American Idol - Top 36 - Group 2

Well,  here we are finally…..Group 2 of the Top 36!!  No one I’m particularly crazy about other than Adam Lambert.  I think he gives a great show whenever he performs!! LOL   There are a lot of folks tonight that I am not at all familiar with!  So I will be listening close!  :)  Here we go:

Jasmine Murray – “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles.  I was not overly impressed.  She has the looks of a star, but not sure of her voice still and that performance didn’t help me decide anything at all!  She is a possibility for the Wild Card round, but I don’t see her being the top girl of the night.  Still too early to tell since she was first!

Matt Giraud – “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay.  Looks like we are going to have the same issue tonight with song choice as we’ve been having for a while!  I really liked him during Hollywood week, but that performance was not that good.  Based on judge’s comments they obviously like him so we will most likely see him in Wild Card round, not top guy tonight at all!

Jeanine Vailes – “This Love” by Maroon 5.  Boy, was that EVER the wrong song to come and try to impress us with.  This is really the first time I’ve seen her and I must say, not impressed at all!!  Not sure Maroon 5 was the way to go for her voice.  The judges attempt to take the focus off the bad singing by talking about how great her legs look.  HA!  Just tell her she will NOT be top girl NOR is she coming back for the Wild Card round!! 

Nick Mitchell – ok..no such luck…Norman Gentle is who we end up seeing. “And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Holliday.  Is he trying to make a joke out of the show?  Go to Vegas Nick, you can make really good money there and entertain a TON of different people all the dang time!!!  JUST GO!!!   Now I do give him credit for doing HIS thing, but this show is NOT the place for this.  It really just isn’t!  I PRAY he is no where near the top 3 of the night and I really don’t want to see him in Wild Card round either!  He can’t be Nick, so move on!  I agree with Simon on this one!!

Allison Iraheta – “Alone” by Heart. Best performance so far!!! That was an awesome performance of that song!  She hit the notes, she was on key and she ROCKED it!!!  I wasn’t sure about her, but she sure showed me!!!  Her interview was kinda dingy, but she is 16 so maybe that’s normal “teenage” these days, ya know?? She said she was just going to have fun and she sure did that!!   Hands down the best performance tonight, I think this is our top girl from tonight!  Simon said what hubby and I said: The competition has just started.  This was one of the 4 people I voted  for tonight!

Kris Allen – “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson – Blah!  He sounded better in the little guitar clip they showed, but that performance was not good to me.  The song was too big for him, maybe.  Not sure if that’s what I didn’t like or if it’s just him.  Not seeing him in the top 3 or in the Wild Card round.

Megan Corkrey – “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae who is one of my favorite artists!!  I was really looking forward to hearing this because I think Corinne and Megan have the exact same texture voice and she had the potential to really rock it!  I liked it.  It could have been MUCH better, but I still liked what she did do with it.  There were a few pitch issues and the little weird dance has to go too…not liking that…again with these turret movements, what is the deal???  I don’t think she out sang Allison, but she was definitely a close 2^nd.  Good job.  This was the 2^nd of my 4 people I voted for.  I can see her making the Wild Card round if she isn't one of the top 3 of the night.

Matt Breitzke – “If You Could Only See” by Tonic – Not sure why he would pick a song he likes rather than a song that SHOWS off your vocals!!!  DOH!  I get so tired of the judges telling them this crud!  He picked the wrong song and prolly did himself in at this point in the game.  I agree with with the judges, I did find the performance kinda boring, but I still think he has a good voice, just not sure he did well enough to move to Top 12.  Maybe the Wild Card round, but that’s a strong maybe!!

Jesse Langseth – “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes.  I really didn’t think she should have gotten Top 36 over the girl she had the sing off with…her name escapes me right now and I don’t feel like looking it up so :P.  Anywho, I still was not impressed with her.  It was just OK.  Not sure if it was good enough to be brought back for the Wild Card round, but I guess if the judges like her one of them may bring her back.

Kai Kalama – “What Becomes of the Broken hearted” by Jimmy Ruffin.  WHY???  Horrible song choice and I really liked him!!  He looked like he was in major pain the entire time he was singing, maybe he was feeling our pain through the TV.  I think that performance just flushed him down the toilet!  No chance on Wild Card either!

Mishavonna Henson – “Drops of Jupiter” by Train.  No idea what this song is suppose to sound like.  I liked her overall performance though.  She has a nice voice and she is a beautiful girl with a very unique name!  Easy to remember her and she did well enough to get a spot in Wild Card round in my opinion OR she could be our number 3 of the night.  It now comes down to between her and Megan for that spot to me.  This was the 3^rd of my 4 people.

