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Revised American Idol Top 12 Recap (of sorts)

2010 March 17

Sorry, kiddies. My flight got in after 1am. I’m exhausted, have no voice, under the influence of pills I enjoy taking during air travel, blah blah blah…

Kind of watched the show…my initial thoughts.

Lacey Brown makes scary faces. Kim Jong Il isn’t doing much for me. Katie Steves is more boring than dirt. Tim Urban was halfway decent. But he still scares me. And that song as reggae? It worked when I was overly tired and half-loopy. That says it all.

Siobhan Mangus killed it. Lee DeWyze bored me.

And I can only remember what a few of them sang. But I think I can live with that.

THE GIRLS:

1) Siobhan Mangus — GIRLFRIEND NEEDS TO STOP WAILING. Or I will hate hate hate hate her. Shit-For-Brains’ comparison of her to Adam Lambert will likely bring on even more nutjobs.
2) Crystal Bowersox — I am starting to want her to do something, uh, different.
3) Paige Miles — Her eyes still scare me, but that was the best she’s ever been.
4) Didi Benami — You can’t trust this one.
5) Lacey Brown — Eye fraking. Not cute.
6) Katie Stevens — Spawn of Sarah Palin and Satan

THE BOYS:

I am still trying to rank them.

1) Alex Lambert — FINGERS IN EARS LA LA LA LA LA I CANNOT HEAR YOU
2) Michael Lynche — what did he sing again?
3) Lee DeWyze — I am bemused by his utter lack of originality or star quality.
4) Casey James — what did he sing again?
5) Aaron Kelly — Hating on this kid would make me feel like I killed a puppy. And I just don’t think his voice is all that bad. Not my thing, but the kid doesn’t bother me.
5) Tim Urban — Kid scares me. The megachuch eyes, but mainly…mainly its the hair.
6) Andrew Garcia — I think this may have sucked.

Who will go home? I keep wanting to name both a male and female contestant. Sadly, we can’t kill them off that quickly anymore. I’m going to go with Lacey Brown or Paige Miles, but my faith in humanity could be somewhat restored (albeit temporarily) if Katie Stevens gets sent back to Connecticut.

Spread the word. Do it.
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  • soapbox0916

    I am totally with you that Alex is the default for first place for the guys. Thank you so much for doing that.

    Even though I did not watch it this week, I am sure that I entirely agree with you :)

  • Federer’s Nose

    Well, TI, I’m with you on Alex. I was meh about this season, now it’s more meh for me. I still kind of like a few (Crystal, Siobhan), but they can’t keep me interested enough (yet). And honestly, Siobhan wasn’t that good yesterday.

    I can’t hate on Tim though… teehee.

  • kimberly

    One of the dumber remarks of the evening was Katie Stevens saying she wanted to “put Connecticut on the map”. Siohban is a favorite, but that performance was pretty much all over the place. Still love her, but Kara needs to STFU about Adam Lambert. I do not want that association goin on whenever Siohban performs. She is her own person, she is NOT a Lambert wannabee. The exit song — I don’t even know what to say about that — just so so so damn sucky. These contestants are all cold as ice. What’s wrong with them? Season 9 was mostly guys, but still there was a shitload of hugging and high-fiving, just genuine joy for each other. (I felt Gokey had moments of selfishness though — didn’t really congratulate until he knew he was safe.) This year isn’t doing much for me. Glad Lacey is gone — one too many baby voices for my taste. Between Didi and Lacey, my head was ready to explode.

  • jukejoint

    So I called Tim and Lacey as part of the B3. (I forgot there was going to be a B3 and I just said going home would be either Tim or Lacey.)

    While Spawn of Satan and Sarah Palin is safe. GAH. (Do you think Satan will leave Saddam long enough to hook up with Sarah Palin? I hope so! I’m shipping those two crazy kids!)

    I think I’m going to call her Spatie. And I think she’s the intended winner.

    • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

      Smug Teen Witch may infuriate me as much as Kellie Pickler. And that’s saying something.

      • saskin

        I took cold mediation after dinner so I couldn’t read or do anything better with my life. Ended up watching the damn results show from beginning to the end for the first time. Decided that I cannot take this show anymore. Not because of the contestants or because it is a stupid show. I realized I don’t like pop music. I hated David Cook the pretentious piece of pretentiousness, Orianthi I have a cool name which entitles me to sell you CD’s even though I make crap music and that third thing whatever it was. Man.

