Ramiele Is Going Home

As I write this the morning after the AI results show, I'm trying to remember if there was anything interesting that happened last night. Let's see...Nope, nothing. I did notice that Kristy Lee had her sequined tank top and jeans back on again. Other than that, and Dolly's strange outfit of pedal pushers and sequined train, nothing comes to mind. Even the devil, er, Ryan, seemed pretty toned down last night. Oh wait, that reminds me...I am so sick of KLC's smart alecky remarks to Ryan and Simon, and her little note that showed she knew she was in the bottom 3 was stupid. Hey Kristy, if you know you suck, then do better. Don't get huffy at the people on the show. It's not Simon's faut you can't sing.

Anyway, no suprise to anyone, Ramiele was voted off last night. She should be happy, she got pretty far and she'll be able to go on tour. Then for Pete's sake I hope she goes to college and gets a real job. I don't want to see a Ramiele album in the bargain bin at Target in 4 years.

The thing is, that once KLC get's voted off (hopefully next week) everyone remaining is really good. So it's going to be people that we love in the bottom 3 every week from now on. My prediction is that the next two will be Brooke and Jason, even though I would rather see Syesha go than either of them. Syesha is kind of a wild card, I don't think she'll make the top three but she has really gained some momentum recently. Then MJ, and the finale will be a David extravaganza. And David A. will win because all the teenagers and moms love him. And the teenagers vote.

But don't be sad Ramiele fans. I'm sure we'll see her in audience of next week's show. Good luck Ramiele, I bet you'd make a great dentist.

This Is What I Meant To Say...

I know I praise Michael Slezak's EW Idol recap on a regular basis, but I have to say he really got it right this week. Particularly when he said:

...How come certain contestants get credit for taking risks with song stylings, and yet when Carly strips down a well-known mid-tempo romp and turns it into a searing acoustic ballad, none of the judges even mentions the arrangement? And what's more, her risk paid off. The way she held back on the gale-force belting, taking care with every word of the lyric until she built to that final, wondrous glory note, I barely had time to take note of her ho-hum red jeans and bulky black blouse. I realize Simon's inner record exec is sizing up Carly, and her tattoos, and her imperfect teeth, and her not-size-zero physique, and it makes him say things like ''Have a word with whoever's dressing you.'' But seriously, dude, Ashlee Simpson is about to release her third major-label album: Why are you hell-bent on crushing the self-esteem of a gifted vocalist right at the moment she should be basking in the afterglow of her best live performance in seven weeks?

My thoughts exactly, stated with much more eloquence and wit than I am capable of. Loves it!

Jen P. Discusses Dolly Night

Here is an excerpt from my Morning After Idol email with Jen P. We always discuss Michael Johns:

MJ now stands for MoJo. Whew! As soon as he gave a little moaning "yeah" afer the first line he sang, my head was in a fog. And then when he broke into the 5 or 6 "wrong"s at the end, I was happy that my husband wasn't there to see the perspiration start to bead up on my brow. I wanted to grab that ascot off of his neck and tie him to my bedposts! Lordy! MJ is definately back in my book.

I liked David Cook, too. Paula actually made some sense when she said she liked his new haircut. His head doesn't look so wide now and his hair doesn't look so red, either. Kudos to Cook's stylist.

Speaking of stylists, I was completely thinking what Simon had the guts to say aloud to Carly. Her clothes are just horrid week after week. Well, I did kinda like the blue dress thing she wore when she sang that Heart song, but otherwise thumbs down on the wardrobe. When she started singing last night, I thought to myself "What the hell pants is she wearing?". Maybe Simon could have pulled her aside and gave her the business instead of National TV....'cause I was sort of afraid her husband was going to make a rush at the judging stage. Speaking of her husband, did you notice that he looked like he was the only one giving her a standing ovation? Creepy...just creepy.

Syesha was impressive. I liked her interpretation of the song, but as you predicted you just can't take on a Whitney song without a whole bunch of criticism. When will the contestants get it? No Celine, no Whitney, no Aretha....ever.

For Dolly week it wasn't so bad. I was pleasantly surprised. Good songs, good vocals. My bottom 3? KLC, Ramielle, Carly....should be Jason, but I think he's got too big of a fan base right now. Who will get the boot? Ramielle.

David Cook Went To Hospital After Last Night's Show

TMZ is reporting that David Cook was taken to the hospital last night after the show due to excessively high blood pressure. He was treated and released but apparently is still not feeling well. I guess this is not the first time he has been ill during the competition and once collapsed before a performance. Interesting.

Click here to read the TMZ post.

Who's Gettin' The Cowboy Boot?

Aaah, Wednesday. Ryan Seacrest's favorite night of the week. It's what he sold his soul to Beelzebub for, the opportunity to break the hearts of young, talented singers on national TV. Although, I use the word talented loosely, especially if it's KLC or Ramiele getting their due tonight.

The best performances last night were 1) Michael Johns 2) Carly Smithson 3) David Cook. The worst were 6) David Archuleta 7) Syesha 8) KLC 9) Ramiele. Brooke and Jason are tied for the middle ground.

So of course I think the bottom 3 should be some combination of those 4 that I listed as the worst, but every week I am surprised by who actually ends up in the dreaded metal stools. The scary part is that KLC and Ramiele seem to have really strong fan bases that keep voting heavily for them week after week, otherwise they wouldn't still be there. I think that some of the other more talented contestants, like Jason, Brooke and Carly, have fans that are of the type who watch the show and love it but may not necessarily vote to keep their fave on. Which means that someone really good could end up going home again this week, while the dynamic duo rests comfortably on the velvet bleachers.

