In the last two days I have seen a record number of visits to my blog! Thanks for coming and checking it out!
As I looked at the analytics for the site, I noticed that many people are getting here by googling “mormon girl american idol,” so I decided to google it myself and see what kind of page ranking I am getting…
Awesome! I’m #2!! Silver medal! (to use Mitt-terms)
However… I’m a little ticked at how google parsed my blog on there – and how it parses every other entry on that page. Apparently it insists on associating Mormonism with craziness, atheism, and mocking other religions.
Oh well, anything to drive a bit more traffic to the site!
All right, America. We all have had a good laugh at our fellow goofball countrymen in the last few weeks, but nowthe real competition begins!
I liked the changes to Hollywood week a lot. It now seems like much more of a solo effort, with the getting rid of the group performances and less of the baiting the contestants against each other to ‘create’ some of that great reality TV. The offstage stuff was actually boring compared to the onstage drama of who would part of the creme that would rise to the top…
I think the addition of the contestants playing instruments was a great new trap for many of them to fall into. Most thought it would make them look more talented, when actually it just exposed their overall mediocrity even more. For most it was a bigger sign that they weren’t great musicians.
Now for some individual comments:
Brooke, my little Mormon chick, you look like a walking candy cane or “Where’s Waldo!” You really need to get a couple of shirts that do not look like the Cat in the Hat’s hat! You are extremely talented, and are a lock for the Top 24. You have a very unique flavor in your voice. I just hope we don’t get sick of your saccharine sweetness too early. Even if you are innocent and kind and ultra-Mormon, can you please just try to pretend to be slightly less fragile than you are?
Oh, and one more thing… get a bit of a tan too, please. The white balance is killing the camera men!
David Hernandez, Mr. Super Falsetto with a beautiful Break… you are definitely a lock for the top 24. You think you are hot stuff though, and so you bug me. It’s nice to see someone who has the confidence to actually know how good he is, though. So it’s a balance, then.
Was it just me or were there way too many “thank you”, “thank you” going out from the stage? As if they had already won the top prize. Gimme a break. Just stand there and take the heat (or the compliments) for cryin’ out loud!
Miss Amanda the Rock n Roll Nurse Lady: OK… fashion police! You gotta fix that awful blond dye job on the bangs. Nasty. It almost looks like a front hair piece the way the hair is layering over itself. I love the color of your voice, but there’s something a bit too grating about it. Simon is right, you need some other colors to that voice to get anywheres in this competition. You’re in though.
Mr I Live In My Car Dude needs to get a comb or some hair product – his voice is almost there. It has some really cool moments, but I get the feeling he has no idea how to control it. And lose the fake British accent for crying out loud. His breakthrough moment was his first audition. He actually put some heart into it, choosing substance before style. If it weren’t for that performance, his Stand By Me (which I would rename, “Run Away From Me”) would have sunk him from this competition. He is young, has a story, and is a memorable character, so he’ll be in the Top 24. He doesn’t appear to be the musician he thinks he is, though, which will probably sink him early on in the competition.
Danny Noriega is proof that there are SO many others on this show who can sing, but who just don’t get the camera time. I think they’ll put him in the 24, but I just can’t pass judgment yet. He has good possibilities.
Carly Smithson needs to brush her tongue. Looks like she just finished a lollipop before coming on stage – but she did put something extra into it that song. Then, she just kept bringing it with each subsequent performance. Her Irish blood is carrying her through. She has beautiful moments. She will be in the top 24. She could be a real artist some day, not just a singer.
Mr. Oklahoman Politician… “y-eever eat deer jerky?” ohhh how hideous. He looks so much better without glasses – he should go with that look. And does the man own anything but oxford shirts?? Please! But, really, he shouldn’t make it into the top 24. He doesn’t have a great voice at all, and I think they keep putting him through out of pity, or just to have the right guy/girl balance.
Side note: There was a commercial for Barack Obama in the middle of AI, the first political ad to be run in my state. Awesome strategy Barack!
