Thursday, March 31, 2011

American Idol Results Recap: The Night I Almost Lost My Mind

Okee dokee! 'Tis time for the show of shows, American Idol. My greatest addiction.
Pizza + American Idol = Great Night. I think I'm ready. I'm super pumped, but maybe a little worried. We'll just see how it goes.

So my family and I have placed our bets on the bottom 4 and who goes home.
My predictions:
Bottom Three
1) Naima
2) Stefano
3) Thia

I refuse to think Paul will be anywhere near the bottom, because if he is, I'll lose it. And if he goes home, which he WON'T, I'll lose it and have an emotional breakdown.

Going Home
Naima and Stefano

Mom's predictions:
Bottom Three
1) Naima
2) Thia
3) Lucas Lanes (Stefano)

Going Home
Naima and Thia

Mi Padre's predictions:
Bottom Four:
1) Thia Megia
2) Lucas Lanes (Stefano)
3) Jamaican Girl (Naima)

Going Home
Naima and Lucas Lanes (Stefano)

Looks like we're mostly in agreement.

Just so everyone knows, this will be a stream-of-consciousness kind of recap/post. It's easier that way, and you get to read all my thoughts. You're pumped too, I know.
So let's get rolling...

Scotty and Lauren singing together? Cheesy, I called it. By the way, Lauren's new nickname is Lucy Lovelace, thanks to my Padre.
Wow this is SO corny! Mom said they're 16, 17 and it's so corny that they're singing that song.

And Alfred E. Newman and Lucy Lovelace (and her sister/mom) live to sing another week.

Wow that stupid message from the Idols was lame. Paul said, "Go watch the videos." Okay I will!!
Now the Ford music video... Perfect Pia, I know Paul's awesome and all, but come on, back off. You're way too orange for him anyway. Plus, you have a boyfriend! Yeah, a boyfriend. Best news of the day, so far.

Okay, I'm sending Paul some awesome fan mail. I've had it for a week now, I just gotta send it. He'll love it.

Naima and Jacob sing together. I didn't realize this was Karaoke Idol. Terrible.
Haha this song makes me think of SNL, when they sang "Solid as Barack." Better version, I'll tell you that.

Jacob looks like he's not breathing. He's praying so hard right now.
Naima is in the bottom. Looks like Padre, Mom, and I are 1 for 4 (3?)

Skipped through Fantasia, she sounds like she's 5. Jacob looks like he's about to bust out of his skin watching Fantasia.

Haley, Thia, and Pia.
"Teenage Dream?" Please, no.
All the girls are stand-dancing. Their heels are way too high to move anyway.

Pia is safe. Ugh. Haley is safe, Thia is in the bottom. We're all 2 for 3.

Love the Rockstar Life montage. Paul's suitcase has a Hightide Blues sticker! Woo hoo. Lauren's fall was funny.
Hahaha Casey had his stuff in trash bags and an office box.
Oh, of course Lauren got a tan. What about Pia? Because there's no way that orange is natural.

Paul, Stefano, Casey, James.
Wow Paul's voice is stunning in this song. Gosh I love him, especially when he rocks out when playing the gee-tar. He's the only one I'm commenting on.
Paul is in his element here, it's awesome.
Dude!! Poster that says "Paul Has American Dreams." Love it.

Moment of truth...
Casey's in, duh. James is safe, yipee! I bet Paul is freaking out like I am.
I think I'm gonna lose it. I'm pretty much about to cry, no joke. HOLY FRICKIN COW. Paul cannot go home, because no one wants to see my emotional breakdown.
Deep breath... I think Paul will be safe. He has to be, right?

Oh yeah, looks like Padre, Mom and I were wrong about Lucas Lanes. That makes me upset.

PAUL MADE IT!!!! This is the best new of the day. Holy crap I'm pretty sure I just had a near death experience.
Oh gosh I am so beyond relieved.
Paul, please bring it so hard next week! (This may or may not be a sexual innuendo.) I want you to stun the audience and rock it out.
Ahhh you're safe!! Pardon my mini-freak out. This was just very terrifying for me.