Adam Lambert – “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones.  No question, he has the top guy spot!  He should already be recording albums!  All I can say is Top 12 is going to be interesting once they have to stick to specific genres!!!  Amazing singers are making to the Top 12!  Of course he was  my ^4th vote of the night.

All I can say after this show is yes; there are a lot of flops, but think about the FEW that are awesome!!  The Top 5 is going to be an intense competition in my opinion!!  This may be one of the best years, competition wise!  Lots more players involved!

Anyway, my Top 3 picks for tonight are:

Adam Lambert

Allison Iraheta

And the 3^rd spot I’m kinda torn.  I’m picking either Megan Corkrey or Mishovanna Henson! 

My picks for the Wild Card round from this group are:

Which ever one doesn’t make it from above list (either Megan or Mish)

Both Matt’s or Jasmine.

Fairy Doll

This is a picture of the doll that was in the box wrapped in plastic at my daughter's birthday party! My friend Tara gave her these really special dolls! She is truly one of the sweetest, most caring, unselfish people I know and deserves every blessing that comes her way!!! We love ya TaraBoo!!!!

Happy Birthday Aloria!!!!

I can't believe it but my baby girl turned 7 years old February 19, 2009. This is her sharing cupcakes and ice cream with her classmates at school.

It just also happened to be Go Western Day as well. This is her and her brother before school:

Here's a picture of the cake from the Bowling Party:

And of course the birthday girl again:

American Idol - Top 36 - Group 1 Results

Well, now it’s time to sit through these ridiculous result shows.  I wish they would just block off a half hour and run through the contestants really quick and be done.  30 min and it’s over with!!  These hour long results are just crazy!!!

Group Song - So they are gonna keep doing this group song thing.  I missed the name of the song or the whole introduction about it.  It has a reggae feel to it which I liked, but some are clearly lip-synching their way through this performance.  Thank goodness for the few who can sing!!  Stevie sounded good! 

Casey Carlson was on my list to go home and Ryan says…..Not Top 12.  Anyone surprised by this was not watching the same show I was last night!  I swear, did anyone find out if she has turrets??   

Stephen Fowler was also on my list to go home and Ryan says….. Not Top 12.  I doubt he will make it back to the Wild Card based on that performance.  It was just not impressing at all.  This is disappointing because I would have liked to see him go further. 

Alexis Grace was my girl pick for the Top 12 and Ryan says…..Top 12.  I’m really excited for her!  I can’t wait to hear more from her.  I get to hear her sing since I missed it yesterday!! And yes, I liked it!!  She was much better than Tatiana!!  YAY!!

Ricky Braddy sounded better than I expected from his clip but Ryan says….. Not Top 12.  I do see him possibly coming back in the Wild Card round.

Jackie Tohn was on my list to go home and Ryan says….. Not Top 12 (sorry Mags) For my friend Maggie’s sake I’ll say it’s possible to see her in the Wild Card round, but even if she does, she is not Top 12 material to me.  I think there will be other singers in that group that will be much better than her.  I just don’t see her in the competition this year!

Anoop Desai and Michael Sarver are brought up together, so you already know one makes it and one doesn’t.  This also means that it’s going to be 2 guys tonight and one girl going to the Top 12.  So after all the BS stalling and questions that no one really cares about at this particular point Ryan tells Michael that he is the one that has made it to the Top 12.  I have to admit, I believe Anoop sounded much better last night, he’s the one I voted for, but based on the whole package, I’m not surprised Michael beat him out.  He is just so good looking…I can’t help it…is it just me????    Jasper??  Seriously??  Man!  Well, on that note I REALLY hope to see Anoop in the Wild Card round.  I can’t see the Top 12 without him!!

Carly Smithson from last season sings a duet with Michael Johns who is also from last season.  It was OK, Carly looks good, but that song was just ok.  I was distracted by the kiddos so it may be that I wasn’t listening well enough!  You know??  Kinda side listening while I make the kids believe I’m hearing their every word while I try to grab 3 of theirs and a sentence from the show!!  hehe

Anne Marie Boskovich, Brent Keith, Stevie Wright are all informed at the same time that they are Not Top 12.  I can see Ann Marie coming back in a Wild Card round, but I guess that really just depends on how they will select those folks for that group!  Does anyone know??  Just curious, I’m sure I can wait 2 weeks to find out! Stevie Wright was another person I liked during her audition and Hollywood Week but last nights performance was so horrible I think she blew her chances for the Wild Card as well.