  • http://www.detailsinthefabric.tk/ Shosh

    FRAK. They are SO going to use the save on Katie. D:

  • blacklisted

    They have the fucking judges save again! Jesus freaking Christ, these fuckers are probably going to save that damn robot.

    • jukejoint

      Who thinks they dug up the save just because Katie isn’t getting the votes they think they should and they’re afeered she won’t make the Top 5 or so??

      Cause I do.

      Katie is so TCO. Bleah.

      • deez

        They had poll results on our local news after the show (from their local thingy after the show last night), our local bottom 3 were Lacy, Paige, and Katie.

        Everyone I know…and I mean EVERYONE (except the judges) hates her. WTF?

        I keep holding out some hope for Tim. Remember last year when everyone thought Kris was a backwards fundie?Just a vacant grin? Tweenbait? Then slowly, he sort of changed people’s minds…could that happen again? Someone needs to leak some awesome homoerotic frat boy pics of Tim STAT!!

        • Paulie

          *gasp* Such blasphemy deez! Comparing Tim to Kris? :P

          Seriously though as a Kristard I do not really see Tim going through the same trajectory… 1) Kris’ has a killer song choice instinct 2) Kris is hotter 3) Kris never really had a vacant grin (or sang with dead eyes) right? His side-mouth singing was too precious to be considered vacant. :P

          I did think Tim did slightly better vocally last night (despite the horrendous arrangement). But if there’s anyone I’m holding out some hope for, it’d be Lee. :P Boy needs NOT to look like he peed 3 drops on his low-waist pants every time he performs.

  • saskin

    Come on TI! Katie wants to put CT on the map*. Without Katie where is CT? Not on the map. CT deserves cultural literacy too.

    *unbeknownst to Katie, Norman Gentle already put CT on the map.

  • PM

    Mangus needs to learn to CONTROL THOSE DAMN SCREAMS!!!! So sorry, but if Glambert’s Black and White was OTT, then Mangus deserves a GOOD second place on the overly dramatic.
    Yeah, she was interesting and cool and dark and emo in the sea of “meh” that was last night’s performances, but she did not kill it. Not with those vocals.

    Bowersox, love her, but she’s a pimped-up frontrunner now that doesn’t need any growth from the show. Big problem. That was how Lambert lost. That was how Allen won. He showed growth. Bowersox won’t. She’s the best, but she won’t get any better. She doesn’t need to, but Mangus can and will if the judges stop kissing her ass and actually tell her to polish the notes.

  • muzikizmi

    Not only would Kris be the best guy singer by a mile, if he were part of AI season 9, he wouldn’t be the shortest either.

    I use Seacrest as my short-guy-ometer. All of this season’s guys are short, except Big Mike, who seems about average or maybe a bit more in height, and Casey,who is actually tall.

    • deez

      LOl…I noticed that too. I wonder how thick Seacrest’s lifts are?

  • Sherena

    I am bored with Crystal. She doesn’t really do anything that unique or new. I honestly think everyone’s got their panties in a bunch over here because she’s now the poster girl for “anti Idol establishment” or something, idk. But the last two weeks haven’t been that good.

    • Sherena

      Whoops, I meant “panties in a bunch over HER,” not “over here.” Although it may be true for over here as well. I haven’t read the comments yet, brb :P

  • wino

    Sorry, Sioby was a bit screechy at the end. Look, I get that the high note worked once but thats no reason to now toss it in every performance. Fk, enough already. Still, she along with crystal and didi stood out last night. I hope paige, katie and lacey go home soon and take Gokey 2.0 and Big Mike with them. Tim Urban is fun! He’s so bad that it makes his performances memorable. As long as he doesnt outlast Crystal, I want him to stick around for pure amusement.

    • Sherena

      Problem is, Siobhan’s now in a Catch 22 of sorts. She can’t STOP doing her wails, because whenever she doesn’t Simon and the other judges criticize her for being boring and not using her range (see their response to Wicked Game– my favorite performance of hers). I personally think she’s better when quieter, but the judges don’t think so. But she can’t keep on doing them all the time either, because that gets on people’s nerves too.

    • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

      I’m about to try watching it again…last night, it was 2am and I had taken several mg of Lorazapam during flight (its more fun that way)…upon barely getting any sleep and drinking for 4 nights straight.

    • BettyBlue

      After Siobhan sang, my six-year-old niece said, “they like the ones who scream, but it hurts my ears.”

      • deez

        LOLOLOLOL…I love little kids.

