Hooray for a Day Off!

In honor of my day off:

And I forgot to mention in the Talky, if you have any comments or suggestions regarding the new blog layout, or something you'd like to see in the header picture, please let me know via the comment box! And as always comment away!

Stop Snowing!

I can't believe it's really snowing again. I honestly thought we were done getting snow this winter. Well, I was wrong.

I think I'm getting sick. I had dinner yesterday at 4:30, and then by 12:30 at night, I wasn't hungry. That's 8 hours later. I should have been hungry. And then I couldn't sleep. I was awake till about 4:45 AM.

I'm sorry that the Idol Wrap-Ups kinda died out. With Urinetown rehearsals, I just can't watch it which sucks. I got to see the last half hour last night, and I was disappointed in my David. I still think he'll win, but it was not very good last night. I also miss Danny. Jason Castro did amazingly well last night too, as did Brooke White.

Well, I'm off to go eat some dinner. Have a great day!

Sad Panda

OK, so he wasn't my favorite, but I liked Danny Noriega. In my opinion, Chikezie should have gone. Whatever.

Hilarity:

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Oh My Goodness!

I can't believe I haven't posted since being back at JSC! Clearly, I've been busy and distracted. Things are good up here in Northern Vermont.

Yesterday was the busiest day of my life. Thursday is looking to be pretty damn busy too. Today wasn't so bad, and tomorrow might be all canceled.

Rayshelle, Tara and I worked on our Boom Boom dance tonight for the dance show. We got 30 seconds done.

Now I'm relaxing and sitting in my room watching CNN. Hillary is making a comeback! It's really damn close! Obama won Vermont, but I saw that coming. She won RI. Ohio and Texas are really close.

I wasn't able to watch Idol tonight because of Urinetown rehearsal. I'm gonna watch the performances on YouTube though. Unfortunately, this probably means the end of my taking notes. It lasted longer than it did last year, but the musical just takes up too much of my time.

I'm gonna go snack and watch the returns from the primaries come in! Good night!!

If You Reach For The Stars...

So I went over to Chelsey's house last night. Well, it was really afternoon/evening. I got there around 4:45. She has two kids, Rhiannon and James, and they're so freaking fun I can't even stand it. James was a little worried at first because he doesn't really know me very well. Chelsey said she thought me might have been thinking that I was a babysitter and that would mean she was leaving. Once he realized everyone was staying, he came around.

They were both fun to play with. Rhiannon kept calling me into the bedroom to watch Finding Nemo with her. I got to play with them in their room, and it was super fun. We got pizza for dinner, and as soon as her husband, Jay, left, Chelsey and I put Roseanne on. We watched that for a while. Then at 7, they put James to bed and around 7:30 Rhiannon went to sleep.

We watched Survivor at 8. I'm not really getting terribly into this season. Don't get me wrong, I love the show still, but there's nobody I'm really rooting for. Maybe as it progresses I'll find someone.

At 9, it was time for me to leave. When I got home, I was really tired from driving so much. It's not a long drive, but when you're not used to driving so much it tires you out.

I watched the first episode of ANTM last night too. So I'm only one behind on that. I don't really have any favorites on that show yet either, but we haven't seen any photo shoots yet.

I went to lunch with mom today. Bob's Fried Clams opened back up. It was really good. Lots of people, not many seats, but good food.

Not much else to say. Doing laundry and packing up tomorrow. Heading back to JSC on Sunday. Talk to ya tomorrow!

______________________________
UPDATE!!!


Before I forget and it's too late:
Top 10 Guys:
Michael Johns - Go Your Own Way. Kind of shaky beginning. Pitch problems. Flat. Not so great.
Jason Castro - I Just Want to Be Your Everything. Guitar = good idea. Nice voice, a couple pitch problems here and there. Overall quite nice.
Luke Menard - Killer Queen. I always forget him. Too high for his range. Not very good. Got better toward the end.
Robbie Carrico - Hot Blooded. Better last week. Not amazing. Didn't bring it. Should still be here next week. (I was wrong.)
Danny Noriega - Superstar. Song is too low for him. A little breathy in places. Got better in the middle.
David Hernandez - Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Kinda sketchy vocally. Didn't bring it. Could have done a lot more. Good ending.
Jason Yeager - Long Train Running. Something weird at first during the verse. The refrain got better. Not amazing.
Chikeze - I Believe to My Soul. Good this week. Nice voice, not many pitch things.
David Cook - All Right Now. Curious... I don't know if rocker voice is suiting him. Not 100% terrible, but not great either. He's a good guitarist.
David Archuleta - Imagine. Such an amazing voice. He has to win. I love his interpretation. Very strong, but also mellow.

