The votes are in and America got it mostly right. AI girls voted out tonight were Janelle Wheeler and Ashley Rodriguez. For the boys the first two to go were Joe Muñoz and Tyler Grady.
I’ve got to say that for the girls America got it right. Though it did look like the judges were rooting for Ashley Rodriguez, at least compared to Didi Benami, both she and Janelle was among the girls who I though could be going home simply because of their song choice. Their voices weren’t powerful enough to do their songs any justice, leaving their performances flat. It showed in the votes and the results wasn’t a big surprise. For a minute there though I was really nervous for Didi Benami because though I really liked her performance the judges disagreed and it left me wondering if I was the only one who thought she should stay one – apparently I wasn’t. Yay!
It was the guys’ results that gave us a shocker though. Joe Muñoz definitely did not deserve to go home last night. His performance was realy good, especially compared to Tim Urban’s and Alex Lambert’s. Apparently even Tim Urban agreed because the look on his face when he was declared safe was priceless – utter shock. Clearly Urban’s good looks saw him through this round. On the other hand, Tyler Grady’s “American Woman” did not endear him to America’s women, resulting in his being voted off. I am sorry to see him go though because he is such an interesting character and would definitely have made AI more interesting. Am not feeling to bad about it though because it meant that Alex Lambert (whose surprised expletive at not being voted off lead to AI being cut short) gets to stay another week. I don’t believe that he’ll last long but it’ll be nice to see him “ripen” up a bit.
The judges were right: it’s the girls year this year. The guys’ first live performance was mostly a disappointment, though with the relatively low expectations set by the judges it isn’t that big of a disappointment. Compared to the girls night the last episode was really boring with people probably wondering, just like I am, if there’s even 6 guys that’s really worth watching week after week. Maybe it’s just because I missed the first three performances, but I doubt it. To be fair though I did like some performances.
Casey James definitely stood out tonight. It was nice that his performance was great (“Heaven” really did suit him) but even if he sang out of tune any girl would have to agree that he is just to yummy not to stand out. I mean he really has Kara’s cougar vibes going and we can all see why! Seriously though I closed my eyes a couple of times while he was singing just to make sure that the visual wasn’t messing with my objectivity – it wasn’t. He sounded great.
Another good but disappointing performance was Andrew Garcia’s rendition of “Sugar, We’re Going Down”. It wasn’t disappointing because it was bad but only because everyone had such high expectations. I think he’s the only guy, based on talent alone, who can give the girls a run for their money. I’m a fan though and he will definitely go a long way. Hopefully he comes up with something fresh and really riveting next time.
As for the rest (that I saw at least) they were just ok. I squirmed a lot for Alex Lambert who was as nervous as hell though he’s so nice I want him to stay just to see him grow. Can’t help but root for guys like him. Oh well tomorrow we’ll see who’ll make it and who won’t.
American Idol Season Nine’s first live show is over and the girls did a pretty good job. Based on how well the girls performed yesterday you can say that this season will be interesting, probably with lots of unpredictable goodbyes, what with all the great talents.
Yesterday the girls that stood out for me were the last two to perform – Crystal Bowersox and Katie Stevens – plus Haeley Vaughn. Sure Crystal needs to work a bit on her “star power” but you have to hand it to her she really stands out without having to seem to try. Katie on the other hand did sound old, Ellen and Simon agreed on that and I’m sure pretty much everyone does, but even then her voice is just completely amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to how she’ll do once she tries to be her age. I also really liked Haeley Vaughn’s version”I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. I don’t care if the judges says that she needs to work on her technicality because her aura (she just exudes adorable!) makes you automatically want to vote for her.
Other girls that did pretty well in my book, despite mixed reviews from judges, were Katelyn Epperly (boy did she look awesomely weird..definitely memorable and interesting), Siobhan Magnus (tops the girls in terms of awesomely weird), and Didi Benami (I don’t agree that it was boring…not at all!). I’m sure that if I didn’t miss Lilly Scott’s performance she’ll be here in my list.
As for the others, even if the judges thought they were good (which they were), I just dont really find myself rooting for them…except for Lacey Brown who really needs to do better next time. I like her.
Next up – the boys. We’ll see who catches our eyes..I mean ears.
American Idol Hollywood Week didn’t really deliver for me. It was actually pretty boring and I hated seeing some of the people with great stories (shown during the audition episodes) go. It’s not that the judges seemed to be making lousy calls, but simply because I can’t help but root for people like Maddie.
