Ellen Old Blue Eyes

Ellen's eyes damn blue lor..

After all the anticipation and the 'woot'-ing and 'yay'-ing and daily countdowns (I'm sure I'm not the only one who set a countdown alarm on my phone...she has crazy mad fans in the US), I thought the minute she walked on set I would laugh. But nope, the first thing I saw was how darn blue her eyes are. Even more so paired with that denim jacket. Now THAT is what I call blue man. Even The Husband's first comment was "Wah her eyes damn blue man!"

And after all that fuss about her and Simon feuding...they got along like best friends throughout the show. She'd make jokes, he'd smile or laugh. The closest to a catfight we saw was hardly even a meow - Ellen played step back step forth with the final four contestants of the day only to put all of them through and Simon remarked, 'You're a sadist'. Feud? Where gottt? PR Spin laaa, told you I could smell it.

Ellen to Simon :

"So this is it huh,.... I come on.... you leave."

It was pretty apparent in our first Hollywood week episode that the producers were clearly giving Ellen the judging lead (or at least it seemed that way in on the final edit). In my previous post, I carried quotes from various articles online speculating that producers were figuring out how to 'phase' Simon out. Imo, certainly looks like they are grooming Ellen to be head judge from Day 1.

I guess with Ellen as the anchor judge from here on in, Simon's exit won't seem to leave such a gaping hole on the panel. I'm so gonna miss Simon when he DOES leave. Say what you want, but I've always felt the guy is genuine and he calls it like he sees it (and 90% of the time I agree with him). Oh and I love how he totally supports those that he thinks have talent.

Back to Ellen's first day, I think she started the day on the right note when she came onstage and addressed the 'big question on everyone's minds' - "What does she know about music?" And her answer was perfect :

"What I do know is what its like to stand on stage and try to please an entire room full of people. Thats a hard thing to do."

Ok so how did Round 1 of Hollywood Week go?

Everyone gets a chance to sing either acapella or accompanied by an instrument. Many took to the opportunity to bring their guitars and keyboards. Lots of aspiring singer/songwriters here.

What I liked about this episode, especially remembering last season, was that it had plenty of surprise goodbyes. Last season, producers pretty much gave away who were going through to the Top 24, because every single story they highlighted (ie followed back to hometowns for backstories) made it through.

You'd assume the same this year, but nope. A large number of those with backstories didn't make it through. Bye bye to SkiiBoSki, country girl Vanessa Wolfe (the one who'd never been on a plane before), Cornelius the guy who split his pants doin' a split, Maegan Wright who's lil brother was a big supporter, the New Jersey sisters, Barney girl Erica and beatboxer Jay Stone who failed to impress - Ellen said something was wrong with his mic (wahlaueh epic fail lor).

Although many bit the dust, there were so many standouts too - totally blowin' me away were :

Andrew Garcia - wth blew me totally to the next town man!

His accoustic rendition of Straight Up was SLAMMIN!! He took that song and totally made it his own! Agree with Kara 100% - "RIDICULOUS!" (in a good way)

Paula Abdul must be kicking herself for ending her contract right? (While simultaneously snapping her fingers, screaming and clapping and rooting for him in her living room)

Janell Wheeler

Her accoustic version of American Boy was awesome!! I really like the tone of her voice!

Haeley Vaughn

I actually kinda enjoyed her version of 'Hallelujah'. She's very likeable, although it still confuses me cos I can't peg her to a genre eventhough she says country pop - seems weird.

Lilly Scott

Wow, this one was an OMG moment! Love her voice!! Totally took me by surprise cos her speakng voice is lower, and then she sings this Ella Fitzgerald classic in such a cool way. 'Everything about you is refreshing' - totally on da money Kara!

btw, the Sam guy that made it through with her, looks cool, pity we didn't get to see his audition :(

Mike "Big Mike" Lynche

He's really huge (as in, the-guitar-looked-seriously-like-a-ukelele-huge) personal trainer who missed the birth of his first child for this. I totally didn't even remember his first audition. He also surprised me. His take of 'Waitin' On The World To Change' was infectious! I loved it, loved his personality and his lil ukelele...oops I mean guitar :)

Casey James

Woot! He was kinda dull and not much of a personality at his original audition and probably got through cos he took off his shirt. But with the guitar added, he came out of his shell. Casey became a croonin' coyote! (<--- ok don't know where that came from)

Loved it, eventhough I'm not really a country fan. (Then again, I'm actually likin' Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler and oh gawd Taylor Swift too! how? might need to git me a cowboy hat soon)

Crystal Bowersox (no not Powersocks)

All dreadlocked and tattooed, she totally powered through 'You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman'. She looks too young to be a mom, I mean, she looked 16 (she's actually 24). She certainly got the crowd going and she's kinda got a hippiechick feel - reminds me a little of Rose Flack from last season. Rose was prettier, but Crystal has a much better voice and musicality.

