Venting about Season 9 and Top 12!

"Top" 12 or Last 12 Left?

David Here! We dropped the ball the last week of the semi’s and didn’t post recaps or opinion columns!! As some of you know, aside from being too into American Idol, I’m a full time stand up comic. In the last few weeks I’ve been in Seattle, LA, San Francisco and Sacramento. So the only parts of Idol I’ve seen have been on Youtube. It does suck not being able to sit down and watch the episodes in their entirety; but when the alternative is performing and being on stage, I gotta pick performing!

Also, this season has been delivering serving after serving of letdown sauce! Andrew Garcia is the guy I’m rooting for week in and week out, but he has been stagnant. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed his rendition of Sugar We’re Going Down and I thought the judges were a little too harsh on him. I also think that Genie In a Bottle wasn’t bad either. I’m not sure what the judges are looking for, except they really loved Straight Up! I mean Straight Up was epic, so would it be out of line for him to do it again if the theme allowed it?? Andrew needs to have a “Billie Jean” moment soon or his days are numbered.

Also I was very disappointed in the Top 12 in general. This probably the most bland Idols Top 12 has been since I’ve been watching (which is Season 4). Can anyone name the Top 12 in its entirety without referring to a web site or rewinding the DVR? Maybe? You’d probably forget Katie Stevens or Lacey Brown or Paige Miles (before she let her love of MJ loose last week) This and Season 6 are the seasons where there haven’t been too many star-making “moments”, just performances. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Jordin and Blake Lewis from Season 6 but the lower half of that season was average at best (except for Brandon Rogers! I still wish he got the words right! He should have been Top 5 easily)

Maybe we’ve been spoiled the last two years with great talents: Adam Lambert, David Cook, Kris Allen, Jason Castro, Syesha, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey,  Matt Giraud, David Archuleta…

Even though this argument has some holes in it. Yes, you can’t really compare this Top 12 yet to previous years since we haven’t seen their full growth yet. David Cook was just coming into his own Season 7 with his rendition of Hello put him on the Idol map. Matt Giraud was eliminated then brought back last year with their “Why did they get rid of it” Wild Card round. So this Top 12 can’t really be judged until we can actually reflect on the growth of individual contestants once the competition is done.

But I can tell you so far (except for Crystal Bowersox who I can see struggling with some future themes and Andrew in dire need of a “moment”) any of the previous seasons contestants would own and win this years Idol without breaking a sweat.

So the gauntlet has been set for this years Idols! Lacey Brown was the first victim of the Big Stage and its now down to 11! You make it through this elimination you get to Tour with the Idols! So this is a pivotal week, make it count!

DAVID OUT!

Top 12 Boys! Oh what a letdown.

Andrew Garcia! Jermaine Sellers! Aaron Kelly!

These guys were the voices of Hollywood week! SOOOO WHAT HAPPENED?!?! Everybody was mediocre…except for Casey and Andrew Garcia. More on them later.

We didn’t have any Imagine moments (David Archuleta) or Moodys Mood For Love (Elliott Yamin), Daydream (Jason Castro),or Hello (David Cook). Need a refresher on what an amazing semi-finals performance sounds like.. take a gander

David Archuleta-Imagine

(this is what you with the Pimp spot of the night)

Elliott Yamin-Moody’s Mood For Love

(This is how you sing a difficult song and nail it)

David Cook- Hello

(this is how you establish yourself as a favorite)

Jason Castro- Daydream

(This is how you make up for NO airtime! Come out swingin’!)

Last night we got no performances that will be remember like these, except for Andrew Garcias take on Fall Out Boys “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down”

So lets go in order and re-live these performances, which for the most part weren’t very good.

Todrick Hall – The diva and a half. Took me to hear the chorus to realize what song he was singing. I did not like the arrangement at all. Nice that he took a risk, instead of singing Usher or something that’s been done. Unfortunately the risk didn’t pay off. He may be in trouble.

Aaron Kelly- He became the first victim of these overly sensitive, terribly mixed mics. I guarantee that if he had done that in season 7, that would have sounded perfect and amazing. Something is weird with the sound mix, and Ellen brought it up earlier in the show. I liked Aaron, he lacks confidence and star quality. He’ll make the Top 12 for sure just on airtime and adorable-ness alone.

Jermaine Sellers- The other Diva! But he was by far my favorite male audition of the year. But he tried to do TOO MUCH with his vocals. His voice is so perfect by doing simple riffs. No need to go as high as he does. And WHAT SONG was that?? He would have killed a Ne-Yo song, or remix a song the way he did with Joan Osbourne during his audition. This was my most disapointing performance of the night. I had HIGH expectations.  But he’ll be safe though.

Tim Urban– OneRepublics “Apologize” needs to go in the vault (along with Hearts “Alone) and never be sung again. David Archuleta was amazing with it. Oh Tim Tim Tim. From the first note and weird look into the camera, I knew this was the trainwreck of trainwrecks. And does Tim own a forehead? Can someone tell me? The judges are right, he may be safe because girls like him. We’ll see. He should go home in my book.

Joe Munoz- This was the guy who could have had a Jason Castro moment. He has had little to no airtime at all. So this was his moment to come out and tell America why he is on the show. And he kind of did it. He didn’t vomit on stage, so that was a plus. But no one will talk about this performance next week. I think he maybe in trouble, but I’d like for him to stick around.

