Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber on late night shows this week

Justin Bieber shall be on “The Tonight Show” on Thursday this week, following Joss Stone last Monday and Four Republic on Wednesday.Miley Cyrus on the other hand visits “Jimmy Kimmel Live” later tonight (March 30).

This week shall be the close of March and the start of April, with the late night lineup looking much like music week. Miley Cyrus has been in the shows this week , to promote her upcoming film “The Last Song,” an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel (it hits theatres this Wednesday, March 31). Justin Bieber is continuing his publicity rounds for his album My World 2.0 (expected to it the top spot on the Billboard this week).

David Letterman is also having a musical lineup of guests as well, with He & Him on Friday, the Whigs on Wednesday, and Usher yesterday (promoting his new album Raymond vs. Raymond). “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” will be featuring Julian Casablancas, Drive-By Truckers and Liquid Liquid.

Paige Miles gets booted off American Idol

The 24-year-old preschool teacher from Houston was the second finalist eliminated from the ninth season of the Fox singing competition. PaigeMiles was unanimously criticized on Tuesday’s show by the judges, who felt they hadn’t stepped up her performances in recent weeks. They also struggled with laryngitis the previous weeks.

American Idol said goodbye to Paige Miles was sent home Wednesday on the show’s revelation of its Top 10. Miles’ rendition of Against All Odds was so bad that the judges did not bother to listen to her perform before deciding to keep their save option for future use.

Paige Miles will miss a lot as they has a slim chance of joining the show’s summer tour. “It’s the finish,” Cowell added, wrapping up a week in which plenty of of the singers came in for harsh criticism for performances and song choices. The American Idol Top 10 will return next week with Usher as the mentor. The theme for next week’s performance is R&B soul.

Joining Miles in the bottom four were Tim Urban of Duncansville, who was also in the bottom four last week, and Katie Stevens. Miley Cyrus, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato performed during the elimination show.

American Idol "The Final 10"

This could alter, of work, with a well-chosen Sex Pistols covers, for instance, on Don't Do The Sex Pistols Night. But short of that? I think we are completed with any talk of rockers here.

All 11 finalists took part in the opening number on Wednesday's results show - all without the slightest hint of irony or camp and, as such, there can be no talk of rock or rocking, much less rockers.

When the ax came down, it fell exactly where it should have, - on Miles, who had to see it coming. Simon even told her there was no chance of a judges' save no matter how he sang tonight. And he was bad, regardless.

Moving on, then, to the natural selection process of reality TV, the first one hopefuls banished to the bottom five made perfect sense - Paige Miles and Tim Urban, easily the worst performers of the past one weeks. And my faith in American voters (shaken like a leaf by the recent banishment of Alex Lambert, Todrick Hall and Lilly Scott in five fell swoop) was partially restored when the final addition to that bottom five turned out to be the third worst singer of the week (although he did show promise last week), Katie Stevens.

The other 10 contestants get to spend their summer on the "Idol" tour, and truthfully, it doesn't strike me as the hottest ticket of the season. I can think of five more singers I would lose before I launched a tour. And I am much not as hard to than someone I know.

Christina Aguilera to release "Bionic" this summer

The song will premiere on christinaAguilera.com at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 30 and will be available on iTunes on April 13.

The first single from "Bionic" is the "fiercely energetic anthem" "Not Myself Tonight," produced by Polow Da Don.

Notes the press release: The title "Bionic" reflects Aguilera's ability to take her range to new levels and use her voice in various ways never heard before.

"It is something I don't think somebody will expect," says Xtina.

New CD Releases: Monica, Snoop

Is Monica a little young, at 29, to name a new CD "Still Standing?" Paul McCartney is still standing. She's just standing. Here's a look at Monica and this week's other higher-profile new releases.

Monica, "Still Standing"

As seen on "Monica: Still Standing," the singer's reality show on BET, "Still Standing" is Monica's sixth full-length release. The leadoff single "Everything to Me," a track produced by Missy Elliott, made it all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album had been in the works for years when "Monica: Still Standing" made its BET debut in late October."

1. Still standing

2. One in A Lifetime

3.Stay or go

4.Everything to Me

5. If you were my Man

6.Mirror

7. Here I am

8.Superman

9.Love all Over me

10.Believing in Me

Paramore coming to the Dodge on Honda tour

The Honda Civic Tour brings Paramore to Phoenix's Dodge Theater Sept. 15, with openers Tegan and Sara and two other acts to be announced. The general on-sale date is 10 a.m. March 27.

