SUSAN BOYLE: I DREAMED A DREAM (COLUMBIA/SYCO) ** "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle deserves so much better than the painfully obvious and/or bombastic settings she's given on her debut album. Its failings are no surprise, given that it's overseen by 19 Entertainment, parent company of "Britain's Got Talent," "American Idol" and so on. ...more

November 27, 2009

Not to be contrary, but does anyone remember that Kris Allen actually won Season 8 of "American Idol"? Poor guy's CD came out earlier this month and it would be a gross overstatement to call the reception muted. ...more

November 27, 2009

ABC says more than 1,500 people have called to complain about Adam Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards. ...more

November 24, 2009

Few stories impact as strongly as Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Color Purple." The bittersweet travails of Celie, Sofia, Nettie and Shug - four very different Southern black women who are, in many ways, equally repressed - tug the heartstrings, regardless of gender, age or race. ...more

November 23, 2009

He finished in the top four of the 2008 "American Idol" competition and was the first competitor to play an instrument onstage. Wednesday, Jason Castro performed here for a crowd of more than 200 people. ...more

October 30, 2009

He finished in the top four of the 2008 "American Idol" competition and was the first Idol competitor to play an instrument onstage. And Wednesday evening Jason Castro performed for a crowd of more than 200 people . ...more

October 29, 2009

The 106th Florida State Fair is looking for superheroes - but they have to be the type one would find at a fair. ...more

October 27, 2009

When Joe Girardi has big decisions to make, he consults his thick black binder. ...more

October 26, 2009

With his trim dark suit and a fedora pulled low over his eyes, Leonard Cohen looked less like a poet and singer-songwriter Monday night and more like a veteran song-and-dance man working the boards. ...more

October 21, 2009

About two dozen Catholic "Idol" wannabes showed up Sunday at the Bethany Retreat Center for the first round of auditions for the "Voice of An Angel" singing competition. ...more

July 20, 2009