American Idol Recap: The Long and Winding Road... Home

American Idol, Episode 21: "Top Nine Results"

So, let's keep this short and sweet.  Paul Jolley got the boot.  Not a big surprise.  The writing was kind of on the wall for poor Paul.  Did anyone actually think the save would get used?  Anyone?  Anyone?  There was some criticisims from Jimmy, some valid, some ridiculous.  The Awkward Turtles didn't pull through for Charlie since he lost ou to Aubrey Cleland.  I think that's for the best.  The kid needs therapy not to be on a nationwide tour.

So, were you surprised at the elimination?  Or did you think that Paul deserved to get the boot?  Let me know in the comments.

American Idol Recap: In My Life

American Idol, Episode 20: "Top Nine Perform"

American Idol loves the Beatles.  Ever since they got access to the Lennon/McCartney and then Beatles catalog, they have done a Beatles night.  I'm not sure if this was the most successful Beathles theme night that they have ever had, but it did include some interesting, not expected song choices and only one really train wreck performance.  Unfortunately, that horrendous performance was by Lazaro Arbos and since people feel sorry for him, there is no way that he will go home yet.  Which is bad news for some of the other contestants.  Let's dive in to the top nin performances.

Kree Harrison kicked things off and did it in pristine vocal style.  I think sometimes Kree gets over shadowed by Angie and Candice, but you can't deny that she definitely has the chops to pull off a win. She sang "With A Little Help From My Friends" and I was a big fan of her countryfied version of the song.  They mentioned that she had a cold in her pre-packaged intro, but you wouldn't have known it.  I would say the one downside for Kree is that she is still working on her stage presence.  She still kind of meanders around the stage and is a little awkward, but all of that can be fixed with experience.  I mean, compare Carrie Underwood now to when she was on Idol and you wouldn't believe that they were the same person.  

Burnell Taylor had never heard "Let It Be" before, and he wasn't the only contestant who copped to haveing never heard a Beatles song before.  Seriously?  I felt ridiculously old and I felt a little sad.  How do you go that long without being exposed to the music of, arguably, the best band of all time.  You have to experience music that is outside of your preferences.  You have to be knowledgeable.  Ugh.  Sorry.  Rant over.  Burnell's actual performance was decent.  I'm a big fan of Burnell's tone.  It is very unique and it's not something that you hear much on the radio now, which is a shame.  It was one of my favorite Burnell performances, but I'm not sure if it was the moment that Jimmy was hoping for.

Amber Holcomb performed "She's Leaving Home."  It was a very unexpected song choice and because it was a deep cut, I wasn't as hard on her for not knowing the song.  Amber was the victim of some odd judging.  The judges were lukewarm about this performance.  I don't understand why.  I thought Amber was nuanced, understated.  She really interpreted the song.  I wasn't a big fan of the smoky staging and I chuckled at the rehearsal footage.  I'm hoping that America doesn't listen to the judges, because it would be a shame if Amber was sent home.

Lazaro Arbos was up next.  I'm not sure why they keep styling him like he is some 1950's teen idol or Ricky Ricardo as Nicki put it.  Lazaro's performance was just awful.  His voice was shaking worse than usual.  He was off pitch the entire time.  It is just time for him to go.  I understand that he is cute and people feel sorry for him, but that is not a reason to keep him in the competition.  Also, I'm not sure why Nicki is trying to blame Jimmy for Lazaro's horrendous performance.  I mean, you can blame Jimmy for a lot, just not this.  He was this bad back before he even met Jimmy.

Ugh, could Candice Glover be any more amazing?  Seriously.  Her version of "Come Together" was another phenomenal performance.  Will she ever put in a bad performance?  Will her string of stellar performances leave her apathetic to voters leading to an unfair, early, exit?  Questions to ponder.

Paul Jolley was the second victim of lackluster judging.  I really loved his subtle take on "Eleanor Rigby."  It was Paul's best performance that has the audience has seen.  He really took his time.  He built to something.  It was very mature and very un-Paul like.  He built to something in the song.  It was really good.  The judges though couldn't be bothered to do anything but read from their Uncle Nigel provided script.  Lame.

Angie Miller was up next.  She sang a pretty cover of "Yesterday."  Angie did a good job, but I worry about her sometime when she isn't behind the piano.  She seems like she is really focused on the camera and it pulls her out of her performance sometime. When she looks at the camera she begins to grin and when you are singing a song like "Yesterday" that can be detrimental.  I don't think that Angie has anything to worry about, but something that she should think about.

Devin Velez was next with "The Long and Winding Road."  It was pretty and he sang it well enough, but it was boring.  That is my main problem with Devin.  I start to doze off every time he sings and when he doesn't slip into Spanish there is nothing to stay awake for.  I mean, he definitely doesn't deserve to get voted off, but he needs to change it up if wants to finish behind Lazaro.

Janelle Arthur closed out the show with another deep cut, "I Will."  I have to say this was by far her best performance since she entered into the finals.  She finally lived up to the promise that she showed back when she first auditioned and I finally saw what Nicki has been raving about all season long.  I still don't think that Janelle has what it takes to finish before any of the other ladies, but if she keeps it up, she could definitely beat out the boys.

So, what did you guys think?  Had you all heard "Let It Be?"  Who do you think will be sent home?  Does Lazaro deserve to stay?  Hit me up in the comments.

Pretty Little Liars Recap: RIP Spoby

Pretty Little Liars, Episode 21: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind"

So, I think that picture says it all.  You may have thought that Spencer had hit rock bottom, but you'd have been wrong.  That officially happened in this episode.  What finally pushed Spence to her breaking point?   Well, read on to find out.  Before we get to the big reveal though, let's check in on the other Liars.

Ashley is a terrible mother.  She dragged Hanna into her hit and run and then just bails on her.  Hanna is preoccupied with it, shockingly, so she can't really focus on the Toby revelAtion.  Hanna meanwhile is scouring the news channels looking for signs that Wilden's body has been found.  She receives a surprise.  Wilden's cop car in her garage.  I kind of laughed when that happened.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that in Rosewood that this is perfectly normal.  No one would bat an eyelash at some cop car being parked int the Marin's garage.  It's just another Tuesday.  Inside the cop car, the video is playing that shows Ashley plowing into Wilden and then driving away.  This all too much for Hanna, so she calls in Aria for help.  Smart move.  The girls take Wilden's car down to the lake and dump it in.  So, that problem is solved, right?  Right?  Why are you guys looking at me like that?

Aria is a terrible mother -- er-- babysitter.  Aria is still adjusting to Fitz having his own little Fitz, but at the beginning of the ep, she seems to be making her peace with it.  She awkwardly plays trains with them and volunteers to babysit.  While she is watching Malcolm, she turns her back for a second -- a second! -- and Malcolm jumps off the bed, falls off and starts bleeding from the noggin.  At the hospital, Ezra comforts Aria, but she is turned out by the doctor when he finds out she's not family.  Will this little boy be the demise of Ezria?  One can only hope.

Emily is a terrible detective.  Emily is refusing to accept that Toby is a bad person.  She was friends with him first!  He gave her the courage to come out!  She searches his apartment and finds the ID card that he used to sneak in to Radley with and plot with MonA.  The name on the card is E. Lamb.  Em tries to use her mom's police computer to find a pic of Lamb, but is foiled.  She also gets a convienent text from Toby telling him he wants to meet her.  Emily goes to Toby's work and sees Red CoAt.  She follows her, but loses her, duh.  She meets some hipster dude that Toby works with who knows her name.  She calls him on the fact that she never told him her name, but he evades, and Emily ignores it.  Seriously.  A horrible detective.  When she gets back to her car, she finds the window busted out and funeral program for Toby in the seat, along with a note from "A" proclaiming "Toby is no more."  Yikes.

