Rants and Ravings from an American Idol Junkie...

Top 10: Song Predictions

2010-03-30T13:33:00.002-04:00

This week is Soul/R&B Week in Idol Land, and I can't remember a group of contestants that lacked so much in this category. It should be an interesting show, for sure. Let's hope that it is better than last weeks horrendous outing.

On to the predictions!

Aaron Kelly- Brian McKnight "Back At One"

In keeping with his tradition of choosing mid-tempo to slow songs that have been covered by a country artist, I expect Aaron to pick this song and do reasonably well with it. Mark Willis had a hit with his version of this song, and since Aaron does not have an R&B/Soul voice in the slightest, I think he should play this week safe and do a song he knows he can handle. He has no fear of going home this week, sadly, but he needs to just do what he can to survive. This song is gift wrapped with a bow for him to pick, but I could also see him completing his love for cheesy songs like "My Girl" with "Stand By Me."

Andrew Garcia- Rihanna "Umbrella" or Neyo "Because of You"

Ok, Andrew is in trouble this week if the judges slam him again. He's tried to get out of "Straight Up's" shadow for weeks now by doing different things, but they have all failed miserably. My suggestion is to go back to the basics and try what made you known again. It did work for the Fallout Boy song, but it has been proven with these two songs to work. All he has to do is YouTube Boyce Avenue's covers of either of these songs and copy. At this point, his pride should be out the window and he should just worry about gaining voters. Both of these songs would be good picks for him and he would sound good on them. "Umbrella" is the obvious choice by most people, but we will see if he tries to switch it up on us. Sadly, it'd probably be safer for him to not surprise us and play what everyone wants him to play.

Casey James- Sam and Dave "Soul Man" or Otis Redding "I've Been Loving You Too Long"

Casey is a lock this week, so he doesn't have to try to outdo himself this week. I think that he would sound good on "Soul Man" with a little blues guitar thrown in. There isn't much R&B/Soul that fits his style, really, but this would be the closest thing in his range. If he wanted to be daring and try and showcase his vocals in a way that we haven't seen as of yet, he could do "I've Been Loving You Too Long." This is a song that seems out of his range, but if he could make it work it might prove to be a rewarding gamble to help his stock in the competition.

Crystal Bowersox- Toni Braxton "Un-break My Heart" or Aretha Franklin "Respect"

I will suggest "Un-Break My Heart" again this week, because I think that she would kill it, but my gut is telling me that she won't pick it. She has a "surprise for us" this week, and I don't know what that means, but I'm hoping that she can bring a different aspect of herself to her performances. I think she is going guitar-less tonight, so that is a plus. She has killed Aretha before, so I wouldn't be surprised if she dipped back into that bag. She is one of only two girls who could do this song justice. Whatever it is, she is obviously safe.

Didi Benami- Smokey Robinson & the Miracles "The Tears of a Clown" or Mary Wells "My Guy"

Didi does not have a soul voice. We saw how she did with "Lean on Me," and it was sans soul the entire time. I think she could do one of these songs well because they aren't SO soulful that she couldn't manage a version of them. "Tears" would be good because she is a basket case and cries all the time, so she could related to it, and "My Guy" would be good because it has that bright, sunny vocal rather than the deep, rich tone that most of the other songs have. That style would suit her better.

Katie Stevens- Monica "For You I Will" or The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"

She's been saying that she wants to be a pop/R&B artist, so this is Katie's chance to show us what she's got. I can hear her sounding very good on a Monica song, but I can also see her having more fun then she's been having lately with "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." I'm hoping she goes with the later and loosens up a little more. She's got the voice to do well, but she just has to bring everything else into focus, because right now, she has no shot at the top 5.

Lee Dewyze- Ray Charles "Georgia on My Mind"

This song wasn't picked for him because I think he could sing it amazingly and completely change my opinion of him. It was chosen because of the tone of Ray Charles' voice and how it would be the only tone that Lee might be able to pull off. That gravely, raspy quality to his voice would be ok on this song, but it wouldn't beat Matt Giraud's version that he did in Hollywood week last year. Lee is out of his element for sure this week, but as long as the judges keep stroking his ego week in and week out, he will remain on the show. They should really start giving him some criticism that he can use...

Michael Lynche- The Four Tops "Baby, I Need Your Loving" or James Brown "I Got You (I Feel Good)"

Big Mike did a ballad last week, so expect him to liven things up a little. I can see him bouncing around the stage on either of these songs. He is a high-octane, confident performer, and if anyone could pull of James Brown, it would be him. He sits in the same boat as Casey and Crystral right now- obviously safe.

Siobhan Magnus- Aretha Franklin "Chain of Fools" or The Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go"

Siobhan wants to get away from having to do the high note every week (or at least the judges think she should), but she needs to do whatever will get her votes. Sometimes, that means screaming like a banshee. She has also done an Aretha song before, so we know the range and power are there to handle that order, but if she decides to go a more mellow route, she can do a haunting version of this Supreme's song. She is the last of the "Obviously Safes."

Tim Urban- Jimmy Ruffin "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" or Otis Redding "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

Poor Tim. He will have his hands full this week, seeing that of all the contestants, he has the least amount of soul. He has the whitest voice in the competition, so he is just praying that he can connect with a ballad like "What Becomes" or play a crowd favorite like "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." He was in the bottom 2 last week, so unless he comes out of no where with crazy vocals, he will probably be there again this week, and with a serious shot of going home.

We'll see how these contestants can handle this theme, but I feel like we are going to get a rerun of last week- a few who shine and a lot that don't.

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 11: Performance and Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2010-03-25T14:01:00.002-04:00

Another week, another batch of performances to critique with my red pen. This week is Billboard Hot 100 #1 Hits. I'll go ahead and admit that I did not get any of my predictions right, but I will also admit that had the contestants sang my songs, the show would have been infinitely better. Call me cocky, but it's not cocky if it's true. I'm just sayin...

Without further ado, here are the performance reviews!

Lee Dewyze- "The Letter" by The Box Tops

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I do not, for the life of me, see what the judges see in this guy. The praised him for loosening up and "owning" the stage. Puh-lease! His neck was so tense that his shoulders were touching his ear lobes. He looked like a turtle! He was not relaxed at all and he definitely did not look comfortable or like he was having fun. This was not the right song for him, in my opinion. The big band feel didn't add anything to his performance and it just felt forced. Still not a fan of his voice or his vocal phrasing, but if you are more of a rock fan, I can see where you'd like him, just because the pickings are slim. I don't think he will make it as long as the judges seem to think. He will be a "shocking" elimination in a few weeks. You heard it here, folks.

Paige Miles- "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)

Hands down, undoubtedly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was the worst I've ever heard anyone sound on the show (not including the auditions, of course). I was wondering who would try to do a Mariah song and, granted she cheated by doing the Mariah version of a Phil Collins song, Paige felt like she was up to the task. Boy, was she wrong. She was off from the very first note. There was no power behind her voice in the first verse and chorus. The tone was unbearable. It was extremely pitchy. And all the while, she knew it. Once she "busted" into the belting portion, she knew it was already too late, and then the nerves took over. As brutal as the judges were to her, including the phrases "that was horrible..." and "the worst performance of the season...", they were absolutely right. What's more amazing is that they spared her the "worst performance EVER" onslaught. They are so merciful. It would take a miracle for her to be safe this week.

Tim Urban- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen

High School Musical/Glee has just found their new star. Tim, knowing that his time on the show is short lived, decided to take Ellen's advice from a few weeks ago and showcase his show choir side. Complete with knee slides, hopping into the audience, cheesy dance moves, et al., Tim showed us a side that we haven't seen before. As corny as it was, I was entertained by his energy, which distracted from the vocals. If that was his plan, he's a genius, because his vocals were ordinary. Someone said, "he didn't do near enough with that song," to which I replied, "no, he did everything that HE could possibly do." Not being as skilled as the other singers, it's amazing that he made the tour, when he couldn't even originally make the top 24. VFTW is doing backflips right now, and if he stays on another week, he will beat Sanjaya as their longest reigning pick. I'm kind of hoping that happens.

Aaron Kelly- "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith

Laryngitis/Tonsillitis strikes again! When I heard this, I got a little excited, thinking that Aaron would faulter and hurt his chances in the competition. Opting to go for the country version (surprise, surprise) rather than the more popular Aerosmith version, I'll have to give Aaron props for song choice. He has been very good about picking songs that sound decent in his vocal style, while at the same time, remaining able to pick the same tempos week in and week out without the judges becoming any the wiser. He botched a couple of "high" notes, and that shows his inexperience. There were other paths that he could have taken to make those parts work, even if it meant not going up high. G-ma's are loving him right now, even though I'm not, and are voting their little hearts away. Even though I didn't get a pick right this week, Ryan referred to him as Archuletta, so I'm going to give myself half a point on that, since obviously Ryan read it here first.

Crystal Bowersox- "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin

First, let me say that I think Crystal looked very pretty tonight. When I can't tell that her hair is dread-locked, she is all the more attractive. Aside from that, Crystal gave us a classic Crystal performance. It was good, on-key, energetic, and a ways better than almost everyone else tonight. The only problem I have with her, still, is that she puts the exact same spin on every song. I would hate to see her in concert at this point, because all of her songs would sound exactly the same. Exactly- just different words. I liked her carpet, and I hope that she does have "big plans" for next week. She needs to ditch the guitar ASAP and give America something else to love about her. She is clearly, and deservedly, the front runner, but my expectations for her are higher than she's delivering. That is a good thing. That means I think she could potentially be great.

Michael Lynche- "When A Man Loves a Woman" by Michael Bolton

Michael can flat out sing. Putting some R&B stylings on a song as white as this one sounded pretty good. In my opinion, Michael and Crystal are in the same position on the show. The only difference is that the judges like Crystal on the whole more than they do Michael, but they gave the best song of the season award to Mike. His performance was really good, though not as good "A Woman's Worth." The judges critiques were a bit unmerited, in my opinion. If anyone else had sang that song the same way, they would have loved it. I still don't think he has anything to worry about for quite some time. And the clip of him and his little baby tote will surely keep people voting for him.

Andrew Garcia- "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye

I'm officially off the Andrew Garcia train. He didn't listen to my advice to do "No Diggity" (thank you Clayton for recognizing genius), and he fell big time because of it. Simon was right, he really did manage to suck the soul right out of the song. There was no feeling, no passion, no inspiration...just a bunch of marginally good singing with no range and no style. I think the judges are wrong that Andrew doesn't know who he is as an artist, because he does. The only problem is that the judges don't like him as much as an artist as they liked one song. We'll see if he can dig himself out of this hole, but my bet is that the rest of the country has grown just as impatient as I am.

Katie Stevens- "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie

Katie decided to take the judges advice this week and went with a younger song. It's ironic that she choose this song, seeing as a few weeks ago, she could all but hold her composure together on the stage. That being said, I think this is the best I've heard her sound on the live shows. At first I was thinking that she didn't have a great range, as much as she was struggling with the higher notes in the chorus, but then I realized she was probably just pitchy because the jumps between the intervals were fairly difficult. Heck, I bet Fergie couldn't sing it unless she had her autotuner cranked to max. I like Katie, but her shot to win it all at this point is a big Zero. I'm not sure if she can turn it around, but she should make the tour with this performance.

Casey James- "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News

Aside from Andrew not picking "No Diggity," this is my biggest let down in song choice. Casey had a golden opportunity at his guitar shredding fingertips and blew it by picking this song over "Smooth." I'll give him credit, he sounded really good on this song. His tone fit well with it and he didn't struggle with notes like most of the other contestants do. But still, I'm disappointed that he didn't rip out some Santana. He's still easily in the top 4, but my heart hurts that he didn't take my advice.

Didi Benami- "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt

As a singer only, Didi is really freaking good. She has a really cool voice and has very good control over it, for the most part. What she is not good at, however, is picking songs that fit her as an artist or showcase that voice. I understand that she wants to change things up and have fun on the show. She doesn't want to be pigeon-holed, and that is perfectly fine. There were other songs that she could have done though. This one didn't have all that much energy and her playing off of Ricky Minor like a two-bit hussy wasn't believable in the slightest. I wish this was JUST a singing competition, but sadly, it's not, and I think that will end up biting Didi in the future.

Siobhan Magnus- "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

With her faux-hawk all pimped up, Siobhan takes on the most overdone song on American Idol, and does a decent enough job on it. She ends in one of her primal screams, since that is what causes the voters to pick up the phones. The problem I saw with her this week, though, was that the performance was somewhat sloppy. She had a few pitch issues that I haven't heard from her up until now and it seemed like she was focusing more on what was at stake than just singing the song well. She still has obviously nothing to worry about, but I expect her to switch it up a bit next week and give us something we haven't seen from her before.

Best of the night was a tie between Crystal and Mike. Tim should thank his lucky stars that he went right after Paige and she distracted everyone from his less than stellar performance. I'm not even going to spend too much time talking about the results show like I usually do. It had bad performances by Miley Cyrus and Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato, the worst group performance I've ever seen, and a predictable bottom 3 of Paige, Tim, and Katie. Paige was ultimately the one sent home. There was no other option, clearly. She turned from ok to fodder over the weeks and wasn't even allowed to sing before the judges told her that the save wouldn't be used on her. Ouch.

After a few relatively good weeks, I was kind of disappointed with what the contestants gave us this week. What do you think? Should they just scrap the tour, because really, who is going to pay over $100 to see this bunch?!

Top 11: Song Predictions

2010-03-23T09:26:00.005-04:00

Last week, we saw Lacey Brown sing her swan song and take her rightful place in the spectators position. She simply wasn't original, talented, or interesting enough to inspire the masses to vote for her. I will miss her pretty eyes, but that's about it.

This week, the Top 11 were supposed to be singing songs from Teen Idols, but that was changed to Billboard #1 Hits. I'm torn between this, for a couple of reasons. Teen Idols week would have been awesome because it would have been sooooo bad. It would have been hilarious. This was also a sure plan by the producers to have Justin Bieber on the show to complete Ryan's fantasy. He has mentioned the kid 3 times already this season. Man crushes are in, Ryan, but boy crushes will always and forever be wrong. One thing that will remain the same from this theme is that Miley Cyrus will be the mentor. Are you kidding me. Two episodes in a row are going to feature the two least talented performers in America, Ke$ha and Miley Cyrus. At this point, I think it is safe to say that Idol is mocking the contestants. Maybe this will boost their confidence. "Hey, I'm better than Miley, maybe I'm really good!" We can only hope...

I do think the switch will allow the contestants to pick from (mostly) quality songs. I'm interested to see if anyone thinks they are good enough to go for a Mariah/Whitney type song. Maybe if they completely rearrange it, but probably not. Considering that there have only been 4 #1 singles this year so far, including the fodder-icious "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, "Imma Be" by Black Eyed Peas, "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz, and the overly explicit "Rude Boy" by Rihanna, don't expect any recent hits to be sung.

This will be a hard week to pick songs. I'm not sure if the contestants are only limited to the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, or if they are allowed to take #1 hits from individual genre charts. I am limiting myself to the Hot 100, since I don't have the time, nor energy, to go searching through countless genre lists. I looked through about 50 years of #1 hits, so we'll see if I can get anywhere remotely close! I think we will be seeing a lot of hits from the mid 80's to late 90's. The #1 hits from the 2000's have been packed with rap and overly produced, unsingable pop. If the contestants are smart, they will pick this range of songs for two reasons. There are still singable melodies to choose from and the majority of the voting demographic will remember songs during this time, depending on how popular the hit was.

On to the picks!

Aaron Kelly

Lonestar "Amazed" or Savage Garden "Truly, Madly, Deeply"

Aaron Kelly is getting phantom votes right now. Either that or grandmas all over the nation really, REALLY like him. Aaron has already sang "I'm Already There" by Lonestar a few weeks ago. This style of music is the best fit for his voice. It has the right amount of twang and an easy enough melody so that he can try and throw a slew of forced riffs in there. If he thinks that it would be a bad idea to do two songs by the same artist (which it probably is), he could probably do a serviceable version of "Truly, Madly, Deeply." I don't see him moving from the mid-tempo/ballady songs anytime soon. That's all he's done so far. If he came out with "Love in This Club," I might become a fan, but since that will never happen, my loathing will commence.

Andrew Garcia

Santana "Maria, Maria" or Blackstreet "No Diggity"

I think that either of these two songs can serve Andrew well. "Maria, Maria" is a nice up-beat R&B jam that has some acoustic undertones and a distinct Latino vibe. If he could get his vocals around the runs and trills, it would sound pretty good, I think. But if he went and did an acoustic cover of "No Diggity," it would kill! It has that laid back groove that he loves and has room to be converted to fit his style. Everyone knows and loves that song and I think that it would sound awesome with his voice on it. I can see it in my mind, so let's hope that he can see the same thing. What is crazy is that I heard the aforementioned Taio Cruz song the other day and thought it sounded like Andrew. It's not wise to do a song so popular right now because you draw an obvious comparison, but it could be an option. Another option would be to just do "Straight Up" again, since the judges can't seem to get over it!

Casey James

Santana ft. Rob Thomas "Smooth"

#2 on the All-Time Hot 100 list, as stated by Billboard itself. One of the best guitarists of all-time. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see that this has all the workings of a song that Casey could kill. It's got energy, passion, and shows off his skill as a guitarist. The vocals won't suffer either. Rob Thomas is not the greatest singer in the world, but he uses what he has best in this song, and I think that Casey would do the same. I think that if Casey picked this song, he could have a "moment." It would be a fun change of pace for him and allow him to "just be a star" like Simon told him last week. I guess Simon thinks that that is an easy achievement!

Crystal Bowersox

Toni Braxton "Unbreak My Heart"

I'll be honest, I don't know what Crystal is going to do. None of the artists in her usual bag of tricks are available this week, so I had to get creative and think about what I'd like her to do. I would like to see her step away from her guitar this week and belt out a powerful ballad. I think that she'd be able to do a good job with this pick. It'd be different enough for her that she would be breaking the mold that she's made for herself and probably pick up a few new fans. She'd show versatility and vulnerability at the same time. Again, she will probably not pick this, but it'd be nice if she did.

Didi Benami

U2 "With or Without You"

Didi, I can tell, is going to be the hardest to pick every week. Since she really only sounds great in her niche, she will have to find ways to work other songs into that style. She did well this past week, even though she slipped up a few times. She showed a little versatility and the combo of dark music and her sweet voice was nice. This week, I think she should go back to the acoustic with a toned down version of this U2 smash. Everyone on the planet knows this song, and if it's done right, she can do it in an endearing and memorable way. Give her the pimp lighting and a string quartet and she'll be good to go.

Katie Stevens

Christina Aguilera "Come on Over" or Phil Collins "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"

I mentioned that Katie should sing a Christina song a few weeks ago, so I'm going to hold to that. Do I think that she is vocally as good as Christina, heck no. This song is relatively easy from Christina's discography and is up-beat and fun, something that she has yet to find. I need to see a spark from her sometime soon if she's going to prove to me that she deserves to be there. Vocally, I think she's one of the best girls, but when it comes to song choice and delivery, she is sinking fast. Last week she got back on the horse (hehe) and hopefully she can ride that to more confident performances. If she chooses to stay with the melodramatic songs, she could do "Against All Odds," opting to pull from Mariah Carey's version. I think that would be well sung, but easily forgettable. But with her track record for songs, she would probably pick a song that fits that description to a T.

Lee Dewyze

Nickelback "How You Remind Me" or Vertical Horizon "Everything You Want"

Lee does not have many options this week. I bet he's wishing that he had saved his version of "Fireflies" for this week. Regardless, I think that he could do a very good version of Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want." It's in a good range for him, has a raspy tone to it, but not overly rock, and is overall likable. The same can not be said for Nickelback, who I can not tolerate, but is popular with the general public. Chad Kroeger is the new "standard" for what rock guys should sound like, sadly, and he could try and add his gruff to this overly played song. It will be pitchy, but fit the part of the song nicely. I think he should go the Vertical Horizon route. He can show that he can really sing on this one more than the Nickelback one and it might up the number of votes he gets from the ladies!

Michael Lynche

Marvin Gaye "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" or Seal "Kiss From A Rose"

Ok, so I really, really wanted to put Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" as an option, but the song doesn't have enough actual singing. If he picks it though, I still get credit! I think that no matter what Mike does this week, he will do it well. He can go more modern with an Usher song, but I think he will keep it older with one of these two. He could do a great version of "Grapevine." That'd be the action packed performance of the night, without a doubt. Pulling Marvin Gaye off is always a struggle, but he'd be ok with it. Seal would be if he chooses to go the tender route. He can still ride his Maxwell ballad out for a little longer if he wants, but "Kiss From a Rose" is a very recognizable song that would serve him well. I think it would be a bit safe for him, but it wouldn't matter.

Paige Miles

Roberta Flack "Killing Me Softly" or Lipps Inc "Funkytown"

If Paige did "Killing Me Softly," but in the style of the Fugee's, she could potentially turn her fortunes around. Last week she was in the bottom 2, and I don't see that changing unless she picks a song that absolutely everyone knows and loves, and kills it. Surprisingly, I could see her doing well with Lauryn Hill. The song has a lot of runs, but she might be able to do them. I still don't know the full extent of her voice. She has had a tendency to opt toward older songs, however, so "Funkytown" could be another option. I think after her scare with "Smile," she will try to keep it relatively up-beat for a bit. Hey, "You Are Not Alone" was also another #1 hit. MJ is calling, again, Paige!

Siobhan Magnus

Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" or Simon and Garfunkel "Sound of Silence"

I won't even try to defend these picks. There is no way to predict what Siobhan could pull from her hat this week. She's gone from Chris Isaak to Aretha Franklin, so anything is possible. I think she needs to pick a song that she can change up a bit and completely remake to fit her own, unique style. Either of these songs are possibilities, but so are a great many others. I'll go ahead and take a loss on this one. But if she did sing "Sound of Silence," could they just play the scene in Old School where Will Ferrell gets shot with the dart gun and is sinking in the pool? That'd be amazing.

Tim Urban

The Eagles "Hotel California" or James Blunt "You're Beautiful"

Tim was part of the bottom 3 last week and finds himself in an interesting spot. The #1 charts don't really favor to his skill set, but there are a few songs that he could pull out. "Hotel California" is a classic song that every one knows and it has tons of harmonies. This would help him, in allowing the background singers to mask some of his mediocrity. If he did "You're Beautiful," it would be ok, but boring. Tim has stood center stage every single performance this season. He needs to drop the guitar and PERFORM a song. This is definitely NOT his strength, but he needs to try something to make people vote for more than his looks. He is VFTWs current pick, and they will be trying their hardest to get him on the tour (top 10). If he wants to go and pick something completely obvious, there is always "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's.

Those are my picks, folks. With a theme as broad as this one, I don't expect to get many picks correct, but if the judges mention a song that I suggested, that counts as a correct pick! Enjoy the show tonight, guys, and I will be back tomorrow for the performance reviews!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

A Wrap Up

2010-03-23T09:10:00.002-04:00

So, last week I was unable to post due to a very hectic week. Here is a quick recap of what went down.

It was Rolling Stones Week.
Siobhan was really good.
Lacey was really bad.
Michael continued showing off his swagger.
Aaron tried a new makeover, further trying to become Archuleta Light.
Paige sang through Laryngitis and sounded the same as every other week. This was her ploy to get sympathy votes. If you can sing like she did, you can speak just fine. Stop playing games, Paige. Not working on me.
The Ford commercial wasn't all that bad, shockingly!
No group performance, but we did get to see the ever balding (and trying to hide it) David Cook and Ke$ha, who shows that she is way worse than any of our current contestants. She performed in a Lady Gaga-esque outfit, complete with an Indian Chief head-dress. Can she please become un-famous?!
Paige, Tim and Lacey were in the bottom 3. Tim was safest of the three and Lacey was the one to leave, as predicted by yours truly. You were sweet Lacey, but not nearly good enough for this show.
The Judges' Save is back, and they unianimously decide to send Lacey home. Ouch.

Overall, it wasn't a bad Idol week. Siobhan was compared to Adam Lambert, which is clearly going to attract her a load of his fans. That should carry her a long ways. There is talk of her being a threat to Crystal's current lead. But don't sleep on Big Mike or Casey. They are still just as safe as the two leading ladies.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Really Funny Adam Lambert Parody

2010-03-22T09:16:00.003-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEDgmgbXm-E

My Apologies

2010-03-17T17:12:00.002-04:00

Hey guys. So I know you were looking to find a review of all of last nights performances, but I'm not going to be able to post that today. I know that takes away some of the fun of elimination night, but I have been swamped this week and finding the time necessary to provide you with the best source of AI news and reviews is proving challenging. I will share with you that my favorite performance was Siobhan's. She was cracking a little on her glory note, but other than that, it was really nice. My least favorite was (surprise, surprise) Lacey Brown. She is who I'm voting out this week. And as I said before I will continue to do so until she is gone or I wise up to the fact that I must be missing something with her.

I will post my reviews, hopefully, tomorrow with the elimination results. Sorry about this, folks.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

We have our Top 12: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2010-03-12T08:35:00.002-05:00

After a week of a few really good performances, and a few really terrible performances, it's now time to discover who America has voted into the coveted Top 12! This is the point in the competition where the remaining contestants will move from the small, circular stage to the full blown, extravagant, spared no expense stage. This is the final "step" in showing that you really made it on Idol. Making the Top 24 is good and all, but no one ever remembers the contestants who didn't make the Top 12. Plus, they get to now make the ever-so-entertaining Ford commercials... :-\.

This results show proved to be a night of upsets! Going into the evening, my picks to go home were Paige, Lacey, Aaron, and Todrick. These all seemed like obvious choices to me, but America disagreed with my assessment, apparently. Let's take a look at how this episode shook down and who will be gracing us with their presence next week.

Idol is wasting no time this week! After a brief intro of the judges, Ryan lets the contestants "perform" their prerecorded version of Michael Buble's "I Just Haven't Met You Yet." This is an odd choice of song for them to be singing. There is a supreme lack of energy (even though it's pre-recorded) and the contestants (again) look incredibly uncomfortable. The tempo is so slow that the choreography feels like they are counting like this: one, pause...., two, pause.... Once again, Idol has let the cheese flow in this group performance. When will they realize that no one particularly cares for these half-hearted, fake performances? I digress. Moving on.

Up first are the girls, who all appear really emotional. The top row consists of Didi Benami, Siobhan Magnus, Katelyn Epperly, and Paige Miles. Didi and Siobhan are quickly given access to their Top 12 stools, which are still just as metallic and uncomfortable looking as ever. "Congrats on making the Top 12 guys! Now suffer in silence for the rest of the show as you endure the pain of cushion-less, metal seats! MWAHAHA!" At least that's what I hear Simon Fuller screaming crazily in my head. It's down to Paige and Katelyn, and just as I was about to check one right pick off the list (Paige), Ryan bursts my bubble and states that Katelyn will be leaving us tonight and Paige is safe. WHAT?! I agree that Katelyn did not live up to last weeks performance, but it was certainly not worse than Paige's last few have been! I guess this goes to show you that if you perform a merely ok, middle of the road version of a song, people will be less likely to pick up the phone and vote for you like they would if you botched it and they wanted to vote for you due to sympathy. I think this is what happened here. America got this one wrong, and America knows it. Sadly, it's too late for our poodle-haired blond. She sings her song again (and again, it's merely ok), then switches from bubbly performance mode to full breakdown in tears mode in Lilly's arms. I'm sad to see her go. I think she could have done well. VFTW is applauding their victory in Paige.

Next, Ryan switches to the guys and has the top row join him center stage. This row consists of Tim Urban, Todrick Hall, Lee Dewyze, and Casey James. He started with Tim, but told him to "hang tight." Doesn't he know that this kid is almost on the verge of tears every episode. That's mean to keep him in suspense. He then give a little background for each of the contestants, and informs Casey that he is safe. He starts doing the slow clap that he did in Hollywood and you can tell that he wants to do his rooster crow, excited yell again, but he manages to refrain. Ryan quickly tells Tim that he is safe, and he appears shocked, relieved, and overwhelmed all at the same time. Thank you for being merciful, Ryan. Now, it's down to Todrick and Lee, and this was no shock to me. Lee clearly has been hyped more than Todrick and has the rocker fans on his side. My prediction that Michael Lynche stole Todrick's thunder last night and cost him some votes turns out correct. Ryan tells Todrick that he will be heading home, and he performs "Somebody to Love" one more time, and very well I might add. He still deserved to go home, though.

The guest performers tonight are Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre, continuing with the theme of last seasons contestants returning, who do a little dueling piano action to Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It." Matt, who is sans mini-Matt (the huge mole that was on his forehead) showed that he'd be a contender this season, while Scott showed that he'd be among some of the fodder that is currently in the competition. It was fun though and they killed the pianos. When Ryan said "Nice to see you, Scott." he replied, "Nice to see you too, Ryan." Um, way to poke fun at the blind guy Ryan...

The remaining 8 contestants are brought back out to the couches, with the girls on the top row and the guys on the bottom. The guys are up first. Ryan asks Michael Lynche to stand, which he does, but also proceeds to walk center stage. A shocked Ryan looks hilarious and Michael claims that is what Debbie (the stage manager) told him to do. He is obviously safe. Aaron Kelly is next and he starts off facing the completely wrong way! What in the world, kid? It should be self explanatory, just face the cameras! He was my other pick to go home after several bad performances, but America is once again wrong and keeps him around. He is becoming my least favorite contestant ever I think. Even more than Gokey was last year. Now it's down to Alex Lambert and Andrew Garcia. Preparing myself for the shock of Andrew going home, Ryan quickly shows that he is safe and Alex will be leaving us. This was probably one of the saddest eliminations I've ever seen on the show. Here was a guy with a good, distinctive voice, who was settling down and getting into stride, but it all proved to be a little too late. After a shaken encore performance of "Trouble," Alex breaks down into a puddle of tears on national television. When we come back from the break, the contestants are still around him and he is bawling, as is a visibly shaken Siobhan. Ryan says that you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium during the break and I'd believe it. Ryan then helps Alex off the stage in an awkward moment so that he could continue the show.

Last up are the 4 remaining ladies, Crystal Bowersox, Lacey Brown, Lilly Scott, and Katie Stevens, who has rivaled Alex as the biggest puddle of the evening. Crystal is undoubtedly safe, but looks like someone has kicked her puppy really, really hard. The culmination of tonight's results are obviously hitting her hard and she seems more sad about her friends leaving than her progressing. Lacey Brown, my final pick, is deemed safe and I'm unsure why. Whatever, you have no shot to win, so what's the point in staying on a few more weeks? The final decision is between Lilly and Katie. I was thinking that Katie was going to be cut after struggling to find herself in the live performances, but something told me that Lilly was going to be the upset toss. Turns out, Lilly was the one who was heading home. You could tell that she was surprised, shocked, flabbergasted, and any other synonym at the result. She got a little sassy before her swan song and was visibly angry. Her performance of "I Fall To Pieces" was again only ok. I think that her doing the same thing weekly ended up hurting you. She was also probably too quirky for a show who's main demographic is high school girls. Given Lilly and Katie, they will vote in one of their own every time.

After the most crying I've seen on the show in a long time, we finally have our Top 12. They are:

Aaron Kelly
Andrew Garcia
Casey James
Crystal Bowersox
Didi Benami
Lacey Brown
Lee Dewyze
Katie Stevens
Michael Lynche
Paige Miles
Siobhan Magnus
Tim Urban

Tonight had 3 people leave, in Katelyn, Lilly and Alex, who were probably sent home way to early, while less talented people, such as Lacey, Paige, and Aaron were allowed to move on undeservedly. This is the strangest Top 12 that I've seen in a while, and barring some out of nowhere awesome performances from several of the contestants, the Top 4 seems a pretty easy pick right now with Michael, Crystal, Casey, and Siobhan distancing themselves from the pack.

