I got to watch in realtime Wednesday night! (And then I was too tired to write up a recap then, but....yeah.) So, anyway, the Top 14 performed, except for those who didn't.
See, it's like this: The producers ruled that if the judges could agree unanimously on any contestants, they would get a free pass into the Top 10, and whoever was left would be left for America to decide. So Keith, Jennifer and Harry got together and gave Fast Passes to Olivia(Yay!), Dalton(Yay!), Treny(Yay?) and La'Porsha(ugh). So that left ten singers fighting for the final six spots. What happened after that? Read on....(totally had Steven Tyler screeching that phrase right there) to find out.
Manny Torres performed Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster," and the best thing I can say about it was that it wasn't very challenging rangewise. Also, that rhythm seemed really choppy, so maybe that had something to do with it. But it was extremely forgettable, though he seemed to have fun.
Gianna Isabella sang Annie Lennox's "I Put a Spell On You," which was boring. She was wearing a weird outfit, I was expecting an upbeat tonal shift which never happened, and then all the high notes just seemed to be jammed in there to say "I'm YELLING!" Not a fan.
Thomas Stringfellow did One Direction's "Story of My Life," which was fine, I suppose. It had nice guitar in the background. That hat was horrible, though. Couldn't pay attention between that and his hair, which was equally bad. The teen girls in the audience loved it, by the loud squealing which could be heard.
Tristan McIntosh did Rascal Flatts's "What Hurts the Most", which was actually first done by Mark Wills. It was weird hearing a girl sing this, like when Danny Gokey did "Jesus Take the Wheel." But it worked. What I scribbled down in my notebook: "Whoa. Terrific."
First off, I was distracted during Avalon Young's performance simply because she was wearing makeup. She looks like Elaine from Seinfeld that way. She did a Chris Brown song called "Excuse Me Miss," and it was weird, but it fit Avalon. She seemed nervous, though, and it felt like karaoke-good, not last-American-Idol-good.
Jenn Blosil managed to ruin Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." I kinda thought that was one of those which it was hard to mess up. Her voice sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard, and those glitter eyebrows were the last straw. This was all-around terrible.
Lee Jean did another Ed Sheeran song, this one called "Make It Rain." I couldn't hear the guitar, but it was another nice Lee performance.
Sonika Vaid was next. She did Celine Dion's "I Surrender," because everyone has to do that at least once every season. There's something about her eyebrows.... and this was just such a boring song.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell surprised everyone by simply singing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" without doing anything outlandish to it. It was weird, but interesting. And a little boring, because it was so subdued. Her voice was all over the place, but the emotion was there. "Did you like that?" Harry asked Jennifer. "Well....it was fun....?" she mumbled.
MacKenzie Bourg was the last contestant of the night, and he did an original song called "Roses." That was strange. The girls in the audience loved it. He seemed nervous and mumbling, but the guitar was played well. He also stole one of Jemma Simmons' shirts. (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reference.)
I voted the maximum amount for Tristan and Lee, and then for Jeneve to try to keep her on there, with a couple online votes for Avalon and MacKenzie. And then I voted the old-fashioned way, by phone, for Tristan, Lee and Jeneve.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Stories, Discernment and Homework
This Laura Story song has been stuck in my head an especially large amount for the last couple months. It usually plays pretty often, for whatever reason, but....yeah. I'm just...exhausted. More than usual. Past the energy of complaining. Past "keep your head and keep plowing." At least that ear infection is slowly improving, that's something.
Almost halfway through the final Harry Potter, which will be something done, at least, once it's finished. This has been an incredibly unproductive week; haven't been able to concentrate on homework at all, and haven't even written up this week's Idol recaps yet. J.K. Rowling's writing has definitely gotten better over time; it's just....something, I don't know. They're all so massively long, for one thing. (Between the seven, they cover roughly 3,600 pages and just over a million words. 1,084,170 to be Hermione-exact.) That takes a lot of energy. And like Martin Cothran wrote once in an editorial in an issue of The Classical Teacher magazine, he was quoting Madeleine L'Engle's opinion of Rowling's books: "They're nice stories, it's just....there's nothing to them." Because there isn't. So they aren't really that harmful, like a lot of people said. They're just empty. Which is much worse in some ways, because there isn't anything to ponder which could be considered worthwhile(though I have no doubt lots of academic scholarly papers and books have dissected elements.)
I've also been watching handfuls of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because it was homework. That was also tiring, but for a different reason. For one thing, I had my critical observation reporter instinct on. And for another, Buffy is what turned Joss Whedon into Joss Whedon; so that was interesting from that standpoint. And they have been very well-written and engaging plotlines; though a lot of Wikipedia research has had to be done to finish the outline of blank spaces between episodes. But even if the makeup of the vampires is really awful as-only-90's-special-effects-can-be on second viewing; vampires are still scary. I mean, I appreciate that Whedon played with and mixed up all the stereotypes and historical depictions into crafting this world and everything, but the concept is incredibly uncomfortable. But as somebody who frequently tries to evaluate pop culture by Biblical principles and mesh them whenever possible, while still striving for and admiring high artistic quality, it's an interesting situation. It's one of those "some people can eat meat sacrificed to idols and others can't" deals like Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 8, or the folks at PluggedIn are always arguing amongst themselves about. I'll skip the Buffy section of the Whedonverse if possible, and let others appreciate all the good parts(which, of course, there are lots of).
But the thing that makes Buffy most dangerous is that it's such a well-told story. Louis L'Amour knew this well, that well-crafted narratives can be bombs. So did G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Lee and Agatha Christie, plus a lot of other dead people I can't think of right now. Stephen King knows this. When tales are engaging, with an emotional pull created by following the adventures and trials of very complex characters with a lot of depth, that creates a lot of potential energy. MacGyver would be one of the first to agree that when a bunch of highly-flammable potential energy is bottled up, things will go either very right, or very, very wrong. (Come to think of it, Peter Parker and Norman Osborn serve as good examples, too.) The main premise of "high school is hell", taken literally like it is in the show, is really interesting from a storytelling angle. Never having attended an actual high school, I can't say how accurate that is, and I would be more inclined to say that college is. But apparently Buffy had quite a bit of trouble with that, too. Anyway, for me, the dark side of Buffy is too strong to think it very safe to be around.
The Harry Potter books contain a lot of magical elements, too, but they strike me as harmless because they are first and foremost not well written enough to pose a danger. The later books have progressed far enough for me to shrug and say, "Huh. That was fine, I guess," and forget most of what happened almost immediately, but the early ones made me angry they were so bad; the fierce kind where I wanted to fire the book as hard as I could into the wall and cry in frustration at society in general for turning these into basically the biggest book series ever.
Fuller House premiered on Netflix Friday; and they managed to match the tone perfectly. That's pretty amazing. And it doesn't help if you're one of those strange people who dislike Full House, but if you're a fan it's been awesome to see how the Tanners are doing nowadays. And as sitcoms, they both fill a much different niche of the storytelling spectrum; so the goals and expectations are different. Because the world needs more sitcoms which are actually funny, and because the main goal was to literally recapture Full House if possible, Fuller House is a success. (Especially when thrown into contrast with all those other Netflix shows....they are dark. Have mercy.)
So now I'll get to work on those Idol recaps and then head back to doing homework.
Almost halfway through the final Harry Potter, which will be something done, at least, once it's finished. This has been an incredibly unproductive week; haven't been able to concentrate on homework at all, and haven't even written up this week's Idol recaps yet. J.K. Rowling's writing has definitely gotten better over time; it's just....something, I don't know. They're all so massively long, for one thing. (Between the seven, they cover roughly 3,600 pages and just over a million words. 1,084,170 to be Hermione-exact.) That takes a lot of energy. And like Martin Cothran wrote once in an editorial in an issue of The Classical Teacher magazine, he was quoting Madeleine L'Engle's opinion of Rowling's books: "They're nice stories, it's just....there's nothing to them." Because there isn't. So they aren't really that harmful, like a lot of people said. They're just empty. Which is much worse in some ways, because there isn't anything to ponder which could be considered worthwhile(though I have no doubt lots of academic scholarly papers and books have dissected elements.)
