Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine American Idol

So, I shant complain about the fact that 2 of those who left probably left too early, because I really don't think they had a chance to hit final 12 anyway.

Suffice it to say that Bobby and Sevie's exits were no surprise to me, and Patrick and Becky's exits were coming prior to top 12 anyway, so it might as well be now.

Yeah, none of them had a chance of Top 12 so they might as well have gone. I think I predicted Patrick and Bobby and Stevie, but I was surprised by Becky going THIS soon. I thought she'd have another week at least. I definitely think the 6 girls on the top tier who were safe tonight will be in the Top 12, unless one of the "bottom" girls can overtake Ayla. Paris, Kat, Mandisa,Lisa and unfortunately, Pickler, will be for sure in the final 12.

I would have liked Stevie and Patrick to have at least one more chance. I think they had the voices to turn it around. Bobby and Becky were good choices to go. The really sad thing is that we have to see Brenna again - it's not so much her grating personality, that I could get over if she had talent. But, alas, she has no talent, so her personality just adds insult to injury.

Just stopped by AIByrequest and downloaded Katharine, Melissa and Taylor's performances (I had to hear Taylor's twice-- once wasn't enough).

Am now properly hyped for tonight!

Round 2, the top 10 girls!

THE GOOD

LISA went 3rd, and did another excellent job. Sooner or later she will have to sing something a little bit more "hip" to please the judges, but I love her sweet style and song choices.

MELISSA performed 4th, and knocked Reba out of the ballpark. *LOVE* her voice.

AYLA was the 8th performer, and was the first to really make me sit up and pay attention to the vocal because it was just that darn good. I love that she's a tomboy.

Closing out the show was MANDISA. Well, I wanted her to wow me and she did. *LOVE* her eclectic song choices and tonight she brought my house down! She's just likeable!

SOME SURPRISES (GOOD)

KINNIK performed 2nd and made a very wise choice, switching song genres like that (she went country and perfromed the rowdy, fun "Here For The Party"). She let it be known that none of the "non-favored" girls in this competition were about to lie over and play whipping girl.

HEATHER was 5th up, and I thought she was several steps up from last week. Got slammed by the judges, though.

SOME SURPRISES (BAD)

Oh dear. KATHARINE, one of my favorites from last week, might very well be in trouble this week. Very lacklustre show opener and not a hint of her cute personality slipped through. This isn't good on a week when other girls are making their presences known.

PARIS, another favorite from last week, was just plain dull this week. Bad song choice, I felt. "Wind Beneath My Wings" is just SO played out.

NO SURPRISE AT ALL

Our 6th songstress BRENNA wowed me once again-- in a bad way-- with her mediocre vocals and air of superiority.

Next to last was KELLIE. Now, I honestly *tried* to like li'l Pickles tonight. I decided to listen to her performance from last week again before the show and found it better than I remembered. Her hoarse-husky voice was heading into territory that I usually like. So I REALLY DID TRY to enjoy her performance of "Let's Give 'Em Something else else To Talk About" tonight, but I just... can't. I prefer Melissa, and Kellie is her primary competition. Unfortunately, Pickles will probably win the whole stupid thing.

That was one of the best American Idol espisodes I've seen in any year. They really are so much better this year. The judges were harsh, but let's just ignore them.

Mandissa - I'm officially in love with her. She's just so great. I'm looking forward to her each and every week. Great voice, great stage presence. I think she's going to be one of the last few standing.

Lisa - I love her too. She's Disney's perfect mousketeer. She's Annette Funicello, Sandra Dee, and just about anyone perky who's ever belted out a song on a California beach. This girl is so marketable.

Ayla - big pleasant surprise. I love her too. This is the girl that's going to surprise everyone by just getting better and better every week. Plus she's the dark haired middle class version of Pickler adorable.

Kinnick - I continue to adore her. The judges have been really harsh with her and I don't know why. Just give her another chance, please.

Katherine - I missed her performance and only saw the snippet at the end. But what I saw confirmed that she has probably the most "beautiful" voice in the competition. I gather the judges didn't like her, but who cares.

Paris - she can really sing but why did she pick that crappy wind beneath my wings song. It's horrible and cliche. Just a ghastly choice. The girl needs to start channeling some Dinah Washington. I know it's in her.

