Idol Musings...Theme Nights....Potentials??

There is a new podcast posted about potential "Theme Nights" on Idol. Check it out at the podcast link on the right, and tell your "Idol Thoughts" here...
Enjoy the weekend....

Gettin the Boot..(24-20)//Part 2

Round two of tonights cuts...Nicole is gone, the girl from Philly performed okay last night I thought. the girl with a very unique voice on "Stay Together", is gone...last cut tonight, a guy....is it Sundance? PLEASE not Sundance.......well, the "Free Ride" for Rudy is over...he's the fourth cut tonight...no real surprises with who has departed this evening, then again when you have twenty three so so performances and one that knocks it out of the park, the vote can go any which way. Ken's blog on USA Today made a very valid point that when you vote, you are doing so for your 'favorite' contestant..not necessarily the best singer, and there were worse singers than some of those that left the show tonight...more on that in the podcast...have a good night, till next week on the blog...don't forget you can catch the podcast...the first link on the right-->.
Have a great weekend...See ya, Bye!

Gettin the Boot..(24-20)//Part 1

Well, here we go...the first to say goodbye...Paul...sorry he won't be able to sing anymore barefoot ballads, he had a lot of potential too and was a victim of poor song choice in my mind...this of course means that Sundance is fifty percent safe...on the girls side we say goodbye to Amy, who sang Bonnie Raitt last night, according to Simon she will be forgotten, and clearly he was right, as hard as that is for Amy and her fans to swallow...so Paul and Amy are the first two off in Season Six...Fantasia is performing in a few...We'll be back!

VOTE Night! Who's Headed Home...

Well, it is time to say farewell to four contestants on American Idol, and although we barely got to know them, we may all be better off with them gone....(kidding)...you have my predictions, and there will be a podcast tomorrow morning, pending my voice holds up.
Just before getting though the return of the dreaded Group sing, it was announced there would be an interesubt list of vocal coaches this season....including Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett, Barry Gibb and Gwen Stefani to name a few...I'm not looking forward to Gwen Stefani night...not very Cool even though she's Just a Girl, Underneath it All...I definitely won't Holla Back....ok enough of that...
Who's Headed Home..back in a few

The Gospel of Lakisha, Is No Man Worthy?

Tonight was a great evening for Idol…some of the women played it totally safe and it showed, much like it did last night for the guys. However in this game, there is no Immunity Idol, there are no cases to open, no life lines, no phone a friends, and no mob. The American people tonight, if they stayed up late enough may have heard the voice of the next American Idol. Lakisha, a single mom from Michigan, swept the stage with a ninety second performance that had it all. She knocked out in one shot the majority of the remaining 23 contestants, or at least let them know they will have to raise their game…GUYS, I hope you are listening. I realize its a long season for Idol, and any week you can be on your game and the next your not. Many of last nights performances, with the exception of a few will be forgotten. Tonights show will be remembered for Stephanie, Lakisha and all of whom proved they belonged on that stage tonight. Some of the other girls were almost there, but need to step up their game. I’, not saying or even crowning her the winner in Week 1, that would be insane, but as Simon said..the gauntlet was thrown down tonight. For four hopefuls the mic will go dark. Rudy, Saraya and Sundance are my three marked. One will be saved and he better remember this moment. I’m hoping Sundance gets another shot. He has a great voice.

As for the women, there’s 11 that could and can go home…J ..There were a few that stood out as being not up to par…among them, Antonella, Leslie, Alaina, Haley, and Philly girl Nicole…some had poor song choice, others seemed nervous..Alaina and Antonella are my choices. Sometimes the judges can be completely wrong with things.

There is a front runner, that is clear, right now she holds the title, but it’s early and there are plenty of rounds to go for, at the moment, any of 20 people, after tomorrow to close in on her.

Idol 2007, Top 12 Women(6-12)

Guys look relaxed, but they shouldn’t be…Philly girl Nicole Tranquillo up next.

