Posts Tagged ‘American Idol’
American Idol: Did I Choose Right?
April 16th, 2010 | 
Author: How am I doing with my American Idol picks for Season 9?
Back in the beginning of March, I chose my top 3 females and top 4 guys from the top 24. At this point, I chose 5 of the top 7.
Wednesday night we said goodbye for the second time to a female pick – Katie Stevens. Like Ryan said when chatting with Katie, she really has come a long ways in the past weeks and has grown up a lot too. I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll hear from Katie in the future. She has a huge set of vocals! I thought her performance Tuesday night was one of the best of the night. (But I don’t think the judges thought so.)
The only complaint I have about Katie is that whoever chose her wardrobe for the show didn’t do her justice. Her clothes were consistently unflattering and made her almost look frumpy. And if I had to guess, the clothes probably cost her some teenage boy votes.
So, since we said goodbye to Katie, that leaves me with only one female pick left – Siobhan Magnus. I’ve liked Siobhan from the beginning and especially after her Aretha song. I feel her frustration because the judges tell her not to scream (a.k.a. opening up and letting it rip on the high notes), yet when she doesn’t use her powerful vocals, they tell her she’s boring.
Rabbit trail warning: After paying attention to a lot of the judges’ criticisms this year, I think I’d like to sit in the audience for a show. There’s apparently a dramatic difference between the live versions and what we hear on tv. Many times a performance sounds horrible and the judges praise it or it sounds awesome and they trash it. But I digress…
So far, all of my top 4 guys are still in the competition. Last week got a little touchy when Big Mike had the least votes but was saved by the judges. Now that we’re a little further into the competition, here’s my thoughts on the guys…
Tim Urban – Wow, has he come a long way since the beginning. Something about him made him stand out in the top 24, because he made my cut. I think he got a little lost along the way, and getting some of the “vote for the worst” vote gave him the confidence he needed. Like Simon said recently, Tim went from a “zero to hero” in two weeks.
Big Mike – He can definitely sing, although he needs to add some variety to his songs. Like Siobhan, his songs are starting to all sound the same.
Lee DeWyze – I liked Lee in the beginning, still do, but he isn’t a favorite. He’s good but he’s too much like past American Idol guys.
Aaron Kelly – Aaron has a great voice, but lacks a little bit in the maturity area. If he wants to pursue a career in music, he’ll make it some day, but I don’t think now is his time. He hasn’t quite figured out who he is as an artist and I think some of that comes with maturity.
The two left in the top 7 that I didn’t choose are Casey James and Crystal Bowersox, both excellent in their own way.
I’ve been trying to decide on a top 3, but I’ve only managed to narrow it down to 4. For the girls, I’m confident that it will come down to Siobhan and Crystal being in the top 4. The guys are a little more dicey. I see Aaron leaving the show first followed by either Casey or Tim, possibly Lee, or for that matter, maybe even Big Mike. LOL
What’s your choice for the top 3?
Goodbye to 4 American Idols
Oops! Guess I need to go back to the drawing board on choosing my American Idol top 3 females!
I was quite surprised that Michelle Delamor got kicked off last night.
She could definitely sing better than at least half of the remaining girls. Yeah, she kinda chose the wrong song, but come on, was she really worse than some of the others? Seriously, Michelle was standing with Didi Benami, and no one can persuade me that Didi has a better voice than Michelle. Sorry, Didi, I don’t think you believed it either.
Besides her voice, Michelle has the looks and fashion to sell to a crowd.
Sometimes I think there’s a small conspiracy going on behind the scenes at AI. Contestants with awesome voices are “voted” off, but are they really? I wonder if big name producers don’t “buy” some of the contestants off the show, and the final vote results are skewed to reflect that.
While I don’t agree with Michelle being voted off, there wasn’t much of a future left for Jermaine, John, and Haeley. Jermaine, while bold about his belief in God, came off as too cocky. John just never had the “wow” factor, and bubbly Haeley needs better control of her voice (her final performance was almost too painful to watch).
Do you agree with how America voted this week?
Pt 2: American Idol Season 9 Picks
Last week I chose my top 3 females for Season 9 of American Idol. I really struggled with choosing which guys I thought would make it the longest. None of them seemed to be standouts, and they definitely didn’t have the vocals like the girls. The performances were okay, but nothing to write home about, if you know what I mean.
So … I decided to wait a week and see who did better this week. I’m glad I did because one of the guys I “thought” had a possibility of making it got sent home. Oops!
