American Idol Season 11 - Prediction

American Idol Season 11 is in full swing so it's time for me to pick this year's winner.  And I don't mean to brag (I really do), but my track record with picking Idol winners has been pretty good.

I didn't really start watching Idol until Season 7, but in the four seasons I have watched, the singer I've picked for Idol glory has finished no worse than 2nd place.  And on two occasions, the person I've been rooting for has gone on to win the title of American Idol.

Before offering my season 11 prophecy - let's look back (quickly) at my predictions for seasons 7 through 10.

Season 7

I predicted David Archuleta would win - he finished 2nd

I was rooting for David Cook - he of course finished 1st

 

 Season 8

I predicted Adam Lambert would win - he finished 2nd

I was rooting for Adam Lambert - he still finished 2nd

  

Season 9

I predicted Lee Dewyze would win - he finished 1st

I was also rooting for Lee this season

 

 Season 10

I predicted Lauren Alaina would win - she finished 2nd

I was rooting for James Durbin & Hailey Reinhart- they finished 4th and 3rd respectively.

Season 11 - Prediction

The winner - Colton Dixon!

That's right, I'm calling Colton for the win!  And given my supernatural ability to recognize Idol talent, you can pretty much punch his ticket for the top 2 right now.

I'm also rooting for him to win, which has started a raging battle in the homestead.  You see, TC is pulling for Phillip Phillips and she's been pretty vocal about her disdain for the next American Idol.

Which means we're really hoping for a Colton vs. Phillip showdown at the live Finale.

Random Thoughts.....

TC is in the other room playing Harry Potter Lego, and, not being a "gamer" myself, I thought I would take advantage of the situation and blog!  So, lucky you, here are some random thoughts that have been knocking around  my wee brain for the last little while.......

Why oh why do I continue to support The Toronto Maple Leafs?  After all, they haven't won the Stanley Cup in 44 years.  Heck, they haven't even given us anything to really cheer about since their improbable run in 1993. And now it looks like they're going to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year!  This is supposed to be the mecca of hockey for cyrin' out loud!  Honestly, if I was married and my wife treated me this badly, I'd leave her!

If you blinked, you missed the Mike Napoli era in Toronto.  Last Friday the Blue Jays traded Vernon Wells to the Angels for Napoli and Juan Rivera and promptly flipped Napoli to the Rangers for sometimes closer Frank Francisco.  So the Jays now have 3 unreliable closers in their bullpen (Francisco, Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch).  Not sure what Alex Anthopolous' game plan is, but oddly, I still trust him 100%.

Speaking of Vernon Wells, I was sad to see him go.  He's been my son's favourite player for 10 years.  Looks like the Mini-Meanie needs a new favourite player.  Hmmmmmm, might I suggest Kyle Drabek who should start the season as the number 4 starter in the rotation?

And speaking of the Mini-Meanie, he'll be celebrating his 14th birthday next week.  So here's an early shout out to the birthday boy.  Now, what to get him.........

Evil Russ is the freakin' man!  Just sayin'.

Steven Tyler as a judge on American Idol seemed kind of strange when it was announced, but it turns out, it's kind of cool.  He's certainly taking the sting out of losing Simon.

I finally got around to watching the Harry Potter movies.  TC and I plowed through the first 6 on DVD last week.  Here's how I'd rate them from best to worst - Prisoner of Azkaban, Half-Blood Prince, Philosopher"s Stone, Goblet of Fire, Chamber of Secrets, Order of the Phoenix.  I can't wait to see the next one.  I think there's a theater nearby that is still playing The Deathly Hallows Part 1, so TC and I are planning to go this Sunday.

 

Chris Medina is my new hero.  If you want to see why, click here.

Do we really need 4 weeks of American Idol auditions?? A couple of 2-hour episodes would suffice. Hollywood Week, the Semi-Finals, and Finals are the meat and potatoes of the show anyway.

