Oh.My.God.

Per eonline, Randy Jackson is preparing to release a new cd, featuring a duet with Paula Abdul.

Why, OH WHY, was this not done in time for me to purchase one for everybody I know for the holidays?

Apparently, Seacrest makes a cameo on the album as well. Oh yes, it's your wildest dreams come true.

Santa came early for Jocelyn with this little ditty.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson

posted by pregamejocelyn at 10:58 AM

If you haven't yet, you need to get over to the forums and get involved in our American Idol in-show threads, where I'm giving the running commentary during the West Coast broadcast. Last night's recap is here and the thread for tonight's big Charity/Elimination show is here!

If the shocking DialIdol is correct, Melinda will be the bottom 3 for the first time tonight! Phil saved himself this week with a decent vocal, and Chris pulled out a good performance, but he's been so close to the bottom for so long, it's his time to go.

Is it true that it's a Celine Dion/Elvis duet tonight? Yikes.

And our underdog favorite Heather Mills was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars last night, and we're very sad in the office today. We were really rooting for that leg to fall off, especially after last week's spill. Oh well. We still have the possibility of a Playgirl spread with Ian Ziering looming in the background.

Labels: American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Heather Mills, Paula Abdul, Pregame Forums, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 12:50 PM

Last night I live posted on AI on the West Coast at our wonderful forums. Country Night brought out Phil in his niche, and Jordin as a serious contender to take it all.

But the question is: who's going home? Actually very surprisingly Sanjaya is dead last on DialIdol, which actually doesn't mean anything if you take into account Kiki was there last week and somehow she was top 3. Go figure. And Chris. Oy vey. I'm done with him.

But at least there's some controversy over whether or not Simon rolled his eyes when he was talking about the Virginia Tech tragedy:



And there was almost another gay-off with Simon and Ryan, but we won't get into that. Don't be surprised if Justin's going home tonight.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Pregame Forums, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 1:03 PM

I mean, is it really worth doing a recap if it was all about Jennifer Lopez acting nice to these commoners singing Gloria Estefan songs?

You could tell the whole show was a downhill slide when Melinda comes out swinging with the version of "Sway" that I really don't like (for the record: my favorite version is from the soundtrack to Dark City.) When Simon finally finds something wrong with you, Melinda, the show is going to suck.

I really don't have much else to say about the people who either sang Santana songs (I mean, not even the good '70's Santana songs, the annoying overly-played recent crap) or Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine songs (that will always be dated by their '80's-ness.) There's no singing involved, and as the episode with Gwen Stefani showed a couple of weeks ago, none of these people can move.

At least Haley realized that slutting it up was going to work out for her.

Well, you know, except for Blake. And if he and Sanjaya are the only decent performances of the night, well, you know. God bless us, everyone.

I can't even talk about it anymore.

Anyway, DialIdol has-- gasp!-- LaKisha going home. And every week I keep saying Haley. But she's reaching the critical mass point of the show.

Labels: American Idol, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 12:34 PM

Poor Tony Bennett. All these kids who don't know any of the standards they're singing (except for maybe Blake, but that's because he got to sing the song that was in all those McDonald's commercials in the '80's). Don't get me wrong, I love Tony Bennett, always have, but bring back Rod Stewart for Standards Night. At least he was entertaining in the interviews.

Anyway, off to the races.

Blake kicked if off with "Mack The Knife," and really, you can't top Bobby Darin's version of the classic. As being over his little breakdancing/beatboxing crap, I wasn't surprised he didn't drop down and do The Worm at the end. But the squealing girls love him, so he's not going anywhere.

Phil comes out with some weird version of "Night and Day," and Paula must be back on the sauce after hearing that Frank Sinatra comment. If he was singing to his wife, she must not be a great person to be in love with. I was so bored, I changed the channel for a minute. He'll probably be in the bottom 3 (again), if not flat-out eliminated this week.

We don't really need to talk about Melinda anymore. Seriously. She could sing the ingredients off of a Rice-A-Roni box and make us believe it.

Chris. You are the only Chris left. He kept himself safe this week by not trying all that hard. Nice Justin hat, by the way.

