Season 8 - Top 4!!!!!

Hello! I had the pleasure of watching 2 of the performances last night with my son, Luke, before I had to leave the house, and he had his share of comments. I am now watching the entire show from the beginning and I will try to remember some of his comments.

Oh, yeah - Slash. His immediate response was "He's a little scary looking. Do you think so, Mom?" Yes, son. Yes, I do. But gosh, son, we must overlook the cigarette hanging from his mouth and his bare chest and remember that Slash is an icon in our rock n roll history in this country. WHAT? No, of course I didn't say that. I'd be willing to bet that Slash can't even remember most of his own rock n roll history. I'm guessing that Rock Night on Idol might just be cuh-razy.

ADAM LAMBERT

Adam is first and he sounds AMAZING in his rehearsal with Slash. Luke's interest is definitely peaked when he sees Adam. "Mom, he looks like a girl. Is he a girl? I don't want to vote for him." I personally think Adam is very... well, beautiful... but I'm sure to a 7 yr old boy who is into Star Wars, Adam is peculiar-looking. Now, onto the singing. I do think this is Adam's niche. Beyond the Broadway slant that he has, I think he should go straight for the ROCK.

Anyway, he begins VERY sharp. Now, it COULD be the fact that the singers, as Ryan just explained, did not get a dress rehearsal... and I was wondering how that would effect their performances... but this is not the first time Adam has been sharp at performance-time. Hey, no one is perfect. We may have discovered that Adam is indeed human and gets a little nervous during clutch-time. He also rushed a few places, but I'm not going to hold it against him. Overall, it was a god performance that suites him WELL. WHOA. Hold on, though. During the guitar solo towards the end... well, it just got a little uncomfortable for me. This is a family show, people. The vision of Adam flicking his tongue out while sneering at the electric player is one that will unfortunately stick with me longer than I want it to. Ugh.

JUDGES ON ADAM

I have paused it. I don't now what the judges are going to say but I predict that they are going to fall all over themselves with praise for Adam. Let's see... Yes, I am correct! Kara. Oh, dear Kara. PLEASE shut up. HA HA HA, they just showed Diana DeGarmo in the audience and even SHE was rolling her eyes at Kara. Chill, Kara. Chill. Poor girl.

ALLISON IRAHETA

Ok, so I caught Allison's performance last night and wasn't crazy about it. She seemed lost and screamy. So much so that her mic was muffling again. Granted, no sound-check... but somebody should've been on top of that. NOT a good song for her. I mean, it's a fine song for her in general... but it's darn BORING for top 4 rock week. Actually Queen's Somebody to Love would've been better than Cry Baby OR Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love. Too bad she didn't consider that.

DUET #1: KRIS AND DANNY

Hmmm, I had no idea they were doing duets tonight. Where have I been? Anyway, I can't think of a worse song for Kris to sing than this song. [Allow me to digress for a moment. When I sang and performed in a group in college up in Michigan (it was a bar/restaurant, but it was a family show. Read: FUN) we performed this song. I can be completely unbiased and say that we rocked the crud out of this song - harmonies, lead, band, all of it. That's really all I wanted to say. That's it. We rocked. But anyway, back to the duet.] I thought their harmonies were really good. But once poor little Kris - whom I love - started singing his solo part, it just wasn't a good fit. He couldn't hang - but you know what? He's not supposed to. He's NOT a rocker and has never pretended to be. Danny sounds AMAZING on this song. Strong and confident. Until the very last word when he completely WENT OFF on runs and left Kris in the dust, which just wasn't cool. Save that for yer solo, dude.

Powerful and Compelling, Paula??? Powerfu, maybe. Compelling, nah.

SIDE NOTE

Man, every time I see a commercial for the FOX TV show, Glee, I am filled with great joy. I am SOOOO PUMPED for this show!!!! Yes, I'm a Show Choir girl at heart. Bring it ON. I'm so watching it.

KRIS ALLEN

Well, I really hope Kris can make up for the duet debacle with his solo. LOL! He felt like pee'ing his pants when Slash was playing guitar next to him. That was funny. I like you, Kris.

Ok, SERIOUSLY. I say it every season. I HATE THE LYRICS TO THIS SONG!!!!! It brings back horrible memories of Carly Smithson singing it, which gave me bad dreams for a solid year. Yeah, a year. Which means I JUST STOPPED having nightmares about it.

I liked Kris' performance. They're WAY too hard on him. Obvious that they want him to go home. He will do well once he goes home this week. He will still succeed.

DANNY GOKEY

Danny's singing Dream On? That was Johnsie's song that sent him packing last year. Rememeber Michael Johns? Of course you do. It's a hard song to sing, but it will be interesting to hear Danny's slant on it. Wow, Slash just said it could go either way. Hmmm. I would like to add that I thought Michael Johns did an AMAZING job on this song last year. It suited his voice. Not so much, Danny Boy's... but he has a great voice. Oh, man. That scream at the end was NOT good. It hurt me to hear it. Ouch. At least - not to compare or anything - Johnsie totally nailed that high note last year.

Can someone muzzle Kara? Who is she, anyway?
Simon is so dead-on about it being like a horror film on that last note.

DUET #2: ALLISON AND ADAM

Slow Ride. One of my least favorite songs ever. And Allison is immediately on my nerves by adding an "H" sound to make easy Heezy. Pet Peeve. Anyway, they sound really good together, but she doesn't quite have the energy that Adam does in her voice. But, they are rockers. It was good. Didn't blow me away, but it was good.

