The Ladies Rock 'Idol' and the Ice! And the Emmys Get a Makover

"I would have worn a t-shirt under that sweater, but we all make mistakes."

And thus, the season-long jab-swapping between American Idol's Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell has begun! I loved that Seacrest retort to Simon's comment that contestant Heather Cox should have lied and said that she still wasn't 100% (after suffering from a bout with laryngitis during the Hollywood round). It's nice to see that, while the contestants may change each year, other things do not. Paula was in her usual nice mode and Randy was somewhere in between as usual. Yes, it was the Idol we love in its truest form. Here's a look at some of last night's highlights and lowlights as the top 12 ladies took the stage.

Best Performances: Katharine McPhee's soulful take on Barbra Streisand, Paris Bennett's powerful take on Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia" and Lisa Tucker's beautiful rendition of a Jennifer Holliday song. Did anyone else think that Lisa's voice sounded like season 4's Latoya London?

Worst Performances: Becky O'Donohue's version of "Because the Night," Stevie Scott's take on Josh Groban's "To Where You Are" and Kellie Pickler's pitchy rendition of a Martina McBride song. I think all three ladies most likely just made poor song choices.

Everyone else fell somewhere in between for me. I thought Kinnick Sky's take on Oleta Adams' "Get Here" was probably the best of the in between group. I agree with the judges' assessment, though, that she picked a song that is difficult to separate from the original singer because Oleta Adams sang it so well. I'm never a big fan of the contestants with the huge attitudes that mouth off to Simon, so Brenna is not one of my favorites. It just shows immaturity and a refusal to grow through the experience to me. It's hard to predict which two contestants will go on Thursday, but I'm going to say most likely Stevie Scott and possibly Kellie. What did you think about ladies' night on American Idol? Who stood out for you? Who failed to catch your attention? Drop me a comment with your thoughts.

Now, from the stage to the ice - it really was a busy night for the women last night! Thanks to the magic of TiVo, I was able to catch the ice performances from last night's Olympics coverage. I have to say, the American woman really rocked the ice last night! I was very impressed with all three of them. Kimmie Meissner, the U.S. Silver Medalist in nationals, was up first and she skated a flawless, difficult program. Her level of difficulty raised her score enough to put her in first and keep her there for a large stretch of the competition. If the field wasn't overrun with so many strong competitors, I would watch for Meissner to walk away with a medal. After seeing the rest of the field skate, though, that may prove too difficult. Emily Hughes really wowed me with her amazing performance and personal best score. She really stepped up with no expectations on her. She had such confidence and she seemed like she was having a great time out there. Finally, Sasha Cohen took the ice (and I do mean finally because the girl was last to skate). The last time we saw Sasha, she was fumbling a bit in Salt Lake in the 2002 games, but this is a whole new Sasha. She had grace and poise and she nailed every element without hesitation! Artistically, I thought that she was the strongest of the night and technically she was right there with Russia's Irina Slutskaya, so I was a little disappointed to see the scores so close (especially since Sasha was strong throughout and Irina seemed a bit wobbly at times). I'm hoping she turns in a brilliant performance Thursday night and walks away with the Gold, but I'm not sure anyone will be able to overtake Irina's undeniable talent. One thing is for sure, with the scores so close, Thursday should be very intense!

About Last Night... Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by NBC's Olympic coverage and CBS' NCIS (r). At 9, Fox's Idol kept its lead, followed by NBC's Olympic coverage and another episode of CBS' NCIS (r). The final hour of the night went to NBC's Olympic coverage (and it got its best rating yet), followed by a CSI rerun on CBS and ABC's Boston Legal. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - NBC's Olympic coverage continues with Alpine Skiing (Women's slalom gold-medal final), Freestyle Skiing (Women's aerials gold-medal final), Speed Skating (Women's 1500m gold-medal final), Snowboarding (Men's parallel giant slalom gold-medal final), Short Track (Women's 3000m relay gold-medal final), Short Track (Women's 1000m competition), Short Track (Men's 500m competition) and Figure Skating (Ladies' preview). Over on Fox, the 12 men competing for a spot in the final 12 get their chance to show America they can sing on another two-hour episode of American Idol.



QUICK CUTS

*Television's highest honor, The Primetime Emmy Awards, is revamping its nomination process. Under the old system, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences mailed out paper ballots for the acting awards to the "performer peer group that included the names of all actors eligible to compete in the category." The top 5 vote-getters in each category received a nomination. Now, a blue-ribbon panel will evaluate the work of the top 15 vote-getters and then decide the five nominated actors. In addition, directors and casting executives will also receive acting ballots in the mail, allowing more people in the industry to have a say in who should get the nod. ATAS officials also said Tuesday that the top drama and comedy series categories will get their own blue-ribbon panels to decide the nominations in their respective categories.

*And finally, the CW's untitled Aquaman project is getting a new leading man. Will Toale, who was previously cast to play the part when the WB was developing the show, is out and soap actor Justin Hartley is in. A CW spokesperson said in a statement that "We have made the decision to go in a different direction with the Aquaman role and wish [Toale] the best of luck in all of his endeavors." Yesterday, it was announced that actor Ving Rhames is joining the cast of the Aquaman project - an updated, reinterpretation of the DC Comics character.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow as the guys get their turn at Idol glory! Plus, all the latest television news. And don't forget to send in your questions (via the comment link or email them to veronicaquestions@yahoo.com) for Veronica Mars creator/executive producer Rob Thomas! I'll be on the set Monday! Also, if you have any questions for the folks at America's Next Top Model, leave me a comment and I'll try to get the answers next Tuesday.


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