American Idol Top 8

American Idol Top 8
Originally uploaded by Amyq

I don't like this theme. I didn't like it last year, don't like it this year. Too limiting. I'd much rather have a week like last week with an almost nonexistent them then a theme that's too narrow. Anyways, considering that annoyance, this week turned out OK.

• Danny Gokey
  

Unlucky spot number one, who is generally forgotten by the end of the show! Will Danny's ratings drop this week? I've said before that Danny's popularity peaked early and he really has to work hard to get attention back from the spot-light thieves that are Adam Lambert and Kris Allen... and this week Matt Giraud.

By the way, anyone remember Chris Sligh? Curly haired chubby guy with an awesome voice and a great sarcastic sense of humor?



In any case, his blog this week talked about meeting up with Danny Gokey and Jason Castro this week. How fun is that?

Danny sang "Stand by Me", and to me, it's boring. He always sings well, but he needs to really keep my attention right now, and he fails. The judges rave, though. Do they just love him, or did I really miss something?

• Kris Allen

I've loved Kris the last few weeks, but this week's "All She Wants to do is Dance" is sort of uninteresting... much like Danny Gokey. Unlike Danny, the judges roast him. Helllooo... favoritism?

• Lil Rounds

Simon still cannot say "Lil". He just doesn't get it.
While Danny needs to really impress us to stay at the top, Lil needs to really impress us to keep from getting kicked off. She too fails to impress in her performance of "What's Love Got To Do With It." I will say that I feel like it is a little bit more tender and emotional than some of the previous weeks, but given that EVERY week she's had the same problem, I'm officially giving up. I believe I said that last week about Megan - so Lil better look out? She's got pipes, but she tries to be a diva before developing a connection with fans that allows her to really bust it out and have the audience get caught up in the song with her.

• Anoop Desai

Hah, I love it. Anoop is such a college kid. He can't help it. This week the shirt and the obvious excitement for the Tarheels just boosted his frat-boy reputation. And he apologized very pointedly for sassing Kara last week. Hmm... well, I think Simon is right and you don't have to apologize for sass on AI... unless Anoop really was just mad and so was intentionally rude rather then just trying to mess around to make himself interesting. If that's the case, then the apology was deserved and I respect him for it.

In any case, Anoop copies Kris and Adam and tries to do a slow, soft, and tender performance to win some extra connection with the audience. He's not quite as believable as Kris and Adam, but "True Colors" was still a great, emotional song. I like it, but after three boring performances, I am actually longing for something peppy.... uh oh... piano ballad boy is up next....

• Scott MacIntyre

I groaned at the start of Scott's song because it started off as yet another sappy song from him, and I am so tired of hearing those performances. I looked up after groaning and was shocked to see him playing guitar! Impressive... but then again, he didn't play amazingly well.

I must say, Scott has really matured as a performer to me. They've helped guide his style, helped him grow in confidence and I really think his singing is better now. I do hate it when I feel like Kara or any of the judges are being nice to Scott because he's blind. That's the worst - a physical disability doesn't need coddling - that makes it worse. Thank you, Simon, for being just straight up honest with Scott. I think it's time for him to go home. His voice is more limited than any other contestant.

• Alison Iraheta

Praise God, it's about time someone came on to spice things up a little. It's amazing, even Alison's baby pictures are cool. It must be innate.

Well, Alison actually disappoints me. She slows it up and does a much older style of performance of "I Can't Make You Love Me". Like Danny and Kris, it is sung just fine, but I find it sort of boring. Last week was sort of boring from her as well - bring it back Alison! Oh, and her skirt... was that a skirt? It was strange.

• Matt Giraud

I told Isaac this was make it or break it week for Matt. He's done well, he's done badly, no one knows what to think of him. He has to bust it out.



He does! Matt totally redeems the snoozefest for me. I LOVE it. He sings "Part Time Lover" and does it funky and fun and bluesy. He smiles and shows his gorgeous dimples (and hides his mole). It reminds me of Blake Lewis, sort of. Great outfit. If I see more of that, Matt will be in my top three.

• Adam Lambert

Usually the last spot is good because your performance is fresh on everyone's mind, but tonight Idol goes overtime and I wonder if Adam's performance was cut off for everyone that Tivos Idol. In any case, I told Isaac that this week would be a tough one for Adam, because he has had three flawless, amazing, and unique performances. How can he possibly keep that up?

