Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

Monday night, "The Voice" Season 3 got off to a solid start...but last night's mere hour-long follow-up episode didn't quite deliver the goods, with an annoying emphasis on over-the-top sob stories instead of actual over-the-top performances, and very few performances of any quality, in general. (A not-so-grand total of five contestants made it through.) So this was hardly the momentum-maintaining episode needed to keep viewers tuned in for a third consecutive episode tonight, as "The Voice" goes blonde-head-to-blonde-head with "The X Factor's" big, Britney-centric Season 2 premiere.

Chehon & Cyrus: a battle of oppositesTowards the end of "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 9's final competitive episode on Tuesday, judge/producer Nigel Lythgoe named ballet girl Eliana Girard not only his favorite dancer of this season, but in "SYTYCD" history (sorry, Allison Holker). Then he told inexperienced animator Cyrus Spencer: "I am not going to vote for you tonight, only because I'm a dancer and I know what it means to work all your life to get to this point...I have to support Chehon [Wespi-Tschopp] tonight, for my own personal reasons."

So basically, Nigel openly declared that he thinks Eliana and Chehon should be crowned this season's co-ed winners next week. Wow, I don't always agree with Nigel, but I sure did in this case. Eliana and Chehon for the win, I say.

After a fairly awesome kickoff on Monday, "The Voice" Season 3 resumed Tuesday, and this time, the talent wasn't quite so awesome. Maybe NBC editors had shortsightedly frontloaded Monday's premiere episode with the most promising singers, leaving episode two to rely mainly on thickly laid sob stories, rather than on actual exciting auditions. Or maybe, when NBC executives made a last-minute decision to air a third episode this Wednesday, they hastily hacked what was originally supposed to be a single two-hour Tuesday episode into a pair of one-hour chunks. All I know is, when Tuesday's brief episode ended abruptly at the 9 o'clock hour, it just felt unfinished and anticlimactic.

Last night, "The Voice" Season 3 premiered, and perhaps a moment too soon. After all, it'd only been four months since Season 2 of "The Voice" wrapped. And with the series airing in the fall for the first time, up against some other major network shows, it had its lowest-rated season premiere ever. But will that stop my Yahoo! colleague/fellow pop-culture junkie Matt Whitfield and I from talking about it today? Heck no! We admit that we still missed "The Voice"...and from Xtina's ill-advised trapeze-aerialist leotard to a slew of new standout contestants, there is still plenty to discuss today.

photo: Ian DittbrennerSeason 8 "American Idol" champ Kris Allen has been tirelessly touring in support of his recently released third album, Thank You Camellia, playing everywhere from a rained-out ball game at Boston's Fenway Park (he jammed in a warm-and-dry stairwell instead), to Pet-A-Palooza, to even a guerrilla gig at the Santa Monica Pier that got busted up by an overzealous patrolman. So Kris fans probably think they've seen it all from this guy...but now they're in for yet another musical configuration, as showcased in a series of intimate new performances shot at Yahoo!'s studios in Los Angeles.

Well, it's only been four months since Jermaine What's-His-Name won "The Voice" Season 2, and already Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Cee Lo Green are back on NBC, searching for yet another singer who won't sell any records. Oh snap. Okay, yes, that sounds a little harsh and jaded. To be fair, Jermaine Paul hasn't even released an album yet--but that's precisely my point. Isn't it too soon for "The Voice" to be coming back? How can we miss it if it won't go away?

Well, like it or not, "The Voice" is back, and, to be honest, I did miss it just a bit. (Most of all, though, I missed Cee Lo's feline mascot, Purrfect, who apparently has been replaced by a considerably less cuddly pink cocktaoo.) "The Voice" is the TV talent show with arguably the widest and most impressive range of singing talent, even if that talent is too often overshadowed by the show's superstar judges, and Season 3's Monday premiere did not disappoint in that department.

courtesy Chuck Jones Photography/Manuel CoutureSeason 10 "American Idol" roots-rocker Paul McDonald--he of the Rod Stewart-esque rasp, rhinestone Nudie suits, and Pepsodent-commercial megawatt smile--may be following in the footsteps of his actress wife Nikki Reed by taking on a recurring role on NBC's "Parenthood"--but he's still a musician at heart, and he's currently at work on his long-overdue post-"Idol" album. And from the sound of "Counting Stars," a new track off the forthcoming "independent as it gets" release, going Hollywood hasn't changed this man one bit. He still sounds just like the gravel-voiced indie artist who charmed America with his understated covers of Rod The Mod's "Maggie May," the Beatles' "Blackbird," and Ryan Adams's "Come Pick Me Up," and he still sounds great. It's wonderful to hear his distinctive, character-filled voice once again.

photo: ITV"X Factor U.K." wannabe rock star Eddy String couldn't sing his way out of a Tesco paper bag, clearly believes he is the illegitimate lovechild of Pete Doherty and Russell Brand, and is so cocky, even Gary Barlow finds him annoying.

And yet, I am obsessed with him.