2/28/06 - The Final 10 Girls

Kellie in simpler days, at the Pickler Estate

What’s with the judges tonight? Simon was quite the jerk. Do I still agree with what he says? Well, usually. But he got on my nerves tonight. And Randy gets on my LAST nerve. So much so that I want to cover my ears and sing pitchy things until he completes his incomprehensible babble. Song selection tonight was almost universally bad, and I believe that can count for 80% of the judges’ reaction, and maybe home audience reaction.

So, here we go, this time in order:

Katharine – still very appealing, of course. I absolutely love that song [Stevie Wonder's "All In Love is Fair"]; I was suitably mesmerized. The performance was less than a 10, and the judges were basically correct that it was not a song choice that will wow the voters. But it demonstrates a taste in music which transcends the usual fare of this show. I'm sure she'll get a chance to redeem herself.

Kinnick – the girl is not long for this show…

Lisa Tucker – I forgot what I said previously about her. But she sings well, has stage presence, and is cute, cute, cute. Very appealing. I think she’ll be around for awhile. But she is not my fave.

Melissa McGhee – I may have been dismissive of her before, but I try to be objective and take each performance as it comes. I think she rose a few notches in my book tonight. She was impressive, in that sort of rockin’ country way — a very strong performance. Don’t think she can go all the way, but I think she deserves to stay in for a long while. Good job. Reminds me a little of Molly Shannon, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Heather Cox – A moderately talented girl, and perhaps does deserve to have gotten this far. But she is definitely walking barefoot on the picket fence of mediocrity. Now that I have spontaneously coined that phrase, I realize that it makes absolutely no sense, but it just feels right. The point is, she is not in for the long term.

Brenna – It’s hard for me to be objective here, because I really do not like this girl, personally. But I don’t think she was too bad tonight. And her 'spunkiness' can actually work for her, to gain her a following [it can happen[. Personality can be a big voting factor. I almost think the judges pre-conspired tonight to try to boot her from the show. They were suspiciously unanimously harsh, so I am backing off of her a bit this week.

Paris – She will continue to be a contender, and I do think the girl can sing. Didn’t care for tonight’s performance, and I don’t think she’ll be a favorite for me, because she just seems like a little kid with a grown-up microphone. She’s okay, but I wouldn’t buy the record. Maybe I think she’s singing well, but never really connecting with the song.

Ayla – A kick-butt vocal performance of one of those dismally horrible mediocre instantly forgettable power ballads [in this case, a Celine Dion song] that so many contestants love to choose. My point again about the song choice counting heavily. Kind of a waste.

Kellie Pickler – Simon got it most right when he said that the vocals were rough around the edges, but that she was saved by the cuteness factor. Paula & Randy got it all wrong – it wasn’t a good vocal performance. I was listening closely, and it was indeed rough. The best things you could say about it had everything to do with the fact that it’s a great song, and nothing to do with the actual performance. Sorry, the stage lights reflecting off the bleached tresses did not blind me to what I was hearing!

Mandisa – Yikes! Another crappy power ballad! Well, this woman handles herself like she is already a star, and is an undeniably good singer. She may not ever be a fave for me, but should go far, and will probably be a successful recording artist, even if she doesn’t win this thing.

2/22/06 - The Final 12 Boys

Bobby, the Denver dinner theatre circuit is calling…


I’m thinking I can save some time with a little categorization.
The performances, not necessarily in performance order…

Painful/Embarrassing Dept:
David Radford (“Crazy Little Thing”) - lounge singing, done badly.

Bobby Bennett - lounge singing, done worse. I would be embarassed for his children, and his grandchildren, too; but not to worry — I believe the lineage buck stops here.

Bucky Covington - in what world, what universe, what paradigm would anyone consider that singing? Ouch!

Average Dept:
Will Makar - his future not bright on this show.

“Sway” - I actually fell asleep during that one, but I could see from the recap that he was just OK.

Kevin “America’s Little Mascot” Covais – cute, and average. Bad song. I just figured out who he reminds me of — the chaplain guy on M*A*S*H, or maybe it’s Radar. Unfortunately, he will last long in the competition, because he will have a loyal following of power-voting 14 year-old girls and grannies.

Patrick Hall - Could see from clip of previous auditions that he can sing, but no so well tonight.

Above Average Dept:
Chris “McCleansville – Home of the County Prison” Daughtry – I’m not loving the comma sideburns with the shaved head. Girls, I know you think he’s sexy, but have you ever considered that you might be like one of those women who ends up marrying an inmate serving a double life sentence for murder? Sings well, but in that annoying Creed voice that so many young male rock singers use these days. Still, he’ll have an inexplicably faithful following. Because he really does want to change.

Elliot Yamin – Simon called him something like the best singer they have had in five seasons, which was perhaps an overstatement. Still, he sings very well. I like him. But he is (to borrow a phrase from Elle Woods in Legally Blonde) “unfortunate looking.” We’ll see how far he can get with a great voice and not-so-great looks.

Gedeon McKinney – Sang “Shout.” I completely enjoyed his performance and couldn’t find a thing wrong with it. I do agree with Simon that the smile is creepy, or something. He was downright weird on the video when he talked about what he was going to sing. I don’t know about this guy, mentally speaking.

