Labels: Survivor

The teams were surprised when the first clue didn't tell them to hit the airport -- instead, they had to head to the Jin Fu Yi Zhan Tea Shop. Phil teased us with a secret twist -- the particular brand of papaya-mango-infused tea that teams were drinking would play a role in the evening's upcoming Roadblock.

"That was pointless," deadpanned Zev.

Teams had to then fly to Kolkata, India, and visit the local Town Hall. Fun fact: The city used to be known as "Calcutta," but the government officially changed the English name to the more proper "Kolkata" in 2001.

The Roadblock was based on the Ancient Indian tradition of tea tasting. This was another frog-in-the-mudpit challenge -- players had to make their way through what looked like a few thousand cups of tea to find the papaya-mango flavor they had sampled in China.

Mallory burying her face in tea

While most players were obsessing over the particular colour of the tea, Ron quietly sniffed a few dozen cups and found his ringer. "The wave of mango did come through," said Ron. The Tea Auctioneer gave the Asian pair their bottle of Snapple, with a clue hidden written on the bottle cap.

The clue instructed teams to make for the Tiwari Tea Stall in the Jorashanko area. Kisha was the third person to find the tea, but unfortunately, both sisters decided to take an extremely existential interpretation of the term "clue." Instead of looking at the bottle cap, they assumed that the entire Snapple bottle itself was the clue, and they set off in search of the Snapple factory. Pure dumb luck took them to the Jorashanko area.)

Kent putting make-up on Ganesha

Asian Dad and daughter had some cabbie trouble, and since Kisha and Jen were still searching for the Snapple factory, the Cowbros were the first to arrive at the Detour. The choice was between Hindu Art and Bengali Literature. In the former, teams had to paint, dress, and adorn a statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god. In Bengali Literature, teams had to deliver eight big stacks of children's' books to a local school using a rickshaw school bus.

Kisha tried guessing Ganesha's line of work: "The statue looks pregnant, so I'm guessing maybe a goddess of fertility."

Meanwhile, the cruel tearoom auctioneer was presiding over the worst tea party in the history of the universe. Flight Time finally managed to find the telltale tea, which left Luke all alone with a few hundred more cups to go through. He ended up falling to the floor in the fetal position, crying out "This is so hard!" He finally just grabbed a couple dozen cups and showed them to the auctioneer.

DOH! This is so harddd!!

Gary and Mallory opted to deliver the deliver the books. They were far in the lead having chosen this detour, and Mallory positively whooped when they landed in first place at the Pit Stop at the Fountain of Joy, in the city's largest park.

After completing the detour, Jet & Cord had a great exchange mid-traffic:

Cord: (cynically) "Look at that sign to the left. Says India is great."

Jet: (the opposite of cynically) "India is great!"

Ron & Christina, Jet & Cord and Zev & Justin were teams Two, Three, and Four. Everyone high-fived. Then the Goths arrived, and Phil said, "Hey, Jet, what place are they in?" "Four!" Jet said proudly, which led to giggles from everyone. "Don't you know how to count?" laughed Phil.

Flight Time nearly squandered his team's lead when he spilled paint on the statue. There was some legitimate tension going to the mat, and when the Globetrotters arrived, they seemed to think that they were in last place. Big Easy cried, and thanked his partner for how he "carried us today." When they heard they were still in the race, they hugged.

The next sequence brought the whole episode to an emotional conclusion. Margie and Luke faced their elimination with quiet grace. Luke told us, "Being on the Amazing Race was a big dream for me." Margie told Luke, "I'm very proud of you."

Labels: Amazing Race

Labels: Apprentice

Maroon 5 - Never Gonna Leave This Bed
Third single from their third studio album, Hands All Over.
The Wanted – Gold Forever
A dance-pop song from their upcoming second studio album.

