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
posted by RenaRF @ 8:23 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 10:36 PM,
said...
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Rena! Remember me? What a surprise to find this blog! :) I'm enjoying your recaps, because I keep missing half of the performance shows sitting in lovely DC traffic. Anyway, tonight I only caught the performances starting with Stephanie's (she was awesome). Based on what I saw and the clips at the end of the show, though, I predict that Haley and Alaina will get the boot tomorrow. Leslie's a possibility too, but she might hang on. She'll go next week if she does. Antonella will stay for another week (unfortunately). She's got Vote for the Worst and lots of teenage boys behind her.
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At 2:23 PM,
RenaRF said...
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Hi Alison!! Did you just stumble over the blog, or get here from MJs? I live in the DC suburbs so I feel your pain regarding traffic, but I'm NEVER that late unless I have a dinner meeting.
I agree that Haley and Alaina are at risk, but I think Leslie Hunt could be there, too, along with Gina. In addition to the VFTW thing, she also has BOOBIES don't you know - that said teenage boys can actually LOOK at on the internet.
Can anyone say "Double Standard"? Frenchie gets pushed off for being topless but not Antonella for the same when those pictures were clearly her? I personally thought the worse one was where she was sitting on the TOILET peeing for goodness' sake. Sheesh. Nice example for 13-year olds everywhere. -
At 5:33 PM,
said...
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I actually came across this blog when it came up in a Google alert for Gray Charles that I started a long time ago. I think you mentioned GrayCharles.com in a post a few days ago.
Anyway, "RenaRF" jumped out at me so I had to check it out. BTW, I'm the Alison that you went to the LMBO concert with last year (I should have mentioned that before). :O)
Leslie Hunt could definitely go tonight. She's very forgettable (yikes, I sound like Simon now). I'd be fine with that. heh If she doesn't go this week, she'll go next week.
The whole Antonella thing has double standard written all over it. They've kicked people off for lesser things in the past. I can see her hanging around for a while -- even into the top 10. Look at Pickler, after all...