I'm In Here...Really. I Promise.

(Title...well, before the "really. I promise."...provided by an excellent Sia song. :) )

So...did you hear that Didi Benami won American Idol? (If only... :/ ) Of course you didn't...but if you'd been following my blog--and knew nothing about Season 9 of "Idol" went--that's what you'd have been under the impression of for the past...month and a half. I've been very neglectful of my Top 12 recap project, or of updating this here blog in any way, shape, or form. So let's get back to business...my Top 12 posts will resume (with a LOT of catch-up...I'm planning at least Andrew and Katie, and possibly Tim...oh, Tim...gah...) hopefully tomorrow, but covering a few odds and ends that have popped up in the time I've been away:

• Ellen's out of "Idol." I still like her, and I thought she did an OK job this past season, but she was smart to leave...the chemistry was definitely a little off between her and the other 3 judges. She would, however, be an excellent new host...Ryan, quit now if you know what's good for you. :) (Likelihood of that, though, btw? Next to none. One of the reasons Ellen said she quit was that the schedule was catching up to her. Hosting the show would probably take more time than judging it, so that option's out. Still, Ryan should quit anyhow. He's definitely past his expiration date in terms of actually being appealing or fun.)
• Kara might be out too. And Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are rumored to take the 2 open spots on the panel. J.Lo? Good. I like her (OK, I also think she's EXTREMELY attractive, but still...), and think she's appealing, has the potential to be nice, and helpful (like she was in her Season 6 mentoring stint...didn't watch the show then, but thanks to YouTube, I'm covered :), but also to lay down the law. That said...we thought the same about Ellen. And look how that turned out ("nice." "good." "it was nice and good."). Also, there's another eerie similarity to Ellen...although J.Lo's star is fading a bit ("The Back-Up Plan" and "Louboutins," anyone?), she's still pretty dang well-known. And history on "Idol" has shown that big stars are hard to swallow as a part of a panel that also includes Randy Jackson (the guy who played bass for "Journey," produced for Mariah Carey, and stuff), and potentially Kara DioGuardi (that one chick who wrote hits and all that). As "Idol" producers learned way back in season 1, when they unleashed Randy, Paula (then, a washed-up 80s star, quite frankly), and Simon (then, some cranky British dude) on the public, sometimes lesser-known is the way to go.
• As for Steven Tyler...I say nope. He's crude. His singing talent is debatable. ("Dream On"? Yes. Anything Aerosmith's attempted this decade? For the love of humanity, no.) And not to hit below the belt...but physically, age has definitely caught up to him in the worst way. Not that we're looking for another Heidi and Tim on "Project Runway" here or anything, but millions of people do attempt to watch this show for 4 months. And lighting only does so much. So...definitely not a fan of this possibility. But if it does indeed happen...I'll manage, I suppose. And finally, I actually want Kara to stay. She's the only other remaining panelist besides Randy (well, they are the ONLY two remaining panelists) with experience and music cred on the show (and unlike Randy, she can actually form coherent sentences that actually HELP...), and even though that's not the end-all of judging on American Idol, I think we need a bit of that on the show, no matter what happens.
• My favorite names that have been floated around as judges (likelihood is slim for all of them, but who knows?): HARRY CONNICK, JR. (as you can tell, I'd really love for him to be considered :) ), Shania Twain, Elton John (well, he's better than Steven Tyler, at any rate), and...OK, anybody else I'd love is kind of far-fetched at this moment. A few I wouldn't want to see, though, are Jessica Simpson, the aforementioned Steven Tyler, and pretty much anyone...obnoxious? There. That works. :)

Well, I've done enough typing for now. See you tomorrow (provided I actually follow through, dang it) for some more (extremely late, but at least you can remember them better) reminiscing of Season 9's Top 12.

Top 12 Profiles: Didi Benami

Name: Didi Benami

Hometown: "A little place I like to call...Los Angeles." (or as those stupid commercials from Disney Channel & the Brothers Who Must Not Be Named proclaim, "LA, LA, bab-ay...")

Age: 23

Place: 10th (gah!), eliminated during R&B/Soul Week

Best Semifinal Performance: Her intimate, delicious Top 16 week take on "Rhiannon" beats out her fine version of "The Way I Am" during Top 24 Week. It catapulted her into the finals, showed her smooth, distinctive vocals, and really just rocked (in an acoustic fashion).

Best Finals Performance: "Play With Fire" during Rolling Stones Week (wow, so far the first 3 finalists eliminated have had their best performances during the night where they all took on the Stones. Who would have thought?). Fiery (haha, pun :) ), committed, perfect. It really showed what Didi was capable of (sadly, that made things to come much, much more harder...).