BOTTOM LINE

I think it's safe to say that unless something catastrophic happens, Kris Allen is going home this week. He will be fine, though. He will still be just fine in life.

I'm a little surprized they showed the screamy note when recapping the numbers for Danny. bad move.

Discuss!

Season 8 - Top 5! Whoo hoo!

SOOO sorry I missed last week! Truly I am. But, I twittered/Facebooked all of my thoughts. It was like a blog in short blasts. :-)

OK, so here's the deal. I personally think this is the best group of top 5 we've ever had on Idol. I can honestly say that there isn't one bad singer in the bunch. Maybe that's why I've put off writing my blog until now. There's really no one to make fun of! I'm not going to be slamming anyone this time, I feel sure. So... if that's why you tune in, you might not want to read any further.

But wait! I forgot all about the judges! Yeah, scratch that. Immediately I had to pause so I could touch on 2 quick things as the judges were announced. 1) Did Kara forget to shave her pits? I mean, she threw that arm up there to wave and... it looked suspicious. I've no room to talk in this area. Not to get too TMI, but with my dark hair I can certainly get the 5 o'clock shadow going on... there. But, if I was going to be on national TV in front of millions and was wearing spaghetti straps (which would NEVER happen. Read, NEVER), I sure wouldn't be throwing my pits in the camera if I hadn't ensured those babies were smooth as a - well, a baby's bottom. And 2) What in the world is Paula wearing? 'nuff said about that.

Ok, moving on! No, wait. It looks like Simon has on a newish black v-neck T. Way to go, Cowell.

I can already tell you I'm HATING Matt's hat. Again? Really?

Jamie Foxx is the mentor. Really? For Standards week? Really? Ok. Whatev. Bring it on.

KRIS ALLEN

Oh, my - Kris is looking ADORABLE tonight. I'm going to pretend for a moment that I don't know who's going home - or already gone. I will say this: If Matt goes home, Kris is my new man. I just love him. He truly is an artist in my opinion. Can't wait to hear him. "The Way You Look Tonight". Ahhh. You know, in week one of the top 36, I ranked Kris DEAD LAST. I had no idea what he was capable of. Now I do. He's awesome. And WOW, he controlled his weird sideways jaw thing. This is good. Smoooooth. Ok, I could've done without the tempo change. It seemed weird and disjointed. To me. And... weird ending note that made me nervous. But he worked it out. Good job!

Kara = blah blah blah blah blah

ALLISON IRAHETA

Allison's hair looks a lot better tonight. But, seriously, the girl has the weirdest personality. By the way - can I just say that Jamie Foxx is actually doing a great job mentoring. Also, Allison's outfit is the best one she's ever had on in the competition. I think she sounds amazing tonight. Great job singing this song so far. This is what I've been wanting from her - just singing, not the growling, grunting, gyrating stuff she's been doing in the past. ("It's weird to see a girl that you feel maybe is going to peak soon - even appearance-wise - because she's so mature-looking..." - Aaron) Well-said, honey.

Kara is just way too hyper tonight. Calm down.
Simon is WAY off on this one. Allison was the bomb.com tonight.

MATT GIRAUD

Ok, back to Matt's hat-wearing fetish. My good friend Jonnie has a theory. Should I share it or let him share it in the comments section? I'm not sure I can do it justice... but I'll try. Jonnie thinks that Matt has had surgery to remove his mole on his forehead and the hat these 2 weeks is covering it up. He thinks if Matt makes it past tonight - no, he bet me a million dollars that if Matt made it past this week that he woul reveal a mole-less forehead next week, and go hatless. We shall see. Good advice from Jamie Foxx on changing the key. I like the smokiness of the beginning. Love his cute little dimples. Anyway. "Nooooooot if you care for me" - that lick was SICK. It was so jazzy and yummy. Randy is off his rocker and Kara is his little puppet tonight. 6 out of 10!?!?!?!?! Whatever. Shut up, Kara. I thought it was awesome. Not emotionally connected? Is that the best she can come up with? I just love him - he seems like a humble guy and I like that. I do wish he was more confident, though.

DANNY GOKEY

Ok, I'm waiting for Danny to deliver tonight. I need him to be original. I love love love his voice. Now he needs to transcend the voice into... I don't know... something MAGICAL. This is my favorite performance from Danny, for sure. When he starts out so smooth and controlled, it makes me WANT to hear him GO OFF, ya know? WOW. WOWEE. Danny has found his niche. That was UH-MAZING. I will say that was one of my favorite performances by ANY Idol, ever. Seriously. Loved it. They should've let him go last. I don't care what Adam does, it'll be hard to beat that.

ADAM LAMBERT

So, I REALLY love the song "Feeling Good". But perhaps you'll recall that every single person that's attempted to sing it on Idol has met their demise as a result. Such will not be the case with Adam, but it's a sobering thought, nonetheless. Personally, I don't care for his arrangement... and I'm so sorry Lindsey but he is terribly pitchy. Lindsey says I say Adam is pitchy every week. I thought she was wrong, but now I think she may have a point. Ha! But see, I know this song and he's not on pitch. The big note was awesome, especially the control he showed coming down from the note. Is it just me or are Kara and Paula icy to each other tonight? "We're watching the Olympics and you are our Michael Phelps." - Paula. Okaaaay.

Ok, if I'm being TOTALLY honest, I guess Matt might've been the weakest of the night... followed by Kris, my next favorite.

My favorite of the night was Danny, by a long-shot. Followed by Allison. Adam was just ok for me tonight. Whenever they play the recaps at the end of the show, I always think Adam does better in his rehearsal snip. Wonder why?

