TUES/WED February 27/28, 2007

AMERICAN IDOL WEEK #2

GUYS:

We lost #4 Barefoot Paul Kim, and in an upset #1 Rudy Cardenas last week. I had predicted that Nick Pedro would be leaving. As usual, I was wrong with one of my picks, but Paul Kim was voted off. So we began this week with only ten male contestants.

Idol producers and press reports acclaimed that this weeks performances were much better than last weeks. Ho Hum...In my opinion, the men went from horrible to not as terrible, but still barely acceptible. None of them are as good as the five women of color who will be competing for the Idol title in the coming weeks.

I suspect that the man who got the most votes for the second week in a row was Sundance Head and maybe my 42 inch stereo Panasonic Plasma Television doesn't do the big guy justice because I just don't see him being that great. I would rather get up and get a beer than dial his number. From the looks of Sundance, I think he would be inclined to do the same thing.

#1 Phil Stacey...Bald Headed Guy who looks like he is a cancer survivor or Britney Spears imitator. He has the new baby and is very likeable. He sung first tonight which seems to hurt the memory when voting comes around.

#2 Jared Cotter...Black man, who sings a nice song and seems polished. I thought he was a bit cocky last week and this week did better. Even in this weak field, I think he will have a tough time making the final 6 men, but he should make it.

#3 A J Tabaldo...He is on the border for not making it this week, but he should survive because the worst two are terrible. I think he would be in the bottom 3.

#4 Sanjaya Malakar...This is the young (Indian looking) boy with the long hair who sung a song dedicated to his grandfather. He wears his wedding ring on his hand. he sung an old time song in his memory. The judges hated it. I think the audience hated it too. You would presume that this kid would be kicked off because this is the second week in a row that the judges hated him (of course not Paula because she loves everybody) but last week he was in the top 4 in votes and I predict that this week he will be in the top 4 also. However, he better start singing some younger songs or he will not be saved by the bell. Even in this lousy field, he will be gone pretty soon if he doesn't sing something good pretty quickly. He has a pleasant voice and he sings in tune. There are many of you out there who will disagree with me and say that he is gone...But I think he stays another week. Especially after he was in the top 4 last week.

#5 Chris Sligh...Curly headed guy. Sung a ballad to his wife. He is likeable and he will make the final 6 guys.

#6 Nick Pedro...Sung "Fever"...I think he needs to go home and get some aspirin because he was saved by the bell last week and this week he is gone...Bye Bye!

#7 Blake Lewis...This is the guy that sings and also makes funny sounds and puts them together. He has a nice personality and will make the final 6.

#8 Brandon Rogers...He is the black guy who is a really good singer, who for 2 weeks has not sung very well and keeps asking the voters to give him another chance.
Sorry Charlie...In my opinion, he's had his chances and now he needs to go back and be a back-up singer again. I won't miss him. There was a back and forth with him and Simon about his dedication and finally Simon had to remind him that this was a singing competition and then Simon told everyone that his grandmom's birthday was in six months...Happy Birthday...Very sarcastic and very funny to me. Paula was not very happy with Simon...This was not news. Good-Bye Brandon!

#9 Chris Richardson...This is the Justin Timberlake wantabe...The judges loved him and they crowned him king of the night just before Sundance sung his song. I don't think the voters think that Chris is as great as Randy, Paula and Simon do. However, he is a nice kid with a pleasant smile.

#10 Sundance Head...The big guy stood there and sung a popular song...Whoopty do. I know I am in the minority here, but I wasn't moved at all...However, the voters seemed to like him, but looking at the breakdown of dial idol votes for all of the men...there was nothing much to get excited about...My opinion at this time is that unless something remarkable occurs, there will be 5 women of color and 1 man in the final six.

Prediction for the men...Out #6 Nick Pedro, #8 Brandon Rogers
Possibly out #3 AJ Tabaldo

GIRLS:

Voted off last week #2 Amy Krebs and #7 Nicole Tranquillo

Since many of the readers of this blog reside in the state of Vermont, I feel I should preface my comments on the "GIRLS" this evening with an important event that occured many years before some of you were born. During the last week of January in 1977, the book "Roots", written by Alex Haley, was brought to television in America.
Almost everyone in the country watched this miniseries unfold and gained a better understanding and appreciation of black history and their roots. This was thirty years ago for those of you who are poor in math.

There are five women of color competing this year who are so outstanding and far and above so much better than the other competitors (both men and women) that it is almost unfair for the other women to even attempt to compete. BRAVO!!!

These five girls, "The Fab Five" (for those of you who remember Michigan Basketball's fabulous five freshmen in the 1990's: Chris Weber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson) (March Madness is right around the corner), whatever their ages, does not matter. Their talent is superb and once we get through the next several weeks of the usual Idol entertainment, the final weeks of Season Six American Idol may be the best competition yet.