• The Early Days: The audition rounds were nearly devoid of Didi's sparkling presence and loads of talent...that is, until the quite-glorious "The Best of The Rest"/"Road to Hollywood" episode where the producers actually decided to give us an hour of singing that was primarily good. (What a concept...)  Didi's audition of "Hey Jude" was beautiful...her tone was quirky but excellently controlled, her phrasing was unique but not awkward, her pitch was next to flawless, and she really made a strong impression with just a short snippet of a song. (The fact that Simon was unmoved by this, and flippantly gave Didi a "very small 'yes'" was nothing short of criminal. It's times like these that remind me that having Mr. Cowell gone now is not so bad.) Didi did end up bursting into tears afterwards, and her audition segment did end up feeling like it was dragging on too long, but that's the darn judges/producers' fault, and not poor Didi's (hello, she was auditioning for something that could change her life...and her friend just died, and she was singing for her...I definitely was willing to cut the girl some slack). Things only got better with Didi's truly revelatory take on "Terrified," a gorgeous Kara DioGuardi/Jason Reeves-penned tune that Katharine McPhee had released just a little bit earlier. Didi took no prisoners with her confident, stunning rendition. Finally, her last Hollywood Week performance, "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan, was not as flat-out terrific as her other two previous tunes, but it was still a nice choice by Didi, and it continued her 3-for-3 record going into the semifinals.
• Top 24 Week ("The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson): Beautiful, assured, and wonderfully nuanced, with a nice, intimate arrangement. (I don't even want to think what this would have been like with a 'full-band' treatment...aieee...) A little tiny bit flat at some points, but I thought Didi really nailed it (and introduced hopefully a good segment of the public to the terrific songcraft of Ingrid Michaelson...VIVA LA INGRID!), and the fact that it was a very current song choice was very wise on her part. Simon's whining about the number being 'indulgent' (oh, please let his replacement NEVER utter that pointless word) and a little public disdain about how it wasn't all that and a bag of chips definitely soured a bit of the momentum Didi should have gained, but she still moved on to the next round, and it was an excellent way to start off her semifinal run. 
• Top 20 Week ("Lean On Me" by Bill Withers): OK, just listened to this again on YouTube for the first time since March...and I was surprised at how much better I liked it than back then. I still noticed Didi had a few pitch and control issues (she went flat and a bit all over the place at a few moments) this time around, but her performance sounded much more cohesive and it worked a lot better hearing it again. So I actually like it now. It showed a different side of Didi's vocals (a side that she polished and presented much more effectively two weeks later with "Play With Fire"), and it was miles better than quite a few of the other contestants. The fact that the judges tore it to shreds (example: what was with Randy's stupid, patronizing "Hey, how ya doin', it's American Idol, yeah!" intro to his critique? ugh...) was lamentable. Then, I kind of agreed with it, sadly. Now, I look back on it with sadness as well...but because I didn't quite give it enough credit then. What were you 4 guys on behind the table? (Danny Gokey juice? OK, sorry, I couldn't resist...)
• Top 16 Week ("Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac): For once, I actually don't have much to say beyond what I said that week. Roll the tape:  "I'm not of the persuasion that thinks that Didi should stick herself in a guitar-slinging 'coffeehouse' corner and stay there (haughty pigeonholing is strictly verboten in my book), but I have to admit tonight's return to her cozy acoustic roots was very welcomed on my part. Her finger-picking, delicious cover of "Rhiannon" was truly excellent, driven by smooth, almost perfectly on-pitch vocals and a subtle reimagining of the tune. Like her very good take on "The Way I Am" two weeks ago, Didi fiddled with the melody in the best way, and adding onto the skills displayed in that performance, she really brought some understated life into the song. I audibly expressed my joy at multiple points while she was singing." So, to recap, it was an excellent return to form for Didi, I loved it to pieces, and to add, it was just at the right time...it propelled Ms. Benami to a well-deserved spot in the Top 12. Definitely a "moment" for Didi.
• Top 12 Night/Rolling Stones Week ("Play With Fire"): To this day I can still distinctly remember, with no effort at all, Didi's top-notch version of this Stones tune (one that, like nearly all of the songs that night, I did not know)...granted, I've listened to both the recording and the studio version quite a bit since then, but still, Didi really made her mark with this performance that really had its fair share of fire. Her vocals were spot-on. She attacked her lines with the fury of a cobra (let me know if that analogy doesn't quite work...), yet it sounded effortless. And her phrasing was brilliant. BRILLIANT, I tell you. (OK, I'll try to keep my fanboy urges down a wee bit...) With the previous week's excellent take on "Rhiannon," Didi made a case for herself as a top 12 finalist. With "Play With Fire," Didi made a case for herself as an "American Idol" winner. (These were the glorious days when a Siobhan/Crystal/Didi final three was still a grand possibility, as I noted in my recap then. See below for how that wonderful dream fell apart, due to the unbearable cruelty of Idol's voting public. :/ )
• Top 11 Night/Billboard #1 Week ("You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt, most famously): Like I began my revisiting of Paige Miles' semifinal trainwreck of "Smile" during last week's profile, I shall start off this section with the phrase, "and this is where things got ugly." But this time, I'm not talking about the performance...I'm talking about the judges. Didi pulled off a fine version of this (admittedly 30+ years old, but still dang good) Linda Ronstadt hit, complete with an excellent, swing-driven rearrangement, and very convincing and charming interplay with the bassist, and yet the judges attacked her for it. I thought it was a strange but still very good song choice (it fit Didi's voice like a glove), and she performed it extremely well. Kara, Simon, Ellen, and Randy going to town on it (and Simon even went for the obvious, unfunny pun that it was "no good") was highly unwarranted. And it only was a sign of things to come...
• Top 10 Night/R&B-Soul Week/The Week That Brandon Wept ("What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" by Jimmy Ruffin): Like this. The week that it all ended. The week that Didi, by far one of the best voices in the competition that deserved nothing less than a 3rd-place finish (and perhaps even more than that), was eliminated without even a tear by a merciless voting public obsessed with scratchy Lee, "cute" Tim, and high-schooler Aaron Kelly rather than actual talent and vocal ability. OK, so I'm going off on a tangent right now. Let's return to what I thought of the performance, shall we? I liked it. Back then, I was a bit ambivalent on it. But listening to it now, and listening to it afterwards (on my iPod, baby), and all that...it just clicked. I saw it as emotionally powerful and committed rather than over-the-top and dramatic. I saw her liberties with the melody as artistic rather than demonstrations of how Didi was supposedly 'lost.' (And let's not forget that this was the infamous critique where Simon decided to bash the hard-working "Dancing With The Stars" singers. For the third time in this recap, I must proclaim that I am glad to see that bratty little Brit gone.) The pitch was there. The emotional investment (which definitely was missing from a lot of performers this season) was there. The distinctive, powerful vocals were there as well. Didi laid it out all out on the stage, and yet she was roundly criticized for it. And on top of that, $#%!ing Ryan Seacrest had to go and hunt for Didi's tear ducts with an awkward, painful, bordering-on-cruel Q-and-A afterwards when he kept digging at Didi, asking why she had picked that particular song (Didi, for her part, wisely and impressively chose not to give in and resisted any crying/fishing for votes). Next night, America sent her home, and even after a beautiful reprise of Didi's shining moment with "Rhiannon," the judges refused to save her (yet they used the save the very next week on Michael Lynche...ugh). Shameful, "Idol." Simply shameful.

