Life Lessons on Idol

I learned some very important lessons tonight from American Idol. First, a good voice can be obscured by an inflatable cowboy & horse costume. Second, just because your mother is famous doesn’t mean you can sing. There’s only one Taylor Hicks – thank goodness. And don’t forget that just because “peanut butter jelly time” is an internet favorite doesn’t mean that it will translate well to an Idol audition. “X-Centric” is NOT actually the most exciting entertainer on planet Earth (did he bring his own mic?). And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Paula Abdul/Randy Jackson learn to sing DVD is in no way a substitute for a real singing coach. Fantastic episode.

I also liked tonight’s guest judge Olivia Newton-John. It seems that she is doing the “guest judge” circuit (she was a judge on Grease on Sunday), and she was far more snarky on Idol.

There were a couple of standout singers tonight. I loved Brandon, the hottie who sang “Always on My Mind.” I agree with Simon that he could be a finalist. I also like Alaina, who was about to give up singing (and sang a Michael Bublé song).

Idol Goes to Birmingham

Birmingham is such a strange place. After watching tonight’s episode of American Idol, I’m really ok with the fact that I’ve never been.

Tonight’s episode brings up the point about the bad singers. How many of them are really there because they think they have a shot? Or do they just want to get on television. Some it’s easy to tell – Margaret (the 50 year old who sort of looked like Big Bird) was clearly looking for her moment on tv. But others it’s hard to tell. Like Diana, the “large” girl who came in wearing one glove (ala Michael Jackson) and sang Whitney Houston. Or crazy Brandy, who seemed to be convinced that she sounded better on the carpet. You have to wonder if these people really hear themselves sing and think they are good. I feel bad for them – it’s sort of like being color blind.

There were a few really good singers. I LOVED Chris, the funny guy with the fro who wants to make David Hasselhoff cry. He’s funny, and he sounded amazing. I also liked Tatiana, the cute little girl who sang towards the beginning of the show (who knows what she sang…I was focused on her giant red and white belt). I also think that Jamie Lynn, who helps to take care of her paralyzed father, will go far. She’s this season’s Kellie Pickler, and she now has a hit single. Go figure.

If Only We Had Chicken Suits...

Chicken suits. Did Trump just fire someone over chicken suits?

After the requisite movement of a team member to Arrow, the teams started on a marketing task. As soon as I heard the two different bowls, I knew Arrow would win. Why? Because I would never eat Kinetic's creation...I'm like Trump - I don't like fruit with my food. (I was the only one at my own wedding who didn't eat the chicken with fruit salsa) It was even clearer when they showed the two restaurants. Arrow's restaurant had balloons, signs, and a general air of excitement. Over at Kinetic's restaurant I wasn't even sure they were having a promotion. Did they do any marketing at all?

In the end, Arrow did finally win one, and got an amazing reward. They're in the house now, and got a private concert from Andrea Bocelli. Amazing. I liked seeing a softer side of Frank at the reward too - he really got choked up at the concert. My friend Stephen thinks that Frank is a "typical obnoxious Yankees fan"; he is, but he's also starting to grow on me. I also really like Aaron. He's a local kid - he actually went to the same college as my sister - and he seems to have really good business sense.

Over on Kinetic, it was great to see them in the boardroom. I was also happy to see the return of pretty-boy-Sean from last season. What bothered me was what ended up happening. It shouldn't have been Marissa fired. It wasn't her fault that they lost. Heidi was in control, and decided that she wasn't going to take any of Marissa's suggestions. I totally see where Marissa just gave up - none of her ideas were being considered. (I also don't understand what the rest of the team was doing while Marissa & Derek were working on marketing) Marissa was also right when she pointed out that the rest of the team had ganged up on her - they HAD decided ahead of time to take out Marissa - when Trump asked them all who they would fire, they already knew who they would say. I think that if Marissa had managed to keep her mouth shut, maybe Heidi would have been fired. I know that there is a lot of board room that we don't see (come on NBC, post the entire board room on the web!), but it didn't seem like Heidi had to do much explaining about the task. But Marissa kept saying "chicken suits" over and over and over. Of course, she was the one Trump fired.

