idol review

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

2006-02-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

And host Ryan Seacrest is still a spectacularly sucky host with as much charisma as a pile of horse dung.

I concur.

We're goin' to HOLLYWOOD!

2006-02-08T20:21:00.001-05:00

Tonight's episode is crazy fast, so this post seems so spastic. And on top of that...

idol, grammys, idol, grammys - tonight is crazy! tivoing one, old school taping the other, switching back and forth. Congrats to Kelly Clarkson to getting best female pop performance for Since U Been Gone...Kelly you rock! And speaking of kell(ie/y)s...

Kellie Pickler is nervous, but makes it. (Pu-sha, like that wouldn't happen) she is so cute and likeable!

Patrick Hall sounds like Clay Aiken with more falsetto. We haven't met him yet, so that was good to see some variety.

RJ Norman and Steven David both chose the same song and both were mediocre. And they're both out. Make way for the better singers.

Oh shit! My grammy tape just ran out! CRAP! ......And 4 minutes later, new tape found, press record, crisis averted. (have I mentioned that I really need another tivo?)

and, we're back to idol

Lisa Tucker - who obvs moves on, though can she bring on the head voice please? They will start to tell her that she is oversinging the song if she doesn't.

Matthew Buckstein, who after a myriad of girls attempt the same, sings hopelessly devoted to you. And though he was a bit of at the end, he was pretty good.

Paris Bennet - ROCKS! I like her better the second time around, actually!

Ahh, grey haired taylor hicks - singing...sheryl crow? (Though this wasn't an original sheryl, was it? I don't kn ow who sang it originally, though. Pardon my music history ignorance) But he was alright for me.

Megan Zeiger - oh geez she sounds like crap! But its true you can tell that she is a good singer, so I understand that she got through.

The Criminal Britnam Twins - who suck. That's all I'm saying.

Gina Glocksen, Ace, and little Kevin all chose the same song. And they all made it. They are all pretty good.

Joshua Simmons - singing broken road which was really good! I like this kid better the second time around. His brother Jarrett is not doing so well. But they are both out. That's too bad for Joshua.

Little Garrett - he is so funny and naive, but hex not really so great. He is very lucky, because he really didn't deserve to make it.

Chris Daughtry! woo, he is on of my favorites! He is so awesome - I am really looking forward to him performing every week.

Mandisa - Woah frenchie! This girl has some soul and a whole lotta voice! She is great, too!

Katharine McPhee - AMAZING!

Mark my words people! These last three, Chris, mandisa, and Katharine are definitely in the top 6! Don't doubt the master!

Dave Hoover - good god. Stop the madness. Well, at least Simon did something.

A comment about the night...Each year the preliminary rounds get more and more progressive. Season two this round was a capella, now there is not only piano but backup singers? geez. My favorite part was season 2/3 in the semi-finals with the piano as the only accompaniment. But its progress I guess. Next season they will probably send them into the studio to lay down tracks before the audience gets to vote to make sure they have a good recording voice!!! I wouldn't doubt the idol powers-that-be. But anyway,

Next Week - the group rounds...Lets see if we have any frenchie/k.lo collaborations!

Daul, out (to watch the grammys)

Bean town

2006-02-07T20:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight we visit Boston mass - lets get on wit it...

Ayla Brown - She's pretty good. Yeah, I think the judges are right that she is a robot. And she kinda looks funny...There is something kinda weird about her face. (I know, I'm so mean) We'll see what she has in Hollywood I guess.

Irada Jafarova - OMG - LOL when she tries to strip while singing chain of fools. The flower gets stuck in her tangled hair and just hangs there. It was like the most horrible strip show I have ever seen...Not that I have seen a lot of strip shows...But ya know...

o'donahue twin #1 - OMG I can't believe she got through - wow does she suck. The whole thing was off key, yuck yuck!

Tatiana Ward - aka the brown noser. I like her voice though, I think she has potential. She was very unique.

...ok, and again, does seacrest have to mention his star on the walk of fame? All I have to say is that the walk of fame powers-that-be might possibly be giving out these stars a little too liberally. ok...ranting done...

Holly Corrente - I can't believe they passed her up for that o'donahue girl! I mean this girl wasn't Kelly, but seriously. A girl that works with old disabled people? That's totally loveable.

Kevin Covais - I like this kid - he has potential and I would root for this kid because he really can sing. I am curious to know how he does singing more pop-ish kind of songs, but i'll be he would fare better than the john stevens of the competition. Go Kevin!

and Michael Sandecki - ok, clay, seriously, this needs to stop. Lesson learned tonight...take the pit stops BEFORE you sing.

Well, 28 people through in Boston, so thats a tad more successful than both cities last week. And this marks the end of the city auditions which means HOLLYWOOD IS NEXT! Thats right... the origination of the infamous Band of Gold perfomance. The origination of "The Letter" Rocker montage. There is promise for exitement here, people! Until tomorrow, Daul, out.

newsworthy items du jour

2006-02-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we witnessed some creative editing - Apparantly the Austin auditions weren't actually in Austin. Idol creatively edits? I'm SHOCKED!

Jose Sway may be gone before you blink again. He apparantly already had a recording contract (with a boy band in the Phillipines?) ...a big no-no with the idol machine (both the contract and the boy band).

yeah, yeah, promises, promises

2006-02-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

So i know that six months ago i promised a new layout, etc. which obviously has not happened yet. but its getting closer....

view beta version of new layout...

The last biggest thing is migrating the posts from blogger to wordpress. Perhaps i'll tackle this this weekend (after i do my taxes)

Yeah for Idol Review!

2006-02-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

Today the site hit 10,000 page views! My little idol review has come so far...I feel like a proud parent. Thanks for visiting...bookmark me and return often.

- Laura

AUSTIN, TX...are the auditions over yet?

2006-02-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

Oh jeez. The first 15 minutes featured the bad, the worse and the worst....typical. LOL at paula's biggest fan named Paula.

lets get to the good stuff...

Jason Horn - the funeral director can sing. He's not amazing, though. We'll see what he can do

Rickey Horn - good song, average singer. Though it was leaps and bounds ahead of constantine's performance last season!

Ashley Jackson - WTF? This girl got through? She might be ok at a karaoke bar, but she won't cut it in Hollywood.

RJ Norman - This guy is way too cocky for his own good. I do not like him already.

Kevin Mitchell - randy's clone gets rejected. Too bad.

William Makar - I think this kid is good, especially for being 16. I think he can mature throughout the competition. We'll see.

Tessie Mae Reed - Always saving the best for last, huh, idol?

and what is with Simon being particularly polite to the contestants today? Guess he just saved it all for after they left the room (oh, and LOL @ ryan almost being knocked out by some serious ghett-o-boo-tay)

So tonight suckd. Lets hope for some better luck with Boston. From the looks of the previews, there will at least be a couple standouts. and then next wednesday...LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Daul, out.

idol in sin city, or "jamac-in me crazy"

2006-01-31T20:06:00.000-05:00

(this photo is for beth crawford, the visual learner, and my future travel companion to this city!)

after the crazy antics and crap that engulf the first 10 minutes, lets get to the good stuff...

Mecca Madison- cool story, cool vibe. cute girl. sounds alot like Jojo.

Ryan Hart - just a thought... that is not really a normal sound to be made by the human voice. Don't they have, like, voice changers to make that effect?

heather ward - woah, black girls singing redneck songs - loves it! i thought she was good, but paula was right (did i actually just say that? did i just see a pig fly by?) that was a simple song - she's gotta step it up.

then there is mullet man jc gray- and that was an improvement in look? oh, geez.

anthony andolino, aka, the animal rescuer. that is a big voice for a big man...woah.

MORE TWINS - the pearson twins this time. they are like the olsen twins turned asian...its kinda wierd. they sang the cranberries, were rejected, and rightfully so.

ok, i just have to comment on princess brewer - GOOD GOD SING IN YOUR RANGE WOMAN!!! if she would have sang in a better key, it might have actually been just OK, but it was strainingly awful.

and last but not least, taylor hicks from alabama. pretty good! this is definitely the underdog kid - he has a chance and i hope for good things from him.

overall tonight, it was a bust. only 11 people are going to hollywood from this round, and even the ones that made it weren't all that great. we'll see what austin brings tomorrow. until then, daul, out.

wishlist

2006-01-30T23:54:00.000-05:00

In preparation for the real competition coming up in a few weeks, I have a few wishlist songs that I would like to hear this season. These songs need to be done justice, so no murdering of these...

1. These Dreams by Heart - After my fave performance of last season, someone could surely belt out this puppy to win me over

2. I Guess that's Why They Call It the Blues by Elton John - I wanted the vonz to go for this last season - I think it would be cool for a girl to sing this one

3. Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard - A karaoke favorite with my posse, Ii would love to hear this rocked out on idol.

4. Vision of Love by Mariah Carey - This song could show off a great voice. Think you're as good as Kelly? You've gotta pull off some vintage Mariah.

5. It Must Have Been Love by Roxette - I heart roxette. I mean what a great early 90s band - they totally paved the road for ace of base, but didn't get nearly as much of the glory. And what a good song for a belter!

6. Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson - I am a big Motown fan and even though they have had several Motown weeks in the past, I could always get my fix of that. But this song hasn't been sung yet on idol.

if I am correct, none of these have been performed on idol before, so they would be totally original to the show. Now you all know I am not a big fan of singing songs sung so many times (Don't let the sun.... Sung like 5 times....Alright already!) though I do have a few that have been sung that I would always listen to again...

Something to Talk About, No One Else on Earth, Come See About Me, Signed Sealed Delivered, to name a few.

All I have to say, though is that the themes last season had much to be desired. I really don't think they could have gotten all that worse, so here's hoping to better themes, better contestants, and a season of idol that doesn't suck!

to SFO we go...

2006-01-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

so tonight i'm getting a good feeling - hopefully sanfran will have alot to offer. lets get to it.

Heidi Fairbanks - so i thought she was pretty good, but with so much jessica simpson lately she was a bit over the top. i thought she was better than they gave her credit for.

Jose "sway" Penala - he is smooth and pretty good and all. His voice reminds me of rickey smith, but he seems kinda cocky to me.

Lauren Weckerly - We see her for like, 2 seconds. bet she feels jipped. she didn't seem to be really that good, but with that short of a clip its hard to say.

John Williams - what is with his remix there buddy. it was a little wierd. like simon, i was puzzled, too. he should have just stuck to the singing. i really can't believe that he made it to hollywood.

Katharine McPhee - Enter stage right: Simon's Irish projected winner. i like her - very personable, understated confidence, no gimmicks, no sluttiness. very refreshing. but i am excited to hear her sing something else. i actually didn't think that that song was the best choice for her. but she has potential.

Shawna White - move over aiken, we've found ourselves a new makeover-waiting-to-happen. slap on some makeup, let the hair down, and add some veneers and we have ourselves a top 24 contender. (well, maybe)

Jayne Santotayana - its like jasmine trias meets amy adams. thats all i got for her.

And to cap off the evening, a simon temper tantrum. what would the night be without it?

closing thoughts? just ok. only 2 weeks until the live shows, right? lets get the audition crap over with!

Daul, out.

SO.NOT.INTO.IT

2006-01-24T23:16:00.000-05:00

why am i not feeling the idol vibe this season? i was going to pick up my laptop and start writing after i saw the first person i liked, and begin my post then. almost picked it up after kellie (almost kelly, not as good). almost picked it up after paris (almost fantasiababymama, not as good). but when did i pick it up? after RHONETTA WITH THE BIG BOOBS (but that is only because it was the end of the show).

yeah, yeah, people are funny when they suck. but don't you feel sorry for them? i am embarassed for these people! the michael jackson impersonator? how pathetic is he?

i keep waiting for the mystery woman...the "irish girl" that simon has already pegged to be the winner. i am so curious to see if she is all he claims she is (probably--simon is right 85% of the time)

So far i think the frontrunner is Chris the country rocker. And this is coming from a "not ever really keen on bo" person.

So sorry for the pathetic post. maybe i'll go back and watch it tomorrow and be more excited.

S L O W

2006-01-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I'm super slow on the AI goss today, but let me explain... I started a new job Tuesday, and I have to make a good first impression so I can't dick around online for prolonged periods of time, which is what I did at my old job to keep myself from falling asleep. So anyways, noteworthy stories dujour...

so the Derrell and Terrell got arrested last weekend for illegally buying a car. They used fake names to purchase this car. Who are you, Walt Disney or something? Did you think you were too famous and would get hounded by the papparazzi? A copy of the title transfer would sell on eBay (though I could actually see this happening) NEWS FLASH! You're not famous yet morons!

And I know this article will tell you a lot more than this, but Carmen Rasmussen got married. Shocker! AND she has become a stay at home wife for her rich Mormon husband. geez.

mile high audition night...

2006-01-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

Tonight we visit Denver. Lets get on with it…

Lisa Tucker – WOW – she is definitely good. And she has something different about her – perhaps she has more of an alto voice than some of the other female contestants, but something about her seems more real. Probably top 24.

Brett the ace – so he’s cute and all, but not a powerful enough voice. They want people who can belt, and he can’t do that. He will probably be eliminated before the top 24.

Rochelle (and her entire family) – she’s just ok for me, but she can get in line behind any one of her predecessors that she could be interchanged for – jen hudson, aloha micheux, vonzell (though I think vonzell is better than this girl). She’s going to have to stand out more to make it through the shuffle.

Chris Daughtry – I LOVE THIS GUY! I totally disagree w/ the judges and I think he is better than bo or Constantine – his voice was spot on and was so interesting. I predict top 6 for sure. All the girls will be all about him – little bit country little bit rock. Go chris!

