ihavegotalot2say

Grammy's Rundown

2012-02-12T22:04:00.014-05:00

The news of the death of Whitney Houston definitely put more of a spotlight on the show tonight - who will mention her, who will sing a tribute, what are the lessons to learn from this tragedy?

But this is a celebration of music and so the Bruce Springsteen opener was just that -- a celebration of music.

LL Cool J hosts and does an appropriate and sincere opening. A prayer and then a video from Whitney's Grammy performance of "I Will Always Love You." Carrie Underwood was tearing up -- I dare say everyone was. And then his strong intro to Adele - -this was certainly her year and she deserves to be in the spotlight. Umm I believe in the church of LL, he got me all amped up!

Bruno Mars puts on a fantastic performance. I can't believe how uncool he is making me feel. That jam was jamming!

Alicia Keyes and Bonnie Raitt give tribute to Etta James with Sunday Kind Of Love. Alicia Keyes hair looks like Bruno Mars. Pop Solo Female performance is first and Adele goes ahead and wins it. She should just stay up there all night. Love the blonde do. Standing ovation.

Chris Brown -- whatever. How come he always gets to perform at these things? I know he is a great dancer, but is this Dancing With the Stars?

Kanye and Jay Z win best rap performance and are no shows. Blue Ivy for Jay Z and best album snub for Kanye. Or maybe he's working on his fashion collection.

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson. Great duet. I've never seen Aldean in a suit! Kelly looks good. I personally think she likes Jason, but that's just me making trouble.

I fast forwarded the Foo Fighters, don't hate me.

Rihanna with Coldplay? She sings a funky version of We Found Love and I love it. I love this song. I know I'm going to get sick of it, but right now I love it. Is that just Coldplay on the keyboard? I love the Tine Turner look. Take that Chris Brown - I can dance too! Oh and the nit was the Rihanna / Coldplay collaboration. Why isn't Gwyn singing with them? Hee hee. This song is boringhanna.

Did you catch Willie Nelson singing Coldplay in a commercial? Weird. Foo Fighter won an award and I fast forwarded.

Ryan Seacrest introduces a Beach Boys Tribute. Maroon 5 (Wow Adam Levine is so much cooler to me after The Voice.) Foster the People, and then the Beach Boys -- is John Stamos playing the drums? Oh my god, this is so painful. And no John Stamos is not playing the drums. It seems that the audience was enjoying it, didn't translate for me.

Paul (fast forward) McCartney. I know I should care, but I don't. I know, I have no respect.

Chris Brown wins R&B album and people stand up. Button up your shirt boy.

Oh God, The Civil Wars are going to kill me -- LOVE. I want her voice. And they introduce Taylor. Love her banjo strumming Mean jamboree. I've seen her do this before though, she could have come up with something new.

NPH in the house! Song of the Year should go to Rolling in the Deep. Adele Atkins. That's right.

Julie Mannion would make her spit out her gum.

Katy Perry debuts another song - sounds better than I've ever heard her.

Miranda and Dierks give best Country Album to Lady Antebellum. I think Taylor should have won. But Hilary looked better than usual (good job Jen!)

Really Gwyneth introduces Adele? God she gets to do everything good.

Adele's voice is definitely okay. I dream of having that thick hair. I wish I had been able to see her in concert. Anyone who wants to do something amazing for me would get me into some tiny concert of hers with like 100 people. I'd be forever grateful. (Hi Ed!)

How amazing must this feel for her -- to have the year she has had and to have the respect of ALL her peers. I'm fine with no surprise upsets this year. Adele all the way.

Glenn Campbell tribute. Band Perry was good. Blake was good. Oh who am I kidding. I don't care about Glenn Campbell.

Carrie looking glam! Tony Bennett joins her and they duet. Everyone has to stand up for this. My Idols are kicking it on this show. Best New Artist should be Nikki Minaj. Bon Iver wins. Whatevs, I just fell asleep to the walk up music.

Oh boy, here it comes. Jennifer Hudson sings I Will Always Love You. She has experienced loss in her life and so I think it was the perfect choice. Plus that voice. But how can she do this without losing it. Oh man, how gorgeous. Stunning.

Ummm David Guetta is such a nerd. Chris Brown gets to perform again?

Record of the Year goes to Adele for Rolling in the Deep. God she looks so gorgeous. And she takes Album of the Year. Well deserved. How gorgeous is she? I want fake eyelashes. Can't someone at fashion week give me fake eyelashes? I can't believe she is only 23. Wow. Can't wait to see and hear what is to come. She is a doll.

OMG Diana Ross's dress is so big.

Why does Paul McCartney need to sing again? I'm sick of Grammy doubles. Adele should have sung again or the whole time!

Okay kiddos, time to hit the hay. Lovely musical interlude to my fashion week.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...this Grammy's proved our collective obsession named Adele deserved to be celebrated.

St Louis quickie

2012-02-02T23:16:00.007-05:00

So the premise is, could there be another Carrie Underwood from a St. Louis audition? Based on Johnny Keyser, I'd say yes. I thought Gavin DeGraw had just walked in to audition.

Reis Klockener -- Talks about bullying, cute boy with a Beiberesque voice. Nice, sweet voice. He made Steven Tyler cry.

First Gavin sound a like and then Ethan Jones sings Edwin McCain? This is the night for the men.

Ummm Madonna is putting out an Avril Lavigne song, cool. (I am excited about her for the Super Bowl. She might be old, but she isn't as ancient as The Who and The Stones!)

Lauren Grey -- I've got a feeling (based on an email from two very in the know friends named Ed and Mark) that she is the one to watch tonight. And based on the Carrie intro, now I'm getting goosebumps. But she was more than I could even imagine. I get it, Adele is the hottest thing and normally, I would not think someone should sing her song and sound like her, but this girl is fantastic. Fantastic. She needs to get all the way to the top 10. Straight away.

And JLo cried from the song...

People, game is on.

AI Audition round up

2012-02-01T20:51:00.006-05:00

I mean, there are so many episodes coming at me so fast! I missed Galveston since my DVR didn't record. But I have some thoughts from San Diego and Aspen before tonight's episode.

Basically tons of maybe's, lots of possibilities, and surprises...

San Diego

Aubrey - the girl who said she wants to be on America's next top model. At first, I hated her but then she has this clean easy sweet bubble voice. Maybe?

Ally Shields - The big Ellen fan whose first kiss was usher on AMA carpet. Sang Corinne bailey Rae kind of good, but I'm sure she won't last long.

Kyle Cruz - the Frat boy who was obsessed with being in a frat also surprised me with the serenade of the Monica song, not fantastic but so surprising...

Jane Carrey - umm LOVED the moment of JLo remembering her from In Living Color with Jim Carrey when she was a fly girl. I liked that the judges actually knew who her Dad was and didn't pretend.

Jason Wolf Hamlin - His father just passed and he sang CCR. Every season has a guy

Ike this. Casey from last season, this super talented musician who is a throwback and doesn't find that new pop sound. Always worry about commercial viability of that sound. Not everyone can be Josh Grobin and become a success.

Aspen

The girl fighting with her sister has some serious problems. If I was her sister, I would seriously want eyes on the back of my head.

Haley Smith - the vegetarian nature girl who sang Tell Me Something Good. She has a great voice, but is too weird. I loved Haley Reinhert so much last season, that I kind of don't want someone like her to win now...

Shelby - the one with the major Minnesota accent who is bi polar. Sings Carrie Underwood's Temporary Home. JLo loved it, I thought it was okay but of course her story totally got to me.

There were some funny ones in this episode. The Gaga / Bette Midler / burlesque girl who actually has a decent voice but is so weird. JLo has her sing another song which proves she does not know who she is, but her voice is better. I mean, does she want to make it? If they hadn't let her do something else, she would have lost because she is a weirdo. Lucky girl.

Umm and then there was Magic. Who is this guy? From Davenport Iowa with a British accent, he gives them judges choice. He wasn't funny enough in his songs. Annoying.

And now on to tonight's episode in Portland.

Have I said I like the contestant video diaries? Well, I do.

Brittany Zuka - another Haley type, so you know what I think about that.

Jermaine Jones -- 6 foot 8 inch who sang Luther. There is always one of these every season too (see Ruben, Jacob Lusk). I don't think he did anything new.

Britnee Kellogg - the mother of two little boys whose basketball playa' husband held her back. I already love her. And then she starts singing Carly Simon's You're No Good, and I'm a believer in her dreams. Love it! And then she asks JLo for advice on juggling motherhood an your dreams, which makes me start crying. Nice.

Naomi Gilles - she sings Steven Tyler's Crying. Wow. Very very good. And I like her cute bangs look. She could be major.

And now a tearjerker to end the night. Jessica Phillips - her boyfriend of 5 years had a stroke last year. And she is now his caretaker. What a story. Nice melodic voice, a little Monica and Mary J. Good to see what happens. Yup crying.

I'm ready for Hollywood week where we can really see all the talent. But so far, some glimpses look good.

Don't be ashamed of watching bad movies on a plane...(I watched the SJP "I Don't Know How She Does It" Woah, that was terrible.

Oh and I want to hear form you on the Superbowl commercials - tell me your faves!

SAGs, my quick thoughts

2012-01-29T23:01:00.005-05:00

I am exhausted and cranky so I have decided to do a stream of consciousness blog of random thoughts on the SAGs. I like the SAGs because I kind of only care about the acting awards anyway.

--YES dresses -- Shailene Woodley, Zoe Saldana, Julie Bowen, Emily Blunt, Emma Stone (the fit of that McQueen dress!), Judy Greer (not a dress I would wear, but that quirky style was perfect for her quirky personality)

--NO dresses - Glenn Close, Jessica Chastain (for those who remember, I don't like dresses that accentuate small boobs with small boob cups), Lea Michele (JUST STOP). Kristen Wiig (loved the dress, but the collar made it all go away).

--If I was nominated for a SAG, I would bring my bestie too -- love Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips going as dates constantly. They probably have the best time.

--Where is Rose Byrne from? Her accent is STRONG.

--Alec Baldwin, have we discussed his diet? Wow, he lost 10 years along with the fat.

--I love Coach Taylor, but something was wrong with his suit or hair, not on his full game.

--Melissa McCarthy is looking gorgeous and does everyone know she is married to the guy who played the police marshall in Bridesmaids?

--Betty White doesn't need an award, she knows everyone loves her. It is ridiculous for her to win 2 years in a row for a stupid show.

--THE TV MOVIE / MINISERIES awards still bore me.

--Bridesmaids intro was the best intro of all time. I'm playing the Scorcese drinking game while I watch the Oscars.

--Mary Tyler Moore, the reading of the speech was awkward. So glad to know how her name went from Mary Moore to Mary Tyler Moore. Really? That is the story to tell?

--George Clooney should have won for Actor.

--The Help for cast was great.

--Ummm we need to talk about the new Dallas. I watched it every Friday night with my parents. Am hoping they can rekindle that magic!

Okay, I now have nothing left to say. Going to bed :)

Is it that time again?

2012-01-18T22:34:00.008-05:00

January 18th, the start of season 11 of American Idol. The show begins with a montage showing how current contestants grew up watching Idol, exactly what I needed to start my year, a reinforcement of how old I am. It was nice seeing last season's judges back -- I got my fill of Simon and Paula on X Factor, so seeing JLo and Steven Tyler and even Randy felt refreshing.

What was my take on X Factor? It was fun to watch. Hated the host, loved LA Reid, thought there was some fantastic talent, didn't need the back-up dancers, thought Paula got screwed with terrible groups, felt bad that Nicole Scherzinger ruined her career and was not surprised that one of Simon's picks won.

The auditions are usually not a highlight for me, so many sad stories, too many bad auditions but when the occasional star shines, I get excited for what is to come.

Some highlights from Savannah:

Shaun Kriseman, Ryan Seacrest look a like. He couldn't sing well enough, but the bit with Ryan was fun.

Shannon Magrane, daughter of the pitcher. Can we discuss that Steven hit on her in front of her father? Awkward.

Amy Brumfield, who lives in a tent. I was sure this was going to be a joke one and was about to fast forward, but wow, what a nice voice. She can't win, but nice for her to get a shot.

Schyler Dixon, who was a repeat auditioner with her brother Colton. Both were amazing. I liked her a little better, but I love when we do see people come back -- they always tell them to come back, but nice to see it work.

Lauren Mink, teacher singing Country Strong. They loved it. I thought it was okay, of course loved Randy's shout out to my gal Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, but after the Scotty / Lauren finale of last season, I think the show needs a non-country winner to make sure it doesn't get stale. Especially since Scotty was so cheesy.

WT Thompson whose wife was about to have a baby sang Little Big Town's Boondocks and I agreed with Steven that he does not have what it takes. Nice song choice, but I don't think he'll be getting out of the boondocks soon.

Brittany Kerr super hot girl in the white jeans. Always fun to see if the really beautiful girl can last.

Phillip Phillips, a very handsome, talented guy with stupid parents who gave him the same first and last name. And then he started playing Thriller on the guitar. This guy just gave me "goosies" as Jennifer would say. WOW.

Alright, Game on...

The Emmy's

2011-09-18T20:02:00.022-04:00

Group watching the Emmy's is looking to be a great idea. Lame opening with Jane Lynch is making me nervous until she hits Mad Men set. And a big cheer for the FNL locker room scene. The metallic dress is a miss for sure and then she gets lifted in the air by the dancers. When she was put down, she pulled up her spanx. Yikes.

The opening monologue was much better and then the little choir was still to be judged. Comedy clips finally got us laughing.

Kimmel and Fallon were good.

Supporting Actress Comedy -- My win, Sofia Vergara. Curve ball win to Julie Bowen. She was not prepared to win at all. Her chest looks horrific, an accident waiting to happen.

Julianna Margulies - I like the space dress, which is strange, but I stand by it.

Supporting Actor Comedy -- My win, Ty Burrell. And he wins. Great speech mix of comedy and emotion. Well done.

Brad Pitt looks really old in the preview for his movie. Wow.

Ricky Gervais does a great bit with an edited speech. He always makes me laugh. Modern Family wins for Director -- what a weird category. Does anyone really care? And then they win for writing. I love Zooey Deschanel and I liked her dress, someone in the room had an opinion about the belt, but I say it is all a good, messy chic.

Charlie Sheen is at the Emmy's. Wow, this is going to be interesting.

Calvin Klein ad from last year is playing again. Umm, haven't the collections changed?

"Welcome back to the Modern Family Awards." Good line Jane.

Charlie Sheen comes out to present Lead Actor Comedy. "From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for the upcoming season." Wow, that felt weird. Come on Steve Carell. Stupid Jim Parsons won. He should be embarrassed. Uggh, Jim Parsons now joins Mariska Hargitay, Kyra Sedgewick and Edie Falco in my most hated winners category.

Sofia Vergara looks gorgeous - really gorgeous.

Best category was Lead Actress in a Comedy -- each of the ladies got up on the stage -- Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Martha Plimpton (looking amazing), Melissa McCarthy and Laura Linney looking incredibly chic and modern in her short black dress. My win, Amy Poehler but Melissa McCarthy wins maybe for Bridesmaids. I'm okay with that because I loved her in Gilmore Girls too. But she can't win again.

The bit in the Office was good. Ashton showing up to take over Steve Carrell.

Competitive Reality -- My win, this year definitely Idol. But... Amazing Race won, again. So dumb. Might as well get rid of this category.

Variety / Talk Show -- Daily Show wins.

Lonely Island compilation was hysterical. Michael Bolton, Ed Helms, John Stamos, Maya Rudolph - funny.

Lea Michele bugs me. There, I said it. I love her singing, love her performance, but something bothers me.

Jane Lynch second dress loses too. Billy and I say, modern tux would have been better.

Anna Paquin (who was 9 in the Piano and won the Oscar at 11 in case you wanted to know since the people in this room had a lot of opinions about this) looked good - I like that she wears black a lot.

Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher come out to present. Writing for a Drama -- My win, Friday Night Lights and it WINS!! Jason Katims - WOW, I am so happy. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose! So happy.

Supporting Actress in a Drama -- My win, Archie Panjabi, but someone from Justified won, which is fine. She couldn't walk up the stairs, but it was sweet that everyone went to help her.

Why did the Emmy producers think it was a good plan to make an instrumental version of Pumped Up Kicks? It is so not okay and Foster the People should sue them.

Loretta Devine needs to purchase a bra. Right away. What show is the Dr Surgeon from ER on now? Directing for a Drama -- I don't watch any of these shows at all. Scorcese wins for Boardwalk Emprie and gives the longest speech like it was for his first Oscar.

Kerry Washington is too skinny.

Supporting Actor, Drama -- My win, Alan Cumming, but I'm open. They lowered the mic for Peter Dinklage. I'm fine for him to win as long as the show doesn't.

Katie Holmes looks good. One of my top picks.

Best Actress, Drama -- My win, of course Connie Britton. But I am a Julianna fan so I understand if she wins, which she does. Connie -- can't wait for the new show.

Minka Kelly looks great - Jeter should have held on to that.

Best Actor, Drama -- My win is of course Kyle Chandler -- COACH WINS IT!!! I love him. Wow, humble, amazing. I know he didn't thank Connie Britton, but at the end he held out the Emmy to her. Wow, amazing. I love him so much. Minka was so happy for him. Uggh I miss that show.

LL Cool J just joined the Emmytunes. That was crazy. Ladies Love.

Entourage guys come out and act like they are so cool. Turtle looks a lot better after losing the weight.

Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy come out to present and are super funny. I love that women

Why did the Canadian Tenors perform Hallelujah? More importantly, who are the Canadian Tenors?

Anna Torv from Fringe liked the Canadian Tenors. But she looked beautiful. Guy Pierce, for geez shut it already.

Claire Danes has a good dress. Kate Winslet - you can't be this excited about winning an Emmy. Mildred Pierce was not Titanic. Taraji P Henson was so angry, I thought she was going to start screaming at Kate Winslet. Kate Winslet is going for the EGOT -- Emmy, check, Grammy, Check (for a spoken word), Oscar check, Tony can totally happen soon.

Stop the Calvin Klein ads.

Maria Bello looks good. Good dress choice. As Billy says, "I'm not mad at her."

Mad Men wins Best Drama -- I'm okay with that. It was the best season of Mad Men for sure, and FNL did finally get nominated.

Jane Lynch last dress was actually okay.

Gwyneth gets to present Best Comedy -- why? My win, Parks and Rec but Modern Family wins which is just as good. The nerdy teen girl is major hotness now.

Room decisions:

Best dressed:

Sofia Vergara

Minka Kelly

Laura Linney

Anna Torv

Archie Panjabi

Best dressed guys:

Jon Hamm

Kyle Chandler

That's all folks -- and now the new TV season begins. Start programming your DVR's!

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions, clear eyes, full hearts can't lose.

This old lady decided to watch the VMA's

2011-08-28T21:49:00.012-04:00

Since Irene allowed me to catch up on everything on my DVR, I am watching the VMA's live. And I decided to watch because with the year of Adele and Gaga, surprise JayZ / Kanye performance and maybe some fun Beyonce / Katy Perry, the old lady felt like she actually knew enough of the performers. And I have to admit I had to see how MTV was going to give a tribute to Britney Spears.

Gaga opens the show looking like Pony Boy from the Outsiders (was that Ralph Macchio because that is who I mean). Weird monologue to open, but the performance was great. Simple reason why -- she is actually singing, live and well. Shocker! (Not a Gaga shocker, but a VMA shocker).

No host this year is a HUGE plus for me. But then someone named Kevin came out - I don't know who he is, but his stand up was terrible. Made me want to fast forward but I was watching live. Uggh.

Really, Britney beats Adele and Katy Perry for best Pop Video? Well these awards don't actually mean anything anyway since MTV doesn't actually play videos. Why isn't Amber from Teen Mom getting an award?

Jessie J from the "house band" is wearing a huge cast boot on her foot. That stinks. You get this opportunity and you have to just sit there. Well her voice is good.

Brad Pitt movie looks good -- wow he is a Robert Redford look a like - especially with the wrinkles now.

Now I finally know what song Nicky Minaj sings. They don't play that song in Nashville. Uh oh, I liked the Footloose trailer. Problem.

Jay Z and Kanye perform -- not a great performance, but I love the album so I was just psyched to see something from it. Yup, have been listening to this album a lot. I know, seems out of my zone, but I got both country and hip hop are from the people.

Katy Perry needs to stop wearing costumes and wear fashion.

Paul Rudd did a fun bit with some big rapper guy that I have never heard of. It was funny but I felt dumb because i don't know him. They introduced Pitbull / Neyo and some woman that was wearing a nude stocking that I did not recognize. I like Neyo. I forgot. Kim Kardashian was singing along in the audience. Uggh can't stand her.

Katy comes out in a purple lace gown but it is still tacky tacky. Wow her waist is teeny. Introduces Adele. I can't believe this woman is only 21. What an old soul. My favorite song. Someone Like You. She is so gorgeous and her voice is just amazing. I love her.

Uggh Kim Kardashian comes out. Blecch. Blah blah blah male video. Bieber won over Kanye, Eminem and Bruno Mars? Blecch.

Thank god Joe Jonas and Victorious girl came out after that. Seeing them made me feel better about Bieber's win.

Time for a Chris Brown dance off! Any punching moves planned in the choreography? Kanye is standing for this. Isn't he Rihanna's friend? Is this his third or fourth shot to try to make a comeback? This is better than Spiderman. Which I did not see, but I assume.

Gaga does tribute to Britney -- well gives the speech. Little girls get up and do a dance tribute to her. Very cute. Are we about to see another kiss on MTV? Britney is really tall next to Gaga. So no, kiss. But a simple thank you and an intro to Beyonce. Who announced on the carpet that she is preggers. Pop Rap royalty. So no major dance number expected. But she really sang it out. And then exposed the belly. Kanye was super happy for his man Jay. It was a nice family moment.

Someone I don't know wins Best New Artist. I probably never will. And then a band called Young the Giant performs and I don't know them either. But they are jumping up an down and having fun, so that's cool. And the lead singer is Indian -- go Sameer Gadhia! (Thanks Google!)

Jersey Shore ladies come out and look freakish - tan, colors, sparkles and fake boobs. Crazy. This Gaga / Jo Calderone thing is geting old. Gaga wins female video for Born This Way and gives her "It Gets Better Speech." She is nuts.

DID YOU SEE PREVIEW FOR NEW RYAN MURPHY SHOW WITH DYLAN MCDERMOTT AND CONNIE BRITTON CALLED AMERICAN HORROR STORY? So intrigued!!

Russell Brand just read the blog he put out after Amy Winehouse died. It's a little weird since I read it a while ago. Tony Bennett comes out to pay tribute. He and Amy had just recorded a duet. She looks great while recording that. Bruno comes out to do Valerie. Great choice.

Saw preview for a movie Gwyneth dies in - I can watch that.

Katy Perry wins Video of the Year with Firework. I can see that. She is wearing a box on her head. Then L'il Wayne performs and I turn off the TV. Yikes, that was scary! Old lady needs to go to bed.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions, or not caring about L'il Wayne.

FINALE

2011-05-25T20:24:00.020-04:00

Here it goes!

Last JLo / STy Fashion Showdown: Look JLo: Nude beaded romper and super long hair. Look STy: White leather jacket metallic tank top, lots of necklaces. Again distracted by Randy's crazy white suit but I have to give the overall win to JLo because she gave me clothes, hair and body envy all season. She is in it to win it dawg!

Scotty and Lauren walk down the stairs and I have to say they make quite a cute pair -- could they be the next Tim McGraw and Faith Hill?

Repeat of Born This Way by the group. Wow, I didn't even remember one of the girls.

Idol contestants perform with their Idols. James with Judas Priest. Well he just got locked in his genre. But wow that voice is phenomenal. Just phenomenal.

Jacob gets to perform with a gospel singer Kurt Franklin and then GLADYS KNIGHT - how exciting for him! He is sweet and so in his element! Again very much keeping each finalist in his or her genre.

Casey sings with Jack Black. Fun rendition of Fat Bottomed Girls. Good energy and obviously Casey is more talented than Jack Black, but cute energy. I think that just made Casey's year and set him up as more than a singer.

Ryan promos Gladys's Vegas show and Jack Black's Kung Fu Panda 2. Love a promo on Idol.

Girls from Top 13 except Lauren come out to do a medley of Beyonce songs and Naima scares the bejeezus out of me. I love Haley so much. She and Pia kicked ass. And the girl whose name I can't remember too. Then Beyonce came out. Again, how amazing for these contestants. Beyonce is so major, summer of Beyonce is coming right at us.

Haley and Tony Bennett. So major. This girl is a pro, looked beautiful and is so talented. She is a star.

JLo video piece was so sweet and she was really touched by the audience reaction. How thankful she must be for this absolute world dominating comeback.

L'il John joined by 2 members of TLC (yup, one is dead) and then my worst nightmare. Karen, Thia, girl whose name I don't remember and Naima joined them. Uggh. That was so scary.

Scotty gets to sing with Tim McGraw (uh hello, didn't I just compare he and Lauren to Tim and Faith? WEIRD?). Tim McGraw looking absolutely fantastic right now. Amazing body, tan, insane. They duet on Live Like You Are Dying. Tim delivers a 10, Scotty a 7. He just can't sing as well. And the emotional delivery Tim gave was so much stronger.

Then Marc Anthony comes out to assert his star power and give us his Mambo Kings. And his Queen Bee JLo joined him with a sexy, gorgeous, insanely hot dance number. She is so crazy beautiful. She just earned her keep.

