AI7 - Top 8 girls liveblog

I was on the wrong channel! The WRONG CHANNEL! I'm obviously an idiot. Go read SarahK's account instead - it's funnier anyway.

I never care what Ryan says at the beginning. I'm sorry. Ryan says that some people are saying that Randy's too nice this season. Randy says the guys were just good last night, and the girls better bring it tonight. Pauler says that the 80s had lots of good songs, as well as ugly clothes and weird makeup. Simon says everyone needs to step it up and that no one is safe.

Asia'h Epperson - she was an extra in a movie, and was roller skating, and she totally fell and totally busted her butt and everyone was totally laughing. Haaaaaa. She's wearing a pair of unfortunate high-waisted and tight pants and singing I Wanna Dance With Somebody by ... dum dum dum ... Whitney Houston. I'm totally distracted by her pants - are they like, braided at the top? Pauler likes it - or, as Mom says, "She's celebrating early." Randy name-drops and says that it was a tall order that she took on, but that Asia'h showed that she should be here because it was HOT, baby. Paula: "You're picking big songs, and that one time you were sick, and now you're well, and you nailed it." Kim: "Thanks for the quick recap of the last few weeks of Asia'h's life, Paula." Simon: It wasn't as good as Whitney (duh) but that she deserves a spot in the top 12. Kim: I agree. But those pants should be burnt immediately, along with all T-shirts that say, "Trust me, I'm a doctor." I HATE those.

Ryan's in the red-rum with Kady Malloy. She wigged last week because she thought she was going home. (Pretty good assumption, since she was in the bottom two.) She was sooooo embarrassed when ... in 9th grade she sang Beautiful by Christina Aguilera (she was in NINTH GRADE when that song came out??) and her music teacher hated it, and then she tripped over some cords and the sound equipment came crashing down and made that feedback sound - "Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Kady is singing Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen. That was pretty - I think it was her best week so far. Randy: Interesting song choice, and she did a nice job of it. Pretty good. Paula: Best performance to date. Kim: Ack! I hate when I agree with Paula. Paula: The softness on your natural voice is where the magic is for you. Kim: I don't agree with that. Simon: It's all a bit gloomy and somber when you sing, like a Stepford Wife. Ryan wants to know why she comes off cute and relaxed on the tapes, but lacks personality when she sings. Simon says that he's made his point and Ryan should get over it.

Amanda is next. Somehow, she burnt down a pool. And - shocker! She's singing a Joan Jett song. I Hate Myself For Loving You. I love this song, but she's boring me with it. I predict a no-likey from the judges - "kareoke" is going to come out of someone's mouth. Mom: Is she wearing two wigs, a light one and a dark one on top? Kim: Uh, no. Randy: Oh, there! There's the Amanda we loved when we saw her. Paula: Your face is beautiful, I love your hair, we're still in love with you. Simon: If I'm being honest, I loved it. One of the best girl performances of this part of the competition. Kim: Whoops, missed that one. I still wasn't blown away, although I did like her scarf a lot. And I wish she'd just dye all of her hair black.

This one time, Carly walked around the corner from work to a bar and was talking to her friend who was a little inebriated (I'm betting Carly was too) and Carly got her leg stuck in a railing. So her inebriated friend brought out butter, oil, and bathroom soap and greased up her leg. Carly is singing I Drove All Night by Roy Orbison, Cyndi Lauper, Celine Dion, what-have-you. Another of my favorites (the Roy Orbison version in particular), and she's doing a great job with it. I think I ::heart:: this girl. Has anybody bought her old CD yet? I'm thinking about it, but I was wondering if it was any good. Kim: Yaaaaay! Randy: You know Carly, you keep smashing it every week, all the high notes - boom boom boom! Dude, another great performance. Paula: Let me tell you something dude, dude, dude. You are like a dependable dog. Hardy har har. You look great, you're having a great time, and there aren't enough adjectives to describe your singing. Simon: I didn't like it. Wrong song choice. I liked it when you sang that Chaka Khan song or whatever. Carly's mom is in the audience, and has met her husband for the 2nd time this week. Ack. Mom has met Scott like, 5,326 times. But I don't think you can say "met" after the first time, can you? Anyway.

