Separated At Birth?

Is it just us? During Girls night my husband said, "Doesn't she look like Barf from Spaceballs?" And she does.


x

Eight Down, Sixteen To Go

So, the results are in and I was pretty surprised. After another embarrassingly uncomfortable musical number Ryan settled down to the business of crushing people's dreams.

Happily for us all, Jason Yeager was given the boot and hard last night. My husband and I were laughing so hard at his little goodbye video when he said, "I hope this works out because I will never hold down a 9 to 5 job." And then they ask Simon should he continue trying to make it in the "industry." Are you kidding me? Dude, go get a job at a grocery store or cell phone kiosk because you are NEVER going to be a famous singer. Give it up and do some actual work to put food in your child's mouth. It's over.

I did have a scary moment for a second when I thought Jason Castro might be eliminated. I seriously love Dreadlock Guy. I know he won't win this thing, but I want to see what he does the next few weeks.

Poor Danny Noriega, he gets so upset during the elimination episode. Every time he finds out he's safe his little eyes get so big and you know he's thinking that it should have been him.

But then, instead of Luke Menard, Robbie got sent home. I was surprised only because his performance wasn't that bad. Luke's was definitely worse. I guess people are just absolutely sick of that scarf headed poseur. Seriously, it's 2008. It's not cool to look like Brett Michaels little brother.

I am happy that Michael Johns was safe, because he didn't do great this week. Please please let him knock us out with something next week.

I was very surprised by the girls results. I gues Vote For The Worst must be doing a bang up job because Amanda Overmyer was safe this week. I though for sure that she was gone after that horrible rendition of Wayward Son. I really hope that she takes this opportunity to do a better job next week. Pick a better song and for Pete's sake do not wear chaps. At least her hair looked a bit better last night. She had some extensions and it was pulled off of her face. But they need to get a colorist down there STAT.

Instead of Amanda it was Alexandrea Lushington getting the shove off last night. I have to say it really did surprise me. She wasn't that bad. I think she was out of her league vocally, but so have many other Idol finalists. I guess she just didn't connect enough to get people voting.

And the other shocker was poor little Alaina sobbing her heart out after she was sent home. And Kady Malloy gets to stay after that absolutely atrocious performance. I can't believe that. I don't love Alaina but she was better than Kady. At least that tool Ryan gave Alaina the choice to sing or not because she was so emotional.

Next week should be interesting.

And I did eat my hat this morning. Well, not my hat, but one of my hubby's old baseball caps. It was gross.

Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!

I don't know where Vote For The Worst gets their info but according to them the top 12 contestants will be performing Beatles songs. I may have to stab myself in the ear. I am seriously considering skipping that show. Otherwise some of my all time favorite songs will be ruined forever. Who authorized this travesty? I see Yoko Ono all over this. Oh my god, I am breaking out in a cold sweat. I can only pray to sweet Jesus that someone has been misinformed.

Amanda Overmyer Busted For DUI

I found this on Vote For The Worst, it was actually broken by TMZ. Amanda Overmyer was arrested for DUI in October 2006. The pic above is her booking photo. The shocking thing is that the mug shot shows she has had that hair style for at least two years. She has deliberately maintained that hideous two-toned 'do for years. Someone get Stacey London on the phone.

Who Will Go Home Tonight?

Tonight there seem to be some pretty clear cut losers. I will eat my hat if Kady Malloy and Jason Yeager don't get sent home. The other guy has to be Luke Menard. As for the other girl, my guess is Amanda Overmyer. She is interesting, but she did everything she possibly could to alienate viewers. So again, here's my list:

Jason Yeager
Luke Menard
Kady Malloy
Amanda Overmyer

Right?

EW does a great Idol recap, check out today's here. Michael Slezak says that Alaina Whittaker is Skipper to Kristy Lee Cook's Barbie. That gave me a little giggle. Check it out, it's really good.

Top Ten Girls - What A Mess

What to say about last nights performances? Once again, the only word that comes to mind is crap. Total crap. Carly Smithson did great with her heart song but almost everyone else completely sucked. Kristy Lee Cook was actually much better this week, she did pretty good by Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good." She looked so much better also, without the tons of eye makeup and false lashes. Brooke White charmed the judges with "You're So Vain," which was a great song choice for her, and she is a really likeable contestant, but I didn't feel like she sang it as well as the judges thought she did.

