Posts Tagged Jennifer Hudson
American Idol – Final 7 (Results Show) Redux
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on April 22, 2009
Good Evening, America! Here we are again. No, it’s not déjà vu, we’re at the exact same place we were last Wednesday. 7 hopefuls vying for stardom, but someone must go home. Correction, this week 2 someone’s must go home. After last week’s use of the Judge’s Save, 2 of our wannabe’s will sing their swan song and exit stage left. Will there be tears? Will Paula end up as a big Pool of Abdul? Tonight could prove to be the most shocking double elimination in the most dramatic Rose Ceremony EVER. (Big sweeping hand motion.) Let’s find out. This… is American Idol!
Ryan wishes us all a Happy Earth Day and says that the finale will use all ‘green’ power. Ryan, that begs the question, what about all the other elimination shows? How is that power generated? In my mind, I see Megan Joy backstage, flapping her arms and making bird sounds while running as fast as she can on a giant hamster wheel hooked up to a generator.
The Group Sing this week is choreographed by Idol Judge, Ms. Paula Abdul. (I’ve been saying for weeks that they should have her do this.) Say what you will about her, but the girl can dance. The Idols are singing “Shake Your Body” by the Jackson 5 while decked out in outlandish 70’s attire. Danny and Anoop look like actual pimps, Lil is rocking the white boots, Adam Lambert Martin has invoked John Travolta. I’m so entertained right now, I could care less how bad they are lip-synching, and trust me, it’s pretty bad. The choreography is fantastic, and it’s easy to tell which Idols have natural dance ability and which ones don’t. This was fun and should be a lesson to the producers that if they are going to make us watch a Group Sing, the least they could do is entertain us.
Time for the Ford Music Video to the song “I’m Good, I’m Gone”. There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on: bakers, construction workers, dog washers. In the end, they all leave their day jobs and go to a café for open mic night where they are looking for singers. It was over pretty fast, and that was a good thing. After the wonderfully campy magic show, this was just a HUGE let down.
Results! Lil Rounds is first. She seems completely over it, and America does too, because after a little pomp and a little less circumstance, Lil is eliminated. Wow. I’m not shocked that she’s gone (totally expected that), but I’m shocked that she’s gone at 8:15. Lil Rounds sings herself out, and honestly, she looks relieved, and she sings better than she has in weeks. Definitely a classy way to go out.
Time for a Disco Medley. I’m sure it was lovely, and I’m sure you’d like to hear my thoughts on it, but I’m pressed for time. So… Fast Forward. Okay, a few comments. Freda’s performance was rough at best. Would have preferred to hear Kimberly Locke singing it. Thelma Houston looked like a cracked out Big Bird. Honestly, who dressed her? And was anyone else shocked to find out that KC (from KC & the Sunshine Band, not to be confused with Casey at the Bat) was white?
Back to the results. Kris Allen – safe. Adam Lambert-Martin – safe. (Yay!) Danny Gokey – safe. (No surprises so far.) Anoop Desai is the next member of our Bottom 3, as he should be. Down to Matt and Allison. One is safe, and the other joins Anoop for possible elimination. And the last person in our Bottom 3 is… Allison? Oh noooooooooooooooo! I don’t like this at all.
Supposedly David Archuletta performed, but for some reason my DVR refused to stop fast forwarding. It has a mind of its own.
The Moment of Truth. Anoop or Allison. (Please let Allison be safe.) After a record-breaking 45 million votes, the 2nd person going home tonight is… Anoop Desai!!! Yay! Wow, I totally called both eliminations tonight. I’m so good it’s scary sometimes.
The right people went home, but it was too close for Allison for my liking. We’re down to the Final 5, and that’s our show for tonight. So come on back next week to this locality, to have a heapin’ helpin’ of their hospitality. Idol that is. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.
American Idol – Final 7 (Results Show)
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on April 15, 2009
Good Evening, America! It’s Wednesday night, and that can only mean that 5 minutes worth of programming will find a way to be miraculously stretched into an hour of your time. How do they do it you ask? Ancient Chinese secret, I say. But the truth? Filler. Lots and lots of filler. And somewhere in the midst of all the useless video montages and guest star performances, some unlucky wannabe will be reduced to tears. Sounds like fun, right? This… is American Idol!
I’ve decided that whoever is dressing Randy hates him more than Paula’s stylist hates her. Honestly, I mean, come on. What’s up with the ugly sweaters? Anyway, tonight while waiting for the results, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson are here to sing for us.
We go straight into the Ford Music Video to “Freeze Frame” where our Idols are gracing the covers of various magazines. Except for poor Matt Giraud. He doesn’t get to play in any reindeer games. Matt is forced to bop around like a dork. What’s the word of the week, kiddies? L-A-M-E. Can you say ‘lame’ boys and girls? I knew you could.
Our Group Sing this week is “Maniac” from the movie “Flashdance”. I can’t tell whether they are lip-synching or not, but this week I don’t care. This is too wonderfully cheesy not to love. The only thing that disappoints me is that they didn’t let Adam Lambert-Martin to go all Jennifer Beals and dance with a chair and have water poured on him. Maybe next time.
This week, as you all know, we are down to our Final 7, and for those of you who remember in years past, this is what I like to call “Evil Week”. This is the week where Ryan divides the Idols into two groups of 3, then makes the poor 7th person stand with which group they think is safe. It’s never fun for the 7th person, and it’s never fun for us, because this is usually the week where a front-runner gets unexpectedly booted from the show. (Jennifer Hudson, I’m looking at you.) I hate “Evil Week”.
Alison is the first person to stand. Ryan tells her that she’s safe. What? He’s not being evil this year. Oh, my world has spun off its axis. Well, at least she’s safe. Next up, my Adam Lambert-Martin. And he’s SAFE!!!! Ahhh, what a good night. Anoop stands up to get his results, and while Ryan reads his critiques, the camera pans to Randy yawning. Yes, Randy, those are my thoughts on Anoop as well. America must agree because Anoop is again in the Bottom 3. (Called it!)
Coming home to American Idol is Oscar and Grammy Winner, Jennifer Hudson!!! She’s here to sing “If This Isn’t Love”. It’s a great R&B song with some big Jennifer vocals at the end. If you like Ms. Hudson and you don’t have this cd, get yourself over to iTunes and download it right now. I’ll wait till you get back. You won’t regret it.
Back to the results. We’re about to finish out the Bottom 3. Kris and Lil stand. Appropriately, Kris is safe, and Lil is in the Bottom 3. (Called it!) Now to Matt and Danny. Danny is safe, and Matt rounds out the Bottom 3. (Called it again! Man, I’m good.) So, we have Anoop, Lil, and Matt. All of them deserve to be where they are. Time for someone to go back to safety, and that person is… Anoop? Well, shut my mouth and paint me red! Well, shoot the horse and slap me silly! Well, stomp on frogs and shove a crowbar up my nose! (Can you tell I’m shocked?) I didn’t see that coming.
It’s Miley time! As Tweens around the world pee their pants, Ms. Miley Cyrus takes the stage to sing her new song “The Climb” from “Hannah Montana: The Movie”. She looks very grown up and beautiful, which is such a nice change from her usual rebellious teenage skank look. Now, I’ll admit it, I like me some Miley. Not a huge fan of this song, but it’s growing on me. Could be because they are playing it at least 2X an hour on the radio.
Back to the results, and the eliminated Idol is… Matt Giraud? I didn’t see that coming either. I thought for sure that Lil was a goner. It’s time for Matt to “Sing for his Life”. He is sans piano tonight. The Judges are huddled together. This might be the first week where they are truly considering using the Judges Save. (I think last week was just for show.) Paula and Kara are standing and swaying. Matt messed up on the bridge again. There was a bit more passion behind his performance tonight, but vocally, I think he did better last night. The crowd is chanting “Save! Save! Save!” The other 6 Idols are pulling for him to stay. You can feel the excitement swell. (I’m so nervous, I could just spit!) Simon tells Matt that he doesn’t have a chance to win the completion, but in the end the Judges have chosen to… SAVE HIM! The crowd is on its feet! The other Idols mob him with excitement and hugs. Paula, unsurprisingly, is crying. What a night! Before the party can continue, Simon ruins everyone’s fun by reminding us that 2 Idols have to go home next week, and next week is also Disco Week.
Well, that’s our show… and what a show it was! Not only were Adam Lambert-Martin and Allison safe, but we got to see the return of Jennifer Hudson… and to top it off, Idol history was made with the first-ever use of the Judge’s Save, thus sparing Matt Giraud from going home. It was almost too much excitement for one 60 minute show. Before I sign off, I’d like to send big birthday wishes to Mr. Brady Powers and Ms. Lisa Almond! Join us back here next week when our Idols tackle Disco and learn to do the Hustle. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.