A minor squwee, a surprise and a buncha *meh*

So a friend says last night (not my usual tv viewing buddy, but one I chat with nearly daily) that (and I quote)

"Man these singers in AI this year are just crazy goood". 

I wanna know two things:

 01) did we watch the same show? 

 and 

 02) What kinda good shit is she smokin'? 

Seriously, I could narrow this field down to the Top 4 and cut us out several weeks of ear-bleeding grief.  If you got the impression that Styxie is STILL not feeling it this year, you'd be right. Then again, Styxie aint been feeling it for a few years now. This week's show was no different. Yet again the Chart is going to be of no use because they're all in the YELLOW and all listed as B3s. Either they were all just that good as some say, or they really all were that horrible. I'm leaning towards the latter, to be honest.

Okies. This week's Styx Picks:

Elise: Now anyone that's been following this blog for the last couple years or so will know that I generally go  for a male rocker as one of my picks. However, this year we seem to be lacking one. You'll also remember that I don't always choose the pimp spot singer (unless they're that male rocker that makes me go SQUWEEE!!!) as one of my favorites of the night. Why? Because that spot usually gets a SUTA blast from the judges whether they deserved it or not. That said, this one had to be my favorites of the night. She's no Adam Lambert , who friggin KILLED this song 3 seasons ago in Season 8 (omg, has it been that long???). Excuse me while I go throw panties repeatedly at the YouTube link!!  However, girlfriend Tore. This. UP. I've been thinking for a few weeks that she had more of a grittier, 70's kinda vibe and I was so very right. She's been hitting the B3 quite regular this season and I'm really hoping that this week's performance helped her a bit. However, I'm looking at my numbers and... well to be honest, I'm surprised she didn't rank higher. Even with the pimp spot, she only rated 4th of 9 contestants on the Chart. It's making me wonder exactly what kind of fan base she has. On the plus side, she won 4 states this week on the Maps. She's also seeing a huge change in her odds. Elise went into the competition this week with a minor upswing in her odds and when she came out of her performance her odds went way up. It was the hugest increase in odds I've seen in a while.

Phillip: I didn't know this song. His performance inspired me to look it up. This was the perfect song for his voice. Dare I say it? Have I finally found what I was looking for? Yep. Just a little. I couldn't help myself, but I squweeeeed just a little bit and was regretting not getting the panties outta storage. I might just have thrown them! So this one I had to listen back... just to be sure... because I really can't watch him sing. Honestly. He makes me nearly fangirly.  Not in the Adam Lambert fashion, but damned close. It's the eyes, I know it is. I'm in Squwee with the WGWG yet again this year. This keeps up, hubby's gonna need to get a defibrillator for the townhouse, I'm tellin ya. Going into the show, his odds had crept up a bit more over the week before and he left out of the show with odds today just a bit higher. He had a 3 state win BUT he also was one of two that was on the Loss Map. His total for the week is a 2 state win and he's listed 2nd on the Chart.

Skylar: What a little ball of energy this gal is. Really liked her performance this week. Definitely a step in the right direction for her. My biggest worry is that she sang second this week on a two hour show. I really hope that spunk was enough to carry her through because she really deserves a few more weeks in the competition. She had a 2 state win this week, but that's about the only good I'm seeing in the figures. Skylar came into this week's show with odds that had dropped a bit from the week prior and after her performance, they slid a bit more. She only ranked 6th of 9 on the Chart. I liked her, but I'm a bit worried that she may see a B3 trip this time around. There were many that were worse though.

Acknowledgement:

Hollie: I didn't really like the performance at all this week. I do have to consider the numbers I see though. Her odds slipped coming into the week and slipped even more after the performance. However, the odds really aren't that bad yet. There are 3 others with worse odds but one of them had a hella increase this week. If Hollie's not careful and turn those numbers around, she'll be leaving in a week or three. She did rate first on the Chart and won 2 states on the Maps. A 2 state win seems to be average for this group but you really don't want to stay in mid-pack too long.

So, who's in trouble this week?  Just about all of them, again. Honestly, If I could keep those three plus maybe one more and ship the rest home now, I'd be so happy.