And last but not least people...my favourite of the night was.....

Didi Benami

I love love LOVED it. I'm actually a Kara Dioguardi fan and I was so excited when she said she was singing 'Terrified' cos I have loved this song since I found Kara singing it on a video on Youtube early last year.

Imo, she did it better than Katharine McPhee (this is one of Katharine McPhee's singles from her new album 'Unbroken'). Didi made it very current. Kat McPhee's version sounds like it could be from the 90s or even 80s (no disrespect to her, I was actually rooting for her all throughout Season 5) Click here to listen to Katharine McPhee's version, but I suggest you watch Kara sing it below :) (one of my fave vids, the singing only starts at 1:49)

Kara btw looked awesome on Idol...and this is so random and unrelated but I have the same coloured scarf! Yay, me and Kara have something in common (except that maybe hers cost a few hundred bucks, mine was $10 from Cotton On, Anchorpoint).

Others that were pretty good were Katie Stevens (16 year old whose grandma has Alzheimer's), Tim Urban (floppy haired, and I just love his name) and Mary Powers, the rocker mama who brought along her 8 year old daughter to meet Simon and he said 'Are you sure this isn't my daughter' because she was such a cynic.

Maddy Curtis (the girl with Downs Syndrome brothers) didn't make it through. Apparently the judges felt she wasn't ready for this. But imo, I thought she deserved to go at least one more day.

46 made it thru to Group Day. Historically Group Day is Super Drama day. Its bound to yield lots of emo scenes because its a super stressed environment and you're forcing strangers to work together within 24 hours on a performance that will either make/break their Idol dreams. Drama with a capital 'D' comin' your way, tonight! EXCITINGGGGG!

See you on the flipside of tonight's episode folks!

What did you think of Ellen's first day as judge? Can she helm the panel once Simon's gone? Why didn't they groom Kara? Comment comment comment :)

xoxo, s.

ps. I liked the girl with the purple woolly hat and glasses but I have no idea what her name is. We didn't even see her audition.

American Idol Episode 6 : Dallas Auditions

Was Dallas Le-Gen-Dary?

Not quite, but it was pretty good. This episode of American Idol showed us a lot more good than bad and it was nice to not have to sit through excruciatingly bad auditions . And hey Dallas is also where Kelly Clarkson was discovered, so who knows, this year's Idol could come from here.

Neil Patrick Harris is guest judge for Day 1 in Dallas. You'll remember him as Doogie from Doogie Howser MD and more recently as Barney, the star of hit sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother'. LOL, but Randy and Simon would have preferred to have Richard Simmons (the exercise guy? seriously?) or Clint Eastwood as guest judges - fat hopes guys.

"My goal today is to shatter the dreams of thousands. If I can make two or three dozen people cry, I'll feel like I've done my job." Snarky snarky NPH. But I likey.

Kara looked gorgeous in red today and back to normal (not fake-tanned like yesterday), producers should NOT sit her next to something as white as Katy Perry ever again. I'm hoping Katy Perry comes back as a judge - maybe next year when Simon's not around, she can take Simon's chair? Some people say that chair needs a Gene Simmons - I say nay. Not the tongue guy from KISS. Veteran yes, but I don't think I can spend an entire season watching/listening to him - not charming enough imo. Sir Paul McCartney perhaps?

Who would YOU like to see take over Simon's role?

Midway through the show, they had this funny segment. Ah, life as Simon Cowell IS tough isn't it?

And before I head on to the other auditionees, guest judge for Day 2 is heartthrob Joe Jonas. The middle Jonas Bro was just total eye candy. He was mostly polite and smiley, but he wasn't given very much airtime. Oh well, dun matter, whatever face time we got of him was lovely! :)

Ok, on to the auditionees...

BAD....

Julie Kevelighan

7 years ago, Simon told her to get a lawyer to sue her singing teacher. She has since taken more singing lessons, acting lessons, makeup lessons (and I'm guessing styling lessons). Not willing to give up, she kept singing even as she was escorted out by security. Taking a leaf from Simon, I say hire a team of lawyers and sue all them teachers.