In the What Was She Thinking Category, Amanda Overmyer sang Kansas, and not well. I was actually proud of Paula for doing something that was pretty uncomfortable but necessary, telling Overmyer to tone down the hair and makeup. Seriously, it's just too much with the eyeliner, the bride of frankenstein hair, and the chaps. She looks 15 years older than she is. It may not matter in this competition though, because she will probably go home tonight. It's too bad, because she is an interesting aspect to this season, but she just can't let go of that "I'm a rocker" thing long enough to make a sensible song choice. How great would she have done at some Eagles? Hotel CA or New Kid in Town. Or, even some Aretha Franklin, you know, mix it up a bit. Oh well.

Kady Malloy will also get her walking papers tonight. She also sang Heart, but was never once on key. It was so very very bad. And she is just not an engaging or likable contestant. I seriously hope this is the end for her.

Syesha Mercado also made a terrible song choice. She sang Me and Mrs. Jones, but changed the pronoun and sang it about Mr. Jones. So irritating. It really rubbed the judges wrong, and I'm sure many voters felt the same way I did. It wasn't cute. I like her, but come on.

Alaina Whittaker actually sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Like, she's probably seen Grease 100 times and it's like her favorite song and she was like so excited to sing it. Well, she like, sucked. She can sing, no doubt, but why why why would you sing a song from Grease? Find a great song from the 70's and sing it. How hard can that be? It just shows how young she is.

And here's a tip for Asia'h Epperson and all the female contestants: DO NOT SING WHITNEY, CELINE OR MARIAH. Just don't. Don't these contestants ever learn? You cannot sing as good as they do and no matter what you will suffer in comparison. Epperson closed the show with "All By Myself" which has been done by both Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. The song was way too much for her and she and her ridiculous hair extensions got spanked by the judges.

As for Alexandrea and Ramiele: Eh. That's it. Eh. Not good, not bad.

Next week should be good for some laughs since it's gotta be 80's week. Can't wait.

Top Ten Guys - It's 70's Week

Well, I am sure everyone is talking about David Archuleta today. The guy basically won the whole thing last night with his version of John Lennon's Imagine. I mean, you almost wish they would just give it to him and send everyone else home. Almost. Because there is always the chance that the kid will really screw one up at some point in the competition, which would be horrible and wonderful all at the same time. Anyway, last night's performances were better overall than last week's. It's just that everything paled in comparison to Archuleta's amazing performance and humble acceptance of the judges accolades.

Here are the rest of my critiques in order of best to crap:

Chikezie: Sang "I Believe to my Soul." Complete turnaround from last week. I loved it, he did a fabulous job.

Jason Castro: Sang the Bee Gee's "I Just Wanna Be Your Everything." Maybe that's an Andy Gibb song, not a Bee Gee's. Anyway, I really liked it. The judges tore him a new one, but I thought it was pretty good. I really like him a lot and of all the contestants he seems the most authentic. And his eyes are beautiful.

Michael Johns: Gave us some Fleetwood Mac. He's in my top three (after D.A.) just because I still love him, but he has got to step it up a bit. He did such a good soul song at his San Diego audition, belting out Otis Redding, that it makes me wonder why he wouldn't choose something more along thos lines. For Pete's sake, the seventies were chock full of of groovy souls songs. I like Fleetwood Mac as much as the next person, but he really didn't do himself any favors with that song.

David Cook: "All Right Now." It actually was all right now. He was kind of cute and I liked him with the guitar.

David Hernandez: "Papa Was A Rolling Stone." Well, I have to give the guy some credit. He can sing, he does stay in key. I just don't like him or his voice.

Danny Noriega: This guy is actually starting to rub off on me a little. His performance of "Superstar" was so much better than last week's Elvis mess, and he actually got some props from Simon. They're going to have to change their focus at Vote For The Worst if this keeps up.

Robbie Carrico: Really, who cares?

Luke Menard and Jason Yeager: It's a tie between these two crapsters this week. I hope Jason has his bags packed because he is outta there this week. His Doobie Brother's was horrible and his dance moves made me vomit. Luke ruined one of my favorite Queen songs. I will never again be able to hear "Killer Queen" without a little shiver of disgust. It was atrocious. He is good looking for sure, but just so blah. And he is in some sort of traveling singing group so I guess he can sing good sometimes, maybe just not on this show.