16 year old David boy is totally making it through on his excellent song choices! The question is, can he actually go the distance? It’s so funny when he says that he gets that “tingly feeling”… but don’t worry ladies… it’s only when he sings… 🙂
Syesha — wow.. I’m really impressed. This is the girl that was sick for the first days, and after fighting the sickness, she really came and busted it out. She didnt’ even make the excuse of being sick when she tanked her audition. I think she could really go the distance. She has an awesome set of pipes. She might have to be MAH WOOOMAN this year, even though there’s not as much of her to love as I would hope.
Mr. Australian man, lots of passion, not a lot of skill. I thought his version of Bohemian Rhapsody was awful and pitchy, actually. I was really surprised that the judges were so positive about it.
Aisia had a really unique sound to her voice, but even now as I review this note, I can’t remember her… so I will say, she’s unmemorable.
Perhaps the saddest moment of the night was seeing poor Paula when she had to say no to somebody. Ohhhh Sad.
Overall, a great hollywood week! Now we’re onto the big time!
I have restrained my political postings lately, so I figure it was time to give a quick political update.
Mitt is out. Whaaa… but I know… we, his supporters, saw it coming eventually. His actual chances were very slim, and I was even more terrified that if he won the nomination, the Democrats would paint him as a republican version of Flip-Flopper John Kerry and discourage his own party’s base. Which is exactly what they’ll do to McCain, too. Yes, it appears the Republicans will continue to implode in the years to come, losing more and more power in Washington, until the public gets sick of the Dems and switches back to the Reps. (Let’s hope it doesn’t take as many years as the last time they were in power) I don’t really see any way the Republicans win in the fall, even if there is a national security event.
So lets talk about the Dems:
I was reading an article last night about Hillary’s campaign manager stepping aside, and I thought… hmm… you know Hillary is the first candidate (since maybe “Ike”?) to actively campaign with her first name only. This is actually important on many levels.
In case you didn’t notice, Hillary is a woman. And in marriage, she took Bill’s name; a name which truly isn’t totally hers. Using the name Hillary more accurately represents the woman she’s been her whole life, and disassociates her with “Clinton” ties.
Then there’s the personable-ness of it. For the candidate with the highest negatives, and the one who people largely feel is cold and uncaring, being on a first-name basis actually works to break down those barriers. Everyone calls her just Hillary. I’m not sure there’s been a more famous one-word celebrity since “Prince,” and certainly not in Politics.
For Obama and McCain, her chief rivals, they need only keep the image alive as Bill back in the White House. This is the one image that makes me personally sick. I could live through a Hillary Presidency, but having bill traipsing around the East Wing of the White House just makes me quite ill.
In contrast, I look at Obama’s family. They are just cute as buttons.
I kind of hope that Obama wins the Democratic Nomination. It would make this November SO much more palatable. The last thing I want is an all out McCain vs Clinton Old School showdown. Two old school party hands duking it out so (as Romney put it) they can all go back to Washington just to sit in different seats (and I would add) still get nothing done.
I still can’t say that I would support Obama. I spent a good deal of time on his website, trying to understand his platform and realistically project what he might accomplish in the next 4 years, given the realities in Washington. He doesn’t spend much time stumping on issues. Instead, he opts to get the electorate fired up, and then those few Americans who actually care about issues have to go do their own research.
Here are the positives:
He says he will keep the Bush tax cuts for everyone who makes less than $250,000 (that’s me)
He supports network neutrality and an open internet.
Negative:
He doesn’t appear to believe in open market solutions for helping our economy.
Wants to give people federal grants (my tax $) to refinance their sub-prime mortgages.
I’m still on the fence…
Wants an immediate draw down of troops from Iraq. This was a deal breaker for me, because his language had seemed too absolutist, and too anti-war. This is my same problem with President Bush. He was too absolutist and unable to articulate the nuance of our current world conditions. However, last night on 60 minutes, when Obama was asked, “what if the situation gets dramatically worse” or “what if sectarian violence gets out of control” his response was, “I always reserve the right as commander in chief to make a military change of strategy.” This was the even-handedness I was looking for. We need a Commander in Chief who will end our involvement in these conflicts without allowing the collapse of these fragile governments.
He has an OK education policy, but I would prefer to see a performance based salaries program for our teachers.
