This week was Standards night with emphasis on the “Rat Pack” and so obviously our mentor would be Jamie Foxx. LOL However, with a male majority in the final 5 this theme makes perfect sense. So, how did everyone do? Did Allison hold her own in a male dominated game? Well, that’s what we’re here for, so let’s discuss…
First off, in this week as a contestant I would probably have chosen “Fever”. Enough said…on to the contestants. I will say this is the best Final 5 we have ever had on any season to date. Each of these contestants is extremely talented and will do well in today’s music market with no problems after Idol. So, I will rate from Top performance on down, as usual.
Allison Iraheta – The only girl remaining and she showed why that is the case. In my opinion, this was not only the best of the night, but Allison’s personal best ever in this whole competition! She showed she can actually sing and she used her raspy, smokey voice to its fullest potential tonight. At moments during her performance I realized that I literally had not taken a breath because I was completely caught up in her performance. Seriously, she deserves to be around another week. However, with a weak fan base combined with rave reviews from judges and her incredible performance, she is destined for the bottom, sadly.
Danny Gokey – My boy is back with a VENGENCE! Seriously, this is the Danny that I know and love and proclaimed the winner of this season from day 1. His vocals were powerful and his performance was passionate. Obviously someone (Simon?) talked to him about his lack of charisma and effort in his previous performances and it paid off. Seriously, he NAILED that song to the wall! I hope he keeps this up because he needs to if he stands a chance of making it to the end at this point.
Kris Allen – It's always scary to see one of your faves go first on any given week as that often times spells trouble for them on results night. I am hoping this is not the case for Kris. He had another great week. Kris knows who he is and what his niche’ is vocally and musically and he stays right in the pocket of that. My only criticism was him carrying the mic stand around…he should save that for “Rock Week” (which is rumored to be next week) as it looked awkward doing it during a Rat Pack standard song. He is still great and still heading towards a potential upset for the Finals.
Adam Lambert – Here is the thing with Adam…yes, his vocals are stellar and he is creative and a showman but he doesn’t surprise me anymore. He seems to be in a constant rotation where 1 week is subdued and he sits in a sole spotlight and then the next week he does a wild song and belts it out and is all over stage, then the next week a subdued performance with an overpowering spotlight wearing a suit. You know what I mean? I don’t know, I am just not as excited about seeing what he will do each week as I am about Kris. Either way, this was a good week per usual for him. I had a female friend call me and refer to Adam’s performance this week as “orgasmic”. LOL However, I was just not as inspired by him as I have been in the last couple weeks. He will make the Final 2, at this point I have no doubt. The REAL question is who will be joining him.
Matt Giraud – In a week where everybody was stellar and pulled out all the stops, Matt fell a little short. He started off the song with a bad note and the beginning of his performance just came off weak vocally and he did not seem confident in it. It picked up a little in the middle and he did much better, but a slow start on a night when everyone was basically flawless from the intro to the final note…well, he did not hold his own.
So, I am pretty sure that we will no longer have a Bottom 3 but instead will have just 2. This prevents AI from showing who the top 2 people are in these final weeks. So, that being said it is obvious that Matt and Allison will be the bottom 2. The only hiccup could be Kris performing 1st this week, which is usually the doom spot as people forget about you as the night progresses and they see other contestants. However, Kris’ fan base is obviously just as strong as Adam and Danny’s and none of them have ever been in the bottom 3, and I still don’t think we will see Kris there this week either. Who goes home? Matt.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Final 7 (Part Deux): Disco
This season is getting more and more difficult to predict. We really have a race going on here and I agree with Randy (the first time he has actually said something other than “dawg” or “I dunno, I dunno” or name dropped) in that this is the most vocally talented Final 7 we have ever seen. I also think this is the first time I have seen so many artists. Usually we have a whole bunch of vanilla unknowns who sing nice, but this season we have defined artists with their own style and quite a few of them could leave the show right now and go out and have a successful career and stand out in the industry. Ryan jumped right into it this week, so we will too…
After some research, my song choice would have possibly been “Only the Strong Survive” by Billy Paul. I think I could put a current, edgy-pop spin on it and made it sound new.
Ok, best to worst…
Adam - At first, I was afraid Adam was making a mistake going back to the suit and spotlights again…I was wrong. I have to say that THIS was, in my opinion, his best performance so far.