Tyler Grady– He got lost in the fray during Hollywood, but he’s got huge personality. For me, his performance is when the show kicked off. Great energy, decent vocals, awesome stage presence. Next week, he has to sing something current and “Visit the mall” like he said. The show and judges are the ones that keep mentioning the “70’s” style”, he doesn’t make an issue out of it. Then they judge him about it… no bueno.  But he’s definitely safe.

Lee Dewyze- The most polarizing performance of the night! The judges were split (Simon LOVED it, the others didn’t. Which is rare) and the bloggers have been split on this guy! He took advantage of what little airtime he had during Hollywood and impressed judges and viewers. I love his natural tone and rasp to his voice. A lot of flat moments in this performance, so it was very frustrating to watch. They need monitors in their ears so they can hear themselves. Easily fixed. I liked his performance mostly based on what his voice is capable of. HE NEEDS TO SING USE SOMEBODY NEXT WEEK! That will be his Imagine or Hallelujah (Jason Castro) moment. Favorite moment of the night: When Ryan asked “What does it feel like, first time performing in front of millons? Lee says: Feels like I never want to lose this feeling…” OH,  He’s safe.

John Park- Wrong song! Wrong song! Wrong song! Last time this song was sung on the show, Katharine McPhee auditioned with it. And that should have remained the last time it was sung. John is my 2nd favorite Korean guy to grace the stage: Big ups to PAUL KIM! But I think this song was a tad better of a choice because it showed more range than Careful Whisper (which is what Season 6’s Paul Kim chose).  Ellen was right, it’s not the song you choose to have all the girls screaming after you. Next week, he needs to pick a song that’s more current that he can make his own! But he’s safe.

Michael Lynche- First question, why did he have a guitar?! He didn’t strum it once, twice maybe? The vocals were ho-hum. I think his personality shone through and that’ll carry him through. But the performance was ho-hum at best.  He needs to sing a ballad next time and just knock it out of the park. Not the John Park. haha. He’s safe.

Alex Lambert- This kid has got such a great tone to his voice, probably one of my favorites. But wow this is the most awkward performance in the semi finals since Jason Yeager season 7 “Moon River.” REMEMBER HIM!?! He should be singing on cruise ships and making really good money!

Back to Alex, he has a great voice, but terribly awkward on stage. So if he stays (which he might), he’ll need to do A LOT of work to stick around again.

Casey James- Did you guys hear about him and Kara? Oh you have? Its because thats all they talk about with him! Which is too bad, because this guy is awesome. What a great look, style and voice! Complete package. If he doesn’t screw up, he’ll go deep into the Top 12. Maybe 5 or 6, but a theme week will be the end for him, I can tell. This was probably my favorite performance of the night besides Andrews. And DEFINITELY my favorite version of Bryan Adams “Heaven” sung on the show. Its been done by David Archuleta and Elliott Yamin (possibly others? Let me know!). But I loved him starting out with the acoustic, great choice. He’s DEFINITELY safe.

Andrew Garcia- My man! The guy who sang “Straight Up” during Hollywood Week. The judges just did not enjoy his rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” and I was floored. I could tell it wasn’t on the level with “Straight Up” but compared to the earlier performances, this was tops. It was original and it showcased his vocals, although I can seem him challenging his vocals even more. Maybe a stripped down Maroon 5 song? But I absolutely dug it, so much in fact HERE’s the performance right here! Oh yeah he’s safe, blah blah. Obviously!

predictions

WHO IS GOING HOME!?

Tim Urban

Tim Urban

Joe Munoz

Just forgettable

And also stephi told me to let you guys know her choices for elimination are TIM URBAN and JERMAINE SELLERS!

So there we go! That’s it for round 1 of Semi-finals! Tonight are the results and a live performance by ALLISON IRAHETA singing Scars!

We’ll see if we were right or wrong!

UNTIL NEXT TIME! THIS HAS BEEN…..

UTTERLY HORRENDOUS!

the trouble with the Underrated Performance.

Underrated performances. The bane of the Idol competitor’s existence.

Unless you’re a token Hot Dude or Chick, or have the benefit of week-after-week pimping, an Underrated Performance can mean a tragic end for your Idol run. Fans will vote their fingers off for a trainwreck performance from their fave, to save them. Casual viewers vote for the show-stopping judge-tongue-bathing performances because they’re encouraged to. It’s the underrated performances that are the most dangerous. Dark horse contestants have been shock-booted or worse due to underrated performances. And here are some that just flat-out deserved better, even if those performances gave them another week or two.

1.) Leslie Hunt – Natural Woman [season 6]

When I first heard her sing in the season 6 semi-finals I hadn’t heard anything about her… and I figured she was one of those stealth amazing singers [in the spirit of LaToya London and Bo Bice] after hearing the first few bars of this. Not all chicks on Idol need to be diva-esque belters, but that’s the box most of them were stuck in. But Leslie had chops and a fun soulful groove – unfortunately her combination of no carefully-edited backstory + no Mariah vocal chords didn’t bode well for her. She deserved better.

2.) Anoop Desai – Angel Of Mine [season 8]

So Anoop Dogg was a frontrunner before this. People loved him and his crazy vocals and penchant for singing awesome mid-90s R&B hits. He should have gotten through based on this performance – it was right in the wheelhouse his fans had seen him in. What’s more – word is he dedicated it to a classmate at UNC who died a year earlier. The song fit his voice perfectly. And if Simon hadn’t pretty much directed people to vote for the second coming of Bruce Willis, he probably wouldn’t have needed that wild card spot.

