American Idol Top 10 (Pre-show thoughts)

And then there were 10…










Is there anyone that you miss?

It ROCKS that Gwen Stefani will be this week’s guest musician. I’m looking forward to see if Gina steps it up a notch after her master class with the former No Doubt forerunner. I had 5th row seats to a No Doubt concert a few years back 10 years ago. She’s a fun and energetic performer (although not quite good enough to get my husband to participate in the all-male audience singing “I’m Just a Girl”). I look forward to seeing her perform on Wednesday!

I’ll be back post-show to post my recap!


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American Idol – Top 11 Results

The MSN board that my husband checks predicted that Stephanie Edwards wouldn’t be voted forward this week. I’m not sure what scientific formula or voodoo they use, but they were correct.

Teenage hair model, heart throb, lucky contestant Sanjaya has endured long enough to make it into the Top 10.

Kevin Covais, John Stevens, anyone?

Don’t underestimate those high school students and their young female following. They probably text message their votes while procrastinating from doing homework. Don’t you think the little crying girl with the pigtails would? I know I would at that age.


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American Idol Top 11 Performances

British Invasion Week

Haley Scarnato
Ok, her performances are growing on me. This week I didn’t mind her. However, she sounded out of breath and unable to support some of her notes on the chorus while she was moving (gyrating?) around the stage and floor. (I still don’t like her choice in outfits – looked like Gap linen shorts and a gold lame halter that was double-stick-taped to her back.)

Chris Richardson
I like Chris’ versatility. He showed a more vulnerable side to his performing. I don’t typically like slower songs, but I appreciated seeing “the softer side” of Chris. I agreed with the judges that he showed a lot control and was less pitchy with this style of arrangement. I hope he tries one performance without his nasal tone. I’m curious what it would sound like.

Stephanie Edwards
I think she is the undiscovered talent of the show. Stephanie has an incredible voice and stage presence, but hasn’t had a breakout performance yet… She looked a little nervous this week (hence, the judges said she didn’t look like she had fun). Her notes were a little sharp (pitchy) this week.

Blake Lewis
A fun, redeeming performance from Blake over last week. I liked hearing the original melody line of the song mixed with a modern sound. (I typed that before Simon said it, btw!) I liked having the beatbox ‘sound’ in the background as he was singing. It tied his style into the music without him having to change it too much. His voice was a great fit compared to the original artist, don’t you think?

Lakisha Jones
Lakisha is such a pro at performing, although she seemed a little disconnected this week. Nerves, maybe? Her ending showcased the incredible power and timbre in her voice. And who wouldn’t love to be wearing $1M in diamonds?!?

Phil Stacey
Probably his best performance thus far. Poor guy, it doesn’t sound like Simon likes him too much. I don’t consider Phil to be an American Idol, but I still think he is a talented singer. He was much better with his final vocal run this week.

Jordin Sparks
“That was so empowering and I don’t even have a boyfriend.” How cute is she? I got goose bumps as she sang. Wow! Her vocal master classes are really shaping her voice and assisting her vocal stylizing. I always look forward to hearing her sing each week!

Sanjaya Malakar
It was nice to finally see an upbeat performance from Sanjaya (not that I personally liked it any better). The singing (using that term loosely here) was not Top 10 material though… VFTW sure knows how to pick them. (Yes, that was dripping with sarcasm)

What was up with continuously showing the young pigtailed girl crying??? I guess it made for a great sarcastic Simon comment and sappy camera moment.

Gina Glocksen
I love Gina. She is the awesome rocker chick I always wanted to be in high school. Needs a little work on annunciation still, but still enjoyable. Rock on, Gina!

Chris Sligh
His voice sounded perfect for this song. I loved how his voice “floats” in this range. The chorus sounded a little rushed (just slightly). It was a little distracting seeing some of the audience as he walked through (they were clapping way offbeat, hello!). Once Chris was back on stage, I liked his performance much better.

Melinda Doolittle
For being “out of her comfort zone” (her words), Melinda knows how to pull off a polished and well-sung performance. I would love to see her in the finale.

Who was your favorite performance of the night? Who do you think is “the most improved” so far? Who should go home??? Who do you think will actually go home???


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American Idol: Top 12 Performances

Celebrating Diana Ross and her 40 years in music

Brandon
Brandon has such an energy and presence on stage. I think he has so much potential, if he can just find the right song for him to show off his talent. His voice “fit” in the Motown genre very well.

Melinda
Always so enjoyable to watch Melinda’s performances. Flawless. Passionate. Powerful. She is so poised and talented. I love the way she stylizes her vocals.

Chris S.
It must be tough to take a highly recognizable song and rearrange the melody. He didn’t look that comfortable though – deer in the headlights, I’m concentrating on my words/melody, look in his eyes.

Gina
I like that Gina stays true to herself. I felt it was a good performance from her, but at moments she looked lost on the stage. Bad camera angles or something. Without the tongue piercing/stud, she might be able to annunciate her words better.

Sanjaya
It happens every week… When the cameras start rolling, Sanjaya starts singing with a soft-spoken voice. Nerves maybe? Inevitably, I hear more band and less Sanjaya. This week’s song choice would have been great for him to let loose.

