Jason Yeager, Alexandraia Lushington, Alaina Whitaker, Robbie Carrico
This Blog Post will be dated for Friday, 2/29/08, but it will be posted late Thursday night, immediately AFTER the American Idol 2008 elimination.
This week the competition starts with 20 contenders and will end with 16.
We'll have reviews of the Tuesday and Wednesday shows and who was eliminated IMMEDIATELY after the elimination show.
All with pics and videos you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.
Effective this week, the review, unique pics and videos you'll find nowhere else on the Internet, and would-be Idols eliminated will be posted on Thursday nights immediately AFTER the elimination show. The review posted will be of the prior contests earlier that same week and will include my guess as to who will be sent home.
Which might be an incorrect guess, mind you, as the review et al will have been written/compiled BEFORE the elimination round. Thus the contender eliminated will be posted on this Blog right after it is announced so click on in for the first result.
Pic of the Day
The Week Started With 20 Contenders...2/28/08
One more time, the text below was written BEFORE the elimination round on 2/28/08. I will offer my guess as to who will be eliminated and I might be wrong as yon reader would be reading this missive after the result is known.
But I'll risk it because hey, it's why I get paid the big bucks for writing this Blog. Heh.
First let me comment that this past week ending with the elimination round on 2/28/08 was a terrible week for the females. In fact I can't name a single female in the final top 10 that gave a bang up performance. One female finalist, Amanda Overmyer, did such a bad job that she is one of my predictions as one who will be eliminated this week. Which is sad because Overmyer was at first a songstress with a deep throaty voice who I thought would have a great chance at winning this thing.
Several other females that had been on my radar as real contenders also performed poorly.
The theme of this week was songs of the seventies.
The fellows, on the other hand, almost ALL gave great performances.
Continuing on with the guys and Mark Johns the Australian begins by belting out "Go Your Own Way", a nice tune for his voice.
I thought Mark did a fine job but he was overshadowed by other fellows who blew it out of the ballpark.
Next up was Luke Menard who did a great Queen song. This is a fellow with a great falsetto and most of the judges really liked Luke's performance. Simon called his song "whiny and theatrical", a bit of a stretch.
The question is, can the American Idol really be a guy with a great falsetto and limited everything else?
I am glad to see that Robbie Carrico lost that head scarf. While it might be part and parcel of how Robbie sees himself, to the American public it’s a distraction, a vague reminder of a biker, outlaw lifestyle.
Carrico sang Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded” and my summary is that it could have been better. The judges phrased it as having no “wow”. I think Robbie’s got something and he’ll hang in there.
Danny Noriega has a diva type of personality complete with a fine fashion sense and a great attitude. Noriega sang a Carpenters’ tune, “This Way Again, Baby”, which was immediately pronounced by the judges as a bad song choice.
I didn’t enjoy the song so much but I like Danny and hope he stays around for a while.
Also, as part of his personal background vignette, Danny provided us with a few pics of himself with a girl; Danny with a girl in the full boy/girl sense of the word.
Hey, Mr. Noriega, you trying to tell us something?
Jason Castro sang "I Want To Be Your Everything". First, Jason's pre-performance interview vignette was absolutely horrible. His performance was okay but with such a lack of charisma, I predict that Mr. Castro will be eliminated on this night.
David Hernandez performed a great rendition of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and until now I’d given David short shrift. I don’t think he’s going to win this thing but he has my renewed respect and attention.
Jason Yeager seems like a nice young man with a small son that he adores. I don’t think Jason’s going to last long. In fact, I predict that 2/28/08 will be his last night on this series. If not this night, soon thereafter I fear.
Jason performed “Without Love” and my comment was that it was very ordinary. The judges ranged from assertions of a cruise ship performance to Paula’s mandatory “you did a good job”.
After Jason’s performance the Ryan Seacrest got into a long, and very boring, discussion with Jason over his choice of song and finally Simon displayed such impatience that Seacrest asked him what was wrong.
“It’s boring,” Simon said. “It’s worse than the Oscars. We need the Oscar music here.”
Simon was right as he often is his curmudgeon self. Jason’s song was boring enough. His long narrative on how he chose his song and other minutiae was worse than getting a tooth pulled.
