Almost live American Idol (May 13)… May 13, 2008

I’m late, I know. But we got a call to go have dessert with friends after dinner tonight and well the thing about living life is that well, you miss out on a lot when you don’t live it. And unfortunately, internets, that means y’all take a backseat to my real life friends. We had a great time and stayed too late. I drank too much coffee, had great chocolate cake and laughed. A lot!

But I’m back with y’all now and ready for American Idol, even if I am a little sleepy. We’re down to the final three - the Davids and Syesha. They are each doing three songs tonight so it should be interesting. Is tonight judges choice? I guess we’ll find out.

Ryan introduces the judges and my, isn’t Paula sparkly tonight? Her hair looks rather nice tonight. And I’m right - it IS judges choice. And producers choice. And Idol-ee choice. This. could. get. interesting.

We start with judges choice and we get the news live at their hometown.

David Archuletta - And So It Goes by Billy Joel via Paula - David is excited to sing the pretty song. Which makes sense since he’s such a pretty boy. He does pretty well. And he’s really pulling off the acapella thing. NOT an easy task. It’s all a little pageant-y for me. He’s doing a MUCh better job at keeping his eyes open though. I wonder if he’s reading my blog? He sang for his audience and he sang it well. It was exactly what I expected it to be. No more, no less.

Syesha Mercado - If I Ain’t Got You by Alysha Keys via Randy - Ok, first, I’m automatically put off by the fact that she says she’s going to sing it just like Alysha Keys. Of course she is. Because that’s what she does. Or what she tries to do. When she tries to be something she’s not, she usually falls a bit flat. And that’s exactly what she’s doing. She’s singing it well, but I don’t see anything that screams out and says this girl can make it on her own and do anything original. She looks pretty though.

David Cook - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack via Simon - I applaud Simon for picking a song that is way outside of anything Cook would have picked on his own. It’s a great song. A difficult song. And wow! He really brings his A game tonight! That was amazing! I couldn’t type. I could just sit and watch.  And I think Randy’s harshness is all about Simon and not about David at all. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

And we move on to the Idol-ee’s choice…

David Archuletta - With You by Chris Brown - The poor little boy looks so nervous to have chosen his own song. But I like that he’s singing something a little different than anything he’s done before. He looks comfortable - even if he does mess up the words a bit. I swear it sounded like he just picked random names from the phone book to sing there. He hits it strong now and his eyes are STILL open! Not my type of music, and forgetting the words aside, I’m glad he tried something new. Cheesy, but some people like cheese.

Syesha Mercado - Fever by Peggy Lee - WOW her legs are long in that dress! This is VERY Broadway. And I swear I’ve seen this song done exactly this way before - chair included. She’s doing nothing original vocally. She’s a great singer, but definitely not a musician. Syesha will be a GREAT Broadway star someday. She’s got what it takes to be on stage as an actress. Not sure she’s got anymore in her as a singer though than a second-rate wannabe. This whole season has been about her trying to be like someone else.  And as harsh as that is, she just doesn’t have any originality. Broadway, baby, that’s where she belongs. But, she does look AMAZING! She does sparkly well!

David Cook - Dare You To Move by Switchfoot - It’s starting out really low. Creepy low. Which tells me there will be screaming later in the song. WOW that was short. It’s like he can just get started with the song and then it’s cut short. I feel ripped off that we didn’t get the whole song. It was weirdly short. Not a good song choice. Pretty predictable.

Up next - producers choice…

David Archuletta - Longer by Dan Fogelberg - And he’s SQUINTING again! And it’s just a bit weird to hear him sing this because the song is older than he is! He hits that last note and his fans start passing out all over the place I’m sure. It was boring and predictable. A beautiful song, done well. I was bored. But it’s not his fault - the producers are trying to sabotage him I think. It’s just weird to hear a 17 year old sing a song about loving someone forever.

Syesha Mercado - Hit Me Up by I have absolutely no idea - I hated it. That was just kind of goofy and weird. And it was from a movie with Penguins - although I can’t remember which one because there have been so many lately. That was *not* a good choice and I think the producers should stick to producing and not choosing songs. That was not good.

David Cook - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith - Chip says, “Why did they have to arrange it like a Michael Bolton song?” And I couldn’t agree more. This is all just a bit overproduced and weird. The ending was better than the beginning but wow. I might need to watch that again to get a real feel of it all. The song is an amazing song. I disagree with Randy calling it predictable. *that* mess was anything but predictable. But it’s enough to get him into the finals.

Who goes home? Syesha. I really think that the powers that be decided a long time ago that the Davids would be the final two. And they deserve it. Cook is just a great musician and Archuletta has the potential to be given a bit of time and life experience.

Best of the night goes to David Cook. Worst of the night was Syesha. Going home will be Syesha.