I hate snow. I hate shovelling it. I hate driving in it. It seems like everyone I know is going somewhere sunny for a vacation over the next couple of months. I'm insanely jealous.

Selling a house is a little more stressful than I thought it would be.  Not sure I like it.  And I think I'm driving my real estate agent crazy.  Good thing she's a friend.  But if you're looking to buy or sell a house, I guarantee you won't find anyone better!  If you want to check her out, click here.

I discovered this past weekend that I can't dance. We fired up Just Dance 2 for the Wii at my Mom's this past weekend - I was a train wreck! But my kids had a good laugh.

When the hell is David Cook going to release his new album?? I'm starting to get impatient!

My daughter, my sweet sweet angel, is having a friend sleep over this weekend.  For the ENTIRE weekend.  Two pre-teen girls in my itty-bitty house for an entire weekend......perhaps I should stop blogging and start working on my eulogy??  God help me.

I have a new favourite word - Prolly.  As in, if I met you in a bar, I'd prolly kick your teeth in.

American Idol Top 7 - My really, really, really quick review!

Last night was supposed to be "Inspirational Night" on American Idol.  Well, after having watched the performances, save for Lee and Crystal, the night was anything but inspirational.

Here is my really really really quick review of what went down.

Casey James

Performance - Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac
Result - Two words.....BO-RING.  Is it just me or is Casey starting to sound more and more like Huey Lewis every week??
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Lee Dewyze

Performance - The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel
Result - Outstanding!!  I've been a big fan of this dude since week 1, and I have to say, this may have been his finest performance of the season.  My only question is, where were the most excellent bagpipes???
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Tim Urban

Performance - Better Days by the Goo Goo Dolls
Result - Yikes!  Tim continues to prove that in a singing competition, as long as you look cute, you don't really have to know how to sing.
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Aaron Kelly

Performance - I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly
Result - He believes he can sing too!  Can you say, game over??
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Siobhan Magnus

Performance - When You Believe by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey
Result - Her vocals were incredible (as usual), but the performance lacked any, I don't know, oomph??  Methinks she needs to get back to something a little more dark - and for Gods sake, start screaming again!
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Michael Lynche

Performance - Hero by Chad Kroeger
Result - Weird.  His vocals were good I suppose, but seeing Big Mike sing this grunge rock tune was just bizarre.
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Crystal Bowersox

Performance - People Get Ready by The Impressions
Result - Awesome!  Just awesome!  Is there any doubt that we are headed for a Bowersox vs. Dewyze showdown at the end??
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Predictions

Bottom 3 - Aaron, Tim, Big Mike
Who will go - Aaron
Who should go - Tim

American Idol Top 10 - R&B Night

My buddy Sean thinks I'm obsessed with American Idol because as he says, it's the only thing I seem to blog about these days.  Well, he's half right.  Yes I've been blogging about AI a lot lately, but if I'm obsessed about anything, it's Evil Russ, Boston Rob and all things Survivor!

However, in honour of Sean (or perhaps in spite of him - heh heh), I feel I must comment on last night's Idol show.  So, here we go.....

One week ago I couldn't imagine a Season 9 show in which Siobhan Magnus wouldn't be one of the top two performers of the night, but last night I was in for a shock.  It's not that Siobhan was particularly bad, but in comparison to her performances of the last two weeks, and some spectacular performances by some of the other competitors this week, I have Siobhan finishing in a solid sixth place out of ten.  I know, how crazy is that?!??

I have to give the performance of the night to Lee Dewyze who performed Cornelius Borthers' "Treat Her Like a Lady".  The dude FINALLY came out of his shell and Simon told him that this was the night that may change his life forever!

A close second was Casey James who performed Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming".  His vocals were fantastic and for the first time on this show, I bought him as a rock star.

If Casey was 2, then 2a is most definitely Crystal Bowersox.  MamaSox sang one of my favourite songs, "Georgia on My Mind".  She looked gorgeous (well, as gorgeous as she can look), and sounded incredible!

