lisa it's your bad day

...happy bad day lisa

bottom three: lisa, katharine, and ace

lisa - out

i knew she'd be going, and i knew there'd be a surprise in the bottom three. I was just expecting mandisa rather than katharine.

the top ten vs. the 21st century

the 21st century won.


lisa - "because of you"
randy: "...an okay version"
paula: "we all know you can sing your butt off, but..."
simon: "the song was too big for your voice...it was actually painful"

let's see, first on + hot popular song made completely forgettable and utterly boring = bottom three at best

kelli - "suds in a bucket"
randy: "...puzzled by the song choice"
paula: "you're way better than that song choice"
simon: "some gimmicky rodeo lassoing whatever..."

i've said before that country isn't my thing, but suds in a fucking bucket? huh? actually, it would probably be better if it was "suds in a fucking bucket"
her singing was harmless, i guess. suds in a bucket?

ace - "drops of jupiter"
randy: "you didn't sing it well...i did not like this."
paula: "wasn't my most favorite"
simon: "quite karaoke, actually"

exactly, simon. i wish i had been drunk so i could have enjoyed it the way good karaoke should be enjoyed.
drunk.
he sounded like constantine on an off night. too bad taylor didn't sing this song.

taylor - "trouble"
randy: "didn't let you show off...wasn't the best for me"
paula: "nice to see you just stand behind the mic and sing a song"
simon: "an excellent vocal"

paula was just articulate and accurate - my feet are getting cold.
i think all three judges sort of nailed this one. it wasn't his best and he didn't show off, but it was a very polished, professional sounding performance.
like randy, i was hoping for balls out singing at the end... i wish he had done that drops of jupiter song.

mandisa - "wanna praise you"
randy: "i dunno..."
paula: "40 million people have just joined the church of mandisa"
simon: "a bit indulgent...not for me"

i usually like her voice, but she was a little shrieky for me this week. given her obviously deep religious roots, do you think she might be getting a little worried about the whole idol worship thing going on here? after all, there is a commandment against that very thing. then there's that other one about not desiring your neighbors ox, or his ass...

chris - "what if"
randy: "you were sharp most of that song"
paula: "i'm one of your biggest fans"
simon: "i think you've gone too far with that song tonight"

this was better than a scott stapp vocal, i'll give it that. but creed? ugh. not his best, but they did have the lights going for him again. shiny, pretty lights. i'm wondering if randy and simon were a bit negative after feeling foolish for heaping so much praise on last week's 'tainted' performance?

katharine - "the voice within"
randy: "it was good but you didn't bring anything new to it"
paula: "i wouldn't have changed a thing"
simon: "the best tonight...almost as good as christina"

i enjoy her singing and the overall tone of her voice a lot, more so than any of the other girls this year. she and taylor have been the best so far vocally tonight, but neither performance was amazing. oh, and debbie gibson called. she wants her shirt back. and your boobs.

bucky - "real good man"
randy: "the right song for you"
paula: "be careful of your diction"
simon: "what i call winging it...it was okay"

i've said before that country wasn't my thing, but hey, i actually liked this quite a bit. i like the rasp in his voice, and now that he seems to have learned how to stay in tune for a whole song, he just might make it a few more weeks.

paris - "work it out"
randy: "best performance of the night"
paula: "that was awesome"
simon: "little girl pretending to be beyonce"

the vocal was awesome... everything else was a little mechanical-beauty-queen-creepy for me, even the rump-shaking.
oh, and vanessa huxtable called. she wants her outfit back, but said you could keep the bling.

elliot - "i don't want to be"
randy: "this boy can sing...another hot one tonight"
paula: "you are one funky white boy. unbelievable."
simon: "great song...good vocal"

elliot, paris and chris were the only three tonight that really fucking threw down and sang. thats all you got to do, is sing! he was easily the best of the three, and by far the best of the night. i don't give a shit what he looks like. some of the greatest singers in the world are ugly fuckers. the rest join boy bands, perform on broadway, or are already in bon jovi.


even though i felt paris and chris sang their hearts out, my favorite vocals of the night belonged to elliot, katharine, and taylor.

paula was probably innocently asking about ace's scar, but everyone else watching was certainly thinking something completely different when she said that.
chris looked a little embarassed about the whole live debacle when ryan brought it up. poor bastard.

bottom three? lisa, ace, and mandisa. i'm going out on a limb with her, but i'm not sure who else it would be. i'm always hoping kelli, but i've resigned myself to her sticking around a while longer. her schtick has gotten to be just as annoying as that brenna chick was. at least she didn't say much tonight.

lisa's going home.

you did what needed to be done, america

don't be sad.


