It's a Beautiful Day

So, Lee won, which means I won, which means: hooray.

But the important thing to discuss is this: is American Idol having serious trouble attracting modern, popular talent? I doubt it, because they had plenty of popular judges (Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, Mary J Blige, Neil Patrick Harris) and guests (Justin Beiber, Black Eyed Peas, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Lady Gaga, etc). So why in the blue Hades were last night's guests such malaise-inducing has-beens like the BeeGees, Hall & Oates, and Chicago? Crystal got to sing with Alanis Morrisette (who is becoming a has-been, although she's definitely a has-been-fairly-recently), while Lee was stuck singing with the Rest Home Marching Band (aka Chicago). I think that winning was his compensation for making the elderly people feel good about themselves.

And: Janet Jackson? What the heck happened there? At least we had a few good moments: Joe Cocker was ancient but still awesome, and Christina Aguilera is still amazing despite being a weirdo. And Carrie Underwood made everyone else look bad.

But still, Hall and Oates? Really?

Anyway. I win, 37 to 28. Until next year, Seacrest Out!

Read more...

The End of the Greatness

I had planned to post a one-word blog, that word being "Crystal." In fact, the title of the post was "It Can Be Summed Up in a Word." But after reading Rob's prediction of Lee, I realized I might want to explain my choice of Crystal a bit.

Rob is right on the money when he says that AI is primarily watched, and decided, by women. I have a few guy friends who watch it, but they are far outweighed by the female folk in numbers. And while Lee is a cutie-pa-tootie and a hottie-pa-tottie and has grown and is charming and endearing, I think Crystal will win, and this is why.

It's still the female demographic, only taken from a different angle.

Crystal, in many ways, embodies the American woman's dream. She's a mother, and yet she's a star at the same time, and she doesn't have any intention of giving up one for the other. She has retained her sense of who she is throughout the competition, without compromise, and she is a self-made woman. She's had the support of family and friends, but who she is, she became on her own, and that's very admirable. She has shown America that you can have the best of both worlds, stay true to yourself, and be a success in each aspect of your life, and I think that's what women today want to see. Add to that the fact that she's more talented than all get-out, and I think she's our winner.

That said, I like Lee a lot, and I'm really not going to be devastated if he wins. He's worked hard and he deserves the title as well. Rob was right again when he discussed the equal talent of the two final contenders - this week is going to be a close call, I'm willing to bet. Can't wait for the results show.

Read more...

Black Velvet, If You Please

The final week is here.

Looking back on past seasons, I can't think of a top two who were as talented or commercially viable as Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox. Certainly not last year with Kris Allen, who won only because slightly more than half of America thought that Adam Lambert was a weirdo. Certainly not Season Six, when we had a beat-boxer lose to a generic blah, or Season Five, when an elderly man beat a model. The closest thing might be Season Four, with Carrie Underwood against Bo Bice, except that Bo Bice never had a lot of commercial potential. He was definitely talented, but not really a star (unless it was 1974 and he was a member of Lynyrd Skynryd).

Maybe Season Seven: Lil Davey Archuleta against David Cook, but I still don't think they compare talent-wise.

Anyway, back to Season Nine. At the start of the Top Twelve, this is where I stood on the finalists:

Crystal: "Crystal was the best of the evening. She started out sounding a lot like the college kids who sat in the commons area and played guitar and didn't go to class, but once she got into it she was really amazing. So, even though the judges gave the crown to Siobhan, I'm giving it to Crystal."

Lee: "Lee was boring. Boring enough that he'll almost certainly be in the bottom three."

Lee continued to not impress me for several weeks. Not until Week Four, in which he brought out a bagpiper to help him with Hey Jude. He won me over as a fan with that, and I've been firmly in his camp ever since (not because of the gimmick, but because he's legitimately good).

Which is not to say Crystal isn't good. She's amazing. In fact, if we were to make predictions based solely on last night's performances then Crystal would win. Based solely on last night Crystal should win, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves.

That said, she's not going to win. And here's why:

1. Momentum: Since about Week Four, Lee has been rising, getting better and better every week. Crystal has not ever been lousy, but she hit her peak early and plateaued. I don't want to say that she's coasted, because I don't think that's her mindset, but her steady awesomeness has become expected and no longer wows us.

2. Charm: American Idol is still predominantly watched and voted on by women, and Lee has the charm. As unfortunate and unfair as it may be, I think that--all other things being equal--a cute, single guy will beat a dredlocked, slightly overweight woman with an enormous tattoo on her back. (I'm NOT saying this is a good thing. I'm saying I think it's a reality.)

3. Rationalization: I think that America will quite often vote someone off if they assume that person doesn't want/need the win as much. I think voters will look at Crystal, who is supremely confident and self-assured, who hasn't ever wavered from her personal desires to be who she is, and they'll say "Crystal will be fine if she doesn't win. It's Lee who needs the boost." To some extent, I think this is how Taylor Hicks won. I think it's how Melinda Doolittle (and Syesha Mercado) got voted off in the top three.

So, there it is. Crystal will lose and Lee will win. I'm not sure how I feel about that, because, again, they both are very deserving. I'm not sad about it, but I do think that Crystal is kind of getting the shaft.

Read more...

Shocker!!!

Casey went home. Four points for Tristi and me.

Read more...

Good

Well, that works out quite pleasantly. Casey will go, and Crystal and Lee will be in the top two.

Umm... I can't really think of anything else to say about this one. It's pretty obvious.

Read more...

The Fight for the Final

Well, here we are, one week before the finale. We have Crystal. We have Lee. We have Casey. Who will we still have next week?

First up was Casey. He looks nice in a suit. His first song was one of his typical solid performances, enjoyable and well-done, but without any real WOW!! moment. The song was stupid—not Casey’s fault, but you’d think it wouldn’t be a choice for this stage in the competition.

Then we had Crystal. The harmonica was a mistake, I’m sorry to say. And, if you can believe this, I’m actually about to say that I didn’t care for the performance. (Gasp!) Yes, that’s right – Crystal turned in a less-than-stellar performance. I didn’t think it was possible. But we must keep in mind that a so-so Crystal performance is still better than a lot of other people on their best night.

Third in the line-up was Lee, who smiled. (Gasp!) Yes, he smiled! And he took round one, both in my opinion and Kara’s.

Heading into round two, we had some surprises. Casey did “Daughters,” and he did a really good job with it. If he needs some “sensitive guy” votes, this will do it for him. Simon didn’t get it, but hey, there are times when he doesn’t.

Crystal’s song was also not terribly good. I’m not sure why Ellen chose the song for her, and I wasn’t lovin’ on the screamy aspect of it. I want Crystal to move on to next week, but tonight’s performances just were not showing her to her best advantage. The judges loved it, but the Tristi … not so much.

And then Lee came out and took the night.

Definitely moving to the finale will be Lee, and based on previous weeks, it should be Crystal. Casey should be the one sent home. But I have to say, I liked Casey’s second performance better than Crystal’s, and their first two performances were pretty much equal for me. I’m glad I know what else Crystal can do because I wasn’t all that impressed tonight, whereas she usually impresses me from the moment she opens her mouth.

All I can say now is, the finale is going to be something pretty darned spectacular and I can’t wait to see it.

Read more...

One of these things is not like the others

On Tuesday Mike sang "Will You Be There?" And the answer is No, he will not.

They didn't announce a bottom three or two, only the guy getting the boot. So, that means one point for Tristi and four points for me.

And next week Casey will leave and Tristi and I will both get points.

Read more...