Spencer is just sad.  Spence finds herself the recepient of the funeral wreath that was being made at the end of the last episode.  After examining the ribbon, Spence sees that the E and M look differently so she becomes convinced that Emily is "A"s next target.  Emily is not convinced.  It is probably because of Spencer's crazy eyes.  Spencer does the exact wrong thing and confronts MonA.  She gives her a warning about staying away from her friends.  MonA is non plussed.  Spencer decides to take matters into her own hands.  She follows MonA to the woods(!) and sees her bent over a body at a campsite.  Spencer investigates and finds the body wearing a motorcycle helmet.  She sees a tramp stamp and assumes it's Toby.  There are also abrasions on his hands.  But she never flips the body over!  Come on Spencer!  I mean, we never see his face.  I mean, I think we can all agree that Toby is still alive, right?  I mean, they wouldn't take him out like a punk.  MonA tells her that Toby is dead.  Spence chases after her and the next time we see her, police are shuffling Spencer into a polic car.  She seems almost catatonic.  She kind of looks like the Jersey Devil from that X-Files episode.  The cops are asking for psych eval.

At the end of the episode, someone is fishing in the lake where Hanna and Aria dumped Wilden's patrol car.  He catches a Roseewood PD cap.  Uh-oh.

So what did you guys think?  Are you hoping that after this Spencer gets her groove back?  Do you think Toby is actually dead?  Let me know in the comments.

RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Queens of Comedy

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 7: "RuPaul Roast"

This episode of featured four words that fans of the show love to hear.  "The Library Is Open."  Yes, it was time for the queens to read each other.  It was no surprise that Alaska and Jinkx read the other queens the house down.  In the end, Alaska won the mini challenge.

The main challenge was to roast RuPaul.  Alaska, as winner of the mini challenge, set the order and for some reason she decided to put herself up first.  I know she was trying to be nice, but you can be nice and strategic at the same time.  This also seemed to be the demise of Rolaskatox as Alaska decided to steer clear of  her clique and try to focus on herself.

The roast was pretty hilarious for the most part.  Alaska and Jinkx definitely brought it, like I think I knew we would.  Jinkx probably had the funniest bit when she said, "Michelle Visage is full of semen. Period.  But seriously, she's a whore."  So funny.  I love Jinkx.  I was pretty lukewarm on her when the show first started, but she has become my favorite queen as the season progressed.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a "comedy" queen that won the challenge, but Coco Montrese.  Coco created a character for her roast.  Ru's around the way cousin from the Brewster Projects.  Coco was funny, but I'm not sure that she deserved to win.  I'm still not sure I know anything about Coco.  All I really know is that she hates Alyssa Edwards and she frequently plays the victim.  I'm pretty surprised that she has lasted this long, honestly.

Unsurprisingly, Roxxxy and Alyssa landed in the bottom two.  Their bits at the roast were horrible.  Seriously.  Alyssa doesn't understand how to playfully joke.  She just sounded vicious.  And why was she so close to the microphone?  I'm sure that she has used one before.  The feedback was a mess.  Roxxxy just struggled.  Comedy is not her thing and she was rushing the whole time.  Her jokes fell flat.

Roxxxy definitely redeemed herself in the lip sync.  Bitch had on two wigs!  Amazing reveal.  She and Alyssa served it to the judges on a platter and neither one of them were sent home.  Alyssa's lucky that Ru was in a generous mood, because Roxxxy kicked her ass.

So, what did you guys think?  Did you think Coco's win was deserved?  How about that lip sync?  Do you love Jinkx as much as I do?  Are you upset about the possible demise of Rolaskatox?  Hit me up in the comments.

American Idol Recap: Fly Away Home

American Idol, Episode 19, "Top Ten Results"

Curtis Finch, Jr, we hardly knew ye.  We only spent a few short weeks together, but it felt like a lifetime.  A lifetime that would never end.  A lifetime of smug faces, arrogance, too much melisma and a good voice.  It's too bad about all those other things, because if you had a decent personality to go with the fantastic voice, you probably wouldn't have been the first one eliminated.  Also, look what you did, America.  You caused Nicki to throw a temper tantrum when the judges didn't use the save.  She has had it with you.  I have a feeling this is going to become a thing and I'm OK with it.  Nicki is the most entertaining thing on American Idol right now, love her or hate her.

Besides Curtis being given the old heave ho, we had a couple of lackluster performances from Bon Jovi and Phillip Phillips.  America was given the choice to send either Charlie Askew or Aubrey Cleland to the tour.  The less said about those two the better.  There was a horrendous group performance to promote The Croods.  

Idol also took a page from The X-Factor and revealed the order that the contestants were saved.  Candice, Kree, and Angie were in the top three, we weren't told in which order.  Here are the rest of the top nine in numerical order:

4.  Lazaro Arbos

5.  Amber Holcomb

6.  Janelle Arthur

7.  Burnell Taylor

8.  Paul Jolley

9.  Devin Velez

Next week it's the Lennon/McCartney songbook.  So, were you surprised at the order of who was saved?  Will next week be more exciting?  Let me know in the comments.

The Follwing Recap: Readjusting

The Following, Episode 8: "Welcome Home"

So, I can't be the only one that is excited that Joe Carroll is finally out of prison.  That means he can wreak even more havoc on Ryan and the FBI.  This episode contined the upward trend the shows been on since the farmhouse episode.  It contained some great moments like the introduction of Roderick, the return of Ryan's badassery and the introduction of Weston's.  It also had some not so great moments like the FBI's contined ineptitude.  So, here we go with the good and not so good moments from "Welcome Home."

The Good

Joe is free.  This is great.  It is awesome to see him interact with the other followers, especially Emma.  He still is carrying a torch for Claire though and mission one is finding her and getting her to join him at the manse.  He is able to gently rebuff Emma when she offers to take care of his every need because of his supposed devotion to his ex wife.  Alas, Joe is only human and after he stabs Charlie aka Claire's follower, when Charlie gives himself to Joe as punishment for not being able to locate Claire, Joe gives in to all his animal urges.  He takes Emma right there.  Great idea, Joe.  Since, Emma is all mentally stable and everything.  There was also a scene between Joe and Joey at the beginning of the episode that, dare I say, humanized Joe a little bit.  Neither father nor son know how to react to each other after their period of forced estrangement and it was odd to sort of sympathize with Joe a little bit.  Shudder.

Roderick.  We also met Joe's number two, the elusive Roderick.  It turns out Roderick is a sheriff in the county where the followers' lair is located.  He seems to be Joe's first follower as well.  It turns out that Roderick killed two of the girls that Joe took the rap for.  Joe did show him how though.  Roderick was also present when the followers were trying to torture Claire's whereabouts out of Weston (more on that later).  Roderick is definitely just as insane as Joe and he seems to be just as devious.  It seems to me that Roderick liked becing in charge and I think it will only be a matter of time before he starts challenging Joe as the head of this happy little band.  We also witnessed him having hate sex with another follower right after he almost choked her to death.  Sexy.

Weston.  Weston lived.  That is the most important thing.  After being sent back to his hotel, after helping Ryan against the express  orders of the new douchey FBI agent who is head of the investigation, Weston is kidnapped by some followers.  They think that Weston knows Claire's location, even though he says he doesn't.  There is some bare knuckle boxing with Charlie, some pipe beatings by blonde follower.  He gets stabbed right before Ryan shows up to save the day.  Weston pulls through and Agent Parker informs Ryan that he knew Claire's location the whole time.  I love Weston and I'm glad he didn't die.  I know the show is dark and not shy about killing off main characters, but I'm not sure I would have been able to handle Weston kicking the bucket.

