THE WINNER IS KRIS ALLEN!!!!!!

WOW! An upset!!! It's hard not to be happy for someone who seems absolutely stunned and totally overwhelmed and so happy. (Yes, Kris won me over...Note: Kris is such a nice guy. When he won he said "what about Adam" or something to that effect.)

Kris is singing the worst song every written, but we'll excuse that as it's a great moment for him. WOW, he really came from nowhere. A strange but nice end to a very very strange season. The confetti is falling, eveyrone is around him, and he still looks incredibly stunned. Much like David Cook last year, the final song is really good as it has such feeling behind it. It's nice to see how much the winners care that they won.

You could kind of feel the tide turning today, couldn't you?

That show was awesome btw. What a finale. My favorite was Kiss with Adam (because of Kiss, not Adam) but there were so many great moments. Who expected Rod Stewart? What did Fergie say to get 15 seconds of silence. I loved the David Cook performance - is there anyone who is nicer and more low key than he is? I definitely will get the ITunes download of his performance tommorrow.

The cheese was fun too, Norman, the Bikini girl stuff (with Kara ripping open her dress too) although Tatiana fell terribly flat.

Great show!! I'll send the winner information with the email tommorrow. I look forward to your comments. Great call on all of you who picked Kris.

JUAN

Too Close to Call?

All the indicators, exit polling, dial idol, etc. are extremely close, as in prediction is within margin of error close. WOW!!! A toss up?

I'll stick with my prediction as it's never a good idea to change your mind so close to the end but this could be a nail biter.

It's on! The Top 2?

Will this be a battle or a coronation? 90 minutes till showtime. I may be a little slow on the post here, Kate is detemined to distract me during Idol watching time and I must be focused tonight! See you soon...

IT'S THE IDOL FINALE!!!!!!

Wow, Kris came a long way look wise. Adam is basically a slightly cleaner version of beginning Adam. Cue dramatic music and we are ON....Kris and Adam are supposably great friends. Ryan warns us we may be long so set your DVR's accordingly (which is ok if you set your DVR and are also watching like me, but not so good if you are not.)

Cue first commerical break.

Nothing could make me watch Glee. NOTHING.

Adam's screech developed in infanthood apparently.

ROUND 1
Adam singing MADWORLD as his choice. Nice. I really liked this, it might be my favorite song of the year. He goes with the long coat look. (note: Kate is mesmorized. Not sure if that's good or bad.) Really good but not the same impact as the first time of course, which is why i hate the repeat.
Randy: I love you chose a song you did before. (MORON)
Kara: Loved it, as it changed things up this year.
Paula: You look handsome and I'm proud of you. Ramble ramble ramble.
Simon: Complains to complain. It was a little theatrical. (Adam? Theatrical? NO....)
Nothing earth shattering but I guess that is the point.

Right now it's Kris with....AINT NO SUNSHINE at the piano. I actually think I may have missed this the first time. I like this so much better than his strumming the guitar sound alike stuff. Tempo picks up. I actually think it would have been better quiet and subdued the whole way. The louder parts were so-so, the subdued parts were really moving.
Randy: Makes NBA analogy. Randy knows exactly what Kris does. Likes it a lot.
Kara: Rambles
Paula: Rambles (I may stop including what they said)
Simon: Says Kris justified his place in the final.
I like the look on Kris's face. It's like, wow, how the (fudge) did I get here, this is really cool.... This is the second year in a row that the finalists look like they are having the time of their life.

I give round 1 to KRIS. Not a KO, more a decision. Simon says the same.

ROUND 2

Note: NBA Lottery is at 8:30. If the Knicks get the #1 or #2 pick I'm going to be distracted the remainder of the show.

Blogger ate the comment. I posted and it went poof. Annoying. Try again?

Simon Fuller choices now. Both Adam and Kris gave backhanded compliments to the songs chosen (Adam:out of my comfort zone, Kris: Not something I can easily make a Kris song).

Adam with Change is Gonna Come. This is what they chose? Adam does what he can with it, it's kind of theatrical but I'm not sure what else he could have done with that. The vocals were really good though but it was strange to me how he interpeted it, mostly because of the song choice. It was like him fighting the song but he won. I sound critical but I'm trying to be complimentary because I think the song didn't suit him but he still dig well. Randy loved the song choice and loved it. Paula and Kara super love it. Simon says Adam is back.

Kris with What's Going On. Strums the guitar, very competenly sung, very nice performance and very well done but not really a song the he can shine vocally on, so he didn't. There wasn't that one point where you really shine for a song like that. It was really laid back. Randy said about the same. Kara likes the socially concious message cause Kris can make people change. Simon didn't like it, he thought it was like 3 friends strumming along to Marvin Gaye and says it was too laid back. Ooh, it's scary when i use the same words as Simon.

Round 2 - Adam easily.

ROUND 3
It's THE IDOL SINGLE? Do they sing the same song, different songs? I actually really liked the winner song last year, which they didn't actually sing until the show was over, not in the performance show.

Same song both.

Adam first. It's better to be first if you are good here. If you are, it becomes your song and the next person is singing your song. Especially because the Idol single is a dramatic song and Kris is going to sing songy it. It's a very lame song. YOU CAN GO HIGHER, YOU CAN GO DEEPER, BLAH BLAH. Kara wrote this? Adam is very theatrical here. Too much backround singing. I guess it's called NO BOUNDARIES? Crowd is going nuts. Randy says you can sing anything, but this is just alright. Adam said the song is beautiful to Kara. (No, it's not). Paula i missed. Simon didn't like the song and won't judge the song, just Adam. That's the most fair. That was so-so, Adam is being nice about it, but WTF is with that song?

Why don't they just sing A MOMENT LIKE THIS? It's an idol staple. Then at the finale, give them their song.

Kris up soon with the crappy song. The Knicks pick #8, damn. He is trying hard, but it's equally crappy. WTF. The melody doesn't fit either one of their voices. Kris can't do the power vocals either. This is actually fairly poor. I can imagine him and Adam before the show WTF IS THIS SONG? I KNOW HOW CAN WE SING THIS? ITS SO RETARDED. I'm sorry, that was very so-so through no fault of Kris aside from maybe he could have been more creative trying to patch over the song. Randy says it fit Kris better. Kara says the song didn't fit him. YOU CANNOT CRITICIZE THE SONG CHOICE IF YOU ARE PART OF THE CHOOSING. Paula blah blah. Simon says the highlight was the first song but says Kris should be proud of his whole season, and you know, he should and Simon does not judge the last performance, which is again, very fair.

The bromance ends with them both singing that song. And thus our season is over. Final thoughts in a bit.

BUT
Round 3 - Adam by a nose but it's a nose smelling a bad smell....

Speaking of songs that don't fit, who told Carrie Underwood to sing Motley Crue?

FINAL THOUGHTS...
I really liked what Kris did the last couple of weeks. He went from afterthought to contender to strong contender. He built a fanbase. I think a lot of his support the last few weeks is Adam backlash though, people don't like Adam's style so they pick the person most likely to knock him off. (There are tons of Nugget fans this week cause people think they might beat the Lakers.) However, I don't think he did enough to win. I think Adam had a bigger lead than people think coming in, and I think the most memorable moments were Kris's first song and Adam's 2nd. It's arguable who sang the final song last, but they both were lame, and Kris's performance (his final two actually) had no big vocal moments to them that would stay in your mind. Idol is built on big vocal moments.

So i say Adam wins tommorrow.

HOWEVER...
I say this as a function of analysis, whereas going in I thought this was a slam dunk for Adam. I would not be shocked if they said Kris won tommorrow. Surprised, yes. Shocked no. And i think that's a huge departure from where we were a week or two ago.

At least there is no one i hate. BOY, i hated the season 5 finale. I wanted Taylor to snap and run off the stage and be disqualified. (Which would have made Katharine win, ick..)

Strange up and down season has strange finale.

Thanks for the comments! See you once more tomorrow.....then the long hiatus until we come back next year sans one judge...

The Finale: Who will win American Idol?

vs.

The Final Two: Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen.

Adam Lambert:

One of the frontrunners from the first moment he auditioned. Had the silliest "scandal" of all time when he was outed during the first few weeks, as if no one could possibly suspect! Theatrical to a fault, although he has rained it in at times. His piercing falsetto is a take it or love it prospect though. Seemingly performed last every week.

-Best Performance: For me, Tracks of my Tears. There were a few other people may argue. Nice, beautifully arranged and sung, and just a shining moment.

-Worst Performance: Ring of Fire. Total indulgent mess. Just hard to describe.

So far, Adam has not really been in danger. There was one time where he was left to the end to be safe but I had trouble believing he was bottom two - I think they just left him toward the end for drama.

Kris Allen:

Does slow and steady win the race? Gracefully dodging early hiccups (Simon trying to sabatoge him by killing the little girl vote by showing Kris's wife, and some horrid early performances) Kris has been a solid part of almost every show. Has overcome seemingly being ignored by the judges at times.

-Best Performance: The Way You Look Tonight. Again, just IMO, he ditched the guitar, he really sang, and he shined on a night most people seemed determined to screw up their chances. This was the week Simon said Kris can't win. Well, I guess we will see.

-Worst Performance: All She Wants to Do is Dance. UGH. The little girls jump around him, he strums his guitar, it's cheesy and annoying.
Kris is not my favorite, I must admit. It's just I know a lot of guitar players, and this strum the guitar and play a sing songy version of a popular song is either not that hard, or I have extremely talented friends. (Compared to a reworked David Cook rendition, for example.) Kris has been vulnerable in several weeks but has been a survivor. If this is a result of him having a loyal fan base that pulled him through then he may have a better chance. There is really no way to tell.

They will sing three songs:

1) One they have done already. Interesting dilemna for Kris here, Heartless got a great reaction but that was last week. It's not going to make the same impact one week later. Adam will go with something slow and impactful you'd think, Mad World or Tracks of my Tears.

2) One Simon Fuller (not the judge) will choose for them. Interesting here. Kris is harder to pick for as he seems best with mid tempo ballads, something he can play along too. He may need to ditch the guitar on this or the last song. Adam will probably get something more uptempo to counteract his first chocie.

