Topic: Last Comic Standing
If you haven't heard by now, NBC's Last Comic Standing has been cancelled. Read the 'Remembering Last Comic Standing...' bulletin on the top right side of that show page to find out how you can send me your comments.
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If you haven't heard by now, NBC's Last Comic Standing has been cancelled. Read the 'Remembering Last Comic Standing...' bulletin on the top right side of that show page to find out how you can send me your comments.
On last week's results show, the surprising twist was revealed to be the Judge's Save, which can only be used up until the Top 5. Under this new rule, the judge's can unanimously save an eliminated contestant if they feel that America got it wrong. And it can only be used once during the entire season. During the week that the Save is used, no one will be eliminated, but two will go home the following week. This is similar to my theory in the Top 13 blog post. The only main difference is that in my theory, the judge's would eliminate someone out of the bottom 2, whereas in actuality, the judge's would save someone after the elimination. This new rule has received mixed reactions. I actually think this is a good idea. Even though the show has always prided themselves on the results being America's choice, keep in mind that this rule can only be used ONCE during the ENTIRE season. On last week's results show, they said that this twist could have saved such contestants as Michael Johns, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry. But Daughtry was sent home during the Top 4 week, which is the week after the rule expires. The really, truly shocking eliminations have always happened after the Top 5, so the judge's may not even use the Save. But I hope that if they do save someone, it will be a contestant who has a chance at winning, like Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey, or even Lil Rounds. I really hope they don't waste it.
Even though Anoop was with Jorge and Megan was with Jasmine before the eliminations, we don't know for sure if those two (Anoop/Megan) were in the bottom 4, since they never said so. They very well could have, since they both didn't do well.
Kelly Clarkson performed her newest hit, "My Life Would Suck Without You." I bought the Deluxe Edition of her new CD, and I just love it! I haven't watched the DVD part, but I love the songs. Besides the current single, my next favorite song is "I Do Not Hook Up," which I think might be her second single. If you do not have this CD yet, what are you waiting for? If you were wary about My December, you have nothing to fear when it comes to All I Ever Wanted. You can buy both the standard and Deluxe editions from the TV Watch Online STORE.
And one more note before I move on: we heard the new goodbye song, Carrie Underwood covering "Home Sweet Home." I think I have to hear it more to see how I would rank it against the previous songs, but Carrie can sing anything, and this is no different.
American Season 8: Top 11
Airdate: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 [8-10pm]
Theme: Grand Ole Opry
Ryan and the judges once again made their grand entrance. I still don't know what the point of this is, except to boost Simon's ego even more. He probably just wishes he didn't have to share the stage with Randy, Kara and Paula.
Randy Travis is this week's mentor for the country theme.
Favorite Performances: Anoop Desai / Matt Giraud
My Vote: Matt Giraud [10 votes]
Elimination Prediction: Michael Sarver
My Season 8 Vote Tracker:
Matt Giraud: 10 votes
Alexis Grace: 10 votes
Allison Iraheta: 10 votes
Adam Lambert: 30 votes
Lil Rounds: 10 votes
Total: 80 votes cast so far this season
I had an easy time making this week's prediction. Even though Scott was not that good, there was a lot of talk about his performance, unlike Michael, who performed first. That is why I picked Michael for the elimination. I think that Alexis will join those two in the bottom 3, since she disappointed us this week.
These past few weeks, whenever it is Paula's turn to comment, Simon has been making faces, looking over at Kara, and trying to rush her along. Simon has always been my favorite judge, but lately I have been getting annoyed by him because of his behavior toward Paula. I realize that he has constantly done this sort of thing over the years, but this season, it is happening practically every time she talks. I don't care what anyone things of Paula; just let her say what she wants to say, then we can move on to Simon.
If you want to buy any of the studio performances from tonight, visit americanidol.com/itunes.
That's it for today's Idol-Talk. See ya after the next elimination.
American Idol Season 8: Top 13
Airdate: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 [8-10pm]
Theme: Michael Jackson
Ryan and the judges made a grand entrance into the studio tonight. I'm not surprised that they did this since they have been doing this sort of thing more than once over the years. And you know Simon loved the attention.
Right from the start, we found out from Simon that two contestants will be eliminated this week. This goes back to what I was talking about last week with regards to how a Top 13 would work into the schedule. And now we know.
