also: no such thing as laundry elves.

gasp! parts of american idol are pre-recorded and martially policed!

>>“At the end of every performance you will stand on your feet.” That is one of the commandments offered by Cory Almeida, the indefatigable warm-up man who exhorts and instructs the audience for 15 minutes before each performance and during the numerous commercial breaks.

For the audience members who stand in the “mosh pit,” the area immediately in front of the stage, special instructions are required. “When you are applauding after a performance, we need your hands above your head,” Mr. Almeida said before a recent Tuesday performance. “Otherwise we can’t see that you’re clapping.” As he spoke other stage technicians offered more individualized guidance to mosh pit enthusiasts, including how to wave their arms from side to side over their heads during slow songs.<<

and attended by bused-in UCLA sorority women!

>>From the placement of local sorority members along camera sight lines to the instructions to the audience members about when to stand and how to wave their hands, “American Idol” is as scripted as a “reality” show dare be. . .

"We sometimes talk about this at rush,” said Courtney Lauwereins, a member from Laguna Beach, Calif. “Join Alpha Phi, and you might get to go to ‘American Idol.’ ”The show, of course, does not just throw a bevy of sorority women in front of the cameras and allow them to cluster as they may. Stage assistants choose specific women and place them where the hand-held cameras will swoop during performances. "<<

eew.