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Semi-Finals


Ansamcw

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For everyone's convenience we have a pinned thread where we will post all the links to the videos...I copied the yousend it links from seashell too.

the first link will be to the AI2 page on FCAmedia. This is not complete yet...but we will add the episodes there as we go along.

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Group 3 - I remember almost nothing about these people.

Ryan tries to flirt with the home audience. Not buying it, dude. Much cross talk with the judges. Blah Blah Blah Blah. Just send the cannon fodder out to sing already.

Kimberly Kelsey - Song selection comes up again. She look like Pocahontas in her fringy dress and her performance is nothing special.

Jordon Seconda - Clay's buddy from Hawaii. A little quavery in the beginning, and then he ramps it up. He has dead eyes, per Simon. What's with Ryan trying to psychoanalyze all the contestants?

Vanessa - the season's requisite quirky scarlett-haired girl. She's a belter right from the start. She does has a nice tone to her voice. Again, Simon brings up a girl's weight. Dumbass - go get your moobs lipo'ed, Simon.

Rickey Smith - he's so sweet. Interesting bit of working with Byrd and Michael. He looks terrific in a red shirt. Not especially digging the falsetto at the end, although Randy liked it. The Hercules deal could get old quick.

Samantha Cohen - Gets points from me for punching Ryan before she goes on. I actually like her voice quite a lot. Why didn't she get voted through? Simon manages to get some pimping in for Ruben - foreshadowing much?

Lou Gazzara - Nice split jump, but how does that help you as a singer? He could use some more training on how to deliver a song with some expression. Nothing too distinctive about him.

Equoia - an air gasper. Memories - hate this song. A little over-dramatic in her delivery for my taste. "Caberet" per Simon.

Man, they really put almost no effort into the Coca-Cola spots this season.

George - Unchained Melody - I've heard the definitive delivery of this song from a certain contestant, and this ain't it. Paula loves it, Randy liked it, and Simon drags out one of his stupid restaurant metaphors. Interesting that Simon is already talking up the Wildcard Group - they probably already had a good idea of who they were going to put in it.

Results show - Ryan's microphone doesn't work to begin with. Do we have to fix it? Chicago and a coke machine anyone? What is Paula wearing in her hair?

Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini from the set of "From Justin to Kelly", with a preview of their big love duet. Kelly looks like she's 12. Um, yeah. Blistering chemistry there - not. I fast-forward through it.

Results - Vanessa, Rickey, and Equioa are the Top Three. Simon manages to make some more fat comments. Vanessa is just aggressively quirky, and I think that would have gotten old really quick if she hadn't gotten voted off first. Rickey shows some genuine emotion, and again is very sweet.

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Man, the Group 2 review I wrote was brilliant, BRILLIANT, I tell you!

Oh well. Ansa, frankly my review was just like yours, down to the ranking. The only thing I think I added was that Open Arms is one of the few Clay performances I dislike because he didn't make me feel the song, and saying that, he was still the third best that night, and better than everyone else in Group 1 - and that basically on the first run of this, I had skipped from his atlanta audition to Motown night, so I never heard this until after the fact.

Group 3, Group 3...who WERE these people besides Vanessa and Ricky? Face time is a factor of success on this show but talent clearly was more important.

How many freakin' Kimberlies are there? That looks like the most uncomfortable dress to put on ever. How do you line up the sleeves. Her singing was just meh. She was cute, but nothing outstanding.

Gordon. Dang he's short. But cute. Look, he's wearing an asymmetrical sweater thing like Clay! But not sounding nowhere as good. He does sound like people you would hear as general entertainers on cruise ships (which is better than 90% of the population) but not good enough for that 0.0001% that make pop stardom.

Vanessa, she was a lot of fun. And the girl can sing. Hated the song, loved her voice. Warning: Foreshadowing! Vanessa was so very much better than goat girl. So very much. The scripting of the show did her so wrong. Simon starting to show his assholishness that is never far away. Vanessa needs to lose a few pounds, but you won't say jack shit to Ruben just because you think Ruben could kick your ass? That's weak. Simon's a punk, y'all.

Ricky, I admit, that "Hercules" stuff got on my nerves the first time he opened his mouth and it came out, and I was predisposed to dislike him. Then he sang some song I wasn't familiar with and I still didn't like him. I give him credit from the Hollywood thing (his assistant) because I thought that was clever. Guys who sing in falsetto need to be freakishly good (Phil Bailey, Michael Jackson, Barry Gibb good) for me to like them, unfair as that might be. Ricky's not that good. But he was better than Gordon.

Samantha was just weak - can't even pretend to compare to Aretha, but she didn't even bring the sensuality that song needs like En Vogue did.

Lou, oh Lou...so many, many people hate Michael Bolton (I'm not one of them) but if you're gonna sing one of his songs, you better do it better than he does. Again, agreeing with Simon. And he and Randy are right, no one will remember this performance. It was adequate and that's about all you can say about it.

Equoia (doesn't that mean "horse" or something?) - her timing was just bad, I'm assuming the air-sucking was due to the cold - I liked the song on her - if she had been 100%, I think she could have given Vanessa a run for her money - I did like her better than Ricky though. I agree with her that at this point in the competition, this group is showing more "personality"

George, has the most nondescript look of all the contestants. Ooo, he chose Unchained Melody. Dang, his version is so very weak. And I hated his ending. Paula is clearly listening to something other than what I heard. Randy is just babbling. Simon was right, it was barely OK. To be really unfair, I forced myself to relisten to Clay's UM from the show. The SACRIFICES I make for you people. Clay is the only person in the world I think who could have made that arrangement work, and my man WORKED it. Oh, yeah. George. No, dude. Sorry.

Simon was right about the Wild Card group.

Ranking this group:

Vanessa

Equoia

Ricky

Kimberly

Gordon

Lou

George

Onto the results!

Justin and Kelly - how cute! What a terrible movie! Justin sounds a million times better than all the male contestants so far except for Clay and Ruben.