Ryan needs to come up with some more interesting questions/topics if he needs to stretch the time a bit.
Okay, now last week I launched into an invective about Chikezie and his rather odd name. Said name would, as I mused, ultimately be to his advantage. Simon already called him “Jacuzzi” and that’s just one problem with the weird name.
Well Chikezie must have read my commentary because he went into a long explanation about his name, what it means, how he tried to “anglicize” his native name.
To add to the fun bit of self-deprecation, Chikezie sang a song which included his name and it was great. A snippet of this tune and Chikezie’s great performance is in the video remix for males below.
The last time Chikezie sang I thought he was heading out of there. This week he did so well I think he’ll be around for at least another week.
Which is nice because Chikezie has the best and brightest smile of all of this year’s contenders.
David Cook sang “All Night Long” and this week he had a guitar.
I know very little about guitars and I understand that under “American Idol”’s new rules the contenders can play an instrument. But in Cook’s case, on this song, the guitar did nothing but distract.
The judges commented on how clever it was to throw the guitar picks into the crowd just like a real rock star.
Paula and Randy liked Cook’s performance but Simon, as usual, had more acid commentary.
I’d written in my last review that the contenders should not ever admit to having done a lousy job. Such acknowledgement only cements the notion in the audience’s mind, a notion they might not have had except, hey, if the contestant agrees than it must be true!
However, David responded to the negative criticism with some comment about “charisma” and a dismissal of the judge’s suggestion.
To the Guys and Ladies finalists of American Idol 2008…I did NOT say to be dismissive of the judge’s criticism.
So okay, if you finalists are going to read this Blog and follow my instructions so well, let me fine tune my advice to you all as regards criticism from the judges.
“I’LL MULL IT OVER”.
There. Say that.
Let Simon launch into a rancor-laced invective about your choice of clothes, the style of your hair, the song you just sang from hell. Smile sweetly, allow him to finish his point, and say…:
“I’ll MULL IT OVER”
“I’ll THINK ABOUT IT”
“I’LL GIVE IT SERIOUS THOUGHT”
What could be less condescending that this? You acknowledge the judge’s thoughts, a judge who knows a thing or two I might add, you promise to think about it such is the seriousness of their feedback. No one will ever know if you give it one more second of thought after the show. Simon won’t call you in the middle of the night to ask if you’re done mulling his criticisms. You’ll sound respectful and serious. Remember, the audience voting for you is not a rock audience high from a few beers and a toke or two. The audience includes many fine middle-aged ladies like myself and disrespect to an elder, such as it is, will be viewed unfavorably.
I didn’t say to be ARROGANT for God’s sake and this applies especially to David Cook. Your attitude might backfire on you.
I pronounced David Archuleta the male Jordin Sparks in my last Blog post and he continues to astound me with his God-given, natural talent that made him born to sing.
David sang a song I intensely dislike…John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
David, you belted it out of the park. I actually got chills. I especially appreciated the thought you put into your song, how you chose to skip the first verse to go on to the third as you consider that the more serious one.
He’s got a sweet boyish demeanor, a healthy toothy smile, a genuine sincerity and…David, those judges know, and your opponents know, that YOU are the one to beat this year.
On to the top ten females for “American Idol” 2008, like I said, on the night of 2/27/08, not a single one wowed me. Many of them were really, really bad.
Carly Smithson, the tattooed one, sang “Crazy On You”. I am just so surprised that this big-voiced woman chose this song and not one that would give what the judges also said was lacking with Carly’s performance, a big song “moment”.
Carly, your boobs jiggled nicely and I think your tattoos are really pretty. I’d kill my daughter or granddaughter should they show up with their arms all covered in ink like that but on you, in this business, they looked terrific.
Syesha Mercado tried something different. She sang “Me and MISTER Jones” and I suppose she was trying to be cleaver. Simon, like me, said he was put off right from the beginning. And that long note in the middle, woopie do. Sometimes those obvious attempts to elicit cheers by holding a high note long and loud are just…well, LAME comes to mind.
I think Syesha will remain in this thing, however. This is one talented singer.
Brooke White played a guitar during her performance of “You’re So Vain” and Brooke looked very natural strumming that guitar and singing. Brooke remains the prettiest of all the females in this contest and I was quite surprised by the pleasant huskiness in her voice.
