StoneRose Valley My Thoughts, Expressions, and Passions

Once again, it’s that time of year. The Finale of finales’ has arrived.

We have Rod Stewart, Black-Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, Lional Richie, Keith Urban, Queen Latifah, Carlos Santana, Jason Mraz, and David Cook, all gracing the stage tonight (reportedly).

Right now, we have the top thirteen performing Pink’s “So What”; great to see some old faces-Alexis Grace, for example! That was interesting; hearing the last words uttered by these thirteen contestants “I want to start a fight!”, while all decked out in white….yeah, this is american idol.

David Cook is performing “Permament” in honor of his brother, Adam, who passed away a few weeks ago. All the proceeds from the I-tunes sales of this song will go to charity.
It is wonderful to see David on this stage again…this man, is, IMO, hands-down the BEST american idol winner ever. He is the embodiment of everything that an A-I is supposed to be. He was obviously very touched by this song. That was another thing I loved about DC, the emotion he showed during his performances.

Now we get a tribute…Norman Gentle, anyone?
And I was right, Nick Mitchel, aka, Norman Gentle wins the male contestant tribute. And he takes the stage, singing for us one more time…wasn’t that something.

Queen Latifah is singing “Cue the Rain” with Lil Rounds…this is the kind of music Lil should be singing. But I’m tired of it already; can we move on now?

The top thirteen (minus Adam and Kris) are performing “I’m Yours” now with Jason Mraz; love Alexis Grace, as usual. She and Anoop each got their little solo’s.

Now we watch Kris’ journey through A-I…was so proud of him as I watched this.
We get to hear Kris perform with Keith Urban, “Kiss A Girl”.  These guys sound great together! Great choice putting Kris with Keith. Thoroughly enjoyed this performance.

The girls are performing now. Not liking Megan Joy or her outfit. Allison looks nice; Jasmine is darling! And Allison introduces Fergie…not one of my favorite singers out there. Now that number is over; Allison introduces Black-Eyed Peas. A-I blacks out a bit of the number…and when they brought it back, I changed the channel.

Back to the “Golden Idol”; tribute to those with the “best attitude”. Katrina; Tiffany Shedd; another girl in there; are the contenders….but the winner is Katrina. Yeah. Wasn’t a fan of her, either. So, once again, the channel changed.

Allison Iraheta takes the stage with Cyndi Lauper, singing “Time After Time”. Great performance by Allison. There’s something about this night; maybe because it’s no longer a competition, but more a time to have fun. Just much more relaxed.

Ryan talks with both Kris and Adam’s parents.

Back to the stage is Danny Gokey, singing “Hello”. Awesome song-one of my fav’s ever since DC did it last year. Danny’s performance is no David, but still quite enjoyable. Good song for him. Now Danny introduces Lional Richie for their duet; they’re doing a medley of Richie’s songs. Loved this! Also, this was the sort of music Danny said he wanted to do. I would definitely buy his album.

Now we get a glimpse of Adam’s journey….What in the world is he wearing?! That was a boring song….Now he’s singing with Kiss. All I can say is…did we just get transported to the circus?! These people are seriously disturbing. But Adam fits right in. I can’t say anything more about this. The scream in the middle didn’t even sound like it fit in the song, but it was like they said, “oh, we have to put an Adam signature scream in”, and so did. Just weird.

Guitar legend Carlos Santana is performing “Black Magic Woman”….we hear an awesome solo by Matt. Now we get the top thirteen for “Smooth”. Adam heads the group up; Jorge follows with some creepy moves; and then some awesome solo’s by Kris and Danny. Great number! Absolutely loved it!

Ryan promises the results soon. Final Ford Music Video…nice one; featuring clips from all the video’s this season…the song is “I Will Remember You”. David Cook shows up to hand over the keys for the guys new Ford Fusions….man, I need to get on this show.

Steve Martin, Megan Joy, and Michael Sarver are all on-stage singing “Pretty Flowers”…Steve with a banjo. What is this? Hilarious…my fam called it the “Clampett’s”. lol  Enjoyed Micheal…but he and Megan didn’t sound good together…I think that was Megan. Steve slips in a joke; when asked who he hope’s is the winner after tonight, Steve replied “I know it’s kind of a long shot, but I hope I do!”.

