The Guys Part 2

Wow…what a difference a week can make! So, last week, it was nearly unanimous that the guys as a whole didn’t sound all that great. Sure, a few here and there stood out, but, overall, they kinda tanked. Tonight, they managed to collectively make a bit of a come back. And they got to do it while dedicated their songs to someone they loved. Awww…

On to the contestants…

Phil Stacey – Wait a minute…Phil is serving his country by…singing in a band?? Seriously? I mean, surely that isn’t ALL he does. I mean, I’ve known for years that there were people in the Armed Forces who went around the country singing in musical revues, but I always thought they did something else… Anyway, I’ve never been a big fan of John Waite or the song “Missing”. Not even Tina Turner could make me like it. And I LOVE me some Tina. Phil hasn’t done anything to make me like this song any better. However, I do think that he sounded pretty decent…a world of improvement over last week.

Randy thinks its hot, Paula can hear Phil on the radio (the one playing in her head perhaps) and Simon brings us back to reality by telling us that Phil is a nice, unoriginal guy.

Jared Cotter – So, Jared was challenged to be more adventurous. Jared accepts this challenge and chooses to sing a song about sex to…his parents. Hmmm…interesting choice. I personally couldn’t imagine singing “Let’s Get It On” to my parents…even if I could sing. Honestly, I found the whole thing just too creepy. Yes, Jared sounded good. But, good Lord, man…don’t sing “Let’s Get It On” to your momma…or your daddy. That’s just weird! (And so is molesting your own face while doing it.)

Randy loves the face molestation, Paula is overwhelmed by Jared’s creepy sexiness and can barely speak, and Simon thinks it’s Love Boat-style corny. (And Ryan, just to add to the weirdness, decides to mention “the things that we’ve all done to that song”.)

A.J. Tabaldo – A.J. chooses to be slightly less creepy than Jared and dedicates “Feelin’ Good” to his parents. He’s no Michael Buble, but he’s good. Very much improved over last week. I think I actually like A.J. now.

Randy says A.J. definitely has skills, Paula says “real” a LOT, and Simon proclaims it to be nearly good. Which is actually a compliment when Simon says it.

Sanjaya Malakar – In Sanjaya’s little intro, we learn that he is dedicated his song to his late grandpa. We also learn that Sanjaya looked as much like a little girl as a child as he does now. Tonight, Sanjaya goes the really weird route of singing a Rat Pack type song, while sporting a Michael Jackson type hat. And all the while, he completely underwhelms with his vocals. If this kid is somehow still in the top four this week after this performance, then we will know for sure that this show is rigged.

Randy calls him nice….which is never a good thing on this show and declares the performance to not be good, Paula tells us that he WAS on pitch and then blathers on about his age, and Simon makes a really weird lunch with the parents analogy. Which all means that Simon didn’t like Sanjaya. And neither did I.

Chris Sligh – I think that I may be just as impressed by Chris’ wife as he is. She’s just not the girl that one would expect to be with Chris…and Chris knows it. Which is yet another reason that I like Chris. I’ve never heard this song before that he sang tonight. I can’t say that I really care for it, but he sings it very well. And, well, it was really sweet to dedicate to his wife. I’m still a big Chris fan…I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Randy tells Chris that he has skills, Paula wishes that someone would sing a song like that to her and Simon tells Chris that he’s a very good singer.

Nick Pedro – Nick dedicates his song tonight to his long-time girlfriend…who he tells us is very forgiving and understanding. Hmmmm…has someone perhaps been unfaithful while in Hollywood? (Yes…I’m really reading into things. It’s what I do.) Nick’s version of “Fever” did NOT give me fever…nor did it make me hot in the least. However, it was sung well. Probably well enough to keep him around another week. It was certainly better than last week…which seems to be this week’s theme.

Randy proclaims it to be pitchy but nice, Paula tells him to let go and go for it and Simon thinks that Nick should wear better clothes.

Blake Lewis – I really like Blake, but his performance of “Virtual Insanity” was just odd to me. I think he did pretty well on the vocals, but it was…well, it was odd. However, I’m sure that he’ll live to beatbox another day…or something like that.

Randy comes close to Paula excitement levels in assessing Blake’s performance, Paula says “WAY TO GO!” and Simon brings it all back to reality a bit and says that Blake was copycat and was overall very disappointed. A giant battle between our beloved judges and Ryan ensues, with Simon bowing to the “God of Paula Abdul” in the end.