Overtones – Gambling Man
The Overtones are a five-piece British-Irish doo-wop boy band from London, formed in 2010. They were discovered by a Warner Brothers talent scout while working as decorators in a shop near Oxford Street, singing during their tea break.
Glee Cast – Loser Like Me

Sara Bareilles – Uncharted
Second single of her album, Kaleidoscope Heart.
David Cook – Don’t You (Forget About Me)
A Simple Minds cover, this is also the farewell song for the 10th season of Idol.

Alexandria: "Blah Blah Cover Girl Lash Blast Smash."

"Buy this f***ing makeup, you f***ing f***s!"

Team 3: Hannah (director), Dalya ("talent"), Jaclyn (writer)
Their team decides to go for more of a "conversation" than a script. A conversation full of "uhhs" and "umms" and Dalya saying she feels "naked" a few too many times. Despite the verbal nudity, it's boring and they run out of time before they get a good take.

Jay critiques the spots: Mikaela swore too much, but was relatable. Yes! I actually find swearing very relatable. Dalya wasn't informative enough. Alexandria was trying to do everyone's jobs and yelling "action," but Monique was "cool, calm and collected."

The winner: Team F***! (Mikaela's team.)

Photo Shoot: Holding a baby jaguar at the zoo

To promote Rachel Zoe's new faux fur line, the girls are going to be dressed up like "fashion versions of wild animals" and pose with Murato, the baby jaguar!

Best photo goes to: Hannah
The shot that embodies what this shoot was supposed to be all about: Luxury, lushness, fierceness and, of course, fur. Hannah has never looked so exotic and dramatic, and there's an other-worldly quality to the way she's looking off into the distance.
Bottom Two: Molly and Dalya

Tyra says Molly has had "hair trouble" all season, but that's not an excuse to look so disengaged and "vacant." "And then we have Dalya," who is stunning but is coming off "desperate" and is standing in her own way.

Eliminated: Dalya

The only remaining black contestant is out. Tyra shames Dalya for having so much runway experience but doubting herself. Dalya says she's "almost embarrassed" but is proud she made the top 9. Look at the top 8 now, so white:

Labels: ANTM

Inspirational lyrics, combined with a catchy melody, and layered instrumentals, make this poignant song shine beautifully. It is a celebration of owning your own destiny, the struggles about coming out, and the realization that those who love you will support your choices. Exceptional back-up vocals harmonize with Adam's lower key perfectly. A wonderful song of hope and love.

5) King Kong Jane – Waiting For Friday

I may be biased about this, but Waiting For Friday is definitely one of the best local albums released in the past few years (#4 on the HMV Charts, that's proof!) You know I'm very objective when it comes to music. This track definitely makes you anticipate the weekend more than Rebecca Black's viral hit does.

It’s almost impossible to sit still while listening to any song Robyn gets her hands on, and her latest collaboration is no exception. The electro-pop queen lends her slick vocals to “Cardiac Arrest,” an insanely catchy dance tune which re-teams Robyn with her fellow Swedish hitmakers Teddybears.

7) Britney Spears – Till The World Ends

Ke$ha has stated that she intended to write a dance floor banger and that is what this is. The hooks are solid, and you will be inspired to dance. Everything is quite slick and polished and not difficult to listen to, and this track sounds solid on the radio and will certainly bring crowds to the dance floor.

8) Magnetic Man – Getting Nowhere feat. John Legend

Essentially a dubstep supergroup, Magnetic Man features the collective powers of Skream, Benga and Artwork and the results are intriguing. With the introduction of John Legend, this track of slanted, looping beats is given a pop edge that brings the likes of Gnarls Barkley to mind. With the ability to appeal to indie and dance fans alike Magnetic Man are an interesting outfit paying no attention to any kind of boundaries.

9) Chris Medina – What Are Words

While fans of Chris Medina were understandably thrilled when "What Are Words" was released so quickly after his elimination from American Idol, music buyers not as invested in his story will have a hard time understanding the hoopla over the song. Even with a major producer like Rodney Jerkins behind the board, there isn't anything about the song that helps Chris Medina stand out from other male singer/musicians.