Garrett – its true, there IS a good voice in there somewhere. And cue the simon compassion – he just wants this kid to be able to come to the big city and see what its like. Way to spread the love of culture in the big city!

April walsh – meet season 5’s Vanessa Olivarez. That’s all I need to say.

Several notes – I’m sorry to the androgynous Zachary for america’s ignorance, but lets be serious here. Your voice sucks.

As a closing note, they just had a preview for the Tampa news tonight and will be talking to Jessica sierra…about her stalker! They showed a picture of this nasty dirty man…poor Jessica! It must have been that leather halter top vest thing she wore in the finale last season. So lesson learned tonight…no halter leather shirts, people! For multiple reasons!

Daul, out.

AND, we're back!

2006-01-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

Ohmigod, finally!!!! 7 months of withdrawal people!!!!!!!! Anyways….

Welcome back all ye faithful followers (all 4 of you) for another wonderful and fabulous season of American idol. I can finally get my Tuesday night fix.

I know a lot of people think the audition rounds are the best rounds, but personally I am a fan of the real singers. I mean, I feel quite embarrassed for the people who blatantly suck. I don’t really want to write a review on every single singer we see tonight, so I will kind of pick and choose. But before we get to that, does seacrest look like he has put on some weight? Hmmmm…..too much partying, seacrest!

We begin in chi town …

I enjoy derell and terell – I think they are both good, but eventually, they will cancel each other out.

gina glocksen, I like this girl. I could see her in the top 24 – she seems pretty normal, not TOO gimmicky, she could make it.

Mandeesa – good – like k.lo or frenchie, she’ll make a name for herself

Lol at Brandon the cop – ah the comic relief that they let him keep singing the same thing over and over, and it was I shot the sheriff – oh geez.

Hmmmm, the Hilton sister wannabes are too gimmicky, and they will be out in the Hollywood round unless they totally step up their game or the earth spins off its orbit or something.

Zach from Wisconsin – way to represent the cheese state! I like this kid – kind of an aiken with more croon.

And speaking of croon, david the crooner. He’s cute, but I have two words…john stevens. Have we learned nothing, people!!!!!!!

And more gimmicky twins, this time from Michigan. I have to agree with simon, what would they say if they came in individually. They probably would say good, not great, and not unique enough. They will fall by the wayside, too. But they might have a future as the reincarnated boys II men.

Well, more love tomorrow. And remember the lessons that we have learned tonight…don’t fake bake and wear too much mascara, even if your halter top wearing mom tells you its ok, because it won’t get you to Hollywood.

Daul, out.

oh the scheduling conflicts....

2005-12-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

schedule alret: idol has announced that like last year, the semi final rounds will again consist of 12 male and 12 female contestants and run a 3 night schedule, except this year, they will run tuesday, wednesday thursday (last year it was monday, tuesday, wednesday). Those rounds will last for three weeks starting in mid-february, and it is mainly to compete for thursday night ratings. so now, not only does it conflict with gilmore tuesdays, now it will also conflict with survivor thursdays. geez...i gotta get another tivo!

That's some BO-sh*t!

2005-12-14T16:09:00.000-05:00

good god...so bo's album (entitled "the real thing") came out tuesday. you can gauge my enthusiasm on the fact that i'm posting about this two days late. If you haven't heard it yet, you're not missing much. its an absolute piece of crap. If there was ever one idol contestant that i thought wouldn't get idol-fied, it would be bo. but nevertheless, his songs are completely wussed out. its sort of nickleback meets kelly clarkson, but girlier. Where is the hard-rockin-southern-lynyrd-skynyrd bo we all saw in the finale? 19 Entertainment apaprantly kidnapped his manhood and is keeping it in a jar until his idol contract times out. Til then, I'd skip "The Real Thing" and find some other stocking stuffers.

Oh no DeMato

2005-12-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

Julia, Julia, Julia....you fail on AI then you turn to drugs and alcoholism...not a great role model for the kiddies. And you drive drunk AND have drugs in the car? thats like a double whammy. she claims she's innocent, but what idol contestant has ever admitted they were guilty? she learned from the best (ahem, paula.)

TUESDAY JANUARY 17TH!

2005-12-02T16:46:00.000-05:00

yes, thats right. the simon brawl is over and the much anticipated (at least for me) season 5 of idol is premering in a mere 47 days. i am way excited!

Here it is...the moment of truth....

2005-11-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

Today is the day, folks! Carrie's album came out at about 9am and i have listened to it all the way through once. my initial reaction is its just ok - a bit bland if you ask me. It is part Dixie Chicks, part Michelle Branch with a splash of DeGarmo mixed in. I enjoy the next single (the title track) "Some Hearts." Some songs are just bad (i.e. i aint in checotah anymore) It was an ok first attempt, but there is just no oomph to it, i guess. all the songs start to sound the same. i am a bit disappointed, but not at all shocked. After i listen to it a few more times, i will write a track-by-track report.

well doesn't cowell just think he's soooo awesome...

2005-11-08T12:44:00.000-05:00

so apparently simon has gone ahead and predicted the season 5 winner... despite the fact that he can't remember her name. i tend to agree with simon about 85% of the time, and i'm sure if i was sitting at that judges table, i could have spotted her for myself. you think you're soooo cool simon, but i could do your job, too! (though i couldn't pull off the whole black t-shirt look the same way he does - he's 1-upped me there).

merry christmas, one and all

2005-11-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

its going to be a very merry christmas this year:

"...there will also be city-specific Clay Aiken Christmas tree ornaments available at each show. 'It's feasible that someone could decorate their entire Christmas tree this year with forty different ones,' says Aiken."

WOW. i am SOOO getting the entire collection.

idol starlets go broadway, baby

2005-11-02T13:51:00.000-05:00

so seriously, whats up with the idol-contestant-turned-broadway-diva that is going on recently? we've got

1. diana degarmo playing maria in westside story [read more]
2. amy adams playing the narrator in joseph [read more]
and most recently,
3. carrie underwood doing a broadway benifit concert singing suddenly seymour from little shop [read more]

for a show that claims to be so far from broadway, you'd think they would discourage this, esp. for their most recent winner who is likely to still be under contract. whats next? bo in hair? kelly clarkson as maria von trapp? corey clark as Jean Valjean? i wouldn't rule it out - crazier things have happened (like both corey and fantasia writing books!)

idol is EVERYWHERE

2005-10-28T09:24:00.000-04:00

so i was innocently listening to the new Santana album, just sampling it, and there he is, on track 11, Bo Bice himself singing with Santana. i was totally not expecting that! The song is called Brown Skin Girl and i had to listen to it a couple times because it doesn't even sound like him until the chorus. he sounds more like constantine actually (dear god, did i just say that?) its interesting - have a listen if you like.

PFTSOB gets screwed...or is it a blessing in disguise?

2005-10-23T18:38:00.000-04:00

well folks, they day has come that we've all been waiting for...the launch of constantinemaroulis.com. its one of those days where you'll remember where you were and what you were doing the exact day you found out the news. MONUMENTAL, PEOPLE!

But this can also only mean one thing, PFTSOB (Pray for the soul of betty, constantines [former] band, incase you have been living under a rock) will be without their front man. Constantine talks about that here (and also mentions there will be no idol christmas special! i am appalled! what is the christmas season without an idol christmas special!)

and in some idolreview.net news, i bought some webspace and am designing a new template for the site. its a learning experience because i am learning php and only know the basics of css so things are hard to customize. i know how i want it to look, but i can't get it there quite yet. but when i have a test template up, i'll post a link, and eventully migrate everything over to the new site. but i guarantee you, it will be bad ass!

and in more babymama news...

2005-10-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

so jamie foxx is campaigning for our very own babymama, fantasia, to star as effie in the movie version of dreamgirls. now, much to my embarrasment, as much as i think i am a broadway musical guru, i have not seen, or even listened to the soundtrack of that musical. but if its about some serious african american divas, which i think it is, i'm sure fantasia will fit in well. they already have beyonce lined up (see here). if they do cast fantasia, though, she will have to hire someone to read her the script and teach her the lines since she can't read them herself--but she's a babymama - she can make that happen!

read more about jamie foxx's support for fantasia here and here.

the fantasia haters

2005-10-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

babymama got some haters out there. they think her new book exposing her illiteracy (which seems ridiculous to me - you wrote a book yet you can't read - say what?) portyays her town in a bad light. They also have no idea how to design a website - but whatever.

idol fever...

2005-10-20T09:24:00.000-04:00

shoutout to miranda who is blogging her idol audition experience. She auditions in front of S/P/R on Oct. 26th. Good luck!

speechless

2005-09-29T11:51:00.000-04:00

about this

dear god what is this world coming to.

< thanks judge jru >

and the crazies come out again...

2005-09-29T11:31:00.000-04:00

lurking around the message bds. i found a link to this picture of the auditions in Denver. oh, and more here here and here.

(pictures by designladyt - thanks!)

diva alert...

2005-09-20T13:53:00.000-04:00

today Latoya London's debut album comes out: "Love and Life." Thanks to the magic of Rhapsody (and my $10 a month) i have been sampling her cd today at work, and can i just say that it is heads above fantasia and her babymama album. Latoya's album can be summed up in one word - class. it's very "background music and a posh cocktail party" but i can't really see it being on the radio other than during the john tesch radio show. although the powers that be at rhapsody list similar artists as amerie and ciara, i personally think it sounds way more alicia keys, early whitney, or maybe even a little bit (just a little bit) nelly furtado. she even has a very jazzy undertone to some of her ballads (like "how i love the rain")

i am confused at the fact that they released the song "appreciate" as the single becasue i think that song sucks in comparison to the rest. if you feel so inclined, check out the tracks "practice makes perfect" "non a whatcha do" and "scandalous." and of course the album is topped off with her cover of "all by myself" that we all remember.

she's no kelly, but the album is pretty well rounded and has a good sound overall. if you are looking for music for your next dinner party, check it out.

congrats, KC!

2005-08-29T09:45:00.000-04:00

a big fat congrats goes out to kelly because she won both the best pop video and best female video at the mtv vmas last night. and she was looking smashing in her gold dress, btw. by her spastic acceptance speech, she obviously wasn't expecting to win either category - she mentioned her vote was for gwen stefani. anyway, how far she's come from that small idol stage (i am so nostalgic!) maybe next year ruben will win...just kidding.

several comments

2005-08-22T13:56:00.000-04:00

so the season five auditions have begun. san fran down, only 5 more cities to go. here are my questions:

i read several articles a month ago about how producers are traveling to malls to try and find hopefulls who can't make it to the official audition cities, then they get fast-tracked in the official auditions to S/P/R in whatever city they are closest to. i haven't heard anything more about this, and when i google-newsed it, i found a whole bunch of local fox stations holding contests at malls - more like local idol competitions rather than run by idol/freemantle/19 etc. though i didn't hear about alot of these going on in seasons 3 and 4, i recall alot of these local idle competitions going on prior to season 2 - at the time i was living in louisville and there was kentuckiana idol (no, i am not kidding) and the winner got to go to a live taping or something - all expenses paid. is that what this "mall tour" is? or am i missing something? nothing has been said about these mall auditions on the idol official site, nor have i heard about them locally at any of our malls in the tampa metro-ish area.

originally there were supposed to be auditions in atlanta in addition to the current season 5 audition cities, but for whatever reason they fell through. now the closest one to me is in memphis. and it's on labor day weekend. not only do i already have plans for labor day, but these will probably be the most attended auditions because of the ease of getting off work. and w/ memphis being the airport hub that it is, i'm sure they will be insane. not that i wanted to audition, but i would go and stand in line just to get pictures and talk to audition-ees and stuff. (i SO should have been a journalist) but anyways, i won't be going (sob) so someone send me some "inside the auditions" candids, and i will post them!

in a somewhat unrelated note, to appease my need for good tuesday night tv in the idol off-season, i have taken to watching the gilmore girls on the wb, and i am now totally obsessed. i watched it on and off before, but now i have season-passed it on my tivo - that means i'm pretty serious. i don't know what i will do come january. buy a second tivo, probably. (i see you all rolling your eyes!)

i know, you poor neglected blog, you,

2005-07-13T12:12:00.000-04:00

i am sorry - really i am dear idol review. i have neglected you so. i have a couple points of news:

the west coast of florida seems to be not only a hurricane hotspot, but an idol hangout as well. the idols live tour began near miami on monday night, and was in tampa last night. i did not attend - does anyone have info about this? was it exciting? good? bad? also, kelly c will be in ft. myers on friday night, and who knows, i may go check it out. personally, i am holding out for the DUFF in ft. myers in august. no, i'm not kidding.

so apparantly if paula leaves the show, they want whitney or mariah to replace her, preferably mariah. first off, mariah just put out a new cd - i doubt there is time for idol judging for her. whitney? they are just asking for more drama - who knows if she'll have to split to go back into rehab for the 14th time. she and simon would not get along, i have a feeling. though paula may need to be replaced, these are not good choices. what happened to gladys knight? she was a great guest judge and then did the american juniors (whatever happened to those kids, btw) - my vote goes to her.

i just got back from visiting home - aka "midwest tour 2005" - and was able to stop by the biggest music festival ever, summerfest! we drank berry beer, ate fried cheese, (like we would do anything else in milwaukee) and caught the Gin Blossoms concert, who i had never seen live and were pretty good and entertaining. i'll post pictures if i ever get around to getting them off my camera.

we left with an empty car and came back (through the hurricane) with a full one, including $485 worth of "souveneers" from ikea in chicago, the pimpest cell phone ever, and AN ENGAGEMENT RING! let the wedding planning begin...

carrie's cd etc.

