Tony Bennett likes all of the contestants. Tony Bennett even admires Sanjaya.
Uh-oh.
While some of the contestants I perceive as the weaker amongst powerhouses performed well tonight, I feel this is still a powerhouse race. It's also a girl-fueled powerhouse race, I think. The girls out in the lead would be Melinda, Jordin, and LaKisha. I think the only guy at this point with any chance of getting near the finals at all would be Blake. That is if the voters actually stop voting for Sanjaya!
Blake Lewis chose "Mack the Knife," a song which really hit for Bobby Darin. For me, no one will ever be able to out-do his version. But I thought it was a good choice for Blake. Tony gave him some advice I don't think he heeded too much -- it's a song about killing and such. I found Blake's version interesting, but he seemed to come across a bit too soft.
The judges were wowed, though. Randy thinks he's funky jazzy cool. Paula called him a hepcat. Simon thought the song choice was good and that he sang well, but judged the band better than Blake. So did I. The band was hot!
Phil Stacey was up next with a Frank Sinatra hit, "Night and Day." It didn't move me. Phil doesn't move me even though Tony Bennett thinks his voice is so fantastic. It was a dull rendition and he ain't no young Sinatra. Randy thought there was no connection, no passion, and he came across as disconnected. Paula thought he was reminiscent of a young Frank Sinatra which got a look of shock from Simon. Simon called it "reminiscent of a funeral parlor, gloomy, dark, no life." Simon called it right.
Melinda Doolittle sang "I've Got Rhythm." Once again, I'm awed by her. An excellent performance and tremendous vocals. Randy said she could give the other contestants a lesson in singing. Paula said she was "master class" and flawless. Simon said the problem is they can't criticize her (because there's nothing to criticize). Of course, he's crestfallen at the missed opportunities.
Chris Richardson chose Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." I still think his voice is too nasal-sounding and he doesn't thrill me at all. But, that said, I think this may have been a personal best for his run on the show. I wasn't as impressed with his performance as the judges, but he did well for him.
Looking at this photo I took, he's reminding me of Lee Harvey Oswald. Oh, my. That's not a good thing. It was better when he reminded me of Justin Timberlake. Hopefully it's just the hat of the era and that particular facial expression. Randy thought it was his personal best of the season. Paula said he has artistic integrity. Simon thought it was very good and one of the strongest performances so far of the evening. Say what?
Then Jordin Sparks hit the stage. Like Melinda and LaKisha, she's one who wows me. At seventeen, she has the performance skills of someone who's been singing to audiences for years. She sang "On a Clear Day." She was once again, simply delightful. Randy thought she was hot. Paula called her a "magnet of joy" -- whatever that may mean.
Gina Glocksen chose Charlie Chaplin's song, "Smile." I'm not a big Gina fan, but I thought she really looked pretty tonight and performed very well. I think the song choice showed she can sing songs besides hard rock. I don't think she's up there with my top three women, but I was pleasantly surprised by her this evening.
Randy thought she nicely-controlled her voice. Paula said "flawless" once again. Simon told her that Melinda and Jordin out-sang her. Well, they always will. They're better at singing and performing. But Gina did well tonight.
And, then there's Sanjaya Malakar. I'm just sort of speechless. Tony Bennett thinks he's interesting, terrific, dares to be different, and can sing. Um, okay. He's different and he's certainly a lot more brave each performance. He chose to sing "Cheek to Cheek." He played all the girls in the audience and whirled around Paula (who I noticed was shoved to dance by Simon and Randy).
Oh, I just had to edit his photo a smidgen. I don't know what came over me. Randy said he was an entertainer. Paula thought he was charming. Simon said he was going to go for a different tactic this week... "incredible!"
Haley Scarnato, dressed in an extremely revealing low-cut skin-tight green dress (can't wow them with the singing talent, go for the sex appeal), sang "Ain't Misbehavin'." Okay, she can go away. It was like she vamped the whole song. The judges commented on her looks rather than her singing. And, as we all know, this is a singing contest.
LaKisha Jones was the last performer, singing "Stormy Weather." With her voice and that particular song, she couldn't go wrong. And, once again, she didn't. I haven't cared too much for her song choices the past few weeks, so I totally understood when Simon said she was back on form. Randy loved it and said it was "the bomb." Paula said she looked gorgeous and Simon also said she was sassy and delivered a great performance. She did.
