stan wins!

That's it for another year.

I think Hayley's song was better than Stan's.

idol final tonight

Don't care who wins. Both Stan and Hayley are good.

Last year I fell asleep just before they announced the winner. I'm feeling fairly stuffed already so might sleep through this year as well.

Who are you going for?

Idol top 5

Kate had to go. Next week Toby should join her. Please.

James
1. Moved well. Good vocal. Overall, just not as gripping as it could have been. They say he's getting better and better, but I'm getting more and more bored.
2. Guitar playing not completely pointless. Should ditch the band, do it all himself. I'm less bored.

Toby
Nice guy, but so dull. Can we move on?

Nathan
1. Poppy and pitchy. Needs to gain 5 years and lose 5kg.
2. Better. Pitch still not there.

Hayley
1. What a star. Owns the stage and makes the backing singers look 5th rate.
2. Can we just say she's won now?

Stan
1. I sigh at the song choice but he did it okay. Pretty good in spots.
2. Dancing odd.

Order - Hayley, Stan, James, Nathan, Toby.

Dragged a bit. Could have done it in an hour. Don't care about their joy in seeing home again.

What did you think?

no idol review this week

I fell asleep last night and missed most of it.

But I did catch Nathan singing Music of the Night. Great song, of course, and in his style. But I really didn't think he was great at all. Pitchy in parts and really, just not that good. Why were the judges raving so much?

What did you think?

idol review - big band night

Why was James in the bottom 2? Scott gone. All good.

Kate - Not my style but country fans would have loved this. 7/10

Stan - Easy to ignore. I was doing something else at the same time and was barely distracted. Big Band soul. Odd. Didn't like the ending. 7.5/10

Kim - Unimpressed. If you close your eyes, there's not really anything there. 5/10

James - Love him, as always. 8/10

Hayley - Little more forced than usual. 7.5/10

Nathan - good stuff. 9/10

Toby - still not into him, but this one is always going to get a big clap. 8/10

Kim needs to go.

Idol Review - Pink night.

Tim has gone. Oh well. Glad it wasn't James.

The trouble with Pink night is that Pink songs are gender specific. It just doesn't work having a guy sing Mr. President or So What or Who Knew or Please don't leave me. And changing a word here or there doesn't fix the problem. And guys are 'tools', not girls.

Nathan - Just Like a Pill
Okay. But took the pinkness out of Pink. 7/10.

Scott - So What
No No No! Changing 'husband' to 'girl friend' does make a difference! Losing a girl friend doesn't quite matter as much. And you don't look or sound like a rockstar. Just a guy pretending. Bad pitch. Stupid performance. 3/10.

Stan - Dear Mr. President
Sung okay (2nd half anyway), but the Mr. President thing doesn't work with a guy. 7.5/10.

Kate - Trouble
I like her better without the hat but I'm still bored. Pink with a country twang isn't Pink. It's a dull brown. The final key change seemed a move of desperation. It didn't save anything. Just prolonged the agony. 6/10.

James - Who Knew
Love the song, but it really wasn't him. Can a guy that age sing something like this? I don't think so. (Actually, I don't think any guy can sing this song.) But he's still my favourite. 7/10.

Kim
Better than she has been. Not quite so conscious of her appearance, which made a big difference. She really did do it pretty well, but still it feels plastic compared to Hayley. Poor Kim. Just a matter of time... 8/10

Toby - Please don't leave me
Awful. Lyrics didn't work at all (Dicko's Ted Bundy comment apt), stage presence 0. Please please please don't walk slowly across the stage again! 6.5/10

Hayley - Funhouse
Natural, wonderful, entertaining... I could listen and watch this all night. 9.5/10

Best - Hayley
Worst - Scott

Idol review - top 9

Sabrina's gone. Good. Any of the bottom 3 would have been fine.

Nathan - Living on a Prayer
I liked him more than other weeks. The hat is an improvement - less annoying than the fringe. He sings well, huge range. Still cheesy.

