AI Top 5: Diamonds in the rough?

Neil Diamond night.... Folks thought maybe Mr. Diamond's stuff would redeem Jason's performance from last week, but even with *2* chances, I think he failed miserably. Both of his songs (Forever in Blue Jeans and September Morn) totally hurt me to listen to. At times he sounded like he was trying to just copy Neil's version and it just didn't work. I really think it's his time to leave.

I thought David Cook nailed both of his songs (I'm Alive and All I Really Need Is You). He is so smart to pick songs most people aren't familiar with, so they aren't comparing him to anyone else. Either one of those songs could be on the radio today. As much as I love me some Brooke, I think David C. is the one to take it all.

Brooke: Sweet heavens, I just can't figure out what is happening with her. She is not the same person who started this thing. I'm a Believer was not one of her best performances... it seemed very forced and just not as natural as I know she can be. But I Am, I Said was much closer to the Brooke I love. There's something about her and that piano that just works. The judges all noticed it, too. I was relieved to see they thought her #2 song was a good one.

David Archuleta... I'm sorry. But I'm getting a little tired of him and the over-the-top praise he keeps getting. (Well, Simon did label his first song, Sweet Caroline, as "amateurish".) Every time he grins, I keep seeing Alfred E. Neuman's face. He may be able to sing the telephone book, but I just don't see him as really being all that marketable. I think he'd be better off doing musical theater. I just didn't care for the way he changed around either the first song or America.

Syesha had another nice night. Hello Again was ok for me. Sorry, but I have junior year of high school memories of that song the way Neil sang it and any other version just doesn't do it for me. Now the other song, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime, was totally new to me and she sounded great on it. Funny that the judges all thought the same thing about how she does so well with songs that showcase her personality and acting ability.

My favorite(s) of the night: David Cook and Brooke (aww, it rhymes).
Who I wanna wave bye-bye to: For the love of all that is holy, Jason!

Andrew Lloyd Weber night

Okay.... tonight's AI featured songs by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Love his stuff. I have the movie versions of both Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Cats. (Of those, Joseph is by far my favorite.) Have watched Phantom of the Opera; Emily has the soundtrack on her iPod, and just saw it on Broadway a couple of weeks ago. Evita? Eh... not really one of my favorites. My exposure to Jesus Christ, Superstar is limited, but I am familiar with a couple of songs from it.

So going into tonight, I tried to imagine what songs the finalists would choose, or what songs I thought would work for them. I had Carly pegged, and I think she totally rocked with the title song from Jesus Christ, Superstar. Actually, tonight went pretty well for most of the gang except two: Brooke and Jason.

Poor Brooke. I knew this would be a tough night. If she'd only called me, though. I think I could have helped her out. I really think she would have fared much better if she had taken on "I Don't Know How to Love Him." (That's another song from Jesus Christ, Superstar, for the uninitiated.) Yvonne Elliman sang this in the movie; here's the clip from YouTube.

And Jason. Gee whiz. What was he thinking? I totally agreed with Simon when he said it was the longest 2 minutes of his life. I'm not sure what song Jason could have picked. But not Memory!

Syesha wowed me with a song I'd never heard before (One Rock and Roll Too Many). She could definitely make her living in theater.

David A.... interesting choice with Think of Me. Rearranging it as a pop ballad definitely worked for him, though. Before the show, I was picturing him singing Any Dream Will Do, from Joseph. That, or another song from the same show, Close Every Door. (Links are of Donny Osmond; the first is an actual clip from the movie.) But he didn't ask my advice, and I guess this time it didn't hurt.

I enjoyed David Cook's handling of Music of the Night, but it didn't wow me. It was nice to see him do something other than rock, though.

Favorite of the night: Syesha
Who should go: Jason or *sob* Brooke

Miles to go before I sleep

Yep. I have to pick up Emily from the airport in Sac tonight after 11pm. Her flight from NYC is supposed to land at 11:18. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for her luggage and can get by with the free 30 minute parking. If not... oh well.

Got a free CD in the mail today. Matt Maher's Empty & Beautiful pre-release CD arrived and is already loaded into my iTunes. I just need to plug in my iPod and update it now. Many thanks to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for announcing this freebie.

Looking forward to tomorrow night's American Idol. I haven't heard yet what the theme is... I'm very curious. Last week's results were quite surprising. I can only imagine what this week will bring.

Read a really good book last week and have been meaning to mention it here, but I kept forgetting. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah is the story of two girls who become friends in the 8th grade and how that friendship grows and changes as they go through life. If you grew up in the 70's/80's/90's, you'll find yourself reliving scenes from your life as you are reminded of the music/tv/pop culture of the times. Kate and Tully's unlikely friendship, forged as outsiders in their school, spans over 30 years. We see them make tough choices, bad choices, impossible choices... And in the end, you will feel as if you knew both of them.

