Just when I didn't think it could get worse, it did

WTH was that??? This is supposedly (everyone take a shot) "the best year evar" (mispelled on purpose, Chicago)and we were inflicted with performances that were actually below sub-par. I don't think I've ever seen so many that I thought did well in Hollywood, bomb so completely. Then again, I never usually have too many favs from Hollyweird anyhow.

This time around, no one lost any states (that's a surprise) so there'll only be the one map posted at the end.

Todrick Hall (Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson): Ok. I have to admit, I wasn't sure I enjoyed this one the first time through. Upon an second listen, I'm still not sure. I'm definitely going to need to check it out on ITunes (assuming they're doing them this early, they don't usually but I hear that their rules and regs have loosened up a bit). You see, I admire what he ~tried~ to do but I just like the original much better. In fact, it's one of my favs to sing when Im having one of those days when the bad memories of a lifetime past are haunting me. To have it twisted around in such a way....well, it just aint right. If going first doesn't kill off his chances, then maybe the crap hitting in the news about him will take it's toll. I don't know how the AI voting population will take to that. Not all the viewers are as rabid as the addicts, so most won't see any of the dirt until it makes it to the nightly news, or TMZ. Anyhow, there were no wins, no losses on the maps. Several others at least garnered a handful of states so it's extremely likely that he's in danger tonight.

Aaron Kelly (Here Comes Goodbye by Rascall Flatts): One rule of thumb in this show is, never sing about going home or any mention of goodbyes. No matter how cute or talented you are, this can be the kiss of death. It was nice, kinda meh. Nothing really special from him. Singing second is NOT going to help him at all. Especially since there's a relatively cute country singer that's going to be singing later in the show. This one looks like another that we can play a shots game with. How? Well, I suspect we're gonna get the SUTA effect with him. Those that are just joining in with me this year, SUTA means Sunshine Up The Ass, it's also known as a sunburnt colon or if it's particularly bad I may say that my colon has 3rd degree burns. Nothing I hate more than SUTA (unless it's for my own choices, of course). He won a total of 3 states in the DI Maps. I don't think there's any danger of him being voted off, even WITH the meh performance and singing second.

Jermaine Sellers (Get Here by Oleta Adams): I'm not familiar with this song. This is two in a row this night, very unusual considering that I used to be a chatroom streamer. Maybe I've let my head set hang up much too long. I found it a bit much, to be honest. Jermaine needs to remember a couple things. The first one he learned in Hollywood, don't throw the helpers under the bus. You never, EVER wanna be rude to those that can help you accomplish your goals. The second thing is, remember that runs (in singing) should be used as "flavoring" or "seasoning" if you will. Spices need to be used sparingly to enhance the existing flavors, not over power them. No wins, no losses in the maps. Personally, I think they made the wrong choice in Jermaines and the other one should have been in his spot.

Tim Urban (Apologize by One Republic): This one was absolutely painful to watch. I'm not even going to listen to it again. Here's another standing rule in the Idolverse, when a previous contestant did the song and really DID the song, consider it DONE. This holds especially true if said performance was done the previous year. You will always be compared back and if you are found lacking, you will be called on it. We saw this on Tuesday's episode with Miss Katie. This episode it was Tim and the idol that slammed a homerun with the song was Kris Allen. Tim's voice was much too weak to take on a song of this quality. He's definitely got to make better choices in the weeks to come. Thanks to Hawaii, some pity votes and the nefarious site choosing him as one of their poster child he managed to win 2 states. I don't know if that's enough to keep him in or not at this point. If he is, he needs to thank Simon for that caustic remark that they had made the right choice originally to toss him off.

Joe Munoz (You and I Both by Jason Mraz): Meh. Nice choice but nothing outstanding here. To be honest the only thing I really remember is that he reminded me of a combination of Anoop Desai and Jorge Nunez from season 8. Anoop's voice in Jorge's body or some combination. Simon was right with the safe and forgettable comment. No wins, no loses, in danger of being cannon fodder for the week.