Nicole Tranquillo…she’s got an interesting voice. “Stay Together” good stage presence, good song selection, great range. Randy: didn’t work for him. Paula: doesn’t know many people that can hit the notes that she hit…she can sing. Simon: Indulgent, aggressive, looked fake…so let me get this right…she goes, she SINGS, takes a risk and gets.. not much for it…WHAT? This is a SINGING competition, right? Randy said it was too urban…she has the chops…needs to get the right song to show them off…

Haley Scarnato, 24 up next…she has been a freelance singer since she was fifteen and considers Celene Dion her hero…here’s a shock..she’s doing a Celene Dion song…I’m gonna go out on a limb and say she is too gimmicky before I even hear her and she will be sent home this week…ok, just kidding. “All Coming Back to Me”…solid start, good stage presence, nice note toward the bridge, seems safe to me, played well to the camera too..did a nice job…Judges: Randy: ok for him, good choice though didn’t do anything special with it. Paula: did a nice job. Simon: Sounded 40, a bit like being at a reasonable good hotel and that was the last song of the evening. Made herself dated and old. A little boring…I disagree with the judges, however Celene’s radioplay days are well behind her, but she is an inspiration for a lot of people with her music. If Simon’s comments ring true, Mom’s and Grandmom’s should bring her back next week.

A quick recap of the evening- Stephanie is still the one to beat in my eyes, with Sabrina in a close second. Again tonight some are not picking the right songs for their very talented vocal chords. eight down, four to go…

Melinda Doolittle next..with the third Aretha song of the night. She is backup singer on stage and in the studio…great stage presence, she’s owning the stage, great personality, solid range..”Since You Been Gone”..she totally took an Aretha song and made it her own, no nerves..none that I noticed anyway..and she’s having fun! Judges: Randy: If you got it, show it, loved it! Paula: She’s a frontrunner, unbelieveable Simon: Incredible singer, fantastic person, really hope she does well. She’s in the top three tonight, she may even be the best I’ve heard to far….but there are three to go tonight.

Alaina Alexander, loves Mariah Carey and almost gave up her dream in music until she made it on Idol. “Brass in Pocket”…well she’s definitely putting her personality, like her voice, minimal nerves if any…and another one having some fun on the stage.

Judges: Randy: didn’t like the song, pitchy Paula: didn’t go for it and put her umph into it Simon: kept singing I’m Special and it wasn’t. hard to make that kind of song your own. Reliant on looks, not voice. Not sure she will be back next week…

Gina Glocksen, Dental assistant, she was one of the few who made it to Hollywood last year, and came back, to get past that round to the Top 24…”All By Myself”..ballad alert!

Ricky and the band keeping it low, pitchy on one of the high notes, managed to work it out…took the end cold, but will it payoff? Judges: Randy: surprised Paula: right song to sing. Simon: different side to her..didn’t think she hit the big note…however she has the mom in tears factor….we’ll see…

Lakisha Jones closing the show, she was tabbed as one of the best and she is closing the show…She’s from Michigan, and a single Mom…lets see what she’s got..

“Your Gonna Love Me”…great stage presence…personality, she’s closing with a bang…great notes on the end…cold too! We have a new frontrunner Judges: Randy: You laid it out…Paula: This is where you belong Simon: That’s the right note…very tempted to say to 23 people, book your plane tix home…was in a different league…Lakisha is the one to beat as of this moment…the guys have a LOT of work to do…some have a LOT LOT of work to do…and one or two of the guys can go home tonight…the review of the evening coming in a bit…

Idol 2007, Top 12 Women(1-6)

Alright, here we go…Top 12 Women…I’m thinking…gut feeling…that things are gonna be better than last night, could be a lot, could be a little, however there were more women than men from day one that tried out. No point in discussing the recaps and hooplah so we’ll get things started with the first song…

Stephanie Edwards…she’s sung at the Apollo Theatre and has won every singing contest she has ever entered….will Idol be next? Song choice tonight should be good, I hope better than last night…little soulful..great song..she’s showing off some personality, “How Come You Don’t Call Me”…she has some great stage presence and control..she’s blown last night away on her own….great high at the end…..WOW! Judges: they all LOVED it…Simon: Millon Times better than last night…which wasn’t going to be really hard to do…