3) The coronation song. (Not yet sure it's one song for both or one song each.) These songs are really hit or miss, with more miss. Adam has more flexibility and should be able to do more with it. Really depends on what the song is.

Kris has won the coin toss and will perform last. I don't see which of the three rounds favors him.

Can Kris win? That is the ultimate question. Nothing is impossible, but it strikes me as highly improbably. Much like season six (when we lost Melinda which left us with the Jordin vs. Blake finale) this is a matchup of contestants where one goes in needing to be very solid to win, and the other win needs to go in not only needing to be good, but having the other contestant falter. What is the chance of that really? This has all the feeling of a coronation, with only the people who want Kris to win really thinking he can win.

7 finale's so far. In every year except year 2, there has been a clear front runner and that person has one. I think this is one of the closer finales, with only year 2 really being closer. There, something for those who think Kris can win!

As far as indicators go, they all point to Adam (search numbers, polls, odds, etc.).

Carrie Underwood, Jason Mraz, David Cook, Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas, and Keith Urban are scheduled to perform. There is a rumor (started by former contestant Scott) that Michael Jackson would be there as his band is there. They might just be working with someone else though. It's not like he is currently touring. I would imagine tons of ex idol contestants too.

So in closing, I fully expect Adam Lambert to be crowned our 8th American Idol Wednesday evening. What do you all think? So far I am 7 for 7 in my final predictions (predicting the day prior).

Remember

If Adam Wins…Randy 1st $300 Henry 2nd $175 Kip 3rd $70 Ken 4th $25.

If Kris Wins…Henry 1st $300 Stephanie, Kip and Randi tied $90 each.

Not everyone has contacted me with how to reach them, maybe you are waiting for winning?

Should be fun.

JUAN

Danny Eliminated! And then there were two...

Let’s say goodbye to

I think Danny was a great idol contestant and unfortunately never got his groove going. I think he was hurt by the format changes more than other contestants; he was really good when he figured out a good song to sing and was in his element, but seemed not to know where he wanted to go as the competition wore on. I feel for him, he took a lot of garbage from the media early on for taking advantage of his wife’s death as if there is a way for your wife to die 3 months prior and for you to pretend that isn’t a factor in your every day life. I really think he had a chance to win, which I think Kris does not (more on that below) and although Kris moving on was deserved, it certainly didn’t help the competition.

Now, let’s get to the important stuff.

If Adam Wins…
Randy 1st $300
Henry 2nd $175
Kip 3rd $70
Ken 4th $25

If Kris Wins…
Henry 1st $300
Stephanie, Kip and Randi tied $90 each

If you are on this list please tell me how I will get the payment to you so it will be delivered ASAP after the final.

So we have Adam vs. Kris
vs.

I will send my preview out Tuesday morning with my thoughts. My quick thoughts, Kris is like the lower seed in a tournament that knocks off a top seed and is probably just happy to be in the finals (and gets pounded accordingly). Still I didn’t see him getting this far so maybe there is an angle I am missing that could see him winning. I will certainly look for one.

This week was a prime example of why this season is a mess. There is no transparency so when Simon says Kara didn’t help Kris’s arrangement enough, it doesn’t make you think meaningful thoughts, it makes you wonder if Simon did too much (is he cheating?) did Kara not do enough, was giving Danny Paula to choose a song a way to eliminate him (an obscure Terrance Trent Darby song, what a choice). They don’t want you to know how these decisions are made so they can keep the idea they are doing everything on the up and up even if they change their mind. It made me tired. Danny got chosen a terrible song, both other contestants had great songs, Adam was last again, and Katy Perry urged people to support Adam last night on the results show.
The appearance of dishonesty can be just as bad as the show being dishonest and it really looked this week that the powers than be prefer Adam to win. Which is a shame, because any conspiracy theory is a joke as he is 10 times more popular than Kris and it would be a huge upset at this point if Kris won. But why let this be out there?

See you next Tuesday with the preview and Wednesday with the wrap up!!


JUAN

The Final Three

It's the final three. Only two songs this year, which I'm not happy with at all. I think this year has really been hurt by the normal idol process of not giving out information prior to the shows. When there is a normal season with very few changes, it's ok. This year with lots of changes it comes across as chaotic, and almost like they are making things up as they go along, which I don't like. Still, one or two great performances and things will seem a lot better. A little bird =) told me Kris is singing One Republic APOLIGIZE tonight.

2 Hours till what is hopefully a blow away show....

We start with Danny's judge's choice by Paula, Dance Little Sister by Terrance Trent Darby. Thanks Paula, an obscure song choice that has no chance of being any kind of great moment. What a great choice. Is it just me or does he scream too much lately? This was a terrible song choice for him. He's trying, and he's bringing a lot of energy so it's good but they could have given him more. Kara doesn't like the dancing. Paula likes it, but the judges always like their song choice. Simon doesn't like the song choice. Me neither. Terrence Trent Darby has better songs than this.

Danny gets the short end of the stick, Paula's song choice, Kris as his duet partner, seemingly always in the beginning of the show.

And next it's...Kris with Apoligize chosen by Randy and Kara (each half a judge apparently). Apparently they like him as opposed to Paula with Danny. And Adam goes last AGAIN. It's again good, not great. It's nowhere as good as the original but it's very much a similar arrangement. No moment here. (Although Kara and Randy will gush.) Randy gushes, Kara does not as she pretty much says what i thought. Paula struggles to not say something negative. Simon criticizes Kara for not recommending an arrangement (she did say he should have done a guitar arrangement) but criticizing Kris for not doing a good arrangement. That is true. Kara physically attacking Simon. She has reached Paula level. She is a good replacment, annoying and hits when angry. Adam next with Simon's choice which will no doubt be awesome.

Ok, Simon picks ONE by U2, personally calling Bono and getting his permission. The other judges are inept morons. Better than the other two just because it's original. I didn't love the arrangement personally and it had too much falsetto for my taste but I'm nitpicking and it was better and the other three judges are going to nitpick to not give Simon credit. Randy nitpicks, Kara gushes in a way to criticize Simon, Paula says she is miserable because she has to give Simon credit for a great choice and annoints Adam as the winner (how many times has she done that this season. Simon says it was a brilliant song choice. Haha... Adam gives Simon props too. Adam will be in the finals.

Back to Danny who will do something slow and better than his first I am sure. Actually IDOL GIVES BACK update next. Hmm....to the met game.

Met's losing again. Damn...

Danny with YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. Great arrangement. Beginning is the normal version you expect. The second part he is singing this power vocal while the rest of the song plays in the background. I liked that a lot. No one remembers where you started but everyone remembers where you finished and that finished GREAT. Really good. When Danny is not sabatoged by Paula he is in good shape. Paula loved it too. Simon called it a vocal masterclass (after complaining about the arrangement because he didn't pick it). I hope Danny and Adam are in the final. I can't imagine what Kris can do to change that opinion. I'm sure he comes out and does a typical Kris performance, solid but not great.

Kris with Heartless by Kanye West. WTF(udge)? This whole vocal has an electronic feel to it. I like the song a lot but it's all due to Kanye's production and such. I don't like this. It's acoustic. For the second week in a row Kris reminds me of a good subway performer taking requests and playing any inane thing you ask him to play. Randy thought it was the greatest thing ever. Kara makes the point that she was right about Kris before again. Simon thinks Kris has a chance to be in the final now.

I'm sorry, that was lame. Maybe Adam can come out and do a slow jam verion of IN DA CLUB next with a piano. I really hope Kris is not in the final. It will be a coronation.

Adam next. Adam last. Adam has been last at least 4 times this season if not more. That's just way too many.

Adam with CRYIN. Nice second song choice i think for Adam. It's the kind of thing that will come across good even if it's not, if you know what I mean. Ehh. Great singing, lots of energy and the crowd was going nuts but not as good as Danny's, which was my favorite.

Adam and Danny in the final. Kris a strong third though which means Danny could be in trouble.

See you in a week!!!

Three remaining.......

Let's say goodbye to Allison Iraheta.

And so ended another strange week of idol in a season that lacks any sort of flow and has this “make it up as we go along” flavor of other TV competitions which are not Idol. His week was clearly going to be either Allison or Kris going out, as neither Danny nor Adam’s fanbases were going to let them leave prior to the bottom three. The duet thing was a mess, basically because either Kris or Danny (I call Kris because Danny brought it up) chose an awful song and the judges didn’t really comment the same on the duets as the other performances. Simon “Danny, you were better”. Huh? So we have contestant saves, Duets, mentors who are not capable of mentoring and are there for star power, etc. This week was Slash, who wasn’t bad in terms of his comments but seemed a strange choice as he’s not know for writing, producing, etc. but for proficient guitar playing, which isn’t exactly important in a singing competition.

As for our pool, are scenarios are attached. Six people are in play for the prizes, Henry, Kip, Stefanie, Randy, Tiffanie and Ken. If you can’t open the file, let me know and I will send the scenarios pasted into an email.

So we are left with three contestants.
Adam – Has to be considered the front runner at this point. Consistently good performer, arguably the only one to have any moments this season, and if he retreads any performances (as people are apt to do at this point) he has at least two which would be fantastic to do again.
Danny – Has a legitimate chance to win but it would be an upset at this point. Has yet to really find himself in this competition, which is strange considering we are 10 weeks in. His best bet might be Adam to be so-so this week and to have a great week with Adam being the surprise elimination with both Kris and Danny siphoning his votes. Really needs to be good this week or he’s going to be at Adam’s coronation next week.
Kris – Has pretty much no chance. Has established what he is, which at this point is the person who slips by week to week by not having the combination of being overlooked or the most awful in any given week. He’s a bridesmaid, not a bride, and the only drama with him is if he can make it one more week and knock off one of the big two.

Only 2 songs this week as we need to have time for the 4 judges to ramble. Personal choice and judge’s choice. No Clive Davis choice. The 4 judges is a mess, either eliminate Kara or Paula for next year. They don’t compliment each other at all, they almost seem to try to one up each other with compliments at times and Kara’s rambling is worse week by week. They also have taken away time needed for the show resulting in the show running over, people not getting comments on performances, etc. It’s nice to try something new but it failed, move on.

Only 2 weeks to go!

Rock Week!

