American Idol Season 9: R&B, Soul and Usher . . . .

It feels great to be back on the Idol Beat again. I'm a bit disappointed that Lilly Scott didn't make the top 10 summer tour group. I think she deserved to be. Last night was R&B/Soul week and the top 10 contestants received mentoring advice from great recording R&B artist, Usher. And here's how the soulful performances went:

Siobhan Magnus starts the show off with Chaka Khan's Through the Fire. I'm a fan of Siobhan, but I honestly didn't like her performance tonight. And based upon the backstage clip of her after her performance (something new this season), I think she wasn't very happy either (or maybe it was hearing the criticisms from the judges). And I'd have to agree with Simon, I think her scream has become predictable. But I still like her and I hope she moves on.

Casey James performs Sam & Dave's Hold On, I'm Coming and he sang it really well. It was a great song and hair choice (ie., ponytail) for him. I think whether he wins Idol or not he's going to have a really successful recording career.

Michael Lynche sings India.Arie's Ready for Love and I loved it. I also liked the acoustic guitar performance. He has such a great likable personality. I think he'll have a great post Idol career too.

Didi Benami sings Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes of the Brokenhearted and I think she really struggled with it. And why was Ryan pushing the poor thing to reveal the reason she picked this song. It looked like a place that she didn't feel comfortable going to. Kudos to her for maintaining her composure on stage.

Tim Urban sings Anita Baker's Sweet Love. I wasn't a fan of that song choice or of his performance. Unfortunately, there's a whole bunch of young teenage girls who will see otherwise and continue to vote for him.

Andrew Garcia sings Chris Brown's Forever and I thought it was one of his strongest performances since Straight up. Finally! He really connected with the song and the audience completely.

Lee DeWyze sings Cornelius Brothers' Treat Her Like a Lady. Like Kris Allen did last season, I think Lee is really making his way to the front of the pack. He seems to get better and better with each performance.

Katie Stevens sings Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools and I thought she did pretty good. I'm a fan of Katie but the competition is getting tougher and I think it's going to require her best performance each night for her to go further. She does seem to have a strong following though.

Crystal Bowersox held true to her promise and surprises everyone by laying down her guitar and playing the piano for the first time in the competition performing Gladys Knight's Midnight Train to Georgia. She is the real deal. A true multi talented artist. I loved her song choice and I loved her performance. She is by far the most consistent and naturally talented contestant this season.

Aaron Kelly sings Bill Wither's Ain't No Sunshine. I thought Usher's advice was really good and I think it really helped his performance.

My top performances of the night goes to Cyrstal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Andrew Garcia, Michael Lynche and Casey James. This group could even be shaping up to be in the top 5. So much for my earlier prediction of the girls being stronger this season. :)

My bottom two: Didi Benami and Tim Urban.

And that's my Recap: Keep on Rocking AI . . .

PhotoHunt: Fresh

"A new day is like a fresh start to something interesting, adventurous, exciting, fulfilling or special. And it's up to us to make it so" ~ Trekcapri


Sunrises to me always represents the beginning of each new day and they can be quite beautiful especially when you are traveling. I took this photo from the window in my room at the Hotel America. The hotel is located on the grounds of the amazing Alhambra high above the City of Granada in Spain. When the sun rises over the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains and onto the City and the grounds of the Alhambra it was breathtaking.




See more PhotoHunters HERE!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

I'm not a Knucklehead . . .

All work and no play had me bumming a lot lately. But luckily, I crashed into an old friend last week who first called me a knucklehead and then gave me that much needed Life is Too Short reminder!

Although things are still pretty stressful and chaotic at the moment, I’ve decided to kick my shoes off (Photo was taken in Amsterdam during a Windmill & Cheesemaking tour - thinking of a co-worker friend of mine made me think of this trip)for a fresh new outlook. I'm so happy to return to reading my favorite blogs and getting inspired again.

So I guess it isn't necessarily a bad thing to be called a knucklehead.

Scotland: Reflections . . .

Although it's been several months now since I have returned, I can still remember my trip to Scotland with such clarity...

