the buzz log

If at first you flame out of one profession, try, try again. That seems to be the mantra behind actress Lindsay Lohan's attempt to go for the gold (or at least bronze) with her new spray-tan line.

Lohan caught buzz recently for her star-turn as Madonna on the pages of Glamour magazine, but she's had less luck on the acting front. Her guest run on "Ugly Betty" was cut short after just four episodes. The actress who once seem headed for greatness (or at least some fun roles, like "Mean Girls") instead headed for rehab, twice, after being arrested for DUIs, twice.

Let's hope LiLo's career picks up, because People magazine actually had to stoop to calling the ad campaign for tanning merch an "exclusive first look." We're not sure whether to laugh or kind of feel bad for both People and Lohan.

But lame product launch or no, there's no stopping the buzzarazzi. Lookups on "lindsay lohan," "lindsay lohan as madonna," "lindsay lohan maxim," and "lindsay lohan rumors" heated up the search box in the last 7 days.

This is not Lohan's first foray into celebu-business. She put out a line of leggings last year. (Yes, you read right, leggings. Tights without feet.) People magazine, which also cheered this endeavor, seemed excited to report on any Lohan news that didn't involve an accident. As one disgusted fan posted, "I mean how hard was it to design dumb leggings?"

True, but your leggings aren't artistically shredded (or cost $100). Designing those probably does take a special perspective. And word has it, they're flying off the shelves, shreds and all. If that's any indication, pretty soon we may all have that Lohan glow.

Filed under: Actors, Lindsay Lohan, Entertainment

The preferred pastime of "Idol" watchers: getting all het up over déjà-vü controversies.

The Fox reality competition goes into audition finals for three nights, but viewers (and searchers) are still arguing over Week Two, when one Joanna Pacitti got her golden ticket in Louisville, Ky. The first red flag—no, make that a flamethrower igniting a curtain of conflict—came when newbie judge Kara DioGuardi actually recognized Ms. Pacitti. As Yahoo! Music reports, turns out that the Kentucky auditioner has had a recording contract, a debut album, and several crooning spots on movie soundtracks like "Legally Blonde" and "Bratz."

Idolers aren't taking this lying down, and Pacitti searches on Yahoo! have been massive, with people delving into her biography, Britney Spears link, the Broadway days, her songs "Watch Me Shine" and "Ultraviolet," and more, um, salacious look-ups. (Welcome to Web fame, JP.)

Her professionalism runs counter to the "Idol" illusion of the Cinderella story: A complete nobody gets plucked to be on center stage via sheer talent and the will of the people. It helps if this nobody has Obstacles To Overcome (so far this season: blindness, homelessness, and taking care of an ill parent). Anyone already dumped by a studio...well, that's secondhand goods, and "Idol" covers the subject of rejects during auditions.

Except of course, the singing competition has allowed second chances before. USA Today calls Pacitti "this season's Carly Smithson--a female powerhouse with a failed major-label album in her past." Besides Smithson, her fellow Season 7 "I had a contract once" finalists included Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook. True, winner David Cook had released a solo independent album before his big "Idol" break, but that doesn't even count as minor league.

By outraged press and blog accounts, Pacitti has had even more breaks (see calculations according to Billboard). Still, as past competition seasons show, second chances don't necessarily pay off in the form of the "Idol" crown.

There are quite a few weeks to go before you bet your bottom dollar on that result. Meanwhile, as Season 8 finishes up auditions this week and monopolizes Fox primetime, here are the top 10 auditioners to catch the buzz this week.

Top Searched "American Idol" Contestants, past 7 days

1. Joanna Pacitti
2. Katrina Darrell
3. Casey Carlson
4. Adam Lambert
5. Michael Castro
6. Raquel Houghton
7. Kai Kalama
8. Tatiana Del Toro
9. Matt Giraud
10. Leneshe Young

In other "Idol" alum news: The two Davids go on tour, but not together, as Cook hits the college circuit and Archuleta eventually plans to go to college ... Kelly Clarkson, AKA the Original Idol, charts another hit and changes searchers' tune from "kelly clarkson fat" to "kelly clarkson new look" ... EW is doing its darndest to promote Season 6 runner-up Melinda Doolittle (whose album comes out Feb. 3) and has her performing in its copy room.

Filed under: American Idol, Music, Entertainment

Hey you guys! You guys from the '70s, especially, who understand that reference: The "Electric Company" — the funky PBS show that tried to teach kids how to read through song and skit — is back.

The original show aired for kids who had outgrown "Sesame Street" but still needed help mastering the silent "e."

Kids these days are still struggling with the rules of English, and so after a three-decade break, the show is back. But aside from the name and the "hey you guys" yell at the beginning, the show has been re-charged for a new generation of kids who are more digerati than literati.

The show centers around a group of kids (teens this time around, not adults of the original) who use reading to outsmart the "Pranksters" gang. There are still cameos from celebs, but instead of a cast that included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Gene Wilder, and Bill Cosby, and songs by satirist Tom Lehrer, you'll see Pete Wentz, Jimmy Fallon, Wyclef Jean, and Ne-Yo.

The new "Electric Company" has a definite hip-hop vibe and even includes a beatboxer to freestyle with the kids.

As the Los Angeles Times points out in its review, "Like everything else in the world, the show is faster, louder and busier, which would not necessarily seem to be the best environment for learning." (For comparison, you can check out archived shows here.)

But literacy rates are stuck at the same level they were in the '70s, when the show first aired, data that inspired the show to make a come-back in the first place. Which led us to ponder: Instead of more TV, why not just read a book?

Filed under: Entertainment