Posted by kitiwiti on Mar 30, 2009 in
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i joined this girl’s project online, who invited many people to participate in her silly endeavor (for art!, she might say). i made a paper cat hat for me and my Poohbear, who is now called Scar. (He earned that nickname after a nasty catfight with another tom cat in the neighborhood.) In this pic, he certainly seems to hate me. heeheh
*tagalog – official Philippine language
Posted by admin on Mar 26, 2009 in
Uncategorized 
Truth be told, I teared up watching the introductory clip about the humble beginnings of Motown. I totally get how, especially to Lil Rounds, it is an overwhelming experience and to meet Barry Gordy and Smokey Robinson , the fathers of Motown, the movement that paved the way for great black soul singers and the R&B.
As soon as I heard that it was going to be Motown week, I’d predicted that Danny and Matt, the soul singers will totally shine. However, there were a few surprises during the show which I will reveal in a few.
Good solid performances:
+ MATT : Let’s get it onnnn!!! Hawt! Something’s missing I feel, but he’s almost there.
+ KRIS : Move over, Jonas Brothers! This boy is the new Jason Castro.
+ ADAM : As always, unpredictable! He came onstage looking like this greasy italian mobster who’s suddenly crooning and baring his heart and soul. Being such a strange little creature, and so irritatingly glamrock, I dont pay him no mind, but his tender acoustic set was a suave solid performance! The element of surprise of being cleaned up (he looks like 2nd superman Dean Cain) came to his advantage, you can really take the stripped down song Tracks of My Tears and take it for what it really is: a damn fine song.
+ ALLISON : She did some good riffs and ended on a high note; good vibe. Was her papa a rolling stone? She sure felt it.
Okay performances that left me and some judges iffy
+/- ANOOP : I like his tender Ooh baby baby version, but his falsies were not so confident (As compared to, say, Adam and Matt). A bit boring.
+/- LIL : sang a bit too fast, a bit too shouty, some good vocals still. Nice dress, pretty extensions.
+/- : DANNY Soul singer, good song choice, good vibe. Tweedly dee and Tweet-tah-lee-dum! I like that!
Not good enough, weird, plain out-of-place performances
- SCOTT : played good piano, sang with a joyless voice. Basically wrong song choice.
- MICHAEL : missed out on the inspiration trip to Detroit, overdid Smokey’s “pounding” advice and shouted all over the song.
- MEGAN : sang the song was too fast and the arrangement was strange. Bad song choice.
* * *
Adam and Allison surprised me with good performances that the judges saw and commended tonight. The “rockers” are totally in it to win it! Megan may have her look and her “schtick”, but this Motown week just goes to prove that one-trick ponies can get as far as their fans can carry them. Let’s just hope she didn’t put her foot in her mouth by pre-empting the voting. But as Simon says, her performance might not be good enough to let her be back next week.
What do you think?
MY MOTOWN SONG CHOICE : Tracks of My Tears or What Becomes of a Brokenhearted
Adam looked really good, no? Dean Cain !!!!
Posted by admin on Mar 19, 2009 in
Uncategorized Gaaah, I forgot to publish this! 
This is the week when one sees Simon grimace or roll his eyes A LOT. Make no mistake about it, the man positively HATES COUNTRY WEEK.
However, the 11 remaining contestants seem to have shone during this week, including last week’s weak link Anoop Desai. Country singer Randy Travis comes on as their mentor and makes some good observations about the kids.
Michael Sarver, the big man with the cheerful grin, started off with a song thats meant for square dancing! Impressive, really, since these types of songs have so much lyrics and hopping cheerful melody. I wish he kind of danced a little tho, because it was such a happy song.
I missed half of Allison’s performance, however from what I saw, she reminded me of a rough version of AIS01’s Kelly Clarkson. And I don’t even like Clarkson. She’s good, but no tricks. At least not this week. One interesting observation: she looks so much like SKarlet formerly from band Put3ska/Brown Beat Allstars.
Kris Allens sounded good just singing that ballad. He’s adorable! He doesnt milk the spotlight when the camera’s on his face like Lambert, so that kind of adds up to his charm. I still like him with the guitar tho. He adds a funky vibe to his performance. Rolling Stones called him a post-pubescent version of Archuleta, and strangely I had the same thought about that too.
Lil Rounds did a pure country song from Martina McBride, and it didn’t sit too well with the judges. Made some whiney protestations about not touching the country, but personally I think she thought people might freak out if she R&B-ed something country… America and possibly most of AI viewers are staunch supporters of the country music, and maybe she didnt want to lose their vote. However, her experimentation has left a flavorless taste in the judges mouths.
Adam Lambert for the first time sort of impressed me. He stood out because instead of doing country music, he found an arrangement that was sort of a Persian flavor with sitars etc of Johnny Cash’s RING OF FIRE. This boy is a born performer! His belted-out notes were clear as a bell and he had perfect control of his voice. The song also had crazy pitch transitions and he clearly but surely nailed them.
This time, however, Simon didn’t like Adam Lambert. He even went as far as rehashing an already used phrase: ABSOLUTE INDULGENT RUBBISH, he spat. Maybe he hates how theatrical Adam looked with his fiery background and raspy sexy voice? Maybe Simon was turned on (Because we all know he is secretly gay) and suddenly went on the defensive.
Scott played a ho-hum song on the piano. Supposedly another Martina Mcbride and it was alright. Do you ever get distracted with the crazy way his non-seeing eyes look? I do. The song, however, was boring… even Paula told him he was getting too predictable with the piano. Idiot. Simon, (thank you!) called her out and defended Scott by tactfully saying “He’s more comfortable with the piano..” and went on to say that his being behind the piano has nothing to do with not having connected with the audience. It’s song choice that does.
Alexis did the same song Brooke White sang last year, Dolly Parton’s Jolene. Oh noes! Is that an omen? The judges hated that she didn;t sound as cool (or “dirty”, in their words) as before. I hated it mainly because she looked and sounded old, despite her strange pink streaks. Oh, cute Kristen Bell-look-alike! Its not your time yet! (at least i hope not)
Danny, as usual did his passive-aggressive way of singing… Belting out the latter half of AI S04 Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel. Lucky lucky! That song is sure to bring on the goosebumps, and when he belted it out and sang it so genuinely, people connected to him instantly. Except maybe for his hideous coat, which simon noticed too and said it looked like he was “..going to some sort of polar expedition.” Give the boy a break, he’s from the coldest place in the US, Mil-freakin-waukee. Maybe he’s comfortable with those puffed up coats.
Anoop did well with an R&B ballad version of You were always on my Mind, and rounded off his notes nicely. Even Simon told him, welcome back!
Megan was sick but still was able to perform great. She was wearing a cute dress, but her boobs were HUGE! Oh, and she did her silly shakey (corky?) dance again. I wonder, does she pick her songs to match her dance ? Cause it really should be the other way around LOL.
Finally, my boy Matt did Carrie Underwood’s So Small, and while I didn’t know the song, I liked it. He totally owned the song! I especially love how the band comes on to join him during the chorus. A bit of blues, a bit of country. He was able to fuse it all in a funky sort of setting. The judges loved it! Simon even said it was better than Danny Gokeys! Woot! Go Matt Go!
***Meghan Corkney , i just realized, sounds like Adele Adkins! And I’ve been loving Adele since early last year, when my fiance discovered her myspace and told me to listen to her.
Tags: american idol
Posted by admin on Mar 17, 2009 in
Uncategorized Okay, I found my bet for American Idol.
His name is Matt Giraud, and he got in the TOP13. Yes, 13 , not 12. Two weeks ago, the AI judges decided they can’t pick just 3 people from the WildCard Round and decided to bring in 4. Wow! The 4th pick was Anoop, and most people like to call him ‘the wildcard of the wildcard round’! My cousin Jan certainly likes him 
Back to Giraud: Okay, I might have been swayed by Simon Cowell’s first label of him, because Cowell compared him to Elliott Yamin from season 5. There’s also this unpredictability in him, but mostly he impressed me with his Ray Charles number during Hollywood week. This last round, he ended up behind the piano and sang Michael Jackson’s HUMAN NATURE, high notes included. Very nice range, Matt. He’s cute too, he reminds me of a few actors/singers mixed together in one package. Vocally, he is said to be reminiscent of (like mentioned earlier): Elliott Yamin, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke
Others who impressed me during the TOP13 performance:
ALEXIS GRACE
KRIS ALLEN
ADAM LAMBERT (but really too theatrical)
Everyone else was really good but not all that great. Like, Lil Rounds is okay, but getting to be a bit predictable. So is Danny Gokey. Some song choices were just plain ridiculous: like Megan’s Rock n Robin song choice. Its like going to the Grammy’s and while everyone is wearing designer long gowns, she comes in in a short layered baby doll Betsey Johnson thats bordering on casual. Dumb, right?
It might be a little too early to make my predictions, but I’m pretty sure ANOOP DESAI will be joining JORGE NUNEZ and JASMINE MURRAY soon.
Danny Gokey is a crowd favorite, and hey I just realized he’s from Milwaukee, woohooo! I kind of want to see him in the top 5, along with Matt, Lil, Alexis. Better him than the screamy Adam Lambert (and im not talking about his sexual preference okay!?! ).
Tags: american idol
Posted by admin on Mar 10, 2009 in
Uncategorized The reason why i havent been blogging about AI this year is because the format confused me.
Well normally I dont really get into it yet until a few episodes into the top 12. So it was hollywood week a few weeks ago, so what?
First, they kind of changed around a few rules. They supposedly did a wild card round a few seasons ago, and this Simon likes because its a guarantee that the last 3 people coming into the top12 that are coming from this round are chosen by them (the judges). So in a way, there’s a certain percentage of good ones that the judges get to save.
But in the end? You get endeared to more characters only to say bye bye to them 5 minutes (or 1 episode) later.
The judges get spared the agony of cutting down more people by picking 72 to do a “sing-off”, then cut it down to 36 instead of 24, and then do the voting and the big stage.
but wait, thats not all. they subdivide the 36 into 3 groups of 12. Only 3 spots will be filled per group. If you end up in a really good group, you are screwed, because it means less chances for you to get in. it divides their chances to 25%, and the remaining 5% is decided by the judges, as explained by the wild card round I was talking about. 
Simon says many people from previous seasons emerged from the Wild Card Round. I believe they like it because they can pick 8 out of the unpopular contestants. It gives them more control; they can basically play God and grant second chances to those people they believe have talent.
I still think Simon is nasty, however I love how he can easily call out lazy ass peeps from the hard working ones.
“Why did you repeat that song tonight?” Paula would ask, for instance. The contestant would answer in a haughty small voice, “I didnt have time to rehear—” “RUBBISH!” Simon would quickly interject.
Some of the contestants aren’t as good as they seem. I read somewhere that AMERICAN IDOL is all about the backstory.
Of course the blind guy got in. Why? Because he HAS a BACKSTORY. Get it? Jorge Nunez, the Latino one has a funny accent and he’s definitely got the Latin vote. His accent is also reminiscent of Marc Anthony, and boy, do people love that guy, even before he married JLo! And the dysfunctional hysterical Tatiana Del Toro is now sporting a weird Italian accent… possibly to garner her Italian-American vote from the populace. Sigh.
The Wild Card Round was a relief though. The judges, despite their crap and personality flaws, do know what they talking about and can easily pinpoint talent from one-trick ponies. This year they seem to be enjoying textured vocals but they are also very vigilant against out of tune singers.
Mainly, I’ve been watching out for Matt Giraud, who Simon said early on in Hollywood reminded him of S5’s Elliott Yamin. HELLO!?!? Elliott Yamin happens to be my favorite AI contestant of all time! He was unusual in his song choices and he does not swagger like an arrogant fool! This Matt Giraud, though, has a higher timbre, a cleaner texture, almost whiny quality to his voice. His pitch is perfect, way better than Yamin’s, and man can he play the blues! He did a Ray Charles number on the piano that pretty much blew everyone away!
Then during the 36 contestant phase off, he sang the uber boring VIVA la VIDA of Coldplay and his voice wobbled and it was awkward. He didn’t make it BUT it was the Wild Card option that saved him.
Later on, Simon would say that they will also have the option to save someone within the top12, in effect kicking out 2 people in the next episode.
Confused? Not as much as I am! The biggest reason for me to hate the new Idol: WHO IS THAT FREAKIN BYATCH AT THE JUDGES TABLE????? She goes on and on and im like, Shut up! She annoys me the same way I get annoyed with the inarticulate stuttering Paula Abdul. Kara DioGuardi may be pretty and extremely talented (I saw her videos on youtube), but she just talks TOO DAMN MUCH. It’s crowded enough at the judges table, do you have to steal their airtime too? The moment she did a “sing-off” with an auditioning contestant (Yes, bikini-girl), I knew she was a bit of arrogant goods.
**
Rumor has it that , because of the tragic suicide death of one of Paula’s obssessive fans last year, Paula got so pissed at the AI producers for allowing her stalker on the show, esp when she is so talentless. Paula actually considered leaving the show. However, she decided against it, probably at the time AI execs were already under negotiations with Kara Dioguardi
. In the end? They have 4 happy judges, and the rest is history.
Tags: american idol
