Cinema Talk

Please enable cookies.

After endearing himself to the judges last season, a fan-favorite contestant is heading back to Hollywood for another shot at stardom — and that was just one of several surprises from Sunday’s American Idol.

The third night of auditions this season also included what Lionel Richie called “the attack of the 15- and 16-year-olds,” an onslaught of insanely talented teens: There was Austin Michael Robinson, 15, dubbed the “country Justin Bieber” by Katy Perry; Riley Thompson, 16, dubbed the “country Lana Del Ray” by that same judge; Mica Giaconi, 16, who did Bob Marley proud with a cool cover of “Is This Love”; and Darian Baena, 15, who surprised the judges with a bilingual version of “Angels.”

But the most talented of the teens was Madison Vandenberg, 16, whose performance of Dan + Shay’s “Speechless” left the judges just that. She had one of those voices that’s so inexplicably good, you swear it must be auto-tuned. I also loved that both Katy and Luke Bryant compared her to Kelly Clarkson. (Am I imagining it, or have a lot of contestants already been told that they’re the next Kelly this season?)

OK, time to break down the rest of this week’s stand-out auditions…

ASHTON GILL, 20 | The first audition of the night included a twist as exciting as it was predictable. From the moment Ashton said that she was bringing her childhood friend Laine Hardy — yes, the Laine Hardy who made it all the way to Hollywood Week last season — to play guitar for her, I knew he’d end up rejoining the competition. And sure enough, he followed Ashton’s crystal clear performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Broken Halos” with a “surprise” audition of his own. “He got good!” Katy remarked before joining Laine and the other judges in a group performance of “The Weight.” (Katy also had a lot to say about Laine’s new teeth, though I think the real conversation we need to have is about him wearing a hat with his name on it.)

JAKE PULITI, 20 | There are three things you should know about Jake: First of all, he is not a snowboarder. Second, he does not play football. Lastly, he is a singer. Now that we’ve gotten that cleared up, let’s talk about his fun take on Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It.” It was so fun! And he deserves bonus points for not getting distracted by Katy literally dropping to the floor in front of him and breakdancing.

SHAWN ROBINSON, 21 | Some contestants are impossible not to love, and Shawn — who currently works in the garden department of a hardware store — was one of them. He radiated positivity from the moment he stepped in front of the judges, and that inner light shone through clearly in his performance of Jessie J’s “Who You Are.” The judges couldn’t get over his buttery voice and overall “precious”-ness. (Do you think he sings to his plants?!)

NATE WALKER, 18 | This Pittsburgh teen grew up singing in church with former Idol finalist Gabby Barrett, who made a quick appearance via FaceTime. “There’s something in the water in Pittsburgh,” Katy declared after Nate’s run-derful take on “Say Something,” a smooth performance from a smooth individual.

WADE COTA, 27 | Katy was completely blown away by Wade’s “baby bear cub” growl, calling it “one of the most unique voices I’ve ever heard in my life.” His performance of George Ezra’s “Blame It On Me” was made even more inspiring by the stories he shared from his abusive past — even if I feel like Idol might be milking the emotional backstories a little too hard this season.

PETER LEMONGELLO JR., 19 | As the son of the first man to sell 1 million records on television (and who possibly also invented infomercials?), this young crooner had some big shoes to fill. And while it was clear from the moment we met Peter that his ’50s aesthetic wouldn’t gel with Idol‘s current vibe, I was still curious to see what he had to offer. His performance of The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself” was exactly what I expected/hoped it would be, down to the dance routine. (I was also impressed at how many names Peter was able to drop in such a brief audition. Do you think all of his friends are jealous of how close he is with Chubby Checker?)

CLAY PAGE, 24 | Dubbed the “gentle ginger” by Katy, this Georgian gentleman shared a sad story about losing the uncle who inspired him to pick up his first guitar, then treated the judges to a Thomas Rhett jam. Luke said that Clay might not be the best country singer in the world (duh), but he still hung onto his every word.

DRAKE MCCAIN, 17 | The phrase “spiritual experience” has already been used this season, but Drake’s audition — which turned into a full-blown gospel fest — took that to a very literal place. I loved when Katy joined added her voice to “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” resulting in an impromptu duet that brought Katy back to her roots as a Christian musician. (Hey, spending enough time in our nation’s heartland will do that.)

JEREMIAH LLOYD HARMON, 25 | Despite this week’s onslaught of teens, the episode’s best audition came courtesy of Jeremiah, a preacher’s kid who currently works as a janitor at his father’s church. The unassuming songwriter came prepared with an original piece called “Almost Heaven,” a soulful ballad about reconciling his sexuality with his faith. Aside from the obvious emotional connection the judges formed with Jeremiah, they were also impressed with his musicianship, something that will serve him well in the group rounds.

Your thoughts on Sunday’s Idol auditions? Vote for your favorites (up to three) in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.

Big Hit Entertainment, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS, announced that the superstar K-pop group will soon be taking an “official and extended period of rest and relaxation.”

