American Idol Top 5 (Thoughts)

So last week (as predicted) Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were both voted off. Now we are down to 5 contestants. Tonight's performances will feature songs made famous by "The Rat Pack" and there is a rumor that Jamie Foxx was a "surprise mentor." Here is a quick rundown of where I think the remaining contestants stand:

Matt Giraud - By avoiding the Bottom 3 last week, Matt seemed to have proved to the judges and America that he was worthy of the Judge's Save. But with a handful of throw-away performances in his past, Matt really needs to deliver something outstanding and memorable from now on. Much like Syesha from last Season, Matt may be the contestant to unexpectedly linger into the Top 3. However, bad song choice or a mediocre performance will likely send him home this week.

Allison Iraheta - Geez, what does Allison need to do to avoid the Bottom 3?? Even after performing a rocked out version of "Hot Stuff" last week and receiving a stamp of "brilliance" from Simon Cowell, she was in the Bottom 3. Perhaps if she really changes things up tonight with a soft, slowed down "Rat Pack" tune and maybe show us a side to her we have yet to see, she will win over the rest of America. *crosses fingers*

Danny Gokey - The hype of Danny Gokey finally seems to be cooling down a bit (YAY!) Although most of the judges still gave him their praises after a boring, unoriginal version of "September" last week, Simon described it as "clumsy" and "lacking star power." I think it is very possible that another karaoke-type performance tonight could result in a "shocking elimination" of Danny on Wednesday night.

Kris Allen - I could go on and on about how I have been supporting Kris since his Top 36 performance of MJ's "Man in the Mirror" and that I am a genius for seeing his potential, but I don't want to bore you haha. At this point, Kris seems to be doing everything right and people are really starting to notice this. The possibility of an "Adam v. Kris" final actually seems to be sounding more and more realistic. Many "Idol experts" began embracing this possibility even more so after iTunes download numbers recently leaked, showing that Kris's iTunes sales are second to Adam's (thus out-selling Danny "Overrated" Gokey). After two incredible performances in a row (the beautiful "Falling Slowly" and his unique acoustic take on "She Works Hard for the Money") Kris has set the bar high and really needs to deliver yet another great performance tonight to keep his momentum going into the finals.

Adam Lambert - Speaking of setting the bar high...that might really be the only problem for Adam at this point. Adam is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the finals. However, ever since his widely talked about performance of "Mad World" a few weeks ago that got Simon Cowell on his feet, everything after that has inevitably been compared to that performance. So until he delivers something else of that calliber, the rest of his performances may be overlooked. Other than that, Adam really has nothing else to worry about.

---WHERE THEY STAND---

MY IDEAL OUTCOME:
5. Danny Gokey
4. Matt Giraud
3. Allison Iraheta
2. Adam Lambert
1. Kris Allen

MOST PROBABLE OUTCOME:
5. Matt Giraud
4. Allison Iraheta
3. Danny Gokey
2. Kris Allen
1. Adam Lambert

American Idol Top 7 [Redux] (Recap)

So this week we have 7 contestants again because of the 'Judge's Save' used on Matt last week. The theme for tonight was "Disco". Here is what everyone sang and some of my initial thoughts:

Lil Rounds - "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan

This performance was pretty much exactly what I was expecting from Lil. It wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't very impressive. It was as forgettable as all her previous performances. I feel bad for her because the judges have really been tearing her apart lately, but they are really just telling it how it is. This is most likely the end of the road for Lil Rounds.

Kris Allen - "She Works Hard For the Money" by Donna Summer

Please forgive my obvious bias when talking about Kris's performances, because he is clearly my favorite contestant...but what else can I say? This was a fantastic performance. He completely changed the song and performed it in his own style. He took a risk and he nailed it. He did exactly what the judges want to see from all the singers at this point. If Kris keeps delivering stellar performances like this, he may have a really good chance at making it to the finals.

Danny Gokey - "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire

Yet again I fail to see why the judges love Danny so much. He really didn't bring anything new to this song, and it actually kind of bothered me that let the backup singers do the high parts in the chorus. It also seems that he came in too early on part of the ending as well.