It's rock week on idol! They announced the mentor and it's Slash! Yes, that is bizarre. And YES, they are planning duets (unless a lot of sources are totally wrong). Sounds great. Only 90 minutes till showtime.

No reherasal today due to something falling down or something like that. And YES, it's duets. And it's SLASH, which is bizarre (i said that before, i know). Slash likes some of the artists this season which is why he is willing to work with them. Hopefully he is good. He is super talented.

First up is Adam (he's not last? OMG!!!) Should be a good night for him, his voice is made for this. WHOA, Zeppelin. Feel the impact of Slash. That was really good. He definitely is going to have a huge night. Randy loves this. Kara has descended into Paula-land. Simon loves it too. Simon says the only problem is no one can top this. WOW.

Allison next with some Janis Joplin. Allison's hair done by Adam's "hair-girl". I was actually just thinking she looks better today. She will be Adam's partner tonight. Slash says she needs to get by the fear. I already like this. I will definitely be partaking in some Itunes versions tommorrow. I thought this was pretty good. Randy doesn't like it. Neither does Kara because she parrots whatever is said before her. Simon likes it a lot but he doesn't think it was that original. Simon would have chosen a Queen song. She gets a little feisty as Simon's praise is totally negative. I liked it.

Next, Kris and Danny with a duet. Strange order. Kris and Danny with renegade by Styx. Eh, they got together and chose this song? My daughter is singing along. but only when Danny sings. Strange. It's a very good vocal, it's a very good performance, but it's just not that interesting of a song. I'm not a huge Styx fan but is that what they are aiming for? I say pretty good but a wasted opportunity for something special. Just not enough to work with there. Randy, Kara and Paula speak but I don't even hear them anymore. Simon says Danny was btter than Kris and nothing else. They did choose the song, i was wondering if it was given to them. it was not, so my criticism stands.

Next Kris Allen solo. So Adam will be last AGAIN. Kris will be doing Come Together by the Beatles while playing guitar. Slash wants him to pick up the live performance a bit. Kris? Not energetic? What? Eh. Kind of boring and safe. Simon agrees with me by saying it's like eating ice for lunch. Huh?

No comments today. Either i have not said anything stupid which requires correcting or everyone is as engaged with this so far as I am.

After the break, Danny with Dream On . WHOA. That has potential. Eh. Too much screaming. It started out good but was just screeching at the end, it didn't work. Simon is really harsh on him. Just not Danny's night I guees. The best comment he got was "you should still be safe". Hardly huge praise.

It's Allison and Adam with SLOW RIDE. Just a million times better than the Kris and Danny pairing. They picked a song they could trade vocals on and have it flow better than Kris and Danny did. I like Adam better when he is more clean cut though, I'm not a Glambert fan. Good way to end the show. I would think Kris is in big trouble.

Not a bad show, not earth shattering either. This season reminds me of Season 6, just kind of sputtering toward the end with anyone really being able to sneak in and win and it not being a huge event. Hopefully it picks up. Honestly, we need Danny to have an awesome performance to set up the finale as a two horse race between him and Adam. I guess we will see next week (and tommorrow who is gone!).

And Then There were four....

Let’s say goodbye to Matt Giraud. No real surprise here, with the surprise being Adam in the bottom three. That tells me a few things are possible. First, Adam and Danny may share a lot of fans, as Danny was great, Adam less so and now Adam is in the bottom three. So perhaps Adam siphoned off Danny’s fans and now this week vice-versa. It also tells me that Allison has a good fanbase as Simon used reverse psychology (she is in trouble!) to spring them into action, and they responded. That makes her IMO a dark horse here. Kris is still around, but that’s about it. He may go to Top 3 but he’s not going to be in the final. (Kris’s appeal is a mystery to me, he’s dull, he’s the kind of pretty boy contestant who is usually gone by now.)

Right now we have a good idea who is in the front of the pool. I set up a way to check scenarios, the smaller green box in the lower right side. Type 1,2,3,4 for the order you want to see the scores in, and the overall total column will give you who will win the pool in that scenario. I will list and send out the winners under each scenario once we get down to the bottom three.

I thought this week was just so-so. At this point in the competition, you need people to step up and really separate themselves from the pack. Only Danny did that in any way, and it was far from the home run you would like, it was simply a good performance. Adam, Kris and Allison were also good, but none were at their best. Hopefully next week everyone will step it up and we will have a better race.

As for the show, there were some strange things this week. The food fight was creepy (Note to everyone, Allison is 17 and you are not and it looks weird playing with her like that.) although I thought some of the reaction was just overkill. There are some people who really don’t like Danny – I still think there is this feeling that he was milking his situation to continue on further in the competition, which I disagree with wholeheartedly. No one would do that. There was also Jamie Foxx’s “help” which was weird, with him giving strange advice, staring into Danny’s face close so Danny could sing better, things like that. I didn’t get it at all.

Next week’s theme is Rock n Roll and 2 songs for each. A very strange rumor from a good source is saying that one song will be solo, and the other song a duet. That is strange but it’s been done on other shows before, and the last strange twist supposed to be taken from international shows (the save) came true. I am unsure if I like this, but I’m not sure they are doing it actually so I will wait and see before I say anything.

JUAN

Rat Pack Night!

It's songs inspired by the Rat Pack. I am setting up the thread early so i can just jump in later. See you then.

I'm watching in a tiny box today because rickey of rickey.org is in the corner singing and dancing and being annoying. Why the live feed chose his feed is beyond me but I'm shrinking the box to avoid him. (If you could see what i see you'd know why i'm annoyed.)

Jamie Foxx is our mentor.

Kris Allen with "The Way You Look Tonight". He's won me over just dumping the guitar. Very nice and slow rendition. Probably the most he's "sung" in weeks, not just strummed and crooned. It speeds up a bit mid-way. I thought it was pretty good. Randy says it's his best yet. Kara says BLAH BLAH BLAH. (Not really but that's all i hear from her now). Simon liked it but didn't think it was as great as the other did. (They did overkill it.) Simon doesn't think he can win. (Really? SHOCKING!)

Alison next. I am not sure what she is singing (i missed the song name). It's really well sung. That was really good. She has a wonderful voice. (this is why Kara, Paula are worthless, because Allison sang better than Kris, but if Kris is super good, what is Allison? Super Duper Good? And then Adam later super duper duper good?) Randy about to pass out as he begins his comments. Simon says she might be in trouble because she doesn't really believe in herself (which is true). The other judges neuter his attempt at reverse psychology because they don't understand.

Next is My Funny Valentine by Matt Giraud. I'lll have to post the rest later, Kate is sleepy. Be back later...

Going to have to watch on youtube.

Ok, Matt. Eh, not bad. For some reason the singing grated on me at times, his voice. Not much to say, not bad at all but not great. Simon for some reason really likes it. Is he just trying to be contrary? (Didn't Constantine vamp his way through this song? I need to find that...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAoPLEBApo
YEP.

Danny with Come Rain or Come Shine. Jamie Foxx's help is bizarre. I don't get it. This is really good. He really built it up well and he's KILLING it by the end. Danny is back! It's about time! I only get Randy's comments but it's glowing. I can't imagine it wasn't like that across the board. WOW.

Adam with Feeling Good. I like the lights on the stage and the entrance with the staircase. Not the best Adam performance but still very good and still better than everyone probably except Danny. Simon points out that every week adam is trying something big with the intention of wowing them and trying to win, which i agree with.

Best Danny, with Adam and Allison right behind. Kris was also good and Matt was by far the weakest.

JUAN

Idol Update: Double Elimination and Songs Inspired by the Rat Pack

Let's say goodbye to Lil and Anoop.

Well, Lil was finally put out of her misery and Anoop failed to dodge this latest bullet (his fifth appearance in the bottom not including his initial loss and additional into the wild card). Anoop was so-so and pretty forgettable last week, and Lil was just awful, doing yet another karaoke performance and once again fighting the judge’s criticism. Lil is in my opinion one of the most disappointing contestants ever, never coming into her own and taking what looked like a chance to win the whole show and instead becoming one of the worst parts of the show each week. (I think Lil was so bad that she probably damaged any chance at a real recording career she may have. She’s completely uninteresting and unlikable.)

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern; Adam was great with his ballad version of IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU (which is absolutely destroyed by a rearrangement in the ITunes version for some reason), Danny slightly less original and thus less great, and Kris strumming his guitar and being boring and Matt singing, yet being equally boring. Kris seems to be very hit or miss with most people, each week there are people who swear that Kris was just fantastic but to be honest, I can’t see it. Allison is always solid but seems to lack something that would make her a stronger contender, be it her lack of personality or just the fact that her song arrangements aren’t that original / interesting.

I really think at this point its Adam’s competition to lose. Danny was neck and neck with him at one point. He’ll need a real moment to reach a point where he is a front runner once more. That’s not impossible, but feels more and more unlikely with each passing week.

Next week I will set up something so you can do some scenarios on your own to see what it would take for each of you near the top to win the competition (who’d need to get knocked out, etc.)

The theme this week is songs inspired by the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, etc.). I don’t know exactly what that entails but is sounds more like a jazz theme than necessarily a classics theme but we will see.

JUAN

Disco Week!

It's Disco week in 17 minutes. Hopefully they rectify the mess that was last week but I am not holding my breath. See you then.

8:10. UGH. Who did i miss?

Anoop i have been told. What did he sing? UGH...first is not good unles she really was great. Was he great? (Wait i missed Lil i was told? What did i miss?)

It's Kris with the guitar. He is going to sing SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY. Hmm...Sorry this is not disco and it's not this fantastic reworked version nor is it even that well sung. It's just not that challenging an arrangement. The crowd likes it, Kara likes it. Simon liked it to. I'm sorry, that wasn't great. Lil (assuming she was first) must have sucked to a huge degree and they want her gone because the hyperbole here was too much.

Danny was ok with September. Better than Kris i thought. He actually tried to do disco, it had energy. The judges don't like it too much.

Alison sings Hot Stuff. She looks too old, her hair and makeup. I didn't really like it so much, i thought the slow arrangement of the song was terrible. The judges like it though.

