American Idol - goes country next Tuesday

The next theme is country music. The first thought is that it should be easy for Bucky and Kellie, but actually I think the competition of more fierce. There are a lot of good singers in the competition and just because they don't usually sing country, doesn't mean they can't do it good.

Taylor Hicks - If he picks a good song, he should have no problem with this theme. Taylor has a good blues voice, and country music is an extension of blues. I have no guesses on what song he will sing or even should sing, there's just too much to choose from.

Katharine McPhee - Katharine is probably shaken after being in the bottom 3 this week. She will probably pick a ballad. One of Katharine's problems is that she picks songs that are too big for her voice. Katharine really needs to choose something well suited for her this week. I think she can do well in this category, but it all comes down to the right song.

Chris Daughtry - Chris has kind of backed himself into a corner. The judges took him to task for being the same old, same old this week. However if he backs off the hard rock, he'll probably disappoint his hardcore fans. If he finds some country song that's been covered by a rock artist he'll get the one trick pony accusation from everyone else. Also he already did a country song, so I wonder if he's kicking himself for that. My guess is he'll try to find an existing country rock song, or maybe do something like Kid Rock's Picture.

Kellie Pickler - Country music is her thing, and she has the right voice for it, but it's not a great voice. This is where she may be blindsided by the other competition. The judges didn't like her silly Suds In A Bucket this week, so she really needs to pick something good next week.

Bucky Covington - He's facing the same problem as Kellie. Country is his thing, but he can easily be outclassed by better vocals from other contestants. Hopefully he has some song that he always sings well.

Paris Bennett - I'm really not sure how she'll do in this category. Like Katharine she'll probably also go for a ballad.

Ace Young - I think Ace will have the most problem with this category. He's really not that good at varying his vocals and I can't really picture him singing a country song. After being in the bottom 3 for the second time (though not consecutively) he needs to try to find something he can really sing well.

Mandisa - This doesn't seem like a great category for her either. I can picture her doing I Will Always Love You or a similar sounding ballad.

Elliott Yamin - Again this doesn't seem like his best category, but Elliott has a good voice so if he picks a good song he'll probably do ok.

American Idol - Down to 9

So the big "shocker" is that Katharine is in the bottom 3 - or actually bottom 2. I won't listen to the hype anymore, because the person who actually went home was the most obvious choice of all -- Lisa Tucker. Lisa had been in the bottom 3 2 weeks in a row, so it was pretty much a given that she would be leaving.

Ace had the third lowest votes, no surprise there. He hasn't been doing well, and he completely underwhelmed everyone on that Train song on Tuesday.

So Simon, who I think said Katharine was the best of the night on Tuesday, says 'Oh, I watched it back and it wasn't that good afterall.' What's up with that? I didn't think it was good either, but on Tuesday he said she was "almost as good as Christina Aguilara." Seems like they were trying to hype her up a little to keep her in the contest. Simon's loosing some credibility as a judge on that one.

American Idol - Music from the 21st Century

Maybe because they crammed 10 songs into one hour, or maybe because most of the contestants didn't seem to know what would make good song choices, but last nights show was certainly the worst of the season so far.

Coming off a lot of criticism from last week, Taylor Hicks is the only one who really seemed to concentrate on a vocal performance. Ironically, Taylor is the one I thought would have the most trouble with this theme and he did fine. The other contestants, aside from Bucky and Katharine, all seemed uncomfortable in their song choices and did over the top stage performances (kind of like what Taylor was criticized for last week).

I found it difficult to make my best to worst list this week, because I really only enjoyed Taylor -- but here's what I came up with:

1. Taylor Hicks - Did Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. With this performance Taylor reminded everybody that he is on American Idol because he can sing. His understated performance showed off his vocals and was the kind of performance that just forced the audience to listen. Randy Jackson was only lukewarm on the performance, but I think Randy is expecting Taylor to morph into Sam Cooke or Ray Charles before our eyes. Simon like the song and the perforamnce, which I think is what Taylor was going for.

2. Bucky Covington - Did Tim McGraw's Real Good Man. Ok, maybe vocally Bucky shouldn't be number 2 on this list, but I liked his understated performance. He made the right choice in going for a country song, after not being able to for a couple of weeks. He sounded pretty good, though Paula was right in saying he needed to work on enunciation. Simon has obviously lost interest in Bucky, but I think he has an audience.

3. Katharine McPhee - Did The Voice Within by Christina Aguilara. The judges really liked this performance, but I thought it was just ok. Katharine would be much lower on my list had the other contestants been better. I'm not really one for fashion, and I don't usually care what the contestants are wearing, but last night was one of many times for Katharine that I thought to myself "why did she choose that and who told her it looked good?" From a distance her outfit looked like some kind of weird leotard.

4. Elliott Yamin - Did Gavin McGraw's I Don't Wanna Be. This performance did not really work for me. I hear this song several times a day on my local AOR station, and though Elliott tried to do a different arrangement, it just doesn't do anything for me. I thought Elliott was trying to hard to make his stage presentation more "interesting" and to me it was just too much. Elliott has a good voice, so as usual I can't totally dislike his performance.

5. Paris Bennett - Did Work It Out by Beyonce. I have to agree with Simon in saying that paris seemed like a kid playing dress up (and actaully my husband said the exact same thing during Paris' performance). The song was ok, she can sing, but I didn't really like it.

6. Ace Young - Did Drops of Jupiter by Train. I really like this song, and a lot of people were saying it would have been good for Taylor, and while I don't think it's Taylor's style, I'm sure he could have done a better job than Ace. I thought this performance would be the worst of the night for me, and really these last 4 are about tied in my mind, but Ace was not good, but not terrible which lands him at number 6 here. His voice is just not suited for this song. He lacks the power and rawness needed to make this song sound good.

