Watching Sitcoms

It’s Disco Night on American Idol. This is always a fun show, not because of the good, but because of the inevitable bad. Fortunately, this week, they are jumping right into it. Maybe they can end on time. But, on the minus side, they will probably have time for all four judges to talk after each performance. *sigh*

The night starts out with Lil Rounds singing I’m Every Woman by Chaka Kahn. Right, way to not sing those big diva songs, Lil. Maybe it’s just me, but (more…)

I’m about a half an hour late to the American Idol chop and slash party tonight. Then my laptop refused to turn on (it does that sometimes). Then I started to recap and accidentally lost what I was working on. I had mostly fast forwarded to this point anyway, so I’m not even gonna try to go back and talk about what I missed.

The only thing I noticed is that we have no lip-syncing (without Megan Corkrey) and that the group did a little more moving around (without Scott MacIntyre). But what is the tour going to be like with both of them?

Poor Zac Efron! He has to sit in the audience of American Idol to pimp his new movie. Isn’t he too important for this show? Or shouldn’t Matthew Perry have to keep him company?

On to the cuts. This was usually the week they divide the Idols into to groups of three and then let one person choose which group they belong with. But somehow, I think they’ll do something different this year.

First up is Allison Iraheta. She is safe. Next is Adam Lambert. He is also safe. OK, no surprises so far. Next is Anoop Desai. I almost felt sorry for him, as he tried to banter with Ryan and then got sent to the silver stools of doom as the first person in the bottom three.

I was interested in hearing Jennifer Hudson since I always liked her, so I didn’t fast-forward as I normally do through the guest singers. But I guess this kind of music is just not for me. I like music that sings, not stuff that goes all over the place like that. It seemed like she was having a problem hearing the music, too, cause she kept grabbing her ear. I did like how she kept reiterating about her achievements. See, American Idol, Jennifer was saying, I’m amazing and you lost out on all this!

Back to the slashing. Kris Allen and Lil Rounds stand up. One is safe, one is not. Apparently, Lil doesn’t understand the term “diva” since every song she has sung has been by a diva and they have told her and told her not to do that, but she is insisting that she has sung songs by R&B artists. Anyway, Kris is safe and Lil is in the bottom three. This is interesting, since dialidol had Lil at second place and Kris at dead last.

Finally, we have Matt Giraud and Danny Gokey. Danny is safe, and Matt is in the bottom three. But did you all see that look Danny gave Ryan when he thought, for a brief second that he was in the bottom three? It was that “what you talking ’bout, Willis?” look.

So, the bottom three is Anoop, Lil and Matt. Ryan sends one person back to the couches of safety, and it is . . . Anoop.

Thankfully, I am able to fast forward through Miley Cyrus and get right back to the cuts. It is the only reason I watch this show, after all.

It is the moment of truth, says Ryan. The person singing for their life tonight is Matt. Lil is safe and Matt is not. OK, honestly, I do write this show. I’m also fast forwarding through Matt’s song, cause I heard it last night.

So, after a bit of bantery deliberation, the judges do save Matt! Wow, I’m surprised. Although we were talking about this today at work and my thought was that if they didn’t use it this week, they wouldn’t want to use it next week, since it would muddy up who was in the Top 5 with a double elimination then.

So, good for Matt. I could have lived without him, but I guess the more the merrier for Disco Night.

I’ve seen a spoiler list for the song choices on American Idol tonight, “Music from the Movies,” and I have to say I hope it’s right, cause mostly the songs all look great. One exception is for Lil’s choice. That one makes me think she wants to leave. But we can talk about it once we see if the list I have is right.

I’m not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, I don’t believe I’ve ever watched one of his movies, at least not intentionally, and I don’t think he makes a great mentor or judge for a singing competition. But I’m guessing that’s not why they have him on the show.

I just noticed, no judge’s entrance! Did they (more…)

It’s time to eliminate one more contestant from American Idol. I’m ready for almost anyone to go home tonight, aside from Danny Gokey or Adam Lambert, cause even if they were the person going home, I know the judges would use their save. But they won’t be.

I’m not sure if this show has ever seemed as long to me as it does this year. It seems like we’ve been watching this season for years rather than just months. And there are still months left!

