The Top 10...

Ok, so I'm writing this WHILE watching tonight. Something new for me so we'll see how it goes. I just don't want to do it all for memory again so here goes...

Um...WHAT the junk was up with that kiss between Simon and Ellen during the intro of the show? I would've been fine never having seen that. Awkward is an understatement. And speaking of awkward, another that should be outlawed from the show along with the holding up of fingers for the number to vote for...is the "double hand wave". Katie did it tonight when they all first come out and I just cannot deal. I don't know what it is about it, but I can't stand it.

Usher was a good mentor for this genre..he's an excellent singer and has been in the industry long enough to actually know what he's talking about. However, the sunglasses at all times have got to go. Just dance for us Ush, that's all we ask.

Ok... first up was Siobhan: Oh my. She was NOT good. She was VERY flat on the majority of the song and the screaming with her has really got to stop. It (the screaming) is not exciting anymore and it's getting worse every week. I have decided that I legitimately do not like her. I was on the fence with her for a while and now I'm over it. As a person she seems fun and I enjoy her "quirky self" but as a singer, I'm done with her. I'm glad the judges weren't singing her praises after that like they usually do. I felt bad that she looked like she was about to cry and then actually DID start crying at the end, but reality is a tough pill to swallow. And tonight, her reality was that she sang that horribly. By far the worst she's done.

Casey: Oh, would you look at that, he's playing the electric guitar again. Dude, put it down. For one week in your life, put the guitar down. His voice though sounded great tonight actually. I LOVED the horn section playing with him. Usher was right, excellent song choice for him...it fit his voice perfectly. I hear a little Danny Gokey tone in him every once and a while and tonight I heard it a lot. I'm just honestly sick of the electric guitar EVERY week. Starting to come off as a one trick pony there, fella. Time to switch it up. I hope he was serious when he said that he was gonna play the acoustic next week instead. I mean, you might want to try putting it down COMPLETELY, but as long as it's not the electric again, I'm fine. Judging just his voice alone though, tonight was a good night for him.

Big Mike: I like him, I do. HOWEVER, he's starting to come off a bit cocky and I do not like that. Maybe it's just me, but I just feel like he's a little TOO confident. It's not a big deal, but there is a slight arrogance about him lately. With that said, he's got a great r&b voice. I mean, that's basically his deal anyway so I'm not surprised he did well. It was a nice change up for him to just sit with the guitar, but it was a TAD boring. He for sure needs to be an r&b singer though. I still say he's got some of, if not THE, best pitch of the entire top 10. I can't really remember a time ever hearing him that he was off pitch. If nothing else, that is something I can fully support because that is ACTUALLY what this competition is about.

Didi: First off, I LOVE the song she chose. Love, love, love it. I'm so glad she picked that. I just really really like her. And I like her voice. I'm not sure about that full length gown she was wearing, but HER I like. Her voice wasn't as good tonight as it has been, but it also wasn't as bad as it's been (Anyone else remember the Lean On Me week.... yikes!). She's for sure not an r&b singer and you could tell. Her voice just doesn't really fit a song like that. But, even in spite of that, I thought she did pretty good. I don't like how the judges are so hard on her all the time. She always does much better than what they say. Sure she wasn't GREAT tonight, but cut the girl some slack. You are the same judges that thought Paige Miles was worthy of the Top 24 so OBVIOUSLY you don't know what you're talking about at times. And Kara needs to stop. Just stop everything. If she pulls that "we just don't know who you are" crap ONE more time I might jump thru the TV and slap her straight in the face. I wish Didi would tell her to shut it one week. I also wish that Ryan wouldn't have been so vague telling us that "Didi sang that song specifically for someone".... Um... what? I'd like the info, please.

Tim: Since I'm writing this while watching, I can honestly say that Tim has not sung one word yet and I am ALREADY annoyed. His mentor session with Usher was painful. Painfully awkward. I just don't want to have to listen to him again. Ever. But, alas, I must. Oh, and surprise, surprise....he was awful. I just don't even like the sound of his voice. Like if he had good tone, it might make up for the fact that he sang flat or bad or whatever, but that's just the problem... he does not have good tone. Because of that, even when he could have the potential to sound good, he still doesn't QUITE get there because his tone just isn't that great. I guess toward the end there he started to sound a little better, but C'MON! Get off the show! GET OFF!!!! Please. Just. Leave. And his laughing during the critiques... maybe he knows that he's awful. Or maybe he's completely oblivious to the fact that Simon was dead serious about the fact that he's never gonna win.

Andrew: I loved that Usher called him out on the fact that he was TOO nervous. I think that's been a lot of his problem. He gets too wrapped up in the whole thing that he psychs himself out. Excellent choice of song....loved the upright bass! I feel like he got back to the "Straight Up" vibe from Hollywood week and sounded really great. He for sure looked less nervous so the Usher mentoring must've helped cuz he seemed more at ease this week than he's been. I am SO glad the judges thought what I did about getting back to his vibe. It was about time he did that, and about time they stopped giving him such a hard time.

