Is It A Man's World?

Simon doesn't think so. But BM does (I've shortened his acronym because he offended me less this week).

I will actually say BM's performance was number 3 on my top three tonight. I thought it started out a little slow (but better than that herky jerky stuff he did last week). I agree with Kara that for the first time I *get it*. His vocals were a lot less breathy and he wasn't just getting by on being a big old cuddly good-natured bear man. So..I will turn my malevolent eye elsewhere tonight.

While I am being positive, my second favorite performance was Lee DeWyze. But he needs to start singing on key. And he did look a little awkward without his guitar. I would guess he will be attractive to preppie women young and old. A little dangerous but not too much.

My favorite performance was little Alex Lambert. It was a sweet song from a sweet boy and without an overload of melisma. Unfortunately, he went for the falsetto I loathe so much. Fortunately, he hit it.

For the also rans:

I'm starting to pull for Andy Garcia. Will they just shut up already about the Paula song for pete's sake? He probably should have kept his guitar. His voice had a bit of a raspiness tonight which I am ambivalent about because it makes him more Gokeyesque to me. I'm trying to be fair. He no longer has my malevolent eye but it could come back to him one of these days.

Aaron Kelly. I agree with Simon that the song was not a good one for him to sing. Too old fashioned even though I love the song. I don't know the artist they mentioned he should emulate...Justin Beeber? I don't think Aaron knows him either. Who is he?

Jon Park is the Anoop of the season. All ballads all the time. (Didn't Anoop sing in an acapello group in college too?) You can't hate him but you cannot love him either.

Casey James. I really don't like that song of existential angst that everyone sings. OK, he doesn't have a TV and didn't know that its sung every season at about this stage of the competition. His guitar playing was the star of his performance. Vocals not so good and a stupid stupid song .

Tim Urban...well not the worst but 3rd from the worst tonight. He needs to tone down his tone or something. Its too harsh.

Toddrick (or as he is known on the Vote For the Worst site...*Fraudrick*)... I have never taken a cruise. I have this vision, however, of the Cruise Ship from Hell, where every nghtclub has a Toddrick entertaining you. You have a few drinks and are feeling mellow and you try to have a pleasant conversation with your companions. And he comes up to you with the microphone, dancing and singing stupid melisma and falsetto versions of Motown greats or rearranges Carrie Underwoods Jesus Takes the Wheel and you cannot leave the room fast enough. You search frantically for a bar on the ship that either has a jukebox or no music but everywhere you go..Toddrick is there....like Chuckie in the movie Childsplay! Finally, you stick a key in your ear. He is just plain creepy!

If you are lucky, you did not go the nightclub early enough to hear Toddrick's warm up act, Germaine. Who thinks Motown was only the precursor to Germaine the Great. What was that stupid onsie bit? You have to be remotely likable for that to work and Germaine...you really know how to (as Mr. Auntee would say) crap in your rice bowl. Insult the bands, insult the judges, insult your dad for not putting the heat up (did you PAY for the heating bills Germaine) and then invoke God. *What should I sing next week*. I think it took all of Simon's self-control not to respond. *Why don't you ask God about that?*. I do not mean to mock Germaine's faith. But my faith cannot separate belief from actions and Germaine acts to me like an asshat.

Which leads to my next proposition. Each week I am going to nominate an asshat of the week and encourage the blog followers to comment and add their own nominees. Germaine is my asshat nominee this week. I know it is premature as the women have not yet performed but I really cannot envision any of them surpassing Germaine.

I feel guilty because I mentioned Crystal Bowersox and her diabetes and am pretty sure her hospitalization was related to that condition. Its much more serious than adult onset diabetes and can kill quite easily. I'm sure the stress and schedule are not helping matters for her. I also feel guilty because the American Diabetes Association called asking for money this week and I told them no. I hope she is well enough to sing tomorrow.

No predictions tonight. I would say that Lee DeWyze, BM, Alex Lambert, Andy Garcia and Casey James are safe.

Backstory on Crystal Bowersox

As, I was roaming around the Official AI website tonight (I took a 3 hour nap at 4pm so I'm up for awhile...alas) I was told to google Farmers Daughter Crystal Bowersox to see her perform a song she wrote. Which is a good song. Which led me to her myspace page...which a blog on it...which hasn't been updated for awhile. It turns out, she has a pretty good sob story herself, besides having a baby. She has juvenile diabetes and is dealing with it with an insulin pump. She has also been active in fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Certainly preferable to scamming kids.

Surprised?

Well, my predictions are not turning out too well. I was 1 for 4. I figured Ashley was gone because she really didn't have anything for the audience to grab on to in terms of a story and she was not very good. I thought Janelle would hang in there a week or two longer and that Lacy would go. I guess the audience felt sorry for Lacey because this was her second year. She is a chirpy thing too. Haeley survived, I believe, solely by virture of being the Vote For the Worst pick

Poor Joe Munoz. What did he do to offend everyone? So much like poor Jorge last year even down to the unibrow. And Tyler? As opposed to that idiot Germaine or Toddrick? Or Tim Urban (who also survived due to VFTW votes I think). Or Alex Lambert?

All except Tyler were very gracious, particularly Ashley. Tyler had a point (one I made yesterday) that they seemed to encourage his 70's stuff in Hollywood but then changed their minds about it last night. I thought he was likeable enough to go a few more weeks but oh well...AMERICA has spoken!

I love Allison Ireheta but who has been advising her not to enuciate words when she sings and to make those stupid faces while performing? If I had not had the closed caption feature on I would not have any idea what the words to that song were. Is this some new trend that I don't know about because I'm not current?

It was nice to see Kris Allen perform again (yes..now I remember his name).

