Handicapping American Idol 6: February 2007

The Girls - Round 2
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Allrighty!! We're back for another 90 minutes of competitive bliss with the girls tonight. I mentioned in another post that I record AI to DVR and start watching somewhere 15-30 min. in so I can fast-forward through the commercials - tonight is no different. And off we go!

Ryan's center stage, talking about the girls last week but the boys ANSWERED by THROWING IT DOWN last night. I don't know that I'd go quite that far, frankly. I caught a glimpse of Alaina Alexander - cute dress - she looked terrified. I haven't seen our favorite nude pictures girl yet - oh there she is!! I didn't recognize her wearing clothes that weren't see through. I'm sure if she'd been sitting on a toilet I would have seen her right away. For the record, AI should bag her. Fair's fair, and they got rid of Frenchie for the same type of thing. This smacks of double-standard, and it frankly pisses me off to no end. I'll do the rest of the show after the click...

We meet the judges, and Randy's especially colorful. Ryan talks about the guys with Randy - the pressure is down on the girls because of the boys last night. Paula's hair is weird. She thinks the girls are ready and they look gorgeous, as if that matters if they suck wind at singing. Simon thinks it's a problem if girls don't give themselves an identity - they must "stand out". We see the guys in the dog POUWND and we're back to the girls. We are reminded that four more will bite the dust tomorrow -- oooh.

First up is Gina Glocksen. She's dedicating her song to her boyfriend. He's been her rock throughout the whole process the last few years, and he encouraged her to keep plugging. He knew it was her year, and it turns out so far he was right. He looks like a nice guy. Awwww. She's singing How Do I Get You Alone. That dress folks - gotta go. She's a pretty girl and that doesn't do anything for her. This is a powerful song and she starts off clear and beautiful. She's going for the high part and I have to say - it's very very sloppy. OW - very very flat and she's literally screaming. Can we go back to the actual singing at the beginning of the song?? After that first verse that entire song was a painful, ear-bleeding mess. I absolutely hated it.

Randy: Thought it was a good song choice. Randy must be losing his hearing. He says it started pitchy but got BETTER (oh my God).

Paula: Reminds Gina that Carrie sang that song. Paula appears to love it as well. I don't get it.

Simon: Good choice of song. Her vocals felt forced at the end, and he's confused as to who she is at this point, and she'll never outsing the other bigger voices in the competition. He thought she was edgier.

Paula talks about the dress - frankly, poor Gina looks like a red sausage in it. NOT a good dress, and she wreaked singing that song. Abysmally bad. I totally disagree with the judges. Ryan is trying to get Gina's boyfriend to give her a ring. Weird. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text 5701.

We're back and we're in the Red room. Ryan's with Lakisha and Alaina. Lakisha is showing leg, and she hasn't paid attention to media buzz. She's nervous tonight. Alain's next - she looks nervous, and that's probably because she generally sucks.

Alaina Alexander dedicates her song to her mother, because her mother worked four jobs to help her kids. Her mother was thrilled when she made it. She's doing this to give back to her mom, and her mom loves her. Aww. She's singing Not Ready to Make Sense by the Dixie Chicks, a RIGHT NOW popular song. She's standing at the microphone. She's good enough in the verse but honestly the chorus is not very good. She's in a fast verse part now and I can't find the melody. I wonder if she can? The second chorus is so far better, but let's face it - Alaina is totally sub-par.

Randy: It started off good - the first couple bars - the chorus lost the tuning and the pitch. It was a mess for him - all over the place.

Paula: It's a hard song to sing. The pitch was a little bit off, but it wasn't as bad as Randy is saying.

Simon: You ran out of steam 3/4 of the way. You started fine, but in the middle you lost it.

Paula still thinks she's adorable and beautiful, as if that matters. So far both of the girls sucked as far as I'm concerned. Ryan's with Alaina, and she's trying. She wants to know what the judges suggest, and the judges take the opportunity to argue with each other. 1-866-IDOLS02 or text to 5702.

Lakisha Jones is dedicating her performance to her soon-to-be-90-year-old-grandmother. Her grandmother brings her walker to see her, and sees her every time. We learn Grandma is also in LUV with Ryan Seacrest!! She's singing Midnight Train To Georgia. It's a PERFECT song choice I think. She has the right balance of nuance and intonation to totally sell this song, and sell it she does. She looks good up there tonight, too. I want everyone to think about Alaina while you watch Lakisha - the difference can't even be described. It's obvious who fits and who doesn't. I was looking and I can't find a flaw in Lakisha's performance.

Randy: He loves that she flipped it up from last week - that was hot. He thought it started kinda rough but she got control right away.

Paula: She loved it.

Simon: Interesting dance at the end. She is a phenomenally good singer, but he doesn't think it's as good as last week. She didn't have that "I'm going to prove a point" attitude. She has to start acting like a big star. He doesn't like the outfit either - he found it distracting. But he thinks she's a phenomenal singer.

Ryan's with Lakisha. The judges talk clothing colors. Ryan shouts out to Grandma. 1-866-IDOLS03 or text to 5703. And we're at a commercial.

And we're back!! The girls are owning the stage tonight!! But who will YOU vote for??

Melinda Doolittle is dedicating her performance to two of her closest friends, the "gels". We see a lot of great pictures of them together and learn that one is a vocal coach and the other is a stylist. Nice friends! They made her a fashion GUIDEBOOK! That's pretty cool. She's singing My Funny Valentine. Interesting choice. This is a beautiful song that can show off her range - I'd be worried if it wasn't she or Lakisha singing it. She does some EXCELLENT, and appropriate interpretations and runs - just enough and not too much. She looks very comfortable on the stage, and the way she's singing tells the story of this song. She shows her big voice. I have to say - at this point she's beating out Lakisha for tonight's hottest performance. Everything about this performance is absolutely spot-on.

Randy: We got a competition going on right now. Melinda came out tonight to win it. She made the mark - she is the one to beat! That was hot.

Paula: For her that was just astounding - she phrased the song so beautifully and differently.

Simon: That was incredible. He thinks, for him, it was without question the best vocal throughout the competition. She has a fantastic talent and absolutely no ego - she has no idea how good she is and he doesn't think she'd change if she won. She's a breath of fresh air and it was a fantastic performance.

Melinda looks overwhelmed, now with Ryan. Ryan wants to know from the judges which enormous egos they were referencing. Simon's serious and explains further about no-talent high-ego people. He praises her further. 1-866-IDOLS04 or text to 5704. And we're at a break, and Naked Girl (aka Nakedella) will be next.

We're back. Ryan starts in the Red Room and then talks to Antonella. He wants to tknow if she's nervous, and he says yes, a little less than last week. She picked a better song this week, she thinks, one that's more "her". She has to just have fun with it.

Antonella Barba is dedicating the song to her brother Vincenzo. He's always been there for her, and he's a musician and he has inspired her. She admires him and he's what she wants to live up to. She's choking up as she talks about him. She's singing Because of You. You've got to be kidding me. This is way out of her league imo. She starts ok, then goes sharp and abruptly flat. She fakes out the high part that everyone expects her to do - it was a good compromise, but everyone in the audience is expecting the high power note. There are some rough spots in this song for me, but she does the high falsetto at the end VERY well (credit where credit is due). Overall, not painful, but not great.

Randy: You're drop dead gorgeous, that was completely the wrong song, the pitch was all over the place. She can't sing like Celine.

Paula: She thought Antonella made leaps and bounds from last week.

Simon: Very tough, Antonella. Most of the vocals just weren't good enough, an dhe thought she was worse than last week.

Antonella's with Ryan (sidenote: she should really avoid rolling her eyes when being judges). She definitely felt better this week. She slams Simon because he was "wrong about Jennifer Hudson". Bad move. They put Jennifer on AI but the audience threw her out. Antonella comes off as a bit of a bitch, frankly. 1-866-IDOLS05 or text 5705. Break time!

And we're BAAAACK! "Welcome back to the circus". Interesting.

Jordin Sparks dedicates this song to her younger brother PJ, who supports her unconditionally. They show funny face pictures, and they ARE funny and very human. It makes her want to cry to think about him and wants the same things for him. She's singing a Christina Aguilera song that I don't recognize. Her dress is very interesting - very youthful. The song starts out rough for me, but she gets to the chorus and it improves exponentially. I think she has to REALLY watch her intonation in the lower register. I think her strong high notes will overshadow those glitches, though, and she's miles apart from Antonella and Alaina at this point, but not quite where Lakisha and Melinda are. Overall it was very good.

Randy: Aw. She's crying - the piece made her emotionally. He felt she could really really sing the song - she had pitchy moments, but it was great and it's amazing tohim that she's 17 and where she is today. It wasn't her best, but still really good.

Paula: There's something about Jordin that's infectious. She's a good human being. She's a brilliant, talented girl.

Simon: He agrees with Randy, not her best - but compared to other people, it was excellent. Massive potential - 17 - great personality. She's the example for Alaina - just sing well.

Jordin's with Ryan. She was trying not to hear the dedication, but it was loud and came through her ears. Her Dad's crying, and that's sweet. 1-866-IDOLS06 or text 5706. Another break - Stephanie will join us after.

We're back and we're in the Red Room. We are reminded that tomorrow night will be a 1-hour results show with Kellie Pickler (UGH - GROAN). Ryan talks to Stephanie, who I think is beautiful. She characterizes the vibe between the contestants as friendly. Simon disagrees. Paula rolls her eyes. Stephanie will try to pour her heart and soul into the song and give it her all.

Stephanie Edwards dedicates her performance to her mom and dad, because they pushed her to audition for American Idol. She seriously didn't want to go, but they got her a hotel and they all went and were convinced she would make it. And she did, so they were right! She's singing Dangerously In Love. I love her dress - very beautiful and suits her well. She sounds very good, and this is a difficult song to sing. It's highly stylized and it moves all over the place very unpredictably, and I haven't heard her miss a beat. She's singing very well. She does a power note that was a little weird for me - totally on-key, but a little weird, as though she was on the edge of cracking. I don't care for the song but I thought she sang it very well.

Randy: She looks hot, she sang her face off, it was so much better than last week. It was a little Beyonce-light for him - Stephanie's a big singer so don't worry about copying her.

Paula: Thought it was fantastic, brilliant. She loved it.

Simon: He agrees with Paula!! He loved it. She's not just taking part in the competition - she's coming out here and putting her mark down (is that like peeing in the corner or something??).