  • CayKat

    Well, it seems that lots of peeps here really enjoyed Tim’s ‘reggae’ version. I personally hated it and feel that Idol should never, ever attempt to do reggae ever again. Eveytime they touch it, disaster ensues. It’s never good. Castro sucked and so did Meghan. Not sure if anyone else managed to do it justice on any other season. Tim was just REALLY BAD.

    That young Katie is the fakest thing since Adam’s makeup. She’s the female Moppet – Katie 666 – totally gives me the creeps.

    Latino Gokey continues to rub me the wrong way and young Aaaron continues to sound as if he’s about to throw-up on the mic.

    Vocally Siobhan and Crystal were the only ones that managed to stir any positive emotion within me. Didi also managed to do a decent job so, even though I am not a fan, I will give her props for sounding okay- and yes, I know she messed up lyrically somewhere in that performance.

    Mike was ok but, he was boring. I didn’t love Lee’s performance either. It was garbled and growly – in a bad way.

    Casey and Paige were ok as well – nothing thrilling- they continued the Countrified trend that was prevelant throughout the night.

    I can’t even remember what Lacey sang so…

    Have fun watching the results tonight peeps, I simply can’t be bothered and will wait for the recap from TI – I am 100% positive that the recap will be much more entertaining.

    • Lauren

      “young Aaron continues to sound as if he’s about to throw-up on the mic.”

      LOL! I have this one friend who is totally convinced Aaron is the most talented singer in the world. I can’t seem to find anyone who agrees with her. Then again, she is also a huge Blake Lewis fan and still thinks that the photos of Adam kissing boys were photoshopped.

    • Sandy

      I saw Katie described on another blog as the Junior Prom Queen from Stepford. She seems so fake. I’m not at all surprised she did a SuBo version of Wild Horses. I know a lot of people don’t care for SuBo’s type of music, but in no way did Katie’s performance measure up.

  • deez

    Again, OT…but no place else to put this:

    Reproduction, transmission, or publication of the content in any manner, without expressed permission of the publisher, is prohibited. Underpants Press reserves the right to use any technological means to deter, investigate, and prosecute any violation of these Terms and Conditions, and you agree to fully cooperate with any such means.

    This is from the “Underpants Pants” agreement concerning KK’s book. Hmmmmmm, I’m not down with the legalese, does this mean TI can’t quote passages from the Great American Idol Expose, or read aloud without fear of prosecution? I thought Kerry wanted to share her gift of inside knowledge with the world?

    I’m also confused by the pictured book. Is this a mock-up? It appears to be offered for sale as an e-book only. (and even THAT I’m not completely sure about.)

    • Lauren

      It says without permission. I think we all know how much KK enjoys sucking up to TI, so getting permission shouldn’t be an issue.

    • Pandora

      Looks to me like it will just be a PDF file, not even a real e-book. I.e., no actual publisher.

      • deez

        So that’s why I couldn’t find her publisher with a google search? Hahaha.
        Wow, all that work for a PDF file? She must have a lot of confidence in her true facts.
        VERRRY official and not at all Area-51-like. Should’ve known it when I saw those high-quality flyers she put out.

    • erinnthered

      Fair Use and parody. There are rights no disclaimer can take away.

      • jukejoint

        What Erinn said. Besides, this idiotic disclaimer says “expressed.” It’s “express,” idjit.

        I’m not discussing any legal issues with regard to her “book,” because she only came up with the “disclaimer” after I asked if she had permission from Adam to use his image or likeness. I’m not giving the idjit any more hints about possible legal landmines she hasn’t considered.

        • deez

          For a lawler/chef she seems somewhat uninformed.

          • wino

            For a lawler/chef, she seems to have A LOT of free time on her chubby hands.

  • Burgundy LaRue

    I just figured out who Siobhan reminded me of–Nellie McKay–a quirky girl with a taste for 1950s show tunes. Siobhan is cut from a similar cloth.

    Judging by how people are p***ing on Michael’s performance on various blogs, it affirms my belief that a R&B singer should never try out for Idol again. The Idol audience doesn’t appreciate soul-infused runs and whatnot. I can understand not liking his goofy dancing. But his singing was fine–nothing groundbreaking, but perfectly fine.

    • Mithra

      I think Mike started out great, but then became too cliche and switched styles. From an older R&B to a more Idol friendly meh kind. I also have to wonder if he’s going to stay in that box. He was amazing doing James Brown, but before that, he was doing songs that were not stereotypical of what people would think is his “type” at all. I really liked that about him, and I like that about Paige too.

