Idol goes to Omaha...???

Omaha???  Really???  Whose idea was that?  I just don't get it; why is American Idol going to these random cities?  I mean, I definitely understand the idea of giving opportunities to people in different locales, but let's be honest: you're not going to find the next American Idol in Omaha or Charlotte.  You're just not.

That one guy who they let through--the one who kept forgetting his words--that pisses me off.  But you know what doesn't piss me off?  When Ryan arm wrestles with that blond girl.  His bulging bicep is incredible and makes me want to love him FOREVER.  (And his smile is absolutely adorable.)  It's also pretty fun how Ryan and Paula switch jobs for a while; Ryan would be a great judge I think!  

Omaha has too many Carrie Underwood wannabes; light poppy country isn't something to be discovered for on a show like Idol.  You have to be something NEW to actually make it, you know?  Like, Carrie Underwood succeeded because she brought that light country pop sound to the show; Jordin Sparks failed because she was nothing new and nothing exciting.

They keep talking about how people aren't that good--"you need to sound more like an individual," "work on your performance skills," etc.--and then sending them through!  Angelique, for example.  The Celine Dion knock-offs just don't do it for me.

Final Thought: Ryan is hosting the Super Bowl pre-show?  Nice.  I just might have to tune-in...

Dance War Episode 3

OK... I am going to give Dance War one more week. And it's ratings aren't even that good, seeing how it was the #17 show last week. It's just not impressing me; everyone I performed with in college (OK, almost everyone) could be on Dance War and do just as well or better than the contestants that they have... I mean, maybe they should just leave the whole singing and dancing at the same time thing to Broadway. Just a thought. Zack is really the only one who stands out to me at all; the others, for the most part, need some more stage time. Perhaps they should send all of them to a musical theatre camp or something. IDK.

Anyhow, I just now got to watch last Monday's episode, and it was the first time that the two teams faced off. They each did two performances, one highlighting the girls and one the guys. Bruno is lucky--he has hotties Phillip and Zach on his team. I'm sure he knows just how lucky he is...

Bruno's team appears stronger as a whole to me, but his girls are definitely weaker, especially in the singing department. They were out of breath or screaming throughout their performance. In their first number, guys dressed in hats and girls in "Lady Marmalade"-esque attire, the team reminded me of the Ball State Singers or Live Entertainment at Cedar Point. Not that it's a bad thing necessarily, but let's be honest: it's a primetime network TV show. Come on. At the end of their second performance, Zack's face said it all to me: "That sucked and I know it. I'm too good for this show."

Despite technical problems (Chris--I've been there when your mic isn't turned on), Carrie Ann's first performance was decent. The tempo was way to slow and Charity stood out as a weak dancer. I think that as far as natural vocal talent goes, Phillip is just as good as Zach. The second performance was better; the girls actually sounded pretty nice together. Throughout, Kelsey seemed to have it together the most--she's very consistent.

Now that I think about it, it's really hard to say which team is stronger. Both had a good performance and a bad performance on the show...

I like the fact that the show opened up with a Spice Girls song; how trendy! The teams joined forces for the opener and closer and it was nice (slash a hot mess) to see them all on stage at once.

Final Thought: My favorite quote from the night, though I wish I knew a little more about what he meant by it: "It was MAN TIME." Phillip. Yum.

Final Final Thought: Did I mention in an earlier post that Zack is the ex-fiancee of DWTS's Julianne Hough? The reality TV family grows both larger and smaller every day... And Zack's hair looks much better short.

AI: San Diego & Charleston

My friend Adam is TiVoing American Idol this year because everyone works on Tuesday and Wednesday nights...  So we got together on Thursday and watched the San Diego and Charleston auditions.  Oh!  Before that, we watched a clip from last week's auditions in Dallas.  Watch out for Zpia (pronounced Pia); she's a singer at my roommate's bar and she's totally fierce.  

Anyhow, on to San Diego.  It was great for me to finally see Paula, Simon and Randy back behind the table with their oversized Coke cups.  Randy needs to shave those hideous sideburns, though.  Oh, it was also awesome to see Ryan, of course, but I see him in my dreams quite often.  Here are my notes about some of the standouts:

-Perrie--a single dad.  Nice.  The 90's called and want their voice back.

-Michael--he's a really cute Australian guy with a great voice, minus his nerv vibratto.

-Christopher & Monique--both absolutely horrible.

-Samantha--her sister got to sit in on her audition.  Needs a makeover.

-David--survived "vocal paralysis."  Great smile.  Sounds a little like Nick Lachey.

