Top 10 does R&B. AND Yes, Tim Urban is still on the show.

"Im only here because my album comes out today"

David here! I gotta admit, my hectic schedule hasn’t allowed me to sit down and watch ANY Idol episodes since the first semi final rounds (which I watched from Seattle). We’ve been able to keep up through YouTube clips and other Idol sites (such topidolblog.com). Of course I’ve heard about all the hate with this seasons crop of “talent,” and it’s reminding me of Season 6 a lot. Tonights R&B themed episode is my first viewing of everyone on the big stage and i’ll be able to properly give my educated opinion on these people vying for Americas vote.

Usher is the mentor this week, and I’m sure he couldn’t be more happy. Luckily for American Idol his album release is on the same day of this show. And 30mil eyes on him on the day of his album drop doesn’t hurt. Based on the theme alone tonight, I had guessed that the standouts would be Michael Lynche, Andrew Garcia, Siobhan M. I also thought Crystal would have an okay night, nothing fancy but she’d definitely be safe. The ones in trouble would be Tim Urban (he’s in trouble every week. He’s the Abercrombie Sanjaya), and Didi Benami.

PERFORMANCE ROUND-UP

Siobhan In her pre-tape, she pulls off those big glasses without being annoying.  Her performance: Not good. Terrible arrangement. WOW. That was the worst I’ve heard her sing on this show.  Did I also hear FEEDBACK from the mic? The judges (except for Simon) give her a real pass. That’s impressive. The judge also spent a long time talking to her; almost consoling her. She looks visibly hurt. C’mon young lady its one performance. They’ve been pimping her for the longest time. She can stand to have one bad performance. She’s safe

Casey An average vocal, but the energy skyrocketed and it seemed like a party was going on at American Idol! I got a hint of Kris Allen in Casey as far as someone who I forgot was in the competition early on but crept into the finals with ease. Simon really showered him with praise this week which means he’ll be safe

Michael Normally I find “Big Mike” a little annoying. I can’t place my finger on it. But he just hasn’t been a favorite of mine, BUT, I actually liked Michael with the guitar in a quiet acoustic setting. Tonight he sang a fantastic song and really left an impression. Usher also gave him his stamp of approval. He’s Safe

Didi I definitely thought she was crying during her pre-tape with Usher because of her friend who had passed away, but I didn’t feel it necessary for Ryan to make her bring it up after her performance.  Im sure he was trying to earn her votes after getting a lukewarm response from the judges. But as far as her performance, I enjoyed a lot more than the judges did.  I think i’ll have to watch it again. I didn’t think it was perfect, but it wasn’t as bad as the judges made it out to be. She’s in trouble

Tim Urban Oh Tim. Im just gonna really skip you. You are a good looking Sanjaya, and a poor mans Ace Young. Actually the kid showed some personality tonight, but it’s still irritating to see the people that have left in the past in favor of him. There’s one every year (Kevin Covais, Sanjaya, Scott McIntyre, etc.) He’s forever in trouble

Andrew Garcia I will pretend to hide my favoritism to Andrew. I had seen his clips on YouTube months and months before Idol. So he’s the cool, hip and not annoying version of Von Smith. When I heard R&B was the theme, I KNEW in my bones that this was the week to bring him back. When I heard he was singing Chris Browns “Forever” I wasn’t sure at first, but once it started… OOH IT WAS GOOD! Andrew is BAAAAAAACK! Now all the Youtub’ers voting will be joined by the general populous and he is a favorite once again! Judges sang his praises. Kara almost passed out gushing in excitement. And it also marked the first time NO ONE MENTIONED STRAIGHT UP!! He’s Safe!

Katie Stevens HEY KATIE! THIS IS HOW YOU SING CHAIN OF FOOLS!

At least you are better than this guy!

Katie is the little contestant I forgot about. She’s the new Lisa Tucker (Except waaay less likable. When did that happen? I loved her with the whole grandma angle, then at one point I stopped rooting for her. Weird. Here she sang the extremely dated Chain of Fools. Could she have picked a song that’s more disconnected to todays music and has no baring on how she would do as an actual artist?? Don’t get me wrong, technically she sang it well. But it just seemed like a performance a girl would perform at a pageant or an Americas Got Talent audition. BTW I LOVE LOVE that over at TOPIDOLBLOG.COM refer to her as Smug Teen Witch!  But she’s safe

Lee Dewyze I knew he would have a good week, but damn! A great week indeed. I remember from the early rounds, he’s had this soulful edge to his voice. A bit Black Key mixed with some Kings of Leon… throw in some David Cook for measure. This kid doesn’t have star quality stage presence yet. But he will in a few weeks. He’s going to blow everyone out of the water again and have his “moment” He’s so safe and he doesn’t even know it

Crystal B is looking more beautiful than she has on the show. She dressed up for R&B week. AND she brought out the piano. This chick is as polished as they come. She could put on an album now. Which is why i’m predicting she will be going home in the Overly Talented/Diva/Not attractive 3rd place spot. I’m predicting it now. Oh but I do love her. She hasn’t bored me yet, and I could watch her performances over and over. So she’s safe.

Aaron Archul… oops. Its not the kids’ fault that he bares a resemblance in talent, age and bland song choice. His version pales in every way to any version every sung besides this guy.

Another vanilla performance from Aaron. PALES…PALES in comparison to Kris Allens. AND WHO REMEMBERS WILL YOUNG singing this on Pop Idol way back when!!

I wish he would have waited 2 or 3 years before getting on the show. But what do I know? He’s safe

Well, that was that. I definitely feel that this season is inferior to the last 2 amazing seasons we had (minus a few contestants…) but I still think we got some great talents with some great moments to come!

Who is in trouble?! Bottom 3:

Tim Urban

Didi Benami

Siobhan Magnus

WHO IS GOING HOME?!

Tim Urban. Its been fun and its been real. But it ain’t been real fun. see you on next season of Glee.

(Now that I’ve said it, I feel like  he’ll be safe. Only time will tell.)

David Out.

Top 10 Guys… but are they really TOPS?