7. Lisa Tucker - Did Kelly Clarkson's Because Of You. I'm probably being too kind in putting Lisa up this high, because she didn't sing this song very good at all. She was clearly trying too hard to show off a powerful vocal, but she was off key a lot of the time. She was also trying too hard to get rid of her "kid" image, but it didn't come across well at all. If this is not her last night, than I don't know what's going on.

8. Mandisa - Did Shackle (Praise You) by Mary Mary. This was by far Mandisa's worst performance to date. She ends up lower on the list than Lisa, just because she should have been able to do much better. This song made it seem like she can only do good when she's belting something out.

9. Chris Daughtry - Did Creed's What If. The judges finally call Chris out on sounding too much the same every week. They thought he took his performance too far for the American Idol audience. I have been saying all along that Chris is making his audience too narrow, so I'm glad the judges finally realized it. I thought his vocal performance was poor on this song, it didn't really sound like singing, mostly just controlled yelling. He concentrated too much on rock star theatrics this week.

10. Kellie Pickler - Did Suds in a Bucket by Sara Evans. I agree with Simon wholeheartedly on this one. This song choice was just kind of silly. She has the country voice, but I don't think this song appealed to a very wide audience. I didn't like it at all.

I think Lisa will get voted off this week, but I'm really unsure on the rest of the bottom 3. I'll take a guess and say - Elliott and Mandisa. I don't know why I'm picking Mandisa, I know everyone (myself included) thinks she's good, but I don't know what her fanbase is. I'm betting Bucky has a bigger fanbase than her, so I'll say Mandisa in the bottom 3 this week as an out of left field choice.

Update - 2:03 PM Pacific Time

I've been reading that tonight's cast off is a "shocker." This comes from one of the show's producers - Nigel Lythgoe. Of course he says that wanting people to watch, but I guess the choice probably won't be obvious.

I'm thinking it probably won't be Lisa going home, or Bucky.

Shocking contenders:

I'm sticking with my original choice of Mandisa.
Chris would be a huge shocker, and I highly doubt it will be him.
Elliott or Ace - not really that shocking - I think at least one of them will be in the bottom 3.
Katharine - I don't think it will be her
Kellie - Maybe, it would be unexpected, but when I think about it, not that weird.
Paris - Could be her. It would only be shocking in that she hasn't been mentioned as hurting for votes, but I don't think she has that big of a fan base.
Taylor - no possible way, I guess it would truly be shocking. No worries here about him.

My new bottom 3:

Mandisa
Paris
Ace

The end of Arrested Development

The news is official...Arrested Development is over. It's not getting picked up by Showtime. In an article from SFGate.com show creator Mitch Hurwitz says that Arrested Development has "reached its end creatively as a series."

I'm not too surprised, the news has been headed in that direction for weeks. The cast is probably anxious to explore other opportunities and most of the show's writers have moved on.

The series finale that aired on Fox last February already closed the book in my mind. I was hoping if the show did continue they would drop most of what was presented in the final four episodes, particularly the very last one.

If you haven't seen it yet stop reading now...

My biggest complaint is the storyline saying Lindsay and Michael were not actually brother and sister, and then Lindsay wanting to marry Michael?????

This also left George-Michael and Maeby not actyully cousins. What I liked about the show was the complex family relationships. The attraction between George-Michael and Maeby was one of the most funny and endearing aspects of the show.

Saying everyone was not related is kind of like stories that cop-out by saying "never mind it was all a dream anyway."

The third season lacked the charm of the first two, and I kind of felt the death knell from the get-go. I can't blame them. They always had the threat of cancelation over their heads. Then there was a hiatus for Jason Bateman's throat surgery, constant rescheduling and delays in broadcast.

I don't blame Fox because I think the show had enough media attention that people would have watched it if they wanted to. That being said, Fox could have done a better job with promotion and certainly scheduling. Maybe if Arrested Development had been a mid-season replacement and had been scheduled after American Idol (no I don't feel guilty for watching it) it would still be on the air.

My guess is the public just didn't want it, for reasons I'll never understand. You can have your American Idol and Arrested Development too. It is possible.

Simon Cowell - reluctantly predicting Taylor Hicks to win?

From 3/27/06 Rita Crosby on MSNBC. Rita Crosby is interviewing Simon Cowell and American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick.

****
COSBY: Simon, what about your top three predictions? You made a prediction a while back of who you think is going to be the top three. Are you sticking with that same prediction now?
COWELL: Yes, I’ll stick by it. It was Kellie, Taylor and Chris. I think that sounds fair, that sounds safe....

...COSBY: And who do you think is going to win? What’s your prediction on who’s going to win, who’s going to take it all?
COWELL: I have a horrible feeling that the public is going to vote for Taylor, and I would prefer Chris.
COSBY: You’d prefer Chris?
WARWICK: It's all subjective.

****

So Simon thinks Taylor Hicks will win the whole thing, but he wishes it was Chris. I would be willing to bet Simon thinks Chris is more marketable to a wider audience than Taylor, but I also think he is overestimating the marketability of Chris.

Taylor's music (which I have heard most of his original songs) probably won't appeal to a younger audience, but he has a big enough following that his music will sell and get played on AOR radio stations. He won't become a huge pop-star in the way Kelly Clarkson has, the same way the other 3 winners haven't.

The kind of music Chris performs has a very specific audience and hit it's peak popularity about 5 years ago. In my opinion Chris sounds just like a lot of already existing bands, so that could cut back on his ability to become really big in that style of music. That being said, I'm sure Chris will find some success in that genre, just like Taylor will find success in his.

That's my more objective look at it.

My subjective view is - Go Taylor! I hope you win.

