Catch Up: American Idol, Top Model, Amazing Race, Apprentice

Funniest Moments of the Past Few Weeks of Reality:
Instead of recapping all the shows I missed or apologizing really, I'm just going to give my favorite highlights of each show.

American Idol:
The judges don't even critique Sanjaya anymore. He's on his own show, wears his hair however he feels like, and week after week, better singers are eliminated. Everybody's forgotten about how Scarnato edged out Sabrina Sloan because at least Haley tries to sing.

I also liked Gwen Stefani. Loved that she performed. Thought she was good at critiquing everybody.

And of course, LOVED that Sabrina Sloan was in the audience. They panned over her and then focused on Melinda's family, who she was sitting with. I noticed the hair and yelled, "Sabrina!" Yay. Glad to see her again. Love ya, Sabrina. Still voting for you every week. Except I'm not actually crazy, so no, but I do think about how much better she would've done than some of those fools every week.

America's Next Top Model:
Loved that they had to be men. Loved how ridiculous Natasha was. Loved how much Renee sucked at the laser challenge. Loved the mail order phone sex. Now that Diana is rightfully gone, this probably means Whitney's going to the end. If I had to predict a final three without analyzing the collage right now, I would say Jaslene, Renee, and Whitney. Apparently Brittany is good, but I don't like her. She reminds me of the girl whose face fell off. I don't like her face.

The Amazing Race:
Loved the Barbies' first place. Loved that teams were still completing a leg when other teams had started the next one. Hated the stupid intersection. Loved Eric's "Ladies and Gentlemen... Miss California" when Dustin suddenly puked sausage. Loved the excessive penis references from the extremely inappropriate but hilarious minds of Charla and Mirna.

But the quote that takes the cake.. I think it was two episodes ago. Dustin and Kandice are talking about being the first all-female team to win. And one of them says they just have to beat "Too Hot to Handle." And they laugh about how anybody could possibly compete with that. Anyway, that was hilarious. I think they realized when they were saying it that a portion of the audience would hate them for saying it and say they're awful people and picking on someone with a disability. But at the same time, they knew there was another portion of the audience who would love it. So they were trying to hold back and not seem completely awful but at the same time, directing their comments at their fans who would find it amazing.

I am one of those fans. I love those two and if you haven't read my recaps from last season, I believe I spent an entire recap talking about why people were stupid for hating them and why they're amazing. Yes, when I have favorites, I cannot stop complimenting them or defending them. I am pretty loyal in that sense. But it's not like I pick bad favorites. My favorites are always worthy of the praise.

And of course, D/K prove all of the points I've ever made and run a pretty efficient and successful race. I cannot state enough how much I like their demeanor and strategy on this race. They don't make friends, they don't make perminent alliances, they don't go out of the way to focus on other teams and try to sabotage them. They just run a good race. The only team who may be playing this better right now is ChaChaCha. Danny and Oswald have found a way to be nice and liked by all teams without helping or aligning really with any of them. I am proud of how they're playing. ChaChaCha and Barbies to the end. That would be beautiful. Too bad JV and Jill can't come back and be that third final team.

The Apprentice:
A lot has changed. After hearing in an interview with Derek that Heidi was not part of an alliance and everybody truly thought she was good, I have to apologize for how much i bashed her. She came from small-town Michigan. I'm from Michigan. I know the type. A little sheltered growing up, and then breaking free to pursue bigger and better things elsewhere where nobody can really help you and you have to tough it out and do it yourself. I think Heidi's learned how to be successful and whether it involves smug faces or not, I do give her credit.

Kristine has become hilarious to me. She's said some things that have been a little subtle, but really funny. When Muna said she couldn't "use the Lord's name in vain," Kristine said, "Well, God told me I could use his name in vain." And then she talked about what we viewers say all the time. God is not in the boardroom making the decisions. I'm pretty sure if God was around, he would be focusing his time and energy on starving children and bridging the educational gap. Not deciding who gets to work with The Donald.

Also, when Kristine told the cameraman it was none of his business what went on when her husband spent the night, I thought that was hilarious. First of all, aren't all the beds in one room? What did they do, sleep in the bathtub? Hahaha.

Lastly, I love that Tim was ripped apart at a boardroom he wasn't a part of. It's like the opposite of when Rob Mariano controlled a tribal council he wasn't even at. Tim looks like such a schmuck on the show. It's too bad because I think Tim's probably a lot of fun. There was just no way to win for him. Every situation was lose-lose.