Jordin was decent this week. She's really getting there. But everyone has her in the bottom 3, which I'm not sure I agree with. There may be a bit of a sympathy vote this week, even if she wasn't as phenomenal as she's been.

Somewhere inside me I root for Gina. (Maybe it's a fellow tongue-piercing thing, I'm not sure.) But as much as she tried, her look overshadowed her vocal, which actually was pretty decent. DialIdol has her in the bottom 3, and I wouldn't be surprised.

Okay. I admit it. I was oddly mezmerized by Sanjaya this week. I'm not gonna lie. I mean, not that he's really going to have a career after the show, but at least he's stretching out his 15 minutes. And the hunger striker already started eating again, so all is not completely dead. Yet.

Haley tried to slut it up this week, and it's going to fail on her. It's her critical mass week, I think. She's at the bottom on DialIdol, which she has been for pretty much the past month. It's her time to go.

I think there's starting to be a LaKisha backlash, because she's in the bottom 2 on DialIdol today. I'm not quite sure what that means, though: maybe people are in on her Diva-ness, or they're just done with her phoning it in and being told she's awesome every week. It'll be a shock if she really is in the bottom 3, but she won't be going home. At least she looked decent this week.

Haley and Phil are neck-and-neck to go home this week, but I'd hedge on Chris or Gina.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 10:33 AM

So much to say, right? Thank you Jocelyn, for getting the Sunjayahawk mess out of the way so I don't have to talk about it.

Gwen Stefani was the guest, which I think was a plus, because when she said that she likes music that doesn't require a big voice, that meant to me that we probably weren't going to be seeing what I call the "Star Search" big note and hand reaching for the sky move at the end of every. frikkin. song. (Really. You can check the old school mullet-licious Sam Harris on this YouTube video, reaching for the stars with two hands, people. That's talent.)

So LaKisha kicked it all off with Donna Summer, and looked a bajillion times better (and hotter, frankly) than last week. She is the Diva out of all of them, obviously. Though the sad part about watching her last night was the idea that she could have a viable career singing for European producers on House tracks for the rest of her life. But I don't think that's what she was going for.

I wanted to like Chris Sligh this week. But even before he started singing "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," which is not even my favorite Police song, when Ryan Seacrest asked that eternal rhetorical question Who's Going Home This Week, he was the first name to pop into my head. I mean, you can only hold on to the Blues Traveler vibe for so long, dude. And as a classically trained musician, watching him mess up the rhythm of that song made it hard for me to not want to change the channel.

You know, Gina made a good choice this week with The Pretenders. I didn't agree it was her best performance (I still think her Evanescence performance during the elimination shows was the best one), but it's one that was strong enough to keep her safe.

We're skipping over Sunjaya from now on. Call it a hunger strike, except that I'm training for a 5K next month, so I'm not recapping. But I'm eating like a mofo, believe it.

Haley decided she was going back to "Who are you again?"-type of singing last night. I mean, "True Colors"? Seriously? She's bottom 3 on DialIdol, bottom 3 on all other recaps, and she's bottom 3 in my heart. I mean, you could see it in the little cut to Sabrina in the audience during the show: this bitch needs to go home.

Phil Stacey did "Every Breath You Take," a great Police tune (up there, but not my favorite), and there really isn't a whole lot you can do with that song other than re-arrange it, and I'm sure after the stuff we've been seeing Blake and Sligh do over the past month, he's staying far away from that noise. The feeling is that he'll be bottom 3, but will stay, but if he doesn't go home this week, it'll be in the next 2 weeks.

Melinda did some Donna Summer too, and just seemed to breeze through it with no problems. I wasn't a big fan of the outfit, but she pulled it off okay. I'm kinda hoping at this point the voters don't get lazy and pull off a Daughtry.

Blake. I said last week I'm a little over his schtick by now. And when they mentioned The Cure in the opening bump of the show, I knew he was going to be the Cure person this show. And to make it worse, it was the boring 311 arrangement of the song. I lovelovelove The Cure, and I had to change the channel. I could've been listening to the original on my computer and been completely happy with it. But he'll stay in because the ladies love him.

