The wait is over, it’s on to the finals!

Syesha, I appreciate how you carried yourself during courtesy week.
Too bad you didn’t step it up and go out with a bang.


Last night I bumped into a friend that I hadn’t seen for a while and he mentioned my blog. It always makes me happy to know that people are actually reading this thing. At times it feels like I release these things into cyberspace and no one reads them. Anyway, my friend commented that I talk a lot about American Idol. At this point it’s the only TV show that I keep up with weekly. While life is too often described as busy, I do enjoy the 90 minutes of Idol. Plus it is the only show for which I cannot avoid a spoiler. With other shows like Lost or The Office, I can generally change the channel or change the subject quickly enough. But Idol is everywhere and it only takes a single sentence to ruin the surprise. I do love the Idol and want to experience with the rest of my friends.

With that, the show does have some areas that are lacking. There is a great article in last weeks Entertainment Weekly that gives suggestions for improving the show. I completely agree with the overhauling that is suggested. If you want, take a minute and give it a read. Fox announced that they are cutting the results show to a half hour next season. Hopefully this means they will cut the horrible Ford commercials and the group numbers. I heard Seacrest say that he wasn’t sure how they’d cram all that show into 30 minutes. Really Ryan? We’re talking about you saying a name. It could actually be done in 15 seconds.

Okay, enough about programming issues, on to moments that made me laugh from last week’s Idol. Syesha does a crappy rendition of Fever and Ryan Seacrest makes sure that we see the “classic chair”. Syesha’s performance of Fever was her giving up and not trying to be relevant. She was giving a Broadway Audition rather than creating a case that she is a potential pop star. The most laughable moment though was David Archuleta’s pathetic attempt at exuding street cred by singing “Boo”. It made him seem pathetic. The news that is swirling about his father is also making him appear less like an Idol and more like a Von Trapp child. (More on that at the end of this post.)

The finals are working out to be everything that I expected and what everyone wanted. My feeling is that if Archuleta wins, the show will end up loosing fans and followers. The tween crowd is going to tune in, no matter what. But my feeling is that the 22-32 demographic will not buy it and many will tune out. My prediction is that when the finalists perform with other pop stars Archuleta will look lame and out of his league, while Cook will be in step with whomever he is paired with. Again, let’s hope that justice can beat 13-year-old girls.

I stand by my Prediction that our next American Idol is…

1. David Cook

Trouble in the Archuleta Family?

In the event that you haven’t heard about David A’s daddy drama, here’s a little video that helps paint the picture.

If you don’t want to watch a video then the combination of images below gives a representation of the personality dynamics between David & his Dad. (Note the German Flair!)

David is Kurt Von Trapp; young, naïve and totally dependent on his parent.

David’s Father is a tyrant that is barking orders and annoying everyone around him.

(Note: Anytime you want to strengthen your argument, throw in a reference to the infamous Führer)
(Note: My last note was dripping with sarcasm. Don't do that, it's annoying.)

Then there were 4.

Trivia: Brooke White is just a stage name she took on.
Her real name is Sobby McCries-a-lot



What a week in Idol…Drunk Paula, New Format, Simon’s first kiss, I found it pretty exciting. Unfortunately, most of America is not finding it as interesting. Apparently the ratings are down 25% over last year. That means there are a few million people deciding that American Idol is not as appealing. While the producers try and respond it will get interesting. I think their latest attempt in trying to have the judges give comments later in the show is a bad idea.

I am finding myself more and more annoyed with Archuleta. He seems really fake to me, he does the same hand motion every time he performs and there is nothing original or current about him. My feeling is that his record sales would be in the Fantasia/Taylor Hicks category, instead of the Daughtry/Carrie Underwood category. Hopefully the votes stay on track and we find David Cook to be the next American Idol.

I find the voting interesting. America clearly grew tired of Brooke White and I believe many felt she consistently hadn’t shined. I am sure the swing votes moved from her to Syesha. The question will be whether or not Jason or Syesha will go home first. Based on last week, I think it’s going to be Jason Castro. I think he is bored, doesn’t have drive and America will respond to that. While Syesha is destined for Broadway and not what I think America wants in an Idol, she is ambitious. She is going to make every song she does from here on out a show tune, and I think that energy will allow her to skate past Jason.

Then again, I shouldn’t underestimate the 8th grade girls that are smitten with the pot-smoking clown face of Jason Castro. Is it enough though?

4. Jason Castro
3. Syesha Mercado
2. David Archuleta
1. David Cook

It’s worth watching in my opinion.

The Luck of the Irish runs out.

I purposely made this photo block out your tattoos
for the sake of prettiness. Just my opinion.



For my faithful readers, I’m sorry this is a day late. For those that don’t notice or don’t care, I’m not sorry.

