The show I once loved. American Idol.

Last season I did quite a few reviews of American Idol episodes, and watched pretty much every single episode. For the past few years I've wondered why I even bothered, until finally someone would catch my eye in the top twelve, and I would have at least one person to support. I don't see that happening this season. As a matter of fact, I won't be watching anymore. I'm not even giving this pathetic season a chance.


When Tim Urban went through to the top twelve, I was at a loss for words. The dude is horrible...I don't understand who's voting for him. Then, when both Todrick and Lilly--both great singers, and Alex--not so great in my opinion, but definitely a crowd favorite--all were sent home, I got to thinking about how there are only two possibilities for such bullshit. Either there are only twelve year old girls voting these days, or the producers are intentionally sabotaging the show to prepare for it's inevitable cancellation when Simon is gone.


Both scenarios seem possible. I've been watching since the first season, which would've made me about 13 or 14. While I've watched pretty much every season, I've only voted a handful of times. The point is, it's a show I grew up with during my teenage years, which is probably the only reason I would watch it at my age. I realized, I've outgrown it. However, there are new teens watching it for the first time, while their hormones are running rampant. Thus, we end up with Tim Urban in the top twelve.


Then there's the fact that Simon will not return after this season. We can think what we want about why this show is successful, but I believe we'll soon realize that HE is the reason. I don't see this show lasting beyond next season, when the producers realize what losing him has cost the show. Which brings me to the second scenario. Do they already realize? And are they messing with the results to infuriate people to the point that they stop watching, making the cancellation less of a deal? We know the show is not one hundred percent authentic. Anyone who honestly believes that is naive.


I've always had a favorite. Every single season. Sometimes my favorites won, sometimes they didn't. My reaction to the winners varied drastically.


Kelly Clarkson--When Kelly won, I was ecstatic. She was my favorite from the beginning, and at the time, I knew she would sing the kind of music I enjoyed. (At the time. I no longer like her style of music, but that isn't of importance.)


Ruben Studdard--I liked Ruben. I also liked Clay Aiken. However, this season was ruined for me when Kimberely Caldwell was sent home, because she was my favorite by far. However, being season 2, I stuck with it, chose a new favorite, and continued to watch. That favorite became Ruben. He was like a big teddy bear. Did I vote? No. I never voted back then. Ever. But when Ruben actually won, I was in disbelief. I still to this day believe Clay lost because the producers didn't want a gay man to win. (Oh come on, just because he didn't come out of the closet for many years later, doesn't mean we didn't already know he was gay.)


Fantasia--Eh. She was an okay singer. At the time, I preferred her over Diana Degarmo, so ultimately, I was pleased with her winning. But she didn't deserve to win that season. I think it goes without saying Jennifer Hudson did. The girl only made it to the top six, and look at her success. At the same time, would that success be the same, had she won? Doubtful. Maybe this was for the best.


Carrie Underwood--My reaction to Carry winning was, well, DUH! This season was hers from the moment America saw her audition. She was destined to be where she is today, and is by far the best thing that has ever come out of American Idol.


Taylor Hicks--Where is he? Have you heard of him since he won? I heard he's doing Broadway, though I can't be sure. To be completely honest, I don't care enough to Google him. This season was Chris Daughtry's season. I still believe his elimination was a stunt from the producers. His following was just too large for him to only make it to fourth place. I refuse to believe it. Look at him now.


Jordin Sparks--I actually managed to miss more of this season than any other. All I honestly remember is Jordin Sparks winning, the runner up being good at beat boxing, and the ridiculousness that was Sanjaya. From what I remember, Jordin deserved to win.

David Cook--I was surprised when he won, because I honestly didn't expect it. However, the surprise was a pleasant one. I really liked him, and he's a rocker, so he's my kind of guy.

Kris Allen--My thought, BULLSHIT!!! First let me say, I did not like Adam Lambert. Anyone who read this blog back then knows I was a Matt Giraud fan, through and through. I did not want Adam to win. However, his following was HUGE. His fans were every-fucking-where. They're STILL everywhere. Ohhh but he's gay....so of course he didn't win. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I honestly believe the folks behind the cameras over at Idol are serious homophobes. I say, RIGGGED!