Spring break

We're all on spring break here in the Pass the Prozac house (well, everyone except Brian...). Emily is getting plenty of driving practice. She drove a bit over the weekend (to church and back, to the BX, the shoppette) and has taken every chance she can get to get behind the wheel this week. I think she will be a fine driver once she has a few more miles under her belt. She hasn't been out on the highway yet ... I think I'll let her dad handle that!

Sunday was a rather long day... it began with me waking up a bit later than I had intended. I didn't set an alarm, and my usually reliable internal alarm didn't wake me up until 6:22. Wouldn't have been too bad if I wasn't supposed to be at church at 6:45 for rehearsal before the 8am worship. BUT... I managed to shower, dry my hair (mostly), throw on foundation and clothes, and be driving out the main gate of the base as the clock read 6:45. I hit every light on green except for 1, never exceeded the speed limit, and made it to church by 6:55 (I even put on my blush and lip color while I drove. Anyone know the new term for that?? You can see it here.). There were others not there yet (although most were) and they hadn't started. Can you say "lucky?" Anyhow, sang for 3 services and left church a little after 12:45. Brian was busy at work grilling steaks for our Easter dinner. My legs were killing me from standing so much at church... counting rehearsal time, probably 3 hours or so. I'm still working out the soreness.

Had fun tonight chatting with John Dobbs tonight while he was doing a live u-stream during American Idol. I was able to get a little preview of what I would get to see out here on the left coast by listening/watching the broadcast on his tv when he turned his webcam to show me. I'm hoping more of his regular readers will come and chat with us next week. (Hey Terri, Donna... I'm talking to you! And anyone else who comes here that also reads John.)

And about AI, I know I haven't said much about it this year. I'm not as thrilled with the top 10 as I was last year's.... can't see myself going to the tour concert with Emily this year unless she is just dying to go, but even she isn't as into it this year as she was last year. My favorites are David Archuleta, Brooke White, Michael Johns, and David Cook. For some reason, I don't want to like David Cook... but I can't deny he has talent.

In other news.... who has/hasn't heard Chris Sligh's new single??? (Remember Chris?? AI top 10 from last year?) Go. Get. It. Now. It is titled Empty Me, and is great. Ask John... he took my advice. If you want to hear it first, I found what I think is the entire song in streaming media here.

No big plans for the week... just keeping up with the house and laundry and watching the kids enjoy their free time. They've been having a blast playing with their friends who are also on break this week. Friday night is a big 6-month celebration for Celebrate Recovery at church; we're having a barbecue dinner before the usual start time. I'm on worship team and will have to arrive an hour earlier to get in a little rehearsal time. Of course, I don't mind, since I like singing.

I'm ready to kick back with a little HGTV before turning out the lights... hopefully I'll have more to tell soon.

Idol Chatter

Emily and I drove to Sacramento last night to take in the American Idol tour concert. Even though we didn't have floor seats, we still had a good view of the stage, and the big screens also gave us some closeup shots of the performers. Em definitely had a good time.... plenty of screams and whoops from her throughout the night, mostly whenever Blake or Chris R. were on stage. Those two did a very cool number in which both of them did a bit of beatboxing. Blake did his fabulous version of You Give Love a Bad Name; it was even better than the first time. We were also treated to Phil's *awesome* rendition of Blaze of Glory. He totally rocked it. Emily and I both agreed that Phil had the best stage presence of anyone, although Blake seemed fairly comfortable interacting with the crowd as well. As far as the rest of the guys went, Chris Sligh was able to show us his mad skilz on guitar, and Sanjaya served mostly as window dressing for the show. He was showcased very little... and that's OK. :)

Now as to the girls... When they first came out, one of my first impressions was that Haley was a bit overdressed (for her, anyhow). As the evening went on, her wardrobe began disappearing. Emily said she was just too "Playboy bunny." I am inclined to agree. On the other hand, Gina looked and sounded great. Kiki looked quite glamorous, and I think she's been going to speech therapy. I watched her singing/talking on the big screen and her lisp was not noticeable. She did a great job with I Will Always Love You. Melinda was fabulous as well. She was showcased performing Natural Woman. There were several group performances ... fun stuff! All of these performances led up to the last few songs of the night by Jordin. Jordin seemed to be having a little bit of trouble with her voice. Her first song was I Who Have Nothing, and there were a couple of spots where she cracked a bit. She also did Broken Wing (big surprise there, huh?) and of course, ended the show with This Is My Now. I absolutely love that song. Afterwards, there was the obligatory encore, which involved each performer returning for 30 seconds or so of one of their showcase numbers, and then everyone joining Jordin for This Is My Now. All in all a fun night. Emily was quite jealous of the folks on the front row, especially after Blake jumped down from the stage to the small barricaded section between the stage and the front row. Folks who got seats to the very side of the stage were also treated to lots of handshakes from the performers. I guess we know what to try for if we can't get floor seats for any other concert we get to attend there!

