THIS is AMERICAN IDOL!

<i><b>THIS</b> is AMERICAN IDOL!</i>

IDOL IS BACK!!!

Friday, February 26, 2016

Double Eliminations?

Say it isn't true! Last night on the Fox11 news they said "In just five weeks a new American idol will be named". I also heard them say something about double eliminations last night on the show. Are they really giving us an abbreviated version for the final year? Its bad enough that its the top 10 instead of 12...but to give us only 5 weeks....that would really really suck.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Top 10? or top 12

So I'm very confused about the format this year. We are down to the top 14 (I think). And they keep talking about a top 10. I have heard rumors that the judges are picking the top 10 and the audience will pick the two wildcards (LAME!). But that means only 2 get eliminated? (Double Lame). Why do they keep messing with the format. That is part of what has killed the show. They should have returned back to the original format...get rid of the "judges save", go back to 2 nights and get rid of the stupid chairs lighting up...... Anyway. There is some good talent this year. I know that they really want a girl to win it, but I still see Dalton as the most easily marketable. I LOVED his version of Rebel Yell...very sexy. My second pick is La Porsha, but is American Idol ready for someone who doesn't fit the "physical profile" of an American Idol. I know Ruben Studdard didn't either (Or Taylor Hicks for that matter), but despite her talent, La Porsha is a little too "Urban" for the American Idol base. Its sad, because she probably has the best voice in the group. That others that will stick around for a while: BOYS - Trent (although he really reallyl REALLY bugs me), Mackenzie and Thomas. GIRLS - Jenn (Who I also don't love), Olivia and Tristan...oh and Gianna (because they love pimping that she is the daughter of that 80's star - although I have to wonder, with her connections, if she really HAD any talent, why haven't her mother's connections helped her catch a break. I hope that freak cowboy girl goes home!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Idol Throws Some Faves Under The Bus

Catch-up night!

Week 2 of Idol Solo/Duet/Mentors, whittling down the last of the top 24. Ryan finally put a jacket on, so it must be getting real. JLo looks like a Skipper doll from the 1960s, however.

Thursday night: duets with former Idols Daughtrey, Constantine, Haley Reinhart, David Cook, Pickler and Jorbacca.

Harry calls out the singers for “hovering in mediocrity” in the solos. Let’s see if they bring it tonight.

First up, Pickler and Amelia. Suds in the Bucket. Seems like a stretch for Amelia, but is she going to bust out the fiddle? yep. Her awkward playing reminds me of Hot Fiddle Guy from back in the day! She can’t hold a candle to that dude LOL. Harmony was OK.These pairing thus far have made me appreciate how good the old Idols are. Harry loved it? Keith too. Maybe this saved her.

Next up, Haley and Kory. She’s so cute! Doing Bennie and the Jets. The Lounge Version? I thought it was great! Even harry loved it.

Next Daughtrey and Lee Jean. The kid loves him. Daughtrey tries to school him. He has a good voice but I keep thinking he’s out of his depth. The judges are taking it easy on them tonight. There’s no way this was as good as the first two.

Cookie is next! With CJ. I was a big fan of Cookie in the day. Cookie helps him with working to a build. Will he do it? It starts off kind of vanilla. Cookie is good as always. CJ did OK. He’s a pro so this isn’t too intimidating. I think he did enough. But maybe this is about who to stack up against the TCOs?

7’6” Jorbacca is paired with Manny. Doing the Chris Brown duet, I remember hating this song. Jordin tries to make it seem like she put a lot of emotion into this song when she did it. Puh-lease. And she sucks from note one! Just like I remember. Is she auto-tuned to boot? It sounds weird, like he’s doing karaoke to a back-tracked recording of her song. He’s much better than Chris Brown. Afterwards she actually makes a short joke at Ryan’s expense! LOL Jorbacca, he has the power to snatch your feeble fame away. The judges like him.

Constantine and Jenn the freakazoid. I always liked Constantine and his eye-fucks. And he’s gone on to do great things on the stage. Doing My Funny Valentine? Her opening is more craptacular than I expected. He’s perfectly in tune, highlighting her odd shtick. This is even a song that seems tailor made for atonal weird singers, and she’s murdering it (the bad murder way). Keith is standing? WTF? I would only be standing to flee from the presence of this Banshee. JLo says she was in her own world, remind me never to go to that planet. Harry keeps it real thank God. Keith has lost his damn mind. Am I wrong or did that SUCK?

Holy cow, we’re only halfway through.

Pickler and Tristan. She did a song with T-Swift? Who knew. Kellie is so sweet, she makes a good mentor. Tristan seems a little off, but this song seems like it’s tricky in the low register. They both get sharp in the high end. It was not great in my book. I like Tristan but she has done better. She may be out of her league like Lee.

