American Idol

TMZ's camera caught the 'A.I.' contestants going to Universal CityWalk Wednesday night after the show. It's become a ritual to have a "farewell dinner" for the contestant who is booted -- in this case, Lisa Tucker.

The group was dressed casually for the most part, as they went to Buca di Beppo, a family-style Italian restaurant. Check out your favorite contestants in a candid moment.

'American Idol' Season Four contestant Bo Bice was one of several celebs that took to the race track to practice for the 30th Anniversary of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.

Bice told the television show 'EXTRA' that the practice rounds are a lot like being chased by cops -- except you don't have to worry about getting a ticket.

Paula Abdul and her new love interest, Tony Schiena, seem to be joined at the hip. The actor hung out backstage during Tuesday night's 'Idol' taping.

During commercial breaks, Abdul's security guard would escort her backstage so the two could get their two minutes of cuddling in before the show resumed.

The brains behind the anti-'Idol' Web site VoteForTheWorst.com says he's gotten death threats from Kellie Pickler fans.

David Della Terza tells TMZ that he's pushing people to vote for contestants whom he believes are the worst singers. The 23-year-old says FOX is so upset with his Web site, they've called out their lawyers to threaten him.

'American Idol' Season Four contestant Constantine Maroulis only came in sixth place in the competition, but he's still emerged a winner with one of the hottest up and coming careers to burst out of 'Idol.' With a new solo album in the works --- along with an ABC sitcom pilot and an indie flick on the way -- Constantine has said "goodbye" to his pre-'Idol' bandmates from the group Pray for the Soul of Betty.

The top rated 'Kevin and Bean Show' on Los Angeles radio station KROQ posed an interesting question Friday morning: Would Mandisa be a Top 10 contestant on 'American Idol' if she were white

"It's fascinating that she can be a front runner and look like she does, yet there's no way 'Whitey' shows up at 280 [lbs.] and gets in the Top 10. It's not even possible," commented Bean, half of the the popular team of Kevin and Bean -- both of whom are white.

Listen to the KROQ segment

With Mandisa considered one of 'Idol's' favorites, the discussion, which included co-hosts Ralph Garman and Lisa May, focused on how overweight Caucasian 'Idol' contestants are seemingly treated differently from African-American contestants. "What is the double standard?," they asked. "Why is it acceptable for the African-American contestants -- and we're not just talking about 'American Idol'-- in all the world, you can be big and black and be considered sexy and no one's trying to get you to lose any weight... yet the big white guy all of a sudden is a pariah."

Mandisa won over the hard-to-please Simon Tuesday night on 'American Idol' with her singing and her style. Her knockout dress was a winner.
TMZ was at the Fox Hills Mall on Monday in Culver City, Calif. when Mandisa went through the racks at Ashley Stewart, a plus-size women's store.

TMZ has been digging around for some juicy nuggets about the 12 'American Idol' finalists. From ex-girlfriends to ringtones, here's the 'A.I.' lowdown -- the things you don't know about the final dozen.

Related links

• More 'American' Idol' on TMZ 
• AOL Television: 'American Idol'

"I wanted to be a performer, not someone who introduced other performers," Dunkleman told "Inside Edition" in an interview to be aired Wednesday. So he walked away from the hit reality show after its debut season in 2002.

Since then Seacrest has become practically a ubiquitous hosting presence, including sharing top billing with New Year's icon Dick Clark on this year's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" show.

THE RUMOR: Simon Cowell is replacing Regis on 'Live.'

HOW IT STARTED: A few months back, Simon met with several TV syndicators about wanting to host a 'Regis and Kelly'-type show. At the same time, there was talk that Regis might be leaving his gig.

Related Link:

Video
Cowell and Kelly's chemistry

Celebrity spotlight
Regis Philbin
Simon Cowell
Jeff Gordon
Jeff Probst

Simon Cowell now admits he's created problems for himself by telling 'A.I.' producers to record candid moments.

Last week Cowell went on 'Good Day LA' complaining that 'A.I.' producers aired partciularly nasty comments that he never thought would be shown on TV.

Simon says the remarks, that have gotten the Brit in a bit of hot water, were meant to be private -- between the judges.

Today, Cowell sang a different tune. 'EXTRA' correspondent Terri Seymour asked Simon about reports that he was upset at 'A.I.' for rolling tape after contestants left. Cowell told Seymour, "I was the one who initiated it in the first place." In other words, Simon says he told producers to keep the tape rolling and just forgot about it.

As for first "Idol" winner, recent Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, "She would be like a stranger to me now," Cowell told The Associated Press Thursday.

In January, Cowell criticized Clarkson for not allowing the use of her songs by contestants on the fifth season of the high-rated show. She later changed her mind. Then, during Clarkson's Grammy acceptance speeches for best pop vocal album and female pop vocal performance, she never uttered the word "Idol."

"Look, she doesn't need to thank me and she doesn't need to thank 'American Idol,"' said Cowell. "She does need to thank the fans who voted for her on 'American Idol.' That's all."

On Wednesday's "Idol" episode, Cowell and fellow judges, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, chose the 24 semifinalists. Next week, the contestants will be divided by sex and the viewer-selected elimination process will begin.

Of the semifinalists, Cowell said only three "have got a chance in the music industry." When asked to comment on each semifinalist by name, Cowell couldn't recall most of them. However, he could remember what he thought of every "Idol" season except the first: "predictable."

"To me, it was absolutely crystal clear at this stage last year that Carrie Underwood would win the competition," said Cowell. "So it all felt a bit obvious. Whereas this year, I could argue the case for seven or eight of the contestants. I genuinely don't know who's gonna win. I've got a feeling who are gonna make the finals. But once you're in the finals, I think you're gonna have the most open competition you've ever seen, which for us and the viewers at home, that's a good thing."

Many factors have conspired to make the Turin Olympics -- through five days of competition -- less of a television event than past games. Probably the most significant is that other networks are putting up a fight with potent weapons.

NBC was knocked on its heels by the first night the Olympics went up against Fox's "American Idol" Tuesday. Based on preliminary Nielsen Media Research estimates, "Idol" doubled the Olympics audience when they went head-to-head again on Wednesday.

Wednesday is also likely to stand as the least-watched night of winter Olympics competition since at least 1988, according to Nielsen.

Besides "Idol," viewers who aren't slalom-inclined have also had new episodes of "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Survivor" and "Dancing With the Stars" to choose from.

TMZ is privy to the "exclusivity" clause that season five contestants have signed. It basically paralyzes contestants from doing anything showbiz related until three months after the grand finale. The contract prohibits contestants from entering into "...any talent management agreement, talent agency agreement, recording contract, songwriting contract, acting contract, modeling contract, sponsorship contract, or any merchandising contract ....until three months following the date of the first broadcast of the final episode announcing the winner of the competition."

The exclusivity clause goes on to say that if a contestant signs a deal in violation of the contract, 'A.I.' producers "shall be entitled to injunctive and other equitable relief." Translation - a judge could quash the deal.