New Season Brings New Controversy and Social Networking for Idol Contestants

The addition of Ellen to the judges panel is not the only change for American Idol this year--for the first time in Idol history contestants are allowed to have profiles on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook. In the previous eight seasons social networking was banned for contestants and any pre-existing profiles were deleted before contestants became part of the show.

Now all of the top 24 Idol contestants have been given profiles on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook. All of their profiles were created by Fox and it is not clear what the exact rules for the profiles will be. If you want to keep up with your favorite contestants online you can find a complete list of all of their online profiles here.

This season may have added online profiles, but it did not loose any of its drama and controversy. Chris Golightly, who called himself an orphan when we were first introduced to him on the show, has been kicked out of the top 24 and replaced by Tim Urban.

“It has been determined that Chris Golightly is ineligible to continue in the competition,” a press release from FOX said. “American Idol contestant Tim Urban has replaced Golightly as part of the Top 24.”

Fox has not given the reason why Golightly was taken out of the competition. Another contestant Michael "Big Mike" Lynch was also reportedly booted from the show in late January because his father broke the show's rules of confidentiality by talking to a Florida newspaper. However last night the top 24 was revealed and Lynch's profile is currently still up on American Idol's website.

And on an unrelated Idol note, last night was the first time in six years that Idol did not have the top ratings for its night, instead NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics took the top spot.

Chris Brown Quits Twitter

Over the past few days, rapper Chris Brown has been using Twitter to rant that his new CD, Graffiti, isn't available in some major stores - Walmart in particular. He showered his followers with such eloquence as, ""im tired of this s***. major stores r blackballing my cd. not stockin the shelves and lying to costumers. what the f*** do i gotta do," and later adding, "yeah i said it and i aint retracting s***. im not biting my tongue about s else..."

Now, days later, it seems that Brown decided that "retracting" these statements was probably a good idea, as his Twitter account has now disappeared, going the route of Miley Cyrus. He had claimed that he visited a Walmart in Connecticut and that the store didn't have his albums on the shelves or stored in the back. However, that particular Walmart has made a statement that they are, in fact, carrying the album - and so are the majority of Walmart stores. Looks like somebody spoke too soon, and decided to quit the microblogging site before he could dig his own grave any deeper.

Miley Cyrus Leaves Twitter

Don't bother searching for @MileyCyrus on Twitter anymore because the teen star has deleted her Twitter account. Apparently Miley's decision to leave Twitter has something to do with her The Last Song co-star and rumored love interest Liam Hemsworth.

Her final tweet read, "FYI Liam doesn't have a Twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason." A few minutes after the tweet was posted her page was gone.

Miley was always one for posting a lot of drama on Twitter, but not anymore. Her mom's Twitter is also gone, but sister Brandi and brother Trace are still tweeting. However even though the Hannah Montana star left Twitter, her fans are trying to get her to come back. One of the current trending topics on Twitter is #mileycomeback.

Dave Chappelle Returns

It's been a few years since Dave Chappelle abruptly left the stage (literally) and left his blindingly popular Chappelle Show to do some soul searching.

David apparently planned on doing a short monologue at Portland Oregon's Pioneer Square July 14th but due to the beauty of Twitter, the buzz drew too large a crowd. Dave apologetically called his stage performance short and left the crowd wishing they had more. Below is a poor quality video on YouTube capturing the event.

Twitter TV

Already thought Twitter took up enough of your time? Well think again because Twitter is coming to TV. Novelist Amy Ephron along with producers Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment Partners are teaming up to create a Twitter based unscripted TV show.

On the show people compete against each other in a way that is similar to a scavenger hunt by following celebrities on Twitter. Just combine reality TV, Twitter and celebrities and you have a new TV show! But combining things that everyone loves does not always lead to a hit.

PCM Is Twittering!

BIG NEWS: FOLLOW POP CULTURE MADNESS.COM ON TWITTER!

Follow us on Twitter - we've joined the craze! Welcome us and let's tweet together! We may not have CNN or Ashton Kutcher status yet but we'll get there!

http://twitter.com/PCMTweet

Live Chat with Demi Lovato Tomorrow!

Want to chat with Demi Lovato? The pop songstress will talk to fans tomorrow via a live webcast on USTREAM TV! Tune in tomorrow, April 14th, at 5:45pm PST to get some face time with the “Sonny With a Chance” star and find out what she has coming up in the next few months. Demi has been pretty Twitter obsessed these days, so a Twitter.com account will be required to take part in the chat.

Head over to Amazon to grab the new Don’t Forget Deluxe Edition today.