I looked at the Dial Idol site today to see what the voting looked like. The leading ladies were Katie Stevens (by a wide margin) followed by Crystal and Lilly. The leading man was Andy Garcia followed by Casey James. BMWHAKLE was down somewhere in the middle of the pack which must have surprised him had he chosen to look (and they all look...wouldn't you look?)

I have a very sick feeling that Katie Stevens (a.k.a. *another Taylor Swift*) is going to win this thing. At this point, I hope I am wrong. Maybe she will move me one of these days.

The Candy Man Can

*You're not just eye candy, you're ear candy*.

I REALLY did not want to go into the Kara/Casey drama as my very second paragraph but that would be like ignoring a full cat litter box. I don't WANT to clean it but I have to. Frankly, I am rather chagrined to discover that Kara and I have the same taste in men. Casey is a bad boy who is way too good looking for his own good (although a bit scrawny) and I'm sure has left scores of women heartbroken who thought they were the love of his life . He is exactly the type of guy I adored in my teens and twenties. And then I married a man who resembles Andy Garcia. Except the man I married cannot sing. And, unlike Andy Garcia, he goes to work every day instead of sitting around the house crying about not being able to afford food for our cats.

Seriously, my enjoyment of Casey James is diminished by knowing that Kara thinks he is hot too. Of all the performances tonight, his was the only one I was smiling through. I resisted the impulse to vote for him. And Kara seriously needs to tone down the story line here. It is very unfair to the other contestants. Casey, being the bad boy that he is, is shamelessly taking advantage of her lust (you can hardly blame him) and I hope we don't hear anymore about it. Ryan was right, HR does need to intervene here quickly or they are going to have some legal trouble over this. I like his music. I'm sure KK is going EWWWW...he is so cheesy. Well, I like cheesy. Enough of me on Casey James and I promise I will attempt to stifle my Kara Cougar impulses in future posts (although I think at my age I'm more like a a plow horse than a cougar).

So..back to reality. I was a bit surprised to hear Randy say the ladies *blew it out last night* because the judges seemed to hate all the girls. Here is my take on the contestants who did not make me smile through their songs.

Todrick Hall. Con man extraordinaire. I'm sure the little kids who come up to him and say they loved his original audition song are not the same little kids whose parents got scammed out of thousands of dollars in numerous cities to be in a production he never planned to stage. His song choice was lame and he sang it like a bad cruise ship performer. He cannot leave soon enough for me. He got marks for being *creative* even though it sucked. Sorry....I'm with Simon, except I would go further. His performance wasn't verging on stupid it was just plain stupid. And, as they say...you can't fix stupid.

Aaron Kelly. He was not that original and I HATE HATE HATE those random falsettos that are so popular in the current songs..I guess Mariah Carey started that trend and its ugly to me even when she does it. But he did fine for a 16 year old.

Germaine *the Diva* Sellers tried to live down his reputation for being a complete ass in Hollywood. I was wincing and wincing as he sang because he is not very good. And then of course, he tried to convince us he really isn't a conceited ass but forgot who the heck he had insulted in Hollywood. *Whose Michael?* Oh just some guy who makes a living in the music business which I believe you will never do.

Tim Urban. Oh man. Bad. He seems nice and I liked some parts of his voice but once again that stupid falsetto brought him down. He's gone.

Joe Munoz. Well he doesn't grab me but seems nice enough and is not horrible so that should get him through.

Tyler Brady. Well, he does look a bit like KK's brother but KK's brother is way cooler than Tyler. You know, he was just too obvious with his 70's stuff tonight. Of course he was told in Hollywood week that his 70's vibe *set him apart* so who can blame him for working it.

Lee DeWyze. He almost made me smile through his song. He is a bit of a David Cook type. I like him. I voted for him because I was too embarassed to vote for Casey James. But now I cannot remember what he sang!

Jon Park. Didn't really see much of him leading up to this week, but I like him personally. I love that song and I think he loves that song but I agree it didn't quite work. I hope he gets enough votes for being nice and loving his parents to get a chance to sing something else.

Michael Lynch. More about the baby. More more about the baby. Hey...did you know he has a baby? Unfortunately, it appears he will be on for a long time so I will just refer to him as Big Mike Who Has A Baby Like Everyone (BMWHALE). He thinks he has already won this contest. I thought the song was too rushed and his herky jerky movements made me dizzy. I've tranferred my Andy Garcia malevolent ill will to him.

Alex Lambert. I know he is an awkward kid and was scared. His song had more stupid falsetto in it which he could not quite handle. He complimented the band which was a very mature thing for him to do. I hope he stays for awhile but that is mostly just me being motherly about him.

Andrew Garcia. They gave him the pimp spot because he did knock them out in Hollywood with the Paula song. I have never heard the song he sang tonight which was a pretty depressing thing and, dare I say. it *self-indulgent*. On the other hand, they told him how great he was when he did something original with the Paula song so I imagine he is a bit confused that tonight they didn't call his original work genius. I think it was an intellectual performance as opposed to an emotional performance which is odd since I thought he was emotional. He will be around for a very long time so we will see if KK's hopes for him are realized. I don't hate him quite as much now that he reminds me of my husband (who I do not hate at all..just for the record..for one thing he has moved around a great deal of furniture the past few weeks which I doubt Casey James would bother to do).

Predictions: Tyler Urban and Alex Lambert go home. Todrick should go home simply for dashing the dreams of young children througout the United States but I think he will scam his way into a few more weeks.