I’m dying laughing at this point as I realize who the last 2 people are!! Danny Gokey and Tatiana Del Toro!!  Now come on, that was just a little too obvious there was no suspense to the ending of the show at all!! Was the “find out after the break” drama really necessary for this face/off??  HAHAHA At this point I have selected the 3 people I think should move to the Wild Card round so no room for Tatiana.  Too bad her personality over shines her voice because she will NOT be missed!!!!

So now they give us the list of next week’s group:

1. Adam Lambert – Was on my Watch List.
2. Allison Iraheta – Know nothing about her.
   
3. Jasmine Murray – Was on my Watch List.
4. Jeanine Vailes – Know nothing about her.
   
5. Jesse Langseth – Saw something slightly impressive in Hollywood so now I’m curious.
6. Kai Kalama – From my Watch List.
   
7. Kris Allen – Saw a bit from Hollywood and now curious.
8. Matt Giraud – From my Watch List.
9. Matt Breitzke – From my Watch List.
   
10. Mishavonna Henson – Curious after seeing in Hollywood Week.
11. Nick Mitchell – All depends on him!! If he comes as Nick great, if he comes as Norman, I say good-bye!!! Go do a show in Vegas somewhere!!
12. Megan Corkrey – From my Watch List.

So next week there are 6 from my Watch List instead of 5.  But as we learned this week, some will come on stage and completely flop and do themselves in.  Like Stephen Fowler, I thought he had a chance for WC before his performance last night, but afterwards I think he’s done for the season. 

American Idol - Top 36 - Group 1 (Season 8)

Finally the time we have all been waiting for!

The way this works is the highest rated girl and guy go through to the Top 12 along with the person with the next highest amounts of votes received.  There will be another 3 selected to be a part of the Wild Card Show.

I have to express just how much I hate HOUSTON drivers when it rains!!!  The freaking freeway was a parking lot over a little rain!!  So naturally I miss 20 minutes of the show….grrrr! 

When I walk in the door Brent Keith was up and having technical issues with his little video skit thingy.  So here we go from here:

Brent Keith – He decides to sing a country song called Hick Town.  I’m not a huge country fan, but I can tolerate it and there are a few artists I like.  This was not one of those performances.  I really hadn’t heard much about him till tonight, not impressed.  Judges advised he was too safe.  Simon advised he was forgettable where he replies country fans won’t forget it. Guess I’m safe to forget.  I don’t see him in Top 12 nor do I see him in the Wild Card round. 

Stevie Wright – Based on what the judges told her about being young she decides to go with a Taylor Swift song.  I wish she would have just picked a song that matched the texture of her voice and sang it.  Very disappointing performance for me, I expected so much more from here.   She was flat the entire song!  Based on this performance I don’t see Top 12 or the Wild Card.

Anoop Desai – Decided to sing Angel of Mine by Monica.  I’m not sure why or how the judges would say this is not a well known song.  Everyone listened to this song cuz it played on the radio all the dang time!!  At least the way I remember.  I didn’t like the background vocals playing in the back.  It seemed to throw him off to me.  With that being said I still think this kid has an awesome voice and I wish I could have heard more of it without the background drowning him out.  I can see him making the Wild Card show based on this performance.  

Casey Carlson – She decides to sing Police, Every Little Thing She Does.  This was a huge “HUH?”  Does any know if she has Turrets??  I can’t remember her from her audition so obviously she was forgettable.  The facial expressions and the jerky stick dancing that went with those horrible vocals was just way too much.  That was hands down the worse performance so far for me.  The whole thing was really weird!

Michael Sarver – I really like this guy.  He's from Jasper Texas, we won't hold that against him right now! hehe.  He is just so sweet and very good looking!  I don’t normally get caught up in the looks, but he is just so handsome to me.  I love big men and he just keeps appearing to be this big teddy bear!  He goes with Gavin DeGraw.  This would not have been my song choice for him.  Even Randy said it, he should have stuck with the soul, he sounded so much better when he sang Boyz II Men.  It was totally karaoke, I didn’t care for his deliverance of the song at all.  I don’t see him making the Top 12 at all at this point there is at least one guy  

Anne Marie Boskovich – Per Hubby she needs to be 3 octaves lower she is singing in the wrong key for her texture of voice.  I guess, I don’t always know all the technical stuff, I just know what I like and don’t like and I was not crazy about that performance at all.  She was my favorite girl going in to tonight and I think she fell short of what I was expecting.  I’m so glad Ryan did open the door on that hard part comment.  I don’t see her being the top girl tonight so therefore not making the Top 12, but I could possibly see her in the Wild Card.