Colton: I know that this is the kind of music he wants to make and really this was a good group to choose for his voice, but honestly Lifehouse has many other songs better suited for this setting. Something with a bit more beat. Especially since he sang first on a two hour show. You've gotta be a bit more memorable in that position. Songs like Broken , Whatever it Takes or I'm Falling Even More in Love With You would have been perfect. But what do we get? A song that left Styxie cold cold cold. Two states on the Map and a 5th ranking on the Charts show that things may be iffy for him tonight. His odds had increased a bit over last week but this week's performance made them slide a bit. If he goes to the B3 and gets voted out, I wouldn't be surprised if the judges use the save early. They've fought too hard to let him go so soon.

Skylar: see her paragraph above.

Hollie: see her paragraph above.

Heejun: I was all set to say that this was entirely the wrong artist choice for him, idol or no. However, I'm going to change my opinion and just say it was a wrong song choice. If he'd used You Were Meant For Me, he may have had a real moment. He was listed dead last on the Charts. This means nothing because we've seen many hit the bottom spot and not go home. He won 1 state this week and didn't have anything on the Loss Map for a change! Going into the week , his odds had been still slipping. However, he came out of the performance with his odds going up. Wasn't a great performance but it was a bit better.

Jessica: Even with that SUTA blast (yes, it's crispy back there), she only rated 8th of 9 on the Chart and won only 2 states total on the Maps. Her odds had been creeping up from week to week but after last night's showing they started to slip. Maybe she's peaked already and isn't nearly as good as the judges would have us believe? In previous seasons, if anyone had dared attempt Ms Sasha Fierce's music, they would have had new rear-facing orifices ripped into them. Somehow, she manages to avoid this.

Joshua: Another minor SUTA blast for this one. Why do they keep praising those histrionics? *UGH* I love the song, but not Mariah's version of it. Why? Because those high notes she hits gives me a major headache. Well, that and the fact that it was played ad nauseum when it was released. The judges called him flawless. Really? I wanna know what they're smokin too. My darling sister in Chicago suggested that he "just push harder and that turd will come out!" Yeah, we thought he was that bad. If he's going to continue another week, I'd suggest a dose of Ex-Lax and a serving of prune juice to clear the issue up. Can he please go home now? I'll even put up with Mister FamilyJewelsinaVice for another week without much fuss!

DeAndre: *sighs* He really should have been sent home last week. On the plus side, there was much better connection with the home audience as he played up to the camera. I do appreciate how hard it must be to be a male with that kind of high vocal register. Now for the not so good. Not many people even remember this artist. I was a streamer in a chat site and I prided myself in having a little of EVERYTHING because you never knew what people would ask for during my time on air. I still have songs that I've never ever played because I grabbed them thinking they may just come in handy. I had to actually look this song up (kudos to the kids for making me look up more than one song this week!). Ok, I wouldn't normally listen to this kind of artist because the high notes are enough to kick start a migraine. To prove that he's worthy of being in the competition, he should have attempted Never Want to Leave You by the same artist. A bit more range to the song, but now that I think of it, I doubt DeAndre has the lower notes to support the song properly. Anyhow. Not to say that he needs to go or anything, but with a 1 win and 1 loss on the Maps, he has a big fat ZERO for the week. He's listed 7 out of 9 contestants on the Chart. Not to say his odds are bad, but if I put $100 down on him now and for some odd reason he manages against all odds to win this thing... I'd have an AWESOME down-payment for a house ( or at least a primo vacation to anywhere in the world I want to go!). His odds have been free-falling slipping since day one. A Benjamin on him now and him winning would get ya $10,000. Seriously.

So who goes?
According to Rickey's poll: DeAndre  (his polls are usually pretty close, 'cept last week)

Chart: Heejun (he's the VFTW poster child though)

Maps: Either DeAndre or Heejun

MJ's : Heejun , although she heard on Ryan's show there was going to be a SHOCK boot and she's rethinking that either Joshua or Hollie may get it. However, they do this every year, saying there's a SHOCK BOOT this early in the show and it turns out that it either really isnt so shocking OR that "the kids are so good this season, I can't believe this one's going home already!!" *cough cough BS cough cough*

Actually, the only shockers in my book would be the first 4 I mentioned (Elise, Phillip, Skylar and Hollie). If we're gonna go for a shocker, how about Elise? She had the pimp spot and they very rarely get sent home (although it HAD been done). She had an awesome night, yet didn't rank really high on the lists and her odds are sky rocketing.

