May 10, 2006

Mar 2, 2006:Ok. I admit it. I’m guilty. I’ve been sucked into - along with the millions of other fans - the new season of American Idol.

I discovered American Idol by accident the first season. Just happened to tune in one night while my son and I were on vacation. We had been out all day, and weren’t up for going out - so we stayed in the room. Turned on the TV, and there was Kelly Clarkson singing her heart out to Don’t Play That Song. From that moment on, I was hooked - hook, line, and sinker - and watched faithfully each week, pulling for Kelly, dubbing her my surrogate daughter, and cheering her on as a good mother would so lovingly do. And guess what? She Won! I was thrilled.
Season 2 - had absolutely no interest in the show. I had watched Kelly fight her way to the finish line, and just didn’t want to put that much energy into another ‘child.’ Sporadically over the next seasons, I’d tune in to hear the talent. None of the contestants, in my opinion, merited the same level of adoration as Kelly.

Now, we’re in Season 5, and the lineup of guys and gals are actually talented. Of course, I have my favorites - Paris Bennett, Mandisa, Taylor Hicks, and Chris Daughtry.

There’s others that are great too - Elliot, Gedeon, Melissa, Ayla. And there are those who never should have made it to the 24 cut, i.e., Stevie and Becky. They reminded me of Nikki from Season 1. Okay, maybe the voices are a little better - but not much. Although I think Ace is ‘hot’ - and has the ‘it’ factor, I just don’t think his vocals are strong enough to pull off a win. I can see him modeling and/or acting.

So, who’s my choice to take it all? (Updates follow as well)

During auditions, I picked Paris to go all the way. I still think she’ll represent the girls well, but it’s the fellas that are gonna take the prize - I like Chris.

He’s got it all - the dynamic vocals, the look, the personna. He’s unique, he’s comfortable on stage, he’s humble, and he’s marketable. Chris is gonna have an extremely successful career - with or without A.I. I’m betting it’s with A.I. (as it turns out, not with AI)

For more about Chris, check out the Daughtry Gang. Also Absent Element, his band’s site. Of course, there’s a multitude of links through American Idol.

To feed my addiction, I’ll continue to watch the show, and cheer on my boys, and girls. So, stay tuned - updates to follow.

3/9/06: Mandisa was definitely Queen of the night - sang “I’m Every Woman” - awesome performance. Simon stated she set the bar the others need to rise to. Katherine was great, too - singing “Freedom” - she really had fun, and used that word over and over during the post-performance interview with Ryan. Kellie sang “I’m The Only On” and was - as Simon referred to her - “quite the little minx” to which they had to explain to her what that meant. It was very funny. She may not have the best voice of the group, but she certainly has the best personality.

Ayla, Lisa, Paris et al - vocals were good - but, the judges still are waiting for them to prove themselves as idol quality - want to the see the youngsters perform music that’s ‘young’.

who do i predict is gonna get the boot? Gals: Melissa, and Kinnick. Melissa wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great either. and Kinnick - well, Kinnick went awol on the vocals midstream and never found her key again. Guys: Will, and possibly Kevin (unless he gets the sympathy vote), otherwise it’s sadly going to be Bucky (who I thought did a great job!)

And what about that “Taylor” dance last night! Loved it! > Outstanding performance was Taylor (the easter bunny). Of course, the ladykiller of the night was Ace and his falsetto! Loved Gedeon’s peformance. Kevin’s - boring. Will’s - mesame. Elliott needs to really pop it up, and Chris - love him, not my favorite song though.

(results recap: I wasn’t expecting Ayla to get the boot! I really thought it’d be Melissa, and Kevin got the sympathy vote. Gedeon - much better singer/entertainer. We’ll be hearing from Gedeon again!)

Well, now the real competition begins.

3/15/06: There were some really good performances last night, and some not so good. Once again, Chris rocked the stage; but so did Mandisa, Taylor, and Katherine.

Who’s gonna get the boot? Kellie was totally out of her element last night, Melissa squeaked out a decent performance, and Kevin’s “wearing make-up” and still has the underdog vote (I think Kevin’s there for the comedic relief!) - so, I’m guessing it’s Kellie’s turn to pack it up.

