New Blog

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Fake but still hot

Realityblurred.com reports this:

A photograph of two American Idol 6 finalists that is making the rounds online offers something a lot more interesting than Sanjaya to talk about: two male contestants who seem to have a very close relationship. However, the picture is not genuine.

The photo shows finalist Blake Lewis sitting on Chris Richardson’s lap backstage; has his arms around Blake, who’s carefully studying his phone or other electronic device.

Their images are real, but the original Getty Images photo shows both men in the same poses, just sitting in separate chairs, as a Towleroad commenter noticed. Someone with Photoshop skills clearly edited the two together using the original, which was taken on Feb. 20, as the source.

reality blurred

Top 9 - Tony Bennett/Standards

Blake Lewis - "Mack the Knife". It's pretty hard not to think of Clay Aiken singing this song. This was a great version when Clay sang it. Unfortunately Blake doesn't have the same kind of emotion that Clay had. It seems to be lacking some life. The song also showcases how weak Blake's voice actually is. It's a good voice but without the beatboxing there isn't much there. He could have done so much more. It was just a bleh performance. I think it could have been so much better. Grade B-

Phil Stacey - "Night and Day". I first hear this song last year and fell in love with it. I've heard it in so many different ways that it'll be interesting to see what he does. Hmm.. vocally he sounds awesome but again it seems to be lacking in emotion. As always, his high notes sound great. I just wish he would have put a little more into the performance. The song is all about passion and love but you didn't really get that from his performance. Grade C

Melinda Doolittle - "I've Got Rhythm". Do we really need to say anything more about Melinda? She's amazing and once again gives a perfect performance. She knows how to sell every song she sings. She can transition from soft and playful to powerful belter. She knows just what to do to each song to make it sensational. We all know she's going to win; we're just waiting to see who she's going to beat in the final 2. Grade A

Chris Richardson - "Mr. Saturday". I've never heard this song. It'll be interesting to see how he does with something I don't know. I'm liking this. This style seems to suit him really well. It's a little playful and his voice sounds really strong. When he suddenly throws his R&B side in the song really shines. You can tell that he was really having fun with it. I really liked it. Grade A-

Jordin Sparks - "On A Clear Day". I've never heard this song either. It's good and Jordin sounds great but it's lacking a little something. Maybe it's the just the song; it's a little boring. Vocally, she sounds great but it's not the best that she's done. She's still great. She's really becoming a front-runner. Grade B+

Gina Glocksen - "Smile". Again, another song I've never heard. This is a big departure from the "rock" style that Gina was trying to fall into. However, she sounds great on this song. She needs to hit some kind of big note though because vocally it isn't very challenging for her. It's a good performance but might be too much of a departure from her rocker side. How will people react? Grade B-

Sanjaya Malakar - "". Well, this is the type of music that he should be singing. It doesn't require you to be a strong vocalist, just that you can really sell the song. His voice is weak and all over the place but he can definitely have fun with a song and entertain. Finally, after a month and a half of being on the show, he's starting to show some confidence. I think this may be his best performance yet. It was entertaining (but not necessarily good to listen to). Grade C

Haley Scarnato - "Ain't Misbehavin". The performance was just ok. To me it felt very karaoke/cabaret/broadway. It's a good song for her but she just didn't wow at all. I feel like there just isn't anything to say about the performance. That's not a good sign. I think this might be her final week. Grade C

LaKisha Jones - "Stormy Weather". Well, that was a great way to end the show. Once again, LaKiki shows off her big powerful voice and actually shows some emotion and personality in her performance. This will easily throw her back up to the top of the heap. Grade A.

Overall, I thought the week was good. There were some really good performances and we're finally starting to see the parity between all of the contestants. I don't think Tony Bennett really added anything to the show or helped out the singers at all. For being such a legend I dont think he really gave out any outstanding advice.

For the bottom 3 I'm going to Gina, Phil, and Haley. As for who is going home, I think it's going to come down to Phil and Haley. Phil has a great voice but has been having a lot of problems throughout. Haley has a good voice but seems to always be lost in the mix. She's really trying to work the seductress role but I don't think that's going to keep her in. It's really a toss-up but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Phil is the one leaving tomorrow. Haley will just squeak by for one more week.

Top 10: Pop/Gwen Stefani/Random Artist Theme

So here we go. The Top 10. The ones that are going on tour. I still can't believe that Sangina is going on tour with the group but what can you do.

LaKisha Jones - "Last Dance". Finally! It's nice to see Kiki having fun with a song again and showing some emotion when she sings. I've been missing this since the first week of the semi-finals. That was a great vocal, as always. Grade A

Chris Sligh - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". It was interesting that Gwen picked up on his rhythm challenges. I have to agree with her. I've noticed the same thing in previous weeks. He missed some words as well. He sounded alright vocally. Overall, it was ok. Grade C.

Gina Glocksen - "I Stand By You". Perfect song choice for Gina. Her voice fits nicely. She showed some great vulnerability and real emotion in her voice. Good for her! Grade A

Sangina Malakar - "Bathwater". You know Gwen was pissed when he came out singing her song. His hair pissed me off. His voice pissed me off. He forgot the words. He's a total joke. I don't like how not even Simon can say anything because it really doesn't matter. Grade T (Harry Potter grades. T for Troll)

Haley Scarnato - "True Colors". I love this song and am excited to hear how she sounds on it. I think her voice could fit this song quite nicely. Hmm. It's not as exciting as I thought it would be. She sounds nice but that's it, just nice. There's nothing that really wows me in the performance. I would have liked to hear more power behind the high notes to really highlight the lightness of her voice and the power behind it as well. It was just a pleasant performance. Grade B-

Phil Stacey - "Every Breath You Take". Another perfect song choice for his voice. He is finally able to hit the high notes without shouting them. He's still having problems of beginning the song. Once again, he seems to find the song in the chorus and takes off from there; but the first verse is a little shaky. Grade B-

Melinda Doolittle - "Heaven Knows". Melinda singing Donna Summer. Do we really think she's going to mess up? You know she's going to be amazing as always. The outfit is hideous though. Another strong, fun, perfect performance. She's in a totally different league from everyone else. Grade A.

Blake Lewis - "Love Song". It's an interesting arrangement, more reggae than how The Cure wrote it. I thought the song was acutally a little boring. His voice is really nice but he needs to start picking a little more popular songs. At first I liked that he was picking out of the box songs but now they may be too out of the box. He should start returning back to more mainstream stuff. Grade B

Jordin Sparks - "Hey Baby". What? Why this song. There's almost no real vocals in it. Well she does add some musicality to it but it's still a horrible song choice, especially after coming off two really strong weeks. I guess it shows she can really sing different things. Horrible outfit too. She looks like a picnic table. Grade B

Chris Richardson - "Don't Speak". I'm surprised that Chris has the pimp spot. I'm surprised though. He actually sounds good on this song. He surprised me. I loved his R&B take on it. I think it could actually be a good R&B song. I'm looking forward to hearing his studio recording of it. It was good. Grade B+

This was an ok week. I felt like some of the song choices were pretty random and the No Doubt songs, for the most part, didn't work on this show. Gwen didn't really offer that much advice that really helped the contestants.

I think the Bottom 3 will be Chris S., Haley and Phil (unfortunately, I just don't think Sangina is going to be in the bottom although he deserves to be the one that goes home). I think Haley will be going home but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Chris S.

Sanjaya McPhee?

TMZ.com has a little article about a mystery designer that came up with this ideal album cover. Yikes!

The sad part is that Sanjaya's hair really does look like that.

Seriously, he's completely the laughing stock of the show and is bringing it down. He needs to go. Everyone make sure you vote for anyone except Sanjaya next week. We've all had enough.

The Cryer Revealed!

My favorite part of last night's show was not any of the contestants, but the little girl that was crying hysterically when Sanjaya was singing. Believe me, if I was there I'd be doing the same thing. There's only so much torture a person can take before they begin to lose it. Anyways, LA Times has finally tracked down the little girl and revealed who she is. Here's what they have to say:

First things first: Who was the crying girl? After the show, I chatted with Idol’s newest superstar, the crying girl, Ashley Ferl, aged 13, from Riverside. For some long minutes after the show, Ashley remained in a state of inconsolable sobbing, unable to choke out a single word. However, through an interpreter (her mother) we were eventually able to learn some facts about the young superstar.

The family, I was told, obtained tickets on a website to attend a taping of “Smarter Than a 5th Grader” a day passage that included not just the taping of the show itself, but also the dress rehearsal of either “Grader” or “Idol.” The fates were kind, and the mother and daughter found their way to the “Idol” rehearsal, where Ashley’s waterworks began. Her prowess was quickly brought to the attention of “Idol” producers who summoned the clan to a ringside seat of honor at the final taping.

