American Idol Recap: Here We Go Again

American Idol, Episode 33: "Top Four Perform (Redux)

What is happening?  Didn't we already do this?  We did, but we're going to do it again.  Since the judges failed to use the save, no one was elminated and the top four ladies of American Idol, were given a redo.  The ladies performed two songs.  The first song was from 2013.  Hallelujah!!  I'm very happy to hear current songs.  Next, Harry Connick, Jr, teamed up with the ladies to school them on how to sing standards.  He also made a very strong case to become a full time American Idol judge next season.

Angie Miller opened the show, back at the piano, singing her take on Rihanna's "Diamonds."  I was a fan of the song.  I liked her at the piano.  She sounded great.  I liked the experimenation with the melody.  Angie did kind of revert back to her cheesy ways.  She smiled a little too much throughout the performance.  About midway through, some guys on bongos joined in and that lent the performance a little bit of a cabaret type feel.  The judges were not feeling it.  I was not sure what they were talking about.  They acted like "Diamonds" was some classic song that had a melody that couldn't be tampered with.  I did not agree.

Amber Holcomb was next.  She sang the P!nk and Nate Ruess duet, "Just Give Me A Reason."  I was a little nervous for Amber.  During her pre-performance package she admitted that she was having a hard time remembering the words.  Luckily, when she started singing there were no forgotten lyrics.  That is about the only positive thing I can say about Amber's performance.  She sounded OK, but she was more stilted than usual when she was on stage.  I'm not sure why she would pick this song and then just sing it so straightforwardly.  There is no way a song like this would ever make it onto Amber's album.

Candice Glover made another surprising song choice for the second week in a row busting out Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man."  I loved that Candice didn't change any of the lyrics.  She was so emotionally connected to the song on every level.  I was transfixed.  Also, Candice steps up her style game every week and this was probably the best she has looked on stage so far.  This was a current performance and I could hear Candice singing this on the radio.  It was so good.  I'm running out of superlatives for Ms. Glover.

Kree Harrison closed out round one with a song that Carrie Underwood performed on Idol a few weeks back, "See You Again."  I really enjoyed t his performance.  I agreed with Harry.  I liked that Kree omitted the "oohs" that Carrie has in her version.  You could tell that Kree was really feeling the performance.  She emoted and I really connected with her.  The judges were not fans.  Who cares what they think?

The ladies moved to the complete opposite ends of the spectrum and sang classic pop standards with some great coaching from Harry Connick Jr.  

Angie's second song was "Someone to Watch Over Me."  Angie tried to interact with the band a little bit, doing some flirting with the guitar player.  Angie is so wholesome, but it made me a little uncomfortable.  The whole thing was a little sleepy, which is what I was afraid of when I heard they were doing standards.  Vocally it was pretty much on point.  Angie did struggle a little bit when she went into her lower register, which is something the judges have pointed out in the past.

I am very divided when it comes to Amber's encore.  She trotted out "My Funny Valentine."  This was the song that really made her a contender.  When she sang this in Vegas, everyone stood up and took notice.  I can understand why she would decide to sing it again, but I am still not a fan of singers singing the same song, unless it is in the finale.  That being said, Harry Connick, Jr. gave Amber some fantastic advice.  When she ran through the song and was smiling and kind of vacant looking, Harry asked her if she had ever read through the words to the song.  Of course she hadn't.  Harry had her read through the lyrics so she could really connect with the words.  This advice did a world of good for Amber.  This was probably her best performance of the season.  She was really feeling it and was more connected to a song than she's ever been.  Well done.

Harry kept giving good advice when it came time to coach Candice.  She chose the song "You've Changed."  His advice to Ms. Glover was to just sing the song.  No unnecessary runs, no showboating, just sing.  And sing the damn song she did!  Candice delivered on all levels.  She was serving vocals, poise and serious face.  Another well deserved standing "O" for Candice.

Kree closed out the show with "Stormy Weather."  This is where things sort of went off the rails all around.  Kree's performance was not the great.  It was stilted and she just seemed really uncomfortable with the whole thing.  I think it all comes back to song choice.  I was pleasantly surprised when Mariah said she would have loved to have heard Kree sing "God Bless the Child."  I was thinking the exact same thing!!  Randy started talking about how Kree should have sang a different version of the song and was kind of smack talking Harry.  I couldn't believe that Randy had the audacity to try to criticize the way someone coached a vocalist.  Talk about irony.  At this point, Harry joined the judges panel to try to defend himself and pitch the idea of the contestants doing their own version of a song, rather than aping someone else's.  Has he seen the show before?  It's only good if the contestants are creative if that is what the producer's want. Duh.  The whole thing was weird and took away from Kree, which was lame.