Brandon Rogers – Brandon uses his dedication opportunity to throw out the dead grandma card. He then proceeds to sing a mediocre version of “Time After Time”. Which I personally find a bit odd to sing to dead grandma, but…whatever. Brandon’s mama sure does like it. As usual, I am not impressed.

Randy is impressed with the dead grandma card, but thinks the song is boring, Paula, however, felt Brandon’s heart when he was singing and Simon is not the least bit impressed about with the dead grandma and would like for everyone to just focus on the singing. Which he thinks that Brandon did not do this week.

Chris Richardson – Chris chooses to throw down the grandma card too…however, HIS grandma is very much alive and apparently spunky. Chris’ song choice is very upbeat and…well, it’s upbeat. But, when singing “Geek in the Pink”…well, do you think he could at least wear pink? Anyway, I think he sounds better than last week, although he was a bit off a few times. To me, he sounds best when he’s actually pushing his vocal limits. He did have one truly exceptional note in this song. Not my favorite of the evening, but still good anyway.

Randy proclaims the song to be HOT!, Paula doesn’t really say anything at all about his performance, but instead talks about Chris’ grandam and Simon and Simon declares it to be the best performance of the night.

Sundance Head – Sundance dedicates “Mustang Sally” to his little, itty-bitty baby son. Awww! So, I guess Sundance “brought it”. Or something like that. Once again, as most everyone this week, he was worlds better than last week. I’m still not a fan though. I’m sure that he won’t go this week, but I wouldn’t be torn up if he did leave. Although, if he does stick around, I would like to hear him sing a Prince song. Is that random? It just popped into my head. Don’t ask me why.

Randy says that Sundance “dropped the bomb on it tonight”, Paula thinks he’s awesome and declares it to be the best vocal EVER, and Simon is glad to hear the old Sundance again, but he thinks he could still do better.

And, that, my friends, is that. It’s VERY late and I must sleep.

Survey Says…

So, traditionally, the results show is not something that I pay much attention to.  Really, when it comes to the results show, the only thing that Iwant to know is…well, the results.  But tonight, I decided to give a watch.  And, boy, am I sorry that I did.  Why?  Well, how about the HORRID group sing?  I mean, generally, the American Idol group sings are pretty awful…this one was exceptional in its badness.  “Sowing the Seeds of Love’ really isn’t what I would normally characterize as a cheesy song.  American Idol, however, found a really great way to fix that little problem.  Whoever came up with this idea should have their heart ripped from their chest and fed to them.  Bad, bad idea.  Especially considering that the lyrics really don’t make that much sense these days because of the 80’s references.  (Okay, maybe no one else really got them…but Tears for Fears was insulting Margaret Thatcher with the song…”granny politician with your high ideals…have you no idea how the majority feels?” That doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense for these guys to be singing, huh?)

Anyway, on to the people that got booted:

Paul Kim – Well, no real loss there.  At least we won’t be subjected to his ridiculous bare feet anymore.

Antonella Barba – HOOORAY!!!  I am SOOOOO happy…no more Antonella!!

Oh wait…strike that.  American Idol clearly hates me and is playing with my emotions.  Dirty bastards.

Amy Krebs – Well, I can’t say that there is any great loss with the loss of Amy either.  Simon is right…she’s not memorable.  Her voice isn’t terrible.  But she’s pretty blah.  Oh well.

So, between the announcements of who’s gone for good, we get to hear Fantasia singing “I’m Here” from the Broadway producation of The Color Purple.  Seeing Fantasia tonight reminded me how much I really liked her on American Idol.  Unfortunately for me, my like for her doesn’t seem to transcend the AI stage.  When she’s not on the show, she doesn’t really do much for me.  I do think she has a really great voice though.  And, if she can act at all, I’m sure that she’ll do great in The Color Purple.

Nicole Tranquillo – Clearly, America was listening last night.  Nicole deserved to go more than any other girl. I’m so glad that we won’t ever have to hear her again.  Oh, and Paula declaring her to be a brilliant vocalist…a low point in my otherwise favorable view of Paula.  DAMN!  This girl is AWFUL!!