So it seems like there are some clear frontrunners among the boys. I just really hope that MJ does better next week. I guess it will be 80's week next week, which can bode no good. Lots of Pat Benatar and Whitney Houston.

Also, Vote For The Worst has a leaked list of what the girls are singing tonight. If it's accurate there looks to be a great mix of good and crap.

Garrett Haley Forced To Sing Awful Song

Garret Haley told Entertainment Tonight that he was forced by producers to sing that horrible song last week. Here is the quote:

"We are allowed to choose three songs from a list," he tells reporters. "Every contestant is for sure to get one of the songs; I didn't get any of my songs, because they had given them out to all the contestants before that, so I just ended up with having to choose from the list again. I didn't get to choose. They threw the song at me and said, 'Sing this one.' I took what I got and I did what I could with it. It is hard to make a ballad song pop out at the beginning. I did the best I could and I am happy with what I did."

That sucks. I hated his performance and couldn't stand looking at his wan face and fluffy hair, but now I am forced to wonder if he might have done better with another song of his own choosing.

J Lo Exclusive!

After about four years of pregnancy Jennifer Lopez has finally squeezed out those damn babies. I swear to god her gestational period was longer than an elephants. What are the odds these two crackheads will name the babies Jennifer and Marc Jr.?

Here are the first pics of the twin babies:

Weird

This is kind of odd. The last two put on the show are the are the last two kicked off in the first round. Well, it's not as cool as I type it as it was in my head. But it's got a nice symmetry to it.

Check out I'm Bringing Blogging Back for a hilarious minute by minute recap of the results show.

Four Down, Nineteen To Go

First thing I noticed was Michael Johns hair cut. He is looking HOT.

Ok, are The 60's getting advertising dollars from American Idol, because they are just running it into the ground. I really hate the group singing numbers that they put together, and the one tonight is one of the worst they've ever done. The mod outfits on the girls are just too over done. Some of the more legit contestants must feel like total idiots doing that choreography.

Anyway, they have to fill the whole time slot before they kick people off so they played Paula and Randy's new "video." I had enough of this at the Superbowl. Paula is just recycling dance moves from her "Opposites Attract" video from 1988, who cares. And who else is on Randy's album anyway? Never mind, I don't care.

Then Ryan brings Garrett Haley up to the stage and without any preamble or separating the guys into groups, nothing at all to soften the blow, says "You're going home." Ryan is such a douche. I know the producers make him do it, but he takes such obvious glee in crushing the souls of these contestants. Not that I wasn't happy to see Leif Frampton and his cloud of hair depart. I really couldn't watch another week of that. How did they get that hat to stay on his head?

Then Amy Davis got the old heave ho, no surprise there at all, and Joanne Borgella. I'm a bit disappointed about Joanne, I know she could have done better than she did last night, but you know what, she blew it. You have to go out on that stage with a good song and sing it well.

Finally Colton Barry was given his walking papers. Jason Yeager should be counting his lucky stars tonight. I really thought it would be him. Or Luke Menard. I'm not surprised the Chikezie was in the bottom 3, but I think he can do better. I'm glad to see Colton go, he was not good. I was sick of that hair in his face.

I have to say there were no surprises with the voting, I guess it's so early that it's pretty easy to eliminate all the crappy ones first. I have to say again that I hope they get better song choices next week. Please do not let it be Broadway week.

Who Will Go Home Tonight?

So tonight two girls and two guys will be eliminated. In the guy's corner so many of them are vulnerable due to their weak performances that it's kind of hard to say who will be going home. If I have to predict my money is on Luke Menard and Garrett Haley. I also think Jason Yeager should be really worried. Maybe Chikezie, but I hope not because I think he will only do better as the weeks go on. David Archuleta and Michael Johns will definitely be safe. Also, Jason Castro should sail through.

It is harder to predict the girls because no one stood out as really really bad. It just all kind of blended together. I really think no one is truly safe among the girls, except for maybe Carly Smithson. But I will make a prediction and say Kady Malloy and Amy Davis will get the boot. I think Kristy Lee Cook and Joanne Borgella are also really vulnerable.

Can't wait for tonight to see who it will be!

Top Twelve Girls

As with the top twelve guys I was incredibly disappointed with the collective performances of the top 12 girls. With just a couple of exceptions the girls were just boring. The songs choices were awful. I know for a fact there were some good songs in the 60's, I guess the Idol contestants have decided not to sing them.