So, what did you guys think?  Who was your favorite?  Should HC,Jr become a full time judge?  Light up the comments with your thoughts.

RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Dios Mio

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 9: "Drama Queens"

So, that's where Wilmer Valderama has been!  I'm sure we've all been wondering whatever happened to the guy who played Fez on That '70's Show.  Now we know.  He has been relegated to showing up on a reality show about drag queens.  He wasn't even a guest judge!  Go back to dating Demi Lovato, Wilmer.

A side note: It's always funny to me when the queens listen to Ru's message before he enters the workroom for the first time.  I mean, if you listen to the clues that he is dropping, it's pretty obvious what the challenge may be about, but the queens seem genuinely puzzled.  I'm not sure if they are downplaying it for the cameras, or if they are instructed to, but it seems kind of crazy.

Anyways, back to the episode.  The mini challenge was for the queens to cry on cue.  This was kind of a big challenge for Detox.  She had a breakthrough.  She thought about her boyfriend who had recently died and cried real tears.  Detox has kept things really close to the vest.  She hasn't really wanted to admit or disclose anything personal about herself.  It was nice to see her be more of a human and less like a character.  It was no surprise when Detox was deemed winner of the mini challenge along with Alyssa Edwards.

The main challenge was for the queens to divide into three person teams and film their very own telenovela's alongside Wilmer Valderama.  Detox and Alyssa were able to pick teams and Detox wasted no time in reforming Rolaskatox, even though Alaska still seems totally over it.  Poor Jinkx was forced to team with the still feuding Coco and Alyssa.  These bitches.  I don't even have the time for them anymore.

I was fully expecting Team Rolaskatox to kill it, and they sort of did.  Alaska completely brought it with her character, and Roxxxy, surprisingly, was very strong.  Roxxxy has been very vocal about how she hates "acting" challenges and how unfair she thinks they are, but she did great.  Detox was the weakest link.  Her maid/villian was very one dimensional and she made a lot of choices that didn't make sense.

Team Alyssa was a hot mess, except for Jinkx.  Jinkx's character was a girl who was under a curse and had to orgasm whenever she heard a certain word.  Jinkx killed it.  Alyssa was playing her mother and she had to orgasm as well, and let me tell ya, if that is how Alyssa orgasms, she probably doesn't have sex very often.  I mean, that and her face.  Ru tried to get Alyssa to meet Jinkx, but it was an epic fail.  Coco was about as animated as cardboard and she seemed more into trying to eyehump Wilmer than participate in the challenge.

The queens hit the main stage dressed in Latina realness.  Jinkx did a whole Day of the Dead thing with full skull face paint.  It was a huge risk and it paid off.  Big time.  Not only did she look the best on the Main Stage, but she won the challenge.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alyssa was awful.  Santino called it the worst dress in Drag Race herstory.  Coco was praised for her Dorothy Dandridge realness and melon colored jumpsuit, but her performance in the main challenge landed her in the bottom two.   Alongside ALYSSA EDWARDS.  This was probably the lip sync that poeple looked forward to the most.  It was a fierce fight and both queens turned it out.  In the end, Alyssa sashayed away.  

Here's hoping that this was what the dolls needed to put this whole ridiculous, pageant mess behind them.  What did you guys think?  Let me know in the comments.

RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Somethin' Stinks

RuPaul's Drag Race, Episode 8: "Scent of a Drag Queen"

So many things happened in this episode.  First, we learned that Jinkx Monsoon is in love?! with Iiivvvyyy Wiiiinnnnttteerrrssss.  That seemed to come out of nowhere.  I'm not sure if Jinkx had been mentioning it in her interviews for a while and then the producers just waited for this episode to reveal.  It was all very strange.  I love Jinkx, so I don't want to make fun of her, but... are you mistaking friendship for love?  Have you ever been in love before?  I just can't.