Haircut

I got my haircut today! It looks nice. I am very pleased. Thanks, Chelsey!!

I'm going over her house tomorrow night to watch Survivor. I don't know if I'm going to get to watch all the girls perform tonight on Idol. Matt is going to call me when he gets out of work, and then I'm going over to his house. So if he calls me during the show, then I won't be able to finish it all. I don't really care about the girls anyway. David Archuleta is going to win. If he gets kicked off at any point, then I'm going to stop watching.

That's all for today! Notes and wrap-up tomorrow night!

It's Coming!

I'm sorry it is taking so long for the Idol Wrap-Up this week. I don't think I'm gonna bother with the girls because we've already been privy to the results. I promise though that as soon as I'm feeling better (I'm kinda sick by the way), I will record the Talky, because I do want to talk about the guys.

For anyone who has ever read Ross Mathews' blog, tonight is the First Annual RossBlog Talky Awards. And I couldn't be more excited.

Have a good night, bloggers!

American Idol - Top 12 Guys!

Hey everyone! I'm actually on my way out right now to class. I said last night that I would have the Idol Wrap-Up tonight, but then I remembered, I'm not going to get to see the Top 12 Girls tonight. So I have to watch them tomorrow. For now, I'll put up my notes about the Top 12 Guys, and I'll record a Talky about it when I get back from class. Then, tomorrow, I'll watch the girls, write notes, film a Talky, watch the results show, finish the Talky, edit it, then post it. So in short, you'll get my notes about the Top 12 Guys today, and everything else Thursday. I'll update this post later with the notes. I gotta get to class. Bye y'all!
______________________________
UPDATE!!

Top 12 Guys

David Hernandez - Midnight Hour. Good voice, not very energetic. Kind of lackluster and forgettable. Sour note at end. Safe choice.
Chikeze - More Today Than Yesterday. Kind of flat. Boring, not a great voice. Won't make Final 12.
David Cook - Happy Together. Kind of weird voice. Brought it though. Entertaining. Got better as it went on.
Jason Yeager - Moon River. Great song. Strong voice. Best to this point. Very well-done.
Robbie Carrico - One. Strong, fantastic, best now.
David Archuleta - Shop Around. Such amazing vocals. He is my favorite. I think he'll win.
Danny Noriega - Jailhouse Rock. Amazing, strong, didn't know he could rock. Bitched out Simon. (I'll talk about this kid a lot in the Talky)
Luke Menard - Everybody's Talkin'. Nice voice. Not a very memorable performance. Not a great last note. Sharp.
Colton Berry - Suspicious Minds. Great voice, nice performance. Good song choice.
Garrett Haley - Breaking Up is Hard to Do. Too slow, boring, flat, not so great. Sanjaya?? End got better.
Jason Castro - Daydream. Good voice. I really like him. Guitar player. Messed up the end.
Michael Johns - Light My Fire. Strong rocker voice, but not the best. Still very good, made it his own.

Look for the Talky on Friday!

Tomorrow Night...

American Idol Wrap-Up will be tomorrow night...

American Idol Top 24!

The Top 24 was finally revealed tonight! My favorites made it, did yours?

Top 12 Girls:
Alaina Whitaker
Alex Lushington
Amanda Overmyer
Carly Smithson
Amy Davis
Brooke White
Kristy Lee Cook
Kady Malloy
Ramielle Malubay
Syesha Mercado
Joanne Borgella
Asia'h Epperson

Top 12 Guys:
Chikeze Eze
Colton Berry
Danny Noriega
David Archuletta
David Cook
David Hernandez
Garret Haley
Jason Castro
Jason Yeager
Luke Menard
Michael Lee Johns
Robbie Carrico

The only person I was disappointed about was Josiah Leming. I really thought he'd get another chance. Oh, well, can't win them all. Not much to say about tonight, it was basically the contestants walking in a room and being told yes or no. I was glad that Kyle Ensley didn't make it. He seemed like a nice guy, but he would have been another Sanjaya. My pick right now is David Archuletta. He's amazing.