American Idol: Top 12

Last time on That Time When America Screwed Sabrina Sloan:
Yes, I am still pissed about this. It seems lately that every contestant I like ends up being sent home too soon. John Vito and Jill went home way too early on The Amazing Race. Liliana went home too early on Survivor. Sabrina went home way too early. And then today, Cassandra gets kicked off of Top Model. Ahhh!

This week on Sabrina Sloan Would Not Have Forgotten Her Words:
So the truth is when I believe someone was unfairly screwed over, I often try to give them the "air time" that they lost out on. Which basically means I mention them nonstop. Like when JV and Jill lost, I was sore about it for probably a week. Like every time I thought about it, I would get so worked up.. and it was primarily their fault. With Sabrina, it was completely not her fault at all. In fact, since I never recapped that week, she sang one of my favorite songs. I have been listening to it a lot lately.

So this week was Diana Ross/Motown Week. Yay!!! I always love Motown Week on Idol and Diana Ross is one of my favorite people ever. She's hilarious, she's absolutely divine, she's a legend, and she seems like such a great person. I am so excited she was on this week.

Another truth: I haven't seen the result show yet. I know what happens, though. I just felt like I needed to get back on track and if I don't recap now, I may never get myself back on track. I still want to recap The Apprentice and Top Model. We'll see.

I want to go through the performances. I might not have a Paula moment to mention. Except for when she cried and Simon kept laughing at her. Oh, I also wanted to mention that I was disappointed nobody sang Where Did Our Love Go or Back in My Arms Again. Only because I love those songs. And you know what? Sabrina would have rocked this week. Ugh. Stupid America.

Brandon Rogers- You Can't Hurry Love: So when he totally forgot his words and couldn't even fake it, I started screaming, "OMG you forgot your words! Who forgets their words? You can't do that! Everybody knows the words to this song! Sabrina wouldn't have forgotten her words!" and hitting my laptop screen with the top of a shoe box. True story. So Brandon? You know all those times when Simon hinted that you needed to focus on the competition and stop assuming you're good enough to coast through? Well, you get it now? He pretty much ruined a great song.

Melinda Doolittle- Home: I wish she would have chosen a more fun song, but as Simon said, she made a boring song interesting. When she teared up at the end though, that really got me. Both girls who cried actually seemed extremely sincere. That's not including Paula. In her case, it would just be the crazy speaking. I just totally see where Melinda's coming from. She's never been in the spotlight. She's always been timid and afraid to stand out. And there she is, singing on this huge stage in front of so many people, and they all clapped for her. That's got to be overwhelming.

Chris Sligh- Endless Love: Chris Sligh was much better in the earlier stages. I think he's built himself into a box of someone who's a funny character with surprising vocals. Unfortunately, after all these weeks, we're not surprised every time we hear his voice anymore. We know what he sounds like. He needs to really pick it up and stop worrying about the small things. I feel like he's holding back because he's thinking too much.

Gina Glocksen- Love Child: This is a great song. I don't know how I would say Gina did. She's becoming less of an obnoxious contestant to me and is seeming more like the girl who knew America voted on hotness and tried to conform a little by wearing those nice dresses and singing typical Idol songs. So since last week, I've been seeing her as someone who's learning to be comfortable in her skin, and that's okay with me. She's definitely not my favorite, not my style, but I can respect her performances.

Sanjaya Malakar- Ain't No Mountain High Enough: What a classic, classic song to unfortunately have to be so extremely undersung. I don't hate Sanjaya because I haven't felt he's really ruined the chances of anybody great. AJ probably should not have gone the second week. Oh well. I guess I'm saying none of the guys are that excellent that I would be upset over Sanjaya staying instead of someone better. I think Sanjaya needs to thank his sister. If she wouldn't have tried out, made it to Hollywood, gotten cut in the final round, gotten consoled on film by Sanjaya, he wouldn't be here today. He showed in that one moment how sweet and selfless he is. So I don't mind people like Brandon getting voted off before Sanjaya. Whatever. Sanjaya is the new Kevin "Young Man" Covais.

Haley Scarnato- Missing You: Okay, so I am pissed that Haley is here instead of Sabrina. And I don't think Haley is a tenth of what Sabrina is as a singer. However, when she broke down, I have to admit I felt for her. What we saw was just complete frustration and disappointment, combined with all the stress and lack of sleep.. she was just overwhelmed. This is why I like Simon. I think he knew she needed something positive. And while he didn't say she was a good singer, he gave her hope, and wasn't trying to talk down to her. I hate every time Paula tells the girls they look gorgeous. Like, "At least you look great tonight. You look stunning. However, the vocals weren't there." That's just rude. So I actually thought it was nice to see how real some of these contestants are.

