The Keeping Up With The Kardashions 2012 season 7 premiere is here at last! If, like me, your life is not complete unless there is a Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode on to watch, or one of its many various reality TV spin-offs (Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khloe and Lamar, Bruce Knows Best – just kidding; I made that last one up but, if it shows up on E!, I’m going to want a cut of that show), then today you’re in virtual reality TV heaven. Because back for the seventh season, Keeping Up With the Kardashians returned last night with several mini-dramas that, as always, seem to get miraculously resolved (1) before the end of the episode and (2) just as the camera crew is ready to call it a day.

WARNING: KEEP UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS SPOILERS AHEAD!

Please be aware this recap contains Keeping Up With The Kardashians spoilers for the premiere episode. Please do not continue reading if you do not want to know what happened!

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First off, we were regaled with the never-ending (at least in the eyes of the tabloid press and Kris Jenner) saga of the Khloe Kardashian Odom “who’s your daddy” mess. During the last episode of the just-ended Khloe and Lamar, rumors again reared their ugly head about Khloe not being a “real” Kardashian primarily because she stands about 8 inches taller than her Polly Pocket-sized sisters. Of course, the rumors reignited because of Kris Jenner’s memoir in which she confessed to cheating on Robert Kardashian when they were married, more or less around the time when Khloe would have been conceived. Kris, as always, acts as if this is all about Khloe when in reality it’s all about her and making herself feel better (although she does claim she wants people to “stop bullying (her) kids” and then she proceeds to bully Khloe for most of the rest of the show.)

She somehow convinces Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian (have you ever heard about Kim? You should look her up. That girl’s got a future) to do a DNA test so they can confirm that Khloe is a real Kardashian. And, voila, a DNA doctor magically appears at the Kardashian complex, takes a couple of cheek swabs and disappears to run the DNA. But wait, there’s more. Apparently, if the father isn’t around, you need DNA from the mother and 3 siblings so off Kris Jenner goes to track down her son, Robert Kardashian, while he’s house-hunting and when Rob agrees to a DNA test, the DNA doctor is conjured up again. What’s up with that? It took me a week to get into see my primary care physician when I wrecked my knee and this DNA doctor just pops up, as if all Kris Jenner has to do is wish him into the room. I need that kind of power.

In the meantime, back at home, Bruce Jenner (the most sensible person of this bunch, along with Khloe) is feeling mightily neglected as the family forgets to call him to dinner and Kris Jenner scolds him for eating potato chips on their new couch. Apparently, the couch is a snack-free zone and Bruce walks out in a huff and hightails it over to Khloe and Lamar’s empty house (which Khloe has offered Bruce since he’s feeling left out at home) to see how long it will be before anyone notices he’s gone. In one of his mercifully few appearances of the night, Scott Disick (the guy so despicable he makes other reality TV stars like Richard Hatch of Survivor and Spencer Pratt of The Hills look like angels) drops in on Bruce at Casa Odom and they concoct a plot where Scott calls Kris Jenner at home, asking for Bruce and Kris, after a not-very-much-of-an-effort attempt to find him, tells Scott that Bruce is around somewhere but not picking up the phone. That’s the last straw for Bruce, a guy not noted for putting his foot down – or even getting a chance to voice much of an opinion – back home in the Kardashian/Jenner household.

Bruce hightails it home and asks Kris if she’s noticed he’s been gone for 2 days. Kris responds with something so inane, it just solidifies her reputation as Madam President of the “it’s all about me” club. She tells Bruce that she thought he was in the garage. Really, Kris? In the garage? For 2 days? Wow.

Now that Bruce is back home, we get a hastily assembled family dinner during which Khloe – who happens to be back home from Dallas for the day – strolls in and gets ambushed by Kris Jenner to take the DNA test. “I’m not going to accept ‘no’,” Kris tells Khloe. And guess who then wanders into the family dinner? Doctor DNA, once again appearing like some kind of hologram or Zelig to take a cheek scraping from Khloe to end this paternity talk once and for all.

Well, for all you Kardashian followers, I think you’ll agree that Khloe is the most grounded and most sensible of all the older kids and not afraid to share her feelings. Off camera, she still fights against the DNA test by sharing her opinion of Kris Jenner’s attempt to make this happen (and I quote): “If you f*cked other people during the same time and you do not know, go on Maury”. Because, heaven knows, Maury Povich doesn’t do nearly enough “you are NOT the father” shows. And Khloe exits, stage left.

Kris finally writes a letter to Khloe, explaining why she wants the test; Khloe refuses to read the letter (that is, until Kris starts crying); and then Khloe reads it and tells her mother that she appreciates everything she said but . . . she’s still not doing the test because now she’s an Odom, not a Kardashian, and, anyway, she had the best father and stepfather ever and a piece of paper is not going to change that in any way (aww!). Oh Khloe, I love your matter-of-fact common sense. Of course, if your mother or siblings shared that same trait, there’d be no reason to have yet another season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, would there? And then what would I do? (Like Kris Jenner, I’m now making this all about me).

I’m hoping as the season progresses we get more drama. I’m counting on Scott Disick to punch another mirror, or attempt to stuff a $20 bill down a waiter’s throat for not serving him another drink, or just being his usual – to quote Khloe – douche lord self. When Scott acts like that, the Kardashian show is as close to a train wreck as it gets and I for one cannot look away.

Visit us here at GossipandGab.com next week when we bring you our next Keeping Up With The Kardashians 2012 recap. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest television recaps and celebrity gossip!

The whole Celebrity Apprentice 2012 season has led up to tonight, the crowning (although no actual crown was bestowed) of the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner. This season’s cast couldn’t have been more polarizing or entertaining, seeing as how it was populated with, to quote Donald Trump (the master of hyperbole), “18 of the biggest names in the business” (What business is that, Donald? The “Who used to sort of maybe but not quite was kinda famous for a while” business?) But I digress.

We started off watching Mario Andretti pulling up in front of Trump Tower in a race car, there to escort Donald Trump to the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale at the American Museum of Natural History. Two things stood out watching this car ride. The first is that no matter how much product Trump puts in his hair to achieve his unique look, it’s no match for the wind whipping through it while Andretti raced through the streets of Manhattan. And speaking of that, watching the overhead view (and I’m sure it wasn’t doctored or edited in any way, right?) of Andretti zipping along reminded me of the Frogger game. Maybe not the image they were trying to evoke but it’s kind of how it looked to me.

We started off with Arsenio Hall, one of the 2 Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finalists, reminded us that “I’m gonna kick Clay’s butt”. Shades of his famous – or infamous – interview in April 1992 where he threatened that his new talk show would “kick Leno’s ass”. Sadly, for us, Jay Leno is still around on the Tonight Show but Arsenio’s promise tonight about kicking Clay’s butt had me immediately nervous on Arsenio’s behalf. Hadn’t he been down that road before and it didn’t turn out so well the first time? And, seeing a bit of the preview of tonight’s episode, I didn’t think it was going to turn out so well this time either. (Full disclosure here; I am rooting for Clay Aiken). But we shall see, Arsenio. We shall see.