Tyler Grady (American Woman by The Guess Who): Ok, guilty pleasure... I liked this. Then again I like my rock and I've been hitting the 70's music pretty hard the last few days. What Tyler's going to need to remember is that everything can be brought back (although not everything should be, it simply can be), a retro look/sound with a modern twist. We see this in clothing styles (most of which should never be revisited) and automobiles. Look at the new VWBugs, Mustangs, the Charger. All based on a retro style with a more modern feel. A tweaking of what was great with a bit of today's seasoning. A little bit of Michael Hutchance with a Jim Morrison twist, I think I'm going to enjoy watching this one grow over the course of the season.... assuming people like him enough to keep him in the running. There was only one state won, so he could possibly in danger tonight.

Lee Dewyze (Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol): Now this is what they're talking about! Alot of the kids have been catching flack for choosing songs that are so old... "be current, relevant" (ok, everyone take a shot because those are said alot too) and here is one of the very few that chose something that is within the last decade OR hasn't already been done to death. He was one of my favs the entire night. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. The judges were right though, I wanna hear a bit more harder rock edge to him... kinda like a cross between Daughtry/Cook sound, maybe. He won one state and could be in danger tonight, but I'm really hoping he's not.

John Park (God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday): Umm What did we say about the freshness date of songs? Now if this was a theme night that dictated this type of song, then yes. But on the very first night and you're in a fight for the Top 12? NO! The song would have been nice if he'd simply took it up a key or two because he simply does NOT have the proper bottom register for those lower notes. It was old, dated, poorly done and Im sorry if it's your mamma's favorite. My mamma loves lots of songs and has a few absolute favorites, but it doesn't mean I should attempt to sing them anywhere but the shower... No wins, no losses, not a good performance. There's a good bet that he's cannon fodder this week.

Michael Lynche (This Love by Maroon 5): Meh. Umm, yeah. Another one that was a big disappointment between this week and Hollywood. I don't know what it was. Ok, he's infectious and very fun to watch but that wasn't the best performance he could have given. However, in the back of my mind I have the fact that one of the other contestants got DQ for breaking the rules (which is a shame because he was another fav from the auditions), wrong is still wrong and Michael should have faced the same fate. Both were mistakes and both should have been DQs. Just my opinion. He won two states, so may or may not be in danger this week.

Alex Lambert (Wonderful World by James Morrison): Umm. No. This was less comfortable than Tim Urban's performance and to be honest, that's saying alot. I demand these 5 minutes that were used dealing with him back. A big ol goose egg and a "you're in danger" entree for the kid and three Disaronno Ticklers to chase away the memory of this one, please.

Casey James (Heaven by Bryan Adams): OMG. It's Ace Covington! Or is it Bucky Young? Whatever, I'm seeing Bucky's hair and hearing his voice coming out of Ace's form. Kara really needs to be careful with her comments though as this easily could turn into her version of Corey Clark. Viewers that have been watching for a while will understand that connection. The only thing uncomfortable about his segment is her behavior. Yes, he's pretty and he has a wonderful voice (I'm listening to it again as I type and I'm really loving how he sang it) and this was a very good choice. One of the few that actually chose the right song for their voice. Not quite a pantiworthy performance, but pretty damn close. The performances in the upcoming weeks shall tell. Will he leave this week? I don't think so. He didn't have the pimp spot, but was really close and he out sang the one that was. That with Kara's swooning (and flooding the stage with all that drool) should be enough to send him through easily. Hey, it got him 4 states won. Not even half what the pimped spot got, but better than the second placer for the girls. That's sayin something. Does he have a shot at this? Maybe. We had 2 years in a row with Caucasian male winners and Im sure they're looking for something different, maybe a girl. I would have said it's an AAM year, but the field doesn't look strong enough to pull it off. Idol may actually have a female winner this year. It's been said that they're looking for another Taylor Swift-sh type for the win. We'll see.

Andrew Garcia (Sugar We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy): I didn't know this song so I had to have a link sent to me so I could hear the original. Hmm. I'm not a fan of either version of it, personally. That's just me though, I guess. Something about singing about cocking and pulling it just brings my mind in all the wrong directions for this show. Anyhow, he does have a beautiful voice for recording and will more than likely buy a cd he puts out later. My problem is that this one is quickly becoming this year's Pimpinator... and we all know how badly I rebel against them. It was a meh performance at best. Thanks to the spot performed in and all the pimping he's gotten so far this season, he managed to garner 11 states. There isn't a chance in hell he's going anywhere tonight.