Her powers of speech slowly returning, Ashley revealed that while she was on stage she had been thinking that “this was the coolest thing ever.” Asked whom she was supporting in the competition she named “Sanjaya, Melinda, Gina and Jordin” as her picks, refusing to narrow her vote down to a single choice. All my journalistic powers of persuasion, cajoling, bullying and insistence that on her vote might turn the entire competition, that “Listen to reason, young Ferl, there can’t be four American Idols,” would not convince her to name a single favorite. To my every argument, she would only repeat her mantra, “All Four: Sanjaya, Melinda, Gina and Jordin.” And so the race begins in earnest, with tears at every step of the way.

Well, we'll see if she does indeed get called back. If she continues to cry I can see FOX giving her weekly seats just to make sure they get the tear factor in there. However, those tears could potentially keep Sanjaya in and we definitely don't want that. We'll see what happens tonite.

Top 11 - British Invasion Night

Here we are again. I was out of town last week and couldn't comment on the performances (no real surprises though). Now we're at the Top 11 for British Invasion night. What are the questions going into tonite's show: Will Melinda continue her dominance? Will Blake and CRich continue to be original? Will Haley be able to save herself with the performance of her life? Will Sanjaya stop sucking (and what the hell is he going to do with his hair)? Well, we're about to find out. As always, I'll be commenting while they sing so you're getting my initial response.

Haley Scarnato - "Tell Him". Wow, I'm actually very impressed with her tonite. Her voice has a nice clarity. She's having fun with the performance. She's able to transition between the low and high notes easily. She has definitely embraced who she is as a performer and isn't trying to be like Melinda and LaKisha. This was a really good performance from her, probably her best one yet. Good job! Grade B.

Interestingly, Lulu commented on her voice as not being a power voice but still having a place in the competition. I've always said that it's harder for women with the lower voices to do well because the belters always steal their thunder. While Haley doesn't have one of the lower voices her voice still isn't as strong as the belters. And yet, there is definitely a place for her here. She's the only one that has this kind of voice. There's a very pleasant clarity to it that makes it nice to listen to. It will be interesting to see if she can outlast any of the other women.

Chris Richardson - "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". I'm glad he tried to do a really simple ballad today. I was thinking that he needed to prove he can connect and sing a ballad since all of his best performances have been uptempo songs. This performance is ok, but a tad boring. He sounds nice and controlled, but it seems a little too simple. He needs to let loose a little and really connect with the song rather than just sing it. The last couple of notes were really pretty. Good way to end it but overall a bland performance. He'll be safe though. Grade B-

Stephanie Edwards - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me". I've loved this song since I first heard it in Season 4 when Nadia sang it. I'm excited to see how she does. Well, it's a little softer than I would have thought she would do. I don't know that I believe the longing that the song is supposed to convey. It does become more believable in the chorus but she's also starting to miss some notes here and there. Overall it was just ok. I think Nadia performed it with a lot more emotion and feeling. Grade C

Blake Lewis - "Time of the Season". I've never heard this song before so it'll be interesting to see what I think. Oh, I have heard this before. He has a talent for picking slightly obscure songs but making them work. The beatboxing is worked in but doesn't distract from the overall song. His voice was on during the whole song. Overall this was a great performance. I really think that he's going to end up being in the finals against Melinda. Grade A-

The interesting thing about Blake is that I feel like I still don't really know what his voice sounds like. All we really know about Blake is his beatboxing but I don't know if I could pick his voice out in the crowd when the guys are all singing. He's really going to have to pick a song that lets his voice really shine.

LaKisha Jones - "Diamonds are Forever". Once again, she sounds amazing but is still lacking something in the performance. She doesn't have that emotion that she did during And I Tell I'm Ain't Leaving. This is real "cabaret" performance (as Simon would say). She always sounds amazing but there just isn't that pizzazz that the others have. She needs to really have fun with a song again. If she continues this way she's going to be out right around 7th place. Grade B-

Phil Stacey - "Tobacco Road". Phil sounds great on this song. It's a good choice for him. However he seems to want to do the rocker thing with it and it's not really coming off correctly. Chris Daughtry would have really rocked this song out. But Phil's voice really works nicely with this song. He finally back to the vocalist he was during the semi-finals. Grade B

Jordin Sparks - "I Who Have Nothing". Jordin is getting stronger and stronger each week. Wow! She's putting a lot of emotion into this song but everything is so controlled. She is tearing it up! Damn! Jordin is quickly jumping into the front runner position. She's finally picking the right songs to show off what she can do with her voice and it's blowing everyone away. This was awesome! Grade A

Sanjaya Malakar - "You Really Got Me". What was with the shot of the little girl crying while Sanjaya was singing? That was funny. I can't believe he went for a rocking song. There's no way he can pull this off. Oh God this is so horrible! There really are no words. And why is that little girl crying? I am more interested in her than his performance. That's not a good sign. Grade F OMG, she's crying because she lurves him?! WTF! Then again, she's a young Marsha Brady lookalike. She doesn't know he's a gay homosexual.

Gina Glocksen - "Paint It Black". Good choice. Very rocker song. Ah she sounds great on this song. It's rocky but still has some singing elements to it. I love her look tonite. She really chanelling her best Ryan Starr with this performance. I feel like she's losing a little steam towards the end though. She needs to keep the rock going and didn't really do that tonite. It was a good performance. Grade C+

Chris Sligh - "She's Not There". Sligh has a very smooth voice. It's pleasing to listen to and can work in many different genres. He's doing a good job tonite. He's having fun with the song and performing. His voice doesn't sound strained at all. Everything is very easy for him tonite. Good performance. Grade B

Melinda Doolittle - "As Long As He Needs Me". I am not a fan of her new haircut. She looked much better with the longer hair. I love her gentle performance so far. It reminds me of something similar to Barbra Streisand or something of that nature. This was a very different, controlled performance from her previous ones. It showed a softer side of Melinda. Amazing job once again. She just continues to wow every week. Grade A

I loved the guests today. Unlike Diana Ross they actually had some good critiques and helped the contestants really improve. I hope the remaining guests will help out the same way. I actually liked tonite's theme. I didn't think it would be that great because I didn't recognize a lot of the songs but there were a lot of good performances. I hope that the contestants are realizing what they need to do to win and are going out there fighting each week.

Well the best performance of the night was Jordin (two weeks in a row!) Melinda came a close 2nd and Blake was 3rd. I think the weakest and my bottom 3 for tomorrow are Stephanie, Gina, and Sanjaya. I would LOVE to see Sanjaya go home tomorrow but I'm scared that won't happen until next week so that just leaves Gina and Stephanie. Of the two, I think Gina has the weaker performance but Stephanie will be the one going home.

I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Top 12 Full-Length MP3s

As Ryan mentioned below, AmericanIdol.com is now selling studio versions of the songs performed each week by the contestants. I think this is a great idea. My only question is are they going to get rid of the Season Compilation CDs at the end or are there going to be all new songs on the CD? Either way, these MP3s for $.99 are a great thing. We get to hear the full versions of the performances that we liked, plus we get to hear what each contestant will sound like in the studio. Of the 12, I have Melinda, LaKisha, Blake and C.Rich. Although I've only listened to each one once, I was very impressed with Chris' song. It's very disco-y but sounds amazing. It's a fun dance song that his voice is perfectly suited for. (Interestingly, I think he can only sing faster, uptempo songs. When he does ballads we are able to really hear the limits of his voice. That'll be interesting to pay attention as the competition moves on). Melinda and LaKisha both sound amazing on their songs so you know that their CDs will be stellar when they're finally released. And Blake's is a refreshing new take on an old song. I liked the contemporary feel to it. I'm looking forward to getting these each week. My iPod is going to fill up very quickly.

Similarities

Extended Length Audition MP3s

For the First time ever, you can get studio recorded full length versions of the songs you see on the show exclusively on Americanidol.com. The songs are available in extended MP3 format-works with iPod, iTunes, Zune, and all portable MP3 players. The clarity and quality is amazing. You've just got to hear it to believe it!

It's So Hard To Say...

Goodbye, my love.

Brandon never really recovered from the his downward slide during the semi-finals. Which really saddened me because I think he has a lot of talent. And by talent, I mean a sexy face. Oh, and a hot voice too!

I will miss him, but my devotion will continue to run with my girl MELINDA!

