems to have lit a fire in David's belly. Sure, he still does goofy things like spray-painting a picture of a mirror ball for Kym, but he also showed he's quite serious about his dancing. This was one of the more organically fun routines of the night, from David's punk-like multi-zippered jacket and Kym's mesh and pearls and wild hair ensemble, to the aggressiveness of the choreography and the way it mirrored the music. "A tango with a rebel yell," Bruno called it. David's footwork and frame are improving, but I see Carrie Ann's point about him needing to work on musicality, since he isn't the most fluid dancer. Len took issue with that critique, arguing the tango is more about aggression than musicality, until Tom Bergeron scolded them, "Kids, when we all talk at the same time, you hear nothing."

Score: Carrie Ann, 8; Len, 9; Bruno, 8; total, 25

Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer, samba to "Get Down on It": I would say that Chaz has a snowball's chance in hell of winning the competition, but I don't care. I'm getting a kick out of watching him come out of his shell, as he put it. I realize it's just a silly reality show, but there's something life-affirming about watching a big man, clearly ill at ease with his body, taking such delight in shaking a tailfeather onstage. Sure, the technique leaves a lot to be desired, but Chaz is actually dancing these days instead of just walking or standing. And with his injury gone, as he told Brooke Burke, who knows what else he'll do if his fans continue to pull him through? "That was the most dancing I've seen you do in all the routines," Carrie Ann said. "Shake it, don't break it, 'cause your mama took nine months to make it." (Speaking of mama, no sign of Cher this week.) Bruno brought things down to earth by lamenting that Chaz had to follow up J.R.'s samba with his own, although J.R. seemed to be the person in the ballroom cheering Chaz most heartily. "I'm not J.R., I know that," Chaz said.

Score: Carrie Ann, 7; Len, 7; Bruno, 7; total, 21

Hope Solo and Maks Chmerkovskiy, tango to "Livin' on a Prayer": Thank goodness, Hope and Maks ditched the cute for slightly menacing this week, with Hope in her best Madonna-circa-Desperately Seeking Susan costume and Maks in a shiny sort of Cossack jacket and eyeliner. In her video pack, Carrie Ann identified Hope's lack of sexiness as her biggest problem, but she definitely had some sex appeal in her tango. She still needs to tighten up, as Len noted, but she seemed steadier than in past routines. Bruno said Hope "got the '80s super bitch down to a T: full Alexis Carrington Colby mode, always ready for a fight or a night of passion." That drew an argument from Len until Tom shushed him. 

Score: Carrie Ann, 8; Len, 8; Bruno, 8; total, 24

Nancy Grace and Tristan MacManus, rumba to "True": If you've been reading the recaps for a while, you know how I feel about Nancy, but I have to be fair. Her rumba was a big improvement on last week's paso doble. She still can't kick worth a damn, she didn't really move her hips and, as Carrie Ann pointed out, she doesn't finish her movements, but she danced reasonably well. I could have lived without her recreation of her 1980s high school cheer in rehearsal, but I was awfully interested in seeing another side to Tristan's affable Irishman persona. "You have to let me explain stuff before you go, 'Oh, wrong,'" he scolded her. "I've seen you do this on the show (her CNN program). Just let people finish the sentence. Let me finish the sentence, okay?" That was nice and blunt. Back to the dancing: Len said it was simple and effective; Bruno said it was sexy without being slutty, but Carrie Ann said it was a little on the drab side and she wanted to see "real passion."

Score: Carrie Ann, 7; Len, 7; Bruno, 8; total, 22

Carson Kressley and Anna Trebunskaya, jive to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go": Last and unfortunately least, it's DWTS's class clown. The question isn't whether Carson will be voted off but when; his dance floor comedy routines can only save him so many times. Bruno pointed out on video that Carson has to combine personality and technique to go far, but there wasn't much technique to speak of in his cheerleader jive and what there was, was sloppy. Still, the crowd loved it and so did Bruno, calling it "loopier than a looney tune" and "a crowning achievement in madness."  To be honest, Carson made me laugh more when he stopped dancing, like when Len told Carson he liked him and Carson retorted, "I did get your letters," which made Tom let out a huge guffaw. "If I was judging with my heart you would be back next week, but ... we have to judge with our brains and I'm not sure that was good enough, really," Len said. Carson's answer was, "Okay, we'll let America decide."