American Idol results show (May 7th)… May 7, 2008

I’m going to start this episode without Chip. I don’t *think* he’ll be too upset. He can’t really stand it and always wants me to fast forward to the end anyway. And because of the wonder of the DVR, if he really, really wants to see the opening group number, we can just start it over. He should be home momentarily anyway.

Ryan doesn’t surprise me when he tells me more people voted than ever before. Is it just me or does he say that EVERY week? Maroon 5 and Bo Bice on tonight’s show. Ryan chats with the judges about last night and wastes time because this show is an HOUR long! Even though the entire performance show is an hour. But for fear of becoming as boring as Ryan by repeating myself week after week, I’ll just let you go back and reread what I’ve said about that same topic just about every week of this show.

The group number is Reeling In The Years and I find it ironic that Syesha, who is always Little Miss Broadway, just isn’t really into it. Listening to them sing is like that game on Sesame Street - “One of these people is doing his own thing, one of these people is not the same…” David Cook’s voice and performance abilities are just so vastly different than the rest of them that they can’t even begin to compare. Mercifully, the group number is over.

Ryan pimps the AI tour (which I have NO desire to go to) and then recaps last nights show. Most of which I’ve already forgotten so I’m thankful for the reminder. Only now I’m remembering why they were so forgettable. Or memorable for the wrong reasons. Jason was awful. Archie was amazing. Syesha wept. And Cook was Cook.

Ryan calls David Archuletta out first and no one is surprised that he’s safe. Because it would be the MOST unpredictable thing in the world if they were to call the person going home out first and “just do this thing already!” But that’s not how Ryan rolls and David is going to take a seat on the nice comfortable couch (which really doesn’t look that comfy to me).

Back from commercial, and we see the final four go on tour as much bigger rockstars than they’ll ever be. Comparing ANY of them to the Beatles is a bit of a stretch. In a HUGE sort of way that one might compare dogs and airplanes. It just doesn’t work. But it would be cool to go see Cirque Du Soleil. It’s only list of things to do in this lifetime.

Ryan calls David Cook out and, well, I KNEW IT! The David’s were the top 2. Although I was kind of hoping that David Cook would go home tonight because the irony of such a great rocker dude going home on Rock&Roll week would have been too much. But he’s safe and no one is surprised.

Ryan calls both Syesha and Jason Castro out and says the “Person who leaves us tonight on American Idol…” and Jason freaks out a little bit even though those of us at home viewing know we’re not going to find out now because this is American Idol and nothing if not predictable and we all know there is still too much time left and two star performances and most likely those awful viewer questions that we still have to sit through before we can actually find out who’s going home. Oh! And don’t forget the Ford commercial.

Speaking of the Ford commercial - y’all just KNOW that Johnny Cash has GOT to be rolling over in his grave right now! ARE THEY FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

And we’re back for the phone calls. Emily wants to know if David Cook will go on a date with her for her birthday since he’ll be in town for the Idol tour anyway? And he’s got his very first STALKER! And he looks completely terrified! Sarah wants to know what the biggest challenge the Idol-ee’s have had to overcome? Syesha says stagefright, David doesn’t know (answering these questions should be it) and Jason is so high that even HE knows he’s brain-dead. Lynn wants to know why Simon hasn’t been knighted by the Queen? And he agrees! He’s just waiting for that call from Buckingham Palace and his invitation. Mara wants to know how Syesha feels about being the only girl in the top 4. She says it’s a bit uncomfortable, but she’s proud of herself. Humility is not her strong point. Teresa wants to know if any of the Idol-ee’s have gotten feedback from the original artists and Cook is the only one popular enough to get that kind of respect. Marla wants Simon to be the next James Bond. Then she called him sexy and intriguing and I think maybe it’s time to end these calls.

Now it’s time for Maroon 5 and “If I Never See Your Face Again.” I’m not a fan. At all. And if I never saw this band again it would be too soon. This is *not* music! No, no, no! Thank you Dish Network for giving me the power of the fast forward. They’re going on tour and going to Europe and San Antonio. Because those two places are so close to each other. Adam Levine tells them that they’ll become jaded and hate it and love it all at the same time because it’s a lot of work to be that cool.  Thankfully, it’s all ok because now there is a really cool commercial on for the new Indiana Jones movie that comes out in two weeks! I can’t wait!!!

We’re back from the commerical and they bring out Bo Bice. He’s singing Witness. This guy was just born int he wrong decade. Well, he was *born* in the right decade. He just wasn’t old enough to perform then. The background singers just don’t seem to mesh with the whole performance though. Better than Maroon 5 by a long shot, but I’d rather heard David Cook sing personally. It’s all a bit showy and sell-out and then he breaks out the Framptonator. Because he’s cool like that. And I’m reaching for the remote. Again. And I really don’t care what he has to say about the contestants. His album just came out and more than ever I know I won’t be buying it.

