Dream, Girls

From the outset of tonight's program, its clear the producers are hoping to to unseat the WGWG dynasty and have a woman win this thing this year.  We are told there are more women than men, that the women are the best group we have ever seen and of course there is the theory promoted by the guys at Vote For the Worst that they have stacked the male group with gay men and minorities that middle America is supposed to loathe (how this explains Clay Aikin, Ruben Stoddard, Adam Lambert and Josh Ledet I have no clue). 

 

I was actually not looking forward to tonight because I hate the drama of Group Night and then there is Zoanette (Zoanada) and trying to figure out what she does to make the top 40.  More on her in a moment.

The acapella portion flew by pretty fast as it did with the men.  Angela Miller is up first and is confident she is the next American Idol.  I don't know what she sang except I suspect one line.... *no,no,no,no*... will eventually be prophetic for her.  Her bad hair extensions are distracting to me and her voice is good but nothing all that special.  I gather she is somewhat of a favorite of those who frequent the Idol forum boards.  We will see what she does tomorrow if they feature her(assuming she made it through the group rounds which wasn't clear to me because even if her group was featured all those girls with hair extensions look alike to me).

Victoria Acosta sing's Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly and I really didn't think it was that good either but she makes it through.  The pageant girl from Arkansas and the blonde funny girl are sent packing and its time for the country stand off between Rachel Hale and Janelle Arthur. I loved both Rachel and Janelle but believe that this is not a year for a country girl to win...or any girl for that matter.  Let me qualify my love for Rachel...I think her syrupy ways will soon irritate me but my neck hurts tonight and I am crabby.  Janelle is a 3x retread having been eliminated in Seasons 10 and 11...this is a fact not disclosed by the producers. 

 

Candace Glover, another 3x retread from  prior seasons, impresses the judges, especially Randy who  at her audition this year didn't even remember her from last season when he presumably was involved in cutting her, asking her  *where have you been?*   I like her as a person even though I'm not a fan of her singing style so I hope she does well.  Megan Miller, the girl who risked gangrene to make it to her audition, was sent packing but at least she is healthy now.  

 

I like Isabel who sang a classic from Porgy and Bess I believe.  She is a big girl with a big voice and seems very down to earth.  

 

Finally, the one I was waiting for....Kezban.  Just as I cannot figure out if she is a boy or a girl (still!..and believe me I am serious about this...it wouldn't surprise me if she turns out to be a he), I cannot figure out whether she is a poseur like Papa Peachez and I don't like her or if she is just really that weird and actually sort of clueless and ultimately endearing.  She seems to think she can direct the process by asking for an extra 30 seconds to practice (or clear the phlegm from her throat) and that doesn't happen for her. At the same time, she is absolutely selfless in her appreciation and support of her fellow contestants...jiving along backstage and cheering from the audience so  you have to think...she is just flat the most naive oddball and perhaps comes from a very privileged backround but still has a good heart. You do have to wonder, however, if she also possesses a penis to go along with it. 

 

Its 36 minutes into the program and so far Zoanada has not been seen or heard from.  Perhaps the public outcry has convinced the producers its best to keep her on the down low for now.

 

All in all we don't see very much drama for group night...perhaps because the extras have no choice to move to other groups, ostracize oddballs, etc. as in prior years. No Tatiana Torres flitting from group to group sowing mayhem this year!

 

Candace Glover's group is up and does a great song with a song I will call the Cash Box song because I don't know the name of it but sort of like in a novelty way.  Sadly, Mr. Auntee does not have a cash box so I cannot go shopping to console myself when he acts up and let me tell you that if he did, there would be at least 4 delivery trucks with stuff in my driveway right now.  But I digress.

 

Raisin' Cain is up next and includes Rachel Hale and they do a bang up job.  I'm almost in a country mood this year.  

 

Almost Famous is perhaps too hopeful a name for the next group because there is no *almost* in their prospects for fame.  Savannah is the leader of the group and you almost feel sorry for her until you see her do an outlandish butt swinging strip tease performance as she tries to steal the limelight from the rest of them.  Dashia goes through.  Really none of them were memorable in a good way for me so I don't know why Dashia went through but we will see if she shows up again doing something which would make her almost famous.  

 

Cristobel's group is up next.  I like Cristobel who is an adult (although I would love her if she would get some hair on her head).  The group seems pretty happy until psycho witch Janelle decides to separate herself from them for no reason and puts unneeded drama into the situation.  She alternately acts like she loves them and hates them and gives a really fake remark to the camera right before the performance and the other three are ready to sing the *do do doo doo* phrase from Twilight Zone.  When Nicki calls her on not practicing with the group, she cries and says *nobody likes me* and Nicki falls for that crap.  This Janelle is one I hope we do not see again...she has serious psychological issues or perhap she is just a sociopath.  

 

The song *American Boy* seems to be the kiss of death for these groups as I recall at least one of the guy groups botched it badly when it was their turn.  Poor Seretha (evidently the only one the producers think the audience will care about in this group) is no worse than anyone else but for some reason she goes home and the rest stay.

 

Finally...we see Zoanada and the producer's attempt to rehabilitate her image.  They describe her pouting  (because she isn't into the song) as a lack of confidence (hoping to humanize her I guess) when in fact she is just pouting because she doesn't like the song.  She is nothing if not resilient, our Zoanada, so after she milks it for the camera, she comes back all happy pappy and in love with her group and her song.  The group does fine, she does not succeed in sabotaging them and we are left with the impression that she is just a regular old girl and not the trainwreck we saw in her audition.  

 

The next group has another defector, called Liz who is either lost on purpose or because she is clueless (I think it is on purpose).  After upsetting the members of the group enough so that they perform poorly, she sails through with her sweet little face and her polygamy hair.  I'm watching you, Liz....you might be the one I decide to turn my wrath upon should you go very far.  

 

The next group is a bunch of blondes with a lazy butt included in them...and a lying lazy butt to boot.  Once again, virtue is not rewarded and the lazy liar goes through leaving 2 of her group behind.  

 

Finally, we get to see the Misfits whose name Kezban probably chose because the others of the group seem to fit together pretty well and are basically generic AI extras.  Kezban is nothing if not vocal about the song choice (and I have to agree with her) but is ultimately satisfied even though she doesn't get to sing California Dreamin' (which would have been wonderful to hear).  They sing Be My Baby instead.  Despite Kezban's sense of entitlement (she wants to eat,sleep and have orange juice delivered to her) and calesthenics to get her adrenaline going, the group ultimately gels and does a good job.  Kezban does not seem to know that the rest of the group is put out with her...another indication that she is clueless as opposed to difficult on purpose (and another reason I think she really may be a man).  And I have to give the members of this group some credit for putting up with Kezban, as well-meaning as she appeared, and getting the job done well.

 

Tomorrow we will see what these ladies are truly made of when they go solo with the band.  It appears Zoanada plays the drums...something I could live without seeing.

And, I must say that Nicki Minage is beginning to be OK with me about half of the time.  We will see if that continues during the live performances.

However, I cannot help but think that all of these girls are California Dreamin' because there is NO way one of them will win this year.  Its a WGWG all the way.