First of all, I had such a lovely day today that I was completely worn out and hit a wall about 4 PM. So, I napped. By the time I woke up, got the head fog cleared and made a necessary phone call, it was 7:30 PM and I went to my nest to "see what is on TV". Imagine my surprise when I realized it was American Idol night. So, I tuned in just in time for the tail end of Harry's antics at the end of Nick's performance. I had no idea of the theme this week. At some point Ryan sort of mumbled it but I had to wait until the next performance to figure it out. It was top 100 Billboard. I didn't watch the end of the show because the tornado sirens went off. I really cannot recap the performances since I missed 4 of them. But to tell you the truth, the performances have now become secondary to the variety show that is now Idol. We had 3 or 4 celebrity acts tonight. None of which moved me. Here is the list of things I'm peeved about this season:
1. Too many celebrity acts. Once upon a time you got the mentor performing on results night for one song. Now we get the mentor, plus 2 or 3 random acts and at least one of them features rap crap. Iggy Iglesius is a pretty woman but I hate rap. Florida Georgia Line was awful and I like country music. Jason Derillo was ok but I could have done without the 45 JLo imitators in red and black underwear dancing behind him. Not entertaining.
2. Judges acting out. Face it people, you don't have the chemistry of Blake and Adam on The Voice and you never will. Cut out the crap and focus on the contestants.
3. It was announced tonight that only the top 5 will go on tour. This is a departure from previous years. I suppose the tour is not as lucrative as it once was but when you push losers like Caleb whats his name the Meat Loaf imitator down the audience's throat, what do you expect? I consoled myself over the seasons thinking that at least my favorites (who were never the producer's favorites) would make some cash on tour. Now at least 2 or 3 of those I like will lose out on that little gravy train.
4. Random "twists" in the rules (see number 3) and most annoying the stupid fan save. If you cannot fill up the 2 hours, let them sing 2 songs. Let them do a group number. But don't do that stupid fan save pitting one against the other.
5. Judges pronouncing in the little box before each performance what each contestant has to do with the performance. It reminds me of a sporting event: "the defense really needs to dig in or the other team will overrun them."
6. Idol judges have always had key phrases or words that they resort to when they get lazy about judging. This year, the word I hate is "artist". Sorry guys, but you are not Picasso and neither are the contestants.
7. JAX copying Joey. I read her version of Poker Face tonight was a jazz arrangement with 40's vibe. How original! What an artist! Oh I wish she would go home.
I guess that is only 7 things, not 100 but I think it explains why I forgot tonight was Idol night and have zero interest in going back and seeing the performances I missed. The show has just become a bore as I sit through all the offal the producers serve up to us as if it is prime rib. After all, if the producers treat the contestant performances as filler for other more important things like already famous people pushing their latest song, or Harry flirting with JLo or introducing famous people from the audience...why should I bother?
And I was in such a good mood until I remembered to watch Idol tonight!
PS: There was no tornado thank goodness. Having lost power last week for 66 hours I was very grateful about that.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
"The House That Kelly Clarkson Built"
Oh boy, does Idol owe Kelly Clarkson big time! The title is in quotes because it is a phrase used by my blogging idol Michael Slezak and in case he googles himself and sees this puny little blog, or more likely, goes searching the phrase for copyright offenders, I want him to know I gave him full credit! Oh those were innocent days. I cannot recall them because I didn't watch Idol then. But it does seem to me that the first idol is still the one that all others should aspire to be. She was a waitress in a little Texas town and now she is truly a superstar. And, as the show progressed we could see that she has not lost that small town manner, she is totally unassuming and even can be star struck a bit herself as her little interlude with Harry showed. The best part of the show tonight were her 2 performances.
The 2nd best part of the show was that finally Daniel is gone. I don't know if the producers were trying to milk one more week out of this kid and therefore set up the "fan save" twist in the hopes that his fans would tweet him through or if they were done with him now that his voice is completely shot from changing and wanted to put him up against someone who can sing and hope the audience was smart enough to vote to save the better one. Either way, I don't like twists. And this is a twist Idol copied from The Voice and that is just lame. In doing so, Idol just acknowledged the "other singing show" has surpassed it.
In truth, however, with one or two exceptions, I thought all of the contestants had a strong night. Before I begin, I confess I am not a connoissuer of the Kelly Clarkson songbook and expected I would know about two or three of them. Surprisingly, they all sounded very familiar to me and I loved them all.
Nick is the first one saved and he is trying to get used to the camera. Kelly tells him to love the red dot. He sang Catch My Breath, a song Kelly wrote, and I think is starting to get the hang of this but he still closes his eyes too much (something a few of them do). I thought he did a very nice job and Kelly says it is a hard song. No complaints about pitch problems from the judges so that is good.
JAX is saved next and typical to form, she goes all diva queen sitting on the piano in a slinky back dress (or half dress as it appeared to be short in front and long in back which I think is just so Real Housewives of New Jersey. She sang Beautiful Disaster in her breathy soft voice until it got loud and then she went back to it and then she got loud and then she got soft again. Keith says she is an artist. JLo misses her unusual tone. JLo,that tone comes and goes because it is affected. Which is why I don't like this woman. And, by the end of the show, I had forgotten what she sang.
Tyanna sings "Mr. Know It All" and does a great job. She chose it because she was bullied in the past. I like Tyanna a lot but I am tired of everyone talking about being bullied. The judges didn't like her emotions on this one but loved her voice. I think they were less effusive than they should have been.
Joey is back in form tonight putting a jazz spin on Miss Independent. She is wearing a red sheath dress ala "Mad Men" and evidently the band and back ups were i retro clothing too. I enjoyed her performance. Kelly was very gracious about Joey basically rewriting the music to her song. Harry was not happy with the retro look and he has a point that Joey is verging on shtick with some of her staging. Joey is engaged and her fiance looks nice. I hope it lasts forever and ever.
Kelly Clarkson then performs her "Heartbeat" hit from her latest album. I don't love the song that much but I did love watching her.
So, the girls are all safe and they call up Quentin next who sings Dark Side. Perfect song for him. Kelly loves his eyes. I think Quentin still has some pitch problems and I believe Harry talks to him about technique but he felt the lyrics. At the very end, he had a look on his face that reminded me of someone. The person who came to mind was my nephew, KK's little brother. It has to be the eyes since my nephew's fashion sense consists of jeans, a t shirt, and a baseball or cowboy hat.
Qassim is taking a risk by showcasing his vocals, which I have never thought were very good, on the song Stronger. His runs were a bit off and Harry calls him on it. Probably the worst performance of the night and while I really like the guy, I think he needs some training.
Clark Beckham performs and while I would not call it a "moment" it was pretty darn close. He sang The Trouble With Love Is. He was a hairs width away from letting go and when he does, I think he might win this whole thing.
And then the twisted fan save. Daniel was just going through the motions on Break Away. Rayvon, however, I think did deliver a good, soulful performance of Since U Been Gone. The judges were unduly hard on Rayvon, I thought because this was the first performance of his that I found not bland.
This is a good group. Now that Daniel is gone, the only one I dislike is JAX. So, obviously, the snark is going to be minimal from here on out.
The 2nd best part of the show was that finally Daniel is gone. I don't know if the producers were trying to milk one more week out of this kid and therefore set up the "fan save" twist in the hopes that his fans would tweet him through or if they were done with him now that his voice is completely shot from changing and wanted to put him up against someone who can sing and hope the audience was smart enough to vote to save the better one. Either way, I don't like twists. And this is a twist Idol copied from The Voice and that is just lame. In doing so, Idol just acknowledged the "other singing show" has surpassed it.