Please, AI officials, I’m begging. Go back to the thirty MINUTE results show. Because these seems to be thirty HOURS long tonight.

We’re finally back from commercial and rehashing the awfulness that was Jason last night (love that someone told him that he shot the tamborine man) and the shreik-e-ness of Syesha as she struggled through. Jason knows he was awful. Syesha knows she was emotional. (I just realized I didn’t hear anyone say it was PMS - could it have been?)

And the results are in and Jason is going home. And no one is surprised. And I think Jason may even be a bit relieved. It will take a certain something out of the show though because you just never knew what he was going to say and if it would be coherent. Jason sings us out and for the first time in weeks he really looks like he’s having fun because he’s not worried about what anyone is going to say anymore.

Apparently, he’s not a blog reader.

 

Almost live American Idol (May 6th)… May 6, 2008

The final four go at it tonight on ROCK night! Ryan just told me that I *must* vote, but honestly the polls are going to be closed for me before I’m done watching. Really, if Idol wanted lots and lots of votes, they’d figure out a way to only allow one vote per phone number but keeping the lines open longer. Because of the wonders of the DVR, I’m automatically disqualified from voting because I’m not watching live. I can’t fast forward through commercials or Ryan’s time-wastingness either.

I’d really like to go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But of all the nights on Idol so far, this is the one that scares me most. I just don’t know that I can see anyone but David Cook doing a decent job.

ROUND 1 - *ding*ding*ding*ding*

David Cook - Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran - I expected it to be a great performance and it was. I didn’t hear anything original, but it was good. It fit his voice really well, but it was safe. We’ve come to expect great things from him and this was just little boring from David Cook.

Syesha Mercado - Proud Mary by Tina Turner - It’s a stupid choice. Everyone does this song. She picked the ONE diva rock star. When is this girl going to learn? And she’s going to copy the choreography too? She’s singing it ok if you can actually concentrate on the singing. It’s just unbelievable. Unbelievably bad. I’m sitting here shaking my head. (Chip says, “Rock and Roll - The Musical”). It definitely showed her personality and she had fun with it, but wow! Just wow! And not in a good way.

Jason Castro - I Shot The Sherrif by Bob Marley - He’s still doing that weird thing with his face. Is no one that helps him put together his performances actually watching him sing? It’s completely distracting to me. In a concert it wouldn’t be a real problem because unless someone gives me tickets I’m not going to be close enough to see his face anyway. I didn’t think it was as bad as the judges. I just don’t think the judges can figure out how he’s still in the contest because Castro is not the type of music they would choose to listen to voluntarily. It was better than I thought it was going to be.

David Archuletta - Stand By Me by Ben E. King - I’m glad he found a song that he could actually sing. Because I was nervous for little Archie. It’s all a little high school variety show, but he’s still in high school so I won’t hold it against him. It’s not nearly the wreck the last two were. And that little touch at the end was great! I actually liked him *almost* as much as David Cook. And it makes me want to break out a classic movie!

And we’re back from commercial and the bell is ringing…

ROUND TWO!!!

David Cook - Baba O’Reilly by The Who - And this type of thing is why we love him. This is what we’ve come to expect and I wish just let him sing the whole song instead of letting Syesha or Jason sing. LOVED it!

Syesha Mercado - A Change Is Going To Come by Sam Cook - I cannot believe that she just compared her being in the Top 4 with the Civil Rights Moment. But her dress is AMAZING!!! And this song suits her well. But she’s pushing it a little bit with her voice. She just tries too hard. I think her fans are going to really enjoy it. And at least *this* song is worthy of some votes.

Jason Castro - Mr Tamborine Man by Bob Dillon - He did NOT just forget the words!!! (Chip says maybe he’s trying to *be* Bob Dillion so we just couldn’t understand the words! ROFL). It’s just too late in the competition to do that kind of thing! If he had these kind of performances in Hollywood week, he’d have been sent home. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do *not* vote for Jason this week! That was rough in every area!

David Archuletta - Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley - He’s GOT to open his eyes all the way when he sings! It’s driving me insane! Maybe the boy needs glasses? He always looks so squinty eyed. But he did a GREAT job with song choices this week. The boy doesn’t have an ounce of rock and roll in him, so I was wondering how he’d do. But he took two “rock” (and I use that term very loosely with these songs) and made them his own. He melted the hearts of all the little Archuletta fans. For the first time, even though I’m *not* a fan, I’d have to say he was definitely the best of the night. Not that I want to listen to him sing those songs again since I’m not a fan of that kind of music.

Best of the night - Overall, it was David Archultta.  Best single performance of the night belonged to David Cook with Baba O’Reilly.

Bottom two - Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro.

Should go home - Jason Castro

Will go home - Not sure, but it won’t be one of the Davids.