What do you guys think? Did America make a mistake/several mistakes in who was sent home?

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 8 Guys: Guitar Heroes

2010-03-11T07:32:00.002-05:00

After an ok, but less than spectacular showing from the girls on Tuesday, the guys took the stage with a mission: to prove that they are not the fodder that the blogosphere has reduced them to. This season of American Idol mirrors UNC's basketball season in a way. Last year, UNC won the NCAA National Championship and Idol had it's most memorable season to date with some of the most talented contestants we've seen on the show. This year, UNC has struggled mightily with a less talented squad, just as Idol has done of late. It's a rebuilding year for both squads, but the guys are here tonight to show that they have what it takes to rebound this year (hopefully UNC can follow their lead in the ACC tournament). With guitars in hand (5 of 8 had an acoustic), they aim to change the judges minds about this season being a "girls year." Do they measure up? Let's find out!

Lee Dewyze- "Fireflies" by Owl City

This is an interesting song choice for Lee. Interesting in a kind of good way. I was expecting him to come out with another 2nd rate version of a modern rock band hit, but I was pleasantly surprised when he went for the peppy "Fireflies." He switched it up a bit by adding the acoustic guitar, and it fit very nicely. His gravely tone gave the song a different feel, and while it was pitchy for most of the song (as are most of his performances), this was by far his most tolerable, in my opinion. I'm not sure I see the confidence increase that the judges are noticing in him, but he was a little more comfortable than last week. It wasn't a mind blowing performance by any means. It was merely ok, but I think that he did enough with it to keep him around. If he wants a shot of being a true contender, not just one that the judges shower with praises for no reason, he has to let go of the nerves and focus on what he's singing so that he doesn't loose his notes halfway through each phrase.

Alex Lambert- "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne

The judges keep talking about it, but Alex really does have a cool tone to his voice. This was a good pick for him because it fit that raspy, muffled style well. He sang it well and seemed like he is settling into who he is as an artist. I think that the judges are giving him the best criticisms week in and week out, because he can actually take what they say and apply it to his performances. Randy says it was a tad too fast and Kara says that she wished that it would have just been him and a guitar. Combine those two and I think he could have had a moment on the stage. What I take away from this performance is that he still does have a ways to go in terms of loosening up, as Simon said, but his innocence and vulnerability keeps him relatable. I don't think we have to worry about him becoming a "cocky banana" as Ellen put it. :-/. And I really hope that Simon doesn't work it out so that Randy is in a bikini next week, should Alex return. That would haunt my dreams for forever.

Tim Urban- "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley

When Ryan announced that Tim would be singing this song, I immediately got worried. It's a great song, but it's so overdone on Idol that people are not only comparing you to the original artist(s), but also to others who have graced the same stage with that tune and killed it. Jason Castro didn't have the best voice on season 7, but he slayed this song. Once Tim started singing it, I relaxed a bit. If it were any other contestant, it might have been less good than it seemed, but with the struggles that Tim has been having this season, this was a breath of fresh air for him. His voice was pleasing and suited the song well. His guitar playing wasn't shabby and he seemed comfortable singing it. This was the best performance from him by far. He stayed in his tessitura and didn't try to oversing it (I'm not sure if he has the skills needed to oversing any song). After Ellen ran to the stage to hug him, you could tell that he felt like he finally deserved to be on that stage. I'm liking Ellen more and more every week. Now that he has two serviceable performances under his belt, he needs to relax and find a way to change people's opinions of him as just the ok guy that is skating by based on looks alone.

Andrew Garcia- "Genie In a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera

Andrew Garcia. Song choice- you're doing it wrong. He is so far into his own head right now that I don't think he knows who he is as an artist anymore. Trying to replicate the magic that you experienced once by using the same formula on a different song rarely works. When I heard he was singing a Christina Aguilera song, I joked that it'd be hilarious if he did "Genie in a Bottle." And he did not disappoint. 1) The lyrics do not fit him in the slightest. A guy should not be singing those words. 2) This might have been the sloppiest vocal I've heard from him yet. Yes, he can still sing, but this was sub par for him. 3) He claims that he didn't want to force anything or overthink it, but I don't think he thought about it enough. Reverting back to the "Straight Up" formula came off as sheer desperation- an attempt to regain some of his fans that have jumped ship. Andrew has hit a wall and he could be in trouble this week. Does he have enough fans to carry him through 3 weeks of disappointing showings?

Casey James- "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban

Casey was a bit gimmicky last week with his shredding of the electric guitar and attempt at performing a pop song. It was good, but forced. This week, he takes it down a notch and plays with just an acoustic while sitting on a stool. Singing a country song, Casey sounded great. There were no truly amazing parts of the song, per se, but it was a very good rendition of a great song. He could really make it big as a country artist. He has the look, the voice, and instrumental skill to be a Brad Paisley type of singer. This was a smart pick because he is showing a more vulnerable side by doing a ballad and he is only increasing his reachable voting demographic. I think that many-a-country fan will be voting for Casey this week. He is a lock for the top 10, so there is nothing more to really say.

Aaron Kelly- "I'm Already There" by Lonestar

Speaking of country, Aaron Kelly is going back to his best genre after a so-so performance of "My Girl" last week. Sadly, his best genre is still not that great. This song is a smart pick for him, seeing as it fits his range and his voice should sound good on it. Key word: should. But it doesn't. He is extremely pitchy in his lower registry, he sounds like he is straining on some of the higher (not really that high) notes, and he sounds nasal most of the time. Throw in a couple of ill-advised, poorly sung runs and you get what he delivered on that stage. It is well known that I'm not a fan of his, but unlike Lee Dewyze, who at least tried to entertain me, Aaron remains at the bottom of my rankings. He is not a strong performer. Watching his movements and stage presence is like watching a really bad actor who thinks he's awesome. He even does his best impersonation of Billy Mack from Love actually when he sings (like he's sitting on an imaginary chair). I hope that America is tired of his incessant mediocrity and sends him home.

Todrick Hall- "Somebody to Love" by Queen

I'm indifferent about Todrick right now. He sings well enough and is entertaining, but there is something about him that I just can't grasp. He performs a Queen song and makes it somewhat gospel. It's decent, I suppose, but after watching it again, it was not quite as good as the judges made it out to be. There was a lack of energy to the song and it seemed like he only sang 3 notes the whole time. He also likes to oversing every phrase in every song, and that's something that gets old REALLY quick. This was a bit of a welcomed change from all of the slow, acoustic songs that we've had up to this point, but it just didn't do too much for me.

Michael Lynche- "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell

Michael Lynche has the pimp spot this week, which pretty much guarantees that he will be in the top 12. For safe measure though, he blows the doors off of this performance. Maxwell is no easy artist to sing, but Big Mike does it with relative ease. You can tell that this song is relevant to him, as he sings about his wife and family. The confidence that he portrays up there is unparalleled by any of the other contestants, male or female. The fact that he made Kara cry is also impressive. We used to joke on Paula for getting weepy at a lot of songs, but Kara usually is more reserved than that usually, and it seems like it would take something exceptionally moving to invoke that type of response. Simon hit the nail on the head. It's not only the best performance of the night, it's the best of the season. Mike is now the front runner after that performance.

Well, there you have it guys. I was very impressed with the guys tonight. With the first 5 singers choosing to accompany themselves on guitar, Ellen should have no problem differentiating that from a piano next time. There were only 2 performances that I didn't like on some level, though my critiques might suggest more. If it were up to me, I would send Aaron Kelly home without a second thought. The second spot is up for grabs right now. Todrick kind of got showed up by Big Mike at the end and I think that might hurt his votes. Andrew Garcia would be a shock to some if he went home, but not to me. As a friend of mine said, he is the new Lil' Rounds. He blew you away initially, but then became boring after doing the same thing time and time again. I think his fans will still pull him through this week, and Todrick will be on the outside looking in. Aaron and Todrick are my final predictions.

What do you guys think? Are the guys improving and showing that they can win over the girls this season?

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 8 Girls: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2010-03-10T07:31:00.004-05:00

Another week has gone by for the ladies in Idol Land. They have sung their songs and now are counting on us to pull them through to next week. With Idol shaving down the show to only 1 hour, they aren't wasting any time at the beginning, except to give an overly dramatic introduction to the contestants. I am not that overly dramatic, so I'll just go ahead and get started with the reviews.

Katie Stevens- "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

This is beginning to get frustrating. Katie is definitely one of the best natural singers on the competition, but she has no idea what she is doing when it comes to song choice. I understand her trying to take the judges criticisms and apply them week in and week out, but she should only do that up to a certain point. They don't know what kind of artist she is, so they are suggesting young, peppy songs, when she is not that kind of singer at all. Her voice is much more mature than her age would suggest. This performance was sloppy from beginning to finish. She was off beat for much of the song, her usually good pitch was subject to nerves, the chorus was too big for her, and she completely sucked the energy out of the song. Simon tells her, "you sucked...the energy out of the room." Nice pause. This was the worst that I've seen her perform all season. After the judges said that it didn't seem like she connected with the song, she said, "I DID connect with the song, because I grew up in a small town." Yes, and I'm sure that when the rain would fall down, you'd just stare out your window. Not exactly the kind of material to grasp for in a song if you want to connect to it. I think Katie has fans, but it's a tough call after this weeks performance. She had better pray that other contestants stumble as well.

Siobhan Magnus- "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals

After an energetic, upbeat powerhouse last week with Aretha, complete with crazy high notes, Siobhan decides to take it down a notch this week with "House of the Rising Sun," and does a good job with it. She starts it out completely a cappella, giving it a haunting, ethereal feel. That is taking a risk, because singing a cappella in this tight of a competition is no easy feat. I think it's brilliant, and she sings the rest of the song equally as well. You can tell that she has the most dynamic voice of the bunch, but she doesn't have to give us everything she has in order to sound great. After the music kicked in, the song stayed relatively the same and didn't go anywhere, but I think she did enough with the beginning to let her off the hook. The judges liked it for the most part, but Simon was a little skeptical about who she is as an artist. That is fair (even though half of the girls don't know who they are as an artist) because I can't think of what type of music she'd fit into either. She will be around for the top 12, easily.

Lacey Brown- "The Story" by Brandi Carlile

Lacey shows week in and week out that her voice is not up to par with the rest of the girls. And seeing that I personally know 8 girls who can sing better than these 8, that means she's not up to par with the general singing public. This show is supposed to be about finding the best singers in America, not letting mediocre (at best) talent through just because they were a little better than they were last year. I don't know how/why she is still here, but someone out there likes her. She takes the same approach as she did the first week by sitting down and singing a ballad. She sings it well enough, I guess, but there is nothing there for me. She does nothing interesting with the song, with her voice, or with her performance. I'm bored less than 30 seconds in, as is Randy, but he still says that it was her best performance so far. That is not saying much. I like her look, but she just does not have the vocal chops to compete at this level. I will keep predicting her departure until America gets it right and sends her on her way. Nothing but love, Lacey.

Katelyn Epperly- "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King

After back to back weeks of exceeding the expectations I had of her, Katelyn comes back down a peg this week with a lackluster performance that is devoid of any energy, even though it's up tempo. She plunks around on a keyboard while standing, which is slightly awkward for her, but you can barely hear the instrument as the rest of the band swallows her. She sings the song well, stays on pitch, and has that nice rasp to her voice, but you can tell that the keyboard is throwing her off her game. She tries to energize the song with her playing, rather than her singing, and it makes for an easily forgettable performance. Simon said that it sounded like she was taking requests on a Friday night in a restaurant, and it's true. I did think it was funny that they said "I like how you are rocking the Carol King hair (aka nappy head)" and she gave a look that was like, "this is how my hair always looks." :( They like your crazy mane, Katelyn, even if they basically called it nappy.

Didi Benami- "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac

Channeling the same vibe that she gave us when we started liking her in Hollywood Week, Didi came out and gave an acoustic version of this song and showed us again who she is as an artist. She isn't a pop artist that does a lot of runs and belts out notes like she tried to do last week. She is an Ingred Michaelson/Regina Spektor type of artist who is known more for their distinct voice and lyrics rather than technical ability (not to belittle their technical ability, because they are great). She connected with the song and made it fit her style. I enjoyed this performance a lot, but the problem that I see with her is that this is her only truly great zone. This is the place that she'd be as an artist, but she can't win the show doing only performances like this. It's fine once in a while, but in order to have a legit shot at winning, she needs to figure out a way to take the emotion and comfort that she uses in songs like this and put them into something new and more appealing to a larger demographic of voters.

Paige Miles- "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin

So what's funny about this song is that when Paige was performing it, I said some lame joke about how Charlie Chaplin could sing this song better, meaning that he wouldn't sing it at all since he did silent films and still sound better. But he DID write this song and I had completely forgot about that at the time. The subconscious is crazy! Anyway, Paige sounded awful on this song. It was bad. Really bad. There was no power in her voice whatsoever. She was timid in her delivery and it felt forced. She said she picked it because she liked it and because Michael Jackson sang it (her BFF), but she did nothing with it. She shouldn't pick a song that she likes over a song that will get her votes, unless she's trying to go home. There is a happy medium there that contestants have to find: a song that you like enough to connect to, but one that people voting for you will also dig. This song was entirely forgettable, sung poorly, and she didn't even smile, so I am thinking that she will join Lacey on the outs this week.

Crystal Bowersox- "Give Me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman

This was probably the best performance of the night. Crystal came out there, did her thing, had fun, sang well, played well, and still managed to keep charming America with her honesty to herself. She is staying in her niche right now because she knows that's what the fans are voting for. These early rounds are where you can pick whatever song/genre you want to establish a fan base. So far she has played these rounds incredibly smart by either picking extremely popular 90's songs or revamping a song soulfully. She is a shoe-in for the top 12, but I do wonder what she will bring to the table once they start having to adhere to theme nights. I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. VFTW did make a funny statement about her being on the chaw again because her teeth are getting brown again. It's so wrong, but I laughed really hard when I read it.

Lilly Scott- "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline

Where I was once a big Lilly fan, my allegiance is fading. The judges are constantly telling her how amazing she is, though she does the same thing each week. Crystal stays to the same niche, but still switches it up a bit. I feel like Lilly is singing the same song every week. This was a smart song choice, because she is trying to gain some of the country voters since there is no clear cut country singer on the show. Good luck prying those away from Aaron Kelly, who is the closest thing to that genre on the show. I think I liked her at first because she was unique, but now that she is no longer novel, she doesn't seem quite as good. I want to see her on a stool, singing a ballad with a piano accompaniment, and kill it. She has talent, I'm not doubting that, but up to date, we've only seen one portion of that talent and it's getting worn out. She was in the pimp spot, which guarantees that she is safe, but she needs to shake things up a bit.

All in all, the performances were ok. Last week was two steps forward from week 1. This week was one step back, in my opinion. The girls, for the most part, sang their songs well, but lacked the same "fire" in their eyes that they had last week. Either they are getting complacent or they are letting the pressure get to them. Either way, they need to start making strides to right whatever wrongs are going on right now, because the girls that are lucky enough to survive this week get to compete against the guys next week. It's always harder once the Co-Ed portion of the show starts because the competition is so different and the voters tend to find their favorites and stick with them.

From the girls, I think that we will be saying goodbye to Lacey and Paige. Lacey is just average and Paige performed well below the standards that were set for her by the judges. Would anyone really be sad to see them go? Didn't think so.

Who do you think the front runner is right now? The judges have labeled this a "girls year" to win it all. After last night, do you think they are right?

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 20: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2010-03-04T20:38:00.004-05:00

The songs have been sung. The votes have been tallied. Elimination night is upon us, and once again, we will be saying goodbye to four contestants from the Top 20. Several of the contestants made giant strides this week, notably Alex Lambert and Katelyn Epperly, while others seem to be taking steps back. Several of the once-thought-to-be front runners found themselves at the mercy of some harsh comments from the judges panel. Andrew Garcia, Casey James, and Katie Stevens all performed well by conventional standards, but they seem to be digressing in terms of relevance from where they once were. That does not mean that they aren't still at the head of the class, but they are allowing others to creep up on them. In a competition as important as this, they can not afford to let that happen.

The group gets us started off with a very lax performance of "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. First things first, this song needs to be retired ASAP. It's reaching Creed levels of annoyance. It has been on the charts for 38 weeks and JUST fell out of the top 20 (to 21...). Second, the lyrics are definitely misleading for 1/5th of the contestants. Tonight is NOT going to be a good night for four of them. Tonight will be the night that they struggle to repeat a bad song choice that resulted in them getting eliminated. Third, I didn't catch it last week, but this week the contestants are definitely lip syncing. You can tell because everyone is so on pitch and blends far too well. Also, because they auto-tuned the crap out of it. The choreography (if you can call it that) was horrible. Tim Urban and Casey James can not pull of thug. Neither can Lilly Scott or Crystal Bowersox. Everyone looked horribly uncomfortable up there and it definitely showed in there deer in the headlights expressions.

Ryan wastes no time after the first commercial break. The guys are first on the chopping block. The top row consists of Michael Lynche, Casey James, Todrick Hall, John Park, and Tim Urban. Tim Urban is called up first and he is declared safe. This was not shocking. VFTW (this is how I will refer to votefortheworst) recently found pictures of a shirtless Tim at some sort of event where he was in a bathing suit with a contestant number. I'm not sure if he was modeling the swimsuit or participating in some kind of pageant (I don't know what you call a pageant for guys). Either way, VFTW is just piling on the tween votes because of it. Todrick is up next, but Ryan throws him a curve ball and tells him that he needs to remain standing. He then moves on to Michael Lynche, who is obviously safe after his soulful rendition of James Brown. Casey James also has nothing to worry about, except the hair/makeup people on Idol making him look more and more womanish. He looked like he was one dress shy of being in full drag on Tuesday. They put a little too much makeup on him, especially lipstick. So now it's down to Todrick and John Park. Drats! Those are both the guys that I predicted to be leaving. At least I'll definitely get one right. After Ryan talks to them for a bit, he reveals that John Park will be going home. This gives me a good idea of who will be joining John. He performs a decent version of "Gravity" again and is sent to the audience. John was a good, good singer, he just failed to deliver the goods in terms of his performances. If he had a little more spark and charisma, I think he would still be around. Lesson learned, but a tad too late.

Next up is the bottom row, which consists of Jermaine Sellers, Andrew Garcia, Alex Lambert, Aaron Kelly, and Lee Dewyze. Lee goes first and is quickly told that he is safe. I still don't get the judges fascination with him, but let's move on. Aaron is also deemed safe, and I still don't get the judges fascination with him either. Either way, he was undoubtedly safe as well. Alex Lambert was the most improved this week by far, and he is rewarded with a trip back to the top 16 next week. This made me happy. Good things do happen! Ryan then brings Jermaine and Andrew center stage to try and over-dramaticize the moment- which is not dramatic at all. Everyone knows that Andrew is safe and Jermaine is heading home. He gives his props to Jesus again and makes another plug for the onesie. He definitely will be getting a call from a company that makes onesies (I wouldn't begin to know who still makes those) and he will be their posterchild. The fact that Andrew was in this position should have him a little worried. I think you could tell in his face that he knows he has to step up his game drastically. Jermaine's farewell song is sung well, probably better than we've heard him all season. The high notes seemed to be there and his runs were smooth. If he could have only brought that when it counted...

In keeping with the trend of having last years contestants perform and show how much better they are than everyone on this season, Danny Gokey returns to Idol's stage to perform his new single "My Best Days." After having a little trouble getting a label after the show last season, Danny decided to make the switch from soul to country. I'm not sure if I agree with that move, seeing as he does not look/sing like a country artist to me, but hey, he's got to do what he's got to do. He performs well and, like Allison and Kris, wipes the floor with this years bunch. In the post-performance interview, he starts spazzing out! I've never seen Danny Gokey this hyper! You can tell he is ubber excited about his budding career (as short lived as it will no doubt be). He comes off as less of a tool when he's not worrying about votes and such. He even gives Ryan the awkward touch before Ryan has a chance to do it to him. How does it feel, Ryan?!

The girls are next. The top row goes first, and consists of Didi Benami, Michelle Delamor, Katie Stevens, Paige Miles, and Lilly Scott. Ryan flies through Lilly, Paige, and Katie, revealing that they are all safe. So, it's down to Didi and Michelle. This is interesting that two really hyped people (the other being Andrew) are in this position. The results are the same as they were with they guys- the one with they hype survives. Michelle is sent home and you can tell that she is visibly shaken by it, but she puts on her best poker face. We have to sit through this song again and I'm dying. I can't explain how much I never want to hear this song again. I was the only person from all the blogs and websites that I follow to get this one right. I wish I could count it as 2, but alas, I can not.

The bottom row is up and consists of Katelyn Epperly, Crystal Bowersox, Haeley Vaughn, Lacey Brown, and Siobhan Magnus. After a heart-wrenching performance on Wednesday, I think that Katelyn is starting to gain some momentum. She is safe. Crystal Bowersox has nothing to worry about after getting rave reviews from the judges, so she's obviously safe. I will mention (and I forgot to include this on yesterday's post) how impressed I was that she didn't milk the pity card. She could have easily done that to win more votes, but rather, she came out and delivered the goods sans the pity party and still did amazing. Ryan skips down to Siobhan and declares her safe. When someone hits a note that ridiculous, they aren't going anywhere. That's what these contestants need to realize. One great song or note can carry you a long way on this show. It's down to Haeley and Lacey, and they are both wearing a headband with some accessory dangling off of it, Lacey a peacock feather, and Haeley, another huge flower that is as big as her head. Simon says that this one is easy, but it got me! I thought for sure that Haeley had a bigger fan base than Lacey, but Haeley is the one sent packing. It's sad when she sings her song, because it sounds horrible. Her emotions get the better of her so much that she can't hit a single note right. This makes it painful to watch, but also somewhat endearing at the same time. She is a likable girl, but she just wasn't ready for this level of competition. I'm glad I didn't take the slap bet on Lacey, or else I would have been screwed, but I do think she has stayed on far too long, given her talent level. She can't possibly last another week, can she? She will definitely be VFTWs new female face.

Well, there y0u have it, guys. John, Jermaine, Michelle, and Haeley are no longer with us (on the show). Do you think this was the right call? Should Lacey have gone before Haeley, or would it really have mattered? Let me know what you think. Also, who are you pulling for? Who is standing out from the pack in your eyes?!

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 10 Girls: Lady Marmalade

2010-03-04T07:01:00.005-05:00

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday morning, the guys found out that they would be performing first, rather than the girls who were scheduled to sing. Due to a reported complication with diabetes, Crystal Bowersox became extremely ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. In an effort to allow her the chance to compete, they made the swap. This left the fellas with less than 7 hours to prepare (they film around 5 PM in LA- time zones are crazy!). Luckily for us, they seemed to have gotten the memo after last weeks horrendous showing, and performed remarkably better. They seemed to rise to what could have been a very stressful situation and made the most of it. Maybe this was because they didn't have time to psych themselves out and just had to go out there and do it. Or maybe it was because they ditched the nerves after the first performance (for the most part). Either way, it was a step in the right direction.

So, how did the ladies fair? They had an extra day of rehearsal and fine-tuning, so I was expecting a marked improvement here as well. I wasn't disappointed. Many of the gals showed us that they deserved to be where they are. Does this mean that they have won me over for this season? No. They still have a lot of work to do to top any of the past 3 seasons. I'm not sure if that's a reasonable expectation (probably not), but at least the contestants are developing. Like I said earlier, a step in the right direction. Baby steps.

Ok, on to the reviews!

Crystal Bowersox- "Long As I Can See the Light" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Crystal is up first. This girl is a trooper! Not only did she have the fight in her to perform after being hospitalized, but she came on that stage and killed it! This is a girl who is serious about making a name for herself in this competition. Switching up the arrangement a little, she brought a gospel vibe to a '70s folk song and it fit perfectly. When she mixes her acoustic with some soul, she is amazing. I think this was her best performance by far, and that is coming from a guy who loved her version of "Natural Woman." She knows who she is as an artist and is unwilling to compromise that. I can easily see her being the next Melissa Etheridge/Bonnie Raitt. Her confidence is unwavering and she is incredibly likable. She just put her name back on the ballot for front-runner.

Haeley Vaughn- "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

Haeley hit the trifecta this week for me, but in a bad way. 1) She sang Miley Cyrus, who might be the least talented superstar in the history of show business. If Miley can sell million of records, I don't see why any one of us can't as well. 2) She sang the song worse than Miley Cyrus. I wasn't sure that was possible. I guess Haeley can defend herself by saying that she doesn't have all the auto tune that Miley does, but still. 3) I just don't get anything about her. Her song choices are terrible for her voice, which is interesting in it's own right. She has a pretty large range, as I've stated before, and can hit some notes with a power that many of the other girls don't possess. She just doesn't know how to control it or harness it for her own benefit. She was pitchy for most of the song, struggling mightily on the bottom end. I also agree with Simon that she is too "smiley." Yes, it's ok to have a bubbly personality and to always be happy, but when you are singing a song that has a serious message to it, like overcoming adversity, you don't want to be grinning like an idiot. Not just for the aesthetic value either. Smiling brightens up the sound of your voice and can cause it to sound overly harsh. Some songs just don't call for a "bright" vocal. Some are meant to be darker and more somber. She still has a lot to learn, but I'm not sure she will be able to learn that on Idol's stage. I think she might be in trouble this week.

Lacey Brown- "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer

Will we ever really know if Lacey was planning to sing this song this week, or was she just brown-nosing to Kara? I doubt we will ever find the truth, but that shouldn't matter, seeing as Lacey should be packing her bags and heading home after tonight's elimination results. She performed the song well enough, I suppose. It was peppy and "cute," but those kinds of performances are easily forgettable and don't give anyone at home a reason to vote for you. She brought no originality or style to an already plain song. In a competition like this, you at least have to throw in a decent trill or an extended note for the audience to latch on to. That's what they want to see. They don't want to see mediocre vocals that show that you might not deserve to be there. She has done this two weeks in a row now, and I think she will pay for it this week. Of course, I said that last week, and she was safe, but she definitely showed that she is the weakest link on the girls side. Bye Bye, Lacey.

Katie Stevens- "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae

Katie Stevens might have my favorite overall voice in the competition. Her tone is so warm and smooth, and let's face it, it's all about the tone this year. So far we've heard a lot of her voice in that lower, alto register, but in this song, she gave us a little bit of her upper register as well. I enjoyed it. Her flips to head voice were seamless and easy and still maintained the pleasant tone. I agree with Randy about Katie. She has the voice to slay some harder songs if she really put in the effort. This was another safe choice, but she did a good job of listening to the judges critiques from last week. It's funny that they are trying to push her into this teeny-bopper, pop box and she is resisting as much as she possibly can. Can a 17 year old not like more mature music and be better vocally that most kids her age? I think that she needs to take only so much of their advice. I would suggest staying young, but doing something challenging and fun. Christina Aguilera's "Come On Over" would be a good choice. They have very similar, thick tones and Christina is much more difficult to sing than Corinne Bailey Rae. I think she is safe for a while.

Didi Benami- "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers

So, Didi really is Brooke White 2.0. She looks just like her, cries just like her, has the singer/songwriter vibe just like her, but can sing a little better. In this version of "Lean on Me," Didi was trying to show everyone how she wasn't just a nice voice with no tricks. She laid on a heavy dosing of melisma and even had some dynamic notes thrown in there. I think she sang her notes fine. She hit most runs and sounded good tone-wise. The issue I had here was that it was the whitest version of this song I have ever heard. This tune calls for massive amounts of soul to be channeled by the singer. Otherwise, it becomes cheesy. I fear that's what most people took away from the performance. Technically, it was well sung, but it was the wrong song for her. That is not who she is as a vocalist, even though she can sing all the notes required. Didi is having some issues with song-choice and I think she might be suffering from the side effects of doing such a good song in Hollywood like Andrew Garcia. She needs to find a way to bring both sides of her act together: she needs to pick a song that she can relate to and perform well that is in her genre, but add the little pieces of flair to show that she is not just another Brooke White. Safe this week, but no longer a front-runner.

Michelle Delamor- "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed

What in the world? I understand risks, but when you take risks, you should at least use good songs. This song became old and overplayed a week after it hit the air back in 2000. She tried to infuse some R&B stylings to it, but it came across as forced and clumsy. He runs weren't there this week like they were last week. Her tone wavered a bit throughout the song. Her belted notes seemed small and powerless. She even switched to head voice on many of them rather than staying in chest voice. It surprised me that she would be so bold (aka so wrong) this early in the competition, when all she had to do was gain the R&B vote by singing a different song that was less obvious than Alicia Keys. I think she could be in a little bit of trouble this week. I'm not sure if she has the fan base to carry her through bad performances.

Lilly Scott- "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke

"Congratulations, you just had your first *moment*." ~Kara. I will disagree with Kara on this point. Sure, Lilly did Lilly and changed the song up to make it more her style, but that doesn't mean it was all THAT great. This is one of the greatest songs of all time, and I was not buying her kool-aid like most of the judges were. She tried to employ too many different vocal styles to it, I thought. One minutes she's light and airy, the next she's trying to belt out high notes, the next she's trying to throw a big run in there, and the next she's trying to change up the phrasing. I'm all for stylizing a song, but that was too much variety. She also didn't have to change the arrangement up that much. Adam Lambert gave last seasons most incredible performance with his own rendition of this song, but he still stayed true to the original melody, paying homage to Sam Cooke's classic. Maybe most other versions of this song are going to pale in comparison to me after last year's, but I just thought that hers was ok. We learned nothing new about Lilly from this performance, or what she is capable of. And that is sad, because I like her, but I think she is capable of more than she's showing us.

Katelyn Epperly- "The Scientist" by Coldplay

This was quite possibly my favorite performance of the night. As most people know, I'm a sucker for piano driven ballads. I don't know why, I just am. Katelyn, behind the keys of an all white piano, performed an emotionally charged version of one of Coldplay's biggest hits. It may have been a tad slow for most people's liking, but I loved it. What it lacked in tempo, it made up for in sheer honesty and superb delivery. This was the first performance that I've seen from an Idol contestant in a long time that felt genuine and sincere. She told a story with her performance and drew you into what she was feeling. Simon called it "corny," but I think her connection with the song was actually inspiring. Aside from one missed run, I did not hear any vocal flaws at all. She has this great, smokey voice that we were never shown in the early rounds. I agree with Kara on this one- I'm kind of loving her right now.

Paige Miles- "Walk Away" by Kelly Clarkson

Paige has been heralded as having the "best voice of all the girls" from Simon. I think this is sort of like him saying that Lee Dewyze has the best voice of all the guys, but no where near the same extent. Paige can sing safe things well. She has a good, middle ground voice that can hit most notes of a typical melody perfectly fine and sound great doing it. My issues with Paige regard anything out of that safe range. She doesn't have that great of a range, she doesn't have as much power as the judges think she does, and she doesn't have the ability to perform runs and riffs as easily as some of the other contestants. She always stays in the same 3 notes it seems and all of her runs sound the exact same. I said this last week- she didn't listen. I'm not sure I would have chosen this song. 1) It's not a hard song to sing at all, except the one note that she decided to flip into head voice and botch. 2) It's far too wordy, as the judges said, and didn't let the viewers hear much actual singing. 3) It's always iffy to choose a song that was sung by another Idol because you will automatically, without question, be compared. Now, Paige sounds a little like Kelly, but without that powerhouse range. I'm just not sure if she is anything more than what we've seen, which is practically the same song two weeks in a row. If she's around next week, she needs to shake things up a bit. She needs to open the doors with a ballad that she can murder and let people see the vocals that have been hidden up to this point.

