American Idol

So it’s Disco Night on American Idol and the battle is on! Not between the contestants, but between the producers and the clock. We get no context as to how Idol defines disco. Was it time frame? Artists? Instrumentation? We’ll never know; we can only suppose a guess. One thing I know about this week’s episode is that I’m sorely disappointed in the lack of MacArthur Park in this week’s episode. Come on, kids! Carrie Underwood did it. Sigh. I guess it’s up to me…. Lil Rounds — I’m Every Woman by Chaka Khan Spring was never waiting for us, […]

Quentin Tarantino thinks he knows who is going to leave. Of course he does. We all have an idea of who is going to leave. But are we right? Only 55 minutes of filler stands between America and the answer. We start off with the Ford commercial, which features Idols on magazine covers singing “Freeze Frame.” Then we move into the group sing of Michael Sembello’s “Maniac.” Where’s Jennifer Beals when you need her? Adam and Danny get to sing from the big American Idol towers. Matt did a twirl — we’re featuring Matt a lot in this episode. A […]

Given the theme of this week’s American Idol — songs from the Movies — and the fact that Quentin Tarantino will be the ‘mentor’ to the Idol kids, do you think we should just hand the week over to Adam? I mean, seriously, songs that largely have a dramatic arc and a freakish mentor? That’s a total gimme for Adam to screw up. So according to Vote For The Worst, we’re going to be treated to two — TWO — Bryan Adams songs. Blech. Have I mentioned lately that I can’t stand Bryan Adams? Can’t. Stand. Him. What on earth […]

Before we get started, I need to share this clip. Adam Lambert fans, you’re welcome: Paula’s dressed like a corpse bride in a prom dress, complete with white satin gloves. I fast-forwarded through it, but for some reason Frankie Avalon is singing “Venus.” It just reminds me of a naughty joke version by Kevin Meany. The other song rhymes with Venus… Oh, Frankie is singing that song because it was released the year Simon was born. The kids are ‘singing’ “Can’t Get You Outta My Head” by Kylie Minogue. I think they’re actually singing this one, ’cause Lil was not […]

Danny Gokey — Stand By Me by Ben E King This song is a bit of a stretch for the whole ‘year you were born’ thing. The song was written about 20 years before Danny Gokey was born. Ok, so he’s doing the version from the movie. Whatever, it’s still a stretch. Danny does not start off well. I’m not sure if he’s ever gone first before, so he may not be ready for it. He also does this really slow drawn-out beginning and moves into a really boring adult contemporary middle. Yawn. I may be the target demo for […]

by Ruth Anne Boulet The group number for today’s elimination is “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. Did you know that Randy Jackson played with Journey? Did you? I once had my neighbor’s friends show up, blasting that song and driving up on the lawn. I almost thought the kids were singing. Then I saw Scott. Sigh. At least they gave him something to do in the song, instead of dragging him around the stage. I’m sure he’s much more comfortable there, too. That way, he doesn’t have to deal with the awkward ‘stand in a triangle, then move up to […]

Is there some reason that every contestant and Ryan Seacrest all had Apple earbuds in during their radio interview? Do they wear them 24/7? Can they unplug for one second? I’m also contemplating starting a Kara DioGuardi drinking game — every time she says ‘artistry.’ Who’s with me? Because American Idol has clamped down the rights to videos from the show, I’ll be sharing videos from the original artists. Take that, Idol. Oh, yeah, and go to iTunes and blah, blah, blah. Anoop Desai — Caught Up by Usher Anoop begins his song with a wall of backup singers guarding […]

by Ruth Anne Boulet Simon Cowell wants to clear up that he did not blow off the President. Duly noted Simon — you never got an invitation to have dinner with the president. And now that American Idol has come clean with the whole lip-synching of the group numbers, this week they’re not even trying. Horrible lip-synching, coupled with the fact that the whole routine was obviously pre-filmed without an audience. These kids don’t even need to learn choreography other than hand movements — we’ll just throw in pictures of Motown greats! Brilliant!

by Ruth Anne Boulet Have I mentioned that I hate the new intro to the show? I’m sick of the ‘judges walk’ with the booming voice over. Randy & Kara talked about how tough it was to see Alexis go. Apparently not so tough that they used their ‘magic judges save.’ We get an introduction to Motown, which is interesting enough. The Idols get to go to Detroit & meet Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson. But then Smokey flies back to coach the kids in the Idol mansion. Matt Giraud — Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye Matt is […]

by Ruth Anne Boulet I’ll start with the cheesy group number. Trouble! Yeah! The guys start the cheesiness off. I do not believe for one second that they are singing live on stage. The girls are behind the judges for some reason. I do not believe they’re singing either. Apparently Idol has decided to cut these kids a break & pre-record all of the cheesy group numberness. Either that, or I’ve just never noticed the lip-syncing until now. For some reason, Ryan has a water balloon. Apparently Ford is advocating using water balloons as a cleaning tool when washing one’s […]