American Idol - Motown Week

Here is my recap on Motown week on AI, which was last night.  I still HATE the judges entrance.  I think it's cheesy, and I have no clue who in the heck dressed Paula.  She looked like she should be on the top of a little girls jewelry box.  That dress was just heinous.  Also every week she gets nuttier and nuttier.  Paula is definitely going off the rails of a crazy train.  I hope they ditch her next year but keep Kara around.

Matt Giraud

He sang Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On".  For the second week in a row, he actually picked a song that suited him and he did well on it.  I have to be honest though by the end of the night I forgot about his performance.

Kris Allen

He sang "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You".  He did well, vocals were perfect.  I have nothing negative to say about this guy.  I like him and hope he sticks around.

Scott MacIntyre

He sang "You Can't Hurry Love".  The background singers were cheesy, the arrangement was terrible and the music overshadowed his vocals (which are not that great to begin with in my opinion).  I think he may have dug his own grave on this one last night.  His days are definitely numbered on this show.  I pick he will be bottom three tonight.  He is just not interesting enough to stay around much longer.  The best part about this performance was the judges fighting and Paula handing Simon a box of crayons and a coloring book.  I wonder how long it took her to think of that clever one?

Megan Joy

Oh Lord help me.  She sang "For Once In My Life".  To be honest I'd never heard this song and I wasn't impressed.  I agree with Kara she would have fared better with something like "My Guy."  What gets me is that this gal is interesting, and she has a unique voice to her, but she keeps picking the WORST songs ever.  She is bottom three tonight.  Also, side note.  I hate that dancing hip twisting weird thing she does, but after her first performance she has obviously TRIED NOT to do it, and I think that is making her singing worse if you ask me.  Bring back the stupid looking dance.  I can overlook that if I can get some decent vocals from you.

Anoop Desai

He sang "Ooh Baby Baby".  His vocals sounded fine but to be honest he bored me to tears.  I couldn't wait for it to be over so we could go on to something more interesting (yes, like Adam I suppose...sigh...at least he is interesting).  

Michael Sarver

He sang "Aint Too Proud to Beg", which is quite ironic since he is basically begging the audience for a spot in next weeks performance.  I agree completely with Simon, he is a nice guy but has absolutely NO chance of winning the competition.  He is another one for bottom three in my opinion.

Lil Rounds

Hated the dress, hated the hair, hated the song.  She sang "Heat Wave" and it sounded like the song was running away from her the entire time.  She just never really got it together.  

Adam Lambert

Ok.  I liked this performance.  He sang "Tracks of My Tears".  He ditched the Sharpee on his fingernails, the guyliner and the creepy clothes for a 1950's look that shocked us all.  This was the first performance I have liked by this guy and that hasn't totally creeped me out making me want to shower afterwards.  I'm still not a fan yet, but I'm not loathing him as much as I did last week.  He earned a little bit of respect from me last night.  Hey, at least I know every week this guy is going to come out and do something interesting.  

Danny Gokey

Danny sang "Get Ready".  It was fun, vocals were awesome as usual and his performance was great.  Danny worked that stage.  I love this guy.  

Allison Iraheta

Ok, can't believe she was bottom three last week.  She sang "Papa Was A Rolling Stone".  I can't believe this girl is sixteen.   She has some pipes.  Hopefully America voted and will keep her on, because she is definitely NOT bottom three material.

My prediction.  Bottom three: Scott, Michael and Megan Joy, with Michael going home.  Of course as we saw from last week a perfectly good singer can go home way before their time with Alexis getting the axe.  I'm totally bummed she is gone.  She was one of the best in my opinion and did not deserve the boot.

One last comment about last week.  Totally unfair what the judges did to Alexis.  Told her "depends on this performance if we will save you or not".  Then they don't even listen to her and do a "pretend"  discussion as if they were actually contemplating keeping her.  This act was extremely rude and unfair.

American Idol - Grand Ole Opry Week

Most of the time I must say I'm disappointed with the country nights on AI, but last years Dolly night was one of my favorites, so I was hopeful for this year, and tonight's wasn't too bad.  There were some surprising ones that stood out, and other ones that are absolutely forgettable.  

Here goes...

Michael Sarver

He sang Garth Brooks Til The Sun Comes Up.  In my opinion it was really karaoke.  I think he did fine on the verses and caught all the lyrics which I give him props for, however the chorus didn't have the "punch" it needed and it didn't showcase his vocals like it should have.  He is not one of the best singers out there, but is likable, however I think after tonight's performance he is in danger.

Allison Iraheta

She sang "Blame it on your heart" by Patty Loveless and did shockingly well.  I thought country night would ruin her.  She is really incredible, especially for her age.  She totally pulled off country night well.  She isn't going anywhere. 

Kris Allen

I said it last week and I'll say it again, I like this kid.  He is definitely the underdog.  I think the girls will keep him around, however he is still pretty much not as talked about as the rest of the crew and I think that may hurt him.  He performed Garth Brooks "To Make You Feel My Love" well enough that I think he deserves to stay.

Lil Rounds

She sang "Independance Day" by Marcia McBride.  One of my favorite country songs of all time.  I love this song.  When I found out she was doing it I cringed.  Lil is too soulful to be doing country and she should have gone with what Randy said and done a "I will always love you" and keep her R&B spin on it.  Her trying to sing country was just awkward and strange.  I hated the performance.  It's possible she is in trouble, but if she was to get the axe she would no doubt get the judges save.