Siobhan Magnus- "Think" by Aretha Franklin

First, let me start by saying that Siobhan is so odd. This girl is ranking up there in the "strangest contestants ever" category. Her interviews are awkward and quirky, but I think that is part of her charm to the people who are voting for her. Vocally, I like her a lot. She ran a risk with singing Aretha, especially this song. Like Paige's choice, this one is also fairly wordy during the verses, but Siobhan possesses the chops to be able to add some meat to them, even if they are dancing around the same note most of the time. But all that matters not, because you don't even remember those notes after her insane banshee note at the end of the song. It came from absolutely no where and she killed it. It was a B by the way, which is crazy. It was the water-cooler talk around the country and she is guaranteed to be on the show next week. The buzz on the net is that some of Lambert's fans are starting to vote for her due to her out-there sense of style (blue, strapless gown and polka dot shirt!?) and flair for the dramatic notes. That would give her a huge leg up in the competition. I'm interested in seeing what else she can pull out of her bag after that performance.

All in all, the performances were way better than last week. Hopefully they can keep it up and impress us even more come next week.

As for who is going home, I think that Lacey dodged the bullet last week, but she won't be able to again. If I did slap-bets, I would definitely take that one. As for the other girl hitting the road, I think that it SHOULD be Haeley, but I think it will ultimately be either Michelle or Paige, just due to them not really killing it and not having the fan base that Haeley supposedly has. For the guys, I had John Park and Todrick Hall heading home tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Jermaine or Tim went home instead of Todrick, but Jermaine has a better personality (which matters since he's splitting the R&B votes with Todrick) and Tim has the tweens and VFTW. So, my final picks are: Lacey, Michelle, John, and Todrick. You heard it here first.

How do you think this episode stacked up? Are you feeling a little less frustrated now that the contestants are starting to put up some decent performances? Is a girl definitely going to win this year? All things I want to know.

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 10 Guys: It's a Man's World

2010-03-03T06:53:00.012-05:00

Welcome to Week 2! This week has the same format as last week did. 2 guys and 2 girls will ultimately be sent home on Thursday. After an unexpected trip the hospital sidelined Crystal Bowersox, Idol got creative and decided to throw the guys in a night early in hopes that she could return to perform on Wednesday. I was slightly nervous when I found this out. The guys were downright painful to listen to last go-round. I thought that going a night a head of schedule wasn't going to do them any favors. Luckily, the boys stepped up to the plate and gave a pretty serviceable performance episode. I might have accepted anything after last week, but this week was vastly improved!

I'm not going to waste any time. On to the reviews!

Michael Lynche- "It's a Man's World" by James Brown

So, we find out that Big Mike has a flair for the dramatic in his bumper video. That is hilarious to me. What's even more funny is that he can curl little Aaron Kelly. This guy is a hoot. I like him a lot. This was, by far, Michael's best performance on the show. Channeling his inner Ruben Studdard, Michael crooned out a goldie, showing that he is not just the fun-loving body builder, but a serious contender in this competition. His confidence is unmatched at this point in the competition, by both the other guys and the girls. He has a swagger on the stage that you just can't teach. It's innate. He also showed us with his vocals that he might have what it takes to be a great R&B artist. It was smooth, on pitch, and had the right amount of frill to spice it up, without sounding like he was over singing it. He is undoubtedly safe.

John Park- "Gravity" by John Mayer

Oh, John Park. I don't know what to say, really. He is one of the best pure vocalists in the competition. He has the tone and control to be extremely good, but he does not know how to play the game. This competition, though heralded as a singing competition, is much more than vocals alone. The tag line for the show is "The Search for a Superstar." This encompasses everything- from singing, to performing, to personality, to likability, to relevance, etc, etc. John only has the singing portion of that list. His version of "Gravity" was about as dull as he could have made it. The soul that John Mayer puts into his music was simply not there. The heart that he said he was putting into the song never showed in his performance. It was another ballad, which is all we've heard him sing, and one that was too middle of the road and forgettable. Middle of the road performances are always the worst. That means that you didn't do well enough for anyone to vote for you due to shear excitement over how well you did, but you also did not do bad enough for your fan base to feel sorry for you and vote like crazy so that you'll stay around another week. I'm calling John Park's time on this show done after this week.

Casey James- "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin DeGraw

So, aside from the fact that Casey James looks like an overgrown Hanson brother, dudeman can kill the guitar. He is far and away the best guitarist that the show has ever seen in it's 9 seasons. Is that enough, though? To me, Casey shined when he played his blues song in Hollywood week. Last week was good, but not great. This week was about the same. His rendition of "I Don't Wanna Be" will be remembered more for his playing than his singing. Doing a song that is so widely done on the show, you run the risk of turning people away just from them being tired of hearing the song. I think this may have been the case this week. The more he is on the stage, the more he shows that he is not vocally where he needs to be at this point in the competition. I don't know if it's nerves or vibrato, but his voice is digressing week after week. I'm not a big fan of the Eddie Vedder sound. It doesn't work for him. He didn't have that ubber-fast vibrato in Hollywood, and it would serve him well to lose it now. Does this mean I think he's in trouble? Heck no. He is clearly safe. My critiques are things that he needs to iron out now so that he doesn't have to when he makes it to the top 10 overall. When, not if.

Alex Lambert- "Everybody Knows" by John Legend

Talk about zero to hero in the course of a week! Last weeks goofy, clumsy Clark Kent ripped off those glasses to give a Superman performance that was full of confidence and charisma. I was harsh on Alex in the past, but I have to give props where they are due. It was like watching two different people. I finally saw that tone that the judges have been raving about all this time. I actually agreed with them. It's unique and stands out from the pack. Randy said "You know what I like about your package?" Eeerrrr, please don't talk about his "package," Randy. I think that he did a great job with what could have been a disastrous song. He changed it up a bit and made it fit him as a singer. Besides one partially botched last note (I say partially because I believe it was on pitch, just executed weirdly), he was on key, showed poise, and performed the song rather than just singing it. I think he picked up a few fans with that performance, and dare I say that I might be one of them?!

Todrick Hall- "What's Love Got To Do With It?" by Tina Turner

After last weeks performance, which I liked, but the judges didn't, I was interested to see what we were going to get from Todrick. He tried to take the criticism that he received and use it for this song, but I'm not sure he did that effectively. Rather than dancing across the stage, he opted for a more toned down, straight forward performance. He still changed the arrangement around quite a bit. It took me a few seconds to figure out what song he was singing (just like last week). From the comments he received last week, I think he put the emphasis on the wrong part. He focused more on the performing critiques than he did on the rearranging critiques, and he got panned for them again. He has several problems in my opinion: 1) he performed another song originally performed by a female artist. Though, vocally, he was decent, it always provides a disconnect to the audience unless the song is incredibly flexible in terms of gender-specificity. 2) His voice is not as limber as he thinks it is. He incorporates massive amounts of melisma into his vocals, but they almost always seem forced. Kara said it best (shockingly)- he does not have to bring every trick to the table every week. Bring one good trick that means something. 3) He needs to show more of his personality. There seems to be a large gap between his performing personality and his regular, everyday personality. I'm not sure if America is buying what he's selling because I don't think they know what side is the real Todrick. I think that he might be in trouble this week.

Jermaine Sellers- "What's Goin' On" by Marvin Gaye

After a severely sub par showing last week, Jermaine needed to knock one out of the ballpark. I'm not sure he did that. Picking one of the greatest songs ever penned is always a no-no, as is continually singing high notes that don't measure up. He was, once again, pitchy on most of the song, but this was much better than last weeks. It's still not up to the standard I expect from him. He constantly talks about how he's a church singer (trying to get that Christian vote)...SO SHOW US SOME SOUL! Everything we've seen from him seems contrived- from his Pee-Wee Herman sense of fashion and Ed Grimley/Ruby Rod haircut to his weekly disappointing vocals. The only thing that is saving him right now is his personality. He is a pretty funny guy and we learned this week that he "rocks da onesie," covered in dinosaurs, no less. I'm a fan of that! He might be in trouble this week. He is in the same boat as Todrick, and it's worse for them that they are splitting the R&B vote. I expect one of them to go, but I think Jermaine has connected with more people due to his fun-loving personality.

Andrew Garcia- "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison

The once front-runner is finding himself stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He had his best performance in Hollywood week, and he can't escape it's shadows. People are constantly comparing him to that song (which I refuse to name again- it's been said too much on the show) and it's becoming more of a burden than the blessing it appeared to be at the time. He once again showed that he is one of the best vocalists in the competition. He does have an incredible recording voice, but there is something that he's doing wrong. I think he's taking himself a bit too seriously and trying too hard to change songs every week. And he's also staying in a comfort zone of sorts. He hasn't taken any risks yet. He hasn't reached for any notes that were difficult or overly impressive. He has only sung slow songs, or fast songs turned slow. I want to see him bust out with something fun! He needs to take a deep breath, relax, and laugh. Heck, he can look at his wife's haircut if he needs a good chuckle (ok, that was too far. I'm sorry.) He is critiqued because he is better than he is showing right now and everyone can see it. He's clearly safe, but he needs to figure out a way to break out of the confines of his past success and start paving a new road ahead- one that not many of the contestants have the talent to join him on.

Aaron Kelly- "My Girl" by The Temptations

I am going to chalk the whole Aaron Kelly thing up to personal taste. I, for one, don't know what the judges see in this kid. He is a fair at best singer, has an interesting pseudo-country vibe with some pop flavorings, and has the endearing quality that comes with most 16 year olds in the competition, but I'm just not feeling it. I think his voice is nasally and doesn't have that great of a tone to it. This version of "My Girl" was nothing to boast about. It was incredibly karaoke and outdated. Go to a karaoke bar right now and ask someone to sing that song and I guarantee you that it will sound just as good, if not better, than what Aaron did. It was well too old for him and he did nothing to the arrangement to change that. Turns out that he likes photography, too. Why does this kid have to like the same things that I like?! Grrr. Still, he's safe due to all the mom's that wish he was their giddy little kid.

Tim Urban- "Come On, Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson

Tim Urban got SLAUGHTERED by the judges and the press for last weeks performance. Sadly, it was deserved, seeing as he was horrible. This week, you can tell that his goal was to just get through with a safe song where he wouldn't get torn a new one. Matt Nathanson was a great pick for him because that is the kind of artist he'd be. He would be the marginally talented singer/songwriter that makes the most of what he has with catchy hooks. That acoustic soft rock is where he should stay. I'm not sure why, but I like Tim. Does he have the best voice? Not in a long shot. Is he a good performer? Not necessarily. What does he have? He has the tween vote and he got Simon's approval this week (which is the only approval you need from the judges panel). What I like about Tim is his sincerity. He is a genuinely good guy who DOES have a good voice, but feels like he doesn't belong right now. And it shows. I liken him to a stock version of a car that comes without any of the bells and whistles. Yea, he can't sing as high as some, or with the melisma and swagger of others, but I think he has some potential if he's given the opportunity. He might not have the sunroof or the XM radio, but he can get you to point A to point B, and if you give it a try, you might enjoy the ride.

Lee Dewyze- "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder

Of all the contestants, this is my biggest question mark. I honestly think the judges are smoking crack. Maybe he has the kind of voice that sounds much better live than it does coming across the TV, but I don't think Lee is as good as the judges do by any stretch of the imagination. He comes off as a rip-off Nickelback (a rip-off of an overrated band is bad) and does not show this tone that they keep raving him for. He has a raspy voice, true, but he has shown me no actual skill as a singer. Most notes are starting off out of tune, then finding their place. "Lips of an Angel" was far too predictable, but you didn't see the judges lacing into him like they did Ashley Rodriguez for doing the same thing. Simon labeling him as "the one to beat" and "the best voice among the guys" proves my point that he is trying to sabotage the show. He couldn't possibly think that. I didn't enjoy this performance at all and I'm starting to wonder if I'm the crazy one, or if anyone else agrees with me that he only good enough to be a cover band front man.

All in all, I was impressed with the strides that some of the contestants took in only a weeks time. You can tell that the coaches and producers are working with these guys closely so they don't come off looking like the laughing stock of America for an entire season. Some guys, like Alex Lambert, jumped up in my opinion, while others, like Andrew Garcia, haven't done anything in a while to grab my attention. It's still the early stages, and it's a tough business to learn right away, so I'll give them some leeway.

In my opinion, I think John Park was easily the worst of the night- bland, boring, and without any sort of passion. I think that all of his followers have essentially jumped off of the bandwagon (seeing as he was heavily favored coming into the live show). He is like a less entertaining version of Anoop, and that's saying a lot, since Anoop was often boring as well. I think he will be crooning about "Gravity" again on Thursday as he falls from the heights that many held him to and heads home. The second person going home will probably be either Todrick or Jermaine, but I'm leaning towards Todrick. I just don't think people are getting him. I like him, but he has done nothing to earn my vote and I think that many Americans will share that sentiment.

What did you guys think? Did this week show a vast improvement over last week? Did anyone absolutely steal the show this week? Am I crazy for not liking Aaron or Lee or for liking Tim? Let me know. I'd like to hear more of your feedback to keep this America's #1 blog for all things Idol! (ok, so that might have been a lie, but hey...Kimberley Locke, season 2 third place finisher started following me on Twitter because she reads. Hey Kim!)

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 20: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2010-02-26T07:03:00.005-05:00

Guys, sorry for the delay with this post. It's been a whirlwind weekend!

Last Thursday we had our first elimination of the "real" season. The first elimination is always the hardest to predict because any one of the contestants can get sent home. No one has truly had the opportunity to build a large fan base, so every vote matters. Every off note is sewed to your chest like a Scarlet Letter and the voters make you pay for it dearly. Now, of course there are the front runners (the Andrew Garcia's, Casey James', and Katie Stevens') every season, but this year seems to have a wider disparity between the good, the bad, and the ugly, with not much good.

With that said, let's see how this elimination results show shook down.

The top 24 performed a surprisingly good version of Estelle's "American Boy," the same song that Janell Wheeler impressed the judges with in Hollywood week. All in all, it wasn't that bad! There was good blend and their pitch seemed to be on. All this leads me to believe that it was lip-synced, but I forgot to watch out for that. Drats. It was a little odd when the guys entered in and started singing the lyrics "I'm likin this American boy, American boy." Casey James' face was priceless!

Wasting no time, Ryan has all the girls seated on the stage and begins the process of eliminating the first girl from the show. Now, through each elimination of the night, AI fails horribly in the suspense factor. You know who's going home almost immediately just by how they are standing. Then, after 4 of the girls are deemed safe and it's only Katie Stevens and Janell Wheeler left standing, well I think we know who is the weaker link. No shock at all that Janell was the first contestant in the top 24 to be sent home. Her sing-along version of a Heart classic was the last nail in her coffin. Granted, she sang the song better after her elimination, but it still lacked any punch whatsoever. Janell, glad you were on the show, but this was not undeserved.

Next, we had a performance from Allison Iraheta. First of all, I really liked this song. She performed her second single, "Scars" from her debut album "Just Like You." It was a very haunting type of song that fit her raspy voice well. Second of all, she still has a lot to learn about performing. She jumped at the camera with a mean mug during a relatively soft spot in the ballad. Yea, that didn't work, Allison. Third, she would have wiped the floor with this season had she just waited a year to audition. She is head and shoulders better than any of the contestants this year. She still has that same youthful joy that made her endearing on season 8. And she can still give one heck of an awkward interview. I miss having her on the show. Can we just rerun season 8 instead of this current one? I can learn to suspend my disbelief.

The second elimination for the ladies side was next. Seeing the bottom row, I was confident that Lacey would be sent home. She should have been sent home, but the American Idol gods love to curse me the first week. The choice for the second female eliminated came to Ashley Rodriguez and Didi Benami. Yea, again, way to fail at suspense, Idol. Didi was obviously safe and Ashley was sent home. I liked Ashley a lot, but I don't think she connected with the voters as anything more than a pretty face and decent voice. She seemed way too fake and that probably made people turn to other voting options. The curse that I mentioned earlier is this: Whichever girl I think is the most attractive will automatically get eliminated the first week. The same thing happened with Ann Marie Boskovich last season. Oh well :(. She should have done a song that wasn't as generic for her. She just didn't know how to play the game very well, and she paid the price (however undeservedly) for it. We (or maybe just I) will miss you, Ashley.

The guys were up next. The top row went first and was comprised of a bunch of guys who did well enough, except for Tim Urban. He looked to be the sure-bet to go home, but much to everyone's surprise (except mine), it was Joe Munoz who was sent packing. Good job this go round, Idol. Joe obviously has a much better voice than Tim, but he didn't have the puppy eyes to get swarms of teenage girls to vote for him. Tim Urban is safe for another week. Called it. Joe fell to the curse of having no screen time. Every year, there is undoubtedly one contestant who is an unknown that gets cut for that very reason. Fair? Probably not, but maybe he should have been more interesting during the initial auditions. Just sayin...

It was a two-fer in terms of last year's AI stars coming back to the show. Kris Allen performed a very emotional rendition of "Let It Be," with all proceeds from the songs download going to the Haiti relief efforts. You can tell that Kris has been performing a lot since Idol. He looked so much more comfortable up on the stage than he did last year at this time. He would also kill the competition this year, I feel like. I won't even mention what Lambert would have done. I really liked his version of this song and his vocals were very strong. If you haven't listed to his new album, "Kris Allen," you should. There are some really good songs up there.

Finally, it got down to the last elimination. It came down to Alex Lambert (no surprise) and Tyler Grady (I can see why). I didn't like either of them, but I was sure going into the results show that Alex would be the one to go (sort of like I was sure Lacey would leave too). I was wrong. Tyler was sent on his way. I'm ok with this because he showed that he was the least talented vocally and he made it way too far based on this far fetched persona that he could never fully live up to. To prove it, they didn't even let him sing his full song before they cut the feed. Oh well. Alex has a lot to work on this week if he wants to stay on any longer. I can't see him making it into the top 12.

Well, there you have it folks. Did America get it right? Were any of the eliminations shocking?! Let me know what you think. And, again, sorry for the delayed post.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 24: Let's Hear It For the Boys

2010-02-25T06:47:00.009-05:00

After a disappointing show by the girls on Tuesday night, I came into Guy's Night hoping for something more. I'm not sure what, exactly, but I know it was more. Instead, what I got was a variety of awkward performances, riddled with nerves and bum notes. A LOT of bum notes. The fellas had an opportunity to reclaim the season, proving that the judges were wrong and it wasn't a girls year to win the crown, but I don't think they seized it.

Ellen continued her "You are great!" comments, but seemed a little less impressed than she was with the girls (heh). Randy didn't add much this episode. Kara showed that she is definitely going to have a Paula-esque scandal with one of the contestants. Simon looked off into the audience the whole time, acting way more pouty and bratty than usual. This is getting old quick. I know that the producers think that this "attitude" makes their rankings, but it's getting annoying. I know it's his last year and all, but at least ACT like you are wanting to be there.

I actually think that Simon is secretly undermining Idol in an evil plan to destroy it from the inside. He is planning on bringing his British smash hit X-Factor to America next year, so it's only in best business to destroy the competition (even if he is still technically in their contract). I have never disagreed more with Simon than I did tonight. Everyone who was decent, he smashed. Everyone who was terrible, he said was good. I think he's purposefully trying to build up the bad ones so that they will go through and make for a terrible season. Conspiracy? Hmmm...we shall see.

On to the reviews!

Todrick Hall- “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson

So this is the best example of a love it or hate it performance since Adam Lambert's "Ring of Fire." Todrick takes the biggest song from American Idol's Season 1 champion and completely revamps it with this funk groove that I actually loved. I am not one for doing songs done by previous Idol contestants, but I think that this was so far from the original that it was ok. He showed a great stage presence, decent enough vocals (compared to the rest), and amazing originality. Whereas David Cook would find a cover of a good song on iTunes and copy that, Todrick came up with this arrangement in his head. Ellen loved it, but the other judges were not impressed with it's over-the-top styling. Simon said that it was “verging on stupid” and that he "came off like a dancer who could sing, not a singer who could dance." That's because that's what he is, Simon. He is a self-proclaimed dancer that sings, so I don't know why he is surprised about that. I'm not sure what the judges want right now. They want someone to flip songs on their head and to be original, but when someone does it, they shoot them down? Perhaps it was a bit too much, but it was still good and not worthy of all the criticism that he received.

Aaron Kelly- “Here Comes Goodbye” by Rascal Flatts

I think that the apocalypse is here. I was EXTREMELY unimpressed with Aaron Kelly's rendition of Rascal Flatts "Here Comes Goodbye" (which was penned by Idol alum Chris Sleigh). He was nasal, extremely pitchy, and stood in the same spot the entire performance. There was no passion, no charisma, and worst of all, no star power whatsoever. Naturally, the judges all loved it. I don't get what the big deal is about this kid. Trust me, it's not because I'm a hater. People keep saying that he reminds them of a little me. That is false. But that's not why I dislike him. I dislike him for his lack of talent. He stood in place, sang a COMPLETELY karaoke version of a song, and he sang it very poorly compared to the original. If the judges are going to tell everyone else that they need to be more original and not sing second rate versions of songs, then they need to tell him that too. Right now, he's getting by way too easy and it's going to bite him once they start getting tired of this shtick.

Jermaine Sellers- "Get Here" by Oleta Adams

Wow. That's all I can really say. And not in the good way. I can't remember one good moment in his performance. It was an old song that not many young voters are going to relate to. And he sang it terribly. During the verses, his voice was extremely weak, waaaay pitchy, and incredibly sloppy. Once he got into the chorus, it fell apart even more. He tried to do his best Adam Lambert impression with high notes that were just way out of his league. He stood there for 2 minutes of shrieking and sending every cat at home crazy, making them do this. Luckily, the judges got one right by calling this awful. The only good thing they could grab was that they liked how he looked. Last time I checked, looks have nothing to do with singing, but what do I know?! He has a fun personality in the video and the post-performance interview, but I don't know if that will be enough to save him. I know he's much better than this, but he stumbled out of the gates tonight, big time.

Tim Urban- “Apologize” by One Republic

So, apparently, Tim didn’t tell his family that he got called back until they announced it on the final episode of Hollywood Week. That's kind of funny. I'm not sure I could do that, but more power to him. When I heard that Tim was singing "Apologize" I sort of sank in my chair, knowing the disaster that was to occur. First of all, no one should sing this song. Kris Allen tried it last year and also got widely panned by the judges for trying to sound too much like the original and not changing it up enough. It's too much of a risk to sing this song with the constant flips into falsetto. If it's not there, the song tanks. Tim found this out the hard way. His falsetto was virtually non-existant. It was like a little mouse singing at times. Now, I think he has a decent enough voice, but not up to the level of the Top 24 (but really, who has shown that they belong here so far?). Simon said that there was “nothing to take from that," and he's right. I can see Tim sticking around another week though. The judges were brutal to him, and his almost breaking into tears on stage surely bought him some votes from the tween girls out there. I like Tim, but he needs to show us that he belongs there in that call-back spot over the likes of Thaddeus Johnson, and tonight, he didn't. Is it too late to apologize? (sorry, I had to go cheesy there!)

Joe Munoz- “You and I Both” by Jason Mraz

So Joe was another one of those guys that we hadn't heard a peep from until now. He has a good voice but there is nothing overly special about it. He doesn't have much in terms of dynamics, and the song stays in an extremely easy range. I think that it was far too simple a song to sing, considering that no one knows who he is. It just never really went anywhere. Simon told him to “get out of the bubble,” meaning don't play it so safe and let who he is as an artist shine through. The sad thing, though, is that this was one of the better performances of the night, and if that's the case, the guys are definitely in trouble.

Tyler Grady- “American Woman” by The Guess Who

So I've never been high on Tyler. I never thought his retro look/style was all that cool or genuine. Of course he picked a '70s song that should have played to his strengths, but it did not. Ellen hit the nail on the head. For someone who idolizes such iconic '70s frontmen, there is not much stage presence about this guy. He seemed to be moving in slow motion and looked like her really might have thought he was on a karaoke stage, not that of American Idol. He is laid back, I'll give him that, but he needs to be taking this competition seriously, and he's not. He showed that he has difficulty staying on pitch and is overall just not a very good singer. The most dynamic thing about his performance was that crazy shirt/scarf thing that he was wearing. Oh, and his ridiculously huge, goofy chin. He needs to step out of the box and into this decade sometime soon if he wants to stick around.

Lee Dewyze- “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol

On a night of awful performances, this stuck out as 'not bad.' First of all, I love this song and I think that it was a good choice for him. He sang it decently. He seemed like he was having trouble with concentrating on the phrases he was singing. The last note of every line was always off. This is surprising because the song does not have that big of a range at all. I liked how he changed the melody up a little bit. It made it a little more his own without going too crazy. I'm not sure how I feel about his voice. I don't really like his tone as much as the judges do. I think he could have a very nice tone, but his lack of focus on the technical aspects of his singing are making it hard to judge right now. He has a good voice, but is not yet a good singer, if that makes sense. Give him some time with the vocal coaches and I think he could be ok. No shot of winning, but ok. All of the judges panned him except for Simon. He loved it. Love is a strong word, but it definitely was not the worst of the night.

John Park- "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holliday

This one I'm torn with. I think John (aka Asian Julie Stiles) can really sing. He has a beautiful, rich tone and has some definite talent with runs and style. When he gets in his money range, like he did in the bridge of this song, he's great. This performance showed all that, but it was also the wrong song choice. He sang it well, but it was boring and forgettable. Kara took a page out of Simon's playbook and called the performance indulgent. Simon looked pissed! You can't take the feisty Brit's favorite word and expect to not get shot a dagger look. Then, it got racist. When Ryan was leading John off the stage after the post-performance interview, HE BOWED! Just because he's Asian doesn't mean you have to bow at him, Ryan. If we all treated people like the stereotypes, I'd be asking you how business was in the North Pole with the other elves. Come on, man! I think John is safe, but I want to see a spiced up soul number next week.

Michael Lynch- “This Love” by Maroon 5

Finally, a fun performance. I like Big Mike. Is he the best vocalist? No, but that doesn't matter. He is a good entertainer. He knows who he is and is very comfortable on the stage being himself. It might have to do with the fact that he could beat anyone up in the audience if they boo'ed him. I don't know. He gave the show the boost it needed after several less than stellar performances in a row. He is unquestionably safe and this was one the best performances I've seen up to this point, but again, that's not saying much, so don't think that I thought it was amazing.

Alex Lambert- "Wonderful World" by James Morrison

Fodder. I don't need to say anymore, but I guess I owe it to the contestants to give equal treatment. First of all, I couldn't get past the mullet. Seriously?? Not a good look. Second, I don't know what the judges are smoking. They say he has everything that he needs as a singer, but just didn't put it together. I disagree. He had no power, no pitch, and no style. He stared at the camera awkwardly and came across as a creeper. He does have a unique tone, like James Morrison, but that shouldn't be enough to excuse the rest of his faults vocally. This is my proof that Simon is throwing the show under the bus for his own means this year. Oh, and Ellen talked about how she can't wait to eat his not-yet ripe banana. Eeerrrrrrr :-/

Casey James- Bryan Adams “Heaven”

Casey (aka Hansel) had what could have been the best performance of the night. It was the right song choice from him, he sang it reasonably well, and received high marks from the judges. And this was all during the extremely distracting commotion at the judges table where Kara couldn't hold back her inner school-girl crush and the guys fed into it. "Hansel. So hot right now. Hansel." The producers gave him some of the pimp lighting, and that always adds to a performance. I think he will do well on the show, but there are some things he needs to work on: 1) he needs to not let the judges favoritism go to his head, because they don't vote, we do. 2) He needs to cut the Eddie Vedder vibrato from his voice. He sounded much better when he sang the blues song during Hollywood Week. I did appreciate how Ellen apologized for the distraction from the other judges. It was a classy move and showed that she really cares about the contestants and wants to see them do well.

Andrew Garcia – Fallout Boy “Sugar We’re Going Down”

Andrew Garcia, the front-runner for the guys, would obviously get the pimp spot. He did a cool, laid back version of the originally high-octane "Sugar We're Going Down." I liked it fair enough. As the judges said (over and over and over again), it was no "Straight Up." I'm a little disappointed that he tried to do the exact same thing again, though. I know that he is a very good musician and singer and is good at flipping songs into an acoustic vibe, but I want to see big, bold and charismatic from him next week. He is obviously safe, so there is no point in saying "if he's back next week." He was vocally the best tonight, but I think that I agree with the judges that we need to see more of what he's capable of.

Now, out of all these less than thrilling performances, how am I supposed to pick the two who should go home?! I definitely think that Alex Lambert should be done. He's just not made for this show. If we were going solely based on tonight's performances, I would have to throw Jermaine Sellers and Tim Urban into that boat as well. Jermaine definitely has way more talent than he showed tonight, but the voters are a fickle bunch and don't tolerate too much this early in the game. The only three who are definitely safe are Big Mike, Casey, and Andrew. It's a toss up at this point as to who is the worst of the rest. Can Tim's good looks get him past this stage? Can Jermaine's airtime save him? Or will Joe go home because no one knows who he is?

Currently, votefortheworst.com is endorsing Haeley Vaughn and Tim Urban. They thought that they were the worst of the group, so they are putting their mighty forces (and they are remarkably might) behind these two. Don't be surprised if they stick around.

I'm glad that the first performance is over with. It was downright painful to listen to a lot of these songs and I found myself constantly doing my best Kris Allen impersonation...

Hopefully the contestants will put more effort into their song selections next week, if they are still around. America wants to see why the judges thought that this bunch was the best. So do I. Because, honestly, I personally know 24 other better singers off the top of my head without breaking a sweat.

What did you guys think of the first performances? Do you disagree with any of my reviews? Am I being overly critical against Aaron Kelly and his whiny, nasally voice? Who is going home?! Remember, the results show is on tonight! Let's send some of this fodder home!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 24: Ladies Night

2010-02-24T06:49:00.005-05:00

Here we are ladies and gents. We are finally to the live portion of American Idol where we as the viewers hold the contestants fate in the palm of our hands (literally, with our cell phones). As Randy will undoubtedly say several weeks from now, THIS is where season 9 starts! He seems to shout this nonsensically throughout the first few weeks, apparently not realizing that the season started months ago. Maybe he's drinking some of Paula's kool-aid...

Ryan Seacrest is back in his role as host, fresh off inking a 3 year/$45 million contract in the off season, making him the highest-paid reality host...ever. Maybe this will help him land the Emmy award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program that he has been seeking. He has been nominated the past two years (since the category was created), but has yet to win over Survivor Host Jeff Probst. Really, who still watches Survivor?!

Ellen, or "E" as Randy calls her, makes her debut with a hilarious skit of how Simon has been hitting on her during the auditions. Watch below. It's around the 2:00 min mark.

As for the rest of the show, Ellen showed that she really didn't have a clue as to what she was supposed to tell the contestants. She did well in Hollywood week, but once the camera's were live, it seemed like she only knew three phrases: "I agree with [insert other judge here]," "that was great," and "everyone is so good." She hasn't really settled into her new role yet, but I expect her to bounce back in the coming weeks. Right now she's probably feeling overwhelmed by the experience, but I still like her.

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's breakdown the top 12 girls' performances!

Paige Miles- "All Right Now" by Free

This performance was ok for the first live performance of the season. We have not really heard much from Paige up to this point. She's either incredibly boring or just a fair singer. From what I've seen, she has a decent voice, but I'm not as excited as the judges seemed to be about her performance tonight. I thought that the song choice was terrible. I understand the attempt at taking a rock song and adding some soul to it, but it just didn't work in my opinion. She was constantly overpowered by the background vocalists on the choruses and the verses consisted of the exact same phrasings and runs every single time. There was no growth/build to the song and she stayed at the same dynamic for much of her performance. When she would do a run, it'd be the same run that she just did. When she went to a high note, it was the exact same high note every time. It was as Simon put it, "a wedding song" that you could hear any person singing- not one of the top 24 "best singers in America." She might be safe, but the fact that she was first to sing, along with no one really knowing who she is, might be enough to send her home. I still thinks she's got a good enough voice to stay on, but she needs to work HARD on improving.