Kristy Lee Cook started off the evening with what looked like a whole head transplant. There was so much makeup on her face that I would not have recognized her had Ryan not said her name. She sang Rescue Me, and she sang it OK, but it's an uptempo song and she seemed wooden throughout her time on stage. I am starting to think that Amazing Grace is the only song that she can actually sing well. Apparently she had a bad case of the flu that ran through some of the female contestants. That does suck, the most important thing you've ever done in your life and you can barely walk because you're sick.

She was far from the only disappointment for me. Amy Davis, Alaina Whittaker, Kady Malloy and Joanne Borgella were all completely forgettable as far as I was concerned. The judges all seemed to love Alaina Whittaker's performance of More Today than Yesterday, but I didn't get it. She's a pretty girl with a cute little personality but the song itself was just whatever. I did really like her outfit. And can someone please tell Kady Malloy to lay off the Britney impression. We get it, you can sing like Britney. Enough already. The sad thing is if she could inject as much personality into her Idol performances as she does those Britney impressions she might do OK. I totally agree with Simon who told her, "When you do Britney, you’re brilliant. And then when you do you, the light goes off."

Amy Davis sang Where the Boys Are, and not well. That song was a piece of crap when it was a new release, it certainly hasn't aged well. I was really disappointed by Joanne Borgella with her rendition of Say A Little Prayer. She really didn't sing up to her abilities. I kept expecting her to really belt something out, and she just didn't do it.

I actually thught Brooke Davis did a really good job with Happy Together. David Cook sang the same song on Guy's night and tanked it, but I thought Brooke's arrangement was good and she was totally charming. It was one of the few performances that was engaging and it was one of my favorites of the evening. The judges didn't like it, even Paula kind of gave the thumbs down, and I was really surprised. I like Brooke more and more as time goes on.

I also really liked Alexandrea Lushington's performance of Spinning Wheel. Simon was right when he said the vocal wasn't great because she did have some really shaky spots, but the performance was good. She was interesting. It was like having a cool drink of water after walking in the desert. She did something other than stand and sing into a mic and at my house we were loving it. I do think Randy and Paula were a bit overboard in their praise, but I can understand that. She also looked cute and sassed Ryan, which I loved.

I know Amanda Overmyer is like the rocker chick and that's her thing, but she sang Baby Please Don't Go, a song with completely unintelligible lyrics. I like Van Morrison as much as the next person, but last night was a really important night for her and she should have sung something with a vocal that people can understand. Past seasons show that scat style vocals do not go over well with the voting audience. The song was OK, it was certainly different than what the other contestants are up to, but what is Amanda going to do when Barry Manilow week comes around? And for pete's sake, will someone please do something with her hair. I suspect she is a pretty girl, but it's hard to tell under the black eyeliner and two-tone hair.

Syesha Mercado, Asia'h Epperson, and Ramiele Malubay had the best vocals of the night, but... Syesha did not sing to her full potential. It was pretty good, but forgettable. As for Asia'h, I love her, she is great, but enough with the Janis Joplin already. The show's producer's should forbid anyone from singing any more Janis Joplin for the rest of the season. And yes, Ramiele sang it great, although I wouldn't give her the rapturous praise that the judges did, but again it was fairly forgettable. Maybe it was the song, a slow moving Dusty Springfield, but it just didn't wow me.

Carly Smithson is the contestant we were waiting for all night. Unfortunately for her the producer's have hyped her so much, and there has been so much in the news about her previous recording contract that we have all these expectations built up about her abilities. I think she would have a much better chance of winning if she were under the radar a bit. She sang Shadow of Your Smile, which most of the audience (me included) probably wasn't familiar with. She sang it just fine, hitting some good notes at the end, but I think whe would have done better with a more mainstream song. Randy and Paula loved it so much they were practically doing cartwheels on the judges table but Simon felt differently.

"Everything about it, to me, was a letdown. I was genuinely expecting something fantastic," Simon told her.

I kind of agree with Simon, but it's not Carly's fault and she is almost at a disadvantage now that she had no part in creating. She sang so great through the auditions and the producers and media have showcased her so much that we do expect something realy fantastic from her. I'm sure she will be safe for next week's show, and I hope she connects with the audience and judges a bit better.

I really hope these girls pick it up a bit next week. I hope the producers come to their senses and let them sing something more contemporary. Please do not let it be disco week.

