Canadian Idol Fans Watching American Idol (Canadian Idol Fans Watching)

That guy's awesome. He freakishly looks like someone I know.

The audition above was funny to me due to the judges'reactions; people trying not to laugh always makes me laugh. But what you say, missaddicted, is true. I find most of AI's clips of the deluded kids sad. It's a cheap shot. I don't laugh at people like this in real life, either. Every now and then a bad auditioner does strike me as hilarious. But personally I watch a show like this because I want to have the thrill of finding new people with talent.

I can't remember the names tonight...Austin: he had a nice voice, he was kind of bland personally. Seemed like a regular American kid. The blond girl with the tie-dye dress, or whatever...not a perfect singer but soulful, different (sort of). Sad backstory. I really did not like the way the girl who did the Show Boat song sang.
("Can't Help Lovin' That Man...") She was a pretty girl, they seemed impressed by that. Watching these auditions, I have to say I have no idea why some people who seem so mediocre are getting these incedibly positive reactions from the judges.

I missed the Osmond audition.

I keep thinking we just have to get through this so I can hopefully see what the judges see in some of these people, so they can be individuated in my mind and I can start to decide who I think is good or who isn't measuring up. That, to me, is what's fun about the show

I don't think it's a cheap shot at all, as these guys are totally willing to stand in front of the judges, the cameras and consequently millions of people.

So if one wants to embarrass them self, please do, it makes me feel better about myself, as I'm not in their position of audtioning, nor do I look like that, nor I am out on a completely different wavelength than the rest of society.

Yup, love that too.

We get a bonus thursday nite show with auditions from NYC and Puerto Rico!

- Sigh - They squeeze it into one short hour.

See what I mean? We don't get to see enough talent auditions, we can only scope out very few favorites from the start.

Spoilers for the top 36 are up at MJ's Big Blog or on Vote For the Worst. They're supposedly legit. There's a lot of cannon fodder, but I'm glad to see that pretty much all the ones I loved or really enjoyed during the auditions made it to the top 36. Well, there are also some that I didn't enjoy at all or already actively dislike, but I wasn't expecting anything else.

Tonight's show was really "meh", nobody stood out to me, except maybe Jorge, if he is able to sing more diverse types of songs. I was expecting to like Jackie, but after she pretty much destroyed "I'm Yours" (I'm a huge Jason Mraz fan), I wasn't a fan, even though her second song was better. We didn't hear a lot from Kendall Beard, but I thought she sounded a lot like Kristy Lee Cook from last season. Melinda was a ray of sunshine, but her voice sounded pretty weak to me. Same thing for Monique and Patricia.

I'm so ready for Hollywood week!

I thought this was a more entertaining episode for some reason.

I agree Jackie wrecked I'm Yours; her secong song was better, but her voice was good even if her audition wasn't. Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell ("Norman, please don't be funny") sang the beginning of Amazing Grace pretty well, but had to camp it up after just a few bars. Guy knows how to be an attention *****; I can't see this guy being the Idol, and to me he wasn't funny, just stupid. Melinda ("happy dancing naked in my room") Camile was just okay. The girl with the little brother: I wasn't sure about her singing, but she seemed sincere and modest and had a few other nice qualities, I liked her and was glad she made it. Monique and Patricia I'm forgetting already.

I don't like to read the spoilers so I'm gonna watch it unfold as it unfolds. We're goin' to Hollywood, baby. I'm stoked. Yeah!

Yay for Hollywood week!

My early favorite is definitely Danny Gokey. I love love LOVE his voice. I rewound my DVR an insane number of times just to hear him sing again. Anoop still rules of course. These two are the ones I'm most looking forward to follow right now.

Other than that, everything happened so fast that I'm not sure I really made my mind about all the others as of yet. I made a few observations though. Lil Rounds and Jackie Tohn still failed to impress me, Lil seemed really shaky and shouty and Jackie's voice is very rough. She's also bordering on annoying. I'm still really intrigued by Von, though I understand why so many don't like him, but I like his tone. I hope he stops being so over the top and just sings. Jasmine was better than during her audition, but she's not my cup of tea. Jorge is cheesy, but I like his voice. David Osmond is very pretty, but boring.