Ryan.  Finally, Badass Ryan rejoined the show.  He was flippant when he was dealing with the new head of the investigation.  He showed him up at every turn.  Then, he was Super Ryan when he saved Weston, shooting like three of the followers without breaking a sweat.  Seriously.  I'm  a fan of this Ryan, but the switches back and forth are too much, as I've said before.  

The not so good

The FBI.  Seriously.  Could these guys be more inept?  We were introduced to the new FBI agent heading up the investigation, Nick Donovan.  Donovan is laughably terrible at his job. He ignores Ryan, sends Weston to get kidnapped and is made to look like a fool after Ryan saves the day.  I understand what they are trying to do, but if the FBI was this terrible they would have shut their doors years ago.

So, are you guys excited that Joe is out and about?  Do you think that we are heading towards a Joe/Roderick season ending showdown?  How soon until Claire is found and kidnapped?  Hit me up in the comments with your theories.

The Carrie Diaries Recap: Edge of Seventeen

The Carrie Diaries, Episode 9: "The Great Unknown"

So, Tom Bradshaw must exude some sort of animal magnetism that makes him catnip to the ladies.  I mean, he is not a bad looking dude,  but he is not irresistible.  Except that he is?  In almost every episode, a different single lady practically jumps his bones.  Normally, Tom just acts clueless and continues to mourn his dead wife, but not tonight.  Tonight, Tom was both shocked and appalled that a women at the gym would offer to blow him in her office, but he was also more than happy to accept her gift.  Then, he bemoaned the fact that the womenfolk were being so open with their sexuality.  Ugh.  I just couldn't take it.  I can't wrap my head around the fact that Tom is such prime '80's era beefcake.  It just does not compute.  Seriously.  The only good thing that came out of this whole debacle was Tom's chat with Larissa about how sisters really are doing it for themselves.  She also got him to change his mind about her internship.  Also, he apparently decided to get bj's on the regular from the aerobics instructor.   Also, Larissa is dating Tom's douche friend.  Awesome.

If Tom knew what went down when he left Carrie in charge of Dorrit he probably wouldn't have changed his mind.  He left Carrie in charge of her and of course Dorrit took off to the hotel in the city where Syd Vicious killed his girlfriend.  Oh Dorrit.  The sisters did have a nice moment where they sort of came to terms with their roles since their mom died.  Dorrit decided that she was going to live life to the fullest always, while Carrie became a major worrier.  This is not too surprising, since Carrie is older and Dorrit is younger.

Carrie's worrying ways were definitely impacting her relationship with Sebastian.  Everything seemed to be going perfectly, but Carrie was worried that she was losing herself in her new relationship.  She thought that she was maybe letting Sebastian do too much.  It all started with him constantly giving Carrie his jacket and ended with Carrie rejecting Sebastian's plan on how to find Dorrit, even though his plan proved to be the most logical and successful one.  This was a very realistic look at teenage relationships told from the femal persepective I thought.  Besides Larissa's convo with Tom, it was also the most enjoyable aspect of the episode for me.  In the end, Sebastian and Carrie talked and Carrie came to the realization that relationships are all about give and take and she could still be her and independent while allowing Sebastian to do certain things for her.

Meanwhile, the Walt/Donna relationship was less boyfriend/girlfriend more fag/hag.  They loved going to the mall and shopping together, talking, but when Donna tried to take things to the next level, Walt threw her off the bed.  This led to a heart to heart where Walt, for the first time, admitted that maybe he liked boys a little bit.  He was reluctant to label himself as gay, but Donna was supportive, since she had a  gay bro out in California.  It was nice to see Walt take these baby steps and not shocking that he would choose Donna as his confidante.  Sometimes, you don't want to tell your closest friends something this personal right off.  It's easier to test the waters with someone else.  I just hope that Donna keeps Walt's secret and doesn't use it against him somehow.

And the less said about Mouse's storyline the better, as usual.  This week it contained a Rubik's Cube challenge, a black jock who was smarter than her and looking at confidential school records.  Seriously.  Either give Mouse something to do that people want to watch or just send her away already.  Anytime Mouse is onscreen by herself, I just want to change the channel.  This show does not need that.

So, what did you guys think?  Do you agree about Mourse?  Do you understand the attraction to Mr. Bradshaw?  If so, can you explain it to me?  Enlighten me in the comments.

American Idol: A Moment Like This

American Idol, Episode 18: "Top Ten Perform"

Oh, Nicki Minaj.  Don't let dem haters bring you down.  Even though they want to criticize you for everything to being too mean to touching your hair too much, we all know that you are what is making Idol fun to watch this year.  I mean, take a look at tonight.  You show up about 10 minutes late, wearing business casual to the extreme.  Hood up.  Sunglasses on.  Then, you are making advances towards the male contestant most likely to be a homosexual.  Keep it going, gurl.  The best thing about it?  It makes Randy Jackson obviously uncomfortable.  Also, it saves us from what was on the whole a pretty yawn worthy show with a wretched "Sing Songs Made Famous by Previous Idols" theme.  Come back "Songs From Your Birth Year!"  All is forgiven!!  All right, y'all.  Let's wear our sunglasses at Idol and dive in to last night's performances.

So, Curtis Finch, Jr opened the show.  Let's talk about that jacket first off.  It looked like he took down his grandmother's curtains and asked her to fashion a suit jacket from it.  Now, let's talk about how we can all agree on it's hideousness... wait a second.  What's that, Keith Urban?  You like it?  Um... OK.  Is that the reason why you're a jeans and T shirt guy?  Curtis chose Fantasia's "I Believe" for his song of the night.  It was not great.  The song was pitched too low for him.  He tried to go into falsetto and it was not happening.  The judges gave a nice non-crititque.  I was really missing Nicki.

Janelle Arthur was up next performing Montgomery Gentry's "Gone" which Scotty McCreery performed on his Idol winning season.  I will give it up to Janelle for picking an upbeat song.  Unfortunately, it didn't give her much to do.  There were no glory notes.  It lacked energy too.  She seemed to be out of breath the whole time, too.  Apparently, Janelle was suffering from cotton mouth too, which is the oddest excuse for a poor vocal performance that I have ever heard.

Devin Velez brought Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" to the Idol stage.  I like Devin.  I like when he sings in Spanish.  I think he is very commercial, even though I hate that word.  I was not enamored with his song choice.  It was sleepy.  It was old sounding.  He didn't even sing in Spanish.  I think Keith was dead on.  I'm not sure why Nicki was so enthusiastic about the whole thing.  Maybe she was confused?  The lights were too bright now that her sunglasses were off?  Who knows.

Before we talk about Angie Miller's performance of Celine Dion's "I Surrender, a number that Kelly Clarkson tackled when she was on Idol, let's talk about her meeting with Gollum, er, Jimmy Iovine.  Jimmy apparently thinks because Angie smiles sometimes when she sings she is reminiscent of a pageant queen.  I understand that Jimmy is a heavyweight, but sometimes he just seems really out of touch.  Angie sounded amazing.  As usual.  I did miss her at the piano because I think that is when she really shines.  I wasn't a fan of the song choice.  I think Angie typically does a good job of picking a song that is similar to something you may hear on an Angie album.  I didn't feel like this was a song you would hear on her album.

So, Paul Jolley definitely has the best voice of all the guys, for me.  He has a crystal clear tone.  I mean, even if he does over sing like those wretched, over blown Broadway singers.  I mean, who would ever buy an album by one of those Broadway singers.  They're good for what they are, but that's it.  Who needs 'em?  Amiright?  Ugh.  Jimmy.  You're killing me.  Anyways, Paul did a great job on Lonestar's "Amazed."  He showed restraint when needed and let the song build to a climax that showed off the amazing tone of his voice.  Paul suffers a little bit from wanting to please and I think that could cause his performances to come off as a little stilted.  Also, the less said about Paul awakening Nicki's sexual appetite the better.  Poor Paul.  I'm sure he'd have rather heard that from Keith.

