TV TAM

What are you watching tonight?

Posts Tagged American Idol

American Idol. It’s all downhill from here.

Apr 9

Posted by Tamara in Television | 6 Comments

So, you guys, I know I haven’t posted anything on Idol in like 2 weeks. Frankly, I’m so frustrated with Season 9 of AI that I can barely even muster up enough motivation to even write about it. From Didi’s ouster to the unimaginable save of “Big Mike,” and the annoying fangirls who keep saving Tim Urban, I’m totally over it. Call me in 5 weeks when it’s down to Crystal, Lee, and Casey, and maybe I’ll watch. And I’m totally thankful there’s no such thing as “Rush” night cause after the way they butchered the Stones and the Beatles, I don’t think I could handle it.

So, what prompted me to write today? Michael Slekak’s Idolatry interview of Didi Benami! (He also does video recaps every week, and they’re way better than the show itself!)

We all know the producers have a heavy hand in how we feel about contestants. They want us to love Big Mike and fell sorry for Lee and think that Aaron Kelly is the cutest little thing ever. And they wanted us to think that Didi was an unstable crybaby. And she admits that when she wanted to do an acoustic song, they pushed her to do something different, and she didn’t stick to her guns– maybe for fear of being more AI fodder? Don’t worry Didi, cause you’ll probably end up being way more successful than most of the clowns still on the show. I’ll totally buy your album – in fact, I’m going to iTunes right now to download “Rhiannon” and “Playing With Fire.” And the best part is, you don’t have to deal with stress of being on the show anymore!

Any other Didi fans out there? What did you think of the Save being used on B.M.? Was it deserved?

Tags: , , ,

American Idol: Can we just skip to Season 10?

Mar 25

Posted by Tamara in Television | 2 Comments

I know I’m a day late with the blog. I’m finding it more and more painful to relive the performance shows the further we get into this mess of a season. I’m seriously missing the Season 8 Trifecta (Kris, Adam, and Allison). But the way this show works, there’s always a handful of shoddy singers that make the winners look like gifts from the gods. Remember Sanjaya, Megan Joy, Kristy Lee Cook, Bucky Covington…? And that’s just a small percentage of the talentless contestants that have crossed the Idol stage as part of the Top 10.

So how bad was it this week? It was pretty mediocre, with a couple of really bad performances thrown in.

Who did well? To me, Crystal was stellar and Lee finally loosened up and it really impacted his ability to hit notes. For once, his growl really worked, and I was all tingly after watching his performance. Sure, it was borderline Gokey, but I thought he did well. Crystal’s always had the voice, but this was the first week I was actually drawn in by her performance. She seemed really humble and likable during her interview with Ryan. I’m finally starting to get it. She said she has big plans for next week, so I’m excited to see what she does.

I was also a little surprised that she asked Miley to sign her guitar, since she doesn’t seem like a Miley Cyrus fan, but I thought it was a very nice and humble move for her to recognize Miley as a “strong woman.” I was really wary when they said Miley was mentoring, but I actually thought she did a good job for her location on the totem pole of music. She herself admitted that she was intimidated by the talent, and that she really didn’t think she was qualified to give them singing advice, but she just advised them on performing based on her own experiences. She could have worn something a little less slut-tastic, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by Miley’s coaching sessions. And truth be told, she was right about 90% of the time, and it seemed to really help the contestants’ confidence.

Who was middle-of-the-road? Siobhan, Aaron, Didi, Casey, and Big Mike. What, you think Siobhan deserves to be in the top? I was not a fan of her song choice (I’d rather her sing Stevie Nicks than Stevie Wonder), her pitch was all over the place, and that scream is getting old. Especially since it’s not always in tune. I’m honestly not sure what to make of Siobhan.. she’s trying to be Adam Lambert but without the vocal accuracy. I’m also hesitant putting Big Mike in this category, since he was closer to the bottom for me, but he definitely was a cut above the worst performances of the night. Aaron chose one of the cheesiest songs ever recorded, but I’m glad he didn’t go the country route. He actually kind of knows what he’s doing. Poor Aaron sounded much better in his rehearsal with Miley than during the show, and I hope it was due to his tonsillitis/laryngitis. This kid is actually growing on me a little. He hits more notes than most of his competitors, and as long as he keeps himself from spazzing all over the stage, he might make top 5.