Chris Daughtry fallout - Blame the judges

I'll be the first to say that I'm not really a fan of Chris Daughtry. I don't like the style of music he sings and I don't like that he gets around the themes by doing other people's covers of old songs. That's just my opinion though. Chris' fans like him exactly the way he is and that's fine.

Last week Chris did Live's version of the Johnny Cash song, Walk The Line for the 50's night theme. If you haven't heard about this you probably have no interest in American Idol and have already stopped reading this post.

Chris is being blamed for stealing the arrangement and calling it his own. This has been circulating the newswire for days, and has resulted in a lot of negative opinion about Chris. However I do not think Chris intentinally set out to fool the audience into believing he came up with that arrangement on his own.

It was Simon Cowell who said Chris took the song and made it his own. Live was not mentioned in the pre-song clips, where Chris was working with Barry Manilow, so many people in the audience jumped to the conclusion that Chris had come up with his own arrangement.

2 weeks in a row the judges have said Chris' songs were "radio ready." I guess they didn't realize those songs were already out there.

I think the show has decided that Chris should be in the top 2, if not win, and they got a little overzealous in promoting Chris as unique and original musician. Chris may very well be those things, but he has not shown it yet on American Idol and it is my opinion that he should not be praised for doing things he is not actually doing.

As far as Simon saying Chris is the only one who is "uncompromising", it think it is ridiculous for Simon to say that. Taylor Hicks has also not compromised his style, yet Simon goes around saying Taylor should color his hair. Musically Taylor is a different kind of musician than Chris, and no one should say he compromising just because he does do different styles of music. Taylor has always done a variety of different types of songs, so there is no compromising for him either.

Personally I don't think many of the other contestants have compromised themselves either. Some of them don't have definitive styles yet, so there is nothing to compromise.

It will be intresting to see tomorrow, how everything plays out. I'm hoping Chris demonstrates some personal integrity and is clears up what is basically a misunderstanding.

The American Idol top 10

Even though I had been saying Kevin Covais didn't belong in this competition for several weeks now, I have to say I was a little surprised he was voted off last night. I guess his performance on Tuesday was too good for the joke votes and not good enough to win over fans.

I think it's good that Bucky and Lisa will have another chance, because just going on singing Kevin was not that good. I'm not going to celebrate too much though. Kevin is only 16 years old, and I can only imagine what it's going to be like going back to high school after both proclaiming himself to be a "sex symbol" and being compared to Chicken Little.

What's up with Fox always rolling credits over the cast off's last performance. Shouldn't they at least get to sing their entire song for a captivated audience? I mean it's a half hour show, that only needs to convey about 2 minutes of information. Can't they time it a little better?

Here's who we'll be seeing on the American Idol concert tour this summer, and who will be appearing on the compilation CD.

Taylor Hicks
Mandisa
Elliott Yamin
Paris Bennett
Chris Daughtry
Katharine McPhee
Bucky Covington
Kellie Pickler
Ace Young
Lisa Tucker

- Next weeks theme is music from the 21st century.

American Idol - 50's night

Overall 50's night was a pretty good night for everyone. I have to say Barry Manilow turned out to be a great asset to almost all the contestants. Though I don't care for his music, I recognize his success as a songwriter and perfomer. He was very enthusiastic in helping all the contestants with their songs and arrangements, unlike Stevie Wonder who seemed to be just going through the motions.

Here is my reviews from best to worst:

1. Kellie Pickler - Her song was Patsy Cline's Walking After Midnight. I can hardly believe it, but I have to put Kellie as the best performance of the night. The song choice was perfect for her and she sang it well. She also had complete control of the stage and the audience, and was completely confident throughout her performance. She also wins some points for being most improved over last week.

2. Mandisa - Mandisa did I Don't Hurt Anymore. This song gave Mandisa a change to show off her vocals yet again. She had a great 50's sound, while still making the song her own. She may have hit a few bad notes, but her confidence and poise made up for it.

3. Paris Bennett - Paris did Fever, which we had seen a little of during Hollywood week. She didn't do as good of a job here, but it was still pretty good. Paris has a great voice, so it's good when she picks a song that shows it off.

4. Katharine McPhee - Katharine picked a great song with Ella Fitzgerald's Come Rain or Come Shine. This performance reminded me of why Katharine is on the show. I hadn't been too impressed with her lately, but she did a good job with this one.

5. Taylor Hicks - When I found out this week was going to be 50's I thought it would be perfect for Taylor. A lot of songs came to my mind that I thought he would be good at; Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away was not one of them. This was the first disappointing night from Taylor, and hopefully it's the last. It's not that the performance was bad, but he just did not take advantage of the opportunity to really show off his vocal skills. I kind of got my hopes up during his Barry Manilow rehearsal footage, because it looked like he was going to turn the song into his own style, but that did not really come across when he took the stage. Taylor was fun to watch, and I'll give hime credit for trying to connect witht the audience, but I would rather hear him sing than watch him run around the stage. I will also give him credit for giving 5 very different performances since making the top 24.

6. Elliott Yamin - Elliott did Teach Me Tonight, which is a song I'm not that familiar with. He did a pretty good performance, but it didn't really do that much for me. Yes, Elliott has a good voice, and the judges are constantly pointing that out, but he kind of sounds the same to me every time.

7. Ace Young - Ace did In the Still of the Night, and actually did a pretty decent job of it. It was probably his best performance in the competition. I don't really think Ace is that great of a singer though, and I just don't enjoy listening to him.

8. Lisa Tucker - Lisa did Frankie Lyman's Why Do Fools Fall In Love. Her performance was fine, but she just doesn't stand out as a performer. I think she would maybe do well on the Disney Channel or something like that. She sounds good, but is missing the "X factor," Simon has mentioned so many times.

9. Kevin Covais - As much as I think Kevin doesn't belong in this competion, he didn't do a bad job last night. He did When I Fall In Love, which is a great song and he handled it pretty well. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad.

