The 2nd Law

Currently Listening To: Muse - Animals

Hello all, it's been a while since I last posted anything here.
What better way to revive my blog than by reviewing a new Muse album?


The 2nd law
Odd name for an album. The 2nd Law. And so...what is the 1st Law?
Anyway, Muse is out with their 6th studio album and as usual, they sound like they're trying to be Queen. Not that far off the mark, I think. The problem with trying to sound like another band is that you'll always sound like a wannabe. So, the end effect is a strange mixture of Radiohead + Queen and really, I don't know what else to say about it. If I just heard any of the songs on the radio or something, I would have thought that it was Radiohead instead of, well, Muse. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I guess?

Tracklist

1. Supremacy
2. Madness
3. Panic Station
4. Prelude
5. Survival
6. Follow Me
7. Animals
8. Explorers
9. Big Freeze
10. Save Me
11. Liquid State
12. The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
13. The 2nd Law: Isolated System


Overall: 7.5/10
Recommendations: Supremacy, Madness  Explorers, Liquid State.

Better than The Resistance. The previous album was like one very long, boring song so it's good that they're trying out different styles and thus there is less...similarity among the tracks. There's a touch of U2 in there somewhere, and the last two songs remind me of Linkin Park too. It's like...amalgamation. Interesting album. Don't know if it's something I'd listen to repeatedly though.

A to Z Reading Challenge (3)

Currently Listening To:

(UPDATED)

Saw this in another blog:

A to Z Reading Challenge

How does this reading challenge work? Choose the option that works best for you...

Authors -- Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.

Titles -- Read alphabetically by title. Commit to 26 books.

Authors & Titles -- Commit to reading 52 books

Challenge Accepted!

A: Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud - Perfect, I just finished reading that a few days ago. (Completed Oct-15-11)

B: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern (Completed Jan-25-13)

C: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (Completed Mar-20-12)

D: Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones (Completed Jan-30-12)

E: The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan (Completed May-17-12)

F: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (Completed Jun-16-13)

G: Golem's Eye (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud (Completed Dec-17)

H: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Completed Mar-19-12)

I: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (Completed Jun-1-12)

J:

K:

L: The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory (Completed May-25-13)

M: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (Completed Apr-2-12)

N:

O:

P: Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud

Q:

R: The Ragwitch by Garth Nix (Completed Apr-17-12)

S: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Completed Apr-13-13)

T: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (Completed Dec-7-11)

U:

V: Virgin Earth by Phillipa Gregory

W: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Completed Feb-23-12)

X:

Y:

Z:

Trespassing

Currently Listening To: Adam Lambert - Shady

First of all, congratulations to Adam Lambert for getting the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 with his second album Trespassing! It has been quite a while since a non-winner got a number one album, so good job Adam!

As for the album itself, I must say I'm quite impressed. I can't decide if it's better than For Your Entertainment, but it is definitely a good album.

Tracklisting

1. Trespassing

2. Cuckoo

3. Shady

4. Never Close Our Eyes

5. Kickin In

6. Naked Love

7. Pop That Lock

8. Better Than I Know Myself

9. Broken English

10. Underneath

11. Chokehold

12. Outlaws of Love

13. Runnin

14. Take Back

15. Nirvana

Most of the songs are ballads, and surprisingly I'm not particularly bothered about that? It's a good thing though, they're nice songs and some of them are even composed by Lambert himself. A job well done indeed, I'm so proud of him! <3

Overall: 8.5/10

Recommendations: Trespassing, Never Close Our Eyes, Shady, Pop That Lock, Underneath, Outlaws of Love, Runnin

It's the End

Currently Listening To: Adam Lambert - Running

...of the 11th season of American Idol, and probably all blogging activity for this year.

Anyway, congrats  Phillip Phillips for winning American Idol. I really can't say I was his biggest fan, cos I'm not, but errr well. Whatever man, WGWG wins again. 


Was it a popularity contest? Definitely, it's actually worse this year I think.


At least he'll be having one of the better winning singles in AI history.

Yeah.

Great Singers, Bad Choices

Currently Listening To: Keane - The Starting Line

We are down to the Top 3 and honestly this year we have a very solid Top 3. Unfortunately, the actual night itself was quite underwhelming. This bunch of contestants should have wowed us all but they didn't. They really didn't. I'm not saying they were bad, I'm just saying, for that amount of talent, they should have been a lot better.

Each contestant sang three songs; Judges' Choice, their Personal Choice and also Jimmy Iovine's.

I'm afraid Jessica was the least impressive performer tonight, in terms of song choices. Three sleepy ballads. I don't know what J.Lo was thinking, she chose Mariah Carey's My All and you know what? That is one difficult song to sing. It takes a lot of courage for anyone to choose that song at all, and J.Lo chose it for Jessica. On Top 3 night. Luckily Jessica did a pretty good job with the song, without missing a single note. Sure she didn't go for that high note but I don't care as long as the song sounded good. Her own choice, Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, was interesting. Sadly though, she didn't do anything interesting WITH the song. She hit -most- of the notes, but another ballad just isn't good enough. Jimmy could have done her a favour by choosing something more current, but noooo he just had to choose Jackson 5's I'll Be There. WHY?? Again, this is 2012 not 1950! Not a good choice, although vocally she was okay. The song choices really killed her chances. I'm sorry for Jessica, I hope her fans will be voting in full force.

As much as I hate to admit it, Phillip was a bit better than Jessica this week. Thanks to the song choices (except for his own). Steven's choice for him was The Four Seasons/Madcon's Beggin, and that was an excellent song choice. It suited him well and he made the song sound different rather than just singing it blindly. Was it a moment though? Hell no. Hated his own song selection, Matchbox 20's Disease. He could have and should have chosen something else. If I wanted him to stay I would have screamed but since I don't, whatever floats your boat Phil. And the third song...well, I've read a lot of rave reviews (including the judges' comments) for his rendition of Bob Seger's We Got Tonight. I don't get it though. Yeah it was a decent song choice and he sang it fair enough. But his higher register was just whack. I do value singing in tune more than connecting with a song emotionally. Nice dig there Steven, I sense some sarcasm although no one else did *shrugs* Singing in tune does matter people, how would you like it if the songs played on the radio everyday are sang out of tune? Will you still be listening? I sincerely doubt it. To me, Phil sounded like a mixture of Taylor Hicks, Chris Martin and Lee Dewyze. Not a good combination. In fact, a combination of all the voices I dislike. I'd be really surprised if he does leave tomorrow.

Joshua has been the most consistent contestant in the competition, and tonight was not different. His vocals were top notch for all three songs, and he sang every single song with a whole lot of passion and spirit. Randy picked I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James for Joshua, and he slayed it. Hell yeah man, another standing ovation. I know that's not really a good thing, the endless standing Os, but he definitely deserved that one (I know, that wasn't a current song either but he did stand out more with it than Jess). I wasn't really into his version of Imagine, thought that he could have sang it better. Still, it beats Disease and I Don't Want to Miss a Thing for a personal song choice. And he gave a pretty good explanation for his choice. The highlight of the night for me, was Mary J. Blige's No More Drama, sang by no other than our gospel-faithful Joshua Ledet. If I were the judges, I would have given him another standing O just for the heck of it.

Overall though, I think Jessica had the least comfortable night while Joshua came out on top again. Phillip was his usual so-so self. Who should win? Joshua definitely. But will he? That I really can't answer.