Scott - Let's groove
Better than last week, but almost anything would have been. Pretty weak at the start. Improved a little as he went on. I wouldn't miss him if he left.

Hayley - Dancing in the Dark
She is fantastic. I guessed the drum thing.

Toby - I wanna know what love is
I don't love him. Smolder doesn't work for me at all. I'm bored.

Kym
I think she'll go this week. Not because she's bad - there are plenty worse than her - just because she's not as interesting as Hayley. She looks too perfect so won't get the girl vote. If she could loose the high heels so she can move properly and stop spending so much time obsessing over her hair, she might look like she was enjoying herself and we might be interested. At the moment, I'm not.

Tim - Heaven
Well, he showed us that he's no where near as good as Bryan Adams. Awful. No force. I want to take him outside and beat him up. See if he is any stronger than a wet lettuce leaf. He needs to go.

Kate - When the going get's tough
Awful song. Something went wrong with the arrangement and she got lost, but covered it almost adequately. I'd vote for her (just once) if she'd take off the hat.

Stan - Purple Rain
Audience and judges went silly over this one. And why wouldn't you? It built to a great hillsong/orgasmic moment. Nicely done. He could win.

James - The Power of Love
I love him. So cute - in a Micheal J. Fox kind of a way. Training wheels comment apt.

Top 3 - James, Stan, Hayley

Bottom 3 - Everyone else. They all need to go at some stage.

Idol Review - Top 10

Really struggling to care. So are the kids. The documentary on the ABC was more interesting to us all, so we watched that for the first half hour.

Happy that Casey went. He needed to.

Sabrina - A bit yelly.

Toby - Not convinced by his changed between lower and higher register

Kim - Her main problem is that she's not as good or as interesting as Hayley. Not sure how she'll overcome this.

Stan - No idea what he was singing about. What's with the hoody?

James - I'm a fan. The slight country thing works for me.

Scott - A train wreck. Embarrassing. Song far too hard for him.

Nathan - A girl's song. Sorry, it just is. I think the camp comments were way unhelpful for a 16 year old.

Kate - It was probably really good. The judges thought so. I can't get past the hat, the shirt or the cliche 'rise above'. Sorry.

Tim - A stupid song choice.

Hayley - Liked her less than last week. Why do R&B?

Based on performances, Scott should go. But he'll probably get the sympathy vote.

What did you think?

Idol Review - Top 11

So Ashleigh's gone. Stupid decision, Australia.

Hayley - She's great. I love watching her sing. Hope she stays till the end.

Casey - This guy needs to go. Boring. If you're singing 'I'm not over it' - then be not over it! I wish he'd stop leaning over.

Kate - Yeah. She's just not my favourite. Maybe it was good, but I'm not into it.

Nathan - Thought the comment that he doesn't know who he is yet was insightful (though how many 16 yo boys do?) and that's what all the posing and preening is about. Still hate the fringe. If he really wants to be vulnerable, he should pull it back and let us see his face. But he sang really well. It's the first time I've been interested.

Toby - A pure voice. Interesting almost. Still not quite getting him.

Tim - The judges thought he was good. I could have changed channels at any point.

Sabrina - Thought she was good. I like that she didn't talk back this week.

James - I love this guy. The genre wasn't particularly him, but he still held my attention.

Scott - Yeah, a bit amateur, but he's more interesting than some and I don't want him to go yet.

Kym - Pretty good, probably. Dress makes me nervous too.

Stan - Crowd pleaser song. Good choice. Well sung.


Favourites from tonight - Hayley, James, Stan, Sabrina, Nathan.

Middle of the road, I don't care - Kim, Scott, Tim, Toby, Kate.

Who should go - Casey.

I'm not feeling really into Idol this year. I probably would have not bothered, except the kids are keen. Maybe I'll warm towards it.

