Idol Review – Blogging American Idol 9

Say Goodbye to the Small Stage

Next week we are at the Nokia.  The finale on the big stage.  And dialidol is the most confident with their ouster prediction as they have been all season.  So I don’t think there will be a shocker tonight.

[What?  I am blogging a results show?!? That is the only big shocker of the night, I know.]

The first ten minutes are intros and a little talk back session with the top 3 and the judges.  [filler filler filler....]

After the break we get the Ford commercial to I’m A Wild One.  Then we get to go home to Texas with Casey.  They had a great turnout (as I would expect–everything is bigger in Texas) and all the girls seemed very enthusiastic about Casey!  I liked that he went to visit the hospital, as well.

Travis Garland (??)  discovered by Perez Hilton (????) performs next.  Perez is discovering new vocal talent now?  What is this world coming to?  I do like that this guy is kind of unknown, but the whole stagey dancey production was a bit over the top.  Also, how does he get more vocal screen time than the contestants?   There are so many questions that I have about this.

I am encouraged by the reports I read about next season on Idol the results show will only be a half hour, and the performance show will be 90 minutes.  A LONG OVERDUE improvement.

After the break, we visit Toledo with Crystal.  Aww, she is so emotional, and she got to see her son.  That was quickly followed by Lee in Chicago, which was equally as adorable.  Midwest FTW!

Well, we have 15 minutes left.  No talks of eliminations yet.  So what better thing to do than bring out Justin Bieber for a completely irrelevant performance!  Clearly the logical choice.

With seven minutes left, we finally get around to the purpose of the show.  (We did tune in for a purpose, right?)  Lee gets his summary first, followed by Crystal and then Casey.  Lee finds out he is safe, followed quickly by Crystal, with Casey making his exit tonight.

ELIMINATED TONIGHT: CASEY JAMES

He sings his exit song of Daughters, and seems like he is enjoying himself.  This leaves the obvious pairing of Crystal and Lee in the finale, where it is really Lee’s game to lose.  We will see how things go next week, it should be fun!

Also, I owe a heads-on-maps graphic (for Dave) but since my latest computer crash, all of my files are on my old hard drive.  Once I rescue that file, I will post the photgraphic.  Additionally, I scored some swag for a fun giveaway, which I will post information on shortly.  So, all sorts of fun things are coming up for finale week!

1 comment May 19th, 2010

It’s cut-some-much-needed-fat night!

Oh, elimination night, I am looking forward to you.  Especially after last night.  We need to cut some fat.  And fast.

First up is the group song by Wham! obviously. Wake Me Up Before you Go Go – such a classic 80s.  Though I can’t say I would categorize this as Billboard #1s.

After the break, Ryan does a bunch of banter with the contestants, including Big Mike, with his baby bjorn carrier.

I think I missed the Ford commercial because I was actually trying to pay attention in class rather than watch streaming video in the last row.  Fill me in if there was anything groundbreaking that I missed.

Onto the beheadings. Siobhan is up first.  And she is safe and on the tour.

Lee and Casey are up next. They get their reviews but told to sit tight.  Ryan calls up Tim and Paige next.  (which is awkward for Siobhan in the middle). Tim and Paige hit up the bottom 3 again, while Casey and Lee are safe.

R&B Soul is next week, and usher (or Ursher) will be the mentor.

Now Miley gets to sing. Though I wouldn’t necessarily qualify this as 100% singing, but rather a singing/straining combo, it was much better than her performance last year.

After the break, Crystal, Michael, Aaron, and Didi are safe, which leaves Andrew and Katie.  Katie gets to be in the bottom 3 tonight, which has to be disheartening after her improvement last night.

But as soon as she is sent to center stage, she is sent back to safety, leaving the two most deserved members in the bottom group tonight.

The newly pronounced couple Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato, sing some duet next.  I heart Demi Lovato and I generally think she is a good singer. The duet was blah, but the singing was pretty good.

After the break, the moment of truth…  Paige is out, and she sings “All Right Now” for her swan song, and it was infinitely better than last night.

OUT TONIGHT:

Paige Miles

Honestly, I would have rather seen Paige on the tour than Tim, but since I put my points on Paige in the idol pool, I am happy.

2 comments March 24th, 2010

Holy Miley

It is teen idol Billboard #1s tonight.  With guest mentor Miley Cyrus.  A 17-year-old mentor.  Wowzers, Idol is sinking to a new low.  Don’t get me wrong, I like me some Miley, but in this capacity, it seems like a publicity ploy, at best.  (I won’t mention the “at worst”).

