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Ah, the guilty pleasures

Let us begin the annual ritual of voting! Yes, it’s American Idol time again. This year, there are 36 contestants left. 12 will sing each week, with only 3 people going forward to the Top 12 (the top guy and girl, and then the top vote-getter after those two). Then there will be a judges’ wild card round to round out the Top 12.

Note to all contestants after last night: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ATTEMPT to sing “iconic” songs or stylistically unique groups. No more Aretha, Whitney, Michael Jackson, or the Police. Performing one of those usually means one of two things: You are either terribly overconfident, or you are just plain stupid. You just run the risk of being compared to the original, and then the magic word “karaoke” is used. Avoid it. Just pick different songs, PLEASE.

Here’s who I think will get through this week: Danny, Alexis, and Anoop. Danny by far was the best performance of the night (and he’s easily the most likeable guy with the most memorable back story this season). Alexis did not have the best performance, but she was by far the best girl of the night. Anoop is a guess for me. I thought his performance was kind of stiff, but his voice is great.

Totally out and never coming back in the wild card round are Jackie, Stevie, and possibly Stephen and Casey. Jackie gave the most horrible rendition of “A Little Less Conversation” that I’ve ever heard in my life. She’s toast. Stevie is also gone, thanks to her inability to sing on key and in tempo in front of a live audience. The sad part is that she’s 16, and she probably would have done much better in a couple of years. But now, she’s automatically barred from trying out again since she made the Top 36. Stephen has major attitude issues that may come back to haunt him – and his singing a Michael Jackson song did him no favors. When even Paula says that “no one should sing that song but Michael,” you’ve picked the wrong song. Casey did no better by picking a song by The Police, and if that wasn’t bad enough, her mom then tells her how wonderful she did and how great she is. You aren’t helping out there, Mom.

I’m on the fence about the rest of them. Ricky and Brent kind of blended together for me. And in the words of Simon, forgettable = gone. I want to like Michael, because he’s a nice, solid family guy, but his dance moves were convoluted and his vocals weren’t too memorable, either. I’m betting that Michael makes it to the wild card round, since I think the judges like him. Ann Marie was unimpressive, and again, can we PLEASE stop with the Aretha songs???

Um, Tatiana. Unfortunately, she can sing pretty well. I say unfortunately because she annoys me to no end. She is the most self-centered drama queen that has ever graced the show. After hearing her explanation for her behavior during Hollywood Week, which was something along the lines of “I never know how I’m going to react in any new situation,” all I could think was, I never want to see this woman go through menopause. Oh, my. I’m sorry for the mental images, everyone. If she doesn’t make it through, the judges might pick her for the wild card round as well, simply for the entertainment value.

Those are my thoughts. We’ll find out tonight. And I have spent an entire blog post about this.

To balance it out, I leave you with something Ane said while “sewing”:

“Mommy, I like to sew. I like to sew and watch Food Network while I’m sewing.”

3 Responses to “Ah, the guilty pleasures”

  1. Ressis
    February 18th, 2009 07:32
    1

    Ane’s just carrying on the female traditions in our family: craft projects and multitasking.

  2. Aunt Lynda
    February 18th, 2009 09:28
    2

    I am in agreement with your assessment of AI last night. But for the wild card, I like Ricky Braddy. Because he was among the first to sing, you kinda forget, after 2 hours. But he made a good impression on me.
    And yes, please get rid of Tatiana. But who do you think votes, and votes many times? I think it might be a pretty young voting pool, so what do I know?
    But Alexis and Danny, yes. Was that a slip she had on? Sure looked like it. It had little adjustment thingies on the back of the straps and everything.
    ~Lynda

  3. Doc
    February 18th, 2009 11:02
    3

    Tatiana’s quote reminds me of a certain 6-and-1/2 year old who claims his lack of self-control is because he just can’t stop what he wants to do.

    It’s not pretty in a 6-year-old, and it’s DEFINITELY not pretty in a late teenager (how old is she anyway?)

    I didn’t know what to think when Danny said he’d do a Mariah Carey song. But whatever I thought of the song (meh) his vocal control and switch through to his head voice during one run toward the end was the most technically impressive point of the show.

    Of course, I’m just rooting for him because I’m married to a church musician. 🙂