Shauna Noland Says Bye-Bye on So You Think You Can Dance

Along with Cedric, last week we also said good-bye to Shauna Noland, an 18-year-old blonde that was paired with both Cedric and Jimmy. After she left, she sat down with TV Guide to dish about her lack of air-time during auditions and what's in store for her in the future. Tune in tonight to see who else goes home.

TVGuide.com: Do you think you deserved to go home?
Shauna Noland: At this point, no one really deserves to go home. But they have to get rid of two people, so it was just my time to go.

TVGuide.com: Some of the other dancers, like Lacey and Hok, were featured frequently in the audition episodes, but not you. Why do you think that is?
Shauna: If I could figure that out, I'd be so happy. [Laughs] I have no idea. From Day 1 of auditions, they know what they're doing and I think they sort of had it all planned out. Who knows why they didn't show me?

TVGuide.com: Do you feel that affected your connection with the audience?
Shauna: Yeah, I do think so. When it first started, everyone was like, "Who's the blonde girl?" It definitely would have helped if I had been seen in the auditions, but there's not much I can do about that now.

TVGuide.com: How much work went into preparing for your final solo?
Shauna: For me, doing a solo is very mental. I like to have a plan of where I'm going to go on stage for what parts, but I don't actually plan out my solo, because I think that when you're up on stage dancing for your life, it brings out a lot more emotions than it would at the studio choreographing it. I feel more, like, real and in the moment when I just improv on stage and let my emotions speak for me.

TVGuide.com: You have a few signature moves, like the spiral spin with the leg raise. Did you learn or create that?
Shauna: The leg turn I started doing when I was probably about 13. It was something I was playing around with at the studio and I just thought it was fun. My teacher thought it was cool and told me to practice it to get it consistent. From then on, I just worked on it and slowly started doing more turns, adding to it, and putting it at the end of different turn sequences.

TVGuide.com: What were rehearsals like with your first partner, Jimmy, and your second partner, Cedric?
Shauna: Rehearsals with Jimmy were awesome. We were both comfortable with the styles that we got, so that really helped because we were just having fun. With Cedric, it was awesome as well, but the styles were harder.

TVGuide.com: And how was your chemistry with them?
Shauna: I didn't really know Jimmy before we got paired together, so that was kind of rough. We almost got closer after he got kicked off the show, which was unfortunate. He would call me all the time and ask how I was doing. And with Cedric, I had gotten to know him before we were partners, so that helped.

TVGuide.com: What was your favorite dance on the show?
Shauna: I don't know. Broadway wasn't really my style of Broadway, hip-hop wasn't really my style of hip-hop, contemporary wasn't really my style of contemporary.... I felt like a lot of it wasn't really me and didn't show a lot of who I was. But based on that, my favorite would probably be hip-hop or contemporary.

TVGuide.com: Who was your favorite choreographer?
Shauna: Tyce [Diorio]. He does a great job making the dancers feel comfortable doing his work and understanding it.

TVGuide.com: What style was the most difficult for you?
Shauna: Definitely the mambo. It's the total opposite of what I'm used to. I'm used to ballet arms and posture and it's all bent. It's hard.

TVGuide.com: Which body part hurts the most?
Shauna: My feet. [Laughs] They're kind of a disaster right now, I have blisters everywhere and my toes are all split and one of my toenails is about to fall off.

TVGuide.com: So no sandals anytime soon?
Shauna: No sandals. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Who were you rooming with?
Shauna: Lacey, Jamie and Lauren. We had a blast — it was an awesome room.

TVGuide.com: How long did you cry after you found out you were going?
Shauna: I had totally prepared myself for it. I don't know why, but I had a strange feeling that I was going to go home, so when they said it to me, I actually was fine. I was smiling and thinking, "Bummer, but oh well." But as soon as the [video montage] played, I started crying — only because they put it to such sad music! I went up to [executive producer/judge] Nigel [Lythgoe] afterwards and said, "Can we change that music? Because it made me cry."

TVGuide.com: Has it sunk in yet?
Shauna: Yeah, I'm a realistic person, so I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm a strong believer that things happen for a reason, so I know that it's just time for me to move on and do other things.

TVGuide.com: Such as?
Shauna: I'm going to continue auditioning and dancing. Being at the premiere of Hairspray and talking to all those people really made me realize how much I want to do other stuff, too. I think I'm going to start getting into acting and singing a lot more as well.

