So tonight, you will get two, two, two episode summaries in one! I was too distracted by the MLB craziness and excitement last night to actually finish the post, so here you have it: Two nights in one!
Oh, yeah, and GO BREWERS! Whew, now that that is out of my system…
From last night in Chicago:
Brock and Makenna sang “Colder Weather” by Zak Brown Band – They are pretty cute, but I think the guy is better than the girl.
Robin Royal (clad in black lace) and a host of other bad auditions followed. They all sucked.
Skyelor Anderson – His backing track cut off, but he kept going! I like him, but Paula is right, he needs to work on the vocals a bit. But the kid has potential to grow.
Mark Inman is getting a PhD in Philosophy… Kids, this will one day be your college professor. He “sings” Radiohead’s Creep. Paula tells him that she has been where he is a few times in her life. Paula, BEST. RESPONSE. EVER. The problem is THEY ACTUALLY SAY YES. Seriously? Simon, say it isn’t so! Canon Fodder.
Arin sang Aint No Sunshine, and a few other good auditions snuck in there. Some of these go way too fast.
Josh Krajick, the burrito slinger, sang “At Last” and he even cracked a approving smile from Simon! He is good. Really good. And he will be a great “before” That they can mold.
The second half of the episode we are back in Seattle. Weren’t we already here? And what is with the Cheryl, Nicole, Cheryl, Nicole…I am getting confuzzled.
The Good Girls sang Marvin Gaye. I didn’t write any notes about them, so clearly they were not noteworthy!
Drew Ryniewicz (14) sang Justin Bieber’s Baby, and I actually loved the arrangement! Like, it was crazy good! Her voice is decent but needs some refining. I hate to be a skeptic, but I doubt she put together the arrangement herself, so I wonder who the mastermind was behind that?
Peet Montzingo sang “Billionaire” but instead of billionaire, he changed it to famous. Not so good, Peet. He is sort of likable, but like the judges said, acting or comedy is probably the way for this one.
4Shore sang Boyz II Men, and while they are good, they are not really that original. It pretty much sounded like a BIIM tribute band.
Elaine Gibbs is 53 year old wedding singer and sang You Got a Friend. She is pretty freaking awesome, why did they not show more of this!
Francesca (17)- Her voice was pretty good, but not great> However, she was so stinkin cute, that she made it!
Tiger Budbill – Simon gave him the deciding 3rd yes. Not sold on this one whatsoever, but I will attempt to reserve judgement until I see more.
Phillip Lomax (21) sang “Fly Me To The Moon.” He has some ok chops, and hopefully he can be taught the rest.
Tiah Toliver – Simon LOVES this girl, but I have to agree with the ladies, that she needs some SERIOUS vocal work. And I think when compared to some of the other girls, she will get ousted right quick.
___________________
Tonight we saw our Jersey episode!
Brian Bradley – “Stop lookin’ at my mom!” – This kid is good! His schtick is a bit precocious for my liking, but I can see why he would be EXTREMELY marketable. That said, you can tell that the kid is still just a kid, and his act is just an act. He can be molded, and I think that’s what LA sees in him.
Kelly Warner sang Hallelujah and looked refreshingly normal, and sounded great. I am looking forward to seeing more from her!
Aaron Surgeon sang Don’t Want To Miss A Thing. I agree with Simon, he was average. Meh.
Lilliana Rose sang You Are My Sunshine. She has a throwback neo soul voice a la the Adele. Hot right now, and therefore, she is in.
Andy, who is the same height as Paula, is 43 and never had a girlfriend. Awww…But his voice is clearly terrible, so they really didn’t have to make us listen to the whole song.
Cashmere – Mariah Carey murdered! Alert the authorities! Cashmere sang Always Be My Baby. But clearly, not well.
A host of other bad contestants performed, well, badly.
Cari Fletcher (17) sang Alone. You know I can’t hear this song without thinking of my beloved Carrie. This Cari’s voice was very controlled, but correctly noted by Simon, it wasn’t that memorable. That said, she is a cute girl and maybe tv or movies would work out for her, too. She might do really well with some pop vocal coaching, too.
AusEm – These kids are not good enough. The guy is better than the girl, and that is why I think Nicole had issues putting them through. They need to find another girl for this Austin kid to sing with, and then maybe….
Tora Woloshin – Wow – this is a serious star. Love her! She sang Jackson Five, and she rocked it. A few slight pitch issues, but those can be worked out. She has a great base to work with!