Next up, they trot out Scott Borschetta to give his two cents. Nice sci-fi tux jacket.

Cookie and Olivia are up next. She has a voice, no doubt. Last night they gave her the pimp spot, but not tonight — is this going to blow (not the good blow)? I’m digging it so far. I thought Cookie was going to projectile that gum out of his mouth on those highs. It was pretty good from a vocal gymnastic perspective. BTW we should make a new drinking game called Find (or Stay) in the Pocket. The judges like it.

Haley is teaming up with Adam, doing The King. Did they just fake hug each other? That was odd. She looks like Nancy Sinatra after a Quallude binge during rehearsal. They sound great together doing the song, but he looks like a humanoid robot the whole time. Keith seemed to have the same vibe. I think maybe he’s gone?

Daughtry and Dalton — doing Higher Ground. Ricky Minor was getting down! They sounded good together! It seemed like a show and not a contest where Dalton wasn’t a pro. He has to go on.

Then Ryan raps, and it was hilarious. Don’t ever do it again.

Jordin and Trent. She trembled in the presence of his actual talent. I didn’t know he was 7’ plus but he didn’t seem as tiny next to her. He has way more soul than her and it shows. He makes her sound better! This was a great duet. Surely to God he has to stay.

Last up, Constantine and Shelbie. She’s just as big a personality as he is so this should be good. NIce touch at the end where they balance out some of the bombastic with the softness. Wow, they really go after her! They have good points but it still seemed like they sugar coated some far more mediocre singers tonight. Maybe she’s a diva offscreen, who knows?

So the vote is about to come down. We’re going to see how we stack up:

Stay: Olivia, Dalton, Trent, Kory, CJ, Manny, Shelbie (have a feeling we could be swapped on some of these)

Gone: Jenn, Lee Jean, Tristan, Adam, Amelia.

Ryan reminds us next week we get to vote!

Kieran (the Light Dimmer) is going to have to find a new job LOL.

Right off the bat we get Lee wrong. Wha? Seems like a mistake. Then Olivia — then — fucking JENN? OMG, this is an abomination. Dalton of course goes through, if not I was going to bring pitchforks and torches to Fox. Manny is in, And so is Tristan? This seems like some kind of cruel joke. Thank God Trent went through.

Call me crazy, but that was a lot of talent going home, and a lot of filler staying on. Well, I guess they need cannon fodder. It wouldn’t be Idol if they didn’t make some idiotic choices.

What did you guys think? See you next week!

Dr. L and K OUT!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

The A Team Steps Up -- Or Rather, Some Did

We’re a day behind!

Week 2 of Idol Solo/Duet/Mentors, whittling down the last of the top 24. Ryan is still in Casual Friday dress mode, so this is still not serious I guess.

Wednesday night: solos.

First up, Shelbie. She’s playing to the fanbase with a Gretchen Wilson country song. It’s a pretty safe performance. Should have kicked it into a higher gear? Judges were lukewarm.

Manny: doing Coldplay? I don’t know a lot of them beyond the top 2-3 hits, didn’t know this one. It’s as bland as any other one though. He’s an energetic performer, just wish he’d picked another song.

Cory: doing Let it Go from James Bay. He has a nice tone to his voice. So far all of these guys seem more like pros than last week’s bunch. Still just as middle-of-the-road for me, however. They all seem capable of more. The judges seem to agree.

Amelia: the quirky girl who brought the sword to audition. Doing Wake Me Up. She seems nervous, did she get ahead of the music? Weird song choice, does not seem like her wheelhouse. Harry tells her to go with the quirky LOL!

Jenn is another weird one. Doing f’ing Beiber? My god I’m so over her voice. This sucks from note one for me. The crowd must know this one, maybe I’m too old but this was cringe-inducing for me. The judges take it easy on her for the most part.

CJ: doing Edwin McCain. His voice is pleasantly melodic after the previous trainwreck. I’m over this song, but he does a good job. The judges like it a lot. Note to Idols: wear black to help hide the sweat.

Next, Lee Jean. Doing Runaway by Ed Sheeran. Cute kid. Nice voice. This still looks like an early round performance though, right? I think he needs to bring more. If they keep him it will be in spite of this. Another odd song choice.

Trent is another quirky guy who loves hats. Doing Chris Stapleton. I hope he goes through, I would like to hear more of him. This seemed like a genuine performance. Harry is in a mood tonight, so he was light on praise. But the others dug it.

OMG 15 Tristan is up now. Doing Carrie Underwear. She has a good voice for Country. Maybe not enough gas in the tank for this, not quite? But she hit some big notes. A little wonky in spots. I like her though. It’s a night of odd choices.

