First SHOCK and HUH? of the Season

Well, last night it happened. I am as shocked as the judges were. Sundance, Sabrina, Jared, and Antonella are gone - only the latter was expected in my mind. The Top 12 has some people that were given a shot across their port bow last night...step it up or step into mediocrity quickly. The opportunity these guys and gals have from this moment on is huge. No more nerves, or struggles to hit notes, or poor song choices.
This upcoming week should prove to be very entertaining with Diana Ross being the vocal coach and honorary "Theme Week" choice.
Of course this competition is supposed to be who has the best "talent" as far as singing goes, however over the past few years it has become much more than that, as far as knocking the wrong people off the show. America, get it together!
I am amazed that Sunjaya has gotten as far as he has being a mediocre talent, aside from his first auditions for the show he has been a fish out of water and better get comfortable quick.
What are your thoughts on what went down last night? Is it fair to give Haley, Phil, and Sunjaya spots in the Top 12?

Top 8 Women Recap Channeling and "Changing the Collection to CDs"

Well, it wasn't a complete blow away. but it was far better than Tuesday night. A nice start to the night with Jordin doing Pat Benatar, possibly one of the stronger performances of the night, far better than what she did the past few weeks. Perhaps Antonella should stick with the violin after that performance, it was better than previous weeks, but will her "prettiness" keep her around for another week, that seems to be about 90% what she has going for her.
I felt bad for Haley, knowing she had the heavy hitters behind her she needed to come close to hitting one out of the park, and didn't. Lakisha did not disappoint, as usual. Stephanie showed off why she belonged....Gina, girl maybe you should have tackled that song drunk, because sober, it didn't work. Melinda closed out the show with some Peggy Lee.
The women are far better at choosing songs this week. For the most part they are picking songs to showcase their talent. They need to teach this 'technique' to the guys. Who goes home...Antonella, Gina, and Haley are the bottom three. Antonella and Haley are at the bottom in my eyes and ears this week.

Top 8 Guys ReviewIn the Words of Howie, "Ladies, Please...SAVE Us!"

Not very impressive this evening, rather luke warm. I have seen some people who do karaoke in this town do better performances than some of the ones from last night. Some were totally off key, Phil, some sounded possesed, Phil, and others were just okay, everyone else. Some of these guy appear to be song choice blind, which is better than tone deaf...oh, wait...we had some of that last night too..
the podcast isn't much more positive, but I do have who is headed home, which could be any of six of these fellas. ..Ladies tonight...one or two high notes hit for me and it'll be considered a runaway. The guys were THAT dreadful this week...

Top 8 Guys Review

Well, the final cuts are just about here to get to the Top 12. Sanjaya is apparently going for the drowned rat look this evening…oooh, a revealing event on Thursday??? Hmmm…should be a fun podcast in the morning….wow, straight to it….Blake up first…
Blake: liked the beat boxing, “311”, interesting processing on the mic…not quite sure what to think of this one…I’ll give him an A for originality…Judges: Randy, loved the hip hop reggae thing, Paula, was interested, even though she didn’t know the song. Simon: didn’t understand a word, agreed with Randy and Paula, making it current. A nice start to the evening, with a twist if you please…
Sanjaya, the Hula King, or should I say…Boy Prince..up next, “John Mayer”, feedback on the mic tonight…is he singing, or talking his way through this one…stage presence is pretty weak, somewhat karaoke, had some issues on the high note…Judges: Randy, no energy to start, hasn’t returned to form, not that great, Paula: try to get out of his comfort zone, keep tryin. Simon: wasn’t as bad as last week, Paula hairstyle going over the top, wasn’t a good vocal. Again, Sanjaya, “Waiting for some votes to change”…
Sundance, “Pearl Jam”, fits his voice completely, stage presence is okay, took him part of the performance to get into it, but great note at the end, he picked the right song. Judges: Randy: put the Southern rock thing on, Paula: kicked in his groove, Simon: didn’t like it as much as last week, lost his charm, “A generic bar singer”…
Chris Richardson, I’m actually looking forward to see what he does this week. “Cry” did a great job with that song, great stage presence, breaking out Keith Urban. Judges: Randy: in it to win it Paula: adapted well, Simon: it was good, not the best vocal, he sold it. Nice job slowing it down this week, did that one for his Grandma…Jared up next..
Jared needs to do well this week I think, or he may be headed home…doing some Stevie…pretty good stage presence, not a bad job in the middle, great play to the camera. Judges: Randy: gave a solid performance, was good Paula: needs to work on coloring the way he sings…apparently he needs some new Crayolas…Simon: wasn’t very original, gets lost in the mix, slightly disappointed. Not hearing the “Wow” factor…we’re five down, four to go..no WOW factor yet. I’m getting concerned for the guys.
Brandon, “Celebrate”…a rather eclectic selection of tunes tonight…great stage presence, he’s working well with the backup singers, it was decent for me. Judges: Randy: good choice, more of a rock edge, Paula: phenomenal, really getting in there and proving he belongs Simon: didn’t represent himself well, thinks that song may give him a problem this week..I’m going to agree with Simon.
Phil up next…”LeAnne Rimes”, not sure about the start, sounded like he was possessed, managed to pull through, very pitchy, not an easy song to sing. Not sure about that one. Judges: Randy: big range, work on the lows Paula: choice of song, not his best Simon: didn’t get it at all, insane at the beginning. Phil may be gone tonight.
Chris Sligh gets the final performance of the night…nice start, picked the right song, “We All Wanna Be Loved”, great stage presence…best performance of the night…Judges: Randy: gets the vocal prize Paula: wasn’t her favorite performance, was middle of the road, needs to stretch a little more Simon: beginning was good, then shouted in the middle, has potential…time to vote…the night overall for me, was alright, the big problem was there wasn’t a WOW performance from the guys and at this stage there needed to be. Tomorrow night will be a 180 from tonight, and the girls will put the guys away….recap from tonight in a bit…

Top 8 Guys Preview... Jitters, Adjectives, and NO Ballads Please...

Well, we're into Week 3 of Idol, the jitters and butterflies and technical issues should all be things of the past. The dogpound is ready to shout, Paula is ready for another exciting week of one word adjectives of praise and Simon, well..he's Simon.
Basically by now everyone has been through this enough to know what is expected. From the gentlemen tonight I am looking for two or three great performances, and at least one amazing, blow out the speakers, raise the roof performance...but who is it going to come from? Chris S or Sanjaya? Song choice is key. Who is going to go down in flames by doing a ballad tonight? Who is going to bring Simon to his feet?...sorry, Paula..wait, she's always on her feet.
Week 3 commences soon, don't forget about the podcast at the right and to let me know your thoughts here as well. Be back tonight with the usual blow by blow account...have a good Monday...