Stayin' Alive. . . Stayin' Alive

The spring cold I've been fighting got me again on Wednesday night, but I managed to at least watch the show (albeit with a short delay --- got to avoid those commercials!!). However, I was not able to post until today, but the good news is, I think I finally have this cold beat!! (And it’s a balmy 87º here in sunny California. . . so I think it will get cooked out of me this weekend!)

Wednesday’s show again brought me to tears several times --- I just can’t stand seeing unhappy kids. Show me adults who are suffering and I can keep it together, but the minute a tear slides down a little kid’s face, I’m blubbering like a baby!!!

Not sure why AI suddenly decided to get charitable --- maybe they wanted to fight their “fluff show” image?? They take a lot of flack about how many votes are received each week versus how many people vote in elections, although why people feel the show is responsible, I don’t know. And, when you’re beating up on the show do you ever stop to think that lots of people vote WAY more than once??? Make politics as exciting as AI or make people feel that they matter to the government and people will turn out in droves to vote in our political elections.

Okay, ‘nuff said!

I really enjoyed the “dual” broadcast with Ellen --- she’s always entertaining. Also enjoyed the “Stayin’ Alive” montage of stars --- it was fun seeing the celebrities having fun and not seeming to care how “cool” they looked.

Loved seeing the potential Idols all in white, yet keeping their own sense of fashion (sort of like when the bride lets her attendants pick their own dresses keeping to a color theme). They looked uniform, yet no one looked funky or stuck in something that didn’t suit them.

I called the “no one gets kicked off” about 10 minutes before the end of the show (I have a witness) although I was a still a little scared that Jordin might get voted off, but have learned to ignore Ryan’s “warnings of doom” (who can believe a guy who looks like one of the fishes in “Nemo”?).

I was glad it wasn’t Jordin, but think the show went a little saccharin in not kicking someone off --- I know, I know, it was a charity night so they were being charitable!!! But it IS a competition, and in competitions there’s ALWAYS a last place finisher.

So, go ahead and be elated that no one got booted on Wednesday, but remember. . . TWO people will go home next week. If you couldn’t choose one person to go home last week, how are you ever going to be okay with two people going home this coming week??

Then There Were Six. . .

Okay, I'm racing to get this posted before tonight's show airs (on the west coast, at least). A nasty little spring cold hit our house this week and it caught up to me yesterday. So, after a morning spent with the babies, I was worn out. Thanks to Tivo, I knew the show was recorded and didn't even care that I wouldn't be able to watch until tonight. So, I'm getting my two cents in before tonight's show airs.

The show was a little emotional --- HEY, any time they show a needlessly hungry kid the tears start. But, I did think the editing was a little too slick for the content. I kind of wish they had kept it simple and perhaps caught more of the reality hitting Ryan and Simon. Ryan seemed very sincere that the trip was life-changing for him. It goes without saying that it was for Simon. Any adult who lives in America and doesn't know the food banks exist and why has had his life changed. I can't even comprehend a life that was minus that knowledge. Wow!!

It was refreshing to see six young people with hope in their eyes as they spoke about singing some inspirational music. Made me think of my teen years, when we all became convinced that one person could make a change. At some point most of us lost sight of that, so it was nice to see a new generation embracing that belief.

Chris kicked off the show by singing one of my favorites from one of my favorite movies, "Change the World" by Eric Clapton (from the movie: Phenomenon). Chris did an outstanding job --- sounded like he was singing straight from the heart. (BTW, saw Eric Clapton in concert a few weeks ago --- he has gotten really old, as have a lot of his fans!!)

Melinda sang a Faith Hill song, "There will Come a Day". I wasn't familiar with the song, it wasn't my favorite performance by Melinda. I really couldn't hear Faith singing that song, either. Didn't seem like a Faith song to me --- maybe just the way Melinda sang it??

Blake bravely took on John Lennon's "Imagine". It was not my favorite performance of his, but I give him extra points for taking on a classic like this.

LaKisha sang Fantasia's "I Believe" --- I'm not sure what's going on with LaKisha. It seems like the wind has gone out of her sails --- almost like she's so homesick she doesn't care anymore. I thought it was a really lackluster performance.

Phil sang "The Change" by Garth Brooks. I think he did an admirable job and may have gained a few more fans this week. Country seems to be his niche; if he's smart, he'll "keep country" until the end of the season. It could take him to the end.

