Showing posts with label kristy lee cook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kristy lee cook. Show all posts

Thursday, April 17, 2008

AI - Goodbye Kristy

Well, I feel kind of silly saying this, after all the criticism I've thrown her way, but I actually had a tear in my eye when Kristy was sent home this week.

And honestly, based on this week's performance, she didn't deserve to go home. In fact, I thought hers was among the top performances of the week.

Whether one likes Kristy or not, one has to admit that she sure has a lot of poise. Yes, she shed a tear when her name was announced, but she pulled herself together and went out "on top". She will have a career in Nashville, no doubt.

As for Mariah Carey week, I'll admit, I don't know any Mariah songs (I don't think). And "Without You" doesn't count ~ that's a Harry Nilsson song.

So, the songs chosen were okay, I guess. But then, I don't have anything to compare them to. I will say, however, that these are not the most memorable songs I've ever heard. But that's today's pop for you. All the songs are kind of generic ~ it's more about vocal runs than actually saying something. But that's just me, maybe. Or maybe I just wasn't listening closely enough (?)

The standout performances were basically..........David Cook. Period.

I'm starting to become a little concerned for Brooke. Did you notice how much she was shaking while she was doing her number? It was kind of.....uncomfortable.

I think maybe she's getting thrown off by trying to multi-task. She could come out from behind the piano sometimes. I think there was only one week when she wasn't either playing piano or guitar. It's like trying to carry on a phone conversation and concentrate on work at the same time. Something's got to give.

But I'm wondering if we would be doing her a favor by voting her off. Her nerves are getting worse every week.

And we all know what it means when Brooke gets nervous..........She TALKS more! Eek!

And now to Carly. When I found that she was singing, "Without You", which is a great song, and requires some real vocal ability to sing, I thought, "Okay. She'll really hit this one." But the trouble is, she DIDN'T hit it. You know the part of the song where it goes, "Can't LIVE!" That's so cool when it's done right. Well, gee, what a letdown. I don't know what her problem is, but she turned the song into a snoozer. Simon was right. Again, I don't know if it's nerves or desperation. But she had better show something pretty soon, before it's too late.

At this point, with six contestants left, I'm starting to think about the final two. Barring anything odd happening (see Chris Daughtry), I'm pretty sure it'll be the two Davids.

And judging from the tweeny screams every week, I'm afraid that it'll be Little Archie who will win. Plus, I think the tweeners are more apt to vote, than, say, the people who actually have good taste in music.

So, for the final six, my thought is that it'll go this way (as long as the producers don't pull some "funny stuff", which I do have my suspicions about):

6. Brooke White
5. Syesha Mercado
4. Carly Smithson
3. Jason Castro
2, David Cook
1. David Archuleta

(I'm still hoping #2 and #1 are switched around, and that could definitely happen.)

One last note. I was surprised to find that (apparently) Mariah Carey is actually a nice person. At least that's how she was portrayed on the show. So now I don't hate her as much as I did before.

Okay, I posted this video once before. It's a bad-quality video, but this is how this song should be sung:

HARRY NILSSON - WITHOUT YOU














Friday, April 11, 2008

AI - Inspirational Week

I don't want to rain on anybody's parade of hopes and dreams, but this week's episode of American Idol didn't leave me very inspired. Really, the only thing it inspired me to do was to quickly get up off the couch and delete the program from my DVR.

I do feel bad for Michael Johns, though. It wasn't his turn to leave. And the fact that Ryan tortured him didn't help. I think what happened to Michael is that he drew the short straw, and had to sing first. (Not that they actually draw straws; the whole setup is a bit more diabolical than that.)

The first slot in the show is a killer, because it's really easy to forget. In fact, about halfway through watching the show (even knowing that Michael would be sent home, since I did see the results episode first), I started to wonder what song he actually sang. Then it hit me - "Dream On".

Now, I'm no Aerosmith aficionado, I'll admit. Therefore, I didn't realize that "Dream On" is an inspirational song. I thought he was saying, "dream on"; like "yea right, dream on". Duh. Well, with all the falsetto stuff going on, I couldn't ever really make out the words.

So, Michael got sent home, cruelly.

But, really, anyone could have, and should have, gone home this week. This was probably the worst performance week ever.

Even my favorite, Cookie, did a really lousy job. I am not familiar with the song, but I thought it sucked. He started off singing really low and sort of non-melodically, and, while the song did improve from there, it didn't improve enough to save it. I thought it was just awful.

I also didn't find anything to get excited about in Little Archie's performance. It was just boring.

And my pick for most desperate contestant this week goes to - ta DA! - Brooke. It's a really tough one to call, since Carly has been consistently desperate. But, to be honest, Brooke is really starting to get on my nerves. She's a good enough singer, albeit not very exciting, but her manner is getting to me.

I used to work with someone like her. Someone who could never STOP TALKING. It's nervous energy or low self-esteem or a combination of both. And they're always bobbing and weaving, unable to stand still. Give them an inch, and they'll talk on and on and on and on, until you just want to swallow some cyanide capsules.

