Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

Sarah in the kitchen [photo: Justin Goode]"American Idol" 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, Hollywood Week continues apace with the female contestants' solo round, so for tonight's viewing, Sarah whipped something "girly, simple, and delicious!" Enjoy.

Remember Casey Abrams, the lovable, melodica-tooting, standup-bass-slapping, shaggy jazzbo from "American Idol" Season 10? He's one of "Idol's" most unforgettable alums, of course, but he's kept a low profile as of late. So when he suddenly appeared on TMZ this Wednesday, lying in his own filth and alongside a giant stuffed gorilla on an L.A. sidewalk, it was cause for alarm. Or maybe just cause for amusement.

Nicki Minaj spells it out for the contestantsAfter last week's less-than-impressive Hollywood Week group episode with "American Idol's" Season 12 guys, this week it was the ladies' time to shine. And with far more female than male contestants this year--and with Ryan Seacrest's desperate insistence that this'll be the year that a girl finally wins (hey, didn't Ryan say that last year? and the year before?)--the stakes seemed much higher than they did last week. But was the overall talent level higher? Was this really "the best girls we'd ever seen," as Ryan so boldly declared? Well, no. Many of the girls certainly didn't have any better luck remembering their lyrics, even when writing the words on their hands; it's a good thing they weren't auditioning on an "Idol" season still starring judge Simon Cowell (lyric-flubbing was always Simon's biggest pet peeve), or on "Don't Forget The Lyrics," for that matter, because they would have never survived.

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

Tonight, Hollywood Week continues with the female contestants, so Sarah was "inspired by the West Coast, with these fresh, quick, and easy appetizers." Tonight's recipe should get you in a properly Californian state of mind. Enjoy!

Tate Stevens didn't win "The X Factor" Season 2 by taking artistic risks or pushing the country music genre forward--judge Britney Spears once described him as "down-the-middle country," during one of her more astute critiques. So I suppose it comes as no surprise that Tate's first music video, "Holler If You're With Me," is, well, no surprise. The country-cliché video (which will also serve as a Pepsi commercial premiering during Sunday night's Grammy Awards telecast) is typical party-hardy fare, with Tate performing the rousing tune for a gathered outdoor crowd of beer-swilling (or Pepsi-swilling) fans.

Season 4 "RuPaul's Drag Race" alums Sharon Needles and Willam Belli just released new (chart-making!) music, but when it comes to ridiculously trashy dance videos, their original dragmother is clearly still the queen.

"Drag Race" host and dance music diva RuPaul just released his eye-popping, booty-popping, BSFW (barely safe for work) "Peanut Butter" video--featuring transgendered, self-declared "sissy" rapper Big Freedia--and let's just say it is a sticky feast for the senses. And the song is sure to get stuck in your head.

Last night, "American Idol's" Hollywood Week continued apace with the boys' solo round, and while several contestants (especially the adorkable Charlie Askew) stood out, the real star of the show was Nicki Minaj. While many haters out there still refuse to watch "Idol" now that Nicki's a regular on the judging panel, people who are actually tuning in for Season 12 know that Her Minajesty is turning out to be the most honest and effective "Idol" judge since Simon Cowell. Last night's episode proved that.

My usual co-host Matt Whitfield is sadly out sick today (get well soon, @lifeontheMlist!), but if he were here, I know he'd agree that Nicki did a fantastic job and offered the boys plenty of savvy advice and much-needed tough love last night. Watch me rehash Thursday's episode in my solo "The Day After" video below, and come back next Wednesday, when Matt rejoins me to dish about the Hollywood Week girls!

Nicki Minaj speaks her mind during Hollywood WeekIf you only started watching "American Idol" in the post-Simon Cowell era, over the past two seasons, then you were undoubtedly very confused when you tuned in for this Thursday's Season 12 Hollywood Week episode. What was this? An "Idol" judge giving actual advice? Having strong opinions? Not just telling everyone they're "beautiful" and "in it to win it"? Yes, on Thursday, newbie judge Nicki Minaj stepped it up and officially became "Idol's" new Simon Cowell, proving once and for all, to all doubters and haters, that Fox honchos actually knew what they were doing when they controversially hired her.