Well, the cell phones and cameras were out again last night at the T-Dome. Here are some decent clips I found of last night's American Idols Live show.

Here's Adam Lambert singing Muse's "Starlight"

... and Tears for Fears' "Mad World."

=> Read more!

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, a.k.a. American Idols No. 1 and 2, Tuesday night at the Tacoma Dome.
ERNEST JASMIN

A point of disclosure: I’m not the biggest “American Idol” fan. Just don’t get it, actually. It’s kind of like televised karaoke, minus the sloppy drunks singing hideously off-key versions of Crue tunes before hitting the parking lot for a quick chunder. (For the record: Always entertaining.) So over the course of eight seasons, I’ve tuned in only about as much as my nine to five required; that is to say, I mainly just followed local boys Sanjaya, Blake Lewis and A.J. Gil (remember him? Season one?) and ignored most of the rest.

But I must confess that, as jaded as I am, I may have caught just a smidge of Lambert mania Tuesday night.

=> Read more!

Here's who sang what on the second night of the American Idols Live tour, which wound down a couple of hours ago at the Tacoma Dome. Check back, 'cause I've got more pics and a little commentary on the way.

Sanjaya's new book and album, that is. Both are due in stores on Tuesday (Jan. 20). Hope they don't eclipse that other thing happening that day. You can read more here. And you know what? I'm gonna have to find the tape from my last interview with the kid from Fed Way. I don't think I ever posted any audio. Stay tuned, Sanjayaphiles.

Our hero, Sanjaya Malakar, mugging it up with admirer, Raelhiya Fulmer, at the Commons Mall in Federal Way in 2007.
JANET JENSEN

I, too, have laughed at those "American Idol" episodes where they make fun of the most deluded pop wannabes at the beginning of the season. But they seem especially gross after today's news. You'll find the late Paula Goodspeed's audition clip here, and below is AP's story about the former contestant's body being found near "Idol" judge Paula Abdul's house:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A fan of Paula Abdul whose failed audition for ÒAmerican IdolÓ aired in season five was found dead in a car near the home of the pop star and judge she admired, authorities said Wednesday.

Police indicated that Paula Goodspeed, whose rendition of "Proud Mary" was roundly criticized by Simon Cowell and rejected by Abdul and Randy Jackson, had possibly committed suicide, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. An official cause of death had not been determined.

Authorities found Goodspeed's body Tuesday evening in a car that photos show bearing the vanity license plate "ABL LV" in a Los Angeles Lakers frame. Her parents had reported her missing hours earlier and expressed concern that she might hurt herself.

Los Angeles police spokeswoman Julianne Sohn says officers responded to a call about 6 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in the Sherman Oaks area to find the body.

"I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday," Abdul said in a statement released by her publicist, Jeff Ballard. "My heart and prayers go out to her family."

Goodspeed's audition was aired during the season that began in January 2006. She told the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, how she was a huge fan of Abdul and created life-size paintings of the singer and former Laker Girl; she also called Abdul "beautiful" after Cowell said he noticed a resemblance between Goodspeed and Abdul.

But Cowell also made light of Goodspeed's braces and bloggers trashed her appearance, which she noted in a MySpace posting months after the show aired.

"American Idol" producer Fremantle Media North America declined comment.

Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said relatives hadn't seen the woman since about 11 p.m. on Monday and were concerned she might try to hurt herself. In June, the department checked on the woman at her home in Thousand Oaks after deputies received a tip from Los Angeles police that the woman might be at risk of self-harm, Bonfiglio said.

Associated Press writers Lynn Elber and Solvej Schou contributed to this story.

I was only about 80 percent it was Sanjaya during the early part of Stevie Wonder’s set last night at Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre. The wavy Farrah Fawcett ‘do was hard to miss down there in the good seats. The gal dancing next to him during “Did I Hear You Say You Loved Me?” certainly looked like his sis, as seen on “American Idol” last year. But it wasn't until Wonder got around to “Superstition” two hours later that I had confirmation.

“Did I hear there was someone from ‘American Idol?’ Where’s he at? Get him up here,” Wonder blurted out midway through a fiery “Superstition” jam.