Rudy Cardenas – Between Sanjaya and Rudy, I was really expecting Sanjaya to go.  Furthermore, I can’t believe that Sanjaya was in the Top Four guys.  I’m not gonna cry about Rudy being gone…but I do think there was a very slight injustice here.  Very slight…tiny.

And, finally, at the end of the night, we get to see the fabled American Idol Death Reel.  And, surely, I’ll grow just as sick of this years Death Reel song as I did last year’s Daniel Powter song.  Although, at the moment, I kinda like it.

Girls! Girls! Girls!

So, tonight we truly get to see what the 12 female contestants chosen for this thing sound like.

Before we discuss the girls, however, I must quickly comment on something that Ryan Seacrest said about Simon tonight. In the summary of the guys from last night, Ryan proceeded to blabber on about Simon setting the bar high. Ummm…excuse me? Should the bar NOT be set high on this show? I mean, the winner gets a mult-million dollar recording contract. Please, Simon…set the bar high.

And, now, on to the ladies:

Stephanie Edwards – If you read my blog last year or know me at all, then you know I have a big ole soft spot in my heart for sultry, black ladies. Stephanie is such a lady. I found her performance to be very enjoyable. Her voice was nice and smooth and had real soul. Overall, I like her. (I especially enjoyed the head rotation at the end.)

Randy, once again, throws out the P word (does he EVEN know what that means…SERIOUSLY?), although he did seem to like her overall, Paula calls her a star and Simon declares her to be a million times better than anything that the guys did. To be fair to the guys, I think the girls have a definite advantage because they have had the chance to get used to the audience being there, whereas the guys were just thrown out there.

Amy Krebs – I find Amy’s song choice tonight to be unfortunate. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is a song that I really like, but I think has been sang WAY too much on American Idol. So much so, that it induces cringes in me when I hear those first few notes. Still, I don’t think Amy was horrible…however, she really wasn’t great either. I think she has more potential than this tired song will allow us to hear from her. I think she could be one of the two to go home.

Randy calls her boring and safe, Paula agrees with Randy, and Simon proclaims her to be a thing that sings. Ouch. That one really was kind of harsh, Simon. Although, overall, I have to agree.

Leslie Hunt – I seriously cannot explain it, but I really like Leslie Hunt. What can I say? She just seems like a nice person. That being said, she can also sing. I think it’s very brave for a skinny white girl to take on an Aretha Franklin song. I mean, Celine Dion did it and, quite frankly, it bombed. I think Leslie did a really great job with the song and I hope to get to see her for many weeks to come.

Randy didn’t think she did a good job, Paula thinks that she did (although she should watch her song choices) and Simon thinks that she looks like she doesn’t really want to be here. I don’t know. I liked her.

Sabrina Sloan – Well, Sabrina can sing. What else can I say? She has a very powerful voice that she controls very well. I enjoyed her song. But I’m not sure that I can get excited about her. I don’t know.

Randy thinks she’s the one to beat, Paula gives her a standing ovation and Simon declares her performance to be the best so far.

Antonella Barba – Full disclosure: I LOATHE Antonella. She just absolutley, positively irks me. Her song choice tonight has not helped me to like her any either. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” may be the only Aerosmith song that I can’t stand. I especially can’t stand it when it’s sang poorly. As Antonella did. I have a feeling that she’s going to hang around all season just to annoy me.

Randy says it wasn’t good and calls it pitchy, Paula tries to make her feel better by calling her beautiful, and Simon thinks the song has seriously damaged her chances in the competition. Let’s hope so.

Jordin Sparks – I have enjoyed Jordin from the first time that we saw her. I think she has an absolutely adorable personality and she didn’t sound half bad on her audition. I’m not sure how I felt about her singing Tracy Chapman, however. I think that maybe a different song would have suited her better. For me, this song requires more of the gravelly voice thing that Tracy Chapman has going on. Still, I don’t want her to go anywhere.

Randy…I think Randy was telling her to not hold back when she’s singing, but I’m not sure, Paula seems to agree and Simon thinks she may surprise us. I think it’s really hard to not like Jordin. She really is unnaturally confident for a 17 year old and I like that.

Nicole Tranquillo – Ladies and gentlemen, I think we just found our first American Idol reject for this season. I have no idea what Nicole Tranquillo was doing on that stage tonight, but I would be hard pressed to call it singing. I suppose she was attempting to channel the spirit of Chaka Khan, but I really don’t think it was working. I kept expecting her face to rip apart at any moment. Nicole…don’t ever, EVER make those facial expressions again. EVER.