Stephen Fowler – For some ungodly reason decides to sing Rock with You by Michael Jackson.  Now folks if you aren’t suppose to sing Police or Whitney then what makes you think singing Michael is OK????  Come on people THINK about your song choices and make SMART choices based on what your voice can handle, stop picking a song because you like it.  Pick it because it will complement your voice!!!  Not as good as I expected at all.  I knew that they would smash him for picking Michael since he didn’t go off on it.  I can see this being it for him. 

Tatiana DelToro – I was PRAYING I’d missed her, but no such luck!!  She decides to sing Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You.  Again, I’m screaming song choice, till I remember it’s the annoying little …. And I’m glad she’s doing this song so she can mess it up.  I was in awe after her performance….not that she sang it that well, but the girl hadn’t stopped being annoying long enough for me to even notice that she actually can sing!!!  I have to admit this is prolly the first time I’ve listened to her sing and I hate to admit that the girl has a pretty decent voice.  I’m surprised!!  Simon said she’s desperate to be famous and she does not deny it!!  After Ryan tells America her number and about what’s coming next, Tatiana throws in a shout out to all of America about how much this is her dream and it’s up to us to keep her dream alive….ROFL  THAT just made me remember WHY I will not vote for her EVER!!!  I don’t care how nice the voice is!!  Just TACKY!!

Danny Gokey – I was so excited to see he was ending the show!!  I thought for sure I’d missed him at this point.  He decides on Hero by Mariah Carey.  I wasn’t sure how that would work, but that performance was really good! We are definitely seeing Danny in the Top 10 on tour.  I won’t say he’s the Idol yet since there are still 24 people that I want to look at closer, but hands down, THIS was the BEST performance of the night!!  The boy can sing and I felt like he completely made the song his!   Paula is on something as usual tonight and tells him 2 words: “Sold out arenas”  OK, I think that’s 3 words Paula 

So now I get to hear the people I missed:

Jackie Tohn – I’m not sure what the heck that was she was screaming, but it did not look impressive at all and I stick with my original opinion.  Don’t like her much at all. 

Ricky Braddy – Again, not sure what he was singing (or don’t remember) but it did sound OK.  I still don’t think it was possibly better than Danny so maybe the 3^rd spot or Wild Card for him.

Alexis Grace – She was one I was looking for and her clip appears that she sang very well.  She has to be my pick for the top girl only because her clip sounded better than most of the other girls entire songs.  Now, as much as I can’t stand Tatiana I have to say that it is a HUGE possibility that she will get the highest votes.  I think she’s psycho, but she can sing.  Someone who saw Alexis please let me know, was she better than Tatiana???   

So the way I see it, moving on to the Top 12 will be:

Danny Gokey

Alexis Grace

Anoop Desai

The 3 moving to the Wild Card round will prolly be:

Tatiana DelToro

Michael Sarver

Anne Marie Boskovich 

How exciting that Hollywood week is finally over and we can finally keep the phone lines tied up for 2 hours…

American Idol - Season 8 - Top 36 (semi-finals)

OK, I had all my notes from last nights show ready to go and I decided I’d type it up once I got out of the shower….well, that obviously didn’t happen ..hehe I was really tired, so I laid it down.  Now tonight I just want to get to the Top 36. 

I do want to mention just a few things from last nights show though.  I tried to place the rooms before the judges reveled what each room’s fate was.  I figured Room 1 was safe.  This was the room that housed all the “No Question” people.  Most of these people will be moving on to the next round. Danny, Anoop, Lil…you see my point?

Room 2 housed all the “Not so sure yet” people.  These people had one or two outstanding auditions and one or two that were not so good and the judges wanted more time to figure out what to do with most of them. Alexis Grace, Nathanial (DRAMA), and Stephen Fowler.

Room 3 I figured was going home once I saw India Morrison there.  At least that was prayer. 

Room 4 Are all the people the judges are saying a HUGE MAYBE. I was hoping they were going home once Tatiana was moved there, but no such luck!!

Back to tonight’s Top 36 that will be selected from the 54 that were left after the judges re-watched footage of auditions. 