It was hard watching Jordin, I have to say. We all know what she was trying to go for, but I think she showed us last night, and I hate to say it, that she needs some training to be able to sing that kind of upbeat music and roam around the stage for 3 minutes at a time. But she's super cute and wins the award for Most Improved, so I don't think she'll be going anywhere.

I almost forgot about Chris Richardson being the last person on the show, and almost switched the TV off after Jordin. But. He gets a A for effort on the arrangement, but I'm also done with his Justin-ing of his vocals. He just can't get the blue-eyed soul thing down. I say bottom 3.

Who might be going home? Either of the Chrises, or Haley. There's a rumor tonight may be a shocker elimination, and if that's the case, it's gotta be Gina or Jordin.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 1:53 PM

First off, your new American Idol-ism: Sungina. It's a noun meaning male with an ambiguous sexuality who is extremely sensitive. Thank you HollyWagers office!

Yeah. So Peter Noone and Lulu were last night's guests on British Invasion night. And not one Beatles song was sung. Or was that because Michael Jackson wouldn't let them, the meanie? Speaking of, there will be some MJ-ness in this wrap-up, so it'll be awesome! Also, this may be brief because as good as the show was, there are some other things we have going on, like wine tasting. Yummy!

So Haley took last week's compliment about having a little bit of stage presence and decided she was going to skank it up with some short-shorts this week. And you know what, it worked. Even though she's on the bottom of DialIdol's list, she might've pulled off another week.

Let me tell you, I'm still not a huge Chris Richarson girl, but he gained some respect last night with keeping it chill and acoustic. But there's so much Justin going on, I was expecting, like, a psychadellic version of "Cry Me A River" or something.

Stephanie. Poor Stephanie. I think even she's over the Beyonce stuff by now. Seriously. I think if you're pigeonholed by one voice, it's time to go. It means that your career is going to be you catching up to Bey's, and she's been surpassed by J-Hud anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if she's bottom 3 this week.

Okay, so I'm starting to get a little sick of Blake's schtick, is that wrong? I wasn't really all that impressed with him, but I did like the arranging far better than last week's mess.

Speaking of mess, LaKisha was one last night. At least, looks-wise she was. The singing was great as always, but the whole getup, including the million in diamonds and curly hair, was just gaudy. And, living in Vegas, I know what gaudy is, people.

Then there was the complete opposite with Jordin. Holy crap, I love that girl. With the straight hair and simple black dress, she was the best of the evening, by far. Her voice is getting better every week.

I really have nothing to say about Sunjaya. I had to turn away and mop the floor during his performance. Or whatever you want to call that.

Gina pulled out the Stones, which wasn't a surprise. But I really wasn't wowed by it. I was thinking she could pull it off after the Evanescence awhile back, but she just couldn't do it.

Chris Sligh went all Taylor on dat ass with the crowd manhandling, then deciding to use the mic stand as a fake weapon against Simon while singing a Zombies song that I've heard, maybe, once. But his posse had the best sign of the night with "Bringing Chubby Back." I've been singing it in the office all day.

I mean, do we even need to talk about Melinda at this point? She was a black hole of cute. And yeah, I guess she can sing.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:17 PM

Seriously. How can you say you enjoy Diana Ross, the original Diva, and forget the dammed words? Here we go:

Brandon has the unforunate draw of going first on the Big Stage, and falls (albeit very hawt-ly) into the trap of boringness, and forgets the words on top of it, not even bothering to hum his way through it. It sounded like he just ran a 3-minute mile and couldn't handle singing at the end of it. But he's staying in just 'cause he's so dammed cute.

And then, Melinda: I love this woman. I really do. The best thing about her performance last night, aside from turning a crap song into a barnburner, was the fact that as soon as the music stopped, she went from on-stage powerhouse to meek little singer. It was awesome.

Chris Sligh, I am over you. I was rooting for you before, because of your quirkiness, but your lack of knowing how to arrange out of a Coldplay palette and taking off your signature glasses cannot make me think you are a serious dude.