Also, we had some Andrew Christian models bringing their packages to the work room.  They helped the ladies in the mini challenge, which was basically Memory, that you used to play as a kid, with schlongs.  It was called "Whatcha Packin'?" and the queens were actually supposed to match the pairs of AC underwear, but all of them were more concerned with what was inside the pouch then what was covering it up.  The doll who made the matches in the shortest amount of time won.  Ivy Winters was the big winner and because I'm a kind recapper who has been neglecting his duties, here ya go:

As for the main challenge, the queens were tasked with creating their very own signature fragrance.  They had to mix the fragrance and then make a commercial to promote it.  At their commercial shoot, the queens received direction from Michelle Visage and a crazy-eyed Aubrey O'Day.  Seriously, that bitches eyes.  They were constantly bugging out of her damn skull.  She is worse at controlling her facial expressions than Britney Spears was on The X-Factor.  Let's be real though, she had lots to roll her eyes at.  It didn't seem like any of the queens knew what they were doing.  Coco with her leopard print outfit and her leopard print backdrop.  Ivy confusing a backdrop of Tokyo for New York.  Roxxxy pulling a Carmen Carrera and just jiggling her fat.  Alaska just spinning around and saying random words.  Jinkx draped across the pit crew.  I thought maybe there would be no winner.

When the commercials were shown on the Main Stage, there were some definite standouts.  Alaska's fragrance was "Red for Filth."  The way that it was cut, it was hilarious and the clear winner.  Also, kudos to 'Lasky's runway look.  It was a clear departure from the same silhouette she'd been trotting out week after week.  Honorable mentions to Detox and Jinkx, who also had me guffawing during their commercials.  

Alyssa and Ivy ended up in the bottom two.  Ivy for her weird ice skater look and for not being able to define her brand during her commercial.  Alyssa also had some branding issues.  Her perfume was "Alyssa's Secret."  No one seemed to want to know what her secret was and no one, not even Alyssa, was sure if the name of the perfume was a joke about Alyssa's "secret" being her penis.  Alyssa won the lip sync, so it was Ivy who was told to sashay away.  Maybe Ivy and Jinkx will find each other again outside the competition and will kai kai happily ever after.

American Idol Recap: Thank Me Later

American Idol, Episode 32: "Top Four Results"

If you can do simple math, you probably weren't surprised by the fact that no one was eliminated.  Since the judges never used the save, there was an extra week and too few contestants.  So, even though Amber and Candice were in the bottom two, there was no elimination.  Instead, this weeks vote tallies will be added to the following weeks and the person with the lowest total votes will get the boot and will get no hometown visit.  Sad face.  

Also, Candice met Drake.  So, there's that.

American Idol Recap: Flip the Script

American Idol, Episode 30: "Top Four Perform"

So, when it comes to most things, I do not believe in conspiracy theories.  I don't think the moon landing was faked.  I don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job.  I don't think the FBI perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombing.  However, I do believe that the judges are following a script, given to them by Uncle Nigel, which tells them which two contestants he wants in the final two.  It was pretty obvious, by the judges sometimes baffling, but always infuriating comments, that prophesied final two is Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb.  Now, the judges are in on the plan, but it doesn't look like the contestants are, because Kree Harrison and Candice Glover worked hard to flip the script.  So, let's see how the ladies focused on the two themes for this week.

The first theme was contestant's choice and Amber Holcomb decided to sing Celine Dion's "The Power of Love."  This is an odd choice for Amber.  It made me wonder, not for the first time, what songs are on the approved songs list.  The beginning of the performance was flawless.  Amber, standing at the top of a lighted staircase, singing a capella.  It was gorgeous.  Once the band kicked in though, we had some problems.  Amber started to lose her way towards the middle of the song.  It sort of petered out at the end.  It just kind of fizzled.  The judges, for some reason, were really excited about it.  I'm not sure why.  This is the first time I thought something was a little fishy.

I knew something was up when Candice Glover came on stage to sing one of her favorite songs, Drake's "Find Your Love."  I loved her rendition.  It sounded very current.  It was an adventurous song choice that definitely worked.  Candice sang the hell out of it.  I knew something was up when the camera showed the judges.  Nicki was sitting there with her lips pursed.  None of the judges really looked like they were feeling it.  Keith wasn't doing that awkward shoulders only, chair dance move he does.  The judges then rambled off some non sensical things that Uncle Nigel probably slipped them before the show.  Nicki just hated it, simply because it was Drake, her labelmate.  She also called it old fashioned.  Huh?  Randy went on to say that every note doesn't need a run.  That was especially puzzling since when Candice does add runs, the placement of said runs is meticulously chosen.  I was gobsmacked.

