CleverDonkey.com …Musings, Commentary, Opinions, and Drivel

This is last year’s American Idol page. Click here to see the American Idol 2006 Dashboard!! Who’s Been Voted Off the Top Twelve

Week Number	Who Was Voted Off American Idol This Week	In Trouble (In Bottom Three)
Week 1	Lindsay Cardinale	Mikalah Gordon Jessica Sierra
Week 2	Mikalah Gordon	Anthony Fedorov Nadia Turner
Week 3	Jessica Sierra	Nadia Turner Anwar Robinson
Week 4	Nikko Smith	Scott Savol Vonzell Solomon
Week 5	Nadia Turner	Scott Savol Bo Bice
Week 6	Anwar Robinson	Scott Savol Anthony Federov
Week 7	Constantine Maroulis	Vonzell Solomon Anthony Federov
Week 8	Scott Savol	Anthony Federov
Week 9	Anthony Federov	Unclear? Probably Vonzell Solomon
Week 10	Vonzell Solomon	(N/A)
Week 11	Bo Bice	(N/A)

Finale Ok, I so looked forward to this finale more than last year’s. I mean, I was into it last year, but I wasn’t really rooting for Fantasia vs. Diana or anything. This year I was like, damn, Bo deserves this thing more than Carrie — he’s a better singer, he’s a better performer, he can actually feel and understand the songs he sings (what a concept), and he’s just so much more what American Idol and the music market needs than one more young, plastic, manufactured country-pop nothingness of a singer.

Apparently the producers of American Idol disagreed with me. And I say producers rather than the voters of America because even though I’m sure the voting is legit (think of the lawsuits if it were actually crooked in some way), the judges without a doubt influence it in the way they want to see it turn out. Simon’s been praising Carrie and Bo relentlessly (not without good reason), but — see rants below — he’s been equally relentlessly harsh on Scott Savol when I don’t think it was altogether warranted, because I know he saw Carrie and Bo as more marketable than the (let’s face it) slightly-serial-killer-esque Savol. Carrie especially is the marketing guy’s dream, and I think the producers decided to put their puppetmaster strings to work for her for the finale: she has no embarassing details in her past (“oh no! once she fed the durned cows an hour late!”) vs. Bo’s brushes with the law on marijuana and cocaine charges. Plus, I think it’s so much easier to manufacture a sound and a star in this lordy-I’ll-buy-whatever-they-darned-well-put-on-an-end-cap-in-Walmart flag-waving country America. So Carrie was who they put their influence behind.

The songs were horrible in the finale. Without a doubt they were for Carrie’s audience and vocal style (yawn). Bo did the best he could with that crap-ass material. The judges gave him grief for song choice, but… I’d love to see the basket of songs from which he had to choose. Was there any original song like “Vehicle” or the O’Jay’s “Money” in there? Was there anything like “Whipping Post” or anything from the Cult in there? Anything Aerosmith would sing, or the Van Zandts, or the Eagles, for that matter? Bo sounded phenomenal on the second part of the Finale, after the results were already decided… the producers threw him a bone then after they’d already saddled him with complete sappy codswollop in the competition part when it really counted. What a sad thing to not just let it be decided by the actual voters — I realize that the producers are in it to make money and it ain’t a charity show or anything, but, jeez…

And, I have to say… I had this same objection to last year’s finale. How BORING to have them reprise a favorite song from the prior competition. Maybe it wouldn’t bother me if it weren’t the only known song that they sing. But when the only recognizable song they sing is one we’ve already heard them sing, then the only NEW stuff they sing is some crappy “original” (I use the term loosely) song that the producers are trying to pimp, it just takes the joy of the whole finale. The faithful who’ve watched and Ti’Vo’d every single episode, sat through every Ford commercial and seen that Coke logo everywhere, are getting ripped off because the songs we can sing along to are ones we’ve already seen these guys perform, and then the songs we’ve never heard them sing before are cruddy new music that (at least for us) we are NEVER gonna buy. I know you’re trying to pimp the new album, but save it, man. At least let them sing one extra song that’s an old standard and cut down on some of the other fluff — trust me, we won’t miss it and it’ll make us a better fan for next season… you might even win some fans for next season who only watched American Idol for the first time for the finale. (Cause do you really want to introduce them with two songs they recognize and four songs they don’t??)

Anyway, I’ll barely even talk about the performances… Bo did the best he could with the material. He did sing better than Carrie on the song they both sang. He did decently well on “Vehicle”, although not as well as he did the first time he sang it. Definitely a great song for him to reprise — either that one or “Money” by the O’Jays would’ve been my pick for him. Carrie was Carrie… alternatively really a good singer and squeaky and pitchy. She didn’t handily win the competition as the judges lied (in my opinion) and said she did for the sake of influencing the voting.

The finale show was pretty cool, but extra-fluff filled. The mock-expose was really funny (making fun of the whole Paula Abdul-Corey-whatsisname scandal). Getting Savol to sing “On Broadway” with George Bentson was wicked cool. Carrie sounded great singing with Rascal Flatts and Bo looked incredibly natural singing with Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was pretty revealing that they closed the show with that… who’s the better performer and crowd pleaser, hunh?

I’m still planning to buy the Bo Bice album, I just really hope it’s packed with actual ROCK songs and maybe a little funk, a la Skynyrd, old Aerosmith, Eagles, the Allman Brothers, the Cult, etc. A coworker of mine who actually has a degree in music opined that Bo’s issue is that current rock/pop stars are all tenors and Bo’s a true baritone like the rock music and rocks stars of old… my ear’s not advanced enough to know that, but if that’s what the issue is, then make sure Bo’s album is written for that. I would hate to see the American Idol-produced record be loaded up with the kind of crap he was saddled with for the finale. Hopefully Clive Davis steps up as promised in the second-to-last episode and they make some cool stuff. Bo, you’re the American Idol as far as this household is concerned.

Week 10

Pretty darn good week for all involved, although I stand by my prediction from last week. Bo is not only an unbelievable performer, that guy has one excellent voice. We were treated to three songs each this week: contestant’s choice, judge’s choice, and one picked by none other than Clive Davis, again guest judging this year.

Vonzell started off weak singing Clive’s choice — Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Never Love (This Way Again)” but improved with a bit-too-peppy-but-still-excellently sung “Chain of Fools” and a super-excellent judge’s choice (from Simon) of “On the Radio” (originally by Donna Summer). I guess Simon agrees with me that Baby V should be a Disco Diva, too.