Bye, Naima and Thia. Looks like Mom was right about who was going home.

This was the most stressful episode ever. Time for me to pull myself together.
One last note, Paul needs to impress us next week, he needs to be the best of the night. I'm expecting amazingness!!!

Toodle-oo, everyone. Wish me luck in recovery.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

American Idol Recap: Elton John Night

Woo hoo! Elton John week! Hoping it will be a good one.
Let's kick it off, everyone. I need my Idol fix.

Scotty: Hahaha this made me laugh so hard: "Some people think he's a one trick pony, but it's the best trick I've ever seen." -Jimmy. Gee, thanks?
"Country Comfort"
He knows how to make any song country. No doubt he's talented, but he's getting boring to me. This song was not very exciting, and I think he could have done much better. It was solid, but like I said before, he's almost too good. He's consistently good though, and that'll get him through. At least Scotty busted out the ol' guitar, and showed a little variety. And oh, so cute, he said "Hi" to h grandma. Yeah he'll make it through again.
The judges, of course, loved him. Steven uttered some nonsense, JLo loved him, and so did Randy. By the way, Scotty copied Paul's talking to the audience thing.

Naima: "I'm Still Standing"
Like Scotty, she copied Paul's talking to the audience. Sorry guys, Paul has the charm to pull it off.
Why is she trying to be Jamaican? It's a little weird to me. I feel like Naima tried a little too hard. The reggae tune did not work at all for this song, and while Naima definitely has good stage presence, but this didn't do it for me. Not a fan of this performance. I love her ethnic vibe (I really do, it's something different), but this was forced ethnic.
JLo likes Naima, but not the reggae song, I'm definitely with her on that. Randy called it a little corny. That's exactly what I was trying to say! Steven says, "boom shaka laka laka, baby." Um...

Paul: So I've been hoping that Paul would play the piano this week, and maybe sing "Levon." I think he could do an awesome job with that song. Then, the show started and I saw he was wearing his rhinestone cowboy suit. Yess! Then during the intro I could've sworn I saw him singing with the lyrics to "Rocket Man." We shall see if I was correct...
Okay, love his band stories. The Grand Mags are amazing.
And I was correctomundo! "Rocket Man" is the song. I can recognize Paul from the back of his head.
Okay, a little pitchy at the beginning, but god damn, I'm pretty sure he was singing directly to me. The chorus was amazing, I couldn't stop listening. The last note was a little strange though. I love it when Paul starts stomping his foot when performing, it shows his passion and his involvment in the song. Paul can definitely do tender, he just needs to get into the groove of the song right away. The chorus was the best part, but I'm not blown away by the performance. Yearg!
Randy, you got your tenderness. JLo, I definitely agree that Paul needs to unleash all that he has, but not yet. He needs to wait at least another week to just floor us all. Everyone will become a fan then.

Perfect Pia: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
I didn't want to say it again, but stay the hell away from Paul! He's already bound to me for life, although he doesn't know it yet.
Yeah Pia, let's ignore the advice of the judges and sing another ballad. Oh and let's add a sunset background. Cheese-tastic. Okay Pia, I hate to admit this...but this was a pretty good performance. It was a more upbeat version of a ballad. Pia can hit just about every note ever invented (just listen to last few seconds, she got all of them in there). Some emotion came through, though I'm sure it was fear of falling out of her stripper shoes.
I agree with the judges, Pia did a good job. But she needs to sing something different. I'm thinking she could be an Adele type.

