Well it's been a while since we posted here. The show has been a bit uneventful and in our opinion, a little dull and predictable.
Every one of the contestants sent home so far have been in the "expected" category. No surprises. We were sorry to see Anoop and Megan Joy depart, but they just didn't surprise us when they left.
This week, though, things got very interesting. What we did find surprising this time around was the musical category that brought out the best in all of the players. Rat Pack? Who woulda thunk it?
Allison Iraheta has blossomed, big-time. It's hard to remember that she is a 16-year old with the talent and poise she's displaying.
Adam Lambert continues to play his talent to the hilt, and the public seems to be loving it.
Danny Gokey maintains his hold on our "favorite" title, but he's in danger of being overshadowed by Lambert's showmanship.
Kris Allen is an emerging Dark Horse here. He got raves for what Randy Jackson called his "best performance to date." He really stepped up and ignited the show tonight.
Matt Giraud's only mistake may have been waiting until this year to enter the contest. He's a good, solid, talented singer, but definitely risks being overshadowed by some bigger personalities.
Well, Idol continues to provide the occasional surprise. The voting was pretty big this week, 36 million votes, but the results were just a tad different than expected.
Megan Joy lives to sing another week. Michael Sarver, Scott MacIntyre and, shockingly, Matt Giraud ended up in the Bottom 3. When they announced the one contestant who was safe out of that 3, again, it was a bit surprising that Giraud had to wait it out.
The show was chock full of great performances, as Motown really has made some of the best music ever, and they showed two of the greatest of their performers, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. It was a fun night, and the stars almost made us forget what was coming.
While it might have been a minor outrage here if Giraud had been voted off, we don't think Sarver belonged there either. But, as we said, Idol surprises sometimes, and Sarver went home tonight.
We're looking forward to next week. Oh, and we hope Megan Joy gets back to what she does best.
Matt Giraud kicked Motown night off in a huge way. He took on "Let's Get It On" and really showed his talent for this style of music. It was the first time, for us at least, that there was any kind of real "wow" factor, the kind of performance that really got our attention.
Wow Factor=9
Kris Allen did "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and did a good job. The only place we think he might have been lacking is that the guitar playing wasn't quite loud enough. If it had been, the song rhythm would have been perfect. This guy has some talent to show off as well.
Wow Factor=7
Scott MacIntyre was definitely "game off" tonight, and it was simply a matter of poor song choice. He couldn't have done well with that song; it just wasn't in his range of talent. No need to say more than that.
Wow Factor=6
Megan Joy Corkrey is stunning, as Paula said. But that's not what the contest is for, right? She's also going by Megan Joy now. She ruined "For Once In My Life", there's no other way to say it. We don't want Megan to go home, but this performance definitely worked against her.
Wow Factor=4
Anoop Desai didn't thrill us tonight, at all. Different strokes, though, right? We usually match up well with Simon when we think someone falls short, but not this time. Maybe it's the song itself, "Ooh Baby Baby", that missed the mark.
Wow Factor=7
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg" wasn't the championship vehicle for Michael Sarver tonight. None of the judges disagreed with our assessment. Simon went so far as to say that Sarver cannot win the contest based on his vocals.
Wow Factor=6
Lil Rounds took on "Heat Wave" and did ok. We think though, that this contest won't allow for "ok" anymore. The contestants have to make smart, if not brilliant, song choices. The judges were split on their reviews, but this wasn't Lil's best night. We think she will be back, no matter what.
Wow Factor=6
Adam Lambert blew everyone away with "The Tracks Of My Tears" tonight. This guy showed the talent that could carry him to the top of the competition with a great, brilliant song choice. The tune came off as though it were written for him. Good job by Lambert. Even Simon liked it.
Wow Factor=9
Danny Gokey still stands out in our minds as the front-runner and stayed there with "Get Ready" tonight. This guy has the stage presence of a pro. We were very thrown back by Simon's review, calling the performance clumsy. The rest of the judges saw it our way too, though.
Wow Factor=8
Allison Iraheta took a big chance on a big song and pulled it off in a big way. Iraheta is proof that talent comes with any age, and "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" let her bring that proof to the stage. She did an awesome job, and the judges let her know it. So great. Good for her.
Wow Factor=8
It will be interesting to see the results show, that's for sure. See ya then.
Up until now, we haven't had a real "wow" moment with Season 8. There have been some good performances, and some of the contestants have shown promise, but "potential" is never enough for us.
We didn't see anything blog-worthy with the wildcard round, but we will admit having Anoop surprised like that was kinda fun. They have shaken up the formula a whole lot this season, and the good of that is debatable, but we're glad they went with the Top 13.
And Tatiana didn't get through. So that means we have a singing competition.
So The Top 13 was given the unenviable task of performing Michael Jackson's portfolio. We were pretty excited to see where the evening would take us.
What we got was initially what we expected. Lil Rounds banged out "The Way You Make Me Feel" really well. Solid performance.
WOW FACTOR: 6
Scott MacIntyre showed some chops with his "Keep the Faith" rendition. (Sounds a little like George Michael, we think). He's in his best environment with that piano of his, almost like it's an extension of his body that he can't do without. It brings out his talent.
