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P.S. - Everybody who says Josiah was overconfident - everybody on this show is overconfident to some degree. Including the ones who are awful and cant sing. How else do you explain getting up in front of the world and saying you are the next American Idol? They all have varying degrees of confidence and over confidence. I think Josiah did have some of that, but I think at the same time he was also very unsure of himself (like Carly).

One more thing and then I am done. When Josiah was being eliminated, did anybody watch Paula's face? She looked pissed. Was she pissed at Josiah or pissed at Randy and Simon for not passing him through? Simon said nothing while Josiah was in the room, but after Josaih left, he said something like "he's a very sweet boy"
Josiah was the most interesting person on the show. Both his audition earlier in the season and his first performance were great. Yes, he was living in his car, but was he playing that for sympathy? I don't think he was anymore then Asia'H, who's father died was playing that for sympathy. Since they only showed us a handful of the finalist, I cannot really be sure the best 24 were picked. I did not see anybody who was bad advanced at least. However, Josiah was my favorite from the first time I saw him. What was the song he sang in Hollywood? Was it another original or was it just a song I don't know? Eventhough his rendition of stand by me may not have worked for Randy, it wasn't bad. That is to say, he changed it and may have been ill advised to do so, but at least his singing was in key. I liked him a lot and dont know if I will bother to watch the rest now that he was eliminated. He was my only pick for the top 12 so far, besides the Australian guy.
Just a reminder - Sawyer's name is actually James - so it could be his name - but I still say the coffin is short, which implies kid.
1. I was stunned that Melinda was eliminated - but not shocked. I saw it coming a mile away.

2. I think the Producers like girl-boy finals and rigged the vote. Season 1: Kelly and Justin Season 2: Ruben and Clay (close enough) Season 3 - hmmm was there a season 3? Season 4 - Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice Season 5: Old Man Hicks and McPhever Season 6: Jordin and Blake

3. Do the Blaker Girls realize that Blake is extremely gay? Not that there is anything wrong with that.

4. Blake sang Robin Thicke - for that alone he should have been banished to the 47th level of hell. Plus also confirms number 3 above.

5. Why do people like Moron 5 - I mean Maroon - that was the most painfully boring performance I have seen all season on AI - and I am comparing them to the contestants, not the guests.

6. Everybody was crying that Sanjaya was killing the ratings - has anybody noticed that the ratings have slipped much lower since Sanjaya was ousted. He was the only reason anybody was watching.
Who the hell is Mrs Hawking?

If you didn't know the episode name, there was still the book that fell out of Naomi's backpack.
I was actually surprised by tonights performances. Especially Melinda. Yes, she is always good, but tonight she finally broke out of the mold. I would say top 3 performances tonight were Jordin, Melinda and Nosferatu. Blake was all over the place. I think tonight clearly showed his limited range, which I was waiting for somebody to call him on. However, I am beginning to believe the people who say everything is rigged. They have to have a male-female showdown and that leaves Blake vs Jordin or Melinda (final 3 for sure). It doesn't matter that he bland and boring every week.

So three excellent performances. Lakisha was not very good at all. I would put Sanjaya, Blake and Lakisha in a 3 way tie for mediocre performances tonight. Actually, I think Sanjaya did a better job staying in tune then Blake did.

However, the worst performance of the night was definitely Chris. "I try to sing nasally" Anyway, he will be bottom 3 again. Nosferatu gave his best performance, but obviously doesn't have a fan base and was first to perform, so he will probably be bottom 3. The 3rd bottom 3 dweller will be either Sanjaya or Lakisha.

Chris should go home, but that said, who knows what will happen.

I think the judges are trying to sway the votes (i have always thought his), but I think they have begun to target lakisha ousted and to keep Blake on.

As for Simon rolling his eyes, it probably had to do with Chris' comments to him about how he tries to sing nasally, and whatever other whining he was doing. He then rushed out the thoughts to Va Tech. So, it may have appeared that Simon rolled his eyes at that, but I think it was the comments that came before it.
I agree that what Burt Rutan and Virgin Galactic are doing is very cool. They are providing the means for tourists to go on suborbital spaceflights. The total time in "space" will probably be in the realm of minutes if not seconds and will bear a hefty price tag.

But let's get one thing straight - Victoria Principal is not persuing a profession as an "Astronaut". She is paying to go on a sub-orbital flight. To say she is adding the profession to her resume, is kind of like saying I am a pilot because I have flown on many aircraft.
I don't understand the comment from Michael. Chris Richardson is horrible. He also makes Sanjaya look extremely masculine.

For Cani - how can I lose my credibility because I don't vote? Does that somehow lessen my ability to judge the music? I actually did consider voting for the first time ever last night, but actually didn't know the number and didn't feel like looking it up. All I knew was that it was 1-866-something-08.

My post was long, because I like to break down the entire show and the performances. When people post "I hate so and so - so and so should win!" That tells me nothing other then that the person has a favorite. Those posts waste my time and energy. I prefer most of the longer posts, because the people writing them usually put thought into them. They also usually know how to spell too. BTW: I am not implicating you in the above comments (Cani) just replying to your comments.
OK, time to chime in on the latest Idol trainwreck.