The little Irish girl takes off quicker than I believed was deserved. I think everyone was shocked that night because she had such a good night with show tunes. Sharing the judges praise and then telling her she was gone made for dramatic TV. And let’s talk about Andrew Lloyd Webber Week! I have always been honest about liking things that may not be perceived as masculine. (I think the fact that I blog weekly about Idol is evidence of that.) (I also think the fact that I call it Idol is evidence.) I own the fact that I like Disney, Show tunes, and girls. Granted, affinity for all three things aren’t usually present in one guy but I have no problem being the anomaly.

This week of music reminded me how much I like Show tunes, Broadway is just plain awesome. There is great storytelling and raw emotion in the songs of this genre. If you haven’t seen a Broadway play, then you need to. Go enjoy Wicked before it leaves town. (More on Wicked in a few weeks!) None of the other Idols conquered Webber’s music like Syesha. Thirty seconds into her performance I thought to myself, “okay this girl will leave the Idol Summer Tour in September and head straight to Broadway, and she will be great.” These are two very different styles, Pop and Broadway, and therefore require different singers.

Interestingly enough, David Archuleta who has more of a Josh Groban-ish voice that can do well in Broadway did a curious Pop arrangement. I found this to be very deliberate. It’s clear that he know the thing that people find enchanting with David Cook is his arrangements and edge. Consequently Archuleta decided to do a funky arrangement of a Broadway hit. It wasn’t a hit in my opinion. David should just do his thing and stay the cute boy who constantly needs to clear his throat.

With Brooke dodging the bottom two this week, it is clear that she has a large following and that fan base is very forgiving. My guess is that she will pick up a lot of votes from Carly (the remainder going to David Cook.) By the way, that’s half the issue when making these predictions. I consider who people would be fans of and where else they would put their votes. Carly really didn’t seemed bummed about being voted off which shows me that she knew she wasn’t going to win. Who will win? Here’s my adjusted prediction.

5. Syesha Mercado
4. Jason Castro
3. Brooke White
2. David Archuleta
1. David Cook

Tonight is NEIL DIAMOND. Enough said.

Idol gives SHOCK!

We knew you wouldn’t win,
but still, you left us too quickly.



When the announcement came this last Thursday, my jaw dropped. I thought to myself, “What is America smoking? It clearly must me the same stuff Jason Castro is smoking.” (Did you notice how baked this guy looked again. It made me laugh the way Ryan didn’t even interview him after his performance. Yeah pothead musicians!) Michael Johns being voted off was a reminder that while the voters had been doing better, this is still a popularity contest. Michael Johns will go the road of Chris Daughtry, get a band and sing some good songs. But he didn’t have what it takes to make it as an idol.

I knew he wasn’t going to make it to the end, but this week was his first time in the bottom three and BOOM he’s gone. I am sure that is making all the other contestants feeling uneasy. You could see the surprise on his face when he was announced as the loser. It seemed so clear that he was trying to figure out how it is that Kristy Lee Cook remains and he is gone! I was trying to figure it out too, but again I need to see Idol as a popularity contest.

There are a bunch of states in the middle of our country. Most of us fly over these states, cities and towns not realizing that there are a lot of folks living here. They are likely to love the story of Kristy selling her horse, and want to keep her around. I should have known that these people had the power to sway a nation wide vote. For additional evidence, notice who is the resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. So with that staying power in mind, I have adjusted my predictions below.

7. Syesha Mercado
6. Kristy Lee Cook
5. Carly Smithson
4. Jason Castro
3. Brooke White
2. David Archuleta
1. David Cook

Care to comment? What is your prediction?

I am glad millions of people agree with me.

Ramiele, you knew it was coming…right?



First, I am sorry for the delay in posting. Last week was nuts with school, work and sister's wedding. Thanks for the messages about the blog. Nice to hear you're reading. I don’t say good job enough, so this blog is my chance to say GOOD JOB AMERICA! (rising out of my chair, initiating the slow clap, others join in, it’s beautiful.) It was time for Ramiele to go, we all agreed and she left. Now it’s time for us to keep on making good choices.

This week, Kristy Lee is due. I know that my last post said she should stick around because of the pretty factor, but I am into justice and it is her turn. I was looking at the American Idol website and it was SO clear, that she is now the weakest link.

I was going to end my blog here, but I decided to go out on a limb and list who I think deserves to be voted off. I have a pretty good track record when it comes to this. My friend called me the Sam Seaborn of American Idol Predictions. That is a HUGE compliment for a West Wing fan!

8. Kristy Lee Cook

7. Syesha Mercado

6. Michael Johns

5. Carly Smithson

4. Jason Castro

3. Brooke White

2. David Archuleta

1. David Cook


Now Remember this is not a list of who I think deserves it, or is most talented, it’s my predictions based on voting patterns, swing votes and other factors. A whole lot can happen in 7 weeks, but if things continue as they are…I’m pretty confident about my predictions.

Care to comment? What is your prediction?