Doesn’t include deportation as part of his immigration policy, and doesn’t explain how he will legitimize the need for foreign workers. A very incomplete platform here.
Supports a “National Health Plan” which is basically turns the federal government into an insurance company, which subsidizes those who can’t afford the premium. People can still own their own private insurance, or apply for the ‘government cheese.’ I’m not putting this in a negative column (yet) because I like the idea of private insurance having compete with low-cost government insurance (even though this could put insurance companies out of business since the gov’t is using tax dollars to subsidize its program). This still doesn’t address the fact that the government IS the problem in health care today, and they are the primary organization (through Medicare, regulations, and beaurocracy) who are driving the cost of health care up.
So I know this blog was a little ramble-y and fragmented, but I think that reflects my current feelings over the political landscape. I’m a little lost right now, with no one to guide. I’m like a boat on the water… blah blah blah…
Comes the blessed day of JOY! And boy was this a great day of JOY for the American Idol auditions, after several weeks of BORING auditions.
Then there’s JaySmoove, our resident R&B recording artist. …or as I like to call him GUMS! So… gums, you are totally smooth with the ladies with your super counter-tenor nasty falsetto and your pocket full of sparkles. I’m a little scared to find out what other actromons you have in your pocket.
You know, Gums, your voice wasn’t that bad. I can see where you might even have a small future as a backup fake singer on some really bad gangstah rap music video… but see, there’s just one reason why you’re moment with Idol can’t go any further than this little audition… and it’s purely ORAL in nature!
Hang on though, we still have to talk about my WOAH-MAAAAN! For the past couple seasons I’ve held at least one special african-american female as my pseudo-girlfriend/alter-ego… and this year I might have found mine in Joanne Borgella… I think I’ll just call her Jelly. Her voice is just a little shrill and girlish for me, though. I usually prefer the girls who i feel can body slam me with their voices, but she’s on my short list. With those other two linebackers who auditioned together… hmm.. what were their names?
Now let’s talk about some new sides we are seeing in Simon. Apparently, he has a soft spot for for animals. He immediately turned into putty in that little southern girl’s hands when she brought in the little puppy.
Then we have the best moment of the season… for once… for once Simon admits that Paula is right, and she admits that she even surprised herself with being right. You just have to see this to believe it!
After a TERRIBLE audition, Paula recommends that this girl (who is trying to sing a Celine song which is WAY too big for her little voice) would much better on a Dolly Parton song. She comes back and actually sounds pretty good, even though she doesn’t appear to understand at all what’s going on! Simon won’t admit it until later but…
Oh yeah, and keep your eye on Chakeasy Easy. He has a great voice that we might enjoy listening to.
It’s official. I’m sick of audition time on AI, and I’m ready to move on to Hollywood week.
These auditions are just a sorry excuse for a moment to see the weirdest of the weird. We don’t even get to see any of the people who are any good. They put through 19 people from Atlanta, but we only saw one that was decent (that I can remember). What a waste!
But let’s talk about our new Giraffe this year. The tall, proud black woman who came in her heels and slipped while doing her dance. Wow!
When will the auditioners realize that most pop stars and great singers don’t bump and grind like they’re on the dance floor of their local club!?
Also, I was glad to see Simon add a new star to the constellation of his phrases: “the bedroom audition.” You know, it’s the one where you only sound good in your bedroom with the album playing loudly. Poor guy, too. He thought he could best the judging panel in a battle of coolness and wit. Doesn’t he know he’s at a natural disadvantage?!? Idiot.
Now, I did like the rocker biker chick. She was totally for real about the opportunity. She came in, and just did her thing, without laying it on too thick. Silent confidence. Can’t the auditioners learn?
I am now ready to move on to Hollywood week and see some of the real talent blossom, while some of the pathetic stories (like mr living in my car) get drowned off the stage.
Recently I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired. I have a lot of things to do; a good solid list of personal tasks, work tasks, and business tasks, but I have been unable to get anything significant done lately. I have been paralyzed by inaction, laziness, and/or TV.
(Perhaps we can blame this on American Idol?)