    • auntieaimee

      I’m suprised to hear that people are pissing on Mike’s performance. Really? I thought he sounded fine. I also thought that he was a fan favorite and could probably coast for a few weeks on good will alone. Hrm. I guess we’ll find out.

      • Burgundy LaRue

        Oh, he’ll stick around. He’s one of the stronger contestants, so getting rid of him is at least several weeks down the road, I would guess. But people seem to think he’s stuck on himself, he’s derivative, he just bounces around to cover his non-personality. Heck, there have been moments where he was the only one showing ANY personality in my eyes. But what do I know?

        Like I said, I just don’t think Idol fans care for R&B singers. Ruben and Fantasia got lucky by being on the show in the early years. Fantasia might do OK now, but Ruben would be laughed off the stage for being the ‘typical, boring’ R&B crooner.

    • wino

      good R&B singers will never make it to the voting rounds, not until Simon is gone and the others acquire real music taste. also, mike is NOT an r&b singer. this mofo was putting out the rock/pop vibe then switched styles when he realized jermaine was wasting the r&b/soul slot. he has an okay voice, but nothing amazing. definitely not worth CRYING over like stupid kara did. thus when voters see judges crying and name checking average contestants in the media, they cant help but feel resentment towards that person. good example from last yr: Lil and Gokey.

  • erinnthered

    Wow, there’s a lot of long opinions here. I hope it’s okay to ask, but who should I watch – for good or lulz?

    Also, who should I vote for at mj’s office pool? I’m stumped…and lazy. ;)

    • saskin

      I would definitely watch Aaron. I gave Alex shit about over enunciating the words but Aaron kept singing ‘ass’ instead of ‘eyes’ as in:
      “Everywhere I look I see your ass
      There ain’t a woman that comes close to you
      Come on baby dry your ass”
      Didn’t work.

      • Mithra

        Well maybe he’s just declaring himself a top? :D

        As for who to vote for in an office pool? Jim C tweeted that Crystal and Lee were being handled differently from the rest. He made note of it. I’m not sure how many years he’s been covering Idol, but he implied that may mean something.

  • jukejoint

    All night, I kept cringing because of the pageanty feel of so many of the performances. Katie to the max, but also Aaron and even Siobhan. Katie and Aaron are one-dimensional to me, the kind of kids who sing these kinds of songs in their bright poppy voices for the 8th grade talent show and their parents beam and videotape the whole thing, but otherwise non-offensive. Just plastic and cheesy and not at all what I want to see in a performer.

    Siobhan is different and I find her very unappealing. It’s like she’s the same old show-tunes girl wrapped in a very quirky exterior, and there’s a disconnect there for me. Also can’t stand the screeching, but that’s a different issue. My problem with Siobhan is that I think the quirky part is real, but it just doesn’t go with the rather bland pop instrument she’s working with. So she layers screams and more weird fashion tics over the top of the bland vocals and I just HAAAAATE it. I can see Simon thinking she was great, because he loves that kind of schlock-pop/high school musicals (not *the* High School Musical, just playing a really odd version of the chick in “Once Upon a Mattress” one year and then Lucy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” the next at her actual high school) voice. She’s the less pretty, less vocally controlled Katharine McPhee, and she will be sinking into a puddle of dress to melisma “Over the Rainbow” to death before you know it.

    Oh, and I love “Paint It Black” and I don’t think she communicated the sense of it whatsoever. She was all, I am TRAGIQUE!!!! and I wear zee puffy black costyume wiz zee combat boots and collapse onto zis staircase because I am ZO ZAD, oui? Quel drama!! And to me it’s just fakey and juvenile and as moving as Twilight, which is to say, not at all.

    And you can kill me now, because out of the blue, I actually enjoyed Lacey and Andrew, of all people, last night. And Tim. Tim! Who’d a thunk it? Casey also had a bit of energy lacking elsewhere, so I liked him, too.

    I liked Crystal, too, and I think she’s miles better than everyone else, but I do fear she will be too much of the same thing every week for the general public. That’s why she will be the one to make an album I will really like, because I like that style, and because that’s what real recording artists do. Norah Jones and James Morrison and Vanessa Carlton — their songs sound a lot alike, because that’s who they are. To me, that’s a good thing.

    Didi and Lee were fine but meh. Michael I didn’t like at all. Paige was fine but the stylings were more “Proud Mary” and less “Honky Tonk.”

