Tonight’s episode of American Idol features the last round of Hollywood Week eliminations.
I AM SO FAKE EXCITED!
(Sorry. But our internet is being VERY MOODY right now, and I’m sort of frustrated by that even though I know that the spotty internet is NOT a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but still. Frustrated.)
(Stupid human-ness.)
Anyway.
Adam Lambert kicked off the festivities with a ballad-y rendition of Cher’s “Believe,†but I didn’t think he was nearly as good as Matt Giraud, to whom I am pledging my undying Idol allegiance thanks to his slammin’ version of “Georgia on My Mind.†LOVE HIM A MILLION TIMES.
Jamar Rogers was totally quirky and endearing and interesting – so much more than a run-of-the-mill Idol contestant. Then his buddy Danny Gokey took the stage and won me over with a bluesy version of “I Hope You Dance,” and that is saying something considering that I don’t ever have to hear that song again in my whole life ever, I don’t care how cute LeeAnn Womack’s daughters were in the video. IT’S CALLED RADIO OVERKILL, MY FRIENDS.
Anoop Desai broke it down with some old-school Bobby B. (say it with me, Whitney fans: “BOBBY BEEEEEEEEâ€). Anoop is FryDaddy‘s favorite, so I’m anticipating some heated discussions this season regarding Anoop v. Matt: IDOL SHOWDOWN ’09. We may even have to stage a formal debate, but I’ll settle for some good old fashioned trash talking.
The first female contestant of the night was Kendall Beard, a darlin’ girl who made the ambitious decision to sing “Before He Cheats” – a song that’s great for Carrie Underwood but maybe not the best choice for an audition. Lil Rounds, on the other hand, handled Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You†with no problem at all. She’ll be in it for the long haul, I think.
And then there’s Tatiana. Who really defies any description I could possibly offer.
Joanna Pacitti, bless her heart, completely forgot her lyrics, but I thought she scatted the song beautifully. After Joanna we were subjected to one was-it-good-enough performance after another as the contestants were divided into rooms where they’d wait to learn their Idol fate.
[I’m pausing for dramatic effect.]
[Because the waiting is always very dramatical.]
The first group that made it through to the next round included cute little Jasmine Murray from Starkville, so I was tickled to pieces about that.
The second room found out that they didn’t make it, and I was sad to see Leneshe Young in that group. I actually liked her version of “Love Song†by Sara Bareilles, but apparently it wasn’t enough.
The third room – which included Danny, Anoop, Jamar, Matt and Lil – made it through, and that was really no shock at all considering the level of talent in that partitioned ballroom. I think they’re what you would call THE FRONTRUNNERS.
The last room featured a wailing Tatiana, and surprisingly, her group made it through, too.
Tomorrow night is when we find out which 36 contestants we’ll be seeing once the real-live competition starts (Mr. Linky will be up for y’all to add your posts once the round of 36 begins), and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that everyone I mentioned from the third room will make it.
Tomorrow night also means that we’ll get to watch people take that endless elevator ride and then walk the 256 steps to the judges’ table for their “yay” or “nay.”
I adore those 256 steps.
So what about y’all? Do you have any favorites so far? Any predictions you’d like to share so that we can re-read your comment in May and then marvel at your Idol intelligence?
See y’all in the comments.
I totally agree with your frontrunners, but Danny is my fave so far.
And Tatiana…..OH.MY.WORD!!!
Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36.
I have three words to explain my two favorites – GROUP NIGHT HARMONY. (Love Jamar Rogers and Danny Gokey. Love them.)
As for Tatiana… I shall now join Tiffany in pray/ pleading. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36.
The thing about Tatiana is that she has a halfway decent voice… but her personality is about as bizarre as they come.
I don’t know that I could keep watching the show if she makes it in the 36… nails on a chalkboard comes to mind.
Ok…I have only just begun to watch this season since I’ve had NO time for TV lately….but I do want to say that I have heard some really good ones and some bad ones.
Now, I am not sure if the Sarver guy from Jasper TX is as good as all the others, but I hope he makes it far. We lived in Jasper for a while and hubby met him, but the main reason I hope he makes it pretty far is because I know it’s truly in his heart to do well.
ALSO…although I am not actually a native of Jasper, I want them to be known for something other than the dragging of a black man! The town really got a TERRIBLE wrap because of that!!!!
I have several favorites right now; love Lil and agree whole heartedly that she will be around for quite some time. And Danny? His story combined with his amazing voice- he will be around for a while as well. Love his friend too.