Big Mike (Michael Lynche) gave what I think was his best performance of the season (sorry Kara, his version of "This Woman's Work" just wasn't that good), and Andrew Garcia returned from wherever the hell he's been hiding with a brilliant rendition of Chris Brown's "Forever".

Teenagers Katie Stevens and Aaron Kelly sang ok (at least they were both in key), but their performances left me bored - as they ALWAYS do.

Megan 2.0 was very disappointing.  Didi Benami performed "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted", and if I'm being honest, I have to say it really wasn't good.  But, seeing as how there's a good chance she could be the Other Other Future Mrs. Meanie, how can I say anything negative about her performance??  Uhhhh, I think I kind of just did.  Whoops.

Tim Urban.  My God, can we just get rid of this dude already??  He can't sing.  He can't dance.  He can't even take constructive criticism.  I can only hope that this is the week America finally wakes up and tosses him off the show!

Ok, here are my predictions:

Bottom 3 - Tim Urban, Didi Benami, Katie Stevens

Voted out - Tim Urban (there will be no judges save wasted on this guy)

American Idol Top 12 - Rolling Stones Week

One week after the shocking departure of Lilly Scott, Alex Lambert and Katelyn Epperly, the Top 12 Idols took to the big stage to perform the hits of the Rolling Stones.

Now, I must tell you, I'm not a big fan of the Stones (blasphemous I know) but I was interested in seeing how badly this (mostly) untalented group of Idols could botch  the tunes from one of the most iconic bands in the history of rock n' roll.

But you know what?  For the most part the Idols (with a few exceptions) weren't too bad this week.  For my personal reviews, read on.

Un-Freakin'-Believable!

Siobhan Magnus

Siobhan sang Paint It, Black and what can I say other than Wow?!!?  Her performance was dark and haunting and her big note at the end was incredible!!  How the hell does she do that??  I was already a big fan of this girl but after this performance, I am an uber-fan and am really really rooting for her!  I honestly got chills listening to her sing!  Unbelievable!  Simon said it was the standout performance of the night while Kara said she was having Adam Lambert flashbacks.

The Other Standouts

Didi Benami

Megan 2.0 had her second strong week in a row, and in my humble opinion had the second best performance of the night.  She showed off her darker side singing Play With Fire.  She stumbled a little bit with the lyrics but managed to recover nicely.  I'm really hoping Didi sticks around for a while because I think she has real potential!  All the judges seemed to be in agreement that this was a great performance.

Crystal Bowersox

Can Crystal do any wrong??  I think of all the Idols, Crystal is the one most ready to be a star!  In fact, while I was watching her perform You Can't Always Get What You Want, I was thinking it's like watching a rock star already!  She actually kind of reminds me of a Rock n' Roll Jewel.  Weird comparison I know.

Lee Dewyze

Simon is bang on with Lee - if he only realized how good he is, he could own that stage!  Lee sang Beast of Burden which I thought was a bit of an odd song choice for him, but, he made it work.  I still think Lee is a dark horse that will only continue to gain momentum each week.  While I'm kinda sorta moving into the Siobhan camp, I still have one foot firmly planted in Lee's corner.  I love this dude - in a non icky kind of way of course.

Pretty Good

Aaron Kelly

Aaron surprised me this week.  I have not been a fan of this kid at all, as I find he's been brutal week in and week out - a poor man's David Archuletta if you will.  But, he actually did a good job this week singing Angie.  It certainly wasn't a star making performance, but miles better than anything he did in the semi-final rounds.  It should be enough to keep him out of the bottom three this week.

Casey James

I have to admit, I just don't get this dude.  I want to like him, I desperately want to like him.  Seriously, what's not to like??  He's a rocker, plays a mean guitar, has a great voice, and women love him!  But, while he's got all the tools to be a great rock n' roller, somehow he just doesn't make it work.  He sang It's All Over Now, and the performance was pretty good, but I just don't buy him as a blues rocker.  Randy, Ellen and Kara all loved him, but Simon (clearly the voice of reason) agrees with me and said it was like an "audition performance". 

