Results Show - 3
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Allrighty. Let's get to the results. My predictions were made earlier today in another post. We'll see how I did. To review, I said it would be Sundance, Phil, Sabrina and Haley going home tonight.
I'm anxious to find out what The. Biggest. Thing. EVER. is going to be. This is it, folks. We're on to the finals with 12 lucky contestants after tonight. The remaining 16 are huddled together on the smallish stage as Ryan does his schtick. Cue intro!! We're off.
We're right to the group sing and we're reminded that its live. Stuck In The Middle With You is the groupsing. Chris S, Haley, Jared, sing fromthe rails. Blake, Melinda and Stephanie solo from center stage. Now we're to the awful "all together now!" portion. Ugh. Phil gets a nice solo, though it's short. Then Chris R sings through his nose, Gina sings edgily, Brandon stalks around. Back to horrific groupsing. Jordin gets the same solo as Phil. Sabrina and Sanjaya sing together, and you can't hear Sanjaya. Lakisha sings, then Antonella points and stalks around. Sundance sings and sings well. If only he had done that Tuesday night. And it's blissfully over. Click through to get to the rest of the recap.
Seacrest chimes in. I notice he hasn't done any "6 boys and 6 girls" thing. He alludes to The. Biggest. Thing. EVER. We also learn again that Carrie Underwood will be there performing live. 37 million votes came in this week. We meet the judges, and review the performances. We are reminded handily that the boys suck WAY worse than the girls. To underscore it, we are told that the "girls came back with a vengeance". "Girl's time", Randy calls it. Oh please - must we relive Haley's hopelessly bland performance. It is funny to hear Simon tell Antonella that he just "wish you could sing better". Exactly.
We go right to the results, apparently. Isn't this an hour show? And no commercial yet? Ryan calls Lakisha and Blake to center stage. They've both made it through to the Top 12. Duh. No surprise there.
Chris Sligh is called up next, in a weird outfit I must say. It's a kind of shortish black tie and white shirt, like he's a sloppy Mormon on on mission (he's only missing the bike to complete the visual), and that's paired with jeans. He's alone - no one else joins him. Ryan wants to know if he thinks he made it - he says he "hopes" he made it. Ryan gets dramatic - "Chris, America voted... You are... NOT going to find out until after the break." Sheesh.
After the break, Chris makes it through. Double-duh. Jordin is called to the stage. She's safe and through to the final 12. 4 down, 8 to go. No shockers. Phil. Rut roh - he's one of my outed choices tonight. Phil feels nervous. He's a little worried. Phil makes it through!! I'm SO glad to be wrong on that one. I don't think one bad week should have sunk him.
Jared is center-stage next. Jared is OUT, and they do this quickly. Hm... Interesting. I definitely thought he was better than Phil this week, but overall, it's probably a good choice. Simon admonishes him to work on his vocals, and Randy tells him to stress his originality. Jared is VERY surprised and he admits it. Hm. Cocky much? He gets to sing the song people hated enough not to vote for him again, If You Really Love Me. He should keep working on his singing - he has potential - but I agree.
Commercial time. I don't usually watch the commercials, but apparently NASCAR has a race on the rings of Saturn this year. Huh.
Time for the American Idol challenge. The answer is C. Text it to 51555. I want a cut if you win. Melinda and Brandon are called to center stage. They are the two backup singers. One is markedly better than the other so far. Both go through. I knew when they called Brandon up with Melinda that he was through.
Gina and Chris R. are now in the middle of the stage. They look sick. They are both through to the next round. Ryan tries to imply that they look really friendly with each other, when Gina's boyfriend is in the audience. Bad Ryan!