Gina barely pulled off "Love Child," and it completely validated my theory that niche singers cannot go far unless you're willing to learn a lot more than whatever makes the hits with the kids. You can't do Evanescence every week, lady.

Is it me, or does Sunjaya get more ridiculous every week with that bloody hair? One week, it's a Farrah feather, the next it's a straight mess, this week it's like some weird fro-thing from Hell. I had to keep changing the channel until he was done. Keep smiling kiddo, it's the only thing keeping you on this show.

So Haley actually didn't do too terribly. She mumbled through forgetting the words, which covered it up nicely. But this time she actually had a little presence. Though I just kept thinking it was in the '80's again while she was singing it. I think she saved herself from the chopping block this week.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Lakisha too. I really do. But there's something about her that seems to get tired every week. Maybe it's the idea that we know she's good. And she knows she's good. The judges know she's good. And she seems to be losing humility as every week passes. Is she turning into a diva already? And will America care if she does?

Stephanie did "Love Hangover," and I'm sure the judges would've talked about the cheeziness of the disco part if she'd sang that bit of the song. She just sounds so Beyonce that I don't see her lasting much longer. When she hits the big notes, she doesn't seem to be able to control them.

You know, Phil's not going all the way, but he'll hang in there for a couple of weeks. He has a really good voice for modern adult-contemporary radio, which will be a boon for him once he's off the show, but he really isn't the kind of dude to be a genuine pop star.

After Seacrest's radio show last week, when Sundance had mentioned that one of the guys was going around saying he had the show on lock, I was wondering what Blake was going to do this week with the Ross-ness. Handclaps from an 808 sampler to not make a song better, Blake. As a music nerd, his arranging wasn't much better than Sligh's, in my opinion. But he'll get through based on his cuteness factor.

I think I've figured it out with Chris Richardson, and just work with me here: while he was performing last night, I lost so much interest that I just looked at him and thought: "He looks a little like Ricky Schroeder. You know, if Ricky Schroeder and Justin Timberlake had a kid, it would be Chris Richardson." And just for fun, you can work this out, too:



Finally Jordin comes on and does a song from The Land Before Time, which she rocked on singing, and she sold it like Miss Ross told her to sell it. I think she's more surprised than anyone else that she's on that stage. I really really hope she makes it as far as she possibly can.

So that was it. DialIdol says that either Sligh or Stephanie is going home Wednesday, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's Stephanie. I would hope in my heart of hearts that it's Sunjaya, though.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:55 PM

Wow. You know, I'm not sure anymore. I guess I can just go through all 8 girls do some 1-liners, then wrap up with some speculation and predictions for Thursday night:

Jordin did Pat Benatar, which set up 2 things here: 1, that she's much more mature at 17 than Sunjaya is, which indicates that she knows exactly what she's doing, and that doesn't bode well for him, even if he does make it to the final 12. And 2, she let us know that she's willing to blow it out to keep herself in, even if she's one of the safe ones.

Sabrina sang some En Vogue, which seemed outdated to me (wow, mid-90's R&B is outdated already?), and I wasn't personally wowed by her vocal performance. Simon had it right on the money about having no personality. I really wouldn't be upset if she was voted out.

Antonella. Poor, poor Antonella. She did the best vocal job (for her) during the past few weeks when she did Corrine Bailey Rae, but again, Simon had it spot on when he said, "I feel for you because you've taken a lot of stick in the media, and you've handled yourself well. I don't think anyone should be thrown into that situation." And the wish that she could sing better, well, I think everyone, even the ones who want to keep her on there because she's hot, wishes too. Then again, the people who want to see more of her boobs would probably want her to not open her mouth, at least not to talk or sing anyway. And we were just talking in the office about how she seems like a genuinely nice girl in real life. But I think her time may be up soon.

It's time for Haley to go. I didn't even recognize the song she did (probably, after doing some research, it was Faith Hill, who I can't stand), but she sang it with such annunciation that I just kept thinking in my head, "You won't win this, but go on and get your Tony, girl."

