...and then there were 5.

Idolites –

So we say farewell to Anoop and Lil. I have to say that I was pretty nervous and prepared to go off big time if Allison had been eliminated. I’m sure the judges wouldn’t have been too happy about saving Matt if that happened.

I still can’t figure out why Allison keeps ending up in the bottom 3 every other week. Will being the only female left help boost her vote totals? I can only hope.

Man, did Lil ever look pissed when Ryan brought her down. I think the producers saw her face and told Seacrest to just cut her then so we didn't have to watch her brood on the silver chair for 30 minutes.

Look at how they threw Paula a bone and let her choreograph the group number last night. I’m sure she taught them good techniques on lip-syncing too.

Normally, I'm OK with older artisits coming back to perform on the show, but that disco medly was pretty sad. Poor KC sounded awful. I was just embarrassed for them all.

Pool update...

Jessica Fracker has been displaced as our leader, moving into a tie for third with Kim Skorupa.

Jen Davies is the new leader in the clubhouse with 53 points and Isabel DeVera is in second just one point behind.

With Lil going out, 24 Idolites lost their Idol…and hopes of winning the pool…sorry :-(

Interestingly, of the 18 Idolites currently in the money, just two have Adam as their Idol.

I was correct on two of the three bottom 3 last night (I won’t count Allison, since I had her as the fourth in the bottom). That makes me 13 for 19 (68%) on the season..not bad.

I improved my record on guessing the eliminated Idol by picking both Lil and Anoop to go last night. That puts me at 4 for 8 on the season.

Our poll also picked Lil and Anoop to go last night…good job Idolites!

In my other poll, it looks like you would most like to see Sting as a guest mentor, followed by Bono, Prince and David Bowie. Of course, I’d love to see any of the ones I listed, with the exception of Britney Spears….I threw her in there for the kids.

Being down to the final 5, I would anticipate two songs by each contestant next week. I’ll go out on a limb (not really) and say Matt is going home next week. I think he survived this week because his fans dialed extra hard with him being saved. Hopefully Allison will pick up Lil’s votes.

Until next week!

Disco Fever

Idolites -

Who'd have thought that disco night would put out more memorable performances than movie night? It was an interesting and pack-separating evening last night.

and then....

• Vince Neil in the front row...interesting. Not the guy you'd think the producers would keep cutting to on disco night, but hey!

LIL: Ugh! Its to the point now where you are afraid to see her go out there. She truly has no idea what the judges are trying to tell her. She has turned into the karaoke queen and yet looks completely hurt and surprised when the judges continue to rail on her. I hope she goes tonight...for her sake and ours.

KRIS: I'm sure all the Kris lovers are bracing themselves for my commentary, as I have been very clear about him not being my cup of tea. Let's start by saying that he continues to dress like a homeless man...and again no color. Dingy grey jeans and a ratty old white t-shirt? C'mon Kris, at least try. However, his performance was really, really good. He solidified his John Mayer-esque profile by singing a song about a strong woman in a really cool way. He has locked himself into a top 4 or 5 spot. Great job Kris!

DANNY: About what I would expect from Danny. Again, I like him, but am growing weary of his performances. This was a fairly good performance that won't be memorable in the long run, but will easily push him into the Top 5. I think he needs to shave next week. The 5 O'clock shadow experiment was a failure.

ALLISON: Good for her to pick a Donna Summer song and make it rock. I kind of agreed with Kara and Randy on the arrangement being so-so, but she is really gaining confidence and should make it through to next week. Though it's not my kind of style, at least she is starting to develop her look. Her hair was tamed quite well last night too. Could be in the bottom if they pull 4, but there are only 7 left so it wouldn't be a complete shocker. She's safe.

ADAM: I almost expected greatness last night due to the cheese-filled Born To Be Wild last week. Well, I got it. How does he keep pulling out better and better performances? Randy was right on...he is ready NOW. Paula was shaking, which didn't help her articulate any better. At least in this case, I could totally understand why. This guy rocks!