Oh..earlier I said that the Todrick scam story had not been verified. It now has been verified and researched. At least one local news station reported on it. He went into communities and approached dance schools and said the kids could be munchkins in his musical about Oz (to be produced at some local location he had already booked). He held auditions and then told the *winners* that the fee to participate would be $50 or $75 depending on the city. Supposedly this was to pay for the costumes the kids would wear. Then, he skipped town. Then he sent word the production was cancelled for various reasons. Local venues he supposedly had booked to show the production claim they had never even been contacted about the show. He now claims he is *trying to pay them all back*. To be fair, the production did actually play in 3 or 4 cities. As everyone who has studied grifters knows...you have to have something that appears legit in order to bring in the suckers.

Now that the first performances are behind them all, I'm hoping the remaining contestants have a good week next week.

And a side note about Angela Martin who was totally screwed out of a top 24 spot. Evidently, Ellen has arranged for her to have a recording contract and Kara is going to write some songs for her (the songwriting could be a good or bad thing). I hope she succeeds. I really think the reason the producers cut her out was they thought that her mother would be discovered dead during the season and that would generate sympathy for her which would be unfair to the other contestants as well as not wanting the news to reflect on Idol (probably more of the latter than the former). But I'm happy for her to get a shot at a contract and hope she is produced well, has good songs, and that the label promotes her. Go Angela!

This One's For the Girls

Or, at least Simon has predicted that a girl will win and that means that the Idol powers that be want a girl to win (according to Simon *another Taylor Swift* who will be an *original*...never mind how you can be another Taylor Swift and be original). I am probably the only person on the planet who has never heard Taylor Swift sing...I've only seen her collect awards. I will have to look her up on YouTube to see what all the fuss is about.

Originality, or lack thereof, seemed to be the theme of the night. I like original...I just wonder why they continue to put people through who are not original. As far as judging this current group, Ellen described it best when she said you don't want to be the performer that makes the audience want the song to end. On that criteria, there were only three who I wanted to hear sing more. Which sort of makes Ryan's comment that this is the best group ever a big fat piece of puffery at best and false advertising at worst.

Lilly sang a Beatles song I am not familiar with. But there are no bad Beatles songs. I liked the song and her jazzy voice. She got good reviews from the judges but then Simon seemed to reconsider later in the program after he heard Didi and Lacy imitate her and Adele and Duffy (who I don't know) and whoever else sings like that. And her hair is platinum, not grey I like her a lot and hope she sings a song I know well so that I can judge her by that.

Siobhan IS a dark horse, as Simon said, even if she doesn't know what it means. She was not featured until the very end of Hollywood week and she was a very pleasant surprise. I thought she started the song in a range too low but I definitely was not waiting for the song to end.

My favorite was Crystal Bowersox, although she can quit talking about her kid any day now. I'll forgive her for mentioning that tonight since she was trying to explain why she auditioned for Idol in the first place. One of our blog followers hates her chin piercing (I hadn't noticed it until the follower mentioned it) but I find it less offensive than a bunch of tattoos. I had not heard that song before either but I know exactly why she chose it...it reflects her attitude toward life. And, I disagree with Simon that there are people in subway stations doing what she does everyday. There may be people in subway stations playing the guitar and singing and playing the harmonica...but not the way she does. And she does remind me of KK's sister (although not as pretty and KK's sister has better teeth and no facial piercings) so I I have to love her. I think the harmonica was a bit distracting though.

And now for the rest of the girls.

Had high expectations for Paige because Simon touted her at the end of Hollywood week, but she didn't blow me away. I was waiting for her song to end. Also, I didn't need to know that she had to use the restroom. Ryan should not have mentioned that but she could have used a more ladylike euphemism. In the house I grew up in, the *P* word was worse than the *S* word so each time I hear it I cringe. In addition, she probably offended every young mother in America when she referred to the snotty nosed kids she teaches. Not to mention that the chances look pretty good right now that she will be right back there wiping those noses next semester.

Ashley Rodriguez wanted to make Simon happy so she sang a song by his great discovery Leona Lewis. I don't like Leona Lewis and don't think her voice is much better than Ashleys, but evidently Leona is right up there with Whitney and Celine and others whose songs should not be sung by lesser mortals. Which is fine by me as I never want to hear or see Leona Lewis again in my life.

Janelle may have potential. But it was not in evidence tonight. She sounded like a wounded Brooke White. I don't even remember what song she sang.

Katelynn was trying very hard to be original and to be good. She may grow on me. I didn't really focus on how she looked. After Kara mentioned it I did think maybe the outfit didn't coincide with the song. I didn't see her face when Kara said that. Kara is just so darn awkward. She was trying to be self-effacing and say that Katelynn probably was calling Kara a bitch in her mind...but it came out wrong and then looked like she was calling Katelynn a bitch and she had to clarify. Just shut up sometimes Kara.

Poor Lacy Brown. I voted for her once in sympathy. I think she is much better than her performance tonight. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was the song choice or maybe she really isn't that good but I would like her to have another chance.

Michelle is a corporate singer and it showed. Good luck getting any originality out of her.

I thought the judges were going to slather all over Katie Stevens as I think she is the person Simon has in mind when he says they want another Taylor Swift. She can sing but for some reason she bores me. I really didn't think she was as bad as the judges thought she was tonight. She does come across as *old* in that she is preppy. Which went out of fashion in 1983. But I think that is just who she is and I don't really see her dying her hair pink and putting on mismatched clothing to try to look current.

And now...for the two I absolutely hated for different reasons.

Interestingly, Haeley mentioned the pain she felt when her nose was pierced because that was what my eardrums felt when she sang *I Want to Hold Your Hand*. I kid you not...I felt actual pain. I have no idea why she picked that song and I have no idea what style she was going for as she warbled from country to diva to rockabilly in one phrase and failed at each of them. All I know is I wanted to hold my ears while she was on stage. What a colossal blunder to put her through. They did it last year with another teenager, Jasmine something or other, who also screamed flat notes which made my ears bleed.