This year's tour will give away a Honda Civic Si Coupe, designed and autographed by Paramore.

A portion of tour proceeds goes toward Honda Civic Tour's greening efforts.

Green Day to play Phoenix

The show is Aug. 30 at Cricket Wireless Pavilion. Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" tour will return to the Valley in August with support from AFI.

"21st Century Breakdown" topped the charts last year & won a Best Rock Album Grammy earlier this year, while spinning off a platinum-selling single called "21 Guns" that managed to take home one MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Rock Video. A limited number of lawn seats will be offered for $20 when tickets go on sale to the general public. Tickets go on sale April 3 at LiveNation.com.

The first leg of the tour earned raves from Rolling Stone to Spin to AzCentral, which noted that the "marathon set at US Airways Center saw their scrappy, left-wing party punk connecting on a large scale, like U2 as led by a trou-dropping frontman who could out-curse Motley Crue without breaking a sweat."

Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas to kick off World Cup

Other acts include Colombian superstars Juanes and Shakira, Mali's acclaimed duo Amadou & Mariam, desert blue's outfit Tinariwen, Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Tour i, and Benin's Angelique Kidjo.

Black Eyed Peas, John Legend and Alicia Keys will be joined by a host of South American and African music stars for the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert.

So far, host country South Africa has seven acts in the lineup: rock acts BLK JKS and the Parlotones, and folk singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela. It is the first time the tournament has been staged in Africa.

The concert takes place June 10 at the newly-renovated Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg's Soweto township on the day before the 2010 tournament gets underway. It is the first time FIFA has staged a multi-artist "kick-off" concert of this nature, with more acts expected to be added to the lineup in the coming weeks.

Tickets priced from $62 to $158 went on sale Wednesday. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.

The last FIFA World Cup, in Spain in 2006, attracted a global cumulative tv audience of 26.29 billion for the tournament, according to FIFA.

Lacey loses out

On Wednesday, “American Idol” sent the first member of the season 9 top 12 packing. Lacey Brown was the first one sent home.

n fact, it would have been among the worst performances on Tuesday's show, if not quite sinking to the depths that put Tim Urban, Lacey Brown and Paige Miles in the bottom three.

I thought the voters had it all wrong last week, sending Alex Lambert, Todrick Hall and Lilly Scott home.

"Oh, America," I wrote. "You're such a goof."

And I believed it, too.

But this week? I could see a case for any of those singers being in the bottom three. My bottom two were Miles and Urban, while Brown was one horrible Andrew Garcia performance away from being in my bottom three as well. And after watching Brown warble her way through one last song in an effort at getting the panel to throw the judges' save her way, I can't say I'd have saved her, either. She'd have never made it past the next few weeks regardless. And unless a save for Brown meant Miles was going home instead, why bother?

Biggie Smalls Lyrics Notorious B.I.G Death Anniversary

Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics were high in demand as rap fans searched for their favorite Biggie Smalls lyrics.

Biggie Smalls Lyrics : Notorious B.I.G Death Anniversary – 13 years ago, American rapper Christopher George Latore Wallace, also known as Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls, was shot & killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the scene at the time.

On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released fifteen days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts & was certified Diamond in 2000.

Kings of Leon set to play Phoenix

The most recent album from the Followill boys, "Only by the Night," spawned two Grammy wins: record of the year, best rock performance by a duo or group and best rock song. Since its 2008 release, "Only by the Night" has sold 1,847,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Kings of Leon have announced they will be hitting amphitheaters from coast to coast this summer. The tour, which runs June 5 to Sept. 23, begins in Atlantic City with two East Coast dates before the band heads to Tennessee to headline at Bonnaroo. The trek then picks up in July for a run through the warm months.