Ashley Rodriguez- "Happy" by Leona Lewis

So, the judges saved all of their slams for Ashley for tonight. She hasn't had one bad thing said about her all season up to this point, but they laid it on thick this time. She performs Leona Lewis' "Happy" from the movie Precious. As much as I like her, the judges were right. She was no where near as good as the original and it came off as semi-sloppy and boring. She isn't doing anything to show that she is anything more than a karaoke version of very good pop singers (Alicia Keys, Jordin Sparks, and Leona Lewis). Her propensity to sing songs that are somehow linked to Simon is coming off as slightly brown-noserish. She needs to go ahead and do something original that shows herself as an artist. Hopefully she will get a second chance, and I think she will. People know she can sing, she just has to learn the delicate art of song-choice.

Janell Wheeler- "What About Love" by Heart

This is the epitome of a bad song choice. Who in the world told Janell Wheeler that she had the pipes to sing a Heart song. Whoever did needs to be smacked right night, because that performance was worthy of her being sent home. In order to sing Ann Wilson, you have to have incredible range, boatloads of power, and the presence of one of the best female rock vocalists of all time. Janell has none of these things. In this performance, the only thing that she showed us was that her soft, meek, and breathy voice has more faults than we originally thought. So far, she has gotten through these rounds based on her looks and overall likeability, but I don't know how long that can last. I have a sneaky suspicion that she will survive this week, but if she doesn't turn it around QUICK, she will be headed back to Florida and trying to mend things with ol' Tebow. I ain't sayin she a gold digga...

Lilly Scott- "Fixing a Hole" by The Beatles

If anyone was going to pick a rando Beatles song that was released during their shroom years, and still manage to pull it off, it would be Lilly. She definitely has her own thing going for her. She has a unique image and voice that I think people are starting to like. She is going for the Indie crowd, a group not heavily targeted on shows such as this, and doing a good job at it. Like I've said before, her vocal ability is no where near that of some of the other girls, but with her style, it doesn't need to be. She puts her own little spin on this song and makes it her own, like the judges have been screaming from the beginning of the show. That's a plus. My concern for her though is that I don't want to see her playing a slow acoustic song every week. I know that that is who she is as an artist, but to win this show you need to be versatile and dynamic. She is safe this week.

Katelyn Epperly- "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles

Katelyn Epperly, or the girl with the Felicity hair, definitely showed up this week. As I've stated in the past, I have been relatively unimpressed by her auditions. That changed tonight. She sang a bluesy version of "Oh! Darling" and did a surprisingly good job. She showed more control than we are used to seeing from her as well as more confidence. Randy was spot on (what?!) when he said her tone was great. There is a lot to be said for a singer who understands the importance of tone over all the bells and whistles. I will agree with Kara that I like her "natural" look better than the "done up" look, but that exchange was hilarious when Kara suggested that the word bubble that popped up when she said that was "B****!" That made me like Kara a little more.

Haeley Vaughn- "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles

What in the world?! Three Beatles songs back-to-back-to-back? Come on already... This performance was, how do I say it, not good at all. It was a really strange arrangement, accompanied with very strange vocals and a strange (dare I say creepy) smile plastered on her face through the whole thing. I honestly think that Haeley is confused. She doesn't know how she is as an artist or who she could be. Does she have potential? Heck yes. She has a great range for her age. She seems to be able to keep going up and up in her chest voice, but she hasn't learned how to control that so that it benefits her. She seems like she is screaming at times. When she started to go off pitch last night, the rest of her performance fell to shambles. But she never lost that smile, well, until the judges ripped her a new one. If she hadn't been so heavily pimped in the auditions, I'd say she was in big trouble, but I think that a lot of people like her, so I think she will be safe. But this was a big wake up call to her and she needs to change some stuff. Isn't it funny how I've said that about almost every girl...hmmm...

Lacey Brown- "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac

When I heard that Lacey was singing "Landslide," I got excited. "Great song!" were my initial thoughts...until she completely sucked the life out of it. She did herself no favors by singing this song. There was no emotion, dynamics, or anything that would make anyone vote for her in this performance. She also botched the lyric with the TITLE OF THE SONG in it! She said "LandSIDE!" Tsk tsk...I think that she is on her way home after that little diddy. At least she can say she made it further than last year. That's a plus, right?!

Michelle Delamore- "Fallin' " by Alicia Keys

Michelle was the one girl that we heard absolutely nothing about before tonight, at least vocally. I was pleasantly surprised at her rendition of "Fallin' ", a song that too many people sing on this show. She wasn't as good as the original, but she took some liberties with the song that I haven't seen done before. She had a good voice and was able to effectively sing the runs and trills that some of the other contestants had been missing before her. She should be safe, but there is no guarantee, since so many people have already picked who they are voting for from the auditions. Hopefully she will stay, because she is good.

Didi Benami- "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson

So what's one way to kill all the buzz you had for you coming from Hollywood Week? Do a song that not many people know and do it in a way that does nothing to show how talented you are. What's another way, you ask? Let your grandma knit you a hideous hippie vest to perform in. I'm not sure what Didi was thinking in this move of hers, but it was the safest song she could have possibly picked. Did she hit her notes? Yes, but she wasn't memorable in the slightest (except for the aforementioned ugly vest). She broke rule #1 of How to Succeed on Idol. She didn't read my blog! I said that she needed to do something smart to stay ahead of the bigger voices, and she completely disregarded my advice. She is obviously safe, but no longer the front-runner like many predicted her to be.

Siobhan Magnus- "Wicked Games" by Chris Isaac

What's funny about this performance is that I thought that she picked this song because she saw how the other girls were trying to sound like the original artists who performed the songs they were singing and wanted to break away from that. Sadly, I think she was trying to sound like Chris Isaac more than anyone else was trying to sound like their artists. This was a weird performance for me. I understand that she was going for the lighter, haunted sound to showcase a variety, but honestly, we didn't get to see enough of her wailing in Hollywood to get tired of that yet. She needed to separate herself from the rest of the pack based on her vocals this week, not based on her ability to be versatile. That time will come. All that being said, I think she sang the song fine and will proceed, but it was still all a bit weird for me.

Crystal Bowersox- "Hand In My Pocket" by Alanis Morissette

Crystal no longer has pirate teeth, thank God. The producers quickly slapped on some Crest White Strips and sent her on her way. She performed a good, but not great, version of an Alanis classic. So far, we have only seen her with her guitar (sometimes a harmonica), and it is starting to get a little old. It was good when she broke out an acoustic version of Aretha's "Natural Woman," but Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette are WAY too safe for her to still be doing. We expect that. We know that's what she's going to do. She needs to do something out of left field. Sure, she's good, but Simon is 100% correct. There are millions of people all over the US doing EXACTLY what she's doing right now on the show. She needs to show that she is relevant and current, not just a good copy-cat singing out of her guitar case.

Katie Stevens- "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble

So, Katie Stevens, one of the supposed front runners for the ladies, is in the pimp spot tonight, closing us out of a pretty bland first performance episode. When I hear that she is singing Michael Buble's version of "Feeling Good" I automatically try to not compare her to Adam Lambert's amazing version last season. She has a great voice. I love her tone and her presence. For a kid, she has a lot of raw talent. If she can tighten up her runs and expand her range just a tad, she'll be in a good position. The song was a little old for her, but with Buble and Muse bringing it back on their albums, I think it was fine for her to do. Though there were a few juuuust pitchy parts, I think it was a good performance and she is hands down safe.

So there you have it. I was a little disappointed in how our girls stepped up to the plate for this performance. Too many girls got bit by the bad song bug. I guess it's something that you have to get used to once you get on the show. I'm sure it's more difficult than it looks. As for who is going home, I think that Lacey is the only sure bet to get the boot. The other spot is up for grabs, seeing as enough girls did poorly enough for it to be a crap-shoot. If I had to vote a girl out, it'd probably be Janell, but we all know how much America loves it's little blond, pretty girls with less talent than the rest (see Cook, Kristy Lee from season 7). She deserves to go home, but I expect to see one of the lesser knowns unfairly get tossed.

Tonight we have the guys' performances. Hopefully they will take it to heart that Simon has deemed this a "girls year" and bring their A-game. I'm looking forward to what some of these guys have up their sleeves...except for Big Mike, because I saw what he had up his sleeves last night: arms bigger than Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban put together!

What did you think of the girls' performances? Was I too tough on them? Who do you think will be eliminated on Thursday? Let me know!

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Hollywood Week Round 3...and our TOP 24!

2010-02-18T08:00:00.033-05:00

Well, the wait is over. We have reached the long awaited revelation of the top 24 American Idol contestants! These are the top 12 guys and top 12 gals that have survived the audition process and will compete against each other on the live performance episodes from this point on.

After a grueling Hollywood Week, the contestants were looking just as exhausted and emotionally frazzled as ever. There were tears of joy, tears of sorrow, and one smart-mouth sassafras that showed her true colors when the news was broke to her. Though less drama went down this year than in years past, this year was no exception to the norm, including a surprisingly unmentioned change in the lineup at the last minute! More on that later!

So without further ado, here are our top 24 finalists!

Girls:

Ashley Rodriguez

I have been pulling for Ashley from the get-go. She's talented, she's gorgeous, and she has this quiet confidence about her that really comes out in her performances. Though she hasn't had as much screen time as some of the other contestants, she has been extremely consistent from what I've seen. She's impressed the judges and has already been labeled Votefortheworst.com 's front runner (the person that they think everyone else will vote for, not the person that THEY vote for to sabotage the show). She has the perfect balance of marketability, charm and skill and I think that she has a shot to go far.

Crystal Bowersox

As I stated in a previous post, Crystal has that little something about her. I don't know if it's her personality, her son, her talent, or what, but there is just something extremely genuine about this girl. She is cool, calm, and extremely talented and showed that throughout Hollywood week. She does need to do something really memorable in this first live performance, because she needs to go from being known as "the girl with the pirate teeth" to "that girl all the others need to catch."

Didi Benami

Didi is in most front-runner talks right now after a solid Hollywood week where she wowed the judges with her rendition of Kara Dioguardi's "Terrified." She seems like she has the whole singer-songwriter vibe to her and people usually like that. If she can bust out some dynamic vocals in the coming weeks, she can solidify a position in the top 12. I'm not sure if her voice is made for that, though. If not, she has to play it smart to keep up with those girls who have bigger voices than her.

Haeley Vaughn

Haeley is unique. I don't remember ever seeing a 16 year old, black, country singer in the competition before. It should be interesting to see how she approaches her songs. She has a big voice, but it's not the greatest. She has moments where her voice can blow you out of the chair with how strong it is, but other times where it's weak and awkward. She will have to improve on her consistency if she wants to make it very far. I'm not sure how many people can relate to her right now.

Janell Wheeler

Janell, the rumored ex-girlfriend of do-gooder Florida QB Tim Tebow, is interesting to me. She doesn't have the strongest voice by any means, but I think that she is not without talent. Her version of "American Boy" was rather good, even if it was played down and didn't really show us anything about her skill level. In her last performance, she pulled a Taylor Swift on one of Taylor's own songs, "Love Story" and was left thinking that she wouldn't advance. Luckily for her, she has the look that the judges like and I think they gave her another chance based on that. She has some serious ground to cover if she wants to become a contender.

Katelyn Epperly

Katelyn is the one girl that I was wondering why the judges let her through. She didn't impress me one single time in her auditions. Her voice is ok, but she shouldn't have made it through over Angela Martin, who was clearly better than her and wanted it more. She's cute and all, but I don't know if that will be enough to save her from the first round of eliminations.

Katie Stevens

Katie Stevens is another in the front-runner status. In a year that many believe will crown a female winner (since the past 3 have been male), Katie has a legit shot of making it happen. I have been very impressed with the quality of her voice. She has a nice, warm tone, a little bit of soul, and the confidence of someone much older than she is. As I stated before, everything that I've seen from her has been good, but safe. I need to see her ball out on something before I'm totally sold. She should have no problem reaching the top 12.

Lacey Brown

Lacey is no stranger to this show. Last year, she made the top 50 and narrowly missed the top 36 to Megan Joy Corkery. I bet the judges were wishing they had picked her over Megan after the horrible performances the bird-girl put up last year. I think they got it right this go-round. She has a unique voice, much like Megan's, but seems to have a better idea of pitch, tone, support, you know...a better idea of singing as a whole. I don't think she has a shot to win, but she can be a breath of fresh air on the show.

Lilly Scott

Kara called it. Everything about Lilly is refreshing. She knows exactly who she is as an artist and is going to play to those strengths that separate her from the others. True, she can't out-sing everyone on that stage, but her unique style will win over plenty of fans irregardless. I think that she will do well.

Michelle Delamor

We don't know much about Michelle. Whenever they showed her, they never showed her singing. She could be a baller or she could be fodder, I don't know. She is going to live in Ashley Rodriguez's shadow on the show, much like she did in the clips from Hollywood week. I'm hoping that she's good, but something tells me otherwise.

Paige Miles

Paige is yet another girl that we don't know that much about. They showed a brief clip and she appeared to have a voice, but her lack of airtime might come back to hurt her. I don't see her being able to take over the country like Kris Allen did, but if she could, she'd be the ultimate dark horse this season. My guess is that she'll be gone after the first elimination.

Siobhan Magnus

Siobhan (pronounced like Shavon, but with a B) can sing. This is the girl that I mentioned as one of the standouts in Destiny's Wild, one of the groups that performed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." She has a great range, power, and a cool gritty quality about her voice. I think that people are going to like her once they hear more of her voice and that could help her gain some momentum.

Guys:

Aaron Kelly

Aaron is the 16 year old kid who sang Miley Cyrus in his first audition (strike 1), forgot his lyrics during group round (strike 2) and during his final audition (strike 3). On a show that threatens to send people home at the first sign of a missed lyric, their bark is worse than their bite, since we've seen this happen several seasons in a row. Aaron is a fair at best singer, and he is first in the running to be sponsored by votefortheworst. The mom's will like him and I think that he will go further than he should, but then again, I don't think he should have made it this far.

Alex Lambert

Well, there is another A. Lambert on the show this year, but don't expect me to pull for him like I did the previous. This guy is total fodder. All he can do is play a ukulele and sing Jason Mraz. What happens on techno night? Is he going to sing "I'm Yours" with a Euro-beat behind him? He wasn't featured much, except for about how bad he was doing in group round, so I don't expect him to wow anyone, or stay past the first week.

Andrew Garcia

Andrew is the clear front-runner among the guys, and maybe on the show, right now. He has a cool R&B/acoustic vibe and has some real chops vocally. He's incredibly humble and it's hard to not like him. He may remind you of Danny Gokey, but I doubt we'll see anywhere near the same amount of cheese exuding from this guy like we did from Gokey. With the best song of the season already under his belt, he is the guy to beat.

Casey James

Perhaps the most shown contestant over the audition process, Casey has both impressed me and not lived up to the hype. He is being pimped out by the producers, but for the wrong reasons. They are talking about his looks, and I'd rather him get noticed for his musicianship. He is a great guitar player and a pretty good blues singer. He has the total package for the guys and I think that he has built up a pretty strong fan base so far. Not to mention, Kara wants his body, so they will keep him around for the Paula-esque scandal that will undoubtedly happen.

Jermaine Sellers

Jermaine was portrayed as a diva on the show because he threw the band under the bus. But really, who wouldn't have pointed that out if they screwed you over. You don't want to look like a prick, but you also don't want the judges thinking that you messed something up. I would have done the same thing. I saw Jermaine while in line at my auditions. There was a group singing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and they were doing their best (which wasn't that good). He was walking by, cut off everyone else and KILLED a line, all while continuing his stride and never stopping. They all just stopped singing, embarrassed that he had just showed them up like that. I hope that he can bring that to the table on Idol.

Joe Munoz

Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of Joe that I could put up here, but that just sums up how his run on Idol has been so far. We don't know who he is and we don't know how well he can sing. So, yea, I don't really have too much to say about him.

John Park

I might be the only one who thinks this, but John Park looks like an Asian-guy version of Julia Stiles. Aside from that, John can sing very well. We didn't see him except for his initial audition, but he has a nice baritone voice, something that we don't really see much of on a show riddled with tenors. I think he'll be able to add another dynamic to the show and give it some diversity.

Lee Dewyze

Lee is another one of the guys that I think went a little further than he should have. This just proves my point that Idol is pushing for a woman to win. Lee has a decent voice, but he's no where near hard enough to merit the token "rocker" title. Hopefully he can prove me wrong, because there is a need for someone like him on the show, but the talent just isn't there from what I've seen.

Michael Lynch

Big Mike Lynch is a character. It looks like the rumors of him being kicked off the show were just that, and it's a good thing too. He has some definite skill and has a great personality. Everyone seems to like him and he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. He goes out there and does what he loves to do: sing. That's what this show is all about. I predict that will go far.

Tim Urban

Tim Urban was one of the guys that we saw here and there, never sounding phenomenal, but never bad either. Tim enters this portion of the competition on the wave of a little controversy. He is the alternate called to replace Chris Golightly, the light-skinned, curly blond haired guy, who was disqualified due to a contract that wasn't quite expired when he auditioned for Idol. Chris was featured in all the group shots at the end of Wednesdays episode, but when they were introducing the finalists individually, they showed Tim instead. I think that Tim will get a lot of teeny-bopper, Jonas Brother fan votes and that he will ultimately do better than Chris would have.

Todrick Hall

Todrick is the guy who performed alongside Fantasia in the Broadway production "The Color Purple." He may not have any vocal experience (which he is all too quick to keep bringing up), but he still has a lot of stage and dance experience, and I think that will help him. If you can entertain an audience, they are more likely to forgive any vocal slip-ups that might occur. He's good, and I only expect him to get better as the show progresses, but he can't be considered a front-runner at this stage in the game.

Tyler Grady

Tyler is the guy who channels his inner Mick Jagger every time he sings. Complete with excentric moves and retro performing style, he is definitely different from the other guys. I am not sure if that is different in a good way or bad. I haven't been overly impressed with anything from him thus far, but he might be able to bring some of that 70's charisma back to the stage and put on an entertaining show.

Well there you have it folks! There are your top 24! All in all, it is a pretty good crop. Some of the guys that were cut (Brian- the singing cop and Thaddeus- the crying guy who looks like a big cartoon) should have made it over the likes of Alex Lambert or Aaron Kelly, and some of the girls who were cut (Angela Martin- who tried out 3 times) should have made it over ordinary talent like Katelyn Epperly. But that is how the show goes I guess. We are all helpless at the hands of the judges...until now. The voting portion of the show begins next.

The format this year is different than how they did things last year, but not unfamiliar from seasons past. Last year, they had a Top 36, split them into 3 groups of 12 and allowed those groups to battle it out. Only 3 contestants would move into the top 12 from each group. Then after those 9 were selected, there was a wild card round where the judges were able to pick who they thought deserved a second chance. This made me feel that too much pressure was put on this first performance. The probability of NOT making it through to the top 12 right out of the first performance (not taking into account the Wild Card round) was 75%. The odds of them failing was too high and I think the producers realized this. This year, they are going to have it where the top 12 girls perform on Tuesday, the top 12 guys perform on Wednesday, and the results show will air on Thursday, showing which 2 girls and which 2 guys are eliminated. This will allow us as the voters to see more performances from the contestants before deciding who should ultimately make it into the top 12 and compete head-to-head.

That's all I've got today, guys. Do you think the judges got it right? Did anyone not get through who you thought should have? Who are your picks for the win as they stand right now? I want to know your thoughts.

Until next time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Hollywood Week, Rounds 1 & 2

2010-02-10T14:54:00.011-05:00

Well, ladies and gents, here we are at another exciting, yet sure to be dramatic, Hollywood Week in Idol Land. 181 contestants have flown in from around the country to compete against one another for a spot in the coveted top 24 (12 guys, 12 gals). As we have seen in the past, Hollywood Week is where it gets REAL- we see who can REALLY sing and who is REALLY annoying. The drama that goes down here is always on full blast and we get to see the contestants for who they truly are.

For the first time ever, we get to welcome Ellen Degeneres to the Judges panel. After Paula's unexpected departure, Idol scrambled to fill her shoes by having celebrity guest judges during the auditions, such as Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Kristen Chenoweth (GLEE), Shania Twain, Joe Jonas, and Neil Patrick Harris. They were merely OK, in my opinion, with Victoria Beckham (strangely!) and Neil Patrick Harris standing apart from the herd. In order to effectively fill Paula's role, they needed someone with just the right amount of star power, stage presence, and comedic input to balance out the monster that is Simon's personality. Ellen was a great pick for this. Many people questioned her as the new judge because she's not involved in the music industry. She does, however, know how to entertain large rooms of people and has a straight forward, yet still respectful, way in how she gives her criticism. It doesn't come off as brash as Simon, or as condescending as Kara, or as nonsensical as Randy. She is showing that she is taking this job seriously, but still willing to have a good time at it. I think I'm going to like her a lot on the panel.

Now, onto the contestants!

After weeks of surprisingly lackluster auditions, with more talent-less fodder and hacks than actual singers, I was beginning to grow weary with the contestants of this season. They just didn't seem to have the same level of skill that we've see in years past. Even the one's that were given the golden tickets to Hollywood didn't strike any chord in me.

Thank God for Hollywood week.

I was surprised to see as many good performances as I did. With a little extra confidence after their initial audition proved successful, and being able to play an instrument if they desired, the contestants were able to show their style and what they could bring to the table during the competition. The standouts from Round 1 that were aired on the show were, in no particular order:

Andrew Garcia- The Latino Danny Gokey with the guitar is a shoe-in for the top 24 and, dare I say, further. This guy can straight up sing...get it?! Straight up! *crickets* Ok... His cover on the Paula Abdul's 80's smash hit was "genius" according to Kara, and I'm going to have to agree with her. This dude seems like he has the chops and creativity to go far in the competition. Rearranging songs has always been something that contestants would do to stand out from the pack, but like David Cook, Adam Lambert, and Kris Allen, expect Andrew to be the guy we see do this the most often. The judges love him and he's not as pompous/cheesy as Gokey was last year. At the moment, he is the guy to beat.

Didi Benami- This girl reminds me of a slightly better Brooke White. She is the waitress who is singing in memory of her best friend who passed away. I wasn't blown away in her initial audition, but that changed when I heard her sing "Terrified," a song penned by our very own Kara (much better than "No Boundaries"...fail). Was it the greatest, showstopping vocal performance of all time? No, but it was incredibly endearing and definitely got everyone's attention. She has the ability to relate to a song very well and express it in her performance, something not seen as much thus far this season. She has a similar style to Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift, two pretty popular artists in the music business right now. Look for her to attract that demographic and gain some steam in the weeks to come.

Katie Stevens- This is the 17 year old brunette with the grandmother who has Alzheimer's. She seems like a natural up there. When everyone else seemed to be collapsing under the pressure, she goes out there and confidently sings a song that impressed the judges. It was a safe song, and I don't think she scratched the surface of what she can really do with her vocals, but she seems to be a lock for the top 24.

Casey James- This blond, hippie looking guy, who we saw go shirtless for an opportunity to go to Hollywood, is actually quite good. Armed with his acoustic, he ripped into a blues tune that fit his voice and style perfectly. We have yet to see a blues singer on the show and I think that it would be a very refreshing change to the norm. Even though it was only a 30 second clip of a song, you can tell that his guitar playing is well above what most contestants do on the show. His Mark Broussard vibe will click with a lot of people and, with the judges behind him, he could go far.

Lilly Scott- This is the platinum blond/white haired girl who sang Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Birdland" near flawlessly. She has an old school voice that I like a lot. I don't remember her getting much, if any, screen time during the initial auditions, but I think that she sang this song well enough to garner some attention. Lock for top 24.

Crystal Bowersox- This is the girl who kinda killed Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" on the acoustic. She had that raw, natural talent that came effortless. Singing Aretha effortlessly is no easy feat, so expect some more big things from her. Simon was right in saying that she's infectious. She's the kind of girl that you want to pull for to do well because she is real and seems like she could be one of your friends. She's good and she knows it, but it doesn't come off as cocky. Barring some unforeseeable disaster, I think she will make the top 24.

Michael "Big Mike" Lynch- This is the body builder who's wife went into labor during the first round of Hollywood. I really like this guy. He seems like he's got a great personality and not a bad voice either. It was funny watching him play that guitar though. He's so big that he made it look like a ukelele! I would say he was a lock for the top 24, but there is a rumor that his father leaked to the press that his son had definitely made the top 24. This is a big Idol no-no and there are multiple reports that he has been disqualified from the competition. If this is true, it would be sad, since he sacrificed his first child's birth to be there, only to have it taken away by his loud-mouth dad.

Janell Wheeler- This is the girl who sang an acoustic version of "American Boy." This was another good spin on a pop song (expect to see that much more this season) that showed some creativity, but still left a little to be desired vocally. I think she'll make the top 24, but that can be up in the air. Oh, and apparently she is Tim Tebow's ex-girlfriend!

Other notables that stood out to me from the initial auditions/first round of Hollywood are night pastor Tasha Layton, rocker-mom Mary Powers (who was annoying during group round), premature country singer Haeley Vaughn, and Ashley Rodriguez. Ashley hasn't gotten much screen time since her initial audition, but she was who I liked a lot. She has the right combo of vocals and look to get far, so hopefully she can be another dark horse in the competition like Kris Allen was last year.

After the first round, the crowd of 181 was wittled down to 96. From here, it was on to round 2- the dreaded Group Round. It's always fun to watch the drama unfold as people who are all striving for the same goal have to work together, while still competing against each other. There seemed to be less drama this year than in years past, but Idol did manage to find enough to make an intertaining show out of. The first storyline showed how Mary Powers was doing her best dictator impression and verbally abusing everyone in her group. She is the token rocker chick on the show, but the way she was acting definitly did not help her with the public. I think the judges will put her through to the top 24, but I don't think America will vote her much further.

The second storyline consisted of two groups who were both singing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." The two groups were Team Neapolitan and Destiny's Wild. For most of the show, it looked like Destiny's Wild, which was comprised of little known contestants Jared Liewer, Todrick Hall, Theri, and Siobhan Magnus, had a clear advantage over Neapolitan, both vocally and in delivery. Team Neapolitan, which consisted of Thaddeus Johnson, Jessica Cunningham, Liz Rooney, and Paige Miles, just seemed to be a catty bunch of haters. With both groups practicing in the same area, competition flared as both groups tried to out-sing and out-melisma each other time and time again. When it came down to the performance, Team Neapolitan was up first and opted to do an a cappella arrangement, something that Destiny's Wild claimed that they did originally and had copied. With both groups singing the song moderately well at their respective performances, and the judges seeming to enjoy both (even though Ellen thought Destiny's Wild was "a little weird"), each contestant went through. The one's who shined above the rest were Todrick Hall, Siobhan Magnus, Thaddeus Johnson and Jessica Cunningham. Siobhan is one girl that we have yet to see at all, but from the clips I saw, it seems like she has some pipes! If she could get some more face-time, and people can remember her name, I think that people might like her a lot.

Group round proved to be much more successful than years past, with 75 of the 96 contestants making it to the next round. That means the next rounds will be incredibly tough to cut it down to the top 24. At this point in the competition, everyone is good, so all it takes is one slip up to get sent packing.

All in all, I thought that the first two rounds of Hollywood week were a success. My faith in season 9 was restored and I think that we could be in for a good year. Ellen, as I stated previously, was very good in her newfound role and I think that she will add an interesting dynamic to the judges panel. Look for some cat-fights between her and the Brit.

What do you all think? Are there any notable contestants that I left out? Who are your favorites? Is Ellen doing a good job as a judge? For those new to the site, this is an open dialogue, so feel free to express your opinions, which can include, but not be limited to: 1) Billy, you are AWESOME, or 2) Billy, shut up...you don't know what you are talking about. Though, I prefer the first. :)

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

AIJunkie 2010!

2010-01-27T09:16:00.004-05:00

What's up guys and gals!? Welcome back to another season of AI Junkie! It's been a long off season but we are back for another year, bringing you the very best in American Idol coverage- everything from breaking news to water cooler gossip, from performance reviews to weekly predictions. We at AI Junkie take pride in providing everything that is essential for you to maximize your American Idol viewing experience.

After a thrilling season 8, I am eagerly looking ahead to the upcoming season, hoping that the contestants can step up to the bar that has been set. Last season may have been the most exciting that we've seen yet. We had one of the most charismatic performers that has ever walked Idol's stage in Adam Lambert. We had the ultimate dark horse in Kris Allen who, despite receiving little to no airtime during the Auditions and Hollywood Week, stormed from the back of the pack with his creative song arrangements to be crowned the season 8 American Idol. The finale was one of the best I've seen for any competition, complete with a plethora of superstars and high octane performances. All this makes me wonder if the new season can live up to the hype. Can it possibly be better than last season? Well, I asked the very same question at the beginning of last season in the wake of the David Archuleta vs David Cook showdown. AI answered with a spectacular season, so my fingers are crossed that it answers again. With a new judge in Ellen Degeneres (replacing Paula and her endearing, drunken stammering) and this possibly being Simon's last season on the show, we are sure to see some crazy things go down this season!

We have seen 5 audition cities thus far- Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, and LA. By this point in the audition process, I have previously been able to predict a few people who will be contenders for the title. To be honest with you, I have not seen that kind of talent thus far. I've seen a few good (not great) people, but for the most part, I have been disappointed in the auditions. It seems as though the producers have shown three times as many bad singers as good, so hopefully, the great singers are just waiting to be seen during Hollywood Week. Here is for hoping...

For newcomers to the forum (because that is what this is meant to be- an open dialogue about the show you love), I encourage you to voice your opinions about performances, reviews, or anything else that pertains to the show. We love to discuss what is going on in AI Land and hear each others opinions- always in a respectful way of course. To those returning, welcome back! I'm looking forward to getting off the ground again and continuing our epic dialogue!

I won't be posting regularly until Hollywood week and after, but there will be a special insiders column about the American Idol Audition process, as experienced by yours truly. So be on the lookout for that! I'm excited to be back and I hope you all are too!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

2009-10-23T10:10:00.000-04:00

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A Slew of Interviews

2009-08-05T14:17:00.003-04:00

Adam Lambert and Kris Allen Interview

Kris Allen Interviews Adam Lambert

Adam Lamber Interviews Kris Allen

Paula is Gone!

2009-08-05T07:43:00.005-04:00

Well folks, American Idol has lost one of it's founding judges. Paula Abdul, the crazy, often-medicated, yet charming member of the panel will not be returning to American Idol next season, leaving just Randy, Kara, and Simon. This will be a big loss for Idol, for her antics were incredibly amusing and added a great deal to the show. Here is an article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jf0zvAn2AbPqNL4CkUIWHkt1I_qQ

Simon is getting PAID!

2009-06-30T09:22:00.001-04:00

Read this article about an offer that has reportedly been given to Simon Cowell to keep him on American Idol.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06302009/tv/enormous_money_176757.htm

Preview of the Idol Tour

2009-06-26T07:30:00.003-04:00

Here is the gang rehearsing the Theme Song for this summer's tour: Don't Stop Believing.

