Call 'em the Great Eight. As Blake, Chris R., Haley, Jordin, LaKisha, Melinda, Phil and Sanjaya move a big step closer to the finish line, TVGuide.com has questions. Like, did rocker gal Gina Glocksen get punk'd? Is Phil perhaps better than we think? Can Haley's pins earn her another free pass? W
read more
Speaking with Gina Glocksen the day after her American Idol dismissal, I, a professed fan of the rocker chick, couldn't help but suggest that the livelier rendition of "Smile" she gave us Wednesday night might have kept her around if she had delivered it, you know, 26 hours earlier. "That's what Randy [Jackson] said!" Gina responded with a laugh. Still, she doesn't regret her decision to tone down her act (if not her pierced tongue) this week: "I was happy to show America that I also have a voice, and not just a rocker image."OK, maybe she does have one regret: bidding adieu before the Jon Bon Jovi/"rock" week. "I was going to sing "Livin' on a Prayer," she told TVGuide.com. "Everything happens for a reason, though!"
read more
If I wasn't blogging AI for TV Guide, I would stop watching this show right now. Before I even get to a brief blow-by-blow, I have to step out of my usual banter and say something about the state of this competition. I understand "drama" makes for good television. I understand that the producers can’t be happy with everything going along as it should. “Life isn’t fair,” I can hear them shout. But that any lackluster singer can remain safe while perfectly great singers get sent home is just a travesty to the competition and to singing in general. I realize that since pop music often consists of “artists” who have no voice to speak of and are merely offering manipulated tracks under heavy musical artillery (Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson, you get the point), it makes complete sense that AI voters are engaged in keeping Sanjaya, Phil and Haley around. Unfortunately, I am really discouraged by the outcome of this week’s show, (though losing AJ, Sabrina a...
read more
Wow, the good ones get better and the bad ones, well, you get the picture. There were nine contestants going into this week of Idol and as far as I am concerned, there need only be six, possibly five. I will name names at the end. Actually this was a pretty good show. Aside from the aforementioned three or four, the remaining performances were outstanding. I would pay money to see a few of them. Wait, I rescind that. Justin Timberlake (the original one) is performing in L.A. to the tune of $150 a ticket, and that’s before the astronomical fees that that horrific master of tickets adds on to every seat. So by the end of the day, you’d pay over $200 to see JT. I’m not saying he’s not worth it, but I could fly to Hawaii for just a few dollars more, and frankly, Maui sounds blissful by comparison. What I am rambling to say is, if the tickets were a reasonable price, I would go. I would download Melinda, Chris R. and Gina’s performances this week if I could get a...
read more
Finally, I got one: I won the American Idol office pool this week by predicting the timely demise of Mr. Sligh from our little show. I’m sorry to see him go before both Haley and Sanjaya, but he has been consistent only in his lack of caring and he was bound to get tossed off the island soon. I liked Phil on Tuesday night’s show. I know why he made it into the bottom three, but I’m hoping he can hold on for a couple more weeks. Haley remained, and I have no doubt it was the shorts and heels of last week’s show. “She's got legs, she knows how to use them!”The saddest moment in the show was poor Gina’s face (she looked simply crestfallen) as she was told along with Sligh that one of them was in the bottom three, and then they had to sit through that dreadful song of Gwen’s until they found out. I knew she'd be safe because her Pretenders cover on Tuesday was fantastic.Now, as I’ve mentioned previously, I always liked No Doubt, but Ms. Gwen&...
read more