The Point System

On the Spot = 3 points: You get 3 points for each rank you hit on the number. For example, if you put Paul in position #8 and he is eliminated that week then you get three points.

Streak of Two = 3 points: You get 3 points for each “streak of two.” For example, if you say that Jacob will be eliminated the week right before Lauren (no matter what their ranks) you get 3 points.

Reverse Streak = 2 points: You get 2 points for a “reverse streak.” For example, if you say that Lauren will be eliminated the week right before Jacob (no matter what their ranks) but Jacob is eliminated the week before Lauren, you get 2 points.

Streak of Three = 5 points: You get 5 points for each “streak of three.” For example, if you say that Jacob will be eliminated the week before Lauren and following him will be Pia, you get 5 points. You already earned 3 points for your streak of two, so you don’t get them again for the two streaks of two within the streak of three (for saying that Michael would go before Siobhan and Siobhan would go before Lee. Nice try, but sorry!). (What the heck!?!? That was too confusing to even try to change the names from last year!!)

Streak of Four or Five (or more)= 10 points each. You get 10 points for each “streak of four” or “streak of five.” Streaks build, so the following could happen:

10. Contestant A
9. Contestant B 3 points, streak of two
8. Contestant C 5 points, streak of three
7. Contestant D 10 points, streak of four
6. Contestant E 10 points, streak of five

= 28 points total

(On Word, I was able to create brackets to make that easier to understand, but they don't translate into Blogger. Shoot.)

Reserve Streak of Three = 0 points: There are no “reverse streak of 3’s” (or 4’s or 5’s).

Top 3 = 6 points: If you get the top three in ANY order, you get 6 points. For example, if you say that Scotty, Pia, and James will be in the top three and they are, you get 6 points, no matter who comes in first, second, and third.

Top 2 = 8 points: If you get the top two in ANY order, you get 8 points. For example, if you say it will come down to Casey and Haley and it does, you get 8 points, no matter who wins and who is the runner-up.

Winner = 10 points: If you call the winner you get 10 points.

Top 3 In Order = 10 points: If you get the top three IN RANK ORDER, you get an extra 10 points, on top of the 6 points you already got for getting them in any order.

Same week elimination: If two contestants are eliminated in the same week (if, for example, there is another judge’s save or some other crazy thing) then your ranking can swing either way. For example, if Casey and Paul are eliminated in the same week and you have Casey as #4 and Paul as #5 then you can swing Casey or Paul up or down for a “streak.”

That’s it!

You are welcome to keep score along with me. In fact, you might want to just in case my math is rusty or I can’t keep track of my own convoluted rules. If it’s all too confusing, just send me your ranking and sit back and enjoy the show.

Thank you for playing!

This Changes Everything...

Well, not quite everything. But this year the contest will be a ranking of the TOP NINE rather than the TOP TEN. You know what? All I care about is that this year Naima will get to be on the stage at a musical festival instead of cleaning the toilets at the venue. The whole time Casey was hyperventilating about being saved I was about to crap my pants hoping that they wouldn't do another elimination before deciding who got to go on tour. Because if Naima had to clean toilets again? I would cry.

Not that anyone really cares, but Donnie is beating me 41 points to 3. What's left of our teams is as follows:

Donnie: Scotty, Jacob, Haley, Thia, Lauren (Starter), and James (Starter).
Kayla: Stefano, Pia, Naima, and Casey (Starter).

I have NO IDEA how I am going to rank the top nine, so I better pay some serious attention this week and look for signs of weakness and evidence of the white hot core.

FYI: the absence of a white hot core is what Donnie says is keeping me from being a really good runner. He, apparently, possesses one.

The Top 13

Quick update on the Donnie vs. Kayla split the pot. Here is who we each still have in the running:

Kayla: Stefano, Pia, Naima, Casey
Donnie: Scotty, Jacob, Haley, Thia, Lauren, James
Free Agents: Paul, Karen

Donnie lost Ashton this week, but he is still beating me with a whopping +33 to my -2. Are you kidding me??

James and Naima both killed it. I loved James’ “Maybe I’m Amazed,” except I kept cringing thinking he was going to start screaming. In the end, he surprised me by being very soft and controlled. And Naima. Wow. The reggae “Umbrella” was so cool and her dance moves were badass.

It’s going to be so hard to rank a top ten. I think Lauren, Pia, Casey, and Jacob are all in the running to win. What makes that even tougher is that I think James would make a good second-place finisher. But who could he edge out? Also, Scotty McCreery is soooo much better than A-hole (aka Aaron, the young country boy) was last year, and Aaron made it all the way to the number 5 spot. Based on my very informal research (i.e., asking around), I think there is a pretty strong country music voting contingency, which means he could do very well.