I've also been watching handfuls of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because it was homework. That was also tiring, but for a different reason. For one thing, I had my critical observation reporter instinct on. And for another, Buffy is what turned Joss Whedon into Joss Whedon; so that was interesting from that standpoint. And they have been very well-written and engaging plotlines; though a lot of Wikipedia research has had to be done to finish the outline of blank spaces between episodes. But even if the makeup of the vampires is really awful as-only-90's-special-effects-can-be on second viewing; vampires are still scary. I mean, I appreciate that Whedon played with and mixed up all the stereotypes and historical depictions into crafting this world and everything, but the concept is incredibly uncomfortable. But as somebody who frequently tries to evaluate pop culture by Biblical principles and mesh them whenever possible, while still striving for and admiring high artistic quality, it's an interesting situation. It's one of those "some people can eat meat sacrificed to idols and others can't" deals like Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 8, or the folks at PluggedIn are always arguing amongst themselves about. I'll skip the Buffy section of the Whedonverse if possible, and let others appreciate all the good parts(which, of course, there are lots of).
But the thing that makes Buffy most dangerous is that it's such a well-told story. Louis L'Amour knew this well, that well-crafted narratives can be bombs. So did G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Lee and Agatha Christie, plus a lot of other dead people I can't think of right now. Stephen King knows this. When tales are engaging, with an emotional pull created by following the adventures and trials of very complex characters with a lot of depth, that creates a lot of potential energy. MacGyver would be one of the first to agree that when a bunch of highly-flammable potential energy is bottled up, things will go either very right, or very, very wrong. (Come to think of it, Peter Parker and Norman Osborn serve as good examples, too.) The main premise of "high school is hell", taken literally like it is in the show, is really interesting from a storytelling angle. Never having attended an actual high school, I can't say how accurate that is, and I would be more inclined to say that college is. But apparently Buffy had quite a bit of trouble with that, too. Anyway, for me, the dark side of Buffy is too strong to think it very safe to be around.
The Harry Potter books contain a lot of magical elements, too, but they strike me as harmless because they are first and foremost not well written enough to pose a danger. The later books have progressed far enough for me to shrug and say, "Huh. That was fine, I guess," and forget most of what happened almost immediately, but the early ones made me angry they were so bad; the fierce kind where I wanted to fire the book as hard as I could into the wall and cry in frustration at society in general for turning these into basically the biggest book series ever.
Fuller House premiered on Netflix Friday; and they managed to match the tone perfectly. That's pretty amazing. And it doesn't help if you're one of those strange people who dislike Full House, but if you're a fan it's been awesome to see how the Tanners are doing nowadays. And as sitcoms, they both fill a much different niche of the storytelling spectrum; so the goals and expectations are different. Because the world needs more sitcoms which are actually funny, and because the main goal was to literally recapture Full House if possible, Fuller House is a success. (Especially when thrown into contrast with all those other Netflix shows....they are dark. Have mercy.)
So now I'll get to work on those Idol recaps and then head back to doing homework.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Middle of February
It's the middle of that impossible-to-spell month of February. What's been happening? Quite a bit of homework, which hasn't turned out how I've hoped most of it would. Catching up on American Idol clips on YouTube, and wondering why it seems so important to keep writing recaps if nobody's reading them. Lots of staring into space at the cream-colored walls of the apartment and wondering why it feels so empty. Occasionally walking to Taco Bell when I can't stand cafeteria food any longer. Picking up groceries from the scruffy gas station within walking distance. (It seems like a law that there must be at least one endearingly-scruffy gas station within walking distance of a college campus.) There's been too much analyzing of story structure from four different perspectives simultaneously to enjoy any stories, whether books or movies, which seems entirely wrong.
I have plowed through several more of J.K. Rowling's books, so I just have the last one left to have conquered that whole series. (It's required pop-culture knowledge for living in the 21st century....especially if you're an English major. Sigh.)
Dad finished his Master's degree, which is exciting. Amy is trying to get over pinkeye, which isn't. Grandpa's hanging in there. Everybody was glad I could drop by over the weekend; Trevor, Rags and Banjo especially.
News of friends: Dylan is enjoying school in Stillwater, Scotty dropped by GBC for a visit yesterday morning, Susan's play just wrapped up, and Ashland got a guinea pig.
Songs of the Day recently: Brad Paisley's "Letter To Me," the National Anthem, the sort-of-SGYC song "Jesus I Come," Garth Brooks' "What She's Doing Now" and the "Down By the Creek Bank" theme, among others.
The Broncos won the Super Bowl 24-10 over the Panthers a couple weeks ago, and Denny Hamlin just barely won the Daytona 500 yesterday, beating Martin Truex Jr. by something like six inches.
I have plowed through several more of J.K. Rowling's books, so I just have the last one left to have conquered that whole series. (It's required pop-culture knowledge for living in the 21st century....especially if you're an English major. Sigh.)
Dad finished his Master's degree, which is exciting. Amy is trying to get over pinkeye, which isn't. Grandpa's hanging in there. Everybody was glad I could drop by over the weekend; Trevor, Rags and Banjo especially.
News of friends: Dylan is enjoying school in Stillwater, Scotty dropped by GBC for a visit yesterday morning, Susan's play just wrapped up, and Ashland got a guinea pig.
Songs of the Day recently: Brad Paisley's "Letter To Me," the National Anthem, the sort-of-SGYC song "Jesus I Come," Garth Brooks' "What She's Doing Now" and the "Down By the Creek Bank" theme, among others.
The Broncos won the Super Bowl 24-10 over the Panthers a couple weeks ago, and Denny Hamlin just barely won the Daytona 500 yesterday, beating Martin Truex Jr. by something like six inches.
AI 15.14 - Top 24, Part Two - Cutting the Field
And so we have to chop the field down to 14 by the end of the night....but first, let's have some duets with former contestants. We had David Cook, Chris Daughtry and Jordin Sparks all show up, which was cool. Not as cool is that it's Monday night when I am first watching these videos, but...oh well.
Jenn Blosil sang with Constantine Maroulis, they sang Frank Sinatra's "My Funny Valentine". It was extremely dull.
His other duet was with Shelbie Z on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was fine.
Lee Jean was paired up with Chris Daughtry, which was awesome enough by itself. And then they do "Home," which is even better. This was fantastic - the only way it could be better is if it was a studio version.
Manny Torres was teamed with Jordin Sparks singing her song "No Air," and he looked a bit intimidated.
Amelia Eisenhauer and Kellie Pickler teamed up, and I bet they had a blast rehearsing. They did Sara Evans' "Suds in the Bucket," which is awesome, Amelia played her fiddle, and it was just terrific. Keith was singing along the whole way through. "I loved that and thought it was absolutely terrific!" - Harry.
Kory Wheeler and Haley Reinhart did Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," one of her big songs from the show(one that I almost liked from her), but she's still annoying. He wasn't much better. The trouble is, I think, that he looks like Taran Kilian from Saturday Night Live, so I always expect sketch comedy. Anyway, it was fine for a duet, but really bland as a performance.
CJ Johnson was paired up with David Cook, so he got a boost in Wesley Points for that right there. They did a song called "The World I Know" by Collective Soul, and David forgot a pick during rehearsal. CJ just completely lacks star potential and emotion in his voice. David wins this duet by an embarrassingly large margin.
Tristan McIntosh was also paired with Kellie Pickler, I guess they figured, "Hey, Amelia and Tristan are friends, they already knew each other, go to the same high school, let's give them the same mentor from their backyard, pretty much." During rehearsal, Kellie said, "My husband never cries, all right? And your audition made him cry." They did Kellie's song "Best Days of Your Life," and it was pretty good.
Haley's other song was with Adam Lasher, they did Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," she was way better than he was. It's just a really lame song choice. I was laughing at how cheesy it was.
Jordin's other song was with Trent Harmon, and he said she was giving him advice like a mom, haha. They did "To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees. It was pretty good.
Chris's other song was with Dalton Rapattoni, they did Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," and the band totally overpowered both of them, unfortunately. They both had fun out there, though. It earns extra points for energy.
The other person David was paired up with was Olivia Rox; they did his song "Light On". "The song covers a pretty large range from lowest note to highest note....I'm glad I'm doing a song with a lady, 'cause Olivia seems like she can do that," he said during an interview at rehearsal. I love both of their voices, because they can put so much emotion into lyrics, but except for a long high note where they meshed perfectly, there was this weird disconnect between them which shouldn't have been there. Thankfully the judges loved it.