Phil Stacey- I'm Gonna Make You Love Me: I don't really like Phil. He doesn't necessarily annoy me with his personality, but there's just something there that makes me extremely indifferent about him. I didn't think he did a good job.

Lakisha Jones- God Bless the Child: This is a great song to sing. The beginning was a little weird for me. It didn't seem to flow into the rest of the song. But that's such a minute detail. She was great. And I do love that they showed her asking Diana Ross what to wear and how to have the mic set up. It not only shows she's thinking ahead, but I really shows how much she respects the legend herself. It's like she wanted to perform this in a way that Diana Ross found to be proper and acceptable. I don't know. I just saw it as a sign of respect and thought it was great.

Blake Lewis- You Keep Me Hanging On: Also a wonderful song. I didn't like how he executed the performance, but I don't think the arrangement was necessarily horrible. I think he just didn't sing through it enough. He could have performed it better. I do like that he did reggae last week, so I will stay on the bandwagon. He's a pleasant surprise from what I initially expected.

Stephanie Edwards- Love Hangover: I did not notice she forgot her words. I should watch it again and try to find it. As far as forgetting the words go, this week was unacceptable. I don't think any other season has had that many people forget their words during the final rounds, let alone on one night. Brandon's was the worst. Haley's I noticed, but she made a good effort at covering it up. Stephanie's I truly didn't notice. And I actually didn't think she did as bad as they said. I kinda liked it. It's behind us now, though, fortunately. I think I'm being a little protective over some of the others who could be screwed the same way as Sabrina was. Stephanie deserves to stick around. Unfortunately, she might get the Jennifer Hudson treatment from America.

Chris Richardson- The Boss: I'm sorry, I still don't completely get Chris Richardson. To me, he doesn't sing through his songs. He just isn't a typical singer I guess. I think it someone else sang like him, they'd get criticized about not holding their notes or having range. It just confuses me. He's very boy band-like to me. It's just not a style of singing I like, I guess.

Jordin Sparks- If We Hold On Together: She's a great surprise. Actually, after Chris performed, I kept asking myself who was left and I couldn't remember. This is more embarrassing for me than anything, and was just a stupid slip of the mind. It's just funny because Jordin comes out and totally delivers it. It's not like I don't remember who Jordin Sparks is.. I just forgot she was still yet to sing. But anyway, I loved what she did. It was beautiful. And she's very young. It's surprising.

All in all, I was not that disappointed when it came down to it. Brandon forgot the words to You Can't Hurry Love, a classic. Haley didn't do so well, but kinda touched the sentimental, empathetic bone in me. Jordin really impressed me. And everybody else was pretty much what I expected. And Sanjaya will always win the most ridiculous look category until he leaves. Ever since he wore that hat with a ponytail and looked like a sketchy middle-aged man, he's stolen the category. I give Jordin the best performance because she stepped it up big time. I give Brandon the worst performance because who forgets an entire line and just leaves it as a huge silent pause? Best Paula-ism was when she was crying after Melinda's performance. That's not really a Paula-ism, but her comments were all decently sane.

Who should be the bottom two next week: Sanjaya, Haley, and Phil should be the bottom three. Take your pick of who goes home.

American Idol Episodes 11, 12, & 13 (Semis Week 1)

(I started this like three weeks ago and felt I should just post it as it is)

This week on American Idol:
This is my first official Idol recap and I'm really excited. The format will be different from the other shows I recap, but hopefully it will work out.

This was the first week on semifinals where the girls and guys perform on different days and two of each are kicked off every week. They're on a small stage in front of a small crowd. And the best part.. we're not completely done cutting down the excess baggage that was carried from Hollywood Week. Which makes for a funny show.

I don't remember what most people sang, because I'm not good with that stuff. I do remember how I felt about each performance though. For this week, I'm going to try out one format where I separate the performances by topic. I'll try recapping by performance next time. Mostly because I don't want to recap 24 performances in a row. It'll end up with me saying a lot of useless things.

Difference in Talent:
As everybody noticed, four girls were absolutely miles above the rest of the competition. The girls in general had better performances, except for three or four debacles. On the guys' side, Blake surprised me and pulled out a great performance. Here we will discuss the best and worst performances.

Blake-
I was really questioning his place in this competition after the Narrow Elevator episode. It's easy to hide behind a specialty like beatboxing. He used it to his advantage, but left many people wondering if he was hiding behind it for a reason. This week, though, he did exactly what a smart person would do. He picked something different and unexpected and he sang it well. He showed us that he could do something totally different and he didn't need to beatbox his way through. And I love how he said "this is a singing competition." Everybody says it, but it's significant for him to say it because he sees that beatboxing could be a gimmick on this show. He wants to win because of his voice. That's great.

