Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

photo: Tyler Golden/NBCThis Wednesday, "The Voice" top 12 were announced on the first publicly voted live results show of Season 4. Well, at least I think it was publicly voted. While it wasn't a huge shock how the four teams ultimately turned out, there were still a couple of surprises. And the biggest surprise was that many of America's votes didn't count at all.

Last night, "The Voice" Season 4 Live Playoffs continued with Team Blake and Team Shakira, and while the overall episode wasn't as strong as Monday's, there were two contestants--Blake's Danielle Bradbery and Shakira's Sasha Allen--who stood out enough to seem like potential winners of this entire season. Maybe Team Adam isn't the team to beat, after all.

Mariah Carey has been managed by her fellow "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson since 2011, and he reportedly was instrumental in brokering her record-setting $18 million deal to join him at the "Idol" judges' table this year. But Mariah is no longer Randy's star managerial client, a source has confirmed.

Sarah Sellers [photo: Justin Goode]Season 10 "American Idol" 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 three "Idol" finalists will be singing three songs each: a producers' choice, a judges' choice, and a choice by in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine. So Sarah is going rogue and just serving up her own choice of favorite snack. Enjoy!

Will Danielle Bradbery lead Team Blake to a third consecutive win?After Adam Levine and Usher's teams competed Monday night in the first Live Playoffs episode of "The Voice" Season 4, on Tuesday it was time for Blake Shelton and Shakira's contestants to give it a go. The episode started off oddly, when Blake took his all-country team to a karaoke club to rehearse, which wasn't exactly the best way to change public belief that all singing shows are basically glorified karaoke. But hey, who wouldn't want to hang out with Blake Shelton at a karaoke bar? That sure sounds like an awesome night out to me.

Last night, "The Voice" Season 4 Live Playoffs commenced with Team Adam and Team Usher, and Adam Levine proved he still has the team to beat. While Adam's contestants performed well--and (this is important) performed songs that made sense for their individual styles--Usher's contestants mostly floundered, as they were sabotaged by song choices that were either overly challenging (Muse, Whitney Houston) or just playing boring (Phil Collins???). Only Michelle Chamuel stood out as a top contender and Team Usher's real hope.

Michelle Chamuel is Team Usher's only standout"The Voice" Season 4 finally went live this week, as the contestants competed for the public vote and for coveted spots in the top 12 semifinals. Once the show is down to that all-important top 12, team quotas will no longer matter, and it'll be every singer for him- or herself. But this week, such quotas still applied. And the members of one of the teams were probably very relieved that that was the case, because they would have been screwed otherwise.

So this week, three contestants from each team will ultimately advance: two voted through by America, and one saved by each coach. On Monday, it was time for the eight contestants comprising Team Adam and Team Usher to compete, and honestly, Adam Levine made Usher look like a chump.

Crystal Bowersox with Brian Walker at South By Southwest 2011In sad "American Idol" news, Season 9 runner-up Crystal Bowersox has revealed, via People magazine, that she is splitting from her husband, fellow folk-rock musician Brian Walker.

"After two and a half years, we have decided to end our marriage," the couple told People in a statement Monday. "The friendship and love which brought us together remains strong, and we will continue to support each other in our careers and personal lives. We are hopeful that people will be respectful of our privacy as we face this emotional and challenging time for our family."