Stand out stuff this week from Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson. Both Chris R. and Blake have a bit of the Justin Timberlake vibe, especially Richardson.

Bland, boring and safe from Brandon Rogers with Time After Time. That seems to be a suprisingly tough song. Some people just blow it away and others turn it into a snooze fest. Brandon made me sleepy.

And please, will someone tell Sanjaya Malakar that Michael Jackson is not a good role model. Let this be Sanjaya’s last week.

Phil Stacey held his own and Jared Cotter wasn’t too bad. I think Fever is going to have Nicholas Pedro in hot water. I think Sundance Head’s days are definitely numbered, but he’ll hang on at least one more week.

We’re calling the bottom two guys this week as Sanjaya and Nicholas. Wildcard suprise might be Brandon.

This week’s episode of Heroes brought the Bennett’s household to an explosive end. It seems with each episode more Heroes discover one another. And this week things reach a critical mass as Claire’s mom learned the truth about her healing powers and her husband’s real job.

Lots of revelations, from how Claire was adopted to how the mysterious Mr. Bennett came to hold his job. And further tying every together was the appearance of Hiro’s father (played by the one and only George Takei). We also saw a glimpse of Mr. Linderman. And the teaser next week shows Simone is not dead. And how what happens now to Claire and the Haitian? Claire’s dad sent them running and looks like he’s going to try and cover for them.

Heroes has done a great job of doling out secrets week after week and yet leaves you craving more.

I’m not sure what in the world Brillia Mare ARIAKE is, but Madonna is selling it - in Japan. I like finding these Japanese commercials with American celebrities. They’re always selling this stuff overseas you never hear about, yet wouldn’t dare do it on American TV.

The big American Idol buzz this week has been the scandal over nude photos of contestant Antonella Barba. The question now is what next. Fox has had little to officially say over the controvery. There is a lot of speculation whether the racey photos of Antonella are actually real or some kind of hoax. If they’re a fake then it’d be a pretty elaborate ruse. I wouldn’t be suprised if they announce at the beginning of the women’s show on Wednesday that Antonella Barba has been dropped from the competition or chosen to withdraw. I can’t imagine that if the photos are real that Fox would let her continue to compete. The Barba buzz is far from over.

Thought we pass along a few good finds are we ready ourselves for Oscar overload.

Lakisha Jones Fan Site
Doesn’t take long for the fan sites to start poping up. Lakisha would seem to have a pretty solid shot at the top 12. Looks like a good place to keep up to date.

New Release Weekly
Kind of like it sounds, but better. Not just theater releases. DVDs, music, video games and books too. Good resource.

Help Save Britney
New fan site with a positive spin. You can your message for Brit and read the thoughts of others. She’s going to need a lot more help than this, but at least it’s some relief from all the negative media.

Chris Sligh Fan Site
Bit of background on Chris and his bands. Along with a clip of Chris’ original audition.

Well our first week of America Idol Predictions were clearly a bust. But we’d argue America voted wrong, not us. Somehow Sanjaya Malakar and Antonella Barba escaped the bottom two and will plague us one more week. Paul Kim and Rudy Cardenas got the ax, along with Amy Krebs and Nicole Tranquillo. The Idols that did get booted weren’t necessary undeserving, but I’m shocked Sanjaya and Atonella made it through.

Great episode of Heros tonight. As more and more Heros find each other a momentum seems underway that may lead to their talents become public knowledge. One of the most interesting plotlines of this week’s show was the self-awareness that Peter Petrelli has gained.

The invisible man has given Peter the ability to find his powers. And there seems to be darker side emerging as Peter learns to use them. I’m guessing on a future showdown between Sylar and Peter.

The final moments of the show saw Simone shot by Isaac during a confrontation of Peter. While she certainly seemed dead perhaps Peter will summon powers to save her.

Claire and her dad finally come to blows as Claire calls him on her moms memory loss and medical condition.

Last weeks episode of Lost opened at the beach, and for a minute or two I thought they would return the focus to the beach cast and events. Nope. Instead we follow Desmond through a nearly episode long flash back as we see his life before the dreaded Hatch.

I read somewhere the episode had the lowest rating of the season. Probably not due to the episode itself, but likely people growing weary of the drawn out Sawyer, Jack and Kate second Island saga. So the thought of returning the beach sounded good.

Desmond’s flashback presented his power of seeing the future. It almost felt like a storyline out of Heros. It was pretty compelling though. We haven’t leanred much about the mysterious Desmond and his past until now. But little was revealed as to how his powers may play into the overall storyline.

I still believe Lost is drowning itself so far this season. Hero’s has so far eclipsed Lost in it’s opening season, but Hero’s has a long way to go to reach Losts depth and who know if the Hero’s can keep the mystery compelling either.

The final 24 contestants have been choosen for this years Idol. For the record you’ll find the list below. Definintely some great standouts as well as a few who simply got lucky and probably shouldn’t have made it. Each week we’ll be providing our picks for two out of the bottom three contestants. Hit our Idol predictions page each week for picks.

Alaina Alexander
Age: 24
West Hollywood, CA

Amy Krebs
Age: 22
Federal Way, WA

Antonella Barba
Age: 20
Point Pleasant, NJ

Gina Glocksen
Age: 22
Naperville, IL

Haley Scarnato
Age: 24
San Antonio, TX

Jordin Sparks
Age: 17
Glendale, AZ

Lakisha Jones
Age: 27
Fort Meade, MD

Leslie Hunt
Age: 24
Chicago, IL

Melinda Doolittle
Age: 29
Brentwood, TN

Nicole Tranquillo
Age: 20
Philadelphia, PA

Sabrina Sloan
Age: 27
Studio City, CA

Stephanie Edwards
Age: 19
Savannah, GA

AJ Tabaldo
Age: 22
Santa Maria, CA

Blake Lewis
Age: 25
Bothell, WA

Brandon Rogers
Age: 28
North Hollywood, CA

Chris Richardson
Age: 22
Chesapeake, VA

Chris Sligh
Age: 28
Greenville, SC

Jared Cotter
Age: 25
Kew Gardens, NY

Nicholas Pedro
Age: 25
Taunton, MA

Paul Kim
Age: 25
Saratoga, CA

Phil Stacey
Age: 29
Jacksonville, FL

Rudy Cardenas
Age: 28
North Hollywood, CA

Sanjaya Malakar
Age: 17
Federal Way, WA

Sundance Head
Age: 28
Porter, TX

Monday’s episode of Heros (Run! 2/2/07) seemed to slow the typical breakneck pace of plot twists. We did learn Claire’s mom is going crazy - no doubt a result of the Haitian erasing her memory a few too many times. The meeting between Nathan and Claire’s real mom seemed a bit of a waste. Meanwhile Sylar collected yet another brain. Most significant for the plotline was the meeting between Mohinder and Sylar. Their connection gives Sylar a direct route to all of the Heros powers.

Nicki and Matt’s showdown provided an interesting glimpse into how Matt’s thought reading powers can be put to use. It also seemed to push Nicki’s character and alter ego, down a dark path. You have wonder what damage Sylar and Nicki could do together.

Hiro and Ando’s journey seemed to stall, and aside a cameo by Coach’s Dauber (Bill Fagerbakke) I was bored.