Carrie did moderately well — her judge’s choice was UTTERLY softball by Randy: “I Feel Like a Woman [Yip]” by Shania Twain. Yawn and boo hiss. Her choice from Clive Davis was pretty good: “Crying” by Roy Orbison, and she did pretty well (her outfit was pretty neat looking for that one, too). Her own choice was Air Supply, which I thought weird, until I heard that Clive Davis produced it, and then I thought it was just kiss-up. (And I think Bonnie Tyler remade that song, too, because it sounded a lot more familiar than just Air Supply).

Bo, of course, rocked it. Clive picked a GREAT song for him — “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (originally by Elton John), and Bo did so great. That is a helluva song, and Elton John has such a clear voice, it would be nearly impossible to sing that and not fall short, much less put your own distinctive stamp on that song — but Bo managed it and managed it but good. His own choice was — holy cow — a capella. I thought it was unbelievably powerful — ballsy and what a powerhouse voice. Engineerboy thought it was too risky, picking a song no one (he means he and I) had never heard of. I loved it. Paula gave him a fun but not TOO easy choice of “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)” — which he did wondefully well, of course. If this guy doesn’t win the Idol competition I just won’t know what to think.

Of course, Baby V was the one who left us tonight… no real surprise in that she’s the only one of the three that were left that has ever been in the bottom three. (Although personally I think she’s a stronger singer than Carrie and she’s just SO DARN CUTE I hate to see her go). I’ll miss her but I’m definitely rooting for Bo in the final!!

Week 9

Ok, Bo’s gonna be the next American Idol. That guy is a freaking star. The themes this week (I like getting into the two-songs per week format!) were the sounds of Philadelphia (a songwriting team I’m embarassed to say I’d never heard of before but whose songs I loved) and the sounds of Nashville.

The country stuff could’ve been great but not everyone really ran with it. Carrie led off with “Sin Wagon” by the Dixie Chicks, which was honestly sung better by Amy Adams last year. But, she did reasonably well, and none of the judges really felt like dissing her in her core competency, I guess. Bo sounded great doing a Travis Tritt impression… I mean song… but the song wasn’t very spectacular, and all of the judges commented on that (Simon especially harshly). Vonzell’s choice was particularly off… Trisha Yearwood? First of all, Trisha’s voice is way lower than Vonzell’s, and Trisha really belts out her stuff. Boo hiss on Vonzell trying to find a “diva” song in the country genre… she would’ve been much better served to find something fun that she could run with. Anthony did good but his schmaltzy number was equally as forgettable as Bo’s. As for Simon’s comment that it was syrupy… uh, he did know they were singing country… right?!

But luckily they saved the sounds of Philly for last. Awesome stuff!! Carrie and Anthony sang the same song (“If You Don’t Know me by Now”), which was weird. Carrie may be able to sing but that girl is like a little blonde country robot… if you were to sit her down and ask her to paint you the picture of the scene being set by the words in that song I bet you she couldn’t describe it at all. She doesn’t feel any of the music at all. Anthony on the other hand sang the heck out of it… what a shame he doesn’t have the Ukranian vote behind him the way Carrie has the bumpkin vote. (Oops… did I say that out loud?) Vonzell did MUCH better on the second song… she should stick to the upbeat disco diva numbers, because she rocked it. That is her calling.

And Bo… he gets his own paragraph here. For those of you who read this column for musical suggestions but don’t actually watch the show, here’s the new “get up and go” song for your iPod… “For the Love of Money” by the O’Jays. (Already on my iPod courtesy of funk-loving Engineerboy!!) When we heard Bo was gonna do that song we had to pause TiVo because we were choking with amazement at his sheer … audacity!! Holy cow!!! He ROCKED that bad boy! I agree with Randy… I will buy his album if that song is on it!

Week 8

Well, I hated to see Scott go out like that. For anyone who checks this page regularly, you might’ve been able to tell I was in mourning… I didn’t even update last week. Scott did SO good and still it wasn’t enough for him to garner more votes than anyone else. What a bummer, as he did damn fine on “Broadway”. I loved it. The Brian McKnight (sp?) song didn’t do it as much for me but it wasn’t bad. Unfortunately Federov is coming into his own lately, singing stronger and stronger (although he didn’t blow me away with “Poison Ivy”. Carrie wasn’t super wonderful with her Elvis song either (puh-leeze… she’s evil? Unh hunh). Bo did pretty good, though… that guy has got the chops.

Song Suggestions for our Idol’ers

Just some thoughts about what might sound good for each of our wannabe crooners.

Carrie Underwood

• “You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt. Careful on this one, as Ronstadt is one helluva singer. But if you can wrap your vocals around this it would be some powerful stuff.
• “Steve McQueen” by Sheryl Crow (boy, that one would’ve been good for the New Millenium week!)

Bo Bice

• “Lyin’ Eyes” by the Eagles
• “Heard it Through the Grapevine” (the CCR version).
• I personally like “Fire Woman” by the Cult, too (those vocals are awesome), but it’s a bit obscure for the Idol audience, and that’s always a risk. But you’d rock that one.

Scott Savol

• “Heard it Through the Grapevine” (the Marvin Gaye version… sing the pain, brother!)
• “Ain’t No Sunshine” or “Use Me” by Bill Withers. Either one could be really powerful.

Anthony Federov

• Try doing “Train in Vain” really poppy and upbeat. Could be horrible, or it could be cool.

Vonzell Solomon

• It would be a tough one, but maybe try “Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin. It’s a damn fine singing (wailing?) song. But you’d have to sing it, sister.
• It’s kind of fluff, but it’s fun: “Looking for a New Love” by Jody Watley — it would be another upbeat song that you do really well.

Just some thoughts, everyone… Week Seven

What a lackluster week! Music of the past five years was a big snore-fest, and really unremarkable for our contestants. Carrie Underwood tried to go back to her roots with mixed results (Please… Carrie… do you listen to anybody other than Martina McBride? Seriously, girl.). Vonzell Solomon sounded okay on a song I didn’t like. Scott Savol didn’t do so great, although he stuck with the style of song that’s good for him. But he was definitely “pitchy”, as Randy would say. Anthony Federov actually stood out singing Celine Dion of all things… I’ll agree with Simon in saying that it didn’t appeal to me personally but it was a heck of a performance… he did nail it.

The rockers didn’t do any better. Bo sounded terrible… I don’t know how the judges lauded him for that too-low-was-it-in-key-or-not performance. He’s certainly genuine-sounding, though, taking Simon’s ribbing about the Kravitzesque sunglasses with likable aplomb. Constantine was moue-ing his little lips off (even kicking at the camera, oh…my…god…) with that Nickelback song that apparently takes more singing talent than I realized.

