Idol's Replacement is back!

With the finale of American Idol this week, Fox gives way to its summer fill-in 'So You Think You can Dance'. Season three debuted Thursday night with the New York City auditions. Cat Deeley of course is back with hosting duties and general commentary with some of the more 'colorful' characters who turned out for the auditions. At the judging helm is Nigel Lithgowe, Mary Murphey(aaack) and Dan Karaty. Mia Michaels and Shane Sparks have also returned to help appraise dancers once the final cast has been set.

My first impression was that this seems to be the nicer, gentler SYTYCD. Nigel even stated emphatically that he would, "not be mean this year." BAH I say. Some of these people are extremely delusional with the notion they think they can dance. And even worse, we have people auditioning who claim to be instructors who are simply horrible.

Fox seems to be on a roll with returnees of previous auditionaires. One such gentlemen to return was 'SEX'. Yes simply 'SEX" who again thought he had the ability and talent and brooding mom to make it onto this years show. Let me just say this guy is an idiot!!! Amazing how delusional people are in their own minds. But I guess there would be no interest in reality TV if it wasn't for the whack jobs. I think his real name is David something or another. David you and your mom need to get a life and you should probably move out of her apartment.

Be sure to watch the two hour event this coming Wednesday, May 30 to see both the LA and Chicago auditions. Final casting eill be decided once all offeres have been given for the next round in Las Vegas.

TV Tim

Well it didn't take long for the judges last night to emphasize that American Idol is, and always will be a "singing competition". Hmmm, if that's the case then why wasn't Melinda Doolittle in the finale?

Say what you want to at this point, but all that matters are the number of votes cast after last nights performances. Personally I think there aren't any losers going into tonight's reveal and quite honestly I am pulling for Jordin. I think the payoff is in her youthful exuberance and she seems like she is exactly what a rising pop star needs to be. She did have a better night vocally, but then we all have known that she has a better voice than Blake. I am not quite sure I can go along with Randy who stated that her performance of 'Broken Wing' was better than the original. I think not.

Blake definitely did not lose any ground to Jordin with his first two performances. I thought 'Shot Through the Heart' was better on Bon Jovi night and I am not a huge fan of Maroon 5, so I feel as though Blake should have sang a song by 311. The judges were unanimous in their thoughts that Blake is a true performer and I think he will be huge making records in his style and genre. Plus I think we all know that the runner ups have been clearly more successful than the winners. Exceptions being Ms. Clarkson and Ms. Underwood. Blake has already clearly won, and I hope that isn't ruined by the title of the next American Idol.

Jordin, tonight is your night! I am predicting a great career and many fine songs to some.

One last note, I hope that you got to enjoy A&E's Biography this weekend which spot lighted Simon, Randy and Paula. Man did you see some of the hair styles and outfits that Randy wore during his Journey stint? My oh my! And Simon in a Speedo! All I can say is, "Fuckin' get me towel. Mr Tangerine Speedo!"

TV Tim

Holy Cow!

Like the rest of America I was ready for Ryan Seacrest to say, "Melinda, America has voted and you....are safe!" Well as we all know by now, America did vote and left Melinda Doolittle out of the AI finale.

As Paula, Randy and Simon stated, Melinda has nothing to worry about. She definitely is on her way to a brilliant career and now has the freedom to follow her own path. I think what it came down to is the songs she performed on Tuesday night. I don't think they carried mass appeal for the younger audience. Melinda has great range and can sing songs not necessarily popular with a younger crowd. All season long I think she lacked performing songs that were fresher, hipper and younger. Regardless, I cant wait to hear her music away from AI. Congratulations Melinda!

Melinda's departure leaves Jordin and Blake to duke it out for the title of American Idol. It was great to see local Seattle. burbs resident Blake, enjoying his trip home last Friday and the jammed packed schedule of events. I walked down to Westlake Plaza and caught some of Blake's performance with Sir Mix-Alot. I'm really excited to see what direction Blake will take with an album once this is all over.

As much as I want Blake to win, I think this is Jordin's competition to lose now. She's young and brings alot of appeal in that Jo-Jo, Brandy, Hillary Duff sort of way. I can see her on album covers and hear her on the pop charts.

Either way I hope they both go all out next week and try something original. Congratulations to Blake and Jordin for making it into the finale!

TV Tim

PS I'm glad someone told Blake that his outfit last week was hideous and to wear something that didnt make him look so short and chubby.

Old Favorites are Back

Get ready everyone. 'So You Think You Can Dance'(FOX) and 'America Has Talent'(NBC) are making their way back to prime time. Looks like Sharon Osbourne is going to join the judgin panel this year on 'Talent' joining the The Hoff. Stayed tuned for all the juicy bits.