Randy says it really wasn’t working for him, Paula thinks her performance was out of this world (and forces me to question her ability to judge anything ever again) and Simon throws out all kinds of negative adjectives that I couldn’t even keept track of. Needless to say, he did not like it.

Haley Scarnato- Something about Haley reminds me of Maura Tierney from ER. Yeah. I know that’s weird. Anyway, I think that Haley can sing really well, but I’m not sure about her song selection. A song originally intended for Meatloaf, but ultimately recorded by Celine Dion…well, maybe NO ONE else needs to be singing that. Ever. Seriously. I think that song may be something from the devil. (For more on the devil song, check out this.)

Randy says it’s just okay, Paula thinks she did a nice job (of course, you do Paula) and Simon thinks that she shouldn’t be singing crappy songs written for Meatloaf but sang by Celine Dion. Okay, he didn’t say that exactly, but that was what he meant.

Melinda Doolittle – Melinda is another one of the girls that I really like. I’m beginning to notice that, overall, I find the girls to be much more likeable than the guys. I’m not really too sure about her performance style though. I do like that she’s full of energy, but there’s something about her movements and her face when she sings that I find odd. But those are things that can be worked on. I think she has a really amazing voice. I also think that she looks like she could be the love child of India Arie and Macy Gray. Yeah, I know. That’s REALLY weird.

Randy declares that she blew it out of the box, Paula calls her a firecracker and Simon really hopes that she does well (she is clearly his favorite).

Alaina Alexander – Alaina crys a lot. I mean, really a lot. She almost cried in her little pre-song interview. But that’s okay. She can sing. However, I’m not sure that she should be singing a Pretender’s song. Her rendition of “Brass in Pocket” really didn’t do it for me. To me, it seems to be a very hard song for someone else to come along and do. However, considering how awful Nicole Tranquillo did, I don’t think Alaina has anything to worry about. Besides, as she got through the song, she did sound a bit better. Just a little bit.

Randy throws out the pitchy word for the millionth time this season, Paula thinks she didn’t make it her own and Simon thought it was a mess. Still, I maintain that she’s better than Nicole. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Just as a side note, I’d like to say that I’m really getting tired of all of the fighting between Simon and Ryan. Just get a room already guys.

Gina Glocksen – I like Gina. I’ve said that before and I’ll say it again. I think her performance was one of the best of the evening. And that’s all.

Randy was surprised by her and says that he likes her clothes, Paula thinks it was the right song and Simon doesn’t think she hit the right note. But, then, he’s comparing it to the Celine Dion version of “All By Myself”, which I think was absolutely horrid. (Can you tell that I’m not a Celine fan?) I like to think of Eric Carmen’s version when I think of this song…in which case, she sounded fantastic.

LaKisha Jones – Oddly enough, I compared LaKisha to Jennifer Hudson in an earlier post and she chose a Jennifer Hudson song to sing tonight. Think perhaps she’s reading the blog? Haha. No, seriously. Do you think she’s reading it? LaKisha…if you are reading this, I think you are fabulous, girl! Okay…back to the matter at hand. Yes, LaKisha’s performance. Well, aside from briefly looking absolutely psychotic during her performance, I think she did really well. Definitely Jennifer Hudson quality. And I LOVE me some Jennifer Hudson.

Randy proclaims his love for her and screams YEAH a lot, Paula says this is where LaKisha belongs and Simon all but declares her to be the winner of the whole thing.

Well, I really do think that the girls are giving the guys a run for their money. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that that two girls HAVE to go home, I think we would be seeing four guys going home this week. It’s going to be very difficult for a guy to win this year. (Although I think that if anyone can do it, it will be either Chris Sligh or Blake Lewis.)

Phone Numbers…FINALLY!

I’m not sure that I can adequately express how happy I am about tonight’s show.  FINALLY, the real competition has begun.  Now, we get to hear people sing real songs, we get to start to know the contestants, and we get to hear the REAL judge criticisms.  FINALLY…

So, here we go with a break down of the 12 guys singing tonight:

Rudy Cardenas – Okay, clearly, Rudy and Simon do not get along.  But that’s okay.  I like Rudy…at least I did until he started singing his first song of the night.  The song itself wasn’t that bad…but was all of that hooting really necessary?  I think there were at least 5 of them.  Rudy, this is not the 80’s.  People do not hoot in songs like that anymore…or if they do, they shouldn’t.