The guys from the top thirteen are back singing a pretty cool (and a bit funny) version of “Do You Think I’m Sexy”. Adam introduces Rod Stewart  after the guys are finished. Stewart is singing his “Maggie May”.

Last Golden Idol of the evening we are told…”Outstanding Female”….nominees are Chelsea, Irene, Dana, and Tatiana Del Torro. Tatiana is going to win this one….I was right. Of course, there’s a lot of drama here; Ryan says he’s out of time and has to cut to the commercial…Tatiana forces her way on stage, grabs the trophy and bursts into song…some escorts try to get her off-stage, but we cut to the commercial before anything else….this was so totally staged.

One of the best numbers tonight, Kris and Adam sing “We Are The Champions” together. Queen joins onstage with the guitar. The top thirteen join the chorus. Must be nearing the very end. Love watching the comraderie between the two guys as they share the stage here at the end. These guys sounded great together.

Soon, we will hear the results. My guess is that Kris wins….but it really could be either of them.

Simon said that either one could win and deserve it. 100 million votes…wow.
And the winner is….KRIS ALLEN!!!!! So totally deserved…and he still remains humble.
The judges make me so embarrassed…they really had a look as if to say “this is SO wrong”. I think Kris has shown amazing artistry this season; consistently growing each week, more so than any other contestant.
He sings once more “No Boundaries”…I like him singing this; and despite what others say, calling it a ‘corny’ song-I like it. Afterwards, before the station cuts, we see Kris locked into a hug with his wife. This man is amazing, I’ll say it again.

And so ends another season of american idol. I have to admit, I’m relieved that I don’t have to keep up with this show twice a week anymore. It will be nice to have my Tuesday and Wednesday evenings back.

“American Idol Hall of Fame”

Kelly Clarkson
Reuben Studdard
Fantasia Barrino
Carrie Underwood
Taylor Hicks
Jordan Sparks
David Cook
Kris Allen

“These names will go down in musical history as some of the best. Congratulations to each of you. And welcome to Kris Allen. Sometimes, slow and steady still wins the race.”

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music

Kris Allen, during Grand Ole Opry week, blew everyone away; by far the best of the night! Well, IMO. This young man has brought his game up each week. He sang “To Make You Feel My Love”, putting his own twist on the song and making it completely his own. I loved seeing him take a huge chance by choosing to quietly sit onstage and sing instead of jumping around with some crowd-pleaser song. I mean, come on; this was country week! No-one would have blamed him. This guy is a gutsy performer, and a progressing artist. I fall in love with this artist more each and every time I hear him.
This video doesn’t have the clearest picture, but all you really need are the vocals anyway.

Matt Giraud is another artist that just gets better each time he performs. To be honest, I really disliked him when the competition began…no more. He’s proven that he is deserving of recognition and in this to win. And his hands on those ivory keys! He not only is a talented singer, but an extraordinary pianist as well. And Matt shows he can be gutsy too by taking Carrie Underwood’s “So Small” and turning it into his own.

I have to say that I really enjoyed Alexis Grace’s “Jolene”. I loved hearing that softer side to her. This is a young mom; she seemed like such a sweet girl in her audition. All the “dirty”, well, it had it’s places, but I would have liked to see more of this side of her. I thought she did a wonderful job; loved hearing her use her head voice in addition to the chest voice she usually uses. So, no; I don’t believe she should have gone yet at all.
Here’s the studio version, I couldn’t find another that had the complete song.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music, Video's

The results show is here. We will be hearing Brady Paisley, and I duet from Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood before the show is over.

Who will be leaving tonight? After yesterday’s performances, there is no telling. The favorites came out towards the bottom, and some of the tail catchers showed up with what they really can do.

The top eleven is giving out a rousing rendition of…I’m not sure. Maybe TROUBLE; that or a medley. But it sure is good and rousing. Genius putting Scott on the piano. Probably makes him a whole lot more comfortable and allows the other guys to get out some choreography on the floor.

“Here It Goes Again” was the song for the Ford Music Video. IMO, it wasn’t nearly as good as last weeks.

Enjoyed seeing the clips from the going away party for Jorge and Jasmine. And LOVED Jorge’s comment; “Don’t get too comfortable, ’cause we’re not the only ones who will be eliminated!” And all this with a twinkle in his eye! Loved it!

Ryan was pretty hilarious tonight; with all the flu talk.

