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