Score: Carrie Ann, 6; Len, 6; Bruno, 7; total, 19

That puts Carson at the bottom of the scoreboard, almost 10 points behind leader J.R., but we know low scores aren't enough to send someone home.

Before I sign off, here are some of the things that amused me on Monday's show.

Bruno's moves: Bruno was doing his best to walk like an Egyptian during the Bangles' performance of the song of that name. Even Len was sort of giving it a go.

Bruno's words: While praising J.R. for his samba, Bruno told him, "The Kardashians are gagging."

Tom's jokes: After showing the audience photos of the judges in the 1980s, including one of Len with a funny shag haircut and what looked like a blue star painted over his left eye, Tom said Len's picture was "like a cross between Gene Simmons and Orville Redenbacher."

Cheryl's honesty: Cheryl gave Rob a couple of the most backhanded compliments I've heard in rehearsal. First she told him it was pretty good he made it to the halfway mark in the contest since "I didn't think you were gonna make it this far." Then, when she advised him to be sexy and he said he'd love to be like Val (Chmerkovskiy) or Maks or Derek, she said, "I don't know if you're gonna be like them, but you're gonna be sexy in your own way."

Tiny fans: David's daughter was so excited after hearing Len tell David his dance was fantastic she was practically floating out of her seat. 

Lacey's sarcasm: When Chad protested in rehearsal that he felt nervous making a spectacle of himself, Lacey replied, "Well, good job joining Dancing With the Stars."

Tom again: Commenting on a photo of Maks as a child in a little pointed hat, Tom said, "So back in the '80s, Maks looked like a Keebler elf, that's cute."

That's it until Tuesday, when we get the results and appearances by Kelly Clarkson and The Band Perry (neither of which have anything to do with the '80s as far as I can tell). I'll be watching at 9 p.m. on CTV Two and recapping it here.

(The photo of J.R. and Karina is by Craig Sjodin for ABC.)

Battle of the Blades: A results night surprise (spoiler alert)

Actually, there were a few surprises on Monday's Battle of the Blades. One was that Brad May and Anabelle Langlois ended up in the bottom two in the first place. Brad seems like such a fan favourite that I never saw that one coming.

The judges were surprised that Cale Hulse and Violetta Afanasieva ended up in the skate-off since they topped the scoreboard on Sunday night. I was and I wasn't. I concur they didn't deserve to be in bottom two after the program they delivered, but I also didn't feel as much love for them from the crowd on Sunday. 

The judges loved them, though, enough to decide unanimously that Brad and Anabelle should be eliminated. But then they delivered the third, most significant surprise: they used their one and only save to keep Brad and Anabelle in the competition.

I can see the feel-good appeal of it, what with the crowd chanting for the save and the closeness of the scores this week and the fact that Brad (up until now anyway) has clearly been one of the more popular skaters.

The downside is that in the coming weeks excellent skaters could end up on the chopping block and they're SOL.

I really thought Sandra Bezic was winding up for bad news on Monday, when she began, "Brad, you've worked so hard in this show, for this show. You've also carried several jobs along with this and I know that you've been fighting a bad back.

"And Anabelle, you're just amazing ... you have taught Brad so many wonderful lifts and you just never really got to the part between the lifts, so we really feel that you deserve the time to work on your choreography."

The crowd roared their approval.

"The only bad news is you're gonna be down to 80 pounds if it continues," quipped Ron MacLean to the shrinking Brad.

"We're having so much fun, I'm glad that we're not out. Whatever we need to work on, we will," Brad said.

Asked for his two cents, Cale said he was a little surprised to end up in the bottom two, but "I figure you have to be ready to skate."

"Like Brad says, it's all for such a great cause," he added. "We don't want to see anyone go. I'm glad these guys stayed."

Next week, all six pairs will skate to songs chosen by viewers, so that should be interesting.

What did you think of Monday's results? Were you surprised by the bottom two? Would you have used the save this early or kept it for later?

You can respond here, tweet me @realityeo or comment on my Facebook page.

(The photo of Brad and Anabelle is courtesy of Insight Productions.)

The Amazing Race: Life's a beach (spoiler alert)

(Twins and former lifeguards Liz and Marie struggle with beach chairs and umbrellas on Sunday's episode of The Amazing Race in a CBS screen grab.)