Top 12 Breakdown

Before we finally begin with the final 12 tomorrow night I wanted to take the time to give my little analysis of the Top 12 and who I think stands a chance to win it all. Unlike last year, I think there are only a handful of contestants that could realistically win this year. The rest are just filler until we get to that point.

Blake Lewis - I've been saying all along that I think Blake is a refreshing contestant. He's very current and is picking songs that are also current and radio friendly. He, along with Chris R., is the first true male "pop" singer in the competition and I for one love it. It's nice to see something different from the guys. Pros: He's different. He's picking songs that are out of the box and haven't been done on Idol before. He also beatboxes which allows him to add new elements to each song he does. Cons: The beatboxing has the possibility to get old. Plus, will he be able to rely on the beatboxing once the theme weeks begin? Beatboxing during "Love Song" week? Probably not.

Brandon Rogers - In Brandon's initial audition he showed an amazing soulful voice that I thought would sound very nice on the Idol stage. However, since then we haven't been able to hear that anymore. I think that Brandon is letting his nerves get to him and that's affecting his performances each week. On top of that, his song choices haven't been that stellar. If he wants to make the full transition from backup singer to front man he's going to need to come out swinging and just go for it each week. Pros: He's got a great voice that, when showcased on the right song, will blow people away. Cons: Lack of confidence and poor song choices thus far make him a candidate for an early exit. He really needs to gather himself and just go for it these early weeks.

Chris Richardson - Like Blake, I think Chris is a true male pop singer. He's also being very smart about the songs he's choosing and is able to make a song fit his voice and still make it sound fresh. Pros: Like Blake, he's different from the rest of the guys. He's choosing more current songs which allow us to imagine what he'd sound like on the radio. His good looks and winning smile will also help carry him in the competition. Cons: His voice is a little unusual. While I like it, I can see how some people will quickly be turned off and will start complaining that he has a nasal quality to it. There's a fine line that he straddles on sounding great and sounding nasal. Will he be able to walk that line through the whole competition?

Chris Sligh - Chris has the best personality of the whole bunch. He seems like a fun guy to be around. Not to mention he's got a good, soulful voice. However, after the week of the semi-finals he has quieted down considerably. Does he think his comments to Simon may have hurt him? Will we see his witty personality resurface now that he's made it into the Top 12? Pros: He has a great stage presence and looks like he really enjoys performing. He also knows how to pick great songs that fit his voice. This combination will serve him well in the weeks ahead. Cons: While he's picking great songs, the songs aren't really showcasing his full voice. I have a feeling he's got a lot more there that we haven't seen yet. He's going to need to start pulling some surprises or we're gonna get bored pretty quickly. He also needs to rely on his personality for some part. I feel that Chris is a lot like Taylor, in that he's more about stage presence and performing rather than pure vocal talent.

Gina Glocksen - Gina reminds me of Kelly Clarkson in a way. She's got a strong voice that's part rock and part pop. She's made some interesting choices so far in the competition and has been able to handle them pretty well. It seems like she can sing most genres and still sound different. Is she the next Kelly Clarkson? No. But she does possess similar qualities that made Kelly stand out. Gina really needs to work on belting her high notes instead of shouting them. If she can do that I think she'll do really well. Pros: She's different from the rest of the women. She's the only pop-rock singer on the women's side. Everyone loves a rocker chick and she fits that role this season. Plus, she's relatable which I think will help her out for a while. Cons: Because she's the "rocker chick" I think she's going to have a hard time selling the themes each week. While she'll be able to sing her songs, her look will probably be changing a lot and people will get confused as to who she is and what she's all about. She's going to have to find a way to still pull off each theme with her edgier quality. Plus, if she doesn't control her shouting she's going to tire out her voice as the weeks go on.

Haley Scarnato - Haley is the surprise of the top 12. I honestly do not know why or how she made it in because Sabrina is definitely better than her. Haley has a nice voice but there is nothing special about it (or her). She's going to have a very tough time making it through each week, mostly because we know nothing about her. She has no personality and is completely forgettable. I don't think I've actually remembered her each week until she comes out on stage and I think "oh yeah. Her." Pros: Well she's got a good voice that's suited for Broadway. There's a nice "clearness" to her tone that is pleasing to listen to. Cons: In a group where many others have already shone and stood out Haley gets lost in the crowd. Unless she pulls out the performance of her life each week I don't see her making it past the 12th spot. There's just too much talent and bigger personalities that she can't get by.

Jordin Sparks - Jordin is a ball of energy that is fun to watch on stage. Every week she looks like she's having a great time and doesn't seem to be affected by anything (which is amazing considering her age). She has a great, powerhouse voice that allows her to easily navigate through songs. Her stage presence is fun and engaging. Pros: Jordin has a great voice that should carry well in the competition. Also, unlike Lisa Tucker (who had a similar voice), she has a fun personality and stage presence. I see Jordin being very much like Diana DeGarmo. She can sing anything and will just have fun doing it. Cons: Jordin doesn't really seem to be aware of how good she really is. She has yet to figure out who she is as an artist and therefore her song selections have been a little erratic. She needs to figure out what's going to work best for her and really showcase the talent she has.

LaKisha Jones - One half of the divas, LaKisha wants this (and needs this). She came out fighting from the very beginning and quickly set herself up as one of the top contenders. So far, she's lived up to the expectations that she's set for herself. Her big voice and almost perfect technique gets you excited everytime she opens her mouth. She's such a nice woman, you can't help but root for her and hope that she does well. Pros: LaKisha is one of the best singers in the competition. She has a big voice that everyone loves to hear. America loves a good belter! With all of the success of Jennifer Hudson recently, LaKisha will be compared to her and will that wave far into the competition. Cons: She make have already peaked. Her first performance was so full of emotion that the next two performance just seemed to lack something. Vocally, they're perfect but her stage presence and emotion of the song left something to be desired. She's going to need to bring back that intensity from her first song or she could suddenly find herself unexpectedly gone, just like JHud and Mandisa.

Melinda Doolittle - The other half of the divas, Melinda is the front runner to win the whole thing. Everything about her just screams star. She has a humble, winning personality, a fantastic voice, great stage presence, and genuinely seems to be shocked at how well she's doing and being received by everyone. How can you not love that? That is what made Kelly Clarkson so much fun to watch. You can see her confidence growing each week. She's picking great song choices, and even when the songs are overdone on Idol she still finds a way to make them fresh and new. Pros: This girl can SAAAAANG! She has jumped from background singer to frontman with ease. Technically, she's probably the best singer in the competition. She knows her strengths and is choosing the right songs to highlight those Cons: Honestly, I can't really think of anything that she's got going against her. I think that if she continues to be shocked by everyone's reactions, the public may start questioning her sincerity. However, if she keeps exactly what she's doing now she should have no problem taking the whole thing.

Phil Stacey - In Phil's initial audition I thought he was ok, but nothing special. In fact, I was actually surprised that they put him through. But in the semi-finals I was really surprised with what I heard. Phil has a really soulful voice that lends itself quite nicely to ballads. He also has a good, commanding stage presence that almost lends himself to being the rocker of the bunch. Although he had a bad performance last week, I think he'll learn from it and bounce back this week. Pros: He has a great voice that's different from the rest of the guys on here. When he's on he's one of the best. As long as he keeps picking the right songs he'll do really well. Cons: He still has problems starting a song. It's always in the wrong key. Once he finally gets to the chorus he's able to pull it together and nail the rest of the song. People are going to become less forgiving of this as the show moves on. He needs to learn to start out on key and stay there rather than using the chorus to find the correct key.

Sanjaya Malakar - While it isn't a surprise that Sanjaya is here, I have to say that he doesn't belong in the Top 12. He has a good voice and a winning smile but when he's on stage he shows no charisma or emotion. All of his performances seem to be nothing more than karaoke on a bigger stage; and even then, karaoke singers get more into the songs than he does. Pros: He's got a pretty voice and is probably able to pull the teeny girl/grandma votes. Cons: While his voice is pretty, it lacks emotion and power therefore he isn't able to do anything with it. The fact that he feels he should have gone home two weeks ago isn't helping build his confidence (as evident by him looking down at his feet pretty much everytime he performs and has to stand in front of the judges). There really is no reason for him to be in this competition now (other than the teeny girls keeping him in). That being said, I see him staying for at least 3 more weeks, leaving the competition in 10th place.

