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"American Idol" Elimination: Time's Up for Chris and Phil

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 09:30:36 -0700

Blah blah, charity, blah blah - niceness has never been American Idols strong suit, so it was good to see the show return to its ruthless roots on Wednesday with not one but two eliminations. And as I'd predicted, Phil and Chris went down in that proverbial blaze of glory. They've both been on the verge of going home for a while now, so I can't say I'm surprised. They were two of the least versatile performers this season (Timberfake was all nasal all the time; Phil was stiff and dull, except for his all-too-brief forays into country rock), and I think that hurt them in the end.

Three of the remaiing four - Melinda, LaKisha and Blake - seemed like sure bets for the top four the second the performance rounds started. All three made a splash right away, and despite some iffy outings from LaKisha recently, all three have been consistently good. Jordin is the only surprise, a dark horse contestant who came on strong in the finals. I still believe she can win "Idol," but she'll have to be a lot better than she was this week.

Amazingly, the combined vote total for the two weeks was 135 million - which means that almost as many came in this week (65 million) as last week (70 million). Considering that the totals had been hovering around 30 million per week for the season so far, that's quite a leap. For more revelations from Wednesday's show, read more

Oh, Seacrest, sometimes you are remarkably self-aware: "Once again, we'll be stretching this show into a full hour. And I promise, no filler."
Simon bobbing Paula's head around by tugging on the back of her hair? Weird! Then there was some crazy Simon/Seacrest banter about puppets and Simon's girlfriend, and I think Paula said it best when she said: "EW! What are we talking about?"
Blake got props twice from the judges: Simon said Blake got top marks for rock night because he took a risk, and Paula seemed to be speaking directly to him when she said some contestants had "career-defining" performances. We also got a little infomercial from Blake about how he creates his arrangements, and it's cool to know that he really does the work himself.
The results came in two groups of three. In group one, Melinda and LaKisha were safe and Phil was out. In group two, Jordin and Blake were safe and Chris was out. Blake and Chris are so cute together, by the way. Right at the end, after Chris sang, someone said something into the microphone that made everyone crack up, but I didn't catch it - anyone know what it was?
Quote of the Night: "I'd do it again." - LaKisha, on kissing Simon.

I'm not the biggest Bon Jovi fan, but I enjoyed the performance on Wednesday, though I wish they'd gone for a more uptempo song and not a ballad.
When Ryan promised that the three "Idol" winners who didn't show up on "Idol Gives Back" would be on Wednesday's show, I really thought they'd be performing. Instead, Reuben, Fantasia and Taylor showed up in video plugs for the charity.
About "Idol Gives Back" - I know they still want people to donate, but ... that show was two hours long already, so I really don't think Wednesday's several-minute recap was necessary. I could be wrong, though, considering that Seacrest pointed out that "Idol Gives Back" videos occupy the top three spots on iTunes.
Robin Thicke is going to grow up to look just like his dad. If you think he's hot now, you better enjoy it while you can.
The Pimpomercial was set to "Paint it Black," against the backdrop of an old-school circus; the scenes with Melinda as a contortionist were seriously bizarre.
Want to prevent another "Inside Your Heaven" debacle? The top 20 "Idol" songwriting entries are awaiting your votes.
Next week: "boogie sounds" with Barry Gibb.

Photos courtesy of Fox

"American Idol": The Top Six Rock Me (Gently)

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 May 2007 09:14:06 -0700

With no rockers left in this year's "American Idol" crew, I expected Bon Jovi night to be a bust - especially once I learned that everyone had to pick Bon Jovi songs, many of which have been ruined forever for me by too many nights of awful karaoke. Surprisingly, though, I thought this was one of the better all-around performance nights on "Idol" this season, even if the rocking was mostly mild. I don't forsee any of these kids having a sparkling alt-rock career, but it was fun to watch them try.

Two quick "Idol Gives Back" notes: The event has now raised $70 million, and George and Laura Bush popped in via pre-taped message to thank everyone for their generosity.

Now, onto the RAWK! Don't forget to cast your vote for which two singers are going home, and to hear my take on the night, read more

Phil Stacey: Phil said he was the kind of kid who sang "Blaze of Glory" into his comb in front of the mirror. Why he needed the comb in the first place remains an open question. He gave the song a little country twang for "Idol," which was a good call, and Randy and Paula both thought it was great. I didn't think it was Phil's best performance (though it was also far from his worst), and his consistent position near the bottom of the voting plus drawing the unlucky first performance spot on Tuesday might mean he's going home this week; I agree with Simon that he didn't do well enough to get another chance.

Jordin Sparks (at right): Well, it had to happen sometime - Jordin was really not very good this week. It could be her age finally showing through, because she seemed like a little girl playing rocker dress-up, from the big Diana Ross hair with red streaks to her out-of-tune "Living on a Prayer" that did absolutely nothing to show off her voice. She got points with me, though, for admitting that she knew the performance hadn't been good and confessing that rock week was hard for her. Simon called her shrieky and accused her of oversinging, but I thought she actually should have done more with the song.