Hello, TAR fans, I have another recap for you courtesy of my TAR correspondent Astrid Lange. I also owe all of you an apology since Astrid dutifully filed a recap last Monday and I was just too busy to get it up on the blog. Onwards and upwards. Take it away, Astrid:

The teams began this leg by travelling to Phuket, Thailand. That's Phu-ket. Not Pucket or Bucket or Puca, as some of the teams would lead you to believe.

And despite an early misstep, the snowboarders proved they are still the team to beat.

After performing so well in the previous two legs by actually reading clues, it was shocking that Andy and Tommy (along with Zac and Laurence) did not book both legs of their flight to Phuket before leaving Indonesia, opting instead to fly to Jakarta and, upon arrival there, finding a flight to Phuket.

Even though the snowboarders and the sailors departed an hour before everyone else, by the time they arrived in Jakarta, the first direct flight to Phuket was completely booked ... by the teams at the back of the pack! Which meant that Andy and Tommy, and Zac and Laurence had to take another later flight to Phuket. They had no idea how far behind they really were until they were told by a worker at the taxi stand in Phuket that at least four taxis of racers had preceded them.

Luckily for them, the first destination in Phuket, the marina, did not open until 8 a.m., which meant all teams had to camp overnight and then make a mad sprint for the clue first thing in the morning. And mad sprint they did, as Andy bolted for the clue, grabbed it first and headed out with Tommy on a speed boat to the first task ahead of all other teams.

Since Thailand suffered great devastation in the tsunami of 2004, the Detour focused on giving back to the country with a choice between Coral Reconstruction (building a coral nursery, placing it on the ocean floor and planting coral in the nursery) or Beach Preparation (following a set plan, setting up beach chairs and umbrellas).

Andy and Tommy quickly blew through Coral Reconstruction, first building the Tinkertoy-like nursery and then kayaking out to sea to place it on the ocean floor. Surfing experience gave these boys an advantage as they could easily navigate the current, and had few problems swimming underwater and placing the coral in the nursery.

Surprisingly, bickering brother and sister Justin and Jennifer also fared well in this task, but even Justin admitted that they were lucky because their nursery somehow got lodged under a rock on the ocean floor, making coral placement fast and easy.

The other teams, however, did not fare so well, as Jeremy and Sandy, Amani and Marcus, and Bill and Cathi couldn't work with the current and were all forced to abandon the coral task and head to the beach chairs.

Liz and Marie had been the first team at the beach chairs, with Zac and Laurence right behind them. It was not the first choice of tasks for the sailors: they thought they were heading to the coral reef. You know, for sailors, these guys have poor navigation skills! Fighting wind and sand, these two teams were still struggling with the chairs and umbrellas by the time Jeremy and Sandy, Amani and Marcus, and Bill and Cathi arrived. 

Due to lack of strength, constant fighting ("Shut up! Shut up!") and overall frustration, the twins never got a good handle on this task. It didn't help that the locals were laughing at them every time an umbrella blew over or when one of them burst into tears. Even though Liz and Marie had been beach lifeguards (!), they could not place the umbrellas firmly in the sand (there was always someone else to do that for them, they argued) and even though they had been the first team to arrive at the beach, they were the last to leave.

By this time, all other teams had made their way 13 minutes north by boat to Soap Island. (Ernie and Cindy, reading the compass the wrong way, fell temporarily off course.) Once at the island, one member of each team had to rock climb and grab a clue from a bird's nest: a breeze of a Roadblock for all teams.

Surprise, surprise, the snowboarders arrived at the Pit Stop before anyone else and received $5,000 each. Finally, proving themselves as competitors, Justin and Jennifer followed in second place.

Zac and Laurence should have arrived sooner then they did, but these seasoned sailors misread the map that directed them from Soap Island to the Pit Stop at the floating village of Koh Panyi. Second case of misnavigation for this team. Laurence was right when he said, "What a bunch of useless sailors we are!" The sailors were passed by Jeremy and Sandy and had to settle for fourth place. They were followed by Ernie and Cindy, Amani and Marcus, and Bill and Cathi.

On the way to the Pit Stop, the twins knew they were heading for elimination, saying somewhat melodramatically that it was like "riding to our death." But Phil let them know that this was a non-elimination leg and the twins live to run another leg.  But they'll have to run pretty fast if they want to catch the unbeatable snowboarders.