Jor-el, complete with Bob Fosse hand snapping, sings Madonna’s Lucky Star. Yikes and a half.
The Stereo Hogzz – Meh, they were just ok. Nothing special.
Brenan Hunt, from Nashville, thinks he has the X Factor. He is singing an original song. He has a great voice, but his attitude seems a little too snobby for my liking. People on twitter were calling him a douche, and douches don’t tend to do well on talent reality shows. Meh…maybe I will grow to like him.
Paige Elizabeth (18) sang some Lady Gaga, (but not as good as Haley). Another pretty good, but kinda meh.
A few more good quickie auditions: LeRoy Bell, Brewer Boys, and Nick Dean. All of them I would like to see a full song.
Devon Talley sang a painful rendition of Seasons of Love. Poor Jonathan is rolling in his grave.
Jazzlyn Little (16) is from Cape Coral, FL . She sang I’m Going Down by Mary J. Blige. I don’t get the whole “I’m overly unconfident in myself” act. She’s good, but her shy act was not at all endearing to me. Well have to see if this was made up, and if so, how she really is. Because her voice was pretty fantastic.
Two weeks and the auditions are already over? Yes please! X Factor, this is why I love you. Next week, is Hollywood Week Bootcamp. It kind of sounds like a infomercial workout video series. I am really excited to see the process and what types of shenanigans they make these people go through. It was disclosed that there will be a top 32, so I would guess 8 in each group of: guys, girls, 30+, and groups. I don’t even think we saw 8 groups get through, so I hope they have a better pool to work with. Next week shall be exciting!
When do the live shows start? I am hoping to see some drunk!Paula :) But in all seriousness, I want to emphasize again how vastly awesome this judging panel is. LA Reid makes me loathe Randy Jackson even more than I already did. This is what Idol could have been, people!
Until next week…
September 29th, 2011
Tonight, the auditions visit Miami (whatup!) and Dallas. I was supposed to go the the Miami Auditions, but I got lazy and didn’t want to drive an hour and a half through rush hour traffic to the UM campus. I probably should have gone.
First up is Ashley Sansone (27) — OMG Ashley. Shut it and sing, already. Wait. Nevermind. Don’t sing, just leave.
After Ashley is an assortment of contestants: Chanel Simone, Kandan Road, and Dreamgirlz–all rejected.
Caitlynne Curtis (16) sang Firework and she’s not terrible, but she gets a “not ready” from the judges. Paula puts on her mommy hat and comforts her. She was way better than a few of the crazies Simon let through last night.
Nick Voss (21) – Um, is this guy supposed to be good? He looks like a good dancer, but his vocals are terrible. Lounge act at best.
Ashley Deckard (14) from Davie (of course) can see ghosts. She cannot, however, see past the audition rounds.
Marvuin (?) — Simon said her singing was like wolves mating. She still got through, however.
The we get an assortment of good performances: 2Squar’d, a group of four girls in all white, Kendra Williams, who is awesome, Brendan O’Hara, and Jeremiah Pagan. I think everyone of these guys got through.
Then…Then we get something amazing. Melanie Amaro (18) sang Listen by Beyonce. She is effortless! What a great natural talent…love this girl. An audition performance has never moved me to tears, but this one did. Wow…she is going to be a huge star. What unbelievable talent!
After Miami wraps up, we move onto Dallas.
Johnny Rodgers, is jealous of Justin Bieber. Dude just needs to get off the stage.
Dylan Lawson (18) from Kentucky “performed” and the only words I caught from that performance was “check your bladder.” LOL. Goodbye Dylan.
A few weird performances including Michael and Michelle, and Phoenix who sounded like a lawn mower. Neither of these acts got through.
Then there was Dexter from Memphis. Dude’s a little crazy, rocking his Memphis jean jacket and wooden platform shoes. But he showed some serious passion at the end, and I can see why the judges wanted to see him again.
We get a quick assortment of good performances: Kyle Corr, Hannah Jackson, Ma’at, and Austin, all of whom we will see again.
Caitlin Koch (21) sang “Stop In The Name Of Love” and I LOVED the arrangement. Her vocals were just ok, but the arrangement was amazing…where did that come from?
We end the night with Xander Alexander (age 27/undisclosed), a self described “Britney Spears plus Lady GaGa” on crack. Sooo, dude needs to take his front down on stage. Simon’s analysis was exactly right–you can’t win when the audience hates you. Adios, Xander.