Jordin closed the show with a wonderful performance of an old Rodger's and Hammerstein classic "You'll Never Walk Alone" from a great old musical, Carousel. To a kid who grew up listeining to the classic musicals of the 40's and 50's it was pure magic. That's always been a favorite of mine. I still have the sheet music somewhere; Jordin's performance inspired me want to go to the piano, dig out the old book and "tickle the keys" myself. It's been too long since I played my 100-year-old piano but Jordin's rendition inspired me to dust off the keys.

I wish they could all be winners, but I'll predict that Blake and LaKisha end up in the bottom two in tonight's show.

Y'all need to visit the AI site and donate --- just think what we could do if everyone who voted each week donated just $1. It would feed a lot of hungry kids.

I Shoulda Been in Vegas. . .

I guess I should have been in Vegas making a bet because my pick for bottom three was right on!!

However, never in a million years did I expect Sanjaya to be sent home. I guess people who were being directed by the radio shock-jock (or, as he’s known at our house “he whose name will not be spoken”) were a finite number and the people who were voting for those who have already left the show voted for someone other than Sanjaya.

In any case, he’s gone and I think the competition will begin to really heat up!! I’m thinking that seeing more talented friends voted off for a petty reason like keeping Sanjaya on might have been wearing on the remaining contestants and might have made them wonder whether trying would be worth it at all!! I hope they feel like this contest is real now that justice has been done.

I have no idea what next week’s assigned genre is, but it doesn’t matter --- I’m looking forward to this contest to get wild!! Hopefully they won't disappoint!

Yee Haw --- Country Night. . .

I know I’ve said country music isn’t my favorite, but admittedly, I’ve been to a fair number of country shows (Brenda) and oh my, Tim McGraw looks mighty good in jeans. . . so although it’s not my favorite genre, I have to get my fill once in a while. The problem is, the country week on AI had never been that good --- until last night.

Martina McBride was a gracious mentor this week, but it seems like she’s “bought in” to all the contestants --- seems like she couldn’t say anything bad about any one of them!!

Phil sang Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends”. When I closed my eyes, I heard a country music star --- I just have trouble equating Phil’s appearance with what could be his future in country music. And, who knew it was “his” genre??? Have we ever heard him sing it before and did he ever say anything about his love for country?? Good job, Phil!!

Jordin took the biggest risk of the night, singing Martina McBride’s “Broken Wing”. Her performance gave me the chills and, remember, I’m not country music’s biggest fan. I think Martina should hand the song over to Jordin, because last night Jordin made it hers!

Sanjaya was up next with “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About”. . . no worries Bonne (Raitt). . . the song’s still yours. It wasn’t his worst performance, but that painful, uncomfortable silence after Paula’s “non-judgment” (You’re a loveable guy???) was a “worst” in TV editing. It hurt to watch. . .

LaKisha sang Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel”. I must have been the only person in American who liked her performance, because I was hoping Carrie wasn’t watching (okay, I was never a Carrie Underwood fan). I totally disagreed with the judges, because I thought LaKisha owned that song last night.

“Mayberry” by Rascal Flatts was sung by Chris --- I liked it and totally enjoyed hearing him sing country. I thought he sounded better than any other genre he’s tried so far. But, he lost my vote when he told Simon that “nasally” was a type of singing. Yes, Chris, there is such a thing as nasally singing, but there’s also crappy singing, and neither is what an Idol should be attempting. No one in their right mind tries to impress anyone by singing crappy, and no one should TRY to sing nasally if they’re trying to win a singing contest.

Melinda was the woman of the hour, singing “Trouble is a Woman” by Julie Reeves. One word: amen!!

Blake wrapped up the show, purportedly because he broke the Idol House curfew (c’mon, he’s 25 --- he really has to be in by 10:30p.m.??). Unfortunately, I did not recognize this song as a Tim McGraw hit --- my point of reference was Tyler Hilton from several “One Tree Hill” episodes (or, as I like to call it “One Lone Pine Tree Hill” --- just to drive my daughters crazy). He had a little awkwardness just before the end of the song, but since I’m a huge fan of Blake’s (and that’s not a personal reference) it was all good for me.