Do I think Didi should have made it to the finals? Um, I think you might have been able to gather the answer to that by now...

Do I think she deserved the place she got? Ya think??? Nope. Didi's way-too-early ouster was yet another criminal moment in Season 9. (Plus, she was the third girl in a row to get sent home. What is with teeny-bopper's irrational hatred of female vocalists??)

Will I buy her CD, whenever it comes out? Like heck I will. And it had better come out soon. Didi deserves nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, less.

Top 12 Profiles: Paige Miles

Name: Paige Miles

Hometown: Naples, FL

Age: 24

Place: 11th, eliminated during Billboard #1 Week

Best Semifinal Performance: All 3 of them weren't that great, but I would probably say it would be the performance that opened the live shows of Season 9, her take on Free's "All Right Now." I panned it mercilessly then, but now, looking  back at the lamentable 2 weeks she had afterwards, it sounds actually kind of good, in a certain way.

Best Finals Performance: Definitely "Honky Tonk Women," her Rolling Stones Week selection. Even though it had major issues (and Paige was, you know, kind of suffering from laryngitis...), it was still miles, miles, MILES (for once, that was an accidental pun :) ) better than the trainwreck that was "Against All Odds," Paige's second and last performance in the finals.

• The Early Days: Paige was one of the poor souls who didn't get a whiff of screentime (save for an unfortunate few seconds as part of one of the dueling "Bad Romance" groups during Hollywood Week) prior to her live show debut (and they made her go first, no less), but in her interview package before her Top 24 performance, they did show a little of her final Hollywood solo, a fairly solid take on "Living For The City" (though not as amazing as Siobhan Magnus' version of the same number during the same stage of the competition...but that's for later...).
• Top 24 Week ("All Right Now" by Free): Not the best way to make a first impression...and I'm referring to both Paige and "American Idol" season 9 in general. Like I said above, listening to it now, it sounds much better and a little less all over the place, but still...Paige's low range was about 10% vocally accurate, and she didn't quite have control over her notes. It was a fairly interesting song choice (yeah, then I didn't dig it, but I've changed my tune a bit), but it didn't quite click with me, and it was, unfortunately, a foreboding sign of things to come...
• Top 20 Week ("Walk Away" by Kelly Clarkson): Another number that sounds much better now than when I heard it previously (I definitely don't remember Paige hitting this many notes, but I guess my memory was faulty, as usual), but also another number that was 1-800-Underwhelming. Some parts were actually kind of good, and then some parts (like the unwieldy ascent to should-have-been-a-glory-but-it-didn't-really-get-there-note towards the ascent) were bordering on painful. Yet again, Paige displayed major vocal control issues (something that may, as I have learned since then, have been because she was battling vocal health issues...yikes).
• Top 16 Week ("Smile", the jazz standard): And this is where things got plain ugly. The song started off pleasantly enough...with some tasty jazz piano and (I don't usually notice these things, but it stood out to me at first) a nice look by Paige. But then she started singing, and it didn't go well at all. She went flat almost every other line. She sounded thin. There were a few scandalously botched melismas. There was a weird shift into a bossa-nova feel (that Randy, of all people, correctly identified...I almost wanted to hug him at that moment). And she stayed chained to her mike stand, looking as if she was about to cry. (That part was sad. On a few levels...) It was literally hard to watch (also on a few levels), which, given the fact that the song is called "Smile" and its lyrics are meant to be somewhat uplifting (sure, it can be sad and introspective, and great versions in that vein have been done, but in the end it's telling everyone to "smile"), was a pretty bad sign. The fact that Paige gave this kind of lackluster, ghastly performance in the deciding week of the semifinals should have made her elimination the next night a no-brainer. She simply hadn't done much of anything in her 3 chances to wow the voting public that merited an inclusion in the Top 12. Sadly, she went on instead of Katelyn, and the world wept.
• Top 12 Night/Rolling Stones Week ("Honky Tonk Women"): Who'd have thought Paige would have given one of her best performances on a night that she was battling laryngitis? But she did, and while it was not even close to approaching amazing, and the fact that she landed in the Bottom 2 the next night was still fairly deserved, it was probably her shining moment in the competition. She worked the stage well, she coaxed a few more correct notes out of her lower register (and a little more of a soaring, on-pitch quality in her upper register), and it actually kind of worked. (Emphasis on "kind of." Small steps, small steps.)
• Top 11 Night/Billboard #1 Week ("Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" by Phil Collins): It's nice that Paige had a chance to shine during Stones Week. Because in her following performance, she subsequently crashed, burned, and flat-out bombed on an uninspired Phil Collins tune (one that has been oft-covered on the "Idol" stage). Even listening to it now, I'm pretty sure Paige hit a total of about 10-12 notes the whole song, tops. (That's not much of an exaggeration.) Randy (oh, heavens, why is he the only judge I've mentioned so far?) actually had a moment of conciseness and accuracy when he said that it was "honestly terrible." Again, since that night I have watched Paige's fascinating "Idolatry" interview on EW.com, in which she explained her voice wasn't in good shape at all and thus it affected her performance, but still...ouch.