More Reality Show Pro's Come To Light

So, we've already talked about the musical pasts of Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, and Robbie Carrico in previous posts on this blog. Now an article in the Baltimore Sun is shedding some light on other Idol Contestants with previous recording industry/reality show experience.

Kristy Lee Cook was recording in Nashville long before her first Idol audition. Her deal with Arista didn't last, but her debut CD, Devoted, is still available online.

Syesha Mercado was on ABC's The One: Making a Music Star for the two episodes before it was canceled.

Jason Castro was dating singer Cheyenne when she was on MTV's reality show of the same name, which followed her attempts to make it as a singer.

Joanne Borgella won the 2005 season of Fat Chance, a plus-size beauty pageant hosted by Baltimore's Mo'Nique.

Jason Yeager was a Top 25 finalist on Making the Band.

David Archuleta won Star Search at age 12 - and later sang "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" on Jenny Jones, which can now be seen on YouTube.

Brooke White released an album called Songs From the Attic on the indie label New Millennium Records Group in 2006, but she's no longer under contract

Top Twelve Guys

Ryan opened last night's show by mentioning that this year's talent is the best ever. Well, sorry Ryan, but you couldn't tell from most of the performances given last night. There were only a couple of guys who stood out from the pack. Unfortunately, this group was not helped by the songs they were forced to choose from, all from the 1960's. Only 3 out of the twelve were up to that challenge.

First up for the night, David Hernandez. It was just so blah. He hits the notes, but I hate his voice. So boring. Then came Chikeze, who is a contestant that I have been rooting for all along. But I was incredibly disappointed. For one thing, what the frick was he wearing? He looked like a giant orange Tic Tac. Then the song was awful, of course Paula acted like she loved it. I wonder if Simon will fulfill my fantasy this season and slap her across the face on air.

Then came a couple more awful, boring performances by David Cook and Jason Yeager singing Happy Together and Moon River, respectively. Seriously, Moon River. Ugh. Robbie Carrico actually did pretty good, I was surprised. Simon is right though, he doesn't have any credibilty because of the whole boy band thing, and also because of the scarf on his head. He has to lose that. A scarf on your head doesn't make you a rocker, it just makes you tacky.

After Britney's ex came the first ray of hope with David Archuleta. He did a great job with Shop Around, although not as good as he did in Hollywood, and he is just so cute that you can't help but like him. But from that performance things went downhill fast. Danny Noriega was hideous, I hope he goes away quickly, but I am afraid there will be a voting contingent that will keep him alive for a while. Then Luke Menard - Blah. Colton Barry - Blah.

I was curiously awaiting Garret Haley's performance because we've never seen him sing before throughout the auditions. I have renamed him Leif Frampton because he looks like a cross between Leif Garret and Peter Frampton. And, oh dear, the song was painful. He is hard to look at with that cloud of hair and piercing eyes. Also, he looks very feminine but he has a bit of a mustache, which is odd. Does he think those nearly invisible wisps of hair will bring some masculinity to his overall appearance? I can't even remember what he sang, but it wasn't good and then Simon just told him the painful truth. Simon suggested that he get some sun, which Randy and Paula ridiculed, but he is right. The guy looks like a wraith. I swear Simon called him a young girl at one point. This guy can't last.

The last two performances were the best of the evening. I was blown away by Jason Castro, or Dreadlock Guy . I had no expectations of him and was very pleasantly surprised. He sang What A Day For a Daydream and played his own guitar on stage. When I saw the guitar I thought it was certain disaster, but Dreadlock Guy totally pulled it off. He was so great. He also comes across as very authentic, you know he is for real about playing and singing, or whatever. And he is really cute when those dreads are out f his face. He was my favorite of the night, even over Michael Johns.

But - Michael Johns also did really well, certainly top 2 of the evening. He didn't knock me out like he did with Bohemian Rhapsody, but it was very good. He is a great performer to watch, he is comfortable on the stage and he sings really well. Plus, he's hot.

So overall, a craptastic show. I hope the girls pick it up a bit tonight, or we might be in for a loooong season.

How True Is This Shirt?

I Hate Simon American Idol Sp Women's Cap Sleeve T

Some Contestants Are Pros

We all like to imagine that the contestants on American Idol are people whose only experience is singing into a hairbrush with the bathroom door closed. And with the majority of the people who turn out at the auditions, that is the case. However, as in season's past, some of the people in the top 24 are actually professional musicians. Some of them have had recording contracts.

