Sanjaya on American Idol - Did America Get It Right This Time?

Last night, controversial American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar sang Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" during country week. Simon took the gloves off and declared it "utterly horrendous," while Randy compared it to bad karaoke. Ryan tried to play peacemaker, but Simon continued, saying "I know this has been funny for a while, but because of the fact that we're supposed to be finding an American Idol, it was hideous. A ridiculous choice of song."

I hope America finally got it right, but I'm not holding my breath.

Photo from TV Guide.

Fashion Police: Oscars 2007

Melissa, I love you. Not nearly as much as your girlfriend Tammy Lynn Michaels, does, of course, but I am very fond of you. But hon, we've got to talk. The suit? We've seen it. In hundreds of incarnations. All from you. Let's try something different. Change it up a bit. Hey, did you happen to notice what Ellen did on the cover of W magazine? You can still wear a suit but rock it out a little bit. Go ahead, walk on the wild side. Just a little. We'll still be here, I promise.

No, I don't know why Jennifer Hudson is wearing a little girls' jacket with her Oscar gown either, but when I find out, I'll be sure to let you know. 'Tis a shame, because up until now, it seemed as if the Dreamgirls and American Idol alum star and her stylist were a well-oiled team, getting the styling right red carpet after red carpet. Take off that silly, too-small jacket though, and I think they may be on to something. Oh, but that hair. I almost forgot about the Judy Jetson style plastered to one side of your head. Well, J. Hud, there's always next year.

Forest Whitaker who? The Oscar nominee is completely overshadowed by his gorgeous wife, Keisha. Glowing, almost incandescent, but most of all, beautiful.

No, it's not Mutt and Jeff. It's Nicole Kidman and her best gal pal Naomi Watts. Look closely. Look really closely. On the left side of Nicole Kidman's dress, there is a giant Christmas present bow. Seems she forgot to take off all the wrapping when she put her dress on. If that ridiculously oversized bow was gone, I might be able to forgive the dark eyebrows, bright lipstick and dress that nearly rescisely matches the red carpet. But alas, I cannot. Nicole, we still love you anyway.

With her girlfriend Ellen DeGeneres, hosting the Oscars, actress Portia de Rossi knew there would be some eyes on her, and she pulled it off with flying colors. Beautiful hair, make-up and dress. Stunning and gorgeous.

It's the pose, it's the angle, it's the fit of the gown, it's the style ... and it's all a thumbs down for new mom Maggie Gyllenhaal. Just very unflattering, but at least she got to enjoy a night on the town with her baby's daddy, Peter Sarsgaard.

Divorce certainly seems to agree with actress Reese Witherspoon. Between this and her other recent red carpet appearances, she has never looked more gorgeous. In my opinion, she wins the Most Beautiful award for tonight's red carpet, hands down. Gorgeous.

Good news: Gwyneth Paltrow broke out of her red carpet mold a bit and wore a different color and style and it worked well for her. Bad news: ENOUGH OF THE HAIR DRAPE ALREADY! She kept putting her too-long hair in front, especially any time the camera was on her. Gwynnie, honey, it's ok to put your long hair down your back. We'll still know it's there. Really, we will. Yes, it's pretty. Yes, it's nice and blonde and long. Really long. Did I say too long yet? But let's try something different. Put it behind you. Put it up. But enough of the hair already. It's wearing YOU, instead of the other way around. Okay, I feel better now.

Jennifer Lopez arrives arm-in-arm with husband, Latin crooner, Marc Anthony. Ryan Seacrest mentioned in his red carpet coverage that he thought Jennifer looked "hot." I think she looks good, though I've seen her look better. I wish the make-up was a little more vibrant, but Jenny from the Block still has got it going on.

Couldn't resist adding this second picture of Jennifer Lopez. I like the dress a lot better now that I've seen the entire thing. And how cute is she when she's giggling? Love her.

Newsstand Friday: Ok! Magazine

JENNIFER ANISTON
She finally makes friends again with her ex!