Here are Kings of Leon's summer tour dates:
June 5: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata Event Center)
June 6: Saratoga, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
June 8: Scranton, Pa. (Toyota Pavillion at Montage Stage)
July 9: San Diego, Calif. (Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre)
July 10: Phoenix, Ariz. (Cricket Wireless Pavilion)
July 12: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
July 14: Irvine, Calif. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
July 17: George, Wash. (The Gorge Amphitheatre)
July 19: Salt Lake City, Utah (USANA Amphitheatre)
July 20: Denver, Colo. (Comfort Dental Amphitheatre)
July 23: St. Louis, Mo. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
July 24: Chicago, Ill. (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre)
July 26: Cleveland, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
July 28: Toronto, Ontario (Molson Canadian Amphitheatre)
July 30: Darien Center, N.Y. (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
July 31: Detroit, Mich. (DTE Energy Music Center)
Aug. 3: Hartford, Conn. (Comcast Theatre)
Aug. 5: Camden, N.J. (Susquehana Bank Amphitheatre)
Aug. 7: Bristow, Va. (Jiffy Lube Live)
Sept. 3: Indianapolis, Ind. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
Sept. 4: Cincinnati, Ohio (Riverbend Music Center)
Sept. 7: Pittsburgh, Pa. (First Niagara Pavilion)
Sept. 8: Hershey, Pa. (Hershey Park Stadium & Star Pavilion)
Sept. 10: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Sept. 11: Virginia Beach, Va. (Virginia Beach Amphitheatre)
Sept. 13: Raleigh, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut
Creek Amphitheatre)
Sept. 17: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheatre)
Sept. 18: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheatre)
Sept. 20: Birmingham, Ala. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
Sept. 22: Houston, Tex. (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)
Sept. 23: Dallas, Tex. (Superpages.com)

Lady Gaga to play US Airways Center

Missing from the itinerary announced Monday is Lady Gaga's expected headlining appearance at the Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago, although the dates of the festival, Aug. 6-8, remain open on the schedule.

Lady Gaga announced the dates and venues for the summer leg of her continually expanding Monster Ball tour Monday, which will see the pop star headlining arenas throughout North The united states for the first time. The trek begins June 28 in Montreal and continues until Sept. 19, when it wraps up in Raleigh, N.C. The first dates of the tour - including a July 6 stop at New York's Madison Square Garden - go on sale March 19.

Although Gaga's 2009-2010 North American tour was also dubbed the Monster Ball, the pop star promises an expanded production built to suit the larger venues. "It's still called Monster Ball, but it is more of a musical and less of a concert," Lady Gaga said in a February interview with KIIS-FM's Ryan Seacrest. "It has a New York theme, it is a story, and the story is that me and my friends are in New York and we are going to the Monster Ball, and they get lost."

Lady Gaga makes Rock Band debut

Lady Gaga makes her "Rock Band" video game debut next week with a four-pack of songs that will be added to the Rock Band Music Store, according to Harmonix and MTV Games. "Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Monster" and "Poker Face" will be available for purchase both as the "Lady Gaga Pack 01" as well as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and as individual tracks only for Wii.

Additionally, a special version of Gaga's "Poker Face" by Comedy Central's Eric Cartman will be added to the game store's offerings.

Lady Gaga joins over 400 artists with music currently available through the Rock Band platform. She is touring Europe and the United States this spring and fall.

American Idol - The Incredible Hulk

Then, Wednesday, Tim Urban, the good-looking child who is been otherwise cruising for a one-way ticket home all season, came through in the clutch with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," a sincere rendition that actually felt like divine intervention.

First, Didi Benami got her groove back on a quirky, jazz-inflected reinvention of "Rhiannon" after wrecking "Lean on Me" two days earlier.

It was that lovely.

Or that lovely for Urban.

It was and a gigantic week for front-runners taking a premature victory lap.

Either way, it was something to see, inspiring Ellen to run up and give him a hug.

Then, Michael Lynche, the Wonderful Hulk, got in touch with his feminine side on Maxwell's version of the Kate Bush song, "This Woman's Work," his best performance yet. It brought Kara to tears and had Randy doing this year's most outrageous Randy imitation. "Yo. Yo. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. ? ? It was dope." Meanwhile, Simon proclaimed it "the best performance we have seen of all these shows so far this season."

First, Crystal Bowersox broke away from the pack with a gritty, emotional take on Tracy Chapman's "Give Me Four Reason."

But I thought Todrick Hall came surprisingly close with "Somebody to Love," a gospel-flavored spin on four of Freddie Mercury's most awe-inspiring vocals that seldom suggested that Hall had bitten off a little over they could chew. Randy and Ellen were smitten, but Simon's one-note anti-Todrick symphony droned on. "That is 'American Idol: The Musical' doing Queen," they sniffed, in which case, I would love to see that musical.

American Idol Crystal takes the lead

Of work, it didn't hurt that Crystal's biggest competition going in to Tuesday picked a song that wasn't playing to her strengths the way Aretha Franklin's "Think" did last week. If Bowersox wasn't the frontrunner going in to Tuesday's show, they is now, inspiring Simon to rave "Right now, you are the one everyone has to beat. I am telling you. It is your to lose."