We have only six people left undecided, and three slots left. We cut to Carrie Underwood's winning moment. I wasn't a huge Carrie fan just because I'm not a fan of country, but she seems like a really nice girl and a beautiful girl, so I'm happy for her success. I really like that they gave her a best new artist Grammy as well - it somehow legitimizes American Idol, because I remember all the nasty things the "mainstream" music industry said about Idol during season 1. Take that, mainstream naysayers!! Carrie's performing now. Hate the outfit, but having said that, I will say that possibly only she could it wear it that well. I always wonder what the Idol wannabes think when a past Idol performs in front of them - do they dream big dreams? See themselves where she is? It's actually kind of cool, and probably why I like this show so much.
6 people pee their pants through another commercial break, and we're reminded abut the "surprise" yet again. I suppose I should prepare to be let down.
And we're back! 25 minutes left in the show. Three places left, 6 people sitting waiting to hear. Antonella and Stephanie are called center stage. Antonella's already crying. Stephanie looks calm. ANTONELLA!! SHE'S FREAKIN OUT!!! EXCELLENT. I'm SO glad to be wrong on this one. She bursts into tears - how can she be surprised? Lost in the shuffle is the fact that Stephanie is through to the finals. She gets snaps from me for pulling it together to sing her way her out. Let the conspiracy theories ensue, folks.
And we continue: Haley and Sabrina are center stage. Sabrina is crying. Haley looks on the verge of tears. Haley just freakin' made it through with Sabrina going home. That's just beyond wrong. Ridiculously wrong. Ryan goes to Randy - he says Sabrina should be in the Top 12. America got it wrong. Sabrina handles it like a pro. I'm pretty aggravated with this one. Well, at least I can nap or get a soda or make a snack when Haley sings next week without missing anything. And honestly, it's difficult not to really dislike Haley for taking the place of someone who deserves the spot way more than she does. For the record, I voted for Sabrina. I voted for everyone but Antonella and Haley.
That leaves us going to commercial with only Sundance and Sanjaya left. The Sabrina thing was a travesty - and between Sundance and Sanjaya, there's no question - Sanjaya has sucked the most of anyone who made the semi-finals consistently. This better go right.
All right. We're back. I'm still peeved. The Sabrina thing just pisses me off. Between she and Haley, no comparison. One's theme park and the other's talent. Here's the Big. American. Idol. News. They're going to apparently join the ONE Campaign, to expose and address extreme poverty in Africa. I am TOTALLY behind this - I'm a ONE Campaign contributor. Ryan and Simon have been to Africa, and we see the clips of their trip. It's actually really cool. This is a VERY worthy cause, folks, and I'm going to link to the ONE Campaign's website frequently and encourage you to give what you can. I'm pleased to be not let down in the slightest by this. Ryan and the judges will also visit areas in America that have extreme poverty. Randy will go to Louisiana. Paula will go throughout the Mississippi basin. Simon closes with: "At the end of the day, all of us have done very well out of this show and I'm glad we can give something back." Hear hear.
Here's how it works. April 24 & 25, they'll showcase those in need. They'll be down to the top 6, and for every vote cast the sponsors will donate money to the charity. Borat and Quincy Jones will be in the 4/25 show; so will Gwen Stefani, Pink, Annie Lenox, Bono. Wow. That's pretty cool, folks.
Now back to the results. Sanjaya and Sundance come center stage. Only one goes through. They both look pretty stoic. They're going to take a break before they tell us!! Ugh.
And we're back. Sanjaya and Sundance are still standing there. They look a little sicker. And goddamnit, goddamned America put Sanjaya through. Jesus Christ on a crutch. That's ridiculous. HOW do you take Sanjaya over Sundance?? How?? Paula's speechless by the results. It's a singing competition, folks, and Sundance has been one of the finest. Simon's only explanation is that the volume must have been turned down. Paula reiterates that it's mind-boggling. Sundance smiles and says someone has to give him a job - he's looking for a job. Another wrong choice. America, sometimes you suck.
After Sundance sings, we see the package of the people who will be leaving. Ooh interesting - I forgot that Simon said, after Sundance's audition, that "I'm going to be amazed if you don't make it to the finals". I do think Simon's face showed amazement - not so much at Sundance as at Sanjaya, I think. Haley and Sanjaya must have sold their souls - that's the ONLY explanation.
