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Diana DeGarmo in OZ

2010-01-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

You may or may not know this about me, but I was a HUGE Diana DeGarmo fan during Season 3. I'm not sure what it was about her but I was really pulling for her to win. Since her 2nd place finish to Fantasia she released her album (which I loved) and has been in various touring theatre productions, including playing Maria in West Side Story (which I saw in NorCal).

I try to keep tabs on my girl and when I saw this YouTube clip, I wanted to share it to make sure her name stays out in the universe. I'm still hoping for her to record a second album (there was a lot of speculation about her going country...) but until then, enjoy her in a new production of show called "OZ, The Musical" (not "The Wizard of Oz" or "Wicked") which is being directed by the guy who did "A Color Purple" on Broadway!

American Idol - Season 9

2010-01-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

We haven't been posting on here for a hot minute but I think I'm going to resurrect it...

For now, let me just go on the record and put my stamp of approval on JERMAINE SELLERS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1VVkB3pBk

Season 8 Approaches, Melinda Doolittle Releases A Single

2009-01-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Season 8 of American Idol is just around the corner... can you believe it? There are lots of changes (Top 50! New judge! More Hollywood Week!) but I would love this show if everything had stayed the same.

Take a listen to new Melinda Doolittle material by signing up for her mailing list. You get a free song that is NOT available on iTunes (although there is another song available there for purchase).

What do you think?

David vs. David Finale!

2008-05-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Finally! The night we've been waiting for all season, the finale! It's David vs. David. Both have strengths and both have weaknesses. I think this is going to be another Ruben vs. Clay scenario where it's going to be so close. I'm excited to see what they have to offer. They better bring it!

David C - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". AWESOME! We finally get a U2 song on Idol. I hope he rocks it! Man this is such a classic song you can't go wrong with it. He sounds great on it. I would just love to see him open up and rock out just a tad bit more, but he's totally nailing the song. It just needs a tiny bit more angst to really soar. Great job though. Grade A-

David A - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me". This one has been done on Idol before (Clay was the most memorable performance of it). I'm excited to see what he does. I like the soft beginning but I really hope that he builds on that and starts sounding a little fuller in his voice. By the chorus he's really into it. I'm really digging this. I love the changes he made towards the end. I thought this was a really good performance as well. He seemed to really be into it as well and was finally "performing" rather than just singing. I loved it! Grade A-

David C - "Dream Big". Interesting, this isn't the song I thought he'd end up singing from the Idol Songwriting contest. I do like the rock vibe that he's given it though. It's actually tolerable. He can actually make this single work for the radio. He sounds great again. It wasn't as good as the first number, but for taking an unknown song and making us listen (and enjoy it) I think he did a great job. Grade A-

David A - "In This Moment". The song pretty much sucks but his voice sounds great on it. I love the swooping from the low to high note in the chorus. There's a lot of power behind it. However, he's just singing the song again instead of performing. Hm. I was really underwhelmed with the song but he sounds great. Grade B+

I am really shocked that they're actually pimping David A. I could have sworn that the producers were rooting for David C to win it all. I think they really don't care who will win (or they changed their mind and decided to make David A be the chosen one). I'm very curious to see how the last song goes and what the judges say in the end. This night is really not going the way I thought it was going to go. It's definitely exciting.

David C - "The World I Know". Why would he choose a song he's never done before? It seems like he's trying to throw the competition. We'll see if he really changes it up and works it out or just blows it. Hm, I think he screwed himself over with his song choice. It's not really doing anything to win people over. It's just a standard rock ballad. If he did his regular emo thing that builds on itself than it would have been better. It's just kinda boring. I think it was the wrong way to end his competition. Grade B

David A - "Imagine". We've all heard this one before and know that he can rock it out. If he performs it like he did the first time then I think he'll outshine David C on this round. Awesome. He sounded great, it was so heartfelt, and it was pure and beautiful. It was awesome! Grade A

Well, that does it. It was a great showdown. I think this will go down as one of the strongest (if not THE strongest) finale. It was will definitely rival Ruben vs. Clay and will probably be better than Carrie vs. Bo. The whole night was great. My prediction is that it's going to be very, very close but the winner of American Idol 7 will be David Archuleta!

Top 4 - Rock and Roll Week

2008-05-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight will be pretty interesting because there are so many song choices for the contestants. I can't wait to see what they come up with. Let's get started.

David C - "Hungry Like a Wolf". Not the best song choice but it's definitely a rocker type song. He sounds good on it but doesn't really do anything special with it. It was just ok. Grade B.

Syesha - "Proud Mary". wow, she's correct in being nervous about this song. A lot of people have done it (and done it well). We'll see how she does. Great song though. She's dancing like Beyonce but sounds good. It's a fun performance. She's having fun with it and that makes it fun to watch. I liked it. Grade B+

Jason - "I Shot the Sheriff". I'm sure it'll be a good one for him, but I hate Bob Marley and reggae music. This is bad. He doesn't sound that great and it's a bad song. If he stays over Syesha I'll be upset. Grade D

David A - "Stand By Me". Classic standard. It'll be interesting to see what he does with it. It's a safe, karaoke performance but his voice is just so awesome that it sounds great. I love the little liberties he took on it. Grade B+

David C - "Baby O'Riley" I LOVE THIS SONG! man, if he rocks this I can see Simon saying that he just won with that song. This song is an anthem so if he rocks it everyone will get totally into it. I can't wait. I wish he didn't slow it down so much but I loved the slow crescendo. I just wish he would have actually rocked it out rather than make it an emo song. Grade A-

Syesha - "It's Been a Long Time Coming". She sounds great. Her voice is loud and clear. She's showing some great vulnerability and real emotion. She missed a couple of notes at the end but overall it was a great performance (again). Grade B+

Jason - "Mr. Tambourine Man". Well Bob Dylan is Jason's style so we'll see if does better with this one. Oh man, he forgot his words. It's over for Jason. If he makes it to next week it will be such a slap in the face. It's obvious that he's the weakest competitor left so he can't afford these types of mistakes. Grade C

David A - "Love Me Tender". This sounds like his dad picked the song. He has no idea what this song sounds like. Thankfully, he has an amazing voice. however, I hate this version of the song. It's so slow. Grade B

Jason is going home tomorrow. No ifs, ands, or buts. If anyone else goes home then it's a total slap in the face.

I hope that David C releases Baba o'Riley, Syesha releases Proud Mary, and David C releases Stand by Me as their singles this week.

Top 5 - Neil Diamond Week

2008-04-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I'm not too familiar with Neil Diamond songs so I think this will be interesting. At least it will be a good indication on how good everyone is depending on how engaged I stay with their performance.

Jason - Jason really needs to actually pay attention with what he's doing. He looks so stupid each week. He sounds ok on the song. It's nothing special but it doesn't sound bad. I feel like it's been a while since we've seen Jason play his guitar. He definitely seems more comfortable with it. Grade B

David C. - "I'm Alive". Again, it's good but not blowing me away at all. However, I can totally tell that this is a Neil Diamond song (even though I've never heard it). It was a good vocal but just an average performance. Grade B

Brooke - "I'm Believer". I feel like the key is too low for her voice. She still looks a little nervous in her eyes. Again, it's a fine performance but nothing that's really blowing me away. It's definitely better than last week's disaster. Hm, I enjoyed the ending of the song. I felt like she was finally getting into it. Grade B

David A - "Sweet Caroline". Well no one is really jumping ahead of the pack this week. Once again, it's a good vocal but average performance. It's wasn't crazy about his song choice because it's so karaoke but he was able to make it sound good. Grade B.

Syesha - "Hello Again". She looks so different with straight hair. ok, the hand waving in the mosh pit needs to stop. It looks dumb. I'm not a fan of this performance. Good vocal but really boring song and performance. Grade B-

Jason - "September Moon". Ugh. I'm totally bored. I just don't get it. Good vocal but boring performance. The ending was horrible. Jason didn't have a good night. He's just not taking the competition seriously. Grade C

David C. - I'm bored with this song as well. His voice goes a little flat on the higher notes, but his voice fits Neil Diamond songs perfectly. I guess overall it's a decent emo love song. He made it sound good, just not my favorite that he's done. Grade B+.

Brooke - "I Am....I Said". I think she's smart to show off two instruments tonight. It'll help make up for last week. She's doing alright. She's showing some good emotion on the song. Grade B.

David A. - "America". Is trying to pull a Kristy Lee with singing an America song? He has such a fantastic voice but picks crappy songs that don't really show it off. Half this performance is "they're coming to America". It's repetative and boring. I liked the ending of it. Grade B+

Syesha - "I Thank the Lord for the Nighttime". This is a cool, throw back sound. I think she sounds really good and is showing off a lot of personality on this song. She's finally becoming a true performer and I think she can stay until Top 3. Grade B+.

I find it odd that they're really trying to pigeon hole Syesha into a broadway star. And Simon just gave her the kiss of death. I definitely think she was better than Jason and Brooke (so, looking at the last couple of weeks, it means she's leaving).

My bottom 3 would be Jason, Brooke and Syesha with Jason going home. However, I don't think that's going to happen. Simon is probably right and Syesha will go home.

Top 6 - Andrew Lloyd Webber Week

2008-04-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome back reader(s?) to what is sure to a trainwreck of week this time. Andrew Lloyd Webber week. This has the potential to be the new Gloria Estefan week as all-time worst theme. ALW has some classic broadway songs but so many of them are so dated sounding. I don't think anyone will have an easy time with this one. We'll see how they do. To quote Black-Eyed Peas, "let's get it started!"

Syesha - "One Rock and Roll Too Many". This is probably the most random song we'll hear tonight. Well, right off the bat I love what she's done. It's a little theatrical, but at the same time it completely works for a concert. She's showing a lot of personality. It kinda reminds me of when Kelly Clarkson did Big Band Week. It's fun and playful, plus she sounds great. This is a great way to start the show tonight. She really performed way better than anyone thought she would. Grade A-.

Jason - "Memory". This should be very interesting. It's probably one of the most famous broadway songs ever written and Jason is not someone that you would picture singing it. Well it started out well. His phrasing is a little odd but that's ok. However, once he gets into the 2nd verse he starts to lose it. I feel like he's getting lost in the song and panicking a little. The softness of his voice does lend itself well to the song but I don't think it was a great performance. He was pretty nervous all throughout. Grade C

Brooke - "You Must Love Me". Good choice for Brooke, considering all people have to compare it against is Madonna (who isn't a strong singer either). WHOA! she stopped the orchestra. That's huge! No one has ever done it on the show and I think she just bought her ticket home. My guess is that she'll have tears in her eyes by the end of the song. Her voice actually sounds really strong on the louder parts. However, she's doing Madonna's version almost note for note (including all of the inflections). Grade C-

David A - "Think of Me". WHAT?! random song choice for him. This'll be really interesting. Wow, this arrangement is really cool. I like it a lot. It totally sounds like a pop ballad. This was awesome. Grade A.

Carly - "Jesus Christ Superstar". Finally! Carly singing broadway and rocking out! This is what everyone has been waiting for. Hopefully it's worth it. Well she's definitely having fun now. All smiles. Ok, that was fun to watch. Not as rocky as I was hoping for but I really enjoyed it. Grade A-

David C - "Music of the Night". Ok, this should be really interesting. I'm curious to see what he did with this one. Interesting, he's just doing a straight version of the song. That's actually a little unexpected. His voice does sound a little different thought. It's way more theatrical tonight and not the rock stuff that we've grown accustomed to. I didn't get the rocker note at the end but overall it was really good. Grade A-.

So this actually wasn't the trainwreck that I thought it was going to be. Actually I really enjoyed the theme this week. They all picked good songs. If I had to guess the bottom 3 I would say Syesha, Jason and Brooke. I'm picking Brooke to go home tonight.

Quick Thoughts on Top 7 - Mariah Carey Week

2008-04-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I didn't get this up last night. I was watching the show at a friend's house and didn't have access to my computer. So here are my quick thoughts about what happened...

Sad to say, no one did the gospel hand last night. I guess she didn't break down and teach them how to do it and use it effectively. Bummer.

However, I thought Mariah was good as a mentor. I thought it was cool that she actually helped them change the songs a bit to make them their own. I remember when Ace tried to do that with Queen and they all said no. So that was nice to see.

David A. was really good (although I don't really know the song). I loved his falsetto and his runs all throughout.

I thought Carly was good too, but definitely doesn't compare to Kelly (or Leona Lewis who sang it as well). She hit all the notes but there wasn't the same kind of power behind them that the other two had.

Syesha was ok. She sounded good. You knew she was the one that was going to go for the vocal gymnastics but I think people just expect that now it's not really a surprise when she does it. But it was a good performance.

Brooke was BAD. The whole thing was boring. She looked so nervous the entire time (you could totally see her shaking throughout). I hated the version she did and it kept getting faster and faster.

I actually thought Kristy Lee was really good. She's finally showing confidence and her voice is sounding stronger. I really liked what she did.

David C was ok. You totally expect him to do an emo version of every song he does so it's nothing new now. He sounded good but it was a little boring.

Jason was good too. I liked the laid back vibe he brought to the song. It definitely worked for him. Wasn't totally blown away but he's finally back in the competition.

I'm not sure who is going home tonight. It seems like the judges are setting up Carly to go. Brooke was the worst of the night so she should be the one. But the public doesn't seem to like Syesha so she could be the one. It'll be interesting to see what happens. I'm thinking it's going to be Syesha.

Top 8 - Inspirational Songs (Idol Gives Back)

2008-04-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

[ ryan ]'s Bottom Three = Michael, Syesha, Carly
Going Home = Carly
I'm sad to say that it is time for the shock elimination. Carly, though one of my favorites may be going home tomorrow night.

Michael - "Dream On". I don't know if this is really inspirational but this could be a good song choice for him. Although it does go very high near the end so we'll see how he does. So far he sounds good. Let's see what happens once he breaks into the chorus. Well he seemed to handle the high notes pretty well. It was a little scratchy in his voice but it worked. I thought it was alright. Grade B.
Wow, it sounds like the judges are gonna be harsh tonight. I can't believe Randy went off on him like that.

Syesha - "I Believe". Oh, HELL-TO-THE-MOTHER-F---ING-NO! What is Syesha thinking? You don't touch another Idol's song unless you can clearly outsing them (especially when it's their coronation song). LaKisha tried this last year and got slammed by the judged for singing Fantasia's song. LaKisha is a better singer than Syesha so that doesn't leave a lot of hope for her. What was she thinking? Well, let's see how she does. Ok, so far it's actually pretty good. I'm surprised. Ok, I take it back, she's actually better than LaKisha on this. She actually reminds me more of when Diana sang it than when Fantasia sang. Nice high note! It added something a little different and made it her own. You know, I actually liked it. WHAT?! Grade B+.
Again, Randy is not happy and really going at the contestants today.

Jason - "Over the Rainbow". Perfect rendition of this song for his voice and style. He's finally starting to show some emotion when he sings. He's really taking the competition seriously now and showing off all that he can do. This was a great performance from him and really showed who he is as a performer. He just jumped back into a front-runner. I really liked it. Grade A-

Kristy - "Anyways" This could be good. I like this Martina song, but it could also be really bad because Martina has such a big voice. We'll see what happens. Wow, her intro shows how defeated she is already. She knows she's going home any time now. She's a little pitchy in the chorus but she's showing some good emotion throughout the performance. She's actually pretty pitchy throughout the 2nd verse too. Hm, she seems to have brought it home at the end but it was a shaky performance throughout. Grade C+

David C. - "Innocent". Never heard this song so not sure what to expect (other than it's a rocking song since David is singing it). What is this?! I'm failing to see what's inspirational about this and he sounds horrible! Wow this is a mess. His voice is all over the place. He thinks he sounds better than he really does. Ugh! I hate that smug ending. This was the worst performance of the night. Grade D

Carly - "Show Must Go On". I love this song! It's my favorite Queen song so I'm hoping that Carly really rocks it out and bring it on this song. It was great until she started doing her own thing. She doesn't really know how to adlib very well because her songs tend to turn sour everytime she does. The end of this was really bad, I like didn't what she did to that at all. Grade C+

David A. - "Angels". I'm very curious to see if he's doing the Robbie Williams or Jessica Simpson version, but I'm really excited to see what he does with it because I love this song and I think his voice will lend itself perfectly to it. Playing the piano again, smart. Very nice. I love the power on the chorus. It adds to the emotional levels of the song. Unlike Carly, he knows to switch up the ending of a song with runs and make it work. I thought that was great. The best of the night! Grade A

Brooke - "You Got a Friend". Carole King. Perfect sound for Brooke. We'll see how she does. Eh. So far it's all middle of the road for me. Not good, not bad, just there. She sounds fine but there's nothing special about it. I'm surprised this is the performance that's closing the show. It's pretty boring. Grade. B-

Tonight is very interesting because 3 of the top performers actually did the worst. If I was grading the bottom 3 based solely on tonight I would put Carly, David C, and Kristy Lee on the bottom.

I think, based on the entire season the bottom 3 will be Syesha (cuz she sang Fantasia), Kristy (cuz she's been in the bottom so many times before and wasn't all that great tonight), and Brooke (cuz it was really boring). I have no idea who is going home tomorrow.

Idol Thoughts

2008-04-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

As we head into Idol Gives Back tonight and look forward to the final few weeks of Idol this season I want to take some time to quickly assess who we have left and how I feel about this season.

First, there is still no clear front runner this season. Also, this is probably the first season where the front runner has changed from week to week. Before the season even started everyone was claiming that Carly was going to be the one to beat. Then in Hollywood Week David A. and Michael had some fantastic clips that were shown on TV and suddenly they became the ones to watch out for. When the Top 24 first sang, Jason Castro came out of nowhere to claim the #2 status and launched himself into front runner status. Then in Top 20 week, David A. sang "Imagine" and claimed the sole spot as the person to beat. In the Top 16 David C. blew everyone away with his rendition of "Hello" and suddenly he became someone to keep an eye on. Jason sang "Hallelujah" and went from dark horse to lead stallion. Meanwhile, David H. was very quickly improving and starting to show that he could make it inot the Top 5. Brooke had two great performances and was suddenly on everyone's radar as a contender as well. Carly was still in the mix but was losing ground and Michael had yet to live up the potential he showed in Hollywood Week.