Ok, I'm gonna go watch the results show... even though I already know who got kicked off. :-( I always think it's sad at this point to send anyone home. They're all good.

Season 8 - Top 7!!!!

7 is my favorite #... So, I decided to do something a little fun and different tonight! I'm adding video! Whoo hoo!

Ok, the band is on the stage tonight and I like it! I've missed having the energy of the band. They're, like, so far away... omgah! (That was for YOU, SIL#2)

Randy's sweater is ridiculous tonight. My goodness.

Abbey said "Ugh, she creeps me out" when they announced Paula and said she was hot.

Why is Ryan wasting time tonight? He's totally stalling... I'm going to twitter him.

I just twittered him. I totally did.

"It's a hot one tonight"??? Danny has on contacts. Stevie Ray Vaughan is in the house. "You gotta work tonight, baby"??? What's up with Ryan's one-liners.

Allison is up first, singing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Allison seemed a little nervous when she first started. Ugh, the sound mix is horrible! She is screaming parts of the song and it's literally muffling on my TV. Anyone else's? I think this was my least favorite Allison performance. She just screamed in my opnion... but then again, it's a screamy song. I'd love to hear her croon something. Or just something a LITTLE softer. Seriously? The judges are falling all over themselves to compliment her. In the past, I could see this... but now? The girl's only hope, I can buy that. But her performance tonight? Meh. I need to go back laters and watch it again...

Anoop is doing Bryan Adams, probably my least favorite movie song person. Ugh. Me no likey. Ever notice how Anoop's lip sweats EVERY WEEK? Every week! But, you know, whatever. I like his voice a lot. Ah, the Indian version of my BIL, Scott is doing well tonight. I feel weird trying to watch him while voting for Matt on 2 different phones, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Ha! "Is there a special someone?" - Ryan. "Nope" - Anoop, then he wiggled those tricked out eyebrows. Hilarious!

Oh, my. It's Adam's turn. I'm actually looking forward to him. He's entertaining. No doubt about it. I honestly love his lower register. I'm not loving the chorus, but I actually like the rest of it. OK, I'm gonna grab Lincoln and video his reaction of Adam's singing. This should be good... Lincoln let me down a little. He was so enamoured with his own face on the screen that he couldn't care less about Adam Lambert. Me, either. Next!

Katie Couric in the house.

I have a bad feeling about Matty tonight. He, too, is singing a Bryan Adams song - possibly my least favorite song ever. EVER. But then again, Part-time lover wasn't on my faves list until he sang it last week, too. So, we shall see! I've been voting for him for 20 minutes as I am running quite a bit behind... and getting through most of the time. Don't know if that's good or bad. :-/ He's singing "Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman". Well, have you, Matt? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

Ok, I had to take a 5 minute break after Matt was finished. I'm crushed. He didn't do the best ever... in fact, there were parts that were hard to listen to. But, there were moments that were BEAUTIFUL and that's what I'm choosing to focus on.

Danny is singing Endless Love. Nice song choice. He should do well. Is it bad that I don't care? I'm just kinda over the whole Danny Gokey phenom. Starts out wobbly. Wow, out of tune! Which proves what I've said for several weeks: when he's not "pushing" it vocally, he can't stay on pitch. That's undortunate, but whatever. When he gets going and pushes it, he's pretty darn great. Hmmm, anyone else notice he's wearing his wedding band tonight? I'm sure his future wife will LOVE that if he ever gets married again... I liked the harp.

Kris is next. I like Kris. I L O V E the song he chose. Will I love Kris singing the song? Dunno. Let's see. Loving it so far. My favorite of the night. But WAIT - he just had a little pitchy bobble. Oh, wow - love what he did with the climax of the song. Gotta rewind and listen again! This is a hard song to sing, I'm sure. The backup singer rocks. Go, girl.

Lil is last. Seriously? The pimp spot? Gosh, is it so so wrong for me to wish that she has an epic FAIL tonight so that Matt can stay in? Probably... but I'm thinking it anyway. Personally, I think this is the best Lil has done since the top 36... but I still have problems with it. She didn't fully committ to the gospel side of the song like Quentin told her to do. There were nice moments, as Simon said, but overall it was just "ok" for me.

They should've switched Allison and Lil in the lineup. That would've sealed the deal.

Matt sounds better in the rehearsal, for sure. What happened to him tonight???

Bottom 3 for me, personally - unfortunately, Matt, Allison and ??? I don't even know. Danny, maybe? I didn't care for his version. Or did I? Mat and Allison were the worst vocally for me tonight. But I love Matty so I take him right back out of that category.

I honestly have no idea who is going to get voted out. If it's Anoop, Matt or Lil, they most likely WON'T use the save. Any of the others, they probably WILL use it. They have to use it eventually. What's the point of waiting until their is only 4 left, ya know???

And now for the surprise! I got a wild hair and decided to record a video of my thoughts tonight... as if the written word wasn't enough!!!! Here is the link - there are a few cute cameo appearances from 2 of my 3 kids:




Until next time...

From 8 to 7 - Results Show!

I normally don't blog during the results show... but based on last night I just couldn't pass it up. Besides, I actually have a lot of opinions that rise up during the results show... and I think that should be shared.

Hmph, they made it look like Paula was doing the "standing O" for Adam and she wasn't! It was for White Chocolate. Shoooot. Don't even get me started.

Paula is wearing gloves and Simon totally has a butt-cut going on. I mean, his haircut honestly is offensive to me. It looks like a butt. Simon, you have to be made of money - can you not find a better hair dresser?

Anyway... this is probably the first time I've gone into the results show not knowing who got kicked out.