Ryan's with Stephanie, and Randy's explaining himself further. There's general arguing. Love her earrings. Where can I get those? 1-866-IDOLS07 or text to 5707. Another flippin' break. Leslie Hunt and Haley Scarnato after the break. Yawn.

We're back on the rim of the Red Room with Leslie Hunt and Haley Scarnato. Ryan busts on Haley, reminding her that they hated her last week. She's going uptempo and is going to rock out. Leslie is also skewered with her own negative comments, and she's going to NOT flap around the stage.

Leslie Hunt is dedicating her performance to her late grandfather. Is it me, or is this girl totally not scoring on the memorable meter? It's a sweet story, because grandpa would be so proud of her and tell her to be herself. She's singing It's a New Day. Big song. She sounds very hauntingly good at the start. We're going into the vampy section and I have to say - the song is either to low or something is missing from her voice at the start of the vampy part. Her scatting is abysmal and embarrassing. She should have stuck to singing. Overall just ok.

Randy: Good to see her return to her jazzy thing but it was pitchy for him.

Paula: She's being her.

Simon He totally busts down her scatting. She's been whacked by 3 or 4 big voices before her, and she's getting lost in the competition. She's doing the best that she can, but not many will remember that performance.

Ryan's with her. I have no clue what they're talking about. 1-866-IDOLS08 or text 5708.

We're right into Haley Scarnato, and she's dedicating it to her hot boyfriend who is not good with her being away. Oops. He wants her to be happy and succeed. She talks to him on the phone, though, and she can't wait to marry him (though she did refer to him as her boyfriend). She's singing Queen of the Night. Totally unpredictable choice. It's impossible not to compare her, vocally, to Whitney Houston and she suffers by comparison, frankly She is MUCH better this week than last, however. She has some spirit and life and isn't boring me to tears. She looks a bit like she's dancing on some kind of choreography. She butchered the hell out of high run but pulls it back together for the chorus. This is definitely not a bad performance, but still only middle of the pack for me.

Randy: The only thing he never loved it because there's more background parts than lead vocal parts. It wasn't great for him, though.

Paula: Leaps and bounds better than last week, and yes it has a lot of background vocals but se was so much better.

Simon: A for effort - a little manic verging on insane at one point. Taking on a Whitney song she suffers in comparison, and he thinks she's a very vulnerable girl tonight.

Ryan's with her, and she's upset. 1-866-IDOLS09 or text 5709. Break time yet again, one performance to go.

And we're back! I'll note that the news teaser featured the nudie controversy of Nakedella.

Sabrina Sloan dedicates her performance to her grandmother, who is hilarious and cracks Sabrina up. She's been in and out of the hospital, and it's hard not to have her around. She's singing He Fills Me Up. Big ass song. She starts out beautifully. I remember being so surprised by how good she was last week. I like her less this week, but I definitely think she's a keeper. A few of the high notes were just a hair north of screechy for me - just something unpleasant about them. She's definitely among the best though.

Randy: Nice one. Big song, few pitch problems, but excellent.

Paula: Love you. You're a big contender.

Simon: Very good, but don't confuse power with shouting and she was right on the edge. He preferred her last week, but she'll be back next week.

She's with Ryan - Simon says she's definitely a player, but he wasn't jumping out of his chair. Who knew I'd agree with Simon so frequently this season? 1-866-IDOLS10 or text 5710.

My final ranking:

Melinda Doolittle
Lakisha Jones
Stephanie Edwards
Jordin Sparks
Sabrina Sloan
Leslie Hunt
Antonella Barba
Haley Scarnato
Alaina Alexander
Gina Glocksen

Pre-show tomorrow night I'll lock in my final picks to go home. The girls still kick the boys' asses, but there are very clear and definite lines between the weak girls, the good girls, and the GREAT girls with LOTS of distance separating the three groups. I definitely think Alaina will go this week, and I'm stuck between Leslie and Haley for the other spot, because neither one really connects.

So, until tomorrow, thanks for reading!

Labels: American Idol, Girls, Round 2, Semi-Finals

What will I say next? Click and find out.

posted by RenaRF @ 8:23 PM, ,

The Boys - Round 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Yay!! It's performance night!! I am SO hoping the boys had some uniquity scared into them. I know some of them have it, damnit, and I want to see them...

Ryan starts us off about how "every vote counts" and the guys are back and "this time it's personal" (??). There are the guys - looks like Phil's up first and Sundance is up last tonight. Ryan's all casual with a suit jacket and button down with jeans. He congratulates Jennifer Hudson as "our first" Oscar winner. I'm not sure it's cool for them to be taking credit for that...

The order tonight is interesting with what I consider the strong ones in the back of the order (with the exception of Phil). All the guys are ready. The girls are "scoping" the boys out. We meet the judges again. Simon looks un-stinky tonight. Randy implores the boys to be better tonight. Paula tells them to have fun, that they're celebrities now. It appears Simon and Ryan have made up, and Simon declines to comment on the boys. We are reminded that the guys WILL be performing tonight and two will go home (duh), and we are further informed that the guys are supposed to perform around the them of "people that inspired them". Hm. Keep with me after the click to hear my reviews of all the contestants as they perform.

Phil Stacey is up first. He's dedicating his performance to the Navy Band Southeast (believe me - the military bands are full of badasses). He is honored to sing for them, and they encouraged him to audition. This is a good theme, I think. Very patriotic. And he's singing Ain't Missing You. It starts out a little bit shaky, frankly. It's all kind of in a slightly lower register at the beginning. As he hits a few of the higher notes he is MUCH stronger. He gets better towards the middle, and he's markedly better in the chorus. Someone needs to teach him mic technique - he's blocking his face with his mic! He's good in the bridge, then goes to a high power note with an ok effect. Overall, I thought it was pretty safe. Not bad - just safe.

Randy: Yo - he thought he was the best last week and he had the vocals on "blast" this week. He loved it.

Paula: She loves his tone, can hear him on the radio.

Simon: He's not jumping out of his chair (boos). He thinks he's very popular, a nice guy, but has a completely unoriginal voice. He liked the end of the song, but he's not hearing anything unique. He's hearing a very, very good karaoke singer.

We're off to Ryan and Phil, and Simon chimes in he thinks Phil's not going anywhere, he'll be back next week. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text 5701. Break time.

And we're back, with Ryan in the Red Room. Ryan talks to Sundance, and Sundance heard from people that he shouldn't be so "crappy", and he's going to try to do that this week. AJ has mixed emotions - the show is unpredictable, but he thinks they were fair. He wants to redeem himself. Now Jared, who's up next, and he's going to be more adventurous.

Jared Cotter. He's dedicating the performance to his parents. His mother is the whole reason he's there - he didn't know about the audition until the day of the audition and she literally woke him and made him go. His father introduced Jared to a bunch of music, and he credits him with his talent. He's singing Let's Get It On, all time greatest make-out song. He's in a suit. He isn't mellifluous like Marvin Gaye, but his falsetto sounds good. As the song progresses, he modulates and interprets the song much better than at the beginning. He needs to watch what I consider short, ending notes at the end of verses - sloppy. If he tightens them down, he'll be much better. He kind of shouts his way out of the bridge. He looks good on stage, but I find the signing sloppy frankly. Not bad, just sloppy. I'm not overwhelmed.

Randy: He doesn't know if he took a chance, he kind of liked it, but it was pitchy in spots. He liked his "steamy" face.

Paula: She likes the "steamy" face too. She thinks Jared is a good looking guy, but he doesn't have to push that kind of song.

Simon: He's glad he made the attempt to make a statement, but it reminded him of the Love Boat. If the Love Boat had a cabaret singer, it would have been like that because it was a bit corny in spots.

Jared is now with Ryan. Ryan regales us with the things he's done to that song. 1-866-IDOLS02, text 5702. Jared poses for the ladies.

Next up is AJ Tabaldo. He's on the mom and dad bandwagon, too. They've been there for him for everything, have always instilled in him that he never give up, and he has a tenacious drive and mentality to go for what he wants. It's for them. He's singing something I don't recognize just yet - it seems similar. It starts softly. OH - I think it's I'm Feeling Good. I wouldn't put this song with a guy - I'd put it with a diva. While AJ is doing a good job, he's not very diva-esque and his performance suffers by comparison. It is a risky song though, and he's doing a reasonably good job with it. He's had the fewest pitch problems of the ones who have gone tonight. It was good. I'm not blown away, but it was good.

Randy: It was so much better than last week. It was kind of nice.

Paula: Props to the band - nice. And she things he has a real real real real real good voice.

Simon: He thought it was actually nearly very good. He absolutely did the right thing - he made himself different and stand out, and we saw his personality. He also looked comfortable doing it.

AJ's with Ryan, and Ryan wants to know if he listened last week. AJ totally agrees, and went outside of his comfort zone this week. 1-866-IDOLS03 or text 5703. Break time!

And we're back! The guys are doing their best!

Sanjaya Malakar is dedicating his song to his grandfather, who was a strong person in his life. He was always there for him, but he died when Sanjaya was 5. He wears his grandfather's wedding ring on stage for support from a higher place. He's singing Steppin' Out - he's wearing a hat. He looks good - very retro. This song suits his voice. He sounds good singing it - his voice is kind of soft, very smooth. I can't say this song is particularly challenging vocally except that it moves around a lot with notes jumping here and there in a very precise fashion. I think he sounds good, but again, this just doesn't impress me. He does get credit for taking a risk with the song. The ending is a little weak, and he looks a little scared towards the end, but not bad.

Randy: He's a nice kid, Randy likes him, but it was weird for him - like a bad high school talent show.

Paula: He sang on pitch, but he's 17 and has an old soul. He finds it odd at such a young age to do that song. After needling from Simon, she says she liked it.

Simon: He thought it was a ghastly lunch like after lunch someone's parents ask the kids to dress up and sing. It made absolutely no impact, and he doesn't get why he did that.

They want to know why he did it, and he wanted to celebrate the great years of music and dedicate it to his Grandpa. Ryan's there now, and wants to know what he thought. Sanjaya intones that he has to step it up next week. Frankly, I don't see it happening - he's too young and too green. 1-866-IDOLS04, text 5704. Break time again!! The teaser - is Chris Sligh singing Trouble?? Taylor-Famous-Season 5-Trouble??!!

And we're back!! We're pimping AmericanIdol.com! And here's Chris Sligh and his crazy hair! Chris thinks he has the right song. He picked on he loves.