Casey has a nice voice, but his song choices are all kinds of wrong. I love Huey Lewis and the News, but it was like watching barroom karaoke. I would have chosen something by the Eagles for him.. Hotel California would have really showcased his voice. And we know he’s a great guitar player, but this isn’t an audition to replace Eddie Van Halen, y’all. And my girl Didi..I did NOT think she was as bad as the judges made her out to be. I wasn’t a fan of the song choice, but I think the judges focused too much on the “act” she put on instead of her actual vocal, which was actually pretty decent IMO. However, I don’t think Didi should have lashed back at the judges; I know she was trying to defend herself but that kind of attitude may lead to trouble.

Who was at the bottom of the barrell? Katie, Tim, Andrew, and Paige. Katie’s voice fit Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” pretty well, but she doesn’t have any soft spots in her voice. It felt like she was screaming during the chorus; the tone of her voice is nice sometimes, but there’s not much range. Same thing goes for Tim… his voice has an okay tone, but his range is so tiny it really prevents him from having any depth to his voice and really limits his song choice abilities. Like Simon said, he tried to distract from that fact with schmaltzy stage antics that were very High School Musical. Right on, Simon.

As for Andrew… he’s someone I really want to do well, but every week he just gets flatter and flatter. I think his problem is that he likes to play around with songs and melodies, but he really doesn’t have a good voice to accompany it. And I hate to be so mean, but his accent makes his word pronunciation horrid. Did you watch him when he was singing? He continually sang “heard it through the gratevine.” UGH. Don’t you know my singing pet-peeves are bad lisps and poor pronunciation!? And then there’s Paige. When Ryan said she was singing Phil Collins, I thought, ooh, maybe it’s some soulful rendition of “Sussudio”. But no. It was some bad ballad that she sang way out of tune. It was just really bad. Which is why she was finally put out of her misery last night.

What were your thoughts this week, Idol watchers? Did America get it right by sending Paige home? Did you think the contestants can bounce back from this week’s disaster? Are you excited next week is R&B week? Hit the comments!

Tags: ,

American Idol: Last Week’s Trash is This Week’s Treasure

Mar 10

Posted by Tamara in Television | 3 Comments

After tonight, and really the past 3 weeks, it’s a no-brainer to pick this season’s top 6 girls. Some of you may—and probably will—disagree with my assessments; I mean, seriously Simon, Crystal Bowersox is not the second coming. But enough stalling—my blog is already super late today.

Katie Stevens. I don’t know if putting her first was a curse or a blessing in disguise for poor Katie. Despite following the judges’ comments—probably a little too literally—Katie was in way over her head with Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” Not only does Katie not know who she wants to be as an artist, but she clearly doesn’t know the limitations of her own voice. I would love to give each of the contestants a voice recorder they can sing multiple songs into so they can play it back and hear exactly how they sound on each song. It might make song choice a little less of a travesty.

Siobhan Magnus. I’m so torn on this girl. On one hand, I like her “big” voice and her loopy personality. But I do not love her voice when it treads in its deep, dark tones. When she uses her lower register, the notes sound too forced and drawn out. Maybe it was the way she slowed down “House of the Rising Sun,” but I found it a bit unstable. Still, she’s different, and has a good range. I still think she’s a lock for the top 12.

Lacey Brown. I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but I’ve been pulling for Lacey. Her voice is unique and really pretty when she pairs it with the right song. I thought Carly Simon’s “The Story” was a great song choice, particularly because it’s understated and sweet, just like Lacey. I just wished she hadn’t just sat on the stage, because I didn’t get the emotion I wanted out of it. Sure she chose a couple of bum songs before, but I hope this is a turning point for one of my early faves.