Do I think Paige should have made it to the finals? Nope. She wasn't impressive, consistent, or just plain good enough to earn her spot. The fact that she did end up getting it over much more talented singers (Katelyn, Lilly, and Janell, anyone?) was rather lamentable, and was one of the first injustices of a long and awkward season.

Do I think she deserved the place she got? Actually, to tell the truth, no. Although "Against All Odds" was indeed her worst performance (and one of the worst in "Idol" history, while we're at it), and Paige hadn't really delivered at all so far, she at least had an intriguing voice under all that inconsistency, bad song choices, pitch issues, and vocal health problems. The guys, on the other hand, for the most part...didn't. So the fact that America sent yet another female packing for the second week in a row was not that great.

Will I buy her CD, whenever it comes out? It depends. Paige actually got a prime chance to show off her recovered voice on Finale night, when during the girls' Christina Aguilera medley, she sang the heck out of "Fighter." It was by far her best vocal on "Idol," and, in a first, I actually loved it. (Her "Living For The City" performance on "David Letterman" deserves honorable mention as well.) So I'm curious to see what she comes up with in the future. Unfortunately for Paige, given her 11th-place slot, exclusion from the tour, and general downward trajectory on "Idol," that might be a while coming.

Top 12 Profiles: Lacey Brown

Name: Lacey Brown
Hometown: Amarillo, TX
Age: 24
Place: 12th, eliminated during Rolling Stones Week
Best Semifinal Performance: Definitely "The Story" during Top 16 Week.
Best Finals Performance: It's a hard choice here...OK, obviously she only had one chance to sing during the finals, and that was her pleasant, string-quartet-a-licious take on the Stones' "Ruby Tuesday."

• The Early Days: Lacey showed some great promise early on with her beautiful audition of "Over the Rainbow." It was twangy, soaring, and warm, and it showed off the kind of distinctive vocals that don't usually get very far on "Idol." It was kind of a cross between a jazzy tone and a folky one, if that makes any sense. She was a bit breathy and I wasn't completely on board with her phrasing choices, but when I first saw Lacey sing this song during the "Road To Hollywood" episode (AKA The Episode That Actually Had More Good Than Bad Auditions For Once :) ), I was very intrigued. Lacey only built on that potential & promise with a simply lovely take on "What A Wonderful World" during the Hollywood rounds. Way back when I made my post summarizing my takes on the Top 24 and what they had done so far, I wrote that it was "truly mesmerizing." When I watched it over again just now, that's pretty much the same impression I had. Pitch-perfect, unique, and heartfelt...just how it's supposed to be.
• Top 24 Week ("Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac): Lacey Brown and "Landslide." By all accounts, it should have worked. Lacey's earthy instrument, in my mind, totally looked like a perfect fit for this Stevie Nicks-penned classic. But for whatever reason--nerves, monitor issues, etc.--Lacey just cracked. She was off-key, thin, and...it was disappointing, to say the least. Back then, for some reason, I still held a candle for Lacey. And she made it through to next week. Listening back on it now, it sounds about the same. Full of potential, but not quite there.
• Top 20 Week ("Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer): Not much better than the week before. Flat and thin, but still brimming with potential. Lacey was wise to take Ellen's suggestion the week prior to cover this type of song...and admittedly, though it wasn't a perfect fit, it kind of worked (the fact that SNTR lead singer Leigh Nash and Lacey have a good deal of vocal similarity both helps and hurts). Still, Lacey would have been better off taking on something more stripped-down. And the next week, that's exactly what she did...
• Top 16 Week ("The Story" by Brandi Carlile): Back then, I was kind of surprised Lacey dodged a bullet once again and made it through to the third week of the semifinals...her first two performances were underwhelming, and all the Internet comments I saw about her weren't even close to kind. Knowing that many talented girls were left, and with only 6 spots, there would have to be hard cuts (they ended up being MUCH harder than I wanted them to be...stupid America... :/ ), I was ready to give up on Lacey as a contestant. Well, she definitely made things much harder on me after this lilting, committed take on Brandi Carlile's gorgeous ballad, which I've loved for quite a while. It was exactly the kind of top-notch singing I'd been expecting from Lacey, except it felt like it came two weeks too late. Still, the fact that she made it into the Top 12 the next night helped to soften the blow that Katelyn and Lilly's elimination was on my "Idol"-loving heart. (I shall avenge them!!!)
• Top 12 Night/Rolling Stones Week ("Ruby Tuesday"): Like I said in my Top 12 recap months ago, I'm a sucker for strings. So even if Lacey's mic had been off the whole song, I still probably would have called for her to move on to the next round. (Hey, there were 11 other people to go home. Well, sort of.) But really...the string quartet was a nice touch and a fairly radical rearrangement of the Stones' original, and it fit Lacey's voice very well. Lacey was a bit all over the place at points (hello, much larger stage...) and a bit flat too, but for the most part, she made some great phrasing choices, and it really went a long way (in my view) to define Lacey as an artist. The fact that America didn't see it that way...and sent Lacey swiftly packing in the process...was kind of a bummer. It was just the first chapter in a season-long, painful saga called "Idol Voters Not Giving ANY of The Women A Chance To Grow, Because They Think Tim Urban Is Hot and Lee Sounds Great, Ugh." Or something like that. :)