Top guys do a weird medley of Prince, Tom Jones, weird country song, and something Jacob sang. So cheesy and weird. I think these are all Tom Jones songs / covers. The girls got Beyonce and the guys get Tom Jones? The guys as a group are great though, they pulled off the cheese.

Scotty and Lauren get to honor their favorite teacher with a trip to the finale and a car. Scotty's teacher is hot and I am pretty sure that he asked her to make out with him in the back seat of the car.

Then cut to a performance by Gaga. I would bet money this was not live. Not a single live shot of audience reaction. I love this song and the commercial with it in it. So inspiring. Umm but then I realized it was live when I saw the audience reaction to the suicide pact ending moment. Yikes.

Lauren gets to sing with Carrie Underwood. Before He Cheats. She really holds her own and Carrie with her gorgeous legs is so gracious. So supportive and amazing. Yes.

So many cute videos with the Top 13. They have the best personalities this season. Casey especially. Pia still feels awkward.

Beyonce comes out to sing Make Love to Me. May not be the best song choice for Idol stage. But my god, how beautiful is she? We think it is a Lanvin dress. Her voice is flawless.

Special treat. Well you can't say no to Bono so Bono gets to promote the much hated Spiderman show. The Spiderman guy looks cute and singing with Bono makes him cooler. But I'm not going to pay money to see the show. Sorry Bono, I'll wear a RED t-shirt, but no Spiderman for me. The acrobat came out and landed near JLo for the upside down kiss and she chickened out.

New Zooey Deschanel show looks cute.

STEVEN TYLER hits the stage for Dream On. Outstanding. He is such a rock god. He hits the scream perfectly. So outstanding.

And now the moment of truth. Scotty looks handsome and Lauren looks so beautiful. Love their playfulness. She is so nervous.

Scotty wins it. Not my chosen outcome, but he is a sweet kid. He is an old old old soul. Going around and hugging every single person there. He is terrible singing the terrible song. In the words of Mark: He sounds like a dying cow.

My best wish for the season is that one year from now, we don't say "remember so and so?" "Where are they now?" I hope the top talents work with Jimmy Iovine and make the magic happen. Pia, Casey, James, Lauren and of course Haley -- looking forward to downloading those songs and buying those albums and seeing you all on that stage next year again.

Thanks to the judges. They did keep the show alive and thriving even with the loss of Cowell. And even though they need to learn how to judge better, JLo and Steven are keepers in my book. Randy? Well he is in the dawghouse this season. Ryan is one of the best hosts on television (besides Jeff Probst of Survivor).

Let's remember what this show is about. From thousands of unknowns, over the course of 5 months in the lives of American television viewers, young hopefuls get the chance to sing for their dream, to make a name for themselves, to experience fame, to meet their own Idols, to learn from the best, to share the stage with the best, all in the hopes of becoming the next American Idol. I still think that is pretty darn cool. So thank you Idol for 10 great years. See you next January.

And to my blog fans, we ain't done yet. Tomorrow a tribute to Oprah. Plus coming soon, Glee tribute blog as well as the legendary Friday Night Lights.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...even if you voted for Scotty. But don't tell me if you did.

Top 2 - brought to you thanks to Alana.

2011-05-25T00:06:00.017-04:00

This is American Idol. And this is my life. My DVR has been freaking out and getting stuck every time I record something on channel 5 which just so happens to be the channel Idol is on. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to watch the show illegally online and today just to be safe I had a back up plan. Idol moved nights this week and I didn't realize this until this weekend. I had planned to see a screening of The Hangover with friends and because even I don't want to seem as obsessed as I am, I decided to go even though Idol was on and watch when I came home. To be safe, I ran home, stuck a tape in the VCR (yes I still have one) and hit record on a 6 hour tape. So DVR or VCR wise, covered. Went to see The Hangover (funny), had a quick bite and came home.

Turned on TV, checked DVR, and yep, show didn't record -- it was listed, but it recorded from 8pm to 8pm. No worries, go to the VCR. Apparently, this faulty DVR triggered the whole channel to stop so all I had was Ryan's face at 8pm paused and stuck. What to do at 11:30pm? My unfortunate friend Alana had offered that if something went wrong I could go watch at her place and my Idol obsessed self took her up on it.

At 11pm, in sweats and a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail, I walked out of my apartment with my iPad to jump in a cab to Alana's. She graciously welcomed me to her couch, her computer (too hard to blog on the iPad) and most importantly, her DVR. So this blog is now officially dedicated to Alana.

Opening sequence that brings tears again about a dream coming true. JLo / STy Fashion Showdown. Look JLo: Emerald green sequin minidress with lots of leg. Look STy: Weird mixed material shirt. But wait, I am totally distracted by Randy -- what was he wearing?

Three rounds, Gaspy is in the audience! This is an ultimate country showdown which should make me happy but actually makes me nervous. Round one, contestants choice, Round two, new addition, their own idol chooses a song for them. Lauren (surprise) picked Carrie Underwood and Scotty picked George Strait. Major choice - George Strait is a country legend. Round three, each sings a new single.

Scotty starts it off with Gone. Fun, but he did not show off his voice at all. Ummm, why did the judges not judge him when he was done? Lauren sings Carrie Underwood's Flat on the Floor. Show opened noting that Lauren did something to her voice at rehearsal, strain that was treated by a doctor. I could hear the strain, she needs to learn how to find her mix in her throat so it doesn't hurt (thank you to my voice teacher). I thought both performed well, may Scotty did a little bit better.

Hero round. Scotty picked George Strait who picks "Check Yes or No," Really old school George Strait song. Come on, he is playing this for Grandma's vote. He seems kind of nervous for the first time. Boring. Corny. I check no. Why didn't he shave his head for JLo? Again, no judges judgement. WHAT?

Carrie picks Maybe it Was Memphis by Pam Tillis. Sweet old school song, but what was Lauren wearing? Come on, no pageant dress. These rounds are so rushed and weird.

Judges on 2 rounds.

Randy -- what is he wearing? He says they are both even. Randy on Scotty -- Gone was brilliant, George Strait song was was really good. Randy on Lauren -- loved Flat on the Floor, loved Pam Tillis. Round 1, slight edge to Scotty. Round 2, slight edge to Lauren.

I think Randy said In it to win It 75 million times -- is he selling a brand with that name?

JLo -- She loves Gone, Lauren attacked Flat on the Floor. Not as dynamic for Scotty on George Strait but clear and strong for Lauren Alaina. Round 1 Scotty, Round 2 Lauren.

Steven -- Round 1 and 2 to Lauren because she is prettier than Scotty. Le me repeat that -- the JUDGE, Steven Tyler said Round 1 and 2 to Lauren because she is PRETTIER than Scotty.

Here is my input to the judges -- you stink right now. Right now I miss Simon Cowell.

Weird, Ryan walk down aisle in audience and gives his whole speech while standing right next to Simon Fuller, creator and exec producer but does not acknowledge him. Weird.

Already last round. Love You This Big is the original song for Scotty. Umm was this written by a 1st grader? "Love You This Big" is a song? Come on Idol, don't patronize country.

Robot pit with waving arms in front of Scotty is terrible. This is the worst song ever. He can't deliver emotion big enough for this moment. He did not sing this big.

Randy -- again, what is he wearing? Randy said he liked the range (what range?). He is (wait for it) in it to win it -- what again?

Note that the judges panel needs to be styled together. Worst looking line-up ever. Right now I miss Cowell and his black suit and white button down opened down to there.

JLo -- Says Scotty is a storyteller and did a really amazing job with this song. Umm, are you speaking on behalf of your 3 year old twins who maybe wrote this song?

Steven -- Says Scotty showed his range, he nailed it.

What are these judges on?

Saw Cowell in that suit in the commercials. Oh boy.

Lauren -- Sings Like My Mother Does. Another stupid song. Who the heck wrote these stupid songs? Why did she walk into the audience to her Mom? Focus on singing, create a moment. Cheese. Then her Mom started crying. This should happen tomorrow, not while she is competing. Go ahead and milk it Lauren, though, get those fingers dialing.

Randy -- Loved the song, loved her voice, Lauren has arrived and he stands up.

JLo -- JLo says it is a tight race and she may have won. Lauren starts crying. She says she sang beautifully, with emotion and heart and beautiful voice.

Steven -- Steven reinforced that he picked her out from the audition and that she is the Idol. Gosh she was so confident in that audition, what happened to that confidence? I know she can get it back outside of this competition, but I do wish she had shimmered with that.

I have been fortunate enough to be in the audience 3 times during the final competition. Bo versus Carrie, Taylor versus Katherine, David versus David. There is nothing like the moment of hearing the voice, feeling the chills, having a moment. I have felt some moments this season and TONS of talent. The most talent ever.

But unfortunately, I will have to go on the record to say this was one of the most disappointing finale competition episodes ever. For a season as full of vocal magic, the rushed performances, the dismissal of the judges comments, the presence of a non singer Scotty, did not bring the magic for me.

After Round 3, Randy gives edge to Lauren, JLo tried to backtrack from already saying Lauren won it, saying it was a tight race. Steven says "Sorry Scotty, Lauren won hands down." Scotty and Lauren do seem like cute friends.

And then the best moment of the episode. David Cook.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...if you don't share them, you will have nowhere to turn when the DVR and VCR fail.

Delayed re-cap - it is a long one.

2011-05-22T13:45:00.022-04:00

Even major Idol followers like me have to work to make a living, so unfortunately a work trip took me away from my TV this week. But this gives me the opportunity to give my thoughts on Idol's Top 3 show and results.

Priscilla Presley was in the audience as well as a guy in a dog costume.

3 rounds of competition, Judge's choice, contestant's choice and Jimmy Iovine's choice. Beyonce joins to mentor their personal choices. Beyonce should have taken off her bangles.

Round one, Scotty does Amazed. Good rendition, his voice sounded strong, but the corniness takes away from it for me. The poses, the looks, charming for some, too much for me. Lauren does Wild One by Faith Hill. Not a well known song, but she does have fun with it. Still gets afraid at the end and you can see it in her eyes. Haley sings Zeppelin and her father plays the guitar. I don't even know this song, but her skill is fantastic. It is so natural. She falls up the steps but it doesn't even phase her. Randy and Steven stand. Steven says, "It's not about how many times you fall, it's about how you pick yourself up." Round 1 goes to Haley from me and the judges. And her Dad is super cool. Scotty B+, Lauren B, Haley A

Round two, from Jimmy. He gives Scotty Thompson Square's Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not? Great new song that is a duet in real life. Scotty mellows out with this one, not as stylized. Still not the winner for me in terms of vocals, but he is fun. Judges go bonkers for it (surprise, surprise) and JLo asks Scotty to shave his already shot hair shorter. Whatever.

Looking back on Lauren's audition, what audacity she had. Oh if she can show that again even tonight. Jimmy picks If I Die Young by The Band Perry. One of my current favorites. She does a really nice job showing of her voice. Confidence is improved and her tone is strong. I still think she needs some training to hit those high notes, but that can be done.

Jimmy picks Rhiannon by Stevie Nicks for Haley. A little dark and moody, maybe not exciting enough of an option. The wind machine was something, that's for sure. Steven says Lauren took Round 2, JLo and Randy says it went to Scotty. I give it to Lauren. Jimmy gives them all props. Wow, that was Neil Sedaka sitting next to Jimmy the whole time? Scotty A-, Lauren A, Haley B+

Round three: Judges pick She Believes in Me by Kenny Rogers. Cheesy overload. I can't believe how young he is though. Maybe he will lose the cheese as he comes into his own? I thought it was strained and flat. Judges loved that he stretched himself. (no note on the strain?) Cute moment with his Dad.

Judges pick I Hope You Dance by LeeAnn Womack for Lauren. Oh, never heard that on this show before. Judges really love cheese. Beautiful tone to her voice. And then she switches it up at the end. I've always loved Lauren's vocal instincts. The way she hits notes and inflects with them is really beautiful. JLo gives her the round already (not mean to Haley at all), Randy talks about LeeAnn being a good friend, Steven also notes LeeAnn is a good friend of his. He is so happy. She does look gorgeous.

Judges give Haley Alanis Morisette's You Oughta Know. I think they made an egregious error here. This is a family show, you do not give her the angriest female rant ever. She had to change the lyrics to make it appropriate, and the song is a power screaming song. Of course she can sing it amazingly well, but it just makes her look mean. Well, maybe that is what they wanted to do. They gave her props for singing, but I think their choice is what led to the results.

I give round three to Lauren. Steven gives it to Haley, JLo and Randy give it to Lauren.

Re-cap on my scores.
Scotty B+, Lauren B, Haley A
Scotty A-, Lauren A, Haley B+
Scotty B, Lauren A, Haley A-
Lauren won the night, Haley in second and Scotty as always last. I wish Haley's first song could have been last, it would have helped her a lot.

Results episode. I already know what happened, but here are some thoughts. Jimmy immediately calls that Scotty makes it in. Cute going home piece with Haley, bad cheesy performance by Il Divo -- now that Simon Cowell is gone, why do we need to listen to this group he put together?

Cue to Scotty's outrageous hometown visit. Was sweet to see him break down. And then my worst nightmare happened. I have been comparing Scotty to a cheap knock off of Josh Turner and was sure Josh would not be into this weak comparison. And then, lo and behold, Josh pops up right beside Scotty and sings alongside him. Smart move for Josh who will get added numbers from Scotty, but disappointing for me. And then the God Bless America, God Bless Scotty sign. Wow.

That Nicole Sherzinger performance was not appropriate for anyone. Sweet home visit with Lauren seeing the devastation of the tornadoes. Results and Scotty is first through. I thought Steven didn't look to thrilled. Then Lauren is called in. Oh my Haley, you have had to fight your way through every week and you know what? You did it. You sang like a champ. Did Scotty or Lauren get the incredulous reactions from the judges that Haley did? Yes they were praised, but man Haley blew even Randy away this season. No doubt in my mind.

Now please XIX give her a great deal and producer, so she can keep going. Well now, moving to next week, let's all give it up for LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!! Steven Tyler and my original pick to win. Let's make it happen people!

Let me also note a farewell to Oprah Winfrey. So I've watched almost all episodes this finale season as well as the behind the scenes. Gotta tell you, I am either going through some sort of hormone dysfunction or that show can make a girl cry. I'm not a fan of her indulgent side (promoting the types of people she likes or those who are on her new network) but the
emotional pull of her guests, topics and words can really get to a person. Excited to have shared in the final season of this cultural institution and I admit that I am watching Shania and Fergie's shows for sure on OWN. Wonder what the last episode will be?

Alright, you've heard enough from me! On to next week. It's gonna be a doozy.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or in my case for YELLING at the cable company because AGAIN my DVR did not record Idol this week. I just spent 4 hours downloading illegally to watch, FYI.

And then there were three

2011-05-22T13:39:00.001-04:00

Tonight I am nervous. Truly nervous.

LOVE JLo’s outfit. The green sequin top and baggy navy pants. And hair for miles. LOVE it so she wins, I’m not looking at Steven.

Review of last night. I have a pit in my stomach. My rating of last night’s performances – Haley won it, Lauren 2nd, then James and then Scotty.

James and Scotty do Keith Urban and Brad Paisley’s duet Start a Band. James singing country is not annoying at all. Scotty’s inflections are so over the top. James was singing the Keith part and Scotty was Brad. Just so you know. The kids on the stage are so cute! Idol loves my country lovin’ self. Lauren and Haley sing Miranda Lambert’s Gunpowder and Lead. Lauren does a great job but so does Haley! Everyone loves country. Reinforced Haley’s vocal prowess but Lauren totally kept up. Sweet video chat with home.

Results. The stools are for the top 3. Lauren is in. WOW, I totally got that wrong. But I’m super happy. I definitely wanted her to make it. I have to say that in 10 years of this, except for the few random surprises (Daughtry, Michael Johns) my instincts have been pretty right on about where things were headed in these final stages. My gut is Scotty is not the shoo in we have all thought. But we’ll see.

The contestants watch a Gaga performance from a concert. She performs her new single which Haley sang last week and got criticized for. Such an homage to Elton. The piano playing while standing on the bench was certainly interesting. FFwd Enrique who I can’t stand. Jordin Sparks appears to perform. She has had like 4 major hits on pop radio. Is I Am A Woman another hit? Catchy but I have now heard it enough and never need to hear it again. She is super tall and husky but is looking fit. And she definitely knows how to sing. That’s fo sho.

Steven Tyler debuts a video with circus animals, sexy young girls – oh that is Nicole Sherzinger singing with him. The song just got better. Ok we’ll see if I want to hear it again.

Results and Haley is through. WOW. These two guys are freaking out. Scotty has never been in the bottom 2. James is having a break down. PLEASE James cannot go home. Like I said yesterday, Scotty is going to be a success, despite my efforts. He does not need this. James deserves a chance to win.

Oh my god. This is crazy. I had a feeling that James was slipping a little. He was so good always that he almost didn’t shine as bright at the end. But this is not what was supposed to happen. James was definitely supposed to be in the Top 3. Now I’m even more mad at Scotty and the judges. The judges should have done a better job last of not telling the audience who should go home, whomever they felt it should be. They need to distinguish better.

James really gets the Daughtry speech. This is the week when Daughtry left. So rock on James – we can’t wait to hear. Til next week, don’t be ashamed of your obsessions or for shedding some major tears for James – I did.

Top 4 compete and the judges make me angry

2011-05-11T23:02:00.000-04:00

I kind of can't believe we are down to 4. Listen to everyone, I understand what The Voice is. I am not not watching it because it isn't fantastic but because even I need to get a life and make choices. I don't watch Dancing with the Stars or every other reality show. I watch American Idol and especially this season with the talent and strong producer choices that have been the made, it has proven its value. Please stop comparing this to the voice to me. You think that show is better? Cool.

JLo / STy fashion showdown. Look JLo: One shouldered royal blue mini dress. Look STy: layer upon layer of neutral toned jeans, shirt, jkt. Winner is JLo because she doesn't always wear 3 piece outfits like Steven Tyler.

Top 4 is Haley, James, Lauren, Scotty. Lots of great talent. 2 rounds - songs that inspire the contestants and then Lieber and Stoller. LADY GAGA is the mentor. Amazing.

James opens with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" -- Crowd pleaser? CHECK. I liked the ease of the performance. No big show, just a fun song. BUT he had some serious pitch issues which made it seem the ease was karaoke ease. Was this him competing? I'm a little torn. Judges, especially Randy, loved it. They could be just a little more critical in my book because yes it was good, but by no means was it great. B

Haley chooses Michael Jackson's What About Us (actually I don't know the title of this song) She makes it weirdly dramatic. I thought it was a terrible choice but then she hits the bridge and goes gospel showman and commands the stage and sings her little teeny butt off. Look it was cheesy, and definitely not her best performance, but she delivered power and sang. Casey was very happy in the audience. JLo felt that is was an actual inspirational performance but James set the bar with song choice and her song choice didn't compete with Journey. Agree from audience pleasing perspective. Randy says she screamed and didn't challenge her range and she didn't deliver. Haley finally talked back to him. YOU GO GIRL. Steven ended Randy's tirade and said JLo and Randy was are wrong. She showed she can, she nailed it, America heard it, don't believe them (the other judges). Haley is so over Randy and I agree. I'm not saying this was her best, but their overload of criticism of her is just too much when James did my favorite karaoke song. Do you understand that? James did karaoke. B+

COME ON. Scotty sings Alan Jackson's "Where were you when the world stopped turning?" Osama is killed and Scotty sings a song about 9/11? This propaganda is RIDICULOUS. He is not original at all. But "he knows Jesus" and so he will get through. (The previous comment was not at all anti-Jesus by the way, purely that I feel he picked this song only to tug on heartstrings.) If American Idol was based on smartest? Scotty would have won tonight. No more shows necessary. I can't wait to hear how the judges praise him. Randy says it is a great song, perfect song for the whole country and he is ready for superstardom. WHAT? Steven said it was beautiful. JLo said she is in love with him. I am going to barf. I agree with JLo that he knows who he is and what the people want. Manipulator. B-

I love country music and am ashamed that he is going to be a star. Maybe he will actually be an original artist and then I will change my tune, but so far? He is a fake.

Lauren sings Martina McBride's "Anyway" supporting her southern roots. She sings about god and faith and love just like Scotty did. But here is the critical difference. She has vocal talent that pierces my heart. It is still raw even and needs work, but the talent is not about being able to choose songs just to please the voter want. It is about inspirational vocal delivery. Steven said she delivers the song like a blue plate special and he loves her. JLo says Lauren is listening to her and doing a great vocal performance. Randy said he was worried last week, but this week she is back in it to win it. A

The four are brought to the stage. JLo wimps out of declaring no winner for round 1. I would have said Lauren. Randy then UNBELIEVABLY said Scotty, James and Lauren tied for first place. Haley was incredulous. Me too Haley. These people are out of their minds. How can you tie 3 out of 4 for first place? Make a damn choice. Randy said he is being honest? Then don't just diss Haley, pick a winner and favorite instead of hiding behind your criticism of her. You can declare her the loser but you can't declare anyone the winner?

Gaga comes out to mentor. "It's really nice to help young people be heard". She is not there to judge.

Haley sings "I Who Have Nothing." Here are all of the things Gaga says about how great Haley is: "It's amazing. She's so good at singing that the challenge for her is the drama. You're gonna kick so much ass, little pony," says Gaga. Great song choice and Haley wants this. She kills it. She stands still finally and sings her butt off. Modern power delivery. Come on. Judges standing ovation again. Randy should shut it forever. JLo says they do not take it easy on her because of what she is capable of. One of the best performances of the year. Randy said everyone needs a moment and this moment put her in it to win it. That was amazing. Steven said he always knew it she just "Reinhart'd it right through to next week." This girl gives it her all no matter what and that is star power. A+ again.

Cannot wait to see Lady Gaga with Scotty. He sing Young Blood by the Coasters. She says he has to keep his mouth on the microphone and to treat it like his girlfriend. Jimmy thinks he needs to show emotion. He is a great performer. But he does not win this vocal competition. And you know what? He doesn't need to. He has the ability to accomplish what he wants to without this title. Cut him loose people. And get ready to hear me complain next year in Nashville when he is performing. Why don't the judges comment that his voice is just not as good as his performance? Maybe that doesn't matter. "You made Gaga's yaya go lala." Oh Steven. B+

Lauren sings Trouble by Elvis. Gaga tells her she is not a kid and that she, Gaga, was way too weird at 16 to be on Idol. Gaga drives her to drop her morals. Lauren's confidence this week is 100 times better. Carrie did this song on Idol. Lauren does has range limitations compared to Carrie but her inflections and tone are so great. Good job. Agree with JLo that her beginning was really strong. Personally, I do think she lost that focus as the song went on. Randy blah blah blah blah. B+

James closes with Love Potion No 9. Gaga gets up and tried to get James to dance and loosen up. James rocks up the song. Tonight I was psyched by James's first song, but I didn't feel a moment from him. Lots of performance but didn't blow me away. Judge said he can sing everything and everything is a moment and everything is incredible. Come on. B

James B / B
Haley B+ / A+
Scotty B- / B+
Lauren A / B+

I've made it obvious that for me Scotty can go. Haley won round 2 so strongly, that she won the night. I believe James and Haley should move forward for vocal talent although James needs to tighten it up and have a moment or Haley will take this from him. Lauren should be the number 3, but I don't know if she can topple the Scotty juggernaut. So prediction is Lauren goes but wishes, hopes and dreams are for Scotty to pack his Madlibs and go.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...AND strive to make Gaga's yaya go lala.

I can't believe we are going down to 4 already

2011-05-05T20:27:00.005-04:00

Let's start with a re-cap. Last night, James was over praised but solid, Lauren did fine but timid, Scotty kicked it up a notch and Jacob faltered severely. Oh and Haley? She was over criticised by the judges and then came out and kicked it right back in their faces.

JLo / STy Fashion showdown -- JLo is wearing my black top and bubble skirt dress from my 9th grade semi formal and Steven is looking like a major rock star so he needs to wear shades. The win goes to Steven just because I am afraid of JLo's performance.

Top 5 sing Happy Together and Scotty morphs into a totally different voice. Haley and Lauren sound good together. Jacob is doing a weird dance that makes his gut wiggle over his pants. I just made myself laugh with that description. This song is corny but they did a good job trying to make it interesting.

I don't even pretend to watch the Ford commercials. But the contestants in Gordon Ramsey's kitchen is funny. They have to make an omelet. Cute.

Brand new song debuts from Lady A. Never before heard! Hillary needs a different hairstyle. Charles does not need to change a single thing except being married to someone besides me. Oh and then there is Dave. Just a Kiss needs to grow on me. Not blown away. Seems like they are hoping to recapture Need You Now magic. This will get another listen. JLo looks nervous about her own performance. Was hers taped or live?

NEED to do my Idol downloads soon!

bing does a promo about song and wardrobe choice. Cute

Results are surprising? OH NO! James stands, Jimmy says he let the emotions take over the performance. Far side group. Uh oh, it is pick a group night!

Lauren stands, Jimmy says Flat on the Floor was good but her fear kept her from hitting the biggest note. He says she will be in bottom two. Near side group and tears.

More Kitchen Confidential with a blind taste test. Funny. Oh god my stomach is dropping if Lauren goes. I think Steven Tyler will leave the show.