Stephanie Edwards - I was very happy to see Stephanie make it through. I had a feeling she'd be fighting Sabrina for that last spot because they were very similar in styles. I think Stephanie has a great voice. Her voice, looks and stage presence remind me a lot of Fantasia (but Stephanie's voice is more accessible to people). Pros: She knows to sell her performances and sound good while doing it. She's got another powerful voice and knows how to use it effectly. Cons: Because she's another power singer, she's going to be competing with Melinda and LaKisha. Unfortunately, Stephanie isn't at the same caliber. She's going to have to try really hard to distinguish herself from the other two. As always, song selection will be the key with her.

So there you go. That's how I think everyone stacks up leading into tomorrow's Top 12 night. It's going to be fun to finally compare the men and women when they go head to head. Based off of the semi-finals alone I make the following predictions: Haley will be the first to go home. LaKisha will be a "shocker" elimination. Melinda and Blake will go head to head in the finals. Melinda will win it all. I am definitely looking forward to everything starting!

Top 12 Shocker

So the biggest shocker of the Top 12 reveal wasn't Sabrina getting cut. It was that Haley actually made it in! I was so sure she was going home and that Antonella would be in her place (based off of fanbase, not talent). I thought Sabrina and Stephanie would be fighting it out for that last spot (with Stephanie winning in the end). When Antonella got cut I got excited that Sabrina would actually make it in and we'd have a very deserving top 6 women. But no! Haley somehow made it through. Someone with decent vocal ability and no presence whatsoever was able to pull a major upset and make it through. Well, she's definitely my pick to go home first next week.

Top 8 Girls

This is going to be very truncated because I didn't have time to do it last night.

Jordin I thought did very well. I enjoyed seeing her perform a strong, upbeat song and still have fun with it. She's definitely one of the better women and should have no problem making it into the finals.

Sabrina sang a song that I've never heard and it was ok. There were a lot of pitch problems and I felt she was screaming a lot of the higher notes. This could put her on the bubble for tonite.

Antonella sucked ass. Enough said.

Haley was ok but to be honest I don't really remember what she sang. Simon was right in saying that he can't remember her because every week she's the one girl I always forget about and have to go back to find out who i'm missing. I'm pretty sure she's going home tonite.

Stephanie was good but not as good as the last couple of weeks. I felt she was shouting throughout the song as well and this will put her on the bubble with Sabrina.

LaKisha sang a song that has been done so many times on Idol but yet it still sounded great. Here's the thing I've noticed about her though that I think is going to start hurting her next week, she sounds amazing but there doesn't seem to be a feeling or passion behind the voice. After the first week when it was all passion she didn't really wow anyone last week with Midnight Train to Georgia. The sing thing happened last night. It sounded brilliant but lacked the feeling. If she continues to do this she's going to get bounced sooner than later.

Gina finally returned back to her rocker roots and it was refreshing to see. All along I've said that her voice reminds me of Kelly Clarkson's and I can see her heading in that direction. Although last night Gina's voice also took on a (weak) Nikki McKibben vibe so that's something she needs to watch for. She needs to keep her voice strong while still maintaining the rocker edge to it.

Melinda was AWESOME! again last night. Technically, she's the best singer out there. She's picking perfect songs that are different from each other. She's no longer a background singer. I loved that she walked over the background singers and lead them in the song. It was great to see. She'll be around for a long time in this competition.

Antonella and Hayley should be going home tonite but I still think Antonella's fanbase is big enough to keep her in. Sadly, Sabrina and Stephanie are going to be fighting for that final spot and there will be an upset when one of them goes home with Haley tonite but Antonella stays in. I hope Stephanie is the one that makes it through.

Look! I Can Live Blog Too!

I guess this is the "something crazy about me" night, according to LaKisha. I think it's crazy that they let Ryan Seacrest wear that black turtleneck...c'mon, Steve Jobs is the only one who can pull that off! Bold names are the ones I voted for.

Jordin Sparks - K.Lo Jr., throwin' the "rock sign"?, always had the nose piercing?

Sabrina Sloan - good, that's it

Antonella Barba - as Katharine McPhee says "Over It"

Hayley Scarnato - cheesy! sounds like a TV theme song from the Family Matters-era

Stephanie Edwards - LaToya London's (less pretty) sister ...looks, voice, etc.

LaKisha Jones - Whitney copycat, and I think she wears a wig because her hair always looks plastic/shiny

Gina Glocksen - YAY! exciting and fun! break up the divas! that's what a rocker chick is Nikki McKibbin!

Melinda Doolittle - I can't say how much I love her. I love it, I love it, I love it! Winner in my book!

Top 8 Guys

Blake Lewis - something by 311. I love the fact that Blake is actually choosing contemporary pop type tunes. Everyone is falling into the "Stevie Wonder/R&B" trap of singing the same damn songs that we've heard on every season so far. Finally someone comes along, knows exactly what his niche is and runs away with it. I've heard this song on the radio but couldn't tell you what it's called or what the lyrics are about, however I did enjoy the performance. Mostly I just enjoyed the mixing of the vocals with the beatboxing. It was seamless and sounded awesome. The song itself was mediocre at best but Blake did what he could to make it better. Grade B

SanGAYa Malakar - "Waiting On the World to Change" by John Mayer. Well he definitely out-gayed AJ this week. That hair has got to go! I love John Mayer, I hate Sanjaya Malakar. This was just awful. Sanjaya has a sweet voice but there's no power or emotion behind it all so everytime he sings you get that same uninspired quality. It always sounds like really bad karaoke (yep, I agree with Simon on this one). It's so far away from where everyone else is it's not even funny. Ugh! Grade F

Sundance Head - "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam. I've been waiting for 5 years for someone to bust out with a Pearl Jam song. They're my favorite band but I never thought anyone would do it because they're too rock for Idol. I was hoping Chris Daughtry would sing something but he never did. Finally, here it is. And..... it sucked so hard I can't even talk about it! There was no raw emotion that this song requires. He's just singing it. While I was watching I kept getting flashes of The Wedding Singer in my head. That's what he reminded me of, a bad wedding singer with mascera on. I'm so mad that the first Pearl Jam song had to be ruined by Sundance. Grade D+

Chris Richardson - "Tonight I Wanna Cry" by Keith Urban. As soon as Ryan said he was going urban I knew this was the song he'd be singing. And it's a good choice as well, especially after Ace sang it last year since they both have those higher, falsetto type voices. I thought Chris was a little off in the beginning but then really got into it by the mid section. I really enjoyed the runs that he added because it became a little more pop than country. While it wasn't his best performance I did think it was good. Grade B

Jared Cotter - "If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder. After hearing this song so many times before we get Jared's version of it. I gotta say, I wasn't really impressed, nor was I disappointed. It was just ok. Nothing special, nothing bad. He did miss a couple of notes with bothered me but otherwise it was just a performance. I feel like there's a lot of "karaoke" tonite. Grade C

Brandon Rogers - "I Just Want to Celebrate". I like the funk vibe of the song and I think it fits Brandon very well. However, I didn't enjoy the performance. The vibe of the song is cool, but the song itself was pretty boring. I haven't been impressed with Brandon's voice since his very first audition. Tonite didn't do anything to make me love him. Grade C

Phil "NosPHILatu" Stacey - "I Need You" by LeAnn Rimes. Once again, Phil has shown that he has problems starting a song and finding the key. You can barely hear his low notes and they sound all awkward. He has weird facial expressions at the beginning as well. Once he finally got to the chorus he was back in the right key but there were pitch problems all over the place. Just about all of the high notes were off and he was shouting most of them. This was a horrible performance. Grade D

Chris Sligh - "We All Wanna Loved". Chris knows exactly what he should be singing with his voice. Once again, he's picked a perfect song for himself. I thought it was a nice performence. The vocals weren't overwhelmingly awesome but they're the best we've seen so far tonite. He always looks so comfortable on the stage. Grade B-

So there you have it. The guys have finally finished and it's up to America to decide which of them will make it into the Top 12. If I had my picks I would only move Blake, Chris R, Chris S and Phil into the next round. I agree with the judges that only 4 of them should be in the final round.

Based off tonite's performance I think SanGAYa and Phil should go home. However, both of them are pretty unlikely (because Phil has actually proven himself in the previous weeks and SanGAYa unexplicably has a big following). So that leaves Sundance, Brandon, and Jared. All along I've had a feeling that Sundance was going to be going out at the #13 spot, just missing the finals so I'll stay with that. For the other spot, I think that Brandon has a bigger fanbase than Jared (based off of his initial audition) so I think Jared is going home.

My final picks for the top 6 men are Blake, Chris R., Chris S. Phil, SanGAYa, and Brandon.

And I'm Telling You, It's All Coming Back To Me Now

J.Hud + Meatloaf = ?