Katie: Aretha Franklin? REALLY!? Oh good Lord have mercy. Why? Why do people do that!? Here's the deal...if you are TRULY a musician, you should KNOW to never, ever, EVER sing Aretha, Whitney, or Mariah. Only Aretha, Whitney and Mariah should sing Aretha, Whitney and Mariah. That should be a universal rule and people should know to never break the rule. I mean for real! Why!? It obviously could've been a lot worse than it was, but it was still not that great. Just way too big for her! And the worst part, she thought she was owning it. Not so much. Again, not as horrible as it had the potential to be, but seriously...who honestly thinks they can own an Aretha song? Katie... seriously... get a clue. I can understand why the judges were saying she did well tonight because it was better than previous weeks, but still.... she's never gonna win either so why the false hope? Just a waste of time if you ask me.

Lee: Well look at Lee go! He's also got a little Danny Gokey vibe going, just like Casey. I thought his vocal was great tonight. For me, that was the best I think he's ever sounded. I still don't LOVE his voice, but that was really good. He seemed to be way more into it tonight too than previous weeks. I feel like he finally got out of his box of "I can only sing 6 notes"...cuz that's what I'd been feeling from him. But he was really just screaming those notes out tonight! I think that was the "moment" they'd been wanting him to have. Good job, Lee....good job!

Crystal: Ok... when she started singing at the piano I got chills. I LOVE that song..I mean who doesn't?! And honestly the moment she started singing it...just that 10 second blurb in her time with Usher...I had goosebumps. I could have done without those background singers standing pretty much ON the piano. Take a step back ladies. And while you're at it, tell the sound guy to turn your mics down. But back to Crystal... you rock. I'm not entirely sure you should've done that falsetto thing in the middle, but the rest of it was great. Great choice switching to the piano. You could tell she wasn't 100% comfortable on it, but it was great. Her voice is just really cool and I'll say it again... I want her to win. Someone like her just really needs to win. Every winner, with the exception of Taylor Hicks and probably Fantasia, has been so "cookie cutter" American Idol with their voice....if that makes sense. She is out of the box. We need an out of the box winner, since we were ROBBED of that last year when Adam came in 2nd! Crystal needs to win because Adam didn't. There, I said it.

Aaron: Ok, Aaron. I am torn with you. You have a good voice, you actually do. You just don't quite do it for me. Maybe there have just been one too many times where you sang flat or something, but I can't seem to get off the fact that I'm still mad about the fact that you are in the top 10 and Alex Lambert isn't. I would rather listen to him than you. Aaron did okay tonight. Just okay. It was better than other performances from him, but it wasn't great. If I had to chose between him and Tim though, I'd probably pick Aaron. Pound for pound he's a better singer. AND, he doesn't annoy the begeezus out of me. I thought it was a big, and ridiculously false, statement for Usher to say that he could possibly WIN this thing but it wasn't horrible.

I really hope that Tim goes home. I don't think he will because little girls are probably dialing their little fingers off, so I'm not sure who it will be. Based on vocals alone tonight, I would not be surprised if Siobhan was in the bottom 3 tomorrow. I don't think she'd be the one leaving, but she was probably the worst vocal tonight. I honestly don't know who will be in the bottom. Didi maybe? I hope not, but I really think tonight is a toss up. I just want it to be Tim. Or Katie. They need to go sooner rather than later.

Overall, tonight was a better night than most. OH and someone needs to help me out here.... there was a girl sitting behind Usher with blond hair and dreads. WHO WAS SHE!? I know I have seen her before and it was driving me NUTS that I couldn't figure it out!! I don't know if she was on this show, or a different show, or WHAT, but I know I have seen her somewhere before and I could not figure it out. If anyone knows, PLEASE let me know!!

Finally... the right move!

Could it be? Could it really be!? Did something actually go RIGHT tonight on American Idol? Well... look at that!! PAIGE IS GONE!! The world is surely rejoicing tonight because, for the VERY first time this season, the exact three people that should've been in the bottom 3, WERE in the bottom 3. And even better than that, the bottom 2 were actually the right bottom 2. And the BEST news of all.. the RIGHT person went home!! I never thought I'd see the day. Let's all just cross our fingers that this will be the first step in the right direction and that the remainder of the show will continue to redeem itself. I'm believing that it can. I have to believe that, I just have to.

So other than my sheer elation that Paige is a goner, let's discuss a few things about tonight's episode. First things first.... did anyone else notice that Ryan apparently forgot to tell us that Lee and Casey were safe and both guys were left standing as we went to commercial break? Hilarious. Especially from Ryan who is usually right on top of things. Secondly, are we really supposed to believe that Miley's performance was actually happening "live"?? Please. Sure, she was SINGING it live....as in not lip syncing (like those AWFUL group numbers that they REALLY need to veto!), but she was for sure not performing that in the middle of the show like they wanted us to believe. The dead give away was the fact that they never showed the judges. They were talking about them but never shot the camera their way. And why not? Because they were not sitting there. If you look at the wide shots when she was singing you can SO totally tell that those are just filler people. Hey, Fox Broadcasting network, let's try to get some more believable body doubles next time. You're not fooling anyone... at least not me anyway. As far as Miley's performance goes... I actually liked it. She was straining JUST a bit for those higher notes, but I really liked that song (I know, I was surprised by that fact too!) and I thought all in all she did a good job. The head banging while wearing that white satin gown? Um... yeah, not the best idea. She looked ridiculous and should never do that again.