Before I move onto my performance comments, I want to mention one more things. Did anyone else notice the new lower stage between the main stage and the judge's table that has a screen on the floor of it? If I remember correctly, that space was used for the annoying "mosh pit" last year. I actually quite like that they added this to the stage. It allows them to still be on stage while still being able to get closer to the audience and judges.
Now onto the focus of the show:
Favorite Performances: Lil Rounds / Danny Gokey / Allison Iraheta / Adam Lambert
My Vote: Adam Lambert [20 votes]
Elimination Prediction: Jasmine Murray / Jorge Nunez
My Season 8 Vote Tracker:
Alexis Grace: 10 votes
Danny Gokey: 10 votes
Allison Iraheta: 10 votes
Adam Lambert: 30 votes
Lil Rounds: 10 votes
Total: 70 votes cast so far this season
*Note: The above vote tracker of mine was originally on the American Idol page of TV Watch Online. From this point forward, it will be in my Idol-Talk segment of the blog.
I had an extremely hard time choosing the two to leave this week. If I personally were making the decision, I would send forgettable contestants like Michael Sarver or Kris Allen home, but from what the judges said, the audience reaction, and the online reaction, it doesn't look like they will leave. I chose Jasmine for a couple different reasons. One, she chose the completely wrong song that showed how young she really is. And two, I doubt she has the fan base that the others have, even the forgettable contestants I mentioned. And I chose Jorge for reasons I don't agree with. Nobody seemed to like his performance, but even though it wasn't near the best of the night, I don't think it was the worst either. But unfortunately, that may reflect in the voting results. The worst of the night was Anoop, but I believe his fan base is big enough to save him for at least this week.
We found out this past week that the Top 13 twist wasn't the surprise that was teased about a while ago. Rather, it will occur during Wednesday's Top 13 results show, as Simon and Ryan announced. They said that this would be a game changer and that the judges are involved in it. I don't remember if I mentioned this on Idol-Talk, but I have a theory on what this twist will be. I believe that when the bottom 3 are revealed, one person will be brought to safety, leaving the remaining bottom 2 in the hand of the judges where they will save one of them, regardless of who had the lowest votes of the two.
As has been publicized this past week, we will see performances by Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West during this week's results show. I've already said this before, but I can't wait to see Kelly sing her new single, "My Life Would Suck Without You." That song has been stuck in my head a lot lately. Her new CD, All I Ever Wanted, was released today and I hope to buy the Deluxe Edition this week.
Before I leave, I want to talk briefly about the end times for these past couple Idol episodes. Usually, if a show will go over, it is scheduled in the listings to end at 1, 2, or however many minutes after the hour. But with the Wild Card episode last week, Anoop's Top 13 addition was after 10:00 (the show ended at 10:04), meaning that your DVR's weren't able to tape the entire show if you didn't set it up to record longer. And tonight, the show ended at 10:05. I don't really have a problem with Idol going a few minutes long, but they should at least have it in the listings to prepare viewers.
See ya after the first two Top 13 contestants are eliminated.
Have you noticed that the contestants have been singing more current songs during the group numbers? Group 2 performed Ne Yo's "Closer" and Group 3 performed Katy Perry's "Hot N' Cold." American Idol has been criticized heavily these past few years for choosing older songs for group numbers and for having older mentors that the young demographic can't relate to or isn't excited about. It looks as though the producers are listening and willing to make those types of changes. Now we'll just have to wait and see if this year's mentors are younger or older.
There isn't much to talk about with regards to the group 3 results show, except that we found out who would be performing in the Wild Card round (which I will discuss below). I am really surprised that the judges didn't bring back Ju'Not Joyner. They could have given Tatiana's spot to him. And speaking of Tatiana, I just knew that she would be brought back. I don't recall if I mentioned that on Idol-Talk, but I have a feeling that this would happen. At least she didn't make it into the Top 12. Whoops, I'm getting ahead of myself.
American Idol Season 8: Wild Card Round
Airdate: Thursday, March 5, 2009 [8-9pm]
Even though this round was purely the judge's decisions and not by America's votes, I still wrote down my comments on each of the eight wild card performances, which you can read below:
Favorite Performances: Matt Giraud / Megan Joy Corkrey
Top 12 Predictions*: Matt Giraud / Megan Joy Corkrey / Anoop Desai
*I made these predictions during the commercial break before the judge's announced their decisions.