Group number - Lil choreography at the beginning is ridiculous. Poor Scott. It's weird with only 2 girls left!!! And finally, THANK GOD THEY'RE NOT LIP-SYNCING THIS WEEK!!!!

Ford Music Video: Matty has some acting skills! When they showed Danny, Scoop Deny said "Ompah, Loopah". Ha! I love seeing the contestants behind the scenes and all of their personalities. They're pretty funny.

Aw, man. Flo Rida is performing their hit song and Lincoln loves this song... but he is currently asleep behind me in the chair with his mouth hanging wide open. Ha!


Anoop is in the bottom 3! He did so great last night.
Scott is in the bottom 3! He didn't.
Lil is in the bottom 3 for the first time! Thank goodness!

I would like to say one thing about Matt. I found out today that he is in the Big Brother program as a mentor. You can read the story here:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=63934149684&h=LCUGg&u=kpHwJ&ref=mf

CALAMRI! We were all trying to figure out what it was that Kelli Pickler hadn't heard of before. When Ryan said Calamari, we all yelled it out. Kelli's had some work done on her face and we can't quite figure out WHAT. We've narrowed it down to the cheek area. Possibly cheek implants.

Scott is gone. Will they save him? I can't believe they are even debating this! Seriously??? Oh, man, Abbey is cracking me up. She is taking the words right out of my mouth. Scoop Deny and Shelby are debating with us about whether Scott could even win. They say yes (I think they're playing devil's advocate, honestly) but Abbey and I say no. Don't waste the save. He's a nice guy, but as Abbey said "Sorry, this is a singing competition, not a personality contest." Ha! That's my girl.

Anyway, it's over. Once we get rid of Lil next week, it's going to be REALLY hard to start knocking them off one by one. I mean, seriously!

The heat is turned up now. Who will go home next???

Season 8 - Top 8! From Texas!!!

Hello!!! I'm very excited to bring you my thoughts on tonight's show from big, bad Texas! I'm not exactly sure how to even present all of the comments from tonight. But, I will start with the cast of characters:

First, Shelby & Scott - our hosts!

Seriously, we got home at 6:50pm... I sat down to make my Fantasy Idol pre-performance picks and turned around 30 seconds later and this is what Shelby had done:







She is uh-mazing!














Anne and her girls were the first to show up. Anne and her husband Mark were my music pastors at my church in Nashville when I first moved there. They have 3 beautiful red-headed girls. I love this family. Mark couldn't be with us, which was a bummer, but I look forward to his 2 cents worth in the comment section!

Anne has an interesting theory on American Idol song choices. She says - and I semi-quote - that for the most part, the contestants choose music from artists they like to listen to but can't sing like. They pick these songs because they WISH they sang like this artist or that artist, but end up shooting themselves in the foot. I dramatically paraphrased there, but it's 1am so I'm allowed.

Bottom line, she sounded really smart and made a lot of sense... and I don't at this hour!


Rhonda was the next to show up - without her boys (all 3 of them, ha!) much to the dismay of OUR boys... but I digress (whatever that means).

Rhonda and her husband, Tim, have been friends with Aaron and I since way back when we lived in Texas and attended Hope Fellowship together. Tim helped Aaron and I load our moving van when we got ready to move back to Nashville, and we will never forget that. This family rocks! Rhonda is so sweet, we had to beat the comments out of her. Just kidding... about the beating part. She had a zinger or two... notice the "preacher march" comment below.







I have been friends with Emily for forever, too! She and her husband Julio (see below) had their kids at around the same time we did... except they kept going and added one! LOL.

Take note of Emily's comments throughout the night - she's quite knowledgeable and witty!













Julio is our resident rocker. I mean, look at that hair! Seriously, though, Julio plays a mean bass and is a great musician. He is very quiet but when he says something, you will be glad you listened. Even if it's about Adam Lambert.













Jennifer is another great singer in attendance - she, Emily and I had some good times singing backups for Pastor John back in the day!



















And then there is me. I don't care for this picture, but it's late and I'm not vain enough to look for another one right now.

Speaking of which, all of these pictures were taken tonight with the exception of Shelby's. I was trying to add her pic to the blog and it disappeared completely from my computer. I have no clue why or how. But the one I included was from our fun day at IKEA and that's good enough to warrant inclusion in this blog!!!

P.S. Sherry/Mimi was also in attendance and I took her picture while experimenting with Anne Marie's fixed lens and didn't realize until I uploaded it that it was blurry. So... sorry for no picture Mimi! Maybe I'll come back later and add one... :-)

After going around the room and asking each person who their favorite contestant was, we all settled in to watch the show. Scott was in charge of the remote. I had my laptop handy in case someone said something funny. We weren't positive that would happen, but I wanted to be ready. Ha! Shelby was in charge of getting the wee little ones drinks - even though she didn't really sign up for that role. I felt bad for her. Abbey and some of the other girls took their own notes, which they have yet to let us see. Suspicious!

Finally, we are ready to begin and my first thought was: This is so FUN!!!!

Ryan says "THIS is American Idol" and we all screamed and "whoo hoo"'d. Especially Scott. He's rowdy like that.

Danny is the oldest and goes first. He chooses to sing "Stand By Me" from 1980. I would NOT have picked this song for him, but what do I know? I directed our senior choir on this song the night I graduated from High School... so, you know... Danny's version kinda pales in comparison to THAT. Good beginning, he has chops. Boring middle (Simon agreed) but then good ending.