10. Bucky Covington - Bucky did Buddy Holly's Oh Boy, and basically just showed everyone that he is not that great of a singer. There is a pretty good chance this will be his last week on the show.

11. Chris Daughtry - Chris does a dead on Ed Kowalczyk impersonation and gets praise from Simon for being "uncompromising?" So what that he does the same style every week? I don't have a problem with that aspect of it, but what I don't like is that he always just sounds like someone else, and the judges go crazy for it. He says he is going to do Johnny Cash's Walk The Line, but "a little different," and then proceeds to do an exact rendition of Live's version. It frustrates me to no end that Chris may win this competition and display no unique voice of his own.

My predictions for the bottom 3 - Bucky, Lisa and probably Elliott, but I'm also thinking the 3rd one could be Kevin. I think Bucky will get voted off.

Taylor Hicks...

So far I have avoided mentioning Taylor's hair on this site, because I really think too big of a deal has been made about it. However today I came across an article on TMZ.com indicating that Taylor is going to gradually start dying his hair this week. The idea is that he will make the gray less and less prominent as the weeks pass. Of course this is just a rumor at this point.

While I personally don't think changing his hair color is necessary, it doesn't bother me that he might do it, and I hope all of his fans feel the same. I like Taylor for his music and his personality, and I'm am aware that is on American Idol after all. There are things about American Idol that I don't like, but I would have never discovered Taylor if he wasn't on it.

So what if he has to compromise a little? His hair color won't make him a worse performer (and a note to the AI people, it won't make him better). I have come to realize that there are a lot of people who won't even listen to him because they think he is too "old" for the contest. I'll be glad if I don't have to hear anyone say that "there is no way is only 29" anymore.

My final word is that Taylor is great no matter what color his hair is, and this is the last I will write about his hair color on this site.

American Idol - down to 11

Melissa McGhee is gone, and that's no surprise, but the other two thirds of the bottom three were.

Lisa Tucker had the 2nd lowest votes and Ace Young the 3rd lowest.

Kevin Covais was completely safe. Why???

I'm no fan of Ace, but I don't think any of the contestants should leave before Kevin.

And now I remember why I've never really been into American Idol before. Well, that lame Ford commercial was the first reminder, but the bottom 3 results drove it home.

The commercial made me wonder if Chris Daughtry will loose any of his "rocker" credibility, since he was featured as the main singer.

I would think the same about Taylor Hicks, but he seems to be so thoroughly enjoying the whole experience, it seems nothing will phase him. I'm glad for that.

I hope Taylor does another fantastic performance next week so I can again be reminded why I'm watching the show in the first place.

Taylor Hicks and the rest of the top 12 do Stevie Wonder

A bigger stage, a bigger audience, and a formidable theme left some of the top 12 struggling last night.

Here are my thoughts from best to worst:

1. Taylor Hicks - Taylor knows what he's doing, and he want to win this contest. Taylor chose the upbeat Living For The City and turned it into his own. He knows how to work the stage and the audience, and look like he's having a good time while he's doing it. Taylor toned down some of his more eccentric moves and just concentrated on giving a great performance. Though a little more subdued, Taylor was still able to show his truly unique style and received the longest audience ovation of the night.

2. Paris Bennett - Gave an energetic performance and showed her ability to do a soulful vocal. I was starting to think Paris wasn't quite ready for this competition, but she proved me wrong last night. I liked her confidence and her ease on the bigger stage in front of the bigger audience. Her song was All I Do.

3. Lisa Tucker - Lisa did a pretty good version of Sign, Sealed, Delivered. My one complaint is that the the tempo was a little slowed down, which took some of the energy out of the song. Randy said it was kind of boring, which I agreed with. I'm putting her third, because I did think overall it was a good vocal and compared with a lot of the other performers she did put a lot of energy into it. She also seemed comfortable in the new format.

4. Chris Daughtry - I know a lot of people will put Chris in the top 3, if not number 1, but I have to take him down a couple notches. There's no doubt Chris is good at what he does, but he seems the most afraid to step out of his comfort zone. As soon as they said the theme was Stevie Wonder I knew Chris would do Higher Ground, but I was kind of hoping he would surprise me. Instead he turned in a performance in the style of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and basically just avoided doing Stevie Wonder. So the performance was good, but the originality was lacking, and I just don't get any sense of Chris' personality when he performs. Also he did not even know Higher Ground was a Stevie Wonder song until last week, so he looses some points with me right there.

5. Bucky Covington - Bucky stepped completely outside of his comfort zone and did Superstition. While it was far from the best vocal performance of the evening, I liked Bucky's enthusiasm and the effort he put into doing something different.

6. Katharine McPhee - Katharine did Until You Come Back To Me, which wasn't a huge stretch for her, but she did do a pretty good job. I'm not finding her performance to be all that memorable, but compared to about half of the group she did a good job.

7. Elliott Yamin - I think Elliott was a little too much in his comfort zone, and ended up not picking a great song choice. As the judges pointed out, he chose a safe song, Knocks Me Off My Feet, and gave a good but forgettable performance.

8. Mandisa - I thought last night was Mandisa's weakest performance of the season so far. She did Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, and the song seemed a little low for her range. She sounded better during the choruses, when she could really belt it out, but the verses came off a little weak.

9. Ace Young - I'll give Ace some points for trying to really connect with the audience and get them energized, but unfortunately his vocal performance was lacking. Randy called it "manic," which I agreed with. Ace had to go first and seemed very nervous, which caused the lyrics to be inconprehensible at times. His song was Do I Do.