Jasmine Murray was the first to advance to the Top 12. I knew the judges loved her performance, but this got me worried of who wouldn't make it. After Ricky was cut, Megan and Tatiana were on stage together. Tatiana was her usual overdramatic self. But I'm glad that, ultimately, Megan was chosen. I always talk about being original and unique, and she is definitely that. After Jesse and Von were eliminated, Matt and Anoop were the only two left. At that point, I thought either one had a great chance, but really wanted Anoop to advance. Then it was decision time: Matt was in the Top 12, which meant Anoop was left on stage, with everyone shocked. Then Simon dropped the bombshell (we knew a shocker would be happening around the Top 12 week): Season 8 is going to have a Top 13, instead of a Top 12, which meant that Anoop filled out the final spot. If that hadn't happened, I would have only gotten two of three correct for my predictions. So, technically, since it did happen, I got all of my predictions correct. And don't you think that was annoying that Idol ran about four minutes over, even though it wasn't scheduled to do so. If a show will run over, many times it will be listed that way. But they didn't do that with this Idol episode. If they haven't gone to commercial right before the last decision, then they could have gotten over at 9pm.
Now we have our Top 12, er, 13: Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds, Scott McIntyre, Jorge Nunez, Jasmine Murray, Megan Joy Corkrey, Matt Giraud, and Anoop Desai.
This year's finalists will be taking on the music of Michael Jackson this coming up Tuesday, which should be interesting. And Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West will be performing (separately) during the results show. I can't wait to see Kelly perform "My Life Would Suck Without You." It will be my first time seeing her performing it. I have only listened to it online and seen that music video preview that was shown on American Idol a while back. Since they are having two singers, you can tell that they did that because they need to fill up an hour. But no matter, it should be fun to watch.
Before I go, I wanted to mention the effect that a Top 13 will have on the rest of the season. If they were to eliminate one a week, I was thinking that it would mess up when the season ends. My thought was that that they would eliminate two this week to keep it in schedule. But as I'm looking at my calendar right now, if they eliminated one per week (and not two during one of the weeks), the finale would still be able to occur in May (during the last week of that month). I'm not sure how they timed that right, but it looks like it will work out, unless I was counting the weeks wrong (let me know if I did).
See ya on Tuesday when the Top 13 will be on the big stage for the first time.
On last week's results show, it was obvious they were trying to fill up time, most notably with that retrospective video with footage from American Idol history, set to Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" (which by the way, is my favorite song of all time). But even so, it was great to look back and reminisce.
The week before, we saw Carly Smithson and Michael Johns perform a duet together. During this results show, we saw another AI alumnus, Brook White, take to the stage. She performed "Hold Up My Heart" at the piano, barefoot. If I understood correctly, this is a song from her upcoming June 2 album, High Hopes and Heart Break.
The first contestant from Group 2 to make the Top 12 was Allison Iraheta. A total no-brainer of a decision. I can't wait to see what else she has to offer. If her fantastic performance of "Alone" is anything to go by, then we have a lot to look forward to.
The second in the Top 12 was Kris Allen. I don't really understand this decision. I did say in my last post that he could take that spot, but it wouldn't be our first choice. As I previously mentioned, "I don't know if he stands out next to the best on AI or in the music business." And I still stand by my comment. When you put him up against others like Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, and Adam Lambert, he doesn't stand a chance. He may be like Ace Young, who had a nice pop voice, but didn't stand out enough next to anothers in his season, like Chris Daughtry or Katharine McPhee.
At the end of the episode, it came down to Nick Mitchell (aka Norman Gentle) and Adam Lambert. Do the products not know how to keep things fresh? This was the same setup as last week, except with Tatiana Del Toro and Danny Gokey. The wacko vs. the talent. But in the end, as expected, Adam Lambert landed the 6th spot in the Top 12. What I found interesting was that during the results show, Nick was himself, and not Norman as he was during the performance show. Oh well...
And once again, I got two out of three correct on my Top 12 Predictions.
