Each contestant performed three times: first with their favorite song from the season, then a pick from Producer Simon Fuller, and finally the song that would be their first single if they win the Idol title. Crystal won the coin toss and opted to sing second–which ended up being a brilliant move on her part.

Read more about last night’s show here…

Would the judges’ save last week end in vain for “Big Mike” Lynche, the one remaining Idol hopeful from Florida? Or would he survive to continue on into the Top 7?

My gut feeling was that it would not be Mike going home this week, but either Andrew Garcia or Aaron Kelly. Well, I got one out of two correct.

To read the full article, pop on over here…

Adam on Idol

Read the full story here..

I try not to read things that will affect me emotionally, because being a fairly new mom, I do find myself being overly affected by sad stories about children. But after reading the first post on the blog, I found myself reading through the entire site, captivated and unable to stop.

You can’t help but fall in love with Layla Grace. Reading her parent’s (Ryan and Shanna Marsh) accounts of the trials and tribulations they have all gone through since Layla was diagnosed last May, and seeing photos of that beautiful, blue-eyed cherub, your heart melts.

I began following them on Twitter as well, checking for updates throughout the day with the hope that there would be good news. I cheered along with Layla’s mom Shanna when she tweeted about poopy diapers, or that Layla drank some juice and was able to keep it down.  I was comforted knowing Shanna was able to hold Layla and comfort her.  And I cried along with thousands of others when we heard that Layla wasn’t doing well…and when without updates for 15 hours, we somehow knew what was later confirmed:

That Layla had gone to “play with the angels” early on the morning of March 9, 2010.

While I am happy that Layla is no longer suffering or in any earthly pain, I am heartbroken. Heartbroken for her sisters and parents who will miss her every day for the rest of their lives…heartbroken for a little girl taken too soon from this world, who wanted no more than to play with her puppy and revel in butterflies and blue skies.

I asked myself, why were so many of us touched by this angel? Why was I feeling so much for a little girl and family that I had never met?

Perhaps it’s because I have a young daughter and Layla Grace reminded me of her. They share the same sparkle in their big blue eyes.  Perhaps it’s just being a mother now, and feeling raw emotion for any child who is suffering. Perhaps it’s something greater than all of us.

I don’t know why I felt–I just know what I felt. Perhaps that’s the lesson of faith, working in mysterious ways.

Because Layla Grace and her family’s ordeal brought us the finest of lessons to be learned: this life is fragile, can change in a blink–and should be cherished every second. That there is still goodness in the world, and I watched it unfolding before my eyes–how people came together to raise money for the Marshes in their time of need, how people came together to pray for Layla and her family (and still continue to do that), how kindness was shown en masse.

We should embrace life as Layla did–with courage, passion, and pure happiness–even in the toughest situations. That little girl endured more in 10 months than most of us ever will in a lifetime–yet she did so with a smile and a spirit that shone so brightly. 

Despite losing their beautiful baby girl, her parents are now on a mission to help spread awareness of Neuroblastoma, which I had never heard of before reading Layla’s story. I am thankful to the Marsh family for that. And I’m thankful for them sharing their little girl with the world, to help remind us what’s important, help us become better parents, cherish our children, and to remember to have love and kindness for others.

I know I will remember Layla Grace each day, and do my best to continue a legacy of kindness in her honor. Though I never met her in person, she will remain forever in my heart.

Sleep well, little angel.

Layla Grace Marsh is a beautiful 2-year old little girl who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma cancer about 10 months ago. She has undergone multiple chemotherapy treatments, a bone marrow transplant in November and has been undergoing a series of immunotherapy injections.  Everyone has been hopeful that she would win the battle with cancer, and for a while she was winning but in late January, the cancer returned.

So Layla is possibly in her last days or weeks of her short life now–but it has been a life that has touched so many in the last several months, via www.laylagrace.org blogposts and a Twitter page that her parents set up at http://www.twitter.com/laylagrace. Layla gained 5000 new followers just since yesterday. People respond on the blog site with their prayers for Layla and her family, and share with parents Ryan and Shanna how much she has touched their lives and either brought them closer to God, or reminded them of what’s important. 