...i'm not

the top 11 vs. the 50's (feat. manilow)

mandisa - "i don't hurt anymore"

randy: "classy, great, amazing way to start the night"
paula: "you're a thoroughbred"
simon: "i absolutely loved it"

this girl is just incredible. such an amazing voice...

bucky - "oh, boy"

randy: "perfect song for you"
paula: "good solid performance"
simon: "nothing more than a pointless karaoke performance"

i agree with simon. this was very weak and he seemed to be really straining.

paris - "fever"

randy: "blew it out the box"
paula: "vocals were impeccable"
simon: "the perfect voice for that kind of song"

a little creepy coming from a little girl, but it was just so damn good!

chris - "walk the line"

randy: "you're ready, baby"
paula: "you should be already touring"
simon: "the first artist...that's refused to compromise, and for that, a round of applause"

so either the rules are changing or just no one took advantage of them before? this was great, and i don't think i've ever heard that drastic of a change to a song before. if it's about making it your own, he did that. this could be a single, easily.
**** i just read that this wasn't chris' arrangement, it was a version of the song from a live (the band) album. that knocks this down a few notches for me, because instead of doing his version of a 50's song, he did a song from the 90's. not cool. plus, i hate live.

katharine - "come rain or come shine"

randy: "tough song to sing...you get props"
paula: "you're gonna be one of the contenders all the way through the competition"
simon: "tonight you turned into a star"

screw ace, that was the sexiest, sultriest performance of the season so far. her voice is amazing... and it's the second week in a row someone picked a song from my wedding CD. weird!

taylor - "not fade away"

randy: "i love you, man"
paula: "you're fantastic"
simon: "a complete mess"

not my favorite vocal from him, i wish he'd picked chuck berry or great balls of fire or something. it was a great performance as usual though, the boy can dance when he ain't flailing!

lisa - "why do fools fall in love"

randy: "it was just aiight for me tonight"
paula: "you have a big career ahead of you"
simon: "a bit cutesy...it was okay"

very blah and mickey mouse club-ish. she has a good voice, but is completely lacking that "it" factor. she sort of seemed behind the beat and trying to catch up the whole time. i think she's gonna be the one to go home this week.

kevin - "when i fall in love"

randy: "i like you dude"
paula: "another good job"
simon: "your audience is going to love that version"

i still don't like him and think he's way out of his league, but i will say that he improved from last week. i hope he's at least in the bottom three this week.

elliot - "teach me tonight"

randy: "loved it"
paula: "you moved me"
simon: "it was fantastic"

he's like the mandisa of the guys. he's got a really strong voice with a lot of control, and it seems effortless when he sings. this was awesome.

kelli - "walking after midnight"

randy: "yo pickler" (i was laughing so hard at that i didn't catch the rest of what he said)
paula: "you were awesome tonight"
simon: "it was just great"

this was easily her best performance so far. i liked it a lot. (i didn't want to, though)

ace - "in the still of the night"

randy: "you're back tonight, baby"
paula: "sexiest, sultriest performance this whole season"
simon: "one of your stronger performances"

you know, this didn't really do it for me, and i've liked his voice in the past. maybe it was the arrangement or something...


paula seemed all high and shit again tonight, and simon seemed completely fed up with her. she really annoys the hell out of me. she seemed to pull it together in the second hour though. maybe her buzz wore off?

barry manilow is the fucking man. it's great that he's so into helping them find their voices and the emotion the song should be conveying. two pretty incredible artists so far this season... could mccartney be upcoming? i hope so.

i'm guessing lisa, bucky, and kevin will be the bottom three.
if there's a surprise it will be katharine. no reason, i think she's great, but i just have a bad feeling about this.

i think lisa will be leaving.

the top 12 vs. stevie wonder

ace - "do i do"

randy: not impressed
paula: of course she liked it
simon: of course he didn't like it

not bad, and not great. bad song choice, i think.

kelli - "blame it on the sun"

randy: boring
paula: she looks gorgeous, but didn't sing well
simon: she put america to sleep with that

wow. really blah, really bad. i'd been giving her the benefit of the doubt when it came to her 'naiveness', but now i'm convinced it's a put on, and it's getting very irritating. she's smart and she saw how popular jessica simpson got while being stupid, so she's working that angle.

elliot - "knocks me off my feet"

randy: liked it
paula: loves him
simon: good, but no "wow" factor

not his best vocal so far, but still a great job. this is probably one of my favorite stevie wonder songs, and it was part of a mix CD we gave as a wedding favor, so i'm clearly biased here.

