Search This Blog

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Idol Rant 4.30.08

I read an article on Tuesday concerning Idol that speculated on what Fox thinks may be the reason(s) for the decline in ratings this season on Idol. According to the article, Fox is flirting with the idea that Ryan Secrest could be one of the reasons and is contemplating axing him from the show. What?!?!?!?! Ryan Secrest does his absolute best to hold it all together. Who else could have carried on with the show after the coke head Paula flub halfway through Tuesdays' show? What has really brought down the ratings are the worn out themes and too long episodes. People get tired of sitting through themes centered on artists that were popular 30 years ago while the judges blast the contestants for being old fashioned. Duh! Also, there is no need for the results show to drag on for an hour. If you cut the celebrity performances, contestant medleys (ugh!) and the Q&A session the results show would be 30 minutes. Music that has been released in the last decade and a show that moves quickly, that is what the viewers want. Leave Ryan alone!!

The Best

David Cook - "I'm Alive" & "All I Really Need Is You"
Is there anyone out there that is surprised that I picked him as the best? Probably not. He is, hands down, the most polished and commercially viable contestant left. The judges spend all their time pimping RoboDavid which is fine because we need Lizard Lips to win so that he can sing the drivel that Idol usually makes each winner put out on their first CD. That will allow David Cook to release something that he can be proud of (and I will definitely buy).

The Worst

Lizard Lips - "Sweet Caroline" & "America"
Proof that the judges are pimping him to be the winner of Idol 7?... He gets both of the most well known Neil Diamond songs? Give me a break! First, "Sweet Caroline". This was just creepy. He made the song unrecognizable and gave me the willies singing about touching a girl. Ewwwww. He definitely knows nothing about that. "America" was raspy and forgettable but he made sure that he draped himself in the flag (the easiest way to guarantee votes). If David Cook did not need this kid to win, then I would wage a huge campaign to get this lip licking freak kicked off the show.

The Rest

Syesha Mercado - "Hello Again" & "Thank The Lord For The Night Time"
Syesha got the order of her songs wrong. She should have closed with "Hello Again" which she did the better job on. She showed personality on "Thank the Lord" but she spent way too much time yelling in the middle of the song.

Brooke White - "I'm A Believer" & "I Am...I Said"
The first song was a little karaoke but it was not the nightmare that Simon labeled it. I really enjoyed her second performance. It was one of her best from the past month or so.

Jason Castro - "Forever In Blue Jeans" & "September Morn"
I thought the first song was wonderful. He is just so much better when he plays guitar. I also loved him singing in a lower key. The second song was a little rough but I still love him. :)

Should Go
Lizard Lips or Syesha

Will Go
Syesha Will she dodge the bullet again this week? Will Jason stay lucky or will this be the end of the road for my favorite stoner?

Dial Idol Predictions
Safe: Syesha (top vote getter according to DialIdol?) and David Cook.
Bottom 3: Lizard Lips (Yes, the nationwide backlash has finally started!), Jason, and Brooke. :O(

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Idol Rant 4.23.08


The Best

David Cook - "Music of the Night"
THE BEST OF THE NIGHT. Period.

The Worst
Brooke White - "You Must Love Me"
This is my favorite song from any musical. Madonna's performance of this at the 1997 Oscars was heartbreaking. Brooke's performance also broke my heart but for completely different reasons. While I agree with Simon that she had to restart given that she forgot the words, forgetting the words is just not allowed in the Idol world. You can not break the golden rule. This song was also too powerful for her. I think that Brooke is one of the 3 most talented people left on the show and I am afraid that this may have been the swan song for her. Hopefully, if she does get the boot, she will still be able to find a career in the music business. I would certainly love the opportunity to purchase her music.

The Rest

Lizard Lips - "Think of Me"
You could actually see the little wheels turning in his brain while he concentrated on keeping his eyes open and not licking his lips. For a contest that the powers that be obviously want to win, they sure don't bother to give him a lot of face time on the camera while he is performing. Yet again tonight the camera spent a lot of time swooping around the orchestra and the audience. As usual the Archuletar wheezed his way through to praise from the judges and teenage girls everywhere.