(side note: Adam has red hair in this baby pictures!! I wonder what he'd look like with no makeup and no dye)

Amazingly, Adam totally keeps it up. He does an entire performance in ONE spot, mostly sitting in a chair in the center of the stage, lit with a blue spotlight. Like other weeks, his control while singing softly but strongly is UNBELIEVABLE. Every time I hear him sing like that I just shake my head because it is BEAUTIFUL. He is a stunning singer. Half the song is in falsetto, and it is flawless.

And... unbelievable.... Simon gives Adam a standing ovation. That is something I've NEVER seen before.

I just cannot believe Adam is the same guy that was so annoying in the first few weeks of this season. In the past four weeks he has just stunned me.

Best performances tonight:
Adam Lambert
Matt Giraud
Anoop Desai

Three most record/radio ready contestants:
Adam Lambert
Danny Gokey
Alison Iraheta

Three contestants that I love but have been inconsistent:
Kris Allen
Matt Giraud
Anoop Desai

Kick Off Immediately:
Lil Rounds
Scott

If someone other than Lil or Scot goes this week, I'm gonna be mad.

American Idol - Top 9

Wow, what a night. I actually really liked tonight, and I'm really loving this group of finalists.... for the most part. My friend Alysa commented on last week's Idol post that Matt helped lead the worship at her father-in-law's church. That piqued my interest and I did a little research and was amazed to find out that out of the top 11 contestants, FIVE of them helped lead worship at their churches. I already knew about Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver, and on top of that Matt, Kris, and Scott all do as well. Must make some interesting dynamics for Adam!

Anoop Desai -
Hmm.... Anoop decides to do Usher because he's looking for something with more energy. By the time the first line was out of his mouth I had already thought, "Wow, even if he nails this song vocally it's still going to be a strange performance because the man can't look urban to save his life." I've heard other reviewers complain about his frat-boy look, but today Anoop seemed to really be trying to look more cool, but the attempt failed miserably and he looked still looked like a nerd dressed up to sing an Usher song. He's a lovable nerd... but... still a nerd. In the end, his vocals were fine and so was the performance (not nearly as bad as the judges said), but I was left thinking that I just can't see Anoop being a hit singer.

Megan Joy-
Sorry Alysa, I know you like Megan! I do too - I really, really like the quality of her voice and I think it's unique enough to be enjoyable on the radio. The problem is that she has yet to perform well on stage. And .... that's sort of necessary. In any case, Megan sang a Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill song, which I was initially excited about because I thought it would really showcase her husky voice. Hmm... it was SO awkward. All of her little dancy moves were just painful to watch, and she still seems nervous, so it all just fell flat. Then, when the judges raked her over the coals for her performance she waved it off and said she knew what they wanted now and she hoped she'd get the chance to follow their advice next week. I thought the same thing Simon said in the background, "That's what you say every week!" Megan has lost me as a fan - I've stopped voting for her.

Danny Gokey
When Danny said he'd be singing a Rascal Flatts song, Isaac and I knew it would be a good choice for him. Danny was an early favorite and I think since everyone was familiar with him he's been getting lost in the excitement of everyone finding new people that they like. It's important for him to really reconnect emotionally now to keep his fans.... and he did. I got goosebumps at the line "never knowing what could have been", in light of the loss of his wife. It was electric. In the end I think it actually wasn't Danny's best performance, and in the comparison of his single voice to the four-part harmony of Rascal Flatts, Danny seemed pretty plain. Still, as Isaac said, there is something so appealing about him! We laughed because the worship pastor in Danny totally comes out. It just makes sense - he knows how to put emotion into a song!

Alison Iraheta
Alison chose "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. I thought the song would potentially be right up her alley as an intense rock song. She was playing the guitar for the first time, and that worked for her. From the first note it was beautiful, although I really loved the unique subdued beginning more then I liked the intensity of the rock at the end. At the end of the song Isaac turned to me and declared, "She is just ridiculous." She is so consistent, she has such fantastic vocal maturity, and every song she sings is amazing. However, I have to agree with Randy. WHAT was she wearing?? As soon as the group walked out I was like, "I hate Allison's hair!"

Scot MacIntyre
Well, Scot really "worked it out" (as Randy says) with Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are". I chuckled when he said in his intro video piece that he was going to "strip down, it'll just be me and the piano." Really? Stripped down? Haven't all your performances been stripped down? Is this really anything new? In any case, I don't think Scot knows how to do contemporary songs, but for some reason this song really clicked with him and his performance was really good - the best so far. I bet it'll keep him in for another week.