Then, it was off to Charleston.  No one good.  That's why you don't have auditions in the South unless it's Nashville--seriously, American Idol, FIO (Figure It Out).  The only thing that was better in Charleston than in San Diego was Ryan--he looks much hotter in the South.  Mmm.  My notes:

-DeAnna--"I waitress."  Classy.  Kellie Pickler is her idol; she's an f-ing idiot.

-Michelle & Jeffrey--the big brother and sister.  They should be singing in church.

-Amy/AC--16 years old; virgin; annoying.  Can't believe she's going to Hollywood.

-Arethat--with a name like that, you have to be better.  Changed keys multiple times.

So yeah, I'm looking forward to the next round of auditions.  Hopefully I missed some amazing singers two weeks ago when I didn't watch; we'll find out soon enough in Hollywood!

Dance War Episode 2

I have so many notes about the second episode of Dance War and I'm pretty excited to see how the season unfolds.  To be honest, I still don't really understand the premise, but oh well.  Here's what I think.

It's absolutely great that the show opens up with a big musical number.  "Straight out the gates" is what that's called, I believe.  And the opener is a fierce medley so it's even better.

The way the show is set up is like this: the guys all perform together then are broken into two groups in which they get some solo time.  Then, the girls do the same.  Finally, Bruno and Carrie Ann pick who they want on their respective teams "schoolyard style."  I like it.  Here are my notes about each of the performers:

Zach is the obvious crowd-favorite, and for good reason: he's a solid dancer and a solid singer.  He's got great looks, a hot body, a sparkle in his eyes, and a true knack for performing.

Maxx, though cute, needs to get rid of that sick rat-tail.  He's weak vocally and while he can dance well, it just doesn't do it for me.

Qis: "Dance War is my Superbowl."  That's  little dramatic.  He has an interesting voice; my jury is still out on him.

Chris is totally cute.  He's got a nice voice, but not as big as some of the other guys.

Bradley, whose brother is on Broadway (apparently), is a very intense dancer.  His singing skills leave a little something to be desired.

Tony sings way too hard.  He's just not that good of a singer I don't think.

Phillip has a nice voice.  He's obviously using his body to get votes, and that's just fine with me.  He's ripped.

Kelsey has a cute voice.  She's hot.  As Carrie Ann says, she's consistent, which is important in a live performance show.

Corina definitely loves being the center of attention.  She's sexy and her voice is dece.

Alysa, who didn't plan on auditioning for the show, thinks she is some fierce singer.  She's not.  Nor is she a dancer.  

Charity is cute, but she's gets into trouble doing the whole dancing and singing at the same time thing.

Mariel is my favorite singer of the girls; she's got that fierce belt and great runs.  Loves it.

Lacey thinks she is a diva and the best singer on the show, but she doesn't really do it for me.  She's an OK dancer.

Elizabeth might be a good singer--she's got that high, pingy belt--but I just don't see that sparkle which is pertinent to being a performer.

In general, the girls' numbers didn't impress me as much.  I mean, I think that the girls are going to have to work harder to win my heart as well as the hearts of the voters...  There are so many talented female performers over, so people aren't as likely to be "wowed" by them.  The guys, on the other hand, have it easier--a guy who can sing and dance and look hot has a free pass to fame.

By the end of the show, the teams have been decided.  Next week they'll compete and...  Well, something will happen, I'm not sure what.  Maybe Wikipedia can help explain it.  If you want to check out the bios of the cast members, click here (I think this was in an earlier post, too).

Real World Finale

I just finished watching the finale of The Real World Sydney.  Having watched a few of the first episodes, I didn't really make a point to follow the season.  When I left off, there were two slutty blond girls, Kelly Ann, Cohutta (SP?), Dunbar, Parisa, and Isaac, my favorite.  On the finale, there are no slutty blond girls (A Real World first?) and Ashli instead.  Cohutta and Kelly Ann are dating, Isaac has an Aussi girlfriend.  Everyone likes Parisa.  Strange what can happen over a few weeks!

Anyhow, the episode was pretty typical: lots of tears, a few recaps, and roommates re-bonding those ties which had been severed.  It must be a pretty strange feeling to live with people like that and then just disappear, knowing that the next time you see them could be never...  Actually, let's face it, they basically all end up on a Challenge at some point.

If you didn't see this season of The Real World, you really didn't miss much.  But if you want, you can watch the entire season online.

Final Thought: The Gaunlet III premiers on January 23.  Good people in the cast: Paula (hahaha), Coral (The Ultimate Diva), Robin (yes!!), Tyler (annoying but dramatic), and Frank (love him).  The trailer has all kinds of preview goodies: boys making out, girls making out, bitch fights, heart attacks, etc.