Kris - The little engine that could….make it to the Finals. He has built up enough steam and turned in consistently strong performances that we could very well see him in the Top. Loved his version of this song, almost did not recognize it, but loved every second.
Danny - The Danny we all know and love sort of peaked back at us this week. I think this was one of his stronger vocal performances than we have seen in a few weeks. I agree with Simon though, the whole time he was on stage it felt awkward to me and I did not feel connected to him. Clumsy was actually the word I was thinking of in my head before Simon said it. I wonder if there is anything Danny to get back now that he is up against the likes of Adam who brings something fresh every week and nails it, and Kris who has become the ladies man of the show? Danny is even starting to slip in some polls. He needs to pull off something fantastic soon to get him back in contention.
Allison – Seriously, when I heard what she was going to sing I thought it was going to be a bomb….instead it was THE bomb. I really liked the arrangement of the song in the beginning, but wished it would have picked up more in the end, because there was a lot of dead space in the tempo that left Allison looking uncomfortable and not knowing what to do with herself. Overall though, nice. Much better than last week for sure.
Matt – Once again the hat is back, which historically for Matt means a good performance is on the way and this week kept that theory. I really liked this performance, I thought his moves were cool too. The only reason I put him below Allison was his falsetto. I think its great he tries to use it but he needs to hone it and learn how to control it. The last 2 weeks he has just gone all over the place during his falsetto moments and it ends up sounding bad. Other than that, great job.
Anoop and Lil – I believe we will see both of these people in the bottom 3. They were equally bad. Lil was totally unoriginal and, per usual, struggled with pitch control. Anoop…what the heck?? The song was a weird tempo and I was not sure if it was disco dance or disco serenade or some awkward place inbetween. Then to top it off he flubbed the last money note and did not even try to hide it when he made the blatant facial expression. Wow.
So rounding out the bottom 3 with Lil and Anoop? It’s hard to say. Matt and Allison are the only other remaining that have ever been in the bottom. Could tonight be a shocker and someone who has never been in the bottom make an appearance? Despite who joins them, my gut says tonight Lil and Anoop will go home leaving the remaining, and most deserving contestants, in the Final 5.
After some research, my song choice would have possibly been “Only the Strong Survive” by Billy Paul. I think I could put a current, edgy-pop spin on it and made it sound new.
Ok, best to worst…
Adam - At first, I was afraid Adam was making a mistake going back to the suit and spotlights again…I was wrong. I have to say that THIS was, in my opinion, his best performance so far.
Kris - The little engine that could….make it to the Finals. He has built up enough steam and turned in consistently strong performances that we could very well see him in the Top. Loved his version of this song, almost did not recognize it, but loved every second.
Danny - The Danny we all know and love sort of peaked back at us this week. I think this was one of his stronger vocal performances than we have seen in a few weeks. I agree with Simon though, the whole time he was on stage it felt awkward to me and I did not feel connected to him. Clumsy was actually the word I was thinking of in my head before Simon said it. I wonder if there is anything Danny to get back now that he is up against the likes of Adam who brings something fresh every week and nails it, and Kris who has become the ladies man of the show? Danny is even starting to slip in some polls. He needs to pull off something fantastic soon to get him back in contention.
Allison – Seriously, when I heard what she was going to sing I thought it was going to be a bomb….instead it was THE bomb. I really liked the arrangement of the song in the beginning, but wished it would have picked up more in the end, because there was a lot of dead space in the tempo that left Allison looking uncomfortable and not knowing what to do with herself. Overall though, nice. Much better than last week for sure.
Matt – Once again the hat is back, which historically for Matt means a good performance is on the way and this week kept that theory. I really liked this performance, I thought his moves were cool too. The only reason I put him below Allison was his falsetto. I think its great he tries to use it but he needs to hone it and learn how to control it. The last 2 weeks he has just gone all over the place during his falsetto moments and it ends up sounding bad. Other than that, great job.
Anoop and Lil – I believe we will see both of these people in the bottom 3. They were equally bad. Lil was totally unoriginal and, per usual, struggled with pitch control. Anoop…what the heck?? The song was a weird tempo and I was not sure if it was disco dance or disco serenade or some awkward place inbetween. Then to top it off he flubbed the last money note and did not even try to hide it when he made the blatant facial expression. Wow.