And for heaven's sake Phillip fans, stop bashing Jessica. Stop calling her awful, stop elevating Phil's status to 'great singer' (HE JUST ISN'T OKAY?) and then insisting that Jessica's a lousy one - just stop it. Almost every single comment I read against Jessica was for Phillip, wtf? I don't care if you fancy his singing or song choices or whatever, but calling Jessica atrocious is just low. Guess what? I think Phillip's singing voice in general is atrocious, never mind the emotional value of the song. (Ok fine I don't actually think his singing is atrocious but you get my point!) Screw it, if Phil makes it to the Top 2, I'll be crying for Jessica. Seriously.

Strange Themes

Currently Listening To: Keane - Sea Fog

I guess they ran out of good themes? I mean, California Dreamin'? Songs I Wish I Had Written? Hmmm okay. Not very interesting themes but they have to sing something I suppose.

Now about California...yeah, it ain't much of a theme and it shows.

Hollie...well she sang Journey's Faithfully, and honestly she didn't do that good. Don't know what the judges were going on and on about. Her voice was shaky, she didn't quite hit the high notes and she seemed to lack confidence. Not a good thing for tonight, since PHILLIP PHILLIPS is still in the competition. Will Hollie survive the next theme? We shall see...

Speaking of Phillip, man that song choice was whack. Have You Ever Seen the Rain was a really strange song choice for a competition like American Idol, but since it's Phillip who cares? Vocally it wasn't half bad I suppose, and because of that he will most likely survive elimination tomorrow.

And then we have Joshua. He sang Josh (another Josh? Oooh) Groban's You Raise Me Up, the only modern song choice for this theme (what's up with the contestants, seriously? It's 2012 y'all!). He was spot on vocally, as usual but I didn't quite feel the performance. Still a lot better than Phil and Hollie though.

Jessica oh Jessica, she sang Etta James. I don't know if any Etta James fans will be voting tonight, but I sure hope so because that was one hell of a performance, with the perfect amount of sass and vocal ability. Good job Jess! THAT WAS A HOT ONE TONIGHT! Still, I'm worried. It is 2012 after all, and 2012 Etta James is not. Please vote for Jessica if you want her to win!

Phillip and Joshua's Maroon 5 duet was amusing, mostly on Phillip's part cos he sounded just...ugh.
Hollie sounded good on her Eternal Flame duet with Jessica, I thought she sounded better than Jess actually. She also sounded good on the group performance, but out of that I don't think tonight is Hollie's best night. That's bad news for her fans unless they vote their asses off for her.

On another note, why are the song choices on Idol so...old? Almost every single song selected tonight are not contemporary music. It feels dated. And old. The Voice wins on that aspect.

Moving on to Round 2, which was better than the first, for everyone.

Unfortunately for Hollie, even with that decent rendition of Bonnie Rait's I Can't Make You Love Me I don't think that was good enough. She seemed lost, and was a bit swallowed up by the stage. Beautiful song choice though, I love that song. I agree with Randy about connecting with the song, she seemed way out of her depth. Based solely on this week, I'd say that she should go home but as whole, she is much better Phillip. I'm sorry Hollie, best of luck with the voters.

As for Phillip, now that was a really intriguing song choice. I liked that song, I really did but I still think that he needs to go home. It might be a shock elimination tomorrow, who knows? Maybe Phil WILL (finally!) go home. Or maybe Jess or Josh will be the ones going home. I don't know. They don't deserve to go home, but they might. DAMN YOU VOTERS just let Phil go, k?

Although I love Jessica and I think she was excellent as usual, I'm gonna put her at 2nd place tonight. Why? Well that was one crazy vocal, I won't deny it - the only people crazy enough to sing And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going are those who can sing exceptionally well. That person is Jessica Sanchez y'all! Finally a standing ovation for someone other than Joshua. However, I don't really like the song itself so that kinda spoils the whole thing. She better not be going, or I'll be throwing my shoes at the TV screen.

And yeah, Joshua is the best tonight for me for you. He really doesn't deserve to go home, his rendition of It’s A Mans Mans Mans World was incredible. No other word can describe it. The emotional connection, the vocals - everything was just perfect. Hands down the best performance of the night for me. 15 standing Os. Beat that!

Who should go home? Phillip

Who will go home? I DON'T KNOW DAMMIT

EDIT: Results

I knew it, Hollie is gone.

Congrats to Phil, Jess and Josh anyway.

Strangeland

Currently Listening To: Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

I've been waiting for Keane's fourth studio album Strangeland for some time now, and it is finally out today - 7th May. I heard the little snippets of their tracks a few weeks ago and was quite impressed, but now that I'm done with the whole album...I don't really know how I feel about it? I mean, it's an okay album but somehow something is missing. There are a few great tracks in the album though. Personally I love Sea Fog and The Starting Line, those two songs are reminiscent of the early Keane. The rest of it is just so-so, the studio version of Disconnected is pretty awesome, and lead single Silenced by the Night is good as well. Unfortunately, the additional tracks for the Deluxe version are just...too eighties, especially The Boys. When I first saw the title, my mind immediately went to the Girls Generation song instead so yeah, not very impressed. The song itself is pretty um, unimpressive as well. Too cheesy 80s pop.

Track Listing
1. You Are Young
2. Silenced by the Night
3. Disconnected
4. Watch How You Go
5. Sovereign Light Café
6. On the Road
7. The Starting Line
8. Black Rain
9. Neon River
10. Day Will Come
11. In Your Own Time
12. Sea Fog

Additional Tracks:

13. Strangeland
14. Run with Me
15. The Boys
16. It's Not True

Overall: 7/10
Standouts: Sea Fog (beautiful song), The Starting Line, Silenced by the Night, You Are Young, Watch How You Go.


I guess the album didn't quite live up to my expectations. I was really expecting something mind-blowing, like Helplessness Blues. My favourite Keane album as of now is still Under the Iron Sea.

Now excuse me while I go listen to more MBLAQ.

60s British Invasion?

Currently Listening To: Haley Reinhart - Free

And it's another good night for American Idol, with the remaining 5 contestants singing British songs (define British songs, anyone?) and also songs from the 60s. The contestants (almost all of them anyway) are consistently striking home runs, so it has gotten even harder to rank them. Seriously man, I'm not exaggerating.

With the exception of one I suppose.

Honestly, I think Phillip Phillips has really overstayed his welcome. His performances this week definitely confirmed that for me. The first song was bland and rather uninspiring, and the second song...he mauled it. Like, seriously destroyed it. He sounded awful, and I have no clue why the judges were praising him. His studio recordings are pretty awesome but live, he just does not live up to this season's standards. I don't care how his studio recordings sound anymore, he shouldn't be robbing the other four contestants from their places in the competition. Please, let him be the one to leave tomorrow...

Moving on, we have Skylar Laine in fourth place this week. I love this girl, but she was definitely overpowered by the others this week. She was very energetic with the first song but vocally it was quite lacking, as she more or less mumbled her way through the song. I really liked her take on You Don't Have to Say You Love Me though, she sang it really well. Unfortunately it might have a been a bit too nasally, so...I don't know. It was good, but it wasn't good enough. On the bright side I thought she looked really pretty tonight! Here's hoping she'll be safe tomorrow...