And now for poor pathetic Didi who *has had an emotional ride*. As luck would have it, her dead friend Rebecca's family lives in Kansas and our local Fox Station did a piece tonight about the local American Idol connection. So, in addition to watching her perform live, I had to listen to about 4 commercials for the local newscast in which her performance of Terrified was featured. She is a combination of all of the worst of Megan Joy and Brooke White.

Predictions for Thursday night? Lacy and Ashley will go. Which is too bad because Haeley should be gone by all that's fair and just in the world. Plus it irritates me that Haeley's name is spelled so stupidly.

Now I'm going to go to YouTube to listen to Taylor Swift, Adele, and Duffy.

More Contestant Drama!

Yes, I have way too much time on my hands and read all sorts of stuff (primarily from the Vote For the Worst site). Here is the latest:

Didi the waitress who allegedly came from the boonies with the sob story of her dead friend and cried her way into the top 24 while sucking up to Kara singing *Terrified* in Hollywood Week? Well, she is evidently is not the simple little waitress she appears to be but has been working in Los Angeles as a musician for awhile and happens to have some sort of mentor/mentee relationship with the person who co-wrote the song Terrified (according to VFTW which quotes her Facebook page thanking the guy for all of his help to her career). So...she is a PLANT!

Casey James, who is Kara's crush, has a record of DUI's and other similar brushes with the law.

And poor Angela, who was sent home but told she was still a *star*...has even more drama going on. Her mother, who was a recovering druggie, disappeared on Christmas day and the fear is she went back to the drugs and may be dead. I wonder if Idol just didn't want to deal with the potential scandal. While her style was certainly nothing unique from the little we saw of her ( Celine/Whitney clone), she was on key. Unlike Haely who has no talent, is at bottom another Celine/Whitney clone, but has decided to say she is country to be different.

I'm really looking forward to this week so we can sort out the fodder. Its hard to tell from those little vignettes we saw who is really talented and remember...no one knew who David Cook was out of Hollywood Week (or Chris...whose last name escapes me...I would remember it had he simulated sex on stage at some awards show) so we may have some good surprises coming up!

Top 24 in 2 Sentences or Less ...

I confess: I have a 4 month old baby, 4 needy animals, and a husband that works 2 jobs. American Idol is DVRed at our house, and watched (hopefully) the next day. So, my blogging will be consistently late. Please accept the above excuses and my apologies.

Because I despise the audition weeks and Hollywood week, I only have a few short thoughts to offer.

The majority of the Top 24 are people that I could care less about. The ones I was attached to were cut, and the majority of the ones who went through have had about 2 seconds of camera time (if that). So, I'm only commenting on the ones that I deem worthy at this point in time.

1. Tim Urban: Forgettable, boring, needs a haircut. (These are the exact same comments I'd make about Golightly. So, it's a wash for me.)

2. Aaron Kelly: Over-plucked, over-gelled, over-jewelryed, and obnoxious. If you can't remember the lyrics (over and over again), you deserve to go home. He's chosen only to appease the 13 year old girls. I hate him.

3. Tyler Grady: He looks like my brother, so I like him instantly. Plus, I dig his 70's style - it's unique, fun, quirky, and I think he's fun to watch.

4. Michael Lynch: I really like him (even though I still contend the voice doesn't match the package), but I'm disturbed by the favoritism played by AI already. I'd hate to see his dreams crushed because of his stupid Dad, but rules are rules (unless you're AI's pick-of-the-season, apparently).

5. Toddrick Hall: I don't even remember seeing anything about his connections to Fantasia until this very last episode. And I like him.

6. Didi Benami: I, like Tee, am already sick of the dead friend card that's being thrown around. And I 2nd the Brooke-out moment prediction. She won't make it more than 4 weeks.

7. Haeley Vaughnn: I hate, hate, hate this girl. She's not good, she's not cute. In fact, she's downright obnoxious. I predict lots of wrong song choices, pitchy vocals, forgotten lyrics, and mistakes that'll be overlooked by the judges.

8. Katie Stevens: She's okay, I guess. But I'm not as enthralled with her as the judges seem to be.

9: Lilly Scott: Yay, she made it! She's quirky, fun, and different, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her.

10. Andrew Garcia: My favorite by far! He humbly says: "I like messing with songs", to which I say "I can't wait to watch you get creative!"

Side note: Looks like this season is shaping up to be an interesting commentary between Aunt Tee and KK - Tee's favorite is KK's Archuletta, while KK's favorite is Tee's Gokey. Oh no!!

Update....Contestant Drama

As I watched tonight, I made a list of all the people who made it *in* to the top 24 and when it came to the last bit between Thaddeus and Andy, I was only on #22. So, I figured I missed a name when they were doing some of those quick sequences. As the show ended I added in Tim Urban who I did not remember ever seeing on the show...EVER. But NOOO, your diligent Blogger did NOT miss a thing. In fact, Chris Golightly, the contestant with that awful Orphan Annie Hair, and who was evidently shown in some of the final 24 shots at the end of the show, was recently disqualified because he had an expired contract he didn't tell Idol about. Tim Urban took his place and since the only scene they shot of him was the one telling him no....we didn't see him tonight.

Further drama...they must REALLY love Big Mike because it appears his father did spill the beans ahead of time and that should have disqualified him too. I still don't know why they didn't pick Thaddeus to take Golightly's place except that they didn't want another big black guy stealing votes from Big Mike.

Lets Go On With The Show!

Finally, we have our top 24. None of whom I yet hate. However, I think Todrick might be the first one on my to go list. I think Thaddeus should have been there in Todrick's place. And, Andy Garcia wept quite a bit tonight which really annoyed me. Newflash Andy, you are not the only contestant who wants to do it for his *family*.