Amy Krebs up next..she has been singing since she was a child….22 now, and went to a very esteemed Academy in NYC. Slow song for Amy, some Bonnie Raitt, tad pitchy but okay, she managed to pull through at the end…may not have been the best song choice for her. Judges: Randy: boring song and safe, too safe and I agree…Paula: agreed with Randy. Simon: cant remember her, personality of a candle, nothing to remember, like a thing that sings and two singers later he’s going to forget her. Amy clearly needs to step up her game, if she returns next week. She has a great personality.

Leslie Hunt is next. She’s a dog walker, as supposed to a dawg walker…sorry had to..from L.A….”You Make Me Feel”…started a tad slow…backup singers are drowning her out, not her fault…showed some bluesy quality, she too has stage presence, nice note at the end..not bad…Judges: Randy, not greatness, to big for her…I didn’t see it. Paula: She did a great job, but told her about song choice…Simon: Very nice girl and a dog walker…out of her comfort zone and looks embarrassed..I didn’t see that at all…again, butterflies…she has a very unique voice, I hope she continues she as a wow factor with her voice.

Sabrina Sloan up next..worked with the touring production of Hairspray. Quite the eclectic mix of people this year on Idol…they’ve done a little bit of everything. I think we have a competition on our hands…Sabrina is on every note, great stage presence, she’s got it going on…it’s a Wow from me…great performance. Randy: We have a competition. Paula: standing ovation Simon: proved the point in taking part and have a desire to win with talent, best performance so far…I totally agree…great poise, amazing performance.

Antonella Barba from Point Pleasant, New Jersey…so a Jersey girl and a Philly girl in the competition this year. J She began singing in sixth grade and has done some traveling with it…ballad…Aerosmith…she put her personality into it, another great arrangement from Ricky and the band…she made it her own…pretty good stage presence too. Judges: Randy didn’t like it, was a tad pitchy. Paula: took the you look beautiful road Simon: thought the song was too big and thinks her chances of remaining have been damaged..I totally disagree, I thought she was pitchy but her range was great. She took a risk and fell flat with the judges, but they don’t decide the winner.

Well we’re almost half way through and we have a competition on the girls side and I’m sure the guys will take note. Three stand out..Antonella, I disagree with the judges, Sabrina, and Stephanie.

Jordan Sparks, the youngen, 17 up next. She began singing at eighteen months, and is from Arizona. Performing Tracy Chapman…way too much reverb on her mic…sounds like she is having all kinds of problems…tried to make it her own, pulled it together at the end, but is it enough? Judges: Randy: not being challenging enough Paula: great selection, came into her own, it was fun Simon: seen a big change with you, typical sweet, good voice. Simon suggested she push herself…not sure what they heard in the studio but the first half of that seemed off to me. Ok first half done…be back with the remaining six….you got it…After The Break…

Idol 2007, Ladies...Please...

Ooops, that’s from another show…lets hope the women can belt some notes tonight, I glanced at Ken’s blog from USA today and tonight we’ll hear a few Aretha Tunes and Alicia Keys among others…Well get things going in about fifteen…after the break and all of the montage stuff….See ya then..

First Night Wrapup: Safe Songs and Visions of Teletubbies...

First off, a key word of the evening..SAFE...everyone played it SAFE...there were a few performances on the fringes, but overall the night was a little blah...with a few one liners from Simon and crew and some well placed lyrical high notes that were hit very well. We saw Saraya fight back against Simon, for which he deserves credit, although he needs to work on his performance chops for next week, if he returns and isn't in the bottom two...the great part about Idol at this point of the season is that a blah performance this week has a pretty good chance of returning next week to rebound nicely, such the case for Mr. Festivus himself, Sundance - I would love to say his name in this blog for a few more weeks at least, considering other sources, including the judges deemed him worthy of being in the Top 3 or 4 of this years crop. Bad song choices were the theme of the night, although I'm not sure any producer would admit to it..The two I have mentioned above are my bottom two for the week.Overall I caught myself yawning a few time last night about an hour in...it wasn't the shock I expected from the first night of Idol...instead of being Wow'd by anyone, with the exception of a few performances that were okay, I was practically sleep typing. What would be awesome is if the women, which had a larger group from the beginning this year, blew away the guys and brought down every house in America tonight with their performances. After last night, unless things change, I think it is pretty safe to say that the next Idol will not be a guy...Catch you back tomorrow night...