As we headed into the Top 12 all eyes were on David A., David C., Carly, Jason and Michael. Suddenly David A. faltered by forgetting his lyrics and having a sub-par performance. David C. performed well, as did Carly and Jason. Michael was very quickly losing ground. Out of nowhere, Chikezie had an amazing performance that blew everyone away and suddenly he came became someone to keep an eye on. Inexplicably, we lost David H. that week (who had one of the better voices in the competition) and that just showed how talented this season is.

Top 11 came around and David A. had a better week but it still wasn't living up to the potential he showed during the semi-finals. Everyone was starting to question if he peaked too soon. David C. was quickly forging himself into the new front runner. Jason suddenly stumbled and people finally started realizing that he's very limited as a vocalist. Carly stumbled as well. In fact, just about everyone stumbled this week.

During Top 10 David A. fell even further by picking a song that didn't fit him at all (or did he? The rumor is that his dad picked the song for him). By now everyone is wondering whether David will make it to the end or not. David C. pulled out "Billie Jean" and blew the competition away again. At this point, David C. is the person to beat. Carly came back as well. Michael finally lived up to his hype/potential with his Queen tribute and threw his name into the front-runner hat. Brooke and Jason also had good weeks, keeping them on the list as well.

Top 9 saw the return of David A., whose performance of "Smoky Mountain Memories" quickly launched him back to the front of the pack. David C. had an ok performance but was passed up by Carly and Michael. Brooke and Jason had decent performances.

So there you have it. In my opinion there are 6 people that are jockeying for the #1 position. From week to week the lead changes. All 6 are very talented, but what's great about it is that they're all so different. We have two "Coffeehouse Idols" (Brooke and Jason), two rockers (David C. and Michael) and two straight out singers (David A. and Carly). It's anyone's game right now. Here is the order I think they'll end up in.

David A. - he has such a mature voice for someone his age. He's been performing for so long that he's a pro at it now. However, he's really only shined on ballads. Is he more of a balladeer than a versatile singer? When he's sung faster songs he's shown that he has some breathing issues and can't sustain the notes throughout a phrase. He also has problems hitting some of the lower notes in songs (for examples of both, listing to "Shop Around" from Top 24). He'll need to show that he can tackle a fast song (and sing it well) in order to win.

David C. - he has shown that he's a master at picking the right song for him. He has gotten creative with his choices so it leaves the audience surprised. However, now everyone has caught onto the fact that he looks for obscure covers from alternative bands. If that's the case, are we really going to be blown away each week? That doesn't show as much versatility as we'd like to see. Chris Daughtry played it better by switching up the obscure covers (Ring of Fire) with the straight up renditions (Wonderful World). You have to keep everyone guessing.

Carly - she is a fantastic vocalist; probably the most pure voice in the competition. In order to win, she needs to start looking like she's enjoying what she's doing. Right now, she looks like she is desperate and that's turning people off. She needs to not talk about how much she wants it and just focus on how fun it is to perform and be on stage.

Michael - now that he is starting to live up to his potential he needs to really focus on his song selections because I'm afraid that one wrong move and he'll tumble back down the ladder. It took so long for him to finally have the performance that everyone was waiting for that we're afraid he'll never get back to that status if he falters. David C. seems to have stolen the rocker status away from him so he really needs to stay focused and win it back in order to win it all.

Brooke - is so different because she takes the quiet approach to all of her songs. She likes to strip everything down and really focus on the emotion behind everything. While this is her positive, I also think it's going to be her downfall. Once we get to the top 6 or so, it's going to be the "loud" singers vs. Brooke's sunny side. I don't think she'll win that battle. If she wants to win then she's going to have to step out of her box a little and perform in a way that no one will expect. Unfortunately, I don't think her voice will lend her to that so it's going to be a tough battle for her.

Jason - like Brooke, his take on songs is vastly different from what we're used to from previous males on the show. His laid back vibe (and bright blue eyes) seems to be winning people over. However, unlike just about everyone else on the show, Jason has no experience singing in front of people so this whole thing is just a wild ride for him. He will very quickly be out of his depth with the remaining talent. In order to win he's going to have to pull off some very unique things that no one would expect from him. Also, like Brooke, I don't think he has a strong enough voice to really move outside his coffeehouse vibe. However, if he can keep pulling off songs like "Hallelujah" he may be able to stay around longer than anyone thought.

Syesha - she has a beautiful, clear voice but for some reason no one is getting behind her. I think it's her personal intros before each performance. People are put off by her "look at how great I am attitude" and aren't voting for her. Unless she has the performance of a lifetime week after week I don't see her going too much further in the competition.

Kristy Lee - she actually has a very pretty voice to listen to. She also has a very pretty face to look at. However, she can't seem to have a nice performance to watch. Week after week, she's just bland. However, she's played the game very smartly. By pulling out "God Bless the USA" she knew that middle-America would eat that up and keep her in for country week (knowing that country is her specialty genre and that would keep her in for another week). And now that she's made it to Idol Gives Back it's almost a given that she'll sing "Amazing Grace" (which she has sung several times throughout auditions [and sounds fantastic on]) and middle-America could possibly vote her through again. It's crazy how one song (God Bless the USA) has vaulted her 3 weeks ahead. Unfortunately, I think Kristy Lee has played her trump card and she's got nothing left. I don't think she'll have an "america" song for each of the remaining weeks to keep her in so her days are numbered.

I am looking forward to tonight and very excited to see how the rest of the season plays out. It's going to be really fun watching them claw and sing their way to the #1 spot. All are deserving and I think that the final 2 will be the most talented since Carrie/Bo back in season 4.

Top 9 - Dolly Week

2008-04-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

I ended up watching the show at a friend's so I'm doing this a little late. Let's just jump right in and you'll get my thoughts for tonight.

Brooke - "Jolene" was the obvious choice for her (in my opinion). It was the perfect song choice, she was able to utilize a small band, and she was able to really connect to the emotional aspect of the song. It's what she's been doing all along that works so well. This is the type of song that she should be focusing on for her album. I thought it was a good performance. A bit predictable but that's starting to be what we expect from Brooke now. Grade B

David C. - "Little Sparrow". I have never heard this song but I'm pretty sure it sounds nothing like what he did tonight. The fact that he was able to make Dolly Parton sound like that shows how talented he is. Still, I was only mildly impressed with him. I guess he just wasn't rocking around as much this time. Grade B.

Ramiele - Once again, she's disappointing. She has so much promise with that big voice of hers, but when she gets out on stage she seems to only use about half of it. I thought the performance was boring. She was moving around faster than the beat of the song so that was a little off putting as well. Overall, it sounded ok but there was nothing special about the performance. Grade C

Jason - "Travelin' Thru". You know, I really liked this performance. Finally Jason seemed to really be taking things seriously. He was engaged in the song, he showed some emotion, his voice showed a little range. I thought it was good (although the song really isn't). Grade B-

Carly - She was simply awesome tonight. Her voice sounded so strong. She looked like she was having fun, yet still expressed the emotion of the song. This was a great performance for her and the best of the night so far. Grade A-

David A. - Then along comes David. This performance through him back up to front runner status. His voice was full of emotion, yet his performance was subtle. It was truly a glorious performance and I loved every minute of it. Grade A

Kristy Lee - "Coat of Many Colors". It was a nice performance. Her voice fit perfectly with Dolly Parton and country songs. However, there wasn't much else to her performance. She was still pretty bland, but sounded sweet. Grade B.

Syesha - "I Will Always Love You". This was the most obvious choice coming into the week. You just knew she was going to be doing this song. I was just glad to see that she tried to stick with the Dolly version more than the Whitney version. I liked that in the end she mixed a little of both to make it her own. I thought it was a great performance. Grade B+

Michael - Not sure what the song was but I loved his gospel bluesy take to it. Combining that with last week's performance and Michael is finally living up to his potential. Grade A-

Bottom 3 are Kristy, Jason and Ramiele. If all goes well, Ramiele will be going home tomorrow night.

Top 10 - Year You Were Born

2008-03-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, we're back. I was out of town last week and didn't get a chance to watch the show until late Wed night (after Amanda had already been eliminated) so I didn't bother writing a review. But I'm back tonight and ready to go. The last two times they've done this theme I've enjoyed it. We get a variety of songs so it doesn't get boring too quickly. So let's get it started.

Ramiele - "Alone". Whoa, this is going to be a tall order for her. After Carrie and Carly have sang this and rocked it on this stage it'll be tough for Ramiele to match that. We'll see how it goes. Well, right off the bat her voice isn't as strong as the others that have sang it. She doesn't sound very confidant. The chorus isn't as powerful as it should be. She shouting the highest notes and changed it up a little bit to fit her register. I hated the way she ended the song. Not her best. Grade C
PS, what's up with everyone being sick? Ramiele, Randy, and even Paula sounds like she's drugged up from cold medicine.

Jason - "Fragile". Haha, he has no idea what to say in his interviews. His awkwardness is what makes him endearing. And his eyes are definitely beautiful. I have nothing to say really. It sounds alright. It's cool that he's singing in spanish. It definitely has a coffeehouse vibe to it. It was ok I guess. Nothing really bad about it. Grade B-.

Syesha - "If I Was Your Woman". Well she is serving it up tonight. She sounds great and picked a great song for her voice. This actually reminds me of Tamyra from season 1. She's a little pitchy towards the end but overall it's a great performance from her. I really think she needed that tonight. Grade B+

Chikezie - "If Only for One Night". He's pitchy on his first verse. I think he's definitely nervous doing the ballad. His voice keeps dropping out of pitch but he also doesn't have the same type of swagger that he's had the last couple of weeks. It's all pretty boring. Not a good performance from him. Grade C.

Brooke - "Every Breath You Take". Whoa, she messes up right off the bat. Luckily, because she's the only playing she can start over. This is Brooke's comfort zone. When she's sitting there playing an instrument and singing a song she blows us away. The coffeehouse vibe fits her so well. I love the subtle changes she's done with the song and her voice sounds really strong. She really knows how to emote a song. There's a Carly Simon sound to it. I think this was a strong performance for her. Grade B.

Michael - "We Are the Champions". Well, considering her was born in 1978 and pretty everything at that time was disco I don't think it's a surprise that he chose this song. Plus, he might be able to show off some of the magic he found singing Queen during Hollywood Week. Well, right off the bat he's sounds better than he has all season. He's finally showing some of that rocker attitude that I've been waiting for. Interesting to transition from "We Will Rock You" to "We Are the Champions". He sounds good singing Queen song. This is his best performance so far. FINALLY! Grade A-.

Carly - "Total Eclipse of the Heart". This is kind of a crappy song to choose (already been done by Nikki in Season 1 and Jessica Sierra in Season 4) but I am actually very curious to hear her on it. I want to see how much she rocks out. Well, vocally she sounds brilliant. Even the power notes seem like nothing for her. However, I would like her to do something a little more for the performance. She's just standing there. Move around, use the stage, do something. Ouch! Hated that run at the end. Ruined what was a stellar performance. Grade A-

David A. - " ". What song is this? There were some great pop songs in 1990 and he picked something i've never heard. He's shown a weakness in his lower register tonight. It's definitely not as strong and his mid/high range. Well he's definitely having fun performing but his voice
is kinda cracking in parts. His cuteness definitely adds to the performance aspect. Grade B

Kristy Lee - "God Bless the USA". Well, she's definitely sticking to country. I feel like she's just behind the beat but she sounds good. Her voice sounds really strong today. It's all very pagenty for me though. I can see Miss America trying to sing something like this. It's pleasant; not good, not horrible but still her best performance thus far. Grade B-.

David C. - "Billie Jean". Interesting choice. Chris Cornell singing Michael Jackson. So far I'm unimpressed. It's pretty boring. It does get better as the chorus kicks in. David has a really strong voice that lends itself well to these alternative rock type songs. Another good, very smart performance from him. First "Hello" now "Billie Jean". He may have found his niche with random 80s pop that are turned into alternative songs. Grade A.

So there you have it. Tonight is interesting because no one was really bad. There were some that were more memorable than others but no one was horrible. I think the bottom three for this week will be Ramiele, Jason and Chikezi (somehow Kristy had a good enough performance to keep her out of the bottom 3). Jason should be safe since he has such a big fanbase already. I think Chikezi might be the one that goes because Ramiele seems to have a bigger fanbase as well. It's kinda sad because I was just starting to get into him. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Anthony Gargiula

2008-03-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

It's somewhat American Idol-related... so sue me! He is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen and it just made me so happy to watch him interact with Ellen.

Happy Hump Day!

Top 12 - Beatles Theme

2008-03-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

So we finally have a Beatles theme. I'm sure all of the producers were really excited about this because these are all classic songs. I, however, am not the biggest fan of the Beatles. Sure, they have some great songs but they also have a lot of weird, psychdelic stuff that isn't my cup of tea. Listening to a bunch of their songs in a row is a little boring for me so it'll be interesting to see how I feel at the end of the night.

Ooh, new opening. I like it. It makes everything look more futuristic. WHOA! The new stage is monstrous! Having seen the show live a few times I can tell you that this stage is massive (that room isn't too big). I like the mosh pit in front but I'm glad there are still seats in the back.

Syesha - I have never heard this song so I'm not sure what to expect. Well she still has a great voice. Nice and strong. However, it's pitchy in places. It's picking up in the middle and ending well. But it didn't really move me. Syesha really needs to have a great week or she'll be gone sooner than later. Grade B-

Chikezie - oooh! I have never heard this song before but I love this bluegrass opening to the song. I can tell it's going to be a different arrangement (I doubt the Beatles wrote it that way). He sounds great and is having fun with a easy, playful vibe. I love the breakout of the "bluegrass/rock" thing. Wow. This performance is AWESOME! Where the hell did that come from? Finally! The contestants are learning how to make these songs their own. I never would have thought that he would be able to pull something like this off. That was great. Grade A

Ramiele - "In My Life". I love this song. It's so heartfelt. Let's see how she does. Well, it's a pretty rendition. She sounds nice with the softness of her voice. However, it's kind of boring to watch. There's nothing new or special about this performance. Grade C+

Jason - "If I Fell". Again, never heard this song before. Everything he does just comes out so smoothly. It has a lazy vibe to it. He's basically a "Coffeehouse Idol". Again, it sounds great and is a solid performance. I have no idea if he did anything special to it but it was a nice performance. Grade B

Carly - "Come Together". I'm really digging the performance. Carly makes this seem so effortless. I love the hint of gravel in her voice. This is more of the type of voice I was hoping she'd, a little rock behind that powerhouse vocal (much like Kelly). I loved the swagger-type vibe she was giving off. She was having fun and really enjoying every minute of it. That was great. Great A

David Cook - "Elanor Rigby". Hm, right off the bat i can tell that this isn't going to be the same as last week. In fact, I'm not enjoying this at all. I don't know if it's the song or the arrangement but something isn't working for me. Well, it's a little better (but pitchy) towards the end. That was definitely not his best. Grade C

Brooke - "Let It Be". Her coffeehouse vibe should lend itself well to this song. I'm excited to see her interpretation of it. Well, she can play several instruments. Her voice is perfect for this song however, she's getting a little pitchy towards the end of the song. It's emotional and heartfelt (as all her choices thus far have been). The song is good but a little repetative which isn't the most exciting to listen to. But her vibe definitely fits with the song. Grade B

David Hernandez - "I Saw Her Standing There". I love his voice and I think it sound great on this song. He's playful and having fun. However, I don't think he's really making the most out of this song. He could have really rocked it and made it something memorable. Instead, it's a good karaoke performance that started losing it's life about midway through. Grade B-

Amanda - "You Can't Do That". Never heard this song. Let's see what happens (and hope the band doesn't try to cover up her vocals again). You know, half the time Amanda sing I don't understand a word that she says. I can't figure out why that is. This isn't a great performance. I really think she's getting to be out of her league. Towards the end of the song she's starting to zone in on her comfort zone, but the rest of it was a mess. Grade C-

Michael - "Across the Universe". His voice sounds really strong today. It sounds great on this song. I kinda like that he's not trying to do a "rocker" thing on this but really just standing there and singing this song with as much emotion as he can behind it. I feel like, vocally, this is the best we've heard from him since Hollywood Week. Nice job. Grade B

Kristy - "8 Days A Week". Changing it to country. Interesting. We'll see what happens. It's not working. This is not country, it's a hoedown! The song seems to be a little faster than she's used and is falling just behind the beat. Yeesh, this is pretty bad. The worst of the night so far. She's so far off of the beat now that it's not working at all. I'll give her credit for trying something different but it didn't work. Grade D

David Archuleta - "We Can Work It Out". Uh oh, he forgot the lyrics. That's been the kiss of death for the #12 spot the last few years. Will the same happen to David this year? This actually isn't that great of a performance. You can sense his nerves. It's not really until the 2nd half of the song that he really connects and seems to be having a little fun. His vocals aren't as strong and his voice is going in and out throughout the song. Probably the weakest we've seen him all season. Grade C+

So there we have it. The official Top 12 has performed. Overall I think it was a strong night. There were some great performances (Chikezie!?).

Bottom 3 are Ramiele, Kristy and Amanda. I think Kristy will finally be going home tomorrow.

Top 12, cont.

2008-03-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jesse gets it right for most of the Top 12, I just have a few additional comments:

Brooke: Don't give her too much clout, just yet. Two weeks of folksy/acoustic performances does not an Idol make. Expect Simon to say in the weeks to follow: "You've been out-sung tonight."
Carly: Don't count her out, just yet. If David A. may have peaked too soon, Carly might be playing this competition just right by saving her best performances for when it counts.
Chickezie: Why so tight-lipped and polite lately? Realize that talking back to the judges didn't quite work as well as you'd like? I agree with Jesse, blandy-McBoring.
Michael: Well, I really just wanted an excuse to think about him again. DREAMY. I'm hoping he is also playing this show strategically (a la Carly) and saving his knockout performances for later.
Ramiele: Something is keeping me from getting behind her completely. She IS better than Jasmine and knowing the Phillopino community they will vote her into at least the Top 6 but her voice just seems forced/affected...
Seyesha: Girl, you're not Whitney Houston (who is slated to release a new album before Christmas 2008!) and you don't have the attitude of some of the other divas of Idol past. She's another one that I think has a false sense of her talent. Good but not great.