Wouldn't you be mad if you were sitting behind Paula? - Me. (because of her dancing)
I would be mad if I was trying to sing and had to look at her - Emily

Kara likes to count. Every week. They've all been smoking some Danny Gokey crack. No, not THAT kind of crack. Drugs, people. I mean, it wasn't THAT great of a performance and they are acting like he gave the performance of a lifetime.

He's the bomb - Scott
Whoo, he almost had the preacher march going - Rhonda (and then she got up and demonstrated what a "preacher march" is, in case we were confused.)
He never sounds like he rehearsed it - I bet he sings it a different way every time - Anne

Jennifer takes note of the fact that there are children in the room and if she has any tacky remarks she might keep them to herself. I divulge the fact that I had just typed a tacky remark, but wouldn't say it out loud. They will just have to read it. (It was the smoking Danny Gokey crack remark.)

We also briefly discuss the fact that no one really talks about Danny's backstory anymore. I tell them it's because of this:


During the Top 36 when Danny performed, one of his friends (sitting on the red couches) held up this picture after Danny sang. Apparently, the media and a lot of other people didn't like it. There was backlash... but not enough to keep him out of the top 8.


Anne and Emily take an unscheduled water-break, much to Scott's dismay. Shelby has noted that we only have one singer down and already people are taking a snack break. WE ARE HARD-CORE.

Kris is next and we thought that meant he was the next oldest - we were wrong. He has chosen to do "All She Wants to do is Dance" - Don Henley. Not sure what I think about this. Strange. I have become a big fan of Kris over the weeks, but didn't he learn a thing from the Matt G move of singing amidst the audience from last week? Not a good move.

Never heard that version before - Emily
Guitarist who wanted to sing, instead of a singer who plays guitar - Simon (I agree with that statement this week)
Very disappointed - Scott
He just stood in one place like his legs couldn't move - Abbey (LOL)
Didn't do anything for me, not horrible but not that great - Jen

We have a brief discussion on how old we all were in 1985. Jennifer simply could not believe that I was a freshman in 1985. Ok, fine, she wasn't THAT astonished... but it makes me feel good to dream.

Lil is REALLY named Lil, ok? It's NOT Lit-tle. She's cute. Lovin' her hair tonight! Finally! "What's Love Got to Do With It?" I hate it already. Hello, Tina Jr. She's totally out of tune. She even has the Tina shuffle dance going on. Now it's a toss-up between her and Scotty Mac in my mind on who needs to go bye bye tomorrow night.

She got to go - Julio (from the kitchen, no less!)
She's Karaoke - Scott
Kiss of death with the "You look hott" comment - ALL of us.
I like her eye makeup - Me
She probably hasn't listened to good music in several years - Anne (because she has 3 small kids)
I listen to their advice and take in everything they say - Lil
She just doesn't use it - me

We take a break to find our children. Ha!

Anoop is next. We pause to have a deep, philisophical discussion about Anoop. He shouldn't do R&B, we don't think. He starts True Colors and I am LOVING this arrangement. Niiiiice. I love it when Anoop sings like this. I would love to hear more of that.

We have a moment of hilarity.
Scott pauses it on the picture of Anoop's parent's and says: "That is the Indian version of my dad."
He pauses it again when Anoop starts to sing and says "Oh, my gosh. I just thought of something... that might be the Indian version of ME! I feel sick all of a sudden."

We decide to rename Scott. His new name is Scoop Deny.

Here is a picture of Scott's dad, who he thinks looks like Anoop's dad:






















We catch our breath from laughing and the conversation continues:
You showed your true colors like a rainbow - Paula (gag)
Ah, straight up now tell me - Scott/Scoop Deny
I think my expectations are so low for Anoop that when he does ok, I'm pleasantly surprised. - Anne
They fixed Scott's hair, why can't they fix his? - Emily

Scotty Mac is next. He loves the macabre. Huh? What? Go figure. The first blind train conductor? (I got boo'd for this remark, by the way. Whatever!)

When he went for the high climax of the song, we all screamed, wailed, and made Scott/Scoop Deny rewind it.
Oh, come on - Bravo??? REALLY??? BRAVO????
There are children in the room or I would be really RUDE right now. - me (at press-time, I could not for the life of me remember what I was going to say, however.)

*** Does anyone else find it ironic that the lyrics to Scotty Mac's song are "The search is over... it was right before my eyes."

Allison is the baby of the group. She's next. "I Can't Make You Love Me" Ok, GOOD song choice, we all agree. We also all agree that it's a bit inappropriate for someone her age. We momentarily debate whether to make the youngins leave the room.

The worst I've heard her - Scott/Scoop Deny
meh - me
You gave all of your heart - Paula
Too much of your heart - me
Why doesn't someone tell her to sing "Heart" - Scott/Scoop Deny
She sounds like she's 35 - Anne
And a smoker - me
She needs to do a song by Pink - Anne
Or a Kelly Clarkson song - Emily
I just didn't feel it, Beth, I just didn't feel it. - Scoop Deny

Matt G is next - aka White Chocolate... aka Matty. I feel a picture is needed...


I sang in a children's musical at church called Angels Aware - Matt G.
Oh, my Gosh, I did that one! - Emily
Be quiet, he's acting - Scoop Deny (who promptly rewinds it)

"Part-Time Lovers" is the song. We've instructed the children to not pay attention to the lyrics. Ha!
Go, White Chocolate, Go!
WE. ARE. LOVING. IT! Celebration all around.

But, wait! The 5 yr olds in the next room suddenly become very loud and several of us demand that the show be paused. We take a brief moment ot usher the kids into the back room so we can hear Matty.