Through to the finals:
Lakisha Jones
Blake Lewis
Chris Sligh
Jordin Sparks
Phil Stacey
Melinda Doolittle
Brandon Rogers
Chris Richardson
Gina Glocksen
Stephanie Edwards
Haley Scarnato
Sanjaya Malakar
OUT:
Jared Cotter
Antonella Barba
Sabrina Sloan
Sundance Head
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Girls, Results, Round 3, Semi-Finals
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posted by RenaRF @ 7:55 PM,
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Predictions
I'll keep this short, but I want to get in the habit of making my predictions well in advance of showtime. Barring any massive revelation that restructures how many boys and how many girls go through to the finals, I'll stay with the 2 boys and 2 girls go. I'll cover who should go, and who will go.
Boys - this week was tough to call.
Who should go: Sanjaya Malakar, Sundance Head
Who will go: Sundance Head, Phil Stacey
Girls - easy to say who should go but who will go is tough as well.
Who should go: Haley Scarnato, Antonella Barba
Who will go: Haley Scarnato, Sabrina Sloan
((sigh)) See you during the Results show!
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Girls, Predictions, Round 3, Semi-Finals
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 2:31 PM,
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The Girls - Round 3
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Ok. I have just literally gulped down a bowl of Annie Chung's Miso Soup (LOVE that stuff) and am ready to live-blog tonight's episode. It's the final round before the finals for the girls, folks, as if all of America didn't already know that. Nakedella is still here, and if the spoilers MJ posted are correct, she's singing one of my FAVORITE songs and had BETTER NOT screw it up. With that, let's begin.
Seacrest does a fashion twist tonight, donning a black turtleneck (instead of a button-down) with his jeans and jacket. The turtleneck thing is a bit much - it's like a really HIGH neck on that sucker, and Ryan has it all scrunched up. We learn that no one can find Paula. How weird. And with that, we're to the American Idol fabulous computerized music and intro. They're live folks. The girls pull out all the stops to win YOUR votes. Melinda's in the pimp spot tonight. It would be better if they stuck Nakedella in the first slot, but she's 3rd. Ironically, Haley Scarnato is 4th, so I'll have uninterrupted pain. Paula made it, along with Randy and Simon. Simon's doing a light gray shirt tonight. Shocker. Actually, I like it. He's a smarmy egotist, but I think he's cute. Click the click for the rest of the show.
Presumably we're still with the "things you don't know about [insert Idol name here]" theme, and we learn that for Jordin Sparks, football is a huge part of her life. She's apparently an Arizona Cardinals fan, poor thing. She wanted to be a pro football player at one point, but singing won out.
She's singing Pat Benetar tonight. Jordin's a naturally talented girl, but I find her inconsistent and a bit sloppy in spots. This song is no different. When she's on her note, she's ON IT. But when she's off, it's glaringly obvious. Heartbreaker is the song, and anyone who ever sung a note knows that singing Pat Benetar is difficult. I find her a little overpowered by the band and background vocals in spots, but she ends VERY strong with a high high strong note. Overall, the performance was quite good, but not great.
Randy: It's weird for him. It's a different show when the girls come in. There were pitchy spots and it wasn't her best performance, but it was still dope.
Paula: She thinks she has energy and thought it was great.
Simon: He's not as enthusiastic - it's a bit manic for him and shrieky in spots, but she's done well, she shows her personality, and he thinks she'll be here next week. It wasn't her strongest performance, though.
Ryan's with Jordin, and she can feel the top 12. She's excited. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text to 5701. Jordin's cute as she scrunches down so as not to tower over shorter Ryan.
And we're back from commercial. We start in the Red Room, with Ryan on the couch flanked by Sabrina and Gina. Gina looks edgier tonight. Sabrina looks all Gloria Estefan chic. Ryan talks about the praise the girls are getting, and Gina thinks it's a blessing. Sabrina thinks everyone is nervous because they know what's at stake.