Now onto this week's performance show:
American Idol Season 8: Semifinals Group 3
Airdate: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 [8-10pm]
Theme: Billboard Hot 100
Favorite Performances: Ju'Not Joyner, Felicia Barton, Jorge Nunez, & Lil Rounds
My Vote: Lil Rounds [10 votes]
Top 12 Predictions: Scott McIntyre / Jorge Nunez / Lil Rounds
Out of all the twelve who performed this week, Lil is the only one we can safely say is in the Top 12. This week's predictions are harder to make, because there are more than three who deserve to move forward. I chose Jorge for one of those spots because he not only gave an amazing performance, but he is a fan favorite from earlier rounds. But that third spot is a tricky one. I would have gone with either Ju'Not or Felicia, but I think that Scott will take it, not because of the quality of his performance (which wasn't great), but because of the inspiration that others feel from him. Plus, the judges raved about him, which helps for sure. But I believe that if Ju'Not or Felicia do not move forward, then they have a great chance at being selected for the Wild Card Round tomorrow night.
If you want to buy the audio performances from tonight, just head on over to americanidol.com/itunes.
On tonight's results show, three more will be moving forward, taking up spots 4, 5 and 6 in the Top 12. This leaves the rest hoping that the judges pick them for tomorrow's special Wild Card show. As I mentioned at the start of this post, we have been treated to special performances from Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and Brooke White during these past two results shows, so I expect that we will see another former AI finalist.
And speaking of the Wild Card show, I wonder when we will find out who will be performing during that show. It will probably be a surprise and we won't find out until the start of that actual show. I'm looking forward to that.
See ya later...
Before I move on to tonight's group, I want to take a moment to talk about last week's results show, since I haven't done so yet.
That's amazing that 24 million votes were cast, 10 times more than last year at this point.
The group performance of "I'm Yours" was, as always, cheesy and corny. They need to teach them some better dance moves and facial expressions.
Twenty thousand votes separated Michael Sarver and Anoop Desai. That's a shame, because I really wanted Anoop to take one of those three spots. I hope the judges bring him back for the Wild Card show.
I mentioned in my last post that Michael Johns and Carly Smithson would be performing a duet together. They sang "The Letter." Carly was one of my favorites from season 7, and I just love her voice. Last week she proved once again that she has one of the best voices in American Idol history.
When it came down to Danny Gokey and Tatiana Del Toro at the end of the show, it was hilarious to see Tatiana being her usual overdramatic self with the crying and brushing her hair away from her face and the speech she made. As always, something like that makes for great television. I just worry that the judges will bring her back for the Wild Card. I have a feeling they will.
One final comment: I got two out of three correct on my Top 12 Predictions, which is great, but I just think Michael Sarver should not be in the Top 12. He will not make it against people like Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace. He's going to have to do a lot better if he wants to stick around.
And now onto tonight:
American Idol Season 8: Semifinals Group 2
Airdate: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 [8-10pm]
Theme: Billboard Hot 100
Last week's and this week's performances were similar in that there were many who were just okay or horrible and only a few who stood out. So, without further ado, here are my comments on each of tonight's singers:
Favorite Performances: Allison Iraheta, Megan Joy Corkrey & Adam Lambert
My Vote(s): Allison Iraheta [10 votes] / Adam Lambert [10 votes]
Top 12 Predictions: Allison Iraheta / Megan Joy Corkrey / Adam Lambert
I believe that Allison and Adam are shoo-ins for the Top 12, so it's a matter of who will take that third slot. Last week, I went over a few people who had a chance at the third spot, and so I will do the same tonight. My choice would be Megan. But Kris Allen or Kai Kalama could take it as well. And with regards to Nick Mitchell or Norman Gentle or whoever the heck he is, I feel that he won't make it, because if American didn't vote Tatiana through, then I can't see them voting him through. But you never know; this is American Idol after all. Always expect the unexpected.
If you want to buy the audio performances from tonight, just head on over to americanidol.com/itunes.
Tomorrow night, three will be moving forward, leaving nine to hope they get picked for the Wild Card show. And I wonder if there will be any special performances, like last week with Michael Johns and Carly Smithson. I haven't yet heard of anybody scheduled for tomorrow, but it may be a surprise. They have an hour to fill, and they gotta fill it with something.
See ya then...
It's all over, and 75%, or 18/24, ain't bad. That's how many predictions I got right out of 24 categories. I know that in school, that would be a 'C,' but when it comes to award predictions and myself, this is great! Here's just a few words from me about some of the winners: congrats to Slumdog Millionaire for being the big winner of the night; Heath Ledger capped off the award season with another deserved win; Wall-E, as the best animated feature in my book and to the Academy, is a stroke of genius and should have won at least Sound Mixing as well besides Best Animated Feature. And to Hugh Jackman - please come back next year! He made the ceremony a breath of fresh air. I loved the musical numbers, and it is something like that that has been sorely missed at the Oscars (or any other award show for that matter). I say, if you're not going to bring back Billy Crystal, then Hugh Jackman should be the go-to person. That's all I have to say, and I hope next year we're not back into the slumps that these shows normally get into. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: you can see who won at the Academy Awards page, as well as see which categories I got correct and which ones I bombed at.