I’m just excited to see Miley schooled by Bowersox.

1. Lee Dewyze		“The Letter” by Joe Cocker- Oh, Lee, awesome song! I heard a few pitch problems, and the performance wasn’t extremely charasmatic.  However, I think he is the most interesting guy in the top 12 this season.
02. Paige Miles		“Against All Odds” by Phil Collins – Um, that was horrid. I’m pretty sure Corey Clark did more justice to this one back in season 2.  I want to like this girl, but she is just not a good singer, and she proves this week after week.  Too bad.
03. Tim Urban	+1/2	“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen – While this may not have been quite as bad as the previous performance, it still qualifies as horrid.  It pains me that he is still in the competition.  He is the Sanjaya of Season 9.
04. Aaron Kelly		“Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” Aerosmith - Not too shabby, Aaron.  This song has been overkilled on this stage, so he loses points for song choice.  But following the last two performances, I have to give him some credit.  Good effort, Aaron.
05. Crystal Bowersox		“Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin – Holy Awesomeness.  This girl is so amazing.  Can they give her more screen time, because I would tune in each week for a two-hour Bowersox concert.  I know that people complain that she does the same thing every week, but when the same thing is awesome, why complain?
06. Michael Lynche		“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Meh, it was ok.  The judges all gave him an overindulgent vote, and I agree.  But in his defense, pretty much everything he does is over the top–it is how he has made it this far.  So although he really doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning this competition, he was good enough to stick around.
07. Andrew Garcia		“Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Oh, Andrew.  He seems to get progressively worse each week.  And even worse than contestants in previous seasons who peaked early, he is still riding the wave from the first day of Hollywood week.  The momentum would already be gone, if this top 12 had the talent of Season 7 (IMO, the best overall talent pool of any season. )
08. Katie Stevens	+1/2	“Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie – The beginning of the song was excellent.  When she started straining, it wasn’t as great, but overall, I have to say that this was her best performance, and honestly, the first time I really enjoyed her.  Good job, KS.
09. Casey James		“Power of Love” by Hewey Lewis and The News - Not too shabby, Casey.  This is probably his best performance.  Is he relevant beyond this show?  That remains to be seen.  But within the context of Idol, he is at least entertaining.  And can play a four-note riff of the electric guitar.
10. Didi Benami		“You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt- I liked this performance!  I have concluded that Didi comes across better on TV than live, because the judges are always so critical, but I think she does quite well.  Maybe a bit pitchy? It didn’t really bother me.  I loved the song choice for her, and thought she did well.
11. Siobhan Magnus		“Superstition” by Stevie Wonder – You mention the Adam Lambert, and now she thinks screamy can come to play every week.  Not so, Siobhan.  I like her, I thought the vocal was pretty good, but I am not on board.  I could potentially get on board in the future, but I am reserving judgement.

Tonight we got off to a little bit of a rough start, but it seemed to end on a not-so-disaster-ish note.  Top tonight was by far and away Bowersox.  Katie also did surprisingly well, and I’m really impressed with how much she seems to be taking the direction she is given, and seems to be making improvements.   

I wish I could send both Paige and Tim home, and have a Bowersox encore next week. Anyone with me on this?

1 comment March 24th, 2010

We Are The Champions (The Finale!)

It is here!  The finale.  Ryan introduces the judges:

Randy “for me for you dawg” Jackson

Kara “sweetie” DioGuardi

Paula “word nerd” Abdul

Simon “say what?” Cowell

I loved those little video packages.

We get our first (of many?) group songs to So What by Pink.  Eh – not feeling this one.  I hope it gets better from here.

David Cook is back, and he sings Permanent, his new single.  Quite somber for this big finale moment, but it is his next single, and quite appropriate to honor his brother.

Oh, no.  The “Golden Idols” are being awarded this year.  Previously this has brought us the Big Bird lady and David Hasselhoff.  So I hate to think what it might bring this year.  Fortunately we are left with the comic stylings of Norman Gentle.  I like him so much better when he is not competing in this competition – and honestly, this would not have been a complete finale without him.

Lil Rounds and Queen Latifah are singing together to Cue the Rain.  I am disappointed that there was no rain.  Or at least fog.  Come on, Idol!  I want the literal interpretation.