    I did like Lee’s parents. Were his the only ones who both talked? There were a couple of dads going blahblahblah while the mom sat there looking like a mute. I don’t get that. But I loved Lee’s parents’ Chicagoland accents. So he gets an extra point for that.

    1. Crystal A
    2. Lacey B+
    3. Casey B
    4. Tim B
    5. Andrew B-
    6. Lee C+
    7. Paige C
    8. Didi C
    9. Michael C-
    10. Siobhan D
    11. Aaron D
    12. Katie F

    I think Lacey or Tim will be going home, while Katie should be going home. But they seem to be grooming her to stay a good long time, what with the sixth position and a pre-package interview. The last two winners sang sixth on Top 12 night. Scary thought, isn’t it?

    • Mithra

      I don’t think Tim’s going anywhere. He was trending on twitter last night. I checked it a few times and the stream of comments were mainly positive.

  • dresden

    there’s something that has been in the back of my mind since it was announced… does it strike anyone as odd that for 2 weeks running, the returning idol alum are singing covers? like they’re still competing? matt and scott last week was painful for me to watch. both have active cd’s that surely they could have let them sing a song from to promote. cook won’t have a single out till at least april, so why have him on so early? i’m glad to be seeing him again, and glad he will be getting some tv time, but it just strikes me as kinda regressive – to have a winner come on and sing a theme night cover song, like the current contestants.

    anyhoo… i’m more excited to see orianthi tonight, to tell you the truth. she has the type of real rock gravitas [and is one hell of an awesome shredder] this show wishes daughtry and cook had… not too fond of her current single – too poppy sounding for my taste, but it has given her a solid top 5 hit. her album sales are kinda meh, but having simon fuller as your manager is a good thing, because if she comes on tonight and performs well – i have no doubt her awesome guitar playing skills will be on point – i expect her to get a bigger bump than either cook or kesha.

  • On The Edge

    Watched the first half live last night (come on, I HAD to flip to Lost…ooh, hello shirtless Sawyer, it’s been TOO long) then the rest at MJs this morning.

    Mike: liked it, liked the swing he put on “Miss You,” tempted to get the studio version.

    Didi: surprised me, flubbed the lyrics a bit but came back. Husky, dare I say sexy and a little in-your-face?

    Casey: I will not tard, I will not tard, I will not tard…that was my mantra. Then I flipped to Lost and saw shirtless Sawyer and snapped out of it, realizing my temporary Casey-tarding was really Sawyer-withdrawl. That being said, he was good, liked his guitar-playing, but it wasn’t great.

    Lacey: started off fine, but when she got to the chorus GOD MY EARS. One-trick pony too.

    Andrew: shit all over one of my favorite Stones songs…AND reminded me of Gokey. NEXT…

    Katie: pageanty bitch. Oh, and really, Simon? You helped Susan Boyle record that…..noooooooo, I hadn’t a clue! *roll eyes*

    Tim: puppy-dog-eyed reggae about misogyny? I couldn’t even finish the video.

    Siobhan: meh…I don’t see what the big deal is about her.

    Lee: somewhere, someone mentioned when Simon called David Cook “smug.” Lee is the opposite…he needs to get a little smug and cocky. Boy is making ME nervous.

    Paige: I was actually impressed with her tonight and would have liked to hear her without the laryngitis. I think there were places she could have wailed, and it would have been appropriate, if it weren’t for the voice limitations.

    Aaron: boring boyband type…bleh.

    Crystal Bower-knocked-my-sox-off! That is all.

    I’m nervous about tonight, but if David Cook and his band can pull off “Hot For Teacher” and “Little Lies” there should be no worries.

  • blacklisted

    Thank god a recap is coming. Last night I saw more of an Idol episode than I ever have and i still missed half of the performers b/c I tuned out the dreck.

    I DESPISE the teenagers with the heat of a thousand suns. I hate those that vote for them more. The girl singer is truly the fakest ass heiffer in reality tv. The boy singer needs to be cut NOW. It’s obvious that the kid is dealing with coming out issues and the last thing he needs is the scrutiny of an AI tour.

    • Mithra

      Eh, David Archuleta and Sanjaya survived with those same issues, so he’ll be fine :D I kinda want him to get on the tour because I once during a fit of madness moved out to bumfuck not all that far from where he’s from. I also have to say that shockingly, I thought his take on Angie was one of the best of the night. Seriously.