Hollie Cavanaugh continued to improve this week, even with her usual diva song choices. Her first song, River Deep Mountain High, wasn't a half bad rendition but ya know what, Pia and the Glee cast sang it better. Just my opinion, I know she has quite a lot of fans. Bleeding Love on the hand, was excellent. Her best song in the competition I think. Very well sung, and for once, she didn't lose control of her voice. I would have picked her to leave after Phil, but I don't know, she has been getting better and I WAS a fan of hers at one point...

Jessica Sanchez takes the second spot for me again this week. Her first song, Proud Mary (I love that song btw!) was just so-so. I mean, she sang it well as usual, but it wasn't great. Not a good thing for Jess because Hollie chose a song with a similar feel and sang it better, in my opinion. Her second song however - holy #$%@, now that was what I would call a goosebump-inducing rendition of a song! And I can't stand that song - Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful - girl turned that song into something completely ethereal. Loved it, love her. If she leaves this week I'd be pissed. Seriously pissed.

And so, that leaves us with Joshua Ledet, who shines every single week. Talk about consistent! He got another standing ovation for his second song - his thirteenth standing O this season. 13 standing Os! Again, I felt like he didn't quite deserve the standing ovation (Jessica should have received one this week. What's wrong with the judges? Geezus!). To sum it up, both of his performances were stellar. Good job Josh. Now how are they going to market you if you end up the winner? Hmmm...

Undoubtedly the season with the best Top 5 4 ever. I don't really want Hollie to win though. I'm fine with the other three. Oh well, we shall see.

Who should go home? Phillip X 2

Who will go home? Please don't let it be anyone other than Philip X 2

Edit: Results

Sigh Skylar is gone. I knew it. Damn you Phillip!

Queen of All Trades

Currently Listening To: Glee Cast - Fat Bottomed Girls

So we're down to six contestants, and what better way to start the show than with a medley of Queen's hits?

Oh yes, it's Queen night on the American Idol stage and guess what? It rocked!

Seriously, I can't find fault with anyone of them (okay, maybe just one) but unfortunately, someone still has to go and this week it might be the end of the road for one of my favourite contestants ever. Anyway, this week the contestants sang two songs again, one song from Queen and another song of their own choice.

Round 1:


Phillip - Fat Bottomed Girls
Shit that was so out of tune. Fat Bottomed Girls was pretty awful, in my opinion. I don't know what to say about it except...I WISH YOU HAD STOPPED SINGING AFTER THE FIRST SENTENCE PHILTIMES TWO!

Haley - Save Me
The beginning was pretty good, her voice sounded strong and there was some potential for something special but then she kinda lost her way towards the end? The title of the song is ominous though. Save Me? From the bottom 3 perhaps?

Jessica - Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody was good, but not good enough for the top six. There was something off about her voice for that song, she wasn't quite as powerful as usual. Not too good a performance Jess, we need more from you!

Elise - I Want It All
I think the theme gave Elise a great opportunity to climb right back up to the top 3. Although she sang that song well, I don't think it was quite the right song for her. On top of that, there's just something about her personality that turns me off. I don't know if it's her sulky faces, or her slightly condescending way of talking, I just don't fancy her as much as I did before...

Joshua - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Oh the Queen song was brilliant! It was fun, and it wasn't one of his gospel ballads. Very impressive, Joshua. I don't know about you, but if the Top 5 is four women against one man (Joshua), he probably deserves to win. Don't know if he'll actually win though...that might just be a challenge.

Skylar - The Show Must Go On
Well, that was very well sung! The Show Must Go On, I mean. Very powerful vocals by Miss Skylar Laine. Love her voice,  Good job girl I'm behind you 100%.

Round 2:


Phillip - The Stone by Dave Matthews
Okay so that wasn't so bad. I actually liked the song, and I'd probably listen to the studio version again and again but erm, yeah. Not for American Idol. Time to go home Phillip, you're the weakest vocalist left and this is a singing competition after all. The other 5 sang circles around this dude.

Skylar - Tattoos on this Town by Jason Aldean
Girl is a firecracker indeed. She's just so comfortable on the stage, and it shows. Not so sure about the song choice though, and she sounded a bit nasally at times, but overall still very good. Please pick better songs girl, I'd love to see you win this thing *waves Team Skylar banner*

Hollie - The Climb by Miley Cyrus
That was pretty good, a lot better than the previous weeks. Good job, she might actually have a chance of surviving with that song choice, otherwise she'd probably be gone...

Elise - Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix
Yeah, right back into the Top 3. That was the best she had sounded in weeks. I actually liked it. Unfortunately, the unknown song choice might put her in jeopardy. Steven was right, it does matter actually. Yeah she knocked it out of the park, but that doesn't mean she'll be getting a lot of votes.

Jessica - Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross
I loved it. Much better than the first song, and yet I love the original Bohemian Rhapsody. Maybe that's the reason why I wasn't too fond of her rendition. Honestly, I love Jessica and I think she's incredibly talented, but few of the other contestants overshadowed her tonight with the first theme. Not a good thing when it's so close to the finale. Please pleeeeease vote for Jessica! *waves Team Jessica banner*

Joshua - Ready For Love by India Arie
His first few notes gave me goosies. Scratch that, the whole song gave me goosies! For real yo! He was just that good. That was absolutely incredible, totally worthy of that standing ovation. The only standing ovation I approve of. I'm as speechless as Randy was, Joshua was just plain old WOW. Very difficult to accomplish with this bunch of contestants. GOOD JOB MY BOY! *waves Team Joshua banner enthusiastically.

Overall:
1. Joshua
2. Jessica
3. Elise
4. Skylar
5. Hollie
6. Phillip (It's time to go home buddy)

Best Top 6 ever, seriously. Love them all, Phillip too even though he kinda sucked with Fat Bottomed Girls this week.

Who should go home? Phillip

Who might go home instead? Jessica =(

Tough Cuts

Currently Listening To: Phillip Phillips - Give a Little More

Welcome to another edition of American Idol, where the 7 remaining contestants fight- I mean, sing to their deaths. Okay maybe not literally, just the death of their dreams and ambitions. With last week's -almost- elimination and the save used by the judges, the top 7 contestants had to sing two songs each this week, and how well did they fare? Very well actually. Extremely well. Honestly, I think all of them more or less deserves to be in the Top 5, but five of them will eventually have to leave, no matter what.

Based mostly on tonight's performances, and with a slight consideration of their previous performances, I guess the bottom two should be:

Elise Testone and Colton Dixon

Not to say they weren't good anything, it's just that the other five contestants were way better than them. Elise sang Alicia Keys' No One and Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye. The first song was definitely better than the second, I don't even have an opinion for that one. It was just...dull and bland throughout. Vocally she wasn't half bad but with those 2 boring song choices, it's time for her to go.

As for Colton...well, honestly I think he has a lot of potential but with the 'rock' version of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and the strange arrangement for Earth, Wind and Fire's September...to be fair, Bad Romance was interesting and quite well sung, but his poor lower register really doesn't do him any favours for that song, and also his second song choice. It's a shame, his Love the Way You Lie performance from last week was pretty awesome.

And now, to rank the remaining 5:

Hollie - Rolling in the Deep (Adele)/Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)

If Colton stays in the competition then Hollie should go. I'll admit, she was a lot better compared to the previous weeks but her performances still lacks...soul somehow. Rolling in the Deep was quite good, Preacher Man not so much. Seriously. I'm only putting her in 5th place because of Rolling in the Deep and the improvement from last week. Otherwise, I would have placed her right at the bottom.