I think Haley and Phil are in deep doo-doo this week and one of them will go home. We all know Sanjaya should go, but probably won't. Who do you think will be voted out tomorrow night?
Well, you know me. Of course, at 8 PM ET I'll be watching American Idol. This week's pro/mentor is Tony Bennett. Whenever I think about that, I wonder if the kids on the show or following it even have a clue why Tony Bennett is "anyone." I could burst into song... "I left my heart in San Francisco..." After the show, I'll post an entry with the lowdown of the events.I know many folks are into Dancing With the Stars. The results show airs at 9 PM ET tonight. You're all invited to head to the blog discussion post for DWTS, post the results and talk it up with fellow show fans. It's a real good bunch of fans there and the posting is friendly!At 8 PM ET/PT: CBS has a new NCIS episode. There's a new Dateline NBC (guess what network). American Idol is the new live show for an hour on FOX. ABC has a repeat episode of George Lopez followed by a repeat According to Jim. CW has a repeat Gilmore Girls.At 9 PM ET/PT: CBS has a new episode of The Unit. I'll be watching a new episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC. FOX is airing a new episode of House. The Dancing With the Stars results show is on ABC. The CW has a new Pussycat Dolls episode.At 10 PM ET/PT: There's a repeat C.S.I.: Miami on CBS, a new Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (my viewing choice) on NBC, and a new Boston Legal on ABC.What will you be watching tonight?
Just a reminder - if you wish to talk about Dancing With the Stars with a cordial group of folks, there is a blog discussion entry for the show.In other TV News Bits:- Buddy TV has an exclusive interview with Joe and Bill, Team Guido, eliminated on last night's The Amazing Race 11: All Stars.
- Reality News Online has an interview with America's Next Top Model's Diana.
- TVGuide.com has an interesting interview with ousted American Idol finalist, Chris Sligh.
Arrow lost and Tim got fired.
That's all I have to say. ;-)
Now, this should be Episode 7, but I think it's both Episode 7 and 8. Yes, it was two, two, two episodes in one. It wasn't a to-be-continued bit; it was actually two separate legs of the race. If memory serves, it was the first time I've seen them do this with the exception of season premieres or finales.
We last left the teams in Zanzibar with a sixteen-hour difference between the first place (Charla and Mirna) and last place team (Joe and Bill).
For their own probably nefarious reasons, Charla and Mirna waited for Danny and Oswald, then shared a cab with them. Poor Danny and Oswald, eh? The teams had to fly to Warsaw, Poland. This time, so unlike the last leg, the show had back-up flight tickets set for the teams although they could buy other tickets if they found earlier flights.
The teams had plenty of time to try to get tickets through a travel agent and we once again saw how rude and off-putting Charla and Mirna can be under stress. I have no clue why, but Danny and Oswald just let them speak for them. Yikes! The travel agent looked very offended and it certainly didn't help them win friends and influence people. Mirna went as far as saying she was having a heart attack. And, of course, this was with the silly fake accents all along! Argh!
Dustin and Kandice (Beauty Queens) got on the first flight out while Uchenna and Joyce lucked out on a second flight. Charla/Mirna and the ChaChas were on a flight together. Eric and Danielle and Team Guido were together and missed their connection, so the last got further behind. Danielle fussed she wanted to quit and go home and a Guido exploded in fury. Oh, not at Danielle -- at watching the flight they just missed leave the tarmac. Eric thinks that Joe and Bill are just Nervous Nellies. There's an expression I haven't heard in years!
Once in Warsaw, teams had to find the Czapski Palace where a musician would be playing Chopin on a grand piano. The clue received there led to a Detour -- Perfect Pitch or Perfect Angle. (No, not Perfect Angel as Joyce called it.) In Perfect Pitch, a nod to Frederic Chopin, teams had to tune an off-key string on a grand piano to the satisfaction of a pianist. In Perfect Angle, a nod to Marie Curie, teams had to select a mannequin, lug it to an x-ray lab place, then find a clue within it by placing it at the "perfect angle." Most of the teams went for Perfect Pitch and it seemed that Uchenna and Joyce may have been the best at the task.
The best part of this part of the Poland leg for me was the fact that, for some reason, no locals would talk to or help Mirna and Charla! Yes, they were obnoxious. I know that. But it was as if the folks on the street were psychic or something! Their fake accents and desperate actions must have turned them off, I guess. Seeing as the locals were willing to speak to other teams, it had to be their behavior. Heh. I loved it! At one point it looked like Mirna was giving up. Oh, I so wish she did. But, alas.