Dexter Ward

Declared to cam that he would be "I am. The Next. America's Idol". LOL. Did he try out for Next Top Model before this or been to so many auditions he's forgotten which reality show he's on? OMG and the winking! You guys have to watch this again...

But laughter aside, so poor thing la watching him cry outside.

Vanessa Johnston

If there's anything called OVERpositivity I think this girl would be it. Dressed head (big flowerball AND pink eyeshadow) to toe in fuchsia (not regular pink), she shouted, no, yelled out 'At Last' totally offkey - Etta James was probably doing flips in her grave. It was seriously painful to watch (and hear).

Iffy for me.

Erica Rhodes

Yesterday producers trailed that Barney was in the audition room. Chey! No one came in dressed up as Barney. Erica was one of the kids on Barney & Friends and OMG my kids watch Barney and I actually recognise her! She came in dressed as a dominatrix to make an impression, she kept saying she wants to show people that Barney kids do grow up (to which NPH said "to be dirty little girls!" LOL!). Her voice was just okay to me, and I think she got in more on her personality. I think our girls did a better rendition of En Vogue's 'Free Your Mind', minus the whip ;)

Good

Dockworker Lloyd Thomas impressed with Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed". He has a personality but it didn't really come through when he sang, but he has a good voice and can sing. I don't know if he'll make it through Hollywood week. He was Simon's favourite audition of the day.

Kimberley Carver

Impressed with an original song and managed to win over everyone except Simon. She reminded me a little of Kelly Clarkson, but her vocals are nowhere near Kelly's.

Dave Pittman

He has Tourette's Syndrome. I thought he was gonna spew obscenities at any moment, but luckily his Tourettes's ticks are more of facial ticks and clearing of the throat. Miraculously, the Tourette's doesn't affect him when he's singing and he has a great clear voice. He's very likeable and genuine. NPH says he's "crazy brave". Definitely one of my favourites, and Simon thought he was 'terrific' and that 'people are gonna like him'.

Todrick Hall

Interesting name, interesting original song. He wrote it specifically for the show and it was kinda cute. Spoilers on the net say he's made it to the Top 24. Lets see if thats true, but he does have that 'seh' (quality) about him. His style reminded me of Craig David.

Maegan Wright

Blondie who bursts with sunshine with a heartwarming story about the bond between her and little brother Dawson after their parents divorced. She looked like she wasn't gonna be able to sing, but she surprised me (and the judges) with her touching rendition of Adele's 'Make You Feel My Love'. The girl is good, she doesn't try too hard and she's going to Hollywood.

Christian Spear

Last audition for Dallas and its a sob story comin' up (hrm do I see a pattern?). At 16, Christian is an 8-year cancer survivor. She got leukimia at 4 yrs old and went into remission at 8. She was pretty good. Her voice reminded me a lot of Tabitha's. :)

31 from Dallas are going to Hollywood. My favourites are Maegan Wright and Todrick Hall.

Next week, it's the last audition city - Denver. Guest judge : Victoria Beckham...again. I'm hoping to see a little less nerves and a little more personality from her (and ixnay the acelay*). Hopefully we'll be done with Denver on Wednesday and go straight to Hollywood on Thursday and see Ellen in action! Then again, with a title like 'Road To Hollywood', I'm kinda expecting Thursday's show to be a recap of the audition cities with just a teaser for actual Hollywood week at the end - fingers crossed I'm wrong.

Ok, off to check on my son! (yes folks, I'm camped out at my son's school, keeping an eye on him, while writing this review)

xoxo, s.

*nix the lace.

Its IDOL DAY! Twice A Week!

American Idol Season 9 has begun!

If you're reading this, thank you for coming back to the blog after my one week hiatus (everyone needs a holiday right?). Its good to be back in front of the tv and just in time for the season premiere of American Idol. This show (and F.R.I.E.N.D.S.) has been the tv highlight of the year for me for the last 8 years (we didn't carry Season 1 in Singapore), so suffice it to say I'm super happy its back, especially after about 3 weeks of Singapore Idol withdrawal :)

So how was Episode 1?

If you're like me, a big fan who has cable and no job, you probably watched it at 6pm. ;) Apparently @izked, @syazaq and I were spamming twitter with our tweets while watching. Back to old times hey? Only sans the twitpics!

First thing the show addressed was Paula's non-presence. In August (or was it July?) last year, Paula announced that she would not be returning to the show. This after weeks of speculation that salary negotiations weren't going well. Adding to the blow back then was an announcement of both Ryan's and Simon's pay increases. Most notably Ryan's as his was an extended contract and a huge pay increase. So Paula, who stated before Season 8 began, that having a 4th judge was not a good idea, hung up her Idol shoes with a few really sweet tweets (yes she tweets!)...

