REALITY BYTES

Holly Madison is the next celebrity to injure herself in this season’s, Dancing With the Stars. Madison came into DWTS to replace Jewel, who had to drop out of this competition because of injuries.

Dancing With the Stars really needs to take a closer look at why so many of the celebrities for their show, are dropping like flies during rehearsals. These injuries are now becoming more than routine. Every single week, someone seems to end up going to the doctor, after rehearsing for the week to come.

Afraid that she might have broken a rib or two, Holly Madison went to the doctor and discovered she had not broken anything yet. Holly is in real pain and her ribs are bruised. The doc gave this “Girl Next Door” some pain meds and sent her back to Dancing With the Stars.

Holly found herself in the bottom two last week and had to participate in a dance-off against Denise Richards. Denise was eliminated and Holly Madison prevailed to dance another week.

Ms. Madison is determined and loves being in DWTS for this season. Holly has also vowed to stop partying down so hard on the weekends. She will be participating in this Monday evening’s show. God knows Holly Madison has more than a few Dancing With the Stars fans and Playboy fans rooting for her!

Michael Sarver had to sing “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” again on American Idol last night - begging for Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Kara DiGuardio and Simon Cowell to use the “Save” card on him. The judges were supposed to confer with each other about saving Michael Sarver, after his performance.

This huddled panel conference took about 10 seconds. Then Simon Cowell suddenly took matters into his own hands and made the decision not to save this roughneck oil rig worker, from Jasper, Texas. American Idol is not a democracy and the judges can only agree, to disagree with Simon. Then Simon will override everyone else.

Wednesday night, Michael Sarver’s rendition of that classic Motown hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” brought down the wrath of all four American Idol judges his head. Not too many Idol fans were surprised to find Sarver in one of the hot seats last night. It is not often that Paula Abdul will bash a performer, but in this case she did. Paula compared Sarver’s performance to a Vegas Lounge Act.

Simon Cowell was probably even more upset with Michael Sarver over this state of affairs. Cowell had high hopes for Sarver early on, choosing Sarver as one of his favorites. Yet, Simon’s tune began changing, as it will, until Cowell predicted Michael Sarver’s downfall.

Matt Giraud found himself in the second from the bottom position, last night. Randy Jackson commented that Matt did not deserve to be at the bottom of America’s votes. Matt’s cover of “Let’s Get it On” was well received by the American Idol judges and audience alike. So, why did America forget to vote for Matt Giraud?

Yet again, Simon Cowell might have gotten in his own way, helping to set Matt Giraud up for this fall. A few short weeks ago, Matt had been bashed by Cowell; told that he was “very forgettable” and that Giraud would not make it in this competition because Matt Giraud had no personality. Unfortunately, Simon Cowell’s personal attacks can influence voters. So many fans actually listen to what Cowell has to say. Go figure!

Would anyone truly expect a mere, 16 year old girl to surpass the American Idol expectations that are causing problems for so many of the other performers this season? Allison Iraheta exploded the Idol stage last night with “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”. Allison received a standing ovation from Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson for last night’s American Idol performance. Then Kara DioGuardia stood up and applauded Iraheta’s performance with the rest of the audience!

Truly hard to believe, Allison Iraheta was in the bottom three last week. She was almost sent home for not having enough of your votes, to keep her safe in American Idol. And yet, I kind of get why she is not receiving the votes to keep her in this competition.

Allison does not look or act like a professional singer, when she is not performing. Iraheta is a little rough around the edges, dressing a bit loud and then there is all of that flaming red hair of Allison’s! At the other polar extreme, Allison Iraheta is this awkward, almost shy, 16 year old girl. There is no denying that Iraheta is uncomfortable in the limelight, when she is not performing.

It’s Allison’s transformation on the American Idol stage when Iraheta performs, that should matter - and does! She is commanding and born to be, unleashed on our senses . Allison Iraheta’s vocals and what she can do with a song, cannot be denied.

If this was a real competition, based on shear ability; Allison Iraheta would be safe from leaving American Idol, until the last three competitors are left to your votes. But, this is a reality competition show and the rules of life are sometimes not very fair. Fans chose their American Idol favorites, then vote accordingly.

A raw clip of Allison Iraheta performing “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” on American Idol.

