Television

No one comments on these American Idol posts so I don’t know if anyone who visits this site cares, but this season is by far the best. None of the finalists are bad. They are all very good to great. Often the judges have nothing to say but that they were impressed by the performances. No one who leaves from this point on will be expected. But tonight, one of the best went home. Pia Toscano. She could sing like she was a new Celine Dion or Whitney Houston. She looks great. She always hits it out of the park. I think she was a victim of her own success. She was so perfect that people probably thought she didn’t need their votes. I certainly thought she was going to be in the top three. But she was also kind of the same every week, so people probably got bored with her.

Now there are only two women left. And at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if they were vulnerable, though neither was in the bottom three this week. Haley Reinhart has come into her own. Her version of the Janis Joplin classic “Take a Little Piece of my Heart” was like the second coming of Janis. Lauren Alaina has probably become popular with the teens. She is an amazing talent on her own. Her cover of Natural Woman was very good. Even though Jacob Lusk is arguably the best singer they ever had, he’s kind of like Pia in that he is almost too good. So I suspect he may get it next week or the week after. He also made a very foolish comment by taking on Man in the Mirror, but claiming that if he’s in the bottom three its because America can’t look themselves in the mirror. D’oh! Guess who was in the bottom three. Aside from the fact that this was rock week and it’s a soft Michael Jackson song, that was stupid. Like Pia, Jacob is kind of predictable in that he is always so good it becomes rather safe. The people who try different things like Casey may have a better shot at winning.

Speaking of Casey, he chose a perfect song this week by doing Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Have you Ever Seen the Rain”. His voice is similar to John Fogarty’s, but by playing it on a stand up bass he showed himself to be a true original. I think America really loves the guy now since he seems very humble despite his real talent.

UPDATE: Pia got a contract already with Interscope, Jimmy Iovine’s company. They snapped her right up.

What a great show. Probably one of the best episodes in the history of Idol. They did Motown songs and every single performer brought their A game. And this is a season where the final 11 singers are all really good. There are no Sanjaya’s or other annoyances like previous years. Everyone is solid. Which brings up the question who will get the chop tomorrow. My guess it will be one of three girls who are always in the bottom three. Haley, Naiema and maybe Thia. Thia has avoided the bottom three but she is not as flashy as some of the others. A great singer but kind of middle of the road. Haley and Naiema were at their best, but someone has to go tomorrow. It will be down to popularity.

I wasn’t crazy about last week so I didn’t even mention it. It was an OK week, but a mixed bag. Tonight’s episodes was one of the best ever, if not the best. There are so many talents on display who are ready for a career right now. Some this season are all way beyond many previous season’s talents and winners. They lucked out this year and made some very smart decisions. They did not let through any iffy talent and they use music producers to groom each singer before their performances. It really shows.

And the judges this year are all great choices. They are all music industry people with real cred. And the tone of the show is a lot better. The stage effects are fantastic. It really is one of the best entertainment shows on TV. I know people like to mock Idol but you have to give them credit for making it so much better than it ever was in its 10th year.

I can honestly say I have no idea who is likely to win this year. Unlike previous years, the competition is incredible.

UPDATE: They followed last night’s incredible show with an amazing results show. Stevie Wonder came out as a surprise for Steven Tyler to sing him happy birthday. Hulk Hogan came out to send two of the male singers who are wrestling fans to the safe couch. But the most incredible thing was my favorite singer, Casey Abrams was voted off. But the judges used their one save of the season to keep him on so the tour will have 11 this summer. Everyone was stunned that Casey, one of the most talented people in Idol history, was voted off and so soon.

Here’s the song he did last night. It wasn’t bad at all. But I think last week’s cover of Smells like Teen Spirit probably did him in because he messed with it too much.

I can’t say I’m surprised with the final choices the audience and the judges made. It was about who I thought should be in there. I am glad they had the wild card round because the people they saved didn’t deserve to go. I feel sorry for the people who got the axe because none of them were bad, but that’s how it goes. All but one of them is going to get cut in the following weeks.

At any rate, I am happy to see my favorites are mostly still in the running. All my top picks made it to the top 10. Now we’ll see how they do in the real contest.

I have to give the Idol producers some credit. They did a great job reviving the show and making it work again. It may be the best season yet from what we’ve seen so far.