American Idol - Hollywood: Night One!

First night in Hollywood on Idol tonight! This is one of my favorite parts of the process. It's the first time we really get to see the contestants' abilities to perform.

They changed the way Hollywood week works this year. There are four rounds. Tonight we saw the first three. Round 1: The contestants sing a song by themselves. They can use an instrument if they choose. If they get a majority of "Yes-es" from the judges, they bypass Round 2, and they are automatically in Round 3. Round 2: The contestants who got a majority of "No's" from the judges had to line up in groups of 10 and sing a song a capella. They were then either cut or they moved on. Right then. Round 3: The contestants sang a song with the band and three backup singers. They were then told right then whether or not they'd move on to Round 4 (The Top 50). Round 4: The judges narrow the Top 50 down to the Top 24, 12 boys and 12 girls. Round 4 is tomorrow night.

Here's a Talky followed by my notes.

Hollywood: Night One -
*Bold = got pass to Round Three*
Round One:
Brooke White - Original thoughts: "Very good. She's going to do well. I liked her a lot." Tonight: Played piano, I like her a lot.
Lorena Pinot - I don't know if we saw her originally, I missed the first 10 minutes of the Miami auditions. Not very good though.
Amy Flynn - Original thoughts: "Abstinence girl. Kinda sketchy vocally." Tonight: Cracked.
Leo Marlowe - Original thoughts: "Great voice." Tonight: Nope, forgettable.
Alisha Dixon - Angry. Not great.
Michael Sanfillipo - Original thoughts: "Very nice. Watch out." Tonight: A little sharp.
Alyssa Coco - No.
Shaun Barrowes - Yuck.
Jake Mellema - Not bad. I like the song.
David Hernandez - I like his initial audition (we didn't see it before). Very nice. Love it. He'll go far.
Amanda Overmyer - Original thoughts: "Janis Joplin. Good. Watch for her." Tonight: Rocker. Not so good. I don't like. Kinda funky.
Buck Smith - Forgot words. High?
Natashia Blach - Forgot words. Weird voice.
Ghaleb Emachah - Original thoughts: "Not good. Very bad. Yuck. I don't know why they put him through. Oh, yeah, Paula's high again." Tonight: So bad. Why is he here? Flat.
Josiah Leming - Original thoughts: "Lives in car. Something about him is intriguing. Sounds nasally and warbly." Tonight: MIKA! So impressed! Favorite so far.
Carly Smithson - Original thoughts: "Not fabulous, but pretty good." Tonight: Good. Little sharp.
Michael Johns - Original thoughts: "Australian. Kinda rockish. I like him. 'White soul singer' - Simon." Tonight: Like him. Good.
David Cook - Original thoughts: "Reminiscent of Chris Daughtry." Tonight: A little strained. Good voice though. I like him.
Robbie Carrico - Original thoughts: "Former boy-bander. Turned to rock. Nice voice. I like him." Tonight: Nice voice.
Jessica Brown - Original thoughts: "Recovering drug addict; two kids. Very good singer." Tonight: Good voice.
Perrie Cataldo - Original thoughts: "Single father from Arizona. Very nice voice." Tonight: Not the best.
Syesha Mercado - Not great.
Colton Barry - Good.
Kyle Ensley - Original thoughts: "Interesting... Bad song choice. Politics guy. I don't know about this." Tonight: Not so great. Corny.

Round Two:
Suzanne Toon - Summertime. Good. (Cut)
Perrie Cataldo - Better now. (Cut)
Amy Flynn - Good voice. Weird notes. Pretty. (Cut)
Angela Martin - So sad. I like her. (Cut)
Jeffrey and Michelle Lampkins - He's through, she's cut.
Kristy Lee Cook - Watch her.