Ok, so why are we having disco week? Clearly, doing a disco song as a disco song doesn't benefit the contestants because the two performances they liked took all the disco out of the song. Note: I don't mind the contestants switching things to their style, but the judges used to at least call people on it. Now, it's praised. if that is the case, forget themes and just do whatever they want every week.

Adam with IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU. It's done as a rock power ballad. It's really, really good. Not to pile on Kris but if you are going to put your own spin on it, put your spin on it. I REALLY want the ITUNES version of this. Crowd ready to pass out. Paula cried. She felt his pain. Simon is making this face. Simon loved it. Reminded me of a David Cook redo, where the song was redone totally to fit their own style but the melody was still there. Unlike David Cook he makes sure to sneak in the thanks for the arrangement before he gets cut off, so everyone doesn't have to be catty tomorrow.

Matt to sing STAYING ALIVE. Ahh, good going home song. He's channeling Justin Timberlake in his look. Like Danny, he is actually trying to do disco. The arrangement has a little too much backup singers but at least he added some bigger vocal parts. Not bad. If Anoop is bad or the fates are not kind to Kris it's possible he might get through another week. Randy giving him the "this performance sucked but your singing was good" that he's been saying the whole show.

Anoop to go. He sings DIM ALL THE LIGHTS. Ooh, even worse going home song. But the last person never goes home, right? Not bad. Strange arrangement. It felt at times like it was going at the wrong speed. Simon HATED it. Ooh...

My prediction - Kris, Lil and Anoop in the bottom 3 and Kris and Lil go home. Yes, no Matt. Ooh, they just showed Lil's clip. WOW that's bad.

Best of the night was Adam by far with Danny second IMO.

Idol was strange and dull, let's move on to Disco Week

Let’s say goodbye to no one!

Well, that was strange. Matt was eliminated, and then brought back in a manner which seemed to me more of an opportunity to test the new rules rather and people’s reaction to them rather than give someone a chance to come back to the competition. Was his elimination fair? Not really, but most are not. Lil was clearly the person who needed to go this week, and she was bottom two, but clearly there are some people who want her around – more than even Matt can muster when he is good.

At least it’s (the twist) gone. No more save. And tonight two people go, which means the lack of a save could cause a bad elimination (which was the reason for the rule in the first place). It also exacerbates the problem of the show being too long for an hour and continues the ridiculous tag team judge strategy which basically breaks the judges up into A Team and B Team (Simon/Paula being the A Team). If Simon doesn’t judge you, did you even perform? Did anyone even consider for one week taking out Ryan rambling, etc. Asking the judges to talk less?

As far as our pool it really has impact except it allows whoever had Matt or Lil (or whoever goes out next week) to get one more week of points. If the scores of our top pool participants winds up being close that might figure into the final standing.

Total lackluster week from the contestants, with Idol making mistake after mistake as well. I didn’t really write anything about the contestants, what was there to write about? Adam was good, Danny was probably a little better, Lil continues to disappoint (and argued to boot) and everyone else just seems to be there. The best thing for me was the movie previews / snippets from the Tarantino films.

Hopefully this week is better.

Movie Night!

It's Movie Songs night with Quentin Tarantino as mentor. Plenty of opportunities for people to shine if they choose correctly. Let's see who takes advantage. You have to think Adam will be ok because his show tune / broadway background can be taken advantage of here. Danny has to shine and bring himself back to the forefront and Kris and Allison have a chance to climb out of the shadows and into the forefront. As for Lil, she is hanging by a thread and needs to show she is the artist they thought she was. At this point, I think Anoop is still good but clearly not a favorite, and Matt is just on the outside waiting to be eliminated.

Let's begin!

Each person only gets two judges since last week ran late. Which is stupid. Because good or bad, if Simon doesn't judge you, you didn't sing. Apathy will be high for those people. I'd be upset if i only got the Paula gush, I'd rather get slammed by Simon at least my fans would be worried.

BTW, the introduction for Tarantino justifies him being on the show even if he says nothing of interest, i enjoyed it that much.

BTW, i am watching here.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nomadness
Not on the TV.

Alison is first with I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING. People who sing this on idol have won twice i think. I thought that was pretty good. Crowd had a total fit, they loved it. Paula says about nothing. Simon says she is the only good girl left in the show. Simon says she could possibly go to the end. Allison makes her stupid face she always does. This girl must have no coaching at all as none of her personality issues have been addressed at all.

Next is music from Robin Hood and Easy Rider from Anoop and Adam. (Gee, who picked the obvious song?)

Anoop with EVERYTHING I DO. If there was a list i could make of songs i DON'T want to hear tonight it would include this, the Titanic song, the song from the Bodyguard, the song from Dreamgirls, and a few others which escape me but will pop up as soon as someone chooses them and I am annoyed.

Eh. I thought it was ok. Not bad but at this point, whatever. Randy likes it a lot. Kara will no doubt gush because she is about 75% Paula. She does. Let's move on.

Adam with Born to be Wild. I don't like him as much doing fast songs like this cause his falsetto voice sounds like he is doing Broadway show tunes rather than a person performing a rock concert. It's by NO means bad and he just through threw some of the song. Seeing him after Anoop dooms Anoop because it's just minor league vs. major league. Crowd explodes. Paula is gushing. Simon says about the same thing i did, that it came across at times as broadway. Still Adam is in the frontrunner zone, where he seems an almost lock for Top 2.

Matt next. If i don't concentrate on coming back to watch him i will forget and miss him. I'm 100% sure. More Bryan Adams. Who would have thought we'd ever have two Bryan Adams songs on one show. OH, this song. I forgot about this, this is a nice song. But to be honest, Matt doesn't move me at all. Maybe i'm just a grouch here but this is good but forgettable. Better than Anoop though. It's the B team with commentary. They don't like it too much.

AND I LOSE MY STREAM. OH SHOOT...hopefully it comes back.

It does. Someone is next I'm sure but no clue who...

DANNY. Cool.. He is learning to play guitar because he is bored and for the tour. Ryan asks him why he is bored. Idiot, i'm relatively sure if my wife was no longer around i'd be bored too. He is singing Endless Love. Quentin wants him to not use his hands so much. This is not bad at all. We have Danny back! I thought that was good. A little strange sounding because his voice is too raspy for the song but not bad at all. A Team on commentary. Simon dissapointed he didn't do a more original arrangement but praises him nonetheless.

Kris and Lil to come.

It's funny, i'm not in love with anyone but I really want to hear all the ITunes downloads so maybe I like it more than I think.

Kris up with something which i missed totally. B Team on commentary. Those others watching, can you tell me what you think? Crowd loved "whatever he sang" but Randy did not but Kara did, which tells me nothing.

Lil up next.

Haha, they are going to go over anyway.

It's THE ROSE from Bette Midler. She should be safe cause she's last and last is almost always safe. I don't love it. I don't like how she looks, I don't like how she arranged the song, and i think she is shouting. Started nice, got worse as it went. A Team on Commentary. Lil argues. Send her home please.

I think bottom 3 is Anoop, Matt and Lil and i worry for Anoop Dogg. Hopefully we lose Matt. Alison could be in trouble from being first.

JUAN

Good Mentor on Tuesday

Tuesday QUENTIN TARENTINO is the mentor. he was great previously as a guest judge, he really took it seriously and gave better commentary than Paula could ever hope to. (He rebuked Diana Degarmo on singing MY HEART WILL GO ON as it had been sung 1,000 times - think his actuals words were something like "you sang it, so what, we've heard it 1,000 times", something like that. He really was interesting. (That was back when the guests would sit with the judges and comment, and 95% of them said nothing negative.)

JUAN

Scott Eliminated!

Let's say goodbye to Scott.

There are always those contestants who look so much better prior to the Top 12 starting and just don't seem good enough to be there once it starts. Scott is one of those. (Anwar comes to mind. Alexis this season as well.) Scott never caught his groove, and seemed more out of his element every week, ending withi his foray into 80's cheesy rock this week. I also have to chide the judges except Simon who don't get how this saving person works, you need a consensus. Voting is not a conensus. Anoop and Lil joined Scott in the bottom three. Anoop is clearly in trouble as he wasn't bad at all this week and clearly it doesn't matter.

This week was strange. Almost no one seemed to catch their stride until the end. Danny was good (He has arrived at a place where he is going to be solid no matter what) but nothing special and since he performed first he was almost lost by the end. Everyone else ranged from lower medoicre to upper mediocre (from Lil doing her weekly karaoke routine to Matt being boring to everyone it seems except the judges). Then Adam came out and blew everyone away during the overrun, and wound up with only one judge critiquing (Simon) who gave him a standing ovation, and provided the only moment anyone will remember from this show. He has a lot of momentum now. It will be interesting to see if Danny can regain that momentum last week.

Scott had a decent level of support in the pool. 25 people had him in their top 5, although very few at #1. Only 3 members of our pool have all 5 of their top 5, BUT all of them have Lil second which seems like a huge stretch at this point. (They actually have the same 1-4 picks which is funny.) Much like last season this season is developing into a two person race. By the end of last season it was clear (to me at least) that David Cook was going to win. This season, I am not sure. I still think Danny has a really strong fanbase but if Adam continues to do this week after week I am hard pressed to see how he would lose. Everyone else is very uneven, they range from good to terrible in their performances week to week, and Kris, Matt, Allison all still don't have a niche, they shift week to week. At this point of the competition that's a terrible sign. Lil we know what we are getting week to week in a bad way. (Either bad or good karaoke.)

Next week it's SONGS FROM THE MOVIES. Be there as people pick obscure songs that no one knows and then justify their choices as Simon calls them indulgent.

JUAN

Idol - Songs from the Year they were Born

We start with baby pictures of the judges and Ryan. If that is really Ryan he is a funny looking little baby, like a rabbit.

First it's Danny Gokey. It's STAND BY ME. (You know, i saw several places suggesting he do this. Good guess.) It's done with a slow intro and speeds up. It's very well sung but it's not like he's having a moment or anything. I think the arrangement hurt him. He's very 80's R&Bish. Should get a positive review. Randy likes him, hates the arrangement. Kara too. I can be an idol judge, i ramble at as high a level as they do.