According to USA Today, "Carly Smithson recorded for MCA, which lavished more than $2 million on her debut disc, then dumped her when it sold poorly. Kristy Lee Cook signed with Britney Spears' production company. Michael Johns' band, The Rising, was dropped by Madonna's Maverick label."

We also know that Robbie Carrico is no music biz newbie, having been in a Boy Band in the nineties that toured with Britney Spears.

Show creator Nigel Lythgoe asserts that show rules require only that contestants not be currently under contract. Still, many fans of the show are upset that the producers aren't up front about contestants like Smithson, who are industry pro's compared to many of the other Idol hopefuls.

USA Today notes that for most fans, the show's silence on the matter is what rankles.
Li Wright, a fiftysomething fan from Chicago says, "I'd feel a lot better if (Ryan) Seacrest just said to Carly: 'You had a contract. What happened?' "

According to Lythgoe, "We're looking for 'great,' and, yes, those people in all likelihood have had dealings with the industry before."

It does make the show seem a bit dishonest. For me the best part of the show is rooting for the underdog, someone like Kelly Pickler who came from nothing and had her life absolutely changed by appearing on the show. It may be a bit anticlimactic if Carly Smithson wins a recording contract, since she has already been there, done that.

How You Can See Idol Live

First of all, do not pay for tickets to see American Idol. If someone offers to sell you tickets, it is a scam. The tickets and check-in vouchers are free. To see American Idol as part of the live studio audience you have to sign up for a waiting list.

Click here to go to the sign up page.

When they get to your position on the waiting list they will notify you via email. You have to go on the date that they give you, if you can't go on that date then you have to put yourself on the waiting list again. We did it last year and we did get picked to go to a show. My husband and I weren't able to go on the day we were given, but a friend of ours did end up going and had a great time.

You can also click here to enter a contest on the AI site to win a trip to the show.

Blue Tongues A' Waggin

So we weren't the only ones wondering why everyone's tongue was blue during Hollywood week. The Soup mentioned it on Friday's show. I searched Google and on one of the message boards someone said that the blue tongues are a result of a green Chloraseptic losenge some of the contestants were using.

Mystery solved!

Simon Cowell vs. Triumph the Comic Insult Dog

Michael Johns Sings Bohemian Rhapsody

Britney's Ex in Idol Top 24

This shocking news was on E last night. Robbie Carrico is Britney Spears ex-boyfriend. Apparently back in like 1999 they were on tour together (he was in some sort of boy band) and dated briefly. I guess the band didn't work out because he is on Idol.

Mtv says:

"Carrico's group, Boyz-N-Girlz United, opened for Spears on the ...Baby One More Time tour in the summer of '99. Their brief relationship became public when they attended the "Drive Me Crazy" premiere together that September. Aside from the Spears/Carrico connection, Boyz-N-Girlz United's only claim to fame is a terribly minor hit single "Messed Around," written and produced (along with several tracks on their album) by 'NSYNC's JC Chasez."

Carrico is also somehow related to Patsy Cline. Interesting. Idol didn't mention any of this juicy stuff on the air. We'll be watching Robbie a lot more closely now.

The Best Season Yet?

Well, it's shaping up to be a great season of Idol. I can't wait for the top 12 so we can draw for our annual pool. Last year I had Blake Lewis and almost went all the way. Can't wait to see how things go this year, there don't seem to be any clunkers in the bunch (although you know I could be wrong). It will be interesting to see who rises to the top and who falls apart

Who the Hell is That?

Garrett Haley, Luke Menard, Katy Malloy, Robbie Carrico, Alexandrea Lushington

Who the heck are these people? I have never seen them at all during the auditions, but suddenly they are in the top 24. We'll see how they stack up...

My Early Favorites

Thanks to the producers who showcase certain contestants and ignore others during the auditions, I have some picks for favorites.

My absolute favorite so far is Michael Johns, the soulful hottie from Australia. I loved his San Diego audition and he blew me away with Bohemian Rhapsody during Hollywood week.

Chikezie Eze got asolutely no airtime during Hollywood week, but I loved his first audition. He has a beautiful voice with kind a Luther Vandross vibe, and I think he will definitely make it to the top 12.

Asia'h Epperson is the contestant whose father died 2 days before she auditioned in Atlanta. She seems really talented and hopefully will get the votes to make the top 12.

