American Idol 2011 Season 10 – San Francisco Audition

Tonight is the last audition show and it proved to a very good one after last weeks “waste of time” show.  The format seemed to change back to the “Yes” contestants instead of highlighting the judges and the “NO” contestants.  We like this format much better.

Tonight AAN invited Gabrielle (5 year old grand daughter), Jojo, Andrew, and Jenna to be judges and to please rate each contestant on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest rating.  Gabrielle elected to use “X” for did not like and “*” for like. (Comments optional).

Here are the contestant performances in the order of appearance:

1] Inessa #46449 (Very confident)

We thought her vocals were so-so, very off tune.

Jojo – 0

Gabrielle – *******

Andrew – 2 – Give her a 2 on vocals and a 4 on her moves

NO to Hollywood

2] Stefano #40560 (Had a life changing accident)

We thought the vocals were very good and with a good arrangement.

Jojo – 10 -- Excellent

Gabrielle – *******

Jojo – 5 – Good Voice

Andrew – 5 – Good voice.

Jenna – 6

YES to Hollywood

3] Clint #51021

We thought his vocals were so-so but he does have potential.

Jojo – 5 – Good voice

Gabrielle – ***********

Jenna – 6

Andrew – 2 – ruined the song

YES to Hollywood

4] Drew #47238 (Wearing a Transformer outfit)

His vocals were not very good but the outfit he was wearing was so creative we were amazed.  He said he made the outfit and it was a red Ford Mustang Transformer.  When he transformed in to the car it actually looked like a mini-mustang and moved like a mini-car.  Ford Motor Company should latch on to Drew and do some commercials.

Jojo – 0 – On vocals – 10 for a job in Silicon Valley

Gabrielle – ********

Jenna – 1 – Vocals – 1 for the costume

NO to Hollywood

5] Julie #48841 (From Columbia originally)

Very good vocals and she has “the look” along with a great story.

Jojo – 10_ -- Winner this year or close to it.

Gabrielle -- *****

Jenna10

Andrew – 9 – Great voice

YES to Hollywood

6] Dave #38164 (Rocker)

Not very good at all

Jojo – 2 – Tink he should have tried country

Gabrielle -- **********

Andrew – 3 – 3 for the hair

NO to Hollywood

7] Emily #42527 (House burned down recently)

We thought she has a very interesting voice, very different than anything we have hear this year.  We second song was a “Wow!”

Jojo – 5 – Need to see more – 8 – on 2^nd song

Gabrielle -- ***********

Andrew – 7 – Classic sound

YES to Hollywood

8] James from Santa Cruz CA and a great story about overcoming adversity.

We may have missed his number but this was a “Wow! Wow! Wow!”  James has an amazing voice and his vocal range is “crazy” to quote Randy. James is one of the best voices we have heard this year.  This is a top ten or maybe even winner this year.

Jojo – 10 +++ -- Adam Lambert revisited – but better!

Gabrielle -- ***********

Andrew – 8 – Great voice, bad appearance.

YES to Hollywood

 We have nothing else to report except to once again thank Gabrielle, Jojo, Andrew, and Jenna for joining the AAN panel again tonight.

 Okay folks this was the last audition show this year and tomorrow night is the start of “Hollywood Week”,  This is where the contestants either shine or go back home.  This week is always very interesting and exciting.

American Idol Season 10 -- Milwaukee Auditions

Tonight is the American Idol Auditions in Milwaukee WI. This is the first time American Idol has visited Milwaukee during the audition tour. Because Milwaukee is close to Chicago, there will probably be many folks from the Chicago area.

We have nothing else to report until later tonight.

Hope to see you then.

American Idol Season 9 – Top 3 Performance Week

The Judges tonight were Simon, Kara, Randy, and Ellen.

The contestants will sing two songs, one chosen by the contestant and one chosen by a judge.

Here are the top 3 contestants in order of performance:

Songs chosen by the contestants…

1] Casey James – Song: “Okay it’s alright with me.”

So-so choice (We never have heard this song before tonight), but the arrangement was up beat and the vocals were very good, not great, but we enjoyed the performance. We have to agree with all the judges, it was only “alright” especially because this is probably one of the most important nights in Casey’s career.

2] Crystal Bowesox – Song: “Come to my window“

An interesting choice we must say. As usual we really liked her vocals, but overall, we did not like the arrangement. We agree with Randy, her vocals made it a great song. Even more important we agree with Simon when he said, “The one thing about you is from day one you never have compromised your style and you consistently pick songs that suit your style.”

3] Lee Dewyze – Song: “Simple Man”

Now this was a great song choice and Lee had a great performance. The vocals were spot on with a great arrangement. We think this was the best performance so far tonight. The performance rates right up there with his best performance ever. Great job!