Jennifer Aniston reached out to former husband Brad Pitt and his partner Angelina Jolie after the death of Angelina’s mom, Marcheline Bertrand. She sent the couple a note offering her condolences, a gesture that touched Brad and paved the way for the former lovers to reconnect. “Jen was deeply moved by the suffering Brad and Angelina were going through,” a friend of the actress tells OK!. “Having been through a medical crisis with her own father last summer, Jen was able to relate on a very personal level to the pain of losing a parent you love.” With her own life on the right track (there have been signs she may reconcile with ex-boyfriend Vince Vaughn) Jen seems okay with the notion of finally being friends again with Brad.

BRITNEY SPEARS
Are her wacky weekend antics another desperate cry for help?

Britney Spears set off alarms last weekend with a bizarre night on the town that included the 25-year-old single mother of two shaving off her hair and getting new tattoos. After her shaving escapade, Britney announced, “My mom is going to be so upset with me.” Friends and family, who wanted the singer to enter a rehab facility — which Britney did for a day — are now beside themselves, wondering if Britney has become a threat to herself. Only Britney’s mother understands what’s really going on and will do anything to get her baby back. “She feels helpless, the worst feeling in the world for any mother,” a source tells OK!...

JENNIFER HUDSON
The curvy star feels the pressure to lose weight.

Jennifer Hudson has never had a problem with her curves. Playing the "big" girl in Dreamgirls has brought her critical acclaim. But now the managers guiding her skyrocketing career are pressuring the former American Idol contestant to lose weight or see her career hit a dead end. "In the music business, no one in the top 10 is as large as she is," a music industry insider tells OK!. "She has tasted fame and is loving the attention, and is determined to stay in the spotlight for as long as possible. She'll do whatever it takes."

RYAN SEACREST
The busiest man in showbiz takes on another project.

Ryan Seacrest is a busy man. Along with hosting American Idol and reporting celebrity news for the E! network, the multitalented 32-year-old is producing Paradise City, a new reality show chronicling the lives of twentysomethings in Sin City who are determined to break into show business. It doesn't leave him a lot of time to relax. "I don't even calculate social time into Monday through Friday, ever!" he tells OK!. Ryan also gives the inside scoop on his awkward Golden Globes moment with Brad and Angelina.

PLUS: ANNA NICOLE’S SHOCKING PREGNANCY SECRET. JUSTIN AND CAMERON, TOGETHER AGAIN. VANESSA AND NICK’S WEDDING BLESSINGS. JENNIFER LOPEZ’S RED-CARPET GLAMOUR. TV’S HIGHEST SALARIES. OSCAR GLAM GUIDE. DREW BARRYMORE, STYLE ICON. OK!’S SUNDANCE DINNER PARTY.

When Does Ryan Seacrest Sleep?

Seriously, I want whatever he's taking. He's like the Energizer bunny - he keeps going and going and going. Last night, for E! Television, he was doing the red carpet coverage with Giuliana DiPandi, he has his radio shows, American Idol, a few restaurants, a clothing line ... geesh, I'm tired just thinking about it.

We mentioned earlier that he has a new show in the works, and now we have a few more details. The new reality show is called Paradise City, and it will be produced by Ryan and co-produced by the gang behind Laguna Beach. It will air on E! in the Spring, and it follows a group of twentysomethings trying to make it big in Las Vegas. Says Ryan, "There's beean nudity, the craziest 48-hour parties and attempts to do things that would really injure one's body for the rest of their lives." Sounds like fun.

Photo from Ryan's web site.

Rewind: Grease, You're the One that I Want

Some of the best parts of FOX's American Idol are the auditions during the first few weeks. If you agree, then you'll probably like the newest reality show, NBC's Grease, You're the One that I Want as much as I do. And hey, the trip down memory lane isn't so bad either.

Hosted by Billy Bush and Denise Van Outen (yeah, I don't know who she is either), the show is casting the lead roles of Danny and Sandy in a $10 million Broadyway production. In two weeks, the final 50 will start a singing and dancing boot camp, from which 12 will graduate to vie for the top spots.

