Alex Lambert continues to work toward his dream of making it as a singer. The Top 24 castoff, who was invited to join Simon Fuller's Web reality show "If I Can Dream" shortly after his "American Idol" elimination, had his first real gig on Wednesday night at The Mint. Sharing the bill with "Dream" housemate Justin Gaston, Alex's short set included a soulful rendition of his original song, "Butterflies," as well as a few covers, among them: Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," which he played to a packed house.

Afterwords, we sat down with the North Richland Hills, Texas, native for a quick chat about the performance, his musical plans for the future and who's going to win "Idol." Plus, Alex clarifies a comment he made about Crystal at the May 13 Young Hollywood Awards.     

-- Shirley Halperin

Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter

 

As fun as it was to have dinner with Siobhan Magnus and the "If I Can Dream" crew (including her Top 24 bud Alex Lambert), the experience was also bittersweet because it felt like a goodbye. Sure, she had been eliminated on "American Idol" two days prior, but knowing a hang was scheduled for Friday night, it was easy to put off the inevitable. But there was no avoiding it once this dinner and Twitter Q&A session were over.

Nevertheless, we tried to make the most of our time with Siobhan, who was adorably charming in every way -- but we already knew that from watching her on the show. So what did we learn about Massachusetts' first Top 10 contender and the crazy three months she'd just experienced? Plenty.

Starting with the song she was planning on performing for next week's Frank Sinatra theme: the Sid Vicious version of "My Way." How much would that have rocked? Or not.

Siobhan also revealed what happened with the ill-fated "teen Idols" episode. It turned out the list

As has become a Friday tradition, we spent the evening having dinner with the week’s eliminated “American Idol” contestant at the “If I Can Dream” house. Only on this go-round, there were two of them. Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia joined the Dreamers, which now include former Top 24 contender Alex Lambert, for taco night, filling them in on “Idol’s” early mornings and jam-packed days, which were especially rough on 17-year-old Katie, who had to attend school at the same time.

We all learned a lot about the process (like how individual contestants get only 15 minutes with the mentor!), and about these hopefuls, who’ve survived every form of critique -- good and bad -- in their two-plus months of competition.

Katie revealed that she went up to Simon Cowell after her Elvis-week performance to say, “Sorry if I was being annoying.” His response? “It wasn’t you; it was the song." You have to admire Katie’s tenacity, something that didn’t always come through on the show -- and didn’t get her to pick up an acoustic guitar, which she also handles quite well. “I was too scared to mess up,” Katie said of opting not to play one on the show (bringing to mind one theory bandied about: Lose the guitar and you’ll also lose the judges’ confidence and the viewers’ votes). That will change on tour, added the Middlebury, Conn., native who taught herself to play the six-string and piano. “I'm gonna play ‘Let It Be,’ on tour,” she said.

Katie has other talents as well: like reciting the movie “Dumb and Dumber” from beginning to end and drawing, though her version of a dinosaur on our “La-La Land” questionnaire had us wondering about the story behind it. “During Top 24, I drew animal representations of all the contestants,” she explained (Aaron Kelly was a porcupine, Crystal Bowersox a shaggy dog, Michael Lynch a teddy bear, Alex Lambert a meerkat). “So I thought I’d just draw you a cartoon for fun.” Something Katie doesn’t find very fun, however, is proving to people that her long hair is not a weave. In fact, she made us tug at it! And yes, we can attest -- it’s the real deal.

For his part, Andrew says he plans to marry his longtime girlfriend just as soon as he can. Ditto for making an album, and that a collaboration with his homie Lee DeWyze is not out of the question. And Alex seems to be settling into the “Dream” house nicely. As the producers promised, he’s been working with songwriters and taking vocal lessons. “I’m learning to hit notes I was never able to hit,” he says.

Read on for more from the former Idols via their Twitter Q&A…

Who was your favorite mentor and why?

Andrew Garcia: My favorite was Usher. He was awesome. He was really with me and gave me a lot of stuff to help me get up and do what I did.