Not Really Sure That Grease is What I Want

Yes, I watched Grease: You’re The One That I Want again tonight. Actually, I watched last week’s episode this afternoon, then the new episode tonight. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I keep watching. Of course, by me watching, my reality-tv hating hubby actually uttered the phrase “this actually makes me miss American Idol.” Totally worth the three hours.

I hated the format of the show - introducing two performers, then having them both perform and be judged together. I’m not really sure of the point. I also didn’t understand Billy Bush feeling the need to give each contestant a nickname (“It’s sweet Sandy! And emotional Sandy!).

I’m also really unclear on the show itself. Will it be singing every week? And wouldn’t that just make this a really cheap rip-off of American Idol? I’m hoping that we’ll have weeks where the competition will be dancing or acting. And why did they bring back two contestants? Matt was good, but Ashley A. was horrible. If you’re going to bring two back, why Ashley A? Very strange. They also never explained if the contestants choose their songs and outfits, or if they are selected for them to set the mood (like they were in the final round at “Grease Academy”). And if someone selects the outfits for them, whoever selected Laura’s outfit (the short yellow shirts and white high heel ankle boots) needs to be fired. Now.

I’m also a little shaky on the voting thing. First, there doesn’t seem to be a results show planned. When do the people get voted off? The results show is the one thing that all of these Idol knock-offs have in common.

Sigh…I can’t believe I care this much.

Anyways, some of the contestants were pretty good. I liked Derek and Chad for the guys, as well as Austin, though I think his “I’m good and I know it” attitude is going to get him kicked off earlier than expected. For the girls, I liked Kate and Ashley S. I’m not sure who will be eliminated, mostly because I’m not sure how it will work…is it voting that eliminates someone, or is there another round before someone goes home? And did anyone else notice how nice the judges were being to some of them who really didn’t deserve it? I have a theory. There are always those “vote for the worst” websites…could the judges actually be aware of them? There’s a lot more at stake for the judges to have a strong winner at the end of this show than at the end of all the others. I really think that they may be nervous to really slam a bad performance for fear that voters may rally behind them. Just a theory. I guess we’ll find out in two weeks (because NBC is smart enough to not put this stuff up against the Super Bowl…).

Idol in NYC

Thank goodness - two full hours of Idol tonight. And once again, the producers rewarded us with some of the best and worst singers ever. No one really in between - just really good or really bad. (which brings up a great game - can you guess whether they'll be good or bad before they open their mouths? It's harder than you think...)

I was right about the first contestant of the night - Ian was, in fact, the same guy who auditioned over the summer for So You Think You Can Dance?. And, sadly, he is a worse singer than he is a dancer. But good for us, it was such a "great" audition that he needed to be escorted out of the room. Fantastic start to the night.

There were lots of really horrible auditions tonight. And the producers did a great job editing them. Not only did they show Ian walking around introducing himself as the next American Idol, they played the soap opera music over Ashanti's pleas to go to Hollywood. They also gave Sarah, who knows she can't sing, way more airtime then you would guess (and trust me, I'm thankful for it). Seacrest was also in rare form tonight - he's really perfected the art of saying nothing. The best was Isadora...after she read his palm (and did you see the look on his face?) and really ruined a perfectly good song, he asked her how she thought day 2 went. When she tried to explain that it was day 3, he just looked at the cameras and commented on how that summed it all up. Great job Ryan.

There were also a lot of really good singers tonight. I really liked Jenry (the hunky guy in the polo shirt), Chris (the green shirt guy who looks like Justin Timberlake), Jory (the world traveler), and Antonella (who auditioned with her best friend...sure to be good for some drama later in the show). I was also really glad to see Nicholas (who made it to the Hollywood round last year, but bowed out) back this season - I loved him last year, so I hope he can get it together in Hollywood this year.

Another Great Night on Idol

It was another fantastic night on American Idol. The only problem? It was only an hour long.

