making a case for...jasmine

Jasmine Trias.  The American Idol.  Sounds improbable.  Also unlikely.  But let's make a case for Jasmine moving on after this week.

Jasmine's biggest asset is that she is the center between the immaturity of Diana and the brashness of Fantasia.  She needs to expoit that for all it's worth.  There were LaToya fans out there that appreciated LaToya just for that fact, vocal talent aside.  If she focuses on those voters, she may just move on. 

She's very pretty, especially without the flower.  If you examine the early photos and the most recent, she appears five years older now.  That's a big plus.  But she still has the youth of Diana, just without the giddiness.  She comes across as a mature young woman, despite the flowing tears of last week.  She does not have the cockiness of Fantasia or the giggles of Diana.  She's the happy medium between the two extremes, and, arguably, the most attractive.  Looks attract votes.  So put a plus in the Jasmine category.

She seems to have a good rapport with the audience.  Her obligatory stroll through the studio audience last week seemed less forced than a Diana stroll, but lacked the smoothness of Fantasia.  She really does appear to immerse herself in her performance, as opposed to just singing the lyrics.  She seems to feel the music, even during her less-than-stellar performances.

Vocally, she has a mountain to climb.  She's the softest vocalist of the three.  And two of the songs she will sing Tuesday night will be chosen for her by the judges.  Might it be possible for the judges to throw her a curve to prove she's out of her league?  I wouldn't be surprised.  She made one decent song choice and one disasterous one during disco week.  And ironically, her bad choice was the better of the two performances.  She needs to channel the Jasmine that sang Inseparable during the first week.  She needs to remember that she is not the powerhouse, and, because of that she becomes the alternative to the two belters. She should embrace that fact and run with it.  Choose a ballad, Jasmine, unless one has already been chosen for you.

Can she move on to the finale?  Sure.  She has the Hawaii vote which doesn't have to compete with any other states for available phone lines and she has the potential topick up a few of the LaToya fans who were not blindly devoted enough to blame Jasmine for LaToya's ouster.  Will she move on to the finale?  Doubtful, but I never counted on her outlasting LaToya, either.  I won't be betting the dog on it, though.  The husband, perhaps, but certainly not the dog. 

Jasmine, shake off any arrows being flung your way.  You've been called the most despised woman in primetime after LaToya's removal last week.  Unless you personally phoned in those millions of votes, it was as much your fault as Jennifer's dismissal was John Stevens' fault.  Show America that you're deserving of the title.  Blow the roof off of that place!  You've proven you have the talent, but that was many many episodes ago.  Now's the time to remind everyone why you're there.  Jasmine, your nerves have been showing.  Don't let anyone see them again. 

Make it a true three-woman race.

*photo from idolonfox.com

not surprising really, but still troubling

I don't think this allegation will come as a surprise to anyone who has tried to cast votes for a contestant in the final weeks of American Idol.  If you consider the size of the time zones, the number of states, the number of cities, with thousands, possibly millions of people all trying to cast votes at the same time, phone lines are destined to become bogged down.  This is why it is so much easier to get through when the field is 12 than it was last Tuesday. 

I tried to vote last Tuesday -- not gonna say for whom -- and I really did give it a good effort.  For about an hour.  Not constant redialing, but pretty consistent.  I never got through.  The week before -- I voted for George -- I got through maybe twice in an hour of trying.  Last week's effort was the first time I was unsuccessful since trying to vote for Clay in last year's finale.  And I really tried then, to no avail.

FOX and the producers of American Idol are really going to have to take this report seriously.  This story has already been reported on the Today show.  And the FOX representatives refused to address it.  They're going to have to address it.  They're going to have to take some postive steps to ensure that viewer confidence is intact before the beginning of next season.  Last year's allegations of rigging really centered around one group -- the Clay people.  This year's allegations of tampering are much more widespread.  And much more serious.  And so, even if there's really nothing to this report, and everything is really and truly on the up and up there at Idol, the appearance of impropriety is there.  There is a stain on the show, and, for some people, the stain is all they can see.  Time for some stain remover.

I am not buying the show's contention that to limit calls per line is too expensive a proposition.  This show is a mint.  But if that's the case, make it online voting.  Sure, that would disenfranchise those who have yet to get wired, but that's the case anytime something is limited to online participation.  And that should be easy to accomplish and less expensive than phones.  Hell, if StarSearch can do it, surely American Idol can.