American Idol results (April 30)… April 30, 2008

I can’t believe these results shows are STILL an hour long even with just 5 contestants left. The PERFORMANCE show is only an hour. Certainly they could get the results show down to only 30 minutes? Or maybe just commercial length during another good show. But wait, this is FOX…

Neil Diamond, Natasha Bedingfield and viewer questions. Honestly, I could do without ALL of it. And I can REALLY, REALLY do without the Top 5 Tribute to Neil Diamond.

And WHAT is up with Jason Castro’s voice? It didn’t even sound like him singing there at the beginning. I had to actually look up and make sure it was him. Archie rocks it out the best he can as he talks about being a rosy child. And David Cook comes out and makes us all play it now and then we go into Brooke going all Very-Merry-Brady with Syesha. Can you tell I really, really hate these group numbers? It’s all a bit Partridge family with this group thing. One rock star and a bunch of tag-a-longs.

Ryan wastes time in the audience with Constantine and Gina Glockson. Really.Don’t.Care.

We look back at last night and I’m going to change up my opinion. I think Syesha or Brooke will go home tonight.

Ryan assures us that they all love Paula and the rumors are not true. Whatever that might be.

Jason is out first and he’s got to be nervous tonight. But he’s safe tonight. And I’m shocked.

David Arculetta is out next. He’s starting to do some weird thing with his face when he sings. I think he’s trying to look angry? It doesn’t work for him. He needs to start smiling more again. But he’s safe for another week. And I can hear the teeny-boppers still squeeling.

We come back from commercial for another commercial? What on earth? I’m not going to watch “So You Think You Can Dance?” I know I can’t dance and I don’t need to go make a fool of myself on television to find out. And the guy dancing in his whitie-tighties is the stuff nightmares are made of. American Idol - there are CHILDREN who watch this show! GIVE US ALL A BREAK ALREADY!!!

And then they have to show us a CUP?! design??? OH MY GOSH!!!

David Cook is out next and I’m thinking they’ll try to “trick” us into thinking he’s in the bottom two when really he’ll be safe and they’ll call the last two out for the bottom two. Because he was clearly the ONLY star on the show last night. And I’m right, because he is indeed safe for another week.

So they bring out the losers I mean bottom two. My guess is we’ll hear BOTH of them sing one last time. They remind us how Syesha stunk it up and then moves on to Brooke and reminds us that she does well singing karaoke with animated creatures. Syesha says song choices are tough and this isn’t Miss America (thanks to my husband for putting it into words for me). Brooke says she’s finally just at a place where she’s wants to have fun doing this again and hopefully she didn’t make that decision a little too late.

Commercials are over and they are ALL on the sofa - I think Ryan wishes he could sing - to listen to Natasha Bedingfield sing. I don’t know who she is. Apparently she’s really popular across the pond. I’m not all that impressed, but I don’t hate it. That’s not going to keep me from fast forwarding through it though. Ryan asks for her opinion on first auditions and such and she really doesn’t have much to say because well, she never had to compete to get a contract. She was just discovered. Then she sits down and kisses Archie on the cheek and he turns about 8 shades of red and purple and then she agrees to go to prom with him.

Now we go to questions becuase we have to waste even more time. Some little boy wants to know why Paula always give contestants a break and she says it’s because it’s a hard-knock life. A girl with another question for Paula and she wants to know if Paula will be doing another video with Randy. Paula says it’s a go as soon as Randy turns into an animated dawg. Someone’s mom wants to know which was more memorable - his kiss with Paula or his kiss with her when he was 9. Thankfully it’s someone that he really does know. And he wants to know if she’s still a hottie. And we’ve all just met Simon’s first crush.

And THANK YOU RYAN for reminding kids that 9 years old is too young to be kissing!

I skipped the Ford commercial because I don’t care. Neil Diamond is next and doing a new song from his new album. The song is Pretty Amazing Grace. I can’t tell if he’s talking about God’s grace or a pretty girl named Grace. I guess like all good love songs, it works both ways. Pretty amazing, eh? (Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself). I am a little disappointed that he went with more of a Johnny Cash look instead of a flashy, sparkly shirt.

And we’re running short on time, so I’m guessing now that we’ll only get to hear the person voted off tonight sing. Which is fine by me. Because really, if they aren’t voted off but were in the bottom two, they probably shouldn’t sing the song that landed them there again. Ever.

Syesha and Brooke are called back to the center of the stage and BROOKE is going home. It’s kind of sad because the second song she did was the best she’d done in WEEKS. Apparently it wasn’t enough to overshadow the spaz-y first performance.  I really expect her to cut a CCM a la Amy Grant type record once she’s done with the tour. I’ve heard some great stories about her and I she really seems like a genuine person who lives out her faith. I’m sad to see her go.