Samantha - nope; Vanessa - yep (I luuuuuv her top); Gordon - nope; Lou - nope; Ricky - yep; George - nope; Equoia & Kimberly get messed with tonight. Equoia is the yep.

Of course, Equoia gets kicked to the curb.

Simon is excessively stupid.

Next week, the Craggle!

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Finally...a chance to look at Group 3....

wow ...I totally don;t remember any of these people except for Vanessa and Ricky...

omg...Ruben and Kevin really crushed Ryan...Simon is a tool, I wanna see how he would react in Ruben/kevin sandwich

Kimberley ...pretty girl...Celin Dione song...Camera likes this girl...she sang that song competently...but the tone of her voice was thin but she showed range and power. She really did good. I think going first hurt her.Simon didn;t really make sense when he said she could do better. I actually think she gave it her all and that is just the most she can give. She was just able to handle that song...she performed it well but you can tell she was stretching her talent. Ok...maybe thats what Simon meant, if she chose an easier song then she could've sang it better.

Jordan...another boy band guy, nice voice but nothing really exceptional, he probably could've made it in AI3. Good presence...BAD song choice, don't know it and would be difficult for people to connect. Agree with Simon...there were pitchy moments and he wasn't totally alive. I think he just really missed on the IT factor.

Vanessa...she is cute and respect the fact that she likes her style to be funky...but what she wore was not flattering at all...very powerful voice, BUT...very cabaret. Love this song...she connected very well with the the emotion of the song. Randy really liked her and I agree with PAula a young Bette Midler. Simon was right in a way, she is not really as big as Frenchie, she is not as big as Klo but if she loses a few pounds, like 10 to 15, she will look so much better. I think that is what Simon wanted to convey...if she wants to improve something that would be it.

Ricky...he really looked good, that color red is great. I usually hate his type of voice...but he does have range and texture and he was not pitchy so it was great. The last run was fantastic. He truly is sweet...I do hope we hear more from him. He truly deserved to be on the finals.

wow so far I haven;t seen any real clunkers yet. Again the signers at AI2 were really strong. what happend to Ai3...that was just the worse...lots of these semifinalist are much better than penboi, matt and JAsmine...I can't even remember the other yahoos of that season.

Samantha...another bad song choice...I think she was too much like Kelly. She was good better than Charles and Carmen actually. Too bad she chose a song that was not too memorable. I think the judges point is valid...these are very good singers and very professional. But there are so many good singers out there...what is needed is that extra spark that would reach out to people. Kelly was just slightly better that Samantha...had a cuter perky personality that connected with the people. Ruben, Clay and Klos voices just had that extra oomph..

Lou ...wow another one with really good tone and range and good perfromance that would've gotten him through other seasons...he just lacked that spark, Again Simon and Randy are right. There are good singers here...but the judges have seen the three best ones. Now everyone they are looking at is not good enough for them. Now they are looking for the different personalities that will fill up a TV show. The winners, they have already seen so they are no longer excited by anyone. Really can anyone in the next groups be better than Clay, Ruben and Klo?

Equoia...another good singer wasted this season. I think even if Quiana got to the semi-finals...the same thing would happen to her...She was very passionate. Again Simon is right a bit dated in her performance. She has spunk...

George...already, he looks a bit dull...oh no he sings UM...yuck the worse really...he was very smarmy singing this and his low range was not good at all...the falsetto was tepid...oh god that vibratto is just a bit too much...YUCK!!!! So what was Paula listening to...oh she hasn;t been hit by Clay's UM. Yes I totally agree with Simon. It was dull...

Simon is already prepping people for Clay in the WC...they really wanted Clay and Ruben in there. It was an awesome group, but for this season it was not the best. I would put this group as next best to gr. 2. better than gr. 1

rank.

vanessa

Ricky

equoia

samantha

oops I meant kimberley

Lou

Jordan

George

Results:

hee the mike of the judges were on but ryan's was not that is funny.

Justin and Kelly promo for their movie. Kelly look so young! ok FF time...aha didn't mention how many votes...bet it went down from 11M.

Vanessa, Ricky and Equoia...hee the judges only predicted Vanessa

Vanessa and Ricky goes on...

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Ok I'm tearing through these episodes cos I am just too excited to get to the WC episodes...I love Wild card...

Group 4

Wow Paula really looks good in this episode...love the red on her and great hair

oh man they tried to do a bet with Randy not to say dawg, dud or man...and he lost it in the first minute...bwah

Sylvia..wow so do not remember her...she wasnt to be a diva...she sure ahs the attitude for it. She also has a good voice but was getting flat ouch...and I hate her stage presence...hate to be mean but her mouth is just too big. WOW the song is not done yet and I am tired of her singing. Randy is right...there was a problemwith her pronounciation...and yes she oversang that song too much...and thank you simon for mentioning the mouth cause it was bothering me too...I felt like she was goign to eat me...

Chip...He looks cute...wow starts out really good...nice tone to his voice. I think I like his tone better than Ricky...but I think his stage presence...personality is forgettable. I was wondering why he got to WC but now I see why, he has a good tone and love his falsetto. OMG...Simon just said what I typed...he sang better than ricky but not as good a personality. Randy was right...the emoting was not there...too bad.

Juanita...Oh God I remember her because I truly hated her voice and personality. What the heck is this song...OMG, flowers in the background...yes its the chirrun song, I remember she got a lot of people making fun of her in TWOP because of this. Over singing...damn Paula just took my critique...Juanita shut up...you really were not that good. you can only argue with the judges and survive if you have lots of talent. You don't have it.

Patrick...wow he has a good tone too...he was good...ouch just hit a couple of bad notes. But definitely better rocker than constantine...too bad he came in too early. I don;t think the song was good. Hee I do think he is more rock than connie but Simon didn't think so. he was really pissed I think he wouldn't have mmidned if simon said he was wrong for AI...but to say that he is not a true rocker...that really got to patrick.