My pick for bottom three: Sanjaya, LaKisha and Blake. I know, I know, the chances of Sanjaya getting in the bottom three is slim, LaKisha is wildly talented and I love, love, love Blake, but I think the other performances were much better than these three.

It Was a Good Day. . .

Okay, I’m backing off my comment from my last blog about not really caring who got booted off. Gotta admit I was very pleased that it was Haley. (I already knew it wouldn’t be Sanjaya.)

I’m actually looking forward to NOT being subjected to another one of her soft-porn performances in her quest to stay on the show. I’m thinking she’ll go back to being a wedding singer --- I imagine Haley’s blatant peddling of her physical goods will scare off even Disney. They still have a pretty clean image and like to maintain it. And, let’s face it, Haley would never survive in a princess’ costume --- way too much clothing for her!! Maybe she'll end up on a cruise ship. . .

I wasn’t surprised that Phil and Chris ended up in the bottom three, not that one of them shouldn’t have been Sanjaya, but y’all should stop hoping for that. He's not going home any time soon.

I’m predicting that Phil will go home next week, unless Chris finds he just can’t handle country. OR even though it seems like Melinda and LaKisha SHOULD be able to handle ANY type of music, maybe one of them will crash and burn in the county music genre.

I’d love to say I’m looking forward to next week’s show, but since country is my least favorite, I’d like to skip next week altogether. Then again, it might be mildly entertaining to watch their attempts.

Latin Letdown

I gotta be honest. . . last night’s show was NOT my favorite. I was really in the Simon camp --- I think it must have been the genre. So much of what we hear at karaoke night are the same songs we heard on the show last night, perhaps that’s why they all sounded like karaoke to me???

There just didn’t seem to be any energy. Even Jordin, who made the best attempt at livening things up didn’t quite manage to.

They all sounded good, with the exception of Phil’s cracking voice. What’s up with that? I’d expect that from Sanjaya, who is BARELY out of puberty but Phil’s an old man compared. . . maybe trimming his eyebrows has affected his voice, sort of a “Samson” effect??

Melinda sang “Sway” --- her vocals were decent, but she sounded like a really, really talented lounge singer, the kind where you say “She could cut an album!”, but still only a lounge singer.

LaKisha was next with “Conga”. Totally ignored/forgot JLo’s pronunciation lesson. And, I’ve been LaKisha’s biggest fan from the get-go but something was up with her last night. She seemed to have an attitude or something. . . I’m not sure what. Maybe a little case of “diva-itis”??

Chris sang the Rob Thomas/Santana hit “Smooth” --- one of my favorite songs and he did a really good job. Seemed to have lost some of his nasal singing quality --- we’ll see if it’s permanent or not.

Haley attempted “Turn the Beat Around” once again totally ignoring the mentor’s advice, but she did make a wise wardrobe choice. Simon was right-on when he said she’d get through based on her clothing choices. That girl looks for the skimpiest outfit available each week and prays that people concentrate more on catching a “flash” than on her voice.

I had high hopes for Phil, since he seemed to nail his song during the JLo practice, but his performance fell WAY flat in addition to that unfortunate voice crack toward the end. Nice guy, but I think he might be going home.

Jordin really tried to rev up the audience with “The Rhythm is Gonna Get You”, but they were excited to be there --- her singing didn’t get them any more jazzed than their initial reaction at being there.

“Need to Know” was Blake’s choice --- I think he knows he’s JLo’s fave. Plus I heard this morning JLo and her hubby are splitting. . . coincidence??? Well, I’ve never been a Marc Anthony fan so it wasn’t too hard for Blake to outsing him here, in my opinion. But still, I wasn’t wowed.

Then came the surprise of the evening, the kid you want to hate. . . but can’t. Sanjaya sang “Besame Mucho” entirely in Spanish and did NOT sound like a non-Hispanic singing in Spanish. (Very funny, Simon, "I didn't understand a word." -- British humor!!) Even his voice was better than it has been. When people voted for him last night, it just might have been because he didn’t suck as bad a usual.

This might just be my “mid-season” slump --- I’m hoping so. But last night’s show got me in the frame of mind that I pretty much don’t even care who goes home tonight, because I don’t think any of them stretched at all last night.

I feel like they were all coasting on what they’ve managed to do up until this point, so I felt a little cheated. Are any of them hungry enough to break away from the pack and sprint into first place???