3.) David Hernandez – It’s All Coming Back To Me [season 7]

I’m pretty sure this was before the Strippergate rumour came about, but my opinion would have stayed the same. Even though this was during “80s” week – so he chose this on a technicality based on it being written for Meat Loaf and he still sang Celine Dion’s version – but he really hit the musicality in it with all the dramatics he could inflect in it, even though he’s still no Celine or Meat Loaf [but really, who is?]. Loved it.

4.)  Scott MacIntyre – Just The Way You Are [season 8]

This isn’t the version on the show. YouTube doesn’t have it. But here it is, fresh from the “Pick any song you want” week [or in Idol producer terms, “iTunes hits” week]. Scott got a lot of crap from Simon for never leaving his piano, but seriously, 1.) Dude is blind. Give him a freaking break, and 2.) How often do you see Elton John or Billy Joel leave their piano? And speaking of Billy Joel, man oh man, was this song perfect for him or what?

5.)  Trenyce – Proud Mary [season 2]

So… Josh Gracin more or less murdered Neil Sedaka’s “Bad Blood” and escaped unscathed, and Trenyce channels Tina and gets the ax? This is just one of several examples of the sacrificial lamb that can be the underrated performance. She wasn’t my favorite contestant in season 2, not by a longshot, but this was easily one of the best performances of the night. Maybe if she’d done some of Ms. Turner’s famous dance moves she would have done better?

6.)  George Huff – Lean On Me [season 3]

Yes, this performance won him Simon’s wild card vote, but I felt like George was underrated in so many ways. He wasn’t even originally chosen for the top 32 that year; someone’s arrest cleared the way for him. Not only did he seem like an amazingly nice person but he had a rich and soulful voice I could listen to all day. This song was right in his wheelhouse – very “bring me to church!” and all. And needed far more recognition that it earned, even if it did get Simon’s love at the end.

7.)  Amy Adams – Sin Wagon [season 3]

More people associate this song with Carrie Underwood’s version in season 4, but Amy’s version was far and away better. The lyrics sounded much more real and believable coming from her – and this is a song where lyrics count. Unfortunately, they had to change the “mattress dancing” lyric to “crazy dancing” [which was just weird and off-putting] and she got voted off the following week. Sadness. She was better than 10th place.

8.)  Elliott Yamin – Somebody To Love [season 5]

First of all, the fact that Elliott hadn’t even heard this song before Queen week on Idol speaks volumes for his ability to sing it. This song is flippin’ HARD to sing. And just like every song he sang on Idol, he did amazingly with it. How it landed him in the bottom 3 that week, I’ll never know. I guess it didn’t have the zeitgeist appeal then as it does now [what with it being covered by the Glee kids and all] but seriously, when you ask me what songs were Elliott’s best from his Idol run, this is in the top 3, handily.

9.)  Jason Castro – Travelin’ Thru [season 7]

I was a HUGE Castro fan in his season; I thought he was heavily underrated in his entire run. This song during Dolly Parton week was quite tailor-made for him and his style, and with his acoustic guitar he did a really great job. Not many of Dolly’s songs are familiar to our generation but this was released this decade and was up for an Oscar. It’s too bad the judges weren’t crazy for it, but he still made it through safely. Bonus points for the studio version – it’s pretty awesome.

10.)  Allison Iraheta – Cry Baby [season 8]

She was underrated from the beginning of the finals, but to think this performance would get her voted off? Once again, an example of the underrated performance taking the hit – Danny Gokey’s “Scream On” mobilized his fanbase into full force, Adam Lambert was recovering from his ” bottom 2″ incident the week before, and Kris… well, he’s just amazing. Allison took the hit here, big time. The judges were lukewarm and she deserved better from them because, well, just listen to her!

Adam Lamberts For Your Entertainment Video PREMIERE!

Utterly Horrendous seems to be turning into THIS JUST IN ABOUT ADAM LAMBERT! But it’s the hot IDOL topic! What do you want us to talk about? Michael Sarver signing a recording contract!?!  OK FINE!  So Michael Sarver signed a recording contract with Dream records, and he performed his first single. Here’s the vid! ENJOY!

Slightly bored? Not his fault. I think if the song gets some AC radio love, then it could do decent. Not Carrie, but maybe Constantine good? At least he won’t have to go to a oil rig again!

ADAM LAMBERT TIME!

So handsome.

So the world premiere of the video was late Tuesday. To coincide with the week of his debut album. Right off the bat I think the video has a very “Slave 4 U” vide except not as well lit. Definitely goth, and he blurs the lines of sexuality which has always been his staple. The song sounds WAAAY better here than it did live at the AMAs on that fateful Sunday.

Here is the video! CHIME IN AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!! Btw, I submitted to actually be in this video. I can definitely see why I wasn’t picked for an audition. lol.

New Idol Singles! Allen, Iraheta, Castro, Lewis, Yamin and more!

A lot of you have been hoping to hear singles from past Idols. And I’ve accumulated them all here. I’ve been particularly waiting for Jason Castro since I felt like he was very marketable and could have a great career with a Mraz-y feel.

Jason Castro- Let’s Just Fall in Love Again. Definitely one of my favorite Idol singles. It suits him perfectly. I could have done without the whistling in the beginning. But this kid should get a lot of notice. Unfortunately, his release date is the same as Adam Lambert. What was his label thinking???

Kris Allen “Live like we’re dying”– This one leaves me wanting a little more. It’s actually a cover from an Irish band The Script. And the two versions are exactly the same. Too bad he couldn’t have his single be something original. But hey! Thats the Idol Machine for you. Check out both versions here.

