'American Idol 6' - The Final Seven Go a Little Bit Country

Often only a few can successfully handle the country genre when it comes around on the show. I think tonight's show stuck to that very theory.

The show opened with Ryan mentioning the VT massacre. But when a contestant (Chris) mentioned it, I noticed Simon's eyes rolling. Simon himself mentioned it at the end of the show along with the fact that the contestants had a "tricky week." I can't help but wonder if they told the contestants not to mention it.

Country singer Martina McBride was the mentor for this week. On the whole, her main advice was to be believable, connect with the lyrics, and tell the story. All good advice, I think. But did they all follow it?

Phil Stacey was first on stage singing a Keith Urban song, "Where the Blacktop Ends." Martina had told him to start as powerfully as he ends. I'm not a huge Phil Stacey fan, but I thought he did well. If I don't look at him, his voice sounds better. He still tends to creep me out and seems to get paler each week. The Roswell Alien and Uncle Fester like to watch him, though.

Randy thought it was really good. Paula thinks it's his genre. Simon said it only took ten weeks for him to show some personality.

Jordin Sparks was next with "Broken Wing" by Martina herself. She was a bundle of nerves as she worked with Martina. She needn't be. Martina thought she was "awesome" in rehearsal and I think she was awesome on stage. In addition to a WOW performance, I thought she looked exceptionally pretty tonight.

Randy said, "Dude, that was the bomb!" (A good thing, y'know.) Paula bubbled and gushed. Simon said she showed that she could win it all based on that performance.

Sanjaya Malakar, the monster we've created, was next singing "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt. Oh, his singing sucked, an expression I don't often use.

But I think Randy hit the nail on the head last week -- this kid is very smart. He knows the controversy and is playing into it full force. It's like he wants to be a William Hung who can actually sing a bit. (Notice I said "a bit.") He's nowhere near the league he should be to still be in the competition, but he's working his Malakar Monster Mojo.

Randy said the performance was karaoke. Paula said he's a lovable guy who enjoys adversity. Simon said it was "actually horrendous." Ryan accused Simon of never liking him and verbal fisticuffs ensued... or something like that.

LaKisha Jones sang "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. She told Martina she chose it because she connected with the lyrics. Well, um... she had a really off night for her. Her eyes looked weird to me like she had been crying or not feeling well. Technically, she sang fine hitting the notes. But there was no Kiki Kickin' in this performance.

Randy said it wasn't his favorite performance of hers. Paula agreed with Randy but added that even though she screamed, she was still "brilliant." Simon claimed she didn't connect with the lyrics and likened it to "eating a hamburger for breakfast." Now, I have nothing against hamburgers for breakfast, but her game was definitely off tonight.

Chris Richardson proclaimed his talent for country music and chose Rascal Flatt's "Mayberry." Martina thought it was an unusual choice, but he's a "good country singer." Say what? He got on stage and sounded all nasally once again! Randy said he sounded nasal with no connection and no emotion. Paula said he didn't show his love and joy of the stage. Simon said it was nondescript, nasally, tinny, completely and utterly insignificant.

That's when we got a lesson from Chris. "Nasally is a form of singing." @@ (Sorry... had to roll those eyes!) Chris actually defended his nasality claiming he does it on purpose! Well, that shines a new light on things, doesn't it?

Melinda Doolittle sang "Trouble is a Woman" by Julie Reeves. Martina had never heard of the song, but was dazzled by Melinda. So was I when she sang it on stage. Her voice is always superb, but tonight she also threw a lot of personality in into her performance.

Randy yo-yo'd and declared it a "solid performance from our resident pro." Paula said it was the right song for her and she sang her heart out. Simon told her not to act surprised (lose that) and then said she was fantastic. That, she was.

Blake Lewis took the stage last. He chose a good song -- "When the Stars Go Blue" by Tim McGraw. Martina told him to relax, so it's not surprising that he looks like a deer caught in the headlights in this photo I took early in the performance.

I don't think he was all that comfortable with the genre. He did okay, but it wasn't my favorite Blake performance. I think he's the most talented of the guys left, but Phil out-sang him tonight. I don't think he has to worry about going home and we all know that if this kid starts selling records, they won't be in the country genre.

Randy liked the performance -- "the right song" and "you know who you are." Paula said he had the whole package. Simon said it was okay, not a "jumping out of the chair" performance. I know what Simon means.

So, who's going home? Well, it should be Sanjaya and I predict he'll be out of there soon. I think Phil, Chris, and LaKisha should worry this week.