Candice.  Glover.  Are.  You.  Freaking.  Kidding.  Me.  She is the front runner.  Her take on Shirley Bassey's "I Who Have Nothing" was phenomenal.  Jordin who?  Candice owned that performance.  I can't even think of a coherent way to describe how ridiculously splendiferous it was.  I agree with Nicki.  It's time to retire this song (along with many others).  It now belongs to Candice Glover.

Oh Lazaro.  You did so well last week, but it seems to be a one step forward, two steps back situation.  Lazaro's rendition of Kelly Clarkson's hit single, "Breakaway", was pretty terrible.  I mean, it was wobblier than a three legged chair under Randy Jackson.   I know that Lazaro has fans that feel sorry for him because of his stutter and he is cute as a bug, but the sooner Lazaro gets to his hopeful ninth or eighth place finish the better.  I mean, the nicest thing I can say is that the dude looked cute in his Ricky Ricardo ensemble.

Kree Harrison was the perfect palate cleanser after Lazaro's horrible tasting performance.  She sang k.d. lang's "Crying" and she gave the second best performance of the night.  "Crying" is such a gorgeous song and Kree really infused the performance with the emotion that is needed to really convey the song.    She completely pulled it off and for the first time, looked gorgeous while doing it.  Props to the stylists for finally putting Kree in something that looked starge ready rather than Kree's Saturday night bar attire.  If there is only room for one female country crooner in the competition than sorry, Janelle, it belongs to Kree.

Burnell Taylor brought Ruben Studdard's season two victory song, "Flying Without Wings" back to the Idol stage.  Burnell has a great voice and it is so different than any of the other guys and that is a good thing.  I hate to agree with Randy, but he definitely has a Frank Ocean vibe, and I know others aren't down, but I like Burnell's Urkel/Carlton Banks fashion sense.  I don't think that this was the best song choice for him, but he definitely did a serviceable job and it should be enough to keep him in the competition for one more week.

Amber Holcomb closed out the night with the Idol OG's victory anthem, "A Moment Like This."  I have to say the first time I heard this, I was not feeling it.  After I listened to it back thought, I was a big fan.  Amber brought it.  If she keeps it up, she will definitely be going far in this competition, which is saying something.  I will say that the judges need to cool it with the Whitney Houston comparisons.  Enough.

So, that's it.  My bottom three: Paul Jolley, Janelle Arthur, and Curtis Finch, Jr.  Paul will probably get the boot.  What did you guys think?  Let me know in the comments.

The Carrie Diaries Recap: Busted!

The Carrie Diaries, Episode 8: "Hush, Hush"

So, this episode was pretty jam packed.  Carrie's secrets finally caught up with her.  Walt found out that Maggie was cheating on him.  Sebastian attempted a grand romantic chapter.  Carrie's dad continued to be irresistible to women?  I'm not sure how that continues to happen.  Even though all this happened, I think we can all agree that the two most important things that happened in the episode were Carrie getting her first pair of Manolo Blahnik's and tasting her first Cosmopolitan.

The shoes she receives from Larissa after modeling them for a photo shoot.  It turns out that Carrie's feet are the only ones that will fit the shoes.  Larissa gifts them to Carrie as a thank you for helping out. The Cosmo is ordered for Carrie by a guy that she meets at Lime, a bar where she goes with the rest of the Interview staff.  It is love at first sip.  Carrie has met the true love of her life.  Sorry, Big.

Things are looking good for Carrie, at first.  She is loving her new internship.  She is becoming a better and better liar, as she gets more practice at it.  She uses a lock in at the high school as a cover to go party with her Interview peeps.  Little does she know that her dad is in the city as well with Harlan.  They end up at the same club Carrie is at, where people are filming the patrons dancing.  Carrie sees her dad dancing, horribly, with his date.  He spots Carrie and things do not go well.  Dad is pissed that Carrie has been lying and that she quit her internship.  Larissa is not upset when she finds out that Carrie is only 16.  In fact, in pure Larissa fashion she loves it.  

At home, Carrie has it out with her dad.  She lets him know that what she wants is to be a writer.  That she thinks she has found her calling.  Like most parents, Dad doesn't listen.  Carrie is undeterred, even though she is banned from going into the city.

It's not all bad news for Carrie.  Sebastian breaks up with Donna, becoming the first person to ever break up with her.  He goes with Mouse to the city to declare his love for Carrie.  That doesn't work so well, but he does end up telling her how he feels.  Carrie and Sebastian are back on.

It goes down at the lock in.  Donna spills to Walt that Maggie has been cheating.  She doesn't want to be the only one hurting after her break up with Sebastian.  Walt confronts Maggie.  She tries to smooth things over but the future homosexual is not having it.  He is having a makeout sesh with Donna, in front of the Jens.  I'm sure that will workout well.

So, lots happened.  Are you surprised that they are jam packing so many Carrie firsts in these episodes?  How long until Walt finally coomes out?  Is Maggie going to drop out of school?  Will Mouse ever get a decent storyline?  Why does every woman want to bang Carrie's dad?  Let me know your theories in the comments.

Girls Recap: I Forbid It

Girls, Episode 8: "It's Back"

Marnie continued to be kind of a terrible mess.  She can't figure out what she wants to do with her life.  She goes into a tailspin when she finds out from Shoshanna and Ray that Charlie sold an app that he created.  She then goes to his office and proceeds to creepily stalk him until he catches her.  Charlie is understandably confused by why Marnie is there.  He repeatedly asks her if she wants money.  A valid question.  She then finds out that the app Charlie created is called "Forbid."  It stops you from calling someone you don't want to call and if you decide to call them anyway you have to pay $10.  This is a great idea.  I wonder if anyone has actually invented this.  I'm too lazy to Google it.  Marnie and Ray have a heart to heart about the whole thing and Ray tells Marnie to do what she loves, while he gives her back handed compliments.  Marnie discloses that she wants to sing.  She sings a few bars of "Don't Know Why" and it is good.  Who knew that Allison Williams had such a nice voice.  So, it seems like Marnie is going to embark on a singing career.  That should be tragic.

Ray is having problems of his own.  While walking in the park with Shoshanna, they meet one of her flighty friends who asks them to a party.  Ray refuses to go, all the while criticizing Shoshonna for being herself.  They fight and Shoshann decides to go to the party alone.  She gets the eye from the doorman and ends up talking to her friend about her relationship with Ray.  Shoshanna is very conflicted about living with Ray, no matter what she tells herself and others, so it's no suprise that she ends up in the coat closet with the doorman.  Did they go all the way or was it just a make out sesh?  How will Ray react to this?  He's already spiraling out of control, this may be what pushes him over the edge.  

Adam is in AA.  It turns out he had a problem when he was 17 and put a stop to it, but since Hannah left him he feels like he might be backsliding.  His speech was classic Adam and hilarious.  I used to hate Adam and when he was first explaining his relationship to Hannah in the beginning I was reminded why.  Now, Adam has this odd charm that is engaging.  I'm apparently not the only one who thinks so, since a woman who was also at the AA meeting wants to set him up with her daughter.  She gives him her daughter's phone number.  So, I'm not sure if I would set my kid up with a dude I met at AA, but hey, I'm not Carol Kane.  I think her mind works in ways different from most peoples.  Adam met up with the daughter and they had a pleasant time.  Is he finally going to get over Hannah?  I'm guessing, no.