Kellie - she's just so cute. I really hope she gets an entertainment career out of this. She really is a sweetheart and I think she did a good job tonight.

Melissa was kind of forgettable for me tonight. She's not my favorite, but she's not bad by any means. A matter of taste I guess.

Heather - end of the road I'm afraid. Heather is out of her league. She might have made it in one of the past seasons (remember the Bulgarian pop star?) but she's really out-classed this year.

And that brings me to BRENNA. Surprisingly, I thought she handled the judges' harsh criticism with dignity and pride. I don't think she was that bad tonight with her Donna Sommer number, but I think that's as good as we'll ever get from Brenna. Nevertheless, I felt sorry for her tonight.

That's it. This is shaping up to be a stellar year for the ladies.

I wasn't thrilled with my girl Katherine's song choice last night. I'm hoping she will find the right song next week. She's still my fave though.

Surprisingly, I liked Ayla a lot! Simon was dead on with his assessment of her.

Mandisa is just a goddess. Love her!

Paris and Lisa both bug me, but for different reasons. Paris lost me with the "I have favor" remark and Lisa can sing, but it's so mechanical to me. But that's what a lot of people said about Carrie last year, and I liked her...

I want to like Kinnik, but until last night I couldn't put my finger on why I *don't*. She just has such an air of DESPERATION--like she realizes she's the oldest woman there and she thinks it's her last chance. That's fine if she feels that way, but she needs to hide it better.

I love Melissa's smoky voice, but she better find the RIGHT song to "connect" or she's gonna be gone--if she isn't already.

Ah, Pickler. She was fun last night and cute. But her voice is nowhere near strong enough to be American Idol.

I can't even be bothered by Heather...she's gotta be going home this week!

Short and sweet. Last night, Mandissa and Ayla were outstanding. The rest were mostly unforgettable. And Brenna has to go, now!

Tonight the only two worth mention where Bucky and Chris. Chris blew everyone else out of the water. I couldn't have agreed with Simon more. And Sway needs to follow Brenna out the door. Although he can let it hit him in the ass for all I care.

Whew! Tonight was H-O-T!

Can't even break it up into categories, it was so good, so I'll just go in order...


TAYLOR opened with "Easy". The hypocritical judges didn't give him the praise he deserved, even after he made the song belong to him beyond the shadow of a doubt. No one else has as much fun on that stage as Taylor, and it shows. I absolutely adore him.

ELLIOTT was absolutely effortless, he was so good tonight.

ACE's "duuuu-uuuuh" expression still annoys me, but the song he sang was just so sweet I actually enjoyed it.

I'll be stunned if GEDEON doesn't hit top 12, but he doesn't "speak" like any teenager I've ever met and I find it vaguely off-putting.

My Mom and I listened to KEVIN's performance from last week without the distraction of us looking at him with overprotectiveness, and found we didn't like it. I'll wager we'll feel the same when we listen to tonight's performance, even though we loved it as we watched it. So I kind-of understand where Simon was coming from with his comments tonight.

JOSE I just can't get into. Twice in a row now. Time to go, maybe?

WILL sang "Lady". As a sucker for Kenny Rogers, I liked it, but he needs some lessons on showmanship.

BUCKY gained praise for his rendition of "The Thunder Rolls". This was the performance he probably should have done last week to intro himself.

As I watched DAVID tonight, I decided that going to jail might very well be worth it. What a cutie, I love that weird face he gets when he smiles. Wasn't wowed by the performance, though.

CHRIS closed out the show and brought the house down. Sang the hell out of Fuel's "Hemmorhage" (that's one of those words I'm never sure how to spell); he was super-frickin' HOT.


I voted for Taylor (when I could get through), Chris (ditto), Elliott (got through semi-easily) and Bucky (no problem whatsoever; a bad sign?).

I couldn't vote last night because the phone got all tied up. *GLARES IRRITABLY* I'll be all P.O.-ed if Melissa goes, I'll blame myself.

Today at work, everyone was all about Ayla and Mandisa; no one gave a flip about any of the other girls.

Another great night. (Lash, I'm not reading your post until after I finish my post. I want to see how close we were.)