Chris Sligh and Phil Stacey-
I don't want to give them each their own category because I didn't feel they were particularly wonderful. I would say they were in the second tier, though. I don't know if Blake's vocals were that much better than either of these guys, but his performance and the fact that he did what he did puts him in a different league. Chris Sligh and Phil were good though.

Stephanie Edwards-
She started off the girls' show with a bang. I don't understand how she didn't break a foot or a heel even. That was skill. She has a great voice, too, but I'm afraid Melinda and Lakisha have been pimped out on the show much more and have great backstories.. and importantly, are better singers. I want Stephanie to make the Top 12, but I'm afraid some of her votes will be taken by other great singers.

Sabrina Sloan-
I told you she would develop into a favorite. I like her look, her style, her voice.. she was really good. I like the tone of her voice. I'm also afraid she'll be screwed by bigger personalities taking away from her votes. Kinda like what happened with Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia. But then again, now Jennifer Hudson is up for an Oscar and Fantasia has a Lifetime movie and is going on Broadway. Shows that talent wins out in the end. Unfortunately, this season, the four strong women also could end up with similar fanbases.

Melinda Doolittle-
She is a great performer. I love her. She's a great personality on this show. I also love that Simon adores her. It just goes to show that the only reason Simon is so harsh is because there are so many people coming on this show thinking the world of themselves when they're not as great as they think. Simon has always appreciated a humble person. I love how much he's backing her.

Lakisha Jones-
Yes, she was great. She's also pretty humble herself. I like this season's cast. The great ones are also great personalities. The bad ones are the annoying ones, so it's easy to make fun of them. I wouldn't say Lakisha was in a different league than everybody else. I think the three other ladies listed were in that ballpark, too.

Paula Moment of the Week:
That would be when Ryan asks the judges what Sundance should have done differently and Paula responds by rubbing her chest as if that's a valid answer or something a sane person would do. Hahaha.

Let's Salute Sabrina Sloan

I intercepted an email today.. this is what it read:

Dear Sabrina Sloan,

We regret to inform you that although you have one of the best voices on the show, we're going to have to let you go. Our reasons are unjustifiable and irrational. We enjoyed having you on the show for the past three weeks, you know, with all of your wonderful performances, unbelievable talent, and great stage presence. Unfortunately, we felt that being one of the best singers was not good enough. Good luck with your career, now that we've kept you from being exposed to more people and getting a chance to perform on a finals stage. We decided that since you're so good, you should have to work harder to get signed.

Love, The American Public

Okay, you get it. I'm pissed. This is completely unacceptable. Sabrina had one of the best voices on the show and I would have put her in the top 3 based on talent and her previous performances. You know what? Jennifer Hudson was screwed by America (not by Simon, Antonella.. idiot) and look where she is now. It'll take work, but Sabrina is great. I hope she finds her way through and we hear from her soon. Sabrina, we won't forget.. well, I definitely won't forget. Every heinous crime like this that is committed makes me want to go knock some sense into some people.

See, this is how pissed I am. This is probably one of the least coherent posts I've ever had. I will be free on Saturday to catch up on recaps, but for now, I'm just going to do my work and piss and moan to anybody that wants to hear, or can't get away from me fast enough. I don't think I can recall a more horribly wrong elimination from any reality show before. This is heinous.

Sabrina, you were wonderful. We supported you and we support you still. I do kinda sound like I'm her mother or something. Regardless, this was completely wrong and unwarranted. Good luck, Sabrina. We'll miss you on the show.

American Idol: Update on The Antonella Barba Show

Some of you may have heard of the toilet and topless pictures that have been floating around of Antonella Barba of The Antonella Show on American Idol. Looks like this might end badly for her, though. A whole slew of nasty pictures have surfaced recently, including some that give her the nickname Antonella "Blowjob" Barba. I'm not going to link the stories here, but it's probably really easy to google them.

With Frenchie getting axed in Season 2 for scandalous pictures, this is quite promising for those out there who want The Antonella Barba Show to end. If she does get kicked off, does it mean only one girl goes home this week? Does it mean Amy Crabs or Nicole the Spaz get to come back for another try? Does it mean they bring back someone that was cut in the Narrow Elevator episode? Someone named Tatiana McConnico? I can only hope. That seems unlikely. But for all it's worth, Tatiana would have made much better use of an opportunity like this.

If you're planning on trying out for Idol and you know there are pictures of you floating around, you might want to reconsider if you don't want them seen by the American public. Or maybe you don't want to get photographed like that in the first place.