The Answer is Out

2009-06-09T10:48:00.005-04:00

Ok, so be prepared to be shocked...Adam Lambert is GAY! In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone, Adam discusses his sexuality...as if it were ever truly in question. Smart move of his to hold out so that he can get a RS cover and exclusive. Kid knows how things work in the industry.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/06/09/the-new-issue-of-rolling-stone-the-liberation-of-adam-lambert/

Kris Allen - National Anthem

2009-06-08T08:29:00.001-04:00

Kris Allen sings the Star-Spangled Banner at Game 2 of the NBA Finals. This is a very average performance, in my opinion...

Kris Allen Interview

2009-06-05T07:39:00.002-04:00

Here is Kris Allen's interview on EW.com's Idolatry. It's from the same people that brought you the one I posted of Adam, so it's like 30 minutes long. Enjoy!

http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164_20174011,00.html

Want to Audition for IDOL?!

2009-06-02T12:18:00.002-04:00

Here are the locations and dates for American Idol 2010 Auditions.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/music/idol/blog/2009/06/american_idol_season_9_auditio.html

Adam Lambert Interview

2009-05-29T10:46:00.002-04:00

Hey guys, since I posted an interview with Kris yesterday, here is one from Adam. This one is crazy long, though. About 30 minutes I think? It's really good though, and you get to see a little more personality than we get on the show. Enjoy.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2009/05/they_said_it_adam_lambert.html

Textgate! AT&T and American Idol Respond.

2009-05-28T12:14:00.004-04:00

http://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-producers-and-att-respond-to-text-gate.htm

Kris Allen on Ellen

2009-05-28T12:02:00.003-04:00

Here is a video of Kris on Ellen, singing "Heartless" and "No Boundaries." This cheesy song is growing on me folks, both his (currently #11 on Billboard Top 100) and Adam's versions.

http://www.krisallenation.com/2009/05/kris-on-ellen.html

Here are their studio recordings:

Kris Allen:

Adam Lambert:

Controversy Arises in Kris Allen Victory

2009-05-27T08:18:00.002-04:00

Read this article and let me know what you think. This could explain the 32 million votes that came out of Arkansas.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/controversy-dogs-kris-allens-american-idol-win_100197577.html

And The Winner Is...

2009-05-21T07:25:00.004-04:00

*DISCLAIMER- Since this is a recap for a two hour episode, as well as the last entry of the season, prepare for a long post.*

Last night, we were all witness to one of the greatest American Idol Finales ever. With a plethora of superstar guest performers, as well as a hilarious batch awards given out, Idol kept the last show of the season just as entertaining as the contestants have all season. In a two hour special, we left feeling like we had just witnessed one of the big award shows, such as the Grammy's, Oscars, or MTV Music Awards (is that a big award show?). For the last time this season, I will give you my thoughts on how the show shook down. *tear*

First, Ryan introduces people who need no introduction at this point, our judges. With extremely funny videos, they pick on some of the nuances the judges have. For Randy, it was his "for me, for you" saying. This was probably my favorite just because he says it so much that I have even caught myself saying it! Oh Randy, that saying is MAD DOPE! FIIIRE!! MOLTEN LAVA!!! He's crazy. Kara got picked on for sweeting up her harsh critiques with "sweety" and "honey." I never picked up on that before, but it's true, she does try to sweeten it up before she rips them a new one. Next, they mock Paula's extended vocabulary. Really, Paula is the highlight of entertainment from the judges panel. You never know what she is going to say, but you can pretty much rest assured that it will be something completely over-embellished and nonsensical, tried to make sound profound with poorly strung together multi-syllable words. Finally, we get to see Simon, and his video depicting his lack of attention on the show. "Pardon?" and "What?" were common for him, as he's usually looking off to some unknown person to his right, or trying to decipher what Paula had just said. Very entertaining, these judges are.

Next, we get to see our ivory clad finalists, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, with Ryan, with "see" being the operative word. Their mics aren't turned on. Whoops. It's only the biggest night of the season, sound guy, but you feel free to take a nap in the middle of it. No biggie.

With their rendition of Pink's "So What," we see our finalists joined by the rest of this seasons first ever top 13, also clad in white. Really, Allison should have just gotten to sing this as a solo. The lyrics hold especially true for her. "I didn't win American Idol? So what? I'm still a rockstar." As for the rest, they pull off a decently sung rendition of the pop hit. It's surprising since they weren't able to do this more than twice during the season, but hey, they've had time to practice I bet.

Last years winner, David Cook, is up next to perform his new song "Permanent." This is somewhat of a Debbie-downer performance, but it's touching due to the fact that David just recently lost his brother, Adam, to brain cancer. All of the proceeds from this song will go to help find a cure for cancer. We should all go buy it, because it is his best single to date, and it will help those in need.

Up next is the first presentation for the Golden Idol Awards. The first reward goes to the Outstanding Male of the season. The nominees are: Wil Kunick, who preceded Adam by giving a high-pitched audition of "Mad World"; Michael Gerr, who sounded like a constipated Gollum singing Carrie Underwood; Elijah Scarlett, whose incredibly deep voice could "do voice-over work for monsters"; Dean Anthony Bradford, whose coat looked like a bad couch; and Nick "Normund Gentle" Mitchell, who actually made it into the Top 36 and made love to the American Idol logo. This is a no-contest. Nick Mitchell wins hands down. Accepting his award in a hoodie, he insists that he had no idea this was going to happen. No idea whatsoever. Not. Breaking free of the snapaway pants and unzipping the hoodie, we get to see Normund doing his version of "And I'm Telling You." Complete with singing into a floor monitor and shouting out "girl in the purple shirt," he has us rolling. If he can get learn to extend his repertoire, he could be a funny comedian. "Takes one to know one, sassy pants. BOOM!"

Our first superstar performance is a duet between Lil Rounds and Queen Latifah. I'm going to put it out there that Queen Latifah is crazy pretty. She completely overshadows Lil, literally and figuratively. Lil is like a munchkin up there next to her. She sings well, much better than she did on the show, but she shows us that she still doesn't really have that star power to compete with Queen, who is just so laid back and relaxed that she does it effortlessly. The song "Cue the Rain" is decent though. Not a bad way to go out Lil.

Awkward pairing of the night goes to our next performance: Alexis Grace and Anoop Desai sing "I'm Yours" with Jason Mraz and the top 13. Neither of these two are remotely close to the genre of this song, but they sing it well enough. Jason Mraz looks like he's thinking "why am I even here?" It was a tad random, but not horrible.

Kris Allen is up next to sing "Kiss a Girl" with Keith Urban. Though anyone could have written the words to this song, it's still done well. I can see Kris going this sort of route in his music- a little pop country-ish but more geared toward adult contemporary. I'm glad they got Keith Urban, because he doesn't dwarf Kris like everyone else does. Lil guys singing together. This should also dispel those outlandish rumors on the Internet about him and Adam.

This is one star-packed show! Up next are the 5 female contestants from the top 13 singing "Glamorous" by Fergie. Jasmine shows why she was sent home so early. Megan shows that she can rock some daisy-dukes and has some killer legs. Not to be out-done, Fergie emerges from backstage singing "Big Girls Don't Cry," which is sort of ironic, since each of the girls cried when they got the boot. Hmmmm. Then she rips off her skirt to show off her legs as the rest of the Black Eyed Peas come out and sing "Boom Boom Pow," complete with crazily dressed dancers (can I get one of those costumes though?!) and a strange 5 second delay in the middle of the song. Did Will.I.Am just go on an extreme cursing spree? Did Fergie wet herself onstage again? Or did she have a wardrobe malfunction with those shorts? I don't know but I was still GETTIN IT in my living room. That is my jam. Megan was also gettin it in the isle, haha. She's so awkward, I love it.

Golden Idol Award #2: Best Attitude. The nominees are: Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell, who challenged Kara's demonstration of Mariah's "Vision of Love"; Alexis Cohen, who returned for a second season with an initially demure demeanor, only to break out the birds in the end (she was more lady-like this year though); and Tiffany Shedd, who promised to leave with a good attitude and broke it in five seconds, much like her voice broke my eardrums when she sang. Of course, Bikini Girl wins this. She comes out wearing, surprise surprise, a bikini. Ryan says that he sees some things have changed with her, and she shows off her new chestoral muscles (well I guess they aren't muscles since they are fake). She precedes to sing "Vision of Love" again, but is interrupted halfway through by KARA! She wipes the floor with bikini girl and then rips open her dress to reveal her own bikini. Best. Moment. Of. The. Night. That was hilarious. People who were hating on Kara shouldn't anymore. She is pretty cool (and has some pretty nice abs!). Bikini Girls face was priceless.

Up next is the highest finishing female this season, Allison Iraheta, singing with Cyndi Lauper. I'm digging this song, and the fact that Cyndi is strumming on the dulcimer. It puts a cool feel to the song and Allison easily outsings Cyndi, who was never known for her stellar voice. I think that Allison is going to have a very good career. She is pretty freaking amazing for being as young as she is and she can definitely get a record deal and sell big.

Following Allison, we see Danny sitting on the stairs. He begins to sing "Hello" by Lionel Richie. I literally freak out at this point because this song should never be sung on American Idol again by anyone not named David Cook. After last years rendition, Danny's will inevitably pale in comparison. He sings it incredibly well, but it's still no David Cook. As Lionel Richie joins him and they start to sing "Chill" and "All Night Long," I realize that Lionel is now Jamaican. And so is Danny. Crazy. Well sung, but nothing overly exciting about this pair.

After the journey video for Adam rolls, which is pretty impressive, we see the finalist alone with a mic and a CRAZY outfit on. With rhinestones around his eyes, not to mention huge rhinestone-studded roll cages as his shoulder pads, he proceeds to sing "Beth." Everyone in my living room is disturbed at this point and I'm just thinking "Well, he's putting all those gay speculations to rest..." When the camera pans behind him, we see the platform shoes, and that can only mean one thing. KISS! Suddenly, the costume seems appropriate, and KISS takes the stage, in full regalia, complete with drummer Eric Singer coming down from the ceiling. Adam shines in this performance, showing that he is perfect with a big band sound backing up his voice. It's ridiculous that he can come out and sing KISS so effortlessly.

Next is another legend, guitarist Carlos Santa, who joins with Matt Giraud in a very well sung version of "Black Magic Woman." For me, Matt was hot and cold this season. Talented, yes, but he got about as far as he should have. Maybe further. The rest of the top 13 join for "Smooth" and I am impressed with how well they sound together tonight. Way to not suck it up for the finale, guys and gals! I know y'all are just trying to get some record deals.

The last Ford commercial of the season (thank God) is a combination of all the previous commercials, which is painless to watch, so for that, I'm greatful. David Cook then "surprises" Kris and Adam with matching Ford Fusion Hybrids (awww). They do this every year, so I'm sure the contestants realize they are getting a car. Why not a mustang though?! Cheap Idol, real cheap.

Michael Sarver and Megan Joy Corkery sit down to sing a song, with none other than Steve Martin accompanying them on the banjo. Not much to say here. I didn't like either of their voices on the show, and I am not liking them too much now, even though they are singing as well as they both can. Steve Martin predicts that the longshot winner is...himself. Haha, funny old guy!

Now it's the men's turn to counter the women's performance earlier. They sing Rod Stewart's "If You Think I'm Sexy." Rod comes out after, and thank God he didn't sing that song with them. He looks like my grandpa up on stage dancing in a jacket that Anoop HAD to have picked out from his "Ridiculously God-Awful Jacket Store." He sings "Maggie May" and I feared for him falling and breaking a hip the entire time. Good for him, though, that he is still performing and making music, even though he's older than dirt.

Golden Idol Award #3: Best Female. The nominees are: Chelsea Marquardt, whose performance of "Without You" was compared to a falling cat; Irene Angulova, who should've been sent "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"; Dana Moreno, who was too screechy to make the song recognizable; and (of course) Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, whose hideous laughter and dress belied a passable voice and high drama queen potential. Naturally, Tatiana won this, and our prediction of her singing "Saving All My Love for You" for the fourth time COMES TRUE...sorta. Chased by security guards in an obvious comedic attempt, Rubin Studdard looks shocked in the audience, like he believes this is for real. Come on, man. You know she crazy, but she ain't THAT crazy. Ok, maybe she is. I wouldn't put it past her.

Finally, we get to see our finalists perform a duet together, singing the ever-so-appropriate "We are the Champions" by Queen. I have been waiting for Adam to sing Queen again since Hollywood, and he NAILED it. He handled Freddy Mercury's high notes like they were nothing. Kris sounded good on it too, but Adam's power overshadowed him on the choruses. What I liked most is that the last note was great. Adam could have completely went off, leaving Kris in the dust, but he didn't. They held out the same note, not trying to showboat over the other. That shows some class, in my opinion, on both of their parts.

Now is the moment we've all been waiting for. The lights are dimmed and we prepare to find out who our new American Idol is. After a hard fought season, the winner is...

KRIS ALLEN!

As the cheers erupted from my living room, I clap for Kris because I like him a lot, but I realize that, especially after tonight's songs, Adam got robbed. This was not just my sentiment since I'm an Adam fan, but each person I talked to agreed that Adam probably should have won. But let's not take away from the victor. Kris Allen rose from the depths of a self proclaimed mediocre performance of "Man in the Mirror" to show that an ordinary, everyday kind of guy can use his talents and charm to win over the hearts of America. He truly might be one of the most likable contestants this show has ever seen and he still deserved to be in the finals based on his musicality and creativity. I'm not sure, in my opinion, if it was enough to have won the competition, but it's hard to deny that he is very skilled and talented. I hope that he can take this victory and run with it; not letting the horrendous production of 19 records sweep him under the rug like has been done with so many other past male Idols. I hope he sticks strong to who he is as an artist and doesn't let the fame and fortune affect his ability to grasp the hearts of his listeners. Don't produce fodder, Kris. Don't let them make you produce fodder. I hope that both of these two contestants have promising careers in the music industry, for I like both of them and want to continue enjoying the music they create- Adam's insane tenor rock anthems and Kris' cool, laid back acoustic groove.

This has been my favorite Idol season of yet, and I'm glad that you all were able to join me along the ride through this blog. I have been joked on it relentlessly for it, but I feel like it was all worth it. I hope you all were able to gain something from my often-times incoherent ramblings on this site and I hope that you all enjoyed reading my opinions on something that ultimately has no baring on our lives whatsoever. Haha. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to write for such a dedicated group of followers. Let me know what you thought...of the season, of the blog, of a contestant, anything. Let me know your favorite moments from this season, and your least favorite; what left you in awe, and what left you howling, wishing, praying for it to end. This has been fun and I look forward to doing it again next year.

For the last time...

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

The Finale! - Performance Results

2009-05-19T22:55:00.012-04:00

Adam Lambert. Kris Allen. The two finalists have sung their final songs. The votes have been cast. The polls have been closed. This years American Idol has been determined, but as of now, we do not know who that winner is. After a thrilling finale, each singer showed America why they deserved to be on that stage vying for the nations best undiscovered talent. Both competitors performed valiantly, giving us exactly the type of finale that we were hoping for- a neck-to-neck, punch for punch, photo-finish ending to a memorable season. From what I could tell, this was one of the closest performance shows that I've witnessed to date. Let's take a look at what our finalists sang and try to sift through the performances to find who might be the MOST deserving winner.

Adam Lambert- His Pick - Tears for Fears "Mad World"

This was the obvious choice for Adam to sing. If Simon Cowell, the world's harshest critic, gives you a standing ovation for a song during the season, it's probably worth bringing back into the finals. Emerging from a vampirish fog in a black trench coat, cutting a figure both slightly menacing and supernatural, Adam made this performance a visual spectacle. The stairs. The fog. The lights. It resembled what a music video for the "Twilight" soundtrack might look like. The combination of elements suits this song perfectly, adding an ethereal feel to an already haunting vocal. Speaking of the vocal, Adam sang this flawlessly. Every note was pitch perfect and he sang it with a confidence that only he has exuded this season. Though no fault of his own, the song was slightly less poignant than his original performance. I think this is because we were prepared for it this time. The first time he performed this song, it came out of left field and knocked us on our heels. It's hard to recreate how the shock of something different affects you the first time you hear it. Overall, I agree with the judges that it was a great vocal, but Simon's comment on the theatrical aspects of the performance, correct as it may be, is moot. It should be expected for a Lambert performance by now. In this performance, we got a glimpse of what to expect from an Adam Lambert concert. If that's the case, then he'll be a great entertainer for a while.

Kris Allen - His Pick - Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"

Kris Allen, our quintessential "dark horse" has not let that label slow him down. All season, he has defied people's expectations by offering Idol listeners exactly what they want to hear. Yet, even at this point, it does not seem like KRIS thinks that he should be there. After a very strong opening by Adam Lambert, it'd be easy for the humble, and ultimately less talented, Kris Allen to cave under the monumental pressure that is on his shoulders tonight. With this song, he showed that he wasn't going to back down. This performance was incredible. Not only was it miles better than the first time we heard the song (which was pretty impressive then), but it showed a confidence that we have not seen from Allen all season. Again, seated at the piano (not his first instrument of choice), Kris soulfully sang this song with perfect pitch and tone. His runs where there, his falsetto was working nicely, and his piano playing was extremely good for a guitar player. What was most impressive, however, was the passion he poured into this performance. I know a lot of people do not like Kara, but she does make good points (she just executes them poorly). When Kris really puts his all into a song, he can drag an entire audience in and connect with each one of them. That is what he did with this song.

Round 1 Winner: Kris Allen

Simon is right. Though both contestants did extremely well on their songs, Kris' was simply better tonight. There is no denying it. Taking the momentum that he gained from the still resounding Kanye cover, he stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the ballpark. His voice has never sounded better than it did on this song and it suits who he is as an artist perfectly. This is exactly the kind of music he should make on his album- soulful, acoustic pop rock. Putting all of his talents and gifts on display, he poured his heart into this performance, and rightfully deserves to have won this round.

Adam Lambert - Producer Pick - Sam Cook "A Change is Gonna Come"

I knew that coming into round 2, Kris would probably have an advantage on Adam. I knew that the songs that Simon Fuller picked would probably play a HUGE factor in each of the contestants overall Finale Performance. When I heard that he had chosen "A Change is Gonna Come" for Adam, I knew that this would be a redeeming rendition (not that he had a TON of redeeming to do after a solid first song). From the very first note I was entranced. He came out with some soaring opening notes and then brought it back down and brought us into this intimate, bluesy atmosphere that dared you to not pay attention to what he was singing. Then, he took us to church. With more soul and swagger than I've ever seen him sing with, he thrived in the climax of the song. His range really is ridiculous. He went from these low mellow tones to the rafters with incredible ease. On SEVERAL songs this season, such as "Born to Be Wild," "Satisfaction," and "Black or White," Adam's upper register has come across as "screaming" or "screechy." Tonight was neither. The notes he was hitting were SUNG. Simon, again, is correct. He is definitely back in the race. This might be my favorite Idol performance of the season- dare I say ever?

Kris Allen - Producer Pick - Marvin Gaye "What's Goin' On?"

When Kris was singing this, I commented to my crowd, "Dang, Kris came to sing tonight." I have not seen him as focused as he has been on this night. His vocals were spot on and he used an Adam Lambert "Tracks of My Tears" instrument set to give it a nice groovy feel. While I liked the song, and I think he did very well with it and adapted it in a very Kris Allen way, I think he could have done something different with it. I agreed with Randy. I felt that the song was too laid back and mellow to be sung at the Finale of the biggest television reality show on TV. While it was true to who he is as an artist, it didn't do him any favors to win the show, and that's what he needed to bring. Sitting in a room with some fairly competent musicians and vocalists, we felt as though we could easily do what Kris did with this song. The way I see it, the contestants should be doing something that average musicians would never be able to pull off. Several people feel like he did all he could do with the song. "How can that song be made any bigger?" I agree that it could not be made much grander, but maybe that's not what it needed. If he stripped it down completely and made it a ballad, it would have created a touching and moving performance. Some might say "THAT IS MELLOW TOO!" but it can be adapted to be impactful and intense, even though it's slow.

Round 2 Winner: Adam Lambert

Adam blew Kris out of the water in this round. Though Kris gave a very noble effort, his latin-infused "What's Goin' On" could not compete with the sheer power and charisma of Adam's "A Change is Gonna Come." Will I download Kris' song? Of course. But will I listen to it more than Adam's? Not a chance. Right now, the competition is in a dead heat! All that's left now is the final song, and my predicted "deciding factor," the Winner's song.

Winner's Song - "No Boundaries"

Let's take a look at the song before we critique the contestants performances of it. Co-written by one of our very own Judges, Kara Dioguardi, I had high hopes for this song. To date, she has had over 46 albums in the Top 10 on Billboard magazine's 200 album chart. Her songs are on various hit albums that have collectively sold over 100 million copies. Working with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, and Celine Dion, she has established herself as a very big hit-maker. This song, however, is not one of those hits. The Internet is abuzzed in disbelief that this song was chosen as the Winner's song. I have not heard of one person who has liked it. Since she has worked primarily with female vocalists, I feel as though she may have been out of her element in trying to write and arrange a song that was going to be sung by two men. I have still yet to come to a conclusion on what I think of it, but it sure didn't blow me away. It's cheesy illusions to mountains and hurricanes are stereotypical Idol Winner's song cliches that make every contestant who auditions for Idol hope just a liiiiittle bit that they do not win, therefore not forced to sing a stupid song about triumph and puppys and rainbows. I like the tune of the song just fine, but the words are what I can't really grasp quite yet. I will admit that I was sort of rocking out on the bridge. That part was pretty tight. Maybe it will grow on me, who knows? The benefit of the contestants doing a song like this is that we get to compare them on one ground and one ground alone, their vocal talent. This show is a singing competition. Yes I know that other factors inevitably come into play, I'm not naive. But as a singing competition, it's good to be able to judge the finalists on just that, their vocals

Adam Lambert - "No Boundaries"

While not near as good as the phenomenal song he sang moments earlier, Adam still managed to hold his own on this song. There were SEVERAL pitchy parts, but I would account that to him having to learn an entirely new song on top of perfecting his other two. The song actually fits Adam's voice well, I think. The beginning was very light and piano driven, where he can flip into falsetto and add the softer tone like he did in "Tracks of My Tears" but then it crescendos into a full out rock chorus and bridge, the style that suits his voice the best. It was also in just the right key for his voice. He wasn't able to do anything crazy high or outlandish, but he was still able to serviceably sing the song. This is probably his weakest performance of the season, however.

Kris Allen - "No Boundaries"

I said that Kris would be at a disadvantage coming into this round, seeing as the Winner's song is usually geared toward a big voiced, dramatic singer, something that Kris Allen is not. I was right. His voice did not fit as well with this song as Adam's did. Off pitch for much of the song, the song sat just a tad too high for his tessitura, not giving him a chance to be able to really belt out those high notes. He looked extremely uncomfortable up there, knowing that it wasn't in his style or vocal range at all. He also fumbled through some of the lyrics. It was just, overall, not a good performance. It was not completely horrendous by any means. I have heard plenty worse than what Kris gave us on this song, but it was not good either. I'm interested to hear the studio version of this song to see he would sound on it then. I'm not sure if this song is enough to slow down the forward momentum that Kris had coming into tonight. This, paired with Adam's "Change" might put Kris in the runner-up position.

Round 3 Winner: Adam Lambert

I can't fault either contestant on not singing it 100%, because the Winner's song has always been somewhat of a letdown. Full of cheese that only Danny Gokey could muster, the contestants were at a disadvantage before they even sang the first note. If Danny was singing in the Finals, I think he might have killed that song, but then again, Velveta would be oozing from my TV. I hope that viewers don't take this song into account as much as the first two. But for this song alone, I feel that Adam won it outright. It sounded better with his tone, he has the range for it, and it's more in sync with his style as an artist.

Final Thoughts:

So, there you have it, folks. I think that this was one of the best seasons to date. I think that this finale has been one of the closest fought ever, rivaling the showdown that the David's put on last season. Adam with his glam rock and Kris with his acoustic rock have given us one of the most unique and somehow harmonious pairings that we've seen in a Finale. I think that this years vote will be closer than last years, where only 1 million votes separated the two finalists. When it's all said and done, though, I think that Adam should be singing us out one last time surrounded in confetti. He was my pick to win it from day one and I'm not going to change that now. This prediction is not discounting Kris in any way, because he was able to rise to the challenge in a way that I did not think he was capable of. If he pulls out the win, it should not be considered the "biggest upset in Idol history." He would have won it fair and square with his general mass appeal, but personally, I don't think that will happen. The buzz is on Kris right now, but Adam has dominated the spotlight this season. I think that both contestants deserved to be on that finale stage, but Lambert deserves to win it all, if not for his superior talent, then for how he has shaken up Idol. How he's made it interesting again. How he's come out like a professional week in and week out, always entertaining us and always keeping us on our toes. We've never seen a contestant like him and likely never will again. There will be another Kris Allen next year, mark my words, but never another Adam Lambert.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

PS. Here are a couple of funny pictures to leave you all with.

THE FINALE! - Song Predictions

2009-05-15T08:51:00.023-04:00

Here we are folks! The end is near. The finish line is in sight. The finale is upon us. Tonight we will see an epic battle between the rocking banshee, Adam Lambert, and the wholesome crooner, Kris Allen - two artists who encompass completely opposite poles on the musical spectrum. Much like the rivalry of Elvis Presley and Pat Boone of old (blue suede shoes vs. white bucks), we have the stuff of [American Idol] legends in the making right now.

I have been pulling for this finale since the top 36 was announced (even before I heard them sing on Idols stage). These two finalists have far and away been my favorites of the season. Adam, with his incredible range and stage presence, is the presumed front-runner, and has been so since the first time we saw him in his auditions. More than any other contestant in the history of Idol, Adam has a kind of confidence and swagger that rivals most professionals in the industry. Kris, on the other hand, is the picture you will find in the dictionary beside the term "dark horse." Having minimal exposure in the audition and Hollywood rounds, most wrote him off as another attractive guy with no shot of winning. He has quietly, but soundly, marched into a deserving spot in the finals with his ability to rearrange a song to suit his strengths while appealing to a wide variety of listeners.

The two have experienced the entire journey together and probably form the biggest Yin and Yang finale we've seen yet. Though their styles are as different as black is from white, these two have formed an extremely close friendship, with their differences somehow bringing them in harmony with one another. Kris stated in an interview, "Adam and I kind of rely on each other." Let's take a look at their journey.

Here we see Adam and Kris sitting next to each other during the first stage of Hollywood week.

Adam and Kris are in the same group during the first round of Hollywood week.

Adam and Kris, along with Allison are voted into the top 13 during the second week of Top 36 Performances.

Adam and Kris are roommates at the Idol Mansion.

Adam paints all of his nails black, except his right thumbnail. Kris paints his right thumbnail. Adam says "If you can carry around a piece of me, man; I can do the same for you." Gokey feels left out of the bromance.

Adam and Kris hug it out after Kris is announced into the finals.

People on several message boards have lovingly nick-named the duo, "Kradam", a slash name along the likes of "Brangelina" for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Some have taken it to the extent that they are unhealthily fantasizing an ACTUAL romance between the two. We here at aijunkie do not support or endorse these rumors, but the pictures DO look different once you hear that, haha.

Now that we have taken a look at the competitors, let's see what songs they should sing. Supposedly, the format for the finale will be as follows: one self picked "contestant favorite" song that they have sang earlier in the competition, one song chosen by producer Simon Fuller, and the yet-announced winner's single, a la "A Moment Like This" or "This is My Now"...whatever that means. The winner's single has been rumored to have been written by fellow judge, Kara Dioguardi. After last weeks results, Kris won a coin toss to decide who sings first. Adam will be singing first, which gives Kris the upper hand, knowing exactly what he's got to beat each performance. Here are my suggestions for the other songs the guys should sing.

Adam Lambert - His Pick - Tears for Fears "Mad World" or Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love"

This was, arguably, Adam's best performance of the season, minus one pitchy last note. It was still enough to merit a standing ovation from Simon, the first ever in the history of the show. If you recall, this was also the song that was cut off from most of America's DVRs since the show ran over it's allotted time slot. So, there are a great many people who have probably never heard his rendition. This would be the smart pick for him, but depending on what Simon Fuller picked for him, he might switch it up. If the producer selects a fast song, then I think he'll do this one, but if Simon picks a ballad, then I think Adam will go with "Whole Lotta Love." Since rock is his genre of choice, and he killed that song, this would be the up-tempo choice. It's tough to pick which songs are better than others when he's been so consistent across the stretch of the season. I would love to hear "Ring of Fire" again, but the masses who don't appreciate that style would burn him at the stake. He might pull a David Cook and do a completely new song, also. Who really knows what Adam Lambert is going to do besides Adam Lambert?

Kris Allen - His Pick - Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" or Kanye West "Heartless" or Once "Falling Slowly"

I will be happy if Kris chooses any one of these songs to sing. I loved each of his original performances of these tunes and would love to hear them again. Part of me wonders if it's too soon to do "Heartless" again, since he just did it last week, but being that it was the song that catapulted him past Danny into the Finals, he should probably go with that. What I would WANT to hear is "Ain't No Sunshine" because that is when he showed the most artistry of any of his songs. Yes, Kanye acoustic was unique, but not a terribly foreign concept, since Nathaniel Marshall did it with "Disturbia" in Hollywood. "Ain't No Sunshine," in my opinion, showed more versatility, soul, and passion, as well as sounded amazing. "Falling Slowly" has crept into my top 5 songs played on my iPhone, so I would like that too. And it's the song that he sang for all of his going home concerts. Needless to say, I'll be fine with any of these, and this song, whatever he chooses, should refresh your memory to how good Kris became this season.

Adam Lambert - Producer Pick - Chris Isaak "Wicked Games" or Survivor "Eye of the Tiger" or Journey "Open Arms" or Guns-N-Roses "Welcome to the Jungle"

Most of these have been seen before on previous week's picks. I've only got one last shot at getting to hear any of these songs, so I hope Simon Fuller reads this and has either 1) already picked one of these songs, or 2) scraps everything he's planned and tells Adam to do one of these instead. Adam is a pro, he can handle a last minute change :). The new addition is Chris Isaak's "Wicked Games" is sure to make some of you scratch your heads, but there are some very cool versions of this on YouTube that make me think that Adam could do quite well with it, especially if he uses his creative musicality to alter the arrangement. Simon Fuller seems to like Adam a lot, as is evident by all of the pimpage (not that it wasn't deserved) so I see him picking something that Adam can knock out of the park.

Kris Allen - Producer Pick - Lifehouse "Everything" or "Broken" or Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" or Jason Mraz "The Remedy"

I feel as though Simon will play to Kris' strengths, giving him an acoustic/alternative song that will fit with his style and voice. But in order for Kris to shine and not sound karaoke, he needs to do a fresh version of whatever song he sings. He has done this several times this season, so it's not hard to imagine that he can do it again. Having listened to some Lifehouse this morning, I think that these would be great choices. They can incorporate his guitar as well as a string section that can tie it all together in an ethereal mix. He can do this with any of these songs, maybe aside from "The Remedy." That was chosen as his up-tempo number that can compliment a slower song like "Falling Slowly." Mraz is right up Kris' alley in terms of style and sound, so it would be a good fit. I could even see some Dave Matthews thrown up in there. He needs to do very well in this round, though.

If Kris doesn't give all that he in this round, he will find it hard to pass Adam in the final song. As has been the case the past several seasons, the contestant with the bigger voice usually always wins the "winner's song" round, and ultimately the show. Since Adam's voice is huge in comparison to Kris', and they have to sing the same arrangement, he is at a disadvantage here. Think back to Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis. He was good, but he simply didn't have the vocal chops to match with Jordin. Could that be a factor this year as well?

