Styx Picks: February 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Tonight's results

The next 3 in the Top 12 are

Allison Iraheta

Kris Allen

Adam Lambert

2 pretty much givens from performances they had Wednesday night, plus one pleasant surprise. Gotta love it!

EDIT 1253AM: because the spelling snob was in...LOL

The next 12....can I have an hour 40 back please?

I had a busy day today. Did alot of running around and hurrying to be home for my show, for THAT?? *sigh* With the exception of a few of the kids tonight, there was nothing more than a night of wrong songs, wrong notes and mediocrity . Anyhow, as I was last week, I am pretty sure of two that will be making it through to the next round and one was rather better tonight than previously expected.

The first Styx Pick this week is Adam Lambert. Ok, if you were watching him for the first time, he may have looked a bit over the top. However, if you've seen any OTHER videos, you'd see that he actually reeled it in a bit tonight. I'm not certain I liked how he dinked around with the beginning of the song, but over all it was a very good performance. Personally, this boy does NOT really need this show and it would be a HUGE favor if he didnt make it all the way to the end of the show's run... a HUGER favor if he didnt make it through the night's vote. Considering he was in the pimp spot, you can be sure he'll make it to at least the Top 12. Is it me or did some of those high notes remind one of Michael Sweet from Stryper? I dunno, maybe it's just me.

He's definitely a throwback to those 80's big hair bands...it'll be interesting to see if he finds new versions of some of the songs like David Cook did. The judges are right though, you'll either love or hate him...there wont be any middle ground with him.

The second Styx Pick of the week, surprised me. I'm still not 100% certain if I liked her or not. I will give her credit as she was one of the better females of the night and she at least LOOKED the part. I seriously doubt the stylists will need to do much work on Allison Iraheta. Personally, I liked Mishavonna Henson's voice better (she reminds me of an early P!nk) but her performance left me bored. Listening back, the song wasnt sung all that bad... very marketable NOW, but it wasnt good for a live show. I mean, how many that were in the audience are going to have a chance to listen to the song back before voting? Few to none, that's how many. If they did, they'd also notice how friggin nasally Jesse Langseth's voice was. Anyhow, female pick of the week is Allison.

The third pick, is tougher. I made a case for Mishavonna in the above paragraph but I doubt she'll get through this week. Her only chance right now is the Wild Card show. It wont be Jasmine Murray as she pulled the Kiss of Death spot and had to sing first. Rather disappointing as she was one of the early favorites with that R&B voice of hers. I doubt it'll be Matt Giraud either as that, too is a Kiss of Death spot... plus he didnt really bring it and heaped on that is the criticism from all the judges. I keep hearing about his "fan base" out there, I certainly hope they were voting tonight. If you go with the DI charts, he was the second highest male vote getter for the night, but if you go by the maps... several others did much better. Jeanine Vailes doesnt have a snowball's chance...I mean when the only nice thing the judges can say is comments on how pretty your legs are (and not just by the male judges), you know it's not a good thing. No, I dont think the life sized Bratz / My Scene Barbie has a chance. I doubt that Megan Corkrey or Kai Kalama have a shot either. Sorry to say that about Kai, to be honest. I suspect he's one that I would grow to like if given half the chance...which he wont have unless they Wild Card him.

One of the three that actually have a really decent shot at taking that third spot are Matt Breitzke . I really hope he's given a chance as he has a very nice voice, I just think this week's performance was a poor showing. The judges were right, a rock song like that needed to have more of an edge to it when it's performed. Going against him, also, is the fact they already placed Michael Sarver in the Top 12 and I dont think America really will put both through to the semi-finals. Sad really because Matt's got the better voice (would have been better for Matt if he sang last week....). The next possible person to get the coveted 3rd chair is *sigh* Jesse Langseth (ok, I'll be honest, I didnt like her much and cannot forsee me watching her perform without getting overly snarky about it). The maps have her with a solid 5 states which means this is a distinct possibility.The last possible for the third chair is Kris Allen. He has a BEAUTIFUL voice and I LOVE what he did with Man In the Mirror. He could easily make it a hit NOW. the judges were more complimentary of his performance than Jesse's . I just hope he wasnt forgotten in the voting. Although it's easy to do since he sang after the contestant in position number four...