Next up is I’m Yours featuring Alexis and Anoop singing with no other than Jason Mraz!  Anoop must be super pumped, and he and Alexis both sounded amazing!  Damn Anoop!

Another duet, this time with Kris and Keith Urban!  They sang Kiss a Girl and sounded damn good! I don’t picture Kris as a country artist, but he could touch on that genre and not feel out of place. Kris is a very versatile guy!

The girlies sing a Fergie medley with who else, but Fergie!  They sing Glamorous and Big Girls Don’t Cry before Black Eyed Peas take the stage and get bleeped.  OOPSIES!  Can’t say that word on live tv, Fergie.

More Golden Idols, and unfortunately Bikini Girl is back, singing vs. Kara.  OMG, Kara flashed her bod for money.  Granted the money was for charity, but still!  But what I REALLY wanted was Mariah to come out and show them both up.  My mom said she thought Kara was a good sport.  I think she should be evicted from the judges table.

Cyndi Lauper and Allison!  Yay for a nice pairing.  They sing Time After Time. FAB FAB FAB!  This was fantastic.

Danny Gokey sings Lionel Richie’s Hello, and then brings Lionel out to sing All Night Long.  I know that Hello is and will always will be a DC song on Idol, but I have to say that Gokey sounded great!

Adam Lambert and Kiss!!!! OMG OMG.  The shoes were INSANE.  I wanted Adam to paint his face, but I guess you can only ask for so many theatrics in one night.  This was one of those memorable finale performances along with DC and ZZ last year, and the legendary Skynyrd and Bo.

Carlos Santana is chillin with Matt Giraud, and the whole top 13!  I thought Matt would get his celeb duet now, but I guess not.  Sorry, Matt.  I like the group with Santana, though.

The final Ford music video which, like usual, takes a trip down FMV lane.  They sing I will Remember You, and KrAdam gets new Ford Fusion hybrids!

Michael Sarver and Megan are singing with…Steve Martin?  On banjo?  Weird moment.  The only redeeming bit was Steve’s quip that he was rooting for himself FTW.

The boys are doing a Rod Stewart medley, and of course Rod Stewart is there (or some version of Rod Stewart, either drunk or possibly animatronic)

Oh no – The Golden Idols means the return of Tatiana.   Oh Tatiana, I hope this is the last time we meet.

KrAdam duet!  I <3 Queen!  OMG – Queen is really there. Queen = this year’s gospel choir.  Kiss and Queen in one night – rock on, Idol. Rock. On.

And finally, we get the results.  And the winner is…Kris!

And poor Kris has to sing the awful Kara-song again.  Boo to the hurricanes and mountains.   But he gets the adorable couple moment at the end when he brings his cutie patootie wife on stage.  Yay for Katy and Kris!

Despite all the buzz about Adam, I suspected Kris might pull it out tonight.  I think since the top 5, Kris has been collecting stray voters, being the most mainstream contestant. I believe he got most of the Gokey voters to just edge out Adam.

What did you all think of the finale?  The group numbers were meh, but I am floored that they got Kiss and Queen there on the same night!  However, as far as Idol finales go, I was underwhelmed.  No emotional moment for me.  Perhaps I am just bitter that there was no reprise of the Adam/Allison (Adison?) duet.  I better see that on tour, guys.

PS – To all my Idol Review readers (all six of you) thanks for a great season!  Although it seemed to drag at times, as a fan of underdogs everywhere, I am glad that Kris pulled off the win, despite some seemingly insurmountable odds.  Remember to check back during the summer for periodic updates (especially in late July for Idol Concert Tour stalking), and follow me on twitter!

14 comments May 20th, 2009

Is this the big shocker we have been waiting for?

Paula is mysteriously absent from the judges as we begin tonight.  Perhaps they called her in to help tally the 88 million votes.

The Ford commercial, to Break My Stride, involved animated idols with Adam moving brick walls, Kris affecting the weather, and Danny parting the Red Sea (of cars).

Alicia Keys is giving us a PSA about Idol Gives Back. Noah from Rwanda is singing for kids with AIDS.  Good cause, bad song. But it was all worth it to see Ryan try to imitate his dance.

A top 13 spotting in the audience.  I’m sure they are busy preparing for next week, which I expect to completely rock (a redux of the Adam/Allison duet awesomeness, please?).  The guys are watching back stage, and Danny is called out first.  Ryan asks about his hometown visit, Jamar, and we get to see the video.