Along the way of watching both Team Clay and Team Arsenio prepare for their events – which included preparing a 30-second public service announcement/video of their charity, raising as much money as possible and putting on a variety show, we were treated to various and assorted mini-meltdowns from Debbie Gibson (on Team Clay)  feeling “pissed off and micro-managed” by Clay to Adam Carolla trying to turn the variety show into a celebrity roast (much to Arsenio’s dismay).  And, of course, Aubrey O’Day (that sort-of singer fired from that made-up group created by Diddy or Puffy or whatever he goes by these days) waltzes in wearing a hair style I can only characterize as Princess Leia meets Jessica Rabbit headed to a strip club. Virtually the first words out of Aubrat’s – sorry, Aubrey’s – mouth regarding her being on Team Clay were “If I wasn’t here, he wouldn’t have a show”. Dear Aubrey, he would have. Love, Me.

Arsenio Hall’s team focused on putting on a variety show with the motto being, per Arsenio, “”Have a good time, get ‘em drunk and make ‘em laugh”. Lofty goals and seeing how much alcohol Team Arsenio unloaded in their performance space, “get ‘em drunk” probably was the most easily achievable. Team Clay, heavily populated with singers, was going to do mostly singing with a little bit of magic (Penn Jillette with the welcome addition of the always silent Teller) thrown in to break up the performances.

Cut away, at that point, back to the live broadcast where Donald Trump brought out the first group of previously fired celebrities to wax poetic on what had happened, who should win and, most importantly (at least from my perspective), which other celebrity annoyed them the most. Ooh, this part was sooo good. After watching a Lou Ferrigno montage of how often he gave 110% on Celebrity Apprentice 2012 (and I hope those of you reading this will recognize I’m giving 110% in writing this too; my personal tribute to the great Lou Ferrigno), we got 3 contestants in a row (Victoria Gotti, Tia Carrere and Dayana Mendoza) bash both Lisa Lampanelli and Aubrey O’Day. Dayana has found a way of providing a non-answer to a ridiculous question by Donald Trump, proving she was a much better strategist than ever given credit for on Celebrity Apprentice 2012. (When Trump asked her if she had a good time on the show, she said “Thank you for the opportunity”. A perfect non-answer.) Victoria Gotti – without initially naming names – referred to the 2 evil queens of the show as a cartoon character and, for the other, “rude, crude and classless”. When pushed by Trump, she named names. (And if you can’t figure out who she meant, clearly you haven’t been watching the show this year). Tia pointed out that the divisiveness and biases of the women’s team resulted in 2 men being in the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale. Well done, fired celebrities. Well done.

From there, the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale headed back to the Team Clay/Team Arsenio events where far more Claymates turned out to buy tickets to support Clay than did Arsenio fans. But then the celebrity donations for Arsenio started rolling in, somehow delivered by random people waiting in line to get in. I’m not sure how that happened but I guess that’s the magic of television, or the power that Donald Trump holds over space and time. Lisa Lampanelli (playing for Team Arsenio), showing one of the first bits of humanity she’s displayed on the show, made a $10,000 donation – via a Lisa Lampanelli drag queen (is that an an oxymoron?) to Team Clay.  After lots of schmoozing by both teams and their guests during the events, the spaces were combined and the audiences were treated to the main events.

Arsenio Hall put on a comedy show, doing standup on his own for the first time in 10 years, preceded by Adam Carolla being more funny than I expected and Paul Teutel Sr. getting a pretty big laugh by telling the audience that his prior memories of being on Adam’s show were that he was a d*ck. According to Paul, he went off-script with that comment but it played well in the crowd. Team Clay entertained us with a really good duet from Deborah (don’t call me Debbie) Gibson and Dee Snider, followed by Aubrey O’Day singing “I Will Survive” and telling us as an aside that she sang the words “I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong” directly to Donald Trump because “Everybody knows I should have been in the final two”. (Hey Aubrey, I watched the whole Celebrity Apprentice 2012 season. You shouldn’t have been in the final two. You’re welcome.) Clay sang beautfully after that, Penn (and Teller) came out and did some pretty basic magic stuff that entertained the crowd and then Clay and Aubrey dueted. All I can say about that is one of them is a great singer from American Idol and the other has red hair.

Following the events, all participants of Team Clay/Team Arsenio headed back to the boardroom and I think my favorite Celebrity Apprentice 2012 season/finale moment happened here.  Donald Trump asked Aubrey’s opinion of what Arsenio’s weaknesses were. Arsenio jumped in before Aubrey could and said “I”m breathing” but Aubrey, being Aubrey, couldn’t keep her mouth shut and let Donald Trump know that “I don’t have enough time” to tell Trump all of Arsenio’s weaknesses. And here it came, Arsenio’s biggest moment on the show. “Mr. Trump, she (as in Aubrey) gave me a donation privately”. ” Trump, clearly impressed, responded to Arsenio Hall “Is that true?” “No, I’m just kidding”, Arsenio responded to not only big laughs in the boardroom but huge laughs from the crowd watching the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale in the theater. Sadly, being alone when I watched this, I couldn’t turn around and high-five someone for Arsenio schooling Aubrey but boy oh boy, the look on Aubrey’s face was priceless. Aubrey, you got served. We also learned that Team Arsenio raised $167,000 for the Magic Johnson Foundation and Team Clay raised a whopping $301,000 for his own charity, the National Inclusion Project.

The final few minutes were treated to a time-filling but pretty good duet (who knew Arsenio could carry a tune) from Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken singing “Lean On Me”. And then the guys each made their cases for why they should be the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner. The quick answer is that Clay didn’t want his mother – who was in the audience when he lost American Idol to Ruben Studdard – to see him come in second place again. Arsenio made a great impression that the Donald Trump seal of approval would motivate him to keep on keeping on raising money for his charity. The various celebrities weighed in and it seemed a real even split between Arsenio and Clay. I found myself weighing the criteria Donald Trump had designed for the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale, which were raise a lot of money, put on a great show and do a 30-second video for the charity.  Based on that criteria, how could he not give it to Clay Aiken, who had out-raised Arsenio Hall by almost double, put on (in my humble opinion) a much better show than Team Arsenio and did a pretty good (although not as good as Arsenio) video for his charity.

And then Donald Trump delivered what I think was an OMG moment when he named Arsenio Hall as the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner. I’m sure Trump can and will explain what led him to that choice and I have no real problem with Arsenio winning because both Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken played great. I think, as Trump said, it was as close a finale as there had ever been. But I’m wondering why Donald Trump wouldn’t or couldn’t have named them co-winners or at least given Clay matching money (as he did to Holly Robinson-Peete when Bret Michaels beat her in the Celebrity Apprentice 2010 finale). Both were equally deserving and, to my mind, Clay was the better choice but hey, if Donald Trump wanted my opinion, he probably would have invited me to the finale tonight.

