American Idol: Popularity Can Only Get You So Far

Well folks, it's over. Our lovely Kellie Pickler has talked her way off the stage.


Eliminated: Kellie Pickler
Bottom 2: Kellie, Paris
Top 2: Katharine, Chris

Dialidol.com: 4.) Katharine 5.) Kellie 6.) Paris

It's crazy that sometimes when it's so obvious who should go home, that we have doubts about America sending that one packing. Kellie was so dreadfully worse than the other 5, and yet I still thought votefortheworst.com and her fanbase would bail her out. Maybe it WAS the fact that she DIDN'T get to have the last word Tuesday night like she usually does ("LOOK AT THE PICKLE!"). And I've been talking week after week about how Kellie and her ballads will be the end of her and how THIS week, of all weeks (LOVE SONGS) could be the week that breaks her. Yet I STILL went with Paris as the safe pick. Well, Paris still made the bottom 2, so I was still in the right ballpark. And how about me picking the same 3 as Dialidol.com this week? Crazy that Katharine was actually in the top 2 in votes. Must've been all those last minute text votes I sent her way for fear that America would be stupid enough to listen to the judges. I actually was telling some people today (off the blog) that Simon would probably announce at the results show that he rewatched the performance and would apologize to Katharine. And of course...this is exactly what happened. I'm glad the judges have some redeeming qualities. Well, I think we all agree that Paula needs some "REHAB"ing Qualities. ZING!

Here's a question though. Say Katharine ended up in that bottom 2 for some reason and got voted off, do you think the judges still would've made those apologetic comments in the beginning of the show? I seriously doubt it. They had to know for sure that she did well in the votes or else they would make fools of themselves by apologizing and get blamed for her being casted off. It's the little things that I think about people! That's why I am here!

So how crazy is this? The worst are actually getting voted off early this season and we have bona fide competitors left! And the craziest thing we found out tonight was that TAYLOR is not invincible! He did not get the top 2 votes, nor should he with his performance last night or even his most recent performances. So going back to the subject title of this little write-up, it looks like Talent may still edge out Popularity in the end.

And, to answer my own question from yesterday, we may now have ourselves a bonafide top 2 contestants. In my opinion, and now many others, Katharine and Chris should be the ones facing off in the end. And there's an outside chance that Elliott could edge one of them out. Our very own Mr. Tumnus, not Taylor, is the TRUE underdog this season and has improved the most out of any of the contestants.

Speaking of Chris, I know I was hard on the guy last night. And I may have forgotten to say that he DID do a pretty good job. But I just think this kid has the ability to be awesome, and I've yet to see it. And one thing that irks me, and I've made no secret about it, is his POSTURE on stage. If he's not making love to his mic stand then it's his little HEAD LEAN that he does throughout the entire performance. I mean the guy looks so serious. I just wish he'd loosen up a little. Other than that, upon 2nd viewing (suggested to me by a few of our readers), I did find that I enjoyed his performance a little bit more. You have to understand, it's difficult to catch all the little subtleties of a performance while I'm feverishly jotting down notes to deliver my wonderful thoughts to you all. While Chris did hit some bad notes, the ones he did hit (which were most) were very well executed. But I still think he had help from all of the on-stage theatrics with those crazy guitar players and EXTREME CLOSE-UPS on the strings getting us into a little Spanish Fiesta mood. It's kinda what they did for Katharine last week with the close-ups on her face for the final performance of the night. Clearly, the masterminds behind American Idol have their favorites too, and they'll do anything to lead us in the right direction.

So our Top 5 live to fight another day. Who's next on the chopping block? All bets are on Paris, Taylor, or Elliott.....but any one of them can shell out an amazing performance whenever they feel like it, so it's going to be pretty interesting in the weeks ahead. And what do you know? All in time for MAY SWEEPS! I don't believe they announced the theme for next week, so we'll all be surprised together when the idol hopefuls take the stage next Tuesday. Until then, enjoy Lisa Tucker Thursday night on THE OC! Personally, I know I'm counting the hours! (oh come on! That was sarcasm! Really, you think I watch American Idol AND the OC? I mean, seriously....my masculinity would be shot!!!)













yeah....I do watch it. Don't give up on me yet!!!

American Idol: Top 6 Perform

The Final 6. Anyone remember the final 6 last season? This is who was left at that point and how they placed:

1. Carrie
2. Bo
3. Vonzell
4. Anthony Federov
5. Scott Savol
6. Constantine

Why am I pointing this out? 2 reasons really. 1st, At this point last season, we had 2 surefire final 2 contestants with the threat of a 3rd or 4th. We had recently seen Constantine pull off Bohemian Rhapsody and threaten to be in that final 2...only to get voted off before the mediocre Federov and the awful Scott Savol (supported by votefortheworst.com). Do we have a certified final 2 that we can point out of our current bunch? I really don't think so. Makes things a bit difficult. But I'm starting to be able to weed out who SHOULDN'T be here. Problem is, I don't see it happening just yet! Bringing me to my 2nd point, which I actually just touched on. We saw Constantine go before Scott and Anthony. I think there's a chance that we're going to see someone leave us on Wednesday that we're not ready to see leave. But we have some time before we have to make our decision.

So, tonight was THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME with guidance from Andrea Bocelli and Songwriter/Producer David Foster. How did our contestants pan out? Well, to me? Pretty much as I suspected, for the most part. But does it matter at this point how any of them do or are we running a popularity contest this year? I guess we'll find out on Wednesday.

Katharine McPhee
"I Have Nothing"
Written by David Foster, Made Famous by Whitney Houston

Okay, right off the bat, if you do a Whitney Houston tune, you're going to be, dare I say it, OVER- JUDGED. Worse yet, if you're going to go first, you don't have any support from the judges to say "well, you're no whitney, but you were better than the a lot of other people." AND, we're in the final 6, so that's going to make the judges EXTRA-Cranky. So Whitney, PLUS Going 1st, PLUS going 1st in the final 6 leads to the odds being stacked against you. Yet even with these odds, I thought Katharine did a great job with it! Sure, the beginning was rough, but by the middle of the song she was doing her thing...and delivering an emotional and engaging performance as she does every week. I'm really not sure what the judges had against it, with the exception of reverting to their tired formula of "Well, it's a whitney song, and you're not whitney, so I guess that means you were awful." Maybe I've just come down with a little McPhever over the weeks of this competition and am a little biased towards the cutie? Ryan may have made the best comment of the night that people may be voting for her just on appearance alone. Was she smoking tonight or what?! I've talked to a few other people who also thought Katharine did a good job, so I'm not really sure what to think about this one. So what if it was OLD FASHIONED as Simon said....aren't we talking about the Greatest Love Songs of ALL TIME? Sometimes his comments confuse me. But hey...he's British.

