I’ve moved.

The same blog, just with a new address and new look, can be found at www.ydtalk.com/idolchatteryd (you’ll have to open this blog for the direct link to work).

We’re still tidying up a bit at the new site and lots of photos have to be resized.

But if you click on the headline or a link, a blog will appear, very, very quickly, just like a blog is supposed to work, just like this one used to work.

Thanks for following your favorite singing show here.

Mark Franklin, Managing Editor, The York Dispatch

This declaration comes about a month and a half after he was caught on camera getting cozy with former NBA dancer / former Idol contestant / true beauty Brittany Kerr at a bar in late September.

Jason apologized to fans afterward, saying he had too much to drink, let a party get out of control, but left the bar alone that night as he headed to the next town he would be performing in.

CBS This Morning interviewed Aldean this morning, billing it as the first time he’d addressed the issue since that apology.

Asked how the marriage was doing, with his wife sitting by his side, Aldean said: “I think we’re fine. Anytime you go through something like that, it’s tough. We’ve been together a long time and we’ve been through a lot of things together. Those are things most people get to deal with in private. We didn’t have the luxury of doing that.”

Aldean and wife Jessica Ussery have been married since 2001 and have two young daughters.

You can head here to watch the interview.

Brittany also apologized for the “lapse in judgment” after the incident, but has been silent since.

Head to her Facebook page and you’ll find people chiming in on both sides of the incident.

The only thing from Brittany, a 90-second clip of her smiling and singing LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” that someone posted on Oct. 13.

Their performances were the most criticized Wednesday on The X Factor.

And after finishing 11th and 12th, respectively, a week ago, they’re the most likely contestants to be heading home after tonight’s episode.

But they aren’t the only contestants who should fret.

Jennel Garcia performed first and was underwhelming. You need look back no farther than Monday night on The Voice to see what a curse that combination can be.

Beatrice Miller turned in a perfectly fine version of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” but was called boring by a couple of judges. She also performed early in the show after finishing in the bottom four a week ago.

Lyric 145 was just one spot above Beatrice in last week’s rankings. One of the best and most interesting acts in Season 2, they should be headed to the Top 10.

Yet three of the judges seem to think they’re singing the wrong songs. They should be singing hip-hop music, they say. On Diva Week. Which, I suppose, means Nicki Minaj music?

What happened to giving artists credit for taking songs out of their genre and making them work within their genre? I thought that was called taking a risk on a show like this.

And it’s normally praised, not scorned.

But such is the life of an X Factor contestant, where the judges seem to be critiquing on a whim.

Unless you happen to be Emblem 3. Then even the most mediocre performance is hailed as superstar material.

On to what The X Factor thinks people really care about tonight — which is a live performance by Taylor Swift. She’ll sing a song from her new album.

Still no sign of Season 1 winner Melanie Amaro on the show. Though One Direction is sure to get a plug at some point tonight, either during the proceedings or during one of the zillion commercials that will air during the proceedings.

By the way, Melanie’s debut album, “Truly,” debuts Dec. 4, and you can pre-order now on Amazon.com. Figured I’d better share the news; X Factor apparently doesn’t plan to.

Wow, we’re getting right down to it … OK, no we aren’t.

Our silly hosts cut to a commercial break just after promising to reveal the name of the first eliminated contestant.

And, after said commercial break, this week’s lowest vote-getter is … Lyric 145.

Are you kidding me? They were the most interesting act on the show.

That is an absolute farce. Look in the mirror, judges. You helped sink the best group on the show.

But I bet the supposedly cute … and immensely less talented … Emblem 3 will be safe. What crap.

Of course, one of the problems is The X Factor’s crappy ratings.  The fans who would get Lyric 145 probably weren’t watching.

Safe this week …

• Arin Ray — Oh, gee, that makes a lot of sense, too. Cece just got a lot more nervous.
• Vino Alan — Good choice, voters.
• Carly Rose Sonenclar — Had she gone home, the disaster would have been complete.
• Diamond White — Great, the worst singer survived.
• Tate Stevens — The country guy had nothing to worry about.
• Emblem 3 — Told you. The worst group survived.
• Beatrice Miller — Hooray, she made it through.
• Cece Frey — Wow, talk about dodging a bullet.

That leaves Paige Thomas, Jennel Garcia and Fifth Harmony as sing-for-your-life possibilities.

And Fifth Harmony is safe. They are the best of the three.

LOL.  Another reminder that this show is a joke.

The male host says to Demi: Demi, introduce your next act.

Demi to the male host: I don’t know who’s next.