I'm going to make a prediction, early as it may be. American Idol will be Chris Daughtry. And I think that the runner up will be Mandissa. That's my conviction

I thought there were three standouts tonight. One, I think everyone will agree with. The second, I think 80 per cent will agree with. The third, I think I may be a bit lonely in my opinion.

First, Chris Daughtry. Amazing natural unpretentious but polished talent. Randy was right on when he said Chris' performance could be on the radio right now. To get a sense of how much I like Chris -- I'm not a big rock fan, but he was just so good. I'd buy a recording of him singing "I'm a little teapot." The guy is an American original. Big star, charismatic in a quiet way. I can't say enough good things about him.

My second favorite was Bucky Covington. I absolutely loved his performance of that Garth Brooks tune. And again, to put it into context, I don't like country music or Garth Brooks. But Bucky has a great warm and appealing voice. I could listen to him all night.

Third, and many may disagree, but I loved Gedeon. You should know that I'm a huge Sam Cooke fan and I thought Gedeon did him total justice. Gedeon is also someone whose record I would buy. He has a beautiful tone to his voice and I don't know what else I can say. But those are my top 3 guys.

The rest, quickly... Taylor chose the wrong song. He might have been better off doing a little Sam Cooke, like Gedeon. Ace was okay, but forgetable. Kevin did a good job on Heard it Through the Grapevine. He actually surprised me. Sway chose a very difficult song, but did it well. Elliot was really good. I think I'd put him in fourth tonight. David was disappointing. Will has a nice voice, but Lady is just a really boring song.

Who is going home? I think Sway and maybe David or Kevin.

I'm really enjoying this year so far, by the way.

OK, didn't get around to posting about last weeks shows and we don't get this weeks until tomorrow night (all in one go. Three hours of AI is a little too much to handle really). Anyways, lets just do general comments based on last week and the discussions I've had with my friend Paulette at work.

The girls: Mandissa rocks. Nuff said. Awful outfit last week though and we know she can dress better than that from the audition rounds.

Paris is cute and was great lasy week but could be a one trick pony. Of all the young girls I do think she might be the one that is great but shows a lack of experience. I could be proved wrong though.

Lisa we love. There's just something so... easy about the way she performs. Nary any effort at all and a lovely stage present. A bit sweet and slightly bland personality-wise but her singing voice is gorgeous.

Katherine really, really surprised us last week. She started so stiff and nervous that I was sure she was going to be a duff one but when she hit the chorus she just came to life and was fantastic.

Ayla again was a bit of a surprise. She was good in the auditions but sort of passed me by. Loved her performance last week though and she is utterly gorgeous. Those five are our picks for dead certs in the final six, but we've been proved so very wrong in the past that we wouldn't place bets on it.

Kinnick I liked, kind of. She's got a lovely voice but there's just something slightly missing. She *did* look like a drag queen last week but she was good. We've put her as out sixth finalist, but I wouldn't be hugely surprised if she doesn't make it.

Melissa... I don't even remember which isn't a good sign.

Heather I so want to like but she leaves me cold. She's not bad as such, but she's not really there for me.

Pickler. Eh. Pretty, but boring.

Brenna sucks. Her cockiness could have been endearing but it just comes across as arrogance now and she really isn't the best singer. Her balls should have made for a great performance but it was just flat last week. Unfortunately I can see her getting through to the final.

And as for the two that left, Becky was OK and probably deserved another chance but Stevie was awful and was the only one apart from Brenna who I thought gave a really bad performance last week. She was also just... dull.

And the boys: Chris! Yay! We love Chris. Overall the boys were much weaker than the girls and he was the only one who I thought really stormed it last week. Fantastic voice, great performance, comes across as a genuinely nice guy and also very, very cute. not my type normally but there is something incrdibly shaggable about him. He could easily become the second male American Idol.

Taylor is fun. Maybe not the best singer in there, but he's a great performer, which is just as important. he could stand or fall on the basis of his song choices but I think he's probably safe into the final six.

And those were the only two I really liked. Admittedly I was only half listening to the boys because I was already burnt out from watching all the girls in one go, but still...

Gedeon creeps me out big time. No idea why, but there's soemthing very disturbign about him. OK singing voice but nothing that wows me.

Elliot again has a good voice but is completely forgettable to my mind.