I'd say the winners tonight were Lee, Amelia and Trent, with Olivia, Tristan and Dalton following.
Cut were Amelia(RATS), Kory, Adam, Shelbie(Yay!) and CJ. Except for Amelia, the judges got it right this week.
And out Top 14 is now Avalon, Dalton, Gianna, Jeneve, Jenn(Ugh), La'Porsha(Ugh), Lee, MacKenzie, Manny, Olivia, Sonika, Thomas, Trent and Tristan. Going live next week, and Kelly Clarkson will return to the show.
Jenn Blosil sang with Constantine Maroulis, they sang Frank Sinatra's "My Funny Valentine". It was extremely dull.
His other duet was with Shelbie Z on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was fine.
Lee Jean was paired up with Chris Daughtry, which was awesome enough by itself. And then they do "Home," which is even better. This was fantastic - the only way it could be better is if it was a studio version.
Manny Torres was teamed with Jordin Sparks singing her song "No Air," and he looked a bit intimidated.
Amelia Eisenhauer and Kellie Pickler teamed up, and I bet they had a blast rehearsing. They did Sara Evans' "Suds in the Bucket," which is awesome, Amelia played her fiddle, and it was just terrific. Keith was singing along the whole way through. "I loved that and thought it was absolutely terrific!" - Harry.
Kory Wheeler and Haley Reinhart did Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," one of her big songs from the show(one that I almost liked from her), but she's still annoying. He wasn't much better. The trouble is, I think, that he looks like Taran Kilian from Saturday Night Live, so I always expect sketch comedy. Anyway, it was fine for a duet, but really bland as a performance.
CJ Johnson was paired up with David Cook, so he got a boost in Wesley Points for that right there. They did a song called "The World I Know" by Collective Soul, and David forgot a pick during rehearsal. CJ just completely lacks star potential and emotion in his voice. David wins this duet by an embarrassingly large margin.
Tristan McIntosh was also paired with Kellie Pickler, I guess they figured, "Hey, Amelia and Tristan are friends, they already knew each other, go to the same high school, let's give them the same mentor from their backyard, pretty much." During rehearsal, Kellie said, "My husband never cries, all right? And your audition made him cry." They did Kellie's song "Best Days of Your Life," and it was pretty good.
Haley's other song was with Adam Lasher, they did Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," she was way better than he was. It's just a really lame song choice. I was laughing at how cheesy it was.
Jordin's other song was with Trent Harmon, and he said she was giving him advice like a mom, haha. They did "To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees. It was pretty good.
Chris's other song was with Dalton Rapattoni, they did Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," and the band totally overpowered both of them, unfortunately. They both had fun out there, though. It earns extra points for energy.
The other person David was paired up with was Olivia Rox; they did his song "Light On". "The song covers a pretty large range from lowest note to highest note....I'm glad I'm doing a song with a lady, 'cause Olivia seems like she can do that," he said during an interview at rehearsal. I love both of their voices, because they can put so much emotion into lyrics, but except for a long high note where they meshed perfectly, there was this weird disconnect between them which shouldn't have been there. Thankfully the judges loved it.
I'd say the winners tonight were Lee, Amelia and Trent, with Olivia, Tristan and Dalton following.
Cut were Amelia(RATS), Kory, Adam, Shelbie(Yay!) and CJ. Except for Amelia, the judges got it right this week.
And out Top 14 is now Avalon, Dalton, Gianna, Jeneve, Jenn(Ugh), La'Porsha(Ugh), Lee, MacKenzie, Manny, Olivia, Sonika, Thomas, Trent and Tristan. Going live next week, and Kelly Clarkson will return to the show.
AI 15.13 - Top 24, Part Two
The second half of the final Top 24 ever on American Idol. It was a busy week/weekend full of homework, so though this was shown Wednesday, I only got to the videos on Monday night.
Shelbie Z - "Work Hard, Play Harder," by Gretchen Wilson - I've mentioned before that I really do not like her, yes? Nor do I like this song. And this was an extremely boring performance of it. "For me, you sacrificed the whole song just so you could have that big note at the end." - Keith.
Jenn Blosil - "Sorry," by Justin Bieber - In the first place, she's annoying. In the second place, there is something astonishingly creepy and terrifying about her. In the third place, this is a Justin Bieber song. Also, she was mumbling all the time. And then there was some weird yowling. "It was extremely out of tune." - Harry.
Kory Wheeler - "Let It Go," by James Bay - He looked petrified to be onstage, and weirdly out of place at the piano. And the song didn't really seem to be about anything. "It wasn't great. And the reason it wasn't great was because it wasn't special." - Harry.
Manny Torres - "Adventure of a Lifetime," by Coldplay - Uh....well, he had fun. I was distracted the whole time by the weird shirt he was wearing. And there was a neat continuous guitar riff in the background. "I don't think that was a good song for your vocal strengths, but it suited your spirit really, really well." - KU. Also, apparently he was a preacher's kid.
Lee Jean - "Runaway," by Ed Sheeran - He can do origami. That's cool. This was boring for a Lee performance, but the best of the night thus far. Eventually he's gonna run out of Ed Sheeran tunes, though. "Man, I don't know what it is about these song choices tonight..." Keith shakes his head. (And gets loudly booed by the crowd.) "He's right. Everybody's just not picking those big hits that everybody knows and wants to sing along to....and that's what you gotta do, you know, to get the audiences on your side. ...'Cause next week America starts voting." - Jennifer. Harry gave instructions on playing guitar more smoothly. "You're a talented guy, and fortunately, it was one of the better performances of the night."
CJ Johnson - "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain - Best song choice of the night, but he looked kind of constipated singing it. And it's one of those comforting songs that makes you sleepy. Felt like karaoke. At this point of the competition, that won't cut it.
Tristan McIntosh - "Good Girl," by Carrie Underwood - FINALLY! An upbeat song we know, sung fairly well! She started too low for her vocal range, and it pretty much stayed there the whole time...also, she can sing the alphabet backwards. Bonus points for wearing a jean jacket, but this was NOT one of her better performances. "I really like that song. I didn't like it for you, but you're gonna kill it when you find the right song." - KU. (I agree.)
Trent Harmon - "What Are You Listening To?", by Chris Stapleton - ...I'm sorry. That was just awful. And he said he stole his hat from some girl?
Adam Lasher - "Black and Gold," by Sam Sparro - Thoroughly forgettable, though it was upbeat, which was a rare feat indeed tonight. But it was bizarre, as were his shiny gold high-top boots. "I felt like you were a buoy on the ocean; just kind of wishy-washy. And it's hard for me to get past that." - Harry. "I couldn't get into the melody of it or anything." - Jennifer.
Dalton Rapattoni - "Rebel Yell," by Billy Idol - This was sung with great intensity. Keith and Jennifer were singing along; JayLo squealed. "I thought it was absolutely tremendous." - Harry.
Olivia Rox - "Confident," by Demi Lovato - She rocked it. "Annnd the show starts now...." Keith laughed.
Amelia Eisenhauer - "Wake Me Up," by Avicii - That was awesome. "I think you need to find stuff that's a little bit quirkier. Because you're a little bit quirky." - Harry. She laughed, "I can see that."
Olivia, Amelia and Dalton won the night, in that order, and Tristan and Lee didn't do great, they were the next-best. Everyone else was just atrocious.
Shelbie Z - "Work Hard, Play Harder," by Gretchen Wilson - I've mentioned before that I really do not like her, yes? Nor do I like this song. And this was an extremely boring performance of it. "For me, you sacrificed the whole song just so you could have that big note at the end." - Keith.
Jenn Blosil - "Sorry," by Justin Bieber - In the first place, she's annoying. In the second place, there is something astonishingly creepy and terrifying about her. In the third place, this is a Justin Bieber song. Also, she was mumbling all the time. And then there was some weird yowling. "It was extremely out of tune." - Harry.
Kory Wheeler - "Let It Go," by James Bay - He looked petrified to be onstage, and weirdly out of place at the piano. And the song didn't really seem to be about anything. "It wasn't great. And the reason it wasn't great was because it wasn't special." - Harry.
