Tonight's the start of American Idol, now running on its 7th season. What's there to expect? Well, this year, contestants will be allowed to do what Canadian Idol has been doing since 3 years ago, and what Australian Idol has done for two years ---- have them play musical instruments. Ta-daaah! :P
Each year, the judges keep saying it's going to be the best season so far. Is anyone else buying that? And have you read about what Chris Daughtry has to say?
Daughtry blames the show’s woes partially on its emphasis on untalented singers. “People get tired of seeing people that suck,” he says. “It’s funny at first, but come on. They spend three weeks on people that can’t sing, and that’s what they’re banking it on. [They should] find some people that you can really invest in.” - American Idol is in a State of Decline.
Of the six Idol winners --- Ruben Studdard (Season 2), Taylor Hicks (Season 5) and Katherine McPhee (edit: Season 5 - runner up) have been dropped by their label recently. [Kelly Clarkson (1), Fantasia Barino (3) and Carrie Underwood (4) are the other three] Are their cases good indication of what the show has become? Nothing more than just a popularity contest? I see you virtually nodding your head in agreement...
American Idol airs 6 PM and 8 PM on QTV-11 and Star World, Wednesday & Thursday.
She's the current toast of Filipinos everywhere. Fifteen year-old Charice Pempengco, was first discovered at age 12, in a local network's singing competition. A year later, when someone posted videos of her performance on YouTube, the world took notice. Including Ellen de Generes who often finds raw and interesting talents on the video sharing website to feature in her show.
Everytime Leon performed in the earlier rounds, I would cringe or fast forward the video, because more often than not, he'd have pitch problems. But 3 weeks before the finals, he grew into his craft. He sounded better. The song choice was better. A contest like this does really something to one's confidence, no?
The Winner's Song was When You Believe (from the animated movie Prince of Egypt) and Leon's style --- something that can be mildly compared to Bing Crosby, fit it better. So maybe that's why he won.
LEON, Winner X Factor
Rhydian, the runner up I thought was gonna win it, did a good rendition as well. But it lacked the heart Leon gave to the song:
RHYDIAN, Runner Up
The finale was an absolute treat. The contestants were made to sing a total of four songs and every number was entertaining.
I think I haven't made an entry for this year's X Factor competition, have I? The talent show, headed by Simon Cowell, is on its fourth season in the UK. Shayne Ward started here and although he isn't quite popular in the Philippines, he's pretty well-known in some parts of Asia.
The X Factor also discovered Leona Lewis, who Simon says is going to be the next Mariah Carey. Nearing her first year as a professional recording artist, Leona is making a name in the UK....the rest of the world will come in the future.
This year's competition featured a guy with a unique vocal timbre --- Rhydian. He is classically trained but he's doing his best dishing out contemporary songs. When he first auditioned, he was this cocky bloke who thought he was God's gift to the show. And you know what? I wasn't so impressed by his attitude at first, but as the weeks progressed he has proven himself to be humble performer and showed me why he had the right to brag about his singing ability.
Here's why:
"Phantom of the Opera"
"You Raised Me Up"
"Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
Last Saturday, the contestants were down to three (from originally 12) and of course Rhydian was in it. The grand finals is tonight and If I were the lone judge, it's no contest. He will definitely win it over the competition.
Eeek. I'm wrong again. I thought for sure Matt Corby was going to win it, since it seems he has the female votes down in the pocket. But a girl won again. Natali Gauci is Australia's 2007 Idol winner.
The part I love about their finales? THE FIREWORKS and the atmosphere:
Talk shows, like The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, has gone dark since the first day of the Writers Strike. With no new materials to work on, look what they have come up to encourage viewers to still watch the nightly shows:
Monday 11/26: Tom Hanks (originally aired 6/29/92) - This was when Tom Hanks, who wasn't an Oscar winner at that time yet, promoted the movie A League of Their Own.
Tuesday 11/27: Julia Roberts and Pierce Brosnan (originally aired 12/16/93) - This was three years after Roberts' Pretty Woman and Brosnan wasn't even a Bond.