About one half of those who made it have not been featured very prominently, so there may be one who will break out among them. My favorites so far are Lilly and Crystal. That Haely is *annoying* as Simon said and while she seems like a sweet young girl, I think I will be tired of her after 1 song. None of the men stand out to me yet, although I like Aaron Kelly, the sixteen year old. I still think 16-17 is too young to be on this show, though.

Well, next week we should finally get some entertainment. I am excited to see them all sing.

Olympian Drama...Not

I was torn between watching the Oympics tonight and American Idol as it was Men's figure skating and the opportunity for the woman snowboarder who hot dogged herself out of the gold to find (what is the magic word this Olympics...REDEMPTION). Mr. Aunt Tee recorded the Olympics for me (more on that later).

The entire first hour and 5 minutes of Idol tonight pretty much bored me as all I wanted to see and hear was some singing and not repeated sob stories...judges shuffling face cards etc. We got probably 15 minutes worth of entertainment in the first hour and not a full performance for anyone. So...once we knew that the overly confident Mary's group was out (if you hadn't cheated and known she was out already, you would have known it when Simon called her *old* at 27)we get to the go to the middle of the room and hear your fate part.

So...I'm going to go straight to the 9 people they featured in the last 45 minutes of the show starting with the *ins* and then commenting on the *outs*.

Big Mike:Rumor on Voteforthewors a few weeks ago was that he was disqualified because his dad blabbed to the press prematurely but he is still there so either his dad didn't blab or they forgave his dad for blabbing. He is not disqualified and will go on to break Ellen's back with his insistence on picking her up all the time. He is a nice guy. I don't hate him. I just don't love him very much. Good line from Randy...*go squeeeze something out of Ryan*.

Didi: Once again we were reminded that her best friend died 4 years ago. This doesn't quite carry the emotional punch of Danny Gokey losing his wife 30 days before the audtion but she is following in his footsteps by choosing songs reminding you of her loss by singing Angel as her final audition song. I actually like her voice. I don't like her crying all the time and predict she will have a *Brooke Out* moment pretty early on.

Katelynn: Ho hum. Not terrible not great. Chosen to be early fodder I think.

Casey: I have to say I am mortified to find him as attractive as Kara does but I would strongly resist the Cougar instincts Kara has exhibited when relating to him. Didn't she get married? Someone needs to get her married. Talent wise...he is a question mark for me.

Aaron Kelly: Well I heart him and want to adopt him. He may be fake as a $3 bill with his yes ma'ams etc but if he is not fake (and time will tell), he is one exceptional young man. He did forget his words at least once in Hollywood and normally they only forgive that for people who have music industry connections. He doesn't appear to have any. Unlike Archuletta he was not America's favorite child star or whatever. So we will see how it plays out with him.

Lee with the Big Voice: I guess they needed someone to fill the David Cook mold but I'm afraid he will fall short of that. Who knows though?

Todrick: His falsetto voice drives me nuts. He is an obvious plant with his Fantasia connections AND rumor is he may be a huge financial con man to boot. Vote For the Worst has discovered that he *promoted* local theatrical productions in several smaller communities and *charged* parents money for their kids to participate. Then ran off with the money with no productions. This may not be true. I don't think he is going to capture America's heart, however.

Out

Well, Shelby made a valiant effort and frankly I didn't see much difference between her talent and Katelynns. Neither bowled me over but lets face it Katelynn doesn't have a facial issue and Shelby does and this is Hollywood where even Heidi whats her name gets ten plastic surgery procedures in one day to make herself more marketable (although I doubt Heidie/Spidey can sing anywhere near as well as Shelby) . I liked Shelby personally as she didn't try to exploit her issues and hope she tries again next year.

Which brings us to the pathetic Jessica who is like Kara 15 years ago. So earnest...semi-talented...but basically has a bossy boss attitude. On one hand, I applaud her for pointing out at the group week that she hadn't even had a chance to sing and I think the judges realized they were unfair about that and let her sing. But she was not remarkable and she was just such a self-entitled brat that she was bound to go down.

The things I liked about this show? Seeing Crystal sing. I love that girl. Things I hated? Seeing that poor 16-17 year old Haeley screech her way through and Kara saying she was awesome. OMG! That girl needs voice lessons, tone lessons, music lessons...something. She is like a microphone screeching into a gym of Kiwanis club members. You know its going to happen but you really wish someone would do a technical check before hand.

OK...

As for the Olympics...the showboater didn't make the finals. The Russian skater guy is in the lead. One American screwed up badly and is out. The flamboyant American did fine but not in the top 4 and the hard-working American guy is trailing the Russian by minsucule amounts. I'm rooting for the two American's who had clean programs to clean the Russian's clock tomorrow. I hope the Russian falls on his quadruple jump. But then...I'm just mean about the Olympics.

Don't know if KK had time to watch tonight but I would be interested in her opinions about the 7 who made it in.

Peace Out!

Well At Least We Don't Have Tatiana to Kick Around

I actually almost enjoyed tonight's show and did not get outraged at the injustices foisted on the good people by the drama queens. For AI Hollywood week, this one was refreshingly free of drama. And, the producers actually showed some performances instead of having to watch the judges try to outdo each other with cleverness. And, KK I think Ellen is going to be a good judge. But, I think she is going to be a much more serious and less funny judge than the producers envisioned. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I must confess, due to my cheating by going to VFTW, I pretty much know who is going on to the final 24. So the following should be read with that in mind.

I am happy Big Mike's wife had their baby girl but I really could have done with a lot less of that footage. Its not that I don't love babies being born...I watch The Baby Story on TLC all the time and my nieces are sick of me encouraging them to procreate. I just would have preferred to hear more singing and less The Baby Story on American Idol. Also, I felt that there was a bit of typecasting going on in BIg Mike's group. I thought they did a great job and kudos to Big Mike for coming through well under such emotional circumstances. Still...I think the producers decided only one big affable black man with a kid to take care of could go through so they dumped the guy from Florida. I thought he was just as good as Big Mike. I would have like to see both go through.