Michael Lynche

I thought Big Mike did a pretty good job with Miss You, but his performance (and I mean specifically the dancing) was a wee bit weird.  When I watch Idol, I'm looking for a star, and while Michael sounded good, he didn't do anything with the song that would make me want to purchase his performance.  Again, Randy, Ellen and Kara all loved him while Simon found his performance corny.

Paige Miles

Considering Paige was suffering from laryngitis, I thought she did a great job singing Honky Tonk Women.  Here's a thought - maybe Paige should suffer from laryngitis EVERY week as this was easily her best performance!!  Having said that, she still has a looooong way to go in order to catch up with the likes of Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus.  Just sayin'.

Could Have Been Better

Lacey Brown

Oh Lacey.  Lacey, Lacey, Lacey.  Lacey has an awesome look (what's with those eyes???  Wow!), and I desperately want her to give us a performance to remember.  At times her version of Ruby Tuesday was very good, and at other moments it was a train wreck.  I really believe she has so much more to offer, but for some reason she's not giving it to us.  I can only hope that she gets another chance to show us what she's got, but I have a hunch that her goose is cooked.  Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why she keeps sitting on the edge of the stage during her performances?  Anyone?  

Katie Stevens

Katie - the girl who should never even have been in the Top 12 (yes  I'm still pissed that it's Katie and not Lilly) - had her best performance of the season so far.  The problem is that Katie had set the bar so low for herself it really wasn't all that difficult to top her previous performances.  Her version of Wild Horses was ok at best, but she should be safe from elimination as she generally received positive feedback from the judges.  

It Just Wasn't Good Dawg

Andrew Garcia

Andrew at one time looked like an early front runner for the Idol crown, but since the live performances started, he really hasn't been that good.  This week his version of Gimme Shelter was especially bad.  He stripped the excitement right out of the chorus and turned a great song into a boring song.  I'm predicting a trip to the bottom 3 for Andrew this week although I do think he'll live to sing another day.

Made My Ears Bleed

Tim Urban

I don't think there are enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe how bad this dude was.  His reggae version of Under My Thumb (which isn't a great song to begin with) was Gawd Awful!  I think Simon said it best - Rolling Stones fan across the world were turning their TV sets off.  While Tim is clearly the weakest and least talented of this group, he'll probably be safe from elimination.  In fact, I don't even think he'll be in the bottom 3. Damn teenage girls.

Predictions

Bottom 3 - Lacey, Paige, Andrew

Who will go - Lacey

Who should go - Tim

American Idol Top 12 - America Gets It Wrong

So, the American Idol Top 12 is set.  My question is, how did America manage to screw up the vote so badly??  Does anyone really think that Katie Stevens is better than Lilly Scott??  Anyone???

And Tim Urban over Alex Lambert??  Now I know that Alex Lambert ain't exactly Adam Lambert, but Tim Urban isn't exactly Keith Urban either.

In fact I think all 4 contestants that were voted out this past Thursday deserved spots in the finals (Lilly, Alex, Todrick Hall and Katelyn Epperly).  The four that should have gone were Katie, Tim, Aaron Kelly and Paige Miles.

America's vote isn't the only thing screwed up this season - what the hell is going on with the judges??  Kara has not only inherited the seat abandoned by Paula Abdul, but she seems to have inherited her bizarre personality as well.  And what's with the conflicting advice the judges are giving the contestants from week to week??  One week the judges are complaining that the contestant didn't bring anything different to a song, and then when somebody does change up an arrangement (hello Todrick), they're squawking because the song didn't need to be changed.  Is it any wonder that their performances have been flat??  They don't know what to do!