In truth, however, with one or two exceptions, I thought all of the contestants had a strong night. Before I begin, I confess I am not a connoissuer of the Kelly Clarkson songbook and expected I would know about two or three of them. Surprisingly, they all sounded very familiar to me and I loved them all.
Nick is the first one saved and he is trying to get used to the camera. Kelly tells him to love the red dot. He sang Catch My Breath, a song Kelly wrote, and I think is starting to get the hang of this but he still closes his eyes too much (something a few of them do). I thought he did a very nice job and Kelly says it is a hard song. No complaints about pitch problems from the judges so that is good.
JAX is saved next and typical to form, she goes all diva queen sitting on the piano in a slinky back dress (or half dress as it appeared to be short in front and long in back which I think is just so Real Housewives of New Jersey. She sang Beautiful Disaster in her breathy soft voice until it got loud and then she went back to it and then she got loud and then she got soft again. Keith says she is an artist. JLo misses her unusual tone. JLo,that tone comes and goes because it is affected. Which is why I don't like this woman. And, by the end of the show, I had forgotten what she sang.
Tyanna sings "Mr. Know It All" and does a great job. She chose it because she was bullied in the past. I like Tyanna a lot but I am tired of everyone talking about being bullied. The judges didn't like her emotions on this one but loved her voice. I think they were less effusive than they should have been.
Joey is back in form tonight putting a jazz spin on Miss Independent. She is wearing a red sheath dress ala "Mad Men" and evidently the band and back ups were i retro clothing too. I enjoyed her performance. Kelly was very gracious about Joey basically rewriting the music to her song. Harry was not happy with the retro look and he has a point that Joey is verging on shtick with some of her staging. Joey is engaged and her fiance looks nice. I hope it lasts forever and ever.
Kelly Clarkson then performs her "Heartbeat" hit from her latest album. I don't love the song that much but I did love watching her.
So, the girls are all safe and they call up Quentin next who sings Dark Side. Perfect song for him. Kelly loves his eyes. I think Quentin still has some pitch problems and I believe Harry talks to him about technique but he felt the lyrics. At the very end, he had a look on his face that reminded me of someone. The person who came to mind was my nephew, KK's little brother. It has to be the eyes since my nephew's fashion sense consists of jeans, a t shirt, and a baseball or cowboy hat.
Qassim is taking a risk by showcasing his vocals, which I have never thought were very good, on the song Stronger. His runs were a bit off and Harry calls him on it. Probably the worst performance of the night and while I really like the guy, I think he needs some training.
Clark Beckham performs and while I would not call it a "moment" it was pretty darn close. He sang The Trouble With Love Is. He was a hairs width away from letting go and when he does, I think he might win this whole thing.
And then the twisted fan save. Daniel was just going through the motions on Break Away. Rayvon, however, I think did deliver a good, soulful performance of Since U Been Gone. The judges were unduly hard on Rayvon, I thought because this was the first performance of his that I found not bland.
This is a good group. Now that Daniel is gone, the only one I dislike is JAX. So, obviously, the snark is going to be minimal from here on out.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Karma Chameleon
Random thoughts on viewing tonight's show:
Ryan's beard is getting thicker and I think he now has a moustache and he is looking like he is trying to look intelligent. Next he will be wearing suede patches on his jacket.
The Hoff, fresh from his 180th attempt at rehab, needed the hook tonight. I don't want to see David Hasselhoff's chest hair nor do I want to hear him try to sing. What was the point of that except that he needs career rehab too?
Boy George is the mentor. These outre stars are always more normal when up close and personal. There is a group song, Karma Chameleon, with Boy George. Adanna hogs the camera at the end and "spontaneously" hugs Boy George.
And, despite the song, none of the contestants performing tonight, really changed their colors much. A few got a little brighter. One or two remained the same and one or 2 a little paler.
The first one saved (and I really hope that Ryan was telling the truth when he said "in no particular order" because if this guy is getting all the votes Idol is done done done) is DanielSkeevy Sanjaya Seavy He sings "You Make My Dreams Come True" smiling cutely, glad handing the swaybots in the audience, with all the talent of a 2nd runner up in a high school talent show. A large high school to be sure, but still a high school. If he were female, I would call it pageanty. Since he isn't, I will just call it sub sub par. Which is par for Daniel Skeevy Sanjaya Seavy. I'm beginning to feel a bit like Henry II here as my pleas for this kid's demise go unheard. Not that I want any knights to storm the Idol studios or anything. I just want whoever is voting for him to stop.
Quentin is up next. Boy George adored his fashion sense. The judges adored his dramatic interpretation of In the Air Tonight. Maybe I would have adored it too if I knew the song like the back of my hand. I know I should. But I was working like a dog in the 80s. I didn't listen to music much. If I look at this performance again, I may like it much more. But it was very Quentin. No radical changes here.
One of my new favorites, Joey Cook, dressed to kill, sang "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". I think she overdid the fun part at the expense of the vocal. It wasn't up to her normal standard but it wasn't a huge fail either. It will be hard to top Fancy.
Yay Tyanna! I was so worried. Now I can forget about the kid being here because he isn't here at her expense. This girl is brave. She sang Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and she did a fine job and redeemed herself. Once again, nothing particularly new here though.
Here comes tough Jersey girl JAX singing a Jersey Boy Song, "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Keith acts like no one has ever covered a song made popular by the other gender in the whole universe and this, of course, makes JAX an "artist". JAX goes to the piano again for proper dramatic effect and does what she always does: start soft, get loud, end soft. This was counter-balanced with her usual stop for a dramatic pause at least once somewhere. Her nasally tone is back and she is enunciating the words oddly. "You give love a bad NA EEEM". She gives me a PA EEEN in my foot.
I was glad to see Nick Fradiani tonight and I think he did make his colors a little brighter tonight. He sang "Man in the Mirror". The deal is, he ought to be this cocky guy but he really isn't. It wasn't a complete connection but it was so much more than he has done in the past. I hope he stays around.
Clark Beckham finally got his groove back tonight singing "I'll Be Watching You", a song that can be ominous but not the way he sang it tonight. He finally showed some emotion. It was nearly a moment. It gave JLo goosies.
The audience loved Qassim last week but I'm not so sure they will love his "I'm Addicted to Love" this week. Sadly, he really doesn't sing that well but everyone keeps telling him he does. I love the guy personally, but he can go home in a couple of weeks and that would be fairness.
So now, its not in "no particular order" and Ryan announces that the bottom 3 are Maddie, Adanna, and Rayvon. Rayvon survives the double elimination and sings "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Despite having what appeared to be a badly timed start, he did well. It was a little better than usual. Not quite as bland. Will he make it through next week? Dubious.
As for the two who were eliminated, it didn't break my heart. Basically, Adanna is not very likable and Maddie is not very good. But they both get to go on tour so they will make some good money. Maddie can go to college and Adanna can buy a super big mirror to gaze in as she admires her diva self.
Postscript: I forgot to mention the performance of "Push It" by Salt and Peppah. I can only say I wish I had forgotten to watch it.
Ryan's beard is getting thicker and I think he now has a moustache and he is looking like he is trying to look intelligent. Next he will be wearing suede patches on his jacket.
The Hoff, fresh from his 180th attempt at rehab, needed the hook tonight. I don't want to see David Hasselhoff's chest hair nor do I want to hear him try to sing. What was the point of that except that he needs career rehab too?
Boy George is the mentor. These outre stars are always more normal when up close and personal. There is a group song, Karma Chameleon, with Boy George. Adanna hogs the camera at the end and "spontaneously" hugs Boy George.
