Idol watch 2008

Last night was the first Tuesday night in five months that American Idol wasn't on television. To be honest, I didn't know what to do with myself.

What is on TV on Tuesday nights? my fiance and I wondered. The answer was a whole lot of nothing. I was forced to pick up a book(!) to pass the time.

It's always hard to let go of an American Idol season. For the past week, I've been basking in the glow that is a victory for the right David. But that glow won't last forever.

And so goes the end of Season Seven's competition.

It's David vs. Goliath as David Cook faces off against a balladeer of such immense proportions that he might as well be trying to scale the Himalayas with a bathing suit and flip flops on.  

The judges held nothing back as they did everything but fan David Archuleta with a a palm while feeding him grapes. They tripped over one another to dole out the biggest compliment to the boy wonder while David Cook stood by and took their harshest criticism to date.

Talk about a mixed bag of songs tonight. Finally we got to hear a few contemporary tunes, but we couldn't completely escape the oldies we have clung to so strongly this year.

Paula, Simon and Randy win for best overall song choices (I guess they can keep harping on contestants about song choice, song choice, song choice now).

Then the contestants gave us a glimpse of what kind of recording artists they might be (except for David A. who I cannot see recording R&B tunes when there is so little competition in the Clay Aiken/Josh Groban genre).

Some theme nights seem to have too few songs to choose from, while others seem so vast that the contestants' minds are blown to bits. I think that was the case tonight. Where else would you expect to hear Duran Duran, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley? Talk about hitting random on your iPod.

It didn't seem to do anyone much good to have so many songs to choose from. No one blew me away tonight - a bit disappointing considering we are getting down to the wire.

Wouldn't it have been fun to be watching this episode of American Idol with Neil Diamond tonight? If I were him, I would have had a good chuckle over how safe my catalog was. "Ha ha, nice try Archie. Love the flag!" "Oh yeah, that's gold Brooke - you could have been one of the Monkees." "Why don't you change forever in blue jeans to forever in polyester Castro?"

If you are a fan of musical theater, this was an exciting night for you. Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the kings of Broadway and has created some of the most memorable, and longest running, musicals of all time, so it was nice to hear some of those tonight.

Big voices reigned supreme and danced all over the singer-songwriter-style competition. If you could read and comprehend a lyric, you excelled tonight- even moreso, if you actually saw the production the song came from.  

What I would have given to have been a fly on the wall when producers told the contestants they would be tackling songs from the Mariah Carey catalog. Did they have to get out the smelling salts? Bring in a fainting couch? Oxygen? Talk about a daunting task - especially for the guys.

I didn't turn off the show tonight feeling inspired to go out and change the world, but I have to say that this year's Idol Gives Back tunes were vastly better choices than last year's schlock.

Rather than drill us with the likes of 'Hero,' 'Wind Beneath My Wings' and 'Because You Loved Me,' the contestants looked for songs that had inspirational lyrics in their respective genres without falling victim to the requisite lite channel sounds. And for that I thank them.

Still, I'm looking forward to a more lively week next week. What about you?

The delightful Dolly Parton brought out the best in the contestants this week as there were no real stinker performances in the bunch. Who would have guessed? 

It will be real interesting to see who ends up in the bottom three this week. I think Ramiele is the only guarantee (though if viewers could vote against instead of for contestants, I have to believe that Syesha would also be in there for merely believing that she could take on Whitney Houston).

What did you think? Who did you love? Who did you hate? Who surprised you the most?

The good old "birth year" theme night. This year, that means a second chance at 80s night -which you'll remember was a pleasant surprise the first time around.

Well tonight (like Beatles redux night) was not as good as the original, but it did afford one interestingly cheap song choice and one tantalizingly delicious song choice. (Read on to see who did which ones.)

Ok, time to close the Beatles book now and "get back" to business. Two nights was WAY too much of the Fab Four (when the Fab Four aren't present to deliver the music).

Beatles part II, produced uninspired performances across the board and did a disservice to the vast depth of the great catalog.

Advice to producers: the next time you get clearance to a cabinet of hundreds of songs (many of them timeless) let the contestants do what they will with it. Don't handicap performances by limiting choices to songs "people will know."

Beatles night is now in the books and it was interesting to say the least. Some contestants had a hard days night while others really came together with their songs.