In retrospect the outcome, shocking at the time (I thought it was gonna be Savol’s unfortunate good-bye for sure), makes more sense… Constantine alienates the folks my age because he’s just SO parmesan (or should that be feta?), and he missed his 15-year-old girl audience last night with that harder-rocking song that wasn’t really a right-on performance. Scott at least stayed true to his vibe and (and I’ve said this before) he at least feels what he’s singing. Paula may have said didn’t make the emotional connection but I disagree. Savol may miss a note here or there but he feels pretty real. I’m glad he got the votes this week (top three, even!!). You go, boy.

Week Six

The theme of 70’s Dance Music was pretty great — should’ve been easy as pie for sunny, upbeat Vonzell Solomon and a horrible crash-and-burn for hard rocker Bo Bice. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth. Vonzell, sweetheart though she is, didn’t do amazingly well with Chakka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman”, although the judges gave her pretty big raves. Scott Savol didn’t dazzle with “Everlasting Love”, either. Federov gave a pretty good vocal but the song wasn’t very exciting. Carrie Underwood is starting to prove that while she has pipes, she’s a bit light on experience — when Seacrest asked about the lyrics to her odd choice of “MacArthur Park” (aka “Someone Left the Cake Out in Rain”), she said she had no idea what the lyrics meant… and that’s her all over. She can sing but she doesn’t feel it. At least Savol feels every song he sings. Without a doubt, though, the absolute hands-down STAR of the evening was Bo Bice. Holy cow, was his rendition of “Vehicle” by Ides of March BEYOND kick-ass!! I would love to see the statistics for sales of that song on iTunes after American Idol this week. They got 99 cents from me!! Go Bo!! I hope you put that song on your album!

Week Five

Well, I guess it was time for Nadia…. she’s been in the bottom three a couple times and it finally caught up to her. I have to agree with Simon — it comes down to song choice. She sounded okay with her song but we couldn’t follow along — nobody on earth knew that Crystal Gayle song (okay, except Crystal Gayle). This is why you didn’t see Anthony Fedorov in the bottom three — he knew enough to pick a song that had been popular and on MTV when he was born (oh! they’re so young — MTV was already in existence when these kids were born!).

To mix metaphors, Bo tread on some sacred cows covering Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird”. Wow, I’m agreeing with Simon again — how could he pick that song? It’s just too well known! And, in my opinion, he sang it too close to the original, like he was in a Van Zandt tribute band. Speaking of sacred cows, how could Constantine pick Bohemian-freaking-Rhapsody?! My jaw dropped…. but you know what, he didn’t do too badly!! Engineerboy and I were pretty damn amazed. The other guys made decent choices… Anwar has such great moments when he sings… I think he gets nervous sometimes, but when he’s in his comfort zone he’s an earful to behold (damn, it’s Bad Metaphor Thursday for me here at CleverDonkey). I like that Savol stays aggressive and ambitious with his choices — say what you want about Hall & Oates making cheesy pop, but Darryl Hall is a strong and clear singer and it’s hard to try to cover him. Savol was slightly weak on the low notes but I think he did a great job overall (but no surprise — he’s a fave of ours… although he’s getting a bit cocky, I think). Federov picked well, too… it didn’t blow me away but it was really passable.

The rest of the girls did great. Vonzell is so savvy… she does great with her song choices each and every week — “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” was fantastic, a good singing number and upbeat. Carrie Underwood was unreal in her Pat Benetar cover “Love is a Battlefield”!! She blew us away…I couldn’t believe that Simon didn’t like it!! We were in awe… that girl can really be amazing.

Week Four

What a surprising week! First off, the theme… musicals?? Yeee-uck!! I guess it challenged them muscially, though, that’s for sure. Bo Bice had a third weak week as he apparently blindly picked a song from the list, if his taped intro is to be believed. He had about that much passion as he sang his song from the musical Pippen. Carrie Underwood did a decent job on a technical level but didn’t really seem to be feeling the song. Constantine was as usual extra-pouty (and props to Simon for pointing that out) as he moue-ed his way through “My Funny Valentine”.

I thought Vonzell did fabulously with the amazingly ambitious rendition of Barbra Streisand’s “People”, and was absolutely FLOORED to see her in the bottom three. I could not believe it!!! I wasn’t as surprised to see Scott Savol — he gave a weak performance and he’s gotten some bad press in the past week, so I think he went out there thinking in his head it was his last week. Now that he’s been given a reprieve I hope he does something with it. You’re still a fan favorite somewhere, Scott… show us what you’ve got. I was very surprised to see Nikko go. Although I was a HUGE fan of his before he made it into the top twelve and stopped singing all the old schoold R&B that made him so appealing (to me), I would’ve thought his song this week would’ve garnered him more votes. What a fickle America! I’m not sorry it was him instead of Savol, but it did surprise me. Can’t wait to see what next week brings!!

Week Three Results

Well, it was good-bye to Jessica. Not all-together surprising… she’s a good singer but doesn’t really stand out somehow. Simon said he would’ve traded one of the bottom three for Scott Savol. Pffft!! Boy am I tired of his “get rid of Scott Savol” campaign! That guy can sing!!

Week Three

Normally I would be fairly psyched about the theme of The Nineties, but this was the week I was introducing my mom to American Idol!! Oh well, she knew the Leann Rimes and Martina McBride songs, and sang along with Nadia when she sang Melissa Etheridge. We all agreed she did a good job singing that song, but that no one has the pain in her voice that Melissa does when singing that song, so Nadia’s rendition couldn’t possibly be quite as moving. Oh, and none of us liked poor Bo this week! We just had to tell my mom how good he’s been previously — we didn’t have any of the prior weeks saved on TiVo.

I’m still convinced that the judges mostly have it in for Scott Savol, even though Paula at least gave him props. The whole crowd at my house (Mom, nieces, Engineerboy, and I) all LOVED Scott and Vonzell both, and we couldn’t believe that Randy and Simon didn’t love Scott. We were amazed by Vonzell’s performance of Whitney. Holy cow, SO RISKY to sing Whitney, but she DID it! Even Simon had to give her props. Personally I think Simon’s campaign against Scott is because as a record executive he doesn’t think Scott will sell as many records as the blonde, beautiful Carrie Underwood. Well, let me tell you, Simon — this household will buy a Scott Savol album, but not a Carrie Underwood one.