Chris Sligh is dedicated to his wife, Sarah. Oooh - she's pretty!! Seriously pretty!! He talks about being a struggling artist, and how she has been the one to keep him from quitting when he got really run down. He can genuinely say he'll be with her for the rest of his life. And yes - he's doing Trouble. This is going to be hard for me to review because I thought Taylor KILLED it last season. Chris sounds different than Taylor, but he's got really good nuance and interpretation to his voice. He knows when to punch and when to pull back, and he has good mic technique (it matters). I think his vocal is strong, frankly, and it shows off his voice. He's singing right to his wife, which is also nice. This is a different arrangement from Taylor's, and it lets him finish strong. I really liked it.

Randy: Good to see Chris return. He was good last week, and this week was even better. He liked it.

Paula: She liked it too! She wants him to watch his pitch and timing a bit, but he's awesome.

Simon: They put him through because he's a very good singer and tonight he's a very good singer. Simon like it. Excellent!

Ryan references Taylor, and Chris talks about doing it a bit differently, and he hoped people liked it. 1-866-IDOLS05, text 5705. Commercial AGAIN, and we are led to believe Nick will do Fever after the break.

We're back, and we're halfway through. We are reminded that the guys are singing tonight, girls tomorrow. Duh.

Nick Pedro is dedicating it to his girlfriend Caitlin, and she's also a pretty girl. She's been supportive and understanding, and that means a lot to him. He's singing Fever. I think this song suits his voice. Again, he's got that wispy kind of crooner thing happening. He sounds good - his voice is smooth and his timing is very good. He does some things with the song, but not too much so as to make it a parody, which is always a risk with a standard like this. I'm not so sure I'm hearing the kind of bite I would like on the high notes, though. Simon's snapping along - is that good? He does this weird interpretive jazz-kind of thing that does NOT work towards the end, but then he gets it back. He should have stuck with the melody, because that was the only weird part to the whole thing. It was good - not great, but good.

Randy: He thinks it's cool that so far everyone has come back and done better this week. Nick returned to his roots - pitchy in spots and he has to watch his timing, but it was nice.

Paula: She likes the crooner thing, too. Just let go and go for it.

Simon: He thought it was good, but if you're going to attempt to pull that song off, it's about charisma, and he lacked charisma. He has a good voice, but there's a charisma issue to deal with.

Ryan's with Nick, and Nick's outfit is all wrong and Simon's not a stylist. We switch to Caitlin, who is there in the audience. 1-866-IDOLS06 or text 5706. Nick gets in a "vote for Pedro" as Ryan's giving the numbers, which is funny and very inside for Napoleon Dynamiters. ;-) Another break! And Blake will be doing Jamiroquai - wow. I saw on his profile that he loved Jamiroquai, and this should be interesting.

And we're back!! Just four left to go. We're in the Red Room. Blake agrees the girls are very good, and that they made him step up his game.

Blake Lewis is dedicating his performance to his parents. His dad is the hardest working man he knows, and gave him the work ethic he has. His mom gives him all his talent, and we learn she plays guitar. His parents are excited for him, and they should be. Virtual Insanity is his choice. The start is ROUGH - it's almost like he couldn't find his key but he corrects it quickly. He handles the pre-chorus bridge well, and it's a tricky part. The chorus is a little rough. He beat boxes the next verse, and that's pretty cool. But the second chorus is rough - he's WAY sharp. His pitch is everywhere tonight. Damnit, I like this guy, but that was not good.

Randy: Randy loved it. I'm shocked. I mean seriously - shocked.

Paula: She thought he made a smart choice, and she loved it.

Simon: He disagrees with Randy and Paula. He thought Blake was terrific last week, but this week the first part was copycat, the middle section was great, and the last part his tuning went. I have to say, I'm with Simon on this one.

Blake's with Ryan, and wants to know what Simon thought he copied. They're all arguing, etc. I think/hope Blake will survive, but this was not a good performance. Onward and upward to other things next week, I say. Blake talks about vocal entendre (?) and we get the numbers. 1-866-IDOLS07 or text to 5707. We're at another break, with Brandon Rogers after it.

We're back and we're in the Red Room. Ryan's talking to Brandon and Chris. Chris is going with uptempo, and Brandon is going with a tortured song choice (is it too slow??!).

Brandon Rogers dedicates his song to his grandmother. She always wanted him to succeed, always encouraged him, and wanted him to bloom. She's be proud of him in the competition and his life, and he dedicates it to her. He chooses Time After Time. Interesting. This is hard song, and I can't remember a guy performing it. He sounds good at the beginning, which is kind of low. The chorus is not as strong as I would like, but he handles it well and he impresses me with the really high run in the chorus. He comes back to the verse nicely, which is hard from the high chorus. I liked it, but I'm waiting for Brandon to blow my socks off. I know he can.

Randy: He liked the sentiment, and he thought the song spoke to it, but he didn't think it did enough vocally to show what Brandon has. Boring for him. Brandon interjects - he was trying to feel and put himself into it, and it didn't need extra.

Paula: She felt his heart. He has a beautiful voice.

Simon: He wants to take it back to a singing show. Simon loves grandmas. Randy's absolutely right. Brandon has to come out when he's as talented as he is and make a wow impact. I agree with that as well. Brandon talks about next week, and Simon says he keeps saying that and he's a good singer.

Ryan's with Brandon, and Brandon had to walk out with his ears covered during the package so he wouldn't cry. It's his Dad's birthday, and he sends a shout out. Simon is a turd and says his mom's birthday is in November so happy birthday. 1-866-IDOLS08 and text 5708.

Chris Richardson is dedicating his performance to his grandma, his "big momma", back home in Virginia. She's awesome - spunky and energetic, and everything about her is great. She's opinionated, and if she doesn't like a song or how he looks, she tells him. She's at home watching, but she's supporting him 110%. He's doing a song he mentioned earlier that I can't remember the name of. It's weird but uptempo. This is kind of rap hip-hop song. I don't know it, and I guess he's on pitch, but it's a bit too Justin Timberlake for me. Also, he has kind of an acid edge to his voice, like he tightens his throat while he goes for things and it squeezes the note itself. He's much better at the high spots. I guess it was good. It was definitely original.

Randy: He thinks Chris is in it to win it. He thought it was hot, hotter than the original.

Paula: She loves that he dedicated THAT song to his Grandmother.

Simon: He thought Chris was the best tonight by a mile.

I gotta say - I disagree. I don't know if it's his tone or the style or WHAT, but he's middle of the pack for me tonight. 1-866-IDOLS09 or text 5709. One more break and Sundance closes the show.

Sundance Head will close the show. He dedicates his song to his 2 1/2 month old Levi. He didn't think he'd get this far in the competition, and being away from his son is hard. He almost cries when he talks about his wife telling him Levi is starting to smile. He wants Levi to have a good shot at life. Mustang Sally is his choice. This may be smart from an audience perspective - it's one of the most recognizable songs by everybody everywhere. He's doing a strong band version and has started with the chorus, which is interesting. The audience claps. He's in tune and not red at all. He goes into the verse. He's showing off his big voice with great effect I think, but the problem with this song is that it is dreadfully repetitive. He puts hair on everyone's chest by hitting a WAY HIGH note and doing strongly and well. And we're to the chorus outros, and that's it. It was good, and it will probably be popular.

Randy: Wow! What a difference a week makes - welcome back Sundance. Randy clearly loved it.

Paula: He's got to bring it like that every week and she loved his range.

Simon: He's glad they've got the Sundance back that they really liked. Simon brings up the popularity of the song, and thought he did great, but he can do a lot better.

Ryan's with Sundance, and Sundance feels good. He's glad he got out of the "box" he's been in since the LA audition. 1-866-IDOLS10 or text 5710.

We review everyone's performances and their voting etc.

Here are final rankings:

Chris Sligh
Sundance Head
AJ Tabaldo
Phil Stacey
Brandon Rogers
Nick Pedro
Jared Cotter
Blake Lewis
Chris Richardson
Sanjaya Malakar

Now I don't believe for a second that Chris is going home, despite the fact that he was one of my least favorite of the night. I think poor Sanjaya will go home (and he really should - he's not ready for this), and I'd guess either Nick or AJ, possibly Brandon could be in that second slot. I'm basing this solely on the "grab" factor. If it was my choice, it would probably be Nick. He just doesn't do it for me.

So that's what I've got - see you tomorrow night for the girls!

Labels: American Idol, Boys, Round 2, Semi-Finals

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posted by RenaRF @ 8:15 PM, ,

Worth Watching
Monday, February 26, 2007

The inimitable Gray Charles highlighted and continues to highlight great music. Some of it's new, some of it's old. I'd like to steal that tradition (when appropriate). When I saw Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer perform together at the 2007 Grammy Awards, I had hope for our musical future. It's worth a watch.

Labels: Miscellaneous, Music

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posted by RenaRF @ 4:34 PM, ,

Antonella Barba - Naked Pictures?

Well. It appears Antonella Barba, the 20-year old New Jersey native whom we first met during audition week as she walked the beach in a bikini with best friend Amanda has pulled a Frenchie. According to EW Online:

The naughty photos of the 20-year-old contestant began circulating around
the Internet earlier this week. Despite less-than-stellar reviews from the
judges for her off-key rendition of ''I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'' this week,
Barbara somehow squeaked through to next round of the competition on Thursday's show.

--snip--

Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe says he has not seen any of the Internet
pictures, and only learned of the sexually explicit shots from EW. ''We have
really good background checks on everybody, and we deal with that every
season,'' he says. ''It's sad, isn't it, that your best friends are the ones
that come forward with information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your
photographs on the web?''

Sad or not, Idol established the precedent with Frenchie that naked pictures of contestants is a no-no. Added to that negative is the fact that her first live performance was simply frightful - off-key, weak, and bad. Yet her appearance (imo) is what saved her from elimination. Could it be that the appearance is more than what Idol bargained for, and will they boot her? I hope so if all of this proves to be true. Fair is fair.

Labels: American Idol, Miscellaneous

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posted by RenaRF @ 9:31 AM, ,

Dave White's Recap from Semifinal Round 1
Friday, February 23, 2007

Excellent. Dave White's recap of the first competition of the semi-final rounds is up and available.

Dave White - "I don't like you tonight"

I'm way tired - so no excerpts tonight. I haven't even had a chance to read it yet - but I'll do so tomorrow. Enjoy!