So Celebrity Apprentice 2012 season is now officially over and I can reclaim my Sunday nights and turn back to following the Kardashians. I don’t know how Donald Trump will ever find a cast to match this one but topping my list of suggestions for next season are Phaedra Parks (of the Real Housewives of Atlanta), William Shatner (and if you don’t know who he is, shame on you) and Lindsay Lohan (hey, your comeback has to start somewhere). Can. Not. Wait. Celebrity Apprentice 2012, over and out.

Tonight’s episode of Game of Thrones season two opened with a basket of dead ravens. An ominous beginning, and one that set the mood of this episode quite nicely. What happened in the latest episode of HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones? Read on for our recap of Game of Thrones season 2, episode 8!

WARNING: GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS AHEAD!

Please be warned this post contains Game of Thrones spoilers for season 2, episode 8. Please do not keep reading if you do not want to know what happened!

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Theon’s sister Yara (aka Asha in the books) drops by with a few riders, rather than the large force that he was expecting. As usual, she is arrogant and derisive, and he is whiny and seeking her approval. As she ridicules him for his decision in killing the Stark boys, he defends himself. Yara reveals that she was sent to bring him home. She softens a little here, and it’s the first time we see Yara as anything other than a salty warrior. She tells him a tale of them as children, and begs him to come home rather than dying so far from the sea.

Meanwhile, Ygritte speaks for Jon Snow, convincing the wildlings to spare his life and present him to Mance Rayder. She throws out the line “now we’re even, Jon Snow,” with that feisty tone that we love so much. Qhorin reveals to Jon that several of their brothers died in the attempt to find him. Jon’s brothers discover a stone plaque created by the First Men while digging latrines, and underneath is a cache of dragon glass daggers wrapped in a Night’s Watch cloak.

On the road to the Crag, Rob and Talisa, the medic from Volantis, grow closer. They speak at length of his father and his childhood. We get to see a little more of Rob’s mindset here, as he speaks of the need to fight for honor and the safety of his people, but his desire to return home. It’s really obvious here how much of a boy Rob still is at heart, and how he has been thrust into manhood before he was ready. A rider approaches during this conversation, with the news that Jaime Lannister has escaped. Rob confronts Catelyn about her betrayal, and sends a party to search for Jaime. We cut to Jaime, as he is being escorted by Brienne. Insulting her repeatedly, he tries to provoke her, but she remains focused. They row away in a small boat, headed to trade Jaime for Cat’s daughters, with Jaime slinging insults all the while.

Later, Rob and Talisa end up alone, once again. He reveals his fears about the war and his role as King in the North, and she tells a heart-wrenching story of her brother nearly dying in the river Rhoyne as a child. Amidst all of the emotional tension, Rob blurts out that he doesn’t want to marry the Frey girl, and they fall onto each other and make love on the floor. Not the smartest move by Rob, but you can’t blame the kid.

Stannis appoints Davos Seaworth his Hand once he secures the throne, after a rather boring conversation about Davos’ background and a Storm’s End siege from his childhood.

Tyrion’s love for Shea was really driven home tonight as Cersei brought forth “his whore” that had been severely beaten. The relief was evident when wesee that it was not Shea. He runs to her and makes her promise that she is his. Later, he walks with Joffrey – who is being his usual awful whiny child of a self—and Varys. Varys tells him of the rumors of Daenerys, and he dismisses her as a threat, saying that they should play only one game at a time.

On the other side of the world, so to speak, Daenerys talks with Ser Jorah. It’s painfully obvious how much he loves her. She refuses to heed his advice to set sail, and they set out to retrieve her dragons from the House of the Undying.

The episode concludes with Osha, meeting secretly with Maester Pycelle. We discover that it was the body of the farmer’s boys that were hung at Winterfell, and that Theon merely passed them off as Bran and Rickon. They decide not to tell the boys that their friends died in their stead, but Bran overhears the conversation.

The scene is set for an exciting episode next week! I’m predicting the safe return of the dragons.

Visit us here at GossipandGab.com next week when we bring you our next Game of Thrones season two recap. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest television recaps and celebrity gossip!

– Ashley Hudson, GossipandGab.com guest blogger

On Food Network Star 2012, as seen in last week’s episode, the format has completely changed. The contestants are being mentored by three chefs, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown and Giada De Laurentiis.

Besides the mentoring change, the challenges are different from previous seasons, and it’s more team challenges than individual ones. Then the chefs must defend their players in the judging room to “The Network” team — made up of Susie Fogelson and Bob Tuschman, who are both Food Network icons. Bob Tuschman is the general manager of Food Network, and Susie Fogelson is Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Food Network and Cooking Channel. The contestants now have bottom teams and a top team. The worse performers from each of the bottom teams must compete in a challenge about their food and camera presence.

WARNING: Food Network Star 2012 SPOILERS AHEAD!

Please stop reading here if you do not want Food Network Star 2012 spoilers about the week 2 elimination!

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For the challenge this week the contestants were assigned neighborhoods known for their authentic categories of foods. They had to learn about the history of the neighborhoods, give a brief presentation, and feed a bus full of tourists. The goal of this challenge was to know the food and show their personalities. Each contestant got assigned to a certain food place in their neighborhood. They learned a little about the history of the restaurants.

First up, Alton Brown’s team and the Lower East Side. They made meals that including pickles, balis, matzah and deli sandwiches. All the contestants enthusiastically embraced their challenge. Except,  Judson Allen who, understandably, was reluctant about having to cook meals with pickles.  Is there anyone that goes “Yay! I get to cook using pickles!”? So you kind of could tell where this was going to end up… and not straight to the top.

After their  restaurant visits, they immediately began cooking dishes to reflect the history and taste of their chosen places.  Then from the kitchen to the bus, as each contestant served their foods and a little entertainment.

“The Network” thought Justin Warner and Martie Duncan did good jobs incorporating their restaurants history and meals. Emily Eilyn, usually a firecracker, started to feel sick and her spark didn’t shine through like it did last week. Judson Allen, insecure about his meal, began preaching about the power of the pickles. Can I get an amen for the pickles! Both Susie Fogelson and Bob Tuschman were disappointed in Judson Allen and Emily Eilyn for not performing as well as they did last week. But Emily the judges “felt bad for” and said her food was better than her presentation.

Next up,  Bobby Flay’s team and Harlem.  They visited restaurants  that were less about one specialty, and more about a general popular category of cuisine.  They visited famous shops, like Sylvia, Dinosaur BBQ,  and Casablanca Butcher Shop. Before the contestants were even done getting all their assignments, Kara Sigle began to express concern about cooking soul food. One again, you can see where she’ll probably end up by the end of the challenge.

As Bobby’s Team prepared for the challenge, Kara Sigle said about forty more times that she felt uncomfortable cooking soul food.  Once the contestants gathered on the bus, most of them struggled.