No one went too far out on a limb with their song choice and tackled "I Am the Walrus" or "Yellow Submarine" (where is Danny Noriega when you need him?) but I'm sure at least Sir Paul and Ringo can rest assured that they retain the definitive versions of most of their songs.

Ok, Season 7 Top 12, it's time to get serious.

Moving to the big stage, the real competition kicks off this week as the finalists finally get the opportunity to sing from the John Lennon/Paul McCartney catalogue. That doesn't cover every Beatles song, but it's pretty darn close.

Sigh. The guys provided so many interesting performances last night that the women were a major disappointment tonight. Mostly boring song choices. Did these girls listen to music in the 80s? Some of them were alive then.

The final six ladies will have a tall order next week when they tackle the Beatles catalog. It's not a theme night that lends itself to women as much as it does the guys and coming off the week the guys just had, they could run away with the show yet again.

What did you think?

Here are my thoughts:

That just happened - 80s night on American Idol.

Did that totally blow your mind?

I was so pleasantly surprised by some of the song choices that I would be happy to see 80s night return again in the future.

Wow. I never thought I'd say that.

What did you think?

Here are my thoughts:

Singer: Luke Menard

Song: Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Never one to give up a brush with celebrity, this intrepid Idol blogger sacrificed sleeping in last Saturday morning to interview none other than American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Jackson was in the Twin Cities to promote the American Heart Association's "Heart of Diabetes" campaign along with Chanhassen resident and former Chaska business woman Barbara Johnson.

Johnson was selected among the many that submitted their stories of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, to appear with Jackson in a public service announcement.

Thank goodness for small favors. Despite being 70s night, we only had to endure one disco song. Hallelujah.

The song choices, much like the70s, were all over the place, but in the end, the girls lose out to the boys this week.  

Here are my thoughts:

Singer: Carly Smithson

Songs: Crazy on You

I was afraid of this.

First there was 60s night. Now its 70s night. Dear lord, will we really be subjected to 80s night next week??? Well, at least most of the contestants were born in that decade so song choice should be much improved.

So far, no one has knocked my socks off during this first round of competition. Sad :(

I can't help but think back to this time last year where we were delighted with stand out performances by Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones. Those stand out performances are what make the show worth watching. Flu or not, I need someone to give me the tinglies.

Maybe it was the poor theme choice or maybe it was frightening screen images playing behind the contestants. Whatever it was, I think next week can only get better.

Here are my thoughts:

Last year it was a controversy over allowing former background
singers to compete, this year AI is shrouded in debate over past
successes. Turns out, some of these kids haven't been harboring their
talents in the barn all these years. Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns and
Carly Smithson have all had recording contracts (all were subsequently
dropped from their labels). Robbie Carrico toured with and dated
Britney Spears when he was in the boy band Boyz-N-Girlz United. David
Archuleta won Star Search.

Question: Why does a show accused of growing stale kick off its actual competition with a 60s night theme? Hard to prove fresh and relevant in that case.

Well, we're off and running and for the most part, the guys failed to knock my socks off. What did you think?

Here are my thoughts:

Songs: In the Midnight Hour

...Or so they keep telling us.

So here they are, the top 24 contestants that will now sing for their supper and our votes. Do you have any early favorites? Who will you be casting your votes for? Who was robbed? See my thoughts on the contestants below.

(NMA = needs more airtime)

Top 12 men

David Cook - Daughtry wannabe. Let's see how he does if he makes it to the theme nights. 

David Archuleta - Hard not to like this kid (at least now). He's young (16) and adorable and has a great voice.

The auditions are over (at last). After a grueling month of listening to wannabes (and a few class clowns) belt out tunes in the hopes of becoming the next American Idol, we've finally made it to Hollywood.

Now the fun begins as we whittle down the 100+ remaining contestants to the final 24.

We're promised some drama, some excellence, and musical intruments along the way. I can hardly wait. How about you?

Welcome back Idolheads. It's been a long eight months since we last discussed the ups and downs of American Idol and here we are again, ready for more of the madness. Buckle up!

The 2008 auditions kicked off in Philadelphia where throngs of people waited for a chance to claim their 15 minutes of fame. This year, Idol producers promised some changes. Did we see them tonight? No, not really, but I wasn't expecting much change in the audition format. After all, this is where even Idol haters can tune in for a good, entertaining laugh.

With Season 6 rounding the bend for the final stretch, it seemed a good time to review the all-time best Idol performances. So, I offer to you my Top 10 as well as a few honorable mentions (with their respective YouTube video links).