The biggest question is... will the judges use the save tonight or is it still too early?

Underwhelmed

I want an hour fiddy of my time from last night back again,  please. In all fairness, the Idol machine really needs to freshen their themes up. Inflicting the kids with music that, although it holds up to the hand of time, is actually decades old and in some cases much older than the contestant. Having a rapper mentor during a rock week didn't help matters either. Although, I will admit that he did have some decent pointers for the kids.

Not to say that it was a bad week, but the Chart was no help at all this time around. Every single one of them is in the 1-10 B3 YELLOW group. Yep. Every. Single. One. I didn't see too many wows at all this time around. Not even from my favorites.

Styx Pick for the week:

Phillip: The only reason he's here is because he's my favorite to watch. Was it his best? No. Did he take anyone's advice in regards to styling or performance? No. His basic sentiment is, if it aint broke... don't fix it. Like he pointed out, it doesn't much matter how he's packaged. If the people like the music, they'll like it anyway, no matter how he dresses.

Acknowledgement of decent performance(s):

Jessica:  She actually made me like her this week. I still don't enjoy the super SUTA blast we get when the judges blather all over her, but they either weren't as vocal of their approval OR someone laced a crapperload of morphine in my SUTA Protection Enema this week. Her odds slipped a tad this week, however she's still listed as a favorite on the betting site. With 7 wins and no losses, I don't foresee losing her this round.

Colton: Parts of his performance this week were really good and others not so much. I do, however, hold an appreciation for the kids when they play an instrument during their performance because it takes ALOT of practice to be able to get all the words right, but be able to play the right notes for your instrument as well. Yes, playing an instrument can hide some of the imperfections, but it takes that much more concentration to get it right. He, too, had 7 wins and no losses for the week and a minor slip in the odds. I don't see him leaving us this week either.

So who's in danger this week? Just about all of them.

Hollie: She had a nice performance this week. Enough to make me smile, but not enough to make me say wow. Her odds are still creeping up and I won't be surprised if she'd this year's dark horse. Not exactly a favorite yet, but there's enough there to show alot of promise. She's going to be one of the biggest threats to Jessica. However, she didn't have anything on the Maps this week. If she reaches B3 this week, it'll be because she was followed by Jessica, Colton and this next man...

Heejun: This poster child of the VFTW saw his odds crash this week. All I can say about him is that he was memorable and alot of fun this week. I actually liked this week's performance over the others he's given us. He did win one state this week and had no losses, so maybe that nefarious site did its job. I won't be heart broken to see him go, but in all fairness, he wasn't the worst of the week.

Phillip: Yeah, I'm gonna stick him down here too. Although his odds are still inching up, the fact stands that he only grabbed 1 state this week. The winners over the last several years have been WGWGs and this might eventually work against him as some will see that guitar as a crutch. Unfortunately, dude doesn't seem to know quite what to do with himself when he's not behind it. And with as much as it shouldn't matter how the music is packaged, image does matter ever so slightly. He's going to want to at least introduce some color eventually (blue would look AWESOME with those peepers, jus' sayin').  Does he deserve to go, nope. I do have to consider the info given, though.

Elise: Her odds are still near the bottom of the barrel and she shares the next to last position with one other , while still another has even worse odds. I didn't know this song at all. With any luck, not many others did either and it'll work in her favor. She got a 2 state win this week. Does she deserve to go home, not really because that was a decent performance.