A handler whispered the name in his ear. “Sanjaya!” he called. Then – bam! – Federal Way’s most famous reality show contestant was with him on stage. And you know what? As much as the kid made his reputation with sub par singing (and the hair), he didn't sound half bad; especially if his appearance was, indeed, spontaneous and not planned in advance. Perhaps he will parlay his “Idol” experience into a few more minutes on that fame clock. But is America ready for another round of Sanjayamania?

Sanjaya’s wasn’t the only guest vocalist to make a splash, by the way. Brynn Berger, a Lynnwood woman who won a chance to sing with Wonder from a KBSG-FM radio competition, looked stunning (if a bit stiff) as she knocked it out of the park on “All in Love Is Fair.” And Wonder’s daughter, Aisha Morris, sat next to her father for a smoky torch song, Nat King Cole’s “I’m Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life.” Morris appeared on “How Will I Know,” from Wonder’s Grammy-winning 2005 album, “A Time to Love.” And can a solo career be far behind?

“Who you in love with?” Wonder huffed playfully as his daughter started to walk back to her spot with the other backup singers.

“Nobody,” she replied, innocently. “I love my daddy.”

“OK. He betta do you right,” Wonder said. Then playing just a couple of notes, he promted the audience to help him serenade his daughter with “Isn’t She Lovely,” the song she made her vocal debut on back in 1976. (She’s the baby you hear on that track.) And unlike last year’s show at Chateau Ste Michelle, daddy's little girl smiled nervously, looking endearingly embarrassed by the attention.

Otherwise, it was a great if not perfect show. I liked the flow and content of the last year's set list better, with a couple more songs from the classic “Songs in the Key of Life” and funkier numbers grouped more effectively. But it was a treat for me personally this time around when Wonder kicked his set off with several in a row from his 1980 album “Hotter Than July," with "As If You Read My Mind," the reggae-inflected “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” “Did I Hear You Say You Love Me?” and “All I Do” starting things off. I remember digging through my big sisters’ record collection in elementary school, and that being the first record I ever became obsessed with. You know, back when you had to play it on these things called “turntables.”

Other highlights included “Visions,” during which Wonder went on a rant about racial equality, mentioning something about a friend being denied a table at a Seattle area restaurant, presumably for racial reasons. The R&B legend sang a decent new song called “Keep on Foolin’ Yourself, Baby Girl,” from his forthcoming project “Through the Eyes of Wonder.” And among the lesser known selections that Wonder snuck into the set was “Creepin’,” from his “Fulfillingness’ First Finale" album.

“Expect the unexpected,” Wonder declared by way of introducing the jazzy number, perhaps even catching a couple of his band members off guard.

Country superstar and "American Idol" alumnus Carrie Underwood will return to the Puyallup Fair & Exhibition Center where she will headline the grandstand on Sept. 17, organizers announced today. Underwood -- known for hits "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Don't Forget to Remember Me" and "Before He Cheats" -- last played there in 2006.

The fair will run from Sept. 5 to 21 this year, and you can find the full grandstand schedule by clicking here.

Sigh! Just when I thought I'd have a year's reprieve from having to care about "American Idol," with no South Sound contestants on this season, this item shows up on TMZ.

It's about how Tacoma's Doxology is accusing "Idol" contestant David Cook of ripping off their arrangement of Beatles' classic "Eleanor Rigby." And the band posted the following response to Cook's performance of the song on its My Space page:

We’re not trying to be negative about all this. We have nothing against David Cook, or American idol. We actually thought he did a really good job with it. but I mean, come on...well you be the judge. I mean look, we worked pretty hard on that arrangement. Its the only cover that we do, and thats our twist to one of our favorite songs. So we’re not mad, we just think that credit should be given where credit is due. that’s all.

A few more scenes from Jingle Bell Bash 2007. (For more of what went down last night at the Tacoma Dome, click here.)

The Jingle Bell Bash – the annual holiday gala that KBKS-FM (Kiss, 99.9) puts on every December -- wound down a couple of hours ago at the Tacoma Dome. This year's pop showcase featured Timbaland (the guy who produced something like 80 percent of the hits the radio last year); Bothell's “American Idol” runner up, Blake Lewis; the Jonas Brothers; Sean Kingston; Colbie Caillat; One Republic and more. So of course I showed up with notebook and camera in hand.

