Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been really busy with the So You Think You Can Dance auditions (keep a look out for the piccies k!) so I haven't been able to update y'all with the latest info on some of our hottest 8TV programs. A thousand apologies!

Now,where were we? ;)

Oh yes,did you guys manage to catch the first performance of the top 12 American Idol finalists last week? If you didn't,here's a recap of what had happened:

Singer: Brandon Rogers
Song: "Can't Hurry Love"
The Judges say: Randy loved the last two notes, but mostly tears Brandon to pieces. Did Paula get fresh collagen or something today? Her face looks extra-paralyzed, as she tells Brandon that he must have had nerves. Simon calls it a complete letdown, saying he came across as the background singer to a background singer.

Singer: Melinda Doolittle
Song: "Home"
The Judges say:Randy scores it 1-0 for the girls (Brandon was so bad the girls should get an extra point). Paula's bawling in true Season Three or Season Four fashion. Oye. She'd been so well-medicated this season. What happened? Simon says Melinda reminds him of a young Gladys Knight.

Singer: Chris Sligh
Song: "Endless Love"
The Judges say: Randy didn't like the arrangement of the song, which made the whole thing a mess for him. Paula took something at the break, because she's briefly coherent. Simon thinks Chris turned a beautiful song into a drone. "Even the boos are light," he says, when only a couple fans protest his opinion.

Singer: Gina Glocksen
Song: "Love Child"
The Judges say: Randy didn't feel any excitement. Paula thinks "Love Child" is a feel-good song and Gina's been better. Simon says he doesn't have much to say about the performance and then babbles for a couple minutes.

Singer: Sanjaya Malakar
Song: "Ain't No Mountain"
The Judges say:Randy's in the nervous giggle mode he got into with Kevin Covais last season, as if he's temporarily forgotten what show he'd judging and he knows nothing he says matters anyway. Paula loves Sanjaya's smile. "When you hear a wail in Beverly Hills, that is where Diana Ross is watching this show," Simon says, complimenting his bravery. Or maybe he said "When you hear a whale..." Sanjay was similarly perplexed.

Singer: Haley Scarnato
Song: "Missing You"
The Judges say:Randy says that it was a valiant effort. Paula says Haley looks lovely. "I didn't think it was that bad," Simon says, saluting Haley's relative poise and presence. Haley's reaction -- half-tears, half-relief, half-who-knows-what -- is shockingly unreadable.


Singer: Phil Stacey
Song: "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
The Judges say:Randy gives him the male vocal of the night, which isn't saying much. Paula didn't like the song choice. Simon thought he was OK, but that he shouts the big notes instead of singing them.

Singer: LaKisha Jones
Song:"God Bless the Child"
The Judges say: Randy raves that it was sensational. Simon says some people don't have it, but she has it. He says -- correctly -- that LaKisha and Melinda are in a different league and I'd love to hear those two go head-to-head on this song.

Singer: Blake Lewis
Song: "You Keep Me Hanging On"
The Judges say: Randy says he's a huge fan, but Blake should have just sung. Paula praises Blake's arrangement at the expense of Chris Sligh's earlier effort. Simon didn't get it and says it wouldn't have worked outside of the context of the show.

Singer: Stephanie Edwards
Song: "Love Hangover"
The Judges say:Randy says she forgot some of the words, which I didn't notice. Paula joins Randy in waiting for the up-tempo part of the song. Simon says she chose the wrong song.

Singer: Chris Richardson
Song: "The Boss"
The Judges say:Randy thinks he over-did the runs and came out half-good/half-bad. Paula suggests it was the best of the Men. Simon says that if you took out Chris' charm and personality, the vocals were dreadful.

Singer: Jordin Sparks
Song: "If We Hold On Together"
The Judges say: Randy's impressed and argues that Jordin should be put up there with LaKisha and Melinda. Paula's happy too. Simon thought the song was gooey, but it was a very, very good vocal.

Seriously, I can't think of a finalists' performance show that was as uneven -- OK, downright weak -- as what this year's top 12 gave us this week. Where this show would be without the likes of Melinda, LaKisha and Jordin, I shudder to think.

Fortunately, the voters seem to agree that the competition needs those three women, as LaKisha, Jordin and Melinda all sail through to next week. A very chipper Ryan Seacrest quickly dispatches Brandon (not a big surprise) and Phil (a minor eyebrow-raiser; hey, at least he was on key) to the bottom three, but we have to wait a while to see if Haley or Sanjaya -- who, based on last night, probably both deserve to be on the block -- will join them.

Ross, who coached the singers this week, takes the stage for a live performance of her recent song "More Today Than Yesterday." She looks diva-rific and sounds pretty good too, but she and Seacrest get into a weird post-song banter where she just basically repeats whatever he says: "Your tour is coming up soon?" "Coming up soon." "Info's on your web site?" "On the web site."

Eventually, Sanjaya joins Phil and Brandon in the bottom three. Phil gets a reprieve, leaving the background singer and the impressively coiffed teenager to face being the first one played off to Chris Daughtry's song "Home."

The voters deem forgetting words a graver sin than missing notes, so Sanjaya gets to stay. Brandon is sanguine about his departure, saying he expected it after his gaffe last night.

That this week produced an all-male bottom three seems right, given the way the show has progressed thus far. And Sanjaya has got to be worried.

Your thoughts on the first Top 12 elimination? Did the voters get it right, or should Brandon have stuck around?