So who's in the most danger? Let's start with the ones who got zero states:

Todrick: Singing in the first spot is always deadly, and it's worse when the show runs 2 hours. A decent performer with a few skeletons in his closet. If this isn't his last week, I don't think he'll have many more. Due to position, he's more than likely in the most danger this week.

Jermaine: I still say they made a mistake in regards to the Jermaine they picked to send through. Another singer from early in the episode with a performance that not everyone will enjoy, puts him as a candidate for an ouster.

Joe: Too safe and rather forgettable.

John: Picking a song just based on sentimental reasons is not going to get you far in this contest. To perform it poorly, just makes things even worse.

Alex: His was one of the worst of the night. Most of them were terrible tonight, but his performance was one of the worst of the bunch.

Are you sure the show starts this week?

Sorry about the lack of post last week. That other addiction of mine, CrackFacebook, is threatening to take over the Idol season. I think I have it leashed down properly, but who knows. If my readers haven't started a pool on how long I'm going to last this season, you may consider it now. If Tuesday's performances were any indication on how this year is going to go, I may not be writing too many more entries. Best bet, if you're reading and want me to keep going with this, better say so now (not you Chicago, nor you NYBro I KNOW you two are reading this)!

I don't know about anyone else, but Chicagolady pretty much summed it up when she said she was entirely underwhelmed by the girls' performances this week. There were a couple surprises but a few that we'd had hopes on early in the season during the Hollywood rounds were entirely disappointing this time around. It'll be a real shame if they're sent home this week as there is potential there, but you have to put your best foot forward at all times. There is no really good time to slack off in this type of contest and like the judges said, this is the best year ever! I swear I really need to take a shot everytime that old sorry story's rammed up our butts. That and the "he/she's only 16/17!!!" crap we're fed. I'm not kidding, if I was taking shots for every one of those comments I would have been 3 shots sheets to the wind by the end of Haeley's performance and on Wednesday's drunk by the end of the night with all the ones we got for Katie (who really wasn't all that good folks, seriously). God help me come Wednesday's showtime. I'm thinking a shot for every 16/17 comment, and any reference to a dark horse (as well as the "for you for me for you" or Dawg from Randy or "indulgent" from any of them). Oh...and if we have another Gaspuletta in the group, a shot for every gasp. Damn, I'm schnockered just thinking about it. Now that I think of it, it might make this year actually interesting if I did...

Paige Miles (All Right Now by Free): This poor gal. First night in front of a live audience, and the first person up to compete. She doesn't have the benefit of alot of screen time some of the other gals had during the audition phases. What a sucky place to end up in, especially considering that this is a two hour show the next 3 weeks. Top things all off, the little snippit video reminder on the end of the show, the sound was screwed up for hers, Ashley's AND partway into the next girl's snippit. So basically, unless the viewers are reading MJ's Blog or visiting Rickey's site, all they'll remember is the sucky sound... nothing more.Yeah, definitely a rotten position to be in. However, THIS is the way the show needed to start. I'm with MJ, where was this girl hiding?? She's got a great voice, better than many that will be sharing the stage with her. Is anyone going to remember her? Probably not. That video replay didn't do her any favors either. If she doesn't make it through to the next week, it'll be a crying shame. On DI, she didn't win or lose any states. All but one of the gals are being called as B3 on the predictions this week so I'm going to need to base my decision on the states won and loss. That said, Paige is in danger of going home.

Ashley Rodriguez (Happy by Leona Lewis): She had to be one of the most disappointing showings of the night, to be honest. Her lower register stinks and if she wanted to do herself ANY favors, she should have taken it up a key. Those lower notes were just excruciating. It's a major shame as she was one of my favorites going into competition. This is a very good example of why I don't make my ultimate favorite picks until a few weeks into the show. The dynamic changes the minute they hit that stage and actually have to sing in front of a live audience. No wins and no losses which puts her rating at 0 for the week. Considering her performance was the weaker of the two, she is in as much or more danger than Paige.