TV Tim

Disco Duds!

Blech! Ok so there are four finalists left and AI decides to go with Barry Gibb and disco night. What a mistake. I was so bored out of my mind that I kept switching the channel to a rerun of CSI on SPIKE.

The night should have showcased the talents of the remaining four by allowing them to sing what they wanted. I feel we could have gotten stronger performances out of everyone.

Melinda received her usual praise; she was good, but to me very bland and boring. I’m not sure exactly why she chose those mellow and soft songs? I do not think she is going home but I certainly wouldn’t have voted for her last night.

Blake chose one good song, ‘You Should be Dancing”. His second choice was some other obscure song no one had heard of or cares about. Randy and Simon didn’t care much at all for Blake’s interpretations; Simon even called the first one ‘cheesy’. Guess I am cheesy because I thought Blasé rocked the house with his beat box fusion and modern crooning. I think Paula has a thing for young guys so it was no surprise that she showered Blake with kudos.

Lakisha proved again that she has strong vocals, but again I think it was a question of poor song choices. Again I found myself flipping channels during her second performance. If I had my choice, Lakisha would go this week. Not because I dislike her or anything, just because I think she had the weakest performances. Oh and I didn’t even take into account her voice kind of giving out in the end.

Jordin knocked it out last night. She proved once again that she is beyond her youthful years. The judges agreed, by calling her first performance the best of the night. There is tons of talk this morning about her second choice, ‘Woman in Love’. Not very Striesand-ish, but then maybe that’s why I thought it was ok. Jordin should be safe.

It gets tough from here on out and I think regardless of who is sent home tonight, they all need to step up next week and rock the house. Tune in t Fox tonight. Also Blake Lewis is scheduled to tentatively be scheduled to perform on Seattle’s local Fox affiliate Q13 Friday morning, if he gets sent home.

TV Tim

American Idol contestants are shrinking…

Well, I’m impressed. Last night was Bon Jovi night on American Idol. Usually the rock night goes horribly wrong and every just ends up sounding like their yelling – not last night. Everyone did a killer job (with the exception of Jordin). Not only did their voices sound good, they looked really good (again, with the exception of Jordin). Gosh, Jordin really got the short end of the stick last night. She was by far the worst all around. BTW…Did Melinda and Lakisha have liposuction over the weekend? Just curious. My other question is - do they have proof that Jordin is 17? This chick is big. Not fat big, just big. Remember that soccer player that was super good and said he was like 15 or something. Seems like the same scenario. To recap…

Phil Baldy: Eh. Same old Phil performance. Sort of good, sort of not good. Sort of don’t give a (sorry). Randy and Paula liked it, Simon tore him to shreds.

Jordin: Jordin f’d up big time. They made her look like Slash from Guns n’ Roses. On top of that she sang like crap. The judges said she sounded shreaky. With everyone doing so well, the performance really hurt her. Tonight should be interesting

Mini-JT: Mini-JT is back in full effect. Last night he did so good. He stopped doing that weird thing where he moves his head to the side when he’s singing – major bonus. Judges liked him. He still isn’t as strong as the other contestants but he done good.

Lakisha: Lakisha worked it last night. She gave it her all and then some. She sang, “This ain’t a love song.” Simon gave her a kiss in the end. A little awkward but a nice gesture. I think I'm going to give Simon and Lakisha the Most Random Kiss Award. Besides the amazing performance, she looked damn good. She either ran 10 miles everyday this week or paid a visit to dr. liposuction. Lakisha was on the brink of going home, but I pretty sure last night saved her.
Beat Box Blake: Blake was interesting last night. He did his whole beat box dance thing (more so than normal) which was super cool and he got the crowd going but the song he paired it up with was just okay – “You give love a bad name.” All in all the whole thing was pretty cool. The judges gave him major props for originality. Black hair wasn’t my favorite, but I get that its rock night. Back to blonde, please.

Melinda Mom: Of course Melinda sang ridiculously good, judges loved her. I don’t do Melinda.

Two people are going home tonight =(...

How could I forget Elvis?!

What is wrong with me? I totally forgot about the Celine & Elvis performance in my recap yesterday. Thank goodness for E! News to spark my memory. If you haven’t seen the performance, it’s a must. I’m going to have to downgrade Earth, Wind & Fire’s performance to 2nd place and Celine & Elvis’ performance to 1st place. On a side note, on E! News last night they were talking about Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Could those two be any more random? With all the randomness lately, I decided to sporadically give out random awards as I see fit. The first two go to…yep you guessed it…

*Celine Dion & Elvis for...Most Random Performance with a Dead Person
*Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban for...Most Random Blonde Couple