Sabrina Sloan wanted to be the next Katie Couric in high school. We see a clip of her being a high school news anchor.
Sabrina starts behind the microphone, standing center stage. I vaguely think this is a Mary J. Blige song. I don't know that Sabrina has the right voice to cop the wildly popular grammy-nominated Mary J. She sings this well, but some of the high notes are pretty tight and grating. She's better when she works some nuance to her performance - her soft spots are lovely. This song is highly stylized, and I can't say I loved it. I think she substantively hit the notes with a few minor exceptions, but the tone with which she did it was really not appealing.
Randy: Not his favorite performance, but another good solid performance. It showed her big voice, but he wished for melody.
Paula: One thing is consistent. She can sing sing sing. Her voice soars - it pierces through, and she looks beautiful.
Simon: She's a great singer, but it's lacking the emotion he sees from her main competitors, Lakisha, Melinda and Stephanie. It reminded him of a hotel resort performance. She's a great singer, bu she's got to inject personality. She'll only go so far without it. Too mechanical.
Ryan joins Sabrina, and his turtleneck is still high. Ryan wants to know if she deserves to be in the top 12, and they all agree - yes. 1-866-IDOLS02 or text 5702.
Antonella Barba has been playing the violin since she was a tiny kid. Wait - this is a segment about "things people would be surprised to learn about her" and she talks about playing the VIOLIN??? Good God. I will say also - she shows ZERO personality in her pre-song package.
She's singing Put All Your Records On, a smash hit by Corinne Bailey Rae, nominated for Song of the Year this year. It starts out and I have to say - I don't like her at all personally - but this song totally suits her. She kind of drops a run in the beginning, but finds her way again. We're at the chorus. Some of the lower register twists are sloppy for me, and she's a hair flat here and there. This is without a doubt her best performance, but I have to say - the section they chose when they chopped up the song was not vocally challenging at all. It's difficult to compare her to someone who did Mary J. and went big. This was good, though.
Randy: Good song choice. It was a nice ending, but pitchy in the middle there. He doesn't think she believes she can do it - just ok.
Paula: The right song choice for her and where she stands with her range, lower notes - she has to watch out. But it was the right song.
Simon: You've gone as far as you can go, Antonella. The reality is you're surrounded by some pretty amazing girl singers and he doesn't know how much more she can do because her voice isn't going to get any better. He feels fer her - she's taken a lot of stick in the media and she's handled herself well throughout, and she doesn't think anyone should be put through that, but he's not going to patronize - it wasn't your worst, but he has a problem because he wishes she could sing better.
Ryan's with her, and she doesn't compare herself to anyone else, and wishes the judges wouldn't compare her to anyone else. She doesn't try to be them and they don't try to be her. Simon interjects that "no they wouldn't" and takes some flak from Paula and Ryan, but then Simon says to just "get real". 1-866-IDOLS03 or text 5703.
Gotta say as they go to break - I agree with Simon, and I think it was classy to give her snaps for the whole thing in the media. But he's right - she's not the same level or caliber and if she thinks that she shouldn't be compared, she has bigger problems than soft-porn pictures on the internet. And with that, we're at a commercial.
And we're back. Ryan's center stage. American Idol is the number one show in the country and it can change lives.
Haley Scarnato was a gymnast. She did it for 10 yea rs until she dislocated her shoulder, and then she turned to singing, her true love and her passion.
She's singing a song I have literally never known. She starts out well vocally. She has asweet kind of off-broadway musical voice tonight. I have to say - this does sound like second-rate musical to me. And it's not because she's bad, because she's not singing badly at all. She's hitting her notes. But the song is obscure for me, and very high school musical where she's the best singer in the school. The ending was ridiculously weak. I can't decide which performance I disliked more - Haley's or Antonella's - I think Haley's because it was just so Godawful boring.
