I was honestly sort of surprised when Lee pulled it off last night. He had lost a bit of the momentum he had picked up over the past several weeks. The worst part about him winning is that now my dream about Lee joining the MPA program at NKU and us having a class together will never come true (yes, I dreamed that). If he had placed second, it might have happened.
So Brad blew the bracket out of the water. Jennie came in a not-so-close second. Susan's third place is also admirable because she built it from the beginning and didn't even need the big points at the end. Here are the final standings:
1. Brad (53 points)
2. Jennie (27 points)
3. Susan (22 points)
4. Un Jin (20 points)
5. Dan (18 points)
(Composite 13 points)
6. Janet (12 points)
7. Don (8 points)
8. Kayla (7 points)
9. Donnie (4 points)
10. Ida/Linda (2 points)
11. Patrice (0 points)
It was fun--hope to see you all again next year!
Love, Kayla
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Finale
Lee (The Boxer): I did not like being able to see the spit in Lee’s mouth. It looked like a white retainer. Gross. This version was okay, but I was a bit distracted. Simon had the perfect analogy about this rendition being a kiss on the cheek when we needed a kiss on the lips.
Crystal (Bobby McGee): Good energy, but the song is hard to relate to. She should have picked something more universal, because I don’t know this Bobby guy.
Round 1: Lee sang a big song kinda small and Crystal sang a small song kinda big. I’ll call it even.
Lee (Everybody Hurts): This is another big song… Lee got a little lazy in the middle, but picked it back up. The choir stole the final note right out from under him, but overall this was much better than the first song. Kara really found the right words when she called Lee “emotionally accessible.”
Crystal (Black Velvet): Great pick, Mr. Fuller. If Siobhan had sung (sang?) this song she might have stuck around another week or so. The thing that’s off about Crystal tonight is her wardrobe: her skirts are falling at the wrong place. Still, she killed it.
Round 2: Goes to Crystal.
Lee (Beautiful Day): Uh oh. Mumble mumble. Off key. Other parts were muffled where he was singing into his hand. He had all the elements (back up singers, orchestra, light show) but he choked. He shuffled around the stage like it was his first performance! Is the pressure just too much for him to handle?? Or maybe he realizes that Crystal needs this more than he does and is handing it to her like the sweet guy he is.
Crystal (Up to the Mountain): You can tell how badly she wants to win. It really came across in that song. VERY NICE.
Round 3: Well, Crystal again. I wonder if I liked her more in this round because I have no idea who originally sang this song so to me it sounds like she wrote it? Whereas Lee’s “single” felt cookie cutter.
If I didn’t heart Lee I would say that Crystal will win. But I know lots of girls out there REALLY heart Lee and my guess is girls make up the bulk of the idol voting population.
Crystal (Bobby McGee): Good energy, but the song is hard to relate to. She should have picked something more universal, because I don’t know this Bobby guy.
Round 1: Lee sang a big song kinda small and Crystal sang a small song kinda big. I’ll call it even.
Lee (Everybody Hurts): This is another big song… Lee got a little lazy in the middle, but picked it back up. The choir stole the final note right out from under him, but overall this was much better than the first song. Kara really found the right words when she called Lee “emotionally accessible.”
Crystal (Black Velvet): Great pick, Mr. Fuller. If Siobhan had sung (sang?) this song she might have stuck around another week or so. The thing that’s off about Crystal tonight is her wardrobe: her skirts are falling at the wrong place. Still, she killed it.
Round 2: Goes to Crystal.
Lee (Beautiful Day): Uh oh. Mumble mumble. Off key. Other parts were muffled where he was singing into his hand. He had all the elements (back up singers, orchestra, light show) but he choked. He shuffled around the stage like it was his first performance! Is the pressure just too much for him to handle?? Or maybe he realizes that Crystal needs this more than he does and is handing it to her like the sweet guy he is.
Crystal (Up to the Mountain): You can tell how badly she wants to win. It really came across in that song. VERY NICE.
Round 3: Well, Crystal again. I wonder if I liked her more in this round because I have no idea who originally sang this song so to me it sounds like she wrote it? Whereas Lee’s “single” felt cookie cutter.
If I didn’t heart Lee I would say that Crystal will win. But I know lots of girls out there REALLY heart Lee and my guess is girls make up the bulk of the idol voting population.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Updated Standings
Did anybody else tear up when Lee went back to the paint store? How about when the little kid at the end said, "Casey James I want to shake your hand?"
Also, I've never seen Justin Bieber preform but didn't he look like a bad little boy? Especially when he started playing the drums. I wanted to send him to his room to think about his behavior.