Good luck to everyone else. The race officially begins tonight. Tune it to see who is a sprinter and who has been training for the marathon that is AMERICAN IDOL!

How do you solve a problem like David?

2008-03-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

"He [David Archuleta] is peaking too early, and along with the rest of the country and the media, “American Idol” voters tend to have short attention spans, tiring rapidly of familiarity. The competition is first and foremost a television show, and there's no drama in watching one person dominate for 12 weeks, however talented and charming he may be."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Top 12 Preview

2008-03-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

So now that we've finally got out Top 12 and the competition gets intense, I think we should take a moment to discuss each individual performer and find out how they're going to do in the competition. Here's my take on this season's Top 12 (in alphabetical order).

Amanda - This year's resident "rocker chick" has had a rough start on Idol already. She's been in the bottom 2 and hasn't had the best critiques from the judges. I feel like she's a one-trick pony and is going to have a really hard time navigating through the various themes each week (can you imagine her singing Gloria Estefan week?) While she brings something very different to the stage I don' t see that carrying her all the way through to the finals. She's already shown that she's pretty vulnerable so I don't see her lasting too much longer. She might do well with Beatles this week but after that it'll be tough.

Brooke - She has actually surprised me. After seeing all the women that made it I thought Brooke was going to get squeezed out because her vocals just aren't as strong as others'. She's got a really nice voice but there isn't a lot of power behind it. She's definitely more of a folky type singer. However, what has really made her stand out (and move towards the front of the pack) is her risks with the songs. The last two weeks she's shown some creativity in arranging songs that would normally not work for her. However, the new arrangements really worked for her and has won over some new fans (myself included). If she can keep bringing the fresh new "coffee-house" vibe to old songs she might go pretty far.

Carly - She is easily the best female vocalist left in terms of power and ease. There is no question that she can sing. However, she has yet to really connect with a song and/or the audience. She just walks up, sings the song, and walks off. If there was no backstory about her previous appearance on Idol or about her record deal we'd know nothing about Carly and would get nothing out of her performances. Also, this blandness isn't just solely on the show. I have her first album and it's pretty easy to see why it didn't sell. The songs are very generic (they don't even have singable hooks) and her voice carries no emotion on them. I think she's going to need to develop some kind of personality when she sings or she's going to go home sooner than anyone thought (could she be our surprise elimination this year?).

Chikezie - I'll be honest, I don't like Chikezie at all. From the first elimination week I thought he was horrible and was surprised he made past that round. His second week wasn't that much better. His third week bored me. I find myself tuning out everytime he's on screen. He has no charisma, his voice sounds exactly like Ruben's (another one who bored me to tears), and he's trying to show some personality by mouthing off to the judges (but always at the wrong time so it looks awkward). After being so close to being eliminated already, I don't see him staying around much longer.

David A. - What is there to say about David that hasn't been said already? This guy is clearly the one to beat. He has a fantastic voice that shows more maturity than most of the contestants left. Plus, he really knows how to get into the emotion of a song and really make you take notice and listen to what he's saying. And then there's his adorable smile and innocent attitude towards everything in the competition. Maybe it's real, maybe it's all an act but right now he's got America in the palm of his hand and we're all just waiting to see what he does each week. The question people are going to have is has he peaked too early with his rendition of "Imagine" or is there more to come? If he doesn't make it into the finals it'll probably be the biggest shock in Idol history.

David C. - Like Brooke, I think David C. has really grown in the last three weeks. When I first saw him I thought he was good but he was definitely a Chris Daughtry wannabe. Each week he got a little bit better until finally last week he blew everyone away with his emo-rock retelling of "Hello". That made stop and take notice about what he was doing to the song and I loved it (as did everyone else). What we need to find out now was if that was just a fluke or a promise of things to come. If it's the latter then we're in for a great ride.

David H. - I'm so happy that David made it into the Top 12 because I honestly didn't think he would. When I saw him in Hollywood Week I fell in love with his vocals. I wasn't disappointed when he started in the Top 24. When he sang the 2nd week I knew that he had finally made it on the radar and would sail through into the Top 12. He has such a strong voice that he can belt out the power ballads but still show off subtle emotion from verse to verse. I think he's hugely talented and should make pretty far down the stretch.

Jason - He is a complete enigma to me. I don't understand while everyone likes him so much. I thought his first performance was ok but it didn't blow me away. Neither did his 2nd. His third was alright but having never heard the song I wasn't sure why everyone liked it so much. Now that I've heard the original version I do have to give him props because that song really came out of nowhere and he nailed it. I do find him interesting though because I keep getting the sense that he just decided to try out on a whim one day and suddenly found himself on the biggest show on the planet. Sometimes he looks like he's just thinking "how the hell did I get here?". I can really see Jason being the quiet guy that no one notices until the dust suddenly settles and he's in the finals. He's going to be one to keep an eye on.

Kristy - The sole survivor of the "4 Bland Blondes". Initially I thought the 4 Bland Blondes were going to make it into the Top 12 but instead it looks like they all split the votes and took each other out. With Kristy left standing she has a lot on her shoulders to make sure the blondes get further along. Her country voice is pleasant to listen to however, Kristy has turned into a blond robot right in front of our eyes. She has no personality(both when she performs and when she's being interviewed). She really needs to step out of her shell when she's performing or she'll go home pretty quickly as well.

Michael - He has become the most frustrating contestant for me this year. When I saw his initial audition I thought he was fantastic and would bring something new and different to the competition. However, since then I have been completely underwhelmed by him. All of his performances have failed to catch my attention or spark any kind of interest. That's what makes it so frustrating, because we've all seen the potential that he has and know that when he finally nails it, it's going to be awesome. However, wanting that and not delivering each week will get tiresome very quickly. He really needs to pull something out of his hat really soon or he's going to be left behind by the Davids.

Ramiele - I so did not want to like Ramiele because I was scared she was going to be another Jasmine (and we've already been through one). However, this little spitfire has (thankfully) proven me wrong. I think she might be female to beat. She has a great personality, she has great stage presence, and she has a powerful voice. As long as she keeps picking good songs that fit her style I think she will do really well in the competition.

Syesha - She is very hit or miss. Syesha has a fantastic voice and reminds me very much of Nadia Turner from Season 4. However, she has a tendency to pick bad (or overdone) songs. She needs to stay away from Whitney or Celine and really try to bring something new to the double because otherwise people are going to get tired of her really quickly.

So those are my thoughts about this Top 12. I do think they're one of the most talented bunch we've had so far. However, based on the last three weeks, I still think that Season 5 was the best Top 12. It'll be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow night now that we can finally compare them against each other. I'm looking forward to it.

If I was to make a prediction right now, here's how it would shake out for me.

12. Chikezie
11. Kristy
10. Amanda
9. Syesha
8. Michael
7. Jason
6. David C.
5. Brooke
4. David H.
3. Carly
2. Ramiele
1. David A.

Top 8 Guys

2008-03-04T23:29:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Sorry I missed last week but I had to work both nights and didn't get a chance to watch the show until really late at night. Tonight I was watching it at a friend's house so I didn't get to blog live but I'm still going to give my thoughts about tonight's performances.

First up is Luke. I thought this was the perfect song choice for him. Yes, it was a little cheesy, but I think that's pretty much what Luke is....cheesy. There is no way he'll win this competition but I thought tonight was his best performance yet. George Michael is the perfect guy to emulate for his voice. I thought the song worked. Luke was having fun on stage and seemed to be really enjoying himself. I liked it. Grade B.

David A. - It as cool seeing David open up on the piano (just to remind everyone that he's multitalented). I thought the song choice was a little odd for him but it worked. I liked how he changed it up a little bit. In my opinion, this was his weakest performance thus far on the show, but it was still a hell of a lot better than everyone else tonight. It's going to be hard to top last week's performance. I just hope he didn't peak too soon. Grade A-

Danny - *sigh*. I'm over Danny. I hate mugging of the camera. I hate his diva attitude. I hate his new scarf every week. I thought this performance was a mess. Tainted Love isn't really a singer's song since it's pretty repetative. Danny's voice was all over the place as well (I think it's interesting that his voice doesn't fit what you see on the screen. Closing your eyes, you wouldn't picture Danny to be singing it). I just didn't like anything about this performance. Grade C-

David H. - I was worried when I noticed that he was singing a Celine Dion song. But David has a really strong voice that was able to channel the song really well. I loved the different emotions he was conveying through the song and changing his voice up to match them. I thought he did a great job and made it into the Top 12. I'm really happy for him! Grade A-

Michael - this was a perfect song choice for him. He can definitely channel the 80s rock thing. Simple Minds/INXS/early U2 could be good for him to focus on. This was a good performance but once again, I'm not awed by him. I still find him to be pretty blah and I think he's dropped so much ground in the competition (especially after all 3 David's have been performing so well). He needs to really shine on a song or he'll be out around 7th. Grade B

David C. - when the song first started I thought "Lionel Richie?!" But as the song got going into the chorus I found myself to really LOVE what he had done with the arrangement and changing it into more of a rock-type song. By mid performance he was in total command of it and really created a whole new song with new emotions. It reminded me of an REM type of song. I loved it! Best performance of the night. Grade A+

Jason - I don't know this song at all so I have no idea if he was good or not. His voice reminds me of Bright Eyes (which isn't a good or bad thing). I still don't understand the appeal of Jason but it was nice to finally see him without the guitar and really singing a song. It was alright for me but I can't say that it really impressed me. I just get the feeling that Jason keeps thinkig "what am I doing on Idol?!". Grade B

Chikezie - He's singing some Whitney Houston song that I've never heard. His voice was a little pitchy in parts. I'm not a big fan of Chikezie's and he didn't do anything to change my mind tonight. His voice sounds very similar to Ruben and Luther's but for some reason it just bores me (much like Ruben did on season 2). I didn't care for this performance either. Grade C

I feel like tonight is a pretty easy one to predict but watch me get it wrong. The bottom 3 will be Chikezie, Luke and Danny. I think the two going home will be Chikezie and Danny.

So my picks for the Top 6 guys are: David A, David C, David H, Jason, Michael and Luke. I was two off from my initial predictions. I can't wait to see if I get those right.

American Idol Math

2008-02-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you add (1) former American Idol contestant + (1) current pop culture celebrity?

Well you get (1) current Top 20 American Idol contestant, naturally!

Pagesix.com seems to have liked my idea for comparing idols.

Hmmmm, anyone know a good lawyer?

Luke Menard vs. Dawson

2008-02-27T13:12:00.001-08:00

Top 10 Men

2008-02-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

I was working all day doing interviews for my staff. Then I get off of work and go straight to Barnes to work there as well. Then I get home at midnite, sit down in front of my TV and find out that TiVo screwed up and didn't tape Idol today. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Luckily, Rickey is on top of his game and had all the performances on his blog already so I was able to watch them there.

First and foremost, I fully support David Archuleta. That kid is DA BOMB! That was possibly the best performance I have ever heard of that song. The emotion and the vocals were AMAZING. I agree that it was one of the best performances on Idol EVER (take that Jordin Sparks!) This kid is flying right to the finale. It's so hard to see him losing now.

Which brings me to my second thought of the night. Go David Hernandez! I love this guy. I loved him during Hollywood week and was secretly hoping he'd do well, but I didnt want to admit that I liked him because I thought he'd go out in the first week like Rudy Cardenas did last season. But I think I can finally come out and say that I'm a David H. fan. I would love to see him continue to grow (much like Elliott Yamin did) and make it to Top 3 but I don't think that will happen.

As for the rest, YAWN! I thought the rest of the show was pretty boring. Michael Johns was horrible tonight. Such a bad song choice and he was flat the whole song. I thought it was awful. He just lost a lot of steam.

Jason Yeager just sounds like a Vegas lounge singer. He needs to go. Luke was alright but I don't think he'll make it much further.

Robbie Carrico wasn't rock at all and he needs to stop playing up the rocker thing.

Jacuzzi (Chikezie) was boring again. I'm over him.

I don't get the appeal of Jason Castro. I thought he was average last week and not better this week. I just don't get it.

David Cook was actually pretty good. He finally did look like the rocker star that he claims he is. At least it looked like a real concert.

Lastly, there was Danny Noriega. I hate, hate HATE the song that he sang. Ruben Studdard sang it in Season 2 and bored me with it then. I have yet to hear a version of it that is good. This was no better. In fact, Ruben's boring interpretation of the song sang circles around Danny. I think Danny might have a big scare tonight. We'll see what happens, but either way his stock dropped like a brick after the show was over. We'll see how the women do.

Top 10 Men - The Davids & The Rest

2008-02-26T21:32:00.001-08:00

For me, tonight was all about the Davids. David Hernandez and David Archuleta were definitely the top 2 with David Cook still leaving enough room for improvement in the future. I've read that David H. is gay which makes me want to support him even more while David A. still impresses but I'm ready for the "aww shucks" routine needs to end (anyone remember Melinda Doolittle doing the same thing last year?).
I realized tonight that this is going to be an interesting season for me because I always comment each year that I want to watch a less experienced singer develop and there aren't too many of those contestants this year...

On the other side of the spectrum I put Jason Yeager and Robbie Carrico. Jason is out of his league (and not very good at dressing himself) and Robbie is getting "out rocked" by Michael Johns and David Cook. Votefortheworst.com is still backing Danny Noriega and he had enough improvement, I believe, to keep him in another week.

Poll: Boys vs. Girls

2008-02-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

Top 12 Women

2008-02-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

Let's get it started!

First up is Kristy Lee Cook - "Rescue Me" - she's more of a country singer so I'm curious to see if she'll be able to pull off the Carrie Underwood thing and navigate through the themes effectively. The song choice is good but her voice seems a little thin for the song. It's nice, but seems to lack some power that would really make the song soar. Like this it's just a good version of the song, but kinda boring. She's way hot though. Grade B

Joanne Borgella - wow, her voice doesn't sound that good tonight. I have to agree that i thought she'd have a more soulful voice. that could end up hurting her in the end as that what people are expecting to hear from her. She's missing a lot of the higher notes which could be from the flu that the girls are dealing with plus she's looking really nervous. I didn't get the ending to the song. She should have stopped after the chorus. Grade C+

Alaina Whitacker - Carrie's twin needs to give a good performance because she's got a lot of talented singers to compete against and she hasn't had a lot of air time. Hmm, good start. The lower notes were a little problem but by the time she kicked into the chorus she found her zone. I think she's going to be compared to Carrie a lot because she seems to have the same type of voice and seems to perform very similar to her. Good job though. Best of the first three we've seen. Grade B+

Amanda Overmeyer - Whoa! I don't get this at all. You can't understand a thing that she's saying and can hardly hear her over the guitar. I don't get her Elvira hairdo. This whole thing is a hot mess! I had higher hopes for her. Grade D

Amy Davis - Here's another one that we didn't get a lot of airtime on before. It'll be interesting to see what she does. Her pictures floating around the internet are HOT though. She should definitely try to get into modeling if she hasn't already. She sounded good in Hollywood week but then is all over the place tonight. The song is boring and her voice is grating. This is not good at all. Grade D+

Brooke White - she has a really nice, pure voice but I think her voice might be a little on the weaker side compared to the rest. It'd be interesting to see how she does. Again, she's got a nice voice but it's not strong enough for this song. To borrow from Simon, it sounds like good karaoke. It's a nice rendition but not awesome. She needs to work on her showmanship as well. Grade B

Alexandrea Lushington - "Spinning Wheel". Ugh, what's up with everyone tonight. These are all such bland performances. finally, near the middle she picks it up and gives the song some life. However, she keeps missing some of the higher notes. also, after having Bo knock it out of the park during his season this is a bit of a let down. Grade B-

Kady Malloy - Does "Britney Spears" have a real voice? Let's find out. Whoa! She sounds great! Totally different from Britney. A little deeper than I was expecting. It was a quiet, sincere performance. It was really good. My favorite of the night so far. Grade A-

Asia'H Epperson - "Piece of My Heart" - FINALLY! Someone is singing well, having fun and picked a good song for their voice. Best one of the night by far. She was having fun and enjoying the moment. Grade A

Romiele Malubay - "You don't Have You Love" - i love this song! She's really holding back on her voice to make it more seductive. I like it though. Just waiting for her to belt out. She sounds great on this song and is emoting it very well. I really like it. Just became my favorite of the night. Grade A

Syesha Mercado - "Tobacco Road" - Syesha has a great voice, which she showed off at Hollywood Week. She continues to show it off this week. Great showmanship and has a powerful voice. Great ending. Grade B+

Carly Smithson - Here she comes, "the chosen one". First week and she already has the pimp spot. They're doing everything they can to make sure this girl wins. Let's see what she comes up with. OMG, this is such a boring song. But she sounds great and effortless. The judges are going to love it just to pimp her even more. I really thought she would have chosen something that would have showed off her voice a lot more. This really didn't do anything for her. Big disappointment. Grade B i actually completely agree with everything Simon is saying on this.

So there you have it. Overall, I think this show was a big disappointment. I guess the guys are better as a whole this season. My bottom 3 would be Amanda, Amy, and Joanne. However I don't think that Amanda will actually make it to the bottom so I would probably put in Alexandrea Lushington. Going home tomorrow will be Amanda and Joanne. I can't wait to see what happens.

Top 12 Men!

2008-02-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

Here we are! Finally it all begins tonight. As I did last year, I will be blogging these as they are happening so you can get my initial reactions before the judges make their comments. We'll see if I am anywhere near them. Let's the games begin!
[ ryan ]: Jesse and I generally agree on our recaps (plus he usually gets his post up first) so I am only going to add a few comments here and there...

David Hernandez - I don't have David in my top 6 (he's actually #7 for me) so I'm kinda pulling for him to make it through. In Hollywood Week he showed off an awesome voice that blew me away. I'm hoping he does the same thing again tonight. He has a great voice tonight, once again very strong. I love the gospelly opener. However, he's so nervous that he's not letting himself get into the performance and it's coming across as very stiff. If he just relaxes a bit he'll be a lot better. Missed the last run but overall I really liked it. Grade B+
David surprised me and made my Top 6 tonight. Loved the opening acapella.