Idol Review Top 12

People through... Toby, Hayley, Casey, Tim. Three guys. We're any of them any goood? I had to look up last week's review to remember. But Hayley's through, so I don't particularly care.

Anyway, on with this week's show...

Ashleigh - Miss Independance
She comes across so confident. Solid. I like her. Wonder how much range she has in her voice. Good performance. Hope she stays.

Scott - Come Together
A bit high school performancy... only because of inexperience I think. He's interesting. Sings well. Will watch where he ends up.

Casey
Why the guitar? He's strumming 4 to a bar. Hardly impressive. All the licks are from the band. He sings well. Pleasant to listen to. But I liked Dicko's comment - how's he different from everyone else?

Hayley - Light Surrounding You
No where near as good as last week. Like her version of this song better than the original (hate the original - preachy and stupid) but she should sing something more upbeat... or just better. [I wish Marcia and others would stop saying 'very unique'. Something is either unique or it isn't. Grrrr.]

James - How to Save a Life
Yeah. Okay. I think he could win. I want to listen again.

Sabrina - Earth Song
Overcoached - yeah. Don't talk back to the judges. It never pays. Listen to them, they're right. She sings really well and I liked it but might get sick of her drama.

Nathan - Stop and Stare
Sick of the fringe already. A bit cheesy? He sings good.

Stan -
Was on the phone to my mum and missed this one. Was it good?

Toby -
(listening in background...)

Kim -
Great (still on phone so wasn't listening hard)

Tim
Bit boring? (don't know - still on phone)

Kate
Truth is, I hate hats. Male or female, if there's a hat, I switch off. Line dance thing doesn't work for me either. It might have been good but I don't care if I don't see her again.

Overall, pretty good show.

Best? James.

Who should go? Kate or Tim or Casey?

What did you think?

Warren...

... the word overuse watchdog, will not be happy with the AI judges.

Idol Review - Wildcard

I enjoyed idol tonight. Here are my thoughts:

Lucie - Boogie Wonderland
Hated the song. A grandmother selection. She has a great voice, but I don't care.

Casey - Never Say Never
I am a sucker for this kind of soppy song so should have loved it. I didn't. His falsetto was unconvincing. Didn't cut through.

Aliqua - Power of Love
Yeah. Stupid song choice, but she knew that. A few off notes. The most boring accompaniment ever - this wasn't her fault - but why? She looks fantastic and has a great voice. I'd like to see her again, but don't think it was great.

Lauren - Low
Her diction was bad - I couldn't make out most of the words - but I like her and almost hope she gets through. She's a belter (which goes down well on AI) and is pretty and interesting. Nothing compared to Hayley, though.

Tim - Yesterday
I disagree with the judges. Hated it. If only he would just sing the song! And his eyes look fidgetty on the camera. I'd like to hear him again if he could ditch the soul thing.

Ed - White Noise
Nice in spots but overall, ordinary. Why this song? The original is fantastic and so fresh in our minds. Ed's voice was off pitch and not strong enough.

Tenielle - Kiss Me
I love this song. But I wasn't as sold on it as I wanted to be. She's a frail flower. Frail flowers generally die pretty fast on idol. But she has a spark of something original. Some nice tones. The song needed more smoulder. She looks lovely when she talks and laughs but is flat and boring when she sings. I was worried about her dress.

Toby - With Or Without You
Why do people do U2? Really, why? Just to show everyone how great Bono is? Why compete? I thought Toby's low bits were awful. His high parts were good. He shouldn't hold his hands out like he does because they look ridiculously big. [I like the look of the rest of him, though.]

Hayley - I Do Not Hook Up
Love her. My favourite. So far better than everyone else. I think she's the first girl rocker on Australian Idol who has ever been good. Her take on this song was original and fun. I'd buy it.

Overall - Four I'd like to see get through: Hayley and ... I don't know. Maybe Aliqua, Lauren, Tenielle, Toby... Who do you think should get through?