David Here! We sent home some surprising people last week! On the ladies side some airtime darlings went home- Janelle Wheeler and Ashley Rodriguez. Both had sub-par performances (as did 90% of the guys and girls), but I figured both were safe based on Hollywood week and their airtime earlier in the season.

On the fellas side, not so shocking. Except for Tyler Grady going home! Really America!? You would rather have the American Apparel model than a unique performer who was going to get better as the show progressed? Don’t get me wrong Tyler was never going to win, but he would have made for some good performances. We also said good bye to the nice kid Joe Munoz.

“Wait, Who is Joe Munoz?” Exactly. Moving on. Ask Season 8’s Jorge Nunez if it’s smart to speak spanish at any point! NOPE!

SO all that brings us to tonight! OH AND WAIT!? Whats this? The boys are up first due to Crystal Bowersox falling ill. I wonder if Paige Miles fell ill would they have switched nice or just moved on without her.

I’m also going to stand by my belief that the mics and sound mixing are making these performances worse than they are. I noticed it last year that they changed microphones, and it’s made a difference. You hear EVERYTHING and the voice is much louder than the band. This needs to be fixed or else these contestants will suffer for it.

TOP 10 BOYS

Michael Lynche Whoa! Where did this come from? Since the beginning, I haven’t really been a big fan. But he won me over on this one. He’s the only of the night with real swag. Singing “This is a Man’s World” and he owned the song from beginning to end. FIRST STANDING OVATION from Randy THIS SEASON! It was deserved. SAFE

John Park WAY better song choice. It’s more current and closer to his voice. But he is severely lacking any star quality. He’s likable, but not memorable. I would never sit during a semi-final performance. I can’t think of any that jump out at me. It takes people out of the performance. Judges were spot on. Except Simon was a little too harsh (which seems to be the case this season.) In trouble.

Casey James Did anyone else know what song Casey was going to sing after Seacrest mentioned Bo Bice, Elliott Yamin and Chris Richardson? Well, let me tell you I yelled “Gavin DeGraw” at the top of my lungs, and impressed everyone in the room. And guaranteed my single status for another 6 months. His performance DECIDEDLY split the judges panel; Randy and Ellen LOVED it, whereas Kara and Simon said vocally he took two steps back. I don’t think it was TWO steps back. More of a side step. He is definitely in the Top 12, so no critique matters at this point!

Alex Lambert So here’s the thing with this kid. Hands down him and Andrew Garcia have my favorite natural tones to their voice on the show (and maybe Lee Dewyze). But Alex Lambert looks like a 4th grader performing in front of his class every week. Not a star by any stretch. If he makes it through this elimination, he’ll have to step it up huge on the Swag Scale. In trouble.

Todrick Hall Adam Lamberts BOO! Once again he tackles another song and puts some funk on it. And again mixed to bad results. First he picked a great song that’s due for a revamp (even though they called the irrelevant. It is, hence due for a revamp), but I see it more of an acoustic revamp than an R&B revamp that Todrick gave it. During the first half of the song, he looked EXTREMELY uncomfortable stiff as board while singing. Kara noticed one he opened up and moved, the singing got better. My favorite song he’s done is his original song from his audition. Todrick and Jermaine both are trying to do too much vocally; too many runs! As much as I’m not a fan of his, he’s safe. SIMON QUOTE of the Day (to Todrick): “I say move but don’t sing.”

Jermaine Sellers ROCKIN’ the onesie! I love it! I have been wanting to get one for the longest. SO he better be safe for that reason alone. But let’s talk about his performance anyway. Probably the most boring and wrong song choice of the night. Singing What’s Goin’ On by Marvin Gaye, he did exactly what Simon said he did, which is “water down” the song. The beauty of Jermaine’s audition was that he took a simple song (vocally) like Joan Osbournes “One Of Us” made it current and put a soulful tinge to it. He has taken that and is now in competition with himself to do the most runs ever in the shows history! If he sang it simply without so many runs, he could have made it a classic performance. He’s the Idol i’m most disappointed with. Unfortunately in danger

WEIRDEST CONTESTANT QUOTE : “I know God. I’m gonna be here.” -Jermaine Sellers

 Andrew Garcia Andrew Andrew Andrew! Tell me you didn’t peak during Hollywood week? Don’t get me wrong I actually loved his performance last week! But this week, even though I did like it. He hasn’t blown anyone out the box. Which he’s very capable of doing (we used to watch his Youtube clips before he was ever on the show). It doesn’t help that I don’t know the original James Morrison version, but this was an opportunity for him to get me to love this song.

I was told by a fan on Twitter (SHOUT OUT to @Raqu3l):

   @UtterlyH I think it’s nerves, n wondering if theyre telling him to enunciate more. He has a YT of that song, and its 10x’s better.

Let’s hope he shakes those nerves and has a memorable performance next week! What if he sang Straight Up again? JUST to shut everyone up about it already. Safe

Aaron Kelly  Season 9’s mix of David Archuleta and Kevin Covais. He’ll make it to around 8 or 9th place. That big stage will eat him up with that lack of stage presence. My Girl as your song? Really? Did you grandma pick the song? It worked I’ve already heard older women loving this kid. He’s safe

 Tim Urban Oh you lucky boy. How you avoided elimination last week is beyond me. But I can say this week was a little better. But if you don’t go home this week, i’m writing  a letter. *GOING HOME!*

*PIMP SPOT AWARD WINNER* Lee Dewyze

This dude knows his wheelhouse! Best song choice of the night! He made himself current and he’s the one I can hear on the radio right now. Loved his arrangement of the song. Just slight changes made it perfect. This kid is turning into a dark horse. I think he is a victim of the sound mixing with the occasional bum note that wouldn’t have been so apparent in previous seasons. Btw, Simon calling him the BEST singer in the competition…? I love the guy but did he mean commercially viable voice? But definitely Favorite performance of the night *SAFE SAFE*

There you have it. The “TOP” 10 boys. I gotta say, I’m feeling the same way I did when I watched Season 6 (Lot of forgettable contestants), even though this year has a few better talents than season 6 had at this point. A lot of these guys are lucky they got this far. I usually look forward to semi-finals performances. But with the new mics and lack of star quality, this is definitely being a letdown season so far. I hope it gets better.  Not a good start to Simons swan song season!

