- I love how humble Steven Tyler comes off: signing autographs, giving pep talks, joking around.

- The staged interviews between the judges and local Fox affiliates as they enter the building – over it.

- JLO had the line of the night: “We do things for love sometimes.”

Contestants
- So much talent in this episode. Johnny Keyser led off, and he is one of a couple people from this audition that I could see in the top five when it’s all done.
- Rachelle Lamb was good but obviously nervous. If she can calm her voice, the country woman-for-herself persona could resonate.
- I didn’t think Reis Kloeckener was that good, he just doesn’t have strong vocals and didn’t blow me away with his rendition of “Lean on Me.”
- Ethan Jones – another top five candidate. Strong, versatile male vocal that can do country, rock, pop, or soul justice. Reminded me a bit of Chris Daughtry.
- Lauren Gray was also outstanding, and I don’t think the Carrie Underwood comparison they made to end the show was too far off.

Farrell spent two months auditioning for producers, executive producers, and then the big three. While Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson offered up compliments and a pass to the next round, it did not come without criticism.

“I went in singing a song called, ‘I’m Going Down’ (by) Mary J. Blige,” Farrell recalled. “They thought I should be doing a little more pop-y, rather than an R&B/pop kind of a thing.”

The singer chose an R&B track because that is what catapulted her music career in the first place. When Farrell was 16, she landed a deal with Atlantic Records off of an audition where she belted out “How Can I Ease the Pain?” by Lisa Fisher. Radio promotion followed in support of her single, “Hit Me Up,” which was featured on the official soundtrack for the movie Happy Feet. By December 2007, Atlantic dropped Farrell. But, in an ironic twist, “Idol” producers chose “Hit Me Up” for Syesha Mercado, who placed in the top 3 during season seven.

As for Farrell – she wouldn’t divulge what went down during Hollywood week, but I’d have to imagine that if she allowed herself on to my show, she didn’t make it. As long as you’re still competing on the show, producers prohibit you from partaking in interviews or any other media.

- Another great Randy-ism – when Jackson calls women, “dude.” He also made a Steven-like inappropriate comment to a contestant this episode. Didn’t think he had it in him. Still didn’t need the censor though, like Tyler did twice.

- Loved when one contestant asked JLO how she handles her entertainment gigs while tending to her children. Those are the moments that stripped the diva perception of JLO last season. Coming off this divorce from Marc Anthony, she needs more of those moments.

- For auditions being in Portland, I felt there were an inordinate amount of east coast people – New York, Philly, Maryland…

Contestants
- Found it interesting that the first contestant, Brittany Zika, was a social media tech. “Idol” basically forces people to cease all social media activities and even allow the show to oversee certain accounts. If Zika makes it through Hollywood, she could be put in a position where she would have to give up her job. Nonetheless, I liked her voice – and her story about singing “Gravity” on stage with Sara Bareilles. Sara told me once that she wrote that song about her “douchebag” ex-boyfriend.
- Jermaine Jones was good but he falls in to that Ruben Studdard/Jacob Lusk lane. Even if he goes far in the competition, he’ll struggle to make it just as a singer with a record deal.
- Great story behind Britnee Kellogg, didn’t think the voice was as great though.
- I would’ve given fast-food worked David Weed a golden ticket to Hollywood, but what do I know?
- Another great story with refugee Romeo Diahn, but there is no way a reggae singer can last through this competition.
- Props to Naomi Gillies – she’s from Boston AND sang an Aerosmith song in front of Steven Tyler. She did “Cryin” justice.
- In a recurring theme, great story with Brooklyn’s Jessica Phillips acting as the caretaker for her boyfriend after he suffered a stroke last year. Her voice was OK but didn’t blow me away.

But just as their U.S. career is taking off, the fellas are also experiencing other highlights, not related to music. For example, with the British tabloids documenting their every relationship and sighting, Tom Parker notes that their American lifestyle has been a welcome change of pace.

“It’s been good to just walk around the streets with no press or paps, or just not that many people noticing to be honest with you,” Parker told me when The Wanted chatted on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “It does get a bit much, coming from being so normal to just being shot in to this lifestyle. It’s so bewildering sometimes.”