Randy: So an interesting song choice for him. It's who she is. It was ok. It was in tune, but had no pizzaz, no wow. No "yo".
Paula: Haley is the kind of artist that song showed. It wasn't her favorite song but she sang it well.
Simon: He thought it was horrible, just horrible - he thought it was like some terrible, ghastly high school musical performance. He realized halfway through he didn't know her name, and she hasn't made an impression.
Ryan's with Haley, after Ryan had to remind Paula that Haley's last name is Scarnato. Haley's "clocking in" and "clocking out". Her attitude is very cavalier. Simon reiterates that it's not personal, and Randy re-establishes that there's no Wow. Gotta say - didn't like Haley's attitude AT ALL. But if you want to vote for her it's 1-866-IDOLS04 or text to 5704. Not likely.
We go right to Stephanie Edwards, who has been singing since she was 3 years old in front of her parents. Her parents would ask her to sing in front of people and she would be shy and run in her room and cry.
Stephanie is a pretty girl. Again, I don't know this song - but after hearing Antonella and then Haley, the difference is striking. Stephenie is rungs above either of those girls with her first note. Now, she seems to favor this whole Beyonce kind of stylized songs, which I don't prefer, and I hope she makes it to the top 12 so I can hear her do something besides this. Oh ow - she went somewhere really far afield in that close-to-the-end run, and her last high note was a little rough for me.
Randy: A for a valiant effort. She was automatically compared to Chakha (apparently the song was by Chakha Khan) by Randy, and he can't get with it. It was just ok for him.
Paula: Darn near flawless, and watch slightly falling behind in the music. Beautiful voice and great showmanship. Commanded the stage and great job.
Simon: One of the best that Idol has. She has a tendency to go a little bit copycat, but for hi, she's done 100% enough to go into the final 12 next week.
Ryan's with Stephanie, and wants to know if she has the "yo" factor. He cautions her to pick songs where she won't be compared because Chakha "done already sung it". I hear what he's saying. 1-866-IDOLS05 or text 5705.
We're at a break.
And we're back!! We're on the fringes of the Red Room, and Ryan stalks around to get to Lakisha, who relaxes on the rails. Lakisha's ready to bring it. She hugs Ryan and she's off.
The crazy thing about Lakisha Jones is that she is terrified of animals - any animals.
She's singing Whitney this week. Only she and Melinda can cop the greats, I think. She does the verse very well and then powers her way into the chorus. She does this effortlessly. I Have Nothing is the song, btw. This is a powerful, emotional song and while she sings it utterly flawlessly in terms of her intonation and power, I do think it lacks a little of the "throw down" mentality needed to really sell it. That's my only minor criticism. She is by far and away the best of the night for me so far.
Randy: He liked that. He doesn't know if it's her best, but another great performance by the great Lakisha.
Paula: You've already made us love you and you're going to stay right here and work on being the next Idol.
Simon: What we haven't seen that she brought was passion, talent, believability - and just picking up on last week's outfit, tonight she looks beautiful.
Ryan's with her now, and her Aunt and mother are going Bugcrap Crazy in the seats. 1-866-IDOLS06 or text to 5706.
Another quick break.
It's Red Room time as we return, and there's only two girls to go. They're all throwing pillows at Ryan. It's kinda cute. He's with Gina. She's hangin' out, a little nervous. He reminds her everything's on the line.
Gina Glocksen relies on lucky charms. She has troll, who's always in her pocket, and there's pickle, which she clenched during the Green Mile. She also has a lucky pillow.
She's singing a girl rock song I don't know. She starts a teensy bit rough for me bu when she gets to the main part of the song she sounds better. The things she does that I don't like, she does consistently - she gets screamy in spots when it gets really high an powerful. I much prefer her voice when she's not doing that, frankly. I don't know this song at all and she's generally hitting the notes but it's all at the same volume - loud. She ends a little shaky - last note doesn't work at all. Despite those nits, though, I thought it was a good performance.
