American Idol
Recently, the revamped season of Idol finished its first season and the tenth in the history of the show. In the end, country crooner Scotty McCreery won the title of American Idol, beating out spunky songstress Lauren Alaina. As anyone who has watched any Idol finale can tell you, the results are saved for roughly the last three minutes of the show. In the two hours prior to that, viewers watched performances by former Idol contestants, as well as performances by superstars like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Bono and The Edge featuring the cast of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.

Dancing with the Stars
There’s only one ballroom dancing reality show that pits C-list celebrities against each other in hopes of winning the coveted mirror-ball trophy, and recently, it completed its twelfth season. Dancing with the Stars finished this past week with a showdown between the three finalists: Kirstie Alley, Hines Ward, and Chelsea Kane. In the end, Pittsburgh Steelers wide-receiver Hines Ward immerged victorious with his partner, Kym, leaving the newly slimmed Alley and her partner Maksim as the runners-up, and Kane and Mark Ballas in third place. However, it wouldn’t be a Dancing with the Stars finale without live performances by such acts as the Black Eyed Peas, Josh Groban, and Sara Evans.

The Biggest Loser
The original inspirational weight-loss reality show, The Biggest Loser, completed its eleventh season this past week. The winner of The Biggest Loser is determined by the contestant who has lost the greatest percentage of their original body weight over the course of their time on the Biggest Loser ranch, as well as their time back at home. The twelfth season of The Biggest Loser was the fourth season to feature contestants competing as couples. As a matter of fact, it also marked the first time both members of a couple made it to the finale. Sisters Olivia Ward and Hannah Curlee were the final two contestants, with Ward claiming victory and Curlee claiming runner-up position.

American Idol
American Idol is quickly moving along the road to the finale in May. Recently, the top 13 wanna-be Idols have been cut in half after weeks of viewer/voter eliminations. So far, the contestants have had to take on songs from a wide range of genres from rock and soundtrack songs, as well as modern day hits. Over the past few weeks, almost all of the female contestants have been eliminated, with the first male, Paul McDonald, being kicked off just last week. The show has also featured will.i.am, who has served as a mentor for the Idols, alongside Jimmy Iovine.

America’s Next Great Restaurant
Recently, the competition to become America’s next nationwide craving has heated up. To date, the contestants on America’s Next Great Restaurant have competed in various challenges including running their own food trucks in the heart of Los Angeles, designing the uniforms for the prospective employees, building miniature models of their possible restaurants, and even cooking for Bobby Flay’s daughter! Eliminated contests and concepts include Marisa Zafran’s ‘Wok,’ Eric Powell’s ‘Meltworks,’ and Sandra Digiovanni’s ‘Saints and Sinners.’ Concepts that remain include fast Indian food, saucy meatballs, and southern home-style cooking.

The Celebrity Apprentice
The crazy train that is The Celebrity Apprentice is still rolling along. The pseudo-celebrities are still working together to beat the opposing team for immunity in the Donald’s boardroom. Recently, the teams have been assigned projects like creating an advertisement campaign for suntan lotion, making their own pieces of art for an art show, and writing and performing their own children’s book. Some celebrities who won’t be receiving a paycheck from Trump are Lisa Rinna, Richard Hatch, Mark McGrath, and Dionne Warwick. Still fighting for the job are folks like Meatloaf, Gary Busey, and Marlee Matlin.

It’s better late than never to hop onto the bandwagon for these reality shows.

The Bachelor/ette
2010 was a big year for ABC’s The Bachelor/ette franchise. Early in the year, we followed bachelor Jake Pavelka search for his true love. Jake, who was a fan favorite from the previous Bachelorette season, was perceived as a good, upstanding guy. That is, until he appeared on the ‘Break-Up’ special, which he proceeded to scream at, insult, and generally demote his ex-fiancé, Vienna Girardi. However, all hope for reality love was not gone. In the following season of The Bachelorette, starring a fan favorite from Jake’s season, Ali Fedotowsky, love was in the air. Despite having to deal with an attention-crazy Canadian wrestler, a contestant in love with his ex, and a taxidermist, Ali found true love with Roberto Martinez. As of the end of 2010, Ali and Roberto are still happily together.

American Idol
This year held the distinct honor of having what may possibly be the lowest rated season of Fox’s American Idol ever. This was the first season of Idol without Paula Abdul, and subsequently the first season of Idol with Ellen DeGeneres. Yes, Ellen, who was brought on because she would “express the opinions of what average fans would want to hear” and to bring the supposed “humor” that Paula took with her when she left with her innate wackiness. The season produced winner Lee Dewyze and runner-up Crystal Bowersox; neither of which have released successful singles to date.

Survivor
Yeah, Survivor’s still on. Who would have thought?

Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars had a huge season in 2010. Dirty Dancing’s Jennifer Grey took home the trophy after conquering thyroid cancer and neck surgery. She beat various other fierce competitors, ranging from Bristol Palin to David Hasselhoff.

The Amazing Race
Once again, yes, The Amazing Race is still on as well. Surprise!

Here’s to TV in ’11. Happy New Year!

So who are the new guests?

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler! They’ll be joining Randy Jackson on the judges’ table next season to find the newest music sensation. It’ll be very interesting how they’ll fare as a judging group and whether it’ll last long-term. Although, it’ll be more interesting to find out how the show will do without Simon Cowell. We’ll find out in January 2011!

In other news, fans of Treme and The Pacific will be happy to know that Jon Seda will be joining the show as a regular cast member. Last seen as Sgt. John Basilone (The Pacific), he’ll be playing a developer and venture capitalist from Dallas, bent on helping restore New Orleans post-Katrina.

Big Bang Theory fans, here’s some news for you. Eliza Dushku, star of Dollhouse, will be guesting in the current season, as an FBI agent assigned to conduct a background check on Simon Helberg‘s Wolowitz. Watch out for her appearance on the seventh episode!

The CW Network has ordered six more episodes for Hellcats and One Tree Hill. And Lifetime has renewed Army Wives and Drop Dead Diva for another season.

In other news, Katy Perry‘s skit with Elmo on the 41st season of Sesame Street has been omitted from the show. This long-time running children’s show have received complaints from parents about the inappropriateness of Perry’s outfit. And in response, Sesame Street has removed the said skit.

Lastly, I know all of you are still reeling from the shocking season four finale of Dexter. I know I am. Well, the fifth season will be starting on September 26 and I cannot wait to see how Dexter Morgan will be able to cope with this. I won’t say anything more because some readers might not have seen it yet. Do expect a lot of guest stars this season though, including Julia Stiles, Jonny Lee Miller and Peter Weller.

Rumors are swirling that Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler are the leading contenders to take the judges podium next season. My gut reaction is that we won’t see either one sitting behind the conspicuously-placed Coca Cola cups any time soon.

Lopez is too big, too current, to give up her time to judge the latest bunch of wannabe stars on American Idol. Even though she’s professed the desire to settle down into the family life, I just don’t see her committing to the parochial schedule required to star in a season-long TV show.

Tyler has the credentials to carry it off. He’s also got the ‘I don’t care what you think’ kind of demeanor that the show will be sorely lacking without the curmudgeonly Simon Cowell. He’s spent the last thirty plus years as the lead singer of what is widely considered the greatest American rock band of all time.

Then again, he’s also spent the last thirty plus years jumping in and out of rehab. I’m not sure where Tyler’s head is at right now, but it seems like it would be a leap on the part of American Idol to trust him to show up on time, clean and sober, for an entire season.

The bottom line is that if American Idol is going to go on beyond this season, they’ve got to bring on new judges with their own voices. You can’t duplicate Simon Cowell. You wouldn’t want to duplicate Paula Abdul. Whoever the new judges are will have to carry the show with their own personalities, not copy-cat versions of what worked in the past.

These were some of my favorite performances.

Elliott Yamin “Somebody To Love”

I thought Elliott was the most talented contestant and singer the show had. He had the least amount of training, but he continued to deliver such great vocals every week. This is my most favorite performance of Elliott’s (during Queen week). After this week, he just continued to dominate the show and deliver one great performance after another.

Taylor Hicks “Livin’ For The City”

This was Taylor Hicks’ very first performance as part of the Top 12. It solidified his talent and his fan base, the Soul Patrol. He delivered good and great performances after this, but this was his most energetic and fun performance, which I was glad he repeated during the finals.

Paris Bennett “These Foolish Things”

Paris Bennett was only 17 when she joined American Idol, but she had such a powerful voice that it’s hard to think of her as only 17. She was on her way to becoming a diva, singer-style. She never really had a weak performance, in my opinion. But “These Foolish Things” was the performance that really showed everyone to watch out for Paris.

Katherine McPhee “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”

Katherine has a beautiful and powerful voice, but she started out quite predictably. It wasn’t until she delivered this stripped-down version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” where she set herself apart. It still continues to be her strongest performance.

What was your favorite Season 5 performance?

Vonzell Solomon “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”

This was the song that cemented Vonzell’s talent for the entire season, but it was a hard competition. Like I said, there were a lot of strong performers that season. And I think Carrie’s edge here was the fact that she had more fans. Because talent-wise, I think she and Vonzell were on equal footing.

But Vonzell’s vocals are amazing. And throughout the entire season, she always tried to change her performances to show her versatility. Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn’t, but you gotta love her for always trying.

