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By Sugey Palomares

It looks like David Archuleta has the most loyal and die-hard fans on the Interwebz! Billboard.com recently created a virtual battle to decide which female and male "American Idol" grad was the best contestant in the show's history.

Thousands of votes poured in and nominated the "Crush singer" and county songstress Carrie Underwood at the top of the list. Underwood trumped all of las damas, but Archuleta dominated the competition with 92% of the votes!

Here is what he had to say about his win:

"[Winning the poll] is really flattering. I guess the fans I have are just really supportive. I think it's cool that people consider me their favorite...Carrie's just so successful. She's sold millions and millions of albums and she has a great voice and a great personality."

Besides this victory, Archie fans have have another reason to celebrate; the chart-topper is preparing to release a new album later this fall. A new single is also in the works for the end of this summer.

Now that's music to our ears!

Source: [Billboard]

Who is your favorite 'Idol'? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags American Idol, Carrie Underwood, contest, David Archuleta, Latin Music, Latinos, MTV, Musica Latina, Tr3s

If Fox thinks they can censor Gaga, they've got another think coming! On Wednesday (May 5) night's "American Idol" results show, Lady Gaga took over the 'AI' stage to perform "Alejandro" and "Bad Romance." The performance was pre-taped last week, which gave 'Idol' editors plenty of time to cut revealing moments from Gaga's performance.

So what scintillating, too-hot-for-TV content did they decide to ax? According MTV News' "Idol" experts, the following scenes were removed from the main show:

"An extended, ballad-y version of her hit "Bad Romance," which ran about 1:15 in total length, and a few stray shots of Gaga's posterior (usually cutting to a shot of her winsome violin player for coverage). Oh, and it appears editors also blurred out her left breast when she sprawled across the front of the stage during the "Alejandro" chorus."

Despite 'Idol''s censorship, the performance made its way around the internet and can currently be seen on Gaga supporter Perez Hilton's site, where he writes that 'Idol' producers made the cuts due to "time constraints."

Gaga hasn't addressed her edits, but she did tweet the following messages.

Before 'Idol':

"I'm performing ALEJANDRO tonight on #AmericanIdol! Tune in little monsters, Paws up! I dedicate this performance to u, u make me strong. X"

After 'Idol':

"http://bit.ly/apyBrH here's my full american idol performance ALEJANDRO. Fox chopped up my performance in 4 places. Real version on itunes."

Tr3s Comunidad, do you think Fox edited Gaga's 'AI' performance for time, or was she chopped and screwed? Weigh in below, or @MTV3!

Tags American Idol, Lady Gaga, performance

Mark your calendars! La Loba will grace "American Idol" with her hip-shaking presence during the show's results episode on Wednesday (April 28).

Shaki is set to perform "Gypsy" accompanied by Rascal Flatts, who will also perform their song "Unstoppable." Lady Antebellum will also take the stage, and county music star Shania Twain will guest mentor.

What can we expect from La Colombiana? Hopefully decent acoustics! R&B stars Alicia Keys and Usher have performed recently and their concerts were less than stellar. Is it "American Idol," or were both of these artists having off nights? Sounds like a challenge! Team Blogamole will definitely be watching, will you?

One thing's for sure, Barranquilla-born Shakira is definitely a show stopper. In addition to 'Idol,' she is also performing at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in South Africa in June.

In other "AI" news, Wednesday's (April 21) "Idol Gives Back" charity event raised an estimated 45 million for a variety of charities including: Children's Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children's U.S. Programs and the United Nations Foundation.

"Idol" creator Simon Fuller released the following statement:

"Once again, I am over overwhelmed by the generosity of the 'American Idol' viewers, our sponsors and our special benefactors. I am so thankful to all of the celebrity guests and performers who appeared Wednesday night to support 'Idol Gives Back.'"

The fundraising figure was slightly below the previous totals for the show, which brought in more than $70 million during its inaugural year in 2007 and $60 million in 2008. The event was postponed in 2009 due to the economic recession.

The $45 million figure is likely to go up when the totals are in from the iTunes store, which will donate net proceeds from the sales of the top seven finalist performances to "Idol Gives Back." A select number of performances from Wednesday night's show will also be featured in the iTunes store.

$45 million sounds like a succesfull event to us, but donations are still being accepted online at AmericanIdol.com and by telephone at (877) IDOL-AID (877-436-5243; toll-free).

Tr3s Comunidad, will you watch La Loba on "American Idol"? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags 2010, American Idol, performance, Shakira

By Simone Hilliard

It was "Idol Gives Back" week on the popular Fox series. With Alicia Keys as this week's guest mentor, the top seven competed with inspirational songs.