For crying out loud.  Turns out Jennel is next.  Let’s grade the save-me performances.

Jennel Garcia:  Sings “The Reason Is You.”  She ended the song wonderfully.  Before that: woefully bad.  Jennel didn’t make a strong case for staying.  Grade: C-

Paige Thomas:  Not sure what song Paige is singing. “Paradise?”  Whatever it is, look at this: When she stands still and forgets all the dancing, Paige sings pretty well.  At least she’s singing rings around what Jennel just did.  Grade: B+

Now, to the judges …

L.A. votes to send home Jennel.

Britney votes to send home Jennel.

Simon declines to name an act.  He insists Demi make the decision.

Male host is insistent.  Simon must choose.

Simon is equally insistent.  He will not choose.

He wants Demi to be forced to reveal which of her two acts she’s going to send home.

Finally, male host gives up and proclaims ‘you’re the boss.’

Well, if Simon wants to be a total jerk, I guess it’s his show.  And I doubt anyone will be surprised.

Demi pitches it back to Simon.  Or tries to.  Then she picks Paige.

That sends it back to Simon.  He decides to send home Jennel. And so she goes.

At least he made the right decision in the end.

And now, the night’s other “big moment.”  We find out what order the acts finished in.

9. Arin Ray

8. Beatrice Miller

7. Diamond White

6. Fifth Harmony

5. Cece Frey

4. Emblem 3

3. Vino Alan

2. Carly Rose Sonenclar

1. Tate Stevens

Best news:  Fans still aren’t going ga-ga over Emblem 3.  And the best soloists survived.

But I’m still going to miss Lyric 145.

They were flat-out fun on a show that isn’t very fun.

Carrie Underwood leads the way with three for American Idol with nominations for favorite female artist, for favorite country artist and for favorite album of the year.

Adam Levine and Maroon 5 have four, including favorite band, favorite album, favorite video and favorite song.

And, in two of the more interesting categories, the singing shows go head to head.

All three — American Idol, The Voice and The X Factor — are nominated in the favorite TV competition category.

And the nominees for favorite celebrity judge include Jennifer Lopez from Idol, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera from The Voice, and Britney Spears and Demi Lovato from The X Factor.

Please, don’t vote for Demi and that annoying voice or Jennifer and her two years of doing virtually nothing.

Speaking of voting, you can head here to do that and to check out all the nominees in the other categories.

The 2013 People’s Choice Awards will be televised Jan. 9 on CBS.

Male Artist: Blake Shelton is nominated alongside Chris Brown, Jason Mraz, Justin Bieber and Usher.

Female Artist: Carrie Underwood is nominated alongside Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Pink and Adele.

Favorite Pop Artist: Demi Lovato is nominated alongside Pink, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Adele.

Favorite Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj is nominated alongside Drake, Jay-Z, Pitbull and Flo Rida.

Favorite Band: Maroon 5 is nominated alongside Train, Green Day, No Doubt and Linkin Park.

Favorite Country Artist: Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton are nominated alongside Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw.

Favorite Song: Maroon 5′s “One More Night” is nominated. The favorite might be Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” Other nominees are “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and “We Are Young” by Fun.

Favorite Album: Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” and Maroon 5′s “Overexposed” are nominated. So are One Direction’s “Up All Night,” “Some Nights” by Fun and “Believe” by Justin Bieber.

Favorite Music Video: Maroon 5′s “Payphone” is nominated along with Katy Perry’s “Part of Me,” Justin Bieber’s “Girlfriend,” Carly Rae’s “Call Me Maybe” and PSY’s “Gangnam Style.”

Favorite TV Competition Show: American Idol, The Voice, The X Factor, Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent

Favorite Celebrity Judge: Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez.

Want performers?

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Nicki Minaj and Christina Aguilera are all scheduled to take the stage.

Want nominees?

Kelly and Carrie are each nominated for two awards; Nicki is up for four.

Want more key appearances?

The AMAs just announced that Ryan Seacrest will be on hand for Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Dick Clark.

As for those nominations:

Kelly is nominated for favorite pop/rock female artist alongside Katy Perry, Nicki and Rihanna. She’s nominated for favorite adult contemporary artist along with Adele and Train.

Carrie is nominated as favorite female country artist; her competition will be Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.

Her latest album, “Blown Away,” is up for favorite country album, along with Luke Bryan’s “Tailgates & Tanlines” and Lionel Richie’s “Tuskegee.”

Nicki also is nominated as favorite rap/hip-hop artist and favorite album in the rap/hip-hop and pop/rock categories.

