American Idol S9 Top 1: Billboard's Top 100 Number Ones

Apparently the announced theme was either A: flat out wrong, or B: changed due to their realizing how stupid that theme would be.

Either way, this is a big improvement, and should give the contestants more interesting songs to choose from.

Click below for the full post.


Stupid judge banter. Yawn. Do we really need the judges to tell us why not singing badly is important? Waste. Of. Time.

What?! The mentor is Miley Cyrus? Uh, weird. Not that I think Miley is untalented, but is she the best mentor they could come up with?! Was Justin Bieber busy this week? Maybe next week, huh?

The idols pretend to be excited to have her as a mentor. Well, maybe the young ones aren't pretending.

Lee Dewyze is singing The Letter by The Boxtops. A great song though my favorite version of this song is the Joe Cocker version. I think this will fit Lee's growly voice perfectly. Miley asks Lee not to tell anyone that she is really Hannah Montana. No, just kidding, but that would have rocked. I really like his version. He uses an onstage brass band with background singers. The singers do him no favors, but it looks cool. Lee looks more comfortable on stage this week. I like this from him. Great start! Judges liked it except for Simon. Simon slams him for not being contemporary enough. I actually think he did a fine job.

Paige is singing Against All Odds by Phil Collins. Miley warns her not to be pitchy. She obviously doesn't like listening to Miley's advice, because Paige is HORRENDOUS. I hate the little whammy bar thing she does to scoop around to the notes. There are a few moments that don't suck, but I shouldn't give so much credit to the moments of silence. The judges are brutally honest and rip her. I worry that the judges are so mean to her that viewers vote for her out of pity. She needs to go home. Please?

Tim Urban is singing Queen's A Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Miley tells him to push the boundaries a bit. Last week he made the Stones reggae, and this week he changes nothing of the arrangement from the original. It's forgettable and boring. Karaoke Hell. Pass. I am sure the judges will rip him too. The judges hate it. I hate that Tim Urban might let Paige stay another week.

Aaron Kelly has laryngitis, tonsillitis, and a crush on Miley. He sings I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. Call me a teenage girl, but Aaron has a really good voice. Even sick, he shows that he deserves to be here. I do not think he will break the top 4, but he will hang around for quite awhile. Judges are obviously fans too.

Crystal Bowersox is singing Me and Bobby McGee. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Crystal sang a Janis Joplin song. I guess now is as good a time as ever. It's a great song that should obviously suit her voice. Crystal asks Miley to sign her guitar. I hope she used pencil... She is singing on a carpet. The beginning of the song actually seems a bit directionless and fluffy. As the song continues, she gets better. Second half was great; beginning was meh. Mixed bag, but obviously Crystal will be around! Judges love it! Obviously, she's great, but I think I need to listen again.

Big Mike is singing When a Man Loves a Woman. This song may not make him contemporary, but it will be a good choice for his voice. There are no surprises in the song, but Big Mike sings it well. He has a nice tone to his voice that he uses well this week. Not super, but really good. Judges like him though warn him about doing too much.

Andrew is singing Straight Up. No, wait, he is singing I Heard It through the Grapevine. Miley actually advises Andrew to lose the guitar. He takes the advice. The performance is a bit jumpy, but I think Andrew really tries to make the song more contemporary, and he sings with more confidence and energy than he has shown thus far. The vocals weren't great, but he was not near the worst of the night. The judges were not kind. Kara gives confusing advice by telling him that Straight Up is haunting him and to move beyond it but also tells him to revisit it to see what was good about it. I think when you look at Tim and Paige, Andrew should be safe.

Katie sings Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry. I am not a Katie fan at all, but this is probably a good song choice for her. It's young and current. I still don't like her. There's something about her voice that I don't like. I can't articulate it, but I don't dig it. It's not awful, but it's off. Judges, overall, are kind.

Gordon Ramsey is in the house! I wish he would call some of the contestants donkeys!

Casey James sings Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. This is my favorite performance of Casey's yet. His vocals are tight and I dig the arrangement. It may not be the most challenging song to sing, but he was confident and looked like he was having fun! Also, there were some tasty guitar licks thrown in for good measure. I liked this a lot! The judges are generally complimentary with Simon accusing him of performing an old fashioned Huey Lewis sound-alike. I actually disagree with Simon on this point. This was not an identical version to the original.