Allison Iraheta - "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer

Fantastic performance by Allison. I don't care what Randy and Kara say, I actually really loved the arrangement and thought it suited Allison very well. Allison is not only amazing vocally, but she is a great performer as well. Simon was completely correct in saying she is the only hope for the girls. Now that they judges are finally backing her, she has a great chance at cracking the Top 3.

Adam Lambert - "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman

Adam delivers yet another unexpected song choice. I really liked the slow, stripped down arrangement and thought it was really unique. This is the kind of Adam that I actually enjoy seeing / hearing. Although I still can't say I am a fan of Adam, I cannot deny that his vocals are incredible and that he is by far more versatile than any other contestant this season.

Matt Giraud - "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees

Not the best song choice. I definitely agree with Simon when he said that it came across as a little bit desperate. Although I do understand that Matt was under a lot of pressure after last week's save, I was hoping he would deliver something to really assure the judges that they made the right decision.

Anoop Desai - "Dim All The Lights" by Donna Summer

As much as I like Anoop, I am starting to get a little bored with his performances. Even though he tried to go a little upbeat with the song halfway through, it ended up sounding rather cheesy. That last note was pretty ugly too (you can tell Anoop was very happy with that either). I didn't think it was as bad as Simon thought it was. But with two contestants going home tomorrow, Anoop could be in some serious trouble.

---RANDOM THOUGHTS---
- Overall, "Disco" night wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.
- I like that the producers skipped the video intros to cut time.
- Paula's critiques seem to be getting even weirder than usual.
- I love how the camera always gets a shot of Simon reacting to what Paula says.
- Kara incorrectly references something again (She said "Saturday Night Live" instead of "Saturday Night Fever")
- Randy totally tried to steal Simon's common "overindulgent" critique
- The shots of Paula crying during Adam's performance were pretty funny
- I didn't particularly like that Paula made it clear that she wants an "Adam-Danny" final
- "Play That Funky Music" is NOT a disco song!
- I thought it was kind of weird that Ryan mentioned Anoop's "Groucho Marx" eyebrows
- My Ideal Top 3: Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta.

---GRADES---
Kris Allen: A+
Adam Lambert: A
Allison Iraheta: A-
Matt Giraud: B
Anoop Desai: C+
Danny Gokey: C
Lil Rounds: C-

---PREDICTIONS---
Going home: Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai

Videos from: mjsbigblog.com

Summer Movie Previews

Hello there. Here is another installment of "Summer Movie Previews." The latest film from Quentin Tarantino:

Inglorious Basterds
In Theaters: August 21st

Writer / Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz
Plot: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers (IMDB.com)

Trailer:

Brad Pitt. Nazi Killers. Quentin Tarantino. Do I really need to say more about why I am excited to see this film?? Yeah, I didn't think so...

Introducing: Joe Jams!

So I decided to introduce a fun little trend here on my blog this week. As of right now, I am calling it "Joe Jams"...but please let me know if you come up with a better name haha. Basically every once in a while I will be covering a song that is currently popular on the radio or the Billboard charts. Please keep in mind that I am not a very good singer. These videos will be made for fun and are not to be taken very seriously. However, feel free to share your thoughts or requests! And now I present to you..."Joe Jams #1": "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson.

American Idol Top 7 (Recap)

Tonight's theme on Idol was "Songs from Cinema." The contestants were mentored by legendary film director, Quentin Tarantino. Due to last week's performances going over 10 minutes, only two judges will be critiquing the contestants at a time. Here is a recap of what everyone sang / my initial thoughts:

Allison Iraheta
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith
(from Armageddon)

I kinda wish she didn't pick this song since David Cook's version from last season is still pretty fresh in my mind. She did a pretty decent job though. Not her best performance. She seemed to be dragging behind the music a little during the verses and the way the bridge was edited sounded a really awkward to me. On the plus side, Simon finally gave her his praises saying she was the last hope for the girls and she is finally showing that she could actually make it to the end!

Anoop Desai
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams
(from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

I think this was a great song choice for Anoop. A nice, well known ballad that allows Anoop change the melody up a little while showing off his sweet vocals. However since there are only 7 contestants left, he might still be in trouble tomorrow.