First to speak for Team Bobby Flay was Malcolm Mitchell. Malcolm Mitchell was called “passionate” and Bob Tuschman said he came out swinging.

Michelle Ragussis disappointed the judges with her food and presentation. Her catfish was called “dry” and Michelle Ragussis even said she “got lost.”

Nikki Martin was called “impersonal” by Bob and one of the tourists said “she was nice but forgetful and didn’t capture Dinosaur BBQ’s flavor.”

Eric Lee got great marks on his presentation and his pastry from “The Network” and the tourist.

And once again Kara Sigle awkwardly presented herself and caused tension by saying “I met a beautiful black woman” to describe her experience. Once again, a train wreck is coming.  Both judges, especially Susie Fogelson, did not have positive things to say about her presentation. And some of the tourists said her chicken and waffles were the worst thing they had the entire day. Even calling it as good as something they find at the frozen food section. Ouch.

Last up, Arthur Avenue  and Giada De Laurentiis’s team. They focused on cannolis, eggplant, mozzarella, oysters and clams. Giada De Laurentiis warns Linkie Marais to not call them cannolis because they are such an authentic Italian food that if she does them incorrectly she’ll receive harsh feedback. Linkie Marais decides that a way to compensate for this is by making them more cheesecake based.

During  their presentation Yvan Lemoine is called “a charmer” but his meal failed to live up to his personality.

Philip “Ippy” Aiona tried to make up for being called too laid back and Bob Tuschman said he liked his unforced energy during his presentation. His eggplant dish also received high praise all around.

Josh Lyons tells a story about Robert De’Niro and Joe Pesci for his presentation. He manages to bore the judges and tourists by just rambling on. Again, not giving a presentation living up to his rock star title, but the judges said his prestantion was better than last week.

Martita Jara received positive comments from the judges for being “likeable” and her food being excellent.

Linkie Marais got good comments for having specific points on her presentation. Her cheesecake was called delicious. She really  redeemed herself from her “cafeteria desserts” last week.

During the the last thirty minutes of the ninety minute episode, each mentor told their contestants the positives and negatives of their presentation. Then “The Network” revealed the winning and losing teams. Giada De Laurentiis’s team was the winners of this one, leaving Team Alton Brown and Team Bobby Flay in the bottom. Judson Allen and Kara Sigle were the bottom two from each team. Shocker!

Their challenge was to use potatoes and make it the heart of the dish. Judson Allen was more confident about his stage prescence having past experience in front of the camera. Kara Sigle was nervous about her camera task, and after it she felt she failed. During the final judging tables “The Network” called her “hallow” in her presentation, but her dish was really good. They said Judson did not make the potatoes the main focus and therefore not necessarily conquering the challenge.  They also said he was a great business spokesperson, but that made him feel artificial.

After some more deliberation, Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson decided Judson Allen was a better gamble and kept him. So Kara Sigle was eliminated.

Food Network Star season 8 is really different from the last seven, and I’m still on the fence on whether I like the changes. I’m also not sure yet who’s my favorite. So what do you guys think of the new changes? Like them? Hate them? Sad to see Kara go?  Do you think the judges made the right decision? Let us know in our comment box.

Join us next week on GossipandGab.com for more  Food Network Star 2012 recaps! Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates.

Tonight we will know who is the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner, so who’s it going to be? Both of the top 2 finalists have won a couple of tasks during their times as project managers, and served as strong support systems for other Celebrity Apprentice 2012 cast celebrities during the season.  Based on winning and losing tasks as managers, they are basically equal.  So what will give one the edge of the other? Let’s evaluate the final two conteders for the title and give you our Celebrity Apprentice 2012 prediction for the winner! If you missed the last episode of the show, then beware of Celebrity Appentice spoilers below!

WARNING: THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE 2012 SPOILERS AHEAD!

Please stop reading here if you don’t want  Celebrity Apprentice 2012 spoilers about the finale part one and do not want to know who was fired on The Celebrity Apprentice 2012 last week!

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The final two contestants are Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken.  Tonight we will know who is the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner, so who’s it going to be?

Both, Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken, have won a couple of tasks as managers, and been strong support systems for other Celebrity Apprentice 2012 contestants.  Based on winning and losing tasks as managers, they are basically equal.  So what will give one the edge of the other?

Why Arsenio Hall Could Win

Arsenio Hall, beside his outburst against fellow Celebrity Apprentice 2012 contestant Aubrey O’Day, has been one of the most mild manner and humble celebrities on the show. His ability to keep cool under pressure (once again, not including the Aubrey O’Day battle), and how he helped the men’s team in many of their early victories might have impressed Donald Trump enough to crown him the winner.

Arsenio Hall’s passion for the show proves he’s zealous about winning. Donald Trump usually admires the contestant that constantly drives toward the finish line. Clay Aiken has not been as vocal about his desire to win as Arsenio Hall.

Arsenio Hall has been a little more creative than Clay Aiken, constantly offering unusual ideas during the brainstorming portions of the show.  Additionally, he enforced his great writing skills constantly contributing great story ideas to his team, like during the Medieval Times task.

Arsenio Hall’s team’s idea for the final task’s ad campaign  seems more original than Clay Aiken’s team’s idea, and that could give him an edge to win.

Arsenio has been emotionally involved in his charity all season, even breaking down crying when he won his first challenge as manager. Donald Trump seems to admire that softer emotional side of him. All the contestants have emotional ties to their charities, but Arsenio Hall is one of the few to really show it.

And  What Could Cost Him

All these things have been giving him points in Donald Trump’s eyes, but his lack of firm leadership might cost him the victory. In the last couple tasks, he’s been taking a more backseat approach by letting his team take the lead. Sometimes, he even offered minimal help and support to his team, and gave little to no real instructions to them.  Mr. Trump likes aggressive leadership, even if it leads to a loss, as he has expressed numerous times. Thus, Arsenio’s lazy approach to leadership could make Trump not entrust him with the Celebrity Apprentice 2012 winner title.

Why Clay Aiken Could Win

Clay Aiken has helped many of the previous task managers win, showing he’s an excellent team player. A couple of disagreements with Penn Jillette,  Dayana Mendoza, and, recently, Debbie Gibbson has not created as much fire as Arsenio Hall’s fight with Aubrey O’Day; thus, still making  him likable to most of the other contestants.  One needs to be respected and liked by their colleagues to be a good leader, and Clay Aiken has the slight edge on that front.

Unlike Arsenio, Clay is a pretty aggressive leader. He gives people specific tasks and instructions and makes sure he knows what’s going on all the time. Donald Trump, as stated previously, generally favors aggressive leaders. Clay Aiken is also more aggressive in general than Arsenio Hall, shown when he was the only person to speak up against Penn Jillette. And, apparently, a lot of the people on the men’s team commended him for this.