Quick prediction on who’s going home:

Tim Urban

John Park

Thanks for reading, this…has… been:

UTTERLY HORRENDOUS

 

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!

Top 12 girls… the voting is on!

Voting rounds begin tonight! Who will sink? Who will swim? And why does everyone look so effing YOUNG?

THIS… is American Idol!

I know it’s a girl’s year this year, so maybe that’s why they’re kicking it off with a mostly pretty, sort of alternative, some slightly grungy ladies? Do ALL of them shop at American Apparel?  Their general style appears to be “I’m really super trendy, but I want to look alternative, so I’ll just pile on all this jewelry from Forever 21 and get some Manic Panic”.

Glad to know Ellen is on point with the humour. She’s a great addition to the judge’s table. Although she showed this staged “leg grabbing” video on her show last week.

Paige Miles is cute but sounds insanely affected in her pre-performance interview. Singing “All Right Now” … ummm, sweetie, no. I think she forgot to watch season 7 when David Cook knocked this out of the park. Not to mention, she’s wearing a larger size of the dress I wore on Christmas day when I was six. So it makes it really hard to take her seriously. Grungy 70s rock + Jessica McClintock knockoff = bipolar performance. How old is she? 24? Shut up. No 24 year old would wear that damn dress.

I’m really not crazy about Ashley Rodriguez. I wasn’t crazy about her in Boston when they fawned all over her mediocre version of yet another out-played Alicia Keys song, and my opinion hasn’t changed. She sounded like crap singing a bloody Jordin Sparks song that has virtually no range. There you go… all you need to know. Oh, and she’s singing that Leona Lewis song [“Happy“] that was all over the TV spots for “Precious“. So any time now I expect to see Mo’Nique throwing a TV down the stairs at Gabourey Sidibe.
I take it she’s the type to use melisma to cover up the fact that she can’t hold a note. And to sing a Leona Lewis song in front of the man who basically created her career was pretty brave. Her early airtime will keep her in for now.

Apparently Janell Wheeler dated Tim Tebow. Somehow, she strikes me as the type to do so. I liked her acoustic version of Estelle’s “American Boy” in Hollywood but I’m really having an issue warming up to her. She looks like all the vapid blondies I went to college with in Oklahoma. But she’s singing a Heart song, so maybe she’ll redeem herself?
This song – “What About Love” – is WAY too big for her. Ann and Nancy Wilson didn’t mess around; hell, even Melissa McGhee in Season 5 did a pretty good job with this song. But she is all over the place – her voice is just not even close to being strong enough for this song. If she chose something lighter [Estelle was a perfect artist to emulate] it would have worked but this was a hot mess.

Lilly Scott has hella cool hair – I love that grey-blonde razored look she has. It’s unique without being overdone. And she’s singing an adorably cute Beatles song – “Fixing a Hole” – accompanied by guitar! I like her a lot already.
Her voice isn’t perfect, but it has a very quirky unpolished tone that seems to fit her. This is the kind of song that stands out – unknown, but not forgettable. Her dress is uber-cute and she certainly knows how to work a camera. Simon said he liked that it seemed she chose the song because it fit her and portrayed her, instead of choosing a song that would her get to the next round. I think she’s unpolished – we need more “unpolished”, fewer producer plants.
Oh, and Kara, you’re on live television. Quit with the sneaky whispering to Simon. This ain’t middle school, sweetie.

Katelyn Epperly is once again milking her “sad backstory”. And she’s looking a lot like Annalynne McCord from 90210 [not a compliment]. Big hair + bright red lipstick + awkward looking hairpiece + pleather black dress with questionable looking tights = all kinds of a hot mess. Accessory sensory overload! She kind of resembles a little girl playing dress-up.
She wasn’t terrible, and I like that more people are singing Beatles’ songs [she sang “Oh! Darling“] and not even just the generic ones everyone knows. So it was… okay. Not terrible by any means.

Haeley Vaughn talks about getting her nose pierced after making it to Hollywood. And being 16 her mom had to come with her. Somehow, this makes me like her more, even though she’s overdoing “ethnic Taylor Swift” deal.
Singing another Beatles song – “I Want To Hold Your Hand” – I’m liking it. I usually get way too bored by these little teenage things but she’s unpolished, quirky and has a big voice without getting all diva on us. And this is a great song choice for her; it always makes me think of the version from ‘Across the Universe’. I hope she sticks around, because she’s not polished and generic but still crazy talented. Ellen has it right – “you just shined”. I agree.

Lacey Brown looks like she’s trying to overdo the hipster thing. I mean, I get that most seasons of Idol have to have a pink-haired girl, but her random blue tank top under her one-shouldered floral dress that looked like sofa upholstry was weird, and she looks like she hit up Urban Outfitter and grabbed as many mismatched pieces as possible.
Her voice was weird [she sang Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide”] – it wasn’t very strong, and although that sometimes doesn’t matter, it did here. It had a Dolly Parton sound to it, but not as good, if that makes sense. Maybe on a record where they can auto-tune parts if needed, but on the Idol stage? Nuh-uh.

Michelle Delamor is very pretty and a “corporate singer”, whatever that entails. She also apparently has a very loud family. But… she’s singing “Fallin‘”, another one of those crazy overdone Alicia Keys songs that has made me completely lose all interest in Ms. Keys’ music.
She isn’t terrible but this… just isn’t good. Her voice isn’t strong enough to dig into the deeper parts of the song, and I’m beginning to understand the terms that “corporate singer” could be… either way I’m just bored here.

Didi Benami is very, very pretty, and talented too – but she’s another one with a “sad backstory” that she brings up whenever possible. That whole deal bugs me – let people vote for your talent, not how sad your life is. Danny Gokey wore that one out last season.
She’s singing “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson, which I didn’t think I knew until I heard it. Her voice is very unique, and my husband thinks she sounds a lot like Regina Spektor [I happen to agree, and a little like old school Nelly Furtado too]. She sounds pretty amazing and this performance is subdued, but not boring at all. Except that vest… it’s quite terrible.