JLo comes out in a metallic harem pant and jeweled bra top. Gorgeous hair and makeup and her heels are not too high so she won't fall down. I do not like this song but I'd dance to it if I was in a club (which does not happen). Can we talk about the abs? Pitbull tells her she has a bodonckadonck? Well done JLo.

Umm can Kate Hudson make one more wedding movie?

Oh now the video from JLo's next single. Can we say uber-promotional? Umm she is wet on the beach with someone who looks very different from Marc Anthony. And now JLo is back. Was her performance live or taped?

Results: Jacob stands. Jimmy says he had a rough night and fear again took over him. Jimmy gives him a 6. Jacob joins Lauren.

Haley gets a huge roar from the crowd. Jimmy thought she was 4th or 5th before last night, but she showed no fear and came back with a 10 for the night. He thinks she could be a lock for the finale. Haley joins James.

Scotty stands. Jimmy thought Gone was stellar but Always on My Mind was a bit short. But that he will be a success whether he wins this show or not. Ryan reveals Scotty has never been in the bottom two and is not tonight either. Ryan makes him choose the top two group. He won't so Ryan brings him to James and Haley and all three are safe.

Bottom two is Lauren and Jacob. Lauren is making me cry. Oh my god, she is so young. She should not go tonight people. Ryan comforts her.

Back from commercial. Jacob is going home. I have never felt such relief. Poor Lauren. Jacob spoke with class. He was so good in the beginning. I think he got really stuck with song choice over the weeks and faltered. He goes back to A House is Not a Home. No bad feelings on this. He rocked out.

don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or wearing lower heels so you don't fall down...

Double the pleasure

2011-05-04T22:24:00.013-04:00

So tonight it is time for the double performances. An audience member held up a sign that said "I love the Ryan side part (meaning is hair)" Me too! JLo / STy Fashion Showdown: I'm giving it to Ryan because JLo's hair is wackadoo.

Guys, I think my DVR cut off the show. I'm holding my breath. Let's see if I get to complete the blog.

Sheryl Crow co-mentors with Jimmy. Nice.

James sings a 30 Seconds for Mars song. And Sheryl Crow sings along with him. Yikes the movement through the audience has made him go flat. Not my favorite. I liked the direction, but the sound was not all that. Agree though that there was nothing lazy about that performance. B

Jacob sings No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Sheryl praises his range. Jimmy praises Jacob for being able to sing a duet by himself. Oh, the dance moves are not good. He went flat and sounded terrible. Let me give this context. These top 5 are really amazing. So when I say he was terrible, he was not really that bad, just out of this group. JLo says if this is the direction he wants to be in, then he should stick to it. Randy says he is corny and should not head in this direction. I agree. Steven says he needs to find his niche. Agree again. I think this is the end of the road for Jacob. C

Lauren sings Flat on the Floor by Carrie Underwood. One of my favorites and I just heard her sing it live for the first time this past weekend. Sheryl tells her to stay put and sing. Great advice. This is a very hard song to sing. Jlo rocks out with her. I think she had a rocking great time. Randy loved it. Great direction for her to take. Steven says she is it. Jlo says she did what she needed to do. It was not perfect, but I think she is playing hard. B+

Scotty sings Gone by Montgomery Gentry. Love that Sheryl knows it and sings along. Finally a hard country song for him to sing, a rock one. Just saw Josh Turner perform this weekend and it just reiterated my issues with Scotty. This was my favorite Scotty performance and I think the kid has a lot of charisma but I don't think I loved it because he is an awesome singer and so for me that is still a problem. Country can be corny, but when Scotty sings it, it kind of always has a bit of corniness right? Steven liked it, JLo loved it, Randy randy'd it. B+

Haley does an unreleased Lady Gaga song, You and I, suggested by Jimmy and Gaga gives her her blessing to perform it. Sheryl feels it will be a moment. Such a campy Elton Johnesque song, right? Come on people, this girl's voice is amazing. And she is finally showing us where she can fit in "niche" wise. Her performance style still slightly awkward. JLo felt she should have done a song people know. JLo says I'm sorry baby. DISAGREE. Randy says too risky. DISAGREE. Haley is upset. Steven gave her props for putting her style in the song but says she needs a perfect song. I'm sorry but I thought that was way better than Jacob, better than James and better than Scotty voice wise. They are screwing her over. A-

Now to next round with oldies.

James sings Without You by Harry Neilson and has a breakdown in the studio while listening to it. So he adds his vulnerability to the performance.

WOW my DVR cut off for no reason. Ok this should be interesting.

Back to James - Thank god for You tube. James sings a song I have never heard sung by a man personally. He cries during the performance. Not technically perfect but emotionally strong. He sang with his heart. Randy thought it was emotionally perfect. The competition is now James's to lose. Steven said it is "crazytown" that his emotions took over (he meant that in a good way). JLo loves his heart and soul. He is an artist she says as she cries. James admits he gives every single performance his all and that I believe and that is why this is his competition to lose right now. A-

Jacob sings Love Hurts by Everly Brothers -- I think this is truer to who Jacob is, but for me it then feels old and I don't know what album he will make. I'm glad he got to shine again, but he does lose control of his voice and for me, tis is the end of the road. Sorry I don't know what the judges said! My youtube friends cut that off! B

Lauren Alaina sings Unchained Melody. Nice to see her soft side after the first round. I know she still suffers from some underconfidence, but you can see she challenges herself. That is a big song to take on when you are worried about hitting it. Small struggles but her talent is strong. Jennifer thinks it is beautiful, Randy likes it, Steven says he could listen to her all night. B+

Scotty sings Always on My Mind. And he is definitely NOT leaving the show. Scotty got me with this one. He showed off the best parts of his voice, was touching, emotional and so damn smart picking this song. His delivery was more straightforward, not as corny believe it or not. I liked it a lot. I don't know the judges remarks because I couldn't find a clip of them, but I'm sure they loved it. Randy probably said, Scotty is in it to win it! A-

Haley sings House of the Rising Sun and I just watched it 75 times. Standing ovation from 3 judges who just wrote her off 25 minutes ago. Randy crowns her with best performance of the night, she blossomed. Steven says she sold everybody. JLo says she showed her anger at them and then sang her butt off. Her best vocal and her best performance. OUTSTANDING Haley. I now crown my first A+ of the season. That was it. A+

James B / A-
Jacob C / B
Lauren B+ / B+
Scotty B+ / A-
Haley A- / A+

I am so sorry I couldn't recap all the judges comments and am super sad to not have seen what Sheryl had to say about the second half. Will find a way to watch full episode this weekend! But I will tell you that despite the judges first critique, Haley won the night (I liked both performances), James was a close second (first one I didn't love), Scotty scotty'd me tonight (first great song choice and second finally singing well and winning me over) but came in third, Lauren was great, but needs a moment. And Jacob, we have come to the end of the road my friend. I say farewell to my lip gloss wearing friend.

Really loved the mix of old and new. Can't wait to hear Lady A sing a new song tomorrow night and am still a little afraid of seeing JLo perform live.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...and believe in the power of youtube, it can save you from a melt down. Now back to Haley, for the 76th time.

Go ahead, you can watch it again too. http://youtu.be/oSAF2JsOEcI

I know so many secret things...

2011-04-29T01:16:00.009-04:00

I have no comment right now on many things. But I can tell you that in no fashion showdown should a man, even if he is Steven Tyler, wear a poet blouse. Has no one watched Seinfeld?

Ryan is trying out a new hairstyle which is very reminiscent of David Beckham's new hair style from the new Pepsi commercial. So many synergies in this crazy world. Ryan, I like it.

The Idols attend a Brit week party. Fun bits but weird actual party.

Carole King medley. Lauren and Haley rocked and James once again soared.

To recap my reaction from last night, Jacob and Scotty should be in bottom 3. Casey would join them because James was by far best and Haley and Lauren did so well. Many of my readers are commenting that they don't see the breakout star. I disagree. With the changes in the themes, judges, addition of Jimmy Iovine and because I think Jimmy and the AI executive team will take a lot more control over the talent, this year's contestants have been able to clearly sing their style and identify themselves. So now, half of the figuring out is done. And as much as we thought the past winners could become stars, right after winning, only those that developed their image, committed themselves to a genre and created real hits (Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry) became stars. I always wanted Carrie to win in her season, but in no way, shape or form, did she actually seem destined for the super stardom she has now when she won.

Results: Haley to the center of the stage. Ryan now introduces Jimmy's take on the night's performances. Jimmy thinks Haley has one of the best voices on the stage but she doesn't really know who she is as an artist. Haley is not happy with that comment. I do think she knows who she is. She is safe.

Scotty. One of his finest showings for Scotty range. Jimmy saya he is a phenom, and compares him to Johnny Cash, but is worried he might be too subtle. THERE IS NOTHING SUBTLE about him. He just does not have the range to sing with power. Ryan stalls in his result.

Lauren. Man she is gorgeous. Agree with Jimmy that Lauren's confident poise is winning. Last night she felt like a winner. She needs to hang tight.

Casey. He is a talent, but last night may have been one too many stylized performances. Jimmy is spot on that Casey growled too much last night but that he is safe. Casey needs to hang tight.

James. Last night was amazing. Jimmy thinks James is better with a melody than a heav metal song. He is a contender to win. Agreed. James is safe.

Jacob. Jimmy hated the outfit and thinks he could go home. Jimmy thinks they need to be compared against each other.

Lauren is safe. Jacob, Scotty and Casey in the bottom 3. Yeah, I called it.

This new Bruno Mars is my summer song. Done. If you see me this summer, this song will be on. Of course I never do nothing, but I can dream.

As Ryan says, the results are in random order, Jacob is safe (so he was actually the bottom 2, not Scotty). Casey is going home.

In my opinion, Jacob and Scotty could have gond before him, but Casey got an opportunity to share his voice,talent and stardom with all. There is nothing to be sad about. What a clever guy going out to hug and kiss everyone. Joy. This season has been joy.

Interesting fact. Last night's episode was up 12% from this time last year. Who needs Simon Cowell?

Enjoy this weekend of pop culture mania. I can't wait to see the dress, and I do think it will be THE DRESS, my friends. AMAZING JOY!!!!!!!!!

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...they bring joy.

Carole King, Really?

2011-04-27T21:14:00.006-04:00

No I didn't watch The Voice, yes it sounds good, yes Blake Shelton is really that hot and charming. Yes I wish my DVR was not exploding from the last 25 episodes of Oprah or I would try a new show. Yes it sounds like Simon Cowell may be shaking in his boots a bit with this competitive coaching talent search.

There, it's said.

Now for the JLo / Sty Fashion Showdown. Look JLo: Gold and nude mixed materials mini dress with long straight hair. Look STy: It looks like grey rubberized pants with a light gold metallic button down shirt and a burnished metallic leather jacket. Metal on metal on metal. JLo wins for not doing what Sty did.

As you might be able to tell from my title, I am scared of this week's theme. After having wide themes like songs from the movies, post 2000, etc, forcing a specific singer songwriter's songs who in my opinion sounds a lot older than the songs of Elton John scares me. Why not just do singer songwriter theme? That works for all!

Wow Babyface joins Jimmy to mentor. And the contestants are dueting as well as performing solo.

Jacob -- "Oh No, Not my Baby" He seems really beaten down and Jimmy thinks he is in jeopardy. Cute preppy outfit. Fun, good energy. Goes wild on the riffs. I wish I knew the song. Steven liked that he shook his tailfeather. Agree with JLo that the vocal wasn't perfect but the performance was strong. Randy liked how he sang. He's trying which is great. B

Lauren -- "Where you Lead" (Otherwise known as the amazing Gilmore Girls theme song). Last week she was told by the judges to stretch herself, I don't feel she has played it safe per se. Babyface helped her stretch. I can't explain but this girl is my soul mate. I am always worried about hitting the high note. Really. Jimmy brings in Miley as a surprise for Lauren. Miley gives her a great talking to about getting over the negativity. Smart confidence booster. I thought she seemed super polished in this performance and comfortable performing. Sweet arrangement. JLo tells everyone to clap because she pushed her voice. Randy liked her swagger and said she threw down the gauntlet even though he didn't love the song choice. Steven made her cry with his words of encouragement and pride in the break in her voice. This girl is for realz. A-

Duet between Haley and Casey. "I Feel the Earth Move" AI is banking on these combos. I hope they duet on the tour. They really compliment each other. Haley looks great. Love their jam. So much energy and the style of Casey's voice was exactly how he should record music. Steven called out Casey for showing how in love with Haley he is.

Scotty -- Had a rough week last week. "You Got a Friend" Jimmy and Babyface tell him to pull away from the twang a bit. He is going for the emotional button. Smart stripped down opening. Look I love this song, but it sounds old no matter who sings it. Better focus on his vocals made me realize his vocals are weaker than they come across in a fast song. His best vocal showing, but too little too late for me? Why did he have to raise his eyebrows before the last line? So hokey! Randy thought it was practically flawless. What? Steven thought his voice was at its best. JLo complimented his storytelling. He is a ham. Loved Ryan making fun of his eyebrow raise. B-

James -- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" James takes on a love song. Babyface was blown away. Jimmy was blown away. This is a moment. Do you hear the power of this guy's voice? How can you compliment Scotty when you hear this? His range, his talent is remarkable. I want to be as cool as JLo when she dances along. She is so gorgeous. I can't wait for the James Durbin / Steven Tyler duet in the finale. Look if he could stay on key in that on his breaking point range of his voice -- INCREDIBLE. I was blown away. Steven let us know he made out with a girl to this song. JLo thought it was magical and pointed out his consistency. Randy loved his versatility and called him out as the winner. That might have been a bit too far, but I agree that this guy is a star. A

Sweet touching moment backstage with James dedicating his performance to his wife.

Scotty and Lauren duet (surprise!) "Up on the Roof" Country singers love a duet. Lauren is so great at adding her style to a song. She blew Scotty away. He was flat and could not compete with her. JLo said she sang her brains off. I don't think she wanted to compliment Scotty.

Who was the little girl on Steven's lap?

Casey sings "Hidey Ho" No idea how to spell that. Very stylistic, fun staging. Many times I am not a fan of the dramatic on this show, but Casey has managed to sing with a lot of drama, perform with a lot of drama, and still over the weeks has also shown me enough of his voice and talent (especially in the duets with Haley) that I now understand he won't record with melodrama, just with spunk. He is an entertainer. Steven loved the performance. "You make my scalp itch it was so good." B+

Haley -- "Beautiful" Babyface called her a good artist. Almost a technical snafu. Ed thinks she doesn't "get" the songs she is singing. You know what? She has a joy in her face, a smile when she sings because she is so at ease that I think it makes it seem like she doesn't have the gravitas. She is happy. She sang this with such ease and comfort and she does not choose an easy path to sing with. Her vocal choices are challenging. Great song choice for her. If the judges criticize her after the compliments they gave Scotty, I don't even know what to say anymore. Steven says he saw God while she sang. JLo said she has one of the best voices in this competition. Randy said he didn't love the beginning. Shut it Randy. Excellent job Haley!!!!!! A

Duet from Jacob and James. "I'm into something good" They did not want to duet. Cute but so corny. I could not stop staring at JLo's legs. Love the diva ending.

James won the night with Haley barely a half step behind. Lauren and Casey were strong. Jacob and Scotty are in the bottom, I think, with may Jacob headed home though I am ready to kick Scotty to the backroom of Tootsie's (a fine Nashville establishment).

Jacob B
Lauren A-
Scotty B-
James A
Casey B+
Haley A

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or being so good that you make Steven Tyler's scalp itch.

Someone is bye bye

2011-04-21T20:57:00.008-04:00

Wow last night had a lot going on right? To re-cap, I definitely want Lauren, Casey and James to stay. I got some more insight into Jacob's botched performance from EW -- read below:

The mystery of Jacob’s botched cue: On TV, it looked like Jacob was perhaps overcome with emotion at the outset of “Dance with My Father”; but, for what it’s worth, it was clear to everyone in the studio that something had gone seriously wrong musically. As Jacob began singing, the strings section situated behind Jacob began plunking to a drum beat at odds with the song; mere seconds later, the strings and pretty much the whole band stopped playing at all, save for a piano emphatically delivering the song’s melody line. Finally, for a brief second, Jacob stopped singing and shot a quick glance at band director Ray Chew — as if to say “what the heck is going on?” — and the air kinda left the room. But Jacob soldiered on, and when he hit the chorus, the audience spontaneously began applauding him, pretty much willing him to make it through.

Therefore, I also want Jacob to stay another week. And I like Haley, so as always, I am fine with Stefano leaving. Scotty gets one more shot in my book. Last shot.

So night opens with the JLo / STy Fashion Showdown. Look JLo: Black sequin mini dress. Look STy: Black leather pants, black long sleeve shirt. Winner: STy looked slick and Randy definitely did not win with his American flag t-shirt.

Lauren, Haley, Jacob and Stefano sing Train's Hey Soul Sister. Fun, easy performance.

Casey, Scotty and James get to perform Coldplay's Viva La Vida. They loved the cheesy hand movements. Was it just me or was this Scotty's best performance? Him not overdoing the accent was excellent. It was good but also so funny.

So now, results. Casey stands. He is a lot skinnier than his large head makes him appear. Jacob stands. Loved Ryan making sure everyone knew Jacob's situation last night. Casey is safe and Jacob is in the bottom 3. Not surprised but I do hope it isn't because of the botch but because of the old feeling song choice.

David Cook takes the stage wit ha brand new song entitled "The Last Goodbye." This song could grow on me. I liked his first album, so let's see. He is still the most poised, best personality contestant the show has had.

Cute video of the gang going to a baseball game, bowling and spa. Cute bit.

Lauren, James and Stefano head to the center. Stefano is in the bottom 3 again. Lauren and James are safe. So my wishes so far have come true.

Scotty and Haley to the center. Wow the audience went nuts over Haley. Ryan fakes out like Scotty was in the bottom 3. Haley is in he bottom 3 but then Ryan send her right back to safety. Wow, Stefano and Jacob. Stefano has been here almost every week, right?

Katy Perry performance of ET. Nice hologram appearance of Kanye. She sang well. Crazy dance / light show. Boring song. Oh wait, Kanye was really there! I guess he was invited so it was good they let him in.

Ryan goes to Jennifer for her thoughts. She loved Jacobs moments and remarked on Stefano the wild card still being in it. Forgot he was the wild card. Steven reminds them how many people have gotten to see them perform. It is finally Stefano's time to go.

Ryan reminded us of his life threatening accident that we learned of in the auditions. Umm I totally forgot that too. I will give him props for trying hard. He was not complacent. Nice ending performance by Stefano of Stevie Wonder's Lately. He went out like a pro. James was crying a lot.

Next week is songs of Caroel King -- really? YIKES. Way to kill the modern streak.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...unless you wear an American Flag shirt not on the 4th of July.

Results America

2011-04-14T23:47:00.007-04:00

As JLo has said, it is America's choice. And this year is the toughest ever. There are at least 6 contestants who are so talented, but they are not all competing in the same genre. So in normal world, they would not have to compete against each other. They would have different radio stations, itunes categories, music video channels, etc.

Really , Scotty and Lauren sing country together? Again? One of my favorite Lady A songs. Lauren was natural, Scotty seemed awkward. I spent a night this weekend singing this song like crazy so I understand exactly what they are doing. Oh Simon Fuller, if I meet you I will tell you exactly how smart I think you are. America is made up of country fans and you know it. So smart. I am now convinced that Lauren and Scotty are the top vote getters this season. I know it because I know Simon knows it.

Okay, but my point was that Idol is trying to show that all genres count. But in showcasing Lauren and Scotty that way, they also know who makes the show a success. Country fans.

Yes, we celebrate all, but country, we also cater to you. Let me explain what makes country fans relevant. Country is about the voice. Not a beat hiding a voice, no auto tune, no electric guitar even. So if you love country, you aqppreciate voice, and therefore, you appreciate Idol.

Ford Zombie nonsense.

Hayley and Casey, the couple supposedly sing Moaning. WOW what a great pairing. If Hayley survives tonight, she is now in a magical place because the pairing of the two of them is phenomenal. WOW WOW WOW. Fantastic. Standing O from the judges. They loved it. I loved it. I loved her. I want them to get married and live happily ever after too.

What? Ryan gives them results right away. Casey, Hayley, Scotty and Lauren on the stage. Scotty is safe, Lauren is safe, Casey is safe, Hayley is bottom 3. Makes sense from last night. Okay. OMG I can't wait for you all to hear this song from Kelly and Jason Aldean. It is awesome.

Can I ask any of my fellow country fans something? I love country. Old, new, classic, fusion. Do you like Scotty? If you know what George Strait and Josh Turner and Randy Travis sound like, is he enough for you? Is he not an also ran? Please give me your comments.

Rob Reiner gave a speech to the contestants about acting. Funny bit.

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson. He is a huge star in country. Her voice is beyond. She can sing anything, but please god let her accept the help of a stylist. I listen to all of her albums all of the time. This song has been number one on the country charts for weeks. God I love country music. Cute bit with Ryan reminding all of Kelly's love for Casey.

Preview of Cowboys and Aliens. No idea what this movie is, but it stars Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, directed by Jon Favreau of Iron Man. OK, works for me.

Jacob, Paul, Stefano and James sing the Song of Silence. 2 of them are in the bottom 2. Paul and Stefano ideally. Paul, why did you ever wear those kitschy suits? You could have won me over. But now I want you to go home.

Results, James is safe, Stefano is in the bottom 3, Paul is in the bottom 3 and Jacobs is safe. Perfect results so far. Paul, Stefano and Hayley in bottom 3. Paul or Stefano should go for me.

Rihanna is up singing the song she sang with Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland at the ACM's. California King Bed is a fantastic song. She sings it so well. Breaks my heart this song.

Ummm but no Ronald McDonald hair with a nude colored dress, thanks.

Results. Since the top 13, only girls have left this season. WOW, I did not realize that. Hayley is safe. Paul is going home, Stefano is safe. No shock. He is fun, but it is his time to go. He is now a known name. Paul McDonald. He sings Maggie May as his swan song.

All is good in Idol world.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...but everyone should be obsessed with Kelly Clarkson's voice.

Top 8 sing the movies...

2011-04-13T21:04:00.013-04:00

So Pia is no longer with Idol. As the week passed, I came to realize that her slightly robotic and cold personality plus her choice of diva songs probably kept kids from voting for her. And then when Nigel Lythgoe said that she was not actually a front runner in the votes, but a middle sitter, it seemed that it wasn't as big of a shock as I thought. In the end it will be better for her career that she is now an underdog and her rabid fans will want to support every move to prove the haters were wrong. I'm not sure I agree that she should have gotten voted off for lack of personality because I will say Carrie did not have a personality when she was on the show, but look at her now. Then again, Carrie sang country and country fans will help you win this show. Me included. Okay, analysis done. Time to move forward.

JLo / STy fashion showdown. Look JLo: a taupe colored silk mini dress with some weird tulle poof coming of her left thigh. Look STy: White skinny bootcut jeans with another floral blouse. I'm sick of STy's florals, but the poof is all wrong so STy wins again!

Ryan calls out JLo's People Magazine cover for World's Most Beautiful Woman. I will say that seeing her back in the spotlight, I have to agree she is a contender for that spot.

Paul -- He is wearing a crazy red rose vine embroidered black suit. Crazy. Sings "Old TIme Rock and ROll" from Risky Business. Good energy choice, but then the dancing begins. Oh and a blonde girl comes out to play the sax. Weird. Look he will be great on the tour, but this felt too kitschy for me. Steven hit on the sax player. B-

As the judges give their feedback, want to point out some thoughts on the judges. They need to be a bit more critical of the contestants so that we (or some voters at home) can differentiate between the contestants and decide who isn't doing a good job. America needs help especially with such a good group of contestants.

Lauren -- Smart girl picks Miley Cyrus by Hannah Montana. Jimmy says she is going to bury Miley on this song. And that with this song, she could steal all of Pia's votes (true). WillIam is back to mentor by the way and funny too. Loved the slide up on The Climb! Fantastic arrangement, great vocals. I loved it. JLo loved it. Randy loved it. No brainer Steven loved it. It is a little uncomfortable when he says "You move me beyond tears." He loves this girl. She is 16 people, what a voice. A

Stefano -- End of the Road by Boyz to Men. I love this song. I was okay with it, not wild about it. But when he started killing it at the end, and by killing it I mean going off and hitting crazy notes, he pulled me back in. He didn't win the night, but he did good. Randy named dropped that he knows the Boyz to Men singer. Steven said this is not the End of the Road for him. JLo said that was the sh**. Umm watch your language Miss Beautiful Woman of the World. B+

Scotty -- Country Classic "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait. He also called Jimmy Iovine "Dude" which did not bode well. Smart move once again, Scotty. Every country lover knows this song either themselves or from their Grandma's. But it did not impress me much. Felt a little old for me. And he needs to stop bending his head to one side. I don't know how I feel about this -- judges, can you help me? I know it wasn't perfect, so help me by telling me what was wrong. Steven says he loves his voice and he picked the just right song. JLo admits that America wants them to be tougher (is she reading my mind?) But she says they are all so damn good. So she gives some criticism and says it was not her favorite song choice for him. Randy went off the rails. His motto is "if it ain't broke don't even consider fixing it." Umm then why tell Pia to sing an uptempo song? Randy then declares that with Scotty "A Star is Born." What? This is too much praise! Forget it, I don't want your help. B

Casey -- Has he lost a lot of weight? Ummm he is wearing an ascot. He sings Nat King Cole's Nature Boy. Jimmy wants him to go with Phil Collins's I Can Feel It In The Air Tonight. Jimmy strongly disagrees with Casey's choice. I hope there are a lot of Moulin Rouge fans out there because this is creepy. He is making weird faces. Yikes Casey - is this too weird? I get the musicianship, totally and think he is incredible. But he needs to be careful. Steven and Randy give it a standing ovation. JLo reluctantly joins them it seems. JLo hopes America gets that he is special. Randy thinks he is an artist. Steven said he is sophisticated. Okay, Casey, let's see how sophisticated America is. C+ from me. Too much artistry doesn't work for me I want to be entertained. A for artistry though if there was a separate vote. Oh my god, he is crying in the off stage interview. He is so cute.