Allison Iraheta “Friday I’ll be over U”- This is a preview to her single, and I gotta say it’s perfect for her and her demo. It’s catchy enough to get some others into it that normally wouldn’t. I’m actually pretty excited for her album.

Elliott Yamin “You say” Anyone who knows me knows that Elliott is my favorite idol (along with David Cook). So I support him whenever I can. This song is amazing. Love the beat, vocals are perfect obviously. Check out his 2nd album Fight for Love!!

David Cook “Come back to me” – This song and “Life on the Moon” are my favorite songs on the album! I’m glad he released it as a single. Just an amazing radio-friendly hit. I’m sure he doesn’t need any more help promoting his music, but here ya go.

Blake Lewis “Sad song”- Always been a huge fan of Blake Lewis. His style, beat-boxing, all awesome. His debut album got a lukewarm response. I just think they picked a bad lead single. I think they should have jumped on How Many Words. Great song. Break Anotha wasn’t strong enough… BUT I DIGRESS. He has a new album out, with the best album title this year — Heartbreak on Vinyl—  I love that title for some reason!

That’s it for now! If I missed any Idols that don’t get enough attention, let me know! BTW, STILL NO WORD ON AN ADAM LAMBERT SINGLE! YOU’LL GET HERE FIRST!

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The finale LIVE-BLOG! by Stephani <3

Out of courtesy to my West Coast readers, I delayed posting until now. You’re welcome.

[I’m watching this on Tivo so the times would not be accurate. So I will be updating with bullet points.]

Here we go…

– Opening montage of Kris vs. Adam from last night. Cue dramatic freeze-frames, spotlights, overpraise from the judges and Ryan Seacrest doing what he does best.

– Adam and Kris in white! Love them. SO sexy.

– Kimberley Locke and Janice “Muppet Face” Dickinson are in the audience!

– 100 million votes, kiddos… Ryan’s voice just cracked at that insane number.

– Randy Jackson is dressed like a black Howdy Doody. I wish I was kidding. Cue montage of him saying “for me, for you” over and over AND OVER AGAIN in his judging.

– New judge Kara DioGuardi and a montage of her patronizing habit of calling bad auditioners “sweetie” and/or “honey”. I hate people who do that.

– Paula “Vicodin and vodka” Abdul and a montage of her using freaking SAT words. Are you guys NOW convinced that bitch reads from a script?? Was she ever this articulate before? No.

– Simon looks bored. But here’s a weird montage of him saying “what?” over and over again. I don’t get it.

– Helloooo Carrie Underwood. Nice prom dress.

– Some fix Kris’ mic please. Oh wait, Adam’s is all wonky too. This show rakes in how much money and they can’t get this right?

– Oh hai Mikalah Gordon in Conway, AR. Why is this bitch on my TV and why is she interviewing a three year old?

– The less also-ran Carly Smithson is in San Diego for Adam’s crowd… she’s less annoying than she was last year, somehow.

– OMG “So What” from Pink! I can’t help but love this song… and I am completely amused at the lack of the “I guess I just lost my husband” line. I think this is the first and last time we’ll ever hear the word “tool” on this show in that context. Megan looks bored, Scott looks lost, Adam and Allison look rawker, Jorge is running around the stage, and Michael is pointing at me. Oh look, Jasmine got a mini solo. I almost forgot about her. And Alexis is finally wearing pants.

– Hello David Cook… singing his new single “Permanent” in honor of his recently deceased brother. I think he wore this outfit on Mariah Carey night last season. Either way, I love him… this is a beautiful song. There’s nothing but raw emotion here. I wonder if the black armband he’s wearing is for his brother?

– Hello Justin Guarini and Michael Johns. Two guys I thought were super hawt in their respective seasons.

– Golden Idols! This always turns out to be full of LOLs.

– Okay, other than Norman Gentle, I don’t remember any of these guys… “I’m staying… I AM STAYING….” *cue molestation of the Idol logo* “Takes one to know one, sassy pants!” Oh I loved him. And Norman Gentle wins the Golden Idol… says he doesn’t even have a speech planned… uh huh… and OFF comes the clothes and here he is in his super random Norman Gentle attire… for whatever reason, this never gets old for me.

– Has anyone ever laid down on the Idol steps before?? Nice shoutout to the “lady in the purple shirt”…

– Lil Rounds and Queen Latifah duet. Nothing interesting to see here… no really. That was incredibly boring.

– Anoop and Alexis are starting in on the amazing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz…. and hello, Mr. Mraz. Weird facial hair aside, I effing love this guy and want to do him. The three of them sound really quite fabulous together. And with the rest of the finalists, I think this may be my most favorite finale group sing… or at least in the top three.

– The journey of Kris Allen… was quite a journey indeed. These montages always make me get all teary eyed… Smokey loved him, Jamie Foxx loved him, Kara said he was a dark horse. And don’t even get me started on all of his adorable shocked faces when he advances to a bigger level. I heart him.

– Kris is singing with Keith Urban… not gonna lie, this song does absolutely nothing for me.

– The ladies are singing the popular about two years ago “Glamorous“… and lordy, is Megan the worst sounding contestant the top 12 has ever seen? Because I can find NO redeeming factor in her voice.

– I’m so over Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas. Seriously dudes. I love her heels, but I hate this song. Allison is wearing THE cutest dress, though.