Round Three:
*Bold = moved on to Round 4*
David Archuleta - Original thoughts: "Possible conflict with Star Search. Really good. Loved him... Watch for him."
Kyle Ensley - Better now. He could go on.
Jeffrey Lampkin - Very bad.
Joey Catalano - Original thoughts: "Good. Will get to sing live, won't make it far after that." Tonight: I was wrong. Not so great.
Syesha Mercado - Wow. Good. Strong.
Michael Johns - Song is too high. Not awful though.
Carly Smithson - Good. Bland. Bring some personality.
Asia'h Epperson - Original thoughts: "Amazing song. Not the right choice, good voice. She'll go far." Tonight: Good.
Brooke Helvie - Original thoughts: "Powerful voice. Better than I expected." Tonight: Too much. Good voice. Way too high note.
Josiah Leming - Making stuff up. Still love him.

Some of the folks I expect to see in the Top 24 are: Asia'h Epperson, David Archuleta and Kristy Lee Cook. Josiah Leming might make it in, but I'm not sure. I can't wait until tomorrow night to find out!!!

American Idol - Atlanta Auditions and Best/Worst

OK folks, it's time once again for:



Atlanta -
Joshua Jones - Don't Stop Me Now. Weird demonic eye thing, had to sing backwards. Not too great. Won't go too far.
JP Tjemeland - Rascal Flatts song. Not good. Weird.
Asia'h Epperson - How Do I Live? Amazing song. Not the right choice, good voice. She'll go far.
Brooke Helvie - When I'm Loving You. Powerful voice. Better than I expected.
Eva Miller - A Thousand Miles. Terrible. Fell over. I thought it was an act, but she insisted it wasn't. Whatever.
Alexandrea Lushinton - My Funny Valentine. 16 years old. Very good. Love her.
Michael Gregory - Strange.
Chris Lars - Huh?
Jared Wiley - What?
Nathan Hite - Not good. Does sound like the song though.
Amanda Overmyer - Mean Woman. Janis Joplin. Good. Watch for her.
Josiah Leming - Lives in car. Something about him is intriguing. Sounds nasally and warbly.

Best of/Worst of -
Amy Davis - Blue Bayou. Wonderful voice. Strong. Like her. I don't think she'll go far.
Tiffany McCampbell - "Voice from God". Strong, but very pushed. Very flat. Not good. "Does He have a returns policy? If I was given that, I'd give it back." -- Simon.
Cory and Chris Lane - Twins. Rapped. I don't know if they can sing though.
Ashley Lawing - Has a puppy. Simon wants her. Can't really sing.
Cardin Lee McKinney - Something from Dreamgirls. Strong voice. Not my favorite. I wouldn't listen to her record.
JoAnne Borgella - I Love You. Nice voice. I like her. She'll do well.
Alesha Stelzl - Kind of nasal. Can sing. Needs training. Too young. Don't like her. Got a second chance to sing a Dolly Parton song. Did better on her second chance.
Brandi Gregorie - Weird striptease.
Joshua Moreland - Very nice. R&B feel. Kinda weird high thing. Not bad. I don't know.
Chikeze Eze - Not bad at all. I like him.
Danny Noriega - Sang the song too slow, but good voice. I like him, he's cute. Watch out!

I didn't do a Talky Blog about it. Sorry folks. I'm just too tired, and I pretty much say the same things that I do in my notes. Next week is Hollywood. I don't exactly know how I'll take notes, but I'll have a list of all the people we've seen that moved on right next to me.

Have a good one, bloggers!

American Idol - Omaha and Miami Auditions

OK, people. It's time for:

Omaha -
Where's Paula...?
Chris Bernheisel - Brought bribes. Since You Been Gone. Weird dancing and flips. Got a reporting deal.
Jason Rich - When You Say Nothing at All. Really nice, soft voice. Raspy a little. Pushed a bit. Forgot the words. If he can manage to remember the words, I'd say watch for him.
Rachael Wicker - Leann Womack song. Great voice. Love. It. Very surprised she didn't move on.
Sarah Whitaker - Lady Morgue. Spongebob song. Horrible voice.
Samantha Sidley - Don't Know Why. Interesting. I like her a lot. Watch out for her.
Elizabeth Erkert - Good.
Michael Sanfillipo - Very nice. Watch out.
Anjelica Puente - Sob story. Very good. Power of Love. Strong voice.
David Cook - Reminiscent of Chris Daughtry.
Johnny Escamilla - Shout. Simon- "Everything I hated."
Leo Marlowe - A Song for You. Great voice.
Paula was messed up tonight...