I really have no idea who is going to win at this point. One article likens this "battle" to our latest presidential race, pointing out that America is shifting it's view to a more liberal stance. Adam would definitely fit into this "liberal stance" more than the conservative Kris. This same article also states that the "swing vote" from Danny's exit might heavily favor Kris since only one million votes separated the two finalists last week. Yet another article discusses how the two have brought hope to our country, showing that two different people, with vastly different cultures and religious beliefs, can form a bond and not let personal beliefs mar a great friendship. This does give us hope that America truly is becoming a united country, where prejudices no longer exist. Though not there completely, we are gradually getting there, and Kris and Adam provide a good example of that.

I think (and hope) that America will vote based on who performs the best tonight. It can go either way, because both contestants deserve to be on that stage. I think, as cliche as it seems, Adam Lambert puts it best. "At this point, we both feel like we’ve already won." Indeed. This pair seems to have the makings of true stars of the future. No matter who wins, these two already are American Idols.

Let me know who you think should take the crown! According to the poll, people think that Adam will win, but will the recent shake downs affect the outcome? Let me know.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Dynamic Duo- Elimination Results (Spoiler Alert!)

2009-05-14T08:10:00.004-04:00

Last night's elimination episode of American Idol offered what most people considered to be a shock, but not to this blog. We know the deal! They can't pull one over our eyes! Here is a shake-down of what went down last night.

1) Yet again, the Ford commercial sucks. It seems as though the new producer for these commercials is VERY fond of cheesy graphics. The past 4 weeks or so have included some sort of cartoon drawing of the characters. It's getting rather old, but only one more week remains, so we don't have to suffer throught that for a few more months until next year.

2) The guest performers this week were Jordin Sparks and Katy Perry. a) Jordin Sparks is HOT! I picked her to win season 6 when I first heard her audition with Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." She can SANG. The new song is ok, but I'm sure it's like most pop songs right now, I have to listen to it a few times before I can like it. b) Katy Perry is ridiculous. I'm not sure she was allowed to ENDORSE a candidate, but she certainly did with "Adam Lambert" written across her cape. Yes, if you didn't watch it, she was wearing a cape with basically a bathing suit to try and give an Elvis look. If Elvis wore that on stage, I would have vomited everywhere. Prior to her performance, Danny was saying that he was ready to just get it over with and hear the results. Then you hear Adam chime in "I want to see Katy Peeeeeerrrrry!" in a pleading sort of way. It was comical to me. Her performance was fodder, but someone I was watching it with said that Adam wanted to wear one of the costumes of her dancers holding the huge feather fans. That was also extremely comical...and left a disturbing mental image.

3) Instead of a trio group number, this week more time is allotted to videos of the contestants going home. First we see Danny in Milwaukee. It is ok. We see a lot of people come out to support him. We learn that he can't throw a baseball well at all. We see his friend that auditioned with him, Jamar. Remember him? Surprisingly we don't get to see the church that he sings at...first you gyrate then you diss the church?! Come on, Danny. Next is Kris Allen. Ok, so Kris is already a superstar in Arkansas. Everywhere he went there were thousands of people. The one stadium had 20,000 people in it at least. That is big time. Of course, they don't have anything going on in Arkansas usually, so this is a big achievement for them. His (huge) family made his section touching, especially him and his dad. It was a special moment for them. Adam's homecoming had less than a turnout than I thought it would, being that it was San Diego, but that could have been the reason why as well. Not too many nationally known celebrities hail from Milwaukee and Arkansas, but plenty do from California, so it ain't no thang for the West Coasters. I did like that Adam went to his old theater and talked to the kids. That would probably be pretty cool for them to hear from someone who has succeeded. There was a young Adam Lambert in the crowd of kids, asking him who did his hair. Kid, you have little chance of growing up heterosexual. What we learn from these segments is that the voting demographic is a vast majority 13-15 year old screaming, crying, flailing girls and 35-40 year old screaming, crying, flailing women. It's like the Beatles were walking down the street back in the day. It was nuts.

4) Finally, we get down to the results. As our three amigos stand center stage with Ryan, the lights go dim and it begins. The first contestant sent to safety is...KRIS! This is what I predicted in my last post. Kris was EXTREMELY deserving of a spot in the finals. He found a way to prosper in a climate that was more suited towards big voiced singers by using his creativity and musicality to enhance his artistry. It also probably helped that he's an attractive guy and the aforementioned voting demographic practically wet themselves whenever he sings. Now, it's down to Danny and Adam, the two that MANY people predicted would meet in the finals. At this point, I honestly did not know who was leaving. Ryan announces that the person going to the finals next week is...ADAM! I know that Danny is a good singer, but these two deserve it more than anyone else on the show did, reitterating my point at the beginning of the season that, thought it seems like a popularity contest at first, by the end, America usually gets it right. Since we saw the top 36, these were the two contestants that I picked. No one had heard of Kris Allen and no one knew what Adam was capable of. I told them to just watch and see. They did not disappoint me this season.

Well there you have it! The roommates are battling each other in the Finale next week, and I think it will be a great show. But before I leave you, I must comment on Simon's statement at the end of the episode. He said, and I quote, "This could be a big ding-dong." (that's what she said). REALLY Simon?! Apparently that means "good" across the pond, but REALLY. I took a picture of Kris Allen's face when he said that and this is what I got. Priceless.

Haha. What do you think, folks? Did Danny deserve to go home? Or should he have beaten one of the other contestants to make it to the finals? Let me know your thoughts! Get ready for an awesome Finale!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 3: Performance Results

2009-05-13T07:17:00.007-04:00

By this time next week, the votes will have been cast to determine who is going to be our next American Idol. It seems as though the season just started! I still remember Jasmine Murray singing her off key notes and the judges gushing about her "commercial appeal." Let's back up a bit though, we have a LONG way to go before we find out this season's winner. This week, we find out who our finalists are. I'm predicting that we will see a record number of voters with the competition being so tight. I know that everyone has all but penciled in Adam and Danny into the Finals, but Kris seriously took a risk that might pay off last night. For your listening and viewing pleasure, I am going to add videos of each performance from last night. It was a very good performance night, and I think each of the contestants brought all that they could and laid it out on the stage. Here are my thoughts on how they did.

Danny Gokey - Judge's Pick - Terence Trent D’Arby "Dance Little Sister"

Call me crazy, but I was a somewhat a fan of this song. I dislike Danny, that is nothing new to this forum, but I have to give him props. I was secretly hoping that he would tank, but as soon as he started singing, I thought to myself, "Well F..." Paula did a good job of picking a song that really did rest in the "magical" part of his voice. It was energetic and, oddly enough, I didn't notice the "gyrations." Come on Danny, good Christian guys aren't supposed to gyrate... :-\. Though a good performance, it wasn't anything overwhelmingly spectacular and the fact that it was somewhat obscure might come back to bight him. Solid.

Kris Allen - Judge's Pick - One Republic "Apologize"

Judges...you'd think that with two people who are very experienced in the music industry that they'd be able to choose a better song for Kris. Apparently we all thought wrong. Now, I'm not saying that Kris sang the song poorly. On the contrary, aside from a few off falsetto notes, I thought it was well sung. I think that using the piano was good, but slightly gimmicky, since all he was doing was playing chords. He wasn't trying to play the driving melody at all. Kara's advice that he should have changed the song up more was irrelevant. There is not much that one can do with that song to adapt it into another style. An acoustic guitar on that song would have been pointless because the song revolves around the piano and bass. I think she stole Paula's crackpipe here. One of the things I liked is that when he heard that he wasn't able to do the falsetto as well as he would like, he flipped it back to chest voice and sounded great. I wish he did that the whole song, but I can see why he tried since it is what you think of first when you think of that song. Though well sung (for the most part), I don't think the judges did him any favors with this song choice, but I'm hoping that he doesn't have to pay for their mistakes tonight.

Adam Lambert - Judge's Pick - U2 "One"

How did I know that Simon would get to pick for Adam? His choice was a specially selected song that required band permission to use, U2's "One." This was a good pick for him. I, however, slightly agree with Randy on this one. I liked it, but I didn't really like how he strayed from the melody. The high notes simply didn't fit well with this song. I would have much rather heard him sing it toned down like "Mad World" was. I'm not sure if he feels that he has to oversing every song so that people see how talented he is, but I'm one who believes that simplicity can also show talent. I still think he did better with his judge's song than the others did. It's hard for me to imagine the finals without him, but I hope that his fans did not grow too complacent and assume that he will automatically be there without their votes.

Danny Gokey - His Pick - Joe Cocker "You Are So Beautiful"

After a good first performance, Danny is swinging for the fences on this one and I think he might have connected. This was one of my potential picks, but I went with Josh Groban instead. He sang this song very, very well, but I couldn't take it seriously once it went to the gospel part. I was too distracted by the fact that Danny was sampling R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly!" Listen to it again. It is TOTALLY ripped right off the Space Jam soundtrack. Danny is a great vocalist. I've stated that from the beginning, so he deserves to be here. As for artistry, I think he seriously lacks in comparison to the other 2. Relying on his natural talent alone is not enough at this point in the competition.

Kris Allen - His Pick - Kanye West "Heartless"

This was my favorite performance of the night. Aside from the return of the llama face, I thought that he KILLED this song. I thought that it might turn out to be a disaster when the announced what he was singing, but I was pleasantly surprised. He went with a straight up acoustic version, a la Boyce Avenue (who you should YouTube immediately if you don't know who they are), and shocked everyone. This was extremely daring, and showed his artistry on a level that we've only heard he supposedly did during Hollywood week, which we never saw. I'm a big Kris Allen fan, and where his voice can't measure up to Danny or Adam's, his originality can, and I'm hoping that that is enough to land him a spot in the finals.

Adam Lambert - His Pick - Aerosmith "Cryin'"

When I heard that Adam was doing an Aerosmith song, I was like "FINALLY!" I wasn't as excited when I found out it was "Cryin'." My number one choice for him would have been "Dream On," but Danny ruined anyone's chance of every trying that song again. I think he would have sounded better on "Crazy." The "I need you now..." part would have been baller. But if you can't have the one you want, go with the one you're with. Adam showed that he is fully capable of doing Aerosmith justice. His vocals were pretty stellar and the only thing that I can think of that didn't sound good was the background harmony. What was the sound guy thinking?! She was incredibly loud and horribly off pitch. You could tell that Adam wasn't feeling it either when he yanked out his in-ear monitor. I would have too. He played it off well though and hit some ridiculous notes at the end. The judges said that it would be the biggest shock in the history of American Idol if he didn't get through to the finals, and I'd have to agree with them. More than anyone I've seen on this show, he deserves to be there.

This week is going to be ridiculous for the votes. I have no clue how it is going to go down. It can swing either way really. My bet is that Kris saved himself by doing a very cool version of a very popular song, something that Danny can't claim he did this week. I think that we will see the roommates, Adam and Kris in a head to head battle next week. The confident-theater kid vs. the humble worship leader. However, I wouldn't be shocked if Danny makes it since the judges have been pushing a Danny vs. Adam finale from the beginning. I hope the voters don't let that happen. The two who deserve to be there are Kris and Adam.

Power Rankings:

1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (4) Kris Allen
3. (2) Danny Gokey

There you have it folks, my predictions for the Elimination show tonight. After it's all said and done, we can still say that we've had the most talented top 4 that we've probably ever seen on this show. What do you all think? Is Danny going home, or are Kris and Adam more at risk? Leave your opinion in the comments!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 3: Song Predictions

2009-05-12T00:05:00.003-04:00

Again, let me apologize for not posting the elimination results last week. I have been pretty busy lately and finding the time to deliver insightful posts is getting harder and harder to do. No worries though, I’ll give you the results from last week in this post in addition to the usual song predictions.

Last week we saw the elimination of Allison Iraheta. I can’t say that I agree with the choice, because I’d rather see Danny headed home, but I can say that I understand it. Allison, while being a very good singer, had very few magical moments on the Idol stage. Aside from an amazing version of Heart’s “Alone,” her other performances were consistently good, but not overwhelmingly great. Each of the other remaining contestants have had several great performances, so it’s not a shock that it shook down the way it did.

I’m really looking forward to how this season is going to wind down. I feel that we are at a point where anyone can win, or anyone can be sent home. This is a talented top 3 and it will be interesting to see who steps up to the plate and delivers this week.

One other sidenote- Paula’s performance was eerily reminiscent of a Britney Spears show. It’s like Paula is her grandmother and taught her how to suck at lip-syncing, but still put on an entertaining show. I was more entertained with her performance than most of the other guest performers that they’ve had this season. Also, Daughtry wins for best performance from a former Idol. It was a really good song. It’s a shame that Taylor Hicks won over him.

Now it’s time for the top 3 song predictions. To my understanding, the contestants are going to each sing two songs this week, one is their pick, the other is a song that the judges select. This makes me think that I have no shot of picking either of the songs correctly, but I will attempt anyway.

Adam Lambert – His pick- Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” and Judges pick- Journey “Open Arms”

I will continue to push for “Eye of the Tiger”. I don’t care if it’s the 4^th time that I’ve suggested it. You know he would sound good on it, so I won’t bother explaining myself again on that front. I’m hoping that Randy Jackson has some sway in what song Adam sings for the Judges pick. As the former bass player for Journey, not to mention his work with Mariah Carey (who recorded a cover) as her musical director/bass player, he has had extensive experience with this song. I’m imagining that Adam will pick a wild song and the judges will pick something more toned down that will show off the softer side again. He would sound incredible on this song. Not only is his voice perfect to sing Steve Perry, but he’d be able to sell the emotional connection that accompanies this song. I’m hoping that we get to see both sides of Adam this week. It’d be good for him to show off his range as a vocalist, giving something to the fans who enjoy the up-tempo shrills and those that prefer the more mellow crooning. Adam has been the “favorite” to win it for a vast majority of the season, but stranger things have happened in the past to show that the contestant who might deserve to win might not always be allowed to win. I still think we will see him in the finals regardless.

Danny Gokey – His pick- Josh Groban “You Raise Me Up” and Judges pick- Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA”

This week, the top 3 made their way back to their hometowns to visit their legions of adoring fans. This has me thinking that we are in for several back-stories to come into play. Up to this point (at least the top 32), Danny has managed to keep the story of his late wife on the back burner. Though thoroughly exhausted during auditions and Hollywood week, I think that it was smart for him to hold back so that he could bring it up again now. He will gain several million votes this way, but I’m hoping that America is voting based on his songs, not his past. I can see him doing “You Raise Me Up” in honor of his wife. This is a very popular song in secular and Christian circles, so I feel like it would be a fitting and an emotional rendition. Though his voice is FAR from Josh Groban’s, I can still hear this song being sung in Danny’s tamber. For the Judges Pick, I think they should pick some Springsteen, like I suggested last week. Again, the patriotic theme matched with a song that would fit his voice perfectly would bode well for Danny and allow him to coast into the finals.

Kris Allen – His Pick- Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” and Judges pick- Eric Clapton “Layla”

Kris is going to have to step up big this week. I think it’s funny how someone who decided last minute to audition with his brother is now in the top 3 and a household name. As has been stated previously, it’s a common known fact that Kris does not have the voice to compete with the other two guys. He is going to have to beat them this week with originality and artistry, something that he definitely has over Danny. I can see him sticking to his acoustic-yet alternative- vibe with the Goo Goo Dolls and Clapton. He can play his guitar and show how he is different from the other two in his musicality. If he switches up the arrangements a little, makes one a ballad, and gives the ladies what they want, I can see him being able to make it into the finals. But he has to have a lot go his way in order for this to take place, seeing as Adam and Danny have been the front-runners from the get-go. A good group of performances won’t keep him in this competition. He has to be spectacular, a la “Ain’t No Sunshine” or “She Works Hard for the Money.”

There you have it folks, my predictions for this week. I’m hoping that our first ever all-male top 3 rises to the challenge and gives us a strong fight for the title. As I said earlier, right now, anyone can win and anyone can go home. Who do you think deserves to leave this week and who deserves to win? Tell me your opinion.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

PS- Here is link that shows just how good a person Paula is. She made it possible for Scott to get a seeing eye dog.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b123256_paula_abdul_surprises_idols_scott.html

Top 4: Performance Results

2009-05-06T08:04:00.005-04:00

TIMBER! So...the Idol set wasn't the only thing that crumbled to pieces last night. Along with it, we saw some of our more seasoned finalists show their vulnerable side on less than stellar performances. I predicted that this would be one of the best final 4 episodes that we've seen in the history of this show, but the pressure must have built up because the contestants, for the most part, looked as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It could have been due to an improper dress rehearsal as a result from the stage malfunction, but most of the contestants seemed extremely nervous up there. We saw the first batch of duets in the history of Idol and Slash introduced the most unique setting in which to give criticism to the contestants (though nothing he said mattered much- it was all pretty much worthless). With less contestants, the show is getting tougher and tougher to judge. With that being said, let's see how they sang. Below is a video with the audio from all four solo performances last night. It's always good to LISTEN to the performances again to see how they sounded. Sometimes the performance can make a vocal sound better than it actually was.

Adam Lambert - Led Zepplin "Whole Lotta Love"

When I found out that Adam was doing Led Zepplin, I said to myself "This makes sense." Robert Plant's wailing is part of Adam's vocal vocabulary, so it didn't surprise me. He was the only performer tonight who did not look nervous to be up there on that stage. He provided yet another very solid performance. I liked how he paid homage to the original artist by keeping it very close to the original recording. What was good about it, though, is that it did not come across as karaoke or copycat. You still felt like you were watching Adam sing a song off of his album. It was vocally very sound and well sung, but for some reason, this was not my one of my favorite performances from him. Perhaps it was his look/stage presence. For weeks, people have been saying that he looks "evil" sometimes when he performs. I got that vibe tonight, though I don't REALLY think he is. Something about the clothes, the over-abundance of guyliner, the haircut, the looks he was giving the camera, I don't know, it was sort of strange for me. Granted, bands DID style themselves like this back in the day, so it could have been due to that, but I don't see any of the other contestants being able to pull off that look. It was a very "questionable" outfit to say the least, but at this point in the competition, everyone knows that Adam is gay. He might as well not try and hide it (which I'm pretty sure he hasn't tried to do haha).

Allison Iraheta - Janis Joplin "Crybaby"

Allison is the only female contestant left, so it stands to reason that she would choose a Joplin song, given her style and voice. Vocally, it was average. She was somewhat pitchy and chose a song that was probably too big for her. She also was the first of the contestants to look nervous on that stage. This was something that we have not seen from her before. She usually has so much poise and professionalism when she's singing that it's hard to believe that she is as young as she is. But tonight, she let her youth outshine her talent. She also showed a little bit of immaturity in her back-talking to Simon. He's absolutely right that her personality does not always convey with the audience. And he was also right that she seemed to be desperately begging in her verbal joust with him. Luckily for Allison, she was not the worst of the evening, but she is far from being safe tonight.

Kris Allen - Beatles/Aerosmith "Come Together"

From the very beginning of the episode, you could tell something was off with Kris. He was not his usually happy-go-lucky self, grinning from ear to ear. I'm not sure if the lack of a proper dress rehearsal affected him more than the others, but you could tell that he was agitated. I would be too, so I can't fault him for that. But wearing his emotion on his sleeve is something that he needs to work on controlling. For his solo, he delivered another Jason Mraz-esque version of a rock classic. Like Allison, vocally, this was an average performance. Kris did not show us anything that proved that he deserves to be in the position he is in. Something just felt like it was missing in this song, and I'm not quite sure what it was. Having the thin voice that he does, he was completely overpowered by the band. I would have liked to see him slow it down and pull out a mellow version of it, but mellow was not in the vocabulary for tonight's performances. All rock, all the way. Also, the judges were far more harsh with Kris tonight than they were on any of the other contestants, even though others deserved their criticism more than he did. It was a good performance, but not great, and definitely forgettable. He may see himself in the bottom 2 this week.

Danny Gokey - Aerosmith "Dream On"

When I first heard that Danny was going to be singing this song, I immediately wanted to scream obscenities at the television. Adam would have killed this song, but instead, we are going to have to sit through a veritable train wreck. My suspicions were correct. Flat from the first note, we saw Danny in a light that we have never seen him before. Scared to death. Hands firmly grasping the mic, shifting his weight back and forth, and looking like a deer in the headlights were all signs that Danny was going to have a rough time this week. Slash's mention of the extreme importance of the final note of the song was obviously weighing on him the entire performance. And when it came time to sing said note, Danny botched it in a way that I haven't heard anyone sound all season. Lloyd Christmas is furious right now because Danny has now surpassed him as owner of the world's most annoying sound. I'm shocked that Danny thought that he could do this song justice. He is usually much smarter than that. And the fact that he thought it sounded good shows how pompous he can be. Luckily, they showed a better version of the note on the recap, but dogs everywhere were still beating their heads into walls. It just wasn't good in the least bit. He definitely is deserving of a bottom two showing this week, if not elimination all together. P.S. Purple shirt and pin striped vests are NOT rock and roll. Neither are random "doo-doo-doo's" thrown in the middle of a tag.

Duets:

Kris and Danny - Styx "Renegade"

The first time I heard them perform this, I thought that Danny wiped the floor with Kris, and the judges did too. After watching it a second time, I'm taking that back slightly. Yes Danny sang better than Kris, but it wasn't THAT much better. He got the high notes and Kris let him take (or Danny just took from him) the glory notes at the end, that they could have split. The both looked equally nervous at the beginning and I think it was because of what Paula said. They didn't look like they could hear themselves up there at all. The harmonies were tight and they sounded good together, but Kris just sort of sunk back to background singer role as the song wore on, which does not bode well for him.

Allison and Adam - Foghat "Slow Ride"

This was a stupid song to pick as a duet. Hopefully it was all the producers choice and not the Idol's themselves. They sang the song well, and were ten times more entertaining than Kris and Danny were in their duet. You could tell that they really like performing together, and I expect to see something like that on the tour. Their voices complement each other fairly nicely. I would have still much rather seen "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" though. Simon might be right about Allison. I think Adam helped her stay in the competition a little longer with that performance. She sounded good on it.

Power Rankings:

1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (2) Danny Gokey
3. (4) Allison Iraheta
4. (3) Kris Allen

After sub-par performances from Kris this week, I think he's looking to be in trouble. Danny stays at number 2 based on his popularity, but I would love to see him exit the show. Votefortheworst.com has embraced him as their new pick since he is annoying and would make another Taylor Hicks if he won. I'm hoping that they do not get their wish, but at this point, America could send anyone home. I think that these are your bottom 2 and I think (and hope and pray) that Danny will be getting a surprising boot tonight. Anyone feel me on that?

There you have it folks. How did you all like the performances? Was I the only one who thought that everyone failed to live up to their potential? Let me know.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

New Poll!

2009-05-05T22:57:00.001-04:00

Who is going to win American Idol this season?! Choose the most worthy from your Top 4 in the poll to the right of your screen.

Top 4: Song Predictions- Rock Week

2009-05-04T21:57:00.004-04:00

How do you do my peoples!? Ok, so I’m ridiculously excited about this weeks theme: “Rock Week.” This is, arguably, the most talented final four that we’ve ever seen on the show in 8 seasons. With two thoroughbred rockers in our primero cuatro and two other performers who can perform serviceably if the right song is chosen, I think we are going to see the best performance night of the season. With so few contestants and so many great songs, it was hard for me to pigeonhole each performer into one or two song choices. Letting go of my control, I am just going to offer a stream of consciousness with what I think they should sing. There might be 2 choices given. There might be 80. I can’t promise anything. Also, rumor has it that this is going to be the first time in Idol history that the contestants are going to be allowed to sing a duet with another contestant! This should be awesome! Anyway, below is a list that I chose from. Let’s get on with it!

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_songsddd.html

Adam Lambert – Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” or Guns N Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” or Aerosmith “Dream On” or Kansas “Carry On My Wayward Son”

As you can tell, I’m just a tad excited about what Adam is going to bring to the table this week. Everyone in America was shocked that he was in the “Bottom 2” last week (though it’s hard for me to believe that it was REALLY the bottom 2). After that revelation, paired with the fact that this is HIS genre, I can’t see a situation where Adam does not perform amazingly this week. His songbook is somewhat infinite, but I’m choosing these 4 songs. This makes the third time that I’ve pushed for “Eye of the Tiger.” I don’t expect him to do it, but I’d love it if he did. I’ve also been an advocate of “Welcome to the Jungle” for some time now. Either of these would be ridiculous. I expect that he’ll be out of trouble this week. Here is a clip of one song that I almost picked, but he had already done it prior to Idol.

Danny Gokey – Guess Who “American Woman” or Jefferson Airplane “Somebody to Love” or U2 “With Or Without You” or Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA”

Danny now stands as the only contestant that has yet to taste the bitterness of the bottom 3. After a rousing rendition of “Come Rain or Come Shine” last week, Danny has put himself back on the map as a legit frontrunner. He has always held that status, but this was one of the first weeks where he’s proven that he is deserving of such a title. I can see Danny rocking “American Woman.” Either the original Guess Who version or the Lenny Kravitz remake will suit his voice exceptionally well. He’d get to growl it out and play with the melody a bit. I can also see him going the popular route with U2 or the patriotic route with Springsteen. These two choices would cater more for the intelligent approach to the song choice. Either of these would have people voting in flocks for him, a la Kristy Lee Cook in her performance of “God Bless the USA” last season. We’ll see how he can follow up last week with a genre that isn’t necessarily promoting his strengths as a vocalist.

Kris Allen – Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” or Bob Marley “No Woman No Cry” or “I Shot the Sheriff” or Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge”

At first glance, one might think that Kris is out of his element this week, but I beg to differ. Granted, he is by no means a “rocker” by conventional definition, but he still has a shot of doing something great. There are plenty of smooth voiced front men in the world of rock and roll and I think Kris could have a great week if he doesn’t try anything too over-zealous. My obvious choice for him is “Tears in Heaven.” 1) Lady Killer. 2) Great melody. 3) Lady Killer…oh wait, I already said that. That’s because it’s doubly important this week. He needs to get all of the teeny bopper girls, their cousins and their old decrepit Aunt Mildred’s to flash flood the telephone lines. For the course of this season, he has received the most love when he has done ballads or showed off his creativity in arranging. Here enters the Bob Marley songs. I think these songs are verging on “iconic,” but I also feel that, with the right spin, he can create something memorable and impressionable to gain peoples votes. I don’t want to see him do anything cliché. It’s crunch time and cliché is for pansies!

Allison Iraheta – Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart” or Stevie Nicks “Edge of Seventeen” or Guns N Roses “November Rain”

The most anticipation for a contestant this week might be for Allison. As the only girl left standing, and the highest ranked “rocker chick” to ever come through Idol, there is a great deal of pressure for her to be phenomenal. If she does any of the songs I have listed above, she could achieve that. I think she could murder any one of these songs. I’ve pushed for “November Rain” several times before, but granted that she did a ballad last week, I doubt we’ll be sing that side of her this go round. Shame, because I liked that side of her. “Total Eclipse” would be perfect for her. She’s got the tone, she’s got the range, and she needs the familiarity of such a classic song to help catapult her past her male competitors. I hope she does well this week, because no matter what Idol tells us, I have my suspicions that Allison was in the top 2 last week.

Duets:

Adam and Allison – Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” or Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way”

This is the duet that everyone would want to see- two rockers going at it. So, it’s obvious that I think Allison should be singing some Stevie Nicks. I like Stevie a lot and I think that Allison could do her justice. She is one of the premier dueters of her era and either song would be a good fit for her. Adam would be able to do either Tom Petty or Lindsey Buckingham. I really, really hope that this is the combo we get to hear and they choose one of these songs.

Kris and Danny – Boston “More Than a Feeling” or ZZ Top “Sharp Dressed Man”

Should they sing together, Kris and Danny would definitely be wise to do “Sharp Dressed Man.” Complete with suits, some shades, and suave demeanors, this would drive all of the women crazy. Apparently, that is my deciding factor this week. I’m not sure if their voices would fit together as well as A & A, but I still think it’d be an entertaining duet.

There you have it folks. Don’t pencil anyone in the finals just yet. With this group, there is no guarantee that anyone won’t be eliminated at any given time from here on out. I really think that it all comes down to the performances from this point on. If one person falls behind, the voting public will leave him/her behind with no reservations. One stumble is all it takes to fall from eminent superstardom to irrelevant obscurity. I’m expecting a great show, folks. I hope you are as jacked as I am.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Final Four: Elimination Results (Spoiler Alert!)

2009-05-04T09:22:00.004-04:00

First, let me apologize for being slack about this entry. This weekend has been one of my busier as of late, and I never found a quite moment to form my thoughts. Excuses or not, please forgive my tardiness.

Wednesday night's episode was done in typical Results show fashion. It was more dramatic than usual, but not to the point that should have had anyone worried. Here are my observations.

1. Commercial sucked again. It was shot sort of cool, but would have been better had it been given at least some glimmer of meaning or plot. Running around the desert for no reason is sorta stupid. Come on Ford...but it's not like I expect any better

2. The group song is another live performance. Horray for doing away with lip syncing this week! What we get from this performance is that these are the 5 deserving people to be here. What we also learn is that Kris is on speed. Homie snaps in quadruple time! Calm it down there, bud. What is it with short people being energetic as mess? I don't understand ;).

3. The video of the week was pretty funny. It showed Danny and Allison celebrating their birthday's with a huge food fight. Honestly, it looked pretty fun. Ryan asked who started it and Allison throws Danny under the bus by ratting on him. Ryan gives him a cleaning bill for 6 grand large! WHAT?! Cleaning ladies make BANK!! Ryan says that Danny has to pay it, unless he wins. Then Idol will cover it. Danny looks a little worried.

4. The bottom 3 is revealed a little differently this time. Matt was asked to stand on the right side of the stage and Danny was placed on the left. Allison joined Danny and Kris joined Matt. This leaves Adam alone with Seacrest...never a good thing. Ryan asks Adam to pick which group he thinks he belongs in. Surprisingly, Adam actually DOES pick a group. Usually they just stand there until Ryan places them. Adam picks Danny and Allison's group, which is the better group I'd say, but Ryan informs him that while they are safe, Adam is not and he has to go join Matt and Kris. DRAMA! The widely regarded runaway favorite is in the bottom 3 for the first time. Danny and Allison's faces are priceless as they try to act "genuinely" shocked that they are safe and he is in the bottom 3. And of course, commercial break.

5. Now we go to our guest performers. This is what we can take away. a) Natalie Cole has a huge mouth and like 64 teeth. b) Taylor Hicks still sucks. His first CD wasn't just a fluke. He also is terrible about pretending to play guitar when he's not . It was the most obvious thing I've ever seen. c) Jamie Foxx and his vocoder can get on out. I hate that effect that rappers and R&B artists are now using ALL the time. I'm oddly enough ok with T-Pain doing it, since it's his gimmick, but no one else should be allowed to. Sort of like Snoop and his "-izzle's." Chingy should have never touched that.

6. One member of the bottom three is sent to safety, and that is Kris. People everywhere are STILL shocked that Adam is in this predicament, but I'm not. Don't get me wrong, Adam does not belong there, but Ryan never said anything about highest and lowest vote getters. I don't think that Adam being in the "bottom 2" means that he got the second least amount of votes. I think this is all a ploy by producers to spice up the competition a little bit, get America to think that the untouchable contestant is not invincible, and make it seem like they have a little more of a race on their hands to the finish line. Also, this puts Adam in a great position to win. It makes his fans think that they have to go bonkers on the phone lines for the next few weeks...which is all that is left of the show. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gokey in the bottom 3 next week also, following the same formula.

With less and less contestants week in and week out, there is less and less to write about. Don't worry though, the predictions for "Rock Week" will be up tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about this. I thought that last week was the best I've seen from a top 5, so I expect that our Final Fantastic 4 will give showstopping performances. Until next time...

