American Idol Disappointment

Firstly, I was disappointed at the loss of Michael Johns in the top four.

Like in Achuleta, I see qualities that I felt the world had lost and which should be brought back.

Young David was amazing the last night. He mesmerised the audience and the judges and outshone Cook. He was just great on stage, charismatic and with a presence that overpowered his opponent.

We do not have to be politically correct all the time and we should recognise uniqueness when we see it.

Seriously, it was a singing competition and Archuleta sang really very well, unique in his own way. Cook was straining to hit the notes and his voice was not as powerful as Archuleta or Johns.

Cook may seem more "musical" to some people who thought that that was THE THING that make an American Idol, and I thought to myself, is it or should it be exactly what we are looking for in American Idol? So a mediocre singer who is very "musical" can be an Americal Idol?

Cook won by 12 million votes; someone mentioned landslide victory. It left me wondering why I'm not one of the crowd and I do like rock music.

With no disrespect to Cook, the result left a bad taste in my mouth. The younger David was just too stunning that final night.

I may have more to say later (or not).  I'll probably be shot down soon.

AI - Top 10

Tonight, Amanda was voted off. I think it should have been Kristy Lee Cook. Amanda should have been given a chance to go on tour as she should be able to give more interesting performances than Kristy who I find is pretty boring. Well, America has voted and Kristy gets to meet Dolly Parton.

That said, I think Michael Johns should be in the top two this season. To me, he's already a star. He has a great voice and a good range. I think he can tackle almost any songs which is why he hasn't find his niche yet. Maybe he should try do a good soul song next week and he should have more confidence in himself. He's very good.

The other star is David Archuleta. He has a big voice and hits the right pitch most of the time. I think he should stick to the songs he can sing well. If he needs to do a fast song, he can do something like 'Shop Around' which he did pretty good.

AI Season 7-Girls

Four girls stood out for me: Asia'd, Ramiele, Syesha and Carly Smithson.

However, unlike the boys, not one single girl was particularly outstanding or have enough charisma to fill the stage.

I think the best female voice belongs to Carly but she's not very interesting despite her strong vocals. If I need to pick a favourite here, it'll be Ramiele but I don't think she's going to win. The next bet is, though not my favourite, Syesha who seems just the right package for American Idol.

Back in action

for the time being.

Work:
I was extremely busy at work after taking on a new client in mid December last year. We had to put in a lot of time working with the new shareholder and director who had just taken over the company and was trying to weed out previous ties.

Chinese New Year
fell on 7 February this year. Tomorrow is the 15th day:

"Yuan Xiao - The Chinese Valentine's Day The 15th day is also being referred to as the Chinese Valentine's day. On this day, many single girls will gather at the riverside upstream to toss mandarin oranges into the river, with the hope that the right single men who await downstream, will pick up the oranges. It is believed that this act will bring the person to his/her right match. So it's no surprise the mandarin oranges will sell really well on that day.

Of course, Chinese who originated from different area of China might have different New Year tradition and practices. For instance, in Hong Kong, people believe that the first person who puts a joss stick into the temple's offering altar, will be having good luck for the rest of the year. You can imagine the crowd outside the temple at the dawn of the Lunar New Year. " (taken from here http://www.knowingfood.com/story/lunar_new_year.html)

In case anyone wants to know, we don't "seriously" throw oranges anymore.

American Idol Season 7-Men:
I think David Archuleta is just so good. Like what Simon said, "When you've got it, you've got it." He's so natural on stage and he's so young. He has a natural good singing voice but needs to work on his range. His low notes were a bit wobbly.

In the earlier round, I also liked David Cook and Michael Johns. I think Michael is pretty consistent but is feeling the pressure more now. He needs to have more confidence in himself to perform well. He can turn out to be very professional. I like David Cook's rocker voice and although he still sang well, he was not standing out much tonight.

I didn't manage to watch Jason Carlos in the preliminary but he sounds good in this round. We'll see how he goes from here.