Nasheka...oh she also has a good tone, but what is this song...why do people choose these obscure songs that no one can connect too. No wonder I have no impressions about her. She has good power...but no stage presence at all. Randy was right...no real emoting. Hee good answer to Simon...she has a different voice than Tamyra so no use comparing

Josh...he does sing this song well, but there has been other better singers in this competition...he just got pitchy on his glory note. I think being a marine really got him through. Now in this group, I think he is one of the better singers, I'm not sure if he was better than chip or nasheka. But the pimping...the marine factor got him in.

Ashley...OMG...a Jessucka clone..just not as breathy as her...oh god she almost got lost on the song...eeew squeky voice...this girl got in because of her looks...the worse voice in the competition I think. ah the cruise ship comment and ship sinking...I agree.

Corey...eeeewww just typing his name skeeves me out.he sure surprised us...he did have decent vocals on foolish heart. Shoot chips should;ve gotten his spot. What he has over chip is his stage presence...I think they want him on..they want him to round out the story. They wanted this top eight...I think the only one that surprised them was charles. The only one they needed in was Clay too and Kimberley.

This whole show was a joke...poor Nasheka, chip and patrick. I dont think they would;ve gotten any really great reaction whatever they did. this was for Josh and Correy to get in

Chip

Nasheka

Josh

Patrick

Correy

Sylvia

Juanita

ashley

Results show:

BTW do they still have this guy doing voice overs for AI...its certainly very dramatic.

correy looks like he has a mushroom on his head

hee once again they didn;t mention the number of votes. Gosh Juanita is irritating.

they really needed to rehabilitate Correy's image. oh gross Ryan just ate Nasheka's cough drops

Josh, Correy, Patrick...glad he got in top three.

of course the judges knew it was Josh and Correy

ok...on to WC...YAY

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Wild Card.check FCAmedia for the files.

The episode that started this whole journey for me. I wasn't quite taken with Clay on Gr. 2...but I was bowled over in the wildcard show... late that night I did my first search on Kazaa for Clay Aiken. I was shocked to find around 20 files...it was the redefined songs and some clips of his AI performances. I listened to those demo songs...and knew that Clay was an extraordinary talent. I was puzzled by the clips though. I wasn't sure if it was really him. SO in desperation I went to the AI2 message board in Bolt to get info about these clips and was shocked at how busy his message board was, then I was hooked, that was how I entered the Clay internet community. After this episode...every tuesday and Wednesday was must see TV for me. I was so nervous, watching white knuckled until I know he was safe. Those were the days.

EEEEEEEEEEEE its starting...Clay looked good with the blue shirt

oh the twist...they have top 12, three chosen by judges and 1 by america

Clay looks so good sitting there...so calm and confident

KimC...she was pitchy, the music covered it up well...still good stage presence. Good song choice, very familiar. Not her best performance. She looked pretty tonight. Totally agree with Paula...she was not totally on the center of her notes...a bit off the whole time. She is lucky they really wanted her there...wanted to continue the Julia/kim story line.

CLAYYYYYYY...he was so serious before going out. what can I say!!! I really think Paula said it perfectly. What I love is he didn;t choose a song that was very show offy...no real glory notes...but the beautiful tone of his voice just makes that song incredible. Even his mannerisms was not over the top...but just right. I totally loved him here...I really think this is when America started to really pay attention. I also love watching the judges. They were so thrilled and genuinely impressed. I really think they loved Clay and Ruben, wanted them to be the top two...they just needed to pimp Ruben more to keep the competition going and not let Clay totally get away with the competition. oh shoot I can't stop playing his section...

Nasheka...oh no her nerves was really obvious at the onset...ouch she was going really pitchy on her sustained notes. Still no emotions..and now her vocals were not there too. much worse performance than in Gr 4.

Carmen...looked really cute...oh my god I forgot how bad she sounds...there is a good tone that is covered up by her nasal quality and her goat like vibrato...But she really connects with the camera...beautiful girl and has more stage presence than Nasheka. Hee I am sure that Simon hated being forced to choose Carmen...but the producers needed a cute blonde to get the teens going. Her sister is very cute

Olivia...another very pretty girl but frozen expression...they really needed to get those image people...How did she get chosen to come back I;m sure there were other pretty girls there...she was out on first cut. she does not have any power to her voice...and I doubt if her range was good. She did better towards the end. I think her nerves were really getting to her. She is beautiful though.

Janine...much more comfortable with herself...she is pretty and nice personality. Well unfortunately her voice was also very weak, she was getting really pitchy. They really shouldn't get people in that didn;t make it through Hollywood...she sounded better towards the end. She is very sexy and gorgeous though, not enough talent.

Chip...trying to show a bit more personality and better fashion...wow his RWY is so much better than Jacob's...a bit pitchy though...but I don;t think he had any chance here...they needed pretty girls and Clay..so Chip , sorry.

Aliceyn (yes this is the spelling)...another pretty girl.oh no...starts out pitchy. Good voice, the best voice of all those brought back from glendale. Oh I do wish we got her instead of Carmen...but she is not as sexy cute I guess...

EEEEEEWWWWW Justin visiting..Clay didn't seem at all impressed. I love olivia's reaction

Trenyce...love the song choice...it showed lots of great aspect about her voice..the softness...the growling. WOW, she really should've been in top 4. she deserves the standing O from Paula and Randy...simon is not happy about her. I think he just does not want to get too excited about anyone else...since he wants Clay through.

Ranking;

Clay

Trenyce

Chip

aliceyn

Kim

Nasheka

Olivia

Janine

Carmen

Results:

I totally loved Clay in the results show...he was so nervous he was so cute...so real. To think he was the best one there too. I think he realized this is it...he will find out if he becomes a teacher or has a chance to be a superstar...

Oh I do remember Clay had some kind of food poisoning so he was really sick...

Hee Simon's hissy fit...cos he has to choose Carmen...that must;ve really hurt. cos it was an embarrassing choice.

top 8 comes out...Vanessa is just a bit too much IMO...KimL looked awful

question if the great judges comments has gotten to clay's head...then KimC said that all the women go to Clay now...he looked so cute at that point. so people were teasing Kim C about who she was cheating and Paula had to mention Correy...so he was really in her mind a lot...hmmm

I hate this..its an hour show and they had too many stupid things on as fillers.

the cannot see the card schtick was really awful...