Joe Jonas and Demi Levato were presh. It was like a 14 year old's dream show tonight (or, in the case of my 23 year old sister who has an unhealthy obsession with the Disney channel... the best night of her life). They sounded good and let's just say, for the record, that Joe Jonas looks 1,000% better with that shorter hair style than his previous shag look. The two of them should really think about being in love.

For the first time this season, I will be going to bed tonight thoroughly pleased with the way the show turned out. I sincerely hope that this won't be the only time this season that I feel this way. OH... I almost forgot to talk about how horribly insulting, yet wonderfully fantastic, it was to have Simon tell Paige that she might as well not even sing her "will you save me?" song because it just wasn't gonna happen. Loved it! Brutal, and straight to the point! Something I think is lacking on the show this year...even from Simon. So good job with that! Oh, and Crystal telling Ryan that she'd be listening to "herself" when he asked her who she'd be listening to regarding her performances... loved it! She's great. No messing around with that one. Love it.

Well, Season 9... you're on your way out of the woods. Please don't do anything stupid to ruin that. We've already had enough crap this season... just put the past in the past and keep movin' up! You've still got a LONG way to go!

Top 11....

Ok. Show of hands.... who sings better than this year's contestants? C'mon.. raise 'em up.... OH! Would you look at that?! HALF OF ALL AMERICA IS RAISING THEIR HANDS! If you didn't raise your hand I can only assume that you are tone deaf because that is the ONLY way you'd be worse than the vast majority of the remaining 11 people on Idol this season.


Before I get into the performances, let's just ask one... no, I'm sorry... two.. very important questions regarding the show tonight. 1.) Why on a night when you can pick ANY number 1 Billboard song there has EVER been, did half of the contestants choose to sing songs over 20 years old? It wasn't "classics" night. Song choices were bad tonight. Just all around bad. And 2.) Miley Cyrus as a mentor? Really!? MENTOR? I realize she's sold a bunch of albums and has had crazy success in her 17 years of life, but as a VOCAL mentor? No. If I wanted advice on how to handle my fame at such a young age, or how to find people who will market me and my career so successfully, sure... I'd maybe ask Miley. If I wanted advice on how to be a good singer, she'd be at the bottom of my list just slightly above Taylor Swift.


Ok.. moving on to the performances (which will be in no particular order tonight).... Oh, and as a sidenote, I am currently listening to Adam's performances from last season on my iTunes right now. I felt the need to remind myself that the show didn't always suck so bad. And I needed some Adam to remind me that he rules. Ok.... here we go...



1.) Siobhan: She did not do good tonight. I'm still on the fence about if I even like her voice or not, but tonight I for sure did not. Singing a Stevie song is always a big risk. I just don't get the excitement over her. I know she's different and quirky and has a good enough voice, but I just don't get the hype. She's not THAT great. And I'll say it again just like I said it last week... she needs to lay off the screaming a little. It's not that it's bad, it's just not what it needs to be.. especially if she plans on pulling it out every week. If she's gonna continue to be the "most exciting" contestant this season, it's gonna be a LOOONG season. I just don't love her and I'm not sure I ever will.


2.) Big Mike: He's good. He's just just a solid voice. He rarely sings off key, he picks songs that fit his voice, and he sings them well. He's a BIT too cheesy at times, KIND OF comes off a little cocky every once and a while and tends to "over" perform some weeks. However, even with that said, he has one of the best voices of everyone left so for that and that alone, he should stick around for a long time. I would MUCH rather here him sing than to EVER have to hear.....


3.) Paige Miles: If she does not go home this week I will throw something at my television. I am not kidding. THAT. WAS. HORRENDOUS. 100%, absolutely, mind blowingly, gut wrenchingly AWFUL. I think it's safe to say that 99% of the notes she sang were out of tune. Bad. Bad, bad BAD! And that song?! To sing "Against All Odds" in the style the Mariah Carey did it in.. oh my GOSH woman.... you are NUTS! What part of her ever thought that was a good idea. That MAY have been one of the worst performances ever on the Idol stage. Seriously, if she makes the tour of Top 10, they should charge people less for the fact that they'll have to listen to her. Yuck. Please PLEASE go home! My WORD. And speaking of going home, someone who should join you shortly after....


