Territorial Bloggings

So, it’s back.

Tomorrow, it awakens from it’s slumber.

The Winter behemoth that devours all that dare enter its path.

American Idol

I’m ambivalent, I must confess. I’ve semi/sorta kept up during the off-season. I mean, how can you not keep up with Paula having near meltdowns & threatening to walk away from the franchise that rejuvenated her career? Or not learn that a 4th judge has been added to the menagerie, and react with a little bit of hope that perhaps (oh, hoping against hope!) the judging won’t suck in such a violently horrific fashion. But it will… *sigh*

Anywhoo, I’ll watch. I’ll blog. I’ll probably even end up blogging regularly & on a schedule. Although my preference is to not spend too much time & effort on caring, and thus on blogging, until after the Hollywood phase.

As you recall, I’ve long posited that AI is actually three shows in one:

1. The Train Wreck Auditions – wherein we all slake the thirst of our collective morbid curiosity on the refreshing nectar of the psychotically deluded, the bad, and the ugly…
2. Hollywood Week & most of the Semi-Finals – here, we begin the transformation from morbid, drive-by, TV, into an only slightly more respectable and/or of redeeming value entertainment product…
3. The Finals – finally, we get the Bataan-like death march of the AI Finals process, which gives us the veneer of presentability & respectability that we so desperately want after the first two phases of the competition. Unfortunately, we don’t truly trust it after so many years of AI, because we know that the judging is violently offensive, the themes are wantonly abusive, and the voting process makes an old Soviet-era election look trustworthy & legit.

Oh, who am I trying to fool? I’ll watch. I’ll rage. I’ll blog.

And I hope you’ll read.

-ghp

It’s been a while since I wrote anything about realitytv in general, and about SYTYCD:4 in particular. That’s been partly accidental, but mostly purposeful. I just enjoy this show so darned much that I didn’t want to spoil it by writing about it. For, if I were to have written about it, I would’ve analyzed it, and if I would’ve analyzed it, I would’ve over-analyzed it. And that would’ve sucked some (most?) of the joy out of it. And that’s what AI exists for, right?

Anyway, with last night’s final performance show, I figured I could risk a quick post about this, the best season of the best realitytv show currently on TV. SYTYCD gets almost everything right — it’s a magical mix of art, pop-culture, personality, beauty, lust, storytelling, judging, hosting, sincerity, cheeziness, viewer engagement, choreography, vocation, work/work-ethic, and (above all) talent. Others are good (Survivor, The Amazing Race, etc…), but none are better than SYTYCD. None!

And this season has been the very best of the four seasons of SYTYCD. Each of the elements have been at their very best, most significantly the dancers and the choreographers. There have been more magical performances this seasons than, I think, in all three previous seasons combined. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But not by much, if at all.

This was/is the right final four, that was gotten out of the right top ten (noting, of course, that Jessica is the rightful member of the top ten instead of Comfort, who only performed in the top 10 due to Jessica’s injuries…). Incredible as it seems, this is a no-compromise final four, in that they all bring talent, skill, entertainment, and likability to the stage. There is no need for the caveat, “…well, so-and-so is so talented, but they just lack that connection…” or “…so-and-so is popular, but just lacking in skill/technique…” with any of them. They have all proven over the course of the season that they are supremely talented, even outside their areas of specialty, to the point that they don’t need/expect special allowances.

Who do I like? I like them all. Who has surprised me the most? Well, at the start of the top 20, I didn’t have any of these four pegged to make it this far — the only two I had pegged for the finals at that point were Kherington & Will. I liked Twitch because, well, Twitch is so darned likable. Courtney is just so darned cute & hot in equal amounts (and has been a bit of a surprise in that she really did earn this spot over Chelsie of the magical legs & hips!).

The best & truest surprise(s), though, have been Joshua & Katee. Together and individually, they have been the story of this season. From Katee nearly un-making the top 20, to Joshua’s dearth of formal training (relative to everyone else), to their magical chemistry together and with their various choreographers, these two have been the face of SYTYCD:4. They deserve to be the final two dancers standing. In all truth, they deserve to be co-winners.

Alas, that will not be the case.

That being the case, I want Joshua to win. I think he can win. He would be a legitimate winner. He would be a deserving winner. As would Katee. (Courtney & Twitch just slightly less so…) Joshua, though is just my personal preference.

