VIDEO: 'American Idol' finale, finalists and more

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Q&A: Jasmine Murray heads back to school

On Wednesday night, "Idol" bid farewell to Jasmine Murray, one of its two remaining underage contestants. (Allison Iraheta now stands alone).  Before she left, she chatted with the Los Angeles Times by phone about her "Idol" days and her plans now.

Q: How are you doing?
JM: I'm good. Thank you. I'm doing great today. We've got a lot of stuff planned, so I'm really excited about that.

Q: Do you enjoy doing all these interviews?
JM: Yeah, it's cool. You're talking about your experience on the show so I have so much fun doing that.

Q: What have the past few weeks been like for you?
JM: The full experience has really been amazing for me. I've gotten to show America that I love music and I can sing, and I'm just so glad that I was given the opportunity to do that. It's been so great for me. I can't complain about anything and I couldn't ask for more.

Q: How do you feel about this week and how it went down?
JM: I had so much fun this week doing the Michael Jackson theme. That was really, really cool, so I was looking forward to and excited about it. I had the time of my life up there.

Q: Any second thoughts about song choice?
JM: No, I pretty much really liked my song choice. I was happy about it and I thought I sang it well. I know it wasn't perfect, because there's always room for improvement but I think I did it really well, so no regrets.

Q: How'd you get along with the others?
JM: Everybody got along with everybody. All the Top 13 were all so sweet. I really enjoyed being around all of them, and a lot of them are amazingly talented. 

Q: Were there any who you became especially close with?
JM: I really bonded with a lot of people here.

Your questions for Jasmine and Jorge

Tomorrow, Idoltracker has been granted an exclusive conversation with Idol's newly fallen singers Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez.

Please let us know: what questions should we ask?  What are the burning issues you'd like us to address with them?  Leave your questions or thoughts in the comments sections here and we will put them to Jasmine and Jorge tomorrow.

-- Richard Rushfield

Jasmine Murray, Jorge Nunez fall in double elimination

The children of “American Idol’s” eighth season experienced their first taste of entertainment mortality Wednesday night after a rare double elimination, which brought to an end the “Idol” careers of Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nuñez.

The two were eliminated in an episode that featured the unveiling of a new rule in the “Idol” competition, granting the judges veto power over any elimination. As explained by host Ryan Seacrest, the judges will have a “save” option that they may exercise once during the season if the judges unanimously agree that a singer deserves another chance. When the save is invoked, no contestant will be eliminated that week, with the following week then seeing a doubly suspenseful double elimination. The rule will be in effect until the season’s Top 5 week.

The twist was introduced as a way to undo premature dismissals of talented contestants who may have merely stumbled temporarily. Cited as examples of this phenomenon were past favorites Tamyra Gray, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry. (Although Seacrest pondered scenarios if Daughtry’s dismissal had been overturned, the new rule would not have affected him, because he wasn’t dismissed until the Top 4 week of his season.)

In the new rule’s first week in effect, the judges declined to invoke their special powers, allowing the dismissals of Murray and Nuñez to stand.

This week’s double elimination came about after another twist — when the judges decided to change the rules at the end of the Wild Card round and admit 13 contestants to the finals instead of the usual 12.
Both of those eliminated Wednesday delivered performances that earned them more favorable than unfavorable reviews from the judges in Tuesday night’s Michael Jackson-themed show. But after a strong night with few obvious horrific stumbles, both performances failed to stand out enough from the crowd.

Murray, 16, was one of the show’s two teen contestants, along with Allison Iraheta, also 16. A former pageant contestant, Murray was praised for her youthful charm, beauty and vocal skills. During Tuesday night’s performances, she was criticized by judge Simon Cowell as “robotic.”

Nuñez, a 20-year-old Puerto Rico native, was an early favorite and was referred to as potentially the show’s first great Latin heartthrob. His Tuesday night performance, however, was criticized as old-fashioned and ultimately forgettable.

NOTE: Please join us for a very special post-game chat with Idol's stage manager/den mother since the first season, Debbie Williams.  That will happen tomorrow, Thursday, 12:15 PT at latimes.com/idoltracker.

NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that the judges can use the save once for each contestant. The rule is that the judges may use the save only once during the entire season.

— Richard Rushfield

photo: Fox

Phil Stacey blog: Idol's first to fall

Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez have become the first to officially be voted off "American Idol" this season after Ryan announced the new "save" tweak in the rules. The judges now have the opportunity to unanimously "save" any one Idol voted off before Top Five Week, resulting in no one going home. If someone is saved, the following week two singers will end up on the chopping block. 