Manny Torres - "Adventure of a Lifetime," by Coldplay - Uh....well, he had fun. I was distracted the whole time by the weird shirt he was wearing. And there was a neat continuous guitar riff in the background. "I don't think that was a good song for your vocal strengths, but it suited your spirit really, really well." - KU. Also, apparently he was a preacher's kid.
Lee Jean - "Runaway," by Ed Sheeran - He can do origami. That's cool. This was boring for a Lee performance, but the best of the night thus far. Eventually he's gonna run out of Ed Sheeran tunes, though. "Man, I don't know what it is about these song choices tonight..." Keith shakes his head. (And gets loudly booed by the crowd.) "He's right. Everybody's just not picking those big hits that everybody knows and wants to sing along to....and that's what you gotta do, you know, to get the audiences on your side. ...'Cause next week America starts voting." - Jennifer. Harry gave instructions on playing guitar more smoothly. "You're a talented guy, and fortunately, it was one of the better performances of the night."
CJ Johnson - "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain - Best song choice of the night, but he looked kind of constipated singing it. And it's one of those comforting songs that makes you sleepy. Felt like karaoke. At this point of the competition, that won't cut it.
Tristan McIntosh - "Good Girl," by Carrie Underwood - FINALLY! An upbeat song we know, sung fairly well! She started too low for her vocal range, and it pretty much stayed there the whole time...also, she can sing the alphabet backwards. Bonus points for wearing a jean jacket, but this was NOT one of her better performances. "I really like that song. I didn't like it for you, but you're gonna kill it when you find the right song." - KU. (I agree.)
Trent Harmon - "What Are You Listening To?", by Chris Stapleton - ...I'm sorry. That was just awful. And he said he stole his hat from some girl?
Adam Lasher - "Black and Gold," by Sam Sparro - Thoroughly forgettable, though it was upbeat, which was a rare feat indeed tonight. But it was bizarre, as were his shiny gold high-top boots. "I felt like you were a buoy on the ocean; just kind of wishy-washy. And it's hard for me to get past that." - Harry. "I couldn't get into the melody of it or anything." - Jennifer.
Dalton Rapattoni - "Rebel Yell," by Billy Idol - This was sung with great intensity. Keith and Jennifer were singing along; JayLo squealed. "I thought it was absolutely tremendous." - Harry.
Olivia Rox - "Confident," by Demi Lovato - She rocked it. "Annnd the show starts now...." Keith laughed.
Amelia Eisenhauer - "Wake Me Up," by Avicii - That was awesome. "I think you need to find stuff that's a little bit quirkier. Because you're a little bit quirky." - Harry. She laughed, "I can see that."
Olivia, Amelia and Dalton won the night, in that order, and Tristan and Lee didn't do great, they were the next-best. Everyone else was just atrocious.
Friday, February 12, 2016
AI 15.12 Top 24, Part One - Cutting the Field
WE HAD SCOTTY MCCREERY RETURN TO IDOL! Yes, that totally deserved all-caps. There was also a lot of other duets, none of which were as cool as Scotty's. And five of the contestants were sent home by the judges.
James VIII teamed up with a guy named Caleb Johnson, who is a rocker dude who won Season 13(which I did not watch.) Their song was "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, which was just a lot of shouting. Caleb Johnson was the better part of this duet.
Jordan Sasser was paired with Fantasia(winner of Season 3), they did her song "I Believe", and this was A MESS. He kept crossing over into her space when he was singing, and it was just awful wailing like dogs howling at a police siren. Jennifer looked like she wanted to cry. "Be careful about upstaging the person you're on stage with," - Harry. "Yeah, when you sing a duet, do it together," Jennifer added.
MacKenzie Bourg had to sing with Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina, unfortunately. (I STILL REALLY HATE HER. I'll think of a reason later.) Anyway, they sang Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance", and it was appallingly bad. Like, I texted Mom saying I didn't realize you even could mess up that song.... I linked to the music video so that y'all can wash the nasty taste out of your ears. Anyway, Lauren....was herself. It made him extremely uncomfortable. And he wasn't used to singing coutnry, so he repeatedly messed up lyrics. "That might be the first time I've ever seen Lauren blush," Keith commented. "That girl likes you....I mean, I'm just sayin'..." "In case he didn't notice?" Jennifer laughs. "Sparks were flyin'!"
Emily Brooke also sang with Lauren earlier in the night sometime, they did Carrie's "Flat On the Floor", which is one of my least-favorite Carrie songs, and it was certainly one of Lauren's worst performances(of which there were many). I'm really glad I missed seeing this one on TV.
Gianna Isabella sang with Nick Fradiani, winner of Season 14(which I didn't watch). They did a song of his called "Beautiful Life", I don't think I would have voted for him. She looked like she was singing something from High School Musical.
Stephany Negrete was paired with Ruben Studdard, winner of Season 2. They sang something called "Superstar" by a group called The Carpenters, and it was so exceptionally dull that I was reading an ESPN article the whole song. (Failed the Louise Test.)
Avalon Young was also paired with Ruben, they sang his song "Flying Without Wings", which was apparently his winning song. It was fine for a duet, but not great, and a little awkward, like most of them tend to be.
Thomas Stringfellow was the other person Nick Fradiani sang with, they did Michael Jackon's "Man In the Mirror." There have certainly been better Idol versions of this song. Besides, "This is awful!", the first things I noticed were that Nick Fradiani was wearing leather pants, Thomas was wearing suspenders, and you could clearly see all the hair on the back of Thomas's neck, which was yet another strange thing.
La"Porsha Renae was Fantasia's other contestant, they did "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald. I didn't like it much.
Sonika Vaid also sang with Caleb Johnson, they did the Adele theme to Skyfall, the newest James Bond movie that came out a couple months ago. (I don't understand all the fuss about Adele.) It was weirdly theatrical, but she does have a nice voice.
We're finally to Scotty's duets! (He was the winner of Season 10, quick history lesson.) He sang first with Jenna Renae, they did his song "See You Tonight"(link because it's such a cool video.) This was terrific in my opinion; Keith had the goofiest grin on his face the whole time.
Scotty's other duet was with Jeneve Rose Mitchell, and they did Montgomery Gentry's "Gone", which was one of his top performances(out of many). Click here. Anyway, Jeneve is crazy, so it was a little bizarre, but it was kind of enjoyable. It was also a bit of a train wreck. Keith couldn't even find words to describe it. After sputtering for several moments, he just said, "Look, I like you. I'm just gonna forget that performance ever happened."
So those safe were La'Porsha(Rats, but I knew it), Avalon(which I was happy about), Sonika(still not sure), MacKenzie(okay), Thomas(SMH), Gianna(Meh) and Jeneve(Yay, I think?).
Getting cut were James VIII(YAY!!!!), Jordan(YAYY!!!), Jenna(Rats; but I knew it), Stephany(Why was she even here?) and Emily(Too many teens with more talent).
Next week we see Dalton, Tristan, Olivia, Amelia, Lee and Trent; and then during duets on Thursday night Chris Daughtry AND David Cook are back!
Other notes: Keith and Scotty both had awesome leather jackets, and Harry has an excellent poker face.
James VIII teamed up with a guy named Caleb Johnson, who is a rocker dude who won Season 13(which I did not watch.) Their song was "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, which was just a lot of shouting. Caleb Johnson was the better part of this duet.
Jordan Sasser was paired with Fantasia(winner of Season 3), they did her song "I Believe", and this was A MESS. He kept crossing over into her space when he was singing, and it was just awful wailing like dogs howling at a police siren. Jennifer looked like she wanted to cry. "Be careful about upstaging the person you're on stage with," - Harry. "Yeah, when you sing a duet, do it together," Jennifer added.
MacKenzie Bourg had to sing with Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina, unfortunately. (I STILL REALLY HATE HER. I'll think of a reason later.) Anyway, they sang Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance", and it was appallingly bad. Like, I texted Mom saying I didn't realize you even could mess up that song.... I linked to the music video so that y'all can wash the nasty taste out of your ears. Anyway, Lauren....was herself. It made him extremely uncomfortable. And he wasn't used to singing coutnry, so he repeatedly messed up lyrics. "That might be the first time I've ever seen Lauren blush," Keith commented. "That girl likes you....I mean, I'm just sayin'..." "In case he didn't notice?" Jennifer laughs. "Sparks were flyin'!"
