American Idol Top 6

It's country week on Idol for the Top 6 and more specifically, it's SHANIA week. The contestantst tackle the songbook of the Queen of Country music...the woman who's music crossed over from the country charts to mainstream radio and the pop charts. Shania's provided a lot of great memories over the years. There was always an occasion to listen to her, happy or sad. Back in 1999, there wasn't a girl in sight who wasn't rocking out to "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" on the radio in her car. One night after many hours of drinking, my friend taught us all to line dance to "Amy Man of Mine". I had to force a friend to get out of bed, while she ate ice cream and mourned her break-up all while listening to the Shania tune "When He Leaves You". "Up", "Still the One", "From this Moment", "Who's Bed Have Your Boots Been Under"... the woman has hit after hit. And after going through a very rough couple of years with her husband (Mutt Lange) cheating on her with her best friend, it's time for Shania to make a comeback. Seriously....Who cheats on Shania? And the woman has the best story... she grew up so dirt poor, became a superstar. Have you not seen her VH1 Behind the Music? One of the best. In addition to Idols singing her songs, Shania was the mentor this week. She was fantastic. I mean, could she be any cuter? I want her to be my Aunt Shania. She's so nice, supportive and so huggy. I just want to pop a glass of pinot grigio with her and kick back with my feet on the couch and talk about life. Is that so much to ask??

Here are my thoughts on this week's performances:

Lee DeWyze (Song Choice: Still the One)

This was the perfect song for Lee. He made it cool, he made it current, he made it a guy song...something you might hear on the radio or want to download on iTunes. And my friend who's called him "sad eyes" in the past is becoming a fan... no more sad eyes. He's smiling and enjoying himself and he brings it every week. And even though this song is one that should be played at a 50-year anniversary party, Lee still connected to it. I love Lee. I'm dialing in for Lee right now...

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: I'm Not Gonna Lie.. I have no idea what song he sang)

...which isn't a good start to this blog. If I wasn't paying enough attention or care enough to really investigate what it was... it wasn't good. So I'm thinking Big Mike needs to go home. Now, I know he sounded good and I didn't recognize the song, therefore I didn't know if he changed it up too much or too little. Maybe that's why it was a pretty brilliant choice. Overall though, it was pretty forgettable among the other performances of the night. He is in trouble.

Casey James (Song Choice: Don't)

Well, the jokes on me. I actually really liked this. One of his best so far. I loved his performance of "Jealous Guy" in Elvis week, but this beat that out. A very smart choice by Casey. It's not like he could sing "Any Man of Mine" or "That Don't Impress Me Much". They're all too girly, so it was challenging for the men this week. But a pick a song that is obscure... a ballad the ladies will love, add the blonde flowing locks, a stool, the mic and some lights, quiver your voice.. and you've got yourself a pretty solid performance. Think Casey might stick around one more week. He's stepping up his game 1 more week. Bottom 3 for sure, but safe.

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: No One Needs to Know)

The joke is on me again. I did not love this one by Crystal. By far not her best, but I'm not going to spend too much time dwelling on it. She's a star and incredibly talented. She deserved a week to mail in a performance and have a little fun. She just better step up her game next week, you can't get lazy on Idol and this is what that was. I kept getting nervous when she was playing the guitar that she was having issues with it. I really don't like to be nervous when I watch Idol. I like to be relaxed and enjoy myself. So, that was my biggest problem of all. She'll be back next week though - no doubt.

Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: You Got a Way)

This is Aaron's week. Country. Shania. This is his wheelhouse. When he sings in his lower register, he gets pitchy, but man.. when he kicks it into gear, he's unbelievable. Great, great choice for Aaron. I will admit, I didn't really know this Shania ballad, but he definitely made it a man's song. As good as he was in own genre, it's getting down to the wire and I think we have to say bye-bye to little Archuleta Part II.