mandisa - "don't you worry about a thing"

randy: best of the night so far
paula: gush
simon: best of the night so far

i was really hoping to hear her belt out signed, sealed, delivered, but this was great, she's just so comfortable up there. especially with her shoes off.

bucky - "superstition"

randy: liked it
paula: really good
simon: best personal performance so far

definitely his best vocal so far in the competition. he did a much better job than kelli did working out of their country 'safety zone". i hate to say this, but his voice actually was reminding me a bit of the boss...

melissa - "lately"

randy: forgot the lyrics, but she can sing
paula: loves her voice
simon: didn't even mention the lyrics, it was a very strong performance

even though she was cracking a bit on the low notes, she nailed the higher ones at the end, and it was a strong performance considering she'd apparently been losing her voice. good job singing through that. bit of advice though, when you're on national TV it's not really a good idea to pause for dramatic effect after saying you've been "swallowing and gargling...

olive oil."

lisa - "signed, sealed, delivered"

randy: the end was hot!
paula: good
simon: one of the best tonight

i don't buy her 'rocking out'. she has a great voice, but she has to get more comfortable when shes not singing a ballad if she wants to stay in the competition. she's all beauty pagent talent portion and no pop star.

kevin - "part time lover"

randy: interesting
paula: way to go
simon: apalling

interesting = he just doesn't belong on the same stage as the rest of the singers. please, please, let him be the one to go tonight.

katharine - "until you come back to me"

randy: hot one!
paula: her best ever
simon: "you're good."

she is good. really good. this was her best vocal so far in the competition, i think. amazingly, ryan was totally checking out her boobs after the performance. seacrest maybe not "out"?

taylor - "living for the city"

randy: hot and fearless
paula: loved it
simon: a drunk dad at a wedding that can actually sing

is it just me, or does the band step it up for this guy? maybe it was just the song, but it seemed a lot more powerful... maybe it's just the way taylor works the crowd and the stage. he's fucking great.

paris - "all i do"

randy: hot, unbelievable
paula: loved it
simon: very good, a performing windup doll

awesome. really, really good. after the past couple of weeks i wasn't expecting her to be one of my favorites. she is now... but please, no more singing the answers to questions. it's just as annoying as kelli's stupid answers.

chris - "higher ground"

randy: liked it a lot
paula: fantastic
simon: best of the night by a mile

okay, so whoever gets the last spot of the night gets the kickass stage show? speaking of the band stepping it up... this was really, really great. he completely made it his own, and it could definitely be a single. much better than the chili peppers version, even without flea on bass. however, serious points subtracted for being a fucking musician and not knowing that higher ground was a stevie song. jesus.

i was hoping for a better week with the stevie songs... some of the contestants seemed totally dwarfed by the stage, and gave a boring performance because of it. and some of the song choices were sketchy at best, i mean, it's stevie! where was sir duke? i wish? for once in my life?

griping aside, my favorites this week were taylor, chris, katharine, paris, and mandisa

my bottom three predictions, kevin, melissa, and kelli. i think you all know who i think should leave.

taylor - "takin' it to the streets"

i don't remember an A.I. crowd reacting that positively to any previous performance at this stage of the contest. as good as he seems watching from the couch, he must really fire up the crowd in front of him. infectious, man. just an incredible voice, and he reminds me more and more of joe cocker every week.
and i really don't care if this guy's a spastic dancer... i don't think he has any "phat dance moves" he coreographs beforehand (as it's painfully obvious some of the others do), the music just moves him. as cheesy as that sounds, it's true.

kevin - "vincent"

the vocal chops this kid has are just inspiring... every week he gets better and better. and he's just so adorable! he's gonna go a long way in this competition!
okay, now i want the producers to send me a $15K watch and some top notch "pain medication". 'cause bribery is the only explanation for randy and paula's weekly lovefest for this kid.
randy, dawg, keep it real, please! this dude is wayyy out of his league at this point. he's got to fucking go.

seriously, the other two i really enjoyed this week were

gedeon - "when a man loves a woman"
old school is a good thing in my book. apart from a shaky start, i thought this was one of the best vocal performances of the night. and i'm getting over his weird way of talking... plus i liked his painting and the thought behind it.

elliot - "heaven"
i love this song. loved the bryan adams version, loved the techno version, and now i love elliot's version. he totally made it his own... this wasn't his strongest vocal, but this song wasn't as difficult as the other stuff he's done.
how many teenage girls do you think were wondering why he was doing a song by a girl?

chris - "broken"
he's still one of my favorites, and he sang the hell out of this song, but damn, was it boring. it was the songs fault, however, not his.

bucky - "wave on wave"
i'm not a fan of country, and i'm afraid if he makes it thru this week he won't go much further, but i thought this was his best performance so far.