I feel a little better about my choices this week. I’m still borderline on these so I went with 4.
From left to right, Tim Urban, Michael Lynche, Lee DeWyze, and Aaron Kelly.
Those are listed in no particular order. Here’s to hoping they all make it past this week. 
Photos from americanidol.com.
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Tags: aaron kelly, American Idol, lee dewyze, michael lynche, tim urban | 
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American Idol Season 9 Picks
I started watching American Idol during Season 7, so this year I decided that since I have a little experience under my belt, I would choose potential winners (read: who should get recording contracts and we’ll hear from in the future, IMO).
After last night’s show, I chose my top 3 females. Drum roll, please …
On the left is Siobhan Magnus. Center is Michelle Delamor. And, on the right is Katie Stevens.
(Those are listed in no particular order.)
Stay tuned for my top 3 male picks after tonight’s show.
Photos are from americanidol.com.
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Tags: American Idol, Katie Stevens, Michelle Delamor, Siobhan Magnus |
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The Source of Inspiration – Paula and RSD
It actually cracks me up how many articles with inaccuracies are published on AC. Do the editors not care about false statistics, misquoted information, or just plain wrong details?
As an English teacher, I tried to emphasize the importance of research before writing. (The kids didn’t always like the research assignments, but I know it taught them necessary skills.) Research is especially important in non-fiction writing where others depend on what you’ve written for their information. When writing some articles about hypothyroidism for AC (links are in the sidebar), I made sure I included accurate information from credible sources. I didn’t want to lead someone else down the wrong road when she was searching for a solution to her problems. No matter what type of writing you do (fiction, non-fiction, corporate, articles), making sure your facts are accurate will lend credibility to you as a writer.
One of the problems young writers (especially students) have is knowing what makes a credible source for research information. The internet contains a wealth of information on any topic imaginable, but is every site a reliable source? Books are also readily available on most topics, but how do you determine which book to read and if the author is a credible and reliable source?
Stay tuned over the next couple of days for the answers!
The idea for the above series of posts actually came about as a result of Paula Abdul’s “mistake” on American Idol last night. Isn’t it weird where we get our information from?
So how did her “mistake” give me the idea? While watching the show, her mistake of critiquing a contestant’s two songs when he sang only once at that point seemed honest to me. The whole format of the show was strange, as Simon said at the end. I didn’t care for it. Of course, Paula’s mistake caused the blogosphere to light up with theories and reasons. I do have to agree that she has seemed particularly flighty or not all there this season, but now (after a little research) I understand why. On tonight’s episode, Ryan addressed the entire situation with some ambiguity but also sternness against those theories and reasons (she’s drunk, she’s on drugs, she’s a psycho, the show is scripted, etc.)
What did my research reveal? She is on medication (no surprises there as this has been rumored). But to me, the surprising part is what she is on medication for. Please understand that I really haven’t followed Paula’s career and life that closely so maybe a lot of people know this. Paula and my husband suffer from the same disease – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
Paula has had RSD since she was 17 – she’s in her 40s now – however, she wasn’t diagnosed until 2005. She’s also being treated for arthritis.
RSD has no cure. Once you get RSD, you have it for life. This horrible pain disease can go into remission after treatment, but a patient with RSD will forever be on medication.
RSD is a chronic illness. It is debilitating. It changes your life. It alters your sleep pattern. It makes simple tasks difficult. It wears on you mentally.
Compounding the problems caused by the disease are the problems resulting from medication. Even though RSD has been medically documented by name since the Civil War, no medication is designed to treat just RSD. The closest medication at this point is Lyrica (which was really created to help fibromyalgia patients).
Instead, a person with RSD is given a cocktail of meds to take – anti-inflammatories (typically more than one kind), pain medication, neuropathy meds, anti-depressants for sleep – all in hope of controlling the pain. And then there’s physical therapy, topical medications, injections, blocks and more.
These medications can change who you are. Seriously. We’ve actually refused to continue some medications because of what they did to my husband. One of the medications completely changed his personality. He didn’t notice it, but I sure did! It was weird. No more of that med. Another made him seasick – except he wasn’t on the water. He was on solid ground. He spent over a year working on an off-shore fishing boat so I trust him when he says he’s seasick. =)
Based on personal experience and research, I believe that Paula’s mistake was truly a mistake caused by her RSD, medication, the change in format and all that goes with it. Her odd personality this season on AI could also be explained by a change to a different medication. This, of course, is just my opinion.
I hate to repeat myself but isn’t it odd where we as writers get our inspiration from at times?