Miami -
*Note-I missed about 10 minutes*
Shannon McGough - Belcher. Cry Baby. Very strange. Not good.
Robbie Carrico - Former boy-bander. Turned to rock. Nice voice. I like him.
Ghaleb Emacach - Marc Antony song. Not good. Very bad. Yuck. I don't know why they put him through. Oh, yeah, Paula's high again.
Corliss Smith - Not amazing. But she can sing.
Brittany Wescot - I like her better. My Guy. Watch for her.
Ben Hausbach - Monotone.
Corey Bertha - Over the top.
Grant Rhea - "Come back in a dress."
Richard Valles - Light, nasally, too high. Strange.
Julie Dubela - Was on American Juniors, made top 20. Bobby McGee. Not Janis, but she made it her own. Strong voice. Better on AJ.
Brandon Black - Very strange entrance. Very falsetto, something interesting though. A little nasally, strange.

American Idol - San Diego and Charleston Auditions

OK, Blog Buddies. Here's my American Idol Wrap-up for San Diego and Charleston. Enjoy. (Don't mind my plea for a Flip Cam. Just ignore it. Really. Even a 30-minute. White or black only. I don't want any crazy colors. Just saying.) Moving along:

Anyway, here are my notes:
San Diego -
Tetyana Ostapowych - Someone to Watch Over Me. Very good. Love her. Watch for her.
Perrie Cataldo - Single father from Arizona. Very nice voice.
Michael Johns - Australian. Kinda rockish. I like him. "White soul singer" - Simon.
Marat Hayrapetyan - Awful, terrible.
Christopher Mitchell - Sang way too high.
Tehilla Lauder - Weird.
Valerie Reyes - Mariah Carey wannabe. Not good at all. Screaming.
Joseph and Juanita - Mexican and mime?
Monique Gibson - I Believe in Miracles (Whitney Houston). Not good. Really strange. She freaked out.
Christopher Baker - Sang the same song. Just as bad. Tried to sing too many songs.
Samantha Musa - Aretha song. Very good. She and her sister obsessed with Simon. Watch for her.
Blake Boshnak - Eleventh time auditioning. Stand By Me. Decently good. Not amazing. Thought he'd move on.
Alberto Hurtado - Whackjob. Original song. Long nails. "Most depressing song" - Simon.
Aaron Garrett - Very strange. Leave Me Alone.
David Archuleta - Vocal paralysis. Possible conflict with Star Search. Really good. Loved him. Waiting on the World to Change. Watch for him.
Carly Smithson - I'm Every Woman. Not fabulous, but pretty good.

Charleston -
Raysharde Henderson - Not bad, did some weird thing with his voice.
DeAnna Prevatte - Hmm. Interesting. Has a voice.
Randy Stark & Crystal Ortiz - Dating. Really awkward voice.
Michelle & Jeffery Lampkin - Very good together. Alone? I'm not sure. I like them.
Amy Flynn - Abstinence girl. Kinda sketchy vocally.
London Weidberg - Not amazing. I don't think she'll make it past Hollywood.
Lyndsey Goodman - Black Velvet. Very nice voice, a little bit strained and screamy.
Aretha Codner - Very large tatas. Strong voice, but pushed and mainly flat.
Joshua Boson - Whackjob. Sang And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. Extremely f-ed up.
Oliver Highman - Good voice. Had baby day before. Shouldn't go into falsetto. Warbly.

And that's it. Take my critiques with a grain of salt. It's just my opinion. I don't know these people and I don't have anything against them personally. Just my predictions based on previous seasons and a year and a half of college music.

Have a great night or day, whenever it is you're reading this!

Just Thought I'd Share

American Idol - Dallas Auditions

The second set of auditions for American Idol were tonight. They still didn't blow me away. They didn't show a lot of people who moved on, but they also didn't show a lot of crazy people tonight. Enjoy my Talky Blog about it.