And that brings us to this craptastic season. Who will win? Who fucking knows. Not a single one of them would've made it to the top twelve a few years ago. Not a single one of them are good enough to win American Idol. Michael Lynch and Siobhan Magnus are the only hope for this season, and even they don't scream "star" to me. (Ya know, like Carrie did. During the PREVIEWS for that season. I didn't even need to see the actual show to know she would be my favorite.)  Idol's on it's last leg, I'm just waiting for it to come tumbling down.

Almost came to tears. :(

I am EXTREMELY happy that they saved Matt, but I'm also very upset that they even needed to. I only voted for him once, and I knew as time passed, and I hadn't voted anymore, I would regret it. And I did. Not that my votes would've made much of a difference.

I so so so so so badly wanted to see Lil go. I don't think she deserves to be there, and it's really getting irritating. I will be voting for strictly Matt for the full two hours next week, you can bet on that. Normally I don't like to vote that many times, because I see it as cheating, kind of. But in my mind, I can see little teen girls sitting on the phone for two hours voting their little hearts out for Kris and Adam. So, now I'm going to.

I think America has finally caught on and started voting for Allison. Good for you America!

So now 2 people go home next week. I think it will come down to Lil, Matt, and Anoop again. I guess we'll see what happens.....Lil is bound to be horrible on disco night!

American Idol Recap, 4/14 performances.

Well, my admiration for Adam Lambert was short lived. Last week, for a moment or two, I kind of understood why everyone and their brother had jumped on the "Adam Lambert Bandwagon", but after tonights performance, I understand once again why I jumped off of it.
As soon as he said he'd be doing "Born to be Wild", I knew there would be a lot of unnecessary screaming. And there was. He always goes over the top. And maybe it wouldn't be as bad if he would keep his tongue in his mouth while he's doing the screaming....
Anoop, surprisingly, was my favorite tonight. I felt his performance was the most heartfelt. That might be because he's pretty sure, like I am, that he's going home this week.
Allison, loved it. Of course. That girl can sing. Nothing much I can say about it.
Danny, I liked his performance. Not his best by any means, but he definitely deserves to be there.
Kris....I did not like this performance. Which sucks, because until last week, I was beginning to like him.
Matt. I thought it was good. Not his best, but not his worst. Notice how he always picks a song that would be the way to a woman's heart? Hmm. I think we'll be hearing him sing many love songs of his own in the future, win or lose.
Lil. Hated it. Always do. I want to see her go. She has no personality, and she isn't an artist in her own right. Nothing she sings ever sounds original. It's extremely karaoke.
Unfortunately, I don't think she'll be going home. I (sadly), think we'll be saying goodbye to Anoop this week. His performance was my favorite, but he doesn't seem to be a crowd favorite, at all. :( Hopefully America wakes up and stops voting for Lil!
Matt and Allison are still my favorites. I usually don't judge contestants on a week to week basis. I generally have my favorites picked out by the top 11 or 12, and stick with them. So as it stands, they are still my favorite!

Now w/ all of that being said, here's my ranking:

1. Anoop-I really loved this performance.
2. Allison
3. Danny
4. Matt
5. Adam
6. Kris
7. Lil----Please tell me this is the last time I'll be typing her name????
   

We say farewell to Scott MacIntyre.

I won't pretend that I was rooting for him, because I wasn't. I do believe that if you base everything strictly on talent, it was his time to go. However, he had so so so much passion, it was sad to see him go. I was delighted to see Lil in the bottom three. Hopefully that means her fans are moving to the more talented contestants....she needs to go.
Anyways, back to Scott. The man had so much passion, with every performance you could see how much he wanted it. He took the judges advice pretty much every time. He was really focused on improving.
Then we have Lil. Miss, "I AM an artist, and if my fans keep me around maybe I can show them..." Please. Isn't that what you said last week? Oh, and the week before. What is it with contestants begging for votes this year?
I really hope she bombs, once again, this week, and America sends her packing.
But I'm afraid the judges would save her. THAT would be upsetting.

Side note, I forgot to mention in my previous post....Simon should've just left Anoop's apology the way it was. To say that he didn't have to apologize it ridiculous considering he refused to even consider giving Megan another chance because of what she said. Double standard anyone?

American Idol Review Week 4/6-4/7

Okay so let me start by saying Lil needs to go. She does have a decent voice, however her performances are always horrible. This week I do believe she did a little better then Scott, however, you can see how much effort Scott puts into it. He may not have the best voice, but Lil just keeps skating by, doing copy cat performances, and begging for votes when they announce her number. She just needs to go. But I don't think she will any time soon.