10. Kellie Pickler - Kellie probably struggled the most out of all the contestants. She made the mistake of saying in her pre-song clip that she had no confidence in her ability to do Stevie Wonder and it showed. Her confidence seemed to slip as the song went on, and the only thing memorable about her performance was that it was bad. It was the first time Kellie received unanimous negative commenst from all three judges. Kellie did not seem comfortable in the new setting at all, and she'll have to work on that if she wants to maintain her status as one of the top performers. Kellie did Blame it on the Sun.

11. Melissa McGhee - Melissa did Lately sitting down almost the whole time on one side of the stage, which I thought was an unusual choice. Her pre-song clip showed Stevie Wonder getting slightly annoyed that she messed up the words during a song they were working on, and then she ended up forgetting the words during her live performance. She did seem to cover her mistake pretty well, and most people probably wouldn't have noticed had the judges not pointed it out. Despite the getting the lyrics messed up, the judges seemed to like her performance, but I thought it was just ok.

12. Kevin Covais - I've said this already, but I'll have to keep saying it as long as Kevin stays on the show, but I just don't know what he's doing there. Kevin is the only one to delve into Stevie's '80's work with Part Time Lover. Simon said Kevin's performance was apalling and I completely agree. Kevin has obviously let some of the adulation go to his head and his whole performance just seemed like a novelty act. Vocally Kevin once again showcased his lack of range and lack of stage presence. Keep the phones away from his pre-teen fans!

My predictions for leaving tonight are either Kevin or Melissa.

Simon picks Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry to make the final top 3

In several appearance including The Tonight Show last night Simon has named Taylor, Kellie and Chris to be the final 3 on American Idol. Obviously I hope he is right about Taylor, and I think he is. I think Chris will be there too. I personally would rather see Mandisa there than Kellie, but then again maybe Kellie would be less competition.

I think whoever wins this year could set a new standard for American Idol. If Kellie wins I think American Idol will take a step back and live up to it's reputation for being pop music fast food. I'm not saying Kellie is talentless, but her voice is just ok, but if she didn't have the looks and the likeable personality she wouldn't be there. If Taylor wins I think we may see a lot more real musicians, capable of writing their own songs (that are actually good), than ever before.

Not that I have gotten into the show for the first time, I realize that there a lots of different types of fans. There are people who are like me who get into a performer because they legitimately think the person is good. And then there are people who are just into the show, and they get into performers based on who they think is "right" for the show.

I can't stand hearing "I like Taylor, but he's not American Idol material." I don't think there is right or wrong "American Idol material." I think an American Idol can be whoever the viewing public likes the best. Of course I'm hoping true talent wins.

For Taylor Hicks fans - visit my Taylor Hicks Page and look at the entire page. I have included an easter egg just for Taylor fans - see if you can find it.

American Idol Top 12 perform tonight

For the first time the guys and girls will be both be singing, which means we will no longer have to keep the competition even. I'm predicting the guys will outweigh the girls fairly soon.

Tonight's theme is Stevie Wonder. According to the official site Stevie Wonder will be a guest on tonights show, and will be performing on tomorrows results show.

A lot of contestants have already performed Stevie Wonder songs, so I'm wondering if they are disappointed they may have already given their best. I can't see some of the contestants pulling tonight off too well...

Paris Bennett - I think she can do Stevie Wonder. She just needs to make a good song choice, which she hasn't for the last two shows.

Taylor Hicks - I think Taylor will also be able to handle Stevie Wonder. Again song choice is key, he probably shouldn't do a ballad. I think Superstition would be good, or maybe Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Kellie Pickler - Kellie may have a hard time with this one. I can't think of a song that she'll be able to do well.

Mandisa - Mandisa shouldn't have a problem tonight. There are a lot of song choices she could probably pull off.

Chris Daughtry - The obvious choice for Chris would be Higher Ground. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had a rock version of this song a few years ago. It might be nice if Chris didn't go for the obvious choice though.

Kevin Covais - Kevin will have a hard time with this category. I'm not sure what direction he'll go with this. My first thought was that he would do something like I Just Called To Say I Love You, but then again he might try to stretch and do something more upbeat, like Living for the City or I Wish.

Elliott Yamin - Elliott seems pretty good at picking songs suited for his voice, so he'll probably do fine tonight.

Melissa McGhee - Melissa really needs to pick a song she can sing well. She seems to want to be the "rock" singer for the females, so maybe she would be another candidate for Higher Ground.

Bucky Covington - I'm thinking Bucky might have the hardest time tonight. Stevie Wonder is obviously not the style he does best, and Bucky seems to have a hard time when he has to push his vocals outside his range.

Katharine McPhee - Katharine should be able to pull this off, though I haven't been too impressed with her last two performances. Her performance will probably be along the lines of Think, which she last week, good but not great.

Lisa Tucker - Lisa is a good singer and I'm sure there's a Stevie Wonder song she can sing well, but I have been a little underwhelmed by her. Hopefully she takes this opportunity to be a little more showy.

Ace Young - I know Ace is popular (or I've been told he is), but I think he is boring. He should try to stand out with this performance, but I bet he does a lame ballad.

Arrested Development Season 3 DVD Release Announced

Fox has announced Season 3 of Arrested Development will be released on DVD June 13, 2006. This is a much shorter wait than the previous season, which came out in November and October. There's no info yet on special features. All I know is that it's a 2 disc set.

The early release date probably solidifies Fox's cancellation of the show. It seems they just want to be done with it.

There are lots of rumors about Showtime picking it up for a Season 4 and 5, but nothing official yet. At the very least the early DVD release of Season 3 will allow new and regular viewers of the show to get caught up on every episode.

The DVD's can be pre-ordered at Amazon. I have added a very plain looking link to the sidebar. I'll also update the acutal AD page this weekend.