New this year is the Hollywood Mansion, or the Judges Mansion.  Over-elaborate house, but very well put together.  Then the judges are all sitting in huge plush red chairs.  Boy they look comfy, huh?  So is this the new house the Idols will live in??  Great acoustics!

And so tonight begins.  We are going to watch each of the 54 contestants over the next two hours find out their fate from the judges. 

Anoop Desai, who has been one of my favorites since Simon said he looked like he just came from a meeting with Bill Gates, moves on to the Top 36.  He is definitely on my personal Top 12 list.

Next is Von Smith, who just keeps talking and talking and talking and is finally told he made the Top 36.  I do not like his screaming voice.  Definitely not on my personal list! 

Cody Sheldon and Alex Wagner-Trugman are the first two to face the new twist, Singing for Survival.  It is something similar to SYTYCD’s Dancing for your Life.  They are told to give it all they got right now, while the other hopeful stands right down the hall.  Cody decides on “The Love Remains the Same” while Alex sings “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” and after a brief wait in the hallway Cody is sent home while Alex makes it to Top 36.  I was watching Cody, but Alex has a decent voice as well. Really didn’t care which one made it between these two.  Cody’s young he will prolly be back next year.

Adam Lambert appears to be everyone’s favorite Rocker this year.  He makes it to Top 36.  I like him well enough. 

Taylor Vaifanua forgot her words.  She has a great voice though.  This is our 16 year old Amazon!  She is Top 36.

We are advised by flashes that Jasmine Murray, Casey Carlson, Arianna Afsar, Megan Corkery, Mishavonna Henson and Stevie Wright are all joining the others in the Top 36.  I am glad to see Megan, Arianna and Stevie all make it.  I’m not to thrilled about Jasmine as she strikes me as a spoiled brat. 

Joanna Pacitti keeps forgetting her words.  Maybe that’s why her other deal fell through, think she had problems doing a concert???  Hmmmm……Anywho, she is told she is in the Top 36.  So Simon?  What was all the talk about “Forget the words, and you’re done!”  She has been on my watch list as well so I’m not too upset about it J

We are informed that is the end of the road for TK Hash, Chris Chatman, and Reggie Beasley.  The only person on this list that I remember is TK Hash. 

Kendall Beard is one who they advised had horrible song choices, but despite this she still makes Top 36.

We are now up to the second round of Singing for Survival sing off. It’s between Jenn Korbee and Kristen McNamara.  First I must say, these judges are something else when they blatantly talk about people right in front of them….I LOVE it! Hehe! So we find out tonight that Jenn tried out with her husband and he was cut during the group round in Hollywood Week.  She is up first and sings “I’m Not Ready to Make Nice” while Kristen, who I remember from crying when Nancy Wilson let loose on her during group week, chooses to sing a modified version of “I Will Always Love You”.  Kara immediately informs Jenn she sang the wrong song.  Kristen gets bashed for her style.  She’s wearing a t-shirt type top, pair of shorts, and some baby blue cowboy boots.  Weird, but not “out there” like the judges are suggesting.  Paula informs her she has a lot of work to do.  In my opinion after listening to the both girls, Kristen has the better voice hands down.  The judges pretty much tell them this when they tell them that if they could merge them together they would be the perfect contestant.  So in other words, Jenn cannot sing and Kristen just looks funny! They finally let Kristen know that she is the one moving on to the Top 36.  Simon just blasts her and advised that he completely disagrees with the decision. Come on Simon, how long have you had that haircut!!?? 

Alexis Grace, another one from my watch list is added to the Top 36.  She talks about being worried about being away from her daughter, but I’m sure she’ll deal with it.

Scott MacIntyre is also advised he’s made the Top 36.  I am honestly not as blown away by him as everyone else is.   

Lil Rounds was also on my watch list.  She is natural raw talent at its best.  After the judges play with her mind a bit she’s advised she’s made it to the Top 36.  Simon comments on how great he thinks she is as she leaves the room.

Now we are told of others that reached the end of their journey.  This includes one of my watch list members Felicia Barton.  Didn’t really get to see her much through Hollywood Week and of course they don’t show us much tonight so not sure why she was cut, but I liked the little bit I did hear from her.  She is joined by Ashley Hollister and Devon Baldwin. 

Time for another sing off.  This time it’s between Frankie Jordan, one of my watch list members, and Jesse Langseth whom I first heard during Hollywood Week group day.  I can’t remember who it was she was singing with now at this point, but I remember thinking, she’s not that bad, now today….UGH.  I do not like her voice nor do I like her style.  I really wanted Frankie to make it but her survival song, which I forget at this point what that was, was horrible.  I have no idea what song that was that Jesse sang, but it got her into the Top 36.