That's right, they have put together a duet by the name of "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be". I haven't mustered the courage to listen to it yet, mostly because I want Jennifer to succeed so badly.

You tell me, is it any good? And if it's not, will this be able to slide under the radar until her debut album arrives?

Top 10 Girls

Here we go. The women don't really have anything to prove now since they sang circles around the guys last week. But are they going to continue their dominance or will they take it easy this week? Will LaKisha and Melinda continue to be in a different league or will they come back to everyone else's level? It's going to be fun to see.

Gina Glocksen - I think Gina sounds great on this song. This song became really popular again because of Carrie and her outstanding performance in Season 4. Gina is great on this but not as good as Carrie. She lost a little of her power at the very end but I liked it. I'm still a little surprised at how strong Gina's voice is although she does have a tendancy to "blow out" her voice by the end of the song. She needs to watch the shouting vs. the singing during the power notes at the end. Grade B+

Alaina Alexander - Alaina is singing one of my favorite songs from last year, Not Ready To Make Nice. She started the song off well but when she got into the 2nd verse I feel like she lost a lot of it. The emotional part of the is supposed to be a little shouty but she missed those notes as well. She was pretty flat for most of the 2nd half of the song. It was just ok. Grade C

LaKisha Jones - Interesting. LaKisha sounds amazing on this song however it lacks some energy. When Paris sang this last year she blew the rough off with all of that energy. LaKisha is just singing the song but nothing more. Her voice is so technically perfect though. It's beautiful to listen to. She knows exactly how to work it with her songs. Grade A-

Melinda Doolittle - Wow. I love this one. Her rendition sounds like something Natalie Cole would do but still something totally new. I loved all the little nuances she did in the song. She definitely made the song her own. And her voice is spot on! Melinda has total control over her voice and knows how to change it up with her phrasing. This will probably be the best of the night. Grade A

Antonella Barba - What the hell is she wearing? We're back in the 60s? And then she comes out with a Celine Dion song? Total disconnect! She's basically doing the same thing she did last week. It's pretty evident now that her voice is pretty thin. When you've got fuller voices like LaKisha and Melinda, Antonella's wispy (but still good) voice really lacks. It's a little pitchy all throughout. Better than last week but the weakest of the bunch so far. Grade C-

Jordin Sparks - tough start for her. She was in front of the beat and pretty pitchy. wow, her voice is all over the place. As soon as she goes down to the lower notes her pitch goes off. She's mostly on in the mid range but her power notes were all over the place as well. Sadly, this is a huge mess compared to last week. This one could be even worse than Antonella. But I think her tears could help her. Grade D

Stephanie Edwards - ugh. I hate this song choice. I have no idea what it is but it isn't good. I can't tell if it's the song or not but Stephanie seems to be in front or behind the beat all the time. It's awkward. Really, the highlight of the song was just the very end. But compared to last week this was a really bad performance. Grade C+

Leslie Hunt - she chose the perfect song for her voice. Now you can really hear the velvety tone of her voice. I'm not sure how I felt about the scatting but the singing was really nice. I wish the song had a little more to it though. She sounded nice but it was an average performance. I think Simon is absolutely correct. Because her voice is husky and jazzy she can't really compete with the belters like LaKisha and Melinda. Grade C+

Haley Scarnato - Well, her voice isn't strong enough to drown out the background singers. Once they start singing you can't hear her at all. that's a problem. It was a good performance. She had fun with it but I think the song was too big for her. Definitely better than last week though. Grade B-

Sabrina Sloan - I kinda feel like she was shouting at times throughout the song. It definitely wasn't as good as last week. She brought it together in the end but there were a lot of rough spots along the way. She has a great voice though and I think she'll be safe for another week. Grade B-

Overall, I thought the women were actually weaker than the guys this week. I'm not sure if they felt they were safe bceause last week or what, but the songs they chose this week really didn't showcase their talents as well. The best were Melinda, LaKisha and Gina.

The two going home are Alaina and Hayley (Leslie Hunt is very close to being here as well). Jordin actually did the worst tonite but I think she's proven herself already that she'll get a free week. Hayley actually did pretty well but I dont' think she has a big enough fanbase to save her. Antonella should be going home but Vote For the Worst has her picked for the women. She'll probably be staying until the Top 12 unless you get out and vote for your favorites.

Top 10 Guys

Here we are again. The Top 10 guys are ready to sing and I hope they're better than they were last week. After seeing the women perform, these guys have a lot to prove tonite. I hope they're up for the task. Once again, I'm commenting as they sing. First up, our resident vampire NosPHILatu.

Phil Stacey - I can't stop looking at his pointy ears. He really does look like Nosferatu. Once again, he sounds great. He's got a good, strong voice but the song is a little boring. He's very comfortable perfoming and being on stage. It was a good performance, I just wish the song was a little more entertaining. Good job though. Grade B+

Jared Cotter - Great song choice for him. This song fits his voice perfectly. His voice is a throwback to the Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke type of sounds. It's missing a little of that soul that they had but it's still good. There were a couple of pitch problems and his voice was a little "rough" on some of the higher notes but overall another good job. Grade B

AJ Tabaldo - Huge improvement from last week. I thought he should have been gone and is lucky to be here now. I thought the intro was a little weak but as soon as the music kicked he found his groove. You can tell he did because he busted out with his gay dance moves once again. Girl, you need to keep those arms DOWN! Stop with the gay dancing! Grade B

Sanjaya Malakar - Whoa dude! It looks like it the battle of the gays. Sanjaya and AJ seem like they're trying to out-gay each other. What's gayer, AJ's dancing or Sanjaya's clothes? That's a tough one. Hmmm... he has a good voice but there's no real power behind it and therefore he can't do anything with it. He sounds fine but the performance is boring. There's no real emotion in his voice. It's a little pitchy at the end. Overall just a very average performance. Gosh, he even has no emotion or power in his voice when he's talking to the judges. Grow a pair dude! Grade C-

Chris Sligh - Yes! I love that southern, new orleans type of voice that Chris has. Great song to showcase his talents. I love that he's not trying to oversing the song, he's just doing what he does and it sounds great. Like Phil, Chris knows how to work the stage and sell a song. Again, I want to hate this guy but I can't deny that he did an amazing job tonite. Grade A-

Nick Pedro - I was a little doubtful when I heard he was singing Fever but he really pulled it off. I thought this was a really good performance for him. This was so much better for him. I kinda like his smoky type of voice. I am used to hearing Buble sing this with a fuller, stronger voice but Nick's vocals worked as well. He definitely pulled it off. Grade B

Blake Lewis - Hm, Virtual Insanity. That should be a really good song for him if he nails it. It's definitely the type of song that fits his style. He started the song very pitchy but finally settled into it. The vocals aren't as strong as they were last week but the song is so different from what everyone else is singing that I think he'll still do well. He definitely know what works for him. Plus the beatboxing added a lot to the middle of the song. Not as good as last week but I don't think he's going anywhere. Grade B+

Brandon Rogers - Ouch! That's a horrible start to a great song. He sounds like he's singing through his nose most of the time. This was a horrible performance compared to last week. I didn't like it at all. It was boring, didn't sound good and he had no stage presence. Grade D

Chris Richardson - I love that he's pulling out a Jason Mraz song. Like Blake, Chris knows what he's good at and strays from singing the same type of songs that everyone else is singing. I love his voice and he definitely had fun with the song. He got a little tangled with the words at the beginning but he didn't let that stop him. He sounded great with his full voice on some of those high notes at the end. This was a great performance. That's two weeks in a row for him. We finally have a real "pop" guy in the competition. I don't think we've had one yet. I'm loving this guy! Grade A

Sundance Head - He still has something to prove (i.e. like he can actually sing). Knowing that he's the Vote for the Worst pick means that the worse he does the more votes he'll get. I have a feeling that all of the criticism is getting to him now and he's losing all of his confidence. Will he be able to bounce back tonite or fall further? Well, it looks like he was able to shake everything off for this week. He looks almost like how we saw him in his audition. It was a good performance. I just wonder if he's got it in him to stay in this competition. Between all of the criticism and the birth of his son I think he may end up deciding to quit the show sometime in the future. Great performance though. Grade A-

Well the guys really took the lead from the women and stepped up their game this week. Overall it was a MUCH better week than last week. My favorites for this week were once again Chris R, Blake and Chris S.

The 2 that are going home (assuming Vote for the Worst doesn't screw things up) are Sanjaya and Brandon. This is an easy week. If anyone other than Sanjaya and Brandon go home it would be an upset.

Congratulations JHud!!