Randy chose Kimberley...and CLay was really happy for her...gave her a really sweet kiss..I think she did better with her song this time

Cute promo for the show. Oliver Beene

Paula chose Trenyce...I think she really went to bat for her. When they knew it was Trenyce..Clay looked back at her...he was very thrilled..so sweet.

Simon picks carmen...the biggest WTF in this competition. I grew to really like her...but based on the WC performance ...he must've been forced to do it. of course the first person she looks at and gives a hug is Clay...hee

People's choice Clay.. he looked so worried...he really collapsed once he heard. WOW he really gave those girls a hug..Simon said his performance the best of the series so far.he was crying I think...he started singing a bit wobbly...then he took total control of that song...yuch...kimmerMe once again took some camera shot away from Nick and Kristy....

I love watching his reaction to all the other top 12 all the hugging. So cute Klo run to Clay and how he jumped on Ruben...also a huge hug to ricky...but to Corey...just a half hug.

IT is the best group of 12 I believe...

on to motown night

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I'll be reading all other recaps after mine to see who agrees with moi!

Group 4 - Seamonkey is wearing a seriously funky shirt. Simon is wear the same stuff as always - even Ruben had more variety than he does. Paula does look good in the red. Randy is bland. Seamonkey's wager that Randy can't be repetitive, and the immediacy with which the bet was lost was very amusing.

Sylvia is up. I understand she wants to be a "diva" but true divas don't weep when they forget the words - they make up new lyrics on the spot (Aiken Random Lyric Generator, anyone?). I feel sorry for this girl - listening to her after listening to hosaa's "Always and Forever" - I have to go meh. I'll be darned - Simon is being actually helpful, telling her to review the tape to see what they were talking about - and I have been to a black church chickie, and all that isn't necessary. Could she make it any more clear that she thinks she's a perfect performer? Feh.

Chip Days physically reminds me a little of Usher - and performance and voice reminds me of Anwar. I would say bad song choice except I liked what he did with it. He is a little understated but I felt it was subtle, not dull. I liked him better than Ricky and Charles.

Juanita - oh she's was the Ricky Smith girl! I like that! Now she's singing. I don't like this. Now this is a bad song choice - both the song and the way she's singing it. This is not good. (I swear I typed that before Simon said it). Ooooo, I don't like anything about Juanita. Sweetie, everyone has room for improvement.

It's like someone told these people been a smart ass is a good career move. People, they lied to you.

Patrick, oh Patrick. The audition clip of Simon getting him to sing "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" allows snide people to say "sell out". I actually liked his performance, this was the wrong year for him to audition - but Simon was right, he's good but not good enough. Bo and Connie would have kicked his butt. I bet he just died when Bo went acapella and showed you can rock with nothing but your voice.

Nasheka clearly put a lot of effort in this. But frankly the talent isn't there. If Juanita or Sylvia put the work in that she did, they would be in the top ten. That's a terrible outfit - it made her look like she had a pot belly. But lord, they are making it clear that even if Simon is giving contructive criticism, they aren't listening. Feh on Nasheka too.

Joshua sound much better than the rest of the group except for Chip Day and that horrible howl (Josh, not everyone can do glory notes successfully - but I'm sure he learned that later in the competition) he did in the middle of a poor innocent song. He is also laying down the groundwork for his support (husband, father, Marine, patriotic 'merican!); Simon is helping out. He clearly went country when he saw there was no way he could win at pop. If Clay played the game, so did Josh - Clay and Ruben just had more native talent.

Ashley, girl, the dress isn't risque - those boots are skanky. She did pick the right song (Diana Ross perfected that breathy limited range) but she seemed to lose the words in middle. Just not good enough to get to the top ten. Though they should have put her in the WC instead of Carmen.

Seamonkey, stop smelling people's stuff. Corey is clearly the producers' bad boy Justin G clone choice, because they should have gotten rid of him earlier. But he is supposed provide interest. He is cute in a ghetto-fabulous way. There were some seriously off notes, but he was better than all the girls and Patrick. Great song choice. Total skeeviness not yet in (but it's coming).

My Ranking:

Chip

Joshua

Corey

Patrick

Ashley

Sylvia

Juanita

Nasheka

The RESULTS!!!

Seamonkey is wearing a glow-in-the-dark yellow shirt with a stupid slogan which I hate. Wow, Simon is wearing a white t-shirt! He still has moobs though they are less obvious since the shirt isn't as tight. Seamonkey really needs to stay away from people's personal fluids. Man.

Nasheka's up first - looks hurt, but if she looked at her performance like Simon suggested she wouldn't be surprised; Joshua is through; Ashley is very pretty but not through. Corey has dug up a hat from the 60's and needs to bury it again but he's through. Sylvia HA!

Juanita - nope. Patrick & Chip - man, it's Patrick! But that's as far as he goes.

Simon make a funny about bringing Keith back for the Wildcard - he also babbles about a "twist" which by that time everybody knew was going to be a top twelve instead of a top ten.

Corey makes it - ah well.

Alison, Janine, Olivia, Carmen, Kimberly, Trenyce, kiss kiss kiss *Clay* kiss kiss kiss, Chip and Nasheka are in the Wild Card.

Of course I missed this on the first run as well. Onward and upward!

ETA

Oh, Craggle's up there - I just didn't bold him because he turned out to be extraordinarily skeevy.

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Its been fun reading the comments of others after writing your critique...

Kandre...where is Corey on your group 4...wanted to see your take on him... ah I see it now...it got mixed up with seamonkey comments...

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I tried to download Group 4, but couldn't. I did get the results.

It was a night of "looks": Seacrest in glasses. Guess he had trouble with his contacts.

Corey in a head-eating hat. And the biblical looking rocker with the ordinary name, Patrick, wearing a spiked S&M bracelet. I worried when he put his hands on Corey and Josh's shoulders.

