American Idol - Looks Like I get the night off!

Well, apparently we were told last night that there was a surprise during the results. I read a rumor today that there might be NO elimination. Seems to be a contradictory message to eliminate someone at a charity event. So for that reason, it makes sense that they didn't kick someone off. Of course, to have a charity event in the middle of the competition is kind of silly in the first place! But whatever, it's still for a good cause. So, I guess just keep in mind what we all discussed this week, because we're going to have to do some crazy math next week in figuring out what 2 contestants will leave based on 8 hours of voting (4 hours this week and 4 hours next week). That should be fun!

Highlights from the night? Definitely not Earth Wind and Fire, as predicted! Carrie Underwood's rendition of "I'll Stand By You" will definitely be downloaded to my Ipod tomorrow. As well as Kelly Clarkson's "Up To the Mountains" with Jeff Beck. We won't disqualify her for her awful attire. We're used to that by now! I even was impressed with Il Divo. I was happy to see 2/6ths of the FRIENDS (Ross and Phoebe) reunited and dancing for charity! TOM from Myspace was there! That's always a good time! And it was refreshing to see that no one was really promoting any movies or albums. All music was of the inspirational sort. So that was cool.

We kept pondering the Bono thing all through yesterday and today and in the final 2 minutes of the show, he appeared to the Idol contestants and gave them a song to sing. Faaaantastic! Thanks Bono!

All in all, good event, great for charity. But pointless to be blogging about it! So with that said, we'll return in a week to kick off 2 to get our final 4! In the meantime, feel free to debate in the comments about Elvis and Celine: Revoltionary TV or Super Ultra Cheesy? See you next week.

American Idol Gives Back - Top 6 Perform

My friends, welcome back for another rendition of the American Idol Blog. It's hard to make fun of the show on a week like this when they're actually doing something for a really good cause. Sure it's going to bring in big ratings for Fox, and be a perfect platform for many artists to plug new albums or actors/actresses to plug their summer blockbusters about to be released. But, the more eyes that are glued to the TV translates to lots of money to help "make poverty history" at home and abroad! Yes, my friends....LIVE AID/8 has invaded AMERICAN IDOL! Very touching clips throughout the show bring into our homes the horrific scenes of poverty around the world. I even found myself picking up the phone to make a call for my favorite instead of texting (but yeah..I did that too!)

Anyway, I'm not here to express my political views on the world! Just here to talk about amateur talent! So after a 2 hour telethon/concert tomorrow night, we will have narrowed down our top 6 to 5. Someone has to go home. Tonight, as Simon stated, seemed like the competition got serious. The Haley's, Chris Sligh's and Sanjaya's are out of our "hair" (no pun intended). Everyone left can sing, even though some of them may still seem like the devil and drive us absolutely nuts! So who goes home next? I'll be honest...I have no idea! But I'm sure as hell going to try and figure it out as I always do! Let's dive in to our SONGS THAT INSPIRE and try and figure out exactly what "MENTORED BY BONO" really means!

Chris Richardson

Song: Change the World

Artist: Eric Clapton

Remember the days of the MOVIE Soundtrack? Oh I do. I remember that crazy movie Phenomenon where John Travolta became a genius overnight! (Only in the 90's!). I remember wanting to own that crazy soundtrack. Why? Well that escapes me now. The only thing I remember now is that Eric Clapton wrote this nifty little song for it. How did Chris do? Well, not too bad I guess. He hit all of the notes. He went on a few runs near the end. His voice remains the weakest of the competition, but he still has an appeal about him. The judges thought it was great. Simon even called the guy sexy! I know that's the first thing I think of when I see blazer/cargo pants ensemble! But let's remember, Chris has been in the bottom 3 a few times now. His time may be running short. But there are still others that may bail him out this week.

Melinda Doolittle

Song: There Will Come a Day

Artist: Faith Hill

I really am impressed with the miracle workers in the Idol Dressing Rooms. They really have outdone themselves with Melinda. 2 weeks in a row, she's looking pretty good. And it compliments her fantastic vocals very well. I am not very familiar with the Faith Hill song (funny how a couple contestants opted to stay in the Country genre for the 2nd week straight), but no one can deny she sang the hell out of it once again! I still say that she's missing that Idol-winning quality, and I'm even more convinced after another performance tonight. But I've come around on Melinda, and I can see why there are many out there that like her. She's definitely safe!

Blake Lewis

Song: Imagine

Artist: John Lennon

Oh, I know Blake is all cool and stuff...but what's up with him not pronouncing his P's Properly anymore? It's like he whispered them and they came off as B's. "Imagine all the Beople....living life in beeeeeeeeeez" Awesome dude! There is no doubt, that the Lennon song is a beautiful song. Possibly one of the most inspirational songs ever written! But as I was listening, I was just as conflicted as the judges. There just isn't much you can do with the song to showcase your talents. And Blake didn't even try to take it anywhere. On the other hand...where do you take it? As the judges say, he WAS sincere as he sang it (except for minding his P's and B's. That was all for the "Blake Effect"). I'm lost on this one. But, if anyone else is as perplexed as me on what to do with Blake, he may just find himself sitting in the bottom 3. Hey, he was there last week, right? And there isn't much room for error now that we're down to 6 and we had 3 pretty decent performances.