Oh, and isn't it great that the judges love all the contestants so much??  I mean, it seems like after every performance the judges say, "I didn't like your song choice, it didn't work for me (dawg), but I really like you"!  That's wonderful - but next season, maybe you could pick people you don't really like all that much but that actually have a little thing called talent??  Just sayin'.

Ok, here are my predictions for the remaining 12.

And the winner of American Idol Season 9 will be......

Lee Dewyze!  This dude doesn't have the greatest voice, or the greatest stage presence - yet.  But, he reminds me of David Cook.  That is to say that his voice is good enough and he is one of the most well rounded performers in the competition.  He's also making smart song choices by picking songs that young Americans are familiar with and like.  Plus, he's someone that the teenage girls and the predatory American Cougar can really get behind.  He's my choice to win this season and has been since the first week.

If not Lee then......

Crystal Bowersox.  Crystal is hands down the best all around performer in this competition and in my opinion should be the winner.  The only thing that could possibly get in her way of the Season 9 crown are the teenage girls and Cougars of America.  See above.

Siobhan Magnus.  In my humble opinion, Siobhan has the best voice in the competition!!  This girl may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but her voice is like a gift from God!  Her problem will be that she is not as well rounded as either Crystal or Lee, but, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her put everything together over the next several weeks and win the whole thing.

Won't win, but my personal favourite.....

Didi Benami.  Didi is like a cross between The Other Future Mrs. Meanie, Megan Joy (Season 8), and Brooke White (Season 7) who were two of my personal favourites in their respective seasons.  And no, I didn't just like them because they were hot, but, it certainly doesn't hurt.  Didi has an interesting and unique voice, and I'm really hoping she can get deep into this competition.  She has no chance of winning, but a top 5 finish certainly isn't out of the question. Oh, and from here on in she shall be known as - Megan 2.0.

Overated, and eventually America will clue in......

Casey James.  Quick, somebody buy this dude a personality!!  He may be a great guitar player (some are saying the best the show has ever seen), but his voice isn't great.  It's not bad, it's just bland I suppose.  But the real problem Casey has is his stage presence.  His smile on stage looks nervous and fake, and he is incredibly wooden when he performs.  The fact that Kara and the rest of the female population in the States thinks he's gorgeous will carry him into the top 6, but, I think he'll get weeded out by the true talent in this competition.

Michael Lynche.  His version of Maxwell's, This Woman's Work, had the judges raving and brought Kara to tears.  Oh please Kara, must you be so dramatic??  It actually wasn't even that good.  It was super pitchy and his falsetto was atrocious.  Having said that, America loves Big Mike!  And I must admit, I think this cat is Uber-Cool, and while I'd love to hang out with the dude, I just don't think he's a great singer.

Straight Up - Needs another hit, and fast.......

Andrew Garcia.  I feel sorry for Andrew.  Everything he does from now on will be compared to his Hollywood week performance of Paula Abdul's Straight Up.  He actually hasn't been all that bad during the semi-final rounds, in fact he's been much better than most of the guys, but he hasn't come close to duplicating his Hollywood Round performance and that seems to be hurting him.

Underrated, but America won't clue in......

Lacey Brown.  This girl has a great look and a great voice, but she hasn't been picking the right songs.  I think her failings in the semi-final rounds could be her undoing during the final rounds, however I do think she deserves to crack the top 10 and secure a spot on the Idols Tour.

Shouldn't even be in the finals.......

Aaron Kelly, Katie Stevens, Paige Miles and Tim Urban. 

Of these four young contestants, I think Paige and Katie have wasted their potential, while Aaron and Tim have simply wasted my time.  Katie looked incredibly promising in her audition (and had the pre-requisite American Idol sob story to all but guarantee success) but has stumbled ever since. Paige Miles has a great voice, but she is an awful performer. Aaron Kelly has been compared to David Archuletta, and while I agree that Aaron is just as boring to watch as David, at least David could, you know, sing. And as for Tim Urban, this dude is simply a train wreck! But, he's cute, and in America it's more important to be adorable than talented.