Skylar: Yep. Another one of my faves is getting mentioned down here. I personally wasn't fond of this particular performance of hers. Maybe it was just really early in the show, maybe I was still cranky from Jacob 2.0's performance. Who knows. We did get to see how very out of touch Randy is with the music scene, though. That song was covered by Garth Brooks, not Brad Paisley. Dog, lose the tacky pins you seem to like this year, shut your mouth and stop name dropping because you certainly don't know squat.  With slipping odds and only a 1 state win, it won't surprise me if she's in the B3... although I really don't wanna see that. Not yet.

Joshua: Even though his odds have been creeping up, he had a few things against him this week. An early sing position on a two hour night, the constant histrionics, and the over seasoning of a perfectly lovely song look like they may have worked against him this week. Can we get rid of him now? Oh wait, he's the year's only AAD, so we we may still have him for awhile because we don't wanna look racist. Oh hush! You know that card would be played if the only AA of the show gets voted off so soon! It's happened every damned year for almost half a decade now. If he goes, it'll be because he over seasoned the crawdads/crawfish/crayfish/mudbugs yet again. When will these kids learn? Just because you CAN put all the runs in, doesn't mean you SHOULD.  No states for you this week, Emeril.

Erika: I loved the look, very polished. Hopefully, the voters weren't too confused with that chameleon-like change she had this week. Didn't help she performed so very early. If anyone needed a pimp spot this week, it was Erika. I'm hoping that she sticks around for at least one more week. You remember that one contestant I mentioned up in Elise's review? Yeah. Her and Erika as tied with the next to worst odds on the betting site. I'm hoping that it's because the names are so close (5 letters beginning with E) and that they were both blondes that had everyone confused before. She had 1 win and 1 loss this week. There is a very distinct possibility that she could be in the B3 simply because of the 2nd sing spot and the over-haul on her looks (she did look like a different gal, after all). She doesn't deserve to go this week, though.

DeAndre: Ew. P-U, dude. This song simply wasn't believable from him. His only hope this time around will be if Rickey is still doing the VFTF program (Vote For The First), because with a really pitiful showing first thing on a 2 hour show and others much more memorable singing after him he really doesn't have much of a shot otherwise. There were so many other songs, like a ballad, that would have worked well with his voice. His odds have crashed and since Jermaine's ouster last week, he's at the bottom of the barrel. Not to say they're bad, but if I was to put a Benjamin down on him right now and he somehow managed to win (like if every single one of the others got disqualified tonight), I'd be able to afford a nice vacation ... hmmm maybe a cruise. His pooch is screwed this week as he's the weakest link and the one most likely to go home.

If you go by odds: DeAndre is gone (possible Erika or Elise)
If you go by the Chart: DeAndre's gone
If you go by the Maps: it could be anyone EXCEPT Jessica and Colton

The Patient, The Bootee and 10 other relatively Drama free contestants

Alt title: Songs the Year They Were Born AKA:Making Some of Our Viewers Feel Really Old





Wow. What a week.

Sorry... sometimes I just can't contain the sarcasm. Yeah, most of them were either that dull or that bad. I'm seriously not totally feeling this season at all.  Is it bad of me to say that the most exciting part of this week's show actually happened off stage?

Guess what? Last week's picks are still my favorites this week. Even with the one being ill. I won't be surprised if they end up in the Top 5 at least.

This week's Styx Picks (in order of performance, because that's how I roll):

Phillip: Consider all the stuff these kids have to do while on this show, then add on the fact this poor kid's been really sick to the point of needing surgery this week and THEN add on the top of all that the fact he sang in the death spot. You'd think there's no way in HELL that he'd put on even a decent show and he'd be in danger, right? Oh hell no. It wasn't his best, but you really can't expect that it would be. Granted, surgery for kidney stones isn't as bad as the one for gall stones, but it IS an invasive procedure and you are terribly uncomfortable ( to say the least ) for days afterwards. So naturally his performance wasn't at 100%. I was pleasantly surprised today to see that not only did his odds go up this week, but he placed in second on the Chart with a 1-5 GREEN and hobbled away with 2 states on the Map! Yay !!

Skylar: Even though my viewing companions are really leaning towards the lukewarm with her, I really liked her performance yet again this week. Personally, it was one of the top 4,...*sighs* okay 5, performances of the night.  The Chart listed her in 4th with a 1-6 GREEN rating and she took 1 state this week on the Maps. With her odds still rising ever so slightly, I don't really see any danger for her this week. There were many much worse.