Wed 11/28: Matt Damon (originally aired 1/26/00) - He came to the show to promote The Talented Mr. Ripley
Thursday 11/29: Jennifer Aniston (originally aired 6/7/95) - This was after Friends Season 1.
Friday 11/30: Johnny Depp (originally aired 4/13/95) - He was promoting Don Juan DeMarco.
Big star line-up from back when they weren't such big stars yet. Interesting! And this was the decade when Leno was actually funny! I'm gonna mark these on my calendar.
In the Philippines, The Tonight Show airs on ETC, around 11 PM from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Only two remain. My bet is on the boy, only because he's got a swarm of girls voting for him. Vocally, they are equal. Natalie's voice is polished, while Matt can sing a good falsetto. But to be honest, I sometimes forget I'm watching this. The contestants appear like they aren't enjoying what they are doing anymore.
Their versions of the winner's single, Here I Am :
Next week, one of them will be named Australian Idol.
Back when my family was still growing, I used to watch a lot of the Lifestyle Network, specifically, their cooking shows. I was a young mother and wife, who pretty much wanted a picture-perfect-Martha-Stewart family life. But as the reality of keeping a household settled in, I realized that kind of lifestyle isn't easy to manage. At all. I don't tune to the cable channel as much as I can today, and the meals I prepare are as simple as they can be, so I have the faintest ideas which cooking shows are the right ones to watch now.
But lately, my dishes have been ordinary and boring. And as I had been on Youtube yesterday, I thought that if the hubby and I can find immense resources for entertainment in that video-sharing site, could there also be someone sharing recipes, like in the cooking shows I used to watch?
The search tool was the answer and true enough, Youtube has everything.
The first thing I thought to look for was a recipe for Baked Ziti. I had prepared my own recipe for lunch the previous day and it turned out to be more of a Carbonara and I wasn't too happy about it. Finding this guy's video will now be a great help to me, the next time I plan to cook this meal.
Next, the hubby wanted to know the secrets of a Pomodoro sauce...so with him, we searched for it on Youtube and stumbled upon this video (below). And then we realized that we have found another goldmine for entertainment. We were looking for recipes, we found comedy.
Other than the cooking instructions, what made this particular video fun to watch was the manner in which the Chef prepared the dish. He was just absolutely MESSY! I do not know if this was something the Chef intended to do, I still think he's really a chef, despite the presentation. But while the video was running, the hubby, who is a much better cook than 10 people I know, was doing his own commentary...which made viewing it all the more funnier.
Chef instructions: 3 tbsp of olive oil... Hubby: 3 tbsp? Eh, ang dami naman niyan....sinabawang olive oil yata yan?! *Chef adds herbs and spices and puts it on the sauce* Hubby: Nagmukha na yatang guisadong pechay yung pomodoro?
The next recipe we searched for was the salsa...something similar to Pollo Loco's. We didn't find what we wanted but stumbled upon this guy who demonstrated how to prepare Mexican Salsa. Good enough... but his video had something better. His ingredients called for limons and abrocadoes. Oooh boy, our face muscles were far too stretched from laughing about it!
But in all fairness, the cook is very, very good. In fact, his page is now bookmarked and I'm doing a couple of his recipes today.
I could have stayed up all night watching more cooking shows on Youtube. Can't believe there's really so much more to discover in here. So sometime today, I'm doing another round of video searches.
Oh, don't forget to read the comments when you watch the videos in their respective Youtube pages. :)
I interrupt the program for this analysis on Beyonce's Irreplaceable (who is incidentally in the country for a concert, right? Or has she left?)
Driving in traffic yesterday, this song and its many versions came on the radio. (Why do radio stations do that, play one version after the other!?) Hearing it played more than once made me sit up and listen with curiousity (oh, I guess that's why radio stations do that).
Me: Ano be message ng song na to? Pakinggan nga natin ang lyrics ng maigi. (What's the message of this song? Let's listen to the lyrics carefully!)
Hubby (not a fan of Beyonce): Malay ko (I couldn't care less). Kanta yata yan para sa mga katulong na nasibak (I think it's a song for fired househelp)....pack your bags daw, eh.
