Two Down, Nine To Go

From AmericanIdol.com

So instead of a whole group number on American Idol tonight, they are putting the kids into smaller groups to sing.  Why? I can't stand the group numbers as it is....this is even worse. It's like having to sit through the concert before the concert. At least by the time they get to my part of the country in the Fall, they've had months to prepare.

First up is Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina. They sing some country song and then Ryan tells them they're both safe. Wow, that's a surprise. (And that's my sarcastic voice, in case you couldn't tell.)

Is it just me or are the Ford commercials getting even lamer than they've always been?  Also, why don't we ever see these commercials on TV at other times? They serve no purpose if no one ever sees them.

Next up is Jacob Lusk and Naima Adedapo singing Ashford & Simpson's Solid. I recognize the song, anyway, but it kinda sucked. Ryan tells them that Jacob is safe and Naima is not. Again, I exhibit absolutely no surprise.

I have a feeling that tonight is gonna be pretty tame and uneventful after last week's craziness. Two people will be going home, but they're almost certainly going to be some combination of Naima, Stefano, Thia and Paul.

Fantasia looks like a giant next to Ryan. I don't remember her being that large.

After Fantasia we have Haley Reinhart, Thia Megia and Pia Toscano singing Teenage Dream, Katy Perry. I only know this song cause of Glee and I thought it was just as inappropriate when they did it. Just saying. Ryan tells them that Pia and Haley are safe. Oh, he drags it out a little more than that, but that's what happens.

Oooh look, Idol winner Kris Allen and his little bitty teenager-looking wife are in the audience.  It's interesting that they haven't asked him to come sing or anything like that. They've had the non-winner Adam Lambert back twice.

All this stuff they're showing us about the house leaking and Mark Anthony and everything, that happened last week, right? And did anyone else notice that the stand in judge for Steven Tyler is bald?

Now we have the Idol band, Paul McDonald, James Durbin, Casey Abrams and Stefano Langone with their rendition of Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and the Wings. If I'm being honest, the only one of them who sounds good is James. And I don't even like him. Ryan tells them that Casey and James are safe.

So, wait, it comes down to the exact four people that I said it would.  I must be psychic.

The final person in the B3 is Paul. I'm slightly torn about this, cause I'm not sure if I like Paul or Stefano better, but since I don't care about either of them that much, and since I'm fairly certain that the girls will both be going home, it doesn't matter.

It just occurred to me that the best part of the judges already using the save is that we won't have to listen to the losers sing their way out. Please. Please, please, please.

So, we have the Jamie Foxx/Will.i.am thing happening. They call it singing, but since I fast forwarded through it all, I didn't have to make that determination.

And, to absolutely no one's surprise, Naima and ThiaMariaMegia (I just couldn't resist) will be going home.

Idol Seems To Be The Hardest Word

From AmericanIdol.com

Getting ready for Top 11 Redux on American Idol tonight. It’s also Elton John night and I love how they said there wouldn’t be restrictive theme nights this year. Then they went ahead and had these restrictive themes.

That’s Idol, always doing the stupid thing.

As usual, I’m starting late so I can fast-forward through commercials and other stuff….and…um, say what’s going on with Ryan’s hair?

I’m a little surprised about Elton John night, cause they haven’t done one since season 3, I believe, when he called them racist for having the three divas in the B3. I guess since J Hud has her Oscar now, all is forgiven.

So, let’s get right on to the singing…

Scotty McCreery: Country Comfort – Well, I could have called that one since Scotty only sings country music and Elton only had like two country-ish songs off his country album that only his most die hard fans have heard.

Naima Adedapa: I'm Still Standing - I like reggae, but I didn't like that. If she wanted to sing a song with a reggae feel, why not just sing Island Girl. Granted that song is about prostitution, but most people probably have no idea what the lyrics are anyway. Besides, shouldn't Casey have sung this song? Naima should go home now.

Paul McDonald: Rocket Man - I would never have called this one for Paul, maybe James, but not Paul. I think I was right, too, cause that wasn't good. His phrasing was all over the place and sounded kinda awkward, plus his voice got a bit lost. He would have been better on Sad Songs Say So Much or Tiny Dancer. But did he ask me? No!

Pia Toscano: Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Right, she's singing another ballad. Color me completely unsurprised. But maybe that's her strategy. Tell America every week that the next week you'll sing something up tempo, but keep singing ballads. That way they keep you around to hear you do something different. The fact is, Pia has a great voice, so singing the ballads isn't really a bad thing. Look at Carrie Underwood, she was boring and just stood there singing the same type of song every week. And she won.

Did Pia just give away the theme for next week?

Stefano Langone: Tiny Dancer - It wouldn't be my first choice for Stefano and it's not one of my favorite Elton songs, but he sounded good. Stefano is basically always on tune and his voice has a very nice sound. There's no bad here.

I've just realized that I've put down all the Idols' names and I only have ten. I've forgotten someone. And I have no idea who, even as I'm looking over the list. That can't be good.

Lauren Alaina: Candle in the Wind - I actually thought of this one for Scotty, cause I figured it could be given a country twist. I'm so over Lauren. Even though every one seemed to like that - a lot - it was just kinda OK for me.

James Durbin: Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting - My friend Sandy picked this one for James and it's probably a good call for him. There aren't too many words and he can basically scream "Saturday" over and over and over again. Plus, they gave him real flames, so they clearly like him and it doesn't matter what he does. As usual, the judges like him so much more than I do. My husband's take on it, "that was cool."

I had no idea what he meant about having a Pepsi moment, so my husband explained it to me. Look, I have lots of thoughts and I can't keep every single memory of stuff that happened in the past in my head, so I honestly didn't remember that Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire during a Pepsi commercial.

Thia Megia: Daniel - Great, more boring songs for Thia. Actually, I figured she'd sing something from the Lion King. I love how she slowed it down so she could be even more boring than usual. I honestly feel sorry for her, cause she has a lovely voice and they probably should have told her to try out in a couple of years when she's learned to have a personality.

Casey Abrams: Your Song - I wasn't sure this was going to be a good choice for Casey, but the more he let it build, the more I liked it. It was a great decision to do something so quiet and laid back to show America that he can really sing. Plus, it was definitely time to clean up the beard and hair. I'm pretty sure he'll survive the dual elimination this week, just cause of being voted off last week. At least, I hope so.

Jacob Lusk: Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word - I like Jacob and I like how he changed the song around to really suit him. There were some pitch issues, but it never seems to matter when Jacob sings, cause he just carries you along on his personality. I agree with Randy (and I don't say those words often) that he probably should have used the modulation to go to his "Jacob spot."

Haley Reinhart: Bennie and the Jets - Haley! She's the one I forgot. Uh oh. I kinda thought they would save this song for tomorrow night's group Elton medley. I was thinking more like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for her, but then you don't want to sing a song with the word "goodbye" in it on Idol. This is one of my favorite Elton songs and Haley just made me hate it a little. I used to like Haley, too, so I guess things change.

My bottom three are Naima, Paul and Thia, with an extra side of Haley. I'll be happy to send any two of them home.

I'd even be OK if we sent home all four.

Fresh Bao, How Quaint

OMG!! I made Char Siu Bao today and it was awesome!!

OK, to be honest, I made a dumbed down version, but it was still really, really good.

Instead of making the bao from scratch ("Did she really make fresh bao? Quaint!") I cheated and used these yeast rolls that come frozen. They are just good yeast rolls, a little sweet and very puffy. I thawed them out, let them rise, stuffed them and let them rise again.

But that was the only cheating part. I did make my own version of the barbecue sauce, so it may not be exactly authentic, but it tasted amazing.

I slow roasted a pork shoulder butt - just over 2 lbs.: first I covered it in salt, pepper, chopped garlic and olive oil, seared it in a hot pan and then put it on a grate in my roaster, with a little water (not touching the roast), covered it tightly with foil and roasted it for an hour at 350F and for three additional hours at 300F.

When it came out it just fell apart, so I shredded it up and put it in the sauce I had made, in the same pan where I seared the roast. I removed all the garlic bits that had fallen off the roast when I seared it, cause it was starting to look burnt, but left all the lovely pork flavor. Then I added a little more oil, about half a finely chopped onion and one finely chopped clove of garlic. While that sauteed, I added 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, 3 tbls brown sugar, 1 tbls soy sauce, 2 tbls white vinegar and 5 tbls hoisin sauce. Keep in mind that these figures are all guesses cause I didn't really measure anything, but I just kept tasting it as I went along to make sure I had what I wanted.

Once I added in the roast pork (and I only used about 1/2 of it), the pork mostly soaked up the sauce, so it had the flavor, but wasn't all saucy.

I split up the pork into 9 buns (there are three of us and I wanted us to all have 3 each - cause we like to eat), twisted the edges up and let them rise again, and then steamed them in my metal veggie steamer for about 15 minutes. I don't have a bamboo steamer, but this worked just fine.

I did put two of them in the oven, just to see what would happen and they were good that way as well, just a little crunchier.

Saving Casey Abrams

They say there's going to be a shock on American Idol tonight. Honestly, no one's departure would be that shocking to me, cause there isn't any one of these kids that I care enough about to miss when they're gone. And I can think of at least five of them that I'd rather never have to hear sing again.

I'm starting to watch well after the show has ended cause I was busy. But, as you know, I like to do that, since it allows me to fast-forward through pretty much everything but the ten minutes of actual elimination. You know what elimination is, right? It's the point of this entire hour.

Um....did Stevie Wonder just forget the words to Signed, Sealed, Delivered? Of course, I hit the FF button through most of the group number, but I had to watch Stevie. That was kinda weird though.

So let's start eliminating already.

First up is Lauren Alaina, Pia Toscano and Scotty McCreery. If one of these people isn't safe, it should be Lauren. But, of course, they are all safe. No shocks there.

Fast forwarding through everything in the middle, next up is James Durbin and Paul McDonald. I think they are both safe, but Paul could be in the B3. I totally wouldn't be heartbroken if they wanted to get rid of James, though. Nope. Both safe. Per Hulk Hogan....whatever that's about.

Now, in center stage we have Jacob Lusk, Stefano Langone and Thia Megia. I see Stefano and Thia in the bottom three. And I'm right. I think Stefano would be a huge draw for all the little girls on the tour, though, so I think he may stay. But maybe not. Maybe he's the shock. Cause since we know we're being shocked, then Thia is clearly safe.

Next up is Casey Abrams, Naima Adedapo and Haley Reinhart. I'd like it to be Naima, but it won't be or they won't have any woman of color on the tour. But maybe it's Casey and that's the shock?  Cause at this point only Casey or Stefano going home would be shocking. Naima is safe and on the tour.

Casey is in the B3. Not as much shocking as it is sad.

So Casey is going home. Isn't he? Sigh. I'd say the judges would use their save on him, but I don't think they would use a save this week cause of the tour.

Ryan introduces Jennifer Hudson saying that she is their only Idol winner with an Oscar. Um, Ryan, she didn't win Idol. How quickly they forget when it suits their purposes. Anyway, if you want to talk shock elimination, Jennifer Hudson fits that to a tee. The week of three divas in the bottom three. People still talk about it.

George Huff!!!!  I love George. His was a sad elimination.

Thia is safe and so it must be Casey. But really, it was just a matter of time. Bottom line, neither one of these guys is gonna win so they will have been eliminated sooner or later. It's just sad one of them won't get the tour money when a boring, inferior performer like Thia will.

Yep, Casey's a goner. It reminds me of when Chris Sligh was eliminated. Although he made the tour cause he was number ten. He was a better singer than Casey, but he was the same kinda fun guy. Honestly, Casey has been sick so many times, he's probably not a great risk for the tour. But I would still like to see him on it.

Wait a minute...hold the presses....Wow, they are using the save. I guess I am shocked. By that and by all of the bleeping out for Casey's swearing.

So how do they determine who goes on the tour when they cut two people next week? Oh, see, I ask these questions and it's like Ryan can hear me, even though I'm watching the show on the DVR an hour after it ended.  They all get to go on tour!

Yay, Casey! You win.

Motown is Lotown

From AmericanIdol.com

I can't say I'm a huge Motown fan, but it's usually a good time musically. Motown night on American Idol should be great. If only the people singing were real artists and not these random kids.

I made some predictions earlier today as to which songs I think the kids will choose. If I'm right about any of them, I'll be sure to tell you.

Somehow, I always forget that Liv Tyler is Steven Tyler's daughter. It just doesn't seem like he should have kids, although I think he has at least four. That he knows about, anyway.

So, on to the singing....

Casey Abrams: I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye - I didn't pick this one for Casey, I picked it for James. I was thinking Casey was more Stevie than Marvin. It was very lively and almost in tune. Except for that last note. He even did that little Steven Tyler ee-ee-ee-ee thingy. I like him. He's different and he's happy to be different.

My husband is somehow amazed that Brad Whitford looks so old. Clearly, he's forgotten that Aerosmith was formed like back in the 60's.


Thia Megia:  (Love Is Like a) Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas - Sadly, I called this one for Haley, who would have been so much better at it.  Thia is just boring, even when she's trying to not be a Disney princess.  I'm sorry.  But she's cute, maybe she can act or something. 


Jacob Lusk: You're All I Need To Get By, Marvin Gaye - I was hoping he'd sing You've Made Me So Very Happy, just cause I could hear him going to church with it. But this choice is good, too. He seems to have reined it in a little this week and has more control over himself. In a way, that made it a little safe, but  that's OK, cause he was going way too far out the last couple of weeks. Clearly, the judges agree with me. They may have liked it even a little more than I did. 


What has gotten into Ryan? Why is he inviting people on the stage to hug sweaty Jacob? Eww. 


Lauren Alaina: You Keep Me Hanging On, Diana Ross and the Supremes - I thought she'd sing You Can't Hurry Love, so at least I got the artist right. I just can't like Lauren. There's nothing bad about the way she's singing and she's not boring like Thia, but it's just so passionless. And still sorta entitled, like look-at-me- I'm-beautiful-and-you-should-love-me, but it translates to I-have-no-real-life-experience-so-therefore-my-swagger-is-simply-posturing. 


Stefano Langone: Hello, Lionel Ritchie - I saw this on the list of Motown hits and I thought maybe someone would sing it, but then I thought it isn't really what I would call Motown, so maybe not. Plus, how is he gonna make this better than David Cook's rendition? Answer: He's not. It was just OK, with a kind of choppy arrangement that takes away from the song, I think. He'd have done better with my pick for him: Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. Wait, the judges are calling him on lack of real emotion but they're giving Lauren a pass? Can you say favoritism?


Oh, man, I just realized that there are still six more people left to sing. Why is this show sooooo long?


Haley Reinhart: You Really Got a Hold On Me, Smokey Robinson - Um....no. There was so much wrong with that, starting from her awkward decent down the stairs to her weird hand motions and yodel-y ending, I just don't know what to say. My husband, however, said "That was nice." Huh. 


Scotty McCreery: For Once In My Life, Stevie Wonder - My friend Sandy and I were hoping that he would sing Let's Get It On, but what were the chances of that, really? It just would have been so incredibly awesomely weird that it would have been amazing. Well, it was a little weak vocally, but let's be honest, this kid is a country singer. He's gonna sound like he's singing country even if they hand him show tunes. Although, on show tune night he could always do something from Oklahoma. My husband said that Scotty could record that and it would be played on country stations right now.


Pia Toscano: All In Love Is Fair, Stevie Wonder - I really wanted her to sing Don't Leave Me This Way. I could hear her belting that out and being wonderful. We saw Thelma Houston live in the Superdome at a giant disco party like ten years ago. OK, there's nothing more to that story. We just saw her. Anyway, this isn't a well known Stevie song and its usually a problem when they pick a song people don't know. Pia's good, she's flawlessly on key and she looks beautiful, but people still may not vote for her cause that song isn't a favorite.


Paul McDonald: Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson - I never would have thought of Paul singing Smokey. I was thinking more like You Are the Sunshine of My Life. In a way this is better, cause it's allowing him to sound a little different from his normal sound, although he still sounds like himself. Just read that sentence again, cause it does too make sense. The thing about Paul is that he's distinctive sounding, but not overpowering. Which is good, if it doesn't make him forgettable.  


Naima Adedapo: Dancing in the Street - Martha & The Vandellas - Well, I called one of them anyway. It makes sense that Naima would sing this, cause she likes to have fun on stage, even if she doesn't care quite as much about singing the right notes. So probably fifty percent of that was on tune, which may be a personal best for her.  The dancing and drumming was fun, although the dance looked more like the Funky Chicken than an African Tribal dance. But I've never been to Africa, so what do I know. 


James Durbin:  Living for the City, Stevie Wonder - OK, I like Stevie as much as the next guy, but I think we've heard more than enough of him tonight. Yep, that was just all screamy for me. But people seem to love this kid. I don't get it, but then everyone said the same thing when I loved Constantine Maroulis and Adam Lambert. So there you have it. 


My bottom three are Thia, Haley and Lauren. Honestly, I can barely remember Thia even being on the show tonight, so I think she may be in trouble. If I had to pick a guy for the B3, it would probably be Stefano. But I doubt any of the guys is going anywhere. 


Except on the tour. 

No Latin Idol for America

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Last night after American Idol, I felt the need to look up the top songs from the year I was born. Obviously, I need to know what song I'm gonna pick when its my turn to sing a song from the year I was born on Idol. You know, when they have Geriatric Idol.

I've pretty much made up my mind to sing People by Barbra Streisand. Or maybe Do Wah Diddy Diddy by Manfred Mann.

True story, I was singing for a wedding once and at the rehearsal, the groom suggested that the bride walk down the aisle to Do Wah Diddy Diddy. There was almost a divorce before there was a wedding.

It's late and I'm tired. As much as I like being able to fast forward through everything, starting the show after 9:30 pm is just too late for me.  I'm willing to sit through the bad group number and Ford commercial. This time. But I don't intend to do it all season unless they get way, way better.

I will, however, afford myself the pleasure of fast forwarding through Lee DeWyze and The Black Eyed Peas.

First up in eliminations, Jacob Lusk, Lauren Alaina and Casey Abrams. This looks like an entirely safe group to me. And it is.

Next is Haley Reinhart and Paul McDonald. This could go either way. They could both be safe or both be in the bottom three. But probably, Haley is in the bottom three.  And she is.

OK, I did stop and listen to Lee for a few seconds. Question: Do you think the people who end up in the bands and as backup singers for the Idol winners think, just because he won a karaoke contest doesn't mean he's  better than me. I had to do this all the hard way, I didn't just shoot up to stardom on the coat tails of a TV show. 

Just me then?

Back to eliminations. We have Scotty McCreery, James Durbin and Pia Toscano up now. This looks like another entirely safe group. But maybe that's just what they want us to think. No, it's just what is.  All safe.

Next we have Stefano Langone and Naima Adedapo. I'm torn on this one. It seems like all the little girls should be voting non-stop for little cutie Stefano, but maybe not. If I was right yesterday, then Naima is in the bottom three. Hey, I was right.

Now it's Karen Rodriguez and Thia Megia. Well, we all know I think Karen is not safe this week. So we'll see if I was right or wrong.

I was right. America does like Thia more than I do.

So now we have pretty much the bottom three I thought we'd have and I'm still pretty sure that Karen is going home. And I'm pretty sure she knows it, too.

Yep. It's Karen. I don't think they'll waste their save on her, either.

Here We Are, Now Entertain Us

From AmericanIdol.com

So tonight we have the Top 12 performing songs from the year of their birth on American Idol. Who thinks up these things? And why?  Sure it was fun 10 years ago when most of the kids had been born in the 80s.

This is usually the week I decide the order in which they will be eliminated. I don't feel like I know these people well enough to guess yet.  Maybe after tonight.

Naima Adedapo: What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner (1984) - No. You don't take on Tina if you don't have the pipes or the chops. She had neither, plus she took a pass on most of the notes.  That was just weak. It may be all about the feeling for her, but for some of us, it's about the melody.

They're remaking Arthur? What, did Dudley Moore die or something? (According to my husband, yes, he did like 4 years ago. Hmm, I must have missed that.)

Paul McDonald: I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John (1984) - His voice is normally wispy anyway, but tonight its pretty rough, so he sounds more like Donald Duck than Macy Gray. (Although, in my opinion, Macy Gray sounds like Donald Duck, too.) It wasn't terrible, but it really wasn't anything too special, either.

Thia Megia: Colors of the Wind, Vanessa Williams (1995) - OK, I get it. She's basically easy listening, like an elevator music artist. But she's cute and young and people like her. Otherwise, I don't understand the appeal.

James Durbin: I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi  (1989) - I'm so very over him. But he sure was a cute little kid, wasn't he?  Honestly, he picks songs I like, so I agree with his musical taste, I just don't like the way he sings them.  Also, the scream he insists on adding to every song is just wrong. He's neither Adam Lambert or Steven Tyler. Not even close.

Haley Reinhart: I'm Your Baby, Tonight, Whitney Houston (1990) - Either this is actually one Whitney song that I don't know or I just don't recognize it the way it's being sung. Whatever. Haley's growl was interesting the first couple of times, but it's starting to get old.

I have a question....who's this Jimmy guy that's been acting as a mentor every week and what happened to the guest mentors? I must be fast forwarding through too much stuff.

Stefano Langone: If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red (1989) - This was clearly the best pick of the songs he mentioned. By far. So I'm glad he chose it. I just wish he had slowed it down and caressed it a little bit more. Seriously, go listen to Mick Hucknall sing this and you'll agree with me. But he was still better than anyone else we've heard so far.

Pia Toscano: Where Do Lonely Heart Go, Whitney Houston (1988) - I thought the dance beat thing that came and went behind the song was a little off-putting, but let's be honest, she sang the song and it was good. I understood her, she hit all the notes, it sounded like itself, but not like a karaoke version of the original. Isn't that what they should all be trying to do?

Scotty McCreery: Can I Trust You With My Heart, Travis Tritt (1993) - Maybe I haven't mentioned this  before, but I'm not a fan of country music.

Karen Rodriguez: Love Will Lead You Back, Taylor Dayne (1989) - It doesn't matter if she says she's not just the Hispanic singer, when you sing some part of every song in Spanish, guess what? But even if she didn't, she still has that little something in her voice that says she's Hispanic. Also, she's still kinda boring.

I'm getting what the problem is here. Most of these kids have no passion in their voices. They are just singing and that's not enough.

Casey Abrams: Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana (1991) - This guy has had lots of stomach problems and been in and out of the hospital since he started Idol. It worries me. I'm excited that he's switching it up and taking on Nirvana this week. He's not playing it safe, for sure, and no one can call him Joe Cocker after that performance. Absolutely the very best of the night!

I just want to point out that I started watching the show 45 minutes late and I'm just getting to the last two performers and its 9:56. So I almost caught up with the entire 2 hours.

Lauren Alaina: I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge (1994) - Can I just point out that her parents look young enough to by my children? I'm on board with the fact that she's adorable and she can sing, so the judges love her. She's a marketing dream. But there's just something so annoying about how...entitled...she acts. Maybe it's just more self-possession than any little kid should have, but I don't like it.  Also, you could hear by that slightly scratchy sound that she was sick, and I refuse to feel sorry for her like she wants me to.

Jacob Lusk: Alone, Heart (1987) - I'm worried about this. No one has done this on AI better than Carrie Underwood back in week two of the Top 12 in Season 4 (the scary part is I didn't even have to look that up). She did it and it was amazing.  I hate for them to sing songs that will get compared to someone who did it better before. Jacob has this way of overdoing things (maybe  you've noticed) and he gets screamy. I'm not sure that's a good sound for this song. Actually, that wasn't as bad as it could have been. The thing is, I like him and I want him to last. I think he's safe, especially since he went last.

My bottom three would be Naima, Thia and Karen, but I'm guessing that America likes Thia more than I do, so maybe the third person will be Haley.

As for who is going home....I think Karen has sung her last note in Spanish on the Idol stage.