2005-06-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

i finally broke down and bought carrie's single tonight. like, the actual cd, not a digital download or anything. they did get it on rhapsody, but only "inside your heaven", not "independence day" so out of curiosity and also to support my fave season 4 idol, i bought it. its good! - i was hoping the graphics on the cd case would be a bit more substantial, but i guess thats what happens when you rush to get a cd out the door.

oh, and whats this about celebrity idol? i don't know how i feel about this - it will probably suck. Though as of late i have been watching "hit me baby, one more time" which i have enjoyed--though i am glad i don't have to watch these performers week after week. because really - one week wathing vanilla ice is one week too many. so anyways, celebrity idol might get really old really fast.

in other news, i have been researching webhosts so i can move this site and host multi-media content/have more freedom in design and codes etc etc. right now i am looking at bluehost.com and omnis.com so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

some news updates

2005-06-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

just meandering around google news and found some news links to pass along

Bo is happy he didn't win

The updates on carrie, kelly, fantasia, and others

corey clark is cooperating? (he realized the media attention was diminishing so he had to release another statement)

carrie was nervous about singing at the NBA finals

american idol online? (sounds a little like hotornot.com idol edition to me)

Leroy Wells (the ADD kid with the worst performance ever as shown on the finale) in jail for attempted murder? ouch!

amy adams is playing the part of the narrator in the national tour of joseph... and the tour starts in Milwaukee in September (mom you should go!)

CD Review - Blue Skies

2005-06-13T15:03:00.000-04:00

CD review time! – today I listened to Diana DeGarmo’s Blue Skies CD (in full and in order which was really hard for me to do -- not skip around) I’ll do a track by track and then some overall comments:

01. CARDBOARD CASTLES – this is a fun song. Pretty upbeat very teenage-esque. She sounds particularly nasal-y at the beginning but loses that when she gets into the more rock-ish chorus.
02. BLUE SKIES – This song sounds too studio-fied – it’s a little much for this song, which is a little less rock, a little more AC than the first. But her voice sounds great on this track.
03. EMOTIONAL – this is the song that she released as the single – which I think was a bad decision. There are much better radio-ready songs, though this is the song with the most mature lyrics (probably why.)
04. THEN I WOKE UP – this is probably the most radio-disney song of the bunch – very juvenile – talks about babysitting and dreaming about being a rockstar. It does have a really catchy beat, and you might find yourself humming it an hour later, but in a “that song is so annoying” sort of way.
05. ALL I NEVER WANTED – my first impression of this song is that it is too low for her voice, but sung in a different key, this would be the radio release track.
06. GO ON AND CRY – this is a very jazzy-blues song and actually sounds like it belongs on kelly’s thankful cd. It is much more “Idol” than any of the rest of the songs, which are all pretty much radio Disney. It does a good job of showing off her range and voice control. I think this is the direction she needs to go with her next cd if she wants her career to last past age 19.
07. THE DIFFERENCE IN ME – I am always confused about the intro to this song because it sounds like it was accidentally dubbed over by a blink-182 track – its not so great for her. The lyrics aren’t bad, but melodically it is the weakest song on the cd.
08. TIL YOU WANT ME – ok, I lied. This song is far worse than the previous track. I could barely get through it without tearing my hair out to ease the pain. For real it was that bad. This is definitely a filler track. It just has a weird melody, and the beat jumps around and during the bridge it changes time signatures unexpectedly – its hard to follow, and it sounds too depressing.
09. DREAMS – this was the American idol single, and quite frankly it sucks in comparison to the rest of the material (except the last song). Fantasia really got that extra edge by winning – got the much better song. It actually sounds like clay aiken should be singing it…lol. I know she had to release it on the cd, but it just dosen’t fit the feel of the rest of the cd.
10. BOY LIKE YOU – another radio Disney song – it sounds like it should be the new theme song of lizzie Maguire or something. Its talking about a boy who cheats off her homework because he has a crush on her. Blah. At least it’s a little more catchy, but on the same level as track 04.
11. DREAM DREAM DREAM – this is actually my personal favorite on the cd. Its probably meant to be a throwaway track, but I really like it, and have found myself putting it on a few of my “randoms” playlists. I find myself humming it (but in a good way). It has a strong melody, the song has progression, and it is way cute and not annoying (except for the bridge – its like my birthday part, but even still). Very catchy – I like it!
12. DON’T CRY OUT LOUD – this was her signature song on the show, and honestly she sang it better on the show – it dosen’t sound as fun recorded in a studio.

So overall, it’s a good first effort. Unfortunately, it has quite a juvenile feel to it, and will deter potential listeners. Its unfortunate because she gets grouped in a category with the likes of lindsay lohan/jump 5/Katie cassidy (WTF!)/ other engineered for Disney artists, and her raw talent is way beyond those guys. Her age combined with her lack of experience/naivety holds her back. Lets all hope that her next cd allows for some artist exploration and a better lyricist. This CD gets a

+ ½
In other news, Carrie’s CD comes out tomorrow and I think I’ll fork over the 5 bucks or so just out of curiosity. As of now, it doesn’t look like rhapsody will get the rights to it (though they have the rights to every other American idol artist except K. lo) I’ll let you guys know how that is.

Also, Happy Birthday to Jeff, who turns the big 2-5 today (who shares his birthday with the likes of the Olsen Twins, 19 today, and Coco Arquette, 1 today…he should be so honored!)

Daul, out

25 best idol performances...

2005-06-08T11:38:00.000-04:00

so these are, in my humble opinion, the 25 best idol performances of all time, ranked in order. this is always a work in progress, as there are always new performances each season, and my cd player is always rotating between seasons. it got tough at the end to narrow it down, so there is a considerable list of honorable mentions, but i think this is it:

01. Carrie Underwood – Alone
02. Season 2, Top 5 group medley (monday, monday, chain of fools, to sir w/ love, etc.)
03. Frenchie/K.lo. – Band of Gold
04. Season 4 All Star Medley (Finale) (this was not ranked higher due to mikalah sucking in this performance)
05. Kelly Clarkson – Stuff Like That There
06. Fantasia – Something to Talk About
07. K.lo – NY State of Mind
08. Justin Guarini– Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
09. Bo Bice – Satisfaction
10. LaToya London - All By Myself
11. Vonzell – Don’t Leave Me This Way
12. Kim Caldwell – Come to my Window
13. Season 1 Mowtown Medley (Finale)
14. Season 4, Top 5 – Bridge Over Troubled Water
15. Fantasia – Summertime
16. Josh Gracin – I’ll Be
17. Kelly Clarkson – Think Twice
18. Bo Bice – Spinning Wheel
19. Clay – Solitaire
20. Rickey Smith – 123
21. RJ Helton – Under the Boardwalk
22. Clay – Build Me Up, Buttercup
23. Diana DeGarmo – Think
24. Come See About Me – Trenyce
25. Kim Caldwell – Nowhere to Run

I may change this list once I think about it a while--I may especially change out some of the songs near the bottom (the top is pretty set). Feel free to comment and/or tell me what performances you think were the best.

I am working on a freelance-ish project right now that is taking up the majority of my free time, but after that is done, i can't wait to play around with a new layout for this site. If you have any suggestions in terms of content or layout, let me know.

oh, and to answer michelle's question, which was:

"heard Bo's song on a local radio station here. I was surprised that he already has studio-recorded songs on the air. My understanding was that they have to wait 4 months before releasing music by those that did not take first place. Do you know anything about it?Thanks!"

I have heard a couple different things, but i know that after season two, ruben and clay both released their cds (full cds) on the same day (and of course clay blew ruben's out of the water). Last season, Diana and Fantasia released their full cds right before christmas, I believe two weeks apart. I know that carrie's single comes out on June 14th, and Bo's the week after on June 21st (according to amazon) and also, bo's is outselling carrie's in the presale. perhaps the top two finishers can both release their stuff, but everyone else has to wait--but thats just speculation. if i read anything more about it, i'll post it here.

looking for idol mp3s?

2005-06-01T13:10:00.000-04:00

I have gotten a few requests for carrie and bo (and others) mp3 downloads from the show. There are a few places to get them, but I recommend idol experience. You can get the top 4 performances and earlier here, or the top three and finale performances here.

if you don't like that you can also go to watchidol or idolmedia.

happy listening!

if you're going through withdrawl, never fear...

2005-05-31T09:32:00.000-04:00

the idols are doing the talk show circuit this week, so if you can't get enough, set your tivos:

today - carrie on regis and kelly

wednesday - bo on regis and kelly, carrie on the early show (cbs)

thursday - carrie on the view

next wednesday (june 8th) - carrie on ellen

and there's always the tv guide channel showing the idol behind the scenes, like, every other hour.

ET had them all on (which i'm sure you all saw) and they revealed that SHOCKER! Constantine is the biggest flirt. Jessica is the messiest, and nadia is the last one out the door.

carrie was also on leno on friday (i think)...she seemed really nervous - not great with the interviews. she yodeled which was funny, and she had no idea who matt lauer was, who was on right before her. DO THEY NOT GET NBC IN OKLAHOMA! come on, carrie--matt lauer? thats pretty bad. i'm excited to see her on the other shows to see if she loosens up a bit.

05/25/05...and now the end is near...

2005-05-25T22:04:00.000-04:00

The finale—its here! I am live blogging along with the most drawn out episode of a tv show ever. The superbowl of reality tv. So bear with me as I bear with an hour and 55 minutes of crap before the five minutes I have waited for.

First off, can I just say, THE MEDLEYS HAVE RETURNED! We kick off the evening with a beach boys medley performed by the top 12 sans the top two. It was quite enjoyable. Nigel, have you been reading my blog? Thanks for bringing back the medleys!

Mikalah is starting her “journalism” career by red carpet interning. The next kim Caldwell? Maybe she will be on the TV guide channel, too.

On to visit bo in the dressing room where quite the crowd has gathered in Birmingham via satellite, hosted by none other than Latoya London wearing a boa. (anything goes in Alabama) he performed vehicle sounding very similar to last night. He seems pretty calm all things considered.

Next we visit carrie in the dressing room and get to see the crazy peeps who have come out in OK. Matt Rogers is MCing that gala (they must have been pretty desprate to find someone) carrie sang Angels Brought Me Here – and it was better than last night—she was way more calm—if this is the real carrie, I like it even better.

Visiting randy’s dressing room we find he is pimped out with white shoes with pink laces. Then we have to see a nasty video of simon and paula making out with frosting. Then bickering. Then more bickering. They sound like Jeff and Me! Then back to paula’s dressing room where she sounds surprisingly sober. She said simon grosses her out. After the break we find out a secret about simon cowell…perhaps of his and ryans secret affair?? Lol.

Ford commercial “reach” was snippets of previous ford commercials, and very unexciting. We then visit simon’s dressing room – simon thinks America loves him, carrie will win, Latoya is drunk and that matt rogers should replace ryan seacrest. Then another break.

mmmm…a national anthem that rivals roseann barr – and SHOCKER! The girl is actually there, and is still as bad as she was before. That was tacky Nigel and ken! NOT A FAN.

It is 8:55 and we are “kicking off the show” except there have already been three performances. Technicalities! A bo and carrie duet – up where we belong. Good call! Good song! They both did a good job. Then they both get a ford mustang and carrie refuses to share with her mom. (now that’s not nice, I would totally share a car with my mom) then we see a vignette about bo and carrie – when I heard the first notes of “Alone” I still frickin got chills! Damn, carrie! Then bo’s whipping post performance which is another idol classic. These two have definitely churned out some kick ass performances this season (they have both had their fair share of throwaways too, of course)

We see a “worst of” reel and get to revisit Dirk and adam, who have returned to tv making their Hollywood appearance with….david hasselhoff? This show is venturing towards weird and I don’t like it.

Its now 9:17 so I figure only 6 more commercial breaks until the end. After this a not so funny spoof on the corey clark expose involving randy recording a song called the dawg pound or something like that. It was pretty long and drawn out and featuring the acting skills of ryan seacrest. Definitely up for a short film oscar. And then they have to go and play the William hung card, who got fat, apparently.

Now onto some real substance….sort of. The idols perform with their idols:

Carrie and rascal flats sing broken road (very well I might add), Anwar and Anthony sang with Kenny G on I believe I can fly (I guess R Kelly was unavailable), Constantine, Jessica, and Nadia (sporting the peacock fro tonight) and Kenny Wayne Shepard singing “walk this way.” Nikko and Scott sang with george benson “on broadway” Vonzell atop a piano sang with billy preston - I think the song is called born again and it just goes to show that the Vonz is fabulous. Lindsey and Mikalah (whose hair is way cuter now) sang with babyface singing a song I don’t recognize, and to finish it off, Bo and Lynyrd Skynyrd sining what else but sweet home Alabama. Bo should just join skynyrd and tour with them. He sounded like the original – it was great. The top three really showed they deserved those spots.

This was probably the most entertaining finale bit yet – I really liked it.

Finally the results (at 9:53) – the winner is CARRIE UNDERWOOD!!!!! Fricken yeah! I am so the fourth silent judge! My predictions went as predicted. Good luck to both carrie and bo – I’ll lcheck out both of your singles!

Remember to keep reading for updates and such in the off season. And perhaps a redesign. Only 7 months til season five.

(oh and did I hear auditions in Atlanta? Hmmm……..)

daul, out.

05/24/05 - THE FINALE!