Emily Brooke also sang with Lauren earlier in the night sometime, they did Carrie's "Flat On the Floor", which is one of my least-favorite Carrie songs, and it was certainly one of Lauren's worst performances(of which there were many). I'm really glad I missed seeing this one on TV.
Gianna Isabella sang with Nick Fradiani, winner of Season 14(which I didn't watch). They did a song of his called "Beautiful Life", I don't think I would have voted for him. She looked like she was singing something from High School Musical.
Stephany Negrete was paired with Ruben Studdard, winner of Season 2. They sang something called "Superstar" by a group called The Carpenters, and it was so exceptionally dull that I was reading an ESPN article the whole song. (Failed the Louise Test.)
Avalon Young was also paired with Ruben, they sang his song "Flying Without Wings", which was apparently his winning song. It was fine for a duet, but not great, and a little awkward, like most of them tend to be.
Thomas Stringfellow was the other person Nick Fradiani sang with, they did Michael Jackon's "Man In the Mirror." There have certainly been better Idol versions of this song. Besides, "This is awful!", the first things I noticed were that Nick Fradiani was wearing leather pants, Thomas was wearing suspenders, and you could clearly see all the hair on the back of Thomas's neck, which was yet another strange thing.
La"Porsha Renae was Fantasia's other contestant, they did "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald. I didn't like it much.
Sonika Vaid also sang with Caleb Johnson, they did the Adele theme to Skyfall, the newest James Bond movie that came out a couple months ago. (I don't understand all the fuss about Adele.) It was weirdly theatrical, but she does have a nice voice.
We're finally to Scotty's duets! (He was the winner of Season 10, quick history lesson.) He sang first with Jenna Renae, they did his song "See You Tonight"(link because it's such a cool video.) This was terrific in my opinion; Keith had the goofiest grin on his face the whole time.
Scotty's other duet was with Jeneve Rose Mitchell, and they did Montgomery Gentry's "Gone", which was one of his top performances(out of many). Click here. Anyway, Jeneve is crazy, so it was a little bizarre, but it was kind of enjoyable. It was also a bit of a train wreck. Keith couldn't even find words to describe it. After sputtering for several moments, he just said, "Look, I like you. I'm just gonna forget that performance ever happened."
So those safe were La'Porsha(Rats, but I knew it), Avalon(which I was happy about), Sonika(still not sure), MacKenzie(okay), Thomas(SMH), Gianna(Meh) and Jeneve(Yay, I think?).
Getting cut were James VIII(YAY!!!!), Jordan(YAYY!!!), Jenna(Rats; but I knew it), Stephany(Why was she even here?) and Emily(Too many teens with more talent).
Next week we see Dalton, Tristan, Olivia, Amelia, Lee and Trent; and then during duets on Thursday night Chris Daughtry AND David Cook are back!
Other notes: Keith and Scotty both had awesome leather jackets, and Harry has an excellent poker face.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
AI 15.11 - Top 24, Part One
I missed last night's episode, so I had to piece it together from YouTube clips. But hey, that's better than nothing.
La'Porsha Renae - "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - Not a fan. I fell asleep during the opening, and then I hate this song, anyway. But even on Idol, there's been better performances.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell - "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan - She can apparently play fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, harp, flute, French horn, cello, banjo, ukelele, piano, trumpet and kazoo. (Can you top that, Keith?) She played the harp, which was odd, and it was an extremely subdued performance. It wasn't bad; just really hard to know how to critique it. Maybe a bit dull. "You're extraordinary. You really are. And I love the way you take risks." - KU. Jennifer got "goosies," which is a good thing.
Stephany Negrete - "Mamma Knows Best" by Jessie J - So....did she decide, "Hey, I can't sing that well and I won't get the pretty vote, so I'll just dance around onstage in leather pants and hope that's good enough?" Cause....it wasn't.
Sonika Vaid - "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars - Huh. She collects sheet music, but she plays piano by ear. (Also, how great of a name is "Sonika" for a singer?) I think this song was written for one of the Hunger Games movies? That's a really ugly dress. This song was pretty good, but in a Disney-cover type way. My opinion after comparing this to Taylor's original is that Taylor wins hands-down.
Avalon Young - "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber - A Bieber song? Really? It actually wasn't that bad. Avalon just seems like she'd be cool to hang out with; and then she can sing, too. That was a really cool hoodie she was wearing.
Jenna Renae - "My Church" by Maren Morris - She'd barely even started when Keith whoops and hollers, "I love this song!" It was almost all right, there was just something a little off about this performance...and the Carmen Sandiego fedora didn't help. And the all-black made her look a bit witchy. She looked like she had fun, though.
MacKenzie Bourg - "Say Something" by A Great Big World - That is a tiny guitar. And he just looks weird - like Kris Allen mixed with Peter Parker. But his voice is really good, in an unusually quiet way.
Thomas Stringfellow - "Creep" by Radiohead - Weird title for a song. He is extremely fluent in Pig Latin. None of this performance seemed to fit together, from the all-the-way-buttoned-up flannel shirt to the floppy farmer hat to the strangely-finished guitar to the extremely jerky strumming motion. I couldn't understand hardly any of the lyrics because of the wailing falsetto. I just didn't get it. The audience and the judges loved it.
Gianna Isabella - "I Put a Spell On You" by Annie Lennox - She really loves reading. "Now I'm really into horror books. I love the goriness of it all...but I'm not a serial killer, I promise." I haven't quite figured her out yet. Sometimes she seems like a goofy teenager, other times more like Haley Reinhart.
Emily Brooke - "I Am Invincible" by Cassdee Pope - Her guitar has autographs from Taylor Swift, Leann Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, the Eli Young Band, Steve Wariner and many, many more. If it was me, I would never play that guitar ever. It would just be an amazing decoration. Anyway, it's really weird, but I supposed fitting in a full-circle way, when Idol contestants do songs from The Voice's singers who have done well. Anyway, she looked petrified and it felt like a high school talent show. It was all over the place, which was ironic given the lyrics she was supposed to be singing. And while the dancing wasn't Megan Joy Corkrey-level awful, it wasn't good, either.
James VIII - "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West - Okay, that was cool. He got his guitar(which is awesome-looking) by earning his Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts. This was my favorite performance from him, but he's still really creepy. The judges were bored.
Jordan Sasser - "All By Myself" by Celine Dion - Good news: He got a haircut finally. Bad news: He's still intolerable. This was just....weird. "I felt it was a bit too theatrical for me, and I missed the heart." - KU. "That first 'all by myself' should have broken our hearts. Instead I was wondering about the key you picked to sing it in....I shouldn't have been thinking about that." - Jennifer. "You have a great voice, but that was real showoffy for me. Just sing the song!" - Harry.
Keith's jacket was awesome, and it looked like Jennifer was going with an Attack of the Clones Padme Amidala look, maybe. I guess I liked Avalon and MacKenzie the best of the night.
La'Porsha Renae - "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - Not a fan. I fell asleep during the opening, and then I hate this song, anyway. But even on Idol, there's been better performances.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell - "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan - She can apparently play fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, harp, flute, French horn, cello, banjo, ukelele, piano, trumpet and kazoo. (Can you top that, Keith?) She played the harp, which was odd, and it was an extremely subdued performance. It wasn't bad; just really hard to know how to critique it. Maybe a bit dull. "You're extraordinary. You really are. And I love the way you take risks." - KU. Jennifer got "goosies," which is a good thing.
Stephany Negrete - "Mamma Knows Best" by Jessie J - So....did she decide, "Hey, I can't sing that well and I won't get the pretty vote, so I'll just dance around onstage in leather pants and hope that's good enough?" Cause....it wasn't.
Sonika Vaid - "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars - Huh. She collects sheet music, but she plays piano by ear. (Also, how great of a name is "Sonika" for a singer?) I think this song was written for one of the Hunger Games movies? That's a really ugly dress. This song was pretty good, but in a Disney-cover type way. My opinion after comparing this to Taylor's original is that Taylor wins hands-down.
Avalon Young - "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber - A Bieber song? Really? It actually wasn't that bad. Avalon just seems like she'd be cool to hang out with; and then she can sing, too. That was a really cool hoodie she was wearing.
