Good news for everyone who wants to skip ahead to the good stuff! According to reliable sources, the top 12 guys and gals have been leaked. I’ve placed the list of names under the cut so that those who don’t want American Idol season 9 spoilers can skip ahead. Here they are, arranged in no particular order. Some of them have MySpace, Facebook accounts, or interviews; simply click on their names to view it.

Michelle Delamor
Age: 19
Hometown: Miami Beach, FL

Katie Stevens
Season 9 Hollywood interview
Age: 17
Hometown: Middlebury, Connecticut
Instruments: Piano/Guitar
Style: Pop/Acoustic

Tyler Grady
From the Boston auditions

John Park

Ashley (Makailah) Rodriguez
Age: 22
Home town: Boston, MA
Style: R&B/Gospel
Hometown: Boston, MA

Jermaine Sellers
Season 9 Hollywood interview
Age: 25
Hometown: Joliet, IL

Christopher “Chris” Golightly
Audition Song: “Stand by Me”

Andrew Garcia
Hometown: Moreno Valley, CA

Alexander “Alex” Lambert
Hometown: North Richland Hills, TX

Jose Munoz

Lee DeWyze
Hometown: Chicago, IL

Michael Lynche
May be disqualified for breaking confidentiality agreement. Apparently, his dad told the St. Pete’s Times that he’d be in the top 24. Rumor has it Michael may be replaced by top 50 contestant Antwan Michael. The story is over here.
Style: R&B

Lacey Brown
Age: 23
Hometown: Amarillo, TX

Lillian “Lilly” Scott
Hometown: Denver/Boulder, Colorado
Style: Bluesy Indie Acoustic Rock

Haeley Vaughn
Age: 16
Hometown: Fort Collins, CO

Casey James
Hometown: Dallas/Fort Worth

Aaron Kelly
Was part of ‘America’s Most Talented Kids’
Winner of American Idol Experience at DisneyWorld
Age: 16
Hometown: Sonestown, PA

Janell Wheeler
Won Orlando’s Got Talent
Hometown: Orlando, FL

Katelyn Epperly

Crystal Bowersox
Hometown: Chicago, IL

Siobhan Magnus
Audition City: Boston

Stephanie Crews

Vered Didi Benami
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Paige Miles

So there you have it! Who do you think will make it to the top 12?

I checked out the Boston round of American Idol auditions and I must say – I don’t actually miss Paula one bit. It’s weird because I thought her absence would be noticeable but I actually didn’t remember that she was gone until the show is almost over. Maybe I’ll start to feel it when the live show begins, but if I don’t notice her absence now I’ll probably end up forgetting about her completely once the auditions are over.

Victoria Beckham was the guest judge for the Boston auditions and her presence didn’t make much difference. She didn’t say anything very helpful, she was overshadowed by the others – typical Idol guest judge.

I liked a couple of contestants from this round. 18-yo Mike Davis sang a good rendition of Yesterday, which the judges liked. Simon thought he was confident without being obnoxious, and Kara likes that he’s emotional. Randy said no though, but Mike made it to Hollywood! Tyler Grady was among the more interesting yet talented contestants. He shattered both his wrists but it sure didn’t affect his singing – he sounds like a 70’s rock star. I also love his curly hair. Four yeses from the judges for him! Among the girls, think Ashey Rodriguez might make it far, though I’m personally not a fan. She’s the package deal – the look, the polished commercial sound, the wholesome personality. Ellen Degeneres even showcased her on her show today. I much preferred Leah Laurenti, whose overly religious parents never let her listen to music that wasn’t about God. You can tell that she’s very passionate about what she’s doing, and she has this gorgeous, jazzy voice. She got four yeses from the judges and is on her way to Hollywood!

Stay tuned for more Idol updates.

After nearly ten years of Simon Cowell’s biting commentary as a judge of American Idol, he’s going to be leaving the show after 2010 to launch another one on the same network. Just today, Simon signed a contract with Fox executives to leave American Idol and launch X Factor, another talent show that hails from the United Kingdom. The UK show is pretty much his baby, and his new contract with Fox will bring the series to the United States. Simon believes that X Factor will help him find someone with unusual talent, especially since the show has a lot of key differences from American Idol. For one thing, X-Factor has no age limits – kids as young as 14 and as old as 100 are free to audition. X-Factor will be hitting the US airwaves on 2011. And according to rumors, Simon feels a little bitter about not being a part owner of American Idol, which he developed with his former friend Simon Fuller.

I’m not sure I can imagine American Idol with Simon Cowell gone. Well, I kind of can, but I imagine it to be a rather dull and boring show; Simon’s comments added a lot of life to every episode, and I don’t think Randy Jackson’s antics will be enough to keep it interesting. It looks like the new judges Ellen Degeneres and Kara DioGuardi have to make an effort to keep American Idol exciting, but not too much effort – I hate it when the judges blab away about nothing important.

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American Idol contestant Jason Castro was the third serious musical artist crush I’ve ever had (the other two were Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Brian Molko of Placebo, in high school and college respectively) and last Saturday, he broke the hearts of all his adoring female fans when he announced his marriage on Twitter.