LaKiTHsha Jones

Song: I Believe

"Artist": Fantasia Barrino (written by Season 1 finalist Tamyra Gray)

I can't believe I'm going to say this. I actually miss Fantasia! Like it or not, if you watched the season 3 finale, all you will ever remember when you hear this song is Fantasia jumping up and down, and going crazy with the Idol Choir backing her up and the confetti dropping from the sky. Take that image, and replace Fantasia with LaKisha. Can you imagine this scene? Can you imagine LaKisha being crowned the winner of American Idol? I didn't think so. Not much else to say. The performance was okay...and as the judges say...it wasn't Fantasia. I despise Fantasia, but I'll always remember that performance. Watch it for yourself by clicking here.

Phil Stacey

Song: The Change

Artist: Garth Brooks

Remember Crazy Alien Phil? (see picture above) Something about him tonight did NOT remind me of an Alien. I'm so confused! Did they put makeup on his chrome dome to make it not stand out as much? The only thing strange about him tonight was a few of those trademark weird faces he makes during his performance (again....see picture above). Even though I'm a country convert, I didn't get around to the entire Garth Brooks collection (I'm only on "Thunder Rolls," "2 Pina Coladas," "Friends in Low Places," and the Chris Gaines experiment). So, I didn't know this one. But Phil did a pretty decent job on it. I agree with Simon that he lost some of the appeal from his Country "TONE" he had last week. The judges seem pretty optimistic he has nothing to worry about this week. I'm going to take their word for it. (famous last words!)

Jordin Sparks

Song: You'll Never Walk Alone

Artist: written by Rodgers & Hammerstein for musical Carousel. Later performed by Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, and Elvis Presley

Why do I not care about who goes home this week? Because I know who isn't going home this week. In fact, this performance may have sealed the deal for Jordin Sparks. She may never have to worry about going home. Yes, I have been supporting Jordin since the beginning of the top 12 performances and I am pretty convinced now that she gave her Idol Winning performance tonight. I may change my mind next week, but she was fantastic! And yes, of course Ryan told us before the break that Jordin was going to give us a showstopping performance. So, we already had it built in our minds that it was fantastic. But come on kids, it was! Yes, it's amazing that she's 17 and singing as well as she is. But it would STILL be amazing for anyone at 28. Melinda, you're no longer the front-runner. Jordin is the one to beat!

Alright. Not a bad week. 2 Great performances, 1 very good performance, 3 OKAY performances. So it's no surprise who my bottom 3 is. I guess I'll just pick one at random to go home!

Bottom 3: Chris Richardson, LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis Wildcard: Phil Stacey Bonus Wildcard: Melinda Doolittle

Eliminated: Chris Richardson - Sorry Timberfake, you've flirted too many times with the bottom. It's time to pack up your things and ship out.

As always, if anyone is a betting Man/Woman, then I just went ahead and helped you figure out who NOT to go with!

So, now it's time to get amped up for the 2 hour results show tomorrow night. I'm not gonna lie. Kelly and Carrie are going to be there. I'm excited! Has everyone downloaded Kelly's new single "Never Again" on itunes today? Well, what are you waiting for?! Oh yeah...and duh! HARRY POTTER himself is going to be on AMERICAN Idol! You'd think one Brit would be enough on the show! Anyway...don't expect a complete recap of the 2 hours tomorrow night. As always, this blog is mainly for the competition aspect! (and for my gloating over Carrie and Kelly)

On a final note, in the spirit of the celebs on Idol Gives Back tomorrow night, I thought I'd do a little plugging of my own. As we all know, the American Idol songwriting competition is in full effect. While I haven't had time to sit down an pen a tune myself, my uncle has submitted a couple of tunes! If you want to check out what he put together, he has a myspace page out there promoting the tunes. Feel free to check it out and show your support, if you so choose! Good Luck Uncle Joe!

See everyone tomorrow night and enjoy IDOL GIVES BACK! Guess we'll have to wait until then to figure out exactly how Bono is involved!

American Idol - Everyone breathe...it's over!

Is it weird to say this one was actually a shocker? I mean, I am dumbfounded. It was like my script I've been building over the weeks was coming to fruition. Sanjaya was about to take down Lakisha! It was GOING to happen! But alas, the Hurricane will keep on tumbling through Idol Gives Back. My friends....the love affair with Sanjaya has ended.