Awards season is finally over and JHud pulled it off! She took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I was so confident that she was going to win and had been rooting for her all the way. But when Eddie Murphy surprisingly lost his category I suddenly got very scared and didn't think they'd give it to her. But she did it! She won an Oscar for her very first movie. And I thought she gave the most heartfelt and emotional speech of the night. You can tell that she was truly moved. Congratulations Jennifer! I can't wait to see what comes next.

Separated At Birth?

Simon's favorite (and eventual competition winner) on Britain's X-Factor singing competition was the single-named Leona. When the Top 12 girls performed, one of his favorites was Sabrina.


So is it the voice or the look that makes a star? Simon says...

Top 24 Poll Results

Top 12 Girls

I'm excited for tonite. I can't wait to see if my theory about this Top 24 is going to hold out. I believe that the women have much more vocal talent then the men this year, but the men have a lot more personality (although they didn't really show that much personality last night). It's going to come down to America wanting talent or personality for their Idol.

Here are my scores for tonites performances. Once again, I'm typing as they perform.

Stephanie Edwards - I'm excited for Stephanie. She's my wildcard pick for the women. I think she has an amazing voice and can't wait to finally see her perform a whole song. Ooh, I love her voice. It has a bluesy, jazzy type feel to it. She has great control and knows how to work the stage. Wow, great performance right off the bat. She's keeping my wildcard dreams alive. I think she's going to do really well. Grade A-

Amy Krebs - She has a nice voice. There's nothing extraordinary about it but it's really nice. The performance was a little boring though and she did lose a little control on the runs but overall it was alright. I think it's just not as exciting because we've heard this song from Carrie and Constantine who both did a lot better with it. Grade C

Leslie Hunt - She has a very interesting voice. It's got warm husky tones to it that I wasn't really expecting. I didn't really like the way she performed it though because of all her "punk/rock star" movements that don't really fit with the song. The other thing is that this song will forever be ruined whenever I hear anyone sing it because this was the song that propelled Kelly Clarkson to the front of the pack when she performed it. No one else will be able to touch that performance on this song. Leslie did alright though. I'll be interested to hear her on a better song (Cher maybe?). Grade C+

Sabrina Sloan - Wow, she's got a powerful voice and she picked a great song to compliment it. I loved her playful attitude with the stage, audience, and camera. She seems to have done a lot of homework before starting the show and it's definitely paid off. She knows what she's doing and she's doing it in a big way. Awesome performance. Grade A

Antonella Barba - She comes out look like Mikalah Gordon singing God Bless the Child and it was a little scary but I loved the liberties she took with this song. I love the new r&b vibe that she gave to it. She has a good voice but you can tell she's still not as confident as the other girls. I thought she did pretty well, although I hated that she dropped to a lower note at the end instead of going for the power note. If she was more confident in her talent then i think she could do really well. Grade B-

Jordin Sparks - Wow. She has a great voice. She's going to be the next Diana DiGarmo. I'm wasn't really sure about the song at the end. I love me some Tracy Chapman but this was a little odd. However, she changed it up to fit her style and it worked. She showed off her huge voice at the end which i think she needs to showing a little more. Grade A-

Nicole Tranquillo - Ugh. I didnt like that performance at all. Not really sure why but her voice doesn't do anything for me. She has a little too much facial expression. It seems like she's trying to make it look like it's so difficult so she can say "wow, look at what I can do. These notes are so hard to hit." I didn't care for the song either. Grade D

Haley Scarnato - Well she does have a "Celine" type of voice so it was a good song choice, but it's nowhere near as good as Celine. There were a lot of pitch problems throughout. There wasn't a lot of stage presence but she was alright. She wasn't horrible but she wasn't amazing. Grade C+

Melinda Doolittle - I'm excited to finally see Melinda perform. She's an early favorite of mine and one of the best voices in the competition so I want her to knock it out of the park. Yes! She rocked this one. She's got a voice like Aretha/Tina Turner. She definitely knows how to perform and looks extremely comfortable on the stage for being a backup singer for so long. She had a lot of fun and sounded amazing! The crowd was so into it! Great job. Grade A

Alaina Alexander - I have no hopes for Alaina. I thought she was just ok during her audition and dreadful during Hollywood. I'm not sure what Simon sees in her so she needs to prove me wrong tonite. Well it was a good song choice for her. It fit her voice perfectly but she still had some pitch problems all throughout. She was better than I thought she would be, but still not good enough. It actually felt (as Simon would say) very karaoke. Grade C-

Gina Glocksen - Interesting. This is not the type of song I would have expected Gina to come out with. I guess because of her look I pictured her more as a rocker. It started out a little rough. I think she needs to work on her lower register because it's not as strong as it should be but once she hit the chorus her voice took off. She was shouting a little on the first big note but half way through it it suddenly clicked into "singing" and sounded great. She actually sounded a bit like Kelly at the end. I liked it. Grade B

LaKisha Jones - Here we go. I think LaKisha has the best voice in the competition and seems very humble about everything. I hope she doesn't change. I am very excited to see her perform the big song from Dreamgirls. Now everyone is going to see if she compares to Jennifer Hudson. Declared the winner now! LaKisha is DA BOMB! She sings this lighter than JHud but no less emotional or effective. Awesome! Grade A+

So there you have. The Top 24 have all performed and I have to say that my theory was proven correct. The women definitely outshine the guys. I have to agree with Randy in that I would only take about 4 guys through to the next round and keep all of the women. The real competition is in this semi-finals to see which women will be fighting for that last spot into the Top 12.

Based on the tonite's performances I think that the bottom 3 are going be: Nicole, Amy, and Alaina. Antonella should really be there but I think she has a big enough fanbase already that she may stay in for one more week. Who will be going home? Nicole and Alaina. Both were pretty bad.

And now that we've seen everyone I am predicting the final 2: My 2 pre-season picks held up. Melinda and LaKisha are your final 2 with LaKisha winning.

Top 12 Recap - Guys

1-866-IDOLS...

[+] got my vote
[!] should be worried

01: Rudy Cardenas [+]
Kicked off the real start of Season 6 and I think he did a good job. It's pretty much impossible to be the first person and get all positive feedback from the judges, because then they have no where to go but down. I like Rudy and did you notice that when he sings big notes he sounds a little but looks A LOT like Clay Aiken (one squinty eye, half smirk)?
02: Brandon Rogers [+]
Still my favorite singer even though he sounded a little bit out of it. Plus I have a crush on him.
03: Sundance Head [!]
Oh god.
04: Paul Kim [!]
I think Paul oversings everything and is lingering in the boyband era of the 90's. And the no shoes things has been done (and better) by Kelly Clarkson. Oh, and literal song interpretations really bug me ("guilty feet have no rhythm" then point to your bare feet!?).
05: Chris Richardson [+]
Alright, he's cute...we know! But he used "vicariously" (correctly) in his video speech. So cute! Ok, about his singing: I liked it! I think he was a little bit thin on the vocal overall but if he gets a couple of weeks in he'll gain confidence.
06: Nick Pedro [!]
Poor guy. He almost subconsciously sabotages himself. He seemed so timid.
07: Blake Lewis [+]
He said he was excited "with an exclamation mark". Well he looked G-A-Y with an exclamation mark. Don't get me wrong, he looked good. Just gay. Oh, and the song was great and he stood out head over shoulders above the other guys.
08: Sanjaya Malakar [!]
I'm heading into Perez Hilton territory with this remark, but can I am going to nickname him "San-gina". Ha ha. I crack myself up! I hope he's ready to join his sister at home. No offense, but man you gotta have SOME self-confidence at this point! You're in the Top 24! He looked at the floor the entire time Ryan Seacrest was talking to him...oooh, maybe he had a little crush.
-------------
The rest are safe. So if I had to choose, Thursday we will be saying goodbye to Sundance & Paul.

Other comments: Chris Slightly Large/Hurley (your choice) is being called the early favorite but I completely agree with Jesse that that automatically makes me not like him. Plus, don't start arguing with the judges yet. A.J. Tabaldo = Season 6 RJ Helton (quasi-gay, sensitive singer).


And Phil Stacey sounded good but he reminded me of someone...

Top 12 Guys

Well, it looks like Phil Stacey is indeed singing tonite so that means one of my favorites, Tom Lowe, is definitely out of the competition now. Too bad. But I expect we'll be seeing more of him in the future.

So tonite is the night that it all officially begins. I'm very excited to see how everyone does and to get the competition under way. I think it's going to be interesting because all along I've been saying that the guys aren't as talented vocally as the women but they have more personality. It'll be interesting to see how their personality comes out tonite. So without further ado, my critiques of the Top 12 Men. I'm writing this as they're performing.