So, Randy thinks he’s corny, Paula thinks it’s hard to be the one starting off the show and Simon says that there is nothing unique about Rudy.  And I agree with them all.

Brandon Rogers – Brandon is one of two top 12 male contestants that I don’t think belong here. (Although, I think Rudy just made that list into a trio.)  His version of Rock With You isn’t helping to change my mind either.  I think I may have fallen asleep for a bit there…It was boring.  And not all that great.

Randy thinks its pitchy, Paula…well, I’m not really sure what Paula thought and Simon thinks it’s safe and predictable.  I still have no idea what pitchy means, but I agree with Simon.  Safe, predictable, boring, blah.  Tell me again why Brandon made it and that Tommy guy didn’t?

Sundance Head – And, here is the other guy that I didn’t think should make it this far.  His auditions were great…his Hollywood weak stank to high heaven.  (And, once again, poor Tommy!)  Anyway, I have to give props where props are due.  Sundance did a good job with “Nights in White Satin”.  Seems like an odd song choice to me, but he sang it well.  If he keeps that up, I may change my mind about him.

However, Randy once again brings up pitchiness, Paula thinks he picked the wrong song, and Simon thinks he sounds flat.  Gee, I must be tone deaf.  Oh well.

Paul Kim – Paul has that weird barefoot thing going on.  It’s just weird, Paul.  In the auditions and in Hollywood week, I really liked Paul.  I still do.  However, I think tonight’s song choice was a really poor one for him.  “Careless Whisper” is clearly out of his singing range.  I almost thought he was trying to channel Toni Braxton when he first started singing…just odd.  Paul needs to concentrate on the higher ranges with his voice and stay away from songs that require low keys.  If he can do that, he’ll be okay.

Randy throws out the pitchy card again but maintains that Paul has potential, Paula thinks he oversang and didn’t find his center (but finds that he’s worth pushing through) and Simon wants to see Paul wearing some shoes…and he also calls Paul’s version third rate.  Once again, I agree with all.

Chris Richardson – Clearly, Chris has been compared to Justin Timberlake on multiple occasions.  My guess is that he uses this to get girls.  Just a guess on my part.  Anyway,  this comparison clearly begins and ends with his looks.  It certainly does not extend to his singing.  If Gavin DeGraw were dead, I think this performance would have him spinning in his grave.  Chris, I don’t care how good you look.  You suck.   And what the hell was up with that weird pseudo hip-hop bopping thing?

Randy feels that Chris started the show because he brought a different flavor, Paula…oh, we all know that Paula just enjoyed watching him….who are we kidding? and Simon thought it was a bad vocal, although he likes Chris.  Obviously, Chris’ looks are what are going to get him places in this competition.

Nick Pedro -  Nick…I like Nick.  And he decided to sing a song by one of my Secret Shame’s (yes, ladies and gents…I’m a closet Richard Marx fan.)  Overall, I thought his performance was decent.  The choice was pretty safe.  I think he has potential.  Hopefully we will see him again next week.

Randy has officially become addicted to the word “pitchy”, Paula thinks Nick fell flat and Simon doesn’t think his performance was that bad.  It seems to me that Randy has become the new Paula…in that he no longer is capable of giving any feedback that is remotely useful.

Blake Lewis – Seven contestants in and Blake is the first one tonight that I have really enjoyed.  I think he may have strained a bit too much on the high notes, but I found his voice to be very nice and mellow overall.  Unlike Chris Richardson, he’s got the looks and the singing going on.

Randy, even though he liked it, still manages to bring out the pitchy card, Paula thinks he was cool (and not pitchy at all) and Simon thinks he’s the best performance of the night.

Sanjaya Malakar – First, let me just say that I am very glad that Sanjaya lost that horrid moustache.  (And, for the record, I spelled his name correctly here without reading it off the screen.  Go me!)  As for his performance….well, don’t sing a song with the line “I don’t want to bore you with this” and then proceed to do just that.  Nothing about his performance knocked me off my feet.  And I did not love him, love him, love him.  He can sing.  He just needs to choose better songs.