And yes, I admit I find Norman Gentle entertaining. He's going to be cut sooner than later, I guess.

Barry Manilow looked kind of scary...

Anyway, they kept 104 contestants out of the 147 and they gave second chances to some who maybe shouldn't have been so lucky (Rose comes to mind, and you know... Bikini Girl). I can't wait to see what happens with the group numbers!

Some of what I saw tonight reminded me of something Zack said when he was on VWTW radio, a while back. He said something like, on CI, they try to find a group of original performers with unique styles, and this has a bearing on who they send to Toronto. But on AI, they will choose, to go to Hollywood, the best r&b singer, the second best r&b singer, the third best, and the fourth best. I thought I saw some of that tonight. Some of the singers had very similar musical styles and tastes, all those runs, etc. And it was more a matter of choosing which one did the same sort of thing better, or best. On CI, many of those people, the second-bests and the third-bests, would never have gotten to Toronto in the first place. That makes CI much more interesting, to me.

I think Danny Gokey and Anoop (Dog) are the standouts so far. (We haven't heard them sing, much, yet, though. Hope we can, soon.) Von, or Vaughn, whatever his name is, wasn't as good tonight as I thought he would be. He seemed like he was trying a little too hard. Tomorrow, we hear from that showtune guy. I'm glad we're finally in Hollywood, anyhow.

I get what you're saying ross, but I'm not sure I agree completely. Maybe it's because we're missing CI, but I don't think we should forget that the judges were putting pretty mediocre people through also. Yes, they were putting through original contestants, but they were also putting through some people that made us wonder when the hell they were going to leave. But I agree with you on one thing: too much R&B and not enough diversity on AI this year. The conspiracy theorists would say that it's because the producers know what they're looking for even before the season and they're going to put through the contestants that fit the mold. For example, there's no male rocker this year (well, not really). Obvioulsy, they don't need one, since David Cook just won, and there's also Daughtry.

Tonite's episode rocked! I enjoyed it immensely. Lots of great talent out there.

How bout that chick in the tiger jacket? Jackie Tohn I think. Voice not bad, but what a hot attitude! That's my kind of gal!!! Yeah... tiger baby...

Those two knuckleheads who were friends, Jamar and Danny Gokey; I thought the two of them stood out.

How about Katrina, the "bikini girl"? That was pretty hilarious how the female judges don't really like here, and the male judges...hehehe... what can we say? - Voice not bad, but what a hot attitude! That's my kind of gal!!! Yeah... tiger baby...

Can't wait till tomorrow's episode!!!!

How did I completely miss the Osmond kid? I still haven't seen him. lol *whoosh* right over my head.

and yay - Hollywood week. At last. The auditions were really dragging for me, but that happens with CI too. AI's auditions really seem to last forever though. Endless streams of bad singing. I want to see more of the good singers in the audition process. I guess that's bad tv though .. *sigh*

I have to agree I really liked Jackie Tohn, she had personality to spare. In a good way. Her voice is interesting to me.

and then there was Bikini girl.. meh.. lol. She has an okay voice but I find her personality more annoying than anything else. We'll have to see how the groups go.

There was a lot of talent shown this week but it will be interesting to see who makes an impression long-term.

I thought I was the only one. I think he's been on at the beginning of some episodes. I've been missing the first 10 or 15 minutes of every show. I don't know if that's why, but I haven't seen him either.

"How does AI differ from CI?" Well, I haven't heard Sass call a contestant a bitch, recently. Aargh, tonight's show. The drama! I thought I was watching an episode of Real World Vs. Road Rules, only with singing.

I was listening closely to Danny Gokey. His group was great. I was impressed by the other guy in the group; Jamar (I think). I really liked his voice. I want to hear more of Danny, too, of course.

Another great episode...

I was totally blown away by the very first group, "white chocolate". When they came out with beat boxing and a little rap, it totally rocked for me.

I got a lot of favorites...

That Danny Gokey guy with those stupid glasses, him and his friend Jamar Rogers.

The roughneck, Jeremy Sarver.

That Adam Lambert guy, with that stupid emo hair.

Definitely that flamboyant kid with that stupid emo hair again, Nathan Marshall.