Now Patrick knows he should have come up with a better name like Bo or Constantine, since he was voted third and not picked for the wildcard show.

The top two were future bad boy Corey and wholesome Josh. Even his voice is clean cut. Two of the group were chosen for the WC show: Chip and Michica ???????? That's what it sound like.

Lots of talk about the great upcoming Wildcard show having a twist. They showed the wildcard contestants including Carmen and the one and only, Clay Baby, with his cute big ears. Oh, Clayton, why didn't you drive the girls wild in Raleigh? There was so much to nibble on. :P

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Group 4 - again, no memories of this group, although I'm sure I watched them.

Ryan tries so very hard to be funny. His shirt hurts my eyes.

Sylvia - model pretty, Destiny's Child type. Unfortunately, I think she spent more time on her make-up than her voice. When she sings, all I can see is tongue. Randy and Simon agree that her pronunciation was weird. I thought it was my download. Unwarranted attitude - always attractive.

Chip - Assures us he's not corny. Cute, but comes across as nervous and somewhat bland. His sweater looks itchy.

Juanita - very distracting lipstick in her intro video. A kinds drony song, and she sounds off key to me. And now I finally understand all the "What about the children" jokes on TWoP. A giant difference between her attitude to the judges, and K. Lo's sassiness with humor.

Patrick - The "rawker" two seasons too early. He has kinda dead eyes, and is shouty on his ballad. This guy was screwed before he even started. You can't rock out to a single piano. His sister doesn't help his case. Put the devil horns away, dude.

Nasheka - She impresses me with her seriousness about getting vocal training. Then she sings, and I wonder if she would have done better with a more melodic song. Simon actually gives her good advice, which she seems not to understand. I think he must have really liked her look and potential to give her the constructive criticism.

Josh - His expressions always bugged me, and nobody ever made him fix them. It seems to be the kind of thing Byrd should be helping the kids with. He gets to plug his Marine thing, and Simon gives him a tongue bath. How come I think that 19E saw good TV with him, and so told Simon to pimp him?

Ashley - looks like Carmen's older sister, only sluttier. Sucks up to Paula in her video. Touch Me in the Morning - the sentiments in this song are too old for a 17-year old. She's kinda shrieky. Paula suggest TV or movies, and I unfortunately picture her ending up in porn.

Corey - already oozing. He may claim it's sweat - I think it's just sleaze dripping out of his pores. Man, his voice is high pitched. Paula, unsurprisingly, loves him and gets up to hug him. Things that make you go "Hummm". Randy gets to name-drop Journey again. Although, when they are doing the end of the show playback as I'm typing and not looking, I have to admit Corey's was one of the better performances.

Results - I immediately notice Corey's sea urchin hat, and feel like I should throw plankton at his head. Glasses Ryan in a bright yellow shirt - what is "Beauty Qualifies Me" supposed to mean? Uncomfortable banter with the potential evictees.

Top 3 - Marine in Pain, Sea Urchin Head,and Faux Rawker. Awkward male hugging ensues. Did Ryan just pull the microphone out of Faux Rawker's butt? Josh and Corey move on.

Well, what did we learn from these group shows? Song selection gets harped on for a reason. True talent and charisma is very, very rare. The American public doesn't always chose the best talent - screen time and a memorable persona make a huge difference.

Wildcard Group is announced. Cute girls, and our guy, looking extra dorky, but oh-so-sweet. I squeal a bit, so I can get my voice into shape for the rest of the season. Chip and Nasheka also come back.

Okay, I ate my vegetables. Can I go on to my sweet, buttery, and cinnamon-sprinkled dessert?

ETA: I went back to read the other comments on this episode. I love how we all pick up on the same general themes, and look at all the other contestants through Clay-tinted glasses.

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Yeah - I finally made it through to the Wildcard show! Also known as the Clay show, with eight people who can't even see his league from where they are.

Wow, the girls are really pretty, and how fabulous is Clay's hair, styled, but still nice and soft looking. Rrrawrr!

Ryan is wearing a very Clay-looking outfit. Simon announces that there will be a Top 12, with the judges choosing one each, and America picking one. EEEEE to the knowledge that America got their choice right in a big way. (And Ansa, that's not a diss on the inhabitants of the Great White North, eh?)

Look, it's Nick and Kristy! (Is that right?) It's cool to know that Nick was in on Clay's journey from the beginning, and that they continue to be buddies. (Although, I always wonder how the friends / boss and employee thing works out.)

Kimbermeeee - She actually has a non-trashy looking dress on. I like her much better with straight hair than curly. She did a great job, and IMO, she has a spark. And tiny glimpse of Clay to Ryan's right. EEEE!

Clayeeeeeee! - Great hair, and they have worked on his eyebrows, which for a reason I've never been able to determine, makes an big difference in his appearance. His enormous white hands resting on his dark-suited knees... "I'm always going to have these and I'm fine with that" - so cute. And I happened to pause on a frame when his eyes are closed and I can see his eyelashes from across the room. Gah! "But yew misread my meanin' when Ah met yyyeewww" - and the low note there kills me dead. Dead I tell you. and then the little side to side head bob on "Losin' everything..." revives me. Sigh. And the wonky eye makes an appearance at the end of the song. Oh, bay-bee! A couple of small criticisms - hot potatoing the mic from hand to hand bugged me all through the show, and singing out of the side of his mouth. I have to watch this again before I listen to the judges comments. I just want to fold him up and put him in a ziploc bag. Okay, I watched the performance again, and did I happen to mention that his hair was just perfect? The suit was a great touch - it set him apart from the other guys, and I think was an early indicator that he was serious about this thing. Judges comments: Paula - is she smutting with her "raise the bar" comments? Snort. Randy - acknowledges Clay's work, and gives him "props", which for once doesn't annoy me. Simon - Wow. Fantastic performance. Interesting how complementary the judges can be when the Ruben pimping agenda doesn't come into play. When he comes back to the Red Room, we get a hint of laughter, and some lovely camera flirting which will only get better as the season goes on. I'd sigh again, but I think I'm already about to hyperventilate.

