American Idol: A Solid Final Nine

There were so many good performances this week that I am hard pressed to produce a power list. I thought that the judges/producers were blatantly manipulative this week. Heejun and Deandre were good, but they received undeserved standing ovations from the judges to strengthen their positions with the voters. Hollie wasn't bad, but she got the only criticism of the night. The producers might think, rightfully, that she has no chance of winning or placing and want her to leave sooner rather than later to leave room for more interesting or polarizing performers. I'm looking at you, Heejun. They tried this last year with Haley Reinhart, but it backfired when she ended up in the final three. I don't expect that for Hollie.

Weak
Hollie is too generic a performer to last. She has a big voice and that's about all she has going. Joshua  has the cry face that is the kiss of death for me. I don't think the audience likes it either. He also has a generic quality although he is a much better performer than Hollie. Deandre may be too gimmicky to last, but I love his movements.

Medium
Colton gave one his weakest performances, boring and manipulative. Skylar  redeemed herself this week with a real country turn. Heejun decided to take the show seriously this week, and showed off his beautiful voice. He may have the best voice of the group, but that won't take him to the win.

Strong
Phillip gave the best performance of the night; great song, great delivery. Stevie Nicks, this week's mentor, predicted that he's going to be very famous one day, and I believe her. Jessica was scary-good as usual. Randy asked where does it come from? I wonder about that too. Elise brought down the house with her wailing rock performance. Will she be in the bottom three again? I don't think so, but who is going home? Hard to predict.

American Idol: Billy Joel Night

Well American Idol fans, tonight the youths competing on the show had to sing the songs of an American icon who is in grandpa range. Deandre Brackensick doesn't even know who Christie Brinkley is. But it was alright. There were some good and outstanding performances, and my personal power list has slid around some. Plus I got goosies!

10.   Now that Shannon Magrane is gone, I am campaigning for the removal of Hollie Cavanaugh. First off, she has horrible taste.  From her consultation with Tommy Hilfiger it emerged that she is the one that insists on sequins and other sparkly grandma clothes. She is 18 trying to look 45. What? The judges dissed her performance this week.

9.    Joshua Ledet killed last week, but he is starting to wear on me. He has the cry-face. Like Hollie, he is talented but just not likeable or fresh in his musical approach. The judges said he wasn't believable.

8.    This is killing me, but Skylar Laine  is also beginning to pall. She over sang, and what was with that diaper she was wearing? Tommy Hilfiger wanted her to keep doing what she was doing style-wise, and she did the opposite. I think she got good advice and should have followed it.

7.    This kills me even more, but, although I loved her hair, I don't think Erika Van Pelt was at her best.   The judges loved her, but I think she over sang. She started out sounding intimate and jazzy. She made me wish that I was seeing her in a small club. Then she went to the power notes. I think she is in danger this week, since she has been making a poor showing in votes and at her jazzy best she isn't the type for young Idol fans.

6.    I thought Deandre Brackensick was as adorable and entertaining as ever, but his performance, though wonderfully peppy, was not that memorable.

5.    Heejun Han was one of the most entertaining performers of the evening. One of the recappers thought that he was making a droll postmodern commentary on the show, and that could be right. It especially seemed so in his wardrobe choice. He may be a little bit of a genius.

4.    Elise Testone  is undoubtedly this year's Haley Reinhart. The judges decided not to give her the Haley diss and gave her a standing O this week. And she was that good.

3. - 2.- 1.   I can't rank the rest of the performers. I loved them all so much. I especially loved Phillip Phillips aggression and refusal to give in to image control. And Diddy made a very stupid comment about the guitar being a crutch. Philip knows, and we know, that that isn't the case for him.  Jessica Sanchez is a channel for something beyond the earth.  She is unbelievable. This week she reminded me of Aretha Franklin. Where does that come from? And I  fell  deeply in love with polished, intense Colton Dixon. That's when I got the goosies. Here are your three finalists.

American Idol: Shame on Jermaine

As many of you know by now, baritone Jermaine Jones, the 13th contestant, was kicked to the curb by American Idol for lying about a previous arrest record and concealing that he has four outstanding warrants. Here are more details on this dramatic story. Jermaine is pictured above. I find these photos interesting in that they show him looking tough and just a bit thugish, contradicting his clean living country boy image on the show.

In other drama, Phillip Phillips had surgery for kidney stones during the week, Colton Dixon had dinner with Chris Daughtry, and Joshua Ledet ate a mess of crayfish.

The performances this week slipped in general, through there were some outstanding contributions most notably by Joshua Ledet. Here is my personal power list for this week. This reflects a combination of my opinion and how I think the voting will fall.

11   Sharon Magrane: her costume styling was way too old for her, she sounded whiny and weak, and she has no singing style. I can't stand her.

10   Elise Testone: overly mannered performance with a forced vibrato; she pushed too hard. I wouldn't be surprised if she goes home.

9    Heejun Han: his schtick is getting old, his performance was meh.

8    Jessica Sanchez was disappointing this week. She sounded a little shouty and, as Randy and others pointed out, her rhythm was off. However, I don't think she or Deandre are in danger.

