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Voted off on Wed. May 17 -- Elliott Yamin Voted off on Wed. May 10 -- Chris Daughtry Voted off on Wed. May 3 -- Paris Bennett Voted off on Wed. April 26 -- Kellie Pickler Voted off on Wed. April 19 -- Ace Young Voted off on Wed. April 12 -- Bucky Covington Voted off on Wed. April 5 -- Mandisa Voted off on Wed. March 29 -- Lisa Tucker Voted off on Wed. March 22 -- Kevin Covais Voted off on Wed. March 15 -- Melissa McGhee Thursday, August 3, 2006 -- Afternoon I am not alone with a fracture in my left foot. It seems that Katharine McPhee fractured her left foot by tripping backstage on Tuesday night. It seems that she will continue with the American Idol tour. I'm starting to feel jealous because I think that means she probably didn't get a cast on her foot. Hrmph! Monday, July 10, 2006 -- Afternoon Chris Daughtry signed a deal with 19 Recordings Unlimited. Right now, Chris is going to concentrate on the American Idol tour and will form a band for recording in the fall. Wednesday, June 14, 2006 -- Evening Taylor Hicks has been named the number one bachlor according to People. The issue with the hottest bachelors will be on the news stands this Friday, June 16. Ryan Seacrest and Ace Young also made the list. My personal opinion is that People must have some people with no sense of "hot" picking these people because after looking at the folks selected I didn't see anyone that I thought was really hot. Maybe all the hot guys are married. Sunday, June 11, 2006 -- Evening My boyfriend and I turned on the second game of the NBA finals. We are both cheering on the Miami Heat. The Dallas Mavericks won the first game in the series. Anyway, imagine our surprise when we heard that Elliott Yamin was going to sing the National Anthem. Well, the song started out okay, but by the middle of the song, Yamin lost it and was really pitchy and off key. It was one of the worst renditions of the song that I have heard. Let's hope that Yamin gives up on singing the National Anthem in future. An interesting tidbit that I just learned about Yamin is that his father, Shaul Yamin, is an Israeli Jew of Iraqi heritage. Wednesday, June 7, 2006 -- Evening Katharine McPhee has landed a contract with Clive Davis' company. It's the same company, 19 Recordings Unlimited that signed Taylor Hicks. I believe that Clive did something similar with second place Bo Bice last year. Katharine will be releasing My Destiny, the boring beyond boring song, and Over the Rainbow. Monday, June 5, 2006 -- Late Afternoon Chris Daughtry has turned down Fuel's offer to join the group as a lead singer. He wants to try doing something on his own, and will be announcing his plans in a few months. That probably means that he is going to wait until the end of the American Idol tour. Thursday, June 1, 2006 -- Afternoon Taylor Hicks has signed a deal with 19 Recordings Unlimited which is Clive Davis' recording company. The winner of American Idol basically HAS to sign with the company. Unfortunately, the single that is going to be released is that bland song from the finals, Do I Make You Proud. Fortunately, the B side is going to be a cover of the Doobie Brothers Takin It To the Streets. This is probably going to be a case where the B-side cover gets more air play that the song that is being hyped as the hit. Wednesday, May 24, 2006 -- Evening The fifth season of American Idol ended tonight. The show opened with Carrie Underwood singing Through the Rain to be joined by Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee and then the rest of the top 12 Idol contestants. Randy Jackson looked very spiffy this evening in his suit. The video montage for Paula was played to Whitney Houston's I Get So Emotional. All of the top 12 were back to perform. First up was Paris Bennett. I think she has more talent than most of the contestants. She was joined by Al Jareau singing We're in this Love Together. It was a very good duet. Chris Daughtry sang with his favorite band Live. I have to admit that I love Live too. Chris and Live were just great! I really enjoyed their performance, and Chris looked like the lead singer of Live, Ed Kowalczyk. Kellie Pickler got to spend some time with Wolfgang Puck at his restaurant and got tips on eating food. Kellie looks very nice with short hair. Wolfgang gave her escargot. Of course, Kellie didn't know what it was, and resisted attempts by wolfgang to get her to eat it. Back to singing, this time with Meatloaf, yes Meatloaf, and Katharine McPhee. Katharine was showing alot of boob. Next up were some really bad auditions. Crazy Dave Hoover from Pittsburgh was picked as the worst male vocalist, and he came running on stage, acting crazy. Back to Puck 'N' Pickler. Kellie freaks out when Wolfgang brings out some live lobster, and Kellie is terrified of them. Ace Young, Chris Daughtry, Kevin Covais, Bucky Covington, and Elliott Yamin sang Taking Care of Business. Taylor came out to join them playing the harmonica. The six of them continued on with a medley of songs. Taylor and Katharine got two Ford Mustang convertibles which were like the models in the Ford commercial shown during the break. We then got to see clips of emotional family members: Elliott's mom, Katharine's dad, and Chris' wife. Elliott's mum got the Golden Idol for most emotional family member. Then we had Elliott singing U2's One. He was joined by Mary J. Blige. Carrie Underwood sang one of her songs. Carrie can sing. Taylor sings In the Ghetto with Toni Braxton. Now that was a jumping number. The six female contestants sang, and their medley was inferior to the guys. I thin that in general the guys were better than the women. So then another Golden Idol was given to this guy, Michael Sandecki, who did an impersonation of Clay Aiken during the auditions. Well, Ryan had the guy sing, and while he sang, Clay Aiken came out and sang with him. After the commercial break, we had the Idol contestants singing Burt Bacharach songs while Burt plays on the piano. First up is What the World Needs Now sung by Taylor and Katharine. Then Ace Young and Melissa McGhee slaughtered Look of Love. Kellie sang I'll Never Fall Again. Bucky Covington sang Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head. Mandisa sang Say a Little Prayer. Lisa Tucker sang Alfie, and did the best job of the singers so far with Burt's songs. Elliott sang A House is Not a Home. Kevin Covais sang What's New Pussycat. Hearing some of these folks sing, you know why they were voted off, and you wonder why you have to be tortured by hearing them sing again. Then Kevin, Ace, and Chris sang the theme song from Arthur. Paris sang Close to You. Finally, someone who can sing Burt Bacharach songs--Dionne Warwick. She sang Walk on By and That's What Friends Are For. Dionne was alittle shaky, but what do you expect at 66. Burt Bacharach doesn't look 78 at all! Next Golden Idol is best male bonding. Up first is Chris and Ace, then Taylor and Ryan Seacrest, finally, they showed the three guys who dressed as cowboys--the one was the kid who never left his farm, and never saw a beach. None of them (Garrett Layne Johnson, Matthew Buckstein, and Michael Evans) could sing, and they did a whole Brokeback Mountain type video clip with them. The three were brought back to sing Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys. It wasn't really so bad. I think that it is finally time to find out who wins. Boy, they have dragged this out for two hours! Wow! What a shock! Prince, yep, the Prince, was on American Idol singing one of his new songs. After the break, Taylor and Katharine sang Had the Time of My Life. Neither of them sang the song very well, especially Katharine, but she flounced her boobies around. Finally, we get to find out who wins. 63.4 million votes were cast last night. The winner is: Taylor Hicks. He deserved it more than Katharine did. Tuesday, May 23, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
It is final competition night on American Idol, and as usual is being held live at the Kodak Theater. Simon Cowell was on FoxNews this morning and thinks that Taylor Hicks will win based on his large fan base. There will be a four hour window of opportunity to call after the show to vote for your American Idol. There will also be three phone numbers for both. Taylor won the coin toss and elected to go second. Katharine McPhee started the show with the song Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. Unlike the first time when she sang the song, she wasn't on her knees and in bare feet. It is basically the same arrangement that she sang a few weeks ago. However, for some reason, it just seems like a weaker song. That's the problem when you hear it the second time--it loses its novelty. Cute but just okay. Randy said that it finally looked like she was having fun. Randy didn't feel as excited, but thought that it was better than the first time. Paula had her usual drivel about being good. Simon gave her a good with a small g. Simon said that he thought the occasion tonight was bigger than that particular song, and it was a good warmup. Katharine said that she picked the song because it was modern and she liked it. I think that it is because the judges said it was so good last time. Taylor Hicks did another repeat of Living for the City. He had on a purple velvet jacket on this evening. I don't know--I couldn't get past Taylor's look. He put his usual zest and zeal into the performance. Once thing that you can expect from Taylor is a hyperkinetic performance, and he didn't disappoint. He played the whole stage. Typical Taylor. You decide if that is good or bad. The audience went crazy for him. Randy said that what he loves about Taylor is that he always makes any song his own. Paula said that she matched Taylor and had his dance down. Simon said that it was interesting because the audience hated him. Simon thought it was a good choice of song and a good start to the show, and the worst taste in jackets. However, Simon said round one to Taylor. Katharine came back with Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Obviously tonight is rehash night. The song starts out with something bizarre that doesn't sound like the the song that we all know and love. I think that Katharine's voice was sounding very weak this evening. This time, she went back to sitting on the floor. It wasn't bad, and got better at the end. I didn't think much of the song the first time that she sang it, and I have to admit that this time wasn't much better--a couple of pitchy notes too. Of course that's my opinion. They keep on showing Katharine's dad crying everytime she sings. Bah! Randy said that for him when he saw that Katharine was doing the same song again he didn't think it would work, but she worked it out. Paula said that every father feels tears on his face--probably from his ears hurting. Simon said that round one she got slaughtered, and that this round she came back with her best performance in the competition. I hate Katharine personally. She just irritates and annoys me. Anyway, she had an earphone in because she was doing an a cappella version at the beginning, and wanted to make sure she started on the right key. She said that she couldn't hear the music, but she started on the right key. Taylor sang his favorite song of the season, Levon. I don't think that this song was one of Taylor's best performances. It is one of those songs that just doesn't lend itself well to Taylor's overexcited style. Everyone in the audience loved it though. Randy said that it was a nice song, but to be honest it was a little pitchy. The audience booed that one. Paula said that maybe pitchy to Randy was how Taylor is. Randy thought it was just okay. Simon said that Paula didn't make sense. Simon thinks that it wasn't the best song and that Taylor took the first round and Katharine took the second. Simon said that it is a tied ball game at this point. Katharine sings the single that she would record if she won, My Destiny. It started out very weak. I don't think that the song was that good, and I wasn't that impressed with Katharine's voice especially in the first half of the song. I am also tired of seeing her father with tears. He is crying because Katharine's voice is annoying. I just bored with the song to tell you the truth and stopped listening by the end, and her voice was decidedly pitchy in spots. Randy said that he had three things for her--she looked amazing, she sounded really good, but he did not love the song. Randy said the song was average, and Paula said that Katharine was brilliant. Simon said that she went from brilliant to very good. Simon said that she has the potential to be a good performer. Simon told everyone to think of the second song when voting. Randy said that the singer was better than the song in this case. Taylor's song was Do I Make You Proud?. My question is where did these songs come from? The song started slowly, and I was starting to worry about it. It picked up abit towards the middle. However, I think that either the contestants aren't going to be as easy to market, or the songs suck. Taylor really started to get into the song, especially towards the later part of the song. It was better than Katharine's, but just better. It ended on a really good and high note though. Taylor started the "Soul Patrol" chant. Randy said that based on the song, it was a slightly better song. Randy said that regardless of the song, Taylor makes it