I’ve got to say that for the girls America got it right. Though it did look like the judges were rooting for Ashley Rodriguez, at least compared to Didi Benami, both she and Janelle was among the girls who I though could be going home simply because of their song choice. Their voices weren’t powerful enough to do their songs any justice, leaving their performances flat. It showed in the votes and the results wasn’t a big surprise. For a minute there though I was really nervous for Didi Benami because though I really liked her performance the judges disagreed and it left me wondering if I was the only one who thought she should stay one – apparently I wasn’t. Yay!

It was the guys’ results that gave us a shocker though. Joe Muñoz definitely did not deserve to go home last night. His performance was realy good, especially compared to Tim Urban’s and Alex Lambert’s. Apparently even Tim Urban agreed because the look on his face when he was declared safe was priceless – utter shock. Clearly Urban’s good looks saw him through this round. On the other hand, Tyler Grady’s “American Woman” did not endear him to America’s women, resulting in his being voted off. I am sorry to see him go though because he is such an interesting character and would definitely have made AI more interesting. Am not feeling to bad about it though because it meant that Alex Lambert (whose surprised expletive at not being voted off lead to AI being cut short) gets to stay another week. I don’t believe that he’ll last long but it’ll be nice to see him “ripen” up a bit.

Till next week!

Casey James definitely stood out tonight. It was nice that his performance was great (“Heaven” really did suit him) but even if he sang out of tune any girl would have to agree that he is just to yummy not to stand out. I mean he really has Kara’s cougar vibes going and we can all see why! Seriously though I closed my eyes a couple of times while he was singing just to make sure that the visual wasn’t messing with my objectivity – it wasn’t. He sounded great.

Another good but disappointing performance was Andrew Garcia’s rendition of “Sugar, We’re Going Down”. It wasn’t disappointing because it was bad but only because everyone had such high expectations. I think he’s the only guy, based on talent alone, who can give the girls a run for their money. I’m a fan though and he will definitely go a long way. Hopefully he comes up with something fresh and really riveting next time.

As for the rest (that I saw at least) they were just ok. I squirmed a lot for Alex Lambert who was as nervous as hell though he’s so nice I want him to stay just to see him grow. Can’t help but root for guys like him. Oh well tomorrow we’ll see who’ll make it and who won’t.

Yesterday the girls that stood out for me were the last two to perform – Crystal Bowersox and Katie Stevens – plus Haeley Vaughn. Sure Crystal needs to work a bit on her “star power” but you have to hand it to her she really stands out without having to seem to try. Katie on the other hand did sound old, Ellen and Simon agreed on that and I’m sure pretty much everyone does, but even then her voice is just completely amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to how she’ll do once she tries to be her age. I also really liked Haeley Vaughn’s version”I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. I don’t care if the judges says that she needs to work on her technicality because her aura (she just exudes adorable!) makes you automatically want to vote for her.

Other girls that did pretty well in my book, despite mixed reviews from judges, were Katelyn Epperly (boy did she look awesomely weird..definitely memorable and interesting), Siobhan Magnus (tops the girls in terms of awesomely weird), and Didi Benami (I don’t agree that it was boring…not at all!). I’m sure that if I didn’t miss Lilly Scott’s performance she’ll be here in my list.

As for the others, even if the judges thought they were good (which they were), I just dont really find myself rooting for them…except for Lacey Brown who really needs to do better next time. I like her.

Next up – the boys. We’ll see who catches our eyes..I mean ears.

Leno is obviously trying to stack things up in his favor by getting big stars with lots of drawing power as guests for the entire month of March. On March 1 fisrt up will be Jamie Foxx, Lindsey Vonn (Winter Olympics gold medal skier)and Brad Paisley. The rest of the month will feature equally big (if not bigger) stars or at least equally controversial ones like Morgan Freeman, Meredith Viera, Kristen Stewart, Simon Cowell, Kim Kardashian, Colbie Caillat,Sarah Palin (March 2), and the cast of Jersey Shore (March 3).

Leno is obviously nervous about what will happen especially with the uproar Conan fans made after Leno’s decision to agree to go back. As he said to Oprah the decision was “agonizing” but “Who wouldn’t do that [host the Tonight Show]“? Let’s wait and see if the people will greet him warmly or if he does indeed just have”rose-color glasses” and if things will “fall apart” despite his star-studded gues list.

Let’s hope things work out for him or NBC will once again be faced with the humiliating job of scrambling around trying to fix their botched up lineup.

Anyway the highlight of Hollywood Week was definitely ELLEN. I have to say – Ellen passed with flying colors. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since she’s so used to “pleasing a roomful of audience” but I guess being her fan made me nervous as to how she’ll do. She brought a little comic relief (so and so please step forward..oh I’m sorry…please step back) and lots of good judgement. As for the other judges’ reaction to Ellen it looked like they got along pretty well with her. Simon, who people say is having a feud with Ellen, clearly he has the hots for Ellen. If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch this clip from the Ellen Show. Hilarious! Seriously though I am more inclined to think that Kara would be more ill at ease with Ellen than Simon because Ellen, with her big personality, will probably overshadow Kara.

