Hello, Friends. I’m Back again. Today it’s about American Idol. I know some of you don’t watch the show and may have no interest in it but it’s one of the programs I said I would try to cover here. So humor me if you will while I ramble on about it.I’ve been writing about the show in the comments on Lynn’s blog but this week and for the duration, I’m bringing it here in an official capacity. If you absolutely hate the show and don’t care about it one bit, let me know and I’ll do something else instead.

As you probably know, the show is set up into two nights a week, the first night is the performance show and the second night is the results show. During the performance show these crusty judges give their ‘critiques’ about each performance. For me, this hasn’t been the same since Simon left the show. Even crazy Paula Abdul was more entertaining at times. I don’t look to the judges for the entertainment mind you but to give Honest critique of the performances to help guide the contestants along. If they DID that, Consistently, I wouldn’t care Who they were. This current crop though has been on this season and last season getting it ALL wrong in my opinion. I don’t know for certain but I Believe that this show airs with the producers and record execs already knowing Who they want to win. That contestant is then heavily pushed mainly by, the judge’s comments. Maybe they have a favorite two or three and those people are pushed ahead. Either way, I don’t believe for one second that the Entire process is left in the hands of the tweenies.

If you’ve read my comments at Lynn’s then you know that I typically Listen to the performance show and if I hear something worthy of further attention, I get up and look, rewind, and watch. There were three performers who did just that for me. Hollie Cavenaugh, Elise Testone, and Joshua Ladet. I’ll get to them in a moment. The perfomance night was themed Now and Then. One modern song, and one Classic. Each contestant had to do two songs. I’m not going in any particular order here because except for first on the show and last on the show to perform, I don’t think the order matters.

Colton Dixon- I know he has his fans out there and the tweenies think he’s cute. I’m not one and I don’t find him the least bit cute. I didn’t like him when he was there last year and still don’t. I can’t say I hate HIM, I just don’t like his performance style and singing. Just isn’t my thing. He did Bad Romance by Lady Gaga and September by Earth Wind and Fire. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking when he tried to cover EW&F like that but he completely stunk up the joint. Some songs, should NOT be changed around. His Lady Gaga impression didn’t leave me impressed either. He’s been trying way too hard with his camera theatrics to get the standing O from the judges, pulling every idol trick in the book. The only thing about his performances that I appreciated was that they gave me hope he may be going home this week.

Phillip Phillips – Here’s another one I don’t particularly care for but for completely different reasons. I actually think he’s a good singer and performer but I just don’t care for the way he phrases lyrics when he’s doing song covers. He doesn’t put on any airs and doesn’t appear to give a shit if he’s impressing the tweenies who vote. He’s doing him and that’s all he cares about. It’s working for him. I would like to hear some of his Own stuff however and I could change my mind about him. He does have that potential to me.

Skylar Laine- THIS young lady is going places. Whether she wins or not. She is an absolute firecracker of a performer and I always enjoy watching her. She could sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with her performance style and I would still enjoy it. She’s one of those performers who can explode on the stage or just stand there and sing the song. Her songs were Born This Way by Lady Gaga (What’s with all the Lady Gaga songs this week?) and Heard it Through The Grapevine, Gladys Knight version. I enjoyed HER in both songs but she had this fiddle player following her around. In the Gaga song, it was okay but IMO, there is no place in Heard It Through The Grapevine for a fiddle solo. That part of it, I didn’t enjoy.

Jessica Sanchez- America’s Idol Sweetheart. Maybe America’s but definitely not mine. She’s cute and all that, has a fantastic voice as well. However, she’s Pia Toscanno Part 2 and Boring to me. Her forte is the power ballad and these dumbass judges just simply Swoon all over her. Jenni from the block often gets goosed listening to her. Stephen believes she can do no wrong most times. Randy, well, is Randy and I wish someone would slap a muzzle on the Yo Dawg! Jessica’s songs were Fallin by Alicia Keys and ready for This? Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. She did her thing with Fallin, I’ll give her that. However, DO NOT screw around with Otis if you don’t have the soul chops to pull it off. She Does Not. It Was P.A.I.N.F.U.L. to listen to. That song is simply NOT a power ballad and should not be made into one. Leave perfection alone and just sing the song if you want to attempt it.