But to the results.

Danny is up first; and will be heading on to the tour.
Lil is next; her song was Independence Day…was probably not her best performance in retrospect. But she is safe.
Anoop is also safe after his very good performance last night.
Allison and Michael are standing now. Allison was called “dope” by Randy….Michael was criticized a little more. Ryan asks Paula who she thinks should be in the bottom…to which Paula is rather flustered. Ryan, from her ramblings, brought out the comment that Paula would be surprised to see anyone in the bottom three! Hilarious! Paula is so sweet, but sometimes….well, she makes for some comic relief also. Of course, Ryan egged that on some too.
We are told that Allison is in the bottom three. But with a cruel twist, after making Michael think that he is safe, he also is told to head for the three stools on-stage and join Allison.

At this point, we get to hear Brad Paisley perform his single, “Then”. I really like Brad’s voice. I told my youngest sister earlier today that he was performing tonight; usually, she’s not a fan of A-I, but she said she was definitely going to watch it tonight with me just to see him. Strange, but Paisley looks a lot like a friend of mine. They both are singers, both in the country genre, but they have very different voices. But now I’m just rambling. Paisley just finished and I really liked it. My sister loved it. And my ‘baby’ brother walked in with this comment; “Oh, is that the one they’re kicking off tonight?” To which my sisters and I burst out in laughter, “Of course, they’re kicking Brad Paisley off American Idol!” Gave the four of us some kicks. lol.

Now we are continuing with the results.
Scott is up. He is safe. We’ll be seeing Scott on the tour.
Megan is up…and I wonder, with panic, why she’s already standing up?! She’s safe; I really don’t believe this.
Matt is standing…and is safe.
That leaves us with Kris and Adam. What?! Kris is safe, and Adam–?!
Oh, no. I forgot Alexis. Now we have Alexis and Adam. Randy thinks Alexis will be in the bottom three. And he is right.
Adam is safe, leaving Alexis to join Michael and Allison on the stage.

One is sent back to safety…and that is Allison.
We now have to suffer through another commercial break. After the break, we’ll probably hear from Randy and Carrie…and then we will finally learn if it will be Alexis or Michael leaving. Personally, I think it’ll be Michael. As you may have already noted, only one of my original bottom three guesses are actually in the bottom three. I didn’t expect to see Alexis here at all. If she is the bottom pick this week, I hope the judges exercise their save, ’cause Alexis is really so talented and has so much potential; it would be just so wrong for her to leave.

Back to the show. Indeed, we do get to hear Carrie and Randy’s duet. My sisters and I are wondering what in the world happened to her hair?
For the first time ever together live, here is Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis performing “I Told You So”.
This song is so sweet! I love it.

Back to the bottom two. Simon shares, at Ryan’s prompting, that they would consider saving one of the two. I think that would be Alexis. We’ll see, though.

OMW–Alexis is the last. Michael is safe. Simon said she was the one who they were thinking of saving. We get to hear her one more time. I don’t think her vocals are as good as they were last night, but she is showing a whole lot more fight.

The verdict is: a good performance, but not good enough. I am still in shock. She is going to go so far. Honestly, she was the one with, by far, the most marketability. I believe someone will offer this girl a record deal; if they don’t, they’re fools.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music

What do you think?

Also, who really stood out to you from tonight’s show?

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Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music, Polls

We’re going country this week with Randy Travis. Rumored guest appearances for tomorrow evening are Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley! That’ll be nice.

Keep checking back here, as I will be adding to this post; writing live time as the night unfolds.

As usual, I will also be opening a poll immediately following the show-so be sure to share your own opinions!

Randy Travis called this season’s group the strongest he has seen yet on American Idol. Very true.

Michael Sarver is opening this night with “Ain’t Going Down Till the Sun Comes Up”. I thought he would do very well in country night…but it proved to be just a “fun” song, and didn’t end up really showcasing his voice; in my opinion.

Randy ; to be honest, I didn’t catch what he said.
Kara loved the personality Michael showed; but was sad that “we didn’t get to hear the big notes”. She did find it “impressive that you got all those words in!”
Paula said it was a great song; “allowed us to see you having fun and let us have fun consequently. I love the harmonica player!”
Simon thought it should have been good, given that this genre is the one that Michael would seem to do quite well in. “But,” Simon said, “I couldn’t understand a word”. He called it a “bit clumsy. Point is, this is about you coming over as a star. Instead, you came over as a likeable guy…at a kareoke night. On a scale of 1-10 I’d give you a 1.2″.