Battle of the Blades: The hits keep coming

Oh Canada, who are you going to choose?

With Battle of the Blades down to six competitors and with the top and bottom scorers separated by only 0.3 points on Sunday night, Monday's decision looks to be even more impossible than past weeks.

The thing is, everyone has improved. Cale and Violetta went from being in jeopardy a couple of weeks ago to top of the leader board Sunday with a graceful program and some challenging tricks. Curtis and Elena upped the ante with the first toe overhead lift and split twist of the season. Tessa was looking ever so much more the figure skater in her program with David, not just for her dress but the graceful way she carried herself. Bryan and Marie-France brought fun to the ice and better skating to go with it. Boyd and Tanith delivered another intense and unique program. Brad and Anabelle performed more difficult tricks than in past weeks.

It's not like you can point to one couple and say they're doing poorly and it's time for them to go.

Still, at least one thing can be discerned from the time I spent at the MasterCard Centre watching the show live on Sunday: Bryan, Tessa and Brad are still huge fan favourites. Will that mean trouble for players who weren't cheered quite as loudly? We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, here's what I liked Sunday, when the pairs performed to Canadian songs. As usual, I'm listing from most favourite to least favourite program but, like the judges' scores, the gap between my best and not as best (because I really can't say worst) is not that big: 

Bryan Berard and Marie-France Dubreuil: Bryan said in his video pack that he's feeling more comfortable in the competition and that was really evident in this joyful program, in which he and Marie-France played up their physical differences to Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi." It wasn't the toughest skate technically, but it was so entertaining it was hard to care. And it was the one that stayed with me after the show. "This couldn't have been more perfect for Battle of the Blades," enthused head judge Sandra Bezic. "This is a perfect combination of a brilliant idea, brilliant execution and the chemistry that Brian (Orser) was talking about: fantastic." Orser, filling in for absent resident judge Jeremy Roenick, also loved the concept and the choreography, particularly the ending, which saw Bryan lifting Marie-France horizontally over his head (and down and up again) before depositing her on a platform where she struck a ballerina pose. Orser, who was judging with another Bryan, seven-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Trottier, got boos from the crowd for his score.

Score: Bryan, 5.6; Sandra, 5.8; Brian, 5.5; total 16.9

Cale Hulse and Violetta Afanasieva: Considering that Violetta badly bruised her heel rehearsing the flip in last week's skate and that they lost a day of rehearsal because of the injury, this could have been rough. But Cale and Violetta were anything but. They were fast and smooth and pulled off the tricks with apparent ease. The overhead lifts echoed the Tal Bachman song lyrics: "She's So High." And there was a fantastic move at the end with Cale shooting the duck while Violetta held his skate and extended her body from the waist down over the ice. Brian said all the skating moves were great and was especially impressed with the "little bounce" in Cale's crossovers. Sandra said the pair was smooth and elegant and warm. Cale has come a long way from the player who was relucant to use his assets (Sandra's word) in his "Passion Week" performance. 

Score: Bryan, 5.6; Sandra, 5.8; Brian 5.8; total, 17.2

Tessa Bonhomme and David Pelletier: It's official, Tessa looks great in a skating dress. And yes, the fear she expressed in her rehearsal video pack ("The only thing I'm worried about is my dress coming up to my face and me just hanging out in my underwears") did come true and we saw her "underwears," but that's not the image that stayed with me. It's Tessa in an overhead lift and the graceful way she held her arms. Also Tessa in a great death spiral. And Tessa stroking David's face in one part of the program (skated to Tragically Hip's "Long Time Running") and looking so connected to him. "I know there's been a lot of talk about you and the dress ... it's not about that," Sandra said. "What this is about is the courage to put yourself in a vulnerable place and that is inspirational," she said, noting the evolving softness in Tessa.  

Score: Bryan, 5.7; Sandra, 5.7; Brian, 5.7; total, 17.1

Curtis Leschyshyn and Elena Berezhnaya: These two were looking to come back from a less than perfect program last week, in which Curtis missed some footwork, and they managed to not only skate clean but to raise the bar tricks-wise. Sandra noted that they performed the season's first toe overhead lift and split twist (which looked like a mid-air throw). And Curtis showed his strength at the end, lifting Elena horizontally over his head then letting her drop, grabbing her by an arm and a leg. Bryan Trottier called it "effortless, high entertainment and very fluid." And Sandra said, "For the two of you, for the first time, it all gelled," while praising the skating in between the tricks. They performed to Johnny Reid's "Let's Go Higher."