A summary of the contestants and their chances for survival follows:

WHITE CHICKS:

#1 Gina Glocksen.... Bottom 4 (She was the #1 performer this evening so she is in trouble because of memory of voters)

#2 Alaina Alexander... Bottom 4 (I thought she would be gone last week and I would say she would be gone this week, but I learned my lesson from last week. Someone is out there voting for her. She wore a skimpy dress.)

#8 Leslie Hunt... Gone (She sung the song that had few words. I think she is automatically in the Bottom 4 because she is not one of the top 5 women of color and because she had a terrible song and is just not as good as the Fab 5)

#9 Harley Scarnato...Bottom 4 (She sung an upbeat Whitney Houston song. It was absolutely YUK! She is a very attractive girl. I think she may be voted off, but I still don't see how #2 Alaina stays in the competition because she can not sing as well)

#5 Antonella Barba....This is the only non woman of color guaranteed to remain...White Chick...She will stay in the competition. First reason is because she is from New Jersey and she has a large voting base. Second reason is because she has name recognition because her photo calendar is all over the internet and she showed off her boobs...This helps Idol (any scandalous news is good news for them) I think her boobs may have been covered by her hands...There are also false photos of her out there and this also helps Idol and it helps her to get recognition and to get votes.

I think she is pompous and she has an obnoxious attitude (Paris Hilton type)...She cannot sing as well as she thinks she can. However, she is doing very well in the voting and is actually well entrenched in third place. So she is not going anywhere and if this keeps up she will be in the final 6 girls.

FABULOUS FIVE:

#3 Lakisha Jones...I think she will finish number two tonight to Melinda Doolittle. Her outfit was a little too tight for her body type.

#4 Melinda Doolittle...Age 29, She sung "Funny Valentine" and knocked it out of the park. I think she will be the top vote getter this evening. Personally, I think she sings great, but looks a little bit like Whoopy Goldberg in "The Color Purple"...I don't know if she can win this thing...too timid and too ugly. Nonetheless, she can sing and she is very nice and humble. If I had a choice, I would take her (ugly) rather than Miss Upity (Antonella Barba...pretty is as pretty does)!

#6 Jordin Sparks...Age 17 Breath of fresh air. Honest, vibrant, great singer. I really like this girl. However, she may be overwhelmed by the star talent of #7.

#7 Stephanie Edwards, Age 19 (Savannah, GA)...WOW! This girl also has some great talent. Watch out for her.

#10 Sabrina Sloan, age 27...Valley Girl. This is the one of the most experienced girls in the bunch. You can tell she has been performing for a long time. Melinda Doolittle has only been a back-up singer while I would guess that Sabrina has been a lead singer. She oversung her song tonight and although the judges loved her last week, the audience did not connect with her because she finished in 10th place out of 12th. If she doesn't connect with the audience by the time we get down to the final 5, she may be voted off and she won't know what hit her. She's good, but has to find a connection to the audience not just Randy and Paula.


It is obvious that this years competition will be all about the girls; however, the women voters will be yearning for some guy to come forward to make it competitive.

Hopefully, one will.

TUES/WED February 20/21, 2007

AMERICAN IDOL WEEK #1

Welcome Back to the 2007 New Year of American Idol.


GUYS:

The twelve men performed on Tuesday and unlike past years there were no knock out performances. The judges complained about almost everyone which gave the voters a chance to determine who to send home.

For example: I thought that Randy and Paula were overly harsh on 17 year old # 8 Sanjaya Malakar , who dared to sing a Stevie Wonder song (There must be something sacreligious about an Indian singing a black man's song to racist Randy). Simon said that he did not do too badly. I think the voters will have sympathy on the young man and he will be safe this week, but the impression given after listening to Randy and Paula was that this boy was going to be in the bottom 3. We'll see.

A surprise to me was Blake Lewis #7, who we have rarely been able to hear sing. He is always making sound effects. Tonight he sung and he sung very well.
The judges were unkind to the big guy, #3 Sundance Head, from Porter, Texas. I thought he sung well and I thought he did well. I think in the early rounds the voters often disagree with the judges and this man will get a backlash vote. By far, the worst singer to me was the oriental, #4 Paul Kim. Paul insists on singing without his shoes. He also sung without much voice.
However, there were other men that did not sing too well. #6 Nick Pedro, and there was a really cocky black man, #10 Jared Cotter, who did not sing that badly, but his cocky attitude is a real turn off to the voters. Don't be surprised if he isn't in the bottom 3.