Meme:
David M has tagged me for a game "Plans for 2008" http://dmascellani.livejournal.com/65391.html, which I shall be posting soon. Stay tune.

American Idol Final

Jordin Sparks was great with her three songs especially the last one. I didn't know that both the finalists were going to sing the same composition.

I thought she was doing a cover version of some singer's song and I thought she sang it very well. The song sounded familiar and yet there was something original in it for her. As there was also no introduction of another winning composition, I said to my sister who was watching the show with me, "hey, how is it that she's not singing a new composition?"

Then, somewhere in the middle of the song, I realised that it was the same song Blake sang earlier. Gosh, it sounded so different and so much better. She made the song hers and it was a good close for her. She was fantastic. Like Simon Cowell said, she wiped the floor with Blake on that song.

She sang all three songs beautifully and I think with that last song, she should be the American Idol.

Melinda Doolittle

Oh damn! Melinda was booted out of American Idol, not that I'm surprised though. My family has predicted that could happen.

It's really a shame because I think she's the best singer in AI. I thought Blake should be out instead and if not, then Jordin. Really, in AI, it's not a matter of who is the better singer but who has a bigger fan base and Melinda lost out because of this. So, Blake's going to be the American Idol.

Bon Jovi

is so cool, him and the band. Yes, I've been watching American Idol again.

I got a headache after a stressful day at the hospital and then reading a lot of research material so I did not do much else

Exit Stage Left

Sanjaya was finally voted off after a disappointing performance on country night. I somehow knew that he could not do country and would be booted out. True enough his performance was poor compared to the beautiful latin night Besame Mucho.

I just saw his exit interview and I think he is a terrific kid. I understood what he was babbling about when he spoke of the night he stood with Lakisha and Blake on the stage being the bottom three. Judging from his expression that night, he probably knew that he was the one leaving. He was already sniffling before the result was announced. He also probably didn't want to be the one not leaving because there would be even more hype about him and the poor kid would have to bear all the hatred from Lakisha's and Blake's fans, not to mention the Sanjaya haters. I don't think he could take it much more and he shouldn't have to. I'm glad he's voted off because of this.

Sanjaya, you're awesome!

Sanjaya Malakar - Besame Mucho

Chris Richardson - Smooth

This is good too. I've always been a Chris Richardson fan too. I like him more than Blade

Chris Richardson - Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Okay this is good too

American Idol - Top 8

Oh damn! I just have to take a break from NaPoWriMo to write this post.

I think Haley should go, not Gina, not Sanjaya. Gina has been improving after moving a little away from the hot rock songs which makes her shout too much. Phil's performance was not that good but Haley was the worst of the lot. She's been kept in by her looks, not sure by whom and she's becoming another Barba. The spotlight was always on Sanjaya and Haley went through unnoticed. Frankly, I believe she has the weakest voice in this year's top 10.

P.S. Comments are moderated. I don't publish what I don't want to.

American Idol - Top 9

I did continue to watch American Idol although I was disappointed Sundance and Sabrina were voted off. Since I have a bit of time today, I'll blog about this a bit.

I think other than the controversy over Sanjaya, the voting was quite predictable. The next to go would probably be Haley but she's pretty so who knows. Then, maybe Gina or Sanjaya.

Actually I think Sanjaya does have a good voice and he can sing. His easy going voice makes it sound as if he's not making an effort in his singing but that's his style. He just needs to push his voice a little like the last note in this week's performance. He also has an interesting (abide a bit weird) personality and it's showing in his performance lately. But still, he's definitely not better than Blake or Chris Richardson in terms of engaging performances.

Undoubtedly, he doesn't have the best voice in the competition but personally I felt he showed more charisma than Chris Sligh. I always felt Chris is lacking in something but I am not able to put my finger at what it is. I read somewhere something about X factor. I suppose that's it, whatever it is. Sanjaya has it (however weird) and Chris doesn't.

Yeah, I know it's a singing competition but if you do not have the best voice, you need to be a good performer or an entertaining one.