American Idol Results

For the girls - there were no big surprises. Kinnik Sky and Ayla Brown were voted off. I had predicted Kinnik and Melissa, with Ayla as a possibility. Ayla really messed up on her song choice Tuesday, so it wasn't a huge surprise to see her leave.

I was comepletely wrong on the guys though.

Will Makar and Gedeon McKinney were voted off.

With Will I just overestimted his teenage fanbase (which apparently went to Kevin), so not too big of a surprise on him.

What I was shocked about was Gedeon. There is no reason Kevin Covais should still be there and Gedeon not. Gedeon may have been a bit annoying in attitude, but he has a lot more talent than Kevin.

Next week brings us our first theme - Stevie Wonder. I am so not looking forward to hearing Kevin struggle through a Stevie Wonder tune.

As it stands here are the top 12 finalists:

Taylor Hicks
Paris Bennett
Ace Young
Kellie Pickler
Chris Daughtry
Mandisa
Kevin Covais
Lisa Tucker
Elliott Yamin
Katharine McPhee
Bucky Covington
Melissa McGhee

The night belongs to Taylor Hicks: a review of American Idol - 8 guys

Gedeon Mckinney - He did When A Man Loves A Woman - I'm not sure what to make of Gedeon. His attitude has always turned me off, but he does seem to have a genuine earnestness about his performances. I thought his vocals were pretty good, but he is a little smooth for my taste. I can tell he puts a lot of planning into his performances, which I do admire, but they tend to lack spontaneity. I do like that he is not just standing in front of the microphone.

Chris Daughtry - Did Seether's Broken. Again this was a song I'm not familiar with, and this time it didn't win me over. Chris has a good voice, but he's really locking himself into similar performances each week. Though this was a ballad, unlike last week, he sang it the way you would expect someone in a hard rock band to sing a power ballad. I think Chris is good at what he does, but I don't know that he'll be able to win over a big fan base for American Idol. His style of music appeals to a very specific audience.

Kevin Covais - I'm thinking this was Kevin's last performance on the show; well I guess he will be doing a farewell performance tonight. I knew from the first three words of the song that Kevin was done. He sang Don Mclean's Starry, Starry Night. American Idol fans may recognize the song from Caly Aiken's performance a couple years ago, but I'm sure many were scratching their heads. Vocally Kevin is just not on par with the other contestants, and I've been left wondering how he made it this far, but I think this is the end of the road for Kevin.

Bucky Covington - He did Wave on Wave by Pat Green. Bucky stuck with what he knows best, and did a country song. I thought it sounded pretty good, but not great. As Simon said, Bucky could be a good bar band singer, but he's kind of lacking the "wow" factor needed for American Idol. Also his voice become very ragged when he tries to do a more powerful vocal. I think this may also be Bucky's last week on the show, but frankly he shouldn't be in the bottom 2 as far as I"m concerned.

Will Makar - He sang How Sweet it is to be Loved By You. I'm not sure this was a great song choice. I didn't particulary care for the performance. I didn't think it really stood out, or was very memorable. It took me a while to remember what song he even did. I'm sure Will is going to survive this week, because he has a decent voice and teenage girls seem to be enamored of him.

Taylor Hicks - It's no secret, I love Taylor! Taylor embodies everything I love about music. He did The Doobie Brothers' Takin' It To The Streets. I have to admit this isn't one of the favorite songs, so I wasn't that excited about it , until Taylor took that stage that is. Immediately he got the audience to their feet and clapping their hands. His vocal performance was outstanding, he really got into it and showed the audience what he could do. Some people have been put off by Taylor's Joe Cockerish dance moves, but I like them. The reason I like them is that it's not a put on, it's just Taylor really getting into what he's doing. It's obvious he loves the stage and that he wants to be there. I think Taylor got the longest ovation of the night.

Elliott Yamin - Elliott is probably my second favorite performer on the show. He's got a great voice and a very laid back, unpretentious personality. Last night her performed Heaven by Bryan Adams. This may not have been the best song choice for him. The performance, though good, just wasn't memorable. I think Elliott will make it through this week, but his kind of jazzy style of music and laid back demeanor may ultimately knock him out of the competition too early.

Ace Young - Ace closed out the show with Michael Jackson's Butterflies. I thought I was fairly familiar with Michael Jackson's music, but I didn't know this song. Regardless, I thought it was a horrible performance. Ace does not have a good falsetto, and he has almost no personality when he performs. For reasons I have not yet figured out the judges were very kind to him, and even said he was good! I think I was most disappointed in Simon, because I just can't believe Simon actually liked the performance. Simon didn't say it was good, but he did say Ace "made it work." I swear they are judging Ace on his good looks and boy band potential.

If I could choose - Ace and Kevin would go home tonight, but my predictions are: Kevin and Bucky.

Taylor Hicks - Awesome!!!

My full review will come tomorrow, but I just have to quickly say Taylor was awesome tonight! I am so excited about his performance.

Way to go Taylor!!!

American Idol review - 8 girls

First up was Paris - she did, of all things, Miami Sound Machine's Conga. She probably chose it because it's more fun than last weeks Wind Beneath My Wings, but it wasn't a good choice. The song does not emphasize her vocal range and is just not that good. Why doesn't she do anything a little more souful, like she did during Hollywood week and during her audition? I know she is trying to show diversity, but there are better choices that what she did.

Lisa did a Tiffany Taylor ballad that I can't remember the name of. It was also not a great choice. While she sang it ok, there was just nothing notable about it, it was just kind of boring.

Melissa sang Heart's What About Love? I can't help but think she was inspired to do an '80's Heart song because of all the acclaim Mandinsa got for doing Never. Melissa has a decent singing voice, it's kind of raspy and bluesy, but she seems to think she has more power and range than she does. She had trouble handling the chorus of the song. Simon predicted she'll go home on Thursday.