It's Kris Allen! His dream when he was little was to be a taxi driver. All She Wants to Do is Dance. He is singing and playing the guitar in the middle of a lot of happy teenage girls. But it's boring and cheesy. All I Want is this song to end. Kara didn't like it much. Paula calls him likable. Haha... Simon trashes it even more than it deserves.

Scott with the guitar. He is singing Chicago? I know the song, not sure who sang it. Voice REALLY cracked in one point. Not that good, but interesting so-so as opposed to Kris's grating so-so. I think he is better off that he was later in the show as earlier in the show I think everyone would have forgotten. Paula commends him for getting out from the piano (i thought she said last week she never made that comment?). Simon blasts it.

Now Alison.
It's Lil Rounds. Her name is really Lil Rounds, it's not her stage name or anything. She REALLY needs to bring it. No more misses, no more mimicing other people.. It's WHAT LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT. It's much better that her previous few weeks but nothing fantastic. Sigh, i'm beginning to think Lil's high end is this. Judges feel the same and Lil has the millionth week in a row where she underachieves.

Anoop with TRUE COLORS. OOH, very nice. Great song choice, nice arrangement and he sang it really nicely. Enough of his own touches too that it was pretty original. Best performance so far in my opinion. Judges give him a pretty good response. Anoop is either good or awful, nothing in betwee,

Scott sings. It's Chicago i think (i know the song but not sure the name) but it's very very so-so only made slightly interesting by the very strange sounding electric guitar playing, Paula commends him for taking her advice and coming out from behind the piano even though she didnt tell him that I thought. Very very dull. If this was earlier in the show i think he'd have a good chance to be gone as everyone would have forgotten him but it might save him being closed to the end.

Alison with I CAN'T MAKE YOU LOVE ME. She can really really sing. (BTW, her speaking parts before the performances are still very awkward.) Not a moment unfortunately (i want someone to KILL it) but it was definitely very good. Simon says her personality doesn't come out enough. I kind of agree, she feels shy to me. Randy compares her to Kelly Clarkson which I don't really agree with but whatever.

Matt and Adam still remaining. I have confidence one will rock and one will not. Which do you think it is?

It's Matt with Part Time Lover. Kind of a funky vibe to it. I don't like it too much Idol is going to run long. (it will cut into Fringe. Does anyone still watch Fringe? It took a 2 month hiatus and I was watching it and I didn't really notice.) Simon says WELL DONE as they are running out of time. Girls love it. My feelings of so-so ness are not changed.

Adam next. Feels like he closes the show every other week. I need to check that. HOLY ****. He sings this song called Madworld which I don't know but it's just flawless. Simon gives him a standing ovation. Slow, just beautifully sung, and so memorable. The kind of thing you'd like to hear again right after to try to absorb it in. WHOA. Just shredded everyone.

Best today - Adam, but I liked Anoop and Danny too.

Bottom 3 - Kris, Scott and Matt - and i think Matt goes home.

JUAN

This is Kellie Pickler?

Unfortunately i can't get the image to show bigger (damn tempermental blog) but who is this woman? She looks like she is 35, a very pretty 35 but still 35.

JUAN

My Top (now 8) thoughts

Let’s say goodbye to Megan.


From auditions Megan looked like someone who could actually be a frontrunner. She was ok in Hollywood and got in to the top 24. She then did ok and managed to snatch a wildcard based primarily. Basically her story this season is her performances getting gradually worse and worse until the last two weeks, where she basically threw anything out to see what stuck. This week she had a total indulgent moment, singing something only she wanted to hear, and American shipped her home because of it. The way she got eliminated yesterday said a lot – did they even consider saving her? Even pretend to?

Right now only 8 people in our pool have all 5 of their picks remaining. As far as the real contestants, 4 of them have avoided the bottom so far (Adam, Kris, Danny, Lil) with Lil doing it despite basically being below what she should week after week. I’m curious if the “save” comes into play. For me, it basically seems like the Allison rule. Everyone else is so up and down that I can’t imagine them getting saved. Only her I can see it being used on, and her needing to be saved.

This week wasn’t bad. Danny and Adam were really good. (They flipped form last week, Adam did the fun thing and Danny did the better singing.) The rest of the show I could have missed and it really wouldn’t have bothered me. Anoop fights back too much, Allison looks ridiculous, and Lil seems completely lost at this point. I think Lil has used up her fill of “you should be better” moments. Be better. Don’t rehash someone else’s song exactly as they would have done it.

Next week is songs from the year you were born. I guess we are getting the vague themes out of the way while we have a lot of people. Those themes always wind up being disappointing as a lot of the contestants pick something indulgent, or completely cliché. Frightening thought of the week is that Celine Dion is mentioned as being on the show later in the year. I’d really need to skip a Celine Dion week.

JUAN

Elimination Tonight!

Elimination tonight. Also, David Cook and Lady Gaga perform (I'm assuming separately). I predict Megan finally gets eliminated tonight, with Anoop and Matt joining her in the bottom. We will see fairly soon.

And it's actually Alison, Anoop and Megan in the bottom, with Allison first safe, and Anoop second safe. Anoop is on a bad bad pattern here. (Although two contestants, Syesha and Nikki were eliminated in their 6th time in the bottom three.)

No great loss, Megan never hit stride at all. They didn't even remotely consider saving her too, and it wasn't unfair.

JUAN

Top 9 Tonight!

It's Top 9! I have a vague idea on theme (have they announced it yet?) no idea on the mentor, and I'm way too tired to check. But i'm not too tired to be here from about 8ish to 9:15ish as always, and my trusty DVR after.

Back...no tv so I'm using a live stream.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nomadness
which is showing a pretty funny episode of 2 and a half men right now.

Ok, it's on! I have heard spoilers on what they are singing and I think Danny, Alison and Mark are in good shape, Adam very risky, and a few people I'm not sure what it is. It's america's top Itunes downloads!

Anoop singing Caught Up by Usher, which is what the spoiler person said. I hate it, you can choose anything and you choose THAT? It wasn't even that well sung. He disagrees with Kara. A bit obnoxious after the performance, not interesting during the performance, and the comments bashed him.

No mentors btw.

Next is Megan doing Bob Marley. Jeez. Does she have a pressing engagement at home? Pencil in Simon not liking it. I's not Bob Marley, it's Lauren Hill. Boring as hell. She is getting hammered and rightly so. She wasn't bottom 3 last week but she will be hard pressed not to be in it this week. Simon hammers it as I thought.

I don't get it, sing songs people will like to hear. Every song in the world is on some Itunes chart. The night Chris Daughtry got eliminated he sang a song he liked, but that wasn't that well known. The last two songs i downloaded from ITunes were from BoA and Maino and I don't expect either to be sung tonight and I'm just watching (Obsessed and All the Above btw as if anyone cares) - I don't think the contestants have the same filter.

Next it's Danny and Alison. Danny i get his song choice but I don't like it. Alison i think picked a GREAT choice. It's Danny and Alison NEXT!!

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03312009/tv/what_you_dont_see_162131.htm
Post talking about how much it looks like the two female judges hate each other. I got that last week. Paula looks so annoyed everytime Kara speaks.

Danny with Rascal Flats, who everyone likes. They are "modern country". I've heard that about Garth Brooks at one point, etc. Not a bad song. I see the potential for a huge ending to really take this home. He really knows his own voice. Good song choice. He took something not ridiculously popular and made it a Danny Gokey song. (Is he a closet country fan? Two weeks so far this year). Crowd loves it, Judges love it, Simon calls it his BEST performance, and Danny is back!

Alison with DON'T SPEAK. The greatest revenge song ever. Sing every night about how your bf left you and is a jerk with him playing in the band and needing you to sing this song to keep him making money. Then dump the band and go solo and make more money (making crappy music but that's another subject). Alison with the guitar. I hate her look. To be honest, she sang it ok but the arrangement was so-so and the performance wasn't blow away. Randy hates the outfit. Paula says "axe" about her guitar to sound hip. Simon blasts it but not too harshly. I think she's safe but that could have been a moment, and it was anything but.

Scott up next with PIANO MAN. No, that's just a pun (not by me). It's JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, played very, very slow. It's not bad at all. Definitely picked up near the end. He's a step below the better singers though. Kara loved it. Paula knows he's blind this week. Good for you Paula. Randy gets to say three words because they other judges are arguing. Maybe he will be safe.

Lil and Matt next. Adam is last? He has a real moment chance tonight. You'll see when they announce his song choice, it will be great or a HUGE mess.

It's Matt. My PC doesn't like Matt. So it's two words, pause, skip, pause. He is singing Surrounded. I am catching half of it and I don't love it to be honest. I'm not a Matt fan. It's decent. I predict it gets good praise and he is still bottom three tomorrow and people say, WHY, MEGAN WAS WORSE. Ooh, Paula doesn't like it too much. None of them do actually. Kara wants him to commit. She is kind of right, I can't classify Matt and in week 4 that's not a great thing.

It's Lil with a Celine Dion song. Well, she's on my I don't like list. I completely lost the stream but I saw the judges kill her. Randy comforting the kids after Ryan makes them cry.

Next it's Adam playing that Funky Music. His voice is very rock singer like, like Sebastian Bach or Rob Halford, how he goes into that high pitched screech. I like the arrangement, it's a bit more modern and arranged to show off his vocals. Reminds me of what David Cook did, took a song, and made it a David Cook song. Crowd is going nuts. Paula over the top with hyberbole. Adam gives the band props. He's the only one who remembers to thank the band , the mentors, etc. Kara is right, Adam has moved into that category where he's almost his own part of the show, Adam time.

Kris Allen last. I thought Adam was last because I don't even remember Kris. I hope he is good. I'll have to check him out tommorrow.

Good night! My clear favorites were Danny and Adam, Everyone else ranged from not bad to not good to awful.

JUAN



JUAN

Results Thread!!!

My prediction: Bottom Three
Matt
Megan
Michael
(Scott with outside chance)

Out
Michael with Matt as next to last.

I doubt i can post because i think this site is down tonight. If not I'll post later.

I can post!

It was Scott, Michael and Matt, with Michael and Matt next, then Michael, then the idiots Kara and Paula acting as if making no decision could somehow save Michael (saying YES might have but saying nothing, no that won't work). I guess Megan's fans realized that she was in a ton of trouble. I don't think Michael had many fans, I doubt this even makes a ripple. He was still pretty happy, making the tour is a great thing and he will be on tour.