With that, the first week of X Factor wraps up. The most notable performance tonight was Melanie, for sure. I cannot wait to see her again.
My mom made a great observation about the reduced role of the host…he sort of blends into the background. Honestly, I don’t even know what his name is, and his voiceovers blend in so well, that I don’t notice that he is even there. I like that the judges and the host fade to the background, and it is really about the contestants.
I am slowly starting to like this show…see you next week for more fun!
September 22nd, 2011
Helloooooo Idol fans! I said I would do it, and I am doing it. For the next 3 months, this site will be XFactorReview.
(It doesn’t exactly roll off the tounge like Idol Review, but I will adapt.)
There will obvs be a bunch of Idol comparisons, hearting Simon, and laughing at drunk!Paula.
We begin the audition rounds in LA…
Rachel Crow sang “Mercy” by Duffy – She is pretty cute for being 13, but, she needs some refinement. I would like to see where she can go from here…
There were sniffets of a few others…Muscle dude, Ellona (14), and John Lindahl, who sang some CeeLo.
Siameze (30) sang…something. Not quite sure what was up with the sheer mesh shirt…And Simon giving that fool a yes? Guess he must have watched Idol last season and got too many pointers from Steven.
Dan(70) and Venita(88) sang “Unchained Melody,” and might be successful in Branson, but not on national TV. But props for getting on stage at age 88!
Simone (21) sang the Pussy Cat Dolls, and while she is confident, and kind of blew the first audition, she slightly redeemed herself a capella. Still, she wasn’t all that.
Stacy Francis (42) sang Natural Woman got a STANDING O! She had some amazing soul! There were some pitch issues, but as J Lo would say, she was “emotionally perfect.”
After the LA auditions, we head on up the coast to Seattle!
Geo Godley, who calls himself an “Internet Blogger,” gives bloggers a bad name. He made Paula sick with his naked, crotch-thrusting motions. In tye dye.
Marcus Canty sang ”I Wish” by Stevie Wonder. He kind of has the same vibe as Kris Allen, but a more soulful voice. LOVE. HIM. Some tweets were saying that they thought he was underwhelming, but finding a cute young black guy with a clear soulful voice seems few and far between these days. This guy could be awesome. And he has a pretty amazing voice.
The Anser gets minus one for spelling and minus, well, three for bad harmonies. While they are pretty cute guys, they basically suck at singing.
Chris Rene is a recovering addict, who is actually pretty talented! I like him, but hate the sob story. However, I think he has a bunch of potential and the right producers could mold him into something really current. I can’t wait to see more from him.
That wraps up the premiere! So I can’t finish this post without some commentary on comparisons…duh! I loved Simon and Paula! Paula seems sober! I loved Nicole way better than Cheryl Cole. And I love, Love, LOVE LA REID! He is everything I always wanted Randy Jackson to be, and then some. He is attentive, serious, and seems to give good feedback.
Additionally, the auditions in front of the live audience is an interesting change. It is very “AGT,” and honestly I can see the advantage of both Idol style and X Factor style.
I like the variety in age that is allowed. I am not yet sold on the groups, but perhaps that is because we have not seen many noteworthy groups. I’ll reserve judgement on that.
Overall, the premiere was exciting, although honestly, I wouldn’t be as thrilled without the Simon/Paula draw. There are many other talent reality shows on that I don’t blog about, and this is the first non-idol show that has made the cut, obviously due to Simon/Paula. I hope it loves up to the hype. And I hope you will continue watching/reading as the season goes on.
I’ll be back tomorrow!
September 21st, 2011
And another Idol season comes to a close. I can’t believe it has been 10 years (and I am still watching this stupid show! haha)
Ryan tells us that there were 122 Million votes. That’s what happens when you leave the phone and text lines open for 4 hours, and tweens have unlimited texting packages. There is going to be a whole generation of girls born in the late 90s in North Carolina that will have carpel tunnel. An epidemic, is coming, I’m telling you.
After the obligatory judges intro, we get the kids singing their first group song…Born This Way. Didn’t they already do this as a group song? Can’t they pick another GaGa song? shouldn’t she have, like, a greatest hits album to choose from?
The first “Idol with their idol” performance of the evening is James Durbin singing with Judas Priest. I loved this! Loved it! Pyro! Pyro! America is giving metal a chance, James!
The judges get ribbed a bit in some video packages. I wish Randy would realize that he sounds ridic, and this video clip is not laughing with him, it is laughing at him.
Jacob Lusk sings with Kirk Franklin and Gladys Knight, and a huge gospel choir. I think they pre-pay a year in advance for a gospel choir for the finale, so Jacob got the honor this year.
Casey and Jack Black sang Fat Bottomed Girls! This was hilarious! They should do skits and upload them on youtube. Viral, people! Viral!
The ladies are up next singing a Beyonce medley – with Beyonce (naturally. It is the Idol Finale after all.) Haley sounded amazing, Pia sounded pretty good, and surprisingly Asht(h)on sounded pretty good, too. But Beyonce kind of took them all to school. That girl has some bootylicious skills that no other human can match.
Haley is up next dueting with Tony Bennett singing Steppin Out With My Baby. Love this! This girl goes from singing Zeppelin to singing with Tony Bennett. I believe the “sing the phone book” line could be used with this one. I already miss you, Haley!
So, up next is TLC and Lil John (Yeee-ahhh), who are obviously lip syncing. They are performing with Naima, Asht(h)on, Karen, and Thia. I’m not going to lie…I forgot about Thia. This was a little lame.
Scotty McCreery and Tim McGraw sing a duet, where Scotty actually sounds better than Tim. Maybe Scotty will be pretty good!
JLO & Marc finally get their moment in the spotlight, with JLo trying to outdo Beyonce’s booty. Sorry, JLo, Beyonce gets to booty shaking edge tonight.
The guys sing a little Tom Jones medley with Tom Jones. The girls get Beyonce and the guys get Tom Jones? Really?
Lauren and Scotty are up next and each got to invite a favorite teacher to the finale! I’ll bet they were thrilled! Aw, and then on top of that, they get a car! Yay for the teachers! This is my favorite moment of the show so far.
They had to do the teacher bit off the stage so they could prep Lady Gaga on the stage next. She is standing half naked on a cliff. Scotty, you better kiss your cross!
Lauren is up next singing with Carrie! And Lauren was schooled. SCHOOLED. Carrie held that whole duet, and quite frankly was holding back to not overshadow Lauren. Consummate professional, that season 4 winner.
Beyonce singing her new single regarding a first grade math problem. But her emotion on that stage? I want to vote for her. What is her number, Ryan?
Getting towards the end, I thought perhaps a Lauren/Scotty duet. But no…Spiderman. Bono is a classic, but this was more filler.
The last pre-announcement performance was by Mr. Steven Tyler who proved that he may be irrelevant at the judges table, but he is still relevant on stage, despite being snubbed by his band. I was hoping he might perform with the kids, but alas, there was no Gokey this year, so he held it on his own.
Finally, in the least shocking results show ever, Scotty takes the crown and we have to hear arguably the worst hit single to come out of this show. When I heard it last night, I dreaded this moment. However, it seemed slightly less annoying because I was distracted by the streamers, confetti, Jack Black’s snub, and JLo and Haley having a convo in the background without claws or death eyes.
Whelp, here at idolreview.net, we (meaning I) rooted for the girls, and failed yet again. For all the Laurens, Haleys, Crystals, Syeshas and Allisons out there, one day we will again be victorious! There is always season 11, after all.
Thanks again, all ye readers, for a great season of Idol. It has definitely been one of the most controversial ones in awhile. I appreciate your comments and read every one! Remember to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and tune back in in September, because I will be blogging X Factor! Simon and Paula together again? How could I not watch that inevitable trainwreck.
Laura, out.
May 25th, 2011
Lots of pre-show buzz on Lauren almost dropping out, Haley almost having to step in at the last second, Lauren having to get her throat iced, etc. Was it a last minute pandering for Lauren sympathy? A ploy for Haley fanatics/idol boycotters to tune in at the last second? Who knows what Uncle Nigel’s evil plans are. But lets hope it all comes together for a good show.
|
1. Scotty McCreery
|
 |
“Gone” by Montgomery Gentry – I didn’t think it was as high energy as the first time he performaed it, but I’m glad he chose this one because it was arguably the best performance of the season.
|
|
2. Lauren Alaina
|
|
“Flat on the Floor” by Carrie Underwood – Oh man, her voice sounds so worn out. by 2/3 of the way through the song, she opened her mouth and no sound came out. I have to feel bad for her on such a big night. It wasn’t any better or worse than the last time around, except for the terrible pageant dancing as she began the song at the top of the steps. The rest of it was fine. Nothing to write home about, but fine.