Remember, the top 10 open bracket contest will kick off in a couple weeks so start ranking your favorites now.

The Top 12 Girls

Ta-tynisa (Only Girl in the World): What’s with borrowing the cupcake dresses from Toddlers and Tiaras? She’s not the only one (ahem, Lauren, I’m talking to you). Anyway, the song. I thought it was a little bit scream-ish. Now back to the dress. I want one but I have nowhere to wear it.

Naima (Summertime): I LOVE her story. LOVE LOVE. And she did a lovely job. Unfortunately, I agree with Randy about it being a little lounge-y but I like Steven’s idea about bringing a new-old-timey vibe.

Kendra: Who the heck is she? But omg her voice is pretty good. Except she got a little out of breath towards the middle. Forgettable.

Rachel (Criminal): Hate her. Which is sad because I love this song. She’s almost ruined it for me. Like the time I was eating quiche at a function and the guy across the table from me threw his up on his plate. True story.

Karen (Hero): She is gorgeous. She almost looks too much like J-Lo. I dug the Spanish.

Lauren Turner (Seven Day Flu?): How old is she, 50?

Ashton: No. She’s done better.

Julie (Break Away): See, look at the cupcake dress. This is the quintessential American Idol song, but she blew it.

Haley (Fallin): OH WOW. I love her voice. So different. But would I want to hear it for 12 tracks? Not sure. Her personality is cute, too.

Thia (Some Song I’ve Never Heard): I like that she elected to sing without the van. Haha, I don’t know why I wrote “without the van.” Obviously, I meant the band. She also wins best dressed.

Lauren Alaina (Turn On the Radio): She looks like she dressed up as Kelly Clarkson for Halloween.

Pia (Stand By You): Perfect. She’s my favorite girl. She’s had me singing “I’ll Catch a Grenade For You” for weeks. Except in our house we pronounce it "grenod."

The Top 5 Should Be: 1) Pia, 2) Haley, 3) Thia, 4) Lauren A., 5) Ashton. Alternate: Naima.

The Top 24

Well I’m sad to say that I’m never going to make a fortune in talent recruiting. My team was pretty much decimated during Hollywood week and the bizarre Beatles day that followed. Donnie’s team, however, is the American Idol equivalent of the New York Yankees. And yes, that’s because he was willing to pay a price for them. Case(s) in point: he paid $15 for Lauren Aliana and $7 for Jacob Lusk. My hoard of $3 people are on their way home.

I guess I’m learning an important lesson that a lot of cheap things don’t make up for a few quality pieces. I was shopping at Forever 21 and he was shopping at Nordstrom.* And in the end, most of my clothes fell apart and had to be thrown away while he’s still got something to wear. Ugh. I’ve had enough of this analogy, let’s cut to the chase:

Kayla’s Team:
Julie Zorilla
Jordan Dorsey
Stefano Langone
Pia Toscano
Casey Abrams
Naima Adedapo

Donnie’s Team:
Scottie McCreery
Ashton Jones
Rachel Zavita
Jacob Lusk
Lauren Aliana
James Durbin
Haley Reinhart
Clint Jun Gamboa
Jorany The Abs
Thia Megia
Brett Lowenstern

Free Agents:
Paul McDonald
Tatinisa Wilson
Tim Halperin
Lauren with the big hair
Kendra Chantell
Karen Rodriguez

Donnie picked HALF of the top 24. Stop a minute and think about how amazing that is. When you take into account all of the points that I lost for loading up my team with people who didn’t make it past the long walk, I’m at -17 (yes, NEGATIVE) and Donnie is at +7. If this were a board game, I’d probably “accidently” knock the board over as I stood up to get a drink of water. In other words, this gives me a bad attitude.


*I read this line to Donnie and asked for his input on “an expensive place to shop” and he said he couldn’t think of one and that’d he’d probably go to the Target.

Team Standings

Okay, so I’m a little late on reporting the status of the Kayla vs Donnie Team Competition. Here we go. This is who we picked, how much we paid for them, and their current status.