JUAN

Idol Motown Week LIve Thread...

And away we go...MOTOWN....dramatic entrance begins! Ryan says we are not over the shocking elimination of Alexis. Well, I'm not because I lost my money but I think America may be. Kara points out Alexis just picked bad songs like every time. =P Paula wants them to challenge their artistic intergrity, like blind people running around the stage! Smokey Robinson mentoring...

First, it's MATT GIRARD. Ooh, first is not good. Let's Get it On? Is that what he song is called? He leaves the piano. This is tremendously so-so. Randy likes it. Kara gives lukewarm praise, which like Paula, means she thinks you suck. Paula continues to have a stick up her butt about the piano. Simon liked it.

This is Matt. Rickey.org always uses these little pics, I may steal them.

KRIS ALLEN singing How Sweet It Is. Tremendously so-so is the order of the day apparently. Eh...Matt was better. Paula is dancing, but i think that's the meds. Kara is happy Kris did Kris. They all like it much better than I do. Maybe i'm wrong on this? It's been so dull.

It's SCOTT. Ryan stirring it up by mentioning Paula and her meds mentioned Scott should take a risk (risking life by falling off the stage) by not using the piano. It's YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE. Slow intro like Kris. Also quite so-so. What is with this show? Better than the other performances I think just cause there is energy while the other two were so bland. Simon says he chose the wrong song again. I have so not in sync with anything today.

Paula says she has something and goes under the table. Everyone is scared.

MEGAN sings once in my life. UGH.... It sucks. She gets slammed. She is in definite danger of going home. There's not much more to say. Awful.

ANOOP to sing Ooh Baby Baby. It should be good if the rehersal is any indication. I like it. Definitely the best so far. He seems to get that you need to sing things people remember by the end of the show. Kara being too technical but she seemd to like it. Paula insults Anoop saying he's a legend in his own mind. Idiot. Simon says it's a great vocal but Anoop was a little boring. That's kind of true. I hate when they get all picky when everyone is awful prior. There is no consistency.

Someone (I missed who) after the break...

MICHAEL with Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Definitely trying to get rid of one of the weaker people with the order this week. (All the big guns are last, the people who don't need the better positioning.) It's probably the same as everyone except Anoop, which grading on a curve is ok but otherwise is very so-so. Along with Megan and Matt, Mike can go and I won't even notice. Paula doesn't like it. Very las vegas loungish she said. WOW. Criticism from Paula. Simon tells him he has no chance to win. This is true. It's been true all along.

LIL ROUNDS with Heatwave. Looks and sounds the part. Not over the top good (I'm wondering if she has that in her) but it's definitely the highlight for me (aside from Anoop I don't like anything so that's not saying much.) I'm waiting for her to break out, and she's not. There have been a long line of diva's on this show that we waited and waited and there moment never came. Judge's don't like it. Paula gives Kara such a nasty look for her criticism. I look forward for their first blow up. Should be epic. Paula looks like she hates her.

I'll be back at 10, kate's booktime beckons...

The rest I saw on youtube, but I'll give my thoughts.

Adam - Wow, he looks so different. Tracks of my Tears by Smokey Robinson. Great song choice, great look, singing really good. Plus you see him talking to the mentor and the questions he asks and he really gets it. Simon says he has emerged as a star. WHOA...nice. Where is the ITunes?

Danny - He's here with Get Ready. Fun performance, lot of energy, singing was good. I liked this. Not stunning like Adam was but you can't do stunning every week, and if Danny wasn't the best this week I think he's top few easy. Simon calls it amateurish. This season is weird, there is no one person they like, Adam got clobbered last week but is great this week, Danny opposite. It seems they want to keep a whole bunch of people strong.

Alison - With Poppa was a Rolling Stone. She wants to show her little "funk side" she says. I like her. WHOA. Really good. I don't like the song (kill me for that, I know) but I really enjoyed that performance. She can really, really sing. Judges are gushing. Kara complains she was in the bottom 3 last week, it's such a Paula comment. She didn't sing THIS song last week.

Really good show although I thought it started off really dull. My favorites, Allison, Danny, Anoop and Adam with Adam and Allison a cut above. Didn't like Kris much, but I think Matt, Michael and Megan are the bottom and I think Michael is in the most danger.

JUAN

Motown Night

Motown Night Tonight!! Lot to choose from..I'd think everyone could find something to shine at. You have to think Michael and Megan are in a lot of trouble but we will see.

Hopefully I can post later today.

Or the next day as it's now Wednesday! Idol soon...no song spoilers this year, idol is super tight with security.

A little something to tide you over if you log in early....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQU9OKL7Js4
Just music, no video yet. Elliot Yamin - Fight For Love. Nice song...

http://idol360.blogspot.com/
Obscure stuff like Antonella's single (remember her?) or Anoop's stuff with the UNClef's (reminds me so much of Andy from the Office and his group). I haven't listened but I will because i am nuts like that.

Be back in 2 hours...maybe in a new post since I cluttered this one.
JUAN

Let's say goodbye to Alexis (and my pool chances)

Let's say goodbye to Alexis. Alexis leaves on her second very bland, uninspired performance in the span of 2 weeks. At one point Simon compared her to how Kelly Clarkson looked at the beginning of the competition, and she wound up lasting only 2 weeks as she was never able to find her groove. Even last night, singing to save herself, she was just awful.

Joining her in the bottow was Allison and Michael. Allison was a victim of being too early in the show - when that happens you need to be memorable somehow (good or bad actually) or you get lost in the shuffle. Michael did some god awful country song so I wasn't suprised. I don't think he lasts much longer.

It's funny, the NY times person who writes on TV (and thus idol) wrote this scathing criticism of the "save rule" on idol and how idol was cheating to allow their pre-ordained "four" into the final four, and one of them was Alexis. I guess he should have watched the show last week to see anything Alexis had going for her was already gone.

As far as our pool goes. a bunch of people had her in their Top 5 including a bunch who had her first, like me! Losing your first at this point effectively kills you unless the other front-runners go too, which is not happening. Check out the points and the people who are way way behind, like me! And note they lost their first choice...still, it's too early for anyone to be comfortable although I'd feel much better if I still had all my five and Gokey up there 1st or 2nd.

Overall - Strange week. Adam decided to do the frontrunning mistake, doing something ridiculous and indulgent in week 11. Better to do it now than in week 5 or 6 when it could knock you out but still ridiculous. (If you missed it he did this vamping mess of a Johnny Cash song with a middle eastern sound and feel.) Lil Rounds doesn't seem to have any clue about the proper direction to take, and all the guys seem better prepared than any of the girls save Allison, who has no niche other than having a good voice. Danny was once again very solid, and could become a really strong front runner if no one else steps up their game.

Next week is Motown week. Not sure who the mentor will be or the former idol which will guest star.

JUAN

Country Week!!

I; like Simon, HATE country music. Country week always sucks because Simon hates half the performances simply because they are country songs. Me too...and off we go with Randy Travis as our first mentor of the season.

Michael Sarver - does a fast song from the really popular country singer i cannot recall his name (yes, that's awful analysis). It sucks, its intelligible, Simon states as such, Michael says its ok because if he was perfect he wouldn't need the show. Yuck. It kills me because it probably wasn't bad but it's bad cause it's country!

Allison - Much better than Michael. Allison stylewise and personality wise is a million years ahead of where she was at the beginning. Can't say I liked it THAT much. Paula has real criticism. Simon gives lukewarm praise. Randy disagrees with SImon for the first time this year.

Kris - Wonder if his wife is there. GARTH BROOKS! That's the name i was thinking of. He's singing a slow song which I think is better for this style. Really good, Simon will like it as it's not country at all. And, he does!!! Kris gets super put over for this performance. Kris has joined the fray!

Lil Rounds - She looks much better this week. The contestants spend quite a few time together she says. She is going to hold back as to not R&B the song up. It's one of those obnoxious post 9-11ish american songs. LET FREEDOM RINGGGGGGGG...i don't love it at all. Simon hates it. Lil fights back. Don't fight back. Lil does say a good thing, that she'll pick better next time.

Ok, no more country. Take country, and change it.

It's Adam! Adam is super super nice. And he is doing RING OF FIRE from Johnny Cash, a strange arrangement with sitars and stuff. He tells Randy clearly he doesn't like country. Adam wins me over with that. Bizarre. Very well sung. Reminds me of a fallout boyish type thing, emo rock. I wonder if Simon will come across with the indulgent tag cause this is damn indulgent, but not bad because of it. The crowd LOVES it. Paula makes a Kashmir Led Zeppelin comparison. She is coherent or better cause of the drugs. Simon hates it to a large degree. Haha, he says indulgent. I have watched this show far too long.

Ok, i went through the rest on DVR.

Danny - Sang Jesus take the Wheel. LOVED it. He started out slow but he kills the power vocals. Really good, i may itune this. Looked like he was going skiing for some reason but aside from that I loved it.

Scott - Sounds real similar to last week. Pretty nice, nothing fantastic. Paula wants him to get away from the piano, apparently forgetting he's blind and will just be standing and staring. Simon calls her comments dumb. I agree. Lots of feel good praise today.

Alexis - Eh, Simon says we will forget her 10 minutes after she sang. We will. Nothing special at all. Alexis needs to step it up, all the momentum she had is gone.

Anoop - LOVED IT. He sang ALWAYS ON MY MIND which I like a lot. He sang it kind of R&Bish but not too modern. Simon praised him to death. It reminded me of Clay, in that he took what the judges said, used it, said he used it and it came over real well. To quote randy, ANOOP IS BACK!!!

Megan - If Megan can't do well at this she really deserves to go home. Sings a standard. Randy Travis likes it, although the way she looked during rehersal I think she could have sang anything. (She really looked great.) OH no, i hate the way she's singing. Her voice cracked and I don't like how she looked really. Everyone gave her great props though. Hmm....i totally missed the appeal I have to say.

Matt - Paula is sniffing Simon's arm. I liked this but it felt 15 seconds long. Kara is in the Paula role today, she loves everyone and everything. Simon things he outsang Danny tonight. WOW.

