Have any of you been watching American Idol? Do you prefer The Voice? Or are you tired of reality-competition shows?
Some seasons of American Idol are boring, but I’m enjoying this year’s. The judges did a good job of assembling a talented group of individuals, each with different personalities.
I’m in Canada, so I haven’t been voting, but if I could, I’d support one singer. She’s female. Can you guess who it is?
Colton Dixon
He’s the guy with the punk-rock hair who seems to firmly know what kind of artist he is and the kind of music he wants to make.
His rendition of Billy Joel’s Piano Man last week was impressive because it was so polished. Even so, Colton isn’t my favourite out of the bunch.
Deandre Brackensick
Everyone talks about his hair (which reminds me a bit of Felicity’s mane). He has curly hair that’s defined and frizz-free – makes so many women jealous! Haha!
As a singer, he’s known for incorporating his falsetto into each song. While it doesn’t do a thing for me, I can see the appeal for others.
Elise Testone
Talk about a rich, sexy voice! She makes me weak in the knees with that raspiness! When she’s on, she’s really on! She has a really cool tone that’s sultry without sounding cheap, and I often find myself moving when she sings.
Erika Van Pelt
Did you see her makeover? Wow! I love how she was daring enough to sport a completely different look. While I think she looked nice with the blond hair, she looks way more chic and modern with the short black hair. (The photo above is from before her makeover. She’s the one underneath the “C” in the American Idol sign.)
I was disappointed to see her leave the show because her voice is so rich. I’ll miss her.
Heejun Han
This guy annoys me. He tries to be funny, and some people find him funny, but I’m not feelin’ it.
However, I thought it was totally badass of him when he sung Billy Joel’s My Life. Yes, it was like flipping the bird to the show that’s supporting him, but, it also made it clear that he isn’t going to change himself for the show. Kudos for that! But I don’t think he’s very strong as a vocalist.
Hollie Cavanagh
Holy smokes! She impresses me nearly every time she hits the stage. I like how she takes on a lot of power ballads and nails them. That takes guts and talent.
Although she’s such a strong vocalist, I feel like she may be in trouble after a few cuts. Why? She doesn’t have a personality that’s as memorable as some of the other competitors. Sure, talent comes first, but, the show is also about finding someone who has the whole package.
Jeremy Rosado
His voice was so silky smooth, and he seemed to be a genuine class act. I liked how he never seemed to take anything for granted. People like that go far in life.
Jermaine Jones
I was shocked that he was booted from the show, and I was even more shocked that he had four outstanding warrants.
He wasn’t one of my favourites, but when they showed the clip of him singing Somewhere Out There (the song he would’ve performed if he didn’t get booted), I was really impressed. Not only do I really like that song because I loved watching An American Tail as a kid, but his voice really had depth.
Jessica Sanchez
This is the singer I’m rooting for to go all the way. She has killer pipes, and I can’t believe she’s only 16 years old! With all that confidence and performance prowess, she seems like a seasoned pro already.
And I’m sure that those who heard her sing I Will Always Love You and nail it were as impressed as I was. She hit all the notes and made it look effortless. Amazing!
Joshua Ledet
This is another singer who I love listening to. He always gets right into a song and makes you feel what he’s feeling. All the runs he does are magic! He’s really smooth, but I’m worried about him when Country Week comes. Wonder how he’s going to put his stamp on a country song.
Phillip Phillips
He’s definitely memorable because of his name, but the show also gave him a lot of airtime during the auditions.
While he seems genuine and motivated (heck, he performed well even when he was in pain!), I can’t say that he’s a favourite of mine.
Shannon Magrane
She’s pretty, but I was never a fan of her voice because it didn’t have that grittiness or depth that some of the other singers have. Also, I felt like she often tried too hard, which hurt her performances.
Still, I have to give it up to her because she’s only 16. Being on a televised show is a lot of pressure for someone so young! She always handled herself in a classy manner, and she seems like a nice girl.
Skylar Laine
She makes me want to go out and buy cowboy boots and a matching cowboy hat! She can sing and command the entire audience, which I admire. And she never seems to ever be out of breath – all the notes come easy to her. Plus you’ve gotta love her energetic spirit! She’s not my favourite, but I think she’s holding her own in the competition.
Who are your favourites? What songs would you want to hear them sing? Who do you think will win?
I tend to prefer the tryout portion of the reality shows more than the performance portion. Not sure why that is, but by the time it gets to the performance part, there are just too many other shows I’m trying to keep up with, and I end up dropping the reality show.