Didi Benami takes on You're No Good by Linda Ronstadt. Again, I may be alone, but I like Didi's voice as odd as it may be. The arrangement had a strange feel, but it was interesting. Judges didn't like it at all. Who's going home tonight? So many choices!

Siobhan closes the show with Superstition by Stevie Wonder. By the way, I am not from New England, but I love it when people use the word, Wicked. It's wicked cool when people do that. How many keyboardists does it take to accompany Siobhan? Obviously, two. Her voice is good on this, but this is not my favorite performance from her. It's great karaoke, but it's still karaoke. She does scat and scream towards the end. Bonus points for the scat; minus points for giving in to the urge to having to scream in every song. Judges liked it tons.

It's easy to see who's staying (Crystal, Casey, Siobahn, Aaron, Lee, and Big Mike), but it's anyone's guess who is going home. I thought the worse performance was Paige's, but she has some real competition for going home.

Thoughts?

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American Idol S9 Top 11 Theme Announced: It's Lame!

Ugh! The new theme for next week has been announced, and I am not looking forward to it at all!

Click on the link below to see the big reveal!


TEEN IDOL WEEK!

Yes, you read me right: TEEN FRICKIN' IDOL WEEK!

I guess they wanted to throw a bone to the younger singers in the competition.

The question is: how large of an umbrella will this create? Are these teem idols from any point in history? If so, are they limited to songs that these artists sang when they were teens? For example, Michael Jackson could be considered a teen idol. Are only his songs that were popular when he was a teen eligible to be sung or ANY MJ song?

iTunes should be releasing the lists they have to pick from. I'll post them when I find them.

The only thing I am looking forward to is if some contestants take some serious liberties with the songs and make them better.

What are your thoughts on the new theme?

Are you as scared as I am?

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American Idol S9 Top 12 Results

Who goes home? So many worthy singers to get booted, only one death slot available...


I hate how the producers feel the need to have Ryan and Simon continue to pretend to be scorned lovers. It comes across as desperate and not the entertaining brand either. Find some better schtick.

Judge's save is still in effect. They can save the person voted off IF they are in agreement. Let's hope they don't use it this season.

David Cook takes on Jumping Jack Flash and shows how weak this season's group is.

Ford Video is not as cheesy as I would like. No chance for the group to show off their personalities. Hard to do, I guess, when you don't have much to work with. Ouch.

They got to design their own paint jobs. Cool stuff. Maybe some of them will find career opportunities when they get booted off Idol.

Paige is in the bottom three. Yay! Is it wrong for me to cheer someone else's misfortune? Schadenfreude is in full effect!

Lee is safe. I hope he can develop a stage presence, because he has a good voice.

Siobhan is being labeled as this year's Adam Lambert. Dangerous business that. She has the drama and the unique factor but not quite the chops... She is safe though. Duh.

Aaron Kelley is safe. I'm glad that grandmas know how to use the phone. He has a good voice and should be around for five or six more weeks.

Andrew is safe, and Tim is in the bottom three. I TOTALLY miscalculated the teeny bopper vote. Though Tim should be a lock to go home, I truly thought he wouldn't be in the bottom three due to the X factor. And in this case the X factor is that teenage girls would ADORE him. I guess I should give today's youth more credit than I have.

Orianthi is introduced as a pioneer in rock. A pioneer, really? She seems to be an awesome guitarist, but the song (and her voice) was mediocre at best.

Didi is safe. Good. I like her.

Crystal is safe as is expected.

Katie is given conflicting opinions about what style she should sing and then is told she is safe. I don't understand why. Am I alone in not liking her at all?

Big Mike is safe. No surprise here.

Casey and Lacey are next up. Lacey is in the bottom three. Casey is safe. That's about right.

Paige, Tim, and Lacey are in the bottom three. If they could get rid of all three this week, that would make the show SO much better.

If the judges use their save to save any of these, I will forever swear off this show.

Well...

Of course I wouldn't, but still, I would gripe TONS!

Tim is safe. He lives to torture another song and another audience next week.

I am fine with either of the girls going home.

Ke$ha sings next. She seems like a lame knock off of Lady Gaga. She did have two of the whitest (read lamest) rappers I've seen in a long time. I thought the dancing televisions were cool though.

Apparently, the girls are roommates. One goes home; the other can take endless showers.

Lacey is going home. Paige lives to be inconsistent another day.

Lacey gets to sing for her American Idol life. Thankfully, the unliked contestant can sing a song of their choice. It is painful to hear someone sing the same song that got them voted off.