On Tuesday (April 20), Crystal Bowersox brought down the house (and mood of the show), bursting into tears while performing a cover of the Curtis Mayfield classic, "People Get Ready." The pierced & dreadlocked, 24-year-old mother told Ryan Seacrest that it wasn't the song that made her emotional, but seeing her father in the audience.

Judge Kara Dio Guardi had this to say after her performance:

"Thank you so much for taking a risk. MamaSox, you know why they call you that? 'Cause you just schooled all those contestants."

Wednesday (April 21) was the official two hour "Idol Gives Back" telethon. The contestants wore white, George Lopez stopped by, and a bevy of artists, actors, President Obama and La Primera Dama lent their voices to the cause. MTV News reported a few hilarious music highlights:

"Each member of the Black Eyed Peas performed a separate song simultaneously (also of note: Fergie dressed like Wonder Woah-man). Mary J. Blige dramatically took off her sunglasses during an "all-star" "Stairway to Heaven." Alicia Keys left her voice at home and it was most unfortunate when a demon entered the body of Joss Stone and ruined her performance with Jeff Beck. I hope she gets exorcised soon. Perhaps "Idol" will raise money for that cause next year."

In the end, Casey James, Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban were in the bottom three and it was Urban who said goodbye. MTV News' "American Idol" expert Jim Cantiello said that the mop-toppers' undoing was deviating from his proven formula: singing songs with limited range that he could mostly nail.

Tr3s Comunidad, do you think Urban deserved to leave? Weigh in below, or @MTV3!

Tags Alicia Keys, American Idol, Crystal Bowersox, Idol Gives Back, recap

"American Idol" has had its share of A-list music talent drop by this season. From Alicia Keys to Usher, a slew of artists have participated as guest mentors. Next up is our favorite Bionic vixen, Christina Aguilera! She told Atlanta's Star FM on Tuesday (April 20) that she will appear during the show's finale on May 26.

Aguilera did not elaborate on what she planned to sing on "Idol," but she did go into detail on the rumors surrounding her reported rift with Gaga. When asked if Gaga ripped off her theatrical style during her four year hiatus, Aguilera had this to say:

"No rip-offs, we're all inspired by different things. I was inspired ...... by artists that came before me. That was the whole point of my Back to Basics record, accumulating all of that. I love that there are newcomers. You know what I love about the new breed of newcomers is that they're risk takers. They're doing things that aren't so safe. ... I always had the guts and passion to do things like that. ... I'm happy to see that people have come full-circle and are now accepting it and are into it and these girls have the guts to do it."

No beef between these broads! That was a very classy response from Ms. Aguilera.

Next up for Xtina is the release of her Bionic LP on June 8, her summer tour kicking off in July, and of course her silver screen debut in Burlesque, hitting theaters Thanksgiving weekend.

"You will see me dancing and singing and acting for my very first time. I wanted to really open myself up to the character. Appreciate the art form and craft of acting. I didn't want to breeze my way through it. For every crying scene, I wanted to evoke the real tears. It was kind of an emotional roller-coaster ride. It was really challenging and hard for me to play with my emotions like that on such a quick, short-notice basis."

Sounds like Christina has been keeping busy. We're happy to have Ms. Dirrty back!

Tr3s Comunidad, are you excited for Christina's comeback? Weigh in below or @MTV3!

Tags American Idol, Christina Aguilera

Ellen DeGeneres joked that "you can buy love," but unfortunately that wasn't the case for Andrew Garcia on last night's episode of 'American Idol.' His interpretation of The Beatles hit "Can't Buy Me Love" was not well received — Randy called it "corny" and Kara didn't think it was "anything new."

Last week 'Idol' hopeful Andrew Garcia blew the judges away, but Tuesday's show may have been a step back for the 24-year-old singer.

In one of his harsher moments, Simon added that Andrew's go-go-style funk was "irrelevant and old fashioned” and sounded like "a wedding band — when they let the guitarist sing a song." He told Andrew that he "got this all wrong tonight. Sorry."

Despite the lukewarm reception, Andrew remained confident. He responded:

"If that was corny, then dang, I’m corny!"

The other 'Idol' contestants described Garcia as "crazy," "the goofiest contestant here," the one "who always makes me laugh." Hopefully his positive attitude and talent keeps him out of the bottom three!

Check out 'American Idol' expert Jim Cantiello's take on last night's episode on MTV Newsroom.

Tr3s Comunidad, what did you think about Andrew's performance? Were the judges accurate or did you feel differently? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags American Idol, Andrew Garcia, Can't Buy Me Love

By Daniela Capistrano

After several straight weeks of sub-par performances, Andrew Garcia is back! With the help of Usher, the 24-year-old crooner culminated a very "nervous" week with a soulful, triumphant reinterpretation of the Chris Brown dance hit "Forever."

image via FOX

Garcia took to the stage with just his guitar, a stool and a stylin' outfit, transforming the 'Idol' stage into an intimate acoustic session.