Kayla’s Team:
Picked up during Auditions:
Casey Abrams, $5 (starter), kicking some ass
Caleb Hawley, $3 (starter), still around
Jordan Dorsey, $3 (Starter), still around
Julie Zuerilla, $4 (starter), still around
John Wayne, $3, still around
Naima Adapo, $5, still around
Chris Medina, $4, still around
Stefano from WA, $5, not sure…
Jerome Bell, $3, who knows—haven’t seen him?
Jackie Wilson from Nashville, $3, who knows—haven’t seen her?
Travis Orlando, $3 (Starter), eliminated during first round of Hollywood week!
Kenzie from NJ, $3, eliminated
Scott Dangerfield, $4, bowed out to focus on school
Jacqueline from the couple’s group, $3, quit because she was sick

Picked up during Hollywood Week:
Jaycee, $7, still around
Colton, $3, still around
Hollie Cavanaugh, $3, not sure
Pia, $3, not sure
Chelsee, $3, eliminated after Hollywood solos

Donnie’s Team:
Picked up During Auditions:
Lauren Aliana, $13 (starter), still around
James Durbin, $4 (starter), still around
Brett, $3 (starter), still around
Robbie Big Shnoz, $3, still around
Jorany the Shipbuilder, $3, still around
Scottie, $3, still around
Thia McGee, $3, still around
Haley, $3, still around
Clint Jun, $3, still around
Paris Tassin, $3 (starter), eliminated during groups
Rob from the couple’s group, $6 (starter), eliminated during groups
Tiffani from the Jersey Shore, $3, eliminated during groups

Picked up During Hollywood Week:
Ashton, $3, still around
Jacob Lusk, $7, still around
Carson the Blonde, $3, still around
Rachel Zavita, $3, not sure…

It’s hard to tell now who is really doing better because there was mass confusion after the big rooms of people were eliminated/passed through. Right now I’m predicting a showdown between Jacob Lusk, Casey Abrams, and Lauren Aliana. Unfortunately, Donnie has 2 out of the 3.

Also, I win the prize for the most unstable group. One of my people quit to focus on the ninth grade and the other quit because her tummy hurt. At least neither of us have crazee Ashley. The girl needs to go home and eat a burrito.

Does anybody know the status of any of the people we're unsure about? I tried to google them but I kept seeing the word "Spoiler" and had to quickly close the page.

Best performance of Hollywood Week: The Minor's, Somebody to Love!

In-House Split the Pot

Well, I'll go ahead and jump on the bandwagon and agree with everything I've read about the new judges being very pleasant to watch. I was SUPER skeptical and thought that this season was going to be a downer, but so far I've been entertained. Who knew that the Aerosmith guy was so funny? I loved his little hat.

So the point of this post is to introduce the in-house competition that Donnie and I have started as a prelude to the open bracket competition. We're watching the auditions and picking people who we want on our "team." Think of it as fantasy football. It goes like this: we have a blank sheet of paper divided into two columns. When one of us likes someone we put them on our side of the paper, which represents our team. An idol can only be on one team. To make things interesting, each idol costs 3 (pretend) dollars, which goes into the "pot." If we both want the same person, we can try to outbid each other to have them on our team. However, we each only have 50 (pretend) dollars to use.

1. Once auditions are over we pick 5 "starters" out of the people on our team.
2. For each person on our team who doesn't make it past Hollywood week, we have to subtract 2 points from our tally. This gives us incentive not to load up our teams, but to choose wisely. Well, that and the fact that each person costs 3 (pretend) dollars.
3. Each time someone on our bench team advances to the next week during a week when there is an elimination we get 1 point.
4. Each time one of our starters advances to the next week during a week when there is an elimination we get 2 points.
5. Each person on our team that makes it to the top 3 earns us 5 points.
6. Each person on our team that makes it to the top 2 earns us 10 points.
7. If someone on our team is the overall winner, we get 15 points.
8. These are not doubled for starters.
9. Whoever has the most points gets all of the (pretend) money that went into the "pot" to purchase team members.
10. We can trade team members at any time if both of us agree.
11. Trading can go like this: "I'll do the dishes if you trade me Caleb for Robbie" or "I'll give you a back rub if you trade me Brett for Travis."

So far our teams go like this...

Kayla: Caleb from NY ($3), Kenzie from NJ ($3), Travis from NY ($3), Jordan from NO ($3). $38 left to spend.

Donnie: Tiffani "Jersey Shore jujubees on her hoohoobees" ($3), Robbie "Big Schnoz" from NY ($3), Jorany "the abs" from NO ($3), Brett with the red hair from Boca Raton ($3), and Paris the single mom from NO ($3). $35 left to spend.

Stay tuned for the open bracket competition, which we'll start when we get down to the top 10!