Other singers of note, #5 Justin Timberlake...ooops, I mean Chris Richardson...did well, but did not WOW everyone. He is very cute and if he sings better, he will get a lot of votes. He seems to have a great personality and good looks. I would think he got top three in numer of votes for the evening. Singer #8 Chris Sligh, the curly headed geek looking comic, did not sing a song that I liked and his comic act also did not bring me any laughs. I don't think he excited the audience as much as he needed to. He better improve in the future or he won't go much farther than final 12. This is a very weak men's field in 2007.

Singer #12 was Phil Stacey, the bald headed guy with the new baby. He seemed to wow Randy, but he wasn't as great as everyone thought. He has a pleasant personality and will make the final six guys. He looked anorexic to me. Singer number #1 Rudy Carnenas, the judges did not like, but the voters should keep in. He was the first singer and next week he will sing near the end. Singer #11 A.J. Tabaldo was forgetable to me, but Paula liked his voice. #2 Brandon Rogers...This guy is a back up singer for some super stars and I thought he sung terrible and he is one of the favorites. He is moving on, but not very far if he doesn't do better than he did tonight.

My predictions for the bottom 3...#4 Barefoot Paul Kim #6 Nick Pedro (upset pick #10 Cocky Jared Cotter).... Voted off #4 Barefoot Paul Kim 1st runner up #6 Nick Pedro


GALS:

The girls were generally fantastic. Only one girl was so terrible that she is obviously eliminated.
Contestant #10 Alaina Alexander, age 24, West Holywood, CA....Good-Bye!

Otherwise, it is getting very late 1:00 a.m....I'll short cut it.

#1...Stephanie Edwards from Savannah, GA Age 19...GREAT! She sung early so the voters will have a hard time remembering...She will easily be top 5 for the night, but would have been top 3 if she sung later in the evening.

#2...Amy Krebs, Age 22 from WA...Sung a boring song and she will be in the bottom 3. She can sing well. She is a pretty girl but showed a blah personality.

#3...Leslie Hunt, age 24, Chicago...Sung a big song...too big for her. She looked out of place in her outfit. She seems like a nice girl, but may go back to her main job which is dog walking. Also bottom 3 tonight.

Summary....OUT #10....Bottom three #10, #2, #3.

#4...Sabrina Sloan...age 27, Valley girl. This girl can really sing. I didn't like her song, but the judges liked it. However, she has real talent. I don't think the voter's liked the song either compared to the others. Nonetheless...very talented.

#5...Antonella Barba, 20, New Jersey...Good looking girl. Lousy song choice and she sung really badly. Simon said she was going to be going home. I bet the audience will tell Simon to shove it. She is not going to make it to the final 6 girls because the competition is so fierce and there are better singers. However, she is a hot babe! New Jersey has a big population and she will get a lot of votes.

$6...Jordan Sparks, 17, Glendale Az...Really good young singer with a great voice. I bet she was also a top vote getter...top 5.

#7...Nicole Tranquillo, 20, Phil, Pa...Voice major in college. She sung a terrible song to show off her voice, but the judges (except Paula) hated it. Nicole did not hate it. The audience loves it in the early rounds when a contestant challenges the judges. She will do well for now, but she better choose better songs later or her voice training will do her no good when she gets voted off.

#8...Haley Scarnato, age 24, San Antonio, TX...She sung a ballad type song. She is a pretty girl and Simon and the other judges questioned her song choice and she balked and said she would remain true to herself and continue to sing them. Good for her! I think she stays. She has a good voice and she is attractive.

#9. Melinda Doolittle, 29, Tennessee...This is the former back-up singer that is very humble. Like #1 she is a black girl and not cocky. She sung superbly and I predict she is in the top 3 vote getters for tonight. Everyone liked her singing including the judges.

#10...She's gone...I'm certain of this!!! No need to tell you her name again...Good-Bye! Nice girl, can't sing compared to the others.

#11...Gina Glockson, 22, Naperville, Ill...Big Voice. Sung well, but not as well as Celine Dion.
Sorry Simon....She is not Celine Dion. When asked how she thought she did after Simon criticized her. Choose between 1 and 10, she said TWELVE!!! Great answer. She'll do well.

#12...Lakisha Jones, age 24, Maryland. Today was her daughter's 4 year old birthday. This gal brought down the house and I think she will get twice as many votes as anyone else including all of the men last night. Terrific job. Humble and she sung well. I loved her.

The women clearly out performed the men by a landslide. For once, the judges were not a part of the program this evening. All they needed to do was clap. There should be 9 women and 3 men in the finals, but we are stuck with a 6+6=12 finals. I don't see a man who can beat any of these women unless there is some big improvement in the weeks ahead.

Roger Wahl
Augusta, GA.