Labels: American Idol, Dave White

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posted by RenaRF @ 10:06 PM, ,

You MUST Read Dave White's AI Recaps.

Dave White posts an American Idol recap every Friday following the week's activities. It is published at The Advocate online and believe me - it's worth reading. If you DO, however, have a particular favorite or someone that you just can't STAND to see mocked, be forewarned - Dave White is an equal opportunity offender and no particular contestant is off-limits.

Click to the full post - while I generally keep the language on this particular blog clean (as opposed to on other blogs and in real life - I'm not making this up), some of Dave White's language is colorful, so consider yourselves warned.

Here are a few snippets from his most recent article which recapped the two days of Hollywood rounds:

Cut to the following groups:
1. A happy cluster of boys that includes Chubby Little Hands Chris, the one who wants to make David Hasselhoff cry. He is joined by Beatbox Boyand some other guys. They are doing dopey choreography and the cameramen are laughing at them.
2. A troubled group that includes Bailey Brown from Krum, Amanda the Mean Girl, and her best friend, Meadow Soprano. They can’t decide on a song and they’re all pouting. I want the cameras to just stick with this group. I can’t get enough of that My Super Sweet 16 bullshit entitlement and awfulness.
3. Perla and Gina’s group. Perla is a bad harmonizer, not a team player, which means that even if she’s cut—and she will be—she’ll go far in life.
Amanda Mean is exhausted after several grueling minutes of rehearsal and needs to go flirt with boys. She leaves her group to go attempt some seduction moves on several young and possibly gay men.

Heh. More:

Lakisha Jones makes it through. She’s a big girl with a big voice and a big wig. And yes, I know it’s a gay cliché to be all about the big African-American girl who sings like a thunderstorm and gives off that whole “and you, and you, and you, you’re gonna love me” thing, but I’m already really into her and I refuse to apologize for that.
Amy Krebs, whose family obviously invented all those Krebstar products on The Adventures of Pete & Pete, is going through.
And then come the final four. Two men and two women. Of each pair, only one will exit Thunderdome alive.
Marisa Something Who Cries a Lot versus Meadow Soprano: Obviously the horse’s head in Paula’s bed worked because Meadow’s through to the next round. The crazy swirl of emotions explodes as the Elevator of Doom descends back to the bottom floor. Meadow Soprano pats Marisa on the back. Marisa jerks away with a very nicely played “don’t TOUCH me” move, sobbing, “How did this happen?” as she crouches to possibly vomit in the corner of the elevator.
Meadow Soprano says, “Some of the best people here get eliminated!” (Subtext: “Well, not me, thank God, but some of the other best people, like you, for example, who were better than me, but life’s just weird, huh?”)
Finally,it’s Tommy Who Used to Have a Big Afro and Now Has a Jheri Curl and Sundancehead. Tommy is big and still very cute. Sundancehead is short. Like really short. Like Dio short. Like wearing a big red pointy hat and living in your garden short. I didn’t notice this until just now. But there it is. And in spite of all evidence to the contrary, Sundancehead makes it on through. Tommy flips off the camera with both hands. Sundancehead, sensitive soul that he is, says, “If I do make it big, I’ll make you my bodyguard.”

When Dave White posts, I'll post a link. I think it's hysterical. Time permitting, I'll provide a few quotes from the linked article.

Labels: American Idol, Dave White

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posted by RenaRF @ 4:25 PM, ,

Results Show - 1
Thursday, February 22, 2007

Ok! I'm back in the saddle. I'm all caught up with the performances and I'm ready for the results show. Here's who I think is going tonight:

Nicole Tranquillo
Amy Krebs
Nick Pedro
Paul Kim

With the girls I think my bottom two match those that will go. With the boys, though, my bottom two are different from who I think will go. So with that, make the click to the full post and I'll cover the first Results Show!

All 24 of them are lumped on stage, all smiling. I suspect a few will NOT be smiling soon enough. Not just the four who go, but whomever they single out to be in that bottom "group" as well. Now they've run and moved to the stairs. They're a veritable hoard. 32 million votes were tabulated. We meet the judges, and Simon doesn't seem like he wants to kill Ryan, though I wonder these days. I vote that they're not very friendly these days.

We start by busting on the boys. That's this week's theme: The Boys Suck and The Girls Don't. We find out that Diana Ross, John Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Tony Bennett, Martina McBride, some peeps from Herman's Hermits, and Barry Gibb will all be Top 12 Coaches. No Michael Jackson!! Yay!!

Now we're to the performance recaps, guys first, then girls. We are reminded that Randy thought the boys started way ahead of the girls during Hollywood week, and we're smacked back to this week and The Boys Suck and The Girls Don't. We see Stephanie, Melinda, Leslie, Sabrina singing and chatting from last night. We see the "they took on Celine" girls - Gina and Haley. Jordin and Nicole are highlighted for showing their "soulful sides" (someone save me from hearing Nicole again - God she sucked). Now we're to the Bad Girls - Antonella, Amy and Alaina. For some reason also we're reminded that Ryan took some of Simon's comments personally. We finish with Lakesha as the high point of the night. While she was great, I really think they're giving Melinda short shrift. Not to mention Sabrina.

Back to Ryan, and he introduces the WORST part of AI, the dreaded Group Sing. They're doing a Tears for Fears tune, Sowing the Seeds of Love. Odd choice. We start with Phil - he sounds good! Then to Rudy, Sundance and Blake, all of whom sound good. We flip to Amy, Stephanie, and then back to Brandon, Paul, Chris S., and AJ. Chorus - all together now!! Jordin and Melinda are featured here. Now they're walking around, singing, ooh oohing in relative unison. Groups march forward, etc. Sabrina, Lakesha are featured next. Then it's to the unison BIG ENDING. Left out: Sanjaya, Nick, Jared, Chris R., Leslie, Gina, Haley, Alaina. And with that, we're to the commercial.

Back from commercial! There's Ryan, all natty in his suit. We see the guys first, and some legs are shaking, twitching nervously. Ryan wants to know how they're feeling, and Nick is NOT nervous. Chris is a little nervous about being perceived as disrespectful to Simon and he's worried it will be taken the wrong way. He professes love for Simon. Ugh.

Back row is on stage: Brandon, Sundance, Chris, Nick, Blake, Paul. We go through the reviews from the first night, boy by boy.

Brandon: SAFE.
Sundance: SAFE
Chris R: SAFE
Nick: SAFE (shocker!)
Blake: SAFE
Paul: He's OUT.

So I'm 1-2 in my predictions, and someone from the front row is going home. To further Paul's humiliation, they toss it back to the judges. Randy thinks he should find the songs that let him excel, and I agree. Paula thinks he has enough to make it, and he has a nice voice and he'd be great in the studio - he just tried to hard and picked the wrong song. So they thank him, and he's booted. He's upset - poor guy. And he has to sing! And of course, he has to sing the poor song choice that got him booted. That hurts. I have to say - he's trying to leave with class and on a high note. He wasn't among my favorites from last night, but he wasn't in my bottom, either. Sidenote! He's wearing shoes!! It's the shoe-wearing that undoubtedly did him in - he's probably not wearing his lucky underwear, either.

We're to another break while the boys on the front row poop their pants.

And we're baaaack!! We're switching it up. Time to torture the girls now. They're all ready to cry, apparently. Lakesha is nervous - go figure - but she sums it up: "You just never know". Back row of girls take the stage, reviewed one by one.

Jordin: SAFE
Stephanie: SAFE
Sabrina: SAFE
Leslie: SAFE
Melinda: SAFE
Antonella: SAFE (not that she should be, but I"m not really surprised.

So now the front row of girls is TOTALLY freaking out. Ryan mixes it up, calls Amy up and tells her she's DONE. Whoa - that was pretty rude. They want advice for Amy, and Simon reiterates that she didn't stand out. She's taking it well - I give her snaps. And now, she has to sing in a very bland and non-standy out way again. I didn't really care for that particular method of axing a girl. Kind of like throwing ice water on someone who's laying in the hot sun on the beach. She sings, and she's not a bad singer really, but she really doesn't stand out. Again. Although I have to say - tonight is better than last night. Sanjaya is crying for some reason. Probably because he's a basically nice person.

Another break. We'll be seeing Fantasia when they return, and hearing about the ALL NEW American Idol challenge.

Ok - so to summarize, I got Amy right, I got Paul right, but I got Nick wrong. 2-3. 66% with downside worst result 50%, upside 75%. Not bad! Yay me! And we're back, and Ryan tells us again who got cut and starts explaining the American Idol challenge. You have to have a cell phone, and ou have to answer some question correctly and you may win $10K and qualify you to win

The question: Of these three American Idol winners, which has a multi-platinum album entitled Breakaway? Text A for Carrie Underwood, B for Kelly Clarkson, and C for Fantasia Barrino. Text it to 51555, and it'll cost $.99 (that's 99 cents). And now Fantasia takes the stage. I think I just saw Quincy Jones in the studio?? Huh? Yep - it's him. They just featured him and gave his name. Wow. Quincy Freaking Jones!! Fantasia has a new album out, and she's going to be starring in the Broadway play The Color Purple. WOW. Quincy's producing, and he absolutely pronounces her ready for it. She's doing I'm Here from that production.

I was a fan of Fantasia's unique, powerful and consistent voice in spite of her enormous attitude during Season 3. I think post-Idol has brought her some humility, and this performance is outstanding as far as I'm concerned. I'd love to see her in that production. The judges give her a standing ovation and well they should - they did good seeing through her bluster those seasons ago.

And with that, it's commercial time.

We're back, and the five remaining girls are on the stage. So they get right to it.

Haley: SAFE
Lakesha (duh): SAFE
Gina: SAFE

And now Nicole and Alaina are huddling together.

Alaina: SAFE
Nicole: She's OUT.

3-4. Not bad - I should start betting! They got the girls right, and will hopefully weed out Haley and Alaina next week baring some stellar comeback of singing proficiency. Paula reiterates that she's a brilliant vocalist (she needs to have her ears checked). Nicole is gracious in her defeat, and manages not to cry. But now I have to hear that awful song again. She doesn't suck any less tonight than she did last night - this is a REALLY bad song for her. Her limitations show as though illuminated by a searchlight. Ugh. Make it stop!

We're back! Bottom row guys now.