Antonella, you took the spot that so many girls wanted. They would have sang their hearts out and come up clean on the background scan. There wouldn't be nasty pictures of them floating around. Tatiana McConnico. Tami Gosnell. Marisa Rhodes. They thank you for taking their spot on the show and then throwing it away. I hope you get kicked off. And really, I hope they give some previously cut girls a chance to get back on the show. That could be an interesting twist. It probably won't happen, which is sad.

American Idol: Hollywood Week

This week on Apparently a Lot of People Know How to Love a Woman:
I think the viewing public has reached a consensus on the fact that Hollywood Week was way too short. I want to get to know some contestants. I want to know who the people are in the quick flashbacks. I want to hear more than three people sing. I want to have an opinion on people besides the ones that producers want in the finals. And most importantly, I don't want what happened to Allison on SYTYCD to happen ever again.

Let's talk about that. I was not an Allison fan during the past season of So You Think You Can Dance. Not because she wasn't the best dancer on the show. Actually, it was precisely because she was the best. The producers showered her with compliments all the time. They predicted her as the winner really early on. As the weeks went by, to me, she seemed increasingly cocky and above everyone else. It's a good thing I watched the routines after the show was over. It's a good thing I was so obsessed. Had I not been, I may have never realized what had happened while the show was airing.

People cheer for the underdog. For the Ivans out there. I love Ivan. But just as Ryan boosted Heidi to the finale with his insulting comments on the first pairing day, Ivan probably held Allison back with his amazing story. Not that it's any of his fault. It's just how things play out. And with the judges constantly telling Allison she was the best dancer ever, it became annoying for me after awhile. As we know with past Idol experiences, constant ratting on contestants often wins them extra votes. Similarly, sometimes when judges compliment a contestant, it's detrimental to their progression in the competition. Allison did nothing to suggest that she wasn't exactly what the judges were complimenting her on. It was the character that they inadvertently prescribed to her. It's unfortunate, but only now do I realize that she was the best dancer, was wrongfully denied a spot in the finale, and should have won the show.

Anyway, I'm afraid that by pushing certain people in our faces, the Idol producers are actually going to cause America to vote the mediocre through to the finals. Then there's always the problem with not showing certain people and not allowing the viewers to built a connection with those contestants. Basically, I just wish there could be equal time spent on each contestant. Or is it even too difficult to ask for some time spent on each contestant?

Here's my rendition of Episode 9, the basic Hollywood round that is usually cut down to two days. And by cut down, I mean even when it was a two-day show, it was short. Now they've given it just one day.

We see some people we met in auditions either get shot down or get through. For some reason, Jorey, the girl who hung out with the Queen of England, gets cut right off the bat, but Perla, the Shakira impersonator, gets another chance. We see the army girl with her husband at war get cut. We see a lot of whining and crying and some excitement. This, by the way, is the girls section. There was an actual attempt at covering it. There are a lot of short snippets featuring Amanda and Antonella.. apparently this week is the Amanda and Antonella week. I need to discuss Antonella later.

I don't even remember what we see. A lot of clips of people getting cut. Some girl's sob story about wanting to please her mom and singing a virtually unknown song. Anyway, it's not until the end of the girls' segment that I find out that two of my audition favorites, Melinda Doolittle and Tatiana McConnico, have made it through. Which I figured since I usually have decent picks. We see Melinda celebrating, but if not for my sharp eye, I could have missed the two seconds they showed of Tatiana on stage being the only one moved through in her group of six. Thank you for deciding for us who our favorites should be, producers. I refuse to listen.. Tatiana is good. We'll talk about that later. I see this being a long recap. Maybe it'll make up for the short week we were given.

Anyway, next we see about three minutes of guys singing. What did they even show? Another military person getting cut. Ugh. This was the saddest recap I've ever seen. They did not even really scan through who made it through.

We get a bit of group drama. Amanda and Antonella have decided to be in the same group. And they've strung on Bailey.. or Baylie, or however it's spelled. She's along for the ride. Some girl can't find a group and is sad until a really sweet guy asks her to join. The boy whose mother doesn't love him enough or whatever is having a hard time finding a group.

Anyway, it is the Amanda and Antonella show, let it be known. We get some Glockson drama tossed in there, too. So Amanda and Antonella are bickering about song choice. It seems like probably just the type of routine they go through where in the end they're fine, but they really just need to yabber at each other. Of course Baylie (I think that's how it's spelled) has not idea how the Amanda and Antonella show works, so she's stressed that their group will fall apart.

They choose a song that neither Amanda nor Antonella knows very well and start practicing. At some point, Amanda gets frustrated and leaves to go flirt with the only group of guys she can find that don't tell her to go away. They were probably too nice. So the other two head off to bed. Then, sometime between that scene and the scene of them practicing the next morning, Amanda and Antonella both do learn their words. So I think they did work harder than the footage suggested. Because in the morning, it's Baylie who is struggling with the words.