Adam Lambert
"Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf
(from Easy Rider)

Adam takes on another upbeat rock song. Overall he delivered the song with lots of energy and created a very entertaining performance. At this point, Adam can wail out pretty much anything and still be guaranteed a spot in the finals (FYI: Adam hits an ultra high "G" at the end. WOW)

Matt Giraud
"Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" by Bryan Adams
(from Don Juan DeMarco)

Definitely not as good as last week. Matt really shouldn't have picked a pop/rock song this week, since he gets nailed pretty much every time he doesn't do R&B or soul. The bridge was pretty rough. He tried to do a little too much with the melody and ended up botching a few of those falsettos. Matt could be in some serious trouble tomorrow.

Danny Gokey
"Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
(from Endless Love)

A very typical Danny performance: A powerful, emotional (cheese-fest) song. Simon states that he is disappointed that he didn't do anything special with the arrangement but then pretty much cancels out his negative critique by saying it was a good emotional performance.

Kris Allen
"Falling Slowly" Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
(from Once)

Great song choice by Kris. He was way better than last week and he seems to have gotten right back on track. Randy dropped his typical "pitchy" comment, but Kara says it was one of his best performances yet. Paula seemed to agree with Kara.

Lil Rounds
"The Rose" by Bette Midler
(from The Rose)

This week's performance was crucial for Lil. Although her performance was an improvement from last week, it most likely won't be enough to save her this week. It also doesn't help that Simon didn't care for it either.

---GRADES---
Kris Allen: A
Anoop Desai: B+
Adam Lambert: B
Allison Iraheta: B-
Matt Giraud: B-
Danny Gokey: C+
Lil Rounds: C

---PREDICTIONS---
Bottom 3: Anoop, Matt, Lil
Voted Off: Lil Rounds

Videos courtesy of: mjsbigblog.com

American Idol Top 7 (Where They Stand)

The theme for next week's American Idol performances is "Songs from Cinema". The contestants will be mentored (and possibly judged) by film director, Quentin Tarantino. Here is my quick rundown of how I think the Top 7 contestants stand so far:


1.) Adam Lambert
Despite my dislike for Adam, I cannot deny that he is the obvious front-runner in this competition. Every week he brings something unique and interesting and shows off his amazing vocal range. Last week's standing ovation from Simon was basically his ticket to the finals.


2.) Danny Gokey
Not a big Danny fan either, but it is highly likely that he will be joining Adam in the finals. He knows how to pour his emotions into each performance and the judges "pimp" him out week after week.


3.) Kris Allen
After a risky arrangement that wasn't well received by the judges last week, Kris needs to get back on track. With a handful of great performances under his belt and a growing fan base, Kris has a good chance at making the Top 3 as long as he delivers some more great performances.



4.) Allison Iraheta
As long as the judges continue to recognize her incredible vocals and not focus on her outfit (or her "likability" according to Simon), then Allison might very well be the only the female contestant to crack the Top 5.


5.) Matt Giraud
Last week Matt got his groove back and the judges seem to have jumped back aboard. If Matt continues perform good songs with an R&B / soul flavor, he will likely make it into the Top 5.


6.) Anoop Desai
Even after a rather good performance last week, Anoop landed in the bottom two (and was only 30K votes from getting voted off). His performances have been inconsistent and the judges haven't been completely sold on him yet. It also doesn't help that he is probably spitting votes between Matt and Kris. Anoop will have to deliver another good performance on Tuesday if he wants to stay another week.


7.) Lil Rounds
After getting torn apart by the judges last week, Lil promised to really "wow" the judges with her next performance. But can we really count on this promise? Since making the Top 13, Lil has failed to deliver an outstanding, or even memorable performance. If she doesn't pull something really incredible this week, she will likely be voted off on Wednesday.

To sum up, here is how I think the contestants stand right now:
1.) Adam Lambert
2.) Danny Gokey
3.) Kris Allen
4.) Allison Iraheta
5.) Matt Giraud
6.) Anoop Desai
7.) Lil Rounds

Photos courtesy of: mjsbigblog.com

Attention! Attention!

So being addicted to Twitter and being knowledgeable in popular culture has finally paid off!

Tonight The Academy Is... played a small acoustic show at this little venue here at U of I called "The Red Herring". Unfortunately I didn't even hear about this show until last night, and I was super bummed to find out that tickets were completely sold out. I was beating myself up about it all day. However, about an hour before The Academy Is... was scheduled to go on, I stumbled across a recent update from William Beckett's (lead singer of TAI) Twitter page:

The show in Urbana, IL is sold out. If you can't get in, knock on the bus across the street, answer 3 trivia questions and get on guest list.

Right after reading this, my friend Nikki and her friend Aileen (both already had tickets to the show) also read this message and convinced me to go try it out. Not really knowing what to expect, the three of us hesitantly approached the big tour bus. After asking a guy in the band's crew about William's Twitter offer, the guy informed us that he was recording something on the bus. Moments later, the guy let us in the bus and William was just sitting on a nice leather couch playing his guitar.

After exchanging a few words about the White Sox (I was wearing a Sox hat), William tells me he is also a Sox fan and that I already had some bonus points. So next he tells me the three categories of questions he will be asking: film, popular culture, and mathematics. NICE.

Question #1: "What movie am I watching?" (There was a super nice plasma screen TV on their bus). I see John Travolta and Uma Thurman at an old-school diner, and quickly identify it as Pulp Fiction. CORRECT.

Question #2: "Christian Bale recently had an outburst that was publicized all over the Internet. What movie was he on the set of?" I had heard the Christian Bale freak-out several times, and instantly remembered that it was on the set of Terminator: Salvation. CORRECT.

Question #3: William asks me to solve a Rubik's Cube. Shit. I have never ever been able to solve one! Luckily William reveals he was joking, but tells us that he can solve on is less than 2 minutes. Impressive. Anyway, the real question was "What is the Pythagorean Theorem?" I didn't even have to be a former Math major to know this one. A^2 + B^2 = C^2. CORRECT.

William tells me I was the only one to answer all 3 questions correctly (Hell yeah!). One of the band's crew members takes my name and adds me to the guest list. I take a picture with him and the two girls and then William and I take a picture together (with the Rubik's Cube):


Despite getting into the sold out show for free, I felt the need to show my support of the band so I bought myself a sweet "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"-themed The Academy Is... t-shirt. Due to Adam's recent injury, William played the entire set with just him and an acoustic guitar. The Academy Is... songs actually sounded great stripped down and acoustic. He played a great mixture of old and new material (and even threw in covers by The Shins and Death Cab for Cutie). William is such an awesome guy. Even without the band to back him up his connection on stage was amazing. He also shared a lot about his interests in popular culture and Chicago sports. Overall, the whole experience was probably one of the coolest moments I've ever had, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to do that.

My love for Twitter has grown tremendously and I am so glad that my knowledge of random pop culture finally came in handy!

Summer Movie Previews

Hey guys. Here is my second installment of "Summer Movie Previews." Another good looking summer comedy. I just recently came across the teaser trailer for this one:

Extract
In Theaters: September 4th

Writer / Director: Mike Judge
Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons and Ben Affleck
Plot: Dean (Bateman), the owner of a flower-extract plant, tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Wiig) and employees who want to take advantage of him. (IMDB.com)

Trailer:


As a huge fan of Arrested Development, I am super excited to see Jason Bateman in a lead role. He was great in his supporting roles in Juno and Hancock. It's also great to see new material from Mike Judge (best known for the cult-comedy Office Space). This film also has a wonderful supporting cast: Mila Kunis is really really ridiculously good looking (that's right, I just quoted Zoolander), SNL's Kristen Wiig seems to steal the scene in every small role she has been in lately, J.K. Simmons is always hilarious, and it is always fun to see Ben Affleck (sporting long hair and a beard) show off his comedy chops. Overall, Extract seems like a pretty good comedy and I am excited to check it out.

American Idol Top 8 (Recap)

This weeks theme is songs from the year the contestants were born.

Danny Gokey - “Stand By Me” as done by Mickey Gilley (Video)
Not a fan of this cheesy, slowed down arrangement. Danny is just way too shouty, but of the course the judges (and Danny's fans) love it =/

Kris Allen - “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” by Don Henley (Video)
Changed things up a little with an upbeat song and the electric guitar. Not Kris Allen's best performance, but he is still my favorite. I am still hoping he breaks up this Danny v. Adam final the producers are hoping for. It bothers me that the some of the judges still haven't jumped on the Kris Allen bandwagon.