Chris S.: SAFE
Phil: SAFE
Jared: SAFE
AJ: SAFE

That leaves Rudy and Sanjaya. Hm - didn't expect this. One of them is top 4 boys, the other is out. Rudy is OUT. That's SO FREAKIN' WRONG. Sorry Sanjaya fans - I think he's a nice young man but he's nowhere nearly as good as Rudy. Simon disses him again, saying he can't make a great singer out of someone who's average. Paula thinks America got it wrong.

Now we get the package of the four who were outed all lumped together. Bummer for them. Based on JUST last night's performances, I would have put four or five boys below Rudy in capability, Sanjaya being one of them.

And there you have it - show over. Rudy sings again, and claims he's going "out with a bang". He gets to sing, and that's good - they don't cut him off. And I like the song again. Don't love it, but don't hate it. He should have had a shot to redeem himself.

So here they are again, the four cut Idols:

Nicole
Amy
Rudy
Paul

See ya later folks!

Labels: American Idol, Boys, Girls, Results, Round 1, Semi-Finals

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posted by RenaRF @ 8:01 PM, ,

Out of Order, I Review The Boys from Tue. Night

You KNOW you're busy when it takes almost 48 hours to have enough time to sit down and watch what amounts to an hour of singing critiquing (with commercials and fluff removed). I wanted to be sure, however, that I got to this before the results show tonight. I have tried absolutely to avoid hearing about the boys' performances, but it was all over the judging of the girls last night and anyone who watches American Idol has been talking about what a let-down the boy's night was. So as noble as my unbiased intentions were, I'm prepared to be disappointed as I sit down to watch the recording from this past Tuesday night.

With that, I'll have at it. Follow me past the click for performance reviews.

Ryan makes the bold assertion that this season they have "the best talent yet", and with that, we're off. He welcomes everyone to the number one show in America, and talks about surviving the "weirdest audition tour EVAH". Gee, Ryan - as if we didn't already know that after having sat through UPTEEN hours of it. He makes the introductions, and here come the guys, presumably in the order in which they'll perform. We also see the ladies sitting in the "dog pound". They look relaxed. We are reminded that FOUR (count them - FOUR) will be going home on Thursday night. We then meet the judges. Yawn.

Ryan talks about how Randy's taken criticism for being harder on people this season, and Randy protests that he's just speaking the truth. Ryan then asserts that Randy must have been lying for the past five seasons. Paula just wants to be supportive (double-yawn). Simon gives the advice for the contestants to "sing well". Uh... ok.

Now we see the wonderful recap of the guys' auditions, replete with "Golden Tickets" (it's yellow paper, folks). We then see them in Hollywood Week, but we can't hear them because we're playing what sounds like the Rolling Stones over the vast majority of it. Then we see the Green Mile elevator, and we head to a break.

Rudy Cardenas is up first, and we see a recaplet of his audition. He's 28 from North Hollywood CA, and he's a professional musician (I've checked out his a capella band on MySpace - I LOVE it). We see that Simon wasn't a Rudy fan as well. Hollywood week was "crazy" for Rudy, and he doesn't much care whether or not Simon likes him.

Free Ride is his choice. He looks comfortable. It's a little weird for me - I can't tell if it's how they have him mixed, but his voice is totally overpowering the background music. He gets to a highish long-held note and I don't know - the rest has been on key, but that note was a little squirrely. I have the feeling that he's shouting his way through this song, and I suspect he has MUCH more to offer in terms of intonation than he is showing tonight. It's difficult though, because I suspect it sounds different live. Just ok for me.

Randy: A few pluses for Rudy: it's hard to go first, and he got the party started, but it was really corny for him and he could have heard it at any bar in America.

Paula: She loved it and he did a fantastic job.

Simon: References Rudy's comments that Rudy doesn't care what he says (dig!). He then laments that this wasn't unique either. They're looking for distinctive, and Rudy's performance is going to get lost in the mix tonight. I don't know about that, but it certainly didn't blow my socks off.

Ryan's with Rudy now, and Rudy is suddenly motivated to changed Simon's mind. I don't know - the song choice may have been a good one because it's a highly recognizable cross-generational party song, but I don't know that he delivered it to the level he needed. If you're going to do that song, you have to crush it, and Rudy didn't do that.

Commercial time!!

We're back, in the Red Room and Ryan's talking to Chris Sligh. Sligh lets us know that it's all about the guys looking pretty. It's weird, frankly. We're to the other Chris, and he says all the guys are awesome and that he's not nervous. He's talking now to Brandon Rogers, one of my early guy favorites. He comes off as humble, and that's usually good.

Brandon Rogers. We see his audition. He's 29 from Alta Dena CA, and he's a background singer. He talks about the judging in the audition round, and they show him thrilled with Simon's glowing assessment. We learn he felt he was on the bubble at Hollywood week, so he collected himself and gave a great performance. We then see him amking the semi-finals.

Wow - he's doing a Michael Jackson tune - Rock With You - he starts off very slow, unlike the record. He has some nice interpretation that is definitely different than Jackson's original version. He sounds good. He's making some weird runs here and there. He's basically on key, but I hear just a slight bit of flatness here an there - ever-so-slight. His voice is smooth and velvety, though, and overall I like his performance, though I'm not sure that was the best song or way to showcase what I suspect is a bigger talent than I just saw. I definitely liked him better than Rudy Cardenas as far as tonight goes. I will note also that Brandon, who's voice is not nearly as biting as Cardenas', also overpowered the band. I think it's the mix, frankly.

Randy: He doesn't know if it's his best performance - he found it a little bit pitchy and a little weird here and there. He tells him he doesn't have to do so much with the song.

Paula: She kinda sorta agrees with Randy, that he can lose the runs.

Simon: He thinks Brandon is undoubtedly a good singer, but that the song was predictable and that as it went along, it did so in a predictable way. He thinks Brandon is better than that. A passive agressive review, no doubt.

Ryan's with Brandon, and Brandon wanted to account for the idea that this first performance was going to be the toughest and that he wanted something he was really comfortable with, which makes sense. It also opens the potential that he doesn't stand out. Sometimes picking something risky, even when you may be jittery, and knocking it down counts for much more than a safe performance. Overall, though, I liked it.

Sundance Head is the next one up. We see his audition, which I recall was stellar. He's 28 from Porter, TX and he works in a machine shop. Simon was all behind him then, but we recall Hollywood week was rough for him. He was scared to death when he sang there, and he had an emotional breakdown. We see his Green Mile clip, where he made it at the last possible moment.

He's singing Knights in White Satin. Not for nothing, I hate this song. It's way old, and it wasn't enough of a song to resonate with a younger audience, imo. He's really having a difficult time singing this song, which I find surprising. It's not the right tone or tempo for his voice. He has some pitch problems early on and gets better in the higher, more powerful sections. I am, still, underwhelmed. I wanted so much more from Sundance given his first audition and this performance, while not abysmal, isn't all that good either.

Randy: He wonders why Sundance has abandoned that bluesy thing that worked for him. He thought he was all off-pitch throughout the song.

Paula: She tends to agree, and adds that it was absolutely the wrong song.

Simon: He talks about the original audition and compares it to tonight, "like Dad at a wedding". Very old-fashioned, very uninspiring, and he's lost what they loved about him in the first place. "I don't like you tonight" is how Simon closes. He also adds that if he had come into the auditions with that song, he probably wouldn't have made it.

I hope Sundance gets it together soon, because that performance was highly disappointing. If he doesn't get it together, you have to consider the possibility that his audition was absolutely the hihg point of his singing career. Ryan's now with Sundance, and the comments are brief as they clearly need to get to a commercial break, which they do.

And we're back. We are reminded that it's in OUR hands now. We are teased by a "very famous alum" coming back for the results show. And now to Paul Kim. He's 25 from San Jose CA, and he tells us that he tried out for Idol because he's getting old. They show his audition, which I remember as very good. We are reminded he doesn't wear shoes, which brings to midn the underwear thing. We see him at Hollywood week, and then him making the final 24.

He's singing George Michael's Never Gonna Dance Again. Right off it's too low for him, and he's having a bit of trouble getting n sync with the band. He goes to the chorus, which is higher, and he's better, but his big smooth voice is so far utterly absent. He goes to the bridge and it IS better. The tempo is better, and the range is better for him, I think. He goes to a high falsetto and I literally cringed. He also tries an ill-fated set of runs to come back to the chorus. NOT a good way to end what was otherwise ok.

Randy: He thought he's one of the best voices of all the contestants this year, and that the song was a poor choice. It was pitchy int he beginning, but got better. He sees a lot of potential.

Paula: Notes that he was nervous and oversang the song and he didn't find his "center". She talks about his overall talent.

Simon: He suggests Paul puts his shoes on next week. It's too muc 0 it's a singing competition. He just thought it was a very ordinary attempt/copy of George Michael. If he's going to do a song and do it the same as the original, he has to "wow" and he didn't. I agree.

Paul's with Ryan, and Ryan has his shoes and socks totally off. Ryan's feet are small! Randy reminds that they want is originality, and they don't want to see bland cover songs. Simon thinks a lot of people tried a lot harder in the beginning and now they are playing it safe, and that's a poor choice.

Chris Richardson. We see his audition, which found a little weird. I don't care for his vibrato. He's 22 from Chesapeake VA, and he works in the restaurant business. He talks about being compared to Justin Timberlake, and he takes it as a compliment because Timberlake is a well accomplished artist (!!!). His parents really supported him, and he hopes to bring charisma to the stage tonight and he wants to "rock out".

He's singing I Don't Wanna Be. This is a rock song and he doesn't have a rock voice. He's not off key specifically, but the performance is pretty amateurish, fankly. He's dancing, he's into the song, but it doesn't translate to his performance frankly. It's like a guy wearing a woman's shoe - this song does fit him at all and he IS getting kind of wandering with his pitch as the song wears on. He's really my least favorite so far, which is a shame as he a VA boy.

Randy: He feels like the show just started with Chris. It wasn't his best performance and wasn't the perfect performance for him, but he brought a little something to it.

Paula: He did a great arrangement and she liked watching Chris' Dad.

Simon: He's sorry to sound negative tonight, but he really liked him in the auditions and but thought that his voice sounded very small in the night's performance. He thought it was a bad performance, and although he likes him and knows girls will vote for him, he didn't like it. I AGREE.

He's with Ryan, and Ryan's going through the judges to get their bottom-line again. Randy's still with "not that bad", Paula's at "great", and Simon's at "not very good". For me, it was the worst performance so far among the boys.

Commercial break to "pay the bills", as if they had to any longer.