Only one female stood out for me, and that was Jess Largseth or something or other. I can't make out my scribbling.

Can you believe that Nick"Norman Gentle" guy made it through - again!?

Judging by the future highlights, there are several, several, several contestants that we still haven't even seen the audition for yet.

-sigh-

You're right, it always bugs me when I'm defending CI that some of the mediocrities lasted halfway through the summer, last season. I don't think Mark Day would have made Top 10 on AI (though I understand some AI Top 10s have been questionable, too, at times).

But then neither would Sebastian, and probably neither would Mitch (a favorite of mine all along, though he tried my patience at times). I think these guys are an example of good people AI probably wouldn't even let into the top 22. 24. 36. Whatever it is now.

Sebastian's voice wasn't strong and I think he suffered from the workout it got, since it got worse as the show went on (and it couldn't have helped to be told repeatedly you can't sing--or to feel "I'm here and Oliver isn't" guilt). But I always thought he deserved Top 10. If only judging from his MySpace. ("Sebastian Pigott doesn't like what you're implying." I love it.) And though Mitch has some vocal issues, as well, he wasn't just there because they like to vote for homies in the Maritimes (though I'm sure it didn't hurt). In my opinion he's an interesting, talented musician I myself would go to see perform any time. (And he still doesn't have a MySpace. I just checked. Damn, Mitch. Still playing hard to get?).

Of course, the judges don't choose Top 10, so you really have to look at CI6's Top 24. The above two guys, and probably Gary Morissette, Shaun Francisco, Adam Castelli, Paul Clifford and Jesse Cottam don't seem like they could have made AI's cut. And possibly not a lot of others you could name, I can't list them all (or remember them all). Whatever one thinks of them, they're not cookie-cutter, and I never heard any big arguments that they shouldn't have made the cut.

But, yeah, missaddicted, I have to agree it's a temptation to be avoided, to see CI through rose colored glasses. I did like Zack's comments and thought they were valid; the trouble is, the judges (or TPTB) on CI didn't always fulfill their own idealistic intentions. I get the impression they (judges) have to compromise with TPTB, and part of their mission must be to make sure all regions are represented, so that ratings won't suffer. (If the folks love to watch, and vote for, their own, in Nfld, for ex., there's no way the judges are going to reject any Newfie kid who's halfway decent.) And sometimes I also think there isn't always enough talent at hand at CI auditions to truly fulfill the intention to choose musical originality and diversity. If there were more great people auditoning, the judges would choose more great people. In my humble opinion.

Anyway, I have to give them credit for their good intentions, however things end up.

I see what you're saying. Though supposedly the usual Hollywood M.O. is, "If something works, do it again. And again. And again." So, in a way, I thought they'd be looking for a Cook clone for Top 36. Not that too many talented rockers seem to have auditioned. Which is weird, considering how well David did! You'd think they'd be coming in the windows.

(I guess Adam Lambert is a sort of rocker. Though he's really a theatre gypsy. I think he will be able to sing all the genres they throw at him. I think he must be madly talented. But I don't really like him. I don't think he's got the je ne sais quoi, the "soul of an artist," maybe? that I like in a singer. He's too slick by half, for my taste. But I might change my mind totally when I see him some more. Anyway, right now he seems about as far from a Mitch MacDonald, a Paul Clifford, or an Oliver Pigott as you can get.)

And yeah, the scene hair is rampant. Even Theo's rocking it. Some guys can pull it off, and some look like they're wearing a small animal on their head.

Good to see that you have joined us, SleepinIn! And what a post, ross! Great analysis, but I wasn't expecting any less from you!

Group round: I'll keep it short. Too much drama, way too much Bikini Girl and Tatiana "me, myself and I" Del Toro and not enough group singing! At least, Bikini Girl is out. She was interviewed by Ryan Seacrest today (didn't listen to the interview), but she apparently said that she was just there to get some camera time.

About Adam, I agree with you, ross, I don't really like him. Well, I don't really have a problem with him, but I do have one with his voice. Way over the top. Slick is a good word to describe him I think. He's a good singer for sure, just not my taste.