– Another Golden Idol for “best attitude” or some crap… featuring Bikini Skank, methface girl and some other freak… and Bikini Skank wins and comes on stage in another bikini and OMG HELLO FAKE TITS. Simon even said “wow”. And he’s jaded.

– “I was gonna ask you what’s new, but I think I know.” Oh Seacrest, how I love you. You earn that insane paycheck.

– Skank is butchering Mariah again like she did in her audition… somewhere Mariah is like “oh HELL NO”.

– Well hello Kara… I don’t like you, but you sound a hell of a lot better than Bikini Skank, who does not look thrilled at being upstaged. In the audience, David Cook approves.

– I love that Allison is singing a slowed-down acoustic version of “Time After Time” with Cyndi Lauper. I still don’t believe she’s 17. This is probably the most spot-on duet in a number of seasons.

– Kris’ parents are so freaking adorable. Although Mama Allen really shouldn’t be wearing that dress. Adam’s parents look a little more “city”… but still adorable.

– Danny Gokey sings “Hello” by Lionel Richie and all I can think is “I miss David Cook.” Man, Lionel has aged really well. As much as I love his songs… this has to be the cheesiest duet EVER.

– The screams for Adam were WAY louder than those for Kris.

– Adam’s journey on Idol as set to “Viva la Vida”. And I don’t know but I think Adam has invested in some serious ProActiv since his audition. God he’s bloody sexy.

– Okay, anyone who still thinks Adam is straight after seeing him in this ensemble is freaking blind. It looks like “The Crow” mated with “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

– OMG KISS! Do I really need to say more?? Other than the fact that Adam is completely holding his own with these guys…

– Hello Carlos Santana… I think this is the closest thing Matt will have to a solo tonight, which is no bueno. And now all the Idols are decked out in red and black singing “Smooth“. Adam and Kris pull off the sexy, while Jorge and Gokey make a worthy attempt. Looks like Alexis is back to not wearing pants. Allison and Adam are so BFFworthy together. I love that blind Scott is making more of an effort than Megan is. I’m seriously worried he’s about to fall off the stage.

– This Ford video shows even more that Adam and Kris are the best top two EVAH.

– Scruffy looking David Cook surprises the dudes with their own new Ford Fusion, and both guys know what’s going on pretty much immediately.

– Steve Martin and his completely random banjo skills join Megan and Michael in a duet. Wow, Michael is making me forget that I never liked him. He sounds great here, and he’s so freaking adorable too. Aww.

*cue quote from “Armageddon”*

“And this is the best that you – that the government, the *U.S. government* can come up with? I mean, you’re NASA for cryin’ out loud, you put a man on the moon, you’re geniuses! You’re the guys that think this shit up! I’m sure you got a team of men sitting around somewhere right now just thinking shit up and somebody backing them up! You’re telling me you don’t have a backup plan, that these eight boy scouts right here, that is the world’s hope, that’s what you’re telling me??”

– The guys are completely unconvincing while singing “If You Think I’m Sexy“… except Kris and Adam. Man, did we EVER pick the right two out of that group of dudes. Stop riffing, Matt. I love that Adam’s glory note drowns out everyone else.

– Damn, Rod. You’re sounding rough. Like, REALLY rough. Dig the used car salesman jacket.

– One last Golden Idol award! Oh hey Tatiana Del Toro. I’m pretty sure that “batshit crazy” is too nice of a description for you.

– I am still trying to figure out of this is scripted. I seriously have NO IDEA. Ryan told Tatiana not to come on stage but she does anyway, followed by two unsuccessful stage hands. If this is staged, Ryan deserves an Academy Award, because I honestly have no idea if it is or not. LOL at Ruben in the audience looking scared and/or confused.

– “Both are victorious.” Best description ever. Kris and Adam’s duet on “We Are The Champions” … I think this is always the part of the finale that makes me all emotional…. WELL HELLO THERE QUEEN! Gokey, THIS is how you duet. Even though Adam is more bombastic, it’s still a duet and not a showdown. They truly respect and care about each other, and that’s so much fun to watch.

– And here we go to the actual results… Simon tells the guys they’re both brilliant, incredibly nice people and should be proud of what they’ve achieved.

– KRIS ALLEN WINS! The finalists all look incredibly thrilled, Adam swoops him up in a huge hug. Kris is basically like, “are you freaking kidding me?” and continues to be speechless and humble and … oh wow, Simon is definitely NOT standing for Kris.

– Oh geez, does Kris really need to sing this crap song? Can’t he sing “Falling Slowly” or something? Oh well… he looks so adorable and overwhelmed. I can safely say that this is the first season of Idol where the winning Idol was someone I never once envisioned actually WINNING. But I couldn’t be more thrilled. Congrats Kris. ❤

– And on a final note… Jorge has gotten a LOT of face time tonight! You go, Puerto Rico.

the “other dude” as your American Idol? I think it’s possible.

Here’s why Stephani thinks Kris will win tomorrow night.

This has been a very disjointed season. We’ve had a new judge, a “Judge’s Save” that was used more for the purpose of boosting ratings and creating drama, a top 13 and an unprecedented switch to the old semi-finals format. One would say, after the success of season 7, if it’s not broke why fix it? But with a top 2 unlike anything Idol has really ever seen, maybe it all makes sense.

The semi-finals were a wash. It was scripted to a T. We knew who the producer’s favorites were – the three who got pimp spots at the end of each round. Bloggers around the country were predicting by and large a Danny, Adam and Lil final 3. The “wild card” round was stacked to the brim with even more producer faves, including Anoop, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy and Jasmine. All four of which got through without a hitch.