Unfortunately, I won’t get to see the results until tomorrow (Friday) because the FOX affiliate in Chicago is tape-delaying the finale until 11pm in order to show a Bears preseason game. A regular season game I could understand, but a preseason football? Spare me…

-ghp

Well, it seems that the surest sign of summer is here – the blogging doldrums. Lots of posting fodder rattling around in my head, along with all sorts of good intentions about writing witty & insightful posts to pass those pearls of wisdom and entertainment along to you, but darned little follow-through.

Typical.

So, I’ll give you a few things here that are on my mind at this moment, even though they are largely unrelated. Sure, they could, and possibly should, be broken up into separate posts, but…

SYTYCD:4 – Week 2 was predictably enjoyable, and the eliminations were neither surprising, nor problematic. By and large, what transpired merely solidified the opinions I described last week. I did, however, think of another reason why SYTYCD is better than AI – the way they do the voting & eliminations. By letting America determine the bottom 3, and then having the judges pick the contestant eliminated out of that bottom 3, SYTYCD helps ensure that America going stupid doesn’t taint the whole process – IOW, they retain some necessary editorial oversight. America gets input and the professionals get to shepherd the process along – everybody wins!

Sweet Tea – One of the things that I truly loved about living in North Carolina for 12 years was sweet tea. Not iced tea with sweetener in it, like I had grown up with, but honest-to-goodness tea, brewed in such a way that the sugar gets infused into the drink to such a level that your teeth start to rot just by bringing the cup up to your lips. The best sweet tea is usually found in little bbq joints where you get the best chopped pig, hushpuppies, & brunswick stew. Oddly enough, some of the best sweet tea I ever had was from the NIEHS cafeteria in Research Triangle Park, NC. Down South, they know that sweet tea is a proper menu option, and that adding sugar to unsweet tea is neither effective nor holy. Oddly enough, the sweet tea that is now being sold at McDonald’s isn’t all that bad for a mass market, fast food beverage. It’s not quite good enough to make me believe that it’s “real” Southern sweet tea, but it is just good enough for me not to be really torqued off by it. IOW, I like it.

The Brothers of John the Steadfast – This is a new organization of Lutheran laymen, organized “to defend and promote the orthodox Christian faith which is taught in the Lutheran Confessions, provide financial support for Christian new media (e.g. Issues, Etc.), and to support other endeavors selected by its membership that defend and promote the cause of confessional Lutheranism.” I recommend that you check them out at their brand-spanking-new website (they’ve been running out of a blog for a few months, while they got the formal website up & running), because they look like they’ve got some good stuff lined up & in the planning stages. While you’re at it, also check out the Augustana Confraternity…

I’m sitting here at the keyboard thinking there’s more that I’ve been wanting to write about, but my mind just went blank. That’s been happening more often lately. I must be going senile – just because I started kindergarten at 4, does that mean I’m going to start blanking out at 40? Yikes…

-ghp

I’m so glad this show is back. It’s up there with Survivor & The Amazing Race as the very best realitytv shows going. And yes, my goodness yes, it’s so far and away better than Idol that it,s not even funny. The format, the judges, the voting, the contestants, the host — all better!

This season is shaping up to another good one. I don’t really have any die-hard favorites (on the level of season 2′s Allison) yet, although I could easily see Will, Jessica, & maybe Chelsie H. emerge from the pack.

SYTYCD brings out a rather primal/visceral reaction from me, in terms of what I like in/from the dancers. I find that the less I intellectualize it & the more I just feel & enjoy it, the better it is. It’s almost the exact opposite of how I approach Idol, in terms of analysis and breaking it down. Combined with the overall superiority of the show (especially with the judges, who happen to be choreographers that have actual, you know, current credibility & chops in the profession, so they actually speak truth rather than risk spouting crap like the Idol judges do so regularly…)

A quick word here about the choreographers. I’m not sure I’d want to ever really see Mia Michaels do her work & practice her craft (after all, who really wants to see sausage get made?). But, my goodness does that woman get beautiful results! The routine that she created for Mark & Chelsie H. was amazing, as her routines usually are. I don’t pretend to understand the creative, artistic mind, but I do know enough to appreciate good art when I see it — and more often then not, Mia Michaels choreographed routines are good art.

So, that’s another reason SYTYCD is a superlative show – it produces good art & makes it accessible to many folks (like me) who wouldn’t normally consume it.