Eliminated: Sanjaya Malakar

Bottom 3: Blake, Lakisha, Sanjaya

My Bottom 3 (pick in Blue): Chris, Lakisha, Sanjaya

We can go back to business as usual! Farewell Sanjaya! Very impressive run for how awful you were! So was pretty close with the bottom 3. Should've stuck with my gut on Chris. I had a feeling he was super safe this week due to his comments AFTER the performance as well as his bottom 3 scare last week. Blake I should've seen coming. I even mentioned that I thought he might get a scare because there was nothing worth discussing in his performance. I 2nd guess myself too much! Oh well! Maybe next week!

So, was anyone confused about Fergie being on stage this week? Sure, I always confuse her for a country star too! I guess they are just shamelessly promoting Top 40 artists this year no matter WHAT the theme week is. And that crazy Idol performance? I think we all could've done without that SUPER HAPPY number! But WOW....Martina was awesome wasn't she? Those country girls can really bring the house down!

I'm sure the CEO of Dreamworks wasn't too happy with Antonio Banderas. Most people will be lining up to see Shrek 3 a few weeks late. Promo said May 18th, Antonio went ahead and told us June! Something is fishy here!

Well everyone we made it. Next week is Idol Gives Back! I can hardly contain myself! Well, I AM pretty excited about Kelly and Carrie and the inexplicable appearance by BORAT. But what's up with this mystery Duet they're hyping up? Is that REALLY going to make people tune in? Well, I'm sure we'll all be tuning in anyway!

Until then folks, enjoy the Sanjaya free weekends and Sanjaya free April and May!!! Go back to your normally scheduled lives! And please join me in the campaign to get Lakisha off the show! See you next week when we join the kids for INSPIRATIONAL SONGS! Wow, I'm getting chills just thinking about it! Good night!

American Idol - Top 7 Perform

Well kids,here's a news flash for you. I didn't hate the show tonight! I know, shocker isn't it? Usually people cringe at the thought of Country night. But sometimes the country tunes can bring out the best in people (and expose others for the frauds they are!). But, for me personally, I'll attribute my enjoyment to my growing interest in the genre of Country Music. Through my "Tennessee Connection," I've slowly been introduced to the Country world, and it's not really all that bad! Sure, I dabbled a bit in the past with a little Shania here and then a little more with with Carrie a few years back. But I've gone as far now as TiVo'ing the CMT Music Awards that aired last night! (Our Girl Carrie won the big award by the way!!!!) Anyway, enough about me, let's get onto this year's wonderful contestants! (okay, well I still have to have SOME sarcasm in my blog!) Tonight Martina McBride did everything in her power to help bring the best out of these contestants. Some passed with flying colors...others failed in very awful ways! So let's see who we think will be going home after my favorite episode of the season!

Phil Stacey

Song: "Where the Blacktop Ends"
Artist: Keith Urban

You know, I gotta hand it to the Bald headed beauty of an alien. He actually didn't do too bad this week. Martina noted that his voice can be pretty nice at times. And come on, High Fiving and Chest Bumping members of the audience is always worth some points. As well, as pointing out executive producer Nygel Lythegow (or something like that). He sang mostly in tune, was having fun and was far from the scary sightings we've seen of him before (get it? Alien? Sightings!? Oh yeah..I'm stretching I know!) With Phil being on deck to be eliminated, this could cause a shocker. All 3 judges liked, but Simon still said it might not be enough, since it took him 10 weeks to get to this point. I dunno, I'm thinking the dude is safe. If history has proven anything in the past....if you have a decent performance...you're usually safe. Usually when the shocking eliminations happen, it's when a good performer has an off-week and you consider them safe. (Any clues at what I'm getting at???)

Jordin Sparks

Song: "Broken Wing"
Artist: Martina McBride

Well, Jordin did a great job with a great song and Simon finally is on board that she may actually win the whole thing! (Finally, dude) Loved it! And Randy is right to keep harping on the 17 thing. Just goes to show that these judges never expect anything big out of the teenagers on the show. But she is consistently bringing down the house! Now, while she WAS great, I know a certain girl in Tennessee that sings it best, so Jordin will have to rank 3rd to Martina and her! You still have the crown Shanna ;-)

(ok ok....everybody all at once! "awwwwwwwwwwwww ")

Sanjaya Malakar

Song: "Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About"
Artist: Bonnie Raitt

Why do I get fooled so easily? The pre-performance clips of Sanjaya always get me hoping that he's actually going to do well. And then.....he sings. How much longer will this last folks? I'm predicting a bottom 3 visit this week. Until his elimination, he will continue to butcher one great song at a time yet befuddlingly (it's a word......well now it is!) do justice to songs like Besame' Mucho. What is wrong with the world? Seriously?