Undercover Boss is CBS newest reality show. Each episode features a CEO of a big company go “undercover” by changing names and donning the uniform of regular Joes. The CEO then works alongside his own employees while cameras roll to “document the plight of laid off people looking for an entry level job”.

Undercover Boss’ first episode showed Waste Management, Inc. President and COO Larry O’Donnell sorting trash and being chided for being too slow at it. It also showed workers hurrying to meet productivity and punch in on time.

I did not get to watch last night’s episode but the reviews has definitely peaked my interest, not because they are all good but because of the scathing reviews. The show, according to Hank Stuever of Washington Post, is “an unbelievably juicy PR opportunity for the companies that agreed to do the project and a manipulative bummer for the unwitting employees who have the misfortune of appearing on it.” A sentiment that many seem to echo. However, others who have watched still seemed entertained. And of course, there’s still this optimistic side of me who wishes that the impact to CEOs will be real and will really trickle down.

Real or PR. Good or bad. One thing’s for sure: people are intrigued. In fact, Undercover Boss is currently the 24th most popular search term in the last hour according to Google!!! I’m sure that makes CBS happy.

Now the funny thing is that although Katy Perry grated on my nerves by the end of last night’s episode and I’m sure I liked more contestants in those auditions all I can remember is her saying she wants to throw coke on Kara’s face and saying something like they’re not trying to make a “movie story”. Looking back at Victoria Beckham’s guest judging stint, which I missed but saw on TiVo (Yay for TiVo!), I can’t agree more when she said that being polite is good. Katy could use help from Victoria. On the other hand, I guess people would call Victoria boring but all I can say was the she was “nice”.

Hopefully next week’s auditions will be better. Better judges and better contestants – both in terms of talent and quirky entertainment value.

Show schedule for the telethon is January 22, Friday, at 8PM ET/PT and 7PM CT. It will be shown simultaneously on the following networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. Since it will be showing on so many channels there’s no reason to miss it while channel surfing. However, what’s really important is not really watching the show but supporting the fundraising effort. It doesn’t matter if you give via the telethon or directly to charity organizations that are currently helping out in Haiti.

All proceeds of the fundraising telethon will be split evenly among the following: Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation and World Food Programme.

And as if the cause is not enough reason to watch and give our support to they’ll have the yumminess of George Clooney as host in LA, my personal fantasy, Anderson Cooper to cover the story live in Port Au Prince, and Wyclef Jean in New York.

The show will be star-studded for sure with the music industry greats such as Jay-Z, Coldplay, Bono, Shakira, and Taylor Swift coming out in full force to lend their support.

Now it’s our turn to give ours.

Audition week shown for tonight’s episode was held in Atlanta with Mary J. Blige as guest judge, who was plain ok. It was a bit funny to watch her trying not to laugh though she did come off as a bit standoffish at times. I have to say that even if I didn’t want to see Paula gone it is true that it doesn’t feel like she left any vacuum at all. I’m not sure we can say that though once it’s Simon that says bye bye.

Auditions showed us the same mix of great talent, crazies, and downright horrible singers. To be fair to Atlanta there was quite a good crop of talents from there and even the judges were pretty happy. My favorite raw talent was the bridge-jumping country girl, Vanessa. I know she’ll need to build up her confidence big time if she wants to go far. I can’t help but root for her though. I also liked the 62 year old rapper who dislikes low-rise jeans. I can’t get his song out of my head: Pants on the floor, pants on the floor. Lookin like a fool with your pants on the floor. I wish they didn’t have age limits. Things would be much more interesting that way.

Anyhoo we’ll just have to wait and see how good this season will turn out. Then next season, we’ll see if AI will be toppled over by X Factor or not.

Rozlyn Papa was asked to leave by host, Chris Harrison, for having an “inappropriate relationship” with one of the Bachelor’s staffers. Jake Pavelka was crushed to when Chris informed he of the turn of events saying, ““I don’t know what to say … I’m hurt I’m disappointed. I felt like I’ve been taken for the fool. I didn’t see this coming.” Apparently Jake fully expects all the girls to act inappropriately only with him (Here’s to throwing your nice bikini-clad bodies at Jake!). The rest of the girls were of course just as shocked though there’s no doubt that there’ll be some relief for having one less competitor. As for the other party (a producer) he was sacked.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight Rozlyn Papa the whole thing was exaggerated by the show. She denies having had any sex with the producer and says that they were only friends. She also says that the whole issue concerns her because of its effect on her 7-year old son. Papa said, “I don’t know what to say … I’m hurt I’m disappointed. I felt like I’ve been taken for the fool. I didn’t see this coming.”

According to Chris Harrison they have proof of “inappropriate” behavior. What that specific inappropriate behavior is though, they still haven’t divulged.