So we start the show and, randomly, Frankie Avalon comes out singing Venus. What? What show is this? Apparently, this is in homage to the year of Simon’s birth, 1959. All that just to poke fun at Simon. It was a little weird and uncomfortable. Speaking of weird and uncomfortable, the group number is some song from the year of American Idol’s birth, 2002.

We then waste a little time (more…)

The theme this week on American Idol is songs from the year the Idols were born. Which basically means 80’s night. Thankfully, we are finally down to the one hour shows. I’ve been waiting for this day. (Oooh, quick glimpse of the Fringe Albino guy in the audience!)

Then we get to see some cute little baby pics of the judges and Ryan. Well, some of them were cute, anyway.

Danny Gokey is up first with Stand By Me , (more…)

Well, here we are again, another week of American Idol. I’m really not caring about the show too much this year. I can’t tell you how much I hate the judges’ entrance. Then the theme this week is Popular iTunes downloads. Hmmmm. I probably won’t know any of these songs since I am not much of a fan of top 40’s pop music. Why do I watch this show again? (Reminds me of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer quote, “We listened to aggressively cheerful music sung by people chosen for their ability to dance.” That’s what tonight is gonna be like, I can feel it.)

Oooh Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna. I like them at least.

Anoop Desai is up first singing some Usher song. Well, I have heard of Usher. Did Anoop just say “her body was so tight”? What?? I don’t know how he got clearance for this song. Personally, I hated it. I like music that sings and that song was just crap. I think Anoop is putting himself right out of this competition, both with his attitude and his song choices.

Megan Corkrey (I refuse to start calling her Megan Joy) is next. I have (more…)

American Idol’s results show will take us from 10 to 9. Probably. I guess there’s a chance they will use the judges’ save, but I doubt it. Unless Danny Gokey or Lil Rounds is the one going home and I find that highly unlikely. I’m going to do my best to be lucid during my recap tonight, but I have pneumonia and I’m a bit drugged up. So we’ll see how it goes.

First we have the recap of last night. Oh, while I’m ignoring all this, let me say that I checked out dialidol and their numbers agree with what I said yesterday, the bottom three on dialidol is Scott MacIntyre, Michael Sarver and Megan Corkrey. So let’s see what happens tonight.

Now we have a medley of motown (more…)

I’m not a big fan of Motown music, but for some reason, this week on American Idol is usually pretty good. Maybe because Motown music is easy to sing, or easy to hear. I don’t know that for certain, I’m just guessing. But whatever the reason, I’m almost looking forward to hearing the Top 10 sing tonight. Part of it might be that I keep thinking the week is going to come when everything clicks and I start to really like this group. That never actually happened last year, but I live in hope.

So let’s get this show started. Oh, wait, first they have to intro the judges and Ryan. My husband just asked me, why do they do this now? I don’t know, because they hate me??

I have to say that the part showing Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson in Motown’s Studio A was pretty interesting.

First up is Matt Giraud singing, Let’s Get It On, Marvin Gaye. Somehow I pictured Adam Lambert singing this song. While Matt’s version is solid, I don’t think he brings anything to the song at all. It was, as Randy says, just ai’ight for me. But sometimes, (more…)

I purposely waited a few minutes before starting to watch the American Idol recap show tonight. I wanted to have a buffer which would allow me to fast forward through all the stupid stuff I didn’t want to watch. That starts with the recap of last night. I don’t want to see this, cause I just saw it last night and I haven’t forgotten it yet. Although I’ve tried to block it all out.

I’d like to fast forward through the group number, too, but I decide to watch to see what will happen with Scott. Ahh, he gets to sit at the piano. Of course. But what’s with the lip syncing? Do I know about this?

So now we come to the beginning of the results. No, wait, first we see the Ford commercial. Whatever. Then we have to watch a little video about last week’s results show. Unfortunately, I didn’t wait long enough to start watching, cause I’ve already fast forwarded so much that I’ve caught up with the show live and now I’m forced to watch Jasmine and Jorge’s going away party or whatever that was. So lame. This show could be 15 minutes long if they just cut out all the crap.

Now we have to sit through Ryan’s chatting with the Idols. *sigh* (more…)

So here we are up to the Top 11 on American Idol singing Grand Ole Opry songs. I can’t wait. (Please read that last sentence with my intended sarcasm.) What this theme really means to me, is the same as the theme we’ve had almost all year, that is songs and people I don’t like.

