Editor's note: This week's column was packed with good material, so we split it into parts. Don't miss the other half — about Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jillian Michaels and more.

 

“Try shutting down your computer at night. You’ll save an average of $90 a year in electricity charges.” That eco-tip comes from "American Idol" finalist Crystal Bowersox, who competed against "Idol" winner Lee DeWyze in the May 26 finale — also departing judge Simon Cowell’s farewell appearance — on Fox. In Tuesday night’s performance show, Bowersox rocked “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Black Velvet,” and her designated single, “Up to the Mountain.” “It’s an amazing song about getting through tough times and coming out and being OK,” she said, noting that she sang it for “my family, my son, my friends and everything in my life.”

 

DeWyze, who covered “The Boxer,” “Everybody Hurts,” and “Beautiful Day,” declared the judges' perception that he lacked confidence off-base. “If I weren’t confident I wouldn’t be able to do this,” he said. As for his chances, “We did everything we can up to this point. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it, but what can you do? You put everything out there and hope for the best.”

 

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When it comes to running a green home, Sharon Osbourne admits she could do better. “I try and turn the lights out and not let the taps run too long. I’m aware of it. I’m trying,” confides the "America’s Got Talent" judge, who returns for the contest’s fifth season June 1 on NBC.

 

Most recently, Osbourne made it to the semifinals of "The Celebrity Apprentice", which she agreed to do to bring awareness to and raise funds the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. “I’m glad I did it,” she says, of the “very emotional ride,” although “That show brings out the best and worst in you. You learn so much about yourself,” she adds. 

 

Currently developing a TV project with daughter Kelly and a movie about husband Ozzy’s life (she’d like to see either Carey Mulligan or Kelly portray her), Osbourne will be concentrating on her day gig, managing Ozzy’s career and the summer Ozzfest. “I’m going on the road with my husband,” she says. “He's touring for the next 18 months.”

 

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Beth Ostrosky Stern buys organic food — not only for herself and shock jock husband Howard, but also for her English bulldog Bianca. “I steam organic chicken for her and I buy biodegradable doggie bags to pick up her poop,” says Stern, a dog rescue advocate, spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League and the author of a guide for new and prospective dog owners, "Oh My Dog". Starting May 31, the former model teams up with style maven Carson Kressley ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") to host and judge (with Vanessa Minnillo) the second season of ABC’s "True Beauty", in which ten narcissists think they’re competing to be the “Face of Vegas,” when in reality they’re being judged on their inner beauty.

 

“They have a high self-esteem problem,” cracks Kressley (pictured right, with Stern). “We didn’t really have to encourage that but I think Las Vegas provides the perfect backdrop for someone like that to get in even more trouble. It encourages bad behavior,” he says, acknowledging that there are a few contestants “you’ll want to stab with a shoehorn. But some people really surprise you and do the right thing in these hidden challenges.”

 

As for green living, “I consider myself a lazy ecologist,” he says. “I try to buy environmentally friendly products. I try to do what I can.”

 

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“I’m a major recycler. I drive a hybrid, a Ford Escape. I also have a fancy car, but it’s had a cover on it for six months,” says director-producer Adam Shankman, whose side job as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance" resumes with the season premiere of the Fox competition on May 27. He’s excited about format changes that have reduced the number of contestants and brought back top dancers from previous seasons to pair with them. “They’ll make the kids work much harder,” notes Shankman, who has "Step Up 3-D" due Aug. 6 and more than a dozen movies in development including a remake of "Bye Bye Birdie".