LaKisha Jones: LaKisha picked "This Ain't a Love Song," which Jon Bon Jovi called a soul singer's rock song. I thought the first half was a snoozer, but in the final chorus she actually started strutting around the stage and showing some personality and really performing, which she hadn't done for a while. It made me remember why I liked LaKisha way back when. Simon told LaKisha he could kiss her after that performance, and then he ... did. On the lips. And then kept absently rubbing the bits of her lipstick off his lips. Nice.

Blake Lewis (at left): Dude, Blake went brunette! Jon Bon Jovi was not sold on Blake's beatboxing rendition of "You Give Love a Bad Name," but I thought it was totally awesome. Sure, it was risky, and a lot of people might feel it's messing with a classic, but if you don't take risks with that song, you remind people of that time they had one too many mai tais at the karaoke bar, you know? At least his version sounded fresh and fun, and I'm glad he showcased his beatboxing after several weeks without it. Somewhat shockingly, the judges all praised him - even Simon, who said his willingness to take chances is what will bring him back next week.

Chris Richardson: He was not at all amused by Seacrest introducing him as Justin Timberlake, was he? Then he totally flubbed his answer to one of those stupid audience questions. Dude, grow a sense of humor. Anyway, he seemed comfortable singing "Wanted Dead or Alive," and though his boy-band bouncy-dancing bugged me during the performance, he didn't sound so bad when I closed my eyes. The judges said vaguely nice but not enthusiastic things that essentially amounted to "too little, too late."

Melinda Doolittle (at right): Her "I'm so not a rocker" speech was adorable, flubbed "rock on!" sign and all. Then she came out singing "Have a Nice Day" by strutting all over the stage, dancing with the guitarist, and, dare I say, totally rocking. It occurs to me that she's truly a student of music, altering her style and performance to each week's theme, but not in a fakey way. It was great to see her showing more attitude, too.

Who should be in the bottom three: Based only on tonight, it should be Chris, Phil and Jordin

Who will be in the bottom three: Based on both last week and this week, it will be Chris, Phil and LaKisha

Who's going home: Chris and Phil (in, uh, a "Blaze of Glory")

Photos courtesy of Fox

"American Idol" Elimination: Haley Heads Home

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:29:07 -0700

It was going to happen sooner or later, but this week turned out to be Haley's time to go on "American Idol.". Good thing, too, or she might have come out naked next time around. She seemed prepared - after all, she'd been in the bottom three almost every week - and I was happy that she kept her composure enough to have fun with her final song. Well, as much fun as you can have when you've just been booted off the biggest TV show in America, I suppose. It bears mentioning that Haley was was wearing her most covered-up look yet for her elimination, with long sleeves and long pants.

Joining Haley in the bottom three were Phil and Chris, which really didn't surprise me. Phil hasn't been clicking these past few weeks, and he was my pick to go home. I didn't think Chris was very good this week (though the judges praised him effusively), and since this is his second appearance near the bottom, I'm starting to think his fan base isn't very strong.

I still wish "Idol" hadn't expanded the results show to an hour - even at its most drawn out, the actual elimination takes maybe five minutes - but they did make a good attempt to keep our attention on Wednesday. Among the added features: bonus footage with the singers chatting with J.Lo (Sanjaya: "Maybe I'll get her number later"), a man-on-the-street segment where Seacrest asked people in LA what they thought of the contestants, and a jokey fake audition bit with Tony Bennett. To see what I thought were some of the best - and most ridiculous - moments, read more

Here's when I knew Sanjaya was safe: During the intro, Ryan stood next to him as he solemnly said one of the contestants would be going home. "Who will it be?" he said, sending a faux-meaningful glance Sanjaya's way.
Group sing is back, full of flubbed words and awkward duets. It's so cheesy and awful, yet I kind of love it.
"That's nothing to you, is it, rich boy?" - Seacrest to Simon, on the topic of the $10,000 "Idol" challenge jackpot. Of course, the challenge question was once again too dumb to discuss.
The songwriting contest has already gotten 5,000 entries, Seacrest said. This week brought in 35 million votes, the highest so far (even though the ratings are fading).

J.Lo's never done much for me as a singer, but her performance had all the passion and energy she kept telling the contestants Latin songs need. I'm not sure what was going on with the bottom half of her outfit, though, and I was surprised she left most of the dancing to her backup crew.
The pimpomercial used that technology from Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video to morph one "Idol" contestant into the next. The freakiest part: realizing how much the new shorter-haired Sanjaya looks like Melinda.
J.Lo said she comes from "the Paula school of criticism." I assume she meant accentuating the positive, not acting drunk and incoherent on national television.

We got a sneak peak of Idol Gives Back tonight, with footage from the crew's trip to Africa. Some little girl put man-boobs on the picture she drew of Simon. She's my favorite person in the world right now.
Next week: country week with Martina McBride.