Kinnik did Alicia Keys I Ain't Got You. This was another bad choice. Randy and Paula pointed out that she was off key the whole time and Simon said she just plain "messed it up." I can't disagree with the judges on this one, it wasn't a good performance. Simon also predicted she would be going home and Thursday.

Katherine did Aretha Franklin's Think. This performance is where I part ways with the judges. They were very positive about it, while I just thought it was ok. She's a capable singer, but I don't think she up to taking on Aretha Franklin. Since she didn't change the arrangement or style at all, there was no way not to compare. Her version was kind of like Pat Boone singing Little Richard's Tutti Frutti.

Ayla did Natasha Bedingfield's current hit Unwritten. I'm not familiar with the song, so I was able to listen without comparing. I didn't think the performance was very good. As the judges pointed out the song is not one for showing off someone's vocal capabilitites. Ayla referred to it as more of a performance song, but she didn't do much there either. She seemed to be holding back on really getting into it.

Mandisa did Chaka Kahn's I'm Every Woman. This was the first great performance of the night. Mandisa was able to show off what a powerful voice she has, and really made the song hers. She was completely confident and just overall gave a great performance.

Kellie was last to perform. I have to say that I wonder about her "I'm just a country girl" persona. I don't believe that they don't have seafood in North Carolina. Last week she was talking about trying Calimari for the first time, while I believe she'd never eaten, she was acting like she had never even heard of it before. This week she tried "Sal-mon" for the first time, and yes she did pronounce the "l." I will not believe she's never heard that word before.

That all being said, she had one of the better performances of the night. She sang Melissa Etheridge's I'm The Only One. While her voice lacks the power to really make the song great, she makes up for it with her stage presence. I can't believe I'm saying that, because I keep expecting to not like her, and I'm not sure that I actually do, but she has the X Factor Simon has talked about.

My (very obvious) predictions for who gets voted off tomorrow are - Kinnik and Melissa, I'll also give an outside chance that Ayla doesn't make it.

Why I like Taylor Hicks

1. He sang Swanee River Rock at his audition.
2. He played his harmonica during the "walk of doom."
3. He said he loves music after his first song performance of Levon.


I know this site has become a forum for whatever I happen to be into right now. It didn't take me long to learn I don't watch enough movies to be a serious critic, so I write about whatever strikes me and....

Right now I'm into Taylor Hicks. Normally he wouldn't have anything to do with television, and I would have no idea who he is, but then he showed up on American Idol. I've never been into American Idol, and I'll admit I was kind of a snob and thought that American Idol was not for people who were seriously into music, which I am. Actually I don't think I was wrong to think that way, until this year that is.

From the second Taylor walked into the audition I knew something very un-American Idol like was about to happen. He sang a beautiful (albeit short) version of Sam Cooke's A Change is Going to Come, and then when asked to do more he launched into a brief version of Ray Charles' Swanee River Rock. That is what really blew me away. I don't know many people who know that song (especially in my age group), and I certainly was suprised to see an American Idol hopeful sing it.

So it turns out Taylor is a serious musician who has been playing for many years in bar across the Southeast. I'm thinking Taylor wants to do American Idol so he can finally recognition and get signed to a record deal. Maybe he gave himself a deadline of "making it" by 30. So I like that he has changed everyone's perception of American Idol. Now American Idol seems like a great opportunity for someone to realize their dream of becoming a professional musician, instead of a vehicle for artificially manufacturing a pop star.

Watching Taylor has made me pick up my guitar again, just because I love music too, and I want it to be a part of my life. He also makes me want to try to do things I had previously given up on. I no longer feel like It's too late to try anything.

A futher reason I think Taylor should win American Idol is that he is actually good. Not just at singing other people's songs, but at his own. I have heard a few of his original songs, and I really like them. They are bluesy and soulful and overall well crafted songs. I like the sound of Taylor's voice and the way he puts a song across. His enthusiasm for music and what he doing is contagious.

American Idol does not just have to be about who technically has the best voice, or the best image. It can be about who makes an emotional connection to the audience with their music, and for my money that's Taylor Hicks.

And the winner is.....

in my opinion not the viewers. Jon Stewart was an ok host, but I'm not a fan of his, so I can give him much more than an ok. He seemed to be straddling the line between sarcasm about the whole self-congratulatory affair and being into it. I guess he may want to host again.

I have to admit I didn't really care about any of the awards. For the first year in a very long time I had only seen one movie (Crash) and I didn't much care for it. On the other hand, since I really had nothing to base an opinion on, I was kind of glad to see Crash win. Not because I didn't want Brokeback Mountain to win, I'd be willing to bet it's a better movie than Crash, but because it's always fun to see an upset.

They seemed so suprised Ang Lee wasn't up there accepting the Best Picture oscar they cut off the Crash producers before they had time to finish. I mean they cut off the best picture acceptance speech!!! It seems a little out of line to me, considering Best Picture is supposed to be the culmination of the entire show, and they can't even give time to the people they are supposed to be honoring.

The operative word in Acamedy Awards is award, but they give no time to the people who actually win. This year they actually played music throughout the entire acceptance speeches, making the recipients talk as fast as possible, thinking they would be cut off any second.

Instead of focusing on the winners we get endless montages showing how great and revolutionary Hollywood is. They can pat themselves on the back for being the beacon for social change in the country, or so they would like us to think. Never mind all the drug, alocohol and marriage problems we get from "entertainment" news everyday, we are supposed to think Hollywood as a whole are a free thinking, open-minded spearhead for change in the country.