Their performance is decent except for the part where Baylie just stands there until Amanda helps her out. Which is actually really nice of her. I think Amanda is aggressive and likes to be the HBIC, but when it boils down to it, is actually a nice girl. This will be mentioned later as well. Anyway, when Baylie is cut, she totally disses the other two and Amanda is rightfully pissed that she got dissed after helping the girl out.

So cut to the Gina Glocksen and Co. drama. It's Perla. They decided to be the Salvation Army and took Perla into their group. Along with Gina and Perla, there are two other girls, one of which is the Marisa girl who cannot stop crying in the next episode. Basically, they've realized quickly what we all knew for awhile now.. Perla cannot really sing. She's been getting through on the fact that she's a spicy Colombian who is dragalicious (def: acts like a drag queen, not meaning she looks like one.. just to be clear).

So in short, Perla is cut and the other three make it through. Surprise.

Chris Sligh and Rudy Cardenas and Blake the beatboxer and some Thomas dude have a great performance that gets a Paula ovation (def: similar to a standing ovation, but without the sanity of a normal person doing the clapping). It is good, but a little boy band-ish, which appears to be the theme of the show. Also, you know what, producers and judges? I call BS on the guys being strong this year. Some are strong. But as a whole, if going back to season 1's "guys whose names end in 'jay'" thing is considered strong, then this show has gone downhill real fast.

So the judges have narrowed it down to 40 contestants, split into two rooms, with the rest of the remaining contestants waiting to be cut in a separate third room. We learn that the Amanda and Antonella show has been split up. And the adorable sibling duo of Sanjaya and Shyamali have also been split up. We first find the Gina Glocksen group is going through and I spot my girl Melinda Doolittle there. I think Chris Sligh was also in this room. It's trivial who was in what winning room, though. Next, the room of Antonella and Sanjaya gets through. This makes for an anticlimatic ending for the saddest room of all. The third room gets the shortest clip of all and we aren't really shown any devastated people.

As the two rooms unite as one happy winning room, Antonella and Sanjaya are both bummed. Sanjaya especially, who goes down to comfort his sister. This is adorable and just wonderful to watch. Children (he's only 17) who actually have some compassion and a total lack of selfishness. Sanjaya was so upset for his sister.. that's really sweet. And I don't see that as being some sort of producer's edit. I could tell from the moment they auditioned.. Sanjaya is the sweetest boy to enter this competition. I don't know how much that'll help him.. we'll just have to wait and see.

And to cap it off, Amanda seems completely happy for Antonella, which to me confirms why Antonella is friends with Amanda. We saw a lot of Amanda's aggressiveness and cockiness earlier in the Amanda and Antonella show. But it appears that the two of them have a great dynamic and perhaps a lot of Amanda's personality was edited in. I have no doubt that she's very aggressive. That's not necessarily a bad thing.. just really easy to edit into the bitch character. Anyway, I'm glad Amanda leaves us on a good note.

Now, I have Episode 10 comments.

This part of the recap is The Narrow Elevator and Long Silent Room:
In a way I love this episode and in a way I hate it. They often show too much of some people and too little of singing in general. This time around it was okay. We'll go over the important stuff.

Sanjaya is the first to make it through. From what I hear, which are only rumors, Sanjaya actually replaced someone in the group of 24 who leaked information about the show and got kicked off. In this case, him going "first" for this portion and last in the dancing segment totally explains it. Otherwise, I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

Next, we get Anna Kearns, the tallest woman to ever make it this far. She is cut and tries to reason with the judges. She says they've never had someone like her and Simon calls her out for trying to use her height as a selling point. She tries to slide out of that and Paula tries to help her, but she was totally trying to say they've never had someone that was so tall on the show.

Then, we get a lot of fast axing. Bernard Williams. Aaron something. And Tami Gosnell. No reason for her cut. Basically, the judges probably told her they were there to sell the Antonella and Sundance show. (No actual connection between the two of them, but they're the ones the judges are really pushing for.)

My favorite, Melinda Doolittle is next, and really? Is this even a question? She's through but not before Simon mixes it up a bit and says she's always been a background singer because someone's always been better than her. She's really excited when they tell her she's through and Simon gives her a hug. Simon has always loved the talented but humble ones and it's really sweet that he's kinda attached to her.

Then we get another background singer, Brandon Rogers. He's good, but not as good as he thinks he is. He's the opposite of Melinda.. he seems slightly outraged that it's taken so long for him to be discovered. He gets through.

