American Idol Finale

With the finale of American Idol on tonight, I thought I would share my view on the two finalists. From the beginning I have liked Blake, especially his ability to modernize otherwise boring songs. Some probably fault him for this, claiming all his songs sound the same. And to those I say that you are right, but at least he has a style that is his own. I get the impression that when he does make his own records that is what they will sound like so it doesn't bother me. Jordin has also become one of my favorites as the season went along. I think it was because of her combination of singing ability and youthful charm. All the other good singing contestants were old and boring. I never found myself rooting for any of them no matter how well they could sing.

I think that Jordin will win, but that in the end it won't matter. It seems like most seasons there are a few singers who launch themselves into the music scene and start a career. And I think that will happen for both of these contestants.

For those who can't resist, check the prediction website that I linked once before in this post.

AI is now sans-jaya

i would be remiss to not mention that sanjaya was eliminated from american idol. while this does not upset me, i am a little surprised. i dont think he had been in the bottom 3 in recent weeks and figured he had some support that would carry him a few more weeks.

i am always surprised by how different the voting is from one week to the next. i always though most idol fans picked a favorite and voted for him/her, regardless of performance. i wonder how many voters are actually casting a vote based on the performance of that week. it would seem to me that those voters would not be be the obsessive ones who cast many votes. i am not sure why i think that, but it is my hypothesis that the people voting over and over again are either loser howard stern fans or crazy teenage girls.

taking it off on American Idol

I am not sure if I am the only only one who noticed that it looks like Haley is playing strip American Idol. It seems each week she removes one article of clothing. I heard next week they are installing a pole on stage to enhance the performances. (If that is true MF will probably be there- side note how awesome would it be if that did happen and then MF made it rain like Pacman Jones on American Idol.) If you want my opinion, I don't mind the way she dresses and I hope she makes it far in the competition. I think my favorite is still Blake, but she is in my top 3 or 4.

It should come as no surprise that Sanjaya was safe once again. I have mentioned him before, but his arrogance is really starting to bother me. I admit the thought had crossed my mind that he could be getting tons of votes from people in India. I have called customer service numbers and been rerouted to India, so it seemed like a possible explanation for his survival. But according to this article that is not true. Although I believe that people from India are not the reason he is still on the show, I do not think that the show airing a day later in India is the reason. I think they are certainly advanced and savvy enough to figure it out and vote for him if they wanted.

That discussion reminded me of another book that I am currently reading and recommend. Though not as good as WDIT, The World is Flat is very interesting. To confirm for those of you who know me and my tendencies- yes, that is two books I am reading.

American Dagger

I didn't mind seeing Chris S leave AI last night, but I am getting a bit frustrated with Sanjaya. At first it was funny having him on there. He was unique, soft-spoken, innocent, and a decent singer. But now it seems all he can do (when performing) is talk softly into a microphone. In my opinion he is (and has been for a few weeks) the worst singer remaining in the competition.

I understand that some people support that website that tries to have the worst singer win, and then others are trying to follow Howard Sterns request or whatever... And the best part of those people voting is that they are just as bad as the regular voters. I think they think they are so badass and cooler than regular AI voters. They hate AI and everyone who watches it. After all, normal AI voters spend 2 hours voting over the phone every Tuesday night. That is SOO much less cool than the Howard Stern fans who spend their Tuesday nights voting on American Idol!

Even though the Pro-jayas will never understand that, it doesn't really bother me. The thing that really gets me is Sanjayas newfound confidence. At least when he was innocent and sucked I felt sort of bad for him, and there was always a decent chance he would cry on stage. Now he seems to be coming out of his shell more and for some reason thinks he belongs. He has much more of an attitude, and is much more outspoken then in the past. And if he were like that in the beginning it wouldnt bother me. But right when he starts sucking big time and being out sung each week, he now feels like he is in a position to talk back to the judges and get all confident? Basically I can't stand him anymore. I want one of the judges to just be really mean for once... Except I fear that might result in a backlash and the Fanjayas would vote even more.

American Idol Update- guys

I was thinking about my AI boys prediction and saw I was 5/6 on the guys. The only person I was wrong about was arguably the worst remaining contestant. But I am not very upset about it, because I had Paul (who was my least favorite) moving on instead of Sanjaya.

interesting predictions courtesy of Dial Idol

Dial Idol predicts that Brandon and Nick will be voted off tomorrow. Based on what I saw, that would not be surprising [then again i have never voted on AI.] That site is pretty interesting though, users can upload the program and use it to speed dial votes via your modem. I guess the analysis it provides is based on the rate of busy signals... anyways, if you are nerdy and care to read about it you can find answers to most of your questions here.

If you want to know my opinion of last night, I liked Blake and Chris R the best. I thought Brandon was sort of weak (although he picked another awesome song, just not AI awesome) and Sanjaya was terrible. I think S-jaya has a good voice, but it is so awkward it's almost painful to watch when he sings. Chris S still looks like he belongs on The Family Guy, but he did alright. I just don't like him as much as others seem to. AJ seemed kind of female and diva-like the way he constantly moved his neck. I thought the bald guy Phil was good. Jared did well and sung another money song, but i think it was said that he lives at home with his parents, which he seems kind of old to be doing... Sundance was strong, but he was bad 5 times in a row, so eventually he had to do better. Finally Nick was average. I think SJaya and Nick should be bounced.

oh cua...

for those who haven't heard already there is much noise surrounding american idol contestant antonella barba. it seems there are some pictures of her going around on the internet, including one in the bathroom on the toilet and one on vacation with her friends. since i know you are going to search around for them anyways, here they are;
honestly i dont think there are a big deal. my reaction to the first one is why does she need so much toilet paper? i feel like that picture could very well have been taken at a party at the cloisters. there were probably a bunch of college students hanging out and someone thought it would be funny to bust in and snap a picture. its not the worst thing that has happened at a cua party [side note, i am pretty sure i knew i saved those pictures for a reason, i couldnt find them anywhere with a quick google search...] and i am over the second picture. if anything, i feel bad for the other people in the picture, in particular anyone who might find the picture less than flattering.

i could see why in the american idol scene these photos are less than desirable, but they are not nearly as bad as some other things that contestants have done...