I think Jason, Brooke and Carly could all be vulnerable tonight. If any of those three end up sent home tonight, I may have one of those "I'LL NEVER WATCH AI AGAIN" crises.

Anyway, here is my best guess at tonight's bottom 3: Ramiele, Syesha, Kristy Lee. I think Kristy Lee will be safe because she was a country gal singin' country music last night and all her down home peeps voted to keep her on. So I think it will be Ramiele going home tonight. No bets, because I've been wrong about this week after week, but my feeling is that she's at the end of the AI line. I hope Dolly comes out and kicks her off with a rhinestone encrusted boot!

Hello Dolly!

I love Dolly Parton, she's such an amazing songwriter and human being. I am familiar with some of her songs, but it's not like I'm listening to Dolly records all the time. I just knew she is really country, like twangy opry country. I really wondered how certain contestants, like MJ and David Cook, would handle these songs. But for all my worrying, it turned out to be a pretty good night, no one gave a disastrous performances, although a couple people almost bored me into a coma.

First up, Brooke White, looking adorable as usual. She chose to sing "Jolene" and shared the stage with a backup singer and fiddle player while she strummed the guitar. I actually got a chill as she started singing. I thought she did great, but the judges didn't like it. I just don't know what they want from Brooke, she has a definite style, she sings well and she's so charming. Give her a break.

David Cook sang "Little Sparrow," a song that has never been covered by a rock band or alternative artist previously and he had to depend on his own arrangement of the song. When I was listening to the song on Amazon earlier today I thought it might be a tough choice for him, but he did pretty good. He hit a bad note or two, but overall the performance was solid and he sailed through Dolly night easily. I just wish the judges would call him out on his bad notes and "pitch" problems the way they do with everyone else.

Then came Ramiele with a craptastic version of "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Not one of Dolly's best songs, and certainly not improved upon by Ramiele. It was OK but just completely boring. I think Ramiele has hit a wall on AI, and doesn't seem to be living up to the promise that she showed the first couple of weeks.

Jason Castro sang "Travelin' Thru" with his guitar, and it was good but all of his performances are just starting to blend together at this point. Like Brooke, he definitely has his own style and really doesn't deviate from it. I really like him, I have from the beginning, but he is really losing momentum in this competition. He's so cute though.

My girl Carly chose a great song, "Here You Come Again." Totally reminds of being about 8 years old, driving in my grandma's old T Bird. I did have a problem with the echo that was happening in the beginning of the song. I don't know if it was done on purpose or what, but it was distracting. She has such a voice though, she blew the song away. Simon's main criticism was about Carly's wardrobe. I wanted to be mad at him, because it's just so rude, but I kind of agree with him. I mean, what's the deal with the boots? It's like boots boots boots all the time. She could use a bit of styling. But Simon could have taken that up with her privately, right?

David Archuleta sang "Appalachian Memories." What? Of course he sings the sappiest song of the night, and I don't really think he sang it that well. He really hit the wrong note at one point, but yet the judges ju'st overlook that and act like it's the best thing since sliced bread. It's so obvious that they are pushing for certain people to win. I'm kind of over him. Sorry all you D. Arch fanatics out there.

Someone else I am so sick of is Kristy Lee. Of course this was the showcase night for her and she picked a good song for herself, the great autobiographical Dolly classic "Coat of Many Colors." It was OK, she just isn't a great singer. And why was she barefoot? No one could find a pair of shoes for her? I wish she would go home but looks like that won't happen this week.

Syesha won the "I Will Always Love You" catfight, and I really felt like she probably couldn't pull it off if she were to go the Whitney Houston route. In the end she kind of split the difference, starting off like Dolly and ending with a big Whitney finish. It was pretty in the intro but then seemed disjointed when she switched it up, and she really couldn't pull of those big notes at the end. Had she kept it soft and pretty it would have been much better. It just didn't really work for her. Her hair needed some help, too.

The final performance of the night came from Michael Johns. I was really worried about this because when we listened to the song, "It's All Wrong But It's All Right," on Amazon earlier today it seemed way too country for MJ. But he slowed it down and put a soul spin on it, and I luuuurrrvved it! Finally, the soul performance I have been waiting for from him, and when he sang the line about "sexy lovin' lies" I got a little flutter (don't tell my husband). He was absolutely the best of the night, and the judges finally got an opinion right and gave him the accolades he deserved. Not sure how I felt about his cravat scarf or whatever it was about his neck, but he still looked cute!

Dolly week was better than I had hoped for, definitely. Much better than Birth Year week or whatever it was last week. So excited about MJ. Can't wait to see who gets a cowboy boot in the ass tomorrow.

Dolly's On Tonight!

So it's Dolly night tonight and we are all breathlessly awaiting the show so we can find out who's singing "I Will Always Love You." I'm sure there was some serious catfighting over that one. I just hope whoever managed to snag it follows Dolly's formula and not Whitney Houston's. No one on the show could pull that off. I would love to see Jason Castro or Brooke sing it with an acoustic guitar. I bet KLC will sing "9 to 5". Other than that I can't even imagine what some of these contestants are going to sing tonight. I've looked around the web to see if anyone has a leaked list of the song choices for tonight, but I guess the show really has it under wraps. Don't forget to watch what could be one of the biggest messes on AI since Elton John night a few years back.