2005-05-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

Simon looks smashing this evening! He decided to deck out for the final. Anyways, these guys have to frickin blow my socks off to get the smiley with teeth tonight.

Round One, Original songs:

01. Bo	“Long, Long Road”- loved the vocals, liked the song. I thought it was better than the judges said, and I thought it was probably similar to what they want him to record.
02. Carrie	“Inside Your Heaven” – it started really rough, and the song really sucked butt (apparently they can only have a good idol song every other year and this is the off year) But it really picked up in the middle. She is just a great vocalist – so reliable, and I can picture her singing an American idol-esque single and being marketed in an idolesque style.

Round two, Contestant Picks:

03.
Bo

“Vehicle” - it was really good – probably better than last time. Like I have said before – I think he woiuld be great on a cd covering a whole bunch of classic rock songs. I hope his second original song is better.

04.
Carrie

“Independence Day” that was flawless – I mean now I know that song wasn’t really a risk or anything and I really wanted her to sing ‘alone’ again—carrie! Why do you shun the 80s songs you are so good at! I know you heart the country, but seriously, carrie. Lots of people heart you+80s songs. But anyways, this particular performance was flawless and I disagree with simon that it was not strained at all.

Round Three – Original Song two

03. Bo	“Inside Your Heaven” – again the song sucked butt, and I liked bo on it even worse. I thought it was really shaky. Not a fan of this performance.
04. Carrie	“Angels Brought Me Here” amazing. That’s an AI radio-ready song right there. There was a little foul up at the end, but I think it was more nerves/emotion/crying than anything. It was like the first time I saw emotion out of carrie…ok the second after her I love you Anthony blahs. But I thought she kicked butt.

my votes: carrie carrie carrie. I heart her.
My predictions – um, I’m going to wuss out on this one because it will really be too close to call.

Several observations: mikalah’s been hitting the tanning bed, carrie’s been taking lessons from paula…clapping lessons that is (did you notice this at the end!), the video montage at the end was actually pretty nice, and randy only mentioned the dawg pound twice.

Get pumped, guys! The most drawn out episode of the yar is on tomorrow (and I will of course be glued to every millisecond)

Daul, out.

ken speaks out?!?

2005-05-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

this article gives the inside scoop on tonight and tomorrow's shows spoken by ken warwick himself... are you pumped?!?

the early stages of withdrawl...

2005-05-23T13:29:00.000-04:00

since we have now finally entered the last week of season 4, i am already fearing the weeks to follow--cold sweats, shaking, yelling in the middle of the night for carrie to sing "alone" just one more time. (ok, maybe i'm not quite that bad) whatever will i do with my tuesday nights now!

OK FINE i admit i'll be watching britney and kevin chaotic

but that still will not replace my beloved idol!

don't forget to check in every now and then for idol gossip. also, i think i'll do some cd reviews, too, to keep myself busy. and, you know, to warn the general public against purchasing the new carmen rasmusen EP. my goal is to do a weekly review, but we'll see what happens. i might also revamp this site a bit - do some custom layot design, add some more graphics and features, ya know. I think i might put up mp3s for download but that means i'll have to pay for server space and whatnot. This may happen if i get really bored, or am desperate for an additional creative outlet.

but enough about the depressing off-season - get pumped for tomorrow night! woo!

05/18/05 - Top 3 Results

2005-05-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

well, another shocker - baby v is out. i am sad to see her go-- on the finale song, i thought she sounded fabulous--what a way to go, anyways. but i digress. the show summary is as follows:

they show the highlight reel from last night, then they went to FT. MYERS for Vonzell's Homecoming (and to visit me). I didn't see me or beth again. i kept looking for the sign the girl in front of us was holding, which btw was really big and annoying, and i didn't see it - they really didn't even show the side of the stage we were on. but enough about me-- after the baby v segment she sang chain of fools and sounded much better than last night. she must have been uber nervous last night because she wasn't on her game.

After the break we got the ford commercial (which made me think of cyote ugly - i know, its a bad movie to associate such a good song with--my apologies) and then back to Helena to visit bo's home turf. bo shows a bit of his sensitive side when he got choked up, and then he was on a radio show called rob and bubba (or something like that) - only in alabama. he sang in a dream again, and i thought improved his performance from last night.

We then get the grand tour of Checotah where magically 6000+ people over the population of the town drop in to see carrie in the parade. bet the local stores loved that! carrie then sang crying, where she again, didn't hit her head voice on the last note. CARRIE! when clive davis makes a suggestion, you take it! but it was still good.

Then the announcement of who was going home: Vonzell, who then proceeded to rock out on the last song.

one comment: they announced the crowd size at the homecomings: carrie - 10,000 peeps, bo - 8,000 peeps, but they failed to mention it for vonzell. probably because, from what i could gauge, it was only about 3-4,000 peeps. oh well. she'll still get a record deal and become rich and famous and will be able to fund her father's monochromatic suit fetish.

on to the kodak theater next week. if anyone out there wants to donate tickets to me so i could go, i could make arrangements to get off work....lol. otherwise, i'll be blogging next tuesday from my couch as always.

daul, out.

05/17/05 - Top 3

2005-05-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

Word on the street got me only 4 out of 9 right – damn them! I think I’m a little tougher on the contestants tonight with my smileys, after all it is the final 3!

Round One, Clive picks:

01. Vonzell	“I’ll Never Love This Way Again” it was really shaky I thought, though she did do better than jasmine who sang that last season. She looked nervous and unprepared – the typical vonzell stage presence wasn’t there.
02. Bo	“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” – it was good, but (and I know like 400 people will disagree w/ me) I thought Justin Guarini was better, though I thought bo did better than clay (and jasmine, but that’s a given).
03. Carrie	“Crying” - I thought it was one of her better performances actually. I didn’t like that song as I was listening to it today, but it was ok for her. I agree that I would have liked to see it “broken down” a little more (good term, judges!)

Round two, Contestant Picks:

01. Vonzell	“Chain of Fools” it was good and all in key and fun, but again, she seemed nervous. She sang that in her original audition and imo sounded way better and looser. Why is she getting nervous now! Have fun, vonzell!
02. Bo	“In A Dream” – I liked the acapella, though I wish there would have been like a piano or an acoustic guitar – it was just so echo-e in the studio. Nevertheless, it was good and he stayed on pitch throughout the song, except for the ending which was shaky.
03. Carrie	“Making Love out of Nothing At All” good song for her! Except something wasn’t quite right – I can’t wait to listen to it and figure it out, though I think it was the band or the backup singers or something – almost liked they dropped down in the middle. Despite this I think she sang it well and she needs to pick more of these late 80s rock things. Scrap that country, car! You’ll do better that way.

Round Three – Judges Pick

01. Vonzell	“On the Radio this was a fun performance for her, though this song didn’t allow her to belt it! That’s ok though because it was good. PS did you see me in the crowd! Ok me neither, watch tomorrow!
02. Bo	“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” – awesome! I loved it! This was his best performance of the season – hands down! I hope he puts out a cd of all covers of kick ass rock! Ok, I’ll bet his original stuff will be good, too.
03. Carrie + half	“Man, I Feel Like a Woman” the beginning was really good but towards the middle the arrangement got really splicey and it was weird. I don’t really like that song, but it was ok for her. Whats up w/ Shania giving the idol rights all of a sudden – maybe she likes carrie and it was a one time deal.

Going home tomorrow: sorry baby v, but I think its you. Don’t worry, you’ll get a record deal, and I can pretty confidently say you will be the most successful of the 3rd runners up of previous seasons.

IDOL PREDICTIONS - FINAL 3

2005-05-17T09:42:00.000-04:00

word on the street says that these are the song choices for tonight. one i know for sure (see previous post), a couple are really good bets, and the rest are speculation, though the speculation has proven correct the last three weeks. I rhapsody-ed the tracks for you below, if you have rhapsody. (if not you can download a free trial here). The first three are the contestant choice, the second three are judges choice, and the last three are clive choices. I noted who is singing what after the song in case you have been living under a rock and think bo is singing shania...lol. if i hear any updates or other more accurate info, i will update.

IDOL PREDICTIONS - FINAL 3:
1. Wild Angels - Martina McBride (C)
2. It's Still Rock And Roll To Me - Billy Joel (B)
3. Something To Talk About - Bonnie Raitt (V)
4. Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain (C)
5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones (B)
6. On The Radio - Donna Summer (V)
7. Crying - Roy Orbison (C)
8. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd (B)
9. The Power Of Love - Celine Dion (V)

You Heard It Here First...

2005-05-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

Being the dedicated idol journalist i am i took the hour trek south to fort myers to go see the Baby V Homecoming gala (which involved alot of waiting, pomp and circumstance and then her being on the stage for a total of 15 minutes!) Since Beth was in town, which was totally fate, i dragged her along and she proceeded to get in a fight with a woman with four children...I can't take her anywhere! (just kidding...for real the lady picked the fight setting a fabulous example for the toddler on her hip. anyways)

here's the inside scoop. she arrived in centennial park in downtown ft. myers a half hour late, and there were really bad... no, REALLY BAD mc dj people running the show from B103.9 in town. they had to fill a half hour with babbling, starting chants, etc. it was really hot and people were not happy (probably prompting the fight...lol)

she finally arrived at 4:30 pm on a yacht, and then was transported the whole 200 yards from the dock to the stage in a limo. She arrived with about 10 family members - her brothers and father (pimped out in a royal blue suit) i recognized from seeing them on tv before, but the family was not introduced individually, so i don't know who was who. She was introduced by the djs...applause, applause... she was presented with a plaque with a key to the city by the mayor, and today was declared baby v day in ft. myers...applause, applause...

Then...THEN...The mayor said that on tuesday the judges choice song for her would be "On the Radio" by Donna Summer. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS!

then the camera crew ran out of tape, so they had to do it all over again. Vonzell made a cute comment, like "this is what i go through every day...do it again, do it one more time" She was very cute, and her stage banter...you could just tell that what she is on tv is how she is.

She then sang two songs - "best of my love" and " i have nothing" - both were very good, and i thought she was very good live. Her performances were changed up a bit from when she previously performed them on idol. i would definitely see her live. After these two songs, she was pulled to the side and apparantly told that they did not have the rest of her backup tracks, so she said she couldn't sing anymore. songs though she was supposed to.

She then took some questions from the media - mostly stuff we already know, like "when did you first start singing" "Did you ever think you would get this far in the competition" "do you have a boyfriend" (No was the answer to that one). Then she said bye and thanks and was shuffled off in the limo w/ her fam.

Check out the pics on flickr

www.flickr.com

daul, reporting live from ft. myers, fl., out.

Idol Stats

2005-05-12T09:53:00.000-04:00

Just because i like the idol stats, let me post an observation. Now that we are in season 4, we have 12 "top 3" finalsists in idol history. 10 out of 12 have been from the southeast-ish region of the country - pretty damn significant odds if you ask me.

the two exceptions are justin guarini (from PA, and look where he is now) and jasmine trias (from HI- currently singing in the phillipines.) Neither of them was particularly fab, though neither was nikki mckibben who was from this region and is emceeing karaoke night in the lone star state. Despite the mckibben, it seems to be that if you want to breed an idol, move south. and particularly to these front running states, both with two reps as of season four:

TX (kelly and nikki)
NC (clay and fantasia)
AL (ruben and bo)

(i know, mckibben should only count as like half, but kelly makes up her slack in representing TX)

and for a refresher, other top 3 finalists and their states:

carrie - OK
vonzell - FL
diana - GA
kim locke - TN

05/11/05 - Top Four Results

2005-05-11T21:39:00.000-04:00

SHOCKER OF ALL SHOCKERS! just kidding. fedorov gets the axe. but for the record, here's the summary.

there was the highlights reel from last night, they sang the group song "islands in the stream" (sounding mysteriously like ghetto superstar...hahaha) then we got to see the top four in their original audition--including bo's never-before-seen audition--which proves that all four really have raw talent, as well as the fact that bo hasn't cut his hair in 8 months.

we learn that the top 3 contestants will be flying home tomorrow for a whirlwind VIP tour, and then promptly gave fedorov the boot. there was really no announcement of the bottom 2, but perhaps we could assume that it was Vonzell and Fedorov. anyways, perhaps i'll call off work tomorrow and drive on down to ft. myers and mill around and try and get on tv! ha - that would totally be something i would do.

daul out.

05/10/05 - Top 4

2005-05-10T21:21:00.000-04:00

So tonight’s themes are Nashville, and as previously reported, the sounds of Philly.

Round One, Nashville:

01. Carrie	“Sin Wagon” I like the song—I have the cd of the original. I liked her singing that song, but I felt like she was sharp the entire time! She was really on during the high notes, but she was off during the rest and it annoyed me. And you all know how big of a carrie fan I am! I am surprised that she got a raving review from randy, who I think prefers other contestants over her. Simon’s review was no surprise.
02. Bo	“Great Day to Be Alive” (?) – it was eh for me. I agree with simon that it was boring. Just bad song choice for bo, but it was an ok performance.
03. Vonzell	“How Do I Live” - now though she did “bring it home” (thanks randy) in the end I felt like she was really flat during the majority of the song—she just wasn’t hitting her notes. I wonder what happened that she had a rough day – she was very emotional.
04. Fedorov	“I’m Already There” oooo it was really rough for the majority of the song. There were some good notes, but it was very unexciting.