In fact, one could argue that if Jasmine and Matt hadn’t chosen Sara Bareilles and Coldplay, respectively, on round 2 night, Kris and Allison wouldn’t even be a glimmer in the Idol fanbase’s eye. They were not pimped. We barely saw their auditions and their work in Hollywood. I mean, for the love of God, Kris sang a freaking Michael Jackson song, and Allison sang a song Carrie Underwood completely owned in season 4. Yet, they got through from the votes of the American public – surely, we saw something the producers [and, likely the test audiences] didn’t see, right?

Of course we did.

Allison, at a shockingly young age, did what Diana DeGarmo couldn’t do in season 3 – showed maturity and grit to back up her flawless vocals. Her performances of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Give In To Me” showed that she was probably a 40-year-old hard-lived groupie in a previous life. Kris, as cute and harmless as he seemed, busted out some intense chops and emotion when he nailed “To Make You Feel My Love” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” early on.

Don’t get me wrong, amidst all this, Adam was shocking the nation – his “Ring of Fire” was watercooler fodder for weeks and his subdued “Tracks of My Tears” had the songwriter, the immortal Smokey Robinson, on his feet and overwhelmed with emotion. His “Mad World” earned a standing O from the man who rarely even applauds for the contestants.

Meanwhile, Lil floundered on the big stage and finally fizzled out, whereas Danny’s smugness and inability to bring relevance and artistry to the Idol stage brought his inevitable boot at top 3, when most of the world had ultimately accepted the fact that he’d be in the final 2 with Adam, as it was predicted on top freaking 13 night by Paula [script much?].

But here we have Kris, who, against every Idol roadblock in the book, has made top 2 and – gasp! – has a really, REALLY good chance at winning. He’s the quintessential underdog. There’s been no arc planned for him. He’s doing what Elliott Yamin and Jason Castro failed to do – he has survived this, and he has only improved.

With all thsoe pesky non-singing ability factors in play [i.e. the Red State vote, the Christian vote, the “cute guy” vote] as well as his improvement, I think he’ll win. And as a fan of the underdog, I couldn’t be happier.

Top 4 Show: Danny Screams? Yes and its Bad.

Before I start…. PLEASE GO BUY ELLIOTT YAMINS NEW CD “FIGHT FOR LOVE!!!

YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT IT YET! GO!

IT CAME OUT MAY 5TH! GO NOW! AND COME BACK AND READ THIS BLOG!!!!!! GO!

I’LL WAIT.

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BACK? COOL.

I usually like to go in some type of chronological order when I do a recap. HOWEVER, due to certain happenings in the show, I must go out of order.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SCREAM DANNY GOKEY!???

I had to capture this on my phone. OMG.

I mean who were you trying to get to hear you? Were you trying to break the plane between the living and the dead??? If so, then I think it worked. Because my dead grandma sent me a text saying that was TERRIBLE. Simon said it best:

“That last note- It was like watching a horror movie…”

I definitely think that Danny Gokey put himself in serious danger. What was he thinking trying to imitate Steven Tyler or worse…MICHAEL JOHNS!!!

It will come down to Kris or Danny.

Allison was fantastic as always singing a Janis Joplin joint. And at the end of her performance, she actually spoke up and defended herself.

"LOOK I GET IT, you guys LOVE Adam, but let me do my thing! Make a move Simon!"

She wasn’t necessarily arguing, just clarifying that it was the Jefferson Airplane song and not the Queen song of the same title. Which I also made the same mistake that Simon made, because I actually would have loved to see Allison tackle that song. Because Elliott Yamin did such a good job at it… Here’s a look.

Any excuse to post an Elliott video…

I actually feel that Allison will be safe, avoiding the first ever Top 3 Male situation.
Kris Allens solo performance was boring and safe. MOVING ON!

The Duets.

"SO, ur glasses are cool." "Thx man. Your mouth moves to the side. Neat."

Hmm.. I didn’t really know how I felt about these. Because they definitely could have an effect on how people vote. And I don’t know if that’s really fair. ut I do agree with Randy, some of the harmonies they pulled off were very nice to listen to.

The song just didn’t seem to fit the two nice guys in the competition. I mean, “Renegade” By StYx?

Does anyone else only think of Chris Daughtrys performance of this song?

Just when I thought that I wasn’t going to be a fan of the duets on competition night, I watch Adam and Allisons performance.

"So you're 17 huh? Cool. I'm very gay, but can't say it on the show. Huge Christian following." "Oh, um, yeah I'm 17. You really just came out to me during this performance. Wow."

Wow. That was really fun to watch. They seemed to be having an amazing time together. They sang Slow Ride by Foghat, which seemed like a very interesting choice. But with their vocal olympics in place, they made it a pretty electrifying performance. I believe (and Simon agrees. Or is it the other way around?) that the duet performance assured Allison that she was safe.

LASTLY, we have Adams performance which started the show. And Simon made the most accurate quote of the night while judging Adams performance…

“The problem is, is that no one else can top that now.”

And it ended up being true.

Another memorable Idol moment was the first on air orgasm by Kara Dioguardi. I have two different shots of the occurrence. Since we have seen several by Paula, I figured that recording Karas first would be nice.

"I know your gay Adam, but please! JUST ONCE!" I'm almost there...

"YOU WANT THIS KARA!!!? YOU WANT THIS!???

"AHHHHH!!! YES!! YES!! IM GOING TO POUNCE ON YOU NOW!"