Katie Stevens: My favorite mentor was Adam [Lambert] because he was on the show so he kind of knew what we were going through and was able to give us feedback on that. 

Continuing Idol Tracker's weekly series, Top 9 contestant Katie Stevens reflects on her time in "La-La Land." The 17-year-old Connecticut native, who claims she's never had a tan, was clearly in awe of our fair city and its nonstop sunshine. She also fills us in on what the "American Idol" judges are like up-close (Randy Jackson has "really awesome sweaters" and "teeth that sparkle;" Kara DioGuardi is "even more beautiful" than she is on camera) and draws us a peculiar creature: Robertasoraus, the Herbivore (we'll have to ask Katie about that later at the "If I Can Dream" house). Page 2 of her questionnaire after the jump...

-- Shirley Halperin

Photo credit: Frank Micelotta / Fox

Wednesday night at the "Idol"-dome wasn't quite as manic as Tuesday's show, at least where Ryan Seacrest was concerned. On the other hand, Adam Lambert's performance did have the studio audience jumping out of their seats. All the off-camera action (and a few behind-the-scenes tidbits) in our minute-by-minute breakdown....

5:55 p.m. Season 5 Top 3 placer Elliott Yamin enters the studio wearing a bright pink button-down and shades. It seems like we run into Elliott almost every day! But it's always nice to see him back in the "Idol" studio.

5:56 Simon Cowell's mom -- or mum -- enters the studio with the help of a gentle minder. She seems like a lovely lady, and it's always a kick to see her climb into a giant black Rolls Royce after the show, carrying a Marks & Spencer bag in lieu of a pocketbook. Maybe that's how Simon amassed all that wealth -- his mother taught him to be thrifty!    

5:57 Kara DioGuardi is the first judge to make an entrance, looking foxy in tight jeans and with her hair pulled back. Ellen DeGeneres is not far behind, also in jeans. Ditto for Randy Jackson some 30 seconds later. Was it denim day? 

5:58 The Top 9 is shuttled out to the stage and all scatter to find their positions. 

5:59 With 30 seconds until showtime, Simon enters briskly and heads straight to Ellen for a hug.

6:00 Ryan makes his way to the top of the set for his "This.... is American Idol" intro, but it's when he first mentions Adam Lambert's performance that the place goes absolutely bonkers.  With just as many Adam signs as banners of support for the contestants, it's no wonder the comparisons between seasons 8 and 9 have been so harsh.

6:03 Time for a group number, and by this point, a little "Viva Las Vegas" seems long overdue. Ryan slaps Simon's hand at the start, then settles in to watch the the guys climb down "the death stairs," as they're lovingly referred to in the "Idol" studio.

6:05 Midway through the "Teddy Bear" portion of the Elvis medley, it looks like the group is starting to come apart as the giggles get the best of Crystal Bowersox and Tim Urban.

6:06 Big Mike takes Crystal on a mid-medley dip -- impressive! The judges look scared.

6:07 Kara really seemed to enjoy that number, while Crystal looks wiped and leans on Big Mike for a small post-performance rest.

6:08 The Idols all chuck their microphones in a box and head to the couches. It's the first commercial break, and the judges exit for a brief breather. Meanwhile, Ryan walks over to the Idols, hand-slaps every single one and wishes them good luck. Siobhan Magnus is getting a little hair touch-up, while Mike is buffed for a little less shine. Water is handed out to all. 

6:10 Ford commercial time, and at least one person in the studio audience is absolutely shocked that a Polyphonic Spree song would be used as the soundtrack.

6:11 Surveying the couch positions, it's clear that Andrew Garcia is in trouble (the end of the sofa is usually where you don't want to sit).

6:12 Not feeling Casey James' hair, or as TV Guide's Shawna Malcom described it, his "Jessica Simpson" look. Couldn't agree more! Fortunately, the hair department will have another chance to get it right next week. The judges and everyone on the couches are paying very close attention.