(results recap: Melissa’s going home, thought she would be gone last week, and was surprised when they x’ed Ayla instead! Ace in the bottom 3 - whoa! He truly looked worried as he stood out there. I think Lisa will be soon out of there though too! and Kellie - she can’t be Simon’s minx forever. and then Bucky will get the boot. [He's got a unique voice, and I can see him in a small circuit with limited success. Besides the voice tho, gotta have some showmanship to keep the audience enraptured, and charisma to keep them coming back for more.] Then, it’s gonna be tough - cause the remainder truly are talented. Is going to be interesting to watch!)

3/23/06: Pegged Lisa for departure - her number’s gonna be up soon enough. Was relatively surprised it was Kevin - especially with his sex idol stature now. I loved how Barry “Fanilow” mentored/worked with the kids this week - taking a vested interest in them, and creating new arrangements out of old songs tailored to each’s style - super cool of him to do that!

3/29/06: Wow - what a *horrible* night on Idol. 90% of them were off - wonder why? Last week, they worked with Barry Fanilow who made each of them shine, then they go back on their own and tank?

Best performances - Mandisa, Taylor, and Elliot. Taylor showed his range his range with “Trouble.” I love Taylor! - bet he’s fun to hang with.

I wasn’t thrilled with Katherine’s performance - she sounded way off - but, I think to discourage the public from putting her in the ‘bottom 3′, the judges, although stating it wasn’t her best, still praised her performance. Even Chris was off. Was there a full moon or some other forces wreaking havoc on the West Coast last night?

What I found interesting about this week’s performances - it was supposed to be of music from the past 6 years - contemporary. These are all young kids - so why would that be so challenging? They’ve mastered other genres which they weren’t that familiar with and pulled it off (well, most did). However, for the majority of them to have subpar performances, was almost as if it was all pre-planned and requested by the show to perform terribly. hmmmmmmmm!

Bottom 3 - Tough cause the majority of them all sucked. Lisa, definitely. Probably Bucky - ’cause he usually is. And the third - Ace. The boot? I thought Lisa should’ve been gone last week. She’s out of her league. Lordy, lordy - time for her to pack it in and go home.

(Results recap: In thinking about it, believe Bucky’s sincerity and wholesomeness has created a fairly strong following. Was mildly surprised Katherine in the bottom 3 - although, like i said earlier - her performance last night was subpar. And yes, was happy to see Lisa go home. Too bad they sent Chicken Little (Kevin) home last week. Even though he was quirky, he added something extra to the show. Now, Bucky’s turn is coming very soon - unless Kelly beats him to it.)

4/5/06: Nooooooooooooo. they booted off Mandisa! I thought Paris would be going home - especially after that crappy performance last night. Obviously, America’s not voting on performances anymore.

Well, this just lets Mandisa start her career a little earlier. Not only singing, but I heard on the radio today that she’s been approached by several plus-size agencies for modeling. She’s a beautiful woman, inside and out- and I know she’ll do well in whatever path she chooses.

(update: Found out some pretty hateful stuff happened during the time they announced Mandisa had been voted off. Damned hateful at that. Won’t post it here, but just goes to show the true idiocy of some people.)

4/13/06: This may be have been Ace’s last performance on Idol! From all the performances, I (regrettably) believe his was the weakest.

(results recap: Actually, he pulled an ace out of his sleeve. Guess his fans want him to stay around another week.)

(yep, missed a couple of updates. Not much hype really, Ace went home, and so did Paris.)

5/1/06 - As the show starts to wind down, voices are going to start suffering - as happened to Chris the other night. I like Chris, but I like Taylor, more. As a performer, Taylor has Chris, Katherine, and Elliot licked. He seems the most comfortable up on stage and has a hell of a good time. Nerves are obvious with Chris, Elliott, and Kat. [8]

Each has the potential to have a great career - but again, Taylor has the highest degree of “marketability” - with enough versatility to appeal to a wide variety of fans. Chris is going to be niched as a hardrocker, Elliott a crooner, and Kat - more of a power vocalist.

I’m shifting my money from Chris to Taylor. Check out the [9] Soul Patrol.

Update: 5/10/06 - Major upset!!! Chris was voted off the show. Truly hated to see that as another contestant who’ll go unmentioned should’ve been the one to have had her journey ended. The way the announcement was made was rather shocking; however, in hindsight, I understand the rationale. Ryan was JUST as shocked and wanted it to resonate to the masses. Already Chris has received offers, and I feel confident his future star will be shining brightly for many years to come.

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