Randy: Finally the real Gina comes out tonight. There were some pitch problems, but he liked that this who he always thought she was.
Paula: She agrees this is who she imagined Gina to be. Watch not to oversing.
Simon: It's the first time he's seen her look comfortable, and this is what they wanted at this stage in the competition. She tended to scream the song, but he hopes she makes it through next week. He hopes the song wasn't too extreme for the audience, but she deserves to be there.
Seacrest is with her (btw, the band was Evanescence), and she comments that this was definitely her. 1-866-IDOLS07 or text 5707. I'll vote for her tonight - just because she WAS different and I would like to see her in the top 12 ahead of Antonella and Haley.
Commercial time.
We're back with my favorite singer in the competition thus far, Melinda Doolittle, workin' the pimp spot.
Melinda Doolittle shares that her friends think she's OCD, but she characterizes it as "equal opportunity". She talks about chewing one side and then the other; stepping on one crack with one foot and then the other; touching something cold with one hand and having to touch it with the other. Huh.
She's singing I'm A Woman, again with what seems to be a custom arrangement. This is where being a professional musician, I think, really pays off, because she knows how to to work an arrangement. This song is very very good and it's believable with Melinda. She's about halfway through and I'm waiting for her to unleash with something that blows my hair back - here she goes... Excellent. Didn't like it as much as last week, but still loved it.
Randy: (Crowd won't shut up) She's the hottest one of the night. She's a consummate pro. she's ready to go make a record.
Paula: So phenomenal, likeable and lovable - can't wait to see her every week. Fantastic.
Simon: "You little tiger". Heh. He thought they had a pussycat - he loved that. It's very nice that she is actually enjoying every second she's having on the show. She loves it and she should, a million percent we'll see her next week.
Seacrest is with her. 1-866-IDOLS08 or text 5708.
We recap everyone and their numbers - I will say - they picked the weakest part of Antonella's song to highlight. My final rankings:
Melinda Doolittle
Lakisha Jones
Stephanie Edwards
Sabrina Sloan
Gina Glocksen
Jordin Sparks
Antonella Barba
Haley Scarnato
I have to say - it's very close for me between Lakisha and Melinda. The are both outstanding. I From Stephanie to Jordin, I thought they were all very good tonight. Antonella and Haley were completely mediocre (though not Godawful bad) and they are the obvious weakest two (for me).
So... Tomorrow night we'll know who's out and who's in and the big TWIST or EVENT or whatever it was Ryan pimped last night. Till then, thanks for reading! And yes, Cindy, the girls were definitely better than the boys this week, too. By a long shot.
Labels: American Idol, Girls, Round 3, Semi-Finals
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 8:12 PM,
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Results Show - 2
Thursday, March 01, 2007
All right. Better late than never. Rehearsal is over for me, the Idol results show awaits on DVR, and I dread the re-emergence of The Pickler. Let's get right to it.
All the remaining Idols are standing together, clumped on the stage. "Who is OUT?" queries Ryan. Legs shake, lips quiver. Cut to the intro music!! Yay!! Now all the Idols are arrayed on the stairs, trailing to the stage. Oh no... They're pimping The Pickler. Ugh. We meet the judges, who are alarmingly monochromatic. Over 32 million votes were logged this week. We now run to the recaps of the performances. We hear how the guys stepped up their games. We relive some of the boy performances I loved, and many I didn't care for. Such is the nature of the Results show. It seems kind of mean to re-beat the ones you verbally beat earlier in the week. Just sayin'. Now we're on to the women, same basic idea. Relive the good, the mediocre, and the ugly. We get to hear Simon referred to as Mr. Fashion Police, which is mildly amusing. We hear the wonderful girls, and some of the really poopy girls. There's Nakedella, whom Dave White refers to as "Meadow Soprano". Heh. We get to see Nekedella mouthing off, and it's just as annoying and bitchy as the first time she did it. We end with the shining best, Melinda Doolittle. Excellent. I could listen to that OVER and OVER. Click to go to the extended entry.
