Whoo Hoo! Idol Season 9 is finally here with tryouts in Boston and Atlanta! Guest judges, Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) and Mary J. Blige were the guest judges and although I still miss seeing Paula, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the panel. And with Paula missing, I think Kara's personality and contributions have stepped up from last year and I thought she was pretty good.
I normally don't start posting about my obsession until the final group is selected but well, I just couldn't resist.
I saw a few standouts that I have a feeling will go far and some that I want to go far in the competition:
- the sweet and adorable Madddy. I really hope she goes far.
- Ashley Rodriguez could also go very far and the judges really liked her. And she got a thumbs up from Fashionista, Victoria Beckham.
- Tyler Grady, our throw back to the 60's contestant was pretty good too (broken wrists and all) He also got a thumbs up from Victoria for his "cool" look.
- I loved 16-year old Katie Stevens (very sweet story about her close relationship with her grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer's). I hope she goes far.
- Cutie and cancer survivor, Justin Williams, could also go far.
- Loved Mallorie Harden who sings with a natural ease about her.
- gotta love the singing police officer Bryan Walker (he surprised me the most).
- I'm really pulling for Vanessa Wolf from Rural Vonore Tennessee. I agree with Simon and the others in that she really comes across very authentic ...unlike guitar girl Holly Harden.
- Another standout thumbs up goes to Jermain Sellars (also another sweet story of him caring for his ill mom).
And although I tried I just couldn't leave out the duds: First, there was Mr. Personality himself, Andrew, loved how Kara put him in his place! Dude, now you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want. So long...And let's not forget the waitress who didn't quite sound like Mariah Carey. :)
And I can't end my first impressions Idol post without a comment about 62 year-old, General Larry Platt, who I think has the potential to win the award for best new original song at the season's finale show with "Pants on the Ground." But Mr. Platt has a very interesting and fascinating history in the civil rights movement and for that he deserves our praise and respect.
Good way to close out Atlanta AI producers.
And that's my Recap: Keep on Rocking AI . . .
I caught parts of those episodes too. I was expecting to see Ellen Degeneres. What happened? I am out of the news obviously! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Eden, that's so cool that you watch the show too. I will gladly fill you in . . . Ellen will be on the panel when the final group is selected. That will be interesting... For the tryouts they had guest judges like Mary J Blige and Victoria Beckham sit on the panel to replace Paula temporarily. Overall, I thought they did a good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments and have a great day!
OK-I confess I promptly fell asleep as soon as I turned on the Hotlanta episode. Truthfully, the previous night left me -- underwhelmed (even though it was in Boston - some great shots of the harbor). I thought VBeckham (or 'David Beckham's wife' as one contestant described her - she must be used to it because she didn't even flinch) was actually quite good - altho her fashion comments were a bit much!
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see Kara take up a more dominant role. I do know most of this is for the TV but I hope their caustic comments are toned down. It's a bit of a turn off. I think the 'guy with an attitude' (sorry, don't remember his name) was a bit over the top as well. I loved his comment in the end, "What just happened in there?" - quite telling.
So I can only comment on Boston: my two favorite singers (*there were a few whose stories touched me) were Tyler Grady, the guy who looked and sounded like Jim Morrison of the Doors, but of course he was of my vintage, and Ashley Rodriguez, whom I think said she was a student at Emerson College, which would make sense. (K McPhee's alma mater, I think.)
I bet that song "Pants on the Ground" (I think that is the title) will go viral.. too funny.
ReplyDeleteHi M, I heard the same thing about Boston. Some people wasn't that thrilled with the season opener.But I agree, it was really nice to see that beautiful harbor in the background. I thought Victoria and Mary J. were better than I expected. They didn't talk as much as Paula would have but Kara made up for it. I wasn't really that thrilled with Kara last year, but with Paula gone I agree with you that she has taken on a more dominant role and I thought she was pretty good. I really liked Tyler and Ashley too and I can see them doing really well in the competition. The attitude guy was so negative and dark and it was bizarre that he couldn't figure out what provoked Kara? :) I can't wait for next week... :) Thanks so much for your comments. Have a great long holiday weekend.
ReplyDeleteEden, I think "Pants on the Ground" from what I've seen on the net has definitely gone viral. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on some talk shows especially given his background story. It's a catchy song. :) Thanks so much for your comments. Have a great long holiday weekend.
Oh shoot, I am missing it already, I was really trying to follow AI this year, maybe I still can.
ReplyDeleteHi Candi, well, so far you haven't really been missing much. :) As M mentioned, you can always check in here and read everyone's comments to get the latest Idol scoop... :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Zumba class tonight and have a great weekend!
I'm glad to read your recap because I only watched parts of both nights....phone kept ringing etc etc. I did miss Paula, but the guest judges were really excellent. Exp. Mary J - I liked her a lot. Still not so sure about Kara, we'll see. But am so glad it's started!
ReplyDeleteHave a great long weekend Kathy!
Hi Annie, thanks so much for your comments. At first, I missed Paula’s presence too but as the show went on I kind of started to get used to the new faces. I also thought Mary J. was great. She was really cool. I think I’m slowly beginning to warm up to Kara. I especially liked how she put that one guy with the bad attitude in his place. He really pushed her buttons just like Bikini girl did to her last year. I’m glad it has started again too.
ReplyDeleteI have major house re-organization projects going this weekend so I'm glad to have two extra days. Not real fun for me to spend a nice long holiday weekend, but it’s about time I work on a few things that needs fixing up around here. :)
Thanks so much again for your comments Annie. Have a great weekend too!
Hi Kathy, it has been a long time since I watched American Idol. I think I saw one season before leaving the States. I watched one season in Spain, but I haven't gotten around to watching Australian Idol, for some reason the TV doesn't turned on at our house anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to follow American Idol through your posts!
Hi Maya, that's very cool that you watched Idol in the States and also in Spain. Sorry to hear that you can't get the TV to work in your house anymore.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to check in here for updates and comments anytime ... :)
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Well, I'm relying on you for AI updates and analysis because I'm not getting hooked on it until it's on the final stretch. So keep your recaps and comments coming.
ReplyDeleteHope you are still enjoying the long weekend. Did you get rain? We are under a three storm watch for the entire week. It all comes from California so you must have had some stormy weather, no?
(did you get my comment on the PH entry? I got a weird message when I hit the publish button)
Hi Maria, thanks so much for your comments. I will gladly keep my AI recaps coming. I get such a kick out of picking the top contestants from the auditions. Plus I like hearing about some of their background stories.
ReplyDeleteI think we are under the same storm watch. It's actually cleared up and a little sunny right now but earlier in the day it was raining and very windy. I was beginning to get flashbacks of the Highlands in Scotland. LOL! It's supposed to rain this entire week. I'm still off tomorrow which is nice. LA traffic in the rain is crazy.
I did get your comments on my PH post. I'm not sure what caused the wierd message. The comments on the moderation page looked pretty normal. It was probably some kind of temporary glitch or something.
Hope you are recovering from your cold. Stay warm and dry...and have a great evening.