his own. Paula said that what she loves about it is that Taylor makes every song his. Simon said that assuming what he said about the show being tied, that Taylor just won American Idol. Paula and Randy then remind Simon that Simon passed on Taylor in the auditions while Randy and Paula picked him to go on. Katharine just annoys me more than Taylor, and I think that her screetchy voice sucks. Therefore, my vote goes to Taylor. We'll find out tomorrow if he wins. Daniel Powter closed the show with a live performance of Bad Day, the song that they have played everytime someone was voted off the show. Tuesday, May 23, 2006 -- Afternoon Tonight is the final competition on American Idol. It will be down to Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee. The voting will take place in the two hours following the live show tonight. The results will be televised tomorrow evening. It seems that folks have been trying to figure out the number of votes that each contestant has been getting. Since the three percentages were released in the show last Wednesday, folks have been trying to split up the 50 million votes into actual numbers. That could be a dangerous game because if you think that your favorite contestant is easily leading, you might not make your call. That's probably how Chris Daughtry got voted out. Folks thought that others were in more danger of gettting voted out than Chris, and the votes didn't go to Chris. Wednesday, May 17, 2006 -- Evening Tonight we found out who was voted out on American Idol. Kelly Pickler and Ace Young were on the sidelines and denied that they came as a couple. Over 50 million votes were place last night. It also appears that the difference between the three is very small. The only thing that was painful about the night was that the show was an HOUR long. They spent a good portion of the show on the trips that the three contestants made to their hometowns. Alot of people showed up in Hoover, Alabama, Taylor Hicks' home town. If all those people called in for him, he should make it in to the finals. Taylor sang Taking it to the Streets from the American Idol Season 5 Encores. The CD will be on sale next Tuesday. Katharine McPhee made some unfunny jokes about going back to visit her boring hometown LA. We didn't get to see alot of crowds showing up for Katharine. The kids from her high school got out of classes and were happy to be on television, so they showed up for Katharine. There were also a few people at her house. Katharine doesn't have alot of fans--at least in LA. It must be because she doesn't come from a small hometown. Katharine sang Think from the American Idol CD. Elliott Yamin went home to Richmond, Virginia. Elliott had alot more fans show up for his appearances than Katharine did. It's too bad that Elliott is so wooden because he does have a decent voice. Elliott also had a parade in his honor with alot of crazy and excited fans lining the parade route. Elliott, Elliott's mom, and Paula Abdul were crying after the video clip of Elliott's homecoming. Elliott sang Moody's Mood for Love which is also on the CD. Clive Davis came out onto the stage right before the announcement of who would be off the show. Clive Davis is past it as is evidenced by his poor selection of songs for the contestants yesterday. Clive talked about how the previous winners have done with sells. The final three gave him an award for all the work that he has done with American Idol. Finally! The results. Katharine has spent most of the time looking like dumbfounded. They showed the difference in votes. Number one got 33.68%, number two got 33.26% number three got 33.06%. That is a close result. Elliott Yamin got the lowest number of votes. That really sucks because Katharine McPhee deserved to go. The final two are Taylor and Katharine. The dumbfounded look came off of Katharine's face. I really think the girl isn't too bright. I am not a fan of hers, and I hope that Taylor wins the finale. Tuesday, May 16, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
The final three sang on American Idol tonight. The show was split into three segments this evening. The first song was picked by Clive Davis. Clive picked Open Arms by Journey. I think that Clive must have had it for Elliott because the song was really awful. I don't think that Elliott has a Steve Perry type voice. Really unmemorable. Randy said that he was with Journey and that song is near and dear to his heart. Randy thought he worked it out even though he had problems in the chorus. Paula said that Elliott was in excellent voice and he did a good job. Simon said that it was a good choice of song and that it wasn't the best for Elliott. Simon said that Elliott was too stiff and needs to loosen up if he wants to make it to the finals. For Katharine McPhee, Clive picked I Believe I Can Fly, the R. Kelly song. He wants her to soar with the melody. I don't know if Clive is doing a good job with the picks today because I'm not very impressive with Katharine's performance. Or maybe it is because this threesome is just weak. In fact, Katharine's screetchy voice was giving me goose-bumps. Randy said that Katharine looked amazing. He just doesn't believe that Katharine is that singer and thought it wasn't the song for her. Paula liked the color, and then had alot of trouble coming up with the words. Paula and Randy tried to tell her that it was the song choice. Simon said that he thought she was being unfair because Katharine didn't pick the song, and that Katharine created abit of a moment there for herself despite some bum notes. Clive picked Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen for Taylor Hicks. I think that Clive needs to retire, or at least not pick songs. It seems that Clive got the approval from Bruce for Taylor to sing the song on the show. Taylor did the best that he could with the song, and I think that it was more in his style. He did the best job with the Clive song of the three contestants. Taylor even got Paula to dance with him. Definitely the best of the three. Randy said that he really loves the fact that Taylor knows how to have a good time. Paula thought that Taylor did a great job and wished she had doublestick tape to hold her dress up. Simon thought that it paled in comparison to the original, but it was okay. Simon also said that Paula was looking good for her age. She is going to be 44 in June. Paula threw herself all over Simon in a drunken routine. For round two, the judges picked the songs. L. Douglas Wilder, the mayor of Richmond, Virginia, told Elliott that Paula picked What You Won't Do For Love by Bobby Cauldwell. Paula picked it because Elliott is full of love and funky, soulful, white boy. She also said that it suits his voice. The song is a better choice for Elliott's voice, but he somehow manages to make it the most boring song. I think that Simon is right. The guy is just too wooden and personality-less. Randy thought that Elliott was sharp throughout the song, and that it wasn't his strongest performance. Paula praised him and said that this was the song for him. Simon said that he didn't like the song, but the style was Elliott's and that it was pretty good. Mayor of LA, Antonio Villaraigosa told Katharine McPhee that Simon picked Somewhere Over the Rainbow for her. Simon knew that this was probably the most perfect song for her, and she could have a big moment with this. I'm not sure what song she was singing, but it didn't sound like the typical Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I think that the performance was meant to be moving with Katharine on the floor and low music. I think she slaughtered the song, and I was underimpressed. I only recognized bits of it. The best parts were the parts when she didn't try to sing it--and didn't screetch. My boyfriend said it was brutal. Randy said finally--and said it was the best vocal of the season. Paula said that she applauds her and says her best is when Katharine doesn't over do it. Simon said that he was happy for her because she doesn't need to over do. Simon said that it was the best performance of the season. I think not. In fact, I thought that both of her songs stunk up the joint, and I know stink. Govenor Bob Riley of Alabama told Taylor Hicks that Randy Jackson picked You Are So Beautiful, a Joe Cocker song. This should be perfect for Taylor, and as soon as the words came out of Taylor's voice, it was obvious. There were a few notes that were too low for Taylor. However, this was a typical Taylor song. Randy said it was a tender moment. Paula thought that Taylor looked like a star. Simon said that it was by far and away the best performance by Taylor this season. The contestants now get to pick their own song. Elliott picked I Believe To My Soul by Ray Charles. I think that Elliott did a better job of picking a song for himself than Clive Davis did. I think that Elliott did a decent job. He's just a boring person though, and I find myself distracted by other things as I listen to him. He is too stiff. Randy said that he didn't think it was the perfect song, but that Elliott can definitely sing, and did a good job. Paula said that it wasn't a song that people can connect to, but that Elliott can sing and is s funky white boy. Simon said that his songs aren't going to carry him through. Simon said that he is a great singer though and will make his mom proud regardless of what happens. Katharine picked I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues because she doesn't want to be compared to anyone today and loves the song. I think that Katharine's voice just gets under my skin for some reason. I think that she put alot of personaltiy into this song, but her screetchy, off-pitched voice annoys me. Randy said it was okay and understood what Katharine was trying to do. Paula thought the second song was her magic, but she still did a great job. Simon thought that overall it was a good night for Katharine. He just wishes that the second song was her last song to leave a lasting memory. As Simon said, it was just okay. Taylor picked Try a Little Tenderness. It started out as a slow and soulful song, and then picked up the beat. I thought that Taylor did a decent job with the song. he gave the three best performances of the evening, and deserves to go on to the finals and to win it all. It was pure Taylor Hicks. Randy said that he has a new name for Taylor is Have a Good Time Funky Taylor. Paula said that she chose it for Taylor and he picked it himself. Simon said it was a smart choice of song, good performance, and he'll see Taylor next week. I think that Katharine's three performances were each weak and she deserves to go. Elliott isn't the best, but he is better than Katharine. Taylor is just leaps and bounds ahead of them. Hopefully he will get the votes. Listening to the recap of Katharine's performances is painful to my ears. I hope that she goes. Tuesday, May 16, 2006 -- Afternoon Simon Cowell is now picking Taylor Hicks to win it all in this year's American Idol. I think that Taylor is going to be a marketing nightmare. Yeah, he's entertaining as a novelty and in putting one to the man by voting for a hyperactive gray haired man, but that really doesn't sell records. Well, at least it doesn't sell records over time. Maybe the Taylor fans will rush out to get the first CD, but where does it go after that? The problem is that I don't see Katharine McPhee or Elliott Yamin faring much better. Tonight the final three will compete. Since Paula Abdul is picking Elliott's song, and I found out that Simon is picking Katharine McPhee's, that leaves Randy Jackson picking a song for Taylor. It will be interesting to see how they do. Friday, May 12, 2006 -- Late Evening For next week's American Idol, the contestants are going to make a visit to their home towns. Taylor Hicks went home to Alabama, Katharine McPhee stayed in LA (her hometown), and Elliott Yamin went home to Virginia. Paula Abdul wants Elliott to win because I believe that she feels sorry for him being 90% deaf in his right ear. Next week the contestants will sing three songs each. One will be the contestant's choice, the second will be Clive Davis' choice, and the last will be the judges' choice. Paula chose What You Won't Do for Love by Bobby Caldwell for Elliott. Meanwhile Chris Daughtry's fans are trying to claim that there were problems with the phones lines and the votes for Chris weren't accurate because folks couldn't dial in. If that were the case, folks should have been complaining Tuesday night, and that doesn't appear to be the case. Friday, May 12, 2006 -- Evening People are still in shock over Chris Daughtry getting the boot on this week's American Idol. In fact, Simon Cowell now says that he doesn't know who will win the competition this year. The irony is that he is now going to be stuck with a threesome that will be hard to market. Elliott Yamin is a wooden, personality-less singer, who may at times be technically good, but just doesn't have that special something that makes him Idol worthy. Then there's Katharine McPhee who although very good looking, really is annoying with the facial contortions, and is just plain ordinary when it comes to singing. Finally Taylor Hicks' extremely hyper-personality wears thin after any exposure over 15 minutes. In fact, although I liked Taylor in the beginning, he just annoys the heck out of me now. It's going to be a promotional nightmare with this threesome. Now Chris may also have a genre singer--fitting more into the grunge rocker mold--but he had charisma. In fact, some think that the reason he didn't get votes may have been due to folks thinking Chris was a safe bet to make it to the finals, and voted for others that might not have been so secure. All of that doesn't matter though because Chris will be just fine. He is pondering his options, which include an offer from Fuel to be their lead singer. It seems that the group's lead singer left in February, and they were wowed by Chris' rendition of their song, Hemorrhage, earlier in the season. Chris is pondering whether he should just start his own band or join an established band. Wednesday, May 10, 2006 -- Evening Another one bites the dust on American Idol tonight. This week's Ford commercial was a cute one where the guys remove the junk from Katharine's garage and fill it with grass, plants, fish, and parrots. Kermit was in the car with Katharine. Cute. Then we saw a video clip of Priscella Presley showing the contestants around Graceland. Lisa Marie was there too--looking abit chunky. However, I can't get over the ugly thing that was going on with Priscella's mouth. I think that she has a collegen error with her upper lip. It looks horrifying--quite scary. Sort of like an ugly Mortica Addams. Rebecca Romijn was in the audience and had a request to hear Taylor Hicks sing Jailhouse Rock again. He did. Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin are in one group, and Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee are in a second group. Chris and Katharine are in the bottom two. I was feeling nervous before this. Simon said that based on last night, he felt that Katharine should go. Chris Daughtry was the one who was voted off! Chris admits to being alittle bit in shock, and it is surprising because all the judges seem to think that he would make it to the finals. The only thing is that Chris will do well, and should have a record contract. I started to get nervous when I saw Chris with Katharine. As he watches his good-bye clip, Chris seems very serious. He will do fine. Paula Abdul is crying alot. I am sad, but Chris will get a record deal. I'm sure of it. Tuesday, May 9, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
Only four contestants remain on American Idol. Each of the contestants will sing two songs. Today's show is in homage to Elvis. The contestants were flown to Graceland in Memphis. Priscilla Presley was there to met them, and it looked like something was horribly wrong with her teeth or mouth. The person coaching the contestants this week is Tommy Mottola. He thinks this is going to be the greatest show of the season. We shall see. First up is Taylor Hicks. Taylor's first song is Jailhouse Rock. Tommy Mottola had Taylor raise the key a level and thinks it will give Taylor a chance to shine. Taylor did a decent job with the song, and had his hair flipped in the front to mimic Elvis. I think it was okay. Not great, but okay. Randy Jackson said that Taylor was in his element and it was the way to start off the show. Paula Abdul said that Taylor looked like he looked fantastic and was original as ever and phenomenal. Simon Cowell asked the judges to get real, and said in the real world it was a terrible impersonation of Elvis, the dancing was hideous, and it was just karaoke with a capital K. Ryan asked Simon if he ever lived in the real world with his mansions and things. Chris talks about his many fan clubs and how they send him alot of things, especially junk food. The answer to the top question with his fan club is boxer briefs. Must be his favorite underwear! Chris is singing Suspcious Minds. Mottola likes Chris' vocal sound and thinks it will be amazing on record. Chris had dark glasses on for his look. I am a Chris fanatic, and I think that he did a very nice job with the song. He has a very nice sound, rich voice, and doesn't shout this song at all. Very nicely done, in my humble opinion. Randy looks serious, and says that it was a nice, tender moment. Not the best performance for Randy. Paula thought that Chris did a great job. Simon said, "sunglasses aside, that worked." Elliott Yamin is next and is singing If I Can Dream. It sounded awful in the practice, and Tommy Mottola said that it needed alot of practice and that Elliott didn't want it to sound like a Bar Mitzvah song. Tommy said that Elliott is really, really going to have to work on the song to pull it off. The song starts sounding weak and Elliott's voice sounded shaky. Obviously, Elliott didn't get as much practice as he should have, and with this song, he is looking like he will probably be voted off. He did pick it up at the end, but it didn't do it for me. Randy said he wasn't sure about Elliott doing this song, but claimed that Elliott laid it out. Paula said that Simon told her that this song was a big closer for Elvis, and that she thought it was Elliott's best vocal performance this season. Simon said that Elliott came into the show as an underdog, and that so far it was the best performance. I didn't agree, but maybe it is because I'm not a huge Elliott fan. Katharine McPhee is singing Hound Dog, and Tommy Mottola said that is hard song to pull off because it is a signature sound. Tommy thinks she has a fluid sound and great range, and a really great voice. I'm also not a big Katharine fan, but I thought that she did a decent job with the song. It was really rocking. It's just that looking at her, I'm turned off with the hair in her face and facial contortions. Randy said that it was obvious she had a good time. It seems that she dropped her lyric in the middle, but worked it out. Paula thought it looked like fun. Simon thought it looked like a desperate, manic performance--manic and shrieky. Simon didn't think that it was a great performance and hoped that Katharine had a better second song. Taylor sings his second song of the night, In the Ghetto. Tommy Mottola thought this Taylor's best performance, and told him to just sing it and not act up too much with it. The song was okay for me. I didn't think that it was that impressive. Randy said that it was the right key and right song, and that was the kind of record that Taylor should make. Paula said that it showed another side to Taylor and how well-rounded. Simon said that the first song was just silly, but that the second song was perfect for Taylor. Simon thinks that Taylor has sung his way into the semi-finals. Chris sings his second song, A Little Less Conversation. Tommy thought that this was a difficult song and thought that Chris should practice in front of a mirror and will rise to the occassion. I just love Chris, and thought that he did a nice job with the song. Again, he sang the song as opposed to shouting it. He also seemed to play the audience well, and at the end, he got his usual rocking in. Randy said that something good was happening and thought that it was the right key and it was hot. Paula said that she adored Chris and thought the song showed a little more personality. Simon thought that the first song was better, and that this song was okay. Chris said that the song was written slower and lower in the beginning and he wanted to stay true to Elvis. Elliott sings Trouble. Again, it doesn't sound too good in practice. Tommy Mottola thought that Elliott was a laid-back kid. Tommy Mottola thought that Elliott has a raspy, rough and tumble style and pulled it off well. I think that the song was okay, better than his first song (which everyone else seemed to like except for me). I think that Elliott was trying hard--maybe over trying. Randy said that something was going on tonight and thought it was Elliott's best performance ever. Paula agrees and thinks it ws Elliott's best performance ever. Simon thinks that Elliott came out fighting and deserves to go through to the next round. Ryan said that he thought he should give Paula a dollar after seeing her dance to Elliott's song. Katharine McPhee sings Can't Help Falling in Love. The practice didn't sound good. Tommy Mottola said that Katharine has to emote and pay attention to what the vocal is saying. Mottola thinks that Katharine has a special voice and can do incredible thing with it. The song starts out very weak and out of tune to my ears. I think that the song and performance were subpar. Unfortunately, the worst of the evening. Randy said that it was better than the first song, and she ran out of air and had pitchy problems. Paula liked seeing Katharine dance (which she didn't do here), and that she has a beautiful voice. Simon exhales and said that this wasn't one of Katharine's best nice. Simon said that he wanted apple pie, but he got apple pie with a gallon of cream on top. He thought that the song went over the top towards the middle. Simon thinks that she came into the night at a disadvantage, that she didn't choose the right songs, and that the arrangment was too much. Katharine looks disappointed. Althought I was sure that Elliott would get voted off, Katharine gave the weakest performance of the evening. I think that she may be voted off tomorrow. Saturday, May 6, 2006 -- Late Morning Simon Cowell has given his opinion of who he thinks will be the final two on American Idol. Simon says that he thinks that Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry will be the finalists. Simon did say that Katharine McPhee could not be ruled out though. The interesting comment that Simon made was that his ego was the smallest of the show's regulars. According to Simon, Ryan Seacrest has the biggest ego, followed by Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and then himself. Randy Jackson recently renewed his contract with American Idol for an additional three years. Paula Abdul had done the same earlier in the season. Simon, however, has a five year contract that pays him $35 million a year. Wednesday, May 3, 2006 -- Evening Another contestant was voted off of American Idol this evening. 45.5 million votes were cast last night. Of course each vote doesn't correspond to one person. The five contestants sang We Are One together on the stage. I think that in general this group is much better than last year's. They don't sound bad at all when they sing together, and last year it was like torture to hear the group sing. The group are told that the remaining four will be flown to Graceland as soon as the show is over, and they will be working with Tommy Mottola. Paris Bennett is the first person put in the bottom two. Ryan Seacrest has her sing Kiss. Elliott Yamin joins Paris in the bottom two, and sings On Broadway. Who will it be? Paris is the person who is voted off. She manages to keep it together very well at the end considering how she cried for the others. And then there were four. Tuesday, May 2, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
Tonight on American Idol the contestants get to sing two songs. One from their birth year and the other from the top 10 charts this week. Elliott Yamin was born in 1978 and sang George Benson's Broadway. His voice was shaky, although the song was the sort of song that was good for him. For some reason though, his voice just seemed weak and overpowered by the music. Randy said that the song started rough, but that he did better by the middle of the song. Paula said that she agreed with Randy. She did say that he had a rich voice at the end. Simon didn't think that it was Elliott's best performance and that it was disjointed, and thinks that it is good that Elliott has two songs tonight. Paris sang Prince's Kiss because it was something different from her usual. Paris was born in 1988. She did a decent job with the song. She was strutting her stuff right in front of the audience. It gave her a chance to vogue rather than showcasing her voice. Randy said that it was nice to see her showing her youth and he thought it was nice and he liked it. Paula thought that she like it when Paris sang songs from the past era. Simon said screetchy and annoying. Paris said that she still thanks Simon and loves all the opinions. I like Paris. She just seems like a very nice girl. Chris Daughtry was born in 1979, and sang Styx's Renegade. The song was perfect for his voice, and it is very obvious that Chris can sing although the high note was enough to hurt one's ears. But fortunately that was only one instance. Great song! All Randy could say is "America we have a real hot one tonight." Paula said that Chris has already shown what he can do and has set the standard and is already on his path and was outstanding. Simon said that was a million times better than the first two performances and was a great choice of song. Katharine McPhee lost a button on her outfit last time. I didn't notice that. Katharine was born in 1984. She sang Against All Odds. I thought that the song started out on the weak. She started to oversing the song in the middle and ended that way. I think I just don't like Katharine. Randy said that she looked amazing and didn't know if the key was for her and thought it was too low, but she thought she did okay. Paula said that it wasn't her favorite performance. Simon said that last week he got it wrong, but tonight was a mess and the song got away from her. As he said, fortunately she has two songs to sing. Taylor Hicks was born in 1976, and he sang Wild Cherry's Play that Funky Music. That was a song tailor made for Taylor. I don't think he did that great a job with it though. He really gets into it though, and