Category: TV (Page 561 of 595)

Last night was the final results show on “American Idol” to determining the top 12 finalists in the competition. There were some surprises…..actually some big surprises. But more on that in a minute…..

The show started with a performance from last season’s runner-up, Bo Bice. Look, I thought Bo was better than Carrie Underwood and should have won, but last night he sang his new single, “The Real Thing,” and just wasn’t very good. And it’s not all his fault. But can someone tell me why producers make folks like Bo and Kelly Clarkson sing songs that are out of their range? Dude was straining so bad I thought he was going to have an aneurism. And he tried to cover it up by flipping his mic stand around like a wild man. Bo, you’re awesome, but be careful out there.

So on to the eliminations. No surprise that the first chick to go home was Kinnik Sky. After she butchered that Alicia Keys tune she left little doubt. Painfully, they made us hear her sing it again. Let’s all be thankful for mute buttons.

For the guys, Will Makar had the lowest number of votes. I can’t say I’m surprised by the choice, because America doesn’t want another Clay Aiken and certainly not one that doesn’t sing as good. He turned in a boring performance Wednesday night and it showed in the voting.

Then the girls got up there again, and it came down to Melissa McGhee and Ayla Brown. Then Ryan Seacrest delivered the news to Melissa that she was in the top 12, and that Ayla was going home. Look, Ayla wasn’t that great the other night but she was a way better singer than Melissa. All I can think of is that Marlboro rigged the voting because they are surely getting ready to offer Melissa an endorsement deal.

Still, this was not the shocker of the evening. While going through the remaining guys, I watched Ryan tell lispy Kevin and Ace that they were advancing to the finals. That left Gedeon and Bucky…..now, Bucky was one I had suspected would be eliminated because he wasn’t very good, but I thought Gedeon was at least good enough for the final 12. But Bucky was the one to advance, maybe because he had the hillbilly vote or because America was frightened by Gedeon’s bright smile. I’ll say this to Gedeon—dude, you got robbed.

So there you have it. Here are the final 12, in order according to the Vandalay Power Rankings:

1. Mandisa
2. Chris Daughtry
3. Paris Bennett
4. Lisa Tucker
5. Taylor Hicks
6. Kellie Pickler
7. Katharine McPhee
8. Elliott Yamin
9. Ace Young
10. Kevin Covais
11. Melissa McGhee
12. Bucky Covington

Oh, but first…….what the hell were the Brittenum twins doing back? They were both in the studio audience wearing matching white outfits….what happened to the orange jumpsuits and what were they doing there? Bizarre.

So we’ll see you next week…..my first choice for elimination as we count down the final 11 weeks has got to be Bucky Covington. Ma’s Diner had better stock up on sweet tea.

Vandalay, OUT.

Last night the dudes took to the stage in “American Idol” and, quite like the ladies on Tuesday night, there were a lot of mediocre performances. When the competition gets down to the final rounds, a mediocre showing or poor song choice can mean a ticket home, and that could definitely be the case for a few of last night’s performers.

Here is my recap of the good, the band and the in-between:

THE GOOD

There was really only one performance last night worthy of guaranteed advancement to the next round, and that was everyone’s favorite gray-haired boy, Taylor Hicks. Taylor sang the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ It To the Streets” and it was the perfect song for him because he’s got that whole Michael McDonald/Joe Cocker thing going on anyway. Simon said Taylor stood out last night and he definitely did.

THE IN-BETWEEN

If I could give out B-pluses, that’s what I’d give both Gedeon and Chris. Gedeon sang “When a Man Loves a Woman” and did a nice job with it. Randy Jackson called Gedeon an “old soul” because he’s like a throwback to the early Motown era, and Simon declared him interesting enough of a performer to continue on.

Chris sang Seether’s “Broken” and while he obviously has the best voice among the guys, he just turned in an effort that was not up to the bar he set last week.

Will Makar sang a James Taylor song and, while he has a nice voice too, just turned in a performance that makes you start looking around the room and decide if it’s time to paint the walls. That, and he seems to be cut from that Clay Aiken mold….strong voice, not raspy, wussy style. Not that it’s a bad thing to shoot for, but it just seems a bit tired to me.

Elliott “Abe Lincoln” sang Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” and while Paula and Randy loved it, I agreed completely with Simon, who said it was a “cop-out.” It was just safe, uninteresting and well below Elliott’s capabilities.

THE BAD

This is going to be hard for me because I wanted there to be two clear-cut favorites for elimination, but alas, there are three that could go home.

Lispy Kevin made a comment in his video piece that he’s a fan of Kanye West, then cut to the live action…..and dude sang Don McLean’s “Vincent.” Folks, there isn’t a more limp-wristed song ever written. Kevin has a nice enough voice, but he’s just not top 12 material.

Bucky sang a country song and I’m going to admit to not knowing what it was….it’s a good genre for the blond hillbilly but compared to some of the in-betweens, it was a forgettable performance.

Then there is Ace, who sang Michael Jackson’s “Butterflies.” You know what, scratch what I said about “Vincent.” This is the most limp-wristed song ever. And is it just me, or did Randy and Paula check their ears at the door? They both loved this dude’s performance, which went back and forth between falsetto and full voice but not without being all over the place. Bottom line: Ace sucked last night….Simon said parts were not great, but here’s hoping America saw what I did, and that’s that the whole performance was just awful.

So there you have it. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Bucky and Kevin will be going home, and that America will be stupid enough to agree with Randy and Paula about Ace. For the girls, look for Melissa McGhee to rejoin her friend Heather Cox at their, errr, day job at the Foxy Unicorn and for Kinnik Sky to also take a hike. It’s always fun to see how it shakes out….oh, and my man Bo Bice performs tonight and will show America that they made a mistake last season.

Vandalay, OUT.