We saw a few good ones yesterday for sure. alleywayzalwayz, the girl you liked is Jesse Langseth. Apparently, she's Jonny Lang's sister. I liked her too.

Danny is still my favorite. Love his voice and his attitude. He's getting a lot of pimping though, I hope it's not going to hurt him in the end (a certain Oliver Pigott comes to mind), though he's gaining a lot of fans that way too. I almost can't believe that Idol has still managed to make me invested in a contestant. I know it's still early though, so my head is telling not to get too attached!

Fox's AI site has a "--" section. Each contestant has a few pics and an introduction video. They're alphabetical by first name. Might help in trying to figure out who's who. I tried to enter this section another way (going to the --. and, under "Top features," clicking on "Hollywood Interviews"). If you do it that way, Adam Lambert's intro vid automatically pops up. Wonder why?.

I watched 1 episode of American Idol. What a complete waste of time...

Wow, we actually saw more than three people sing tonight!

I'm still firmly in Danny's corner. But he's starting to be so overexposed that some people are already hating on him. As for me, I like him so much that I'm glad I got to hear him sing that many times. Paula's reaction when he sings? That's also me in my living room. And I can't believe I just compared myself to Paula. Moving on.

Not a fan of Adam. He didn't make me "Believe" in him at all. Heh, sorry. Believe? Seriously?

Matt Giraud was good, but I'm not fully on board. Tonight behind the keyboard, he made me think of Theo. Put a scarf on Matt and that was almost it! His star is now rising very fast.

Jasmine is so going to make it far I bet. Not that I like her that much, but I see her as being very popular. I don't really understand why they cut Leneshe, but maybe it was to prevent Jasmine from having too much competition.

I'm still not convinced at all about Lil and Scott. Scott had some harsh notes in his performance.

Tatiana shouldn't have made it, but her performance wasn't half bad I thought. Better than what we've seen before anyway. She's definitely there for the drama though. Nathaniel was also better than what I would have expected.

My favorite girl I think: Anne Marie. I really really like her voice. On the guys side, Anoop's voice still stands out to me.

Nick/Norman: I'm still entertained, which will automatically stop if he makes it to the top 12. Unlikely. I hope.

There were sme horrible song choices, but I'm not sure they had that many options. The band couldn't learn 72 different songs, so they must've had a list to choose from. A list which contained a lot of Idol songs: Because of You, Before He Cheats, Tattoo, Home, and Stephen forgot the words of the poor Magic Rainbow.

LOL.
I actually like Jamar a little better than Danny. 'Course, I always like the ones who don't make it, and he probably won't. He's kind of subtle but I think he's a really good singer. He has taste, doesn't show off, vocally...I don't know what else, just good. Danny is really talented, too, I don't love his voice as much as you do, missaddicted, just a matter of personal taste. But overall I like him a lot, both his ability and his personality.

Don't really get why Lanesha was cut, either. Adam is getting on my nerves, at this point. More style/flash than substance, I guess.

Got to run to work, more tonight!

The look Nate gave Tatiana after she made it was priceless. Kind of a dirty look, like, "Get the sketchy bitch away from us."

Jamar. What did I tell you? Gone. I looked at some of his AI stuff on YouTube just now, and a lot of people seem shocked. One of them mentioned Wild Card. I forgot about that. Not sure how it works. Not crazy about his Yankees hat (Red Sox fan). Only thing I didn't like about him. lol

He and Danny have an unusual relationship. When they hugged, I saw Jamar say, "I love you." I know they're "best friends," helped each other through hard times, etc., but I think they need to stop being in denial, admit they're in love, move in together and get it over with. <3

Hard to remember everything about a two hour show.

I liked Frankie, but when they gave her a chance to sing, she really sounded mediocre or worse. Simon was right, she couldn't win. Don't know if it helped her to hear that.

Adam Lambert needs to be more laid back. As a singer and just how he presents himself. He seems nice, and he's nice looking but he needs to look more natural--and sing more natural.

Nick/Norman...I think the alter ego thing is weird and a little scary. Liked him better tonight, but still. And Von...ugh.

I'm on the Jamar train. I was pretty shocked that they got rid of him. I was really surprised when they told him that he didn't stand out since he was the one that stood out the most for me. LOL - never fails. I hope they bring him back somehow for the wildcard. *crosses fingers*

Tatiana.. ugh.. Too much drama. She's exhausting to watch.