Allison Iraheta seems to be the one contestant that I always miss the song title of their performance. But I think she’s proving to be quite good in her selection.

Kara said Allison could sing the alphabet and sing it well. “You made that song your own. You keep getting better; really solid”.
Paula called it “another rock solid performance”. Commenting on the “power of your voice and rock edge. Amazing artist!”
Simon thought it “good”, but “a little tuneless in parts”. But said it was rock solid, only verging on precocious a little bit.
Randy “thought it was doped!” What exactly is that suppose to mean?

Kris Allen is singing “To Make You Feel My Love”. I thought this was really nice; this is a solid performance, and he did an amazing job of truly making it his own.

Paula was pleasantly surprised; and loved his “honest, pure, and vulnerable performance”. Commenting on how this song reminded her of “how nice your vocals are. But, make sure your lower vocals are on pitch”.
Simon called it terrific. “Really, really good. A great, great, great choice of song. You were completely in control; didn’t go over the top. This is the first time I genuinely think you have a shot in this competition”. Some good words here.
Randy said Kris “went out on a limb. Tender moments from my dog Kris. I loved it!”
Kara thought it “was beautiful. I didn’t even realize this was country”.

Lil Rounds is singing Martina McBrides “Independence Day”. This was amazing! My favorite performance of hers to date. Of course, I like the song anyway.

Randy thought it a very interesting, ambitious song choice. “The front part was struggling, but chorus got better. Didn’t feel comfortable on you. Just keeping it real”.
Kara said “part of being an artist is to do what you feel. You’re a great singer. There were other songs you could have chosen. But props for standing your ground on this one”.
Paula thought that tonight, “Everything’s spot on for you. But you should have only done one verse and headed on to the chorus ’cause that’s where you shone”.
Simon said that “kinda’ came over as a girl forced to sing at a wedding; it felt and looked uncomfortable. Just wasn’t you”.

Adam Lambert chose “Ring of Fire”. Randy Travis said this version of the song “threw me for a loop”. Hmmm. Props to Adam to staying true to himself. There are some wonderful moments in this…but to be honest, this performance is creeping me out completely. My mum called it “Phantom of the Opera meets Johnny Cash”. I’m sure the judges love it though.

Kara said it was definitely “Adam does country music”. Saying she’d “never seen that rendition” coming,; and calling it “all a little strange. I got the drama…” but she was almost speechless, “strange. I kinda liked it”.
Paula said he was “really someone who stands out; who is true to who you are as an artist. Choice of song was great. Loved the version”. She called him a “quick study and natural talent. We’ll keep  expecting more and more from you”.
Simon’s comment: “what the h-ll was that? There must be a lot of people throwing their TV’s out the window at this point. Was absolute, indulgent, rubbish!”
Randy: “nine-inch nails doing country! Current, young, fresh!”

Scott MacIntyre is singing “Wild Angels”; what a choice! There were some pitch problems in the verse. But the chorus is really quite nice. The back-up singers and the band really were doing some awful stuff. There were good and bad moments in there; but that last note was superb!

Paula said “to me, it was another impressive, lovely performance. You work harder than most people on that stage”. But she thought that the “piano may be turning into a bit of a crutch”; to which Scott replied “we can move it closer!”. Paula said she just wanted to see him “mix it up a bit”.
Simon thought Scott should sit behind that piano as much as he wants. “Both performances last week and this were very similar. I like you a lot; but you’re picking songs that go over my head and I forget them after-wards”.
Randy is “looking for those hot, crazy, unbelievable vocals from you. Looking for the standout vocals”.
Kara summed up the judges comments, saying “we want you to up your game. But you always bring class and poise to that stage”.

Alexis Grace chose a song from Dolly Parton; “Jolene”. I remember Brooke White sang this song last season. But I think Alexis will do a far better job. I’ve got goosebumps listening to her. I love her transitioning from her high register to her low one…it’s hard to make those smooth, but she did an awesome job.