Stefano: "Tiny Dancer"
To start, I heard Stefano trying to sing this at first, and I couldn't help but think, "Paul should have sang this." Oh well.
Well at least Stefano tried to get more into the song, that's a nice change from him. It's definitely better than last week's performance. But because it is so distinctive, changing the song just a little bit doesn't work (seriously, it sounded a little forced to me). I'm torn, it was just okay. I wasn't blown away, but it was definitely better than last week.
JLo, please don't say Stefano's name wrong. Grr. The judges gushed over Stefano, and him being "so crazy young." Mi padre pointed out that the judges don't seem to care too much about Stefano. They know that he'll be gone soon.

Seriously, Paul should have sang "Tiny Dancer." That song was practically written for him. Gosh darnit! I'm a little worried about Paul's safety. Because it just hit me (again) that two are going home next week. Sigh...

Lauren:
Um...it normally takes her 10 minutes to put on makeup? Or did she mean 10 minutes for the mascara?
"Candle in the Wind"
By far the best performance she's had so far, in fact the best of the night so far. I'm not Lauren's biggest fan, but this made me reconsider. Wow wow. I even got goosebumps, crazy right? Lauren definitely impressed me tonight. If Lauren keeps this awesomeness up, she can consider me a fan! Not to mention she has variety, she's not like Perfect Pia the Ballad Robot. My only issue is her stage presence (or lack thereof). And now she's flirting with Ryan...
The judges love her, of course, and Steven REALLY loves her. They agreed with me, naturally, that it was her best performance so far.
I have to say, I feel like the judges and the show are really gonna push Lauren Alaina on America. They want a girl American Idol, after seasons of guy winners, and Lauren seems like a good pick. She's cute, just a little annoying, humble, fun, and has some discernible talent. Don't be surprised when you're forced to love Ms. Alaina.

Oh, and did you see her mom/sister? Lauren's mom is having a serious identity crisis. She keeps trying to dress like her daughter, or even younger. No one believes it.

James: I love seeing Twitch (kind of) mocking himself. Too cute.
"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
I'm glad to see him getting away from his strong Adam Lambert connection, going more rock than pop. But he does have Lambert's same awesome performance ability and stage presence. James knows how to engage the audience and have fun while doing it.
I'm so impressed with Twitch!!! He is so rock 'n roll and he pulls it off so well (not forced at all). Wow that was excellent.
JLo and I agree about James' performance ability. I want to watch him sing! Randy loved him, duh, and so did Steven. James totally deserved the compliments.
Hahaha!! Love that he said he wanted to avoid having a "Pepsi moment." Haha oh James.

Thia: "Daniel"
Whoa Jimmy gave her some tough love. Nice man.
Hmm... Felt a little too forced to me. Maybe it's because I feel like her voice doesn't fit her? I don't know. I wasn't crazy about it. Thia is so super cute, I just wish she was a little better! I don't know if we need her around anymore. I could feel her trying to show emotion (overemphasis on trying, because it was apparent she wanted us to know she was trying), but it didn't work for me.
Randy thought it was a little safe, and I agree. Maybe that will affect the voting and keep P McD safe?

Um Thia's brother's name is Kalea. So we have Thia Megia and Kalea Megia. Oh lordy...

Casey: "Your Song"
Casey cut his hair and trimmed his beard. Yipee! He looks a lot better now.
Interesting how Jimmy said about Casey being "humble". Interesting...
Casey brought his own charming, quirky touch to his beautiful song. He's shown his tender side here, and I have to say I Iove it. Especially when he can combine it with his raspy stuff, it adds something different. Wowzsers Cabrams! You deserved that save, pal.
And you gave me a newfound love for this song (also love Ewan McGregor singing it in Moulin Rogue. Swoon...).
Judges don't regret saving him, which is good! Steven rambled on about something with the last two notes? Huh? JLo looked like she was gonna cry when talking about saving Casey. Cute.