The band feels so comfortable in public that Siva Kaneswaran joked he might walk the streets of New York naked the next time they’re in town. The transition to the States has thus far been successful, including sneaking 18 year-old Nathan Sykes in to bars and clubs. Parker admits the five man group, with their lone underage singer, has already visited a number of alcohol-serving establishments here.

“I’ve done well so far,” Sykes said. “I’ve got a way about me somehow, which is hiding in the group.”

“It don’t cost him a penny!” Max George chimed in. “The other night all he did was stand in the corner going, ‘Uh, Max, can you get me a beer mate?’”

The Wanted already has three number one hits under its belt back in England. With the band’s exclusive announcement on my show that Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun has signed them, it looks as if there will be many more pennies, and possibly even celebratory beverages, to pass around.

- Judges interviews/auditions at the top of the show looked so staged.

- I love Randy Jackson’s laugh when he’s pleasantly surprised or disgusted. He laughs the same way for both.

- Guess I predicted JLO coming off as a diva correctly, as she spent a nice chunk of the episode fighting Steven and Randy.

Contestants
- Phong Vu is going to end up being famous, it’s a shame. A William Hung wanna-be.
- 17 year-old country singer/deer hunter Skylar Laine was one of the best contestants yet. I could see her going far in this.
- Baylie Brown was good, but she’s 21 and made it to Hollywood at 16. I applaud her persistence but I find it disheartening that people get a second chance when some don’t even receive a deserving first.
- Kristine Osoris used a loan to pay her divorce attorney for her flight to audition. Decent voice, certainly women will love her story.
- Cortez Shaw did an Adele cover justice, turning “Someone Like You” in to a uptempo R&B song. The kid has the looks and charm as well – the best pure R&B singer to audition yet.
- Ramiro Garcia won a golden ticket, after being born without ears. Amazing story.

“I still have cuts from (the shoot),” Hitch said to me during a Skype interview, while showing me a bruise on her webcam. “I did a lot of training for it, but it was all worth it.”

The interesting thing is – the injuries are self-inflicted. The singer is the only person in the production.

“Me and a mannequin, we’re the only people in the video,” she divulged. “But there was a lot of dance routines, like there’s this one where I’m doing this whole dance routine in this black oil, and you know, it got pretty painful.”

Neon Hitch, yes that’s her real name, is no stranger to pain or bizarre. She was born in the UK and spent a good part of her childhood as a gypsy, traveling in a circus. Fast forward a few years to when super-producer Benny Blanco (Ke$ha, 3OH!3) found her on MySpace and flew her to the States, and voila, Neon Hitch has a record deal and a forthcoming LP.

Hitch is also featured on the latest single from Gym Class Heroes, “Ass Back Home.” Performing the track live with Travie McCoy and crew has taken her to Madison Square Garden and now next month, the Super Bowl.

“I’m so excited!” the singer exclaimed from her bed. “I’m so grateful to Gym Class Heroes for involving me. This is so amazing.”

The singer will join GCH at the VH1 Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, airing live on the cable network Thursday February 2 at 9 PM from Indianapolis, the host city for this year’s big game.

“There’s not really a white pop star or singer/rapper/hybrid that really has footing like Katy Perry and Britney Spears and the female pop artists,” Adams said in a Skype interview from Miami this week. And he makes a point, although immediately when he gave that example, I thought of his record label-mate, Mike Posner.

“We are both making pop music, but he’s a little more R&B, even a little more urban, especially with some of his new records,” Adams explained, while also mentioning that he and Posner are good friends and he loves the singer’s music. “But yeah, we get compared.”

Adams, real name Samuel Adams Wisner, shares another similarity with the “Cooler Than Me” emcee: both attended college and began recording music in their dorm rooms. But while Posner graduated from Duke, Wisner ditched his political science major and soccer scholarship at Trinity College to tour the globe. He had attended college for a total of three and a half years.