Chikezie - What's up with the 70s tux he's wearing? He looks like Dumb & Dumber. He has a nice voice but I think the song is going to be too boring. He doesn't really do anything unique with it. It's very "loungy". Yeah, i'm definitely bored with this whole thing. Wow, he's talking back for no real reason. Simon is right about his suit. It looks like Chikezie could be one of the first to go. Grade C
I'm with Jesse on this one; it's WAY to early to argue with Simon... especially when you're wrong and dressed in that awful suit.

David Cook - "Happy Together" - I'm excited to see him because I think he has a good rocker voice. But I also think he's also trying too hard to be a rocker so it'll be interesting to see what he does. Oooh, I like the originality behind the song. I'm digging his voice but he's missing a lot of notes here and there. I'm not really buying that he's a rocker. He's more of a faux-rocker. Good performance though. Grade B-
Gave a little vibe of Constantine Maroulis (Season 4) with the close-to-the-mouth mic and sideways glances. But I think there is tremendous potential in him.

Jason Yeager - "Moon River" - Finally, we get to see this random person that has had no exposure but made it to the Top 24. I'm very curious to hear what he sounds like. Well, he has a nice voice but there's really nothing special behind it. The song isn't really doing anything to showcase his voice in any way. He seems to be singing it as if it's his last time on stage and wants to savior every second of it. That's good to see but didn't really make for a great performance. Overall it was just ok. Grade C+
Why does his son have a girl's haircut from the 60's?

Robbie Carrico - I really like this guy's voice. He's a lot more rocker than David Cook is, yet still has a pop quality to his voice. It'll be exciting to watch him navigate the theme weeks. Oooh, i'm loving this so far. This is a great song for his voice. I do think he needs a little more work on his stage presence but he sounds great all throughout the song. Best performance of the night so far. Grade B+
I was bored.

David Archuleta - "Better Shop Around" - ok, here we go. It's the first "chosen one" for this season. Let's see if he can handle the pressure. I'm not a big fan of the song choice for him but his voice sounds really strong. Plus, he's such a cute kid with a wide-eyed smile that it's really easy to get pulled into his performance. His run at the end was awesome! This kid is gonna light up the stage. Grade A
HAHA, his interaction with Ryan is priceless. He's such a shy, awkward kid that has a personality that's going to win everyone over.
Girls are going to go crazy for him. Sanjaya crazy. But this time it is deserved.

Danny Noriega - "Jailhouse Rock" - wow, his voice wasnt' what I was expecting it to sound like. It's actually for this song. He's getting a little off beat but holding it together nicely. I didn't care for his dancing or his ending to the song though. Not really what I expected from him. Grade B-
I didn't like Danny until tonight. The song seemed to get out of control with the tempo but I felt like Jesse that his voice sounded more pleasant and recordable tonight than in previous auditions. Is Danny American Idol's version of Christian from Project Runway ("hot" = "fierce")? Also, the EXTENDED arguing amongst the judges over Danny was very reminiscent of RJ Helton's experience in Season 1. When Paula kept talking about colors was that hinting at a rainbow? Then Ryan warned Danny that Simon might "double snap" back at him. C'mon guys, let's get above the stereotypes.

Luke Menard - wow, watching his audition I'm actually surprised he made it through. It didn't sound good at all. Now I'm even more curious to hear what he sounds like. Well he has a "higher" type voice which is cool but he's missing notes left and right. He sorta pulls it together on the chorus. It's a boring performance though. I don't think this is good at all. Nice falsetto at the end. We'll see if his looks save him tonight. Grade C-
Vanilla, sincere with hints of a good falsetto.

Colton Berry - "Suspicious Minds" - It'll be interesting to compare him to Daughtry who sang this in Season 5. I'm actually surprised. I really like this song on him. He has a tinge of the grunge in his voice to make him interesting. He looks very comfortable on the stage and seems to be having a lot of fun. Grade B
Sometimes it's a good thing to say you've watched American Idol from Season 1 (like Jesse and I) but for Colton I think it means that he tried to STUDY American Idol. He was mugging/posing for the camera way too much for me. This was Danny's Elvis minus the attitude.

Garrett Haley - "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" - Finally, we get to see the guy that has a total of 20secs on Idol so far this season. He's the biggest mystery of all this year. Let's see what he can do and why he was chosen. Wow, he has a high nasally voice. Not what I was expecting at all. It sounds very similar to EJ Day from Season 1. This is a boring performance. He's not doing anything at all. His voice goes pretty nasal at times and not really pleasant to listen to. I think the crowd reaction says it all, they're not responding to anything he's doing. Grade D
I don't see the comparisons that were made about Garrett, instead I see a hobbit who sings like a chipmunk. He is awkwardly positive but just very strange. Also, he said "I want to show myself to the world"... contestants have used that line before but it totally creeped me out when he said it
.

Jason Castro - Here's another one that we have no idea what he sounds like. I can't wait to hear him. Hm, I like the vibe of the song that he's giving off. It's cool to see him perform with his guitar but I hope it doesn't become a crutch for him. He has an interesting voice; there's a little grit, a little pop. It's all kinda like Jack Johnson/Ryan Cabrera. Overall it's ok. It'll be interesting to see what he does next week. Grade B-
Jason Mraz-ish and I LOVED IT. So likable and beautiful eyes. I hope he gains some confidence so he will stay for a long time.

Michael Johns - "Light My Fire" - Michael is my 2nd favorite of the guys (after David A) so I am really excited to see what he can do. Well it's a good song choice for him. He definitely has the rocker thing down and he looks comfortable on the stage. However I didn't care for some of the vocals. Not sure what it is but it didn't really click all the way for me. But he was one of the better performances of the night. He's another one that I am curious to see how he changes it up throughout the themes. Grade A-
First I need to stop drooling because damn he is sexy to me! But I was proud that I was able to listen with an unbiased ear. I wasn't crazy about the vocal but his stage presence is undeniable and I hope he doesn't do as much of the rocker stuff and instead lets us hear some more singing. Or maybe I just want him to sing me a love song.

So that does it for the first night of the season. As promised, a very strong group this year. It's definitely going to be really tough. Some guys sailed through to next week (David A. and Michael) and some are going to have a really tough time.

I think the bottom 3 for tomorrow are: Garrett, Luke and Jason Yeager. I was going to put Chikezie in there but I think he'll squeak by. Then again, Luke's look might pull him up high enough that he'll move out and bump Chikezie down. In any event, I think the two going home are Garrett and Jason Yeager. Both suffered from no show time during the auditions to having subpar performances tonight. They really needed to have an amazing performance tonight to win some votes but it didn't work out for either of them.
I'd like to see Chikezie go for his attitude but at least that made him stick out. So I agree that Garrett and Luke are the first to go home.

Now on to the women! Bring it on.

American Idol On iTunes!

2008-02-18T22:28:00.001-08:00

I've never seen any content get all three banner spaces on the homepage of the iTunes Store. I think they figured out that selling performances on the American Idol website was a good idea but could be better facilitated through iTunes. Between this new revenue stream (plus increased exposure) and the heightened level of talent this is going to be a FANTASTIC season!

American Idol continues to enhance the immediacy factor with a new deal with iTunes to sell audio tracks from contestant performances for 99 cents the day after they're aired, starting with tomorrow's inaugural semifinals. Not only that, starting March 12 (the finals), you can get videos of the performances for $1.99. You can also preorder performances from your favorite contestants and they'll be automatically delivered the day after the show.

Jesse's Top 12

2008-02-15T13:22:00.001-08:00

So here it is, my choices for Season 7's Top 12. This was actually a little harder than I thought it was going to be. For me, the women are the stronger group this year. I actually really like about 9 of the 12 so it was hard for me to narrow down my Top 6. But I ended up choosing (in alphabetical order):

1) Asia'H Epperson
2) Carly Smithson
3) Kady Malloy
4) Kristy Lee Cook
5) Ramiele Malubay
6) Syesha Mercado

I also liked Brooke White, Joanne Borgella and Alexandrea Lushington. However, I think Alexandrea will crack under the pressure. I think Joanne and Brooke will be the final two that don't make it in. Both are very talented but I just have a feeling that they won't be as strong as the Top 6. Out of my 6, the one that I'm the least confidant on is Kady. If you remember, she's the one that mimicked Britney Spears and others during her inital audition. I just wonder if she's actually found her own voice or will she start mimicking others during the semi-finals. If she does get cut then I'll bump Brooke into her spot.

The guys were a little easier for me to choose. However, having not seen 4 of them at all yet it makes it a little difficult to predict what's going to happen. For my Top 6 I chose:

1) David Archuleta
2) David Cook
3) Jason Yeager
4) Luke Menard
5) Michael Johns
6) Robbie Carrico

I picked two wildcards this time, Jason and Luke. I think Luke is a pretty safe pick because he's the best looking guy of the bunch. Looking like Orlando Bloom will definitely help him. I also heard a clip of him on YouTube and he's got a good voice. Jason is a total wildcard for me but they did show him getting very emotional after he found out he made it. This could being in the Elliott Yamin votes for people that like a really nice guy and want to see him do well. I could see David Hernandez or Danny Noriega sneaking into his spot if he doesn't make it in. (Sorry Garrett Haley, you're the sacrificial lamb this season. No one has even seen you on screen so it looks like you're the first to go).

So there we have it. We'll see how many I get right (or if I change my mind after actually seeing everyone sing). I can't wait for the actual competition to begin!

[ ryan ]'s Favorites... So Far

2008-02-14T23:37:00.000-08:00

In no particular order:

Top 24 Shocker!

2008-02-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

So the big news today isn't who made the Top 24, it's actually who DIDN'T make it; Josiah Leming. Reading various posts and blogs around the net, it seems like a lot of people really wanted him to make and he was the front runner in their minds. Then you get the other side of people who thought he was a whiny brat and were very happy to see he didn't make it. I have my theory as to why he wasn't invited to be part of the Top 24. I think that Josiah has become a very polarizing figure. As we've already noticed on various boards, people either love him or hate him. He's basically the Sanjaya of this year. I think they really wanted to get away from "characters" and really focus on talent this year to avoid the whole Sanjaya fiasco that happened last year. They knew that if they kept him in all of the focus would be about him for the season instead of trying to get back to what Idol used to be. Keeping him out of the Top 24 was a smart move IMO.

FINALLY! We're back!

2008-02-13T00:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't written anything about Season 7 yet because I wasn't all that inspired during the auditions. Not because we didn't have talent, but because I get sick and tired of watching wannabes mug the camera just to say they've been on tv. It gets old very fast. However, while sitting through 4 weeks of auditions I saw some people that I really liked and some that I hated. But I wanted to wait until Hollywood Week before I finally weighed in on the competition this year.

So now that Hollywood week has wrapped and we have seen what has been promised as the best Top 24 of all time, I have to see that I completely agree with them. After watching tonight I am so excited for the competition to get under way. There were some definite standout performances and there were people that weren't even shown (where was Farmer John Drew Poppelreiter? I really hope he makes it because I was some eye candy and a true male country singer.)

After watching tonight's episode I have some initial favorites. We'll see how they do once they start the competition next. But for now, I'm pulling for:

David Archuleta
Michael Johns
Carly Hennessy
Kristy Lee Cook and, if they make it...
Drew Poppelreiter
Robbie Carrico

Come on America, don't screw this one up and give us another Sanjaya. We have the potential of having a phenominal show this year and I would love to see a truly competitive season.

Melinda Doolittle on iTunes!

2008-02-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

Finally! Melinda Doolittle lands on the iTunes Store with her first single, "My Funny Valentine". Although I was hoping for an original song (she performed this during the Top 24 on American Idol), at this point I'll take anything.

Also, guess who left a review about the song:

Melinda Doolittle is easily the finest singer in the 6 seasons of American Idol. I can say that handily as someone who was there and watched her majesty week in and week out. The girl can sang! My Funny Valentine was the performance that first blew me away. It is only appropriate that should be her first single. Her voice is an instrument and like any instrumentalist, when they play their instrument correctly and with soul, the results are magical. This single is simply a prophecy of the magic that is to come from Mindy-Doo.
-Chris Sligh

American Idol Theme Park Attraction

2008-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

If anyone plans to be in Florida later on this year, please check out Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios for an American Idol attraction:

Disney guests able to audition, perform on stage in competition, get judged by theme park producers and vote for their favorite performers in a "live interactive entertainment setting with all the glitz and glamour of the distinctive 'American Idol' set."

Finalists throughout the day will compete at the end of the day to be crowned winner and as a prize will get priority audition spot at an up-coming Idol audition city. Some Disney guests will even be asked to judge!

Read more about here.

Ferras... The New Daniel Powter

2008-02-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

The new "Exit Song" has been announced for this season of American Idol and the execs at Fox are definitely trying to stay current with their sound choice. I think this guy sounds like a mixture of Jon McLaughlin and Ryan Cabrera.

Regardless, he's here and going to be pimped out endlessly so you better get used to hearing the song. Here's the song mixed in with interviews from and about Ferras.

Ryan Seacrest on American Gladiators

2008-01-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, so he was only the host (not a contestant) and this was from the kids version of the show called "Gladiator 2000". But it's still fun to watch ~~and see how different he was back then~~ him act exactly the same.

Carrie Underwood - "American Girl"

2008-01-24T22:30:00.001-08:00

This video is SO CUTE! And the nod at the end to "Before He Cheats" was a nice touch. Check out Carrie Underwood's music video for "American Girl", her second single from the album Carnival Ride:

Carrie - A-AG [jonnyaliblog.blogspot.com]
Uploaded by Alisvideo

Idol Semi-Finalists Get a CD!

2008-01-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

via Variety.com

Artists' Addiction Records and Rocket Science, a sales and field marketing company, figure there's still an audience for "American Idol" finalists voted off in the early and middle rounds.

The two companies are banding together on a four-volume series featuring four "Idol" performers per CD, with each singing three original songs. First volume, which will be released Feb. 5, features recordings by Jon Peter Lewis, Ryan Starr, A.J. Tabaldo and Stevie Scott. Vol. 2, tentatively scheduled for March 4, will spotlight Alaina Alexander, Rudy Cardenas, Patrick Hall and Gedeon McKinney.

The albums will be available exclusively through Wal-Mart and iTunes.

Grammy Nominations

2007-12-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, Idol is all over the Grammy nominations list. This is awesome for the show! Congratulations to Chris Daughtry for receiving 4 nominations! Here's a rundown of what happened...

Daughtry
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Home
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - It's Not Over
Best Rock Song - It's Not Over (nominated with Ace!)
Best Rock Album - Daughtry

Carrie Underwood
Song of the Year - Before He Cheats (technically, it's a songwriter's award so Carrie herself isn't nominated, but still...)
Best Female Country Performance - Before He Cheats
Best Country Song - Before He Cheats (again, a songwriter's award)
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - Oh Love (with Brad Paisley)

Fantasia
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance - When I See You
Best R&B Song - When I See You (songwriter's award)
Best Contemporary R&B Album - Fantasia

Kelly Clarkson
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals - Because of You (with Reba McEntire)

Mandisa
Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album - True Beauty

Good luck to everyone! I hope they spread the wealth and everyone gets at least one.

Melinda Doolittle's Post-Idol Success

2007-12-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

I am very confused as to why Melinda Doolittle from Season 6 of American Idol has not be snatched up by a record label. I have been craving some of her soulful singing and I think the world needs as many REAL singers as we can find.

Instead, the only thing I have seen her do is a commercial for a restaurant? A CHICKEN restaurant? Oh lord...

"Crunch, crunch, mmmhmmmmm."

Elliott Yamin - "One Word" Music Video

2007-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

Why did the make Elliott Yamin jump around and try to dance in his music video for "One Word"? And is it just me or are his khaki pants belted too high? Also, he looks best in the car (natural/casual) rather than the big hair, trendy fedora or semi-slicked (pictured) looks.

His voice is great, I love this song but I think the video feels "forced."

American Idol Season 7 + Blake Lewis' Album Cover

2007-11-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

The next edition of “American Idol” doesn’t start until January - but the Hollywood phase of the show, where scores of hopefuls are narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, is about to begin and a new season is officially underway.

Several changes are in the works, officials say, including:

- changing the format to let singers show other musical talents, such as guitar playing.

- many fewer “mentors,” those established musical stars like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett, who appeared every week last season and took attention away from the contestants.

- and next summer, the annual “Idol” live tour may be combined with the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour - to create a show with both singing and dancing.

Clay Aiken Sings 'Solitaire' for Neil Sedaka Tribute

2007-10-31T14:33:00.001-07:00

Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride

2007-10-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

Today, MSN Canada posted a full sneak peek of Carrie's new album, Carnival Ride which will hit the stores on Oct. 23. I have listened to the whole album once and have some initial thoughts. First, it's a good album but I don't think it's as good as Some Hearts. When I first heard Some Hearts I didn't think it was a very good album and was a little disappointed in it. However, after listening to a couple of times I grew to love it and it's one of my favorite Idol albums yet. I feel like Carnival Ride is trying to be a little more "serious" and the songs don't have the same fun feel to them that some of the songs on Some Hearts did.

The other big thing that I noticed about it is that they are really trying to show off Carrie's voice. We all know that she has a powerful voice but it seems like every song has a power note in it that she's always going for. After a while it gets really old and begins to sound as if she's yelling through every song (I Know You Won't is the worst offender of this. I almost just skipped the song because I got tired of the high note over and over again).

With that being said, I did hear about 4 songs that will probably make radio play and I am sure that those songs will only give Carrie many more awards in the next year or two. I am sure that this will be another huge album for her. Grade on the initial listen: B-. I am sure that will change after I've listened to it a couple of times.

To hear the album go to MSN Canada.

Fantasia!?

2007-10-17T00:59:00.001-07:00

Hell to the NO! Why comes, Tay Tay? Why comes?

This recently leaked picture of Fantasia on vacation shows a little more of our Idol than we wanted to see (ok, maybe a lot more!) Why would Fantasia go out and do something like this? Yeesh!

After seeing this, I need to cleanse my palette a little. Where are the shirtless pics of Chris Richardson?

Thanks to lovebscott.com for posting the pics.

Clay Aiken in Spamalot!

2007-10-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Clay Aiken will make his Broadway debut in "Spamalot" this January reports Playbill. He will play the role of Sir Robin originated by David Hyde Pearce. He will play the role through May 4th.