squirms all over the stage. Obviously Taylor was just going for the dance votes. He ended the song lying on the stage. Overblown, but the audience liked it. Randy said that it was obvious that Taylor had a good choice. Randy felt like he was in a bar and had too many. Paula thought that Taylor obviously had fun. Simon thought it was like a horrible, horrible wedding performance. A cd of the contestants singing songs, titled Encore, will be on sale May 23, it was announced. Elliott was back for his second chance. This time he has to sing a top 10 song from any of the Billboard's charts. He sang Home by Michael Buble. Unfortunately, it was an extremely boring song, and just not memorable. Elliott's voice was boring too. Randy said that he loved seeing a tender side to Elliott and it was a nice choice. Paula said that it gave everyone a chance to hear the richness of Elliott's voice. Simon said that he wouldn't have chosen a song saying "I want to go home." Simon just didn't think that it was memorable, and is just a little bit concerned. Be without You by Mary J. Blige was sung by Paris. This was another song that was on the boring side and not really note-worthy. Paris tried to soul it up towards the end, but it might have been too little too late. It was okay. Randy said that it was a big risk singing Mary J, and even though it was pitchy at parts, Paris rocked. Paula thinks that Paris has it, and had hoped for a Paris flip on it. Simon thought that Paris did rather well with it, and thought that Paul had it wrong. Chris Daughtry sang I Dare You. Chris really rocks and screams this one. It was typical Chris and you either love it or hate it. I love it. Randy said that he can already tell that the songs were getting to his voice, and that it was okay. Paula said that she loves him even though it wasn't her song. Simon said that Chris' voice seemed to be giving way and that sort of worried him, but that he should be okay. Chris thought that he might have pushed it alittle much because he sang that song five times today. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree was sung by Katharine McPhee. Although she really seemed to be enjoying herself, I didn't think that it was a good choice for her voice, especially at the beginning. Katharine was either lying or kneeling on the floor and had two guys beside her who were playing the box drum. She did seem to be enjoying herself. Randy said that it was a wild show, but that was more like the Katharine that he loved. Paula loved the choreography. Simon thought it was a strange show. He preferred the second song to the first because it was a different and younger song, and showed more personality and it was a good choice of song. Taylor was last. He sang Something which really is an old George Harrison song from the early 1970s. I really don't understand how he can be singing this song, unless someone re-released it. Taylor didn't do a bad job with the song though. Randy said that the cool part was the song and that he loves the Beatles. Paula thought that it was a challenge and that he didn't overdo it. Simon said that it's easy to forget with all of Taylor's balminess that he is a good singer. Obviously the two on the bubble tonight are Elliott Yamin and Paris Bennett. Katharine McPhee is iffy too. I think that Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks should be safe for this week. Monday, May 1, 2006 -- Evening Tomorrow should be an interesting night on American Idol. The five remaining contestants will each sing two songs. The first song will be from their birth year, and the second song will be from this week's Billboard's charts. It will be interesting to find out what the selections are and who will be leaving next. I think that both Paris Bennett and Elliott Yamin are the weakest of the remaining five, but then you can never tell what the fickle fans will do. Vote for the Worst is sponsoring Taylor Hicks as the worst singer. That's probably true, but the fact is that he has a fan base because of his antic behavior and grey hair. Wednesday, April 26, 2006 -- Evening Who gets voted out on American Idol? We can only hope that it is someone who can't sing, but who knows how the fickle public will vote. There were 47.5 million votes last night which is the highest number. Simon said that he thought that one person didn't get the right appraisal and that was Katharine McPhee. Simon said that looking back at the show, his appraisal was different. Andrea Bocelli sang Because We Believe with David Foster accompanying him on piano. Now that is a voice! Lisa Tucker was in the audience. The group was broken into three groups of two. Katharine McPhee was on the far side of the stage. Elliott Yamin was sent to the middle of the stage. Kellie Pickler was on the near side of the stage. Paris Bennett joined Kellie. Taylor Hicks joined Elliott. That left Chris to join Katharine. Elliott and Taylor were sent to their seats first. Chris and Katharine got the highest number of votes last night and got to sit down. The bottom two--Kellie and Paris. Kellie Pickler got the lowest number of votes and really deserved to go home. Other news on the Idol front is that Ryan Seacrest and Paula Abdul have a tense relationship. There have been comments made back and forth. Ryan Seacrest has made some comments about Paula's bizarre and drunken behavior. Ryan was also quoted in People that his relationship with Paula was "awkward." Paula also made a comment about Ryan saying, "He only kisses the mirror. And honestly, do you think Teri Hatcher is that desperate of a housewife?" The rumor was that Teri Hatcher was dating Ryan. Supposedly, Paula also claims that all the comments are just friendly banter amongst people who are for all intents and purposes a dysfunctional family. Tuesday, April 25, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
Only six contestants remain on American Idol. Tonight's theme is love songs, and the coach for the contestants is Andrea Bocelli. David Foster, a producer, was with Andrea, and David was not sugarcoating anything. Katharine McPhee was first and sang I Have Nothing. The song was written by David Foster. David thinks that Katharine has a good future. Andrea thinks that Katharine has a beautiful and powerful and that she is beautiful. David asks how Andrea knows that and Andrea says, "don't worry, I know." Katharine does a nice job with the song. I just think that her facially expressions are really ugly and distracting as she sings. She needs to find a way to not wrinkle her nose and ugly up as she is trying to sing powerfully. Randy said that he thought it was a good choice of a song, but that it was way to big for her. He did not think it came close to Whitney Houston. Paula said that she found pitch problems and thinks that Katharine was forcing her voice and oversinging. Paula said that it was a tough song to sing and there Katharine's money is in her soft vocals. Simon said that by chosing that song it's like coming out and saying you are Whitney Houston and that she is not. I didn't think that Katharine was that bad, but I was distracted by her overdone facial expressions. My boyfriend was overwhelmed by her boobs being flung around. Elliott Yamin sang a Johnny Hathaway song. David thought that it was difficult to pick a song that is so stylized. Elliott didn't seem to get what David wanted. David thought he sung well, but that he stuck to the Johnny Hathaway licks. It was actually a boring performance in my opinion. This may be a rough week for the contestants based on these two performances. In fact, I just stopped listening to Elliott because I was so bored with the song and performance. Randy thought that he did not like the arrangement because it was too confusing. Randy thought that Elliott was the bomb. Paula is crying and says that Elliott moved her. What a psycho! Paula tells Elliott that he is an American Idol. Simon thought it was a master act. Personally I think that Paula was crying because the song was boring and Elliott was just okay, and she doesn't want him voted off. Kellie Pickler sang Unchained Melody. Andrea said that it is a beautiful song. David said that she should hit a high note because she was sounding robotic. Andrea thought that Kellie was upbeat and that he likes that. Kellie did a really bad job with the song. It was nasally and badly done, and her hair had this ugly bouffant look. This has to be the worst performance of the evening--pitchy, boring, and totally lacking in emotion. She didn't even have any emotion in her face or body. It was the very worst performance this season. She deserves to be voted off with this one. Awful! Randy asks Kellie if she thought that she really butchered it. Randy said it wasn't the right song and there wasn't anything good about it. Paula said that she doesn't see Kellie raising the bar, and she didn't feel greatness for Kellie. Simon thought that song deserved tears for another reason. He thought that it wasn't going to end. As Simon said it was monotonous and robotic and there was absolutely no emotion at all in her or the song. Paris Bennett sang The Way We Were. Andrea thinks that Paris has volume. David tells her to sing the first eight bars softer so they have to pay close attention to her. Andrea thinks that Paris has a spectacular instrument in her voice. My boyfriend wonders why Paris sounds funny, and I think that she is trying to sing like Barbra. Always a bad idea to sing a song that can be compared to the original. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. Paris does have a strong voice and showed it off at the end. Randy said that it was pretty good--he liked it, but he wasn't over the top. Paula thought Paris oversang it abit, but it was the best female vocal. Simon said that he thought it was a very good vocal, and that she was trying to impersonate an older female singer. Taylor Hicks sang Just Once. Andrea thinks that Taylor is a good singer and interesting. David said that he got drawn into the way Taylor was singing the song. Andrea thinks that Taylor picked the best song for his voice, and David thought that Taylor has the most charisma. Andrea is right. The song is perfect for Taylor's voice. Probably the best so far this evening in my opinion. Randy didn't know if it was him, but he didn't think that the song was good and thought it was weird karaoke. Paula said that it wasn't her favorite song, but Taylor was handsome. Simon thought that Taylor looked nervous and that this performance was like something you hear in a hotel bar. Paula starts talking about the whole season and jumps up and says that "we love you." Paula needs to be taking her meds, or not taking them. I'm not sure what is the cause of her psycho-ness. My favorite, Chris Daughtry, was last and sang Have You Every Really Loved a Woman. David thinks that Chris sings more from his throat than his chest. David makes Chris lie on the ground because it forced him to use his diaphram instead of his throat. David thinks that Chris could do amazing if he delivers the performance of his life. Chris looks very sharp, but his voice seems a tad weak at the beginning of the song, but then he starts into his usual screaming. However, that's the thing that I like about him. I think that this was the best performance of the evening. Very emotional. Randy loved that jacket and loved the song and thought he was amazing. Paula loved it and Chris and said it over an over. And even Simon thought that it was a very, very good choice of song, and a great performance. Paula really looks like she is drunk at times this evening. Worst performance of the evening was Kellie Pickler. Best performance was Chris Daughtry. Bottom three could be a toss up between any of the other five. Wednesday, April 19, 2006 -- Evening Tonight was the night that someone went home on American Idol. Rod Stewart sang Just the Way You Look Tonight. Next Tuesday's theme is Greatest Love Songs with Andrea Bocelli coaching the contestants. Ryan Seacrest started by breaking up the contestants into groups. The first group has Chris Daughtry, Paris Bennett, and Ace Young. The other group has Elliott Yamin, Kellie Pickler, and Katharine McPhee. Taylor was told that he was safe and had to pick the group that America thought was safe. Believe it or not, the Kellie, Elliott, and Katharine group was safe. That meant that Chris Daughtry is in the bottom three. Paris was told that she was safe which meant that Chris is in the bottom two! What a shock. Thank God! Ace Young was sent home. That was quite a tense few moments for me. Tuesday, April 18, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