4, 5, 6.) Tim Urban, Aaron Kelly, and Katie Stevens. They are all getting lumped into one critique here because I don't care about them enough to give them separate numbers. Tim. I don't even remember what you sang. Forgive me, but I didn't take notes tonight like I used to and you are just THAT forgettable. I know it was something old school, that I do remember. I also remember that you slid across the stage and basically jumped into the circle of "fans" that they put in front of the stage. Although Kara was a bit harsh with you, she was right.... you really shouldn't be doing that yet. Sadly, I think you have enough 14 year old girls voting for you to stick around. Please just try to sing better. Now Aaron..... and Aerosmith song? Honestly!? What are these people thinking?! The judges were all about him tonight which I canNOT understand. It was pitchy and WAY too big for him and just not good. His crush on Miley Cyrus was cute and he's a nice kid, but he is just so ho-hum. Nothing exciting about him. At all. And then there's Katie. Oh sweet Lord. Your song choice with Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" wasn't bad. It fit your style sure. But Randy was right...you were sharp and off key the whole time. Again, nothing exciting about you. You need to go home... before Tim and Aaron, or directly after them it really doesn't matter. Just leave.


7.) Casey James: Another old song pick for Casey with "Power of Love". I thought he actually did okay tonight. His voice sounded good and I thought, even though he could've picked something slightly more IN THIS DECADE, that it was actually a good song for his voice. He sounded a lot like Huey Lewis to me, which in this case was a good thing I think. He really needs to ditch the electric guitar though. Three weeks in a row is a bit much, dude. We know you're a guitarist.. you've shown us that already. Try just singing next week.


8.) Lee Dewyze: I like Lee. Something about him is endearing to me and I like him. His voice isn't spectacular, but judging by what he's up against I'd say he's one of the better ones... which, sadly.. isn't saying much this year. I wasn't crazy about the arrangement of his song tonight, but he did well. He's for sure getting more relaxed up there. Tonight was the first time I felt like he really let loose and just had fun with it. He didn't look nervous and it helped him perform better. He'll be around a bit for sure.


9.) Didi Benami: Ok, what was the deal with all the bad critiques from the judges??? I thought she sounded really good tonight. Her pitch, contrary to what Randy was blabbering, was actually very good I thought. I just really like her voice. All the way back in Hollywood week I remember picking her as one of my favorite voices. Just that weird tone of hers is so "in" right now. And with Lilly being gone, Didi is the one that's carrying that vibe. I put Crystal in an entirely different category, so I'm not even gonna compare the two. I just really like Didi and think she has some great, raw talent. I hope people didn't listen to what the judges were saying cuz she's one that I actually like hearing every week. I'd hate to see her go too soon.


10.) Andrew Garcia: While writing this blog I honestly forgot all about Andrew until right this second. That's not a good sign. He's losing his "umph!" He's confusing to me... he's definitely got a great voice, but I feel like he is just SO limited in what he can do. He's stuck in this box of only being able to do a few certain things and sing a very small range of notes... I don't know. I like him as a person and I do enjoy his voice most of the time, I just think he's losing steam. I am hoping and praying he outlasts at least 4 of the people I've already talked about (Katie, Paige, Aaron, Tim.....) but I just don't know how much farther he can go with how limited he is. He needs to do something to "wow" us again...and fast!


11.) Crystal Bowersox: She is the reason I watch the show. And I'm not even crazy about her. But since Alex Lambert and Lilly are gone and she is the most talented of anyone left on the show, I have to default her to my favorite contestant this year. Janis Joplin was the perfect choice for her. She beginning to sound a little predictable every week, but hopefully whatever "surprise" she has for all of us next week will change that up a bit. I want her to win.. for a few different reasons. First of all, there has never been a person of her style, both vocally and appearance wise, that has won and I think it would be great to change the "mold" of what previous American Idols have been. And secondly, her vibe is so "in" right now...that indie/slightly hippie-like sound, and I think she'd be very successful. I just think that if this seasons is gonna be as horrible as it, the least we can do is pick someone like her to win to spice things up a little!

Alright... there ya have it. Paige better go home. No one wants to see her on the Top 10 tour... trust me. No one. I might say a legitimate prayer before bed tonight that her journey ends tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me.... my iTunes tracks of Adam Lambert need some undivided attention.

This is absolutely ridiculous...

For the LOVE! I am so flipping annoyed at all that is American Idol right now. I don't even know what to say. Paige, Aaron, Tim, and Katie...four people who should've never even BEEN in the Top 12 have now managed to stay ANOTHER undeserved week. HONESTLY!!! I liked Lacey. She wasn't going to win so I suppose it's not THAT big of deal that she went home, but before the 4 of them? Really?! Unacceptable.

Ugh.

This season is bothering me more than I can even say. I almost didn't even want to watch tonight cuz I had a feeling something like this would happen. I fast forwarded through both Orianti and Kesha because WOW... I can't stand either of their voices. There was really no need to watch them since nothing they could've done would've ever made me want to listen to them on purpose. Ever.