It sort of goes like this:

RYAN: Thank you, Brooke.

BROOKE: You're welcome, Ryan.

RYAN: Nice job.

BROOKE: Do you really think so? Because I really thought I could have done better. I really looked kind of dorky, and I messed up that one line, and if I could just do it over again, I promise I'd do it way better. You know the line in the second verse? Well, I should have said, "the", but I said "a". I'm so embarrassed. What do you think of my dress? I'm not sure if it was the right dress to wear. I had two dresses picked out, but I went with the pink one. Do you think the yellow one would have been better?

RYAN: We need to go to a break now.

BROOKE: Can I just say one more thing? I really want to apologize to everyone in the audience, and in fact, to everyone in the whole world, for messing up that song so badly. If I could just sing it over again.........

RYAN: And we're out of time. Goodnight, everyone!


Our second runner-up, Carly, always looks so INTENSE when she's singing. It's really kinda scary. I think the reason she ended up in the bottom three is because everyone was so worn out from her INTENSITY that they were too tired to dial the phone. And, c'mon, they really want her to go. She's just spooky.

As for the other bottom-three dweller, well, I never saw anything in Syesha from day one. She completely bores me.

The only two that I semi-enjoyed this week were Jason Castro and, surprise! Kristy Lee Cook. I'm kind of starting to feel sorry for Kristy, so it was nice for her that she didn't end up in the bottom three this week.

And one more note about "inspirational week". Yes, I know that this was tied into "Idol Gives Back", but one has to admit, it's all kind of fakey. I don't doubt that Little Archie and Babbling Brooke really felt their songs. They're kind of the soft-hearted type. But the others.....They were just looking for "big" performances. I don't think being "inspirational" was upper-most in their minds. Unless by "inspirational", we mean, "hanging on for at least one more week".

It's virtually impossible for me, in good conscience, to include a video from this week.

Therefore, despite the fact that Michael Johns bugged me with his imitation of "Jim Morrison grasping the mic", I will leave you with Michael's performance from Dolly Parton week. This was the one of his that I enjoyed the most.


















Wednesday, April 2, 2008

American Idol - Time's A'Wastin'!

Wow, did this week's show seem rushed? Usually, the show is waaay too long (with, of course, too many commercials), but this one seemed like there was a fire alarm going off in the building or something. Poor Michael Johns. He barely got a, "I think you did a g......". And then it was on to Hell's Kitchen, or whatever was on next.
It would have been nice to see Dolly actually working with the contestants. Which I'm sure she did. But in the editing, it seemed like they each sang a couple of lines, she hugged them, and then it was on to the next contestant! That would have been kind of a let-down for them, if it had really transpired that way. (For some reason, I'm reminded here of Andrea Bocelli - I think? -a couple of seasons back, making poor Chris Daughtry lie on the floor and sing - ha ha ha!)

As for the performances themselves, well, Dolly is a great songwriter, but I don't know what happened. Most of the contestants were boring.

Again, I must (begrudgingly) give the nod to Little Archie for probably the best performance of the night. I (don't think) I'd ever heard that Dolly Parton song before, but it makes me kind of want to search it out, to see if I might want to download it. Arch sang it with a lot of feeling, so good job, Little Archie!

The others that are even worth mentioning were David Cook ("Cookie" - you GO, Cookie!), Jason Castro, who I think did a fine job with the song he chose, and it was an excellent choice for him, regardless of the judges' comments. What was he supposed to sing? "Love Is Like A Butterfly"?? For pete's sake. Also, I liked Carly's rendition of, "Here You Come Again", and I'm no Carly fan.

I'll stop here to mention the fact, however, that Simon was reading my mind. As Carly was prancing around the stage, I thought, ick, her ensemble is pretty bad! I mean, c'mon! They must have some sort of clothing budget on that show. If she's really hard up, I could maybe dig through my closet and find something to lend her that looks way better than what she was wearing. And believe me, my clothes are nothing to write home about.



















And, if you're thinking about going into Show Bizzz, you might want to get a tattoo that's a little less conspicuous. But I suppose she's competing with her husband's face.

I also thought Michael Johns was really goo........Oops! We're out of time! Anyway, I like the blues and I thought that he did a really good job with the song. (I wrote that really fast.)

As far as who goes, I don't really give a rip if it's Ramiele, Syesha, or Kristy. They're all really boring, but at least watching Kristy is like watching a train wreck. You don't want to miss whatever really bad thing is going to happen.

But all is well that will end well with Kristy, whether she goes this week or the next. I'm sure some record label in Nashville will sign her, because she has "the look". And that's all you need, really. Either "the look" or "the personality". Kellie Pickler has "the personality"; Kristy has "the look". We'll worry about "the voice" some other time.


Thursday, March 27, 2008

A.I. - Yi! Yi! Yi!

Hey, I thought the contestants were supposed to get better over time!

What the hell happened this week?? Granted, they had to choose songs from the year they were born. And I guess it's not their fault that they were born in crappy years. Still.....