Kree Harrison peformed a song, I'm not sure I've ever heard before, Susan Tedeschi's, "It Hurts So Bad."  I will say that as far as stage presence goes, Kree has grown in leaps and bounds.  I remember during Vegas when I had to close my eyes and just listen to her voice to enjoy her performances.  Now, I love when Kree sings uptempo songs.  I like the casual, natural interactions with the judges.  Also, she never loses her amazing voice when she is singing a faster song, unlike Janelle.  That bluesy tone is always there.  It's great.  The judges were lukewarm on Kree, too.  Giving her random, you look good and that was fine comments.  Hmm...

Angie Miller made her triumphant return to the piano for her 17th Jessie J cover.  This time it was "Who You Are."  I'm almost positive she sang this song at some point during her time on Idol.  I could go through my past recaps, but, let's face it, I'm too lazy.  You all know, that like the judges, I love Angie on the piano, even though I still think she is trying and failing to live up to that original song.  She sounded great.  It probably was the best first round performance, but the whole time, I couldn't help but wish that she had chosen a different song.

There was  duet between Angie and Kree on Adele's "Rumor Has It."  Then, the ladies tackled the nights second theme, one-hit wonders.  I was pretty excited for this America chosen themes.  I do love me some one-hit wonders.  So color myself surprised when I was hit with song choices.

Amber Holcomb hit the stage singing "MacArthur Park."  It was originally sung by Richard Harris, but was made famous by the Queen of Disco herself, the late, great, Donna Summer.  Donna Summer is no one-hit wonder.  This was not a good song for Amber.  The song didn't really fit her voice very well.  The whole thing was very shaky.  I'm not sure if Amber was suffering from vocal strain, but just like on her first song, when Amber went into her lower register, you could barely understand her.  The crowning glory of that performance was meant to be the last note, which veered wildly off pitch and ended the performance on an awfully sour note.  Then, while pretending they were best friends, Nicki misidentified Amber as Angie.  Sad trombone noise.

Candice returned with Samantha Sang's "Emotion."  Again, a song most would credit to the Bee Gees or Destiny's Child.  Smh.  What more can you say about Candice?  That performance was flawless.  No matter what sort of narrative the judges are trying to pawn off on America.  I think they know better.  The less said of Nicki hi jacking Candice's critique so she could attempt to dress down Jimmy for criticizing Ameber the better.

Kree Harrison was next with Procul Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale."  This is one of my all time fave songs.  I have listened to Annie Lennox's version, probably a thousand times.  This was the best performance of the night.  Kree caressed each note and it was so powerful.  Amazing.  I watched it three times and I was enraptured each time.  I completely zoned out what the judges were saying because I didn't want them to ruin it.

Angie closed the show with Julie London's "Cry Me a River."  Yeesh.  Talk about old fashioned.  This was a really weak closing number.  It was definitely not #POW.  It was #whyisntthisoveryet?  Angie looked very uncomfortable and disconnected from the whole song.  It was definitely far weaker than her first performance.

So, what did you guys think?  Any disagreements?  Let me know in the comments.

American Idol Recap: No Country for Two Women

American Idol, "Episode 29: "Top Five Results"

America decided that there is only room for one female country singer on Idol and so they sent bubbly, not at all dumb, blonde Janelle Arthur packing.  Bye Janelle!!  Have fun on the tour.  Look on the bright side, at least you out lasted Lazaro!!

American Idol Recap: Straight Up

American Idol, Episode 28: "Top 5 Perform"

It's no surprise that Idol has been on the downslide ratings-wise this year.  Many have pointed to the judges offputting behavior, specifically the incessant bickering between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, as the reason for the decline.  So, leave it to Nicki to try to do something to boost ratings.  Leave it to Nicki to think that her boobs were the way to do that.  It was a nice try, Roman, but the only way your tits could right this sinking ship is if Mimi and Keith simultaneously motorboated you.  I will say, it's too bad that people are tuning out, because now that Lazaro is gone, Idol has maybe the best top five that it ever has.  Since we are down to five and it's a two hour show, the ladies tackled two themes.  First, was the super depressing "Year of Your Birth" theme, since none of the remaining contestants were born before 1990.  Then, there was the dim, not very original "Divas" theme.  So, let's look at how each of the ladies did.

Candice Glover was up first.  She surprised with a jazzy arrangment of original judge Paula Abdul's hit "Straight Up."  It was another stellar performance from Candice.  I loved that she decided to do this song.  It was a great choice.  The best thing about Candice is that she isn't too showy with her vocal.  She picks the right places for runs and you can tell that everything is very thought out.  The only bad thing about this performance is that it comes a week after Candice's transcendent performance of "Love Song."  So, even though it was one of the best of the night, it is still a bit of a let down.