Stephanie did "Sweet Thing," which is a song I love. But her voice just wasn't there. Almost literally, it sounded like she was squeaking in parts. I honestly think she hurt her chances, because she's had better performances, and it seems like she blew those out early. You need to save your showstoppers for after these elimination shows, people!

Don't get me wrong, I love me some LaKisha. But did you really have to do Whitney? Can we ban Whitney songs from AI for a couple of years? I didn't think it was her strongest performance (I preferred "You're Gonna Love Me" from the first show), I think she could've sang the contents off a box of Rice-A-Roni and cruised through this week.

Gina. That girl pulled it out of her ass last night with an almost perfect performance. She may have been able to save herself from elimination for now, but God forbid there'll be genre weeks coming up that she can't make rock out for her. Then again, Daughtry pulled it off for most of last season.

And then Melinda. I think she's my favorite right now, even with the weird neck thing. And any posts I make about her from now on will involve me talking about her neck. I can't help it. Aside from that, she was sassy, confident, gorgeous in that dress, and sang perfectly. LaKisha's got some competition.

So who's going home in the ladies' corner? DialIdol has Haley and Stephanie, and I say Haley and Sabrina. But I have a feeling I can't call it 2 weeks in a row. I can't ever be that good.

Once the elimination show happens Thursday night, keep an eye on our AI betting guide to get the latest odds and analysis on all the contestants.

Labels: American Idol, Antonella Barba, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:00 PM

Did I not call the girls or WHAT, people? Alaina and her Dixie Chick-lovin' ass, as well as Leslie's weird-ass man-voice are out, y'all.

And I have to agree with AJ being gone. There's something strange about him, and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because he looks like a small child or something. I mean, it's got to be bad when you're shorter than Ryan Seacrest, right?

Yeah, America wasn't really voting for Pedro, seriously. And now ends the Napoleon Dynamite jokes for the next 3 months. Nick, my friend, you just need to get a job.

I love how all the girls pretend like they're rooting for each other, and Lakisha just stands there like, "I can outsing all of you, I don't need your prayers. Jesus already got my back."

Next week is the last elimination. Who's going to go home? Who will mess up so bad that they'll get the sympathy vote (again)? Will anyone throw up onstage when they find out they made the final 12? We don't know, but it'll be fun finding out!

When the final 12 are chosen, we'll finally be able to find some odds and get you a betting guide for the week-to-week drama. Oh Lord, watch out, people.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:50 PM

I can't read the Idol boards anymore. Either people are bitching about Alaina doing the Dixie Chicks or about Antonella and her pictures and how bad she was the past 2 weeks. She's going to be staying on anyway because she's getting the sympathy vote, and people need to just deal with that.

What was up with people doing Whitney tonight? I'm done with Haley after she decided to yell out "Queen of the Night." Done. I was ready to really like her, and now I'm over it.

Sabrina's version of "All the Man That I Need" was good. I liked it, but it just didn't wow me like I wanted. And I'm a fan of Whitney's 80's pop.

I can understand Alaina's Dixie Chick affection because she's struggling to stay in there, but come on girl, you really messed your chances up of staying another week, especially when you sing that on the FOX network!

I don't even want to talk about Antonella. I didn't like her in the audition process, I certainly didn't like her in Boot Camp after the Bailie Brown incident, and I still don't like her now, Photoshopped porn pictures or half-naked drunk college pictures or not.

I'm also done with Leslie. She's cute, but her voice is just weird. And she did the same song that AJ did last night? WTF? I love Nina Simone, too, but I would've picked a different song.

I'm slowly becoming a fan of Team Lakisha. "Midnight Train to Georgia" was just awesome. And as much as I didn't like Simon picking on her fashion sense, he was kinda right about that. Her outfit just wasn't right for her.

Jordin sang Christina Aguilera's song from Mulan, which was good. She's just so damn cute, even if she was getting pitchy because she was getting emotional, I think we can cut her some slack.

You know, I liked Gina's version of Heart's "Alone." I thought it was a perfect song for her to sing because it's on the edge of pop but also on the edge of being rock. And forget Simon, I liked the dress. It was hawt.