I know they tried to portray Mary the Rocker as a complete controlling bitch but I could completely identify with her frustration. She was the oldest and most experienced in the group...she had these two stragglers that no one else wanted, join her group and at least one of them could not sing. She was trying to herd cats. She tried to lead but in a bossy boss way...you cannot lead women that way. She should have checked her ego a bit and joined up with a stronger group. My guess is she wanted to be the stand out and avoided the stronger singers thinking she would shine more. She barely got her ass out of that mess.

It seems like Lilly and Crystal got through which I am sooo happy about. Crystal is so far my favorite woman. I don't have a favorite man. I'm thinking the judges are going to fawn all over Katie from Boston...the 16-17 year old. She is very attractive and has a very good voice but I don't know how she is going to hold up for the long term. I thought she was very clever to join an all male group (Three Men and a Baby). They carried her and she could shine (as long as she remembered the words and sang on key). Watch..she will be flaunted and vaunted by the judges for quite awhile.


That brings us to the Garcia guy. To me, he is Danny Gokey without the dead wife. I just do not like him for some reason. Its visceral.

Oh...and I must admit...despite my intellect telling me that the ponytail guy Kara asked to disrobe is a charlatan...I think he is awful cute. I was always a sucker for hippie men. His chest was sort of scrawny though.

All of this can change over time. At this point last year I thought Danny Gokey was the cats meow!

Opposite Day

I almost feel like I'm in an alternate universe today. Because I'm about to do something I don't do very often ... completely disagree with Tee.

(Well, I DO agree that Hollywood week is WAY better than the 15,000 audition weeks.)

Though I was skeptical at first, I'm thrilled about Ellen as a judge. She was absolutely hysterical! The whole "step back, step to the left, step up, you're all through" bit, though crappy for the contestants I'm sure, made for good TV from my end. And when she impersonated Paula's seal-clap I about died laughing. I'm going to like her (and I hope she doesn't make me eat my words).

I really like Andy Garcia. His *sob* story isn't really sob worthy, in my opinion. But I think AI requires all contestants to come up with some sort of sad backstory, and that's all he could come up with. (And I appreciate that, because I've repeatedly said that I could never be on reality TV because I'm just too normal.) He actually reminds me of Kris Allen - the way he tweaked the song to fit his style. (Although, I wanted to kick Kara when she compared him to Adam instead - because Adam is the ONLY AI contestant ever to change a song to make it his own, you know.) I'm pulling for him.

I also loved Big Mike. His voice doesn't really fit the package, in my opinion, but it's fantastic. And I also like that he doesn't have a real *sob* story. He's missing the birth of his 1st child, which will probalby turn out to be his sob story, but he's NORMAL, too. I like normal. (Plus, I think he's kinda hot.)

I don't like the guy who sang the David Cook song and couldn't figure out why the judges were all over him. I can't stand the guy who took off his shirt, and I don't even know why he got through. I guess the "rocker" girl was okay, but she'll never win.

Okay, in all fairness, I also agree with Tee on a few of the other contestants:

Crystal is awesome. She reminds me of my hippy sister and I LOVE her voice.
Lilly is also awesome (and she's from my hometown - Littleton, CO - so I'm pulling for her extra hard).
And the 16 year old "country pop" singer WAS screechy and awful.

On to Group Week ... my other least favorite time of AI. :(

Hooray For Hollywood!

Well, maybe not so much. Ellen's debut was not particularly earth shattering. I have seen her interviewed about her new role and she is, I think, determined to be fair but compassionate with the contestants as opposed to Simon's *mean* style. I hope she can be a little bit funnier in the future.

So onto the contestants. First there was Katie, the 16-17 year old from Boston who sang well but predictably. Then that poor country girl. OMG what were they thinking even sending her to Hollywood and did they have to completely and totally humiliate her in front of America? It was bad enough that she stunk up the house singing a song I have never heard of (was there even one note on key?), we had to see that she comes from nowhere and says *aeroplane* and is just really really someone you want to grab away from the jackals before they tear her to bits.

Then comes the *genius* Andy Garcia who is obviously one of the favorites. The song was fine but fell short of *genius* to me. Plus, I think his sob story is lame. His family moved out of the barrio so he could have a better life. Well good for them but shouldn't we be happy about that instead of considering it something to feel sorry for him about? Well...I guess we can be sorry that his dad cries all the time. I'm beginning not to like him.

Some girl called Haley sang and she is also a favorite but for the life of me I cannot remember what she sang or sounded like. Then, Mary the rocker lady. I think she will crash and burn during the group numbers based on a preview I saw so I am not going to get too emotionally invested in her, even though I like rockers.

Lilly I liked. I hope she doesn't do a Megan Joy on me though. Nice to hear a jazzy singer but I think Simon is unimpressed because she is not *current* enough for him.

Then...big Mike. I'm glad he is a father, I'm glad he is striving for his family but I would be more than glad never to hear him sing again. I do not get the picture here except that he is affable and reminds them of Ruben Stoddard or Randy because he is a big black man.

The guy who sang the David Cook song may have some promise. The Casey guy who took off his shirt in the audition (Kara cannot control herself...I thought she was getting married...I hoped that would tone down her sexual harassment of contestants) sounded a little lame to me but maybe he will improve.

Didi, whose friend died four years ago and who sucked up to Kara by singing her song, is another favorite. She was not bad but I'm not sure I like her.

Then the gal who they call country pop....she is a young one too. I think she is terrible..off key and screechy but they love her.