Ace. Eh. Pretty boy, nice voice but nothing special. The only reason he's popular so far is because he is the most conventionally attractive, but that just makes him even more boring to me.

Bucky I'm not keen on. Bad teeth, bad hair and I could barely understand a word of what he said last week. He could get better and will almost certainyl make it through to the final six but I'm not keen on him.

Sway last week was *appaling*. Just embaressing and painful and ghastly. *But* in the auditions he's shown he has a good voice and there's soemthing I klind of like about him. Unless he really knocks it out of the ball park thoguh he shoudl be gone.

Kevin I like simply because he is so not the usual suspect. But I also think he's a novelty that will wear off quickly. His voice is quickly going from beign good to being slightly irritating.

David last week was as bad as Sway but for a different reason. He's got a good voice but last week the whole performance just made me cringe. He's like a fizzy drink really. Too sweet, too manufactured and leaving you feeling slightly queezy afterwards. Don't like him at all.

Will I really liked in the auditions but last week was pretty damn ghastly. He looked lost and the song was just bad. I was disappointed with him because I wanted to like him but on the basis of last week he's not going to make it through.

And the two that left. Bobby sucked. Don't try to sing Manilow unless you have a really great voice and don't try to sing Copocabana especially unless you can really perform. Bobby failed on both points. Patrick though I was surprised at leaving. His performance wasn't up to the promise of his audition rounds but he should have had another chance ebcause he could have been great. Ah well, to late to worry about it now.

So overall the girls are stronger. there are five that we'd definately want to see a lot more of and a couple of others that could be great. Of the boys though only Taylor and Chris stood out, but on first viewing Chris is the best one they've got. Predictions for the final three? Tough call this year because it could go any which way, but I'd *like* to see Chris, Mandissa and... Katherine probably. Or maybe Ayla.

Tonight I had no reservations whatsoever about any of the exits.... (well, *maybe* Heather should have outlasted Kinnik, but neither are top-12 worthy, and *maybe* David is a better performer than Will, but again I don't really think either are top-12 worthy).

ANYHOO. Next week: Top 12.

If Mandisa, Ayla, Taylor and Chris aren't all there I might not be either.

THE top 4, I'll guesstimate.

Side-note 1: After I no longer had to worry about her taking a spot from Melissa in the top 12, I found myself actually enjoying Brenna's honesty and sassiness. Go figure.


Side-note 2: Usually I think the big group songs are ultra-cheesy. Not to say they aren't this year, but the diffrence is I'm *enjoying* them this time.

Hey everybody! I'm back from vacation. I missed last week's shows and this week's girl show, but my son taped the guys' for me.

I agree that Chris stole the show. So at ease on stage, great passion and intensity and his voice just works. "Hemmorage" was a great song for this stage of the competition. It sounded fairly familiar to me, but I can't say I know it or the band that originally did it.

Elliott was excellent. Again, I didn't know the song, but it kinda sounded familiar. His voice is just naturally bright and his control of it was great. He is very charming and likeable. His looks don't matter to me, but I have to admit I have a hard time looking at his teeth. Sorry if that's mean or shallow.

I thought Gedeon was great. That song's just made for a show like this and he did it well.

I like Taylor. The song was good, not great. I hope they don't change his hair as he moves on. I mean, I don't like the style, but it is what makes him him.

I could not get into Ace's performance. The song he chose was really difficult and I'm not sure he nailed it. Yes, he's the good looking one, but that didn't seem to save his performance.

I just can't get into Bucky. I'll keep an open mind, but right now, I could go to the kitchen while he's on.

I don't buy all this business about Kevin being the next sex symbol. I can't imagine what the stylists are going to do with him and his voice is good, but I was bored during his performance of "Heard it through the Grapevine." The girls want to pinch his cheeks? I don't get it.

Will and David are the same person as far as I know.

I had high hopes for Sway, but I suppose a polite way to describe his performance is "derivative."

I wasn't sad to see either Heather or Brenna go. I was however sad to see Sway and David go. I do think Sway can sing. I also think David can in his limited genre. I think Kevin needs to go soon. It's kind of disgusting the way the producers are making fun of him. I also think Will's time is limited. And....I know I'm not going to get much agreement on this one, but I think Taylor's welcome is wearing thin.

