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Speaking with host Michael Yo, Obama gave his take on the strained relationship of American idol judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.

@ClayAiken Playing drinking game with my brother now. We drink every time we see a black person on screen at the RNC convention. #soberasamormon

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Mariah Carey will join “American Idol” as a judge next season, Fox announced Monday, bringing her star power to the show that remains a ratings leader but has seen its viewership and pop culture status diminish. “I am so excited to be joining ‘Idol,’” said Carey, addressing the Television Critics Association via Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly’s cell phone, which he put on speaker for the hotel ballroom meeting. She couldn’t be on hand with the group because “this kind of all just happened really quickly,” Carey said in her brief remarks. “I can’t wait to...

FOX is confirming that Steven Tyler is leaving American Idol! Wow. Here’s the press release, with quotes from Steven. Well, he and his band got the career boost they needed, at least. I have to wonder, though, if he left or was pushed? In the end, except for a few lulz, he was pretty useless as a judge. It will be interesting to see who takes his place. Steven Tyler has decided to depart his role as a judge on AMERICAN IDOL. Tyler served as a judge during the 10th and 11th seasons of IDOL. “After some long…hard…thoughts…I’ve decided it’s...

The ever so modest Phillip Phillips won "American Idol" Wednesday night, and while some say it was well deserved others have insisted that the show is "rigged." After the Georgia hometown boy won "American Idol" Wednesday night, many came forward and insisted that that enough was enough on the singing show, which according to some is clearly "racist." "[In the] last 3 in finals, one was black, who was the best singer, one was brown who was also great singer, one was white who was a karaoke singer; guess who won, the white one of course, when will America stop...

This year’s “American Idol” is Phillip Phillips, the 20-year old from Leesburg, Georgia, who seemed to have had a lock on the title at, well, hello. He’s been compared to Dave Matthews and some critics have said he had the advantage of a female-voting-base, but his performance of “We’ve Got Tonight” last week, and “Home” last night proved his voice and talent as an artist might have a little something to do with it as well. It was a star-studded and sequin-heavy finale at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles with performances by Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, John Fogerty, Chaka Khan...

You wouldn’t know it from the role he plays as kindly “mentor” to the promising young musical talent vying to be the next “American Idol,” but Jimmy Iovine has done as much to coarsen our popular culture as anyone on the planet. His biography boasts that the 59-year-old music producer has worked with such acclaimed acts as John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and U2. What it doesn’t say is that Iovine almost singlehandedly brought so-called “gangsta rap” from the outer fringes of the music industry – where it belonged – to right smack dab...

What do Scott McCreery, Kriss Allen, Jordin Sparks and Ruben Studdard have in common? All are past or present Christian musical artists. And all are past winners of “American Idol.” That’s why is doesn’t make sense that the producers of the popular FOX television show, now in its 12 season, have warned Colton Dixon, one of this year’s “Idol” finalists, that he needs to keep his devout Christian faith on the down low. “When we first started the Twitter and Facebook stuff,”Colton told Today.com, “they said beware of political or religious tweets. Just because it can turn off voters or...

“American Idol” producers have apparently warned Colton Dixon if he doesn’t tone down his overtly Christian act, he won’t have a prayer of winning the reality competition. The 20-year-old devout Christian, though, told Today.com that he answers to a higher authority than voting viewers. “When we first started the Twitter and Facebook stuff, they said beware of political and religious tweets,” Dixon told the site. “Just because it can turn off voters or whatever. But, you know, being a Christian is who I am. It is a part of me musically. It is what I want to do after the...

This week, "American Idol" kicked off its 11th season, and it appears even President Obama is getting into the spirit. On Thursday night at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater, the commander in chief surprised a star-studded Harlem, New York, crowd by busting out a few measures of "AI" staple Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."

She used to hide her Caribbean accent - Viewers were shocked on the top nine show when this soft-spoken singer out of nowhere morphed into a totally different person.... She was denied an "X Factor" fast-pass - Not only did Melanie almost get sent home before the live shows, she almost didn't make it to her audition at all. "I wanted to get a Fast Pass at the local Fox news in Florida, and they told me, 'No, we didn't enjoy you very much,'" she says, incredibly. "So I waited in line with all the thousands of people." Guess it...

Scotty McCreery has been very vocal about his Christian faith since the beginning of “American Idol,” so why not manifest it in his upcoming debut album? The young country artist revealed in an interview this week that he hopes to follow in Josh Turner’s footsteps and include at least one Christian song in his upcoming album. “One thing I love about Josh Turner is his faith, that’s why I looked up to him so much,” he told The Boot. The 17-year-old North Carolina native continued, "All the albums he's had have had at least one Christian song, like 'The Answer'...

Country won. Honesty won. Decency won. And good ol' American values won. They beat hypocrisy and hyperbole, snark and snicker, and the jaw-dropping arrogance of the experts and elites. No, I'm not talking about the Republican sweep of the House last year. Rather, I'm talking about last week's American Idol, where viewers disregarded the exhortations of entertainment and media elites and chose instead down-home over Hollywood, and country over anything and everything our cultural elites pushed at them. It became clear as the confetti rained down on this year's American Idol -- a teenager with white picket fence sensibilities and...

It's probably going to take more than a sore throat to stop Lauren Alaina. A report that the 16-year-old may not be able to sing in the American Idol finals tonight, thereby paving the way for Haley Reinhart's return, is "highly exaggerated," a show source assures E! News. But, alas, they're not out of the woods yet. Haley is standing by, just in case Lauren can't go on, an insider tells us. The finalists are supposed to sing three songs tonight, but she struggled through her second number during rehearsal and was unable to practice her third. The source says...

Remember how Steven Tyler has been saying that Aerosmith would perform with James Durbin at the Idol finale? Well it looks like he's the only band member who wants to do that. The Boston Herald reports that the other members of Aerosmith don't want to do it because they'd rather wait to promote something for their band. Besides, the last time we saw Joe Perry was when he played with Sanjaya at the season 6 finale. How could you possibly top that? (Answer: You can't)

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, N.Y. (PIX11)— Administrators at Brooklyn Academy High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant canceled Friday's talent show in the wake of a all-girl gang assault on one of the student contestants, PIX 11 has learned. According to authorities, 17-year-old Shacara McLaurin was brutally attacked by at least five other students on April 1st, one of them hitting her in the face with a padlock wrapped in a sock. "Yo, b--ch, I got a lock," one of the teen suspects allegedly shouted, as she pummeled McLaurin with the weapon. "I wasn't able to open my jaw. I wasn't able to talk. I...

Real estate mogul Donald Trump is tied for first in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, according to a new poll of Republicans. Nineteen percent of Republicans named Trump, who is flirting with a run for the party's presidential nomination, as their top choice for the nomination, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday. Another 13 percent said Trump was their second choice in a nominee. SNIP Trump scored 10 percent in last month's CNN poll, meaning he effectively doubled his support over the course of a month.

Well, if you’re reading about “American Idol” tonight the comments on Twitter, Facebook and just about anywhere you look aren’t pretty. Some fans are vowing to never watch again and the curse words are flying. That’s because we might have witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the show’s history. Idol darling Pia Toscano was sent home tonight. The judges looked furious and the sobs were pouring out for this New York contestant. Even the guys on stage looked like they were teary-eyed and everyone look shocked. Maybe the judges were part of the problem. They have been sugar-coating all...