Do I think Lacey should have made it to the finals? Yes. Although I wouldn't have been as torn up about her not making it as I was about Katelyn & Lilly (VIVA LA KATELYN & LILLY! Though Lilly, you should stop swearing so much in the music you have on your MySpace page...), I think she deserved to go through.
Do I think she deserved the place she got? Nope. While her making it to the Top 3 or something would have been a stretch even in my eyes, she definitely deserved a few more weeks to grow, or at least so we could have a few more excellent iTunes recordings of hers.
Will I buy her CD, whenever it comes out? Sadly, the odds don't look good for Lacey getting one out anytime soon...Alexis Grace, who last season got 11th and was viewed much favorably than Lacey, still has yet to release even a single...but when that day hopefully comes, and as long as I'm not off on my mission, I'll be there. If life is good to us, Lacey has a bright future ahead of her.

"Idol" Finale and Other Stuff: You Oughta Know

Well, that's it. America has crowned a new American Idol. My thoughts about the finale (which happened two weeks ago today...yep, I've been rather perfunctory in blogging about it)...well, I have quite a few, but I probably wouldn't know where to start. (Or for that matter, end...) First off, though, I'm not terribly happy with the result. Lee's definitely a nice guy (and he was hilarious and incredibly humanizing appearing with Crystal on "Ellen" a few days before the finale), but really...beyond that he doesn't have much. Vocally, he was underwhelming. Even if you and I disagree on his trajectory and performance quality throughout the season compared to Crystal's, I'd find it hard to believe even the staunchest Lee fan could find much in how he performed on Top 2 night that was dramatically better than Crystal. She gave three fiery, all-or-nothing performances...and he just sang. Fairly on-key (a dramatic improvement from his dark, ghastly semifinal days where any note held longer than a second and louder than speaking tone went more flat than a day-old pancake), but not very appealingly. Crystal blew him out of the water, and the fact that he bested her in the finale...it just left kind of a bad taste in my mouth. But oh well. Crystal got signed literally the day after (if my memory serves correctly, that's even quicker than Season 8's winner, Kris Allen, got picked up last year) by Idol's recording label, and both she and Lee look forward to debut albums late this fall. And, lest any of us forget...it's a reality show. So I can't complain...it's just kind of a lame end to an often frustrating season.

Recapping the finale (thank goodness I tweeted about it so I can remember the specifics):