Director Mike Nichols said, "Clay Aiken is amazing beyond that glorious voice. Turns out he is an excellent comic actor and a master of character. People will be surprised by his wide ranging talent, since the first impression is of great country charm and a singer to remember. This guy is not only a star, he is a lot more. We are lucky to get him for Spamalot."

Elliott Yamin Christmas Album

2007-10-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

The NBC Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection is now available at Target stores.

Yes, Elliott Yamin is Jewish, but he loves Christmas music. The songs include: “This Christmas”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “Merry Christmas, Baby”, “The Christmas Song” and “Jingle Bells”.

Elliott also recorded three originals: “A Very Merry Christmas”, “Let’s be Naughty (And Save Santa the Trip)” and “Warm Me Up”.

Shayne Ward - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

2007-10-08T19:29:00.001-07:00

A short while ago I posted about a young man named Shayne Ward and a video for his sexy single, "No U Hang Up". After viewing that video a few times I started checking out his performances on X-Factor. Turns out, he's really talented, really cute and really really sweet! Check out this video and watch the entire 6.5 minutes (you can do it) to see him talk about how important the competition is to him and how much he wants to be a professional singer:

Kelly Clarkson - Don't Waste Your Time

2007-10-06T08:37:00.001-07:00

Here's Kelly Clarkson's newest video/single, "Don't Waste Your Time". It's one of the more radio-friendly tracks on her album My December, however I think we're all ready for a HAPPY Kelly. All her songs are so bitter that I'm starting to get a permanent sour taste in my mouth. Let's hope her next album (Clive-influenced or not) will focus on some new life themes.

We still love you Kelly and you look beautiful in this video!

Best line of the song:

Don’t waste your time on me my friend
Friend, what does that even mean?

**UPDATE: Apparently this is the single for the UK. The US single is "Sober" and the video is going to be released next week.

Zach Efron vs. Clay Aiken

2007-10-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

It's not really a showdown of singing abilities, but more a chance to compare and contrast their looks...

Shayne Ward

2007-09-09T11:40:00.001-07:00

Although Shayne Ward is not technically under the "Idol" umbrella he was the winner of Simon Cowell's X-Factor show in 2005... so I think it's OK to discuss him here.

I'm not sure how I stumbled on Shayne but I've really been into his sound for the last couple of days (which is a long time in my attention-frantic life). He's an R&B white guy with a little bit of boy band thrown in for good measure.

I think his new single is really sexy:

He also kind of looks like Wade Robson.

What do you all think? A bit of pop fluff or potential star?

Revisionist Idol - Season 6

2007-09-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

1. Melinda Doolittle (actual finish, 3rd): VINDICATION! Melinda won by a comfortable margin. Most of the negative comments about her dwelled on her "boring" qualities, but I think there was a widespread acknowledgment that, on the basis of singing alone, she was the best.

2. Blake Lewis (2nd): Blake gets the runner-up trophy again.

3. Jordin Sparks (1st): And the actual Idol is dethroned. Interestingly, just like two other dethroned Idols in this poll (Ruben and Taylor), she fell all the way to third. (Carrie managed to hang in as a close second to Bo, while Kelly and Fantasia held on to their championships.) A recurrent comment on Jordin was that she needs more seasoning, or something to that effect.

4. LaKisha Jones (4th): So the top four remains, with Melinda and Jordin switching positions. LaKisha got a lot of respect for her voice, with complaints mostly centering on her perceived arrogance and uncomfortability in the spotlight.

5. Phil Stacey (6th): A nice little bump for Phil, who came very close to knocking LaKisha out of the final four. In retrospect, after all the Nosferatu jokes, he seems very well-liked.

6. Gina Glocksen (9th): Where did that come from? All of a sudden Gina is anointed the high-potential rocker deprived of her rightful status by an early exit.
7. Chris Richardson (5th)
8. Stephanie Edwards (11th): Well, she would have made the tour if this poll determined it. Tied with Gina for the biggest jump from reality, on votes obviously based on her potential. I agree; I would have liked to see what she could have done, and wonder if she actually had more to offer (in the sense of being able to handle a wider variety of music) than LaKisha?
9. Chris Sligh (10th): Just a hair behind Stephanie, but still manages to improve his standing. Still, a preponderance of comments suggested he blew it for himself, either by slacking off or mouthing off.
10. Haley Scarnato (8th)
11. Sanjaya Malakar (7th): Biggest divergence from reality in the vote, and not unexpectedly -- most true Idol fans tended to resent the sideshow he created. It sure would have been a lot easier to handle if he'd managed to sing half-decently.
12. Brandon Rogers (12th)

Revisionist Idol - Season 5

2007-09-04T09:07:00.002-07:00

via Idol Chatter

1. Elliott Yamin (finished 3rd on the show): I think Elliott was fortunate enough to have both a dedicated core of fans and at the same time be the finalist who was most liked by dedicated fans of other singers. I think he has just become (or may always have been) the most likable, least polarizing finalist of the season.

2. Chris Daughtry (4th): Chris' fervent fans, and those impressed by his post-show dominance on the sales and airplay charts, were enough to offset his detractors and net him the retrospective runner-up trophy.

3. Taylor Hicks (1st): He always was a polarizing figure on the show, and his lower profile since (which is quite likely at least partially by choice) may have cost him in the long run.

4. Kellie Pickler (6th): How about that? Many commenters mentioned how impressed they were with the way her post-show career has developed (must not insert bad joke here...). A new country artist selling more than 600,000 records is remarkable; to expect her to equal Carrie's sales is unrealistic -- Carrie's career is one of those rare, perfectly aligned combinations of timing, circumstance and talent. Kellie's album showed off surprising depth and a knack for lighthearted, upbeat country, and clearly it (and her public persona) impressed a lot of you, enough to give her a two-notch boost in the rankings.

5. Mandisa (9th): Now that surprised me. It is a consistent result with the retrospective boosts received by Tamyra, Nadia and La Toya, adding to the feeling that Idol frequently gives short shrift to talented African American female vocalists. But I'm not sure that alone, and her modest post-Idol career, explains her extremely strong showing in this vote.

6. Bucky Covington (8th): Close behind Mandisa (it's a very tight little cluster between positions 7 to 4), the season's other emergent country star improved on his original ranking. I think his chart success and artistic growth were factors, as well as his evident likability, which only became more apparent from his diary entries on this blog earlier in the year. Plus he gave Taylor-haters a Southern rockish guy to vote for.

You may have noticed the absence so far of a very prominent Season 5 finalist, who can finally be found at ...

7. Katharine McPhee (2nd): Wholly surprising! (Well, partially surprising, anyway.) This was easily the most radical rejection of a top-two finisher so far. Factors presumably include her relatively sluggish sales (although, at least at this point, they're in the same neighborhood as Elliott's), dissatisfaction with her post-Idol musical choices, and a strong feeling (one that kept coming up in comments) that she was an unlikable personality, an overprivileged type, or an erratic singer (or two or three of those things). Something of a shocker.
8. Paris Bennett (5th): Paris also took a tumble in the rankings, likely a combination of her perceived immaturity and widespread disappointment with the album she recorded.
9. Ace Young (7th): Not having an album out yet surely didn't help his cause. It was interesting to see how many people who voted for him cited Father Figure (which if I recall he sang in the semifinals) as their reason for picking him.
10. Lisa Tucker (10th): Finally, down in 10th place, someone's revised ranking actually matches the historical finish. Lisa got some nice comments about how well she performed on tour, but many felt her youth held her back.
11. Melissa McGhee (12th)
12. Kevin Covais (11th)

Revisionist Idol - Season 4

2007-09-04T09:07:00.001-07:00

via Idol Chatter

Clearly, fans of the winners don't have nearly the same fierceness of motivation as the "wronged" fans. The winner already, well, won, so there's not a huge need to mobilize to make sure it happens again in a re-vote such as this.

1. Bo Bice (actual finish, 2nd): Shocking, considering post-idol success.

2. Carrie Underwood (actual finish, 1st): It was actually a close race. The margin of difference amounted to a little more than 2 1/2 percent of the total points earned by Bo and Carrie. I think it was that Bo's fans cared more than Carrie's -- I've got to think in sheer numbers, Carrie's got more fans -- certainly the kind that buy records (although I wouldn't blame any Bo fans for boycotting his debut album, which I agree with most of you was not representative of his talents).

3. Constantine Maroulis (6th)

4. Nadia Turner (8th): Like Tamyra and La Toya before her, people thought she was a superior singer who might have lost personality points to other, inferior finalists.

5. Vonzell Solomon (3rd): Vonzell just didn't seem to inspire a whole lot of reminiscent passion. We might be forgetting how much she improved over the course of the show; finishing third, she was a sleeper, but a much more talented one than, say, Jasmine.

6. Anthony Fedorov (4th): Fans complimented his voice, heart-tugging back story and nice-guy personality, but the combined Constantine and Nadia movement kept him from matching his actual rank.
7. Jessica Sierra (10th): She has a lot of fans she may not know about; many rated her above Carrie (rather questionable), but the enthusiasm for her vocal stylings was stronger than expected.
8. Anwar Robinson (7th)
9. Nikko Smith (9th)
10. Lindsey Cardinale (12th): Voters in this poll don't seem to think Idol gets it right in the early eliminations. For a last-placer, Lindsey drew a surprising amount of support, praising her versatile vocals.
11. Scott Savol (5th): And the award for the biggest divergence from his actual finish goes to the smooth, soulful singer with the weird personality. His legal run-ins have done him no favors in the memories of Idol fans, apparently, as he was mentioned on very few ballots.
12. Mikalah Gordon (11th): Whew. Any other result and I would have strongly questioned your collective sanity. The novelty contestant of Season 4 is listed in the thesaurus as a synonym for "abrasive."

Tattoo - Jordin Sparks

2007-08-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Jordin has finally released the first single from her debut album. The song is titled "Tattoo" and it's a mid-tempo pop/r&b song. Personally, I love it. Jordin sounds perfect on it. I think the song is very catchy and the lyrics aren't overly horrible. It sounds like something that Beyonce would sing (actually I've heard people say that it sounds a lot like Irreplaceable.) This a good sound for Jordin. I will be very curious to see if she stays in this route or tries to fit into a different genre. I look forward to hearing the rest of her album.

You can listen to Tattoo here on AOL Music.

Revisionist Idol - Season 3

2007-08-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

1. Fantasia Barrino (actual finish, 1st)

2. Diana DeGarmo (2nd)

3. LaToya London (4th): Here's where we start to diverge from the historical record. Many felt she was robbed; I have to admit some degree of satisfaction that she won third place in this poll, displacing Jasmine Trias, whom I couldn't buy as a third-place Idol (she equates to the equally overrated Nikki McKibbin, rather than other, more stellar third-placers such as Kimberley Locke, Vonzell Solomon, Elliott Yamin and Melinda Doolittle. Speaking of Melinda, LaToya seems highly comparable to her and Tamyra Gray -- undeniably excellent singers whose cooler demeanors (as opposed to the more fiery Fantasias and LaKishas) seemed to arouse indifference in the hearts of Idol voters.

4. Jennifer Hudson (7th): Before we started on Season 3, I thought Jennifer might make it all the way to No. 2 based on her subsequent high profile. Indeed, she did very well, but a lot of people were still put off by her personality and unimpressed by her inconsistency. This placing seems pretty close to justice in my book -- she definitely didn't deserve to go out as soon as she did, but Fantasia cleaned her clock on the show. (We'll see what happens in the record marketplace when Jennifer puts her album out.)

5. George Huff (5th): I thought of George as an inferior version of Ruben, but probably more family-friendly. Given more of a shot, Brandon Rogers may have aspired to George's level.

6. Amy Adams (10th)
7. Camile Velasco (9th)
8. Jasmine Trias (3rd): Huge drop from the 2004 result, belated recognition, I like to think, that she was way over her head in finishing third.
9. Jon Peter Lewis (8th)
10. Leah Labelle (12th): I wonder who the most undeserving 12th-place finisher is -- Leah? Vanessa? Or some of the names to come?
11. Matthew Rogers (11th): Ended up matching his actual finishing point. Works for me. A friendly disposition is not enough to make an Idol.
12. John Stevens (6th): Poor Red.

Revisionist Idol - Season 2

2007-08-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Just like the last post, this was based on comments left on the blog Idol Chatter about how viewers would rank past season contestants in the present day. No surprise that Season 2 should have been won by Clay Aiken.

1. Clay Aiken (2): Duh!

2. Kimberley Locke (3)

3. Ruben Studdard (1)

4. Josh Gracin (4)

5. Trenyce (5)

6. Rickey Smith (8): Big move up for Rickey, whose residual popularity I was unaware of. His supple voice and friendly personality seemed to be his big strong points.
7. Kimberly Caldwell (7)
8. Carmen Rasmusen (6)
9. Vanessa Olivarez (12): How about this? She very nearly knocked off Carmen for 8th, retaining a lot of good will despite getting to perform in the finals only once.
10. Julia De Mato (10): A few strong supporters but clearly not enough.
11. Charles Grigsby (11)
12. Corey Clark (9 -- eliminated without a vote for failing to disclose a previous arrest): Corey has clearly left a very bad taste in the collective minds.

Carrie Hits A(nother) High Note

2007-08-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Carrie Underwood's new single, So Small, the lead track from her second album (due Oct. 23), makes its debut on the Radio & Records/Billboard country chart at No. 20. That's the highest debut position for a solo country female singer in Nielsen BDS history ... as well as the highest debut for any song this year.

GO CARRIE!

Revisionist Idol - Season 1

2007-08-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is a cool idea asking blog readers/Idol fans to re-imagine the results of past season of American Idol. Would your favorite contestant still win? Who made it too far or not far enough? Season 1 was pretty obvious (see below) but the what about the other seasons?

Leave a comment with your opinion on how Season 2 SHOULD'VE gone down.

Via USA Today's 'Idol Chatter' blog.

1. (and still champion) Kelly Clarkson (1st): Kelly didn't win in a landslide -- it was a pretty tight battle -- but the result was clear. I've got to go along with this verdict -- Kelly has done the franchise proud, and I don't know that anyone else in this crop could have come close to equaling her subsequent achievements.

2. Tamyra Gray (4th): Clearly the feeling is that Tamyra got robbed by the original voters. She was far and away the No. 2 vote-getter in this poll, a lot closer to Kelly than to the No. 3 finisher. As a postscript to the interesting but perhaps overheated discussion that cropped up about her post-Idol accomplishments, maybe she did make the right decision in gravitating toward acting and songwriting, but it would have been nice to have seen what she could have done as a singer with a big push (rather than an album that snuck out well over a year after her Idol season concluded).

3. Justin Guarini (2nd): Justin's fast fade from the public eye (aided and abetted by the From Justin to Kelly movie, which strangely didn't seem to affect Kelly's image at all, and the corporate neglect suffered by his first album) is reflected in his loss of standing retrospectively. He was the clear No. 3 choice, but was way behind Tamyra in the voting, and only a couple of people cared enough to vote him No. 1.

4. Christina Christian (6th): Substantial support for Christina, who on this vote joins Tamyra in what could be, by the time this exercise is complete, a substantial subset of African-American female singers who people now feel got a raw deal from the voters at the time. It'll be interesting to see where Kimberley Locke, Trenyce, Jennifer Hudson, La Toya London, Nadia Turner, Vonzell Solomon and others wind up in the revisionist vote.

5. RJ Helton (5th): A bit of a surprise, not that he equaled his actual finish but that he beat real-life third-place finisher Nikki McKibbin to do it (by the slimmest margin between any two finalists). I found RJ inoffensive if bland, but a superior singer to Nikki, so I was pleased to see this result.

6. Nikki McKibbin (3rd): Biggest gap between actual finish and revised vote, and well-deserved if you ask me -- I always thought Nikki was overrated, and her claim as a "rock chick" quite dubious -- Gina Glocksen could probably sing rings around her.
7. Ryan Starr (7th): Fairly substantial gap between Nikki and Ryan, who struck me as substantially more bogus than Nikki -- although she was arguably better than her piano-climbing male namesake on Rockstar: Supernova. She was kind of the Haley Scarnato of her day (in terms of teenage boy appeal), but less wholesome.
8. E. Jay Day (9th): E Jay carves out a small triumph by getting voted a notch higher than his actual finish. Having zero memory of his singing ability, I can't comment as to the merits of this result.
9. A.J. Gil (8th): The boy-band-esque A.J. was the victim of E. Jay's success, falling to ninth in the revisionist standings. No great loss, if I recall.
10. Jim Verraros (10th): And as it was in the beginning, so shall it be for eternity (or until the next poll comes around). Coming out didn't gain Jim a lot of retroactive support, it appears.

Carrie's New Single!! - So Small

2007-07-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Carrie released her new single (the first from her upcoming album) today to radio stations. It seems like a station in North Carolina was the first to play it. I was able to hear it, and I gotta say I think Carrie has a HUGE hit on her hands. This is a song very similar to Jesus, Take the Wheel in theme and her voice really soars all over it. I am sensing a ton more awards are going to be coming her way this next year. And if this song is any indication of what the rest of her album is going to sound like then I think Carrie will indeed be the best selling Idol of all time.

Thanks to Kevipodmusic.blogspot.com for ripping it and posting on their site. If you would like to hear the song click here.

My December Review

2007-06-26T15:03:00.001-07:00

I did a once through of the new album last week. I figured I would allow myself to listen to it just once and get an initial reaction and then wait until the CD came out to buy it and listen again. When I listened to it last week I wasn't all that impressed. In fact, I was a little bored with it. I left it that and waited until last night when I went to Virgin Megastore at midnite to buy it.

I put it on in my car and drove home with the music blasting. This time around I was surrounded by some great rocking songs that caught my attention. I wasn't a big fan of Never Again when it first came out but it really grew on me. I love hearing it now. It's like "Since U Been Gone" part 2.

Next up was "One Minute" which is a 80s sounding pop/rock song. I think this would sound great on the radio right now. I really like this song.

"Hole" is another fast pop/rock song. After these three upbeat catchy songs I was hooked.

Then we get the ballad "Sober". Kelly has said that this is her favorite song on the album and I have to agree. The music is so soft and simple but hearing Kelly's voice slowly crescendo into a full out belting just gives me chills. I love this song.

"Don't Waste Your Time" is another 80s sounding upbeat song that has a catchy chorus. I can also hear this on the radio right now. However, this is the first song where I thought the lyrics were pretty elementary.