Elliott Yamin
"A Song For You"
Donny Hathaway

And THIS guy....have I done a 180 with him! I mean, he'll always be Mr. Tumnus to me but he is growing more and more confident each week that he stays in the game. He apparently auditioned with the Donny Hathaway song and now had to perform it in front of Donny's daughter (who is one of the crazy backup singers! now we know one of their names!!!) Well, this kid pulled out all the stops tonight and gave the performance of his life. I had never heard the song before; and with Elliott this usually turns me off from his performance. But just the way he delivered the performance tonight, it was mesmerizing....a little less crazy faces and a little more crowd interaction. He made it personable. Sure, maybe it's because it's a song that he's more familiar with....but you could tell that he has matured throughout this process. And if he can drive Paula to tears and speechlessness ....well.... it really doesn't say much because she's on CRACK! (Blueberry Crack nonetheless!!!) The judges raved on this one (mostly...Randy didn't like the arrangement...probably because it didn't sound like Journey with his stellar Bass Guitar riffs) and the raving was justified. Elliott came to COMPETE and hopefully this performance gets him to outlast some of our wannabe's that are being exposed!

Kellie Pickler
"Unchained Melody"
Righteous Brothers (LeAnn Rimes style)

So was my "Wannabe" comment a segueway? Oh you bet! So we got our usual schtick from Miss Pickler. Since it's the LOVE SONG week we got her sob story of having no boyfriend and wanting to dedicate this song to a future love who will make sensual pottery with her like Demi and Patrick in Ghost. How old was this girl when Ghost was in theaters? Did someone feed her this line? Anyway, I think the worst thing that David Foster could've done was suggest that she hit a falsetto note to try and bring her rendition of the Unchained and Unending Melody out of it's monotonous obvliousness. If last week's Pickler song didn't do it for you...then this one had to be the nail in the coffin that Kellie does NOT belong in this competition anymore. She can't sing ballads for the life of her (which I so nicely pointed out last week and was justified this week). She barely sang a note on key and her falsetto note was more painful than it being worth her attempt to hit it. This performance exposed all of Kellie's remaining weaknesses. And the best part? Because the show was running late (due to Paula's Crack Rampage), Simon was cut off and the Idol music began to play giving Kellie no time to sweet talk herself into any more votes. This week will be the 1st true test for votefortheworst.com. Will they keep Kellie in this show a week or 2 or 3 longer? Because there is no way that she should outlast this week if it is not for her "Southern" (and I use quotes) CHARM or her ANTI-VOTES.

Paris Bennett
"The Way We Were"
Barbara Streisand

There Paris goes again...being all nasal. But this week I noticed something else with her performances. She makes weird faces! Now, I know I'm biased against the teenagers staying in the competition this late in the game, but was anyone else bored with this performance? I really couldn't point my finger on it, but I just didn't like it. Even Paula said that she may have OVER-sang parts of the song. Yeah, we know the girl can sing but you have to be able to control that voice instead of belting out power note after power note. I believe this is what our buddy David Foster was trying to get across to Paris in the pre-performance clips. Randy also agreed that he wasn't blown away. Simon called it a good vocal but sounded like impersonating an older artist. Hey...whatever bad comment you want to throw at her is fine with me. Something was wrong with this performance! And once again, I also noted last week that Paris would struggle with Love Songs week. Even Paris said herself, she has no memories of LOVE to draw from to emotionally sing these songs. Come to think of it....at 16 how can you sing any song with TRUE emotion? We've seen Paris working that stage and singing some powerful notes, but maybe that is what's missing. Some sense of identifying with the music. Yeah, I know Carrie never knew what she was singing about, but she didn't need to...there was just something about her that SCREAMED AMERICAN IDOL. Nothing AMERICAN is screaming at me about Paris (French Idol maybe? Oui Oui Ma dame. ba dum CHING!!!)

Taylor Hicks
"Just Once"
James Ingram

Well Bocelli and Foster (sounds like a sleezy lawfirm) seemed to be quite impressed with Taylor saying he picked the perfect song and that he had the potential to break out this week with a great performance. Maybe they got my expectations too high. Is it me, or was this performance just flat out awful? I haven't been shy about me rooting for Taylor less and less each week. I'm not sure what it is. I liked it when he was the underdog, but now that he's everyone's favorite, I'm kinda noticing that he's missing something in this competition. I mean...he hit MOST of his notes...but there was nothing mezmerizing about his performance. And I didn't see how this song was completely the RIGHT song for him. I was predicting some Joe Cocker last week for the raspy soulful contestant (a side of him which he has not shown since ...umm...his audition???). I'm sure Taylor is a great entertainer with his SOUL PATROL, but an American Idol? 7 weeks into this top 12, I'm still not sure if I see it. And...well, we may not have a choice in the matter. I'd like to see Taylor be in the bottom 3 to get a nice scare, but I still think he has his unwaivering support! (minus me these days....)

Chris Daughtry
"Have you Ever Really Loved A Woman"
Bryan Adams

Well Chris gets bonus points from me on Song Selection. I've always been a big fan of the period of the 90's when Bryan Adams was trying to become the next Kenny Loggins (aka new MOVIE SOUNDTRACK GUY) and this song was a classic for him. So our pals Bocelli and Foster noticed that Chris wasn't singing from deep down in his lungs so they had him sing on the floor. Did it help him reach down into that diaphragm for a stronger vocal? Well Yes and No. Tell me....have YOU ever really....really really ever loooooved a MIC STAND? Cause if you haven't, talk to Chris. He is INFATUATED with his....he holds onto that thing like his wife and illegitimate children. I'm surprised he was even able to part with it midway through-out the song. And sure it helps when he's got his dual Don Juan DeMarco spanish guitarists rocking out there with him to keep him company. Theatrics are always good for some points. But, me? I was listening to the VOICE which was to be highly improved based on his FLOOR performance. Was I "Floored?" Nope..sorry. I don't think ANYONE could've been as excited as Paula who probably realized the show was over so she could rush off camera for her next fix! "I LOVE YOU...LOVEY DOVE DUB YOU....LOOOOOOVE YOU!!!!" I mean seriously??? Simon and Randy both gave their quick congratulations as well. Did I miss something? Did no one hear the pitchy notes? the invisible low notes? the off-key high notes? and his on-stage inappropriate Mic Stage lovefest? How does this work into a stellar performance? The only thing I can come up with is that they're trying to sway the votes Chris's way because he is their pride and joy, their hope for a marketing future. Maybe that and the show was running overtime and the producers were yelling at the judges to make it quick....therefore not giving them enough time to even LISTEN to Chris's performance. I have TONS of conspiracy theories, but I won't waste them all on THIS blog! We have 4 more weeks after this!

Okay, so what does this all boil down to. Well way back when I started this blog I was saying that we may be in for a huge upset Wednesday night. Why is this? Because I DON'T think Kellie Pickler will go home even though she had the worst performance EVER! If we're lucky it might be Paris's week to go. I don't see Taylor even hitting the bottom 3 due to his status in prior weeks. I believe I said last week that neither Kellie nor Taylor have even tasted that bottom 3 yet. Everyone else has. Who was in it last week? Elliott and Chris. If we're meant to follow the trend of people getting a boost in votes when they're in the bottom 3 the previous week, then this puts Paris and Katharine back on the hot seat. And MAYBE Kellie will see some time in that bottom 3 this week. Gotta go back into question mode kids....here we go.

Who had the best performance? Elliott
Worst Performance? Kellie
Who do I think did well despite the judges? Katharine
Who Can't I stand anymore? Paris
Who do I think is overrated until he proves himself again? Taylor
Who had best song choice of the night? Chris

Bottom 3: Paris, Kellie, Katharine (Wildcard: Chris Bonus Widcard: Taylor)
Eliminated: Paris - I thought of a lot of bad French jokes here, but I changed my mind. Let's face it, if you're not named after a HOTEL these days, PARIS just doesn't work as a first name.