Syesha Mercado - "One Rock & Roll Too Many"
Not to get too Paula on you but she looked much better tonight. I prefer the slicked down hair. She showed more personality than we are used to (which is none) but I still thought she was over the top. The judges thought that this was the perfect theme for her. Maybe I will get lucky and she will go ahead off to the lights of Broadway this week and spare Brooke.

Carly Smithson - "Jesus Chris Superstar"
Carly also decided to bring the personality this week and it almost worked. She would have been much better if she had not resorted to screaming in the middle of the song. Although, I am really starting to think that she can not help herself. It is just something that she must do. Overall, I enjoyed her performance more than I usually do.

Jason Castro - "Memory"
When I read on TMZ before the show that he would be performing this song it gave me the cold chills. I could feel the disaster coming. The hot mess that I expected did not arrive. This was an okay performance. There were some rough parts but he held it together. He could have been better if he had stuck to what he knows and brought out his guitar. :)

Should Go
Brooke or Syesha

Will Go
Brooke I don't think that she will be able to make it through singing herself off to "You Must Love Me". I don't think that I will be able to make it through either.

Dial Idol Predictions
Safe: The only person they have marked safe is David Cook.
Bottom 3: Jason, Brooke and Carly (the lowest number of votes according to their
system).

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Idol Rant 4.16.08



Oh, the horror that was... Mariah Carey week. I do not understand how Idol can criticize contestants for 6 seasons for attempting to sing the songs of Whitney, Mariah and Celine then turn around and force them on the contestants this season. This was not fair to any of the Idols. Why Mariah Carey? Just because someone has had a successful career does not mean that a theme should be devoted to them. Mariah's dog, J.J., was cute though. :)

The Best

Jason Castro - "I Don't Wanna Cry"
It started a little rough but once again my favorite stoner kicked up his game a notch this week. His voice was much stronger than anything that he has shown us before. He showed much more range and seemed very comfortable on stage this week. His look was more polished this week as well. Should make it through this week.

David Cook - "Always Be My Baby"
When I read that this was the song that David was going to sing I was very afraid. Guess I didn't need to be. USAToday's Idol Chatter predicted emo-rock at it's finest this week from him and they called it. It had a very dark almost scary quality to it but it worked wonderfully. This was very far removed from the original once again proving that this boy can sing (as long as he stays away from the really low notes). Someone in the audience held a sign that read, "Hello.... Is it me your looking for?" which was cool. Hopefully, he will sail through this week. I am ready to buy his album now. Right now.

The Worst

The Archuleter - "When You Believe"
This song was from The Prince of Egypt. It is a horrible movie and this is a heinous song. If you have seen the movie, then you know that I am so right. What better thing to do with drivel like this then to throw it to Weezy to huff and puff his way through. At one point I actually thought he might pass out from lack of oxygen. It was very appropriate that his lizard lips routine made a comeback this week since the judges once again insisted on giving him a tongue bath while pimping him to the audience.

Syesha Mercado - "Vanishing"
I have never heard this song before so based on what Syesha shared with us tonight it consists of the words "vanishing" and "whoa-oh-oh" and lots of yelling. She never seems original because she is not.

Carly Smithson - "Without You"
I disagreed with Randy on this one. The beginning was controlled and very good then she panicked, went into Mariah mode, and screamed out the end of the song. Sigh. They also showed her freak of a husband this week. Maybe the theories that they are showing her husband in order to help get her the boot are true. She certainly didn't do herself any favors this week.

The Rest

Seabiscuit - "Forever"
Not her worst performance and not her best. Over all it was pretty good. She could release this version to radio and it would probably be a hit.

Brooke White - "Hero"
This was once again a consistent Brooke performance. She brought back the instruments and made this song her own. There was the stumble with the piano playing towards the end of the song, but good over all. I did not get the hamburger analogy from the judges.

Should Go
Syesha or Carly

Will Go
Syesha or Carly Though I would not be opposed to Lizard Lips taking a walk (I know.... it's never going to happen. That's okay. He can win and then release one album before getting dropped from the label like previous Idol winners that have come before him).