10) Mona – Listen To Your Love

Hailed as the 'New To Q' on this issue of Q Magazine, Mona's "Listen To Your Love" is an accomplished track and will undoubtedly become their anthemic go-to, all contemplative verse, amplifying hook and impassioned chorus that it is.

Labels: Soundmunchers

Labels: Idol

As usual, my favourite female contestant didn't fail to surprise me in a good way again. I like that she combined Motown with African drumming and dancing, and she really hit her stride with this performance. How did this she land herself in the Bottom 3 last week?!?!

#2 Pia Toscano - “All In Love Is Fair” by Stevie Wonder

Yes, she did another ballad, but she KILLED another ballad. The song suited her voice perfectly and the girl knows what she likes and who she is. Well, I do get that she is a diva and can belt really well, but even Whitney and Celine had some dance hits! Try something different, girl!

#3 Paul McDonald - “The Tracks Of My Tears” by The Miracles

My favourite male contestant performed with his guitar tonight! I love how he successfully converted the Motown theme into his homeground, that of folk rock. His tender moments are just so infectious, so electrifying! He is really a breath of fresh air in this competition.

Adam Lambert 2.0 does the same drill: He blasts those vocals in his performance, impressing everyone, and eventually pisses everyone off when the judges are critiquing him and he's milking the audience for applause. Big talent, but bigger ego – that's just not my cup of tea. A good performance though.

#5 Jacob Lusk - “You're All I Need To Get By” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

It was restrained for Jacob, which made it bearable to listen to. Too many diva postures during his performances, it seriously puts me off. Random moment when the girls swarmed the stage to hug Jacob, but Ryan put a stop to it before a guy could hug Jacob.

#6 Scotty McCreery - “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder

He resembles a very cheesy caricature, and that cracks me up in a positive manner. Well, he hit some notes which he couldn't have hit in the past, so I'm guessing he's improving note by note every week. It wasn't my favorite Scotty performance, but I'm increasingly finding him to be good entertainment.

#7 Casey Abrams - “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye

This was just OK for me. Last week was way too epic for me to expect this performance to be so sub-standard by his standards.

#8 Thia Megia - “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” by Martha & The Vandellas

Lauren apparently got her confidence back (since when was it missing?) Lauren was forgettable, which may as well be the kiss of death on American Idol. For some reason this week was all about her re-gaining her confidence, but she seemed less confident than ever. While she hit all her notes, it just wasn't memorable and viewers might forget to vote for her.

Stefano has a great voice and even sang his song very well, but I feel like we're seeing the same thing from him week after week and he still hasn't taken Jennifer Lopez's one note to stop closing his eyes so much when he sings. Stefano killed it last week, but this week was just way below my expectations.

Labels: Idol

At Ometepe, Phillip starts complaining about how the pageant beauties, Ashley and Natalie, don't do any work at the camp. While Phillip calls them "beauty queens" as an insult, they take it as a compliment.

The immunity challenge involved the castaways trying to catch balls launched by a catapult. Ometepe dominates the game and sweeps it 5-0, thanks to a strong connection between the launcher Natalie and the catcher, Grant, who get four of the five balls. It's interesting how I'm typing Natalie's name pretty often, considering how under-the-radar she is.

Stealth R Us

For a reward, Ometepe gets a picnic where Boston Rob sees the immunity idol clue and continues to play out his little game, pretending that he hasn't already found out. We also find out that Phillip's delusions are grander than I ever could've imagined since he believes he's in an alliance with Boston Rob and Grant called Stealth R Us, where Phillip is the "specialist," Boston Rob is the "mentalist" (isn't Simon Baker The Mentalist, not Boston Rob?) and Grant is the "assassin."

When Phillip sees that Boston Rob and Grant tried to hide the clue from him, he offers a tragically brilliant misquotation: "Hell hath no fury like a lion and a gorilla when he thinks he's been provoked." He also reveals that he was a special agent for four years, 11 months and 13 days.

Tribal Council

Labels: Survivor