So here, we go. This is American Idol. Oh, no. They are really planning on introducing the judges like that every week. *sigh*

The mentor this week is Randy Travis. Even though Ryansays he is one of the best selling solo artists of all time, I cannot name one song he’s sung. Nor do I want to.

First up (more…)

American Idol elimination show. Right away, we get the new rule (lame) and get to see the Idol house (amazingly cool).

The new rule is that the judges have the ability to save one contestant one time. So no more losing people like Jennifer Hudson or Chris Daughtry - and all of the lovely money that was lost along with them.

After the MJ medley group sing and dance, we have the recap. I have to say, that even with the blind guy and all the terrible dancers in this crowd, they are still less awkward than that terrible group last year. Then Ryan has a little chat with the kids on the couches, which is one of the things I can always live without.

The Ford commercial to the tune of We Will Rock You. Tell me, why is it that we never, ever see these commercials on TV at any other time?

Finally we get to the reason we are all sitting here and giving up another hour of our lives, the eliminations.

First up is Michael and he is safe. Allison is next and she is also safe. Then we have Jasmine and she is brought to center stage where we should never have to see her again. Matt (why is he the other Matt?) is safe, although he tried to go to center stage with Jasmine. (more…)

Finally, American Idol is actually starting. I’m really not feeling this Top 12, no wait, Top 13. I hate so much about the show this year, too, starting with the new annoying judge and ending with the fact that Ricky Braddy was robbed. And the new entrance was just stupid. So there.

So here we start with the Top 13. The pimp spot goes to Alexis Grace this week, which holds with my friend Sandy’s belief that Alexis is this year’s chosen one. The best part of tonight is that we get to hear some MJ. Let’s just hope that these kids don’t descerate him.

Lil Rounds is up first with The Way You Make Me Feel. She started out a little off, like she was concerned about working the stage, or possibly falling off the edge, but she pulled it together a little better towards the end. She definitely has her own thing going on, but I don’t think this was the best we’ve heard from her.

What the heck is going on with Paula? Her face looks really bad, like too thin and too much makeup.

Scott MacIntyre is next and that surprises me, since this is the most forgettable spot in the line up. Maybe they decided that they don’t need him anymore. I mean, how many group dance numbers can they do on the couches. Scott is singing an MJ song called Keep the Faith, which I’ve never heard before. Really. Neither has anyone else in the room. It was OK. Kara is so happy with this guy. Apparently she thinks that she has a good chance with him since he can’t actually see how creepy she is. Honestly, its useless for me to even have any opinion at all, since the judges are falling all over themselves to tell him how awesome he is. Except for Simon, who I love, cause he tells the truth.

Danny Gokey sings P.Y.T.. As I may have mentioned, I liked this guy from the beginning, but they are pimping him too much. (As an aside, my family also used to make up songs for silly things like that, too, which almost makes me like him even more, pimping or no.) Clearly, he’s amazing. As Laura points out, he sounds like a guy in a gospel choir. Bottom line, the pimping is totally unnecessary cause he’s honestly so awesome. Paula is calling for Danny at the finals and I just mentioned Simon saying that about Carrie Underwood. The words were barely out of my mouth when Paula reminded Simon of the same thing.

Michael Sarver’s mom looks like she’s Pentecostal. Can anyone tell me if that’s true? Michael sings You Are Not Alone. I don’t really know this song either, but it’s nice enough and Michael does a good job of it. Great ending with the glory note. I like the guy, but honestly, I think this wasn’t too memorable.

Jasmine Murray is next. Guess what? She’s only 17. Bet you didn’t know that. Jasmine sings I’ll Be There. She apparently loves the movie soundtracks. Or maybe I’m confusing this song with Ben. Whatever. Jasmine does a barely passable job, with her voice straining and going a bit flat on the high notes. I’m completely uninterested in this chick and I can only hope she leaves before the Top 10 so I don’t have to deal with her during the concert.