Shera Lawrence and Derik Lavers who we have NEVER seen are told they are going home.  They cry like babies in the holding room.  Thing is, I find it hard to feel for them considering I have NO idea who they are!!  

Allison Iraheta is another one that I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing anything about but her audition review clips reveals she has a nice voice!!  She is then informed that she is in the Top 36.  I think it’s not to late to add someone to the Top 12 Watch list….maybe

Danny Gokey is probably my favorite at this point. Along with Anoop. The RDJr. look-alike is dealing with a lot, but I think his music is probably healing for him considering the songs he’s been choosing.  They ask him if he thinks he could stand-out and he says of course.  Randy tells him he’s made it to Top 36. 

Now it’s Jamar Rogers, Danny’s best friend and his biggest supporter since loosing his wife.  The whole while Kara is talking to him she has an expression as though she is going to tell him yes.  I am completely expecting a yes.  She then tells him that his risks didn’t pay off and that he will be going home.  When Jamar comes into the holding room, everyone in the room gasps when they hear he didn’t make it!  I have to admit, I was completely shocked as well.

Ricky Braddy, Matt Giraud, Ju’Not Joyner, Jorge Nunez, and Brent Keith all learn they are in the Top 36.  The only one out of this list that I have no idea about is Ricky Braddy, everyone else I’ve seen at least one or two auditions.  I’m watching Matt, Ju’Not, and Jorge. 

Stephen Fowler gets asked how well he thinks he did.  He says he thought he was doing really good until the last day.  Paula asked if he regrets walking off the stage and he says yes and attempts to explain himself when Simon says “Well, it’s too late” and then they tell him he’s made it to Top 36.  OK, I’m shocked due to the statement I mentioned before…forgotten words, etc, etc, etc.  Anywho, I guess in a way I’m glad since I really do like his voice.

Nick Mitchell who is better known as Norman Gentle is up next.  I was pretty confident he was going home since he KEPT bringing Norman Gentle into the picture rather than just singing as himself.  I’m bored with him already, I really think he would be better off being a Drag Queen in Vegas, if that’s not what he’s already doing! Paula makes a comment about they would like to see his character on the show and tells him he is through to Top 36.  HUH???  Is this some kinda joke!??  NOW, I’m agitated that Jamar was sent home and this stand-up joke makes it through. 

Jackie Tohn I am not a fan of either.  She sings OK, I just don’t like her voice.  She sounds as though she’s been puffing on about 30 packs of cigarettes a day!  Her voice is just not appealing or attractive to me.  That being said she does make it through to Top 36.

Tatiana Del Toro has got to be the most ANNOYING person in the entire world!! OMG, I swear I will be muting the TV during ALL of her performances which I’m sure will include squealing and squeaking!!!  I can’t believe they have put her through to Top 36, and yet Jamar goes home…Cody Sheldon went home…Frankie Jordan went home….ugh!!!  Annoying! I was tempted to stop watching, but then I thought of all the people who made it that I do like and decided for the mute option!    

Jackie Midkiff and Nathaniel Marshall are our next pair to Sing for their Survival.  I have never seen this Jackie guy, but I’m soooo hoping he makes it over the Drama Queen!!  Nathaniel is like the male version of Tatiana in this competition to me.  He’s just as annoying and all the crying and drama is just unbelievable at times!!  And WTF is he wearing????  Even Simon even had to ask??  Ewww, Ugh, and WHY???  Between the two, I guess I have to admit that Nathaniel has the better voice, but I really don’t like him so another muted contestant as he is picked over Jackie for the Top 36.

Another flash of contestants, Jeanine Vailes,  Kai Kalama,  Anne Marie Boskovich, and Kris Allen are all informed they are Top 36.  Kai and Anne Marie are both from my watch list.  Not sure who Jeanine or Kris are. 

And of course they have to make two of my favs Sing for their Survival, Matt Breitzke, the welder, and Michael/Jeremy Sarver, the oil-rig roughneck, who BTW is a beautiful man!!! Just SEXY!!  If he’s over 6 feet tall then we are ALL good baby!!!! Whew!!  OK, back to the singing I forgot what they sang…and was too caught up to write notes while I was watching..hehe.  If I HAD to pick one of them it would be Michael Sarver hands down!  What he did with that song was EXACTLY what a Sing for your Survival should be!! I was extremely excited when they threw in another twist and both made it to Top 36. 