Well, they can think again about that. What really made me take them even less seriously than I already did is that in their "we change the world" montage, they paired the truly great In the Heat of the Night, with The Day After Tomorrow. In the Heat of the Night, quite possibly did raise awareness of equal rights and did reflect social change that was already occuring in the country. Notice I said it is a "reflection," no one has ever tried to say that movie, or any like it, led the civil rights movement. The Day After Tomorrow is just a bad movie, and who is not aware of the need to try to preserve the environment. The Day After Tomorrow did not shed any new light on the subject or try to move people in a meaningful way.

Overall I do like Hollywood's self-egrandising attitudes that come out at Oscar time. They need to try to have a little fun for a change. It is ultimately supposed to be entertainment after all.

American Idol - Boys Night

I'll just start off by saying Chris Daughtry stole the show last night. I had never heard the song he sang, and it's not my favorite style of music, but his vocal performance won me over. He clearly wants to win, and he'll certainly give everyone else a run for their money.

Taylor Hicks started off the show with a rendition of Easy by the Commodores. I thought it was a good vocal performance, but he didn't really impress the judges, and it didn't compare to his show stopping performance of Levon last week. I do think the judges were a little hard on him, but maybe that had something to do with him going first and everyone comparing last weeks performance. I was hoping they would at least point out what a natural perfomer Taylor is, and that he is the only one brave enough to add in his own dynamics - like the extra "Whoo" or "Yeah's" he throws in. I was glad Paula pointed out that he has his own style, when Randy was comparing him to Ray Charles. I think everyone has high expectations for Taylor and are really wanting to hear him do something that will bring down the house. While I'm really wanting to hear something like Georgia On My Mind, he should probably save that one for later and not do a ballad next week. I'm not going to pretend to be unbiased here. Taylor is my favorite and I want him to win, so I'm really hoping he'll pull out all the stops next week.

Elliott Yamin performed Moody's Mood For Love next. While his vocal performance was excellent, I'm not sure the song choice connected him with the television audience. It was very jazzy, and just not a style that's popular on a wide level. I'm sure he'll make it into the top 6 though.

Next came Ace Young. There has been a lot of buzz around Ace, with a lot of people thinking he will win the whole thing, but I'm thinking the buzz will die soon. The reality is that while Ace may look good, he is only a mediocre singer. He wasn't displaying much of the X-Factor Simon was talking about last week. Personally I thought his performance of Daniel Bedingfield If You're Not The One, was horrible. He was off key almost the whole time and exuded almost no energy. I'm not sure why the judges were so kind to him actually, only Simon said it was not that good, but even he wasn't that harsh.

Now I can't quite remember the exact order, but I'll try to touch on how I felt about the rest...

Gedeon McKinney sang Sam Cooke's A Change is Going to Come, which Taylor had done in his audition. I thought Gedeon did a pretty good job, and I think he'll continue with the competition, if the audience can stomach his arrogant attitude. There is something very staged about Gedeon's performances, though this week was an improvement over last weeks well sung but animatronic Shout. That is why I brought up Taylor's audition. When Taylor sang about 30 seconds of the same song, it seemed like that was his real life, like he really felt it. That is what is missing from Gedeon's performances. He'll have to work on that if he really expects to connect with the audience.

Sway sang another Stevie Wonder song. There seems to be a lot of Stevie Wonder in the competition, though few people can really handle the vocals. Sway is just not doing it for me. I thought his performance was boring.

Bucky Covington did Garth Brooks Thunder Rolls. I thought it was a pretty good performance, but not a competition winning one. I agree with Simon when he says Bucky seems like an opening act - he's good, but not the best.

Kevin Conais did I Heard it Through the Grapevine. I was surprised by this choice, and while I was glad to see him try to stretch, the song ultimately did not work for him. I really emphasized his lack of range, and his lisp (that no one ever mentions). He couldn't hit any of the high notes, and the soulfulness of the song just wasn't suited for his voice.

Will Makar did Kenny Rogers' Lady, which I believe was written by Lionel Richie. I kind of groaned when I heard that he was going to attempt it, only to be pleasantly surprised by a pretty decent performance. I didn't think the song would be suited for his voice, but he ended up pulling it off. He does need to work on a more interesting stage presence though. I kept thinking he looked like he was at a school recital. Simon said something similar when he told Will he needs to loosen up a bit, which prompted Ryan Seacrest to inexplicably start pulling Will's shirt to untuck it from his pants.

Going second to last - right before the show stopping Chris - was David Radford. In my opinion he was the worst of the night. I think The Way You Look Tonight, is a great song, but David's performance lacked any real emotion, he was just trying to sound like Frank Sinatra, and that doesn't work for this show. Do we need more than one Harry Connick Jr.? I don't think so. Last week when David did a terrible Crazy Little Thing Called Love, the judge said he should stick to his own style, then when he did that they still thought it sucked. I predict he won't be back next week.

Even Ryan Seacrest thought David wasn't good, because when he introduced Chris right after, with David standing right there, he said "Now we're going to go out with a bang!"

As I mentioned above Chris ended the show with a powerful version of Fuel's Hemorrhage.

Besides David, I think either Kevin, Sway or Bucky will be voted off tonight.

American Idol tonight - vote for Taylor

Just a quick reminder that the boys will be performing tonight on American Idol. Taylor should be performing first, if they do it the same way they did the girls.

As for last night's show I was unimpressed for the most part. I thought Mandisa was the best, she showed how powerful her voice is, and made a song I wasn't crazy about pretty good. I thought Katharine McPhee was one of the worst. Her performance was completely forgettable, and just not fun to listen too.

Mostly bad song choices for every one. What's with all the country music? Because Carrie Underwood won last year everyone has to try their hand at country too?

Wind Beneath My Wings was a particularly bad choice for Paris. She put a lot of energy into her performance last week, only to do the complete opposite this week.

I thought the judges were pretty much right on in their criticisms.

My predictions for the girls this week - Heather Cox and Melissa McGhee will be voted off. Brenna is my runner up, if it's not one of them.