The Road to Hollywood

Posted by admin on February 3, 2010

Well that was not worth staying up until 10. About 1/4 of a second of Ithacappella. And it didn’t even say who they were. At least it appears as though there are going to be lots of people who make it through in this episode. I’d still rather be sleeping.

Jessica Furney – Well she has definitely improved over last year’s audition. I’m not sure I like her, but it’s not every day you see that drastic of a change over the course of a year. I’m impressed.

Amanda Schectman – Boring. And I don’t like her personally either. She’s pretty annoying.

Lee Dewyze – His voice is great, but he should stop humming. That’s not quite as good.

Crystal Bowersox – Great, another dreadlocked person. And another person singing Janis Joplin. Fantastic.

Lacey Brown – I didn’t think it was possible for me to like her less than Megan Corkrey. I figured I’d talk about how she totally deserved to beat her out last year. But…she is equally as bad.

Rachel Hubbard – Boring.

Thaddeus Johnson – Way too many runs and such.

Genesis Moore – Yuck…she sang a Carrie song. Therefore she’s terrible.

Michael Lynche – Uh oh…Unchained Melody. Too many runs. This song shouldn’t be played with ever. And he totally didn’t hit the high note (I guess I don’t know that for sure because I don’t have any musical knowledge at all…but it didn’t sound good).

Didi Benami – I don’t like her voice. She reminds me of a combination of Brooke White and Megan Corkrey. And those are two of the worst people ever. But hey, at least she’s not Carmen Rasmusen. And she’s crying way too much.

Aaron Kelly – Hey, this is the kid I was told to keep an eye on because he’s from around Ithaca. He was pretty good for a 16 year old. I’d root for him. Just not to win.

Hope Johnson – Wow, they really played her up to be fantastic. And she wasn’t. She was really boring. And forgettable. Bleh.

So the audition process is complete. 181 people have made it through to Hollywood. No one really stood out to me this time around. I’m hoping that’s not a bad sign. There were some guys I really liked from Boston. Jermaine? He was good. And the beat-boxer. But I know he won’t win. If Blake couldn’t win, that guy definitely can’t. So I guess I won’t be picking a winner this year. Maybe I’ll figure it out next week.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll whittle the 181 down to 24. And more importantly…Ellen joins the judges AND…GROUP PERFORMANCES! The ultimate reality show (I never consider Idol to be a reality show, but Hollywood week…definitely is). This should be slightly more entertaining than the last 4 weeks and far less entertaining than the following 14.

Until then…

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Denver!

Posted by admin on February 2, 2010

Back in the city that brought us Chris Daughtry. When Simon said no to him. Stupid Simon. Interesting…David Cook is on the backdrop, but Jordin is now gone.

Mark Labriola – Well there’s a different story. Kidnapped by his mother. He was really good. Really really good. Hmm…I liked him better before he cried.

Kimberly Kerbow – She’s really annoying. As is her daughter. She wasn’t good at all. She was terrible. Ugh. Heh…I was gonna say that she looked like she was wearing a wig. And then Simon said it. And Kara and Posh agreed.

Danelle Hayes – What a whiner. “Getting into the music industry is so hard. Sob sob sob. I’m the only one who has struggled in this business. Whine whine whine.” Hmm…so apparently if you cry in the audition, it means you wear your heart on your sleeve, and it doesn’t really matter how well you can sing.

Casey James – Booooring. I agree COMPLETELY with Simon. No charisma, no effort. This is such a stupid show. He has now taken off his shirt. Why do I watch this? It’s for my fans.

Tori Kelly – Boring. And sounds really young (because she is). Wow, Simon and I are on the same page tonight. He called her voice annoying. Posh says women are going to like her. I may not be the BEST representative of women, but I don’t like her.

14 made it through from Day 1.

Whoa…they’re playing a new Katharine song! That’s something. Maybe they’ll invite her on to sing this season.

Nicci Nix – Wow…this girl is super annoying. I feel like someone with such an annoying speaking voice should not sing such a stupid song.