Siohban Magnus (Song Choice: Any Man of Mine)

I'm actually really surprised how much the judges loved this. I actually did not. But I don't hate anything she does. This was the ballsiest pick of the night and definitley the most commercial. And it was the wrong choice. It was like Anooop Desai singing "Beat It" last year in Michael Jackson week. Kind of a no-no. I wanted her to pick something more obscure like "Dance with the One That Brought Ya" from the album, Shania. Or "Forever, and For Always". The dancing around the stage seemed forced for me. I like her darkness, the sweet, slow melodies. None of this hopping around the stage. I actually think she could be in trouble, but really don't want her to be. I just want her to be better at picking songs.

In Trouble: Casey, Mike, Aaron, Siobhan???

American Idol Top 7

It was Inspiration night on American Idol last night and the contestants were asked to sing a song that inspires them. The songbook was probably endless and overall I think they stayed way more current than they have been. I guess that's not making a great point when the last two weeks have been Elvis and Beatles songs. The great Alicia Keys was there to mentor the contestants this week and she did a pretty good job. As my friend and I said last night... with 12 Grammys on her shelf, you better believe I am listening to every damn word of advice Alicia Keys has to give me. Can you imagine saying no to Alicia Keys? "Actually, I think I'll sing it my own way". No... that would be dumb. I'm looking forward to her performance tonight for the Idol Gives Back show along with all of the other amazing musical acts. Break out the tissues and the wallet. I'm going to want to save every kid in Africa, buy every bed net I can to prevent Malaria, do all I can. For more information on how to give back, check out the Idol site. Idol Gives Back is an amazing thing. Be a part of it.

http://www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback/

Here are my thoughts from last night's show:

Casey James (Song Choice: Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow)

This performance was so annoyingly generic. And I think it's time for him to go. I don't even feel like writing about him. It's inspiration week... He coulda had a moment. A millions songs to choose and he picks this Fleetwood Mac song, which will always remind me of Bill Clinton's election campaign. My mother, who is not a Clinton fan, hates this song. Yep, she loathes Bill so much, she has to take it out on Fleetwood Mac. Anyways, bad choice of song and he should head home just because of it. Couldn't agree more with Simon - it was just a lazy song choice.

Lee Dewyze (Song Choice: The Boxer)

Here we go... Casey James, this is how it's done. I love this song and I loved this performance. It was just really pretty and finally we see something totally new on this show. Enough with the Mariah, Aersomith (Don't Wanna Miss a Thang), Whitney ballads... Simon and Garfunkel shakes it up. Lee just does it right. He has the Idol handbook. Pick a song that people like, but they don't even realize how good of a song it is... until someone reinvents it and makes it current. Lee is mastering this this season. I loved the last performance in which Simon said he had his moment, but for me... this was the performance in which he had his moment. Simon and Garfunkel would be proud. Consider this song downloaded.

Tim Urban (Song Choice: Better Days)

Love love this Goo Goo Dolls song. And Tim did a pretty good job with it. He's making smarter choices and this was one of them. No one ever tackles the Goo Goo Dolls on this show and they should. Their songs are fantastic. Dizzy Up the Girl is one of favorite albums. It has hit after hit. My friend and I have a little game we play where we rank each of their hit singles from this album and when "Iris" comes on the radio, we'll just call out "#6" (me) or #1 (her). My Dizzy Up the Girl ranking system goes something like this:

#1 - Slide

#2 - Black Balloon

#3 - Broadway

#4 - Acoustic

#5 - All Eyes On Me

#6 - Iris (it got bumped to 6 when they overplayed it, plus City of Angels with Meg and Nic Cage is a shitty movie)

What are your thoughts on this album!?

Back to Tim... I think High School Musical boy sticks around for another week. He was a pleasant surprise. Didn't do anything new with the song except for it being a little more acoustic, but he sounded nice and he flashed the pearly whites. That's good for about 10K votes.

Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: I Believe I Can Fly)

I thought Aaron was really good. I think this kid finally had his moment. I like that he took on this R. Kelly song and he made it more of a country ballad. Started off slow, but when he kicked into high gear, he was definitely in the pocket. This kid has a big voice and I think he's going to do really well in country music. I do like this song, but it is pretty darn cheesy. It's one of those songs that you like to sing, but don't really want to hear a MAN sing. It kind of takes the man chip away from him (kind of the way I feel about men who have never seen Top Gun. It kind of takes their penis away). Unfortunately, this song reminds me of the NBA player (and former UCONN basketball player) Rip Hamilton. Rip won my school a national championship and was/is one of my favorite players ever. But when he was asked how he gets fired up for a game, he said that he would listen to R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly". Really? Do you REALLY have to be so cheesy? Now I just picture my favorite player in the locker room with his freaking discman getting inspired by this queer song. It's totally ruined it for me. Can't you listen to a manly song like "Lose Yourself" by Eminem? I think everyone should get fired up for that song. It's the only answer that's acceptable.

