Blog Posts by Lyndsey Parker

Which of these girls got the final Steal?The last Battle Rounds of "The Voice" Season 4 aired Tuesday, finalizing the team lineups that will advance to next week's knuckle-biting Knockout Rounds. There were no major upsets this evening, other than the very upsetting fact that, once again, three of the Battles were shown only in truncated montage form. Not cool, "Voice"! But otherwise, this was an entertaining episode, with sound decisions made by the four coaches.

Here are the final lucky contestants who squeaked through to next week's Knockouts:

photos: Getty ImagesLast week, "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe blamed this season's slumping ratings on a lack of judge chemistry, and then beloved original judge Paula Abdul made a surprise cameo on the program and even sat in her old center seat behind the judging table. So perhaps it's not a massive surprise that "Idol's" honchos may be considering retooling the panel for Season 13.

What is surprising? A new report that claims producers secretly plotted to replace incumbent judge Mariah Carey, whose $18 million salary makes her the highest-paid judge on reality TV right now, with former judge Jennifer Lopez--in the middle of this current season!

On Monday, "The Voice" Season 4 Battle Rounds continued, with plenty of surprises. One frontrunner (Jessica Childress) went home way too soon; another frontrunner (Luke Edgemon) was foolishly sacrificed by Shakira to another team; and a couple other underdog contestants (C. Perkins, Orlando Dixon) were surprise Steals.

Today, my "The Day After" cohost Matt Whitfield and I discuss last night's Battles and get ready for tonight's final showdown rounds. How are you feeling about the Battle Rounds so far? Let us know in the comments section below.

Many singing-show judge castings have been controversial, or at least eyebrow-raising (Nicki Minaj on "American Idol" and Britney Spears on "The X Factor USA" come to mind). But the latest reality-casting news thundering Down Under just may be the oddest yet. This week it was mind-bogglingly announced that the new judge for "The X Factor Australia," replacing former panelist (and original "Australian Idol" winner) Guy Sebastian, is...Redfoo.

Midas Whale vs. Patrick DoddThe third Battle Rounds episode of "The Voice" Season 4 aired this Monday, and while Shakira used up all her Steals last Monday like a giddy kid opening all her Christmas presents on December 1st, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Usher still had Steals in play this week. And those three coaches came ready to do some serious poaching. They were stealing and dealing all over the place. By the end of Monday's show, Blake and Adam had given away their last Steals, while Usher, who hadn't stolen anyone yet, finally snagged one of Shakira's castoffs for his own team. Some of these coaches' decisions made sense. Others, not so much. And some, not at all.

Here's what went down during Monday night's surprising Battle Rounds:

TEAM USHER: Jessica Childress vs. VEDO
Usher pitted two of his best R&B singers against each other, which wasn't exactly the shrewdest move. Why would he want to give up either of these contestants--or run the risk of having one of them stolen away by a rival coach and used

Who is that masked Shields man?Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," which came out last week to much Spotify-server-crashing fanfare, is basically The. Most. Awesome. Song. Ever.

The Shields Brothers, from Season 2 of "The Voice," are one of the most awesome "Voice" acts ever.

Khloe is out, Mario is in for "The X Factor" Season 3 [photo: Fox]First L.A. Reid jumped the Titanic-esque sinking ship that is "The X Factor." Then Britney Spears jumped--or maybe she was pushed. And way before that, Season 1's Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, and Steve Jones were all shown the Fox exit door. And now it has been confirmed that last year's co-host, Khloe Kardashian--arguably the least loathable Kardashian, who was presumably drafted by Simon Cowell to boost the show's ratings (but didn't)--will not be coming back to "The X Factor" after her one-season run.

Last night was a very nostalgic night "American Idol," as the top five results show featured performances by old-school "Idol" favorites Fantasia and Clay Aiken and well as a surprise appearance by former judge Paula Abdul, who reclaimed her center seat at the judging table and looked right at home. Yay!

It was such a feelgood episode, in fact, that my "The Day After" cohost Matt Whitfield and I were barely even sad when the show ended on a bummer note as Janelle Arthur was sent home. Simply nothing could ruin our nostalgic buzz. Watch us talk about last night's walk down memory lane in our latest recap chat below!