It would be wonderful if Aaron and Tim were the first two voted out, but sadly I don't think that's going to happen.  It will most likely be Paige and either Katie or Lacey.  Pity.

Has American Idol Jumped the Shark?

As I was watching the American Idol auditions tonight, I couldn't help but wonder if the show is still about finding the most talented singers hiding amongst everyday ordinary Americans, or if it has simply become a stage for finding the biggest, fattest, saddest sob stories in America and then jamming them down our throats?

This over the top nauseating trend seemed to start last year with Danny Gokey. He was the borderline talented singer who's wife passed away just weeks before his Idol journey began. The Idol producers managed to parlay the "dead wife" angle into a third place finish for Gokey while his much more talented friend (Jamar Rogers) didn't even make it out of Hollywood and into the Top 36.

Now, I'm no expert on everything American Idol as I missed the first 6 seasons (I only started watching in Season 7 because I thought David Cook was cool, and I watched Season 8 because of my man-crush on Adam Lambert and my mad love for Megan Joy), but from the auditions I've seen so far, I'm struggling to find a reason to watch Season 9.

Seriously, who the hell is there to root for?? Some of the talent is ok - but it seems most were getting through to Hollywood as a result of their "hard luck" stories (surviving cancer, surviving prison, surviving the ghetto) as opposed to mad vocal skillz. Even when there wasn't really a hard luck story to be found the producers would just make one up! One young girl was still reeling from her parents divorce earlier this year (welcome to the other 50% of America darling), while another was there to escape her small town life.

*sigh*

Sadly, the best audition I've seen through the first 6 cities was General Larry Platt singing "Pants on the Ground".

The real unfortunate part is it looks like most of the really good talent didn't even get to audition for the judges. Check out this blog here and you will see tale after tale of Idol rejects who were told that they "weren't what Idol was looking for this year". And these weren't the regular retards rejects that we see during the audition process - some of these kids have some serious talent!

I suppose in hindsight they probably should have told the producers that they were gang-banging cancer survivors who's parents got divorced while they were in a small town prison. Oh well, guess they'll know better for next year.

Screaming Confession #1

From time to time on this blog I will come clean about the things in my life that I love, or do, or want, or want to do, or have done, or think about. Things that some lesser people might be afraid to admit. I call it, a 'Screaming Confession'.


So, for my inaugural confession, right here on this very blog, I am officially declaring my love for the American Idol Season 8 coronation song. That's right, I absolutely can't get enough of the song 'No Boundaries'!

I know the coronation songs are usually fairly lame - Taylor Hick's Do I Make You Proud comes to mind. Even David Cook (who pretty much turned everything to gold) couldn't save the gawd awful Time of my Life.

But No Boundaries seems to be universally hated drawing the ire of just about anyone who listens to it (read some of the comments folks are making about it here and here). Even Kris Allen has dropped the song from his set list on the American Idol Live Tour!

However, I can't drop the song from the setlist on my iPod and I am more than man enough to admit it! I think Adam Lambert's version is much better than Kris Allen's, but honestly, I love both!

Let me know what you think!

To hear Adam Lambert's version click here.


To hear Kris Allen's version click here.

American Idol's "Lucky" 13

Last night the top 13 tackled songs from the Michael Jackson songbook. I was a big fan of Michael when he was young and black. Although it seemed the whiter he got, the weirder he became. However, it's a huge challenge to take on arguably the biggest pop star of all time! As it turned out, there were some brilliant moments (Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey) some not so brilliant moments (Jorge Nunez) and some downright brutal moments (Anoop-Dawg Desai).

Here's my recap of what went down, who should go, who will go, and who I'd like to see get launched to the moon!

1. Lil Rounds

Lil Rounds kicked off the night (or Season 8 if you believe Randy Jackson who seems to say this EVERY week) singing The Way You Make Me Feel. I was a little disappointed in her performance. It wasn't bad, I just expected more from her. The good news is, it was still better than most and she will be back next week.