First, though, a follow-up from last week's show. You may remember Jonathan, the large boy from Seattle who was friends with the strange-looking kid that Simon called a bush baby. Turns out that Jonathan is actually a Special Olympian, which started a string of hatred toward the show, most notably from Rosie O'Donnell, who couldn't believe that Simon would treat a Special Olympics kid that way. Well, you know what? Jonathan didn't mind. He thought it was funny. And Special Olympics released a statement supporting the Idol judges as well. They were pleased that Jonathan was treated like any other kid, and given the same chance that everyone else got. I couldn't agree more.

So on to tonight's show, which made me and my husband laugh so hard it actually hurt. It started out strong, with Frank the cheerleader who brought a band and cheer squad with him. And when he didn't make it through to Hollywood, the band played that "so sad too bad" noise (I won't even begin to try to spell out that noise...you know what I mean). And then when Simon asked them to shut up, Seacrest fought back...we had to watch it a couple of times we were laughing so hard. Then there was the dullest contestant ever, Tameka, who I don't even think realized what she was doing. What about Travis, who wanted to bring emotion to the show? The only emotion I got was more laughter. Or Topher, whose wife left him, but he got to call her a b---h on national tv. What about Robert, whose Elvis song makes me think that he may also be a Special Olympian. And my absolute favorite, Janita, who told cameras that she wears sunglasses because they "boost my confidentiality." They do wonders for your confidence as well.

There were a few good singers. The ones that I think will do well were Sundance (I mean, come on - his name is Sundance), Danielle (who sang the Aretha song), Sean (the Castro lookalike), and Melinda (the girl with a great voice but no self-confidence). Can't wait for tomorrow's show.

Oh - one last note. Did anyone else recognize the guy in the preview for Wednesday night's show? I think he auditioned last summer for So You Think You Can Dance?...he was the one who came in and asked where he should put his mink. I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain it's the same guy. Hopefully I'm not the only one who noticed...

Would you Rather Quit or be Fired?

That's really the question, isn't it. Ok, maybe the bigger question from Sunday night is how Tom Brady and my beloved Patriots could blow a 21-3 halftime lead to the Colts. Seriously. I don't care that it was one of the best games ever, that Peyton Manning may just be a better QB than Brady, and that he might also be one of the nicest and most decent guys in the game. At least now we can get back to focusing on the fact that pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than a month. Sigh...

So after I got over the Pats loss (ok, sort of), I watched Sunday night's episode of The Apprentice. I'm just not sure about this season. It sure does seem like it's jumped the shark. But I can't figure out why. The contestants are nice enough. The twists this season are actually interesting. And all of the tasks have been fantastic (best tasks in several years...thank you Mark Burnett...). But something seems to be lacking, and I don't know what.

The task this week was fantastic. And you could tell from about two seconds in that Michelle was going to lose. She didn't want to be project manager, and she clearly had no leadership skills. Meanwhile, Aaron was leading his team to a clear victory. I kind of felt bad for Michelle's team. It was pitiful. But what was even more pitiful than the crushing defeat was Michelle quitting. She had to know she was going to be fired. She could have even gone into the board room, said that she was responsible for the loss and that she should be fired instead of the others. It would have been the same result, and she would have looked a million times better. Instead, she made a decision that is going to make it hard for her to get a job outside of the show. Yes, the show is hard. But you had to know that going in - to look at Donald Trump and tell him that this wasn't what you signed up for is not only dumb; it's insulting, both to Trump and to the thousands of people who were turned down so you could have a chance on the show. I hope that she can live with that choice.

More Losers on American Idol

Rumor had it that this season's auditions in Seattle were the worst in Idol history. And while it's hard to trust anything that Paula Abdul says, I think she's right on this one. They could really just package tonight's episode as "The Best of the Worst" and be done with it.