Siobhan Magnus has a very quirky look and vocal style and I love her group’s rendition of ‘Bad Romance’ in Hollywood. Dark horse? Yeah, I’d say so.
“Wicked Game” … have we ever heard this song on Idol? Either way, it’s a great one, and this suits her style impeccably. I like that she’s not rocking out, that this is a more subdued performance, and that she’s not trying to out-diva the other girls. She, like Haeley and Lilly, is unpolished without being untalented.

Crystal Bowersox, so far, has been my favorite of all the girls, if not all the contestants. She’s gritty without being like all the other so-called “gritty” artists, and she seems to rarely perform without her guitar. I so want her to go far.
If my memory serves correct this is only the second Alanis Morissette song we’ve heard on this show [“Hand In My Pocket“]. And the harmonica! She’s really great – so unlike the rest of the girls – and I want her to go very, very far in this competition. If this has to be a girl’s year, please let her be the winner. Except Simon doesn’t like her. She’s not a belter.

I’m not gonna lie – Katie Stevens bugs me. Before she even walked into the audition room her family and friends had her face on a stick. Creepy. Not to mention her backstory, while very poignant, rubs me the wrong way. This girl is 16 – plenty of time later to establish a career – but she wants to do it now for her grandmother? If she’s dying she should just spend more time with her instead of gallavanting around Southern California. I’m just sayin’…
She just looks and sounds so precocious and is WAY too young to be singing “Feelin’ Good“. I will never forget how good Adam Lambert sounded on it – and she pales in comparison. And I am so glad the judges didn’t pimp the crap out of her.

My top two of the night:

Crystal Bowersox, x1000
Haeley Vaughn [I know I’m in the minority]

Bottom two:

Paige Miles
Janelle Wheeler

Who will go home?

Paige Miles [no airtime + early placement + forgettable]
Michelle Delamor [all of the above, really]

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Season 9 Audition Wrap Up and Awards!

IT’S A WRAP!

Idol brings the audition season to an end this week!

Did they find the NEXT ADAM LAMBERT?? Probably not.

How about the next David Archuleta?? Yes. Aaron Kelly. Look him up!

David Lew HERE!-After over 100,000 people auditions, American Idol sends 181 hopefuls to be whittled down to 24. This audition season seemed to showcase more sob stories and great singers than ever before. Where in the past it seemed they pushed the bad auditions, this year had a fair blend of good and bad.

There are definitely a lot of standouts (the John Parks, Matt Lawrences, Jermaine Sellers…), but it remains to be seen (unless you are spoiler queen *hint hint* Stephani. The top 24 list is just a Google search away, but I love the suspense of it all. SO I don’t look).

We have contestants with sketchy backgrounds and drama. Like Jermaine Sellers who allegedly pulled a “Music Man” type scheme by scamming local parents by casting a play and charging them “costume fees” and then cancelling the production without a single play produced. Who knows how true those allegations are.

This week also marked the return of Victoria Beckham to guest judge. What is it about British people that make them so good with critiques? She was probably the most helpful judge of the whole audition season. Overall, I wouldn’t mind if she was a permanent fixture on the judges panel.
and now……

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

Top 5

5. Jessica Furmey I definitely remember liking her a lot last year when she auditioned. This year, she ditched the long sleeve flannel for a more sheik look. Her voice was great this time despite the sappy Simon co-written song choice.

4. Haeley Vaughn This spunky teens goal is to be Countrys first black female star (obviously the first male black star being Cowboy Troy *I use the word STAR very very loosely* I can’t wait to hear Haeley sing some ballads, then we can see what her range is like.

3. Crystal Bowersox AKA Dreads I got a good vibe about this girl. I hope she makes utilizes the guitar during Hollywood Week and make it to the Top 24.  Couldn’t find her audition, so here is Crystal singing her audition song live at a cafe somewhere.

2. Mark Labriola In a weird way, he reminded me of Elliott Yamin. I can’t quite put my finger on it. This kid is great though. Loved the song choice (Squeeze- Tempted), one of my favorite songs of all time. I’ve been told several times that he and I look very similar…Which I kinda see. Mark has likability, decent voice and unique look: The Idol Trifecta.

1. Danelle Hayes Wow. I don’t know what it was about this one, but I was literally in tears through this whole audition. Maybe its the parallels of me being an up and coming comic and Danelle being a up and coming singer, but she turned me into an emotional wreck from beginning to end. Barring disaster song choices, a definite Top 12 spot is waiting for her.

Bottom 5

-5. Kimberly Bishop This girl. wow. She was loopy from the beginning. And I’m pretty sure the American Idol logo blocked her gal pal from being shown. And she complimented randy Jackson on losing weight.

-4. Shaddaii Harris On sheer enthusiasm alone, she deserves to be here. She had a swagger on her that screamed “NOTICE ME!” Unfortunately, her voice screamed “IGNORE ME!”

-3. Austin Paul Football and Idol officially don’t mix. The closest it’ll get is Jordin Sparks dad being a former NFL star. This kid has cocky written all over him and Kara was happy to take him down a notch. Austin is majoring in music composition and is a long snapper on his football team. Lets keep it that way.

-2. Adrian Chandtchi AKA 6’8 of Awkward. From the first mention of man flower to his last gasp letting the producers know  to let him know of “any job opportunities. You have my number.” Lets wish Adrian good luck at his next Swim Meet!

-1. Kenny Everett He says his voice is doing a service to his community. That service is death by song, and he is shrinking his communitys’ population every time he sings. He couldn’t believe the judges didn’t like him, so he roams the hallways haunting people with his voice after his audition. Poor people.

#1 AUDITION OF THE WEEK:

Didi Benami

Our next Idol? Possibly.

Kudos to Didi and her beautiful rendition of The Beatles hit “Hey Jude.” Her voice is unique, she has a great look, and her story of her recently passed best friend makes her a triple threat in the competition. Let’s see if she gets out of Hollywood and into the Top 24.