Round two, Philly:

01. Carrie	“If You Don’t Know Me by Now” wow I really liked it! I didn’t think I would like her in that song! I am so surprised that the judges didn’t like her on that – I enjoyed her changing it up from the normal country and I thought it showed off her voice. I thought she was right on pitch, though I wish she would have been singing in a higher key because she had to dip pretty low in some parts.
02. Bo	“Love of Money” – that was, with the exception of spinning wheel, bo’s best performance. It was awesome despite the fact that all it could make me think of was the apprentice.
03. Vonzell	“Don’t Leave Me This Way” - this was the perfect song! It was one of her best performances, way fun, awesome. She definitely upped the level of performance.
04. Fedorov	“If You Don’t Know Me by Now” why do they let them sing the same song – not good for the viewer attention span –fortunately for him it blew carrie’s out of the water. It was one of the best of the season for the fedorov.

Bottom two: Anthony and Carrie

Carrie had a really rough night tonight and I hope her fans show up to the phones because she was by far the weakest. People all whined on the message boards today about the philly theme with “why can’t they pick good themes? Pick themes we know!” I think last week’s l&s theme and this week’s philly theme have been two of the best themes this season. Then the 00-05 and the current top 40 themes—themes you would think people would recognize—sucked big time. Nigel and Ken, please pick more of the obscure themes—they seem to work better!

Daul, out.

top four theme tonight...

2005-05-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

again, RUMOR has it that the theme tonight is going to be Philly Sound: Songs by Gamble and Huff. Check out the song list on their greatest hits cd here. This info comes from the message boards who have correctly predicted/discovered the themes for the last two weeks. Additionally, he announced on his radio show that the producers don't like that he announces the theme on his show. WTF? whats with all the secretness? last season paula announced the theme on ET on Monday Night! anyways, happy idol watching...i'll report back after the show as always.

daul, out.

paula apparantly likes the young ones...

2005-05-05T10:52:00.000-04:00

So i watched "Fallen Idol" last night. Not hardcore watched, but it was on and i was 75% paying attention. Here are my thoughts:

At first, the whole thing seemed shady. I mean, why now? Why two years later? The interviewer asked him these questions, and his response was something to the effect of "Well i want to come clean" - that doesn't explain your timing though, corey.

so anyways it all seemed very drawn out-- similar to an hour-long results show-- and it seemed to be more of corey plugging himself and his new album than anything else. It was a lot of "he said, she said" until they started interviewing his parents and his friends. The report started to gain a smidgen of credibility.

After we hear about the alleged sexual encounter at her house, we hear that recently, as he was shopping around his book deal, paula called his phone and left a message to "say nothing to the press."

first, let's address the issue of WHY THE HELL IS COREY CLARK WRITING A BOOK! WHAT, IN EBONICS? CAN HE EVEN FORMULATE A SENTENCE NOT CONTAINING THE WORD "YO"! this is right along the lines of snoop lecturing at oxford.

As for the message...Paula! Why are you giving him evidence? Why the hell did you leave a voicemail? seriously, stupid.

Now my question is, if this story is true (which i believe to a certain extent it is) why would paula pick him out and foster him? did she think he was really talented? really attractive? (was she just really horny?) I don't find him attractive or particularly talented, so i don't get it. Paula, you were married to emilio estevez! Then you hooked up with this? sheesh.

Here is something that i'm confused about...paula allegedly gave money to corey for his top 32 outfit and haircut. i thought they were given a clothing allowance at that point in the competition? and she helped him with his song choice and style? isn't that why they have whats-her-face-byrd and michael at the piano? and a style team? why did she feel she had to take matters into her own hands with corey?

with that said, i recall watching that episode and thinking, "boy he really got his shit together" becasue in the hollywood round with the partying and drunkeness he just looked like a fool. He did look quite sleek during that top 32 performance and picked a good song, and paula's (alleged) coaching did probably make him get through to the next round.

so they showed clips of former contestants wathing the expose and asked them if they felt the shaft, but who REALLY should have felt the shaft from this is Patrick Lake. Remeber Patrick? pre-constantine-and-bo, he was the original rocker, who at the hollywood auditions sang "hard to handle" and it blew constantine's version out of the water. he came in 3rd in corey's group of eight, and was then not asked back to the wild card. if it wasn't for corey's success that week, he would have been in the final 12 and not hosting tuesday night karaoke at Wild Wings in Athens, GA. poor patrick.

Speaking of where they are now, i hope abc does another story addressing the status of these former contestants they brought back to watch this. Hadas! i always liked her. Samantha! she was good too. Patrick the gay dude from terre haute...what are they up to now? i would definitely tivo that.

so anyways, i think the story is true at least partially, and i think corey hired a really good agent or publicist who knew how to take this info and strike when the time was right. good luck corey, but i hate to break it to you that you probably won't be breaking the new york times best seller list. and paula, just blame it on the meds.

yay for mp3s

2005-05-05T01:40:00.000-04:00

i just want to give a shout out to the good people at the idol experience for posting the mp3s and videos with only a few hours turnaround time. You guys are spreading the idol love! Please support idolexperience.com!

05/04/05 - Top 5 Results

2005-05-04T21:47:00.000-04:00

this week on idol has been the week of "finally"s...

Finally there was a good group song

Finally Paula sounded fairly sober

Finally America got the bottom two right

Finally, Scotty has left the building.

After the standard recap, they sang the group song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which was really reaching to fit in the theme this week, but apparantly Michael W. Smith recorded it and is amazingly on the AC charts with it. Despite this, it was awesome and a huge improvement over the previous group songs. Bo and scott sounded great toghether, but V and Carrie overpowered Anthony who was singing melody, so their trio was a bit out of sorts. improvement, nonetheless.

then ford comemrcial, and they announced the bottom two: anthony and scott
(i'm sure nigel and ken were a bit sad that there was no drama like last week)

scott was voted out tonight, which really didn't come as any sort of surprise, though it is ironic that he left on what was arguably his best week of the season. a similar thing happened to good ol' trenyce (also 5th place) in that she also went on her best week. funny how that happens.

It was anthony's birthday today so thats good that he didn't go home, but clearly deserved after last night. and barring any huge upset he should go next week (and he knows it, too...i do sort of feel bad for the guy.).

i am watching the "fallen Idol" special on abc, but am not too pumped about it and i think they are making it to be way more than it is. corey clark is shady, so i don't put a whole lot of weight on this. but of course i am watching it...being the idol junkie i am i HAVE to know...lol.

daul out

05/03/05 - Top 5

2005-05-03T21:32:00.000-04:00

Tonights theme, as earlier reported, is lieber and stoller, and as I almost reported earlier, this week’s billboard top 40

Round One:

01. Anthony	“Poison Ivy” eh for me. He is just so eh. I listened to a bunch of l&s songs today that would have been better. Lol that his contacts expired—don’t they like take care of that for you when you are on the show?! They can flat iron you hair like none other, but you contacts? No way.
02. Scott	“On Broadway” – I was pleasantly surprised – I liked it a lot – though I think he will get some flack on the message boards for his cockiness in his intro video. The haters will be out in full force with the bashing.
03. Vonzell	“Treat Me Nice” - she can diva the hell out of anything. I loved it. Simon can suck it because I did not see anything wrong with that performance. It was probably top 5 performances this season.
04. Bo	“Stand By Me” – I thought the vocals (with the exception of the second to last note which was flat) were right on. I think its great that he can rock out, but he can also slow it down and still has a great voice. Very versatile
05. Carrie +1/2	“Trouble” it was really fun and fortunately less country, and her vocals are always right on. I really like her, and I think she really knows how to work with the live band.

I was disappointed there was no “love potion no. 9”. This is the kind of theme they should have been doing all along – this is leaps and bounds ahead of last week thus far. Though I shouldn’t speak too soon.

Round two:

01. Anthony	“Incomplete I know you look a lot like nick carter, but did you have to choose backstreet boys? It was just ok again. Tonight both of his performances were forgettable.
02. Scott	some brian mcknight song - I don’t think the cockiness is helping his cause here – that’s just making me want to not vote for him. I know he is up against a lot, but that doesn’t give him jurisdiction to be full of himself. Anyways, I did think it was under pitch, but it wasn’t awful. I am really down with current music (I thought) and I didn’t know that song.
03. Vonzell	“When You Tell Me that you Love Me” - isn’t this taboo? Singing your own group song as your billboard top hit? I mean I know she actually made the single what it is, but I dunno. I must not be on the simon wavelength tonight because I think vonzell is on tonight.
04. Bo	“How Far is Heaven” I really enjoy him on that song! I thought it was perfect for him and he sang it really well. I like bo! I didn’t know how I felt about him at first, but he has definitely been growing on me lately (though not when he wears the hippie garb like last week
05. Carrie	“Bless the Broken Road” - she has flawless vocals – but simon is right that it is too robotic – every move looks staged, I don’t think she feels the song. You won’t get a fantasia-summertime performance from her—that is the only thing that will hold her back. Is that something she can acquire? I dunno.

Ok, out tonight, based on tonight alone, federov. It could very well be scott with his attitude.

Daul, out

TOP FIZ-IVE THEME

2005-05-03T12:50:00.000-04:00

well i listened to ryan's over-commercialized radio show for nothing becasue he was an ass and did not announce the theme. but rumor has it that the cleveland fox affiliatte illegally leaked it last night and it is two songs each, one from leiber and stoller and the other billboard top 40.

l&s theme (smokey joe's cafe was all of their songs) is believable but they already did a billboard theme. perhaps the billboard is more specialized, like 50s or 60s...something that would blend nicely with the l&s songs. like season two final 5 when they did neil sedaka and 60s night...that was one of my fave episodes, btw.

so anyways this is a RUMOR and i can't be held accountable for wrong info. if ryan would have just friggin announced it i wouldn't have to speculate, but such is life.

thoroughly enjoying...

2005-04-27T22:36:00.000-04:00

Whoever you are, if you continue voting for Scott, you are in fact, causing Jesus' eyes to bleed and the four horses of the apocalypse are going to be like hellhounds on your trail following you to the farthest ends of the earth, haunting you like the pariah lepers you are.

So amusing!

04/27/05 - Top 6 results

2005-04-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

Ohhhh, the teeny boppers will be out boycotting in the street that their dear idol pin-up boy is gone. Tonight, we had to say goodbye to poor Constantine. But more importantly, poor Paula. She is very emotional (an obvious side effect of the drug withdrawl...just kidding Paula...you were obviously not on any drugs) And then she was getting very intimate with Constantine's mom. Perhaps ABC will add that to their expose! lol.

Anyways, recap. review, the group song "emotions", ford commercial where Anthony proceeded to wear a lot of lampshades on his head and sneak out of the walls, and Ryan divided the idols into two groups.

Bottom 3: Vonzell, Anthony, Constantine. Result? Constantine ousted.

A few issues: so the group songs are sucking and sucking some more. When Carrie started the song off tonight, I thought it had potential to be good, and they didn't give Vonzell (the long lost member of destiny's child) enough face time in the destiny's child song. DID YOUR MUSICAL ARRANGER QUIT?!? BRING BACK THE MEDLEYS!

Second of all, Scott has now redeemed his 11th life (the semis and finals combined), and although he resembles super mario, he has reached the final level and there are no mushrooms left. He is turning into the josh gracin of season 4, but suckier (is that a word?)

Third, based on last night's performances alone, Constantine deserved to go. His nickelback impression was absolutely horrendous, and in playing back the video and listening to the mp3 today, it made me cringe. So America got it right. Consistently, however, Scott has been much weaker, so hopefully he will be next. On the bright side, my sidebar predictions are somewhat back on track!

Warning: Carrie Underwood fan analysis below

So Carrie is still my fave, and today I was doing some analyzation (Correction: i mean analysis...lol. i'm sure my mother is tearing out her hair right now wondering why, after paying thousands of dollars to my education, I still don't have proper grammar. sorry, mom.) as I was staring into the abyss of my computer monitor for 8 (I need SOMETHING to keep me from falling asleep.) So I listened to Carrie’s performance from last night, then Martina’s original (on rhapsody), then Carrie’s version of “Alone”, then Heart’s original, Carrie - Independence Day, Martina’s original, etc etc. What triggered this is that last night, the judges kept commenting that she was off key, and I didn't hear it. I have a pretty good ear, and when the judges play the “pitchy” card, I usually agree. But I did feel there was still a problem.

After my "investigation" her problem was not being off pitch; I actually thought she was right on especially after listening to the way the original was sung. Her problem, however, (and the big difference between Carrie and Martina McBride) is enunciation. Carrie just sort of, excuse the expression, pukes her words out. There are no T's or D's at the end of her words, and it is really hard to understand the lyrics out of her mouth. Listen to her songs back (just the audio) and you will see what I mean (and it will probably drive you nuts, too.) She was also overpowered by the band, so she has to try even harder. She apparently missed children's choir they day they taught that while singing, over-enunciation will help the listener understand the lyrics, not sound ridiculous.

So pardon the rambling, and if you are Carrie Underwood, please work on enunciating!

04/26/05 - Top 6

2005-04-26T21:10:00.000-04:00

Tonights theme, as earlier reported, is songs from 2000-2005.