Anyway the highlight of Hollywood Week was definitely ELLEN. I have to say – Ellen passed with flying colors. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since she’s so used to “pleasing a roomful of audience” but I guess being her fan made me nervous as to how she’ll do. She brought a little comic relief (so and so please step forward..oh I’m sorry…please step back) and lots of good judgement. As for the other judges’ reaction to Ellen it looked like they got along pretty well with her. Simon, who people say is having a feud with Ellen, clearly he has the hots for Ellen. If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch this clip from the Ellen Show. Hilarious! Seriously though I am more inclined to think that Kara would be more ill at ease with Ellen than Simon because Ellen, with her big personality, will probably overshadow Kara.
Got my American Idol fix for the week and all I can say is that yesterday’s auditions was much more interesting than tonight. Granted that Avril Lavigne contributed nothing except for a few giggles and not too constructive criticisms, and Katy Perry was a bit too bitchy; I still found last night more enjoyable simply because there was more talent in the LA auditions compared to Dallas. Dallas was plain boring with the high point being the ex-Barney girl turned Simon’s fantasy and the girl who beat leukemia.
Now the funny thing is that although Katy Perry grated on my nerves by the end of last night’s episode and I’m sure I liked more contestants in those auditions all I can remember is her saying she wants to throw coke on Kara’s face and saying something like they’re not trying to make a “movie story”. Looking back at Victoria Beckham’s guest judging stint, which I missed but saw on TiVo (Yay for TiVo!), I can’t agree more when she said that being polite is good. Katy could use help from Victoria. On the other hand, I guess people would call Victoria boring but all I can say was the she was “nice”.
Hopefully next week’s auditions will be better. Better judges and better contestants – both in terms of talent and quirky entertainment value.
I missed last night’s first part of American Idol premier but heard that Victoria Beckham sure was boring. I made sure that I got to see tonight’s episode.
Audition week shown for tonight’s episode was held in Atlanta with Mary J. Blige as guest judge, who was plain ok. It was a bit funny to watch her trying not to laugh though she did come off as a bit standoffish at times. I have to say that even if I didn’t want to see Paula gone it is true that it doesn’t feel like she left any vacuum at all. I’m not sure we can say that though once it’s Simon that says bye bye.
Auditions showed us the same mix of great talent, crazies, and downright horrible singers. To be fair to Atlanta there was quite a good crop of talents from there and even the judges were pretty happy. My favorite raw talent was the bridge-jumping country girl, Vanessa. I know she’ll need to build up her confidence big time if she wants to go far. I can’t help but root for her though. I also liked the 62 year old rapper who dislikes low-rise jeans. I can’t get his song out of my head: Pants on the floor, pants on the floor. Lookin like a fool with your pants on the floor. I wish they didn’t have age limits. Things would be much more interesting that way.
Anyhoo we’ll just have to wait and see how good this season will turn out. Then next season, we’ll see if AI will be toppled over by X Factor or not.
It’s Christmas Eve and here I am writing about Simon Cowell. Got to figure out what that means. ^_^
Simon’s making waves yet again (Last week I wrote about his internet reality show – If I Can Dream) after his older brother Tony announced in his podcast, The Cowell Factor, that next year’ll be his last as a judge in American Idol. According to Tony, “Simon will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of X Factor to U.S. TV in 2011.” This means that Simon will still have a very hectic schedule sans Idol. Good for him but that still leaves his fans with many questions.
Will he be appearing on screen for either of his shows (X Factor and If I Can Dream) or will he be staying in the background?
Who will be replacing him in Idol? With Simon leaving, Randy Jackson will be the only remaining original judge. Not that I don’t like Randy but the dynamics just simply won’t be the same. How sucky will Idol be with only Randy, Ellen and Kara?
What will this mean for Idol? With X Factor, also a very successful singing competition (albeit in the UK), coming into the scene we’ll just have to wait and see what the impact to Idol will be.
As for now I leave you with this to mull over while you pretend to sleep with all the racket Santa’s making while delivering presents – Is it right to be thinking of Simon Cowell’s impact on our viewing habits on Christmas eve?
Right after Paula Abdul sent out the tweet announcing that she won’t be back on American Idol next season the whole world was in an uproar. So much so that according to Kevin Reilly, Fox Entertainment’s President, Lance Armstrong was tweeting about the whole thing during the Tour de France. Apparently though while the whole world was stunned as they contemplated Idol without Paula, Reilly and the rest of Fox was not that rattled even coming out just 36 hours after with a guest judge (Victoria Beckham…so cool!) for the upcoming Idol auditions making Paula look like she’s really getting the short end of the stick in the deal (or no deal).