If you'd like to see a much better review of one of the other stops on this tour, look here.

What a Wednesday

I spent 4 hours (oops, I almost typed *years*) tonight helping with Emily's school's National Honor Society/CSF/Mu Alpha Theta/Quill and Scroll induction ceremony. The first couple of hours were spent dipping strawberries and pretzels into chocolate; the last couple were keeping the dessert table stocked, listening to the award ceremony, and cleaning up afterwards. Boy, have things changed in the last 25+ years.... when I was inducted into NHS way back in 1980, I think all that was handed out at the ceremony was maybe a pin. Then when I picked up my cap and gown as a senior, I had the extra gold tassel to show I was in NHS. Tonight, these kids got cords, satin collars embroidered with the words National Honor Society, and medals. The seniors were handed their gold tassels tonight as well. I had a chance to chat with Emily's algebra teacher after the ceremony and she told me that she is going to get Emily into Mu Alpha Theta next year if she has "to hog-tie her."

I got home in time to catch the last hour of American Idol. YAY Jordin! Blake showed such class and style in the way he supported her tonight. I'm sad I missed their duet at the beginning, and will have to look for it on YouTube tomorrow. I totally LOVED this year's song; it is PERFECT for the occasion and I can't imagine anyone doing it justice better than Jordin. (OK, Melinda could probably match her.... maybe...) I think it is so cool that Scott Krippayne was one of the guys who co-wrote the song.

We've Fandangoed our tickets for the first showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End tomorrow night. Cannot believe it is nearly 3 hours long. No drinks for me! I don't want to have to get up and miss anything. This is one of those instances where it would be really cool if the rumor of cable companies being able to offer newly-released-in-theater movies on their "On Demand" channels was a reality. At the $40-50 proposed fee, it would still save us some money, as 6 tickets already sets us back that much. Then when you add in the over-priced movie snacks.... cha-ching! Just think of being able to pause it when you need to visit the little girl's room, instead of having to miss a crucial scene (or instead of sitting in your seat with a bladder screaming for release, thinking..."just 10 more minutes...").

There it goes...

Just watching the $$ fly by this weekend... We took the kids to the movies yesterday afternoon to see the latest Shrek installment. Kids loved it. We laughed as well. I liked the music; these guys have a great way of using old songs in the soundtracks. I wonder how many more Shrek films they'll be able to squeeze out before the Shrek gravy train runs out?

Then I bought 2 tickets for Emily and me to go see the American Idols tour when it comes to Sacramento in July. OUCH. That was painful. But Brian pointed out that he has spent that much taking Noah to baseball games, so it was definitely the right thing to do. All the floor seats were taken already (although there were auctions for floor tickets beginning at $90), but we still managed lower level seats that will hopefully give us a decent view.

I also reserved us a room for the homeschool conference in Modesto at the end of July. Thankfully the conference negotiated pretty good room discounts and we'll be staying at a nice place right next to the convention, a Doubletree. The kids will have their own conference to attend, so they will have plenty to keep them busy while we're attending sessions and shopping. I haven't registered them yet... that will be a few more $$ to add to the outgo.

Surprisingly enough, tonight's activity is actually FREE. We're heading out to the local ballpark (which closes at the end of the month due to not enough support) for a free concert. It's actually a full day of concerts that started earlier today, but we are mostly interested in the last 2 performers, Lincoln Brewster and Todd Agnew.

Still kickin'

We're all still alive here; I've just had plenty of other things to distract me from writing since my last post. Nothing bad or exciting, just the usual list of things to accomplish each day. By the time I've had time to write, I've been more in the mood to just see what everyone else has to say rather than post my meager offerings.

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Just 3 weeks left of school for Emily. We may have a little more here at home, trying to finish up things. At any rate, we are going to continue with math through the summer and I also want to focus on writing skills as well. That's something we didn't do enough of at all this year. I think that will be just enough to give us something to do inside during the hottest part of the day.

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You know I have to put in my 2 cents on Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. I don't want to say I was happy to see Ian leave DWTS, but I think he was the obvious choice. I am thinking it will come down to Joey and Apolo. I really want Joey to win. I totally agreed with Len's assessment of Apolo's cha-cha: lots of raunch.