"Judas" is an upbeat song that really does nothing for me. Lyrically, nothing stood out. I didn't care for the chorus. And her voice didn't do anything exceptional. This is a skipper for me.

"Haunted" is a crowd favorite from the live shows. A lot of people were hoping she put this on her last album. This song is the most "Evanescence" sounding song on the CD. You can easily hear Amy Lee singing this. It also reminds me a lot of Addicted from the last album. It has a softer verse but a rocking chorus. It's good. However, of the two, I prefer Addicted.

"Be Still" is a ballad. Kelly's voice is very soft on this one and shows some yearning emotion. It's pretty but I feel that it's a little boring.

"Maybe" is another ballad, however this one is much better than Be Still. Again, Kelly's voice really shows off the emotion of the song. This is a strong song.

"How I Feel" is another upbeat song that has a chance at radio play. I think it's a fun song but it does have some twinges of Ashlee Simpson in the vocals (if Ashlee could actually sing). I do like this song though.

"Yeah" kinda bores me so I dont' really know what to say.

"Can I Give You A Kiss" is a midtempo song that never really takes off. I feel like her voice is too big for the song so it sounds a little awkward.

"Irvine" sounds as if it was recorded in a closet. Everything about it is small and cramped; including Kelly's voice. This song is supposed to be very personal but I think it's just a little boring.

"Chivas" is another song that sounds as if it was recorded on the fly outside of a studio. It's a fun little bar type song. I love her little laugh at the end that shows that she's just having some fun with it.

Overall, I like this album a lot more than I thought I would. I can see Clive's concerns with it because it's definitely NOT a radio album (meaning a lot of the songs aren't radio friendly). So for a person that is in it for the money I can see him wanting to make a lot of changes. I feel like this album is much more of a singer/songwriter type instead of pop. Yes, there aren't a lot of radio hits that will have people bouncing around and wanting to sing at karaoke but that doesn't mean the songs aren't good. In fact, about half of the songs are really good. People just need to not be expecting Breakaway again.

Best songs:
Sober
Never Again
One Minute
Hole
Don't Waste Your Time
How I Feel
Maybe
Haunted
Chivas

Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson - Because of You

2007-06-22T18:27:00.001-07:00

Elliott Yamin LIVE - June 12, 2007

2007-06-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure to see Elliott Yamin perform live at the small, but famous venue Slim's in San Francisco. With less than 400 people inside, it was an intimate show where we were all afforded a fantastic view and could easily hear his beautiful voice.

After the show, he stayed as long as he could for meet-and-greets even though he needed to be on the bus ASAP in order to get to L.A. for press at 5am the next morning. I brought my copy of his CD and he autographed it and shook my hand while thanking me for supporting him.

I hope he continues to make music and tour because I am officially a Yaminiac!

The Future of Kelly

2007-06-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

There has been so much news surrounding Kelly Clarkson recently that you can't help but wonder how it's going to affect her and her career. Back in April we got word that Clive Davis didn't like her new album and wanted to scrap the whole thing and get professional writers to write new songs for her (Kelly either wrote or co-wrote her entire album). Then, at the Idol finale Clive takes a dig at her by saying that Carrie and Daughtry were so sucessful because of the professional writers they had for their albums. The Kelly announces that she's going to release the new album regardless of what Clive thinks because it's so personal and it's what she's about right now. Then goes on to say in an interview that she's never been in love, never said "I Love You" to anyone, doesn't give a crap about fame, money or celebrity, and is just all about the music. Then her album leaked and people got a sneak peek at what everyone was talking about. And most recently we get the news that her ticket sales are so low that she's cancelled her summer tour. That's a lot that's been happening in two months. And on the eve of her new album dropping we have to stop and wonder "has everyone suddenly turned against Kelly?"

Well from my perspective, I'm glad that Kelly is actually standing up for what she believes in and is trying to do her own thing. It's so hard to do that in the music industry when it's all about sales. Not to mention that she still has Idol attached to her persona. But, having listened to all the official sneaks (basically anything that is on AOL Music) I think I'm actually agreeing with Clive on this one. I liked Never Again, but I didn't love it (but it has grown on me a lot). And the three other clips from AOL Music didn't really impress me at all. In fact, the three clips were so different from each other that it made me wonder if she really knows what kind of an artist she is yet. The styles are so different from each other. While that's not a bad thing if you do it album to album, it's a little distracting when you do it song to song. The album won't have a cohesive flow to it. When AOL released the full version of the second single Sober I listened to it and wasnt' expecting much but i LOVED it. I think that's the song that could save Kelly from falling into a disaster with this album. The song is very heartfelt and the music is simple and gorgeous. I am very excited to see how that one does.

I am concerned about Kelly's ticket sales. Maybe she just isn't ready to sell out arenas. But that really does surprise me when she's one of the biggest artists on the planet right now. Plus Britney can sell out arenas and she doesn't even sing at her conerts. I'm hoping this whole thing is not some sort of backlash against her because of what Clive said. Maybe she just isn't ready yet but once this album drops and some new songs get released she'll be right back up there.

Even though i'm very skeptical of this new album (and I really hope I'm proven wrong) I will be at Virgin Megastore right at midnite to buy it. I am very excited to hear the full product and see what she has in store for us. I hope that she is able to prove Clive and other critics wrong. Good Luck Kelly!

Moving Forward By Looking Back

2007-06-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

Another season of Idol has come and gone. While it was great having our favorite show back on TV it seems like a lot of people that this was the worst season yet. People really couldn't get into the contestants for some reason. I don't really agree with that but I do agree that the excitement just wasn't the same as in past seasons. I think there are severals things the producers can do next year to help rebuild the excitement the show once had.

1) Cut back on the audition episodes. Every year we get more and more audition episodes and we see less and less actual talent. We have to sit through 3 weeks of bad auditions before the show actually starts taking place. That's just way too much. If they want to show that many bad people then I'd rather do it in two weeks with 2 hour episodes rather than waiting a full month before we get to Hollywood rounds.

2) Show more of the Hollywood rounds. It was ridiculous that we only got one hour of Hollywood week this year before we got to the Green Mile episode. How are we supposed to get to know some of the contestants if we don't see their audition and don't see anything in Hollywood? We need to see some episodes of the Hollywood round to get familiar with you is left in the show.

3) Get rid of the guest coaches each week. Idol has become nothing more but a way for current artists to sell albums. The whole purpose of this show is to find new, undiscovered talent not to help current artists make money. We just don't need to see them every single week. Having them on the show takes away from the audience getting to know the contestants a little more.

4) Better theme nights. While it's arguable that every season has its share of bad theme weeks I still think that season 1 has had the best. The themes were broad enough that the contestants were able to pick songs that fit their style but still fit the theme of the week. Choosing themes based on the artist is so limiting it's not even funny. The worst of this was Gloria Estefan week which was a total trainwreck. This year we had Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Barry Gibb week. While I actually liked Bon Jovi week I still think that these were too tight of a theme. We need to go back to 90s, 80s, jazz, country, etc. These theme are broad enough to allow the contestants to find a way to work within that theme.

5) Bring back the group performances on elimination night. Rather that have the guest coach perform and take away time from the contestants, I would rather see them perform their group numbers again. I find them fun and a great way to compare the contestants against each other.

6) Get rid of the 1 hr result shows. One hour is way too long for a 5 minute result. And the filler just isn't any good. Read #5 for more. It's a great way to cut the show back down to 30 min.

7) The one thing I did like this season were the singles each week. It was great to finally get a studio version of the song that was sung the night before. Many times you hope your favorite contestants sings that song for the final compilation CD and it doesn't happen. This is a great way to get those songs, plus create your contestant's first CD before releasing something on an official label. I hope they continue this practice next year.

So that's it. That's what I would do to make the show better. Let me know if you agree.

Kelly Clarkson - My December (snippets)

2007-05-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

The countdown has begun until the release of Kelly Clarkson's third album, My December. June 26, 2007 is when you can get your hands on the CD but for this moment we have a few snippets available on AOL Music to whet our appetites.

My personal favorite is "Sober".

Kelly said this was her favorite song on the album because "musically, it's almost hypnotic. You just get lost in it, it's just so beautiful. This song is about surviving something you think you can get past or over. I'm not an alcoholic; that's not what it's about. It's just a metaphor. Everyone has something they are addicted to that they can do without in their life, so it could be about whatever your addiction is."

CLICK HERE to listen to "Sober" and three other tracks from the album.

Idol Run-In

2007-05-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's me and American Idol: Season 5's Paris Bennett (or now I guess it's Princess P). While attending Gay Day at Great America I had the pleasure to see Paris, Frenchie Davis and Kimberley Locke all perform live. It was fantastic! I was so giddy because I have never been to an Idol taping so other than the tour (which is a different feeling) and these girls delivered a really great show. They each sang a couple of songs and talked for a few minutes about their lives.

Do you want me to post some more pictures?

Jordin Sparks Wins

2007-05-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

I'm bored.

Finale!! Lewis vs. Sparks

2007-05-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

So here it is, the final showdown between Blake Lewis, the beatboxer, versus Jordin Sparks, the 17 year old vocal phenom. This is actually the finale that I was hoping for since around the Top 7 or so. I didnt think that Melinda would actually get knocked off so I had no hope of actually seeing this finale happen. But then last week was a huge shock and here we are. I think tonite will be very interesting because we have style vs substance. Blake is a good singer, but not a great singer. He's made a name for himself because of his unusual song choices, great stage performance, and of course the beat boxing and song arrangements. Jordin is obviously a brilliant singer that has really grown throughout the competition. So who wins? We'll find out tonite, and I think it's going to come down to the Idol single. Whoever performs it better will be your winner. Having listened to the song choice on the American Idol website I have to say, I'm not really happy with it. The song is pure cheese and it's designed to be a "singers" song; meaning that someone with vocal chops should do well with it. It will be interesting to see what Blake does with it. If he puts his own spin on it that could make all the difference.

Blake - You Give Love a Bad Name. I'm glad he chose to do this song again. This was easily the best and most talked about performance of the season. He really made it his own. He starts the song off well (didn't miss his cue this time) and carries it throughout the whole performance. He looks so comfortable on stage and is moving around and having fun. He's engaging the audience. This is an arena type song and he's doing his best to make it sound like one. His beatboxing totally works for this song. Overall it was an excellent way to start the final night. Good for him! Grade A

Jordin - Fighter. Whoa I'm really surprised that Jordin is going for a Christina song. She's got the voice but doesn't really have the soul that Christina does. Fighter is kind of a tough song as well. It'll be interesting to see how she does. Well, vocally she's handling it pretty well. She does sound good but it's hard to hear this without hearing Christina sing it. Also, Jordin needs to do more with the song. She just walks up to the front of the stage and sings. The song is about being a fighter, being a strong woman, being tough. She should show that in the performance. She should move around and try to engage the audience. Instead, she's just standing there in the middle of the stage, as if she was singing a soft ballad. Vocally it was good but performance-wise she could have done so much more. Grade A-

Blake - She Will Be Loved. Well he seems to have found his comfort zone in Maroon5 and I can't blame him. This is the type of music that his voice works well with. He starts off alright, no major problems. The song does fit his voice quite nicely. When he goes for the falsetto notes in the chorus we finally hear him strain a little. I'm not sure if he can't sing falsetto or if the note is just a little too high for him but he never hits it. He falls just under that note every single time. Otherwise it would be a good performance. Singing the song straight shows off his nice voice but not being able to showcase the falsetto really shows how weak of a singer he is when compared to Jordin. Grade A-

Jordin - Broken Wing. This was a good song choice for Jordin. After I Who Have Nothing I think this was my 2nd favorite performance of hers. She starts off the song quietly and tells the story of the song while quietly building a crescendo. When the chorus finally comes she's in total control of her voice and everything sounds so effortless. However once again she's just standing at the front of the stage and singing the song. Although this song doesn't really call for much stage performance it would have been nice to see something different. She did really, really well with this one. I think it was one of her best performances. Grade A

Blake - This Is My Now. Well, with a title like that you can't really expect a good song out of it. We'll see if Blake did something new or just sings it straight through. And it looks like he opted to just sing. Right off the bat you can tell that he doesn't like the song. It's not his style and doesn't fit his voice at all. He seems completely uncomfortable with it. He's bopping around and interacting with the audience in the 2nd verse but he seems to have just given up. This song just doesn't work for him at all. That was really bad. I feel sad for him and he looks so defeated. Grade D

Jordin - This Is My Now. Interesting that the producers made both of them sing the same song as their last. It's like they wanted to make sure everyone knew that Jordin is the better singer and are putting the two next to each other for comparison. We'll see if she can make this craptastic song sound any better. Well right off the bat you can tell that this is loads better than what Blake did. Since it's a singers song, Jordin is able to use the different emotions in her voice and make the song come alive. This song suddenly doesn't sound so bad after all. The "tears" at the end look so fake though. She's breaking down like she's crying but there are no tears at all. It looks like she's trying to play the emotional card to get some votes. However, she doesn't need them. She blew Blake out of the water on this song. Grade A.

So there you have it. The competition is officially over this year and all that's left is to count up the votes. We'll find out tomorrow who the new American Idol is going to be. Going into tonite's show I was rooting for Blake to win. All along I have said that he's the first true male pop star to be on Idol and I think he would be unique enough to do well after the show. However, after tonite I think that Jordin will be your winner. She is definitely the better singer of the two and deserves to win based on tonite's performances. Hands down she had the better night tonite and that's most likely what America will be voting on. I will be very surprised if Blake pulls off an upset victory and takes the title tomorrow. Either way, I think both will have a deal with a record label and will be successful in their own rights.

Congratulations Jordin Sparks, American Idol 2007!

Shocked and Stunned

2007-05-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the shocker elimination of the season finally happened last night and Melinda was eliminated from the show. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I sat there staring at the TV with my jaw on the floor throughout all of Melinda's montage footage. I could not believe that the producers actually let her go. I think that she's just too "mature" for Idol. She is already a first-class performer and singer and it seems like there is no more growth for her. She's going to have a great career so she shouldn't have to worry about that. I just think that American tends to like people that actually grow while on the show so we can see their confidence boost every week and watch their performances get better and better. We didn't get that with Melinda but we did with Blake and especially with Jordin. As stunned as I am that Melinda is gone, I am actually pretty excited with the Blake/Jordin finale. It was what I was hoping for as we started coming down the home stretch. I really think that it's an even playing field right now and both have a good chance of winning. As for me, I'm voting for Blake.

Carrie Underwood, Queen of Country

2007-05-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations goes out to Carrie Underwood for winning 3 American Country Music (ACM) awards last night. She won for Best Video (Before He Cheats), Best Country Album, and Best Female Vocalist! I think it's safe to say that Carrie is firmly rooted in Nashville now and will be a huge country star once it's all said and done.

In other ACM news, Kellie Pickler was nominated for Best New Female Vocalist (but lost to Miranda Lambert, who has actually been nominated for ACM awards before so I'm not sure how she's suddenly a new vocalist). Chris Young (winner of Nashville Star 4) was nominated for Best New Male Vocalist but lost (very sad about that. He's great!) . And finally, Kelly Clarkson made an appearance to debut her new duet with Reba McIntire that will be on Reba's new duet album in Sept. Reba decided to remake "Because of You" with Kelly and I gotta say, it was AWESOME! Reba added a whole new dimension to the story aspect of the song and it sounded very heartfelt. And of course, hearing Reba and Kelly singing over, under and all around each other was just great. The crowd went crazy when the song was done. Listen for it on your country station as it went out to radio yesterday. I think it's going to be a huge hit.

Top 3

2007-05-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I wrote an entire review and was getting ready to post it when the computer froze and everything was erased. So rather than writing everything up again I figured I would just skip to the part that you want to hear.

Melinda was the best last night. She did Whitney and Tina proud. But we did finally find her weakness, the high falsetto. She went for it in the Whitney song and it was ok but definitely not what I was expecting. And then I realized that we never really heard sing anything in falsetto; she mostly belts everything. I just thought it was interesting.

Blake was the next best. I loved his Maroon5 song. That's the perfect type of song for him. It had some funk to it and it fit his voice perfectly. I also thought he did Roxanne very well. And, I actually liked the Robin Thicke song. It was nice to actually hear one of his songs since you can't understand a word he says while he's singing. I thought the beatboxing added a nice touch to the songs and didn't overpower them.

Jordin was just ok. She sounded great but her performances were just boring. She just stood there and sang the songs. Plus, her last song wasn't as good as it was the first time she performed it on the show, but was her best performance of the night.

That being said, Blake is the one going home tonite. There's no way they can deny Melinda being in the finale when she's been the best all season long. And they've been pimping Jordin so much that they won't back down now. So it's going to be a Melinda/Jordin finale. I'm not sure who I am going to vote for. I think I like Jordin better but Melinda is such a better singer and has been so consistant that I can't deny her thought. We're back to the TayTay/Diana finale. TayTay can saaaaaaaaaaang and Diana was just more personable. I think it's going to end up the same way and Melinda is going to win. It's all going to come down to who can sell the new single better. And when it comes to selling a song, it's going to be Melinda that pulls ahead.

Predict the Winner at AOL.com

2007-05-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE to vote at AOL.com for who you think will win American Idol Season 6.

More Obsessed Than I Am (Which Is Difficult To Do)

2007-05-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Via MSNBC.com:

Melinda Doolittle, 29, graduated from Belmont with a music degree in 1999. Everyone in the crowd was certain she’d prevail over rivals Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.

“She’s very talented, and she’s also very sweet and personable,” said Susan Belsante of Charlotte, N.C.

Belsante has a daughter at Belmont and a son graduating from nearby Vanderbilt University. She felt a little guilty about it, but she skipped the commencement speech at her son’s graduation so she could come cheer Doolittle.

“I went ‘Let’s see,”’ she said, holding up both hands like a scale, “commencement speech or Melinda Doolittle.’

“I had to go with Melinda Doolittle.”

Simon's Choice

2007-05-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently I DO think too deeply about American Idol because today I started thinking about Tuesday's Top 3 showdown. More specifically, each contestant will be singing three songs: one they choose for themselves, one chosen by a judge (Randy, Paula or Simon) and one chosen by Clive Davis. Historically speaking, Simon pairs up with the contestant most likely to win (or at least gives them the song with the most potential to help them win).