Tomorrow is the 2009 Academy Awards. And to lead up to the ceremony, I have now posted my predictions at TV Watch Online's Academy Award page. I used a similar strategy that I used at this year's Golden Globes. And if I do say so myself, I believe I will do better than I usually do. It seems that this year, I have a better sense of who will eventually win. But then again, you never know, considering I only got 4 correct at one of the award shows one year. Anyway...check out our Academy Awards page to check out the nominees and my predictions. The 2009 Oscars will air tomorrow at 8et/5pt on ABC.
You may have noticed a few subtle changes to any mention of the Twilight page around the website. With the recent announcement that all future movies will have 'The Twilight Saga' before its title, I decided to change our site to reflect that. The Twilight page is now called 'The Twilight Saga,' instead of just 'Twilight.' I have also changed the page logo with the full title as well. Any mention of that page throughout the site has changed to reflect the new title, from the site map and archive page to the TV Watch Online STORE. And whenever you visit the Site Updates page to see which pages I've updated, it will reflect the new title if I have updated that movie page.
American Idol Season 8: Semifinals Group 1
Airdate: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 [8-10pm]
Theme: Billboard Hot 100
Finally, we are at the LIVE episodes on American Idol. And even more exciting than that, we are finally able to vote for the first time this season. During the semifinals, this is the time when we really and truly separate the good and great from the okay and bad. And boy were there some bad performances tonight.
The semifinals this year are sort of reverting back to the mold they took in the first few seasons, where a different group would perform each week and only a few would advance out of each group, which means that, as the judges noted, the odds are stacked against you, because only a few are advancing instead of only a few being eliminated (as it has been since season 4). And tonight, the first group of twelve took to the small stage in front of the small audience. So, on that note, let's go down the list with my brief comments on each singer:
Favorite Performances: Alexis Grace & Danny Gokey
My Vote(s): Alexis Grace [10 votes] / Danny Gokey [10 votes]
Top 12 Predictions: Alexis Grace / Anoop Desai / Danny Gokey
When it came time to vote, I couldn't decide between Alexis Grace and Danny Gokey. I decided to vote for both of them, because since there are only three slots, I want both of them to advance. If I only voted for one, and the other did not make it, then I can't be mad about the outcome, since there was something I could've done.
With three slots open this week for the Top 12, one spot goes to the girl with the highest votes, one to the guy with the highest votes, and the third spot goes to the person with the second highest votes, regardless of gender. I think the female spot will go to Alexis and the male spot to go to Danny. The third one is tricky, because it could be a few people: Ricky, because he does have a great voice, but nobody knows who he is; Anoop, because even though it wasn't his best performance, we all loved him from the earlier rounds; or Tatiana, who even though she's crazy and annoying, sometimes does show that she has a good voice. I personally think the third spot will go to Anoop, because people loved him from before. If Ricky is eliminated, I think the judge's will bring him back to the Wildcard. And with regards to Tatiana, she just needs to go away. I don't care if she was calmer tonight; the majority of us will always associate her with the crazy lady with the annoying laugh from Hollywood Week.
Well, there you go. Those are my comments on tonight's performances. If you want to buy the audio performances from tonight, you can check out americanidol.com/itunes. I don't usually buy songs until near the end of the season, but there's a good chance I will be buying Alexis Grace's "Never Loved a Man" and Danny Gokey's "Hero."
Tomorrow night is the first results show of the season, where three contestants will move forward into the Top 12. And it looks like season 7 alumni Michael Johns and Carly Smithson will be performing a duet during the results show as well (read the article about this on the Idol New page). I can't wait for that! See ya then...