• Alice Cooper with the Top 12: In the words of my Twitter post at the time..."This is the weirdest finale opening ever." Strange sound issues, inexplicable chorus of school uniform-clad zombies, and the Top 12 not sounding very live vocal-wise...yep, I stand by my tweet.
• Kris Allen, "The Truth": The truth is...this is one dang good song. Kris sang the heck out of it (though what was with that weird first 15 seconds where Ryan Seacrest's mike was still on? Way to be, sound technicians...), and you can probably tell from the fact that I downloaded the tune almost right after the finale ended, that I really loved it. Hopefully you did too. (Irony I noted on Twitter: Just a year before this performance, Kris was singing "No Boundaries" as the new American Idol champion. This time around, the song was again a midtempo rock ballad...but it was MUCH better than that nonsense.)
• The elevendy billion Simon tribute segments they liberally peppered throughout the night: At first they were kind of fun, then they got old, then they pulled out the really sentimental one at the end that totally nailed Simon's legacy (and reminded us why the heck we've put up with him for 9 seasons).
• Dane Cook with that random Simon-roast song: Let's again go to my thoughts that night..."I have to admit Dane Cook and his Simon insult song was pretty fun...but then the cadre of failed auditioners came on, & it all died." There are times I regret not watching the first 7 seasons of "Idol" with the rest of America. I had no idea who any of these fools were but psycho Tatiana from last season...thus, this is NOT one of those times.
• Siobhan (!!!) and Aaron (ehhh...) with the Bee Gees (?!?!?) singing "How Deep Is Your Love": Weird. But oddly satisfying. Though c'mon, producers...why didn't you give Siobhan something to wail on, dang it???
• The Two Mikes (OK, Michael Lynche & Michael McDonald): Somewhat inexplicable that these two would sing together just because they share a name (same applies to Lee & Chicago, below)...but I do enjoy "Takin' It To The Streets," and Big Mike was in fine form, along with the song's original singer and composer, Michael McDonald. Nice. Not amazing. But nice.
• Top 12 Girls & Christina Aguilera: Didi & Lacey sounded a bit shaky on "Beautiful" (sad!), Crystal rocked it, Siobhan and Paige (who finally seems to have recovered from her vocal health issues during the semifinals and on, and actually can sang) freaking OWNED "Fighter." (Katie Stevens aggressively rented it. :) ) And Christina, although she still is in mad, awkward love with the melisma (she used about twenty per minute), continues to maintain an impressive set of pipes, and knows how to work a ballad like no one's business.
• Top 12 Guys & Hall and Oates: As I tweeted that night...the girls got the still fairly current Aguilera...and the guys got an aging 80s soft-rock duo? OK, I do likes myself some Daryl & John, and they still sound pretty impressive. But really...this is 2010. It just kind of didn't make sense (and there were no Paige-esque revelatory turns among the guys...they all sounded pretty dang lame).
• Crystal Bowersox & Alanis Morissette: Isn't it ironic...wait, there wasn't much ironic about this. (Well, except for the song they sang, "Ironic," but I was trying to build a joke off of that... :) ) Kind of shaky at points, but approaching epic at others. Alanis still knows how to wail, Crystal was probably born knowing how to wail, and "You Oughta Know" is one rockin' number. (I'm not familiar with the song, so I didn't notice the somewhat-hilarious lyric change from "Would she go down on you in a theater?" to "Would she go down with you to the theater?" that Crystal had to take care of. Yeah, bit of a difference there...)
• Bret Michaels & Casey James, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn": Although I saw it coming a mile away when Casey started the iconic Poison number, the fact that Bret Michaels sang and played his heart out on the finale stage just a short while after recovering from multiple strokes was, I admit, pretty inspiring/impressive. A very solid performance, by both parties. Let's hope Casey takes a few lessons from Bret on being a classy duet partner (he gave lots of props to Casey), persevering through trial, and making someone who has quite a lot of contempt towards 80s rock actually sort of like a song from that era. (That would be me, folks. :) )
• Lee & Chicago: He's from Chicago, so pick Chicago to sing/play with him? I love the classic band...but really? That's kind of ridiculous. During the medley of Chicago hits like "If You Leave Me Now" and "25 or 6 to 4" (love that song...though haha, pretty sure it took about 20 times repeating the title for everyone in my family for them all to actually hear it correctly), I was digging it deeply, but looking back, I do realize the two lead vocalists gave pretty short shrift to Lee (though I didn't mind much, the less Lee the better in some cases), and the band as a whole wasn't in as fine form as they usually have been.
• I shall not speak of that "Pants on the Ground" fiasco. I've tried to forget it, actually. Moving on...
• Ditto with Paula giving a "comedy" "roast." Another tweet getting pulled in from that night: "Dear Producers, Never give Paula longer than thirty seconds. Or anything alone. Ever..."
• A large, awesome bunch of "Idol" alums singing "Together We Are One" on stage to Simon: Wow. Though it's sad that only the 7 present "Idol" winners (David Cook apparently had a charity gig already scheduled and couldn't attend) got to have solos (I saw Allison! I saw Allison!!!!), the sight of that much raw talent on the stage at the same time warmed my heart. As bad as this season might have felt, looking at all those terrific products of the "Idol" system gave me hope, dang it. Viva la Idol!
• Janet Jackson and the Top 12: Wow, I actually kind of forgot about this...awkward. Janet sounded great but not terribly live...and she didn't give much time to the Idols. Kind of cold, I'd say.
• Crystal, Lee, and Joe Cocker: Call me crazy/disrespectful/totally out of it, but I have never, do not, and probably never will get the appeal of Joe Cocker's voice. He sounded like he was aurally vomiting and probably emitted about 2 or 3 actual notes total. (Sorry. But me and my family actually laughed at his 'singing' at one point. I kid you not.) Still, the fact that he's a legend, and that Crystal (and Lee, but thankfully...I mean, unfortunately, cough cough...his mic kept cutting out) got to rock out with him was excellent.

So what am I going to do now that the seasons of both my favorite reality shows (and the subjects of this blog) are over and out? Ironically ("like raaaain...on your wedding day" :) )....keep blogging. Remember that Top 12 profile project I mentioned earlier? I'm going to jump in and get to work on that. I'll give posts to each of this season's top 12 contenders, picking my favorite performance of theirs, what I thought about their elimination, and all that good stuff. (Yes, I'll probably finish that project quite a while after the finale. But many of those talented guys and gals still need to be remembered long after "Idol," so I might as well help them in that regard.) I'll also hopefully be making posts about what I think needs to change on "Idol," how the judges did this season, and things like that. And any of you "DWTS" fans out there, never fear...I'll be taking care of all the dancing-a-licious recaps I missed, somehow. (A little "DWTS" commentary for now: I'm actually kind of glad Nicole won. Really...) For now...I'll end this incredibly long catching-up post. Get ready for lots more blogging to come!

