Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Idol Top 10(21st Century Tunes)

American Idol…Top 10..Songs of the 21st Century….
    Of all the “Idol Nights”, this is one I have been looking forward to, since it is the ONE they seem to use every year. Not only that but my “East coast” connection gave me some inside info on who did what and that no one was really “an Idol” tonight. Here we go…
    First up, Lisa Tucker…doing Kelly Clarkson, “Because of You”…EEK…well, she tried….I bet Paula says she’s cute…Lisa gets the “sympathy” vote from me tonight. I like the girl, she has a great voice, but not with that one. …Country girl Kellie Pickler up next with some Sarah Evans….is it me or was it like a “Sing a long”….Kel was singing along with the backup….nothing really unique about that one either….judges…heard an “uh” from Randy….hmmm…the song did nothing for her….”Gimmicky, Rodeo, Lassoing”…from Simon….Ace is third…Train…”Drops of Jupiter”…like the arrangement…Ace, best of the night so far….however that’s not saying much. ..ok what is it with Paula and the “shirt unbuttoned” guys??....onto Taylor…”Trouble”…for me, it was alright. I don’t know the song, it showed his range, but the “interesting” night continues….hey, Taylor didn’t DANCE tonight….blessing in disquise? Hmmmm…Mandisa …with some Gospel…”Praise You”…she’s great on stage, strongest of the night vocally….judges disagree…ok reset…the contestants tonight are given the chance to sing songs that WE the people know via CD’s or radio, the SONGS of the 21st Century…of the five songs sung, I recognize three and know two pretty much by heart…something is not right, I’m sure you agree…ok, let’s see if the final five tonight do any better than the first five….Chris Doughtry next….the rocker continues to “Rock”…Creed, “What If”…Chris was one of the ones I picked a way back to be among the top and tonights performance does not change my attitude toward that…Katherine McPhee up next with Christina Aguilera, “The Voice Within”…lots of changes and lots of risk, she did a nice job with that considering who it was…the best of the night….Bucky up next…over the last few weeks he has gotten more comfortable “performing” on the stage and tonight he managed to do pretty good….rough night on Idol…Paris pulling out Beyonce, “Work it Out”…everything about “Idol” tonight seems “Ordinary”, when it should otherwise feel Exciting because the singers are being “Different”, aah, “A Little girl pretending to be Beyonce” from Mr. Cowell…Elliott closing the show with some Gavin DeGraw, “I Don’t Wanna Be”….Ell mixin’ it up…very nice…great arrangement…a good way to close an otherwise okay night….so the bottom three….here we go…..Kellie, Bucky, Paris – Bucky going home….
  I was gonna put Chris in the bottom three, which is possible, but not probable…

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Top 11 (Fab 50's)


  
    This week the contestants got the chance to work with Barry Manilow, who seems to be on his “lets go on all the hit tv shows” tour. (He’ll be performing on Idol tomorrow night.) First up tonight is Mandisa….”I Don’t Hurt Anymore”..well she picked the right song for her voice…came out strong, on key. A NICE start to the evening with some pop to it. Simon said it was a great “Stripper” song….HA! Bucky up next…”Oh Boy”, by Buddy Holly….this tune has the chance to go either way. He did okay, he managed to pull it off, the falsetto was a nice touch toward the end. Simon says a karaoke performance….solid constructive criticism, let’s hope he uses it…Paris has a “Fever” this week….she’s like a seasoned veteran….look out to the remaining 8 to perform tonight….wow….very comfortable with the crowd…Chris morphing into “Johnny Cash”…nice move to go with about 80% vocal, so far in this whole thing Chris is the one who has it the most together and is using the tools of Personality, Originality, and Memorability to his complete advantage...wow….Katharine with some Ella Fitzgerald…all I’m gonna say is if you put that on a CD and sold it, I would buy it…Since Bucky the night has gone WAY up…..Taylor Hicks…working out “Fade Away”…Buddy Holly….I’m jut happy it’s a “singing” competition and not a “dancing” competition….LOL….Taylor havin’ some fun on stage..and for the first time this season, using the crowd riser….not an amazing vocal choice….but he did his thing. I love the fact the crowd isn’t even letting Simon talk, they boo him….We all know how we feel about Simon, but he does tell it straight. Lisa Tucker last week as in the bottom three, this week…with the ‘50’s….”Why Do Fools Fall in Love”…not sure about that one…I wanna say she did good, but some of the notes…she had great energy tonight. Simon thinks he’s trapped in a High School musical….(maybe he should stay there)...Kevin Covais, one of my choices to go home last week is next. “When I Fall in Love”…and they put the kid in front of the judges….noo pressure…not at all…Kevin….little rough around the edges…the first to do a “slow” song tonight and the vulnerabilites came through…not sure about that one....but his “audience” is gonna eat it up. Elliott next…”Teach Me Tonight”…now I think Elliott has some of the best vocals this year, up there with Chris and Katherine and Mandisa. Did a great job with the song, lots of highs and lows…amazing. Simon says, “Fantastic!”…..10th is Kellie with some Patsy Kline…”Walkin’ After Midnight”..girl is in her “zone”….when Kellie is in her “zone”, look out….and she’s playin to the camera and playing to the crowd riser too..even having some fun with the judges…came to play tonight….wow…Ace closing the show….”In the Still of the Night”…changing the tempo…great “puppy dog eyes” song for Ace. LOL…man oh man….liked the falsetto ending…great rendition…no bottom 3 this week….
   My bottom three prediction: ok kids, here we go…Bucky, Taylor, and Kevin….Bucky heading home this week. I was wrong last week…Stay tuned…