The judges are Kathleen Marshall, David Ian and Jim Jacobs and the contestants are judged in both a singing and dancing round. Auditions were held in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Billy Bush works well as the host, and was eerily similar to Ryan Seacrest on American Idol. Olivia Newton-John appeared several times during the episode.

During the episode, they did uncover some talented auditioners, and then there were those who you wonder about. A lot of them had really touching and interesting stories on how they ended up at the auditions ... a guy who was there in memory of his brother, a woman who was in town for a pharmaceutical convention, a tap dancing cupcake, a girl who's Dad encouraged her to sign up.

Got me hooked already.

Newssstand Friday: EW Magazine

Here's what EW has to offer this week:

Cover Story
'Idol' returns! All the dish on season 6!
Simon, Paula, Randy, and Ryan spill exclusive behind-the-scenes details on season 6, which promises to be more cutthroat, unpredictable, and tone-deaf than ever Read

The Pop of King
Stephen King on '24': So good it's scary
Even longtime viewers will be spooked by the new season's surprisingly real take on terrorism

The magazine also reviews these movies:

Children of Men
Notes on a Scandal
Curse of the Golden Flower
Night at the Museum
Happily N'ever After
Black Christmas
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Venus

Newsstand Friday: People Magazine

'Tis the season to go on vacation for celebs, who spent their holidays at hot-spots from Hawaii to Aspen

Godfather of Soul James Brown, the singer who pioneered funk and influenced hip-hop, dies at 73

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt share the details of their family's passionate fight to help Maddox's homeland, Cambodia

Former President Gerald Ford, a Michigan congressman who sought to heal the nation after the Watergate scandal, dies at 93

Cover: Half Their Size
Weight-loss winners share their stories. Plus: losing on any budget, after age 40, with the help of a famous friend and more!

You had a lot of questions for her, and actress Cameron Diaz gives PEOPLE readers the answers

Ex-nurse Laura Moore helps get seriously ailing foster kids the best medicine: loving homes

Meet Chris Gardner, the real-life inspiration behind Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness

Ready to ring in '07, Ryan Seacrest dishes on Dick Clark, American Idol and being single

Police in Ipswich, England, make an arrest in the chilling serial murders of five young women

Project Runway contestant Laura Bennett shows off her latest creation: her sixth child, son Finn

Matthews Fox and McConaughey team up for the football film We Are Marshall

American Idol Is Almost Here

And I, for one, can't wait. I love the show, especially the audition part of it.

Host Ryan Seacrest told People Magazine that the auditions won't disappoint.

"I was just on the phone with Simon, and we were talking about the auditions. We taped the auditions a couple of weeks ago. We didn't think we would go out and see the extremes that we saw. There is the extremely naive and the extremely good and not a lot in between, which is good," he said.

The show's executive producer, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, also said there is a mid-season surprise. "Something we're working on is a big-event show, sometime in the middle of the season, something that will blow America away.".

On the auditions, which began in August, she said: "There's some great talent out there. But there's also some people who are delusional about their talent, too. That's the beauty of an open call – everybody comes. Everybody thinks they've got a great voice."

The new season of American Idol kicks off on FOX with two-hour episodes on Jan. 16 and 17.

Photo from People.

Nicole Richie Has Good Friends

Now she just has to let them help her, and take the support they're offering. Ryan Seacrest, he of American Idol fame, among many other things, is one of those friends, and he is concerned after her arrest on Monday.

"I think that anytime you're in a situation like that and it's dangerous, you're worried for the person in that situation and you're also worried for the people around that person," says Seacrest. "The most frightening thing about it is that she was in great danger as well as people on the freeway that night and anytime you see something like that that could result in a massive catastrophe, you worry for anybody that's involved."

But the radio/TV personality is hopeful that Richie will get through her difficult time. "I also know Nicole to be a very sweet, peaceful, charismatic and charming young girl that loves her dog. When she comes in (for an interview with me on KIIS-FM), she's a great mom to her dogs and hopefully she's close to getting to that place again."

Photo from People