Ok, now. About Tatiana. What else is there to say? Bless her heart she just gets on my very last nerve.
Tatiana is not good and she is WAY annoying! I thought for sure they were taking her out of the room of keepers and putting her in the room of go home peeps. I also like the Breyze (?) great big bald guy from Oklahoma. Therefore I was nervous when they put Tatiana in there with him. So hopefully, she will go home tonight as I continue the former chant of “please don’t let Tatiana be in the final 36”!
3 Words.
TATIANA MUST GO.
And I look forward to an Anoop v. Matt showdown. Because that will be some AMAZING SINGING. Yes it will.
And I bid peace and goodwill to your Starkville girl. Because all good things come from Starkville. And Auburn. Amen.
One more time….with gusto!
“Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36! ”
( and the dramatic guy who crys all time and wears the stretchy headbands!???? )
I’ll continue the chant: Please don’t let Tatiana be in the final 36, please don’t let Tatiana be in the final 36.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the “Georgia on my Mind” guy!
I was VERY shocked Tatiana made it through. She won’t last long if she makes it far enough for America to decide (at least judging by the previous comments)!
Danny Gokey is my current favorite–a lot of great talent this year.
I really like Danny; truly talented and his story tugs at my heart.
As for Tatiana – *rolling eyes* – that’s all I’ve got to say about her. She doesn’t need American Idol — she needs Drama Idol.
My only hope is that when Tatiana makes her 526 steps, they tell her to keep on walking… right back home. I don’t know if I can stand to watch her week after week.
I am a huge fan of Danny Gokey.
Jamar is my fav. But I agree with your choices for front-runners. They are all so talented. It will be interesting to see how versatile they are if they get to the final 12. Song choice, people, song choice! :)
I’m convinced they keep people like Tatiana on the show for the drama. They know she’ll eventually be cut (like Bikini Girl… dare we even be reminded of her?) because she’s okay but not stellar, so they keep Tatiana because of the showcasing she does. If she makes it to the 36 I will SPLUTTER!!!
Danny, Scott, Michael, which one was Matt?? Is that Norman? Can’t rem. there’s still too many =)
Hollywood week is by far my favorite part of AI.
Imagine my utter horror and dismay last night when, after returning from a birthday party, I discovered that my beloved DVR had betrayed me and only recorded THE LAST TWO MINUTES of last night’s episode. DVR! I thought we had something special! Sure, it recorded all 60 minutes of 90210, but did I mention HOLLYWOOD WEEK IS MY FAVE?
I did not watch those last two minutes. Instead, I combed the Internet until I found the whole episode, commercial-free and streaming on a loop on some random website. I’m not sharing the site b/c I’m not so sure it was entirely legal. But there have been no blue lights in my driveway today, so I’m feeling more confident that I’m safe.
Anyway, all that to say I am not sure who I like yet. Sorry. LOL
Jasmine Murray…Starkville, Mississippi girl.
Yea!
SURELY we’ll be bidding farewell to Tatiana and Norm tonight…right?
Anoop
Matt
Lil
Danny
Danny’s friend
The guy who played the piano and forgot the words
I’m thinking there is NO WAY in heck they’ll let Tatiana in the 36. The producers have to know she would wreak havoc, possibly causing a riot or brawl or a catfight throwdown with all the crazydramadramadrama. Somebody would get their fill of that miss missy & tell her a thing or twelve. Lawdy me, keep us Tatiana free!
& I don’t know who is my fav. Haven’t found any stellar/standout female singers, maybe I haven’t paid close enough attention. Lots of interesting male singers. Definitely will pay better attention TONIGHT! Yah dawg yah. peace out.
Danny and Anoop, baby. I could leave all the women behind, sadly, and just do a male Idol. Seriously…not as much talent on this go ’round.
And Tatiana? M.e.d.i.c.a.t.i.o.n. needed.
I went to bed angry last night…not because Tatiana went through, BUT because I know they put her in the room with other good singers to terrify them. It was a game, pure and simple. And I thought that it totally took away any hope I had for the show this season. She could not sing and she whined and begged, which both go on my list as “NO WAY!”
They really should have chosen Leneshe Young instead.
I can NOT keep these contestants straight, but that may be in part because I’m Twittering while watching. Ahem. (Of course, I couldn’t keep Joey and Chandler on “Friends” straight for years, so I may just be “name challenged.”)