Hollie: Although her SUTA blast wasn't nearly as brilliant as the performer before her, she still got praise that was a tad better than she really deserved. She sang the pimp spot this week and rarely do they ever go home. Her odds are still rising so she should be sitting pretty for a few more weeks, unless she drops a major turd. However, we've seen that sometimes you can drop a load of crap for a performance and still manage to survive. She does need to learn to enunciate a bit better though. The Chart placed her in 3rd with a 1-4th GREEN rating and she grabbed 3 states on the Maps.

Nods of approval (although I don't back either of them yet):

Jacob 2.0  Joshua: The SUTA blast this one got was of nuclear proportion. It was so bad, it made Jessica's from last week look like a dress rehearsal. I asked one viewing partner how her *censored* (colon) was and she said "crispy". Personally, mine was so extra crispy that I think I'm going to need that enema I mentioned in the previous entry to get through the season after all. With any luck, both won't be receiving the SUTA treatment on the same weeks because with my luck, I'll end up face down in the hospital. This one grabbed first on the charts with a 1-4 GREEN and 6 states on the Maps. His stock is still going up. Unless he pulls a Jermaine Jones (click the link to see why I dropped this comparison), it looks like we're stuck with him this week and possibly for many more weeks to come.

Colton: I wasn't overly familiar with his selection this week and here I thought he'd said he was going to pick songs everyone knew? This year I haven't bothered to listen back to the performance to compare to the original.... until this week. I kinda had to since I didn't know the song at all (even with a few years worth of streaming experience). Maybe it's because that White Lion wasn't as well known as he thought? I mean they did show up on the scene around the same time White Snake did and I'm sure most have heard of that group. Anyhow, after listening back I have to say he did a very good job and is worthy of being mentioned. However, his odds are dropping and his judges review was shaky. He grabbed one state on the Maps and an 8th listing with a 5-11 B3 rating.

The only one to lose states this week is Heejun.

DeAndre and Erika both got the goose egg on the Maps.

So. Who may make a bottom visit? In order of performance:

Jessica: Poor song choice. The judges harped on the fact she chose an uptempo song . I think she can do it, just didn't pick one suited to her voice. We all know that if she chose another ballad that she would have been dinked for it anyhow. She couldn't win this week no matter what she did. Sad thing, I see her as being on point one week and then barfo the next. We'll have to see. Stock's still rising and she's the favorite on most of the sites. Listed 5th with a 2-11 B3 on the Chart and a 2 state win, she could be in danger this week anyhow.

Heejun: Dude seriously was the weakest link this week. Another boring ballad didn't help matters. Not going to blame the performance on the Jermaine problem because from what I'm hearing, it hit them ALL hard, especially since they weren't given the opportunity to say good-bye to their friend. The show still goes on and all. The judges panned him, his win/loss average on the Maps was a zero, his odds have crashed and he got listed with an 11th place 5-11 B3 rating on the Chart. Seriously, best odds are for him to go this week, especially since I bet that he's splitting votes with Jessica and she's the better singer.

Elise: The judges tried to make up for the luke-warm reviews from last week. I do have to admit, at the time she sang, it was one of the better performances. However, she was followed up by all of the ones in the Picks section and all of them were much more memorable. She sang early and wasn't overly memorable by the show's end. 1 win/ 0 losses . 7th listing, 5-11 B3 rating. Plummeting odds. Her only saving grace will be if  America really thought Heejun was as bad as I thought he was.

DeAndre: Pretty eyes and beautiful hair is only going to get you so far in this show. Especially if you keep coming off so light in the loafers. He needs to take a lesson or three from Adam Lambert and learn to be more comfortable in that body. It doesn't matter that Adam's gay, he still manages to make the gals squeal. While you're at it, learn how to work the audience as well as the cameras. His performance was a tad rough. I really think he shouldn't have tried attempting to solo a duet, just sayin. Why not choose one of those two? Lionel Richie had a wonderful tune out that year called Lady (You Bring Me Up) that could have been easily taken up another couple notes to fit his range. Plummeting odds, a goose egg on the Maps and a 9th listing with a 5-11 B3 rating tell me that America's seeing what I do and he's just not translating to the general public.