Kris Allen is adorable. Its sad that he hasn’t had much air time til now. He sings another MJ song I don’t really know, Remember the Time. What’s with that? So many of them are not singing the more popular songs and I was alive when MJ was at the top of his game, so I should know most of these songs. This is clearly not Kris’ best performance, but since we’ve never seen him before except the one time in the semi-finals, we have no real way of knowing this. I think he’s gonna get a lot of the teeny vote which should keep him around for a while no matter how he does. The judges seem to like him and his mother was happy that Paula called him sexy, his wife appeared less so, especially when Simon said that Kris should have kept the wife hidden for a while. I kinda agree.

Allison Iraheta is clearly cast in the rocker chick role for this season. She’s probably the best rocker chick this show has seen in the last few years, but that’s not really saying much. Allison is also singing something I’ve never heard before, and I’m losing interest in this show so quickly, I’m not going to bother looking it up.

Anoop Desai is singing Beat It. Finally a song I know. Laura just said he’d better bring it. If he grabs his crotch, I’m leaving the room. Wait, did I just hear a little mumbling on the verse? Either way, it wasn’t too great. I wanted him to do something a little better with this than he did. Plus, the dancing was sad. Sadly, whenever I hear this song I always think about Weird Al’s Eat It (”get yourself an egg and beat it”). I think Anoop will be back next week anyway. At least he sang a song we all recognized.

Jorge Nunez sings Never Can Say Goodbye. I like his voice, he’s very smooth and easy listening and comfortable. I thought he did a good job, but the judges really didn’t. Laura and I are a little confused, cause he wasn’t even nearly as bad as the judges are making it sound. Maybe they are worried about him, so they are going for the pity vote.

As an aside here, Laura asks me, who else sang this song on Idol? I have no idea, so I start to look it up and come up with nothing. She insists. I ask, which season? Season 6? No, she says, earlier than that, like season 4. Was it Nikko she asks, and then corrects herself, no it was David Brown. I’m like David who? So we look up a list of Season 4, the first week of the Top 24 and guess what? David Brown sang Never Can Say Goodbye that week. This was four years ago and she remembers. I am truly terrified of Laura right now.

Megan Corkery sings Rockin’ Robin. Really? With all the MJ songs available this is the one she chooses? I hate her more with each passing moment. No, I really, really hate her. The fact that the judges like her makes me hate her even more, if that’s possible. She’s just awkward and her singing is weird.

Gordon Ramsey!! So where is NPH?

Adam Lambert. Maybe we will finally see something interesting on this sad, beknighted show. Adam is singing Black and White. He’s very comfortable up there and has that 80’s hair band lead singer sound to his voice. Adam is a star.

Matt Giraud sings Human Nature and he does a nice job of making it sound like the original but still be fresh. He’s using some sweet falsetto at the end, too. Justin Timberlake does Michael Jackson. But in a good way. He needs to stick around for a good long while.

Alexis Grace sings Dirty Diana. This chick has clearly taken Kara’s audition advice to dirty herself up. I’d be afraid to touch her at this point cause who knows where she’s been. Honestly, I’d even call her outfit skanky. Its almost a shame, cause she does a great job on the song, but I’m so caught up in the skank, I can’t concentrate on her voice. Thank you Simon for calling her out, “not as good as you thought it was.” I hope she cleans up a little for next week, cause she’ll be back.

If I’m losing two out of this crowd, I’ll easily part with Jasmine Murray and Scott MacIntyre. I can also lose Megan Corkery with out shedding a tear. I’m not staking my reputation on this or anything, but I’d say this is a good bottom three.

Now we have a theory about the “surprise” rule change for tomorrow. The obvious answer is that the judges will be getting share of the vote. Like America’s votes only count for part of who goes through and the judges count for the rest. But since I don’t believe the votes really count anyway, the whole point is moot.

This is the night we get the Top 12 on American Idol. Despite the fact that the show has been annoying so far this year, I’m still excited to watch tonight. Maybe it’s because they’ve been so very vague about what’s going to happen. And maybe it also has something to do with how predictable it’s been up til now.

Based on the order tonight, it’s clear that Anoop, in the pimp spot, is going through. Of course, this is all based on the judges, so I guess that doesn’t really matter.

First up is Jesse Langseth singing Tell Me Something Good, Rufus (feat. Chaka Khan). It was OK, but not the best ever. My husband said it was Hot. I do like that song, but I’m not sold on her talent. However, if we need another girl in the Top 12, she might not be a bad choice, cause at least she’ll be interesting.