I am an unabashed fan of Allison Iraheta, because she is God’s gift to us this season. Allison represents, the icing on the cake of American Idol. If Allison does not make it through to the final three, she will certainly get signed for a recording deal. I am sure that Randy, Kara, Paula and Simon would agree with this call and fight for Allison Iraheta, being well managed in this direction.

Last night’s American Idol was all about Motown songs. This was a bit tricky, with so many different song choices to chose from. Smokey Robinson worked with the 10 finalists all last week and it showed.

Smokey Robinson is not just a Motown legendary singer, either. Smokey helped several of Motown’s legendary groups choose the right songs to breakout with. The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes and even Stevie Wonder; just to name-drop a few that Smokey helped to get mainstream exposure for.

An early clip of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles performing “Tears of a Clown”.

American Idol’s judges had no real problems with anyone’s vocals last night. It boiled down to song choices and the performers treatment of those songs they choose to cover. Some faired well, while others were eaten alive by Simon Cowell.

The standouts last night were: Matt Giraud - “Let’s Get it On”. Kris Allen - “How Sweet it Is”. Anoop Desai - “Ohh, Baby, Baby”. Adam Lambert - “The Track of my Tears”. Allison Iraheta - “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”.

There were some major problems with Michael Sarver performing “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” and Megan Joy Corkrey’s cover of that Stevie Wonder hit “For Once in My Life”.

It’s difficult to tell just how bad these two songs might have sounded to all of you, but I was cringing and yelling at the TV, “Nooo! Oh my God! Don’t do that!”

You should expect that both Megan Joy Corkrey and Michael Sarver will be up against themselves for the American Idol “Results” show. One of them will probably be eliminated at the end of this upcoming episode. Then again, this is American Idol! Anything can happen, and does.

After the “Barrack Obama Live Show”, Dancing With the Stars aired. One of first things they did on the DWTS “Results” show, was to tell Steve Wozniak and his partner Karina Smirnoff they were saved. Karina was so surprised, she screamed; blowing out the left speaker on my flat screen TV. You would have thought Karina had won the grand prize on “The Price Is Right”, she really was that surprised!

Admittedly, everyone seemed to be in a state of shocked confusion. The judges didn’t know exactly what to do with this information. They seemed numbed and stunned into, politely applauding and whispered to each other about this miraculous “save”. After all - on Monday’s live DWTS show, the judges tried to murder Steve for his performance!

This is a clip of Steve being saved, Karina screaming and a rather stunned reaction from the crowd.

I have a Mac and tend to think that “Apple” might be the best thing that ever happened to computers, but really: I had no idea that Steve Wozniak had so many enthusiasts calling in votes for him! Maybe, Wozniak is just that good on the dance floor?

It very well could be that many of the fans of Dancing With the Stars, like the Woz Man’s attitude. Steve is just a hell of a guy, and it shows! It’s hard to keep a good man down. Say what you will, about Steve Wozniak being safe to dance for another week. I call it a freaking miracle.

Because of the WOZ, I am a born again, true believer in “America’s votes” on Dancing With the Stars. It really doesn’t matter if I happen to believe that Wozniak has two left feet, a fractured foot and a pulled hamstring that is messing with his performances. This man seems to have been blessed by the Dancing With the Stars’ Gods!

It wound down to, Holly Madison and Denise Richards falling into the bottom two at risk. They had to compete against each other in the DWTS dance-off, so the judges could vote again, add the scores, toss in America’s votes - wave a magic wand over it all, to find out who would be eliminated.

Denise Richards won favor and points from all three of the judges with her performance. Yet, this still wasn’t enough to save her from the dreaded elimination. Denise Richards was cancelled from Dancing With the Stars. DWTS is just that kind of a show!

Wow, was Denise’s partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy just a little bit miffed? There is some real irony in Maksim leaving and Karina staying. These two professional dancers are engaged .

This is a clip of Denise Richards and Max getting the boot on Dancing With the Stars.

A few short hours later, Denise showed up on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. I had the impression that Ms. Richards was not broken hearted about leaving DWTS. Denise Richards is busy enough shooting her own show over at “E”. When Kimmel asked how the voting recipe for elimination worked, Denise admitted to not understanding the math, but it’s all good.

Hold onto your hats! Next week on Dancing With the Stars, it will be a double elimination week! Will Steve-O break a leg? Will Holly Madison’s partner Dmitry, be able to finally accept Holly as his real partner and really support her efforts? Can Steve Wozniak really walk on water?