Week Two

Well, I never… we’re pausing the TiVo last night, voting for the folks we like, and we get up into the high numbers, and we realize… hey… those phone numbers don’t match the number of the contestant that we’re voting for!! We paused, looked again, forwarded again… and, no kidding, every contestant whose number was higher than 9 had the wrong voting phone number under their name. How could Fox mess that up? We went ahead and voted for our folks (using what we knew were the CORRECT numbers) but we already knew there was no way the voting would count. Thank goodness Fox did the right thing and did a re-vote tonight.

That being said, onto the commentary! Ok, I have a few theories:
1. Simon Cowell has it IN for Scott Savol. Savol sang the hell outta Against All Odds, which is a pretty wimpy song if you ask me, but he just poured heart and soul into it. That is one odd dude that can sing. I just love his voice. I couldn’t believe that Simon wouldn’t give him props for that.
2. I think Anwar Robinson has a twin, Bon-war Robinson, who performs for him every other week. How could the same guy who did Moon River and that amazing Louis Armstrong performance be the same wooden, paralzyed dude who tried to step lively through a Chakka Khan song?
3. I’m old (less of a theory than a fact). I’d never even heard that Sisqo song that Nikko sang, and it was a Number 1 hit (apparently). Nikko’s voice was pretty strong but it did NOTHING for me b/c it was one of those (IMO) tasteless “gurrl I got so much monney but I ain’t got nutthin unless I got you” songs. Yawn.

All in all a great week, though. I think the best performance might’ve been Vonzell Solomon. I’ve loved her since the beginning — she’s just so positive and upbeat and her voice is AMAZING when she uses it right. When I heard she was going to do the disco Best of My Love song I thought, oh no, her voice will get lost in the backing vocals and it won’t show off her range. Boy, was I wrong! I forgot how truly vocal that song is, and she sang it, baby! She sounded wonderful, totally a true performer. Carrie Underwood did fabulously as well, taking a chance with Heart’s Alone. I was nervous about that one but she really sounded great, she sang it really strongly but still put her own little country twang on it… it was very strong.

Nadia was just terrible this week, and not because of the freaky mohawk. I was impressed with the choice of Time After Time but she tried to “rock it out” and it was messy and absolutely without emotion. Constantine tried for cute with the Partridge Family but it was kinda dorky but not a complete mess. Bo Bice made a rare… I won’t quite say misstep, but it was a more soulful choice for him (Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle). It was a bold move and he mostly had the voice to pull it off, but it’s hard to erase what Croce’s voice sounds like in your head, especially if you listen to Croce as much as I do. Plus, it’s not what you’d really call a stadium-raiser of a tune.

Well, I’ve re-voted…results TOMORROW!!

Week Number	Who Was Voted Off (Starts in Week 6)
Week 6	Sarah Mather Melinda Lira Jared Yates Judd Harris
Week 7	Aloha Mischeaux Celena Rae Joseph Murena David Brown
Week 8	Amanda Avila Janay Castine Nikko Smith Travis Tucker

Names to Watch

Scott Savol… this guy may look a bit serious, but he can sing effortlessly.
Anwar Robinson… holy cow. This guy could win the whole thing.
Bo Bice… he’s still on the list, even though he wasn’t as excellent this week.
Jessica Sierra… I like her smoky voice…she hasn’t really broken through yet, but she’s good.
Nadia Turner… powerful, powerful voice, although she overdoes it just a shade sometimes.
Vonzell Solomon… I just love her. She’s upbeat, she’s a good performer, and I like to hear her sing.

Week 8 Results

I could not believe that Nikko didn’t make it!! When it got down to Scott Savol, Nikko Smith, and Travis Tucker left, it broke my heart that only one of Scott and Nikko was going to get in. I would’ve gladly yanked Constantine back out and given Nikko his place — I think Nikko is much more talented!! Heartbreaking!!

I wasn’t surprised at the loss of either Amanda or Janay, although Lindsey was equally unexciting… I might’ve kept Amanda in over Lindsey but overall the ones who got sent packing were rightfully so. Nice to see that it takes more than just beauty, because Amanda is definitely gorgeous, but her performances just haven’t really been very stellar.

Week 8, The Girls

The girls still aren’t as strong as the guys, but they did better than last week. I agree with Simon that Mikalah is singing songs that are too old for her. That being said, I like that she’s not up there shakin’ her thang and showing her belly. So maybe something in the middle would be a good choice. This week’s choice was really a bit painful… she was aiming high but the Barbra Streisand song was way too low for her range. Similarly, Amanda Avila’s attempt at a Tina Turner song was out of her range as well — it just didn’t translate whatever feel she was going for. Oh, and she thumped the hell outta that microphone with her hand while she sang… very distracting! I’m surprised the judges didn’t say anything about it.

Farm girl Carrie Underwood still hasn’t hit her stride… she was very wooden up there. She tried to look a little snazzy with fake nails and a peach camisole that had what looked liked a solid breastplate made out of sequins, but she just looked like she felt awkward. (“Hey look,” said Engineerboy, “Joan of Arkansas!”). Janay Castine, who was so strong in the initial Hollywood auditions, was once again terrified and terribly out of tune, poor girl. I feel so sorry for her! Lindsey Cardinale took Paula’s advice from last week and tried a song from a male singer, but it didn’t work out too well for her. She didn’t sound awful, but it just wasn’t wonderful.

Nadia Turner and Jessica Sierra both went upbeat… Nadia went for Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness with a really rocked-out arrangement and sang it VERY Tina Turner. It was pretty good, although very over the top. Jessica sang The Boys are Back in Town, which I was a bit disappointed in since she’d done it during the earlier Hollywood auditions, but she did a pretty good job with it. I do really like her voice.

Vonzell Solomon also shot for the stars with RESPECT… I mean, freakin’ Aretha, for goodness’ sakes. She did pretty good, and I liked her performance! It was fun and lighthearted without being dorky… if it doesn’t make me cringe to watch it, that’s a pretty good thing. And I liked the way that she sang it! I can’t wait to see what she does later in the competition… hoping she gets in!

Week 8, The Guys

Well, Travis and Constantine are probably destined to go. I don’t usually make predictions but I have to say of the performances we saw tonight, those two were my least favorite, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of America agrees with me. I haven’t been a big fan of Travis’ performances since we got to Hollywood, and it seems like they keep getting worse each week! This week’s attempt to at vote-pandering (in a Michael Jackson Ebony and Ivory getup complete with suspenders and dorky hat, no less) involved singing a Bobby Brown song… horribly. He was so out of tune!!

Constantine at least made a better song choice with Every Little Thing She Does (Is Magic) by The Police, but it’s really not a singer’s song and he continues to be so camera-vampy that I cannot watch him! I really want to like this guy but he’s a bit vocally outclassed with the guys who are left and he needs to tone down how cute he thinks he is. I wouldn’t begrudge him a career after Idol, but I would be suprised if he makes it into the Top 12.