First, I agree, when I heard it was Latin night, I could only respond "what the f%& are they thinking?"

However, there actually was a benefit to latin night, it showed once again that these singers are blah, bland and boring and have no soul and no emotion.

That said, I am glad to know that Gloria Estefan is the only person they could all come up with, I mean come on, she is weak "latin-tinged" 80s pop - granted paula Abdul makes her look good, but let's be real. 3 Estefans and 2 Santana's?

I was praying for somebody to choose something different - Shakira, anyone? I was actually hoping Sanjaya would come out in a navel baring shirt and hula dance while singing "Hips don't lie".

OK, on to the performances.

Melinda: surprise surprise, Melinda sings the oldest song of the bunch. Good vocal as usual, she looked better then usual, but getting bored.

Lakisha: Obviously asked Haley for some styling tips of the pole-dancing famous tonight. I thought she started out strong, but then she went into autopilot and the performance was just very limp. I think it is a good thing she wore that dress, because otherwise she may be in danger of bottom 3 this week. Why? Same old, same old combined with uninspired performance, combined with the fact that, lets face it, she aint pretty.

Chris R: I have been indifferent to Chris so far. I think some days he is on and others he is not. Not thrilled by his Timberlake wardrobe usually. Today, I was in the other room while he was singing, so I could only hear him and could not see him. Sorry, but his vocals were all over the place, he was so out of tune with the song. This was by far the worst performance of the night so far. No idea why the judges liked it. Perhaps they are drinking from Paula's glass?

Haley: What can I say? Simon nailed it on the head. Did I say Chris was the worst so far? Oh well, Haley just out-crapped him. I give her credit for her energy and her continuing ability to compensate for lack of talent with a bigger lack of clothes. Britney is probably her role model. hmmm... now that I think about it, Haley probably could sell a couple million albums. I wouldn't buy them though. She is not good.

Phil: Nosferatu - something was really bugging me about his performance tonight - he seemed to be running everything together and not annunciating. I also just didn't buy him singing "Maria, Maria". Wrong song for mister "I'm-so-white-that-I-scare-the-undead". Then there is the vocals problems, that finished off with a massive cracking at the end.

Jordin: Again, she has one of the best vocals of the night and has the most fun of the contestants. I think at this point, she has passed Lakisha and Melinda. Best performance of the night by far, so far.

Blake: One of the better vocals of the night. But wow, did he look uncomfortable on stage. I have never seen him look so stiff. Jordin was better all around. He comes in second only because all the others were so painful

Sanjaya: we have to listen to another annoying intro from Ryan who obviously doesn't like him. I am still hoping he will sing "Hips Don't Lie". Then I find out he is singing "Besame". I then realize he is going to sing in Spanish. My first thoughts are this. One: that is fitting and appropriate since up until this point, Latin night has consisted primarily of Miami Sound Machine, that is to say, weak. Second: that is a gutsy move to sing a song in another language. Sanjaya sits on a stool for his performance and his entire performance is very subdued, but in a good way. His vocals are stronger then I have heard them since the auditions. Sorry Sanjaya haters, but Sanjaya succeeded in doing what none of the rest did tonight, he captured the appropriate emotion of the song and he gave an appropriately subtle performance. This was by far the best performance of the night and the Sanjaya's best performance since he made it to the final 24.

I will say this again, overall, the performances were bad tonight. The best vocals of the night were Sanjaya, Melinda, Blake and Jordan - in that order. The best performances were Sanjaya, Jordin, Melinda and Blake in that order.

The other 4 contestants gave awful performances with ok (Lakisha) to awful (Haley and Chris) vocals. Phil was awful at times.

I have never actually called in to vote for American Idol, but if I were to vote tonight, there is no question in my mind that I would vote for Sanjaya. My moto has always been to vote for the best performance of the night and not my favorite performer. I have never voted on AI, but I have done the internet vote for RockStar INXS and SuperNova and I always stuck to two rules: vote one time only and vote for the best overall performance of the night. By that standard, which I believe to be the proper standard. Sanjaya would get my vote tonight.

All of that said - I say this again - PLEAASSSEEE get some better THEMES!!!!! It's actually embarassing that J Lo was the celebrity coach and nobody sang one of her songs. What's a matter, didn't they think they could pull of "Jenny from the block"?



Yes, I agree, the judges passed the uninspiring, boring top 24 into the voting round, so they get what they deserve. People are blaming Sanjaya, but he is no better and no worse then any of the others on the show with the exception of Lakisha, Jordin and Melinda. Chris Sligh was one of the only interesting people to make the top 12, and once he did, he suddenly became boring, uninspired and lost his sense of humor.

But most importantly, I have to agree with Stigmata - watch LOST people!!!! It doesn't even conflict with Idol anymore. The last 4 episodes have been the best of the season. Besides, even when Lost has a "bad" episode, it is still better then everything else on TV.

Also, shoutout to Heroes and Jericho - two other excellent scripted tv shows.
Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
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