Shannon: Better than last week, but still an *UGH*. That certainly wasn't a good pick for her no matter WHAT the judges said. I appreciate the advice she was given this week, because I believe it'll help her in the long run. Randy's an idiot, but then again he's never been a singer so wouldn't know what lying down while practicing can do for a singer. For those that never were in choir and don't know, when you lie on your back while singing, you work your diaphragm and lungs more, which helps improve your breath support when you're in the proper position during performance. Odds are plummeting, only a one State win and the 6th listing with a 3-11 B3 can put her in danger. However, Miss Migraine is the VFTW poster child at the moment so it won't surprise me if we get her a week or two more yet. Especially since Heejun had such a poor showing.

Erika: A meh showing this week. I wasn't fond of the arrangement, to be honest and neither were the judges. This is another that was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. If she hadn't done anything to the song, the judges would have dinked her for being karaoke. A 10th listing with a 5-11 B3 rating, a zero state win and falling odds don't exactly inspire my confidence in her longevity on this show.

Any of those 6 can possibly go this week, for the reasons stated.... although Jessica has the best chances of surviving. The rest of them have rather abysmal odds.

If you go by worst odds: DeAndre's gone
If you go by whose odds dropped the most in a week: Elise (her odds went from +800 to a +3284)
If you go by worst performance of the night: Heejun

The other 2 are fodder.

Then again, considering that Jermaine got the heave-ho, they may just decide to keep them all because one was already lost this week. Either that or they'll use a judge's save now OR they'll keep it business as usual and do a non-elimination week later in the season.

Whitney Wonder or was it Stevie Houston?

I want my 2 hours back. Seriously, the Styxie is NOT feeling this year in the slightest. There were only 3 that I really liked and 4 that were worthy enough to make it through to the next round. Can we just take those 4 through and cut the season short? No? Damn.

Not going to go through all of them like I used to because frankly, it's a pain in the glutes and I'm less likely to keep it up if I go through every single performance. Have I said that I'm not feeling it this year yet? Oh, I have? Damn.

This week we had the boys singing Stevie Wonder and the girls were inflicted with Whitney Houston.......


Yeah. I had that same reaction too. They're forever telling the girls "don't do such and such artist because they're so difficult" and Whitney's one that's at the top of their lists of who not to do. Yet, they chose this very artist for them to perform. Ok  ok ok... I know it was in tribute but don't trash the gals for poor performances because the producers decided to honor Whitney. Oddly enough, the girls mostly did fairly well considering all things.

My picks for the week:

Skylar: Not sure what it is about this gal because I normally do NOT go for a female country voice. Why? Because I find it very annoying. But for some reason, I really kinda dig her. Even though she had to perform a song that was really completely out of her wheel-house, she managed to make it work.

Hollie: I didn't much like her through the auditions and I certainly was cheesed off when she knocked one of my early favorites out of being in the competition rounds. However, she really kinda won me over last night. She was definitely one of the best females of the night.... and that sustained note!!!!! OMG she made it look so freakin effortless! If Skylar gets the boot in the next few weeks, I can see myself easily backing Hollie on the girls' side.

Phillip: So cool they named him twice. *chuckle* I don't know what it is about him, because he so reminds me of a young Taylor Hicks and if you all remember, I was very much anti-Hicks that season. Okies... so he did the same song as he auditioned with and to be honest, they were on the fence with him until he picked up the guitar and did Thriller so... ya know. That kinda is a mark against him. However, there's something so fun about Phillip when he gets up there and totally gets lost in his performance. Not quite squwee-worthy but really has the potential to get there and pretty damned fast.

A not really pick, but an acknowledgement that the kiddo can sing:
Jessica. Hated the song. Hated the Economy sized SUTA we got with her. Hate that it feels that they're trying to cram her down our throats. My only hope at this point is that she's peaked early and crashes and burns. Otherwise, I'm going to end up with a scorched colon by the season's end and will require daily sunscreen and aloe vera enemas just to be able to watch this program. Oh... and that constant finger tapping on the mic is as annoying as the Gaspuletta's Lip licking.