Haley -- "Call Me" by Blondie. Good song choice. Still think she has the most modern, easy singing style. A bit weird in her performance, which really makes it hard to not mock her. She does have a seriously good voice, but it felt a bit amateurish. Randy didn't love it, it felt karaoke. Steven agreed with Randy that it wasn't her best. JLo made a plea to everyone to keep Haley in so there isn't just one girl left. Song choice. B

Jacob -- He should not have been in the bottom 3 last week. Jimmy thinks it was because of his preaching comment - he says that Jacob hasn't won and should not preach to America yet. True dat. Jacob wanted to sing To Dream the Impossible Dream -- corny said Jimmy and WillIam. Agreed. So they suggest Bridge Over Troubled Water. Is Jacob wearing blush and lip gloss? Miss Diva was in full effect, but the voice is just so incredible. Wowzers on the end. Steven said crechendos instead of crescendos and innuendos instead of diminuendos. The judges loved it. A-

James -- AAACCCKK I have no sound. Time Warner Cable, this is a problem! Once again, Jimmy disagrees with song choice. He argues that Jimmy can't tell a hit song from just hearing it on the piano and Jimmy STRONGLY disagrees with that. Umm let's have some respect people! James wants us all to give metal a chance. Okay, James, let's hear it. I don't know what song this is because I had no sound but I think it is called heavy metal. I appreciate heavy metal if the singer is actually singing. I even appreciate a scream if it is sung. James does that which is great. Not my favorite performance but just like with Casey, I know this guy is super talented. B

Before you re-read my rankings, let me explain who I voted for. I do have a feeling about certain performances being off tonight (Casey, James) but not because the contestants didn't do a great job. It is because I felt the style they were singing was off - maybe I don't love their true selves, maybe I love their Idol selves. But I voted based on who I want to keep in this competition. So Lauren got 4 votes, and then Casey, James and Jacob 3 each. And I gave Haley 2 because I want another girl still there too. Scotty is getting enough from others, so I didn't bother. So basically I would be fine with Paul or Stefano going. Stefano was not terrible tonight, but I just don't need to see more from him.

Here are tonight's grades: Paul B-

Lauren A

Stefano B+

Scotty B

Casey C+

Haley B

Jacob A-

James B

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or a poof on a dress.

I have no idea what will happen tonight

2011-04-07T22:09:00.004-04:00

First off, shout out to my fellow Friday Night Lights fans -- first episode of last season airs next Friday. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose! And now to the JLo/STy Fashion Showdown. Look JLo: Grey silk harem pants with a cummerbund waist and a red silk v-neck blouse and a teeny tiny tight high bun on her head. Look STy: Skinny python or python printed pants, black tank and white leather jkt. STy wins because I don't like teeny tiny tight buns. To re-cap, I felt like Scotty should go, but Haley may because she has been in the bottom before and didn't blow it out of the water. James did not have a great week either. However, I really don't think I agreed with America, zeitgeist was that Pia and Scotty ruled the night. So we'll see. Night opens with a rock medley. They are all good and cool, so tonight's group number doesn't feel as contrived. Russell Brand visited the gang to help them with stage presence. I just saw Arthur and I liked it a lot. I think he is funny and now shows this charming side as well. Cute segment. Casey, Stefano and Lauren head to center of stage. Kelly Clarkson tweeted that she is in love with Casey. How great is that. Lauren is safe, Casey is safe, Stefano is bottom 3. Constantine performs. He has been starring in Broadway's Rock of Ages and is great in it. Unfortunately he has not been asked to be in the movie version -- guess he can't compete with Tom Cruise and Julianne Hough as a singer? Tonight he does an awkward version of Unchained Melody. Not his best. He shows great singing, but bad arrangement. Now they show Gwen's segment of dressing the contestants or maybe just the girls. Good plug for her. Paul, Scotty and Pia head to center. Scotty is safe, is he the dorky kid that little girls vote for? I actually don't think he is super dorky, but that must have something to do with it. Paul is safe and Pia is in the bottom 3. WOW. That is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Judges are stunned, audience is stunned. Thanks Randy for making her do something up tempo. She better not be gone. Segment at TMZ that I had to forward because TMZ is against my morals. It is against my morals but I watched it. Was actually clever. James, Haley and Jacob to the center. Jacob is so cute. He is like a little adorable boy. James is safe, Haley is safe and Jacob is in the bottom 3. THIS IS INSANITY. JLo's jaw dropped to the floor. Stefano better be going or this will be a disaster. AAAAACCCKKKK. An 80 year old shirtless man just started singing on the stage. Seriously, despite the spray tan, makeup and 8 pack, he is 80 and this is crazy. I know he is a legend but a legend can retire or keep his shirt on. Results. It HAS to be Stefano. Jacob is safe even though Ryan really played with his words. PIA is going home. This is insanity. Absolutely insane. Jennifer says, "I have no idea what just happened here. I'm shocked, I'm angry." Randy says, "He is gutted." Steven says "A mistake is one thing, but lack of passion is unforgivable. They're wrong." This is a HUGE mistake. Should Casey have been saved? Yes. But if America knew how to vote, the judges would not have had to use it then and could have used it now. She has nothing to regret. She did everything she should have. Ryan asks her to sing. You know what? Daughtry got eliminated too. Come on Pia, become a star and show these losers who did not vote for you they were wrong. Have to go, can't believe this. Don't be ashamed of your obsessions, but be ashamed if you did not vote last night. You could have saved Pia.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame meets Fashion?

2011-04-06T21:55:00.005-04:00

JLo / STy Fashion showdown: It ended after I saw STy's python printed blazer. Done, he wins for outrageous. SO many new factors / players this week. Surprise of the week, Gwen Stefani and her LAMB line are styling the contestants -- how much did they pay for this product placement? But in all honesty, broad theme with lots of options. However, this time, the show is a commercial for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum and the costumes that are at the Hall of Fame are put on display for Steven Tyler to do a demo video about the looks and the people who make up the Hall of Fame. WEIRD. Then Ryan tells us that willIam was brought in by Jimmy Iovine to help coach the contestants. One twist after another. Jacob is up first. He was going to sing Let's Get It On. However, he felt the song was too vulgar for his values -- he can't sing a song about doing the "nasty." So he switched to Man In the Mirror by Michael Jackson. Okay, sexual innuendo versus crotch grabbing? I do think the gospel undertones of MJ song will help him. Jacob then says if he ends up in the bottom three, it won't be because he sang the song bad or wrong, but because "America wasn't ready to look at themselves in the mirror." Wow. Was that Naima dueting with Jacob? Jacob was in full diva mode. Oh wait, that was Saidah (sp?) Garrett singing with him - amazing! She wrote that song! Wow, what an honor for Jacob. I thought he blew it out of the park, but the diva was in full mode tonight which can also feel over the top for me. B+ Haley finally sings Joplin. Piece of My Heart. A little too much growl for me. She needs to do the lesson where she stands in the mirror and watches herself sing. Stand still for a second. Oh this is going to be a problem for her. Haley, I'll always remember your Benny and the Jets but not sure what is going to happen to you this week. JLo says she is showing she is a contender. Randy liked it. Steven said nothing was wrong with it. Hmmm B- Casey was going to do "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" but switches to "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by CCR. I say good choice. The bass is back out. Great mix of Casey singing and growling. He is such a musician. Randy reminded us that he played the bass. Steven totally backed me up that he is a true musician. Casey says he does feel added pressure because the judges saved him. I mean this guy is so cute. I love him. A- Lauren does Natural Woman by Aretha. Woah, tough pick. willIam says "Do you know what happens when you combine country and soul? C-O-U-N-T-R-O-U-L." Lauren is doing Gwen's mohawk look. I forgot to comment on the clothes! I like the sultry feel of this. She isn't screaming. But is the energy high enough? Steven called her "grow-ned up" JLo thought it was amazing. Randy thought it was solid. Agree, it was good, not great. B WHAT? Christian Slater is the house? James decides to slow it down. On Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week? Really? The title of this song is too long for me to write. George Harrison something. This is a miss for me. Boring. Of course he sings well, but his ears look really big and I am noticing them a lot because the song is boring. The judges see it as a risk. I don't think he will be voted off for this, but not my favorite. B- Scotty sings Elvis. This is a mimicry. Cute, like the denim on denim look but I can't take him seriously any more. If he was a huge star and he added this onto his show as an encore, I'd think it was clever. He is competing to be a big star. Umm little girls were allowed to run up onto the stage. Randy loved it. Steven said he is not "all hat, no cattle." Yes it was fun, but it was not a showcase for his voice. C+ WHAT? Christian Slater has a daughter. I am old. Pia does River Deep Mountain High by Tina Turner. Superbly difficult song to sing. And it did seem harder for her. She needed to intensely focus on singing. Yes she moved around but it felt premeditated. Not with ease. Steven called her a murderer, she killed it. "Pia you've got to know there are a million guys in a million bars having a million drinks about you tonight." Vocally she was still strong but something is lacking in movement. But not at all bad. B Stefano sings When a Man Loves a Woman and Ryan Tedder from One Republic produces it. The guy brought it. Lots of runs and oversinging, but somehow, he knows how to keep it modern? It doesn't sound like a mimicry. An artist of today would do an old standard this way. Agree with Randy that it was a bit jerky, and too quickly phrased. I can see that. In my mind, though he saved himself this week in my book. B+ Paul singing Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. Jimmy and willIam tell him to do it crazy. I loved it. Instead of a mimicry, it was a musician going at it. Very stylistic. But the jam was major. Loved it. A- Jacob B+ Haley B- Casey A- Lauren B James B- Scotty C+ Pia B Stefano B+ Paul A- So Casey and Paul (surprise) rocked my world and Stefano surprised me again. So it may be time for Scotty to hit the road although Haley who has not been a fave may not have done enough to save herself. We'll see tomorrow with surprise performances! Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...and don't be all hat, no cattle.

It's Country Night Folks!

2011-04-03T19:48:00.023-04:00

All my friends are in Vegas tonight and I am excited to watch via TV at least. I started by watching the red carpet show on GAC (Great American Country) channel which is being hosted by a guy named Stormy Warren, yep, Stormy. Country tends to have serious issues on red carpet fashion so it should be a riot. First off, a fashion round up.

Best dressed: Jennifer Nettles wearing Doo-Ri!! I had a little something to do with that happening and if I must say so myself, she looks amazing.

Carrie Underwood - not sure whose dress this is, but it is fresh, purple color and easy style.

Julianne Hough -- I know, she is cheesy, but the girl looks good tonight in this coral number. Hey, I'm crossing my fingers about her turn in Rock of Ages the movie, plus she is practically Mrs Ryan Seacrest, so I gotta give her props.

And now for worst -- I could go on and on with this, but I'm not going to even put a picture of the Judds with their red kool aid colored matching hair. Unfortunately many great designers will not loan dresses to country music stars, so it is a difficult situation from the get go, but still, when its bad, it is bad.

Miranda Lambert in a white grecian dress that is not flattering her at all. Oh hon, please have someone help you! Adore her talent, cringe at her style. Reba, meanwhile is wearing a rust colored silk shantung dress, not good. Lady Antebellum's Hilary Scott is wearing George Chakra, another usual on the country carpet. She looks fine, but so old for her age and is wrapped like a sausage in that dress! And finally Taylor Swift -- what is she 55? Terrible color, old school style, she probably can get real designers to dress her, come on!

Now onto the show...I heard that a lot of tonight's performances feature surprise duets -- Brad Paisley and Alabama open with an okay performance. Hosts for tonight are Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. Reba is totally cheesy when she does this. But Blake is very handsome, engaged to Miranda Lambert, has a great voice and is actually funny. Umm but this script is tailored for hicktown USA and the jokes are super lame.

Sugarland is doing a show all night alongside this one over at Mandalay Bay. The big news is the duet with Rihanna, but we may see some more of my favorite friends.

Carrie comes out in a rocker chick look with pink hair and starts singing Undo It when out comes Steven Tyler to join her. Wow, wonder what Kara DioGuardi thinks of her song being sung by her replacement. Irony. Then they go into Walk This Way. Oh did I mention STy was wearing a white sateen suit with a duster coat? Carrie really held her own. Wow. She is a powerhouse.

Sugarland on stage singing their newest hit, Tonight. Jennifer's hair long is amazing. God that voice is unreal.

Is this an awards show? There have not been any awards yet. Hottie Dierks Bentley just hit the stage. Keith sings another love song for Nicole. Say it together...awww! "The traveling, the singing, it don't mean nothing without you." If I didn't love him, I would gag. Poor Nicole is sitting next to a lame seat filler.

Love Eric Church singing Drink a little Drink, Smoke a little Smoke. That's right people, that is what the song is called. Nashville, can't wait to hear this!

Song of the Year goes to Miranda Lambert's House That Built Me. Fantastic.

Taylor Swift sings Mean, a new single which I love. It's a banjo number all about someone calling her out for not being able to sing. And she can sing it. Very cute.

The Band Perry sings If I Die Young. Her voice is angelic. Best New Artist goes to The Band Perry. Record of the Year goes to The House the Built Me by Miranda. Now I know why they aren't showing a lot of awards - she is winning them all.

Miranda hands out Album of the Year since she is won this last year and she gets to give the award to Lady Antebellum whom she has beaten in basically every category this year. Wow Hillary Scott is really shoved into that dress. Yuck.

Sara Evans sings a song from Country Strong. Leighton sang it in the movie, thank god otherwise Gwyneth would have come out again. The audience loved it.

Donny and Marie Osmond came out to present. I just watched her on Oprah about her son's suicide and I bawled. She has had so much botox though, that her upper lip did not move the whole time. So scary. They present group of the year - I'd give it to Zac Brown, but Lady A win. I like Lady A, but Zac is awesome.

Nice Miranda comes out and sings A Heart Like Mine. Awesome song. "My Daddy cried when he saw my tattoo but said he loved me anyway..."

Here it is. Jennifer Nettles with Rihanna singing Rihanna's California King Bed. Speechless. Never heard Rihanna sound better. Jennifer can sing with anyone. OUTSTANDING. OUTSTANDING. Sugarland wins vocal duo of the year. Big surprise.

Male vocalist of the year - Brad Paisley. Martina and Reba sing not good songs.

Reese and Robert Pattinson come out to present Female Vocalist of the Year. Miranda and some others are nominated. Miranda wins! I'm going to see Water for Elephants.

Zac Brown Band performs with James Taylor. One of the best songs ever written. Wow, James Taylor is amazing. This song makes me cry. "I wanna see you again, but I'm stuck in colder weather. Maybe tomorrow will be better, can I call you then?" "You're a lover, I'm a runner and we go round and round." Keith Urban is literally on theedge of his seat, he is so into this performance. They end the song by phasing into Sweet Baby James by James Taylor. Gorgeous.

Ryan Seacrest comes out to hand out Entertainer of The Year which is fan voted. Taylor Swift wins. It is fan voted and she has a lot of fans. And she is a lot taller than Ryan Seacrest.

For those who don't appreciate country music, please watch four performances from tonight. Carrie Underwood with Steven Tyler, Sugarland with Rihanna and Zac Brown with James Taylor and Miranda Lambert. Then tell me what's not to love. I dare you.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...prove them right.

2 go home

2011-03-31T20:14:00.010-04:00

Well I have a pit in my stomach as Fox tells us...You won't believe who is going home... JLo/STy fashion showdown. Look JLo: Black sequin cap sleeve mini dress with a messy high ponytail. Look STy: Cream sheer (of course) poet blouse with black and white vertical striped skinny jeans. Winner: Ryan again has a different hair style. Why the on-air experimentation? Fantasia, Jamie Foxx and WillIam will perform, but first the contestants perform. Lauren and Scotty do Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood's I Told You So. Beautiful. I told you he'd do some Randy Travis soon. For those who don't know, this is originally Randy's song recently redone by Carrie. Lauren blew it away. Will never understand how belters do that seated. Sweet. Lauren and Scotty head to the center of the stage. Both are safe. Cool. Naima and Jacob sing Solid by Ashford and Simpson - hysterical. I totally think I am watching Solid Gold. Because I totally used to. Oh yeah, Channel 11 on the weekends. Naima and Jacob sent to the center of the stage. Naima is in the bottom 3. I predicted that. Fantasia comes out to sing a song called collard greens and cornbread and she looks like she has been eating a lot of collard greens and corn bread. Yup, I said it. Come on, this is the stupidest song ever. Haley, Thia and Pia come out to sing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. I really like Haley right now. She needs polish, but she has chutzpah. No solo for Thia. The three head to the center of the stage. Pia is safe, Thia is in the bottom 3, Haley is safe. YES. I just want Thia to go home stat. Kris Allen and his wife are in the audience. A look at the week in the life of the Idols. They got to perform for a Mohamed Ali charity (the Mohamed Ali foundation is owned by XIX, same company that owns Idol). They had to move out of the fantastic house because it was raining in the house. Oh this was last week, not this week. Casey really had a melt down after he got saved. Wow, he is not so stable. Paul, Casey, Stefano and James perform in their own band. Are these real songs? Poor Scotty and Jacob are left out of this boy band. Umm they are too funny. Results. Casey is safe (yes!), James is safe, Paul is in the bottom 3 and Stefano is safe. Wow. I gotta say, Paul was a bit forgettable last night, but he should not be the one to go. Wait, have you seen the commercials for this show Mobbed? A guy wants to propose to his wife and gets to use a flashmob to do it. My dream proposal. YES! Best week ever. Thia and Naima out in one foul swoop. Oh my god, moving forward is going to be really tough decisions because the best are left. Two talented ladies, but they have gone as far as they could. And hey, they get to go on tour! That will be when I go get the drinks. Alright folks, another satisfying week. Need to watch Top Chef finale. Oh and have I told you how much I am loving the Adele 21 album? LOVE. And these last episodes of the Office with Michael Scott have been amazing. Have you seen the proposal episode? Crying! Ahh too many obsessions...

It's Elton time

2011-03-30T20:08:00.010-04:00

And so we begin with a look back on last week's tumultuous results show. So much energy. And there are still 11. JLo / STy fashion showdown. Look JLo: One shouldered slim deep pink mini dress with sleek straight long hair. Look STy: White jeans, printed shirt and a black blazer. The win would go to JLo, but I am distracted by Ryan's new hair style. Looks good! Contestants get glammed up for an EW photo shoot. Good looking cast this season. 2 of them are going home tomorrow. Scotty does some country song by Elton. He gave a shout out to Grandma in the song. He really knows his genre -- a country crowd would have loved that shout out. And an American flag would have come out behind him. I was not impressed with this performance. Smart to hit the bottom with the end note, all the judges were smiling, but he needs something else. Steven liked it, JLo is wearing the biggest hoop earrings I have ever seen. Randy thinks he has really become comfortable and loved it. Maybe my fever right now is affecting me. B- Naima -- "I'm Still Standing" reggae style. Hate this song and hate reggae so you can imagine where I am headed. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to be honest, but this girl's road needs to come to an end this week. JLo tried to compliment her while telling her this was a dumb idea. Randy said it was corny. Steven thought it suited her. Whatever. C+ Paul -- He's pretty cute. "Rocket Man" He is wearing his white rose suit again. His voice sounds great. Jimmy has encouraged all of them to speak to the audience. I'm not in to this. I like the build into a jam. A little too calm for me. JLo thinks he is holding back and I agree. B Pia -- "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" She went for the ballad, but she is good at that. They are going to add rock flavor to the ballad. She is rocking a hot sparkly mini, just like Jlo. A whole gaggle of backup singers join her. She soars through the song. Well done. Steven says "it was a complete and full sentence." JLo felt there was more of a connection, agree. Randy says she can sing. A- Stefano -- "Tiny Dancer" Jimmy thinks it is too hard for his voice. Good choice for him. He's still not my cup of tea, but he is not on the bottom for me this week. Cute ending walk over to Jennifer to take her hand. The judges felt the connection. B+ Lauren -- "Candle in the Wind" She has a great look tonight. Absolutely loved this. Felt like Trisha Yearwood crossed with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. She sang in this sweet spot in her voice. Fantastic for me. Buying the single. Randy called it one of the best Lauren Alaina performances ever. Steven said "I've loved you since the first time you laid eyes on me." Nice for her to stay in the same spot and focus. A James -- "Saturday Night's Alright" Great song for him. Wow split in the air. Got up on the piano which then lit on fire. Despite all the antics, he kept it going with his voice. Great, really, really great. A- Thia -- "Daniel" Jimmy tells her it is a make or break moment. Why does she not seem real to me? She has a great voice, but I do not connect with her at all. Time to go Thia. Time to go. C+ Casey -- "Your Song" Rodney Jerkins told him to trim the beard and get a haircut. That he was scaring people. He looks great. And his voice is super sweet. He is really singing this week, not growling. Wow this season is so good. So very good. Then he really went for it at the end so we remembered all the facets of his voice. What a great musician. Randy loved it. Steven said he sings differently every time and that that shows a true artist. Randy tried to show his prowess by naming the note Casey hit at the end. A- Jacob -- "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" Jacob got to meet Mary J. Blige during his rehearsal. Jimmy says he should not over dramatize it. Umm have you met Jacob? He definitely did the Mary J version of this song. He always sings well but the diva was a bit too much for me tonight. Randy thought he needed to find a Jacob spot and then rambled on about other stuff I didn't pay attention to. B Haley -- Wow she gets the end spot? "Benny and the Jets" Wow, let's see what she does. Fresh sound, great tone in her voice. JLo was really getting into it. I loved it because Haley just went for it. She has spunk and a nice big voice. JLo said that was it! Haley has swagger. Randy said best performance of the night. Steven said she sings sexy. A Scotty B- Naima C Paul B Pia A- Stefano B+ Lauren A James A- Thia C+ Casey A- Jacob B Haley A It is time for Thia and Naima to go home. Wow, need to start voting stat!! Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...and trying a new hair style like Ryan or Casey.

Results and Sugarland!

2011-03-24T20:43:00.007-04:00

JLo / STy fashion showdown. First of all need to mention to Randy that the sailor tee with the red hearts applique is a no all around. Look JLo: Sleek black dress with open back and metallic detail and a massive wild ponytail (if only someone could add hair to my head). Look STy: Floral chiffon shirt (this man loves a see through shirt) with a long vest and denim with black leather applique jeans. JLo wins because I should never use the word applique in reference to a man's outfit.

Ryan hints at a surprise result tonight. Accckkk. Contestants come out dressed up in black and white looks. Nice.

Shut the front door, Steve Buscemi was with the contestants yesterday for sound check to give advice to the contestants with the inner ear devices to help them with pitch. Steve Buscemi was actually pretty funny. Hey when did Steve Buscemi become a live musical performer? And marry JLo? Seriously, didn't Marc Anthony look just like Steve Buscemi? He was pretty funny about his help being cheap (yeah cause your wife is making TONS of money).

Top 11 sing Ain't No Mountain High Enough. It was a mess of switching one line to the other and some screams exchanged between Pia and James. Oh and Jacob screamed at the end. Then Stevie Wonder came out which looked like a surprise to Steven Tyler. Stevie Wonder gives a shout out to STy and sings Happy Birthday to ya to him. Cool.

Results. To re-cap, I thought Thia, Stefano and Naima should be bottom 3. Lauren, Pia and Scotty come out. They are through to the tour.

Sugarland comes out with Stuck Like Glue. They should have sang something new, this is not their best single. But love the spring colored denim. They are singing with Rihanna for the upcoming ACMS. Awesome.

Cute segment on James and Paul's love of pro wrestling.

James and Paul center stage. Ryan scares them and me telling them they are not safe. Really not safe. Then Hulk Hogan comes out. James is really freaking out. They are safe and on tour. Hogan goes nuts and punches Ryan and rips off his shirt. That was weird.

Jacob, Thia, Stefano center stage. Jacob is safe, Thia and Stefano in the bottom 3. Can I pick it or what? Naima, Haley and Casey. Naima is safe and Casey is in the bottom 3. That is retarded but no way he is going. He just performed first and is suffering for that.

Jennifer Hudson comes out to sing. Her song is called Where u at? I can't. She is super talented but I am fast forwarding this. Where am I at? The next segment. Okay I saw the end when she started diva'ing where you at. Terrible song, good singing.

WHAT? Thia is safe? For jeez did everyone forget how to vote? Casey is out. Time for the save. No doubt. Stefano lost it. Judges do not make Casey sing through his song. They don't need to hear him. Randy says, "We know who you are Casey, we don't need to hear you sing anymore, do we Steven?" Steven says, "This is crazy wrong, we've made a decision here to keep you on." Casey falls to his knees. I am one hundred per cent behind this. He hugs his parents. JLo tells him to drop the antics (I think she means the hair) and be himself. Agree again.

Wow - what an episode!!

Listen AI fans -- please start voting!! We have to use our power to send home Thia Megia See-ya next week!!