Lakisha Jones

Song: "Jesus Take The Wheel"
Artist: Carrie Underwood

OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!! NO SHE DIDN'T!!!! Yeah....of all people, KIKI is the one that tries to do Carrie Underwood. Hamburger at Breakfast? Yeah that's a good analogy Simon. This was incredibly, horrifically (yeah I made up this word too!), ridiculously awful! Sure, if you've heard the song 1000 times like me and have seen Carrie perform it a zillion times, you're used to seeing this sweet small-town girl sing a song about driving on ICE with babies in the back seat and praying to the Lord to start driving! Then, Hurricane Lakisha comes to a TV near you. Imagine the nightmares you'd have!! While Lakisha was praying to Jesus, she should've asked Him to take a look at her mouth and fix it once and for all (yep, the LISP and the oversized upper lip that her tongue gets stuck on!). If you remember last season, there was a plus- sized POWER VOCALIST named Mandisa who was an early favorite to win Idol. Her downfall came on country night doing Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine." It was a trainwreck as well, but people thought she'd be safe. Well Simon has gone on the record giving KiKi some advice for next week. I'm thinking there may not be a need for the advice, but we'll see! I didn't like her before, but now? Now, I despise the woman! Those boots, though? ahhhh loved those GOLDEN BOOTS!

Chris Richardson

Song: "Mayberry"
Artist: Rascal Flatts

Well, I've had the privilege of hearing ol "Mayberry" last summer at the Rascal Flatts concert I was forced to attend! (okay, fine....there's a chance I may have WANTED to go!). It's quite a catchy tune, isn't it? Too bad it was wasted on Mr. Richardson. But I still found myself wanting him to do well because I like the song. Poor guy just doesn't have the voice to go much further in this competition. Some parts sounded alright. And I still think his fans will bail him out since he was in the bottom 3 last week. It'll be close though. But everyone had to love when he went on his rant that "Nasaly is a form of singing!" Sure it is buddy!

Melinda Doolittle

Song:"Trouble is a Woman"
Artist: Julie Reeves

Woaaaa...Melinda got a makeover! She got her Hair Did! I even saw a hint of neck! Crazy stuff.....whatever she did this week. She needs to keep doing it. Because I actually found myself thinking "Wow, this is actually watchable AND enjoyable!" Never heard the song, but it was good. Performance was great. It would seem official now. It's a two way race between Jordin and Melinda. Sure, the judges will have you believe that even Blake or Lakisha could win too, but let's be real! If both Melinda and Jordin are not in the finals...it's going to be pretty easy to pick who's going to win! If they both make it? Man....I'm going to have my work cut out for me!

Blake Lewis

Song: "When the Stars Go Blue "
Artist: Tim McGraw

Blake didn't do TOO bad. I still see him struggling to hit a lot of those high notes. But he's got the look and unique style going for him. And Randy and Paula like him. I mean Paula said he has 'ISMS! Wow......It's all so clear to me now! Man, I'm actually pretty stuck on what to say about Blake here. And last time I struggled to come up with SOMETHING to talk about....(Gina Glocksen) she got booted off! But I can't see Blake getting kicked off just yet! And we'll just leave it at that!

So, I think I have my bottom 3 picked out. But let's just rank the performances first from best to worst. And then do our picks!

1. Melinda
2. Jordin
3. Blake
4. Phil
5. Chris
6. Lakisha
7. Sanjaya

That being said...this Sanjaya nonsense is really starting to take its toll on my picks! The bottom 3 SHOULD be Sanjaya, Lakisha and Chris. But we just don't know what's going to happen with this crazy dude. Phil has consistently been in the bottom 3, but redeemed himself tonight a bit. Still wasn't super fantastic though. Once again...it could be anyone! (except Melinda and Jordin) Alright...here we go!

Bottom 3: Chris Richardson, Lakisha Jones, Sanjaya Malakar Wildcard: Phil Stacey Bonus Wildcard: Blake Lewis
Eliminated: Lakisha Jones - Kiki, Take that wheel and drive it right off this show. We don't want your lisp ruining Quincy Jones' new Charity Song for Idol Gives Back! We want Chris Sligh's lisp ruining the song!

It's a risky move, but you gotta take risks in this world if you want to shock people! Once again, it really could be anyone. But I have this nagging feeling that Lakisha is going to be in for a shocker. We'll see after the 1 hour results show tomorrow night! (YAY!) Don't worry, at least it's not 2 hours like next week's!

That's it everyone. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you tomorrow!

American Idol - It figures!

I think my ego got to me after the first 2 weeks with my perfect elimination picks. A few people wrote me and told me their prediction for the bottom 3 and who will get eliminated. And, well...they hit it right on the head! Don't get me wrong, I was close! But close don't cut it in the blogging business. Fortunately, none of you are reading the blog for my prediction skills. Otherwise, I don't think anyone would be reading! Oh well, in a toss-up between Haley and Phil, once again I picked the wrong end!


Eliminated: Haley Scarnato
Bottom 3: Haley Scarnato, Phil Stacey, Chris Richardson
My Bottom 3 (my pick in blue): Haley, Phil, Lakisha

Dialidol.com has become worthless, and I'm going to stop referencing it! So the contestant I really messed up with last night was Chris Richardson. It seems that everyone that I talked to thought he was awful, despite the judges raving. I guess I got a little too caught up in my note taking that I really didn't pay attention to how bad he really was. Chris has flirted with the bottom a couple times now. We're running out of filler contestants to keep Sanjaya safe and the supposed "talent" this year safe. So things will start to get "interesting." At least as interesting as it can get!