This is my third season watching AI (seasons 6, 7, and 8). Is Hollywood “Week” always three weeks long? It seems like they’ve been in Hollywood FOREVER. The last two seasons it didn’t seem quite so long.
I did find myself almost in tears last night at the end. Such drama. Really.
I am so afraid that Tatiana will end up in the top 36 and that she’ll develop some kind of bizarre cult following to match her bizarre personality, and she’ll become this season’s Sanjaya. Please oh please, don’t let that happen!
I love Danny and Jamar and Matt. The guys really are the standouts this year, with the exception of Lil Rounds.
Anoop.
That’s all.
I really liked Danny and Jamar (I hate “I Hope you dance” My hubby says if you dont’ feel small when you stand beside the ocean, you need to lose some weight… that pretty much killed the song for me. Along w/ hearing it every 2 seconds on the radio)
Seems to me like they have more male talent this year than in past years…
Danny is my fave- love his voice, love his story. I’m getting NOT-FAKE excited about getting to know our top 12 soon. :)
Tatiana reminds me of you.
Just kidding.
Or am I?
Could you PLEASE describe Tatiana for us, pretty please???
(My husband and I and 2 small children actually have contests to see who can do the best Tatiana impersonation!)
You didn’t tell us how you feel about the new “Judges’ Mansion”…
Could you PLEASE describe Tatiana for us, pretty please???
(My husband and 2 small children and I have contests to see who can do the most accurate impersonation of Tatiana!)
You didn’t tell us what you think about the new “Judges’ Mansion”…
Sorry for the double post!!!
Ok I give a big “DITTO” to everything you just said. And those boys at the beginning are all my faves (despite Adam’s slight song-choice-misstep). And if Tatiana makes it through after tonight, I might throw something and then maybe kick someone in the shins.
I never really pick my favorites until the live competitions. Because I am so picky when it comes to singers and I have a hard time keeping track of all 56748943445 of them. LOL.
But I can say that Tatiana drove me nuts last night….I was yelling SEND HER HOME to the TV. Hubs had to calm me down.
Ha! I’m with Heidi… we readers are really gonna need a description of Tatiana, and we may not be able to move forward with you, BooMama, if you don’t at least attempt it.
I am pretty much in agreement with all you said…and Tatiana, may I just repeat Tiffany and say…Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Please don’t let Tatiana be in the 36. Me and my mini me were watching when they switched her room, and she was a complete basket case, what was she doing with her hands when they came in. OK, I am not even going to mention her laugh…oh, I just did. Darn.
Love the recap! :)
However, I thought Lenesha was in Room 3???
My fave BY FAR is Matt!! I must admit, I’m a bit biased only because I go to the piano bar he plays at in Kalamazoo quite often, he’s phenomenal! But really, even if I didn’t “kind of” know him, he would still be my favorite! Any man that can play the piano, sing, and is good-lookin’… mmmm melts my heart!
Love, love, love Danny! And Anoop. And Lil.
But what about the Roughneck dude? He was pretty good. And I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Ann Marie Boskovitch. Simon’s totally in love with her and she will definitely make it through.
Add me to the mantra. Please don’t let Tatiana be number 36! That girl is some kind of CRAZY. Those judges better have some good bodyguards because she’ll be stalking them as soon as they let her go. Certifiable, that one.
I’m crazy about Anoop Desai. Love a smart boy who can sing!
I’m all about Anoop. Beautiful voice and he’s right down the road. Go Tar Heels!
Danny, Danny, Danny. Did I mention Danny? :-)
I cannot stand Tatiana.
I felt bad for the girl who had been homeless. I thought she was good and had worked so hard. But the one that I really don’t like is Tatiana. She’s Miss Drama Queen and it’s all about her. She has a good voice but it’s just a drain to watch her. I guess they need drama for the TV show.
My soapbox is Tatiana. She must not go through or I may gouge my eyes out. Or my ears.
All I have to say is…Tatiana Better. Be. GONE! Tonight.
I was totally rooting for Felicia Barton who is married to my 2nd cousin. She is a strong Christian with a great voice. Apparently, though, there was no DRAMA connected with her, so she got very little air time (she was in the group with Lil & the Castro brother). However, tonight they showed her with the judges and said that she did not make it through. Randy & Paula both told her that it was NOT a unanimous decision. We are sad, it would have been fun to have a relative to vote for!
I like that girl who they originally made put on makeup and change. The one who sang the song everyone had sang already and didn’t know if she should sing it….what was her name? Well, I like her just the same. I feel like it’s a russian sounding last name…