And remember, don't be ashamed of your obsessions...especially for one red headed, curly haired, blues fool named Casey.

Motown Philly back again...

2011-03-23T21:50:00.013-04:00

Yeah, I wish it was Boyz to Men week all the time.

First of all let me give a shout out to the legendary Elizabeth Taylor. I was honored to be in her presence twice in my lifetime -- once at the CFDA Awards when she was honored as Fashion Icon and once in Cannes at the Victoria's Secret / amfar benefit. What amazing work she did to raise awareness around HIV and AIDS. Phenomenal power and beauty.

And now on to Idol.

JLo / STy Fashion Showdown. Look JLo: Cream pleated miniskirt and a blush sequin long sleeve top - made her a look like an ice skater. Look STy: Animal printed sheer blouse with a black leather vest and of course skin tight pants. STy gets the win because JLo is wearing maybe the craziest eyeshadow ever. It is blue and it goes all the way around her eyes. Seriously.

Shout out to Liv Tyler (and Missy Rayder) in audience.

First up is Casey with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye. Smart advice to Casey to control the growl. Umm he looks like a serial killer. Very entertaining but was I laughing at him? Yeah, a little. His head is ginormous. Steven called him a "perfect entertainer." He is an original for sure. B+

Thia "Heatwave" This song has definitely been on Idol before (JHud maybe?) She is a gorgeous girl and has got a great voice. Hard to look at her from a fresh perspective - can't shake the robot comparison. If she had started with this song, I would have thought it was genuine, but ummm something is off. B-

Kirsten Dunst in the house.

Jacob "You're All I Need to Get By" I don't think I know this song. Jimmy wants him to control it. Oh, I totally know this song. There is an old guitarist, Bob Babbit on the stage in homage to James Jamerson. Sorry, I had to write that - who are Bob Babbit and James Jamerson? Fantastic performance. This guy is so talented. Steven Tyler got up out of his seat to hug him on stage. Standing O from the judges. Baby Luther! Baby Luther! The voice is like buttah. Why can't he be a Cee Lo? Wowzers. Randy said there was nothing wrong with that performance. A

Julianne Hough aka girlfriend of Ryan is in the house

Ryan invited the audience up for a hug. God, if that happened to me, what would I do? I do not like that much hugging.

Lauren -- Supreme's Keep Me Hanging On. Nice dramatic opening in a zebra print gown. Her voice sounds amazing. Not into moving off the stage with that gown. Very strong, "Well baby you ripped that song another beauty mark, didn't ya?" Umm Steven, run that by me again? The look was great but why didn't she wear the JLo eyeshadow look? A-

Stefano -- So last week's performance I got him and his talent. Now he is doing Hello by Lionel Richie. He never heard it before. Really? He needs to work on the Gaspy eye syndrome -- where is Andrew Lloyd Weber when you need him? God remember David Cook's version? I do and therefore this is a bad choice for me. Why is "my mind" "mah mahnd?" Nasal syndrome big time. He just aged himself with this performance. No, no, no. I could not stand this. He can sing but he just destroyed that song. JLo and Randy said it was the connection that was the problem. I think it was more than that. He doesn't know how to pronounce the word "my" C+

More people in the audience.

Haley -- "You Really Got a Hold on Me" by Smokey Robinson. I love this song. Jimmy worked on her confidence in her stage presence. Why would they make her start on the steps in heels? Super cute outfit. She really got into this. I like the quality of her voice so much and would want her to win if my eyes were closed. But she literally kept her head tilted to one side the whole time and moved around too much. Judges felt she found her place again. "You don't look a day over fabulous," said Steven. JLo said most soulful voice. I want to hear more from her over others FOR SURE. B+

Scotty - "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder. I am so nervous about this. He really looks like the boy from Mad libs. Beginning was very cheesy. Then he stretched his voice and it became earnest and had meaning. So much better than the beginning. Not a winning performance, but I saw what he was trying to do. And he does stick to his style. B

Flashdance lady in the audience.

Pia -- "All in Love is Fair" by Stevie Wonder. Her producer loves her. Jimmy Iovine wants to now help her cement her voice. Love her look. She sounds a little shaky in the beginning. And then she went for it. Something didn't work for me in the arrangement, it felt rushed? but the voice was STELLAR. JLo's advice was smart, she needs to own the stage. WOW, Randy used the word falsetto instead of saying she sang in her false - finally! Randy says no more ballads. "I think that right now you are the closest star in this America Idol universe." Go Steven Tyler, well said.
A-

Paul -- "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson. Paul changes it to a folky rock song. Love it. Love it. Love it. Not dramatic, but so easy and modern. A-

Randy did not say pitchy tonight! What a great group this season.

Naima -- "Dancing in the Streets" Was Geoffrey Rush producing this? It looked like him. Umm Naima is going to do some African dancing. Let's remember, this is a SINGING competition. Remember the David Bowie / Mick Jagger version? I was not a fan of this performance. I can't even talk about it. Her voice was in this weird deep place and the dance was weird. Steven said "It was e to the z to the twiddly dee." B-

You know what is mad crazy about this season? There are so many good people that I am excited to see almost all of them and am not just waiting for my favorite to come on. Love this season.

James -- "Living for the City" Sorry I made fun of this bassist. He must be a legend, my bad. Wow. James is amazing. So smooth. He is rocking out but not screaming. Talk about swagger. I am out of my seat. LOVED this. Loved! JLo turned into a valley girl. James is going a bit too far with taking in the praise. Randy tried to criticize -- take it back Dawg! Steven said "I think sometimes it takes a little bit of being crazy to make a difference in this world and that's what you're about." Agreed. A

Casey B+
Thia B-
Jacob A
Lauren A-
Stefano C+
Haley B+
Scotty B
Pia A-
Paul A-
Naima B-
James A

So James and Jacob rocked it tonight with props to Pia, Paul and Lauren. Bottom three should be Stefano, Thia, Naima with Thia going home. I can't give out an A+ yet, but Jacob was definitely a contender.

Awesome show.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions..."That would be eto the z to the twiddly dee."

This entry is dedicated to Brian Moss

2011-03-17T22:30:00.012-04:00

JLo and STy fashion showdown -- Look JLo: White turtleneck mini dress with embroidered lace long sleeves and high, slick ponytail. Look STy: Purple glitter duster coat with black tank, black pants and green metallic clover necklace. STy gets the win for crazy in purple glitter.

Group number with all songs with the word Born in the title because the theme was the year the contestant was born -- Born to be Wild and Born This Way mixed together. No, too soon to touch Gaga's new song, but was a more exciting medley since it wasn't from 1969. And was not lip synced because Jacob's mic went out.

Okay, re-cap on last night -- Pia and Stefano were great and Karen, Thia and probably Naima are in the bottom. Hopefully Karen.

Another lame Ford commercial and then a great clip reel of the contestants talking about their accents, the languages they speak, their pets. Those are great.

Results: Jacob, Casey and Lauren brought to the center. Love that Ryan asked Randy how contestants can overcome pitch problems. He who does not sing said they have to hear the note and sing it (DUH DUH DUH) while JLo, a kind of singer, explained that sometimes on that stage it is hard to hear the note or if you are singing it correctly over the music and that they are going to work on that (the sound people, I assume) TA DAH! Helpful notes finally after 9 years of "pitchiness."

Jacob is safe, Lauren is safe, Casey is safe.

Hayley and Paul to center. Hayley is in bottom 3, Paul is safe.

Cut to Pitbull, Mark Anthony and a guy who looks like Kenny Rogers in the audience. Lee Dewyze comes out and sings Beautiful Like You. Haven't heard it before. Not a hit song, but I still like his voice and this is the style of music I thought he would make. Props.

Scotty, Pia and James to center. Scotty is safe. I mean every time he is on there is reference to the Josh Turner song -- finale show (where the top 10 sing with other musical stars), obvi Josh needs to sing with him. Pia is safe, James with the Jovi is safe.

Stefano and Naima to center. Naima is in the bottom 3. Stefano is safe and super short by the way.

Karen and Thia to the center. Thia is safe and Karen is in the bottom. Okay, almost my picks. Hayley, Karen and Thia are in the bottom.

Black Eyed Peas dedicate "I Just Can't Get Enough" a dance tune about being addicted to love to Japan -- what? Fergie rocks a Marilynesque halter dress with natural hair look - liked it. Boring. Fergie needs to do a solo album again.

Naima is safe. Good. (Jen I know you wanted her to go!) Karen and Hayley. Karen is out. THANK GOD. Listen people, I know what should happen. I really hope JLo doesn't have to deliver the news to her that she is not safe. Since JLo played Selena and Karen is a Selena stalker, I think this would be dangerous. I give credit to Karen that she can sing and she did sing well to try to save herself, but the judges cannot use the save on her. Not unanimous (Jlo pushed her chair from the table) but Karen is out. JLo went to the stage to hug her. The judges were giving her a lot of support.

Ok, as JayZ says, "on to the next one!"

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...

Top 12 and I feel Old

2011-03-16T20:32:00.015-04:00

Nice opening moment from Idol acknowledging the disaster in Japan and using Idol's power to support the cause with downloads for the Red Cross and a text in for relief number. But then it was down to Idol business.

I feel I should introduce a new segment to the blog -- the JLo / STy fashion showdown. Look STy: Sheer mustard and teal printed lurex and chiffon blouse worn with skinny acid washed jeans and a striped racoon tail earring. Look JLo: Sheer chiffon animal printed floor length gown belted and a fierce mane of curls. JLo gets the win for fierce!

This week's theme: Songs from the year the contestant's were born. Another theme that makes me feel super old as I remember each of these years and songs.

Naima -- Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" Changed up the arrangement but the background vocals made it feel old to me. Still like her energy and the way she keeps things fresh with her vocal style. But she does need to focus more on the pitch and singing quality. They want her to succeed and JLo is giving much more advice than just criticism, I like her style. B

Paul -- Elton John "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" This is my least favorite Elton John song. But it was fun to hear Rod Stewart sing it. Oh, wait, that's Paul? Sounded like Rod to me. Okay, besides the fact that the cameras could barely keep up with his frolicking on the stage, it was entertaining. He had a cold and JLo was really feeling for him "Baby, baby, baby" she said. The judges gave him props for his original style. B

Thia -- born in 1995, my god. Christina Aguilera's Colors of the Wind. Her opening segment made me scared of her. She wrote a song at age 6? I have this weird feeling that someone taught her exactly how to sing and she learned it and her robotic self performs. She has an amazing voice, but I felt no connection to this performance, none. I need to detract points for this. Randy hit it on the head that it felt like a pageant. She needs to make it modern and work on her personality stat. C+

Umm Kate Hudson was in the audience eating Cheetos.

James Durbin -- He gets an A for picking the Jovi. "I'll Be There For You" One of my favorites. Not sure if it showed off his voice til the Bridge. He shows he can sing tons of different styles but it was a little pitchy. JLo was rocking out man, she loved it. Loved that he was bold enough to say he would sing Aerosmith at the finale. And Steven agreed to sing with him if he's there. Agree with Randy that James has not been overdoing the scream. B+

Haley -- Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight" These tidbits of advice from Jimmy -- work ethic means everything. I was very impressed with Haley or with her producer. So fresh, very modern, and her vocal skills were amazing. Umm the judges didn't love it as much as I did. JLo talked about her dance moves, Randy felt like she doesn't know who she is
and Steven told her to dig more into the bluesy side of her voice. Ummm I liked it. A-

Stefano -- Clever opening segment making fun of the bad music of 1989. Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me by Now" Will always remember hearing this song 55,000 times when my older sister took me on a business trip to Hawaii with her (yup, the plus of having a sister 12 years older than you is going to Hawaii at age 13). He has Gaspy's problem with keeping his eyes closed. Nice strong vocals and he really let go. JLo was singing along. Terrible ending note, but the rest was very, very nice. Steven said "Over the Top, Over the Top, Over the Top" Randy said he slayed it. JLo totally noticed the eyes closing thing (see, I can be a judge). She loves this kid and tonight I did too. A

Pia -- Producer Rodney Jerkins loves her. Dance Beat Whitney's "Where do Broken Hearts Go" I thought it was okay and felt the arrangement was a distraction but then when she started the bridge, ahh there was my diva. Loved it. Steven said she is why this show is called American Idol. JLo was so happy she took it up tempo. Randy said her vocals are great each time and she sets the bar for each contestant. AGREE A

Can we talk about the fact that the producers and Jimmy working with each contestant has removed the weight on each contestant to make each song their own? They have help to do it and it makes for a much more entertaining show for us!!

Scotty -- Oh my god, such a cute kid. Travis Tritt's "Can I Trust You With My Heart" Love that he has decided to stick to country and Jimmy is letting him but pushing him to still grow. Oh my god he needs to sing Randy Travis before he leaves this show. And he could do Rodney Atkins (I know most of you have no idea what I am talking about). He showed a better range but I do think his voice has its limitations. Randy name dropped again - FYI Randy made an album with Travis Tritt. B

Jesus Christ what is on top of Karen's head? Please someone explain this look to me. She auditioned online? She revealed that her sister is a Nick Jonas stalker - great, a family of stalkers. She chose Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back" I seriously think JLo once wore this outfit. And...here comes the Spanish. "I Love it when you break into your ethnic whatitisness" says Steven Tyler, but for me, it is a no. I don't even care if she can sing, I can't stand her. C

Casey -- I love his parents. So funny. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" wow. Super cool. But a bit all over the place vocally in the beginning. Then he settled in and went totally over the top. I don't know what to say. He is fearless. Top marks for performance, slightly off on vocals. FYI Randy is a musician, producer, writer and connoisseur of lots of bands so he can name drop. Also FYI, I said he was fearless before the judges did. B+

Lauren -- Her mother might be younger than me. Or she just dresses like she is 15. Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One" Jimmy puts the pressure on her. And her Dad makes me cry. Love the arrangement. How do these people sing with the flu? I think she did a solid. Umm Steven called her his shining star (and JLo tells Casey he is sexy? these contestants are going to have complexes) B+

Jacob -- Heart's "Alone" Wow, risky choice. His range is amazing, and he definitely pushed his voice, but I did like that he picked more of a rock song -- if he had done what he just did in his usual song style, it would have felt too over the top. Judges loved it. Steven said, "Gospel had a baby and they named it Jacob Lusk." Ummm A-

Naima B
Paul B
Thia C+
James B+
Hayley A-
Stefano A
Pia A
Scotty B
Karen C
Casey B+ (I loved it but he did scream it a lot)
Lauren B+
Jacob A- (He was a little all over the place)

So Pia and Stefano wowed me and Karen, again has to go (bu it might be Haley). Doing the rankings was actually super tough - these contestants are good! So we'll see what happens tomorrow!

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...especially if they involve chiffon and lurex.

And the first one to go is...

2011-03-10T20:29:00.008-05:00

So I had to see how Idol 10 would handle the results show. Basically I have wasted an estimated 10-15 hours per season which means 90-100 hours of my life watching the show that only needed to be watched for 5 minutes total. The last five minutes. Let me now comment on the judges being introduced each episode and walking out together. I like it because we get to see JLo and Steven's full outfits. And Ryan likes it because he gets to walk down a tall flight of stairs.

The results show this week feature Diddy Dirty Money (any interaction with JLo?) and Adam Lambert. I will be fast forwarding to try to retain some of those minutes of my life.

Did I comment yesterday that this top 13 has done well in the makeover category -- they've got good hair, style, make-up already...First news, Casey is sick and in the hospital. Hope he's okay! Ummm the house they are living in is big pimping style. Way to ensure they blow any of the money they end up making.

Group number is lip synced just like the good old days. (really? They couldn't change that?)Michael Jackson medley. Lauren Alaina actually does need a different stylist. Too much fluff for a curvy girl. Pia and Jacob stole the medley for me. Man in The Mirror is the best group karaoke number ever.

Another relic, the Ford Video is back and just as cheesy as ever. The Top 13 on the carpet at Red Riding Hood was actually sweet, especially Nikki Reed hitting on Paul who didn't know who she was.

Jacob, Karen and Stefano are brought out. I can't stand Karen. Karen was sent to bottom 3. Adam Lambert comes out to perform an unplugged version of Aftermath (I've never heard the plugged version). He is natural looking and delivers a nice performance that really shows off his voice. He does have a great voice. And he does his best to show James Durbin that he can kick his a** by doing his own scream.

Umm I don't know what "dougey'ing" is. Someone should teach me how to "dougey."

Lauren, Ashthon and Haley are brought out and Ryan brings Lauren to tears. She is safe and both Ashthon and Haley are in the bottom 3. The judges have christened a new word for the season. "Lane" -- this is how they define the genre of music the contestants should sing, drive, park or bowl in. Find your lane.

No shot of JLo as Diddy is announced. But it was live and JLo claps for him. I clapped when Diddy Dirty money gave the contestants advice. He should tell them to change their names constantly.

Okay, bottom 3. My bottom 3 last night were Karen, Ashthon and Stefano. 2 out of three. Karen is safe - she should give a shout out to Selena. Argggh. Ashthon is sent home. That is a shame. She did pick two boring songs, she gets to sing for the save (again). They should not use it yet. America didn't vote her into the top 10 and now they send her home. She won't make it. Did you see BFF's Karen and Jacob swaying?

"Not this time baby" JLo sent her packing. Good bye sent to David Cook's Don't You Forget About Me. Fine with the result, looking forward to next week!! Now I HAVE to watch Glee!!

Let the competition begin!

2011-03-09T19:35:00.008-05:00

Okay my Idol loving friends, I'm back! First my thoughts as I caught up on last week. A great top 24 but also, getting rid of the whittling down and going straight to a week to get to the top 10 or so is so smart.

Also loved getting rid of the small studio audience and going straight to a larger audience, much better energy and forced the contestants to think bigger. My personal favorites from last week? Guys James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Jacob Lusk (boring song choice last week but love his voice) and Casey Adams and girls Ashthon Jones, Thia Megia (SHE IS INSANE!), Lauren Alaina and Pia Toscano (where did she come from???)

Also, loved the judges energies. Jennifer gave great criticism and advice, Steven was hysterical yet real. Randy was the only problem by bringing back what made the judges so boring last season by constantly trying to get the contestants to do something different instead of just saying the singing wasn't good enough.

Here are my thoughts on the Top 10
Scotty McCreery -- very genuine, definitely talented, but he is going to need to extend his range.
Lauren Alaina -- I thought she was a contender from Day 1. Still young, but fearless. Love that she kept it country for her performance last night, will help her with fans.
Pia Toscano -- She hit it out of the park last week because she did a ballad, but kept it modern. She is major.
Karen Rodriguez -- there always has to be one that bugs me and she might be it. She is a good singer, but seemed to be about 1000 years old last week. If I hear one more thing about being Latin I am going to lose it. We'll see.
Jacob Lusk -- He is so sweet that I can't say anything bad. He is a bit over the top, but personality is important. And he can definitely sing.
Casey Abrams -- Love his personality and his freshness, worried about him being able to sell it later.
Thia Megia -- This girl is insanely talented. Her voice is so modern and strong but I am nervous that she doesn't have too much personality when she is not singing.
Paul -- This guy has become the best looking guy in the bunch. I thought his Rod Stewart was to mimicky, but I know he is super talented.
Haley -- Great voice, but needs to fine tune the performance style, she is a bit awkward.
James Durbin -- Okay, okay, I have to say the Judas Priest got me. So different and fresh and he sings everything effortlessly but with power. I like that he is going heavy metal route - that will keep me from feeling like he is drama of Adam Lambert.

And from the wildcards --
Ashthon -- Great style, I thought I was at the Apollo with her. Agreed her song choice last week was not great which is why she didn't get voted in.
Stefano -- I don't get it at all. Not at all.
Naima -- I knew her different energy would get her through. She is definitely talented, but
worried about commercial viability.

Okay so now the first week of competition -- the grades need to come back in! The contestants perform songs from their Idols. Introduce us to Jimmy Iovine's role -- he is bringing in a roster of amazing producers like Don Was, Rodney Jerkins etc to work with the contestants on each song.

Lauren Alaina -- Shania Twain's Any Man of Mine. Agreed with Steven that the song wasn't kick-ass enough. She can sing anything, but needs to create a moment. B+

Casey Abrams -- Joe Cocker's Have a Little Help From My Friends. This guy has a great sense of humor. So talented and smooth. A-

Ashthon -- Diana Ross. It may have been too soon to go to the Diva, but she was a wild card, so maybe she needs a big statement. I didn't love this. She sings really well, but I didn't feel a connection. B-

Paul McDonald-- Ryan Adam's Come Pick Me Up. He is so great in the interviews but his dancing is so weird it distracts me. Very modern and unique but I don't know if his appeal is broad enough. Can we discuss Randy's name dropping in his critique? Wilco, Traveling Wilburys etc etc - you is cool dawg! Ryan doing the Paul dance was awesome. B

Pia Toscano -- Celine Dion's All By Myself. Pia is a gorgeous girl. Normally I wouldn't like this pick, but her voice is so rich and she isn't a copycat. Man, big notes. Randy loves to remind us that he has been on the show for 10 years -- we know dawg. Good point though that normally, not a good idea to do Mariah, Whitney, Celine, but if you can do it, you win. She is great. A

James Durbin -- Paul McCartney's Baby I'm Amazed. Smart to pick a McCartney song to get the older audience. But he keeps it fresh, very rocker cool. I realized how much I like his voice in its natural pitch. Much rounder than when he is up high. Randy once again referenced his own experience by reminding us he played in Journey. Steven said "If there was ever a review to be said about you, you just sang it." I have no idea what that means. A-

Haley -- I can't figure this one out. From Alicia Keys to Leann Rimes / Patsy Cline's Blue? She is good at picking songs that show her voice, but for me this one felt distant and boring. Randy was so right on calling that out. B

Jacob Lusk -- R Kelly is his idol. Ummm, he was accused of having sex with an underage girl... Here comes I Can Believe I Can Fly. The gospel choir came out. Something was wrong with the second verse, but amazing talent and performance. Still nervous about where he can fit on the radio... A-

Thia -- So she takes on Michael Jackson's Smile - he can't be a 15 yr old's idol. Man this girl is so talented, but she does seem young in her pieces. Charlie Chapman instead of Chaplin? Sweet, sweet voice and then she transitions it into a much more modern version. It didn't work but she showed she is not a young broadway baby. She has this cool vibe. The judges commentary wasn't great but she literally looked like she was going to cry. And then she was crying backstage. Is she victim of too young too soon? B+

Stefano -- Surprise his idol is Stevie Wonder, he sings Lately. He turned it into a thumping dance remix. HATED IT. JLo loved it and was dancing. HATED IT. I must be missing something. B- because he showed he has a voice, but no style.

Oh my god, Karen's idol is Selena. I can't watch this. She is going to do If I Could Fall In Love. This girl is 75000 years old. Did I put on Telemundo by mistake? Her singing is fine, but she is from another century. I should give it a D because I think she is lame, but will go for the C+ because she sings well. Umm I think she may be Single Latino Female -- she is a Selena and JLo Stalker.

Please let Scotty sing Randy Travis. Please. Oh he went Garth Brooks. The River is a great song. The back-up singers were a little too loud. It can be difficult to understand his words. Great when he sang without the music. See ya in Nashville Scotty. No doubt. B+

Naima - Rihanna's Umbrella. Okay good choice to show me something modern. Jimmy admits he was nervous about her. She broke out some major moves and a reggae rap. Good move for her to get rid of my worries about her place on the radio. B+

Lauren B+
Casey A-
Ashthon B-
Paul B
Pia A
James A-
Haley B
Jacob A-
Thia B+
Stefano B -
Karen C+
Scotty B+
Naima B+

So Pia takes the night and Karen needs to go. Lots of good performances, really good.

So I leave you with the words of Steven Tyler to Scotty:
"You know someone wrote a song and the lyrics go 'The carpet's all paid for, god bless the TV, let's go shoot a hole in the moon.' Roy Rogers riding tonight well you're riding high." WHAT? I had to go back 6 times to even right that down.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...even if they are whatever Steven is on.

Rachna goes to the Oscars

2011-02-27T19:33:00.025-05:00

To begin,
My Top 10 Red Carpet Looks
1-Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein - that dripping liquid dress, modern, perfect fit. And sexy, modern metallic makeup look.
2-Mila Kunis in Elie Saab - beautiful lavender lightweight dress perfect for a younger ingenue, gorgeous hair.
3-Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein - wow bombshell in Red.
4-Cate Blanchett in Givenchy - always a risk taker (both she and Givenchy) and she had the most beautiful hair and make-up
5-Sharon Stone - I can't believe I am saying it but she looks stunning
6-Natalie Portman in Rodarte - gorgeous purple color and sweet dress
7-Michelle Williams in Chanel - you have to be beautiful to wear that type of hair style, and she is and the simple column suited her personality
8-Nicole Kidman in Dior - I wonder if she wavered on this choice with the recent Galliano / Dior situation. But honestly I just think she is looking her best right now - natural, more relaxed and I love her hair now too (plus she has the best accessory on her arm). I liked her playing with shape - very regal.
9-Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang - classic, red Vera Wang simple beautiful
10-Reese Witherspoon in Armani Prive - simple classic dress, a little too reminiscent of Julia Roberts, and maybe too costumey in the hair? But she just seemed so energetic so I still kept her on the list.