Taylor Hicks – I guess I can get behind him. Yeah, okay. Let’s pull for the gray-haired guy! He is kinda likeable. Elton songs are tough to sing, but he did pretty well.

Ace Young – Can you believe this guy? He looks like that? And sings like that? And his name is even matinee-ready: “Ace Young!” He’s probably THE one to watch, among the guys. That doesn’t mean I like him, I’m just calling an ace an ace, I guess. He has a future, with or without this show (maybe on a soap opera?).

Interesting Footnote Dept:
I don’t know why I notice things like this, but tonight was apparently “Gay Song Night” on A.I. From what I can remember, we had a Queen song, a Barry Manilow song, a George Michael song, a Michael Jackson song, a Melissa Etheridge song, and an Elton John-Bernie Taupin song! That’s a lot of gay! And Bobby Bennett [whose A.I. profile states that his favorite musical artists are Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow] was certainly representin.’

2/21/06 - The Final 12 Girls

Becky on stage, and revealing more talent with sister Jessie, in Maxim

OK, dawgs.
Sorry to say, none of the female contestants so far pass my “goose bump” test. That is to say, I can rate them in relation to each other, but I’m not sure if I’ve detected major star quality in any of them. Not to worry — that certainly doesn’t mean that I won’t continue to enjoy watching the show. As always, I find Randy hard to take, and think he is the most ridiculous and unqualified judge. He never seems to know what to say, and when he says it, he tries to sound authoritative, but usually is just wrong. Paula provides the much-needed consolation/pacification factor. And Simon, like him or not, I just usually agree with.

My review of tonight, in no particular order:

Ayla Brown -- seems to have pretty much the whole package, looks & voice. Will go far, but not all the way.

Becky O’Donahue — as Simon said, a visual 10, but lacking in the vocal department. Won’t last too long on this show, but perhaps other sorts of venues await her, where she won’t feel so clothing-encumbered.

Brenna “wild cat” Gethers -- from NY: Gets on my nerves in every way, and is not so great a singer. Will hang in for awhile, and will probably end up with her own sit-com, but has no future as a professional singer.

Heather Cox — pretty ordinary looking, and sounding. But it’s hard to predict how far the country singing ones will go.

Katharine McPhee — In a hypothetical nuclear holocaust situation, with myself and one American Idol contestant being the last two survivors on Earth, it is Katharine I would choose to be that other survivor, and join me in the awesome responsibility of repopulating the planet. Her obvious attractiveness notwithstanding, in a nutshell, I think she is THE ONE, the best singer, the star, without a doubt. She will be in the final 2 or 3, and if a female wins, it’s likely to be her.

Kellie Pickler -- Likabililty factor? . . . So say our judges. But not so much for me. She does seem to have a pretty good country voice. She may be a bit too backwoods to go all the way. But then, I guess you could have said that about Britney Spears, right?

Kinnik Sky — Very polished, etc. Doesn’t do a thing for me.

Lisa Tucker — Has the whole package. Cute, with stage presence, and can sing. But was overpraised tonight. I thought her performance was (to use a Randyism) “pitchy.” Enthusiastic, but not especially great. Everyone is impressed that she is so good for her age. But I’m not 100% convinced yet. She doesn’t move me, and probably never will. But she’s cute, and that can get her somewhere.

Mandisa — Should probably be disqualified just for that name, which conjurs up both “Mandingo” and “Mandrill,” neither of which work in her favor. She doesn’t do much for me as a singer, but seems like a nice person.

Melissa McGhee (with that name, perhaps should team up with Katharine McPhee) -- Better than average singer, but average in pretty much every other way. I don’t suspect whe will get very far.

Paris Bennett -- Has a real likability factor. But didn’t impress me much tonight (vocally), even though “Midnight Train to Georgia” is one of my top 10 favorite songs of all time. She just kinda seems like a precocious child. Very talented stage performer I think, but I’m not sure if she can go all the way.

Stevie “the opera singer” Scott — I need to see more before I judge too harshly. I think she has talent, but didn’t ‘wow’ me tonight.

Idol Pinch #1

Q: On “American Idol”, I noticed the show has montages of various auditioners singing a particular song that is not the same as the song used in their audition. Why would someone who just got rejected continue to embarrass themselves? — Alissa

A: That’s a good question, even though humiliation and embarrassment is what many of the “American Idol” contestants clearly seek, as they dress themselves in ridiculous costumes and sing horrible songs.

FOX didn’t respond to requests for comment, but we now know why, thanks to semi-finalist Jennifer Sieminski, who made it to the Hollywood round but was then eliminated. In an interview with The East Carolinian, she says that those segments are not “even recorded in front of Simon, Paula and Randy.” In fact, those were recorded days earlier.

During the auditions, the judges don’t show up until the last day or two, and only see about 100 people who have already been screened, first by producers (who see small groups and narrow the contestants to a few hundred) and then by the show’s executive producers. And yes, all the way along, producers intentionally keep the worst and most absurd contestants, because it makes for good TV during the audition rounds.

During that second round, the executive producers asked certain contestants to sing certain songs such as “Lady Marmalade” — and they “only had the bad people sing it,” according to Jennifer.

Because that part of the audition was filmed in front of the same backdrop, it appears as though those awful singers featured in the montages were performing in front of the judges, when in fact that was recorded days earlier. —A.D.

from msnbc.msn.com