"With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to Idol. I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, buut most of all being a part of a show that I helped from Day 1 become an international phenomenon. "

"What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all."

Sad huh? I'll be the first to admit although I didn't particularly love Paula, I enjoyed watching her have a go at Simon every so often. Last season, her role on the show seemed a bit overshadowed by the more 'technical' Kara - Paula seemed....unnecessary. But she's right though, she has been a part of the team that made the show what it was for the first 7 years. So for me, it was kinda weird to not see her on the show. But I got over that in like...7 minutes.

Thats when I became more fixated on Posh's super sunken cheek hollows and lacey headband - what is up with that? Someone on twitter said it looked like lacey underwear (tsk!).

Posh is the first of 8 celebrity guest judges who will be doing rotating duties over the next coupla weeks of auditions before Ellen (I can't wait!) steps in during Hollywood rounds. More on the AI9's season sked later on (scroll down if you wanna skip the review).

I was really looking forward to seeing how Victoria would handle her judging duties. She's actually pretty witty and sarcastic (have you ever watched her failed 'mockumentary' about her move to the US - google it, its on youtube somewhere). I've seen previous interviews of her (from my time in the UK) and she's actually quite smart - I like her sense of humour. Unfortunately none of that came through on tonight's show - what a pity. She seemed nervous actually.

Her first outfit made her look a bit like one of Tim Burton's animated characters, but I liked her second look. She looked fresher, despite being a bit on the skinny side - oh who am I kidding, she's the mayor of Skinny Town.

Simon Cowell's the same, first thing I noticed of the first few shots of him was how thin his white teeshirt was and how painfully obvious his man-nipples were. I tried not to notice them, look away even, but when I looked back they were still there, practically waving. My mantra this season will be NOT to notice Simon's na-nas. The na-nas aside, I still can't believe he's leaving the show (Simon announced recently that this is his last season with Idol as he'll be helming the US version of his very popular Brit show the X-Factor coming soon - he's judging as well as executive producing). Cowell is so much a part of what makes American Idol tick, I can't imagine what the show would be like without its resident bored baddie. Maybe they'll bring in Piers Morgan...or Hugh Laurie!

Back to the judges, Randy was his usual indecipherable self. I think he invents new phrases every season. What does 'great hang' mean? Its an audition, they weren't 'hangin' out' per se.

I'm a great fan of Kara. I liked her from the get-go - she's pretty, she's a talented song-writer, she makes sense when she speaks (to me at least) and she has the singing chops and experience to back her comments. I didn't realise that there was so much Kara-hate in the U.S., many find her annoying and self-righteous blablabla. Well, I donch care, I like Kara and am so glad to see her back on the show this season. I'm waiting to see how she and Ellen get along.

The Auditionees - The Good, The Bad & The Weird..

Good Two really standout talents imo were Ashley Rodriguez and Katie Stevens. Ashley sang 'If I Ain't Got You' and it was really good, plus, she looks like the total package type - pretty (super shiny hair) and can sing.

Katie Stevens had a backstory, her old grandma has Alzheimer's, so she's hoping to get through so that her grandma can see her sing and be proud before she totally forgets who she is. I'm a sucker for the heartwarming. This story totally reminded me of our very own Tabitha Nauser's story of her close relationship with her granddad, sumore same song! :) Oh and I love that they speak to each other in Portugese (hrm, I wonder if anyone's gonna play the race/nationality card here, probably not, cos she's AMERICAN, not Portugese - this is for the people who still can't get over Sylvia's Filipino heritage).

I've got my eye on those two, but I'm not sure if they'll last the voting rounds - they seem pretty shy, and we all know what happens to those with no personality - forgettable = no votes.

Others to note - Tyler Grady (the 70s styled drummer who fell out of a tree and broke both wrists) and Armadeo Diricco (this season's big lovable teddybear with a big voice, would love to join his family for a makan!). Also, Maddy Curtis, the girl with four Downs syndrome brothers, sang reasonably well, would love to see how she holds up at Hollywood rounds, and if she makes it through (which I doubt), her transformation with makeup.

Another auditionee reminded me of one of another one of our own. Joshua Blaylock sang 'Bless The Broken Road' which Teddy Teow sang on the piano show. He also seemed like a really sweet boy just like Theodore. Guess it takes a good boy to sing a song like that with heart.