01. Carrie +1/2	“ That's Why God-Fearin' Women Sing The Blues” - she’s so cute. She’s like a cute little sister. I mean, I’m not a country fan at all. I was really hoping she would do some Christina Aguilera tonight. A lot of stuff off christina’s stripped album would be good for carrie’s voice. I guess I would really like to see her go the more rock/mainstream direction, but obviously that’s not happening. I still like her though. I thought her outfit tonight was lacking—sort of like she just came back from milking the cow.
02. Bo	“I Don’t Wanna Be” – dude, bo. What’s with the hippie getup? It was just ok – I mean, gavin degraw is an ok singer, but could be topped—and bo didn’t do that. It was upbeat and fun, but just alright. I dunno.
03. Vonzell	“I Turn to You” – well my wish for Christina came true (just for the wrong singer—I would have totally bet on some beyonce from baby v) um it was really nice and all but not as hot as its been the past couple of weeks. Simon’s instincts are correct in the fact that it was flat at the beginning, and I lost some of the lyrics at the beginning because it was really low. Obviously a difficult song. i wish she would have chosen something more upbeat.
04. Anthony	“I Surrender” – the beginning was U-G-L-Y but it picked up – I was like “eeekk…Kelly sang this season 1 and you are going to suck, fedorov” but surprisingly, I was proven wrong (imagine that!). it was actually pretty good.
05. Constantine	“This is how you remind me” – so here is the problem. He’s just not a good singer. If he could get up and perform like that, AND have a great voice and be on pitch, he would rock the house down. But he just doesn’t sing that well. And he never really has—he tends to go sharp on his long notes and I think it really distracts from the performance. The girls live him, blah…I’m a girl! I don’t think he’s that appealing! What’s the deal girls?! (ps – omg, did paula say something negative? Well, those drugs that work must finally be kicking in)
06. Scott	“Dance With my Father” – i didn’t think it was quite as bad as the judges thought—I mean I don’t have a real liking for scott, but as far as it being his worst performance, I don’t think it could have gotten any worse that “Impossible Dream”, so comparatively speaking, he has improved. i think he should pack his bag anyways, though.

Bottom 3 predictions: Bo, Constantine, Scott

Daul, out

Top 6 Theme

2005-04-26T12:30:00.000-04:00

Ryan just confirmed on his radio show that tonight's theme will be songs from 2000-2005. On the plus side, there should be no song that I can't recognize. on the other hand it may start to sound like karaoke night at the corner bar. Obviously there is no sign of turn-around in the "vague themes of season 4." I miss Elton John night.

cue the hallelujah chorus...

2005-04-23T20:30:00.000-04:00

oh my god.... i did it. i finally broke down and got it.

TiVo

(can you hear the angelic voices?)

i have to wait 4-8 hours before i can program my favorites--i am so pumped!woooooo!

Diana DeGarmo Report

2005-04-22T09:31:00.000-04:00

So being the teeny-bopper-movie-and-cd connoisseur that i am, i was checking out reviews on The Ice Princess soundtrack on amazon becasue i had heard that our very own Diana DeGarmo was featured on it. The first review was written by someone who claims to watch the disney channel all the time and her review struck me as funny. Below is a screenshot of a portion of her review:

"This is another new artist I don't recognize"...?! Is it actually possible? Can you actually own the ice princess soundtrack and be oblivious to american idol? you watch the disney channel all the time, yet you are immune from the idol bug? i just didn't feel the ice princess soundtrack and american idol were two mutually exclusive items. anyways, the teeny-bopper reviewers on amazon are so funny, and you can link to the entire review here.

04/20/05 - Top 7 Results

2005-04-20T21:18:00.000-04:00

As if we wanted to witness it, we all saw ryan seacrest making some serious physical violations against an innocent flamingo. what a way to start off the evening (among a myriad of other seacrest outtakes...he is definitely the typical blonde).

The idols sang a group song and carrie and bo accompanied on the guitar and anwar on the piano. i noticed their instruments weren't miked. hmmm...anyways. then we had the shrinky-dink ford commercial to "rock this town" (who is the creative director for these commercials? could we add any more cheese, please? seriously)

Ryan proceded to divide the contestants into two groups.... drama, suspense, commercial (glad this episode wasn't an hour tonight) suspense, drama, and FINALLY

the BOTTOM 3: scott, anthony, anwar.

Sadly, anwaris gone. i mean, i knew it was coming, not toally shocked, but would rather have seen some others go before him. glad the bottom 3 is what it was, though. i was worried that we would have a crazy bottom 3 like the fantasia-latoya-jennifer incident of the top 8 last season. thats what nigel wanted us all to think, too. fortunately, america has some common sense this week.

And now, some commentary. I am trying to limit my bitching and focus on the positives and the whole fun of the AI concept, but this season is just not entertaining. i mean, here and there we'll see a kick butt performance, but overall i just feel blah. i'm giving so many half-smiles to the perfomances, and it just really comes down to, as beth put it yesterday, "eh." thats pretty much how i feel about this season. and its not any one thing, and i can't really put my finger on it, but its just "eh." For fear of this turning into a long bitch-rant, i will just say, daul, out.

04/19/05 - Top 7

2005-04-19T21:06:00.000-04:00

70s dance - aka. Disco (way to “disguise” that one)

ryan makes reference to the judges liking the alcohol. Obviously paula does—I should keep a talley of the off-the-wall-drunken comments she makes this evening.

01. Constantine	“nights on broadway” - dude he is totally wearing eyeliner! Whats up with that? And I think he got highlights. Anyways, it was just ok for me. His voice is just ok. I mean he is very theatrical – obviously—that’s his background. Its just too over the top for my liking, but I can see why he is appealing. Sorry Constantine fans.
02. Carrie	“MacArthur Park” – oh, carrie, that song sucked! But you do have the best voice. And I TOTALLY agree with simon’s comments on your outfit – Barbie meets stepford wives. The extensions suck – don’t lat that stylist do that to you anymore. Anyways, it is my least favorite carrie performance yet.
03. Scott	“Everlasting Love” – wow scott, I was scared at first that you chose a pre-sung-by-aiken song, but it was really ok. It was on pitch, it was entertaining, but I don’t know how I feel about his little kick at the end. (let this be the last time I rank scott above carrie)
04. Anthony	“Don’t Take Away the Music” – fedorov, that sucked the big one. The last note was yucky. Not. A. Fan. (sorry, mom) I just don’t like him. Ok let me try to be positive: it was on key except for the last note, his clothing was adequate. He just doesn’t have that star quality that some of the others (i.e. vonzell, Constantine, carrie) have.
05. Vonzell	“I’m Every Woman” – each and every week, vonzell, you step it up and up, vocals were a bit on the edge as simon said – a little unsteady at times but your performance made up for it. I do wish you would pick something a little bit riskier – out of a list of 100 disco songs I would have bet $$ that you would have chosen this one. But consistent and FUN nonetheless. Definitely will go at least top 3.
06. Anwar	“September” – it was good vocals – a little over the top with the Travolta moves—good song choice though. I wasn’t a huge fan of the arrangement.
07. Bo	“Vehicle” – This song gives me memories of High School pep band. Anyways, Bo, thank god you rocked it out tonight. You are a genuine rocker, and the performance was really great. I am glad you finally stepped it back up--you will get my votes tonight. ( I think I am starting to sound like randy. That needs to stop)

Bottom 3 predictions: Anwar, Anthony, Carrie (?!?!)

Daul, out

top 7 theme

2005-04-19T11:23:00.000-04:00

just announced by ryan seacrest (in all his "hollywood walk of fame" glory) on his radio show, the theme for tonight is DISCO. remember the last disco night? josh gracin sang celebration? what a flop. this season will officially be known as the season of bad, bad themes.

also, please vote for my site here

04/13/05 - Top 8 Results

2005-04-14T07:18:00.000-04:00

oh dear god...gag me with a spoon...an hour results show! At least ryan came right out and said it was going to be long and drawn out. quick summary: summary of last night, lots of banter, group song, more banter, paula acts drunk, more banter, a week in the life of an idol, again more banter, ford commercial, and then the announcement of bottom three, each got to pick a song to sing, then results.

Several comments: i was wondering yesterday why they had not yet shown the "idol mansion." after googling it, i found a st. louis newspaper article that asked nikko this question, and apparantly they had serious problems with termites and such last season, and with having the top 24 (more people in LA for an extended period) they were renting them apartments. so i pictured quite the lavish place, but after seeing them for a split second on the "week of an idol" bit, they looked like normal, average, complex-esque apartments, furnished quite moderately. i mean, i'm sure they are fine and i'm sure the contestants aren't there that much, but if i was them, i would have felt the shaft!

also, in regards to the ford commercial, who let snoop make-over carrie?? why was she dressed like a blonde pseudo-gangsta.

alright, lets get to the guts of it...bottom 3: scott, nadia, bo.

federov escapes again??? who the hell is voting for him? i mean, i know he did better than usual last night, but seriously. bo fans are going to be F I R E D U P next week. i'll bet he will surge ahead next week. this is what happens - like with vonzell last week- fans get lazy, combined with the loss of swing votes from an off week, and bottom 3 it is. Anyways, au revoir to nadia this week, who obviously did not deserve it this week, but who obviously would not win. it won't keep me up nights or anything. now the women are outnumbered 5:2 - i think i am safe in saying that men will be voted out the next several weeks. until then, daul, out.

04/12/05 - Top 8

2005-04-12T21:16:00.000-04:00

Theme tonight: “Songs in the year you were born” (side note: if I was on idol, I would sing Olivia Newton John “Lets Get Physical”…that was 1981, right?)

01. Nadia	“When I Dream” (1977) - I really enjoyed that song (not familiar with it) not so much the dress though. I disagree w/ randy that the beginning was rough, because I thought that was solid -- the ending was shaky, though. I thought it was actually one of her better performances.
02. Bo	“Free Bird” (1975) – All I have to say is thank god he didn’t sing like the full 9 minutes of the song or however long it is. There was just no climax. Excite me, bo! That was so friggin boring! And stop walking around the stage w/ the microphone stand! At least it was on key.
03. Anwar	“I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (1979) – It wasn’t doing it for me. Jasmine trias was way better last year, but it was ok—I was waiting for that vibrato on the last note and he ran out of gas, but that’s ok- it was just ok. (have I mentioned it was ok?)
04. Anthony + 1/2	“Every Time You Go Away” (1985) – – I thought he was decent. This performance may save him from leaving. I mean, I don’t really like him, but he was good this week.
05. Vonzell	“Let’s Hear It for the Boy” (1984) – Good job vonzell! Get some better shoes, though, because you looked very uncomfortable like you were going to trip. I was hoping actually, for “I guess that’s why they call it the blues” because that would have been an unexpected choice that would show off her range—I guess I’ll just put it on the wish list. .
06. Scott	“She’s Gone” (1976) – straight face – omg scott, the low notes were way off key, kinda dull, he’s not bringing it at this point in the competition, he should pack his bags.
07. Carrie + 1/2	“Love is a Battlefield” (1983) – apparently she has been taking lessons from Constantine. Um it was definitely full of energy and I thought it was really good, but it was almost like she was trying to be too Kelly maybe? And some of those high notes were off, but it was acceptable. She looked totally hot though. I like the eye makeup tonight.
08. Constantine	“Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) – oh Constantine, always the drama “queen” – hahaha – I KILL myself! My first thought was “how the hell are they going to edit that down to a minute and a half?” it was great though – he will be in the final with that performance. (note to beth: he totally could have ridden in our lickety split van last year!)

Bottom 3 predictions: Scott, Anwar, Anthony

Daul, out

links du jour

2005-04-09T17:28:00.000-04:00

AOL has an exclusive jessica sierra interview and will have a nikko interview early next week.

Constantine on elimidate...LOL! the video takes awhile to load but its worth it so be patient.

04/06/05 - Top 9 Results

2005-04-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, quick recap. There was a recap of last night and fantasia sang an over-the-top version of her new single+I believe. I must say, her energy and passion during a performance is more that this season's contestants combined. This is good for the most part but it can be a bit out of control (i.e. the "yeahyeah yeeeeeaaaaahhhh" screaming at the end) but it was refreshing nonetheless. Yet another cheeseball ford commercial, though I don't think you can top the muppets of last week.

On to business - bottom 3 nikko, scott and...vonzell(?!)(WTF is this!)

so thankfully vonzell was sent back to safety and it was down to scott and nikko. It was a sad goodbye for Nikko this evening. Lets discuss a few things. 1. Why the hell was vonzell in the bottom 3--IMO she gave the best performance last night. 2. Why the hell was fedorov NOT in the bottom 3(omg..I hope the claymates aren't catching onto him) because he definitely sucked the big one last night. and 3. Why the hell do we have to endure another week of scott. Not that I was surprised that Nikko is gone, but based on last night's performance he was much better than some others. At least my sidebar predictions are back on track. Please let it be 80s week next week *crosses fingers*. daul, out.

04/05/05 - Top 9

2005-04-06T07:53:00.000-04:00

--sorry for the late post. EVIL EVIL Comcast had a cable and internet “outage” about an hour before the show, so not only can I not post until work tomorrow, I had to watch it on an antenna! The atrocity!