Oh, Hannah.  So, it turns out that Hannah used to suffer from OCD.  It is back.  She has to do everything in 8's.  8 steps, 8 chips, if she accidentally hit someone in the arm, she has to hit them 8 times.  Hannah's parents are in town and they recognize the return of their daughter's OCD.  After some prodding, they take her to a therapist.  It doesn't go very well, with Hannah recounting her last bout of OCD and it seems like the therapist just prescribes her something for it.

This really explains a lot.  I was not surprised to find out that Hannah was an OCD sufferer.  I also loved that her dad typically factored in a 15-45 minute Hannah cushion because he just assumes that she is going to be late.  Hilarious.  

So, what did you guys think of this episode?  Is Marnie every going to get her shit together?  Is Shoshanna going to dump Ray?  How long before Adam's rebound flames out spectacularly?  Is Hannah going to have a nervous breakdown?  Let me know in the comments.

RuPaul's Drag Race: Drag Can Save the World

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 6: "Can I Get An Amen?"

RuPaul loves the '80's and I love him for it!  On this episode, Ru tasked the queens with making a inspiration video ala "We Are the World" for his single "Can I Get an Amen?"  Surprisingly, some of the dolls had actual musical talent.  Unsurprisingly, the majority of them didn't.

The episode started with another really fun, really imaginative mini challenge.  Ru tasked the dolls with putting their face on in the dark while he watched with night vision goggles.  As you can expect, some of the queens did well, and some ended up looking like this:

Detox ended up winning the mini challenge and Ru tasked her with picking the rest of the teams.  Detox, of course, chose Roxxxy and Alask.  ROLASKATOX!  Then, she teamed up Alyssa and Coco and Jinkx, Jade, and Ivy.  Coco being paired with Alyssa sent her into a tailspin.  Coco needs to get her ish together.  For real.  She has potential, but she gets her panties in a bunch over nothing.  Alyssa was just fine.  Coco couldn't help but accuse Detox of being shady, which of course she was, but why get so bent out of shape about it.

The other teams were having their share of problems.  Alaska was feeling like a third wheel with Roxxxy and Detox.  You are definitely seeing some cracks forming in their clique.  At least, it was heavily edited to imply that.

Then, there was the team of Jade, Jinkx, and Ivy.  Jinkx and Ivy had actual singing ability, while Jade... did not.  Jade was not feeling this challenge and you could see her fading into the background.  I'm pretty sure she became one with the workroom wallpaper at one point.  

The issues continued once the lady boys went to their recording session with Ru's super cute producer Lucian Piane.  Typically, when Lucian participates in a challenge he is very stoic and serious.  This time he kind of let loose and had fun.  It was a nice change.

The ladies performed... OK.  Coco basically imploded.  She was super pissy and ridiculous.  Jade looked down the whole time.  Rolaskatox's lyrics were awful, but they gave their all, especially in the freesytle portion.  "Where my people at?"  Ivy and Jinkx did the best.  I was living for Jinkx's prolonged high note.  

On the runway, Coco continued to be downtrodden and accuse Detox of setting her up.  I don't think Ru was buying it though.  It also seems like Michelle Visage got a free psychology degree with her tits.  How else to explain her telling Alaska that she was disconnected and hiding, because she wore sunglasses during the video?  I did agree with her critique on Alaska's runway look.  I'm kind of sick of seeing her in the same mermaid style gown with the sideswept wig.  

Coco and Jade ended up in the bottom two and lip synced for their lives.  This was probably the best lip sync of the season.  Coco really tore it up and served it.  She better hope that she steps up her game in the challenges, because Ru rarely saves someone a third time.  

So, bye Jade.  I'm sure you'll go far.  Or you'll go back to making Nazi themed gay porn.  Check it out. It happened.  What did you guys think?  Are you sick of Coco being such a sad sack?  let me know in the comments.

The Following Recap: One Big Happy Family

The Following, Episode 7: "Let Me Go"

Let's start off this recap with some good news.  The Following was officially picked up by FOX for a second season this week!!  (I'm assuming this is good news, if you are watching the show and reading this recap.)  I thought the good/not so good format of the last recap worked really well, so I think I will go with that again.  On the whole, I did think that this episode kind of ramped up the action and that final scene helped to answer a question I, and I'm sure many other viewers had:  How big is this following.  Turns out, pretty big.  So here we go.

The Good

That final scene.  It chilled me to the bone when Emma brought out son to meet father, and we got a glimpse of a large group of followers watching the reunion.  It was all very unsettling and very creepy.  It was like when you watch your favorite show and something happens and you feel really good about it because you feel like these characters are your best friends and you're happy that things are going their way.  Well, imagine having those feelings for real people, real people who have never met you before.  That was the feeling I had.  My question now is this: Will Joe be able to succeed where Emma and Jacob failed?  Will he be able to warp Joey and truly make him his father's son?  This is really compelling and sets up sort of a nature vs nurture thing.  It's almost like the inverse to the Dexter father/son relationship.

Joey.  Joey continues to impress me and be amazing.  I've said in previous recaps that I appreciate that the writers have made Joey aware of how odd everything is.  He is a great combination of gullible and inquisitive.  He trusts easily, like most children do, but he's not afraid to speak up when something smells fishy and do what he thinks is right.  I hope that Joey is able to keep ahold of this moral code now that he is being entrenched with Joe and his followers.  Joey showed lots of initiative in his visit to the garage with Emma where they met with Bo, a mechanic and fair weather follower.  He found Dana in a cage and set her free!  She ended up getting recaptured, but you can't fault Joey for that.  

Joe's escaped.  I was afraid that this wouldn't happen until the season finale, but thanks to some warden blackmailing and an assist from Olivia, Joe is out of prison.  This will definitely ramp up the intenisty in the last batch of episodes and make what is happening even more urgent.  Joe's escape didn't bode well for poor Olivia, since Joe strangled her while Ryan and Weston listened over the phone.  It was nice to have another face to face confrontation with Joe and Ryan in the parking garage.  I'm wondering what role the mysterious Roderick will play now that Joe is out.  Is he going to be a minor bad that Ryan is going to have to face?  I'm interested how future seasons will pan out, now that we know there will at least be a second.

Charlie.  Charlie aka Claire's smitten follower showed up at the garage to take Emma and Joey to Joe.  Charlie is the first interesting, seemingly non-disposable follower that we've been introduced to since the trio of Emma, Jacob, and Paul.  You can tell that he feels very paternal towards Joey when they have their chat after he pretty much saves them from Bo.  He actually keeps his promise too.  Killing Bo, but leaving Dana, the warden's daughter, alive.  Charlie's romantic feelings for Claire complicate things in a way that I don't think Joe has seen yet.  If Joe's plan is to somehow warp Joey, reunite with Claire and make some sort of serial killing first family, Charlie is definitely a wrench in that plan, not to mention Ryan.  I'm wondering if Joe does try to make Joey like him, if Charlie won't try to protect him from that, since he does seem to have some twisted sense of honor.

The Not So Good

Ryan.  I know, I know.  I was loving Ryan in the last episode, but this episode he was back to being oddly characterized.  I'm not sure who the writers want Ryan to be.  Sometimes they want him to be Jack Bauer, like when he is interrogating the follower he shot.  Sometimes they want him to be meek and easily taken down.  I'm not saying that Ryan can't be both, but sometimes the jerk from one extreme to the next can give  you whiplash.  The show is still early and finding it's footing, so the writers still have time to adjust it and I have faith that they will.  It's just a little jarring right now.  This is a minor quibble and the episode was pretty stellar.

So, what did you guys think?  Are you scared for Joey?  Do you think I'm onto something in my theory about Joe's plan or am I totally off base?  Were you wondering what happened to Paul and Jacob?  Let me know in the comments.

