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
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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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The Boys - Round 2
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Yay!! It's performance night!! I am SO hoping the boys had some uniquity scared into them. I know some of them have it, damnit, and I want to see them...
Ryan starts us off about how "every vote counts" and the guys are back and "this time it's personal" (??). There are the guys - looks like Phil's up first and Sundance is up last tonight. Ryan's all casual with a suit jacket and button down with jeans. He congratulates Jennifer Hudson as "our first" Oscar winner. I'm not sure it's cool for them to be taking credit for that...
The order tonight is interesting with what I consider the strong ones in the back of the order (with the exception of Phil). All the guys are ready. The girls are "scoping" the boys out. We meet the judges again. Simon looks un-stinky tonight. Randy implores the boys to be better tonight. Paula tells them to have fun, that they're celebrities now. It appears Simon and Ryan have made up, and Simon declines to comment on the boys. We are reminded that the guys WILL be performing tonight and two will go home (duh), and we are further informed that the guys are supposed to perform around the them of "people that inspired them". Hm. Keep with me after the click to hear my reviews of all the contestants as they perform.
Phil Stacey is up first. He's dedicating his performance to the Navy Band Southeast (believe me - the military bands are full of badasses). He is honored to sing for them, and they encouraged him to audition. This is a good theme, I think. Very patriotic. And he's singing Ain't Missing You. It starts out a little bit shaky, frankly. It's all kind of in a slightly lower register at the beginning. As he hits a few of the higher notes he is MUCH stronger. He gets better towards the middle, and he's markedly better in the chorus. Someone needs to teach him mic technique - he's blocking his face with his mic! He's good in the bridge, then goes to a high power note with an ok effect. Overall, I thought it was pretty safe. Not bad - just safe.
Randy: Yo - he thought he was the best last week and he had the vocals on "blast" this week. He loved it.
Paula: She loves his tone, can hear him on the radio.
Simon: He's not jumping out of his chair (boos). He thinks he's very popular, a nice guy, but has a completely unoriginal voice. He liked the end of the song, but he's not hearing anything unique. He's hearing a very, very good karaoke singer.
We're off to Ryan and Phil, and Simon chimes in he thinks Phil's not going anywhere, he'll be back next week. 1-866-IDOLS01 or text 5701. Break time.
And we're back, with Ryan in the Red Room. Ryan talks to Sundance, and Sundance heard from people that he shouldn't be so "crappy", and he's going to try to do that this week. AJ has mixed emotions - the show is unpredictable, but he thinks they were fair. He wants to redeem himself. Now Jared, who's up next, and he's going to be more adventurous.
Jared Cotter. He's dedicating the performance to his parents. His mother is the whole reason he's there - he didn't know about the audition until the day of the audition and she literally woke him and made him go. His father introduced Jared to a bunch of music, and he credits him with his talent. He's singing Let's Get It On, all time greatest make-out song. He's in a suit. He isn't mellifluous like Marvin Gaye, but his falsetto sounds good. As the song progresses, he modulates and interprets the song much better than at the beginning. He needs to watch what I consider short, ending notes at the end of verses - sloppy. If he tightens them down, he'll be much better. He kind of shouts his way out of the bridge. He looks good on stage, but I find the signing sloppy frankly. Not bad, just sloppy. I'm not overwhelmed.
Randy: He doesn't know if he took a chance, he kind of liked it, but it was pitchy in spots. He liked his "steamy" face.
Paula: She likes the "steamy" face too. She thinks Jared is a good looking guy, but he doesn't have to push that kind of song.
Simon: He's glad he made the attempt to make a statement, but it reminded him of the Love Boat. If the Love Boat had a cabaret singer, it would have been like that because it was a bit corny in spots.
Jared is now with Ryan. Ryan regales us with the things he's done to that song. 1-866-IDOLS02, text 5702. Jared poses for the ladies.
Next up is AJ Tabaldo. He's on the mom and dad bandwagon, too. They've been there for him for everything, have always instilled in him that he never give up, and he has a tenacious drive and mentality to go for what he wants. It's for them. He's singing something I don't recognize just yet - it seems similar. It starts softly. OH - I think it's I'm Feeling Good. I wouldn't put this song with a guy - I'd put it with a diva. While AJ is doing a good job, he's not very diva-esque and his performance suffers by comparison. It is a risky song though, and he's doing a reasonably good job with it. He's had the fewest pitch problems of the ones who have gone tonight. It was good. I'm not blown away, but it was good.
Randy: It was so much better than last week. It was kind of nice.
Paula: Props to the band - nice. And she things he has a real real real real real good voice.
Simon: He thought it was actually nearly very good. He absolutely did the right thing - he made himself different and stand out, and we saw his personality. He also looked comfortable doing it.
AJ's with Ryan, and Ryan wants to know if he listened last week. AJ totally agrees, and went outside of his comfort zone this week. 1-866-IDOLS03 or text 5703. Break time!
And we're back! The guys are doing their best!