This is my second Idol-Talk of season 8. In my previous post, I focused on the auditions. This time, I will focus on Hollywood Week. What I said last time still applies: I will list the names of singers from Hollywood Week (who moved on to the next H'Wood round) who I thought had good/great voices and who I thought were good enough to move on to the next round. The stars by some names show my favorites from my own list. So, here is Hollywood Week:
American Idol: Hollywood Round 1
Airdate: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 [8-9pm]
Before I list names, I want to mention that the contestants went through a Boot Camp with stylists, a vocal coach, and Barry Manilow talking to them and inspiring them to follow this dream of theirs. I think that was great that they went through a Boot Camp.
From this first Hollywood Week episode, 104 contestants moved on to Round 2.
American Idol: Hollywood Round 2
Airdate: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 [8-9pm]
This is the group performance round, which always makes for great TV, since this is when the claws come out and we see the drama unfold.
Unfortunately, Rose Flak was cut. She had a great audition, but stumbled in Hollywood. She was one of my favorites from the auditions. I hope she auditions again next year. And about 75 moved on to Round 3.
American Idol: Hollywood Round 3
Airdate: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 [8-9pm]
During this round, contestants were able to play with the band and could also use their own instruments
About 50 contestants moved on to the final Hollywood Round.
American Idol: Hollywood Round 4
Airdate: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 [8-10pm]
This final round took place in the "Judge's Mansion." I don't know why they needed a Judge's Mansion to do this, but oh well. Another new aspect to this round was the singoff. If the judge's weren't sure of a contestant, they could ask them to sing again against another contestant. I hope they keep this aspect, but it brought something fresh to the show. Since this is the round where the Top 36 Semifinalist are revealed, I will list the semifinalists in the order that they were chosen during the episode, no matter if I like them or not. But I will put stars by those who are my favorites in this group.
Well, there's our semifinalists for Season 8. Tonight is the first week of voting for the season (yay!). The semifinals are reverting back to the format that the show had during the first few years, where each week a different group would perform and only a few would advance each time. Group 1, performing tonight, is Anne Marie Boskovich, Ricky Braddy, Casey Carlson, Tatiana Del Toro, Anoop Desai, Stephen Fowler, Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Brent Keith, Michael Sarver, Jackie Tohn, and Stevie Wright.
My Idol-Talk post for Group 1 will be up either tonight or tomorrow before the results. See ya then...
Idol-Talk is back! I haven't done this segment since season 6. Starting this year, Idol-Talk will be featured in a different form: on the TV Watch Online BLOG. In previous years, I posted my comments on a specific page on the main site. But after I posted my performance comments for last summer's America's Got Talent and Last Comic Standing in the BLOG, I decided that this would be the best outlet for Idol-Talk as well.
Since the Semifinals for Season 8 begin tonight, I thought I would take a look back at the auditions and Hollywood rounds from the past month. As I have done in the past, I will list the names of auditioners (who received the golden ticket) who I thought had good/great voices and who I thought were good enough to move on. And that doesn't necessarily mean that just because the judges put someone through that I agreed with the decision. As I'm listing the names that I wrote down, you will see a star by some of the names. Those are my favorites from my own list. I will also include any comments that I wrote down for any of the singers to remind me of who they are. So, without further ado, below are the Season 8 Auditions (sorry for any misspelled names):
American Idol: Phoenix Auditions
Airdate: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 [8-10pm]
Highlight from this episode: New judge Kara DioGuardi shows Bikini Girl how to sing the song. I loved this moment! Bikini Girl (I don't remember her name) had a voice, but it was a voice that didn't stand out or was unique at all. And coming into the audition room wearing a bikini did not help the audition. We see people wearing costumes and the like all the time, and it doesn't help (usually). Kara has a great voice and showed BG what a great singer sounds like. I think Kara will be a great addition to the panel. As a singer/songwriter, she will be able to connect with the contestants on a level that Randy and Simon won't be able to. It will be interesting to see if she writes any songs for any of this years singers. She has written for Idols in the past, but with her a part of the show now, she will have a connection with them that she wouldn't have had if she wasn't a judge on the show.
American Idol: Kansas City Auditions (David Cook's hometown)
Airdate: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 [8-10pm]
American Idol: San Francisco Auditions
Airdate: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 [8-9pm]
Twelve moved on to Hollywood
American Idol: Louisville Auditions
Airdate: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 [8-9pm]
American Idol: Jacksonville Auditions
Airdate: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 [8-9pm]
American Idol: Salt Lake City Auditions
Airdate: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 [8-9pm]
Thirteen advanced to Hollywood
American Idol: New York City/San Juan, Puerto Rico Auditions
Airdate: Thursday, January 29, 2009 [8-9pm]
Twenty-Six from New York City and nine from Puerto Rico advanced to Hollywood.
