Oh, Lord, how I love American Idol season. The drama behind the scenes is always better than the on-camera dramz!

Up now: A group of former employees of Fremantle Media, which produces the show, have filed a class action suit against Fremantle, alleging that the company systematically overworked employees without paying the required overtime, falsified time cards and denied staffers meals and rest periods.

“There’s no Hollywood glamour for the below-the-line people who work on ‘American Idol’ and other reality shows who are grossly underpaid, worked 24/7 and receive no rest or meal breaks and no health coverage — contrary to California labor laws,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Jonathan Biddle.

The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court strongly resembles a class-action suit against reality companies and broadcasters that recently was settled for $4 million. The earlier suit was launched in conjunction with the Writers Guild of America, which has been going after reality production companies and networks in an attempt to organize the writers who shape the story lines of reality shows.

“For each reality television series subject to this suit, defendants hired plaintiffs based on a flat weekly or daily pay rate,” the suit reads. “Plaintiffs were required to falsify their time cards … worked in excess of 40 hours per week during virtually every week of their employment, but they never received any premium overtime play … plaintiffs were routinely denied appropriate meal and rest periods as required.”

You go get ‘em, kids! If anyone has cash in this economy, it’s the Idol producers!

Jump to read about last night’s American Idol elimination.  Don’t jump if the episode is on your DVR and you haven’t watched yet.

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Someone who hates me gave my kid an American Idol microphone for Christmas a couple years ago.  I keep throwing it away but like the Friday the 13th movies, Jason, as I’ve named the microphone, keeps on fucking returning.  Now, the continuing stream of annoying American Idol merchandise continues.

On April 21st, you will be able to purchase American Idol trading cards.  138 cards will feature the four judges, current and past contestants and if we’re really lucky, Ryan Seacrest.  There will also be six autographed cards randomly placed somewhere in the trillions of packages on the shelves.

Expect lines to wend out the door and around the corner of your local mass merchandise retail store on the release date.  Seriously-can you even control yourself thinking about the possibility of having a pocket Paula that fits right in your wallet?

I’m sorry if this post doesn’t make a lot of sense, I’m way too busy listening to the new Tori Amos track to pay attention to anything else, but apparently some chick staffer over on AI is running around telling every paper who’ll listen that the Top 4 for AmIdol have already been chosen by producers:

The female “AI” worker told a “group of people that the last four are going to be Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert and Alexis Grace,” said our insider. Asked if this was opinion or actual fact, the staffer vehemently retorted, “Those ARE the people,” saying it wasn’t mere speculation.

If it was just her prediction, she’d be spot-on with this week’s TV Guide, which also chose those exact four wanna-be crooners as its picks for stardom.

But the lass took it a step further, claiming that higher-ups at the hit Fox show were taking an issue with two of the top contenders.

“Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds are better singers and musicians than Gokey and Grace, but they’re too much like past winners and ‘A’ successes,” the woman said. “Adam’s too close in style and sound to Chris Daughtry, while Lil Rounds is a dead ringer for Fantasia. Even their background stories are similar!

“The producers really want it to be Danny or Alexis. They think they’re very commercially viable, have a good image and a great story.”

Now, listen, it wouldn’t be like some huge coup if those people were the final four. They’re already easily the front-runners, but I take serious issue with the statement that my gay-man-crush Adam Lambert is even a little bit like Chris Daughtry. OMG they are soooo different. I was never into Chris. But ooooh my sweet Adam. I love it when he’s on stage. My little heart just goes all a-flutter. Plus, I think we’re all counting Allison Iraheta out a little too soon. That girl’s got chops and stage presence, and I think she has a chance to beat out Alexis and Lil as our female front-runner in the end. No one paid any attention to Jordin Sparks at the beginning, either.

Hello, my friends.

I didn’t get a chance to watch American Idol on Tuesday night, so I watched it tonight right before the results show, and I was generally okay with who went home, although not totally thrilled. I want Megan Corkrey GONE. That chick CANNOT SING! She just bops around the stage like a moron. She sang Red Robin for chrissake. She’s only there because she’s pretty.

Also, I know that Adam Lambert is 100% gay, but I still want to have sex with him. I’m sorry. It’s true.

Additional notes: Kanye West isn’t particularly impressive live, and I think they had to build a special stage to accommodate Kelly Clarkson’s ass. Jesus Christ that thing EXPLODED overnight. I mean, she’s always been a big girl, but it’s like, over the course of the past couple of months, every single thing she’s eaten has made base camp in her butt. It is enormous. Still. I love her. I also decided tonight that she is for sure gay. (The video of her performance is above.)

Anywho!

Find out after the jump who got eliminated, and DISCUSS!!!

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Nobody’s better at drumming up business than “adult” companies!

The smartypants at a phone sex company were bright enough to buy 1-866-IDOLS-13, and now the American Idol producers have had to come up with a different phone number for their new 13th contestant. LOL!

Ryan Seacrest dialed the number on his radio show Tuesday morning. Bemused and appalled, the “American Idol” host said it’s as if the show “tried to script some kind of joke.”

Seacrest got producer Megan Michaels on the line, and she explained that Tuesday’s show will unveil a special G-rated number for the 13th performer. The show owns 1-866-IDOLS-01 to 1-866-IDOLS-12.

Said Michaels: “We will not allude to the fact of the 1-3, because we don’t even want to endorse that.”

Too funny! I wonder how many kiddos will end up accidentally talking to a phone sex operator tonight. “Mom … uh … it says I need a credit card number to vote for Danny Gokey. Can I see yours real quick?”

Ha!

If you had any doubts about the Idol Top-12er’s sexuality, they can be put to rest right now.

I have no idea when or where this took place, but it’s a pretty cool video of Adam performing Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” in perhaps the gayest manner imaginable. Truly the only thing missing here is a vibrating plastic fist.

He sure can sing, though!

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