Jacob: "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word"
Oh lordy... I'm preparing myself for dramatic gospel.
Nice fog, that's not at all dramatic. I have to say, one of the best parts of watching Jacob sing is seeing all the ridiculous faces he makes. Amusing! My dad said, "Dude, why don't you just start crying?" Hahaha that's so Jacob, making ridiculous faces that look like he's about to cry. My dad is sitting next to me, attempting to mock Mr. Jacob, and it's amusing. Jacob bothers me so much. I want him to leave. His voice doesn't appeal to me at all. Nope nope.
Steven loved the first half, and the second half. So the whole thing...? Haha. Randy says he needs his "Jacob spot." Well okee doke.

Haley: "Bennie and the Jets"
Let me just start with, I want to like Haley. I hope she does well and redeems herself, or doesn't do well and leaves. We shall see.
Oh gosh, sitting on the piano? Not a fan of that. I liked it at the beginning! Until she sang, "Bennie and the Jets" for the first time. (Whenever I hear "electric boots" I think "electric boobs" like from 27 Dresses.) So, Haley definitely had some good moments. I can't really watch her sing, but I thought this was a really good performance. I was wondering why they were saving her for the end, and now I know why! She did well, her besg performance yet. Haley won't be going home, and she doesn't deserve to after tonight.
Randy, best of the night? I wouldn't go that far. Haley's best? Yes, for sure homes.

Alrighty, here's my final prediction. I can't remember if they do Bottom Four when they're eliminating two, so I'm doing Bottom Three
Naima, Stefano, Thia.
Naima and Stefano are probably getting the boot. I dearly hope there isn't a bottom four, because I'm a little nervous that Paul, my Future Fiancé, might be in the bottom. If I was a praying girl, I'd do that.
But instead, I'm going to go vote for Paul 200+ times.

Toodle-oo!

American Idol Top 11: Overall Recap

I'm new to the blogging world, so hello out there. It's 4 in the morning, so it's the perfect time to start a blog, right?

My posts will mostly be about American Idol, which I am absolutely obsessed with right now. There are some good talents, I'm enjoying the judges, and I'm in love with a contestant.
Without further ado, I'll start my overall recap/opinion of the Idols.

The Girls
Thia Megia: Oh Thia... First of all her name is awesome and hilarious, she sounds like she should be a cartoon character. And she dresses pretty cute on stage. But her singing...well I've been a little bored. All these ballads from the girls have bored me to death! I'm not really sure in which genre she belongs. Maybe it's the Disney genre, because after "Colors of the Wind" she is suited for a Disney Princess movie. She needs to step out her game or she's following Haley out of here.

Pia Toscano, a.k.a. Perfect Pia, Celine Dion Wannabe: First of all, Pia, I have a bone to pick with you. You need to back off of my man Paul. I called dibs on January 27th during his audition. Plus, he's clearly not interested in you. Second, stop being so perfect. WE GET IT!! With her perfect hair (weave??), in it's perfect glossy shade of black, and her skin the perfect shade of orange...I'm over it. I gained some respect for her during the wrestling montage with Paul and James, but it's tentative. Onto the singing, she needs to stop with the ballads. I don't want to see her stand behind the microphone like a robot again. When she sang "I'll Stand By You," I was a fan. But now, I'm over it. And I didn't like her year of birth song either, so I'm not sure what to do with her. Oh Perfect Pia...

Lauren Alaina, a.k.a. Steven's Pet: Please stop flirting with Steven and Randy or dancing next to them while they're in a chair, it looks like she's about to give them a lapdance or something. It's kind of creepy, seeing as she's 16 and all. And apparently, so is her mom, or at least she's trying to be. Look, I liked her in her audition. I tried to stay with it, but it was kind of hard to. Lauren has been getting slowly better, but if she wants to stay in the competition, she has to step it a bit.

Haley Reinhart, a.k.a. Mariah Barbie: Again, I tried to like her. I tried closing my eyes when she sang, which helped a bit, but not much. She just doesn't know who she is yet, which is fine and all, just a little confusing for everyone. Quite frankly, I'm surprised she wasn't booted out of the competition yet. Even Haley was surprised she hasn't left yet! She needs to stop experimenting and get down to business. Seriously. Or else Haley is out. In fact, I predict she leaves tonight.