We're back in the Red Room with Nick Pedro. I wouldn't know him if he fell on me. We are warned that he may forget the lyrics because he forgets lyrics. He protests not being nervous, and Ryan exacerbates it. We see his audition. Very boy band as I recall. He's 25 from Taunton MA, and he's a salesman for a finance company. We are reminded he bowed out in Season 5 because he forgot his lyrics (!!!) and we see him going to Hollywood week. He wants to go home feeling like a winner. He seems like a nice guy.

He's singing something I don't know, and he's standing behind the mic. The song is very high and his voice is sweet. He seems on-pitch. He's a bit rough going into the bridge, but he recovers. He does a nice little bit in a high falsetto, but I have to say - the song is boring me to tears and so is his performance. It wasn't bad at all and his singing was fairly good, but man - dull as doorknobs.

Randy: Wants to know his nerves were. He's keeping it real, and says it wasn't good for him - it was really really boring and pitchy. He feels like he lost Nick. He wants to know where Sinatra Nick went.

Paula: She agrees.

Simon: He actually didn't think it was that bad. He thinks Nick lost his spark, and that he's very nervous, and he agrees that Sinatra Nick was lively and better. He didn't think his voice sounded too bad, though, and I agree.

Ryan's with Nick, and Nick hopes he'll get better each week. I hope he's back, too. I don't think he's anywhere near the talent level of some others, but he's earned another week as far as I'm concerned.

ANOTHER break.

We return with Blake Lewis. I like this guy. He's 25 from Seattle WA, and he's a musician. He beat boxes, plays guitar and sings. He really liked his group performance, and I remember it was THE standout from Hollywood week. He's going to downplay the beat boxing, through. maybe a little, but not a lot - it's a singing competition.

He's singing another song I don't know. He's sitting on a stool and he opens sounding very good. I like the tone to his voice. He modulates between soft and powerful and he does it without a noticeable hitch. As I said I don't know this song, but I think he's singing it well. Ooops - he just did a weird spot that sounded... weird. It's been his only hiccup in what was otherwise what I would consider a very good performance.

Randy: He was shocked that he came out singing a Keyne (?) song, but he liked it. He did a really good job on it!

Paula: She's really proud of him because he picked an odd song they would not have expected, and he delivered - he was cool.

Simon: Not the best vocal he ever heard in his life, but he's the first who has come out and sounded like he's in 2007. He was 100% right not to come out doing the beat boxing, and he thought he did it really really well. By far the best performance of the night. I agree.

Ryan's with him, and Blake shares that his strategy was to leave the beat boxing and show America he could sing. He's without exception my top performance so far tonight.

Ugh. Commercial.

We're back with Sanjaya Malakar. He's an undoubtedly sweet kid, but I haven't been overly impressed with him. He looks good - girls will dig his hair. He talks about his sister, and shares that she picked the song for him. He loves her, and it's always family first (I remember liking his reaction to his sister's ouster). He's 17 from Seattle WA, and he got his GED which means he's done with high school. We learn he always thought his sister was better than him. He felt like half of him was gone when his sister got cut, but it made him stronger to represent her.

He's singing a Stevie Wonder tune, an older one. I think he's nervous. His voice is sweet and he's basically on key, but he isn't punching where he needs to punch for this particular song. I almost get the idea that he is just waiting for the song to be over so he can pass out!! That said, his vocal is really quite good, especially given his age. The judging should be interesting.

Randy: He goes for the good first - and he didn't think it was very good -it's about song choice, and Sanjaya doing that one wasn't even remotely close. I didn't think it was that bad.

Paula: You have a "very nice voice", but she wishes more of his personality came through.

Simon: Goes RIGHT to the "I don't want to bore you with this" and says that it was the dreariest performance of the night. 90 seconds felt like an hour - absolutely nothing came from that for him. It was a waste of time. He can't take anything from it.

Ryan's there, fanning the flame, giving Sanjaya an opportunity to refute Simon, and he says he appreciates his honesty. Paula says that age is not a factor, but he's got to get out there and perform. I have to add - it wasn't bad and it was boring. But vocally, it wasn't bad.

OMFG. Another break. The commercial breaks really ARE ridiculous.

Ok good. We're back with Chris Sligh, one of my early top 3 boys. We are reminded of his audition, which I thought was absolutely fantastic. He's 28 from Greenville SC, and he's a marketing consultant for a leasing firm. He hates Sweet Home Alabama and hated singing it umpteen times in Birmingham. He thinks his sense of humor helps, and he's all about strategy and song choice. He loves the other folks in the competition, but only one will make it through to the end.

He's singing some song I vaguely recognize as angst rock. It's apparently a popular song because everyone knows it. And frankly, I like Chris' performance. I think he's singing wonderfully with no glitches about midway through, and he's attacking a tough song. It modulates a lot where the notes are concerned, and that's a hard thing. He's nearing the end, and I it's been quite a good performance. He didn't blow my hair back, but he's the best boy for me so far tonight, close to Blake Lewis.

Randy: He thought he rushed a little bit, but his voice was on point, and he's a Chris fan.

Paula: He strategized well. It was great.

Simon: Simon agrees his humor got him here (swipe!). He's gotten to know him and he's a fantastic personality, but he feels like he's at a weird student gig.

Ryan's with Chris, and Ryan and Simon are arguing. Chris asks Simon: the music is popular, and just because he doesn't sing the Il Devo or Tele Tubbies, doesn't mean that he's not a good singer. I don't understand the reference, but it clearly gets under Simon's skin. Simon just didn't think it was an incredible vocal performance, it's just OK. I disagree - I thought he was great. Ryan and Simon are arguing again. I don't get the joke, but man - the vibe is really harsh. Ugh.

Note to self: Figure out about Il Devo and TeleTubbies. Commercial time.

Ok. We're back to the Red Room. I'm sure it was planned, but I'm grateful Ryan's not near Simon at this point. He's with the three contestants left to go. Ryan wants to know if Jarod is nervous, and he says he's a New Yorker and he can take it. Jared Cotter is 25 and from Long Island, NY. He was a waiter, but lost his job trying out for AI. His family flew up from Florida and they were there when he got through. America hasn't seen him, so he's looking at this as a clean slate to show the public what he can do.

He's singing another song I vaguely recognize but can't name. He sounds good pitch wise, and I like the tone of his voice, but it's a very boy-band song with lots of "whoas" and "yeahs". It's a romance R&B tune and , to that end, he does it well. There's a lot of modulation to this song, and the notes jump around a lot, and he's doing a very good job vocally. I can't say I love the song and I would say that it's not necessarily safe but also not very electric. He's gone to the highest part and it get rough for the first time as he's flat on high power notes. He makes the key change well. Overall, it was good.

Randy: He thought it was pretty good, but he didn't like the way the song ended. It was pretty good.

Paula: She likes him singing more uptempo songs, and it sounded too much like Brian McKnight.

Simon: It was an unadventurous performance that he thought sounded a bit nasally, but Jared looks good. But no one is gong to wake up tomorrow AM and think "what an incredible vocal performance" and tells him he has to take a few more risks.

Jared's with Ryan and handles the criticism with a smile and promises to give his best each time.

Up next (and without a commercial!) is AJ Tabaldo. We see his audition. I don't like this guy, frankly, but I"m wiling to turn that around. He's 22 from Santa MAria CA, and he works as a supervisor for the shipping company. He's tried out 5 times, and finally made it through. H eenjoyed the first Hollywood round, because that was the round where he got cut last year, so he was thrilled to get a yes. Being top 24 is something he's been trying to do. He thinks he's a strong person.

He's singing All My Love. Right out of the gate I like him a lot a better. This is a syncopated uptempo song matched with notes that hope and skip around and he's nailing it until the chorus, when he's just slightly flat on a sustained note (weird, because that should have been easy compared to the first part of the song). He goes to a high run of falsetto which isn't the best, and unfortunately it ends on a very shaky note. Literally.

Randy: He thought it was vocally pretty good, and says that AJ is a really really good singer. He doesn't know if he brought anything new to it, but he worked it out in his own way.

Paula: AJ can definitely sing, and she thought he did a great job.

Simon: It was good - nothing great, nothing terrible, but kind of a theme park performance (that's a bit harsh). It was very predictable, though. He's got to choose a song that is a little bit more daring, but he closes by saying AJ is maybe better than he (Simon) originally thought.

Ryan's with AJ, and AJ talks about how good it feels to finally be given a chance and says he's having fun. I thought he did well, too.

LAST commercial break before the LAST performance.

Phil Stacey is our last guy of the night. I remember liking him during the audition and then loving the clips I saw of Hollywood week. Phil is 29 from Jacksonville FL and he's an active-duty Navy sailor. We are reminded that his wife had a baby while he was auditioning and he shares that it threw him off. He made it, though, and worked hard going to Hollywood week. He brought his wife and her parents and his daughters to support him. He's a likable guy.

He's singing some ballad and I have to say - he's too close to the mic to begin and it's fuzzing up his lyrics. He's got a sweet voice with a really pure clarity. The song goes from slow ballad to power rock ballad and his voice goes with it. It's strong, clear, modulated and on-key. I actually stopped typing to listen. I thought his performance was great - best of the night.

Randy: He thought it started rough, but Phil turned it around he gets the best vocal prize of the night.

Paula: The chorus was when he picked it up and it turned great!

Simon: The beginning was absolutely monstrous and it was ok at the end, but not the best vocal. For some reason he's comparing him to Chris Daughtry. Randy gets Simon to agree that it was the best that night.

Ryan's with Phil (who is bald), and Ryan makes a Brittney Spears joke. Ugh. Phil agrees with Simon and Ryan instigates that he's ignoring Randy and Paula, who threaten to rescind their glowing reviews.

To close the show, Ryan wants to know from Simon why he's being so negative. Simon doesn't believe in patronizing people, he doesn't believe in lying and he's being honest. He's not going to give positive reinforcement for the sake of being positive.

Here's where it stands for me with the guys:

1. Phil Stacey
2. Chris Sligh
3. Blake Lewis
4. Brandon Rogers
5. Jared Cotter
6. AJ Tabaldo
7. Rudy Cardenas
8. Nick Pedro
9. Paul Kim
10. Sundance Head
11. Sanjaya Malakar
12. Chris Richardson

Now this was a tough one for me. I'll note that only one of my Hollywood week top three guys made the top three tonight (Chris Sligh). Sundance Head was in my top 3 before tonight, and note that he's bottom 3 tonight with Blake Lewis moving up substantially. I thought the three I put on top tonight were stand-apart better than the nine below them. And frankly, none of the remaining nine were abysmally bad. They were just generally boring. I can't predict who will go home based on my ranking, but if I had to choose it would probably be Paul Kim and Nick Pedro. I think Chris stood out enough to survive (even though he was my least favorite) and I thin Sanjaya will survive with the cute young factor thing going.