Mwehehe.
Here's one of his favorite infamous Youtube singers doing her own cover of the song. Esmee Denters:
Caught up with talent shows last night, and heard two songs sang in two different contests. Which one do you think did the cover better?
NOTHING COMPARES 2U (Prince/Sinead O'Connor)
Natalie's done the Prince version and she did a nice job, vocally. She was supposedly experiencing something like it, having broken up with her boyfriend 7 hours and 13 days ago (as the song goes), but it didn't connect with me.
Niki did the Sinead version and she showed vulnerability and emotion. It's the exact copy of the original but her delivery was flawless. I like hers better.
Natalie Gauci Australian Idol Top 6 Part 1 Judge's Pick Media from Idol Fanatic
Niki The X-Factor Top 12 Representing: Over 25's Mentor: Louie Walsh
UMBRELLA (Rihanna)
I'm so tired of hearing Umbrella, so I've got no favorite.
Natalie did her own version sans the "Ella...Ella..." and it didn't feel right to me.
The group, Hope, turned theirs into a Pussycat Doll performance. Guys probably went, "Wow!" but I got bored.
Other people have done better with this song, if you search YouTube for "Umbrella cover version".
Natalie Gauci Australian Idol Top 6 Part 2 Pick Your Own Song
Hope The X Factor UK Representing: Groups Mentor: Simon Cowell
Last Saturday, Australian Idol went unplugged. After consistently having off nights the last three weeks, some of them stepped up and did very, very well. Doing away with synthesizers and allowing these singers/artists to play their own instruments boosted their performance level.
My favorite of the nine performances was Natalie Gauci — "Man In The Mirror" (Michael Jackson). I loved this song when if first came out in the early 90's. But not so much today. Natalie, however did a wonderful, wonderful job. The hair in my arms stood as she sang. Watch this video from Youtube:
Eliminated this week was actually my choice to win, rocker Mark Da Costa, who sang his very own version of Coldplay's Yellow. I still don't know if I loved it or hated it. Listen:
Mark DaCosta — "Yellow" (Coldplay)
Mark is the first boy (man) booted from Top 12.
The rest gave pretty decent performances, thank god. I was already getting disappointed with the show the other three times. Today, I saw hope.
Carl Riseley — "It's All Right With Me" (Harry Connick Jr) Jacob Butler — "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane) Matt Corby — "The Blower's Daughter" (Damien Rice) Daniel Mifsud — "I Was Made For Loving You Baby" (KISS) Ben Mackenzie — "Hide And Seek" (Imogen Heap) Tarisai Vuche — "Kissing You" (Des'ree) Marty Simpson — "Open Your Eyes" (Snow Patrol)
If you'd like to listen to their renditions, you can get or listen to it here.
Eeep. Following last week's disappointing performances, one would think the idols would be stepping it up this week, disco night. But nay, no way, not. It's piss week yet again. On the bright side though, the first touchdown has been scored (see last performance below by Matt Corby).
But I'm still not loving Matt Corby's pants. Ditto his hair. Is there a shortage of combs and brushes in that part of Australia?
Tarisai Vuche — "Hot Stuff" (Donna Summer)
Ben McKenzie — "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" (Michael Jackson)
Mark Da Costa — "Nutbush City Limits" (Tina Turner)
Lana Krost — "Sing It Back" (Moloko) - ELIMINATED
Jacob Butler — "Canned Heat" (Jamiroquai) *No media available but you can watch his disco number on YouTube*
Marty Simpson — "You Sexy Thing" (Hot Chocolate)
Daniel Mifsud — "Miss You" (Rolling Stones)
Carl Riseley — "September" (Earth, Wind And Fire)
Matt Corby — "Got To Get You Into My Life" (Earth, Wind And Fire)
Was supposed to go. But I'm running with a herd all week (read: my family's in town). Where one went moo, the others supposedly follow and must not stray (if you have a big family, you must know). Mall tour was part of the agenda, but plans changed as quickly as I changed clothes in a day this week because of several "family events" our herd went to...which reminds me, laundry is piling up. Ugh.