Katelyn Epperly. Katelyn is so all over the place. There’s no coherence to her song choices week to week. While there’s no arguing that she has a nice voice, I question what kind of music she wants to make—and I don’t know why the judges don’t. She goes from the Beatles to Coldplay to Carole King—from a somber piano ditty last week to an upbeat, “cutesy” performance this week. Her song choice, and even her clothes (cowboy boots and a weird jumper) were a little too immature compared to her last performance. It just didn’t feel like she was taking this seriously.

Didi Benami. Didi gave my favorite performance of the night. The song was gorgeous, enhanced only by the way her voice naturally goes up and down, which made the song very multi-dimensional. I also loved the way she nixed the backup singers except for that one moment where they joined her on a single note. Lovely. And this is why I’ve been rooting for the girl since day one.

Paige Miles. “Smile” did not make me smile. At all. Instead, it made me fast-forward through the rocky runs, the off-key notes, and the way her voice cracked like she was about to cry. Another girl who has no idea what she wants to do, and crediting her love for Michael Jackson as a reason for picking this classic Charlie Chaplain song made it even worse. So long, Paige.

Crystal Bowersox. OK, we know the girl can sing. Probably better than anyone else in the competition. But is anyone else getting tired of Crystal’s slightly careless attitude, like she’s been praised so much she thinks she’s already got the crown in the bag? I wasn’t a fan of the song choice, but I can’t say I’m surprised Simon doesn’t chastise his golden child for her “sound-alike” song choice. It was a great vocal but a “meh” song choice for me.

Lilly Scott. Again, is it just me, or does Lilly think she’s too good for AI? I didn’t really understand her song choice—Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” I agree with Simon that it was neither a risk nor a song that would really connect with audiences. I kept expecting him to call it “indulgent.” And unlike Kara, I didn’t think she made it sound current at all, especially with the steel guitar and the awkward inclusion of the mandolin. Really, it just sounded like she was singing an old country song! I think Lilly needs to step away from her personal record collection and sing something that actually works with her voice. And maybe try to find something other than a sundress to wear. Girl needs some edgy clothes to match that hair and eyeliner.

My favorites this week were Didi and Lacey—I feel like they both took last week’s criticism to heart and stepped it up this week. Crystal, Lilly and Siobhan all gave solid performances but I really want to hear something new from them—especially Crystal and Lilly, who seem to rely on the same shtick week after week.

My bottom 2: Paige and Katie.

Who do you want to see go home this week? Am I totally off base with the Indie Twins Crystal and Lilly?

Tags: ,

American Idol: As close to a hug as you’ll get from Simon

Mar 3

Posted by Tamara in Television | 2 Comments

I missed Lost last night, so I’m a bit cranky. I had to run to Ikea last night, which took longer than expected, but now we have half a kitchen island to show for it! So when we got home, I only had time for one show. So I forsake Lost to watch Idol and bring you this blog on time, so you better be grateful.

Let’s just get it out of the way: the guys performed last night instead of the girls due to Crystal Bowersox’s undisclosed “medical issue” that sent her to the hospital. This website claims that Idol was “forced to rearrange its schedule” and that Bowersox will automatically be eliminated if she can’t perform tonight. WHAT? She should get through on last week’s performance alone. I guarantee you, if Idol gave her a number, fans would be rampantly tying up the phone lines.

So, back to the boy’s “forced” Tuesday night performance. (Really, is it fair that the girls have to go first every week anyway?) One day early or not, many of the guys showed a vast improvement over last week.

Michael Lynche, who I really disliked last week, redeemed himself with a catchy, though old, R&B song. For the first time, I rather enjoyed Michael’s performance.

John Park is still boring. He chose yet another slow song, although one by John Mayer this time. It was weird to see him singing “Gravity” sitting on a stool when I can picture John Mayer grooving on stage with his guitar. It’s not a vocally challenging song and I’m not impressed.

Casey James sings Gavin Degraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be.” Is anyone still listening to this song? I was once a big Gavin fan, and he’s got way better songs than that. Casey’s guitar playing was a million times better than his vocal. Once again, not a very good song for a singing competition. But Casey could get up there and sing “Rubber Ducky” and the fans would still vote for him.