Kristy Lee Cook was most embarrassed when she was seven - she used to pretend she was a dog. Growling, barking on her hands and knees, and for some reason, her parents bought her her own dog bowl. Yipes. I don't know if I would have told that story on national television. Kristy is singing one of my favorite songs ever in the world - Faithfully by Journey. It takes me right back to junior high dances and crying in the bleachers over stupid boys. She did an okay job with it - I'm not loading up iTunes to buy the single. Randy: [is all over himself because it's Journey] I actually liked it, because it sounded country, and you could have a single out of that. Paula agrees that it could be a country hit. Kim: Uh, not sure if I agree with that. Paula: I have nothing but positivity. Kim: And vodka. Simon: Your biggest problem is that you're forgettable - I can see you coming in 10th. Kristy: That's all right with me! Randy: I think the guys loved you. Kim: Danny and David Hernandez totally didn't love her.

Ramiele Malubay was embarrassed when she was in the 5th grade and she rode her pink bicycle to a guy's house that she liked, and she left her picture - on the porch, I guess? Anyway, the guy and his mom came outside and laughed and the picture. Awww, boys are so stupid. Ramiele suddenly has more hair on the left side (her left) and I like it much better. She's singing Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now) by Phil Collins. I wish I had the guts to get cute highlights like that. Randy: Another big song, big vocals - I thought it was a good vocal, but you got mad vocals, get your confidence back. It's like you're thinking while you're singing. Paula: You have such a beautiful face. And a beautiful voice that comes out of you, and - I'm not going to say colors - textures! - blabber, blabber, blah. Blahdee, blahdee, bloo. You deserve to be in the top 12. Simon: It was good because you're so little and cute. But it actually sounded very old fashioned. I didn't hear that big money note I would have liked, and I'm not jumping out of my chair. Sorry. Kim: I was swaying in my chair. Danny Noreiga is wearing Ramiele's glasses. Dis.Turb.Ing.

The judges are discussing moths, melon balls and yogurt. And iTunes. Okay. Brooke White told some random guy at church that she was tired and hungry and wanted to go home - and it wasn't her dad. Happened to us all at some point. I told a woman that I didn't know that she HAD to buy me something once. She didn't buy it, but my actual mom probably did. Anyway, Brooke. She's sitting on the edge of the stage and singing an interesting version of Love is a Battlefield. I really like this. I think she has a unique voice. Randy: I liked that you were just sitting there singing and someone else was playing the guitar. It was definitely very interesting - I'm not sure you brought anything new to the song. Paula doesn't understand what's going on here - I guess she means the squabbling over whether she choreographed this video or not. I really don't remember what Paula said after that. Simon liked it because it was totally different. Mom: Paula is totally soused, Ollie. (Ollie is my cat. He does not know who Paula is, what soused means, or when tonight is.)

Syesha Mercado wrote a "Do you love me, yes or no?" letter, included a piece of strawberry bubble gum for good measure. The boy told the teacher and ate the bubble gum. I'm guessing it was a "no". So Syesha is singing Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston. I think she should have dressed up a little more for that song. Mom: She's looking for votes for legs, not voice. Judges are running out of time. Three good(s), three yeses. Actually, four good(s). Although I was a little bored with it, I have to say.

The guys get the Spirit Stick this week. But as far as the girls go - my favorites this week are Carly and Brooke. Going home - I'm going with Kady and Kristy Lee.

Randy says the girls worked it out tonight. Simon is not happy because the girls were not nearly as good as the guys - I agree. Simon says his favorite performance was Amanda - I totally do not agree, although I usually like her. Blake Lewis is singing tomorrow on the results show? Yay! Blake, my possible movie buddy!

American Idol Randomness

I've only been randomly watching Idol this season - I keep forgetting it's on, and then usually I've fallen asleep (because I've felt so crappy for months) and if I do watch it, I don't feel like sitting at the computer and blogging. With that said, tonight I'm feeling a smidge better and I have a few thoughts.

I've only seen Danny Noriega sing once, at Hollywood, but he did this one thing that reminded me of Clay Aiken for a second. I'll keep an eye on him.

And speaking of Clay Aiken, every time they say "Hotlanta", it reminds me of the crazy Clackhouse. I'm not so sure why that is - Clay Aiken must have done something in Atlanta (besides audition - hey, I *am* a PRoCer at heart, after all - I do remember some random Clay trivia.)