Ryan explained that this new rule change is to prevent one of America’s favorites from falling through the voting cracks.  He used Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson as examples of those who could have been saved.  I kept waiting for Ryan to mention my name.... I’m sure he just ran out of time since it is a live show.

Jasmine Murray was in the bottom with fellow wild-card pick Megan Joy Corkrey. Immediately after being cut, she was forced to sing for her Idol life.  I felt a little bad for her, but  I wasn’t surprised that she went home.  She is a beautiful young lady who now has some great experience under her belt to build on.

It was no shocker that Jorge Nunez and Anoop Desai were in the second bottom two.  Even though Anoop’s "Beat It" performance really was the worst of Tuesday night, I thought his fans would pull through for him.  I am rooting for him to redeem himself next week.

Kayne West and Kelly Clarkson rocked out for us tonight.  I loved seeing the original Idol coming back and reminding us why we love her!

Few people realize that due to the nature of putting on a live show, not all celebrity performances are shot live.  Sometimes these numbers are taped right before the show or after Tuesday’s show.  Clues that give away a pre-taped performance include judges not in their seats or there are no contestants on the stage.

We also saw where the Idol contestants are sleeping — a $40-million, 20,000-square-foot mansion!  Not quite as glamorous as the 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment I shared with three other guys, including the loudest snorer I have ever met — Chris Sligh!  But I wouldn’t trade my apartment for the mansion; I was able to sneak my wife and babies in and out of our building!

So what do you all think of the new super-save-power the judges now possess?  Do you think America made the correct choice by cutting Jorge and Jasmine?

NOTE: Please join us for a very special post-game chat with Idol's stage manager/den mother since the first season, Debbie Williams.  That will happen tomorrow, Thursday, 12:15 PT at latimes.com/idoltracker.

—Phil Stacey

Photo: Jorge Nunez has been voted off "American Idol."

Credit: Fox

American Idol Buzzmeter: Who will go home?

Which two "American Idol" contestants will get the boot?

Our "American Idol" panelists* weigh in.

In order of most votes, their picks were:

1) Jasmine Murray -- 14/19 votes

2) Jorge Nunez -- 12/19 votes

Do you agree with their picks? Sound off!

*Look at all the panelists and full results here.

View past American Idol Buzzmeters here.

Read the episode recap here.

Phil Stacey blog: return to the Idoldome

The semifinals are over and we have officially started the real competition phase of "American Idol."  The contestants have left the comfort of open song choice and have entered the hit-and-miss theme weeks.  Michael Jackson was our inspiration tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised at what we heard!

I am in L.A. this week for an upcoming tour and caught the show sitting in the audience!  Bumped into the L.A. Times' own Richard Rushfield.  I must admit that it was very weird sitting in the audience instead of singing on stage.  It was nice to see the children of contestants come out during their parent’s performance.  Mine always had to stay backstage in the green room.

According to the reaction of the judges and the studio audience, tonight’s obvious winner was Adam Lambert.  I was not fully convinced.  I felt like he was way to theatrical and has yet to show us anything different.  He obviously has an amazing voice, range and knows how to work a stage, but I have yet to hear something that would play well at radio from him.  He obviously will be around for a long time so I’m looking forward to see if he will do anything unexpected.

On the other hand, I thought that Matt Giraud’s performance of "Human Nature" was a great and showed his commercial viability.  And I really enjoyed his piano playing.  I see him gaining more and more fans as the season progresses.

Michael Jackson week on 'Idol'; who's heir apparent to the King of Pop?

Does anyone else feel drained, already? As if watching Michael Jackson’s own long career slide hasn’t been hard enough, “American Idol” introduced its finalists this week with a “King of Pop”-themed show that had more peaks and gut punches than seemed possible so early in the game.

The brazenly gifted Adam Lambert had all four judges and the studio audience ready to push his dyed bangs aside and pour anointing oil on his forehead after he turned “Black or White,” one of Jackson’s most confrontational songs, into a glam-pride manifesto.

Danny Gokey, who could face off against Lambert at season’s end, was also showered in judge-love for his rendition of “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” which accelerated from a falsetto kiss to a full-on soul man’s seduction.

And Allison Iraheta, representing for the rocker kids of Latino Los Angeles, dove headfirst into the pathos of Jackson’s lust-rocker “Give In to Me” and ended up the season’s official dark horse.

Then there were the heartbreakers — foremost among them Anoop Desai’s stumble on “Beat It,” a song that proved musically too much for the sweetly overconfident North Carolinian. Desai is a strong but basically tactless singer, the kind who could benefit from the trial and error of a few weeks on the show. But he may not survive this overstep.

Equally wobbly was Jorge Nuñez, who seemed to be chasing after the melody of “Never Can Say Goodbye” instead of reveling in it. It’s sad that these two contenders, who bring new perspectives to “Idol,” may not make it another week.