I think Amanda Overmyer is great, but it remains to be seen if she can sing anything other than classic rock.

Carly Smithson will absolutely make the top 12. She is one of the ones to beat.

At first I didn't care for David Cook, but he has grown on me. I hope he makes it through.

Sanjaya Is Everywhere

MSNBC's Craig Berman conjectures that the judges sent Josiah packing in an effort to avoid a repeat of last season, when the worse than mediocre Sanjaya Malakar became an audience favorite and stayed on the show weeks longer than he should have.Simon, Randy and Paula must realize that they shared some of the blame in the whole Sanjaya situation just because they put him through to the voting when he really didn't have the same level of talent as most of the other season 6 contestants. Letting go of Josiah ensures that a fan favorite won't take votes away from the more talented contestants, and also answers some of the critics who say that Sanjaya ruined American Idol. The judges seem to really be going for singing over novelty (does Blake Lewis ring any bells?) this season.

Hollywood Week

I thought Hollywood week was a bit lacking in drama. In the past few seasons they have paired up teams or groups of contestants and forced them to rehearse and perform together, leading to a lot of squabbling and a few hangovers. This year there were no group performances and no contestants that seemed determined to make trouble, as in seasons past.

The audition format was a bit different this time around. The contestants gave an initial audition after which the judges said "yes" or "no". If "yes" then the contestant would have to sing again in a second round of auditions.Some people, like Amanda Overmyer and David Archuleta, sailed right through. Others, like Syesha Mercado who was battling laryngitis, and Kristy Lee Cook managed to redeem themselves with that second chance a cappella audition.

During the second round of auditions the judges cut several large groups of contestants right off of the stage. Then whoever was left gave a final audition with the band and backup singers. Finally, with the final performance of the week came some of the drama that we AI fanatics are used to during Hollywood week.

Josiah Leming seemed like a front runner in the competition because the producers had told the story of how this young guy lived in his car, driving from gig to gig trying to break into the music biz. He's a cute young guy and he had an unusual sound that the judges seemed to like. He actually sounds British when he sings and has probably listened to a little too much Coldplay for his own good. I thought he was crap but even Simon liked him and they sent him through. So they recapped his whole situation again during Hollywood week, basically shoving him down our throats. So it was a little shocking when he blew it on the final day.

The contestants had to pick a song out of about 200 options, rehearse it with the band and then sing with backup singers the following day. Apparently Josiah had trouble picking the song and at 3:30 in the morning he still hadn't rehearsed. Then we see the voice coach scolding Josiah a bit because the rehearsal had gone bad, due to the fact that he wasn't working well with the band.Cut to the next day, Josiah is the final contestant, he goes on stage and asks the band to leave. He sings "Stand by Me" with no accompaniment. And he tanked it. It was awful and the judges were no happy. Simon ripped him a new one, and deservedly so. It seemed like maybe he thought his charm would get him through, but it came off as rude. The whole point of the audition was to see how the contestants worked with the band and singers and in his arrogance he took over the audition and did it his own way. And in the end he paid for it.

On the final day the judges whittle the contestants down fro 50 to the top 24. One by one the contestants ride up that elevator to face Simon, Randy and Paula and learn their fate. Josiah, even as he was riding up that elevator, said that he felt he had made it through. He was shocked when the judges told him he was done. Then he cried and hugged everyone and made quite a little scene in the waiting area. Oh well, boo hoo hoo. I was glad to see him go, I didn't know why he even made it to Hollywood.

So, after some torturous yea's and nay's (can Paula ever just say YES or NO? It's like a disorder with her), the final 24 were notified and we were left to compare notes ponder next week's show.

It's Idol Time Again!

I am so excited that American Idol is back for a 7th season. I am ready to leave memories of Sanjaya behind and move on to a new crop of talented (or hideous as the case may be) performers. American Idol is always like a ray of sunshine, brightening up the dull post-holiday doldrums with crazy audition hilarity. This year the return of AI was even more welcome due to the neverending writer's strike and the lack of any fresh scripted TV. My husband and I have watched the open auditions with glee, laughing, singing (and thanks to Asia'h Epperson) crying right along with the judges.Now with Hollywood week behind us and the top 24 installed it's time to get down to the voting. I'll try to blog faithfully until after the finale later this spring. I would love to hear all of your comments, whether you think i'm on the money or just full of it!