“Once I started touring, my plans to get my work in…” Adams trailed off, while making a guillotine-like motion by his neck, signaling that the plans were cut off. “I was a college kid, traveling around the country, playing shows, making music that I wanted to hear; music that most college kids could relate to.”

And can still relate to. “Blow Up” is a college kid’s anthem, for every student pulling all-nighters and wondering when enough is finally enough. When Adams had enough and focused solely on music, he believes he figured out what the key to success was.

“You have to find your identity as an artist,” he advised. “It really comes down to finding out who you are, what kind of music you want to make. Yunno, these days, a lot of stuff’s changed, and you got to be able to build your fan base and really stay true to yourself.”

Adams was in Miami finishing up the recording for his major label debut album, which he says is “probably 90 percent” done. He still has a couple working titles, and is looking at a spring release on RCA Records.

- Steven Tyler wins line of the night: “Turkeys have balls?”

- Does anyone else feel that more than ever, Jennifer Lopez is coming off looking like a diva again? I think the fact that she is surrounded by two grounded people doesn’t help matters.

Contestants
- Thought the first person to audition, Jenni Schick, was pretty good. Her and Tyler locked lips after she won her ticket to Hollywood, and even Steven said after, “I’m gonna get in trouble for that one.” You know it’s bad when even he admits he did something wrong!
- Richie Law had a deep, old school country voice and could definitely go far in this competition.
- Mathenee Treco just has a solid voice that lends itself to pop music.
- Although 19 year-old Tealana Hedgespeth didn’t deserve a golden ticket, I found myself rooting for her because “Idol” once again did a great job in telling a back story.
- Haley Smith is a throwback, and is too talented for me to simply say she’s too different to win.
- Shelby Tueten was good, but I think throwing a 17 year-old who suffers from depression and bi-polar in to that atmosphere could prove a little regrettable.
- The look Steven Tyler gave Angie Zeiderman when she walked in was priceless. Angie is different in all the right ways and has a great voice. I see people backing her the way they backed Adam Lambert or James Durbin. Outcasts unite!

Rumors first surfaced of the manager’s involvement with the UK-based boy band when reports emerged that it was Braun who landed The Wanted on “Ellen,” the group’s first American TV performance.

“I mean, he’s got a really good relationship with Ellen, and she heard about us in the UK and we were obviously trying to come to the U.S.,” Parker explained, before Nathan Sykes downplayed the notion that they appeared on the show simply because of Braun.

“She did say that she wouldn’t have us on the show unless she actually liked us,” the youngest of the five boys chimed in. “She did say, ‘I want to be the one to break them out here.’”

The Wanted’s current single, “Glad You Came,” is climbing up the charts here in the States. Braun and the band finalized the contract for management on Tuesday. This came on the heels of The Wanted finding out that the group will make their second national TV appearance in Los Angeles next week, although the guys would not divulge which show it will be on.

“This Party is on Fire” is one of the older singles released with Supersonique, which also includes the new club-friendly title track, produced by RIO.
—
Jada – “Supersonique”

—
“You know when you go out and you just feel that beat and you want to put your arms up in the air?” Forrest asked, explaining the inspiration behind the song and its up-tempo sound. “But we didn’t want the message to be like, ‘We’re partying! Cool.’ It has a deeper message of how music inspires us.”

In addition to Forrest, Elle Wine, Jacyn Tremblay, and Lauren O’Keefe all talked about the EP’s creation and confirmed that the group will shoot a music video for “Supersonique,” while even extending an invite my way to appear in the video.

Rush, who first linked up with the Miami emcee on the 2007 track, “Go Girl,” received a kidney transplant, got married, and welcomed a baby son in to the world all within the span of about a year. Apparently that isn’t enough for Rush, who now returns to the music scene with “She Ain’t You,” an up-tempo single that features Jason Derulo crooning on the chorus.

“I work hard,” Rush stated from his New Jersey home in a Skype interview on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “But now, it’s like I’m working not just for me, not for my wife, but just our son and it’s another inspiration, another reason to wake up, another reason to get what I want.”