The contestants on American Idol are singing the Great American Songbook with assistance from Rod Stewart. Yes, Rod Stewart appears on the show to lend a helping hand to the Idol wannabes. Penny Lancaster, Rod's fiance, and Rod's new baby show up and are big hits with the females in the competition. Chris Daughtry is first and sings What a Wonderful World. Chris said that it is harder for him to sing songs like that, and Rod was impressed with Chris' effort. Chris sings with only the accompaniment of a guitar. It is a really great job. Chris can obviously sing. It is fun to see the rocker singing a soft lullaby type song, and he carries it off with panache. Randy said that for everyone who thought there wasn't another side to Chris that Chris slayed them. Paula said that Chris showed that he was out there to win it. Simon said that he had to take credit for that performance, and that Chris proved the point by listening to him. Simon thought it was a great performance. Chris does deserve to win. Paris Bennett wears a sophisticated, red satin suit and looks very classy. Her hair is pulled back into a pony tail. The girl has a different look every time. Paris sings Foolish Things. Rod thinks that for 17 Paris is astounding. Paris does a great job with the song. She has the sultry sound of a singer straight out of the 1940s or 1950s. Randy thought that Paris should stand proud because it was her best night ever. He said it was classy and great. Paula thought it reminded her of Paris' audition. Simon said that it was stylish, cool, and said that Paris bewildered him because she talks like Minnie Mouse but that she sings in this really grown up way. Simon say that he preferred her singing to her talking though. Ryan Seacrest asked what was in Simon's cup and said that he must be drinking the happy fuel. Taylor Hicks sings You Send Me. Rod told Taylor that to not listen to Simon and that he should perform the song. Rod thinks you must do whatever you can to sell the song, and that you have to grab the audience by the balls. Taylor does a nice job with the song, but it is rather boring because there is alot of repetition at the beginning. At the end, Taylor adds the frantic Hicks touch. Randy is just blown away that Taylor is in his element. Randy thought it was hot. Paula said that Taylor is finally in the zone to go the distance and she applauds Taylor. Simon thought the beginning was lame cabaret, and then "magic." Elliott Yamin sings It Had to Be You. As Elliott said, this is the type of music that he loves to listen to. Elliott croons the song. It wasn't a bad effort, but it paled in comparison to some of the others. Randy said that it was a good song choice and a very nice job. Paula thought that it was the perfect song choice for Elliott and that he is in the American Idol Zone. Simon said that it was a good vocal, but that tonight more than any other night would be the night that personality will be important and that Elliott lacked it. Simon said that he is concerned for Elliott. Kellie Pickler is a little firecracker in Rod Stewart's opinion, bubbly with alot of personality. She sings Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. Rod was most impressed with her performance. Kellie's performance is the worst so far. She seems off key and not keeping up with the music. She bit her lip at the end. She knew she did it poorly. Randy thought that it was definitely pitchy in spots. Kellie admitted that she butchered it. Paula said that Kellie looked very good, and that she is waiting for her acting career. Paula said that other than getting ahead of the music at the end, Kellie had it going on. Kellie said when all else fails, have great shoes. Simon said that it was a boring song and that it wasn't as if Kellie chose the song. Simon said that it wasn't great, and Kellie agreed. She did look very nice. Kellie said that she wouldn't put people through the torture of hearing the song twice. Ace Young sings That's All. Rod Stewart thought that Ace was brilliant. Ace is dressed in a suit with a tie and has his hair pulled back into a pony tail. I think that his vocal is weak, and that it is pitchy at points. Of course, he throws in the falsetto thing, and it sounded like a cat screetch. Fortunately for our ears it was short lived. Randy said that he liked the look and that Ace had problems with the bridge and was pitchy, but that the falsetto is his thing. Paula loved it and thought that it was a magical night for the Idols. Simon said that it wasn't bad, alittle bit nasally in the middle of the song, but a charming performance. I just don't like Ace though, so I can't say much. Katharine McPhee sings a few songs for Rod Stewart, and she tells him not to sing the last song because he is going to sing it on the show. She sings Watch Over Me. Rod thinks Katharine is fantastic. Katharine is a very pretty girl, and she does a nice job with the song. She really connects with the camera. Randy said that this was Katharine's element and that Katharine sailed and it was excellent. Paula said it was like watching the first time and falling in love with her voice. Paula thought it was the perfect song for Katharine and she was elegant. Simon thought that Katharine made the others look like complete amateurs, and that it was in a completely and utterly different league and that she looked like a returning pro, and that Katharine looked so much better than the others. The bottom three isn't hard this time. Kellie Pickler and Elliott Yamin will battle it out for elimination. Because I really can't stand Ace Young, I'm putting him in the bottom three too. Wednesday, April 12, 2006 -- Evening Elimination night on American Idol tonight. The producers decided to punish us with an hour long show tonight. That means that the tension was dragged out over an hour. The show started with the contestants singing a medley of Queen songs. We were treated to video of the contestants family members saying that the love their contestant. There was a revelation about next week's theme when we find out that Rod Stewart will be working with the contestants on songs from his Great American Songbook albums. Finally they got down to the gritty nitty and we got to see who was in the bottom three. Unfortunately, they went though each contestant and had a lengthy video with family and friends for each contestant. One surprising thing that we found out is that Elliott Yamin is diabetic. It was discovered at the age of 17. Each of the bottom three contestants sang their Queen songs. The bottom three contestants were Elliott Yamin, Ace Young, and Bucky Covington. Ace was looking like a pouty baby during most of the show and gave Simon a dirty look when Simon said that based on performances that Ace should be voted out. However, Bucky Covington was voted out. Let's keep on hoping that Ace goes next week! Tuesday, April 11, 2006 -- Evening Tonight was Queen night for the eight contestants on American Idol. The contestants were treated to a performance by Queen and then meet with them to discuss their songs. Bucky Covington was up first. Brian May and Roger Taylor thought that Bucky did a decent job with his performance. He sang Fat Bottomed Girls. Actually, Bucky did a very nice job with the song. His voice was good, and I was surprisingly pleased with the effort. Randy said that it was the nice way to start the show, and he liked it even though there were pitchy problems, and said that it was full of energy. Paula said he did a great job and made it a country rock. Simon thought the song was bigger than Bucky and overall classified the performance as mediocre. Next up was Ace Young. He wanted to put his own flavor on Queen. Brian May and Roger Taylor wouldn't play the song Ace's way. I love how Brian May said he couldn't do that to his own song. Ace did We Will Rock You. His voice was abit weak, and he just came across as a whimp trying to act like a tough guy. He was very awkward on the stage, and tried to throw in some falsetto. I just can't stand Ace. Randy thought that it was a big song, and thought that it was all right but pretty much karaoke. Paula said that she understood the Queen guys not wanting to bastardize their song and that Ace was pitchy, but he did okay by taking a risk. Simon thought that it was a complete and utter mess. As Simon said, he thought that Randy was being generous because it was so bad, and Randy agreed that he was just being generous and didn't want to say what a real mess it was. Simon said that he really hated it and that Ace was screwing up the words. Ace thought he rocked. I thought that he rocked, and didn't care that May and Taylor didn't like what Ace wanted to do to their song. Ace is a dodo though and didn't get it. Kellie Pickler was next singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Brian May said that Kellie has a tough job and wishes her luck. Her voice is abit country sounding. However, the performance part of it was good, in my opinion with Kellie in black and rocking after the slow part. There were notes where her voice was weak, but I thought she did a nice job with the song. Randy said that when he heard that Kellie was singing that song he thought it would be. Randy said Kellie worked it out and that he was entertained and he loved it. Paula was nervous too, but thought that Kellie worked it out. Simon said that Kellie is a very brave girl and that it started out like Night of the Living Dead, he thought it worked. He got Kellie confused by saying that it didn't sound like it would work on paper. She obviously never heard that phrase before. But it was a nice job. Chris Daughtry was next. He sang Innuendo and found out that Queen never sang the song live. Brian May thought that Chris was great and awesome. Both Brian May and Roger Taylor thought that Chris was fabulous. Chris has a very nice voice and really had a punky sound. I think the problem was that he picked a Queen song that not many people are familiar with. It was a very difficult song, and I'm not sure how others will feel about it. Randy said he was one of Chris' fans and that he was expecting big things and thought that Chris delivered. Paula thought that Queen didn't perform it because they couldn't do it as Chris did. Simon thought that Queen didn't perform the song because it wasn't a very good song. Simon said that it was a shame that Chris didn't entertain the audience, even though Chris' voice is good. Randy said just sing it, whatever it is just sing it. Simon thought that Chris was being self-indulgent. I have to admit that I wish that Chris sang another song because this one was boring. Katharine McPhee was next. She changed her song to Who Wants to Live Forever because she thoguht that it might be better to sing as opposed to jumping around and rocking. The beginning was really rough, voice wise. It didn't sound as if it was in the right pitch or something. All I know is that it was really hurting my ears, and I couldn't make out what she was saying because she was just running the words together and screaming. Unfortunately, the worst performance so far. I would like to say it was Ace, but this was really bad. Randy thought that it was a good idea for Katharine to switch the song and thought that it was pitchy and too big for her in spots, but thought that she did good. Paula thought that Katharine had a glorious voice and did a great job. Simon thought that it was almost the moment for Katharine and one of the strongest tonight. Amazing because I thought that it was the worst. Next was Elliott Yamin. He sang Somebody To Love and Queen wrote it in honor of Aretha Franklin in mind and was meant to have a gospel song. I think that Elliott's voice was overpowered by the music and background singers. I don't think that great of a job with the performance, and didn't seem to lose the nervousness until the end. Randy thought that was the hardest song to sing and thought that even with some pitchy problems the all in all he really liked it. Paula thought it was the best vocal of the night. Simon said that Elliott chose a tough one, and even though he was in and out, he carried it off. Taylor Hicks practiced with We are the Champions and then changed the song to Crazy Little Thing Called Love so he could dance. I didn't think that Taylor's voice was all that in the song. It was very karaoke or barroom drunkard performance. Of course Taylor bounced around the stage and picked it up at the end. He did work the whole stage with his kinetic energy. Randy said that in the last two weeks, he wondered where Taylor went. Tonight Taylor was back and kicking. Paula thought that it was back to the refreshing old Taylor. Simon asked if Taylor was drunk because he thought that it was ridiculous. Paris Bennett closed the show. Brian May said that Paris is "damned good." Paris thought that playing with Queen was the highlight. She sang The Show Must Go On. She was dressed like Janet Jackson ready to expose a boob. It was very unParis-like. The girl looks different every time. Maybe more like Tina Turner. She sang the song well. I think that the problem was that the song was not very familiar. She did a nice job thought. Randy thought that it started out rough and was rough in the middle but that Paris worked it out. Paula said that Paris was a powerhouse and to keep rocking. Simon said that he found it all alittle weird. That was all he said. My choice for the bottom three: Ace Young, Katharine McPhee, and Taylor Hicks. I always want Ace Young to go, but I think that Katharine McPhee is probably the most deserving to go. We'll see if America agrees. Wednesday, April 5, 2006 -- Evening Tonight another contestant was voted off of American Idol. Kenny Rogers was on the show. I can't get over how different Kenny looks. He sang his new single I Can't Unlove You. We found out that next week's theme will be Queen music. Ryan Seacrest split the group into three groups of three. Mandisa, Elliott Yamin, and Paris Bennett made up the middle group of three. Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, and Chris Daughtry are in another group and Ace Young, Bucky Covington, and Katharine McPhee are in the third group of three. Right away, we found out that Chris, Kellie and Taylor were safe. Shockingly, Ace, Bucky, and Katharine were not in the bottom three. So this week, the bottom three was Paris, Mandisa, and Elliott. Paris was safe which means that it comes down to Elliott and Mandisa. Shockingly, Mandisa was voted off the show! Mandisa was crying. It was indeed a shocker because I don't think that she was the worst of the singers. It's just that the fans of the person don't make the phone call to save their favorite. Tuesday, April 4, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