We can’t imagine the pain this is causing Ryan and Shanna as parents–it is unimagineable to me how they make it through each day–and it is unthinkable what poor little Layla has had to endure with her treatments and hospital stays. She is a brave little angel. All we can do is send our thoughts and prayers and love to the Marshes and beautiful Layla, and donate money if possible to help with her hospital bills.

Layla has brought good out in so many people, has shown that people DO still care and can come together, even in Cyberspace–she has over 30,000 followers on Twitter at the time of this writing–and wouldn’t those followers  rejoice if a miracle could take place for little Layla Grace and she could somehow recover from her cancer.

I know I personally think about her every day now. I cry as I read updates, and look at her beautiful photos. I have a 7 month old baby girl and wish I didn’t have to work so I could spend more time with my baby, because Layla’s story reminds us you never know what hand you’re going to be dealt in life, or how quickly things can change.

So…leave the laundry…the house can be cleaned later…take some time today to tell someone you love them. Play with your children. Visit your parents, if you’re lucky enough that they’re still alive. Forgive someone today. Make the best of this life, now.  That is the lesson we can learn from Layla’s story.

Thank you, sweet angel Layla, for visiting us for as long as we are honored with your presence. I hope you find peace soon, and that you know how much you are loved and will live on forever in our hearts.

For more information, visit www.laylagrace.org or www.twitter.com/laylagrace.

Perhaps the risque Glampire only comes out when it’s dark…

Ever since his outrageous performance at the American Music Awards Sunday night, Lambert has been in the spotlight, chastised by many for his raunchy sexual antics and who say his behavior was inappropriate for prime time network TV.  Other die-hard fans clearly weren’t phased by any of this, apparent by the huge crowd that gathered to meet Adam and watch him perform on the show. One fan even came all the way from Japan to see him.

And Adam makes no apologies for his racy performance. Although some of the sexy choreography was pre-planned and rehearsed, Adam stated that he got a bit carried away and some of the moves were ”in the moment”. But his goal was to “promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom”, not to offend anyone. 

Read the entire article here…

There’s a fantastic new way to enjoy your evening out at the Adrienne Arsht Center, with the addition of the Prelude restaurant by Barton G.. You can now pre-purchase parking, dinner and performance tickets, and indulge in a culinary feast either before or after your show.

Prelude is the Arsht Center’s only on-site restaurant, featuring a $23 (plus tax and gratuity) lunch/brunch menu (matinee performance days only) and $39 (plus tax and gratuity) dinner fixed-price menu. The restaurant also introduces a new concept to South Florida’s restaurant scene with its “Diner’s Decision” option, allowing patrons to choose from any three items at dinner (two at lunch) from a menu that blends classic American fare with the tastes of Miami. After 8 p.m., an a la carte menu is available in addition to the prix fixe dinners.

Read more about Prelude here…

He walked onstage only to be greeted by a standing ovation from most of the audience, and went right into a set about the Hard Rock Casino and the Seminole Tribe–how they’ve had to change their names to things like “Chief Always Roll a Seven” and the estranged tribal son “All In”.  Like any great comedian, he did his homework on South Florida and worked the local jokes into his intro, heckling some of the latecomers and picking on the “hot women” with plastic surgery (accompanied by cameras panning in on the audience, displaying on two large screens on stage). He made a few quips about Governor Charlie Crist and his tan (”he’s darker than Obama”), and joked about how the Seminole Tribe could buy back Manhattan–”oh wait, looks like they already did, New York is here already” and of course, talking about our weather (”you folks down here know what global warming is, you’ve been living with it for years.”)

While I was not impressed with the constant dropping of the “f” bomb (which thank goodness eased off after a few minutes, where he still used it quite a bit but not every other word), Williams jokes spanned topics ranging from hurricanes and natural disasters (”I live in California, God’s etch-a-sketch”) to technology and Twittering, GPS systems, his surgery, politics, marriage, drugs, the Pope, pets, and of course, sex and porn.  In typical Williams style–and another one of the reasons he’s so top notch–he blended in his phenomenal character voices and impersonations with his jokes, never missing a beat.