Photos courtesy of Fox

"American Idol" Elimination: So Long, Stephanie

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:12:10 -0700

Well, my snap-judgment pick to win "American Idol" is gone in the second round of the finals. Oops. Stephanie got the boot on Wednesday after a couple of weeks of lackluster performances that never quite got back to the bar she set for herself in the first week.

Her elimination wasn't a surprise, but I was shocked about who joined her in the bottom two: Timberfake! I guess I was wrong when I said Chris would get new fans after Tuesday's performance. Maybe the boy-band voting base isn't as strong as we think. Or maybe everyone was just so sure he'd be safe this week that they devoted their votes to someone else. Either way, his fan base better step it up, or he might be exiting "Idol" before Sanjaya. And I'm not Chris' biggest fan or anything, but that would really be a shame.

For more thoughts about Wednesday's show, read more

Nice that they mixed things up by having a bottom two instead of a bottom three, but it was hilarious to watch all the contestants trying to do the math after the third group of three was told to sit down. "Wait, so there are 11 of us ... and nine of us are safe ... wuh-huh?"
Peter Noone is pretty much a big muppet, isn't he? As far as I could tell, his "dance" consisted of the moves from "I'm a Little Teapot." On the other hand, I love me some Lulu. Someone should give her a talk show. I'd watch.
There was no group sing on Wednesday! How did that happen? The Ford pimpomercial, meanwhile, was set in a laundromat, with Melinda doing some pretty impressive gymnastics across the tops of some washing machines.
What was the deal with the person in the audience holding a sign that read "Clay Aiken hurt me" with a frowny face drawn on?
Hey Fox: Stop putting stars from your other shows on "Idol." That said, watching Brad Garrett on contestants' row was pretty amusing, especially when Seacrest kicked him off and he shrugged away from Blake's consoling pat on the shoulder.
The "Idol" challenge was about which Idol just got cast in The Color Purple on Broadway. Hm, it wouldn't be the one who appeared on the show to promote said musical just a couple of weeks ago, would it?
30 million votes were cast this week, up a couple of million from last week.
Has Seacrest said "Seacrest out" a single time this season? I think he's ditched his catchphrase.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Snap Judgment: The "American Idol" Guys

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 09:18:49 -0800

Yawn. Did someone forget to tell the "American Idol" guys that it matters now? Tuesday night's performances were just plain dull, especially considering that this show will put six of them in the magical top 12. Not even Paula could think of anything nice to say to most of these guys, dropping her crazy-ometer score to a season-low 3 out of 10.

Did you manage to stay awake through the performance show? If so, here's a ballot where you can pick the six you think are moving on and the two going home. To see my take, read more

Blake Lewis (at right): Turns out, Blake likes improv comedy and Halloween. I knew we had a lot in common! He sang 311's "All Mixed Up" with some beatboxing and a reggae tinge. None of the judges recognized the song (I guess they weren't listening to late-'90s alt-rock radio), but they applauded Blake for sounding original.

Sanjaya Malakar: His straightened hair? Totally not working for me. His singing? Also not working for me - or for the judges. Randy says Sanjaya used to be special but now the spark is gone; Simon says it "wasn't as ghastly as last week" but suggests his "Paula hair" is what's keeping him in the competition.

Sundance Head: Sundance made me like him for a second by making a joke about how he's actually thin in real life and just wears the fat suit for "Idol." Then he attempted Pearl Jam's "Jeremy." Randy and Paula acted like mixing Pearl Jam and Southern rock was the most amazing idea known to man, while Simon thought he sounded like a bar singer. Excuse me, I need to go listen to "Better Man" now.

Chris Richardson (at left): Much to my chagrin, Timberfake is winning me over. But does anybody else think he sounds nasally on slower songs like the one he did on Tuesday? The judges like that he's mixing up his style, but they weren't wowed.

Jared Cotter: He's one of the only guys in the competition whom I could see pulling off Stevie Wonder, but his performance seemed over-rehearsed and boring. Paula - Paula! - slammed him, saying he needs to add more texture to his singing. Simon thought Jared lacks the "wow factor."

Brandon Rogers: Yikes, was it really a good idea to sing "I Just Want to Celebrate" at this stage of the competition? It's just not a song that requires a whole lot, vocally, and Brandon kind of screwed up the big run at the end. Paula thought it was phenomenal, but Randy and Simon were lukewarm.

Phil Stacey (at right): Oh, Phil. Bad hat. Bad song. The dude can belt a chorus, but this one sounded off-key and awful, especially the low notes. I was cringing in my living room. Not even Paula was pleased.

Chris Sligh: Google tells me his song was "Wanna Be Loved" by DC Talk. His performance was just average, but this was the kind of night when average was good enough. None of the judges liked his song choice, but Randy said his was the best vocal performance of the night, and Simon said he has potential.

Who should go: Sanjaya and Phil

Who will go: Phil and Jared, unless Sanjaya's mysterious voting base finally gives up.

Your turn! Tell me who you think has sung his last "Idol" song by filling out this ballot.

Photos courtesy of Fox