And, despite the song, none of the contestants performing tonight, really changed their colors much. A few got a little brighter. One or two remained the same and one or 2 a little paler.
The first one saved (and I really hope that Ryan was telling the truth when he said "in no particular order" because if this guy is getting all the votes Idol is done done done) is Daniel
Quentin is up next. Boy George adored his fashion sense. The judges adored his dramatic interpretation of In the Air Tonight. Maybe I would have adored it too if I knew the song like the back of my hand. I know I should. But I was working like a dog in the 80s. I didn't listen to music much. If I look at this performance again, I may like it much more. But it was very Quentin. No radical changes here.
One of my new favorites, Joey Cook, dressed to kill, sang "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". I think she overdid the fun part at the expense of the vocal. It wasn't up to her normal standard but it wasn't a huge fail either. It will be hard to top Fancy.
Yay Tyanna! I was so worried. Now I can forget about the kid being here because he isn't here at her expense. This girl is brave. She sang Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and she did a fine job and redeemed herself. Once again, nothing particularly new here though.
Here comes tough Jersey girl JAX singing a Jersey Boy Song, "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Keith acts like no one has ever covered a song made popular by the other gender in the whole universe and this, of course, makes JAX an "artist". JAX goes to the piano again for proper dramatic effect and does what she always does: start soft, get loud, end soft. This was counter-balanced with her usual stop for a dramatic pause at least once somewhere. Her nasally tone is back and she is enunciating the words oddly. "You give love a bad NA EEEM". She gives me a PA EEEN in my foot.
I was glad to see Nick Fradiani tonight and I think he did make his colors a little brighter tonight. He sang "Man in the Mirror". The deal is, he ought to be this cocky guy but he really isn't. It wasn't a complete connection but it was so much more than he has done in the past. I hope he stays around.
Clark Beckham finally got his groove back tonight singing "I'll Be Watching You", a song that can be ominous but not the way he sang it tonight. He finally showed some emotion. It was nearly a moment. It gave JLo goosies.
The audience loved Qassim last week but I'm not so sure they will love his "I'm Addicted to Love" this week. Sadly, he really doesn't sing that well but everyone keeps telling him he does. I love the guy personally, but he can go home in a couple of weeks and that would be fairness.
So now, its not in "no particular order" and Ryan announces that the bottom 3 are Maddie, Adanna, and Rayvon. Rayvon survives the double elimination and sings "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Despite having what appeared to be a badly timed start, he did well. It was a little better than usual. Not quite as bland. Will he make it through next week? Dubious.
As for the two who were eliminated, it didn't break my heart. Basically, Adanna is not very likable and Maddie is not very good. But they both get to go on tour so they will make some good money. Maddie can go to college and Adanna can buy a super big mirror to gaze in as she admires her diva self.
Postscript: I forgot to mention the performance of "Push It" by Salt and Peppah. I can only say I wish I had forgotten to watch it.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
So Many Titles
I cannot decide what to title this blog post. Before the judges saved Qassim it was to be called "Deliver us From Seavy". But the save, and Qassim's performance sort of made that title anti-climactic. And "They Came Together" sounds just wrong. So, no fancy title tonight.
First, I want to say I am happy about the save. Before the judges said anything, I was thinking Qassim's was at least in the top 2 of the performances tonight, if not the best performance. Finally, he kept the dancing fool stuff to a minimum. And how perfectly serendipitous that he sang "Come Together" while trying to get the judges to unanimously use the save over him. I don't think he will be in danger next week.
Now for the rest of the show.
Adanna sang I Love You I Do from Dream Girls. JLo and I noticed that her lower register was not good. I didn't think much of her higher register either. Jennifer Hudson is becoming one of those people whose songs you just don't try to sing. I wouldn't be sorry to see her go next week. She sang first and that is not a good spot for the voting but who knows with the new voting format.
And oh crap, here comes DanielSkeevy Sanjaya Seavy. He sang "Lost Stars". I wish he was lost. I thought he had terrible "intonation" problems, he blew one of the high falsetto notes, and it was just, in my opinion, as awful as JAX's performance last week. The judges didn't seem to notice anything bad. Maybe they think if they trash him too bad he will get sympathy votes. All I know is that if Vote For the Worst was still in place, he would be their choice. No doubt in my mind.
Rayvon tried to change it up and be more lively with Stayin' Alive. They said he changed the arrangement but I didn't really notice that too much...maybe it was a little slower? It has been awhile since I heard that song. Really all I could think about was John Travolta walking down the street in Saturday Night Fever. At least that is the song I remember playing as he walks down the street. It has been awhile since I've seen (or thought of ) that movie too. I have come to the conclusion that Rayvon is the sweetest guy in the world but he is ultimately bland. Maybe he should stick to heart-wrenching ballads.
Nick Fradiani is trying to break out of his shell too and sings Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. I saw he was trying and maybe we shouldn't see him trying so hard. I really like him but he needs a moment and this was not it. Although, it was better than most of his performances. Sing a ballad Nick.
Joey Cook sang Mad World. When Adam Lambert sang this song it was arguably his finest of many "moments" on Idol. She was moving. Not quite a moment but almost. I love how Joey dresses to the song. I have been thinking about her outfit in Fancy all week and wish I was young enough and thin enough to wear it. This week, talking about school, she wears a schoolgirl plaid dress. She always wears those full "new look" skirts though and I like them on her too. For those of you who were born after 1965, the "new look" is a term used to describe Dior's revolutionary fashion collection in the mid-50's. It featured the tight waists and very full skirts we associate with that period. It was new because depression era and wartime fashions featured straight skirts and more masculine looks. And the end of austerity and war time rationing allowed people to use lots of material in their dresses. Ok, this had nothing to do with the song Mad World which is about something who is different who feels like an outsider and I think Joey related to that and it showed.
Oh Tyanna! They crucified her singing of A Circle of Life! They let that little skeevy kid get away with murder and they acted like Tyanna might not even make it next week. This is judicial bias and I call for them to recuse themselves next week. And now, after trashing her, they cannot save her. I agree I have enjoyed other performances more but this wasn't awful. Of course, as we all know I'm tone deaf except when the kid sings and then I hear all the intonation problems.
After Tyanna, JLo performed in what could be called a new look dress on more steroids than Lance Armstrong could even dream of. She sang a song from the moving "Home", an animated feature from Dreamworks, so this was a plug for the movie and the song. Who knows if she was lip syncing or auto-tuned but it wasn't an unadulterated live performance that is for sure. The light show on the dress material distracted me for awhile.
Quentin, who I'm sure knows all about Dior and the new look, sang "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. More John Travolta images in my mind. He slowed it down to a dirge like plea for his love to get her act together. I liked the arrangement actually. Keith pointed out it was not original to Quentin. Harry pointed out that Quentin wasn't in tune. I'm not sure how this is going to pan out with the voters. I still like the guy though.
Maddie Walker was up next. Country fans will not let her go. She sang "Let's Hear It For the Boy". I didn't recognize this song. I'm not as hip as JLo's mother (JLo commented this was one of her mother's favorite songs). Harry had the best critique. He said it was pageanty. None of the judges really liked it. She had on a spangled outfit and a headband. Like Olivia Newton John in the 70's. She should have been in Quentin's song.
Kenny Loggins is a surprise guest singing Footloose which took up some time. Seeing him made me realize how old I am.
Up next is Clark Beckham. I was getting worried about him at this point but to be honest...I had sort of forgotten about him which doesn't bode well for his future on the show. He sang Sunday Morning accompanied only by his guitar. It was good. Not quite a moment, but more interesting than his last 2 or 3 performances.