Although Alex Lambert’s opening package was a little gross with all the pukey talk, I actually felt kinda bad for him. And I gotta assume that’s what he was going for. He sang a John Legend song and I actually thought he killed it. In a good way. Simon got a little mushy when he said how much he thought Alex improved. That’s as close to a hug as you’ll ever get from Simon! I also agree he needs to man up a little bit, but I think he’s one of the best vocalists.

Todrick Hall went and messed up the guys’ groove by singing “What’s Love Got to do With it?” Once again, he took a decent song and really ruined it. Not to mention his outfits are extremely distracting. Please send Todrick home.

I thought Jermaine Sellers looked like an African-American Pee-Wee Hermann in his get up. What was with the cardigan and the bow-tie? I can’t take someone seriously that dresses like that. He, too, chose a decent song and then broke the crap out of it. Sorry, Jermaine, but you can go home too.

Andrew Garcia just picks bad songs, and like the judges said, nothing will ever live up to his version of “Straight Up”. He’s losing points with me every week, even though he has a really nice voice. I’m just not sure I can sit through another awful song choice.

When it was announced that Aaron Kelly was singing “My Girl”, I groaned. Such a boring, basic song. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice, but I was quite captivated by hiss performance and to tell you the truth, I actually felt it emotionally. Maybe it just was because I knew the words and found myself singing along, or the way his twangy voice just slightly elongated each line. Either way, I thought AK did a really decent job and he solidified himself as an actual artist in this competition.

Tim Urban really hurt me when he picked “Come on Get Higher” because I have a big ol’ soft spot in my heart for Matt Nathanson (even though it was sorta awesome to have one of my favorite artists’ songs featured on the AI stage). But here’s my problem, Tim. Matt Nathanson is cool without trying. He has incredible stage presence. He wrote that song. He plays a fricken 12-string guitar. Now get the frick off that stage before I have a melt down. Thanks.

Lee Dewyze got the AI “pimp spot” tonight, but then he went and sang that annoying “Lips of an Angel” song that was all over the radio 6 months ago. Total karaoke. I’m so frustrated! I really want Lee to pick some 80s song and just sing the hell out of it. I heard Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” at Ikea, and was like, Lee should totally sing this song. That’d be awesome.

My bottom guys: Todrick, Jermaine, and Tim. John is easily at risk too.

How did you feel about last night’s performances? Who did you like? Did you want to strangle the judges for thinking this is the best group of guys they could find? And how do you feel about the Bowersox sabotage?

Tags: , ,

American Idol: It’s not all roses and ponies.

Feb 25

Posted by Tamara in Television | No Comments

When Marc Antony said, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears,” he didn’t then mutilate said ears with the sounds of nervous and out-of-key singers. Yet, that’s exactly what American Idol producers did to us loyal viewers this week. They asked for my attention, and then proceeded to torture me for two more hours as the guys took on their first live performances. After the girls came out with a shaky start, I knew we were doomed…

Todrick Hall- First, Simon likes to call him “Tondrick” – Someone please tell him there is no “N” in his name. Second, Todrick took Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” and not only killed it, but he beat it to death with his all-over-the-place runs and complete lack of a coherent melody. But, Todrick did sing something unexpected, and he does have a good voice when not on a murderous rampage of a hit song. I don’t think his song choice or arrangement did him any favors, but he’s got “presence” – Ellen’s word-of-the-day calendar selection no doubt— and an inherently good voice.

Aaron Kelly – Aaron’s already got the 12-year-old-girl vote, but can his talent match his cuteness? Not after his rendition of some song called “Here Comes Goodbye.” Ellen said it’s Rascal Flatts, and if that’s the case, then Aaron picked a song solely because his voice kinda-sorta sounds like the voice in the song. Yet, he got praised by the judges although every girl that did the exact same thing got berated. What gives? Just because he’s 16 doesn’t mean he should get an unequal critique.

Jermaine Sellers –Like a lot of commentary out there, I too agree that the judges picked the wrong “Jermaine” for the show. Jermaine was all over the place with “Get Here” and couldn’t hit a note to save his life. In his pre-song footage, he seemed a bit embarrassed about his behavior during Hollywood week, so he gets a point for showing some humility. He’ll be lucky if he survives this week.