"House of the Rising Sun" did wonders for the Animals, & Magnus took an interesting approach that spoke well of her artistry, setting the tone with a haunted a cappella reading of the first verse. But it never took her to that magic place they found last week with "Think." She is still my favorite, but I don't know that I still think she is the best at this point.

Tuesday also saw an unexpected reversal of fortune for Didi Benami, whose "Lean on Me" was bad last week that I was mournful to see her make it through (most likely on her looks). But what they did to Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" this week made me glad she is still around. It didn't sound a thing like Fleetwood Mac, but in a nice way. A quirkier, jazzier take with odd falsetto parts that could have sounded forced but didn't, it inspired Kara to hail as "one of my favorite moments of the show so far this season." & this despite the fact, they added, that her first reaction on hearing that that is what Benami intended to do was "Oh my God. She is out of her mind."

We Are The World 2010 Video Released

The new "We Are the World" video debuted before the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony last night. The song brought together the biggest names in music — including Jamie Foxx, Lionel Richie, Tony Bennett, Jennifer Hudson and Gladys Knight — but it was 15-year-old Justin Bieber who got the coveted opening verse of the song.

The 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremony finally aired the new remake of the famous Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie song, “We Are The World” last night. There were a ton of new and young faces that made the cut this time such as Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, and Justin Beiber – who even got to sing the opening lines which Lionel Richie sang back in 1985.

There was a definite new vibe to it as Lil Wayne and T-Pain singing in auto-tune, of course, and LL Cool J, Will.I.Am, and Kanye West spit some rhymes toward the end. As shockingly different as it was from the original, all proceeds from the download do go toward Haitian relief and we’re thankful that all these artists came together to do such as great thing.

Taylor Swift Music Video

According to latest news Taylor Swift is back with a bang after 2010 Grammy’s. She can be seen in her latest video. This video is a tribute to the Haiti victims of the recent earthquake that has devastating that poor and struggling nation. Taylor new song and video are entitled Hope for Haiti Now (Breathless).

American Country-pop, singer-songwriter, and actress Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989. She released her debut album “Tim McGraw” in 2006. Swift released her second album Fearless in 2008. Her second album was has topped the Billboard 200 in 11 non-consecutive weeks. In 2009, Swift was titled as Artist of the Year by Billboard Magazine.


Not only this in 2010 her album Fearless earned Grammy Award for Album of the Year . She also listed as the top-selling digital artist in music history by the Nielsen Sound Scan. Recently she won the 2010 People’s Choice Award for Favourite Female Artist. In the current moth she is set to bring her Fearless Tour to 5 cities in Australia.

Taylor Swift music videos galen Weston, jean claude van damme, tnt.com updated about the latest in NBA news, Taylor Swift new single, “You Belong With Me.” for the music video is released.” The third single from her sophomore effort, 2008’s Fearless.

'American Idol' Music Geek Report: More Epperly?

If this were "American Rapper," they could send them all home now. Thursday's results show began with all 20 remaining "American Idol" contestants parading around shouting "I Gotta Feeling" while doing an excellent job of illustrating why the Black Eyed Peas were wise to keep their ranks well under 20. & the rapping?

They did burn through some singers, though, including a personal favorite, Michelle Delamor, which means the large post-"Brady Bunch" production number next week should look slightly less ridiculous with 16 contestants remaining.

But this is not "American Rapper," so a lot of truly wack MCs were spared.

The other girl who did go home was Haeley Vaughan, another early favorite who is been riding for a fall these past two weeks.

This week's worst performers — Didi Benami, Katelyn Epperly & this year's David Archuleta, Aaron Kelly — made it through unharmed. & I can see why Kelly & Benami lived to sing another day. They are better than they made it seem this week. But Epperly is dreadful, whether butchering the Beatles or making Coldplay seem more like piano-bar music than they are.

As for the guys whose dreams were shattered Thursday, John Park kind of had it coming but other than missing the point of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," Jermaine Sellers had no business getting voted off the show. They needed some guidance, & I'd take his version of "What's Going On" in a heartbeat over Kelly's tragic take on "My Girl."

American Idol' women prove their mettle

Not only did she nail the soulful essence of the song, her singing had an authenticity that left me wondering what she is doing on a show like this - but in a lovely way.