American Idol Recap: The Best of the Best?

American Idol, Episode 17: "Top Ten Revealed"

There you have it.  With plenty of fanfare, but little surprises, the season 12 top 10 were announced.  One by one, Ryan led each revealed finalist through a cramped hallway before leading them out onto the Idol stage for the big reveal.  It was creepy to watch Ryan trying to keep step with the contestants as they made their way to reveal and hilarious when he had to take off backstage if they revealed multiple contestants in each segment.  After the reveal, each finalist performed a "victory song."  It was all pretty paint by numbers and what Idol did in an hour and a half could have been done in 30 minutes.  

So, without further adieu, here are your season 12 Idol top ten finalists:

Lazaro Arbos

Amber Holcomb

Paul Jolley

Curtis Finch, Jr

Janelle Arthur

Kree Harrison

Devin Velez

Burnell Taylor

Angie Miller

Candice Glover

While I wasn't thrilled with the reveal/victory song/repeat format, I was glad that it gave me the chance to witness Candice Glover's throw two gospel hands/swoon/shout nonsensical things/crazy ridiculously good cover of Rose Royce's "I'm Going Down."  If you missed it, here it is:

So, what did you guys think?  Do you agree with the top 10?  Is there anyone you wish would've made it that didn't?  Let me know in the comments.

Girls Recap: A Rabbit a Day

Girls, Episode 7: "Video Games"

This season of Girls has been markedly different in structure than the first season.  It has grown a little bit.  The buzz the first season generated attracted a lot of attnetion and some big name guest stars like Patrick Wilson a couple of episodes ago and Roseanna Arquette in this episode.  It is almost like this season is a series of loosely connected vignettes with Hannah being the commom thread that is tying everything together.  This has drawn some criticism from people, but I am fan.  I think the episodes have all been really strong and I have a feeling when you sit down and watch the season as a whole it will feel more cohesive.

This episode focused on Jessa and the aftermath of her break up with Thomas John.  It was nice to kind of get a peek at who Jessa is and where she came from.  No surprise that her dad is just as messed up as she is.  He shows up way late to pick up Hannah and Jessa from the train station.  His car is filled with old computers because he doesn't want people to get ahold of information.  He never cleans his house and Hannah and Jessa find piles of vintage porn in the bedroom they are staying in.  Jessa's dad is dating a woman named, Petula, who raises rabbits in the backyard that she then cooks at serves for dinner, much to Hannah's dismay.

Jessa's dad is exactly who you would expect him to be.  He is distant.  He doesn't seem very concerned with being a father.  He regards Jessa as more of a mate than as a daughter.  Instead of spending time with Jessa, he leaves to go to some new age style event with Petula.  This sends Jessa spiraling.  She takes a joy ride with Hannah, Petula's son and one of his friends.  There is whiskey drinking, eyes being covered while driving, and a freak out from Hannah.  Hannah also has sex with Petula's 19-year-old son, in a graveyard, because she thought Jessa was going to have sex with his friend.  She doesn't.  I can understand Hannah's confusion.

The most powerful scene in the episode was Jessa's confrontation with her father on the swingset.  It was something that most TV/movie viewers had seen before, Jessa's dad trying to justify his terrible parenting by pushing it onto Jessa and Jessa defending herself by reminding him that she is the child and he is the parent.  The acting by Jemima Kirke here is what carries the scene.  We really don't see much depth from Jessa, but here she kind of devolves into a hurt child, who just wants her dad.  It is a remarkable transformation and I didn't realize that she had it in her.

At the end of this emotional conversation, Jessa's dad claims he is going to change and asks Jessa to catch the later train so they can spend the day together.  You get the feeling that there is something fishy with this proposal and there is when he drops Jessa and Hannah off at the store... and never comes back.

Once they are back at the house, Hannah emerges from the bathroom to find that Jessa is gone.  She has left her a note "See you around my love."  Hannah makes her way to the train station and feels compelled to call her own parents and let them know how much she loves them and how grateful she is to have them as her parents.  This sort of devolves because Hannah's mom thinks she wants something and gets pissed.  I thought this was very funny and very realistic, since I had conversations like this with my parentals before, especially in my early to mid-twenties.

So, is Jessa gone for good?  Will you miss her if she is?  What do you think of this season so far?  Hit me up in the comments and let me know.

American Idol Recap: Let's Hear It For the Boys?

American Idol, Episode 16: "Top Ten Boys Perform"

So, last night, the top ten boys performed for America's votes.  I am pretty flabbergasted.  We saw a lot last night you guys.  A lot of things that I drank a lot of liquor to forget.  I think we can all agree that we never want to see Ryan playing therapist to an obviously troubled contestant.  I mean, Ryan is barely a human being.  I'm not sure he feels emotion like the rest of us do.  It was bad.  Really bad.  Ok, here we go, let's take a look at each of the ten performances.

Ladies boy, er man, Elijah Liu was up first, singing Rihanna's current hit "Stay."  I was a fan of the song choice.  I'm all for the contestants singing current radio hits.  Unfortunately, Elijah did not sing the song very well.  He was flat and basically completely off pitch the entire time.  It was interesting how the judges basically avoided all talk of his vocals.  They were really focused on his marketability, which, in my opinion, turns off the public.  I think, people really want to vote for someone like them, not for someone who already seems like a star.  Elijah may be in trouble tonight.

Cortez Shaw was up next giving us Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven."  Like I said with Elijah, I like a current song, but this song was not a good fit for Cortez.  Cortez has a huge voice, but this did not show it off.  Randy kind of hit it on the head when he said it sounded like the song was pitched too high for his voice.  I thought that last week as well.  Also, Cortez said he was inspired to sing the song when he heard eliminated contestant Big Nick sing it during Hollywood week.  Dude.  That was a spectacular fail.  Why would that inspire you to sing it?  Cortez may be in trouble tonight.

Then it was Charlie Askew's turn to take the stage and be super creepy and make us all feel really uncomfortable.  Charlie re-interpreted Phil Collins' "Mama."  It was... intense.  It was like if the person who had been stalking you for years showed up at  your crib and sang you this song... before he murdered you.  There was nothing good about that performance.  You could tell that Charlie was still really nervous and it really hindered him.  Nicki and I were completely on the same page.  I don't want to see any of that either Nicki.  I don't want to see the 'stache, the angry arms, the one feather earring.  No, no, no.  Then, Charlie had his mini breakdown and Ryan had to switch settings to Dr. Phil mode and offer him empty platitudes.  All kidding aside, Charlie seems like a good kid, but he has issues.  Issues that need to be worked out off the Idol stage.  Charlie is in trouble, period.

I'm a huge fan of Nick Boddington's voice.  I remember his Hollywood rendition of "Stars" very fondly.  It was gorgeous.  I think Nick has one of the top male voices in the competition, but you wouldn't know it if the first you'd heard him sing was his joyless cover of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. Nick was at the piano and I think the song would have served him better if he had done it alone with the piano.  The band kind of swallowed him up.  Nick also seemed very defeated the whole time he was performing.  The whole thing was just super sad.  I also agreed with Nicki when she said that she wished Nick would have stuck with the melody a little bit more.  Nick may be in trouble tonight.

Burnell Taylor reprised his audition song "I'm Here" from the musical The Color Purple.  Listen, I think it is a little cheap when contestants bring back songs they have sang in the past.  It is a ploy to get votes and it is shameless.  That being said, Burnell brought the house down with it.  I loved it.  His glory note soared and he was serving shades of John Legend.  I have a feeling that Burnell may not be in trouble tonight, but he will have to come with the original song choices from now on.