Nasheka - Did Clay check out her ass when she walked past him? Wind Beneath My Wings? Really? Are you sure? She's just kinda dull.

The post song banter is really brief. Not that that's a bad thing.

Carmen - brought in to up the blonde quotient. And just why she became known as goat girl becomes immediately evident. She has a very odd, off-kilter stance. Paula tries to let her down easy, and Randy is definitely easing her off the stage. Simon is very blunt - "Wasn't good enough". No wonder he was in such a bad temper during the results show when he was forced to put her through. Carmen's mom looks like she's about 12. Everyone in her family is certainly very blonde and almost tooth-grindingly wholesome.

Olivia - She has gorgeous eyes. She looks very fearful at the beginning of her song. Weak performance.

Janine - comes across as the stereotypical Newh Yawker. Not to channel Simon, but she looks to me like she would do well as a Cher impersonator. Stop pointing at me! Hard to hear her vocals with the loud backing track.

Chip - has the misfortune to compete against Clay for the one available boy spot. Definitely a stronger vocal performance than Charles Grigsby, so he kind of got screwed there. Chip still looks pained when he sings.

Aliceyn- I have to freeze-frame to get the spelling right on her name, and then I think my spell-check messed it up. I love the Sarah McLaughlan song (she has one of my favorite female voices), but it's tough to sing a song that's so associated with another performer. As she's walking back stage, we get a glimpse of Clay in his element - surrounded by cute girls.

Justin Guarini gets to BMOC with the contestants. Enjoy it while you can, before the you become associated with an atrocious movie and even worse, that awful thigh song. The final shot of Justin posing for a picture reminds me of the pictures of Clay posing with the final five contestants from last year.

Trenyce - I would rank her as one of the best female vocals of the night. The right song choice makes a huge difference.

Wow, that show was a very interesting glimpse at what the judges / producers obviously thought a female pop-star should look like.

Results show - and the hurl face is already firmly in place. You can't tell me this guy didn't want to get through with every fiber of his being.

The new recapper at TWoP describes the weird slightly homoerotic vibe between Ryan and Simon as "I love you, don't touch me". Hee. Simon rants about the producers for about an hour and a half. I can't even imagine what had to happen for him to agree to pretend to pick Carmen. If it was anybody else, I might feel a little sorry for them. but since it's Simon, I get a little giggle over the image of him having a certain body part or two stuck in a vise. Enough about that crap, we want to see Anxiety Aiken!

But, first, for no particular reason other than it's been about a month since we've seen some of them, the final 8 already picked get paraded across the stage.

Clay gets his praises replayed. Some weirdness with Kimbermeee, who seems to think she's too cool to get linked with Clay. Bite me, you skank. You only wish. Interesting that the first 4 people Ryan talks to are the ones that made it through. Ya think he saw the card? And when we go to commercial, Kimbermee is desperately trying to push her mug into the frame. Why don't you just jump in front of Ryan and flash the camera - it might be more subtle.

Going through the commentary from last night, with the best for last. Someone on one of the boards described one of Clay's expressions as "walnut chin" and it shows up here. What a poor nervous sweety! Ryan does an annoying schtick about America's choice. Hardy de har har. Insert eyerolls here.

Judges choices - Randy has a thing for Kimbermee, so he puts her through. Paula picks Trenyce (who looks fantastic, btw) after blathering on and on for about six hours. Simon, after much gnashing of teeth, manages to pretend he voluntarily chose Carmen, who gets a full body hug from Clay. I fast-forward through her bleating.

Back from the break, and the camera catchs Janine giving Clay the eye. Do you suppose she might have become aware of Waldo at some point? She had that kind of look in her eye... I love the body language of Nasheka and Aliceyn on either side of Clay. They are leaned into him, with their legs almost protectively draped in front of him. I truly think Clay is magnetic.

And then the best part of the show - Clay is named as America's Choice, and the hugging machine goes into overdrive. Paula comes out from behind the table, Simon is congenial, and Randy also comes around the table. I don't think I'm just being fan-girly here - people really seem drawn to Clay, and want to be near him. What a power to have...

And this is kind of weird, but I have a short clip from the AI Results section at ATCA mislabeled Top 10 Introduced from the ending of the Wildcard show that shows Clay hugging every single one of the finalists as they come out for introductions. Kimberley L. practically runs into his arms, and Clay hangs off Ruben's neck like a set of mardi gras beads (not my metaphor, but appropriate here). I like what it says about their friendship. In this clip, Ryan forgets to introduce Carmen, which may explain why the full length version of the Wildcard show I have has a slightly different ending, without all the hugging. Interesting.

ETA: And reading Ansa's recap, the hugging version is the one she has. I wonder if there are East Coast /West Coast versions.

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Yup there are east coast and west coast versions. I know the west coast you do see Clay going to the WC people taht didn;t make it and the judges went in the middle of the top 10. Isn't it interesting the way Clay reacts to each contestant and the way they react to him...he was so warm and friendly with everyone...except Corey Clark. That was really interesting.

Yeah...I love WC show. But I do think that Clay was also still feeling very sick from food poisoning that's why he looks like he was going to hurl.

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Aaaaah, the Wildcard show (which I also missed on the original run). Seamonkey actually dressed a little - I'm shocked! Simon is back in his black tee, makes a stupid joke about Brian Dunkleman. They all palpitate over the idea that it will be a top 12 instead of a top 10. Seamonkey hawks text messaging and tries to guilt us into voting. Feh.

KimberMe starts us off. Her eyebrows are still too far apart. And they get a whole backing track (which is sort of unfair, but this is AI which has a picture is in the dictionary under "unfair"). Her performance is polished and sounds amazingly like her last performance. The judges are hard on KimMe. I like her outfit.