Idol 2007, Top 12 Men(7-12)

Into the second hour and no real standouts yet in this years Top 12 class…as far as the men go…

Blake Lewis…the spikey beatbox guy….”Somewhere OnlyWe Know”…like the look, clean cut, again what is it…SAFE, it’s SAFE…his parents can’t even get into it…seemed very bland to me personally…Judges: Randy…”dug” it…Paula: picked an odd song, said he was cool and contemporary..Simon: first to sound like 2007…Keane was spot on for me personally, best ORIGINAL performance tonight….if you can say that about Idol…Sanjaya, the 17 year old who comes from a school of singers, “after the break”…

Sanjaya, “Something About Your Love”…vocal was alright, seemed very boring…”bore you with it” are the lyrics and I was bored….range was okay…Judges: Randy and Paula: said not good…Paula looking for more personality. Simon: picked up on my lyrical quip…Sunjaya will be in the final four Wednesday night….sorry to say…Chris Sly coming up…

Chris Sligh, one of a few guys this year who has traveled and performed with a band. ..finally someone who picks a tune that matches their voice…loved the arrangement..”Typical”….nice close, was on his notes….but will David Hasselhoff cry?...Judges: Paula, Randy – liked the performance. Simon: Felt I was at a weird student gig…he’s safe..looking forward to next week..

Jared Cotter, (not a teletubby)..next…”Back At One”…Brian McKnight…another good vocal pick..did a nice job..falsetto was okay…Judges: Randy: alright Paula: likes the more uptempo stuff, and the Teletubby: Unadventurous, nasally. He’ll be safe…Simon added that he needs to take more risks..I agree…again, it’s a SAFE night…AJ next..

AJ Tabaldo…works for a shipping company…”Never Too Much”..nice with the uptempo, vocal was okay, falsetto was okay..again didn’t blow me away. Paula says he can sing, and he can, he’s got the chops, needs to shake the butterflies..he’s the darkhorse this year for the guys in the eyes of this radio dj…he can wow a lot of votes..did they save the best for last? Phil Stacey….the navy singer and father of two…next

Phil Stacey…”I Could Not Ask For More”…shaky start, but picked it up with the bridge…Wow….not WOW! But Wow…one of the better ninety seconds of the night…Judges: Randy, loved the vocal, as did Paula…Simon: okay at the end…

Final wrap of the evening in a bit…it was a great vocal one he got going…great range, Phil shook off the butterflies the best out of the Top 12 Men….be back in a bit…

Idol 2007, Top 12 Men(1-6)

After intro’ing ‘the guys’ and giving the overall rundown of how things go…Paula looks pretty good..like the new hair color. Simon hasn’t changed his look in FIVE seasons of Idol….FIVE seasons..FIVE….ok, now that I have that out of my system….of course they are performing with Ricky Minor and the band…Ricky played on the Grammy’s most recently…oooh, a cheese montage to go to break….:)

Rudy Cardenas up first…”Come On and Take a Free Ride”….his notes seem on, he seems pretty excited, lots of energy…he’s an octave higher than he needs to be, nice long note and REALLY WHITE TEETH…..judges…Randy, any bar in America…Paula….ok, lets break this chick down a little…she’s great at the one word adjectives….fantastic, great, love ya..ok that was two words…Simon made a very valid point, that he will not be remembered and will be lost in the mix….he clearly shook out the butterflies being first and started off the show on a good note.