Janell Wheeler (What About Love by Heart): Um. ummm. Nope, I got nothin on this one folks. The verses were rushed and completely off. I'm sorry but Ann Wilson is simply one of those artists that not many people can sing. Usually people bomb when they try and this was actually much worse than that.... complete Bombsville. As Simon put it, she "gave 100%, but only delivered 65%". Actually, I disagree. He was overly generous with that assessment. No wins and no losses won't keep her safe this week.

Lilly Scott (Fixing A Hole by The Beatles): I wasn't familiar with this song so I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. My previous spouse was a Beatles fanatic and that's pretty much all we listened to at times. Kudos to Lilly for finding one of the very few songs of theirs that I didn't know. Gotta give her props for that. I like Lilly for some reason. She's unique in a way and has a je ne sais quoi about her that makes her interesting enough to keep an eye out for. There's alotta potential in this one. Lilly won a state and lost none so she got a 1 for the week. She did well enough that I'm almost confident enough to call her safe. If only the chart had more detail to it. With all but one rated a B3, it's hard to be sure.

Katelyn Epperly (Oh Darlin by the Beatles): I liked her version of this song, but she really kinda pushed it in some places to the point where she was starting to scream a bit. Is it me or did she remind anyone else of a prissy little poodle? Must be the hair (and that barrette). I shouldn't harp because I wore a similar style back in junior high school (minus the barrette when I had the perm). She had no wins and was the only one of the bunch that lost a state for a -1 for the week. She is the only one in the negative numbers and it should put her firmly in the B3 for the week with the possibility of an ouster, but who knows with this silly show. If they keep her around, I do have one request.... Katelyn, honey, you really need to do a few things for us. First, stop with the nose wrinkling and squinchin of ya face, it's down right scary at times. Oh, and along those lines, Kara's right about the make-up... natural is prettier on you. The object is not to frighten the audience. Number two, when Simon says "quirky" keep in mind that he said the same thing about Megan Joy and you see where that got her. Speaking of Megan, number three is to control that bouncing shoulder thing you're doing. It's as distracting as Megan's Cork Dance. Yeah...it's that bad, sweetie.

Haeley Vaughn (I Want To Hold Your Hand by the Beatles): Nope, don't have anything nice to say about this one either. I so hated this performance with a passion. The only good thing about this one is that if I was actually playing the "She's only 16!" shot game, I would have been plowed under before Simon's "verging on terrible" comment. two shots with Randy and once with Ellen...awesome. She's the nefarious site's well deserved pick this week so we may just see her around for one more week. She won 1 state (how??? I think they were playing that shots game there too!) and lost none (again...HOW? Musta been a shot for every bum note, and they were copious in this performance) so she gets a 1 for the week. If all is right in this world, she'll be one of the ones sent home this week.

Lacey Brown (Landslide by Fleetwood Mac): Lacey lost out in the final moments to Megan Joy, the human corkscrew, because they went with the face and not the voice. If Heart did that, we woulda had Nancy as the lead with Ann singing back-ups occasionally... or at least that's what I read somewhere. Not that I don't think Ann is just as beautiful as Nancy, because she really is. Anyhow, I think this was a wrong choice of artist for her. Her voice is much too thin to pull off this song and the low notes were really rough for her. I do believe the suggestion of Sixpence None the Richer for her to sing is awesome. She's got the same light voice as Leigh Nash and should pull off any song that group did just wonderfully. One win and no losses give her a 1 this week.

Michelle Delamor (Fallin by Alicia Keys): Of the girls, this was by far the best performance. Every note on the mark. So on the mark that she came off as copy-cat-ish. Considering that Ms Keys is another of those artists whose music you just don't normally touch, that's actually quite the compliment. The kicker is, she made it look effortless. I can't imagine what is going to happen when she actually puts more of herself in there and takes some risks. She's going to be a real contender (if Ashley isn't careful, Michelle and Paige may just waltz right by her), I just hope she doesn't peak too early. Michelle's definitely one to keep an eye on. She won 2 states and lost none for a 2 this week. According to the maps, she shouldn't be in much danger of going home this week.