The Jersey-native’s story is an inspiration in its own. Rush dealt with kidney issues for years, and traveled across the country supporting Pitbull on a 40 date tour with a dialysis machine in tow, used every night at every hotel room he stayed at before performing. The artist earned the distinction of the first person to successful tour cross-country with the piece of equipment.

In November of 2010, Rush received a kidney transplant from his brother, who also doubles as the rapper’s road manager. Currently, Rush is healthy, and ready to arrive back in DJ crates with a single that he says “fell on to his lap.”
—
David Rush f. Jason Derulo – “She Ain’t You”

—
“Mr. 305, they always want (their artists) to produce hits,” Rush explained. “We had an opportunity to get the record; I sent it back as a reference, not knowing where it was going to go.”

“She Ain’t You” struck Rush as such a big song he literally couldn’t wait to finish it, sending back the first treatment about two hours after it hit his e-mail. He didn’t even realize Derulo was on the hook until after he wrote to the track. Thankfully, Pitbull’s camp and Pit himself also liked the track, and made the necessary calls to secure it for their artist.

And despite his large amount of success and superstar status, Pitbull is just a call… or rather, text message, away from Rush at all times.

“He’s usually a great texter,” Rush said of Pitbull. “Calls is another deal. But text message, I can guarantee a text message or e-mail response within a day. Even if it’s just a, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ or ‘Chico, rooting for you,’ you know what I mean?”

- Why not? Well, the noise factor of the ship, other boats close in proximity, and the near-by airport and train station made for an allegedly noisy two days. I find it hard to believe that this wasn’t more well-thought out ahead of time, so you wonder if the noise factor was exaggerated a little.

- You knew on this episode that contestants who received golden tickets were genuinely excited about performing in the competition – no one from San Diego is going to start screaming simply over a trip down to Hollywood.

- The “Steven Tyler censor” bit is starting to grow old. We get it; he’s a bit of a loose cannon with a potty mouth. Let him be. Besides, his comment mid-episode about having to hear Adele covers over and over for six hours was hilarious.

Contestants
- Talk about great lead-in programming synergy. FOX airs “Idol” this week after the male-friendly NFC Championship game. The reality show responds by leading tonight’s episode off with a voluptuous 19 year-old female dressed in a bikini top and daisy dukes. No, Jennifer Diley could not sing. By the way, we saw further evidence of this throughout the episode, as FOX ran small graphics promoting Saturday’s UFC fight on the network.
- Someone tell single mom Ashley Robles that while a successful entertainment career may afford your 5 year-old daughter a greater financial upbringing, I’m not sure it’ll make parenting all that easier (as she stated it would). Robles did well though, and I respect her hustle as a single mom holding down countless jobs to make ends meet.
- Jayrah Gibson is a charismatic R&B singer who does not have enough talent to crack the top 20.
- Aubree Dieckmeyer’s voice and disposition reminded me a lot of Colbie Caillat. The 20 year-old does come off though as your typical Californian girl. I don’t think she has the vocal range to make it far.
- Ali Shields made her second national TV appearance as a contestant. The first was when Ellen DeGeneres invited her on set after writing and recording a song about the TV host. They referenced this and showed clips from “Ellen” – perhaps the ultimate nod to the notion that there is no bad blood at all between DeGeneres and “Idol.” As for Shields, after a poor-woman’s performance of Karmin’s “Look at Me Now” rendition, she belts out a version of “Like a Star” that earns her a trip to the next round.
- Kyle Crews is by far, my favorite contestant yet. He showed off great vocal range with his Monica cover, and women across the country will find his teddy bear-like demeanor disarming and cute. Yes, I can’t believe I just wrote that about a guy either, but trust me here, I think the 19 year-old frat boy from UC Berkeley can make a solid run in this competition.
- Jim Carrey’s daughter auditions. Yes, Jane Carrey is good, but as she stated in a story about her, everyone will attribute her success to her father. JLO also notes that she met Jane when Jim’s daughter was only two years-old. You wonder if people will cry “conflict of interest” at JLO and “Idol” should the 24 year-old make it deep in this competition. There doesn’t seem to be any type of professional conflict – but is Jim is close to 19 Entertainment or anyone else associated with the show, thus landing his daughter a prime spot in the audition?
- Jason Hamlin, aka, “Wolf,” belts out some classic tunes in the show’s final audition of the evening. Different and talented are usually a good combination in this competition, but I think Hamlin may be a little too different. It seems he’d be more comfortable belting out CCR covers at a corner bar than covering Rod Stewart in front of millions on a Hollywood stage.