This would be an ideal situation. Lose the young one. But I have a feeling something crazy is going to happen like Katharine or Chris goes home. It's just that time of the competition where we lose someone that is a viable candidate. But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't be shocked if ANYONE went home because there just seems to be no clear cut Favorite this season (besides what we see on all of the websites out there). Wouldn't it be funny though if the bottom 3 kept going back and forth with girls then guys? I mean it really would only work for the next 2 weeks...but 2 weeks ago it was all girls, last week was all guys....maybe we're back to the girls again this week? Ahh who knows. All I do know is that I've thought way too much about this. Doesn't even matter anyway. What are the chances I'll get it all right? Guess we'll see!

Until tomorrow Idol Fanatics.

American Idol: 48 Cards Left in the Deck

That's right...you won't find an ACE competing on American Idol anymore! (wow...I may have just topped my worst joke ever!) That's right ladies, the boy toy is gone.

Eliminated: Ace Young
Bottom 3: Ace, Chris, Paris
DialIdol.com Bottom 3: 7.) Ace 6.) Chris 5.) Paris

Yeah yeah yeah...so dialidol.com got it right this week. So what does this mean? Why can't they string 2 weeks in a row accurately? Crazy stuff. I don't know but obviously it didn't come as a shock to me since I'm addicted at looking at the site beforehand. So, I guess we gotta break down WHY Chris and Paris were in the bottom 3. Well, I thought Chris was pretty good, but he DID perform first. It was a nice way to start off the night, but there were better performances afterwards. People may have forgotten about him. Or...maybe he just isn't as high up on the list as people may have thought. Go to any website and all you see is TAYLOR HICKS. America loves this guy. Even if he has a lousy performance...he's getting tons of votes. And yes, he is the Dialidol.com reigning king since the beginning of the season. Someone else you always see up there, Kellie Pickler. Like I said before, she may seem dumb, but act or not....it's working. Someone out there likes her and are keeping those votes pouring in (Not me...Honest! I stopped!). Paris? Well, she's had way too many slip-ups as far as I'm concerned. She may just have no fanbase left to keep her up top. So maybe she belted out a stunning performance Tuesday night, but was anyone rushing to the phone to help out Miss Cotton Candy? (sorry...the pink suit is still on my mind).

Of course, maybe people just perceived Chris and Paris as safe due to decent performances and rushed to the aid of another person who needed their help instead. Look no further then our very own Mr. Tumnus, Elliott Yamin. Elliott found his way into the bottom 3 last week after maybe his best performance ever. That, combined with Simon's criticism that he showed no personality may have scared voters into helping the guy out. Seriously, I've been watching this show for 5 seasons now. Why haven't I caught onto this trend yet?

So is it really surprising to see Taylor, Katharine, Kellie, and Elliott safe this week from the bottom 3? I guess it really isn't. If Taylor and Kellie are going to keep getting a crazy amount of votes every week....then the other 4 folks are going to have to work extra hard to make sure they're in that 3rd spot. Then maybe....just maybe...they'll be able to edge one of them out to get the final 2! But don't fear, Kellie may turn out yet another lousy performance next week.

That's right Kids. The theme for next week is the GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME with guidance from Italian speaking ANDREA BOCELLI! Ahh I can see it now, Kellie trying to have a conversation with Bocelli. Priceless. But, my point above was that Kellie has yet to sing a good ballad in her Idol run. If she turns in another lousy performance, will the fans be as merciful as in the past? Probably, but it might be another negative notch on her inconsistent reputation. Hmmmm Greatest love songs of all time. Anyone want to put bets that Taylor chooses this week to whip out some Joe Cocker and sing "You Are So Beautiful?" Would THAT be considered a Great Love Song? Or have the Idol producers already picked out 6 songs for them?

It's all making sense now though. All of the remaining contestants have now seen the bottom 3 with the exception of Taylor and Kellie. If that trend continues, it really can be any one of those other 4 that leave next week. My bet would be leaning towards Elliott or Paris to get the heave-ho next. But now will Paris fans rush to her aid next week to make sure SHE'S not in the bottom 3? It's an endless cycle! I can't take it anymore!!! I guess we shall see.

Well, I think I'm about all out of wisdom for now. So go buy your tissues for next tuesday and get ready to fall in love with the 6 remaining contestants vying for your affection and your vote. Good Night!

American Idol: Top 7 Perform

So, it's usually the weeks you expect the worst when Idol turns out in TOP FORM. Tonight reminded me of the 1st season of American Idol when they did BIG BAND NIGHT. The contestants classed up the joint and really didn't have a choice but to pick a classic standard from the Great American Songbook. I know I bashed the collection last Wednesday, but I really didn't know what ol' Rod Stewart was recording on these albums. I mean we were reaching back into pre-rock days when Musical Soundtracks and the Crooners of the world were topping the charts. I know, I speak as if I lived through this era! But these tunes have stood the test of time and are definitely worthy of being entitled as part of the Great American Songbook. But I'm not going to pretend that I knew all of the songs sung tonight! Anyway, mostly everyone did a pretty good job tonight, which means that the usual suspects and possibly an old favorite may find their way into that bottom 3. We're running out of people folks, so it's time to start saying goodbye to some of these pretty faces. Let's break it down!

Chris Daughtry
"What A Wonderful World"

Chris finally picked a good night to show his softer side. His country ballad was a bit rough a couple weeks ago. But laying down this Louis Armstrong ditty did him well. We can now start to justify Chris being among the favorites to win it again this year. His voice was impeccable. I'm still not a fan of his stage presence. It didn't help that he was wearing a left-over outfit from a Freddie Prinze Jr. Movie. Was it me or was he the spitting image of a Freddie with a shaved head? I've made some weird comparisons before...but this one was uncanny to me tonight! Did anyone else catch Simon clapping after the performance? Gotta say it was probably the first time I've ever seen it (total opposite of him laying his head down in shame during Kellie's performance...but we'll get there). And if you missed it then I'm sure you heard Paula's extremely constructive criticism that went something like "You proved to Simon that you're awesome " .................. okaaaaay, so Paula, what did you think?

Paris Bennett
"Foolish Things"

Paris showed up fresh from Easter Services in her pink suit to sing us a jingle. She was even sporting some fake diamond studs from the Terrell Owens collection. Anyway, I know we've been all over the map with Paris the past few weeks. One week I liked her, the next week everyone else liked her. This week, I don't think we can deny that she was in her element. She nailed the song. I still heard a hint of that nasal issue again....especially when she was singing about a "tinking pee aaaano" (sorry, it was in my notes, I had to put it in there!) So Randy touted this performance as Paris's greatest night ever. May not be too hard to do as people have always had mixed critiques on her song selection and performances and uncanny mini-fantasia esque appearance and mannerisms (like my run-on sentence? Grade school taught me well!) But this performance was top notch for little fantasia and I think we'll see her live on to keep fighting next week.