And in total, 147 contestants from all the auditions received golden tickets to Hollywood.
Well, that's it for the season 8 auditions. The next Idol-Talk post will focus on the Hollywood Rounds. See ya next time...
My Golden Globes Predictions: Tonight starting at 8pm on NBC, we will find out who will win Golden Globes this year. And I have now posted my predictions at TV Watch Online's Golden Globe Awards page. For those of you who remember how I usually do with these predictions, you're probably thinking, "get ready to strike out again." I was thinking the same thing, especially when you think that I only got 4 correct at one of the award shows one year. But after the 2008 Emmys, I decided that I would base my decisions less on who I wanted to win, and more on who would most likely win. Now, that doesn't mean it will be exclusively that way, or that they won't overlap. I went searching around the Internet (MSN, EW, TV Guide and other websites) and got a sense of how everyone was stacking up and then compared that to my picks and I had to give and take a little when it came down to finalizing my choices.
Again, you can view my predictions at the Golden Globe Awards page.
The award show starts in about 15 minutes for those on the East Coast and in about 3hrs, 15 min for those like me on the West Coast.
See ya later to see if my strategy worked or if, once again, I struck out.
My View 1/4 - Topics: Barack Obama, 2008, Gina Glocksen Gets Married, Regis & Kelly in HD, 2009, My Book List
After a long hiatus, I am back with My View! There were many newsworthy events throughout 2008, and not just with the historic presidential election, where we elected Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States of America, and our first African American President. He's picked his cabinet (now with the exception of Commerce Secretary Nominee, Gov. Bill Richardson, who has withdrawn citing an investigation in his home state of New Mexico) and he and his family are in the middle of moving to D.C. as I type this. It's an exciting time as he prepares to lead the country, but obviously a tough time as well, as he and his team finalizes their agenda to improve the economy.
2008: The election of President-Elect Obama was the top story of 2008 to most of us, including myself, but I also wanted to take a moment to list some big stories in the entertainment industry this last year: Heath Ledger tragically dies of an overdose (which creates an even bigger buzz surrounding his role as the Joker in the biggest movie of 2008: The Dark Knight), Stephenie Meyer releases her first non-Twilight Saga book The Host and finishes the Twilight Saga with Breaking Dawn as well as suspending Midnight Sun, America whittled down the field to the two Davids on American Idol, and David Cook triumphed over Archie in a landslide, Iliza wins Last Comic Standing and becomes the first female winner, Ellen DeGeneres marries Portia DeRossi, Tina Fey returns to SNL to hilariously and accurately portray VP-Nominee Sarah Palin ("I can see Russia from my house"), Amy Poehler has her baby and gives a final farewell to SNL, Clay Aiken and producer-friend Jaymes Foster have a baby and Aiken announces he's gay (congratulations, Clay!), Warner Bros. decides to split Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two movies (initial reaction: hmm...; now: excited!), Warner Bros. delays Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to July 2009 (initial reaction: boo!; but now I'm fine with it), Desperate Housewives jumps forward five years and changes the show for the better, Jennifer Hudson's mother, brothers and nephew die in a tragic situation, J.K. Rowling wins in court against RDR Books over copyright protection, Brooke Smith is fired from Grey's Anatomy by ABC in a controversy that makes me say "First the passing of Prop 8 and now this? We're supposed to be advancing gay rights, not turning back time," Britney Spears' comeback, the movie release of Twilight sees an enormous box office return, J.K. Rowling releases The Tales of Beedle the Bard for charity (which becomes the fastest selling book of 2008), Jay Leno lands his own primetime talk show, Catherine Hardwicke (director of Twilight) and Summit part ways leaving Summit to hire a new director for New Moon (Chris Weitz), controversy surrounds Summit when rumors indicate that Taylor Lautner will not return as Jacob Black in New Moon (we still don't know what will happen), ABC announces that Desperate Housewives will continue to be on the air for at least four more years (two years longer than creator Marc Cherry had initially proposed), and Disney decides to stop co-producing and co-financing The Chronicles of Narnia leaving Walden Media to search around for another movie company to pair up with (reaction: boo!)
Whew! And that was just a handful of what happened in 2008.
