American Idol: Top 12 with a Twist!

Well, we made it. That was one weird Wildcard night on Idol. But, essentially the right thing happened in the end. The twist? We ended up with a Top 13. Probably pretty easy to see coming. There will most likely be a double elimination at some point this season. Unless, we're a week earlier than normal with our top 12. (Auditions were a week shorter afterall) Here are our final 4 wild card additions to the Top 13:

Wild Card 4: Megan Corkery, Matt Giraud, Jasmine Murray, Anoop Desai

My best guesses from Wednesday's results show: Matt Giraud, Jasmine Murray, Anoop Desai

The final 4 Judges Picks included my 3 picks, so let's say that I was 11 for 13 this season with my Semi-Finals picks! (Kris Allen and Megan Corkery alluded me, and still do!) Overall not a bad list of singers. We finally weeded out Tatiana Del Toro. I mean seriously, the girl had some issues. I joked on one of the blogs about her possibly singing Whitney Houston again. Who would've thought she would sing the same exact song for the 3rd time?! Finally, Simon called her on it. The kneeling in front of the judges' table was a bit much. Oh well, the semi-finals drama is over, I'm not going to waste another moment discussion that crazy lady! Ladies and gentlemen meet your Top 13!

1. Alexis Grace
2. Michael Sarver
3. Danny Gokey
4. Allison Iraheta
5. Kris Allen
6. Adam Lambert
7. Lil Rounds
8. Scott MacIntyre
9. Jorge Nuñez
10. Jasmine Murray
11. Megan Corkery
12. Matt Giraud
13. Anoop Desai

I don't think any of our wild card winners were showcased brilliantly during these Wild card performances. Jasmine and Matt sounded much better than their previous efforts. But I think they can sound even better with more preparation. I found it odd that when the judges suggested a Rhianna type song, Jasmine chose a Christina Aguiler ballad. But it did showcase her vocal chops. So maybe it was a good strategy. It was good to see Matt doing what he is more comfortable with. It will be even better to see him with a piano! Megan Corkery. Still totally confused about this one. She definitely brought more of the shaking to the stage. And paled in comparison to Katharine McPhee's version of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"

The judges insist she is current. I think they're going to be sorely disappointed with her. But whatever, she's an extra to the top 12 as far as I'm concerned! Anoop? Well he repeated a Hollywood week performance with "My Prerogative." It was entertaining, but I really thought he had a better voice than he showcased tonight. I'm still glad he's in!

So, am I ready to declare a winner for the entire show? Not exactly. I can say who WON'T win! That would be Kris Allen, Megan Corkery and Michael Sarver. And my guess would be one of them leaves us next week. The favorites at this point have to go to the most hyped by the producers and judges: Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds. Danny, has suffered from much much overhyping. So he's going to have to overcome that. It has become very popular to root AGAINST him now. Adam, well he has an amazing vocal range, but will American tire of the shriekingness of his style or the theatrics he brings to the show? Time will tell. And Lil Rounds, well I've already explained that I can't stand her! But, she still will bring an interesting dynamic to the show and will remain competitive right until the very end.

Dark Horses: Matt Giraud, Scott MacIntyre and Jorge Nuñez. Matt gets back his piano, Scott gets back his piano and already has captured the hearts of America. Jorge? Well, he has also captured the hearts of America and was the first to think in Spanish LIVE on Idol! (ugh Tatiana, why try to ruin his catchphrase!!?!?!) We need more time to see how these 3 will fare down the stretch.

Need to see More: Anoop, Jasmine, Allison - Allison you could argue is already there. But I still throw the AGE Card out there for both her and Jasmine. It's tough to stay relevant week after week at such a young age. And it's rare that it it has ever happened. One person did it, Jordin Sparks. Anoop, I want him to be good but I need to see what he's going to next to be sure!

Who did I forget?: Alexis Grace - well there's always one that just slips my mind. I'm probably still bitter that they tried to compare her to Kelly Clarkson at this stage of the game. Well, we'll see. And on that note.....

Guess who's on the show next week? You guessed it, the original Idol Kelly Clarkson returns to promote her new album ALL I EVER WANTED which drops Tuesday, March 10th. We'll see what her management team has turned her into after the media battle with Clive Davis that destroyed her previous album.

I also thought I heard for some reason that that idiot Kanye West is going to be on the show next week. Please tell me he is not their mentor! Although, if there's one thing I love, it's unintentional comedy. And that guy is the king of it!

Well, I think I'm all out of ramblings for the week. (Surprised?) All-in-all an interesting semi-finals. I'm glad it's over. I'm excited to return to the Top 12 (13) format. The big stage, the obnoxious lighting and TV screens, Ryan's tour of the new set, Ricky Minor and the Band (who finally made an appearance tonight!). It's gonna be a good time! And I'll see you all there next week!


This blog can also be read and discussed on Gather.com. Come check it out and throw some votes my way if you have spare time!

American Idol: 9 are Set, 3 to Go!

Well kids, I hate to brag, but I am on a roll! 2 out of 3 weeks that I did not over think my picks, I got them right. Once again, I know this is not rocket science. But based on my horrendous picks last year (besides picking the ultimate winner, Mr. Cook, early on) I am patting myself on the back! Of the Top 9 we have so far, I have accurately predicted 8. Ladies and Gentlemen, your latest 3:

Group 3 Winners: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Jorge Nuñez

My Picks: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Jorge Nuñez

Dialidol.com Picks: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Ju'Not Joyner

There really didn't seem like any other way to go this week. I am a little upset we won't be seeing any more of Ju'Not, but we'll get to that in a second when we dissect some of the judges' ridiculous picks for the wild card.

First let's discuss some of the other lowlights of the 1 hour results show:

• Well one highlight, we got to hear David Cook's "A Daily AntheM" (M capitalized on purpose!). The bad news? It was to clips of our semi-finalists making it from the auditions to the top 36! But I love that tune!
• And we have the trifecta of bad group medley's. The new Executive Producer is trying to make the show a little younger and hipper. And he does this by turning today's Top 40 songs into High School Musical numbers. This week's victim? Katy Perry's "Hot n' Cold." Never thought I'd see the day when Idol would feature a song with a lyric about "PMS" and have those kiddies sporting smiles like they're singing about milk and cookies!
• My favorite part of Hot n' Cold was when they were breaking up the song and the girls were singing one part and the guys were singing over with another part....I definitely caught Nathaniel Marshall singing the lyric about a "girl changing clothes" and he grabbed his shirt and tilted his head. Wow dude, were you coming out of your skin again there or is there something else you'd like to tell us???!
• They announced Lil first! Wow!!! Well, we know why they didn't wait until the final minute of the show and make us sweat between her and Nathaniel. Because they had to dedicate 20 minutes to announcing the 8 Wild card candidates! Kara promised us that Lil will be around for a long time. Hmmm, does she already know how the show ends? Maybe we should google the script for the season finale!
• When Simon was discussing the point of re-incorporating the wild card he noted that Clay and Jennifer Hudson came out of the wildcard shows. Yeah they did, but Clay still got in with a popular vote on the wildcard show, not a judge's pick! But whatever, the sooner we get the semi-finals over with the better!

Okay, the wild card. Looks like we'll be seeing 8 more performances tomorrow and then some quick picks from the judges. Should be interesting to get all that in an hour! Some of these callbacks were no brainers. Some were obviously a ratings ploy. (The producers love their subplots! I mean seriously? Norman Gentle was there as a possibility? Come on!!!) And then the shockers like not including Ju'Not? Ouch. Here is who we have to pick from. I'll mark in blue who I think should get in based on what we have to choose from:

1. Von Smith - This had to be a joke. I just hope he wears the Ronald McDonald shoes again!
2. Jasmine Murray - I'm not big on having too many youngsters on the show (Allison is 17 also), but she really did pick the wrong song. Let's see how she does Thursday night.
3. Ricky Braddy - Decent singer, needs to be less boring.
4. Megan Corkery - Get ready for some crazy shaking again!
5. Tatianna Del Toro - Definitely a ratings ploy. http://www.votefortheworst.com/ must be having a field day with this announcement. The producers love the awkward exchanges between her and Ryan so they'll keep this going as long as they can. I'm not picking her, but I would not be surprised if the judges do.
6. Matt Giraud - Never can have too many piano men in a competition! But I think he'd bring a different flavor than Scott. And his performance of "Georgia On My Mind" during Hollywood Week should have solidified his position in the top 12.
7. Jesse Langsdon - I liked her last week, but don't know if she can keep it up on a consistent basis. She barely made it to the top 36. So we'll see what she brings tomorrow.
8. Anoop Desai - Come on! It's Anooooop! He has to be in the top 12!

So in one more hour's worth of Idol, we'll have our top 12 folks. Tune in after the show to catch my thoughts on the entire line-up! And then we start the next phase of the competition next week! See you after the Thursday show!

This blog can also be read and discussed on Gather.com. Come check it out and throw some votes my way if you have spare time!

American Idol: 2 out of 3 is more my speed!

Maybe I blew the prediction on purpose! I'm sorry but getting 100% 2 weeks in a row is just too much pressure! I should've known once I took Kris out of even my bonus picks that it would come back to haunt me. Oh well in the great words of Jim Steinman sung by the plethora of protein himself, Meatloaf: 2 out of 3 ain't bad! Ladies and Gentlemen...meet the next 3 of your Top 12!

Top 12 Finalists from group 2: Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert

My Picks: Allison, Adam, Matt Giraud

Dialidol.com Picks: Allison, Adam, Matt Giraud

I think it's safe to say Matt will be back on Wildcard night. We're still not even sure what that means. Simon gave a little blurb about it that they will bring back people who they feel deserve a second shot (and a couple from tonight). But what gives? Do they sing again and get judged on the spot? Or do they call them back on Thursday and then just send some packing? I would think some kind of performance would need to be in store. And since America isn't voting, they can just make a decision. You guys ready for 3 nights of Idol next week? Ugh, I'm not. But it's okay, we're into Top 12 territory after that, and finally we can get down to REAL blogging!

Anyway, not much to say about our Top 12 finalists from tonight's results show. We figured Allison and Adam were in after their performances. It was kind of predictable to pit Adam against Norman/Nick for the final seat. It was Danny vs. Tatiana all over again. Let me guess, Lil Rounds (ugh, don't get me started on her) vs. Nathaniel Marshall next week? I seriously don't know which one of those 2 would be worse in the top 12, but I just assumed Lil will be there.

So all there is to talk about is our very own little Man in the Mirror. The man with a whisper of a voice. But somehow he was able to turn on the ladies with his dimples and his boyish charm of a voice. Really ladies, there is nothing special about Kris Allen! Okay, let me rephrase. Based on his performance of "Man in the Mirror" there is nothing special about him! Kara has gone on about the range he has. Well, if he has range, why does he suffer on the low notes and not even go for the high notes on Michael Jackson's broad melodic tune? He'll be this year's Chris Richardson (did we even have a Chris Richardson in season 7? I dunno). He'll get by on his boyish good looks and decent voice for a few rounds, but then that'll be it. I'd like to say he'll be the first to leave. But let's see the full line-up first! The guy just can't compete with the power vocal chords and personalities that are in this top 12 already. Danny and Adam will drown him out. I guess there's always Michael Sarver that might not be able to go the distance in the top 12 too. I'd say he and Kris are on equal playing field right now.

But, I'm off my soapbox. It's not like anyone else really deserved the spot tonight anyway. We'll see what happens on Wildcard night!

Other lowlights from the excruciatingly 1 hour long results show:

• First off, while we're on the subject, we were promised half hour results shows this season by the way. I'm keeping count. yep -> big goose egg. Everyone keep track at home!
• The group performance? Oh my, and I thought them singing an Adult Contemporary song like "I'm Yours" was bad. They took on Ne-Yo's "Closer"? Really??? Yikes. The funniest part was watching Nick Mitchell and Matt Breitzke pretend to know the words when they had no clue. Ahhh good times. (Okay, so I hate these performances, that doesn't mean I can't laugh!!!)
• Brooke White and her co-written song "Hold Up My Heart" Hey, I like Brooke White and everything. But, um there really wasn't much to that song was there? I was half hoping she'd start to perform it, crack her voice then ask permission to start over!
• Oh, and you make us sit through an hour of TV to find out 3 people get in, and you have the audacity to make us watch a sentimental retrospective clip show from the season premiere to fill some of the LIVE time??????? That was an all new low! I mean, give me a Coke or Ford Commercial instead!
• Speaking of commercials, Ryan Seacrest and the Idol producers are now working to solve the DVR/TIVO commercial fast-forward dilemma. The Resolution? Put auditions of contestants we'll never ever care about in the middle of commercial breaks! BRILLIANT! (okay, I'll admit it. I stopped to watch, but I didn't see any commercials in the process!)
• Whew....aaaaaaand I'm spent!

Group 3 is next Tuesday and Wednesday. The performers? Oh well, you know...

1. Lil Rounds (ugh)
2. Kristin McNamara (eh)
3. Nathaniel Marshall (gag)
4. Scott MacIntyre (cool)
5. Von Smith (barf)
6. Taylor Vaifanua (too many 16 year olds)
7. Kendall Beard (no good expression comes to mind but awesome last name for a girl)
8. Ju'Not Joyner (the parenthesis bit is getting old,but this guy may be decent too)
9. Jorge Nunez - (better than Anthony 'Sergei' Federov's version of "Angel") Any opportunity to make fun of Sergei again is still a good time for me!
10. Felicia Barton - (fill-in for Joanna Pacitti)
11. Arianna Afsar - (still can't remember her!)
12. Alex Wagner-Trugman - (Geek Patrol!!!)

That's all I have for you guys tonight. You can continue to check out any potential discussions going on here as well as on Gather.com. Hope my ramblings were enjoyable as always! See you next week!

American Idol: Group 1 Results - 100%!!!

Anyone that has read this blog regularly enough knows that I've struggled over the years to make a prediction that was 100% accurate. So, it comes to my surprise in a year where they've twisted up the semi-finals, that I am able to get the 1st live week of Season 8 absolutely correct! I better be careful, people are going to start thinking I know what I'm talking about! Anyway, here are the first 3 of our top 12:



Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace
My Picks: Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace
Dialidol.com Picks: Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace

FYI, if you believe in the accuracy of Dial Idol, then everyone should point out that Danny Gokey's score was ridiculously higher than everyone else's. (23.74 vs the next highest being Michael Sarver's 4.36. The girls were all in the 3's.) That's what great publicity can do for you folks! I'm now conflicted on whether I keep rooting for a guy that is so clearly being hyped up by the Idol machine or look for someone else to root for. The problem is, I still like the guy. Ugh, that's an internal battle for another day. Today, we celebrate my 100%! Before I pat myself on the back TOO hard, I will say that Danny and Alexis were obvious. I prided myself on the Michael Sarver pick. Between him, Anoop and Tatiana, it was a tough call. But how priceless was it to see Del Toro crying at the end? I know, mean of me, but come on! She is a nutcase! I have no doubt that she will return Wildcard night to cause us more trouble!

Anyway, here are some other highlights from the results show:

• "I'm Yours" performed by Group 1. Seriously? We're starting the group performances THIS early? Now I'm a big fan of the Jason Mraz tune, but why do they have to go and cheese it up? You could tell they put a lot of work into that choreography and the harmonizing and memorizing their parts of the song and all of that jazz. You would think if they dedicated a little less time to that, there would have been more time dedicated to their song choices and performances!
• Michael Johns and Carly Smithson were there to sing their new duet of "The Letter." Man was that a lot of cheese! But how about Carly wearing a jacket and covering up the tattoos? Hmmmmm perhaps someone told her it was unattractive??? Maybe she found a website that talked about it.
• We got a sneak peak into the American Idol Experience Premiere in Disney World. I had heard about this from a David Cook interview on one of those morning talk shows. So you can bet I had already found all of the performances and all 7 Idol winners together on youtube! (just search American idol experience premiere you'll find it too!) So it was cool to see Carrie and Cookie jamming out on a tune. But if I hear Carrie sing "Go Your Own Way" one more time, I'm going to lose it!

And that's about all I got. So, we were reminded again that Idol is WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY next week. You can once again thank the new President and his love for the camera. Seriously? A State of the Union-type address after 1 month in office? Oh well, I don't write blogs about politics. And everyone should be thankful. It's not my forte! But I know a headcase when I see one! Why do you think I write all of THESE blogs!? I love the attention! I'll remind you one more time....next week's blogs will be a whole lot shorter. At least this is happening only during the semi-finals!

If you want to see who is in next week's group check out this site. It should be updated eventually to show the group 2 people. (interesting how they didn't reveal who the 2nd group was until tonight isn't it? Almost like they needed to know who made it in in group 1! Too much control in the producers' hands this year! Ugh drives me crazy!) Well, I'll save more conspiracy theories for next week. For now, I'm glad I could help everyone out and pick the right people this week. We'll see if I can keep it up next week! See you then.