I still have next weekend....E's here for one more week. In the meantime, I've been contented listening to E on the radio.
Australian Idol just made history --- it had its WORST. WEEK. EVER!!!
This week, the rock gods cried (visions of tough looking leather - clad - men - with - the - five o'clock - shadow crying is not nice to imagine!). In four years since I've followed this series, this was the only time I had to skip four or five performances and grew restless watching the rest. It was just absolutely awful.
The best part of the show was hearing the judges' comments. Watch how they give their critiques, you'll find that Simon Cowell is a nicer guy than they are. The host said at one point, it was a bloodbath. One of the judges even told the contestant to resign from the show. And I can't be pissed at them for being "rude" towards the Idols. Most of the time, these judges do know what they are talking about:
And while Mark Da Costa, who I've been rooting for since the Semi-Finals, did show he's got what it takes to be an Idol Rocker, my favorite performance of the night was Carl's Bossa Nova-ish take on Coldplay's Clocks. The judges didn't like it and I admit it's not a popular choice but it was what I enjoyed best from Rock Week.
Matt Corby — "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin)
Carl Riseley — "Clocks" (Coldplay)
Brianna Carpenter — "The Logical Song" (Supertramp) -ELIMINATED
Marty Simpson — "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" (Paolo Nutini)
Lana Krost — "Come On, Come On" (Little Birdy)
Jacob Butler — "(What's The Story) Morning Glory" (Oasis)
Tarisai Vushe — "Hard To Handle" (The Black Crowes)
Ben McKenzie — "Bodies" (Little Birdy)
Daniel Mifsud — "Fire" (Jimi Hendrix)
Natalie Gauci — "Sweet Child O' Mine" (Guns N' Roses)
The finals officially opened on Australian Idol last Sunday and for that week, the theme was Contestant's Choice --- to show the audience who they are as artists.
Please click on the play button to listen.
Ben McKenzie — "Sunday Morning" (Maroon 5)
Love the song. Ben's performance was....breezy. Great for easy-listening. But it was too breezy and laid-back for this competition, the other contestants made a better impact than him.
***
Mark Da Costa — "Vertigo" (U2)
Rock god Mark did not set my pants on fire tonight, which is what I was hoping for (mwehehe!). The judges were right in their assessment that he played it too safe, even as he sang okay. Rock is the theme for next week and everyone is expecting something great from him. No pressure, Mark.
***
Lana Krost — "Shiver" (Natalie Imbruglia)
What are the odds of someone named Lana, looking like Lana (Smallville)? She looks really prim and proper, that whatever song she's singing brings this "Belle from Beauty and the Beast" vibe to it. Very lovely girl with an okay voice but not great enough for the competition. She will have to go very soon.
***
Daniel Mifsud — "Cry Me A River" (Justin Timberlake)
Oh, boy. This was abysmal. I had to fast forward to the next contestant and didn't even listen to what the judges have to say.
***
Carl Riseley — "Waltzing Matilda" (Banjo Paterson)
I also had to fast forward to the judges' comments. They all loved it. Maybe coz I'm not Australian enough at all, I could not relate to the significance of the song nor the performance.
***
Holly Weinert — "Standing In The Way Of Control" (Gossip) - ELIMINATED
Holly's mistake was choosing a song that the crowd cannot get on board with. One of the judges calls it a "Patti Austin on crack" performance. It did not help that she came out looking like Sandra Dee (Grease) after Sandra Dee's transformation. She pretty much remains a country girl inspite insisting she's a rock singer.
***
Matt Corby — "The Scientist" (Coldplay)
It lacked the grit in Coldplay's Chris Martin's voice, but I choose this as the best in the lot this week. My only contention? Someone has to call on this young man's choice of pants. As the Australians would say --- his style is daggy. Here, we call it "baduy".
***
Natalie Gauci — "On My Mind" (Powderfinger)
The voice is solid. The perfomance? Good. The face? Gorgeous. The look? Smashing. Natalie seems to have it all, except star quality. I still can't see it.