Your American Idol,

Billy

Top 5: Performance Results

2009-04-29T07:34:00.004-04:00

This week, the contestants are singing songs from the Rat Pack, so we are obviously expecting slower songs from the 60's. This is a far cry from some of the other nights that we've had this season. The guest mentor is Jamie Foxx. This was sort of odd to me at first, but then they explain how he has transcended the entertainment business, much like the Rat Pack did, so it made more sense. He was actually very entertaining and very good at critiquing the contestants and getting them to enhance their performances with his suggestions. Now, to see how they actually did. On to the reviews!

Kris Allen - Frank Sinatra "The Way You Look Tonight"

Kris opens up the show with a solid performance of "The Way You Look Tonight." I enjoyed this, but it was definitely not one of his best. I'm not sure how to describe it. It was good, but not spectacular, and at this point in the show, you need to be spectacular to prove that you should be there. I liked the slower parts of the song. I feel like Kris' tone was good and he used some interesting phrasings to shake up the song a bit. The faster parts left a little more to be desired, however. His falsetto wasn't quite there and the band swallowed up what is already a pretty thin voice to begin with. I did enjoy the end. The notes that he was hitting were difficult notes to find and added a degree of musicality to the song that I was unaware he was capable of. I enjoyed him choosing the 5th in his ending note rather than resolving it, but I can see where some wouldn't. Overall, a good performance, but not necessarily enough to keep him in the finals. Hey, there is always a duet with Jamie Foxx waiting post-Idol. I bet that thought is pretty tempting...

Allison Iraheta - Frank Sinatra "Someone to Watch Over Me"

FINALLY! Allison does a ballad! Vocally, this was one of Allison's best performances. It was pitch perfect and sang with confidence and feeling. The comparisons to Joss Stone and Pink are undeniable and I think that Allison is probably the most ready to release a successful album right now. Simon is correct, however. She does seem too content in the stride that she's on right now. She does not have that look that makes you feel like she thinks she can win. This might be where her age and immaturity are rearing their ugly heads. She needs to shock us with something unique and spectacular in order to stay in for the long haul. Is there a chance that she can win the competition? Yes, but it's small. And every week that the guys show her up, it's getting smaller and smaller. That's what she said.

Matt Giraud - Frank Sinatra "My Funny Valentine"

This was hands down my least favorite performance of the night, sung by my least favorite contestant left on the show. Did he deserve to stay on the show longer than Lil or Anoop, probably, but the save was pretty pointless, since he has no shot of winning. Matt chose to sing "My Funny Valentine," a very difficult song to sing. People have said to me "Hey, give him credit for trying to sing a song that hard." My answer to them. No. If you don't have the vocal chops to pull off a song, then you shouldn't sing it! Period. I mean, come on. Doesn't he remember Melinda Doolittle SLAYING this song? Watch that and see what I mean. He was pitchy and didn't take Jamie Foxx's advice to just sing the song without so much melisma. The performance was not TERRIBLE, I suppose. There were some OK spots, but overall, he really showed that he's not deserving of that spot. I hope that this week, there is a double elimination...Matt and the little monster that lives on his forehead that he tries to hide with God-awful looking fedoras. It seems harsh, I know, but I'm just tired of listening to him.

Danny Gokey - Frank Sinatra "Come Rain or Come Shine"

Danny has been in a rut lately. He is consistently good, but not outstanding. He changed that this week with his version of "Come Rain or Come Shine." It started off with the same formula that he tends to use: tiny bit rough at the beginning with some of his tone, then growing into a solid performance that shows that he is a very good singer. He kicked it up another notch this week. It's like he flipped on a switch and just decided, "hey, I'm going to kill this ending right here." And he did. This was the best I've heard him sound thus far. It was the most original that he has been with a melody line and he looked like he actually WANTED it for a change. With this performance, he wiped the floor with Kris Allen and regained his spot in the finals, in my opinion.

Adam Lambert - Sammy Davis, Jr. "Feelin Good"

Adam gets the pimp-slot tonight and is the only contestant to choose a song NOT sung by Sinatra. Go figure that Adam is the "different" one. Though not his greatest performance ever, he still did not disappoint. The song was like a roller coaster ride for me. I loved the beginning. The 8th note triplets on the piano, matched with the softer side of his voice, completed with the stairs, the lights, and the pearl suit created the best entrance I've seen on the show. It was the initial rise before the first drop out of the chute. Once the band kicked in, he seriously strutted down the stairs like this was his concert and we all paid money to see him. The arrangement was great at first- it was very full and sounded like it used every instrument in the orchestra equally. Things, however, got a little weird for me during the first part of the bridge/interlude. It seemed like everything was musically correct, but it just sounded a bit awkward to me. This was the part of the ride that just sort of let up for a bit to let you catch your breath. Then, he hit you with a 12 second glory note. This was the double loop at the end of the ride. I was sort of shaking my head in disbelief at this point. It shouldn't surprise me when he does stuff like this, but it still does. That is what is making him so popular in this competition- his ability to keep surprising you. Though not his best performance of the season, it was still solid and consistent with what he has been delivering so far.

Rat Pack week turned out better than I thought it would, overall. This was the most uniform that I've seen the contestants all season. They were closer to the same level with each other than they have ever been. No performance was terrible, though Danny and Adam stood above the rest and Matt fell behind. I expect that Matt, Kris, and Allison will be in the bottom 3 this week, with Matt going home. If he doesn't, the show is rigged and I'm going to send them hate mail.

Power Rankings:

1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (3) Danny Gokey
3. (2) Kris Allen
4. (4) Allison Iraheta
5. (5) Matt Giraud

Danny overtakes the #2 spot again from Kris and shows that he is still just as deserving of the finals. This is going to be an interesting finish this season. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some of the closest vote tallies in the history of Idol. Dun, dun, DUN! What do you all think? Are we going to have an upset this year or is the most consistent contestant going to win the show? What do you all think of the performances last night? Let me know in the comments.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 5: Song Predictions - The Rat Pack

2009-04-28T09:15:00.004-04:00

The theme for the top 5 on American Idol is "The Rat Pack" and rumor has it that the contestants will be singing 2 songs from this week on. The Rat Pack was an influential group of performers in the 50's and 60's, comprised of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. There were other entertainers who came in and out of the "group," but these were the primary members. I'll go ahead and tell you now that I don't expect to get many, if any, right this week! I am not the biggest Rat Pack follower, so it was hard for me to listen to so many songs and pick who would sound good on what. I do have a sneaking suspicion though that this week might be a snooze-fest for most listeners. Music from this era was good, but it simply did not have all of the accoutrement's that we are used to in our music. I think some of our Idol-wannabes will do fine, but others might have a hard time choosing an appropriate song that fits their voice. These baritones epitomized the meaning of a "pure voice" - one that did not need vocal embellishments or insane range to showcase it's beauty. Can our Idols refrain from these overkills for one night and sing a straight-laced version of classic song, or will they have to get creative and stylize songs to fit their voice? Let's see what I have them singing this week.

Adam Lambert – Peter Lawford "Age of Aquarius" and Dean Martin "Blue Moon"

Of all the contestants remaining on the show, Adam is probably in the best position this week. Though he can have one of the most "screechy" voices, he can also have one of the most pure when he tries. He has also showcased more of his tenor range thus far on the show, but we have seen glimpses of what sounds to be a rather nice baritone range as well. I hope that we get to see some of that this week. "Age of Aquarius" seems like a song that Adam can have his usual fun on, seeing as there are so many different arrangements of this song, all being somewhat crazy and a little off-kilter. This would be his "one for him" song choice. The "one for you" song choice could be "Blue Moon." This is a very pretty song, one that Elvis remade, and has become a classic. I can already see Adam singing with the blue lights shining from behind like most of his other slower performances. I think he'll be fine, but this definitely won't be his best week.

Kris Allen - Dean Martin "Sway" and Frank Sinatra "I've Got You Under My Skin"

Kris is in the next best position because he also has a fairly pure tone to his voice that can accompany these kind of arrangements well. I think that these two songs will complement his voice and style quite nicely, giving him an opportunity to pull away from Danny in the standings, since they are still pretty close right now. I can see him pulling out a new look this week- maybe a side part with some hair gel, a suit, and a bow tie. I think people would like that. I think he should be fine this week, but he needs to be praying for Danny to stumble big time.

Danny Gokey - Frank Sinatra "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" and Frank Sinatra "That's Life"

Danny might face a tough week this week. Whereas Adam and Kris can have pretty pure tones to their voice, Danny is the exact opposite. What makes his voice unique is the raspiness, something that you never heard in ANY Rat Pack song. That being said, it is not impossible for him to do well this week. John Mayer did a version of "In the Wee Small Hours" on Letterman and it sounded really good with his breathy voice. I could hear Danny killing a version like that. "That's Life" can also sound good with a more gravely sound. The concern for Danny is great at the moment, because it is no longer just this blog's feeling that Danny is slipping. Other bloggers and entertainment reporters are starting to notice his decline as well. If this trend continues, don't expect Danny in the finals. He needs to be just as suave as these original Kings of Cool were if he wants to maintain his grasp.

Allison Iraheta - Dean Martin “Mambo Italiano” and Frank Sinatra "One for My Baby"

Allison faces the same problems that Danny does this week. Her voice does not fit any of the songs, but she might be able to find some covers that she could pull off. And look, here I am giving them to her! Rosemary Clonney sang a version of "Mambo Italiano" that was very upbeat and fun. I can see her doing that, and maybe adding a little ethnic flair in there. She can also do Bette Midler's version of "One for My Baby." This would not be as good as the first, but she could still pull it off. Plus, it would be a slow song for her, something that she STILL has yet to REALLY do. Now, she might be able to find a loophole in the system since, technically, the Rat Pack is rumored to have let Marilyn Monroe, Shirley MacLaine, and Judy Garland participate in their frivolities. If this is the case, then she might choose to go that safer route. I predicted last week that Allison would kill it this time, since she seems to do just that after being in the bottom 3, but that might not happen.

Matt Giraud – Dean Martin “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and Sammy Davis Jr. "Mr. Bojangles"

Why can I hear Matt doing an R&B version of "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" This would actually be pretty good I think. I think he could change it up to fit his style and make it his own without running the risk of disappointing the judges. "Mr. Bojangles" could also be a nice fit for him. I do think that Matt has to sing a perfect set this week if he wants to stay on the show. The fact that he was not in the bottom 3 last week was just the producers saving the judges from looking moronic for saving him. He should DEF be in the bottom 3 this week, just because there is NO WAY that he can be in the top 2.

There you have it, guys. After listening to a lot of these songs, I think I have a newfound respect for this era of music. Just because you can sing a wide variety of styles, with over-the-top melismas and out-of-this-world ranges, doesn't mean you have to. Sometimes, singing the melody is the best way to show the beauty of a song and the voice of it's singer. Restraint is key this week, Idols. Restraint, but with energy. If they can do this, I think America will reward them with plenty of votes.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

5 Alive: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2009-04-23T08:54:00.005-04:00

After (another) week where Kris and Adam stole the show with their ingenuity and near flawless performances, it's time to see how this week's elimination episode went down. Last night we found out the "dramatic" results from the wake of the first-ever Judges Save. The second double elimination this season was about as suspenseful as the first (aka not at all), but we'll get to that in a little bit. Here is a recap of last night's episode- some observations.

1. The show opens with a video showing Paula teaching the top 7 a dance that she choreographed to "Dance and Shout." OK, so Paula might be a Meth-addict, but I like her a lot. She is crazy and does not make sense most of the time, but she seems really nice and is hilarious. I think that the show wouldn't be near as good if she wasn't on it. Even when she is being the "drill sergeant" on the dance floor, she still has a great time and you can tell that the contestants see her more as a friend than a judge. The video is pretty funny. You can tell that the Idols were working their butts off to learn that choreography. Granted, it wasn't that hard compared to most choreographed routines, but for non-dancers, I can see how it would have been tough to learn.

2. Now to see the results of the practice! Dressed in head-to-toe 80's garb, complete with aviators and boy band mics, the group dances from the audience to the stage. SURPRISINGLY, they are NOT BAD! They proved to be much better than I thought they would be. Sure, they aren't together on every step, but that's to be expected. Worst dancer on the floor- Matt Giraud. Boy can play piano, but leave the dancing shoes in the closet, homie. He looked just a tad lost the whole time. Anoop wasn't far behind him. Best dancer on the floor- Kris Allen. SHOW 'EM THAT WHITE BOYS CAN DANCE! I'll just go on the record to say that I'm not quite sure what Kris was wearing, but I was sorta liking it. I'm going to get a crazy shirt like that and see if I can pull it off.

3. The Ford commercial is lame as usual. This one looks like it took about 5 minutes to shoot, edit and print. The theme is weak. Are they trying to say that being a baker, construction worker, or dog groomer is a bad thing? Or that if you suck at your job you should quit and go to a cafe that is looking for singers? I'm not quite sure, but it was sorta stupid. I've come to expect that though.

4. After the commercial and a quick wardrobe change, it's time to break down who is going to be in the bottom 3. Lil stands up first and is told to walk to the far side of the stage, obviously meaning that she is in the bottom 3. Ryan comes over and tells her that she is eliminated. Just like that. It was so quick that I missed it because I looked an a friend for two seconds rather than keeping my eyeballs glued to the TV. So much for keeping it suspenseful. This one was one
that could have swung either way, in my opinion, but I'm glad that Lil is going home. She was, by far, one of the biggest let-downs this show has ever seen. During her audition, I thought she was the one to beat this season, but after falling apart once she got into the top 11, she essential dug her own grave. I don't think being on this show helped her "career" that much. She showed every record producer that she is not ready for the pros. However, her swan song tonight was the best I've heard her sing all season. It was great, and I know she is wishing that she had brought that the night before.

5. It's now time to go back in our time machine again and bring back some of the greats of Disco to relive some of their glory moments. Freda Payne is first with "Band of Gold." Let me just say, HD TV is not her friend...and neither is the plastic surgeon's knife. DANG! She sorta scared me. Thelma Houston is next with "Don't Leave Me This Way." She sounds better and looks better, but the front of that dress was just a TAD too short for some of the dance moves she was doing on that raised stage. I hope the front row liked what they saw...I just vomitted. KC from KC and the Sunshine Band closes the nostalgic trip down memory lane, and I'm glad it's almost over. He can no longer sing, he looks ridiculous, he is staring these woman down like a creeper, and his long point-and-stare into the camera at the end was just the cherry on the top of an overall really awkward performance.

6. The rest of the bottom three is about to be revealed. Kris. Easily safe. Adam. No brainer, safe. Danny. Really wish he wasn't safe but you know he is. Anoop is sent to the losers stools again, and with a swiftness since Ryan knows he doesn't like the suspense. I think Ryan is still a little sore from Anoop last week. He told Anoop "You are getting used to being in the bottom 3, aren't you?" HAHAHA. Little jabs are the best. It's now between Allison and Matt as to who is joining Anoop, and it is surprisingly (sort of), Allison! I knew that the producers wouldn't want the judges to look like idiots by saving Matt and then having him fall in the bottom 3 again. I seriously doubt that more people voted for him than Allison, but hey, the producers knew that they weren't going home. What would it hurt to swap them.

7. David Archuleta, the first runner up last season, and arguably the most talented KID ever to ever grace the stage, performs before the final results are given. He also shows just how terrible some producers are at turning a great talent like his into bubble gum pop fodder. His album was released by Jive records, proving that they don't know how to use an artists talents to sell a record. They'd just rather whore them out with catchy loops and meaningless lyrics. Britney Spears? Backstreet Boys? *NSYNC? Point proven. The performance was bad and I feel sorry that he's been reduced to this, because the kid can saaaang.

8. The final elimination is here and it is no surprise to anyone here or in that auditorium that Anoop couldn't beat Allison in this little race. He was my 100% pick to go home this week, and it was obvious before the first note was even sung this week. Even though I attended UNC with him, he never proved to be anything overly special to me on the show. Sure, he was the golden voice of the Clef Hangers, but outside of the collegiate bubble, that amounts to nothing. It was a great run, Anoop, especially since you almost didn't make the show (top 13). Congrats to the highest finish for a Tar Heel on AI...but we still won the National Championship! Woohoo!

There ya go, folks. Enjoy the weekend (I know I will...it's my birthday!) and check back in next week for all the crazy happenings in Idol-land.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Expect big things from Allison next week since she always delivers after being in the bottom 3.

Top 7 (Part 2): Performance Results

2009-04-21T21:37:00.007-04:00

Another week down, another performance episode to critique. I was not a huge fan of this weeks theme or performances, much like I anticipated yesterday. It's such an awkward genre. I understand that you have to narrow down the field each week so everyone is singing relatively the same type of song, but I'm sure they could find a better option than Disco. Anyway, it's time to nitpick our Idols song choices again, since most didn't follow my advice. On to the review!

Lil Rounds - Chaka Khan "I'm Every Woman"

Called it! A correct pick feels good after a week where I went 0/7. I actually liked this song much more than the judges did. I thought she had the confidence back that made people originally fall in love with her. Sure, she didn't do the song complete justice, but it is Chaka Khan people- one of the Disco Divas. Of course it was going to to fall somewhat short, but it was her best performance in a long while. It was fun and had lots of energy. This is not to say that I was gaga over it, but just slightly more impressed than the judges were. I'm not sure how this will translate into the results show tonight, but I think that she definitely put herself even with Matt. I think that one of them is gone and one of them stays. She has a 50/50 shot in my mind.

Kris Allen - Donna Summer "She Works Hard for the Money"

Yesterday I said that Kris was on the cusp of overthrowing Danny from the second place spot on the power rankings. I think he did just that with this song. This was a tie for my favorite performance of the night. Everything the judges said was spot on. Original, daring, and extremely entertaining. As one who is partial to acoustic sets, I thought it was brilliant. But I also think that even an ear that isn't as privy to acoustic arrangements would like it. With an actual coherent reference, Paula said that it had a very "Santana-vibe," which I loved. The Latin feel added another dimension to this song that most people might not have attempted. Kris is the real deal, folks. Even if he doesn't win this shebang, I think he will still be pretty successful post-idol. The combination of his talent with his image and personality makes him extremely marketable, so I think we will be seeing more of him to come in the future, no matter what the outcome of the show is. P.S. If Paula had said the "he likes to shop in the women's section" to Adam, it would have been "controversial," but it was hilarious for Kris.

Danny Gokey - Earth, Wind & Fire "September"

In order for Danny to have kept his grip on the number 2 position in the competition, he needed to blow me away this week. He did not. Were his vocals solid? Of course. He's a great singer, so that should be a given. But the song did not do anything for me. Though vocally solid, he continues to use the same recipe for his performances. He has not shown me one new dynamic from his repertoire since the first time we saw him sing "I Heard It On The Grapevine" during auditions. Everything is consistently the same, with no variation whatsoever, and it's now officially become boring. At this point, he should be bringing something new to the table every week and WILLING us to vote for him, not just remaining complacent with where he is by constantly choosing safe songs. Are there any Gokey fans left out there? The people I know who where high on him at the beginning of the season have shifted to other contestants. Rep your boy if you disagree with what I'm saying and convince me otherwise. Obviously safe, but not a lock for the finals like Paula claims. P.S. Sexiest voice ever?! Pleeeeaaaase...I'm glad the girl in my apartment last night thought Paula was smoking a crack pipe, too.

Allison Iraheta - Donna Summer "Hot Stuff"

Vocally- very solid. I liked how she started it as a ballad and let it grow into the up tempo part. The judges were in disagreement on the arrangement, but I liked it. I think it made it much more modern and DEFINITELY much more Allison. She messed up the end, since she was supposed to break, then hit her last baller note, but she still pulled it off without too much harm done. I know Randy comments on it all the time, but I really CAN'T believe this girl is so young. She has more poise on the stage than most of the other contestants, easily. What DID bother me a bit was the lyrics. "I want some hot stuff, baby, this evening. I want some hot stuff, baby, tonight." Allison, you are a KID! You can't be singing songs like that! Yes you act older than you are, but you still aren't that old really. I'm surprised the judges did not pick up on that tidbit and run with it. Allison has the potential to move up in the rankings from 4, but she would have to do much more to overtake Danny than Kris did.

Adam Lambert - Yvonne Elliman "If I Can't Have You"

Adam continues to hold to Brent's theory of the "one for you-one for me" song choice recipe. This week he went with a very original, slowed down version of "If I Can't Have You." What is different about this song in comparison to his other slow songs is that this is the first true power ballad that he's sung all season. Being slow in tempo does not mean a song is a ballad, but rather, the emotion that the song conveys. As I have stated previously, what Adam is so good at is selling his songs. Sure it helps that he has the vocal talent to pull off most arrangements, but it is his connection with the audience that is separating him from rest of the group. His comfortability in doing this can definitely be attributed to his musical theater background. Some might say that this puts him at an advantage over the other contestants, but I don't see how it is any different than Kris using his guitar or Matt, his piano. The contestants are allowed to use skills that they have learned in their past to amplify their performances once on Idol. Adam is doing this well. Another thing that Adam was able to do in this performance was show his range in a very controlled and reserved manner, instead of shrieking through the high notes like he sometimes does in his faster songs. This is another side that we haven't seen before. Adam maintains his lead on the pack because he is continually bringing new ideas to the table and showcasing himself in different lights. The other contestants would do well to take note if they want to have a chance in catching him. P.S. That review was completely objective and factual.

Matt Giraud - Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive"

Matt G. merited the coveted Judges Save last week, but this week's performance made me think that he might not have deserved it. Yesterday, I stated that Adam would be the only contestant who could do this song and pull it off. I hold true to that statement. I thought that this rendition was clumsy and amateur at best. You could not understand what he was saying in the choruses, the dancing was very gimmicky, and the falsetto was excruciatingly bad. That last note made me slam my head against the window repeatedly. I also hate when he tries to emulate Justin Timberlake, musically, as well as fashionably. He does not look right with skinny ties and fedoras. He looks like he is playing "Wannabe Pop Star!" He just does not seem like he knows who he is, as a person or an artist, as was also evident in the video posted on Monday's entry. He is in the same boat as Lil is, in my opinion, with a 50/50 shot of going home. The favor might be SLIGHTLY in his favor, however, given that he was saved last week and his fans (and Idol producers) might get him through another week. This way, the judges don't look like complete incompetents for saving him. But Simon was correct last week. There is absolutely no way he can win this competition.

Anoop Desai - Donna Summer "Dim All The Lights"

Poor Anoop. Whereas Lil and Matt get 50/50 shots at going home or staying, I'm giving Anoop a 100% shot at going back to Chapel Hill. There is no doubt that Anoop is a good singer, he is just not a good performer, and he proved that again last night. Granted, there was little that Anoop could have done to remain on the show. He would have had to have done a song that channeled Adam's theatrics, Kris' tone, Danny's soulfulness, Lil's power, Matt's piano and Allison's presence, all at the same time. I would be very shocked if he made it past this round, but I guess stranger things have happened. P.S. He didn't buy his jacket from the “God-Awful, Ridiculously Ugly Jacket Store,” but he still wore a jacket, keeping true the frat-boy theme he has been pushing. Does anyone know if he is actually IN a frat?

Again, this week, two contestants are being sent home due to the Save last week. I have a feeling that those two contestants are going to be Anoop and Lil, with Matt rounding out the bottom 3. Don't be surprised if Lil stays and Matt goes, though. Like I said, the gap between them is incredibly small right now. I wouldn't be surprised if the difference in votes for the two varied by as little as 10,000. I have a feeling that this is going to turn into a very vanilla cast for the rest of the season.

Power Rankings:

1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (2) Kris Allen
3. (2) Danny Gokey
4. (4) Allison Iraheta
5. (5) Matt Giraud
6. (7) Lil Rounds
7. (6) Anoop Desai

A little bit of movement at the top and at the bottom, but it really does not matter at the bottom since two are leaving. Kris has finally passed Gokey, but needs to continue to do big things to keep him in his rearview mirror.

There you have it folks. Hope you all enjoyed. Have a great day doing whatever you are doing. Hopefully it's better than what I'm doing.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 7 (Part 2): Song Predictions- Disco Week

2009-04-21T12:39:00.002-04:00

Break out your dancing shoes and bell-bottoms, boys and girls! It’s “Disco Week” on Idol. This is always one of my least favorite weeks on the Idol calendar, but I’m interested to see what this season’s batch can bring me to change my opinion. Disco is hard to pull off because it is so irrelevant in the music industry today in terms of actual songs played. Sure it still helps inspire P. Diddy to have some samples to choose from, but other than the occasional loop from a rap song, we rarely hear anything that sounds like disco on the radio. With that said, everyone still loves to occasionally go back and rock some disco tunes. It was a fun era with high energy music, and people like that.

Once again, I have no official list to go on, so I’m using the list provided below to choose my songs. There are tons of other disco songs out there, so don’t be surprised if our hopefuls choose something not on this list, but most of them should be.

http://www.alaskajim.com/lists/disco_songs.htm

Now, onto the picks!

Adam Lambert – Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” or Vicki Sue Robinson “Turn The Beat Around”

Last week I said that Adam should sing “Stayin’ Alive” for movie week. I’m going to hold on to that pick this time for Disco Week. He might be the only contestant this season that could risk doing a song so iconic and pull it off. The song has PLENTY of high notes for him to revel in and ample energy so that he can perform it easily. However, I’d love it if he took this song and completely rearranged it into a smooth, laid back version, reminiscent of “Tracks of My Tears.” That would get a lot of people’s attention. Another song I think he’d sound surprisingly good on is “Turn The Beat Around.” I know a lot of you are thinking “the Gloria Estefan song?!” Yes, she remade that from Vicki Sue Robinson. I think he would have a lot of fun with this song, interacting with the band and getting the crowd revved up. Do I expect Adam to do either of these songs though? Not really. He has proven most weeks this season that he will come up with something that you least expect, just to keep you on your toes.

Danny Gokey - KC & The Sunshine Band “That's The Way (I Like It)” or The Trammps “Disco Inferno”

This week is critical for Danny, whether he knows it or not. Though his singing has been consistent, his performances have been lackluster for the past few weeks. If he wants to maintain his hold over the rising Kris Allen, he needs to come out with a good, entertaining showing tonight. I think he could do that with “That’s The Way (I Like It)”. I can hear his raspy tone grunting out the chorus in a way that would fit the song rather nicely. The same is true with “Disco Inferno.” I can see him ripping this song up, complete with some cheesy dancing that would make me want to vom. The vocals would be great though. I want the judges to continue to be critical on him this week if he stumbles. They are doing him a big disfavor if they continue to shower him with praise when they need to be giving him constructive criticism. He’s not quite at the level where he can sing anything he wants to and kill it, although I do think he thinks he is. And that could be bad in the upcoming weeks. Again, no need to sweat about him being in the bottom 3, but no longer a lock for the finals unless he delivers.

Kris Allen - Kool & The Gang “Celebration”

After a week where Kris (arguably) stole the show from the other contestants with an emotional version of “Falling Slowly,” all eyes will be fixed on him to see if he can muster the performance needed to top Danny Gokey. If it were not for his speed bump with “All She Wants to Do Is Dance,” I think that he would have already accomplished this feat, but he gets a second chance tonight. I think that he would sound very good on “Celebration.” It’s not terribly difficult to sing. It’s not terribly high out of his range. It IS very catchy and memorable. If he can manage to do a fast song that people will enjoy, then I think he will be in a great position. This could be hard though, seeing as fast songs have been judged extremely harsh for any contestants not named Adam Lambert. Most of the contestants aren’t willing to throw themselves into an up tempo piece to sell the song like he does, but if Kris can do that he will give a memorable performance that will possibly vault him to number 2.

Allison Iraheta - Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” or Bee Gee’s “Night Fever”

When I thought about Allison’s tone and flair for rock and roll, I immediately thought of “Funkytown.” The judges get on her from time to time for not being herself, or for not acting her age. I don’t understand, because I feel like she does a good job of that, but this song would allow her to have a good time and not be overly serious. She is a natural performer, so this would be a great way for her to work the stage, strut a little, and win some people’s votes. I think she is in a dangerous position because she’s remaining static. She hasn’t given me the type of consistency that I want to see- the consistency that is needed to pull away from the middle of the pack and actually be a contender. She has not improved anything in how she sings or performs, so she isn’t proving to people that she DESERVES to be the American Idol. Simon is right, she is the girl’s only hope, but at the rate she is going, her only hope status isn’t good enough to challenge the current front runners. She needs to start picking up some steam here, and quick.

Matt Giraud - Earth, Wind & Fire “Let's Groove”

This song reminds me a lot of “Part-Time Lover” in how I envision Matt performing it. If Matt has been taking notes on his performances, he should realize that people are not really digging the whole Billy Joel- Piano Man act. That worked ok for Scott, but Matt has more to offer than just that. People like when he does songs with a driving, catchy melody, sings them with plenty riffs, and performs them with a swagger. He would be able to do that with “Let’s Groove.” After being saved by the judges this past week, I expect that Matt’s fans will come through to keep him in the competition for a little while longer, but again, he faces the middle-of-the-pack dilemma and needs to do something to show that he deserves to be there.

Anoop Desai - Earth, Wind & Fire & The Emotions “Boogie Wonderland” or Andy Gibb “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”

I’m really grasping at straws for Anoop this week. Of all the contestants, I feel like he might have the hardest time finding a suiting song for his voice. Earth, Wind & Fire has several songs that he MIGHT be able to pull off, like “Boogie Wonderland” or even “September.” The problem he faces here is that this is DISCO week. There were not many ballads written in this musical era. What is good though, is that he should be able to find a song where he can’t strut as much as he would normally do on a fast song. He might be able to give an entertaining performance that will not come off as over-pretentious and forced. All this is nigh though, for Anoop does not have that great of a shot of lasting past this week. Two people are going home, and as a consistent resident of the bottom 3, I think his time has finally come.

Lil Rounds - Chaka Khan “I'm Every Woman” or Donna Summer “Hot Stuff”

What’s funny is that I have the exact opposite problem for Lil that I had for Anoop. There are SO many songs that Lil could sing this week. If she can sing like she’s capable of singing, then I think that she has the ability to do very well. “I’m Every Woman” or “Hot Stuff” are my two picks for her. Chaka Khan and Donna Summer both have similar voices to Lil, and while she runs the risk of the “copycat” remarks, I feel like the biggest thing for Lil to worry about is getting a song that she can sound good on and try and convince America to keep her on the show. These two songs are very popular and could help her in that fight. “Best of My Love” by The Emotions and “Last Dance” by Donna Summer are also possibilities. “Last Dance” would allow her to do a ballad-esque into that leads into a high energy, up tempo chorus. This would also be a good way to broadcast her dynamic range. I called that Lil was going home this week, but there is a slight chance that she can sway people to vote for her again. She just needs to ball it out.

Group Song - Sister Sledge “We Are Family”

With all of the talk about how close this group is this season, I don’t see how they can’t do this song, complete with cheesy hugs and inside jokes overflowing from the performance.

A few more things to address:

There were so many songs that made me laugh when I pictured Adam singing them. “It’s Raining Men,” “Dancing Queen,” “I Love the Nightlife,” etc. etc. Haha.
Megan Joy would have sang “Fly, Robin, Fly” by Silver Connection. CAW! CAW!
John Travolta is the rumored mentor this week. I’m not sure what he can possibly do to help them sing, but maybe he can show them some Saturday Night Fever moves…hmmmm.

There you have it my little disco dancers, my predictions for this week’s sure-to-be-interesting performance episode of Idol. You know the deal, leave your comments after the beep.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Something To Hold You Over...