Disney Bails Out: Before I move on, I want to discuss Disney's Christmas Eve announcement that they will not be working with Walden Media on The Chronicles of Narnia. First off: why Christmas Eve?! What a great holiday announcement, wasn't it? Not. I can understand that their reason is the lower-than-expected sales of Prince Caspian at the box office, but to bail entirely? Come on. It's their own fault, really. First off, they released it in May. Wrong move. Narnia 1 was released in December, which is what they should have done with #2. Second, they marketed the movie entirely wrong. Yes, it was darker than LWW, but they should have marketed it as a family movie and shown more of those aspects of the film in the promos. Actually, they did do that for the DVD/Blu-ray release, but by that point it was obviously too late. Word has it that Fox may be interested in teaming with Walden for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. From what I have heard, they would probably do a great job of protecting the material, so I hope an announcement will arrive this month. But to make one final thought: I think Disney did this prematurely, because outside of LWW, Dawn Treader is the fans' favorite book in the series. If DT does do well, I hope Disney will regret the decision.
Since we are still coming out of the usual slow news period from the holidays, I only have a few recent news items to discuss.
Gina Glocksen Gets Married: American Idol alum Gina Glocksen got married on New Year's Eve. Congratulations Gina! Fellow season 6 alum Jordin Sparks and Haley Scarnato were in attendance. If I remember this correctly, her husband proposed to her during one of the Idol Tour stops.
Regis & Kelly in HD: Starting tomorrow, Monday, January 5, Live with Regis and Kelly will be broadcast in high definition, along with a new opening and new theme song. I usually watch Live when I am not in school (winter break, summer, etc.). I am so used to their theme song and opening that I am unsure of what to think about have it be all new. I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see and hear for myself. But no matter, I am excited to see that they will be in HD. They're finally catching up to everyone else.
And now a look at what's to come in 2009: we will see the return of The Celebrity Apprentice (March 1), Kyle XY (next week, January 12), American Idol (next week, January 13, with a new judge and many changes), and Lost (January 21). Heroes will air Volume III: Fugitives, beginning February 2. Kelly Clarkson will release her fourth CD; we will hear a preview of it when the first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You," is released to radio on January 19. Melinda Doolittle will release her debut album, Coming Back to You, on February 3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will finally be released July 17. And New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, will be released November 20.
Before I sign off, it's time for...
My Book List: On New Year's Day, I began reading Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. If you haven't heard about it, it is about the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, where she came from, and how did she become evil. You can see the musical of Wicked on Broadway right now. I am 116 pages into the book now, and so far, I am loving it. Maguire is one of those authors who know how to capture your attention with his writing style and sense of humor. After I am done, I plan on reading the two sequels, Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men. To buy your own copy of Wicked, click here.
Time to sign out...
Visit TV Watch Online every day for the latest entertainment news, then read My View weekends right here on the BLOG.
See ya next time, and this has been My View.
Twilight Coming to TV Watch Online: On Saturday, November 22, I went to the movie theater to see the newly released Twilight, based on the first book in the hugely popular Twilight Saga book series by Stephenie Meyer. I have been a fan of the books ever since I first read Twilight almost a year ago. When it got closer to the movie release, I had contemplated adding a Twilight page to the site. But I decided to wait to see how good the movie was, just like I did to The Chronicles of Narnia after seeing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Now that I have seen it, I can say that I loved the movie and can't wait to see New Moon and the rest of the series be turned into movies. Today, I made my decision: I will be adding a Twilight page to TV Watch Online. I am not sure yet when it will make its debut, but I will include related news posts that I have previously posted to the TV/Entertainment News section. Keep checking back here for any and all updates regarding the upcoming Twilight page.
UPDATE [11/26]: For the time being, I am posting regular Twilight news to the TV/Entertainment News section until the official Twilight page is up, at which point those news items will be transferred to that page. I plan to have the Twilight page online sometime during this Thanksgiving weekend.
UPDATE [11/27]: The recent regular Twilight news that I have been posting these past couple of days on the TV/Entertainment News section has now been transferred to the new Twilight page.
Election: It is now Election Day 2008, the day to decide who will be our next President. If you haven't voted already, I stress that this is one of the (if not the) most important elections you will vote in. The outcome of this presidential election will impact not just the next 4 or 8 years, but the future of our country. I'm not here to tell you who to vote for; but I feel that I must tell you go VOTE and let your voice be heard. Your vote; your voice; your future.