Matt Giraud
When Matt said he was going to sing "You Found Me" from The Fray, I was excited. I thought the song would really fit his voice and style, and I was really impressed with how he changed up the tune. I LOVED IT. I thought It was the kind of performance I'd buy on itunes and listen to over and over again. He really brought me in as a fan for the first time. So, when Paula totally hammered Matt in her critique I was like, WHAT?? I totally disagreed with all of the judges. Someone compared it to when he sang Coldplay and said that rock isn't his style, he's more R&B. I thought - who says? I loved his coldplay performance and I really think he might make a better moody rocker that throws in R&B somewhere. Lets face it - he's certainly not Justin Timberlake, no matter what the judges say. Dude, curly blond hair and scruff doesn't mean mean the boy can dance it out.

Lil Rounds
Same story this week. Lil did Celine Dion's "I Surrender". She sings beautifully. She has a big voice and does big songs, but there was still no connection between her and the audience (or me). Why is that? Randy said she needed more swagger, and I thought that was a good point. I think she needs to do something sassy and fun - Mary J. was a good recommendation. However, at the end when the camera panned to her little girls and one of them gave Randy a hug it was completely adorable, and Lil's tears really helped to give some depth and emotion to her personality. That was a good moment for her. Baby girl deserves an ice-cream on the way home for that one!

Adam Lambert
Seriously, Adam is on a role. THAT WAS AWESOME. He did Wild Cherries "Play That Funky Music". It reminded me of Blake Lewis sort of song choice and is really different then what Adam has done before... but then he's really taken himself out of all categories in the last three weeks, so what am I talking about? In any case, it's a funky song, not a rock show, and Adam did what he's been doing - he took the song and just smashed it, in a good way. He totally sold it, it was just infectious and and SO MUCH FUN. I don't always like the Idol band, but Adam just works the band, and this arrangement was awesome. It's a bit surreal to look back and remember how annoyingly weird Adam was back at the start of this season - he's totally transformed himself.

Please forgive the totally inappropriate introductory comments on this youtube video - it's only an hour since the show ended, and I can't find a better version. I'll try to update in the morning.


Kris Allen
Kris has slowly but surely been impressing me. I thought he was just a preppy kid that had a decent voice, but he's really showing some style and depth now. His performance of "Ain't No Sunshine" sort of reminded me of what Jason Castro did with "Hallelujah". He really made it so tender . I thought it was beautiful, and all of my worries of it being corny were disproved. The man can play piano as well as guitar! And he's workin' the nasty-stash, it looks surprisingly good on him. This week I found a series of photos from Kris and his church group and a missions trip to Thailand. He looked like such a typical Christian college kid, and I thought during the tenderness of his performance that his wife was probably watching and thinking "My husband is HOT!" because he really has transformed himself.

My faves of the week?
Danny Gokey
Adam Lambert
Kris Allen
Matt Giraud

And - as a plug, watch this youtube video of Rascal Flatt's latest hit, Here Comes Goodbye. It was written by Chris Sligh, the chubby guy with curly hair from American Idol a few seasons ago. Chris Sligh grew up in Europe with the same mission that my hubby's family was with, so we were excited when he made it on the show, and we loved his snarky humor (and the fact that he got kicked out of Pensacola for seeing an FFH concert - what??). In any case, the song is about a breakup, but the music video makes an entirely different point and left me (and Isaac, but don't tell anyone! :)) in tears.

Idol and Lost thoughts

It's super frustrating to have my two shows be at the same night, and to have my small group also on that night.

Lost - He's Our You
I cheated and read some recaps before watching Lost online this morning, so I knew kid Ben got shot. It sucks to watch Sayid be so umm... dark and twisty? lol. Anyways, I thought the most profound comment I read was from TIME.com's James Poniewozik. He comments that what LOST did in the last two episodes is to make you feel genuine sympathy for the show's arch-villain. He says that Lost was more effective in those two hours then Star Wars was in three feature-films, attempting to make the audience sympathize with Anakin.



This show is amazing.

Anyways, I have a distinct feel that Sayid, the flaming bus, and the whole staging of events is about to be "The Incident".

The chick that put Sayid on the plane (who is also in one of my all-time favorite movies - The Namesake) must be working for Widmore, whether she realizes it or not.

This show actually didn't show us much except for the shooting of Ben - the rest of it was mostly drama, which ok with me. We've been on such a wild ride the last couple of weeks, I don't mind if we take it slow for a while.

_________________________________________________

American Idol



This was one of those weeks when someone gets kicked off that wasn't fantastic and should have been kicked off before too long, but sadly had to leave before some people that were definitely worse then him. Scot HAS TO GO. His vocals are way too limited for this stage of the game. Having said that, it was very cool to see him on stage with a blind singer that has definitely made it in the business. What an inspiration that must be for him.