We shall see. . .

Can't stands no more. . .

Some of you might know that I was a little bummed at not being invited back to write this year for the "hometown" rag. . . so it took a little enthusiasm away from the "wish to blog". However, I've been reading the writer they DID choose, and she's not getting anymore comments than she did last year (most of them are her OWN comments to her OWN blog) PLUS my tolerance level for this year's show has been breached so here goes. . .

I was okay with who ended up in the final 12. I was actually pulling for Sanjaya way back when. . . however, it soon became all too apparent that he had given all he was capable of. And, that was okay. Every year there are contestants who are good in the auditions, but just don't get any better. Then, there are the others that are "iight" who get better and better with all the practice, voice coaching and input from the guest mentors. Then there's Haley, who knows it all and doesn't take the advice of anyone who's sold MILLIONS of records because, hey, she's a WEDDING SINGER. . . I digress, that's a whole 'nother rant. . .

I was a little disappointed that Brandon got booted first --- not because I thought it was unfair. I was let down by Brandon. He deserved to go. He just never exerted any type of effort past the minimum. He was a likeable guy, but deep down I think he's content to be a back-up singer.

Also not too heartbroken when Stephanie was shown the door. Good voice but it wasn't Stephanie --- we heard a Beyonce wannabe each and every week.

And, I also wasn't totally bent out of shape that Sanjaya was still on. . . hey, I thought, maybe he's the "Bucky" of this year's contest!!

Then Chris Sligh went home. I was starting to panic. I love, love, love Chris Sligh. I think he not only has a wonderful and unique sound --- this guy knows music. He knows the construction of music, the "why's" of music. This guy is music-smart! And really, really smart-funny! I hope, hope, hope he gets a recording contract.

NOW it was time for Sanjaya to go home.

I'll be the first one to admit that I, too, used to listen to Howard Stern. Then one day I realized that he sounded a little too much like the boys in junior high --- Howard gets WAY too much glee out of uttering body part names out loud. . . over and over and over again. Plus, he treats women like garbage. I know, I know, he SAYS it's just his "on-air" persona. But, he's WAY too good at it for it to be an act (read: Tom Cruise in 'Magnolia').

So, it peaved me big-time that Howard was putting his voodoo curse on AI. My opinion (which, by the way, only counts here): if you don't like the show, turn the channel. I know y'all have a remote. It doesn't even involve getting up off your duff!! I mean, I wouldn't waste my time watching half of what's on TV these days, but I'm not going to campaign to ruin these shows for other people. I'm of the "Not Everyone Loves Raymond" persuasion, but if everyone else in the U.S. wanted to watch it. . . so be it. To each their own.

Anyway, Howard, it's not like if AI goes off the air it's going to be replaced with anything very redeeming ANYWAY. That's why they call it ENTERTAINMENT!

Okay, off the soapbox. . .

So, the real reason I decided to start writing this is: I just couldn't handle Gina being voted off when Sanjaya AND Haley were staying. I've reconciled myself to the fact that Sanjaya will be around, maybe until the end. HOWEVER, it has become painfully apparent that the only reason this Haley chick is still on the show is that she wears her skirts up to her tookus and stands at the edge of the stage --- is this American Idol or American Stripper???

She looks like a wedding singer, she sings like a wedding singer, she's too stupid to listen to people who have. . . well. . . actually SOLD RECORDS and are FAMOUS and household names. She knows so much? Then why is she on this show??? I'm praying she goes home soon and I'm telling you right now --- if she gets hired by Disney I'm boycotting that place until she's gone!!

Now, because I can't stand NOT being able to look at this situation without statistics, I'll tell you what the numbers are saying.

Last year four people went home the first time they were in the bottom 2 or 3 (week 1, week 2, week 4 and week 7). Last year's winner was never in the bottom 2 or 3.

This year, each person who has been voted off so far was off the FIRST TIME they were in the bottom 2 or 3. So, even though Phil's been in the bottom 2 or 3 three times already and Haley's been there twice already doesn't necessarily mean either one of them are going home any time soon.

My prediction is that Phil will go home next, although in a perfect world Haley would go first.

I have my "druthers" to how I'd like this contest to play out. . . but I'll wait a few weeks because I know how unpredictable this thing can be.

Hope you'll come back next week!!