LOL. Overall it was a fun episode. There was a DeGarmo sighting. If you take a picture and email it to me, I will give you an Idol Related prize!!!

And now for my prediction on who is going home.

Who is going home???

My answer may surprise you.

In the shocker of the year, Danny Gokey will be going home. Leaving the top 3 to be Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert.

So you heard it here first. Danny G going home tonight!

Til next time Idoltown!!! GOOD NIGHT!

Rat Pack Top 5 Episode. Recap and MORE!

It’s Official:

Adam Lambert WILL be our new Idol.

It is now a race for 2nd Place.

Our New Idol. Mark my words. For better or worse

After watching Adams performance of “Feelin’ Good” it is very apparent that he is poised to be our next American Idol. Everyone else in the competition is there for the sake of earning the DeGarmo spot.

The episode was pretty good overall. Nobody phoned in their performances.

Can you guess who the mentor was this week!?

HINT: He was NOT in the Rat Pack.

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YOU GUESSED IT: JAMIE FOXX!

Mr. RAY himself

If my memory serves me, Jamie is probably the biggest star they’ve had in a long time. Also, he is a star that is still in his prime. We are usually privy to the Dolly Partons, Neil Diamonds, Andrew Lloyd Webbers… All stars in their own right, but Jamie Foxx is an A-List star NOW. So that’s a pretty big deal.

Jamie was a cool mentor with plenty of advice, and it also helped he was hilarious in the process. I wonder if this mentor gig was purposefully aligned with the release of his latest film The Soloist (which didn’t do very well in its first weekend, but maybe this will give it a nice boost).

Let me get this off my chest. The judges are more annoying than ever with some of the comments they are dropping. I understand that this is a singing competition. HOWEVER, a viable compliment from Randy Jackson can longer be (and this is a direct quote from his judging of Danny Gokey tonight:

“This is a singing competition, and you can SING!” (Insert crowd screaming trying to match Randys energy)

Another direct quote from Randy Jackson:

“You come out lookin’ like Brittany Murphy (*Random*). Lookin’ Dope. You sing like Pink, but with, like, 10,000 more octaves. That right there (arms flayling), yo, yo, yo (arms still flayling).”

Oh, Randy.

YO! This is a hot one AMERICAAAAAA!

I mean, we started out with 100,000 strong auditioning. We are down to the Top 5. I THINK it’s obvious that they can sing. What a dumb thing to yell. It’s like yelling at a NY Yankee “DUDE YOU CAN REALLY SWING A BAT!”

AND NOW FOR THE PERFORMANCES:

"Blame it (Remix)" Jamie Foxx Feat. Kris Allen??? Possibly?

Kris Allen got a ton of love from Jamie Foxx. Even said that he would cut a record with Kris if Idol doesn’t pan out. I wonder how many of these offers the mentors give actually get taken up. I have yet to hear Mariah Carey do a track with a former Idol. Or Dolly Parton do a song with Bucky Covington.

I gotta say…

the most surprising performance of the night was Danny Gokeys “Come Rain or Come Shine.” He sang with a swagger not seen the entire season. He stood on that Idol stage and said “I may have gotten here on the back of my wifes memory, but I stayed because of this voice!”

AWW… was that too soon???? I wasn’t the only one crying over his story back in the audition days! I was rooting for him to be good. But I also wanted his friend Jamar to make it. AND JAMAR should have made the TOP 12 easily!!! OH JAMAR, where art THOU!??

But I digress.

But I digress

Allison Iraheta was up to bat next, and she was stellar as always. Her performances have never been short of brilliant to me. Considering that she is 17 years old… BTW:

Popular Idol from an un-popular season.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLISON! STILL JAILBAIT, BUT THATS ALRIGHT) The last girl this young to get his far won the whole thing…. Do we remember who??———————> That’s right. But will Allison be able to make it to the finale? If all the ladies rally around her and get their vote on… perhaps. No one in their right mind would disagree that she has an incredible voice, and she is a very marketable commodity in the pop music world of today. A latin Hannah Montana perhaps????

The boy has got vocals and style in spades

OH Matt Giraud. Wearing my favorite hats. He sang My Funny Valentine, and it was pretty damn good. But while I’m watching him (who is my favorite right now), I can’t help but wonder how Adam Lambert is going to trump this performance. And that’s the Lambert Effect (Which I will talk about in an upcoming blog!). Matt G does a very decent job of putting his stamp on MVF, but it still feels a bit karaoke. Which is why ultimately he will come up short in this competition.

Lastly, we have Adam Lamberts performance. OMG. This guy knows he’s going to win. He has got an attitude and swagger (twice in one blog. impressive) that no one else has.

As soon as I heard him say he was singing Feelin’ Good I thought about AJ Tabaldos brilliant performance….

THEN! I REMEMBERED ANOTHER PERFORMANCE… Leslie Hunt. OMG. Listen to the scat towards the end.

She obviously got eliminated, but watch this video of her performance on elimination night. Hilarious. Cut to about 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the video for the actual performance. She acknowledges her choice to scat. One of my favorite Idol moments of ALL time. Its worth watching the whole vid. I promise!!

Anywho back to Adam. Great performance, not his best. But it definitely cemented his status as the obvious front runner. Short of a upset not seen on Idol since the supposed Daughtry Debauchery (I was more upset that Elliott didn’t win that year, but I think we can all agree that Taylor did not deserve to win), I think Adam will walk away with this years crown.