Labels: American Idol, Boys, Round 1, Semi-Finals

What will I say next? Click and find out.

posted by RenaRF @ 7:25 AM, ,

The Girls - Round 1
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ok. I'm back in action tonight. I haven't had a chance to check the boys from last night and won't likely get to that until tomorrow, so I am assiduously avoiding seeing any recaps so as not to bias my opinion. I'll be live-blogging the girls tonight replete with initial spot impressions. So here we go!

The "eyes of America" are apparently on American Idol tonight. Ryan introduces himself, which is weird because I believe everyone not living under a rock knows who he is. I"m fast-forwarding through the recap from last night (don't want to foreshadow anything for myself). I won't listen to what the judges say or hear any of their recapped performances just to keep things straight.

More after the click.

And now we're to the boys, watching the girls. And they re-introduce the girls to us. They look good! The stylists have clearly been advising them a bit. I suspect this is also the performance order. We are reminded that we are to the "America Votes" portion of the competition, and that two guys and two girls will be gone tomorrow night. We meet the judges - again, anyone not in rock-ville knows who these guys are. Ryan laments the "take a risk; stand out" mantra met by feedback that something was "too risky". I can't avoid some foreshadowing. Apparently they were rough on the boys last night. Hm... Simon agrees with Paula, and Simon smiles. It's creepy. Apparently also Chris Sligh had a "go" at Simon. Double-hm. Apparently Chris got under Simon's skin, eh? Triple-hm. Can we skip all this recapping and get to the girls? Jeezus beezus. And NOW we're recapping the girls and how they got there. One by one we see how they loved them in auditions. One by one we recap Hollywood weeks where they didn't totally love them but they liked them. One by one we see their decision after walking the "green mile". I'd be interested if I hadn't seen this just last week. Yawn. And it's a commercial, so I'll publish this and continue after the break.

A little note - I start watching American Idol half an hour into the two hour show (at the beginning, so I can forward through the commercials) so there's a bit of a lag in my post, but I'll catch up by the end.

And we're back!! Stephanie Edwards is up first. She's 19 from Savannah GA, and she's a college student. She didn't think she was going to make it when she saw the other girls. Her family is behind her, though, and that's a good thing, apparently. We see her at Hollywood week, and she reiterates that her parents encouraged her and that's why she's there. It's nice.

She's singing something I don't know. Generally, I think that that's a bad move because it's her first week in the semis and she should do something that people can recognize. She looks nice, looks comfortable. She's a good performer, and she sounds very good. She shows a lot of range and control in her voice. I had her identified as one of my top four girls, and she's showing me tht she deserves to be there. She gets on her knees for the end of the song, and it's a good touch without being too "cabaret". And with that, she wraps the song. She has to watch that last note - it was just a skosh flat. Now the judges:

Randy: He loved it. "That said it all". He agrees that it's a little pitchy, but the conviction was there.

Paula: She's knocked out. Says Stephanie is quite a performer.

Simon: Thought she was a million times better than last night and was her personal best performance. He loved the song choice (I disagree - this is America voting). He basically said she looked like she wanted to win American Idol.

Ryan notes how comfortable she was. Her voting line: 1-866-IDOLS01. Text 5701.

Amy Krebs and Leslie Hunt are up after the break and we hear they'll be doing Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin.

And we're back. Amy Krebs and Leslie Hunt are in the red room on the couches around Ryan. They interview Melinda Doolittle a bit - and she talks about how the guys were amazing but the judges challenged them. Antonella is nervous after seeing the boys' feedback.

Amy Krebs is up next, and she's a little nervous. They ask her if she agreed or disagreed with the judges, and she gives a smartly political answer. We see her audition. She's 22 from Seattle WA, and she's an optometrist's assistant. We see her Hollywood audition and the snippet I saw I didn't especially like. She takes all the feedback. Simon busts on her belt at the Green Mile decision.

She does Bonnie Raitt's I can't make you love me - TOUGH song. I know - I've sung it. It seems so lazy and effortless to sing, but it really isn't. I'm pretty underwhelmed with her beginning and when she goes into a run it's PAINFULLY bad. Out of tune, weak, shaky, really not good. Now she's in the chorus, and she's getting better in spots, but when she gets improvisational and goes for runs, it's just really not good. The comparison between her and Stephanie Edwards is night and day. The judges are going to tear her up. It really sucked.

Randy: He hedging. He thought it was middle-of-the-road - I think that's highly generous. It didn't quite work. Too safe.

Paula: She's hesitant, and she agrees with Randy. They talk about her bluesy auditions (not that we saw them), and that it wasn't good.

Simon: He refers to the clip again and says he still can't remember her. She has "the personality of a candle" when she sings. She's "this thing that sings" and "two singers later I'll forget you". I have to say - she stands out for me from that performance because she was so not good.

Ryan talks to her - she agrees her personality needs to shine a bit more. Simon pipes in that even her clothes and hair are forgettable. I disagree there - she's a softly pretty young woman. It's just the singing that was awful, and this IS a singing competition. 1-866-IDOLS02, text 5702.

Leslie Hunt - 24 from Chicago IL, and she's a dog-walker. She enjoyed her audition, and though their feedback was good. I only saw her first on the very last show. She's a cute girl, looks like she could be very funny as well. She's pleased with herself that she's come this far.

Natural Woman - she better blow this out, because this is Aretha. She starts off on key, and that's good - she doesn't really have the big voice you would expect for this song. Now she's in the high parts. I like her better there - she has a nice, scratchy high register. She looks pretty as well. She's handling the bridge very well also - she improvises REALLY well in the part that would call for a higher register than I think she has. She ends strong. I thought it was good overall.

Randy: Yes yes yes, he says. He was hoping for definite greatness, but he thought the song was too big for her. He's right - she did a good job with that song, but it lacks in comparison to the original and those who have killed it before.

Paula: Thought she did a great job, but wants her to be careful about the songs she picked.

Simon: He didn't think it was great. He thought she looked embarrassed and ungainly while performing, and out of her comfort zone. I disagree with that - if anything, I think she over-emoted during the song to the point of taking away from what she was actually singing.

Ryan hears Simon - she was out of her comfort zone. 1-866-IDOLS03, text 5703. And we're to a break.

And we're back. We're reminded to vote. Sabrina Sloan is next. She's 27 from Studio City CA, and she's a professional singer. They show her singing Alicia Keyes during her audition. Simon warns her she needs the "best song in the world" to make it through Hollywood round, and apparently she delivered that.

She's singing You're No Good - another great song that requires a big voice. She starts of WAY strong. Surprisingly strong - she immediately goes to the power notes. Smart, and she delivers, which is was matter. she's got good stage presence, and she's a very exotic pretty. She's really knocking this one down, frankly. So far, for the four girls that have gone, she's my top performance I think because she WAS that good, and it was SO unexpected. I can't identify a problem in that song at all. It was phenomenal.

Randy: Well well well. He LOVED it. Says she's the one to beat and she's "hot".

Paula: Gives her a standing O.

Simon: She proved the point between taking part, and genuinely having a desire to win with talent. He thought it was the best one he's seen out of every one so far.

Ryan's with her - she's thrilled, as she should be. She didn't go with a ballad because she's watched the show for five years. 1-866-IDOLS04, text 5704. I'll be voting for her.

Antonella Barba - I liked her audition. She's 20 years old from Point Pleasant NJ, and she's a student. She talks about Hollywood week being very stressful, she lost her voice yada yada. She was excited she made it but upset that her friend Amanda got cut. She didn't know she would beat out Marissa, but she did.

She's seated as she starts her song. I vaguely know this song, but I can't name it (sorry). She sounds ok - her runs are a little shaky at the start. She hits an appallingly bad note in the middle going to the chorus and is flat through the chorus. The song is Don't Want To Miss A Thing. You know, it's not bad like Sabrina Sloan's was, but it's not good, either. She's shouting and she's flat in spots. She goes to the pianissimo section and it's ok - a good way to end after the rest of it. Overall, not very good.

Randy: Wants to know what she thinks Randy is going to say, and she says he's going to say he saw her nerves. He says it really wasn't good.

Paula: Goes to Antonella's beauty, and laments her song choice.

Simon: He says the good news is she's attractive. The bad news was it didn't work - "way, way way too big for you" in terms of the song. He thinks it's seriously damaged her chances, and I have to agree.

It was painful in points. She wants to know what she can do better, and they echo that it's song selection - she's a pop singer, and she has to pick a pop song. He says the "song ate her up", and again I agree. 1-866-IDOLS05, text 5705. Won't be voting for her - I haven't liked her much from the beginning, and this performance didn't help.

With that, we're at another break.

And we're back. We're in the red room again, first with Jordin Sparks. She thinks being young is both good and bad. Good that she has a lot of time, bad that they will lament she's young and she wants it now. They show her audition. She's 17 years old from Glendale AZ, and she's a junior in high school (God I'm old). They show her in Hollywood week, and she wants Simon's approval as she is, without changing.

Her song is Gimme One Reason. Right out of the gate, she sounds like Tracy Chapman. The arrangement is VERY fast, folks. That makes a difficult song harder to sing. My biggest complaint with this song is that it stays primarily in the lower register and I KNOW this girl has th upper register. She needs to go there, because she's doing a good job with the parts of the song she's singing. She goes there towards the end but just for a moment. She's got a great stage presence. She jumps almost a full octave at the end and it sounds really really good. Hate to say it, but it makes Antonella's performance look that much worse.

Randy: "Young Jordin Sparks" is how he opens. He agreed that the beginning of the song was weak and told her to pick a bigger song - she can do it.

Paula: She loved the song selection (I think it was a mistake).

Simon: Thinks they've seen a big change with her. He thinks she has a very, very good voice and he likes her choosing younger songs. He wants her to push herself, but he thought it was good.

Ryan's with her - he's talking about how poised and confident she is. She giggles and says she doesn't know where it comes from. 1-866-IDOLS06, text 5706. So we're halfway through. The teaser shows Nicole Tranquillo is going to to RUFUS and CHAKHA KHAN?? OMG.