So Idol fans, who will gain the power behind SIMON'S CHOICE?

Strategy?

2007-05-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Maybe I over-analyze these things, but how much do you think the contestants (especially now six seasons into this show/contest) strategize throughout the competition?

Comments have been made about certain contestants peaking too soon or conversely really turning the heat up at different points in the competition. I guess I wonder if these "kids" are really more savvy then we might think.

Consider these two ideas then discuss on the message boards...

What if Melinda has been waiting to unleash some more "WOW" performances until she is sure to be in the final? Consistent, good performances have gotten her this far and maybe she wants to blow everyone else away in the end? It seems to me that this would be right time to have an "off" night, gain some sympathy votes, slide into the Top 3 and then snap back to her semi-final quality performances.

Why has Blake started beat-boxing again? Does he realize that he needs that differentiation amongst the finalists now, more than before? Will he stop again if he makes the Top 3?

Final Four - Boogie Night/Barry Gibb

2007-05-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

So now that we're down to the final four it's going to be an exciting competition. Well really, it's been that way since the final 6 but everyone is curious to see who the final 2 will be out of this group. I think it's a good bet that Blake and Jordin will be in the finale, but Melinda is so damn good that she could easily make it in. LaKisha is the least likely to make it in but she can saaaaaang so anything is possible. Tonite will be interesting because I think it's going to be disco night (which we already had with Diana Ross). Who knows if they'll be able to pull it off. And away we go.

Melinda - Once again, she's done an amazing job of taking a song and making it her own. She's doing a great job at singing and performing the song. She has total control over the stage. Will she ever give a bad performance?

Grade A-

Blake - "You Should Be Dancing". Blake is showing some nice falsettos. Some of the beatboxing techniques sound a little odd in the middle of the chorus. It sounds like some gay remix. However the beatboxing stuff in the breakdown section work perfectly. Hes having a lot of fun on stage and looks really comfortable. It looks like after last week's performance he knows he can win this thing. Good job.

Grade A-

LaKisha - "Staying Alive". Again, after last week she's finally starting to show some personality that we've been looking for all season. The performance is ok but nothing is really blowing me away. She's doing her own thing during the chorus but nothing is really "wow". It was just ok.

Grade B

Jordin - "To Love Somebody". Clay and Josh Gracin both sang this song on their season. It'll be interesting to see how different Jordin does it. It's different. There's more of a sense of urgency in her performance, especially near the end. I really liked it.

Grade A

Intermission: Is it just me or does Barry Gibb sound like Sean Connery? Also, I can't understand a word he's saying because he's mumbling so much. Looking at his mouth he looks like he's got new dentures in or something and he's not used to them. It's weird.

So it looks like the producers really want Jordin in the finale. This is the 3rd time she's gotten the pimp spot this season. And 2nd time in 3 weeks. I think they're really hoping for a Blake/Jordin finale like I am.

Melinda - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart". Well the song starts out sounding a lot like Barbra Streisand. The middle section sounds great but is boring. The last 3rd she really makes it her own again and throws that Melinda growl into it. She really brings it home with that. Good job.

Grade A-

Blake - "This Is Where I Came In". The song sucks. It's not a wonder why this wasn't a hit. However, Blake makes it sound like something that Jason Mraz would sing. I don't like the performance though. He sounds fine but this song is such crap that it's really hurting him. I don't think beatboxing really added anything to it.

Grade B-

LaKisha - "Run To Me". Horrible dress. She really needs a new stylist. Simon will probably talk about her shouting. it seemed to really affect her this time because she lost her voice at the end of the song. It was a good song choice for her.

Grade B+

Jordin - "Woman In Love". She's missing some notes here and there but Jordin is really learning how to interpret a song and that's what is making her do so well. She can use the softness in her voice or belt the hell out of a song. She has really grown in the competition.

Grade B

Well I agree with Simon and LaKisha and Blake are in the bottom 2 tonite. I think it's finally LaKisha's time to go. It's not going to be the shocker that I predicted but it's definitely her tomorrow. If she does stay then that will be the big shocker because the other 3 are the ones that deserve to be in the final 3.

All Hail Princess P!

2007-05-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Paris Bennett's debut album is now streaming this week on AOL Music. You can listen to it before you buy it tomorrow. Let us know what you think.

Yet Another Reason Why Taylor Hicks Sucks

2007-05-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

I was never a fan of Taylor Hicks last year. Sure, he's a hell of a performer but that doesn't translate to a CD. He's someone you have to see live to understand because if you just listen to him it's nothing special. It's pretty easy to see why he's the least successful out of all of the winners. But the Orange County Register recently did an interview with him and they claimed it's like pulling teeth to get a decent answer out of the guy. It's just another reason of why I hate him. He thinks that he's the best thing that has ever happened to the show when, in fact, he's nothing but a joke. You can read the whole article here

Good Point

2007-05-07T08:50:00.001-07:00

"Some observers also wonder if partnering exclusively with Cingular has influenced the show's results. According to NPD Group, 44% of Cingular subscribers are in the South. All five former Idol winners hail from below the Mason-Dixon line."

--via Forbes.com

Idol Updates

2007-05-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

The cast of Broadway's 'RENT' will be adding American Idol, Season 1 finalist Tamyra Gray to their family. She will start performing on May 29th in the role of Mimi.
Carrie Underwood's charity single "I'll Stand By You" set a record this week as the first ever digitally-released track to debut in the Billboard Top 10 (#6, to be specific) and without any radio airplay!
Elliott Yamin will return to the Idol stage on May 16th to perform.

Appropriate Analogy

2007-05-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

Via Reality Remix Blog:

"Nasal is a form of singing the way crashing is a form of driving." (Referencing Chris Richardson's retort to Simon Cowell about his singing technique)

Top 6 - Bon Jovi Night

2007-05-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

I am definitely excited for this week. I love Bon Jovi and it'll be very interesting to see how they all adapt to the rock theme of the week. I definitely think the women are going to have a tough time with it but we shall see what happens.

Phil - "Blades of Glory". If Phil doesn't rock it out tonite then he's gone for sure. His voice is the one that lends itself to Bon Jovi more than any other left in the competition. This song is perfect for him because it combines the country side with the rock side. This should hopefully be good. I like seeing him in the audience and interacting with the crowd. He's definitely having fun with the song and yes, his voice fits perfectly with it. He is definitely nailing it. I really liked this one. Grade A-

Jordin - "Living On a Prayer". Well, for someone that has grown up on Bon Jovi and knows all their stuff she really seems nervous about singing the song. This is a really tough one because of the octave jump in the chorus but she should be able to pull it off. However, from her first note you can see that she's scared about it. I think we may have finally found her weakness and that's the low register. We know she's great when she hits the higher notes but having to sing an entire verse in her low register is killing her. The key should have been raised a little. She's handling the octave jumps well but everytime she goes back down it's a struggle for her. This is a really shaky performance. Well, at least she admits that this was not her week. Good for her. Grade C

LaKisha - "This Ain't a Love Song". Well it's nice to see LaKisha actually showing some personality tonite. I loved her little comment about the camera showing her slim side. So I have never heard this song before but I'm glad she decided to do a ballad because she for sure would have been gone with any other song. This song, however, seemed to fit her to the T. She threw herself into and really sang it. Finally, there was no shouting in the middle of the song. Finally she showed some emotion in her voice and in her stage presence. Finally we got the LaKisha back from the semis. It was a great performance. Grade A

Blake - "You Give Love A Bad Name". So Blake is going to change it up and do something daring huh? I'm very curious to see what he does with such a well known song. Well, the opening beatbox stuff is hot. Great way to start out the song. His vocals actually sound stronger than they have in the past, that's impressive. However, he's still lifting his head at the end of every phrase. I'm getting tired of seeing that. I wish he'd just keep his head still. Oooooooh, I LOVE the beatbox breakdown in the middle of the song. He is having so much fun with this. He completely made the song his and got the crowd to buy into it as well. What an awesome job! This was the most original performance on Idol out of every season! Grade A+

Chris - "Wanted Dead or Alive". I'm very nervous for Chris with this choice. After Chris Daughtry killed it last year I think everyone is going to be comparing the two. Chris R. doesn't have the same kind of voice and I think his voice is too thin for this song. I gotta say though, his opening has really impressed me. If he can keep his voice in this lower register he might actually be able to pull it off. Hm, in the 2nd verse he started losing it a little. The vocals are fine but there's no life to the performance. He's just singing it. It's a shame because he actually did pull it off vocally. His vocals were way better than I thought he was going to be. Grade B-

Melinda - "Have A Nice Day". Finally we get to see Melinda rock out a little bit. Haha, she's so funny in her interview segment. She admits that she has no idea how to rock out or be a rocker. I like her song choice because it's so different from her character. If she throws in the right attitude she could pull it off. She seems to be doing a really good job with the song. For not being a rocker she is actually doing well and having fun with it. I love the attitude that she's throwing into it. That's what is needed to make this song work. Of course, vocally she is still superb. I liked the performance. Grade A-

Overall, this was a great night. I really liked this theme and we had some great performances. People really stepped it up tonite. If I was to choose the bottom 2 for tonite it would be Jordin and Chris. As for who is going home, I have no idea. Since everything is going to be combined with last week's votes it's all up in the air. Sadly, I do think that Chris will be one of the two going. For that last spot I just don't know. I'm going to be very nervous for the next 24 hours.

Kelly Clarkson - Never Again

2007-05-01T17:44:00.001-07:00

Wow! Kelly is back and channelling her inner 'Alanis'. She is pissed! How can someone be so hot and so scary as hell at the same time? This is an intense video and I think it's probably Kelly's best. I love it!

Kimberley Locke - Based on a True Story

2007-04-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

AOL.com is streaming K.Lo's new CD for the week. You can listen to it here and then go out and buy your own copy.

And speaking of K.Lo, she is part of the Season 5 cast of "Celebrity Fit Club: Men Vs. Women". I've never watched the show before (this is Ryan, BTW) but thought I'd tune in to support Kimberley.

She is the Team Captain for the women and has an on-going feud with Dustin Diamond (a.k.a. Screech from "Saved By the Bell"). Dustin is a first-class jerk and although he loves to dish out the shit, he can't handle when it's thrown back at him. There was a clip for the next episode that shows Kimberley cussing out Dustin and calling him a sad, washed-up, broke, camera-hogging child actor! Watch out!

Top 5 Caricatures

2007-04-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Via Pretty On the Outside. Don't worry, I've already left a comment on that site asking for a Jordin Sparks drawing.

What Should They Sing - Bon Jovi/Rock Week

2007-04-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, there seems to be a little confusion over what the theme will be this week. Because Bon Jovi is the coach people seem to think it's Bon Jovi week. But there is also talk that it's a more general "rock" week. We'll see what happens on Tues but for now let's assume that it's going to be "Bon Jovi" week. With that in mind I've tried to come up with some song ideas for everyone to sing. Let me know what you guys think.

Chris - Who Says You Can't Go Home. This song is a fun, faster paced song with a country vibe to it. I think he could have a lot of fun with this one and his voice would fit nicely. I was also thinking about this one for Phil because of the country feel but I decided on another instead.

Phil - Blaze of Glory. This was written for the movie Young Guns II. It also has a tiny bit of country in the song. Phil's voice lends itself quite nicely to this week's theme so I think he'll do well with any song he chooses. I was thinking about Living on a Prayer but that octave jump might be a little too high for Phil so settled on this one instead.

Blake - Bed of Roses. There is a great acoustic version on YouTube of this song and I think Blake could that off quite nicely.

Jordin - Always. Another great ballad that Jordin will be able to pull off.

LaKisha - admittedly, this is going to be really hard week for LaKisha. I think she's going to struggle a lot on finding the right tune. But since she's so keen on choosing songs that other Idols have done then I choose Wanted Dead or Alive for her. Chris rocked it out last year so of course LaKisha will attempt it and fail. But in reality she'll probably go for some sort of ballad so I'll say "I'll Be There For You".

Melinda - Have A Nice Day. This is also going to be really hard for Melinda as I don't really see her as a rocker. However, she could pull it off with this song. Lyrically, it doesn't really fit with Melinda's demeanor but if she sings it with the attitude that she used during "I'm A Woman" she could really make this work.

So what do you guys think? Do you agree? Disagree? Have better ideas for song choices?

Idol Chatter Dominates US Workplace

2007-04-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

A survey by staffing company Spherion Corp. released on Tuesday found that American Idol is the most talked-about U.S. television program in the workplace for the second year in a row.

Thirty-seven percent of 2,800 U.S. workers named the FOX program as the show they most often discussed at work, up from 35 percent last year, and compared with 17 percent who named medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

The shows 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland, crime investigation series CSI, and medical series House rounded out the top five.

The survey found about one in five employees engages in Idol chatter on company time, with women more likely than men to bring up the show or discuss its contestants, according to the poll conducted for Spherion by researcher Harris Interactive.

American Idol: Idol Gives Back

2007-04-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE to donate!

This is REALLY IMPORTANT and I think if we all start getting back into a POSITIVE MINDSET we CAN make change happen. Let's put aside our cynicism, pessimism and hopeless feelings and start NOW to make the world a better place. Make a choice to not go out drinking one night this week or not buy that pair of pants you've been eyeing and do some good with your money.

Leave a comment to tell us how much you donated (I gave $100).

Seriously, this is what your money can do:

$20 - Buys a week's healthy food for 15 hungry kids in a US feeding program.
$50 - Buys enough Malaria pills to save 100 kids from Malaria in Kenya.
$100 - Buys a year's worth of food for 1 orphan in Kenya.
$250 - Buys books for a year for 3 kids at a US after-school reading program.

SPOILER!!! Top 6 - Idol Gives Back/Songs of Inspiration

2007-04-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I was lucky enough to get tickets to tonite's taping of the Top 6 show: Songs of Inspiration/Idol Gives Back. Because of the super 2-hour results/concerts on Wed they will be using Tuesday's normal slot as rehearsal time. So for this week only they filmed the regular show on Monday to air Tuesday night. So I got to see the show before everyone else, and I gotta say it's going to be AWESOME! Personally, I think it's the best show of the season so far. There were great performances and, mixed with the clips of Africa and the US, it's going to be a powerful, great show. I am going to go ahead and do my normal critiques of each performance. If you want to go ahead and be spoiled just highlight the rest of the text. If not, then wait until you watch the show tomorrow and then come back and see what I thought.

Chris - "If I Could Change The World". He chose an uptempo song which I thought was a little odd since it's supposed to be inspirational but when I heard the lyrics I got it. Chris started out just sitting on a chair but by the 2nd verse he was up and doing his normal thing. This was a great song choice for him. He nasality was nowhere to be found and his voice sounded really strong. He had fun with the song and seemed to connect with the lyrics. I thought he did great. Grade B. Judges comments: Randy - Finally the real competition has begun (assuming because Sanjaya is gone). He picked a great song and sounded good. Paula - loved the sexiness he brought to it. Sounded great. Good job. Simon - thought it was a great song choice, no nasalness, finally lived up to the potential they first saw in him at the auditions.

Melinda - "There Will Come A Day" This is a Faith Hill song but I've never heard so not sure if it's more country or pop. If it's supposed to be more country then Melinda really made that song her own because there was no country in it whatever. Instead, we got an amazing vocal and wonderful performance. She was singing her heart out. It was awesome. Grade A. Judges comments: Randy - showed them how to sing. Paula - amazing as always. Simon - loved the 1st half, 2nd half was fantastic. It was a masterclass performance.

Blake - "Imagine". I love Imagine by John Lennon. It's a beautiful, simple song that's meant to be emotional and heartfelt. However, the song does not lend itself to singing loudly and powerful. This both helps and hurts Blake. He sounded fine on the song (however, he's still need to drop his head. He raises his head at the end of every phrase and it stops him from singing fully) but we never get that "amazing" performance. However, his performance was full of sincerity and that definitely showed. Grade B-. Judges comments: Randy - It's hard to live up to the original and not be compared to it. It was good but didn't blow him away. Paula - agreed at first but then realized it's more about the emotional and Blake was full of sincerity so made the song very enjoyable because of that. Simon - agrees with both. It was ok vocally but his sincerity really lifted the performance from just being ok.

LaKisha - "I Believe". When I heard she was singing Fantasia's "I Believe" I was like 'why are you singing another Idol's song? You're gonna get kicked off!'. But then she comes out and has a little shaky start and then really turns it on. She sang the hell out of that song and blew the roof off of the place. Fantasia always performed that song with so much emotion and I think LaKisha did the same. It sounded a little different but the emotion and feeling was there. The audience went crazy for her performance. Grade A. Judges comments: Randy - It's not her best performance. He preferred Fantasia's version better. Paula - So many great singers Celine, Whitney, Chaka, etc. that are so unique. Fantasia is one of them. Hard to take her on. She preferred Fantasia's as well. Simon - Still thinks she's shouting through her song.

Phil - "The Change". Phil chose another country song since that seems to be where he's fitting in the best. He was a tiny bit off on the first few bars but then got into the groove. He improved as the song went on and ended well. However, his song choice is the weakest of the bunch. While I personally love the song, when you throw it in with the rest that have been done it's easily the weakest. Therefore his performance suffered because of it. He sounded good but he was missing some of the spark and connection he had to the song last week. Grade B-. Judges comments: I can't remember what Paula and Randy said, but Simon said that he needs to go back to putting some of the "country" in his voice that he had last week. If he does that and sticks with it he could go far in the competition.

Jordin - "You'll Never Walk Alone". I really only know this song because Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia sang it for the American Idol Christmas special after Season 3. I loved it. Kelly and Fantasia go off on that song. I was excited to see what Jordin would do since we know she has a big voice. Well, she didn't disappoint. She started out softly, had a slow crescendo and then unleashes her huge voice. She was full of emotion and her vocals were top notch. The audience was going crazy about midway through her song. Easily the best of the night! Grade A+. Judges comments: Randy - OMG, amazing! The best performance on Idol EVER! I couldn't hear what Paula said. Simon - Fantastic.

So there you have it, all of tomorrow night's spoilers. I am very excited to actually see the show again. I'm curious to see how LaKisha's performance is because the crowd absolutely loved it and the judges hated it. That was the big dispute of the night. I'm curious to see if she'll sound the same on TV or if she's actually screaming.