Didi Benami (Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson): I like her voice but I wasn't thrilled with her performance. It was completely forgettable. With one win and no losses she gets a 1 for the week. Considering how mediocre the girls were, This in no way will guarantee her another week here.

Siobhan Magnus (Wicked Game by Chris Isaak): She wasn't bad, not great , but worthy of keeping an eye on. Unlike many tonight, she wasn't a complete disappointment between Hollyweird (where Simon referred to her as a dark horse) and the first show night. To be honest, I'm not certain that I'd go quite that far but she's got my interest so far. I'd like to see her come through for at least one more week. She won 2 states and lost none for a 2 this week.

Crystal Bowersox (Hand in My Pocket by Alanis): This was, hands down, my favorite performance of the night. What she's going to need to watch out for is the constant use of her instruments. The judges will begin to harp on her that she's using them as a crutch and that she needs to come out from behind them. They've done this before with several others (Scott McIntire for one, and HE was legally blind so there wasn't much more he COULD do). Kara was right, Crystal's going to need to become more than just a coffeehouse singer to succeed here. What I like best about her (as well as Lilly) is that she already has a good idea as to who she is as a performer. All she needs to do, is win this thing. She won 3 states and lost none for a 3 this week. I believe the reason she didn't get more is simply because she wasn't in the pimp spot this week. Well that and the fact she doesn't exactly LOOK like a star yet, but once those make over artists get their paws on her.... Loved her reaction when Simon had suggested David Bowie, she said it sounded like fun and you could SEE the wheels turning. I won't be surprised if that isn't an artist she tackles in a later episode.

Katie Stevens (Feelin' Good by Michael Buble'): She couldn't pick a more current song?? Anyone who'd even bothered to watch last season wouldn't have even bothered trying this song because it was done strike that, DONE by Adam Lambert on Top 5 night. Katie *takes a shot*, being only 16, is much too young to be handling this type of song. If you're gonna attempt it at her age, you need to do two things. Number one, actually hit all the notes correctly (nail it, don't go sharp or off-key in the slightest).... and number two, at least dress the part. If you're going to sing a torch song, don't come to the stage attired in a babydoll dress. Annoyingly, she was in the pimp spot and we all know what that means. Yep, it's the only flipping performance anyone really remembers for any length of time. She had 14 wins (seriously folks, she was NOT that good!) and no losses for a 14 for the week. No way in hell she's going home this week.

So, who goes home this week? Two girls and two boys leave us. If your name isn't Katie, Crystal, Siobhan or Michelle then you're in danger. I feel almost confident enough to make that statement.


Most in danger:
Paige: sang first on the first night with 2 hours between her and voting AND they screwed up her snippit....I will not be surprised if she's one. She needs to change her name to cannonfodder.

Ashley: Second singer's always a bum spot too. Her snippit was also jacked over. Top things all off, after seeing her in Hollywood and the auditions and KNOWING what she CAN do...her performance was less than mediocre and was one of the most disappointing ones of the bunch. The biggest strike against her is the fact that Paige sang first, had less air time overall and STILL managed to outsing her.

Janell: Seems like if you put pants on her and cover her legs, she can't sing. Honey, invest in a stripper pole or take up modelling. She'll need a miracle to pull through and one helluva performance next week.

Katelyn: According to the maps, she's a sure bet. Then again, the maps aint always right either. Personally, she wasn't the worst of the night and shouldn't be going anywhere. However, we need to take into account the maps are right.

Haeley: If the Worsters managed to do their job, she'll last. If all is right in the world, she'll be gone. Sorry.

Didi: Forgettable. This would be a good one to see gone too because she's a supposed plant. For those not up with the lingo.... a plant is someone that makes it on the show that has connections to the industry and in particular the show itself. In this case, the connection is Kara.

Still in danger but much less likely:
Lilly: simply because she sang early in the program and sang a practically unknown song

Lacey: This one would be due to the poor choice of song.