Nick/Norman.. I think he's a really good singer but do I want to vote for a guy with a kooky alter ego? (not that I can vote or anything - but still) I'm thinking no.

Danny .. I like his voice but I don't know if his story is big draw for him. I need to see more of him.

I liked Jamar too, no doubt about it, but since I had read the spoilers a few weeks ago, I knew that he wouldn't make it. Also, I think a wildcard spot is out of the question right now. Him and Frankie last night after watching the show. They seemed pretty pissed. And they seem to have something going on together, musically that is. Anyway, I hope the wildcards are picked from the top 36 and not from previous rounds, it wouldn't make sense to me.

Also, it's good to note that Joanna Pacitti has been disqualified, possibly because she knows employees of 19E, or something like that. Felicia Barton will be in the top 36 instead.

Another thing, it seems that they've already changed the first group so that Matt (welder) will perform instead of Michael (oil rigger). The first group seems pretty strong to me, maybe a little less strong with Matt instead of Michael. I wish that Danny and Anoop make it from the boys side and that Anne Marie makes it from the girls.

And yes, Nate's expression after Tatiana made it through was made of win! Anyway, Tatiana doesn't stand a chance with next week's group, so I'm not too worried about her making it through.

Nick/Norman: I still have the same opinion, entertaining until he makes it to the top 12. I hope he doesn't.

About Danny's story, right now, it's as much a draw for him as it is an hindrance. He's getting a lot of hate from other boards. He's very much loved, but very much hated also. He's not going to win for sure. Me, I just like his singing. I just hope he makes it far enough so that I can hear him sing for the longest time!

Wow, good find, missaddicted! Thanks. I probably should watch it again, but my opinion on first viewing (12 hours ago) is that they both have healthy egos, they do seem pissed, and you probably shouldn't vlog when you're pissed, because you don't come across as too likeable. In the "chairs" episode (how ridiculous was that whole set-up, by the way?), I think perhaps Frankie had a right to question the judges, she's a good singer, but the way she did it probably won her no fans. (I can't quote it, it was like: "You mean to say you think there are x number of people better than me?" Think it, don't say it.) At least she knew she performed badly and said so in that vlog. Of course, the whole "sing once more for your survival" gimmick was, as Simon might put it, "absolute nonsense."

Some articles mentioned this, but back in the 90's she (Joanna) was famous for 15 minutes because she was playing the lead in a revival of Annie, on the road, and, just before the show came into New York, she was fired and replaced by a girl in the chorus. This got an incredible amount of airtime in the States (due to the work of a good publicist, I guess), and she was interviewed by Barbara Walters, was on all the talk shows, etc. There was even a sketch on SNL about it. I remembered the incident but had no idea it was the same girl.

SleepinIn, ITA about Jamar. But if missaddicted is right I don't think we'll see him in the Wild Card rounds.

Ah, well that's too bad. I'll have to find someone else to pretend vote for, lol.

No live band tonight? That sucked. Simon kept complaining about the arrangements, but of course if they were singing over backing tracks, it surely made matters worse. Not to mention the horrible song choices. I was disappointed by the first group.

Jackie: I was almost glad that I was distracted by her horrible pants all through her mess of a performance. Not entertained.

Ricky: Nice vocals. Very nice. But I think people will have forgotten about him at the end of the show, especially since he was not shown before.

Alexis: She was good. But how was she less old-fashioned than Ann Marie, they both did songs by Aretha, no? Anyway, she was probably the best girl of the night. I still need to see more though.

Brent: Meh. Cute. I dislike country music very much.

Stevie: Ouch, Stevie, that was not good. I wanted to like her because she's just adorable, but no.

Anoop: He was ok, I guess. I expected better vocals from him. The song choice was a bit weird, but I remember that song very well. I did a version of that song on sax alto for my music school annual concert 10 years ago!

Casey: Easily the worst of the night. Everything was just very very wrong.

Michael: I liked him. I though he did a good job on the song and I had a big smile on my face.

