I love Carrie, but gotta be honest here. Last night was the second time she looked like a beauty pagent wannabe. Sort of like the way tragic little JonBenet Ramsey might have looked like if she had the chance to grow up.
Yeah, I didn't like that look either. And she was stiff again! I thought she was cured of that last week.
BTW, she looks much better tonight.
It's hard to figure out how much the kids have a say in their performance-night looks, and how much the behind-the-scenes people influence them. Carrie's appearance is far, far nicer when she looks as she did last night -- a contemporary young woman rather than a refugee from the Grand Ole Opera circa the mid-1960's.
Paula Abdul was on the Fox Good Day L.A. program this morning. She said that the judges all thought Carrie did a great job when they heard her live Wednesday, but that after reviewing the performances later on tape, they all regretted their comments. She said on review, Carrie was sharp in places and flat in others, and that her performance was not very good.
Frankly, I thought the judges praised Carrie too much the other night. Her rendition of MacArthur Park was terrible -- by far her worst performance of the competition. I can't figure it out. Last week she seemed to take a big step in the right direction. Now this week she's back to being -- like I said before -- a grown-up version of the tragic JonBenet Ramsey. Kind of a Miss America or Tammy Wynnette wannabe straight out of the 1960's.
Anyway, although just a few weeks ago, the judges all thought Carrie was a shoo-in to win it, now they are not so high on her. Paula gave me the impression they were prepared to be tougher on Carrie next week.
Paula also was sorry to see Anwar go. She said he was the most supportive person with the other candidates, and is a realy nice guy.
She talked about how she was injured in a plane crash years ago, when she was at the height of her career. Among the injuries she suffered were five compressed vertebrae in her neck, which left her in constant pain. She had multiple surgeries which did not help her. She said she has never been an addictive personality and denied that she has been "under the influence" on recent shows. (However, that's exactly how she looked this morning on Good Day L.A.) She said she has needed painkillers, but that they never really helped, so she stopped using them. She is now seeing a doctor who she says has helped her a great deal. She can dance and sing again, which she said after the crash that doctors told her she would never be able to do again.
I never knew Paula was in a plane crash. In fact, I never knew much about her at all until she became a judge on AI. I guess she's lucky to be alive after being in a plane crash, so if she does act a little, ummmm, "off," I'm inclined to be more understanding now.