The death video plays. and Lacey cries. Katie also cries, because she knows she should be the one who is going home.

TiVo cuts off, so I don't hear what the theme for next week is. Anyone catch it? I'd like to know what singer (or genre) will have their songs slaughtered next week.

One down; eleven more to go.

More later.

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American Idol S9 Top 12: Rolling Stones

Okay, I am back.  I have been following the whole season to date but have been holding out on posting until the muse hit me.

To be honest, I am not entirely enthused by this year's crop.  There are some different types of voice this year, which is a good thing, but I don't know if any of them are going to "stick."

But I am willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes.

Tonight is Rolling Stones night!  This night favors Bowersox and Lee, but there should be some interesting songs to go around.

I am scared for how the young ones will do.  That could be scary.

Bonus points to anyone who sings Angie well.  Love that song.



I said this before; I'll say it again.  I HATE the judges walking out on stage at the beginning...  Pointless.

Rolling Stones montage reminds the kids at home what they will be listening to.  This montage begs the ultimate question:  Did Kieth Richards EVER look young?

First up is Michael Lynche (Big Mike) with Miss You.  I know he is trying to play to his strengths by making the song more soul-sy, but I don't like the arrangement.  His voice is okay on this, but I am not doing cartwheels.  He will not go home on this, but he didn't do himself any favors.

Judges disagree with me entirely which does not bode well for the rest of the night.  If they were praising this, we might be going downhill from here.  The worst complaint (from Simon) was about his dancing.

Ryan gets in Simon's face.  I'm hoping for a full-on man kiss!  Nope.  Just the usual pre-planned banter.

Next is Didi Benami with Play with Fire. This is a more emotional take on it.  She seems to connect with the song, and I like most of it.  There are some pitchy parts and one part where I swear she bobbled a lyric.  Interesting arrangement, but the arrangement can't do all of the work.  I loved the intensity, but it wasn't the big enchilada. I like Didi, so I hope she hangs around.  She interests me.  The judges like it.

Casey James takes on It's All Over Now.  Casey paints the song with paint from his Blues-Rock bucket.  Not bad; not great.  Vocals aren't overly impressive here.  It seems like the song is not a very difficult song to sing.  He doesn't show much range or difficulty.  Yes, he can play a mean guitar while singing, but I wanted more. Judges (minus Simon) loved it.  Simon agrees with me.  Casey will have a career, but I don't like his chances as AI winner.

Lacey Brown sings Ruby Tuesday.  Her voice sounds fragile, but that's actually the quirky quality I like about Lacey's voice.  Don't like the sped up "Still I'm going to miss you" lyric.  Pitchy towards the end.  Arrangement was odd.  Five-sixths Stones, one-sixth not.  Mish mash.  Meh.  Meh in the middle could spell trouble.  Judges are mixed but generally nonplussed.

Andrew Garcia is up with Gimme Shelter.  This is one of my favorite Stones songs.  Don't screw it up, Andrew.  A straight forward performance.  Standing with a mic and singing.  Very karaoke-ish.  The problem with Andrew is that I don't get that awe factor.  He is good but not great.  Passable when passable shouldn't be enough.  He didn't screw up the song, but he did it no favors either.  Judges were mixed.  If he doesn't show star power, he will be gone within two weeks.

Katie Stevens performs Wild Horses. Katie sanitizes the song stripping it down to just a treacly ballad.  Bad Kat McPhee impersonation.  Didn't love it. Judges were generally much nicer than I was.  She does nothing for me.

Tim Urban sings Under My Thumb.  He gives the song a quirky makeover with a more acoustic delivery with a slight reggae feel.  Almost Jack Johnson-like. The version is interesting but ultimately undermines the original.  It almost trivializes it. Vocally not great but not boring.  He will be raked over the coals by the judges, I am sure. I was right. Tim handles the criticism well.  I don't think America is done with him yet.

Siobhan Magnus takes on Paint it Black. I love the song and am intrigued by what she will do with this.  Risky move!  She starts the song with a more cabaret-type style before moving into the more recognizable way we are used to.  She has some pitch problems.  At the end she lets it all out, hitting the high note and sustaining it.  I like Siobhan, but it actually sounded like she was screeching the last note.  I felt the emotional connection, but it bordered on ridiculous. You could tell that she wants to be this season's Adam Lambert.  I don't know how long I will feel this way, but she interests me, and I want her to hang around for awhile. She stands out.  Judges agree, but no one wants to mention the screech.