But HOW did the VOTES go DOWN??!
Oh no. Horrible Group Sing. Joy To The World is the choice this week. Sundance starts it off. His hair's funny. There's Jared. His shirt's funny. Now we're at the chorus. Stephanie and Leslie handle a few solo lines. Then Chris Sligh!! And Chris Richardon!! And Nick and Sabrina! And Haley and Jordin!. Here's AJ, all solo and whatnot. And Brandon, sounding like he belongs there. I hope he's safe tonight. Lakisha belts while walking forward with Gina, who sounds good in this song. Now they're ALL ON STAGE!! Yay!! Sabrina makes Nakedella look like an amateur when they're paired. Funny. Melinda belts, they all clap, they all look hapy and perky and winnerish. Yet in under an hour four dreams will be CRUSHED underfoot.
Commercial Break time.
And. We. Are. Back. FOUR people leaving us tonight. I'm trying to do seating math and get a clue - not happening, ecept that the back row of boys looks to be safe while the front row contains most of my lowest performers. We go one by one.
Phil: SAFE!
Chris S: SAFE!
Sundance: SAFE!
Blake: SAFE!
Jared: SAFE! (They really tortured him this week)
Nick: OUT
I'm totally not surprised. I called it in my predictions, so I'm right so far, but there are three to go. Simon things he's a good singer but he didn't stand out in the crowd, and I really think he's right on this one. When I made my picks, I made them based on who I thought people would remember.
And thus continues the practice of letting booted singers sing the song that everyone hated enough to boot them. Cruel, but oddly amusing. Nick sounds good singing this, and honestly, reading into him, I think he wasn't surprised. He crawls on his knees tonight and I don't remember him doing that on Tuesday night - maybe he should have?? Now Nick walks and pimp-shakes hand with each boy Idol. I know that there are four very nervous boys left right now, though - AJ, Sanajaya, Brandon, and Chris R. Aw... Sundance is crying. :-( I guess Nick's not big enough to be a bodyguard. ;-) Commercial.
And we're back. We're reminded Nick bit the dust, and now we're to the very nervous looking girls. Ryan talks to Jordin, who's in the LAST seat (lower right) and looks like she's going to puke. One by one, with short judging recaps, here we go:
Stephanie: SAFE!
Gina: SAFE!
Sabrina: SAFE!
Melinda: SAFE!
Alaina: OUT!
Total non-shocker. It's about time, too. Put that girl out of HER misery and put her out of OUR misery. Alaina copped an attitude after getting booted, referring to Simon's comment as "clever". You get the feeling Alaina feels like she simply wasn't given a fair shake, as opposed to the fact that she doesn't measure up to the other competitors. She can't really sing while crying, and I can sympathize with that honestly. The girls come out and hug her and we hear the background singers and no Alaina singers. It looks like she's done singing. That's truly a first I think. Oh wait - she's back for the bridge and she pulls it together a bit and sings. Sort of. You'd think that NOW she would be mad enough to pull this song off, but she's too busy crying to convey a sense of fury. She's a nice girl - I'm glad I won't have to listen to her any more. Paula encourages her, adn that's it for the advice portion for the bootee. Commercial. Oh and - so far I'm still right. 2 down, 2 to go.
I wish they would stop harshing my mellow by referring to The Pickler and threatening me with her performance. Now it's the AMERICAN IDOL CHALLENGE! $10K is the prize, with a trip to Hollywood. Grand prize, $100K and tix to the finale (I went to last season's finale - it's TOTALLY worth it). The answer, folks, is B. And with that, I've voted and it's back to the recap.