TVGuide.com: Now that you're gone, who do you think will win?
Shauna: At this point, I have no idea because everyone is so different and they're throwing a lot of twists, like last week with Jessi and Jesús. No one knows what's going to happen.

Photo from TV Guide.

Katharine McPhee Is on the Rise

With her first album released last week, and doing well, American Idol alum Katharine McPhee's star is definitely shining bright. It's always interesting when the second place winner seems to eclipse the winner just a bit. She's been making the rounds of the talk show circuit to promote her album, even stopping by Rachael Ray's show last week. Here's the rest of an interview she just did with TV Guide.

TV Guide: How did being on American Idol change you?
Katharine McPhee: When you're in that [competitive] place, everything you hear affects you because you're already so sensitive and stressed and tired and overworked. When people ask me, "How was the experience?" my first reaction is always negative, which is not right of me. I think I'll look back at this 40 or 50 years from now, and it'll be like, "Wow, I was part of history."
TV Guide: What was the hardest part?
McPhee: I think those Idol forums — like AmericanIdol.com — should be shut down. It's basically just an opportunity for people to say the meanest things without consequence.

TV Guide: Meaner than the judges?
McPhee: The judges never made me cry. But their comments hurt. I was constantly fighting the pain and putting Band-Aids over the wounds to keep going.

TV Guide: How did you manage it?
McPhee: I was like two people: I was Katharine, standing there, performing, but I was also watching myself perform. And judging myself. That's something I still have to grow into as an artist. I have to learn how to let go.

TV Guide: You've just released your self-titled debut CD. What was that like to make?
McPhee: The thing that was hard for me about the studio is that I love to talk. And I was so isolated in the booth. It was pitch-dark and quiet, and [the producers] would be outside talking and I'd be like, "Hello? Guys? What are you saying about me?" I would hope that my second record would be less of me judging me.

TV Guide: You judged yourself in another way: Prior to Idol, you were treated for bulimia. Are you staying healthy?
McPhee: Everything's changed for me, and it's pretty miraculous just to be in a healthy body and to promote healthy bodies. But what's still hard is body image. Sometimes I love my body and sometimes I think I look so ugly. I'm just being honest.

TV Guide: On your CD's liner notes, you tell your boyfriend (actor Nick Cokas) that you love him more than you can say. What can you tell us about him?
McPhee: I actually snuck out of the Idol house to see him in the beginning. It was great to have that touchstone, a confidant. And then, as the show progressed, I just got really wrapped up in it, and I wasn't nice to him.

TV Guide: Your CD is sassy, upbeat and very different from the power ballads you sang on Idol. Was that sort of the point?
McPhee: If anyone had ever asked me what kind of record I wanted to make, I would've said, "An R&B, pop/soul album," because that's what's on the radio right now. If the record succeeds or fails, at least I can say, "I chose to go this direction." Nobody molded me.

TV Guide: Will you be performing on Idol this season?
McPhee: If they'll have me back, I'd love to. I love the producers, Ken [Warwick] and Nigel [Lythgoe]. I want to look them in the face and say, "This is the Katharine that I wish I could've been."

TV Guide: And who is that?
McPhee: I'm a little calmer. But I also have a bit of a wild streak in me. People couldn't quite connect to me on the show because I was so reserved. But I honestly think that's because I was nervous. You have to protect yourself.

TV Guide: Did you ever break down?
McPhee: [Pause] The only time I cried was when Chris Daughtry was eliminated. They said, "Chris is going home," and the show ends and everybody's basically looking at me saying, "It should have been you." They're not actually saying that, but that's what I'm interpreting. Simon [Cowell] said, "You live to see another day." And I just started crying. It felt weird and bad.

TV Guide: Is it all too much, being on that show?
McPhee: No, because if you can't get through that, then you can't get through the business.

Photo from TV Guide.

Stop the Presses! Courtney Love NOT Coming to American Idol

The rumors have been running rampant lately (ahem, US Magazine), that the producers from American Idol called bad-girl rocker Courtney Love to have her replace judge Paula Abdul. Not true says executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.

"I did not call Courtney Love, and am afraid someone may have misrepresented me. Courtney Love is a very talented artist, but the judges for American Idol are Paula, Randy and Simon. We have no plans to add to or replace any of them."

So there.

Photo from Fox.