Their harried turns revealed the trickiness of Jackson’s repertoire. His hits are so familiar that we forget how intricate they can be. In some, a singer must be able to go from feather-light melodicism to heavy aggression in the span of a single breath; in others, the build is everything, and so easily overdone.

A pedestrian delivery, such as Jasmine Murray’s on “I’ll Be There” or Alexis Grace’s on “Dirty Diana,” recalls Jackson’s phrasing and begs unflattering comparison. A quirky one, like Megan Corkery’s on “Rockin’ Robin,” threatens to slip into caricature.

For the “Idol” bunch, Jackson’s music proved to be an obstacle course. Those who jumped in strong came out ahead. But beyond the star-making turns by the season’s new Top 3, several less showy achievements should not be forgotten.

So here’s to Matt Giraud, who treated Jackson’s most opalescent song, “Human Nature,” with kindness and grace; Kris Allen similarly triumphed by laying back on “Remember the Time.”

And here’s to Michael Sarver, who got the build just right on the inspirational “You Are Not Alone.” Lil Rounds also deserves credit for finding a musical story in a Jackson song, uncovering the classic Motown roots of his Jheri-curl era hit “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

Let’s hope subtlety continues to form the undercurrent of this “Idol” season, even as its more spectacular voices ride its wave forward.

NOTE:  Please join us for our post-game chat with out team of Idol experts, Wednesday noon PT at latimes.com/idoltracker.

— Ann Powers

photo:Fox

Top ... 13?! A report from the after-party

The blue carpet was bustling Thursday night outside the West Hollywood nightclub Area, where the "American Idol" Season 8 Top 13 were feted. Fresh from the show, which took place a hop, skip and a jump away on the CBS lot, Kara, Paula, bikini girl Katrina Darrell and the lucky 13 walked down the press line, some more shocked than others at their sudden and continuing fortune.

Adam Lambert, who's made a stir lately with some leaked photos online, was the picture of amiability, dressed in a black sequined blazer, teal button-down and thin black tie. When asked to describe himself as performer, he said, "I'm just Adam," and that he is. Black fingernail polish and all, he's definitely not backing down from his style. He said he was planning to perform more rock, and also pop and electronic music as Season 8 continues.

Another Top 13 contestant with rockin' style is 16-year-old Allison Iraheta, who described her performing style as "laid-back, chill" and "different." Citing influences such as Pink and Selena, Allison seemed very comfortable with her style, which includes her trademark cherry red hair and punky clothes.  She confessed to knowing her life would change in "every single way."

Puerto Rico's Jorge Nunez said he was inspired by the memory of his great-grandfather, who passed away a year and two months ago. Asked whether his grandfather sang, he said no, but that he danced. He plans to keep America voting for him with his "passion" and by "delivering beautiful music." I brought up the text message Marc Anthony sent to Ryan Seacrest praising Jorge, and he got immediately excited. "That was amazing!" he said with a big smile, telling me his first reaction was "What? Shut up!" He said that Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are even more popular in Puerto Rico than they are here, so his thrill is most certainly warranted.

The Rushfield Review: The Top 12 takes shape

All will be revealed is the promise of many a current television epic, but Wednesday night’s "American Idol" featured enough curtain lifting to keep the online Idolsphere’s collective head whirling for a year.

Not only did we, as expected, fill out the final slots in the Top 9 (with the predictable Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds -- pictured at left on Tuesday's show -- and Jorge Nuñez) but the most puzzled-over mystery of the season was finally cleared up: The identities of the wild card contestants were unveiled.

Actually, this was the first truly suspenseful results show thus far.  While the sudden death element of each week of the semifinal rounds raised the stakes immensely, the contests ended up completely lopsided, with at least two of the three weekly chairs almost certain to go to the huge favorites (Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, MacIntyre, Rounds).  Due to whatever quirk of fate, the distance between the favorites and the field each week has been a mile.

On the flip side, each results show, we have been treated to the spectacle of those many, many who had fallen in their performance nights, trotted out to the death couch -- a grim march to  certain execution. It was, for instance, beyond tragic to watch the once-effervescent but now utterly deflated 16-year-old Arianna Afsar, whose trembling lips and tear-stained eyes gave no doubt she knew what exactly Angel of Death Ryan Seacrest had in store for her, forced to tell the Reaper, “Obviously, I have regrets.”

Thinking about what kind of Top 12 this season’s altered format will produce, it can be said that the above favorites would likely have made it to the big stage in any season in which they appeared, while the jury is very much still out on the remaining three (Nuñez, Michael Sarver and Kris Allen).