Siohban Magnus (Song Choice: When You Believe)

Besides the fact that she looked like fairy from the latest Tinkerbell movie on the Disney channel, I thought Siohban did pretty well. I really really like Siohban. She is poised. She has great answers. Sometimes she take a little while to get her point out, but she chooses her words carefully. However, I'm beginning to feel lukewarm about her voice. She can hit the big notes, which she did last night... but I don't need them. I like her voice in a lower register. And I have to agree with being confused about what kind of album she'll make. Here's my only advice to her: Don't make the same album as Kat McPhee. I had the McPhever in season 5 and she then turned around and made the worst debut album ever. She was in such a rush to get this album out. I'm convinced she took every song that people like Ashlee Simpson and Lindsey Lohan passed on and put it on her album, just to get it released. And it was f'ing awful. There's one single called "Open Toes" and it's pretty much about getting a pedicure and going out on the town in open-toed shoes. It's f'ing stupid. LiLo is dumb as dirt and she probably had the good sense to pass on this song.

With all that said, I liked the arrangment of the song and I thought she controlled her voice and the song pretty well. She didn't try to be Mariah or Whitney, she just sang the song in a pretty way. It didn't wow anyone, but definitely didn't disappoint. Should be interesting to see how she fares tonight.

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: Hero)

My first reaction to the song choice: "This is a little Spiderman for me". Please note: I did not steal this line from Simon. It was the first thing that came to me when I heard he was singing this song. And I'd assume that everyone had this reaction since it was the theme song for a blockbuster superhero movie (great song by Dashboard Confessionals). I just don't want to hear anyone sing it. I just thought the performance was a little amateur for me and a giant step backwards for Big Mike. He sang it well, but it just didn't solidify why he was in the Top 7. He looked like he was performing in the early rounds of this competition. He is this "woman's work" and "In the Ghetto" guy... not a guy who wears a boring grey t-shirt and sing a rock song. It creeps me out to see him hold that guitar too. He's so big, it looks like a little Barbie guitar. It's unsettling.

Michael is in some trouble.

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: Get Ready)

In the words of Billy Madison, "Geez, why don't you just give her the trophy".

Crystal is amazing. There's not much more to say. This performance was the definition of inspirational. She sang it brilliantly. She's incredibly talented. The accapela at the beginning, the arrangement, the tears at the end for her father. Loved it all. She can pretty much do anything. We're looking at a true artist who is going make her mark on the music industry. I can't wait.

In Trouble: Casey, Big Mike, Aaron or Tim. The girls should be safe.

Ricky Shroeder Turns 40!

This past week I was doing my daily search for Entertainment news & gossip and I came up on some disturbing news.

Ricky Shroeder just turned 40.

My first crush, first love, first Bop magazine pin-up boy... is 40. It kind of freaked me out and just put so much in perspective for me (mostly my age). I don't know if you can understand how much I loved this boy... Ricky Shroeder photos were all over my wall and all over my scrapbook. "Silver Spoons" was my FAVORITE show in the 80's. My older sister and I would watch it and every time they showed the credits at the beginning to one of the best theme songs ever ("Togeeeeeether, we're gonna find our way...") and Ricky's name would flash across the screen with him wearing the green LaCoste shirt... we would fight over who got to kiss the TV screen. This really happened... every week. He grew up before our eyes. He went from little Ricky to "The Ricker". And he was just the cutest thing ever.