Naima Adedapo: I loved her audition, loved her story, loved her uniqueness, but now.... Naima has fallen a little flat for me. The only performance I liked was "Dancing in the Street" because I loved the African dancing she did. I thought it was especially cool when iy started raining in the studio. Wowzers. I like her ethnic vibe because it brings something different to the show, but I think if Naima doesn't spread her horizons she'll be stuck.

Overall: The girls aren't very strong this season. I'm not really a fan of any of the girls, but I can only imagine how much people love Perfect Pia and Stephen's Pet. Fortunately for me, and everyone else, that means even more of the talented boys. Eff yes! But unfortunately for me, since people love Perfect Pia's Perfection, I'll be seeing a lot of her this season. Isn't it bad enough I have to see her on tour too? Booo.

The Boys (a.k.a. The Talent)

Stefano Langone, a.k.a. Lucas Lanes: "What the eff does his nickname mean??" is what you're thinking right now. At my house he is referred to as Lucas Lanes because he looks like the adult version of my brother's friend, Lucas. (Deal with it, it's his nickname for the short time he remains on the show.) Where to begin? Oh, yes, I think he needs to go. Last weeks performance was hard to watch and listen to. Snoozefest! Look, I'm not one who compares Idol performances to past ones, but David Cook did at least 50 times better with "Hello". Then again, David Cook is 50 times more talented. Stefano is rather boring, and when he whispered "I love you" at the end of last week's performance, I gagged and laughed at the same time. Super creepy. Good bye, Lucas Lanes.

Jacob Lusk: To be quite honest, we don't really listen to Jacob over here (mostly because I talk through it). He's getting on my nerves with his flamboyance, nothing wrong with that, I'm just annoyed. The judges seem to LOVE Jacob so much, but it's hard to hear him sing when you're busy cracking up over the ridiculous faces he makes when singing. I don't have much else to say. Just go back to singing at church, that way I'll never chance running into.

Onto the cream of the crop...

Scotty McCreery, a.k.a. Alfred E. Newman: Scotty looks just like the cartoon guy who is on the cover of MAD Magazine! No joke. Look it up, because I have no clue how to post pictures. Anywho, Scotty has the deepest voice known to mankind which always seems to startle and surprise me when he opens his mouth. For goodness sake, he's 17!! That's effin insane. Justin Beiber will never reach his level (speaking of the Beibmeister, I saw on Twitter that Paul called Scotty the country Beiber. Hilarious! And true). Stealing lines from my orthodontist, Scotty is almost too good... He is so consistent, it's almost annoying! But that doesn't stop the 12-14 girls (maybe even later, because most teenage girls don't know talent when it slaps them in the face) from voting for him because he's super cute. Give it up, girls! Scotty doesn't care about you all anyway. According to his Twitter, it was all Holy Sweet Jesus H. Christ that got him where he is today, not his fans, family, or even his own talent. Nope, it was Jesus. Of course it was, Scotty...

Casey Abrams, I call him Cabrams: Oh Casey, who plays the bassy... I'm a fan, of both Casey and his parents. They were frickin hilarious, and his dad looks like Mr. Magoo. Casey is a very talented performer, he can sing and play different instruments, yadda yadda. I loved his performance of "I'll Put a Spell on You," it was my second favorite of the Top 12 guys. Then "With a Little Help From my Friends" (or whatever the title is), he did a good job. And JLo called him sexy again, which is debatable. I thought his performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was better than the judges said. He took a risk and looked psycho in the process, but I thought he pulled it off. Then, Motown week was just weird for him. First of all, what was up with his whole look? His hair looked ridiculous, and he looked uncomfortable in what he was wearing. Second, I didn't think his performance was that great. The judges gushed over it, explaining their shock to his almost elimination. I wasn't too shocked. But the second best moment of the results show was when he was saved and said, "Oh my effing god." Classic! He deserved to stay just for that alone. He's in my top 5 favorites, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't win. Although my dad did call his win during his audition, and he's usually right about who wins. He predicted David Cook and Daughtery, and he should have won.