Detailed Notes:
Jessica Brown - Recovering drug addict; two kids. Very good singer. She sang I'll Stand By You. She's someone to look out for.
Paul Stafford - Roller coaster enthusiast. Nice guy, bad voice. Terrible really. Sang Wait For You.
Beth Maddocks - Somewhat nasal, not good. Sang Kelly Clarkson's Beautiful Disaster.
Alaina Whitaker - Good, strong voice. Stronger.
Gregory & Mia Tobias - Terrible. I don't even know what to say.
Bruce Dickson - Never kissed a girl? Please, even I have. Decent voice, not spectacular. Ain't No Sunshine. I would have put him through.
Zpia Easley - Gladys Knight song. Pretty good, low voice. Very strong. Watch for her.
Brandon Green - Decent, not amazing. He'll make it far though.
Kayla Hatfield - Janis Joplin song. Not great, not good. I don't know. She won't get too far.
Tristan Clements - Not 100% awful, but pretty bad.
Kady Malloy - Vocal impressions; nice voice. Sang like Britney Spears (ew), Carrie Underwood, and sang Unchained Melody.
Douglas Davidson - Awful, funny warmups. Sang Living on a Prayer. He was hilarious. Loved it.
Angela Reilly - Had a model husband. Not 100% great, but not awful. Sang Baby Love and Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
Kyle Ensley - Interesting... Bad song choice. Politics guy. I don't know about this.
Tammy Tuzinski - Very strange... Sang Power of Love.
Colton Swon - Very good, may go far. Sang Boondocks.
Drew Poppelreiter - Sounds like Hank Williams. Very good.
Kyle Reinnek - Rocker guy, kinda strange. Didn't sing well.
Nina Shaw - Not amazing, but good. Old-fashioned. Sang Run To You. Her jazz side was better.
Renaldo Lapuz - 44 years old. Sang original song We Are Brothers Forever. Not good. Looked like a Liberace knock off. He was hilarious. Loved it. They brought Ryan in.

That's all. Good night.

American Idol - Philadelphia Auditions

So tonight were the first set of auditions for American Idol 7. Before it premiered, sources said that this year the focus would be the good auditions rather than the bad ones. For some reason, I didn't see that. There were still tons of bad auditions. I discuss it in this Talky Blog!



Detailed Notes:
Joey Catalano - Good. Will get to sing live, won't make it far after that.
Alaa Youkaeem (sp.?) - "Sexy face", bad. Sang How Deep is Your Love? by "Mr. The Bee-Gees"
Melanie Nyema - Decent. I don't see her going far based on this audition. Sang Unwritten.
James Lewis - This guy was hysterical. He sang Go Down, Moses and was terrible.
Zhengzhong Yu - Terrible. He sang All the Pretty Little Horses. It was just awful.
Junot Joyner - Good. Sang The Blues by Elton John. I'm not sure he'll make it too far.
Jose Candelaria - Pretty good. Sang a song in Spanish that I've heard in English.
Temptress Brown - Oh, my god. This girl was such a sad story. She plays football and her mom is very ill in a wheelchair. She tried to sing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. She was not good, but they treated her very nicely.
Udi Sampeet - Very bad. He was a singing accountant.
Alexis Cohen - Not 100% awful. She was crazy though. Rocker chick. Sang Don't You Want Somebody to Love.
Angela Martin - Has a child with RETTs. Sang very well. Sang Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
Milo Turk - First off, he was 39-years-old. He sang his own original song, No Sex Allowed. Very bad.
Kristy Lee Cook - Very good. She sang Amazing Grace. I see her going pretty far and doing well.
Ben Haar - OK, he was awful. He had a cloak and dressed up like Princess Leia. He tried to sing Don't Ya Wish Your Girlfriend. Paula told him he should wax his chest. So he went out, waxed and came back.
Paul Marturano - Paula Abdul stalker. Holy crap! He freaked me out. SKETCHY!
Beth Stalker - Very nice. Didn't sing a very memorable song (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered), but she sang very nicely. She'll do well.
Chris Watson - Decent. Not the best. He'll go far though because of his looks.
Christina Tolisano - Another nutso. She thought she was Princess Leia too. She got all upset because they didn't take her. She couldn't sing, but she thought they thought she was a dork. Which she was.
Brooke White - Very good. She's going to do well. I liked her a lot.

And that's my take on the first night. Names in bold moved on to Hollywood.