And she goes out giving me goosebumps even though she’s barely making it through. We’ll see Brooke again, oh yes we will…

Almost Live American Idol recap… (April 29) April 29, 2008

And I STILL haven’t called my Gram! UGH!

Ryan introduces us to the few remaining Idol-ators. Not many left and really not a lot of talent left. When you get this far into the competition, it’s easy to see who the stars really are. The grueling task of being a star will make people start to crack by this point. Could be interesting tonight.

Ryan is going on about how they have to JAM stuff into just one hour. Maybe if he’d just quit talking to hear himself talk we wouldn’t have to waste so much time? What a novel idea!

And it’s Neil Diamond night. I’m really hoping that someone will wear the shiny shirt. THAT would be entertainment! He an amazing musician who has proved himself and is about to release his 26th album. You know you’re successful when you can go the distance like that!

Ok, they are each going to sing two songs. And not be judged until the end of the second performance.

Jason Castro - “Forever in Blue Jeans” - Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. I think they should be making them do these back to back like they would in a real concert. Make them talk to the audience between them. Then we’d really know what kind of performer they are.

David Cook - ”I’m Alive” - Took us a minute to figure out all the AC stuff - Adam Cook. Great performance. Not even in the same caliber as the rest of the contestants.

Brooke White - “I’m A Believer” - This song usually reminds me of the Monkees (Carrie are you reading? How many HOURS did we spend watching htat show when we were in school?) However, this reminds me more of the Shrek version. I can just picture little fairy tale creatures dancing all around her. It’s a good performance and she seems more comfortable behind the guitar than she’s looked in weeks. I was nervous about her this week, but you could tell she had fun up there and actually made it enjoyable.

(anyone else icked out by the “my husband has a guy-crush on seacrest” sign? Ew!!!)

David Archuletta - “Sweet Caroline” - I should have made my predictions on the blog BEFORE it got to the point. I just *knew* he would sing BOTH of these songs! And he did well. In a Disney musical kind of way. It was about what I expected.

Syesha Mercado - “Hello Again” - I like this song. I’ve heard it so many times that I can actually hear Neal Diamond singing it in my head without any music at all. She sang it well, but I didn’t like it. It’s one of those untouchable songs for me.

Randy on Round 1 - Jason was ok, David C was in the zone, Brooke was better than last week but karaoke, Archuletta was GREAT, and Syesha was wonderful.

Paula wastes her time because she things Castro sang two songs and she get all confused and we don’t have time for this.

Simon says Jason:forgettable, David Cook:justabove average, Brooke:nightmare, David Archuletta:ametuer, Syesha: old-fashioned.

*ROUND TWO!*

Jason Castro - “September Morn” - Someone needs to tell the windshield wipers in the front row that this is NOT the right type of song for that thing and they are going completely too fast for this song! He’s got a soothing kind of voice that I could listen to if I wanted to be lulled to sleep or just wanted background noise while I was working. A step above Musak, but almost just as boring. Randy says it was just ok/whatever performance, Paula tells him to get out of his comfort zone and quit playing it safe, and Simon is bored by his lack of originality.

David Cook - “All I Really Need Is You” - LOVED it! Best by far and we should just end this competition and let the boy cut his album. The longer they wait to get it in the can, the less money they will make. Randy loved it, Paula really loved it and Simon thought it was brilliant and can’t say enough. Which is odd to hear Simon gushing with GOOD things to say.

Brooke White - “I Am…I Said…” - I can’t believe that Ryan just called her for cheating and writing the lyrics on her hand. But she didn’t need them. And she does a GREAT job with this song. Randy liked it. Paula says it works. Simon says again how much he hated the first song, but he really liked the second song. It wasn’t incredible, but she gets a “well done” from Simon.

David Archuletta - “America” - This song seems a bit “July 4th Musical”-ish. And his voice cracking really shows how young he is. He sang it well. Randy and Paula loved it. Simon agrees with me - David picked the right song to sing to get him the voices because Archuletta fans will LOVE that.

Syesha Mercado - “Thank The Lord For The Nighttime” - THIS is what she should have been doing all along. And why does she never do the big funky hair when she does songs like this? Because that would have so made her perfomance. Randy says she should have been doing songs like this all along. Paula babbles. I have no idea what she’s talking about but I do know that Syesha is no Corrine Bailey Rae. Simon says she demonstrates that she’s a great actress/singer and he thinks she’ll be in trouble tonight because there are only 5 left and that she didn’t have a memorable second song. I think he says that because he’s already forgotten about Jason Castro.

Should be bottom two: Jason Castro & Syesha Mercado

Will be bottom two: Jason Castro & Syesha Mercado

Going home: Jason Castro

I’m off to read more opinions now and see what others thought.

Tackling Tuesday… April 29, 2008

There are two days left in April - if you count today - and I’m FREEZING! It’s 45 degrees outside. I thought we left Minnesota 10 years ago??? My body does not like to work when it’s this cold outside! I want to stay in, curled up under blankets and drinking coffee!