Paul Jolley was up next singing the Christina Aguilera/Blake Shelton duet, "Just a Fool."  Jolley was giving me flashbacks to Nick's performance from earlier.  Jolley has a great pure voice and it is a thousand times better than Gary LeVox's aka the big, fat turd from Rascal Flats.  Seriously, Keith.  Enough with those comparisons.  I appreciate that Jolley has designs to be the male Taylor Swift and I think he could accomplish that.  He needs to work on his confidence though.  He is another sad panda, for sure.  Jolley may be in trouble tonight.

I have been rough on Lazaro Arbos since his audition and I think rightly so.  I feel like he has been kind of cruising by on his stuttering backstory.  It tears at your heartstings for sure, but does that mean he should sail through to Idol's top ten based on that alone?  I don't think so.  Luckily, Lazaro brought some acutal musicianship and vocal ability to his done to death on Idol cover of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good."  Lazaro started off a tad shaky, picked up in the middle, and soared at the end.  I was feeling good and I'll be cool if Lazaro makes it in to the top 10 based on that performance.

This brings us to the most over wraught, over hyped, over sold performance of the night.  You guessed it, next to the stage is Curtis Finch, Jr!!!  Curtis continued his string of uninspired, unoriginal song choices with R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly."  Man, this dude loves himself, doesn't he?  The whole thing was very insipid and pandering and I hated it.  No doubt Curtis has a great voice, but the sooner he is off my television the better.  Let's not even talk about the judges ridiculous reactions, shall we?

Devin Velez was up next.  He sang Perry Como's "Somos Novios (It's Impossible)."  Devin has talent and he is growing more and more each time I see him on the Idol stage.  He has toned down the unnecessary runs and when he switches to Spanish he may have the most beautiful tone of any of the season 12 guys.  I got legit chills a couple of times.  I'm having a premonition of Devin being in the top 10.  I'm pretty confident in my psychic skills.

Vincent Powell closed out the show with Boyz II Men's "End of the Road."  Vincent was kind of all over the place.  His voice kind of got lost in the quieter moments of the song, but he sounded good when he sang full voice.  The super high notes were a little screechy.  Sorry, Papa Smurf, you are not Maxwell.  Vincent could be in trouble.

So, that's it.  I can't even speculate on who America will send through.  We'll find out tomorrow thought.  What did you guys think?  Who was your favorite?  Hit me up in the comments.

American Idol Recap: May The Best Womens Win

American Idol, Episode 15:  "Top Ten Girls Perform"

If you tuned out of last night's episode of American Idol at the halfway point (and I wouldn't blame  you if you did), then you owe it to yourselves to watch the video posted above.  That was hands down the best moment of the enitre episode.  To be fair, it wasn't just Candice Glover that brought it in the second hour of the top 10 girls performing, but she was the stand out.  Here is a rundown of last night's performances and my guess as to who will be heading triumphantly into the top 10 on Thursday night's results show.

Zoanette Johnson opened things up and it seems like the judges and America finally saw Zoanette for the mess that she is.  I mean, I'd hope that the majority of America knew that before they saw Zoanette disrespect Tina Turner in front of millions of people.  I'm not for sure if Zoanette even sang one word of "What's Love Got To Do With It."  In Zoanette's case, I'm pretty sure it's "What's pitch, musicality, or talent got to do with it?"  Not even the judges could have said anything good about this mess.  They tried to bring up Zoanette's "Circle of Life" performance from last week, but I have faith the voting public will kick Zoanette to the curb come Thursday night.

Breanna Steer proved a nice musical palate cleanser.  She performed Beyoncé's "Flaws and All."  It was a fantastic and unexpected song choice and I thought Breanna sang the song beautifully and she looked gorge.  Breanna seemed a little nervous at first, but she quickly took control.  I agreed with the judges that Breanna picks different songs, but also picks songs that work well for her voice.  This was one of those performances where I was wondering if Nicki was watching the same thing I was.  Did a Lil' Kim video pop up on her phone or something.  She was way harsh.

Aubrey Cleland performed next.  She really impressed during the sudden death round, but her performance of "Big Girls Don't Cry" was a big let down for me.  It was a tired song choice.  It's a song that has been done to death on the show and it did Aubrey no favors.  She still looked like a star, but last night she didn't sound like one.  She sounded like the high notes were a little too high for her.  She was reaching for something off of the top shelf and she just couldn't reach it.  I think all Randy's talk of moments had Aubrey reaching for moments that weren't there.

After Janelle Arthur's lackluster performance during sudden death, I was prepared for her to come back this week and really wow me.  That didn't happen.  Her performance of Elvis' "If I Can Dream" was a little bit better than last week, but not by much.  I kept waiting for a hologram of Elvis to come out on stage like it did when Celine sang this song on Idol.  That would have made the performance more lively.  I felt like Janelle was really struggling vocally.  She veered off pitch a few times.  I can only assume the judges really love her and want her to go through.  That is the only explanation I can think of for why they each declared that she was back.

Tenna Torres was up next.  She spent an inordinate amount of time in her pre-performance package talking about Nicki's comment about her wig.  Once she started to sing Faith Hill's "Lost" I could see why.  That was horrible.  The second worst performance of the night for me, after Zoanette.  It was so screechy, the camera mugging that Keith talked about.  Maybe Tenna needs to head back to Camp Mariah for a refresher.  I have a feeling this is the last we will see of Tenna on the Idol stage.

Angela Miller apparently decided that people saying Angela was just too much so she is now going by "Angie."  I'll call her whatever she wants to be called if she continues to sing like that.  The show really started for me with Angie's performance of Colton Dixon's "Never Gone."  I had never heard the song before, but if Angie released it as a single I would absolutely purchase it.  I loved her at the piano.  She knew exactly what she was doing.  Her voice was clear as a bell, pitch perfect.  She was also giving me Kelly Clarkson vibes.  I agreed with Nicki.  Uncle Nigel, can we just get to making Angie's album already?

Amber Holcomb continued the upswing with a flawless rendition of the late, great, Whitney Houston's "I Believe In You and Me."  The Idol judges have said time and again that tackling Whitney is a challenge and most contestants are not up to it.  When I heard those familiar strains I became worried for Amber.  As it turns out, I had no reason to be.  Amber was in control of the song from the beginning.  There were times, if I closed my eyes, I could've sworn that Whitney was back and was on the Idol stage.  It was very impressive.

Kree Harrison brought another Faith Hill song to the Idol stage when she performed "Stronger."  I love Kree's voice.  Up until this point, the judges have made it seem like Janelle Harris and even Rachel Hale are the female country singers in the competition.  Absolutely not.  It's all about Kree.  Kree could be on the radio today and I would listen.  I am not a huge country fan either.  She was even less awkward on stage.  If the top 5 only has room for one female country singer, my money is on Kree.

Adriana Latonio performed Destiny's Child's "Stand Up For Love."  Odd song choice.  Out of all the Destiny's Child songs out there, that is the one that you choose?  Ok, boo.  It was pretty rough.  She seemed flat the whole time to me.  She veered off pitch a few times.  The song ran away from her immediately like the Road Runner running from Wile E. Coyote.  Her voice kind of disappeared when she went down into her lower register.  Nicki was on point when she called it pageant-y.

Candice Glover closed out the show with John Legend's "Ordinary People."  I'm not sure what to say about Candice's performance.  Just watch the video and prepare for the chills.  Flawless.  Gorgeous.  Effortless.  Amazing.  Candice for the win.

So, based on last night's performances I would say Breanna, Angie, Amber, Kree and Candice will be heading into the top 10.  Randy mentioned a Wild Card, which will probably happen, since Randy and spontaneity go together about as well as Idol and genuine emotion.