There's a story here. My mom and dad made my older sister go to Hechinger's on a Saturday night. Hechinger's was an 80's Virginia version of Home Depot. And it was a really f'ing boring store, the last place I wanted to be on a Saturday night. I had places to be (at the age of 8) and that place was my couch watching a re-run of the "Silver Spoons" episode where Ricky dresses up like a girl. It was one of my favorites and I was not going to miss it. I remember watching the clock, checking my watch, annoyingly asking what my parents what time it was. Dammit, why didn't someone invent Tivo? Why didn't I set my VCR? I tried passing the time entertaining myself by playing on the dolleys, rolling it all over the store. I started to piss off my parents. "Oh I'm sorry... Am I embarrassing you? Well, take me home to watch Silver Spoons and I'll knock it off". I had to bargain with them. It didn't work and they returned to their shopping. Before I knew it, I missed my show and we had new knobs for our kitchen cabinets. Pretty annoying.

My point is: Ricky Shroeder was my priority in the 80's. Life revolved around the Ricker. And I didn't want to be anywhere else but in front of that television set watching my blue eyed, blond haired crush. He went from Ricky (the boy) to the Ricker (the teenager) to Rick (the man). He came back to television as Detective Danny Sorenson on NYPD Blue for a few years in the 90's and I was happy, but of course it wasn't the same as the "Silver Spoons" years.

Well, Happy 40th Birthday Ricky. Thanks for making me feel super freaking old.

Blah Blah Blah...

So I was watching Saturday Night Live last night with host Ryan Phillipe and the musical guest was Kesha. You may have heard of Ke$ha. She has 2 annoying (albeit "hit") songs on the radio... ones called "Tik Tok" and "Blah Blah". Yeah... amazing song titles right? With deep lyrics, super original? NO. I was watching and I just couldn't understand it. Who the F is this girl and why is she famous? What kind of talent does she have? Who discovered her?

And I've come to one conclusion: This girl is an asshole. Seriously, she's an asshole. A poor man's Lady Gaga. She wishes she was Britney Spears. On SNL, she sang two of her "hit" songs, one of them being Tik Tok... the other I fast forwarded because it pained me to watch.. of course not before I got a glimpse of her in a black suite with flourescent face paint. Oh good Lord. But the first song ("Tik Tok"), oh my goodness the first song... She had a silvery black unitard on that she was hoping gave her a rocking body like Britney or Lady Gaga. She did not succeed. It gave her nothing but a camel toe and a frumpy figure. Then she had an American flag cape attached to her. She was doing the running man. She was doing the robot. She was doing these basic dance moves a teenage boy in the 90's would try out before he hit his first high school dance. It was F'ing awful. No dance skills, no singing voice, no talent. And the majority of her songs are of her talking, not singing ("Now the party don't stop til I walk in...". What a genius lyric.). The funny thing is she looks like a normal pretty blonde girl you'd be friends with. But someone took that normal pretty girl with a mediocre voice and kind of made her a joke. It's just all so contrived. She's trying to be Lady Gaga and it's not working for her. She's wearing the jumpsuits, the capes, the headress... and she doesn't have the voice to support it. SNL wasn't even the first time I questioned why this girl was discovered. She performed her song "Blah Blah Blah" on an American Idol elimination show earlier in the season and I was so appalled by her lack of talent that I said to my friend, "my dad is cringing right now at how freaking awful this girl is". Because if he was weirded out by Lady Gaga's performance on that show, he was definitely confused by this one (He refers to LG as "that girl with the zipper on ther face"). Then I hear she has the f'ing nerve to criticize Britney Spears for lip-syching during her concerts. Here's the deal: I love Britney Spears. I know she hasn't been the best role model ever, but I'm a supporter. Team Britney all the way over here. I know it looks like she lip-synchs at times and I want to die a little bit when I see that, but I also know that she has talent that hasn't gotten her where she is to today and that she has countless #1 hits to her name. So when some freaking no name with a dollar sign in her name comes around and bitches about my girl, then Yes.. I have a problem.

And ya know what I say to that??! BLAH BLAH BLAH.

What a joke.