Dancing With the Stars has a three way tie at the first place position, with Shawn Johnson , Melissa Rycroft and Gilles Marini all coming in the lead with 27 points each; for their respected performances. It really would be a true miracle if Steve Wozniak is not eliminated in the results show tonight. All three of the DWTS’ judges pulled out their guns and killed “The Woz” in front of millions of witnesses, as the audience looked on in shocked horror.

Last night was the first night on Dancing With the Stars, that everyone was present and accounted for. Steve Wozniak had pulled a hamstring in his leg, during rehearsals for last night’s competition. Wozniak is a real trooper and worked through the injury, plus his still fractured foot. I really thought that ole Steve was going to buckle and fall to his knees, half way into his samba.

All three of the judges killed the “Woz” man, after his performance, showing no mercy at all. With a total score of 10 points, Steve Wozniak was still smiling, after the kill. I have a feeling that the judges want Steve out of the competition for his own good. It will be America’s votes that could save him again for another week. Yet, would this be a kindness for Wozniak to stay in Dancing With the Stars any longer?

Steve Wozniak on Dancing With the Stars.

There are a few gifted “naturals”, in this season’s batch of celebrities that are competing. I could easily guess at who will be the top four celebrities left on Dancing With the Stars in a few weeks - and I am no psychic. Yet, anything can and does happen on this show, as we have all seen happen in past seasons.

This three-way tie for first place is well deserved for Giles, Melissa and Shawn. All three performances last night were very professional.

No one should even consider ruling out Lil Kim, though. She was one hot little firecracker, doing her samba with Derek Hough. Lil Kim is determined not to let anything keep her down, and it just might work! Slowly but surely, Len is beginning to warm to Lil Kim. Don’t be surprised when she jumps into the top position, in a short time.

Holly Madison has a real fire in her belly to overcome her lack of experience on the dance floor. It’s a damn shame that Holly’s professional partner Dmitry Chaplin isn’t more supportive. All we know is, what we saw last night when Dmitry put Holly Madison down in front of a few million fans. Has Dmitry been taking notes from Simon Cowell?

Dancing With the Stars could very well be a storybook, fairy-tale ending for Melissa Rycroft; should she win this season’s competition! It tickles me no end, that Melissa came from one of the most embarrassing moments in “The Bachelor” seasons, to become one of the best celebrity performers on Dancing With the Stars, within a short moment in prime-time TV. Good for you, Melissa Rycroft!

Gilles Marini may not have had a very large fan base when DWTS began this season, but that has changed enormously. Gilles mother showed up to watch him perform last night. She is so proud of her boy! It was touching. Now, if Gilles can only stop talking about not having viewing fans to vote for him! Don’t worry Gilles, they are voting for you! You rule on the ballroom floor.

Tonight is Dancing With the Stars “Results” show, following “The Barrack Obama Show”, live! I don’t believe anyone can vote Barrack off his show for at least four years. After all, it’s that kind of a show!

Will Steve Wozniak make it through to see another agonizing week of rehearsals? Probably not. Goodbye “Woz”! After tonight, you can go home and lick your wounds. You are a scholar and a gentleman. Your optimism on Dancing With the Stars was a lesson we can all learn from.

Over the past weekend, Holly Madison talked about a few details about her gig on Dancing With the Stars. Holly shared with “Us Magazine”, she really doesn’t care if she wins the DWTS competition; she just wants to last a long time, without being eliminated this week! If she comes in second or third at the end of Dancing With the Stars, Ms. Madison will be a very happy camper.

Holly Madison is not a dancer at all. She practices six hours every single day and Dmitry Chaplin, her partner, doesn’t cut Holly any slack. This competitor is learning different moves and routines every week. Does Holly like the experience, so far?

She sounds very positive and upbeat about the Dancing With the Stars experience and does not plan on having any injuries. Guess what? I don’t think any of these DWTS competitors that have had injuries this season, counted on it!

Holly Madison claims that she is having a ball with this DWTS competition and just wants to stay in the game as long as she can.

This is a clip of Holly Madison and her partner Dmitry, doing their stuff on Dancing With the Stars.

If there is any one particular celebrity that Holly feels is a threat on the dance floor, it’s Melissa Rycroft. Madison says that everyone one loves Melissa and does not believe that Ms. Rycroft’s past ballet experience is unfair in this season’s competition at all. Holly personally thinks that Melissa Rycroft is an amazing dancer for this show.