The worst
Marisa Tomei - from top to bottom, it was wrong
Florence of Florence and the Machine - boring, dowdy
Scarlett Johansson tousled sexy hair yes, dress no - was it two toned lace?
Melissa Leo - I can't talk about it
Halle Berry in Marchesa I'm just not a fan of hers ever
Rhea Durham had the weirdest blonde hair color, such a beautiful woman with bad choices

I watched both red carpets and Ryan Seacrest was perfect and Kelly Osbourne was fun too since she does love fashion. ABC should be ashamed of their carpet - it was boring and there was nothing right about Robin Roberts, Tim Gunn, Krista Smith (what, why?) and Maria Menounos. Krista put me to sleep - was someone telling her to whisper? Terrible.

Okay, time for the show! I have a feeling there are going to be some surprises tonight and they make me nervous.

Opener (scroll all the way down for final thoughts on the hosts)
James and Anne go into Inception to enter Alec Baldwin's dreams and get advice to host. They end up entering each of the nominated pictures. The bit with The Fighter was the best but The King's Speech was funny and Black Swan was funnier. But they lost me on the Back to the Future reference. Anne looks beautiful in her dress - like her joyous tone and they are very relaxed, good chemistry.

They start with Art Direction and Tom Hanks - Has to be Inception, but it is Alice in Wonderland. Then Cinematography goes to Inception. Someone should have told the winner he left his glasses on his forehead. Okay seriously Christopher Nolan REALLY looks like Leo DiCaprio. It is scary.

Kirk Douglas comes out - what a great sense of humor. But it was a bit uncomfortable not to be able to understand him. Supporting Actress - it should be Melissa Leo, but I'm feeling an upset might be coming. Helena Bonham Carter is of course a fashion nightmare, but she does look gorgeous tonight (her face). Hailee Steinfeld looks like a little princess tonight. Kirk is funny. Melissa Leo wins, but loses for not being able to give a classy speech and stealing Kirk's cane.

JT and Mila Kunis come out. He was pretty funny with "I am Banksy" but almost lost the humor because they had to salute the amazing set design on stage. Then he saved it by referencing Kirk Douglas. They give out Animated short and then Animated feature to Toy Story.

I'm not feeling these references to past films - I get celebrating movies etc, but the writing segue ways into the pieces feels awkward. Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin come out in white dinenr jacket costumes representing the time when the Oscars began. Unnecessary. Adapted Screenplay should go to Social Network, and Aaron Sorkin takes it. Brilliant writing. That's a nice classy speech - hate the stupid music drowning him out. Original Screenplay should go to Inception's Christopher Nolan but King's Speech takes it. What I have been fearing may be happening (A King's Speech sweep).

Let me note that my "should wins" are based on my personal opinions. And since this is my blog and my opinions are the only one's written, I am using "should win" as opposed to "what I want to win". There you have it.

Anne Hathaway starts to sing a parody of On My Own from Les Miserables about Hugh Jackman cancelling on a duet with her. So funny but also she is a great singer. Boy this girl is talented. James Franco came out as Marilyn Monroe in a wig and a dress and cracked a Charlie Sheen joke.

Helen Mirren and Russell Brand come out to give Foreign Language film. Very funny bit but his outfit leaves something to be desired. In A Better World from Denmark wins.

Reese Witherspoon comes out to present Supporting Actor. Should go to Christian Bale. Seeing Jeremy Renner's performance gives me a moment to lament that The Town didn't get more nominations. Mark Rufalo's wife is beautiful, very cool. Christian Bale wins it - funny reference to having dropped the f bomb in the past and not needing to do it tonight. Sweet tearing up talking about his wife and daughter.

Anne comes out in a stunning gown but the crown of hair is a bit off. Did you catch her with Valentino on the pre-show? Strange doesn't cut it.

Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman come out and segue way into the orchestra demonstrating sound. The Orchestra then scores the award for original score. Social Network wins original score (still weird seeing cleaned up Trent Reznor who now looks like Tom Ford) and Inception wins for Sound mixing. Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson had a clever sound presentation. They sounded good together. Sound editing goes to Inception.

Let me be clear - Inception was the best film of the year in my book. The fact that Nolan wasn't nominated for director is ridiculous. I still think Social Network should win Best Picture because I think it is an important film capturing a historic moment in culture, but Nolan was gipped (sp).

Still don't like Marisa Tomei's dress. And I think Anne Hathaway needs to stop hooting and hollering for the presenters.

Cate Blanchett presents Best Makeup to The Wolfman. She is so gorgeous. Costume Design goes to Alice in Wonderland. She reads every word of her speech and doesn't look up. So nervous, don't make it worse with the music cutting her off.

You want to make the Oscars shorter? Cut the set changes.

Nice opening to Best Song with real people and Obama referencing favorite movie songs. Kevin Spacey comes out and starts singing. I'm excited for the live performances this year. Well except this first one. Randy Newman sings from Toy Story 3 which sounds exactly like every other Randy Newman film song. He usually always wins, but I'm crossing my fingers for something else this time. Maybe a little country (hee hee).

Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi sing the song from Tangled. Who knew he could sing? Need to mention that I thought she looked beautiful on the carpet. She didn't make my best of list because I tend to not nominate anything with illusion aka ice skaters outfit mesh. Same goes for Hailee Steinfeld although I loved her princess look.

Loved Jake Gyllenhaal's comments about short film categories ruining the Oscar ballot pool. I may have misjudged Amy Adam's dress - looks much better on stage than on carpet. The best speech so far goes to the winner in that category who said he should have gotten a haircut. Hysterical. Also partial to the NYU shout out from Franco.

Anne is now in a metallic number, much better hair. The movies turned into song segment was really funny, especially the Taylor Lautner "He doesn't wear shirt" number.

Oprah comes out in a great black dress. I'm obsessed with her right now since I have been watching all the shows of the last season and the behind the scenes show on OWN. She presents Best Documentary and we get our first political statement of the night from the winner. It was done with class though.

Billy Crystal comes out to present - he really was the best host ever of the Academy Awards. Wow he has had a lot of Botox - his forehead does not move. But he was funny as always. Then a nostalgic look back to Bob Hope who hosted several times. Wow this show has some amazing technology (note of sarcasm).

Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law come out to present visual effects and have a genuinely witty exchange about RDJ's past encounter with Wonder Woman in a hotel room (I felt witty was appropriate with Jude's accent). Inception wins Visual Effects. Social Network wins Editing. David Fincher seems very beloved.

Anne Hathaway changes to a sexy red number and James Franco makes a joke about the inappropriate titles of the nominated films. I'd like to hang out with him. He's cute, cool and funny. I love how I think if I compliment him on my blog I can make it happen.

Okay, time for Gwyneth. First Jennifer Hudson comes out. I do not love the affect of this dress on her decolletage. Florence Welch comes out to sing the song from 127 Hours written by Indian composer AR Rahman. At first I wasn't sure the song was in English, but then it was. Her voice is beautiful. Jennifer introduces Gwyneth as Country's newest superstar -- umm not really...But I do like this song. She looks nervous - she needs to do that exercise where you watch yourself in the mirror while you sing to make sure you're not making faces. I'm not being mean, but she looked like she was in pain. She was okay - for someone whose first job is not as a singer, but then you hear what Anne Hathaway did...SURPRISE! Randy Newman wins! Wow, this is only the second time he has won? Great speech, maybe I wouldn't have been so mean about him if he had won previously and I had heard his speeches.

Celine Dion comes out for In Memorium. Why did Lena Horne get special shout out from Halle Berry? To combat the bad press that this year's nominees were not of color? God I hope that's not why, that would be lame.

Anne changes to an electric blue number. Hillary Swank comes out to introduce Kathryn Bigelow who is incredibly talented but needs to get a lesson in walking gracefully in a dress (umm its getting late and I am getting crankers).

My prediction is happening. Tom Hooper just won Best Director over David Fincher. I'm about to get SOOOOOOOO angry. Besides the fact that Christopher Nolan was not nominated, this is ridiculous. Note to any aspiring film makers, actors, directors, writers, etc. -- if you want to win an Oscar, make sure your film is bought by Harvey Weinstein.

I did not hate King's Speech - I liked it a lot and agreed with all of its nominations, but not all these wins.

Annette Bening comes out, cut to shot of Warren Beatty.

Jeff Bridges comes out to present Best Actress - love his personal introductions to each nominee. Great scene choice for Annette Bening, but reminded me how great Julianne Moore was. Loved Nicole in Rabbithole. Need Jennifer Lawrence to do some more great parts to earn my respect. Seriously these intros by Jeff are making me cry. Natalie should win and she does. PLEASE give a good speech, PLEASE. She is making me cry. I totally remember watching The Professional in Paris when it came out. She was mesmerizing even then. I don't know how she remembered this all. Nicely done.

Anne flubs her introduction of Sandra Bullock. God I remember how much her speech last year made me cry. And to think how everything with Jesse James went wrong after that. Resilience. She adds her personal comedic touch to her intros. Really nice. Jesse Eisenberg was so perfect for that role. This belongs to Colin Firth and he wins. He is so funny! Wow Tom Ford must be so happy.

Last dress change for Anne - she has got a bod. Steven Spielberg introduces the 10 nominees for Best Picture. I'm chanting SOCIAL NETWORK, SOCIAL NETWORK, SOCIAL NETWORK. Oh, ummm why is The King's Speech speech playing in whole over the scenes from all 10 nominees? BLASPHEMY. They did not show scenes from the nominees throughout the night and now when they do they ONLY use King's Speech? WTF? I am livid, livid. Anything good about tonight's show is now ruined. That was RIDICULOUS.

I knew it. King's Speech won. This is RETARDED. Well done Harvey. I seriously cannot write anymore, I am so mad about the way they presented the best picture nominations.

Quick wrap up on hosts. I understand wanting to inject youth to gain viewers, but the reason young viewers don't watch is because the evening is too long and drawn out. Not because the hosts are old. Anne Hathaway is talented, but she went overboard on the hollering for people. And she is too giggly. And she obviously loves fashion but I think she dresses too old for her age. James Franco was chill and funny but was it classy enough? I enjoyed them, but they don't win for best hosts, they did good enough.

Okay, time to turn it in -- would love to hear from those who have as much to say about this show as I do. Side note, Charlie Sheen is a ticking time bomb. Need to DVR his interview on 20/20.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions unless you are obsessed with Harvey Weinstein - then you should be ashamed.

Quick wrap up on hosts

The Top 24 revealed

2011-02-24T21:11:00.014-05:00

Last night went by super fast just like a night in Vegas, so let's start off with a regroup.

After performing Beatles songs in Vegas (wow the producers are really milking that they were given the rights to the Beatles catalogue - this is the 5th show with Beatles music?), the judges began to reveal the top 24. In were Paul, Naima, Haley, Clint and Ashton. 5 were out including Chris Medina. And JLo had a breakdown.

It is very hard to judge how the Top 24 plays out until we see them all against each other. But I'll comment along the way.

Karen Rodriguez is revealed to be a JLo stalker (maybe you should have gotten out Jennifer!) as they show she sang a JLo song in Hollywood and now sings Selena. She makes it in and JLo better change the locks. This girl is too happy and I have no connection.

Robbie Rosen has become a favorite of mine even with his Barry Manilow hair. He keeps himself set back in time with Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word. Great voice, but not modern. Steven tries to pretend he is saying no but says he made it through and it made no sense whatsoever. I am cracking up.

Tatynisa who did a terrible I Hope You Dance in Hollywood but is still here for some reason. The diva came unleashed for Unbreak my Heart in her last performance. She bugs me a little. She is through.

More goodbyes - Brittany, Jimmy, two people I do not remember. Weird we don't know all of the top 40. Super weird.

Tim Halperin really impressed me in Hollywood and Vegas and sang an original song for his last performance. I think that is gutsy. He is a contender. And he makes it.

Judge favorite Julie Zorilla from Columbia comes up. I always thought she was overrated - Jennifer called her a winner at her audition. Pretty voice, but not a star for me. She makes it.

I need to interject that JLo really has to carry the panel this season. Steven is great for a quip or some sort of moment, Randy tries, but JLo is the only one who is fully communicating to the contestants. She is great.

Now the two country boys are up. Scotty and John Wayne. I vote for John Wayne. Scotty sings Josh Turner AGAIN. Long Black Train is one of my favorites -- "There is victory in the lord, I say." Believe me - 4 trips to Nashville can turn anyone to using the word Lord naturally. Scotty is a one trick pony in my book but he makes it and John Wayne does not. I think that was a mistake.

Giovanni took his shirt off in his audition. He used JLo by singing the Marc Anthony type of song. Good looking man. He is in.

Lauren Turner a strong vocalist / screamer from New Orleans. She feels a little rough, but definitely has talent. She is in.

TyJuan and Erin don't make it - don't remember them.

Rachel Zevita is very funky. She made it to Hollywood in Season 6 and now is back. Good to see someone making it after coming back because the judges always tell them to come back. I like this girl's voice. She is in.

Kendra with a big voice who impressed in Vegas with Blackbird. Sings Alicia Keys in last performance. She will be steady. Gets in.

Jordan Dorsey -- my niece Jessica's favorite who I think is bossy. He's got star quality and is a sharp dresser. The judges called him out on his bossiness during group in Hollywood. But he is through.

Lauren Alaina wears a purple crazy dress. I still think this girl is it. She broke down in Vegas and for her final performance here does Unchained Melody. She totally reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. Such a great voice. LOVE. Even in her crazy dress and pink cowboy boots, this is a no brainer. She is in.

Stefano who has been pretty solid. Sings a weird song with only the words "come home" in all runs for the final performance. Nothing special in my book. He is in.

Jackie Wilson was great in Nashville. Haven't really seen her since. She flubs words on her final performance. She didn't make it. She asks why and asks if she can change their minds. She thinks she should have made it. Hey, you gotta believe.

Jacob Lusk with the big voice. He also has a crazy personality. His God Bless the Child was awesome, but I don't know where he would sit on the charts. Last performance, I'm sorry I can't even comment, I am shaking with laughter. This guy makes me laugh out loud. He is so over the top. Randy says his God Bless the Child was the single best performance ever on Idol. Seriously? Come on. He gets through and does this crazy scream. Steven tells him to "Shut the front door". He does a crazy dance all the way to Ryan and then spins Ryan around a million times. So funny. Okay, I'm glad he made it because he has personality.

Pia who is very pretty and has been strong but her final performance blew me away. She is good and in.

James Durbin - I loved him but then the Adam Lambertness of him made me cringe. He loves going into his upper range and screaming. He is good at it, but there is little subtlety. He is in.

Down to 3 guys with 2 spots. Casey the messy looking blues / soul singer. Final song he does with a bass again to prove he is sexy (his words, not mine). He is talented but he won't be packagable. Remember Taylor Hicks people? But I really enjoy hearing him. Randy says he is the most talented musician they have had. He is in. Another fun personality.

2 girls are Thia who is another favorite of mine with her clear easy voice that keeps it edge, and 7 time audtition veteran Jessica. Jessica is crazy hot rocker girl. A 15 year old and a 25 year old. Jessica made it to this final cut last time. She gets cut again, on her birthday. I really wish she stayed - she was major power player. Thia is through!!

3 guys, one spot. Jacee my roly poly dough boy, crazy redhead Brett and cool kid Colton Dixon. Colton won me over with his Daughtry in Hollywood. His final performance was OUTSTANDING. He is one of my favorites. It HAS to be Colton. Even though his legs are skinnier than my finger. Wow, Brett goes through. Colton will be missed the most - even more than Chris Medina in my book. I love Jacee. SO adorable.

So we have the Top 24. Here are my favorites as of now (singing wise). Boys -- Paul, Clint, Robbie, Tim, Casey. Girls -- Lauren Turner, Kendra, Ashton, Rachel, Thia, Lauren Alaina, Pia.

Oh look at that my Top 12. I have to be honest, I still can't tell what is going ot happen this season! I know I had my criticisms, but once they hit the top 10 or 12, clean slate people.

I will be in Paris next week so the blog will be delayed but you know I will watch as soon as I get off the plane and blog on the 9th!! Crossing fingers and toes that sudden death doesn't kill my favorites.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions, even if you pray every night that your DVR works properly...

Vegas and some of the Top 24 revealed!

2011-02-23T23:02:00.011-05:00

I love this after just 5 minutes. Fun to have some Peggy the maniacal vocal coach on the show. Each week, the celeb judges are always so nice and love all of the contestants. It is nice to hear someone being hard on them besides Simon.

Wait, then Jimmy Iovine enters the scene with his entourage -- who are these punks? Immediately, Lauren's group got sent away stat to pick a new song. Oh my god he is now my favorite addition to this show. And I want to know about everyone in his entourage. But here is the thing. It isn't about him as a person, it is that we can see him interact with the contestants and see what they go through and what affects their performance -- more of a journey than talking to them on the set of a Ford car commercial.

Love Tim Halperin and again they love Julie Zorilla but I am not a fan. Watch she makes it to the end. But they were smart to duet together.

Good motown trio of Jerome, Lakisha and Tatynisa -- so much more polished than the group songs on results nights. But still the judges were super tough on them. Kendra and Paul were the countrified version of Blackbird. They should be on Can You Duet because I don't think either can win this solo. They are showing a lot of good performances, are we really losing favorites or contestants we have never seen before?

PLEASE tell me that Ashley Sullivan, aka crybaby, goes after this round. So now the attention stealer is getting married in Vegas and Idol is wasting time on her stupid story. She is going to get married where Britney Spears got married to Jason Alexander and she is happy because Britney is her hero. I am fast forwarding this nonsense.

Love young Thia. Her tone feels fresh and easy. The vocal coach hated them, but Thia impressed the judges even though it wasn't the best.

Scotty, the deep voice country trios with Lauren, my fave, and Denise, someone I have never seen. Weird combo but they showed their personalities. And they didn't get to sing...Yikes, okay good for the favorite to stumble before rising, right?

Robbie Rosen needs a new haircut (bye bye Barry Manilow) but he has nice energy. He and his buddies did a nice job in 1977. Considering Robbie was born in 1995, that is a feat.

Eliminations -- Thia, Robbie, Scotty, Jordan Dorsey, Ashton and Lauren are called up -- all names we know so no brainer that they are all through. Yup. 3 15 year olds in the group.

Funny blonde guy Carson is going home, plus White house intern who we haven't seen in a while. Denise and YEAH ASHLEY SULLIVAN are going home!!!!!! Oh my god, that's mean, but I am so glad she is out. Jacee is through!

So we are down to Top 40 back in Hollywood. I think with all the emphasis on going to Vegas and singing Beatles songs we should have seen more of these performances.

Top 40 going down to Top 24 -- 12 guys and 12 girls. A shot to sing and then a sit down with the judges. Please show us all of them. Here we go.

Naima - big voice, very unique, and good story but I don't think she can be a superstar. That's my two cents. She is in.

Hollie, the young blonde who had cried through her audition but sang Miley Cyrus, The Climb. Great last audition, a little powerhouse in this young girl. Steven tells her no, Jennifer brekas down telling her that she was outvoted and that she should come back in two years because she could win it all. Oh, she breaks my heart. Lakeisha Lewis sent home, Alex Ryan who I don't remember ever seeing going home.

Meanie Clint (okay, I'm overdoing it) is too weird to hit it big. My two cents. He makes it in.

Haley, the big voiced blonde might be a screamer but she has something waiting to be seen. Nice big voice, still need to get to know her. She makes it.

Let's talk about the smooth stylings of Deandre -- extremely good looking young guy, who hasn't been seen much. They judges really believe in him but they let him go. Jennifer is really pushing him to do more. He may have had a Jason Castro thing in him that wouldn't have been enough. I would have liked to see him more.

Paul McDonald with the little voice from Nashville, we didn't see him much. Now he sings an original song. Very original and interesting.

Ashton Jones may be my new favorite -- she did the Jennifer Hudson during the last solo. Final performance was Whitney (oh that scared me about her choices). She is adorable and a powerhouse. She is in. She is a major contender people!!!

Chris Medina -- they invested a lot in his story. And they go back there again. He nails it on the final performance with another modern rock ballad - Fix You by Coldplay. I like his choices. JLo is making it sound like it is a no AND IT IS A NO! WHAT? WHAT? This is retarded. I'm not getting this right now. I don't want his story to outshine his talent, but he was really talented. Right? Ugggh it is so hard in this stage because we don't just see all the performances lined up - we just don't know. JLo has a full on breakdown about having to say no after he leaves. Full on meltdown. Steven says that her saying no was beautiful. He cracks me up.

And now we see the rest tomorrow...I don't know what to think yet! More tomorrow everyone...

Catch up time!

2011-02-18T17:05:00.018-05:00

First of all, my deepest apologies for leaving you all hanging on the blogging front. There is nothing I can say but I was literally working around the clock and didn't even watch TV for 2 weeks! This weekend, however, I'm not shutting off the TV at all until the DVR is emptied. And thank god I found iwatchamericanidolonline.com so I can watch the episode that my DVR did not record!

So first, San Francisco auditions. So many great voices - I just love the energy this season. I wasn't that blown away by Julie the Columbian girl who sang Summertime, but they sure gave her a build up. But the best part was Steven Tyler hating on some contestants. No hating on James Durbin however, the contestant with Tourettes / Aspergers. Crying as I write this.

Hollywood Week begins with 327 contestants. I love Hollywood Week - it is where I normally fall in love with certain contestants. And this time they are changing things up so let's see how that affects it. First round - sudden death with a lineup of 10 singing a cappella. I wish we could see all of it, unedited. I wish I could have been there. I wish I was a judge. Some standouts of what we see: Brett Lowenstein - the redhead, Rachel Zevita - NYer, Thia - the 15 yr old Asian girl, Casey - soulster from New Orleans (but what kind of album would he make?). I can't stand that Victoria Huggins the overly energetic girl so I'm glad she didn't make it. Love Paris who sang My Heart Will Go On and has the little girl. James Durbin - I love his story but he went a little Adam Lambert on me. I'm putting money on 15 year old Lauren who sang Unchained Melody. Man, that Chris Medina is so now and modern.

Got chills from 15 yr old Jacee singing Rascal Flatts, so sweet, but oh man that Hollie Cavanaugh the blonde who had cried at her audition. Chills. Love Rob and Chelsea and want them to keep going! Nick and Jacqueline - cheesy couple. He was terrible. She overdid it but she made it and he made an a** out of himself begging and singing up the aisle. Love Scotty aka Josh Turner with the deep voice. Love that Jlo said the girl from the Bronx fell for a country singer - she understands me. Hate Tiffany Rios with her too tight skirt and her attitude "I'm tired of seeing people try to do what I know I can." Seriously? Love Travis the almost homeless kid from the Bronx -- but he had a terrible audition. Terrible. So she made it and he didn't.

Down to 168

And now it is group round of Hollywood Week - one of the craziest episodes usually but also what is the purpose? It is an individual competition. Then again, the pressure of the unknown must be a good thing to test them on. Love that Day 1 and Day 2 had to mix together and chaos ensued. The picking and rejection of the groups is giving me severe anxiety. Drama from almost quitter Ashley.

I cannot believe the group kicked out Jacee. I hope none of them get through.

Time to perform - love the judges pep talk. They keep hinting that a favorite is going to go and I'm nervous who that is!! Crazy Tiffany and Jessica who was crazy enough to work with her are next -- can't stand either now. She will lie down on the floor in a mini skirt. Why is her hair sparkling? And she's outta here!

Love Lauren's group who sang to Steven on Stage Some Kind of Wonderful. Slightly weird since he is old, but fun. I can't believe Paris messed up -- geez, she was so good and had such a good story - gorgeous girl. Yikes. You know that they have to give backstory to those who will get through as well as those who won't, but it is weird to know that much and then they disappear. Heartbreaking.

In the group the Hits with the very emotional Ashley, that girl Ashton was really good - soulful and strong. Okay so the young kids come up with the stage moms and do a really good job but I gotta say the stage mom thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously they still have to have talent to get through, but something felt wrong about the extra support.

Love that there is still new talent to discover like Jacob Lusk from the a cappella Get Ready Here I come group with the deep bass ending. Loved the Forget You crew with Chris Medina (or I just love the song so much that I love anyone who sings it?)

I AM OBSESSED WITH JACEE. I know he can't win this competition but I am so happy that he is getting the spotlight for some time - such a sweet talented kid. OBSESSED.

Even though the kicked out Jacee, The Guaps - Scotty Clint and the girls were great with Get Ready.

And now, time for Part 3 of Hollywood Week. 100 contestants going down to 50. Today they can sing with the band or a cappella. Ashton Jones who I noticed in the group gave us a Jennifer Hudson moment with And I'm Telling You. Thia is still hitting it at 15 with What a Wonderful World. I'm so ready for another Kelly or Carrie people! So glad they are not forcing an equal number of men and women in the final 10. Let the cards play out as they may.

Clint Jun Gamboa who kicked out Jacee is a diva in his own right. Sophia and Kendra doing Georgia on My Mind who I hadn't seen before were good. Carson and Chris do My Prerogative. Carson is super fun, but is his voice okay? We already know Chris has a great voice. Loving Colton Dixon who sang Daughtry's What About Now. That redhead Brett Lowenstein is so unique. First time Robbie Rosen the 15 year old stood out for me - playing the piano and slow jamming. Casey brought the bass. Great unique style, but I don't see a recording superstar here. Why did Jacqueline go home before singing? Chelsee sings Kelly Clarkson not perfectly but she's got something.

That Lauren Alaina has to stop milking the Steven Tyler thing, but she is amazing so I will forgive her one more time. And 15? Geez. Jacob Lusk, another new one from Hollywood round does a crazy skat filled God Bless the Child and the judges are hooting and hollering. It is going to be hard for him to top this. Standing O right there. Umm why is he crying?