I like the girls attractive, but mere superficial looks aren’t enough. Thus, this year I’m leaning more towards Jessica the most, closely followed by Chelsie H., Courtney G., & Kherington. Susie may have learned a lesson, because she toned things down nicely in week 1, and was well served by putting on more clothes & less makeup – but I don’t think that it should keep her in for the long haul. Comfort & Chelsea T. are worthy finalists, if only because they have great character and obvious talent. Kourtni L. is on the border for me – I think she could emerge as a serious contender, but I could just as easily see her wash out pretty quickly. I think I’d prefer the former. Katee? In week 1 I thought she & Joshua gave the best, “most pleasant surprise” performance. But I don’t think I care if she stays much beyond this next week or two.

The guys must be graceful & powerful but still manly. If you’re too gay you can’t really butch it up & fake it — it shows through – you can be nice, pleasant, & engaging, but just not a great, manly dancer is all (witness Chris, Matt, & Thayne). But guys like Will, Joshua, & Twitch have got it in spades. That’s why they’re my favorite guys so far this season. Mark is right behind them, just because he’s such an engagingly quirky & unique dancer. Marquis & Gev? Meh. They do nothing for me, they’ve done nothing to really stand out that much so far, so I hope they don’t do anything to drag any of the girls down too far before they get eliminated.

Overall, I agreed with the week 1 eliminations (Jamie & Rayven), in that I didn’t disagree with them. Truth be told I might have sent Matt home instead of Jamie, but overall it was a machts nichts to me. I was more annoyed by America putting Will & Jessica into the bottom 3 instead of Gev & Courtney G. — that was inexplicable & uncalled for.

All in all, though, it’s enough that SYTYCD is back & we get to enjoy it for the rest of the summer.

Yay for us!

-ghp

Thank you, America, for getting it right.

Now, I just hope you keep it up & do it again in November…

Oh, and why did Randy feel it was necessary to dress up like Captain Kangaroo last night?

43 episodes of AI:7 — it was a long haul, wasn’t it, people? We made it, though. And I just want to take this chance to thank you all for your time & loyal readership these past five months. Knowing that y’all read my scratchings makes me happy. It’s also pretty darned cool. Heck, I’d do it even if it was only an audience of bigsis (just ’cause I love the image of making her dissolve in giggles at work!), but knowing that there are also good folks out there like TK, IndianaJane, & thewife, along with a bunch of other unnamed/non-commenting folks? Well, that makes it even better. So once again I humbly thank you all for stopping by & reading.

Tonight, So You Think You Can Dance starts its 4th season. This show is, for my money, better in almost every way than AI – the format, voting, contestants, judges, & host are all better. And I don’t feel compelled to do an exhaustive breakdown/write-up of each & every episode — that’s a pretty good thing too, I think you’ll agree.

Anyhoo, congrats to David Cook, the best (yes, I said the best) AI champ ever. And big props to me for getting it right and having called it many, many, many weeks ago. I’m. that. good.

-ghp

Lots o’ stuff rattling around in the blogosphere, in the aftermath of the final performance show last night.

By and large, most of it is hewing to what the judges were bleating, in that folks have already coronated Archuleta.

Reality News Online has its usual strong summary of/commentary on the performances, though I must say they are a bit too resigned to the inevitability of Gnome-boy’s victory than I am.

As always, Reality Blurred has a great summary on what’s going on & being said. Of particular interest is the report from MSNBC, wherein an anonymous source states that Idol producers want Cook to win because Archuleta & his “camp” are considered to be “unmanageable”, his father to be “another Joe Simpson”, and “producers don’t want a rogue winner”. Fascinating. Mayhaps they should’ve communicated that to their judges before they embarrassed themselves by all but formally declaring him the winner last night. Well, Randy even did that, didn’t he?

One last nugget to put in the information hopper: DialIdol.com shows Cook significantly ahead of Archuleta. They’ve been wrong often enough this season, but I don’t think that this is quite the blow-out that so many have made it out to be (I’m talking to you, Dawg!).

I’m fully expecting to be greeted by Seacrest this evening, and to be told that, “we’ve had OUR. CLOSEST. VOTE. EVER. AMERICA. And your winner is… David. You’ll find out which one, America, after the break. And the next two hours…”

-ghp

Well. Here we are. It’s all come down to this. What started back in January, ends here in May.

We made it. Yay for us.

David & David. And I even get to make a throw-away pop-culture reference to an obscure mid-80′s, sorta one-hit wonder (hint: Google the title of this post/entry. Bonus points if you got the reference without having to Google it. Even more Bonus points if you know what handsome Kevin got got or what miss Christina drives…)

I’m glad this season is just about over. I’m glad that I’m reasonably confident that David Cook will beat Gnome-boy. I’m really glad that So You Think You Can Dance 4 starts on Thursday! This season of AI has embodied all that is good & bad about the franchise. It’s been up & down. It’s been excessive, loud, overbearing, self-important, faux, cloying, & absurd. It’s also been inspiring, touching, chock-full-o-talent, fun, and just plain good. It’s been a pleasure to watch, and it’s been a guilty pleasure. Sometimes both at the same time.