      As for Katie, I couldn’t agree more. She makes me want to go there, jump on stage and shave her head to expose the 666. Everything about her is just horrific. What’s scary is the people who like her can’t see what she is. Just listen to the shit she says. Kara looks good by comparison, even when she was referring to the Stones in the past tense like the idiot she is. I guess they told her they broke up when they were hanging with her, Halston, and Andy at Studio 57. Kara is just an idiot, Katie is souless evil.

      • blacklisted

        The Katie thing just boggles the mind. She’s obviously a cylon. Why can’t people see that?!

  • Burgundy LaRue

    Siobhan is venturing over from netural territory to bothersome for me. I hope she doesn’t insist on screeching at the end of every song. When Kara threw up the Adam Lambert comparison, the audience didn’t respond one way or another. Siobhan should take the hint–being compared to Lambert is not a good thing.

    Paige was a bit hokey but did a solid job.

    Crystal is so going to go the Melinda Doolitte route–best singer in the competition done in by a lack of charisma.

    Katie is Diana DeGarmo 2.0–all toddlers and tiaras. But whereas Diana outgrew a lot of that, I don’t think Katie will.

    I find Didi and Lacey boring, and boring is worse than being bad. Bad can be entertaining. Neither of these women have any pep to their step.

    Not sure what Simon saw with Mike’s performance. I wouldn’t have called it desperate. The dancing was corny, sure. But at least Mike infuses some energy onto the stage so he’s OK by me. And the singing was fine.

    Casey is Coy to Bucky Covington’s Bo–just as good looking but duller in personality.

    Lee just looks so uneasy. Sounds OK, but he always looks like he’s about to run out of the building.

    Call me crazy, but I sorta liked Tim’s performance. It was kinda messy, but I give him points for trying to think outside the box.

    Aaron needs to find stylist and a boy band to hook up with. He doesn’t have enough going for him to be a solo star.

    Andrew was by far the worst of the night and by that logic, should be gone ASAP.

    No major trainwrecks and no missed lyrics. So a solid night all around.

    • saskin

      I am quite chatty this morning, aren’t I? But I’ll say this and then shut up; that Lambert comparison was baaaaad. Very bad. Because 1- he is a loser 2- he is a loser 3-he is a loser. He lost the show, he didn’t sell, now he is turning into a joke of himself. It is exactly like comparing someone to Blake Lewis. Awful.

      I think Kara brought Adam to the show the same way she brought Didi. Her career depends on Adam being successful (and he is not), so she keeps trying to make him happen which is a bit desperate.

      • blacklisted

        The Adam comparison was also bad b/c even though he’s technically proficient, he still did a role onstage. Sioban is the real deal. She’s genuinely quirky and odd, it’s not an act.

        She needs to lessen the screeching though. We know she’s got the chops, she needs to just continue interpreting these songs. Even with the not perfect vocals, I felt her emotionally connected to the song, therefore it hit me on that level.

    • On The Edge

      “Casey is Coy to Bucky Covington’s Bo–just as good looking but duller in personality.”

      NICE analogy! The Dukes of Hazzard replacement cousins (thanks to Schneider and Wopat’s contract negotiations) was the equivalent of the Brady Bunch’s Cousin Oliver to me. Isn’t it appropriate to compare this season to other “jump-the-shark” moments in TV history?

      • Kathy

        lol love this yes Casey could use some of Bucky’s personality -Cousin Oliver heh almost forgot about that kid

  • saskin

    I know that one shouldn’t give too much information about themselves on the internet but I live in Connecticut. I grew up in the city. I love the city. I am as talentless as they come when it comes to music, but I grew up loving music. Even though I don’t listen to it all day long, I love the opera. I like going to the opera and feeling like the I am the youngest person on the planet and the future of humanity is solely on my shoulders to procreate and save the human race or something. I love Broadway. I go and see Broadway plays on Broadway.

    I said all of that because I think Broadway is awesome and Siobhan did unspeakable things to that song. I don’t have a particular attachment to the song. Actually I think that song is more visual than musical and that is why I said that Siobhan, being a more Broadway type singer, will sing that song (and without any doubt, she gloats :) ) . But she ruined it. It was all over the place. She was dramatic at one point then she was trying to catch the melody all of a sudden she was behind the tempo so she started rushing the melody and she ended up ahead of the tempo, at that point she couldn’t harmonize with the orchestra so she started shouting at me like that was my fault and man, that was so uncalled for. I understand what she was trying to do but she ended up not being able to do it since she does not have the required musical instincts and talent to do it. I don’t wish for her to go, but she is a third rate Broadway singer when she does not shout, I think she should stay that way?