So from what I understand the Top 36 will be split into groups of 12 to perform over the next 3 weeks.  I sure hope they put the best first instead of last.  Maybe they’ll spread them out with a good mix of good and bad so it’s obvious who will go home out of each group….we’ll see!  Should be fun. 

So did your favs make it?  Did you see people who shouldn’t be there who are?  I voiced my opinions already….I’ll leave it at that!

February 13, 2009 Update:  Joanna Paciti has been disqualified....I think it has something to do with some friends she has at 19 Entertainment....not sure, will read around somemore tonight.  Good news is, she was not a HUGE favorite of mine so I'm OK, but I'm UBER excited about the fact that Felicia Barton gets to come back!!!! Whooo Hooo!

American Idol - Season 8 - Hollywood Week - Day 3 and 4

Hollywood Week

So it looks as though there will be claws and all kinds of mean fangs showing tonight.

Now they say 107 are participating in the Group Round. Hmmm, yesterday they said 104. (Code: Names in GREEN are from my watch list and made it to the next round. Names in RED went home. Names in BLUE are people who keep making it through that I don’t like for one reason or another. People I don’t really care one way or the other yet will stay the same as the rest of the text)

A few observations before we get into the actual performances.

Everyone gets to pick their groups on their own. Some have formed groups of 3 and some are in groups of 4. Some have done it swiftly and some are taking their time moseying around and wasting time.

Danny Gokey and his BFF Jamar grouped up with the 16 year old Amazon Taylor and another girl that I couldn’t recognize from auditions. They then found a nice quiet corner and got busy working. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Megan Corkrey is there…YAY!! She wanders around for a sec and then finds a group to join. I missed who they were though.

Another person that was left wandering for a minute was Tatiana Del Toro. Her laugh is frikin’ annoying! She is just causing all kinda havoc by being indecisive and annoying all the way around. The two groups she disrupted was just WAY too much drama! She decided that her group was not being nice almost 3 hours into rehearsing. Her group consisted of 2 other girls I didn’t remember from auditions. She left and ran into the group that consisted of Nathaniel, Nancy, and Kristin. Kristin allows her to join her group without asking Nancy and Nathaniel and that’s when the tempers fly. Nancy and Nathaniel are just not happy with this at all. They waste time arguing about Tatiana joining the group. Kristin then decides to take a break and rest her voice and Nancy goes off on her because SHE wants to practice. Kristin breaks down into tears. It was kinda unexpected so I laughed, but I can see how Ghetto Nancy going off could scare cute little Kristin from the suburbs. I don’t think I would have cried, but I definitely wouldn’t have put up with Nancy yelling at me. Nathanial and Nancy are just over dramatic and wasted more time arguing when they should have been rehearsing and let Kristin join them when she was done resting her voice. Now after ALL that drama, Tatiana decides to go back to her original group!!! OMG! Instead of letting it go, Nancy goes over to Tatiana and goes OFF on her. Tatiana keeps apologizing but by this time so many hours have been wasted I don’t expect ANY of them to do well at all.

Katrina Darrell is just a waste like I’ve been saying! She’s another one that caused a lot of drama. She grouped with 3 other girls, one of which was Rose Flack. Can we say total personality conflict!!! These two butted heads right out the gate!! Rose is very earthy and “real” whereas Katrina is Barbie doll fake and a JOKE! Katrina went to bed while they were still rehearsing and then in the morning she wouldn’t get up and practice with the group. She’s quitting she says and then she ends up showing up when it’s almost time to perform. She misses the roll call and everything and then sits at the table and demands that they teach her what she missed, yeah right!! In my book, you’re on your own; pick it up while we rehearse!

Anyway so now it’s time to perform for the judges and the first thing Simon says when they walk into the Theatre is “Forget the words, your out!” All I have to say is it’s about time!!!

The first group up is “White Chocolate.” This group consists of India Morrison, Justin Williams, Kris Allen, and Matt Giraud. India is still pulling through with the rapping, but I was not impressed with her audition and she still hasn’t impressed me much yet as far as singing goes. The group performance was OK. I would still like to see India sing more. In my opinion, Kris and Justin did not sound all that good, but all make it to the next round.

Someone named Marilyn or something like that was grouped with Austin Sisneros and JB Ahfua, I think. It was all kinda jumbled together so I missed what was going on for a sec.