Finally, Mario Vasquez didn’t bop around on stage like a Miami Sound Machine backup singer… he sang a ballad more like what he did in the initial auditions, and he did very well. Please, please, please, Mario… no more be-bopping, and no more hats. I can’t believe I’m saying this, I want more ballads. The more soulful stuff really suits your voice better, and it doesn’t make you seem so frantic. Scott Savol (a fave of ours since the beginning) did pretty good… I was disappointed he went back to Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, since we’d already heard that song back during the Hollywood group audition phase. But he did a decent job of it, even if he was trying a little too hard with his soul-man routine. Ukranian Anthony Fedorov I thought did passably well with his Marc Anthony tune, although Simon lambasted him for essentially being too white to sing that song. Nikko Smith once again shot for the stars with Georgia on my Mind, not exactly nailing it but not doing too badly. I like that he really picks *songs*, though.

Without a doubt, though, the event of the evening was Anwar Robinson singing the great Satchmo’s What a Wonderful World. I’m not even sure I can describe it… I rewound the TiVo to try and write the review but I don’t really have words for it. Truly amazing… if you missed it, try and find a way to see it. Unreal.

Week 7, The Girls

Boy, are the guys better than the girls. The girls were overall a disappointment. Engineerboy was even harsher than I was — he thought they were ALL horrible, but I thought some of them were somewhat decent. Unfortunately Aloha Mischeaux’s song was really unspectacular — I couldn’t hear a melody in there to save my life. Even Carrie Underwood, who’s been a standout so far, was really terrible — she looked wooden and uncomfortable. And her choice of a Janis Joplin song was borderline sacriligeous and really poorly, poorly executed (don’t give me that crap that it was the Faith Hill version, either — that was a travesty in and of itself: any musician who’s never heard the Janis version doesn’t deserve to be considered a musician)… you just can’t sing that song if you don’t have some pain in your soul.

Unlike Aloha and Carrie, Lindsey Cardinale continues to miss with her choices — she’s going to be lucky to stick around another week… her song choice was too low for her range and terribly dorky. Similarly, Janay Castine, who really does have an amazing voice, hasn’t yet shown it so far — she’s let nerves get to her I think and she’s been really unspectacular so far in this stage of the competition. Celena Rae continues to be the vocal equivalent of cardboard: stiff, flat, and monotone. We could lose her and I wouldn’t cry.

Jessica Sierra was a decent standout — she wasn’t blow-me-away fantastic, but she was pretty good. I like her smokey voice and her comfortable style. I even liked Mikalah Gordon’s soulful ballad this time, although Engineerboy swears every note she sang was out of tune (personally I think it was just a minor-key song, but he says he understands the concept of minor-key songs and that wasn’t it). I agree with Simon Cowell: hers was a great performance because she wasn’t annoying… because she wasn’t talking.

We’ll see who makes it this week after these mostly lackluster performances… I’m not sure any of them really overwhelmingly a oh-man-I-gotta-vote-for-that, but a few didn’t suck too bad. We’ll see what the rest of America thinks.

Week 7, The Guys

Week two of the singing-for-America’s-fickle-voting-pleasure proved a little steadier for the I’m-a-bit-more-used-to-this American Idol guys. There were some really enjoyable standouts and surprises!

The up-til-now very reliable Anwar had what sounded to be an off night, but the judges fell all over themselves. I’ll be interested to see if Simon does a retroactive “I re-watched you on tape playback” correction with this one, because both Mario and Anwar sounded just awful to Engineerboy and me, and the judges loved the both of them! Sometimes I think they expect good things and so they don’t listen as critically as they should. Anwar sounded dreadfully out of tune to me… don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved this guy in the competition so far but that song was a squeaky mess according to my TV’s speakers.

The top wow-I-didn’t-expect-this-one was definitely Nikko Smith, shooting for the freaking stars with Let’s Get it On by the one and only Marvin Gaye. He did a great job! That is a hard song in and of itself, but trying to sing Marvin is really aggressive, and he did a wonderful job. Engineerboy thought he growled through the hard notes a little as a “cheat”, but I think that was just the style he chose.

Close on his heels with the wow factor was Bo Bice. He sang the hell outta Tie Me to the Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers. I thought I was going to hate it because the performance was so over-the-top but he won me over. First off, that guy can sing. Second, he is truly who he is, and that’s cool… he just goes for it, and I like that!

Anthony Fedorov did great, too, on a cheesy Foreigner song but which is really hard to sing! He got major props for singing it so well. And the one who’s consistently just been amazing throughout the entire competition, Scott Savol, was wonderful as well. Singing is just so effortless for him. He seems like he’s getting the “image” thing together, too, sporting the cool pink shirt and the stylin’ shades. I wouldn’t mind seeing him win the whole competition, because that guy has a voice like an angel, and I think he deserves to win. He might have it rough when it gets to the later stages and “theme” nights… so far we’ve only really heard him sing the softer tempo R&B.

I didn’t love everybody’s performance in the guys… Joseph Murena can sing but he just doesn’t ave ‘it’… I can’t really describe it any better than that. Travis Tucker’s dance moves were really corny and terrible, but the judges rewarded that foolishness with praise! Ugh! I want to like Constantine Maroulis but I cannot watch him sing… he vamps and kissy-faces the camera too much — it’s really disgusting. If he could back off the Bret Michaels wanna be factor I might be able to bring myself to vote for him but right now he’s a major eye-roller and I can’t do it.

Week 6, The First Two Nights: Guys and Girls Sing

I like separating out the girls and the guys, although it caught me off guard. I thought Monday’s show was going to be non-singing “behind the scenes” fluff stuff and I didn’t watch it on TiVo until it was too late to vote!! Dang! I made sure to watch Tuesday night’s girls’ singing in time to vote, though.

Okay, I have some advice for the contestants:

#1: Do not pick a slow song. Okay, you can pick one if you’re really good. But in general, you do better when you’ve got an upbeat song, the crowd gets into it, and you’ve got a chance to move around the stage. Otherwise, it’s snoresville, you stand there like a wooden puppet, and the judges tell you your choice was “safe” and “boring”.

#2: Do not pick a song with any non-word sound-lyrics in it, e.g. “doo dee doo dahs” or “fee fie fo fum”s. You cannot fail but to sound like a dork. No matter how great you feel this song will show off your range or if it is the best Stevie Wonder song on the planet, pick another song. I cannot stress this enough.

