Archive for March, 2010
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Interesting show tonight. Sure, Didi was sent home. It was surprising for sure, especially when put up against Tim. He is definitely being saved by the teenage girl voters, along with the votefortheworst.com posse. This was supposed to be the year of the girls, but two weeks in a row, the girls are the ones to fall.
Let’s focus on some of the other interesting things that went on in this one-hour show. First, watching “Big Mike” Lynche pick Ryan up over his head and seeing Ryan’s facial reaction was priceless! He admitting to being scared and I’m sure he was. I don’t think Ryan will kid around with Michael anymore and when it’s time for Michael to be in the final 3, maybe Ryan will have someone else announce that day! 
Ryan and Simon’s continuous battle was even interesting tonight and Ryan backed off right away after Simon said: “You are really getting on my nerves tonight.” All of the questions to judges after that went to the other three judges.
Another fun part was when Ellen calls Michael Lynche “Tiny Mike” … I love that she’s brought humor to “Idol.”
Musically, I thought Ruben, Usher and Diddy were great on the stage. They did their own thing and sounded great doing it. It was probably one of the better nights where the performers did their job by sounding good and performing well.
Once again, thanks to those for posting about the Idol show on Tuesday. You came through for me while I spend some time on vacation.
Your thoughts on Tim not going home? On Didi going home?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
OK, fellow American Idol followers. I’m on vacation this week and missed the show Tuesday night. Fill me in on what went down. Usher was suppose to be the guest mentor. How did he do? Who made it shine tonight? Was Crystal strong once again or did she struggle with the R&B/Soul stuff?
Can wait to read your posts this time!
Mark
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Who will melt and who will shine from here on out? Who will remain competitive and who will be content being in the top 10 and on the tour?
Here’s my top 10 ratings (last week in parenthesis). Not much change from last week, though:
1. (1) Crystal Bowersox – Not sure if she’ll ever lose this spot, unless she’s voted off.
2. (2) Soibhan Magnus - Wanna bet she doesn’t scream during R&B/Soul week?
3. (3) Michael Lynche – Personally, I loved “When I Man Loves A Woman.” But it’s going to take a monster effort to displace the top 2.
4. (6) Aaron Kelly – Aaron gets the biggest jump because he keeps getting better and better. And even with a rough voice last week, he still did a great job.
5. (4) Lee DeWyze – Is it me, or does he seem to be disinterested in this competition? Maybe he’s just a casual kinda guy. I’d like to see him have a “moment” on the show … but I’ve been waiting for several weeks now. Maybe it won’t happen.
6. (5) Casey James – He’s talented, but I think he knows it too… at least that’s the vibe I get from watching him. Maybe I’m wrong.
7. (7) Katie Stevens – Much better job during Billboard No. 1 week and now she must carry it over. She said on Wednesday that she wants to be a pop/R&B artist … now’s her chance to show it and I’m sure Simon – who thought she should go into country music – will let her know if she fails on the R&B sound.
8. (10) Didi Benami - I thought she did better last week, and vaulted herself over Andrew. She I really want to hear her carry a note longer than 2 seconds.
9. (9) Andrew Garcia – Glad he made the tour, not I don’t really care if he stays or goes. I feel sorry for Andrew because he is always compared to his “Straight Up” performance and that’s too bad. Hopefully he comes through big-time on Tuesday.
10. (11) Tim Urban – Not much to say, other than I hope he is better next week … but I can’t see it happening.
OUT (8) Paige Miles
Post your top 10 in the comments section.
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Bottom 2 tonight was expected: Paige & Tim. But I was surprised to see Katie as the third; happy to see Andrew make it through.
Although Paige was sent packing home, I didn’t really have a preference as to who was going home. Both have been bad for the past few weeks.
I can’t help think about how bad this tour will be and whether this group will even be able to break even with ticket sales. Who would want to buy a ticket to see Tim Urban “sing”? I’d pay to see Siobhan, Crystal, Michael and maybe Aaron. But after that, geez, it’s pretty slim. There is potential, though, with Lee and Casey.
I thought Miley Cyrus did a nice job with “When I Look At You” and liked the piano-playing introduction. It was also nice to see a 17-year-old girl dressed in a manner that was acceptable to parents. (Remember Ke$ha on the “Idol” stage? Big difference!) It did look like she was holding up her dressed, though, as she was throwing her hair around during the performance. … maybe the dress was too loose? I don’t know.
Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato’s duet “Make a Wave” was very nice as well and both teen-agers sounded great together. I have tweens and teens in my house, and they both enjoyed watching the performances. Kudos to “Idol” for bringing in young talent that both teens and their parents are familiar with. It makes for an enjoyable evening of TV, too.
Next week, Usher arrives on “Idol” as the mentor to “R&B/Soul” week. Who will shine next week?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
With young Miley Cyrus as the mentor for tonight’s top 11 – who were singing songs from Billboard’s No. 1s – I thought for sure we’d see some current top hits.
But unfortunately 10 of the 11 took songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s while only Katie Stevens sang a relatively current No. 1 – Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” It was disappointing to me because these artists are going to try and be the most current stars on future Billboard charts. I WANT to hear them sing today’s top songs, not remakes of songs I grew up with (showing my age now!)
Kara was very harsh on the contestants tonight, as was Simon. But overall, I looked at Simon’s criticisms as constructive. Kara telling Paige that her performance was the “worst of the season” was tough love. And she crushed Tim Urban’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” as well.
The top spot for tonight belongs to (as usual) Crystal, who was in a league of her own tonight singing a Janis Joplin tune.
I thought Aaron Kelly was probably No. 2 tonight with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” He battled voice problems and still cranked out an impressive rendition of Aerosmith’s song. Not all of the judges cared for Michael Lynche’s “When A Man Loves A Woman,” but I thought he did a great job with it. In fact, I thought he sounded a bit like James Ingram with this performance and anyone who has listened to Ingram knows how he is so silky smooth on ballads.
I wasn’t as excited about Siobhan Magnus’ singing as the judges. We’re starting to see a bit of deja vu with Adam Lambert here with the screaming/singing at the end of his performances. Sure it’s “her thing,” but I’m not sure she’ll be able to get away with it each week. She is certainly quite a different contestant … kinda quirky. But she can sing and that’s what we like about her … I’d just like to see here stray away from Lambert’s singing style.
Lee Dewyze did something different with “The Letter” to open tonight’s show and I liked that. Here’s the thing with Lee – and I think it’s the same with Katie Stevens – both have amazing voices, but they’re out of tune so much. I really like both of them, but they need to get in tune to continue to advance.
Not sure what to make of Casey James. His “Power of Love” song was OK, but I agree more with Simon that it was a lot like the original. I thought he guitar was louder than everyone else and was a bit annoying. I like the guy and think he can make some moves in the competition, but he just seems a bit over-confident.
Not much to say about Paige, Tim, Andrew and Didi. (Well, Didi looked fantastic, I’ll admit that.) All four could go home and the tour would not suffer. Here’s my fear: Tim was by far the worst of the bunch. I wouldn’t even pay to see him in a bar and don’t think I’d even throw him a dollar bill if he was playing on the street corner. But I think he’ll be saved by the young teen-agers and that’s too bad because someone like Andrew – a guy with a child – could use the tour money.
Wishful bottom 2: Tim and Paige
Probable bottom 2 prediction: Paige & Andrew
Going home prediction: Andrew
Your thoughts?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Must have been off on the theme for this week …
According to an Associated Press story today, this week Miley Cyrus (“Party in the U.S.A.,” “The Climb”) will be a guest mentor as the remaining 11 contestants perform Billboard No. 1 hits.
Tags: Miley Cyrus
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 1 Comment »
Friday, March 19th, 2010
The top 11 contestants, from left on the top row: Tim Urban, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Didi Benami; from left on the middle row: Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Crystal Bowersox, Aaron Kelly; from left on the bottom row: Katie Stevens, Lee Dewyze and Paige Miles pose after the show on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Los Angeles.
Next week’s theme is “Teen Idols” … so maybe we’ll hear some Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, David Archuleta, Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, Davey Jones … who else might be considered “Teen Idols”?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Here’s my top 11 ratings (last week in parenthesis). Not much change from last week, though:
1. (1) Crystal Bowersox – Still the best performer; best singer.
2. (2) Soibhan Magnus - Getting better and better each week. After two weeks of Adam Lambert-like screeching, I wonder what will be next.