So...here is the suspense. JAX and Qassim are left in the red lighted chairs. I don't know if JAX got the 2nd lowest number of votes but if she didn't she should have. She decides she is going to try to out Kiwi Joey this week and copies her performance style by sitting on a stool and singing I Want to Grow Old With You from the Wedding Singer. A quirky song. She has taken to wearing Joey's new look skirts too. What is with this? Joey has now influenced JLo and JAX and Maddie had already copied Joey weeks ago. Except, like the Jersey girl she is, she has to have even bigger hair (with a felt bow in it...throwback to the 50's like Joey too) and her dress has to be sparkly spandex. Teresa Guidice of the Real Housewives of New Jersey would be proud of her if Teresa wasn't in the pen for fraud at the moment. I didn't think she was that good. It was breathy and her tone was inconsistent (because she has no real tone...just what she copies from others). Blah.
I have already commented on Qassim and the save. I'm glad they saved him. I hope we don't lose Tyanna next week because of the biased judging. I'm going to go vote for her and do me a favor and vote for her too if it is not too late because she is a keeper!
First, I want to say I am happy about the save. Before the judges said anything, I was thinking Qassim's was at least in the top 2 of the performances tonight, if not the best performance. Finally, he kept the dancing fool stuff to a minimum. And how perfectly serendipitous that he sang "Come Together" while trying to get the judges to unanimously use the save over him. I don't think he will be in danger next week.
Now for the rest of the show.
Adanna sang I Love You I Do from Dream Girls. JLo and I noticed that her lower register was not good. I didn't think much of her higher register either. Jennifer Hudson is becoming one of those people whose songs you just don't try to sing. I wouldn't be sorry to see her go next week. She sang first and that is not a good spot for the voting but who knows with the new voting format.
And oh crap, here comes Daniel
Rayvon tried to change it up and be more lively with Stayin' Alive. They said he changed the arrangement but I didn't really notice that too much...maybe it was a little slower? It has been awhile since I heard that song. Really all I could think about was John Travolta walking down the street in Saturday Night Fever. At least that is the song I remember playing as he walks down the street. It has been awhile since I've seen (or thought of ) that movie too. I have come to the conclusion that Rayvon is the sweetest guy in the world but he is ultimately bland. Maybe he should stick to heart-wrenching ballads.
Nick Fradiani is trying to break out of his shell too and sings Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. I saw he was trying and maybe we shouldn't see him trying so hard. I really like him but he needs a moment and this was not it. Although, it was better than most of his performances. Sing a ballad Nick.
Joey Cook sang Mad World. When Adam Lambert sang this song it was arguably his finest of many "moments" on Idol. She was moving. Not quite a moment but almost. I love how Joey dresses to the song. I have been thinking about her outfit in Fancy all week and wish I was young enough and thin enough to wear it. This week, talking about school, she wears a schoolgirl plaid dress. She always wears those full "new look" skirts though and I like them on her too. For those of you who were born after 1965, the "new look" is a term used to describe Dior's revolutionary fashion collection in the mid-50's. It featured the tight waists and very full skirts we associate with that period. It was new because depression era and wartime fashions featured straight skirts and more masculine looks. And the end of austerity and war time rationing allowed people to use lots of material in their dresses. Ok, this had nothing to do with the song Mad World which is about something who is different who feels like an outsider and I think Joey related to that and it showed.
Oh Tyanna! They crucified her singing of A Circle of Life! They let that little skeevy kid get away with murder and they acted like Tyanna might not even make it next week. This is judicial bias and I call for them to recuse themselves next week. And now, after trashing her, they cannot save her. I agree I have enjoyed other performances more but this wasn't awful. Of course, as we all know I'm tone deaf except when the kid sings and then I hear all the intonation problems.
After Tyanna, JLo performed in what could be called a new look dress on more steroids than Lance Armstrong could even dream of. She sang a song from the moving "Home", an animated feature from Dreamworks, so this was a plug for the movie and the song. Who knows if she was lip syncing or auto-tuned but it wasn't an unadulterated live performance that is for sure. The light show on the dress material distracted me for awhile.
Quentin, who I'm sure knows all about Dior and the new look, sang "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. More John Travolta images in my mind. He slowed it down to a dirge like plea for his love to get her act together. I liked the arrangement actually. Keith pointed out it was not original to Quentin. Harry pointed out that Quentin wasn't in tune. I'm not sure how this is going to pan out with the voters. I still like the guy though.
Maddie Walker was up next. Country fans will not let her go. She sang "Let's Hear It For the Boy". I didn't recognize this song. I'm not as hip as JLo's mother (JLo commented this was one of her mother's favorite songs). Harry had the best critique. He said it was pageanty. None of the judges really liked it. She had on a spangled outfit and a headband. Like Olivia Newton John in the 70's. She should have been in Quentin's song.
Kenny Loggins is a surprise guest singing Footloose which took up some time. Seeing him made me realize how old I am.
Up next is Clark Beckham. I was getting worried about him at this point but to be honest...I had sort of forgotten about him which doesn't bode well for his future on the show. He sang Sunday Morning accompanied only by his guitar. It was good. Not quite a moment, but more interesting than his last 2 or 3 performances.
So...here is the suspense. JAX and Qassim are left in the red lighted chairs. I don't know if JAX got the 2nd lowest number of votes but if she didn't she should have. She decides she is going to try to out Kiwi Joey this week and copies her performance style by sitting on a stool and singing I Want to Grow Old With You from the Wedding Singer. A quirky song. She has taken to wearing Joey's new look skirts too. What is with this? Joey has now influenced JLo and JAX and Maddie had already copied Joey weeks ago. Except, like the Jersey girl she is, she has to have even bigger hair (with a felt bow in it...throwback to the 50's like Joey too) and her dress has to be sparkly spandex. Teresa Guidice of the Real Housewives of New Jersey would be proud of her if Teresa wasn't in the pen for fraud at the moment. I didn't think she was that good. It was breathy and her tone was inconsistent (because she has no real tone...just what she copies from others). Blah.
I have already commented on Qassim and the save. I'm glad they saved him. I hope we don't lose Tyanna next week because of the biased judging. I'm going to go vote for her and do me a favor and vote for her too if it is not too late because she is a keeper!
Friday, March 13, 2015
No Joi
in my little ville because of the insane elimination of Serena Joi Crowe. My "buddy" Slezak (I call him this because I love his blog and I usually agree with him and he is so much more clever than I am) is nearly destroyed by this turn of events. I cheated and read his blog before writing this but will try not to let his opinion influence me too much. He actually predicted this elimination last night but I don't think he really believed it would happen and neither did I but...in retrospect, I see how it happened.
Before we got to that sad conclusion, there was a show to watch. Fox is pushing Empire incessantly. The leading lady comes out on stage to give Ryan the results. I don't watch that show because it looks entirely too nerve wracking with all the yelling and the fighting and the guns and maybe the bad guys win which I know will distress me. I'm just too old for that (expletive deleted).
The theme was "Let's Get the Party Started". It was a theme that was loosely interpreted by the contestants but fine.
Rayvon is declared safe first and sings "Burn". The comments by Scott suggest he needs to step it up. He does have a little more energy tonight and actually moves around in a 2 foot circle on stage. Keith and JLo think its wonderful but Harry cautions him to change his arc. He has some glory notes. Ok...I'm done chatting him up, so let's move on to another part of the party.