7    Deandre Brackensick: I loved his performance, but the judges didn't seem to. He is comfortable on stage and very cute. I think he'll get some girl votes this week.

6    Hollie Cavanaugh: This girl is immensely talented, but I don't like her. She sings with confidence, but somehow she reminds me of a scared mouse. I don't like the irrelevant Celine Dion style of singing either. She also lacks charm.

5    Skylar Laine is one of my favorites, but her performance this week was not that entertaining for me. The judges however, loved her.

4    Erika Van Pelt: I love her. I'd put her at number one, but she'll likely be in the bottom three. The judges suggested that she oversang this week, but last time they criticized her for undersinging. I think she always gets it just right. And she looked fantastic.

3   Colton Dixon: What can I say. I always love the rockers.

2    Phillip Phillips: Not bad for kidney stones.

1    Joshua Ledet killed.

Here is a link to the LA Times recap.

Niles Songwriters

The next meeting of the Niles Songwriters is Thursday, March 15th 7:30-9pm. We will meet in the library’s youth service program room which has great acoustics, but can be warm. Songwriters are invited to bring an original song to share. Last month those who played guitar, ukulele, or recorder brought them along, those that didn't play, sang acapella. It was great fun! If you’re a songwriter and would like to join us, stop by the Niles Public Library at 6960 Oakton St. Niles, IL

For more information contact Cyndi Rademacher at crademac@nileslibrary.org or call 847-663-6614.

American Idol: Toward the First Elimination

OMG! That was some show! Just when I thought I was through with American Idol, it pulled me back in. There is a new twist in the show too. For this elimination the boy and girl with the least votes will sing off and the judges will decide who goes home. But it's hard to decide who were the weakest performers.

Actually it's not. Shannon Magrane was pretty bad, and I don't think her pageant-y presentation will help her either. Elise Testone, an early favorite was also weak, but Shannon was worse. Elise reminded me of Haley Reinhardt in her jerky phrasing and tense moves, but Haley rallied and so will Elise.

Weakest boy? That's harder to say. Jeremy Rosado? Jermaine Jones?

But there were so many strong performances, the foremost being teeny tiny Jessica Sanchez who gave me GOOSIES over the TV. Can you imagine that anyone would pull off "I Will Always Love You" on Whitney Houston night, let alone kill? My girl Skylar killed as well, as did Colton Dixon and Phillip Phillips. Other standouts were Erika Van Pelt and Deandre Brackensick who was so entertaining. Hollie Cavanaugh is also an outstanding singer, but she creeps me out a little.

On its 400th show, American Idol is off to a strong start.

American Idol: YOUR Final Thirteen

Erika Van Pelt, Wild Card

In Thursday's semi-final results show, I think America got it right. And so did the judges in their wild card picks. I was slightly disappointed that Jen Hirsh didn't get through, but actually her later performances weren't as strong as her earlier ones.

Here are the Final Thirteen:

Boys
Phil Phillips: unique
Joshua Ledet: incredible R&B chops
Heejun Han: adorable, great voice, questionable delivery
Colton Diixon: an indie delight
Jermain Jones: deep baritone voice, but belongs on Broadway
Girls
Jessica Sanchez: beyond great
Hollie Cavanaugh: tiny girl, huge voice; she makes me nervous
Shannon Magrane: strong singer, but, so far, too pagent-y princess
Skylar Laine: adorable ball of pep
Elise Testone: country piano girl

Wild Cards
Erika Van Pelt: powerhouse (Randy's pick)
Jeremy Rosado: sweet and sincere (Jennifer's pick)
Deandre Brackensick: great falsetto, a little different (Stephen's pick)

American Idol: A Star is Born

Here are some girl face slices because last night (Wednesday) 12 women competed for five places in the American Idol Season 11 finals.

Normally I become a fan of a  cute and quirky boy singer like LeeDeWyze or Kris Allen, or a great rocker like Daughtry or James Durbin. But after seeing this group of girls  perform, I think I'm in love. And by star I'm referring to tiny 16 year old Jessica Sanchez who had me sitting with a dropped jaw. I even insisted on replaying her performance for my husband who was equally impressed. Both young Jessica and 18 year old Skylar Laine, my other girl crush, understand that a performer has to entertain, which with some exceptions has never been a hallmark of American Idol performances. That's why I love The Voice so much; it's so entertaining.

Maybe the AI performers are trying to be entertaining , but they don't know how. Last night the AI girls paraded some good voices accompanied by lackluster performances. I'm looking at you three interchangeable blond beauties - Hallie, Baylie, and Haley. I hope they all get voted off, though I might tolerate Hallie, the best of them.

Jessica Sanchez

Skylar Laine

I also like Jen Hirsh. Anyway, if Jessica Sanchez can take the pressure, I don't see how she can't win the whole thing. Here is a link to Carla Patton of Buddy TV recapping the performances live. She also thought Jessica killed.

Jen Hirsh