A new season

Along with the new year, a new season of American Idol has arrived. Yes, it’s the 9th season for A.I. and, from what I’ve learned, the last for Simon Cowell as judge on the show.

It will be a sad day when Cowell leaves the show. It’s been running for 9 years now and for the most part, he has provided lots of entertainment to the audience with his witty, sarcastic and sometimes, downright rude comments, not only to the contestants but also to Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. I can’t help but wonder what would happen to A.I. after Cowell leaves. Sure, he’s the guy you love to hate. But you have to admit, he is the voice of truth in that show… well, maybe more often than not.

What would happen after two of the original judges in A.I. are finally gone? Will Randy Jackson follow suit? Even if he stays, and the show finds another judge to replace Simon, will they have the same chemistry? Who will Ryan Seacrest bitch about and with after Simon has left? Just a couple of questions that are running through my mind right now.

There is another thing that’s been bothering me.

NBC is about to dislodge Conan O’Brien from his original time slot to accommodate Jay Leno’s show. It’s appalling that NBC could easily renege on their contract with Conan. And for what? To salvage Jay’s show? It’s not even doing good in the ratings. Is it even worth it to put Jay back in his old schedule? He’s performance as the Tonight Show host wasn’t even that stellar to begin with. It’s not like Jay can single-handedly uplift NBC from the slump it’s in. And Conan can undoubtedly kick Jay’s saggy behind as a talk show host. Jay’s jokes and antics are older than him. It’s probably even older than Johnny Carson.

Personally, I hope Conan O’Brien gets a better offer from another network who’ll adopt his show, or maybe create a new one for him. And that they put his show on the same time slot for Jay Leno. Then, NBC can watch with teary eyes how Conan wipes the floor with Jay.  Teehee!

Living like you mean it.

Surfing through the internet, I learned that Kris Allen has finally released his debut single.

Is it just me or does it feel like it’s been ages since Kris actually won American Idol? Maybe I just haven’t been interested in what he’d come up with. I actually thought I had him pegged. I figured him to be the “one hit wonder” kind. He’ll do better than Taylor Hicks but couldn’t possibly be as big as David Cook — or maybe even David Archuleta. As for his songs, I had a feeling it was something I might not be compelled to upload to my Ipod.

Listening now to “Live like we’re dying,” Kris Allen’s debut single, it’s not really half as bad. It’s got a catchy tune and good lyrics. Of course, it’s nowhere near David Cook’s “Light On” but I suppose it’s apples and oranges, right? Although, if it’s good, whether it’s an apple, an orange or even durian (a smelly locally grown fruit which has a large following, despite its popularity for being a cause of increased blood pressure), it’s bound to be a hit, right?

The song seems like it’s headed for the charts. But I still wouldn’t discount the “one hit wonder” thing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Kris Allen. I think he’s an all around OK guy. I just wouldn’t have figured him to be an American Idol is all I’m saying. Well, I guess we’ll just wait and see. For now, though, the future looks bright for Kris Allen.

Anyway, here’s the single, uploaded by zenvirgil on youtube.

Enjoy!

Kris Allen – Live Like We’re Dying

On the brighter side of things…

Ellen DeGeneres joins American Idol as the fourth judge.  I totally love Ellen and her sense of humor. I have no doubt that she’ll do well in the show, even as she manages to pull the ratings up. I just hope she doesn’t start talking gibberish like Paula Abdul did. I’m already excited about the new  season, even though it’s still next year.

Not another American Idol post!?

You got it! It’s another post on American Idol and about who got kicked out. All I can do is apologize now. I’m sorry, I can’t help it.

Anyway…

Since the four judges had agreed last week to save Matt Giraud from elimination (a very generous save, if I may say so), two idol hopefuls had to be booted from the show tonight. Sadly, those two were Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai.

After being hailed as one of the powerful singers in the contest, Lil Rounds still has not gotten around to showing her true personality. That’s a sad thing since it cost her the chance to become the next American Idol. She could have been a force to reckon with. She truly had a great voice. But lacking in creativity, it was no surprise she received the lowest number of votes. In fact, I had been anticipating early on when she would be leaving the show. Having seen the show since Season 3, I think true artistic sense shows very early on. In Lil’s case, her artistry was not enough, unfortunately. I suppose if she had been part of the earlier seasons of American Idol, perhaps season 1 or 2, her performance would have been acceptable. But the thing is, the show has evolved from just altering portions of a song to show some creativity. American Idol has already seen the likes of David Cook who can change an ordinary pop-ish tune to something even spectacular. That’s what Lil had to compete against. And her struggle against it was quite feeble.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t quite agree with the way America treated Anoop Desai. He has truly been performing well these last few weeks. In fact, even better than Matt Giraud had been, in my opinion. To tell the truth, after last night’s performance, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Ryan Seacrest announced that tonight was the end of the road for Matt. But, as has been observed in previous seasons, America votes in mysterious ways, or rather, for mysterious reasons. Why Jennifer Hudson or Chris Daughtry never even got far (maybe except for Christ Daughtry, he was on the top 3, after all) in  the show is still mind-boggling. But I suppose, Matt has something going for him, even if it’s just a small thing against Anoop. Matt has a little bit more charisma, I would think, than Anoop. I say “a little bit” because if Matt had more than that, he wouldn’t have kept landing in the bottom three for the past weeks, even if he didn’t really perform up to par. But I hope Anoop gets another chance at his chosen career (at least, chosen for now). I really see some good talent in him.

Meanwhile, I hope Matt realizes just how very lucky he is and start to get his act together before it’s too late and Kris Allen or Adam Lambert has already been declared the new American Idol.

*Photos courtesy of americanidol.com

Salvation is his

With just one save in this season’s American Idol, is Matt Giraud really worth saving? Can he actually bring it?

I must admit, when I saw the auditions for this season’s Idol, Matt Giraud caught my eye. Aside from his uncanny resemblance to Josh Lucas (which automatically makes me think of Sweet Home Alabama along with Reese Witherspoon), he’s got a Justin Timberlake vibe that has been missing in the history of American Idol. I thought that he could actually be the next winner. After all, the show has spawned pop stars and a rock star. Giraud’s RNB and Soul vibe should be what Idol needs at this point. I mean, how many pop stars can you really stand?

Unfortunately, however, Matt has only shown so much of his artistic talent. Sure he can sing — so could the others who auditioned for the show. Well, most of them, probably. But the point is, at this stage of the show, when we’ve almost seen all, the contestants need to show more than just their voice. They’ve got to show creativity. Matt has, however, almost failed in this aspect. I say ‘almost’ becuase he’s had sporadic magical moments. Like I said, he’s shown just a little of his creativity. He’s not really consistent. So, how can we be sure that he’s really gonna bring it after having been saved by the Idol judges?

I have nothing against Matt. In fact, I actually like him. I know he’s got it in him. But at this point, faith in the unseen is not really enough. This is the time where we say “to see is to believe.” Or in case of American Idol, ‘to hear is to believe.’ I would really love to prove Simon Cowell wrong: that Matt Giraud could possibly be the next American Idol. But with his song choices and performance, the way I see it, Simon Cowell could be right. If Matt doesn’t up his ante, he’s definitely not going to go far with the show.