Which made me realize, I hate it when I get this way because nothing gets done! Why is it that everything in my life I have to actually go and do?!? It seems like nothing is happening by itself these days. Some days I just get sick of going and making stuff happen. Some days, I just want things to happen for me. Is that selfish? Is that lazy?
When I told my mom, “It would be nice if something got done once in my life that I actually didn’t have to go do,” she said “that is called a wife.” Well… maybe.
We all do stuff while on autopilot. We do laundry when we don’t have clean clothes, we do the dishes when they get dirty or when we don’t’ have any clean ones left. We do a plethora of meaningless, everyday, push-the-rock-up-the-hill tasks almost automatically. Then there are the other kind of tasks, work projects, upcoming events, and goals that we have in our front, most of which have a time line or which we just have to do once and get done.
One of my nieces, a very independent spirit, often proclaims, “I’ll do it myself!” This was mostly when she was being dressed. At a very young age (pretty much ever since she began to talk), she had to have supreme control over her wardrobe, which often led to awkward vestments for church and other special events. (maybe Angie will share one or two with us…)
I’ve gone through several times in my life where I’ve been the same way… I’ll do it myself! My way or the highway! Now, though, I am having more days where it sure would be nice to have some things in my life just happen without my intervention…
Is that a wife? Maybe. Maybe this is all part of the plan of getting me to admit I can’t do everything, all the time, by myself.
Oops… Cut too deep. Stop the bleeding. End the post.
One of the more recent innovations in “print” media is the ability for readers to leave comments on a story at a newspaper’s website. This has really changed the way we “read the paper.” Not only do we get the writer’s carefully researched and thought out perspective, but we also get the impulsive, knee jerk reactions of any reader who knows how to operate a keyboard.
I often read the Deseret News online, a Salt Lake City newspaper which is owned by my church. Many Mormons give the paper extra status/clout because of it’s church affiliation, so the paper has a pronouncedly slanted readership.
So lately I have noticed that these people who comment on stories on the Deseret News’ website all use the same adjectives OVER and OVER. In fact, it seems like Mormon people seem to recycle these adjectives as the only ones that properly reflect their DEEP and ABIDING feeling.
“I’m appalled,” stated one reader, “at Governor Hunstman’s endorsement of McCain. He is clearly out of touch.”
“I’m appalled” is my #1 hated phrase. I think people don’t realize how silly it sounds to be so violently opposed to pretty much everything, especially trivial things like a governor’s endorsement, or the blurred printing of an expiration date on a dairy product.
No: I’m appalled at the genocide in Darfur. I’m appalled at the acceptance of Paris Hilton as a member of the human race… everything else can have a lesser gradation of negative emotion.
These dear readers are often and easily “shocked” as well. Anything shocks them. The 300th cloned sheep comes out and they are “shocked.”
Of course, the grand poo bah of all comments come together when someone is both “shocked and appalled” about a certain subject. When this comment is unleashed, for this reader the very foundations of heaven and hell are shaking at the very thought of such a moment in our recorded journalistic history. This person’s head is simply about to explode at the overwhelming feeling they are having toward the story. They are just overcome with a barrage of negative emotion.
So hey everybody… tone down the rhetoric out there a bit, and use words that more accurately reflect your true feelings toward something. Maybe if we all got a little less “appalled” at each other every once in a while, the world might be a better place.
Then there’s JaySmoove, our resident R&B recording artist. …or as I like to call him GUMS! So… gums, you are totally smooth with the ladies with your super counter-tenor nasty falsetto and your pocket full of sparkles. I’m a little scared to find out what other actromons you have in your pocket.
Hang on though, we still have to talk about my WOAH-MAAAAN! For the past couple seasons I’ve held at least one special african-american female as my pseudo-girlfriend/alter-ego… and this year I might have found mine in Joanne Borgella… I think I’ll just call her Jelly. Her voice is just a little shrill and girlish for me, though. I usually prefer the girls who i feel can body slam me with their voices, but she’s on my short list. With those other two linebackers who auditioned together… hmm.. what were their names?
“I’m appalled,” stated one reader, “at Governor Hunstman’s endorsement of McCain. He is clearly out of touch.”
I will miss the way you used to wave to everyone with your cane.