Taylor Hicks
"You Send Me"

I was happy to hear that Taylor was going to sing something from Sam Cooke as I think he is one of Taylor's musical inspirations. But when Rod was telling America about how Taylor should be doing his trademark moves and selling the song....was anyone expecting an entire song of Taylor moves? I was. And maybe it's better in small doses...but I found myself wondering where the song was going for the first 3 quarters of it.....then all of a sudden he turned on the juice and brought it home in Taylor Hicks fashion. So....I'm perplexed. Obviously he brought the house down with his ending....if you nail the ending of a song people will forget the first part. But you know...since I'm writing notes the whole time...I don't forget! I think Simon was thinking along the same lines as me though with his "Started out as lame cabaret, then Magic" I mean...that's really what it was. It's like there's a "HICKS" button back stage that someone decided to push right at the end of the song...and all was right with the world once again! Everyone loves Taylor Hicks and he's safe! (I think)

Elliott Yamin
It Had To Be You

Well it's official people. It's not just our little blog reading audience that is in on the secret. Entertainment Weekly published in this past issue that Elliott Yamin reminds America of Mr. Tumnus. Silly magazine..he doesn't REMIND us of him, he IS Mr. Tumnus! If only they knew the truth! And what? I don't subscribe to Entertainment Weekly! Why on earth would you accuse me of that? Anyway, I found myself rooting for ol' Tumnus this week after his stellar Queen outing last week. But he still threw in that scary look right in the beginning of the performance. Maybe it's his GAME FACE! He's gotta get in the zone before he can show off those pearly whites with Narnian Confidence. But come on...anyone that has a Purple hanky in the front jacket pocket needs no boost of confidence! I thought it was a decent performance, and the bobsy twins agreed. Simon, though, thought that personality would be a factor tonight. And with constructive criticism like that, usually comes the curtain calls for a contestant. Not overly harsh, not overly praising....just "good vocal, but I think there may be a factor with personality" With Elliott being in the Bottom 3 last week, who knows where the performance and the comments will leave him?

Kellie Pickler
"Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"

Once again, Kellie is relying on the pre-performance film clips ("You took a load off of my chest" .......?????) and her endless apologizing to advance her to the next round. And who are we kidding? It's going to work again! Especially with the support of our pals over at votefortheworst.com. But come on....this performance just showed how bad Kellie can be. You can easily forget her flaws when she's rocking the stage and flopping her hair around. But the ballads....ugh...the ballads...they kill her! You know when Paula is resorting to "The Camera Loves You" comments....that there's not much to talk about. But seriously did the camera love the 10 tons of make-up she caked on her face too? This is the 2nd time she overdid it! The song was utterly boring and she hit some really bad notes in it. But in true Pickler fashion she said "I butchered it!" "I'm sooowwwwwy" and "I won't put you through that torture again!" when the idea of her singing it again came up. For anyone else making these comments, it would be their ticket off the stage. But somehow it works for Pickler. But maybe it doesn't.....because she lost my vote this week. I'm sorry...but I can't vote for a performance this bad this late in the game. And that my friends...is the answer to when Mike will find Kellie's act tiresome.....on weeks when she really sucks! So...I know she counts on my 3 votes each week, so we'll see where that leaves her!

Ace Young
"That's All"

Ahh Ace with the slicked back hair pulled into a little bun....so that he could show off his Prom Tux. Good times! My notes on Ace? "That's All? It was a 'Blah' performance" The judges liked it, I'm sure the fans of Ace loved it. But I gotta say, it was a pretty forgettable performance. The only thing I remember is the crazy do and attire. And when your powerhouses are firing on all cylinders....it doesn't bode well for the teen posterboy. Do we really think Kellie Pickler will be another one that falls before Ace? I'm not going to be that daring with my picks!

Katharine McPhee
"Someone to Watch Over Me"

Once we got a taste of the music we'd be listening to tonight, I gotta say that I had a feeling that Katharine was going to have one of those performances that would go down in Idol History. You know like Kelly's "Stuff Like That There" or Clay's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or Carrie's "Alone" or Bo's umm Acapella song! (I refuse to mention Fantasia's "Summertime" because she didn't even know the damn song before she performed it! ugh...I just mentioned it...) Anyway...once we knew Katharine was going last, that sealed it for me. We were in for something special. And she did not disappoint. She belted out a flawless version of the song and I'll steal some lines from something Paula would say... she did it with infectious vulnerability in a cornucopia filled with watermelons and blueberries! In all seriousness....she really brought that performance to another level with her emotional rendition and yes Paula "Mr. Holland's Opus-like" memorable performance. Simon said she blew the competition away. And this is the performance we've been waiting for someone to deliver. Does it make her a frontrunner to win? It probably should, but I still think she's gonna have to duke it out with Chris and Taylor. The rest of them have to go! Should be a fun ride! But for now, we've got business to tend to!

So I'll try to make this short and sweet. But based on tonight here's who should be safe:
Chris, Taylor, Paris, Katharine. So who does that leave?

Bottom 3: Kellie, Ace, Elliott (Wildcard: Taylor, Bonus Wildcard: Paris)
Elimination Pick: Ace Young - I can't top my Queen beating an Ace line from last week so I'll just say .."Prom's Over buddy, return your tux!"

This is more what I want to happen more than what I think will happen. But Elliott's performance WAS good. Like I said, Simon's comments about his personality could affect him. But how much more Cheese can we take from Ace? He's been in the bottom 3 like 3 or 4 times now (I've lost track). It's time to rid us of the cheese for the lactose intolerant people of the world!!! And I'm sticking with the fact that his performance wasn't memorable. Let's also not forget that he went right before Katharine who just blew everyone away. Usually you don't want to go AFTER a performance like that, but going right before it? I gotta say that most people will remember Katharine and forget the Pony Tail (or whatever you call that hairdo). That being said, if Tumnus is the one sent packing, I won't be surprised either. I would actually be shocked if Kellie got the boot even though she probably deserves it the most after that performance. She just has too much going for her right now for me to think that it will be her. But if I was tired of her act this week, maybe other people were too. Time will tell....and around this time tomorrow, I'll be writing about how I yet again incorrectly picked the offed contestant.

Kudos to American Idol's 5th season for making it an unpredictable ride. But no Kudos to the contestants (and/or producers) picking the songs and worse the theme nights! This week was better, and hopefully they'll stay that way on through to the May finale.

See you tomorrow!

American Idol: The Right Thing Happened

Well, he couldn't hide forever could he? That's right the Redneck has fallen people and all that remains are talented singers. Oh right, Ace is still there. Well we're close!


Bottom 3: Elliott Yamin, Ace "Pink Sweater" Young, Bucky Covington
Eliminated: Bucky Covington

dialidol.com final tallies: 6. Chris Daughtry 7. Bucky Covington 8. Ace Young

Biggest shocker of the night was probably Elliott being in the bottom 3. I think for the first time ever I was really rooting for the guy. I don't know if he's grown on me over the weeks or if it was just the fact that he sang my favorite Queen tune and did it well (and maybe even better tonight when told to sing on the spot). But I kinda like the guy now. Of course, I grew to like Bucky too, but we all knew he had to go eventually. And what a send-off. There will be plenty of Fat-Bottomed Girls waiting for ol' Bucky back in North Carolina! (No offense to the NC folk....there are Girls of all types everywhere!!) I was sad to see Ace stick around though. I really don't know if I can tolerate any more of his cheesiness. If he pulled off another Father Figure performance (from the semi-finals) maybe I could get back to enjoying his performances. But for now, Ace may as well be the Joker of the group! (ahh card jokes...you loving my new theme?)