2009-04-20T10:37:00.004-04:00

Allison has short jokes on Kris...hahaha
Idols2 Extra
Uploaded by krunkyou

Top 7: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2009-04-17T12:40:00.005-04:00

Well, there probably isn't much to spoil, seeing as I was unable to get up here yesterday to make this post. That is my bad, folks. It has been a crazy week, so finding the time to compose a meaningful entry has been hard. No worries though! I'm here to give you some of my thoughts from Wednesday night's Elimination episode.

1. Part of me really likes the Tarantino "trailer" that they made with the recaps from the performance night. It was sort of cool. I've decided that I think Tarantino is a bit crazy...and I like that. His personality is over the top, but he is hilarious. He reminds me of Conan O'Brien for some reason. I think I would enjoy working with him had I been one of the contestants.

2. It always sort of freaks me out when Ryan awkwardly touches all of the male contestants (I guess he can't be sued for sexual harassment?). But when Simon joins in on the awkwardness by winking at Ryan, I get freaked out more. Maybe it is a British thing. Maybe winking at other guys doesn't mean anything homosexual there, sort of like walking arm-in-arm with another guy is considered normal in Turkey.

3. The Ford commercial this week is OK I guess, for their standards. Matt G. seems to be the star of this commercial. He gets lots of screen-time (foreshadowing anyone?!). The put each singer on a magazine cover that stereotypes them and their style. I want to know what happened to Ford? I guess the recession is taking it's toll on their advertising budget, but I liked it better when they had cool commercials like this from last year.

4. WHAT?! They are going to sing "Maniac!" for the group song. If you were like me, you were thinking to yourself "This has disaster written all over it." I was happy to be wrong! They actually did VERY well on this number. Allison getting Simon's attention was funny to me, and Matt G. was featured as the sole chorus singer (foreshadowing anyone?!)...and tore it up! I bet he is wishing that he had been allowed to sing that for his performance, rather than that slow, sloppy mess he did the other night. Best group performance of the year, easily.

5. I died laughing when Ryan was talking to Anoop. He tried to extend the drama by asking Anoop questions about him being in last weeks bottom 3 to make him nervous, and Anoop just said "Come on, Ryan." You could tell that Ryan got PISSED and was like "B****, you're in the bottom 3, now get your @$$ over there." That is paraphrased of course, but it was funny. Contestants. Don't snap at Ryan. Ryan is gangsta and will play your face on national television.

6. Jennifer Hudson performed and easily showed that Lil wouldn't have even been an afterthought in this competition had she been on this season. The song wasn't that great, and the sound guy was screwing up like crazy, but she showed that even on a less-than-stellar performance, she could out sing at least 5 of the contestants left on the show.

7. It's between Danny, Kris, Lil, and Matt as to who are going to be the final 2 in the bottom 3. Really, Idol? Could you have made it any LESS suspenseful? Clearly, it's Matt and Lil...two personalities that crumble to pieces when they hear bad news. Again, Lil looks like she wants to run Simon over with a dump truck, and Matt looks like he's about to break into tears. But hey, let's listen to something that will put everyone to tears...and not in a good way.

8. I don't understand why Miley Cyrus is famous. Her performance of "The Climb" was terrible. I mean, who headbangs to a ballad?! If she can sell a million records, I don't know why anyone can't. It's talent-less hacks like this that make me despise the modern music industry. There penchant for selling out for commercial success with sex rather than promoting artistic integrity is disgusting. Kudos to the bands/artists that are still out there making real music and showing true artistry. End rant.

9. Surprisingly, Anoop is the leading vote getter of the bottom 3 and it's down to Matt and Lil again. Lil gets the safety nod, and Matt is left to sing his song to try and earn the Judges Save. With how the show has been going, didn't you SEE this coming?! He sings the song better and the judges decide to save him, much to Simon's apparent dislike. CALLED IT! Now, two people are going to go home next week, and with Matt getting a surge like this, I don't know how it won't be Lil and Anoop going home next week. You heard it here, folks, before any songs have even been sung!

That wraps up my synopsis of the results show. Look forward to some DRAMA next week as the contestants all try and prove that they are top 5 material, not just top 6! Disco week is going to be rough on this group, but hey, at least it's a more specific genre right?! Maybe I'll get some right this time!

Also, I forgot to put my power rankings up on the last post, so here they are:

1. (1) Adam Lambert
2. (2) Danny Gokey
2. (3) Kris Allen
4. (3) Allison Iraheta
5. (5) Matt Giraud
6. (6) Anoop Desai
7. (7) Lil Rounds

Only one change in rank this week, and it's sorta drastic! Kris Allen has now pulled past Allison and is running neck-and-neck with Danny Gokey. Do you think that is crazy, or is that a good assessment? Let me know.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

P.S. Britney Spears is starting to reveal her whoredom to the world (as if she hadn't already done that enough). Some people might know this already, but people around NC do not. I figured out last night that her new song, titled "If You Seek Amy" is a phonetic play on words. Sound out words slowly and figure out which naughty word she is trying to spell. Hint: If = F and the "my" in "Amy" = Me. I can't tell you what it really says due to the international nature of this blog. We try to keep it family friendly here, folks.

Lyric that now makes sense: "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to 'if you seek Amy'." WOW.

Top 7: Performance Results

2009-04-15T13:39:00.003-04:00

Welcome back all you junkies. “Songs from Cinema” week turned out to be surprisingly good! This might have been one of the best weeks that we’ve had in a long time. No one was terrible and there were a few great performances. The competition is getting pretty stiff right now, with 7 contestants that deserve to be there. This is my first nil week since I’ve started the blog, but I sort of expected that. When you are given a theme as broad as “Songs from Cinema,” you literally have thousands upon thousands of songs that can be used. Overall, I thought the singers picked good songs for themselves. How did they SING those songs, however, is the question. Let’s see how they did.

Allison Iraheta - Aerosmith "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" (Armageddon)

I like Allison as much as the judges do, but I honestly didn’t hear what they were hearing. They were praising her way more than they should have. The intro was too subdued for too long. She should have taken a listen to David Cooks version and done the strings in a similar fashion so that the song wouldn’t lose energy from the get-go. The tessitura sat just a smidge too low for her, so the verses came out very muffled with no power or support. And the tone that I love from her simply wasn’t there for most of the song. She didn’t completely botch the song by any means, but she didn’t do herself any favors by doing this choice. It was mediocre for the standards she has set for herself. Mediocre performances are the ones you have to worry about, because fans vote in droves for great performances or awful performances where they are trying to save their Idol. If trends continue like they have, as a seemingly bi-weekly choice for the bottom 3, Allison has to be a little worried this week.

Anoop Desai - Bryan Adams "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

This song was a very good choice for Anoop, surprisingly. When I heard he chose this, I immediately thought disaster. But he worked it! Vocally, this was Anoop’s best performance yet. I was listening very hard, and if there were missed notes, I missed them. I think the soul that he added to the song fit it extremely well and he made it pretty current. Some passion was thrown in there too to top it all off. The only critique I have for him is to STOP WEARING COATS! It’s crazy that every night, he has on some different type of outerwear that he must have gotten at the “God-Awful, Ridiculously Ugly Jacket Store.” It makes you get nasty lip sweat, Anoop. Ditch the coats, you are in LA. All that being said, I’m not sure if it was quite the performance to save him from the bottom 3. He’s been there so often, that one has to assume that his fan base is just not large enough to pull him much further.

Adam Lambert – Steppenwolf “Born To Be Wild” (Easy Rider)

So, apparently people are thinking that I am too pro-Adam on this blog. It’s true, he’s the guy I’m pulling for, but I remain objectively critical on his performances. I point out places where he falters, and places where he shines, he just does more of the latter. The reason it sounds like I’m putting him on such a high pedestal compared to everyone else is simple- he IS on a higher pedestal. He is in a different league than the others. He’s consistent every week, to the point where you don’t even remember less than perfect notes. Even if I absolutely detested the guy, I couldn’t deny that his talent is greater than any of the other contestants and his ability to perform is something Idol has never seen. Did you see how he worked the stage last night?! You have to admit that it was entertaining. I still hold strong that I would have rather heard him sing “Eye of the Tiger,” but this performance allowed him to let out his inner divo that has been pushed aside the last two weeks. The chorus was a little shaky, due to the intense head banging from Adam, the band, and the backup singers, but other than that it was solid. I won’t go into how baller the end was.

Matt Giraud – Bryan Adams “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” (Don Juan DeMarco)

Hmmmm. The comment that Simon gave Anoop last week about being a “Yo-Yo” performer can be aptly applied to Matt as well. He had a great week with “Part-Time Lover,” but then went to this song and I’m not sure why. He was pitchy the entire song, he had a TERRIBLE break in his voice, the bridge was horrendous, and his falsetto was just not clicking with him tonight (but I’ve always that it was suspect anyway). It’s a great song, but he had to sing it like Daughtry did. And he didn’t. I flip-flop with how I view Matt, and I feel like the majority of America does as well. You can tell that he does not know how to take negative (but constructive) criticism by his facial expressions, and after his near-tear-fest last night, I think he is worried that he is going to be in the bottom 3. I think he’s right.

Danny Gokey – Lionel Richie “Endless Love” (Endless Love)

The bullet proof armor that Danny once donned seems to be cracking, even if it is only slightly. Tonight was one of the first times that I can recall one of the judges actually critiquing him, not just patting him on the back on a job well done. The arrangement was not as good as it could have been. The harp was cool, but I don’t think it complemented his voice at all. When you have a rich, soulful voice, a harp is not really the instrument to pair it with. He was much pitchier than usual on the second half of the first verse, which surprised me. He got back on track and delivered the great vocals that we’ve heard from him, that is, until the falsetto note at the end. He also, for the second time, chose to ignore the advice of the mentor to not use his hands. It was pretty distracting, but I know once you get in the moment, old habits tend to resurface without you being able to control it. So I’m not faulting him too much here. For any of the other contestants, these little blips might not be as evident, but when a front-runner stumbles, people take notice. It’s definitely nothing to be worried about, but he might want to fix that crack real soon if he wants to make it to the finals. Because there is another contestant on his heels…

Kris Allen – Glen Hansard “Falling Slowly” (Once)

…and it’s Kris Allen. To me, this was borderline the best I’ve heard from Kris. The beginning was not as great as it could have been, since he didn’t support his low notes with his diaphragm, but it was still good because it set the emotion. It is a beautiful song that allowed him to just go out there and sing- no distractions to take away from his voice. The chorus was great, his tone was very nice, and he showed Matt how falsetto should be sung. After listening to the original, however, I wish that he would have sung the major seventh on the word “time.” He went the easier route, but to most people, it wasn’t an obvious change. I think this was the best performance of the night, not because it was the best vocally (because it wasn’t), but because of the heartfelt passion that he poured into it.

Lil Rounds – Bette Middler “The Rose” (The Rose)

Was this the right song for Lil to sing? No. Did she do better than previous weeks? Unquestionably. Lil seriously has an issue with song selection. I don’t know how many times the judges can beat her over the head until she realizes that she needs to stop singing dumb mess. There were a few issues I had with this performance. I did not like the straight-laced beginning. We all know Lil doesn’t sing like that, so why is she trying to now? The switch to the Gospel feel was ABRUPT! It felt like there was no crescendo or transition at all. I liked how she sang the Gospel section and wish that she would have sung the entire song like that. Pitch was still a concern for her (as always) but not to the extent that it has been in the past. I’ve noticed something lately. Her vibrato settles in a funny place within the note. It makes the note sound sharp, though it’s in pitch. I’m not even sure if that makes sense, but that’s what I heard. I’m not sure where to place Lil in the pack right now. It should be interesting tonight.

That was an entertaining show. My top picks for tonight are Kris and Adam. No one else met the mark that they did. Danny is obviously safe, but who of the remaining 4 should be placed in the bottom 3? I’m going to say that the bottom three will be Matt, Allison, and Anoop. I wanted to put Lil in the bottom three, because I believe she deserves it moreso than Allison, but I think with her being safe for so long up to this point, and her beating Anoop in votes last week, she has a broader fan base than I initially thought and they will be pulling for her by voting a ton. The other three have all seen the bottom 3 before, with Allison being the only one to have not seen the bottom 2. I think it comes down to Matt and Anoop, with Matt receiving the lowest number of votes. I think the judges like him enough that they will implement the Judges Save. Honestly, I think no matter who goes, they will use it this week, so look forward to a crazy episode next week!

On a side note, I still find it amazing how they managed to cut one performer and half of the judges’ comments from last week and STILL ran over! These producers need to get on the ball.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 7: Song Predictions- Songs from Cinema

2009-04-14T11:27:00.004-04:00

It is “Songs from Cinema” week in Idol-land, and I’m extremely excited about it. As most of you know, I have a borderline obsession with movies, so the music in movies is equally important to me. It was hard to pick just 2-3 songs for everyone because I love SO many songs used in cinema. It is practically a wide open show tonight, because the theme is so broad. On weeks like this, I never expect to get many picks right. But, I still enjoy a good challenge! Here goes nothing…

Adam Lambert- Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” (Rocky) or The Bee Gees “Staying Alive” (Saturday Night Fever) or Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” (The Dead Pool/Death Race)

I know I picked “Eye of the Tiger” for Adam last week, but I REALLY want to hear him sing it. He would absolutely kill it. It’s one of the most popular songs from one of the biggest movie franchises ever. It seems like it would be a no-brainer, but he has dodged my advice up to this point and has still done very well. If anyone were to try “Staying Alive,” it would be Adam. Again, he’s the only one in the competition who could hit the notes, it has plenty of attitude, and he could express himself in it. The only problem is the line “I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk.” That could be a conflict of interests with his personal preference. I’ve said before that I think he would smash “Welcome to the Jungle” as well, but I’d rather hear one of the first two songs more. He’s gone mellow the past two weeks, so expect him to liven it up a bit. Hollywood and acting are his bag, so expect him to do well…again.

Danny Gokey- Aerosmith “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Armageddon) or Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” (City of Angels)

I bet Danny is wishing that he saved Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” for tonight! I really wanted to pick “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” for Adam, but there are just too many songs out there that he would sound good on, so I gave it to Danny. He won’t be able to hit all the notes that Steven Tyler can, but I think that he could do a serviceable job with this song. Especially with some heavy strings (you know I love them). “Iris” would also be a good choice. Musically, it is one of my favorite songs. The way the song crescendos into the instrumental section is phenomenal. It’s not crazy out of his range and he can put some passion into it. He needs to step it up, because Adam is beating him week in and week out right now. He needs to get people’s interest in him up again.

Kris Allen- Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) or Ewan McGregor “Come What May” (Moulin Rouge!) or "When You Wish Upon A Star" (Pinocchio)

So, part of me hopes that Kris doesn’t do Bryan Adams, but part of me hopes that he does. It’s terribly cliché for a guitar player to do this song, but he would sound very good on it, especially if he added a pop spin to it with the vocals. I think he will tone it down a little this week after poor feedback from the judges the last-go-round. I would personally like to hear him sing “Come What May.” This is one of my favorite songs from a movie, and it’d be one that I’d DEFINITELY want to sing if I were on the show. This would be an opportunity for Kris to showcase more than just the pop side of his voice, but open it up to reveal a richer, more haunting side, if he has it. Click on the song title above to see the video. Last minute add was the Pinocchio song. I think he could do an awesome SOLELY acoustic version of that song.

Allison Iraheta- Evanescence “Bring Me to Life” (Daredevil) or Bette Midler “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Beaches)

For some reason, I can hear Allison singing “Bring Me to Life”…and singing it well! That would be no easy task, but I think her rock edge would sound really good on it. She has a big enough voice to sing Amy Lee, but it would sound so original that the judges would not get caught up on the “karaoke” train they get on so much. I wanted to hear Allison tone it down a bit, and she did last week, but only a bit. I would love to here her back off even further and sing “Wind Beneath My Wings.” We all now that she can sing rock. But can she sing anything else? Her voice would sound great on this and I think she would have an idol moment. I doubt, however, that she is mature enough to pick this song. She needs to do well this week to show that she is capable of being a rival to the crown.

Matt Giraud- Elton John “Tiny Dancer” (Almost Famous) or Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Old Time Rock and Roll” (Risky Business)

Both of these songs are piano driven. Both are extremely popular. Both are very good for Matt to sing. They are not bluesy, R&B songs, but I still think he could do well singing either. The judges seem to want to put him in a box with his style, but I think he should branch out and show all aspects of his artistry. I liked “You Found Me” better than most did, but I liked the fact that he didn’t try to oversell his runs on the audience. I think he should do that again. “Tiny Dancer” would allow him to use the falsetto that the judges keep asking him to bring, and “Old Time” would allow him to have some crazy fun on the piano. I’m sure both of these songs are popular picks at the Piano Bar, so he should be fine.

Lil Rounds- Whiney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (The Bodyguard) or Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (The Replacements) or Mary J. Blige “Not Gon Cry” (Waiting to Exhale)

I really have no idea what to expect from Lil this week. The judges have suggested Whitney before. They INCESSENTLY suggest Mary J. Will she finally follow their advice? I think it’d be wise for her to. I’d rather hear the latter two songs than Whitney. All that will happen there is that she will be called a second rate Whitney, which is true. She can’t sing that song like Leona Lewis did here. I can hear her singing “I Will Survive” and doing it well, but I think Mary J. is the way to go here. It’s more modern, and she can show her relevancy. I still don’t think that she’s an artist, but she better try to be one this week or she’ll be in the bottom 2.

Anoop Desai- Boyz II Men “A Song for Mama” (Soul Food) or R. Kelly “I Believe I Can Fly” (Space Jam) or Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (Ghost)

Anoop is going to stay with the slow songs for the rest of the time he’s on the show, which might not be too much longer. He doesn’t have the chops to really pull off a fast one, so he needs to pluck the heart strings a little. We know he loves Boyz II Men, so I expect him to pull that out this week. This would also have all of the sentimental types dialing in his number, since everyone loves their Mama, right?! I feel like R. Kelly is just a TAD too cheesy, but it would fit with his range and he can show off his runs. I am really hoping he doesn’t do “Unchained Melody,” because that is MY song, and I would want to sing that on the show. I would be severely disappointed if he chose this one, but I can definitely hear him sounding decent on it.

Group Song- Rent “Seasons of Love” (RENT)

There you have it, folks. My predictions for “Songs of Cinema” week. This might have been harder than last week’s “Year They Were Born,” seeing as there are SO many good songs that have been featured in SO many movies. Hopefully, I’ll get one right so this wasn’t a complete waste of time!

How are you all feeling about the show right now? Is it turning out to be a good season, in your opinion? Or do you feel like contestants from seasons past would wipe the floor with most of the singers this year? Let me know!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

7 in Heaven: Elimination Results (SPOILER ALERT!)

2009-04-09T08:46:00.009-04:00

The judges save is still in play people! Last night we saw our elite 8 trimmed down to 7. This begs one to ask whether the save will be used in the two coming weeks, since it is unable to be used after the top 5. Let's see what shook down on last night's episode.

1) Frankie Avalon?! Really?! That is a random way to poke fun at how old Simon is. But effective. I felt old watching him sing, so I'm sure Simon felt like he was one foot in the grave. P.S. Frankie Avalon would have been in our Elite 8 if he competed this season. Sure he doesn't have dynamics, but you have to admit, he's got a great old-school voice. Much better than Scott's, anyway.

2) The group song is Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head." We now see why the producers make them lip-sync most of the time. Last night they actually performed live and it was AWFUL! Lil was flat the entire song, the choreography was lame, and every single one of the contestants had a "WTF are we doing this song for?" look on their face. I had the same look. Apparently, they sang this song because it was a song from 2002, the year of American Idol's birth. Aww, precious. Not really. Cheesy.

3) The behind-the-scenes clip for the Ford Commercial Video was actually pretty good. The contestants seemed to enjoy all of the costumes and make-up. Everyone except Anoop that is (surprise, surprise). I can't blame him though. I'd be pissed too if I was the only Indian person on the show and they made me the valet. THAT'S RACIST! You know Adam was loving it. He probably used his own make-up kit. When I was watching it, I thought "Wow, this commercial might turn out to be a good one for a change." Once they started playing it, though, I remembered that Ford was lame and couldn't pull it off. They sang the least energetic version of Britney Spears' "Circus" that I've ever heard (granted that's only the second version besides the original that I've heard). They needed some bass and some strobe lights. That would have made it better. OK, I'm going stop critiquing Shane Drake's failed attempt at a decent commercial.

4) After the Ford commercial, Ryan talks to Adam about his performance the night before. Since the Idol Producers are incompetent, the performance show ran 10 minutes over and a great many people missed Adam's version of "Mad World," which merited a standing ovation from Simon- the first in the shows history. If you missed it, you should check it out (sorry it's backwards, but this was the best version I could find).

5) It's about time to see who America has put in there bottom 3. Adam, Kris, and Anoop are asked to stand. Adam is a no brainer. Safe. Seacrest adds some of his corny suspense and it is revealed that Anoop is in the bottom 3, even after a decent week from him and an off week for Kris. The power of the teeny-boppers, people. But I still feel like this is the right call.

6) It's hard for me to wrap my mind around who thought it would be a good idea for a family television show to have Flo-Rida come and sing his new hit that is not even trying to hide the fact that he is talking about oral sex. This again makes me hate modern music. Gone are they days when rappers, you know, rapped about real issues, or singers sang songs that would help inspire the world. Now it's all about sex and money and it's all fodder. End rant.

7) Back to the results. Scott is obviously the worst of the 5 remaining (Danny, Lil, Allison, and Matt), so he goes over. Then Ryan tries his tomfoolery again and reveals that Lil is in the bottom for the first time. Now that the 3 stools are filled, time for another performance!

8) Kelly Pickler is out singing on the Idol stage again. As a season 5 Alumni, you'd think by now, after a record deal and a few hit songs, she'd be able to perform. False. She stunk then, she stinks now. She would not be in our Elite 8 this year. The contestants are thinking to themselves "Hey, if she can do it, so can I, right?!" She does have the look though.

9) As Lil is sent back to the safety of the couches, it's now down to Anoop and Scott, with only 30,000 votes separating them. That's not much in the grand scheme of 34 million votes. As predicted here, Scott was the Idol-wannabe that was sent home. He was in no position to stay on the show any longer. It's actually quite a feat that he lasted this long. Anoop has survived to sing another day, but one has to expect that his time is coming soon. He is almost in my "can not win this competition" bag. He and Lil have to both do something spectacular in the next two weeks, and hope that another of their fellow contestants stumbles. If not, it is hard to not see them being the next two to go.

There you have it, folks. Did America get it right? Were there any die-hard Scott fans out there that need to let out some rage? Go ahead and let me know.

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy

Top 8: Performance Results

2009-04-08T08:18:00.007-04:00

Another week of performances have been sung, and now it's time to lash into them with my critiques. A reminder, the theme was "Year They Were Born." Did your Idol-hopeful do well according to my harsh standards? Did I get any of my predictions right? Let's find out!

Danny Gokey - Mickey Gilley "Stand By Me"

Call me crazy, but I'm going to disagree with the judges. I did not like this performance at all. Now, it is no secret that I am not particularly fond of Danny, but I do recognize his ability to sing and give him kudos when he earns them. This week, he did not earn my kudos. Here are the problems I had with this song. 1) I absolutely hated the arrangement. "Stand By Me" has one of the most recognizable bass melodies ever written, and to not pay at least SOME homage to that was a poor mistake. If you are going to re-stylize a classic song in an attempt to make it "your own", you better make sure it's great. 2) I was not impressed by his vocals. The beginning was incredibly nasally and too straight-laced for this type of song. Once the Bridge kicked in, he sort of found his stride, but that was 3/4 of the way into the song- too late in a performance to win my approval back. The rest was just not that good, for his standards. Is it just me or is the Danny Train slowing down? Do you think the likes of a Kris Allen or Allison Iraheta can pass him? I want to know what you think.

Kris Allen - Don Henley "All She Wants To Do Is Dance"

DING DING! Correct pick! Now, when I pick a song for one of the contestants, I factor in several variables, such as what would sound good with their voice, what would relate well to the audience, what would be memorable, and in my head, I have an idea of how they SHOULD perform the song. These are just a few of the main issues I address. That being said, Kris did not perform the song how I envisioned he would or should have. Sometimes, the contestants get busy and forget to read all of the blog to see what they should do, and that is on them. I'm throwing the alley-oop and it's up to them to convert the dunk. His performance was not TERRIBLE I suppose, but it was not good either. His decision to bring out the guitar again was not the best. Again, you couldn't really hear it that well and he seemed way too preoccupied with playing it rather than singing. His singing in a crowd of girls was even worse. He is, what, 5'6"? He got swallowed up by the sea of people and looked like part of the crowd, not one performing for the crowd. I do agree with Kara here. It was like he was doing some song for Jazz homework, and let the song lead him rather than the other way around. That is not what the show is about. It will be interesting to see how the fans react this week, since I previously predicted that he would not be able to give a less-than-stellar performance and not feel the effects in one way or another.

Lil Rounds - Tina Turner "What's Love Got To Do With It"

DING DING! Correct pick! Another point to add to the rant above- it is not my fault if the contestant doesn't perform a song as well as they are capable of doing. This is the case for Lil. No matter what the judges said, this was the right song for her to sing. She, however, did not deliver on the performance. She is in a vicious cycle right now where she got reamed by the judges, then that affected her next performance, which caused her to get reamed again, which affected the next performance, so forth and so on. You could hear the nerves in her voice. Her pitch was always slightly off, she shouted the choruses, the last note was terrible, etc. I just can't pull for her anymore until she shows me something b-rilliant. She claims to be an artist, but I have seen no artistry as of yet. She escaped trouble last week. I don't think she can do the same this go-round.

Anoop Desai - Cyndi Lauper "True Colors"

I should have had another DING DING here. I had this song starred on my sheet for Anoop to sing, but I didn't follow my gut. I wanted him to do this song, but figured he would choose one of the others that I had suggested. Danny negated that, so he went with the one that I should have went with. Overall, he did very well this week. He showed off his sultry voice again rather than his pompous one and apologized for being a prick last week. This probably saved himself for another week. I don't know how much longer America will put up with him though. I'm starting to get tired of the Anoop ride. Simon hit the nail on the head when he compared Anoop to a Yo-Yo. It's so true. While this performance was good, he didn't give the type of performance that would be deemed an Idol Moment, so he is still not out of the clear. Had he gotten some pimp lighting, that would have helped his cause. The pimping of the Tar Heels might be enough though! Expect his college campus/alumni to pull him through on the wake of a National Championship. GO HEELS!

Scott MacIntyre - Air Supply "The Search is Over"

"I wanted to show you my punk side." REALLY!?!? Scott, you are hopeless. Funny, but hopeless. Right now, I'm sort of wishing that Scott had been eliminated last week. Sure, Megan was not a great singer by any stretch of the imagination, but at least she was easy on the eyes and had that quirky sense of humor that only she could pull off. Scott "worked" the stage this week with a switch from piano to guitar. I'm impressed that he would take this step, but he shouldn't have. The guitar playing was lousy as was his singing. If I recall correctly, there was one part that had me curled up in a ball cringing on my sofa. There are witnesses to this. I had never heard of the song and I don't know why he didn't have someone read him my predictions for him. He would have done much better with those, but still, not enough to sway me. I'm ready for him to go home, because no matter how versatile he thinks he is, he is one of the most boring contestants we've ever seen on that stage. Votefortheworst has now embraced him as their new golden boy, so we'll see if they can pull him out of the trench, but I doubt it. Scott should easily be bottom 3 this week with a high probability of heading back to Arizona.

Allison Iraheta - Bonnie Raitt "I Can't Make You Love Me"

This is another one that I'm kicking myself over, because this song was on my starred list for Allison. Granted I can't say that this was the one that I wanted her to sing the most. I still hold that "November Rain" would have been amazing. She still did well on this song though. She really does have the most unique voice in the competition, and might be the most ready to make a successful album right now. I didn't like the runs that she put in some of her phrases, but I loved her tone. She continues to impress me, but she just needs to hit a stride and stick with it. This bouncing in and out of the bottom 3 does not bode well for her chances to win the whole shebang. She is beginning to show a little bit of the quirkiness that Megan had, but with a much better voice. I expect that she will be safe this week.

Matt Giraud - Stevie Wonder - "Part-Time Lover"

Yet another song choice that I almost picked. Part of me really felt that he was going to pick this song because it was Stevie, but part of me also thought that it wouldn't pack the bang that he needed. I think I was wrong about both of those. I think he did a good job tonight, minus that switch to falsetto that made me wince. Lots of energy, lots of charisma, and lots of fun. He did over-sing it slightly, but Stevie over-sings everything he does, so it might not have been that bad. His runs seemed a little more natural and less forced tonight as well. He had a bit of swagger to him and that is a big change from the nervous Matt we've seen lately. I'd say one of the top 3 performances of the night.

Adam Lambert - Tears for Fears "Mad World"

It's starting to get ridiculous, folks. I'm not sure I've ever seen a contestant in the history of Idol who has delivered consistently week after week like Adam has. "Mad World" is my jam and when I found out he was singing it, I was sort of excited. He didn't let his fans down. Besides that last off note that eventually found it's way back to where it was supposed to be, he was pitch perfect. I've watched the show for a while now, but I don't recall Simon ever giving a contestant a standing ovation! That was big time. Don't go crowning him the automatic Idol yet, though. I am one of those skeptics who finds it hard to believe that the early front-runner in a competition like this is the one who WILL win it. Should he win? Probably. But there have been too many "come from behind" winners in the history of this show to make me think he has it locked up. That being said, he is still the best on the show right now and is running circles around even his closest competitors at this point.

In my opinion, on a stage as big as this one, you have to go out there every week and improve on what you did the previous week. Every time you sing, there has to be that feeling of "Wow, they did even better THIS week than LAST week!" That kind of consistency and building is what can lead one to winning this show, not coming out hot and cold and the audience never knowing what to expect from you. David Cook showed this last year. He had the ability to improve upon what he had already done. Adam is the only one this season who is showing me that he can do that. Danny is sounding the same on every song and is playing this competition too safe. If he wants to beat Adam, he's going to have to get creative. Shoot, if he wants to beat Allison or Kris in the long run, he needs to do something, because I feel like people are getting tired of him and changing their votes to more interesting contenders.

As for my predictions, I got 2 right this week, but should have had 4-5...I should just follow my gut. After a week where the majority of the performers did songs that sounded like they had just practiced them for the first time 20 minutes before the show started, the bottom 3 should look like this: Scott, Lil, and (dare I say) Kris. This does not mean that Anoop or Matt are completely impervious to taking Kris' spot. They both did well this week, but their fans have shown that they can be slack about phoning in the votes before. I'd say Anoop has more to worry about than Matt because, though his performance was solid, it didn't have that quality that would make me want to vote for him over someone else. Matt's did. If Kris' growing legion of fans went at it last night, expect Anoop to swap spots with him. I don't see any way around Scott not leaving this week. He's just not up to par with anyone left, and as I've said before, he has no shot of winning this show. Adios, punk rock Scott.

And now, onto the Power Rankings (number in parenthesis is previous weeks rank):

1 (1). Adam Lambert
2 (2). Danny Gokey
3 (4). Allison Iraheta
3 (3). Kris Allen
5 (5). Matt Giraud
6 (7). Anoop Desai
7 (6). Lil Rounds
8 (8). Scott MacIntyre

A little bit of switching going on this week, with one tie! I think Kris and Allison are in a dead lock in terms of how they've performed so far on the show. Anoop and Lil is a tough call, but ultimately, Anoop has had more good moments than Lil has.

Well, that's it folks. Sorry for the length, but I hope you enjoyed it. Who do you think is going home tonight? Is America going to get it right and send Scott packing, or is something dramatic going to happen and leave us wondering "Huh?!?!" Leave your comments and opinions below and let me know what you thought of their performances!

Your American Idol Junkie,

Billy