I think Danny wins today with Anoop and Kris not far behind. Matt a solid 4th. I think Alexis, Megan and Matt are in trouble. Despite what the judges say, I think Megan could be gone. Matt might be gone because he was so early in the show, who remembers that awful song?

BTW, have you heard Seether do Careless Whisper? Adam NEEDS to do that song and Kris Allen needs to do Deliah (by the 1,2,3,4's) at some point. Totally unrelated i know but he has too. 2 Perfect.

No more country music, yah. I just can't get into the fast songs.

Our first two contestants eliminated and "The Twist"

Goodbye Jorge and Jasmine.

Neither elimination is much of a surprise or does much to hurt the show. The surprise to me is that Anoop must be pretty popular, and that outside of the most popular contestants everyone is pretty much grouped together. So, it would surprise me to see Danny, Adam, Lil, Scott, Alexis, Allison or Anoop go in the next 3 weeks or so, but I think anyone else can go. 24 People in our pool were affected by this, with 2 people having both Jasmine and Jorge, and 1 person having Jorge first. Either of those situations is probably not good! Please find attached the first results file, and it can always be found (for those here in lovely (cough) Parsippany) up by the door to my office.

Great first week in my opinion. Outside of Anoop and Megan (for the people remaining), the bad wasn’t that bad and Anoop and Megan’s main problems were horrific song choices. The results show even was entertaining (Kelly Clarkson’s new cd is very good btw and light years ahead of the last one) and I have high hope for this group going forward, although I hope someone crashes the Danny / Adam party this season has the potential to become.

Next Week - Grand Ole Opry Week on American Idol
“America’s top-rated television show is about to join forces for a week with the "Show That Made Country Music Famous!" American Idol will feature a Grand Ole Opry theme on March 17 & 18, as contestants will select and perform songs popularized by Opry members! In addition, Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis will sing together on Randy’s classic hit and Carrie’s current single, "I Told You So," plus Brad Paisley will make the television debut of his new single, "Then," from his forthcoming summer album.” Basically it’s country week.

The Twist to me isn’t that bad. I was really scared early on because I know Simon has pushed (shocking I know) for more judge input in the show in general, and the intro, etc. this year was all very much like his British shows, where the judges are the show, not the contestants. (For those of you who might have missed it the new twist is any eliminated contestant, prior to 5 remaining, can be saved by the judges. If this occurs, the next week two contestants will be eliminated. It can only be used once.) I think I’ll call it the Jennifer Hudson rule, because for the life of me I can’t figure out anyone else who went out prior to 5 remaining that warranted saving. It is harder on the contestants, as they get essentially eliminated twice. It’s also such a joke at this point to ask “Are you saving Jasmine?” Of course not. (Note: I had the correct twist up on the blog 5 hours prior to the show! Nothing stays secret these days.)

JUAN

New Twist on Twist...

From Joesplace, the greatest idol spoiler of all..

"Ryan has Ken Warwick on his radio show and talked about the "new Rule" said they are introducing it to solve a problem that has been around since season one. He said they tried it out on the French version of Idol first and it worked so they are bringing it over here. French Idol had a one time Veto of an elimnated contestant. For instance, say someone that the judges love has an off night, or all fans think is safe so don't vote for and that contestant gets the boot. (Daughtry, for instance) The judges can bring that person back for the next show. On French Idol, the judges could only use this veto once throughtout the entire season. I blogged about it and put the Ryan/Ken interview at my blog. http://www.joesplaceblog.com But, thats basically the gist of it."

Hmm...i don't love it but the ONCE only time is not bad. I like it more than the judges protecting people though.

Idol to jump shark? Twist tonight?

Everything must come to an end I suppose. Will it be tonight though?

Simon hinted at a change involving the judges. Immediately people thought of X-Factor, his british show and to say the reaction is negative is an understatement. I think most people just let his and Ryan's interplay go as nothing, but it really may be the end of the show.

X-Factor lets the judges give immunity to one contestant based on them performing to save themselves during the results show. So let's say we have bottom of Anoop, Jorge and Jasmine, and Anoop really should be the lowest.

Anoop sings and saves himselt. Therefore we keep him (who would have been a suprise elimination) and lose someone else.

It's kind of Dancing of the Stars-ish too, but the difference between Idol and that is people think Idol is real (even with the conspiracy theories) while Dancing is for fun.

If Idol does that I'll really lose a lot of interest in the show. Honestly, if I wasn't doing the pool I'd probably stop watching. Yes, the shock eliminations are annoying. But they allow dark horses to win. With this (changed) system, how do you get rid of an Adam or a Danny ever?

Hopefully the change with the judges Simon alluded to is Paula finally being fired (shot whatever) or something else, but if it's what I think, they really screwed up.

From a British X-Factor watcher...
"Well I am, British, and I'll try and clear a few things up.X Factor is a tacky Saturday night show where the judges are the star attraction. The lineup changes every year and everything is geared to focus on the panel, not the singers. Stupid voice-overs and ridiculous operatic music pollute the segments between karaoke backed (no live band) performances that are the last thing anyone cares about. The sob-stories are ten-fold, the host is a moron, and contestants idiotic pouting into the camera in their Matrix like pre-performance packages is vomit-inducing. None of this equals art or sophistication. It equals a colorful entertainment show, it's melodramatic, amusing, tacky and completely counter-productive.Idol has its haters over here, but at least it has created some genuine superstars; the format has done that. Does it not strike anyone as surprising that in five years the show's only created one superstar? And that was a stroke of luck.Despite the fact that X Factor is big in the UK far less people actually vote than they did on Pop Idol, because there's very little point. Ten million people voted in the Will/Gareth finale. I think they're thrilled if they even get a two or three million now. The point is, that show is a farce. It's a superstar-making show that doesn't create any superstars. They want to get more public interest and viewership on Idol by stripping the power of the public? Sounds like a smart ass move to me. Not."


JUAN

Top 13 - Michael Jackson Week!

Let the Top 13 begin! I'll post my thoughts soon if i can watch it live...

The stage is different. Paula says don't let it consume you! Everything looks new and shiny and big. Simon says DONT FORGET THE WORDS and DONT GET SWALLOWED BY THE STAGE although he means you have to shine and Paula meant to watch out for her hallucinations to physically eat you.

It's our idols! Alexis forgot her clothes apparently. Megan is way too red. They announce two people will be eliminated tommorrow. Simon says thats good for them because it gives them more pressure. (They just scanned everyone, Allison looks different and Lil Rounds too, one in a good way and one in a very bad way, that being Lil Rounds who looks like a pink peacock.)

Here's the Michael Jackson intro (in case you don't know him) and we are off!!! Lil Rounds is first!

Lil Rounds: The Way You Make Me Feel: It's not great to be honest. She sings really well (She is clearly going to be a Carrie, Daughtry, Clay like contestant that even when she is not spectacular her vocals are still flawless). I have to say good but not great. It was too close to the original arrangement, so it was flat to me. Randy disagrees completely and said she changed it completely which is not true at all. Kara rambles (hear you on the radio is her phrase today). Paula compliments her awful look. Simon agrees with me totally including the clothes. She's going to be a strong contestant but this was just good.

Ryan says to be careful when dialing so you don't accidentally dial an adult line. Ok, he didn't say that but that's what he meant!!

Scott: He has a blind sister even though there is no prior vision problems in the family. (Bad luck of the draw there). He is singing KEEP THE FAITH while playing the piano. I don't know the song at all. It came across better than Lil's just cause it was more original, it came across more as his song. Crowd LOVED it. Not fantastic but if it's a sign of things to come for him, it's a good sign. Simon didn't like the song choice. (Paula says something really bizarre about Norway).

Danny: Wow, the heavy hitters are out early. It's softrock time with Pretty Young Thing. OH NO, it speeds up. I was wrong. This is so strange that this man is singing the words "Tender Roni". I like his mix. It's showing off his vocals. I think it's much stronger than the first two performances, better song choice, great arrangement and he sang it well too. Paula declares him the winner. Simon calls the vocals brilliant and says he's a white guy with soul. Danny has a good personality too. He may win this despite Paula saying it. For a week 1 performance, that was GREAT.

Michael: I missed his intro. He is singing You are not Alone? It's ok. He is a good singer but he's nothing special and I hate that cocky smile he always has on his face. I'm not sure what to make of this, I don't think it changes my mind about him at all, that he's one of the weaker contestants. Simon makes fun, Michael must have mentioned he worked in the oil rig again. Randy says tonight so far he's one of the best (one of the best 4?). Kara has nothing original to say, it's just cliche's. What happened to her since auditions?

Paula is SO high today.

Jasmine: I'll Be There. She has a REALLY big voice all of a sudden. Very mature sounding. I like how she looks too, very 70ish, fits the song and how she is singing it. She gets lukewarm praise from the judges. She might be able to do better going forward though cause she can sing.

This is a good group.

Kris: Remember the Time. He plays guitar. I hate it. It's not bad per se, but it's kind of dull, strange arrangement. Kara says the girls love Kris. Paula rambles. Kris helped everyone else. Maybe that's why he sucked, he didn't help himself. DIE PAULA DIE. I'm so tired of her. Simon says it was interesting but a bit clumsy. Simon said he should have kept his wife hidden a few more weeks. Wife is upset. (Note: Simon is slick, he outed the wife so the little girls know Kris is married.) Eh...

Allison: Allison has 2 l's and i've been spelling it wrong till now. Her early videos remind me of videos i saw of a young Selina singing. Give it to Me is the song. The look and style is rock today. She seems to be very confident about what she can do and what she wants to do. She did very well. She can go far, having a solid niche is a good thing, and she can sing real well. Hell of a combination. The judges concur.

Anoop Dawg: He has a new look. He is singing Beat It. His voice isn't big enough for the song. He's going to get skewered. Even Paula is criticizing. Simon says it's horrible. First awful performance of the night.

It's JORGE!: All Puerto Rico is supporting him. I know I am, we never get a PR on this show. he is singing Never Can Say Goodbye. Good song choice for his voice and it's tone. (Are there enough people in Puerto Rico to have a Jasmine like effect I wonder? Hawaii carried her forever.) Not bad. He snag it well but there isn't anything overly special about it. Below the best today and ahead of the worst. Judges tell him he needs to do better.