Matt Giraud is up next. I like him, but he really didn’t show up last time. Now he is singing Who’s Loving You, The Jackson Five. Not that well known of a song, but it really allows him to show off his bluesiness. I’m not actually sure if this will save him or not, though, cause it might have been a little over the top. (Wow, see Kara agrees with me.)

I write my posts as the show is happening. Its crazy how often the judges repeat something I’ve just written, like they can actually see me. I know it probably comes across as me repeating what they’ve said. But I don’t. I really, really don’t.

Megan Corkery sings Black Horse and The Cherry Tree, KT Tunstall. I don’t like her voice and style at all and I’m not fond of this song, either, for that matter. No, no, you’re not the one for me either, Megan. I know she thinks she’s all that, but I don’t see it. The judges like her cause she’s a cute blond, but I don’t think they are gonna want her to split the vote with Alexis Grace.

Now we have Von Smith, previously known as (more…)

Thankfully, I wasn’t home tonight, so I get to fast forward through the American Idol cut and chop show. I did watch the dance number, though, even though my husband said it was like the Mickey Mouse Club. I like how they were able to keep Scott on the couch for the whole thing, even while moving people around. I must say, that I don’t care for the songs they’ve been using for the group numbers this year. I miss the medleys of random 70’s songs. Please, bring those back.

I’m happily fast forwarding through the recap from last night and Ryan chatting with the kids. So, first up is Lil Rounds. She is, of course, in the Top 12. Was there ever a moment’s doubt? I mean, from her very first audition to this point, did anyone not believe she was making it through?

Then we have Arianna, Taylor, Alex, Kendall and Scott up next. Only one is going through. (more…)

I’m looking forward to this, the last group of 12 to sing on American Idol. Not just because we are that much closer to finding out who the Top 12 will be so we can get started this year, but also because I think it will be interesting to see Scott MacIntyre in the dopey group sing and dance numbers tomorrow. Sorry, I am a little evil sometimes, but I just think it will be funny.

Simon has just proposed Simon Cowell week where he picks the songs. I think that’s a good idea, actually.

Unsurprisingly, Lil Rounds in the pimp spot. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have one guy and two girls go through this week, and since we know that the one guy is Scott McIntyre, unless he really messes up tonight, and the one girl is Lil Rounds, no matter what she does, this entire night is about finding that one other girl. So, therefore, this two hours is completely pointless.

First up this week is Von Smith. I thought he was a chosen one, but now I’m not so sure, cause he sorta got lost in the shuffle. He sings Marvin Gaye. Laura says “now he’s whispering” and my husband says “he looks like Donny Osmond.” He’s actually not bad and if he wasn’t so creepy looking, I’d rate him as pretty good. I hate to be a jerk, but his whole family needs to meet a good dentist. And Simon is right, he did look appalling.

Taylor Vaifanua is up next (I’m still not sure I got her name right but I don’t feel like looking it up). I don’t remember her too much, but they showed her missing the words in Hollywood week and yet she made the Top 36. It honestly doesn’t matter what she’s singing, because she’s not going to be here too long. Maybe the latex stockings are something all the cool kids are wearing these days, but they look stupid to me.

Alex Wagner-Trugman sings I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John. He is a little bit dork-like, but I like him cause he’s really an adorable dork. I think the judges aren’t taking him seriously, mostly cause they know that he has no chance. My husband said he’s like a little kid lost at the public pool. Poor Alex. If I thought the votes counted, I’d vote for him.

Arianna Afsar could be the other girl, depending on how she does tonight, cause she’s cute as a button. My husband thinks she looks like Jordin Sparks, but I don’t see that at all. No one caught the name or group of her song and no one here cares. My husband thinks its a movie theme. It was not good, which is sad, cause she really is adorably cute.

Ju’not Joyner is up next and he sings Hey There Delilah. Didn’t he sing this during Hollywood Week? Someone did and they did a much better job, as I recall. It’s OK, but not enough, in my opinion, to get him through tonight. It amazing me that all these weeks into it this year, no one seems to understand that slow and pleasant is just boring. No one remembers the pleasant ones. The judges really seem to like him, though, even pimping his kid, so maybe they want him to be the one guy who goes through in case Scott doesn’t make it. If he doesn’t make it through, I’ll bet he’s back on Thursday as a wild card pick.