MATT: He should go home just for picking Stayin' Alive. Really Matt? He dropped all his crutches..no piano...covered the 3rd eye...but he couldn't cover up the cruise-ship worthy performance. Thank goodness for Simon to tell him the truth. He's trying to be Justin Timberlake, but is nowhere in JT's league. The only thing I think may save him is that fact that he the bottom vote getter last week which surely put his fans on alert to place a lot of calls.

ANOOP: ...and arriving to the studio straight from Easter brunch, it's Anoop Desai! Again, he stayed with what has worked for him. It just wasn't that great. He did have some nice moments, but it's apparent he is not in the same league as Adam, Allison Danny or Kris. I think the road may end for Noop Dawg tonight.

BEST

Look: Adam Honorable Mention: Lil, Danny

Performance: Adam Honorable Mention: Kris, Allison

WORST

Look: Kris Honorable Mention: Matt

Performance: Lil Honorable Mention: Matt

BOTTOM 3 (or 4)

Should Be: Lil, Matt, Anoop, (Danny)

Will Be: Lil, Matt, Anoop, (Allison)

OUT

Should Be: Lil & Matt

Will Be: Lil & Anoop

Enjoy a probably very cheesy group number and results tonight!

Pool boy out!

The Idol Gods Taketh and Giveth Back

Idolites -

On any other decision night, I would be ticked off.. the judges save...a week wasted...no pool standings update. Tonight, though, I felt like the same Idol Gods that took away my recording of last night's show, gave me a gift by giving Matt...and all of us...a do-over.

So, instead of ranting or making fun of Miley Cyrus, I'll leave you with this link to a video that has been watched nearly 7,000,000 times since it aired 4 days ago. It includes our favorite Simon Cowell and the most incredibly shocking and wonderful contestant you will ever see on a talent show. Thanks to my mom for sending it to me!

Click here to see greatness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Have a great rest of your week and weekend. Let's hope Simon wasn't kidding about disco night next week. That would be rad!!

Aaron

DVR Dummy

Idolites –

I wrote this on the bus this morning, as I was so frustrated with myself last night I couldn’t concentrate. So, I apologize for the slight tardiness.

I don’t know if was the Idol gods messing with me or my complete inability to handle our DVR when it comes to Idol, but for some reason when I went to watch the show around 9:15 last night…no recording. UGH!

I had been bitching all day about how I thought Idol was getting lazy when it came to themes and mentors. Quentin Tarantino? Really? Last time I checked he had zero CDs. Granted, I love his films and he has quite a knack for picking music for his soundtracks, but as a singing mentor? He’s already been on the show once as a guest judge. He must have something on Simon. Maybe all the complaining was the Idol Gods telling me to simmer down.

So, I went on line to search for performances and could only find a site that had the audio of each performance. After listening to each one, I can make my comments.

My first comment is that I wish that Tarantino had mentored the contestants on song choice instead. At least he knows that and the contestants are struggling big time. This was the cheesiest collection of songs to date.

ALLISON: Going first may hurt her again. Of all the bad song choices hers was the best. Although, did you watch the show last year Allison? David Cook did this one already. Of course she nailed it. Made the song much better that I liked it. Just think if she would have done Son Of A Preacher Man from Pulp Ficton? Our poll said it will be an Allison vs. Adam finale…we’ll see.

ANOOP: Anoo-wop, the Indian Balladeer. At least he’s decided what keeps him in the competition. Another snoozer for me, but it picked up a bit at the end. Extremely cheesy song selection, but hey, it’s Anoop. What about Lonesome Town from Pulp Fiction? A little more hip and another homage to Tarantino.

ADAM: It’s choices like this and Play That Funky Music that make me think that Adam really doesn’t want to win. He has the ability to pick amazing songs and do them so well. He also has the ability to pick the cheesiest karaoke songs of all time. Yes, he showed off his vocal range, but didn’t make it his own and sounded more like a struggling metal band singing at a bat-mitzvah. Disappointing. How about anything from Purple Rain?

MATT: I have to assume he’s back behind the piano. This song sounds like a clip you’d hear on an ad for Warm 106 FM, “All the soothing sounds of the 80’s 90’s and today.” He, Anoop, Danny & Kris are all starting to meld together. I wish someone would decide to be original. I really shouldn’t expect that from Matt, though.