So rounding out the bottom 3 with Lil and Anoop? It’s hard to say. Matt and Allison are the only other remaining that have ever been in the bottom. Could tonight be a shocker and someone who has never been in the bottom make an appearance? Despite who joins them, my gut says tonight Lil and Anoop will go home leaving the remaining, and most deserving contestants, in the Final 5.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Final 7: Songs from Movies
I am going to keep it fairly short and sweet and to the point (as much as I can); mainly because I do not have that much time in my schedule to elaborate and be as verbose as normal, but also because this week does not require much discussion as the performances speak for themselves. Let’s dive in…
First, if I was a contestant I would probably have chosen “Stand By Me” as my song choice this week.
This week it comes down to 1 thing…Adam kicked everybody’s ass this week and all others paled in comparison. It’s that simple. Everyone raved about Adam’s performance last week and honestly, I found it boring. THIS week, however, was his best performance yet in my opinion. No doubt, he has the pipes and star quality of a winner. CAN he actually win American Idol though? THAT is the real question. I am going to save that for a later blog.
So, with everyone else falling subpar to Adam this week (yes, even my fave Danny) the run down of the remaining contestants will be easy. I will go from best to worst from here down as well.
Anoop Desai – In a night of vocal flops, Anoop was solid. Not amazing, but good. Not sure it's enough to keep him from the bottom again though.
Danny Gokey – Danny is starting to worry me a little because he comes out and seems to give it a half-hearted effort. To me, this makes him appear cocky which, if other viewers get the same opinion, could hurt him. I know the song is special to him, but it is a DUET and it lost its magic as a solo performance. Advice to ALL contestants here: quit making PERSONAL decisions in your songs and do songs that challenge you and show off your vocal abilities. Leave personal emotions out of your song choices!
Matt Giraud – Cracked notes and fumbled melody during the bridge aside, Matt was ok. Not as amazing as it could or should have been though. With a weak fan base, this might not be a good week for him.
Allison Iraheta – Wow, the worst I have ever heard Allison sing on this show! Seriously, I KNOW that when Simon watches the show back he is going to take back his praise of Allison. I like the girl and I agree she IS the females hope in this season, but not with this performance. Seriously, I could not wait for her to be done, it was uncomfortable.
Kris Allen – The guy who I have been saying could sneak up and steal a spot from a bigger player just dropped the ball big time! The song choice was terrible, it never reached any kind of climax moment of any kind and it seemed to suddenly end. I have no idea what one lyric was in the song either. Kris even looked completely uncomfortable on stage during the whole performance. Weird.
Lil Rounds – Her look is improving but her singing continues to decline. Just when you think she could not get any worse, the next week comes and is worse than the last! Are her fans charged up enough to save her this week?
Bottom 3: So it’s all about how strong your fan base is in determining the bottom 3. Allison and Anoop have each been in the bottom 3 twice with 1 of those times being bottom 2 for both of them. Matt and Lil have each been in the bottom once with Lil having been in the bottom 2. Danny, Adam and Kris have NEVER been in the bottom. Allison is destined to be in the bottom 3 this week based on her stats and the good feedback from the judges giving false security to her fans. Anoop’s visits to the bottom 3 have been back to back these last 2 weeks, normally a strong fan base would work overtime to save someone after their first appearance in the bottom, but that was not so for Anoop. With Anoop doing well tonight and with some weak performances from other, more popular contestants, viewers will be busy voting for them and forget about Anoop which will leave him in the bottom 3. So, that leaves Matt and Lil and I think Lil’s appearance in the bottom 2 last week will ignite her fans to vote like crazy and therefore we will see Matt rounding out the bottom 3. Who goes home? My guess is Matt. Will the judges save him? No.
First, if I was a contestant I would probably have chosen “Stand By Me” as my song choice this week.
This week it comes down to 1 thing…Adam kicked everybody’s ass this week and all others paled in comparison. It’s that simple. Everyone raved about Adam’s performance last week and honestly, I found it boring. THIS week, however, was his best performance yet in my opinion. No doubt, he has the pipes and star quality of a winner. CAN he actually win American Idol though? THAT is the real question. I am going to save that for a later blog.
So, with everyone else falling subpar to Adam this week (yes, even my fave Danny) the run down of the remaining contestants will be easy. I will go from best to worst from here down as well.
Anoop Desai – In a night of vocal flops, Anoop was solid. Not amazing, but good. Not sure it's enough to keep him from the bottom again though.
Danny Gokey – Danny is starting to worry me a little because he comes out and seems to give it a half-hearted effort. To me, this makes him appear cocky which, if other viewers get the same opinion, could hurt him. I know the song is special to him, but it is a DUET and it lost its magic as a solo performance. Advice to ALL contestants here: quit making PERSONAL decisions in your songs and do songs that challenge you and show off your vocal abilities. Leave personal emotions out of your song choices!
Matt Giraud – Cracked notes and fumbled melody during the bridge aside, Matt was ok. Not as amazing as it could or should have been though. With a weak fan base, this might not be a good week for him.
Allison Iraheta – Wow, the worst I have ever heard Allison sing on this show! Seriously, I KNOW that when Simon watches the show back he is going to take back his praise of Allison. I like the girl and I agree she IS the females hope in this season, but not with this performance. Seriously, I could not wait for her to be done, it was uncomfortable.
Kris Allen – The guy who I have been saying could sneak up and steal a spot from a bigger player just dropped the ball big time! The song choice was terrible, it never reached any kind of climax moment of any kind and it seemed to suddenly end. I have no idea what one lyric was in the song either. Kris even looked completely uncomfortable on stage during the whole performance. Weird.
Lil Rounds – Her look is improving but her singing continues to decline. Just when you think she could not get any worse, the next week comes and is worse than the last! Are her fans charged up enough to save her this week?
Bottom 3: So it’s all about how strong your fan base is in determining the bottom 3. Allison and Anoop have each been in the bottom 3 twice with 1 of those times being bottom 2 for both of them. Matt and Lil have each been in the bottom once with Lil having been in the bottom 2. Danny, Adam and Kris have NEVER been in the bottom. Allison is destined to be in the bottom 3 this week based on her stats and the good feedback from the judges giving false security to her fans. Anoop’s visits to the bottom 3 have been back to back these last 2 weeks, normally a strong fan base would work overtime to save someone after their first appearance in the bottom, but that was not so for Anoop. With Anoop doing well tonight and with some weak performances from other, more popular contestants, viewers will be busy voting for them and forget about Anoop which will leave him in the bottom 3. So, that leaves Matt and Lil and I think Lil’s appearance in the bottom 2 last week will ignite her fans to vote like crazy and therefore we will see Matt rounding out the bottom 3. Who goes home? My guess is Matt. Will the judges save him? No.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Final 8: Songs from the year you were born
So I came home tonight to the devastating discovery that my DVR had not recorded AI. However, thanks to some insomnia and the wonderful world wide web I was able to stay up and find video clips of the performances tonight. I already pretty much have in my head who will be the bottom 3 without even seeing the performances, but this blog is to discuss the whole deal, so that is what we will do!
I have decided to add another little extra something to my blog each week and that is a song that I might pick to do if i was an Idol contestant based on the theme of the week. Obviously, I do not know the cleared list of songs contestants actually pick from but this is fantasy so I will do what I want. :) After some research of top songs from 1978 (the year I was born...I know, I am old) I have decided that I would possibly perform "Baby Come Back"by Player (what an awesome name for the group huh? haha) I think I would juice it up a little and make it more power ballad than the original to give it some uumph. If you do not know the song, google it to take a listen.
Again I will continue the ranking of best to worst of the night as I list and discuss each contestant...
Matt Giraud - I think Matt BROUGHT IT tonight. This was his best performance to date. He was not only stellar vocally, but he had great stage presence and confidence and he looked like a star on stage. It's like once he puts on that hat he becomes and R&B sensation, without the hat he is a cheap pop/rock copy cat. Matt...KEEP WEARING THE HAT! lol Loved it. THIS is the artist Matt is meant to be.
Danny Gokey - Danny is also back in top form tonight. This was a great change up to the style of a song we have heard ad nauseum. The arrangement completely fit who I see Danny to be as a recording artist and the style of music he would do. His vocals were spot on and solid all the way through.