James Durbin, a.k.a. Twitch: Yeah, I know his nickname sounds a little mean, but it's term of endearment. My mom started calling him Twitch during Hollywood because she couldn't remember his name. Now it's become his nickname, and it sounds like badass wrestler or rockstar name. Plus, his tourettes are awesome. They really are (especially when Hulk Hogan came onstage, Twitch's reaction and facial expressions were amazing. This is not sarcasm, I love that James has tourettes, it makes me respect what he's doing that much more). My only issue with James is the scarf tail. I've been saying fRor quite some time that it looks like he's pooping a scarf when it's really long. Onto his singing, Twitch is very talented. Thank goodness Adam Lambert helped pave the way for musicians like James, because it adds something special to the show. When he rocks out and really gets into the song, he is fun to watch and listen to. I want James to go far so that we can see him sing with Steven Tyler. But if James starts going all poppy (pop-y, whatever) on us, he'll face my wrath.
Oh! And I loved the wrestling montage. I loved seeing that my two favorite Idols are buds and can have fun doing stupid stuff like that together. The pan was the best part! Not to mention Paul was excellent with his falls.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite Idol...
Paul McDonald, a.k.a. P McD and My Future Fiancé: Where to begin with Paul? I guess from the beginning (I'll try and condense). I originally refused to watch American Idol this season, but my darling mother convinced me otherwise, so I first watch Milwaukee and Nashville auditions. During Nashville, I saw this rather attractive guy sing "Maggie May" in a raspy, unique, and stunning voice. I was floored. Hollywood week rolls around, and I search for this Paul person. With no luck, I turn to the internet only to discover he is part of this AMAZING band, "The Grand Magnolias." I immediately bought it on iTunes. The next week he made it to the Top 24, finally featured on the show, and that's how I feel in love with Idol (again) and Paul McDonald.
Obviously, P McD is super cute, has a blinding smile, is charming, and all around amazing. Paul is easily one of the most talented this season, and possibly on the whole show. He can sing so well and stunningly, can play multiple instruments (guitar, paino - which hopefully he busts out tonight - harmonica, etc.), writes songs, and can dance, although it's not great dancing, I love it. Anywhoo, onto performances. Top 24, "Maggie May" = many hearts melted. He truly tells a story when he sings, and when he smiles he just pulls the audience in. His voice wss made for this song. "Come Pick Me Up" was not his best. At the beginning he was a little pitchy, but he picked it up at the end. The studio version of this song is great. "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" was a great performance, despite him being sick. Although it sucked to see him mess up the last note, and just a few other notes, overall this song was done beautifully. "The Tracks of my Tears" was probably Paul's best yet. He made it his own, busted out his rad new guitar, and melted hearts with his rendition. His eyes sparkled when he sang, and he really did sing it with the same passion he does with his own songs.
I cannot wait to see what P McD does tonight, but I really want to hear him do "Levon." Paul will make it pretty far in this competition, as long as America accepts unique artists. When Paul has his moment on the show, I bet we'll all be blown away.
I hope I've made my love and support of Paul abundantly clear.

Overall: Easy enough, the boys are the talent. A guy is going to win again, it's just inevitable. I'm very impressed with the boys this year, especially Paul, James, Casey. I bet the Top 5 will be 4 boys + Pia (unfortunately). You heard it hear first folks (folk?), there will be another male winner of American Idol.

So my Personal Top 5?
1) Paul
2) James
3) Paul
4) Casey
5) Paul

But if I take the other two Pauls out, I guess Scotty would take one place...

So there ya go! That's my take on American Idol so far. I shall post a review of their performances tonight or tomorrow.
Toodle-oo.