Wednesday, March 17, 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 12 Elimination Results - Who Went Home?

Hello American Idol enthusiasts!  Welcome to another round of eliminations.  This time the stakes are higher as we have reached the top 12 finals.   Who can make it to that elite Top 10 to join the summer tour?   I am pleased to say that I am on quite a roll this season as I have accurately predicted yet another ousted contestant.  And 2 of the bottom 3 as well.  Almost a perfect score.  We will aim for perfection next week and beyond.  For now let's bid adieu to the fallen Idol.



Eliminated: Lacey Brown
Bottom 3: Paige Miles, Tim Urban, Lacey Brown
My Bottom 3 Picks: Lacey Brown, Didi Benami, Tim Urban

I personally thought she had overstayed her welcome.  And while her performance wasn't terrible Tuesday night, she was the only one that I forgot during my process of elimination ramblings in the blog.  Sometimes a good sign that someone is heading home.  I'm happy to see that I was incorrect in America's feelings for Didi Benami.  I think she is quite talented, and hopefully she'll get a chance to grow.  And while I'm not Tim's biggest supporter either, I'm glad fans jumped to his aid when he seemed unfairly judged this week.    I will express my thoughts on keeping the dreaded "JUDGES SAVE" device alive and well this season in the Lowlights below.

Let's do our weekly Highs and Lows of the Super Bloated Results show!

Highlights
  • No Group Song! - This was the best surprise anyone could have expected.  Yes, I do love unintentional comedy but I always welcome a chance to have David Cook back on stage.  He performed the Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash"in honor of this week's theme.  Granted, not his best performance on that stage, but it made me recall the years when we had lots of talent on it.   This year is pretty questionable with a few exceptions.   We can expect a new album from Mr. Cook soon and also a return appearance on Idol Gives Back.  
  • The return of the Ford Commercial!  - Yes, I'm being very sarcastic about being excited about the Ford commercial.  But this tradition has been going on for so many years, you almost feel programmed to miss it!   So, it allowed me to appreciate the Idols sans Casey singing "Tick Tick Boom" as they messed around with some Ford cars.  
  • Loved Crystal getting a chance to defend her accusers of acting like she has the show in the bag.  It also gave her an opportunity to showcase some actual personality.  Some of her accusers suggest that she seems so arrogant.  I don't see it.  It really seems like she's just humbled to be there.  Have you guys seen her awesome performance from Tuesday night?  Check it out here! 
  • I loved the irony of Ryan asking Katie about the judges giving her conflicting advice.   Then Kara goes on a big speech about how she should do pop songs.  And then Simon, probably not paying attention but hearing Kara talking feels he should disagree, and then says that Katie needs to be doing Country songs.   Unintentional Comedy is my favorite folks!  And added bonus, Kara gets dissed by Simon for the 3rd time on LIVE television!  Love it!       


Lowlights
  • The Judges Save - We have to deal with watching the judges pretend to deliberate on the bottom vote getter as the perform a selected song until the Top 5 again?  Do you guys remember how awful this was last year?   Remember when they couldn't even make a decision and they kept running over?    At least with Lacey, it was not a tough decision.  Especially when it's only the first week of the Top 12 finals.  Not a fan! 
  • Just when you thought they could leave the Cheesy ford commercial as is, they have to go and bamboozle it by adding in a segment of each contestant adding FIESTA GRAPHICS to their personalized car designs.  So bizarre. 
  • What on earth was Siobhan wearing?  Ice Cream cone pants?  Whatever it was it was a hot mess. 
  • While I got a big laugh out of Randy explaining to Aaron why he got a Justin Timberlake vibe from his performance it still has to make the lowlight reel.  I mean what was he talking about?   The soft tender moment when he went "uhhhhhhh."  WHAAAAT? 
  • Orianthe Performance of "According to You" - The song wasn't awful, but the performance just wasn't very good.  Didn't do much for me!  I think I tuned it out after the first 20 seconds were "out of tune" (ba dum ching!) 
  • Ke$ha performance of "Blah Blah Blah" - Look, catchy single or not, why on earth is it on the singing competition results show?  I know this show has turned into a great platform to increase sales for artists that make an appearance.  But what does "teenage talk rap" have to do with singing?  And the Indian Head dress?  Isn't one Lady Gaga enough?   
  • We had time for 3 non-contestant performances and Ryan still was milking the naming of the bottom 3 for a long long long time.  This is with 12 contestants.  Do we really need an hour long results show every week?!   Drives me bonkers! 
Anyway, that's about it kids.  I didn't catch a theme for next week so I guess we will be surprised.  Who will go home?  Tune in next week as I try to accurately make the call again!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

Ending Credits

  • I'm moonlighting at Gather.com and writing some entertainment articles, including re-posting these blog entries.  Every page hit gets me closer to a teeny tiny donation for my efforts.  If you enjoyed my writings, please click here  to register a page view.     And also check out my other writings at http://mvitullo.gather.com/ 
  • I need help getting a few extra views to this classic semi-finals post.  Anyone want to help?  Thanks!!

Check out my other Blogs: 
LOST - http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/ (blog is back and on fire!)
FlashForward - http://www.flashforwardaddicts.com/ (back March 18th)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

American Idol Season 9 - Top 12 Perform (Recap)






Hello American Idol fanatics and welcome!  We are back into the TOP 12 Finals!  Back to the Big Stage!  Back to the weird introduction of the judges walking to their seats.  Back to contestants getting eaten alive by the big band, the big stage and all of the crazy lights.   Oh yes, we are back in business.  But there is one slight problem.  Many out there disagree with the 12 people that are standing before us.  There were some upsets in last week's elimination, none worse than Lilly Scott's departure.  No fear, Crystal Bowersox wore a memento in her hair in remembrance of one of the fallen talents.  This competition is boiling down to probably 3 contestants right now.  And, personally, I only thought one of them brought the goods tonight.  But we'll get to that.  Maybe I'm just showing my favoritism!  


Let's get into things here.  12 contestants, 1 must go home.  3 will be pushed down to that bottom 3.  I will attempt to pick them all!  Rollings Stones was the choice for "what classic band can we butcher on this show next?"   Let's see how they did!    

  1. Michael Lynche - "Miss you" - I thought it was very interesting that they put Big Mike first in the lineup.  But, with his big performance coming into the Top 12, he should be safe for awhile.  Plus, he's just so darn lovable!  I guess he did his thing on his rendition of the Stones classic.  He mixed it up and brought a jazzy R&B vibe to it.  He commanded the stage which was great.  But I came out of it agreeing with Simon the most.  Some of it just seemed a bit corny.  He'll definitely be safe this week.  But after last week, I expect a little more out of Mikey.  Hopefully, he'll bring it and keep things interesting in this competition next week.

    I wanted to pause and remind everyone that this show is sponsored by Coca Cola.  I know they are so subtle about promoting this fact, so I wanted to make sure everyone knew!   And you might not know it, but during the results we just might see a FORD commercial.  Blink and you'll miss it!
  2. Didi Benami  - "Playing With Fire" - So Didi claims to have a dark side from living in Los Angeles.  It was the only way she can get through life in the big town.  This is the same DARK woman that referred to her mother as "Mommy Benami!!"  Oh my....  So anyway, I do love Didi's voice.  And I did like PARTS of this performance.  She definitely showed some emotion and "TRIED" to take us to a dark place.   She did make "FIRE" a 2 syllable word (thanks Ellen).   Maybe she is showing the artist she is going to be like Kara and Simon suggested, but I think that artist is going to be eventually forgettable in this kind of competition.  With her going 2nd this week, she may see a bottom 3 scare.  But, I have 10 other people to look at before we take those drastic measures! 
  3. Casey James - "It's All Over Now" - I had fallen out of favor with Casey in the past couple weeks, but I thought this performance returned him to his roots.  He was in his comfort zone and just rocking it out with his guitar.  But this time, the guitar and the band didn't drown out his voice.  I thought he sang really well tonight.  Yeah, I agree with Simon that he needs to do more and start owning the stage.  The big stage may have swallowed him up whole.   But I thought this was a step in the right direction.  I don't know if I'd be able to buy Casey running around the stage and being a rock star.  He just doesn't seem the type.  But we'll see.  Kudos to Ellen for a pretty funny joke "For most women, hearts are racing just looking at you.  But for people like me...(wait for laughter to die down)...BLONDES"  ba dum ching!   Ellen just has that wonderful comic timing.  I was skeptical of her joining the panel, but she does get a good zinger in there once in awhile.  Even if her commentary isn't really helpful to the contestants.   At least it isn't hurtful like Kara's  "BE ONE WITH THE SONG" connection commentary.  UGH.  
  4. Lacey Brown - "Ruby Tuesday" -  Every time I see Lacey come on stage I think to myself "Oh right, this girl again."  No offense meant to Lacey (well, maybe a little), but I really have no strong feelings towards her staying in this competition!  I just keep thinking her days are numbered.  It was cool to come out to the string quartet.  She seemed visibly nervous for most of the performance.  I couldn't help being a bit bored during the performance.  But she sang pretty well I guess.   Simon told her to stop over-thinking the performance and just sing.  That should be interesting if she makes it to next week!   Okay, another Kara beef.  When did Randy and Ellen become "THE GUYS"????   
  5. Andrew Garcia - "Gimme Shelter" - I think I have totally fallen off of the Andy bandwagon.  Yeah, give him credit for trying to do something different this week.  He dropped the guitar and just tried to PERFORM.  He took the mic stand in hand and sang sang sang.  My problem?  He didn't sing very well.  Yeah, he can carry a tune.  But it all seemed so one dimensional to me.  And actually, if there was any emotion, I felt it in the verses.  When he would get to the chorus, he kind of just sang the words with no emotion at all.   But, of course, then Kara had to open her mouth and start talking about how he needed to feel the military aspect of the song.  I'm all for him showing more emotion, but ugh, when she gets into describing the lyrics of the song and asking Andrew to CONNECT with the message.....well I just have to love Simon, again, coming down on her.  "What do you want him to come on stage with a tank?  You're taking this too literally every time!"  NICE!   Of course, does Simon realize the legacy he is leaving behind for season 10 when he exits?  Does he realize that not one of these 3 judges can carry this show?   Anyway, that's all I have on Andrew.  Simon hopes he survives another week.  At this point, I'm indifferent.  
  6. Katie Stevens -  "Wild Horses" - Yeah, this was a good song choice for her (even if there aren't many lyrics to sing once you get to the chorus!).   What I am most impressed with Katie is still that lower register.  Randy and Ellen were talking about a pitchy start to the song.  I was just amazed that she can hit those low notes.  It makes the high notes that much more impressive when she goes to them effortlessly.  Ironically, Simon thought it was the 2nd half of the song lost the emotion.  I may agree with him a bit there.  Like I said, once you get into that chorus, there is a lot of repetitiveness and you have to bring that Mick Jagger emotion to the song.  I'm surprised Kara didn't tell Katie to imagine a horse picking her up and taking her away.  I thought Katie was in danger last week, and she might have been.   Or she may have a pretty strong following and they just made it look like it was either her or Lilly going home.  This week could be pretty telling. 
  7. Tim Urban - "Under My Thumb" - Well, this looks like the judges' scapegoat to go home this week.  They had nothing good to say about him.  Maybe I'm about to speak blasphemy, but I had never heard the song before.  So, I thought Tim's version of the song was actually pretty decent.  It had like a Jason Mraz'ish vibe to it.  I was entertained and he definitely made the thing his own.  No, he's not going to win this show, but I thought he should have gotten more credit than he did.   He admitted he couldn't pull of the Rolling Stones and he had fun with it.  Maybe he'll be in the bottom 3, maybe he'll go home.  But I thought he did okay. 
  8. Siobhan Magnus - "Paint it Black" - Well, the case of the mysteriously bizarre Siobhan has been solved.  Her whole FAMILY is weird!  NICE!  I think I missed the hand-out of the Siobhan Kool-Aid before this performance.  Because the judges all drank it!  I think the first half of the performance was just flat out boring and bizarre.   And yes, Kara, it reminded me of Adam Lambert too.  But not in a good way! (it rarely was in a good way for me)  But I knew exactly where the performance was leading.  She was going to build it up and hit some crazy high note at the end.  Except her voice broke a few times during the 50 second note.  Is that what this is coming to?  Siobhan is just going to hit a long high note in every performance?  Even Simon recommended it.  WHAT?!    Kelly Clarkson hit the awesome high note one time.  During her "Natural Woman" performance.  She didn't have to do it every single time up there to prove how she was hands down the best contestant that season.   Call me unimpressed by Siobhan, and the obvious lighting to make her performance seem like a spectacle, and the camera work circling around her during the big notes.   Call me dizzy too!  What was that?    Simon did say that people are going to love it and people will hate it.  Put me in the latter group.  (yep, this was the 2nd of the 3 contestants I said this competition is between.  Big Mike was the first of 3.)
  9. Lee Dewyze - "Beast of Burden" - I am so glad that Kara is going to celebrate his "less pitch-iness" with this performance.  Who asked you, Kara? Really?   I actually thought this was Lee's best performance to date.  Simon called it forgettable and told Lee he still needs his moment.  I can agree that Lee needs a moment.  But I had always wondered why Simon kept saying Lee had a really great voice. I had never heard it.  This week was the first time that I could hear he has a decent voice.  Maybe he needs to come more out of his shell and act like a winner.  But I thought the John Mayer-ish vibe was really cool this week.  And being like John Mayer is rarely a good thing!  (Ladies, bring the hate!)  
  10. Paige Miles - "Honky Tonk Woman" - Similar to Lee, I had been waiting to hear this big voice from Paige that they kept talking about.  This was the first time I heard it.  She is a pretty good singer and the Extreme Idol Makeover crew definitely did some work to her between weeks.  I was also impressed by the fact that she was having some vocal problems and never even rehearsed the song.  But she still went out there and gave it her all.  And it sounded pretty good.  I don't think she has the goods to win it, but she should be safe this week. 
  11. Aaron Kelly - "Angie" - Aaron isn't much of the rocker type is he?  But he ended up picking a pretty decent song for him on a tough week.  I wouldn't go as far as Randy and Simon were going with how good it was for him.  But at least Simon acknowledged his limting vocal skills.  I think he could have done a little more than just standing and swaying while he was singing too.   Aaron is still a kid that people want to root for.  And he's got the Moms and the Aunts who adopt their nephews who call them Moms on his side!      
  12. Crystal Bowersox - "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - As the favorite coming into the Top 12, Crystal was rewarded with the final slot.  And while watching the performances, the only thing I could think to write down was "I just see no competition for her."  She blows me away any time she gets on stage.  Like Ellen said, it's just effortless when she's hitting these crazy notes and feeling the music.  The personality is the toughest thing for her.  She needs more of it.  I think she may just be a socially awkward person though.  She clearly was upset last week when all of her friends were getting kicked off the show.  I think she's doing just fine.  And I can't wait to see what she does next.  Bonus points for her writing a song about loving her daddy as a teenager and making her dad cry in front of 30 million people!  awwwwww    (Yes, she is the 3rd of the 3 contestants that are in the running to win as of this week) 
So there was no one that was just flat out awful this week, so it makes it tough to figure out who is going to get the boot!  It's even tough to figure out who will get the SCARE of being kicked off!   But, I'm always up for taking a chance!  Let's do some process of elimination! 

Who is safe?  Crystal, Michael, Siobhan, Casey
Who got slammed by Judges?  Tim
Decent Performances?  Paige, Aaron, Lee, Didi, Katie
Okay Performance? Andrew
Who did I forget?  Lacey

Bottom 3 Picks: Tim Urban, Lacey Brown, Didi Benami      Bonus Pick: Andrew Garcia

Elimination Pick: Lacey Brown  -   Lacey, you have this going for you.  I already think you're better than Megan Joy from last year (who beat you into the Top 32), but I also didn't think she should make the top 12!

Yep, my guess is that people may forget about Lacey after this week.  But just look at how many people had decent but not GREAT performances.  It really could be anyone!   I've made my pick.  What's yours?  We'll find out tomorrow who is right!  I hear David Cook is stopping by the results show for a performance.  Always a treat!   Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you after the Wednesday results show!



Ending Credits

  • I'm moonlighting at Gather.com and writing some entertainment articles, including re-posting these blog entries.  Every page hit gets me closer to a teeny tiny donation for my efforts.  If you enjoyed my writings, please click here  to register a page view.     And also check out my other writings at http://mvitullo.gather.com/ 
  • I need help getting a few extra views to this classic semi-finals post.  Anyone want to help?  Thanks!!

Check out my other Blogs: 
LOST - http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/ (blog is back and on fire!)
FlashForward - http://www.flashforwardaddicts.com/ (back March 18th)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

American Idol Season 9 - Top 12 Revealed! (Shocking Results)

Greetings Idol Watchers!  The Semi-Finals are finally over!  No more 3 days a week of Idol (well, except for Idol Gives Back week!)  Well, I really didn't expect to repeat my 4 for 4 performance this week.   And up until the last minute I thought I was going to go 3 for 4, but they had to throw a shocker our way.   The one person we all guaranteed to go home actually stayed.   And someone that could have went pretty far in the competition went home.   This is an interesting week folks!   But let's see who went home!






Eliminated: Katelyn Epperly, Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert, Lilly Scott (WHAT!?!!?)
My Picks: Katie Stevens, Paige Miles, Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert

Okay, well Katelyn, I kind of saw coming.  The guys, I surprisingly got right, although I'm not happy about Alex.  Todrick?  SEE YA BUDDY!  No love lost there.   But come on, LILLY?  Really?   I know people loved Katie and I didn't want to see her go either, but did any of us see Lilly getting the boot this early?   Yeah, she has a similar sound to other contestants.  Yes eventually she was going to have issues being too similar with the guitar to Crystal.   But her voice was so good!  Her performances were so good!   I don't often say this about non top 12ers, but I think she got some good exposure and will get a deal out of this.   I'm still shocked folks.   And it makes this top 12 that much weaker.   Let's meet them!


Top 12:

  1. Didi Benami 
  2. Siobhan Magnus
  3. Paige Miles 
  4. Casey James
  5. Tim Urban 
  6. Lee Dewyze 
  7. Crystal Bowersox
  8. Mike Lynche
  9. Lacey Brown 
  10. Aaron Kelly  
  11. Andrew Garcia
  12. Katie Stevens
There you have it.  The big hitters are now Mike, Crystal and Siobhan.  There could be a few dark horses in there but they have a lot of ground to make up.   Will they be able to do it while tackling the Rolling Stones catalog next week?  We'll see.   Any predictions to what each contestants will perform?  I will have to start thinking about it.  I can see Tim Urban trying to pace around looking into the camera with those eyes and sing "Satisfaction" and I can see it being awful.   Good Times ahead folks!

But let's get to the highs and lows.  And there weren't many in this episode.  We were too busy naming the top 12.  But tradition is tradition!

Highlights

  • Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre Duet - performing Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It"   Love Billy Joel so by default it becomes a Highlight.  But if I want to be honest, it was quite corny!  Was good to see the piano men back on stage though.  Of all Billy songs to show off the piano, I don't know if "Tell Her About It" is the one.  But they did get off a few good solo riffs near the end.    Did I just catch Ryan calling Scott "Scottie the Body?"  Ahh good times.
  • So exciting to see Aaron get in.  I don't expect him to win or even want him to win.  But he was so nervous!  Way to go Moms!! 
  • Not a lot of Kara screen time tonight! 


Lowlights

  • The Idol Group song was Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet".  You may have seen Michael Buble parody this with John Hamm in a hysterical Saturday Night Sketch.  This thing was still full of all of the cheese you can get.  But that being said, it wasn't too bad.  But the lip syncing is out of control!  I know it's tough to get 16 people to sing in harmony with all of that choreography and only have a few days to put it together.  Here's an idea:  DON'T DO THEM!!!  
  • So sad to see Alex Lambert go.  He broke down into tears on the show.   The only thing he has now is his mullet to wipe them away!  Poor guy, I liked him.  Best of luck dude!    OMG, he was STILL crying during the commercial and when it came back.  Poor dude.  I feel so bad picking him to leave! 
  • There wasn't enough Kara screen time to make fun of tonight!  Although her one segment explaining why she cried over Mike Lynche's performance was excruciating!   My favorite part of it actually was when my wife said, "Thank God you're pretty Kara" while she kept rambling on with no end.     OUCH!  BURN!   I loved it!  
So that is all I have for tonight.  Next week we start the Top 12 Finals!  Who is your favorite to win?  How do you feel about the results?  Go ahead and comment below.   Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 



Ending Credits

Please Click to Support!  I'm moonlighting at Gather.com and writing some entertainment articles, including re-posting these blog entries.  Every page hit gets me closer to a teeny tiny donation for my efforts.  If you enjoyed my writings, please click here  to register a page view.     And also check out my other writings at http://mvitullo.gather.com/ 

Check out my other Blogs: 
LOST - http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/ (blog is back and on fire!)
FlashForward - http://www.flashforwardaddicts.com/ (back March 18th)


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

American Idol Unpluged? Season 9 - Top 16 - 8 Guys Perform




Hello Idol Watchers!  Interesting night wasn't it?   It seemed like an endless string of acoustic guitars for awhile and a pretty ho hum night with exception of a performance or 2.   I think we need to open up with a little Simon quote to Kara tonight don't you?  "What you said is complete and utter rubbish."   LOVE IT!   It hurt Kara so much that she was reduced to tears 2 performances later crying about how she has no children!  Yeah yeah yeah, I know it wasn't related but just give me that one.  This woman is no Paula Abdul.   Sorry!  Can't even make myself feel bad for her or even believe that she was that emotionally affected by the song.  Anyway, enough Kara bashing for now.   This is definitely going to be a rough week for my picks.  I absolutely have no idea what America will do tonight.  But I have some theories!  

Let's break it down.  Randy, stop booing Simon!  I am seeing enough deja vu's on LOST this season!   


  1. Lee Dewyze - "Fireflies" by Owl City - Lee is a likable guy, isn't he?  I like the song too.   I think based on likability, the catchy tune and his mixing up of the beats a little bit he is fine to make it to the top 12.  But, I do worry about his longevity.  I see the same thing every week with him.   He stands there with his guitar, brings a hard edge vocal to a song and does his little guitar riffy thing to play through it.  Every song and every vocal performance of his is starting to blend together.  The judges are convinced he can do better.  We'll see! 
  2. Alex Lambert - "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne - And here we go.  The first of several REPEAT IDOL performances.  Both Taylor Hicks and Chris Sligh have tackled this song in previous seasons.  Great song, still love Alex. Still love that crazy mullet (is it getting longer???  Sure seems like it)   His awkward presence was back a little more this week with him attempting to stand up.  No fear, Simon told him to imagine Randy in a bikini and Kara afraid that she wasn't in the spotlight for a second screamed out "I do that!!!"   Great Kara, no one cares.  Oh right and the whole binky comment and the touchy feely stuff with Simon again.  Please, I was over it before I even saw it the first time!   As for Alex, I hope he's going to get through, but we have to be honest.  Do we really think he's going to get his act together and go for the win?   Kara seems to think he can go all the way.  I'm not sure I see that!  2 people have to go home, and I'm thinking one of the guitar wonders tonight will be in that list! 
  3. Tim Urban - "Hallelujah" - by Leonard Cohen (Jeff Buckley version) - Here we go again.  Jason Castro pretty much put his stamp on this song for Idol a couple years ago.  He even caused a boom in iTunes sales of the Jeff Buckley rendition.  So, I was prepared for the worst.  Amazingly, Tim sounded pretty decent on it.  He kicked the band out and just stuck with his guitar.  Right after this is Andrew Garcia, one of these guys is going to get lost in the mix.   Tim probably had the smallest fan base.  But, we'll just have to see what happens!   Was this the one where Ellen ran over and hugged a contestant?  That was really bizarre wasn't it?  Do people really want to stick around and see this show once Simon is gone?   I'm losing faith each week with this crew! 
  4. Andrew Garcia - "Genie in a Bottle"  Christina Aguilera - I think after this performance I am officially off of the Andrew Garcia bandwagon.  He is definitely a case of peaking too early.  He had the one trick and has nothing left to offer.  He thought he was just going to relax and "feel" his way through "Genie in a Bottle" and he really didn't do ANYTHING to the song.  He played is little quick guitar riffs and sang the straight melody from the song.  What's creative about that?  He looked a little goofy doing it too.   I don't know, I thought he was a Top 12 lock, but now I'm questioning it.   Who of these first 4 might get forgotten?   It's a toss-up! 
  5. Casey James - "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban - Oh my...ANOTHER guitar mellow song.  Yeah, Casey is all dreamy and stuff (so say the ladies!) and it's a good Keith song.   But I think at this point I was falling asleep.  I don't see Casey having much versatility either down the stretch.  This performance was very much like his Bryan Adams performance 2 weeks ago.   And last week when he tried to mix it up, it didn't work as well.  I think his strength is in his guitar playing and not so much the voice.  But, I'll keep the faith and maybe he can pull something out once he gets into the theme weeks.   So that is pretty much 5 performances we won't be remembering very well.  When you start thinking about it that way, then maybe you have to think about who is the most popular at this point?  
  6. Aaron Kelly - "I'm Already There" by Lonestar -  Ah yes, the performance where Kara tried to educate Aaron on the purpose of the song and how he's too young to sing it.  REALLY?!  I like this kid.  I couldn't really tell if he was trying to do a raspy thing with his voice or he was just losing it.   I think he has the mom vote in the bag though.  I can't see him going home just yet.  Winning?  No, I don't see that either.  But this guy has top 12 "poster boy" written all over his face!     
  7. Todrick Hall - "Somebody to Love" by Queen - Oh my.  I don't even know where to start.  Yes, thank God he didn't play guitar (not that he plays one anyway!)   But WHY oh WHY did he have to do my favorite Queen song?  I have always thought that this song would make or break a contestant on.  It actually got me on the Elliott Yamin bandwagon back in season 5 after he tried to tackle it during Queen Week.   Todrick's performance started off as a train wreck but wasn't the worst thing in the world by the end.   He definitely sang the notes and did his own spin on it.  But I cannot take this guy seriously.   Here comes some sarcasm.  I love how now that Adam Lambert is no longer competing, it is safe to call performances TOO BROADWAY again.   I made such a big deal about the hypocritical judging last season.  Here we are again.   The thing is, I have to agree.   Any other week, this performance would have been a joke.  But with the producers lining up 5 mellow guitar performances in a row, they may have given Todrick a chance to stay in this competition.  Then again, they put him right before the most memorable performance of the night.  So maybe not! 
  8. Michael Lynche - "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell - I will be the first to admit that I have never heard the song that all 4 of the judges love with a passion.   But I do know when someone is KILLING IT (good thing) out there!  Mikey was owning that stage, commanding every note.  He felt that whole performance and it was a sight to see!  Did he just put himself in league with some of the girls?  Quite possibly!  One thing is for sure, he slayed it and is in the top 12!   Love that dude.  And when you look at Michael and Todrick side by side, which one can you take more seriously?  That's what I thought, the one not dressing like the kid from Big Daddy.



So this is a rough one kids.  I'm not sure what I'm gonna do!  Well, let's do the ol' process of elimination!

Safe: Michael Lynche, Casey James, Aaron Kelly
Should be okay: Lee Dewyze
Probably next on the chopping block before this week: Todrick Hall, Tim Urban
On the hot seat: Andrew Garcia, Alex Lambert

(putting the names in a hat, shaking, closing eyes, picking out)

Elimination Picks: Todrick Hall, Alex Lambert    Bonus Pick: Andrew Garcia

I believe in the mullet power, but it's crunch time and I don't know.  I'm nervous for the kid!  I could easily see it being any of the last 4 I mentioned before my picks.   I am fully prepared to go 1 for 4 this week (Yes, Paige Miles is out of here!) but it's okay.  There is nowhere to go from last week but back down!   Tune in on Wednesday night to see how I did!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you after the results! 


Ending Credits

Please Click to Support!  I'm moonlighting at Gather.com and writing some entertainment articles, including re-posting these blog entries.  Every page hit gets me closer to a teeny tiny donation for my efforts.  If you enjoyed my writings, please click here  to register a page view.     And also check out my other writings at http://mvitullo.gather.com/ 

Check out my other Blogs: 
LOST - http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/ (blog is back and on fire!)
FlashForward - http://www.flashforwardaddicts.com/ (back March 18th)