And finally, who does Crystal NOT have a crush on? Poor Flag Pants.
Some major changes this week in our standings... Dan has fallen out of the lead and Brad has emerged from the bottom. Several people got streaks and reverse streaks for putting Casey and Michael close together. Lots of people also put Casey in position 3, so they earned some points for that. Brad's major lead comes from getting 15 points for having the top 2 (Un Jin also got those points).
1. Brad (23 points)
2. Susan (22 points)
3. Un Jin (20 points)
4. Dan (18 points)
Composite (13 points)
5. Janet (12 points)
6. Don (8 points)
7. Jennie (7 points)
7. Kayla (7 points)
9. Donnie (4 points)
10. Linda and Ida (2 points)
11. Patrice (0 points)
Also, I've never seen Justin Bieber preform but didn't he look like a bad little boy? Especially when he started playing the drums. I wanted to send him to his room to think about his behavior.
And finally, who does Crystal NOT have a crush on? Poor Flag Pants.
Some major changes this week in our standings... Dan has fallen out of the lead and Brad has emerged from the bottom. Several people got streaks and reverse streaks for putting Casey and Michael close together. Lots of people also put Casey in position 3, so they earned some points for that. Brad's major lead comes from getting 15 points for having the top 2 (Un Jin also got those points).
1. Brad (23 points)
2. Susan (22 points)
3. Un Jin (20 points)
4. Dan (18 points)
Composite (13 points)
5. Janet (12 points)
6. Don (8 points)
7. Jennie (7 points)
7. Kayla (7 points)
9. Donnie (4 points)
10. Linda and Ida (2 points)
11. Patrice (0 points)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Hometown Week
Funny story... last week on vacation I watched Idol with my Aunt Leesa and my cousin and when it was over Aunt Leesa got out her cell phone and voted for every single contestant. Twice. I started to argue that she might as well not vote for any of them but she said they “all did a good job.” Haha—I love her!
Casey (Okay It’s Alright With Me): Who sings this song? I’m not sure, but Casey looked like he really enjoyed himself. Eh. He hit some good notes, pretty boring though.
Crystal (Come To My Window): Good song choice. I used to really like this song and when she said what she had chosen it felt so right. Donnie said the arrangement was awkward but I think she sounded cool. BTW Randy just said exactly what I wrote.
Lee (Simple Man): Okay, when he first sat there with Ryan I wrote something stupid about his hair but I’m going to leave that out and just say that was incredible. From the first note I could tell he was about to have a moment. Now he knows he is about to win.
Casey (Daughters): I’d rather hear Lee sing this song, but Kara is right about Casey needing to know his audience. The instruments were WAY TOO LOUD in this song: kind of drowned him out. I liked his guitar solo at the end, but he never brought it vocally.
Crystal (Maybe I’m Amazed): I thought Crystal said she was going to be singing “Baby I’m Amazed,” which I think is a country song. This was better. Really good, actually. How cute would she look if she cut her dreads and had a shaggy little bob?
Lee (Halleluiah): Sold! To the lady with the sunburn.
Casey (Okay It’s Alright With Me): Who sings this song? I’m not sure, but Casey looked like he really enjoyed himself. Eh. He hit some good notes, pretty boring though.
Crystal (Come To My Window): Good song choice. I used to really like this song and when she said what she had chosen it felt so right. Donnie said the arrangement was awkward but I think she sounded cool. BTW Randy just said exactly what I wrote.
Lee (Simple Man): Okay, when he first sat there with Ryan I wrote something stupid about his hair but I’m going to leave that out and just say that was incredible. From the first note I could tell he was about to have a moment. Now he knows he is about to win.
Casey (Daughters): I’d rather hear Lee sing this song, but Kara is right about Casey needing to know his audience. The instruments were WAY TOO LOUD in this song: kind of drowned him out. I liked his guitar solo at the end, but he never brought it vocally.
Crystal (Maybe I’m Amazed): I thought Crystal said she was going to be singing “Baby I’m Amazed,” which I think is a country song. This was better. Really good, actually. How cute would she look if she cut her dreads and had a shaggy little bob?
Lee (Halleluiah): Sold! To the lady with the sunburn.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Top Four Sing
This was the week of Jamie Foxx. I liked the whole T-shirt shtick, but I think that instead of “contestant” or “artist” the shirts should have said “won’t sell” and “marketable.” Isn’t that what this all boils down to? Big Mike might agree with me on that. I know Lily Scott would agree with me.