I still haven’t been able to find out anything about the wild card show, like what are the rules and who chooses which people come back and all of that. But I guess we’ll see on Thursday night.

Kristen McNamara is next. “Where’d she get that 80’s prom dress?” asks my husband. I believe he is referring to the little flowery things on her shoulders. The little bit of purple in her hair made her stand out from all the other random blonds, I thought, but whatever. She is singing Give Me One Reason, Tracy Chapman. It was acceptable. But I just don’t think it was amazing or anything.

Maybe I’m optimistic, but I keep waiting to get blown away by someone’s singing on this show and that hasn’t happened in years. Laura says “this is excruciating,” when I point out that we’re only half way through this mess.

Next up is Nathaniel Marshall. He’s very dramatic and weepy, but he can carry a tune, or at least he has up to this point. He is singing I Would Do Anything For Love, Meatloaf, so let’s see. It would have been more fun to hear him sing Paradise by the Dashboard Lights. But that’s just me. He was only OK this week and I doubt we’ll see him again. My husband sees him in a Richard Simmons video.

We are commenting about how we’re actually looking forward to the commercials cause this is the longest episode of American Idol. Ever.

Felicia Barton is the one who took the place of Joanna Pacitti. She said she was hoping that the show would call her back after she was cut in Hollywood, but was she really? Does that normally happen? Does she mean that she somehow sabotaged Joanna? Felicia sings No One, Alicia Keys. This is not my style of music. At all. Beyond that I don’t know that like how her voice is all breaky. The judges really like her, so it’s possible they want her to go through and be one of the Top 12. They need some fodder, even in that group, cause only the Top 10 make the concert.

Next up is Scott MacIntyre. He sings Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby. If I already didn’t care for this guy, since he’s been pimped to the high heavens, I really wouldn’t like him now, cause I hate, hate, hate Bruce Hornsby. I have to plug my ears for a few minutes. And hide in the bed under my pillow. I’ll be back soon. It’s necessary for me to poll the in-house audience on this one. Laura says he’s better than she thought he’d be, but he still wasn’t great. My husband says it was very karaoke. I’m just glad I didn’t have to listen. I’m pretty sure the judges could not be pimping this guy more right now. They clearly want him as the one guy going through this week. Yes, Simon, in a sea of forgettable people, Scott’s the only blind one.

Kendall Beard, another interchangable blond is up next. She’s cute, but I honestly don’t remember her. She is singing a Martina McBride song that I’ve always disliked. But then I’m pretty anti-country music. She does not add anything to this song, talk about karaoke. She’s just basically singing it and not in a very good way. I feel confident that we won’t be seeing Kendall again, unless all the country music lovers have no idea who else to vote for. Paula tells her, “It’s pretty magical being on that stage, isn’t it. I hope you enjoyed it, because you’ll never be on that stage again.” Well, I added that part at the end but, be honest, weren’t we all thinking that?

Jorge Nunez is just barely remembered as a guy with an accent. He is also singing Elton John, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. I like this song and I like Jorge. I wish he was the one guy going through. Who knows, maybe he will be, cause little Kris Allen surprised me last week by making the Top 12. He’s smooth and slow and pleasant, but he’s not boring. You see, that’s how it’s done. Laura’s has just said, “he probably has the best voice out of anyone tonight.” I agree. But you will notice that the judges aren’t telling everyone that he’s going through.

Lil Rounds - in, as already mentioned, the pimp spot - is singing Be Without You, Mary J. Blige. Laura has called her this year’s Latoya London, but I think she’s more like Melinda Doolittle, but not as humble. Since there is absolutely no chance that Lil is not going through to the Top 12, it doesn’t even matter how she does on this song. But, in any case, she seems really comfortable out there, like she’s already a star and the judges are going to praise her up and down. You’ll see.

If I had my way, we would be putting through Jorge, Alex and Lil. (Not that I honestly like Lil that much, but I don’t there’s any stopping that train.)

What I think will happen is we’ll get Scott, Lil and one of the blonds or maybe Felicia so she can take the Top 12 spot they already had set aside for Joanna Pacitti.