THAT CONCLUDES OUR WEEKLY WRAP UP!! AND NOW…

FIRST ANNUAL UTTERLY HORRENDOUS AUDITION AWARDS!

Best Guest Judge

Neil Patrick Harris

Worst Guest Judge

Joe Jonas

Blank stares and a random "yes." Thats it.

Smartest Auditioner/Highest IQ

Neil Goldstein

Saddest Back Story

Angela Martin

Worst Boob Bounce

Amy Lang

Best Eric Carmen High Note

Jayson Wilson

The “My Mom Would Be Proud” Award

Aaron Fullmer

Best Audition of the Year

Andrew Garcia

https://utterlyhorrendous.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=513&message=10

Worst Audition of the Year

Jarrod Norrell

There you have it! Congrats to all the winners!

NEXT WEEK IS HOLLY WOOD WEEK AND THE DEBUT OF…….

ELLEN!

Second Week! Top 5/Bottom 5. TWAIN vs CHENOWETH

TWAIN

VS

CHENOWETH

This week takes us to Chicago and Orlando! Despite some DVR issues I was able to watch the episodes at a great friends house (HI! MELISSA! Thanks again! See you at this years finale!) Guest judges this week were Shania Twain (HOT AS EVER! When is she coming out with another album??) and Kristin Chenoweth (Who is the new Cher in the gay community i’m starting to learn). I have to say that I preferred these two to last weeks guest judges (do you remember?? I barely do. Na’vi Victoria Beckham and Mary J. Blige). They seemed to have more fun with the other judges and contestants.

Of both cities, the award for best city has to go to Orlando. Hands down. 31 golden tickets were handed out in Orlando, compared to 13 in Chicago. 13!!? Chicago!? WOW! Thousands show up but only 13 got a ticket. Either they had to slow down their invitations or the preliminary audition part was harder than usual.

Unfortunately this week, we weren’t given anything nearly as memorable or catchy as “Pants on the Ground” Which honestly, will that ever be topped? Probably not. I thought “I Am Your Brother” would never be topped, remember that guy?

but Pants on the Ground has GONE GLOBAL! However, we were treated to a lot great singers! Great singers with terribly tragic stories! Speaking of, we have come up with a fun way for adults to watch Idol!

*IDOL DRINKING GAME ALERT!*

(MUST BE 21 to play the IDOL DRINKING GAME)

Here’s how to play! There are different versions of the game. You can play Good audtion drinking game or Bad audition drinking game.

Good Audition Drinking Game!

Pick your drink of your choice. Set up by pouring 2-3 shots to start. If the person auditioning is good AND cries! TAKE A SHOT! If you really really REALLY wanna get drunk, you must add another shot if the good audition has a sob story! SO tears and sob story = TWO SHOTS! Have fun!!

Bad Audition Drinking Game!

Again, your choice of drink. Set up by pouring 2-3 shots to start. If the person auditioning is bad and curses while in the audition room= TAKE A SHOT! To step up the pace on this game, add another shot IF the person auditioning continues to sing AFTER the judges say no to them!
AND NOW LETS GO TO OUR TOP 5 /Bottom 5 of the week!!!

TOP 5

5. Desimone Sisters (Bernadette and Amanda)– This may be me drawing in the small male demographic who reads this. But here they are, the most beautiful pair of sisters to grace the Idol screen since the O’Donohue sisters from Season 5. Remember them?? Here, take a look to refresh your memory:

Unfortunately, she wasn’t as good as she was beautiful. But the Desimone sisters have some talent. Take a look, and let’s see how far they go!

4. Katelyn Epperly– Beautiful girl with a great voice. I love her look and the way she carries herself. Did I mention she’s gorgeous? I’m predicting her parents will be filmed at one point enjoying their daughter on the show!

3. Paige Dechausse– Another beautiful girl, but with a grittier voice. She sang an all time Idol favorite, Sam Cookes “A Change is Gonna Come.” And she does the best rendition I’ve heard in a long time. And I had never heard a female sing it on the show. To see Paige in the video, cut to 5:56. If you want to skip the back story then go to 6:57.

2. Seth Rollins– He was already a quick favorite since he and I share the same frame and beard look. haha. I also liked he took a Sinatra song and put some soul into it. He could be in the top 12 guys.

1. Matt Lawrence– Wow. What a voice. I have never agreed more with Simon than when he said he believed that he could have written that song, just by the way he sang and interpreted the lyrics. This guy could be “Oil Rig” 2.0! He sings better than Michael Sarver already.

BOTTOM 5

5. Curley Newbern– Started off the Chicago auditions with a terrible high note. He makes my list because I love that song, and he had the audacity to attempt to sing a MAXWELL SONG! At least he handled it well…

4. Brian Krause– HE SINGS TINY TIM? And he literally tip toes through the tulips. Plus he gives new meaning to “Military Intelligence”

3. Theo Glinton– The Black Lady GaGa. He was doing too much from the beginning. From the very first swing of his cape.

2. Harold Davis– Wow. If he didn’t name the song, I would have had NO idea what song he was singing. Ushers “Nice and Slow” WOW. Terrible. But since he wasn’t arrested. No #1 this week for you buddy.

1. Jarrod Norrell– I believe this is the first time an audition has ended in handcuffs. And for that reason alone he made it number 1.

Number 1 Audition of the Week:

JOHN PARK

I was not expecting the voice that came out of John Park. I was expecting typcal R&B flair, but he kicked out something vicious. I was absolutely impressed, and I’m sure we will see him in the Top 24 and beyond.ALSO, he was told by Shania Twain that he has “nice lips and a nice bottom end…” WOW. On that alone, he deserved number 1.

Thats it! Stay Tuned next week when the show heads to Los Angeles and Dallas! And the guest judges are Avril Lavigne *what has she been doing the last 4 years? Besides having a ridiculous amount of views on youtube…? 2nd judge is Katy Perry, a veteran herself of the recording industry and it’s vicious cycles.
Til Next Time!  -DL-

IDOL 9 PREMIERE! Live-blog recap! Now with snark!

