Thursday, February 25, 2016

TEAM LA'PORSHA *THROWS SHOES*

Tonight, on Idol, we selected our Top 10. Well, we picked our top 6 out of 10 from yes....well you read yesterday's math.

Anyway, here's who made the top 10:

(Yesterday)
Olivia
LaPorsha
Dalton
Trent

(Today)
Tristan
Sonika
Gianna (Mr Jesse then said, "I'm Brenda K. Cited!")
Mackenzie
Avalon (yay!)
Lee

Bye, Bedazzled Eyebrows. Bye Jessie from Toy Story. Oh, bye T-String. And Manny.

Anyway, here's tonight's singing:

ALSO ALSO SPECIAL GUEST JUDGE MY FAVE KELLY CLARKSON

Olivia, Unconditionally (Katy Perry)


a rough start but I love this kid (she's 15). Sweet, and a good cover! (She's first so we have to vote extra hard). Also she sang with David Cook the previous week so she gets a special bye.

Gianna, Listen (Beyonce)
whoever did her makeup pancaked her a little too much, she looks like a ghost. Mr Baby chattered over the whole song so I didn't get any idea of how she did. The audience seems to be eating it up though. But J Lo started with "sweetie pie." so it was not good.

Lee, Skinny Love (Bon Iver)

Did they put all the 15 year olds at the front end? It's kind of scary that they are the same age as the show. Also I forgot about Chris Medina (incidentally one of my Doctors was named Chris Medina)

Mr Baby providing occasional backing vocals (EEEEE, he sings) This was a nice cover. I think I've heard the original before. You can definitely tell that Lee is a fan of contemporary singers.

Creepy Scott Borschetta appeared and Mr Baby farted at him. I agree. #driveby

Avalon, Stitches (Shawn Mendez)
Incrementally increasing her makeup. I just like this girl. I don't have a reason, she doesn't belt high notes, but I just like the sound of her voice. Everyone vote for her plz. Harry is using his musical knowledge on us. Kelly loves her. Like love loves her. (Even though she was Team #Guarini in Season 1. Although Mr Jesse is #TeamLilSweets

Dalton, Hey There Delilah (Plain White Ts)
I fucking hate this song. HATE. but Like Kelly with Avalon, I really like Dalton's cover of this! It reminds me of my FBR fandom days, and he even wears eyeliner! I could have done without the "OH THE LADIES LOVE YOU" and Kelly called Harry out on it by saying "there were guys cheering too!" and I am quite pleased because geez, don't assume everyone on stage is  straight js.
Anyway, Mr Jesse hopped off Lee's bandwagon and onto Dalton's.

Also, we learned that Mr Jesse never heard my other husband David Cook's cover of "Always Be My Baby."

Tristan, Nothing Like You (Dan + Shay)
I'm gonna assume she did a good job, because it sounded like a baby laughing. I will give you 3 guesses as to which Slumbersaurus talked over Tristan's song. At least it wasn't a ballad?
Oh she's 15 too, so there goes my frontloading theory.
Harry told her not to sing songs that aren't so obscure.

Mackenzie, I See Fire (Ed Sheeran)
he was like Oh me and my mom watched American Idol. SO WHY DID YOU TRY OUT FOR THE VOICE FIRST?!
Oh, this is why Lee did Bon Iver, huh?
He does have a lovely voice. I forsee a Dalton-Mackenzie finale. It's early yet though. I wish he'd done "Song of the Lonely Mountain" by Neil Finn though. SOMEONE COVER CROWDED HOUSE PLEASE.

LaPorsha, Diamonds (Rihanna)
This song choice does explain her jewelry choice. Kelly is dancing in her chair already. Holy crow, I love this rendition. SHUT IT DOWN.LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. Pretty much how Kelly and J Lo felt. Harry's comment of "there's your critique" to Kelly miming a mic drop (don't actually drop the mic -- we saw what happend last season).

Sonika, Bring Me to Life (Evanescence)
Oh hello 2005 me. Also, I figured out why I thought Lara Fabian did I Surrender, it was because I was hearing Kelly mashed up with Celine singing. The more you know.
I am a little disappointed. She didn't really go toe to toe with Amy Lee here. Competent, but it's hard when you hear the original running through your head. At least we know she can hit high notes.

"If you wake up, we will have a real competition this year."