As much as Arsenio  Hall wants to win, Clay Aiken needs to win. He, the other contestants, and even Mr. Trump all constantly make references to him becoming runner-up to Ruben Studdard on American Idol 2003. He wants redemption. He needs to prove to himself, and to America that he can win a reality show. Donald Trump seems to want to validate him and give him the Celebrity Apprentice season 5 winner victory.

Clay Aiken may not show emotion for his charity as much as Arsenio Hall does, but there is no denying he really cares about it. A factor Donald Trump cannot ignore when making his final decision.

Why He Might Lose

Maybe for the dramatic irony Donald Trump has placed Clay Aiken in the final two, against another black man he’s friends with, just so he can place second again. Could Trump be that sadistic?

Clay Aiken also has come off sort of like a bully in some tasks, and maybe Trump has noticed and does not think a leader should be so harsh. Arsenio Hall had harsh words for Aubrey O’Day but only when defending himself. Clay has taunted, and even made rude comments about other contestants for no reason.

His final performance could cost him. His team’s idea for the advertisement is pretty unoriginal and basic. Many of his ideas have resembled similar basic idea patterns. Donald Trump might prefer a winner who thinks more out of the box.

Both Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken’s performances during Celebrity Apprentice 2012 have  proved them worthy of making the final two, but who will win?

Based on some of the points in this post, I think Clay Aiken will reign victorious. The whole season  seems to point to a redemption coming for his 2003 loss. What do you guys think? Do you agree? Disagree? Still unsure? It really could go to either Clay Aiken, or Arsenio Hall, but I think the slight edge is in favor of Clay.

Join us tonight here on GossipandGab.com for our Celebrity Apprentice 2012 finale part two recap and see if my prediction is right. Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates.

Only three contestants remain to discover their fate on the American Idol 2012 elimination results show Thursday night. The American Idol 2012 top 3, Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips, and Joshua Ledet, will finally learn tonight who will make it into the top 2 and earn a coveted place in the American Idol 2012 finale. Who will make it through and compete for Idol glory? Who got voted off American Idol this week by this season’s unpredictable viewers? Read on for our American Idol 2012 live recap of the elimination results show and find out!

WARNING: AMERICAN IDOL 2012 SPOILERS AHEAD!

Please do not continue reading if you do not want to know what happened on the American Idol 2012 results show on Thursday night and do not want to know who got voted off American Idol this week!

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The majority of the American Idol 2012 predictions for the elimination results show this week seemed to point toward either Joshua Ledet or Phillip Phillips as the person going home this week. In specific, despite lavish praise from the judges about all three of his songs last night, the odds seem to be leaning toward Joshua Ledet being the person who got voted off American Idol this week. Why? Well, if you want ot read the whole rundown, you can check out our American Idol 2012 prediction post from earlier today.

To put it in short form, Joshua Ledet may have a stellar voice and a great stage presence, but for some reason it just doesn’t seem like he inspires the voters out there as much as Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips do. Now, of course, we could always be wrong about that. Our American Idol 2012 predictions this year have been blown out before when the voters made a totally unexpected move.

That’s half the fun of it all though, of course. You almost kind of hope you will be wrong in your American Idol predictions and something totally wild and crazy will happen to give you a thrill of excitement and outrage to enjoy.

So will the voters defy the predictions once again and send someone unexpected home this week? Or will it once again be another cute white guy in the finale again? Who did America think deserved the final chance to compete to be the American Idol 2012 winner? Let’s move right along to our American Idol 2012 results show live recap and find out!

Here we go, the show is starting and soon we’ll find out who the top 2 finalists are at last!

Tonight on American Idol 2012, we will find out which two contestants will make it through to the finale, and which unfortunate singer will go home. To kick off the evening, the top 3 — Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips, and Joshua Ledet — perform “Got To Get You In My Life” by the Beatles.

The finalists are all now nervously waiting to hear the results, as are we. Of course, we’ll have to sit through performances by Adam Lambert and Lisa Marie Presley before we get the final results!

First up to the center of the stage, we have Joshua Ledet. I don’t expect we’ll actually get any results this early in the show though. Jimmy Iovine talks about Joshua Ledet’s performances last night. Jimmy Iovine thinks it was a good night for Joshua Ledet, but not his best night. He gives him an 8 out of 10 for his first performance, it was good but not great and didn’t deserve a standing ovation from the judges.

Jimmy Iovine says he didn’t really like Joshua doing “Imagine” and thought it wasn’t the right song for him — like leaving a Ferrari in first gear on a racetrack. (Apparently disagreeing with a huge slew of his fans.) As for the last song, “No More Drama”, Jimmy Iovine thinks it lacked a big moment and Joshua needed more melody. Overall though, he did well and 100 percent should be in anyone’s finale.

Host Ryan Seacrest sends Joshua Ledet back to the couches. There will be no results yet. Instead, we have Lisa Marie Presley singing her new single “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.

Jessica Sanchez is up next for an evaluation by Jimmy Iovine. He thinks her Mariah Carey “My All” song was not enough to win the competition, it did not inspire an awe moment. On her second song, “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith, Jimmy says he was looking for more than she gave. She really needs to have a hugely magical moment to win. On her last song choice, “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson Five, Jimmy thinks the song choice, which he picked because she sometimes reminds him of a young Michael Jackson, hurt Jessica but she did okay. Jessica has enough talent to sing on the Grammys but it will be all about the songs whether she makes it to the winner’s circle.

Now we have American Idol alumni Adam Lambert performing his new single “Never Close Our Eyes” off his upcoming album Trespassing.

Phillip Phillips is the last one to receive his Jimmy Iovine evaluation. Jimmy thinks “Beggin’ was entertaining, fun and Phillips’ sound continues to become more original. His second song, “Poison”, was risky and that was good, but Jummy thought it was a yawner and not the right song for this point in the competition. The last song, however, was the best song Phillip has done in the competition so far and he won the night, hit notes Jimmy didn’t think he could; Jimmy was geniunely knocked out by it.

All three are now coming to center stage and our results are final going to be announced!

The first person who will be safe is… Jessica Sanchez!

The next person who will be going through is… Phillip Phillips!

That means Joshua Ledet is going home tonight and he takes to the stage to perform “This Is a Man’s World” before leaving the Idol stage for the last time.

Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips are your American Idol 2012 top 2!

That’s it for our American Idol 2012 top 5 results show recap for this week. Did you agree with the voters or do you think they got it totally wrong? Who do you think should have gone home?

Join us here at GossipandGab.com next week when we bring you the American Idol 2012 top 3 performance show and elimination results show live as they happen. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest American Idol 2012 news. Want even more American Idol 2012? Visit our sister site at AmericanIdolNet.com!