Tonight… is the night. Of the American Idol Season 9 premiere!

It’s insane to think about how much this show has evolved since its inception in the summer of 2002. Paula Abdul [who is already missed] was a has-been of massive proportions. Randy Jackson was completely unknown [maybe that’s why he name-drops so much]. Simon Cowell was just a cranky, judgmental Brit. And Ryan Seacrest was part of a hosting duo [RIP Dunkleman] with frosted tips and the wardrobe of a hipster [blazers over t-shirts FTW!]

Now these four are pop culture staples, household names and very often Googleable.

So here we are at season 9, where after Cowell’s recent announcement and the departure of Ms. Abdul, the future of the Idol franchise is highly questionable. But for now, let’s put all that behind us, because tonight is the first of many episodes of utterly horrendous, breathtakingly awesome, and perhaps staged, auditions. I can’t wait.

This…. is the American Idol premiere LIVE-BLOG.

7:00: Finale recap. The glam-rocker versus the boy next door. Kris Allen’s “shocked” face is still adorable. And it wouldn’t be fair to not address the new judge drama, right? I guess they couldn’t re-edit in time to address this being Simon’s last season…

7:02: Is anyone better than Seacrest at narrating these intros? He’s so droll.

7:04: And the credits. First up: BOSTON!

7:05: Augustana’s “Boston” plays during this opening montage of people waiting in the rain. If only they could have gotten the actual band, Boston, playing “Amanda” or something. How epic would that be?

Posh Spice? Even though she was the least flashy of the five Spice Girls, and is more known for marrying well and having awesome breast implants than being a singer, I guess they wanted to get someone everyone has heard of [and is probably annoyed by].

7:07: First up: Janet McNamara. Dude, if your only singing experience is on the AI Wii game, you shouldn’t be auditioning. Nice product tie-in though. Is it bad that I think she looks like Charlize Theron in “Monster”?

7:08: She gets excited by jumping up and down like some kind of half-assed motivational speaker and then proceeds to destroy “Pocketful of Sunshine”. And then she calls Kara “Paula” which brings the HILARITY. Kara is pissed. And defensive. She is shooed out and gives the obligatory swearing rants hidden behind the Idol logo.

7:15: Human interest story #1 – family has children with Down Syndrome. Maddie Curtis is 16 and adorably cute with her scrunchy hair. And and and… she sings “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. And it’s not grating or self-indulgent. But seriously ever since Jason Castro won over America with this song, everyone now acts like they’ve loved it forever. I guess I’m jaded.

7:18: Kara tells her she has an “old soul” – I guess that’s understandable having 500000 older siblings. She gets a Golden Ticket.

7:20: Pat Ford is a geeky 17-year-old from New Hampshire who seems to think he’s cool, hip, or a hipster. I can’t take this kid seriously. He’s singing “Womanizer” by Britney with some bad dance moves.

7:21: He calls Simon “sassy” and Kara a “sweetheart”. I’m loving this kid’s accent. As predicted, he gets the boot, but seems to have a healthy attitude about it.

7:22: Jennifer Hirsch sings ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead‘ in a jazzy way… was this some kind of cover? Props for the creativity! Her audition is mashed up with two other interchangable females and all three make it. Ryan makes some kind of big deal about how only girls have done well.

7:29: Some Rhode Islander named Amadeo Dirucco yells at the TV and makes Seacrest back away scared. I’m not surprised they’re focusing on him being the Token Sicilian after the success of Jersey Shore and uh… the long-lasting success of the Sopranos? Cue scenes at home, with pasta and mozzarella and sausage and family love around the dinner table. I kind of want to hang out with this guy, even if he’s a walking embodiment of the Italian stereotype and I would fear for my eardrums and cholesterol level.

7:30:  He sings a Muddy Waters song with extra growling for emphasis. Dude reminds me of Sundance Head from season 6, but this guy just reminds me of a big cuddly Italian teddy bear. My bet is going toward this guy being a big “character” on this show … he’ll get a lot of mileage from it. And Kara will take every chance to mention how “Italian” she is when he’s on stage. Because she’s Italian?

7:33: Big Italian group hug / dogpile / what have you. Nothin’ but love here … except, wow, are they trying to choke him? I can cut the testosterone here with a butter knife.

7:34: Spiritual Derek Hilton. He has flowing blonde hair and a barely-buttoned shirt. Look at the wind blow through his hair! Watch him stretch his arms like Jesus! Is he meditating outside the building? Chris Brown and the Eagles? That’s who he think he sounds like? Color me confused…

7:36: Clearly the “hippie” vibe was just to get on camera. Dude can’t sing. I kind of want to crawl under my couch. “I could have touched America in a totally different way.” No thank you.

7:37: Montage of rejects set to “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”. I am totally giggling over here.

7:42: Mere Doyle has pink hair and a penchant for anime and she forgot to bring adequate rain protection. I can safely say I know a lot of people like this. Not all of them are completely delusional.

7:43: Is she wearing a cape? I can tell she probably thinks she’s talented, but really, she’s just shouty and trying to riff and … no. ‘You can’t say that to me” when Simon calls her terrible. Chalk it up to the FIRST person this season saying “everyone thinks I’m amazing, I have voice coaches!” There are always a few of these every year.

7:46: A group of dudes harmonizing to that totally outplayed song ‘C’mon Get Higher’ don’t totally suck when they sing individually. Both guys make it. They’re aiight. Kind of generic.

7:48: Did Rivers Cuomo just arrive on my TV? Andrew Fenlon seems like a bit of a jerk, and I’m pretty convinced he’s doing it because he knows how to get on TV. Ha… Randy just randomly yelled “Yeeeeah” when dude walked in.

7:49: Simon schools this guy about being a smart-ass. I’m having Hell’s Kitchen flashbacks. He sings “House of the Rising Sun” and it’s not amazing but I’ve heard worse. But something tells me he won’t make it because he got schooled by Simon before even singing… they don’t stand for that, and he doesn’t have the benefit of a bikini like someone last year.