Michael Buffer? Boxing-style tale-of-the-tape? Meh…

Cook will win. Archuleta is an immature 17. Last year, Jordin was a mature 17, and it showed, as she grew before our eyes over the course of the competition. This year, Gnome-boy has regressed each week, especially when compared against the stark professionalism & maturity of David Cook. Gnome-boy has become more & more child-like each & every week. He hasn’t crumbled, per se, but neither has he grown and excelled. And that’s a damning observation, when push comes to shove.

David Cook, on the other hand, has grown, stretched, and matured as an artist. He has developed a killer instinct as a contestant on the AI stage, understanding how to work within the parameters of the weekly grind, in terms of manipulating arrangements, genre, & song choices. He’s mastered this as much as anyone ever has on the AI stage. Anyone.

Note: that coin flip? Gnome-boy won it, but had to look out to Daddy-Dearest in order to make his choice…

Round 1 – Clive Davis’ Choice

Cook: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – A nice enough interpretation, but not a knock-out performance. The performance by the band didn’t do justice to the vocal performance, IMO, and that brought it down a notch or so. That said, his fanbase is solid, and it’s a fanbase that is (I think) virulently anti-Gnome-boy, so he won’t be hurt.

Here’s the thing, though – I don’t think that tonight’s performances matter, in terms of the final vote & results. I think the voting blocs are pretty much set. There might be some play amongst undecideds, but only if someone really screws up & drives votes to the other guy. That is, I think votes could be lost tonight, but not won…

Archuleta: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – A typical performance by Gnome-boy. It was well within his narrow range of expertise. As long as he isn’t challenged to go outside that zone, he’ll be OK and he’ll make his fans swoon (and the judges risk statutory indictment). Given what usually happens on finale performance shows, then, I think he’ll be safe.

Round 2 – Songwriter’s Choice

Cook: Dream Big – The up-tempo choice was a very good one, as was bringing out the guitar. He is well served when he plays up his rock-star/front-man chops. The song itself wasn’t near as good as the first one, but the performance was way better. He’s proving his versatility. He’s proving his artistry. He’s proving his bones & why he deserves to win the whole enchilada.

Archuleta: In This Moment – Ballad. Blah, blah, blah. Message. Meh, meh, meh. The same old Gnome-boy. The same old wooden moves & hand gestures. The same old, oh-so-meaningful facial expressions & squinty-closed eyes. Gosh! I’m so over the saccharine triteness from Utah. When Randy says “You can sing the phonebook, you’re so hawt, dawg!” you know it wasn’t that good.

Round 3 – Contestant’s Choice

Cook: The World I Know – Acoustic start = nice. Emotive connection with the song = outstanding. Emotion after finishing the song = outstanding. He’s very possibly the perfect AI contestant. A rocker. Sensitive. A theater guy. A bit Emo. Funny. Mature. Humble. Sincere. Respectful. Consistent. Creative. A risk-taker. Seriously, what’s not to like? What’s not to vote for?

Re: repeating a song, David was right, Simon was WRONG.

Archuleta: Imagine – COP. OUT. He is a coward. An unimaginative coward. This proves to me he’s an immature, and probably insecure, artist, because at this most important stage of the competition, he regressed & retreated to a safe place rather than boldly make a new conquest. For this alone, he deserves to lose the competition. Begone Gnome-boy, you epic annoyance – darken my TV screen no longer. (Well, ok, one more night, but after tomorrow, no more!)

Now that all is said and done, after 5 long months, I’ll leave you with this:

1) The judges are full of it. Plain and simple. They want Gnome-boy to win. A knock-out? Nope. He was the best? Nope. I don’t see it and I don’t get it. Archuleta will not, I repeat NOT, be a moneymaker for them – he’s destined to be a dud, as he doesn’t even have Broadway potential.

2) Cook for the win — Make it so, America.

-ghp

Once again, the circumstances of day-to-day life (read: redhead #1′s first softball game of the season) precluded my preferred live-blogging approach of writing up my thoughts on the performance show. Now that were at the penultimate performance show, however, and I (along with most folks & the AI show itself) am running out of steam & enthusiasm for this edition of AI, I’ll take this break in the routine as a positive opportunity, rather than a negative.

