I’m on a slight tape delay tonight since I just wrapped up an evening of band rehearsal myself. But, with commercials being what they are, I’ll be caught up to real-time in a snap. I always have mixed emotions about the elimination nights. First you have to endure some of the hokiest, cheeziest group medleys ever created. I often wonder if the gang would rather skip this portion. Second, you have the whole wait to see who got the short straw. There’s always the hope that the worst will go home, but there’s always the realizaton that people like Chris Daughtry got sent packing before their time. It’s a bit of a crap-shoot but I guess that’s why we watch.
Worst Performances Last Night - This is a bit misleading because I didn’t really think anyone stunk the joint up last night. But, there will be three at the bottom….so who do I think will be there?
Dear readers, I will be late with this post this evening. I have a very important meeting that must take precedence. But fear not! I will offer my witty and insightful analysis after viewing the recorded version…. so make sure you check back here later…..and later……and later…..and later…..and, well, you get the idea.
OK Gang….I’m back. I’ve just finished a long, but invigorating and productive meeting. Everyone should have one of those every so often. Thanks for being patient and dropping back in for another helping of instant (but late) analysis. That’s the beauty of recording devices….heck, I can even program my own VCR…How’s that for technical genius? Anyway, Dolly Parton is our song mistress for the evening…sort of the good version of Elvira. I’m sure she’s fun to be around but I still have serious doubts about how much fun it will be listening to the gang do their thing with her stuff.
Some were surprised and deeply saddened at the early departure of Cheezit. But in the immortal words of wives and mothers everywhere, “I TOLD YOU SO!” I personally enjoyed the new brand of Cheezits that debuted in Round 1. They were spicy and surprisingly pleasing. Apparently I wasn’t alone in that opinion as Cheezit was invited back for more in Round 2. But he went to a mixed box in Round 2 and ultimately broke out the old, tired, stale box in Round 3…..and stale Cheezits are only really appreciated by rodents who didn’t appear in Ratatouille, and they lack the requisite dialing abilities to keep their favorite snack in play. As a result, we are less one tasty snack to enjoy in Round 4.
Tonight, we will see the remaining candidates attempt a truly surprising selection of songs……the Dolly Parton song book. WOW! Is this still American Idol? This will be an interesting hill for the competitors to climb and I have my doubts that many of them will reach the summit. Maybe this is all part of a conspiracy to keep KLC hanging around. I just can’t see Carly Smithson doing Dolly Parton…..Ireland meets East Tennessee…..there’s a combo huh? For whatever reason they went in this bizarre direction, we’ll still have our share of surprises, good and bad.
Here are my power rankings for this week….and I’ve decided to be bold and mix up the guys and gals as I now see them.
My bracket took a hit this afternoon as Texas looked like they were slow-dancing while Memphis was doing the jitterbug….all over their face. That hurt me but if Kansas wins, I’ll still have 3 of the final 4. As much as I want my bracket to stay as strong as it can, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be greatly upset if Davidson pulls the upset. What an awesome story that would be, huh?
So what does Denver have to do with this post????
WE’RE GOING TO SEE DENVER AND THE MILE HIGH ORCHESTRA TONIGHT!
As a fan of music, we decided to watch “The Next Great American Band” last summer as a family. DMHO was on that show. They remind me of some of the old Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire music of the ’70s with all the brass. Really cool sound that you don’t hear very often anymore. We’re going with a group of friends from The Grove. It should be great fun. I’ll miss the end of the Davidson/KU game, but I’m good with whichever way it turns out.
(By the way, this may be the only post in history that ever combines the NCAA Tournament and DMHO)
I just finished watching “To End All Wars”, a movie retelling the true story of POWs who endure horrible treatment from their Japanese captors during WW II while being forced to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle. They find freedom through forgiveness. It is based on the true story of Ernest Gordon.
As with any POW-based movie it is often difficult to watch. What makes it all the more difficult to watch is knowing that it is true, not a figment of someones story-telling imagination. But while it may be difficult to watch, there are themes and lessons that are too powerful to describe…they simply must be seen and felt. This movie is deeply moving and just may affect your life.
Here’s a 10 minute documentary on the film featuring Keifer Sutherland and others connected to the movie.
Ben Stein! You know him as a writer and a savvy businessman worth millions. What you may not know is that he is taking on Darwinism and the theory of evolution in a new movie coming out on April 18th, called “Expelled”.
I have added an entire page that gives you links to go explore the movie, what it’s all about, watch trailers, win free tickets, and gather resources that you may find helpful. Click on the “Expelled” tab at the top of the page and dive in.
If you have a few minutes, watch the super trailer. If time is short, watch the teaser trailer. Either way, you’ll get an idea of what this movie is up against and what he’s taking on.
Elimination Time - Round three is in the books and all that’s left is to determine who will have the longest wait before the summer tour. I’m not sure which is worse, getting the axe at #11 and not making the tour, or getting the axe at #10 and having to wait forever. At least if you’re #11 (our dearly departed rock n roll nurse) you can just get on with whatever. Moving on…… the worst performances by my calculations last night were - in no particular order:
Malubay Barbie - She’s still not hitting on all cylinders and last night was another case of having a missing spark plug in the engine. But she’s got a great pit crew that will keep her in the running, so I don’t think she has any worries.