TV Newsy Bits - Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Before I get started, I'd like to offer my condolences to those touched by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Such an incredible loss to the families and friends... words cannot express my sadness. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

And, if you noticed, my usual TV Newsy Bits graphic has been temporarily replaced. This is a shot I took of the underpass I must walk beneath to get to the eastbound commuter train (towards Newark/New York City). It has a 13'6" warning for low trucks. Well, um... if I lay down on an inflatable raft, I might just clear the bridge. Blame the Raritan River. Needless to say, the station is still closed. Yet, I made it to work. (Sigh.) The devastation I saw in Bound Brook today was unbelievable. I saw it on TV, but seeing it in person is very different.

Onto TV Newsy Bits:

• Interviews with the most recent America's Next Top Model eliminee (is that a word?), Whitney, can be found in these articles -- RealityShack and Reality TV World.
• Country superstar singer Martina McBride will be coaching the American Idol 6 contestants tonight. Hmmm... what will Sanjaya sing?
• This week's American Idol contestant will be Number Seven. I found a blog with an interesting look at previous Number Sevens on the show. Jennifer Hudson was a Seven.
• Whether really spoilers or just a writer's predictions, this Reality TV Calendar article may or may not have real spoilers for next week's Survivor 14: Fiji. You've been warned.
• Tonight is the elimination show for Dancing With the Stars. Since I don't watch, if someone could get the eliminated announcement in the comments of the blog discussion post for the show, I'd love you! (Well, a platonic kind of love, you know.)

Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Monday, April 16, 2007

Ah, I'm enjoying my restful unplanned day off from my day job. I was right. Had I gone into work, I would have been stranded. NJ Transit has suspended the train line I need for my commute and flooding of the Raritan River has necessitated the evacuation of Bound Brook, a town I have to go through to get to work. And the river won't even crest until early this evening. Closed roads, canceled trains, a cozy apartment with working electricity. I'm set!

Similar to when Hurricane Floyd flooded Bound Brook, there was another fire there today. During the last really big flood, it was a motorcycle dealership burning in the middle of flood waters. That made national news. As I type this, they just announced five homes were involved in the fire, not three. Fire boats from other areas of NJ and NYC didn't arrive in time and firefighters couldn't get near enough to the fire due to the flood waters. With its history of flooding, I'm wondering why Bound Brook doesn't have its own fire boat.

Oh, well... here's hoping the cable doesn't go out. What will I watch tonight?

• 8 PM -- CBS has a repeat How I Met Your Mother followed by a new The New Adventures of Old Christine. NBC has a new Deal or No Deal. ABC has a ninety-minute Dancing With the Stars -- remember to stop by the DWTS blog discussion post to talk about the show with a fine group of folks! FOX is airing a new Drive. Hmmm... did the show start last night? I'll probably take a peek at it, but if I recall correctly, the premiere was last night while I was busy with Amazing Race. I could be wrong.
• 9 PM -- CBS has new episodes of Two and a Half Men and The King of Queens. NBC has a new Thank God You're Here. FOX has a new episode of 24.
• 9:30 PM -- ABC has a ninety-minute The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman airing. Again, if you watch the show, please drop by the blog discussion post for the skinny and good discussion!
• 10 PM -- CBS has a new C.S.I.: Miami while NBC has doubled up repeats of My Name is Earl. Chances are I'll be either watching a new Animal Precinct on Animal Planet or FOX, UPN or CW news trying to see what's happening with the storm closings around here.

All in all, it's not an exciting night of television for me although I know some very popular shows are on. What will you be watching?

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - 4/15/07

No one was fired this week. The task was to create a Renuzit commercial. Frank and Nicole were paired together as were James and Stephanie. Old candidates of their choice joined them.

Both teams did the task well. The Final Four -- Stephanie, James, Nicole, and Frank -- were sent home to be back for the live finale next week.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 10 -or- "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting"

Well, well... I found tonight's Hong Kong leg very entertaining. I'm still not too thrilled with a few of the remaining teams (cough:::Mirna/Charla:::cough:::Eric/Danielle)... but I thought tonight's challenges were a lot of fun and Hong Kong has always fascinated me.

Four teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

The teams departed from the House on the Hill in Kuala Lumpur in the order they had arrived. There was less than a two-hour gap between first and last place this time. The first team to leave was the Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) at 12:28 AM while the last team was Oswald and Danny at 2:19 AM.

They had to get flights to Hong Kong, then travel 22 miles to a laundry where they were to receive their next clue. The two-hour gap was meaningless as no flights were available until morning anyway. Of course we had to endure airport drama.