Rudy Cardenas - I have never heard this song before but Rudy performed it well. He was definitely having fun on stage. I think he's got one of the better male voices but I did notice tonite that he doesn't annunciate very well. There were a couple of times that I couldn't understand what he was singing at all. But overall I enjoyed it. Grade B

Brandon Rogers - The opening was a little slow and boring but it finally picked up once the song got going. However, I never really got into it. He sounded alright, performed it alright and got the crowd to clap along but I dont' think it ever really "clicked" and took off as a great performance. He has a shot of making it into the finals but needs to pick better songs. Grade B

Sundance Head - I feel like Sundance has a lot to prove tonite because he had an amazing first audition but was horrible in Hollywood. The only reason the judges kept him in was because of that initial audition. Let's see how he did. First of all, I've never heard of that song before so immediately I was thrown off. But his awesome bluesy voice is completely gone. Instead we're left with some Meatloaf sounding voice that we've never heard from him. It's just ok but nothing extraordinary. His stage presence really lacked as well. It remind of Ruben shuffling his arms up and down each time he sang. Sundance looked really uncomfortable. He knows that he has a lot to prove and I think that pressure is getting to him. Grade D+

Paul Kim - Well the first thing I noticed is that his voice isn't very strong. The band was drowning him during the first half of the song. The second half was a little louder but it was really pitchy, especially when he started to go into the falsetto. I feel like Paul has just an average voice and nothing more. I thought that was a horrible song choice as well. There's nothing "star quality" about that song and not a song the crowd can really get into. And please put your shoes on! For a lot of people that don't like feet, seeing him on there without shoes (and constantly bringing it up) is kind of gross. Grade C-

Chris Richardson - Finally! Someone actually picked a good song and rocked it as well. His voice is different from the rest. He definitely has some nasal quality to his voice but he does sound like Justin Timberlake. It was nice to finally see someone really have fun their song as well. So far, I think he's been the best of the night. Grade A-

Nick Pedro - Wow, his opening notes were horrible. I'm not sure if he was able to hear the music or not but he came in completely wrong. It didn't really pick up from there. Coming in on the second verse he had the same problems. He was able to finally pull it together in the end. Overall, that was a really bad performance. His vocals were bad, the song was awful and there was little emotion. Another week like that and he's a goner. Grade C-

Blake Lewis - Tonite he looks like an old 80's british rocker (i.e. Morrissey). He's an interesting one. He's not the best singer but I actually liked it. I was glad he didn't beat box tonite and just focused on the singing. He seemed to be enjoying what he was doing and I think it translated well. I think that once he's get a little more comfortable in the competition he'll start mixing the singing with the beatboxing and really impress everyone. So far, only he and Chris R. actually sound like pop stars. Grade B+

Sanjaya Malakar - It's a good song choice for him. He needs to stick with this Stevie Wonder/Michael Jackson type sound as that is his niche. He has some pitch problems in the beginning but gets through it. Overall he sounds good but the performance is really lacking energy. He's got a smile that lights up a room but his entire performance was so boring. Grade D

Chris Sligh - I really didn't want to like this performance. People were already naming him as the winner and I feel there are better singers in the competition. However, this was the perfect song for his voice. He sounds great on it. It got the crowd engaged. You can see his experience with fronting a band coming into play here. He looks completely comfortable on the stage. He definitely had a good time. Best performance of the night. Grade A

Jared Cotter - It was a good song choice for him. He sounded alright until he got towards the end. He had some problems with some of the higher notes and I would have liked to see him try to sing them with a full-chested voice instead of a falsetto, in the head type of voice. The end was pretty bad though. And sadly, that's what we're left with. I think it's enough (just barely) to keep him in for another week. Grade C+

AJ Tabaldo - I have to admit, I was really surprised. In my opinion, he's the one most likely to go home first because we know nothing about him and from what we've seen I haven't been impressed. This, however, was a good performance. He sounded good, it was a decent song, and he was having fun. My big critique is his appearance. Stop with the gay dancing (i.e. dancing with your arms above your head) and don't pop the collar. Both make you look really stupid. Grade B

Phil Stacey - Once again, he's proved that he has problems beginning a song. He was way off key at first but once he got into it he sounded amazing. I had a problem comparing him with Clay (who also sang this song during Season 2) but he definitely sounded great as well. It was nice to hear his full voice but he's nowhere near the "bald rocker" that Chris Daughtry is. But this was a great performance. Grade B+

Overall, I was a little disappointed with tonite. For the most part the song choices were pretty bad. Everyone tries to play it safe and do some softer, ballady type stuff and that just makes for a boring night. And I'm not the biggest fan of Stevie Wonder so hearing guy after guy trying to sing his stuff gets old (especially since we always here the same critique 'it's really hard to sing Stevie' when it's done). Kudos to Blake, Chris R. and Phil for singing something a little different and more contemporary tonite.

My bottom 3 for tomorrow are Sundance, Sanjaya and (it's a tough call between Paul and Nick but I'm going to choose...) Paul. I'm not really sure who is going to go home. I feel like Sundance and Sanjaya did the worst but have the bigger fanbases so I don't know. But since I graded them the lowest I think it'll be them. Sundance and Sanjaya are going home.

Tom Lowe Sings the National Anthem

It's such a shame that Tom didn't make the Top 24. He has one of the best (if not THE best) male voices this season. After watching his initial audition I was really hoping he'd sneak in but he didn't. Now, after watching him sing the National Anthem (which is ironic since he's British but what can you do?) I am convinced that he would have done extremely well; possibly even won! Just listen to him on that full-chested power note near the end. It's awesome! I'm sure that Tom is well on his way to becoming a huge star here in America.

Elliott's First Single Sneak Peek

AOL has posted a sneak peek of Elliott's first single "Movin On" as well as clips from 3 other songs from his upcoming album. Judging from his first single and those clips, it's going to be a great album. He sounds amazing on these. I think this album could do really well when it's released. You can hear it at
http://music.aol.com/franchise/firstlisten/elliott-yamin-new-songs

My Top 12 Picks

So now that we have our Top 24 I'm going out on a limb and picking my Top 12. Before I get to that though, let's talk about the Girls vs. the Guys. This year is interesting because the guys are more about personality than about actual vocal talent/ability. If you think about everyone that we've seen so far probably the first names that come to your head are Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, Sundance Head. It isn't necessarily because they have outstanding voices, it's more because of what else they have going for them. Chris has the funny personality and the big hair. Blake is the beat boxer. Sundance has an interesting name. All of the are likable and all have decent voices (well, to be honest I can't remember what Blake sounds like because we've pretty much only seen him beat boxing) but that's not why we remember them. The women, however, are stronger because of their voices. In fact, most of the women seem very shy and intimidated by the whole process. Lakisha and Melinda are two of the (if not THE two) best singers in the competition. Yet, you can barely get them to say a word when they're not singing. But then they open their mouths and you're totally blown away by what they can do. So it's really going to be interesting to see what America does. Usually, they've given the title to the person with th best voice of the competition (Kelly, Fantasia, Carrie) but last season they gave it to Taylor who was more personality and performance than vocal ability (and I'm still trying to figure out how/why Ruben won).

So, with all of that here is my list for the top 12:
Guys:
Blake Lewis is a good looking guy that stands out because of his beatboxing talents. He's going to be this year's Ace Young, who has something a little different from the rest of the competition (like Ace's falsetto) that will end up hindering him in the long run because America will eventually get tired of it. But unless he really screws up in the semis I don't think he'll have a problem making it into the Top 12.

Chris Richardson stands out because of his vocals. So far he seems like a quiet guy that sounds and looks like Justin Timberlake. I think that if he picks the right songs he'll make it into the Top 12 fairly easily. I'm just worried that we might not get a lot of emotion from him and America will be left wondering who he is and what he's all about.

Chris Sligh is the most obvious choice of the Top 12. He's got everything going for him, good personality where he doesn't take himself seriously (Mikalah), huge hair (Justin), good voice (take your pick), and America is in love with him already. He's already the pick to win the whole thing so I don't see how he can screw it up so badly that he wouldn't make it in.

Phil Stacey has a lot of rumors surrounding him right now. When he first auditioned I thought he was just ok and was actually surprised they let him through. Then when we got some clips from Hollywood Week he had a completely different sounding voice. It was a lot stronger and fuller. I really liked him after that. Now there are rumors that he's been disqualified from the competition and is actually on tour with his band during March and April (according to his MySpace page). So who knows if he's actually on or not. He could have that posted to throw people off. However, if he does get disqualified then I am hoping they replace him with Tom Lowe (and if they do then Tom Lowe takes this spot in the Top 12). Whether it's Phil or Tom, I think both of them will be able to sing their way into the Top 12. Both are strong singers that people will really enjoy.