If American Idol expects the winner of its competition to be accepted as legitimate, everything possible must be done to ensure that the Idol is chosen legitimately.

it was bound to happen

It was.  It's an election year, after all.  And the three Idol finalists got to visit their hometowns to shoot footage for Monday's milk-the-ratings-while-we-can American Idol special highlighting the final three.  (Gee, didn't they just have one of those?)

Jasmine's busy shoring up the Hawaii voters.  And Fantasia has been to the South Carolina statehouse.  But it's Diana that stirring up the controversy.  It seems she does not live in Snellville!  She does not.  She lives in a suburb of Snellville called Centerville.  And the Centerville pols do not like the Snellville people claiming her as their own.  When she's not.  She's not.  She's been fibbing to all of us.  Claiming to live in Snellville.  I suspected as much.  She just didn't seem like a Snellville kind of gal to me.  She's been stringing us all along, claiming to be from the big city when she's not.  And now she's got the county government officials on the verge of some sort of civil unrest. 

And we thought the civil war had been averted after John Stevens.

well i went and done it

Yep, I did.  I didn't plan on it.  I even said I wouldn't do it.  Not this time.  Not this year.  But I did.  I bought the American Idol Season Three CD:  Greatest Soul Classics.  I told everyone that I just didn't like this season as well as the previous ones, and so why would I want to buy the CD of all of them?  I've given it a couple of listens.  Here's my verdict:  I'm glad I bought the thing.

Now, there are a few tracks that I can go the rest of my life without hearing, but overall, it's really good.  Dare I say it?  It's better than the others...overall.  The others were worth it for a few tracks:  Kelly, Tamyra, Clay, Ruben, Kimberley...all the usual suspects.  But this one is worth it for virtually all of them.  Even some surprises!  It's really that good.

Now the tracks I would scratch if I could are, again, the ones I would expect:  Leah (Lord I had almost forgotten about that child), Camile and JPL.  (JPL's version of My Girl almost made me wish to hear John Stevens' -- almost.)  And then there's the obligatory ensemble piece:  Ain't No Mountain High Enough.  I really don't think one can, in all good conscience, call it an ensemble, though.  It's just a assemblege of solos.  (It really is a shame that this year's batch can't put together an ensemble number like last year's.)  But, honestly, four regrettable tracks out of 13 is pretty good.  And some people may like Camile's studio effort.  Not me.

I had some surprises, though.  Of course Fantasia and LaToya do well with theirs.  Shocker!  But who surprised me the most?  Several of them.  I know that I'm prejudiced, but the CD was worth the price alone for Amy's You Make Me Feel Brand New.  Beautiful!  And George with Me and Mrs. Jones.  Splendid.  Okay, those are my faves, so I would be expected to drool over those tracks.  But they really are wonderful.

Diana I didn't recognize you!  You sound like Aretha...or Gladys...or Fantasia.  Get this girl in a studio now.  Screw the show.  And John Stevens.  Keep working on that voice.  You should have chosen Youare Everything on soul night.  Very well done! It is sweet and light and refreshing. [My God, I sound like a 7UP commercial.]  And, probably the biggest shocker -- now this is gonna KILL me to admit -- I love Matt Rogers' (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay. I was so bummed that George didn't record it that I almost didn't play it.  Matt, if you had performed like that you'd still be on the show.  (But, lest we forget, the studio can play absolute magic with a singer's voice.  Right Britney?)  Jennifer's Neither One of Us is a good cut as well, but no surprise there.  Jasmine's Midnight Train to Georgia is not a must skip or must hear.  It's just kind of there.  I put it near the skip category.

So there it is.  A music review from a music know-nothing.  But I know what I like. And what I don't.

I wonder if Rolling Stone is hiring.

okay so it won't be fair...but that's the game

My expectation of a LaToya/Fantasia/Diana final three has bitten the dust.  It's been Tamyra-ed.  It's been Trenyce-ed.  And Jennifer-ed.  Next season we'll be saying it was LaToya-ed.  Instead we have a Fantasia/Diana/Jasmine showdown.  It won't be as much fun.  Or as fair.  Or equal as it should have been, but that's the game.

Next week we have Clive Davis as the guest judge.  Okay, now I can live with that.  Davis -- the founder of Whitney Houston -- should bolster Simon with honest evaluations of performance.  (Although Donna Summer did a great job during her stint at the table.  It was good to get a real performer's perspective.)  I really hope we are not subjected to any more lectures on voting for talent (as the camera pans to the sofa for a John Stevens close-up of Jasmine).   But I really hope the anti-judge sentiment goes out the window at this stage of the competition.  Perhaps the judges can crucify all three ladies.  That should negate any lashback voting.

