If you've watched more than two minutes of season 15 of Fox's American Idol, you definitely know it's the farewell season. They've promoted it with as much subtlety of one of Cher's 17 goodbye tours in hopes to stoking ratings and getting an eleventh hour renewal. Auditions and Hollywood Week tried to wring extra tears from hopeful and heartbroken contenders, their families and even the judges. While it was occasionally effective, it also read as desperately manipulative.

On Thursday, Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner with a voice that sounds like a rainbow-covered bolt of lightning, and a spirit to match, just reminded fans that true musicians just need a a microphone, a piano and an insane amount of bravery to land a sucker-punch to the feels. The extremely pregnant Clarkson performed a stripped down version of "Piece By Piece" with such vulnerability and soul, that the normally upbeat Idol audience was reduced to tears. Judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, Idol contestants were visibly moved as they listened to the ballad about an absentee father.

​Kelly herself even broke down during the last minutes of the song, turning away to compose herself and apologizing to the understanding crowd. She blamed it on being "super pregnant and hormonal" after the audience's lengthy standing ovation.

Watch the performance below and try not to ugly-cry.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday, and you’re either in the midst of planning your Oscar party, indifferent to the awards show obsession or boycotting because of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.  I'm leaning towards avoiding the awards ceremony, save for host Chris Rock's opening monologue, so I've planned a full roster of television to mainline along with a gooey plate of nachos.  

Here are 5 shows to binge-watch on Oscar night...

For the Japril fans waiting on bated breath to find out the status of their favorite couple, your time has come!  This week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy will focus on the Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April’s (Sarah Drew) turbulent relationship following the death of their son and April’s return from overseas. The hour will feature the peaks and valleys from Japril’s rocky marriage through a series of flashbacks. 

The sneak peek below gives us a taste of a hellacious low as April rails at Jackson for serving her with divorce papers at work.  Keen-eyed fans may remember Meredith watching this very fight in the fantastic "The Sound Of Silence" that aired two weeks ago.

Jumpin’ jiggawatts!  This week’s masterful episode of The Flash didn’t exactly go back to the future, and yet the action-packed adventure to a parallel universe had the captivating swagger of a big-screen sci-fi odyssey.  With the versatile cast playing shocking versions of themselves, "Welcome To Earth-2" is a fan-friendly treasure stuffed with gif-able gems.  
 
Here are the best moments from one of the best episodes in Flash’s history...

The 47th NAACP Image Awards, which aired Friday night on TVOne, answered the Oscars exclusion with an awards show that was an inclusive celebration for musicians, actors and activists of color.  Winners and nominees cheered each other on, cracked jokes while presenting and accepting their awards, and passionately and adorably lip-synched to John Legend’s performance.

Small Screen Girl Confession: I hate backdoor pilots.  I can appreciate the brilliance of the concept of using an existing television show to set up a new series, but the execution can be about as clunky as paint mixer. 

However when done well, good backdoor pilots can build a fanbase before the series is even greenlit.  To be successful, they have to do three things:  1. Establish a connection to the original show.  2. Build entertaining and engaging characters that parallel the dynamic of the original heroes.  3. Create situational tension that can drive the series forward. 

I would bet my car that this week’s episode of Supernatural, “Don’t You Forget About Me," is an top secret backdoor pilot.  And if it is, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, lightyears beyond the failed attempt at a spin-off, "Bloodlines."  By integrating characters that were sparingly used throughout the series and taking (huge) suggestions from fans and guest stars Kim Rhodes, Brianna Buckmaster and Kathryn Newton, the show inadvertently created the compelling and kickass women to continue Supernatural’s reign. 

So how does “Don’t You Forget About Me” fare as a backdoor pilot?  Grab your favorite sword, and let’s dive in shall we?