And Maroon 5, featuring Adam Levine, is up for artist of the year, favorite band or group in the pop/rock category and favorite album in the pop/rock category.

Check back Sunday night. I’ll be posting photos from the show, especially of those with a singing show link.

Head here for the complete list of nominees.

What did we learn last week when The X Factor decided to tell us how everyone finished in the fan voting?

That the show’s viewers are probably older and more conservative than Simon and Co. would like.

No offense to Vino Alan and Tate Stevens — because they’ve been consistently good on a show where consistently good has been tough to find — but that’s the only conclusion one can draw when they finished first and third in the voting and the brilliant Lyric 145 finished ninth after a performance that should have earned them an exclamation mark after the “brilliant.”

So, tonight, The X Factor will try to sabotage Vino, Tate and Lyric 145 by subjecting them and us to two hours of diva covers.

For a detailed explanation of why I think that theme is pure folly, head here.

The good news is that the theme is so ill-fitting and my expectations are so low … well, I’ll probably be easily impressed as I hand out song by song grades.

That is by everyone other than Carly Rose Sonenclar, who should nail this. She’s also my pick for the number one spot in this week’s X Factor rankings.

Oh, and to make it even tougher, two acts go home tonight.

1. Jennel Garcia: Challenging spot for Jennel, singing first on a two-hour show. She’s going to take on “Proud Mary.” Good choice, Jennel. A bit of a timid start. Then the lights go up, the dancers come out and Jennel starts belting. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the pipes to pull this off. She’s fun to watch, but I’ve seen this song done much better on shows just like this. And, of course, the judges are lying again. Simon, apparently losing his hearing after listening to so many of these performances, proclaims Jennel’s back in the game it was so good. Point 1: She was never out of the game; last week’s criticism was unfounded. Point 2: Come on, Simon, I KNOW you’ve seen a much better performance of that song. Grade: C

2. Tate Stevens: Tate’s a great guy, and he’s found a way to twist the theme to his strength by tackling a Shania Twain song. Hmm, I guess she qualifies as a diva. He’ll sing “From This Moment.” L.A. encouraged him to pour passion into the song, and Tate surely did that. Not thrilled with the way his voice sounded on the chorus, especially the first time around. It sounded like he was straining just a bit. But he pulled it together very well at the end and I’m sure the folks who voted for Tate last week are going to love that performance. Grade: B-

3. Diamond White: Yikes. The 13-year-old is going to sing Beyonce’s “Halo.” She might have finished fourth in the voting last week, but fact is, the vocal was incredibly shaky. Diamond certainly looks like a young diva. But that was a rough opening, like she was trying to be too precise. And, again, we’ve got a case of a singer just not quite up to the material she’s been given. No shame in that. That was a heck of a song to be given. Especially at 13. She hit a nice note at the end. Otherwise, that fell well short of diva-ish, regardless of what these suddenly very-easy-to-please judges think. Grade: D+

4. Beatrice Miller: The 13-year-old is going to sing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” And Britney tells her she understands her family’s money problems. Oh, yeah, that’s convincing. Come on, Beatrice! Nail it. Well, Britney did her a favor by picking this song. A much better match of singer and song. And Beatrice’s raspy vocals sounded excellent on it. Liked the little flourish at the end, where she got to sing a really big note. Simon touched on a key point, though: That wasn’t nearly as splashy as many of the performances we’ve seen. Still, I think it was the best so far. Grade: B

5. Lyric 145: Coming off last week’s superb performance, Lyric is doing a mash-up of a Katy Perry song (“ET”) and Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Look, Simon, forget Emblem 3. This group is the real deal. This is the second straight week they’ve chosen music you wouldn’t expect a hip-hop group to perform and twisted it to conform to their style of music. And for the second straight week, they pulled it off. Perhaps not quite as good as last week, but pretty darn impressive. My new favorite of the night. Simon’s right, they brought needed energy to the show. Grade: B+

6. Arin Ray: The guy who finished 11th last week is singing Madonna’s “Crazy for You.” Turn down the scream track, X Factor. It’s beyond annoying. Problem with Arin: There just isn’t anything really unique about him. Not his voice. Not his look. And certainly not the song choice. That vocal just wasn’t special. And that performance WAS boring. For perhaps the first time tonight, most of the judges get it right. Why the heck was he singing Madonna? Oh, Britney picked it. Hmm. Wasn’t she just criticizing the Lyric 145 song choice? Grade: C-