7:51: “You want to get in the music business… but you don’t want to wait to get on American Idol”. Looks like Kara found her pet anger project. I would say she was right… if I didn’t immediately realize that this guy was a HUGE TROLL.

7:52: Simon says yes to this guy. Because Simon is not an idiot. He knows the deal. While Kara and Posh are getting all up in arms about this guy being an entitled jackass, Simon chuckles and sends him on his way.

7:58: I’m not surprised to see this many music majors coming from Boston, home of Berklee College of Music. Cue a montage of super flamboyant dudes.

7:59: Ashley Rodriguez seems full of puppies and rainbows and generic Alicia Keys songs. I’m starting to think “If I Ain’t Got You” should be banned from the audition process forever because I’m so sick of hearing it. She’s good. Not great. But she’s pretty, so she’s in.

8:00: Kara throws out “marketable“. [Drink!] She looks an awful lot like Rosario Dawson.

8:02: Tyler Grady talks about breaking his wrists after climbing a tree… I’m pretty sure you have to be 16 to audition for Idol, Tyler. Dude looks like he walked off the set of “That 70s Show“.

8:03: He sings “Let’s Get it On“… I’ve seen this guy ALL over the Idol promos in the last few weeks. But seriously, he’s really quite great, even if his uber-dorky-retro look complete with Guarini hair is totally offset by his sultriness. Mad props, hippie dude. ‘Yes’ all around.

8:11: Day two in Boston! Seacrest does some blathering about Simon being late because he wanted to find the Boston Tea Party. And now for an Idol spin on the history of Boston! This is kind of randomly hilarious … and insanely historically inaccurate. Apparently Randy and Kara are British now.

8:13: Lisa Olivero has a fierce accent and spends her montage looking out of windows while talking about her lack of singing training. And… yep, there it is, that lack of singing training. One day, maybe in the extreme distant future, ladies will realize that singing any Mariah Carey song that isn’t “Obsessed” without proper training or a God-given gift will get you NO. WHERE. Randy is now laughing.

8:14: Simon thought she’d be better. At least she’s pretty!

8:15: Time for another “ridiculously terrible” montage. This time it’s comprised of people giving awkward answers to questions Simon asks, as Simon tries to decipher the mystery that is the New England accent.

8:16: Mike Davis runs a boat called “Codzilla” that basically takes innocent tourists for a stomach-churning spin around the Bay. Note to self: avoid Codzilla next time I go to Boston. He sings “Yesterday” which is a bit off-putting considering he looks like he hangs out with Jon Gosselin. But he sings well, if a little blandly.

8:18: … um, did he just ask Kara out on a date? Simon walks away. Randy says no. The chicks say yes. And HERE is the Boston song I was so eagerly hoping for at the beginning of the episode! “More Than A Feeling“! Mike gets through. Yay Mike. Apparently Mike gets the first Golden Ticket of the day.

8:24: We kept seeing clips of Katie Stevens before commercial breaks about how she’s this “amazing” 16 year old singer… can we say another Jordin Sparks? She speaks Portuguese to her grandma, who does not speak English. I guess the grandma taught her the language. If so, that’s pretty awesome. She wants her grandma to see her “realize her dream” before Alzheimer’s takes over. Not gonna lie, the heartstrings have been tugged.

8:26: She sings “At Last” and girl can SANG. No “hype” here. Not a lot of riffs. Just pure talent. Four “yes’s”. Though it’s kind of creepy that her entourage have her picture on a stick to carry. She calls her grandma and tells her the good news. Aw, even the Seacrest-bot is getting emotional.

8:28: Joshua Blaylock has one last shot, says Seacrest, because he’s 28. So he sings “Bless the Broken Road“. Clearly Joshua think it’s still 2005. Simon says he’s unoriginal and kind of boring. No disagreements here.

8:29: Randy tries to give him “assertiveness” training. Says he should sing with a Spandau Ballet cover group. Random? And finally he wins Simon over by being assertive.

8:36: Seacrest shows us a “behind the scenes” view of the judge’s room and why it makes some people freeze up. Sure, but that doesn’t excuse people who have absolutely no talent whatsoever.

8:38: Justin Williams was diagnosed with cancer when he was serving a mission in Spain. That’s some craptastic timing. And before I even saw that he was from Sandy, Utah I guessed he was Mormon. But holy eye candy, Idol. He’s got a voice! Yay for another inspirational story!
And… I now realize he was on AI8. He was in “White Chocolate” during Hollywood Week with Matt Giraud and Kris Allen. Huh.

8:45: Seacrest takes this moment to show us how “nice” Posh is. Another Paula? Bizarre overcompensation?

8:46: Norberto Guerrero is rockin’ a perm straight out of 1986 [complete with at least one can of AquaNet], singing a song by techno singer Cascada, wearing a silver vest over a red and black shirt, and has Daughtry-esque facial hair. And he says Adam Lambert inspired him. Nothing more needs to be said.
“You sing like a three year old girl, dress like LaToya Jackson, and you have a beard.” Either Simon got a new writer or he’s randomly getting more hilarious.

8:48: Bosa Mora has parents from Nigeria and has a big happy looking Nigerian family. Mom’s wearing a gorgeous African ensemble at the audition and Bosa looks like a college kid. Seacrest makes a cute and seriously non-offensive joke about Mama’s headgear.

8:49: Don’t recognize the song, but he’s good. Reminds me of a more talented Akon. Soulful and velvety. Simon calls him “good but boring” and Bosa offers to “spice it up”. Hee. Simon says no, but that doesn’t matter because he makes it. Bosa exits the audition room holding a Golden Ticket and looking genuinely perplexed and he gets tackled by a bunch of his shrieking sisters.

8:56: Leah Laurenti has a super cute dress [that I’m sure was bought at Forever 21] and looks very Catholic. We are treated to a montage of her looking into the light and waiting patiently, as we are with all pimped candidates who don’t have a tragic backstory.