Overall, I would categorize this week as really mediocre. Mediocre mentor. Mediocre Ford commercial. Mediocre song choice. And then there was Bon Jovi…
Crystal and Lee’s duet wasn’t mediocre. Following the aforementioned duet Kayla texted me the following: OMG!!!! I <3 LEE and Crystal they were sooooooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Text Exceeds Maximum Characters]
What I thought about Crystal and Lee:
These two have chemistry—too much chemistry. Definitely one of the best performances of the year, but I still think Mike’s “A Woman’s Work” was the best. I feel bad for Crystal’s boyfriend, not only did he have to watch his girlfriend get wooed on live Tv, he also had on those flag pants. Tough break.
Michael and Casey:
The judges were positive about this. I thought it was fine. Honestly, I was watching the Cavs and Celtics at this point.
But what about the solo performances?
Lee:
This was over before it started. Horrible, horrible song choice. This was really forgettable. I’m not going to deny that this guy has a shot to win, but that’s kind of like the Spurs winning the NBA title. Sorry Kay Kay.
What Kayla would have written about Lee: OMG I <3 Lee! His shirt was sooooo cute. He has great style. I could totally see him opening up for Dave Matthews.
Casey:
Here’s to you Mrs. Dioguardio (sp)—what a gimmick! This performance showed me that Casey is desperate. Maybe he’s running out of shampoo and conditioner? Hopefully Bon Jovi is the mentor next week.
Mike:
When Mike picks the wrong song, he doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. Tonight, he picked the wrong song. Even Jamie Foxx knew it wasn’t going to happen for Big Mike this week. Too bad they didn’t have one more clip about his baby.
What Mike should have performed: “A Woman’s Work,” which was actually the final song of a Kevin Bacon movie. Can you sing the same song three times?
Crystal:
Really, Kenny Loggins? Really, Caddyshack? Am I the only one who didn’t know that there was music in Caddyshack? How hard is it to make the song your own when nobody has ever heard it? Of course, when you’re the best you can get away with this stuff.
Overall, I would categorize this week as really mediocre. Mediocre mentor. Mediocre Ford commercial. Mediocre song choice. And then there was Bon Jovi…
Crystal and Lee’s duet wasn’t mediocre. Following the aforementioned duet Kayla texted me the following: OMG!!!! I <3 LEE and Crystal they were sooooooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Text Exceeds Maximum Characters]
What I thought about Crystal and Lee:
These two have chemistry—too much chemistry. Definitely one of the best performances of the year, but I still think Mike’s “A Woman’s Work” was the best. I feel bad for Crystal’s boyfriend, not only did he have to watch his girlfriend get wooed on live Tv, he also had on those flag pants. Tough break.
Michael and Casey:
The judges were positive about this. I thought it was fine. Honestly, I was watching the Cavs and Celtics at this point.
But what about the solo performances?
Lee:
This was over before it started. Horrible, horrible song choice. This was really forgettable. I’m not going to deny that this guy has a shot to win, but that’s kind of like the Spurs winning the NBA title. Sorry Kay Kay.
What Kayla would have written about Lee: OMG I <3 Lee! His shirt was sooooo cute. He has great style. I could totally see him opening up for Dave Matthews.
Casey:
Here’s to you Mrs. Dioguardio (sp)—what a gimmick! This performance showed me that Casey is desperate. Maybe he’s running out of shampoo and conditioner? Hopefully Bon Jovi is the mentor next week.
Mike:
When Mike picks the wrong song, he doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. Tonight, he picked the wrong song. Even Jamie Foxx knew it wasn’t going to happen for Big Mike this week. Too bad they didn’t have one more clip about his baby.
What Mike should have performed: “A Woman’s Work,” which was actually the final song of a Kevin Bacon movie. Can you sing the same song three times?
Crystal:
Really, Kenny Loggins? Really, Caddyshack? Am I the only one who didn’t know that there was music in Caddyshack? How hard is it to make the song your own when nobody has ever heard it? Of course, when you’re the best you can get away with this stuff.
The Final Three....
So, Kayla is out of town on a beach vacation. That means I, Donnie, am guest blogging. This week I had the undesirable task of calculating scores. I started as soon as the show ended last night and, 10 hours and 12 twelve cups of coffee later, I think I have it right. Dan remains in the lead, but the most notable change this week was Brad's emergence from the basement--does anyone want to compete in a bracket competition to predict who will win our bracket competition? My money is on Brad: he's the only person who had the top 3.