In any case, how did Michael get voted off before Megan? That mystifies me. I loved that he went out with such a great attitude and such a big smile. He really is such a likable guy. On the other hand, Matt Giraud is an amazing singer (reminds me of Jazon Mraz), but when he unexpectedly was called to the bottom three he looked so crestfallen I wanted to hug him. When he continued to look crestfallen, sullen, and sort of like he wanted to punch someone.... then I thought, "Dude, you're trying to get people to LIKE you and sympathize with you, and your childish pouting is seriously not helping your case." Like Kris Allen - I don't think he's amazing, but watching him up there grinning and dancing was so charming I thought, "I really like that guy and I hope he lasts a while." See? Matt. Smile. Genuinely.

American Idol the top 11

American Idol the top 11
Originally uploaded by AzitasSurprises

Country music week is always interesting on Idol, because generally at least 2/3 of the singers have NO idea how to sing country. Madness ensues, with much griping from the judges and creative arrangements from the contestants trying to "make it my own".

This was my least favorite week so far, but there were a few stand-outs.

Michael Sarver: He's a solid contestant, though not the best singer. He's got the down-home reputation and the good looks to boost the votes. This week his rendition of "Ain't Goin' Down til the Sun Comes Up" was decent but not great.

Allison Iraheta sang “Blame it on Your Heart” by Patti Loveless and she did a good job as usual. I just cannot believe her voice is coming out of a 16 year old body. It's unbelievable. Considering that she's totally not a country kind of girl, she did just fine. I think she's going all the way to the end.

Kris Allen sang another crowd-pleasing but not very powerful song, “To Make You Feel My Love” written by Bob Dylan. Simon calls him a puppy and I agree. I like his style because I like easy-listening pop, but lets be honest, Kris isn't an unusually good singer, he's just a charming guy with a guitar and a decent voice.

Lil Rounds is a powerhouse singer, and she picked “Independence Day” by Martina McBride. for some reason Lil has never wowed me, I feel like she's lacking an emotional connection to the songs and the audience. In any case, she didn't do so well with country music, and I think she might be at risk this week.

Adam Lambert ..... oh my word. I think this was probably a good choice for him because he's going for the rocker bad-boy image, and he achieved that this week by totally turning his nose up at country music and completely changing "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash into a sitar-backed haunting middle-eastern rock song. It was.... SO WEIRD. The judges didn't know how to react and I bet most of America didn't know how to either. However, he gets points for gutsyness AND he hit some bone-chillingly high haunting notes that he hit DEAD ON. His freakish performance deserves a youtube preview...



Scott MacIntyre went with another Martina McBride song, “Wild Angels.” I think Scott does not have a good enough voice to make it through another week. There. I said it. Yes, he's inspiring as a blind piano player/singer, but he doesn't have enough control, people!!

Alexis Grace took on "Jolene", which is a great song by Dolly Parton, and ... it sucked. Didn't like it. Her voice cracked. Kick her off. Well... maybe not. She's still got a great voice and this was her worst week by far, so maybe she'll redeem herself.

Danny Gokey is one of my favs, and he took on “Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood, which is a song I have grudgingly given a second chance. It wasn't his best performance at all.... but I think he's normally fantastic and this time was just ok. He'll be fine. Everyone loves him.

Anoop Desai surprised me by lasting through last week, but he totally impressed everyone when he did a beautiful version of “You Were Always on my Mind” by Willie Nelson. It was a good choice for him to go with a soft ballad and hit it dead-on.... he connected emotionally. Now if he can just do a repeat performance next week, maybe I will have regained my faith in him.... hmm...




Megan Joy Corkery went with Patsy Cline's, “Walking After Midnight", and I think it was a good choice because it fits well with her raspy, unique voice. Unfortunately, her raspy voice was weakened by apparently being in the hospital with the flu. It was a weak performance, not as bad-ass as I think it would have been if she had been totally healthy. Oh, and Megan? Put some clothes on.

Matt Giraud is strange for me, because I can never remember him when I'm mentally going through the contestants. Every week he sings a decent song that the judges praise and I am ok with, but then I can barely remember it the next week. This time he sand “So Small” by Carrie Underwood, and yet again the judges loved it and Isaac (my husband) hated it, and I thought it was ok. Hmmm... do you guys like him?





My faves of the week?
Anoop Desai
Adam Lambert
Danny Gokey
Allison Ireheta