In the statement, posted to Twitter on Sunday (Aug. 11), Big Hit wrote that BTS will be taking some much needed time off following their performance at the Lotte Duty Free Family Concert in South Korea on Sunday. This will mark BTS' first break since their 2013 debut.

“This period of rest will be an opportunity for the members of BTS, who have relentlessly driven themselves towards their goal since their debut, to recharge and prepare to present themselves anew as musicians and creators. This will also provide them with a chance to enjoy the ordinary lives of young people in their 20s, albeit briefly,” the statement reads.

BTS' recent Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour, which launched in May, has grossed $99.3 million with a series of U.S. stadium double-headers, according to Billboard Boxscore. The 2019 trek followed the release of the K-pop group's Map of the Soul: Persona album, which topped the Billboard 200 in March.

Map of the Soul: Persona became the group’s third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, while its single “Boy With Luv” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Read Big Hit Entertainment's full statement below.

We can see you're using Adblocker. Block everybody else, but we thought we were friends. Please click Yes below to whitelist us, so we can keep doing our best to show you half-naked ladies and funny Internet memes. It's what any friend would do.

Roswell, New Mexico premieres in just over a month at The CW. 

As such, the network is ramping up the promotional train and has unveiled a brand new poster for the series. 

What it shows is the drama's core couple Liz (Jeanine Mason) and Max (Nathan Parsons) getting close, and there's a beautiful backdrop to boot. 

"Make Contact" is a perfect addition to the poster because it can be interpreted in many ways what with Max being an alien. 

Roswell, New Mexico is the second television adaptation of Roswell High book series by Melinda Metz. 

The first TV series aired from 1999-2002, and last three seasons. Despite having a devoted fan base, it had low ratings, prompting The WB to cancel, but UPN swooped in to give the series another shot at life. 

But UPN also opted to cancel it because the ratings continued to dwindle. 

What is this new version about?

Here's the official logline:

After reluctantly returning to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: he’s an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life.

Related: Roswell: Do We REALLY Need This Reboot?

She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance.

Obviously, there are parallels to the first adaptation, but there are some changes thrown in there for good measure. 

While The CW has rebooted many shows over the years, Roswell, New Mexico might stand a better chance at success than Charmed (2018). 

There hasn't been controversy surrounding this reboot for a start, and Shiri Appleby, who played Liz on the 1999-2002 series even came on board to direct an episode. 

Related: Roswell, New Mexico Adds Michael Trevino in Key Role

Roswell, New Mexico was developed by Carina Adly Mackenzie who penned some of the best episodes of The Originals, so the show is definitely in good hands. 

Then there's the cast. 

Aside from Mason and Parsons, we have the likes of Tyler Blackburn, Heather Hemmens, Michael Trevino, and even an appearance by Riley Voelkel. 

Buckle up because The CW has found its next big hit. 

Okay, TV Fanatics. 

What are your thoughts on this new poster? 

Will you be watching the series? 

Hit the comments. 

Watch the full trailer below:

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

Modern electronic compositions are often said to take the listener on a journey. The idea of an inscape, a place formed of our inner thoughts and experiences, provides a new world in which to articulate synthesizers’ command of the psyche, where we soar and somersault, float and fall, under their sensational steerage. But what would it feel like if such music could somehow moor our listening minds and let us take in the view? Important Records’ latest release might do just that, as synthesists Caterina Barbieri and ELEH take a side each over which to stretch their explorations in sonic consciousness.

In contrast to the elaborate sequences on Barbieri’s debut album last year, which took the listener sailing through oceans of arpeggiated fractals, ‘Bestie Infinite’ is anchored. Pure synth tones form a dark, surging sea illuminated by a tolling piano. Gradually, the mix loses and regains consonance as suspended electronic waves, subtly filtered, flow under microtonal variances of a sparkling staccato to add to the sense of motion. But it is movement without travel, a rare respite from forward motion, a ticket to behold a single, meticulously constructed chord from within. This is no drone, however - a spiritual theme emerges from the eddying currents, somehow meditative yet keenly aware of the here and now.

Like much of ELEH’s work ‘Wear Patterns’ could be referred to as a drone, and yet, not for the first time, the monotone implied by the term would be counter to the detail found within. ELEH’s experiments with long-form electronic emanations has led to an occultish form of composition – hidden knowledge of the sounds-within-sounds conjures mesmeric sonic artefacts from choice frequencies, invoking dances in the space between. For this release, ELEH sculpts the harmonics of a deceptively simple, reedy chord to produce a variety of radiating pulsations. They render the listener static, becoming desensitised to the passing of time like the audio equivalent of a floatation tank. But, the sound pool also has a melodic quality at times that, although not as traceable as on Barbieri’s piece, mysteriously hints at a devotional dimension.

Being able to behave beyond the laws of the physical world has meant it is not in electronic music’s nature to stop moving and, after all, music’s temporality will always mean audiences are destined to go from A to B. But both ‘Bestie Infinite’ and ‘Wear Patterns’ mindfully avoid the linear journey, bearing a kind of subtle inertia that renders stillness in the listener, as if floating in space but orbited instead of orbiting.