Be back later or tommorrow, no more time tonight...

I come back and realize I didn't DVR it. What a pain. Youtube awaits, no judges comments though...

Megan was ok. She sang good but it was a little strange. I don't think she gets eliminated off this. She sang Rockin Robin.

Adam - WHOA. SO seasoned. That was really good. He kicked all kinds of ass there. WHOA once more. He sang Black or White, the energy was great, the vocals were great, his stage presence is good. I liked Danny better but I can't argue against anyone who said this was better. Again, just WHOA. Paula must have proposed after this.

Alexis - Very nice. A little overdone, not all of it worked (whereas all of Adam's worked). Her fans will love this and I think others will come way thinking it was strong too. One of the best tonight.

My favorites tonight (in order) are Danny, Adam, Allison, Alexis, Lil Rounds. I think Jorge, Mark, Kris and Jasmine are vulnerable, and my predictions are Kris and Jasmine out. Jorge did sing a perfect goodbye song though, never a good idea.

JUAN

Notes on tonight...POOL PICKS DUE!!

Note: Pool picks are due today at 7pm! Don't be late or you will be left out.

Couple of notes on tonight.
-Most likely two people will be eliminated this week. There are 11 weeks of idol, and 12 contestants to be eliminated. So that points to double elimination, and the easiest time to do that is the first week.
-Idol needs to change the phone numbers for tonight. There 13th number of their usual 866 number belongs to a sex line. Haha...i'm sure they have a backup plan but that's just too ridiculous. I wonder if people dial the old numbers out of habit.
-Carrie Underwood has made a remake of Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue as the "goodbye" song for this season. Not sure if they use it always like they did last year with Daughtry's "Home" track. You can listen to a preview here.

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Sweet/dp/B001UQYEXW

JUAN

My Preview! Top 13...

We have out Top 13. I'm kind of excited about this year, there are a few people that people seem to think are the chosen one, etc. That can't be possible, so that's a good sign! I think there are a bunch of contestants at this point who have potential to make a really long run if not win outright, so I'm definitely excited. First week is Michael Jackson week (and the results show will have both Kanye West and Kelly Clarkson).

THE TOP 13

Lil Rounds

23 years old, Memphis, TN

Lil Rounds has to be considered one of the favorites to win the whole thing and probably the strongest contestant out of the girls. She is a extremely polished singer, and had no trouble belting out her Mary J Blige number during her performance. Simon called her brilliant. Out of the three almost sure paths to the Top 13 (Her, Danny and Adam) she was the only one who really killed her performance. The other girls in this competition don't really match up vocally, and in unlike seasons past, there is no "battle of the divas" to contend with. In my opinion, she is the most likely to wow us week to week all the way through.

Michael Sarver

27 years old, Jasper, TX

Michael is the worker from the oil rig become Top 13 contestant. He has more countryish, rough vocals in amongst a group of males with much smoother vocals. Michael got voted in ahead of Anoop, so he must have a decent fanbase but I can't imagine him going very far unless he really wows everyone in the first two weeks. I can't see it.

Megan Joy Cortkey

22 years old, Sandy, UT

Punk rock tattoos but coffee house singer vocals. In a current market where people like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen are what is new and popular, she definitely has a chance to come across as new and contemporary. However, her vocals are some of the weaker in the competition, and like Anoop, she lost out to some people initially who also don't look like strong contenders. Megan needs to very quickly build her own niche, and she can wind up like Jason Castro, a real niche singer that can parlay a few good performances into a long run.

Scott MacIntyre

23 years old,Scottsdale, AZ

Well, no pun intended it's easy to see what initially attacted people to Scott, his backstory of being the first blind idol contestant to move out of the preliminary rounds. He's been solid in every round which has enabled him to hold onto the large buzz he had initially. He's really likable, he has a good sense of humor and he is a great singer. Not a bad combination. Definitely could win but I would think he'd fall short - as solid as he's been there has been no real exciting moments from him yet that make me think there are more coming.

Matt Giraud

23 years old, Kalamazoo, MI

Matt has made almost no impression on me at all. I guess bluesy is a good way to describe his voice, but the main impression it made on me was one of horror as he massacred Coldplay after I was happy he had chosen something less than 20 years old to sing. I don't think Matt has much chance at all, seems like an early round sacrifice to me.

Kris Allen

23 years old, Conway, AR

Anyone who is a Kris fan may want to skip this paragraph. I really think Kris is in because he's a young guy and because of his looks. I didn't think his performances were anything special, but he was one of the people who had a nice fanbase early on and kept it regardless of what he did. There is no reason Kris can't go for a while in the competition, but I don't see him as any sort of contender.

BTW, Tatiana (the psycho) has a very large fanbase as there were so many complaints after the show about her being eliminated. To say I was surprised is an understatement. How someone who acted like a total psycho during almost every moment of the competition gatherd so much sympathy is beyond me.

Jorge Nuñez

20 years old, Carolina, PR

Jorge came out of absolutely nowhere to definitively take one of the top 3 spots during his week. If you recall last year, David Cook went from interesting Top 24 contestant to contender to win off ONE performance, Hello. The momentum gotten from coming out of almost nowhere can be great for a contestant, and while Jorge had nowhere near the moment David Cook had, he went from nowhere to strong contestant over the course of his 2 minutes. (Singing a song Clay Aiken made a staple in the competition no less.) For Jorge to progress far, he will need to come out and show his one great peformance was no fluke. If he can do that, he may do really well in the competition.

Jasmine Murray

16 years old, Starkville, MS

We have not one, but two 16 year old girls in the Top 13 this year, and much to my surprise, both heavily endorsed my Simon. I think Jasmine is the kind of contestant that wildcard was for, someone the judges think will do really well and just underachieved in her initial performance. She did do really well in her Wildcard performance, discovering a really strong voice that none of us had seen up to that point. I'm really not sure what we will see from Jasmine, a 16 year old girl that looks like a popstar with a big huge voice should certainly be a factor in this competition, but until the wildcard round she looked like a young, nervous girl who just couldn't sing as well as the other girls. Very interesting.

Danny Gokey

28 years old, Milwaukee, WI

Danny Gokey had everyone won over really early in the season. His story was so sad (his wife's recent passing) and he was there with his friend, and he really seemed to just be taking in every step of the experience as much as he could. He's sang well in his audition, every time in Hollywood, and seemed a sure bet to the top 12 (which he is). Then a funny thing happened, he decided to sing another inspirational song, his friend flashed a picture of him and his wife, and people asked if he is looking for sympathy? My take - i can't see how you can expect someone recently widowed and whose wife would have liked him to do this not to have her forefront in what he is thinking as he is doing this. He does need to tone it down though, no inspirational song of the week. Everyone already knows who he is, he is good enough to get by on his singing from here on out. Definitely a contender.

Anoop Desai

21 years old, Chapel Hill, NC

Anoop has a very interesting road to the Final 13, him being the contestant that makes this a final 13 and not a final 12. (They've really tortured him, he was the last wildcard chosen and got eliminated before being brought back as the surprise 13th contestant.) I don't think this hurts him at all, and he has a few things going for him, he's likable, he comes across as dorky except when he's singing (ala Clay Aiken) and he's got a good nickname (Anoop Dawg) that his fans can use for him. I think he's a very strong contestant and is one very good performance from being around a very long time.

Allison Iraheta

16 years old, Los Angeles, CA

Along with Jorge, Alison came seemingly out of nowhere to get voted into the Top 13. She also (like Jorge) sang an Idol standard, ALONE (torn to shreds by Carrie Underwood in a good way) and came through with flying colors. She is a interesting case, she's only 16 but Simon likes her (he usually doesn't like the young contestants) and she came across so badly at first, she looked awful and she sounded completely confused and overwhelmed talking to Ryan. That was pre-singing however. The next day she looked 100% better and was confident as she knew she'd get voted through, and she was right. I still don't see her going far, but I didn't even see her here and she moved into the Top 13 pretty straight away. I could be very wrong here.

Alexis Grace

21 years old, Memphis, TN

It's good to take what the judges say to heart. Case in point, Alexis. During Hollywood she didn't look that good (her hair color, her style just wasn't right) and her singing got away from the bluesy quality of her audition. Cue Week 1, she comes back with her current multicolored doo, a sexy bluesy vocal, and shot through to the Top 13. The judges loved her, with Simon comparing her to Kelly Clarkson at the same level of the competition. That's a huge compliment, and shot her to the forefront of everyone's minds in the first week. If she comes out great this week and recaptures that momentum from that first week, look out. I would call her a dark horse, but anyone with Simon's backing goes from Dark Horse to contender.

Adam Lambert

26 years old, Los Angeles, CA

Adam is the best vocalist in the competition probably. (He also looks like a Jonas Bros, not a bad thing. ) He has broadway experience, and it shows with how effortlessly he sings. He also is very over-dramatic, and after his last performance, I wonder if this is something he can avoid. (The judges complained, he did it anyway.) He is someone that should be an extremely strong contestant, but may really struggle when the theme is not a style he excels in. If he does manage to avoid some of the drama in his performances and finds a way to fit the styles around himself, he could not only do well, he could win this whole thing.

Adam gets the award for best scandal that wasn't as VFTW wanted us to be outraged he might be gay, which was greeted with a huge yawn as he shot by his round with ease.

All in all I think this is going to be a very exciting season. I haven't made my picks yet, but I will have them soon (they will be on the spreadsheet i send out). I find it funny, people always complain to me it's so hard to pick the winner, but that's kind of the point. If anyone is 100% sure who would win, they we'd all be sure. (Like the Carrie season, there was no point from her audition on that I wasn't 100% sure she'd win.) The 4th judge dynamic is interesting, I think it may hurt the weaker contestants in any given week as Paula tends to dominate the people who stink, until Simon SMACKS them down. It's not positive. (Simon seems to like a lot of the Top 13, Allison, Megan, Lil Rounds, Anoop, Jasmine, Alexis have all gotten his stamp of approval.) I still really like Kara as a judge, I don't understand why they don't invent something wrong with Paula and just remove her.

JUAN