I'm still freaked out that we did the same musical - Emily
We did it, too - Jen
Us, too. - Anne
I don't feel so special now. - Emily
We had a fog machine and everything - Jen

I'm cracking up just reading that conversation!

Adam is next - and I am wondering what on earth he could do to take my mind... I mean, our minds off of Matt G. He's singing Mad World?

I liked to play dress-up, not soccer - Adam
What the crap is this song? - me
Wow - I've never heard him do that before - Emily (about his bobble at the end)
We all GASP at the standing ovation.
Every song sounds like the broadway version of that song - Anne
That's what he does - Jen
I love watching him on here, but wouldn't buy his cd - Emily
What would his CD even be? Showtunes? - Anne

We pretty much all agreed that Adam sang well tonight, but standing ovation from Simon-worthy? Nah.

During the recaps:
Did you know that when they show the recaps they're actually showing a clip from the rehearsal? - Anne
Listen to Danny Gokey - that is completely different from his performance. I don't think even he knows what he's going to do each time. - Anne

Anoop is safe this week, and not just because he's my Indian twin - Scoop Deny
Let me go to the garage and get my cardigan. - Scoop Deny

After most people left, Scoop Deny grabbed my lime green sweater and put it on... then grabbed a lightsaber and this is what happened...




Yep - that's Scoop Deny.

















I give a big shout-out to those under 18 in the viewing party tonight!

All in all, this was one of the most fun nights I've had watching American Idol. It made me sad to think of watching it by myself next week and then blogging about it with only my own comments. Blah. So Anne had the bright idea for all of us to get on Skype next week. Do it.

Focusing my thoughts long enough to wrap it up here. Top 3 for me - Matty G., Anoop (that's right), and Adam. Yeah, he was good alright?

Bottom 3 is easy. It will be: Lil, Scotty Mac, and Allison. I don't think Allison deserves to be in the bottom 3, I just think she WILL be. Well, either her or Kris, simply because he was 2nd and that's a bad place to sing.

Man, I gotta go to bed!!! Until next week... Buh Bye!

Season 8 - Top 9

Seriously, it's 12:33am as I'm beginning this tonight... I can't be held responsible for what comes out of my mouth.

Simon always looks so awkward when he walks out to the front of the stage.

Oh, my. They coiffed Scott's hair.

"They still have Adam Sandler on there???" - Abbey Ha! She's so funny! (For the record, she is not up at 12:33am. We turned it on briefly at 7pm before some guests came over and she saw the top 9.)

Ooo, I see Mandisa! She looks so beautiful! I love you, Mandisa.

Kara has to define "artistry" for us? Seriously?

Right off the bat, I'm noticing Allison's ridiculous outfit. I like the hair color better - but her outfits are horrible!

What is up with Anoop's funky jackets? And the snarls? "Caught up" by Usher. Despite the snarls and stuff, I didn't mind it. I mean, it wasn't horrible. But it wasn't a winner. I think Anoop will get some kind of recording deal when all of this is over. NOW, he is a little (maybe even a lot) out of tune at the beginning of the song. I think he could be in danger of being in the bottom 3. I'm bored. He's boring me.

"I kinda felt like a bunch of frat guys dared you to get up and sing Usher" - Kara
The camera cuts to frat guys in audience... all friends of Anoop.

"It was a complete and utter mess" - Simon
Cut to Frat boys boo'ing Simon.

The pretty girl is next. No, I'm not talking about Adam. It's Megan Joy! I seriousy can't believe she is still in this competition. I'm not saying she doesn't have a certain amount of talent... she is just floundering in the show. She is kinda just a laid-back jazz singer. OK, this song is boring the crap out of me. Suddenly, I'm missing her quirky little dance moves. She's so pretty, though.

Megan fights with the judges... blah blah blah...

Next!

When's Matt coming on?

Ok, I'll settle for Danny. Ooooo, awesome - Rascal Flatts, What Hurts the Most. One of my favorite songs. And Danny has a way of making songs his own when he wants to. I hope he does, because he had a rough go of it last week. I love the intro with the violin. Lovely. Hmmm, ok. I'm learning something about Danny right now. When he's not blasting the roof off of the place, he gets out of tune. And now, he's blasting the roof off of the place and STILL is out of tune. Let me run it back and listen again without typing... ok, yeah, a little out of tune... BUT, all I could really think of was his wife dying while I was listening. Man, I just want to go cry now!!!

[one last note on Danny - I wish so badly he had taken the mic OFF of the stand - not move around, but just hold the mic for more emotion]

1:02am now... and Allison is next. Ugh, I hate Don't Speak. It's my LEAST favorite No Doubt song. Did anyone else notice when she was playing the guitar in practice that he finger looked infected. Eeek. Ok, she starts off AMAZING. I love the beginning. She completely rocked out this song. Very good. Very very good. Who cares what she's wearing? I mean, it's hideous, but when she sings I forget that her look is all wrong. The girl can blow. And that's a compliment.

Geez - they keep panning from her feet up and showing her outfit. Stop already!!! She's 16 and having her awkward stage on national television. Have some mercy!

Wow, I'm not sure I can handle Scott at this hour. Could he possibly NOT suck this week? I love his personality... and yeah, it stinks that he's blind... but I just can't stand his singing style. Please! Put me out of my misery and stop voting for him! Sorry. I had a moment. Ok, "Just the Way Your Are". Alright. Ha! I love the little look and a smile he gives the audience when they cheer for him as he begins. You know, I'm not hating it this week. Darn it. His arrangement is edgier than I would've expected. Good job, Scotty. If you get more votes than Matty, I may have to dislike you again, though.