Jenna Renae - "My Church" by Maren Morris - She'd barely even started when Keith whoops and hollers, "I love this song!" It was almost all right, there was just something a little off about this performance...and the Carmen Sandiego fedora didn't help. And the all-black made her look a bit witchy. She looked like she had fun, though.
MacKenzie Bourg - "Say Something" by A Great Big World - That is a tiny guitar. And he just looks weird - like Kris Allen mixed with Peter Parker. But his voice is really good, in an unusually quiet way.
Thomas Stringfellow - "Creep" by Radiohead - Weird title for a song. He is extremely fluent in Pig Latin. None of this performance seemed to fit together, from the all-the-way-buttoned-up flannel shirt to the floppy farmer hat to the strangely-finished guitar to the extremely jerky strumming motion. I couldn't understand hardly any of the lyrics because of the wailing falsetto. I just didn't get it. The audience and the judges loved it.
Gianna Isabella - "I Put a Spell On You" by Annie Lennox - She really loves reading. "Now I'm really into horror books. I love the goriness of it all...but I'm not a serial killer, I promise." I haven't quite figured her out yet. Sometimes she seems like a goofy teenager, other times more like Haley Reinhart.
Emily Brooke - "I Am Invincible" by Cassdee Pope - Her guitar has autographs from Taylor Swift, Leann Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, the Eli Young Band, Steve Wariner and many, many more. If it was me, I would never play that guitar ever. It would just be an amazing decoration. Anyway, it's really weird, but I supposed fitting in a full-circle way, when Idol contestants do songs from The Voice's singers who have done well. Anyway, she looked petrified and it felt like a high school talent show. It was all over the place, which was ironic given the lyrics she was supposed to be singing. And while the dancing wasn't Megan Joy Corkrey-level awful, it wasn't good, either.
James VIII - "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West - Okay, that was cool. He got his guitar(which is awesome-looking) by earning his Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts. This was my favorite performance from him, but he's still really creepy. The judges were bored.
Jordan Sasser - "All By Myself" by Celine Dion - Good news: He got a haircut finally. Bad news: He's still intolerable. This was just....weird. "I felt it was a bit too theatrical for me, and I missed the heart." - KU. "That first 'all by myself' should have broken our hearts. Instead I was wondering about the key you picked to sing it in....I shouldn't have been thinking about that." - Jennifer. "You have a great voice, but that was real showoffy for me. Just sing the song!" - Harry.
Keith's jacket was awesome, and it looked like Jennifer was going with an Attack of the Clones Padme Amidala look, maybe. I guess I liked Avalon and MacKenzie the best of the night.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
American Idol Season 15 - Top 24
Here we go....the final Top 24 American Idol contestants have been revealed.
So, who are they? What are my opinions on them? Who am I definitely going to be pulling for from the start? Read and find out...
Okay, that was a really over-the-top Ryan Seacrest thing to say. I guess I'll organize it alphabetically by first name, since that seems easiest.
Adam Lasher
I honestly cannot remember a thing about this dude. Probably not a good sign....
Amelia Eisenhauer
The ninja fiddler. She's funny, can sing well, and connects well with fans. She's one of my favorites.
Avalon Young
Entertaining klutzy tomboy waitress with a pretty good voice, but not quite superstar level.
CJ Johnson
He's pretty good(as he should be, being a professional musician), but he's not that "final Idol" great. He's actually just kind of boring.
Dalton Rapattoni
Dallas chill-rocker dude; part of Chicken Noodle Soup's feud with Envy on Group Night. One of the guys who has a real shot at winning.
Emily Brooke
Blonde teen with a pretty good voice, but there's simply too many talented teenagers for them all to get through. She'll probably miss that cut.
Gianna Isabella
Her mom was a pop star in the 80's and is now micromanaging every aspect of her daughter's career. If Mom would just leave, she might have a chance. Unless that happens, I don't think she'll get very far.
James VIII
Someone please explain how he even got to Hollywood, much less this far.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell
She's this year's Casey Abrams; you have no idea what she's going to do beforehand, or even while she's onstage, but after it's over you shake your head in puzzlement and say, "That.....was bizarre. But it kinda worked. I don't think I really liked it much, but I want to see more." Besides, you don't see people play cello while singing very often, especially if they're remixed country hits.
Jenn Blosil
Still too....whatever indefinable character traits to follow; all the way since auditions.
Jenna Renae
She's a little boring and forgettable, but her voice is good, and she plays piano well. She's just not instantly-recognizable; which is a big problem at this juncture of the competition.
Jordan Sasser
I don't quite understand what the judges see in this guy.
Kory Wheeler
His voice is all right, but he's just so forgettable...
LaPorsha Renae
Her hair is AWFUL. Her voice isn't very pleasant to listen to. At all. But she'll likely get black votes.
Lee Jean
One of this season's friendly teens, of which there's a lot. His style is laid-back, but really interesting. Definitely one of the top guys this season.
MacKenzie Bourg
Poor guy's got to be getting all kinds of teased about his name. Mostly known for his medley of judges' songs during auditions.
Manny Torres
Funny dude. Has a decent voice; may get a good ways through because of his personality.
Olivia Rox
She just has stage presence. That's hard to judge or quantify, but she has it. She looks comfortable performing and has fun doing it. And she can sing and play guitar! Really hoping she does well.
Shelbie Z
Annoying. Talkative. Strong-willed. Can't sing well enough to justify everything else.
Sonika Vaid
Really loved her audition, but the Group Night antics as part of Envy took major points away.
Stephany Negrete
I don't really remember her at all, but she was part of the group Envy, so that's not a good sign.
Thomas Stringfellow
His voice is awful, but there's an unusual quality to his performances that's interesting enough that he got this far. Might get the female teenage voting bloc, if Mackenzie doesn't.
Trent Harmon
The R&B farmer who caught mono during Hollywood Week. Hoping he does well.
Tristan McIntosh
Funny, awkward teenager from Nashville; she and Amelia go to the same high school. Known from auditions as the military daughter; she does well at interacting with fans, too.
Of the guys, I want Dalton, Lee Jean, Mackenzie and Trent to do well, of the girls, I'm cheering for Amelia, Avalon, Jenna, Jeneve, Olivia and Tristan.
So, who are they? What are my opinions on them? Who am I definitely going to be pulling for from the start? Read and find out...
Okay, that was a really over-the-top Ryan Seacrest thing to say. I guess I'll organize it alphabetically by first name, since that seems easiest.
Adam Lasher
I honestly cannot remember a thing about this dude. Probably not a good sign....
Amelia Eisenhauer
The ninja fiddler. She's funny, can sing well, and connects well with fans. She's one of my favorites.
Avalon Young
Entertaining klutzy tomboy waitress with a pretty good voice, but not quite superstar level.
CJ Johnson
He's pretty good(as he should be, being a professional musician), but he's not that "final Idol" great. He's actually just kind of boring.
Dalton Rapattoni
Dallas chill-rocker dude; part of Chicken Noodle Soup's feud with Envy on Group Night. One of the guys who has a real shot at winning.
Emily Brooke
Blonde teen with a pretty good voice, but there's simply too many talented teenagers for them all to get through. She'll probably miss that cut.
Gianna Isabella
Her mom was a pop star in the 80's and is now micromanaging every aspect of her daughter's career. If Mom would just leave, she might have a chance. Unless that happens, I don't think she'll get very far.
James VIII
Someone please explain how he even got to Hollywood, much less this far.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell
She's this year's Casey Abrams; you have no idea what she's going to do beforehand, or even while she's onstage, but after it's over you shake your head in puzzlement and say, "That.....was bizarre. But it kinda worked. I don't think I really liked it much, but I want to see more." Besides, you don't see people play cello while singing very often, especially if they're remixed country hits.
Jenn Blosil
Still too....whatever indefinable character traits to follow; all the way since auditions.
Jenna Renae
She's a little boring and forgettable, but her voice is good, and she plays piano well. She's just not instantly-recognizable; which is a big problem at this juncture of the competition.
Jordan Sasser
I don't quite understand what the judges see in this guy.
Kory Wheeler
His voice is all right, but he's just so forgettable...