But then, who am I to talk? If I had to sing a song from the year I was born, it would be, apparently, either:

The Yellow Rose Of Texas
Autumn Leaves
Rock Around The Clock
Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing

or my two favorites:

The Ballad Of Davy Crockett
and
Sixteen Tons
"You load sixteen tons; whaddya get? Another year older and deeper in debt"

Yea, let's do that one!

And in a Tennessee Ernie Ford deep bass voice. With, of course, the finger-snapping.

So, in retrospect, I guess the songs they sang this week weren't that crappy after all.

But I digress.

I'm not going to give a rundown of each performanzzzzzzz..............Oops! Because, most of them were snoozers.

But let me highlight a few things that I noticed this week.....

Jason, Jason, Jason........You gotta step it up, kid! What the heck? Did you take some Nytol before your big number? I was afraid you were gonna slide off that stool; you were so sleepy.

I like Jason as much as the next person. I think he's got a goofy, Vinny Barbarino-type personality. You be the judge:





But, c'mon, Jason! You can do better, so DO BETTER!

And now a word about Kristy Lee Cook. Yes, Simon was right; she did make a very clever song choice. Hey, if you're on the ropes, go patriotic! However, she frankly didn't do a very good job on the song. I think, to sing that song well, you need to have some power in your voice. She didn't, really.

Compare:






The other thing that was impossible to miss, during the show, were the BLINDING WHITE LIGHTS!!! while Michael Johns was performing (!)



My eyesight still hasn't quite returned to normal.

So, I guess they were really pushing Michael this week, you think? YIKES! But, to me, while he sang on key and everything, he seemed to be saying, "See what a good singer I am?" I'm reminded of the line that Simon used awhile back, addressing a different contestant; "You're not as good as you think you are."

Which leads me to..........DAVID COOK!!! Give it up!! I pegged it awhile back, before all the hype and hoopla, so props to me! I'm glad others have come to realize how good he is!

In conclusion, the best performance this week occurred during the results show.

I didn't know anything about this artist, because I did not watch Season 2 of AI, but I was mightily impressed.

Here's Kimberley Locke:



(P.S. This could be recorded as a modern country song.)

EDIT: Oops, I guess it HAS been recorded as a country song. What do I know? I don't listen to the radio. Sorry.













Thursday, March 20, 2008

American Idol - Week Whatever

I didn't think it was possible to make the Beatles songs sound crappy, but apparently, it's do-able.

Admittedly, the contestants only had 28 songs to choose from (for some reason), but it's not so much their choice of songs, but rather their hideous performances (for the most part).

I'm not going to rehash all the diatribes that have been written about Kristy Lee Cook. Suffice it to say, she's never heard Beatles songs before?? Seriously??

And one more thing, Kristy ~ Don't change the melody to a well-known and beloved song of the sixties. You were apparently trying to make it sound country, but all you succeeded in doing was ruining a great song.

But enough about her.

As I was thinking about this week's installment of AI, I started to wonder about something.....Has any contestant made it all the way through by only singing ballads? Because it occurs to me, even this early in the game, that the outcome is sort of a foregone conclusion. Simply because all the "tweens" have obviously made their choice, and they appear to be very single-minded in their adoration.

But what happens if the little guy actually is forced to sing an up-tempo number at some point during the competition? Will it matter? Will it make any difference? Cuz he only has one strong suit, and that's ballads.

Don't get me wrong. I think he's a really good singer. But let me point this out once again......

Isn't it about who is gonna sell records? Who's commercial? Face it, out of six previous seasons, there are only two winners who are actually selling records. And I may be wrong, but I think only those two even have record deals anymore. Oh, excuse me. I guess Jordin still has her deal (duh ~ for now). Oh sure, people were all a-twitter about Mr. Soul Patrol, for example. But did he sell any records? No.

And once the newness wears off, our youngster isn't going to sell records, either.

So, if you're looking at the whole thing objectively, there's one, maybe two, contestants who are, in fact, commercial. I don't know why people keep forgetting that aspect of it. It seems like a no-brainer. I guess everyone just gets caught up in the competition and/or the "cuteness" of the Idol wanna-be's.

And, P.S. to those who are pimping Carly. She had a record deal, and sold 200, count 'em, 200 CD's.

So, to rehash this week's performances, they went something like this:

Blah, blah, blah, YIKES! Blah, blah, blah, ISH. Blah, HEY! Then Blah.

(I might have them somewhat out of order of their actual appearance.)

Once again, let's give it up for David Cook (commercial!)

And no, he actually is as good as he thinks he is, Simon.

But to give the little guy his due, this was, to me, begrudgingly, the best performance of the night:




A couple of postscripts, if I may:
  • For those who were so enthralled by Syesha's performance of "Yesterday", she didn't hit the high notes. And frankly, I fast-forwarded through the second half of her song, because, let's face it, everyone, including my cat, has done that song at one time or another. And, trust me, Bob Cat is just morose enough to pull it off.
  • We can quibble as to whether Kristy or Amanda should have been kicked off first, but I will say that Amanda did not sing one note on key through the entire song. So, comme ci, comme ça, as my dad would say.