Hey how about the cheesy Queen Group performance tonight? Actually, they sounded pretty good...but I think we all could've done without strolling down memory lane with the Brittenum twins and all of the infamous Audition video clips. The best thing about the whole performance is that I was redeemed in my song selections for the group! Both Paris and Katharine sang a bit of "Don't Stop Me Now" (which I picked for them both) and even Chris sang some of "Under Pressure" ! (Easily my 2nd favorite Queen song......Ice Ice Baby is such a rip-off!!!) I'm glad to see the musical masterminds behind Idol think the same way I do. But my question is this....I wonder how long they've been rehearsing this Queen performance.....in year's past they put together a group performance for every week. But this year they've been having the guest performances on results night. I'm wondering if they weren't allowed to use any of the songs performed tonight for the Tuesday Night performances. Because both Katharine and Taylor both sang in the medley some of the songs that they originally wanted to sing (that they rehearsed with Queen). I'm always about the Conspiracy theories and I think this is a good one. The Judges always stress song selection and how they have so many great songs to choose from. But what if they really don't? Sure, they could pick any Queen song out there (maybe)...except 10 of their greatest hits that were featured in the Wednesday Night Medley. I mean, does no one find it odd that there were no repeated songs in that Medley? Maybe it's all in my head. But hey ....that's what keeps me plugged in. Because this year, it sure ain't the performances.

Speaking of which, is anyone feeling the same way I am? I hinted at it last night. But there is just not ONE person that I can see being the next American Idol. I try to think of any of the performances this year and match it up against Kelly, Ruben, Clay, Carrie and Bo's worst performances (ok...maybe fantasia too).....and I just don't see these people matching up! I think there's a lot of potential....but I'm just not seeing anyone taking the opportunity.

And frankly...when will Paula finally admit that she is hooked on crack? The woman has not strung together a 2 word sentence all year that has made sense! (yes...I wouldn't expect a 3 word sentence or larger from Paula) And did anyone catch her on Leno the other night? I was embarassed for her! I think she needs MC Skat Kat to whip her back into shape!

Paula definitely needs to take 2 steps back and remember how to offer constructive criticism and worry less about Simon tickling her.

Anyways....Rod Stewart next week. You Guys excited? I definitely would've been....if they were doing Rod Stewart songs....but no...we're visiting the Great American Songbook volumes I-IV. Now, I know that my mom loves these albums (they make Great Christmas Gifts!).....but seriously....didn't we already do this theme night with the 50's night? When are we going to have an 80's Night? I don't recall this ever happening on Idol! I'd love to see someone take on A-Ha's "take on me" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" (you want to talk about falsetto?) and Bryan Adam's "Summer of 69" No no.....let's have Rod Stewart teach us how to sing like old people! And the judges complain about them all sounding old! I'm tired of this people! LET'S REVOLT!

So I'm getting long-winded in my entertaining rambling. So I'll leave you with words of wisdom that someone named Mike once said.... "I told you dialidol.com was not reliable!!!!!!"

Good Night!

American Idol: Top 8 Perform

Well here it is. QUEEN NIGHT. Well, we had a week to ponder the songs that our idol contestants would sing, and were treated to finding out this afternoon what songs each of them would be singing. So I had the opportunity to make my predictions based on their song choices before they even hit the stage. And I gotta say, I don't think I'm going to be too far off on this one. So of all my predicted performances I got 5 of the 8 songs right but none of the performers right! Right off the bat, I thought 3 made some odd song choices (Obviously..they went off my list!) But the choices may not affect them too badly. Well let's see if it hurts them going against the genius that is ME!

• Bucky - "Fat Bottomed Girls" - Ahhh Bucky. I actually really enjoyed his performance. It may have been because he went first, but the thing about Bucky is...he's never awful. He's just never great. That adds up to "Mediocre" as Simon put it. But really, he hit all of the notes, and he showed some good rock antics on stage. And we even saw a bit of a personality in his film clips. And you gotta give the guy credit for singing a song about Girls with "well rounded posterior areas" on a family show. I mean, it's no Sir Mix-a-lot, but still! He's not lighting any phones on fire, except maybe in Confederate land, but I still don't think he's the guy to be sent packing tonight. Once again, Bucky is saved by someone else making poor choices and just being worse than him. And once again we'll be asking ourselves next week "How is Bucky still here?"
• Ace - "We Will Rock You" - Now there's a reason I picked this song out for Bucky last Wednesday. It's not really much of a song! It's really been reduced to a song that they play at High School Football and Basketball games. Sure, if you're Freddie Mercury....you can rock stadiums with a song like this. If you're Ace Young and you want to mix things up and change a song to make it your own....why in the world would you pick We Will Rock You that has one of the most famous Drum Beats in the history of Music? And what about him doing runs with his voice in between "We Will Rock You's" This is just not the song you want to change. It was atrocious. I wrote one note down on my paper before the judges got to chime in. "Somebody go get the Gong!" I hated this performance. And the best thing about all of this was? We got to hear Paula say "bastardize" on live television! I think the Ace of Cheese is about to play his last hand. I just don't see who's going to take the fall for him this time.
• Kellie "Bohemian Rhapsody" - You see people? I'm not as crazy an American Idol fan as you think. Other people do remember Constantine's performance of this song also! It was one for the record books. And "ON PAPER" this performance shouldn't have worked. (I'll get to On Paper in a second). I read about this earlier and just thought to myself "no no no no!!! Kellie! Why!?" If you recall, I said that whoever chose this song would be virtually committing Idol Suicide. But something worked in this performance. Whether it was Kellie's dominatrix-like frightening appearance (which I think she was trying to portray the famous music video for the song in the beginning), or just her crazy dancing antics, or her pre-performance clip (in which she always shines!) it was actually pretty good! Don't get me wrong...it was no constantine. Then again, he did it a few rounds later when he could sing an extra minute of the song. But it was good....and I'm still perplexed at the votefortheworst pick on her. She is one of the better performers in this thing. Yeah, I know it's because she seems phony. But hey! I truly believe this girl is just a bit clueless. And if she really isn't clueless and it's all an act? Then I think she's a genius! Because it's working. She's getting votes from all of the straight guys, all of the people trying to vote for the worst, and then other people who just love her act! And come on...who didn't laugh when she said "It must be the Accent" when she was confused with Simon's "On Paper" comment? I think we can look forward to seeing the battle of the accents next week.
• Chris - "Innuendo" - So, I had read a quote about Chris before tonight's show saying that he wanted to do it because Queen had never performed it live. I was thinking to myself "Chris, there's a reason they've never done this song live! No one knows it!" Of course, they also probably never did it live because Freddie Mercury died not long after the album was released. But I thought it was ironic that Simon made a similar comment about his song choice except he went a notch further and said it's just a bad song. I cannot stress how I agree that Chris should've picked a mainstream song to perform tonight. I had suggested "Somebody to Love," "Under Pressure," or "Another One Bites the Dust" which would've made perfect sense...but no he picks Innuendo. I think it's a silly move. But with all this negative feedback, I do have to say that I thought he did an amazing job with the song he did pick. There were some moments of brilliance in that performance. Some runs of notes where you just think "this is why the producers want this guy to win." And Simon did also agree that it was probably one of the best Vocally proficient performances of the night. But Chris, buddy, you gotta work on that song selection! Oh and good job leaving the mic stand back stage this time!
• Katharine - "Who Wants to Live Forever" - This one fired me up. I had a chance to listen to this song on my ipod this afternoon and knew that Katharine would do well with it. But then I saw the pre-performance clip. When she actually was performing with Queen, she rehearsed to do "Don't Stop Me Now." Guess what one of the songs I picked for her was? Yep...the same! ugh!!!! Do I know this girl or what? Apparently I know half of her. The other half is indecisive! But according to the judges it was a smart move. Fine... But it was a nice ballad and she brought a great level of emotion to the performance. I even thought she was crying at one point! And Simon is right, she did LOOK amazing too. It was a great performance and she's in no danger.