On a long shot...not that I really BELIEVE he's ACTUALLY going to grab a Top 12 position...but *just* on the off chance the nefarious site has their way and they DO manage to push this guy through....he had hands down BEST performance of the night. Ok, maybe not BEST performance as that term is actually really rather subjective in this case as some may not deem his performance the BEST of the night but they can.not.argue that it wasnt at least MEMORABLE . The most MEMORABLE performance of the whole stinking night came from Nick Mitchell aka Normund Gentle . The man KNOWS that the judges for the most part only put him through because "it's good tv". He didnt even expect to make it as far as he did. He's defied the odds thus far. So what do you do if you KNOW this information and KNOW you're not likely to make it any farther than where you're at? Do you go out, sing your best and promptly become one of the forgotten many? Hell NO! Your character, for the most part, has gotten you this far. You go out with one HELLUVA BANG and bring that character to the stage infront of a live audience of MILLIONS and give them what they've been waiting to see... a Spectacle like nothing else they've ever seen on the Idol stage! He's had his 15 minutes of fame and his popularity will be all the better for it. You have to admit that was a beautiful diva note he hit near the end and that the ~expected~ diva note on the end, that wasnt, was rather exquisite in it's absence. Kudos Normund Gentle. Do I hope he'll make it? Oh yea....this show needs a shake up and hasnt really had one since the faux hawk. Do I think he'll make it? Nope. According to the maps he won a state (South Carolina!) and lost a state (Missouri) for a total of zero, BUT he rated better than Kai (who won one but lost three). Go figure.

Wrap up:
Going through for sure: Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta
Possibles to get the coveted 3rd chair: Matt B, Jesse Langseth, or Kris Allen
Snowball's chance in hell but Im still hoping: Nick Mitchell aka Normund Gentle

EDIT 640bloodyAM: ok, I know the links aint working for the most part but Im leaving them until I get some sleep. I'll fix them while Im watching the results show later.

EDIT 453PM: the links that werent working before have been fixed. I apologize, now I know I just cannot rely on that one site for my videos.

EDIT 456PM: to add in the possibility of Matt Giraud taking the 3rd chair. After some thought last night (or should I say this morning in my sleep cycle), I figured I'd better go ahead and add him. Personally, I DONT think he has a shot as there were others better than him (Kris Allen for one) but you never know. He was a hard one to add because the maps do NOT support this addition, however the chart was 100% correct last week and I really need to take that into consideration. We also know how the show goes...the people running the show have final say over all.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

First 3 through

Danny Gokey

Michael Sarver

Alexis Grace

As if we didnt see THOSE coming! My biggest fear right now is that Tatiana will get a wild card. I suspect, with the crap she pulled tonight......even if she does get the wild card, she wont last long. Unless, of course, VFTW gets their collective butts together and really works for it. She is definitely VFTW gold.

First 12 of the Top 36

I dont know about anyone else, but for the most part I was completely underwhelmed last night. They'll be choosing the top girl, top guy and one other to move along to the semi-finals tonight.

There was exactly 2 girls that did well all night long. Alexis Grace sang early in the night but was definitely the one to beat. She's got an awesome bluesy/soulful voice to her and if I end up backing a girl, she'll be one I'll be considering. The other girl...*sigh*...was Tatiana. Ok, there's no denying that the gal can sing....if she'd just keep quiet every other time.

*If* Dial Idol is any indication, Alexis should be a shoe in for the top girl....unless that nefarious site VFTW did it's job, then we'll have Tatiana. Another possibility is Ann Marie who sang an ok, but not great, version of Natural Woman.

The guys were more of a mixed race. There was definitely one that burst forth from the gates and slammed down the gauntlet last night. He closed out the show quite awesomely. That singer would be Danny Gokey. Do I think he'll win, more than likely not as we had a caucasian male winner last year and rarely do we have two race & gender winners back to back. He'll definitely be one to watch though.

Of the other guys....Anoop did very well, but Im not so certain he'll make it through to the next round unless they wild card him. I just dont think America's quite ready for him yet. Then again, I didnt think American was ready for Obama either. Other notable guys that were good, but not great, were Michael Sarver (the oil rig dude that sang I Dont Want to Be by Gavin DeGraw), Ricky Braddy (the guy that sang first with A Song For You), and Brent Keith (the one that had competed in Nashville Star).