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Pity poor Jennifer Lopez. American Idol‘s Season 11 Hollywood Week proved so grueling for the Gigli star that she was forced to abandon her standard-operating spangled culottes and midriff-baring blouse and don a fluffy gray bathrobe for the annual “Holding Rooms of Doom” portion of the competition. Was J.Lo feverish, the latest victim of human petri dish Amy “Tent Dweller” Brumfield? Did she swaddle herself in cushy fabric to soothe her aching joints from the full-scale assault of hollering and caterwauling that occurred during Hollywood’s final solo round? Or was she simply trying to prepare us all for...

American Idol has promised four hours of performances this week, so if we're going to make it through all of them, we better get started with the first two. Here goes nothing, y'all.

It's Group Night. Last minute practice sessions are happening all over the inside and outside of the convention center. These contestants seem like the most unprepared groups in recent history and their performances back me up on that. Lady cop says she'd never go through this again if she had to. If we're lucky, she'll only have to do this once and that's all we'll ever see of Alisha Bernhardt and her F-bomb dropping ways.

It's also Solo Performance night. With musical accompaniment.

The Bettys are up first. Last week's episode showed some serious instability in this all-female group, as three of the five ladies headed off to bed while Brianna Bell and Jennifer Malsch stayed awake to practice.

"Last night dreams came crashing down," says Ryan's opening monologue. So did Symone Black and tonight we'll learn her outcome, hopefully sooner than later. Ryan promises that this night, Round Two, aka "Group Round," will be brutal.

Bring it on, American Idol. We're ready.

After Symone's fall from grace, the atmosphere in the Kodak Theater turned serious (as it should have) and the judges eliminated three of the contestants from that group, including Lauren Mink and Ethan Jones who both say they're lucky to be going back to the people who love them.

Symone, meanwhile, moves on to Group Round. Except she doesn't know it yet because she's at the hospital with her dad.

With that, Round One is done. There's singing and laughing in the holding room as many of the remaining 185 hopefuls join around a piano for a rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Sure, they're friends now,...

Amy Brumfield spreads a nasty bug, while Richie Law, Brielle Von Hugel and Brianna-Marie Bell fight for the title of Drama Queen.

By Adam Graham

Group auditions begin on "American Idol"

Photo: Fox

Group Night Drama took hold of "American Idol" on Thursday (February 9). The whole episode, in fact, zeroed in on the Drama — the infighting, the personality clashes, the late-night bleary eyes — and didn't make any time for actual, you know, singing.

Luckily, there were enough distractions to keep things interesting. A mean sick bug seemed to be going around with the contestants, and Patient Zero was Amy Brumfield, whom you remember as Tent Girl, or the girl who lives in a tent in the woods in Tennessee. Brumfield was down and out for most of the episode, battling flu-like symptoms, while those she came in contact with were also given a mean case of the pukes. Lesson:...

Everett Can kids get by without TV?

Will my kids be dorks without TV? How did Japan celebrate its soccer victory in the Women’s World Cup? And did that guy who caught Jeter’s 3000th hit make the right decision in giving the ball back? A look at some of the m0st interesting posts from the Wall Street Journal blogs.

Will My Kids Be Dorks Without TV?: There’s a theory that kids need to be bored sometimes,...