Dial Idol Predictions
Safe: David Cook, Lizard Lips, Jason Castro and Seabiscuit.
Bottom 3: Carly, Brooke and Syesha.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Idol Rant 4.9.08

This week I took the liberty of adding links to clips on You Tube that pertain to a few of the contestants. If you choose to watch the clips and the links do not work, simply copy and paste the link to your browser (my email was not cooperating so I am not sure if they will operate or not). If you are one of my coworkers then I, of course, encourage you to send this home and watch the clips there. ;O)

The Best

No one gave me the chills this week with an awesome performance so I chose not to pick a best. However, you should put on your seatbelt because there could be a few surprises below...

The Worst

Syesha Mercado - "I Believe"
Last week she attempted Whitney and failed so, of course, she decided that she could better Fantasia this week and break the cardinal rule of Idol. If you can't sing better than a previous Idol then don't attempt one of their signature songs. Guess what? She is no Fantasia. Fantasia made this sappy drivel believable. She came from nothing and this show truly made us all believe that she was star material. Fantasia felt every word of this song. Syesha is not capable of showing emotion or personality in her songs because she doesn't have a personality or any emotion. If Syesha didn't want to be compared to Fantasia then she should have picked something else to sing. Maybe if she had danced the bobo then her performance would have been better. Watch the clip or Fantasia on the attached link and you will see that this was truly one of the worst of the night. Link to Fantasia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DercnakDhp0. What's next "Summertime"?

Carly Smithson - "The Show Must Go On"
There were more bad notes in this then in everything she has sung on Idol previously added together. It started off okay but quickly descended into stink eye shrieking. She and Michael should have traded songs. He could have shown her how to do Queen right. And Carly, please do not blame Simon for your poor performance. He sits with his arms crossed and stares at every contestant that gets up there.

The Rest

Michael Johns - "Dream On"
What was up with the ascot two weeks in a row? He obviously got the memo that this is the newest fashion trend. Unfortunately, he should have switched songs with Carly. He did an okay job with the song until he got to the high notes in the chorus. He is definitely no Steven Tyler. He doesn't have the lips or the pipes!

Jason Castro - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
He made improvements to the Israel version of the song. He was much better this week. Stronger vocals with less awkwardness. He will never belt it out but then that is not his style. He is a simple singer and an awesome musician. I also dug the ukulele. :)

Seabiscuit - "Anyway"
***SHOCKER*** She is not on my worst list this week. This was probably her best performance this season though that would carry more weight if she was not usually so bad. When I heard on Matt & Ramona that she would be singing Martina, I immediately envisioned the bleeding eardrums that were sure to come. She was surprisingly not as bad as I expected except on the really high notes. She is trying to become this season's Scott Savol.

David Cook - "Innocent"
What happened? During the beginning of the song, when he sang in his lower register, he was completely drowned out by the music. This was not his best and a definite falter. I could have also lived without the pandering to Idol at the end of the song with the "Give Back" message written on his hand. Despite all that, I still love him. If you are wondering what the orange band was on his hand for during the song then check out the story on You Tube (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyluBJsKB8g) and you will become as big of a fan of him that I am. He should have enough steam from his earlier performances to carry him through this week I hope.

"Lizard Lips" Archuleta - "Angels"
Despite the praise from the judges there were some bad notes. I thought the beginning was way too raspy. He was much better once he powered through the wheeze. He seemed to sing a lot better at the start of the competition when he spent the majority of the performances licking his lips. The producers noticed his odd habit and have obviously been working with him to put a stop to it. You could almost see the wheels in his brain spinning as he concentrated on not licking. Thank God that some habits are hard to break since the tongue made a comeback this week -- 3 times! For those of you that have not yet noticed the lip licking issue, I have attached a link to a clip on You Tube that shows David's lizard boy tendencies (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puyYi0rH8jQ).

Brooke White - "You've Got A Friend"
This was a consistent Brooke performance. As usual, she seemed really out of place without an instrument to stand behind. Obviously someone with the show keeps convincing her that she needs to mix it up and perform without the guitar every few weeks. She should ignore them, take a page from the Jason Castro rule book and simply pick and sing songs that she wants while playing along. That is who she is and we all like her better that way.