What did you guys think?  Who do you think America will send through?

American Idol Recap: 2 Hours I'll Never Get Back

American Idol, Episode 14: "Boys: Sudden Death, Pt 2"

Ugh.  So, I'm glad that's over.  That whole thing was just awful.  Good singer who basically sent themselves home with terrible song choice after terrible song choice.  There were maybe, maybe, two performances that justified going through to the top 20.  I don't want to dwell too much on this, so let's just power through.

Mathenee Treco sang "A Little More Conversation" by Elvis.  I mean, there was nothing good about this performance.  It looked like Matt just hopped off his sofa after not changing for 4 days, hooked up his karaoke machine and decided to sing this song.  Everthing about it was cruise ship, which isn't a surprise, since that is what he does for a living.  Mathenee had lots of potential when they showed him Hollywood, but he was the Idol equivalent of the Titanic without that peformance.  Also, it really irked me the way he was holding his microphone.  Don't feel too bad for Mathenee though, maybe he'll get an invite over to the Carey/Cannon household.

Gurpreet Sing Sarin aka The Turbanator *shudder* sang the first of what seemed like a thousand James Morrison songs.  He sang "Nothing Ever Hurt Like You."  I appreciated the upbeat song choice, but this song terminated him.  He was basically flat the whole time.  He knew it was no good, since he was begging the judges to keep him which is super unattractive.  Sorry, Turb.  Better luck next year.

Vincent Powell was up next.  He saying Lenny Willimas' "Cause I Love You."  And it was good.  Like really good, like for me the best vocal of the night.  Randy was feeling it and honestly, I was too.  It was an unexpected song choice that fit his voice really perfectly.  So, good.  Dude, won't be a backup singer any longer.  Worst part of his performance was, shocker, Zoanette Johnson bouncing around in a see through blouse with a hot pink bra.  She also called him Papa Smurf.  Seriously, Zoanette, fame whore on your own time.  Let Vincent have this.

Nick Boddington was up next singing another James Morrison song that was a terrible fit for him.  "Say Something Now" did nothing for Nick's beautiful voice.  Boddy tried and he was working the camera, but most of the songs were oohs.  It was just not great.  

Then, Josh Holliday came on stage and tried to pull an Angela Miller and sing an original song called "Better With You."  I mean, kudos to Josh for taking a risk, but Angela's song was way better.  Also, Josh comes off as very skeevy to me.  He comes off as a cross between a used car salesman, a lounge singer and a douche.  I was not a fan of him or his creepy camera looks.

David Olliver Willis performed a sped up version of Peggy Lee's "Fever."  What is with these guys?  On one hand, I like the upbeat song choice, it's always a nice change of pace on Idol since Idol is notoriously ballad heavy, but even if you are singing an upbeat song, it should still be good.  I just am at a loss.  This is sudden death.  You have a minute and a half to showcase your vocals and convince the judges to keep you, but you choose lackluster songs.  Keith was right, the end note was the only good thing about that peformance.

Bryant Tadeo sang Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind."  This is one of my all time favorite songs and I felt like Bryant's vocal was super shaky.  Nerves seemed to get the best of him and I couldn't handly all the hand gestures that he was making.

Burnell Taylor was up next singing John Legend's "It's Time."  I remember loving Burnell's audition, but this was a mess for me, for you.  The judges loved it, but I thought the whole thing was flat as a pancake.  Maybe it was nerves or maybe it was the song choice, but Burnell didn't do great.  Congrats on the weight loss though, buddy.

Lazaro Arbos aka Lazaro the Stutterer was up next singing Keith's very own, "Tonight, I Wanna Cry." Oh, Lazaro.  Ballsy move buddy.  Eviscerating Keith's own song right in front of him.  That was terrible.  I'm pretty sure we can all agree that the novelty of Lazaro has worn off.  I mean, sure I feel sorry for him because he can only muster a thank you to the judges or Ryan, but does the fact that he is pitied really make him worthy a spot in the Idol top 20.

Cortez Shaw and his slowed down version of David Guetta and Sia's "Titanium" received the pimp spot.  At first, I thought I had accidentally switched my TV over to SMASH.  The performance felt very Broadway to me.  Also, why was Cortez pronouncing fire that way?  Like it was too syllables.  Also, was it just me or was the song way too high for him?  It should have been dropped a whole step.  Cortez definitely has talent, but this was, like a lot of the other peformances, kind of a mess.  Also, it had that awkward moment where you thought it was over, but it wasn't.

So, with that Vincent, Burnell, Cortez, Lazaro and Nick headed into the top 20.  

Now, we whittle them down to a top 10, starting tonight.  So, what did you guys think?  Am I too hard on the guys?  Who are your favorites?  Let me know in the comments.

The Carrie Diaries Recap: Secrets & Lies

The Carrie Diaries, Episode 7: "Caught"

Carrie calls her boss Bitchy Barbara, too!!  We are so in sync.  Whoa, BB.  Look at you, all proud of  you walk of shame.  It also inspired a pretty hilarious convo between Carrie, Mouse, and Maggie that included mulitple uses of the word straddle, much to Carrie's dismay.  It also led to a funny line from Carrie about how if she is still talking about guys when she is in her '30's she wants Mouse or Maggie to strangle her.  Oh, Carrie.  If you only knew what your future held.  We also learn that Carrie is still a virgin during the girl talk.  Maybe, we knew that.  I don't remember.  They made a big deal out of it though.

Carrie is still happily dating George, but she hasn't told him about Sebastian showing up at Thanksgiving.  She assumes that the Kidd hasn't told Donna, either, but she is mistaken, when the Lady LaDonna shows up at the diner and enlightens her.  Carrie and Sebastian still have the hots for each other, so the other girls encourage Carrie to invite George to the winter dance, to rub it in Sebastian's face.  

Carrie also gets a internship offer from Larisa.  Carrie really wants to intern at "Interview", but also doesn't want to lie to her dad.  When she broaches the subject of switching internships, her dad drops some knowledge on her about all that went into getting her the internship, so she drops it.  It seems like Carrie is going to stick with the law firm and BB, when Larisa sends her an advance copy of "Interview" with her purse inside.

At the dance, Carrie gets hot and heavy with George, and Sebastian's eyes are on them the whole time. Kidd is jealous and Donna picks up on it.  Carrie and George go back to his limo where he tries to pressure her into having sex.  Carrie says no and George reveals himself to be the sleazeball we all kind of knew he was.  Gag when he asked Carrie to take care of him.

Meanwhile, Maggie is at the dance stag since Walt has the chicken pox.  She runs afoul of Officer Statutory Rape and succumbs to his "charms" in the back of his squad car.  Donna spies them emerging and puts two and two together.  If a skank like Donna knows anything, it's when people have hooked up in the backseat of a car.  She attempts to blackmail Maggie into keeping an eye on Carrie so she can keep her away from Sebastian, but Maggie confesses everything to her.  Carrie advises her to come clean with Walt and doesn't judge her.  What a good friend!

While all this is going on, Mouse and her boyfriend are trying to break in to a teachers room, to drop off Mouse's extra credit because she got a B+.  They decide to break up because they are dragging each other's grades down?  Whatever.

Dorrit and Papa Bradshaw go to The Nutcracker, previously a mother/daughter bonding experience, and there is friction, that is resolved, until the next episode.  Again, I say whatever.  It was nice to see Dorrit de-Gothed though.

At the end of the episode, Carrie walks into "Interivew" magazine, thrilled with her internship.  By the looks of next week's episode, the elation doesn't last long.

So, what did you guys think?  Were you surprised that George didn't last longer?  Should Walt just come out already?  Are you hoping Mouse gets better storylines?  Let me know in the comments.