American Idol Season 8: Top 36 Semifinals Week 2

The second group of 12 take the stage to compete for America's votes. The top 3 vote getters go to the top 12 so they better bring it this week!

Theme: Same as last week, Billboard's Hot 100 Songs

Jasmine Murray-"Love Song"-Sara Barrelles-the judges were impressed with her during the Hollywood auditions. This was not her best performance. Simon was disappointed with her. She could be in the Wild Card Round

Matt Giraud-"Viva La Vida"-Coldplay; Is he crazy? That was the wrong song choice for him. Took a risk and didn't pay off for him; Could be a Wild Card Pick

Jeanine Vales-"This Love"-Maroon 5; Bad song choice; Randy and Simon like her legs. Overdone; She's done

Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle-"Am I Telling You"-"Dreamgirls"-He's history; He has no business being on American Idol; He was trying to ruin the show. He wasn't serious. Corny. Simon wished that he would go away for good. America, don't even bother of voting for this fool

Allison Iraheta-"Alone"-Heart; She nailed it; possible finalist; She could sing the telephone book; Serious chops for a 16 year old

Kris Allen-"Man In The Mirror"-Michael Jackson-OK performance; Simon liked it; Showed confidence and personality; may move on to the next round

Megan Corkrey-"Put Your Records On"-Corrinne Bailey Rae; beautiful girl; hip; cool; ok performance; shouted the song; possible Wild Card contestant

Matt Breitzke-"If You Could Only See"-Tonic; Not familiar with that song; boring; Simon was frustrated; stick to singing in bars, dude

Jessie Langseth-"Bette Davis' Eyes"-Kim Carnes-Why is everyone choosing the wrong song?

Wrong song choice for her; no shot of winning the competition; she'll be forgettable

Kai Kalama-"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"-Jimmy Ruffin; Gave it his all; needs to sing contemporary songs; Wild Card possibility

Mischavonna Henson-"Drops of Jupiter"-Train; Another bad song choice; boring; she should sing something people her own age listen to; no chance of winning

Adam Lambert-"Satisfaction"-Rolling Stones; Good performance; Manic; Top 12 Definitely!; girls will love him

My top 3 predictions: Adam Lambert, Kris Allen & Allison Iraheta

Top three vote getters announced on Thursday night's Results Show:

Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert

Surprisingly, I am right about who should go through to the top 12. Last week, i was 3 for 3..this week...6 for 6

Norman/Nick is gone!!!...America, you did it again!!!....He'll never grace the Idol stage again.

Tuesday night, the last group of 12 perform including Memphis' own Lil Rounds and blind singer Scott McIntyre. Wednesday night, the top 3 vote getters...in the top 12..Thursday night, the Wild Card show where the Judges choose the final 3 contestants for the top 12. Your top 12 will be revealed next week!!!

See ya

Best Oscar Show Ever!!

This year's Oscar broadcast was better than last year's because America was entertained and the show made America forget their economic troubles for a few hours. Hugh Jackman did a good job as the host and his musical numbers were not over the top. He didn't make fun of Brad and Angelina. He can sing...I hope that he will host the Oscars again next year. The night belonged to a movie that created huge buzz "Slumdog Millionaire". It won eight Oscars including Best Picture. The whole world even everybody in Mumbai, the setting of the movie, celebrated the movie's victory. Kate Winslet won her Best Actress Oscar for "The Reader" and her acceptance speech was thankfully under a minute. Kate thanked her family and friends. You thought that Mickey Rourke will win Best Actor at the Oscars...shockingly, Sean Penn won for "Milk". I bet that Mickey was very upset but he was gracious and congratualted Mr. Penn on his Oscar win. The emotional highlight of the night was Heath Ledger's family accepting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for "The Dark Knight". It earned a standing ovation from the audience at the Kodak Theatre and brought everyone to tears. Heath Ledger died too soon last year. If he is still with us, he would grace our TV screens and thanked everyone. Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress and she was the odds on favorite. In my opinion, the ratings were better than last year. Hopefully, next year's show will garner at least 45 to 50 million viewers.

What do you think of this year's Oscar show?

American Idol Season 8: Top 36 Semifinals Week 1

The Top 36 have been chosen by the judges. Now, America gets to decide who is good enough to compete to be your next American Idol and who to dump. For three next weeks, 3 groups of 12 will perform live in millions of viewers to win viewer votes. The top 3 vote getters move on to the top 12 and a wild card show where the judges will put 3 through to the top 12. America, choose wisely.

This week's theme: Billboard's Hot 100 Songs

Jackie Tohn-"A Little Less Conversation"-Elvis Presley. Good energy, good entertainment, she worked the stage and got Paula dancing but Simon hates her leather trousers; wild card candidate

Ricky Braddy-"A Song For You"-Leon Russell; Unbelievable performance, he rocked that performance, could go far in the competition, Simon called him "shy guy with good voice"; Ricky has to sing a song that is familar..that song is unfamiliar to me

Alexis Grace-Memphis girl-"Never Loved A Man"-Aretha Franklin; White girl can sing soul music!! Fantastic; best contestant; Simon called her "Dark Horse" and compared her to Kelly Clarkson; TOP 10..EVEN TOP 3

Brent Keith-"Hick Town"-Boring song choice-again an unfamiliar song; his Idol dream is over

Stevie Wright-"You Belong With Me"-Taylor Swift; Bad Song Choice; Terrible; out of tune; zero chance of winning

Anoop Desai-"Angel of Mine"-Monica; Interesting song choice, great potential, too serious; loosen up, Noop Dogg

Casey Carlson-"Every Little Thing She Does It's Magic"-The Police; Poor performance, wrong song for her to sing...she has booked her plane ticket home

Michael Sarver-"I Don't Want To Be"-Gavin DeGraw; OK performance; capable of better

Anne Marie Boskovich-"Natural Woman"-Aretha Franklin-Old fashioned; hotel singer; this could be the end of her journey

Stephen Fowler-"Rock With You"-Michael Jackson; Remembered the lyrics this time; Bad song choice; uncomfortable; forgettable; pointless

Tatiana Del Toro-Don't Vote for her-"Saving All My Love For You"-Whitney Houston; She is the "Drama Queen"; OK performance; begging for votes--sorry, Tatiana--you won't last long in the competition

Danny Gokey-"Hero"-Mariah Carey; got the crowd on their feet; he could sell out arenas; Simon liked Danny's peformance but it could be a matter of time before Simon becomes a fan of Danny

Wednesday night, 24 million votes have put Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Danny Gokey to the top 12...can't wait to see Alexis every week and vote for her. I voted for Alexis 35 times Tuesday night.

Next week, the second group of 12 takes the stage including Starkville, Mississippi native Jazmine Murray and oh no, Norman Gentle!!!

I am happy that Tatiana is gone from Idol...I like this new season of Idol!!!

American Idol Top 36 Semifinalists Revised

Wednesday, American Idol unveiled its Top 36 semifinalists. Thursday morning, one contestant, Joanna Pacitti was disqualified from the show because she had a prior record deal with 19 Entertainment, the company that produces Idol. Contestant backgrounds are checked in the Hollywood Round. Felicia Barton takes Ms. Pacitti's place in the top 36. FYI: Pacitti starred in the Broadway revival of "Annie" when she was 12 and cut before opening night.

Here's your new top 36:
Anoop Desai
Von Smith
Alex Wagner Truckman
Adam Lambert
Taylor Vaifhua
Jasmine Murray
Arianna Farsa
Casey Carlson
Megan Kokare
Mischa Henson
Stevie Wright
Felicia Barton
Kendall Beard
Kristin MacNamara
Alexis Grace
Scott MacIntyre
Lil' Rounds
Jessie Langseth
Allison Iraheta
Danny Gokey
Ricky Braddy
Matt Giraud
Ju'not Joyner
Jorge Nunez
Brent Keith
Stephen Fowler
Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle--He don't belong there
Jackie Tohn
Tatiana Del Toro--Don't Vote For Her!!!
Nathaniel Marshall
Jeanine Vales
Kai Kalama
Anne Marie Boskovich
Kris Allen
Matt Breitszke
Michael Sarver

The voting begins Tuesday--vote for your favorite!!...Wednesday, tune in to see who moves on

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

American Idol Season 8: Final Hollywood Auditions and Final Judgment

On Tuesday night, 72 hopefuls remaining in the Hollywood Round at the Kodak Theatre. This final round is their last chance to impress the judges to make the top 36 where America gets to vote beginning next week. For their final Hollywood solos, the contestants are backed by a band and singers and they play their own instruments if they so desire.

Adam Lambert-Mixed Reviews from the judges; Sang "Believe" by Cher. He sang it better than Cher. He is a stage actor in Hollywood. He sang it better than Cher

Matt Girard-Played piano on "Georgia On My Mind"; He rocked the Ray Charles classic song; good performance

Jamar Rogers-butchered The Plain White Ts' "Hey There, Delilah"...big mistake

Danny Gokey-Blew the crowd away with his performance; recording voice; one to watch for

Anoop Desai-Sang Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative"; The judges were happy with his performance

Jorge Nunez-Good performance

Scott McIntyre-Sang Daughtry's "Home"; great performance especially when he played his piano; could we have our first vision impaired American Idol?

Kendall Beard-Sang Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats"; Rocked it good

Stevie Wright-Sang Colbie Callait's "Bubbly"; Potential finalist

Lil Rounds-Memphis girl; Sang Alicia Keys song; knocked it out of the park; she's the one to watch and root for because she could go all the way

Kristin MacNamara-sang "Because of You"; needs to dress like a star if she wants to be a hit in the music industry

Mischa Henson-good voice; she tried out last year and made it out to Hollywood until she was eliminated in the second round

Tatiana Del Toro-she don't stand a chance of winning

Alexis Grace-she could shock the world and possibly become this season's dark horse

Kenny Hoffpauer-Very likable

Jasmine Murray-sang Jordin Sparks' "Tattoo"; very talented for a 16 year old girl; possible finalist

Nathaniel Marshall-sang Rihanna's "Disturbia" and played his guitar; needs to change his look if he wants to be likable to America

Joanna Pasceni-Disastrous performance; nerves got her

Casey Carlson-Forgot the lyrics

Stephen Fowler-played piano and sang "Time of My Life"--the song by last season's winner David Cook; forgot the lyrics as well; started over but failed to impress the judges

Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle-Ray Charles was rolling over in his grave after hearing Nick/Norman's rendition of "Georgia On My Mind"; he has no business being in this competition

Anne Marie Boskovich-so so chance

Junot Joyner-good; needs to step up his game

India Morrison-out of tune; no shot of winning

Kaylan Lord-OK voice; forgettable

LeNeisha Young-sang "Love Song" by Sarah Barrelles; bad song choice; it could hurt her

Michael Sarver-Good voice; major top 12 candidate

Judges' Results:
the contestants are separated into four rooms
room 1-safe
room 2-safe
room 3-end of the line
room 4-safe

54 contestants remaining

Wednesday, the judges chose the top 36 to compete for America's Votes
the final judgment took place at the judges' mansion and in an unique twist, they had those who couldn't make their decisions on compete in a sing-off

Alex Truckman defeated Cody Shelton
The Battle of the Blondes: Kristin MacNamara defeated Jen Korbee
Jessie Langseth defeated Frankie Jordan whom Simon believed she wouldn't win anyway
Jackie Midriff lost to Nathaniel Marshall

and a big surprise, Matt Breitszke and Michael Sarver both won the final sing off

Here's your top 36:
Anoop Desai
Von Smith
Alex Wagner Truckman
Adam Lambert
Taylor Vaifhua
Jasmine Murray
Arianna Farsa
Casey Carlson
Megan Kokare
Mischa Henson
Stevie Wright
Joanna Pasceni
Kendall Beard
Kristin MacNamara
Alexis Grace
Scott McIntyre
Lil Rounds
Jessie Langseth
Allison Iraheta
Danny Gokey
Ricky Braddy
Matt Giraud
Ju'not Joyner
Jorge Nunez
Brent Keith
Stephen Fowler
Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle-Are the judges idiots?; America please vote him off!!!
Jackie Tohn
Tatiana Del Toro
Nathaniel Marshall
Jeanine Vales
Kai Kalama
Anne Marie Boskovich
Kris Allen
Matt Breitszke
Michael Sarver

Next week, the first group of 12 perform live and the fan vote begins...watch and vote for your favorite on Tuesday and Wednesday...the top 3 vote getters move on the final 12

Which one of the top 36 do you think will be the next American Idol?

I would like to know your opinions

Shame on You!!!: Michael Phelps and Chris Brown

Michael Phelps and Chris Brown were well respected and loved by their fans until their recent bad behavior ruined their clean cut images. First, Michael Phelps was embarassed when a photo of him smoking a blunt surfaced all over the world. We watched and cheered as he swam to eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and endorsement deals with Kelloggs, McDonalds worth millions of dollars came after. Now, he ruined his image and disappointed his young fans thanks to that photo. Kellogg's dropped him and USA Swimming suspended him from competition for three months. That will give him some time to think about his behavior and we are almost certain that he will end up in jail for drug possession. Michael, if you want to win our respect, you must promise not to engage in anymore bad behavior

Another celebrity who should be ashamed of himself: Chris Brown who was scheduled to perform at the Grammys but was accused of beating his girlfriend Rihanna. Chris, how dare you strike a woman? It is not right to hit a woman. Ike Turner beat his wife Tina Turner and she divorced him. Who do you think you are? You are young and your mother raised you right. I hope that when your record company hears about this...you will be dropped from the label. No one in the music industry will ever respect. Hope you go to jail! Rihanna, please if you got any dignity, find a man that will never disrespect a woman!

Awardswatch '09: 51st Grammy Awards

Hey, music fans!! Music's biggest night has arrived. The Grammy Awards was loaded with big time performances and musical collaborations that would make a good CD. Let's start with the performances:

U2 opened the show with a rocking performance. Their new album is coming out this year

Boyz II Men, Keith Urban & Justin Timberlake joined The Rev. Al Green to perform his hit "Let's Stay Together" and brought the crowd on its feet

Carrie Underwood entertained the crowd with her latest song and the female guitar player got good guitar licks

Kid Rock's performance was one badass performance that we'll never forget

Taylor Swift & Miley Cyrus's duet was a cool performance. Hannah Montana stayed home cause she will never win a Grammy

Jennifer Hudson's emotional performance brought tears to my eyes and the audience stood up and applauded.

The Jonas Brothers & Stevie Wonder gave us a performance that we didn't expect to see...hope that their teen fans were watching. The Jonas Brothers performed their song "Burning Up" and joined Stevie Wonder on his song "Superstition"

Katy Perry, a Grammy nominee, performed "I Kissed A Girl"...I have no idea why that song got a Grammy nomination.

Kenny Chesney's performance was somewhat cool

The Hip Hop Summit brought their swagger on with their performance. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, T.I. who will be in jail for a year and M.I.A. who was suppose to have her baby the day of the awards. It was jamming

My Favorite Performance: Sir Paul McCartney and Dave Gohl from the Foo Fighters rocked to a song..Paul and three other lads from Liverpool who called themselves The Beatles. "I Saw Her Standing There"

Sugarland & Adele-a hit!!

Radiohead and The USC Marching Band--odd musical collaboration...got cheers from the crowd
Why can't the Grammy People acknowledge Radiohead?

Another Cool Musical Collaboration--Justin Timberlake & T.I.--Enjoyable!!!

Tribute to the Four Tops--Jamie Foxx, NeYo, Smokey Robinson and one of the Four Tops Duke Farrah got the crowd dancing and partying

Neil Diamond brought generations of music fans together with his hit tune "Sweet Caroline". He is still packing in the crowds

Tribute to Bo Diddley--two guitar giants John Mayer and B.B. King got us all feeling good

New Orleans Tribute--Pianist Allan Toussaint, Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke plus The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and trumpeter Terrence Blanchard--got the crowd partying like it is Mardi Gras in New Orleans

The Winners:
Best R&B Album: Jennifer Hudson-"Jennifer Hudson"
Surprisingly, the first award's presenter was Whitney Houston--when is her next album coming?

Best Country Performance (Duo or Group): Sugarland-"Stay"
Song of the Year: Coldplay-"Viva La Vida"
Best Rock Album: Coldplay-"Viva La Vida"
Best Pop Vocal Collaboration-Robert Plant & Allison Krauss "Rich Woman"
Best New Artist: Adele
Record of the Year: "Please Read This Letter"-Robert Plant & Allison Krauss
Best Male Pop Vocal: John Mayer-"Say"
Best Rap Album-"Tha Carter"-Lil Wayne
Album of the Year: "Raising Sand"-Allison Krauss & Robert Plant

Oh, before I forget, our newest President won himself--Books on Tape Get Grammys?!!

Stevie Wonder ended the show.

For a complete list of winners visit http://www.grammy.com/

American Idol Season 8: Hollywood Auditions Rounds 1 and 2

Out of the 100,000 people who tried out for American Idol, 147 battle it out in Hollywood. The 36 people who survive Hollywood Week aka "Hell Week". This year, the Hollywood round took place at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards and stepped on the same stage where Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks won the title. There was a twist: an "Idol Boot Camp" where the hopefuls glam up to look like a star and legendary singer/songwriter Barry Manilow spoke to the Idols-to-be.

Day 1: Half of the singers came in lines of 8 and sang acapella to impress the judges. The judges liked some and hated others.

Dennis Brickman-Didn't impress the judges so he was sent packing. He was upset at the judges and insulted Simon's wardrobe. I agree with Dennis that Simon should wear buttoned shirts and a suit and a tie.

Lil Rounds, Asia, Alexandria-Safe!!!

Nathainel Marshall-His song choice was way off base!!; He was pleading to the judges to give him another chance

Anoop Desai-He needs to ramp up his performance or else he's gone!!!

Jasmine Murray-Good Voice, Raw & natural talent

Rose Flack-struggling to find her voice during rehearsal; she needs to up her game if she wants to stay in the competition

Rose's Entire Group-Safe!!

Stephen Fowler-Nailed A Stevie Wonder Song; Good Talent

Jorge Nunez-Sang Beautifully

Von Smith-Horrible Song Choice; Indulgnant; He is good as gone

Stephen, Jorge, Von-Safe!!

Bad song choices sent many hopefuls home. Byrd--Idol's Vocal Coach explained the importance of song choice to the hopefuls

Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle--stays in Hollywood for another day; Judges sent him home, he's horrible, we don't want another Sanjaya

Scott Macintyre, Frankie Jordan-Still in the Game!!!

Day 2: Other half in groups of 8 sang a capella

Jackie Tohn-Wild, likable, good voice, rock voice--reminiscent of Janis Joplin
Jackie and some of the front row in her group-Safe!!

Danny & Jamar-Best Friends

Danny-sang Seal's "Kiss from a Rose"; has recording voice--could record an album
Jamar-Randy's Favorite; Good voice; different

The best friends are still in the game

Katrina aka "Bikini Girl" took on new judge Kara at her audition. It's Round 2--Kara vs. Bikini Girl; Sounded nice; can't sing without backup band; she will never be a pop superstar; she is still alive in the running much to the dismay of wives and girlfriends all over America

Jessika Burnee, Sharon Wilbur, Patricia Roman, Jesus Valquez-OUT!!

Jeremy M. Sarver-Performed better than he did at his first audition; Safe!!

David Osmond-Safe but he hasn't got a prayer of beating the good singers

Erica Wesley-Plane Ticket Home!!!

Emily Wynn Hughes--She Didn't Rehearse Song; Bad Song Choice; Changed her choice of song--big mistake

Alexis, David, Emily--SAFE!!

43 hopefuls got the boot

Round 2: Group Round
The remaining 104 hopefuls now must sing in groups and it set the stage for fights and confrontations among the groups. Can the groups get it together and pull off a good performance or will it end in disaster? A warning from Simon: "Forget the words, you're through" Some didn't heed that warning

Tatiana switched groups but changed her mind.
Team Compromise argued and fought through the night.
Katrina "Bikini Girl" acted like a diva and irritated her fellow group members

White Chocolate-India, Matt, Kris, Justin-performed a Jackson 5 song; the performance was fun; still in the game!

Jorge, Nick-safe; other members of their group-gone home!!

Action Squad-Emily, Alex, Ryan, Anne Marie
Emily and Ryan-OUT!!
Alex and Anne Marie-SAFE!!

Rainbow Coalition pulled off an acapella performance of "Somebody to Love". Simon loved the performance and the group. They're staying in Hollywood

Jeremy, Adam, Matt and Jesse performed "Some Kind of Wonderful"; Amazing Performance; Safe

Team Diva-Lauren, Katrina, Rose and Jasmine--Can they get it together? Sang "Mercy" and it was an awful performance. Jasmine is through to the final round of Hollywood week. Rose, Katrina and Lauren are heading back to reality. Women all over America are happy!!

David Osmond-Out of the running
So were Austin and Deanna

Tatiana, Muna, Taylor--IDOL DREAM STILL ALIVE!! Tatiana was acting like a spoiled child

Team Compromise-Nathaniel, Nancy, Kristin performed "Mercy". It was uncomfortable for me and the judges found it uncomfortable. They get an award for Best Temper by a Group
Nathaniel, Kristin are through to the final day of Hollywood Week and Nancy has got the boot

75 singers are remaining in Hollywood to impress the judges one last time to get into the top 36

Next Tuesday, the singers perform- and Next Wednesday, the top 36 will be revealed--who is in and who is out. Will there some shocking cuts--tune in Next Week!!

BTW..The Grammys are this Sunday--8pm et/7pm ct on CBS!! DON'T MISS IT!!

JESSICA SIMPSON'S "MOM PANTS"

There has been lies circulating about Jessica Simpson's weight gain. Of course, it would be unfair to insult her and her look. Hollywood is bashing her because she is wrecking her image. Miss Simpson should cut back on food and act like a star should act. Her career is in ruins because of that photo. She has to start eating healthy and start act more sensibly. First, she has to dump her football player boyfriend Tony Romo because she is distracting to the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, Cowboys fans get angry when their team lose a game. Second, she has to come up with a way to less annoying and keep her fans happy. The "mom pants" look is not cool. She needs to start losing weight and find the right boyfriend that is not an athlete. This is out of control.

Does Jessica Simpson need to change her eating habits and find a new boyfriend?

Hit me up!!!