I really thought Maddie Walker might be a goner and was surprised when she was called second (even though it was all in "no particular order"). She gets to sing a country song called of all things: "She's Country". She is wearing Daisy Dukes and boots and she does a pretty serviceable job of it but she really doesn't excite me. Come to find out, she is sick which is probably why she went up early and was shuttled off to the doc. That will get her some votes. Clearly, the country contingent is not taking the near complete exclusion of all country singers from the top group lightly and are power voting.
OK, now I'm going to say that I am not quite in love with Joey Cook but I will say her performance was the second best of the night. I had not heard the song "Fancy" and didn't know if Iggy Iglesius was a man or a woman. Isn't there a country song about Fancy taking her self to town? But, I digress. I loved this song and I loved Joey's performance and then I went to Youtube to see the original version and I was thinking: no wonder I had never heard of it...this is rap crap!. And I don't love the original song. It is stupid. But it is wonderful in the arrangement Joey discovered and performed.
Ok, now I enter the 6th circle of Hell as someone comes on and raps about the Empire show. Well, I got within inches of the 6th circle before I escaped to the bathroom.
My favorite Clark Beckham is safe thank goodness. He plays the piano (a first for him) and performs "Takin' It To the Streets". It was fine but not my favorite performance of his.
America's new sweetheart, JAX is going to do a Taylor Swift song and in the prelude talks to Scott about how she is discovering "her sound". I think she chose the song to suck up to Scott who made Taylor Swift what she is today. The song is called Blank Spaces and is, according to JAX, an anthem. I have heard it before and as much as I loathe Taylor Swift, I have to say JAX made me loathe Taylor more for writing a song that someone like JAX would sing. This was a disaster and there is no other way to spin it but I am not surprised. I knew she was all glitter and no gold. JLo says JAX lost her special voice on this song. Well of course she did, since its a fake voice and now she has found her true sound which is awful.
Qassim has a guitar and is going to sing Jet by Paul McCartney and Wings and of course I know this song. He really tries just to stand there and sing but has to get a few moves in. I like the guy, I really do. But I thought his voice was awful on that song and that the judges gave him a huge pass on it. He is not a dumbo though. He knew what a suffragette is and I was proud of him for giving Harry the answer he did.
Then they call Adanna Durue. And I write "OH NO" because I know it means that either Sarina Joi or Tyanna is going home unless by some chance the grandmas didn't vote for the kid. I have decided I don't like her all that much. I was rereading some of the blog entries and realize she was in the "mean girl" group in Hollywood Week. Plus I dont' like the way she moves on stage. It isn't natural. She sang "Runaway Baby" and I thought it was a little messy but the judges think she is wonderful (of course they picked her as a wild card so it is too soon to admit they might have screwed up).
I think I see Tyanna looking a bit glum at the end of Adanna's performance but then her name is called and she is back on cloud nine. She sang "Tightrope" which was sung by some contestant a year or so ago. I can only say I agree with Harry. This was amazing. I love love love this girl. She surprises me with every performance. I watch with a huge smile on my face! She is just wonderful and for me to say this about a 16 year old is completely out of character for me because I don't like those young upstarts as a rule.
It was 72 degrees today here in God's Country but I still had my house shoes on so they were not available for me to vomit into when DanielSkeevy Sanjaya Seavy was called to the stage. Grandmas, get off your computer. Why did your kids teach you to text vote? This kid is in way over his head, is getting a way too big head and is just awful. He won't go home. He is a cockroach. He cannot be exterminated.
So now I'm thinking that its going to be a sad ending. I decided I'm liking Quentin ok, Nick is a favorite of mine, and of course, Sarina Joi who has tried so hard for so long to make it only to perhaps be denied a chance to perform live on the Idol Stage (I didn't realize last night was not live).
Quentin sings Rolling In the Deep which he says is a party song in New Orleans. Now I know New Orleans has some strange customs being sort of French and all but I find that hard to believe. He did a nice job. It wasn't as good as last night's performance.
And then Nick sings Wake Me Up. I agree with the comments. He needs to realize this is all about him and step up more but this was a good performance.
Poor Serena. I didn't even think she did a good job on her song. Who can blame her? She knew it was over.
Life is not fair.
Before we got to that sad conclusion, there was a show to watch. Fox is pushing Empire incessantly. The leading lady comes out on stage to give Ryan the results. I don't watch that show because it looks entirely too nerve wracking with all the yelling and the fighting and the guns and maybe the bad guys win which I know will distress me. I'm just too old for that (expletive deleted).
The theme was "Let's Get the Party Started". It was a theme that was loosely interpreted by the contestants but fine.
Rayvon is declared safe first and sings "Burn". The comments by Scott suggest he needs to step it up. He does have a little more energy tonight and actually moves around in a 2 foot circle on stage. Keith and JLo think its wonderful but Harry cautions him to change his arc. He has some glory notes. Ok...I'm done chatting him up, so let's move on to another part of the party.
I really thought Maddie Walker might be a goner and was surprised when she was called second (even though it was all in "no particular order"). She gets to sing a country song called of all things: "She's Country". She is wearing Daisy Dukes and boots and she does a pretty serviceable job of it but she really doesn't excite me. Come to find out, she is sick which is probably why she went up early and was shuttled off to the doc. That will get her some votes. Clearly, the country contingent is not taking the near complete exclusion of all country singers from the top group lightly and are power voting.
OK, now I'm going to say that I am not quite in love with Joey Cook but I will say her performance was the second best of the night. I had not heard the song "Fancy" and didn't know if Iggy Iglesius was a man or a woman. Isn't there a country song about Fancy taking her self to town? But, I digress. I loved this song and I loved Joey's performance and then I went to Youtube to see the original version and I was thinking: no wonder I had never heard of it...this is rap crap!. And I don't love the original song. It is stupid. But it is wonderful in the arrangement Joey discovered and performed.
Ok, now I enter the 6th circle of Hell as someone comes on and raps about the Empire show. Well, I got within inches of the 6th circle before I escaped to the bathroom.
My favorite Clark Beckham is safe thank goodness. He plays the piano (a first for him) and performs "Takin' It To the Streets". It was fine but not my favorite performance of his.
America's new sweetheart, JAX is going to do a Taylor Swift song and in the prelude talks to Scott about how she is discovering "her sound". I think she chose the song to suck up to Scott who made Taylor Swift what she is today. The song is called Blank Spaces and is, according to JAX, an anthem. I have heard it before and as much as I loathe Taylor Swift, I have to say JAX made me loathe Taylor more for writing a song that someone like JAX would sing. This was a disaster and there is no other way to spin it but I am not surprised. I knew she was all glitter and no gold. JLo says JAX lost her special voice on this song. Well of course she did, since its a fake voice and now she has found her true sound which is awful.
Qassim has a guitar and is going to sing Jet by Paul McCartney and Wings and of course I know this song. He really tries just to stand there and sing but has to get a few moves in. I like the guy, I really do. But I thought his voice was awful on that song and that the judges gave him a huge pass on it. He is not a dumbo though. He knew what a suffragette is and I was proud of him for giving Harry the answer he did.
Then they call Adanna Durue. And I write "OH NO" because I know it means that either Sarina Joi or Tyanna is going home unless by some chance the grandmas didn't vote for the kid. I have decided I don't like her all that much. I was rereading some of the blog entries and realize she was in the "mean girl" group in Hollywood Week. Plus I dont' like the way she moves on stage. It isn't natural. She sang "Runaway Baby" and I thought it was a little messy but the judges think she is wonderful (of course they picked her as a wild card so it is too soon to admit they might have screwed up).