Apparently the format is much the same as last year's final three show.  Three songs each.  The judges choose one, Davis picks one, and the girls select their own third.  [Gee, I wonder what Paula will choose for whom.  Last year she gave Clay Mack the Knife, the ultimate lounge song, so that Clay could "prove he was more than a lounge singer" or something to that effect.  Maybe she'll give Jasmine Tiny Bubbles so that she can show she's more than just a Hawaiian girl.]

To say that I'm disappointed about the final three show would be an understatement.  This has been a strange season.  I was looking forward to next week, because I was anticipating -- finally -- an episode where I could watch expecting great performances from all three contestants.  All season I have watched expecting at least one wretched performance, probably more.  And sure enough, there was at least one, usually more.  There hasn't been a single episode where that hasn't been the case.  In the early rounds there was [sorry, another flashback -- arrgghhh] Leah.  Then there was John Stevens.  Then Matt.  And Camile.  And John Stevens.  Of course, JPL.  Then John Stevens.   Then, just as the lesser talent has been dismissed, Jasmine, who, though I never put her on the same level as Camile or JPL, has failed to do anything for me since her first performance of Inseparable, decides to have a complete vocal meltdown at the same time that Diana has decided to break out of the Barbie mold and come alive.

But at least I would have the final three.  I have never dreaded a LaToya performance or a Fantasia number.  And now I even look forward to Diana.  So it's gonna be a great show!  Right?  Wrong.  I'm gonna cringe (again) for Jasmine.  I'm going to expect the worse and hope for the best.  I really don't want to see her cry again, but I have this gnawing feeling that her next performances might make this week's disaster seem grammy-worthy.  I hope not, but she's got way more than a hill to climb here.  And with the releasing of the LaToya voters, who no doubt will be dialing fools and out for blood, it's gonna take more than the five-phoned Hawaiian troops to save her again.

I don't need no stupid psychic to predict our final two.  [By the way, what was up with that stupid space filler?]  Fantasia and Diana should give us a great show. 

so long latoya...it was fun while it lasted

LaToya's ouster on American Idol was much more of a shocker than was the dismissal of Jennifer Hudson from the field of eight.  And yet I wasn't lectured on stupid voting practices.  Hmmm.   I wonder if they learned their lesson? 

Okay, we have four girls.  Three of them are very talented, one less so.  The one-less-so makes the top two.  How did that happen when the one-less-so was nearly booted just one week prior?  I think this one's easy to explain.  But it's a combination of many factors.

Tears.  Watching a beautiful face become covered in tears can melt a cold heart and turn passive, sympathetic people into mad power dialers.  Hawaii is proud of its favorite daughter, and rightfully so.  And it's the last precinct to vote, giving the Hawaiian voters ample warning that their girl was in trouble, mobilizing the troops at high alert.  [I'm an hour behind New York, and I knew Jasmine had cried before the show even started here.] Could it be that the Hawaiian legislature met in special session Tuesday evening to require each household maintain five phone lines?  After all, the hometown newspaper is giving lessons on how to most effectively and efficiently cast votes!   The lessons obviously paid off.  Out of 5 million phone attempts Tuesday night, 1.32 million of them were completed, an increase of 21 percent from the week before when Jasmine stood next to George as he was eliminated by a mere 200 votes.  [Recount anyone?]  This could now be called the Jasmine effect.  Waterworks can win votes.  Lots of them.

Simon and the anti-judge sentiment.  This is a catch-22 situation.  The show just isn't the show without Simon's biting critique.  And yet, that same critique, which is usually on the money, can send some voters into a "I'll show you" mentality.  Simon told Jasmine she was leaving.  Paula calls LaToya the American Idol.  Randy says "dude I'm not feelin' ya dawg."  The voters show Simon who's the boss, screw up Paula's prophecy, and are still trying to decipher Randy.  In other words, we will not do as we're told despite the fact that the result will compromise any integrity this competition has left.  [And after this season, that may not be much.]