You knew it was going to be bad when last season's "I Shot the Sheriff" guy started the show off dressed as Uncle Sam. And then it's followed up by a not-so-attractive girl calling herself "the hotness." No, this just can't be good. Actually, not good would have been fine. Instead, we got Darwin and her mother, who seemed to step right out of the twilight zone. Or new-found friends Kenneth (who looks like a monkey) and Jonathan (who would be much better suited for The Biggest Loser). Or Nicholas, the software engineer who just murdered "Unchained Melody." (and since he said that his co-workers encouraged him to try out, you just have to think that he's the butt of one of the greatest practical jokes ever) What about Amy, whose sob story was that her husband told her not to audition, even though he was clearly trying to protect her. Or Big Red, who apparently isn't a fan of American Idol, or even of music itself. Do these people not have friends? Why don't they tell them how bad they sound?

There were a few good singers tonight (but really, just a few). I liked Thomas with the afro, who sang "Arms of a Woman" towards the beginning of the show. I also liked brother & sister duo of Shyamali and Sanjaya. They both had great voices, and I think that the show could use some more diversity.

Yay for the audition round & for people who have no clue. Can't wait for next week.

Idol is Back!

Hooray! After what seems like forever, American Idol is finally back. And even though I love the singing rounds (you know, when we actually get to vote), there is nothing like the audition rounds. Even my cranky husband likes it.

Some thoughts from last night's premiere...Ryan Seacrest seems a bit snarky this season, and I LOVE it. His comments to some of the crazier contestants were so funny that we had to pause and rewind the tivo. Also hilarious? The fact that they had one of the two doors locked. It was like a running joke on The Muppet Show as nearly every reject also had to hear Simon say "other door." (and you just knew that after awhile Simon was adding an expletive after that) I also liked the return of the guest judge. I'm not a fan of the guest judge later on in the show (since it always seems that they are there to sell something), but I liked it last night. Maybe it was just because it was Jewel, but I hope they do it in more cities.

Now for the contestants. Oh dear. There were so many bad contestants last night, I can't possibly name them all. Some standouts? Troy, the "urban Amish" guy who admitted that he's not the next American Idol, and I think who made up the song as he went along. And there were the string of mediocre singers who made it on tv because they had a serious meltdown after being rejected. The best was Jason (the juggler) who seemed pretty calm as he left, then launched into a string of expletives and tears when he was back with Seacrest. Oh my. And he was also the beneficiary of the best edit of the night - as he's swearing and sobbing, they cut to Simon commenting that he took it well.

Speaking of editing, they continued the practice of highlighting people who were either tremendously good or tremendously bad. They spent a lot of time with Idol super-fan Brenna...super bad. And they spent a lot of time with Denise (the "crack baby")...really good. My husband also noticed that they only showed the good singers who had an interesting back story. The "normal" singers who made it through to Hollywood got no airtime.

There were a couple of singers who stood out in a good way last night. I'm scared to make predictions this early, but I liked Jarrod the Navy guy, Denise the "crack baby", and Sarah who sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Now watch - they'll all be cut in the first round in Hollywood. So sorry to jinx you all.

Nice Shorts...

There’s a lot of talk about this season of The Apprentice. Some say "best ever"; some say the show has jumped the shark. All I can think about is how white Donald Trump's ankles are. Seriously, did you see them? They were about a million shades lighter than his face. It's all I can think about. Well, that and Carey in his pink bathing suit. Oh my.

Even though I don't see how designing a bathing suit prepares you for a career in the Trump organization, I really liked the task. I liked it because it wasn't all about selling a sponsor's product (which was nearly every task last season). Yes, there was a sponsor, but it was much better integrated into the show.

So, I liked the task (and I liked the reward - how fun would it be to hang out at the Playboy Mansion? And yes, my husband thinks it's really cool that I think that...). But I hated the editing. Did anyone else notice that in Carey's interview at the beginning of the show he said that living in the tents for two weeks was miserable? Did anyone else realize that that means that they lost, since they had only been in the tents for about a week at the start of the task? Even if they had actually been living in the tents already for two weeks, the story of the show has them having been there a week, which would break up the story they are trying to build.