Randy was not sure Alexis “hit the notes quite well. Good song choice but not a great performance”.
Kara thought she lost her edge a bit. Personally, I really liked seeing this part of her.
Paula disagreed, saying it was “more effective than the others think”. Paula loved how Alexis “took an artistic approach. Enjoyed the vulnerable soft side of you”.
Simon said it “was okay. A little sound alike; just not a lot of originality. I think this is going to be one of those performances we’ll forget about later tonight”

Danny Gokey is singing the so popular Carrie Underwood hit, “Jesus Take the Wheel”. In the early part of this song, I really want to see some more personality. The verse was a little bland. Had some great notes in there. The chorus is pretty good. But overall, this wasn’t a great, solid performance by Danny; not like what I know he is capable. Still, it was good. I do like seeing him stay true to who he is. It would be easy to think “That song is way to popular” and not do it. But the message is such a good one. Props for braving it out, Danny.

Kara said “when you hit your stride it’s like none other. The front half was not spectacular”. But she said he “came out of your shell and went soaring straight up”.
Paula disagreed “in some sense. I love it when an artist tells a story. I think Carrie would not only be proud of that, but I think she’d buy the single”.
Simon doesn’t think Carrie would rush out to buy it, but he does “agree with Paula; you can’t start that song head on”. Simon did, on the other hand, have a problem with Danny’s outfit. “What you’re wearing is like you’re going on some polar expedition!”
Randy agreed with Kara. “You got to support the verses; they were a little pitchy in the middle”.

Anoop Desai is singing “Always On My Mind”. I agreed with Randy Travis–”heck, that was good, man!” I don’t think I have anything else to add.

Paula announced that “Anoop is back; he’s back everybody”. She loved how that song “allowed you to have your own interpretation. It fit you like a glove; when you’re allowed to have that space you have such tender, honest, amazing, sweet vocals”.
Simon said Anoop managed, in one week, “to go from zero to hero”. He thought it a great choice of song, and called it “one of my favorite performances tonight. Take it back from last week; you definitely deserve to be in this show. Glad to have you back.”
Randy: “let me just say; this is the reason we wanted you back in this season. I like the arrangement; that was dope!”
Kara called the song a classic one, “almost untouchable”, but thought Anoop did a fantastic job.

Megan Joy Corkrey picked “Walking After Midnight”. I think this was a good choice…given her quirky and very different voice. Not my cup of tea; so I’m afraid I can’t offer much commentary on this one.

Randy was impressed; saying it was the “perfect choice for you”.
Kara agreed; “perfrect song; perfect look”. Kara also shared with us that Megan has the flu. Given that consideration, she did quite good.
Paula commented that Megan had already been to the hospital and back; calling her very professional.
Simon thinks Megan should have flu every week; “Quite good”.

Matt Giraud is the last performer tonight. I’m curious to see how he does in country week. Matt chose “So Small” by Carrie Underwood. I think this was also a good choice, one that Matt can lend his bluesy vibe to. Matt, like Scott did, is playing piano with his performance. Crutch? I don’t think so; the piano is a part of Matt and his artistry. Have you watched those hands of his?! Incredible as they run over the keys; and even in the midst of all that, his vocals still stay strong. This is one talented guy.

Kara said there is “nothing small about you. You’re a true artist; amazing. I just love you”.
Paula applauds the “autheniticity that you bring and your honesty is unparrelled. You are piercing peoples hearts”.
Simon doesn’t think Matt’s had enough credit for his vocals. “Tonight you out-sang Danny. You remind me of Michael Buble”.
Randy called it the “performance of the night. You got it going on!”

Personally, I would place Scott, Adam, and Megan in the bottom three tomorrow night. However, I believe the bottom three will be Scott, Megan, and probably Micheal Sarver.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Expressions, Music

The twist that we were promised…well, we are getting ready to hear what it is. The new rule is that the judges can save one contestant from elimination just once. It has to be unanimous, and once they use it, they cannot use it again.

Here is the top Thirteen singing a melody of top hits. Was very impressed with Scott; nearly forgot that he can’t see hardly. He did very well negotiating his way around the stage. Danny’s dancing…that was really weird. And that said in all love, ’cause he’s my favorite this year.

The Ford commercial was lots of fun! Way over the top, but great! Gave everyone watching here with me a laugh!