Thursday, March 16, 2006

American In(What)er?



This evening I watched American Inventor, the new show by Simon Cowell on ABC. It’s like American Idol without the singers, but with inventors….Some of the inventions (Workout in a backpack) were great ideas…The “Tizzie” Tube was a BAD idea….some of the “Toilet” inventions were both interesting and completely disgusting….(where do they get these people?)
  The funny thing is we already have judges with perfect etiquette and two that are acting like Simon and Paula. Still have the last 30 minutes to go….All this for a million dollars toward your invention…..hey, at least it’s entertaining…some of these people are so serious about how great their invention is, when the judges say no, they are completely devastated…there have been a few that even surprised me with a few yes and go through to the next round (contestants need 3 of the 4 judges to say yes).
  The four judges are “experts” in their respective Inventing fields, and there is a “Brit” in the group….(I’m sure Simon had something to do with that.) Again, it was entertaining to watch….JP

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

American Idol Top 12 (Songs of Stevie Wonder)



Aaaah, the Top 12…bigger stage, more lights, more pressure….and ONE Catalog to choose songs from…Stevie Wonder’s catalog…..time for some reminiscing…THIS is American Idol…(Sorry, couldn’t help it)….Up first tonight is Ace(also #1)….HA!
  Stevie : “Do I Do” – As Randy would say, he DID his thing…a tad rough in the beginning, but tough tune to sing. Lots of changes. Paula’s judgement was right, he entertained.  Up second. Kellie Picker doing Blame it On the Sun…(I’m not real familiar with that one.) Poor Kellie, out of her element, doing her best, she’s very monotone, no range, little emotion and no fun…(I was bored). She’s actually crying on stage as if she knows….unfortunately, she’s my first choice of the night to head home…but hey, she got the shoes on sale! LOL....ok..Ace was off, Kellie was WAY WAY off…how is the rest of this night going to go since I thought the above two were two of the better people this season….(I’m concerned)…Up third, Elliott Yamin, “Knocks Me Off My Feet”….nerves tonight are getting everyone….seems like as Simon would say, “A Bad Cruise ship show”…don’t know….wow…showed a little flavor at the end…rough night all around so far…it was “good”, but here…now you need to be “great” and I haven’t seen that from many contestants this season yet….Mandisa at #4…(performing barefoot care of Ryan Seacrest)…”Don’t You Worry About a Thing”…girl came to play, and laid it down..(better than the first three)…one of her better performances on the show….she was the first person to show some “personality”…as Randy said, “Stevie songs are tough”. #5, Bucky Covington, “Superstitious”….he’s definitely having fun with it. Sounds good too, minimal nerves through the tune…but seemed…again…okay. Not GREAT but okay and safe….#6 Melissa with her first ballad and first dress on idol..Melissa McGee, “Lately”…another rough tune…pulled it out though, you could see her “winces” during the song. The first girl to forget the lyrics on the BIG BIG stage….:) I agree with Simon, it was edgy, possibly even unexpected from her, which is part of the “Wow” factor..and I’m not just talking about the dress….one of the “kids”, Lisa Tucker doing, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”…the ladies are doing okay tonight…she was grooving on stage. She definitely has the voice. “Personality” in the contestants tonight is tough with these tunes. Lisa did a nice job. Simon says she took control of the stage and she was the first person to take the stage, I totally agree with that statement. .Kevin up at #7…Kevin Covais, “Part-time Lover”…”Mr Facial Expression”…again the nerves, it’s as if they’re all getting sucked into a vacuum. Interesting and enjoyable, two great words from Randy. Kevin putting Simon in his place…”I wasn’t expecting much from you.”