In a normal week, I would probably find myself writing something on the order of thanking America for coming to its senses and finally sending the classy but inert Clyde Drexler packing from Dancing with the Stars. And then I’d tack on some snarky thought about how maybe America could be similarly inspired tonight to send the “utterly horrendous” (Simon’s words) Sanjaya Malakar and his bandanna home from American Idol after Tuesday’s feeble attempt at Bonnie Raitt insouciance.But this is hardly a normal week. Between Monday’s instantly infamous tragedy at Virginia Tech, and the natural disaster of the floods in the Northeast following last weekend’s torrential storm, my TV has been a bearer of bad news for the last couple of terrible days. Reality TV has been thoroughly overshadowed by reality on TV.In times like these, especially as the nation tries to come to grips with the senseless horror of the Virginia Tech shootings, TV serves an essential p...
read more
American Idol Last week Becky went back to the pages of Maxim, and Stevie? Nixed. The top 10 were a bit disappointing tonight. The ladies made some bad song choices, and almost every one of them attempted to sing too low for her range. Katharine combined both mistakes by kicking things off with Stevie Wonder's "All in Love Is Fair." How many times have I asked you people to please leave Stevie Wonder alone? Katharine was much more impressive last week, so hopefully she'll wow us again. Two people who may not have that chance are Brenna and Heather. Heather, there is a reason nobody has performed Mariah Carey's "Hero" on American Idol. The woman's voice goes from gutter growl to dog whistle at the spee
read more
American IdolOverall, this was not the most exciting edition of American Idol this season. The audition process is going into overdrive with the cutesy montages, and I think the "zombie" one finally pushed me over the edge. I wonder if the judges regret giving Alison Schoening a second chance — I guess a near-death experience is a good reason for double audition time. The panel was a bit too lenient in Austin, letting "fit model" Ashley Jackson through to Hollywood. She sounded better singing with her mouth closed and she really needs to look into a career in ventriloquism. I'm also not too sure about Ronnie "RJ" Norman; his "Ain't No Sunshine" was competent but much less spectacular than he thought i
read more
American IdolAnother season of American Idol begins with double the twin action. Does anyone agree that two sets of male twins plus the small-town Barrettsmith sisters might be overkill in the family-drama department? It smells a touch gimmicky, but at least all the siblings can back it up with their voices. So can single-named diva Mandisa and Gina, the tongue-pierced, fishnet-wearing dental assistant who managed a decent Celine Dion vocal. But really, we don't tune in to see the true talents this early in the season. There will be plenty of time to see how they fare. No, the premiere episode is all about the truculent train wrecks, and Chicago was full of 'em. Here's a hint for future Idol wannabes: When the judges r
read more
American IdolAnother season of American Idol begins with double the twin action. Does anyone agree that two sets of male twins plus the small-town Barrettsmith sisters might be overkill in the family-drama department? It smells a touch gimmicky, but at least all the siblings can back it up with their voices. So can single-named diva Mandisa and Gina, the tongue-pierced, fishnet-wearing dental assistant who managed a decent Celine Dion vocal. But really, we don't tune in to see the true talents this early in the season. There will be plenty of time to see how they fare. No, the premiere episode is all about the truculent train wrecks, and Chicago was full of 'em. Here's a hint for future Idol wannabes: When the judges r
read more