#3: Please do not beg for votes. I know nearly everyone flashes their “voting number” at the camera when Seacrest tells the audience what it is, but the folks who make little “please vote for me” faces and/or hand gestures are just really irritating to me. You are not going to get me to vote for you, trust me. Not that way, anyway — only by singing! I am much more impressed with someone like Nadia Turner (and one other girl did this, too), who didn’t even sign her “voting number” but rather just smiled and stood next to Seacrest after the judges gave her the news… classy.

That being said, it sure seems like there is a lot of talent here this year. It’s not all talent, but it seems like a bigger talent pool than last year. I like the split guy / girl format — plus it means more nights of American Idol on TV! What more could I ask for?

The Guys

Standouts in the guys were:

• Scott Savol. I am constantly amazed at the smooth voice that comes out of this hulking, sort of odd-looking guy. His voice is interesting enough to make me listen to that slow R&B song. I could not believe the judges didn’t fall all over themselves on his performance.
• Bo Bice. Engineerboy and I both liked this performance. He’s not a vocal dynamo, but he ain’t bad, and he was watchable and entertaining.
• Constantine Maroulis. I am actually on the fence about this performance, but he’s been one of my favorites so I’ll put him in the list. I love that he chose the song by Seal, very daring, so I liked it. I think he smoochies up to the camera a little too much, but the judges just ate it up. We’ll see how America likes it.
• Anwar Robinson. Holy cow, is this guy good. That interp of Moon River was out of this world.
• Mario Vasquez. I still like him from the first rounds, so he’s in here, but that song was a weird choice… the judges freaked out loving it but it was too…fey… for me. It was technically challenging, though, so I’ll give it to him there. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually might’ve preferred a soulful ballad from him, more like what he did in his initial audition, something with some half-tones or bent notes (or whatever it was)… kind of mournful and soft.

The Girls

The girls had a few cool ones:

• Carrie Underwood. Ok, she’s got an amazing voice. She was just a tiny bit wooden up there, but she really sang the song, or as Engineerboy put it, “she told the story of the song,” which, combined with a voice like that, is just an amazing thing to hear.
• Nadia Turner. Didn’t recognize the song (Christian rock, maybe?) but she’s fantastic as a performer and a singer!! This is somewhat of a trite phrase, but she owned the stage from the moment she stepped out there.
• Jessica Sierra. I’m not totally blown away by her, but she really has a neat sound to her voice. I thought her stage movements were a little overblown, but she did a great job on a very hard song.
• Aloha Mischeaux. I just love her!!! We didn’t really see much of her in the initial episodes, but she’s really wonderful, just totally great, personality-wise, and what a GREAT singer and performer to match. The judges keep telling her not to be too Beyoncé like, but I think she’s got her own thing going on, definitely. (Maybe I only know Beyoncé’s music and not enough of her videos?) She was fabulous in my opinion, definite star quality.

Week 5: Hollywood, The Final 24

Episode 1 of this week was the “gather everyone into four rooms” portion and deliver the good and bad news room by room. Really this part isn’t much of a surprise, and it was surprising to me that it was a whole episode by itself this season. (Was it that way last season?) I’m sorry, but when you see Aa’shia Jackson in your room, who could sing backup for Alvin and the Chipmunks as far as I’m concerned, you know that you’re not destined to move forward in the competition.

Similarly, when a room has Anwar Robinson and some of the other heavy hitters who’ve been consistent performers (and gotten mucho camera time) there’s no way that room is a “no” room. They try to make it tense but there’s only so much artificial drama they can pump into these situations. I was surprised and sorry to see Sean McNeill get cut at this round — he had a really strong voice (but we all remember that Simon was never a big fan). I was also sorry that Ross Williams didn’t get put through, but he chose a REALLY bad song for the individual competition before the judges. Be-bop scattin’ just ain’t gonna win you points, in my opinion.

But onto the final 24! I have to admit that during much of this episode Engineerboy and I said, “Who?!” a lot. There were so many faces that I hadn’t seen before!! I can’t wait to get to know them and hear them as next week rolls around (an episode on Monday, no less). I have to say based on the clips I saw and what I know of the singers that got through, I agree with the choices. Now let’s hear some singing!!!

Week 4: Hollywood, Round 2… Group Sing!!

Although in some respects this can be my least favorite part of the show, because it is the most “reality TV” like, I love the Group competition. What an incredibly grueling concept! Here, go work with two other people you barely know and may or may not get along with and drum up a decent, workable singing routine where all three of you can reasonably shine for the judges. Oh, and some good choreography and harmonies wouldn’t hurt, either. Oh, and did I mention you have to learn the song and practice this in one evening?

Awesome. Like I said, very “reality TV” stuff — so-and-so didn’t show up on time for rehearsal, his new “band”-mate is talking to the cameras and wants to “pimp-slap” the no-show-er, etc. They’re all in sweats and their glasses, rehearsing back in conference rooms and stuff at the hotels till all hours. But the actual competition is fabulous — some of the stuff that gets put together overnight is unreal.

Take the group with Anwar Robinson, Jamar Jefferson, and Mario Vasquez. They were great, individually, did some great dance moves, were original with the song (but not freaky), and did a fabulous harmony finish. I also thought the first group they showed, however, with Constantine Maroulis and Dezmond Meeks (and William Blake, who didn’t get put through) was close to being as excellent, but Simon was very pooh-pooh about the “horrible” choreography. My personal guess was because he knew that Meeks did all the dance moves for the group and he didn’t want Meeks to go through back when he first auditioned.

I was glad that Elizabeth Pha didn’t get put through. She was the scantily dressed “spider girl” from the initial audition rounds who for some reason could not be bothered to learn the words to “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch”… I mean, how difficult is that song? There were obvious tensions between her and the other two in the group, but Pha was definitely an attitude problem. Simon Cowell had a great point… if the American Idol producing company is going to sink money into her (or anyone who becomes the next Idol), they need to think whoever they pick can learn the words to a pop song, for goodness’ sake.

I was sorry that Matthew Meyers got cut — he was the big guy with the teddy bear, the only one of the three to get cut from the group with Danny Steward and Scott Savol. They also did a GREAT harmony finish and I thought Meyers deserved to stay in.

The most amazing story of the evening was the group of three that did get put through despite a team member having majorly missed the words. They picked an unusual song, a 40’s era war ditty, and it proved a little too hard for them. The judges, amazingly, gave them another chance, recognizing that it was the song that did them in. Boy, were those guys happy. Let’s hope they don’t squander that gift.

