is there any way to always pick the right combination when acting, singing, recording music video, etc.? is there at least a mod or something that makes your chosen sequence correct? or at least makes your chances higher? i know the strategy to pick the same sequence all 3 times and then change it according to director's reaction, but when you only have 2 tries on the later stages success is not really guaranteed.

I think the music recording one is the easiest to work out the correct sequence, but I can't remember it off of the top of my head and I haven't got The Sims 1 installed right now I think it's just judging their reactions is the key

The combination is always different and there is no way to tell which one is correct in the first try. I use the method you described and was lucky enough a few times that the correct combination was consisting of the same choices so I got it right in the first time, but I never tried with plain guessing, because it usually ends badly.
However, you should check out this mod: http://simsky.parsimonious.org/objects/enobj.php Scroll down to Superstar mods. I never tried it myself, but it looks promising.

The sequence is randomly chosen by the game each time you do it. There's no one "right" way to to do it.

Also, the later stages such as music videos usually let it slide if you get at least 2 of the choices correct, mainly because you're more famous and have more starpower.

Hope this helped! Happy simming!

Sorry to bump old threads, but I discovered today that there is a way to guess the sequence before making your selection. There seems to be barely any mention of it on the web, so I figured this was important enough to add to this topic.

Watch the director very closely before the performance. They will tell your Sim exactly how they want them to perform the scene, in the exact order. Using the TV set as an example: If they hunch over and clasp their hands together, they want Suspenseful. If they gesticulate pointedly, they want the scene to be Dramatic. If they laugh, or jump out of their seat, then want to see it done in a Comedic style. There seems to be a few different animations for each choice, so it's still a bit tricky until you learn to recognise what they mean.

I haven't yet tested the other sets, so they may give different cues altogether.