'Idolatry': David Cook gives us scoop on writing his sophomore CD!

'Idolatry': David Cook gives us scoop on writing his sophomore CD!

Totally awesome. Usually, the first cd is kinda okish while the sophomore album has a marked difference, a growth. David's first cd was absolutely the bomb, so I can't really imagine HOW it would get any better. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to this next cd!

Denver and loose ends

Wow. We're not even really out of the audition phase and this makes week number two where I totally blew off the review for a whole week. What does this tell you about how I subconciously feel about this season? I may need to consider this being my last season for this show. Then again, I say that almost every year and then I find that one contestant that I think makes it all worth while.

The week's episodes came from Denver and what I like to call the "loose ends episode". Why? Because the last show always has that last little bits from all the auditions that the producers felt were worthy enough of air time. They usually dub it the "best of the best" but I in my opinion, this isn't always the case. There were alotta *meh* and merely honorable mentions this time around.

Here are Styx Picks for the week.

Mark Labriola: Considering all the joking and that huge massive set-up, I expected this to be a really majorly sucky audition.... then he opened his mouth. What a pleasant surprise!


mark denver @ Yahoo! Video


Haeley Vaughn: I wasn't really expecting this voice, to be honest. You expect a girl like her to come in and bust out with Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone or anyone else of that particular styling. One does NOT expect what we got, which was a full out country singer. MY NYSis is gonna hate her for sure...



haeley denver @ Yahoo! Video


Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox: Of this quick montage of 2 contestants, Lee's was good but I preferred Crystal's audition over Lee's. Might be because last year's winner has the same sound and I'm so ready for something new.



pair best @ Yahoo! Video


Rachel Hubbard, Thaddeus Johnson and Genesis Moore: Of this group of 3, I much preferred Thaddeus over the other two. He does need to work on his breath support a bit though and I'm not so certain of his chances getting through the Hollywood rounds.



trio best @ Yahoo! Video


Didi Benami: She reminded me a bit of a Brooke White/ Megan Joy combination. She'll need to be careful that she doesn't allow her emotions completely wash her out in Hollywood. I did rather enjoy her rendition of Hey Jude (one of several songs I simply cannot stand).



didi best @ Yahoo! Video


Hope Johnson: She's got the story, the looks and dammitall...a good voice too. This one will be one to bear watching. Considering what she's gone through already, you can guarantee that she has more resilience in here little pinkie than a good 90% of those we saw this season so far. Randy's right in that she needs to learn how to close off those phrases. Is this the year of the Caucasian female? We are about due for one, but then we're due for an AAM as well.



hope best @ Yahoo! Video


And to close out the week, a non-pick. After seeing this one, I seriously wanted to burn my eyes out. I give you....Ty Hemmerling.



bikini denver @ Yahoo! Video

stories gleened from a few other sources

Randy Jackson news? courtesy of that nefarious site.


Casey James (that blonde guy that tried out...you know, the one who took his shirt off and I ~bet~ woulda dropped trou if Kara had asked him to, just to get a shot on the show...)

In the hell to the friggin NO news, Howard Stern! Please....this is a family oriented show and there is no WAY that Howard Stern is appropriate for such a show!!

UPDATE: 02/09/10: As I suspected, there is no offer to do this show. If you go to MJ's blog, you'll be able to hear some of what Mr Stern was saying regarding taking a job like that on his show.

We haven't even gotten to the Hollyweird Rounds....haven't even seen her on screen yet and already the stories are going around about Ellen.

Holy cow! I wanna go to Tennessee this April!! This in for Melinda Doolittle news..

In Carrie Underwood news, she's going to be starring in a surfer film and is singing the National Anthem in the Super Bowl (and it's a very decent rendition).

Speaking of the National Anthem, Katharine McPhee is scheduled to sing it at NASCAR on the 21st of this month.

Daughtry's supposed to be kicking off the Super Bowl Tailgate Party.

Oooh and those that saw Ellen when Adam Lambert was on last? His drawers went for $8500 on EBay.


And last but not least, in the "Things aren't always as they seem" files... one of the auditioners Nicci Nix has definitely had her share of screen time already.