So I need to get a few things off my chest here. The judges save. That is such a joke. Like they would honestly have used it this soon. C'mon. Who are they kidding? It's just basically torture having the person sing when you KNOW they aren't going to save you. And Katie and Paige's tears at the end... yes, girls, you should be crying. You should both be crying over the guilt that should be consuming you about the fact that now FIVE people that sing better than you are going to be sitting at home watching the show while you continue to make a mockery of the show each and every week. I'd cry if I were you, too!

And speaking of making a mockery of things. Tim. Dude... the "oh my gosh, I'm safe?!" little back step that you did. Spare me. Sure you were surprised...WE ALL WERE... but that's somewhat patronizing... and you were still in the bottom 3 so I wouldn't get too comfortable on those couches. Does he honestly think he has a snowball's chance in you know where of winning the whole thing? Poor Tim. You need to take Aaron and Katie and Paige and have yourselves a little powwow to talk about how lucky you are to still be on the show and about the reality that none of you are ever going to come close to winning. And then you need to all go home.

To end this very frustrated (if you couldn't tell) blog.. I'd like to just point out how much I love Crystal. You can see it all over her face that she's just as annoyed as I am. She knew Lilly and the rest of the ones eliminated last week should've gone home, and she knows that people that are still there should not be there. If I was at the the top of that 11 pack like she is I'd be annoyed to. Annoyed that I had to share the stage with such utter ridiculousness while my friend with her peacock earrings was sitting at home instead of sitting next to me like she should be.

I miss Adam. So badly. So very, very badly. I miss everything about last season. I even miss Lil Rounds.... and you KNOW I must be serious about this season if I'm saying something like THAT! I mean, I'd rather Lil be in the top 12 AGAIN for the 2nd year in a row than have to come to terms with the fact that Tim, Aaron, and Katie are still there and Lilly, Alex and Katelyn are not. It's just beyond ridiculous.

Sorry for the downer of a blog, but it just had to be said.

This season better pick it up FAST!

Top 12!

Alright...let's just get this out of the way. I'm still mad at the show right now. Maybe my love for last season was just too great for me to be able to get excited about this season. Or maybe it's because STILL it is apparent that 4 of the top 12 that performed tonight should not have ever been on the big stage. Or...possibly it's the fact that not one person this season is blowing me away yet. I know....I know...my Adam obsession was a bit too much and I shouldn't expect anyone to rock my world like he did last year, but I guess I'm just a little under impressed this season. With that said... I still am holding out some hope that something with shift and I'll get excited about it again.

So here we go... top 12!
1.) Michael Lynche: "Miss You" - First things first....his baby is real cute! So tiny and so adorable. They're for sure playing that "I've got a cute baby" card with him! So Michael is interesting to me. His voice is great. His pitch is more right on than most of the contestants and he is usually picking songs that really fit his voice. The weird thing to me is that his performances always seem just a little awkward. Maybe it's cuz he's so big and he's doing little jigs around the stage or maybe he's just trying to do too much. I really can't put my finger on it. I do think his voice is good though. I'm also starting to wonder if his falsetto is going to become his "signature" thing this season. Like Adam's screams or Danny's glasses last year. (Yes, yes I did just mention last season again... better get used to that!). I think Michael will be around for a while. He's solid and people like him. The real question though is who is watching his very small newborn baby when he AND his wife are in LA at the show?

2.) Didi Benami: "Play with Fire" - I like her. I like her a lot. I feel like now that Lilly and Katelyn are gone, Didi has a better chance to be noticed. They were all pretty similar. She sounded really good tonight...with the exception of her losing her words and the big note toward the end that was just WAY off key. Overall she did a very good job I thought. I think the first few weeks her nerves must've just been getting to her. I think she's got a great sound and I like her. I think it would take a few miracles for her to win it all, but at least she's pleasant to listen to... which is more than I can say for some of these people!

3.) Casey James: "It's All Over Now" - Ok, now I know there are a lot of people that like Casey, so I'm sorry for saying this, but I'm over him. Done. He's just very average to me. Sure he's cute and he's got a proud mother that is quite precious, but his voice is just okay. Nothing about it screams "wow, that was great!" to me. Also, I think someone should tell him that this is a SINGING competition and not an electric guitar competition. You're good at the guitar, yes, but try and just sing and not pay so much attention to it next time. It was a good song choice for him and he sounded better than he has in the past, but still... not jumping out of my seat for him. I wish the judges would stop showering him with so much praise... he's not really worth it in my opinion.

4.) Lacey Brown: "Ruby Tuesday" - I like Lacey. I think she is sweet and adorable and I like that her dad was a pastor. I also like her voice. She's not great...I don't think she's got the best voice out of the 12 nor do I think she has any shot at winning at all, but I like her sound. It's super different and I think she would sound great on an album. I think she's an acquired sound so a lot of people probably don't like her voice. I really liked the arrangement she did of that song with the violins. I agree that she needs to stop sitting on the edge of the stage. I think she'll be around for a few more weeks and will probably crack the top 10, but I doubt she'll go further than that.