Adam Lambert

Ok, I'm a pretty open person here, and I'm willing to change my opinion but I just DO NOT like this guy.  He absolutely gives me the creeps.  I feel like I need to go wash myself clean after his performance of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash.  I have to say, the arrangement was interesting and it was NOT terrible.  There is just something though that was (how do I say this politely...) un-pure about his performance (again the fact I get the heebie jeebies after watching this guy).  That is the only way I know how to explain it.  Also, I just do not like his singing.  I just don't see what they do, except maybe the fact that he is marketable.  He isn't going anywhere because millions of hopeless teenage girls (who haven't quite got it figured out yet which side he is batting for) vote for him every week.

Alexis Grace

I love this chick.  She is one of my favorites.  She sang "Jolene" by Dolly Pardon.  Now, I have to say that I enjoyed this more last year sung by Brooke White.  I think Brooke stayed true to how the song should have been arranged.  It's a simple song, and I feel that Alexis voice is MUCH bigger than the song, so it was odd for me.  Something just didn't fit right with it all.  She would have done much better doing a song like "Fancy" by Reba.

Scott MacIntyre

He sang "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride.  It was as dull as last weeks.  I said it last week and I'll say it again, he is NOT the best vocal on there, and right now is skating by on his handicap in my opinion.  He is funny though.  The whole "I'll move the piano closer" comment was a great comeback to Paula's rambling nonsense.  As much as I'd like to see him stay around I do believe his time on Idol is growing short, and he will not be around much longer unless he does something amazing in the next week or so (that is if he makes it past tomorrows judgement).

Danny Gokey

He sang "Jesus Take The Wheel" by Carrie Underwood.  I LOVE this song.  I was disappointed with the beginning, but once he hit the chorus the song took off.  There is something about it when you can tell that the person's heart is behind the lyrics.  (Maybe it is because I know he is Christian), but there was something powerful behind him specifically singing THAT song.  Here is my issue.  I WANT Danny to win.  He is by far my favorite performer, however if he wins they are going to market him in a certain way, and they will NEVER let him sing Christian music.  If he comes in second or third, he would hopefully get picked up by a Christian label and be singing the kind of music that God created him to sing.  There is my inner battle.  

Anoop Desai

He sang "You Were Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson.  He did a totally different version and it was fantastic.  It showed what he can do vocally for the first time, and I agree with Simon he DOES deserve to stay in this after that performance.  One of the top performances of the evening.  

Megan Joy

Ok, I wouldn't say she is my favorite, but I like her quirky voice.  (Is it just me or did she change her last name?  What is up with that?)  I do like her though and I want to see her stay around for a bit.  Her version of "Walking after Midnight" was ok.  I wasn't jumping up and down about it like the judges were, I liked last weeks performance better, it showed MUCH more personality from her than this one did.  I hope she doesn't go anywhere, but I have a feeling she is a bottom runner.

Matt Giraud

I TOLD my husband that this guy could SING.  I saw the clips of him performing back home at the piano bar, and those clips showed me how good he was.  My issue is he gets on stage and tries to be someone he is NOT (singing Coldplay or trying to be like Justin Timberlake), and it turns out badly for him.  Tonight he finally showcased what he is good at, and picked the right song, singing "So Small" by Carrie Underwood.  He did great.  As long as this dude doesn't try to be a total poser, and picks songs that are suited for him, he will stay on my good side.

Predictions.  I think based on vocal alone bottom three should be Lil, Sarver and MacIntyre, with Sarver going home, but as much as I LOVE the midwest I know they are all mostly rooting for their hometown boy, so I'm 50/50 if he will go or not.    I worry that Alexis is in trouble though she is one of the best in my opinion.  I also think Megan may not have much longer.  I doubt America will vote MacIntyre off yet because we are so afraid as Americans of being politically incorrect and possibly offending someone, and as soon as he gets voted off there is going to be uproar because of the fact he is handicapped.  It's possible Lil could get voted off but as I said before, the judges will use their save on her (don't get me started on the rumors that the judges have "fixed" the competition and the top four will be Lil, Danny, Adam and Alexis that right there is a WHOLE other rant of mine).

My Typical Little Man

I noticed that Old Navy was having some good sales, and the weather was too nice to stay inside so I decided to go out shopping.

Now my oldest girl (the one who likes to shop) went down to Texas to visit some family there for spring break, so I only had the two year old and my 7 year old boy with me.  Still, he needed some t-shirts and some flip flops, so I was looking forward to picking out some shoes and shirts with him.

I quickly realized that he is your typical male.  He is following me around the store with a painful expression on his face.  You ladies know it.  That "OMG how much longer are we going to be in here look".

He could care less what shirts I pick out for him, or what flip flops.  Finally after much persuasion he reluctantly comes over and takes off his shoe to try on some flip flops.  He grabs the first pair he sees, this awful looking orange and black pair.  (There are several pairs MUCH cooler than these).  He tries them on and exclaims "they fit" and throws them into the cart.  I ask him "Brett, don't you want to look for some others?"  I begin pointing out all the different colors and styles that they have.  He barely glances my way "No, those are fine".  

I go to the fitting room and leave him right outside the door while I try on a few items.  I come back out and make one last swoop by the boys section and say "now Brett, are you SURE those are the flip flops that you want?".  He gives me a bit of a growl at this point.  Ok, I'll leave it alone.  

I ADORE shopping for my kids.  I get so much joy in being able to give them things, even if it is just little things.  He sucked every last bit of fun out of my shopping experience.  (Sigh)  At least Evie was excited to try on and buy herself a pair of flip flops.  That was my saving grace for the day.