….Katherine McPhee, “Until You Come Back to Me”…for some reason I like the “bands” arrangement of this song, she did a great job of singing it, however not a lot of personality with that one…she kept it pretty straight. Vocally is solid, probably one of the best this year vocally, the nerves did not get to her tonight. Taylor Hicks, “Mr Harmonica” meets Stevie Wonder….”Livin’ for the City”..Taylor is in the process of setting the bar for the men tonight…he’s workin the stage, no nerves, just as long has he doesn’t dance….LOL….Personality and the “Wow” factor for the first time tonight, and it doesn’t feel forced….Taylor is here to play….WOW! SIMON, “Every Dad Who Has Got Drunk at a Wedding and got on stage, the only difference is, YOU can sing”….another Simon classic….Taylor BEST of the night so far….aaah, Kid#2, Paris is 11th tonight. “All I Do”…girl singing with emotion, it would have been nice if the night started out like this….she was great! The girl is only 17 and she was an “Old soul” on stage tonight…wow…Simonism #234 “Your like a little doll, just wind her up and off she goes.”..she’s rollin’ acapella to the crowd….she’s gonna be one to watch with that room full of energy…Chris to close the show….”Higher Ground”…great vocal, not a fan of the arrangement. High energy close…Simon said it was a “Real World” example, and I agree.

Idol thoughts: Going Home tonight….and I really do like her…unfortunately, I think is Kellie Pickler…it just didn’t go right tonight for her. Ace showed some vulnerability.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Idol (Guys) Top 8

Last week it was whittled from 10 to 8, the mens choice of song far surpassed the women as far as songs I actually recognized and some of them were quite good. Chris, Mr “Bon Jovi” was the one too beat. Will that change this week. Gedeon up first with “When A Man Loves a Woman”…he’s showing some nice range, seems very comfortable on stage. He came to play….he brought some soul tonight..and Gedeon aka “Mr Eyebrows” is “growing on Simon.”..not a bad start. Chris with some Seether….doing “Broken”…definitely has the rock thing going, nice emotion, he was solid. Simon thinks he needs to be more entertaining and the song will be forgettable. We’ll see…Kevin rolling out with a ballad…Starry, Starry Night…voice was great, and Simon says, “in the same way watching puppies play, it was juvenile”….he’ll have the “Granny” vote….(Kevin may have missed his mark and be headed home). Bucky going country next….ooh, shocker..the guys know who they are and are better in touch than the women…he’s got the “Bucky” thing goin on. (and Bucky may be ridin’ on into the sunset). We’ve seen 4 men so far, and I’m not feelin’ it. Last night was different, not sure about this year. Will is next…JT…aaah, nerves, the second half was better than the first. If Paula says, “The thing I love about you” ONE MORE TIME…Paula says, “All the guys are stepping up tonight”, I wanna know what she is smoking….(you can send him home too)…Taylor Hicks up next….with some Michael McDonald….uptempo…sounds good but boy’s gotta learn how to dance. It’s not pretty….Gettin into it…best tonight so far…someone raised the bar and his name is Taylor Hicks…Simon agrees…Elliott with some Bryan Adams “Heaven”…did a nice job,  sounded great. Simon thought it was a copout and he was uncomfortable and Paula thinks everyone is great….perhaps I need to share my Nyquil…Ace wraps up the show…what amazes me is you put up this guy last and he is INCREDIBLE as a singer and makes everyone else look “NORMAL”…he brought it tonight doing some Michael Jackson…overall I think one of the best of the night.  Tomorrow who will go home…we’ll see……--JP

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Idol Happenings(Women Top 8)