There are nine contestants on American Idol tonight. The theme is country music. Ryan Seacrest has a pretty full beard this evening. I don't remember him being as hairy last week. Kenny Rogers was picked as the person to advise and council the Idols. Kenny looks alot older and different. However, the voice is still the same. Taylor Hicks was up first and Kenny thought that in the practice, Taylor didn't seem to like the song. Taylor sang Country Roads. I know what Kenny was talking about. Taylor just sang the song, plain and simple. There wasn't alot of emotion, and I didn't think it was one of his best efforts. All Taylor did was stand and sing into a mike. It was a boring effort. Randy thought that it was a pretty good choice for Taylor, and the vocal was just okay and not exciting. There was no personality exuded either. Paula thought that the song choice didn't allow Taylor to shine, and she expected more from him. Simon thought it was safe, boring, lazy, and it sounded like Taylor just picked the song 10 seconds ago with no rehearsal. Randy agreed and said that it was dull. Mandisa is next. Kenny thought that Mandisa picked a song with alot of words, but that she has a spirit about her. I didn't recognize the song (it was a Shania Twain song), but I think that Mandisa did a nice job with it. My gosh, though, Baby got back. She is hefty in the lower limb region. I think that someone with her voice would have difficulty with country, and I think that she did a pretty nice job. Randy said it's going to be another interesting night. He didn't think that the beginning was connecting but that the last four bars showed her personality, but that at least he liked something. Paula thought that Mandisa could sing the phone book, but that the song wasn't for her. Simon thought that the song was horrible. Simon wondered why he was booed for being constructive. He thought that it was funny and cutesy, but that's about it. Elliott Yamin is next, and Kenny Rogers thought that Elliott oversings. I think that I know what Kenny means because Elliott has this wavery sound to his voice. It was okay, but I thought that the vocals definitely were lacking, and there was no emotion to the song. I think the song was If Tomorrow Never Comes. Randy looked serious and said that he loved the song because it was one that he produced in the past, and thought that Elliott did a good job. Paula thinks that Elliott is humble and understated with reckless abandon. She said that he had great song choice and stayed true to who he is. Simon thought it was a good song choice, but not a great vocal, and that there wasn't confidence and alot of hesitation. Simon thinks that Elliott will have to be better. Elliott admits that he was nervous. Paris Bennett sings big according to Kenny. She sings How Do I Live. This is one of my favorite songs. Paris does a decent job of belting the song out, which is just what it needs. There were some pitchy moments. I'm not sure if I liked it because I like the song, or because of Paris. Randy said that he can tell that it was a tough song for her and that beginning was not good, and it was just all right for him. Paula said that Paris has a powerhouse voice. She didn't think that Paris connected with the song or show the joy that is in her. Paula was booed and Simon said that he disagreed with Paula and thought that it was very good and an excellent performance. Simon thought it was like an early Dionne Warwick. Next up is my least favorite, Ace Young. He sang I Want to Cry. Kenny thought that this was the best match of song and singer of the whole bunch. I don't think Ace's voice sounds so bad, but he really doesn't have a problem with enunciation, and I can't understand alot of what he says. Boring, and it is obvious that Ace is trying to go with the crooning ballad to charm the young girls. Not bad, but not good. Randy thought that it was hard to bring his personality to it, and that it was boring to him. He just liked the falsetto at the end. Paula thought that Ace has a knack for picking great songs for his voice, and a nice take on the song. Simon said that he thought Ace chose the right song tonight unlike the past few weeks. Next up is Kellie Pickler. Kenny loves Kellie becaues of her charm, and thinks that the high notes are her strength. She sang Fancy. There were some weak parts at the beginning, but I think that she did a decent job with the song, and it suited her voice and style. Not earth shattering good, but not bad. So far, no one has been really good in my opinion. Randy said "finally, finally, finally" because Kellie is in her element and thought that it was really great and a good song choice. Paula thought this was a song that Kellie could put her teeth in. Simon thought that Kellie's performance was pretty good. My favorite is next--Chris Daughtry. Kenny thinks that Chris has picked a really difficult song and it could either be really good or really bad. It is a ballad type song. I just love Chris, and I'm not sure if that affects me here, but I thought that it was the best effort of the night. It was an excellent performance, and very moving. I think that Chris has that great vocal quality, and just seems so professional compared to the others. Great, great job. Randy said that every week they heard his rocker thing, and Randy really enjoyed it. Paula thought that Chris showed versatility while staying true to who he is. Simon said that it was great to see a different side of him. Simon thinks that the contestants over the past two weeks have chosen really boring songs. Boo, Simon! Chris is the man! Katharine McPhee isn't a classical country singer, but Kenny thinks that she chose the perfect song for her. Katharine does a nice job with song and puts alot of vim and verve into it. She radiates charm and energy. I think that it is the second best effort of the evening. Randy said that it was blusey country and that she sang it very nice. Paula said that it was Katharine's niche. Simon thought the song was so peculiar. Katharine said, "you can say it--you just don't like country." Bucky Covington closes the evening. Kenny thinks that Bucky needs to enunciate clearly. Kenny was very right. It was very difficult to understand a single word of what Bucky was saying. I think that his vocal was mediocre, and it was an awful song choice. Boring and difficult to understand. This is the worst performance of the evening. Randy said that it was all right and that it was out of tune in the beginning. He thought it was Bucky's song. Simon thought that it sounded okay. It must be my ears. The best performances? Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee. Worst performances? Taylor Hicks and Bucky Covington. I don't like Ace Young, but I don't think he had the worst performance. He was more along the lines of bottom of the middle. It will be interesting to see who makes up the bottom three. I would say that it would be between Taylor, Bucky, Elliott, and Ace fourth from the bottom. Tuesday, April 4, 2006 -- Morning American Idol is on tonight. The theme for this week is supposed to be country music. This will favor Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington. I wonder what Chris Daughtry will do with this theme. Wednesday, March 29, 2006 -- Late Evening I caught up on American Idol when I got home. Tonight another contestant is leaving the show. The musical entertainment was Shakira. Shakira sang Hips Don't Lie. Great song and performance! Who was in the bottom three? Lisa Tucker, Ace Young, and Katharine McPhee. I have to admit that all three sucked yesterday in my opinion. Surprisingly, Ace was not in the bottom two. The person sent home was Lisa Tucker. I was very impressed with Lisa because she had a huge smile and took it all very well. Unfortunately, she just wasn't getting the right songs in the past few shows. Tuesday, March 28, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
The top 10 are competing on American Idol. The theme for this week are songs from the 21st century. Lisa Tucker is up first and singing Because of You by Kelly Clarkson. Lisa's voice seems weak during the beginning of the song, but it got better when she started belting the song out. Randy said that it was very strange to start out the show with just an all right version of a song by a former American Idol. Paula said that there is no doubt that Lisa can sing her butt off, but that taking a song that is known as that by someone who succeeded in the show because of the comparison. Simon said that the song was just too big for Lisa's voice. Simon told her that parts of it were painful to hear and that she should listen back to it on TV and she would agree with him. Randy said that it wasn't painful. Kellie Pickler is singing Suds in the Bucket. Kellie went with a country song from 2002. This song really suited Kellie's voice which has a very strong country twang, and her personality came through too. Not the greatest song, but not bad either. Randy said that he liked the fact that Kellie went to her country routes, but thought that the song was't strong enough for her voice. Paula said that Kellie is way better than that song choice. Simon said that the reality is that out of six years of songs to pick, "you choose some gimmicky, rodeo, lassoing, novelty song." For Kellie it wasn't the right song, but that she is better than the song. Ace Young is next and sings Drops of Jupiter. Ace has a very nasally sound in this song, and in my opinion, did a very mediocre job with this song. He gives a very weak, watered down performance, and I hate those cow's eyes looks that he gives at the end of every song. Randy said that once again it was the wrong song and he didn't sing it well. As Randy said, there was no soul vibe, and Randy didn't like it. Paula said that she won't be as harsh, but that it wasn't her most favorite of his songs. She's just fixating on the sex appeal that I think is not there. Simon said that they all had a chance to prove they were as good as the contemporary artist. Simon thought that it was not a great vocal and very karaoke. Next up is Taylor Hicks. He is singing Trouble. I thought that it was a rather boring song for Taylor to sing. So far, all the contestants seem to be affected with poor song choices. Randy thought that it wasn't a great song, and it didn't allow Taylor to show off. Taylor said that he wanted to sing a song instead of acting up and Paula agreed that she liked that he sang the song instead of just dancing around. Simon said that he quite liked the song and thought it was an excellent vocal and his slight problem was the styling and very Clay Aiken. Simon thought it was very pop school. Mandisa sings Wanna Praise You. It was a very dancy song, and Mandisa did a nice job with it. I liked the end better than the beginning. Randy said that there is no question that Mandisa can definitely sing. Randy thought it was a questionable song choice. Paula said that there is a new religion and thousands of people are going to be joining the church of Mandisa. Paula would like it colored it abit vocally. Simon thought that it was abit indulgent, and he just didn't get it. It was not for him. No one is really doing well tonight. My favorite is up next--Chris Daughtry. He's singing What If. The guy just hasn't that great, raspy voice and stage presence that allows him to pull a song like this off. He does an a capella part, and just rocks the stage. He looks like a professional amongst a bunch of children. Randy said that he likes the song choice for Chris and that he wants to know what song he is going to make. Randy thought Chris sounded sharp. Paula said that she is his biggest fan. Simon said that Creed would never be on American Idol, and that for the first time he has to be negative. Chris told him that it would be the second time. Simon went on a rant that chris needs to sing something other than the genre in which he feels comfortable. Simon just seemed to his britches in a twist over Chris. Next up is Katharine McPhee singing The Voice Within. Her voice sounds really sharp and pitchy to me at alot of points. At points it really hurt my ears. It was an awful performance. Randy said that he is one of Katharine's biggest fans, and that it wa a good song choice and that she didn't change it up very much. Paula just said that Katharine was the best. Simon said that it was the best tonight, and said that it was almost as good as Christina Aguilera. I don't believe that. Gosh, it was incredibly bad to my ears. I winced at times in fact. Bucky Covington is singing Real Good Man by Tim McGraw. He picked the song because he flat out liked it. Bucky was even dressed the part of a country performer. It was an okay performance--not alot of emotion, and the vocals were okay. Randy said that it was the type of song that was perfect for Bucky. Paula tells Bucky to be careful of his diction because he could be difficult to understand. Simon said that he agreed with Paula because he couldn't understand a word of what Bucky was saying. Simon said that if it were a paid concert he would leave, and that he thought that Bucky was just winging it and it was very unimpressive. Paris Bennett is singing Work it Out. Paris did a very nice job with the performance with the song. It really didn't have very challenging vocals, but it showed a definitely different side of Paris. Definitely the second best to Chris. Randy said that all he could say was that it was fearless and the bomb. To him it was the best of the night. Paula loved the song and thought it was awesome. She also thought the dance moves were very mature and adult. Simon thought that it was precocious and like a little girl pretending to be Beyonce. Last is Elliott Yamin singing I Don't Want to Be. I could not hear Elliott very well. I don't know if his mike wasn't working properly, or if he was just being drowned out by the band. It was okay, I guess, but not that great. Randy said that he wasn't sure of the arrangement but that Elliott could sing. Paula called Elliott one funky white boy. Simon said great song, terrible arrangement, good vocal and the dancing was hideous. This one is going to be difficult because there were so many mediocre performances. I would have to say Ace because that nasally voice and cow-eyed look just makes me want to puke. I think that the only good performances were given by Chris and Paris. Wednesday, March 22, 2006 -- Evening It was judgment time on American Idol tonight. 