This week was so ~meh~ that the Charts on DI aren't any help at all. Everyone's in the yellow and no one is rated lower than a 7 which means it's pretty much anyone's game at this point.

The Maps are not much more helpful. According the wins/losses only 2 of my favorites (plus that one other) had any substantial numbers.

Jessica, Shannon and Skylar all lost states this week. I don't believe this will do much for Jessica because she was in the girls' pimp spot and was SUTAed to near death. Plus she had a fair number of won states to balance her out.

DeAndre was the only boy on the loss map. This didn't help him at all.

This week we've been told that the lowest boy and lowest girl will be put up and the judges will decide which one stays. I wonder if they'll need to "sing for their life". Kinda XFactorish aint it?

So who may end up in the bottom?

For the girls:
Elise: Although a better choice of song than the one she originally she wanted to do, it was still rough (most of the country gals had trouble this week). Plus she sang first for the girls which meant an early spot on a 2 hour performance night. This doesn't help matters. 2 wins/ 0 losses

Erika: Although nicely done, the lower notes were still a bit rough. Her spot in the first hour won't be helpful. 1win/0 loss

Shannon: If Elise and Erika make it through it's because this one bombed out. She started off really good but the only thing I remember about her is the fact that she hit a bum note and then it took her several more notes to get back on track. When you go off key like that, it's terribly distracting and extremely frustrating because that's all your mind is on. 0 wins/ 1 loss

Skylar: As much as I liked her, Hollie and Jessica followed her and really blew their respective numbers out of the water. After the praise those two got, it'll be a miracle if she's remembered. Although she's alot more memorable than any girl that sang in the first hour. Well, other than Shannon who dropped that huge turd note.

For the boys:
Everyone?

DeAndre: A better performance than we've seen in a while but not everyone gets into that reggae um stuff. Ask Naima, she'll tell ya. This was definitely NOT the week to pull out flava. 1win/ 1 loss for a zippo, nadda, goose egg. His map count was the worst of the bunch. He might have had a chance if it was just Heejun and Jeremy following him. Unfortunately, he also had Phillip in the pimp spot.

Heejun, Jeremy, Jermaine and Joshua all ended up with only 1 win each and could also see that last spot.

Heejun: Dude's funny and I think I'll be following his Twitter just for those oddball pix, but dude is so very bland when he sings. Water has more flavor. Guarantee that if he makes it through this week, he'll start splitting votes with Jessica and then he'll be out.

Jeremy: JLo's favorite. I really don't see what she sees in him. Honestly. He can go home any day now. He had to be wild carded in so evidentally I'm not the only one that sees this.

Jermaine: Only things he's got going for him are that he's got that killer Barry White voice and he's a teddy bear of a person. This wasn't a particularly good week for him simply because he sang early. Otherwise, he handled himself well. I really don't see them getting rid of him if he hits the bottom spot  considering that they fought to get him on the show. Then again I could be wrong. I guess it'll all depend on who the girl is that hits that bottom spot.

Joshua: Although he had a better performance than most of the guys, Jacob 2.0 sang in the death spot.

The only saving grace for any of these guys is if Phillip's doctor decides that he simply cannot wait to have whatever medical treatment done to make him better. Surely, if he's put into the hospital for abdominal pain again, they'll insist on him stepping down from the competition. I've seen reports of gall stones and one that says it's kidney stones. If it's the latter, it's an easy peasy surgery where they thread something up and in and give it a zap or three and he's done. Walking might hurt and that strange little movement he likes to make will be out, but he'll still be able to compete.The surgery for gall stones, on the other hand, is alot more invasive and could mean him having to back out of the competition. This would be a shame because we really need a contestant like Phillip in there to make it worth the watch.

http://www.tmz.com/2012/03/08/american-idol-phillip-phillips-hospital-doctor-gallstone-contestant/#.T1lGqsAgfhJ

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/03/american-idol-phillip-phillips-back-from-hospital-will-participate-in-top-13-results-show.html

WTH was that?

