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Oh yeah, I forgot about that look on Lil's face when she thought she might be bottom 3.. I didn't care for that, that she was shocked that she might possibly have been in the bottom. Too cocky. Especially considering she hadn't had a stellar performance.

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Yes, and she really isn't living up to the early hype. Tonight she was "shrill Lil" again - she keeps going for those power ballads and not quite getting it right. I couldn't say exactly what she needs to do - I don't see her doing Mary J Blige either (sorry judges) without sounding imitative - but I know Celine Dion wasn't the right thing either. I’d like to see her try something softer that doesn’t require a shrieking build-up to the power note.

If I had to pick a bottom 3 it would be:

Megan
Megan
Megan

Not only did she commit the sacrilege of destroying a Bob Marley song, she didn’t even look all that good this week. So what is there to vote for this week? Even her speaking voice is getting to me now. I’m probably not being fair, but I really don’t want to listen to her one more week. Please!!

Anoop and Scott weren’t all that great either. The judges' critique of Anoop was pretty much what I was thinking – I thought it was a very amateurish and looked to me like a kid trying to wear grown-up clothes and do grown-up things. The song just didn’t fit him. He obviously has a very different idea of who he is as a singer than what the rest of us do. When he does ballads and such, he really shows off his vocals, but R&B? I think it’s a bit of a reach.

I agreed that this was one of Scott’s best weeks, but that isn’t saying a lot for me. He’s a really nice piano player, but not a very consistent singer. He always has quite a few flat or sharp notes going on there. But he must work like a son-of-a-gun to get it all together, so it’s hard to hope for his exit. I just like listening to the others so much more.

And Matt did okay with the Fray song, but I thought he was off-key for some of it and I didn’t hear many changes from the original. And I don’t know if playing in the middle of all those people (his adoring fans?) was anything but arrogant. I like the song, but wasn’t that thrilled by this version.

The other three performances tonight just blew me away: Danny, Adam (surprise) and Kris. OMG!! I have never heard the Rascal Flatts version of “What Hurts the Most” but I would definitely go out and buy this version of it. I thought Danny put the exact right spin on it – rising to the great vocals at the end. Very heartfelt and it really exhibited his skills well.

When I heard that Adam was going to do “Play That Funky Music” I cringed. Boy that song could lend itself to over-singing and buffoonery – and I’m always scared that Adam is going to take his theatricality that one step too far. But he didn’t. It was very different from Wild Cherry’s version – in a good way. I did notice that he didn’t really sing much of the last half of the song – he left it up to the background singers and used his incredible vocal skills to do the riffs and embellishments. But I don’t think the judges noticed and I think it was the right decision anyway. And he kept the “performance” well in hand. I could see him already headlining his own show. That doesn’t mean he’ll win, necessarily (Daughtry comes to mind), and I think the prevailing idea that he might be the frontrunner may wind up hurting him. But I hope not, because I love watching him and listening to him and hope to keep doing that right until the end.

But Kris. Oh my. I have never been a big supporter – he’s seemed pretty unoriginal to me before - but I was really amazed at what he did with one of my favorite songs. I couldn’t imagine anyone touching that song, but he made it totally different from the Bill Withers version in a really beautiful way. I hope they put this one on the “best of” album. It was fantastic.

And my Allison – I still love her. This wasn’t her best night and that was only partly because of her hideous outfit. I’m glad they mentioned it, though – to me it was ummm…. Ziggy Stardust meets Cyndi Lauper meets Rocky Horror. Who is dressing her? Is she getting some help from a stylist? Even her mom? Ah well – her vocals were good, but not as good as usual. The song really didn’t show them off the way other songs have, but she’s got an amazing voice. I just hope the audience gives her the benefit of the doubt this week and forgives the outfit because she’s such a fantastic singer.

Every year – at least for the last couple of years – I’ve remarked on how many really good singers there are and how hard the competition is. At first I thought this year was going to be an exception, but this week I have to say – these guys have really brought their game up all across the board. If I was basing a win just on tonight’s performances, I wouldn’t be surprised with a Kris or Danny win. I still like Adam and Allison best overall, but I’m super impressed with how the other two guys did tonight.

My 2 cents (now you guys have me taking notes during the show too).

Y

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Megan (Bob Marley) - omg, I just wanted to fast forward to the end of her singing. That blew chunks.

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How true, SMS.

I'm going to keep it brief tonight, I'm pretty pooped and everyone has pretty much said what I'm thinking anyway.

Best for me tonight:

Kris: By far the best tonight.

Adam: Not as good as last week but I still love him.

Allison: I loved the start of her song, just stripped back with the vocals and the guitar. I'm so over the judges comments with her.. grrrr

I read that Adam's dad posted online that he didn't get his first choice of song (what's new?) and only had 24 hours notice with "Play That Funky Music". That would explain his thanks to Rickey Minor and the band, I think. If that is true, he did a damn fine job of it and proves how good he really is.

Another funny thing I read was the guy who shouted out"Broken Record" to Kara, was none other than Megan Joy's brother CJ. Apparently Kara went over to him in the ad break and didn't look very happy, said something and then stomped off. She also went back later and tried to make light of it all. On Kara's comment "Studio 57": last time I heard it was Studio 54 Kara ..

Paula had some new words in her vocabulary tonight.. Wow! She was on some Planet alright, I'm not quite sure which one?

Anyway, I did say BRIEF.. well, sort of brief..

Bottom 3: Megan, Lil, Scott.

Bye Bye Megan.. sorry Gats

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Allison is starting to grow on me .. seems they are letting her have a bit more personality and I loved her with the guitar.

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I was really happy to see both these things this week. I was really impressed that she had the confidence to add the guitar to her performance and to do it so well. She looked very professional (except for the outfit ) and like she'd been doing this for 40 years (not just less than 16). The girl has a lot of talent as a musician. When I think about it, the outfit may have been very clever - it certainly got her noticed and the judges paid attention to her this time instead of ignoring her with their childish hijinx.

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I really wanted to like Megan at the outset because she was a bit different. Kind of think both she and Lil have a bit of the same problem. Both of them are singers without much experience, and I think without any real musical knowledge. Both are at a disadvantage with the others who play instruments and have a working knowledge of how to change up a song a bit.

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That doesn’t mean he’ll win, necessarily (Daughtry comes to mind), and I think the prevailing idea that he might be the frontrunner may wind up hurting him.

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I was, and still am, a huge Daughtry fan, but what strikes me as the difference between Adam and Daughtry is that every week, I absolutely cannot wait to see what Adam's gonna do next.

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always felt that what happened to Chris Daughtry was that people thought his success was so guaranteed that they chose to use their votes to support others. This may well happen to Adam eventually, as people think he doesn't need their support.

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David Cook's first album has been very successful so far, but I can't wait to see what he'll do for the second one. Y'know I wonder how much creative control the Idol winner has on their first album? Am I assuming they have less than they do?

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Why, just last we were commenting on how "dowdy" she looked. I think she'll get it right eventually.

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Yaaaayy Yaaaayyy Yaaayy

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That is exactly what I was going to say!

I'm so happy Megan is gone. I wonder what drugs she was on, though. That was weird even for her!

Allison should NOT have been in the bottom 3, dagnabit. She's 16 years old and dressing like one. How confusing is it to have the judges tell her one week to quit singing 'old-fashioned' songs or stop dressing like someone twice her age and then when she DOES they don't like that either? Get a clue. Sheesh.

David Cook = YUMMY

I'm still a fan of Scott and I don't care what anyone else thinks. *lmao* I want a slice of his quadruple chocolate cake! *droooool*

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BTW, what was all that arm-flapping and cawing about? Did I miss something?

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According to some sites it was a "shout out" to the site Vote For The Worst.. They had Megan as their pick to keep in the competition. She became their "songbird" after she sang Rockin Robin with her "Caw Caw" at the end of the song. Pictures on their site of Megan have birds in them. So that is what she probably meant by her "Vote for me guys" comments... She obviously reads the forums..

That was one exit alright How snotty was King Simon tonight? After the "I don't care" comment from Megan he basically slammed the door right in her pretty face. Warning to contestants: Don't mess with Simon (or Kara) or else you are outta there!

I loved seeing David Cook tonight although I didn't really like that song very much.. I don't know what it was but he didn't seem to have the 'spark' that he usually has, maybe he's a bit tired with all the work he's been doing.

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Lady Gaga .. hat the heck was that? And she's number one in the US right now?? And you people are voting for American idol? ugh, I must be getting old.

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Megan was trying a little too hard to be quirky. Bit over the top. Which probably drew Simon's abrupt dismissal. But I think it was actually a good thing that he told her straight up and we were all spared any needless drama over Ryan's putting on his serious "Will you save her" face.

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One of my younger colleagues says she is more of a "club scene techno trash singer" (for those of you familiar with the genre)

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I know I shouldn't have worried about Alison this time because I'm pretty sure they'd use the "save" if people were so foolish as to let her get such a low "score." But I am still worried that she keeps ending up down there. Why why why? Any ideas? Was it the song? The outfit? Temporary insanity? Audience tone-deafness.

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I'm not so sure they will use the save on Allison, Ysmay.. ever. I'm thinking Allison just doesn't live up to their idea of an Idol. She's at the age where she should be having fun being a teenager and AI would put a stop to all of that if she became the winner. It just got me thinking when I re-watched the video of the results show. Allison and Megan seemed to be good friends, (which is great for them) but the fooling around on the results show (with the cawing and flapping) was probably a bit over the top and you could see that Simon was not impressed at all. Simon, in particular, has not given Allison any outstanding comments so far (that I can remember) so that tells me something..

I hope that she does make it to the top 3 at least, I think she does deserve it. The way it stands now, I would like to see an Adam/Allison finale or even Kris to sneak in the final as the dark horse if Allison doesn't make it.

This week's theme is the "Year They Were Born".

Here's the years, so maybe we can all have a guess at what they might sing..

Danny - 1980
Adam - 1982
Lil - 1984
Kris - 1985
Matt - 1985
Scott - 1985
Anoop - 1986
Allison - 1992

I'm going to take a look and see what I can find.. I got Matt's right last week but he didn't quite nail it like I thought he would. His iTunes studio version was much better than the performance last week. Matt really needs to get over the nerves, his recorded voice sounds great. It's just a shame he hasn't been able to produce that on stage yet.

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I'm not so sure they will use the save on Allison, Ysmay.. ever. I'm thinking Allison just doesn't live up to their idea of an Idol.

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I'm afraid you might be right, Choco_nut. Their lack of supporting comments for Allison and the lack of coverage of her interests, etc. that I was noticing before seem to indicate the producers' (and judges') lack of interest in her as a valid candidate for Idol. It's very unfortunate because she is such a great vocalist, but she's going to have to make a move like Kris made last week in order to keep herself in this for a while. Her disconnection from the audience may be what dooms her ultimately unless she takes things in her own hands and makes people notice her. She might even have been trying to do that last week with the outfit - it did get her noticed. But I can't imagine how hard it would be for a 16 year old to try and orchestrate such a move.

So I guess the best I can hope for is that she stays in long enough to get noticed and courted by a more savvy producer. And vote, of course.

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Is Danny really that old? Isn't that verging on too old for the competition? Hmm.. 1980.. maybe something by the Clash?

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Eeek - NO! No Clash for Danny, please. He really doesn't have the punk cred for that. Guns of Brixton? Lost In the Supermarket? LOL Not even “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” It would have to be something off of “London Calling” because that was the one released in 1980. It's too bad Adam isn't from 1980 - he could do something off of “The Wall” by Pink Floyd - it would be theatrical enough for him. Did Queen do something in 1982 (was that the year of "Radio Ga Ga"?).

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Matt - could see doing Foreigner or Tears for Fears, maybe

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Were there any Foreigner hits after 1980? I can't remember...

I confess, I’m not really good at picking the songs that people should sing, though, and I don’t have my Billboard hits book handy to figure out what was released on what particular year. Is there a Michael Jackson record from 1986 for Anoop to do ? And I’m pretty sure there might be another Billy Joel song from 1986 for Scott. I expect that Lil will probably pick a Tina Turner from that year, although I don’t think that’s her best choice.

I’m looking forward to finding out what they sing – I just hope they do well with their arrangements. The “year of birth” is usually one of the more unpredictable rounds.

Looking forward to it…

Y

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Is Danny really that old? Isn't that verging on too old for the competition? Hmm.. 1980.. maybe something by the Clash?

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He's virtually on a walking frame GG.. God, I feel old now.. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" sounds a good one for Danny.

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Were there any Foreigner hits after 1980? I can't remember...

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I've done some research for you Ysmay..

Foreigner:

1980.. None.

1982 Waiting For a Girl Like You, I don't think that would suit Adam though..

1985 I Want To Know What Love Is.

1986 No Michael Jackson.. only Janet Jackson.

MJ's blog has the links to all the top songs for their birth years if you want to check it out. I'll put my picks in another post as this one is getting a bit too long.