Adam Lambert - Nice subdued performance. His vocals are stellar and effortless as always. I found this to be a bit of a contrast from the last reserved performance he did, in that, this one came off a little boring to me. Still he is an extremely talented singer and has no worries again this week.
Kris Allen - I totally disagree with the judges and think Kris did a great job. I was actually thinking as I listened to him how I felt he was making the song current. I was also watching him and realizing that each week I begin to see him as the contestant who could come up and take a top spot when other male contestants are splitting votes (Danny & Adam). I really think he is capable of pulling something like that off. I think he did a good job. Not his most awe inspiring vocals, but a great performance.
Allison Iraheta - This week I think Allison and Kris could be interchangeable in their rankings. I loved some of Allison's vocal runs and turns she did in certain spots of the song; very smooth. I like that she did not really change the song, because it is a great song, but she brought her unique, smoky vocals to it, which is what you need if you are going to sing Bonnie Raitt. I thought she was solid this week. However, her fan base has proven to not be as solid, so we will see how she does in the votes this week.
Scott MacIntrye - Ok, so I love the song Scott is doign this week but do not love HIS version of it as much. I figured out this week one of the big things that bug me about Scott. He stretches out his pronounciation too much. For example "The seeech is ovehhhhhr". Meaning his mouth open side to side when it should be opening up and down to form his vowels, hence "stretching" his pronounciation out and making his words sound odd. Sorry if that is a bit technical, it's a vocalist thing. I digress. The electric guitar was off and Scott just looked lost in the middle of the stage. Also, he needs to stop talking back to the judges so much, its annoying and unbecoming of any contestant.
Anoop Desai - I would have Annop ahead of Scott this week but for one main reason...the stupid mention of how he reacted to Kara's comments last week. Not sure why Ryan did that, probably to try and give him a chance to "clear" himself to viewers, but I think it incriminated him more than cleared him. I, for one, did not remember his response, but as soon as Ryan brought it up I did and it made me annoyed by Anoop, along with his answer tonight. Bleh. Anyway, aside from that, his performance was boring. I agree with Simon, he is too yo-yo. A singer can change up between fast, mid and slow tempo songs and still be consistent in your performance. Anoop comes off frenetic with one week being some silly song like "My Prerogative" and then he does a song so blah like "True Colors" and there is just no consistency in who he is as a contestant. To use a Simon word, this week Anoop was forgettable.
Lil Rounds - I am going to sound like Paula for a moment and say Lil did look much better tonight than she has in the past. However, once again her vocals are all over and she never has a hold of the pitch. She has no vocal control and Kara nailed it on the head when she said Lil's lower register is not good. And again we have another week where the judges give Lil the poor review she deserves and thank God this week we did not get the "But America needs to remember your an incredible singer" cause I am sick of that. She is the only contestant who has consistantly received poor remarks from the judges. I'm over her. However, for some odd reason, her fan base is strong and they are not going to let her go yet I do not think.
So, if Lil is on the bottom of my list but I do not think she is going to be in the bottom or go home, who is?? Last week I was right on with my prediction about Megan. Sad, but true. Since Lil will not be in the bottom, based on my ranking, that leaves Anoop, Scott and Allison. However, after Allison appearing in the bottom again last week, I think her fans will frantically vote her to safety. So, looking at history and the showing of fan bases, I would say the next weakest fan base is that of Matt's. So, I predict Anoop, Scott and Matt will be in the bottom and I think it will come down to Anoop and Scott in the Bottom 2 with Scott being sent home, finally. Currenly my record for predicting who will be voted off is 4 for 5 which is an 80% accuracy rate thus far. How will my average fare after this week's elimination's? We shall see!
I have decided to add another little extra something to my blog each week and that is a song that I might pick to do if i was an Idol contestant based on the theme of the week. Obviously, I do not know the cleared list of songs contestants actually pick from but this is fantasy so I will do what I want. :) After some research of top songs from 1978 (the year I was born...I know, I am old) I have decided that I would possibly perform "Baby Come Back"by Player (what an awesome name for the group huh? haha) I think I would juice it up a little and make it more power ballad than the original to give it some uumph. If you do not know the song, google it to take a listen.
Again I will continue the ranking of best to worst of the night as I list and discuss each contestant...