But, I don’t have time for that. My days are filling quickly. Thankfully Tuesdays are one of only two days a week that we don’t have to be on the ballfield. I’m currently at home and finishing up giving baths to the littlest two. Kait is taking my place at the church this morning and helping set stuff up for the rummage sale. She’s loving it and loving the attention of all the wonderful grandmas and grandpas over there. I’m sure they’re loading her up with cookies and snacks and I’ll be the one to pay for it later, but at least my sneez-y allergies aren’t bothering me this morning.

Elijah and I have to sit down and figure out the best week for him to go to camp. I’ve got loads of design stuff to do for the church. I need to refigure the signage for the rummage sale this weekend, start working on baccalaureate, tweak some other signage and sermon graphics and CALL MY GRAM because her birthday was 2 days ago and I still haven’t talked to her!

OH! And my new books have finally arrived. What I really want to do is sit down, snuggle in and start to digest Pop Goes The Church by Tim Stevens. Or I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy TShirt by Vince Antonucci (although this one has already made it’s way to Chip’s office so it may be a while before I see it again).

OH! And everything I have to do today must be done before dinner. Because after dinner, we have to go find a pair of cleats that fit Elijah’s ever-growing feet! Which are now as big as mine!!!! And I should probably sort through the assortment of cleats in the closet to see if we have any for Kait and Noah. I don’t want to go cleat shopping more than once!

All that before I come home tonight to blog about American Idol. At least *that* I can do from the comforts of my snuggly blanket!

American Idol results recap (April 23rd)… April 23, 2008

It is Wednesday and I’m only half watching the results. I really, really, really beg of the producers to make the results show a 30 minute show.

I could care less about the group numbers. And tonights are particularly painful for me. And from the looks on their faces, it’s painful for everyone but Syesha and David Archuletta too. Personally, I think Syesha should just leave now for Broadway now. She’s be great on the stage I think. And Disney has GOT to be kicking themselves for not discovering David Archuletta before AI did. He is a Disney movie waiting to happen.

They’re interviewing Andrew Lloyd Weber tonight. The man is brilliant. A little creepy, but brilliant. And I disagree about his comment about Brooke being amazing at dress rehersal. Sorry, but we don’t get to see rehersals. I’ve seen better ALW interviews. I could have done about this one.

And OH.MY.GOSH!!! With the Ford commercial this week. WHAT was up with Brooke’s hair in that video? I know it was all big hair 80’s rocker stuff for all of them, but WOW! That was crazy!

Lots of thanks for Idol Gives Back - including a video of the President and First Lady. I’ll tell y’all right now, it’s not too late to give even more. You can go to Compassion International to give - either on a one time basis (I know they are doing a malaria net campaign right now where you can buy a mosquito net for a child (or a whole family if they all sleep together) for only $10. Or you can sponsor a child on a monthly basis. Doesn’t matter when you read this - you can visit there site and make a difference NOW!

They bring out the David’s and they are both safe. And they’ll be working with Neil Diamond next week.

Who is Leona Lewis? I know that I live under a rock a lot of times when it comes to pop music. Because most pop music makes me want to stick my fingers in my ears and send me screaming from the room. But I have no idea who this chick is.

We’re back from commercial and apparently losing Idol stars do one of two things - sing country or do Broadway. And oh Clay Aiken. I may have nightmares tonight… *shudder*

Apparently this girl, Leona Lewis, is the number one new singer in the world? And I’m hitting the fast forward button because this is SOOOO not my type of music. She seems sweet enough and she can sing, but I can’t hear what you’re saying, let me take my fingers out of my ears.

Syesha Mercado and Brooke White are called out. My prediction? Brooke is taking a stool and Syesha is safe. And I’m completely WRONG!!! But if I had stuck with my opinion from last night, Syesha is the weaker of the two (marginally) and Brooke got the sympathy vote. I was told I was wrong so many times today that I doubted myself. Note to self: Self, go with your gut!

Carly and Jason come out after the commercial break and my gut is telling me Jason is on the stools. And it’s a SECOND UPSET!!! I’m pretty shocked. But I’m tired of both of the bottom two, so I really don’t care who goes home at this point.

Carly and Syesha both sing and I’ll be honest - I didn’t watch either. I watched the first few seconds of Carly, but I surfed the web for the rest of it.

The Mac vs. PC commercials however, I will watch over and over again! Best marketing on television. Love them!

We come back from commercial and Ryan wastes more time after makign us think he’s jumping right into it. And Carly is going home tonight. I’m a bit surprised. A bit disappointed. But like she said earlier in the show, she had been too calculating in her song choices and had forgotten to have fun. She was ready to bring back that fun Carly that people really liked at the beginning of the season. But that’s the reality of American Idol and it’s not always the worst singer that goes home.