DANNY: Endless Love…UGH. I know I should expect it, but c’mon. He does sing it with passion, but the song is so syrupy and sappy it’s hard to get beyond. I want more from Danny. How about Let’s Stay Together from Pulp Fiction? See where I’m going with this?

KRIS: Falling Slowly? I have no idea what this song is. I think America will have the same question. It sounded really flat and was really boring most of the way through. It would be great if he’d “Fall Slowly” out of the competition tonight…well, at least for my pool. Imagine if he had done Stuck In The Middle from Reservoir Dogs? I think it would have sounded great, sounded original and would have set himself apart from all the cheesy ballads. Instead, he sings a ballad no one has ever heard of…sigh.

LIL: Lil, Lil, Lil. Is there cotton in your ears or do you just not care at all what the judges have to say each and every week? Being in the Bottom 3 didn’t concern you last week? So, to sound more contemporary, you sing a Bette Midler song? It sounded OK, but more like a church revival version without the emotion. Lil need to go home. How about Down In Mexico from Tarantino’s Death Proof? Sultry, sexy and hip. All things that Lil is not right now.

Since I didn’t see how they looked tonight, all these are based solely on what I heard…

BEST

Performance – Allison. That’s it.

WORST

Performance – Kris Honorable Mention: Adam

BOTTOM 3

Should Be – Lil, Kris, Matt

Will Be – Anoop, Matt, Allison

OUT

Should Be – Lil

Will Be – Anoop

Sorry for the extra bitterness. I’m coming off the stomach flu and am highly frustrated with my inability to get the DVR thing right. I’m mostly mad at myself, so the poor contestants get to deal with my projecting.

I’ll be watching the results more closely tonight, as I will want to see everything I missed last night. The first episode I’ve ever missed…sigh!

Pool boy out!

The Dead Weight Has Been Eliminated

Idolites –

Well, much like Scott, I stepped out on a limb and predicted Kris to be out last night. Yet another reminder I have no idea what I’m talking about. The last few eliminations have been quite uncontroversial. It seems like with the judges save in play, the shocking eliminations aren’t coming. Our pool poll was correct in picking Scott to go. Didn't he sound WAY better last night when singing for his life? I can't believe the judges were really considering using the save on him, though.

I am now just 2 for 6 picking the eliminated contestant, but was 2 for 3 on my bottom 3, moving me to 11 for 16 on the season.

Last night was great news for Kris fans. It proved that he does have a legitimate following and will likely make the top 5, if not higher.

On the pool…

Jessica Fracker continues to hold a one point lead over Carol Cooper. Some idiot has moved his way into a four-way tie for third with Kathy Hunter, Isabel DeVera and Jen Davies.

At this point of the competition, even though I sit in third place, I am not feeling too great about my chances. My hope is riding on the pool I filled out for Presley, which now sits in a tie for seventh place. Why, you ask? Well, take a look at how I rank the current top 7 and you’ll see that my pick of Danny beating Lil in the finale doesn’t look quite as hopeful or realistic as Allison beating Adam in the finale.

The top 7 as I see them:

7. Anoop – nice run so far, but I think he only has a week or two left in him
6. Lil – Unless she makes a major turnaround, her appearance last night in the bottom 3 will become habit.
5. Matt – The judges like him more than Lil right now. Although with all the dead weight now gone, he’s one cheesy performance away from going home.
4. Kris – Great following. In terms of votes, he’s probably in the top three right now.
3. Allison – With Lil continuing to slip, she becomes the only legitimate female contender. If Simon would start getting off her case and America woke up, she would have a shot at winning. Heck, Syesha Mercado finished 3rd last year.
2. Danny – The judges and America love him. Could be vulnerable if Allison picks it up.
1. Adam – By far the favorite right now. Something still tells me there will be a Top 5 shocker with him and the judges won’t have a save. I hope that doesn’t happen. I want to see him perform until the end.

Enjoy the standings and next week's performances!

Pool Boy out!

Mad World...Mad Skills!