Michael Sarver is up first. He is pronounced safe.
Allison Iraheta is next. Allison is also safe. She looks very relieved.
Jasmine Murray is third; and is in the bottom group.
Matt Giraud wanted to go ahead and join Jasmine; but was stopped by Michael, Allison, and Ryan. He is safe.

Kris is standing now. He was called both interesting and cool, and clumsy.
Megan is standing also. Kris is safe; Megan joins Jasmine. But is pronounced safe.

Will the judges save Jasmine? We get to hear Jasmine sing again. I really love Jasmine’s voice. Nearly feel like crying at the thought of her leaving. Her performance was quite good…but I think she would have really wowed next year or the year after.

Now we get to hear Kanye West. I’m not too excited at this prospect; but that’s just ’cause I’m not a fan of rap. OK; that might be considered great by some…but for me it was ridiculous. I won’t say anything more for fear of insulting someone else’s taste….

Another round of the eliminations.
Scott is here…and safe.
Alexis stands. Of course, she is safe!
We know Danny is safe. Why even make him and Adam stand?! lol
Unlike everyone else; I believe this guy is completely safe. But Anoop is sent to the middle of the stage.
Adam is safe…no surprise.

That leaves us Jorge Nunez and Lil Rounds. Jorge was called corny, yet the judges loved his voice. Lil was called a force to be reckoned with. Lil is safe.

Jorge and Anoop are left in the center of the stage. We’ll probably not hear who until after Kelly Clarkson sings.
And yes; I was right–as well as Ryan’s traditional ‘after the break’.

With this being season eight…and eight weeks till the the finals–wait! We have more than eight weeks till the finals! What was I thinking?! But anyway, we will be hearing from a former idol (contestant) each week as we go along. There are some that I don’t care to see again…but Kelly is not in that group. She’s here performing “My Life Would Suck Without You”, her recent radio hit. And her new album just came out yesterday; for all you Kelly fans! I really like seeing her return to some of the same kind of music we heard from her first album, instead of the really dark, depressing songs she’s done in most of her last two albums. So nice to hear her again; this is the performance of the night for me.

Back to Jorge and Anoop who have both been waiting (probably with a lot of trepidation) through what was a very enjoyable performance…just maybe not from their impatient seats.
What did I tell you? Anoop is fine…But we get to hear Jorge once more while the judges decide if they want to use their save on him.

Congratulations to Jasmine and Jorge for what they’ve accomplished in the last few months. They are both so talented.

As for the new judges save rule…I think this is great! Of course, they weren’t going to use it so soon in the competition…unless it had been Danny, Adam, Alexis, or Lil…maybe then they would have. But I’m glad they inserted this rule. Bittersweet night for me, saying goodbye to Jasmine. And Jorge is such a fun guy! Will miss his personality.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music, Quotes, Uncategorized, Video's

So, what do you think? Share your thoughts on tonight or for tomorrow’s results show.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music, Polls

The twelve opened the show by singing Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”. It was fun and fancifree. Some of the ones who had some trouble last night looked much more comfortable on stage.

Here come the results.

First up is Casey. And she will be leaving the competition.
Next, we have Stephen…..and…..he also will be leaving us. I like his humor though–”Picked the wrong song…as long as you can’t say I sound bad!” That’s true.
Alexis Grace is now on stage…I think she’s going to be staying, but….as they run over last nights performance we are all waiting to hear the result. Alexis will be staying on!! Congratulations, girl! And she gets to sing again. She deserves this place.

Now we have Jackie and Ricky standing on stage….I’m feeling extremely nervous–WHAT!!! Ricky is not in the top? He’s got to be excepted into the wild card stage. I can’t believe this…
Jackie isn’t in the top either.

Up next is Anoop and Michael. Oh my! I can’t believe this; Michael is going on and Anoop isn’t?! Ricky didn’t?! I really like Michael, and I’m glad he has this chance; but somehow I feel bad about this result.

What a wonderful surprise!! Carly Smithson and Michael Johns appear to perform “The Letter”. Wonderful to see these favorites from last season again.

Now we have Ann Marie, Brent, and Stevie. None of these will be continuing on tonight.

Last to come up is Danny and Tatiana. Nerves are at an all time high…and of course we have to wait till ‘after the break’. Both of these sang extremely well last night…Personally, I think it should be Danny moving on–but I think Tatiana deserves a wild card chance. Oh, oh, oh please, commercials end!!! We have nine minutes left, and the commercials drag on and on.
Finally, we are back–wait, no. False alarm; it’s only more commercials!! Agh, I want to scream!!
Now we are back. Tatiana and Danny are waiting for the verdict. And Danny is going on!! I’m so happy for him. But Tatiana really does deserve another chance; she has an amazing voice.