I might have to call shenanigans on Asia’h Epperson's story about her dad. She just wasn't reacting the way that I would be if my daddy had died suddenly two days before (God forbid.) Also, her apostrophe reminds me of a post that I need to do, because it's something that really grinds my gears - people who name their kids stupid things with phonetic spellings and random punctuation scattered throughout.

I like Amanda Overmyer. I'm thinking she may scare the old people at the nursing home, though.

I also like Josiah Leming, but I don't understand why he has this occasional British accent.

Nice to see that Pauler is still talking about happy spirits and magicalness. Randy is sitting in the middle, though, and it's throwing my world off a little bit. Also, about Randy - he doesn't know how to work percentages. And so he should just stop saying things like, "Eleventy billion percent yes!" Because it annoys me when people mess up percentages. And it's all about ME.

Perrie Cataldo - oversang everything, like his life depended on it. Good thing it didn't.

That guy who kept talking about the "tingly feeling" that he only gets when he sings (didn't catch his name) reminds me of a junior-high version of Scott. A little bit.

Amy Flynn & her abstinence curriculum (not that there's anything wrong with that) always looks freshly scrubbed. And also, unfortunately for her and her Caruso hairstyler, freshly eliminated.

Dear Bruce Dickson, it's very creepy to have one of those "half" necklaces with your DAD. You probably shouldn't tell that to the entire country (and my BFF Corrie, who I'm sure is watching from Dutchlandia.)

Kristy Lee Cook, Amazing Grace is a great song - no doubt about that. But things usually don't fare well for people who always sing the same song. Just ask ... uh, that one girl. Whose name I can't remember. See?

It's hilarious that Jeffrey Lampkin is singing so passionately about PEE-kan pie. (Speaking of PEE-kan pie - I can't eat it normally. I'm allergic to tree nuts, so I have to scrape the PEE-kan layer off and just eat the filler goo and the crust. It's really good that way, too.) Anyway, Jeffrey Lampkin. I might like him if he's not too Ruben-esque. Not rubenesque, Ruben-esque. You know.

Angela Martin's dad just died too? Geez - all the other contestant's dads better watch themselves.

Oh! Did I tell y'all about the American Idol concert that I went to back in the fall? It was actually pretty entertaining (shut up!) - I went with my mom, and met a random person who is now my Facebook friend (she's applying to my medical school.) But the most interesting part was afterwards, when I met Scott at a movie theater (within walking distance of the concert arena) to see 3:10 to Yuma. A few minutes after the movie started, two guys walked in with a few other guys and sat right in front of us, and I am like, 95% sure that it was Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson. Well - 97% on Blake and about 90% on Chris. "Blake" spent a good bit of the movie IMing on his phone, and I spent a good bit of the movie watching Possibly!Blake and Possibly!Chris - so much so that Scott gave me a quiz on the movie on the way home. Heh. I can pay attention to two things at once, you know - it's installed in the female brain.

American Idol Performance Videos

Finally, it's the post that helps Googlers who are looking for American Idol mpgs to download. These are the ones that I have in my AI downloads folder - they're from the shows with Tony Bennett, Gwen Stefani, Peter Noone & Lulu (whoever they are), and Diana Ross. Fox (who ruin everything) is making it particularly hard for me to record American Idol on my Windows Media Center and make MPEG files out of it this season, so I have to pull a bunch of things out of my bag of tricks and it's slightly more time consuming. Hence the slowness. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and I realize some of them are missing - Fox.Ruins.Everything.

Right-click and "save as", PLEASE! Directly clicking on the link and streaming the video from my server just wastes bandwidth. Please save the mpeg to your computer and then play it. Thanks!

Melinda Doolittle MPEGs
Top 9: I Got Rhythm ~45MB (mpg)
Top 10: Heaven Knows ~37MB (mpg)
Top 11: As Long As He Needs Me ~60MB (mpg)

Stephanie Edwards MPEGs
Top 11: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me ~68MB (mpg)
Top 12: Stormy Weather ~55MB (mpg)

Gina Glocksen MPEGs
Top 9: Smile ~33MB (mpg)
Top 10: I'll Stand By You ~42MB (mpg)
Top 11: Paint It Black ~81MB (mpg)

Lakisha Jones MPEGs
Top 9: Stormy Weather ~23MB (mpg)
Top 10: Last Dance ~40MB (mpg)
Top 11: Diamonds Are Forever ~73MB (mpg)
Top 12: God Bless the Child ~58MB (mpg)