Although Andrew's performance rocked, we think the best part of last night's show was his mother.
After Simon called her son "boring," she tore him a new one in Spanish! Don't mess with mama!

We agree with Kara, it was definitely "one giant leap in the right direction." In addition to Andrew's performance, Randy said "Andrew is back" and that his outfit was "dope."

This plucky young father from Southern California had a background some of us can relate to. Will Andrew Garcia be the first Latino 'American Idol?'

What do you think, Tr3s Comunidad? Does Andrew have what it takes to win the whole thing? Let us know in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags American Idol, Andrew Garcia, Chris Brown, Forever

Tuesday (January 12) night's "American Idol" season nine kick-off had everything we've come to expect from the series' early audition episodes: Sob stories, delusional wannabes and Alicia Keys covers. Everything, of course, except Paula Abdul.

Producers shrewdly addressed the Paula Issue with the very first audition of the season: A walking Boston stereotype named Janet McNamara whose sole purpose — aside from saying "wicked" and conveniently promoting the "American Idol" video game — was confusing "new" judge Kara DioGuardi with Paula. "See?" the TV show said to its devoted fanbase. "This random girl who can't sing didn't notice Paula was gone. Neither should you."

Well, okay then!

Guest judge PoshBot-2000 (also known as Victoria Beckham) was on hand to play the role of Pop Culture Relic Who Wears Funny Clothes, and she did a fine job of sitting in a chair and blinking. Based on that criteria alone, she's already proven to be a more efficient judge than Paula circa season six. Four points to you, PoshBot-2000!

Overall, as an "Idol" junkie who generally dislikes the heavily-produced audition shows, the "Idol" premiere was a pleasant experience. We met a few contestants who will be fun to root for (I'm looking at you Leah Laurenti, the girl who grew up fifteen minutes away from my childhood home yet somehow lived in "Footloose" because she wasn't allowed to listen to secular music). We saw a lot more of the behind-the-scenes setup in the audition room, and we discovered that Posh Spice had a hard time remembering the lyrics, "I really really really wanna zigazigah." (Seriously. She legit consoled a nervous singer who spaced on the words by saying, "That happened to me all the time." Amazing.)

But since the show is supposed to be all about the contestants, let's take a look at some of the stand-outs — both good and bad — from the Boston auditions.

Maddy Curtis was a well-spoken 16-year-old with eleven siblings, three of whom have Down Syndrome. (The Curtis Family will have a TLC reality show by the time my recap is published.) While Maddy's performance jitters during Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" were endearing, she should get that in check before the live shows begin. Simon liked her quiet confidence and her rich, deep voice, but I give it two more performances before he starts complaining that she's not happy-go-lucky enough.

Because this was a two hour extra-long premiere, we were treated to not one but two husky-voiced 16-year-olds with a heavy home life. Connecticut native Katie Stevens opened up about her Portuguese grandmother struggling with Alzheimer's. After impressing the judges with a Fiona Apple-esque "At Last," Katie got the chance to call her ailing grandma with good news. Lucky for the producers, Grandma Stevens was in a particularly lucid frame of mind that day. It would have been really awkward if Katie had called and grandma responded with a pizza order.

"Idol" also gave us Justin Williams. But it wasn't his fashion sense (or his confusing "alternative pop soul" aspirations) that had me weeping — it was his "I survived cancer" story. Even more of a bummer? Despite the judges treating Justin like a newbie, he made it to Hollywood week last season. In fact, he was in "White Chocolate," the group number alongside Matt Giraud and Kris Allen. Whoops! Apparently, "Idol" assumed viewers had the memory of Grandma Stevens. (Too soon?)

That scenario was far less harrowing for Amadeo DiRocco. The only obstacle Amadeo ever faced was being painted as an Italian stereotype by "American Idol" producers. Perhaps I'm biased, but the way "Idol" portrayed DiRocco and his homemade-wine-and-sausage-and-cheese-consuming family was far more problematic than anything broadcast on MTV's "Jersey Shore."

Amadeo seemed like a nice enough guy, but the dude's "Hoochie Coochie Man" was so offensively loud that even Danny Gokey would ask for ear plugs. Shockingly, the judges dug him, with Simon saying, "I like the idea that a show like this can give people like you a break."