And by the way, forget what I wrote in yesterday's Van Halen review about not messing with David Lee Roth because of his possible martial arts skills. Don't mess with Timbaland, yo! While you can tell the guy pumps iron in the videos. But you don't realize just how big that brotha is till you see him in person. I'm talking WWE/NFL big. No, make that "you could paint him green and he could play the Hulk without CGI" big. Sweet sassy molassy!

But I digress. Here are a few scenes you missed unless you were among the 9,000-plus that turned out for the occasion. Check back later and I’ll try to post some more non-Timbaland shots before I get too drowsy:

Reba McEntire didn’t tip her hand much regarding her new “Duets” album Friday night at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center grandstand. As a matter of fact, lead single “Because of You,” the duet with “American Idol” grad Kelly Clarkson that fans have already heard, was the only new song she performed, delivered elegantly towards the end of her set.

Instead the classy and charismatic performer wowed 8,600-plus with material from her last three decades of hit making. The most crowd pleasing numbers included “The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia,” the rousing “Love Revival” and “Fancy,” a number that she came out wearing a sparkly red dress for during the encore. (Click here to skip to the set list.)

In between songs, Reba promoted her cause celebre, Habitat for Humanity, and told a few endearing stories. She joked about how she had secretly wanted to be a movie star through the ‘80s, and imagined co-starring with the likes of Robert Duvall. “Well, that wasn’t to be,” she said. “My first movie was in 1989, and my co-stars were a bunch of underground worms.” It was a reference to kitsch classic, “Tremors,” and the intro to her song, “Why Not Tonight,” from that film.

And at one point she described a Nashville pitch man’s dilemma after he was told Mercury records only had room to sign one mor “girl singer.” Of course, he handed over Reba’s tape, and the rest was, as they say, history.

“He never did tell me who that other girl was,” Reba said, remarking at how lucky she had been. This was the lead in to a medley of early hits.

Melissa Peterman, a co-star from McEntire’s TV show “Reba,” opened with about half an hour of good natured and mostly self-deprecating standup comedy. One of her funniest jokes was about how karaoke was best when done badly and drunkenly, and how annoying it had become since she started hanging out with Reba. Punch line: “Yes, I’d like to do that in the key of myself.” And the comedian later returned to ham it up during “I’m a Survivor,” the TV show’s theme song.

Reba’s “Duets” album – which also features contributions from Justin Timberlake, Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney, among others – is due next Tuesday. Fans can also check out Miss Reba when she appears with Oprah on Wednesday.

Tonight’s headliner at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center grandstand was the amiable Clint Black, who ran through an energetic, hit-filled set. He kicked things off with “The Shoes You’re Wearing,” “A Good Run of Bad Luck” and “State of Mind.” And his early set also included “The Strong One,” a new ballad dedicated to single mom’s that is also the lead single from his forthcoming album.

“(It’s) a CD that is very good, according to me,” he joked. “Pick up two copies because they’re CDs, and they wear out.”

Shortly thereafter, Black kicked off the acoustic portion of the set with a number he said he used to play to a nearly empty house during his early career, when he often just played for the bartender. It was a faithful homage to Willie Nelson’s “Time of the Preacher,” followed by a funny story about being invited onto Willie Nelson’s tour bus. (If you’ve heard Toby Keith’s set staple “I’ll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again,” you know the gist of this one.)

“They’d burnt some toast because it was really smoky,” he said. “And all of a sudden, Willie emerges from the smoke like a firefighter and offers me some – toast.”

And itt was the second night in a row that an “American Idol” grad had graced the grandstand, as the perky Kellie Pickler from the 2005 season opened. Her set included most of her debut album “Small Town Girl,” with the title track and set closer “Red High Heels” getting especially good responses. And she also paid homage to the legendary ladies of country with covers of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” and Dolly Parton’s “Nine to Five.” (Of those, her voice seemed best suited for the Parton number, which she dedicated to the fans who had supported her and voted for her on “Idol,” thus helping her escape her job as a roller skate girl at Sonic.)