The clue after the Detour directed teams to the Pit Stop where the last team may be eliminated. Teams were still arriving to the country as the lead teams arrived at the Pit Stop and embarked on the next leg. Here's the order of arrival at the first Pit Stop on tonight's show:
- Dustin and Kandice - Won a trip to Puerto Rico
- Danny and Oswald
- Uchenna and Joyce
- Charla and Mirna
- Eric and Danielle
- Joe and Bill - Non-elimination leg, but they are "marked for elimination." If they don't arrive in first place on the next leg, they will have a 30-minute penalty.
The next leg jumped right into motion as teams took charter buses set by arrival times to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. As I watched the reactions of the teams passing through, my own eyes welled up with tears. It put things in perspective.
I saw each team relate to the horror of mans' inhumanity to man each in their own way. Both of the gay men teams were thankful they live in a time when they can be themselves. Oswald, born in communist Cuba, is grateful to be where he can be free. Uchenna and Joyce drew parallels to slavery. Mirna thought of the slaughter of Armenians by the Turks. Heck, even Eric and Danielle were somber. I thought this was one of the most touching moments I've ever seen on the show.
Ah, but there was still a race to be run. Teams had to take a taxi to the Slowacki Theater in Krakow. And, what was there? Why, it's an Intersection! I forgot they were introduced last season and wasn't expecting one. In an Intersection, two teams have to team up together to go for the next clue.
The first two teams at the Intersection were Uchenna and Joyce and the ChaChas. They really lucked out. Not only did they team up together first -- no one seemed to want to be with Charla and Mirna although I think the ChaChas would have endured them -- but they had the chance to go for the Fast Forward. If they completed the Fast Forward, they could skip the remaining clues and head directly to the Pit Stop. So, they did.
The FF had them climbing two separate towers, counting stairs as they went. They decided since they knew the Beauty Queens were stuck for hours at the Intersection awaiting the lagging teams, they'd do the whole thing together instead of splitting up and sharing results. They did just fine and the teams shared first place.
Back at the Intersection, Dustin and Kandice had wanted to team up with Joe and Bill, but it was Mirna and Charla who arrived first. They hid from them for a while, but decided they had to get on with the race and teamed up with them. That left Joe/Bill and Eric/Danielle teaming up.
Those teams had to be together for the Detour -- Eat It Up or Roll It Out. In Eat It Up, teams had to make a 3-inch sausage link, then each eat a 2-foot kielbasa sausage. An odd note about that is that I had kielbasa, cabbage, and onions tonight prior to the show. No, I didn't have two feet of kielbasa, though! In Roll It Up, teams had to make 20 bagels and deliver them.
The girls automatically headed to Eat It Up with Charla hesitating. She didn't think she could do it. The other group actually went for the Roll It Out, but got incredibly lost and finally went for the kielbasa after the girls were well into the task. Although I don't care for sickening food challenges, it was a hoot when Eric said, "May I introduce Miss California?" right as Dustin vomited.
Once the Detour was done, the teams were on their own once again. And, next up was a Roadblock. "Who wants to be a knight in shining armor?" One member of each team had to don a full suit of armor and lead a horse for a distance. Oh, poor Charla! She looked very unusual in her armor, kept going in circles with her horse, kept falling over...! It was funny, but it was sort of sad, too.
In the end at the second Pit Stop in Poland, here was the order of arrival:
- Uchenna/Joyce and Oswald/Danny - Only one trip for two to St. Lucia was given and the ChaChas insisted Uchenna and Joyce get it.
- No second place due to the first place FF Intersection tie.
- Dustin and Kandice
- Charla and Mirna
- Joe and Bill, but their 30-minute penalty allowed Eric and Danielle to arrive and take 5th.
- Joe and Bill -- Philiminated.
All in all, I really liked this episode. Although they were actually in Poland for two legs, a lot went on. I'm still cheering on my boys Oswald and Danny. Of the teams remaining, Uchenna/Joyce or Dustin/Kandice would be my second or third choices. My least favorite is still Mirna and Charla. I'm glad folks were rude to them. I know. I'm mean, aren't I? But, they could team up with Sanjaya on American Idol and Rocky on Survivor 14: Fiji in my book.