American Idol Top Nine... AGAIN

So when I heard that Adam Lambert was the mentor this week, I really thought... what the frigg!?! Has this guy even earned the right to mentor? He's had 2 singles. Even Miley Cyrus at 17 years old has more of a right to mentor. But I have to admit, he did give some good advice on originality and peformance. I'm not sure they took all of it, but still. I do like the fact that Adam could relate to what the judges are looking for. He could give pretty good advice on "how to make the song your own". But really...what is up with the budget at Idol?!? Well, Elvis Presley week returned to Idol last night. I feel like this has just been done, but it's actually been 4 seasons since the Idols took on the King of Rock 'n Roll. And during that season there were only 4 contestants left so there were a lot more songs to be performed this time around.

Here's what I thought....

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: Saved)

Okay, okay.. it was pretty good, but I have to be honest....this was the least favorite of the Crystal performances. I like her gospel sound, but I'm not really a bluesy fan, so it didn't really do anything for me. I think I was flipping through a magazine while listening and usually I'm hanging on every lyric Crystal sings. She'll soar through to the next round, but she needs to go back to what she does best... everything else but that.

Andrew Garcia (Song Choice: Hound Dog)

Hound Dog. Who sings Hound Dog on Idol? Andrew. Andrew sings Hound Dog. UUUUUGH. This is what I call a recipe for disaster. It's just a terrible song choice. This song should never ever be sung on this show. You will never ever make this song currect. Andrew just goes too obvious. This is the kind of song that when people DON'T watch Idol tune in for the very first time to check it out, decide they absolutely hate the show and then they start to write on their facebook statusus on how much they hate it (Okay, maybe that actually happened). But it's true... I equate this to Anoop Desai singing "Beat It" last year during Michael Jackson week. Some songs are untouchable. Add Hound Dog to the list. Can't Buy Me Love one week and Hound Dog the next? This guy's gotta go. It was not good.

Tim Urban (Song Choice: Can't Help Falling in Love)

I did not hate this. Ugh. I kind of liked it. I thought he looked cute and vulnerable and no doubt his best performance to date. Loved the lights and the stool and the adorable hair... and even the voice this week. I think Mr. High School Musical is sticking around for another week. I have to admit, I don't see a bottom 3 for this kid at all. Watch.. out of all the weeks that we've been waiting for him to leave, this will be the one.

Lee Dewyze (Song Choice: A Little Less Conversation)

I love Lee. Every week I love Lee. This song was a risk. Anybody else could've made it a cheesy, wedding band performance, but he made it current and cool. Lee just has the perfect raspy recordable voice that I know could produce radio hit after radio hit. I love that he's humble. Normally I frown upon those contestants that say they are having fun out there on stage (only the ones that suck), but I loved that he was having fun. Show those pearly whites Lee. I'm sure the ladies will give you a few more votes.

Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: Blues Suede Shoes)

I thought he did pretty well here. Aaron was totally out of his comfort zone by not singing a whiny boring ballad or something by Rascal Flatts and it worked for him. Granted Blue Suede Shoes is a totally cheesy song, I didn't mind it. He's 16. He looked cute. A little akward, but cute. He is still on Idol crown worthy, but if I am a producer for Grease on Broadway, I'm definitely considering him. But he may be in the bottom 3 based on who is left and the rest of the performances this week.

Siohban Magnus (Song Choice: Suspicious Minds)

Suspicious Minds... my all time-favorite Elivs song. This was a perfect song for Siobhan. She did pretty well at times, but with the terrible terrible 80's mom hair along with the arrangement of the song, it aged her about 20 years. She made it more of a ballad for a woman in her 40's, rather than just singing it the way it should be sung. It didn't really need to be changed up that much. Did I mentioned that I hate hate hated her hair? I do love how poised she is and she is the best at answering the questions that are thrown out at her... It's not necessary to be labeled. Doesn't want to be pigeon-holed. She's still figuring out who she is. All good anwers. Hope she's safe, but just a little sidenote: Suspicious Minds is what knocked off season 5 favorite Chris Daughtry during Elvis week. Hmmm... If there was ever a time in Idol history to use the save... that was it.

