Simon Cowell

Is it time to quit dismissing the taste of teenage girls and start appreciating Justin Bieber?

By Brittany Spanos At what point did teen girls suddenly just become wrong? "Serious" music fans seem to have universally accepted a critique of quality that befalls any artist who willingly sells to the rabid teen girl market and stigmatized the fans who dare to sometimes be male or at least above ... More >>

American Idol is now more focused on judges than contestants

If Britney Spears accepts X Factor job, she could still learn a sexy thing or two from Christina

This time last year, the most contagious pop trend was working with Pitbull, and what a bandwagon trend that was. As much as we're glad the Pitbull days are over, we're not too hot for this new thing, either. And this new thing, somewhat strangely, is serving as a judge for a televised singing compe ... More >>

Watch: Tupac hologram at Coachella -- you've seen the footage. Here's how it was done

By now you've seen Tupac's performance with Snoop Dogg last night at Coachella. The legendary rapper was brought back to life by Dr. Dre's production company in collaboration with Digital Domain, James Cameron's digital production company, and AV Concepts, a company based in Tempe, Arizona, using a ... More >>

One Direction sues One Direction over the name "One Direction" ...confused yet?

See Also: • One Direction at the Pepsi Center 7/24/13 • One Direction proves skeptics wrong on SNL • Boy-band resurgence: One Direction trys to fill the void Justin Timberlake left Some say you haven't tasted success until you are sued. If that's true, then it's official: One Direction is qu ... More >>

American Idol in Galveston: Just like the good ol' days

Last night's episode of American Idol offered us a few strong contenders and an out-of-place space shuttle opening sequence. Houston, we have a problem: we're not actually in Houston -- despite misleading promos, we're in Galveston, Texas. Don't be deceived, people. Skylar Laine, a sweet seventeen ... More >>

American Idol in Pittsburgh: Judges still too soft

American Idol glided through Pittsburgh last night without blemish. There weren't any major breakdowns, nor letdowns, nor catty digs at Steven Tyler's wacky facial expressions. No, the Steel City produced a cornucopia of talented, Hollywood-bound contestants -- a whopping 38 in total, with big ambit ... More >>

American Idol is back, with a new host of hopefuls

If the hat Steven Tyler wore during last night's premiere of American Idol is anything to go by, it's going to be an interesting season.​Nearly eight months since Scotty McCreery became America's latest Idol in May 2011, it's good to have the cast of American Idol 2.0 back in action. To wit, R ... More >>

Ten pop music moments that defined 2011

With major comebacks and massive hits, 2011 was the year of the women, from Beyoncé to Miley Cyrus. Without singers like Adele, we wouldn't have songs to cry along with, and without Katy Perry, we wouldn't have any songs to hum at our nine to five. So what exactly were the biggest pop moments of 20 ... More >>

Nicole Scherzinger's debut album delayed again, plus a breakdown of this week's charts

Despite being a judge on the American version of X Factor, Nicole Scherzinger has had a rough go in the music industry ever since leaving the Pussycat Dolls. This week, word came down that the release date for her debut album Killer Love, originally slated for November 15, has been pushed back to so ... More >>

Ted Haggard on Celebrity Wife Swap: What five reality shows will he sign up with next?

Ted Haggard.​Disgraced pastor turned media whore Ted Haggard has agreed to appear on Celebrity Wife Swap -- and will trade significant others with Gary Busey. And no, this isn't a post from The Onion. Having failed with his own reality-show attempt, Hag's apparently now open to all comers, as ... More >>

Round two with Doug Anderson, head baker at Hi*Rise

Lori Midson​ Doug Anderson Hi*Rise 2162 Larimer Street 303-296-3656 www.hirisedenver.com This is part two of my interview with Doug Anderson, owner and chief baker of Hi*Rise. Part one of my chat with Anderson ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: I'm totally unqualifi ... More >>

Round two with Doug Anderson, head baker at Hi*Rise

Lori Midson​ Doug Anderson Hi*Rise 2162 Larimer Street 303-296-3656 www.hirisedenver.com This is part two of my interview with Doug Anderson, owner and chief baker of Hi*Rise. Part one of my chat with Anderson ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: I'm totally unqualif ... More >>

The five types of people you can spot running at Wash Park

​I like to go running. There, I'll admit it. I'm not what you would call a running junkie, but boy needs his cardio every once in a while. My favorite place to run? Wash Park. Because of all the eye candy. That's right, my eyes like to wander. That's not to say that I like to creepily check pe ... More >>

Photos: X Factor auditions at Colorado Mills

Hunter Stevens Since Saturday, 300 people recorded audition tapes. "We haven't really advertised anything, said Houtz, this is crazy!"​If you happened to be walking in the Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood this weekend, you may have noticed a curious little booth that was brightly lit and featur ... More >>

Five better things for JLo to cry about than American Idol

​JLo couldn't handle the dream crushing on last week's American Idol. Apparently, she was under the impression that this show consisted of judges telling people how inspiring their life stories are. She shed some tears and questioned her future on the show, but despite the manufactured drama, ... More >>

Ten pop music paradigm shifts in 2010

​Teen dream Justin Bieber is arguably the biggest pop star in the country and Simon Cowell isn't doing American Idol. A lot's changed since last year in the world of pop. Institutions fell, ideas were challenged, and the Black Eyed Peas didn't have the number one song in the country at any poi ... More >>

Adam Lambert

Saturday, July 17, Paramount Theatre, 303-623-0106.

Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary for One Book, One Denver

​For a city that embraces reading, Denver has never really embraced the One Book, One Denver program -- not even after last year's votingpalooza for the fifth edition, tied to a secret National Endowment for the Arts grant from the Big Read program, which resulted in the pick of To Kill a Moc ... More >>

American Idol: Lilly Scott takes on Patsy Cline and helps keep things interesting. Is she too interesting or just interesting enough? We'll see.

If Lilly Scott doesn't win this whole thing on the strength of her talent, she should win just by virtue of the fact that she's infinitely more interesting than, well, everyone else on Idol this season. Really. Her song choices alone ("Lullaby of Birdland," "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "I Fall to ... More >>

American Idol: Lilly Scott and Haeley Vaughn move on to round two

America finally got a look at Ms. Lilly Scott last night on Idol. She got the nod from Simon Cowell and company to move forward to the next round of cuts after wowing them with a sterling rendition of "Lullaby of Birdland," a tune made famous by Ella Fitzgerald. If you ask us, Lilly did Ella justice ... More >>

Jessica Furney, American Idol contestant in Denver: If all else fails, appeal to Simon Cowell's vanity

Tuesday's episode of American Idol spotlighted Denver, giving the rest of the country an opportunity to check out Haeley Vaughn, Colorado's great Idol hope, not to mention Ty Hemmerling, the shapely contestant known as Bikini Boy. But last night's compendium of the audition rounds featured some add ... More >>

Bikini Boy speaks!: Ty Hemmerling on his revealing American Idol performance

Ty Hemmerling ties one on.​Last night's American Idol episode focusing on the show's Denver auditions introduced America to Fort Collins' Haeley Vaughn, who's clearly Colorado's great Idol hope. But arguably the most memorable moment came courtesy of Ty Hemmerling, dubbed "Bikini Boy" by judg ... More >>

Top Five Candidates to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol

​So by now you've heard that legendary curmudgeon Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season. Good for him. Probably a few years too late if he were hoping to jump ship before the franchise jumped the shark, but whatever. Anyhow, his absence will all but drain Idol's talent pool ... More >>

Record stores placed on endangered species list

"It's not my fault, I'm just a symptom"​Susan Boyle is the top seller at not one, but two independent record stores this week. Let that sink in for a moment. Susan fucking Boyle. No offense to Ms. Boyle; I'm sure she's a lovely person. But she's a middle-aged woman who got famous singing fuck ... More >>

Victoria Beckham in Denver for American Idol auditions?

The Posh one.​Many locals are no doubt still emotionally distraught by Paula Abdul's absence from today's latest round of American Idol judging in Denver. But it looks as if such people will be getting a celebrity booster shot to assist in their recovery. To whit: X17online.com reports that Vi ... More >>

Another spot of genius from PETA

Q: What's the highest rated television show in the history of everything? A: American Idol. Q: And who is the most high-profile judge on American Idol? A: Simon Cowell. That's right.  And if there's one organization in the world that knows how to exploit celebrity (even if it happen ... More >>

An American Idol audition that killed a dog

A Flickr photo"No golden ticket for you." The American Idol auditions that turned Invesco Field at Mile High into an ear-damage danger zone for three days earlier this week racked up at least one casualty. Quincy Vanderbilt, a 24-year-old North Dakotan was charged with animal cruelty and given an A ... More >>

Denver appears on Australian Idol -- sort of

Denver the Dinosaur rocks Australian Idol. Coloradans such as Boulder's Ace Young have had a modicum of success on American Idol. And now, a contestant on Australian Idol, the down-under variation on the TV singing-contest phenomenon, has raised Denver's profile internationally, more or less. In th ... More >>

Took a Shot

Idol Speculation

Hit Parade

It's business as usual for the Civic Center, Denver's premier urban space.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of March 2, 2006

Il Divo

Ancora (Columbia/Syco Music)

New Sensation

INXS turns Fortune hunting into reality TV.

Yule's Tide

Searching for gems in the flood of seasonal discs.

The Beatdown

In which yours truly auditions for Gimme the Mike.

The Message

Saint John

The Importance of Being Holly

Meet Holly Kylberg, the boldest of Denver's boldfaced names.

The Beatdown

A brokenhearted savior revs up Monsters Inc. at Herman’s for old time’s sake.

Backwash

Start me up: The Stones came to town — and everyone knew it.