Ann Marie: Oh, Ann Marie. Why did you pick that song? I thought you would do some folk or singer/songwriter stuff and that I would like you very much. Alas, no. You might still be my favorite girl though, but I'm not sure you'll have another chance.

Stephen: I didn't like it. Nothing else to add.

Tatiana: What can I say more than she was pretty good. Oddly. And please don't bring back the obnoxious, the subdued Tatiana was refreshing.

Danny: You know, I hate Mariah Carey, I hate the pimping, I hate the preaching, I hate that he put his wedding ring back on and that he wants to inspire people because of what happened to him. But the fact is: I like him. A lot. I might even love him. I can't help it and if nothing has turned me off him at this point, I don't see what will. And if I try to be objective in some way, I think he was definitely the best tonight amongst the mediocre.

Danny is an incredibly polarizing contestant. I've seen so much hate on other boards and I can't say that I really blame people for hating on him. At the same time, he was so far ahead of all the others (even the top girl) on Dialidol, that there must be a lot of people who like him. The others were all so meh though tonight, I don't think he has much competition.

Looking at TWoP Gabbery I was kind of surprised at the Anoop love and Brent hate, as I thought Anoop was quite weak and Brent, though far from strong, was a totally believable country singer I could see making a record tomorrow. I saw everyone except Tatiana, so let me rewind the tape (still using the old VCR) and look at her now.

While I'm doing that, can I mention that after watching tonight's episode, I would gladly rewind my life and go back to last summer, so I could watch Canadian Idol's Season 6 Top 24 instead of this train wreck? Just saying.

Okay, while I was rewinding I happened on Ricky Braddy and watched his performance again. I guess he was my favorite of the night. Since it's now almost 12:30pm I can't really make my brain function enough to analyze that, just, overall: performance, song choice, and presentation. And I thought he was a likable guy with a lot of charm, Simon's comments notwithstanding. I also liked Danny, but he reminded me of a few things I wasn't crazy about in Theo--though, as in the case of Theo, there was also a lot to admire/like. Like Theo I find him sort of overearnest and quirk-less. And predictable. But also so much more proficient and musical than most of the rest of the competition.

Stevie Wright (sorry to jump around but I'm rewinding/fast-forwarding the tape and stopping it randomly): That was painful. Less said, better. Now Anoop is on, and I may as well re-watch it to see if it's better than I remember it. No it isn't. I thought he was off pitch through the whole thing. (And I don't like that song!)
Simon: "We'll forget that you sang that song, and we'll try and remember what we liked about you before, hopefully." Gee, I thought we were supposed to be voting on the performances.

Tatiana, where are you?

Michael Sarver (aka America's Jason Greeley) is on my TV now. I guess a lot of people liked him (he seems like a really nice guy, anyway). He just sounded to me as if he was forcing his voice a bit. I don't know. Pretty good, though.

Okay, here's Del Toro.

This got a lot of praise on the forums so I'm seriously surprised because I don't think it's that good. Much flatness, and generally pretty mediocre. Randy was right that there were "moments," but only moments. Mini-moments. Simon: "Do the weird lawffing."

By far Alexis was my favorite girl of the night. People have issues with her soullessness or whatever but I was mostly stunned by how good she was and didn't get a chance to think about it.

I guess that's all.

ETA: I wouldn't have dissed Anoop's song if I knew about your sax solo, missaddicted!

So I'm hearing the buzz and it seems everyone thinks next week will be the week of...



Love him, hate him, or whatever.

I've looked at his stuff on YouTube and some of it is way out there, some is more subdued, and he's pop, rock, Broadway, whatever, in equal measures. He may actually be too versatile for AI, or it may be that that's what works for him.

I can't see him being popular with a serious rock audience, or a male audience, or me, probably, but he may be very popular with grandmas. And he seems to have his teen fangirls already. So it's all about the votes.

So the results show held no real surprises, last week, except for me, who ran afoul of the infamous twop Nazi on the gabbery and got banished w/out even a warning. Oh, yeah, and I have a cold. And I turned a year older. Had a chocolate cake in work.

I've never listened to David Cook's album (well, I heard most of it in a record store, a few weeks ago, where it was playing), so I bought it and am going to do that when I get a chance.