I suppose what I'm saying is, maybe folks could give Sanjaya a break. I've read bad messages about him and I think some of the things said were rather unfair on the poor boy. I don't think he'll make it to the final (unless he really does something to his voice and style) so there's no worry that he'll make American Idol a laughing stock.

Oh my goodness, American Idol!

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I echo Paula Abdul, "I am speechless".

How can Sundance be voted off before the finals? He has one of the best voice, for goodness sake. Even if Sanjaya gotta stay, then either Brandon or Phil should be gone instead. Now, the only one that has the better voice is Chris Sligh and he lacks charisma, at least to me. He has to stand out more. However, with this week's result, I think we can forget about the boys. It's just gonna be the girls' show from now on.

The other disappointment was Haley staying in favour of Sabrina. I think Sabrina has a very good voice with a good vocal range and much much better in every way.

I really don't know what else to say. I think I've just lost some interest in American Idol and will probably be watching the show with half a heart from now on.

Yo, American Idol!

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The guys were forgettable except maybe for Blake and Chris Richardson although their performances were not their bests this week.

My favourite Sundance gave just an okay performance. I thought his tone was not right so his voice was not brought out strong enough and this made him sounded like he struggled with some notes. I guess it's the wrong song choice. Maybe he wanted to show he could do something else than the bluesy stuff that made him stand out. But I don't think it's bad idea just to sing the type of songs that are suitable for you. If you're a country singer, rock might not be good for you.

The next best voice belongs to Chris Sligh but other than that, there's nothing in his performance that impresses me. Blake and Chris R stand out more than him and I don't think it has anything to do with looks.

I've always thought of Phil and Jared as the weak links. They are passable but I believe AJ had the better voice. Their respective performance this week was poor and their voices not up to the AI final standard.

I still think Brandon does not have a good voice range. I think he's overrated unless he comes back next week and prove me wrong. So far, I haven't seen an outstanding performance from him.

Sanjaya's choice of song was slightly better this week but he still preferred to stay in his comfort zone. His voice was too weak in certain parts. He should really put more force into his voice and hit the higher notes when he can. I think he still hasn't proven that he's one of the pack.

So, actually, four should go but since only two are voted off, Sanjaya would definitely have to go and I think, maybe Brandon.

As for the girls, I think the last two standing in the final stage will be Lakisha and Melinda. Personally, I prefer Lakisha a bit more than Melinda. I think she can hit most notes and she has the tone and pitch that I like. Her rendition of Whitney's song was just so good. I notice and like the way her face turns soft when she is not performing that make her seems a totally different person when she is performing.

Of course, as usual I liked Jordin Sparks but her singing was a bit pitchy at times. However, she pulled it off and managed something different well. But still, it was just okay compared to some of the other better girls.

Another girl I liked was Sabrina but she didn't sing that well this week. Stephanie gave a better performance.

As for Gina, I never liked the way she sang. She tends to shout her songs and they're too loud for my ears although I could take Lakisha's and Melinda's which are equally loud and powerful because they are not shouting.

Haley was forgettable and definitely wrong choice of song. I've never really thought her voice was good anyway. She is going off the show.

So is Antonella. Her pitch was wrong, the tone was bad and she was out of tune at times. Her low notes were bad and she couldn't hit the higher notes in most parts. She is definitely the worse of the pack. Seriously, she needs to go or AI will lose its creditability.

(Please excuse the grammar. I'll correct them at a later time. I just need to block this before the results come out)

American Idol Gasp!

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Gosh! The wrong people are going home tonight. I thought the last result was shocking.

Paula gave a very sound and critical comment "This is a singing competition. Vote for the person you love to be in, singing."

American Idol Time Again

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Looks like I'm always blogging about American Idol instead of spending time revising my story. Still, here goes.

This week's outstanding boys:

Sundance was great. I love his voice. But I think he should lose some weight and maintain an exercise routine to have a better control of his voice.

Chris Richardson performed well.