LaPorsha Renae
Her hair is AWFUL. Her voice isn't very pleasant to listen to. At all. But she'll likely get black votes.
Lee Jean
One of this season's friendly teens, of which there's a lot. His style is laid-back, but really interesting. Definitely one of the top guys this season.
MacKenzie Bourg
Poor guy's got to be getting all kinds of teased about his name. Mostly known for his medley of judges' songs during auditions.
Manny Torres
Funny dude. Has a decent voice; may get a good ways through because of his personality.
Olivia Rox
She just has stage presence. That's hard to judge or quantify, but she has it. She looks comfortable performing and has fun doing it. And she can sing and play guitar! Really hoping she does well.
Shelbie Z
Annoying. Talkative. Strong-willed. Can't sing well enough to justify everything else.
Sonika Vaid
Really loved her audition, but the Group Night antics as part of Envy took major points away.
Stephany Negrete
I don't really remember her at all, but she was part of the group Envy, so that's not a good sign.
Thomas Stringfellow
His voice is awful, but there's an unusual quality to his performances that's interesting enough that he got this far. Might get the female teenage voting bloc, if Mackenzie doesn't.
Trent Harmon
The R&B farmer who caught mono during Hollywood Week. Hoping he does well.
Tristan McIntosh
Funny, awkward teenager from Nashville; she and Amelia go to the same high school. Known from auditions as the military daughter; she does well at interacting with fans, too.
Of the guys, I want Dalton, Lee Jean, Mackenzie and Trent to do well, of the girls, I'm cheering for Amelia, Avalon, Jenna, Jeneve, Olivia and Tristan.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Screen Crushes of My Teenage Years
Well, I figured if I took the time to list out screen crushes from childhood, I may as well do the same for the teenage version of Wes, too... I'll try to make this roughly chronological.
Belle - Beauty and the Beast
Why? -
Not many women love reading as much as Belle does. She's very observant, kind, and a little strange, in a good way. She'll launch into musical numbers for no reason. She's a storyteller who finds the beauty in the world whenever she can. And she hates Gaston.
Lola Bunny - Space Jam
Why? -
She's athletic. She's Bugs Bunny's girlfriend. She's opinionated and spunky. And competitive! (And she has bangs.)
Buttercup - The Princess Bride
Why? -
If Westley could endure being captured by pirates, becoming the most legendary pirate on the seas himself, freeclimb up the Cliffs of Insanity, defeat Inigo Montoya in a fencing match, best Fezzik at wrestling and outwit Vizzini in a Battle of Wits, then survive the Lightning Sand, the Flaming Geysers and the ROUSes in the Fire Swamp, and THEN be imprisoned in either the Zoo of Death or the Pit of Despair(your choice), and THEN be put through the MACHINE in order to ride off happily into the night(or not; again, your choice), then wouldn't you say she was some special girl?
And that's not even getting into all the things William Goldman said about her....
Mary Jane Watson - Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy
Why? -
Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker is such a good character, you instantly fall in love with MJ, too. She sticks by Pete and Harry through everything in their crazy lives, and works her way up into Broadway.
Kristy Lee Cook - American Idol Season 7
Why? -
The field was absolutely loaded with talent this season, but it's hard not to love an Oregon cowgirl who sold her horse to pay for plane fare to auditions in Philadelphia. (She got the horse back.) And she sings country. (This clip is actually "Faithfully" by Journey, but the tone is the same, anyway.) I was extremely displeased when she got booted out of the competition in seventh place, which Damon, Trish and the rest of the AI discussion group could tell you..
The Teenage Girl in Craig Morgan's "That's What I Love About Sunday" Music Video
Why? -
Nobody ever said these make sense....I just thought she was pretty. Besides, it's such a great true-to-life song. And the video was played almost-nonstop on The Country Network all the time.
Shawn Johnson
Why? -
Gymnasts are graceful. And focused. And the Olympics comes around so rarely, you got to support the people from your country. (Plus Canada, being a neighbor, and Australia, cause of the cool accents, and sometimes Great Britain, for the accents.) And she's a little more than a year older than I am, so that made it less weird than most screen crushes are. (It's just a bizarre concept, when you think about it....)
Siobhan Magnus - American Idol Season 9
Why? -
She was quirky. And her voice was different, but not bad. She was my favorite girl this season.
Natalie Portman
Why? -
She's pretty in an everyday way, not a "I'm-a-Hollywood-movie-star" way. And in interviews she seems very down-to-earth. Plus she's just a good actress.
Gwen Stacy - Amazing Spider-Man movies.
Why? -
Gwen was about the only watchable part of these movies. She's smart(valedictorian of her class), resourceful, and she's a bit of a dork.
Hollie Cavanagh - American Idol Season 11
Why? -
She can sing. (This clip is the first song I could find on YouTube.) And she's pretty in a Natalie Portman type of way. And the way her accent shifts from Texas drawl to classy British English and back in midsentence was hysterical. She was funny.
Belle - Beauty and the Beast
Why? -
Not many women love reading as much as Belle does. She's very observant, kind, and a little strange, in a good way. She'll launch into musical numbers for no reason. She's a storyteller who finds the beauty in the world whenever she can. And she hates Gaston.
Lola Bunny - Space Jam
Why? -
She's athletic. She's Bugs Bunny's girlfriend. She's opinionated and spunky. And competitive! (And she has bangs.)
Buttercup - The Princess Bride
Why? -
If Westley could endure being captured by pirates, becoming the most legendary pirate on the seas himself, freeclimb up the Cliffs of Insanity, defeat Inigo Montoya in a fencing match, best Fezzik at wrestling and outwit Vizzini in a Battle of Wits, then survive the Lightning Sand, the Flaming Geysers and the ROUSes in the Fire Swamp, and THEN be imprisoned in either the Zoo of Death or the Pit of Despair(your choice), and THEN be put through the MACHINE in order to ride off happily into the night(or not; again, your choice), then wouldn't you say she was some special girl?
And that's not even getting into all the things William Goldman said about her....
Mary Jane Watson - Sam Rami Spider-Man trilogy
Why? -
Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker is such a good character, you instantly fall in love with MJ, too. She sticks by Pete and Harry through everything in their crazy lives, and works her way up into Broadway.
Kristy Lee Cook - American Idol Season 7
Why? -
The field was absolutely loaded with talent this season, but it's hard not to love an Oregon cowgirl who sold her horse to pay for plane fare to auditions in Philadelphia. (She got the horse back.) And she sings country. (This clip is actually "Faithfully" by Journey, but the tone is the same, anyway.) I was extremely displeased when she got booted out of the competition in seventh place, which Damon, Trish and the rest of the AI discussion group could tell you..
The Teenage Girl in Craig Morgan's "That's What I Love About Sunday" Music Video
Why? -
Nobody ever said these make sense....I just thought she was pretty. Besides, it's such a great true-to-life song. And the video was played almost-nonstop on The Country Network all the time.
Shawn Johnson
Why? -
Gymnasts are graceful. And focused. And the Olympics comes around so rarely, you got to support the people from your country. (Plus Canada, being a neighbor, and Australia, cause of the cool accents, and sometimes Great Britain, for the accents.) And she's a little more than a year older than I am, so that made it less weird than most screen crushes are. (It's just a bizarre concept, when you think about it....)
Siobhan Magnus - American Idol Season 9
Why? -
She was quirky. And her voice was different, but not bad. She was my favorite girl this season.
Natalie Portman
Why? -
She's pretty in an everyday way, not a "I'm-a-Hollywood-movie-star" way. And in interviews she seems very down-to-earth. Plus she's just a good actress.
Gwen Stacy - Amazing Spider-Man movies.
Gwen was about the only watchable part of these movies. She's smart(valedictorian of her class), resourceful, and she's a bit of a dork.
Hollie Cavanagh - American Idol Season 11
Why? -
She can sing. (This clip is the first song I could find on YouTube.) And she's pretty in a Natalie Portman type of way. And the way her accent shifts from Texas drawl to classy British English and back in midsentence was hysterical. She was funny.
Screen Crushes of My Childhood
Since Mom and Dad were youth pastors, I was always tagging along with them on stuff, surrounded by teenagers. That's influenced a lot of my pop-culture tastes. Like, a lot. Anyway, teens have all sorts of crushes and things, it's a natural part of that stage of life.