Week 4: Hollywood, Round 1

Very interesting stuff! You start to realize that some of the faces the producers made sure to show you during the initial tryout rounds are the ones that either make it through during these rounds (the majority) or suffer heartbreaking “no”s during these first two days in Hollywood.

There’s a simplicity to this round: the judges don’t offer any explanation on the yes or no’s and with very minimal exception the contestants don’t offer any lip back when rejected. I guess performing in such a grand theatre in front of all the other contestants tends to be a bit more intimidating. The only distracting part to the actual audition portion of this round is having each contestant state why they’re the next American Idol. Although the producers have fun with the montage bits (20 different girls saying they want to be a role model), this part does give you a sometimes uncomfortable peek into the personalilty of each contestant. I swear it can actually hurt them sometimes: when Tamesha Foote announced that it was hers and she wasn’t going home without it, I can’t help but wonder if the judges didn’t automatically start her off with a few negatives in her column. (She didn’t make it through, by the way, although her performance alone wouldn’t have rated it anyway).

We did see several notables from the earlier weeks get deservingly passed through: Anthony Federov (the blond slightly foreign guy with the black glasses), Sean McNeill the youth minister, Mario Vasquez, Ross Williams (you might remember him with a felt hat doing old-school crooning from his audition) and unassuming white guy Scott Savol singing an AMAZING Stevie Wonder. Rashida Johnson (who, to be honest, I’m not sure I remember from the earlier weeks) did a great job but was so worried about having a cold you could tell she was just floored when the judges passed her through to the next round.

We saw some folks not-so-deservingly (in my opinion) get put through. The judges put through 16-going-on-a-blowsy-45 Mikalah Gordon whose coquettish singing style and personality both just drive me to an irritated cringe. The judges put through all three of the “rockers” — only one of whom we were familiar with (Constantine Maroulis), although probably only one of them should’ve been put through. I personally wonder if Fox is just trying to go for a wider demographic, but that would be impugning the impartiality of the judges, and I don’t want to do that. It was actually hard to tell how those auditions actually went because all three guys picked the same song (I guess there was only one rock song in the bunch they were given to pick from) and the producers spliced all three guys’ footage together. Plus, they were all singing with background vocals.

There were also some deserving no’s. I didn’t think the Molfetta deserved to stay, and they sent him packing. The big guy from New Orleans, who, when he originally auditioned, I was worried wouldn’t know how to sing normally (that is, in a style of his own and not Louis Armstrong’s) wasn’t put through because indeed he only knows how to sing in that weird tight-throated Louis Armstrong style. Jeffrey Johnson’s Stevie Wonder simply wasn’t strong enough to stay in, especially compared with the other folks to sang the same song. Briana Davis, the punk opera girl, also got sent home after a lackluster audition.

It was heartbreaking to see Regina Brooks get a no, but her audition probably wasn’t strong enough to rate getting another call back — that was a shame. It was just so hard not to root for her. Similarly, it was sad to see Franciso Torres not continue on, but he was such an upbeat guy, it was still nice to have him onscreen even after they’d told him no. It was also sort of encouraging to see Marlea Stroman choosing to leave the competition in order to go home and be with her son. You could actually tell during her performance that although it was technically really good, she was very “not there” while she was singing.

They also made sure to have some non-audition camera time with the made-for-TV ones. In a she-can’t-really-be-this-naive-moment, Seacrest asked Oklahoma farm girl Carrie Underwood if she’d taken pictures of any stars and she responded that it had been kinda cloudy. Too precious… is she for real? She got put through, of course.

Week 3, Episode 1: Cleveland and Orlando… Guest Judge: Ladies Love Cool James

Okay, when are contestants going to learn that they should really sing contemporary, popular music to audition? To quote Guy Fleegman in Galaxy Quest. “Did you guys ever watch the show?!”. The first girl they showed us from Cleveland, self-consciously a little too plump in her too-short black velvet dress, tried her best to belt out a number from Hair. I mean, come on. Nobody wants to HEAR that. And the judges, of course, told her she was probably better suited for theatre. Try a song that someone would actually hear on the radio!

Same goes for the sweet but very heavy girl who owns her own karaoke business and sang a number from My Fair Lady. They didn’t put her through (but you could tell they were torn) based on an image problem. Cruel as it is, Simon Cowell is right — this contest is about making a pop star, and pop stars sell records (and get votes on the show) based on looks as well as singing talent. She was so sweet and affable about it when they told her no, although I worry she’s going to go home and sob afterwards. LL Cool J was a great guest judge, he went and gave her a hug after her audition. I just wonder if she’d maybe sang something popular they could’ve looked past the image issue and seen her in more of a contemporary singer light. I’m torn: Engineerboy thinks they should’ve put her through, I sort of think it was kindness, because I think the American voting public probably wouldn’t vote her much further, anyway.

There really weren’t too many standouts between the two cities. There was one guy the judges flipped for that I was completely unimpressed with (that seems to happen a lot with the guy singers — maybe it’s ooh baby music, or I think maybe the judges just hear so much bad singing in a day that they think anyone halfway decent is amazing by the end of a long day). Anthony Federov is the only real standout of this episode — very much a potential player in the contest: slight foreign accent, non-threatening boyish good looks, geeky-cool glasses, and a nice smooth tenor voice (I’m guessing tenor). He’s one to keep an eye one.

We’ll see what tonight’s episode brings when the judges take on San Francisco!

Week 2, Episode 2: Las Vegas, NV! Guest Judge: Kenny Loggins

As Kenny would say, I’m Alright!! Vegas put on a better show than N’Awlins. Since those hoping for fame and glory already tend to gravitate to places like Vegas, I think the odds were maybe a little better here. We got to see our share of teens, showgirls and cocktail waitresses with pipes (and other parts) just waiting to be discovered.

The first one on camera was a purported sixteen year-old Mikalah (pronounced “Michaela”, if that helps at all) Gordon, although she looked and sounded like a 30-year old IHOP waitress with a 2-pack-a-day habit. Okay, maybe not IHOP… Sizzler, I guess. The judges flipped for her and her singing but I wasn’t sure why. She seemed creepily too old for her age (and the too-far-outside-of-her-mouth lipliner is never my favorite) and the kicker was when she vamped for the camera and hoped that her (presumably impending) success would allow her to buy her mom those implants she’d always wanted. That’s some kinda home life.

Petite waitress Sharon Galvez impressed the judges with a Whitney Houston song (although both Engineerboy and I thought she sang pretty flat in parts). Honest-to-good-ness Vegas showgirl Amanda Avila had a really strong audition and I think she might actually go really far in the competition — she comes very close to having the “total package” (as trite as that sounds): stunning looks, a very strong voice, and her stage experince means she won’t be as likely to crack on stage when the competition really gets going.

