Topic: Idol-Talk
With the auditions now behind us, it's time to focus not only on the contestants that made it through to the round unofficially called 'Hell Week,' but on the newest addition to the show as well. That's right: this past week marked the debut of new judge, Ellen DeGeneres, who replaced departing judge, Paula Abdul. TV Watch Online does have a page focused on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so it should come as no surprise that I have been anticipating this moment since we found way back on September 9, 2009 (that's 9/9/09!). Over the months since, many have criticized Idol for choosing her, but even though I am obviously biased in favor of her, I decided to suspend judgment until we actually got to see her on the show. And she definitely did not disappoint! She was hilarious, as usual, but also provided strong, constructive, and valid comments (both positive and negative). Many also thought she would be too much like Paula and be the nice one at the table. And while she has said on her talk show and in interviews that she will be nice, she will also be honest. And, in her debut, she proved that right and that she belongs on that show as a judge.
I could go on and on and make this commentary solely about Ellen, but I will refrain my continued excitement, and list the names of contestants that stood out from the first two rounds of Hollywood Week. Once again, the format I will use is the same as for the auditions (with *'s to acknowledge my top favorites from my favorites list). But before I continue, I need to explain my change of thought from last week. In my audition commentary, I mentioned that I would wait until the semifinalists were announced to make my next posting, but a news announcement today changed my thinking. Today, as you may have read, it was revealed that Idol would reveal some of the semifinalists during Tuesday's episode instead of doing it all during Wednesday's show, as is usually done. I don't really know why they are doing this; maybe they will put through those they know right away should be in the Top 24, then spend more time to deliberate the rest for Wednesday. Since the reveal will be across two episodes, I decided to post my comments from last week's episodes (Rounds 1 and 2 of Hollywood Week) first, so that I can possibly focus more on the list of semifinalists next time.
Now that I've got my explanations and Ellen excitement out of the way, let's move to the whole point of this post:
American Idol: Hollywood Week, Round 1 [Individual Performances]
Airdate: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 [8-9:01pm]
- *Andrew Garcia [acoustic version of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"]
- Janell Wheeler [guitar]
- Mary Powers [rocker]
- *Lilly Scott [jazz]
- *Michael Lynche [wife in labor; "Waiting on the World to Change"]
- *Casey James [guitar; took off shirt in auditions; Bo Bice-like voice]
- Didi Benami [guitar; jazz; Katharine McPhee's "Terrified," written by Kara DioGuardi]
- Crystal Bowersox [single mom; "Natural Woman"]
Round 1 Highlights: When the judges first sit down, Ellen says to Simon, "So this is it, I come on and you leave?" in reference to Simon's announcement earlier that same day that he would be leaving Idol at the end of the season to start up The X Factor for a Fall 2011 debut. I loved that line, and you could tell that Ellen really wanted to rub it. Another highlight, which not surprisingly involves Ellen, is when she is telling some contestants to step forward or back to say which row is staying and going. She goes and has some continue to step forward and back, and even has one step to the left. And finally, when one contestant is barefoot, Ellen says she should put some shoes on because Hollywood is a filthy, disgusting town. Even Simon was laughing!
95 Advance to Round 2.
American Idol: Hollywood Week, Round 2 [Group Performances]
Airdate: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 [9-10pm]
- Big Mike Lynche ["Get Ready"]
- Jessica Cunningham ["Bad Romance"]
- Todrick Hall ["Bad Romance"]
- Theri ["Bad Romance"]
- Jeff Goldford
- Jermain Sellers
- Janell Wheeler, Jermain Purifoy, Casey James
- *Andrew Garcia
- *Katie Stevens
Notes/Highlights/Lowlights/Etc: Big Mike's wife went into labor, and he was on the phone (still at the Kodak Theatre) with her as she gave birth. Group Names - Is this new or have they done it before? And finally, the lowlight was Mary Powers taking on the leadership role, rubbing everyone the wrong way. It's really unfortunate that this happened and that she got cut, because I was looking forward to her this week, but alas, sometimes these things happen. My overall impression of this episode is not good. They seemed to rush through everything so fast and with me trying to furiously write down names, I didn't get to really enjoy it. If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have just watched the episode without writing notes, then record it as well so I can go back and write down notes at a later time. But besides that, the talent wasn't really strong during this round and was almost a waste of an episode. I'm looking forward to this week when the focus is back on the individual.
71 Advance to Round 3.
As I already mentioned, some of the Top 24 semifinalists will be revealed during Tuesday's episode (which is 2-hrs by the way) and the rest will be on Wednesday when it usually is. See you then...