Gina Glocksen is next. I think she's next in line in the Antonella and Sundance show. She comes off a little cocky, though, and not just complacent like Antonella is. Oh, by the way, the title of this recap comes from the fact that like ten of the contestants are recapped singing the same song. I know they probably had like five to choose from, but after awhile, I was like, "So how do you love a woman?" So Gina is through, but not without a mention of last year's disappointment.

Jimmy McNeal and Eric.. Johnson? get about two seconds of airtime for their rejections.

Then we get pleasantly surprised by Haley Scarnato. She sings "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" in a clip from earlier in the week. I love that song, even if it is a Celine Dion song. I don't know.. I'm weirdly attached to some random songs. She sang it nicely a Capella, and gets through to the next round. She's wearing really short shorts, but they're the cute trendy kind, not the ass-grabbing hoochie kind. At least she's wearing shorts (See: Alaina Alexander).

Phil Stacey makes it through and I'm not sure what I think of him yet.

Chris Sligh makes it through, of course, but not before inserting his own special funny into this episode. He says the judges are probably wondering why he called this meeting. I like him. I think he's probably a really cool guy. I hate that the show is pimping him out like they did with Taylor Hicks. Chris Sligh is probably going to win. Unless the Antonella Barba story hits theatres first. The jury is still out of whether this show turns Chris Sligh into a really annoying caricature.

Out of the rest of Chris Sligh's boy band group, only the Thomas dude is cut. Blake the beatboxer and Rudy Cardenas both make it. That's impressive. Those guys really chose their group well. I don't want to go into the Blake deal until I hear him sing an entire song with no beatboxing. Right now, I think he's more entertaining than he is a good singer. Rudy Cardenas is unclear with me now as well.

Paul Kim has decided that he will not wear shoes on this show ever. That sounds like a lame gimmick to me. Okay, maybe some of my favorites in the past have also "happened" to wear certain namesake items over and over (Camile's wristband and Jasmine's flower.. and Ruben's entire 205 getup). I just don't like that he's chosen to not wear shoes for no apparent reason. And he's wearing the same boxers that he wore at all the other cuts. Which means he smells gross.

Jordin Sparks is another surprise. She has a great booming voice. She's one of the youngest ones, at 17. She gets through and proceeds to hyperventilate all the way down the Narrowest Elevator Ever.

We get about two seconds of Oliva Quiba-Hurt, Tatiana McConnico, and Monique Vieras getting cut. No explanation again. I like Tatiana a lot. I think she was my Vonzell in the making. If you know me, you know that Vonzell is perhaps my favorite Idol ever, closely tied with Tamyra, the original favorite. Anyway, Tatiana had the powerful voice that Vonzell had. She had great style like Vonzell. And what Vonzell didn't have, Tatiana was one of the smallest girls I have ever seen. Small-boned. But huge voice. Why did she not get through? You're telling me she didn't have one of the top voices in this competition? I'm not happy about this one. I hope a certain someone gets kicked off for not wearing pants and Tatiana can come back.

AJ Tabaldo is moved on. This is his fifth time trying to make it on Idol. And perhaps proof that this season does not have the strength in contestants as past seasons.

Stephanie Edwards is moved on. I don't know anything about her.

Leslie Hunt is a pleasant surprise. She's not the typical female singer. She has a unique style and a unique voice. I'm glad she's in this competition, even if I'm not sure if I'm necessarily going to like her performances.

Nick Pedro is moved on. This is the guy who quit last season and will never hear the end of it from this show, huh?

Alaina Alexander time. Hey Alaina? You forgot your pants. She's wearing what looks like a button-up sweater. It's long enough for her to consider it a dress. But not long enough to not look ridiculous. She talks about how she always cries. She also doesn't want to sit down at first but the judges tell her to stop being annoying and sit down. Then, after they let her through, she asks them what she can improve on. Just go away. You got through. Go. Go put on some pants.

Chris Richardson is a mystery. The clip of him singing is horrible. He got through, though. Don't ask me.

Sabrina Sloan is a real surprise. I've been saying everybody's a surprise, but this one's up there as being possibly a new favorite for me. The girl has a distinct and powerful voice. I'm really impressed. Bring it on, girl. If you're good, no matter what the producers want by not showing you, we'll put you through. This one I'm excited to hear next week.

Jerome Chism is cut. Joelle something is cut. Princess is cut. Yes, Princess. Too bad she wasn't shown at all. Reality TV finally finds its next Princess and we're only shown like ten seconds? Disappointing.

Matthew Buckstein is also cut.