WOW FACTOR: 5
Then came Danny Gokey. He chose "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" and it was the first time this season that someone had us willing to sit through the entire performance without fast forwarding. The man nailed it.
WOW FACTOR: 8
Michael Sarver had the jury split here. He gave a good performance of "You Are Not Alone" but it didn't blow us away. The judges kinda loved it though, so that carries a lot more weight than we do here, right?
WOW FACTOR: 5
Jasmine Murray took on a big song in "I'll Be There", and we say that because most people probably better recall Mariah Carey's cover of the tune than Michael Jackson's. Simon said it best when he said it reminded him of a little girl trying to be a big girl. She has talent, but not as big as Mariah's just yet.
WOW FACTOR: 6
Kris Allen put a nice twist on "Remember the Time". Not a blowout performance, but a pretty cool variation of the tune. Shades of Jason Castro with this Kris.
WOW FACTOR: 6
Allison Iraheta...we like this kid and we want her to rock, but she was a little shy of the mark with her song choice, "Give In To Me". We never heard the song before, and we don't think a whole lot of other people did either. She did get good reviews for her performance, but we think this Lady is still poised to break out. We hope we're right.
WOW FACTOR: 7
Anoop Desai, we're afraid, might soon be a case of "what might have been." Bad song choice. As Randy might say, "Not good Dawg". He's got some talent, and maybe he'll make it through to one more try. But it might be time for his borrowed time to run out.
WOW FACTOR:4
Jorge Nunez might be in the same category as Anoop, although we didn't think he did a bad job with "Never Can Say Goodbye". Bad song choices can be so disastrous. Paula thinks he deserves to be here, and maybe he will get another shot at it.
WOW FACTOR:5
Megan Joy Corkrey...we love Megan. We love her style, her quirkiness. She has commercial potential that we love. What we don't love is her apparent ability to make song choices. She didn't do a bad job, but "Rockin' Robin" didn't showcase her unique talent at all. We would beg America to give her another shot if we could.
WOW FACTOR:5
Adam Lambert chose "Black and White". We think the problem for us here is that we just don't care for the genre Lambert falls under, the over-the-top performer type. So we have a hard time appreciating the talent he apparently has. (we don't own a single Aretha Franklin recording, but we don't dispute her talent, know what we mean?)
WOW FACTOR:7
Matt Giraud is smooth, no doubt. "Human Nature" wouldn't have been our song choice for him, but he did handle it pretty well. The judges liked it, comparing him to Justin Timberlake even.
WOW FACTOR: 6
Not sure how the results are going to come in yet. We're pretty sure of the couple who are definite keepers, but not ready to bet on who gets sent home. See ya tomorrow.
Enjoy a little of the King Of Pop in the meantime...
No real surprises here, other than the fact that we have not been wowed by anyone other than maybe Danny Gokey at this point.
There were some good performances last night, and that's a problem. These contestants are struggling for their professional lives here, and they're tossing out a lot of mediocre stuff. "Good" shouldn't be "good enough".
The one exception perhaps, was Allison Iraheta. 16 years old, she could have fallen victim to nerves and experience, and while we're not a big fan of her song choice, we think she gave the best performance of that night. She's pretty, and she has some great personality to go along with her talent, so things could go well for her.
We think Megan Joy Corkrey should get a second chance in the wildcard round. What do you think?
Well, on Tuesday night, absolutely no one blew it away, so the results last night were really iffy. There were some decent performances, but nothing was really outstanding.
They're going right to a Top 12 already. That seems like the process has been moved ahead pretty rapidly, right? It just seems like they're making deep cuts in a big hurry this season. We have to check on that...no Top 24, nothing like that?
Anyway, there was a little disappointment for us last night. Anoop Desai is just chock full of talent, yet one song choice blooper, and off he goes. We had some higher hopes for that guy.
We are most definitely not sorry to see Tatiana go home. There was only so much we could take of her, so when it came down to her standing alongside Danny Gokey, there was a "hold-your-breath" moment there.
We liked Ricky Braddy too, and was sorry to see him go. He has a good voice, and we didn't think he did too poorly the other night.
After a weird Hollywood Week, we have our Top 36 for Season 8.
The week focused on a lot of less-than-memorable performances and activity. I wouldn't be able to handicap this contest at all yet if it were based on what I know about the contestants to date.
One of our favorites, Joannna Pacitti, was disqualified from the competition on February 12th. The story, as reported by the AP, went something like this:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the contestants on "American Idol" who made the top 36 has been disqualified.
"American Idol" has issued a statement saying Joanna Pacitti of Philadelphia is ineligible to continue, but without saying why. Felicia Barton of Virginia Beach, Va., has replaced Pacitti in the top 36.
Pacitti could not immediately be reached for comment.
Well, without any further ado, here is the Season 8 Top 36. Let's hope we can now get down to enjoying some good performances.
Well it's been a while since we posted here. The show has been a bit uneventful and in our opinion, a little dull and predictable.