    That said, Chrystal needs a new schtick, fast. This is not the subways station, this is TV, people watching the show have the attention span of a golden retriever. If things go this way Casey might go far up in the competition and Didi (i fall behind the tempo and do nothing about it) might end up winning.

    Paige was OK. Orange you glad she wasn’t eliminated?

    • Mithra

      Clearly you’ve never seen old performances of the Stones back in the day when they were so fucked up they were barely holding it together. I guess that’s one thing I don’t get about Idol critiques. A performance is what it is, so who’s to say what’s behind, what key is right, what notes were wrong, etc? It’s like looking at a painting and saying that it’s failed because the shade of blue is off. It’s an interpretation, it’s the work itself. I’m probably the biggest Stonestard posting here by a longshot, and I think, from reading several comments sections here and there, that I’m more forgiving. I had to crack up at the music experts you know where (hi wickedly dark!!!) laughing at Tim doing a reggae vesion of Under My Thumb, as if that was SO UNSTONESLIKE and absurd. They were one of the first mainstream bands/musicians who used the reggae influence, long before the Police even. Peter Tosh was signed to Rolling Stones Records and Mick even did a duet with him:

      • saskin

        Take it easy. I didn’t say we should castigate her or anything. If she gives a better performance, I might even pick up the phone and send her a couple of votes (which I never did before in my life). I agree that a performance does not have to be on pitch or perfect every time. If you ever read my comments before, you’ll know that I keep saying it. I do go to live concerts that don’t use autotune dude.

        I said, I can see what she was trying to do. She just wasn’t able to do it. If you ask her she would say the exact same thing. Harmony kinda makes the music pleasing. I am not going to say that the western harmony is be all end all of music but Rolling Stones employ western harmonies in their music so a singer covering them should kinda try to stay in that system when singing RS, non?

        • Mithra

          Heh, sorry, I should have used a smiley. I guess I came across a bit strong after answering the tard attack :D

          About staying within a system, I think those are good guidelines, but not absolutes in the arts at least. The Rolling Stones have also used harmonies other than western, and meshed them just like the meshing of styles. One of the reasons I figured Stones Week would NOT be as big of a trainwreck as other theme weeks was because of this group of performers, and the fact that they (the Stones) have always been all over the place merging styles and influences. There were some major fails (Katie the demon spawn, I’m looking at you, and Gokey 2.0…) but imagine past seasons doing this theme. Blake Lewis? Gaspy? Oy veh :D

          • saskin

            No problem. I figured. We all come across a bit stronger then we mean to all the time (I know I did too) so I always normalize the tone when I am reading.

            Using really innovative, different harmonies is what makes most musicians great. Being crazy enough to try them is the prerequisite :) .

      • auntieaimee

        To be clear, I think Under My Thumb (actually, *most* of the Stones songs) requires some grit and swagger, which was in short supply last night. I shouldn’t have expected much though. Most of these kids are just way too inexperienced to pull it off.

      • Trish

        I think this is where the whole “what genre are you trying to fit into” question actually comes into play. Siobhan seems like a Broadway/punk hybrid of some type — in which case, yeah, I think she should sing in tune for most of the song. If she’s going full out “Mick Jagger,” then it doesn’t matter as much — but then she wouldn’t be wearing all that cute sh*t (which I love) either, would she?

        Girl confuses me, not that that’s a bad thing. As I said, I love her, but I don’t think she’ll pulled off that number nearly as well as a lot of folks are claiming. I kinda agree with saskin on this one.

        (And I love a lot of opera too, saskin. I have “Dido’s Lament” on my iPod right alongside my other favorite pity party songs! ;-) )

        • saskin

          Wow. Since everyone is so much in awe of her I decided to give Siobhan an other listen while cooking dinner. I forgot to turn the sound system on so I listened to it on the crappy tv speakers and guess what, on TV speakers you can barely hear the orchestra. It is mixed almost like an acapella. Which is so weird cause you know the song gets all it’s energy from that monotonous repetitive melody in the back. So I turned the sound system on but turned the bass all the way up and ta daaaa she is totally in sync with the bass. He he. Nice. I still hate the Red Army Choir ‘hah hah hah hah’s and the scream at the end but otherwise vocals are OK. I still wouldn’t pay to hear it though.

  • auntieaimee

    I liked Crystal and Casey last night. I thought they were great.

