In a strategic move to compete with more muscle for Thursday night ratings, Fox has moved American Idol to Thursday to battle with CBS’ The Big Bang Theory in the midseason. Consequently, the network has bumped Fringe to a dreaded Friday night time slot.

From the looks of the Fox 2010-2011 Midseason Schedule, it seems like a missed opportunity not to use Idol to help Human Target’s ratings (only serves as lead-in for three episodes in late January to early February), but you can see below how the network is manipulating Idol around in January.

FOX 2010-2011 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE

***************************

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, Jan. 5 and 12:

8:00-10:00 PM            HUMAN TARGET (All-New, Two-Hour Episodes)

Wednesday, Jan. 19:

8:00-10:00 PM            AMERICAN IDOL (Two-Hour Season Premiere, Part One)

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 26:

8:00-9:00 PM              AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-10:00 PM            HUMAN TARGET (All-New Episodes)

Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 16:

8:00-10:00 PM            AMERICAN IDOL (Two-Hour Episodes)

Wednesdays, beginning April 6:

8:00-9:30 PM              AMERICAN IDOL (90-Minute Episodes)

9:30-10:00 PM            BREAKING IN (Series Premiere)

***************************

Fridays, beginning Jan. 28:

9:00-10:00 PM            FRINGE (Time Period Premiere)

Do you think the move to Friday nights will tie the cancellation noose around Fringe’s neck?

[The Shakedown]

Just when Fringe is really breaking out to show that it is one of the best sci-fi shows to ever be on the air, this news comes down. I can understand how Fox is trying to be more competitive for ratings, but fans, don’t let this get you down. Keep watching Fringe no matter what time it’s on! This show has muscle and legs that others simply don’t. It’s craftily intelligent and visually stunning with constantly intriguing plotlines and Emmy-worthy performances. Show your support for the show by keeping with it!

[Source] Fox

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Tags: American Idol, Fringe, Human Target, Pauline Kael, Philip K. Dick, Susan Sontag

Last week, Simon Cowell mentioned that a unnamed world famous singer had expressed a sudden interest in serving as a judge for the U.S. edition of The X Factor, which starts in fall 2011. Over the weekend, he dropped a hint as to who that singer may have been.

Cowell told News of the World that Mariah Carey would be "an amazing addition" to The X Factor, which has now taken the place of American Idol as the go-to series for judging rumors.

Though reports have had Cowell pushing for British…

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Tags: American Idol, Cheryl Cole, Entertainment, Mariah Carey, News of the World, Simon Cowell, Television, X Factor

See larger image For Your Entertainment (Audio CD) List Price: $17.99 USD New From: $6.82 In Stock Used from: $1.78 In Stock Release date November 23, 2009.

Like the song says, 'Let's Give Them Something to Talk About'.  Adam Lambert took that suggestion to heart Sunday night at the American Music Awards and left the attendees talking well into the after-parties I am sure.

In a performance that surely has Freddie Mercury giving a heavenly standing ovation, Adam strutted, preened and squealed his way through a risqué rendition of “For Your Entertainment” that appeared to completely stun the audience at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre and the millions watching the American Music Awards live on ABC. Rumor has it that the producers had no idea that the mano-a-mano gum exchange was to happen. Go Adam!

"For Your Entertainment" will be released today (November 23) and the title-track lead single sold 18,000 in its first week of release, according to SoundScan, while "Time for Miracles" has sold 68,000 in three weeks. This comes on top of the 997,000 digital tracks sold of Lambert's songs from "Idol."

In spite of the claims that there is some kind of competition still ongoing between Lambert and Kris whats-his-face (ok, I know it's Allen), I leave that debate to the rabid American Idol lovers. For the more pragmatic, it's easy to see that these two artists live in completely different universes so any 'comparison' between the two is merely Idol driven noise. I myself find nothing special about Kris Allen which is not to say that he isn't talented - just not terribly outstanding.

Adam on the other hand rose above all the other contestants and demonstrated a gift for vocals and showmanship that was sorely lacking in the karaoke-like season that was American Idol 2009. BTW, I loved the debut album form Tears For Fears and Adam's rendition of Mad World was beyond amazing!

All that said, I suspect that  a large portion of the debate will be around who ya love. I sincerely hope that Adam is not stupid enough to expect to ride the gay train to success. It's gotten old already Adam. Outside of flash in the pan headlines, nobody really cares enough about who you choose to sleep with to make that the reason to buy your music. Adam is truly gifted and with the right management, should be a welcome change to the dreadfully dull, predictable pop music landscape that we suffer with today.

Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, American Music Award, Freddie Mercury, Kris Allen