Eeeee! It's my baybee! With giant feet. He's so SWEEEEET. And dang he sings pretty. Just pretty. That song is just perfection for him. Those ears are really sticking out, he looks like he missed his last twelve meals, and he has some serious cheek hollows going on, hot potato mike, baby eye fucks. And he sounds WONDERFUL. Paula gushes, but is absolutely right about his confidence while singing. Randy, is babbling, but gives a standing O. Simon acknowledges his secret desire for Clay while praising his voice.

Nasheka (she's leaving out a lot of her attitude from last week), oh I feel sorry for the child following Clay because every weakness in her voice is exposed. So where's the showmanship we were promised? I ain't seeing it. Well, feh. I don't remember her smiling. Let me play it again. Nah, I'm playing Clay again! HAHAHAHAH!

It's Carmen - and I still don't understand why they dragged her back. All I can say is goat girl. Goat Girl. Gooooooaaaat Girrrrrrrrrrrl. Oh darling I can resist, believe me. Randy uses Clay as an example of what a performer should be like. Simon speaks truth, she wasn't good enough. But he's gotta eat that crow later, don't he! HA HA HA HA! That felt good. Let's play Clay again.

Olivia is wearing the ugliest pink dress on God's green earth. It looks like something off a bad SNL skit. She choose a song designed for belting and doesn't belt it out. Weak, the chickie is weak. Celine would sneer at you, so I shall do it for her. The brother giving her roses was sweet. Just not sweet enough to keep her. Why look! There's a marker for Clay! Since I'll there, let's play him again!

Someone told them "You looked liked asses trying to diss the judges. Shut up." Good.

Janine. Gorgeous hair. bottlecap you are evil, because I now can't take my eyes off that limp wrist and asking myself, "Where's your Bob Mackie dress, heifer?" Simon is so right, Pat B was a rock chick, Janine is a sweet chick, and it doesn't work. But Clay works, so I'm playing him again!

Hey Chip! He bought a new outfit. A white shirt and gray pants. My, isn't he fashion forward. I like what he's doing with "Rock With You" - he not making the mistake of trying to sing it out of his range and he sounds good! Simon's brain fell out, as Chip was better than everyone but Clay. Oh yeah, Clay...let's hear that one more time!

Aliceyn (she will be spelling that for the rest of her life) I don't like the sleeves on her top. She sound good but has no stage presence whatsoever. But it was just OK, and If she only sang "Angel" she does need to change it up. Oh wait, she won't get the chance. Let me play Clay to make me feel better...

Justin G arrives on set, Clay didn't seem terribly impressed. The hat was stupid.

Trenyce is performing. She sounds and looks professional and good. Superlative song choice. Superlative performance. And she works the judges. And she has a serious weave goin' on. Simon pouting is one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. And since I'm creeped out, I need to see Clay again to settle my nerves.

My rankings for tonight.

:wub: aaaah, Clay... :wub:

Trenyce - she was great

Tie between KimberMe and Aliceyn (A has a better voice, K has more stage presence)

Chip

Janine

Nasheka

Olivia

Goat Girl

The results - Clay moves on. What, you want more? Picky people that you are....

They seriously dragged out this show. Clay is way taller than the other WCs. Seamonkey dressed like he did for the WC show. Simon has a white tee again and is clearly not happy. The photo montage wasn't particularly funny. The group hug was pointless. Simon is PISSED and naming names. They show the top 8. Darn, Julia is chesty in that orange top. There's my poor terrified Clay. But he was the "contestant that united the panel". KimMe confess that all the women like Clay. Seamonkey puts Trenyce on the spot. Carmen's hair is too stripey.

Seamonkey keeps dragging this out. Seamonkey is stupid, mewing is a perfectly legitimate word. Please don't wallow in your ignorance. Everyone loves Clay. Seamonkey and AI are working my nerves. Seamonkey can't spell either...DAGG? WFT?

Randy goes first and chooses...KimMe. KimMe's mom is SCARY looking! KimMe tried to steal Seamonkey's mic. The WC went to a launch party for a sucky show. Paula and Randy suck up to the producers...Simon is basically aiming a big "F-U" to everyone...

Paula picks Trenyce. Paula's eye make up is odd. We now see why Simon is pissed - he "picks" Carmen and justifies it in the lamest way possible. He, of course, crucifies her later in the competition. Y'all know how KimMe is a camera slut? Clay is a total hug slut. What a naughty boy. Let me watch his performance again. Ryan remarks on the horror that was Idol kids or whatever it was.

Ryan makes the last announcement. Don't puke, Clay! Be comforted by all the girls with full body hugs Clay. and except for one small bobble on"misread", he switches to stressed dude to professional singer immediately. Oh, he looks so very good! Let's play that again. Clay goes back to hug the loser girls again.

Ahh, now I can really start to reminisce!

I watched these coming up!

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Hee. KAndre, I wasn't clear. Did you like Clay's performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go down on Me" or not? Honestly, that was his star-making performance in my book, and was where I really started taking notice of him. He was just so good, especially in comparison to the other contestants in the Wildcard round, that his talent was undeniable. I remember that I was absolutely positive he would be America's choice, and now that I see again how much how much praise he got in relation to the other contestants, it didn't take much psychic ability to make that prediction.

I love reading the recaps - keep 'em coming! :)

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Hee...isn't it funny that Carmen would probably be in the bottom of most people's ranking and yet became Simon's pick. I think Clay would've been Simon's pick but since he was overwhelmingly the audience choice Simon had no one else to choose. All that drama with bad mood was his signal to the industry that I was being forced to do this.

Kandre...at lest you were able to tear yourself away from Clay to watch the others. I had a hard time continuing...I just kept rewinding his part over and over...Sigh.

After this show..3 years ago...my life would never be the same again. I don;t know yet if it was good or bad... ;)

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No, no, no, I'm not reading your reviews before I see the show. I don't want to be influenced (really the word should be intimidated) by your posts. I'm trying to catch up, running, huff, huff, huff.

Wildcard Show

First of all, my 2 cents. All the contestant are good looking. That seems to be a requirement, plus singing talent. Clay is the most unusual looking, but with a good hairdo and lightening eyebrows and hair, his beautiful facial features can be appreciated.

Of all, the only ones with confidence are Kimbermee, Clay and Trenyce. The others either chose the wrong songs or were too nervous to perform or didn’t know how. The forced smiles after the judging were painful to see. I did

think Chip had the moves and voice to go on, but he would have been competition for Reuben.

Last year’s runner-up Justine Guardini popped in to say what it was like to be a winner. He had very little to say, but cute kid from my area, who got a lot of TV and radio time locally.

They brought out the eight finalists, the last being Corey Clark who looked sinister.

In the results show, Kimbermee was chosen first, then Trenyce, then a surprise, Carmen, whom the judges seemed not to like.

This show was interminably long, drawn out, and it must have been like hanging from your thumbs for Clay. When he was finally chosen, he looked like he had been stunned breathless. The little sweetheart hugged

E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y !!!!! Why wasn’t I there??? Pout, pout.

PS I read somewhere that Reuben and Klo were praying Clay through the wildcard process.

Good friends. That man has another talent, making friends.

moved from the motown thread...ansa

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Well I got through group 1 and it was actually quite fun to go back. I thought Trenyce was the best of the group. I didn't know the song but I thought it showed off her voice quite well...she brought energy and style...sexy... I just thought she was great.

I also think the judges wanted Kimberley and Julia or JD. And American said a big fat FY and gave them Charles. My feeling on why Charles got through -- he was the one the teenies were text messaging for. His voice isn't the strongest but he was the best male singer of the night. He was also young, urban...said the words hip hop and that probably got him some votes as well. IMO, Charles was also very likeable as was his family and when you get right down to it..that counts for something.

I thought Julia looked a bit slutty.

Meosha...lord girl, it's MOESHA. Tell your mama to learn to spell. My mom is a OB nurse so I know how that baby naming works sometimes. Sometimes the nurses have to do it for them.

Patrick sang with passion but he was only an average singer

JD Adamas and Meosho were both BLAND and Meosha couldn't hit the high notes.

Julia and Kimberly were both good. What happened to all of Julia's confidence. I think she could have gotten much further had she only maintained that same level of confidence. As my mom used to say about her country high school sports team losing... the bright lights of the city did them in.

It also killed me that I agreed with about 97% of what Simon had to say.

Took me a minute to figure out who I left out. BETTIS> OML he was not attractive at all. His hair was a mess. It looked greasy or like somebody who needed his ends clipped. And he should have just did hte song..this is not america dance idol. I remember him from the hollywood rounds and thought he did pretty good there. I'm with Simon. He blew it!

So who was the most annoying relative from group 1.... I think it was Patrick's dad.

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Group 2 for me was all about the top3. It was top heavy with talent but I wasn't overwhelmed by the talent of the rest. I rank them Kim, Ruben, Clay, hadas, Rebecca, Candace, John, Jennifer.

I've been driving Ansa nuts on IM about Candace. I don't get her at all. I thought she was off key through her whole song but I guess I am the only one in America that feels that way.

Clay was adorable.... a star in the making, no doubt.

I've always felt Kim sparring with Simon helped her make the final. I know some people never liked her for it, but why should I be upset if Simon wasn't and was clearly having fun with it. He said she had no personality. She showed she did have one. My favorite part was that she'd give his personality a zero. I thought that was a great comeback. It made her memorable for sure and I think between that and singing a song perfect for her and Ruben getting all that praise and singing well..Clay was just plumb forgotten because he went first.

Anyway, I can't remember his placement on the wildcard show but I do seem to remember them not being impressed until Clay came out. So I think doing well after so many average performances helped Kim and Ruben.

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Wild Card -- Carmen Carmen Carmen. Why her? I don't get it. There were cuter girls. there were cuter girls in wildcard that could sing. I really want to know if she were forced on Simon. But why Simon. Why not make Randy or Paula pick her. Is it because he has the most cache with the audience....the stupid audience believes he is the honost one...brutal but honest. I just really can't see anyone watching all of the talent and going..hey she's the best..she has something unique. UGH. Still makes me crazy even though I dont' hate her anymore.

To be honest, as I told Ansa..I really went back and forth on Trenyce and Clay as the best. NOT as my favorite, but as the best. Vocally I thought they were both fantastic...but she was too OTT while his performance skills still had a ways to go. It was also interesting to me that Simon refused to pay her a compliment.

Chip Days was robbed. See Carmen rant above. He had it all...and I always wondered what the excperience of the competition would have done for him. Would he have blossomed or would he have falled like David did in season 3 or 4 or whenever that was. I lost count. heee.

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David? Was there ever a David finalist?

CARMEN....well I was trying to figure this out when I did my WC review....I think they knew they needed someone to capture the all American blonde cheerleader type girl. Kim C is too much a rocker and after the little drama with Julia will forever be the skank in the mind of a lot of the audience. They were guy heavy at that point. They needed girls so they took four very pretty girls that were not in the semifinals...and Carmen fit the "perky cheerleader pretty pony princess that every little girl wants to be (barf)" box. I think it was Simon because I think he is the only one of the judges that is truly part of molding the competition. I think Paula and Randy are just foot soldiers that follow what the producers want. Simon, besides having the clout, probablyagrees with the basic concept that they needed a pretty youn girl in there. He just hated the fact that he had to be the one to choose her.

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David? Was there ever a David finalist?

Yes. Or maybe semi-finalist would be more accurate. David Brown (?) was in the Top 24 last year - started out pretty well in the audition process, but had a couple of bad performances in the semi-finals and didn't make the Top 12.

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David? Was there ever a David finalist?

Yes. Or maybe semi-finalist would be more accurate. David Brown (?) was in the Top 24 last year - started out pretty well in the audition process, but had a couple of bad performances in the semi-finals and didn't make the Top 12.

Yep, he got a lot of play during hte audition process..they were at his church. I thought he did so well and he was my early favorite but he just wilted on the vine during the real competition.

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