On the positive side, I was really surprised last night. I never cared for Carrie Underwood last year, but I have to admit, I really enjoyed her song last night. Her voice was way, way, way better than I ever remembered. Maybe she was the right choice after all (that is, if Nadia couldn't win).

Just watched the end of the girls ep and only saw Paris, Ayla, Kellie and Mandisa (and the snippets at teh end of course).

Ayla was *incredible*. I see completely what Simon meant though.

Mandisa wasn't as good as last week, but I'm not sure it was a geart song either. She surely can sing, but it wasn't her best performance. She's not going anywhere soon though.

Paris... disappointing compared to last week, but not awful. Just a bit flat.

Kellie though... ugh. Bad. Just very, very bad. Flat and then sharp and then all over the place. Don't like her at all.

That said though Heather and Brenna, in the thirty second clips we saw, were pretty bloody awful so it's probably a very good thing they both went. Pickler needs to go next week along with... either Kinnink or Melissa, although they're both pretty good as well.

Back later after the boys have been on (Taylor just performed. Chris doesn't like him but I do).

OK, so the boys were pretty sucky again this week weren't they?

First off though, the good.

Chris is hot, he's a nice chappy and my gods he can sing. The best by an absolute mile. Love him so much.

Taylor. Maybe not the best singer and like I said up there Chris doesn't like him but I do. He's endearing without being cloying. That being said he could possibly get annoying quickly. For the moment though i like him.

Elliot. Right, let's be fair, the boy can sing. He's not quite as good as Chris but he's good. *But* for some reason he is awfully forgettable. There's nothing there that gives him the hook. I have no idead why really, and it's a shame because he is very good but he's just ever so slightly blah.

Then there was the 'eh'.

Kevin. It was 'eh'. Just 'eh'. Not really bad, not really good. Just 'eh'. And 'eh' isn't even vaguely close enough to the standard you should be on this show.

And then there's the bad...

Ace. Urgh. OK, I hate Daniel Bedingfield. Like, really, really, really hate him. Nearly as much as I hate James f*cking Blunt and his creepy stalky whiny vomit-worthy winge-pop tripe. See, I really, really, *really* hate Daniel personality-bypass Bedingfield. Detest him even.

I'd have rather have listened to Daniel Bedingfield do that song than Ace. He sucked. It was just painful and awful and OK the boy is pretty but my gods that doesn't *actually* make him any good. It really doesn't. He was no better than Brenna was and she got tore down. He was shit. Utter, crap.

OK, I'm getting slightly carried away now, but really, he wasn't very good now was he? On to the others then...

Bucky. Hmmm. Hgkeaugr ,asbdfg segrk dkubv sukfgskfb ksgfk bskueg b ksgfk. Actually that makes more sense than he does. Is it just the fact that I'm not used to that kind of accent that means he is almost completely inteligable, or do you American guys have the same problem? I can understand most American accents same as I'm sure you guys can understand most UK accents, but really, he sounds like he's talking gibberish to me. Oh, and the performance was pretty sucky too. Not as bad as Ace but it was really quite sucky.

Sway. Yuk. He deserved to go based on the last two weeks. I wanted him to be better, because of his audition rounds, I really did. He wasn't though.

Gedeon scares me. He's just... I dunno, he looks like he should be lurking in the shadows in Arkham Asylum or something. Oh, and he's a bit crap at singing too. He was doing some wierd wobbling whizzing up and down the scales thing that just... well, it went from being just wierd and slightly irritating and into crap. The only good thing I can say about him is that he's qute forgettable so at least he isn't as bad as some of the others.

Will. Wow. Someone singing has never made me want to hurl so much in my life. It's like... say you could take some of the most plastic, artificial white bread ever and then smear it with syrup, sprinkle it with sugar and then plaster it all over the Partridge Family and Donny Osmond. And then get it to sing. That's kind of Will is. Singing white bread. With teeth. Oh, and that hair as well. See, geeks who are aware they're geeks and don't care can be very cute (like Taylor sort of is). Geeks who are just geeks and are geeks without having any concept they are *and look like they should be Mormons* are not sexy. His singing voice isn't awful, it's not good but it's not awful, but the performance was just cringeworthy and embaressing and urgh...