5.) Andrew Garcia: "Give Me Shelter" - Alright...here's my take on Andrew. He might not be as good as we all thought he was in the beginning. He's good...don't get me wrong.. I for sure think he's good. I just, again, am not wowed by him! I want to be, I REALLY want to be blown away by him cuz I've liked him a lot from the beginning. I'm just not there yet. I do like that he decided to ditch the guitar this week cuz it showed that he can do a song without it and not look like he needs it. Other than the serious unfortunate sound of the background vocalists on his song, I thought his performance was good this week. Good, not great. I'm glad he did well. I didn't think he was pitchy like Randy said, but it was still just a little "eh" for me. I wish it wasn't, but it just was.

6.) Katie Stevens: "Wild Horses" - Oh. My. Word. Get off my TV. GET OFF! Pitchy, pitchy, pitchy. She is just not good enough. Again, not horrible... but why? WHY is she in the top 12!? It's just annoying. She tries too hard, she pushes too much, and she is just ALWAYS pitchy. I think she knows she needs to fight for her spot. She should know that at least! There is no way she is better that Katelyn or Lilly. I know I need to move on because those two are gone and never coming back, but Katie is just one of those top 12ers that I will always dislike because she's just not good enough to be there.

7.) Tim Urban: "Under my Thumb" - Oh, Tim. You frustrate me. I miss Alex. You make me miss Alex because he should be in your place. Hands down. Here's the deal with Tim. Much like a lot of other people in this group, he is not AWFUL. But...he is also just not that good! I mean, what is going on!? That version was weird and his vocal was just average at best. It did look like he had a lot more confidence this week, but that should not be enough to keep him around. I feel as if I need to prepare myself for the fact that he'll probably be staying around a lot longer than I'd like him too. Even as I'm writing this I'm just continuing to be so frustrated with this season!! I mean, for an American Idol superfan like myself, this is just not cutting it for me and I don't like it. Something needs to change here. Maybe I just need to move on and put the past in the past. It is just really hard to do!

8.) Siobhan: "Paint it Black" - Ok, she is so funny. Her personality is just so quirky and her family seems to be the same way. She's fun. I'm torn about Siobhan. I'm just not in love with her like everyone else seems to be. At the risk of sounding completely contradictory to my "I loved everything Adam ever did/especially his screaming" talk that I did last season... I don't like her screaming. I don't know what it is...but hers is just not doing it for me. It's thin and kind of tinny. I just don't know. I loved that version of the song and thought that the majority of her vocal was good.... I just don't think I'm on the Siobhan bandwagon just yet. The very last phrase of the song after the scream was the best part to me. To be able to do that after such a huge scream is very impressive.... which might be all that I was impressed by tonight oddly enough. I would like to thank Kara for bringing up the fact that her performance reminded her of Adam last year because I thought the same thing when she came down the stairs with the fire looking background. Adam would've rocked that song! Ok.... I'm sorry... I'm done. Still on the fence about Siobhan.

9.) Lee Dewyze: "Beast of Burden" - I like that Lee is from the Midwest. I like that he's a chill guy. I like that you can tell he loves singing. Do I like his voice? Sort of. Once again, to sound EXACTLY like a broken record, I'm just not impressed! He's got a good radio voice, I'll give him that. BUT...part of the reason he has that good radio voice is because he sounds just like a mix between Dave Matthews and Adam Duritz from Counting Crows. Before Randy even brought up Dave Matthews I was thinking that same thing. So obviously Lee would be marketable since there's people doing what he does already, I'm just not sure he's got the chops. I'll give him the credit that he IS getting better as the weeks go on, I just think he might get lost in the shuffle. Maybe if we're lucky though he'll sing a little "Long December" before his time is up. Cuz let's face it, he's not winning.

10.) Paige Miles: "Honky Tonk Woman" - Go. Home. Go home, go home, GO HOME. Ok she had laryngitis and still sang.....woopdie freaking do! Good for you.. you actually did do a fine job with that aliment. But FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU SHOULD NOT BE IN THE TOP 12. It was pitchy... not surprised.. and it was just annoying.. again, not surprised. It was honestly borderline painful to listen to. I'm just done with her. I don't even have anything else to say. She just needs to go. Immediately.

11.) Aaron Kelly: "Angie" - or should I say "An-jay" since that's the way he said it the entire song!! Oh Aaron... you are precious, you truly are. And your mom (whose name is Kelly Kelly... ummm...did anyone else notice that!? That's really too bad!) well, she is also precious. But you also need to go. For a 16 year old, you DO have a good voice... but AGAIN I must say, it is just not good enough for the top 12 "best singers in America". I felt so sad for him when he said "being the next American Idol would be a dream come true" because Aaron, buddy... to be brutally honest here.... you have absolutely ZERO chance of becoming the next American Idol. Sorry... I wish I didn't have to be so brutal with you cuz you're a doll, but it's not gonna happen.