A Musicals Theme. A subject near and dear to my heart (exhibit a – the website I built in high school). However, I am skeptical for a musicals theme on Idol – aren’t they always telling people they are “too broadway” and now they have to sing broadway? Lets see…

01. Scott	“The Impossible Dream” - OMG – murder murder! That last note was HORRID! And for that matter so was most of the rest of the song. The middle was ok, but really quite boring. On a higher note, scott, you look nice tonight.
02. Constantine	“My Funny Valentine” – What is with murdering the last note of a perfectly good song. And the band was WAY too loud for him. But it was ok. I did like the arrangement, though, and I liked the band minus the volume.
03. Carrie	“Hello Young Lovers” - carrie, you are looking very reese witherspoon, tonight. Just an ok song, excellent performance. She is definitely the most reliable singer of the bunch (she is like the brett favre of American idol—who else would you want in the pocket with 1 minute left down by a touchdown), but she could have picked a more exciting song. Carrie, tonight, you did not make people pee, but it was still ok.
04. Vonzell	“People” – vonzell! You kicked ass yet again! I’m not a Babs fan, but I have heard her sing it and I like vonzell better. I know—all you Babs fans can clobber me now. I would put vonzell up there in final four though.
05. Anthony	“Climb Every Mountain” – I am not an Anthony fan so he has to do a lot to win me over, and it was ok. I agree with paula in that I enjoyed the arrangement. However I think he should start packing his bags.
06. Nikko	“One Hand, One Heart” – what a horrid arrangement! Don’t try to do a duet for a solo performance. The beginning was weak and just blah. He has a vibrato that goes flat and this song really called that out.
07. Anwar	“If Ever I Would Leave You” – I was a big fan of that performance, although not a big fan of the arrangement.
08. Bo	“Corner of the Sky” – I love this song. I love it. The arrangement was eh, but bo made it rock out, which is genuinely bo. It was a bit messy, I agree with simon. When I saw the spoiler today that pippin was on the list, I was hoping anwar would sing this song (or ‘magic to do’…ben vereen, anyone?), but oh well. I hope its 80s week next week and bo sings guns n roses paradise city. That’s all I have to say.
09. Nadia	“As Long as he Needs Me” – Nadia, you have returned. You’re hot this evening. Not the strongest vocalist, but that is a well known fact. This song covered it well though…it was really good.

Bottom 3 predictions: Scott, Nikko, Anthony

Daul, out

New Graphics

2005-04-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

I have added icons to the weekly reviews to give you the true "smiley rating system" effect. See post below. On that note, i would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to beth for the smiley art. Since her smileys are better than mine, i asked her to draw them...she of course responded with:

"Want me to draw out fresh faces for you to post? Hmm...that sounds like fun. I will do that right now and then email them to you!" (this was of course when we were both at work...because when you have to choose between drawing smileys and doing autocad, there is really no contest)

What Service! Beth, next you can feed me grapes and fan me with palms.

03/30/05 - Top 10 Results

2005-03-30T21:04:00.000-05:00

well thursday night started out with a recap and the group song "everything is beautiful." can i just say that i am a huge fan of both nadia's and carrie's shirts this evening? i want a stylist, dammit! as far as the group song--this season is just not fun with the group songs. to give you a sense of the group performances i enjoyed: season 2 top 5 and the season 1 finale. these were both 60's/mowtown medleys--i guess i'm just a medley kind of girl.

the sesame-street-ford commercial was interesting but i didn't see a carrie muppet--i think she was the only one missing. unless it was the jessica muppet missing. i dunno--they're both white and blonde.

Bottom 3 this evening - nadia, jessica, anwar

When the master is right, she is really right, and when she is wrong, she isn't even close...tonight she hard core struck out. we have to say a sad goodbye to jessica, ultimately brought down by song choice. And i was so looking forward to her singing black velvet, too! as i was listening to the mp3s of last nights' performances today, jessica, vocally, was really the third best of the night (after carrie and vonzell). she just picked alot of obscure songs, and that was her demise. In this competition you walk a very fine line--you can't pick something too obscure, but not something too oversung, either (see previous post for list). i am sorry to see her go. The only good thing to come of this: the person driving the white land rover west over the howard frankland bridge in tampa sunday morning with the tacky jessica sierra sunshade suction-cupped to the rear window, can now remove it--the entire tampa-metro area thanks you.

daul, out.

just becasue i'm bored @ work....

2005-03-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Songs that should be banned from future idol performances because of overuse:
1. I have nothing
2. Against All Odds (remember when Corey Clark sang this wearing pleather pants and holding a towel? why oh why?)
3. Any song from 'The Wiz"
4. Don't Let the Sun go down on me
5. One Last Cry
6. Lets Stay Together
7. I'll Be
8. Son of a Preacher Man
9. Turn the beat around (goat girl did a memorable rendition of this one season 2)
10. Knock on Wood

And the song that should have never been sung at all:
I Think i love you (thanks for that, constantine)

03/29/05 - Top 10

2005-03-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

Finally – a live performance show – how exciting. And a 90s theme! Here goes…

01. Bo	“Remedy” - obviously he is directly channeling kid rock this evening. Despite this, it just wasn’t very exciting. Why is simon the only judge with any sense lately! randy and paula thought it was great—blahblah. Bo…buddy…the category was 90s. look at the song choices for you! Anything by Live, Nirvana, Bush, maybe even Green Day! Pick something more rockin! Very disappointed in song choice.
02. Jessica	“Side of Angels” - looking better, jes--thank you for not choosing a sheer shirt! But the song was just eh. I mean what the hell was the song even. They didn’t say, and I am not super familiar with LeAnn Rimes
03. Anwar	“I Believe I can Fly” - I liked that he started off stage, but it started slow, and picked up at the end. But randy had a good point with the lower register of his voice is not on it. Anwar, you know you’re my favorite but come on! You gotta pick it up! (on the plus side, at least he picked a song I recognized)
04. Nadia	“Only One” - WOOHOO Melissa Ethridge! A bit off key during the high parts, but it rocked out for the most part. Thank you, nadia, for leaving the fro-hawk at home.
05. Constantine	“I can’t make you love me” - I think, honestly, that this is the first time this season that I have liked Constantine. I really enjoyed the song, and I liked him singing it. I thought it was great.
06. Nikko	“ I want to know your name (?)" – the last note was unfortunate, but the rest of the song was good. I will be proven wrong this week and I doubt he will go tomorrow. I wish we could vote out his jacket though. Thats just really too bad.
07. Anthony	“The way you look tonight” – half smile – I mean, its not like he’s bad, but I just don’t really like him. It was just ok. I don’t know, its forgettable. Its just so predictable for him to do Elton john, I dunno.
08. Carrie	“Independence day” – carrie, last week you made people pee (you know who you are), this week was a slight bit weaker, but still deserves teeth status! You’re hot, I love you. GO CARRIE!
09. Scott	“One Last Cry” - scott, you needed a big night, and it really wasn’t fabulous. Good, but not fabulous. I liked Camille last season singing it better. (I have a very soft spot for Camille! I heart-ed her)
10. Vonzell	“I have nothing” – um – I love trenyce, and baby-v kicked some trenyce-season-2 butt! In the words of Paris Hilton, that’s hot. Hot Hot HOT!

Bottom 3 predictions: Anthony, Jessica, Scott

Daul, out

03/24/05 - Top 11 Results (finally)

2005-03-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

ADIOS MIKALAH! america got it right! (my predictions are going as . . . well . . . predicted.) i figured nadia in the bottom three, but was a bit surprised by anthony (not stunned--about the same feeling i had about jessica in there last week). when it was down to the last three on the couch i thought it would be anwar. though in listening to the performace audio back again, anthony did have some pitch problems. he has the clay look and clay attitude, but not so much the clay voice (and hopefully, for his sake, not the clay songs. i don't need anthony watching me in my room, too). As for the rest of the show, they performed the group song "my brother" (is this correct?) and it was only mildly entertaining, but i would rather have some group chorus-like singing as opposed to everyone sing a solo line. i also wasn't familliar with that song and it was kind of slow, so i wasn't a fan. The honey-i-shrunk-the-idols ford commercial was also amusing and not nearly as annoying as ford commercials past. overall, a fairly uneventful show (though i may have missed something while toggling between this and the apprentice). until next week, daul, out.

03/23/05 - Top 11...Again

2005-03-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

so tonight was the re-do. nothing really insightful, except mikalah's shirt--don't worry, mikalah, we know. the only good part was that i got to watch carrie and scott again. the rest of the time i was only half watching. vonzell looked fabulous tonight, though; i liked carrie's hair better last night, constantine WAS in fact being tounge-in-cheek with his song selection...thats about it. i am anxious for tomorrow. i guess i should go vote. go carrie!

reason 574 why i need tivo

2005-03-23T10:07:00.000-05:00

Ok guys, there was probably some intern in the back room hit the wrong button on the PRE-TAPED show (someone's a genius), and now there is a "do-over" of sorts tonight on Fox. Apparently they showed the wrong phone numbers during the recap, so tonight there will be a re-sing (part taped and part live) and re-vote after the one hour show. Expect many sore fingers out there after two subsequent nights of voting. The elimination show will now air on Thursday at 8pm. (Why does part of me think this is a ploy to grab some Thursday night NBC and CBS watchers!) I need tivo for Survivor now. Thanks a lot, Fox! You can read more about this story here and here.

UPDATE: I have been misinformed. The results show will air tomorrow at 9pm (EST) and that means I will have to miss the apprentice. Now there will be a fight over the TV in my apartment. And now my case is even stronger for the ploy to attract viewers because this will be showing opposite CSI which was the only show last week to have higher viewership than Idol. I have found my motive (man, I should have been a lawyer).

03/22/05 - Top 11

2005-03-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

Billboard #1 night - here's my review:

01. Anthony Fedorov “I knew you were waiting for me” – half smile – it was just eh for me. It was good but not thrilling. I wasn’t too into the “hip thrusts”

02. Carrie Underwood “Alone” – smiley w/ teeth – AWESOME! that was great (even jeff was impressed and nothing on this show ever impresses him!) I mean WOW! She was great, and I think even if she would mess up the next couple of weeks this performance will carry (haha no pun intended) her through. AWESOME! Definitely the best performance of the entire season thus far.

03. Scott Savol “Against all Odds” – smiley w/ teeth – I thought it was really good, but I was waiting for a bigger ending. He really does have the best male voice in the competition – I agree w/ my mom on this.

04. Bo Bice “Time in a bottle” – big smiley – I am a big fan of his voice quality. Why was he not a singer in the 70s because he could be in a 70s “classic rock vault” type band. Big fan, bo!

05. Nikko Smith “Incomplete” – big smiley – he was big pimpin on stage. It was a little rough at the beginning, but it ended great.

06. Vonzell Solomon “Best of my love” – big smiley – that was really great…her voice is really good and she has fantabulous stage presence. I’ll bet a vonzell concert would be fun. I very much compare her to trenyce except cuter.

Halftime review – randy is on it dawg, everyone is back tonight. The game is back on-- Everyone is very entertaining, keep it up guys!

07. Constantine Maroulis “I think I love you” – straight face – I mean it was on key and everything, but it felt so sarcastic. Like he picked that song to make fun of the whole thing. I dunno. It was eh. I don’t think he will last too long doing things like that

08. Nadia Turner “Time after time” – straight face - I feel like the song is too fast for her? To high for her? There is something just not right. And it’s a really bad arrangement. And whats with the mowhawk/banana clip thing? I agree with simon – its her weakest performance by far.

09. Mikalah Gordon “Love will lead you back” – straight face – it started really bad and then got to average in the middle – I mean her voice was cracking and it was really pretty bad. And she is annoying.

10. Anwar Robinson “Ain’t nobody” – half smile – the song is just ok for me – better job than Latoya last season. He always is a strong finisher. You gotta pick it up anwar! I am rooting for you!

11. Jessica Sierra “Total Eclipse of the heart” – big smiley – I thought it was really great but not as good as carrie as simon was saying. I didn’t like her seductive “I’m gonna kill you” type looks at the camera at the end. She looked very unhappy. But she sounded great!...lol ( I made that sound kinda bad but it wasn’t)

predicted bottom 3: mikalah, nadia, nikko

daul, out.

03/16/05 (top 12 results)

2005-03-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

after the results show, lindsey is gone. this really came as no surprise (see list on side bar...never doubt the master). and i was two for three on the bottom 3 prediction. i was a bit surprised at jessica in the bottom 3--not shocked, but surprised. i think she has a strong voice in comparason to many others, though as i was milling around on the AI message board today, it seems that alot of people can't seem to get past her looks/weight, unfortunately. i thought she had enough fan support to stick around for a while--though maybe now some of lindsey's votes will head her direction. lets hope mikalah is out next week as predicted (or at least that she covers up her stomach). daul, out.

03/15/05 (top 12 wk 1)

2005-03-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

sorry for the delay in posting--blogger seems to have been down. here is the review of last night (chronologically, this time)

Jessica – “shop around” (01) – big smiley– I really enjoy her voice but again – stage presence—that needs to be stepped up.

Anwar – “a house is not a home” (02) – half smile – I just do not like that song. I didn’t like it when tamyra sang it either. That song is so difficult. I do enjoy his outfit.

Fran Drescher i.e. “Mikalah”– “son of a preacher man” (03) – frown – she is NOT GOOD - that was the third time that this has been sung (julia dematto and camille velasco…please correct me if there are more) and this was BY FAR the worse even with how much I hated Julia. I really enjoy this song, too, and there was not one thing I enjoyed about this performance.

Constantine - “you’ve made me so very happy” (04) – half smile – not awesome but pretty good – I just want him to rock out again, but it’s good he can show versatility.

Lindsey cardinale – “knock on wood” (05) – half smile – one of her better performances, but that’s not saying much. Its hard to show up fantasia and Kim Caldwell who sang it previously (notice how I like to compare to past seasons)

Anthony Fedorov – “breaking up is hard to do” (06) – half smile – I enjoy him and it was a bit pitchy, but not as bad as the judged are saying. Didn’t reuben sing this (I am having memory lapses) OBVIOUSLY not as good.

Midway comments: Season 3 final 12 week 1 was Soul, and Season 2 final 12 week 1 was Mowtown, and I thought that both seasons it was the absolute best week of the season – everyone was on their games, they all sang great songs and it was awesome. This year it is 60s—very similar theme, lots of overlap, and pretty much all inclusive of the others. And it is SUCKING overall. Lets hope it picks up

Nadia - “you don’t have to say you love me” (07) – smiley w/ teeth – I thought it was fabulous! She looks fabulous, and I thought she sang it with so much passion…it gave me chills.