David. You know where up there I just ranted about how Will made me want to hurl more than anyone else ever has before? Well that waas until David started singing. I mean, come on, as if last week was an embaressment enough. He appeared to have stolen a suit from someone about twice the size of him and has more teeth than a shark. Hell, two sharks. And there's the really odd wobbly 'I might be about to fall over having a fit or I might just being trying to dance despite having no concept of what cool might be' dance thing he does. I just don't get him. He can hold a not but really he is... well, he's not even karaoke because people would be so embaressed by his cheese sandwich made with a slice of sheese between two extra large slices of cheese and garnished with cheese that he would be banned from doing it. He really wasn't very good. Thank gods we won't have to put up with him any more.

What? I wasn't being *that* harsh. Well, OK, maybe I was, but really these guys are meant to be the absolute cream of the crop. Simon said in an interview here while they were filming the AI auditions and X-Factor proper that they were getting the best singers they had ever had on AI and no-one in the UK came close, but if these are the best eight boys they could find then he was clearly talking out his arse. Apart from Chris and possibly Elliot and maybe Taylor (but maybe not if he does get irritating) they are all way belowe the standard they should be and I very, very hard pressed to come up with even four that I'd want to see make it through to the contest proper.

Of course next week they may all prove ot be incredible. But I doubt it.

Semi, I so agee re: Carrie Underwood last night; she was spectacular and probably was the right choice after all.

Gallaghers, Bevis! You could be the new Simon Cowell!

So who got ousted this week? I totally spaced it was on last night and watched Survivor.

David, Sway, Brenna and Heather

I *hate* that I instantly become addicted to this show! I am actually nervous for Katherine McPhee tonight! Like it's going to matter to my life one way or another....I need an intevention, folks.

I can't intervene until AI goes off.

I think I might actually vote tonight for Katherine (even though I think she's safe for the top 12) and Melissa (who I don't think IS safe).

I've already voted for Melissa some; will have to do some more. I thought she did well on "What About Love". Simon's dissing of her was SO wrong.

Katharine: I *love* her... but she so did NOT deserve all the mad props the judges gave her tonight.

Wasn't into Ayla tonight either.

And is Simon on drugs, comparing Pickles to Carrie Underwood like that? WTF...!!?!?

Mandisa was great; Lisa's a class act; I've grown to really dislike Paris but I enjoyed her performance.

If Katherine doesn't go all the way, I may get pissed off and stop watching (like last year when they booted Nadia). She's got the most beautiful voice of the girls (and the most beautiful face). But then again, I like so many of the girls - Mandissa is magnificent; Paris could be exceptional if she starts doing some of the great jazz songs from Ella and Dinah (if not she'll just be annoying); Lisa is great, but I wonder if her youth will start to be annoying (see, I'm already anticipating being annoyed a lot). Ayla might be the big surprise.

Overall, I think the singers are better this year than last. I'm looking forward to tonight - it's still an hour and a half to go before it's on out here. And isn't it pathetic that I have nothing better to do with my time, but sit here posting in anticipation of American Idol?

My rankings from best to worst:

1. Mandisa rocked the house tonight. I dare say Chaka Khan herself would have trouble belting "I'm Every Woman" that well these days.

2. Katherine does seem to do "that thing she does" effortlessly. I wasn't blown away tonight, but still, she was better than everyone but Mandisa.

3. Aww, Kellie Pickler! Okay, I give up, I like her. I agree with Simon--she's not the best singer, but how can you not like her! That "I'm a Mink!" line had me in stiches. That said--it's a SINGING competition--she could do very well in another aspect of the show biz. She actually sounded pretty good--she should do an Elvis song next.

4. Melissa--I thought she was a lot better than the judges said. I voted for her, but I think she's done.

5. Ayla--well, she looked like a gladiator stalking the stage, and it was kind of a boring song, but I think she gets props for trying to do a current song.

6. Ugh, Lisa..I guess. She sang it aight...I'm just sick of her broadway baby song choices. C'mon, you love Hendrix--let's hear some rock!

7. Paris. Just awful. What in the world happened to the girl who captivated me in the audition rounds?? I want *that* girl back. THIS one can go.

8. Kinnik. I actually had to fast forward. No one should do Alicia Keys on AI. Sorry, Kinnik, good night, and good luck. She seems like a nice woman, but she's out of her league.