Brendan Rogers: He works as a voice coach, wedding singer and background singer for Christina Aguilera and Usher. His mother is a published songwriter…so he should be used to working in front of a crowd, perhaps more than any of the remaining guys left to perform tonight…. Well he’s playing to the camera..a little MJ..”Rock With You”…aaah, no shouts from the ‘Dogpound….pitchy used for the first time this year…Simon is actually making sense with what he is saying…saying Brendan is better than that…although, again butterflies, you gotta get them out with SAFE songs….something tells me we’re in for ten more of these….

Sundance…Not the Festival…Head up next...soul and blues in this guy…I’m intrigued…”Night in White Satin”….very pitchy…not a good choice for him…no smooth bluesy voice I wanted to hear….this may be his swan song….unfortunately he picked the wrong song, Simon quote: Dad at a Wedding…flat performance from Sundance..disappointing…we’ll see if he gets another chance…

Paul Kim…He’s a pool technician who enjoys gardening…he’s livin’ the dream…and he works barefoot…”Careless Whisper”..like the band arrangement..good vocals…oh and the wallet shot in his back pocket..looks pretty full….well, he was good but that one not could cost him….that was a YIKES moment…again, judges think its okay..pitchy..may be being too hard on him,,Simon: Put Your Shoes on next week..Ordinary…great word from Simon…no Wow’s from the first three…not that I’m expecting it in Week 1…

Chris Richardson…works in the restaurant biz, from a military family. “I Don’t Wanna Be”…first off, not a great song choice..but a SAFE choice…the most overplayed song in radio for 2006, and you can’t really make that one your own…is showing his personality, sounds like Justin Timberlake and Gavin DeGraw had a kid…great karaoke performance(kidding)…Judges…Randy says he made it work..Paula..great arrangement…Simon, liked Chris, voice sounded small…bad vocal…Chris has been the most lively of the night thus far…feels like the show has finally started after almost an hour….so far he’s the one to beat…

Nick Pedro…another interesting one…he made it to Hollywood last year and didn’t make the final cut so that’s why he’s familiar…some Richard Marx…slowing things down, on key..not a bad presentation, “Now and Forever”..nailed the high note…played to the camera very well, he’ll be back next week…judges..Randy was bored and pitched….uh, said it was pitchy. Paula, no emotion, flat..Simon, actually thought it was okay.

OK, the first six down, six to go…a Navy singer, a beat boxer and a shipping service supervisor…could make an interesting movie…..uh, NOT…

American Idol '07: 12 Angry Men

From glancing at Ken Tucker’s blog over the past several hours, Idol 2007 has officially begun. I enjoy Ken’s writings and musings as the night goes on, from the East Coast perspective(there is a link to his page on the right--)…onto the West coast version….

I made mention of how interesting it is that the majority of the Top 12 guys are all over 22, with one at 17 in my podcast from earlier today…we’ll see shortly if maturity has anything to do with nerves as far as this evenings performances go. The mix of music tonight seems like Contestants choice from Ken’s blog…we’re in for a long evening of 90 second songs, “Intros to These 12”, and Seacrest saying “After the break” about….oh….16….remember two of these guys are headed home on Wednesday, but we’ll get to that a bit later…a few minutes to go….

American Idol, Season 6...Ready, Set.....GO!

Here we go again! Another exciting season of American Idol, with an interesting mix of folks all vying to become the next American Idol, through any silly little scandals, romps with Paula, or drunken episodes that may occur this year.....of the auditions I did see, I have to say there are a few contestants who stand out in my mind this year...ok, ladies first...Lakisha Jones and Stephanie Edwards are at the front of this list...however there are a few Lady Rockers this year who may not be far behind...of the men I like the kid from the festival....Sundance....his parents were really cruel naming him after the festival, although Sundance beats Cannes anyday...I'm just glad he wasn't a girl...
So from this point each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night for the next 12 weeks or so will be recapped right here! Awaiting your reads, laughs, and head shakes. The first week Four(4) go home, let's hope they all bring their "A" game, because by now, being that it's Season 6, I'm not sure a "B" game will get you to Week 2........