Randy didn’t think it was very good, Paula thinks he’s a sweetheart, but wishes that more of him came through in his performance and Simon thinks it’s the most dreary performance all night.  I’m beginning to think that I’m turning into Simon Cowell.

Chris Sligh – Okay, Chris is STILL my favorite in this competition so far.  I thought his voice was great and he actually seemed to be enjoying it…unlike nearly everyone else so far this evening.

Randy is a Chris fan and loved it (FINALLY, we agree!), Paula thinks he’s anything but typical and Simon starts going on about students…but apparently doesn’t like it.  (FINALLY, we disagree!)  And after that bizarre exchange at the end of Chris’ performance, I’m beginning to think that Simon and Ryan may be having some sort of secret affair going on.

Jared Cotter – Jared Cotter is in love with himself.  I just had to get that out of the way.  I’ll probably bring it up ever time he performs actually.  Anyway, I think Jared sounded good.  Although, I think I may have slipped into a coma very briefly.  What is up with boring song choices tonight?  I mean, to be fair, his boring choice was slightly less boring than the other boring choices.  But still, boring is boring.

Randy thought the ending was weird, Paula prefers more up-tempo songs (that means she thought it was boring too) and Simon found it too unadventerous and nasally.  I would like Jared to hang around a bit long, however, just because Ryan looks SO short standing next to him.  And that makes me giggle.

A.J. Tabaldo – I’m not sure what to think of A.J.  He has a nice smile.  And his performance was definitely the most upbeat of everyone’s all night long.  (As evidenced by Paula being out of her chair.)  I think I need to hear more A.J. before I can finally decide about him.

Randy thinks he kinda worked it out in his own kinda way, Paula thinks he can SING! and Simon finds it to be a theme park performance.  Although he does think that perhaps A.J. is better than he originally thought.  I think I feel like Simon does about A.J. – confused.

Phil Stacey – Are we going to be milking this “I missed the birth of my child to audition on American Idol” thing all season long?  Because I’m already tired of it.  That being said…well, maybe we won’t have to milk it all season long.  Phil…well, Phil sounded a little…a little…umm, I didn’t really like Phil.  He sounded really crappy at the beginning.  He did get better as the song picked up, but I’m really not impressed overall.  I say dump him.

Randy thinks it’s the best performance of the night, Paula thinks he’s great and Simon doesn’t think it was the best all night, but was okay.

I think Phil looks just like this guy from Star Trek: Nemesis.

What do you think?

So, overall…I have no idea who we’ll be losing this week.  There are plenty of candidates as far as I’m concerned.  So far, the only ones that I can really root for are Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis and Nick Pedro.  Maybe Sundance.  The rest…well, I’ll have to wait and see.

24 Baby!

So, it seems to me that in previous seasons of American Idol, this part of the audition process took up more than just one episode. Maybe I’m wrong…I don’t have the best of memories when it comes to such things. But that what it seems to me…

And now, without further ado, I am going to discuss all of tonight’s contestants. Yes, you read that right. ALL 40 of ‘em. More or less.

Sanjaya Malakar – So, I’ve heard about Sanjaya, but I never actually saw him sing until tonight. I think his first appearance was on one of those audition episodes that I simply couldn’t finish watching. Anyway, I think he’s great and definitely deserves to be in the top 24. That being said, I think he also haves a slightly, creepy Michael Jackson vibe going on.

Anna Kearns – I was completely unimpressed with her. I really don’t think she even deserved to go to Hollywood. While her height was definitely impressive, her voice was not. Don’t be surprised, Anna. Just deal with it.

Bernard Williams – Didn’t make it. Oh well. I can’t even remember him from the auditions.

Eric Davis – Eric who?

Tammy Gosnell – I think they really made a mistake saying no to this one. She had a really great Janis Joplin thing going on. Sure, she didn’t exactly have American Idol looks…wait…maybe she did. I mean, look at Rueben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and…well, even Clay Aiken. Anyway, it’s Idols loss.

Melinda Doolittle – Background singer steps out into the spotlight. I think Melinda has a nice old school sound. In fact, I think someone may have even said that about her already.

Brandon Rogers – Another background singer. This one, however, I think should have stayed there. His voice is average. Nothing impressive about it. I really hate that because of the need to balance the sexes, someone like Tammy Gosnell doesn’t make it, but Brandon Rogers does.