I really think there was no easy decision on AI. I like all 3 of the top 3 for different reasons. I guess I agree with the outcome, mostly because I think Jordin and Blake are just more marketable than Melinda. I have no doubt Melinda will go on to great success, though. She should actually be glad she didn't win, as she'll probably be able to have greater input into her first album than if she had to sign the AI contract. That said, I honestly don't know which one I want to win the whole thing... I'm not a "Blaker girl," but I guess I come close. (I've got his studio version of You Should Be Dancin' on my IPod.) I think I'm leaning towards Jordin. Guess we'll find out in a little less than a week!

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We'll probably take the kids to see Shrek 3 tomorrow evening. I'll also be "Fandango-ing" tickets for the 8pm show of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 for next Thursday night. Everyone in the house is looking forward to that one!

On the road again

I'll be picking Emily up from school at 11 today to get her some lunch and drive her to the airport. After this afternoon, it will just be me and the 3 youngest at home until Tuesday night, when I get to go back to pick her up. The choir has some busy days planned in Chicago... museum tours, the zoo, a night at a Blue Man Group show, and chapel at Moody Bible Institute are just a few of the scheduled activities.

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Did anyone else's heart stop for just a moment last night watching AI?? Emily threw the remote at the tv, she was so ticked off.... she had vowed never to watch the show again if Jordin were to be kicked off. I thought it was a no-brainer when it was down to Chris and Jordin, so when he said Chris was safe, I was dumbstruck. What a relief when he said that she was safe, too. I guess since it was a night of charity, they decided to extend it to the contestants as well. I can't believe we have to wait another week to narrow the field, though. It's getting tougher, but I am starting to think it's Kiki's time to go. She just doesn't look happy to be there and her last few songs have been sorely lacking.

I didn't see that one coming

So it's bye-bye to Chris Sligh. When it was narrowed down to either him or Haley, I really didn't know which way it would go. I'm sure this contest has opened all kinds of doors for Chris, though. Oh, and how about Ryan and his "I've been Sanjayaed?" Poor kid... this will follow him for a long time. What will Sanjaya's kids say when they find out?

Quote of the day from comedian Jeff Allen:

"I believe teenagers are God's revenge on mankind. It's as if God himself looked down and said, 'Hey, let's see how they like it to create someone in their own image who denies their existence.'"

Live bloggin' AI Top 10

Gwen Stefani, huh? She's a pretty girl; loved how she looked in the video clips with the contestants. The "normal" makeup is much more attractive on her than the over-the-top face she puts on for her videos and concerts. I'm not a fan of her music, so any NoDoubt or Gwen Stefani songs tonight will be new to me. So what's my impression of the top 10 tonight?

Lakisha: Last Dance was an interesting choice for her. I guess it's the first time I've heard her sing something that uptempo. I was glad the camera didn't do too many closeups; I get distracted by her lisp sometimes. She was good, but it probably wasn't one of her best.

Chris Sligh: Why couldn't he keep the beat with Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic? Vocals were fine. He looked like he couldn't really figure out what dance moves to do, though. Just not in his element.

Gina: Oh. My. Word. Now that had to be her best performance yet! I wasn't familiar with the song, but she kept my attention and I really enjoyed listening to her. I don't think she'll be leaving this week.

Sanjaya: Forget Hair Idol. Please go home. Didn't know or like the song, hated the hair, and am just tired of him.

Haley: Doggone it, this was almost as bad as the night we couldn't hear her. I love her voice and agree with past comments that she is probably more of a recording artist than a performer. She was fine, but just not super fabulous. We'll have to see how the others do before knowing how much in danger she is. Loved her hair and outfit.

Phil: He was just a little too mild and mellow on Every Breath You Take for me. Very bland.

Melinda: OK, it's Melinda. What am I gonna say.... she sucked? Of course she was great. Love her hair now that she has cut it, and tonight's "flip" looked cute and fun. Didn't care for the pattern of her dress, but the style was great. Didn't know the song, so nothing to compare it to.

Blake: He has such a mellow voice.... very easy to listen to. Did he beat box tonight?? Did I miss it because I was typing?? Another new song for me.

Jordin: Didn't know the song... hard to understand her, especially in the lower register. Not my favorite performance of hers. She's been my favorite so far, so this disappoints me.

Chris Richardson: He has that nasal thing going on again. Cute song (again, one I don't know; I'm so out of pop culture. Guess that's why this is the first year I've ever watched AI.). He was a'ight.

Favorite performance of the night: Has to be Gina. I can't think of anything bad to say about it.

Who should leave: We all know the answer. Only if the tweenyboppers' parents hide the phones tonight do we have a chance for that happening.