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By Jill Berry

At the beginning of the top 24, Simon declared that the girls had the 'edge' on the boys. I'm not so convinced of that after tonight's show.

The boys were so strong that I'm having a hard time predicting who is going to be eliminated.

By Jill Berry

Well, I can't believe that I've been forced to wait a whole season for the return of 'group singing' on elimination nights! Whatever have I done to deserve such treatment? Good grief! Must they subject us to such 'cheeziness'?

(Photo: Danny Gokey, third place winner from American Idol, Season 8 talks about 'Life after Idol' on The Rhode Show on Fox. Click image to listen.)

Wednesday night's episode had the general theme of frustration from the judges with a few high spots. Out of ten girls; that isn't many.

Taking the lead tonight in the line-up and in the judges' hearts, was Crystal Bowersocks singing, 'As Long As I Can See the Light' by CCR. Ah, good old Creedence! Even though she was first, she remained my favorite of the night. 24 hours ago she was sicker than a dog and tonight she's on stage with all the confidence of a seasoned artist and more talent in her little finger than most of them have in their whole body. She is here for the long haul, folks!

(Photo: Lacey Brown performed 'Kiss Me' on Wednesday night for American Idol. Click the image to view partical performance.)

By Jill Berry

Hello, all! My name is Jill Berry and I've been given the opportunity to write the Editorial Review for the popular reality show, ‘American Idol.’

On Tuesday night you may have noticed that your show guide said the ‘girls’ were up. Apparently, Crystal Bowersocks has a medical condition that's keeping her in the hospital so the ‘boys’ agreed to change nights.

So, the first of the 10 was ‘Big Mike’ (Michael Lynch). He's definitely true to his nick-name, as he has a bigger than life stage presence. Unfortunately for me, and for him, his song was quite forgettable. ‘This is a Man's World’ by James Brown was a good choice for him as it’s the right genre---R&B Soul and all that---but boring. It was an improvement from last week, none-the-less. The judges mostly disagreed with me, as they all liked it, including Simon. Shocker: from ‘pussycat to lion’ in one week. I know a lot of you aren't fans of Simon, but his advice/criticisms are generally on the mark and I get a kick out of him.

By Rose Wade

Tonight's episode was much faster, so less painful than last night's. There is an unusual air of happy-happy, joy-joy this season, I think. The first 30 minutes of the program was spent focusing on yeses and smiles and hugs and sunshine and rainbows. OK, maybe no rainbows, but you get my drift. That is a new direction for the producers, who usually opt for the crying, stomping of the feet, bleeping out and fuzzing out reactions of the hopefuls who didn't make it through. It has always been about ratings afterall. Perhaps their research this year shows that smiles and hugs will make more people tune in and stay tuned in?

(Photo: Haeley Vaughn gets the last spot for te final 12 girls on American Idol. Click here to watch.)

By Rose Wade

Tonight, seven of the top 24 contestants were revealed.

Room 1 was the one the judges let off the hook first. Ellen did her predictable rambling back and forth, humming and hawing about whether they made it through, to the point that there was no question they had to have made it. There was some serious, noticeable talent in that room anyway, which gave it away from the get-go. Michael Lynch, Katie Stevens, Lily Scott and Thaddeus Johnson are all through to the next elimination.

(Image: Jessica Furney pleads for the judges to reverse their decision and let her move into the top 12 girls. Click here to watch.)

By Rose Wade

Eight-five down, seventy-two to go to get to that magical top 24 contestants.

This episode dives right into the drama that is group night in Hollywood. Mary 'Big Personality' Powers, Alex Lambert, and Margo May collect and call their group the 'Dreamers'. Before they spend any time practicing, they invite 2 other girls to join, which didn't seem like a good idea from the start. The just couldn't seem to get it together as a group, but got plenty of camera time because of it --- or maybe in spite of it. Mary was not only unphased by her group's attempt to squelch her bossy ways, but even the attempts of the American Idol staff didn't deter her from dictating how she thought things should go. Give it a rest, girl; you are there to sing, not change the world.

(Photo: Myabe the biggest disappointment of the evening, Mark Labriola, who had been 'one to watch', forgot the words and heads home after the group auditions. Click here to watch.)

By Rose Wade

Hollywood week begins with new judge, Ellen DeGeneres, trying to put the contestants at ease by telling them she understands what it's like trying to please a big crowd. It was uninspired and didn't seem to help too many of the singers with their nerves. Her banter with Simon about her coming on the show and him leaving was just not Ellen's best comedy, and I'm a fan. Maybe she was just that nervous. Here is hoping she gets more interesting as the auditions continue.

(Photo: Andrew Garcia's acustic rendition of Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up' was one of the highlights of this episode of American Idol. Click here to listen for yourself.)

Exhibitions

Main gallery Febraury 6 - March 20

“Cabin Fervour!”

A Show that depicts seven Cariboo artists’ passion for the Cariboo life, winter and the cabin experience featuring:

Barb Brown, Dianne Clowes, Kathy Crawshay, Neil Pinkett, Patsy Granberg, Sharon Isaaks, Tom Godin

Opening day is February 6 from noon until 4:00pm; you can meet the artists, enjoy the show, and partake of hot chocolate and nibblies.

By Samantha Leigh Kelley

Los Angeles produced an astonishing 11,000 people to audition for American Idol, yet the two day audition period was only fruitful for a measly 22 contestants. This seems to be a growing trend; we are hopeful to see amazing talent, are pretty much let down. Not to mention the disappointment in the guest judges. I can’t wait for Ellen DeGeneres!

Moody pop star Avril Lavigne was the guest judge for day one. She appeared to be allergic to the word ‘yes’ as she was only shown uttering it once. Simon said, “I love the fact that we have the official devil on the show.” That’s bad, coming from his mouth.

(Photo: Guest judge Katy Perry disses friend and fellow judge, Kara DioGuardi, more than once during American Idol's auditions in Los Angeles.  Click on image to view partial YouTube clip from last night's eposide.)