Nicole Tranquillo - She's 20 and from Wernersville PA, and she's a student. She's a voice major apparently, and she thinks it's helped her. She felt group day was her best moment. Apparently Melinda Doolittle was in her group, as well as Tammy Gosnell (cut).

Ok I can't identify the song, and it starts really low with a lot of attitude. I'm looking for the melody in this song and she's not helping me find it. It's too low, she can't pull off the attitude, and she's off-key. She has a good run in what is otherwise a sea of badness imo. Then she goes to her higher register and it gets better, but it's really screechy. I'm serious here - I can't identify any pattern, reason or melody in her song. She's literally screaming. I thought it was just AWFUL.

Randy: He didn't like it - it was rough for him and went over his head.

Paula: For some reason she asks the boys if it was good. She talks about her hitting the notes she hit. She thought it was "out of this world" but not the right song, but she can sing.

Randy: Thought it was indulgent, aggressive, it looked unnatural, like she had over-rehearsed it, and he didn't like it. He thinks she can sing, but it was the wrong song.

I thought it was an absolute train wreck. Really, really bad. If America gets it right, so far she could save Antonella Barba. Nicole doesn't agree with Randy when he says it's too urban for her. Why is no one talking about the fact that she screamed and was off key? My God. 1-866-IDOLS07. Ugh. 7 down, and she's in my bottom 2.

With that, we're at a break.

And we're back. Haley Scarnato is standig there with Ryan, and she looks very classy. She talks about how good the other girls have been, talks about how talented everyone is. Very politically correct. We see her audition. She's 24 and from San Antonio TX and she sings in a band. We are reminded Simon thought she was cabaret. I remembr liking and not loving her. They show her Hollywood audition - again, good but not great (imo). She doesn't want to go home (duh).

She starts off singing and she has a sweet voice with enough strength. I don't know this song yet, either. She reminds me of someone who would be on Broadway. The tempo to the song is slowish and does put me in mind of something you'd hear before intermission. As far as her pitch goes, it's very good. I haven't heard bad notes. But frankly, this is what you can hear from any good girl singer out there. Not bad, but not great, and definitely forgettable.

Randy: He doesn't really like the song choice, apparently. It was just OK for him, really, and he echos my opinion that she has a Broadway voice but that it wasn't special. I agree.

Paula: Thought she did a nice job. I agree with that, also. She had hoped a for a different song because she did it in Hollywood week.

Simon: He thought she sounded 40. He thought it was like being at a reasonably good hotel and that ended the evening. I agree - it was WAY too old AND old-fashioned. He knows she has a good voice, but it was boring. Agree again.

Ryan's with her. He appreciates the feedback, but she's going to stay true to herself. She'll change to entertain everybody, but that's her style and she's going to stay true to herself. Ryan lets her know they're trying to set her up to get the most votes she can. My read? Totally forgettable, and grannies don't typically vote. 1-866-IDOLS08, text 5708. I won't break a nail dialing.

ANOTHER commercial.

And we're back. We're reminded of the live results tomorrow night, that four will be leaving, and that Fantasia will be performing.

Melinda Doolittle- she's 29, from Brentwood TN, and she's a background singer. She talks about being a background singer and how it would seem to be an easy switch to front singer, but it's not that easy. She loved Hollywood week. It was empowering for her. She was one of my favorites from the beginning - I hope she's great.

She takes the stage and she's singing Baby Baby Sweet Baby and she's totally pulling it off. It's an upbeat tune that lets her show her voice. She's spot-on pitch wise folks, and she's got all the nuances of this song down. She also looks totally comfortable on stage. Totally believable. This song is a mix of attitude and power-talent, and she's mixed it up correctly. I also love her phrasing. This is absolutely the best performance of the night by a mile. She even finishes hot.

Randy: He loves it. Loves it totally - she blew it out. She's hot, and all she needs is confidence because she's got the natural gift.

Paula: Loved it.

Simon: It's interesting, because he's seen little talent and a huge amount of arrogance and she's the opposite - she's a wonderful person and a fantastic singer and he really hopes she does well.

I agree. Ryan wants to know if she loves it - and she does. 1-866-IDOLS09, text 5709. I WILL be voting for her. She's tops so far, but we have some strong ones yet to go.

Commercial time.

And we're back. It's America's favorite show!! Alaina Alexander is up next. She talks about how she cries at the drop of a hat, and she's excited - she had a good rehearsal. She's 24 from Redlands, CA and she works at a pizzaria. She thought Simon would tear her up in the audition, but he loved her then. She started to cry when he did that. They show Hollywood week, and she talks about how stressful it was. She's a pretty girl and somhow sweetly sincere in her package.

Brass in Pocket is her choice. Weird choice. This is another song that spends a great deal of time in the lower register. It is a signature song as well in that you expect power in certain parts and she's going strangely soft in those sections. Not bad, but not what the song requires. She goes kind of off-key in the higher parts. So far, I'm pretty underwhelmed. I would expect to hear this in any wedding band that did this particular song.

Randy: He really didn't think it was great, and he didn't think she did anything different with it and it was pitchy in spots.

Paula: You didn't take the song and didn't go for it. She didn't feel it.

Simon: She kept singing "I'm special" and it wasn't. He thought the song was difficult to make it her own, and I agree. No one is going to think that was great - she'll be relying on her looks, because there have been 3 or 4 other girls who have absolutely blown her out.

Ryan talks about her passion, and how that's good. Simon talks about how it would be good if there were Passion Idol. Randy wants to know what she sings best - she thought it showed her personality, but it isn't Personality Idol as Randy points out. Paula thought she was special enough to make it, but it's about picking songs and this wasn't really the right song. 1-866-IDOLS10, text 5710.

Funny aside, Simon asked Ryan during the interview if he was "trying to date her" and accuses Ryan of being "over-biased". Ryan - NOT amused. Like, seriously. He didn't like that at all.

No commercial!! Yay!! Next up is Gina Glockson. We see her audition. She's 22 from Naperville IL, and she's a dental assistant. She talks about getting cut in Season 5, and how she had a yar to think about it and she came back. I liked her - I considered her a dark horse. This should be interesting.

All By Myself is her song. BIG song. She standing at the mic to start. She REALLY reminds me just a bit of Kelly Clarkson as she sings these lower parts. Now we're going to the money portion of the song. They show what can only be her mother crying. She goes to the high notes and she's totally on key and it sounds interesting and good. And then she goes to the transition to the REALLY high part and it was just a bit rough, but she recovers. She also finishes very strong.

Randy: Big girl, big voice, big song. He thought it was cool because he didn't know it was going to work, and he was pleasantly surprised. Said she had a nice close.

Paula: Right song. Good job.

Simon: He was surprised, but he didn't think she hit the right note; the big note. She didn't quite get there like Celine Dion does (as if anyone could). He's kind of neutral.

Ryan's with her - wanted to know how confident she was before, and she was a 6. He asks how confident she is now, and she says she's a 12. She hit the note, she's proud of herself, and I think she should be. It was a very good performance. 1-866-IDOLS11, text 5711.

Commercial!!

And we're back, with the girl I had as THE best of all the girls, Lakesha Jones. We se her audition. She's 27 from Flint MI, and she's a bank teller. We see her 3-year old daughter, and are reminded that she's definitely got the goods. She seems like a nice girl in adition to being very talented.

She's singing Jennifer Hudson's song, I Am Telling You. This is a big song, and she's got the voice to deliver. What's nice about her as well is that she understand the need to modulate to really perform a song. She backs off where she needs to and powers through where the song requires it. I thought this song was great overall, and I think the nearly a capella ending was masterful.

Randy: He loves her generally, and she laid it out on that stage tonight. He loved her.

Paula: Says she has a lot lot to be proud of, and this is where she belongs.

Simon: "Just to correct somone earlier on, that's the right note. I am very tempted to say to 23 people 'book your plane tickets home'". Paula admonishes him, and he says she's in a different league. I agree with a qualification - she AND Melinda are in a different league than the other girls.

Ryan's with her. It's her daughter's birthday. AW. :-) 1-866-IDOLS12, text 5712.

This is how it stacks up so far for me:

1. Lakesha Jones
2. Melinda Doolittle
3. Sabrina Sloan
4. Jordin Sparks
5. Stephanie Edwards
6. Gina Glockson
7. Leslie Hunt
8. Alaina Alexander
9. Haley Scarnato
10. Antonella Barba
11. Nicole Tranquillo
12. Amy Krebs

I gotta say - it's very close for me between Lakesha and Melinda. The other 10 are somewhere WAY below those two girls, frankly. The surprise of the night for me was Sabrina Sloan, because I didn't pick her at ALL after the Green Mile episode. I'm also concerned that Stephanie Edwards will suffer for going first.

As far as tomorrow goes, I pick Nicole Tranquillo and Amy Krebs to go home. Not even close to the top four girls. I would also say that Antonella Barba, Haley Scarnato, and Alaina Alexander ought to be very happy that the other two girls out-sucked them, because they were only slightly less painful than the worst people.

I will try to catch up with the boys before the results show tomorrow. I should be able to do that. Thanks for reading!

Labels: American Idol, Girls, Round 1, Semi-Finals

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posted by RenaRF @ 8:27 PM, ,

Handicapping American Idol 6

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The Girls - Round 2
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Boys - Round 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Worth Watching
Monday, February 26, 2007

Antonella Barba - Naked Pictures?

Dave White's Recap from Semifinal Round 1
Friday, February 23, 2007

You MUST Read Dave White's AI Recaps.

Results Show - 1
Thursday, February 22, 2007

Out of Order, I Review The Boys from Tue. Night

The Girls - Round 1
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Handicapping American Idol 6

About me

Previous Posts

Links

Other Cool Stuff

Archives

Powered By

The Girls - Round 2 Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Boys - Round 2 Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Worth Watching Monday, February 26, 2007

Antonella Barba - Naked Pictures?

Dave White's Recap from Semifinal Round 1 Friday, February 23, 2007

You MUST Read Dave White's AI Recaps.

Results Show - 1 Thursday, February 22, 2007

Out of Order, I Review The Boys from Tue. Night

The Girls - Round 1 Wednesday, February 21, 2007

The Girls - Round 2
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Boys - Round 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Worth Watching
Monday, February 26, 2007

Dave White's Recap from Semifinal Round 1
Friday, February 23, 2007

Results Show - 1
Thursday, February 22, 2007

The Girls - Round 1
Wednesday, February 21, 2007