35 million calls were made in the two hours after the show last night. The Ford music commercial this evening was cute. The contestants were singing We Got the Beat. The commercial was colorful, energetic, and very nicely done. I think that this year's group is much better vocally, and the songs that they sing together sound pretty good. Barry Manilow performed the song Love is a Many Splendor Thing. Afterward, Bobby Bennett was on stage to give Maniolow a hug. Bobby was voted out on February 23. Bucky Covington, Kevin Covais, and Lisa Tucker were in the bottom three. Paula Abdul was brushing a tear from her eye because I think that she likes the contestants personally. Who will go? Lisa was the third from the bottom. Paula tells Bucky and Kevin that this isn't the end, but a beginning. Well, Kevin Covais was the second person voted out of the top 12. It was sad because Kevin is a cutey pie. Ah well, I can only hope that Ace goes sometime soon because he annoys me. Wednesday, March 22, 2006 -- Late Morning I'm so glad to learn that I don't have poor judgment when it comes to bad singing. It seems that the folks at The Trades also didn't like Ace Young. I thought that his performance was subpar, and wonder if he really might get the boot if others feel like I do. I think that Ace's biggest fan base is with 8 year olds and women who are wanna be teenyboppers. You know the type--in their 30s to 50s and still not able to get over the idea that they aren't 13 anymore. Vote for the Worst is still backing Kevin Covais. We'll have to see how it goes tonight. Paula Abdul is claiming her bizarro antics are caused by Simon Cowell whispering weird things into her ear, like "what's the price of beans?" Sounds to me like Paula is hearing voices and blaming it on poor Simon. Tuesday, March 21, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol
It is time for American Idol. Tonight's theme is songs from the 50s. Their coach for this week is Barry Manilow. I have to admit that I like his songs and singing. Call me a weirdo, but the guy does have it going on. The contestants were flown out to Las Vegas to talk to Barry, and he explained to them that the key to originality is to find a way to make the songs their own--as if it were that easy. First up is Mandisa. She sings I Don't Hurt Anymore. Barry would have had Mandisa open and end big, but Mandisa wanted to end soft and end big. Barry said that Mandisa could sing from bottom to top with no problem. Mandisa was looking very good today with great hair, makeup and a much nicer dress than last time. She sings the song with a sulty, 50s sound. Then she came on with a big powerful finish. Randy said wow, that he was speechless. He thought it was a class, great way to start the night and an unbelieveable performance. Randy said all the others have to bring it tonight. Paula said that it can be difficult with genres, but that Mandisa took her back to the 50s. Simon said that Mandisa is blossoming and that apart from the vocal it was a very sexy performance. Simon said that it was a great stripper song and that he absolutely loved it! They started calling Mandisa, Man-Diva. She is pretty good, and really did look beautiful tonight. Bucky Covington is doing Oh Boy! by Buddy Holly. Barry Manilow thought that it was long and didn't have alot going on and did some changes with Bucky. Remember that Barry used to work with Bette Midler, and he does know what he is doing. Bucky's voice was abit weak and pitchy at points. I don't think it was the best of choices just because Bucky didn't seem to put alot of emotion into it. It was like karaoke. Randy said that it was a great song choice for Bucky, and that he has the old Bucky hair back. Randy thought it was a great choice. Paula's first thing was to ask how working with Barry was. Paula thought it was a good song performance. Simon said that he is going to give a reality check to the performance. Simon thought it was a pointless karaoke performance. Simon said just watching that performance as the only one, it would be a so-what moment and performance. Simon thought it was pointless although Randy didn't think it was that bad. I don't know. I think that Simon was right because it sounded like karaoke to me too. Simon repeated that it was a below average performance this week. Paula admits that the song wasn't as rangy for Bucky, but it was okay. Paris Bennett is next and is singing Fever. Barry said that he forgot how young she was and that the power in her voice just blew him away. Paris does a very nice job with the song. She really does sound like someone much more mature than she is. It is an impressive performance. We got to see Constantine Maroulis in the audience. Randy said that Paris blew it out of the box although he was worrying about it at first. Paula said that she forgot Paris was 17 with some of those moves and that she dressed the part. Simon said that it was what Paris did best and that she has the perfect voice for that kind of song. Ryan Seacrest said that Paris looked so comfortable on stage. Chris Daughtry is up next. He is singing Johnny Cash's Walk the Line. Chris thinks that the lyrics have revelance to him because it was written for his wife--that even though he was traveling on the road, he would be faithful. Barry said that Chris didn't need his help and that out of all of them, Chris didn't need his help because he had a handle on who he is. Chris was dressed all in black, and the beginning of the song was very soft, practically spoken, and it sounded just abit too low in key for him, but Chris did a great job with the song once he started singing, and it did not sound like a country song at all, and it ended with a grunge-rock twist. It was very good. I don't know if I am prejudice because I like him so much, but Chris was really good. Paula was whooping it up for him. Randy asked how Chris felt, and Chris said good. The audience couldn't stop cheering. Randy said that he didn't know if it was the best vocal, but that he took a song and made it an alternative record. Randy said that Chris is ready. Paula said that Chris is so true to who he is and doesn't abandon that. Paula said that Chris should already be touring. Simon said that he didn't think it was the best vocal, and that there was an enormous difference in taking a song and making it his own like that. Simon said that he thinks that Chris is the first person on the show who has refused to compromise and he likes that about him. Chris is my man! I would buy a Chris Daughtry song. Katharine McPhee is up next and is singing Come Rain or Come Shine. She starts out with her back to the audience and turns around as she sings. It is a very sultry song. Katharine does a very nice job with the song. She is very beautiful and smiles abit too much, but she did a nice job. Randy said that it sounds like Katharine has her own dog pound. Randy said that it wasn't her best vocal, but that she took a difficult song and worked it out, and did a great job with it. Randy said it wasn't his favorite performance, but he loves Katharine. Paula tells Katharine that she looks exquisite and that she is one of Paula's favorites. Simon said that something happened tonight and that tonight Katharine turned into a star. Simon said that it was like watching a really seasoned performer, and that he loved it. Taylor Hicks is up next. He sang Mandy to Barry who thought Taylor was in tune. Barry came up with the ending for Taylor because he didn't think that the ending went anywhere. Barry thinks that Taylor is one of the best male singers in the group. Taylor sings Not Fade Away. It is one of those Rock-a-Billy songs. Taylor has that great raspy voice, and he gets into this little twisty dance and seems to have such fun on the stage, even running up to the guy who is doing a saxaphone solo. Taylor just has the charisma and manic energy that gets to an audience. And there is that white hair! Randy said Taylor was obviously having a good time. Randy didn't think that the song was challenging, but that Taylor worked it out. Paula said that it was one of those top 10 songs that everyone danced to. Paula said that someone should be shooting this and making an exercise video out of it, and that they broke the mold after Taylor. Simon said "sorry, but..." and started to get booed. Simon said that if you saw this performance out of context, you would think it was a complete mess. Simon reminds Paula that it is a singing competition not a dance competition. Simon and Paula get into a good spirited argument with Paula claiming that Simon is jealous because Taylor can dance and Simin saying "it's a singing competition not a dancing competition." Lisa Tucker is next. She sings Why do Fools Fall in Love. The song is a cute one, and Lisa gives it alot of cute factor, and she does a very nice job singing the song. Parts of the song sounded rushed, and there were a few seconds where she didn't seem to be singing with the band, but it was a nice performance. Randy said it was a good song choice and kept her young. Randy said that it was just all right for him in the end. Paula said that Lisa going back to the youthfulness and that Lisa is a powerhouse, just as Barry said. Simon asks Paula if he should judge the singing or dancing. Simon said that there are times tonight that he feels that he is trapped in a high school singing performance and he can't get away. Lisa tries to look very serious and ernest. Lisa wishes a Happy Birthday to her big brother, Billy. Next is Kevin Covais. Barry thinks that Kevin is the sweetest of the contestants. Kevin is singing When I Fall in Love. Kevin sings the song sitting in front of the audience. The music is light, and Kevin listens to Barry and sings the song softly. He does a very nice job with the song, and I liked it. It wasn't the best performance of the night, but it was very far from the worst. Kevin does that cute baby boy thing going for him, and this was the perfect song for him. Randy said that he loves the song and it is one of his favorite. Randy thought he did a good job with the song even if there were a few pitch problems. Randy said that maybe he sees himself in Kevin. Paula thinks that Kevin has more moxy than alot of people she knows. Simon said that he liked Kevin, and he won't say it was the best version of the song and that Kevin knows who is audience is that his audience will love that song. Elliott Yamin is singing Teach Me Tonight. Barry tried to impress on Elliott that he needs to do more than sing the words that he has to feel the song. I don't think that Elliott got the lesson because he just seemed to sing the words, and it seemed very pitchy to me. I was very under impressed, especially since I liked him earlier. The end was better than the beginning or middle. Randy said that Elliott chose the toughest song to sing and he worked it out. Randy said that there were rough spots but that Elliott worked it out. Paula said that Elliott moved him (she is still stuck on the hearing thing I know). Simon said that Elliott's singing was fantastic. I didn't think it was all that and in fact, I can't even remember the performance now. Kelly Pickler chose a Patsy Cline song, Walkin' After Midnight. Kellie looks like an over made-up clown. Someone went abit to heavy with the blush on her cheeks. Kellie has a nice voice. She sings the song without really seeming to understand the emotion behind the song, but she does a decent job with the song. Randy said that it was a good song choice and that the country rocker is back. Paula said that Kelly was a tigress tonight and that it was a true Kelly Pickler performance. Simon said that Kelly got it absolutely right that the song was ballsy and good. Kelly is like the little idiot child who is very easily distracted by the audience. She loves the fact that someone has a picture of her face in a pickle. Pick Pickler is the phrase. She did a nice job. This week is going to be a hard one to decide. Ace Young decides to sing In