Idolites –

To think I nearly missed Adam’s performance. The cool thing about a DVR is that I can start the show late and fast forward through commercials. The bad thing about that is when the show runs over and the recording stops at the last commercial break. I swore I had it set to run 10 minutes over! Thanks to our good friend and housemate, Lorna Jackson, we found Adam’s performance on-line. I can’t imagine how lame this post would have been without commenting on his amazing rendition of Mad World.

I’ll get to that later…

• Who is that bald guy sitting in the front row? He looks scary and is just staring intently at something on stage. Is he secret service? Looks more like someone that would start opening fire on Seacrest.
• Just one hour tonight, so we miss out on the grand intro for the judges. We finally find out that they are just a time filler.

DANNY: So here’s the deal: I like Danny. I picked him to win. I do like his voice too, but I’m starting to not enjoy his performances so much. He’s still one of the favorites and besides Adam, the only one that can perform first and not be affected. I thought the middle part of the song sounded a bit loungy, but he always kicks in the emotion at the end, leaving his fans happy. What’s up with the Members Only tuxedo jacket? Tribute to 1980?

KRIS: It’s well documented that I’m not a huge fan. However, before tonight, I was at least starting to see that Kris was becoming a serious contender to crack the Top 5. He has been consistent and original. After that performance, I am starting to get my old feelings back about him. So much, in fact, I think he may be in some real trouble tonight. He still needs to step up the wardrobe a bit too. As Lorna (a big fan of Kris) said when he came out last night “I want him to wear a color…other than putty.” Will the judges use a save on him? We may get to see.

LIL: She is in denial. Why wouldn’t she be? She has never been in the bottom 3 , despite continuing to sing songs that make her seem way older than she is. The judges keep telling her to young it up, so what does she do? A Tina Turner impersonation….and not a good one. Tina had to be in her 50’s when she recorded that one. C’mon Lil! At least she looked great and took her criticism without talking back. She’ll be safe again, just watch. She is just one of two women left after all.

ANOOP: More tender moments with Anoop. This guy is either a soft and mellow balladeer or a ridiculous frat boy at karaoke. Tonight he decides to put us asleep again. At least the sweater matched his performance. How do the judges say he made True Colors his own? One of the most overused songs from the 80’s and he wasn’t that special. See you on the stool Anoop.

SCOTT: This was the big surprise you wanted to pull out Scott? You play guitar. Happy now Paula? OK, well your fan base probably doesn’t care. When he plays piano, you hear the instrument and it all makes sense. That just looked like he decided to have the guitar in front of him as an accent. Not good. I’m also growing tired of his constant defensiveness and excuses. I have a feeling he has not been criticized much in the past, because he looks shell shocked when a judge says something negative.

ALLISON: Simon finally acknowledges she is good! He also makes a great point about her personality. She can obviously sing, but keeps ending up in the bottom 3. I think he now is actually trying to help her out now that he sees that Lil is a lost cause. I like the Kelly Clarkson reference by Randy as well. The song was done beautifully, but was a little mellow. I think given her spot in the rotation last night and her endorsement from Simon, she should be back on the safe side this week.

MATT: After seeing his childhood photos, it is apparent that the third eye on his forehead has developed later in life. He wasn’t about to let it hurt him tonight, however, as he sported the fedora to cover it up. That being said, I am in a complete fight with the judges about Matt. They loved that? It was a jazzy, cruise ship version of a bad Stevie Wonder song. I just don’t get his appeal. At least he moved away from the piano tonight. I think when this competition is over, he and Scott should form a touring dueling piano group. They could be called Third Eye Blind…Part Deux.

ADAM: To think I almost didn’t see this. WOW!! Best song of the night…a true 80’s song. Despite how good he was on Motown night, I liked this performance even better. After last week’s karaoke throw away performance, he comes back super strong and delivers another memorable moment. He is also getting very lucky on the draw as he seems to always perform on the back half of the show. Not that it really matters. The only thing I can see standing in his way of winning is that he is fairly unemotional. Can America connect to him? Who cares? They connect to his performances, that’s for sure.

Hey look! Clay Aiken is on Top Model tonight.