Lil Rounds - “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” by Tina Turner (Video)
Love Lil, but she is truly "lost" as Simon said. She is trying to too hard. She will be in trouble tomorrow, but hopefully she stays and next week she can remind us (and the judges) why she should still be in this competition.

Anoop Desai - “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper (Video)
One of the best performances of the night. Turned a Cyndi Lauper song into a sweet R&B ballad, which is Anoop's specialty. Great recovery from last week's mediocre performance.

Scott MacIntrye - “The Search is Over” by Survivor (Video)
What a train wreck. Scott tried to step away from the piano and even busted out an electric guitar. This was just a weak attempt at showing "versatility". His vocals were all over the place, I will be extremely surprised if he doesn't get voted off tomorrow.

Allison Iraheta - “I Can’t Make You Love Me” - by Bonnie Raitt (Video)
Another great performance from Allison. Great song choice. It was a great idea to pick a slower ballad type song that still shows off her vocals. But what really bothers me is the way the judges eat up every little thing Danny and Adam do, but refused to recognize Allison! Even after Simon said he liked it, he criticized her for not having a personality??

Matt Giraud - “Part Time Lover” by Stevie Wonder (Video)
Matt also bounces back from his no-so-good performance last week. Good song choice, really showed off Matt's great vocals. If Matt learns to stick with this soulful, yet modern sound he may have a chance to keep up with the other guys.

Adam Lambert - “Mad World” by Tears for Fears (Video)
So sick of this guy. Although he avoided his usual over the top stage antics his performance was no where near as good as "Tracks of My Tears" from Motown week. He tried to do too much with the melody and a lot of his falsettos fell flat. Yet the judges absolutely loved it, and Simon even gave him a standing ovation. Wow.

What did you guys think? Are Danny and Adam overrated? Are the producers purposely "pimping out" certain contestants? Who was your favorite? Who was your least favorite? Who will be in the Bottom 3? Who should get eliminated tomorrow?

My Week at a Glance

So it's been a while since I updated this. Here is a semi-quick update of what went down on TV, sports, music, etc. last week:

TV

24 - Jack gets naked in the middle of the street while being hosed down. It turns how he is indeed infected, but the pathogen is not contagious. Meanwhile, Greg (assistant to Jonas Hodges) fools Tony into thinking he wants to help stop Hodges. He ends up tricking the FBI and buying more time for Starkwood. Episode ends with Starkwood's men surrounding the FBI at gunpoint while sickly Jack is away from action, watching it via web cam. (Link)


American Idol - Megan Joy is finally voted off. She "caws" her way through the results show as if she knew her time was out. This week's theme will be 'Songs from the Year You Were Born'. I will try to do a quick recap after the performances on Tuesday. (Link)

Sports

NCAA - Michigan State defeats UConn, UNC defeats Villanova. Michigan State and UNC will face off tonight for the NCAA championship. (Link)


MLB - Last night was the first regular season game. Last years World Series Champs, the Phillies were defeated by the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately one of my star fantasy players, Ryan Howard, went 0 for 4 and struckout twice. Today is opening day for all the other teams. Two games were postponed due to weather conditions (including the White Sox opening game) (Link)

Music

The Hold Steady - I saw The Hold Steady perform at the Union on Friday Night. Despite not being very familiar with their songs, I had a great time and they put on a pretty awesome show. (Link)


ACM Awards - Last night was the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards. Carrie Underwood (aka my dream girl) won Female Vocalist of the Year as well as Entertainer of the Year (making her only the 7th female in 39 years to receive this award) (Link)

Movies

Adventureland - I saw Adventureland on Saturday night. It was really not the type of comedy it seems to be marketed as. It's not exactly a laugh-out-loud kind of movie. Much more real and dramatic than more recent teen comedies. Sort of reminiscent of Almost Famous if it took place at a theme park, except not nearly as excellent as Almost Famous was. However, I thought it was overall a decent film and worth checking out. (Link)


Box Office - Fast and Furious had a $72.5 million opening weekend, making it not only the highest grossing opening this year, but also the best April opening of all time. WOW. (Link)