• Elliott - "Somebody to Love" - Yeah, when I read this earlier, I almost cried. My favorite Queen song going to be sung by a guy that's a cross between a fictional fawn and Danny Bonaduce. Yeah, I may be alone on this one...and I didn't notice it until tonight. Maybe it's the fact that he used to be a DJ? Or maybe it's Danny's current reality show on VH1...but somehow I saw a similarity. But I think we'll stick with Mr. Tumnus....there's just more to work with there! Anyway...my thought on him doing "Somebody to Love," one of the most emotionally powerful Queen songs of all time, was that it's either going to make me finally get on board with the guy or just hate him forever! Well, I gotta say, I'm a bit biased when it comes to this song...but I thought Elliott did a good job with it. The first glance he gave when he started it scared me....but then he got into it...and it worked. There was an awkward transition into the "Find....Me....somebody to looooove" part....but I don't think that's his fault. It was the 1 minute 30 second arrangement! I think this song done right will help anyone's chances to stay in this competition longer. And he did it right. I love that song...and maybe after that performance more people love the song too! Buy some Queen albums people! They will Rock you! (niiiice....I'm giving Ace some props!)

• Taylor - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Okay, well it's a better choice than "We Are the Champions" which I think is what he was going to do. But has anyone forgotten yet about David Radford's unbearable crooning performance of this song during the Semi-Finals yet? We got to see Taylor Twist and Shout all across the stage and do his thing. And what can I say? I love the guy...he's great...and he's the most popular contestant by far. Dialidol.com has had him at #1 since day 1....all of the message boards are flooded with Taylor related propaganda.....he's got that likability factor. But I was thinking more along the lines of Simon tonight...and I may get blasted for saying so....but I may be getting a little tired of Taylor's routine! I'm allowed to give the guy criticism because he's in no danger of getting voted off, and I want him to succeed! Yeah...it's been 3 weeks since we've seen him run around the stage twisting and back spasming....but 3 weeks ago when we did see him do it, wasn't it the same as what he did tonight? Just different lyrics and melody? The guy loves music...no doubt...and he rocked out Queen 1000 times better than Radford. But we're not looking at the top 24 anymore. We're looking at theoretically the 8 best singers that auditioned this year (oh come on...it was funny and you know it!...if not...now it is!) Does this performance rank up there? I dunno. Maybe I'm expecting too much. Maybe I'm just still laughing over the fact that Taylor had problems with his stage show and couldn't knock down his mic stand! But I am finding myself questioning whether I feel ANYONE deserves the title of American Idol this year. I haven't felt that way since the dreaded Season 3! Oh speaking of Fantasia...guess who was in the audience tonight? Yep! Awesome! Have I ever mentioned how much I love Fantasia? Yeah, and I never will!
• Paris "The Show Must Go On" - And in an ideal world it would go on without Paris! So paris was sporting a Tina Turner "do" tonight complete with leather pants (I think. Well that's the image I was left with...it doesn't matter if I was right!). Seriously...who lets their 16 year old daughter wear this stuff? Anyway...this was the 3rd song that I questioned being chosen. But I do see why Paris would've chosen it. We can guess Paris has never heard of Queen before. When the Elite 8 walked into the Arena where Queen (with Paul Rodgers fronting the band) was doing a private performance for them, the band was performing "The Show Must Go On." Paris was probably awe struck by the performance and figured she could do it just as well as them. I wrote down a couple notes on what transpired. "What the hell is she saying???? I can't Understand!" She sang half of the song under her breath. I think this is what encouraged Randy to state how it "started rough" then "got a little rough in the middle"....but "DAWG you pulled it off in the end!" What for 2 bars??? Seriously, is this a compliment? I dunno, I talked to some other people that were impressed with the end. And I just thought to myself..."Really? Did I miss something?" Why is it when I think Paris was good, everyone else thinks she was awful, and when I think she was awful, people are awestruck? I just don't get it! When will we all get on the same page and vote this girl off!? lol At least Simon agreed with me that it was just a weird performance. And I started to notice it last week and even more so this week. It sounds like she's singing with a stuffy nose or some kind of cold all of the time! Hey I just write your reading material..you don't have to agree! Like I said before, I think there were maybe 2 bars of "oh wow...she can really sing" melodic notes in this performance. And maybe that was enough to make people think it was good. But I went back and watched again just to make sure I wasn't crazy....and my mind didn't change. But come on....let's be real. Lisa Tucker - voted off 2 weeks ago, Mandisa - voted off last week. Could you imagine what would happen in Los Angeles if Paris Bennett was voted off this week? Can't we all just get along? (Am I going too far with this stuff? am I going to get hate mail? lol)

So it comes down to this...compared to the last 2 weeks, the Queen Week was a good time. If anything, it got me re-listening to some oustanding music for 7 days and actually anticipating tonight's performance. But, as always, there are just performances that don't fit the bill. And my friends, I don't think we're going to have a shocker on our hands come Wednesday. Here's my picks.

Bottom 3 Picks: Bucky, Ace, Paris (Wildcard: Katharine Bonus Wildcard: Chris)
Elimination Picks: Ace Young - Ace, did you have your lucky hat with you tonight? You've jazzed up way too many songs unnecessarily for my taste and now you must go. Who would've thought that a QUEEN would be the downfall of an ACE? (ba dum...CHING!)

Yeah, we're just getting to that point where our bottom 3 should be pretty standard. Bucky, Ace, and Paris are the ones that need to get out of this competition. And it's anyone else's game to lose. Elliott is still hanging on by a thread, but I liked his performance tonight (due to my own biased opinions) so I didn't even put him in danger. I'm throwing Katharine and Chris into the wildcards for picking unknown songs...you just never know with America what's going to happen!

At this point I'd like to revise my statement on dialidol.com. The site was not right 2 weeks in a row, as I stated in last Wednesday's blog. It was exactly right last week, but the week prior Lisa Tucker was actually ranked 3rd best on the list and was still sent packing! This just goes to show that the website isn't spoiling anything! I think where that site can get misguided is with potential West Coast Idol voters having different opinions than the East Coasters. Not to mention all of the Cingular Wireless customers who text in their votes. I mean the margin of error in tracking busy signals in itself is a ridiculous concept. There's just no science to it! We can compare my picks with their picks and what actually goes down tomorrow when the field is narrowed to 7. See you then!

American Idol: The Shocker of all Unsurprising Shockers!

Okay, I know I said I'd be shocked if Taylor or Mandisa got the boot tonight, but it fits the standard Idol mold. A Strong Performer has a weak night, and they get knocked out of the competition just like that. Or was it just like that? Yes folks, we lost ManDIVA tonight.


Bottom 3: Paris, Mandisa, Elliott
Eliminated: Mandisa

Let's think about this, how many weeks in a row have I really had nothing much to say about Mandisa except that "She's Safe!" She's an amazing singer, but maybe there was something missing there that none of us could quite put our finger on. Maybe we ALL THOUGHT she'd be safe...and no one voted for her. But then again, 2 weeks in a row she threw out some substandard ditties. Last night's being the worst of all. Based on those performances? Yeah, she did deserve to go. So maybe that's why it really didn't seem TOO surprising when we were told she was gone. Even when it was down to Mandisa and Elliott and I thought I might get 2 picks in a row! Without getting too much on my demographics soapbox....let's just say with Mandisa out of the competition, there's a good bet that Paris's votes will get a boost. That's just the way America works.

By the way...in case anyone is getting TOO into Idol, there is another popular website getting some attention these days (besides www.votefortheworst.com). It's called www.dialidol.com. I didn't want to bring it up before, because the results were a bit varying. But 2 weeks in a row now it has predicted the exact bottom 3 and who will get eliminated. What they do is somehow systematically keep track of how often each contestant's phone line is busy...and generate the rankings based on this. This may be a little spoilerish for some people, but others who don't care will have a blast with it. I promise though, I will make my own predictions before even checking that site, as I did last night. But I will keep you posted on how accurate they remain down the home stretch of the final 8. Haha...7 weeks of idol is a home stretch. That's a good time!

So with Mandisa out of the picture, here's the big question....who can "under the radar" Bucky play spoiler to next?! Maybe noone. Can Bucky really pull off QUEEN? That's right.....the music of Queen is the theme next week. I love Queen, so I hope they don't screw this one up. I wonder who will try to top Constantine's version of Bohemian Rhapsody from last year. You know somebody will try! If there's one thing Little Constance (awww I missed that nickname) was good for last season, it was his memorable Queen performance. So that may spell Idol doom for anyone that tries to follow in his footsteps. Too bad Mandisa couldn't stick around to sing Fat Bottomed Girls!!!! (oh come on...you know you laughed!) I also really would've loved to see Kevin Covais's version of the FLASH GORDON Theme Song. Actually, anybody doing that song would be entertaining for me! Yeah..I could go all night with this! But I really hope Chris or Taylor get the guts to try my favorite Queen tune...a little "Somebody To Love" I think that would show a different side of either of them, and if executed properly...they'll be a tough one to beat down the stretch. Aww hell..I'm going to go ahead and help the contestants pick their songs since they suck at it. I have nothing better to do:

Chris:

• Another One Bites the Dust (ugh...so predictable if he does)
• Under Pressure

Ace:

• Under Pressure or
• Killer Queen (Falsetto boy) or
• Fat Bottomed Girls

Elliott:

• Flash ( As Mr. Tumnus singing tribute to the Lion ASLAN: Savior of Narnia!) or
• Save Me (from the Witch's Grasp!) or
• I've Got to Break Free (From the Wardrobe!)

Taylor:

• Somebody To Love (he HAS to do it! YOU HAVE TO TAYLOR!)

Bucky:

• We Will Rock You or
• We are the Champions (They're easy enough for him)

Kellie:

• Killer Queen or
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Katharine:

• Crazy Little Thing Called Love (this is totally up her alley...but i could see Kellie do it too) or
• Don't Stop Me Now

Paris:

• You're My Best Friend (and thus she gets voted off!) or
• Don't Stop Me Now

Wildcard Vote-off pick for anyone to attempt - Bohemian Rhapsody

Knowing this group though...they probably don't even know who Queen is and they'll pick some random songs that they think sound nice instead of going with Queen's Greatest Hits like any normal person would. So get downloading children of the new millenium! Get ready for a QUEEN BUTCHERING next week! I'm ready! But I'm holding out hope that SOMEONE will pick a great queen song and pull out a great performance and claim the lead in the Idol race.

Okay, I put way too much time into that. But hey, I enjoy it! Enjoy your time off listening to real music and get ready to put your earplugs in again next Tuesday!

Feel free to Post your QUEEN song picks for contestants!

American Idol: Top 9 Perform

You gotta know when to hold on to certain theme nights, but more importantly, know when to FOLD them! Please producers, if COUNTRY NIGHT shows up on any of the cards in your hand....put them on the table face down and just wait for the next round! Like my metaphor folks? Yeah, I'm getting so deep on my American Idol blog. But there is a reason. Why we had one more great America storyteller, KENNY ROGERS teaching our amateurs a thing or two about being a successful performer. Maybe Kenny should stick to singing his hits, because these kids didn't learn a thing! And for 2 weeks in a row, we have seen a subpar and unnecessary week of American Idol. And, I think, this week one of the favorites may be on the chopping block. You know what time it is, time to break it down!