Next is Lakisha, the single mom. We replay her sweet story and apparently she's supposed to be in the final five or something. Right there with Chris Sligh, Antonella Barba, Sundance, and Gina. She gets through, but only after the judges get her to start crying. She's a sweet lady and it's just a shame how they're exploiting her story. Eventually we'll get tired of hearing she's a single mom. Ever heard of Fantasia? Yeah, unfortunately me too.

Nicole Tranquillo, my "Melissa McGhee" of the year gets through. I don't want to explain. Just think about it.

Amy Krebs gets through.

Jared Cotter gets through.

And we're at the final four people, two spots left. We watch Antonella of the Antonella Story and Marisa the nonstop crier go up first. Of course, Antonella is through, whether or not Marisa can sing. I'm sure after Alaina got through, they decided they could only have one lame crier on this show.

And it's Sundance and Tommy Daniels. Who will get through? The one who has gotten through on crap performances round after round? Or the one who slept with Antonella Barba? It's looking like Sundance gets another free ride. Sweet. I don't understand.

The Antonella Story: I don't like how it's developing. I have no idea if I like her or not. The producers have really just spun this out of control. She's the new Kelly Pickler. Except she doesn't even have a sob story. I think the deal is this: a lot of people identify with Antonella. A lot of people have been the second-in-command to an aggressive friend. A lot of people have been in that position and wished to finally be able to outshine the pompous friend. In Antonella's case, it's a success story in the eyes of those who've been there. I'm not that excited to see how they continue to spin this.

And on that note, this entry is way too long and it's way too late. I need to get up tomorrow.

American Idol Season 6 Episodes 1-4

American Idol is like the older sister of So You Think You Can Dance for me. I get really obsessed sometimes, but there are parts that I really don't like. Auditions are kinda annoying to me. I really like when they show great people and really annoyed when they focus too long on bad auditions.

Here's how the recapping will go.. it's really hard for me to actually recap about talent and stay on task when it comes to these types of shows. I definitely won't be covering these first few weeks audition by audition. I will however, try to always have several topics and give out random awards.

I'm thinking I will always have (1) Best and (2) Worst performances when it comes down to the semifinals. There will (3) Best Sob Story/Interview, (4) Stupidest Remark, (5) Best Hair--by best, I usually mean worst, (6) Funniest Dance Moves, (7) Best Simon Comparison--ie. "That sounded like a drunk guy at a wedding reception", (8) Dumbest Paula Comment--ie. "The air about you is so fresh", (9) Number of times Randy says "Dawg" versus number of times Simon says "I'm not being rude, but..", (10) Best Phone Pantomiming--my favorite category because they always look like idiots mouthing their number and doing an Irish jig while Ryan announces their phone number, (11) Best Outfit--ie. worst.

Also, anything else I come up with. Basically, it will be one big free-for-all. I may spend an entire recap discussing the pros and cons of punching Paula in the face versus the pros and cons of punching Seacrest. I may spend an entire recap being pissed about someone who was voted off. I get seriously offended sometimes when America votes off someone that was really good. Like I was really really smug and proud when Jennifer Hudson got her superstar debut in Dream Girls after losing out way too early in season 3 to Fantasia, who only has a Lifetime Special to her name.

So as far as the auditions go, I don't remember anyone particularly from the first two days. I remember that Seattle sucked and was filled with weirdos. They only too like one and a half people from there over the course of two days.

I do, however, remember the other two days. One was in New York and the other.. somewhere south. I liked a couple people. I really liked Melinda Doolittle, the background singer who was really shy. I liked the sob story of the week, the girl whose dad didn't support her. I liked the hott guy who was the first audition of the second day of the fourth episode. Jenry? I liked Jorey, the girl who hung with the Queen of England. A couple more, but I think I'm sold on Melinda for now. She just seems really down to earth and sweet. I hate the cocky ones. I like when they're genuinely flattered by the judges' comments.

Oh, I did like the half Indian brother and sister from the first week. I wouldn't say I peg either of them to make it to the finals, but they're both really cute and look like they're twelve. And I liked the friends where one friend was the alpha-female and the other was better, but totally the follower. You could just tell she really liked her friend and always was modest about herself and complimented her friend all the time. The alpha-female seemed like she knew she was the alpha one and wanted it that way.

Anyway, Paula's stupidest comment was when she called Simon a bad boy. It was really funny because she wanted to attack him and yell at him but then couldn't come up with anything good. I think Paula's really funny because (1) She's always on something. (2) She's always fed up with Simon yet most people agree with Simon more than they do with her. (3) Simon's the bigger personality. (4) She's not allowed to sleep with contestants anymore.

Can't wait until Hollywood Week, which is actually one of my favorite weeks besides finale week.