Lee DeWyze is next with Beast of Burden.  I love the growl of his voice.  His take reminds me of John Cougar (Mellencamp, if you're nasty!).  He does some interesting things with some of the lyrics, making it his own.  The only problem is that he still looks mildly uncomfortable with being on the stage.  Still, I really dug this.  You can tell that the judges really want him to do well.  I do too.

Paige Miles sings Honky Tonk Woman.  Last week she butchered Smile, so she better do better this week.  Karaoke rendition that I want to stop as soon as it starts.  She tries to inject a little country, but I wish she'd inject some lethal dose of poison that would make the torture stop.  I don't like her vibrato or tone.  I hope the judges bury her. Apparently, she has had voice issues, so maybe I will give her a pass.  Judges are nicer than I would have been.  Maybe I'm still bitter over how she stayed while Lily Scott went home.

Aaron Kelly stays up past his bedtime to sing Angie.  Aaron is going to sing Angie? Really? I doubt he has the emotional depth to pull this off. This could be rocky, but I hope he does the song justice. He comes in early on the piano intro (though no one will probably notice),  Honestly he does a nice job.  He maintains the tone of the song with a nice intensity.  He sings in tune.  He doesn't overcomplicate the arrangement.  Though I'm not an Aaron Kelly fan necessarily, I thought he did a great job!  Judges are likewise complimentary.

Crystal Bowersox will close it out with You Can't Always Get What You Want. Wow, I love her voice.  I don't think this is the best she has done, but she shows that she knows how to work a song and make it her own.  Randy steals my words.  Judges are complimentary but warn her about having more fun on stage.

My guesses follow:

Safe:
Crystal
Siobhan
Aaron
Lee
Michael
Didi
Tim

In Danger:
Paige
Andrew
Lacey
Katie
Casey

Your thoughts?
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American Idol--Top 4--Rock on!

Matt G. and his third eye are gone. I liked ya, Matt, truly I did. But this competition was not for you. Best of luck.

I am glad that tonight's theme is rock, but I don't get Slash being mentor at all. Yes, he can rock, but what kind of helpful input can he really give? Really?



Contestants are performing duets? Hmm... The part of me that doesn't like its cheese moved, hates this. But part of me is intrigued. I guess I'll see how this plays out.

I do like the contestants rehearsing with a full band instead of just the piano.
Adam Lambert--"Whole Lotta Love"--Led Zeppelin
Adam got clearance for Led Zeppelin?! That is huge! Led Zeppelin is known for how stingy they are with the rights to their songs. This should be good. Adam's voice should be perfect for this. Overall, great job! I think it was a KO. He showed his range and his power. It wasn't as grungy and dirty as I would have liked it, but it was still great. Way to kick it off. Adam rocks! Judges love it.

Allison Iraheta--"Crybaby"--Janis Joplin
Allison's hair looks much better now. Janis should fit her voice well. I like this performance for Allison. She seems in the pocket for most of the song. I don't know if this is going to be the vote-generator she needs, but I thought it was good. Judges were mixed, thinking she was too copycat in her performance.

Kris and Danny--"Renegade"--Styx
I was hesitant to hear the duets, but I really like hearing Chris and Danny sing together. The harmony part at the beginning sounded VERY nice. Overall, nice job!

Kris Allen--"Come Together"--Beatles
Overall, I was pleased with this performance. There were some moments when he got swallowed by the band (volume-wise and energy-wise), but this was a competent, confident performance. Judges are mixed, leaning more to negative.


Danny Gokey--"Dream On"--Aerosmith
Tough song! I think he pulls most of it off, but there are moments that came across as karaoke. The scream at the end did not do it for me either. Not bad but not my favorite. Judges applaud the effort but are iffy on the vocals.

Adam and Allison--"Slow Ride"--Foghat
This was just okay for me. I thought they didn't bring anything extraordinary to the song. They sang it well (Adam was better), but I thought the arrangement was pretty basic. Judges liked it more than I did.

My fave of the night was Adam. I think Kris or Allison is in trouble

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American Idol--Top 5--American Standards

Okay, so now we are without Anoop and Lil.

I have no idea what tonight's theme is, so I have no idea who has a leg up tonight, though I am sure that Danny, Adam, and Kris will be safe.