You'll have to forgive me but the blog tonight is going to be short! I had no idea the show was going to be an hour! I'm 10 minutes away from a commercial free LOST episode and I don't want to be late!

What did they pack into the hour? More hype about Idol Gives Back, coming up in 2 weeks (Celine Dion will be there everyone! Yay!), inexplicably...AKON returned to perform his rip-off of R Kelly's "Remix to Ignition" (he likes to call the song "don't matter" but it's the same song!), and of course J Lo. Now they finally got an entertaining guest performance on Idol! Love those pyrotechnics! If Jennifer wasn't still in her prime performing days, I'd say she'd be a good replacement for Paula Abdul if the producers ever considered replacing the nut!

Well, next week is country week. I guess Martina McBride will be our guest and she coincidentally has a new album that was just released. This should be an interesting group of contestants to try and pull off country. No Carrie's among them, for sure! If anything, it should be entertaining for all the wrong reasons!

So until then, a long overdue farewell to Haley. Phil, we'll try and get you out of there next week! And everyone else, enjoy your weekends and see you next week for more exciting Idol blogging!

(2 minutes to spare! Enjoy LOST!)

American Idol - Top 8 Perform

Okay, my goal tonight is to not complain about the show one time! I will just be completely positive with my critiques and very honest in stating how much I love this show and will never tire of it! Yeah, I'm creative and what-not, but there's no way I can do that! Especially tonight! Wow, what a disaster of a night! In fact, I'm starting to wonder why I even gave people hope on the top 12 night, that I might actually enjoy this season! But I can only go on so much about how bad this year's crop is, so I'll give it a rest (for now!). I'd say the only redeeming quality of tonight's episode was watching J-Lo (Jennifer Lopez to you folks not keeping up with the lingo these days!) pretend that she cared and that these kids actually have a chance in the music biz! That was a good time. Plus she was entertaining and it actually looked like she TRIED to give them constructive criticism unlike the "shake hands/hug each of the contestants and pretend to give criticism just so we can get our boost in album sales" segments we've seen this season. You can always tell when the artists actually spend time with them. (not that it did any good!)

More good news before we move onto the reviews! Kelly Clarkson's new single "Never Again" is debuting Friday April 13th! So turn on your radios or tune into your myspaces! Or you can just wait until April 25th when she performs it on the possibly 2 hour results show for the "Idol Gives Back" celebration. We also found out Rascal Flatts, Annie Lennox, Il Divo (Simon Cowell's creation), Earth/Wind/&Fire (ugh), and Josh Groban will be present for the Idol Gives Back Results Show. I mean...wow....who comes up with a playlist like this?! Didn't they learn their lesson having Earth, Wind and Fire on the show? That is NEVER a good idea! I'll give them a break on Rascal Flatts and Annie Lennox though. They're not too bad.

Okay okay...we've put it off long enough (i wish i could even longer!) But the cast of DRIVE is getting impatient waiting in the front row of the auditorium for my review (nice plug FOX. you are never shameless about your cross-promotions!) Here's how the night went down:

• Melinda "Sway" - Well when J-Lo says "Be Sexy" and Miss Doolittle says she doesn't know how....obviously the answer is for the stylists to give her the ol' Aunt Jemima Hairdo! YES! Loved it! Other than that....the performance, as Simon said was way too old fashioned. No Wow Factor. She did try her hand at being "sexy" and it was a noble attempt, but I think she forgot to try and wow us with her vocals this week. Yet the crowd still gave the girl a standing O. I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we thought she wasn't safe this week.
• Lakisha "Conga" - Gloria Estefan - Well Lakisha told us tonight that she has a gift that she wants to share with the world....this conveniently was told to us as she was wearing another cleavage bearing dress with some kind of crazy Tony the Tiger pattern on it. I'm not going to keep going on about how I don't like the girl. Tonight's performance was a classic case of a contestant being drowned out by the band. The band was excellent with the Latin Flavor tonight....but somehow Lakisha found a way to bore us anyway. I had a feeling she would have a problem with tonight's theme. But the question is...how big of a problem will it turn out to be?
• Chris R - "Smooth" - Santana featuring Rob Thomas - Man that guitar guy just cracks me up! I've mentioned this before. When these non-performer type musicians end up center-stage with the idol contestants there is a level of unintentional comedy that accompanies the moment! And they really need to do more of this! Anyway...Chris. We all know his vocal skills are pretty inferior to everyone else's, but he makes up for it with his attempts at keeping things current. The judges have reached into the well many times with this critique. I did agree this week, though. It was almost a watchable performance if it wasn't for the weak vocals. His voice kinda gave me a Maroon 5 vibe this week. He should be safe, but we'll see.
• Haley - "Turn the Beat Around" - Gloria Estefan - Wow, I never thought I'd say this. But I miss Diana DeGarmo and her bubble gum factory from season 3! She actually sang the hell out of this song. Haley? could barely make out a word of what she was saying. And Simon? Wow...how about him putting out there what everyone was thinking? Sure he does that all of the time....but I'm sure Haley didn't take the critique very well. "You have a good tactic. Wear the least amount of clothes as possible and just have fun" But seriously, it is the only thing keeping her alive in this competition. Based on this season the local radio stations have been joking that they should turn American Idol into a "Who is the Ugliest Person in America?" competition. Mean....but come on....you've looked at this crew as much as I have! Nobody is winning any beauty pageants anytime soon....well...except maybe Haley. And THAT is why she's still on the show!
• Phil - "Maria Maria" - Santana - Man...these kids really love their Gloria and Santana don't they? Well we have said the past few weeks that Phil really needs to have a great performance to stay in this competition, and he just still isn't cutting it. He did wear the HAT again though....so the bald wasn't getting in the way. The performance was quite scary as usual. He made some weird faces that made me think he was trying to be a woman again. But with Simon's harsh criticism, I am a little weary with picking him to go home. People might run to his aid. Or is it too late? There is still Haley that should go home. I don't think we'll have 2 surprise eliminations, 2 weeks in a row...so it has to be one of them!
• Jordin - "Rhythm is Going to Get You" - Gloria Estefan - Even Jordin struggled tonight. I thought she still sounded great and performed well. But she chose a song that didn't have many lyrics to it...so she ended up ad-libbing throughout the performance to show she can sing. I'd say poor song choice is what did her in tonight....she's still the best thing this season has going for it. And with that, I'll give her a pass!
• Blake - "I Need to Know" - Marc Anthony - Well I have a whole new reason to like Blake now. Someone came up with the creative poster "Shake n' Blake" making me wonder why I never came up with it myself! Other than that....the guy still bores me. I guess it was the beat-boxing that intrigued me about him way back when...now he is just a guy that is straining every week to stay in tune. Seriously, it seems like an effort each week for him. Yet the judges love the guy. Sure, he didn't have to do much tonight to have the "best song choice" and "best performance" of the night. But for me, those critiques don't mean much on a night like this.
• Sanjaya "Besame Mucho" - Well, he tamed the 'do' and grew some facial hair. And he decided to sing in Spanish. I have to agree with Randy in saying that Sanjaya is one smart guy! I still don't think he sang great, but whipping out the spanish and trying to be normal might inspire more people to vote for him. Or maybe the votefortheworst.com supporters will be confused on if they SHOULD vote for him causing a problem. I don't think that will be the case. Everyone has embraced this guy and wants to see him stay on the show. And based on the elimination show last week....he should be around for a bit more. And like I said in previous blogs. There are other people I'd rather see go before him!

Wow, finally done! Now onto the fun part. I'm 2 for 4 on eliminations and have 1 perfect bottom 3 under my belt. I'm not going for any records tonight. It's really anyone's guess again. I'll see what I can do!

Who should be safe: Melinda, Jordin, Blake, Chris
Who is off in his own world for now?: Sanjaya

Bottom 3: Phil Stacey, Lakisha Jones, Haley Scarnato Wildcard: Sanjaya Bonus Wildcard: Chris
Eliminated: Phil Stacey - Dude, just go home already! You're scaring the kids away! Go play with your daughter and her "Simon COW"

Well, that's all I have for tonight. Sorry if I'm annoying anyone with all of my negativity this season. But I just can't find anything to get excited about! How is everyone else doing out there? Feel free to let me know your thoughts as always! And see you tomorrow for the results!

American Idol - Surprised?

Yeah, I'm kinda kicking myself on this one. Even when I was writing the reviews, I could think of nothing to discuss about her performance. Even with Phil safe, when it came down to Haley and Gina I still figured Haley would be the one to go. And I ALSO said in the blog that usually with a lot of mediocre performances is when we get a bit of a surprise elimination. Yet, I STILL picked the worst performance! Oh well, 2 for 4 isn't so bad. And give me some props, I finally got the bottom 3 right this season!

Eliminated: Gina Glocksen

Bottom 3: Gina, Phil, Haley

My Bottom 3 (my elimination pick in blue): Gina, Phil, Haley

Dialidol.com bottom 3: Everyone but Melinda (seriously???)

Farewell Gina, after the 27 seasons of Idol that you've auditioned for, you've made it the furthest you'll ever go!

So what did we learn tonight? Well supposedly, they showed us how the votes turned out for our 9 contestants in groups of 3. Obviously we saw the 3 that got the bottom votes. Middle of the pack is Blake, Chris and Sanjaya...question is was Sanjaya 4th overall in votes or 6th? And the top, as it should be: Melinda, Jordin and Lakisha (although I already told you how I feel about Lakisha). Phil and Haley both have flirted with that bottom 3 a few times each now. So, they're running out of people to save them. It would seem that one of these 2 kids will go home next week. Meaning, we're going to see Sanjaya for quite some time! Lovely!