I'm so not feeling it this year. Yeah, I know, I've been saying this for a few years already. However, this year I'm feeling it so much less than the previous ones. Thankfully, they look to be eliminating a couple weeks worth of semi-finals rounds and heading straight into competition next week. Thank goodness!

During the auditions, it really looked like the field of girls was going to be much stronger than the field of guys, but it seemed to change once they hit the big stage. Well, not by much but the guys definitely had the edge this week. I'm not going to break them all down because none of them are really worth my time. Depending on how they do in the next week or so will determine if I even bother to write this up or if I'll declare the whole thing a wash.

This week, I'll just give a good guess as to who may make it through... how's that sound?

For the guys:
01) With the last minute, XFactorish, "OOOPS we so made a fatal mistake and should have included this contestant!" entry AND the pimp spot for the week, we more than likely will see Jermaine go through to the Finals competitions. It would be rather stupid not to at this point.

02) American Idol's been DYING to get their hands on a Justin Bieber type singer since The Bieb hit it big. That's why the age was lowered a couple years ago. Looks like their wet dreams all came true this year with the entry of Eben. He's got the hair, the look and the sound. He'll be a contender if only because the tweenagers are the ones that do most of the voting.

03) We've got Gokey 2.0 that goes by the name of Adam. Unfortunately, I believe he has the potential to become just as annoying. However instead of being constantly reminded of a dead wife; this year we'll continually have a cute baby shoved in our faces. Yeah, I'm already annoyed by this but I won't deny that there is some talent there worth keeping an eye on.

Other possibles:
04) Although a little bland and not really the type to stand out, Chase may get chosen because we always have at least one country guy and one country girl. Since the guys seem to be a little light on the down home flavor, he may just get a pass in for that.

05) Since Idol was a bit light on the AAM this year, most likely choice will be Joshua as both Aaron and DeAndre were week vocally. We can look forward to Joshua to be Lusky 2.0. Not a fun time. Maybe he won't last long.

06) Considering that the judges made Colton audition with his sister even though he didn't apply this year AND the fact they sent him through Hollyweird and NOT her, we can probably hedge bets that they'll find a way to keep him in the competition even if they have to wild card him.

07) Last may be either Reed or Phillip. They have similar, Taylor Hickish styles so it wouldn't really make much sense to choose both. They had this same issue one year with a couple young boys that had the same style and they ended up choosing looks over quality which is a real shame. To choose both of these young men would mean  that they'd end up splitting votes and neither would benefit. I'm thinking that although Reed had the more lively performance,  it might actually be Phillip that advances. Considering that Reed sang first on a 2 hour show, the only way I see him advancing is if he's wild carded in.

For the Gals:
I'm all set to send them all home and just make it a field of  Top 13 guys, to be honest.
But if I *MUST* choose......

01) Although I didn't particularly like her, Jessica was one of the better ones this week. She already owns the stage and will be a real contender with the Hawaii vote. This will definitely be a factor unless HeeJun gets sent through too. If that happens, you can either expect them to split votes OR he won't last more than a week or two as she's the superior singer. We saw this happen with Jasmine Trias and Sanjaya, you can be sure it'll happen this year as well.

02) The torch singer, Hallie, will be another to watch. She reminds me a bit of Storm Large with her singing style.

03) Elise had the pimp spot, so it's hard to imagine that she won't be there.

04) This year has a huge glut of  female country singers, but the only one I found worth listening to was Skylar. She had a very strong Reba and Kelly vibe in her performance and I think she'll do well. This is an odd pick for me, considering that I'm not overly fond of many Reba songs at all.

As for the rest, they should be flushed.
However, we can probably expect one or more of the following:

05) Jen seems to be a judge favorite and shows a little promise.

06) Erika bears watching simply because both my gal in Chicago AND my hubby both liked her performance this week.

07) Brielle may make it one more week, simply because she can work the audience.

Remember, this is just my 2 Cents. Honestly, I could narrow this down to a Top 6 and cut more than half our season right out if I had my way.