Bo Bice – “spinning wheel” (08) – smiley w/ teeth – that was great. I love how he just rocks it out every time. What a great song! Good job, bo.

Vonzell - “anyone who had a heart” (09) – big smiley – I like this song, I thought she did alright. She has great stage presence. Yeah I am waiting for that great performance still. I totally agree w/ simon. She is right in the middle.

Scott - “aint to proud to beg” (10) – big smiley – he is channeling reuben but his voice is just a half step down—though I must say his stage presence is a half step up. I really love this song so I am glad he did it justice. He also was pimped out.

Carrie - “when will I be loved” (11) – smiley w/ teeth – I thought it was really great…in response to simon’s comment about the three people who know themselves musically---LOOK AT MY TOP 3 PEOPLE! THOSE THREE WILL BE ON TOP! HA! (I am so good). Though I hope she steps it up stage presence-wise. She just kinda stood there.

Nikko - “I want you back” (12) – half smile – it was just ok for me. I agree with simon. I mean whatever. Blah.

Predicted Bottom 3 – nikko, mikalah, lindsey

PREDICTIONS!

2005-03-14T21:27:00.000-05:00

alright, here are my rankings in order of who i THINK will go (we'll talk about who i WANT to go later) the list starts with 12 (who i think will go first) down to 1 (the next american idol).

12. lindsey cardinale
11. mikalah gordon
10. nikko smith
09. constantine maroulis
08. nadia turner
07. scott savol
06. anthony fedorov
05. jessica sierra
04. vonzell solomon
03. bo bice
02. anwar robinson
01. carrie underwood <-- my predicted winner

a little dialogue about these choices. with the departure of mario it seems obvious which guy will go first--the one who was already voted off. though not before a couple of the weaker girls will go (girls are much weaker overall than the guys this year). after that, i believe that constantine and nadia, both genre singers IMO, will be out due to tough theme weeks. constantine's votes will go to bo and nadia's to vonzell which will see them through a while. scott and anthony will go next just because they may not appeal to quite as wide of a fan base. jessica and vonzell next just due to tough competition, and we will be left with three totally different singers on top. i predict carrie will win based on mainstream popularity. we'll see how this list holds up. feel free to post your list in the comments.

interesting observations

2005-03-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

1. in all idol seasons so far, the final two contestants came from the same group in the top 30 or 32 (kelly/justin, reuben/clay, fantasia/diana...just in case you have been living under a rock and you didn't know who the finalists were). now that the format has changed, the closest thing would be that the final two will either be two guys or two girls. damn the format change! totally screwed up my whole prediction system.

2. during the wild card show (sob...that was my favorite episode) in both seasons 2 & 3, paula's pick was female and sang "Lets Stay Together" (trenyce and leah labelle) for future reference if they ever bring back WC and you want to be paula's pick, sing that song.

(ok so apparantly i'm not that observant...i only have two)

with the sudden departure of mario today, i have had to revamp my rankings. i will be posting them soon.

also if you would like to contact me via email you can now do so at: idolreview at gmail dot com

top 12 thoughts...

2005-03-09T22:14:00.000-05:00

well, tonight janay, amanda, travis, and nikko were eliminated. (i guessed 2 out of 4--that seems to be my running percentage). in hindsight, i understand how amanda was out because she dosen't really have that punch or a niche that the other girls have. on the other hand, neither does lindsey, and i predict she will be one of the early ones to go. as far as the guys are concerned, travis was obvious and he knew it, too. nikko on the other hand didn't deserve to go. its funny because usually the majority of the guys are african-american, but this year the whole 29-year-old-rocker thing is really turning the competition on its head. i guess people are looking for something different than the "norm" (i.e. nikko) but i do think that either constantine or bo will go early--there really just won't be room for two. (constantine and bo in the final together...can you see the movie? from bo to constantine? bo and constantine's excellent adventure...a little more likely) anyways, in the next few days i will be posting 1. my top 12 rankings and predictions and my predicted winner (believe it or not i am actually pretty good at this!), and 2. interesting idol facts that i have noticed (feel free to add to the list). until then, daul out.

03/08/05 (top 24 #6)

2005-03-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Smiley W/ Teeth

Carrie (03) – I thought it was really great. I don’t feel there is any personality lacking for her. Like simon said, she will definitely go far and probably be in the final (barring a tamyra incident)

Vonzell (04) – I thought it was great, bus I still wanted her to let go a little more. But she is really one of the best vocalists of anyone left. (i know simon, what WAS that outfit)

Big smiley no teeth

Jessica (08) – really good but she did kinda look like a hooker (holy cleavage). She really does have a good voice, but she talks kinda funny (possible childhood speech impediment??) not that I think that makes her a bad singer, I am just commenting. Anyways back to the song—it was upbeat, it was fun, a little too staged for my liking, but you know, still great voice.

Nadia (05) - she is not a great great singer and obviously that will be her downfall when she goes out. But she does have MONSTER star quality. Very unique. I wanna see her rock out again – week one of top 24 is still my favorite performance by her.

Half smile

Lindsey (06) - HUGE improvement over last week. I like her singing a “guy’s” song. With that performance I think she might get in

Amanda (01) – she was just ok for me – I didn’t like that song for her. I wasn’t blown away. I am definitely agreeing w/ the judges. – you really need to be blown away @ this point to stay in.

Straight face

Fran Drescher, OH I mean Mikalah (07) – SUPER PITCHY i.e. OFF KEY. Not a fan. She sounded like was puking out the notes. I really didn’t like any of the song especially the beginning. Sorry mikalah fans.

Janay (02) – really REALLY pitchy. It was really out of tune. She is “cute” not hot – she is just really young and really looks really young. She will go places in like 3 years. She is not at the caliber of the other contestants.

Frown
*no one*

who i WANT to go: MIKALAH and janay
who i THINK will go: lindsey and janay

daul, out

03.07.05 (top 24 #5)

2005-03-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

Smiley w/ teeth

Anwar – ok I got chills. He is like (dare I say) as good as stevie (and I don’t mean nicks). I like him a lot. He is my fave of the competition and I am so glad he did well tonight.

Nikko – kick ass – that was awesome. Brilliant awesome great…(I have nothing insightful to say)

Anthony – woah dude – although I could hear a bit of pitchyness when he hit the higher notes but it was so good otherwise I am giving him teeth this week. Even with his “wiggles”(ok, simon)

Smiley no teeth

Mario – he was good this week but not the best we’ve seen him. He is like Justin guarini but better. He is a heart throb though and should make it through.

Scott – the “choreography” was lacking (simon hit that nail on the head) but a great vocal performance overall. He is really fun—I doubt he will win but I am confident he has top 12 wrapped up.

Bo Bice – when he started I thought it was a bit shaky but once he got into it it was good – I thought randy had the best comments (right on dawg)

Half smile

Constantine – so he was flat a lot of the song, but I did like that song for him. He definitely has more star appeal than bo, but bo is just stronger and sooner or later one has to go. He has a huge fan base I think, though.

Straight face

Travis – and he was so hot last week. It was like a black lance from nsync. Has all the dance moves - he is like someone who would have a great cd and you would go to see them in concert and they would suck live (sugar ray? Yeah)

Frown
*no one*

who i WANT to go: anthony and travis (such a change from last week)
who THINK will go: travis/anthony/constantine (i know i am cheating, but i am so indecisive this week)

daul, out

03.01.05 (top 24 #4)

2005-03-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

Smiley w/ teeth

Carrie – I love her. I totally disagree w/ the judges. I thought it sounded awesome. I likes the Janis Joplin/country take on things – I thought it was original sounding. The judges suck for ripping her.

Big Smile

Vonzell – I thought she was good too – agree with simon, she lost it in the end. I still think she did really well though.

Jessica – I thought she was good vocally – better than expected. She needs to work on entertainment factor and stage presence so I think she will make it through the week, but needs to step it up.

Amanda – surprised by her, too – definitely 10 notches up from last week. Like the high energy level. I think she saved herself cuz I thought she would be out.

Half Smile

Nadia – see with her I didn’t mind the pitchiness because that is like her voice quality to be raspyish. Bad song choice though. Not as impressed as last week – I liked the rocker in her better.

Aloha – just ok for me not bad or anything. I tend to agree w/ the judges, but I didn’t think it was as bad as they thought.

Lindsey – I was almost gave her a straight face but she brought it up at the end but she is definitely forgettable and she sang a bad song. Not a fan of the song at all.

Straight face

Janay – I thought she was as good as blu Cantrell, but that’s not saying much

Makalah – I do not like this girl – I thought it was actually pretty pitchy. I mean it didn’t suck, but come on. As my mom put it, she is like fran dresher’s daughter. Barf.

Frown

Celena – she was off pitch – what is with all the country shit tonight anyways (general comment) anyways, she sounds like she is straining a lot. She still totally wins for the cutest hair. Too bad, she is cute.

who i would LIKE to go: makalah janay
who i think WILL go: celena janay

daul, out

02.28.05 (top 24 #3)

2005-03-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

let me first say, people are rated on the very technical, very complex, Smiley System (tm). Beth has the patent on this system. i decided to categorize people by their rating, not the order of appearance. within the categories they are then further ranked, creating an overall best to worst list. lets begin:

Smiley w/ teeth

Travis – wow – totally surprised I was not expecting him to be that good. His performance was awesome, he was hot (i'd do him...just kidding). Good deal! I will be voting for him.

Bo – he so brought it – they needed to give him a guitar and just give him an extra minute to run around the stage and smash the hell out of it. loved it--rocked the house.

Big smiley no teeth

Anwar – I am really pulling for him. He is my favorite guy, and though the song wasn’t super fantastic to show off vocal range I enjoy him as an entertainer. I am hoping for great things

Niko – totally fun! When I heard “baw-baw-baw-baw” at the beginning of ‘lets get it on’ I totally lol-ed.

Joseph – I was really surprised by him – he was really good! I understand what simon was saying that he kind of looks child-molester nasty with his necklaces - he just needs a stylist – where are Stacy and Clinton!

Half smile

Mario – not as impressed w/ him as last week – I think simon wants him to win because he is extremely marketable. I thought the song choice was not so great and all of the judges were like “omg that was sooooo great” an obvious favorite.

Scott – good but didn’t blow me away. He was better vocally than a lot and his image is getting better, but I dunno – he is just so odd looking (but so was clay)

Constantine – very fun – great song choice (outsung by bo though)– won’t win, but I don’t want him to go home yet because he is entertaining.

Anthony – um I have no idea how the “early 90s ballads” are going to get him to the end. I’m not saying that I don’t like them…I’ll say it…I have jon secada mp3s…but I don’t know how “cool” that is anymore, and he hasn’t shown he can do anything else. I mean he was good, but not great.

Straight mouth

David – I was hoping for better – I don’t want him to get voted off this week because I think he could do better, and I really liked him in the Hollywood auditions.

Frown
(no one)
___________________________

who i would LIKE to see go home: Scott & Anthony

who i THINK will go home: Constantine & David

-daul, out

(and as a side note, poor darius rucker – he has to resort to burger king commercials with the dallas cowboy cheerleaders. It was all down hill after the second hootie album. he is like in the mid-90s rockers hall of shame.)

01.26.05

2005-03-07T22:32:00.000-05:00

in review i think that the idol live blogging was fun, but not for every night, and not until the real singing begins. there's just too much crap that goes on in these audition shows. also, i just watched the premiere of the simple life, and dispite the fact that i imagine a good 80-85% of what goes on is that show is staged/selectively edited, it is still funny. because really, if i had to intern at a mechanic, i would have the same reaction to changing the oil on a car (eeew this is so disgusting) and lol at the teenage kid that was like "nicole richie just punched me, flipped me on my back, and kicked me in the nuts...it was the hottest thing that has ever happened to me" how typical.

01.25.05

2005-03-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

archived from 01.25.05
_________________

i am trying to live blog idol tonight:

the new orleans auditions

8:05 > david brown--wow! i heart him already

bobby who has all the idol cards, WTF? i mean i like kelly c. and all but i wouldn't want to have a card of carmen rasmussen in my earthly posession.

8:15 > deron with black hair>woah dude! lol @ randy's reaction

lindsey cardinele--ok, but not totally impressed, at least not as impressed as simon. she looked really aloof to me.

robert sullivan-- singing dancing in the streets. needless to say it dosen't make me want to dance, and he really needs to make some friends or something. poor kid.

8:21 > ok i have decided not to comment on the insane amount of bad people...its just too much

michael liuzza -- he is kind of fun but we also thought john stevens was fun last season and look how that turned out. i like his personality though.

simon's comment about antiques road show and paula...lol! its so true paula hemming and hawing around it...just give em the damn answer!

8:28 > ok so i said i wouldn't comment on the bad people...leroy? WTF is he saying? he has frickin ADD or something...its like jeff's students that he deals with on a daily basis. this kid was talking about crunck juice or something and the best part was he was like "don't hate tha playa hate tha game" from my favorite "really bad" reality tv show.

8:40 > jeff johnson > very good. (all the republicans will like him, he leads a worship band) pretty boy. clay? clay are you friends with this guy?

8:49 > jefferson twins...i like them! (i am also going through a r&b phase)

rich and j.p...they are ok, too. i totally think they should have been through, but after i saw the previews it looks like they will be back. so i guess we will have to see tomorrow.

until then, daul, out.

new home

2005-03-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

this will be the new home of my idol blogging in some attempt to organize my posts (and my life). i will post this weeks reviews on the site later today. so for all my loyal readers (all 2 of you), don't say i didn't warn you.