Last night’s American Idol 2012 offered one-two punches of power ballads, with seven out of the nine performances being ballads. The only two non-ballads were both sung by Philip Philips. Each contestant had their own moment of Idol glory on the performance show last night, Jessica Sanchez with “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”, Joshua Ledet with “Imagine”, and Philip Phillips with “We’ve Got Tonight.” Tonight’s results are going to come down to which contestant’s fans are the most dedicated. Because as Randy Jackson would say: “it’s anyone’s game.” You can read more about last night’s show in our American Idol 2012 Live Recap of the Top 3 Performances .

On the American Idol 2012 results show Thursday night, we will see who reigns victorious and leads us into an anticipated passionate, soulful, and dramatic final-two battle. It’s going to be an intense night, but to lighten the mood there are two performers scheduled.

One is American Idol alumni Adam Lambert, who we can expect to bring down the house with his usual “over the top” and theatrical performances. This is his third appearance since placing second in American Idol‘s 2009 competition. On Thursday night’s American Idol 2012 results show, he will be performing his new single “Never Close Our Eyes” – a song that showcases his vocal acrobatics; its catchy beats will keep everyone dancing.

With two great performances, and an American Idol 2012 results show elimination expected to cause at least a few tears, tonight is a must watch, so tune into America Idol @ 8pm (ET).

Who do you think will make the final two? Which guest performer are you looking forward to the most?

Join us again Thursday night here on GossipandGab.com for our American Idol 2012 results show recap. Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates. Want even more American Idol 2012? Visit our sister site at AmericanIdolNet.com!

We are back tonight with another episode of Around The World In 80 Plates and this time the contestants will be taking their culinary skills to France…I so wish I could cook and be a participant on this show!

This 80 Plates episode, “Forget Paris,” has the chefs heading to Lyon to run bistros and serve traditional Lyonnais dishes, but one chef outsmarts their fellow competitors by getting a traditional recipe from a local…will it pay off in the end?

Since Chaz Brown won Most Valuable Chef last week, he received immunity and had the opportunity to pick which chefs he wanted on his team…the new Black Team and they will be traveling to Lyon in first class. The Black Team this week consists of Chaz, Kevin “Cheven” Lee, Avery Pursell, Gary Walker and Steve “Nookie” Postal.

The Red Team for this 80 Plates episode will consist of Sai Pituk, Liz Garrett, John Vermiglio, Nick Lacasse, Jenna Johansen and Nicole Lou. We watch as they travel to Lyon in coach, compared to the luxury the Black Team is enjoying. During the trip, Sai is pointing out her knowledge of Thai cuisine, but that will be of no help in France girl!

It is time for “The Course,” Around The World In 80 Plates’ culinary race to immerse the chefs in the food culture of Lyon. The first team to complete The Course will win Around The World In 80 Plates’ “Exceptional Ingredient,” which will only benefit that team as the show goes on.

The teams get their first clue and head out to the parking lot to get in the cars (two cars per team) waiting for them and head out to find the ingredient. Cheven takes the lead car for the Black Team and Jenna takes a leadership role for the Red Team, which happens to get off to a slow start. Meanwhile, Cheven and Gary are busy talking about all the joys of first class traveling that they miss their exit. Chaz is ticked off in the second car and now they have a long road ahead of them to get back.

The Red Team arrives at the location, Le Berger Des Dombes, and meet the owner, Jean-Marc Lery, who gives them their next clue. The task for them this week: they must pick out six goat cheese from a table of many types of cheese. Jenna and John step-up to taste the cheeses to pick out the six. One attempt and they are wrong, but the Black Team is still trying to find the place.

They make one more attempt, which is wrong, before the Black Team arrives (20 minutes behind). Cheven and Gary step-up for the Black Team…Cheven claims he has a strong knowledge of cheeses. Another check for the Red Team…no. The Black Team tries…no. We go through a bunch of more attempts before the Red Team finally gets it correct.

Now the Red Team must go out and herd some sheep while the Black Team gets the cheese right (only five minutes behind now) and heads out to herd some sheep. They must herd four sheep in order to complete the task. The Black Team had three sheep in the pen, but then Chevem started yelling and they escaped…now they are zero! They start speaking to the sheep in French and apparently that helps, as they finish before the Red Team. The Red Team is still herding while the Black Team heads out on the next task. Red Team finished and is now trying to catch up to the Black Team.

After finding host, Curtis Stone, in the middle of Lyon, the Black Team finds out the next task…pair eight wines with the ingredients that make up their flavors…that is going to be real tough. Cheven, Chaz and Gary take the lead on this task. Cheven will not be quiet and he is ticking off his team. They make an attempt and only two correct. Nookie decides to take over and the next attempt they have six correct. They get all eight correct just as the Red Team arrives…all thanks to Nookie as he shut down Cheven.

As the winners, the Black Team will get a masterclass with Joseph Viola, one of the most respected chefs in France with the title of MOF (which translates to the best worker in France). For “The Takeover” the next day, the teams will be taking over two local restaurants and will be responsible for creating four plates of Lyonnaise cuisine…one of them must be quenelle.

Time for the Black Team to head over to Daniel et Denise and meet with Chef Viola on this 80 Plates episode. They all seem to be enjoying themselves and getting some tips, but who wouldn’t in that situation? Meanwhile, the Red Team heads out on the town to try and get some ideas on what they will be cooking and how to cook it the next day. Jenna is ticking off the whole team, but they must listen to her because she is the only one who can communicate with the locals. They discuss a menu for the next day and Jenna refuses to not make a dessert on this episode of Around The World In 80 Plates because that is why they lost last time. Avery is confident in her ability to make the quenelle for the Black Team.

The day of “The Takeover” and we get a look at the Red Team. John takes control of the kitchen and Jenna takes over the front of the house because she can speak with the workers. Sai is in charge of poaching eggs and she is struggling. Nick starts working on the quenelle…first attempt is like pancake batter. The Black Team gets to work…Gary will be front of the house this takeover. Avery gets started on the quenelle.

The guests are starting to arrive and we finally get our first look at host, Cat Cora. The Red Team is up first and they will be cooking for judges Jacotte Brazier, restaurateur, Gregory Cuilleron, chef/owner of Epicerie et Compagnie, Curtis and Cat. They struggled with the quenelle, but Nick and John serve up a quenelle with herbs and Lyonnaise potatoes. The customers all say it is too dense and seems like swollen pasta. Nicole serves up haddock with sauce gribiche…excellent reviews for the haddock, but they run out of fish. Sai made the Salad Lyonnaise, which she struggled to get them out because she can’t poach an egg…Nick says if they lose, he has already decided Sai will be going home because of this. Despite the slowness, the salad gets excellent reviews as well. The last plate is from Jenna and Liz, which is a chocolate brownie…Jacotte said it wasn’t Lyonnaise, but was very good. Overall, they got great reviews.

