If you're American, you know a-ha -- if you know them at all -- as the purveyors of the bubbly and infectious 1985 synth-pop hit "Take On Me."

Four more contestants were eliminated on American Idol. So this is the Top 12, the performers who get to go on tour and get a shot at a career of some sort.

Half of Idol's women are vulnerable and only two have to go home, with Katie Stevens almost certain to be one of them.

Last night's show began with another godawful lip-synced group performance. The group performances, with 20 folks crowding the stage, invariably have a painful 'Up With People' aura about them.

The women took to the stage and after a very strong Crystal Bowersox, so many of the women crashed and burned that the not-bad women towards the end seemed pretty good in comparison.

The bandmembers of Midlake have finally emerged almost four years after their last CD with The Courage Of Others, a quieter, moodier and genuinely beautiful album.

A good improvement for a number of men this week on American Idol ... but then, so many of them had so much room for improvement.

What began as an off-handed comment by a fan on Facebook has blossomed into a full-blown campaign to replace Simon Cowell with legendary British producer Steve Lillywhite.

American Idol contestants faced their first possible elimination on Thursday night and no wonder so many of them looked freaked: very, very few of them have given performances that stand out.

The judges touted the women but the men on American Idol offered a little more positive news in their first live performances.

Crystal Bowersox was an instant standout from the moment she began singing. She was her own woman, and there was a harmonica break!

One storyline is clear in this season of American Idol: happy thoughts. In the midst of a recession, the producers clearly believe people want to hear good news.

It remains frustrating how little of the performances we actually see. If Lost can launch an entire university online devoted to its backstory, why can't Idol post every single audition that snags a golden ticket?

It's never too late to get a recommendation for great music. So here are my picks for the best albums of 2009.

Imagine what sort of things we might have learned about musical genius freakizoids like Prince, Michael Jackson or Little Richard if they had been inclined to expose themselves on something like Twitter or Facebook.

We're tired of all the superficial, talentless artists the music biz boogeyman is forcing on us.

Classic Crime, a Seattle-based band, inspired by a previous trip to Port-au-Prince are working hard to draw attention and raise money for Haiti with their music.

Ellen. That was the big event of the day for me. How would Ellen Degeneres fit in? Would she get along with the other judges

The danger for young master Jonas is that, as seriously as he takes music, he's on a career carousel that will encourage him to indulge himself as a multi-hyphenate at the cost of being an artist.

The auditions finale for American Idol was both the most entertaining and enjoyable show so far... and the lowest rated at just 20.8 million viewers.

A brisk, well-edited show with 26 winners heard or glimpsed but not one that excited me. Did you think any of the people headed to Hollywood had what it takes to go all the way?

What's fascinating to me about the Gaga phenomenon is the way it pushes the bar past our cynical expectations for a super-glossy, multi-media, over-hyped 21st century pop star.

American Idol finally has a breakout star this season. Unfortunately, it's not an unknown talent but the very popular TV, movie and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris.

Just barely more than one good audition every 15 minutes made this show drag on. And since about 22 people got through to Hollywood, why did so few of them make the cut for air time?