I also hated that Carey got fired. There was no question that it was his fault that they lost. (I mean, come on...who would wear that?) But he took a risk, while the other team played it very safe. And I really hated that Michelle refused to make a decision or take a stand on anything, so nothing could be pinned on her if they lost. I hate that kind of game play, especially in a show like this, which is all about taking a risk and shining.

Grease: You're the One That I Want

Yes, I watched again. No, I don't know why.

Armed and Famous

Have I watched the show? NO. I hadn't even planned on it - you know the premise of a show is bad when I don't tivo it. I didn't even feel bad about it. That is, until today. I love love love the Don and Mike show. It's a syndicated radio show that I've listened to since middle school. Seriously. They rock. So on today's show, Mike was talking about how great Armed and Famous was. To the point that I'm thinking about giving it a try. The episodes are online...I'll let you know...

Grease...I'm Just not Sure You're the One That I Want...

I finally just got around to watching the first episode of Grease: You're the One That I Want. I don't think it speaks too well for the show that it took me nearly a week to watch it (especially when you consider how many re-runs of Scrubs I've watched this week on Comedy Central...wait, isn't it time for another episode right now?...). I will say, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. That being said, it's not that good either.

I love the set-up itself. I'm one of those people who loves the movie version of Grease; one of those people who always stops on it when it's on tv. Hypothetically, it's a combination of two of my favorite reality shows - American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. But it falls so short. The format is such a copy of American Idol that their producers should prepare for the law suits. But in all the areas that they try to be Idol they fall hopelessly short. The judges aren't nearly as good, and (I can't believe I'm about to say this) Billy Bush is certainly no Ryan Seacrest (yikes, I did just type that). They also have the most ridiculous catch phrase...apparently every time someone is chosen, the judges have to use the phrase "you're the one that we want...". Do you think that the producers look at interns and say "you're the one that I want to get me a double espresso"? One can only hope.

The other ridiculousness is that the next round of competition has them going to "Grease Academy." Wow. Let me just tell you where I do NOT want to go.

So, will I watch the show again? Probably, especially since I can tivo it and watch it some other time when there's nothing else on. I'm hoping that once we get through auditions and there are actual good contestants I'll get more into it. Hopefully...

The Donald is Back

It's been a long few weeks without any new reality tv. I really don't know how I survived.

Last night's premiere of The Apprentice: LA was surprisingly good. I knew that there would be some twists, but not how many twists there would be. And for the most part, they're good.

To recap, they're in LA this season. Trump is in one mansion, the candidates are in the mansion next door. Well, sort of...the winning team is in the mansion; the losing team is in tent-city in the sprawling backyard (and since it's a mansion's backyard, there are sprinklers. Brilliant.). It's a huge twist not just because of the rift it creates between the teams, and the reward of living in the house, but game-wise, it means the teams don't really interact with each other. At first I didn't like it, but it's more Survivor-ish, and we all know how I feel about Survivor. George and Carolyn are gone...I know that Carolyn is no longer with the Trump organization, but who knows what happened to George. Ivanka is the one "eyes & ears" this season, and she's actually pretty good. The other seat? The winning PM. Wow. That's a HUGE twist...not sure if I like it or not yet. It will be interesting to see how it plays out over the season, especially when a PM who has sat in the board room actually loses. The final twist I know how I feel about - the winning PM stays PM until they lose. This I hate. So many reasons why - for now, just know that I hate it.

Now for the candidates. It's hard to have feelings about most of them yet, but I definitely have my favorites (and my not-so-favorites). I really like Heidi & James. I also like Angela. One of them will be in the finals for sure (see, I'm not so much for predicting the entire final three anymore!). At the other end? Well, let's just say I wasn't sad to see Martin go. If he pulled out one more African proverb, I would have lost it. So worthless; so his time to go. Frank didn't do a great job, but I think he'll be fine - being the first PM when you don't know your team yet...it's hard, and he didn't lose by a huge margin.

The other thing I really like this season is that Trump seems to have a lot more attitude. Even from the first few minutes when he said to his son "take care of yourself." :) He was funny on the reward, and snarky in the boardroom. I love it.

Can't wait for next week...