Paula is going a little crazy with her feedback right now. Say what? Uhhhhh-kay.

Yay - my man Matty is up next. And he's singing The Fray!!!!!!!! Could I be so lucky??? Oh, please, let him do well with it. Ooh, he has a different hair-do this week. Me likey. Aw, Matt, you're so darn cute. Ok, so even though I love this guy, I can be honest and say that when he gets nervous, his vibrato goes NUTS. Breathe through those long notes, Matty! relax. Ok, beyond that, though - I LOVED IT!!!!! I loved that he did something different with the song. It was powerful and moved me.

NOT A GOOD COMMERCIAL SONG????? It's a MAJOR HIT that has crossed over several genres right now, SIMON!!!! IDIOT!!!!!

He doesn't know who he is??? CRAZY!!!! He doesn't have to do R&B!

SIMON, you crazy man. He's not frowning at you, Simon. He's just sad!!!!!

I'm sad, too. I thought it was good. In fact, I'm going to rewind it and listen again. I mean, I can see where they might RATHER he sing an R&B tune... but HELLO! the R&B tune last week got him in the bottom 3! Nope, I just ran it back and I stand by my assessment. I like it. I love when he flipped up into his falsetto. He added depth to it... it was FINE. And at least it wasn't BORING. Ugh. I'm pissed. I usually agree with Simon, but good gracious he was off his rocker this time. Not a good commercial song??? Just can't get over that one...

Lil is up next and I couldn't care less. She sounds horrible and I don't even recognize this song. I like her hair a lot better when she's recording the little video segment at the beginning. Seriously, this song was awful. "For me for you" says Randy. Huh? I didn't like it. Blah. Bad song.

Effortless???? No way. It was painful. She didn't sing well. At all. What were they hearing? Not the same thing I was. She was off.

Next!

Are you kidding me? Pimping out her kids to get people to vite for her? Man, that kid sure is cute, though. And just great. Lil is crying. As bad as she stunk, no ones going to vote her out now. Thanks a LOT Ryan...

Awesome! A Prince commercial!

So sick of these judges right now.

Adam is next. Whoop di do. I hate the way he sticks his tongue out when he goes for the high notes. What is UP with his hair? I like his emo hair better. I seriously have sit here through his entire song, clenching my butt cheeks in something close to horror. I feel like he went over to the Taylor Hicks side tonight. I'm cranky and that performance did not help. What it DID was get me out of the stupor I fell into when Lil sang. So, thanks Adam.

Next!

Kris. How can you not like Kris? Even with Bells Palsy on his belty notes, the boy is a cutie. And he has some musicality. Ooo, Bill Withers - Aint no Sunshine. I like it a lot. WOW. Besides the ending note, that could be my favorite Idol performance EVER. No, I'm not kidding. AMAZING. He's very smart. And likable.

Kara likes to count her words.

Who is the old lady sitting behind Kara and Randy, bedside Mandisa? She hasn't moved a muscle all night. No games!

Ugh... let's see. Kris had the best performance of the night. Hands down. I also liked Allison's.

Megan Joy and Lil were the worst of the night, in my very humble opinion.

The rest fell somewhere in the middle... with Anoop being nearer the bottom of the middle and Danny, Matt and Adam being closer to the top of the middle.

I hope Megan goes home. At this point, I like Scott more than I like her. At least he was a bit more interesting tonight. :-)

Still pissed about their assessment of Matt. Still in awe of what Kris did. I can see a finale with Kris and Adam duking it out.

Good night!!!!! Or morning, as it were.

Season 8, Top 10 Performance Night

Ow! It's Motown night - I love me some soul music. Aaron is peacefully sleeping beside me, but he gave me the go-ahead to watch tonight's show and get my blog on.

Seriously with the announcer each week? Simon looked a little geeky walking out there. Ryan is talking but the judges haven't taken a seat yet. What in the world are they doing?

I'm not feeling Randy's outfit tonight, either.

Oh. My. Goodness. Does Scott MacIntyre have on pink pants? That's just cruel. Cruel!

I love Smokey Robinson's eyes. So pretty. He's written over 4,000 songs? My word.

My man, Matt Giraud, is up first. Lord, help me. "Let's Get it On". My my my. Just him rehearsing in front of Smokey is awesome. Ok, so he starts and I can honestly say it is a STRONG start for him. Probably the best I've heard him so far. Nice. He mixes it up a little and doesn't just mimick Marvin's version... but when he does mix it up, he remains respectful to the original. And now he moves away from the piano. I like the way he moves - at least he has rhythm. Some just look awkward. WOW. wow. He was amazing. Spot on. Loved it. Awesome. My favorite. Ahhhhhh. Love him. (can you tell?)

Ha ha, Kara. You took the words right outta my mouth.

Kris Allen is up next. I like this little guy. "How Sweet It is". Kris has totally grown on me over the weeks. I think he has a future on the radio. Kris reminds me of a little kitten when he sings. Good job so far! Ok, it IS getting just a tad bit boring... but then he rocks it out in the end. Liked it. He put his own spin on it.

More Ryan and Simon banter. Blah blah blah.

Aw, man. Scott McIntyre is up and I am NOT looking forward to it at all. He seems like the nicest guy in the world, which is what makes me so darn mad that they've done this to him. He is not a good enough singer to still be in the competition at this point! And the fact that he's still in it and Alexis went home is just not right. But anyway... let's hear what he has for us. Yep, pink pants. Ryan says "Good to see you" Way to set him up, Ry. "I'm going to find other ways to take risks" - yeah, like the pink pants. Poor Smokey is just not sure what to say, is he? Oh, gag. I'm SORRY. I don't like it. My favorite backup singer is gone. Where's Charlotte? I mean, Scott is trying his best! And he is the sweetest thing! I just want to hug him. But I don't want to hear him sing. Ever again.