Crystal, I liked, but as was pointed out by the guys at Vote For the Worst, she looked like she needed a shower.

So..my two favorites of the night were Crystal and Lilly. I thought the men were all a bit boring. I really wish they had played the whole performance of that Justin guy who they called a crooner....it looked like one of those over the top things that would have had you falling out of your chair laughing and he looked so pleased with himself when he finished too.

Well THATS Finally Over!

The producers of this show continue to mess with a winning formula. The auditions used to be the equivalent of getting your teeth cleaned. No one particularly enjoyed it but endured it as necessary. This season, by stacking all the audition shows with jokes and mediocrities until tonight...the LAST episode...the producers have made it into the equivalent of a colonscopy. I can honestly say I only watched the last couple of weeks so I could write this blog.

Things perked up a bit tonight as we actually saw some people who MIGHT be one of the top 24. I even found someone to profoundly dislike...the Tatiana clone...Amanda. Crystal was shown only briefly but I like anyone who sings Joplin. Also, I REALLY like that Lacey girl. I hope she doens't get thrown under the bus in Hollywood by being in some jerks group number.

We got the requisite sob stories of course. Didi, whose best friend died 3 years ago. PLEASE resist the tempation to do a Gokey on us with this. I don't want to hear Stand By Me come from your lips. Other than the sob story, she has a Meganesque quality in her voice and unfortunately, I thought I detected a little bit of that stupid Megan wobble in her performance.

The most fun contestant for me was Kimberly the girl who has a big heart. She cares about recycling and Africa. I suspect she voted for Obama too. I would have enjoyed listening to her inanities throughout the season but as big as her heart is....and as profound as thoughts are....she cannot sing.

Poor Shenee from Dallas whose mother had a dream. She was truly awful. At least she didn't sing Whitney.

Well....Hollywood week is next up! I HOPE we get some good performances! I am ready to see someone entertain us!

Stack Them Up In a Pile

All the candidates featured tonight are going to be fodder next week in Hollywood. I don't even have to look at the spoiler sites to figure this out. Victoria Beckham and Kara were voting people in because they looked good (yes Victoria we know you are no longer a musicial *artist* and are now a fashion *artist* but really...none of them looked that great and Simon was right about that 16 year old in the orange luau dress with the spray on tan...she looked like a pumpkin...or since she was thin...a carrot.) And Victoria, WTH with the unicorn hair? That is not an edgy look...it is a stupid look.

Seems like by this time last year I had developed a few favorites. I liked Adam Lambert's audition and thought Megan Joy showed promise (unfulfilled alas). I thought Lil might be really great too. This year, they all just seem so mediocre to me. Hopefully, they just did not show the ones who are going to really shine in Hollywood next week. I am anxious to see what Ellen adds to the party. I think she is incredibly funny as long as she is not getting political. I guess the good news is that I am not one bit attached to anyone and don't despise anyone (like Tatiana and Bikini Girl) so I will not be disappointed in any of the Hollywood results. But they better step up the entertainment value here...the sob stories are getting boring....I want to see some good performances and hear some good music!

You may have noticed, we changed the name of the blog. We hope you like it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the very best of the auditions....maybe that will make more excited about this season.

Cry Me A River!

How many sob stories can they fit into 50 minutes? Four tonight. The guy with the two babies who came from the projects. The guy with Tourette's Syndrome. The girl who may be raising her little brother alone because her parents divorced and abandoned them for their new spouses (or maybe not...maybe she is just like any other person whose parents divorce). And the coup de grace...the cancer survivor! According to the spoiler websites...none of these make it into the final 24.

The only one who was remotely interesting tonight was Todrick. Who make up the song about idol. He is a semi-professional guy so will make it into the top 24 (I cheated and looked).

Tonights show was interesting only in comparison to the spectacle that followed it on every network in the world. Which I did not watch. If the man has shut up about himself after an hour of blather, I may go see what the pundits think of him. I seriously considered watching the man talk and enduring it by playing a drinking game and taking a drink everytime he said *I.* I suspect I would not be able to type this if I had.

Next week on idol, evidently some woman comes in buck nekkid to the audition in an effort to upstage both bikini girl and Kara. I don't think Victoria Beckham will be amused.

Right now, I am just waiting for these stupid audition shows to end.

Is This All LA Has to Offer?

Okay, I'm officially over the misfits. First up was the the guy with the IQ of 168 who was beyond annoying. After telling us how unique, special, brilliant, inspired, etc. he is about everything in the universe and possibly beyond, he is asked what he would title his album, should he win. *Hope*, he says. How completely and utterly banal. And, thank goodness his kind of hope died last week in Massachusetts.

Then there is the worship pastor who Kara and Avril don't think will have time to be a star. I thought he was ok but I don't think he is going to be in the top 24.

Then comes Damien singing that *other* Righteous Brothers song. Of couse he was atrocious and I wonder...did he fart at the end of it? Or did he just realize he stunk up the house figuratively?

Eighteen minutes into the show and we have not seen a woman audition yet, unless you count the random montages of those who *made it* or *didn't make it*. Finally, Mary (no last name given...I wonder why?) comes in and does a pretty good job. She will probaby crash and burn in Hollywood.

Then comes the Adam Lambert clone who is not Adam Lambert and doesn't make it.

Next day we get Katy Perry as a guest judge who I only heard of this past month. And a bunch more *bad* auditions. Andrew Garcia has a sob story. He grew up in the barrio. His father is crying. We know he will make it before he sings because they would never show his father crying unless he does make it.

Then there is sweet Tasha who is ok and makes it but I doubt she makes it through Hollywood week.