OMG, Michelle and her orange sign made it on the air!  Good going, Michelle! (See post below for Michelle and her Gokey homecoming experience!)  Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett was shown talking to Danny (he came to speak to my high school government class – I love him!)  Props to Milwaukee for showing so much city pride!

Kris is up next, and he reports that Stoby’s (Did I spell that right?) gave him free cheese dip for life.  Like you said, Kris, with that gift you have won already!  His hometown visit also looked amazing in both Little Rock and Conway (See Chris’s pictures below!)  Such a great turn out!

After the break, Jordin is back, singing her new single Battlefield, accompanied by Ryan Tedder.  This is the kind of song that I don’t love yet, but I think it will grow on me.  Decent performance, but the evil eyes at the end scared the crap out of me.  Love the dress, though.

Adam is up after the break.  I didn’t think that San Diego would turn out for a homecoming of sorts – they seem like a pretty chill city, but he had the streaker instead!  LOL!

And while Danny has no patience for any more commercials (understandable, Danny), Adam has requested to see Katy Perry.  And what Adam wants, Adam gets.  Katy sports an Adam cape singing something about Vegas.  Blah, not a fan of this one.

After the break, we finally get the results.  Kris made it! He is so thrilled!  And competing with him (no surprise) is Adam!

Well, Danny, its been a good run.  And I’m so glad you made it back to Milwaukee!

Simon proclaims that it will be a big ding-dong next week.  Not sure what that means, but I hope it is good.  I am looking forward to both of these guys bringing it.  And some awesome medleys in the finale (ahem, did I mention an Adam/Allison duet would be nice?)

7 comments May 13th, 2009

Results Night: screeeem and bleeeep edition

Tonight should be a busy one with all of the guest performances.  First, the Ford Video is to Move Along – and the idols looks like paper dolls.

School’s Out is the group song this week, which is fitting for me as I just finished my final school obligation about 3 hours ago!  This performance was not as good as last week, but I loved Slash on the guitar.   And Allison really gave Danny a good smack, probably as revenge from last week’s food fight!

Ryan talks to the kids, and Danny admits his scream last night was bad and should be in horror movies. I concur. And they bleeped Allison!  Hahaha – what was so bad that they had to bleep her?  Did she say friggin? effin?  I find that so amusing.  Thank God for the six second delay – we couldn’t dare hear effin on the air.  Think of the children!

Up next is Paula.  She is finally off her meds so they are handing over the stage.  Pre-recorded, of course.  That would have been a rough costume change if it was live!  Plus, after the staircase incident yesterday with Debbie the stage manager, OSHA probably requires everyone to wear a harness while walking down.

After the break, No Doubt sings one of their classic tunes, I’m Just A Girl.  Gwen is rocking her signature look from 1997 with the colored bra straps and wife beater.  No Doubt was my first concert, back in the day.  My mom had to drop me and my friends off because we couldn’t drive yet.  Ahh, the memories!  Gwen was great tonight – high energy and doing pushups on the stage.  Loves it!  That totally makes up for the bum mentoring week during season six.

Ryan said that we are not getting a bottom two, and that the results will be in random order.  All the contestants get their recaps.  And Ryan sends someone to safety.  And Kris heads to the stools.  He seems genuinely surprised and excited.  One charter plane heading to Arkansas, coming up.

Daughtry is back and finally releasing a new album.  It seems like it is overdue.  Their first single called No Surprise, and he seems like he is changing the tone of his voice slightly, or perhaps he is just singing up a little higher than he normally does.  I am excited for this album, as I really enjoyed their last one.  Yay, Daughtry. And Kris delivers Chris his 5x platnum plaque.

Next we find out that Adam is safe.  Not a shocker, really.  So how long is the flight from LA to San Diego?

That leaves Allison and Danny.  And the top 3 is a boys club because Danny is safe, and Allison is headed home.

Cry, Cry baby, is right.  I am tearing up just watching this.  I heart this girl so much.  And Ryan is right, she will be on the radio soon enough.  I am also pissed because I lost ALL of my idol pools this week.  I hedged all my points between Kris and Danny, but alas, my worst fears have come true (cue Danny’s scream).

In good news, however, my mom has unknowingly volunteered to stalk Gokey on Friday as he heads on a private jet home to Mitchell International.  Right, mom?  I need exclusive video!

Ryan has promised that we will finally get two songs next week, still short of the three we normally get. Seriously don’t get me started.

8 comments May 6th, 2009