This week, Adam actually impressed me. He still isn't anywhere near my favorite, but this performance makes it hard not to like the guy.

My opinion, from best to worst:
1. Matt
2. Allison
3. Adam
4. Anoop
5. Danny
6. Kris
7. Lil
8. Scott
That's based on vocals and performance only.
My favorites in general from best to worst.
1. Matt
2. Allison
3. Danny
4. Kris
5. Anoop
6. Adam
7. Scott
8. Lil

I don't think Allison and Matt did the best just because they're my favorites. Last week, neither of them were at the top. But this week, I think they really did outshine everyone.

I think the bottom three this week should be Lil, Scott, and Kris. Based on this weeks performances. But I think Anoop will be there instead of Lil.

For whatever reason, a lot of people apparently don't like Allison or Matt, considering one of them is always in the bottom three. However, even if one of them does get the lowest amount of votes, I think the judges would use their save on which ever one it is.

American Idol, Preshow thoughts. Week 4/7-4/8.

This weeks theme is "song from the year they were born". That gives them a plethora of songs to choose from. I took a look at the greatest hits from the year each contestant was born. I chose the songs that I personally would like to see them sing. These arent' my predictions, just what I would like to see, if they were limited to greatest hits.

Adam Lambert--Open Arms, by Journey. My reasoning: I would like to see him turn the energy down, and do a ballad again.

Matt Giraud--One More Night, by Phil Collins. I think it would be a great song for him to sing, if he stripped it down.

Allison Iraheta--End of the Road, by Boys II Men. I would like to see her do something w/ a little less of a rock edge.

Danny Gokey--Remember (Walking in the Sand) by Aerosmith. I would like to see Danny take a risk, and give us a little rock. And this song still has a hint of soul.

Scott MacIntyre--Say You, Say Me, by Lionel Richie. Once again, stripped down to just him and the piano.

Kris Allen-Crazy for You, by Madonna. I just think this would be amusing.

Lil Rounds--Against All Odds by Phil Collins. Big song, but not too big. Unlike last week.

Anoop Desai--I couldn't find anything that I think he would be able to pull of. He is talented, but he doesn't do well with high energy songs. Unfortunately, that's all I could find for his year. The best of luck to him.

American Idol, Week 3/31-4/01

I'm going to work on rating each performance in the future. However, this one is extremely late, so I'll have to start that w/ tomorrows performances.

This week, Megan, hands down, worst performance. She really did deserve to go home. I liked her at first, but after a while, it got very monotone. And the little twist she does was really starting to drive me crazy.

Despite what she may have claimed, she does care what the judges say. However, Simon shouldn't have take that to heart. He can dish it out, but he can't seem to take it.

Her immaturity as she was leaving made it easier for me to say goodbye. Part of me wonders if she didn't purposely sabotage her own performance, to go home to her son. I guess we'll never know.

American Idol. General thoughts.

American Idol has its ups and downs. Sometimes I can't get enough of it, other times, it makes me want to wear ear plugs.

This year, I am enjoying it. I think the judges, even Simon, have bumped their heads. They give way too much credit to Adam Lambert. He is an okay singer, but to claim that he hits notes they've never heard, is completely absurd. Lets not mistake screaming for singing.

My favorites are Matt Giraud, and Allison Iraheta. Neither of them are the best singers I've EVER heard, but they're both unique. Both have that raspy voice that I personally can't seem to get enough of. I don't believe either of them will win, but I will continue watching until they're both gone.

They're all decent singers, however, I don't believe they could all be successful musicians.

Matt Giraud: Yes.
Allison Iraheta: Yes.
Adam Lambert: Yes.
Danny Gokey: Although I do like him, no.
Scott MacIntyre (apologies if it's spelled wrong): No.
Lil Rounds: Yes, but she isn't very unique.
Megan Corkery: No.
Alexis Grace: Yes.
Anoop Desai: No.
Michael Sarver: No.
Kris Allen: Maybe, but I'm leaning towards no.
Jasmine: Maybe.
Jorge (sp?): No.

I think the top three will possibly be Adam, Danny, and Lil. I hope not, but that's my prediction as of right now. However, voters love to throw those curve balls.