    I didn’t like Siobhan’s take. By the time she got to the bridge it turned really nasal and then there was the scream, which really grates. It’s a gimmick. I hated when Adam did it and I hate when Siobhan does it. Bums me out because I loved her “Wicked Game”. I hope she gets back on track, but a lot of people seem to like screeching.

    Sorry, I thought Tim’s reggae jam was laughably bad. I don’t think he understood what the song is about. He seems a little slow to me, so that’s understandable. Speaking of slow, what was Casey’s mom thinking telling the whole world that he was brain damaged? That was weird. “Thanks a lot, Mom!”

    Biggest surprise was Aaron. That wasn’t terrible. Although Angie is my favorite Stones song, so I may be biased, but it wasn’t horrible.

    • Trish

      LOL, about Casey’s mom. Yeah, what up with that? I think the producers “artfully” left that tidbit in so folks would stop voting for him. He’s the only guy I like this season, and I suspect he’s getting a lot of that “faceless” (as in we never see them posting on the Internets) southern vote.

      • deez

        Whew. I was beginning to think I was the only one who isn’t gaga for Siobhan. She’s cool, and has a good voice, but IS she going to stick a scream in every song…kind of a save note? To tell the truth, I wasn’t impressed until that big note (same thing the last time she did it). I suppose it could be because I’ve seen it done before (duh). Kara has to state the obvious, “That reminded me of Adam Lambert!” REALLY? Ya think? You are correct Auntieaimee, it strikes me as a gimmick. How often is she going to be “pretty good” then hit a ridiculous note, only to have everyone blinded to the fact that aside from that “scream,” it was pretty much on par with everyone else? (Not sayin’ it was bad, just not the best…like some of the reviewers are gushing)

        I thought Tim’s voice sounded much better this week, and the reggae idea was cool in a way….BUT “Under My Thumb”?? Are you kidding? Hahahaha!!!!!! You’re right, I don’t think he got the song…at all. He’s either a dumbass, extremely sheltered, or an extremely sheltered dumbass.

        I actually liked Didi, Paige, and Aaron for the first time. Big Mike was OK. Lacey Brown and Kim Jong Il=meh. Lee DeWyze:Don’t get it. Katie Stevens is just daring me to knock her teeth out. I enjoyed Casey quite a bit, despite them trying to turn him into a sex god (which to me, he doesn’t seem all that comfortable with) I really like Crystal as well, but she’s running the same risk as Gokey last year–too much early pimpage.

        • saskin

          I thought Tim’s voice sounded much better this week, and the reggae idea was cool in a way…

          Yes it was brilliant. There are 2 cute boys left in the competition (I don’t count Casey because 1- he is not young 2-he has his southern rock schtick) and one will go. He did a move for two spots for the price of one; both the Jason Mraz (I can arrange songs in a happyt happy way) and I am young and cute spots.

    • blacklisted

      Casey’s mom mentioning the brain damage was the highlight of the night for me.

  • J

    I’m guessing it will be Lacey or Paige going home tonight. I wish it was Katie.

  • Trish

    Welcome back!!!

    I love Siobhan, but I thought that performance was all over the place last night — and not necessarily in a good way. I’ll have to watch it a second time, but she seemed off-pitch to me during a good portion of it. I dunno, she’s starting to feel predictably “upredictable.” This is her second performance that hasn’t wowed me the way it has others. I was not overly impressed with “Think” either, “big note” notwithstanding. Love her, though.

    Crystal is starting to bore me with her relentless professionalism. She needs to change it up, I think, or she’s going to end up like Melinda Doolittle, whom I loved, but who also became predictable as the season wore on. She’s not terribly exciting to *watch* either.

    I was pleasantly surprised by Didi, whose voice I’ve never particularly cared for. I thought she was great last night, even if her performance had some issues.

    I thought Mike was kinda weird, Casey was pretty good (but dude needs to learn how to perform to the audience), Tim was BIZARRE, Andrew completely removed the melody from that song, which is not good, but I find him much more entertaining than Paige or Katie. Aaron was actually okay, but the judges tongue bath made me a little sick. Lacey was both bad and good, but at least she’s pretty to look at (channeling Pauler here).

    Sigh. Thank God Cook will be on tonight! Since they’re going to start offering studio versions of the contestants’ songs this week, I wonder if they’ll let the audience know how many studio versions Cook sold during his season. I bet his “Billie Jean” is the biggest Idol seller to date.

  • w.dark

    As much as Didi and Lacey irritate me, I’d much rather see Katie and Andrew go home tomorrow. They’re just so boring it’s painful.