Brooke is pretty and polite. In fact Brooke took the time to thank the band and backup singers, something no other contender did. She might not have the greatest voice of all the top 10 females but she shines so much on sweetness and looks that she could end up in that top five.
Ramiele Malubay sang “Set Me Free” and while Ramiele is a pretty little thing with a great big voice, she did herself no justice with this tune. In fact, my own husband and expert on songs of the 70’s couldn’t even name the tune Malubay sang, just that it was some kind of “disco” tune. The judges didn’t like it either.
Kristi Cook performed “You’re No Good” and she gave a passable performance. The judges commented that Kristi needs a genre and Kristi promised us a country version of herself should she get to come back.
I think she will be back.
Okay, I think Amanda’s going to get the boot this week although I’ll be happy if she doesn’t.
Amanda was pushing the envelope anyway with her Goth looks and throaty warble. While I thought this might be the year for Amanda’s song style, this tune-“Wayward Son” by Kansas was so wrong it almost hurt.
First, the low parts were really bad. Amanda can handle the low parts but…no, it just didn’t happen.
Simon lambasted Amanda for her outfit, wild hair, not to mention the song choice and dreadful performance. Even Paula told Amanda that she looked much sweeter and prettier on her personal pre-performance vignette. Meaning, as only the cautious Paula can phrase it, that Amanda looked horrible right then.
Well Amanda’s look is part of her on-stage persona and hey, I got it. But there’s millions of other American viewers out there and most of them are not as smart as me. While I don’t think Amanda should have given up her special “look” completely, she did go a bit overboard.
If Amanda Overmyer’s outfit scared the eyeballs, Alaina Whitaker’s bored them to sleep. At least that’s how fashion icon Simon Cowell saw Alaina’s pretty blue dress.
Alaina sang “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and I thought it was a good choice for her and she sang it well.
In a pre-performance personal vignette Alaina informed us that she can’t stand to have her different foods touching on her dinner plate. All I can say Alaina is different foods are different for a damn reason and your peas do NOT belong touching your mashed potatoes. Just so you know that I, for one, admire your obsession…eh…sensibilities.
As for your fashion choices, well I think you could put a little more oomph in your outfits. Remember those other female singers are out there showing leg, bouncing boobs and strutting their stuff. A high school prom dress just ain’t going to cut it.
Alexandria Lushington is the second female I think will be sent home. Alexandria’s voice is entirely too small for this contest. Although I thought her song “The Biggest Part of Me” was performed nicely and, well I’d call it pretty.
I like that Alexandria didn’t admit she chose a bad song or gave a bad performance as Simon complained. She didn’t.
But this is not Alexandria’s year to win this thing.
Kady Malloy wins the prize for the WORST beginning to a song EVER on any “American Idol” show. Kady sang “I’m a Magic Man” if I got the title right.
Song beginnings are, by their nature, usually soft and low. Kady’s was too damn soft and too damn low.
I’m not convinced Kady will be around much longer and she could get the boot tonight.
Asia’h Epperson is one female contender to look out for. I think so now and have thought so since the beginning.
Also, what’s the deal with that camera span to Asia’h’s “friend”. I mean, no one else ever got a special close up for a …friend? Nah. This is NOT a friend of Asia’s, like a friend she shares recipes with and tales of romantic heartbreak. I think this is Asia’s…”friend”.
Not that there’s anything wrong with this.
Asia sang a great big song “All By Myself”. Only Asia didn’t have a big enough voice to pull it off. Almost. Almost.
But nope, didn’t do it. A snippet of Asia’s performance is in the female performer’s video remix below. Oh, and someone tell Asia that she should hold up the fingers of her “number”. Asia was number ten…how easy was this? And yet she didn’t smile for her potential voters or playfully hold up the fingers of her number. I think that was a really bad mistake.
So that’s it beyond the video remixes below. Click in because I added my own fine commentary to be pondered as the performer…performs.
My guesses are that Amanda Overmyer, Alexandria Lushington will be sent home from the females. Jason Castro AND Jason Yeager will be sent packing from the top ten males.
Remix of Notable Guy Moments Below
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