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: In the Ghetto)

Now, I liked this. It proved why he deserved the save last week. I really liked the vocals, but the word on the street is that it sounded WAY different than the original. I know the song a little bit, not a total Elvis fave. I really can't help but picture Taylor Hicks singing this song in Elvis week back in season 5. And I really don't love anything Taylor Hicks. I never voted for the guy once. He may have been the American Idol, but he was never MY Idol. Michael sang it well and you could feel the emotion and his connection to the song. Props to Siohban Magnus for suggesting that he sing the song. I'm not gonna lie, there's no way in hell I'd be giving really good suggestions to my competitors. More like "Sing Hound Dog. The judges will LOVE it. You should dance too." I'm evil.

Katie Stevens (Song Choice: Baby, What You Want Me To Do)

Katie is back in the groove. Her strong vocals are back and she is in the pocket. This girl has some soul. It was a perfect song and she had emotion and anger in the song (Good coaching job Lambert). Her outfit was cute, she looked and sounded current and this girl should be safe for another week. She's on her way to making the top 5.

Casey James (Song Choice: Lawdy Miss Clawdy)

I agree with what Simon said.. This was pretty much a "wasted opportunity". I feel like this performance had no beginning, middle, or end. I'm just not a blues fan so I could've cared less about it. He can play the guitar, but overall that performance pretty much left me with nothing to say. My friends and I talked through the whole thing about something stupid like nailpolish or what we were ordering in Victoria's Secret and just never really cared about his performance. And when talking about the show in the office today, I completely forgot to mention Casey's performance. That's not good. I think he might be in trouble.

In Trouble: Casey, Aaron, Andrew... Tim, for once, could be safe.

American Idol Top 9

Last night, the songbooks of Lennon & McCartney were open to the Idols, which was great... BUT they also just did this for 2 weeks straight weeks in season 7. It seems like yesterday Archie was singing Imagine or David Cook rocked out to Eleanor Rigby. So why go back already? Are we running out of ideas? How about an 80's week? How about a love songs week? I mean, I like Beatles songs but I don't want to hear an hour's worth of bad versions. They really need to start youthing it up for the rest of the season because apparently we have a bunch of old souls competing this year. Can someone please sing something current? PLEASE. This week the Idols were really on their own to pick their song and their arrangment. Yes, Sir Paul gave some encouragement via satellite, but everyone was really flying solo this week. I mean, no pressure to sing a Beatles song, make it original & unique, all why maintaining the purity and classic sound of the song.

Here's what I thought of the Idol efforts:

Aaron Kelly (Song Choice: A Long and Winding Road)

I love Aaron, but this is the kind of performance that when a new Idol viewer tunes it they think, "what the #$%? Why are these people famous?". And I get that. It was too old-fashioned and clearly not his best. He's so good when he hits the high notes, but not so much in the lower register. I get nervous for him. He neeeds to start shaking things up a bit. He needs to break away from the Flatts for a week. We know he wants to be the fourth Rascal Flatt, but until that happens, he needs to surprise us on Idol. By the way, have you noticed that the strategy for all of these contestants when given some critique, their answer now is "I'm working on something BIG next, if they let me stay." Smart. Very smart. Being the gullible viewer that I am, I really do want to see what this big thing is next week is. FINE. You have my vote. It's worked for Casey and Crystal already. And not that Crystal needs any help, but I'm digging the new Idol contestant strategy for 2010.

Katie Stevens (Song Choice: Let It Be)

Katie.... She was in the pocket. Perfect perfect song for her. She looked like she had been singing this song for years and I think she had with her dad. This was by far her best performance by a mile. Finally, the tone of her voice that we saw in Hollywood week has come back. She made it current, her voice was strong - she was in the zone. For me, this was a winning performance. And she looked fantastic, like she matured about 4 years. She finally dropped the New York & Company jewelry and Macy's junior section drab and upped her game in the apparel department. She was an R&B pop singer, someone we may want to hear on the radio (Sorry, Simon - that was NOT country. Not really sure what he was listening to). Nice work Kate. The "Kate Mates" in CT are dialing it up for you right now!