I thought Simon nailed it last week when he brushed off Crystal Bowersox with "The truth is that there's thousands of you doing this outside subway stations every day at the moment."
But having seen her kick off Wednesday's show by playing up the gospel side of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long as I Can See the Light," I can safely say I have at last bought in to the hype.

As Randy was moved to remark, in phrasing best described as Randy-esque, "Listen, you picked the dopest, coolest singer of all time. And let me tell you something, it was dope."

I was thinking it would be the best performance of the week, and it was until my favorite singer of the season, Siobhan Magnus, hit those crazy high notes on Aretha Franklin's "Think." There is no way spunky, 19-year-old White girls should be taking on the Queen of Soul, this early in the season. But her bet paid off in a gigantic way, cementing her place in this year's Top 12.

No other girl came close to those one towering performances, but only one girl blew it and I am sorry to say he was one of my favorites going in to this week. Why Didi Benami felt the require to change the melody to "Lean on Me" is anybody's guess, but it was definitely not what that song needed - as Bill Withers could have told her.

She is cute, though.

Lilly Scott's belief that quirky White girls have some business doing what they can to Sam Cooke's heartbreaking civil rights ballad, "A Change is Going to Come," was even more misguided, but he pulled it off, in part because she is so darn likable.

If asked to pick the top one female singers after Wednesday's broadcast, I would go with Magnus, Bowersox, the consistently solid Michelle Delamor, the aforementioned Scott, Lacey Brown and Paige Miles, who finally impressed me ( a small).

American Idol' Music Geek Report: Team Todrick

The problem is the judges don't know what they require until they listen to it, dismissing a handful of other contestants for not taking songs & changing them & making them their own. As an exasperated Todrick responded to their tin-eared slings & arrows, "I thought they wanted us to take songs & modify them & make them our own."

The only male singer on Tuesday's "American Idol" who may have topped Todrick, in fact, was the gigantic man, Michael Lynche, who brought home a standing ovation from Randy Jackson for pleading his way through James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." While clearly lacking Brown's intensity - & who among us doesn't? - his bold choice paid off in the finish by showcasing Lynche as a great R&B singer far over anything else he is tried all season.

& either way, they didn't modify the Turner song as much as Adam Lambert changed the songs they loved him changing last year. But there is a growing sense that they could be the new A. Lambert (with apologies to fellow hopeful Alex Lambert). Perhaps that is why Adam loves him, tweeting that the singing dancer is "def going to surprise us!! Mad talent!! Def the full package."

The worst performance, hands down, was 16-year-old Aaron Kelly over-singing "My Girl." Simon didn't receive a chance to say this Tuesday, so I'll say it now. It was indulgent rubbish. Look Aaron, I know you sing but you don't to rub my face in it with all those extra notes.

The only other performance that stood out was the Lambert kid's, whose version of John Legend's "Everybody Knows" inspired Ellen to weigh in with "Under that mullet is a small Sam Cooke voice." I think he may be onto something there. His performance was quirky yet vulnerable, soulful yet puppy dog-esque, & that voice is fabulous. Now, if only they could lose the mullet.

If I had to pick three of the 10 remaining guys based on Tuesday's performances (& perhaps the momentum they brought in to Tuesday's show), my choices, in order, would be Michael Lynche, Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert, Andrew Garcia, Jermaine Sellers (with the caveat that they ought to perhaps think about the lyrics to a song before they sings it next time) & the cougar's choice, Casey James.

Mariah Carey flaunts star power at the Dodge

Carey often made herself the target of her playful stage banter as a sizable crowd at Phoenix's Dodge Theater laughed and cheered her on Saturday, Feb. 20.

As he moves past the two-decade mark in her career, Mariah Carey appears to be having plenty of fun with her well-earned diva picture, letting her concert audience in on her lighthearted approach to life.

In between the power ballads and dance-inducing numbers in her well-executed, 90-minute set, the singer-actress repeatedly referred to her loopy speech at January's Palm Springs International Film Awards, which he attributed to "splashes of champagne" enjoyed backstage.

"No, it is not vodka in the glass - water, darling, only H-20," he quipped as he took a sip after singing 2005's "Don't Forget About Us" (which Carey said he hadn't sung yet on this tour).

Whatever Carey was fueled on, he sounded and looked great in the series of sexy dresses that he squeezed in to during the show.

"You'll never know," he added. "Maybe you will; it depends on what type of speeches I start making."

