Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

"The Voice" has had a long history of alums with serious showbiz experience--Season 1 winner Javier Colon was once signed to Capitol Records and fronted the Derek Trucks Band; Season 2 winner Jermaine Paul was Alicia Keys's backup singer; and reigning champion Cassadee Pope used to sing for the Pete Wentz-championed Decaydence/Columbia Records emo-pop band Hey Monday. But one Blind Auditioner for "The Voice" Season 4, which premieres in less than a week, just may have the most impressive résumé yet. And she just may be the next "Voice" winner.

Regular readers of Reality Rocks know I loved me some Cody Belew, the flamboyant rodeo soulman from Season 3 of "The Voice." The night he went home, after defying all odds to make it all the way to the top eight, was a sad night for me indeed. But happily, Cody is now bringing back the bam-bam with his brand-new video, "Baby Get Out."

Looks like Simon Cowell has found "The One"!Eternal bachelor Simon Cowell has finally taken the plunge and made an honest woman out of the love of his life: himself.

The first top 10 contestant of "American Idol" Season 12 was voted off by America this Thursday, and as I predicted, that contestant was Curtis Finch Jr. His death-spot position on Wednesday, singing first; his hokey song choice, the Fantasia Season 3 coronation song "I Believe"; and the news about his criminal record, which broke in The National Enquirer the day he performed, clearly all hurt him in the end. Nicki Minaj quite vocally opposed this result, and said, "Curtis, if you go home, I'll go home!"--a declaration I am sure many of her haters hoped was a promise, not a threat. I personally hope Nicki didn't mean that, but I do think America got this vote right. America got a lot right this week, actually, but I'll get to all that in a minute.

Sarah Sellers [photo: Justin Goode]Season 10 alum and cool food blogger Sarah Sellers has been posting her viewing-party snack recipes in Reality Rocks for two "Idol" seasons now, and she's back this year to get your mouth watering every night of Season 12.

Tonight, the first top 10 finalist of the season will be sent home, so comfort food is definitely in order for what is sure to be an emotional evening. These breadcrumb-coated veggies should hit the spot!

Wednesday was the first coed competitive performance show of "American Idol" Season 12, but judge Nicki Minaj couldn't even be bothered to show up on time for this supposedly momentous occasion. She was a shocking THIRTEEN minutes late for the live taping, missing all of the first performance before finally slinking onto the set in a Unabomber hoodie and Olsen-twin sunglasses. A judge being tardy for a live show? That certainly was an "Idol" first; even loopy Paula Abdul managed to make it to work on time back in the day.

But that was the only "Idol" first this week. The theme of Wednesday's show was songs sung by past "Idol" winners (either covers the Idols did on the show, or Idols' singles), so there was a lot of retreading going on. It sort of felt like a bad episode of "American Idol Rewind." In general, it was just a bad idea. Remember when "So You Think You Can Dance" had contestants reprise past Mia Michaels routines, and it was a total flop? Yeah, it was sort of like that. Nigel Lythgoe clearly will never learn.

Sarah in the kitchen [photo: Justin Goode]Season 10 alum and cool food blogger Sarah Sellers has been posting her viewing-party snack recipes in Reality Rocks for two "Idol" seasons now, and she's back this year to get your mouth watering every night of Season 12.

Tonight, the top 10 finalists will finally compete together, the girls against the boys, for the very first time...so now the season is really getting started. So, for tonight's occasion, Sarah is serving up classic party food.

photo: Kristen (Jower-Ho) ShafferIt has been a while since Season 9 "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox was on the scene, but 2013 is sure to be a massive comeback year for the rootsy Portland-based songstress. With a new label deal with Shanachie Entertainment; a new album, All That For This, featuring a duet with the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan; and a titular starring role in Broadway's Always...Patsy Cline, Crystal's career is sure to soon be hotter than ever.

Right before Crystal began her U.S. tour this month, she swung by Yahoo! Music HQ to treat our staff to a few gorgeous acoustic tunes, including her new single "Dead Weight" and a ballad she wrote with her husband Brian Walker, "Everything Falls Into Place." Enjoy: