Carly Smithson Was Finally Great!

And she didn't sound like Celine Dion!

back to dissertating... argh.

America Gets It Wrong Again

I didn't vote, so I guess I can't complain. But I would have booted Luke Menard, Kady Malloy, and Amanda Overmyer, in addition to Jason Yeager. I actually thought both Alexandrea and Alaina had a lot of potential. And Robbie Carrico - yes, there's his wig controversy, but he sings pretty well.

American Idol Loves RMW

Haha, he's away so I could actually watch tonight. Here's my quick 2 cents - this probably isn't going to come out in the right order.

Michael Johns: He was sadly flat through much of the song. The judges let him off easy.

Jason Castro: Ehh. Judges were right; the song was lame. He wasn't as bad as they said, but he wasn't so great either.

Luke Menard: I pretty much hate it when anyone on A.I. sings anything by Queen. Blegh.

Robbie Carrico: Solid voice and performance. I was thinking that Simon would be all over him this week after the bit about Robbie's drag racing, given that Simon is into racing (or least pretended to be with Anderson Cooper).

David Hernandez: Yeah. He got soul.

Chikezie: Ditto! (I love that American Idol (e.g., Ruben Studdard, Elliot Yamin) seems to be on a mission to repopularize Donny Hathaway)

Danny Noriega: He's ok. Can still do better. He must be seriously gorgeous in drag.

Jason Yeager: Poor guy. He's just way too corny, even for American Idol. And not talented enough. He's not good at those instruments he was playing either. SELF-TAUGHT. Um, ok. Self-taught and AVERAGE.

David Cook: Word to my fellow word nerd. Good vocab is hot. And, yeah, he could be on pop radio as a pop rocker. Not my fav, but he'll do ok probably.

David Archuleta: Little Kevin Arnold was great. I dug the arrangement, and it's surprising how well he could pull that off. That could probably be released as a single. Still, the aww shucks routine (don't leave me here alone on stage with all these swooning girls, Ryan!) is starting to get annoying. You know you're thinking it too.

American Idol Songwriting Has Hit A New Cheesy Low

You're still a part of everything I do,
You're on my heart just like a tattoo,
Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you

Poor Jordin Sparks -- these are the lamest lyrics I've heard in a while. Her voice does sound good on the track at least.

American Idol: Bye Bye Blake

My friends Emily & Peter like him, but I thought the judges were overly kind to him tonight. He had pitch problems in all 3 songs - not awful awful pitch problems, but the bottom line is that his voice is not as good as those of the ladies. And btw his rendition of This Love was a total "copycat" performance, and Adam Levine also has a much better voice than he does. That's actually really not an easy song to sing - his version was ok, but felt like a good karaoke version to me. Between the other two, I'm kind of torn for the first time in a few weeks. Jordin sang well tonight, but her song choices were a little weird -- her last song was def her best. Melinda was smack on every song tonight - her Whitney song was not as good as the judges said, but she can hold her own. Her last two songs were great - and she was totally sparkling tonight in terms of her energy & confidence. It was great to see!

Vote For Jordin

Vote for Jordin; that song kicked her ass tonight, but she shouldn't get kicked off this week. Chris actually did not sound too nasal this week - wow!, but I still don't like him. And I love Justin Timberlake, so it has nothing to do with his "style" - the problem is he doesn't sing that well generally, and he doesn't really have style. JT definitely does. No comparison whatsoever, people. Phil Stacey is still creepy and not cool enough OR uncool enough for me to ever buy a record of his. LaKisha was better than she's been in weeks, but I still don't want her to win. Blake's "big risk" was pretty decent; he didn't annoy me too badly this week. And Melinda showed more style/personality than she has in weeks. I loved the whole "I don't know how to rock" shtick. A new fresh spin on the old stale modesty thang. Nice.

Surprisingly Entertaining American Idol Country Week

First off, how lovely is Martina McBride?!?!?

Living in Manhattan where you don't hear much of it, I sometimes forget that I like country music. Sure, there's plenty of awful country music - but there's plenty of awful music in every genre. And when country is good, it can be great. Martina McBride was right on. The best country music is master storytelling - telling believable stories and telling them with heart. There is something simple and true and pure about great country music -- and great country artists. And, as I'm pushing my way into a crowded subway car full of seemingly perpetually irritated, and often smelly, strangers, being transported to open, country air through a simple melody might be really helpful. Maybe a little more country music is exactly what my NYC Qi could use for balance.

So, the show. I love Bonnie Raitt. I love the song "Something To Talk About". Sanjaya's stated goal was to do Bonnie Raitt justice!? Are you KIDDING me!? Watching that song get completely destroyed was perhaps the most painful American Idol viewing experience of the season for me - and believe me there has been plenty of competition for that crown. Why did you give him clearance to do it, Bonnie, why?! I am praying that Sanjaya will go this week. Though I'm starting to worry that he's going to win the whole thing, which I am also starting to admit would be as hilarious as it would be unfairly tragic.

Real quick notes on the others. Melinda was as awesome as always. She looked great, too. Phil Stacey, yes, surprisingly decent. I agree - he's bound for country music. Chris Richardson's Rascal Flatts song was extremely disappointing. I don't even like him, but I thought he'd do better than that this week. Blake - polished and seemingly secure in himself as always --- but his persona is starting to really annoy me. I start to feel sick when I watch him at times. I don't know why, exactly. It's like he's trying too hard or something. I like his songs better if I don't look at him while I'm listening. Jordin's performance - though not perfect - had goosebump moments of greatness. I think she's my favorite right now because besides being able to sing, she's young, yet mature, and she takes risks. I like that. She's probably really really annoying in person though. And, finally, I felt so badly for Lakisha. She tried to put herself out there and sing something she truly connected to, but it just wasn't good. It wasn't the right song for her. I wanted it to be good, but it wasn't. Oh well. Hopefully she'll get a next week.

Now check out one of my favorite country songs ever:

ADIOS, Legs!!!

Yes, I watch American Idol along with the rest of the country, apparently including Jenny-from-the-Block & "her husband". I'm not as into it the past couple seasons as I was in the beginning, but DVR makes it much less taxing to watch. Esp. on the results shows where they fill time with so much crap. Last night, I wish I HAD fast forwarded through that horrendous group performance of "Bailamos". Didn't anyone else notice how out of tune it sounded??? The whole thing was just a mess - botched arrangement or something in addition to the pitch problems. My friend Jeremy's beloved Enrique Iglesias must have had a stroke if he too watches Idol. ANYWAY... there was one perfectly *in tune* moment on the show last night, and that would be when Ryan announced that we don't have to listen to Haley Scarnato's bad elevator music vocals any longer. FINALLY!!! Sorry, Haley, much as you would like to work the sex appeal-trumps-talent music career strategy, your legs - lovely as they are - don't amount to no J-Lo. They do, however, give me a good reason to link to a sample of one of the funkiest songs about legs ever and for that I'll be eternally grateful:

Darondo-Legs

p.s. Thank you to Blake for reminding me what a good song Mr. J-Lo's "I Need to Know" is. That there is a mighty catchy one.