Adam shows us his penis guitar? Weird. Wow, dig his gold shoes. I missed whose song is this. It was a little too much going on for me. The judges call him on it.

BTW the McConaughey Lincoln commercial with the dogs was precious.

Dalton doing Billy Idol! It’s a brilliant gamble. Can he pull it off? This is a cool arrangement. I will remember this, for what it’s worth! The judges like it too. I think this was smart and he did a good job. He’s been my Number 1 so far, and remains.

Olivia is up next. I know absolutely no Demi songs. I can’t believe Demi has this range! Has she been hiding this voice so far? I knew she could sing, but this is more than I expected. Not sure about the performance as a whole, but man can she blow !!!I think we have a horse race now, people.

I know the results are already revealed but we’re still behind a day. We’ll catch up tomorrow!

Dr. L and K OUT!

Friday, February 12, 2016

Down to the First Seven of the First Half of -- OK We Got Rid of Five

Down to 24, still don’t know what JLo and the others saw in some of these people. This week we will see the first 12.

 Then we get down to 7, so we will have a Top 14? I guess we will roll with that.

There are some strong contenders - looks like after the Ryan-lite early episodes we are gonna see more of Seacrest. When he walks out on stage he is styled like a character from SNL skit about a German pop show. 

  Tonight and tomorrow is a combo/solo duet round,  we will see the hopefuls paired up with former Idols.OK, let's get into it, our first overly-long analysis of the season :)

   Stephany N  - wants to learn languages will be hard to overcome the bitch-tag she got form Hollywood.  Jessie J song Mama Knows Best.  it was a clinically good performance, all the right elements, but is emotionally disconnected.

   Mackenzie B  - always looks like a teen clone of John Mayer. That's not a bad thing! Say Something -  this was a safe song choice, but he showed that he connects with the audience and he should do okay with the fan girls/boys.  Is it me, or are the acoustics in the room weird? 

 

  Where are they?  Ryan says downtown LA - the Hollywood Report says The Vibiana.

 

  Jeneve M:    Angel Sarah McL - really beautiful and strong first showing. Gave Dr L goosies! Impressive makeover,  only concern that she kind of seemed chained to that harp. How will she perform without a big instrument to hide behind?

   Jenna R  - My Church by Maren Morris  If we saw her before she was not memorable.  Country song - Keith loved.  What she has going for her is  - she is that she has the right look and sound to be a viable alternative to the harsher sexiness to the girls like Stephany.

  James VIII -  Love Lockdown - Kanye. What?  Never heard this Kanye song, so this has to be better than the original.  This was just an okay performance, Dr L thought it was better to have picked a soulful tune that was meant to be played that way.

  Sonika,  also tainted by the bitchiness of Hollywood Week.  T Swift - song I don't know.   Looks like a prom dress!  She is at least closer in the ballpark than James, showing what she is capable of. Mix of good and bad for K.  Dr. L thought she can sing, but not super interested in that song.

   Gianna I: I Put a Spell on You. Hate it when the Idol producers don’t go back to the original song - only credit the latest version of it as a Annie Lennox tune, not Screamin' Jay Hawkins or Nina Simone.   This seems like a song choice her mom made. Am I the only one sick of the mom-who-knew-Jlo-back-in-the-day?  Bad choice, seems like a little girl singing a grown up song.  Clearly has a big voice but not sure that this was the best tune  - didn't seem believeable. 

  PS her dress looked like a sack.

  Emily B:  I am Invincible?  Cassadee Pope song.  Weird key or not in a key she can sing in - terrible performance.  Pitch off the entire song,  and poor song choice since we have to wait through the really low notes.  And as judges said - no emotional connection to the song.

  Avalon: Tomboy, keeping the schtick going about no makeup, but I noticed she glammed it up toward the end of Hollywood Week? Now back to low-maintenance.   Love Yourself - Justin B.  Don’t get her at all - she just sounds like she is ‘singing along’ to the song on the radio. Completely lethargic performance, but they fall all over her?

   PS -- I hate it when a singer says ‘come on’ and encourages audience members to get into it, when nothing about the performance warrants it. Just shut up already and sing.

   Jordan Sasser: All by Myself  - Celine Dion arrangement.  Looks much better with a hair cut , need to work on his body language on stage.  Cute baby.  Big voice, a couple of pitch issues.

   Thomas Stringfellow: Creep Radiohead. Sounded like an Irish folk version of Radiohead, but he can at least sell the song,  knows how to engage with the audience and camera.  If he makes it will proabably do okay.