JC- There’s no way around the fact that JC has a lot of appeal. He’s got a natural sort of style. But that can’t carry you forever…and I think he may be about to get his first dose of reality tonight.
Cheezit- I’ve never understood when people/teams are winning, why they pull back. I’ve seen that strategy fail time and time again. Cheezit had everybody wanting more just two short weeks ago. Then last week, he straddled the fence. Finally last night, he fell back into his old style. I don’t fault the delivery that much. I still think he has more chops than JC. But he will most likely wind up in the bottom.
KLC and Smithson - If this is an effort to predict who will wind up in the bottom three, then this slot is equally shared between the two of them. I don’t think that Malubay Barbie will wind up in the bottom, and JC may have one more week to skip his day of reckoning. If so, Cheezit still has to have some company at the bottom, and it could be either or both.
OK boys and girls…everyone line up and buy your tix for the AI 2008 tour now, because this is your TOP 10. That’s right…these are the guys and gals that will help lighten your bank account by $100 or so (which is cheap by Hannah Montana standards). But that’s just the fringe benies for these guys. They are all still fighting each other to wear the championship belt a couple of months from now. We better hope that everyone is over all the sickness that was everywhere in the early rounds since we are missing one rockin’ nurse. AO missed out on the tour by the width of a hypo needle and I, for one, will miss her melodic screaming. But hey…we still have the country-fried goodness of KLC. So, let’s get this round started and see who can survive another round and who will hit the mat.
It sounds a lot like a headline from last weekend’s opening rounds of the NCAA B-ball tournament (aka March Madness…by the way, you can check my bracket standings by clicking here). But it’s actually my headline from last weeks 2nd Round of AI. My #3 seed in the women’s bracket took an unexpected tumble last week while the lower seeds remained active. I had said in my previous rankings (which you can read here) that AO would probably never rise above her #3 ranking since she had a limited repertoire. It was kind of like Duke going down to Belmont (which is a NASHVILLE music school ironically). Duke is the better team and would win 9 out of 10. But when they went cold on the perimeter (3 pointers), they had no other alternative. Our Rock n Roll Nurse was always a one-trick pony…but it was entertaining. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t on her best game last week, and the fans didn’t get behind her. That’s not a good combo. Maybe AO should invite the Dukies over for her first post-tournament concert. Now, on to this week’s rankings:
Elimination Time - The judges have added up the scorecards from round two and someone is going to suffer a knockout hook. The worst performances by my calculations last night were in order:
KLC - Kady Malloy must have been contagious, because KLC just has had no personality while performing.
Malubay Barbie - She may be appealing, but her ring performance was once again pretty shaky
JC - Don’t think he has to worry about the hook and he probably won’t even wind up in the bottom three, but he’s wobbling a bit.
Mercado - Better performance in round 2, but still not sure she has staying power
Cheezit - He made a strategic error in round 2 by trying to combine two fighting styles. He separated himself last week, but set himself back a bit last night.
Who’s In Trouble?
Carly Smithson -OK gang…gotta admit that this is a shocker. While I have never seen her as the winner of this season, she still has some of the best vocals in the group. But as we have seen over years past, good vocals alone aren’t enough to gaurantee victory (i.e., Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray, etc.). Nor are bad vocals alone enough to send you packing (i.e. the infamous Sinjuju, Nikki McKibben from season 1, etc.). You have to bring something extra to last. What I have seen lacking in Smithson is variety and overall appeal. Check back through my critiques of her. It would appear that is catching up with her. I said last night that if she’s going to make it to the end, she will have to stretch herself into something more challenging, a bit different that will surprise us. To quote myself, last night was “more of the same” from her. Don’t see her going home just yet, but this may be the jolt she needs to stretch.
KLC - No surpise here. She should be in the bottom and has most likely served up her last bucket of country fried Beatles.
The Rock n’ Roll Nurse - Another stunner here. Probably even more so than Smithson. If there’s one thing that AO brings it’s uniqueness. No way that she wins, but I expected her to make top 5 or 6 based on being so different. Of course, she still may, but she might also be exposed a bit now. There’s no way that anyone other than KLC is heading home tonight, but I’m still shocked by who joined her at the bottom.
Other Stuff
Malubay Barbie - With Malubay Barbie skipping the bottom three, I think it’s safe to say that she is running on the same track that carried Jasmine Trias deep into the competition. Which means that she will be with us for a while in all likelihood. And that should be good news for all of her fans. I still think she has more potential than we have seen so far.
Kelli Pickler - “Pick Pickler” was always one of my favorites. She didn’t have the best voice that year, but you just had to love her. Her personality, along with some decent talent has carried her a long way. Happy for her.
Idol Gives Back - Great piece of charity work and I really admire the work and the effort.
GETTING THE HOOK IN ROUND 2 IS……..
The Rock n’ Roll Nurse - AO has taken the sucker punch. She can’t hold a note for more than just a nano-second, but I liked her. Especially when she screamed. Elvis would have been proud. She said she she was excited about meeting the lead singer from REO Speedwagon. They actually played in our building years ago. Interesting. I said last night that Lafeyette should get ready because she WILL be coming back….I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.