12.) Crystal Bowersox : "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - Well, she's clearly the front runner at this point. No question about that. If it wasn't clear before, the placement of her at the end of the show tonight pretty much solidified that. How many times did Danny or Adam sing last? They were wanting a Danny/Adam final two since the beginning so it is obvious that they are hoping the same for Crystal. Hard to say who else they want there with her, but they want her for sure. She was great tonight. Her rock voice was killer tonight and I really liked her performance. You can tell she's a honest, true musician and she knows what this show is all about. She just wants to sing. She doesn't care about the fame, she just loves to sing. It's effortless and consistent and I really like her. I also really like that she was wearing a peacock earring in honor of Lilly. Just shows that she knows what good singing really is! She'll be around for a long, long time.

Alright, well I really hope I get less annoyed as the season goes on. I don't want to feel such a longing for last season every single week I watch! Maybe that's just the reality of the situation. Maybe I'll just have to push my feelings aside and focus on what we've got to work with. It might be a little hard considering the fact that I almost didn't even want to watch tonight... but I'll try. I promise I will try.

I'm hoping Paige and Aaron are on the outs this week. I'm sure they'll be safe....as a way to further annoy me, but that's what I'm crossing my fingers for!

The wrong Top 12....

What?!!? I mean.... WHHAATT!?!?!?!

What in the name of all creation happened tonight!? I am livid. LIVID. Aaron Kelly made it!? TIM freaking Urban made it!?! Alex Lambert DIDN'T make it!?!? Katie Stevens made it?! PAIGE MADE IT!?!?!?! LILLY DIDN'T MAKE IT?!?! WHY?! WHHHYYYY!?!?! There is something TERRIBLY wrong with this season. I know I was obviously way over the top with my love for last season because of Adam, but honestly...I am so upset about this Top 12 I could scream. The 4 people that went home are the wrong people to have been leaving tonight. 100% the wrong people.

Here's the deal... and this blog will be short cuz there is nothing to even write about since the show was so annoying tonight! If we're being honest, Todrick was never going to win, and neither was Katelyn Epperly. Both were very good singers, but there was not a chance they would've been the one to win it. The thing that makes me ANGRIER than I really should be right now is that Lilly...she had the potential to win. I said from the very beginning that I wanted someone like her to win. She should've been a serious contender. A serious contender! And Alex...my adorable ADORABLE little Alex... he also should've been a contender for the title. I don't know if he would've made it as far as Lilly, but to be cheated out the top 12 by Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban..... INSANE!!!!!! Tim, Aaron, Paige, and Katie better be counting their blessings every second of every day that they are still on the show because there is NO reason ON EARTH why any of them ever should've been sent over to those sliver stools. EVER. And what made it even worse was Alex's crying! Oh my word...just break my heart into a million pieces. Honestly, those 4 should be angry right now because not one of them deserved to be leaving this early. Unbelievable.

Livid. That's what I am tonight. Livid. The one thing that is helping me just the tiniest bit is to know that Tim, Katie, Paige, and Aaron have zero shot at winning. Zero. It's just the principle of the matter. Sure they're not going to win, but they should also not be given false information in the form of "oh, you're better than the 4 people going home tonight"...because, clearly, they are NOT! Ugh. So dumb.

The only good thing about the show was the performance by Matt Girard and Scott McIntyre. I have never heard Matt sound that good! He was unreal tonight and saved what would've been quite possibly the worst episode of American Idol in all 9 seasons if not for that performance.

I'm done. I need to cool off before next week so that I can actually start caring about the show again and write these blogs. I love writing them too much to let something SO utterly annoying make me stop. But SERIOUSLY... this is unacceptable and I am not happy about it.

Let's hear it for the boys: Top 8 guys!

Top 8 fellas! I must say.... although it was a very chill night for the men folk, there were some surprises along the way. Some good....and some not so good. Before I get into all of it, I must first AGAIN comment on how annoying the Kara/Simon thing is getting. I think we had gotten used to how stupid he and Paula were that it just didn't matter anymore. But really, WHY must we recreate something that was already so annoying in the first place? I just don't get the need to focus attention on it....which I guess is exactly what I'm doing right now.. so I'm done.