I wasn't a big fan on Stephanie's "Dangerously In Love," mainly because she did the same vibrato work that Beyonce did for that song, and really, I was over Bey after the Oscars, so I didn't need to see or hear any more of her for awhile. But the judges seemed to like her.

My favorite of the night by far was Melinda doing "My Funny Valentine." She sang it perfectly, had just the right amount of confidence, and she didn't look as freaky as she did last week. I still contend that she has no neck, which is a little weird, but I think I can get over it.

So who's going home tomorrow? DialIdol says Stephanie and Gina, I say Alaina and Leslie.

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:35 PM

I really have nothing to say about it, 'cause it was boring. Look, I know everybody's nervous and excited and this is the first time they're performing in front a bunch of people and the judges and cameras, and the lights and cheering. It sucks.

That being said, based on last night's performances, anybody could be going home. I mean, really. Guys, where you at this year? I mean, even the guys that were good-- like Blake, Brandon, and Phil Stacey-- were just okay. I mean, these people really need to step up in order to represent this season.

My predictions for who's going home tomorrow? Sundance (what was with the hands, dude?) and Sunjaya (love him to death, but doing Stevie was not a good idea).

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 1:09 PM

Either you love or you hate them, but this is the group that's going to be cut in half for the next 3 weeks. Here's my little take on the group this year.

Alaina: She's trying to look all coy in her pictures, but we know she'll say something mean at some point, right?
Amy: The unfortunate thing is that when you look at her eyes, she looks kinda lost sometimes.
AJ: He's a real likeable dude, but we don't know him yet.
Blake: He's getting all the love on the boards, which could be a good indicator for him.
Antonella: The more I see her on camera, the less I like her. I wouldn't be surprised if she's gone next week.
Gina: I get that she's trying to be alternative rocker chick. I get that she's pushy. But can she be diverse?
Brandon: I have to say I like him. We really need to see him sing an entire song, but I like him.
Chris: I don't know, there's something I don't like about him. Like he's a punkass or something.
Haley: I still contend that I like her. She stepped it up and here she is.
Jordin: Love love love her. She's my "rooting for the kid" pick this season.
Chris: I'm not sure how I feel about him. His voice is good, but I'm not sure America is ready for his look.
Jared: He's been pretty quiet, too, so we have to see how he does next week.
Lakisha: I'm a firm believer that she's the Mandisa of Season 6. She'll be spouting Jesus next week, for sure.
Leslie: You know, she looks a little plain for me, but she loves Nina Simone, which I respect.
Nicholas: You know, I don't know about him either. Watching him in Boot Camp, I really didn't get any nice vibes from him.
Paul: Is it me, or does nobody seem to like this guy? Like, at all?
Melinda: I have to say I like her. She's got the kind of overall personality that the people eat up.
Nicole: Again, someone who looks plain to me. I just don't see anything spectacular right now.
Phil: I'm not sure his hippie vibe will get past the first couple of weeks. And add to that he's the oldest of the group, which could be a disadvantage.
Rudy: He's likeable, and he's got a decent voice. I think he'll make it, personally.
Sabrina: I can say this: even if she didn't have a voice, she definitely has a look.
Stephanie: She's got a little of a Fantasia look to her. But girl, just don't go crazy.
Sanjaya: Look, he's cute, and he sings great, but homeslice needs a new hairstyle, y'all.
Sundance: Here's why Sundance is getting in (psst, it's his Dad):

Labels: American Idol, hollywood, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 1:09 PM

We're finally down to the last audition show before Boot Camp in Hollywood! Would Simon, Randy and Paula find talent deep in the heart of Texas? They actually did!

Don't get me wrong, what was with the dude dressed up like Alvin from Alvin & The Chipmunks doing some kind of metal version of the Alvin & The Chipmunks Theme? Dude? At least this time around, they weren't as freaky as they've been in other shows. Must be something about Texas. I dunno.

Anyway, highlights: Haley. You know what? I like her. She's got a look, and her voice is great. I know they were talking about how she wasn't that unique, but I think she might be able to step it up. I have a feeling about her-- that is, if she can work with other people and learn some songs really fast in Boot Camp. If she can't, forget about it.