Arrogance.  I had a hunch LaToya's cool demeanor was going to bite her on the behind eventually.  I was ready to predict her dismissal next week, but I really expected her to hang in there longer than Jasmine.  Technically LaToya has the purest talent of the four. But she comes off as arrogant and snooty.  Her "we'll-all-make-it" comment to Ryan sealed her fate.  It really revealed her smugness.  And smug isn't pretty.  Give me good, old-fashioned humility anyday.  After she digs that foot out of her mouth, LaToya will, undoubtedly, "make it."  Just not on American Idol.

Race.  Yes, it's a fact.  But it's not the overriding factor here, despite the screaming.  Yes, of course, racism exists.  To say that we're a colorblind society is naive.  There are some voters choosing contestants on the basis of complexion.  And Diana's the whitest in the group.  The problem with that argument, though, is that Diana also has the talent to back it up with, so this is not a John Stevens situation.  Race may play a part in voting, but it's a very very very small part.  If it weren't, Clay would have won.  Enough said.

Several weeks ago I was begging for people to stop voting for John Stevens because he was clearly out of his league, and he was being made a scapegoat and was being further and further humiliated.  I really hope this does not happen to Jasmine, but I must say that I have far less sympathy for Jasmine than I did for John.  Her reaction to being in the top two, while typical for a 17-year-old who has just been named to the homecoming queen's court, was far less dignified and mature than John's behavior throughout.

Of course she was happy.  I think it's fair to say that she was astonished, probably moreso than the rest of us.  But at this stage of the game, it's about saying goodbye to a colleague.  [Fantasia and Diana, also take note.]  You can celebrate your victory tomorrow.  Off stage.  Be humble, respectful and grateful on stage.  I recognize the pettiness of my criticism, and I know that's a lesson that comes with age.  But humility is important.  Even if you have to fake it.

Just ask LaToya.

*photo from idolonfox.com

welcome to my american idol blog

This is entry number one (Whoopie!) in my blog devoted to American Idol.  I've been blogging about Idol in my main blog, Random Ramblings, this season, but I found that there was so much I wanted to write about, that my main blog was becoming an Idol one.  And I didn't want people to think that my life really was entirely devoted to American Idol, so a second blog made perfect sense.  Here I can just comment and comment, and it's completely okay!  Because that's what it's for.

I do make a few promises.  I will be objective.  I will not favor any one contestant, even if I have a clear favorite.  (But I will tell you who my favorite is.  So any pimping will be completely intentional and obvious.  If you don't like it, start your own journal!)  And I will not let this blog become stagnant.  There may be days when I don't post an entry, but that's usually because there's nothing to post about.  This will not be a two or three-entry blog and then left to wither away in the cyber-sun.  I love reading other people's take on this show, but it's frustrating to no end to find what looks like a good blog through a search, only to find it has just two entries from two months ago with just an "I love so-and-so..." as the Idol-related search find.  I will remove quickly any offensive comments.  One of the reasons for starting this blog is to get away from the increasingly-disgusting AI message board(s).  And I will try to be funny.  I usually always try, but I don't always succeed.

Now it's total suck-up time:

I was asked a while ago by the AOL entertainment people if they could feature Random Ramblings on the cover of TV Talk.  Well, Ramblings is not a TV blog, so I decided against it.  (Then I was never able to respond because the e-mail was cyber-shredded.)  So, I'm not gonna play humble here, I'm hoping for a re-invite!  Hey Editors!  Here I am!!  (Dang, I'm feelin' a lot like LaToya London right now!)  But it really don't matter, cause I'm gonna have a great career anyway.  Hey Editors!  Pick me!  Pick me! 

I know that it's kind of late in the Idol game right now.  I mean, we're down to three, and I'm just starting.  I'm sorry editors.  :::tears:::  But I didn't think about it until late.  ::::::more tears::::::  And it never occurred to me that anyone might want to read what I wrote.  ::::::sniffles:::::::  So, I'll try to do some cutting and pasting from Ramblings to this blog, Idoling, from the last show.  I said I'll try. I'll do my best.  Please don't be harsh with me.  :::::tears:::::  I love you Hawaii!  [Hey, why not...it worked, didn't it?]

Okay now AOL Editors:  I can git down wit da git down.  You know dawg?  So here I am!  I'm down here!!  I'll be waiting!!!  I mean I don't wanna be one of those high fallutin top 5 editor's picks or anything.  (How do you spell fallutin?)  There will be no poetry here.  And very few photos.  I'm just a young blog from a small town, but I have a big voice.  Come on y'all...everyone on your feet!  Pick me!  Pick me!

I'm your American Idol blog!