In other words, I’m gonna change up my format & try to keep things reasonably readable.

Round 1 – Judges’ Song Choice – Winner: David Cook

This round was sadly predictable in that Randy & Paula did (respectively) Syesha & David A. no favors in their song choices. I guess Paula sort of gave David a chance to stretch himself, but he failed miserably. Randy pandered to his own ego, and let Syesha fall back into the trap of imitating a current star – something that caused her all sorts of trouble back when she was on the brink of elimination many weeks ago prior to her recent resurgence.

Simon was the only one who got it right, with his choice of song for David Cook. Yes, it was a tiny bit old fashioned. But, more important, it gave David a chance to show (yet again!) that he is a talented and versatile artist, one who is capable of stretching & growing, and of bending & molding the music, such that both he and the music both end up in new & exciting places.

Perhaps the most frightening part of the first round was that Paula spoke truth, when she correctly observed that it wasn’t about Randy & Simon dumping testosterone on each other, but rather about the singers & what they did with the songs. Scary…

Round 2 – Singers’ Song Choice – Winner: David Cook

This was the weakest of the three rounds, and the one where I think the 90 second time limitation was the most obviously evident.

Syesha, well, I’m not quite sure what she was thinking, but I don’t think her choice was as damaging as the judges did. Frankly, I was expecting Simon & Randy’s reactions – it was Paula’s that surprised me. That’s about as close to a verbal bitch-slap as we’ll ever see from Ms. Abdul – I think it’s pretty clear that she didn’t like that song choice. At all.

David Archuleta’s song choice was, quite honestly, illuminating & baffling. Baffling, because I don’t know why he would decide to go outside his wheelhouse now, of all times. Illuminating because it proves my earlier point about David Cook, re: versatility. This type of versatility is something that David Archuleta has proven himself singularly incapable of doing! It is why he should not win the competition. Yes, he is talented. No, he is not versatile. Yes, he has skills. No, he is not a complete artist.

David A.’s failure in stepping out of his talent zone was so obvious that even Paula & Randy couldn’t lob the usual praise bombs his way after his 90 second crapfest. They didn’t eviscerate it like they did Syesha’s (superior) performance, but neither did they risk a visit from the Special Victims Unit, like they do after the “normal” Gnome-boy warbling session.

David Cook’s second song was merely OK. He got hosed by the 90 second time limitation. I’ll say he won the round only because the other two did worse – it’s a backhanded compliment, but a compliment nonetheless.

Round 3 – Producers’ Song Choice – Winner: David Cook

Honestly, the producers screwed over Syesha. Big time. A song from the Happy Feet soundtrack? Really? Who’d she piss off? Wow…

And, despite Simon’s protestations about the cheeziness of Longer (of course it’s cheezy – that’s what makes it great!), I thought it was actually a great choice for Gnome-boy. It actually solidified in my mind what his niche is. He’s a balladeer in the Dan Fogelberg/Christopher Cross mold. He’s just not quite that good yet. Some day he might be, and he will probably make a nice bit of money from it, as long as his dad doesn’t suck the will to perform and/or live out of him before then.

Closing the show in the pimp slot was David Cook, and he did it up right, proving that he is the one David who belongs to be in the finals next week NO. MATTER. WHAT.

Should Go Home: David “The Gnome-Boy” Archuleta

Will Go Home: Syesha

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that it will be an all-David finale, or that Archuleta is a/the lock to be there. I think it’s quite possible that Syesha could sneak into the finale, and that she could do it at Gnome-boy’s expense. It’s a gut feeling I have, based on equal parts of my personal preference & my take on how the voting blocs could break down – i.e., Syesha has a unique & potentially significant voting bloc, while the Davids split some demographic groups in such a way that I see the majority going to Cook because he’s more completely/versatilely talented (and the folks who like/respect that will get out the vote to protect that against the tween vote for Gnome-boy).