I can remember the amazing Quairiang, the majestic Cuillin Hills, I can smile at the cute fluffy sheep I saw stroll across the single track roads or along the beautiful hills, I can remember those beautiful long haired Highland cows and marvel at the beauty and harshness of the Highlands...I can appreciate the long history and remember the warmth and friendliness of the people of Scotland.

I'm pretty positive that I will always be able to reflect back on my trip for years to come with a sense of joy and a desire to return. I want to once again thank Slow Travel Founder, Pauline Kenny (Slow Europe), Slow Travel and the wonderful community of Slow Travelers and my blogging friends for the inspiration for making this trip the success that it was. Thank you so much . . .



Hope you enjoy my traditional trip video. :) I also wanted to post that I'll be taking a blogging break for a while. My best to all of you and I hope to return soon. Take care...

American Idol Season 9: Girl's turn . . .

Let's get on with the show . . .

- Front runner, Crystal Bowersox, stays in the front with a strong performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See the Light". The high praises from all 4 judges were on point. After having just been hospitalized only two days prior, Crystal sets the bar with her performance. She is by far my most favorite contestant this season. I think, like Fantasia was in her season will be the Idol contestant to beat. She is a pure artist! Something tells me that she won't be performing in Chicago subways ...

- Haeley Vaughn performs Miley Cyrus' "The Climb". Haeley is one of my favorites from the auditions, but I'm not a big fan of her performance tonight. She has a great smile though.

- Lacey Brown took Kara's suggestion and sings Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me". I thought she was a lot better than last week and it was a great song choice for her. It just wasn't one of my favorite performances of the night.

- Katie Stevens Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On". She's super talented but it just didn't have that "wow" factor for me.

- Didi Benami performs Bill Withers' "Lean on Me?" I love that song and I thought she wasn't as good as she could have been. Near tears you can't help but feel so bad for her. My hats off to all these contestants for following their dreams.

- Michelle Delamor sings Creed's "With Arms Wide Open". She's one of my favorites from last week, but I was in agreement with Randy on this one. I wasn't a big fan of this performance. I hope she goes through though because she's in my top 5 list.

- Lilly Scott sings Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". I love this song for many reasons but few artists can sing it with the kind of soul and passion that it deserves. I loved Lilly's version. It had a soul, jazzy, blues, indie kind of vibe to it and I loved her 12 string guitar.

- Katelyn Epperly sings Coldplay's "The Scientist". Kara's right, she does look so much better with her natural look. Her playing the piano really reminded me of Brooke White a lot. I liked her performance.

- Paige Mils sings Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away". I thought she was so much better than last week.

- Siobhan Magnus performs Aretha Franklin's "Think". Love that song! And I loved her performance. She does have a pretty unpredictable and goofy personality and I like it.

Since the girls are so much stronger than the guys this year, I'm already finding it difficult pick my bottom two, but if I had to pick my two least liked performances I would have to say Katie Stevens and Didi Benami.

My top three were Crystal Bowersox, Lilly Scott and Siobhan Magnus.

And that's my Recap: Keep on Rocking AI . . .

American Idol Season 9 - Top 20 and counting . . .

Except for a small handful of performances, last week was a bit disappointing so I was hoping this week would be an improvement and it was!

First up, due to the unfortunate hospitalization of Cyrstal Bowersox we start with Boy's night! And what a difference a week makes.

- Michael Lynche, who btw can lift Aaron Kelly like he weighs nothing, started the show with James Brown's "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World". Smooth, soulful, likable and great Idol potential. I also really admired how he listened to the judges comments last week to improve his performance this week.

- John Park sings "Gravity" by John Mayer and although it was a huge improvement from last week, it was still just okay for me.

- Next up, Casey James sings Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be". And although he can play the guitar really well, I have to agree with Kara and Simon. American Idol is about singing and I thought he sang better last week. But he is cute, he does have that likability factor and he can play the guitar like a rock star . . . he'll be back next week.

- Alex Lambert, nerves and all, sings John Legend's "Everybody Knows" and was really very good. And can people leave his Mullet alone. I think it's cute. I think he has a distinct voice and a unique style and he can actually be a dark horse in this competition if he can control his nerves.