American Idol 2007

I just watched the guys perform and here are my thoughts on the contestants:

AJ
I immediately became not a fan because he came out with his collar popped. i thought he sang alright, but nothing too awesome. i was too distracted by his shirt to listen to the music. i dont know if he will make the top 6. its annoying how they always bring up the fact that he tried out 5 times.

Blake
I liked Blake going in, mainly because of his beat boxing. This makes him different, although I was unsure if he could even sing. i think he has a lot of musical experience. tonight he seemed pretty strong when he sang a song that i did not expect. I hope he makes it to the top 6. i

Brandon
He was alright, i think he can sing but i dont like or dislike him. he is fairly normal and like many of the other contestants this season i think he has a lot of experience.

Chris R
I like this guy and he seems solid. And although it was sort of hard to actually hear him sing tonight, i thought he did a good job. i would like to see him make the top 6.

Chris S
He reminds me of a cartoon character, and I cant believe how old he is (like i should talk...) I think his personality got him pretty far, and now its up to his voice. then again, taylor hicks made it all the way and got extra votes for being diffferent. so that will probably help chris s. i cant root against this guy, but he will need to continue to prove he can sing for me to root for him. oh, and lose the stinger. just because its the only place you can grow hair doesnt mean it looks good.

Jared
I didnt really like this guy much, until he sang Brian McKnight. I love BMcK, so I started liking him tonight. I didnt think he sung it that well, but i still found myself rooting for him (note, its so easy for me to like you on AI. either be hot or sing a song that i like...) i also thought it was funny that one of the judges said 'that was how brian mcknight would sing it.' but brian mcK did sing it, and it didnt sound like Jared. am i missing something? despite the song, i dont see him making it without some improvements.

Nick
I still am not sure why this guy quit last year, but you would think they would say since they bring it up everytime he is on the screen. he sung alright, i didnt love the performance but i didnt hate his voice either. i dont really like him too much, although i suspect he is a bosox fan and if that is the case he might be alright. i also liked when he said vote for pedro.

Paul
what is up with the double first name this season? half the guys have it, including this guy. for some reason i really didnt like this guy tonight. i am not sure what it is. it was probably either his singing or his personality. and its also annoying how he is trying to make being barefoot 'his thing.' i am pretty sure that was invented a long time ago. and its about on par with making a self proclaimed nickname. i hope he goes home.

Phil
when he was singing he kind of looked like my dog. that being said, i still liked him (even though he missed the birth of a child for this...) i liked him going in, and i thought he was solid tonight (the judges seemed to like him a lot.) it seems a lot of the contestants are older this year...

Rudy
how can you not root for a guy named rudy? i liked him in the tryouts although i was disappointed to hear that he is a professional singer. fair or not, i expect more from people who are singers before AI. anyways, he lost the soul patch and sung alright. not great, but not as bad as many of the others, so i hope he hangs around a while.

Sanjaya
this guy seems so young and innocent. he has a good voice, but its sometimes awkward and emotionless. which is strange because all they ever talk about is when he cried. i think he should trim his hair. i dont think he should move on, and i will be surprised if he does.

Sundance
all this guy does is not sing well. he sung well once and somehow he outlasted thousands of other people. once again tonight he disappointed. he doesnt seem to have much personality, just the ability to perhaps occasionally belt out a song. i havent seen it, and honestly i dont think he deserves any more chances. if he does stick around maybe he will show what the judges see in him, but for now i am not impressed.

here is who i want to move into the next round:
rudy
phil
jared
blake
chris r
chris s

here is who i think will move into the next round:
phil
paul
chris s
chris r
brandon
blake

here are morgans top 6 predictions
AJ, Blake, Chris S, Brandon, Jared, Chris R

my predicted eliminations for this week: sanjaya and jared

another CUA student

I am rooting for Antonella Barba (right, with her friend) on American Idol because she is a student at CUA. From what I have seen she is pretty good, and I heard through the grapevine a few weeks ago that she made the top 24 (which airs tonight). For anyone interested here is her page on myspace.

After writing that I sort of feel like a stalker. In other AI news I hope the beat-box guy Blake makes it through. He is pretty good I think, and its just fun to watch someone do something different.

not what i expected

This is not what I expected Katharine McPhee's first album cover to look like. I am not saying I mind at all, I am just saying it doesn't seem to match the image she portrayed on American Idol last year... I think I remember her lying on the ground and singing barefoot saying that was how she was most comfortable.

I confess that I probably will buy the album, since she was my favorite contestant from last season (along with Pickler). Although part of me does feel like she is 'selling out' a bit. I always got the impression she was not trying to be a pop princess. I assumed that the songs she chose were the type of songs that she enjoyed singing.

That being said, I don’t really hold this against her. Were I in her shoes (or knee length leather boots in this case) I would probably sing whatever song I could to produce a popular record.