1. Dan (18 points)
2. Susan (16 points)
(Composite 13 points)
3. Janet (10 points)
4. Kayla (7 points)
5. Un Jin (5 points)
5. Brad (5 points)
5. Don (5 points)
5. Jennie (5 points)
9. Donnie (2 points)
10. Patrice (0 points)
10. Linda/Ida (0 points)
I don't know what the theme is next week, but I have an idea. What if everyone picked a song that they knew they could sing really well?
1. Dan (18 points)
2. Susan (16 points)
(Composite 13 points)
3. Janet (10 points)
4. Kayla (7 points)
5. Un Jin (5 points)
5. Brad (5 points)
5. Don (5 points)
5. Jennie (5 points)
9. Donnie (2 points)
10. Patrice (0 points)
10. Linda/Ida (0 points)
I don't know what the theme is next week, but I have an idea. What if everyone picked a song that they knew they could sing really well?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Rankings After Elimination
This week Patrice got 3 points for putting Aaron in position six. Un Jin got a reverse streak worth 2 points for putting Siobhan and Aaron back to back. Things moved a little bit in the middle:
1. Dan (13 points)
1. Susan (13 points)
1. Composite (13 points)
4. Janet (7 points)
4. Kayla (7 points)
6. Un Jin (5 points)
6. Don (5 points)
6. Jennie (5 points)
9. Donnie (2 points)
10. Patrice (0 points)
10. Linda/Ida (0 points)
12. Brad (-5 points)
Next week I'll be on vacation and Donnie will be your guest blogger. The theme is "Songs from the Movies" and I REALLY hope someone (Lee) sings the Titanic song.
1. Dan (13 points)
1. Susan (13 points)
1. Composite (13 points)
4. Janet (7 points)
4. Kayla (7 points)
6. Un Jin (5 points)
6. Don (5 points)
6. Jennie (5 points)
9. Donnie (2 points)
10. Patrice (0 points)
10. Linda/Ida (0 points)
12. Brad (-5 points)
Next week I'll be on vacation and Donnie will be your guest blogger. The theme is "Songs from the Movies" and I REALLY hope someone (Lee) sings the Titanic song.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Top Five Sing
Frank Sinatra… oh groan. Oh my god, Harry Connick Jr. looks just like a giant version of Ryan Seacrest. Look at them next to each other in their matching suits.
Aaron: Well that kind of reminded me of that Michael Buble guy. Corny as heck. Simon said it best: it didn’t have conviction.
Casey: Neither Casey or Aaron looks very good in their Sinatra outfit. The vest is not cool. I have to say, though, that this is the first time I liked Casey in a long time. The last line in his song was sweeeet. Oh my goodness, though—what’s with Randy saying it was the worst performance yet? Ellen’s dogging him, too. Now Kara? What? Oh well, what do I know?
Crystal: Harry said “The more obscure your references are the more personal it is for the audience?” What does that mean? I thought she showcased her voice at the end and brought her own style to a classic look. But Donnie has a problem with her back talking: he said she was “so brazen.”
Michael: It started out really good—I thought I was watching an old movie or something. Love the hat. But then… it got kind of boring. The judges loved it, and they were right about it being much better than the other three.
Lee: He get could get up there and sing the alphabet and it would be rock star. Lee is sooooo good. I can’t wait to buy his record and play it in my car. I Heart Lee.
Harry Connick Jr. wins the award for being the best mentor so far this season. He really put the most effort into it and took his role very seriously.
Best to Worst: Lee, Michael, Crystal, Casey, Aaron.
Aaron: Well that kind of reminded me of that Michael Buble guy. Corny as heck. Simon said it best: it didn’t have conviction.
Casey: Neither Casey or Aaron looks very good in their Sinatra outfit. The vest is not cool. I have to say, though, that this is the first time I liked Casey in a long time. The last line in his song was sweeeet. Oh my goodness, though—what’s with Randy saying it was the worst performance yet? Ellen’s dogging him, too. Now Kara? What? Oh well, what do I know?
Crystal: Harry said “The more obscure your references are the more personal it is for the audience?” What does that mean? I thought she showcased her voice at the end and brought her own style to a classic look. But Donnie has a problem with her back talking: he said she was “so brazen.”
Michael: It started out really good—I thought I was watching an old movie or something. Love the hat. But then… it got kind of boring. The judges loved it, and they were right about it being much better than the other three.
Lee: He get could get up there and sing the alphabet and it would be rock star. Lee is sooooo good. I can’t wait to buy his record and play it in my car. I Heart Lee.
Harry Connick Jr. wins the award for being the best mentor so far this season. He really put the most effort into it and took his role very seriously.
Best to Worst: Lee, Michael, Crystal, Casey, Aaron.
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