Ok.... here we go.
1.) Lee Dewyze: Ok, Lee....you seem like a charming guy. I bet we'd be friends. I'm just not blown away by anything you do. You've got a fairly decent voice, but there is nothing about it that makes me think that you have any chance at all of winning this thing. The problem with Lee is that in the mix of the 3 or 4 wonderfully creative ladies that are left, and the 2 or 3 guys that out sing him every week, he's just a little bit forgettable. I think he'll be fine to make it through to the top 12...and probably even to the top 10, but I just don't get excited about anything he does.
2.) Alex Lambert: Oh for the love of cuteness! That kid is just TOO adorable for words. I think it's safe to say that I have a slight inappropriate crush on him. I just cannot get over how ridiculously cute he is. AH! And his voice... LOVE it!! His tone, and I've said this pretty much every time I've talked about him, is just amazing. He seemed a tiny bit less nervous tonight. Not by a lot, but he didn't look like he wanted to faint this week. That song was a great choice for him. It was a little mellow, like most of the night actually, but I just think he sounded great. I really like him. I hope he starts to believe in how good he really is.
3.) Tim Urban: Well. Surprise #1 of the night...Tim didn't suck. As soon as Ryan said Tim was gonna be singing "Hallelujah" I thought oh, no! But.... then Tim surprised everyone and actually sang the song really really well. I mean... what?! He wasn't bad. He was even, dare I say, good tonight. And Ellen...she left her seat to HUG him! That might have been just a BIT much, but it's clear that that is for sure the best he has done... ever! I'm happy for Tim cuz let's be honest... who doesn't love the feeling of redeeming themselves from not one, but TWO horrible weeks of singing... but now I'm nervous that he'll be making the top 12... something he should not be doing. If he was getting votes when he sounded awful, I am pretty certain he'll be getting them, and maybe a few more, when he sang so much better tonight. Oh, Tim... you may have just given yourself a second chance. Don't screw it up.
4.) Andrew Garcia: Surprise #2 of the night... Andrew didn't bring his A game like he needed to tonight. I love Andrew. I love his voice, I love his style, I love the fact that he seems like such a great guy. BUT... he just has not been stepping it up as much as he needs to. He was good tonight, he really was. It was a fun song choice and he did a cool arrangement with it, but there was just nothing that "special" about it. For the risk of sounding like Kara, he just didn't have that "wow" moment that we've seen him have before. If he was one of the lowest vote getters last week, I'm a little nervous for him tomorrow night. He does NOT deserve to go home..not for a long time, but I'm just not sure how this is gonna play out. I just fear that he really did peak way too soon and maybe is burning out a little. I hope that's not true cuz I really want him to stick around. He deserves to stick around.
5.) Casey James: Ok, Casey...you sing just fine. You're a good looking dude. You seem like a real stand up guy. I am just not impressed with you. You're easy to listen to and you have a good voice, but there is absolutely nothing about you that makes you stand out to me. I feel like the problem with Casey, for me at least, is that he gets lost in the shuffle of everyone else. He's too safe or something. I think he'll sail through to the top 12 with no problem, I just wonder if he'll ever jump ahead of the pack and give us something to REALLY remember him by other than the fact that Kara basically sexually assaulted him the entire first month of the show.
6.) Aaron Kelly: No. No, no, no. His pitch was all over the place, his voice was shaky, and he looked pretty awkward up there if you ask me. All this "you carry yourself like a 30 year old" stuff... um, no. Maybe he does, but it's an awkward 30 year old then. He is a doll and he doesn't have a BAD voice, but he's just not good enough. I feel like he's just a better sounding version of Sanjaya. Yes, Sanj was HORRENDOUSLY AWFUL, so maybe that comparison isn't fair... but it's just another case of young kid that everyone liked at first and then realized couldn't hack it in the competition. Aaron has a good voice and a lot of potential to get even better, but he really shouldn't be in the top 12. If he doesn't go home this week, that will be surprise #3.
7.) Todrick Hall: What a BIG song to take on! I mean, who does Queen!? (Unless you're Adam and Kris in the finale last season and are performing WITH them!). He actually did a pretty decent job. That falsetto at the beginning was actually right on pitch and he did a good job of putting a little pep into such a chill show. This was for sure the best he's been in the last 3 weeks. If anyone were to slide under the radar this week and get the boot prematurely, I'd say it might be Todrick. Only because I'm not sure how much he's done up until this point to get enough people to rally behind him....even after a good performance like tonight. He SHOULD make it over Tim Urban, but that sneaky little sucker did such a surprisingly good job tonight that it might be cuttin' it close.
8.) Big Mike Lynche: Wow. With the exception of Kara's RIDICULOUS tears, I really enjoyed that entire performance! His falsetto...wow! Who knew he had that in him!? I honestly think that of all the contestants this season, he has so far been the most consist ant as far as pitch is concerned. His voice is just so pretty and he sings with a lot of ease. And that was NOT as easy song to try and do. But he did it! And he did it wonderfully. Kara was BEYOND annoying at the end with her "crying" and laying on Simon....um.. puke!! I know someone else who used to cry after really good performances.... oh, yeah, that's right...it was Paula! Give it up Kara... you are not Paula! Give. It. UP. But back to Big Mike... really great job. Two weeks in a row now he has really done an amazing job. He's sticking around for sure.

Alright...well there ya have it. Before the show even started I would've bet my money on Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban taking serious nose dives into the "you almost made it to the top 12 but not quite" pool. BUT...I'm not so sure about Tim Urban after tonight. I'm nervous for Andrew Garcia, and there is a CHANCE it could wind up being someone like Todrick. I honestly don't know. The girls were much easier to pick last night and I hope I'm right about those two! I think the boy eliminations might surprise some people. Dang that Tim Urban. He ruined everything!

Until tomorrow night.....