So the end of the episode is here. And let’s see if I can name the songs

they sang without looking it up.

Kris Allen- The Way You Look Tonight
Allison Iraheta- Somebody Watch Over me (?)
Matt Giraud- My Funny Valentine
Danny Gokey- Come Rain or Come Shine
Adam Lambert- Feelin’ Good.

Not bad, Dave. Not Bad.

Not bad.

Who is going home, you ask???

hmm… I’m going to say that the person going home tonight…
The person with the least amount of votes…

The country has spoken and the person I believe to be going home will be….

Sad to see her go. But i'll see her on tour.

TIL NEXT TIME AMERICA!

Wow. It’s been awhile. Best Top 5 EVER??

For those who have been keeping up. It has been a couple weeks since we’ve added any posts to our Utterly Horrendous Blog. LIFE HAPPENS. What can we say?

YOUR TOP 5!

Oh Danny... You are soo boring now. But I stil love you!

The Most Consistent Idol this year

Is Idol his to lose?

Can the only female left be our next American Idol

The judges used the save on him. Could he win the whole thing?

This is by far the most wide open Top 5 that the show has ever had. I can’t think of previous Top 5 that comes close. I think right now it’s Adam Lamberts to lose, because of judges pimping and due to girls blind eye to his very real homosexuality. And more importantly, the kid has got pipes (And not just the ones he’s laying.)

Lets look at the very serious competitors.

Danny Gokey– The very early favorite, But he has been suffering from Archuleta Syndrome (A.S. is a disease that strikes many early front runners. Its stunts their growth as an artist throughout the competition. A.S. also causes the contestant to pick very boring and predictable Idol songs). But Danny has been fighting the A.S. and has not been in the bottom 3 the entire year. But the gas in his tank is running out as we get closer to the Finale. We’ll see if he can kick it into overdrive with some memorable performances. Can YOU name a Danny Gokey moment this year??

Matt Giraud– The Soul man this year. He is by far my favorite Idol to listen to in the car. His studio versions of songs are amazing. I don’t think his personality has shone through enough. Also, after every performance the judges feel compelled to mention Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey in Matt Girauds critiques, which is very unfair to him. His song choices have been a bit more adventurous than I would have liked, but at least he takes risks. He went a bit vanilla with Have You Ever Loved a Woman, but I still liked it. Matt is least likely to win, but in any other season, he would have at least placed 3rd.

Kris Allen– What a season this guy has had!? I still feel like this kid made a mistake by mentioning his wife early on. The girls swoon over this guy more than any other guy this year, and the wifey broke their hearts. His versions of songs are creative and very much his personality. My favorite so far has to be Ain’t No Sunshine. That was definitely his “Imagine” or his “Billy Jean” moment.
Allison Iraheta– The little 16 year old that could. This girl is probably the best female rock vocalist the show has ever had. She has hints of Christina Aguilera in her vocal performances. She is the only female left, and if she goes home it’ll be the first Top 4 Guys in IDOL HISTORY! So NO PRESSURE ALLISON! If women gather up and support her, she could definitely sneak into the finale.

Adam Lambert– Wow. This kid has pulled in some performances. People point to Tracks of My Tears has an Idol Moment. But I challenge  you to not be more impressed by his rendition of If I Can’t Have You as one of the greatest in Idol History. He has had more “moments” than anyone this season. But he is also the most polarizing Idol EVER. I have never seen more people hate or love a contestant as much as Adam.  Barring any upsets, he will definitely be in our Finale in May.

Lets take a look at Previous top 5’s and compare!

Season 7

1.David Cook
2.David Archuleta
3.Syesha Mercado
4.Jason Castro
5.Brooke White

At this point we knew it was David and David. No doubt in anyones mind.

You get two David Cook vids

Season 6
1.Jordin Sparks
2.Blake Lewis
3.Melinda Doolittle
4.Lakisha Jones
5.Chris Richardson

eh. I don’t think anyone cared enough this season about the top 5. They were all fairly mediocre. This was my favorite Jordin Performance.

Season 5
1.Taylor Hicks
2.Katharine McPhee
3.Elliott Yamin
4.Chris Daughtry
5.Paris Bennett

Taylor won!? Still the most WTF? Winner of American Idol. Elliott was my favorite and is still my favorite idol ever (tied with David Cook). My favorite performance.

Season 4
1.Carrie Underwood
2.Bo Bice
3.Vonzell Solomon
4.Anthony Federov
5.Scott Savol

Really? It was Carrie Underwood or bust. Bo Bice had a nice following, but he had no chance. Remember ALONE?? Nuff SAID

Season 3
1.Fantasia Barrino
2.Diana DeGarmo
3.Jasmine Trias
4.Latoya London
5.George Huff

I didn’t watch this season, but Youtube clips and just hearing about this season; sounds like it was Latoyas to lose and Jasmine had Hawaii to thank for 3rd place.

Season 2

1. Reuben Studdard
2. Clay Aiken
3. Kimberly Locke
4. Josh Gracin
5.Trenyce

I’m going to need Stephanie C to chime in on this season and season 1 because I didn’t follow the show too well back then. But it doesn’t seem like Josh Gracin ever had a chance of winning, neither did Kim or Trenyce.

This is the only song I think of when I hear about season 2.

Season 1

1. Kelly Clarkson
2. Justin Guarini
3. Nikki Mckibbin
4.Tamyra Gray
5. RJ Helton

I’m pretty sure it was Kellys to lose. Even though I love RJ Heltons performance of I’ll be there.