Tim Urban – Why Tim even made the top 46 is a mystery to me. He chose OneRepublic’s “Apologize” when he has no falsetto, so he hit a grand total of zero high notes. And that song is all about the high notes. Not only that, but he couldn’t even get the rest of the song right. If Tim gets by on his “adorable” factor (thanks for breaking out that word-a-day calendar Ellen!) then there is something seriously wrong with the voting public. He looked pretty defeated with the judges’ comments, but you gotta learn AI’s not all roses and ponies, Tim!

Joe Munoz –He sang Jason Mraz’s “You and I Both”—another song I adore—and he did an okay job. Of course, trying to sing Jason Mraz with his effortlessness and innate ability to scat and jive is just asking for criticism. Maybe he should try something a little less stylized and upbeat —some smooth John Mayer might fit this boy’s tone.

Tyler Grady—He’s going for 70s rock, but it’s 2010. Lenny Kravitz already delivered an updated version of “American Woman,” so what else can you do with it? Tyler should stop trying to bring the 70s to 2010 and should maybe take something more current and give it a classic-rock spin. And to Kara, who recommended he sing “1901” – can you really judge someone’s vocal ability with that song?

Lee DeWyze – To Lee, I recommend exactly the opposite. Instead of singing something recently popular like “Chasing Cars,” which is a sweet song, but pretty bland vocally and look to the past. Instead of Chasing Cars, he should sing something by The Cars—“Just What I Needed” perhaps? — and give it his raspy acoustic twist. Lee reminds me a little of Mike Doughty and I agree with Simon that he’s got a unique voice—he just needs a unique musical style to go with it. I have to admit, I’m definitely more of a Lee girl than a Casey one.

John Park – zzzz… oh, whoops, I think I slept through John’s performance. Dude, this is American Idol, not your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, so stop acting like it. John has a nice voice but boy was that song boring. Loved his opening footage though.

Michael Lynche – My Pet Peeve #5- Pretending to play an instrument on stage. And Michael is the offender tonight. Don’t lynche me (see what I did there?) but I am not a fan of Michael. Why is he picking all these upbeat, contemporary songs like Jason Mraz and now Maroon Five’s “This Love” that don’t even fit his voice? But if he was adamant about singing M5, why not pick something jazzy like “Sunday Morning”? Personality or no, I don’t think he’s cut out for AI.

Alex Lambert –He might be the second A. Lambert on the show, but he’s on the other end of the spectrum from last year’s golden boy. He’s a little country, a little soulful, and a little offbeat. Which is of course why I totally like him. He was probably the most nervous of the bunch last night, but I liked the song he sang, even if I’ve never heard it before (and maybe because I’d never heard it before). I disagree with Ellen about the mullet – never, ever a good idea in any circumstance—but I think the kid has talent.

Casey James –Why did Casey choose a Bryan Adams song—and not even a good one (he sang “Heaven”)—and why did the judges tell him it was a great choice?! In my opinion it was nothing but a cheesy ploy to secure some female votes. Luscious Hair? Check. Sexy guitar? Check. Sappy ballad? Check. Casey played it super-safe, but at least he got nearly all the notes right. Maybe next week he can sing Lisa Loeb’s “Stay.”

Andrew Garcia –Andrew is going to ride on his “Straight Up” performance from Hollywood week for a long time. He’s lucky it got so much airtime, or he might be in trouble. He went really wrong by acousticizing (Hey, I made up my own word! Take that, Ellen!) Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down Swingin’” and the judges admitted it was a big ol’ let down. Andrew’s style reminds me of Sublime’s punk/reggae infusion and I think he would do well with something like No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.”

My bottom 2 guys: Tim Urban and Michael Lynche. But I know Michael will probably  stay, so I’ll go with Tim and Jermaine this week. So there you have it. Who is gone this week? Who are the front runners? By the way, Allison Iraheta performs on the results show tonight!