Standards? Hmm... I am curious as to how the whole originality vs. butchering a classic song debate will go tonight. This could be a weird one.

Seems like it's songs from the rat pack. I love me some Dean Martin.

Jamie Foxx is the mentor? Interesting!

Kris Allen--"The Way You Look Tonight"
Jamie gives great kudos to Kris before he sings. I like the first half more than the second half (the faster part), but I still think it was a great job. He connects so well to the song. I hope he gets the votes, because I like him. The judges rave, and you can tell they are trying to make this a three-horse race.

Allison Iraheta--"Someone to Watch over Me"
Newly seventeen, Allison tries to tap into an experience base that she's not familiar with. She does a very nice job with it. I am not doing backflips, but it was very nice. Judges are mainly VERY positive. Simon thinks she's in trouble.

Matt Giraud--"My Family Valentine"
Hard song to sing. Nice job, but again: no backflips. It's hard to judge at this point in the competition. No one is making any huge blunders. Judges are mixed. Paula and Simon like it.

Danny Gokey--"Come Rain or Come Shine"
I think Danny's voice is perfect for this song. The smokiness of his tone fits this well. I have been waiting for one of these performances from Danny for a while. This one is a keeper. Great job! My fave of the night so far. Judges are all on board.

Adam Lambert--"Felling Good"
Pure concert performance. He puts on a wonderful performance every time out. His singing chops are unparalleled on the show. I thought Danny's might have been better overall, but Adam cannot be denied. Judges gush.

My faves of the night were Danny, Adam, and Kris. Allison and Matt weren't bad, but not up to the other three.

I have no idea who's going home.

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American Idol--Top 7--Disco Night

Ugh. Disco night. This is usually one of me least favorite night of every season. The only performance I actually remember from the past was Bo singing "Vehicle" which is not really a disco song.

I actually think that Lil will do fine tonight. But I think Anoop and Matt will suffer. Adam will rule tonight. That's my prediction


Lil Rounds--"I'm Every Woman"--Chaka Khan
Not pure karaoke (she changes it "a little"), but it's close, and it is a bit pitchy and muddy at places. I thought she would do better. After this week, Allison could be every woman on the show. The judges throw her under the bus.

Kris Allen--"She Works Hard for the Money"--Donna Summer
When the judges talk about making a song suit you, this is what they are talking about. Would Kris ever make a song that sounded like disco? No, but he would put out this song, and it screams Kris. Not the best vocal showcase, but it was solid and true to his style. Loved it! He is turning in to my favorite. Judges love it!

Danny Gokey--"September"--Earth, Wind, and Fire
I was worried that this song wouldn't fit his voice, but I like this. Cool arrangement. Part karaoke with some original twists. It fits his voice nicely. Nice job! Judges are very complimentary.

Allison Iraheta--"Hot Stuff"--Donna Summer
Rock arrangement sounds a bit hokier than I would like, but this fits her voice much better than I thought disco would. She is able to show off her voice at parts, so I think it's well done. Not as good as Kris or Danny but solid. Memorable? Dunno. Judges praise her--not the song.

Adam Lambert--"If I Can't Have You"--Yvonne Elliman
This is a bit more risky of an arrangement. Adam has stripped down the song getting rid of the signature background. He just focuses on the melody and the lyrics. He also slows it down to the point of not being able to recognizing it. He definitely made it his own. Vocals were spot on. It was well sung, well performed, but a little boring. Not the home run I was expecting, but his vocals will keep him for a long, long time. Paula has a breakdown. Judges thought it was the home run I was expecting.
Matt Giraud--"Staying Alive"--Bee Gees
More of the uptempo karaoke, but Matt reworks the vocals showing his best JT vibe. I didn't think his falsetto was in the pocket, but it was energetic and confident. Enough to stay another week? Dunno. Judges are mixed leaning towards positive.
Anoop Desai--"Dim the Lights"--Donna Summer
Decent vocals (pitchy in places), solid performance, but (and this is a big but) this is exactly what we expect from Anoop. He always meets expectations but never exceeds them. With so many exciting performers, Anoop might be out of his league. He is just too milquetoast to stand out. The judges whose names don't start with S liked it while Simon didn't.

My faves of the night were Kris and Adam. The rest ranged from really good to really bad.

Overall, Disco Night was better than I had feared.

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American Idol--Top 7--Movie Songs

This is a VERY wide open theme. If the list of songs was lengthy, they should have no excuse picking the wrong song. I'm looking at you, Lil.