BESTS

Look: Lil Honorable Mention: Adam

Performance: Adam Honorable Mention: Danny, Allison

WORSTS

Look: Anoop Honorable Mention: Danny

Performance: Scott Honorable Mention: Lil, Kris

BOTTOM 3

Should Be: Anoop, Lil, Scott

Will Be: Anoop, Scott, Kris

OUT

Should Be: Scott

Will Be: Kris (That's right, I said it! Stepping out on a limb here...will the judges save him if I'm right?)

Be sure to vote for who you think will go out.

Standings tomorrow.

No Joy In Idolville

Idolites –

That’ll teach people not to tell Simon they don’t care what he thinks. Megan punched in the face by irony. Better make this your swan song, because “we don’t care either”…SNAP!!!!

And then….

• Did you see Jason Castro sitting with Alexis Grace behind Randy? New couple?
• So we know the Idols lip-synced their studio-shot medley last week, but lip-syncing to Journey live in the auditorium was a bit much. If you’re going to do that, please give Scott a headset mic, because when he sang his verse he was about 3 feet away from his microphone.
• David Cook reinforcing the power of the show by going Platinum…nice job!
• Lady GaGa…I’m still trying to figure out if I loved or hated that.
• Jessica Fracker still leads the pool, but her lead has been shaved down to one point over Carol Cooper and Isabel DeVera….and who is that just two points back in 4^th?
• Taylor Madden was the lone Idolite with Megan as his Idol…sorry Taylor.
• I was 3 for 3 on my bottom 3 predictions pushing my season total to 9 for 13.
• I also got Megan correct as the booted contestant improving to 2 for 5 on the season…two in a row!
• Looks like our poll also picked Megan to go out last night with 10 votes. Anoop got 8, Matt received 6 and Scott just 1.

Next week the Idols sing songs from the year they were born. I am very excited about the possibilities. Below are the singers and their birth years. I’d love to hear some predictions on what they each may sing. All I know is that besides Allison, it’s all 80’s!!!

Adam – 1982

Anoop – 1986

Allison – 1992

Danny – 1980

Kris – 1985

Lil – 1984

Matt – 1985

Scott – 1985

Until next week….

Identity Crisis

Idolites –

Well, the contestants finally got the week they were hoping for, yet many of them still blew their song choice and find themselves (and their fans) searching for an identity.

And so it goes….

ANOOP: Ugh! After two straight weeks of showing off his vocal skills and becoming more of a serious contender, Noop Dawg went back to just being silly. First of all, what was up with the coat? He should have worn that one when he sang Beat It. The hair is starting to get a bit more hip, but he still needs to tame those brows. Kara knocks him down with the frat boy reference…SNAP! The justification to the judges for his lame song choice is getting old. Anoop is back…in the bottom 3.

MEGAN: After jumping off the Lil bandwagon last week, I am jumping off the Megan bandwagon this week. I’ve been waiting to hear her sing a song that could feature her voice. She obviously can’t do that. I also now think that even if she had the right song it wouldn’t matter. Despite her beauty, I find it difficult to look at her while she sings. Her jerky convulsions are just too much and, once again, she kind of looked ridiculous. She is now moving into Sanjaya territory.

DANNY: He needed that. While he hasn’t dropped off the radar like Lil, he was in need of a big performance to re-establish himself as a front-runner. Randy told him to go ahead and let loose with his body motions. I actually appreciated the fact that he kept it controlled and focused on his vocals. Brilliant!

ALLISON: Another train wreck outfit. What is going on tonight. Her look was so distracting, it completely threw the judges. They all commented that they liked seeing her with the guitar. I disagree. It was only getting in the way. If the instrument is not critical to the song, just sing. Again, her voice is so strong that she can get by, but the stylists need to help her out if she is going to win. She can’t look like that in the Finals…or she won’t be there.

SCOTT: Back in his wheel house. Scott is definitely capturing the Clay Aiken-David Archuleta fans. Singing Billy Joel gets them back on his side dialing the phone. After last week’s disaster, he came back with what he does best. I personally wasn’t quite as fired up about it as the judges, but I think he makes it through another week and probably avoids the bottom 3.

