Posts Tagged Jorge Nunez
American Idol – Final 13 (Results Show)
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on March 11, 2009
Good Evening , America! We’re back again for another night. But this time, it’s not to unfairly judge contestants I don’t like. No, tonight, we’re here to say good-bye to two of our wannabe hopefuls. Two contestants who have clawed and fought their way to get this far in the competition have to go home tonight without a recording contract, without being part of a tour that will play to half-full arenas around the country, and without a year’s supply of Rice-a-Roni. (It’s the San Francisco Treat!) Yes, tonight is elimination night. And this… is American Idol!
Ryan tells us there were 33 million votes last night, and I can honestly say only 11.5 million of those were from me voting for Adam. Kanye West (the self-proclaimed greatest artist of our generation) and Kelly Clarkson (Yay!) will be performing live for us tonight. Before we get to the results, Ryan tells us about the new rule called “The Judges Save”. In a nutshell, this means that the Judges have the power to save one contestant (up until the Top 5) from elimination. They can only do that once during the season. The week it is used, no contestant will be eliminated, but the following week, two contestants will go home. Hopefully, this will help keep American Idol from being strictly a popularity contest, and allow it to again be the talent competition it once was. (A rule like this could have saved my Season 1 favorite, Tamyra Gray, from going out 4th and allowed her to go head-to-head with my girl Kelly in the finals.)
Ahh, time for filler. This time in the form of the first group sing of the finals – a medley of songs from The Jackson 5. I have to admit, I’ve been severely looking forward to this. Mainly to see what is done with the choreography for one specific contestant. (I won’t say who, but I’ll give you one guess.) All in all, it wasn’t bad, and I’ll refrain from making any truly nasty comments.
Oooh! I have to comment on something last night, and I have to thank my friend Halle for bringing it to my attention. I’m sure you all saw that Alexis’s phone number to call was 1-866-436-5736 instead of being 1-866-436-5713 even though she was the 13th contestant. I just assumed it was because Idol didn’t have the use of 5713, that some other company did. You have no idea! I can’t tell you what it is, but I will say for you to not call that number from work, and don’t let your children call it. It is not a family-friendly number… if you get my drift. I have to wonder how many people accidentally called 5713 without thinking. I can only imagine Sanjaya’s poor little crying girl dialing it by accident and crying all over again while she listened. Ha ha!
Yay! It’s time for the Ford Music Video. (The only filler I like on results night. It’s always so cheesy, you just have to love it.) This time our Idols are singing “We Will Rock You” while being super-imposed on buildings as a Ford car drives through the empty streets of LA. Okay, so this wasn’t cheesy and fun, but I have hope for the rest of the season. Fingers crossed!
Finally, time to start the results. First up, Michael Sarver. ( Blah.) He’s safe. (Double blah.) Next, Allison Ireheta. She, too, is safe. (Yay for that!) Jasmine Murray is sent to the center of the stage to wait for further instructions. Matt Giraud is safe. Kris Allen and Megan Corkrey are both told to stand up. Kris is safe, but Megan is sent to stand with Jasmine. (Oooh, the tension is building.) One is safe, the other is going home. Without much fanfare, Megan is safe, and Jasmine is in danger of elimination if the Judges don’t save her. (Fat chance of that.) While she sang poorly, the judges decided not to save her, and Jasmine becomes the first casualty of the Finals. Can’t say I’m too broken up about it. She has a lot of potential. She’s just not ready yet.
Here to delay the results, Kanya West is singing “Heartless”. I’m not a big fan of his, but I love this song. (Okay, fast-forward.) Back to the results. First up, Scott “Pity Vote” MacIntyre. Of course, he’s safe. (I’ll keep my comments and impersonations to myself.) Next is Alexis Grace. She and her naughty side are here for another week. Danny Gokey, without a doubt, is safe. Anoop Desai, on the other hand, is sent to the center of the stage. (I give him credit for knowing he was headed there.) Adam Lambert is safe, and all is right with the world. Jorge Nunez and Lil Rounds are asked to stand, but Lil is safe, and Jorge is sent to stand with Anoop. At this point, I’m okay with either of those guys going home. They weren’t going to win, so they might as well go home now. (You know, till this moment, I didn’t realize how short Jorge was. I mean, for crying out loud, he’s shorter than Seacrest, and that’s short.)
Before we can find out who’s leaving us, Kelly Clarkson, our original American Idol, is here to sing her new hit song “My Life Would Suck Without You” from her new hit CD “All I Ever Wanted”. You can download her new cd on iTunes. Go to www.americanidol.com/iTunes for more details. (Tonight, this blog is brought to you by iTunes.) I heart Kelly and this song so much! I love the fact that she’s still real-sized.
Back to the moment of truth. Anoop or Jorge? Jorge or Anoop? After 33 million votes, Anoop is safe to sing another week. Now the Judges can pretend to think about their decision while Jorge sings. Not surprisingly, the Judges send Jorge packing. Again, not too broken up about it.
Well, that’s our show for tonight. No real drama. The 2 people I wanted to go home are still around for another week. Thankfully, the 3 people I wanted most to stay are here as well. Tune in next week when our Top 11 take on some new selection of songs. Who will rise? Who will fall? Who will fall down? Let’s find out together. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.
American Idol – Final 13 (Performance Show)
Posted by S. J. in American Idol, Season 8 on March 10, 2009
Good Evening, America! Well, here we are again. Back for another round of snarky comments, hysterical antics, and pure entertainment… and that’s just my blog. For Season 8, this year’s batch of finalists look to be one of the show’s strongest yet. There are a few questions that remain to be answered: Will the men continue to outperform the women? Will any of the Wild Card choices emerge as a real contender? And will Kara DioGuardi start a sentence without the phrase “Here’s the thing…”. Let’s find out together, shall we? This… is American Idol!
We’re going to start off slow this year, and I promise to try not to hate anyone right away. (Oops, too late.) Since there are 13 Finalists instead of 12, 2 people will be eliminated tomorrow instead of just one. (And here I thought FOX would try to stretch out the show for another week of huge ratings.) Tonight’s theme is all about the music of Michael Jackson, and if the tabloids are to be believed, he could use all the royalty money he can get from tonight. If he shows up tomorrow night to sing, we can at least be thankful that our contestants are a little too old for him. (Oops, did I say that?)
Lil Rounds (one of my early favorites) is first up tonight. Her strong R&B vocals can help set her apart from a field full of strong pop singers. She’s singing “The Way You Make Me Feel”. Her confidence is immediately evident. She can play to the camera, use the stage, and work the audience all at the same time. (And it looks like she and Paula have the same stylist.) Her vocals were amazing, and she changed the song up just enough to keep it interesting. Go on, girl!
Scott “I’m only here out of pity” MacIntyre is up next. Yes, there it is, I admit it. I don’t like him. (And yes, I know that makes me a jerk.) I think he’s an adequate singer, but I truly believe that if he weren’t visually impaired, he never would have made it this far in the competition. Yes, he’s a nice guy. Congratulations. But that doesn’t make him an amazing singer, and soon we’re all going to see that he’s in over his head. Tonight, Scott is singing “Keep the Faith” while playing the piano. He did a fine job. Hopeful message. Blah. Let the pity votes start rolling in.
Danny Gokey (another one of my early favorites) is 3rd. He’s got more momentum and sympathy than any other contestant coming in tonight, but he also has the talent and charisma to back it up. Danny is singing “P. Y. T.”. Already, I love that his glasses match his shirt. He’s got enthusiasm to spare, and it’s infectious. Love the fact that he brought the judges and the audience in for back-up vocals. The vocals were brilliant! This was a stellar performance!
Michael Sarver is 4th. I’m still not sure how he made it to the Top 13. For the life of me I just can’t figure it out. He’s another genuinely nice guy, and of course, he’s doing a sensitive song, “You Are Not Alone”. Michael has a decent voice, but even his natural smile won’t be enough to propel him to the finals. Passion, smashion. I give him a few weeks… tops… before America gets bored. I know I am already.
Jasmine Murray is our next wannabe vying for your vote. She had a lot of hype during the audition rounds, but she stumbled horribly during the semi-finals. This is her chance to prove that she’s supposed to be here. Jasmine is singing “I’ll Be There”. She’s a good vocalist, but the performance overall was quite boring. Jas is sweet, but that does not a superstar make.
Kris Allen is the 6th contestant to sing tonight. He’s flown under the radar, but if he keeps up with his vocals and his guitar, he could be a dark horse in the competition. He’s singing “Remember the Time”. Kris has the voice and the looks to sell records. The guitar definitely helps him, and it helps us forget some of those sour notes. Right now, I like, not love, him. I think he’s a contestant that will grow on me.
Allison Iraheta (another one of my early favorites) is young, but that voice? Wow! Anyone that is 16, and can take on Heart the way she did, deserves for everyone to stand up and take notice. First off, I have to say how much I love her hair. She’s singing “Give In To Me”. Allison has an authentic rocker girl vibe and gives off a Joan Jett-esque feeling. Love the gravelly voice. Love the passion and energy. She will be one to watch.
Anoop Desai, one of the most likeable guys this season, is next. He was the last minute addition to our finalists that brought us from 12 to 13, and I’m very thankful for that. Tonight, he’s singing “Beat It”. (Ugh, not a smart choice.) Anoop is comfortable with the stage, and he’s a good singer. Not amazing, but good. I wasn’t overly impressed with his performance at all, but I know he’s going to get by this week on his charm.
Jorge Nunez is the Hispanic David Archuleta of this season. He definitely has potential to do well. It’s nice to see Jorge brought his Jerry Curl to the finals. (Never leaves home without it.) He’s singing “Never Can Say Goodbye”. Unlike David Archuleta, Jorge is usually interesting to watch, but not tonight. And his singing was very blah for me. I’m not exactly contradicting what I said a few sentences ago… I did say it was potential. And he threw that potential out the window.
Megan Corkrey is next. Her jazzy nature is another breath of fresh air among the predominately pop contestants. She’s singing “Rockin’ Robin”. I’m not sure this was a smart choice for her. (I so love her tattoo sleeve.) Her performance seemed very karaoke, but not in a good way. I do love her personality and her voice, but I was just hoping for more. In the end, it was very Megan though.
Adam Lambert (another of my early favorites) is our 11th performer of the evening. His performance style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and he may have to learn some vocal subtlety, but I absolutely love him. He’s singing “Black and White”. This song is very Adam. His performance and vocal pyrotechnics are definitely on display tonight, and there is nothing subtle about it. He screeched through a few notes, but I’m willing to forgive it. He was over the top, and he owned the stage, and I LOVED IT!
Matt Giraud is next. He didn’t get a lot of screen time during the preliminaries, and during the semi finals, he wasn’t one of the contestants that was easily remembered. Matt has his work cut out for him to make a big impression with America. He and the piano are singing “Human Nature”. He’s whined again and again that he’s better with his piano, and I have to agree. Definitely more memorable with the piano. That is, until he sang like a girl at the end. He’s a talented performer, and if America can remember to vote for him, he may be around for a few more weeks.
Alexis Grace (the last of my early favorites) is here to close the show. (Does anyone else think her dad may have the ‘munchies’… a lot?) Alexis and her hooker heels are singing “Dirty Diana”. For a tiny little pixie of a girl, she sure does have a lot of power in her voice. She was a bit over the top in places, but not in a good way. Overall, she was great, and she has nothing to worry about this week.
Well, that’s our show for tonight. This could be a heckuva season. To conclude, I want to join in with Paula’s advice for the millionth time and suggest that we should ‘take it all in’! Tune in tomorrow night to find out which two of our wannabes will be heading home early. By now, you know the drill… Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.