3. (3) Michael Lynche – He loves the people and knows how to perform for the public. Doesn’t hurt that his voice is strong, too.
4. (4) Lee DeWyze – It will be interesting to see what he does Tuesday. I think he’ll rock it out, not matter what the song.
5. (5) Casey James – It was a good Rolling Stones week for Casey. I hope he doesn’t get too overconfident, though.
6. (7) Aaron Kelly – Aaron moves up one slot and it’s more because Katie didn’t impress me enough to keep a hold of her slot.
7. (6) Katie Stevens – Good voice, but really unsure of who she is musically and which genre she belongs. She seems confused, and still a bit immature about the whole “Idol” stage. Not sure if she’ll last much longer.
8. (9) Andrew Garcia – He had a solid week and it’s great to see that he is just one step away making it to the top 10.
9. (8) Paige Miles – Paige drops, but only because Andrew was so strong. I give Paige a ton of credit because of her singing with vocal problems. Hopefully it is cleared up before Tuesday, but she still sounded rough on Wednesday’s show.
10. (10) Didi Benami - Still don’t care for her voice. Someone told me that they thought she sounded a bit like Colbie Caillet. I can see that. I just can’t get Megan Joy out of my head when I listen to Didi … and that’s not a good thing.
11. (12) Tim Urban – Moves up one only because Lacey Brown is out.
Post your top 11 in the comments section.
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Now, if I were voting based on tonight’s performances of David Cook, Orianthi, Ke$ha and Lacey Brown, I’d definitely have to give Ke$ha the boot!
Lacey Brown
However, unfortunately, we see that Lacey Brown has been voted off the “American Idol” stage. It is unfortunately, because this tells me that teen-age girls from throughout the United States are saving the young boys, similar to what happened with David Archuleta. Now, granted, Archuleta had a fantastic voice … Tim Urban can’t touch Archuleta’s voice. But, between Paige Miles, Lacey Brown and Tim Urban, the man of the group certainly has the worst performing voice. Agree?
Which brings me back to saying how unfortunate it is we have to say good-bye to Brown. I was never really crazy about her singing voice. I love her current look, though. I think she would be a great model. She kind of reminds me visually of a cross between Martina McBride and Pat Benatar.
I also think that VoteForTheWorst.com helped save Urban as well. Say what you want about the site, it has to have some kind of impact on the results. It’s unfortunate, but also part of the price Idol pays for having such a popular show.
So good-bye Ms. Brown. Probably not the best choice to win, but she really didn’t have a shot at being the next “American Idol” anyway.
Did you like the choice?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
So they sang Rolling Stones/Mick Jagger songs tonight. When I first heard that this was the theme, I thought that it would be a rough evening because the Stones are not easy to sing. For that matter, anytime you have to cover a song from a band, I think that makes the job of the Idol contestants more difficult.
With that said, I was pleasantly surprised tonight. There was no “turn off the TV” performances tonight. Some weren’t that great, but for the most part, I thought they all did their thing.
And it was the same people who came through: Michael Lynche, Casey James, Siobhan Magnus, Lee DeWyze, Aaron Kelly and Crystal Bowersox.
It’s not that I didn’t like Didi Benami, Lacey Brown, Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens, Tim Urban or Paige Miles; I just thought they were their usual “average.” Any one of them could find themselves in the bottom three on Wednesday night. Of this group, though, I was most impressed with Andrew Garcia and Paige Miles. After poor performances last week, they came out and really impressed me.
I think the judges are starting to find their comfort zone as well. Ellen has been comical the last few weeks; Randy is … well, Randy; Kara … let me come back to her; and Simon is giving some constructive criticism that I believe is very helpful. He’s not just bashing the singers, but really appears to be giving them some great advice. Back to Kara: We know that at times she critiques about how the singer presents the song based on the song’s lyrics. I know Simon doesn’t like that. I do, though. She’s a songwriter and she wants to those performers to know that songwriters want singers who show some passion for the lyrics. That passion needs to show in the performance. I can appreciate her for that and applaud her for bringing that songwriter’s feeling to the judging panel.
Bottom 3 pick: Didi Benami, Katie Stevens and Tim Urban.
Going home pick: Tim Urban (sorry, the young girls can’t save him this time)
Your turn … who will go home on Wednesday?
Posted in American Idol 2010 | 3 Comments »