Haeley Vaughn – UGH. NO ONE should be allowed to sing Carrie songs. She didn’t even get the words right. She should have said, “I don’t even know MY last name”. Come on now. Although I am always biased against people who sing Carrie songs…in this case, I just thought she was terrible. And it was made worse by the fact that she butchered a Carrie song.

26 people total from Denver. It started out REALLY well. And went downhill from there. Really far. Oh well. Only one more day of auditions! This one is labeled, “Road to Hollywood”. I think they did this last year – showed auditions from throughout the process. To show off some of the people who didn’t get airtime before. That’s nice.

I will tell you in advance, there is a slight chance that my blog will not be updated immediately after the show tomorrow. It’s airing at 9, which…if you know me, is my bedtime. I know I have to eventually make it til 10 once the 2-hour shows and 9:00 results shows start, but I figure the auditions are less important. Besides…who reads this anyway? You can wait til Thursday. :)

Until then…

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Dallas!

Posted by admin on January 27, 2010

Yay! Neil Patrick Harris! “If I can make two, three dozen people cry, I feel like I’ve done my job.” If he took Simon’s place next year, I might be slightly happier. Can you imagine Neil Patrick Harris and Ellen? That would be AWESOME.

Wow…look at those first season auditions. Look at Simon’s hair!

Lloyd Thomas – Charles Grigsby sang this song! Aww…I miss Charles. He was so cute. This guy is pretty good. Not as good as Charles of course. And not nearly as cute. But very good.

Kimberly Carver – Aw, she was good until she pulled out the Carly-esque screeching. Hmm…they’re trying to create a Neil/Simon fight like the Kara/Katy fight from last night. I think she seems pretty nice. So I’ll give her a second chance.

Erica Rhodes – Yuck. There was nothing good about that. That was one of the worst things I have ever seen.

Dave Pittman – Another Arkansas boy. He’s certainly not Kris. I’m not sure. He has a nice voice, maybe it was just a bad song for me. I like him, I’ll give him another chance.

14 made it through on Day 1.

Sadly, Neil couldn’t stay for Day 2 (he wasn’t kicked out like Avril Lavigne was). Which means we’re stuck with a stupid Jonas brother. Joe I guess. Bleh.

Todrick Hall – He was in The Color Purple with Fantasia. Which I was initially unimpressed by because Fantasia is among the worst Idol winners. But this guy was good. I was a big fan. Cool song too. His voice was a teensy bit shaky, but it’s tough to not be shaky when you’re auditioning a cappella for the country’s biggest TV show.

Dawntoya Thomason – Meh. Boring.

Stephanie Daulong – Umm…how did she get through? That few seconds was absolutely awful. Maybe worse than Erica.

Maegan Wright – Kris sang this song. Better. I wasn’t a fan. Although it did make me want to start listening to last year’s stuff.

Hahahahaha! Ryan’s stupid thing about how hard Simon has it was in fact stupid, but I enjoyed the fact that when referring to finding someone “special”, they only showed 5 of the 8 winners. Kris and Carrie of course. And Jordin, David, and Kelly. Stupid Ruben, Fantasia, and Taylor. Nobody likes you.

Christian Spear – What is she wearing? Jonas boy looks like he wants her. I didn’t really like her. She was kinda boring.

A total of 31 made it through from Dallas. I liked Lloyd and Todrick. I kinda liked Dave.

Next week, we move to Denver (where apparently Posh Spice returns). Last week of auditions! Hooray!

Until then…

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LA!

Posted by admin on January 26, 2010

I just watched the Idol intro for the first time. I like how Carrie and Kris get to be front and center at the end. :) Who decided to let Avril Lavigne judge? And what is she wearing? Bleh. And Kara couldn’t possibly be wearing any more makeup.

Jim Ranger – I like this guy. Great voice, seems very nice. Avril is discouraging him because he has a family. And she said NO! And Kara strongly considered saying no. Who are they to question whether or not he is capable of balancing a singing career and his family? Last I checked, singers can occasionally have families. And last I checked, this is a SINGING COMPETITION. Right, Simon?

Mary Powers – Carrie sang this song. She apparently messed up the words, but it was still awesome. I don’t really like this girl. I think the rocker chick thing is out. They never do well. Of course Avril puts her through though. The other guy had a way better voice and much better stage presence.