the Still of the Night. Barry thinks that Ace made the song his own. Ace plans a falsetto for the end. I hate that falsetto of his. Ace has one of the worst singing voices in the competition, and it was evident in this song, especially in the beginning. I think that Ace was going on the fact that he has a cute little 8 year old fan in the show. There was alot of cow eyeing on Ace's part. He has the blankest looking eyes of anyone I know. I think that it was a poor performance. More open-mouthed, cow-eyeing of the audience at the end. He thinks it is sexy, but it makes me sick. Randy said that Ace is back tonight and that he brought something fresh to the song. Paula said that there are 34 signs asking Ace to marry them, and that she thinks it is the sexiest and sultriest song of his. Simon said that it wasn't the best vocal and that Ace won't be in the bottom three because it was a strong performance. My take on the evening is that I would have Ace Young, Bucky Covington and Lisa Tucker in my bottom three. The best three were Chris Daughtry, Paris Bennett, and either Mandisa or Katharine McPhee. The others are middling. Saturday, March 18, 2006 -- Evening Simon Cowell made a prediction about who would be the final three on American Idol this year. In his opinion, the three will be Chris Daughtry (my favorite), Taylor Hicks, and Kellie Pickler. Kellie Pickler doesn't have that strong of a voice, but her naive act has made her a darling with alot of people. Wednesday, March 15, 2006 -- Evening It's down to 11 contestants on American Idol. Fortunately, the show was only 1/2 hour long. I hate how they drag the whole thing on. Stevie Wonder sang a song, Love is on Fire, from his new album, A Time to Love. They pulled out the bottom three, and I was very happy to see that Ace Young was in the bottom three. Randy said that you have to bring it every night, and Simon said that the public picked other fans and that Ace needs to pick better songs and perform better. As Randy said, Ace didn't give his best performance last night. Paula only had the reminder for everyone that they need to vote for their favorites every night. Melissa McGhee and Lisa Tucker join Ace in the bottom three. Surprisingly (in my opinon) Ace was not in the bottom two. Melissa McGhee was voted out. As she said, she expected to be voted out--probably because she messed up the words to her song yesterday. Lisa Tucker looked sick, and as if she could spit on Ryan Seacrest for putting her through torture. Wednesday, March 15, 2006 -- Afternoon I was just looking around on MSNBC's website, and I found a fan ranking of the American Idol contestants. It appears that the low marks go to Kevin Covais, followed by Bucky Covington and Melissa McGhee. It will be interesting to see if this means that Kevin might not have gotten the votes last night. The top three are Chris Daughtry, Mandisa and Taylor Hicks with Paris Bennett following closely behind. Vote for the Worst, a website that encourages people to vote for the worst contestant, has Kevin as its posterboy. Kellie Pickler, my worst performer, is a close second. It seems that the owner of the website has gotten some insider dirt that Kellie isn't as naive as she acts. Well, nuff said. I know the naive country girl routine is wearing thin for me, but it probably appeals to little old ladies and the stupid. Last year, I liked the analysis from The Trades staff, and here is this week's roundtable analysis. Tuesday, March 14, 2006 -- Evening Vote for Your Favorite Idol by midnight tonight
The 12 contestants performed tonight on American Idol. As is typical for the show, they spend alot of time rehashing the past, and we were gifted with a montage of audition, Hollywood, and first round competitions. The idol contestants looked more polished style-wise tonight. It looks like someone took them under hand to give them hair and clothing tips. The theme for tonight is the music of Stevie Wonder. This is going to be interesting because a singer can either sound really bad or really good singing Stevie Wonder. It seems that Stevie Wonder showed up for a rehersal and had the contestants crying with surprise--well, at least some of them. First up is Ace Young singing Do I Do. Ace is shown telling Stevie that he wrote the song when Ace was two years old. There were some pitchy moments at the beginning of the song for Ace, but it did get better. I don't think his voice is that great. His thing is the Constantine thing--and there were times in today's performance where it was like deja vu with Constantine. Ace just hopes to get by on sex appeal. Okay performance, iffy voice, lots of sex appeal. Randy said that Stevie is one of the hardest to sing. Randy said that Ace was not good at the beginning, but got better. Randy said that it was just all right for him. Paula thought that he was fantastic. Need I say more than sex appeal for Paula. Simon said that luckily for Ace the audience is easily pleased. Simon said that it was abit manic and that Ace would have to do better than that, and that there would be better performances than Ace's. I agree. Just from talking to friends, I know that some of the women just give in to the giddy teenager when they look at Ace. As I have said, he annoys me, and I don't think his voice is all that. Kellie Pickler admitted to not being very familiar with Stevie Wonder. She sang Blame it on the Sun. It seems that each contestant got to rehearse with Stevie. I think that the song was a bad choice for Kellie. It is too much of a ballad, and her voice doesn't sound like it is on pitch properly. Also, a ballad wasn't a good choice for a performance song. All in all, it was a bad performance. Randy said that it was alike a non-event with none of the Pickler spark, and that the key was off. The naive country girl act gets irritating over time. Paula said that it was obvious that Kellie was out of her comfort zone and that the razzle dazzle wasn't there. Simon said that everything went wrong with the song. He said that it was so boring and just seemed to never want to end. Simon said that Kellie was dressed like Dolly Parton (Kellie added "without the assets) and said that it was Kellie's worst performance so far. It was pretty bad. Kellie talked about having fake eyelashes that were like tarantulas. She lets Ryan Seacrest know that they really aren't tarantulas. Kellie was teary eyed at the end. Elliott was very happy to be there with Stevie and was crying. Stevie was majorly impressed with Elliott. Elliott sang Knocks Me off my Feet. He does have a sound that is very like Stevie's. If you close your eyes, you might even think that it was Stevie singing. There were a few questionable notes, but it was a nice performance. Elliott got a big round of applause when he was done. Randy said that this was Elliott's comfort zone. Randy didn't think that this was Elliott's best performance, but it was good. Paula liked the fact that Elliott cried around Stevie. what that has to do with his performance, gosh knows. Simon said that it was the best so far, but it didn't have the wow factor. Simon said that you have to show originality at this stage. Simon said that it was good, but not great. Simon said that everyone has to have that wow factor, and tells Ryan Seacrest that he hasn't seen it yet in the three performances. I agree. Elliott was okay, but Ace and Kellie were on the bad side. Mandisa's feet are hurting in the fancy high heels, and Ryan Seacrest takes them off for her. So Mandisa is going to sing in bare feet. She was very nervous to sing in front of Stevie. She sang Don't You Worry Bout a Thing. Stevie said that he was really impressed with Mandisa, and that he thought she could sing anything. At first, I think that the nerves were bothering her. Midway though the song, she started belting it out and it became much better. Boy, Mandisa--baby got back! She is a chunky girl, and it was highlighted in the dress that the stylists chose. I think that Mandisa did a very nice job, but there were iffy sections. Stevie Wonder is hard to sing. Randy said that Mandisa was amazing last week, and that this week wasn't that great. Randy said that Mandisa was the best so far. Stevie Wonder songs are hard, and Randy comments on that. Paula said that Mandisa can sing anything. Simon said that Mandisa was best so far, and that the competition is on. I do like Mandisa. She is my favorite of the women. Bucky Covington sang Superstitious. He should have gone with the Stevie Ray Vaughn version, and he did have abit of the Stevie Ray sound to him. Bucky's voice just sounded abit too rough to me. Again it wasn't a very good performance and the music seemed to be off. It just wasn't a very good performance in my opinion. Randy asked Bucky if he had a good time. Randy thought that it was a good choice for Bucky. He said that it wasn't the greatest vocal, but that Bucky gave it his all, and he loved it. Paula also said that she enjoyed hearing Bucky too, and that it was different. Simon said that it was one of Bucky's best performances so far. However, Simon said that the Jessica Simpson hair style had to go. As Bucky said, it wasn't his choice. I think that the stylists (dress and hair) are doing the contestants a disservice. Melissa McGhee messed up the song in front of Stevie. She sang Lately, and is hoping to get over her nerves. The song was awful. Her voice was off, and I was having trouble hearing what she was saying because she was mumbling and running the words together. It was probably because she didn't know the words yet. Melissa's performance was one where there were seconds of it sounding good in overall mediocrity. Randy said that Melissa looked like she knew what he was going to say. Melissa said that she forgot the lyrics. Randy thought that there were flat and sharp notes and that Melissa could sing even with the mixups. Paula said that there was something soothing about Melissa's voice and that it was different from everyone else and that Melissa did a good job. Simon said that in his opinion that was Melissa's best so far. He thought that it was edgy and contemporary. Melissa apologizes again for screwing up the lyrics. Unlike the judges, I was underimpressed. Lisa Tucker sang Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Lisa looked very cute and mod in her outfit. The stylists did a good job with her. Lisa actually did a nice job with the song, and I think that she gave the best performance so far. Again, there were some weak moments, but I thought that she brought it this evening. She did Stevie proud as she was hoping to do. Randy said that the hottest part of the song was the end. He mentioned that the Stevie choice was very karaoke. Paula said that it was obvious that Lisa was nervous and that going outside of the melody were when Lisa shined. Simon said that it was one of the best performances this evening, and that Lisa took control of the stage. Simon said that it was great and he loved it. As Simon said, Lisa has the "It" factor. Kevin Covais sang Part Time Lover. As Stevie called him, "Little Kevin". Kevin tries to put on the moves. Kevin doesn't have the best of voices, but he tries his best with his personality and young, cuteness. In fact, there were some very rough moments in the song. He has that cute factor, but it sucked. Randy said that he loved Kevin. As he said, Kevin said it in tune which is more than Randy expected. Randy said enjoyable, but not the best. Paula said that Kevin sang in tune and had his own dance steps, weird ones. She also said that Kevin was in time. Simon said that Stevie would be turning down the volume. Simon said that it was appalling, and Kevin replied that he wasn't expecting much from Simon anyway. Katharine McPhee sang Until You Come Back to Me. Stevie thought that Katharine had potential and that Aretha Franklin wouldn't mind Katharine singing the song. Katharine looked like she had a maternity gown on, and her eyes were done to the point of looking like a raccoon. Katharine actually did a fairly decent job. Randy said the Katharine McPhee is back to her audition performance. Paula said that there is something about Katharine voice that pierced through a heart. Simon said that Katharine is good, and that she reminds him vocally of Kellie Clarkson. As my boyfriend said, it was probably because Katharine had huge boobs hanging out of her dress. Taylor Hicks sang Living for the City. Taylor's voice was made for a Stevie Wonder song. Taylor does a very nice job, and he definitely chose the right song. He does a very nice job vocally and with the kinetic performance. Of them all, this has been the best so far. Randy can't get started speaking because the audience is going wild. Randy said that all the gigs that Taylor performed came to a head tonight and that Taylor was fearless. Paula said that Taylor is such a fun performer and has such passion. Paula said this is what he needs to be doing to make people happy. Simon said that Taylor's appeal is that he is like every dad who has gotten drunk at a wedding. The only difference is that Taylor can sing. One of the stylists suggested that Taylor color his hair, or at least that is what Ryan Seacrest is trying to lead people to believe. It might not have happened. Paris reminded Stevie of Fantasia. She sang All I Do. Paris has a very nice voice, and she lets loose on this song. It was a very nice performance. Everytime I see her I think of an old woman trying to act young--when in a |