7. Paige Thomas: She’ll sing “Last Dance.” Paige says she’s dedicating it to her mom, who died in a car crash. Like the match of dress and lipstick. Which is about as deep as this blog will ever get in terms of fashion critique. Hmm, Paige wasn’t doing badly at the start of that song. Then she started dancing around and her vocal got completely lost. She came back and delivered a nice glory note. Still not overly impressed with Paige. Grade: C+

8. Fifth Harmony: They’re going to perform Mariah’s “Hero.” These gals have a chance to pull this off. And they did. At least for the most part. Those five just sound so sweet when they sing together. I look forward to hearing that more than them singing individually. Actually, I liked the beginning a little better than the end. Simon is pleading for votes, even reminding the fans that they all love puppies. I’m beginning to think Emblem 3 is the weak link among the groups. Grade: B

9 Carly Rose Sonenclar: Britney has decided she should sing Celine’s “My Heart Will Go On.” Hmm, seems like I heard this already this week. Well, she doesn’t sound as good as Celine. I’m not sure she belted as well as Sylvia Yacoub on The Voice. But Carly Rose sounded pretty darn great for a 13-year-old. L.A. says we might have just seen the winner. I think he’s right. As long as Britney doesn’t screw it up by giving her a bunch of song-and-dance numbers. And Carly Rose is getting well-deserved praise for the performance. She made me forget I didn’t really love the arrangement of the song. Grade: A-

10. Vino Alan: I would have loved to have seen Vino’s expression when he heard this was Diva Week. He’ll sing Tina Turner’s “Let’s Stay Together.” Given the theme, Vino’s probably doing as well as we could expect. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the number one effort L.A. was looking for. But he sounded solid throughout. Simon criticizes the song choice. Which leaves me wondering just what Simon had in mind for a very un-diva-ish singer on Diva Week. Grade: B-

11. Emblem 3: They’ll tackle  “No One.” The guys say they were shocked to finish just sixth after all the great feedback they’ve gotten. Perhaps being called superstars after one good performance was a bit premature, huh, Simon? Don’t know these guys by individual name, but lead vocal on this song is just not very good. They sound much better as a trio. So-so performance. Not one that’s likely to launch them very far up the leader board. And now the bull starts. And, at the end of the day: Another very over-rated performance based on the feedback from the judges. Grade: C

12. Cece Frey: Two weeks of live shows and two weeks of needing a save for Cece. I’m sure she’d like to break that string tonight. She knows the score, saying she’s either “going to go up (in the rankings) or go home.” She’ll sing “All By Myself.” Decent opening. Cue the big note. Cue the wind machine. Cue the emotion. This is a little too much. Actually, Cece seemed to have no problem summoning up emotion. She’s having trouble summoning up a really good vocal. That vocal wasn’t bad enough to send her home on. There were worse tonight (read Diamond White as example 1). But it wasn’t good enough to lift her out of danger of elimination. Grade: C

Summary:

Best of the night: Carly Rose Sonenclar.

Worst of the night: Diamond White.

Most over-rated of the night: Emblem 3.

Least appreciated of the night: Lyric 145.

Should breeze through to the next round: Carly Rose, Lyric, Beatrice, Tate Stevens, Vino Alan, Fifth Harmony.

Should be worried: Diamond White, Arin Ray, Cece Frey, Jennel Garcia (because she performed 2 hours ago and was forgettable).

Yesteday, James and his band released a kick-butt version of “Santa Claus is Back in Town.”

Don’t confuse it with “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

This is an old Elvis tune, recorded way back in 1957.

“We had so much fun playing it that we decided to record it,” James writes in an email to fans.

James also writes that he’s in Nashville, busily working on writing and recording “amazing songs” with producer James Michael for an album he hopes to release in 2013.

“It’s really been a great, humbling experience,” James writes. “This is also the first time that we’ve written as a band (guitarist Blake Bunzel and drummer Jeff Fabb are pictured on the single cover), which has been great.

Here’s a snippet of the “Santa Claus is Back in Town.”

And if a big “WHAT?!?!?” just registered in your mind, you’re not alone.

I mean, let’s pretend I’m a producer on The X Factor and for some insane reason decided to let fate pick my theme.

If I put all the themes from all the singing shows I’ve ever seen on a roulette wheel, gave it a big spin, and it landed on Diva Week, I think my response would be: “Oh, crap.”

I mean, let’s check out The X Factor landscape.

The Overs: Tate Stevens and Vino Alan. Diva Week material?

Hmm, not quite.

The Groups: Fifth Harmony (if they haven’t changed names again), Lyric 145, Emblem 3. Diva Week material?