- Todrick Hall (the dancer) sings Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It". Eh...maybe I didn't like it because I'm such a huge Tina Turner fan and that's just one of those songs that needs to be sung in it's original form. I totally agree with Randy. I disagree with Ellen and Kara about encouraging him to move more because dancing is his strength. I don't think more dancing would've improved his performance.

- Jermaine Sellars, Onesies and all, performs Marvin Gaye's "What Going On". Maza with Frankie Beverly would be awesome for him to try next week. Jermaine is one of my original favorites so I hope he gets another shot.

- Andrew Garcia, sings James Morrison's "You Give Me Something". Hmmm. Andrew is one of my favorites but I wasn't fond of this performance. Maybe ever since he sang Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" I have built up high expectations. He's still one of my favorites but I think he has to find another "Straight Up" like type of performance to keep in the competition! He has a strong YouTube following so I think he's safe to stay another week.

- Aaron Kelly sings the Temptation's "My Girl". Yikes, I'm with Simon on this one.

- Tim Urban who was a last minute replacement for a booted off contestant sings Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher". Once again I'm in the same camp with Simon. I thought he did way better than last week and I enjoyed his performance. He looked much more relaxed with his guitar. And he sort of reminds me of Mark Wahlberg for some reason. Not to say that I agree with Ellen that he should take up acting or star in Glee. Yuck. But with Simon's approval, I hope to see him back next week.

- And last to sing, Lee DeWyze performs Hinder's "Lips of an Angel". Lee has become one of my favorites in this competition. Love his cool look, his raspy voice and I'm also liking his song selections.

The guys overall did a thousand times better than last week. If I were to judge last night on performance alone, John Park and Aaron Kelly landed in my bottom two. My top favorite performances . . . Michael Lynch, Lee DeWyze and to my surprise Alex Lambert.

Next up Girls Night. I hope Cyrstal is better and will be able to perform.

And that's my Recap. Keep on Rocking AI . . .

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics: Thank you Canada . . .

I managed to keep up with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics thanks to NBC's website and yesterday I watched the Gold Medal ice hockey match between Canada and USA and the closing Ceremony, and all I can is Wow!

I have been a huge fan of the Olympics ever since I can remember and I'm pretty sure that my love and passion for the games grew in part out of my love for Travel and Adventure. Think of it . . . . athletes from all over the world converging in different host cities and countries every 2-4 years! It can't get any better than that! Well okay, it could be better if I can get to visit these cities too someday! :) I can remember my experience visiting the Olympic Park in Munich Germany to see the venues.

The informal motto introduced during the 1908 London Games by Pierre de Coubertin, says it all . . .

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

There were many memorable moments during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics:

- Bodie Miller's comeback;

- Lindsey Vonn & Julie Mancuso's success in winning 4 alpine skiing medals;

- Apolo Anton Ohno's mark in history winning 8 medals in three Olympics making him the most decorated US Winter Olympian of all times passing the amazing Bonnie Blair;

- Steve Holcomb and USA-1 winning Olympic gold in the four-man bobsledding and ending a 62-year drought;

- Johnny Spillane's amazing Silver medal finish in the nordic combined, an event dominated mostly by countries like Norway;

- Canada's women and men's Gold medal wins in Ice Hockey (and on this same note, how about USA men and women earning Silver...you can stand tall too for your achievements);

- Shen Xue and Zhao Honbo's return to finally capture their illusive Olympic gold in pairs figure skating;

- Evan Lysacek earning Olympic Gold in men's figure skating;

- And to all the athletes from around the world who earned their place in history by being the best in their sport to represent their country;

So many memorable moments . . . and some sad moments like the fatal luge accident that took the life of a 21 year old Olympian, Nodar Kumaritashvili (the entire world also mourned for his family's great loss).

I think for me, these Vancouver Winter games will always be remembered most of all for the courage and elegance demonstrated by figure skater Joanne Rochette of Canada who skated to a Bronze Medal only a couple of days after learning of her mother's death. And when she looked up towards heaven at the end of her performance, you could just sense her mother looking down and feeling so proud of her daughter! Thank you Joanne for that inspired performance and demonstration of unimaginable courage.

And to the people of Canada, you have been a most gracious host during these Olympic games and the World says a big collective Thank You!

Next up....