Almost live American Idol recap (April 22)… April 22, 2008

Seems weird not bloggin last week. I wasn’t too terribly surprised by the outcome of it all. And I really think it’s unfair that they go through the season telling people not to try and be someone like Mariah or do her songs because someone will always compare you to her - and then they make her songs. But whatever. It was one of Kristy Lee Cook’s better performances, but she was still the weakest in the bunch. It was her time to go.

Tonight’s theme is Broadway tunes and the mentor is Andrew Lloyd Weber. And I wonder if Simon will be brave enough to say someone sounds like they are a cabaret or broadway singer with the man himself actually there? I’m not likely to like many of the performances tonight. I’m a critic when it comes to music and I’m a critic when it comes to theater. When you put the two together, I’m pretty harsh. Don’t say I didn’t warn you ahead of time.

Ryan shows us the clip about ALW, introduces the judges, and we get jump right into the show.

Syesha - One Rock & Roll Too Many - What is her deal with the piano lately? Two weeks ago she was sitting on it and now she’s STANDING on it? What on earth? I’m bored. There are so many fun songs they can choose from and this is what she does? She said she was going to pick a song she can put her personality into and this is just proving that she doesn’t have on. (Chip says I should be more grace-full. But I’m just being honest). I do *not* like this performance at all. She could definitely do broadway and do it well, but this is NOT a Broadway competition.

Jason Castro - Memories - Someone just shoot me. I didn’t like Cats when I had to go see it in high school. I’ve never really cared for the soundtrack. And thankfully he’s done. He sang it well, but it was B-O-R-I-N-G!!! Maybe if he had put on a cat suit to sing it? THAT would have been entertaining!

Brooke White - You Must Love Me - Oops! That’s twice now that she’s messed up a song. If this was the first week of Hollywood week, she’d have been sent home just for that. She’s dying up there and she knows it and we’re all watching the train coming down the track. Brooke’s nerves really seem to be getting the best of her in recent weeks. And while she’s got a beautiful voice, I’m just not sure she’s Idol material anymore. I do think it’s a bit hypocritical of the Paula to tell her that she should never start and stop a song because when she did it last time, they all applauded her for having the guts to start a song over again when she got off to a bad start. It will definitely be one of the performances this week that people will remember - only for all the wrong reasons.

David Archuletta - Think Of Me - And for the first time tonight, I can actually hear a song that could make it on the pop charts. Not that I would listen to it, but definitely the best of the night so far.

Carly Smithson - Jesus Christ Superstar - SOOOO glad that ALW called her on her song choice. The other would have been AI suicide! And Carly finally looks like a superstar! And I love that she actually *looked* like she was having fun!

David Cook - Music Of The Night - I like that he didn’t try to change anything with such a classic song. It’s probably one of these best known ALW songs there is and to try and change it would be a tragedy. I’m loving his performance, until that last rocker shout on the very last note. But he could sing the phone book and I would listen, and that was amazing! David Cook really should be the winner this year. I don’t buy “albums” very often, but I will probably buy his.

And Ryan should NOT sing on this show. I vote we send Ryan home this week just for pulling that little stunt at the end.

Bottom three: Brooke, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado

Should go home: Brooke - that was just a train wreck

Will go home - Syesha - because I think enough people will feel sorry for Brooke to give her the sympathy vote this week.

But I’ve been wrong more than I’ve been right this season, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow night.

My problem with the DVR… April 10, 2008

Is that there is no way to record two different shows and watch a third! So, no American Idol recap from me tonight. I *did* watch Idol Gives Back last night. And while I agree that they are doing good, sometimes shows like that just make me mad.

The fact that they are going to spend money to fight obesity is just kind of sad in my eyes. There are people RIGHT HERE in the United States who go to bed hungry every night and yet they’re going to spend that money on people who eat too much. I know the whole “education is power” thing - but the last time I checked, it was pretty much ILLEGAL to not send your kids to school (or homeschool them at least), so isn’t that really a job for the school system? (Which is a whole other topic that I won’t even get into because I could be here all night. (I must say that I’m also peeved at the GOV’T that is going to spend upwards of $150 MILLION on the presidential campaign - taxpayer money - when there are soooo many *real* things they could be using that money for.)

My husband summed up how I feel about the whole mosquito net thing. Seriously people, that can only do so much. They can’t walk around wearing the net. If we were having this problem in the US, it would be solved in a matter of days. The net is only a bandaid - an important one I agree - but there has to be more we can do.

The performances were good (that Terri Hatcher is a hoot!) and I missed the Idols singing Shout to the Lord at the end but I hear it was great even though they took Jesus out of the song. And I got a lot of great inspiration for how we could do things in the church world to get people excited and make them want to be involved in campaigns for those who need love. (Now if someone would just like to donate a MacBook Pro to our church to make my job soooo much easier).