Dance War Premier!

I just finished watching the premier of Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann online, and I think I'm going to get really into the show.  It's so fierce!  I took all kinds of notes about it, so here's some of my thoughts...

The whole initial audition process is pretty unique: the people are put into groups of 15 and get a minute or two to freestyle to some music.  If they make it past that round, they dance and sing alone for the judges.  All of this is done in front of a large audience, which makes it quite different from shows like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance?  Anyhow, after the initial auditions, they take 30 people to Hollywood and, after teaching them a routine and doing some coaching, 14 are selected to move on to the finals.

I guess my main question about the show is this: what's the point?  Who is going to actually win?  I mean, I understand that they're making two teams and Carrie Ann and Bruno are going to be the team captains, but what does the winning team get?  And they keep talking about how it's easier to teach a dancer to sing than teach a singer to dance...  I don't know if I agree with that or not.  I mean, I am a singer myself and I kind of learned how to dance, and I know plenty of dancers that could NEVER be taught how to sing.  Maybe that's just because of my background as a singer, but I don't know.  Furthermore, what do Carrie Ann and/or Bruno know about singers?  I understand that they are choreographers or whatever (everyone's a dancer these days...), but after hearing some of their comments, I can tell that they know jack shit about singing.

I'm so happy that Drew Lachey is the host of Dance War; he did such a great job filling in for Samantha on Dancing with the Stars.  Drew is a great B-list celebrity and he's really come a long way since his days in 98 Degrees!

My favorite singer/dancer is obviously Zack; he's gorgeous, has a beautiful voice, and definitely knows how to dance.  I love him and want him to be my boyfriend.

Check out the other performers' bios here, and let me know what you think about this show!

Final Thought/UPDATE: It has just come to my attention that Zach is Julianne Hough's ex-fiancee!  You know, Julianne from DWTS.  The one who I blogged about when rumors were circulating that she and Helio Castroneves were dating...  Interesting...  The reality TV world grows ever smaller!

New Shows!!

There are so many shows starting up in the realm of reality TV, so I thought I'd take a moment and preview some of them, as well as take a look at some returning favorites...

Thursday, Jan. 10 brings the much-anticipated premier of Celebrity Rehab on VH1.  I am pretty excited to see this show mostly because of contestant (is that the right word?) Jessica Sierra; she was a finalist on American Idol season four and was my favorite for a couple of weeks.  She's a total wreck now, having been arrested numerous times over the past couple of years.  Read about the other contestants here.

Also on the 10th, Bravo's new show Make Me A Supermodel premiers.  I hope it's as good as it looks...  Let's face it, Bravo never fails to deliver.

Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant.  Quite frankly, I really don't care.  The "star"'s reality show's second season starts Sunday on VH1.

Another VH1 show coming soon: Rock Of Love.  The second season will probably end the same as the first, with Bret Michaels looking for more time in the spotlight.  You can actually watch the first episode online.  That is, if you want to.  I skipped it.

Tonight on TLC is the season-premier of Big Medicine, a show I will definitely watch because my (Emmy-nominated) sister is one of the editors.  The show follows overweight patients as they undergo bariatric surgery in addition to other methods for losing weight.  Should be inspiring and pretty graphic.

I am completely anxious about the season premier of American Idol on Fox on Jan. 10...  Is this season going to be good like seasons 1, 3, 4, or 5?  I hope it's not as disappointing as the last season...  The preview on Fox.com looks great, so I'm trying to remain hopeful.  (PS--Did you know that Taylor Hicks was dropped from J Records?  PPS--Did you know that Clay Aiken will be on Broadway in Monty Python's Spamalot?)  

More coming soon!

Janice Dickinson, etc.

I've seen a few episodes of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, and I'm starting to realize that it's a pretty fierce show. Janice seems like a genuinely good person to work for; when she was on ANTM I always thought she was insane and probably a crazy bitch in real life, but it looks like she really cares about the models working for her. Like in this episode am watching, Kehoe shows up a little hungover to a shoot and Janice goes nuts. Let's face it: if you're going to be a fierce model (especially for Janice Dickinson), you'd better have your shit together.

Also, I have to admit that Janice has some of the hottest models I've seen, specifically in the male category. I think she and I have very similar taste in men. :)

Here's one of Janice's most popular shots from her youth, in case you haven't seen what she used to look like.


Final Thought: Angela from Project Runway season 3 was sighted over the weekend at Casa Nueva, a local breakfast hotspot for hippies, alternative-ies, fierce divas, gays, and their supporters in Athens, Ohio. I bet she had a seasonal omelette.