Blake was fine too though I prefer last week's song.

Nick was good with "Fever". It's a difficult song to sing and I think he did it well in his own way. I think he knows he doesn't have as strong a vocal as some of the other boys and he seems to be playing it right with his choice of songs.

And the outstanding girls:

Doolittle did very well.

I love Jordin Sparks. She's just great. She has a very powerful voice and so much potential. She sounded a bit edgy at some parts but she handled the song well. I was like "wow" when I heard she was singing Christina Aguilera. Way to go, girl.

Lakisha was very good too but Doolittle has the edge over her this week.

The other girl to watch is Sabrina. I like her voice more than Stephanie Edwards's. I think she looks great too.

The disappointment:

Sanjaya - Oh man, I'm going to sound like Randy. Seriously, I think someone should give this boy some sound advice. He has a good voice and it's going to waste. When Melinda was singing "My Funny Valentine", I was thinking Sanjaya should have sung that.

Okay, the boot:

I would have given the boot to AJ if he was still doing last week's stuff. This week he gave a much better performance so I think he deserves to stay another week. He'll still be forgetable if he doesn't try harder with the personality thing.

I think either Jared, Phil or Brandon should go. Brandon does seem to have a good voice but it doesn't stand out. I haven't hear him manage a good range yet and I'm having doubt that he's able to. Jared's good looking but his voice and performance were not outstanding this week. Neither was Phil.

Though Alaina did not sing that well, I think she should be given another chance. Her voice is actually not too bad but she always does seem out of breath at times. She should take a look at that.

Antollena is getting from bad to worse. When I heard she was going to sing Celine Dion and of all songs, "Because You Loved Me", I was like "Oh my God!" and I didn't even need to hear her sing to know she was not going to sing it well after hearing her vocal the past few weeks.

I don't think Haley was good either but I think Antollena gave the worse performance this week.

American Idol - Top 24

Okay, American Idol time.

The boys:

I still like Sundance. I think he has a great distinctive singing voice. I don't know why he's not performing. Maybe he should listen to the judges, stick to the blues that put him in the race in the first place.

I also like Chris Richardson. Although his voice is not too great, I like the way he sings his songs. He has his style.

I also like Blake Lewis. He's surprisingly good and very musical. I think this guy has talent yet to be revealed. I didn't notice the pitchiness Randy commented on.

I didn't like Nick Pedro the previous rounds and thought it was his good look that got him through. However, I thought he was pretty good singing "Now and Forever" He has a kind of sandy voice which I like.

I'm disappointed with Sanjaya. He could have done better with another song that would bring out his easy going voice. He also has a problem bringing out his personality into his songs.

The girls:

I think all of them did a good job except for Gina Glocksen. At the higher notes, she sounded like screaming rather than singing. I agree with Simon's comments about her notes.

The other disappointment was Antollena. Gosh, like Sanjaya, she could have done better with a better song.

Outstanding ladies - Lakisha, Jordin Sparks, Doolittle, Sabrina and Stephanie in that order.

American Idol - Los Angeles (Sherman Pore)

Touching moment

I tried to post this twice but the video was no longer available. Maybe copyrighted or something. If you want to view this video, try youtube.

My Tee Shirt and American Idol

No, my tee shirt has nothing to do with American Idol. I just wanted to talk about my tee shirt and American Idol today.

Yesterday I had to run some errands at a neighbourhood store and a bank. I was in a bit of a rush so I just grabbed a tee shirt to put on and left the house. I did not realise that I had put on my tee back to front. I only realised that after I came home. How embarrassing. I hope people thought I did it on purpose or better still they did not notice it at all. :-)

Yesterday and today, I watched American Idol - Season 6 and I had a good laugh at some of the contestants. Bad of me eh? Okay, okay, I wasn't laughing at them because they were bad but because they were funny. I was also laughing at the judges' expressions and comments. And I just love Simon Cowell. Should I feel better now? Hmm, :-) I can't wait to hear Memphis.