Next week is a whole new group. I’ll get that list posted soon.

For now, Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Danny Gokey will be in the Top Twelve. Congratulations, guys!

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music

If you missed last nights show, here are my top performers (excluding Danny Gokey, who warranted his own post–see previous).

Ricky Braddy performing “A Song For You”. Ricky came out of nowhere and did an amazing job!

Alexis Grace; the little girl with the big voice. Every season has to have one. Here is her performance of “Never Loved A Man”.

As before, judges comments are included in these videos.

Video’s are not my own, courtesy of YouTube.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Links, Music, Video's

Here it is, the week I’ve been both eagerly anticipating, yet dreading. Dreading because there is so much talent here in the first round, and yet only three will be able to progress.

I’ll be typing this in real time, so forgive me in advance, as I know I will miss some details.

First up is Jackie Tohn. This girl has a ton of personality. She chose to sing “A Little Less Conversation”. This is definitely not one of my favorite performances…she was really energetic, in her favor–as Kara said, she really knows how to work a stage; but I don’t think her tone is one I like. Not bad, but just not my kind of thing. But that is just personal preference–nothing concrete.
Simon thought she played the clown…unfortunate for Jackie.

Ricky Braddy is next up in the spotlight. Singing “A Song for You”, Ricky blew me away. I was NOT expecting this. Will he take the spots I’d previously imagined for Danny and Anoop? If not, he should definitely make the wild card.
Randy said this was the start of season 8-the way to jump it off.
Kara called it amazing and effortless. And a hard song to sing.
Paula said he deserves to go very far.
Simon isn’t ‘jumping out of [his] chair’, and doesn’t think Ricky has the self-belief and the charisma to be a star and needs to believe in himself.

Alexis Grace; “Never Loved a Man” was her choice and what a choice it was! Perfect for her! This is a little girl with a big voice. All I could think is ‘Way to go, girl!’. She’s going to go far, whether she continues on this show or not.
Randy is “loving [her] right now”.
Kara is “digging it”.
Paula loves her quiet confidence; calling it a fantastic performance.
Simon thought her the best by a mile so far. He called her a potential dark horse; comparing her to Kelly Clarkson.

Brent Keith had to take the stage after Alexis’ amazing performance, as well as a technical glitch with his video, and he didn’t do bad by a long shot. Singing “Hick Town”, he wanted to show everyone who he is. As a country singer, I really like him; unfortunately, I don’t think he’s good enough to compete with some of the others.
Randy liked the return to the country roots but with a new edge to the old stuff.
Kara thought he played it a little safe, and that he has more than he showed tonight.
Paula thought he took more risks at audition.
Simon said what we all know, you only have one shot; and he thought Brent blew a massive opportunity and was forgettable.

Stevie Wright is my favorite girl so far. She chose “You Belong with Me”, and starting off, you could really hear the nerves. I would love to see her in a later season–is that possible after she’s already appeared here in the top 36? There were some breathy issues.
Randy said it was safe…and not hot.
Kara thought she picked a song with nothing to do with her. Identity crisis.
Paula had to agree with the others. Said she has better skills than that.
Simon called it terrible.

Anoop Desai sang “Angel of Mine”, and it was as good as we knew it would be. But…in a way, it seemed safe. Personally, I was looking for more from him.
Randy thought it an interesting song choice. He called it a little sharp; and thought it never quite settled; it wasn’t Anoop’s best but still has a fan in Randy.
Kara did not think he has the rifts or the ability to sing that particular song. But still, she likes Anoop and connected with him.
Paula said “the world has connected with you. I think Anoop dog’s here for a while”.
Simon said it was too old and serious. “We’ve heard you better but you have a massive likability factor going for you”.

So far, I’d pick Ricky, Alexis, and Jackie. We’ll see how the others fare.