Sanjaya Malakar is dedicating his song to his grandfather, who was a strong person in his life. He was always there for him, but he died when Sanjaya was 5. He wears his grandfather's wedding ring on stage for support from a higher place. He's singing Steppin' Out - he's wearing a hat. He looks good - very retro. This song suits his voice. He sounds good singing it - his voice is kind of soft, very smooth. I can't say this song is particularly challenging vocally except that it moves around a lot with notes jumping here and there in a very precise fashion. I think he sounds good, but again, this just doesn't impress me. He does get credit for taking a risk with the song. The ending is a little weak, and he looks a little scared towards the end, but not bad.
Randy: He's a nice kid, Randy likes him, but it was weird for him - like a bad high school talent show.
Paula: He sang on pitch, but he's 17 and has an old soul. He finds it odd at such a young age to do that song. After needling from Simon, she says she liked it.
Simon: He thought it was a ghastly lunch like after lunch someone's parents ask the kids to dress up and sing. It made absolutely no impact, and he doesn't get why he did that.
They want to know why he did it, and he wanted to celebrate the great years of music and dedicate it to his Grandpa. Ryan's there now, and wants to know what he thought. Sanjaya intones that he has to step it up next week. Frankly, I don't see it happening - he's too young and too green. 1-866-IDOLS04, text 5704. Break time again!! The teaser - is Chris Sligh singing Trouble?? Taylor-Famous-Season 5-Trouble??!!
And we're back!! We're pimping AmericanIdol.com! And here's Chris Sligh and his crazy hair! Chris thinks he has the right song. He picked on he loves.
Chris Sligh is dedicated to his wife, Sarah. Oooh - she's pretty!! Seriously pretty!! He talks about being a struggling artist, and how she has been the one to keep him from quitting when he got really run down. He can genuinely say he'll be with her for the rest of his life. And yes - he's doing Trouble. This is going to be hard for me to review because I thought Taylor KILLED it last season. Chris sounds different than Taylor, but he's got really good nuance and interpretation to his voice. He knows when to punch and when to pull back, and he has good mic technique (it matters). I think his vocal is strong, frankly, and it shows off his voice. He's singing right to his wife, which is also nice. This is a different arrangement from Taylor's, and it lets him finish strong. I really liked it.
Randy: Good to see Chris return. He was good last week, and this week was even better. He liked it.
Paula: She liked it too! She wants him to watch his pitch and timing a bit, but he's awesome.
Simon: They put him through because he's a very good singer and tonight he's a very good singer. Simon like it. Excellent!
Ryan references Taylor, and Chris talks about doing it a bit differently, and he hoped people liked it. 1-866-IDOLS05, text 5705. Commercial AGAIN, and we are led to believe Nick will do Fever after the break.
We're back, and we're halfway through. We are reminded that the guys are singing tonight, girls tomorrow. Duh.
Nick Pedro is dedicating it to his girlfriend Caitlin, and she's also a pretty girl. She's been supportive and understanding, and that means a lot to him. He's singing Fever. I think this song suits his voice. Again, he's got that wispy kind of crooner thing happening. He sounds good - his voice is smooth and his timing is very good. He does some things with the song, but not too much so as to make it a parody, which is always a risk with a standard like this. I'm not so sure I'm hearing the kind of bite I would like on the high notes, though. Simon's snapping along - is that good? He does this weird interpretive jazz-kind of thing that does NOT work towards the end, but then he gets it back. He should have stuck with the melody, because that was the only weird part to the whole thing. It was good - not great, but good.
Randy: He thinks it's cool that so far everyone has come back and done better this week. Nick returned to his roots - pitchy in spots and he has to watch his timing, but it was nice.
Paula: She likes the crooner thing, too. Just let go and go for it.
Simon: He thought it was good, but if you're going to attempt to pull that song off, it's about charisma, and he lacked charisma. He has a good voice, but there's a charisma issue to deal with.
Ryan's with Nick, and Nick's outfit is all wrong and Simon's not a stylist. We switch to Caitlin, who is there in the audience. 1-866-IDOLS06 or text 5706. Nick gets in a "vote for Pedro" as Ryan's giving the numbers, which is funny and very inside for Napoleon Dynamiters. ;-) Another break! And Blake will be doing Jamiroquai - wow. I saw on his profile that he loved Jamiroquai, and this should be interesting.
And we're back!! Just four left to go. We're in the Red Room. Blake agrees the girls are very good, and that they made him step up his game.
Blake Lewis is dedicating his performance to his parents. His dad is the hardest working man he knows, and gave him the work ethic he has. His mom gives him all his talent, and we learn she plays guitar. His parents are excited for him, and they should be. Virtual Insanity is his choice. The start is ROUGH - it's almost like he couldn't find his key but he corrects it quickly. He handles the pre-chorus bridge well, and it's a tricky part. The chorus is a little rough. He beat boxes the next verse, and that's pretty cool. But the second chorus is rough - he's WAY sharp. His pitch is everywhere tonight. Damnit, I like this guy, but that was not good.
Randy: Randy loved it. I'm shocked. I mean seriously - shocked.
Paula: She thought he made a smart choice, and she loved it.