Gina Glocksen – I like Gina. Something about her voice reminds me of Linda Rondstadt. Kinda country, kinda pop.

Jimmy McNeal – I remember Jimmy’s face, but I don’t remember his voice. Oh well.

Errick Johnson – Errick who? Did we even see him sing at all? Anyone? Anyone?

Haley Scarnato – Well, the girl can sing pretty well, but I don’t really find her to be very exciting or anything. You know, she has some personality, but nothing outstanding. I don’t think she’ll last very long.

Philip Stacy – I like Phil. Good voice. Nice personality. Family man…well, kinda. I think he’ll last until the top 12, at least.

Chris Sligh – Chris, despite his uncanny resemblance to Jack Osbourne, is already my favorite. I will be astonished if he doesn’t make it into the top ten.

Blake Lewis – Beatbox Boy…he really broke it down on that great rendition of How Deep Is Your Love. Hopefully, he can sing as well. Hey, maybe he’s the next Justin Timberlake. You can take that one however you like.

Thomas Lowe – Brandon Rogers made it and Thomas didn’t? Okay, I admit, I have no idea how he sounds by himself, but his group was really good. And he was nice eye candy too. Ooops…did I type that outloud?

Rudy Cardenas – I don’t know about Rudy. He can sing pretty well. To me though, he seems quite forgettable.

Paul Kim – Paul…is definitely not forgettable. He has a great voice. However, his barefoot thing…well, that’s just weird. Paul….cut that out!

Jordin Sparks – Like her voice. Like her personality. Not sure that she’ll last very long.

Three Girls That Didn’t Make It- They didn’t make it. Why bother discussing them? I don’t even know if we ever saw them before tonight anyway.

A.J. Tabaldo – Very good voice. Definitely deserves to be here.

Stephanie Edwards – Another soulful, old school sounding voice. I think she sounds great and she has a fantastic smile.

Leslie Hunt – I’m honestly not convinced that Leslie deserves to be here. Her voice sounds like it has potential, but it really seems to go in and out to me. I think she’ll be interesting to watch.

Nick Pedro – He has a great voice and a great personality. And I feel like I’ve typed that about 1000 times now. What else is there to say at this point? Maybe doing all 40 people wasn’t such a good idea after all. Oh well…I’ve gotten this far….

Alaina Alexander – Eeh. That’s what I have to say about her. She completely slaughtered the lyrics to her Hollywood Week solo. I guess no one noticed.

Chris Richardson – I’m with the judges. Welcome Chris.

Sabrina Sloan – Well, Sabrina…I like her voice okay. I’m seeing a quick elimination for her.

Jerome Chism – Did we ever see Jerome?

Joelle James – Did we ever see Joelle?

Matt Buckstein – I liked Matt and his country ways. I will miss him.

Princess Johnson – Guess she’s not the princess of this competition. Ha ha.

Lakisha Jones – Definitely deserved to go on. She may be this year’s Jennifer Hudson.

Oh man…are there still more contestants? Is that even possible? I think we’ve already seen at least 677.

Nicole Tranquillo – Nicole can sing, but is ultimately forgettable. In fact, I already can’t remember what she sounds like. Or looks like. Nicole who?

Jared Cotter – Jared is a little too in love with himself. This is not an endearing quality in my eyes. He can sing okay, but

Amy Krebs – I think Amy has a very impressive voice. It’s not really what you would expect to come out of her little body. I think she’ll go far.

Marisa Rhodes – Great voice, but I’m not really sad that she didn’t make it. Especially after the theatrics in the elevator.

Antonella Barba – I don’t like Antonella. She has a good voice, but honestly, she really seems like a shallow bitch.

Tommy Daniels – Very mellow voice. Totally deserves to be in the competition…not sure how he got cut. As Tommy said…that’s BEEP!

Sundance Head – Most memorable name of the whole competition. Totally does not deserve to be in the competition…especially after his completely crappy Hollywood Week. Not sure how he got in. I’m rooting for him to get kicked off first. Well, maybe Antonella. And then Sundance.

So, I guess this means we actually get to the REAL American Idol next week? THAT, I can be excited about!