Rudy Cardenas, in my opinion, is the best male vocalist this year. He has a great control of his voice and always sounds strong (even in the higher register). Once the competition actually starts I think he's going to start blowing people away with what he can do.

Nicholas Pedro is my wild card pick. This last spot can be filled with a couple of guys. His closest competition will be Sanjaya and Sundance. Like Rudy, Nick has a great voice with lots of control. My only concern is that he'll actually sound too much like Rudy (who is the better of the two) and could potentially lose this spot to someone else. Sanjaya is a good singer but I don't think he's good enough for the Top 12, however he does have the personality factor that most of the other guys have and that could make him a crowd favorite. Sundance showed enormous promise during his initial audition but completely fell apart in Hollywood. In my opinion, Hollywood was the real Sundance and I have a feeling we're going to see him fall apart again in the semis so I don't really see him making it through. But if people keep him around, hoping we get what we saw in the audition, then he could potentially make it in on this last spot. Nick has shown the most consistancy from what we've see so I'm giving this final spot to him. Hey, last year I picked Elliott as my wild card and look where he ended up. :)

Girls:
Antonella Barba is a pretty girl with a good voice. I think her challenge is going to be believing that she deserves to be there with all of the other girls. She has already claimed that she's not as good as her bf who is a trained singer (when in fact she's better). She seems to be building a fan base already so I think they'll be able to carry her into the top 12 (especially since there are some girls that have no business being in the Top 24 [Hayley and Alaina]).

Gina Glocksen had a huge fanbase from last season where people were disappointed she didn't make the Top 24. Now that she's here you can bet that they will carry her into the Top 12. Plus, she's different from the rest because she's a rocker. Hopefully she'll actually live up to that because we haven't had a good female since Nikki McKibben (oh wait, she wasn't good at all).

Jordin Sparks is this year's Lisa Tucker. She's got a good, strong voice for someone so young. She has a likable personality that I think people will click with. With the right songs, she could be up there with Lakisha and Melinda.

Lakisha Jones is the best singer this season. Will she win? Who knows, but she definitely deserves to. She has a powerhouse voice that blew me away during the auditions. And then she blew me away again during Hollywood Week. You can bet she's going to get a lot of comparisons to Jennifer Hudson and Mandisa, but with the wave that JHud is creating I think Lakisha will end up benefitting from it and ride it far into the competition. Now people are saying that JHud should have won her season so let's give it to Lakisha instead.

Melinda Doolittle is probably the best technical singer of the competition. And seeing that powerhouse voice come out of such a shy and timid girl makes her endearing. People are going to be rooting for her to do well and I don't think she'll have any problem getting into the Top 12.

Stephanie Edwards is my wild card pick for the women simply because she's an unknown. She sorta looks like Fantasia with her hair but sounds like LaToya. That could be a winning combination. I was very impressed with the brief clip we saw of her during Hollywood Week If she continues to sing like that during the semis she'll make it into the Top 12.

So there you have it, my Top 12. Now it's going to be very interesting to see what actually happens on Tues, Wed and Thurs and see if my picks hold out. But that's the fun part of the show and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

FINALLY!

It's about damn time that auditions are over and we're finally in Hollywood Week. Seriously producers, did we really need a month of crappy/boring auditions just to get to Hollywood Week? And then all you give us is one hour before announcing the Top 24? You could have at least expanded it to a 2-hour episode. Now, the reason for the one hour is that there wasn't much that happened in Hollywood Week and they felt that there wasn't a lot to show. Well, after sitting through a month of that crap I think you could have easily created another hour of "drama". But whatever, it's over. Hopefully they'll learn for next year.

First off, let's comment on the best moment of the night. During the group round we had a group of Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, Rudy Cardena, and Tom Lowe. Oh snap, these guys were awesome together! That could have been one of the best group performances on Idol to date. And I was glad they finally showed Tom Lowe. His hot self should have had more TV time. My guess is that he doesn't make it so they didn't bother showing him or don't want to showcase him yet because he's British and auditioning for an American show. I just hope he somehow sneaks into the Top 24 tonite. The other 3 are definite contenders though.

Second, I was so happy to see Amanda (one half of the best friends) go in the end. She's a bitch. I liked Antonella a lot better and was happy to see her make it through. I was also sad for Baylie Brown. She's beautiful with a great voice. I think she would have done really well, but not sure we need another Carrie just yet.

Third, I was REALLY disappointed with Sundance last night. During the auditions I was so sure that he was going to be one of the final people on the show. But last night showed some serious weaknesses in him. He couldn't sing anything right, he couldn't remember his words, and he definitely let his nerves take over. It's obvious the judges really really like him and are keeping him in but I'm not sure how forgiving America is gonna be. If he doesn't get this right he's going to be gone pretty soon. The good news for him is that he can choose any song during the semis. He should be able to make it through, but once he's in the finals and the theme weeks start coming then he may be in trouble.

Fourth, thank God the judges finally cut Perla. I can't believe she even made it past the initial auditions but whatever. And I'm glad that Simon even admitted she was only making it based on her personality and not her voice. I think that can't really rely on personality anymore. It worked for Mikalah but Brenna really screwed them over last year. Everyone hated her and wanted her off the show so badly. I think Perla would have been the same way this year. Brenna pretty much screwed up the "personality" spot for a while.

Fifth, I thought that it was really cute to see Sanjaya be so sad that Shamali didn't make it to the Top 40. You could tell he felt bad about it. But I think he'll do well.

So tonite we find out for sure who the top 24 are. I kinda feel like it's pretty obvious who they will be but you never know. At least it all officially starts next week! Now I'm finally excited for this season!

New Music Videos: Kimberley Locke & Clay Aiken

Could a Brit be the next American Idol?

Tom Lowe has made it to the Hollywood rounds on American Idol Season 6, but this isn't is first brush with fame. He started as a backup singer for Take That! and then at the age of 18 he was in a UK boyband called North & South (which sounds like the influence for our US version of 2ge+her). He toured successfully in Les Miserables and Cats before moving here to pursue a degree in East Asian Studies at Harvard.

Now school is over and this may be his last chance at fame. What do you think?
Can a 28 year old, ex-boyband, British, smarty be our next American Idol?

Alum Updates

* Bucky Covington debuts this week at No. 57 on Billboard’s Country Tracks chart with his first single, “A Different World.”

* Elliott Yamin will be released his first CD through an independent label on March 20. It will preceded by a single, “Movin’ On,” set for air play on February 13.

* Mandisa will release her debut album via EMI/Sparrow Records in May 2007.

Idol Tonite!

First of all, congratulations goes out to Jennifer Hudson for winning the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress last night. That bitch is tearing it up in awards season and is now the official front runner for the Oscar. She also, along with America Ferrara, had the best speech of the night and even got some people in the audience to have tears in their eyes. You go girl!

But tonite finally begins the American Idol 6 season! Am I excited? Yes. And no. I am very excited that Idol is finally back on TV and will very quickly consume my life like it always does. But I'm not excited because we have a full 24 hours of pre-competition crap. That basically means about 3 weeks of auditions and one week of Hollywood Week. I don't mind the Hollywood Week stuff because those people can actually sing but watching 3 weeks of crap is a lot to take. And it seems like they keep adding more and more "bad singer" coverage each year. It feels like we have to wait until Hollywood Week before we really get to see anyone talented. Hopefully it won't be that bad this year but I do remember getting tired of auditions really quickly.

From all of the press out right now it sounds like it's a wide-open contest this year. There's no clear cut winner and the judges all seem to have different favorites. That's awesome! I felt like last year there really was no clear winner and anyone of the Top 5 could have easily won the whole thing. It definitely made it more exciting to watch. I'm looking forward to the same thing happening this time around.

So here's to the new season of Idol (and goodbye to the next 5 months of my life)!

Paula Abdul has never been drunk. Allegedly.

"Last year, when no one understood what I was saying, and even though I’ve never been drunk in my life, I’m accused of filling my Coca-Cola cup with alcohol,'’ Abdul says. ‘’Yeah, that was really fun for me.'’ [Entertainment Weekly]

Katharine McPhee is HOT

WOW! Katharine has really stepped it up and found a phenomenal look! Not that she was anything awful to look at when she entered American Idol last year (see first picture below) but I have to say that her stylist/make-up artist is fantastic.