Janelle Arthur was up next with Vince Gill's "When I Call Your Name."  Janelle could basically be called "the other country one" at this point.  I'm a big fan of Vince and this song, so I was excited when I heard that Janelle was going to tackle it.  It was an OK performance over all.  She was a bit behind on the verses, so she was struggling to get back to where she needed to be when she hit the chorus.  I think where Janelle missed the mark was the emotional connection to the song.  She was smiling for part of it, when the lyrics are kind of gut wrenching.  Keith hit the nail on the head with his critique of this very thing.  It takes you totally out of the performance.

Kree Harrison brought a litt Black Crowes to the Idol stage with "She Talks to Angels."  The judges were not a fan, but who cares what they think?  No one, that's who.  Kree is the exact opposite of Janelle in every way.  Janelle is blonde.  Kree is raven haired.  Janelle can barely muster any emotion besides a mega watt smile, but Kree is all emotion and she brought that emotion to this song.  This wasn't Kree's best performance, but it was amazing and I watched it three times.  So...

Angie Miller sang The Pretenders "I'll Stand By You."  Now, Angie's performance was good.  I have mixed feelings about Angie, though.  I felt like the dedication to Boston was kind of blatant audience manipulation.  I'm not sure that it was totally genuine.  I enjoy Angie at the piano.  That is where she really shines.  She is able to connect more when she is at the piano, I feel like she really is able to let go.    I'm not sure this performance was her very best and I'm not sure it deserved the judges standing "o".

Amber Holcomb performed the Mariah Carey version of Badfinger's song, "Without You."  I'm a big Amber fan, but this performance fell really flat for me.  Amber really struggled when she was in her lower register.  The whole performance was very boring.  It was hard to pay attention to, and Amber showed zero personality.  The most surprising thing was Nicki actually complimented Mariah, calling Mimi one of the world's greatest singers.  She also said that the rendition failed to live up to Mariah's original.  'Nuff said.

Round one is over and now it's on to round two.  Idol showed lots of originality by making the next theme, Divas!!  Man.  Could a theme have been more on the nose.  Ugh.

Candice returned to the stage to perform the song "When You Believe" by Mariah Carey and the late, great, Whitney Houston.  Candice has brass balls.  She is singing a song that was originally sang by two of the greatest female singers of all time, in front of one of them.  Candice killed it.  I enjoyed the melody switch ups that she did.  She tailored the song to fit her voice.  She didn't try to to do a carbon copy of the original and that really worked to her advantage.  I would say that this is maybe the best Mariah/Whitney cover ever on Idol.

Janelle's diva was Dolly Parton.  I think Dolly is a great choice for Janelle, unfortunately the song she chose, "Dumb Blonde" was not great.  It didn't do anything for her voice.  I agree with the judges that Janelle has great stage presence, but every time she does up tempo songs her vocals struggle.  She hasn't found the balance between moving around, breath control, and pitch.

Kree Harrison tackled Celine Dion's "Have You Ever Been In Love" by Celine Dion.  Like Candice, this song choice bugged me a little bit.  It's a little safe.  It's been done to death by other contestants.  It doesn't seem like a song that fits with who Kree is as an artist.  That being said, Kree sounded gorgeous on the song.  Kree's best asset is the way that she is able to interpret songs and really emote and that is what propelled this performance past karaoke and to something more.

Angie Miller's diva of choice was Mrs. Carter herself, Beyoncé.  She sang "Halo", maybe on of my all time favorite Queen Bey jams.  I'm not sure how I feel about this performance.  It was sang well enough, but much like Angie's first performance, there didn't seem to be anything about it that was really authentic.  I think that's the main issue when Angie steps away from the piano.  It just doesn't seem natural, so she overcompensates and I think that's why she gets accused of being pageant-y.

Amber chose a surprisng diva, Barbra Streisand.  In fact, I would have probably swapped Angie and Amber's divas.  Amber sang "What Are You Doing For the Rest of Your Life."  Ms. Holcomb had a lot to prove after her "meh" first performance and she was in the pimp spot, so expectations where high.  She delivered.  This sort of reminded me of "My Funny Valentine", the first song Amber sang that really made me stand up and take notice.  Amber really excels with these older standards and she delivered the best performance of the night.

So, what did you guys think?  Who gave your favorite performance?  Let me know in the comments.