OK, kids, another week the top 8 Women….let me mention this is the first time I noticed there is only one BLONDE in the Top 8….that would be Kelli. Paris kicked off the show with a nice rendition of some Miami Sound Machine, followed by Lisa and what I would like to dub an “Eh?” song….sounded decent, but don’t be surprised if she is gone Thursday. Melissa kicks third with some Heart, with some overdone makeup. (Simon thinks it was a bad performance) – she did seem pretty nervous though. Kinnik is fourth “trying” Alicia Keys, she has the lower range for it, and she managed to pull it off to my ear, but I’m waiting for some scathing Simon comment. All three judges thought she was a mess, she may be headed home. It was aaaight. Katherine at five tonight with her range and Oh My GOD….an appropriate song….sounds to me like she is the first one to come to “play” tonight….a risk and she pulled it off, all three judges agree…best of the night so far, which is rough considering there are only three left and I know there is one bullet, at least, left in the gun and her name is Mandisa. My Mom has a 57 inch projection tv who said if she keeps kicking out the tunes, she’ll have to upgrade to a 63 inch tv. Ayla with some Natasha Beddingfield, very current and known song, and she sounds good performing it, she’ll be back after Thursday..however it was a “safe” song for her, nothing special with the vocals…all three agree it was “good”. But she towers Ryan Seacrest in the interview section….Mandisa with the Chaka Khan…I’m Every Woman, great range, which we already know, seems pretty effortless too, no nerves…Randy thinks Mandisa is the one to beat…Paula agreed as did Simon…Kellie is last, which means she can be “ordinary” like everyone else or step up to the challenge…..we’ll see what happens after the break..(sorry, couldn’t help it)…she’s rockin’ to Melissa Ethridge…with some emotion, she came to play too! Simon called her a “Naught little minx”…which I guess is a compliment. So again, song selection tonight…for the “players” their songs were great, for the rest it was “ordinary”….does that make any sense?  Guys tomorrow night….

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Idol Men(Top 10)


    Aaaah, another night of Idol, lets see how right the judges are this evening. (Another DVR, real time night)..Contestants choose their own songs…if that happened last night, it explains A LOT! Taylor is up first..some Commodores, Easy(Like Sunday Morning)…vocals are a tad shaky, pulled it through in the end and threw some personality into it. (Bo Bice in the crown tonight) aaah Simon, “The old Wrong Choice of Song” line….slightly familiar….(not overused at all). Next up Elliott, ooh a song from E.T…..(kidding) going a little soulful tonight with some Stevie Wonder.…sounded about ¼-1/2 crooner to me. Not bad. A standing O from Randy…Simon said it was the wrong….no…the said it was a great performance. He needs to raise the bar, for sure. Look out ladies, Mr. Camera to make you melt is up….Ace..with some D. Bed, aka Daniel Beddingfield…going for the falsetto, a little rough. He took a risk and did well. Simon things he won’t be happy with his vote back…(got some boos). However Simon does seem to know what he’s talking about…I don’t think Ace is going anywhere. Okay eyebrown man is up, Gideon, has some good range…whoa, someone came to play tonight….Simon giving him some props…Kevin in at #5, some Marvin/Heard it Through, if he didn’t “bounce” up and down he would have sounded better, but he ended it nicely. He had a great time performing. Simon’s streak of one compliment is broken once again….Another Stevie tune..”Sway” had the ladies swayin’ but not the judges…he may be in the bottom two tomorrow night for the guys. Simon says there was no originality and he did it all wrong, I tend to agree. Wow, the men can pick songs…next up Will with some Kenny Rogers/Lady, showing some range and length. Someone else came to play tonight for the men…some falsetto at the end…Paula said it was too safe, Simon says it was like an audition for “Cats”. I feel bad for Bucky because he does “Country” really well, pulling for some Garth, did it really well, took some risk at the start and pulled it off. Next up…Mr. Crooner, David…he “crooned” well, if that makes any sense, with some personality. David was in his zone, he needs to break out of the zone with some confidence, he seemed nervous tonight. Ending with Chris and some “Fuel”..he is hands down in my opinion definitely here to play. He has one of those “Rock”y voices, seems completely comfortable on stage, with some great vocal range.

  Judges tonight: Once again, pretty close to dead on. Simon seems to be getting “stale”, that’s all I’m saying about that.