Baylie Brown-- you know, I wasn't wowed by her because I'm not a country music person and I'm not a big fan of the average white chicks. But I agree that she looks perfect for pop or country pop.

Can I just say I loved Akron and William, the cousins who auditioned together? It showed a lot of love by Akron to just go in there, sing really badly knowing he was just doing it for his cousin, and then asked if he could act like he was going to hurt the judges on the way out? Brilliant strategy: come in, sing like crap, and then your cousin comes in and blows you out of the water so he can get a golden ticket? Nice.

And to see Ashlyn get a second chance was really cool. She has a really good voice and I think could work on her weird facial expressions before Hollywood. She's a good looking girl who took her rejection in stride and then came back and did a great second audition. That's good TV, people!

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, reality, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:21 PM

Wow. I really don't have a whole lot to say about tonight's episode other than L.A. has the freakiest people on the planet, period. And I used to live in Southern California.

Oh, and Peanut Butter Jelly Time dude? Awesome.

What was with the begging chick this time around? She butchered The Clash the first time around, and she begged to butcher another song, then brings her mother in? Are you for serious? Just because your mom used to dance for Sinatra and his hotter than you doesn't make you a singer, yo.

But there were a few good ones in the mix this time. Seems like the guys are getting their due in the City of Angels. My favorite had to be Brandon Rogers, the background singer who did "Always On My Mind." The sexiest version of that song I think I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of versions of it. I liked the 19 year old, but I agreed with Simon that he looked pretty forgettable. He kinda went a little overboard singing "Change Gonna Come." And Sherman, the older guy who just lost his wife and sang "You Belong To Me." Just broke my heart.

All in all, 19 people made it through to the Boot Camp in Hollyweird. Next week, the last stop is San Antonio. What kind of talent (?) will they find in the home of the Alamo? Who knows!

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 11:00 PM

At least you can say this about New York: people are freaky no matter where you are going. What the heck was up with the orgasming girl at the end? I don't think Janis Joplin ever made a noise like that onstage, let alone on a record. Yikes.

And Ian who? Are you serious, dude?

That being said, there were some really standout singers from the Big Apple, including the Tyson Beckford lookalike, Henry. Hot and a good voice, I likes, even if he's only 16. 16, people! That makes me feel gross just typing that.

I like how the two Jersey girls (and I called it even before they said they were from Jersey-- ask my boyfriend!) sang together and were terrible, and yet the girl with no training whatsoever was hotter and better. Once she gets done up, she could sexy her way up to the top. Could being the operative word there.

But my favorite so far? Kia. That girl just let it out like it was a caged beast, that voice of hers. Could she be the next Jennifer Hudson? We'll find out in Hollywood!

We'll be on the recap tip again next week with the down south flavor of Birmingham, Alabama!

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, reality, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 10:02 PM

...And by "attacks," we mean by really really bad (and deluded) performers. Yikes!

Don't get me wrong, I love Seattle. It's a great city with great people, and a lot of talented artists have come from there. But out of 2 days of auditions, only a select few made it to Hollywood. What is up, Northwest? Rain got you down? Couldn't get out of bed?

The thing that gets me the most is the bad singers not realizing they're bad. I mean, the poor single mom whose 6 year-old loved, but her husband told her to stay home? She wanted like three chances to sing and they were all bad! I have to turn away from the TV sometimes. Why do you have to interrupt three professional judges in order to make it clear that you suck? Why, people?!?

And the Taylor wannabe? Dude, come on!

But, onto the good stuff from Seattle: loved loved LOVED Thomas Daniels (the guy with the fro who sang Amos Lee, two reasons for me to love him) and Jordan Sparks, the spunky 16 year-old with the big voice.

I'm feeling good about the girls this year. They've been having better auditions overall, and it's all about the girl power this year! Which girls will make the final 12? We still have a bunch of auditions left before we even make it to Hollywood, and you better believe we'll be recapping and making our favorites this year!

Labels: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, reality, Ryan Seacrest, Seattle, Simon Cowell

posted by Kari at 12:28 PM