Or, I could be full of crap. We’ll see…

-ghp

Circumstances dictated that I not write up my thoughts as I watched the performances this week. It’s probably just as well, as I was tired & cranky. As I’ve had a chance to consider my initial thoughts & then tweak them a little bit, I’m actually surprised at just how much thought & consideration I’m able to put into it when I’m writing them up during a ‘normal’ week of doing it while watching the performances. I very much prefer doing it that way now. Yesterday was just a perfect storm of getting kids to practices & then getting myself to meetings at church. (I know, I know – priorities… )

David C. – Hungry Like the Wolf & Baba O’Riley – David is not a Duran Duroid, plus, the AI production staff did him no favors with how they mixed the audio on the first song – the band was nowhere to be found, and the song suffered because of it. The second song was much, much better, both as a song, and as a performance. Given Jason’s self-immolation, I don’t think this unfortunate dip in song choice (combined with the accursed first slot in the final four upset week) will hurt him. Thankfully…

Syesha – Proud Mary & A Change Is Gonna Come – She’s peaking at a good time – sounding good, looking fabu, & benefiting from being the only girl left. She ain’t that great, but she is the best girl left singing. And that’s enough to get her into this season’s Top 3. Although Syesha might’ve, just might’ve mind you, been better served by not equating her getting into the AI top 4 with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960′s. I’m just sayin’…

Jason – I Shot the Sheriff & Mr. Tambourine Man – Good Lord. He just gave up, didn’t he? Never before has a contestant just flat out given up on such a big stage. I’m even more offended than Randy & Simon, especially after seeing Carly in the audience. Jason doesn’t want to be in the competition any more, & I don’t want to write about him any more.

David A. – Stand By Me & Love Me Tender – Gag. If the judges stroked him any more, it would be considered statutory child abuse. He’s not that good, folks. A glimpse into his soulless, unfeeling eyes will tell you that. If Jason wasn’t so painfully bad, I’d really push harder to see Gnome-boy gone. He’s got as much soul as a hunk of government fromage.

Should Go Home: Jason

Will Go Home: Jason

I was not happy to see David C. in the oft-cursed lead-off slot this week, the week of the final-four, when so many true upsets have happened in odd-numbered past seasons (Tamyra in AI:1, LaToya in AI:3, & Daughtry in AI:5). I was hoping that this year we might see David A. somehow sneak in as the Final Four “upset special”. I don’t think that’ll happen. Neither, though, do I think we’ll see David C. get the Ziggy. No, I think that Jason will deservedly get sent home, unless his fans are as high as he seems to want to be, or are just plain stupid. He obviously wants to go home, and I think he deserves to go home. You don’t disrespect the contest at this stage (by forgetting lyrics, for example) without paying a price. I hope.

-ghp

Carly’s gone. I’ll take partial credit for getting that right, as I predicted the circumstances where it was possible, but not that it would happen. Kristy’s votes, along with a boatload of sympathy votes, went to Brooke, thus keeping her safe for another week. I don’t buy the bogus argument that singing Jesus Christ Superstar generated some sort of holy/fundie backlash against Carly. Remember this contest is rigged such that it’s hard to vote against someone & get them out… No, I think this was just the end of a several week streak where Carly just didn’t perform consistently good enough to stand out & build a rabid voting bloc. She had been up & down on top of having had been a little controversial coming out of Hollywood week (along with Michael) because of her prior recording contract, and her having been “chosen” by the producers & Simon. That ended up being too much for her to overcome in the end. At least she seemed ok with it…

This week, it’s Neil Diamond. I can only imagine that bigsis is happy, as I do believe she is a big fan. Me? Eh. He’s ok. I respect the man’s talent & all (and I’m secretly hoping that David C. will sing America…).

Frankly, I’ve been in a wretched mood most of today, and I think that I’m going to try something different this week. I’m going to keep it short, sweet, and succinct.

Jason – Forever In Blue Jeans & September Morn – Forever was barely ok. Same with September. Neither was what was needed to get the job done in this competition. EPIC SUCK. BEGONE.

David C. – I’m Alive & All I Really Need Is You – Hot. Compelling. Strong. I didn’t know the songs, but he made me want to know them. EPIC WIN. IDOL.

Brooke – I’m A Believer & I Am, I Said. – Shrek did Believer better. Writing that made me sad. I Am, I Said was only marginally better. Writing that made me even sadder. EPIC SAD.

David A. – Sweet Caroline & America – Sure, this punk had to go and sing my favorite Neil Diamond song. Punk-ass punk. Both of his arrangements sounded like a commercials/adverts. Weak-ass, wussy, punk. Grow a pair, let ‘em drop, & learn some rock & roll. EPIC SUCK. STOP ANNOYING ME.

Syesha – Hello Again & Thank The Lord For The Night Time – Damn, she looked good again tonight. Sounded good too. She can stay another week. EPIC PIMP SLOT.

The Top: David C.

The Safe: Syesha & David A.

The Bottom 2: Jason & Brooke

Should Go Home: Jason

Will Go Home: Jason

-ghp