Finally, the big sob story of the night, the foster kid. I liked him actually but enjoyed Katy Perry telling Kara that his story didn't matter...it was whether or not he had talent. Katy Perry seemed to be pretty dismissive of all the judges. Thats ok, Katy, the time will come when you too will be a has been and will be thrilled to have a gig like judging American Idol. Or maybe she is already audtioning for Simon's seat next year. I bet he doesn't make it through Hollywood week either.

The good news is that AI is going back to the old format of a top 24 that we all vote on. No wild card etc. The bad news is that I have already seen the spoilers and know who is going to be in the top 24 pretty much. If you want to know ahead of time go to votefortheworst.com.

Also, it appears Ellen is not amused by Simon's diva work ethic and was pretty pissed off when he arrived 2 hours late for a Hollywood session after she had rearranged her own schedule to be there on time. Might be interesting to see how this plays out.

A New Season

Tonight was the first night I really paid attention to the show....sorry. Had family emergency last week and fell asleep last night and missed first 30 minutes.

And, it has occurred to me that readers from last year might not remember the format of our blog. Auntee (that would be me) types in Red and KK types in purple blue. Or she did last year...she may change her color this year! But I'm going to stick with the red because I like attention.

OK...my thoughts on the season thus far...a bit sedate from what I have seen. No bikini girl, no Tatiana. A lot of mediocre singers and a few horrible ones. The auditions are my least favorite part of the show anyway...and they seem even more tedious this year. Maybe I miss Paula or maybe the talent (even the joke talent) is just getting monotonous.

So far what I've seen is same old same old...the drag queen who is not talented; the sob stories (autistic son...almost died of anaphalactic shock...paralyzed face...although I suppose the ex-con was a new twist on the theme); the best friend/sister duos; and the psycho who won't leave and has to be taken out by security (I'm about 85% sure that was all phony baloney staged). Last night I was not impressed with anyone who performed and got through. Tonight I thought the autistic boy's father was good and seemed to be a decent guy but I doubt he is *cool* enough to make it through Hollywood week and I sincerely hope if he does he will not do a Gokey and sing songs making sure we know all about his son. Germaine was good too. Also, the Troubled ex-con was impressive but I'm thinking he is going to be the Michael Sarver of the season and will lose the judges praise pretty quickly.

NONE of the women they showed impressed me at all. I hope that there was someone I missed in the earlier shows or someone that they didn't show who has a decent voice. The Jersey girls? OMG....Hollywood fodder for sure! I liked Shelby's personality but man...she butchered Norah Jones (although that is a hard song), and the three they sandwiched in whose names they did not reveal all sounded terrible to me. Surely there are more talented women out there than we saw tonight?

Hope next week is the last audition week.

As for the judges...Simon needs to get in the game or go home. Kara is trying to be less of a bitch but she really lacks the ability to read people if she could not see that the pyscho tonight was psycho and needed to be handled more carefully (which supports my view that was all phony baloney staged drama using some out of work actor). In fact...the more I think about it, I am now 95.9% sure it was staged.

Oh well...on to next week!

BLOGGER AWOL!

Unfortunatey, I was unable to watch the program on Tuesday and missed all but the last 30 minutes on Wednesday. (Mr. Auntee does not think DVR is a reasonable expense for my TV). So, I can barely comment except to say that Simon appears to have mentallly checked out of the show contemplating his X Factor show next season (he physically checked out of several of the auditions on Wednesday...probably fielding important phone calls about X Factor or trying to find out what the most expensive watch in the world is). Kara seems to be more confident, but her *grooving* with the songs is a bit awkward...that is Paula's trademark, Kara, and you just look like a dork when you try it. Mary J Blige probably won't be making Idol judging her next career move (she looked bored to tears), but I'm happy Kara got to get her Mary J. Blige fix after barking at that poor contestant, Lil, last year to start singing like Mary J Blige. Randy seems to have new enthusiasm for his role, perhaps contemplating his is going to be the big *DAWG* when Simon leaves.

As for the contestants....well to be fair I didn't see many of them but I second Mary J Blige's opinion about the ones I did see, with the exception of the ineligible guy...Mr. *Pants on the Floor*. I hope he gains a bit of fame and attention for becoming a cultural warrior against *pants on the floor*.

Next week, barring unforeseen circumstances, Auntee will return with a more discerning commentary.

Yay for the Underdog!!

I'm not actually all that surprised, but I'm thrilled!!

I don't follow the official AI blogs (because I can't stand most of the posters), but I do read others. And as the AI season drew to a close, it started to become a consensus among even the most die-hard Adam fans that, while he's still amazing and talented, Kris really had grown and made a name for himself.

And once Gokey was out the door, who else would the homophobic viewers vote for? (maybe that came into play a little, honestly, but I mostly think Kris did it on his own merrit.)

Kris, on the other hand, was clearly surprised.

And what an AMAZING star-studded show. The best finale that I can remember!!

David Cook reminded me of why I would leave my husband if he'd just ask. He's amazing.

Lil Rounds was outsung by Queen Latifah. Duh. Why did I like her again?

The Black Eyed Peas have been my favorite group since before they won grammys back in the late 90s. They're amazing performers and I was psyched to see them.

Jason Mraz is my new favorite artist. And I sing all of his songs to my unborn baby everyday. I see Kris becoming a similar artist, actually.

Keith Urban's duet with Kris was awesome. KISS and Adam Lambert ... awesome!

And Queen?!? QUEEN!! What an amazing surprise!!!

I loved Megan and Michael with Steve Martin. So cute.

And Allison and Cyndi Lauper (who has gotten a little weird, hasn't she) was probably one of my favorite performances of the night.

Lionel Ritchie and Rod Steward tried. They did. I get that they're legends, and they do have some amazing songs. It was neat to have them there.

And I even enjoyed Norman, Tatiana, and Bikini Girl v Kara.

Thank you to our readers for following this season. See you again in January!!