Welcome to Hollywood

Honestly, I’m not quite sure how to write about this part of the show.  I suppose I have such a problem with it mainly because…well, I write about personalities.  And, during this stage of the show, it’s really hard to single out individual personalities.  The show just doesn’t give us much of that at this stage.

So, what we have here are:

1) a bunch of people (mostly girls) being elimanted all at once.

2) Little Matt Sato making it through to Group Sing Day

3) Group Sing Day…during which Little Matt Sato is eliminated

4) One too many horrible renditions of “Be My Baby” on Group Sing Day…including an especially horrific one by Shakira wannabe Perla Meneses (who, in my opinion, never should have made it this far in the first place…thank goodness we won’t have to see her anymore.)

5) A particularly good beat-box version of The Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love” by a group that included the fantastic South Carolina native Chris Sligh (who, incidentally, has a MySpace music profile…which has no music on it…my guess is it was removed due to his inclusion on the show.)

6) One too many horrible renditions of “This Old Heart of Mine” on Group Sing Day.

7) The always fun part where they divide everyone into Yes rooms and No rooms.  Since the aforementioned Chris Sligh was in Room One, it was no surprise to me that they were a Yes room.  I mean, when a white boy can sing “Kiss from a Rose” like him, do you really throw him to the wayside?  I don’t think so.

Well, here’s to more of the same tomorrow…I guess.  Actually, since my DVR cut off the last few seconds of the show, I have no idea what’s happening tomorrow.

Remember the Alamo…But Forget These Damn Auditions!

You know, for some reason, I was looking forward to watching American Idol ALL day long. And then, I sat down to watch it and remembered something. What was it? Oh yeah…I could care less at this point! I feel like I’ve been watching the same episode for a month now! Seriously, how many auditions do we really need to see? After awhile, they’re all the same. Oh, look…that girl thinks she can sing and she really can’t! Hey…same for that guy there! Blah, blah, blah. I just really don’t care enough to pay attention to this part anymore. I am glad that we got to see a few more people who could actually sing this time…but not glad enough to really comment about it.

However, I do have to make one quick comment about how weird it was to hear my hometown of Sumter, South Carolina mentioned on American Idol! You most likely missed it…it was at the very beginning of the episode when one of the contestants said that she had come to San Antonio all the way from Sumter. Shout out to Sumter! Holla!

Other than that, I really got nothing.

At least we get to go to Hollywood next week. As CeCe Peniston once sang…Finally!

Welcome to Hollyweird

BLEECH…hack, hack. Gag…

Pardon me…just had to throw up a bit over tonight’s “Over the Rainbow” salute to Katharine McPhee.

Phew!

Okay, I’m better now. I can go on.

I tell ya, this blogger here…very happy to see guest judge Olivia Newton-John!  Truthfully, she was the highlight of an otherwise dreary show.  And, that’s really not saying much.

On to the contestants:

Martik “Hey, I’m Shirtless!” Manoukian – So, I’m pretty sure that this is an Idol first – a shirtless audition. Sadly, not only can this guy not sing at all, but he really should keep his shirt on. Although I think Paula probably enjoyed it way more than she let on. Oh, and remember, spread the love!

Sholandric Stallworth – I think my ears may still be bleeding from his audition. Enough said…

Marianna Riccio – NEVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER sing a song like “Should I Stay or Should I Go” on American Idol. I think we all know why.

Alaina Alexander – Well, she wasn’t great, but she’s cute and I think she has potential. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to make it on American Idol…

Brandon Rogers – I do think that Brandon has the potential to be the next Cory Clark. I mean, he’s MUCH better looking than Cory and certainly more talented. However, Paula clearly wants her some of this boy, so…stay tuned…

Brian Miller – Brian started off WAY to forcefully in this audition, but I think he does have potential. However, I really thought that he was going to just crumble into little bits before the judges. I’m not sure that this kid will be able to withstand the future criticism from the judges.

Sherman Pore – I’m guessing that Sherman is the oldest person to ever audition for American Idol. I can’t really say anything else about Sherman. He has a really sad story and to make fun of him in anyway would just be wrong.

And finally…

Eric Mueller – Well, Eric is right…people WILL hear his voice and say that they haven’t heard anything like that in a long time. They will then quickly follow that with “OH MY GOD! MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!”

Wish I could say that I’m looking forward to next week…but I’m not really. I am glad that next week is the final audition week. VERY, VERY glad.