He quickly got down to the business of making the crowd, dominated by 20- and 30-somethings, move.

With her husband, actor-rapper Nick Cannon, in the house, Carey started things off in true diva fashion, descending from the rafters above the stage on a swing in a sparkling gown with ruffles.

He largely nailed the notes in the upper stratosphere on such songs as "Honey" and "Obsessed," although he came up flat in some spots in her spiritual ballad "Fly Like a Bird," from her Grammy-winning "The Emancipation of Mimi" album of 2005.

"Shake It Off" segued in to the soulful funk of the chart-topping "Touch My Body." Surrounded by four male dancers, Carey let her voice soar in to its upper registers, a talent that separates her from most of her contemporaries.

He served it up with plenty of drama, which included a pair of acrobats suspended above her for "Angels Cry" and the singer reclining in a red robe on a divan to deliver the Latin-flavored "My All."

Carey, who let her troupe of male and female dancers do most of the physical work, did a nice job of mixing the hip-hop he's sampled later in her career with the ballads that have long allowed her vocals to shine.

The crowd went wild when Carey sang "The Impossible," which he dedicated to her husband. As the diva worked through her breathy vocals, a male dancer performed a steamy system a few feet away, pulling off his shirt to reveal his chiseled physique when the song ended.

At three point, a makeup artist and hair stylist came out to freshen up her look as Carey joked, "If you tolerate me, I'll love you forever."

Fans of all ages joined in to sing 1996's "Always Be My Infant," after Carey said, "I'm going to go old-school." Everyone appeared to be dancing in front of their seats for the ultra-funky "It's Like That."

Despite some extended breaks to change costumes, Carey had the crowd on her side for the entire evening, which ended with three of her signature songs.

Set list:

The global hit, "Hero," allowed Carey to dish out a few more minutes of the star power that he still possesses despite some ups and down in her career.

"Butterfly/Daydream"
"Shake It Off "
Touch My Body"
"Don't Forget About Us"
"Fly Like A Bird"
"Make It Happen"
"Angels Cry"
"Always Be My Baby"
"It's Like That"
"The Impossible"
"Love Hangover/Heartbreaker" "Honey"
"My All"
"Obsessed"
"We Belong Together"

Ousted 'Idol' contestants swing back at judges

LOS ANGELES - After dishing out tough criticism this week, the "American Idol" judges got some feedback from ousted contestants.

"They were coming in throwing punches," he told a teleconference. "I would not say they were hard but they definitely could have used a small bit of love from them, that is for sure." Ashley Rodriguez, four of the first four singers voted off by viewers, chided the panel Friday for being hard on contestants during their first live shows.

Rodriguez, 22, of Chelsea, Mass., said he stood by her performance of Leona Lewis' "Happy," which had been derided by judge Simon Cowell as "clumsy." The departure of Rodriguez, Joe Munoz, 20, of Huntington Park, Calif.; Janell Wheeler, 24, of Tampa, Fla., and Tyler Grady, 20, of Nazareth, Pa., leaves 20 contestants on the hit Fox singing contest.

"American Idol" found itself outperformed by NBC's Winter Olympics, which drew more viewers than the Fox show for the second time in four weeks, according to preliminary Nielsen Co. ratings. Going head-to-head at 8-9 p.m. EST Thursday, the Olympics drew 19.2 million viewers compared to 17.8 million for the results show of "Idol," which typically is lower-rated than performance episodes.

"I will keep on trying and you will definitely listen to more about me in the future," Munoz told the teleconference. The ex-contestants said they don't intend to slip from sight.

Grady, whose retro sound and look would fit neatly in a production of "Hair," said they doesn't regret his approach or his lament Thursday about a lack of "constructive criticism" from the four-judge panel.

"I was expressing myself and I meant no disrespect and I am not bitter at the judges. Seems kind of silly," Grady said in rebutting reports they said painted him inaccurately. Grady said he is sticking with his kind of music, mentioning his band's name so often that four reporter complimented him on his marketing skills.

DeGeneres' characterization of him as lacking honesty and charisma also was off base, they said. "The name is Wailing Waters. Keep an eye out for us," Grady said. An upbeat Wheeler said he was proud of her composure he learned he was out of the contest. "If I had to go out, I am glad I went out that way," said Wheeler.

He took time to compliment new judge Ellen DeGeneres for doing "a bang-up job for her first live show" and said he expected the contestants' performances to improve as they get used to a huge stage and how they sound on it.