2. Scott MacIntyre

Scott sang Keep the Faith which is one of Jackson's lesser known songs. Personally, I don't get the judges love affair with this guy. Sure, his story is inspirational, but the fact of the matter is he's an average singer at best.

3. Danny Gokey

Here's another guy who the judges (and America) seem to be ga-ga over. And I'll admit, until last night, I didn't get it. He was a good singer, but I think too much was made of his wife who passed away 7 months ago (sorry for your loss dude). But last night Danny performed P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) and he knocked it out of the park! In my opinion, the second best performance of the night and now I'm a believer too!

4. Michael Sarver

Michael's clearly not the greatest singer in the competition, but I love this guy. Well, I love him in a way that a man can love another man that he's never met without crossing any icky lines! Last night he sang You Are Not Alone and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he performed. It's nice to see an everyman like Michael on the show. It gives hope to all of us "everymen" everywhere that if we can dream it, we can do it! Keep it up Michael!

5. Jasmine Murray

Jasmine performed I'll Be There by the Jackson 5 and in my humble opinion, I thought she did a great job. I love this girl mainly because she reminds me of my niece. Unfortunately she's probably going home tonight, but I'd really like to see her stay!

6. Kris Allen

Kris seems to be a favourite of the judges and the fans but honestly, I don't get it. I think he's an average singer at best and his performance Remember the Time was mediocre and boring.

7. Allison Iraheta

Allison sang Give in to Me and she rocked it!! Man, this 16-year old can flat out sing! And the judges nailed it, for someone so young she has incredible poise on the stage. Methinks she'll be around for a while.

8. Anoop Desai

There are 3 songs that the contestants should have stayed away from. Billie Jean (no one will ever do again what David Cook accomplished last season), Thriller, and Beat It. Unfortunately Anoop-Dawg didn't get the memo because he butchered Jackson's Beat It. It was awful. Downright appalling. It was so bad that I was starting to feel embarrassed for the guy. He seems likable, but I don't think he did himself any favours last night.

9. Jorge Nunez

Jorge sang Never Can Say Goodbye. My question is, can we the audience finally say goodbye to this guy?? His performance was boring, and seriously, what's with the eyebrows dude?

10. Megan Joy Corkrey

Megan seems to be taking a lot of heat online and I don't understand why. She has a great voice, a beautiful smile (nevermind smile, she has a beautiful everything!) and my God does she have good genes - have you seen her Mother?? Hubba hubba! Megan's style is unique, her voice is unique, her dancing is.........weird. But in a good way. She sang Rockin' Robin and aside from the crow call at the end, I thought her performance was fantastic! I love this girl, she is one of my favourites and I really really hope she goes far!

11. Adam Lambert

Wow!! Nothing I could write here could possibly capture the essence of Adam's performance last night. He sang Jackson's Black or White and he left everyone else in this competition in the dust. He was head and shoulder's better than everyone else last night. Adam was working the stage, working the audience and working the cameras, all while putting on the best vocal performance of the night!! I'm calling it right now, Adam Lambert will be your next American Idol!!

12. Matt Giraud

Matt did an awesome job with Human Nature. He was obviously very comfortable behind the piano, the problem was he followed Adam Lambert. Talk about your bum spots! It really didn't matter what he did, it would have paled in comparison. That being said, he did enough that I'd be shocked if he wasn't here next week.

13. Alexis Grace

Alexis sang my favourite Jackson song, Dirty Diana. It was good, but it could have been better. The judges were right on the money when they said she oversang the song. She looked hot, but like Lil Rounds, I was expecting more. However Alexis has talents in places where I don't have places so she'll be around for a while yet!

Who should go - Jorge Nunez, Scott MacIntyre

Who will go - Jorge Nunez, Jasmine Murray

Who I'd like to launch to the moon - Jorge Nunez

Who should count there lucky stars that it's only the first week - Anoop Desai