During a great bit about people who have been married more than once should have to lose a body part each time around, he slipped into a set on same-sex marriage, Mormons and polygamy (”Mormons giving marital advice is like Octomom running a planned parenthood organization”).

He did surprise me by throwing in a couple of trite, we’ve-heard-em-before one liners (”Pregnant women shouldn’t drink–isn’t that how you got pregnant in the first place?”) but the rest of his performance was so damn funny, I didn’t care.

One of most clever bits was about how a committee designed the human reproductive system–and of course the comedy would be lost in translation if I attempted to describe this, so I won’t even try. Watching Robin Williams has so much to do with his voices and physical comedy in addition to what he’s saying that it’s neary impossible to describe him and do him any justice.

He finished the show, then came back for one small encore, which was a phenomenal impersonation of Walter Cronkite telling a “blue” joke. I won’t spoil the fun by telling the joke, but it was fantastic, made better only by Williams’ impression of Cronkite. Didn’t see the punchline coming, that’s for sure!

I literally didn’t stop laughing the entire show, and the audience around me was having a similar experience. It’s a non-stop laughing, eyes-tearing, practically peeing-in-your-pants heckuva good time, and I highly recommend you get to the Hard Rock Live tonight to catch his second show. (Be forewarned, though, this is DEFINITELY an adult content, R-rated show–not for the weak of heart or the prude.)

For more info:  Call 1-800-745-3000 or visit the Hard Rock Live website.

But I didn’t expect anything less–Chaim Topol has been performing the part of Tevye since 1967 where he opened in London’s West End. That performance paved the way for him to star in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film version, for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. Although he’s now in his 70’s, this had no affect on his energy level, or believability as the character. He’s played Tevye over 2500 times across the world, and in 1991 he received a Tony Award nomination after his appearance on Broadway.  He IS Tevye.

Fiddler is set in 1905 Tsarist Russia, in a town called Anatevka. The story revolves around Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his challenge to maintain his family and religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. The audience watches as he attempts to deal with the headstrong actions of his three older daughters, as each one’s choice of husband moves farther away from the traditions of their faith. He’s also faced with the Tsar’s edict that evicts Tevye and all the Jews living in Anatevka.

Although the show presents many heavy issues, such as the role of the patriarch and his struggle between religious customs and the love for his daughters, the cast skillfully managed to interwine a great deal of comedy throughout. Mary Stout, who played Yente the Matchmaker, provides wonderful comic relief–second only to Topol in his portrayal of Tevye with his good-natured complaining about his wife, Golde, and his fumbling of quotes from Moses and the Good Book.

All of the cast did a phenomenal job with the singing, from the opening number “Tradition” to Topol’s solo of “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset” which brought tears to my eyes. The wedding scene between Tevye’s eldest daughter, Tzeitel, and Motel, was so well done I felt like a guest at the ceremony. (I admit I even shouted “Mazeltov!” when they stepped on the glass.)

Two other scenes really stood out for me. One was the bar scene where Tevye promises his daughter to Lazar Wolf, and the non-Jewish Russians and the Russian Jews come together briefly in celebration.  The dancing here is spectacular. 

The other scene was the dream sequence where Tevye tells Golde of his nightmare, in order to get her to call off Tzeitel’s engagement to Lazar Wolf. He concocts a tremendous story filled with visions of Grandmother Tzeitel and Lazar Wolf’s first wife, who is cleverly made to appear about 12 feet tall. Obviously she’s sitting on someone’s shoulders–but it was so enchanting I forgot that for the moment while watching the fabulous ensemble “re-enact” Tevye’s dream.

I applaud the cast and crew, and am thrilled this show came to the Broward Center. It’s the first time I saw Fiddler since the movie version years ago, and it’s a performance I will certainly always remember.

The AOL video also provides a trailer for the movie and some behind-the-scenes video with Adam. 

You can read the full article here…