I think I see Tyanna looking a bit glum at the end of Adanna's performance but then her name is called and she is back on cloud nine. She sang "Tightrope" which was sung by some contestant a year or so ago. I can only say I agree with Harry. This was amazing. I love love love this girl. She surprises me with every performance. I watch with a huge smile on my face! She is just wonderful and for me to say this about a 16 year old is completely out of character for me because I don't like those young upstarts as a rule.
It was 72 degrees today here in God's Country but I still had my house shoes on so they were not available for me to vomit into when Daniel
So now I'm thinking that its going to be a sad ending. I decided I'm liking Quentin ok, Nick is a favorite of mine, and of course, Sarina Joi who has tried so hard for so long to make it only to perhaps be denied a chance to perform live on the Idol Stage (I didn't realize last night was not live).
Quentin sings Rolling In the Deep which he says is a party song in New Orleans. Now I know New Orleans has some strange customs being sort of French and all but I find that hard to believe. He did a nice job. It wasn't as good as last night's performance.
And then Nick sings Wake Me Up. I agree with the comments. He needs to realize this is all about him and step up more but this was a good performance.
Poor Serena. I didn't even think she did a good job on her song. Who can blame her? She knew it was over.
Life is not fair.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
And Then There were Twelve
It was deja vu night on Idol as the final 12 contestants sang their audition numbers...this time with the band backing them up. I was a bit alarmed when I learned that the judges would have 2 "instant wildcards" to round out the top 12 as in the past, the wild card picks have been not to my liking. Somehow, tonight, everything was going my way (nearly).
The first finalist chosen by America was Sarina Joi Crowe. And it was a good choice. The song once again was unfamiliar to me. This is good for the show because it needs new material but bad for me who cannot get all excited hearing a familiar song. The judges said she had some pitch issues which I didn't notice. I wasn't a fan of the song but it sounded to me like she sang it well and with confidence so yay for her. I hope she makes it to the top 5 at least, if not further.
Everyone loves Rayvon so I wasn't surprised to see him make the top 12. He did a good job on a song I don't know and hit a good glory note which will get him enough votes to make it to the top 10.
And, of course, the grandmas voted for DanielSkeevy Sanjaya Seavy. Finally, the judges called him out on his mediocrity and wooden performances. I think he was surprised because they have coddled him so far and I'm pretty sure he thinks he is all that. His voice seemed flat and his timing seemed off and it was just not very good.
Ryan introduces us to Scott Borcheta the mentor and head honcho at Big Machine records. He foisted Taylor Swift upon the world so he has some restitution to make. But if he is mentoring these kids, one hopes he will have more to say to them than "be in it to win it" ala Randy Jackson.
Well, Idol wouldn't be complete without a blonde singing country. The most interesting thing about Maddie Walker tonight was the ombre coloring on the tips of her hair extensions. Otherwise she is pure bland. I do feel for country fans because the pickings were slim this year and now Maddie is the great blonde hope for them. I suspect she will survive longer than she should.
I was thrilled to see Tyanna Jones. She is my favorite of the girls. It is hard to believe she is 16. It is hard to believe that she doesn't have some sort of child star back round with stage parents behind her. I do not think she does. I think she is just a natural. She seems so genuinely happy singing and it is infectious.
I'm glad Nick made it but he better do something interesting soon.
Oh my word, JAX. Of course she made it through as she is a big fave evidently. Her audition song was I Want To Hold Your Hand. She tries so hard to be an artiste. Starting off slowly at the piano in her plaintive affected tone was effective. Then she stood up, changed keys (or lost the key) and lost the affected tone. Her voice is not really that great unless she is doing that whiny nasally affected tone. Then she slowed it down at the end. Ok, I'm not a musician and I'm not a singer and I'm not a performing artiste but even I could have come up with that predictable and trite arrangement. It wasn't magic to me. Maybe it was to you.
Qassim the dancing fool made it through and was entertaining. That is all I have to say about him.
Then comes Clark Beckham, Mr. Old School and still a favorite of mine.
I was somewhat surprised, but happy (for reasons set forth below) that Joey Cook made it through. I liked her offbeat audition song but she kept either winking or blinking one eye (maybe her false eyelashes came loose?) and that was distracting. I'm not really a fan of her odd diction which is as affected as JAX's tone.
Then the wildcards were announced. It was no surprise they chose Quentin over Adam and lazy Mark. Quentin's Royals sounded much better than it did at his audition and he cried at the end. I think that will get him a lot of votes and I'm not unhappy about that. The Fashionista is growing on me.
I was so afraid they were going to choose Loren Lott, Actress for the girl's wild card and was thrilled they did not. Addana's performance of You and I was a bit of a over stimulated mess but maybe she and Qassim have been hanging out together. We will see if she makes it past the top 12.
Daniel and Maddie should go home. I'm not sure who will go home. Those two have powerful voting blocs behind them so we may lose some wheat to keep their chaff.
All in all, I think the right people are in the top 12. I wouldn't trade Alexis or Loren for Maddie or Adam or Mark for Daniel. I just hope America agrees with me on who are the weak links in this group.
The first finalist chosen by America was Sarina Joi Crowe. And it was a good choice. The song once again was unfamiliar to me. This is good for the show because it needs new material but bad for me who cannot get all excited hearing a familiar song. The judges said she had some pitch issues which I didn't notice. I wasn't a fan of the song but it sounded to me like she sang it well and with confidence so yay for her. I hope she makes it to the top 5 at least, if not further.
Everyone loves Rayvon so I wasn't surprised to see him make the top 12. He did a good job on a song I don't know and hit a good glory note which will get him enough votes to make it to the top 10.
And, of course, the grandmas voted for Daniel
Ryan introduces us to Scott Borcheta the mentor and head honcho at Big Machine records. He foisted Taylor Swift upon the world so he has some restitution to make. But if he is mentoring these kids, one hopes he will have more to say to them than "be in it to win it" ala Randy Jackson.
Well, Idol wouldn't be complete without a blonde singing country. The most interesting thing about Maddie Walker tonight was the ombre coloring on the tips of her hair extensions. Otherwise she is pure bland. I do feel for country fans because the pickings were slim this year and now Maddie is the great blonde hope for them. I suspect she will survive longer than she should.
I was thrilled to see Tyanna Jones. She is my favorite of the girls. It is hard to believe she is 16. It is hard to believe that she doesn't have some sort of child star back round with stage parents behind her. I do not think she does. I think she is just a natural. She seems so genuinely happy singing and it is infectious.
I'm glad Nick made it but he better do something interesting soon.
Oh my word, JAX. Of course she made it through as she is a big fave evidently. Her audition song was I Want To Hold Your Hand. She tries so hard to be an artiste. Starting off slowly at the piano in her plaintive affected tone was effective. Then she stood up, changed keys (or lost the key) and lost the affected tone. Her voice is not really that great unless she is doing that whiny nasally affected tone. Then she slowed it down at the end. Ok, I'm not a musician and I'm not a singer and I'm not a performing artiste but even I could have come up with that predictable and trite arrangement. It wasn't magic to me. Maybe it was to you.
Qassim the dancing fool made it through and was entertaining. That is all I have to say about him.
Then comes Clark Beckham, Mr. Old School and still a favorite of mine.
I was somewhat surprised, but happy (for reasons set forth below) that Joey Cook made it through. I liked her offbeat audition song but she kept either winking or blinking one eye (maybe her false eyelashes came loose?) and that was distracting. I'm not really a fan of her odd diction which is as affected as JAX's tone.