Now time for the Black Team…the judges arrive at their restaurant. First up, Avery’s pike quenelle with nantua sauce…Gregory said this is what quenelle is supposed to look like and Chef Viola is proud of them. The second plate is from Kevin and is a Legume salad with ham…a customer said it didn’t please him. The next plate is Foie Gras with Onion Jam made by Nookie…good reviews, but one said it was cold. Gary decides to bring out all the food at one time, which overwhelms the guests…Gary thought this was how they did it in France, but it doesn’t seem to be that way. Chaz is struggling with his plate, so Avery jumps in and helps him out. The last plate comes from Chaz (and I guess with Avery’s help)…Roasted Chicken with Truffle Oil…the portions are huge.

We get mixed reviews from the local diners of the restaurants in this 80 Plates episode…some liked Red and some liked Black. The local diners make the final decision…for the Red Team, they thought the quenelle was terrible, but the sauce was good, the haddock was great, but not enough of it and the salad was great. For the Black Team, the diners said they had all the food at one time, they loved Avery’s quenelle. After the diners’ votes, the winning team this week is the Black Team. The Most Valuable Chef this week is Avery because of her quenelle…she has immunity next week.

The Red Team is the losing team…they go back to discuss which chef will be leaving us on Around The World In 80 Plates. Up for debate are Nicole and Sai…Sai couldn’t pouch an egg and Nicole couldn’t count fish, so they weren’t being served. Time for the team’s votes…Sai votes Nicole, but the remaining chefs vote Sai and she will be going home tonight.

The next stop on Around The World In 80 Plates will be Barcelona, Spain.

Join us next week on GossipandGab.com for more Around the World in 80 Plates 2012 recaps! Bookmark us or friend us onFacebook or Twitter for all our latest updates. Read more from contributing writer Todd Betzold at his blog, http://topicaltodd.blogspot.com.

On American Idol 2012 Wednesday night, the top 3 will have their last chance to convince the voters they deserve the chance to fight it out in the final two for the American Idol 2012 winner prize. Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips and Joshua Ledet are just one step away from fame and fortune as the winner of American Idol 2012. Who will shine like the star they are destined to be? And who will fall short and get voted off American Idol 2012 in the very worst spot of all — third place? Read on in our American Idol 2012 live recap of the top 3 performances and judge for yourself!

The American Idol top 3 will each sing three individual songs on Wednesday night’s performance show and it all comes down to who has made the best choices. The contestants have to deal not only with their own personal song choice for the evening, but they also have to hope the judges and music producer Jimmy Iovine have also chosen well for them. A bad song choice at this point could seriously damage someone’s chances to make the final two. A really great song choice could possibly propel someone in to the American Idol 2012 finals against the odds.

The American Idol top 3 will be giving it everything they have tonight and that is likely to end up with some of the best performances of the season, or the worst. The American Idol finale is always a nail biter because it seems the results are totally crazy sometimes, but the semifinals are always my favorite because the three contestants are going all out, but they don’t have the finale nerves weighing them down.

I’m hoping tonight will give us some absolutely stellar performances, based on the American Idol 2012 spoilers song list for the top 4 we heard about earlier today.

Now let’s get on to our American Idol 2012 top 4 recap and see how the contestants did on Wednesday night’s performance show! Although honestly, I do have to question how we ended up with “Imagine” at this point in the competition when David Archuleta already went there and did that and who wants to be compared to one of the most iconic song of Idol history? Oh well, we can only hope someone actually can prove they can do it better tonight as we start our American Idol 2012 live reap of the top 3 performance show!

WARNING: AMERICAN IDOL 2012 SPOILERS AHEAD!

The following post contains American Idol 2012 spoilers and videos for the top 4 performance night show on Wednesday. Please stop reading if you do not want to know what happened!

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(Please note: If you cannot watch the performance videos, they may not be available for viewing where you live. Please stand by and we will bring you videos everyone can watch as soon as they are available.)

American Idol 2012 Top 3 Performances — Judges’ Choice

Joshua Ledet — “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James

Judges: Steven Tyler says it is another Joshua moment and it is surreal; he sang like an American Idol winner tonight. Jennifer Lopez says Joshua has brought the house down again. Randy Jackson thinks the song fit him like a glove and it was another amazing performance. He hopes Joshua can bring R&B to modern times.

Vote: 1-866-436-5701

Jessica Sanchez — “My All” by Mariah Carey

Judges: Randy says it was beautiful and they tell people all the time not to do Mariah, but that was the best time anyone has done Mariah on TV. Jennifer says she knew this song would be a challenge for Jessica but she totally took it and ran with it; great job. Steven says when Jessica sings it makes people hang on her every note. Even though he basically just said Joshua sang like the American Idol tonight, Steven thinks Jessica will be the last one standing; she should get used to the encores.

Vote: 1-866-436-5702

Phillip Phillips — “Beggin’” by Madcon

Judges: Randy says they were just at the Phillip Phillips concert, he was fun, had a good time and in the zone; another great performance, he is who he is and they love it. Jennifer says Phillip catches a groove in a song that brings him all the way home; great. Steven asks can you believe this guy? It was beautiful to watch and he hopes Phillip writes his own songs because he could be the next Springsteen.

Vote: 1-866-436-5703

Round one is over and there was no standing ovation for Joshua Ledet or Jessica Sanchez this round. Gasp! Nope, instead it was Phillip Phillips who actually got the judges on their feet. Still, Randy Jackson thinks Joshua Ledet is in the lead, but Jennifer disagrees and says Phillip is. Steven can’t decide.

American Idol 2012 Top 3 Performances — Contestants’ Choice

Joshua Ledet – “Imagine” by John Lennon

Judges: Steven Tyler says it is beautiful and over the top; he is so fine and it was a thank you god moment. Jennifer Lopez says Joshua has and incredible instrument and he is very special; it was a controlled and pulled back performance and had courage nad vulnerability. Randy says Joshua dug deep into the song and the performance; another stellar performance. Brilliant, dude.

Vote: 1-866-436-5701

Jessica Sanchez – “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith

Judges: Steven Tyler is thrilled and thinks Jessica took a great song and actually made it greater; beautiful! He gives her a standing ovation. Jennifer says Jessica did a really, really good job. Randy Jackson thinks it started off slow but Jessica delivered a big moment.

Vote: 1-866-436-5702

Phillip Phillips – “Disease” by Matchbox 20

Judges: Jennifer says she loves the song but she didn’t think it was a “wow” performance. It was good, but she wants to see what he’ll do next. Steven says he feels the same. Randy didn’t like the performance either, he wanted a moment but it was just okay with him.

Vote: 1-866-436-5703

American Idol 2012 Top 3 Performances — Jimmy Iovine’s Choice

Joshua Ledet – “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige

Judges: Randy says it doesn’t even matter what Joshua does anymore or what he sings, he is amazing and a true star. People should just stand up and vote for him. Jennifer says Joshua is a perfect marriage of knowing what to do and when to do it, everything is so natural and spontaneous. He took them to church with the gospel; out of this world. Steven says it was beautiful and over the top. Steven says EVERYTHING is over the top.