Andrew Garcia (Song Choice: Can't Buy Me Love)

Oh geez. What to say. This was such a bad song choice. This is a song you never sing on Idol. It will never sound cool or commercial, it will always sound like an old campy song from the 60's. It will always remind me of Ronald Miller paying Cindi Mancini $1,000 to be his girlfriend in the hit 80's movie. But Andrew didn't go "totally geek to totally chic" like Ronnie, but it was the opposit after last week's strong performance ("Forever"). This song is just a little hokey. Way too big band and way too "Hairspray". He sounded good, but I just couldn't get passed the cheese. Thought it was totally corny and he's better than that. He needed a mentor.. to tell him not to sing that song. It could have been his moment this week. He could of sang "Imagine" or "Yesterday".. something classic. Ya know he says "singing Lennon and McCartney songs is an honor." Then if you have once chance to sing one of their songs, then why ohwhy would you sing that song?? out of all songs? I don't get it. And Andrew is in trouble.

Michael Lynche (Song Choice: Eleanor Rigby)

I was into this version of this song. It was a perfect song for him and this was one tall order considering David Cook sang it two seasons ago and had "a moment" with it. However, he sang the rock version and Michael sang a cool R&B version of it. I think I'm finally seeing an artist in Michael Lynche and it goes to show the difference between what he did and what Andrew did. That song is sellable. You would download it. It could be on an album. Simon gave him a hard time saying he was confused as to what kind of artist he wants to be and what music he wants to make. Can't singers rock, rap, or pop songs then have a ballad on their album? Usher sings "Yeah" (one of the best songs ever and my brother's personal fave) and then he sings the song "Burn". What stops a rocker like a Bret Michaels singing "Nuthin' But a Good Time" and then singing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"?! Kind of a stupid thing to say Simon.

Crystal Bowersox (Song Choice: Come Together)

You may not believe this, but I stated from my couch... "Crystal should sing Come Together". And she did. And she rocked it. And I was nervous for this one as Carly Smithson (season 7) had a moment with this song. Yet they were both very different versions. Both fantastic. This is a pretty timeless song. It's always going to be cool. I can't write it any differently this week... Crystal is great and clearly should be in the finals. Sign her. and I was loving the boots. She's getting prettier and more fashionable every week, yet still saying true to herself. Plus I love how conversational she is when she's getting judged. It's easy to like her.

Tim Urban (Song Choice: All My Loving)

I'm skipping this blog. He just needs to go home. The best thing the judges said was that they admired him for taking their criticism"like a man". Now I agree, but Proud of him, Schmoud of him....This is American Idol and he's not going to win. He doesn't need the positive feedback to make the 12 year old girls pick up their phones to call and text to keep him around another week. Did he sound okay? Sure. But I also went to the kitchen to get a snack, started painting my nails and looked through US magazine while he was singing. So...ya know. It's just not Idol worthy. It's the nicest way I can say it.

The best part is that every week, 3 times an episode my friend calls Tim Urban "Lambert". Every week. She's obviously talking about Alex Lambert who got eliminated in the top 14, just missing the Top 12. He was the one who sounded liked James Morrison, but his nerves got the best of him. So every week she goes, "I'm sorry, but Lambert has to go!". I just nod and agree and then sneak in a "Tim Urban" under my breath. She gives me the "oh yeah!" and we laugh. And then it happens 20 minutes later. Then the next night during elimination night, she tells me again, "Lambert will be in the bottom 3". Again... "Tim" under my breath. She corrects herself. We laugh. And so on and so on. So the only bad thing about Tim leaving the competition is, I won't get to hear her get this wrong again. I might miss that.

Casey James (Song Choice: Jealous Guy)

I really liked this peformance, one of his best. SO much better than his "Power of Love" performance. He finally showed his artistry. Did he always have that quiver in his voice? I'm not so sure that he did. But I'm into it. Keep up the quiver. What I liked about this performance is that I really didn't know the song and I didn't have any high expectations of it. So for me, it was something new and refreshing by Casey and I loved that he showed his vulnerable side. The blonde locks were flowing too. Casey is in for another week for sure.

Siobhan Magnus (Song Choice: Across the Universe)

I liked this version of this song, but I didn't love it. Love HER though. I had to agree with some of the judges about it being a little sleepy, but it was also tender and sweet. I wish she kicked it into high gear quicker. This performance just showed her versality. She is unpredictable and cool. And regardless of the sleepiness of the song, Siohban knows how to put on a performance with every little detail.. the stool, the lights, the look, the music. She's sticking around. The competition needs her.