OH NO. It's The Pickler. I'll admit - I couldn't stand her and her fake "GAWLEE" during last season. Did she have her boobs enlarged? She is ALL boob tonight. A giant, blonde boob. I have to be honest, folks, she looks a bit like a hooker, that you'd find in some small southern town. They do a stupid food jokes, and we'll hear a song she co-wrote (barf) called I Wonder. Can I write the lyrics? "I wonderrrrr.... Why they put this girl back on the show... I wonderrrrrr... Why they think she can sing..." Something like that. Her voice is as annoyingly cornpone as it always was, and I'm literally going to fast-forward through the rest of it. It can't get any better. DVR is a beautiful thing, because I didn't have to sit through that.
And we're back. Just enough time to clear the blood from my Pickler-bleeding ears. We are reminded that Alaina and Nick sucked enough to be booted, and that two others sucked as much as well and are gone. Front row of guys.
Chris R.: SAFE!
Brandon: SAFE! (Whew - was worried for him)
Sanjaya: SAFE!
AJ: OUT
That's just wrong. AJ just got sacrificed on the altar of the sympathy vote that Sanjaya got. Jeez Louise. Paula doesn't feel tonight reflects that this is a singing competition. Randy agrees, thought AJ was great and doesn't think America got it right. When it comes to AJ and Sanjaya I totally agree, frankly. You can't even compare the two performances. AJ sings the Last Song of Shame, and he sounds good and he looks good. Sundance is crying again, and so his Melinda.
WTF, America? Is it worth it because you feel badly for Sanjaya that you just threw this talented kid to the wolves? AJ wasn't my favorite boy, but he deserved to stick around. This annoys me, because it's the same type of mentality that will keep Antonella (Nakedella) on the show as well. This ain't high school, folks, and it's not a popularity contest - it's a singing contest. ((sigh)) Commercial. I'll just fume.
Now one more girl has got to go.
Lakisha: SAFE!
Haley: SAFE!! (Shocker?)
Antonella: SAFE! (Ridiculous)
Leslie: OUT!
Jordin: SAFE!
Damn I'm getting good at this. I missed the AJ call, but all the rest I got dead to rights. Leslie looks really upset about this and slightly pissed. Simon doesn't think the right people have gone tonight and he encourages America to vote. Leslie REALLY looks like she's going to puke. WE now get tortured with their group bootee package.
Nick, Leslie, AJ, Alaina. Daughtry angsts that he's "going home", as are our bootees. We see their meteoric rise, all while knowing that they just bit the freakin' dust. And now we're back to Leslie, who has to sing. She doesn't look any more substantively pulled together, frankly. How can you not know when you're going to tank like that and be prepared for it? She's on the verge of tears and you can hear it in her voice.
Snaps to whoever it was at MJs Big Blog who said that it would be totally ironic if AJ AND Leslie went tonight given that they did the same song. Ding ding! We have a winner. And the girls come out and join her, and that's all we got for results.
I'll post a bit over the weekend, perhaps tomorrow as well, but I'll see everyone Tuesday for the Boys! Sure hope Brandon gets a clue and redeems himself - if he doesn't, I don't see him surviving another week.
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Girls, Results, Round 2, Semi-Finals
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posted by RenaRF @ 9:17 PM,
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Predictions and a Blogging Note
If you've been with my little blog here from the beginning, you know that I sing in a band. Well, we have another blankety-blank rehearsal tonight, 7-9:15. SO - the Results Show recap will be late. :-(
I'm gonna make my predictions. I've read some other reviews, have seen Dial Idol etc., and here's who I think SHOULD and WILL go home, based solely on the current week's performance:
Boys:
SHOULD go home: Sanjaya Malakar, Chris Richardson
WILL go home: Sanjaya Malakar, Nick Pedro (outside chance of Brandon Rogers)
Girls:
SHOULD go home: Antonella Barba, Alaina Alexander
WILL go home: Leslie Hunt, Alaina Alexander
Recap sometime after 9pm EST tonight folks. :-) Thanks for reading - and LOTS and LOTS of you are reading!!
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Girls, Predictions, Round 2, Semi-Finals
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 2:14 PM,
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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,
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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
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 8:01 PM,
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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
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 8:27 PM,
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