The theme is to pick a song from a movie. That's pretty easy. I just pray that Lil stays away from Whitney. Please?

Quentin Tarantino is the mentor, and, no, it doesn't make much sense, but Quentin makes me laugh. No, he is not a singer nor a songwriter, but if you've ever listened to the soundtracks of his films, you know he knows music. I am a big Tarantino fan, so this could be a treat. The great thing about Quentin (based on his AI appearance years back) is that he speaks his mind. He actually panned Diana D. years ago, if I recall right. Plus, I met him once at a hotel in Austin which is tres' cool. (I was too starstruck to say anything other than hi.)

Could be fun!

Band is down on stage tonight. Will it make a difference?

To prevent the show running over like last week's debacle, only two judges will be taking each time? That's pretty ridiculous and not fair. Ugh!

Allison Iraheta--"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"--Aerosmith
I'm STILL sick of this song. I was sick of it the millions of times I heard it when it came out, and I'm still sick of it. I hope she puts her own spin on it. Quentin listening to Allison while sitting in a chair swooning to her is borderline creepy, borderline genius. Being honest, I was bored at the beginning. By the end she kicked into gear, but I didn't feel a natural build. She still sang it incredibly well, but I just felt this wasn't as polished as it could have been. Judges praise her, but I think they liked it more than I did.

Anoop Desai--"Everything I Do, I Do It for You"--Bryan Adams
I am really disliking the song choices tonight. They are predictable and ordinary. No one is taking a risk tonight or picking a song that isn't already in the AI songbook. Quentin tries to up Anoop's vocal energy (which is lacking). Let's see if it pays off. I don't think he packs as much punch as he could have performance-wise, but the vocals are spot on. This may be the best Anoop has sounded in the competition. Not the most exciting song, but it was well done. Anoop, man, the only thing is that you need to do something about your upper lip sweat. It's a tad distracting.

Adam Lambert--"Born to Be Wild"--Steppenwolf
I don't think this is the most challenging song, but I am sure Adam will make it his own. Tonight he is Bizarro-Elvis. Parts bordered on cheesy, but overall, this was still a showcase of what Adam is all about. Full out commitment and in-your-face vocals. Some will not like this, but I think this shows what you can expect from him. Solid, solid stuff. I don't think you would hear this version on the radio, but it had some really cool moments. No matter what happens, this guy is a star. No doubt.

Matt Giraud--"Have You Really Loved a Woman"--Bryan Adams
Again with the Bryan Adams?! Really?! Double ugh! How many times can someone sing "Really" before I get sick? This many minus one. The performance itself was okay. I think his falsetto got away from him at points and it seemed to derail him. The beginning was much stronger than the end. I like Matt, so I hope this isn't it for him. Judges were not really on board.

Danny Gokey--"Endless Love"--Lionel Richie
Okay, they should have just titled this show "Sappy Love Songs that Monte Hates." Yawn! I hope Danny makes this interesting. The performance is subtle and well sung. Yes, this song still bores the stuffing out of me, but this is not bad. I still haven't got the goosebumps I used to from Danny, but I know he will bring it soon. I hope he brings it soon. Judges were complimentary but not over-the-top so.

Kris Allen--"Falling Slowly"--Glen Hansard
Finally a song I really like. Yes, it's a sappy love song, but this one's really great (and not sung over and over and over). It won the Academy Award for best song a year ago. Loved it. Really, I did. Subtle at points, but I felt a connection, and I didn't want it to end. My favorite performance of the night so far. Randy thought it was pitchy, but Kara thought it was one of his best performances. Obviously, I agree with Kara.

Lil Rounds--"The Rose"--Bette Midler
That's it. I'm done with Lil. Every week she sings songs that she might sing at a wedding, and it continues tonight. Unless she blows me away with her vocals, I am forever off the Lil Rounds love train. The first half is good karaoke, but the second half is really nice and interesting. Still mixed for me. I don't think it's enough to pull her back into contention. This wasn't a game-changer. Lil gets angry with Simon's criticism and strikes back. We'll see how this plays in Peoria.

Overall, I was bored by much of the night.

My favorites were Kris, Anoop, and Adam.

The least favorites were the rest.

The choice as to who goes home is confusing. We are down now to who has the least active fan base. I don't think anyone made enough of a splash to motivate non-fans to pick up the phone and expand their core group. I think a girl is in trouble.

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