On January 2, the 22-year old Jason Castro married his girlfriend Mandy Mayhall, whom he has known since high school. They became a couple in 2008 and he proposed to her on Halloween 2009. This is what she looks like!

This photo of Mandy Mayhall was posted on Twitpic by Jason Castro’s mom, who proudly introduced her as her new daughter.

Ah well, my heart breaks but I’m happy for the newlyweds and I hope they stay married and happy for a very long time.

Photo credit

Via MSN BC

Fox announced Wednesday that Ellen de Generes, talk show host and comedian, who admittedly has no formal music experience, just a passion for tunes, will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for the ninth season. The announcement all but seals the departure of Paula Abdul, the original third judge who announced she was quitting amid a contract dispute in July.

I wonder if Ellen really has the talent to discern the quality of a singer. Or maybe she can also get training on the judging aspect.

By now, I’m sure you’re well aware of the fact that during season 9 of American Idol, there are several celebrity guest judges who will be sitting in the place that Paula Abdul left empty. Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry were the first, Shania Twain was in Chicago to guest judge the auditions, and Neil Patrick Harris will be judging the Dallas auditions. Let’s take a brief moment to look at the other rumored American Idol guest judges and speculate about how well they’ll do.

Avril Lavigne

She’ll be joining Katy Perry in the LA leg of the auditions and I’m not too sure about her being an American Idol guest judge. I suppose her being a relatively successful music artist gives her the right to guest judge, but I don’t think she’s as experienced as the other judges and guest judges due to her age.

Kristen Chenoweth

Yet another highly-acclaimed Broadway star joins the guest judges, this time in Orlando. Kristen Chenowith is most known for her role in Pushing Daisies, which got her an Emmy nomination, and is also an original cast member of the Broadway hit Wicked. Some people think that Paula’s replacement should have more experience in the recording industry rather than actual singing talent, but it will definitely be refreshing seeing Kristen in Paula’s chair for at least an episode.

Kelly Clarkson

Should a former American Idol winner be guest judging the next contestant? It might be interesting to hear Kelly Clarkson’s perspective on the competition as an alumnus and winner of the show, but I’m not sure if that gives her enough clout to decide who moves up and who leaves Hollywood.

Mary J. Blige

Mary J Blige was also at the Atlanta auditions, and I think she might make a pretty good judge because of her long, successful career as an R&B musician. She’s likely to add thoughtful comments and critiques to the panel. To be perfectly honest though, I’m not really a big fan and I wouldn’t be too excited if she got to stay on for good.

Joe Jonas

I’m pretty sure the middle Jonas brother was only added to the roster to appeal to the tween demographic. I’m highly doubtful he’ll be replacing Paula for good.

I’m not really a fan of Katherine McPhee but I am totally digging her blond locks in her latest album cover. Her sophomore album, Unbroken, will be released on Verve Records on October 6 and I’m guessing the tracks will sound pretty much like your standard pop tunes. The first single from the album, Had It All, was written by Kara DioGuardi and is available on iTunes now.

Exciting news! E Online just confirmed that Neil Patrick Harris, also known as Uncle Barney from How I Met Your Mother, will be guest-judging the Dallas auditions. On the surface level, it seems as though his wit is the only thing he can bring to the judges’ table. But he’s had extensive experience singing on Broadway, and the Internet public got to see his talent firsthand with the Dr. Horrible musical miniseries. I doubt that Fox will keep Neil Patrick Harris on board because he’s not really a part of the recording industry, but I’m definitely looking forward to viewing the Dallas auditions episode. Among all the guest judges, NPH’s appearance is the one I’m excited for the most!

Photographer Robert Sebree has been taking a bunch of photos of Adam Lambert in his studio, and this Tudor-themed photo is the latest in the series. According to Adam, he enjoys playing dress up and you can totally see his flair for drama in these photos. Most of them have an awesome glam rock vibe that reminds me of my favorite movie of all time, Velvet Goldmine. Look under the cut for the colored version of the photo above, plus a few more photos by Robert Sebree.

This one is my favorite among the bunch. It’s so Velvet Goldmine!

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Jason Castro’s new single “Let’s Just Fall In Love” is finally out! At first, I was put off by the cheesy title because it sounds like a cheap ballad, it but after giving it a listen here I found myself bopping my head to the music. It’s a lively, radio-friendly tune that sounds a little like The Kooks, minus the thick accent. I can totally see this getting a lot of radio play in the weeks to come.

Jason’s upcoming debut album is also available for pre-order at JasonCastro.Com. For $9.99, you can get a digital download of the whole album 24 hours before its November 2009 release. And as much as I love Jason Castro, I wouldn’t be crazy enough to fork over $399.99 for the Pre-Order Deluxe Pack, which includes an autographed limited edition poster, an instant mp3 download of “Let’s Just Fall In Love Again”, a personalized voice mail message (I’d hate to have to pay for a voice mail message), a bunch of other merchandise I probably won’t use, and access to a fan club I probably won’t participate in.