Phillip - U Got It Bad (Usher)/ In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)
His second song saved his sorry ass for me this week. That Usher song...wow. It didn't sound anything like Usher, and definitely not in a good way. It was the usual Phillip style alt-rock kind of song, and it didn't work for me. Now, his second performance was interesting because he actually sounded different for once. That one worked for me, and that is why he's in fourth place this week. (If he hadn't sang that he would have been in sixth place)

Jessica - Fallin' (Alicia Keys)/ Try a Little Tenderness (Otis Redding)
I'm not sure if Jessica did enough to garner more votes this week. Sure, she sang two beautiful songs beautifully, but I don't know. I feel her more than I feel Hollie, but something is missing. I don't know what it is - it's definitely causing her votes (or maybe it's because she ain't sausage =_=. Anyway, Fallin' was a good song choice for her, and oh my god the second song, vocally she was stunning. Not enough WOW factor though. She really needs to have a WOW performance, and yet it is hard to WOW audiences when you're consistently good every week. Please vote for Jessica America! She deserves to be in the Top 3 at least.

Skylar - Born This Way (Lady Gaga)/ I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
I believe this girl has it in her to win the whole thing. Seriously. She's a vocal powerhouse, and she's country. Perfect for American audiences. I really liked both of her songs, I think she sang them extremely well. Very unusual arrangement for Born This Way, it actually suited the melody well. I Heard It Through the Grapevine was excellent also. Good job Skylar. I'm behind you 100%!


Joshua - I Believe (Fantasia Barrino)/ A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
I couldn't decide between Skylar and Joshua, but after careful consideration of all their performances, I think Joshua sang it better, emotionally and vocally. I Believe was very solid, and A Change is Gonna Come was absolutely fabulous! Better than Adam Lambert's version of the song. He simply outclassed all of them with those 2 performances. It doesn't mean he'll be safe though, I don't think his fanbase is very big so....PLEASE VOTE FOR JOSHUA Y'ALL! He needs your votes and he deserves to be in the finals!

Vote wisely America.

P.S: Not sure if they'll be sending 2 contestants home tomorrow, so I'm just gonna go with one.

Who should go home: Elise Testone


Who will go home: I'm gonna make a random guess here and say....Hollie?

Edit - Results:

And Colton leaves the competition...hmmm not entirely shocked. It's the song choices buddy, and he admitted it. Oh well.

And We're Almost Done...or Are We?

Currently Listening To: Adele - Rumour Has It

So it's another good week for our American Idol Season 11 contestants, which goes to show how good this year's kids are. And yes I say kids because they're all younger than me with the exception of Elise.

It's still really hard for me to rank the contestants, at any rate it's pretty much the same as last week.

Hollie - Perfect by Pink To me, Hollie was once again the weakest performer of the night. Vocally she wasn't that off, just a few pitchy moments here and there. And like Heejun, she has a problem with enunciation. She also has this nasally tone, and when she tries too hard it reaaaaaally doesn't sound good. So...yeah. I'm sorry Hollie, you're just not progressing much.

Phillip - Give a Little More by Maroon 5 You know what, J.Lo was spot on with her comments. Sure he didn't sound awful, but like Hollie, there wasn't any improvement. It's a good thing that he's excellent with song choices. Phil is definitely the weakest vocalist left in the competition, and at some point he really needs to go. I still like the guy, I just don't think he deserves to last longer than the other competitors.


Elise - You and I by Lady Gaga Well. Haley sang it a lot better, so I don't think that was such a wise song choice for Elise. Once again, she wasn't quite in tune, and it didn't sound very um, smooth. Didn't like her performance much, it's just that she sounded slightly better than Phillip and Hollie.

Joshua - Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars Now that was an interesting performance by Joshua. Different than his usual song choices, and also from the other song choices of the night. At least it proves that he can sing more than ballads?

Colton - Love the Way You Lie by Skylar Gray For once I actually liked his performance in spite of his whiny tone. That's a good thing though, it's the perfect time to peak on idol and I think he did just that. Excellent song choice for his voice, and some excellent singing to go with it.

Skylar - Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You by Kellie Pickler Skylar went first, and I can still remember her performance. Shows how good she is eh? She sang the song beautifully, and I think she was pretty much pitch perfect, as mentioned by J.Lo (at least I think it's J.LO? Or was it Steven?)

Jessica - Stuttering by Jazmine Sullivan I've never heard that song before, but Jessica made me love it. In my opinion, it was an excellent song choice and as usual she sang it perfectly. Go Jessica! And with that out of the way...

Who should be going home...Hollie

Who will be going home? SERIOUSLY I DON'T KNOW. All the best to all of them.

EDIT - Results:

Believe or not the lowest vote-getter was Jessica. I'm not sure if I truly believe that though, the way they 'saved' her was a bit too fishy. But any rate, she's still in the competition and that's a good thing. Keep it up Jess, don't let them get you down!

80's Night

Currently Listening To: MBLAQ - Mona Lisa

I haven't been this excited about an 80s theme since...forever? But anyway, 80s music is the theme this week on Idol and I must say, once again the contestants did not disappoint. Not that much anyway. It's still difficult to put someone at the bottom, and this week I have no choice but to place...

Hollie at the bottom of the pack. She sang What a Feeling from Flashdance, I really have no idea what to say...I had such high hopes for her. Sure she didn't sound bad but that song choice, coupled with some pitch problems...I don't know about Hollie any more. She said she was gonna 'have fun' with the song - instead she turned into something dull and not fun. She's falling fast, and if she continues to be clueless about it, she'll be gone before we know it (like maybe this week!). A waste of talent.

Elise didn't sound too good either, that song choice (I Want To Know What Love Is) was just...weak. It didn't suit her voice, so it made the whole thing too restless and pretty unimpressive. Not a good week for Elise, after last week's vibrant performance.

Unfortunately I didn't quite like Phillip's song choice this week either. The song itself was okay, the big problem was that he didn't do anything fun with it. Like I said last week, I don't really mind that he sounds the same each week, but for that to work he absolutely has to nail every single performance. He didn't quite nail it this week so...yeah. Not impressed.

Deandre took a few steps forward this time, and sounded pretty solid after 3 bum weeks. No falsetto from start to finish, which is a good thing, and his song choice was quite okay. A big improvement indeed, and that might actually save him from the gallows this week.

Moving on. Colton, as usual, delivers a bland but somewhat convincing performance. Time After Time was a good choice for him as it fits him perfectly. I just can't get used to his whine though, it didn't sound too prominent this week but it still haunts me. Not my cup of tea, but good enough.

I'm also really happy that Skylar chose to sing a ballad this week. It's a good way for her to show off her big voice, and her decision definitely paid off. Great vocals, she looked gorgeous, the dress she was wearing was gorgeous - a perfect package. And to top it off, the song didn't make her sound too country. Or is it the other way round?

I would have placed Skylar second this week, if not for Jessica's excellent duet with Joshua, who takes the 2nd and 1st place respectively this week. Their duet together was absolutely brilliant! Their voices actually blended well and that's a really good thing cause they're both vocal powerhouses and either one of them might have overpowered the other.

Jessica's solo song choice was a bit strange in my opinion, Whitney Houston's How Will I Know, but at least she sang it well. Solid vocals (as usual), a little a bit awkward on stage though. Girl needs to learn to work the stage more for uptempo songs, and to loosen up a bit more.

That leaves us with Joshua, who definitely gave the best vocal performance of the night. Good job Joshua, and good job on the duet as well.

Speaking of duets, Elise and Phillip's was not too bad either. Can't say much about the remaining 2, didn't do much for any of them. Except maybe Deandre, he sounded pretty good on his duet with Hollie. And as for Hollie...sigh. I give up on her.

A Whole Lotta Talent

Currently Listening To: Jun K. - Alive

I don't even know how to start this week's review because...there wasn't a single bad performance today and it's incredibly difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that one of them will be leaving the competition tomorrow.

Unfortunately, no matter what someone WILL have to go tomorrow and I think that someone should be...

Deandre - Sometimes I Cry by Eric Benet
Honestly, I'm a big fan of Deandre. I love his voice, I love his falsetto but unfortunately one can't sing in falsetto all the time because it just won't do, not with this year's talent pool. Deandre sang exceptionally well but the song choice was a bit...disconnected from the audience. And he didn't quite connect with it either. I don't think teenagers would be inclined to vote for an Eric Benet song, no matter how well it was sung.

Hollie - Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood
Another one who didn't inspire me with her song choice. I mean come on, you're singing Jesus Take the Wheel, a song that's suppose to be inspiring AND it is also a former Idol winner's song so...what are you suppose to do with it? Knock it out of the park! Hollie didn't do that. And she went off pitch a few times. If Deandre is staying then I think she should be going home.

Colton - Everything by Lifehouse
There was nothing wrong with his performance, it's just that...it lacked something. Something really big. And on top of that, I don't quite like the tone of his voice. It's kind of whiny, and it gets on my nerves. I definitely won't be listening to any of his studio recordings, thanks to the tone of his voice.

Skylar - Gunpowder and Lead by Miranda Lambert
Hmmmm a difficult performance to place. It wasn't half bad, Skylar delivered the song with a lot of spirit, but the vocals could have been better. She nearly went out of breath a couple of times, and was a bit screechy too. Nevertheless, still a solid performance. Still very consistent. Might be a little forgettable though...

Heejun - A Song For You by Donnie Hathaway
AI's resident balladeer is back. He really loves ballads doesn't he? Vocally it was much better than last week, and better than quite a few of the other contestants too. Too bad about his diction though, he really REALLY needs to work on his pronunciation (or maybe he should just sing one of 2AM's ballads ROFL). Other than that, it was a pretty solid performance in my opinion. Does he deserve to stay over Hollie and Skylar? I really don't know. Maybe, but I like all of them equally so...it's difficult...

Joshua - Without You by Mariah Carey
Before this, if you had told me that a guy could sing Mariah so well, I would have laughed my head off. Joshua...wow. I definitely wasn't laughing when I was watching his performance. Very, very impressive vocals! He was almost perfect, if not for what I thought was a dull song choice for a a great night like this.

Phillip - Still Rainin' by Johnny Lang
I loved his performance, seriously. Just perfect for him. In fact, every single song that he has chosen so far really complemented the tone of his voice. I like the tone of his voice as much as I like Heejun's. His biggest problem is that his song choices are all pretty much the same, and the way he delivers his performances is more or less the same too. Now I don't mind that too much (since that's the reason why I like him) but the audience might not think the same way. Maybe, just maybe. But why bother when he'll be safe anyway? He's a dude and he's cute!

Jessica - Sweet Dreams by Beyonce
I loved the song arrangement. Very nicely done, Jessica. Vocally perfect, only losing to Elise in terms of spunk I suppose? She sang beautifully, the harp worked extremely well with the arrangement and it gave the whole song an oriental-ish feel. Loved it loved it loved it!

Elise - Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin
I still prefer Adam's version of it, but Elise was wonderful as well! Excellent song choice, and a great way to end the show. With a very loud BANG. Everyone else chose what I would call, 'safe' songs but Elise...well Elise chose to rock the stage. And she did. A much better rocker than Colton and Phillip put together.

I really don't know who deserves to go home this week! All of them were relatively good, including the bottom trio of Deandre, Hollie and Colton. Not a single bad performance! They were all above average, and you know what that's what this show is all about! Makes it slightly more difficult for voters though.

Who should go home this week: Deandre

Who will be going home this week: Heejun/Deandre/Hollie

Some food for thought: Colton should totally sing Laura Marling. Heejun should definitely do some 2AM ballads. Phil should take a leaf out of Heejun's book and sing any old ballad. And Hollie? Please just stay away from them big old ballads.

EDIT - Results:

Sigh Heejun is out of the competition. Even though I think it's fair enough for him to leave at this stage, I will still miss him. All the best Heejun, have fun on the tour.

And Another Week

Currently Listening To: Neyo - One in a Million

Ah yes it's Billy Joel week, and how did our fair contestants fare? Not too bad I suppose, save for a few of them especially....

Deandre - Only the Good Die Young
Oh boy. What can I say. Mark Salling sang it better? That was quite a disastrous performance, to be honest. I mean it didn't sound bad, but the song did not suit him and there was no life in his delivery. Sigh Deandre, please pick better songs if you survive or else you'll be going home and I will not be sad at all.

Heejun - My Life
It may not have been a great performance, but I'm with J.Lo and Randy for this one. Disagreeing with Steven completely. It was entertaining, and he actually sounded pretty good despite of his prancing around. Or should I say in spite of? My opinion anyway. Dude really does have a nice tone. Even when he's out of tune he sounds...pleasant. He would have sounded pretty awesome if he had just stood and sang the song. And Steven didn't look that pissed off, what's with the whole Steven vs Heejun threads in idolforums? I think the fans are the ones who should lighten up.

Hollie - Honesty
Ouch, she went out of tune a few times so...she wasn't as good as usual. Not so great but still...better than some of the others? And Tommy...what in the world is your definition of dressing young? Like a business woman? What's up with her outfit? She looked even older than last week! *facepalm*

Erika - New York State of Mind
Nice vocals, unfortunately I don't think she has much of a fanbase. Lovely song choice too. And the makeover Tommy Hilfiger gave her? Very interesting. From a blonde to a...Glambert lookalike? Hmmm...

Joshua - She's Got a Way
I guess his voice probably saved him because the song was pretty dull. And quite unknown. Don't know what to say about it except that it was nowhere as good as last week's performance.

Skylar - Shameless
I think she's easily the most consistent contestant this season, and slightly underrated. Although she never stands out (thanks to girls like Hollie and Jessica), she does deliver solid vocals - every single week without fail, and you know what? That's a good thing. Kinda like Scotty last year. So far she has yet to make any bad song choices, and that's working in her favour too. Also, she is so mature for an 18 year old O.o impressive. I don't even like country music and yet I'm rooting for Skylar! Go Skylar!

Colton - Piano Man
I didn't quite get the hype about his performance. Yeah he was good and he sang with a lot of conviction, but it wasn't completely perfect. A little shaky in the beginning, got better as he progressed though. Enough with the hair Colton, individuality or not, it looks pretty bad.

Phillip - Movin' Out
Ooooh I loved that! It was exactly what I wanted from him so yeah, I'm a happy Phillip fan this week! Very awesome song choice, and he looked cuter than usual LOL. Kudos to him for proving Tommy wrong about the colour grey. He looked extra hot in grey on grey, and I'd vote for him anytime if I could.

Jessica - Everybody Has a Dream
Technically perfect, a little empty on the delivery. I felt like she wasn't completely connected with the song, but she did sing it extremely well. Second place for me tonight due to Elise's powerful and emotional delivery.

Elise - Vienna
Another female I'm fully supporting! That makes 4 - Hollie, Jessica, Skylar and of course, Elise. Elise was so awesome tonight, just like she was last week and two weeks ago. Excellent song choice, and she sang it well, plus it was unlike anything else that was sung this week. And thank you Randy for giving credit when credit is due.If she's in the bottom 3 again this week, I will be throwing something at the TV for sure.

One word to sum up this week's performances - strange. Heejun's performance, VOCALLY, wasn't all that bad but he's getting a lot of flack for his sense of humour. Jessica sounds great, but is getting a little boring. Deandre...is falling apart. Erika is somehow extremely forgettable no matter how good she sounds, which is sad by the way. And Elise? I don't know, I really hope she'll be getting enough votes this week cos it sure seems like she ain't that popular. Come on Elise fans, please vote more. I'm counting on you!

Who should go home this week? Deandre

Who will be going home this week Sadly, I think it's gonna be Erika.

EDIT: Results

And I'm right, Erika gone. Sigh I know she's a good singer but if she can't get enough votes almost every week...well. Sorry about that Erika.

P.S: OMG I didn't know Only the Good Die Young's about sex ROFL. That makes Deandre's performance even worse...

Top 12 - wait no, Top 11 performs

Currently Listening To: Florence + the Machine - Never Let Me Go

Yeah you read the title correctly, only 11 contestants performed today. Why? Well it's a long story, more about that later. Let's go through the 11 performances first, starting with...

Shannon - One Sweet Day
What's with Shannon and big songs? This girl tries way too hard and fails every single time. Granted, she hit more notes this week but it was still boring and mostly a waste of time. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE DID A GOOD JOB JUDGES?? Did they have ear plugs on during her performance or something? Also, SHE DOES NOT LOOK 16! They should have asked her to come back next year or something.

Heejun - Right Here Waiting
Eugh not only was that not good, it was actually painfully dull and uninspiring. It didn't sound 'pitchy' to me but definitely he did not sound good with that song. Bad song choice, if he wasn't so popular I'd think he'd be in deep trouble.

Deandre - Endless Love (SERIOUSLY? DUDE'S ONLY 17 YO! GEEZUS)
Oh man another bad song choice. I mean, come on who the hell chooses Endless Love for a 17-year-old kid?? Poor thing, thanks to the song selection, he might be in danger. Why did they choose it for him? #&$%&

Jessica - Turn the Beat Around
Pia Toscano syndrome? She didn't sing it that badly but the performance wasn't as good as her ballads. Stupid song selections, why didn't they provide better songs for the contestants?? Didn't suit her voice at all, don't know if she'll be safe.

Phillip - Hard to Handle
Now that was an interesting one, at least that gave the show a pretty good start cos the performances that came after that were snoozefests. The song suited him and he sang - no, growled it well enough. A good week for Phillip.

Erika - Heaven
Hmmm okay that was a tough one. Even though she sounded good, there was just something about it that sounded...robotic. And she tried to do a little too much with the song.

Colton - Broken Heart
I'm not really a big Colton fan, but that was really nice. I liked the song choice, and I liked the way he sang it. I hate his hairstyle though, he looked like a skunk or something. Not a very good look there Colton.

Skylar - Love Sneaking Up On You
Week after week she delivers energetic and enthusiastic performances. Is that a good thing? Definitely yes! I don't usually like them country girls but Skylar's an exception. Her voice is powerful enough and girl is the only one with great stage presence. And kudos to sticking to your own song choice!

Elise - Let's Stay Together
I'm glad they saved her last week, otherwise we would have missed this awesome performance by Elise. Good job girl, you've risen to the challenge well. Please continue to choose songs that are suitable and then rock it on stage.

Hollie - The Power of Love
That was an excellent song choice, Hollie is what Shannon wishes she could be - a vocal powerhouse. Hollie is definitely Jessica's strongest competitor in the vocals department, and this week she was infinitely better than Jessica so...if there's only a place for one of them, I'm not sure if I'll be voting for Jess, honestly.

Joshua - When a Man Loves a Woman
Wow that was impressive! Very nicely done, great vocals and he blew the crowd away I believe. Excellent job Joshua, here's hoping the voters will you remember now.

So back to the missing contestant in the list - Jermaine. Well, he was kicked off the show because he has 4 active warrants out for his arrest. And why the hell did they record a video of them breaking the news to him and then show it on the live show? Very insensitive.

Don't know if they'll be eliminating anyone tomorrow but if yes, I hope it'll be Shannon

EDIT - Results:
Shannon's gone! It's about time. Given more experience she would have done better, but since she's 16, there are still other opportunities for her.

The First Goodbye

Currently Listening To: 2PM - Ultra Lover

First results show of Season 11, and the result wasn't really unexpected. As for the show itself, I'm impressed, the group performance was not lipsynced and yet the contestants did a good job on it! Very nice.

Lauren Alaina performed a very forgettable song (was that her single?) while Mary J. Blige was awesome.

The bottom 3 girls and guys were:

Elise
Erica
Shannon

Jermaine
Jeremy
Joshua (WHAT?)

Like I said, not entirely unexpected. The bottom girl was Elise while the guy was Jeremy, and the judges sent Jeremy home. I don't think either of them deserved it (come on America get rid of Shannon and Jermaine!), but I'd rather have Elise in the Top 12 than Jeremy so yeah...goodbye Jeremy.

I wonder what's the theme for next week...?

The Wonder of Houston

Currently Listening To: F.T. Island - 신사동 그 사람

Oh wow. By far the most impressive Top 13 in 11 seasons. Again, there were no trainwrecks, the worst of the lot was just mediocre so yeah, impressive. Anyway, the ladies and gentlemen of American Idol sang Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder respectively, with Jimmy Iovine back in the coach's seat and Mary J. Blige as the guest coach. BTW Mary's an excellent coach, they should definitely bring her back more often. And for once, the judges actually gave some semi-honest feedback instead of glossing over everything. Let us begin the countdown with...

Shannon - I Have Nothing
Classic example of trying to do too much. She could have hit those notes but she didn't. I know she was nervous but I don't think that's a valid excuse for a Top 13 show. With so many good contestants this year, you'd definitely have to stand out and nail your performance, and she didn't. Still, it wasn't that bad. Other than the off notes, she sounded pretty solid.

Jermaine - Knocks Me Off My Feet
Okay so it wasn't a bad performance, it was just extremely dull. Although he sang it well, there wasn't any connection whatsoever with his song choice. He should probably stick to ballads though, I just can't see him singing any other genres...

Elise - I'm Your Baby Tonight
Again, she didn't sound bad but oh my god the song choice. Whattup with that gurl? Haley sang it last year and I didn't like it. Well I still don't like it. Probably one of Whitney's worse songs. Very, very bad song choice.

Colton - Lately
I don't really have any opinion about his performance. It was just bleh. Wasn't bad, wasn't great, didn't show off his voice and the song was quite boring. Not my favourite Stevie song for sure.

Joshua - I Wish
Honestly the song wasn't that bad and he sang fairly well, but that song didn't do anything for his voice. Might not be safe this week...

Erica - I Believe in You and Me
When she started singing I wasn't looking at the TV, so I thought it was one of the guys singing. When I finally looked up, I was surprised to see Erica on the screen. Seriously, I am not joking, that girl has a really deep voice. Another boring song choice in my opinion, but at least she sang it mostly in tune.

Phillip - Superstition
What can I say? Siobhan Magnus sounded a lot better. That's about it. I mean I like the guy and the performance was okay but...something about it didn't feel right. Not his best week.

Deandre - Master Blaster
Oooooh Deandre. Now that was an interesting performance. Can't say it was great, but it was definitely entertaining. Very interesting song choice for Deandre, nice falsetto as usual. And was Steven or Randy who called him a male Naima?? That was one WTF comment.

Skylar - Where Do Broken Hearts Go
She was no Pia, but did a pretty good job with the song I think. A few shaky notes, slightly nasally as kindly pointed out by J.Lo, no other major issues with the song I guess? It just didn't stand out much for me.

Heejun - All in Love is Fair
Wow I just can't get over the tone of his voice. It's so...soothing and romantic somehow. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he's Korean I swear >.< ANYWAY the song choice was pretty expected, though it wasn't perfect he still sang it well enough.

Jeremy - Ribbon in the Sky
Very nicely done Jeremy. I wasn't expecting that at all so I was pleasantly surprised. Like Randy said, that wasn't his best but still pretty solid I think. Nice vocals, don't know if there'll be anyone voting for him though.

Hollie - All The Man I Need
Girl can really sang! Very impressive vocals, very nice song choice and she looked really pretty too. There were some parts where she looked and sounded quite uncertain, but overall good job Hollie! Like J.Lo I'm kinda rooting for her to win this year.

Jessica - I Will Always Love You
Excellent vocals as usual, but I do wish she'd tone down on those vibratos a little. It's a bit distracting to end almost every sentence with a vibrato so yeah, less of that and she'd sound even better I think.

There's a slight twist for the elimination tomorrow. Instead of the contestant with the lowest votes going home, they will be choosing between the girl and the boy with the lowest votes and sending only ONE of them home. To ensure that there'll be at least 2 girls in the Top 4? Hmm...

I'm really, really loving the contestants this season. I'm like, I can't decide who to discard! I don't know who should go home tonight, if I had my way it should be Shannon but she really ain't that bad. Plenty of room for improvement. OMG. I wonder who will go home tomorrow...stay tuned to find out.

A to Z Reading Challenge (2)

Currently Listening To: Adele - I Found A Boy

(UPDATED)

Saw this in another blog:

A to Z Reading Challenge

How does this reading challenge work? Choose the option that works best for you...

Authors -- Read alphabetically by author. Commit to 26 books.
Titles -- Read alphabetically by title. Commit to 26 books.
Authors & Titles -- Commit to reading 52 books

Challenge Accepted!

A: Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud - Perfect, I just finished reading that a few days ago. (Completed Oct-15)
B:
C: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (Completed Mar-20-12)
D: Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones (Completed Jan-30-12)
E: The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan (Completed May-17-12)
F:
G: Golem's Eye (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud (Completed Dec-17)
H: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Completed Mar-19-12)
I:
J:
K:
L:
M: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (Completed Apr-2-12)
N:
O:
P: Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud
Q:
R:
S:
T: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (Completed Dec-7)
U:
V: Virgin Earth by Phillipa Gregory
W: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Completed Feb-23-12)
X:
Y:
Z:

American Idol Season 11: Top 13

Currently Listening To: 2PM - Again and Again

My Astro decoder died so I couldn't watch the results show. Oh well.

Anyway the 13 finalists are:

Girls
Jessica Sanchez
Hollie Cavanaugh
Shannon Magrane
Skylar Laine
Elise Testone

I predicted correctly!

Boys
Phillip Phillips
Heejun Han (I sense further bromance)
Joshua Ledet
Colton Dixon
Jermaine Jones

Not bad, I'm a bit surprised by Heejun and Jermaine though. Amazing.

Wildcard
Randy's pick - Erica Van Pelt (YEAH RANDY! I knew it. My prediction's 100% correct)
J.Lo's pick - Jeremy Rosado (Good job J.Lo)
Steven's pick - Deandre Brackensick (YES! Love you lots Steven)

Oh my god. I actually predicted all the 13 contestants correctly this time, with the exception of Chase.

You know what, the top 13 this season seriously rocks. Thank you judges for being fair!

A Glimmer of Hope

Currently Listening To: Adele - One and Only

Maybe it's finally time for a female to win the Idol title because the girls were INDEFINITELY better than the guys tonight. Even the worse trainwreck wasn't as bad as Eben. Perhaps, just perhaps, the curse will be broken in 2012.

It's easier for me to rank the ladies than the gentlemen, so here it goes.

At the bottom of the pack is Haley Johnson, who gave the most random and out of tune performance of the night. I mean, it was just totally all over the place and a little bit manic? Don't know what that was and I don't wanna know. It's not that she had a bad voice, she just...didn't do anything positive with it. On the bright side she's really pretty?

There was a lot of hype about Baylie Brown during the auditions but I didn't see any of that on the stage tonight. Girl was just flat throughout the whole song. She tried too hard, her voice was shaky, the song choice was terrible...I don't know. She does have a pretty good voice, unfortunately she did not utilize it well. Please don't vote her in just cos she's pretty America. Ain't gonna work.

Chelsea Sorell (who?) wasn't very impressive either, and the fact that she performed first and got zero screen time previously didn't help either. Unimpressive vocals although she actually has the chops. Mostly because of the song choice I guess? She might be singing country music, but she does not have the country-ish voice. Definitely not going through.

I had high hopes for Hallie Day, but she fell short of mark somehow. There was nothing particularly wrong with her voice, it just that she didn't sound quite right. Something was missing...Feeling Good is not exactly the easiest song to sing and let's face it, Adam Lambert nailed it.

Shannon MaGraine is this season's Karen Rodriguez for me. Again, there's nothing with her voice and she actually sounds pretty good when in tune but there were way too many off notes. Plus, she gives off this pageanty vibe just like Miss Karen from last season. Don't like her at all but the voters might. Here's hoping that she won't make it over other more deserving girls...

Next we have Brielle von Hugel, the precocious brat of this season. Didn't think she sounded that bad, but errrr yeah she's annoying. Can't stand her. A very dull song choice for a young girl like her. Not my cup of tea. (And omg her mother. Frightening woman)

Jen Hirsh was another frontrunner that I didn't get, and today's performance confirmed my thoughts. She does have a pretty voice, and sang Adele's One and Only quite well, but there was nothing impressive nor memorable about it. Will she make it through? I doubt it.

My top 5 of the night:

Erica Van Pelt, she surprised me too. Very strong vocals, but I didn't quite like her song choice. She sang it really well though, don't know if America will vote for her but I definitely hope so, she deserves it.

Hollie Cavanaugh was another pleasant surprise. Very, very powerful voice, unfortunately marred by her nerves. She needs to get over her stage fright before she gets eaten up alive by the other contestants.

Skylar Laine is like this, much better version of Lauren Alaina. Better attitude, better vocals and a lot less pageanty, despite the prom dress she was wearing. Great song choice, it showed off her range and she worked the stage well too.

To me, Jessica Sanchez is the best female vocalist this season so I really hope she won't end up like Pia or Thia. Judging from online polls though, it looks like she has a lot of supporters so she's safe for now. Excellent song choice, fantastic voice control and she looks great too.

Elise Testone was the biggest surprise of the night for me. She sang the same song as Jen Hirsh, only she sang it A LOT better. That's the reason why I'm putting her at the top instead of Jessica - the unlikely frontrunner who got almost zero screentime but ended up with the very first pimp spot of the season. Very well done!

Who I think will make the Top 5: Jessica, Elise, Skylar, Hollie and Shannon

Who I want to make the Top 5: Jessica, Elise, Skylar, Hollie and Erica

And with that we're done with the Top 24. I take back my words, I am VERY excited about this season based on what I've seen so far. Can't wait to see the Top 12, definitely looking forward to next week.

Battlegrounds

Currently Listening To: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

The top 12 guys performed tonight, and it wasn't a complete trainwreck!
Now I wouldn't say that they were fantastic, but they were definitely better than I had expected so I say, good job! Scratch that, it's Top 13 not 12 thanks to the addition of the 'Gentle Giant Jermaine Jones'. With the exception of a certain Bieber sound-alike, all the guys sang pretty well. The girls will have hard time this year I think, despite being a rather strong bunch.

All right let's get down to business, 13 guys sang tonight but only 5 will go through. Yeouch that's pretty harsh, getting rid of 7 guys in just one night is a bit too much I think. Can't help it I guess? Anyway...

...let's give it up to the one and only trainwreck of the night:

Eben Franckewitz
Oh. My. God. Why they let this little...kid through to the Top 24 I do not know. Come on there were better 15 year olds out there, why Eben?? I mean seriously. Bad song choice - Adele's Set Fire to the Rain - and also horrible execution. Kid was just completely off-key. I don't think there's any chance of him cracking the Top 12 unless only little girls are voting...forget it I don't think even little girls will vote for him. Goodbye Eben.

It's a bit tough for me to rank the other guys because they were all really decent...I'm still rooting for Deandre Brackensick but he kinda screwed it up with his song choice I fear. He has a really nice upper range but he can definitely do more than that. Too much falsetto and he didn't show his range...oh well, hopefully his looks will get him through somehow?

Same goes for Heejun Han, not a very wise song choice there, with Robbie Williams' Angels. It wasn't too bad I guess, the only problem was his diction but dude the song is just too bland and he didn't do anything with it. Like John Park, his song choices are just ballads and that never goes down well with the voters. I really like the tone of his voice though, if he has someone to coach him and work with him I think he'll go far. There's always K-Pop right LOL.

Adam Brock, Reed Grimm, Aaron Marcellus and Chase Likens were all somewhere in the middle, neither too good nor bad and with decent song choices. I doubt they'll be getting the majority of the votes though, they lacked presence on the stage and they didn't stand out. I don't know about Jermaine Jones, he has this really awesome bass voice but honestly, he just doesn't cut it.

Colton Dixon and Jeremy Rosado surprised me with their performances, I hadn't paid any attention to them although they were more or less shown quite frequently during the Hollywood rounds so yeah, I think they have a pretty good chance of making it through based solely on their performance and their likeability factor. Creighton Fraker was another surprise, he was just so-so for me but after his terrific rendition of True Colors I'm kinda rooting for him too. Don't know much about his appeal to the audience though.

Standouts of the night were Phillip Phillips and Joshua Ledet, the former for trying something different and the latter for having the most awesome set of vocals this season. Phillip chose a really good song that showed off his gruff voice while Joshua just appeared out of nowhere and wowed me. Excellent song choice (Jennifer Hudson's You Pulled Me Through) and vocals.

My predictions for who will be going through: Phillip, Joshua, Jermaine, Colton, Chase/Jeremy

Who I want to make it through: Heejun, Phillip, Joshua, Colton, Deandre

All in all a really good night. Ladies, it's your turn next and Jessica Sanchez, please pick a good song and sing it well I beg you.

~*~*~*~

With The Voice and American Idol both airing around the same time and most probably attracting the same audience, it's gonna be an interesting battle to see which show will pull in better ratings. I'm actually really happy with American Idol's Top 24, and the contestants from The Voice (especially Sera Hill on Christina's team) are pretty good too. I still prefer some of the Season 1 singers but Season 2 is off to a good start too. If I have time I might be blogging about The Voice too

And The Journey Begins

Currently Listening To: 2AM - You Wouldn't Answer My Calls

Finally, after weeks of repetitive and mundane audition rounds (though I must say the second group round was actually quite impressive), the esteemed judges have finally selected the top 24 for the 11th season of American Idol. And so begins my blogging journey again (I'll have to admit that I'm not all that excited though). I'm really happy to see Deandre finally in the Top 24, so here's hoping that he won't crash and burn during the live shows. Team Deandre, Heejun, Phil and Jessica!

Top 24:

Top 12 Girls
1. Elise Testone
2. Haley Johnson
3. Shannon Magrane
4. Baylie Brown
5. Hallie Day
6. Jessica Sanchez
7. Jen Hirsh
8. Chelsea Sorrell
9. Skylar Laine
10. Erika Van Pelt
11. Brielle Von Hugel
12. Hollie Cavanagh

Top 12 Guys
1. Eben Franckewitz
2. Reed Grimm
3. Heejun Han
4. Deandre Brackensick
5. Aaron Marcellus Sanders
6. Adam Brock
7. Creighton Fraker
8. Phillip Phillips
9. Joshua Ledet
10. Jeremy Rosado
11. Colton Dixon
12. Chase Likens

American Snoozefest

Currently Listening To: F.T. Island - Severely

Nothing much is happening on American Idol yet, save for Heejun Han's sense of humour. OMG I'm supporting THE Korean dude *facepalm*

ANYWAY I will start blogging once they've chosen the Top 24 or something.

Peace out.

Stronger Than Ever

Currently Listening To: Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All

I know, I've completely forgotten about reviewing Kelly Clarkson's latest album but after several months, I finally remembered to listen the album so here it goes.


Stronger - Deluxe Edition

Even after 11 seasons, Kelly is still the best American Idol and I think this album more or less proves it. I've never actually listened to her previous albums, only her released singles, so I must say I am pretty impressed with Stronger. It's a solid album, and most of the songs are really pleasant to listen to. If you love Kelly Clarkson, then you will definitely love this album. It's a great pop album, much better than a lot of stuff out there right now.

Track Listing for Deluxe Edition
01. Mr. Know It All (3:53)
02. Stronger (3:42)
03. Dark Side (3:45)
04. Honestly (3:36)
05. You Love Me (4:04)
06. Einstein (2:59)
07. Standing In Front Of You (3:59)
08. I Forgive You (3:04)
09. Hello (3:00)
10. The War Is Over (3:57)
11. Let Me Down (3:24)
12. You Can't Win (4:20)
13. Breaking Your Own Heart (3:49)
14. Don t You Wanna Stay (4:20)
15. Alone (3:01)
16. Don't Be A Girl About It (3:27)
17. The Sun Will Rise (3:33)

Overall: 8.5/10
Highlights: Mr. Know It All, Stronger, Honestly

As for American Idol, I will be blogging about it once they reach the Hollywood rounds. The auditions this year are slightly less eccentric, with more promising contestants so hopefully it'll be a good season.

On a side note...I've succumbed to the Hallyu Wave *waves K-pop banner meekly*
2PM fever still raging high, and of course I went to see F.T. Island live in Kuala Lumpur! That was a great concert by the way, Lee Hong Ki sounds excellent live and the other band members are amazingly talented!

Season 11

Currently Listening To: Florence + the Machine - Strangeness and Charm

American Idol is back!
Looks like my blog will be back in business.