Matt Giraud - I think Matt BROUGHT IT tonight. This was his best performance to date. He was not only stellar vocally, but he had great stage presence and confidence and he looked like a star on stage. It's like once he puts on that hat he becomes and R&B sensation, without the hat he is a cheap pop/rock copy cat. Matt...KEEP WEARING THE HAT! lol Loved it. THIS is the artist Matt is meant to be.
Danny Gokey - Danny is also back in top form tonight. This was a great change up to the style of a song we have heard ad nauseum. The arrangement completely fit who I see Danny to be as a recording artist and the style of music he would do. His vocals were spot on and solid all the way through.
Adam Lambert - Nice subdued performance. His vocals are stellar and effortless as always. I found this to be a bit of a contrast from the last reserved performance he did, in that, this one came off a little boring to me. Still he is an extremely talented singer and has no worries again this week.
Kris Allen - I totally disagree with the judges and think Kris did a great job. I was actually thinking as I listened to him how I felt he was making the song current. I was also watching him and realizing that each week I begin to see him as the contestant who could come up and take a top spot when other male contestants are splitting votes (Danny & Adam). I really think he is capable of pulling something like that off. I think he did a good job. Not his most awe inspiring vocals, but a great performance.
Allison Iraheta - This week I think Allison and Kris could be interchangeable in their rankings. I loved some of Allison's vocal runs and turns she did in certain spots of the song; very smooth. I like that she did not really change the song, because it is a great song, but she brought her unique, smoky vocals to it, which is what you need if you are going to sing Bonnie Raitt. I thought she was solid this week. However, her fan base has proven to not be as solid, so we will see how she does in the votes this week.
Scott MacIntrye - Ok, so I love the song Scott is doign this week but do not love HIS version of it as much. I figured out this week one of the big things that bug me about Scott. He stretches out his pronounciation too much. For example "The seeech is ovehhhhhr". Meaning his mouth open side to side when it should be opening up and down to form his vowels, hence "stretching" his pronounciation out and making his words sound odd. Sorry if that is a bit technical, it's a vocalist thing. I digress. The electric guitar was off and Scott just looked lost in the middle of the stage. Also, he needs to stop talking back to the judges so much, its annoying and unbecoming of any contestant.
Anoop Desai - I would have Annop ahead of Scott this week but for one main reason...the stupid mention of how he reacted to Kara's comments last week. Not sure why Ryan did that, probably to try and give him a chance to "clear" himself to viewers, but I think it incriminated him more than cleared him. I, for one, did not remember his response, but as soon as Ryan brought it up I did and it made me annoyed by Anoop, along with his answer tonight. Bleh. Anyway, aside from that, his performance was boring. I agree with Simon, he is too yo-yo. A singer can change up between fast, mid and slow tempo songs and still be consistent in your performance. Anoop comes off frenetic with one week being some silly song like "My Prerogative" and then he does a song so blah like "True Colors" and there is just no consistency in who he is as a contestant. To use a Simon word, this week Anoop was forgettable.
Lil Rounds - I am going to sound like Paula for a moment and say Lil did look much better tonight than she has in the past. However, once again her vocals are all over and she never has a hold of the pitch. She has no vocal control and Kara nailed it on the head when she said Lil's lower register is not good. And again we have another week where the judges give Lil the poor review she deserves and thank God this week we did not get the "But America needs to remember your an incredible singer" cause I am sick of that. She is the only contestant who has consistantly received poor remarks from the judges. I'm over her. However, for some odd reason, her fan base is strong and they are not going to let her go yet I do not think.
So, if Lil is on the bottom of my list but I do not think she is going to be in the bottom or go home, who is?? Last week I was right on with my prediction about Megan. Sad, but true. Since Lil will not be in the bottom, based on my ranking, that leaves Anoop, Scott and Allison. However, after Allison appearing in the bottom again last week, I think her fans will frantically vote her to safety. So, looking at history and the showing of fan bases, I would say the next weakest fan base is that of Matt's. So, I predict Anoop, Scott and Matt will be in the bottom and I think it will come down to Anoop and Scott in the Bottom 2 with Scott being sent home, finally. Currenly my record for predicting who will be voted off is 4 for 5 which is an 80% accuracy rate thus far. How will my average fare after this week's elimination's? We shall see!
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