8:57: She’s got a great voice, very throwback and just a flat-out God given talent. Top 3 unless she crashes and burns.

8:59: She makes it. And Augustana AGAIN? Let’s hear some “Peace of Mind“. Or “More Than A Feeling” again. Meh.

Yay Idol! A great start to the season – a fabulous balance of trainwrecky goodness and actual talent. See y’all tomorrow!

Short-Lived Idols

“OH SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON LONGER…”

“WHY DID HE GO HOME!?”

This is a topic that I think many viewers can discuss and be passionate about…

Well, since I have my own blog, I’m going to tell you guys the people that should have stayed longer! Obviously this is in my own humble opinion (yeah I know I can write IMHO, but I love typing)

Felicia Barton ( Season 8 )

So talented. Easily Top 10 material

What a roller coaster she was on. First she’s eliminated the week before the semi-finals. THEN Joanna “plant” Pacitti gets kicked out for many reasons according to wikipedia:

“…that Pacitti has “very personal connections” to Michelle Young and Roger Widynowski, two executives that work at the Los Angeles office of American Idol’s 19 Entertainment.”

So then Felicia gets the call that she is BACK in the competition. I got ecstatic because she was amazing in her audition, and we also found her youtube video of her singing Alicia Keys No One. Check it out…

I KNOW RIGHT!  Here’s here audition too….

Then she performs on semi-final night, and she fell victim to the new format that I believed they used in earlier Idol seasons. If she had been given a chance to build a following she definitely could have at LEAST made the top 10! Guaranteed!  Copy/paste http://www.rickey.org/?p=12319  to see her semi-final performance!

Asia’h Epperson (Season 7)

Should have been Top 12 easily

Who can forget Asia’h Epperson? Her story during the auditions did not leave a dry eye in the house. Days before her audition, her father passed away. How can someone still go on and audition after a tragedy like that. To top it off she changes her audition song to “How do I live.” Wow. I still get chills thinking about what she went through.

I honestly don’t know how she didn’t make the top 12 over Kristy Lee Cook, Chikezie or Amanda Overmeyer! Her storyline and voice was superior to all of them. I think it was Simons criticism that did her in. Her final performance was “I wanna dance with somebody” by Whitney. Her performance has aged really well. Sometimes a performance you’re in love with doesn’t age well (anything by Constantine comes to mind or Danny Gokey), but hers is really good. Check it out here…

Constantine Maroulis (Season 4)

Easily should have been Top 3 of Season 4

Yes, his performances haven’t aged well, but he should have come in 3rd this year! He’s more memorable than anyone else besides Bo and Carrie. Even though I preferred Constantine to Bo. Here’s his best performance, and one of the best in Idol History! Bohemian Rhapsody…

A.J Tabaldo (Season 6)

Easily Top 12 talent! What happened?

Honestly, his exit bugs me the most. He received universal praise after his performance of “Feelin’ Good” and he still went home. I’ll never forget, both he and Leslie Hunt sang the same song, the same week, and BOTH went home. Hence why I was a little nervous when Adam Lambert sang it (MAYBE thats why he didn’t win….oooh).  Check out A.J’s performance here…

Danny Noriega ( Season 7 )

I can name 3 Idols that should have left instead of him

One of the biggest divas (meant as a compliment) ever on the show. With one of the better voices, period. I don’t really know what else to say. You don’t really expect the voice that comes out of his mouth. Here’s his audition…

Then this is the week he was eliminated. I thought he showed a ton of personality. He sang it well, put his own spin on it. I thought the banter between Simon and him would help, but I guess it didn’t. He easily should have been in the top 12 at least.

Honorable Mention!

Paul Kim (Season 6)– He was the first to be eliminated in Season 6. Tons of people should have gone ahead of him. Plus he’s Asian! Gotta rep for my Asians!

Sway Penala (Season 5)– Had one of the better auditions EVER! I can’t find the clip, but he killed Superstar! It was just song choice that did him in, and little camera time.  Also Chicken Little Kevin Covais went through instead of him! REALLY? Grandmas voting multiple time.

**UPDATE** Paula Abdul spokesperson confirms NO RETURN!

From IMDB.com:

Abdul Won’t Come Back To Idol

"I ain't comin' back bitches" says Paula

1 hour ago

He adds, “She feels fabulous. She feels free. I think in some ways she was typecast in Idol and she was kind of restricted from doing anything she wanted to do and now she’s free to decide. She really is very excited about the future and that there’s support for her.”

A spokesperson for Paula Abdul has blasted reports the star is set to make a dramatic return to American Idol.

A host of celebrities have filled the fourth spot on the judging panel of the TV talent show alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi since Abdul quit the show earlier this month.

But speculation about Abdul’s involvement with the contest refused to die down as U.S. tabloids dismissed her departure as a publicity stunt.

Media outlets even speculated that the singer would resume her place in the live final rounds of the competition.

But her manager, David Sonenberg, insists Abdul is not in talks to come back.

He says there are “no discussions whatsoever about Idol.”

Paula has left American Idol. Lets talk replacements.

I never thought I’d live to see the day…

OK, that was way more traumatic than it needed to be.

Paula Abdul announced on her Twitter (really?)

I’m still not sure how I feel about this. Obviously for better or worse she was a fixture on this show. She was one of the stars of the show. You may have loved her or hated her, but she made you feel something in the end. Her slurring of words and obviously pre-written reviews are legendary, just look at this clip.

So far the show has guest judges planned. The rumors have been running rampant on what the plans are once we get to semi’s and top 12. Here’s a list of confirmed guest judges:

Mary J Blige will be the guest judge for the Atlanta Auditions

Victoria POSH Beckham has already guest judged the Boston Auditions. No future appearances have been scheduled

Katy Perry has supposedly commited to appearing. No word on which shows. I wouldn't mind her, if she kissed a girl or two.

She has my vote! As long as she dresses and stands like this for every episode.

Not Queen Latifah herself. Her breasts are both considering being guest judges for seperate episodes.

THIS IS MY CHOICE! TOMMY LEE AS GUEST JUDGE! HELL YES

Thoughts???