Rich Molfetta, one of the Boyz II Men singing New York twins from the DC auditions, came back for his own audition this time and made it through. I’m still not impressed but then again I’m not a fan of oooh-baby type stuff. I don’t personally think he’ll make it very far, although I guess his voice is technically okay. He just does ZERO for me.

The ringers this time were fun — lotsa bad Elvis, plus a wild-eyed and kinda scary Neil Diamond fan. I think a kid named Christopher Tamura was auditioning to be the next William Hung (performing Heartbreak Hotel, naturally). A really old guy (well, for American Idol) came in just for the hell of it, I think — he was really strange. They sent home an “almost was” (Matthew Falber) who sang a Disney song. He’s young and his voice was pretty strong… I think if he hadn’t sung something so dippy he might’ve had a good audition.

Housewife Jennifer Todd was simply amazing — she was so up front in the pre interview that she hesitated to try out because of her weight, but her voice was so great, and getting four ‘yes’s was a pretty big vote of confidence. The standout of Vegas, however, and my current pick for the competition Top Ten and favorite so far is Mario Vasquez… until I heard him I didn’t quite realize that none of the other male singers were completely unimpressive. He’s amazing.

Week 2, Episode1: New Orleans! Guest Judge: Gene Simmons!

Well you think the Big Easy would give up a lot of heart and soul, but the turnout this week wasn’t too spectular. The first guy outta the gate (at least, the first one the editors chose to show us) was pretty okay — the judges flipped out for him a little more than I did. He falls into the “technically he’s a good singer but his quote-unquote-soulful singing does nothing for me” category. Lindsey Cardinale from Ponchatoula — they’ve been playing her preview all week — was very good; it’ll be interesting to see where she goes from there. The largish male New Orleans native who sang à la Louis Armstrong was interesting and can obviously sing, but I would’ve liked to hear him sing something in a less affected voice. I’m glad they put him through, though.

Gene Simmons was a spectacular guest judge. Both Engineerboy and I thought he was great — he obviously was familiar with what the show was looking for and was very into it and took his judging responsibilities very seriously. I know it might be easy to expect that, as theatrical as Kiss was as a band, that he might be a showboat as a judge but I thought he was as perfect a panel member as you could have asked for — they could consider making him a regular, in my opinion.

The remaining folks on camera on camera were a parade of the talentless and endearing. The projectionist was absolutely terrible but sweet-hearted. The “Eye of the Tiger” accountant sang exactly like an accountant. He was precious as all get-out and thankfully the judges were mostly kind (when Paula asked him if he watched the show, however, Simon asked him if it was with the sound up). The crunky Leroy Wells was absolutely hilarious and an entertainer without a doubt. The judges… well, all but Simon… loved him but he clearly wasn’t right for American Idol. He was a hoot and a holler, though!

Week 1, Episode 2: St. Louis, MO

Ahh, two nights in a row. The Fox network is so smart. No guest judge (hey, where’s Nelly??) but the tryouts were still entertaining. We saw triplets in pink — I thought they were amazing together and think they should try to do something together somewhere, but I don’t know that I would’ve put one of them through by themselves, either.

We saw an incredibly obnoxious cruise ship singer who would take great exception to that label (“I’m the total package”) who might have a decent voice but you couldn’t tell because he was so full of himself when he was singing. The judges might’ve actually put him through to Hollywood if he had just kept his MOUTH SHUT and not argued with every piece of criticism they gave him. You know, buddy, sometimes when the contestants take the criticism constructively the judges think, this one might have some potential and they put the guy through. But this one was so horrible they just bounced him after hearing so much of his attitude.

Ozzie Smith’s kid Osbourne Smith Jr. got put through, which was pretty cool, and a neat music teacher got put through (although her student didn’t, which just had her bawling). I didn’t agree with all the judges choices, though. The put through 16-year old Aa’shia Jackson, who did like a rap at the beginning and then sang in sort of a weird tight voice. How can put her through when they didn’t really hear her actually sing anything?? I agree with Simon, totally no. Paula and Randy were the ones who put her through. We’ll see how she actually does.

There were some horrifiers, of course — the producers always put through a few ringers to make for good oh-my-god-am-I-really-watching-and-hearing-this entertainment. The poor girl who sang When You Wish Upon a Star was really bad, and the judges — even Paula — were merciless. The guy who sang David Hasslehoff was hysterical. There were a couple of folks that were bad singers but you know they had good hearts, and the judges were fairly kind to them.

The real standout of the evening, however, was the made-for-reality-TV story of the blonde, doe-eyed Missouri farm girl Carrie Underwood who’s never even been on an airplane and even helps her dad feed the cows some mornings. She steps into the audition and has just a gorgeous, breathtaking voice. She was a bit shy while singing her country song, but the judges put ther through without question — I expect her to be in the top round of finishers if she doesn’t choke when singing other types of songs. Her voice is clearly a natural and I’ll be very interested to see where she goes.

Week 1, Episode 1: Washington, DC

Well, the new season is upon us, folks. Fox treated us American Idol junkies with a two-hour opener of the first round action, this time with hopefuls from the Washington D.C. area. It was the usual mix of horrible (strange dancing — one girl slapped her butt) and wonderful (amazingly smooth James Ingram coming from a Hackensack Italian dude) that makes this show the hypnotic drug that it is. Seacrest is back as the affable host (but sans last season’s bleachy highlights) and the three judges are all in standard form: Cowell is cranky, Randy is middle of the road, and Paula still tries to let everyone off easy. This year, however, they had a guest judge of Mark McGrath (formerly of pop band Sugar Ray and more recently host of tv show Extra). I like the guest judge (I think it will be different for every city); it added a nice additional tie-breaker when needed and some more industry perspective.

Already I’m seeing folks that I’m interested in and rooting for: I cried when the cameras made sure we got involved in the story of Regina Brooks — the woman (eligible based on the newer higher age limit) who hocked her wedding bands to be able to come to the auditions. I was very happy they put through the rock band frontman (Constantine) who came to audition without telling his band. Of course, the show milked it for all it was worth — they took the cameras to where the band was practicing and had him tell the band in front of the cameras, etc. I just ate it up!! I can’t wait to see how he does in the competition. I was disappointed, however, when they didn’t let through the 17-year old female boxer, too. I guess her pitch was a bit off but I thought she was pretty strong! (I guess that’s why I’m not a judge, though).

So far the new season has started off with everything I’ve come to love about this show! More tomorrow night! How lucky am I?!