Oh my John Wayne, you got me from the first twang. His occupation is Cowboy - I love him even if he is only 23. Love that black hat. Ashley is too crazy and forgot the words - she needs to go. Love that JLo told her to control her emotions.

I love Jacee. Love him.

If I was the judges listening to the word mix up on I Hope You Dance, I would have been hysterically laughing. I felt bad for them, but it was funny. I wish we could have seen more performances. But now the drama of the rooms.

Room 1 Ashley, Brett and Jacee - this could go either way. But then I saw CLint and Lauren and James Durbin. They made it. Robbie, Casey etc.

Room 2 Don't recognize them and it is over.

Room 3 Chelsea who is one I will miss and that room is out too.

Room 4 Carson, Scotty and more make it through.

And so next week marks a change -- another round as the top 50 perform songs from the Beatles in a sudden death round I believe. Better than the sit down interview that they used to do. Make them sing again to get through. Very excited to see what happens but hope the pressure and inability to prepare don't make us lose some prime talent.

And so there is my thorough catch up on Idol. Such a great way to enjoy my weekend! And now onto more DVR elimination - 2 episodes of Glee.

Remember, don't be ashamed of your obsessions...even when you almost don't have enough time for them.

Some audition highlights

2011-02-05T22:51:00.004-05:00

So I know you've been missing my thoughtful blogs on the audition rounds but I promise I am still fully behind this season, but unfortunately my workload hasn't allowed me to get home in time to watch and then blog. Note to my boss who is reading this: It's okay that I am letting my loyal readers down, really, you shouldn't feel bad about it. :)

Now on to some audition highlights from last week and this week.

From Milwaukee -- Thia the 15 year old Asian singer who was amazing, Jerome Brown the R&B singer with the hat, the deep voiced country singer, Molly the White House intern and Hayley who is obsessed with Steven Tyler. Plus Scott Dangerfield the super nerdy but super soul filled singer that JLo declared as her favorite - needs a makeover. And of course Chris Medina who has already become a sensation with the super super sad story about his fiance. Singing Break Even? Uggh my heart just broke.

Let's not forget Steven Tyler's amazing saying: Hellfire, save matches, f*** a duck and see what hatches.

And then in Nashville, the ex-couple Rob and Chelsee who auditioned together -- she was awesome - I was blown away. But then, Jackie Wilson the blonde in the denim skirt came in a fully blew away the panel and me -- Steven Tyler later declared they had found the one, and I think he was referring to her. Amazing. Love how she dueted with Steven.

Now time for Austin. Love that they opened with an apology for Steven Tyler's behavior. He really is a riot. Hollie the sweet 17 yr old who sang in 5 keys and started crying. They gave her another shot and let her through. I don't think her nerves will stand going much further, but sweet.

John Wayne - I've fallen for this cowboy.

Courtney the Ryan Stalker who mimicked a chicken and then blasphemy! sang Sugarland! I really hope she doesn't make it through. Steven told her to "kindle" it up some. What does that mean? OMG she got through.

Nick and Jacqueline - annoying couple. She sang Mercy and was good, but it is not a hard song. Nick is a crooner and we know that never works on this show.

Janelle the blonde country singer - gorgeous, reminded me of Miranda Lambert.

Casey the Seth Rogan look alike started a dance party and got a unanimous yes to Hollywood with his blues song.

Now on to Hollywood --
But can I first say that it is quite fun to watch JLo change her look every episode - she is really a chameleon. My only critique, has anyone noticed that her face make-up looks a little too white or powdery compared to her skin tone? I know, weird thing to notice...And not a fan of the swim cap look.

TIm Halperin with the Maroon 5 song - so smooth. I loved it.

The Gutierrez brothers did not fully impress me -- have heard it before. Hollywood was pretty terrible.

Another week of auditions in San Francisco and Hollywood week begins. I love Hollywood week!!!

I am not ashamed of that at all. So don't be ashamed of your obsessions.

New Orleans Idol quickie

2011-01-20T22:29:00.005-05:00

Some highlights:

Jordan Dorsey who sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and gave JLo goose pimples all over. He had a great voice.

Steven Tyler to Sarah Sellers who sang Bob Dylan's To Make You Feel My Love "You had me sold the second you laid eyes on me." This season may be the season of the makeover because this was another great voice hidden behind a plain jane - great voice, plain jane.

Steven Tyler to the guy who worshipped Marc Anthony and took off his shirt in front of JLo to win a bet "From my melodic sensibility, it was very delicious."

Jacquelynn Dupree doing I'll Stand By Me, not great, but gave me a twinge of Carrie. Something could be there.

Bohemian Rhapsody redhead came off weird, but then rocked it!

They are showing a lot of people going through -- I love hearing good people with a few weirdos instead of other way around. So refreshing!

So cool to see 15 year old Jacee singing Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay. Such an adorable kid with a great voice. He won't make it to the end, but so sweet.

And we end with another tearjerker. Paris who is singing for her baby girl. Sings Carrie's Temporary Home. Brought tears to JLo's eyes. She was a bit mimicky for me, but interesting.

That's all for tonight. I won't be able to blog on every episode, but I wanted to get you all back in the swing of things!

don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or in the case of Steven Tyler, of how you put sentences together.

IDOL IS BACK

2011-01-19T20:37:00.006-05:00

Perfect opener. A mash of clips and TV reports all about the controversial new judge selects leading up to Ryan's announcement of the new judge line-up at a fan press conference. And then the words, "We have the judges. We have the talent. But this isn't our story. IT'S YOURS." And so now move on from the controversy and let's start this season with what it should be about -- our next American Idol.

New title sequence which showed shots of all of the Idol winners plus Adam Lambert, Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson - that is so wrong! They are shaking things up!

Season 10 begins. First background on the judges and Jimmy Iovine as advisor / consultant to make sure that winner becomes a major recording artist. They are not looking for Taylor or Kris or Lee, but Carrie, Kelly or Daughtry. They start in Jersey (my home state people) and Constantine introduces Ryan to the crowd. The tagline is They All Start Somewhere. Love it.

First girl does Hallelujah and I got the chills. Not because she was so great, but because it hit me that it is all starting again.

Some of the usual topics come up, but will the new judges and attitude that they want to find a star change things? I have read that they are going to look for the voice over the originality or the ability to change songs up which will keep us away from the recent singer songwriter winners and back to the big voices. And then Jimmy Iovine will work with them to create a superstar. I like the plan.

Now that they moved the age range younger, will the judges constantly berate the contestants for trying to sing too old?

Still a mix of weirdos (girl with the stars on her bras) and heart-wrenching stories like Robbie who was almost paralyzed. Ashley, Britney Spear's "Sagittarian Sister" was pretty creepy. "Love you Brit, Brit!" How about the video blogger Victoria "Hey everybody!" But then Melinda whose parents were war refugees from Kosovo. Yohji "Pop" was the funniest singing Party in the USA by Miley.

Favorites -- SInging waitress Devyn singing God Bless the Child - she needs a makeover, but her voice was awesome. Also like Brielle singing Endless Love whose Dad just beat throat cancer. And Travis from the Bronx - they gave him the end of the episode pimp spot. Very Bruno Mars version of Elenor Rigby and then I'm Yours by Jason Mraz.

My first impression of the judges? It works. They don't seem to be sitting in stale roles (the mean one, the crying one, the funny one). Some highlights -- Steven Tyler seems to have crazy sayings "That was delicious - that was a dessert to the lunch." Also he cannot even understand some of the freaks and then just stares at them. Plus he curses and flirts with contestants. He also sings along with the contestants which is fun. JLo is a genuine fan of the show and recognizes past auditioners. Plus she is the caring one with heart. Randy gets to be more of a leader, but still tends to crack up at the judges.

This is just the start, but for me, it feels a lot less weird then when Ellen joined the team. I'm in Idol, I'm in.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...and get ready for a season of Idol.

The Globes

2011-01-16T20:49:00.007-05:00

Let's start with the red carpet show. I watched the NBC version hosted by Carson Daly, Natalie Morales and Alexa Chung. Seemed like a weird group, but actually was really funny and laid back. And most importantly they remembered to ask people what they are wearing! Carson's admittance that he doesn't really care what people are wearing and Alexa Chung knighting Alec Baldwin? And saying Justin Bieber touched her bum. It was very refreshing - a little awkward but something new.

Some highlights in terms of fashion. I finally liked January in Versace - strong red and bold hair. Liked Scarlett Johansson's hair, Natalie's fresh spring Viktor and Rolf dress. Sofia Vergara is so good at working with her body. Very va va va voom in red. Claire Danes in Calvin Klein -- good color choice. LOVED Michelle WIlliams in her fresh daisy Valentino - so different. Ummm I had no idea that Christian Bale was British. You learn new things every day.

WOAH Ricky Gervias. Talk about biting remarks for an opening -- love that he went hard after EVERYONE and addressed my issues with The Tourist nominations and the Scientologists? Shocking!! That riled me up. I'm usually not a fan of the anger at an elegant event, but it was entertaining.

Katey Sagal wins for Sons of Anarchy -- I love that she and Ed O'Neill have these hits now. It's cool that they didn't just remain the Bundy's.

Yeah Chris Colfer. So happy for him. How beautiful is Michelle Pfeiffer? I wish she did more. Milla Jovovich is weird. Steve Buscemi wins which is fine. I really wanted Jon Hamm to win this time. Boardwalk Empire wins best drama -- I'm sure its good. But no excitement from me.

Poor Andrew Garfield -- here he is on the big stage and he can't speak. I can't believe Trent Reznor now looks so normal. That Hallie from True Grit looks beautiful. Go Robert Downey Jr for being the first to say something back to Ricky. Emma Stone looks hot. And I don't like Anne Hathaway's shoulder pad dress. Annette Bening is so classy but she was speaking sooo slowly.

Ummm Tilda, you are lovely but it is not a "televisual" movie. It is "television" movie. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell were hysterical, just hysterical. I need to say something so important right now. WHY IS JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES? AND WHY IS SHE SO FREAKING TAN?

Jane Lynch wins - excellent. She knows how to give a good speech. Wow Olivia Wilde is beautiful. The dress is over the top big, but she has the guts to wear it. I think that's cool.

Laura Linney wins best actress in TV comedy. She wasn't there.

Is it just me or is Christina Aguilera's face really big right now?

What? Jim Parsons in the Big Bang Theory? LAME. love Melissa Leo's genuine enthusiasm. Cool.

Lea Michele loves a big dress too. Didn't love the color so much, but she wears a gown for sure. Oh another shot of Jennifer Love Hewitt - is she dating the director of the show?

And the most random category of the night - best actor in a comedy. I really wanted to see Johnny Depp get up there so he could say something to Ricky Gervais. It might have been classic.

Oh Natalie -- you are so inappropriate. Talking about having sex with your husband and then breaking out in inappropriate laughter? She started off well and ended well, but in between it went wacky.

Luckily nothing went wrong with the Best Comedy Musical Category and The Kid are All Right.

Colin Firth is so charming and elegant.

And finally Best Motion Picture Drama -- The Social Network. I totally get it.

I have to say, as uncomfortable as it was, thank god for RIcky Gervais as the show was pretty uneventful otherwise.

Look forward to hearing from my loyal readers and movie lovers who will have something to say too!

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions -- mine is Garrett Hedlund from Country Strong - oh yes I saw it, loved it and now love him.

Some GG predictions

2011-01-13T22:04:00.005-05:00

I am really not ready for the Golden Globes -- I still have movies left to see and I truly do not appreciate this pressure. But don't you worry, I will still give you my predictions. I like to do a what I want to win versus what will win because god knows those voters in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association are not always listening to me (though they should).

My analysis of the show will come to you Monday with more fuel to support my choices below.

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network Should Win, Will Win
This was a good year - loved every single one of these films. Black Swan thrilled me, The Fighter moved me, Inception took me for the best ride, The King's Speech inspired me and Social Network captured my attention. Hard to say should win here because I really was blown away by Inception, but the perfect zeitgeist capturing moment of The Social Network makes it historical. One note - for me? The Town should have been nominated over The King's Speech. King's Speech was an amazing performance, but the Town was an amazing movie.

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right Better damn win, Should absolutely win in this category
Red
The Tourist
This category makes no sense - these are funny? Were there no real comedies this year? I mean, yes I laughed during The Kids Are All Right, but it is not a comedy. Oh and don't even get me started about the comedy and musical combo category.

Best Director - Motion Picture
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David Fincher - The Social Network Will Win
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan - Inception Should Win
David O. Russell - The Fighter
Hard category again, but I doubt they won't give director to Fincher because of the movie's pace. Aronofsky could pull it off too. I'm not feeling the momentum for Nolan, but in my book, he was the best director of the year.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech Will Win, Should Win
James Franco - 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter
Great category. Honestly each of them gave an amazing performance but I have to give Colin Firth this one because in the case of the other films I saw, someone else was slightly responsible for the performance of the main actor (Eisenberg had Sorkin's words, Gosling had the light and then dark of Michelle Williams and Wahlberg had Bale). Firth's creation stood on its own in my mind. I could see it go to Eisenberg too though from the int'l press perspective.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Halle Berry - Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan Will Win, Should Win
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
Didn't see Frankie and Alice so no comment on that nomination. Loved Kidman in Rabbit Hole - she finally gave us another performance to remind us how incredible she can be. Winter's Bone was boring and I don't get why it was anything to talk about. Michelle Williams was heartbreaking. But Kidman and Williams didn't get to emotionally AND physically transform the way Natalie did and her performance stays stuck in my head. It was mesmerizing.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland Will Win, Have no idea if he or anyone else should
Johnny Depp - The Tourist
Paul Giamatti - Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal - Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey - Casino Jack
This is the most retarded list of performances. I am sure it will go to Johnny Depp because the HFPA is obsessed with him. But I would give it to Jake because I think it is funny he dated Taylor Swift. (Kidding) I don't care who wins this.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Anne Hathaway - Love and Other Drugs
Julianne Moore - The Kids Are All Right Should Win
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right Will Win
Emma Stone - Easy A
Angelina Jolie - The Tourist
Angelina? Seriously? Oh yeah, this is a comedy category. I am still tortured by whether this category is for being a comedian or acting (even in a serious mode) in a comedy. Bening will win because she acts naturally in every role she is in and she is actually the contender against Portman when movies are not separated by comedy and drama. However, I thought Julianne Moore was amazing in this film - hysterically funny, sweet, and heartbreaking at the same time. Go Frannie!

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale - The Fighter Will Win, Should Win
Michael Douglas - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield - The Social Network
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech
Hands down, no question. Bale has this in the bag.

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Mila Kunis - Black Swan
Melissa Leo - The Fighter Will Win, Should Win
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
What is Animal Kingdom? I adore Amy Adams in everything but supporting awards usually go to a more character actor and I can still hear Leo's voice and accent in my head.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
127 Hours
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network Will Win, Should Win
Inception
The best written script of modern day language.

Best Animated Feature Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3 Will Win, I did not see any of these
Tangled

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love Will Win, I did not see any of these
In a Better World

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Bound to You - Burlesque
Coming Home - Country Strong Please god don't let Gwyneth win something else
I See the Light - Tangled
There's a Place for Us - Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Let Carrie Win!
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me - Burlesque

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplot - The King's Speech
Danny Elfman - Alice in Wonderland
A.R. Rahmin - 127 Hours Umm, let's give it to one of my people
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - The Social Network
Hans Zimmer - Inception

Best Television Series, Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men Will Win, Should WIn and the only one of these I watch
The Walking Dead
Where is Friday Night Lights?

Best Televison Series, Comedy or Musical
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family Will Win, Should Win
Nurse Jackie
Love 30 Rock and Glee, but Modern Family is comic genius right now

Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad Will WIn because he always does
Michael C. Hall - Dexter
Jon Hamm - Mad Men Should Win because I love him and this character
Hugh Laurie - House
Where is Kyle Chandler?

Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men
Piper Perabo - Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer
Piper Perabo is WHAT? Never heard of this show. Where is Connie Britton? I am boycotting this category.

Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical
Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock Will Win
Steve Carell - The Office Should WIn
Thomas Jane - Hung
Matthew Morrison - Glee
Jim Parsons - Big Bang Theory
I'm sorry, I know Alec Baldwin is fantastic, but I gotta give some love to Steve Carrell - I look at him and crack up.

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hope Davis - Special Relationship
Jane Lynch - Glee Will Win, Should Win
Kelly McDonald - Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles - Dexter
Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
Poor supporting TV actors - they all get lumped together, drama, comedy and miniseries / movies. I think Lynch will win it and should, but Vergara is coming on strong this season and almost has as many stunning one-liners as Lynch now.

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
Scott Caan - Hawaii Five-0
Chris Noth - The Good Wife
David Straithairn - Temple Grandin
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family
Chris Colfer - Glee Will WIn, SHould WIn
I gotta go for Kurt - his performances have brought me to tears.

Best Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical
Toni Collette - United States of Tara
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie WIll Win because I did someting wrong in a past life
Tina Fey - 30 Rock Should Win, I guess
Laura Linney - The Big C
Lea Michelle - Glee
Uggh I hate Toni and Edie. Just give to to Tina.

Note - I have eliminated the movie / miniseries for TV categories because I think they should be eliminated. Irrelevant.

Here's to some good fashion on Sunday! Remember, don't be ashamed of your obsessions, unless you are obsessed with Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs - then you should be ashamed.

A Little Glee

2010-12-07T23:26:00.005-05:00

Okay so I promised some thoughts on Glee -- and here they are! The sophomore season has had plenty of high points but the season has not been perfect, so let me put in my two cents to the producers on what they can fix (love that I think I can actually change things).

A positive -- The season has continued to create poignant story lines. Kurt's bullying, Kurt's Dad's illness and the joining of Kurt and Finn's families have created socially significant, touching scenes with amazing acting skills by Kurt, his Dad and several other cast members.

A negative -- Too many of these great storylines are interrupted by specials (Rocky Horror and Glee Christmas) or guest stars (more on those later). I want to keep following the stories, not get sidetracked for the "special effects."

A positive -- As always there are some great song choices that inspire my love for song and singing. Love the new boys choir and their a cappella arrangements -- Teenage Dream and Hey Soul Sister were spectacular. Plus New Directions covers of Florence and the Machine and Paramore and Cee Lo were fresh and fun.

A negative -- The "is Rachel the next Barbra Streisand" (or should I say "is Lea Michele the next Barbra?") agenda was too obvious. Papa, Can You Hear Me? by Kurt's Dad's bedside? I loved Rachel and Kurt's Barbra / Judy duet - loved it - but there just felt like too much Barbra (and maybe too much Lea). Plus the back and forth with Mr Schuester and Emma was just ridiculous (and still is). He's married, he's separated, she is engaged, he is divorced, she is dating, she is married! Whatevs.

Which brings me to my next positive -- The show has finally incorporated ALL of the Glee members and added new characters that have staying power! Brittany has actually overshadowed Coach Sue with her one liners this season. Mike Chang speaks! Santana is a racy vixen and her duet with Mercedes was amazing. New stud Sam has a great voice and has added a spark to Quinn's character (and her voice!). I can't stand "I've Had the Time of My Life," but Quinn and Sam made it sweet and fun. Coach Beast brought me to tears with her gift to Artie this week.

But the winner for best new character? Darren Criss as Blaine is the best addition to any cast. He won me over with his voice (and the a cappella arrangements) plus I'm happy to see Kurt happy and this crooner is a charming performer. So likeable, and so talented. He is finally some competition for Lea Michele! Now where is that duet?

And now a negative -- NO MORE GUEST STARS. The choices are disruptive to the storylines and overshadow the real reason we watch the show -- the actors on the show. We didn't need to see Britney for Brittany to become lovable and show off her dance chops and what was Carol Burnett showcasing? Love Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth from last season because they played characters that were integrated into the storyline. Yes, Gwyneth was funny and her Cee Lo performance was amazing and the Spanish teacher moments were great. But did we need the closing song and dance of her and Lea from Chicago or even the Umbrella mash-up? Did we need an all Gwyneth Glee episode? I don't think so. I heard the big post-Superbowl episode will feature Katie Couric, BORING!!

So, in summary to Glee creator Ryan Murphy -- more bringing tears to my eyes, less Veteran's Day specials or Easter mash-ups, more unpredictable song choices, less Barbra, more of all of the cast members, and definitely no Hollywood stars touting their new project (look Gwyneth can sing go see her as a Country star!). Oh and PLEASE -- MORE Darren Criss and a Blaine / Rachel duet this Spring! Thank you, your pop cultre obsessor.

Remember Ryan, I'm not afraid of calling you out for your mistakes, so don't be ashamed of your obsessions...

The music is ringing in my ears...

2010-12-06T22:27:00.005-05:00

I am surrounded by awesome music right now. Songs to make me laugh, make me cry, definitely make me sing and as my dance party friends know, songs to make me dance.

Before I share all of my new beloved tunage ideas, let me say that I have decided what the best new invention for iTunes would be. Gift cards for specifically selected music. It would bring back album and singles sales for sure. Right now I do not want to give out iTunes gift cards because they seem impersonal. But I also hesitate from buying CDs (one of my favorite gifts in the past) because so many people don't buy cd's anymore, just digital downloads. However, if I could actually code an iTunes card with my specific gifts of music? GENIUS! Someone call Steve Jobs stat.

Tomorrow I am definitely doing a Glee blog. This season has been very interesting -- so touching in so many ways, yet I have my criticisms too, so get ready! One of the reasons I love the show is that it reminds me of how much great music there is out there -- old, new, mashed up and redone.

Okay, so let me tell you what music is playing in my ears these days. I know Keith Urban is missing but I still haven't been able to fully absorb as I have been blinded by his overwhelming love for Nicole. Did you watch Oprah?

Sugarland Incredible Machine -- You know I got the new CD right away. It has the beautiful vocals of Miss Jennifer Nettles, but this album has a much bigger sound. She said they were inspired by 80s movie songs and performing in large arenas Bon Jovi style. Great for playing it loud while cleaning the apartment or driving down a long stretch of highway, but I am missing the quieter moments of heartbreak the last album gave me.

Little Big Town The Reason Why -- RUN and get this (or download it) IMMEDIATELY. If I could create my gift of iTunes to the whole world, it would be this album. Amazing 4 part harmonies, part country, part rock, all inspiring. And one the the biggest heartbreak songs ever -- "Shut Up Train" a middle of the night cry out to stop that loud train of heartbreak from interrupting a night of peace. Amazing.

Zac Brown Band You Get What You Give -- I really love Zac Brown's voice. It can sing with a smile, with anger and with love. Underlying the melodic country are hints of Jimmy Buffett, bluegrass style, jam band sessions but the mix of it all keeps my attention. I love listening to this as an album -- it would be a great soundtrack to a summer barbecue. And the song "Colder Weather" is so touching and gutwrenching - incredible lyrics.

Eminem Recovery -- He blows me away, just blows me away with the clever writing, catchy tunes and honest lyrics. Amazing album.

Katy Perry Teenage Dream -- Fun, fun, fun. And then the girls gets ANGRY. This slightly dirty, pop confection makes me groove.

Taylor Swift Speak Now -- I know I have said this a million times, the girl can't sing live, but her albums are addictive pop country pleasure. I don't think this is her best album and I'm getting sick of hearing who each song is about (really John Mayer hit on her? Slight exaggeration for dramas sake?) Not looking forward to hearing any songs about Jake Gyllenhaal because I am can't believe he is dating her, but I will still be singing "Mine" at my dance parties.

Speaking of dance parties, let me share Just dance" playlist, specially created by me. It is awesome for passing the time on the treadmill or while laughing with your friends as you dance in unison in front of a mirror because you think you have turned into a fly girl (NOT). Try it out!

Undo It by Carrie Underwood -- excellent revenge song with a rocking beat (Thank you to writer Kara DioGuardi)

F**k You by Cee Lo -- best jam song of the year

What's My Name by Rihanna -- hey na na!

Never Again by Kelly Clarkson -- old anger song that still keeps me moving

In My Head by Jason DeRulo -- I should be over this song, but I can still listen to it

Raise Your Glass by P!nk -- this is in bold because it is THE BEST DANCE PARTY SONG EVER. A rousing chorus that inspires jumping up and down for all the underdogs.

Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland -- Cute country reggae catchy ditty. That's right, I said ditty.

Love the Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna -- Yup, I know you all just started singing the chorus. SO sad, but so good.

Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good) by Sugarland -- A gem from their first album that puts a twang in my step.

Forget You by Cee Lo -- Yup, need both versions because I can't get enough of this song.

Bad Romance by Lady Gaga -- Sometimes I'm sick of it, so I keep it at the end. But after rediscovering it at karaoke, well, a girl needs to practice.

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson -- I know most of you are laughing, but this is a fantastic happy hour / dance party / cool down ditty. Yup, I said ditty again.

Alright folks - I hope this has inspired lots of music purchases -- share the tunage this holiday season! More tomorrow...

And even if you can't dance as fly as I can, don't be ashamed of your obsessions...

no BEP

The Return of TV - plus Glee returns!!

2010-09-21T20:50:00.007-04:00

And now the DVR begins to refill. New box will be gotten this weekend by the way so I do not run in to any of the issues I had during Emmy night again. Craziness! So I wanted to let you all know what I'm planning on tuning into so far this season. Shows will be dropped along the way if they don't keep up to my standards, but since I have some precious holes to fill with the end of Lost, 24 plus Idol and FNL being on hiatus, we have time my friends.