Lee Dewyze (Song Choice: Hey Jude)

I love Lee. I thought this performance was wicked cool, and I don't even really love this song. I loved that he took 100% credit for the bagpiper, which let's face it, was a tad random. But Lee's voice can be heard on the radio tomorrow and his confidence grows a little bit each week. And he's even getting cuter to me. Lee is just cool.

In Trouble: Tim Urban, Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens (but just based on the fact that she's hit the bottom 3 for a few weeks now). Think it's Tim's time to go.....

A Cinderella Story

"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here." - Hoosiers

Last night, I watched one of the best National Championship basketball games ever. I've talked about how much love I love this tournament, how the small school can be put on the map, that every person cheers for the underdog. Well, this year, NCAA basketball fans couldn't have asked for more in a title game. It was exactly what we hoped for: David Vs. Goliath. Butler, a small university in Indianapolis located just 6 miles from where the championship took place, playing Duke University, one of the best teams in the history of college basketball. Butler has had good runs before in the tournament making it to the Sweet Sixteen, but never the Final Four and had NEVER played in a National Championship game until last night. Duke - Just the opposite. In the Mike Krzyzewksi era alone, they've appeared in 15 Final Fours, 8 titles games and had won 3 National Championships before last night.

Coach K has coached Duke for 30 years and even has the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium named after him. Butler coach, Brad Stevens, has a bit of a different story. He attended and played for Depauw University and was an economics major eventually getting a job with Eli Lilly. He wanted to be a basketball coach so badly, he quit his high-paying job and took a volunteer coaching job prior to the 2000–01 season with the Butler Bulldogs. I've heard his girlfriend supported them and that he even took a side job at Applebees to pay the bills. He was promoted to an assistant coaching position the next year and then in 2007, he became the head coach at just 30 years old. He's been called a coaching prodigy.

A funny little sidenote: My mom called and left me a voicemail last week during the Elite 8 game and went on and on about how cute Brad Stevens was. She even asked me questions like, "Isn't he just adorable!?" and told me to "Get on it!". Okay, mom... let me just call up Butler University and ask Brad Stevens out on a date. Sorry, mom... Look at the ring finger first. He's married with 2 kids. But thanks for playing...

In the last 10 years, Butler has become one of the best "Mid-major" schools to compete for the national championship. This term has been coined by the sports media over the years and is pretty much used to describe all of the other 25 conferences not normally considered to be a major conference (The Big East, ACC, Pac 10, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12). The school has less than 5,000 students and many of the players are these good mid-west farm kids, the kind you see in a movie the kind you root for. Ironically, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler's home court, hosted the historic 1954 game where Milan High School (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central High School (enrollment over 1,600) to win the Indiana state title, a game that inspired the the 1986 classic basketball film Hoosiers. They even returned to Hinkle Fieldhouse to shoot the film. Of course, we felt the script was written here... everything was place. The powerhouse. The underdog. The coaches. The players. This is your Cinderella story. The "little school that could"....

Unfortunately, the script didn't play out like it did in our heads. But know this: People will remember this game. They will remember this little school led by pure shooters Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, and Shelvin Mack. They'll remember the tenacious defense by Ronald Nored and Avery Jukes. This was a team that was doing something very special. I grew up a Duke fan and I did like this team, but how can you not go with the underdog? I had the script written already. This was a movie in the making. Maybe it still is. The score went back and forth. It came down to free throws, and then one Butler shot from mid-court for the win... and it bounced off the rim. Off the rim. The Score: Duke - 61 Butler - 59. Two point difference and Duke ran away with their fourth championship. I sat there on the couch (after standing on it for the last minute of the game) and I cried a little. One tear streaming down my face. This is what sports is all about. I wanted this so badly for this team.

I know Butler isn't holding up the trophy or cutting down the nets, but there is no doubt this game had 2 champions. Duke should be applauded. They had a great season and they faced a lot of great opponents throughout the season and worked hard. But I'm not gonna lie.. I wanted the Hollywood ending here. Butler has most of it's players back next year, so maybe... just maybe Cinderella will be back at the ball next year.