Tags: ,

American Idol: Feelin’ Not So Good

Feb 24

Posted by Tamara in Television | No Comments

Welcome back to the live performance show, Idol fiends. If you’re anything like me, you were really excited to see what kind of awesomeness would come from this year’s top 12 ladies, and you were secretly hoping that Haeley Vaughn would fall face-first on her guitar.  Overall, I was underwhelmed and disappointed at the ladies’ first-time studio-audience performances, but I blame nerves for being the culprit of last night’s disasters.

Paige Miles – This poor girl got zero airtime up until now. She sings “Alright Now” and I don’t love it. It’s completely the wrong song, not just for her voice, but it doesn’t really have a melody that could showcase anyone’s vocals. I mean, anyone can sing this at karaoke night and sound halfway decent. Despite her choice, vocally she reminds me of Allison Iraheta, and I’d like to see what she can do when she really sings.

Ashley Rodriguez – She sings Leona Lewis’ “Happy” and I gotta admit, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the song. What’s with her picking the songs of former Idol/X-factor winners, then completely hacking them? Obviously if you pick a song like that, you have to know you are immediately going to be compared to the original, and Ashley just does not have the voice to compete with Jordin Sparks or Leona Lewis. Fail.

Janell Wheeler – I really like Janell going in, and am crushed by her song choice of Heart’s “What about Love?” Janell really needs a flowy, slower-tempo song to really showcase her vocal talent, and this is not it. Her nerves added to the inherent rock-vibe of the song only amount to a flawed performance. I still love ya Janell, so bring it next week!

Lilly Scott – I like Lilly, although I agree with the judges that she’s trying to fit into the Duffy/Lily Allen mold. While I like her indie vibe,  her attempt at “originality” really isn’t all that original.  However, she’s the best vocal so far, and I like that she’s a little offbeat.

Katelyn Epperley – I admit that I really hated Katelyn during auditions. I thought her vocals were shaky and I just didn’t care for her personality. But she really changed my mind last night with her rendition of “Oh Darling.” She actually took a classic song and made it–wait for it–contemporary. Although I have to agree (shock!) with Kara that her Rocky Horror flapper getup has to go.

Haeley Vaughan – Words cannot describe the irk I feel when this girl is on stage. Is it her grating cat-screech? Her horrid (horrid!!) arrangement of “I wanna Hold Your Hand”? (Seriously, if they didn’t tell me what song it was, I wouldn’t have recognized it). And call me mean, bitchy or whatever, but I typically have problems with singers that have lisps. And Haeley’s is not a subtle one, either. In fact, it really affects her enunciation, to the point that I find it difficult to understand what she is singing. She’s a cute girl, but I really think she needs to bow out now.

Lacey Brown – Oh Lacey, I had really high hopes for you. I have to believe it was just your overwhelming nerves that led you to butcher “Landslide” like that.  But I loved your voice and your adorable personality during auditions so I give you a free pass this week.

Michelle Delamor – She has a nice voice, but she’s not memorable. She sings Alicia Keys’ “Fallin” in the second “sound-alike” performance, as Simon calls it. She doesn’t stand out to me, so I don’t think she will last too long.

Didi Benami- Didi is my girl. She sings one of my fave songs, Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” but I feel she didn’t make it her own. She sounded a lot like Ingrid, although she did throw a few different notes in there. A solid performance, one of the only ladies to have an outstanding vocal, but needs to change it up.

Siobhan Magnus – Glad to see Siobhan changed out of her Punky Brewster jean jacket and put on some grown up clothes. Her voice is a little pitchy but overall a pleasant surprise to hear her singing “Wicked Game”. One of the most original choices of the night, if not the best vocal.

Crystal Bowersox – If I’ve learned anything from Crystal’s last 3 performances is that they all sound the same. Aside from “Natural Woman” during auditions, her performances are pretty one-note, even if she is vocally superior to many of the contestants. I didn’t love her rendition of “One Hand in my Pocket.” She needs to move away from the Lilith Fair brigade and pick something out of her comfort zone. But I still love her.

Katie Stevens – Oh, Katie. You have a nice voice and all, but you’re really better suited for musical theater or a Disney performer. Katie’s “Feelin’ Good” made me long for Adam Lambert’s take on it last season, and that’s not a good thing. If this girl wants to survive this season of Idol, she really needs to lose the sparkles and headbands.