Shall we go by days of week? New series are in all caps. Sunday -- Mad Men (Best season ever) plus Brother and Sisters when its back. Monday -- How I Met Your Mother, LONESTAR (hooked after episode 1), THE EVENT (fingers crossed, but episode 1 is kicking it), Gossip Girl will have to be watched on computer as my DVR is going to explode and I want to watch MIKE AND MOLLY but have to do on demand. Tuesday -- Glee, Life Unexpected, Parenthood, RAISING HOPE and RUNNING WILDE (so excited for Will Arnett!) plus ending another heartbreaking season of Teen Mom. Wednesday -- Survivor has already hit it out of the park with old versus new teams, Modern Family, Cougar Town. Thursday -- 30 Rock, The Office, Grey's, Private Practice, Mentalist and I am going to try OUTSOURCED to support my people. Friday -- Very much looking forward to BLUE BLOODS with Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes -- looks amazing. This is out of control!

And now to the return of GLEE:

So new episode of Glee opens with nerdy journalist kid interviewing the Glee club kids for his blog with some pointed questions. To Rachel, "we heard you were a diva" which is a nod to the real rumors about Lea Michele. Britney line "People thought I went on vacation but actually I spent the summer lost in the sewers." Classic. New season begins with sign ups or try outs for Glee as well as Cheerios. Shannon Beiste joins the faculty as the new "beastly" football coach which means budget cuts for Cheerios and Glee. As Sue says, "First of all, female football coach like a male nurse -- sin against nature." And so Sue and Schue join forces to topple the beast.

Challenge of the episode -- Glee needs to build numbers but since the school is still against Glee Club, getting new members to join is difficult. How to win them over? With music they will love. And so the rendition of Empire State of Mind. Puck wins as best rapper. Love the new possible recruits and that they are challenging the Glee stars with great voices -- I think the girl Charice (a pop star that I have never heard of) could really stand up to Lea. Blonde Bieberesque football player may be better than Finn.

Props to them for finally giving more screen time to backup Glee stars - dancing guy (ok I don't know his name yet) plus Santana and Britney are getting to show their stuff. But the glory moment? Quinn's return as head of Cheerios. Whole episode is about new roles -- Quinn as head Cheerio, Finn losing spot as quarterback, Schue with football coach as new nemesis or ally, Santana demoted to bottom of the pyramid Cheerio (because she got a boob job!) Dancing guy and Tina as new couple as Artie watches them dance away. Rachel and Finn as true couple. And Rachel still the diva who can't handle competition.

Let's talk about Charice breaking out in Beyonce's Listen from Dreamgirls. Goosebumps. Goosebumps and Rachel has competition. Especially since Charice was stolen by new Vocal Adrenaline Head Coach CHEYENNE JACKSON! Bring it on. Can't wait for he and Schue to have a vocal battle. I am having a really hard time deciding whether to refer to people by real names or character names - I hope I'm not driving everyone crazy!

WAIT A MINUTE - Preview for Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera. I say I'm there already.

Rachel gets to end it with a major rendition of Chorus Line's Kiss Today Goodbye. The Diva is the Star. And my trying to sing it from my couch not as strong. Hee hee, I do try.

And then the preview for next week's Britney episode. I admit it, I'm praying my DVR works while I'm in Paris!!

More after my adventures folks -- any new shows that you are obsessed with yet?

Remember, even if you can't belt out from the couch, don't be ashamed of your obsessions...

An Emmy blog that almost didn't happen...

2010-08-29T20:35:00.016-04:00

Before I go to my pseudo live blogging, let me tell you what a panic attack feels like. I am watching the red carpet show for a few minutes, ready for the big show, planning to watch Big Brother and then watch Emmy's and blog while fforwarding. As I start to watch BB I realize Emmy's are not taping. Switch to channel 4 and now grey screen -- DVR melt down. My heart sinks, my pulse is racing. Deep breaths, let's unplug the box and let it reboot. Reboot takes 10 LONG, AGONIZING MINUTES. Then go to channel 4, grey screen. Call Time Warner with tears in my eyes - it is now 8:15. My technical support reboots as the clock tick tocks on and on. At 8:24 box is working and Emmy's are on. And I am told I may have to turn in my box for a new one and I will lose anything on my box. My life is stressful.

Okay, so I jump on with Jane Lynch winning Supp Actress Comedy Series. No question she should have. I can't believe I missed the opening number.

Interlude with Modern Family being asked to change the show -- cameo by Clooney was great, but believe it or not, this cast and the characters are so funny, they don't even need a celebrity cameo.

Ryan Murphy wins for directing Glee, comedy series. Love his shout out to supporting arts education, did not need his shout out to Tom Ford for his peacock blue suit.

Best Actor in a Comedy -- Tough category, thought it would go to Alec Baldwin but Neil Patrick Harris should have been nominated and won. However, Jim Parsons wins -- critics of EW love him, I've never watched the show, but am glad it is not Tony Shalhoub for Monk.

JF makes a great quip about NPH needing 3 names as a sign of insecurity, and then NPH comes out and proves why he is hysterical, thanking the academy for asking a gay man to host the Emmy's two years in a row.

Edie Falco explains exactly what is wrong with the Emmy's - she wins for comedic actress and she thinks she is not funny. Really the comedy category was between Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Julia Louis Dreyfus in my opinion. What makes Lea Michele amazing is not her comedic talent, it is her voice and acting ability - more dramatic than comedic. I guess the category is Lead Actress IN a comedy series, but I just wish comedy was against comedy and drama was against drama and Mariska Hargitay would stop being nominated at all in any category. Don't get me wrong, I did want Lea nominated -- I guess I really just could care less about Edie Falco and Toni Colette and they should be in a category with Tony Shalhoub and Mariska Hargitay. I actually think Amy Poehler was unbelievable this season and should have won.

Can we talk about how excited I am about the new show with Will Arnett and Keri Russell? Now Reality Program -- Amazing Race, American Idol, DWTS, Project Runway and Top Chef wins. This is always Amazing Race's category but upset this year by Top Chef. Great program. I always think Survivor should win this as it is the best reality competition program on TV. And not this year, but other years, AI should have won for capturing the attention of the world.

These Oprah farewell season commercials are making me cry.

Jimmy Fallon singing with Julianna Margulies - funny. Re-cap on dramas and Lost gets the biggest applause with Friday Night Lights second -- take that CSI.

Drama Series writing -- I know everyone loves Matthew Weiner - as do I, but this one should be Lost's Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof all the way -- that finale episode was one of the best scripts ever (look back on my re-cap blog for all the quoting I did). Matthew wins, which is not bad at all - his writing is so right on, but I do think he is full of himself. I just wanted that for the Lost team. Bad job producers with that cut-off of Weiner as he said he is insecure -- that is certainly not going to help, is it?

Supporting Actor Drama -- I don't watch Breaking Bad, but I have read great things about Aaron Paul. For me, this should have been Terry O'Quinn -- his fake Locke / Sideways Locke was incredible. Wow I am really going to miss Lost.

John Hodgman from Daily Show is that commentator in the voiceovers. He just said he was glad Aaron Paul gave him a hug on the carpet. Whaa? Wow AMC is the new HBO.

Jimmy reads tweets about the upcoming presenters. Emily Deschanel who is as gorgeous as her sister, wears the same Marchesa dress everyone has been wearing this year. Best Supporting Actress Drama -- Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi for The Good Wife, Sharon Gless for Burn Notice, Rose Byrnes for Damages, Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss for Mad Men. Only watch Mad Men, so I give it to Christina Hendricks for last season. Although Archie is one of my people and I loved her in Bend it Like Beckham (she was the older sister). Yes, my people wins an Emmy. Archie looks beautiful and I love that she prepared to deliver a smart, simple speech - well done.

Edie Falco comes out and I don't feel bad for making fun of her because her intro was bad. Best Actor Drama. KYLE CHANDLER, MATTHEW FOX, JON HAMM - and Bryan Cranston wins. I love Kyle Chandler so much. Nothing against Bryan Cranston - he is humble and smart. And I am so glad Kyle was nominated finally. But I do get that feeling that Emmy voters tend to find something, latch on and keep voting for it. I don't feel they are picking from the submitted tapes. Just my opinion. I wish I could be the sole voter. Then it would all make sense to me.

This is going too fast and now we will have an hour of miniseries garbage. Arggh.

So as they go to guest actor and actress in drama series, let me give props to Betty White and NPH winning for guest acting in comedy on SNL and Glee respectively. John Lithgow and Ann Margaret win for guest acting drama and come out to present Director, Drama. Directors from LOST, Mad Men, Treme, Breaking Bad, Dexter are nominated and prove they are not comedic writers while answering a dumb question. Dexter director wins. Whatever, should have been Lost.

Jimmy pretends to be Elton and sings Candle in the Wind to 24. Hilar. Then he becomes Boyz II Men to say good bye to Law and Order. He gave a shout out to Mariska Hargitay. Then he is Billie Joe Armstrong for Lost. HYSTERICAL. I think the audience really likes him. Good for Jimmy -- he is a good guy. And I am not just saying that because once he held my hand, for a few minutes.

Matthew Morrison and Tina Fey come out. She usually makes her presenters look good by being so funny. Lead Actress Drama -- CONNIE BRITTON, Glenn Close, Mariska WhytheF-tay, Kyra Sedgewick, JANUARY JONES, Julianna Margulies. Kyra Sedgewick wins. WHY WHY WHY. Hands down should have been Connie Britton. She is complaining about the microphone being too low -- shut it Kyra and get off stage. No one cares. They might as well have given it to Mariska. I would have expected Julianna who has had a big year and OF COURSE wanted Connie, and even could have seen January because she had a great season. Again, Emmy messes up.

Variety is actually a HUGE category this year with the Leno / Conan madness. Wow Jeff Probst is short. Writing for Variety / Music / Special. Tony Awards win, whatever.

Ricky Gervais comes out who is always funny. Laughing out Loud at his Mel Gibson comments. Then he brings out beer to the audience. Directing Variety / Music / Special Winter Olympics Opening wins. Then the big one -- writing for series where Conan was nominated for Tonight Show, but John Stewart wins.

Bob Hope Humanitarian Award goes to Geroge Clooney - presented by Julianna Margulies (awww). I love the George uses TV to bring the world together. Standing Ovation. Love that he reflected upon Bob Hope and used comedy.

Now mini series stuff - don't care. But John Krasinski pulled out a great moment - he is the next Clooney.

Let me take a fashion break -- with a quick peruse of the carpet pics, the ones that stand out are - Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera for the best fitted dress, Keri Russell in a sweet simple pink dress that looks like Halston?, Of course Connie Britton in liquid blue metallic something, Julianna Margulies in L'Wren Scott, and I loved Diana Aggron in Carolina Herrera as well. For men, all I need to say is Jon Hamm.

Jewel sings for In Memoriam. She has got a gorgeous voice, but this was not necessary.

Maura Tierney looks great. Presenting miniseries -- fforwarding. Claire Danes wins -- she doesn't look like Claire Danes - she looks like January Jones. Wow, she sounds so different - It's crazy that she is older yet sounds stupider. For serious? Who says that?

Alexander Skaarsgard, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer come out, Wow Skaarsgard is hot. As I just finished season 1, I kept wondering if he is the son of Stellan and now I googled, and he is. One question in my life answered. Please cut off Al Pacino -- haven't you had enough time in your life to thank people? They are afraid to cut him off.

The Jimmy Fallon / Tom Selleck bit was funny. I think Jimmy has done a great job -- kept things moving.

Best Drama -- Breaking Bad, Dexter, The Good Wife, LOST, MAD MEN, True Blood. Winner is MAD MEN. I'm totally cool with that especially knowing how amazing this season has been great. LOVE that he started with the end of the speech earlier. You know what? I was thinking January looked crazy, but now after seeing it this many times, I'm liking the look -- I like that she does something different - she doesn't look like her character and she doesn't go traditional long chiffon dress as most of these TV actors do. I'm not hating her Versace.

Best Comedy -- 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Glee, Modern Family, Nurse Jackie, The Office. Modern Family Wins -- Very deserving. It is so very funny.

So of the night, Jane Lynch, Mad Men for series and Modern Family for series are the only ones I agreed with. But I agree with Jimmy Fallon and I enjoyed watching the commercials for Outsourced and hope it celebrates the humor of my people, not the stereotypes.

Okay, so please let me know how the show opened - I am praying for some youtube clips tomorrow. As we celebrate the 5 years that have passed since Katrina, let me say that I too can rise above in the face of adversity -- in this case a DVR on the fritz, not even one bit similar to Katrina, but I still wanted to make that comparison so you can understand my pain.

Good night TV lovers. Just remember -- you can hate the Emmy choices, but still love your obsessions...

A summer of pop culture

2010-08-22T21:45:00.009-04:00

So I know it has been a while, but a summer that began without much hope in the pop culture arena, has finally found its groove. The season of American Idol proved to lack chemistry, early Summer blockbusters fizzled (Iron Man 2, Knight and Day) and TV was an empty empty landscape. I'm going to highlight some of my summer treats and get into more detail soon.

Luckily I started my summer with lots of fun music -- my summer concert series included every country star under the sun in Nashville, Bon Jovi opening Giants Stadium, Lady Antebellum hitting the Nokia Theater and Sugarland in Jersey with fantastic seats -- All incredible. What has been rotating in my ears this summer? I can't deny the infectious "California Girls" by Katy Perry (which plays in loop with Jason DeRulo's In My Head (hee hee guilty pleasure)) plus John Mayer's Battle Studies is a really great album, a journey of love and pain. And then mid-summer Sugarland put out "Stuck Like Glue" an upbeat, catchy ditty from the upcoming new album that once again is totally stuck in my head (like glue ha, ha). And now the new Eminem / Rihanna song is so strong - so happy to have him back.

Movie wise -- got to see Inception and The Kids are All Right - definitely the two best of the year so far. I want to see The Other Guys and the new Jennifer Aniston / Jason Bateman plus Eat Pray love - read the book, should see the movie. Very much looking forward to Fall for films -- will create my hit list soon.

TV this summer started slow -- Friday Night Lights recently ended another SPECTACULAR season. Thrilled Coach Eric and Tami Taylor were nominated for Emmy's and this season with the death of Matt's father and Tim finding his happiness and letting it go for his brother was an absolute tear jerker. The addition of Vince and his mother plus Becky proved that the show with the leadership of Eric and Tami can bring any additional characters into the mix and succeed.

Mad Men is really hitting a stride this season -- the unraveling of Don's life -- he was always portrayed as this cool, unflappable guy and now he is shown drunk, in his sad apartment, hiring prostitutes and needing his job to define his character. It is depressing, but also has more of a sense of humor and levity for moments. But I want Don to hit his stride again -- not sure that's what Matthew Weiner is planning though -- I think it will get a lot messier before it cleans up.

I truly enjoyed Bettheny Getting Married -- she is funny. Very quick-witted and honest. It was light and easy fare. On the other hand, I cringed through Real Housewives of New Jersey. The people are too crazy - and it got dangerous and weird. Not fun like it should be. Good for Dina for leaving the show. These women are freaks.

Also watched Teen Mom -- best show to educate teens on abstinence. Man, these girls really have it rough - can't wait for Dr Drew to get his hands on them. Boston Med was fantastic -- a real documentary style about the Boston Hospitals -- highly recommend that you download this series if you haven't seen it. Hope it comes back - and shout out to my fellow Indian Americans -- practically every doctor featured was Indian. My people are smart.

Also watching Top Chef but have dropped Project Runway - I'm over it. Also watching True Blood on DVD -- only on season 1 people, but I know everybody loves it, so hoping it'll catch on.

I have been watching Jersey Shore -- I did not think this season would be any good and actually did not even start watching it til last week. It isn't as shocking as last time, but there are some hysterical moments -- provided mostly by The Situation and Snookie. Let me sum it up with this -- Mike the Situation called the restaurant to order food for delivery -- "Can I get your name for the delivery?" "Situation" "Excuse me?" "Situation" "That's your name?" "Yes, S-I-T-U-A-T-I-O-N, Situation" "Okay, whatever dude." Hysterical. And when Snookie dropped the chicken out of the fridge and didn't know how to clean it up? Or when she couldn't scoop the ice cream from the case at work because she is too short? So funny. Could care less about the drama, but the funny moments are funny.

Then there is this season of Big Brother - my biggest guilty pleasure. This group of losers is so hysterical that I can't even explain without laughing. I'll have to devote a blog to it soon to give you the full description. But if you watch, I'm rooting for Britney or Ragan -- Matt who is lying that his wife has a disease and Brendon who fell in love with Rachel on the show both need to go home, stat.

Okay folks, that is a little dose to get this blog back in action. Note the new counter so I can see how many of you are reading this or sharing it!

Since I just unleashed all of my guilty pleasures, please remember, don't be ashamed of your obsessions.

The Finale

2010-05-27T00:40:00.005-04:00

First let me start by saying that for me tonight was a real night of American Idols. I just spent 4 hours in the new Meadowlands Stadium -- first night anyone had been in there for an event. Today they announced that we had won the bid for the 2014 Superbowl -- first time ever I believe. Bon Jovi performed to open the stadium. Train opened - amazing. Then JBJ and Richie, Tico and David came out for 2 and a half hours. These guys know how to please a crowd. And knowing their history -- original Jersey boys who had a small dream that grew into a bigger dream that became history, it was amazing. Over 50,000 people filled a stadium in Jersey and sang along loud and proud for the WHOLE night. Fireworks, energy of people, in an open air stadium. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. We were beautiful. Jersey, the Jovi and me and my best friends. Amazing.

Back to NYC and the Idol finale. Tonight is historical for another reason. It is Simon Cowell's farewell to American Idol. Randy did not boo tonight when Simon was introduced. He stood up and cheered. Ryan opened explaining that going into the finale Lee and Crystal were only separated by 2% of votes. Wow. Lee and Crystal joined him and got to see the crowds in their hometowns. What a moment. Top 12 came out in prep school uniforms (Ed, did you notice? We are so on target for someone's Sept celebration!) Opened with a bang with Alice Cooper singing School's Out for Summer. In the audience - -Carrie with fiance Mike Fisher, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks (wow I thought they had diswowned him), Jordin Sparks.

Idol finally acknowledged last season's winner Kris Allen who got to perform The Truth. The judges mics were on over him. I like his current single Live Like We're Dying. Not the best song ever, but it has really gotten to me. This one proved a singer songwriter type can deliver a song. Not the best, but well done.

Tribute to Simon's professionalism. Funny old clips with commentary. Sad how many of those moments I have seen.

Siobhan Magnus and Aaron Kelly perform How Deep Is You Love by the BeeGees. She did her weird slow soft voice in harmony with Aaron. No question she was probably the best singer this season, but her style was a whole different story. Then the real BeeGees came out! Or the BeeGees who are still alive. They all sang together. So weird and dated.

Blake Lewis and Matt Giraud in the audience.

Michael Lynch came out to sing Taking It to the Streets and then Michael McDonald joined him. Taylor Hicks must have been kicking himself -- that was his Idol!

Dane Cook came out and did a weird song compilation of Simon's insults -- note Ellen did not think it was funny at all. Then he was joined by past Idol audition freaks and one of them went crazy and they cut to commercial. Bad but fast.

Top 12 girls -- Lacey, Didi, Katie, Paige, Siobhan come out singing Christina Aguilera's Beautiful -- not a good choice considering Mercedes's Glee version. But of course Crystal can sing it. Then into Christina's Fighter. Much better. Katie was actually really good. Even Paige redeemed herself. I think I know who is coming out next...Christina!!! And she blows them out of the water. Step back Top 12 girls - -you are now background singers. I would have been psyched to see this in person. Christina solos a new song. Gorgeous, gorgeous vocal.

Ricky Gervais comes on via satellite praising Simon and making fun of how much money Simon makes -- funny as always.

Lee comes out singing Hall and Oates. Andrew, Casey ,Michael, Aaron and Tim join him. Wonder who is coming out next? Tim and Casey rock it, Aaron and Mike are so so. Hall and Oates come out with You Make My Dreams Come True. I love this song. I'm rocking and bopping along as we speak. Umm but I have no actual voice because I just tried to sing louder than all of Meadowlands Stadium for 3 hours. Good news for my neighbors.

Crystal comes out with Ironic by Alanis. Nice pairing her with Alanis. This is what Crystal could do commercially. And let me add that my karaoke version of You Oughta Know rocks. God Alanis has such an amazing voice. Crystal did so well with her. So cool.

All these stars have already performed as we hit one hour mark. Wow.

Carrie!!!!!!!!!!!!! With Undo It which is going to be a smash penned by Kara DioGuardi. Five years ago I sat in that audience when she was crowned winner of American Idol. God this is unbelievable. Carrie is gorgeous.

Casey sings Every Rose Has Its Thorns and Brett Michaels who just almost died of a brain hemorrhage comes out to sing with him. The song is a classic, but I would have stood up for Brett anyway. You gotta give him credit for fighting.

Lee comes out to do a Chicago medley with Chicago. I am a HUGE fan of Chicago. I know it is dated, but Lee as always puts a modern spin on it with his voice. God I wish Peter Cetera would come out. That would be crazy. But no it is the Peter wanna be. Come on I want some You're the Inspiration. Does Lee really know Chicago? I am 10 years older than him and I only know the old songs from my older sisters. He did really well! Cool.

Simon montage as the flirt. I am so glad they kept in all the Paula footage. Then the new footage of him and Ellen. Funny.

Larry Platt comes out with Pants on the Ground with dancers from So You Think You Can Dance. This was voted as most remembered performance of the season. Yes, probably right.
Oh my god, William Hung came out. Larry Platt was doing sit up teasers on the stage. So ridiculous but people do love those crazy auditions.

Paula Abdul came out to give a dedication to Simon. In her crazy loony way, which now I miss, she fumbled through her speech, and made it a point to call out the issues with her having left the show, but she genuinely does have a relationship with Cowell and I think it was real for her to have been there. And as she said from experience the show can go on without a certain judge. Is she Simon though? No. But as Simon said, he got to go out his way, on his terms and having made his mark. He is a superstar thanks to us watching this show but also thanks to him and this character he created. He thanked us (and me) for the best 10 years of his life.

Season 1 Winner Kelly (looking amazing) comes out followed by Ruben, Fantasia, Carrie, Jordin, Taylor, Kris. WHERE IS DAVID COOK???? Wow, the past seven winners singing "Together we are one". What amazing talent. What great singers. WOW WOW WOW. Now who is going to deny this show has created stars? COME ON! Then tons of other finalists join the group in their signature white. David Archuleta, Ace Young, Justin Guarini, Kimberly Caldwell, Michaela Gordon, Blake Lewis, Alison Iraheta, Melinda Doolittle, Constantine Maroulis, Michael Johns, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Diana DeGarmo, Bo Bice, Elliot Yamin, Chris something, Matt Giraud, this year's Top 12. Paula sat on Simon's lap to watch (and she stole some of his thunder, but knowing she is genuinely his friend makes it okay). He goes to the stage. "I didn't think I was going to be this emotional, but I genuinely am...You know what the truth is, when everyone asks, who's gonna replace me, who is gonna be the next judge? The truth is you guys (me) are the judge of this show and you've done an incredible job over the years." Well said Simon. Well said as always. He is right. We vote, we control who wins in the end. He has been there for entertainment and for me in particular to feel right about my critiques. Can the show go on? If people can sing, yes. It can. Will I cry over another judge leaving? No. Did I cry over Simon, yes. Am I over emotional after Bon Jovi? Yes. Is it late? Yes. Whew.

Top 12 on stage and then JANET JACKSON comes out. Love her short hair cut. Love the gown. She sings -- I don't feel like I have heard her sing without tons of backing tracks in so long. Quiet sweet voice. Not dynamic, but sweet. Then she changed into a catsuit number and performed Nasty Boys. I mean...so cool.

Back to the story of Crystal and Lee who both auditioned in Chicago. Idol clearly reminded us of the story of this show -- two ordinary people who make this journey to superstardom.

Nice duet of Lee and Crystal singing I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends -- I don't know the real title right now. Then Joe Cocker comes out. Crystal steals it from him. Oh no, Joe takes it back. I love these finales because it must be so cool for these contestants to be around and sing with all of these legends. Even past winners are legendary for them.

Okay before the winner is revealed, let me reiterate my thoughts on these two. First, these are the correct top 2. Second, Crystal has an amazing instrument. Third, Lee has a more commercial, modern voice and style. Lastly, for me, either can win, but Lee will be a bigger success. He is a person to root for, there is something in his personality that has touched me and I think millions of others. Crystal is such a talent and could win without question and would be deserving of it, but for me it is Lee.

Lee WINS (by the way, I have been right every single season with the exception of Ruben and Clay - I thought Clay would win). Lee is overwhelmed. Oh god, I hate to see Crystal's face, she is so good. What a genuine guy. He sings Beautiful Day. Better than last night. Lee Dewyze is the American Idol.

Another season is over. I have been honored to guide you through another season of pop culture ecstasy. I know, it wasn't the best season of this show, but we made someone's dreams come true, and in my mind, there can never be anything bad about that. Thank you Simon Cowell for entertaining us and thank you all for reading this.

The blog is not over yet! I have much to say about Glee next week -- I have been saving it all up. Plus, more Lost thoughts to come!

Good night and one last thank you Jon Bon Jovi, you made it a great night for me out in Jersey. I love my pop culture obsessions, so don't be ashamed of yours...