I’m not watching American Idol tonight. I’ve got other, better things to watch (namely The Office). So, I’ll be looking for all of y’all to let me know who gets the boot. My guess is that everyone will be safe this week - because if Idol is anything, it’s predictable and we all remember that last year they didn’t send anyone home.

Can’t wait to tuck my kids into bed and watch The Office tonight! I just wish I had enough friends that watched the show close enough to have our own Dinner Party!

Almost live American Idol recap (April 8th)… April 8, 2008

I’m apologizing up front for what might be some grogginess or for any incoherent statements that make it into my blog. I’m migraining due to storms, but still here nonetheless.  Earlier tonight, I was talking about a small group that we joined today that was for kids with small parents. What I really meant was it was a group for parents with small kids. So, this could be interesting. Maybe even more interesting than American Idol. Which is weird for me, because apparently over the past week, KLC has grown on me a bit and I have no clear frontrunner to send home this week after the departure of Ramiele last week. But onto the show…

And tonight’s theme is inspirational songs and I’m already assuming that David A. will do some sort of anti-war protest song.  Brooke will sing some flowery song that tugs on hear strings and Jason Castro will do that weird, smiling, eye-twitching thing he does. And of course Ryan kicks it all off with a plug for Idol Gives Back - which happens tomorrow night. Or you can go to Compassion International right now and make a difference right now!

Michael Johns - Dream On - And right off the bat, I’m thinking he should have put the cravat away after last week and that his vest looks ridiculous. And I wasn’t expecting to hear an Aerosmith song - especially out of him - on this week especially. But he’s no Steven Tyler. He did an ok job, but the end was pitchy and it just didn’t fit him. Randy agrees with me, Paula babbles and loves it (because she loves everyone), and Simon sums it up by saying it was “an impersonation of a rock star” and should stick with the bluesy stuff he did last week. Rock on, Simon.

Syesha Mercado - I Believe - I don’t like this song when Fantasia sings it and I’m already doubting I’ll like her version. But she’s doing a great job of making me like this song. She got a little pitchy right before hitting the HUGE note at the end - but it was pretty good. She’s just lacking a little in the charisma department. Chip says someone should hire her as a background singer. I’m just not sure she’s got star quality though. She sings well, but there was no “big wave of emotion” like Simon said.

Jason Castro - Somewhere Over The Rainbow - And he breaks out the ukelele tonight! He’s got an original sound (and I hate it when I agree with Paula) and did a great job tonight. Now if he could just stop doing that weird thing with his eye when he goes up for the high notes. I wonder if maybe I dont’ notice things like that more than most people though because my husband is up in front of a crowd each week and I catch things like that for him.

Kristy Lee Cook - Anyway - And for the first time, I know why she’s in this competition. I’m a huge Martina McBride fan and she did a GREAT job with that song. Her best performance in this competition EVER. I believed her as a performer instead of just a singer this week.

David Cook - Innocent - I can see how this song would fit into a concert, but I’m just not feeling it tonight. Maybe it’s because I don’t agree with the “theology” behind the whole “we are innocent” thing, maybe it’s because I’ve never heard that song before so I have no comparison, but this was the worst week for him. But it was still a great performance. Throw that song into the middle of a concert and it would work, but it just doesn’t stand alone. He can, and has done better.

Carly Smithson - The Show Must Go On - I just don’t know. (I do know I’m tired of hearing Randy say “pitchy” for every single performance). It was all a bit disconnected and weird. Her look is better this week - but I think only because it matches the song? It was just a little weird for me. I think she got a little over-confident in her choice song. And at this point in the competition, song choice is everything.

David Archuletta - Angels - And he’s back behind the piano this week, which is an excellent choice on inspiration week. But I just CANNOT get past the HORRID theology in this song. And he sang about being old and gray? He’s SEVENTEEN!!! He sang it well, but I just hated it. I just can’t stand music when the lyrics make no sense at all. But he sang it well and I think America as a whole will love it.

(*warning - rant ahead* Did y’all see the SIX year old - I’m guessing, but she looks younger than my 8 year old - sitting next to her DAD holding up a sign with David A’s picture that said, “Lick those lips!” No way! No how! That little girl should *not* be holding up a sign like that! *end rant*)

Brooke White - You’ve Got A Friend - She’s doing a great job, but she should really be behind the piano for this song. She just looks so much  more natural behind an instrument. I think I can see her “white knuckles” on that microphone she’s gripping it so hard. It’s like she doesn’t know what else to do with her hands. She sang it well. It’s one of those songs that everyone knows and she did it well. I could totally hear that song on a lullaby mix.

Bottom three?: Michael Johns, Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson

Should go home?: Syesha Mercado or Carly Smithson

Will go home?: Syesha Mercado