will - "how sweet it is (to be loved by you)"
wow. this was fucking bad. it just shows that you can sing a whole song in tune and still suck. donny osmond/bobby brady/kid from surface has gotta go.

ace - "butterflies"
he started off shaky, and then was a little pitchy during some of the falsetto. BUT, it was a huge risk, the band was fucking grooving, and he nailed the break thru the outro. i admit, he's a pretty boy i don't particularly want to like, but i do love me some falsetto.

i hope this is the end of the road for kevin and will, but america getting it right two weeks in a row? i've been watching this show too long to think that will happen.

i think gedeon and kevin will be going home, with will rounding out the bottom three.

better than last week

of course, superstar number one is

mandisa - "i'm every woman"

one of the greatest A.I. performances to date, easily. she kicked this songs ass, picked it up, dusted it off, and kicked its ass again. just awesome.

katharine - "think"

she's unbelievably gorgeous, and can sing the hell out of an aretha song well enough for randy to call out his "dawgs". hot one in here, indeed.

melissa - "what about love?"

this was awesome. she's got a great original voice... too bad she'll probably be voted off this week. she's gotten better every time.

...unlike, say, paris, who hasn't really been great since the first week. "conga" was terrible, and her 'melodic choices' sounded like they were in a different key than the band.

lisa - "where i stand"
i dunno, another one i felt was off-key more than it was on. i liked the hendrix riff though...

kinnik - "if i ain't got you"
ouch. i'm thinking she ain't got enough of america's votes after that performance.

ayla - "unwritten"
the choruses were good, but the verse just sounded kinda talky. i don't know the song, but randy seemed to nail it, it's just not the type of song you can use to showcase your voice.

kelli - "i'm the only one"
her best performance so far, and i agree with simon, she is better than carrie. i like the roughness of her voice, and even though some of her 'stage moves' are kinda goofy, they're preferable to just standing still, which carrie did through all of last season. mandisa was a tough act to follow, but "the minx" was able to pull it off.

i'd like to see paris and kinnik leave this week, but i'm afraid it will probably be melissa and kinnik, with ayla in the bottom three as well.

4 out of 4 ain't bad

...but i wish kevin had gotten the boot instead of sway. i would've gladly gone 3 out of 4. it was a close one, though. america voted well. - for a change

brenna



heather



david



sway



okay... what the hell was up with paula? it's like she was incredibly stoned or something, and simon was taking advantage of that by getting her to say ridiculous things. In the hope she gets fired? we can only...

oh, and correct me if i'm wrong, but carrie's song was about a woman in a precarious driving situation who decides to simply throw her hands in the air and let jesus take the wheel?!? ...and this was #1 for six weeks on the country charts?
now i'm just as afraid of a car sporting jesus fishies and 'god is my co-pilot' bumper stickers with a woman behind the wheel, as i am of terrorists!
does this mean they've won?

not as boring, but not great either - the guys, week 2

another kinda blah night, with a few very notable exceptions:

elliot - "moody's mood for love"

oustanding. i love how it looks somewhat effortless to this guy, and he just pulls off everything he's trying to do.

gedeon - "a change is gonna come"

wow. i loved this. he's george huff with a better voice. much better voice... i can't believe he's only 17!?!

chris - "hemorrhage"

godDAMN! this dude's got pipes. I usually turn this tune off when it's on the radio, but if he had been singing it, i woulda left it on.


taylor's version of "easy" was really good, bordering on great ~ unfortunately he didn't do enough with it. he's still one of my favorites; if not my overall favorite due just to his pure love of what he's doing.

ace - "if you're not the one". (thanks, beto) the judges were easy on him, i thought he sounded flat and was struggling through most of this. simon could tell. it doesn't matter though, the ladies and paula's guy frends will give him another chance.

kevin - "i heard it through the grapevine" I thought this was the worst performance of the night, and i don't know what the fuck randy was smoking, commending him on his 'run' at the end. he's the kelli pickler of the guys however, and he won't be going home tonight. simon is the only one to tell it like it is.

will - "lady" this wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, but this kid does not have the voice to pull off kenny rogers. he'll stick around though, and simon will make him cry eventually. What was up with ryan molesting him?

bucky - "the thunder rolls" this always sounded more like a meatloaf song than a garth brooks tune to me. bucky did his thang though, dawg. a little better than just okay for me.


i wish kevin would get booted for his shit performance, but he won't. i think these two will:

sway - "overjoyed"

it's too bad, i think this guy has promise, and i don't get randy telling him this was bad, but complimenting kevin. WTF?!?! this wasn't great and it was pretty shaky, though.

david - "the way you look tonight"

yawn. next!