6:13 Andrew's girlfriend looks like she's ready to leap out of her chair as Ryan recaps the judges' comments. And... it's bad news for Andrew.

6:16 Tim sprints over to center-stage for a bro hug with Andrew. Meanwhile, the real other half of this bromance, Lee DeWyze, already looks lost as he circles the perimeter of the group hug.

6:17 All four judges come up to the stage to say goodbye to Andrew during the commercial break. Kara takes a little extra time, going so far as to hold his cheeks while presumably offering words of support and encouragement.

 
In the black-and-white flashback to last night's show that kicked off tonight's elimination edition of "American Idol," Adam Lambert noted, with a snap, "If you want to win this competition, you've got to wake up."

Despite Lambert's best efforts at boosting the energy on the "Idol" stage tonight -- and darned if he didn't give it his all with a high-octane, laser-enhanced version of his hit "Whataya Want From Me," prompting Ryan Seacrest to remark afterward, "Now that's a performance. Wow!" -- all that last season's "Idol" glam king could accomplish here was to showcase how sleepy things were looking with this year's contestants tonight. Even the reportedly over-caffeinated Seacrest failed to liven things up with the peculiar antics he's lately adopted as his trademark.

In an oddly paced double-elimination round that seemed both strangely sudden and awfully attenuated, the audience endured what may have been the cheesiest "Idol" group number yet, plus Season 7's Brooke White and "If I Can Dream" star Justin Gaston belted out a duet they pulled together in a week, and two of this year's contestants were sent home.

And the non-winners were …

 

In keeping with season 9's tradition of "American Idol" alumni performing on results night, Wednesday's show will not only feature last year's runner-up Adam Lambert, but season 7's fifth-place finisher, Brooke White, will make an appearance, dueting with "If I Can Dream" star Justin Gaston. 

We got to see a bit of their rehearsal on Sunday afternoon as "Idol" musical director Ricky Minor popped in to check up on the two, who'll be singing the title to Justin's show, Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream."

It's not the first time the 1968 comeback-special favorite has been heard on "Idol." Some may recall that on 2007's "Idol Gives Back," Celine Dion performed a much ballyhooed duet of the song with a hologram of Elvis (though Brooke had completely forgotten about it until she found the performance on YouTube).

"I was familiar-ish with the song," Brooke said of the phone call she first received asking if she'd be interested in singing with Justin. "Anytime someone asks me to sing for 20 million people, I'm OK with it, but [the song] does carry a really great, powerful message."

It'll be Brooke's second time back on the "Idol" stage. She performed her own song "Hold Up My Heart" last February (see the "American Idol Extra" version here), but that doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking. "It's a mixed bag of feelings," Brooke said. "The [studio] is a very anxiety-ridden place, but it's also a wonderful place. Last year, I got really nervous, then the second I set foot in the building and I saw familiar faces, I felt at ease -- like I was among friends."

Juggling her time between writing new songs for a second album (which, she says, have been sounding "a little country" of late) and launching "The Girls With Glasses," an online talk show geared at "smart girls," Brooke says that even though she'll meet all the contestants on Wednesday, she hasn't been able to keep up with season 9 as much as she'd like to, so her mom fills her in. "I've heard it's quite the season of the singer-songwriter," she said. "Like there's a lot of guitars and pianos up there, which makes me happy to know. ... I'm excited to meet them!"

As the first female contestant to play an instrument on stage, she takes exceptional pride in having opened the door to the likes of Crystal Bowersox and Didi Benami. So why has it been so difficult for girls to advance to the final stages these last few years? "In our season, we also had the overwhelming feeling that it was a boys season," Brooke said. "It was like, there was nothing we could do. We could tell just by fan mail. These young girls, and maybe now with the addition of texting, it's like a generation has the controls, and if you've got a good look and you're a charismatic musical guy up there, that's hard to beat when your audience is likely predominantly female." Even Brooke's mom is guilty. "She said her favorite was Casey James," Brooke said. "She loves him, and she really liked his performance of 'Jealous Guy.'"