• Taylor - "Take Me Home Country Road" John Denver - Or as I like to call it "that song that I hum until I get to the WEST VIRGINIA part!" Well Kenny said it best. Taylor seemed a bit unenthusiastic to be singing the song right off the bat. And it didn't get much better as he performed it. I mean it just seemed like he was at a karaoke bar, a country music lovin friend said "you should do this one! come on...you'll be awesome at it!" and then he got up there and didn't really know it and just kinda tried to do his thing to it...but not at 100%. Sound like I know what I'm talking about? Yep, I've been there Taylor. But the thing is...he didn't just get up there. He picked the song...and stuck with it. He should've had enough sense to know this song didn't work for him. But did you hear that applause afterwards? Can this guy do no wrong? I mean, I still voted for him. Should be interesting to see where he ends up come Wednesday night.
• Mandisa - "Any Man of Mine" Shania Twain - Or as I like to call it "my theme song!!!" Seriously...I'm straight! Well maybe it's a tie between this and "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" for my favorite guilty pleasure singing song that I hope no guy ever catches me singing. But, you know what? After Mandisa's performance, I don't think I want to hear anyone except Shania sing the song ever again. It was just bizarre. She tried to add her big crazy voice to a straight-up twangy sexy song. It didn't work. I gotta be honest. I totally overestimated Mandisa. I thought she was going to smoke tonight. But it just didn't work. She just has to hope she is not the frontrunner to fall in this dreadful week. And as for the Simon/Ryan spat: I gotta say that I had thought the same thing about Ryan's scruff this week. Kinda ironic that it coincided with the news that he's dating Teri Hatcher and now he resembles Mike from Desperate Housewives. (Seriously...Shania AND Desperate Housewives...and I'm still holding onto my manhood! I deserve a medal!)
• Tumnus - "If Tomorrow Never Comes" Garth Brooks - Why didn't Elliott try to tie into his performance how The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe was released on DVD today. I mean it would multiply his exposure and votes by the millions! Think of all the talking beavers out there that don't even watch American Idol! I may be in a minority here, but I actually thought this was a better one of his performances. He did seem a little nervous, but he was at least a little more under control and not hoppin and boppin and doing his rap dance and I could ALMOST concentrate on his performance without laughing at him. And if "Careless Wreckless Abandon" isn't a ringing endorsement from Paula, then I think he's got the Narnia card in his pocket for a future day. Not sure where our favorite fawn will end up on the 9 stools wednesday night, but it'll all come down to how everyone else measures up.
• Paris - "How Do I Live Without You" Trisha Yearwood/LeAnn Rimes - Yeah I'm sure some of you thought I'd just put LeAnn Rimes. I'm not totally Country Clueless! But a lot of America is. And that's why I thought this was a smart song choice on Paris's part. Besides her messing up where she was in the song (she recovered okay) I thought the performance wasn't TOO Bad. I've talked to some who thought it was awful. But I think she hit some power notes in there that will get her through the day. I really thought she'd struggle with this theme. Some would argue she did. But jury's out for me. And History was made tonight as Paula got booed and Simon got cheered for being the only judge that liked the performance. Early Dionne Warwick? Was he just milking his moment in the sun? I dunno. I don't know if it was THAT good. But I don't think it was the worst performance of the night. By the way, if you rewind your TiVo to immediately after Paris's performance you'll hear simon say to Paula "Try and incorporate the word 'Mongoose'" Crazy stuff. He just loves messing with that Paula, doesn't he?
• Ace - "Tonight I want to Cry" Keith Urban - awww Ace, I want to cry too. You sitting on that stool, making puppy dog eyes to the camera....awwwwww. Anyway...yeah he was pretty good tonight. Boring...but good. And it's the type of music he needs to be singing. It's where he can make the ladies swoon....and where he doesn't get into ridiculous "look at my scar" rhythmic dances. But the question is in this. Was it good enough? In another week of miserable performances....and with him being a bottom 3 dweller last week, does he have enough support to keep him out of that bottom 3? I'm still thinking about it.
• Kellie - "Fancy" Reba McEntire - Ahhh more damage control. Notice how Ryan is forced to address all the negative media buzz that is hitting some of the contestants. Last week was with Chris doing LIVE's version of "I Walk the Line" without giving them credit. This week, we're addressing Kellie being a Phony. Sure they covered calamari, which apparently her friends never heard of either, but they didn't address the whole "What's a Ballsy?" comment. Hey, I'm fine with that. To me she's still fun to watch perform and just chat it up. And hey, did you catch her $300 Hairdo? Apparently she paid to have some acclaimed hairstylist from North Carolina come out and do her hair. (I'm guessing HE may sing "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" and mean it!) I didn't think the hair looked THAT much different, but it still looked good. I had the same thoughts on Simon after she was done performing. How could she not do well this week? This is her Genre. But pre-performance, I was worried about another "Suds in the bucket" incident. But she rocked it out tonight.... with being one of the better performances of the night and the oxymoron (yep still a deep blog) of being on votefortheworst.com, she'll be just fine.
• Chris - "I'm Gonna Love You" Keith Urban - All I'm going to say is, I WAS RIGHT! Past 2 weeks I've been saying Chris should do a ballad and once Simon told him to switch it up, that's exactly what he did. Now, having said that. Did he do well with it? I think it would've been helpful if it didn't fall on Country Week when he was forced to break down and do a ballad. Then again, could you see him going country crazy? Chris is starting to show signs of weakness, but he still delivered a decent performance, but it was still a bit boring. One question how did Paula come up with the fact that he "Stayed true to who he is" ????? Crazy Paula. Simon isn't a big country fan and has said that the contestants are really picking boring and uninteresting songs and America deserves better (2 weeks running). Now Keith Urban is a hot item right now (and showing some crossover potential), but I gotta agree of all the songs, why pick this one? I mean Urban is a ballad machine! (notice we saw 2 of his songs performed tonight) It was still a decent performance, but when you do a ballad, there's gotta be something in the song that you can make stand out so that the crowd remembers your performance. And that performance? I don't remember a second of it.
• Katharine - "Bringing Out the Elvis In Me" Faith Hill - Well Katharine is back! She was heating up the place once again. And on a night where there were 4 ballads before her, this was probably a good call on her part. She lit the place up with her smile, her pizazz, and personality....oh yeah and she sang pretty well too. Katharine and her bff Kellie easily had the best performances of the night. She should be able to shake her bottom 3 scare from last week with no problem.
• Bucky - "Best I Ever Had" Gary Allan - Well Kenny Rogers was pretty sure that no one would know this song, especially those out of the country listening realm. SURPRISE KENNY! This song hit the mainstream alternative world as well. I'm not sure where I've heard it before, but the 2 Hit wonder 90's band Vertical Horizon has also recorded the tune. Not a bad tune for Bucky. The guy knows how to pick songs that he can handle. But my problem with him still is that he just isn't strong enough for this competition. He got drowned out by the band. But he did hit all the notes, and I think once again we're going to see him stay in this competition to fight another day. It was country, and country is his thang.....And he also went last so this helps him too. You know what this means? Someone we're not quite ready to say goodbye to, may be on their way out of the competition.

Brilliant Segueway Mike! (thank you!) Ok, enough self-praise (or delay), it's time for the picks. So should I get all statistical again this week or just go with my gut since it worked last week? Maybe I'll be statistical and THEN go with my gut! That sounds fun...let's do that!

Who have been the favorites to win? Mandisa, Chris, Taylor, Katharine
Who have been predicted to go the furthest by Simon? Kellie, Chris, Taylor
Who else are really good singers in this competition? Paris, Elliott
Who didn't we mention? Ace, Bucky
Who is inexplicably sliding through round after round because there have been people worse than him? Bucky

Who was great this week? Kellie, Katharine
Who was decent, but not great this week? Elliott, Paris, Ace, Chris, Bucky
Worst performances of the night? Taylor, Mandisa
Who is asking too many questions to avoid guessing a bottom 3? Mike

Bottom 3: Mandisa, Elliott, Ace (Wildcard: Paris Bonus Wildcard: Taylor)
Elimination Pick: Elliott - Man, you should've plugged the DVD to get the Narnians to vote too! I hope I'm not right on this Mr. Tumnus, but get your crazy flute polished to play your exit music.

I know I said I liked his performance, but the more I think of it (No Mike..don't think it's bad!!!), his performance was decent mainly for being the 3rd performance of the night following subpar Taylor and Mandisa songs. But seriously, are Taylor and Mandisa going to get voted out yet? I just can't see it. I'd be shocked if it happened. I just have this feeling, by the applause, that Taylor is untouchable for now, but this performance (combined with that 50's song he did) may tarnish his image come later rounds. Mandisa may get a taste of the bottom 3 this week to put a little fear into her song choices. Many (myself included) don't like Paris. But along with an OKAY performance, I think she's got her fanbase to pull her through this round. But we must keep in mind she's 16 so her clock is ticking! But I'll give her a bye this week. And maybe it'll come back to bite me in the butt. But I'm going with my scientific gut! I may be giving Bucky too much credit too, but I'm going with my gut on that too! Then there's Ace. I just have a feeling he'll be hanging out in the bottom 3 a bit before he gets the boot. But what do I know? I'm just a blog writer!

Alright, that's enough for me tonight. Hope you enjoyed and I hope you don't find me any less entertaining when you start rereading my blogs and notice how many bad picks I've made! See you after the Results Show!