Shelby Swartwood forgot the words and Julissa Veloz I believe stumbled on the words as well. Both performed with Jorge Nunez and Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle). The guys make it through to the next round and the girls go home. Way to go Nick for keeping the weirdness to a minimum enough to go to the next round.

The next group, I missed the name they gave themselves, consisted of Alex Wagner-Trugeman, Ryan Pinkston, Anne Marie Boskovich, and Emily Wynne-Hughes. Alex I just barely remember but he sounded good. Ryan I don’t remember at all and he sounded good to me! Anne Marie sounded great to me as well and Emily totally choked. She forgot all her words and Anne Marie had to give them to her. She sounded good once she started singing but she forgot almost 2 lines of the song. So Alex makes it to the next round along with Anne Marie. Emily of course is sent home based on Simon’s statement when the judges walked in, but Ryan is sent home as well. He as well as I was shocked. I thought he sounded really good compared to Alex. He made a crack about seeing Evil in Paula’s eyes...LOL

Next group was the one I’ve been waiting to see. I expect to see Danny and Jamar go far. I still missed the name of the other girl they are grouped with. I have no idea who that is!! LOL Danny Gokey, Jamar Rogers, Taylor Vaifanua, and the unknown girl all make it through to the next round. They performed acapella and they rocked it!!! They all have great voices!!

The next flash of folks I was not sure if they were all in the same group together, but they all made it through to the next round. That group included: Jeremy Michael Sarver, Adam Lambert, Matt Breitzke, and Jesse Langseth. Adam rocked!! He so reminds me of David Cook when it comes to his style. He has a great voice! Matt, Jeremy and Jesse all sounded good to me as well. I would like to see more of Jesse.

I’ve been waiting on this group as well but not for good reasons. I figured they would generate a decent laugh! They have named themselves “The Divas.” I’m referring to tramp Katrina Darrell, Rose Flack, Lauren Barnes and Jasmine Murray. Lauren was completely flat the entire time she sang. Rose and Katrina have hit heads from the time they grouped together. Simon called them out and told them that they did not rehearse together so they all get catty and start naming names per demand of Simon. They all advised the judges that Katrina was the one that didn’t practice. Katrina tells about her scoliosis and being in heels since 5 am…yada yada yada. I was happy to see that the only one that makes it to the next round is Jasmine Murray.

Next they fly through a bunch of people who are being sent home for one reason or another. David Osmond and Deanna Brown are two that I catch in this group. As well as Austin Sisneros, which I mentioned earlier.

Now we come to Tatiana’s group and the group she disrupted with her hopping around. She was grouped with a girl named Muna Hiluf and I think the other girl was Caitlyn something or other. Unbelievably they pull this thing off and they all make it to the next round. Tatiana goes on this babbling cry speech thanking everyone who works on the show like she is some kinda Grammy winner or something! It was totally annoying and totally uncalled for at this point. Really don’t like her!

Then comes the group she disrupted, who decide to call themselves “Compromise.” Nancy Wilson walks out on stage with total attitude. Simon calls them out as well as to say they did not rehearse together. Nathaniel Marshall is just as annoying as Tatiana in a way!! Kristin McNamara actually sounds good to me. Nancy sounded horrible despite all the griping she did, she should have been practicing. Kristin attempts to apologize to Nancy and Nancy flat out tells her it is too late and moves away from her. The judges then let it be known that Nancy is the only one being sent home from this group and she was NOT happy about it. She walks off the stage and completely cusses Kristin out and walks out.

Finally the drama is over and we move onto another week of Hollywood Week. By the end of next week we should have a Top 36 or Top 24. Depends on how they have changed things up. At this point 75 have made it through to the next round.

My Watch List has gotten considerably smaller after this week, but there are still some that I’m not sure what happened to them:

Megan Corkrey I did see her find a group to group with, but I have no idea what happened to that group. I can’t remember if she was part of the all girl group where they all made it to the next round or not.

Anoop Desai I completely didn’t see in a group nor did I see him till the VERY end with Bobby Brown’s My Perogative, so maybe he did make it as part of the 75 who make it through to the next round, but I’m not sure.

Arianna Afsar I have no idea what happened to!!

Lil Rounds I completely missed her group as well.

Asa Barnes I never saw so I’m assuming he’s gone as well.

Kai Kalama I missed

Frankie Jordan I have no idea.

Joshua Ulloa, TK Hash, Leneshe Young, and Stevie Wright are all ones I have no idea what happened to. I didn’t see them in groups so I’m assuming they were eliminated last week.

On to Lie To Me…….Awesome show!!!