Read those last two groups again. Recall their past performances. Are you kidding me?

The rest: Beatrice Miller, Jenell Garcia, Diamond White, Paige Thomas, Cece Frey, Arin Rey.

Beatrice doesn’t seem to have a diva bone in her body. Jenell is best when she’s young and fun.

The rest have done nothing to show they’re ready to tackle a big ballad by Whitney, Beyonce, Mariah or Celine.

Diamond tried. Just last week. Result: Train wreck awful.

Of course, I left out Carly Rose Sonenclar, who can probably pull this off. Fifth Harmony, with its wonderful harmonies, might do well, too.

So we have a theme well suited to two of 12 remaining contestants.

Make sense?

Only in X Factor fantasy land.

The two released a five-song EP, “The Best Part,” back on Oct. 29.

It includes a new version of the Grand-Magnolias-sounding “Now That I’ve Found You,” a single Nikki and Paul released a year ago.

And it marks Paul’s first significant music release since finishing eighth on Idol, meeting the Twilight actress at the premiere of “Little Red Riding Hood,” then marrying her in October 2011.

Paul sounds as gravelly-voiced as ever on the EP, singing music more suited to him than most of what he wound up performing on Idol. Nikki has a surprisingly sweet, distinctive sound.

For the most part, Paul takes the lead on vocals, though Nikki is featured prominently on the title track.

As for the best part of the EP, that would be the new version of the 2011 single and the haunting opening track, “Bouquet of Lies (Ghost in Apartment 8).”

Want more Paul and Nikki?

They have a song called “All I’ve Ever Needed” on the Breaking Dawn 2 soundtrack.

And more music is likely on the way, according to what Paul told The Rolling Stone, in a story posted earlier today.

“We’re going to go back in the studio and hopefully do some more songs, because you can’t book a tour with 20 minutes worth of material,” he said.

Check out the interview. Nikki also talks about her “stage fright” as a singer.

And if you want a physical copy of the EP, Paul is offering all sorts of bundle deals on his website.

Now, here’s the video for “Now That I’ve Found You,” which was released earlier this year.

If I’m Adriana Louise or Michaela Paige, I’m more than a little worried about tonight’s episode of The Voice.

A week ago, they were among the more dubious recipients of coaches’ saves, with Adriana chosen over De’Borah and Michaela chosen over Liz Davis.

Last night, they were among the first performers on a two-hour episode or a show where the outcome is based on fan voting, and American Idol history tells us that’s a tricky spot for anyone but the most popular contestants.

Then, today, we learn that neither of their performances charted among the top 200 most downloaded singles on iTunes. The only other artist whose song didn’t chart was frontrunner Amanda Brown.

All of that points to this: Adriana and Michaela are the most likely contestants to head home tonight.

But before we get to the eliminations, we’ll be treated to lots of music tonight.

Christina and Cee Lo will perform “Make the World Move” from her album, which also features a duet with Blake.

Cee Lo and Blake will each take the stage to perform with their remaining singers.

And Jason Aldean (is anyone on Brittany Kerr watch?) will perform his song “The Only Way I Know” with members of Team Christina and Team Adam.

We start off with Cee Lo and Christina and the song from her album, which hit stores today. Interesting spectacle. See that, X Factor folks. You don’t need an enormous stage to put on a big show.

The artists advancing to the Top 10

• Bryan Keith — No surprise there. He’s been consistently good and last night’s “Back to Black” was an iTunes fan favorite.
• Sylvia Yacoub — And that’s well deserved. She chose one of the toughest songs last night and did an excellent job.
• Nicholas David — The guy’s obviously got a bigger fan based than I would have suspected.
• Dez Duron — What? You thought the cutest guy on the stage was heading home on the first round of finals voting? Never happens on these shows.
• Trevin Hunte — After Amanda’s stumble last night, he might be the new favorite to win.
• Cassadee Pope — And she has yet to do her best, which is bad news for everyone above.
• Terry McDermott — Last night was an off performance for the veteran rocker; he’ll be back with better.
• Amanda Brown — Wow, could you tell she was worried that she’d pay big time for last night’s misstep? It was obvious from her expression since the show started.
• Cody Belew — Fantastic! He’s got one of the best voices among the guys and deserved to stay.
• Melanie Martinez — She needed a save but did enough to stay with a very nice song selection of “Cough Syrup.”

As expected Adriana and Michaela depart. Both are loaded with potential.

Michaela showed incredible charisma for a 16-year-old.  Adriana barely performed for three years before The Voice, yet made the Top 12.