Vote: 1-866-436-5701

Jessica Sanchez – “I’ll Be There’ by Jackson 5

Judges: Randy says he liked it okay but he didn’t love it; there was no big moment, it was okay but not oh my god good. Jennifer thinks it was a good song choice and Jessica sounded crazy good and killed it at the end; good job. Steven says it was perfect, she has a perfect voice it was — yes, again — over the top.

Vote: 1-866-436-5702

Phillip Phillips – “We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Segar

Judges: Randy thinks it was the best performance Phillip has had on the show ever, it was a huge moment, you got ‘em dude! Jennifer says there are millions of girls out there wishing he was singing that song for them. Steven says he can’t call it anything else but beautiful (like everything else) and he nailed it and was, OMG, OVER THE TOP!

Vote: 1-866-436-5703
Join us again Thursday night here on GossipandGab.com for our American Idol 2012 results show recap. Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates. Want even more American Idol 2012? Visit our sister site at AmericanIdolNet.com!

A lot of spectacle, a healthy dose of emotion and a whole bag full of well-intentioned but pretty talentless folks pretty much sums of up tonight’s episode of America’s Got Talent 2012. I’m really feeling Howard Stern right now and the everyman quality of his critiques of the acts. Honesty tempered with kindness when needed and a slap upside the head when that’s required, too. The folks sitting on the panel over at American Idol 2012 should take a lesson from how this crew judges people.  These guys (and Sharon Osbourne’s one of these guys, too) are the real deal.

First up tonight were David Garibaldi and the CMYK’s, a mixed media, speed painting, somersaulting and tumbling, graffiti artist act.  I know, I know – we’ve all seen this before. (Not really).  But what looked like random bits of paint thrown up against the canvas by the highly talented Garibaldi (and his merry band of men) turned into a fabulous painting in a matter of 120 seconds or so.  (Was it just me or did the guy in the painting bear a striking resemblance to Quentin Tarantino?) Howard, in his own inimitable way, put them through by saying “I’m the most popular judge” (true enough, I think, but let’s hope we don’t have to hear that every week) and Howie Mandel rightly pointed out that the goal of America’s Got Talent 2012 is: “You have to deliver wow.”  Garibaldi and CMYK delivered wow big-time.

We were then treated – and I use that word lightly – to a number of highly forgettable acts like Mr. Special (who looked like a cross between Elmo and Foghorn Leghorn riding a tricycle while playing a horn and then refusing to exit stage left before exclaiming, “I need to be heard”. We heard you, Mr. Special, and we need to be heard, too.  (We needed to hear the door slamming behind you.)  A confusing group of people named Blues Wizards played suitcases, although “played’ is probably giving them too much credit.   They were followed by an opera singer, singing her half of a duet (her backbeat scratch partner was MIA). I don’t think her partner showing up would have helped her pass through to the next round of America’s Got Talent 2012.

The Lisa Clark Dancers performed a really confusing but energetic series of random dances to classical music.  They didn’t really stand out in any way but when Howie asked them if they could come up with something different, something unique in Vegas to justify the judges saying “yes”, did he really expect them to say “Oh no, Howie.  This is as good as we’re going to get”.  C’mon, Howie.  Put them through based on this performance – not what we may or may not see in the future.  I guarantee you that you saw the best of them tonight.

A combo magician/musician act was pretty darn good.  The musician was sawed in half by the magician – or was it the other way around? – and then the top half of his body was pushed to the piano and he played a little something something.  A lovely and very talented – and ultimately forgettable – young lady sang very powerfully and they put her through but she barely registered compared to some of the other in-your-face America’s Got Talent 2012 auditions that had taken place tonight.

I’m not normally a fan of people who do impressions so I didn’t hold out much hope for Dave Burleigh who, when asked, told Howie he did a million impressions but only 3 of the were good.  Yikes.  And, honestly, the voices for his impressions were adequate, at best.  But – oh my goodness – the facial expressions and mannerisms of the people he did – boy, did he nail them.  Have you ever seen anyone do Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn discussing being on Dancing With the Stars? I didn’t think so.  He did Nic Cage, Jack Black, and Charlie Sheen conversing with the always-entertaining Gary Busey, followed by Bruce Willis.  This is a guy I could see headlining a show in Vegas, for sure.  He just needs – as the judges rightly pointed out – to punch up his material a little, to be slightly edgier.  Do that and he’s well on his way to a long run on AGT.

A great opera singer named Luis Meneghin performed admirably and was suitably humble about letting the America’s Got Talent 2012 judges and audience know how he sings to his patients for 30 minutes every day.  He came across as a lovely and sweet guy and should do well in the competition but needs more of a personality; otherwise, he’ll fade into the background.

What can I say about Kotton Kandy, a wonderful drag queen who sang and danced to a song whose sole lyric seemed to be “Let me see that tootsie roll”.   KK’s advice to the audience: “If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, get over it”.  Those are words to live by and I found myself yelling at the screen “Don’t buzz her” just before Howard did.  Eventually, all 3 judges buzzed KK but I’d go see Kotton Kandy perform in Vegas, I really would.  I think the judges missed a big opportunity here.

All I can say about the rapping granny and the guy who played the broom and the dustpan like a flute (yes, you read that right) was that, somehow, they both were put through.  Novelty acts? Yes. Headliners in Vegas? Hell, no.

And then, for me, the highlight of the night.  Tim Hockenberry, a guy closing in on 50 with a compelling back-story, performed a very Joe Cocker-ish version of “You Are So Beautiful” that got to me, it really did.  His voice was strong where it needed to be and then became very tender at the end.  If he doesn’t go far in the show, someone ought to be smart enough and sign this guy to a contract.  He’s that good.

Funk Beyond Control got put through by the judges but I’m not sure why.  They looked like a great group of people who belong in a state cheerleading competition.  Same with The Emily Ann Band.  They were cute and quirky and sang “Toxic” really well but I wasn’t feeling them.

The night finished with the most compelling storyline of all.  A young street performer who’d named himself Turf combined dance with contortion after telling his story of being homeless for 2 years and working for tips on the streets.  I’m a little squeamish watching contortionists, I can’t lie.  But there was something about this guy and how hard he worked and how much he’s overcome that got to me and it certainly got to the audience and, most importantly, the judges.  I don’t know if he’ll make it to the finals but his life changed tonight, that’s for sure, and it was a very strong close to what I thought was a great episode of America’s Got Talent 2012.

America’s Got Talent 2012, 2 episodes in, is off to a great start.  The judges are working well together, the pace is fast and entertaining, and we get a good mix of real talent liberally sprinkled with oddballs (and, you have to admit it, we’re all watching to see the oddballs, at least in these very first few shows).  I’m feeling the love big time for America’s Got Talent 2012 and, with all the talent/singing/dancing reality shows on TV right now, they’ve got what it takes to truly stand out.  Bravo, AGT 2012.  Job well done.

– Ellen Burke, GossipandGab.com guess blogger

Join us next week on GossipandGab.com for more America’s Got Talent 2012 recaps! Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates.