Replies

(((American Idol Ping)))

Click here for Pics & Bios of the Top 24

As always, if you want on or off this ping list, just let me know :)

Loved the ping...you are the best!

LOL....love the pickle jar......I don't know how long I'll be here...I don't feel well...I feel like I have been hit by a bus...I ache all over and have chest congestion....I DON'T WANT TO GET SICK!

The Gherkin -- right where she belongs.

LMAO!

Evening everyone!

jonny!!!

Love the gherkins!

I'm here! Don't know how much I'll be posting. I'm sick as a dog.

Oh my. I can't stand this song.

10 minutes until it airs in the west/mountain, but LOL

jonny, I don't know how you do it for the graphics!!!!!!

You crack me up every time! :)

We seem to have the reverse of last season, where we had to cut deserving guys to make room for undeserving girls. Other than Kinnik, who in my mind clearly has to go, the other seven have done well enough over the last three weeks to merit making the top 12. Only six will make it.

For the night, here's my breakdown:

Mandisa - Was it perfect? No, despite the judge-gasm we were treated to... a little too forced and over the top at the end. She's a great performer, though, no doubt, and delivered a convincing performance. My Grade: A-
Melissa - Simon, you know, was way too harsh on her. She sang the, you know, song exactly the way it is supposed to be sung, you know, and it compared very well, you know, to the original, with only a bit of a closed or, you know, pinched nature to her tone providing any negative distraction. My Grade: A-, you know
Lisa - While considerably more restrained than the last two weeks, it still looks a bit theatrical, i.e., movements look rehearsed and slightly exaggerated. I was happy to see a bit more engagement with the audience from her. I'm not fond of the particular style of singing that she did, but appreciated that she did it well. My Grade: B+
Paris - Who is the real Paris? Every week, we get a different "act", it's like watching a musical revue in stages. She did not provide a convincing Latin performance, though she was technically sound. On the whole, this may be the first time I could buy her as a pop singer. My Grade: B
Kellie - A good stage performance, though like Lisa, it suffers from a small touch of mechanical over-rehearsing. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the vocals -- the lower register stuff was swallowed up by the background, and the fake "growl" in her voice was just that, fake. And, drop the "hick" act in your interviews, it is really getting annoying. My Grade: B
Ayla - Try as I might, I just don't "get" this performance or song choice. Good interaction with the audience, but probably needed more energy in the singing. My Grade: B-
Katherine - The beginning was painful, as she tried to force herself to relax and have fun. On the other hand, eventually she did, and it got much better as it went on. It really was a poor comparison to the original, in my mind, very much a karaoke type of performance, although it was nice to see her try something more up-beat and to let herself relax. While not a great mark from me, this should stop her free-fall in the overall rankings. My Grade: C+
Kinnik - Bad song choice, major pitch issues, boring. The diction was a bit improved, but don't let the door hit you on the way out. My Grade: D

I see no need to make any changes right now to the girls' overall rankings:

Lisa Tucker (NC)
Ayla Brown (NC)
Mandisa (NC)
Paris Bennett (NC)
Katherine McPhee (NC)
Melissa McGhee (NC)
Kellie Pickler (NC)
Kinnik Sky (NC)

Now... to the question of who should go... one is easy: Kinnik. The other one is a bit tougher. As strange as it sounds, if it were up to me, I would choose Mandisa as the odd woman out. It's not that I think she's the worst of the seven - far from it - but I can see any of the other six putting it together to win the whole thing, but I don't believe Mandisa can -- between her look and her age (which starts working against the gals after they top 24 or 25).

So, call that my long-shot prediction. My hedge bet will be that Simon successfully sabotages Melissa, and she joins Kinnik on the AI exit ramp.

Can you add me to this ping list?
Thanx