AJ Mendoza – (This guy didn’t make it through, but I can’t help but comment) Adam Lambert apparently had nothing but great things to say about his voice. Hmm…he does sound like Adam. Maybe they’ll do a duet some day. And sound awful together.

Oh good, they kicked Avril out after Day 1. Let’s see if Katy Perry is any better.

Andrew Garcia – Woo! Maroon 5 song! I’m not sure I’m a huge fan, but I love the song choice. Actually, it got better as he went along. So I change my mind. I’m a fan. His wife has really ugly hair though. And I got bored watching everyone cry in his intro package.

Tasha Layton – I don’t like her. She also got slightly better as she went on, but I’m still not a fan. I didn’t like all of her high notes in the beginning. They were a little on the squeaky side.

Hehehe…I like Katy Perry. She’s getting on Kara’s nerves, and that is AWESOME. Stupid Kara. Let’s have Randy, Simon, Ellen, and Katy instead.

Chris Golightly – Parts were really good. Other parts were not so good. But he seems a tad boring. I agree with Simon – nice voice, old fashioned, I’m not jumping out of my chair.

That’s it – 22 people made it through from LA to…LA. :) This was actually the first episode since Boston where I’ve been somewhat encouraged by the auditions.

Tomorrow night we head to Dallas. After that there’s only one week of auditions left! Then 2 weeks of Hollywood. Then, finally, the real show.

Until then…

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Orlando!

Posted by admin on January 20, 2010

In Orlando…hoping tonight will be better than last night. David Cook now has a chunk taken out of his face by the mid-Atlantic states. In case you were keeping track of the backdrop.

Seth Rollins – Katharine sang this song. :) I don’t really like this guy. He’s pretty boring. And when he tried to get less boring at the end, he sounded warble-y.

Jermaine Purifoy – He reminds me of Charles Grigsby. Very cute. I like him. I think this is the second Jermaine I’ve liked (I think that was the guy’s name from Boston).

Shelby Dressel – I like how they keep zooming in on her face. Way to make her feel comfortable, guys. That said…I don’t like her at all. She’s got about 5 pounds of makeup on and she sounds gross. And she forgot the words. And she swore.

18 people made it through from Day 1. We saw 3. And a stupid montage to a Disney song.

Jay Stone – Ooo…this guy could have a beatbox-off with Blake. And it would be AWESOME. I can’t believe you, Randy. “Wait, there was a guy a couple years ago, wasn’t there? A beatboxer?” HE CAME IN SECOND PLACE. I hate you, Randy Jackson.

Janell Wheeler – Don’t like her.

Brittany Starr James – Don’t hate her.

Kasi Bedford – Somewhere in between, but closer to not liking her. She does have the K-Lo cracking sound in her voice though.

Cornelius Edwards – It’s a bad sign when I have to rewind the Tivo to get his name because I didn’t think he had ANY chance. Not good.

Bernadette & Amanda Desimone – Fantasic…more moronic girls with pounds of makeup. Just what this show needs. They’re gross.

Matt Lawrence – Great…a child felon. I generally have a soft spot for country guys. But I don’t like this guy. I wasn’t a fan of the voice.

31 total get through from Orlando. I liked Jermaine and Jay.

Next week they go to LA (where the contestants can say, “I’M GOING TO…here…”). Hey, only a month til the live shows start!

Until then…

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Sad News

Posted by admin on January 20, 2010

Bad news – I accidentally deleted a file that deleted my entire blog.

Good news – My hosting service recovered the file.

Bad news – The recovered file is from December. So if you wanted to know my thoughts about Boston or Atlanta…you’re out of luck.

Good news – I learned my lesson and will no longer delete files unless I know what they do.

:)

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Chicago!

Posted by admin on January 19, 2010

Going to Chicago! Only a one-hour episode (hooray!) And David Cook and Jordin Sparks have joined Carrie and Kris on the backdrop.

Katelyn Epperly – Starting off with a broken family sob story. Fantastic. I don’t like her. And I don’t like her sob story. You know how many people’s families are falling apart? I can’t believe she got FOUR yeses.

Charity Vance – Ugh. What is wrong with the judges tonight? She was terrible too!