Trent, Like I Can (Sam Smith)
Can we talk about how much I love that shirt? And the hat, But mostly the shirt. Also, I wondered how he was going to top the ladies who preceded him (LaPorsha and Sonika) but damn, he did a good job. LaPorsha owned it though. Mr Mono seems to have made a fantastic recovery.

SOOOOOOOOOO
My BEST OF THE NIGHT: La'Porsha, La'Porsha, La'Porsha. 4th is Trent.

Top three (for realsies) La'Porsha, Trent, Olivia
Bottom three: Lee, Gianna, and (rewatched) Tristan.
Going home: Lee or Gianna.

Mr Jesse's BEST OF THE NIGHT: Dalton
Going home: Gianna, possibly Avalon.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

American Idol Series Finale

In case you were unaware, American Idol's 15th season is its last until its inevitable reboot 10 years from now. And it's been trimmed down so its finale is in April this year, giving us less than 2 months to declare the "bookend to Kelly Clarkson."

So I decided to revive my recaps for the live episodes....and just in time too, because Idol decided to make it mega complicated. You see, we didn't vote until this week. The judges (Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban) picked our top 14 for us.

Then there was tonight.

Ryan announced that we would fill the 10 chairs on the stage for the top 10, but here's the catch. 4 of the singers would not be singing! The judges picked four contestants to proceed to the top 10 because America can't be...trusted? Anyway. The 4 chosen ones don't have to sing this week, which I think puts them at a disadvantage. They haven't had to sing for a live television audience yet!

So the judges selected Dalton, LaPorsha, Olivia, and Trent. How did the rest do, singing their best songs from this audition cycle?

Manny Torres - Master Blaster
Okay, I don't remember him doing this from the audition rounds, and he's just as forgettable here. I am reminded of Deandre Brackensick's far better rendition, and this was just bleh. I think Manny's one of our 4 casualties tomorrow.

Gianna Isabella - I Put A Spell on You
She literally did this song last week. She did it better this week, but I am annoyed she repeated her song. At least there weren't as many cutaways to Brenda K. Starr this week. I wonder if Gianna's last name is Starr too. Is that even Brenda's real last name? I wonder what dirt she has on J. Lo? ANYWAY.

Thomas Stringfellow - Story of My Life
I would say next season they should stop letting people do the same songs over and over on this show (Alex Preston did this better). At least he didn't use any weird pronunciations. And Harry called him on his weird affectations that are so obnoxious. But no, Ryan, we do not want T-String to happen.

Tristan McIntosh - What Hurts the Most
Okay, at least we were spared our 500th viewing of her audition video with her mom surprising her by coming home from Afghanistan or something. And while she sobbed and stole this song from another girl in solo rounds because OMG ITS THE SONG SHE LOVES WITH HER MOM she did an amazing job this time out. Get it, girllllllll.

Avalon Young - Yo (Excuse Me Miss)
I kinda dig Avalon. She doesn't give a fuck. No/minimal makeup, shapeless sweaters, and she sings the songs without changing genders (No Excuse Me Sir or Mister). She has such a great voice! I kind of want to hear more -- a less annoying Avril Lavigne, I think.

Jenn Bloss - True Colors
Two words:
BEDAZZLED EYEBROWS

oh she sang too
it was just okay
but

BEDAZZLED EYEBROWS

Lee Jean - Make It Rain
Yawn. Mr Jesse liked it though. We will allow it.

Sonika Vaid - I Surrender
Why don't I remember Celine Dion doing this song, and somehow think it was Lara Fabian? I don't know. I will spend some time on Youtubes tonight figuring this out. Sonika is lovely. She is one of our two The Voice contestants on American Idol, FYI.

Jeneve Rose Mitchell -- Ring of Fire
I'm over her. I'm not sure I was ever really under her? But her mountain woman schtick is wearing thin. And I don't like her cover of Ring of Fire at all. I'm not sure why.

Mackenzie Bourg - Roses (original song)
Mackenzie was on The Voice, I believe he was a top 20 contestant. He was an annoying hipster then, and he's an annoying hipster now. At least he sings his own songs nicely though.


Now, for who I think will go through, and who I *want* to go through. But first, Mr Jesse's six picks.

Avalon, Lee, Tristan. That's all he wants. Just those three. The ones he really likes are already safe, haha.

My six pack: Avalon, Tristan, Sonika, Mackenzie, BEDAZZLED EYEBROWS, and grudgingly T-String..

Who will actually make it (Thanks America): Mackenzie, Tristan, Avalon, T-String, Lee, Jeneve.