Hey Leisel!
The audition part is pretty funny. Sometimes I can’t believe how arrogant some of the contestants are, and they don’t even have talent to back it up. And sometimes people need a reality check. For instance, I thought I was ‘okay’, but whenever I heard myself on audio recordings, I cringe! 😛 Hehe, I’d never enter a singing competition – saving it for the shower. 😛
Not into it yet this season for some reason – AI that is – I only watch that one – none of the other singing ones. I will catch onto it when it gets closer I think – like maybe 2 more weeks. But yes, I am getting kind of wiped out over the reality type things. I did not even watch one of the All Stars Runway shows!
Hey beachgal!
I know what you mean about feeling burnt out on them. There are sooooooo many of these types of shows!
You’re talking about the Project Runway All Stars show, right? I didn’t watch it, either. But I did watch the All Stars show by America’s Next Top Model. Unfortunately, that cycle was pretty boring. I think that after a few seasons of doing a lot of the same things, it gets stale, so they have to keep introducing new and exciting challenges. The current cycle is better.
Never been a fan of AI, in fact, I generally rush to change the channel when it comes on because I’m just not a huge fan of these kind of shows.
I will, however, confess to a Project Runway addiction that ended when my beloved Mondo didn’t win and I’ve been known to curl up on the couch for the guilty pleasure of an ANTM marathon.
Mostly, I’m a Big Bang Theory fan 😛
Hey karen!
Haha, with some of the contestants’ singing, I sometimes want to change the channel fast, too. 😉 <-- Mean! America's Next Top Model is so addictive usually, but I was bored with the All Stars cycle. What did you think of it? The current cycle is pretty interesting because they're mixing it up with some Brits, and one woman even got pink hair! I didn't see that coming, did you?
I actually never liked watching AI in person, but I really feel like I was following it for a while. There was a video series on the Entertainment Weekly website that I happened to stumble on once, and after that I was hooked. It was a 5-10 minute discussion of AI with a lot of sarcasm and humor thrown in. I really felt like I watched the Allison/Adam/Kris season and the Bowersox season. Sadly, EW no longer produces the series, but there are still clips of it on Youtube. Here’s a link to one that was really funny, but really not for a Danny Gokey fan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=qcig4fHmtWs. This one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4DojhDzvE&feature=endscreen&NR=1 is less humor and more analysis, here’s one from early that same season. I really loved that series, I would totally buy it on DVD if it was available. Because of it, I’m a big fan of Allison Iraheta and have her album.
another Cristina recently posted: 3/26/12 Weekly Blog Roundup-OPI does a Peridot dupe?
Hey another Cristina!
Thanks for including those links. I hadn’t seen that series on YouTube. Seeing some of the contestants they talked about brought back a lot of memories for me. And as much as the majority of people hated Kara DioGuardi, I really liked her. I thought she made good critiques.
Thanks for posting about it, it actually brought back a lot of good memories to watch the clips again. I’m going to dig out my Allison album, I really like it. And yes, the times I watched the show, Kara seemed pretty thoughtful and like a good judge, which is generally not the way they talked about her on the Idolatry show.
another Cristina recently posted: 3/26/12 Weekly Blog Roundup-OPI does a Peridot dupe?
I’m so confused why people didn’t like Kara. Hey, did you see the time when she got on stage and started singing a Mariah Carey song? She’s got some pipes! Haha, and it was funny when she flashed her bikini afterwards.
I haven’t been following it this season (altho I’ve been known to follow past seasons. The one with Carrie Underwood was my favorite mostly bec I was rooting for her from the very beginning :P) as I’ve turned my sights on to The Voice. Those battle rounds are pretty awesome! I didn’t watch the first season so I don’t know how the live shows will work but I have to admit that the bromance between Blake and Adam make the show even more appealing to me than watching AI. Just my two cents. 😉
Carmela recently posted: The Hunger Games and China Glaze Capitol Colors: The Savagery featuring Luxe and Lush, Stone Cold, and Fast Track
Hey Carmela!
Carrie Underwood is a true talent – she makes singing look so effortless! And I think she’s really pretty, too.
I’ll admit that the reason I first started watching The Voice was because of Christina Aguilera. When they promoted the show before the first season, and I found out she would be on it, I had to see it. I just love her powerful pipes and how she can take any song to the Diva Level…haha!