- These judges are becoming predictable in their tendencies and decisions. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, as familiarity sometimes can be a positive with viewers.

- I don’t think the show did Pittsburgh justice. Where were the Primanti Bros. sandwiches or the local radio personalities? For a city as spread out as Pittsburgh is, it just felt like they only filmed in and around Heinz Field the entire time.

Contestants
- Heejun Han messed with my mind. Hearing an awkward Asian kid belt out Michael Bolton like that… damn! The entire time until he sang I’m thinking to myself, “Why did they lead with this kid?!”
- Reel Grimm’s creativity blew me away. Needs to translate that to a mainstream song though, not just show tunes.
- Chase Likens, big mountaineer that can grab the red state vote with that country croon.
- Dug 19 year-old Samantha Novacek, her planking sister though was straight-out awkward, no pun intended.
- Creighton Fraker is this year’s Paul McDonald. His alt appeal will take him far but not to the top.
- Eben Frankowitz didn’t blow me away. Reminded me more of YouTube star Greyson Chance than Bieber, but Chance has a much more developed voice.
- Erika Van Pelt, regardless of the outcome on the show, is going to make bank on the New England wedding circuit.
- Unlike last night’s last performer, I thought Hallie Day was worthy of the distinction. Need to hear her sing more though before I can decide if I think she has staying power.

- The show is now late to two different parties, online voting (didn’t start til last season) and the “Contestant Cam” (They gave some who auditioned the discontinued Flip Cam to record material for the show).

- Love the shot of J-LO walking in. That is how you know this footage is staged – NO WAY J-LO actually walks that far outside with virtually no one around her.

- Why does Randy keep referring to season 11 as “season 1-1″?

- Two trends continuing from last year – lots of young (15-17 years old) talent, and lots of awkward (even if edited that way) moments between Steven Tyler and the females who audition.

Contestants
- David Leathers looks 17 going on 12 but wow, he can sing.
- Molly Hunt and Elise Testone have the alt-music thing going. It could get them to the Top 24 but no way America votes for that.
- I wasn’t expecting Shaun Kraisman (the Seacrest look-alike) to actually sing halfway-decent.
- Shannon Magrane could be this year’s Lauren Alaina, but taller and thinner.
- Loved Amy Brumfeld’s story (she lives in a tent) but didn’t think her voice warranted a golden ticket.
- The Dixon brother/sister combo again… really? I actually was a fan of Colton last year, I hope he makes it further along this time.
- LOVE Lauren Mink. Attractive, mid 20′s, and anyone who sings country has a competitive edge in the competition because of the genre’s popularity.
- If there was ever a new William Hung, it’s the South African country singer Mawuena Kodjo.
- W.T. Thompson – guy has a kid on the way and quits his job to audition for the show. Voice wasn’t even that good. I mean, really? In this day and age?
- One producer for Ryan Seacrest productions tweeted out that he was voting for Brittany Kerr all season. Her voice wasn’t great, but sure, I’d vote for the LA Clippers dancer too.
- They saved Phillip Phillips for last… I can’t be the only one that didn’t think the guy was that good.

Parenthood really can change people.

For the first 42 years of his life, Jay-Z had no problem referring to others as a b*tch. But when Shawn Carter and Beyoncé Knowles gave birth to their daughter, Blue Ivy, that all apparently changed. According to this report, the rapper will no longer use the explicit word in his lyrics.

Let’s look back on Jay’s use of the b-word in his songs… from starting out a track with it…

…to using it in the title of a song…

…perhaps the most noted use of it for Hov…

…and the most recent…

in the words of Drake, “better late than never, but never late is better.”