Simon: He disagrees with Randy and Paula. He thought Blake was terrific last week, but this week the first part was copycat, the middle section was great, and the last part his tuning went. I have to say, I'm with Simon on this one.
Blake's with Ryan, and wants to know what Simon thought he copied. They're all arguing, etc. I think/hope Blake will survive, but this was not a good performance. Onward and upward to other things next week, I say. Blake talks about vocal entendre (?) and we get the numbers. 1-866-IDOLS07 or text to 5707. We're at another break, with Brandon Rogers after it.
We're back and we're in the Red Room. Ryan's talking to Brandon and Chris. Chris is going with uptempo, and Brandon is going with a tortured song choice (is it too slow??!).
Brandon Rogers dedicates his song to his grandmother. She always wanted him to succeed, always encouraged him, and wanted him to bloom. She's be proud of him in the competition and his life, and he dedicates it to her. He chooses Time After Time. Interesting. This is hard song, and I can't remember a guy performing it. He sounds good at the beginning, which is kind of low. The chorus is not as strong as I would like, but he handles it well and he impresses me with the really high run in the chorus. He comes back to the verse nicely, which is hard from the high chorus. I liked it, but I'm waiting for Brandon to blow my socks off. I know he can.
Randy: He liked the sentiment, and he thought the song spoke to it, but he didn't think it did enough vocally to show what Brandon has. Boring for him. Brandon interjects - he was trying to feel and put himself into it, and it didn't need extra.
Paula: She felt his heart. He has a beautiful voice.
Simon: He wants to take it back to a singing show. Simon loves grandmas. Randy's absolutely right. Brandon has to come out when he's as talented as he is and make a wow impact. I agree with that as well. Brandon talks about next week, and Simon says he keeps saying that and he's a good singer.
Ryan's with Brandon, and Brandon had to walk out with his ears covered during the package so he wouldn't cry. It's his Dad's birthday, and he sends a shout out. Simon is a turd and says his mom's birthday is in November so happy birthday. 1-866-IDOLS08 and text 5708.
Chris Richardson is dedicating his performance to his grandma, his "big momma", back home in Virginia. She's awesome - spunky and energetic, and everything about her is great. She's opinionated, and if she doesn't like a song or how he looks, she tells him. She's at home watching, but she's supporting him 110%. He's doing a song he mentioned earlier that I can't remember the name of. It's weird but uptempo. This is kind of rap hip-hop song. I don't know it, and I guess he's on pitch, but it's a bit too Justin Timberlake for me. Also, he has kind of an acid edge to his voice, like he tightens his throat while he goes for things and it squeezes the note itself. He's much better at the high spots. I guess it was good. It was definitely original.
Randy: He thinks Chris is in it to win it. He thought it was hot, hotter than the original.
Paula: She loves that he dedicated THAT song to his Grandmother.
Simon: He thought Chris was the best tonight by a mile.
I gotta say - I disagree. I don't know if it's his tone or the style or WHAT, but he's middle of the pack for me tonight. 1-866-IDOLS09 or text 5709. One more break and Sundance closes the show.
Sundance Head will close the show. He dedicates his song to his 2 1/2 month old Levi. He didn't think he'd get this far in the competition, and being away from his son is hard. He almost cries when he talks about his wife telling him Levi is starting to smile. He wants Levi to have a good shot at life. Mustang Sally is his choice. This may be smart from an audience perspective - it's one of the most recognizable songs by everybody everywhere. He's doing a strong band version and has started with the chorus, which is interesting. The audience claps. He's in tune and not red at all. He goes into the verse. He's showing off his big voice with great effect I think, but the problem with this song is that it is dreadfully repetitive. He puts hair on everyone's chest by hitting a WAY HIGH note and doing strongly and well. And we're to the chorus outros, and that's it. It was good, and it will probably be popular.
Randy: Wow! What a difference a week makes - welcome back Sundance. Randy clearly loved it.
Paula: He's got to bring it like that every week and she loved his range.
Simon: He's glad they've got the Sundance back that they really liked. Simon brings up the popularity of the song, and thought he did great, but he can do a lot better.
Ryan's with Sundance, and Sundance feels good. He's glad he got out of the "box" he's been in since the LA audition. 1-866-IDOLS10 or text 5710.
We review everyone's performances and their voting etc.
Here are final rankings:
Chris Sligh
Sundance Head
AJ Tabaldo
Phil Stacey
Brandon Rogers
Nick Pedro
Jared Cotter
Blake Lewis
Chris Richardson
Sanjaya Malakar
Now I don't believe for a second that Chris is going home, despite the fact that he was one of my least favorite of the night. I think poor Sanjaya will go home (and he really should - he's not ready for this), and I'd guess either Nick or AJ, possibly Brandon could be in that second slot. I'm basing this solely on the "grab" factor. If it was my choice, it would probably be Nick. He just doesn't do it for me.
So that's what I've got - see you tomorrow night for the girls!
Labels: American Idol, Boys, Round 2, Semi-Finals
What will I say next? Click and find out.
posted by RenaRF @ 8:15 PM,
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