Casey Carlson picked a Police song, “Everything He Does”…it sounded a little weak, but I like her tone.
Randy let out an oooh. He thought it completely wrong, and weirdly kareoke.
Kara thought the song was wrong, wrong; overdone and had high hopes.
Paula said the phrasing was weird. Again, it was the wrong song, just didn’t work.
Simon was glad she had fun; thought she looked good. But, the singing was atrocious, and said she could not have chosen a worse song. He called it “kareoke, and it doesn’t tell us who you are”.

Michael Sarver sang “I Don’t Want To Be”. I really, really like him. There seemed to be some problems with the sound…don’t know if that was overall, or just my TV…
Randy thought he could definitely sing but it started a little bit off in pitch.
Kara called it “a great crowd pleaser song”. But she enjoy seeing him sing “what’s true to you”. But we’ve seen better.
Paula said he did a “real good job. This is a different side of you”. But she was confused and distracted by the mic changing hands. Paula was sure, though, that he did Gavin McGraw proud.
Simon: “This show gives you an opportunity…You are a good, honest guy…We’ve heard a lot worse tonight, but this was not the best either”.

Singing “Natural Woman”, Ann Marie Boskovich wanted to put her “own natural twist to it”. And yes she did!! Ann Marie brought it tonight. She and Alexis are going to be battling it out. And she brings the house to it’s feet!!
Randy asked her how she thought she did-her answer: pretty good. But not according to Randy. He said it was the same old problem as nearly everyone else that night: the wrong song choice; “Didn’t get the song choice at all”.
Kara was quite empathetic, “you have to kill this song if you do it. It feels old-fashioned; you should do something girly”.
Paula said that, “compared to Hollywood and auditions you did better! This song requires a tremendous amount of soulfulness. You gave it your all”.
Simon thought her voice not good enough for that song. “This performance was not good enough for the real world. You may have ruined your one chance.”
I completely disagree!! Her mom said she thought she was awesome and I agree wholeheartedly.

Oh, look; there’s a new X-Men coming out May 1st! Oh, the things they have while you’re waiting for A-I to return.

Stephen Fowler sings a Michael Jackson song, “Rock With You”. I think this was another bad song choice. I found myself clapping and “rocking away” with him, but that was more from the beat of the song…not really to do with Stephen.
Randy thought he wasn’t underneath the notes.
Kara reminded everyone of Stephen behind a piano, saying “with a piano you were connected. Not now.”
Paula said that “to sing ‘Rock With You’ is like the kiss of death.
Simon said “I wish you had forgotten the lyrics. Terrible arrangement. The last ten seconds were okay. But it was a bit corny”.

Tatiano Del Toro chose to sing “I’m Saving All Of My Love For You”. Tatiana can definitely sing…it’s whether she can connect with people and if they like her enough to send her on. Truthfully, I don’t think she’s presented her best side to people. She comes off looking selfish. I don’t want to believe that’s true; I prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she better start working on her public relations. But she did have an amazing vocal performance tonight.
Randy thought there were some moments and was really impressed.
Kara said Tatiana is like a rollar-coaster ride. “This is a very reserved Tatiana. Who are you? Where do you fit in all this?”
Paula called her “the most talked about contestant so far. Good and/or bad.” But she was not used to the “demure Tatiana”. And thought her closing note was beautiful.
Simon, whether he menat this in a good or bad way, I don’t know; he called Tatiana “a drama queen”, and said that she was “surprisingly not bad at all. Much better than I expected.”
I liked her a lot more tonight.

At long last! the one I’ve waited all night for; Danny Gokey closed the night with Mariah Carey’s “Hero”. I like the beginning of this…This guy is an extremely talented young man. I haven’t ever heard a performance of “Hero” sung by a guy that I liked until tonight. I feel so inspired listening to him…this is like listening to the beginnings DC all over again. Standing OVATION!!!! And no one can be quiet; the crowd is wild! He was amazing tonight; totally my favorite all over!!! Even now, quite some time after his performance, I’m still breathless and excited.
Randy called him “blazing hot!”
Kara called Danny “a hero; incredible. You give us all hope. This was GREAT!”
Paula said he was “steller”, and that she could envision “sold out arenas”.
Simon thought it was good, but wasn’t fantastic. “The end was great, the beginning was good. I’m just not buying the hype right now so much.”

I think it’ll be between Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Ricky Braddy; with Ann Marie Boskovich and  Tatiana Del Toro possibly in there somewhere. But I truly think those three will be in the top runners.

Posted under American Idol, Entertainment, Music