Songs chosen by a judge…

4] Casey James – Song: “Daughters” (Chosen by Randy and Kara)

This performance was better than his first song, but it was not great. We thought it was a little “sleepy” and did not find any sort of connection. Not memorable at all.

5] Crystal Bowesox – Song: “Baby I am amazed” (Chosen by Ellen)

All we can say is “Wow!” Once again we were amazed by Crystal’s vocals. The vocals we absolutely great and even though we were concerned on this song choice, it is opinion that it was her best performance this season. Excellent song choice by Ellen!

6] Lee Dewyze – Song: “Halleluiah” (Chosen by Simon)

Another “wow” for Lee! This song has been done before on Idle, but we think Lee did the best version ever done on American Idle. Simon sent a challenge and Lee answered with a great “moment” and great performance. Lee showed what this show is all about. Just think about it, Lee was selling paint before American Idol and he decided to follow a DREAM…sweet!

We have nothing else to report except that to remind you that tomorrow night is the results show.. Pick up the phone and vote for your favorite are they may go home tomorrow night

So You Think You Can Dance

The day after American Idol ends my favorite “reality” show starts. “So you think you can dance” is also about people who are following their dreams. I like this show more because of the dedication of these people to dance. Before I started watching this show I never thought much about professional dancing, but after watching for several seasons, I found that the some of these people are very special. Some can actually touch or connect to the audience just by expressing themselves through dancing. What amazes me the most is the body control, the movement, the flow, the energy, and how they interpret and perform each dance.

This year on the first show, which is the beginning auditions from all over the country there were a couple of contestants that really impressed the judges and the judges are professional choreographers. One fellow even made the one judge sob with joy as she watched the performance. It was a powerful performance I agree and this fellow made the top twenty last year, but was cut early. I see this year he has “grown” hugely as a dancer. Another contestant this week was a girl that was the last contestant cut before the final twenty last year and she is amazing this year also.

In case you haven’t seen or heard of this show this is the process for picking contestants. Like Idol, they go to cities all over the country and hold auditions. Each person dances their specialty dance, like hip-hop, contemporary, tap, ballet, ballroom, etc. The judges decide if they have enough talent to continue on (also like Idol) to the next level. On the next level, just like Idol’s “hell” week, more dancing to see who will be chosen for the final top twenty. This is where it gets interesting. Even though the show is looking for one winner, the contestants now get pared off as couples. Then they pick out of a hat the type of dance they will be performing on the next show. With the help of various choreographers they are taught a routine for the each dance routine. This is interesting to me because now you have hip-hop specialists learning the waltz for example.

Last year’s winner was Joshua Allen, the 19-year-old, untrained hip-hop dancer who I loved watching throughout the entire competition. He was truly amazing and did “moves” that had me in awe as I watched.

Just by watching the first show this year it looks like it’s going to be another great season of watching dedicated people who are following their dreams to dance.

I have nothing more to add at this time.

American Idol Finale…

WOW! What a show and congratulations to Chris Allen!

I was amazed at the result, but I guess my wife had it right, “Adam is in a league of his own and will go on to super stardom. Give someone else a chance to win.” It looks like voters agreed with her take on who should win.

The show had all the “bling”, “pizzazz”, “promotion”, “special effects”, an audience could ask for. I think it was the best “Rock” music show I can ever remember watching in many years.

Even though it was a great entertainment event, my take on the show is it was a celebration of people who follow their dreams. I noticed that the contestants that made it the farthest never once said they were doing it for “my kids”, “my parents”, “my family”, etc. I think they were doing something they love and believe in. They remained themselves throughout the competition and did not change because of something someone else said. I think this is something most people aspire for. To know who they are and know that there is nothing that can stop them from achieving their dreams. No limits, no fear, overcoming hurdles, and continuing the dream.

I congratulate American Idol for bringing this “reality” show to the public and showing us that all the contestants from this year and previous years are following the same path. If you think about it, the show itself is a dream of someone who had an idea, acted on the idea, and “made it happen”. Some may say “they did it for the money and the fame”, but I think when your doing something you absolutely love, the money and the fame do not matter. The “money and fame” are perks.

I have nothing to add at this time except I invite you to take a few moments and post a comment.

American Idol Finals..

Who will be the next American Idol? I voted for Adam. My wife voted for Chris. My daughter went out with her friends to a movie, “17 Again” and did not vote. My 3 year old grand daughter was sleeping and I knew she liked Adam, so I voted for her.

Now my wife agrees that Adam is the best singer, but her reasoning is that Adam was so far advanced against the other contestants that he will be a super-star no matter what and she wants to give someone else a chance at stardom.

My reasoning is that, yes, Adam is in a “league of his own” and should get all the accolades that come with being on the show and winning.

I have Nothing to add until tomorrow nights final decision.