Then the wildcards were announced. It was no surprise they chose Quentin over Adam and lazy Mark. Quentin's Royals sounded much better than it did at his audition and he cried at the end. I think that will get him a lot of votes and I'm not unhappy about that. The Fashionista is growing on me.
I was so afraid they were going to choose Loren Lott, Actress for the girl's wild card and was thrilled they did not. Addana's performance of You and I was a bit of a over stimulated mess but maybe she and Qassim have been hanging out together. We will see if she makes it past the top 12.
Daniel and Maddie should go home. I'm not sure who will go home. Those two have powerful voting blocs behind them so we may lose some wheat to keep their chaff.
All in all, I think the right people are in the top 12. I wouldn't trade Alexis or Loren for Maddie or Adam or Mark for Daniel. I just hope America agrees with me on who are the weak links in this group.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
This One's Not For the Girls
What a letdown! I tuned in early hoping Aretha might sing another song but instead we got a montage of the girl contestants preening. Well, most of them preened. I don't think I'm becoming a cranky old lady who is envious of their youth, talent and in some cases beauty but this group, with one or two exceptions, just bores me to tears. In prior years I haven't voted for a guy until all the girls were gone so I don't think it is some inherent sexism on my part. This group is just almost entirely mediocre.
The only performance that moved me was the first one by Tyanna. I really love this girl. Old time Idol fans might remember the time Megan Joy (who you say?) performed that song and was excoriated by Simon for her performance. The next night as Megan went to the stools she flapped her arms and said "tweet tweet". I cannot remember if she was eliminated that night or the next week but she didn't remain long thereafter. Tyanna sang it like it was meant to be sung. It is not a song that moves you to do anything but move and it is hardly a favorite of mine but I loved her performance. And the judges did too.
Next up we learn Lauren Lott, Actress made it in. I'm pretty sure she thinks she got the 2nd highest number of votes. Last week she was all "I'm an actress and I'm a diva and I'm going to win". This week, after some image counseling no doubt, we learn that she is a sweet little church girl and there is no mention of her vast ambitions and extremely high opinion of herself. The judges loved her performance. I don't know what she sang. I hated it whatever it was or was I just ticked off she got through? There are no judges sitting in my fireplace room to answer that question and that is just fine with me as I quit examining my navel 40 years ago. Loren Lott, Actress tried every so hard to be humble in her post performance comments and she almost made us believe she really is until she said she wants to come back because she wants to inspire people (or keep inspiring them). The only thing this girl will inspire me to do is turn down the sound if she is still performing next week or use it as an opportunity to feed my cats and go to the john.
Maddie Walker must have made it through on the country fans votes because I find her extremely boring and get her confused with Alexis Gomez. She sang "I'll Be There" and on one note made me cringe. The judges were not very hard on her. Actually they loved it. I'm deaf as well as sexist now apparently.
I was worried about Joey Cook because she is so different. She sang "You Better Shop Around" with a sort of a slow jazzy spin to it but the melody was intact. I love her blue hair. I want blue hair but not the kind that old ladies used to have. I will never have blue hair, sadly. I didn't hate her performance. I didn't love her performance. I don't hate her, I don't love her. But she is better than most of the girls in this pack.
Thank goodness Serena Joi Crowe made it through. She sang "You Really Got A Hold On Me" very slowly and mostly softly with just a guitar accompanying her. This was a big change up from her high energy loud performance last week so we know she is not the proverbial one trick pony. Harry said she was flat the whole song. I don't have a good ear for that unless my ears start hurting and they did not but I did sense that this was not as good as it could be.
I like Alanna Duer. She sang "Hello". This song made Idol history when David Cook sang it and it was actually his break through week (or so it seemed at the time). I thought she was a little too dramatic with it and Harry said she was out of tune. Ok, 2 out of tune singers in a row.
Ah, the infamous JAX wearing the infamous blue and black or white and gold dress. I actually was unaware of this internet controversy about a dress for sale online which to some viewers looks white and gold but is actually blue and black so I googled to investigate it. If you dont' know about it, don't bother. Its boring and the dress is ugly. I don't know if the dress is cheap but it looks like its cheap in the online ads and JAX didn't help it look any more expensive when she lopped about 8 inches off of it. I can only say her performance was an utter disaster from my perspective. Her tone wasn't that good but what was worse was the arrangement. This is Motown week JAX. You don't take a classic Motown song and turn it into some sort of artsy fartsy Lana Del Ray type cabaret/jazz/blues song. I don't think the verse portion had a single note in common with the original song. I didn't know what the heck she was singing at first because it was so oddly put together in timing, inflection, and tune. Then she sang the chorus straight which just sounded odd as heck since it didn't go with her artsy fartsy Lana Del Ray imitation. Surprisingly, JLo and Harry agreed with me. Can you tell I'm not a JAX fan? I don't think this was an Adam Lambert Ring of Fire moment which I think she wanted it to be. And to be honest it took me seeing that Ring of Fire performance a few times to like it.
And then, Alexis Gomez sang "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch". I just thought it was awful. I didn't catch she was out of tune but JLo did. I just thought there was something wrong with the rhythm of it. I was thinking: is it too slow? What is wrong with this? Why don't I like what she is doing? Well, I guess it was because she was out of tune (among other things). I don't think she is going to survive this week but who knows?
Now I am going to go vote for Tyanna, Serena Joi and Joey. But overall, I was really disappointed in the girls tonight.
The only performance that moved me was the first one by Tyanna. I really love this girl. Old time Idol fans might remember the time Megan Joy (who you say?) performed that song and was excoriated by Simon for her performance. The next night as Megan went to the stools she flapped her arms and said "tweet tweet". I cannot remember if she was eliminated that night or the next week but she didn't remain long thereafter. Tyanna sang it like it was meant to be sung. It is not a song that moves you to do anything but move and it is hardly a favorite of mine but I loved her performance. And the judges did too.
Next up we learn Lauren Lott, Actress made it in. I'm pretty sure she thinks she got the 2nd highest number of votes. Last week she was all "I'm an actress and I'm a diva and I'm going to win". This week, after some image counseling no doubt, we learn that she is a sweet little church girl and there is no mention of her vast ambitions and extremely high opinion of herself. The judges loved her performance. I don't know what she sang. I hated it whatever it was or was I just ticked off she got through? There are no judges sitting in my fireplace room to answer that question and that is just fine with me as I quit examining my navel 40 years ago. Loren Lott, Actress tried every so hard to be humble in her post performance comments and she almost made us believe she really is until she said she wants to come back because she wants to inspire people (or keep inspiring them). The only thing this girl will inspire me to do is turn down the sound if she is still performing next week or use it as an opportunity to feed my cats and go to the john.
Maddie Walker must have made it through on the country fans votes because I find her extremely boring and get her confused with Alexis Gomez. She sang "I'll Be There" and on one note made me cringe. The judges were not very hard on her. Actually they loved it. I'm deaf as well as sexist now apparently.
I was worried about Joey Cook because she is so different. She sang "You Better Shop Around" with a sort of a slow jazzy spin to it but the melody was intact. I love her blue hair. I want blue hair but not the kind that old ladies used to have. I will never have blue hair, sadly. I didn't hate her performance. I didn't love her performance. I don't hate her, I don't love her. But she is better than most of the girls in this pack.
Thank goodness Serena Joi Crowe made it through. She sang "You Really Got A Hold On Me" very slowly and mostly softly with just a guitar accompanying her. This was a big change up from her high energy loud performance last week so we know she is not the proverbial one trick pony. Harry said she was flat the whole song. I don't have a good ear for that unless my ears start hurting and they did not but I did sense that this was not as good as it could be.