My bottom three would be the 3 guys because the women killed it tonite. But, if America follows what the judges say then the bottom 3 will be LaKisha, Blake and Phil. Either way, I think Phil may be going home.

'Life Anthem' Song Week

2007-04-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

So this week's theme is 'Life Anthems'...

Let's hope the final 6 keep it upbeat because this could quickly get cheesy. But what do you think?

What should Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, LaKisha Jones and Phil Stacey sing?

(Remember, if they make it to Top 5 they generally do 'Big Band' Week and then Top 4 get to sing two songs each)

Bye Bye-ya Sanjaya!

2007-04-19T08:31:00.001-07:00

Normally, I don't post anything after elimination nights but I was compelled to do so today. I for one am very happy with the results of last night's show. I was never a Sanjaya fan and was hating him more and more with each passing week. Tuesday night's performance was the last straw. That had to rank up there with one of the worst performances on Idol ever. It was off key, out of rhythm, and had no joy in the performance. He looked like he knew it as well. I know that Vote For the Worst and Howard Stern were trying to keep him in to make a mockery out of Idol, and they did a good job, but it was time for him to go. Now that he's gone we finally have a real competition on our hands. While there are still some excellent singers that will most likely make the finals (Melinda and Jordin) the remaining singers will still add excitement and fun to the rest of the season. I think that's going to be pretty important because this season seems to be so emotionally charged for some reason. First we had all the backlash against Antonella for her pictures. Then there was all the talk about Sanjaya and Sundance sucking so much. Then it was just Sanjaya. Then there was the whole Chris/Simon/V Tech fiasco. I feel like everyone is on edge this season and the show just needs to get back on track and be all about the singing. Hopefully now that Sanjaya is gone we'll be able to focus on that again. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season.

Top 7 - Country Night/Martina McBride

2007-04-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for tonite! I am one of the people that LOVE country music and look forward to this theme each week. I don't really know Martina's songs (other than what's been song on Idol before) but I'm sure she'll be fine. I can't wait to jump right in!

Phil Stacey - "Where the Blacktop Ends". Well right of the bat you can tell that it's different. He actually starts of the song correctly and with confidence. He sounds like he's having fun and is actually showing some personality on stage. Also, it seems like he took Martina's advice and added some of the soul into the first half of the song. It really works. This is, finally, a great performance from Phil. His voice sounds strong, he's having fun on stage, and he's connecting to the song. Finally! Grade B+
>>Surprisingly good country!<<
Jordin Sparks - "Broken Wing". Well it's definitely gotta be hard singing an artist's song right in front of them but she did it with Gwen as well. I don't think it'll rattle Jordin too much. She sounds great on the opening of the song. I love the softness of the opening and the slow cresendo into the chorus. Wow! Heading into the chorus she really opened up and saaaaaang! This is a phenominal performance. I think it could be one of Jordin's best! She ended the song so strong and had a lot of emotion in her voice. I'm sure Martina is proud. Grade A
>>Sultry. Diva-licious. Powernote.<<
Sanjaya Malakar - "Something To Talk About". It started out just ok. His voice sounds ok. Ok, nevermind it's progressively worse. It sounds horrible, like karaoke gone bad. The song choice is ok but he's getting uninspired with each passing moment. I can't take much more of this. After two great performances it's a pretty he has to stop the momentum. He really needs to go tomorrow. Grade F
>>Literal. Sloppy. Pained/Painful.<<
LaKisha Jones - "Jesus, Take the Wheel" WHOA! I can't believe she's taking on Carrie. This is going to be very interesting. Well, she doesn't sound country at all. You can hear the R&B in her voice. I feel like she's shouting through the chorus and missing notes everywhere. This doesn't sound nearly as good as Carrie's. I think because she's not nailing the song of a very popular Idol she could actually get the boot tomorrow. It'll be very interesting. Not her best performance. Grade C>>Off-Rhythm. Lispy. Flat.<<

Chris Richardson - "Mayberry". Hm, I'm not sure about Mayberry. Rascal Flatts is perfect for him because his voice is higher but not the best song. Wow, his voice really fits! He sounds very similiar to the Rascal Flatts guy. He sounded good all throughout the song. It was fun but not sure it was the best song choice. The song was pretty forgettable. He could have really blown it away with "What Hurts the Most" or something like that. I liked it though. Grade B>>Totally butt-hurt.<<
He looks to be really upset about what the judges are saying. I'm not sure if it's because of everything that happened at Virginia Tech or if he's worried about leaving. Personally, I think that V.Tech really affected his performance tonite. Hopefully he'll have the chance to come back next week and get back on track.

Melinda Doolittle - "Trouble Is A Woman". I've never heard this song before. Not sure what to expect. Damn, her vocals are spot on. She sounds amazing. This is a great song for her. It's fun and fast-paced yet still has actual singing in it. Melinda is having fun performing it. Overall a great performance (once again. Can we expect any less from her?). Grade A
>>Can do anything.<<
Blake Lewis - "When the Stars Go Blue". I've never heard this song either. Hm, not sure how I feel about it. He sounds good but still sounds a little awkward singing this song. However, I do like the control that he's showing on his falsetto notes. He needs to stop lifting his head when he goes for the higher notes. It was an interesting choice. Not my favorite of his but it was good and he sounded good on it. Grade B>>Kinda boring & calculated.<<

Well overall I was pleased with this week. It's always fun to have country week for week. I thought Martina was decent as a mentor. She didn't offer too much really useful advice but was able to help them really focus on the country aspect of it. She did seem to really enjoy being there (unlike Gwen).

Sadly, i think the bottom 3 are going to be Sanjaya, LaKisha and Chris. As much as I think Sanjaya should go home I don't think he will which leaves us to LaKisha and Chris. I'm going to be very sad to see either of them go but I think tomorrow will finally be the shocker episode and LaKisha will be sent home. She's going to fall into the Lisa Tucker box and did poorly on an Idol song so the public will be very unforgiving. I have been saying that LaKisha was going to be the shocker and it's finally going to happen. I'm just sad that LaKisha won't be around for Idol Gives Back next week.>>Bottom 3: same, Going Home: Sanjaya<<

Katharine McPhee Supports Sanjaya

2007-04-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

No Kat! No!

“First of all, I think Sanjaya is an absolute phenomenon,” she said in an interview with Jam! Showbiz. ”Every year, there’s something that makes the show even bigger than it was the year before. I’m on the Sanjaya train! I’m like, ‘Go Sanjaya!’”

If not for the show, McPhee also acknowledges shemight not be with us today.

“I do believe American Idol saved my life,” she confessed. “Finally, it felt like doors were opening for me and the dark clouds were separating. Making it to the finals really saved me. I was able to find what I was passionate about, which was important because the things you love in life will eventually overcome the demons.”

And she’s perfectly okay with having to prove herself to a few skeptics.

“There are certain challenges being from American Idol, like the (proving your) legitimacy thing, but there’s much less of that now. Look at Kelly Clarkson and Reuben (Studdard) and Jennifer Hudson — they’ve all sold records and it’s proving that real artists do come out of Idol. I’m grateful for that,” McPhee said.

Fans Love Her, They Really Love Her!

2007-04-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Carrie Underwood once again proved to be an unstoppable force in country music last night when she took on, and beat out, Kenny Chesney, Dixie Chicks, Rascal Flatts and other country superstars at the CMT Awards. Carrie went 3 for 3 winning Best Director of a Video, Best Female Video and Video of the Year for "Before He Cheats". This award show is all based on fan votes so it looks like the people really do love Carrie. Congratulations Carrie! But seriously, what is she wearing? Are those Flashdance socks/legwarmers making a comeback?

You can read the whole article here. [via E! Online]

No Fanjayas at the Dodgers Game

2007-04-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

So it looks like Dodgers fans are NOT Fanjayas (and really, who can blame them). Who knew people in LA actually had good taste in music? Star Magazine is reporting about Sanjaya's recent attendance at the Dodgers Game where he was booed by the public.

"He was just sitting there having a good time with his friends, just like a regular person," an eyewitness who was at the game tells Star. "And when the Dodger camera noticed him the camera guy ran over and taped him. Sanjaya's face pops up on the big screen right away. At first he smiled, he seemed to like the attention. But when the entire crowd at the stadium started to boo--and it was loud!--his smile faded a bit and his eyes looked sad. It's like he was trying to keep a fake smile on, but you could tell he was crestfallen. He just kept waving and smiling for a few seconds more then his image went off the screen."

You can read the whole article here.

Kelly Clarkson UPDATE

2007-04-14T12:34:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to give you all an update on the great new Kelly Clarkson song "Never Again". The album is titled "My December" and will drop this summer. Here is the cover art for the single (lookin' mighty good KC!) and a link to download the full, original version of the song. Enjoy!

Eurovision Song Contest

2007-04-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Idol has been replicated in countries all around the world (Malaysian Idol, Australian Idol, etc.) and was originally a show in the UK called Pop Idol (complete with Simon Cowell as a judge). But apparently there has been a show around MUCH longer called Eurovision which sounds like an amazing project.

Can you believe there is something Idol-related that I didn't even know?

In 1955, the EBU came up with the idea of an international song contest whereby countries, represeted by their respective broadcasters, would participate in one television show, to be transmitted simultaneously in all represented nations. This was conceived during a meeting in Monaco in 1955 by Marcel BEZENÇON, a Frenchman working for the EBU. The competition was based upon the Italian Festival di Sanremo, held for the first time in 1951, and was also seen as a technological experiment in live television: in those days, it was a very ambitious project to join many countries together in a wide-area international network. Satellite television did not exist yet at that time, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network. Le Grand-Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne was born!

Without interrpution, the Eurovision Song Contest has been broadcast every year since 1956, which makes it one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. The competition has been broadcast throughout Europe, but also in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States, even though these countries do not participate.

Here is the music video of the song performed on this year's show from the representative for Greece. His name is Sarbel (just Sarbel...I guess he's like Madonna and only needs one name). Ummm, how do you say "hot" in Greek?

Bucky Covington's Debut CD

2007-04-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Clear Channel is streaming the entire debut CD from Bucky Covington. Take a listen before you buy it on Tues. I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet but I've liked the little I've heard. It has a very southern-rock, "Friday Night Lights" type feel to it.

Click here to listen to Bucky's album!

Haley Scarnato Likes Used Hair

2007-04-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

[via American Idol Worship]

Is it true that you got Katharine McPhee’s old hair extensions from last season?
Yes, that is true. I think it’s cool. They can wash them, so it’s fun. I think it’s cool to wear the hair extensions of Katharine McPhee. She’s Katharine McPhee!

Top 8 - Latin Music Night

2007-04-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

So the biggest question for tonite's episode isn't how much clothes will Haley actually be wearing or what Sanjaya's hair is going to look like. The biggest question of the night is "will tonite's episode such as much as the similarly themed 'Gloria Estefan Night' from Season 3?" That episode was such a trainwreck. It was impossible to make those incredibly cheesy songs sound like anything other than a bad cruise ship performance. I'm hoping and praying that tonite's episode doesn't fall into the same category, but the rumor is that some contestants are actually singing Gloria Estefan songs again so we'll see what ends up happening. I don't have high hopes though. As always, I'm typing this up while I'm watching the show so you're getting my initial reactions to everything.
>>I'm just going to add a three word description to the end of Jesse's excellent, detailed recaps. Your friend, [ ryan ]<<

Haha, JLo makes them all sit on the floor while she's sitting in a stool. Such a diva! We'll see how much she's actually able to help.

First up is Melinda Doolittle - "Sway". HAHA "I'm so not sexy!" says Melinda. Hm, is it possible to be bored during a flawless performance? That's how I'm starting to feel about Melinda. You know she's going to come out and sing the hell out of a song flawlessly so when she comes out and does it you get what you expect. There's nothing that gets you excited about hearing something that you weren't expecting. This is another great performance vocally, but the overall performance was just ok. It was missing some personality and I was a little bored. Grade B>>Boring but great.<<
LaKisha Jones - "Conga". OH, HELL TO THE NO! This has got to be one of the worst songs to choose. This song never comes off seriously and just sounds like a huge bucket of cheese. It could be a terrifically horrible performance. Since LaKisha is a master singer she may be able to pull this off. Ugh, again, this is lacking in something. But this time I blame the song. LaKisha sounds fine on it but the song is so horrible that she can't pull herself above it. It sounds like a bad cruise ship performance again. Gloria Estefan music should be banned from Idol. Like Melinda, vocally LaKisha sounded great but the overall performance was just ok. Grade B
Simon got it exactly right, this is not a singer's song it's a performer's song. No one ever sounds good while singing this song.
>>Some more personality.<<
Chris Richardson - "Smooth". I'm becoming a huge Chris fan so I'm excited to hear this. I love this song and I think he can do really, really well with it. It's the perfect type of song for his voice. Oh wow, he doesn't sound good at all in the opening. He doesn't seem to find his stride until he hits the chorus. Hm, from the chorus to the end he sounds alright. The whole performance just seemed to be lacking in star quality. This is definitely one of his weakest performances. Interestingly, his voice has improved greatly. I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that he's really been working on getting rid of that nasality of his voice and because of that he now has a fuller, stronger voice. He sounds a lot better but this performance was still not that great. Grade C+
>>Tried really hard.<<
Haley Scarnato - "Turn The Beat Around". Oh no. This is another Gloria song. And I don't have confidence in Haley to pull it off. Let's see how she does. What's up with the gay remix? This is the perfect version of a cruise ship performance. At least she looks hot. That's all she's got going for her right now. She had at least had fun with the performance. I just wish it was a different song. Grade C
>>What a stripper.<<
Phil Stacey - "Maria Maria". Well, Phil has a nice voice but the song is pretty boring. The crowd doesn't even seem to be into it at all. When Phil goes for some of the power notes his voice breaks a little. I think his voice is getting strained in the competition. It was just a bleh performance. Not good, not bad, just there. Grade C
>>Creepy. Desperate. Whiny.<<
Jordin Sparks - "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You". NOOOOOOO, not another Gloria Estefan song! Jordin is better than that. Yet ANOTHER boring performance. And again, I blame the song. Wow, even Jordin's voice is a little off tonite (on her first big note). She doesn't look very confident with this song nor is she having any fun with it. Grade C
>>Shaky big voice.<<
Blake Lewis - "I Need To Know". He's going to do real good JLo? I guess you really are from "the block". Well, it's nice to actually hear Blake sing a familiar song. It's a great song for his voice. Well, considering what we've seen tonite, this is a really good vocal. He didn't really "Blake-ify" it too much but it was still a really good performance. Best of the night so far. Grade A
>>Sweaty. Monotone. Ambiguous.<<
Sanjaya Malakar - "Besame Mucho". OMG!! First of all, Sanjaya got the pimp spot?! Either this is going to be really good or the producers are trying to showcase just how bad he is by putting him at the end so that's the last thing America hears before voting. There's no getting lost in the shuffle this time. Second, he's singing in spanish?! That's a bold move by him. Wow! He's finally showing the confidence he lacked in the earlier rounds. His voice sounds strong (and it's in tune!). This is a really subtle performance that takes away all of the fluff and playfulness he's been surrounding himself with these past 2 months. There's nothing here except his voice and it actually sounds good! I can't belive he pulled this off. This may actually be the best performance of the night. Holy crap! Grade B+
>>Lucky he's last.<<
I was a little bummed that no one came out and sang "Taco Flavored Kisses" to miss Jennifer Lopez (or, Hennifer Lopez as she pronounces it). I would have died if someone did that. Oh well. Aside from J.Lo's laugh, I can't say she really added anything to show or helped the contestants. She changed Chris' key and that was about it. What's up with these people that are there to help the contestants but don't really know what to do. Other than Lulu, no one has been able to really help the kids this year. We need Barry Manilow back!

As for the them this week, NEVER EVER AGAIN HAVE LATIN MUSIC OR GLORIA ESTEFAN MUSIC. This was just as bad as Season 3's Estefan night.

Bottom 3 will be Chris, Haley and Phil. I am actually very scared that Chris could be going home so I will be sure to vote a lot for him tonight. But I actually think it's going to be Haley. That was a pretty bad, bland performance. Phil's really wasn't any better. It could be a toss-up between the two.

>>Did anyone notice my Idol-crush Tom Lowe sporting the "lucky seven" pony-hawk in the audience tonight? I hope that means I get to see more of him somewhere?

I'm going to be crazy and say the bottom three is LaKisha, Jordin and Phil. This is goodbye for Nosphilatu.<<

Is Idol About the Music or Just Good TV?

2007-04-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

LA Times ran an article yesterday about American Idol and what it does for pop music. Is it actually a singing competition that showcases amazing vocals and re-introduces classic songs to a younger generation? Or is it simply a smart TV show that focuses more on the antics and the people to make it entertaining?

"If "American Idol" were really first and foremost a singing competition, as Simon Cowell keeps grousing it is, we'd all be talking about Melinda Doolittle's near-flawless, jazz-inflected performances, for music lovers the true highlight of the No. 1-rated show's sixth season.

Instead, America is engaged in a national debate about Sanjaya Malakar's hair."

To continue reading the article click here.

So which is it, a show that gets America talking about people or a show that really is about the music business? Personally, I think it's both. For me, the show has opened me up to a lot of older, classic songs that I hadn't heard before (and yes, that does say a lot about my exposure to older music.) And you can't deny what the show has done for some of it's breakout stars (i.e. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood). Idol has definitely made an impact on the current music scene and I am sure it will continue to do so in the future. But the show is also (and sometimes even more) entertaining when discussing each of the contestants. We all have our favorites that we follow and hope will go far. And because of those favorites, we can't believe that other people follow different contestants. Discussing the pros and cons of each of the singers and arguing about who is better is what makes the show fun and interesting. Why do people like Sanjaya so much when clearly Melinda is the best singer of the competition? How can personality win over talent? For these reasons, it'll be very interesting to see how Super Male Voice (Chinese Idol) will do since they're taking all of the extra stuff away and just making the competition about the songs and the voice. It may truly end up being a singing competition, but it might not be very interesting to watch. If American Idol is really just a singing competition then we could have crowned Melinda the winner at her audition. But since there's so much more to the show everyone is on edge trying to figure out what will happen next. That's what makes the show fun. That's what keeps people tuned in. So for me, Idol is a mix of both talent and good tv.