Two girls are going home this week. My bottom two are easily Haeley and Ashley. Who did you love? Who did you hate? Which of the guys are you looking forward to tomorrow night?

Tags: , ,

Reality Round Up. Jake vs. Simon vs. Evan

Feb 17

Posted by Tamara in Television | No Comments

You may be wondering where my Bachelor blog has been. First, I was just busy. Work. Blogging for Off Color TV (I took over the Castle reviews, so my Mondays have been even more crowded than usual.) Then, I realized: I don’t care anymore. The Bachelor became a chore to watch.  An insipid, time-sucking chore. I used to like Gia, until I saw her model videos online and realized she’s had quite a bit of work done. You know, cosmetically. Yes, I know, that makes me an awful person. To judge someone based on their nose job and their lip injections. No wonder she has trouble finding men that don’t respect her. Now that it’s down to the last two mental-breakdown queens, I-can’t-stop-talking-about-my-ex-Tenley and I-still-shop-at-Wet-Seal-Vienna, I gotta wonder about Jake’s mental stability. Sure, I’ll tune in to the Women Tell All special–and will probably have loads more to say about it than the show itself.

On that note, let’s talk about American Idol. I haven’t had much to say about it up until now, since we’ve been in audition rounds for nearly two months now. I still don’t see the point of group day except to highlight the most arrogant and annoying contestants coughMaryPowerscough.

And to drag out the top 24 reveal over two nights is just another slow bleed that is bound to leave the weak in an American Idol-induced coma. We see the “drama” of the three rooms. We see the judges “faking out” the contestants that are staying. But why keep 46 contestants around when we know there are only 24 spots? Why keep hopefuls like Shelby Dressler, only to let her go five minutes later?

So let’s talk about who made it–and who didn’t. So far, a few of the early faves have been let go. Tasha Layton, the worship pastor, Charity Vance, the sweet-voiced 16-year-old, and smooth-toned, upbeat Jermaine Purifory were all doomed to the Room that Couldn’t. It’s a sad day for these folks, and for the aforementioned Shelby Dressler, who I all hope return next year for their redemption on the Idol stage.

As for those who made it through. Luckily, this is a top 24, and not a top 12, so there is still room for some of these mediocre singers to be cut by America. What possessed our judges to keep the likes Michael Lynche, Katelyn Epperly, Aaron Kelley, and Todrick Hall, I’ll never know.  But they make a few good decisions by keeping the lovely Didi Benami (although really need to stop with the footage of her dead friend. Have you learned nothing from the Danny Gokey debacle?), raw and humble Lee DeWyze (great last minute call guys!), and North Texan Casey James (as long as Kara can keep herself from salivating every time he’s on stage).

To round out the group, here’s hoping a big Yes for Crystal Bowersox, Janell Wheeler, Andrew Garcia, Tyler Grady, and John Park.

As for those I hope get cut: the bland, the off-key, and the just plain annoying, including Tim Urban, Haeley Vaughan, Thaddeus Johnson, Angela Martin, and Ashley Rodriguez.

Last but not least. You’ve been reading this post, the entire time wondering “I know Jake and Simon. But who the heck is this Evan guy?!”

Why, it’s Evan Lysacek, of course, American figure skater extraordinaire! Don’t you know the Olympics are on, and they’re the most real thing on television right now? And Evan is the man. He really impressed last night, skating a clean and magnificent short program, coming in second behind Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko. Some other highlights of the evening: Johnny Weir’s pink-ribbon get up, 20-year-old Chinese skater Takahiko Kozuka, and the train wreck that was Italian skater Samuel Contesti (the overalls! the campiness! the falling!).

While I’m not a daily Olympic viewer, men’s figure skating has won me over, and you can bet I’ll tune in for the long program tomorrow night!

What are your thoughts on Jake’s final two choices? About who stayed and who left on Idol? Will you tune in to watch Evan and Plushenko duke it out on the ice (or just to see what Johnny Weir is wearing?)

Tags: , , , ,