Bo Bice

Bo Bice really didn’t need American Idol to develop his talent. I think he mainly needed it to earn a positive reputation and get the connections he needed to build his own career. He’s too good for the competition. Admittedly, there were some performances that were best forgotten. But most of the time, he just kept topping his previous performances every week. He definitely deserved to be in the finals.

Carrie Underwood “Independence Day”

You either loved or hated Carrie Underwood. But you have to agree, the girl’s got talent. True, there were some performances that were a little, “What were you thinking, Carrie?” But they were few. And most of the time, Carrie always gave performances that showed us she deserved to win the competition.

Nadia Turner “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”

Few people remember Nadia, but I do. She was my first bet early in the competition (along with Bo Bice), but she got voted out early. I honestly believe that a lot of the stronger performers got noticed because she was booted out. I do question her star power because as we know, American Idol is not just about talent but about creating stars. And I’m not sure if Nadia had that.

What were your favorite Season 4 Idol moments?

Okay, I have a confession to make. I still watch American Idol, even though it’s not really as good as it used to be before. It used to be all about talent before. And now, it’s just another reality competition show used to promote stars and their albums, shows, movies and careers.

But like I said, it used to be really good, and it used to be really just all about the talent. So let me share my favorite Idol moments. And when I say favorite, I mean my favorite seasons, from Seasons 3 through 5.

Season 3

Camile Velasco - “Son Of A Preacher Man”

Honestly, I think this was Camile’s only great performance in American Idol. All the rest of her performances were overtaken by fear and nerves, and it was hard to see what she was capable of. This performance was still not up to par with her auditions (where she sang Fugees‘ “Ready Or Not”).

George Huff - “Take Me To The Pilot”

This was the song (Top 9 week) that solidified George Huff’s reputation as a great singer. It was Elton John week, and he owned this song. I think it’s still my favorite Idol performance. EVER.

Jennifer Hudson – “Baby, I Love You”

This performance identified who Jennifer Hudson was as a singer. Some people loved “Circle Of Life”, but I think this was her best performance in the show (aside from Imagine).

Fantasio Barrino – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”

Fantasia did a lot of great performances in American Idol, and that’s one of the reasons why she won the show. But her performance of this song just made it more obvious that she owned this season.

What were your favorite Season 3 performances? Next week, I’ll be tackling favorite performances from Season 4.

I go way back with Idol.  Season 1 far back.  Justin and Kelly far back.  It’s been a fun ride, but I think the writing is on the wall and the end is nigh.

The end has been in sight for a while now.  It started when the judges inexplicably put Sanjaya through to the top 24.  The very notion that he was one of the 12 best singers that the judges could find just screamed that they weren’t looking all that hard.

But life, and American Idol, went on.  Simon was mean.  Randy called everyone “Dog”.  Paula babbled incoherently.  And the singers kept coming.  The occasional Sanjaya or Kelly Pickler couldn’t ruin the show.

Now Paula is gone.  For reasons that I cannot fathom, the producers replaced a very replaceable cog with… Ellen DeGeneres, who has no connection whatsoever to the music industry.  If the previews for the Hollywood week round are any indication, she’s going to be less useful than Paula, which is a little bit like being less hairy than Howie Mandel.  It isn’t easy.  The one bit of Ellen’s wisdom that the advertising gurus at Fox chose to show us is her telling a contestant to get some shoes because Hollywood is a disgusting place.

Now the word is that Simon will be leaving after this season to focus on his next British Import – X-Factor.  Early rumors point to Howard Stern as his replacement.  If that’s the case, this is surely the last season for me.  Even if they choose a less odious replacement, I think I may be done.  Let’s all hope that X-Factor fills the void that Idol will leave behind.

Admittedly, I love reality shows. But only to a limit. There are some shows, okay, a lot of reality shows that I would not dare watch. And there are some that I look forward to watching every season. These are some of them.

1. Project Runway

I love fashion and that’s why I love Project Runway. I love seeing new pieces constructed every week. They’re not always the most fashionable or the most wearable, but it’s always interesting to see what fashion designers can create under the most enormous amount of pressure. I’ve not always agreed with the judges each time, but I still watch it every time.

2. The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is the reality show that fulfills the dreams of almost everyone in the entire world: to race around the world and get paid a million dollars if you emerge on top. It’s not the easiest situation, but it gets really crazy! It’s been 13 seasons, but it always gets interesting. The fact that there are different types of people joining every season and never put into the same situation twice is enough reason to tune in and see how they’ll react to every situation they’re thrown in.

3. American Idol

It has become boring the last two seasons, but American Idol still remains a favorite. I love listening to music, and I’m always trying to discover new music to listen to. American Idol gives me a chance not only to do that but to witness the evolution of a new artist. Sometimes that doesn’t happen, but, hey, it’s still fun to watch and pretend to be a judge.

What about you? Do you watch reality shows? What’s your favorite?