I didn't always realize these were my screen crushes at the time, but it's one of those things you discover when you're suddenly reminded of it after a long time.
Belle - Beauty and the Beast
Why? - Well, where to start? She loves reading! She sings musical numbers spontaneously! She is very observant, and a little strange. She's a storyteller, and she loves finding the beauty in this world. And she disdains Gaston, which is a plus. (I think he's part of the reason I've never had any desire to hunt. The Fox and the Hound is the other, besides my vision and intolerance for blood.)
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Why? - No idea, exactly. It's one of those things that can't be understood, what exactly makes someone attractive. But it was the late 90's/early 2000's, so that's part of the explanation. Anyway, I really enjoyed them as Sam and Emma Stanton in Switching Goals, but I would watch just about anything they were in.
Kate Douglas - The Big Green
Why? - She's hardworking, basically taking on the role of the team captain. She's determined to lead the team as best she can, and her ambitions are higher than sticking around town and working as a cashier at the Piggily Wiggily. She's loyal to Juan, and she isn't afraid to share her opinions.
Deena Stewart - 7th Heaven
Why? - She was Simon's girlfriend, and he was my favorite character on this show. (Matt was also cool.) Plus the scene this screenshot was taken from, from the Season 3 episode "Nobody Knows...", was when she told Simon about her leukemia. That was the first time I'd ever heard of cancer (I was five), so it was especially distressing.
Ariel - The Little Mermaid
Why? - She's curious, imaginative, creative and awkward. And also a bit of a rebel.
Lola Bunny - Space Jam
Why? - She's athletic. She's opinionated and spunky. And she's Bugs Bunny's girlfriend. (Really, that fact by itself would be enough to think well of her.) As Tweety says, "She's hot!" She has bangs. (Which is a good thiing.) And competitive! (Which is even better.)
Buttercup - The Princess Bride
Why? - If Westley could endure being captured by pirates, becoming the most legendary pirate on the seas himself, freeclimb up the Cliffs of Insanity, defeat Inigo Montoya in a fencing match, best Fezzik at wrestling and outwit Vizzini in a Battle of Wits, then survive the Lightning Sand, the Flaming Geysers and the ROUSes in the Fire Swamp, and THEN be imprisoned in either the Zoo of Death or the Pit of Despair(your choice), and THEN be put through the MACHINE in order to ride off happily into the night(or not; again, your choice), then wouldn't you say she was some special girl? And that's not even getting into all the things William Goldman said about her....
Lady - Lady and the Tramp
Why? - Because dogs are awesome, duh.... And she protects her people from that rat and the evil Siamese cats. And not all screen crushes have to be people, right? (Other dog-crushes: Buddy from the Air Bud movies, Pongo and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians, The Fox and the Hound's Copper, Wishbone, Skip from My Dog Skip, Inspector Gadget's Brain, and while not a dog, Ernie the goat from The Big Green is a Nubian, which has always been my favorite breed.)
Sam Kepler - Wishbone
Why? - Sam cares about her friends and their animals, and she's just always so nice. She loves sports just as much as Joe does, and she is terrific at soccer and roller hockey. She's a bit of a nerd. She's smart, adventurous, and gets herself into trouble pretty often. Basically she's awesome.
Lizzie McGuire - Lizzie McGuire
Why? - Grandpa had cable, so it was while visiting him that you could watch channels like ESPN, Animal Planet (which was actually about animals then) and Disney Channel. So I wasn't all that familiar with this show/character, but every once in a while there was an episode on while flipping channels. But Lizzie seemed really friendly, and the Wikipedia page of the show describes her as "shy, compassionate, clumsy and extremely loyal," which totally seem like good qualities.
Hallie Parker - The Parent Trap
Why? - Not sure....but Lindsay Lohan had a very expressive face. And denim jackets are really cool.
Padme Amidala - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Why? - She is graceful and studious in her political role; caring when it comes to those around her, she believes in democracy and is firmly against corruption. If she has to, she can fight very well. She's sort of a female version of Atticus Finch; maybe what Scout grew up to be like. (Go Set a Watchman doesn't count as showing a grown-up Jean Louise, because it was the parent of To Kill a Mockingbird.)
I didn't always realize these were my screen crushes at the time, but it's one of those things you discover when you're suddenly reminded of it after a long time.
Belle - Beauty and the Beast
Why? - Well, where to start? She loves reading! She sings musical numbers spontaneously! She is very observant, and a little strange. She's a storyteller, and she loves finding the beauty in this world. And she disdains Gaston, which is a plus. (I think he's part of the reason I've never had any desire to hunt. The Fox and the Hound is the other, besides my vision and intolerance for blood.)
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Why? - No idea, exactly. It's one of those things that can't be understood, what exactly makes someone attractive. But it was the late 90's/early 2000's, so that's part of the explanation. Anyway, I really enjoyed them as Sam and Emma Stanton in Switching Goals, but I would watch just about anything they were in.
Kate Douglas - The Big Green
Why? - She's hardworking, basically taking on the role of the team captain. She's determined to lead the team as best she can, and her ambitions are higher than sticking around town and working as a cashier at the Piggily Wiggily. She's loyal to Juan, and she isn't afraid to share her opinions.
Deena Stewart - 7th Heaven
Why? - She was Simon's girlfriend, and he was my favorite character on this show. (Matt was also cool.) Plus the scene this screenshot was taken from, from the Season 3 episode "Nobody Knows...", was when she told Simon about her leukemia. That was the first time I'd ever heard of cancer (I was five), so it was especially distressing.
Ariel - The Little Mermaid
Why? - She's curious, imaginative, creative and awkward. And also a bit of a rebel.
Lola Bunny - Space Jam
Why? - She's athletic. She's opinionated and spunky. And she's Bugs Bunny's girlfriend. (Really, that fact by itself would be enough to think well of her.) As Tweety says, "She's hot!" She has bangs. (Which is a good thiing.) And competitive! (Which is even better.)
Buttercup - The Princess Bride
Why? - If Westley could endure being captured by pirates, becoming the most legendary pirate on the seas himself, freeclimb up the Cliffs of Insanity, defeat Inigo Montoya in a fencing match, best Fezzik at wrestling and outwit Vizzini in a Battle of Wits, then survive the Lightning Sand, the Flaming Geysers and the ROUSes in the Fire Swamp, and THEN be imprisoned in either the Zoo of Death or the Pit of Despair(your choice), and THEN be put through the MACHINE in order to ride off happily into the night(or not; again, your choice), then wouldn't you say she was some special girl? And that's not even getting into all the things William Goldman said about her....
Lady - Lady and the Tramp
Why? - Because dogs are awesome, duh.... And she protects her people from that rat and the evil Siamese cats. And not all screen crushes have to be people, right? (Other dog-crushes: Buddy from the Air Bud movies, Pongo and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians, The Fox and the Hound's Copper, Wishbone, Skip from My Dog Skip, Inspector Gadget's Brain, and while not a dog, Ernie the goat from The Big Green is a Nubian, which has always been my favorite breed.)
Sam Kepler - Wishbone
Why? - Sam cares about her friends and their animals, and she's just always so nice. She loves sports just as much as Joe does, and she is terrific at soccer and roller hockey. She's a bit of a nerd. She's smart, adventurous, and gets herself into trouble pretty often. Basically she's awesome.
Lizzie McGuire - Lizzie McGuire
Why? - Grandpa had cable, so it was while visiting him that you could watch channels like ESPN, Animal Planet (which was actually about animals then) and Disney Channel. So I wasn't all that familiar with this show/character, but every once in a while there was an episode on while flipping channels. But Lizzie seemed really friendly, and the Wikipedia page of the show describes her as "shy, compassionate, clumsy and extremely loyal," which totally seem like good qualities.
Hallie Parker - The Parent Trap
Why? - Not sure....but Lindsay Lohan had a very expressive face. And denim jackets are really cool.
Padme Amidala - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Why? - She is graceful and studious in her political role; caring when it comes to those around her, she believes in democracy and is firmly against corruption. If she has to, she can fight very well. She's sort of a female version of Atticus Finch; maybe what Scout grew up to be like. (Go Set a Watchman doesn't count as showing a grown-up Jean Louise, because it was the parent of To Kill a Mockingbird.)
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