MATT: Piano again? Paula??? Why aren’t you dissing on him? It’s almost like this guy doesn’t want to win. The judges keep telling him how good he is when he is in the R&B mode. He keeps feeling like he needs to sing rock songs. Last time that happened, he missed making the Top 12 and needed the judges to save him with a wild card bid. Each week, his dueling piano persona becomes more and more evident. First, he always plays piano. Then, he always sounds like the artist he is singing. Put another dollar in the jar! Will the judges need to use their save on him tonight? He could be right back in the bottom 3 again.

LIL: Sigh! When she said, “I chose a Cline Dion song” I already hated it. After looking great for the first time last week, she’s back in another, old-looking and ill-fitting dress. As Leah put it, “she looks all lumpy”. Her hair looks like a helmet too…help Bradley!! It is painfully obvious that the judges and producers want Lil to be better than she is, but I’m starting to think that she isn’t as good as we all thought. She continues to come off as old-fashioned and now her vocals aren’t even that great. She is heading down the path of LaToya London, Nadia Turner, and LaKisha Jones. She’ll still make it through this week, but continues to fade in the big picture.

ADAM: See what several weeks of domination can afford you. You can just be plain silly and still make people think it was good and original. This was my least favorite performance by Adam. If he had done this one 2 or 3 weeks ago, the judges would have crucified him. He’s obviously still the front runner. My only concern over Adam is that he seems to play a different character each week. I still can’t pin down who he is as a singer. Will it hurt him? Not for a long time. By then, he’ll probably have figured it out.

KRIS: Again, not my style, but he does the right stuff for his voting base. I thought it was a so-so performance, but did like how he played the piano. It actually worked, was necessary, and showed off his wider range of musical talents. He did seem more confident this week, as Simon mentioned. If he really wants to contend, he’ll need to step up his look. He is just a bit too casual right now. Anoop looked ridiculous in his jacket tonight, but at least he’s trying. Kris need to take note.

BESTS

Look: Scott (with notable exception of his Kenny Loggins circa 1983 hair-do)
Honorable Mention: Danny

Performance: Danny
Honorable Mention: Scott ? (Not a lot of good ones tonight)

WORSTS

Look: Allison (She sure can take the criticism, though)
Honorable Mention: Anoop, Megan, Lil

Performance: Megan
Honorable Mention: Anoop, Matt, Lil

BOTTOM 3

Should Be: Anoop, Matt, Megan

Will Be: Anoop, Allison, Megan

OUT

Should Be: Megan

Will Be: Megan

Be sure to vote for who you think will be out tonight!

Standings update tomorrow.

Frack-Attack!

Idolites -

Jessica Fracker has taken control of the pool with three straight weeks (and 30 points) of correct picks. She put 5 points between she and her mom, Kathy Hunter who now sits in second place. Isabel DeVera, another Southern Californian is tied for second with Kathy. With most people having Michael out even sooner than tonight, his departure served to stop the bleeding.

As for my mini-predictions, I was 2 for 3 on the bottom three tonight (kinda proud of the Matt prediction). Scott snuck in there instead of Megan., which wasn't too shocking. That makes me 6 for 10 on the season. I was able to finally pick the eliminated contestant, making me 1 for 4 on the season on that front.

Looks like the poll picked correctly on Michael as well.

A few nuggets on the show:

• What's the deal with the pre-recorded Motown medly? It's not cheesy enough already?
• The Ford commercials sure have come a long way from Season One. They're actually kind of cool this year.
• Ruben Studdard won American Idol. Who knew? Man was he sweaty after singing that song tonight.
• Did anyone else see how mad Matt looked when Simon said to he and Michael, "The reason you two are there is because the public doesn't like you very much." Oh snap! Michael thought it was pretty funny.
• The Stevie Wonder medly was much better than the Idols. Looks like he and Ruben have been hanging out.

Well Michael is gone, and so goes the 3-finger mic tap. Jessica will have to get her picture with him holding up her winning pool during the next Idols tour for next season's blog.

Until next week...