***
Jacob Butler — "When You Were Young" (The Killers)
Here is one artist who tries very hard. Maybe with good reason. He almost won another singing competition recently (The X Factor Australia). So that means he really has something to offer.
***
Tarisai Vuche — "If I Was Your Woman" (Alicia Keys)
I have a feeling Tarisai's fate in this contest will be similar to Lakisha (American Idol). I don't see her winning (but I could be mistaken, like always!). This particular performance was off, by the way. She sang with power, but she didn't hit the notes right.
***
Marty Simpson — "Can't Stand Losing You" (Police)
I have forgotten this performance almost instantly. But I cannot forget his face nor his hair. I want so badly to comb it on screen!!!
***
Brianna Carpenter — "God Only Knows" (Beach Boys)
Some people are so over Brianna's quirkiness. I am still finding it delightful so far and I have especially loved the arrangement to this song.
It has been announced in a report in ABC 5's late night news show Sentro that a second season is in the works. This was also announced by Mau Marcelo during the concert of the first season's final 12 at the Araneta Coliseum in late March,2007. While there are no other details, it is possible that it will start soon after the airing of the finale of the sixth season of American Idol on May 24, 2007 in the Philippines. However, a recent report has appeared in the broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 1, 2007 issue) that the show's second season will now be airing on GMA 7 instead of ABC 5. Reliable sources say that some executives from GMA are now negotiating with FremantleMedia ("Idol" franchise holder).
Exciting times on Philippine TV. And I did not have to bring up what happened just last week, huh?
Quick note: I think I'm gonna take a break for a couple of days. I'm recharging myself and I'm also celebrating turning 34 (Waaah!). And then when I get back, I'm hopefully taking this blog full blast, now that new season premieres are just an arms reach. (Whooo!)
The second group of girls to compete for the 7th and 8th spot of Australian Idol's Top 12 performed last night. I don't remember a couple of them. They didn't have much airtime during the audition rounds.
Worth a look is Brianna Carpenter's number. Every year, Australian Idol brings in someone quirky, someone not necessarily fitting the "pop" mold an Idol winner is normally packaged as. And that's another reason why I love this one better than the American version...they embrace all kinds of music/talents.
Also worth mentioning is Rosie Robbins, who have done the whole Idol scene two or three years before, having won Top 6 in UK Idol. But I think she didn't do well with her song last night. In fact, Rosie oversang it.
Anyway, the video:
Song List: Sarah Lloyde — "And I Am Telling You" (Jennifer Holliday) Morgan Hosking — "You Learn" (Alanis Morissette) Holly Weinert — "Easy" (The Commodores) Madison Pritchett — "When You're Gone" (Avril Lavigne) Brianna Carpenter — "Fidelity" (Regina Spektor) Rosie Ribbons — "Everybody Hurts" (R.E.M.)
Results for this batch is tomorrow. And we're also going to find out who among the rejects will be given the second chance and compete during the Wildcard Round this Sunday evening.
Update...I was mistaken with the time (or day) the result is known. It happened just a few hours ago. Brianna and Holly are officially in the Top 12.
Tarasai, the girl with the power voice who also looks like the lady judge; and Lana, cute, sweet and so High-School-Musical-ish, both make it to Top 12.
What they sang: Tarasai Vuche — "River Deep, Mountain High" (Tina Turner) Lana Krost — "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie) Review the girl's performances
It's down to Round 3...Again this is a bit late because the results have already been casted. I haven't been able to watch this installment in its entirety but I think the feedback has been better than the first group of boys.
Here's a peek:
Song List: Mark Da Costa — "Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin) Ben McKenzie — "Mad World" (Gary Jules's version of the Tears for Fears original) Jack Byrnes — "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2) Dave Andrews — "That's Freedom" (John Farnham) Lyall Adonis — "Desperado" (Eagles) Marty Simpson — "Over My Head" (The Fray)
Don't you just love their song choices? From the first group to this group, it has been very diversified. That's what I love about this Idol.
Who made it from this batch? These two, mainly because of the "youth" vote or something:
