Idol Review – Blogging American Idol 9

Season 9 Auditions: Orlando

Well, I am here, and surprisingly, I have seen very few costumes so far today! They told us to come at 5am, but I smartly got here at 7, which turned out to be perfect–just in time for crowd shots. Here are the photos so far:

Justin Guarini, of course. He is almost as ubiquitous as Seacrest!

Seacrest doing what he does best. He jetted out faster than he jetted out

Next up, indoor shots. I need to conserve the battery on my laptop so those will come in a bit. Video to come after I leave. The talley so far is 23 people have made it. For a constant bombardment of info, follow me on twitter: twitter.com/idolreview18

5 comments July 9th, 2009

Let the stalking begin

I know I have been a bit MIA since the finale. And I have no excuse. But the month of July seems to be the month of idol stalking, so get ready for updates! I am currently in my hotel room in Orlando gearing up for Idol auditions tomorrow morning. Today, I went over to the Amway Arena to pick up a ticket and wristband. I saw Charlie Belcher, the “Idol Guy” from the Tampa Fox affiliate, filming some promos out front. I run into this guy everywhere – I should really introduce myself (or just steal his job).

I was told to be back at 5am but I know from experience that nothing will start until 7, and your place in line is irrelevant because you sit in assigned seats based on the printed ticket. But I will be there, and hopefully get some pictures of idol hopefuls in ridiculous costumes, and grab a glimpse of Seacrest. Also, the group song is Pat Benatar’s Heartbreaker, which I’m sure we will sing over and over.

The instructions given to me today say that they are not allowing video cameras or “professional” cameras. I don’t know what constitutes a “professional” camera, but I only have a DSLR, so I’m bringing it, and my little flip video. I guess I will have to be discreet.

I will be live blogging and twittering, hopefully giving you lots of pictures and video if I can sneak some. And if I’m feeling lucky, I might actually audition (it is the last year I am eligible, after all.)

Add comment July 8th, 2009

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

Paula does a hurkey – it must be the finale

This season has been full of several ups and downs, but we have made it to the Nokia.  And that means time for the debut of a craptastic coronation song–I can’t wait.

1. Adam Lambert		“Mad World” by Tears for Fears – Fabulous once again – I loved the rise from the stage and the smoke–all the drama I would come to expect!  I still liked his Tracks of my Tears performance better, even though I knew he would choose this one.
02. Kris Allen		“Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers – Another fabulous rendition of this song.  I loved him at a huge grand piano rather than the keyboard where he originally performed this one.  Also, I think Kris is actually becoming hotter and buffer week by week.  Don’t think I don’t notice those arms, KA!
03. Adam Lambert	+1/2	“Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke – I mean, what can you even say?  He is great.  It was the perfect combination of controlled Screamy and emotional depth.  I wouldn’t go as far as to call it his best performance like Paula and Kara, but it was certainly finale material.
04. Kris Allen	+1/2	“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye – Simon Fuller is picking these big socially conscious songs for the kids tonight.  I enjoy the sentiment, but I think I would have preferred choices that fit the voices a bit better.  I would never have chosen Marvin GAye for Kris, and although I think he did what he could with it, and I enjoyed it, I can see why it wouldn’t grab people (i.e. Simon)  Although I think Simon needed to throw his weight towards Adam after calling the first round for Kris – we have to keep things spicy, after all.
05. Adam Lambert		“No Boundaries” written by Kara and friends – Something about getting through mountains and hurricanes to get to your dream.  Really, Kara?  These songs are always so bad!  And sorry, but the performance was abysmal. He sounded off key, which is so out of character for him.  Wow – not impressed with the song or the performance.
06. Kris Allen		“No Boundaries” written by Kara and friends – Way better than Adam – the song was catering to his type of voice moreso than Adam, and I think it showed.  The song still sucks though.  But was his jacket hot, or what?  Part suit jacket, part military jacket – loved it!

Carrie sings us out tonight with a sparkly mic.

Notice how their own choices were clearly the best songsof the night.  The results tonight will really be a toss-up.  I think that most of Danny’s voters will go to Kris, so he has a real shot of pulling this thing off, despite the judges still believing in Adam.  Who do you think will win?

I will be coming at ya from Milwaukee tomorrow night, where I’m sure my mom and I will have many comments to make about all the finale has in store.  I can’t wait for the medleys!

Now I am super pumped about this Glee show, so I will go and watch.  Adios until tomorrow.

6 comments May 19th, 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

2-3-4 night (Top 3)

Two songs, three contestants, four judges.  This is go time, boys.  Who will step it up tonight?

1. Danny Gokey		“Dance Little Sister” by Terrence Trent D’arby – I didn’t mind the dancing like Simon and Kara did.  I also thought he sang the song really well.  However, there was nothing extremely exciting or different coming from him.  So to summarize, good, almost great, but not outstanding.
02. Kris Allen		“Apologize” by One Republic – Sort of the same thing as Danny.  Thought he sang it really well, but don’t think he brought anything new.  I love the song, but if they wanted him to rearrange then they should have chosen a song that he would be forced to rearrange.  However, come on guys, how much do you expect from these people.  They didn’t find out about this until Friday, and I’m sure he didn’t have tons of time to make some genius rearrangement, especially considering he had to prepare two songs.  However, with the original arrangement like he did, I still think it could have been a bit better.
03. Adam Lambert		“One” by U2 – Fabulous arrangement, fabulous performance.  Well, round one goes to Adam.
04. Danny Gokey	+1/2	“You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker – I think Danny is finally doing what I have been waiting for, is stepping up, bringing something different and unexpected to the performance.  This performance was great.  My one gripe now is that he tends to babble on stage, and it is becoming annoying.  Ryan needs to reel that in right quick.
05. Kris Allen		“Heartless” by Kanye West – Beyond brilliant. I have hopped aboard the Kris Allen express.  And hopefully that train stops at the Nokia next week. That was fantastic.  Amazing.  LOVED IT.
06. Adam Lambert	+1/2	“Cryin’” by Aerosmith – Well, I think he schooled Danny’s Aerosmith from last week.  I was waiting for him to say that he picked Dream On – I would have died.  It was great, but not his absolute best performance.  I liked his first performance better.

Round 1: Adam

Round 2: Kris

Danny did step it up tonight with his You Are So Beautiful performance, and I think his fan base might put him through, though after Kris’s brilliant arrangement of Heartless, I think he deserves it slightly more.  I think Adam is a sure bet, so it will be Danny and Kris battling it out for the second spot.

The judges are right, though.  This is the tightest top 3 race ever to be on the show.  All of them are superb, and all deserve to win.

(Sorry this post is belated – I may or may not have found an extended preview of Glee on my tivo, and may or may not have watched it 4 times.  Sorry!)

6 comments May 12th, 2009