Okay, Let’s get to my favorites of the night and in general.

Hollie Cavenaugh- from the UK originally, has consistently found herself in the bottom 3. Many times she deserved to be there. Not going to lie about that. This isn’t her first Idol visit. Like Colton Dixon, she’s auditioned before. I don’t remember how far she got but it obviously wasn’t far enough to ban her from future shows. The judges and Jimmy Iovine are constantly telling her that Technically, she’s very good and even great But (there’s always a But), she needs to open up more. Huh? My theory is, they don’t want her there. She’s a talented singer but I think they view her as weak and unable to ‘connect’. That is, until This week. She pulled out Adele’s Rolling In The Deep and Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield. That’s Right, I said Dusty. The song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin but she turned it down and Dusty did it first, And, Better IMO. I think both of the original artists would be proud of the job Hollie did.

Elise Testone – She is the oldest of the bunch at 28 and is my favorite of them all. I LOVE her sometimes raspy sometimes breathy blue eyed soul rocker chick voice. I’ll admit it, she’s a bit easy on my eyes as well. Elise is another who constantly finds herself in the bottom 3. It’s no wonder considering the feedback she typically gets. I’ll admit, she hasn’t been consistently great but even when she is, they can’t cut her some slack. Her songs were No One by Alicia Keys and Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye. With a voice like hers, you just can Not go wrong with a song like that. I enjoyed both performances.

Joshua Ladet- To me is a Church singer. What that means is he can take it to church whether it belongs there or not. Anyone who knows my tastes in music knows I LOVE gospel and specifically, Black gospel. Not for the religious aspect of it but simply for the music for the sake of music. Joshua fills that genre for me on this season. Trust me, it isn’t about the color, but He just goes there. You have to listen to him perhaps to understand what I’m saying. His songs were I Believe by Fantasia and A Change is Going To Come by Sam Cooke. Do you know what I like as much as Gospel? Sam Cooke and this song. Joshua Knocked it out of the park and went straight to the alter with it. I didn’t care as much for the Fantasia song but only because it isn’t my type of music.

I won’t be as long winded with these every week, I’m just laying out where I stand with these people. Let’s get to the results recap (short and simple).

Show opens with the gag me group kid bop group sing. Fast Forward. Then they show the Ford video. Meh…Fast Forward. 53 million votes which tells me that 2853 tweenies voted this week. Sending their votes via text faster than the speed of light. What is the population of the USA? These contests should be one person, one vote. At the very least, one Method one person, one vote making a maximum of 3 per person. Ryan calls up Hollie and Joshua. Hollie makes yet another visit to bottom 3. Next they trot out Chris Allen. I’ll just say Adam Lambert should have won. Skylar and Elise. are called to center stage now and My girl Elise makes a visit to the bottom 3, again. Then they did a montage tribute to Dick Clark (RIP) showing many of the things he did during his lifetime career. Next, LMFAO comes out, Now, If anyone is wondering whether it takes Singing talent these days to make a ‘statement’, check these guys out, I’m not a fan but obviously they have their fan base.. More results. Who is left? Jessica, Phillip, and Colton. Colton gets his first ride on the bottom 3 chairs. I personally think, after the prior nights performances, Jessica belonged there instead of one of the other two women.but what do I know. I don’t even text and I couldn’t compete with the tweenie if I Wanted to. So it’s Colton, Elise, and Hollie. Ryan pulls his usual fakeout BS with Elise before he tells her she’s safe. My hopes are up at this point. Going home? Colton. I Hollar YES and they probably heard me 4 blocks away. The crowd boo’d hissed, and there was great gnashing of teeth. Yes, I said that last week when Jessica was voted off. Hollie lives to fight for her spot another day and American Idol will never be assaulted with Colton again. He’ll be on the summer tour though so at least he’ll get to make some pocket change with his appearance on the show. Best of luck to him, I’m sure he’s a nice enough guy, I think his sister was better but them’s the breaks.

If you’re still with me and your eyes aren’t completely blurred from watering, I appreciate your support and interest. Have a great one.

Peace.