News from Portfolio.com Also on Portfolio Can Jeff Zucker Reinvent Broadcast TV?  read more »

From THE HATER -- What more must one say. It seems pretty self explanatory. The Chicken Soup series now has an American Idol version. Great. Now check out the commercial for it, after the jump! [note: please refrain from drinking, as you may spit out liquids on your computer.] American Idol Has Claimed Many Souls When American Idol first appeared in a cloud of smoke, trotting on cloven-feet all over pop culture and the leftover Who Wants To Be A Millionaire set, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the show began claiming certain viewers', contestants', and judges' body parts for its own nefarious purposes: Simon Cowell's spleen, Paula Abdul's mind, Ryan Seacrest's vocal cords (eventually replaced with perfectly modulated synthesizers), the Clay-Aiken-shaped hole in many female viewers' hearts. But throughout the seven years American Idol has been on the air, snatching body parts in its gnarled, veiny hands, the show has also been systematically bargaining for a more celestial prize: human souls. So exactly how many souls has American Idol claimed?  read more »

Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Alumni, Predictions and Trends, TV Squad Lists  read more »

Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Web, Reality-Free  read more »

It's very interesting to see how inspiration breathes life into whatever it touches.  The American Idol contestants performed songs that inspire them.  And you could tell... they were moved. That spark makes people feel good.  It's what will drive American Idol viewers to...Julia Lilkendey

Yesterday, we challenged you to write the next American Idol original hit song in 180 seconds or less. And last night, the 2 original songs picked for the finale did not disappoint, what with David Archuleta 's pick "In This Moment", and David Cook 's odd choice of "Dream Big." Which led us to wonder: How many times have certain words been repeated throughout the seven seasons of original American Idol winning singles. And so, BWE.tv is proud to present: The American Idol Word Cloud . Word clouds, for those of you that don't know, take the words most commonly used in a particular paragraph or story -- in this case, the lyrics to all of the original AI songs -- and size the word in accordance with how often they're used. The bigger the word, the more often it's used. So, Dream, for example, is used quite often. So, Ladies and gentlemen, here is your brand new, 2008 American Idol Word Cloud, proving that indeed, the contestants are away, proudly dreaming of their moment and of love. So much love.  read more »

Filed under: American Idol, News and Gossip  read more »

Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Ratings, Predictions and Trends, News and Gossip  read more »

Tonight at 8 PM, the 7th season of the hit reality show American Idol will air its huge spectacular season finale, The Battle of the 2 Davids. The remaining finalists, David Cook and David Archuleta, will try to out melisma one another on the grand stage, in front of what promises to be a star-studded audience. Each David brings something entirely different to the table: While Cook's borderline-constipational vocals have managed to win over most everyone with earholes, Archuleta's kind-of-autismal lip quivering has the pre-pubes in a tizzy. It will be a fight to the ultimate finish.  read more »

Filed under: American Idol, Video, Bones, Alumni, Casting, Reality-Free  read more »