In other "People I Would Rather Hang With Than Hear Sing Again" news, 18-year-old chin-strap-facial-hair-afficinado Mike Davis worked on a stunt/tour boat called Codzilla.  His otherwise uninspiring audition was noteworthy because he not only asked DioGuardi out on a steak dinner but also inspired Simon Cowell to sigh, "I'm gonna take a break. I say yes," while strolling off the set. Given the news that has transpired in the past two days, watching Simon dismiss "Idol" on the air was a sad reminder that the dude checked out years ago.

For a big chunk of the viewing audience, the "Idol" audition shows are good for one thing and one thing only: Freak shows! So far, the ninth season has delivered plenty. Hyperactive teen Pat Ford spasmed his way through an odd "Womanizer."  Cocky Lisa Olivero (who sniffed, "I think I'm better than most people on this show," before butchering Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love") sounded like a mangled audiotape recording. Playing at the wrong speed. Underwater.

Perhaps the most buzzed-about reject was Andrew Felton. Part evil Clark Kent, part Rain Man when "The People's Court" is on, Felton walked into the "Idol" room pissed that he had to wait all day for his moment in the sun. In a flare-up called "Showdown in Beantown" by producers, Kara DioGuardi stepped up her game with an angry tongue-lashing. "You just told me that you're a little bit annoyed that you had to wait three hours to come in here and get your shot when there are people who would wait years to do so. So I am now angry. At you. Who I don't like. At all." Go Kara! Too bad she ruined it by flirtatiously threatening him with spanks moments later. (Ugh!) It's even more of a shame that his attitude got him booted because his "House of the Rising Sun" wasn't half-bad.

For those of us who enjoy following the actual competition, I'm not sure we've met any breakout stars just yet. The only contestant I can picture in the Top 24 is Tyler Grady, the dude who broke his wrists after falling out of a tree.  His soulful-but-slightly-skeevy "Let's Get It On" was quirky enough to work.

Do you think any of tonight's auditioning contestants will make it to the finale? Did you miss Paula last night? How did Poshbot-2000 do? (MTVNews)

Photo via Google Images

Tags Alicia Keys, American Idol, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Victoria Beckham

Just two days after "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell's brother Tony announced that the notoriously prickly British judge will leave the talent show at the end of his contract in 2010, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the Fox network is close to a deal that would keep the #1 show on American television on the air for at least three more seasons, whether Cowell is onboard or not.

Fox's current deal with the producers of "Idol" runs through the end of 2011, but the network is reportedly hashing out a new arrangement that could include three more seasons of the star-making program. Neither "Idol" producers nor Cowell have officially commented on the rumors of the judge's plans to leave the show.

Cowell, who makes $35 million a year to judge "Idol," is reportedly keen to bring his U.K. hit music competition "The X Factor" to the U.S. The show, a huge hit in England, is similar to "Idol," with the added twist of celebrity mentors who coach their protégés. Should Cowell defect, "Idol" would be left with only one of its original three judges, musician/producer Randy Jackson, following the surprise departure of Paula Abdul at the end of the most recent season. Abdul will be replaced by talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres this season, who will sit alongside returning second-year judge, songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

Though often booed and taunted by the crowd, Cowell is the show's most trusted voice when it comes to giving unvarnished advice and criticism to the contestants. According to the Reporter, Fox was originally planning to bring "Factor" for the fall of 2010, but delays have pushed it back to a likely 2011 debut. Cowell quitting "Idol" at the end of the upcoming season could give the "Factor" debut added attention, which is why Fox is considering having him take a smaller role on "Idol" in 2011, such as judging the Hollywood rounds but not auditions, in order to keep the franchise strong. (MTVNews)

Photos Via Getty Images

Tags American Idol, Paula Abdul

MTV News got the scoop on what American Idol graduate Allison Iraheta has been up to these days...

Seems like the American Idol Latina has been doing everything but sleeping.  In between stage time on the American Idol Live! tour, Allison is working on a debut album with Evanescence's Kevin Rudolf and David Hodges.  Will sus nuevas canciones stay true to her rock heritage?

Definitivamente. About her album's style, Alison told MTV News it's "Rock, definitely...something I've always wanted to do. It's what I've grown up on."  Unlike her musical contemporaries, Allison will tackle mature themes in her songs, rather than running doo-wop about heartbreak.  She promises there won't be a trace of "My boyfriend, yeah! He loves me!" in her music.

What will the first single off Iraheta's release be? MTV News reporter Jim Cantiello may have coaxed Allison to create a tune titled after her infamous quote to Simon during Idol: "It's Not Like I'm Cutting Myself."   Sounds like the soundtrack to a rather boring after school special!

Allison's new album will be available in the fall.  In the meantime, watch la entrevista completa with MTV News right here. [MTV News]

Tags Allison Iraheta, American Idol, american idol live tour, its not like im cutting myself, jim cantiello, MTV NEws, Rock