So how about Michael Buble' (or however you spell it) tonight? Was he awful or what? And all of his dancing around the stage and conducting the band...and then his Antonella Barba joke that went south real fast? Wow, nothing like dead silence after a scripted joke!

I guess with that, we can just anxiously wait for next week. Again, no announcement of the theme just yet. But I have to think the Bon Jovi night is coming up soon. Oh wow..I can only imagine how they'll screw that one up. I would imagine Sanjaya would sing "Wanted Dead or Alive" and while it would be insulting to Chris Daughtry's excellent rendition last year, it would be absolutely accurate (well the first part at least)! And with that....I will say good night. See you next week!

American Idol - Top 9 Sing American Classics

I gotta tell you. I am getting less and less motivated to write this thing every week. And with a growing reader-base, I am conflicted! I am actually surprised by how many NEW viewers are getting into Idol this year. I have heard very often through this season about how people are watching for the first time and really enjoying. So it makes me wonder, have I just watched too many seasons of the show? Have they all been this bad and I'm just fooling myself? Or is it that it's just the same thing but a different year and a different crop of contestants? I would buy into this train of thought, but then I find myself watching American Idol Rewind on Sundays and reliving the Glory days of season 1 with our buddy Kelly Clarkson (more on her in a second!). If this is the first season people are watching, then I could understand the entertainment value. But for the 6 season vets who think there is absolutely nothing wrong with this season, who are you kidding? It's baaaaaad. I don't care if I sound like a sheep! There are a couple people that can sing....but, and I said this a lot last year, relatively speaking to previous seasons...if you put the best from this season up against some prior seasons it would be interesting to see who would come out on top. Actually, if people didn't become recording artists after this show it would be awesome to see an Idol Showdown between Kelly, Carrie, Ruben, Clay, Tamyra, Craptasia, Daughtry, Yamin, and all of your favorites. That would make for an exciting season 7. But with their hopes and dreams already fulfilled...kinda makes for a pointless show, doesn't it?

Okay, I'm delaying. But let's talk about something REALLY exciting. Apparently Kelly Clarkson has ended her stand-off with refusing to appear on American Idol...and hopefully is trying to make amends with the show after a rocky couple of years. Of course, she won't be gracing the Idol stage but headlining some DISNEY stage in another city DURING an American Idol broadcast. And, who are we kidding? Kelly has sold 10 million copies of Breakaway, she has a new album coming out soon and probably over 30 million will tune in for this big charity event. Are you not going to tell me that her new album "My December" won't be released the week after that event? Oh I'm thinking it's going to be close! I'm thrilled!

Ok ok ok....back to this trainwreck of a season where we are counting the ways Sanjaya can make a fool of himself and how many times Paula leaves her sentences incomplete. (oh wait...that's every season!) Only 2 standout performances to me tonight...and lots of mediocrity. When you have a week like this, there tends to be some surprises on elimination night. But we'll see what I come up with if I'm still awake after writing my reviews! Tony Bennett guided our contestants through the American Classics....here's what went down!