 

  Side note - is it me or have we not seen any “manly men”’ in this batch of the Top 24? These are mostly slight guys, is that they will get lost in the mix with the girls? 

 

  La’Porsha R: Proud Mary. They got a handle on the hair - looks great! and allows her face to shine through!  They knew who to put last tonight! Great performance!  She's the nuclear bomb of this competition  - it will be difficult to beat her at this game.Oother contestants will just have to try to shine with their unique style, but no one can out sing her. She does have some wacky eye thing sometimes LOL.

 

  Thursday night -  Lauren Alana - Emily.  Flat on the Floor.  Hard for Emily to compete with LA, we were at the Idol broadcast the last night that season for a Scotty and Alaina performance. We were brought in under the stage as they were doing a duet - it was amazing - and were noting that LA could really sing! Still can.

  Thomas & Nick,  Man in the Mirror.  voices perfectly matched on this song - pretty good performance.

  Ruben and Stephany: Superstar (A classic sung by the Carpenters, Luther Vandross and written by Leon Russell & Delaney Bramlett)  coaching her to be more involved - and he nailed it when he said she needed to let go. She just doesn’t seem to able to tap into the emotions. The performance was solid and she sung with Ruben and to him -  Ruben looked great! Still think she's a bitch.

  Caleb and Sonika: Skyfall, Adele.   Great duet - gave her good advice and she did a good job overall - but her youth does show through. She will improve over the competition with her stage presence.

  Scotty - Jenna R. a Scotty tune -  See you Tonight An okay job. Not sure if she has done enough to stay.

  Fantasia and LaPorsha, Summertime. Like we were just watching a performance and not a competition, beautiful!  Didn’t love the LaPorsche hair tonight, looked like a seaweed wrap with some roe sticking out the top.

   Makenzie and Lauren Alaina: I hope you dance. Great duet - very sweet. Hard for him to not get blown off stage by her.

   Nick and Gianna, Beautiful Life.  Back up singers are too loud for her voice - don’t hear her at all. She just looks so outmatched here.

   Ruben and Avalon, Flying without Wings. Perfect pairing of voices, got her out of her comfort zone. She never seems to be amped up, it's a little weird.

  James VIII and Caleb I:  Gimme Shelter. GREAT duet - loved it! But James really just seemed to be backup for Caleb.

  Jeneve and Scotty,  Gone - Montgomery Gentry . A little strange with the cowboy hat and dress - could have worked to make them seem like they were more of a duet. Have to agree it was a little bizarre.

  Fantasia with Jordan Sasser:  I Believe. Jordan was trying to blow all the speakers in the room and Fantasia never broke a sweat.

 

  So we paused it and tried to predict who would stay or go; we got it almost all right, with the exception of Stephany -- I really thought they were going to keep her based on the "package" factor, and drop Jeneve, but I was wrong. Still not sure Jeneve warrants all these chances but anything to put Stephany back out on the street is OK with me.

 

  So the seven going forward this week are:

  La’Porsha Renae, Sonika Vaid, Gianna Isabella, Avalon Young, Thomas Stringfellow, MacKenzie Bourg and Jeneve Rose Mitchell. Fingers crossed Gianna gets booted week one or two -- I don't want to see her on the tour!

  Next week, I thinks e get our "a" team, for the most part. There are stronger contenders to be heard there.

  What did you guys think?

 Dr. L and K OUT!

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Breaking it Down to the Fab 51

OK gang, we just caught up on last night's Hollywood heartbreaker for some. I keep having to remind myself this will be the last "break into three rooms" segment we will see on Idol! It was the usual drama. I have to agree with Rubbertoe, that Michelle girl needs to hit the bricks, as does the bass-playing Annie Oakley-looking girl. You have to hope with all the "OMG, the girls are incredible this year" hype that they have some room to send some of these girls home. I don't know the girl who had laryngitis on the last night, but I think she was pretty good.
Some of them I despise just because of how nasty they were in the Groups segment -- you know who I'm talking about. They can sing, but you hate for somebody like that to make it to the Top 12.
I also agree that Dalton really has what it takes to go far.
Out of the bunch we have seen the most, there are at best about six people who can make it. Others, like Shelbie Z, have a great voice but maybe will flame out soon? I think the super weepy ones will crack under the pressure too. And there seems to be a whole subcategory of singers this year who can only perform with a mic because they have super-low-volume voices -- I can't imagine when the stage opens up and they have to belt it out for a crowd that they will last. But soon we will get our chance to vote. It has been so long since I power-voted I don't even know what strategy to use! Is it texting now? Is DialIdol even relevant anymore? Who knows. After tonight some of the mystery will be revealed! Who will be the next American Idol?!!1 -- K out!