Angela Martin – She’s at least not terrible. I don’t really like her style, but she’s a good singer. Unlike the other two.

7 through from Day 1.

John Park – He wasn’t that great either. I think they’re just picking people because everyone is bad. And just when you thought Idol was cleaning up its innuendo-filled act…here comes Shania Twain!

Paige Dechausse – I don’t like her either! What a terrible night. Stupid Shania Twain.

Justin Ray – Screamy. Not good.

Keith Semple – Not awful, but kinda shaky. Probably my favorite of the night, but that’s not saying much.

Marcus Jones – Not good. Not even a little.

13 total from Chicago – lowest total so far. It was a rough episode. I was not a fan. Basically Chicago brought us a whole bunch of mediocre singers and a few sob stories. My favorite.

Orlando is up tomorrow night. Maybe we’ll get some more idiotic blonde country girls.

Until then…

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Thoughts on Ellen

Posted by admin on December 30, 2009

There’s all kinds of opinions about Ellen as Paula’s replacement. “What does she know about music?” “How is she qualified to judge a signing competition?” “OMG, I LOVE ELLEN!” Me…I take the latter opinion. :)

Seriously though. There’s 4 judges. A couple producers and a “singer”/songwriter. Do we really need to have a (real) singer too? I mean, how many people complained about Paula? She was a singer. I believe it’s actually harder for the singer to critique because they know how difficult it is to sing live (we’ve seen how poorly some of the icons have done as guests on the Idol stage…ahem, Diana Ross). Think about it. As you sit on the couch watching Idol every Tuesday, do you just sit idley (hehe) by and listen with no opinions? NO! I would bet that you get totally into it. You’re bashing people, praising people, commenting on attire and hair. You are being a judge. What do you know about music? I’ll tell you what you know. You know whether or not you like it. THAT’S ALL THAT’S IMPORTANT. Why shouldn’t there be a fan on that panel? And not just any fan…a SUPER fan. I think Ellen is going to be fantastic. Besides, wouldn’t you like to hear a judge say something that you as a fan might be thinking instead of having to sit through another season asking yourself, “What does artistry mean? Who was pitchy, dawg? What does that analogy even mean?” I thought so. Bring it on, Ellen.

Until then…

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The Beginning of the End?

Posted by admin on December 30, 2009

This season of American Idol brings some major changes, most notably the loss of Paula Abdul. Paula was replaced throughout the audition process by various guest judges, including Posh Spice. Eventually, though, it was Idol fanatic, Ellen DeGeneres, who nabbed the coveted seat between Simon and Randy (I’m pretending that Kara doesn’t exist…it keeps me happier). Will this be the beginning of the end?

Well…yes and no. I think the show is winding down, and I don’t expect them to go beyond 10 seasons – though I would like to see a 10th…perhaps the Idol All-Stars I’ve been dreaming about for years? But I don’t think it has anything to do with Paula leaving or Ellen arriving. I think it has everything to do with Kara arriving. No, that’s not even true. All good things must come to an end. And to be honest, for as popular as it has been, Idol hasn’t really done its job. Kelly and Carrie. That’s it. In 8 seasons, it produced TWO superstars. Sure, Ruben sold a lot of albums, but how did that second album do? Being a superstar means having staying power. Kelly has 5 (?) albums, Carrie has 3. Between them they have about 3 zillion awards and have sold about 10 zillion albums. Ruben, Fantasia, Taylor…no one even knows who they are anymore. Even Clay. Even I don’t like Clay anymore. Jordin had a little success after a horrible beginning, but seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. David played at the MLB Home Run Derby and Carrie’s Christmas Specacular (which was anything but). And Kris? Well…he has the dubious honor of selling fewer albums in his first week than any other previous Idol winner. No one talks about Adam since his first week insanity. Daughtry’s doing okay.

Two superstars, a bunch of flavors of the week, a few complete bombs, and a couple of hard-working rockers. Not so good. And ratings are dropping (to an ABYSMAL 28 million viewers). So it’s probably time to start thinking about packing it up. I’m sure Simon will bring X-Factor to the States and then I’ll have something new to obsess about.

Until then…

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