Speaking of jealousy, we had to ask Brooke about the dinner she had with season 7's dueling Davids (Cook and Archuleta) last Thursday night, captured for all the Internet to see in a series of tweets and twitpics (one titled "David sandwich"). What kind of conversation went down at Sherman Oaks Mexican eatery Casa Vega? "We talked about so many different things," Brooke said. "Our new records; I listened to some of Cook's new demos, which sound great. He's written so much, like 30 or 40 songs! We were telling stories, like this one about the stinky quarter, long story. ... We reminisced a little bit, about different moments on the show that were funny. It always feels good to be back with them. I just love these people. That thing we all went through together, which was pretty life-changing, crazy and hard and exciting -- we'll always have that bond."

-- Shirley Halperin

Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter

Upper photo: Brooke White and Justin Gaston pose following their rehearsal. Credit: Lisa Rose / Zuma Press

Lower photo: "American Idol" musical director Ricky Minor helps fine-tune White's and Gaston's "If I Can Dream" duet. Credit: Lisa Rose / Zuma Press

You could say it was open mic night at the "If I Can Dream" studio Thursday as "American Idol" castoff Alex Lambert and his "Dream" housemate Justin Gaston performed a mini-set of acoustic covers for an online audience. The two joined vocal forces for "Let It Be," and Alex also took on "Heartbreak Hotel," "Lean On Me" and Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds." Check out Alex's version of the reggae classic below...

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It's not every day you get to witness the start of a new life. We're not talking "Special Delivery" jargon here, but rather a second chance to see your dream come true, no matter how far-fetched it may have seemed a year, a month or even a week ago. 

That was the prevailing emotion felt by all who were present when "American Idol" Top 24 castoff Alex Lambert entered his new home high atop the Hollywood Hills. Joining the cast of the Web reality show "If I Can Dream" as the sixth, well, dreamer, 19-year-old Alex was greeted by his new roommates, Justin Gaston, Giglianne Braga, Kara Kilmer, Amanda Phillips and Ben Elliott, with open arms. Although the conversation was a tad awkward at first (in the dreamers' defense, there were more than a handful of observers, yours truly included, just milling about, and staring), once Alex got the guitar out and delivered a bit of that blue-eyed soul, everybody relaxed and settled in.

We spoke to Alex shortly after his arrival, as he was still familiarizing himself with his bedroom and its "1,000 pillows." Indeed, for a guy who shared his last apartment in North Richland Hills, Texas, with his grown brothers, it was a shock that went way beyond culture. And, of course, there was the awe of walking into a cavernous modern manse. Read on for our Q&A.

Listening to you play here in the house, it's easy to see that you could have won "American Idol."

You think so? I don't know about winning. I think I could've gone a lot farther than I did. A few people have said [so], but I'm not sure if I could have won the show. There's a lot of good people there. ... I know this may sound bad for "Idol," but I feel like it's really good that I got eliminated when I did. I wish I could've stayed on the show, and showed everyone what I can do and really break out of my shell like I said I wanted to, but everything happens for a reason and it was probably the best time I could've gotten eliminated. That's how I feel; I always look on the positive side.

What was it like to go home after "Idol"?

Going home was probably the worst thing I've ever done in a while because I'd gotten so used to being in L.A. I love California now, and when I got sent home, I didn't really know what to do. Because I'm like a newcomer in the sense that I've never really done anything with my music before. I didn't really know what to do or who to talk to. All I was doing was writing lyrics and getting a set together to go play shows. So going home kind of sucked. 

What did you do on your first day back?

I had to go hang out with all my friends. The first day, my friends threw a party for me and that was fun. It was supposed to be just me and my friends, but it eventually ended up being everyone, like, in the whole town.

We'll be joining Alex Lambert later as he moves into the "If I Can Dream" house. But here's a little preview of the former "American Idol" contestant's new life in Hollywood via his own vlog on Hulu's "Dream" page. Enjoy!

-- Shirley Halperin

Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter