i'm back and i'm without bandaid today, which will hopefully allow me to keep up with the live blogging of tonight's top ten performances of American Idol... i'm running behind now and they're already introducing Remy, so off we go...

AND THEN THERE WERE TEN
to the tune of Alone - Heart

Ramiele (ratatouille): you're darn right you're lucky to have made it this far... singing Alone by Heart... i think someone sings this every year... Carrie did it, right?... well, she's starting off pretty well, but it's a safe beginning... here comes the tough part... and... oh... she's flat... and she's not as good as her background singers... and she's not moving at all... why would you just stand there... oh well... Randy says that it was too big for her... Paula says that she's brave for singing sick... Paula sounds sick actually.... Simon says it wasn't so bad...

Jason (Castor Oil) Castro: oh, it's songs from the year of their birth... and slow jason talks about how cute his eyes have always been... he's singing Fragile by Sting and playing guitar... i guess that means he won't be slithering across the stage during the song... i bet he makes eyes at everyone again though... go Jason, it's your birthday... whatever... he's not terrible... his vocal is actually pretty good, not spectacular, but pretty decent... solid performance i'd say... extremely safe, but solid... and Randy says it was alright... Paula says he's true to himself and he played it safe... Simon says he needs to take this competition seriously and stop trying to get free subway fare... the ladies shriek...

Sayesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): she did the baby cry again... she seems like a fun person... these intros seem like a waste of time... she's singing If I Was Your Woman by... Gladys Knight? she can't be that old, can she?... someone must've covered it... anyway... she's belting out some nice notes here and her presence on stace, though not captivating is alright, because her voice keeps her there... solid, solid chorus there... i actually have to say that i loved it... Randy says she's a new competitor... Paula, after the echo, says that it was fantastic... and Simon says welp, it was the best so far, but what of it... he thinks that she stretched her limits vocally...

Chikezie (like Sunday morning): talking about song selection... how fun... okay, he's singing a ballad despite warnings against it... did they say love monkey?... If Only for One Night by Luther Vandross... certainly no surprise that he went for a Luther song... and he's doing his best to sound exactly like Luther and he's doing alright with it... this song reminds me of Hello, by Lionel Richie... i guess it's alright, but it feels kind of sleepy and too much like the original... he's much better with the upbeat, creative songs... Randy says it was old fashioned... Paula says it was fabulous or something to that effect... Simon says that it was sung well, but it was cheesy... Chickezie argues and that's never good... Simon continues to say that it wasn't original and you shouldn't just be copying the original...

Brooke White (The Piano Whisperer): okay so at least the intro gave me a nickname for her... i hope that she's not high tonight like last week... she's back behind the piano to avoid the painfully awkward exposure of the stage, singing Every Breathe You Take by The Police and she's off to a rough start, but after the fault, she's out of the gates nicely... she's taken some liberties with the arrangement and i'm not sure it's really working... it's kind of interesting and she's done alright with it, but i'm really starting to lose my confidence in her... she was so good before... and now she's just alright... Randy says it was just alright and the arrangement was a little odd... Paula says it was much better than last week, which doesn't say much at all... i think Paula has a cage fight scheduled following the show... Simon says that it was fantastic, but fell apart and even still, better than last week...

And we're back with another shameless plug for coca-cola... starting off with two of the contestants that initially looked like the best bets, but haven't completely panned out that way...
to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Michael Johns (JacobsJingle...): singing Queen again... he did a great job with Bohemian Rhapsody in the early rounds, but this time he's doing, what? a medley... oh... i see... interesting... i didn't realize that was on the table... i guess they might have released this as a song... well, i'm going to say it again... Michael can't sing upbeat songs all that well... he's done alright, but mostly on the We Are the Champions section... the We Will Rock You portion of the song was pretty rough... Randy says it was his best yet... Paula says it was his shining moment... and Simion says that he's finally seen star potential...

Carly (Harley) Smithson: always knew she was going to be an entertainer, eh?... okay... Singing Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler... this is a pretty cool song, but i'm not sure it will translate well in a shorter format... the big strength of the song is that it builds up to a climax... without enough time to grow, it might not work... she's pretty solid vocally and i like the arrangement overall... terrible ending though... what the heck was that... Randy says it was the wrong song choice and the last note was bad... Paula says that she would buy it and that she could do no wrong... Simon says it didn't quite work and he didn't enjoy it as much as he thought he would...

{Little) David Archuleta: he almost looks like he can pick a song from last year... oh, the truth comes out... his parents have been pushing him into this career for his whole life... he's missing prom so that he can sing You're the Voice by Johnny Farnham... another kind of activist song from him and he's really singing it alright... he's a bit quiet, and i don't really enjoy this song... i rememberthis song vaguely and i remember not really liking it too much... he's simply just doing fine... i'm not too impressed and i think that it's a forgettable enough performance... Randy says it was an odd song choice, but he can sing anything... Paula says he can sing the phonebook... and Simon breaks the lovefest with a dose of reality, calling it a theme park performance...

Kristy (Leave) Cook: she may not annoy her family, but now she annoys millions of viewers each week... oh dear... Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA... at least it's a country song which is within her grasp, but ugh... it's just been covered to death... i remember when it came out and it was quite a powerful tune... Oh, that run was terrible and the key change left her in the dust... the pitch is all over the place... and i don't think it's going to go well for her... she may finally be done here... Randy says it was pitchy in spots, but it was good... Paula says it wasn't the best performance, but her voice is stronger... Simon says it was her best performance by a mile... i guess they love some Kristy Lee, eh?

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: oh how fun... he did not look like a very pleasant baby... David is singing Chris Cornell's version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean... Chris Cornell's version because he can't sing anything out of that style... he's got no soul, he's got no rhythm, but daaaaaaang... he knocked that mark through the roof... i liked that performance... even though i'm still not sold on him as a whole... he's winning me over... Randy says he's the most original contestant EVAR!!!! LIKE 4 SURE or something... Paula says he's very smart... Simon says it was amazing...

so this is a tough week to pick i think... hmm... i think the bottom three will consist of Remielle, Brooke and Jason with Jason going home... i wouldn't be surprised to see Chickezie in the bottom three either though, but he should be safe...

MOTHER
to the tune of If I Was Your Mother - Bon Jovi

How I Met Your Mother was fantastic this week... hilarious... key moment... "Ted: You sabotaged my second to last chance with this woman for ten bucks? Barney: Yes! I totally would've done it for free!... You owe me ten bucks by the way."

i also like how this comedy has become somewhat of a mystery as we try to figure out who the actual mother is... the writers have certainly restored the show back to its first season hilarity and added the intrigue of knowing? that we're close to discovering the real identity of the mother... one interesting thought i had the other week was that Ted might actually be "Uncle Ted" or something like that and we may not be looking for someone that he's romantically involved with... that would be a neat little twist, but i'm not sure if they've already said that he's their dad... i don't always pay the closest attention to the introductions when they're on the couch...

Anyway, 'twas a good show this week and last... and, despite the red flags waving with the desperate guest appearance of Britney Spears, i think they've righted the ship...

JERI.... OHHHHHHH.... NOOOOOOOO!
to the tune of End of the World - Blake Lewis

so, this week, we learned that CBS cancelled Jericho again and that this time they mean it... apparently the ratings just weren't strong enough to keep it going any longer... i'm not sure that nuts will save the show this time, but it really should serve as a notice to the television industry that times have indeed changed... they need to adjust their expectations, revise their business models and move on...

As for the show, it took me a while to get into it last season, but when i did, i thought it really picked up and was one of the better shows on... not exactly an upbeat show as it takes place in the wake of nuclear destruction, but it's very compelling and i enjoyed it each week... i was glad to see it revived and i'll be sad to see it disappear this week... i'm watching the finale right now actually and i don't see how they're tie this all up effectively in the next few minutes... oh well... it was a good run...

TELEVISION TUESDAY
to the tune of Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles

in case you missed it, as per my new schedule, i talk about TV on Tuesdays... no time or much else for now... so i must get this all posted and hope for a more productive tomorrow... good night and good luck...

peace... love... bdg...