I always get flashbacks of this song from the movie Step Mom when Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon both sing with the kids. Does anyone else?

Haley
She seems to be improving. She looked pretty and elegant tonight, so my guess is that she’ll get through despite forgetting her words.

Phil
Confidence is a big factor in having fun on stage and being able to support vocals. Phil was a little sloppy in the run, but his voice on the chorus sounded big and (mostly) smooth. He did a good job making a connection with the audience this week.

Lakisha
Good performance for Lakisha, but not my favorite. (If you’ve read before, I get really bored with slow songs.) She showed so much control with her voice, yet still had a full and rich voice.

Blake
It’s a bummer this song is so repetitive. There’s not a lot of range. I didn’t mind his re-arrangement of the piece. Still enjoyable and entertaining.

Stephanie
I thought Stephanie started warmly. She has a great range! Can’t wait to see her continue.

Chris R.
His humility with Diana was very sweet. Decent job personalzing his song. He works the stage and knows how to connect with the audience and viewers.

Jordin
Such an amazing talent for a 17 year old. I think as her experience grows, she will only get better and better.

Only 3 months left until the final performance!


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American Idol: Ladies Top 8 Performances

“8 contestants, 31 million viewers, one last chance. Who will you send into the top 12? The drama is about to begin [lower voice] and we don’t have Paula right now… we’ll find her right? [back at the camera] This, is American Idol. Let’s go!” - Ryan Seacrest

Jordin Sparks (Football face paint)
Jordin looked so comfortable and confident on the stage this week. Her song choice let her show her rock edge and youth. Definitely showed much more vocal control than last week.

Sabrina Sloan (Closet Katie Couric)
Another performance showing off Sabrina’s voice. Not my favorite performance. She did so well in the first week, but she hasn’t shown improvement to me. Not that this is a “most improved” contest, but I expect that each performance builds upon the previous ones otherwise it becomes predictable. Good performance, but lacking ‘Yo’.

Antonella Barba (Fiddlesticks)
Do they have someone new in the tech room? I could barely hear her voice over the band. Or maybe, she just can’t sing with the volume. I agreed with Paula that her lower register wasn’t strong and that her

Haley Scarnato
The verses of her song didn’t have much of a melody for her to show off her voice. The chorus allowed her to hit her notes clearly and with strength. Haley also always looks elegant and classy on stage. I agree that even though the song fit her, it still wasn’t a “wow” song.

Stephanie Edwards (Shy girl)
She has such a pretty voice and a confident and polished performance. I thought last week’s performance was a little better than this week. Few off-pitch notes to me.

Lakisha Jones
Great song choice to show off her warmth and power in her voice. Her outfit and hair was that of a performer. So cute that her aunt was cheering “my niece, my niece” in the audience.

Gina Glocksen (Pocket troll, Pickle & Pillow)
My favorite performance of her thus far. I thought she finally found her stride and showcased some of her edge. So glad she stepped it up. I hope to see her perform more this season.

Melinda Dolittle (Little OCD Tiger)
Such a big voice coming from a sweet, gracious woman. Rumors have it that she is the one to beat out of the ladies. With her stage presence, awesome voice, and transparency, I would have to agree.


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American Idol: Men’s Top 8

This week’s intro piece divulged a little known secret about each contestant.

Blake Lewis
(Alter-persona comedian)
I enjoy Blake’s sense of style and confidence as a performer. I love that we have a contestant with more of a hiphop edge. He’s original and I always expect a good performance from him. I was surprised Randy and Paula had not heard the song… I’m quite sure I have. That was odd.

Sanjaya Malakar (with straight hair and a hula fetish)
Agreed with Simon that there was improvement over the past week. Vocally, I thought his voice had a great tone and warmness, but his song choices are “safe” to me. Then again, I see him as a ballad singer, so singing something different might not fit him. This week’s piece allowed him to show more of his range and strength, but was still “a-ight”. He’s got the cute kid vote from America.

Sundance Head (The Man with the Fat Suit)
I always think of Meatloaf when I see and hear Sundance sing. I enjoyed his rendition of Pearl Jam, although I never really thought of them as “singers”. He is this week’s pick for VFTW.

Chris Richardson (Less 40)
Boy, you still looked good in your “chunky” football days. Nice to see a non-bouncy performance from Chris. Found this article on the hometown boy and his very own fan forum.

Jared Cotter
Fun song choice and challenging, too. The chorus was a little rough, but the verse and bridge sounded smooth and on-key. Having been on this side of the screen, I didn’t “feel” that Jared was yelling. It sounded full and powerful. His movement on the stage flows, but still pushes the border into over-performing.

Brandon Rogers (The classic pianist – awesome!)
I enjoyed his energy and choice of song. I still think he can do so much more and hope he’ll make it back to show his stuff.

Phil Stacey (the self-imposed bald guy)
Tough song. I looked for the trax to sing it for a performance once and decided the range was too broad (for my non-Idol voice LOL). You have to have a strong upper and lower register to really make this song float and sound natural.

Chris Sligh (Curly Sue Sligh)
Loved the song choice (although the judges didn’t). Chris has a full, rich sounding voice – I thought this song


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