Anyway Paula is back with a vengeance (or might be back with a vengeance) with TV execs, the most prominent of which is ABC Entertainment’s President Stephen McPherson, courting her. According to McPherson, “We’d love to have her on ‘Dancing,’ whether as a contestant or participant of some sort, judge. I think she’s a huge talent. There’s a lot made about who she is. I think there is a sensitivity and emotion there that balances out ‘Idol.’ We’d love to get a piece of that.” With their romantic history it isn’t surprising that McPherson knows just how huge a talent Paula really has. But history notwithstanding the point is that Paula is surely going to be worth a lot now that she’s in the market and the demand is much more than the supply.
As for her future endeavors since we found out the Idol news through the the tweet that sealed the deal (quoted at the end of this post) I’m sure we’ll just have to keep on following Paula on Twitter to see what other announcements she might make.
So it has happened. They call it upset for a reason, lots of Glamberts fans are extremely upset. I, on the other hand, am also a bit upset but felt that Kris Allen could win since he managed to boot out Danny Gokey. I said I wish his Gokey’s fans wouldn’t shift to Kris but apparently majority of those that chose to continue voting did. Not surprising considering that Adam is so different and Kris and Danny had the same appeal, clean, nice, laid back good sound.
I do have to hand it to Kris Allen though because though I still think Adam Lambert can outsing him anytime of the day he does deserve all those votes (I think Adam deserves more though…shame on those who didn’t bother to pick up their phones and vote!!!) with his awesome performance during the singing duel. He did so much better than I expected reinforcing it to those who were still on the fence that he is also Idol material. I even had to agree with Simon when he said after round one that Kris Allen proved he deserved to be on the top two. I guess America decided that he deserved not only that but the number one spot as well. Oh well.
As for Glamberts do not feel sad you might have lost the battle in American Idol the great ones, whether they won in the finale or not, manages to come out as winners. Only time will tell whose career makes them worthy of title American Idol, and I’m guessing that unless Adam decides to go back full time to theater we have a huge idol on the way.
Last week was an exciting couch potato week for me with lots of shows airing its finale or nearing its end. Here’s a quick recap of the three that I managed to watch and I think would be of interest to you as well.
Biggest Loser– This was my week’s highlight. I’m a sucker for this show and this season, just like everyone else, I’m really really pleased with how it turned out. If a 48 year old woman can lose 54.47% of her body weight and a 64-year old grand pop can lose 48% of his, what excuse do we have for not getting fit?
American Idol – Kris Allen proved to have a bigger fan base than I expected. He is now gunning for the top spot even though Adam is still the favourite. We’ll see what happens next week. I’ve already said that I’m Adam’s girl so I really hope Danny Gokey’s fans doesn’t shift their support to Kris.
Grey’s Anatomy – Of course I had to watch the season finale. Weirdly I wasn’t too moved by the finale and am a bit miffed that I’ll need to wait several months to find out whether Katherine Heigl and/or T.R. Knight are gone for good. Lots of other unanswered questions aside from that but I guess these things are what keep us watching the next season.
Lots more coming next week and to be able to cover more I’ll post after each show. Stay tuned for the Survivor recap tomorrow!
The votes are in and America got it mostly right. AI girls voted out tonight were Janelle Wheeler and Ashley Rodriguez. For the boys the first two to go were Joe Muñoz and Tyler Grady.
I missed last night’s first part of 
It’s Christmas Eve and here I am writing about Simon Cowell. Got to figure out what that means. ^_^
Right after Paula Abdul sent out the tweet announcing that she won’t be back on American Idol next season the whole world was in an uproar. So much so that according to Kevin Reilly, Fox Entertainment’s President, Lance Armstrong was tweeting about the whole thing during the Tour de France. Apparently though while the whole world was stunned as they contemplated Idol without Paula, Reilly and the rest of Fox was not that rattled even coming out just 36 hours after with a guest judge (Victoria Beckham…so cool!) for the upcoming Idol auditions making Paula look like she’s really getting the short end of the stick in the deal (or no deal).
So it has happened. They call it upset for a reason, lots of Glamberts fans are extremely upset. I, on the other hand, am also a bit upset but felt that Kris Allen could win since he managed to boot out Danny Gokey. I said I wish his Gokey’s fans wouldn’t shift to Kris but apparently majority of those that chose to continue voting did. Not surprising considering that Adam is so different and Kris and Danny had the same appeal, clean, nice, laid back good sound.
Last week was an exciting couch potato week for me with lots of shows airing its finale or nearing its end. Here’s a quick recap of the three that I managed to watch and I think would be of interest to you as well.