• Blake Lewis - "Mack the Knife" - Okay, I'll say it. I smelled a bit of cheese with Blake tonight. His hopping and snapping across the stage may have gave the appearance that this guy is a great performer. He did get the crowd into it. But all of the theatrics kinda disguised the fact that his vocals were not really on par with his competition. He was having problems with the high notes (even sometimes avoiding them all together). And the band was kinda drowning him out. I would agree with Simon that the band kinda made him sound better than he actually was. But as the other 2 goofballs said, he is one cool cat....and that's going to keep him soaring for a bit. Imagine how bad I thought the rest of the contestants were if I say that Blake was the 3rd best tonight! Are you ready for it? Let's keep going!
• Phil Stacey - "Night and Day" - Let's be honest...Phil has been a bottom 3 favorite for a couple weeks now. He had to pull out the performance of his life. The most interesting thing I can think to say about Phil right now is that he doesn't shave his head during the week! Did you see it growing in in those pre-performance interview clips? Maybe I've messed with Phil's alien-head similarities a bit too much. As it DOES appear that the guy IS in fact balding. This changes everything. I thought he was just shaving it to be cool. But...the problem is...I've already made up my mind about him. And he is just one goofy looking dude...and the performance? Oh lordy was it bad! We all must question Paula's credibility when she compares Phil to a young Frank Sinatra. I'd say he is closer to a Young Frankenstein! (my bad...Frankenstein's Monster! Common mistake!) With the joke that is Sanjaya still humoring America, Phil is not in good shape tonight.
• Melinda Doolittle - "I've Got Rhythm" - I'm going to try and go easy on Melinda, even if she looks like the crazy old lady from 227. She was 1 of 2 great performances tonight. And there's no doubt she should be in the finals. She's earned it week after week. I just hope she's on the losing END in the finals! The only knock I can give her (besides her head being too large for her body and hiding her neck) is that she keeps picking showtunes...sure we're doing American Classics...but really...what does she want to do with her American Idol victory, pending she wins? Go to broadway???? I just don't get it! Maybe she'll end up being the next Clay Aiken and release a whole album of cover songs early in her career! (Yeah, I just found out that's what his 2nd album is. What a dork!) In any case, we have plenty of time to ponder her future, because she'll be around awhile. (how did I do with going easy on her?)
• Chris Richardson - "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" - I'm confused by the judges on this one. Can they not see past Chris's surface appeal? The dude can barely carry a tune! Sure, he's all razzle dazzle with his HIP attire and Justin Timberlake Wannabe style and performance antics....but does that constitute him making an old song seem current? Personally, I would hope that an Idol winner could at least carry a tune convincingly. Maybe I missed something, but I wasn't impressed. Chris may return to the bottom 3 this week, unless I just missed something entirely from his performance.
• Jordin Sparks - "On a Clear Day" - Anyone still not on board with Jordin? She is just a treat to listen to. Maybe she's not the best contestant ever to grace the Idol stage, but for how young she is, I just sit there in awe at what she is doing. She looks the part, sounds the part and she is singing the hell out of these tunes every week. I can't even believe Simon dared say Chris did better than Jordin because he made it current! I'll take a good singer over "making it current" and not singing well any day of the week! Jordin is still my favorite to dethrone Melinda. We'll see what happens!
• Gina Glocksen - "Smile" - My notes about Gina "Pretty Good but boring." Is there anything else really to say? Well, I guess if we were Paula abdul we could say that it was "Flawless understated beautiful" or we could agree with Simon and say that she just doesn't hold a candle to some of the female competition. I just don't know what else to say about it. So I'm not going to!
• Sanjaya Malakar - "Heaven" - Well, at this point it's just more exciting to hear how the judges are going to try and critique Sanjaya. Loved Simon's approach with the "Let's try a different tactic" routine. There really is nothing they can say. It's just a waiting game. And boy was it bad once again...the dancing with Paula? The slicked hair? The white suit? the awful vocals? All of this convinces me that he won't be in the bottom 3 again! When will it end? I would say once somebody decent is booted off the show before Sanjaya is when you'll start hearing TRUE fans of the show start complaining...and then the VOTING war will begin with the Anti-Idols vs Idol Supporters....and who will win in the end? Well there's 30 million people watching. I'm going to guess 89% of the viewers don't want to see the show tampered with. You tell me who will win in the end? Until then, let's keep an eye out for billboards in the audience like "Sanjaya is my Papaya!"
• Haley Scarnato - "Ain't Misbehavin" - Haley started off on the wrong foot right from the start when she told America that she gets nervous before Simon's comments (not Randy, not Paula's...just Simon's). Randy and Paula were quite bitter when it came time for the critiques. As for the performance, I mean...who approves these outfits that she prances out on stage wearing? This is a Family show, right? It's not a strip club, right? Just checking. Anyway...Simon may have summed it up best as describing it as "Pageanty" Wasn't the worst performance in the world, but far from the best.
• Lakisha Jones - "Stormy Weather" - I had no words to describe the only remaining Lisp Sensation on the show. All I wrote down was "whatever." I tried folks. I really did. I tried to give Lakisha the benefit of the doubt, but I just cannot and WILL not get on board with this never ending disaster. She can carry a tune yes, but there are just so many things wrong with her that I can't even begin to explain. 1.) She's full of herself 2.) LISP 3.) She's full of herself 4.) Lisp .....Okay, so maybe I only have a couple things. But I do not understand the judges raving about her. I don't understand people coming up to me raving about her. I just don't get it! What am I missing America? Why is Lakisha so good? Why is she the role model that America has been missing all of this time? Where can I find this CLASS ACT that I am told that she is? I'm open to suggestions, because I just don't see it. And if I could vote for Sanjaya to stay on this show longer than her, by God I would do it. And you know what? I think it may just happen and that is when the tides will turn!

Best Performances and Safe: Melinda, Jordin and I'll throw in Blake
Worst Performances: Phil, Sanjaya, Gina, Haley
Eh: Lakisha, Chris R.

Bottom 3: Phil Stacey, Haley Scarnato, Gina Glocksen, Wildcard: Chris Richardson Bonus Wildcard: Lakisha Jones

Elimination Pick: Phil Stacey - go ahead and let your hair grow out man. You might be able to come back next year as a whole different person! But this year, Haley's strip-tease techniques are sending you home!

That's it. For now, I am placing Sanjaya out of harm's way until I see any hints convincing me otherwise! That's it for tonight. Hope you enjoyed the blog more than the show, as this is my goal in life these days! Share your thoughts below or just tell me how awesome I am! I don't discriminate! See you tomorrow night for the results!