Ah, ross, your whole post made me LOL! Except I'm sorry that you have a cold. And that you turned a year older! Happy birthday!

I almost can't wait until people have a topic other than Danny to talk about. Everybody seems to have an opinion about him, either very good or very bad and not that much in between. At least, it gets people talking, which is probably good for the ratings, TPTB must be happy. I'm still a fan of him, but when a guy (family/friend) showed a picture of him and his wife when he sang after making the top 12, I found the whole thing shameless and I became very uncomfortable. From the press conference that he, Alexis and Michael did, I gathered that he seems to be aware of the backlash and my only hope is that he just sings and stops wanting to be so inspirational. It doesn't work that way anyway. At least, the viewers won't see him for a few weeks, which can only be good.

About Adam: I also think he's a shoo-in for the top 12, but personally, I don't care about him. Unless he pulls something incredible out of his hat. By the way, the picture you posted is hilarious.

For me, next week (well, this week) is all about Kris Allen. It might be our only shot to see him live, since I'm very unsure about his chances to make the top 12, but right now, I love what I've heard from him: the whole 10 seconds from his audition and Hollywood combined and especially . Also, his AI video with Jesse Langseth is very funny. Sorry, I can't resist a cute guy with a guitar and a sense of humor.

Also, I wanted to say that I absolutely hate the semis format this year. Last year was just like on CI, with a live band and contestants allowed to play instruments. This year, the pre-recorded tracks are horrible. And I don't think we'll see anyone pull out an instrument before the top 12. Which could be bad news for some, like my dear little Kris.

So, Jacob banned you on TWoP. LOL. Don't worry, it happened to me too. No warning for me either. And I think I was banned only because I hadn't used the proper word in English. Heh. I hope you'll come back! Jacob actually banned pretty much everyone (and some more than once) last year in the David Cook thread. I saw some of your posts in the gabbery, but they didn't seem offensive at all, what happened?

And speaking about David Cook, I'm glad that you're giving his album a chance! I have to admit that it's a bit generic sometimes, but it's still solid. His voice makes the album for me, I love it. My favorite song is Lie. Others include Declaration, Bar-ba-sol, Life On the Moon and A Daily AntheM (there's a hidden song after that one, just so you're aware). Also a highlight is Permanent, a song he wrote about his older brother, who's had brain cancer for 10 years or so (a sorry he never used on AI to gain votes, which makes me respect him a whole lot). He co-wrote that song with famous Canadians Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and his wife Chantal Kreviazuk. He also co-wrote three others with Raine Maida, his own idol.

Well, that was long! I'll go back to the Academy Awards now!

missaddicted. Nice post! I saw Kris Allen's video with Jesse. I liked them both. He seems like a really cool guy. I always like the more subtle performers. No, wait. I like Jacob Hoggard. Funny, I guess it depends. Anyhow I tend to like singers who just get it done without a lot of vocal junk thrown in. (Guess I never took Singing 101. I never know the terms to use.)

I liked Kris's Over The Rainbow. I especially liked that he did the real, original lyrics (by Yip Harburg), more or less. I love that song. The guy who did that arrangement first (I forget his name) (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. I just cut-and-pasted that from YouTube. Ha.) messed up the rhyme scheme, and then Jason Castro sang it exactly the same way, mistake and all. So, way to go Kris. You don't stand a chance, do you, Kris? TPTB think you're toast, don't they, pretty boy? Prove them wrong! Adam Lambert must be stopped!

Just kidding. About Adam, I mean. I think.
Who knows, maybe I just didn't have the right opinions. Anyhow, I wrote to TPTB and they agreed I was banned unreasonably and reinstated me and apologized!
I just got the email. Yay. I think I'll give the Gabbery a pass from now on, though.
I wish I'd seen AI7. This year AI reminds me of CI2. The tracks, no instruments, not to mention Michael Sarver looks a bit too much like Jason Greeley for my taste. lol What do you think is going on? Are they trying to save money or what?

Thanks for the recommendations re Cook's album. I'll keep them in mind when listening. Funny but I also bought an Our Lady Peace album a few weeks ago (for about 4 dollars) and haven't listened to it yet either.

Sean Penn just won the Oscar.