I like Alanna Duer. She sang "Hello". This song made Idol history when David Cook sang it and it was actually his break through week (or so it seemed at the time). I thought she was a little too dramatic with it and Harry said she was out of tune. Ok, 2 out of tune singers in a row.
Ah, the infamous JAX wearing the infamous blue and black or white and gold dress. I actually was unaware of this internet controversy about a dress for sale online which to some viewers looks white and gold but is actually blue and black so I googled to investigate it. If you dont' know about it, don't bother. Its boring and the dress is ugly. I don't know if the dress is cheap but it looks like its cheap in the online ads and JAX didn't help it look any more expensive when she lopped about 8 inches off of it. I can only say her performance was an utter disaster from my perspective. Her tone wasn't that good but what was worse was the arrangement. This is Motown week JAX. You don't take a classic Motown song and turn it into some sort of artsy fartsy Lana Del Ray type cabaret/jazz/blues song. I don't think the verse portion had a single note in common with the original song. I didn't know what the heck she was singing at first because it was so oddly put together in timing, inflection, and tune. Then she sang the chorus straight which just sounded odd as heck since it didn't go with her artsy fartsy Lana Del Ray imitation. Surprisingly, JLo and Harry agreed with me. Can you tell I'm not a JAX fan? I don't think this was an Adam Lambert Ring of Fire moment which I think she wanted it to be. And to be honest it took me seeing that Ring of Fire performance a few times to like it.
And then, Alexis Gomez sang "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch". I just thought it was awful. I didn't catch she was out of tune but JLo did. I just thought there was something wrong with the rhythm of it. I was thinking: is it too slow? What is wrong with this? Why don't I like what she is doing? Well, I guess it was because she was out of tune (among other things). I don't think she is going to survive this week but who knows?
Now I am going to go vote for Tyanna, Serena Joi and Joey. But overall, I was really disappointed in the girls tonight.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
ARETHA!
I missed the first few seconds of the show and therefore missed the first few seconds of Aretha and I am not happy about it! She looks great! She sounds greater! After that, it was all anti-climax. And some did not survive (sorry...couldn't resist).
We learned who the eight survivors are from the guys tonight and I am only surprised and a little disappointed about one inclusion and one omission. Well, to be honest, I wish 2 had not made it in but there is only one I wish was still in the running.
I love Motown night. I love that the show came from Detroit. I have to say, however, that I was a little underwhelmed tonight by the performances.
The first survivor was DanielSkeevy Seavy. He sang "How Sweet It Is". The song was age appropriate so I will give him (or those who chose it for him) credit for that. He tried to be all Motowny but he failed. No soul at all in that performance. I really think it was not much better than a high school talent show. The judges praised him inordinately I believe.
Mark Andrews with the weird hair (put the stocking cap back on please...its ugly but your hair is uglier) sang Papa Is A Rollin' Stone. I'm not surprised he made it through but I thought it was interesting that in his interview he said something about not wanting to work so hard. Yes, I know landscaping is hard physical work but I think show business is too. I think he is rather lazy and I thought his performance was too. Poor diction. I suppose he is tired again.
Ah..Rayvon the man I couldn't love like everyone else. Well, all it takes is him singing My Girl and I'm on the Rayvon train. I need to go vote for him. This was, in my opinion, the best performance of the night.
I was so disappointed to hear Adam's name. I really had to think for a minute about who Adam was. As you know, I have been resisting learning how to spell his last name. I am going to keep on resisting. What a clown. He isn't taking this seriously. He sang "I Want You Back". Maybe he was trying to send subliminal messages to the audience that we want him back. I don't want him back.
Clark Beckham made it. Yay because I really like him but I would give his performance tonight a B minus. He tried to do too much with that song. It was distracting. I think Keith was right. He should have kept it very simple and broken some hearts. I think he will survive but I hope he makes some better choices in his arrangements. We don't need to see every single vocal trick he can do in one song.
I'm glad Nick Fradiani made it through and he gave a serviceable performance of Signed Sealed Delivered but I thought it lacked something as well. He was too low key and I don't think that was the right song for him. I cannot remember if the judges liked his song choice. I didn't.
I was disappointed to see the dancing fool, Qassim made it through. He did his James Brown imitation again tonight and I wanted him to just stand still for a minute. The judges ate it up though. I don't even remember what he sang and I didn't write it down because I was just so caught up in his dance moves (and not in a good way).
And Quentin made it through. I'm not really sorry about that fact. He seems like a nice guy. And compared to most of the others remaining on the couches, he probably should have gone through. He was all Jimi Hendrix tonight which was a little odd for Motown night but I guess the fashionista is going to do it his way. I like his performance. He had some movement but not to much. I'm not familiar with the song but that is not his fault.
If I was picking, I would throw Adam back and bring in Savion. I was sorry to see his journey end but I had a bad feeling about his song choice last week. It just wasn't dramatic enough to get votes.
So, tomorrow the women. I'm hoping Lauren Lott, Actress goes home.
We learned who the eight survivors are from the guys tonight and I am only surprised and a little disappointed about one inclusion and one omission. Well, to be honest, I wish 2 had not made it in but there is only one I wish was still in the running.
I love Motown night. I love that the show came from Detroit. I have to say, however, that I was a little underwhelmed tonight by the performances.
The first survivor was Daniel
Mark Andrews with the weird hair (put the stocking cap back on please...its ugly but your hair is uglier) sang Papa Is A Rollin' Stone. I'm not surprised he made it through but I thought it was interesting that in his interview he said something about not wanting to work so hard. Yes, I know landscaping is hard physical work but I think show business is too. I think he is rather lazy and I thought his performance was too. Poor diction. I suppose he is tired again.
Ah..Rayvon the man I couldn't love like everyone else. Well, all it takes is him singing My Girl and I'm on the Rayvon train. I need to go vote for him. This was, in my opinion, the best performance of the night.
I was so disappointed to hear Adam's name. I really had to think for a minute about who Adam was. As you know, I have been resisting learning how to spell his last name. I am going to keep on resisting. What a clown. He isn't taking this seriously. He sang "I Want You Back". Maybe he was trying to send subliminal messages to the audience that we want him back. I don't want him back.
Clark Beckham made it. Yay because I really like him but I would give his performance tonight a B minus. He tried to do too much with that song. It was distracting. I think Keith was right. He should have kept it very simple and broken some hearts. I think he will survive but I hope he makes some better choices in his arrangements. We don't need to see every single vocal trick he can do in one song.
I'm glad Nick Fradiani made it through and he gave a serviceable performance of Signed Sealed Delivered but I thought it lacked something as well. He was too low key and I don't think that was the right song for him. I cannot remember if the judges liked his song choice. I didn't.
I was disappointed to see the dancing fool, Qassim made it through. He did his James Brown imitation again tonight and I wanted him to just stand still for a minute. The judges ate it up though. I don't even remember what he sang and I didn't write it down because I was just so caught up in his dance moves (and not in a good way).
And Quentin made it through. I'm not really sorry about that fact. He seems like a nice guy. And compared to most of the others remaining on the couches, he probably should have gone through. He was all Jimi Hendrix tonight which was a little odd for Motown night but I guess the fashionista is going to do it his way. I like his performance. He had some movement but not to much. I'm not familiar with the song but that is not his fault.
If I was picking, I would throw Adam back and bring in Savion. I was sorry to see his journey end but I had a bad feeling about his song choice last week. It just wasn't dramatic enough to get votes.
So, tomorrow the women. I'm hoping Lauren Lott, Actress goes home.
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