Eliminations and a Few Loose Ends: What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

So I promised you all (by you all, I mean anyone who reads this blog at all) a post reacting to last week's eliminations on both "Dancing With The Stars" and "American Idol," and also what I thought of "Idol" contestants Crystal Bowersox and Aaron Kelly's performances on Top 10 night on Tuesday. So here we go, in what should be a quick and painless manner. Anger and frustration is bound to be involved. (You didn't save Didi, America! Ultimate fail. :( )

• Crystal Bowersox: I've quite enjoyed Crystal's performances the past few weeks (especially last week's electric "Me and Bobby McGee"), but for some reason this week's "Midnight Train to Georgia" finally sold me on Crystal's high degree of excellence. With Siobhan (sniff, sniff) slipping up and Didi getting the boot (more on that below), methinks Crystal is by a nose my favorite. Her take on the classic Gladys Knight & the Pips tune was, to me, a step up from her usual goodness...it was full of soul, emotion, and was just plain beautiful. OK, it had piano in it, and I'm a major, major sucker for any number with piano, but she just really nailed it. Those high notes at the end were top-notch. Crystal once again failed to hit a wrong note (both figuratively and literally). She hasn't given a bad performance yet, but they haven't just been OK....they've all been excellent. Viva la Crystal!
• Aaron Kelly: Now, I'm not usually in the "someone had a 'moment' with this song! It should never be sung on 'American Idol' ever again!" camp...after all, "Idol"'s long and storied history has taught us that once a song has been knocked out of the park on the show's stage (example: Carrie Underwood's powerhouse, star-making performance of "Alone"), that doesn't mean it can't be brilliantly performed again (example: Allison Iraheta's grippingly delicious take on "Alone" during last season's semifinals). But there's always an exception to the rule, and that exception last Tuesday was Aaron. Kris Allen's soulful, stripped-down performance of "Ain't No Sunshine" last season was a turning point for the eventual champ. Last season, mind you. Not season 2, not season 4, the season RIGHT BEFORE THIS ONE. Sure, if Aaron had delivered a terrific version of the tune, I wouldn't be having this discussion, but really, can we say that that's what he gave? It was weak, flat, and devoid of much soul or energy. Usher's counsel to Aaron to vary his "I know"s for maximum impact was wisely heeded in the mentoring session, but when Aaron got onto the stage, his "I know"s were just as repetitive and bland as he had originally done them. Blegh. I have the sinking feeling that Aaron will be here for awhile thanks to the "teen girls who love cute guys" vote (its maddening effect on keeping Tim Effing Urban in the competition shall be discussed below)...if there's ever a time I wanted to have to eat my words, it would be now.
• The "Idol" Elimination: Didi over Tim? DIDI GOING HOME OVER BLEEPING TIM?!?!?! Do the Idol voters of America know how to get ANYTHING right anymore?!?!?! First, last season Allison Iraheta got a scandalously premature ouster and ended up in 4th place. (Don't you dare say she deserved that finish.) Then, this time around, Katelyn, Lilly, and Alex went home all at once in the last week of the semifinals, rather than with a recording contract a few months after they finished in or near the Final 3. And now, three women in a row (two of them very good--Lacey and Didi--and one of them at least somewhat OK...Paige) have fallen victim to the ruthless, idiotic, horrible machine of suckitude that is Tim Urban. Is he single-handedly the reason they've all gone home? Well, when he's been in the Bottom 3 for three weeks running (and the Bottom 2 for the past two weeks), I would say yes. His performances are dismal. His deer-in-the-headlights looks are nauseating. His flippant laughing in the face of the judges' deservedly harsh commentary is grating. All that's keeping him in the competition is his good looks. And that is wrong. I know "Idol" often isn't anything close to a true singing competition. I know people are shallow, and I know the "look" is a key part of recording success in today's world. But honestly...it is time for Tim to go. It has been time for him to go, in fact, since the first week of the semifinals. If America does not make the correct choice next week, and even worse, if another female goes home (Crystal & Siobhan are stellar, and Katie isn't that great at all, but she's better than Tim, and her departure would leave only 2 dang women left), I am seriously considering revolting against this show. As for Didi, I eagerly await her album and to hear more from her. She deserves a heck of a lot more than she got from the "Idol" experience, and I hope to goodness that she gets it all, and more.
• The "DWTS" Elimination: This first cut of the season definitely wasn't as frustrating as Didi's elimination from "Idol," but it still wasn't that great. Shannen Doherty gave solid dances her first two weeks of competition, and she by far was not the worst of either night of dancing. I was excited to see more of her, but I guess now I won't get the chance. That is really disappointing. On the bright side, I still have quite a few dancers to love (Niecy, Chad, Erin, and even Buzz), and Kate Gosselin's time on the dancefloor is not likely to be long (I've rarely heard a good word about the reality-TV mom, for good reason...her dances were dismal, and even though you indeed can't vote against a contestant, as EW columnist Annie Barrett astutely pointed out, I highly doubt that she'll be able to hold out vote-wise for much longer with all that negative feeling). There is hope for "DWTS" Season 10 yet.

And there you go. This was rather heavy on the ranting and venting, but with the depressing eliminations that went down this past week, that's what was in order. See y'all soon with a (probably a bit late, since I can't catch "DWTS" live tonight) new "Dancing" recap.