Weird Clark Kent aka Andrew Folton (didn't quite catch his name) incurred the wrath of the judges with his 'sulky' attitude and 'bad energy'. Actually, I think the judges overreacted a bit. I mean, the guy apologised quite a few times and seemed to honestly not know what he was doing wrong. Initially I thought he was naturally geeky with those glasses, then I realised its possible he knows he's fairly good looking (did you see those biceps?) and that outfit was his 'look' for the day.

The other weird guy was the one that Simon called a '3 year old who dresses like LaToya Jackson'. Ouch! The guy (last name Guerrero) kept apologising cos he was so nervous, but I couldn't get past his hair. There was so much of it! He looked like Fran Drescher from The Nanny!

Bad Janet McNamara has mastered the American Idol video game. Yup. Video game. The video game judges love her. So that means, its time to try out for real. The video game manufacturers need to tweak the game or recall it altogether. Plus I think its affected her so much she kept calling Kara 'Paula'! Oh and get this, her idea of practicing is to jump. Sigh.

Mere Doyle the 'okasu' (I think thats the word I heard her say) claims to love singing, but she seems more into anime/cosplay. Despite having two vocal coaches, the girl still can't sing. Who are these vocal coaches? Maybe Kak Ann can help her?

Lisa Oliveiro came in normal, but her 'annoyance index' shot up when she said rather arrogantly that she'd been watching the show for years and knew she could sing better than everyone on the show. This big remark is followed by a painful rendition of Mariah's 'Vision Of Love' complete with hand gestures. Sweetie, at least Katrina Darrell could do the high notes reasonably well. I was waiting to see if Kara would say something, but she didn't (am surprised producers didn't cut to shots of Bikini Girl).

Last auditionee worth mentioning is a guy called Pat (din't catch his last name), who likes to 'holla'! :) So farnee. Turns out the guy can't really sing, I was hoping he would be one of those who would surprise us by being Josh Groban, but no, the boy decides to do Britney's 'Womaniser', not exactly the best song choice for a singing competition audition. He had some moves. But overall, painful.

So that was the premiere episode of American Idol. More audition footage to come from tonight's (its 4am on Thursday now) episode, when they go to Atlanta.

Here's the season's schedule (with telecast dates for Singapore) :

Audition rounds :

Jan 13 : Boston (guest judge : Victoria Beckham)

Jan 14 : Atlanta (guest judge : Mary J. Blige)

Jan 20 : Chicago

Jan 21 : Orlando

Jan 27 : Dallas

Jan 28 : Los Angeles

Feb 3 : Denver

Feb 4 : Road to Hollywood (probably a special/recap)

Other guest judges are as follows, didn't list above as I'm not sure yet which city they'll be guest-judging in :

Kristin Chenowith (4th pic), Neil Patrick Harris (3rd pic), Joe Jonas (1st pic), Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain (2nd pic).

Once they get to the Hollywood rounds, Ellen Degeneres steps in.

Hollywood rounds :

Feb 10 : Hollywood round

Feb 11 : Hollywood round

Feb 17 : Hollywood round

Feb 18 : Hollywood round results - Top 24 (12 guys, 12 girls)

After this, we get Idol THREE TIMES A WEEK (Wednesdays & Thursdays for Performance Shows AND Fridays for Results Shows for the next 3 weeks!). Looks like producers have decided to revert to their previous elimination format of everyone perform instead of splitting it up into groups like they did last season.

Piano Show rounds :

Feb 24 : 12 girls perform

Feb 25 : 12 boys perform

Feb 26 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, Top 20 remain.

Mar 3 : 10 girls perform

Mar 4 : 10 boys perform

Mar 5 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, Top 16 remain.

Mar 10 : 8 girls perform

Mar 11 : 8 boys perform

Mar 12 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, meet your American Idol Top 12 finalists.

Spectaculars :

At this point, we return to the twice-weekly schedule of Wednesdays performance shows and Thursdays results show. Wednesday March 17th will be the first LIVE Spectacular show :) And if my calculations are correct (and there are no 'extra' special episodes or breaks), the performance finale for American Idol should be happening on my birthday ;) , Wednesday 26th May, with Results on Thursday 27th May (pretty much roughly the same time every year).

Exciting not? I'm excited. My hubstation and mio TV sets are both set to 'record series' ...how about yours?

Ok, its past 4am, time for bed. Can't wait for today's episode. I wanna see how Mary J. Blige does as guest judge.

xoxo, s.

ps. 'Haters' are even more abundant for AI. Check out this pic of Katrina Derell, aka Bikini Girl from last season - check out the picture tags!