|
|
3. Scotty McCreery
|
 |
“Check Yes or No” by George Strait – George Strait picks his own song for Scotty to sing? I feel like that is a faux pas despite there being no precident for this. I disliked this song before Scotty sang it, and my opinion did not change afterward. Same ol Scotty.
|
|
4. Lauren Alaina
|
|
“Maybe it Was Memphis” by Pam Tillis – Meh. I will give her the benefit of the doubt that she is trying to save her voice. But this was not a spectacular vocal performance.
|
|
5. Scotty McCreery
|
 |
“I Love You This Big” – OMG the Swaybots. They have returned. And points for the mom tears. But the song? Really? What an effing awful song. I shouldn’t be surprised, really. There really isn’t a good track record. Scotty loses points for the terrible song. Sorry, Buddy. I cringe at the thought of us having to hear this amid confetti tomorrow.
|
|
6. Lauren Alaina
|
|
“Like My Mother Does” – Pandering towards moms! (At least Jimmy says so.) From the talks on twitter, this is a KLC song, and quite honestly, was way better than Scotty in round 3. Ryan even helps her down the steps. Will this be enough for her to topple the Scotty machine? If she gathers Haley’s votes, she might. Nice last ditch effort, Lauren. You gave it all you could.
|
This may well have been the most boring and anticlimactic finale performance show ever. I was honestly bored throughout, and thankful it was only an hour long episode. There was a random ditty by… Taio Cruz? I mean, really…wtf was that? And Cook closing the show seemed to give the show its only (albeit small) thread of authenticity. Underwhelming, indeed.
Lauren should win it with her final performance tonight. But Scotty will win. He cannot lose. I still can’t quite understand his invincibility on this show, but alas, it exists.
Here’s to hoping that there are many exponentially more exciting performances tomorrow night.
May 24th, 2011
I’ve been procrastinating on writing this blog all evening. Like if I put it off a little longer, I could avoid the reality of losing my fave contestant this year. Not that it was a total shocker or anything. As a big fan of underdogs everywhere (and especially on Idol) I kind of get used to having my fave ousted. But for some reason, my optimism took over and I really thought Ms. Reinhart had a shot at the finale. And by her facial expression after Ryan announced Lauren had the second spot, she thought she had a shot, as well.
But alas, here we are, with the predictible country idol finale. Uncle Nigel can be happy to have all sorts of country duets scattered throughout the two hour episode that happens in only 6 days. The silver lining for me is that I will be able to enjoy next Tuesday’s Glee finale without having to copy and paste the word “vote” into a text 400 times. I’ve never been much of a multi-tasker anyway.
But back to tonight’s results show. The episode where you could have tuned in at 8:52 and not missed anything.
The kids start out at Bad Robot productions. So if they would have taken me into Bad Robot productions, I would have demanded to have a little chat about Lost before anything else. I still have a few unanswered questions. Like Sayid ended up with Shannon instead of Nadia? I’m still mad about that one.
Haley’s homecoming in the NW suburbs of Chicago looked pretty exciting. The concert venue was the same location as Lee’s venue last year.
Next up…Lame Ford Videos? Italian hipster opera boy bands? For realz? WTF am I watching. Time to make a snack.
Scotty’s homecoming looked packed…with not one male besides his dad and Josh Turner showing up. Every one of those girls has an unlimited texting package, obvs.
Nicole Sherzinger looks like her dress went through the garbage disposal.
Lauren goes home, and again, has a crap load of people show up. I must say, I am impressed with the turnout of these visits. Way to go, hometowns! All three looked like a rockin good time.
And we end with the results: Scotty is in. Lauren is in. Haley is out. My mourning period begins.
For her swan song she rocks out to Benny and the Jets (I wouldn’t have chosen that as the final sing-out number, but it was ok). JLo looked like she was giving Haley the evil eye when she said “Randy and JLo have you seen them yet – oh but they’re so spaced out” in the lyrics. I thought it was quite a fitting lyric change! I am hoping she gets a major kickass duet next week. Perhaps a few to balance out the country numbers.
See you at the Nokia next week (for country hour). So…do you think the right two made the finale? From your previous comments, Haley was a very love-her-or-hate-her contestant. I imagine there are a whole host of people who are happy to see her go. (Clearly, I am not one of them). But sound off in the comments!
May 19th, 2011
Next Posts
Previous Posts