Score: Bryan, 5.7; Sandra, 5.7; Brian, 5.7; total, 17.1

Boyd Devereaux and Tanith Belbin: Tricks-wise, this wasn't the flashiest program, but Sandra pointed out it was really difficult to skate despite the absence of spectacular moves. I liked the intensity and the sexiness of the program, performed to Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet." Boyd pointed out in the video pack that he and Tanith are trying to create a niche for themselves in ice dance. To that end, their moves were more theatrical than most of what we saw on Sunday. There were a couple of unusual tricks, including Boyd leaning back while Tanith balanced her hands on his waist with her legs straight up in the air behind her, and Boyd in a sitting position with Tanith balanced against his knees. Brian Orser praised that balance, not only in the cantilevered lift, but the choreography, the elements and the way the pair used the ice. "Together you worked with the music, you were completely in sync," said Sandra.

Score: Bryan, 5.7; Sandra, 5.7; Brian, 5.6; total, 17.0

Brad May and Anabelle Langlois: This routine was packed with crowd-pleasing lifts and flips, including a nifty manoeuvre in which Anabelle leapt into Brad's arms. They finished with one of their trick endings, with Anabelle flipping into Brad's arms and then up onto his shoulder. Brad is looking more comfortable on his skates, although Sandra said he needs to work on staying in unison on the footwork and on the choreography between the lifts, which had the crowd booing. Brian Orser agreed with Sandra's critique but called the program charming. Bryan Trottier called it a "wonderful expression of personality." They skated to Michael Buble's "Come Fly With Me."

Score: Bryan, 5.7; Sandra, 5.6; Brian, 5.6; total, 16.9

By this time tomorrow night, we'll be down to five pairs, unless the judges use their save. And if a high-scoring couple is on the chopping block, they just might.

All will be revealed Monday at 8 p.m. on CBC and I'll have the recap here.

Check out my Facebook page for links to video of three of the couples.

(The photo of Bryan and Marie-France is courtesy of Insight Productions.)

The X Factor: Now you see it ...

Now you don't. It looks like Thursday's X Factor got delayed because of baseball playoffs. At least, I think that's what happened. I can tell you that when I tried to tune into X Factor on CTV Two, I got Vampire Diaries and America's Next Top Model instead. So we'll have to wait to see how the other 16 acts do in the "judges' houses" portion of the show.

And now I'm off to sleep ...

 

Canada's Got Talent: Martin Short is first judge

I'll see your Howie Mandel and I'll raise you a Martin Short.

Rogers Media has announced that Martin, whom I think I'm safe in calling a Canadian comedy legend, is the first judge for Canada's Got Talent, which will air on Citytv in 2012.

I didn't post about this earlier because I was too busy filing for the Star's website and getting myself downtown for a brief interview with Martin.

Here's a link to my story here. And you can check out video of the interview here.

 

The X Factor: The judges' houses

The X Factor seemed to have a case of split personality on Wednesday: part travelogue, part home and garden show, part talent contest.

These were, as host Steve Jones reminded us, "what could be the most important two days in (contestants') lives ... the stakes couldn't be higher. This is judges' houses." Or, more accurately, these are judges' houses, but what's good grammar when a $5 million recording contract is at stake?

Most of the contestants were spread out over the United States. The groups headed to Santa Barbara, Calif., to perform for Paula Abdul. The over 30s went to Malibu to see Nicole Scherzinger. The boys chilled with L.A. Reid in the Hamptons. But the girls were dispatched to France to Simon Cowell's digs.

We never heard where in France those were, but we saw the girls playing tourist in Paris, taking photos of the Eiffel Tower and cruising the River Seine. 

When it came to the houses, we had brief glimpses of the interiors -- L.A. gave the boys a tour; and Paula and Nicole gave their charges pep talks in their very large, well-appointed kitchens -- but the business of singing was all done outdoors. We're not taking backyards, mind you: grounds would be a more appropriate word. There were pools, huge decks, expanses of perfectly clipped, perfectly green lawn, even ocean and mountain views in some cases.