Should Go
Syesha or Carly

Will Go
Syesha I have given up on the ouster of Seabiscuit at this point. Syesha was the worst this week and she deserves to go.

Dial Idol Predictions
Safe: David Archuleta, Jason Castro and Seabiscuit.
Bottom 3: David Cook (no!), Syesha and Carly.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Idol Rant 4.2.08


They should have done Dolly week years ago. It was great to watch Idol and actually hear songs that I have never heard on the show before (except "I Will Always Love You"). This does scare me when it comes to Mariah Carey week though. Does that mean they will all sing Mariah songs? If they do, then I am not sure I will be able to take it.

The Best

Brooke White - "Jolene"
I gave Brooke bonus points for sticking to the original version of the song. There were a couple of rough notes at the beginning (and a weird echo from the microphone) but she settled in and the result was almost perfection. This was definitely right up her alley and I really enjoyed it.

David Cook - "Little Sparrow"
No surprise to all of you..... but I loved David Cook! He picked a hard song to sing (especially for a man), and did a really good job with it. There were a couple of bad notes but that is to be expected with the really high notes that he had to hit. I liked the softer quality to his voice and I ALWAYS love him playing the guitar. He should cruise on through this round.

The Worst

Seabiscuit - "Coat of Many Colors"
The Biscuit thought that her performance was going to impress Dolly. What!?! She might have been able to impress her mother (she has to like her since she gave birth to her) but I seriously doubt that Dolly was impressed. Another consistently bad performance from Seabiscuit. Hopefully the boys that are voting for her because she is "hot" will find their dialing fingers immobilized and she will get the boot that she deserves this week.

Ramamamamalei - "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?"
There were some really bad notes scattered throughout the performance and the beginning was really rough but she wasn't quite as bad as she has been lately. Her performance riled up my dogs and they decided to prove that they could outsing her about halfway through the song though. She is definitely better when not singing up tempo songs. None of that matters though because The Biscuit is overdue to go home.

David Archuleta - "Smoky Mountain Memories"
Obviously someone at Idol is getting a copy of the Rant because they made sure to take plenty of wide shots of the stage so that we couldn't count the number of times he licked his bottom lip and gross out teenage girls across the land. No Tongue Watch. :O( Weezy gets on my nerves, he is pimped by the judges on a weekly basis and he needs to go but not until The Biscuit is gone.

The Rest

Michael Johns - "It's All Wrong But It's All Right"
Michael turned this into a Blues song which actually wasn't bad. It was not my favorite performance from him, however, it did prove that he can sing.

Jason Castro - "Travelin' Thru"
He picked a great song for his style and he was much more comfortable on stage. He seemed a lot less timid then he has been. I like the slight island groove that he gave the song.

Syesha Mercado - "I Will Always Love You"
Syesha, Syesha, Syesha. I would have been able to actually respect you if you had stuck with the Dolly version of this song but noooooo..... you have to try to be a Whitney wannabe. Despite the power note that was meant to impress us all and garner votes, you aren't Whitney and you never will be so give it up. I gave you votes just to kick off you-know-who. If she had gotten kicked off weeks ago, like she should have, I would have been hoping that you were shown the door this week just for daring to be Whitney while working on my nerves.

Carly Smithson - "Here You Come Again"
One of my favorite Dolly songs of all time and I hated her arrangement of it. Slowing down the song allowed her to grace us with the stink eye 5 times. Ugh! Just sing the song like it was written. Dolly is a brilliant songwriter/artist whose career has spanned my lifetime and she really didn't need Carly to try to show her how it is done by dragging out a Clay Aiken version that even he didn't have a lot of success with despite the worship that he still receives from the Claymates. I totally agreed with Simon on the clothes that she wears on stage, though last week's dress was much worse than what she wore tonight.


Should Go
Seabiscuit

Will Go
Seabiscuit At this point I know it is pointless to beg. I just have to be strong and hope that common sense prevails and she is shown the door.

Dial Idol Predictions
Safe: David Cook, David Archuleta and Michael Johns.
Bottom 3: Ramiele, Jason Castro and rounding out the bottom... Seabiscuit (YES!)