Blake Lewis MPEGs
Top 9: Mack the Knife ~41MB (mpg)
Top 11: Time of the Season ~63MB (mpg)
Top 12: You Keep Me Hanging On ~63MB (mpg)

Sanjaya Malakar MPEGs
Top 9: Sanjaya Malakar ~36MB (mpg)
Top 10: Bathwater ~42MB (mpg)
Top 11: You Really Got Me ~63MB (mpg)

Chris Richardson MPEGs
Top 9: Don't Get Around Much Anymore ~45MB (mpg)
Top 11: Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying ~56MB (mpg)
Top 12: The Boss ~50MB (mpg)

Haley Scarnato MPEGs
Top 9: Ain't Misbehavin' ~40MB (mpg)
Top 10: True Colors ~38MB (mpg)
Top 11: Tell Him ~56MB (mpg)

Chris Sligh MPEGs
Top 10: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic ~57MB (mpg)
Top 11: She's Not There ~66MB (mpg)

Jordin Sparks MPEGs
Top 9: On A Clear Day ~40MB (mpg)
Top 10: Hey Baby ~35MB (mpg)
Top 11: I Who Have Nothing ~76MB (mpg)
Top 12: If We Hold On Together ~54MB (mpg)

Phil Stacey MPEGs
Top 9: Night And Day ~45MB (mpg)
Top 10: Every Breath You Take ~42MB (mpg)
Top 11: Tobacco Road ~53MB (mpg)
Top 12: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me ~50MB (mpg)

Top 24 Results Show
Entire show ~415MB (mpg)
Sowing the Seeds of Love ~26MB (mpg)
Fantasia's performance ~52MB (mpg)

Top 12 recap, snippets of each performance from the end of the show: ~36MB (mpg)

Top 11 recap, snippets and blahblahblah: ~36MB (mpg)

American Idol Top 12 - The Guys

I had American Idol - the top 12 guys - on tonight while I was plodding through my genetics homework (I hate busywork in medical school. Grrrr.) I didn't pay very close attention, but I thought I'd post the names of the contestants and the songs they sang in case someone is Googling "what did blah blah blah sing". I also recorded it, and will post a mpeg in the AI folder of each performance soon (provided all of them actually recorded.)

1. Rudy Cardenas - Free Ride (Edgar Winter Group)
2. Brandon Rogers - Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
3. Sundance Head - Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues)
4. Paul Kim and his Guilty Feet - Careless Whisper (aka - I'm Never Gonna Dance Again) by George Michael (or Wham!)
5. Chris Richardson - I Don't Wanna Be (by Gavin DeGraw)
6. Nick Pedro - Now & Forever (Richard Marx)
7. Blake Lewis - Somewhere Only We Know (Keane)
8. Sanjaya Malakar - Knocks Me Off My Feet (Stevie Wonder)
9. Chris Sligh - Typical (Mute Math) ? Not sure about that one. Correct me in the comments if I'm wrong.
10. Jared Cotter - Back At One (Brian McKnight)
11. A.J. Tabaldo - Never Too Much (Luther Vandross)
12. Phil Stacey - I Could Not Ask For More (Edwin McCain)

I do have a couple of comments, but no lengthy commentary, because everybody either ho-hummed me to death or put me to sleep. I think I might like Brandon Rogers, though, and possibly Phil Stacey (though he looks like Bat Boy) and Blake Lewis - but it could be because Blake Lewis sang a great song. I absolutely hate "Back At One", so Jared Cotter already has a strike against him. (Much like SarahK when someone sings a Stevie Wonder song.) I had to be aroused with a sternal rub after Nick Pedro sang me a lullaby. Sanjaya Malakar was snoozy as well - and he's like, half a person, y'all. I want to make him a cheesecake and some fettucini alfredo or something. Chris Richardson obviously DOES wanna be someone else, and that's Justin Timberlake, hence the mimicry attempt that ended up coming out nasally. He's so been practicing in front of the mirror for an embarrassingly long time. If he finds his own style, I may like him too.

I have no earthly idea who might be going home this week - there were many more than two that were completely forgettable. Sorry for the dry post, but I've had a relentless headache all day and it's about to beat me into submission. Goodnight, loyal readers.