Oh, Simon! You make me laugh. "How much more can I take?"

Thank you, Simon. You hit it on the head. He is irrelevant to contemporary music.

"I have something for Simon" - Paula, as she reaches under the desk
"We're not allowed to show that" - Ryan
Ha!
"Dare I ask what other things you have under the table?" - Ryan
"It's under my skirt." - Paula
Oh, my.

Megan Joy is next and what will she bring? Oh, dear Lord. Oh, this is so bad. You know what it reminds me of? When I was little, I used to watch Love Boat. This sounds like the music on there. Poor, poor Megan. It's not the 70's anymore, love. She's so pretty, but this just wasn't good. She should've slowed it down. She doesn't have the chops to belt out the high notes, either. Bad. Buh bye.

Wow, Anoop is doing the twist. This should be... entertaining. Here's the deal... I like Anoop when he's crooning me. Sing the ballads to me, Anoop Desai. Ok, so he's doing a Smokey song. "Ooo, baby baby". Anoop's upper register is so lovely. What is up with that funky jacket? Ok, his upper notes sound a little breathy, like he's nervous. He's sweating... take that funky jacket off. I love his high notes, but could do without his falsetto. Does that make sense? I wish he hadn't started out sitting down... but what can ya do? Anoop really can sing. I liked it. It wasn't as good as Matt. But it was good. Anoop dawg.

Who's next? Aw, Michael Sarver. Bottom 3 last week. He has a nice voice and is such a sweetheart. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and he's gonna church it up, ha! Smokey gives Michael some really good advice. Get gritty with it. Honestly, he's not doing as well with this as I hoped he would. I mean, it's GOOD... it's just not blowing me away. There were some moments where he almost lost the pocket. Gosh, he's so sweet. "Yes, Ma'am" he said to Paula. I'm telling you, I could just hug him. Hug him and Scott both. But don't really want them on the show. Sorry. I wanted Michael in the top 36... I just don't think he can win. Man, I'm agreeing with Kara a lot tonight... hate that.

Next!

Lil Rounds is next. Can I make a confession. I'm not a Lil fan. Oh, wait. Maybe I've made that confession before. I just feel that she has so many fans, that I need to reiterate each week that I like her but I don't love her. Now... about heatwave. I do love this song. I did this song at Dill's. The band always complained that it was too easy to play and they got bored. Yes, Randy, the song was rushed. I thought Lil started out really good, but then indeed screamed her way through most of it. Once again, I have to agree with Kara. Lil is not accepting her criticism very well. Yes! Gladys Knight's "Heard it through the grapevine" would've been a perfect choice.

I'm probably driving Aaron crazy by now. He wakes up every so often and listens and makes a comment... then drifts back to sleep.

Oooo, Adam Lambert looks great tonight! He looks like Elvis. One thing I know about Adam... he will keep it interesting. He had a little bobble on the pitch right near the beginning... and again after the crecendo in the middle. I'm honestly not blown away. There's another pitchy bobble. Keep it in tune, Adam. It was cool, though. I like last week better, just to be honest.

"I got 6 words for you... one of the best performances of the night." - Kara
Honey, that's 7 words - me.

Ok, back to Adam real quick. I think Adam has a real talent and gift with his voice and musicality. But I just wasn't blown away by his vocals tonight like I was last week. LOVED the setup with the musicians and the acoustic arrangement. Hmmm, I just ran it all the way back and listened again just to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing . Yep, he was wobbly. There were just places where he seemed like he didn't know where he wanted to go with his notes. Last week may have been freaky, but at least he nailed his notes.

No, Simon. Not the best performance of the night. That would be Matt. :-) No, seriously. Not just because Matt's dead-sexy on the piano... He nailed it. Adam had the artistic award of the night, though.

Danny Gokey is next, which means they saved Allison for last... which means she must have a show-stopper and they don't want her to go home. Very crafty. Ok, back to Danny. I love this song. He was MADE to sing this type of song. But, he's turning into a little Taylor Hicks with his crazy dance moves. Oh, my! His soul is awesome. It's bugging me that he's saying "reaty" instead of "ready" at times. The song sounds rushed. He should've changed it up more. Hope he's not losing his edge. Let's see what the judges have to say... Not much. they're rushed, too!

Allison Iraheta is last. Papa was a Rolling Stone. This song tells a story, and has some killer moments in it. Again I say - are we sure this girl isn't in her 30's? Stop. I detest what she's wearing. Wha? But - WOWEE. Her vocals are SMOKING HOT. Allison. Oh, my. She is amazing. Get that girl some new clothes. Well, obviously Kara loved her. Paula has a freshly painted on mustache, thanks to Simon. I wish Allison would tone down her hair and get a stylist... but her voice is kickin!!!!!

So funny to me as they were playing back the snippets for the phone numbers, you can tell they took the snippets from the warm-up.

Bottom 3 is easy this week. Scott, Megan and Michael. Which one goes home is anyone's guess. Based on the performance alone, I'd have to say Megan. She was awful, bless her heart. But I'd love for it to be Scott. And I dislike myself for even feeling that way!

Best of the night goes to Allison, Matt and I guess Adam for his originality. But I really like Kris and Anoop, too.

Bummer I didn't get to vote tonight. :-(