"Idol" Top 12 Night In A Nutshell: Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday

Well, it's been a week since Tuesday & Wednesday and I still haven't delivered you (whoever you are...are you out there???) a recap from last week's Top 12 performances (and subsequent elimination of one unlucky soul) on "American Idol." Since I am rather pressed for time, and I usually write too much anyway, I am going to attempt an experiment in typing very little for each contestant. (I considered putting all of them in my Twitter box and making sure they stayed under 140 characters, but thought better of it. That would be too annoying... :) ) So here we go. Brandon being concise. This should be interesting. :D

• Michael Lynche, "Miss You": This was kind of fun, but also kind of bland. Michael still sounds a bit flat and stale. And I still haven't become attached to him or his vocals. This is worrisome for him...he could end up an early casualty, after the love wears off.
• Didi Benami, "Play With Fire": Dang, I don't have the time to gush about this. Didi really rocked it last Tuesday...she showed to all those stupid haters that she has a powerful, unique instrument, and that she's here to stay. Her take on this Rolling Stones classic was pitch-perfect, passionate, and just wow. Didi for the win! Or at least for the Final 3. (Crystal, Siobhan, and Didi in the Final 3...I would dance in utter and indescribable joy. :) )
• Casey James, "It's All Over Now": OK, so I did gush about Didi anyway. Casey's guitar playing once again outshined his vocals here. I find little to remember about his performance, except that it didn't really catch my eye. Sorry, Casey. You're just not amazing enough. At all.
• Lacey Brown, "Ruby Tuesday": Poor Lacey. She definitely wasn't the worst this week, and I actually liked her performance a lot. (Maybe it was the spicy string-quartet intro that drew me in. I'm a sucker for strings. :) ) Her vocals were a bit reminiscent of the semifinals' first two weeks' flat-and-pitchy-fest, but they still weren't too bad. So dang that Lacey got sent home. I wish her the best, and hope her and her fellow Southern early-castoff Alexis Grace (from last season) get the dang record deals they deserve.
• Andrew Garcia, "Gimme Shelter": What happened to Andrew? He started off good (I STILL love his semifinal take on "Sugar, We're Going Down", dang it!), then he quite royally tanked. Last Tuesday was no different. It's gotten to the point where I no longer look forward to his performances, when before I awaited them eagerly. He really needs to find his vibe...because otherwise, I won't mind if he gets sent home.
• Katie Stevens, "Wild Horses": Against all odds, I actually kind of dug this. Sure, Katie's low range was neglected like a redheaded stepchild, and she still seems to be a bit pretentious. But those glory notes she hit in the chorus were hints of the goodness she used to bring in Hollywood Week and her audition. I'm not re-attached to Katie yet, but this performance was a vast improvement over the crap she's been delivering lately.
• Tim Urban, "Under My Thumb": Oh my heck, this was dismal. Full disclosure: I'm not familiar with the original song at all, so I'm not as scandalized by Tim's wonky reworking of the (apparently very chauvinistic) Stones song, but that didn't stop me from thinking this performance was quite worthy of elimination. It was sleepy (and I listen to quiet, supposedly 'boring' songs on a regular basis), flat, and disjointed. It was like a poor man's Jason Mrubbish with the flu. For the love of all things Megan Joy, America, SEND THIS BROTHER HOME.
• Siobhan Magnus, "Paint It Black": STOP COMPARING EVERY FREAKING CONTESTANT IN THIS SEASON TO ADAM. The world did not begin and end when Mr. Lambert stepped onto the stage. He was not by any means perfect (he screeched like a wounded crow with a throat infection), and y'all really need to just let him go. As for Siobhan's performance...it just gets better with every listen. The music box-esque waltz beginning was brilliant. The pitch problems I so worriedly noticed while watching the telecast seem to disappear each time I hear the song on my iTunes, and even the "holy crap, did she REALLY sing that???" note at the end, which originally I thought was a good deal less healthy and shouty than Siobhan's similar glory note on "Think," gets less and less out of place. It was truly a fiery take, and while I was unsure of it on Top 12 night, right now is hands-down one of my favorite performances this season.
• Lee DeWyze, "Beast of Burden": It's time to be concise again. He still went horribly flat on long notes. His take was so bland I can't remember much about it. I STILL don't get why people love this hack, and I doubt I ever will. Go figure.
• Paige Miles, "Honky Tonk Women": My mouth pretty much dropped open in shock when she told Ryan she had freaking laryngitis and was still singing, and I have to admit, shockingly, she did better Tuesday. But it was still quite a bit off, and I definitely wouldn't have minded if she had gone home Wednesday.
• Aaron Kelly, "Angie": Boring. Bland. OK. Vocally unimpressive but not a mess. There. That's Aaron's performance in a nutshell. Yawn...
• Crystal Bowersox, "You Can't Always Get What You Want": Very good, though I kept wishing for a gospel choir (a la the original recording) to jump out and jam with Ms. Bowersox. Still, I really enjoyed it. A fine performance by a fine contender for the crown, nothing more, nothing less.

And that was probably the fastest recap I've ever done. Sorry if I missed anything (I'm sure I did). Adios, and my "DWTS" recap along with more "Idol" recapping is to come at a later date!