Shock, Horror, What Else?

I can't take it anymore - I need a break from the EIB essay *screams*
I know it's my fault for leaving this till the very last minute (first submission due tomorrow).
The actual submission date is Monday, but I don't think I can take the risk of not submitting it for uh, trial testing on turnitin first so...frankly speaking I'm screwed.

Anyway, enough of that for now.
American Idol Update first:

This week, a shocking bottom three.
Seriuosly. If you've been watching the show (like me), you'd be shocked too.

The contestants in the bottom three this week are....

...Matt...


...Kris...






....and ADAM.

Kinda unbelievable huh.

Allison and Danny looked absolutely shocked to see Adam in the bottom three.

Ryan (or would that be the American Idol production team...) did the whole "split four of them into two groups and make the remaining contestant choose which group he or she belongs to" trick again.

Remember Melinda Doolittle and David Archuleta? Both of them refused to choose (David A. sat in the middle and everyone thought that it was so sweeeeeeet of him), and I remember thinking "THIS IS STUPID!"

Well this year the victim is Adam, and he actually CHOSE a group. I got distracted by Australia's Next Top Model so I missed that part (hahaha crap I'm really addicted to that too). Okay so he chose Allison and Danny - I have no idea what Ryan asked him but I think he asked Adam "So who do you think the Top 2 contestants are this week?" Naturally, Ryan had to drag Adam over to Kris and Matt, and boy the expression on his face was just...upsetting and scary at the same time.

The crazy fans in idolforums.com are speculating all sorts of nonsense, but you know what? It's just stupid. Just accept that fact and vote more next week! Sheesh.

The person eliminated this week is Matt and Adam was apparently in the Bottom 2 with him so...too bad for Adam? He didn't deserve to be there, but he was, conspiracy or not.

If you ask me, I actually think that the whole Adam in the bottom 2 thing is some sort of a publicity stunt for Idol. The elimination process was too predictable, and they wanted to spice things up so they threw Adam to the dogs for the sake of more votes next week. I mean come on it's Adam. His fans are gonna vote like MAD next week, no doubt about that!

Right, that's all for this week.
I'm gonna continue with my essay now...

That Was One Big Bow, Paula!

Okay, I realize that blogging about American Idol at 1.30am is a bit crazy but what the heck. I missed the earlier show and I've just finished watching the 12.30am repeat (wasn't watching it alone either :P)

Was planning to blog about it later today, but since I'm not sleepy, I'm just gonna blog about it right now. So here we are, American Idol Season 8's Top 5 contestants!

This week they're singing songs from the Rat Pack (google that if you're interested), and Jamie Foxx is their mentor. He's not bad, actually gives good advice. Minus the whole Miley Cyrus rant thing.

Now before I continue on with the rankings, just keep in mind I'm ranking them in terms of vocals and not the whole performance (more on that later!). Here goes nothing:

5. Matt Giraud
I thought his whole performance was actually okay, but I can no longer stand the tone of his voice. It's a bit too squeaky for my liking. And he just kept squeaking from the beginning till the end. That and the fact that he's the weakest contestant left on the show, VOCALLY. Simon was right about the emotional connection thing. Matt had that, but lacked the vocal ability. Sorry dude, I think your time is really up this week.

4. Kris Allen
I feel a little disappointed ranking Kris so low. Then again, his performance was a bit on the boring side. And it showed his limited vocal range. Not a good thing, in my opinion. He lacked OOMPH tonight. While Matt's vocals (Mickey Mouse voice!) was worse than his, at least Matt somehow connected with his song choice. For Kris...it just sorta lacked emotional depth and his voice was just desperately mediocre tonight so...I don't know.

3. Danny Gokey
In the middle again. I think tonight was Danny's best performance in the Top 13, and yet to me it was still rather mediocre. Can't understand the hype about Danny's performance this week. Sure it was good, sure he wasn't exactly screaming the song...but it just wasn't great. I totally agree with the Taylor Hicks thing now, I can so see it!

2. Allison Iraheta
Love her voice this week! Just fantastic. It wasn't pitchy, she wasn't screaming and she looked awesome too. Definitely one of her best performances. I guess I - can - understand Simon's comment about the lack of connection with the song, but in general I think he got it wrong tonight. Why the sudden u-turn Simon? Some sort of stupid reverse psychology? Praise her when she's just ok, trash her when she's fantastic?

1. Adam Lambert
Okay, so technically - Adam's the best this week in terms of vocal ability. Hands down. No arguments. That single note he held?? Freaking fantastic! No one else can sing like him! (Well, unless you're Luciano Pavarotti but that's a totally different story) But was his performance enjoyable? Honestly speaking...I didn't really enjoy it. I think it lacked...theatrics...showmanship...and somehow I think he's holding back. Adam can do so much more with that voice, just youtube his stage performances if you don't believe me.


With that out of the way, I actually prefered Allison and Danny more than Adam tonight. It's the performance, really. Thought Adam was a little too stiff. Allison and Danny seemed a lot more comfortable. And no special lighting to help them either. That's right, Adam received some help from the special (code word for strange) beam-ish, blue lighting again. Not to mention...the STAIRS. So dramatic and overdone.

It's just crazy, how Adam's being pimped. And obviously everyone noticed (and are not pleased). Hope he'll get enough votes to last till the end cos it's the Top 5 already and the competition's a little tensed right now. Nobody had a bad performance tonight, and that's not a good thing.

Something Other Than AI

Currently Listening To: Taylor Swift - White Horse

Okay, so I shall blog about myself.
Although there isn't much to blog about unless you wanna hear me complain about assignments.
But since I'm already typing anyway...might as well complain about it!
(Twisted logic hahahahaha)

So where were we?
Oh right, assignments.
Curtin University of Technology loves complicated assignments.

Organizational Behaviour Assignment. (DUE TOMORROW - 28th April 2009)
Critical Essay, 2000 +/- 100 words.
Needs 10 references in the essay (not the conventional Harvard referencing system, but the apparently-very-special Chicago referencing system).
At least 5 of them must be jounals. The other 5 can be anything else, as long as it's "scholarly".
The unit coordinator is this dude named Dr. Tadayuki Miyamoto (normally I'll be all "YAY JAPANESE!", but in this case...it's a nightmare! Btw is Tadayuki a he or a she????? He or she is bloody fussy I tell you.)
It's due tomorrow, and I can assure you - at least 50% of my classmates are still...not done with that. Good luck to them.

Environmental Issues in Business Assignment. (DUE NEXT MONDAY)
I don't know what to say about this one.
0% progress so far. I'm just so awesome huh.

Communication in Business: 1 presentation due in two weeks, 1 full report due in three weeks.
Whee JOY.
I hate this subject.
The unit coordinator is boring, fussy and long-winded. The unit lecturer is boring, fussy and long-winded. And it's making me boring, fussy and long-winded!
What more can I say?

One more thing.

Guess what - I have two papers to sit for...from 6.45PM to 8.45PM.
Seriously!
This is the first time I've heard of sitting for exams during dinner time.
Maybe it's something normal in Australia?
Whatever it is...screw it.

And Then There Were Five

Currently Listening To: Kalafina - Lacrimosa

American Idol Update:

Only five contestants left.


Who went home tonight?







Lil Rounds
(FINALLY! I did feel kinda sorry for her when Ryan told her she'll be going home. Even Simon was being reasonable tonight.)

Ya know, I really thought that Matt would be the second person going home tonight but....






Anoop Desai,
was voted off instead. Poor thing.
I really like Anoop and although I'm sad to see him go, he sorta screwed things up for himself
But seriously...what's with him in pink this week?
And no he does not look pretty in pink Trix!

The dance sequence for tonight's show was freaking awesome in a very strange way! Paula chereographed their dance, so...it was very Paula Abdul-ish.

Next week: AI8 Top 5. I wonder what's next week's theme...

A Memorable Disco Night...

Currently Listening To: Kalafina - Serenato

Woohoo, first time I'm blogging from my -shiny- new laptop.
Anyway, moving on to more American Idol Updates.
It's the Top 7 again, this time singing for Disco Week.
I couldn't really imagine any of the contestants singing disco tunes and...I was right. Disco Night was hardly disco - more like a medley of all genres in disguise.

7. Lil Rounds
It's tiring to rank her at the bottom of the pack every single week, and I hope this week will be the last. Seriously, she just needs to go. Thank god the save is over and done with! Disco Night is suppose to be "her" night, but as usual she fails. To give her some credit, I think she did better tonight compared to last week (then again she was hardly singing. More like just moving along with the music). Goodbye Lil. And remember to always keep your mouth shut *cough*

6. Anoop Desai
Good job Anoop. Fantastic timing. Way to mess things up for yourself. For some silly reason Randy, Kara and Paula decided to choose this week to praise him. Simon was probably the only honest judge this week. It wasn't good. His vocals was sloppy, the song choice was strange, the facial hair was disturbing and his clothes - I'm speechless. It's like preppy meets disastrous prom night. He's in a really dangerous position this week.

5. Matt Giraud
The judges save him, and he decides to sing 'Staying Alive'. I didn't think it was that bad, but once again strange song choice. His range is just not suitable for this song. I mean come on, Matt and Bee Gees? Just wrong. I think he's going home...again.

4. Danny Gokey
Why is Danny always mediocre?! I don't get it. He actually has quite a good voice but he never steps out of his comfort zone. He never tries anything different - it's good to stick to what you do best, but in a competition like American Idol one really needs to try something different SOMETIMES.

3. Allison Iraheta
Allison turned 'Hot Stuff' into a rock song. Pretty interesting arrangement, I don't think that's her best performance but the judges were all loving it. Still on the 'let's pimp Allison now no matter what' track. A good thing I guess...

2. Kris Allen
Definitely one of his best performances. I really liked the jazzy arrangement for 'She Works Hard For The Money', and you know what - my mum liked it too. And she thought he looked great tonight! (She is not a Kris fan so coming from her...that's amazing.) If he keeps this up, he has a really good chance at winning AI8. Good for Kris I guess, cos no matter how fantastic Adam is...I have a funny feeling he's not going to win. So if Kris wins instead, I wouldn't mind at all.

1. Adam Lambert
Hands down, the best performance of the night. In my opinion, flawless vocals. Paula actually cried after his performance! I expected him to do something really wild and crazy for disco night, but that was not the case.



A ballad! Lol.



The strangest disco night ever. I think Lil and Danny were the only ones who tried to sing their song choices in a disco-ish way. Everyone else was...not disco-ing. Allison did rock, Adam...ballad-ified 'If I Can't Have You', Kris did his usual Kris thing, Matt was almost rapping and Anoop did something strange. I don't know what to say about that one. A bit Neyo-ish I suppose? Oh and he did get the pimp spot, so no more complaints from Anoop fans!

Not to brag or anything but...

...my mum bought me a laptop yesterday!~~~

*does the happy skipping onion thingy*

Bought it at the PC Fair, the brand is Toshiba, model Satellite M300-S411.

It costs RM3099 (expensive! x_x) but this model was the only one that caught my mum's eye.

Everything else was ugly to her.

And she refuses to buy anything ugly looking LOL.

So basically...she chose the laptop and I just said OK!!! XD

...

I can hardly believe I own a laptop now O.o

Eliminated...?

Currently Listening To: U2 - Magnificent

American Idol Update:

So who was in the bottom three tonight?

Anoop, Matt and Lil

(ANOOP??? WHAT TH- WHY DOES AMERICA HATE ANOOP?!?!)

And who was eliminated?

Matt...












Wait a minute.

He wasn't eliminated.

Hahaha gotcha!

The judges used their 'Save'.

I say, good for him. And the other remaining contestants were really happy for him too. What a lovely bunch of contestants this year!

One thing I'd like to know...who the hell was voting for Lil? What the hell man. Her singing wasn't the only thing that stank - her attitude too. And guess what, people still defend her and as if that's not ridiculous enough, they vote for her as well!

So unfair.

Oh Adam was so cute tonight!
What he said to Simon in response of Ryan's random provocations - I thought it was really funny lol.
And seriously, all the contestants this year are really nice, from what I can see. Even though I don't like Lil...I guess in general she's still okay.


Awww so sweet!

A Night of Boring Soundtracks

Currently Listening To: Kalafina - Serenato

Is it just me, or was tonight's American Idol a bit too dull? Why was everyone singing heart-wrenching ballads? WHY? Bored me to tears. Yes, even Adam was meh to me. And he wasn't singing a ballad (I wish he had though).

Top 7 theme: Idol at the Movies. Meaning, songs from movies.

On with the rankings.

7. Lil
You know what, I was gonna rank her a bit higher but after that tirade at Simon Cowell...I don't know what to say. Her singing wasn't that bad, in fact I thought it was a lot better than the person in 7th place. However, if she can't take criticism at all - please, just leave American Idol immediately. I've had enough of her, and I think the judges would agree with me. Constructive criticism from them every single week and she never once took their advice. And YET, she decides to throw a temper tantrum! What the hell man.

6. Matt
It really pains me to rank him this low, but seriously? That was awful dude! Viva La Vida all over again. This is so sad cos I actually like this guy, and this week is THE week for the contestants to try their absolute best to impress the judges and the audience. And what did Matt do? He falters. Badly. Epic fail. NOT SAFE AT ALL.

5. Danny
Typical Danny stuff again. Is this dude ever going to try something different? Doubt it. A solid performance despite the lack of originality. For some unknown reason, I still have faith in Danny. He's a nice guy, as far as I can see and he has a great voice. However, his song choices are really...well...boring. Bland. Predictable.

4. Kris
...I don't get the hype about this performance, with or without the "Adam treatment" (meaning fancy lighting). Really, it was okay. Nothing special. Randy was too harsh, Kara was too...I don't know, too Kara-ish. It was alright dawg, but in no way does it compare to Adam's Mad World! Wtf. The people in idolforums.com are too Kris-obsessed, I think.

3. Allison
Allison sang Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, and I thought she did a good job with it. Not an easy song to sing. But she pulled it off, although she wasn't up to her usual standards. Hah, I have no negative comments about this performance at all. I'm thinking she has a great chance of winning AI8...over Adam. I love Adam, but he's a bit too kinky for idol And it's official, the judges are finally semi-promoting Allison. About time too!

2. Adam
Yes, the almighty Adam is at number 2! Dearest Adam was seriously over the top this week. From the hair, to the outfit, to the song choice and the performance - it screamed "YEAAAAAAH! IMMA ROCKSTAR DUUUUUDES!" He sang, Born To Be Wild and wild it was indeed. Hell yeah. I was kinda hoping he'd sing Hero from the first Spiderman, it would have shown a different side of his Rock persona but oh well. Being wild works too! However, Adam needs to remember that this is American Idol, and not a rock concert. I mean, dude was literally on his knees tonight, screaming at the audience. I would have fainted from sheer joy, but some unsuspecting anti-rocker might just faint from shock.

1. Anoop
Woohoo! Anoop dogg's back in business I loved his performance tonight, it was absolutely fantastic! Flawless vocals, awesome song choice (Everything I Do) - still needs to work on stage presence though. Adam could teach him a thing or two about that. And um, about what to wear during performances too. Adam looked every inch a rock star tonight, while Anoop looked like...Anoop. Lol.



Overall, I'm glad my top four favourite contestants performed the best tonight. A very boring night, mind you. Ballads are fine and all, but when 6 out of 7 contestants are singing slow-tempo songs...zzzzz.

I dread the elimination tomorrow.
Lil should be the one going home, but both Matt and Kris are not safe, especially Matt. And I doubt the judges will use the safe on Matt...

PS: I thought Adam looked super hot tonight!! ♥♥ *dreamy eyes* I've never seen a more versatile contestant on American Idol. Just check out his performances in Wicked! He can act, dances really well and very obviously he can sing! (He can sing anything too - rock, pop, musical-Broadway stuff, ballads, R & B, etc.)

EDIT: There's just one thing that I don't get - why defend Lil and Megan when they talk back (rudely) to the judges - and criticize Anoop when he does the same thing (not rudely, just honest)? Seriously wtf?!