Eric and Danielle tried to stare down Dustin and Kandice as they Yielded them last week. Internet attempts to obtain tickets didn't seem to work this time although I thought it interesting that the Burger King had Internet at the airport. In the end, Oswald and Danny seemed to find the best plan -- going downstairs to await the arrival of the ticket clerk rather than waiting at the closed counter. Alas, they decided they'd work with/help Mirna and Charla.

They said they did it for the karma just as others were saying that karma would get Dustin and Kandice for the Yield. Actually, D/K are right. The Yield is a part of the race. All the teams are supposedly in it to win. But it seems indeed the good karma worked for Danny and Oswald and the bad karma really didn't harm the Beauty Queens.

Danny and Oswald got the first flight out thus sending them directly to first place from last. (Yay!) Most of the airport stuff was the same old sniping between teams. Mirna told the Beauty Queens, "Take your padded bras elsewhere!" And so on... and on. I found it interesting (and not totally safe) that Charla had heelies on in the airport. It did speed them along as Mirna dragged her. Why haven't they used them before? They had to be heelies, right? Eric and Danielle once again ended up on the last flight leaving.

Since the ChaChas, Danny and Oswald, arrived in Hong Kong before any of the other teams, they were the first to find the Fast Forward at the laundry. Well, of course they took it! The clue directed them to the old International Airport where they would take part in a high-speed movie stunt. Now we're talking!

These are the kinds of things I like to see on The Amazing Race! They weren't told exactly what they would be going through before experiencing it, but both took it all in stride. They knew from the gear they had to don that it would be something exciting and probably a tad dangerous. And, it was.

Once geared-up and strapped in, a stunt driver took them through a course which not only was high-speed, it was a roll-over! Woohoo! They both seemed to love it and took their clue which would send them directly to the Pit Stop skipping both the Detour and Roadblock the other teams would face. Oh, and they had to take a Travelocity gnome with them.

But the Detour was kind of cool, too. Well, at least the choice all of the teams made. One of the choices sounded a bit boring, but even Charla and Mirna went for the more physical task. Teams could Kung Fu Fight or be Lost in Translation. The latter was the boring task -- they had to study a sign in Chinese characters, then find it. Yawn! But, hey, when everybody's Kung Fu fighting, you know it's as fast as lightning! Oh, go ahead... click on that Kung Fu fighting link. You know you want to do it.

Dustin and Kandice arrived at the Detour first. Thinking that Charla and Mirna would go for the non-physical task, they went for Kung Fu Fighting. Actually, Charla and Mirna originally went for the Lost in Translation, but changed their minds. Once at the Detour, the teams had to climb up eight flights of scaffolding while being "attacked" by Kung Fu ninja-types.

Dustin and Kandice got through it first, then Charla and Mirna. Danielle and Eric seemed to be lagging way behind due to their later flight, but did the task in great time. I only wish that Danielle wouldn't wear low-cut sports halters in every country. I know some men probably disagree with me on that one. Heck, even the Beauty Queens cover up with t-shirts and such.

From there, teams had to take the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island to find the next clue at the Old Police Headquarters. While Charla and Mirna took the wrong ferry, they remained ahead of Eric and Danielle.

The clue there was a Roadblock and, while not so exciting, dangerous, or even hard, it was sort of fun. It seems the show capitalized on the film industry in Hong Kong, mainly the adventure/crime/martial arts genres. One member from each team had to go through the old headquarters knocking down doors to find a clue in a room. Charla and Eric (not at the same time obviously) really got a kick out of it. (Heh.)

From the Roadblock, teams headed to Victoria Park where there were gnomes on junks floating in the lake. They had to gently pull their chosen gnome to shore without drowning the gnome.

No one drowned the gnomes, but Eric and Danielle seemed to be far behind even though editing attempts of the race to the Pit Stop tried to tie them in with Mirna and Charla. I personally don't think it was as close as they tried to make it seem.

The Pit Stop was at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Danny and Oswald arrived there well before the other other teams due to the Fast Forward. Here's the order of arrival:

1. Oswald and Danny - They also won the most expensive trip of the race, a trip back to Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year. Wow, I'd love that!
2. Dustin and Kandice (don't see that bad karma doing much there)
3. Charla and Mirna
4. Eric and Danielle, saved by a non-elimination leg. They will be marked for elimination next week and must come in first place or suffer a 30-minute penalty.

Okay, what's with the gnomes? They usually have a gnome-challenge each year, but the gnomes are marked to win prizes. Phil didn't ask to see the gnomes although all the teams brought them as directed. Did I miss something? It seemed the ChaCha's trip was a regular non-gnome related first place winning one.

Will Eric realize that he should sometimes listen to Danielle? Is Mirna being suspiciously edited as being nicer to Charla?

So many questions... I guess I'll just have to wait until next week!