Each judge was tasked with hearing their eight acts perform songs especially chosen for them, but they didn't have to shoulder the burden of assessing them alone. Each got to choose a special guest judge. Nicole's pick was Enrique Iglesias. Paula's was Pharrell. L.A.'s was Rihanna.

Simon's was Mariah Carey, but she never showed up, with her plane grounded by Hurricane Irene. Intead he relied on vocal coach Savan Kotecha and producers Graham Stack and Ray Hedges (I guess Simon needed three people to try to approximate the star wattage of one Enrique or Rihanna).

The main event, the performances, took up a surprisingly small portion of the two-hour show. We saw 16 of them on Wednesday, with the remaining 16 to be featured in another two-hour episode on Thursday (8 p.m. on CTV Two).

Here's a quick rundown of who I thought smashed it on Wednesday and who left me cold.

The good:

Fourteen-year-old Brian Bradley is still annoyingly overconfident but backed it up with choice rapping and even a little beatboxing. Rihanna was overcome by his cuteness, but she and L.A. wonderered if America would see him as a novelty act or as someone who could actually win.

I thought the insta-group Lakoda Rayne (made up of Cari Fletcher, Hayley Orrantia, Paige Ogle and Dani Knights) sounded very good together on "Born This Way," and their choreography was cute, but Paula doubted that they had meshed as much as they said they did.

Stacy Francis killed "Purple Rain." And I love the new haircut. Nicole wondered whether her fears and insecurities would hold her back.

I don't think Phillip Lomax's jazzy version of "Don't Stop the Music" (which the poor guy had to perform in front of Rihanna) is necessarily commercially viable, which was L.A.'s worry, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Elaine Gibbs, a 53-year-old wedding singer, brought the vocal goods. My quibble would be that the gestures were a little overdone, but Enrique said she could be a superstar.

I haven't entirely made up my mind about how Caitlin Koch sang "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," but it's in the good category for now. Simon loved the pitch, tone and phrasing.

I was blown away by the harmonies of 4Shore, the friends from Virginia Beach, but Paula said they had to dirty it up a little.

I'm not sure how I never really noticed James Kenney before now, but this 34-year-old has a fantastic voice. Enrique said he could be a rock star.

The meh: 

Simone Battle, 22, sounded better than in previous auditions and humbler, which was nice, but I thought she was too breathy at the beginning of "Help" and put too much vibrato at the ends of the notes. She's still rocking Simon's world though.

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't think the harmonies were all that on The Anser's version of "Perfect." 

There's nothing that would warm my heart more than to see 49-year-old Dexter Haygood triumph after his years on skid row, but he didn't sing so much as howl "Crazy in Love," and he still seems to be channelling famous rock stars when he performs. If he doesn't make it to the live shows, it's going to be an awful letdown, given how he was sobbing on Steve's chest after his performance.

It's too bad about Skyelor Anderson's father dying from cancer and his brother being shot dead in a robbery. I thought he sounded bad on whatever country song he was singing, almost whiny. Rihanna displayed a gift for understatement when she said he needed to be polished.

I still like Tora Woloshin's voice and look, but if she's having this much trouble memorizing lyrics to perform in front of her potential mentor, how will she handle live shows? I'm thinking the memory problem is why she basically just sang the chorus to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" over and over again. Simon seemed to have doubts.

The Brewer Boys, 14- and 17-year-old brothers, are still adorable, but I found their version of "Only Girl (in the World)" too bouncy and kind of boring. Paula noted that good sometimes isn't good enough.

Nick Voss's version of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" kept veering between too soft and too loud and never reached a happy middle ground. "I've seen him better," L.A. said.

It pains me to say that I did not enjoy Drew Ryniewicz's version of "It Must Have Been Love," but it was too subdued, she sounded like she was singing through a clenched jaw and her modulations sometimes became yodels. The consensus of Simon and his helpers seemed to be that the 14-year-old is still too young. 

What did you think? Who stepped up and who flamed out? I'd love to hear your thoughts here, on Twitter @realityeo or on my Facebook page. And of course, you can catch the recap of Thursday's episode here.

(The photo of the boys meeting Rihanna is by Jeffrey Niera for Fox.)