Tag: American Idol

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Linguistic Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 20 – Extreme Idol, Extreme Sport, Extreme Spanish Verb

Extreme Spanish Verb

Extreme Idol

So Adam Lambert didn’t win the title.  On the next day, I briefly joined the countless of fans reading through hundreds of comments easily found in the Internet.  It was as though we all need a global support group, to hear that common voice.  Majority of the younger audience these days probably won’t appreciate the vocal powerhouse of Freddy Mercury or Axl Rose, the mighty guitar skill of Slash and Brain May.  So get over it.  We all love Poker Face more.  It would have been nice for Adam’s career had he gained the title.  Then again, I think it is the American Idol franchise’s loss more than anything else. 

I love the franchise.  And due to the time difference, by the time we get to watch the result shows in Singapore, there bound to be someone around us who can’t contain the emotion and broadcasts the result.  To some, it’s no big deal.  To others, the anticipation throughout the day, the excitement of spending an hour or two in front of a TV to wait for that very nail biting moment is gone, utterly spoilt.  So I have developed this natural defence system.  On the day of the result show, I would avoid visiting Facebook and even CNN.  On the season finale, I would take leave if I could.  And if I couldn’t, like this year, I would not read any text messages sent to my phone.  Call me if you need to contact me.  I would not watch the tiny television inside the lift and I would listen to my music throughout the day if possible.  For two consecutive years, Cynthia – rather sad really as she too is a fan of American Idol – knew the result prior to the finale because someone sent her a text message.  Throw that phone away, just for a day.

Extreme Sport

Unlike American Idol, my new interest F1 is usually broadcast live on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon or evening.  I love watching F1.  Such an extreme sport.  To win a race, the car constructor has to do a fabulous job in constantly evolving the car throughout the season, the engineer has to closely monitor the car’s condition, traffic condition ahead and behind, weather condition, competitors’  lapping performance, and decide on the pit stop strategy, the driver has to perform and take care of the car during the race, and the team has to adapt to the different circuit challenges as they tour the world for the race.  Accidents may happen, safety car may come out, mistake can happen anytime, anywhere that some teams may be able to take advantage of while others cannot.  And it is a flawless execution of the entire team, from qualifying round to the actual race, that has a higher chance of a podium celebration.  F1 is not just some cars going round and round in circle.  These are the meanest machinery on Earth that can go beyond a speed of 300 km per hour.  It’s an extreme sport with rule of the game changes every year.

Extreme Spanish Verb

If day one of my Spanish Class was to start with Spanish Verbs, I would have quited long ago.  In Spanish, the verb ir means to go.  In English, we have the verb forms goes, going, went, and gone for the verb ‘go’.  What about its Spanish equivalent?  To conjugate the verb ir, we need two pages of text (see picture above).  Those highlighted in red are without any pattern.  You have to exercise brutal memorization for that one irregular verb.  And these conjugations are not often found in the dictionaries.  You have to know their model form.  Ir is one of the hardest verb to remember, I reckon.

Below is a straightforward regular verb vivir side-by-side with the English equivalent – to go – in four simple tenses.

  • (I) live, (you) live, (he/she) lives, (we) live, (you [plural]) live, (they) live / vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
  • (I) lived, (you) lived, (he/she) lived, (we) lived, (you [p]) lived, (they) lived / viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron
  • (I’ll) live, (you’ll) live, (he/she’ll) lives, (we’ll) live, (you’ll [p]) live, (they’ll) live / viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán
  • (I’ve) lived, (you’ve) lived, (he/she has) lived, (we’ve) lived, (you’ve [p]) lived, (they’ve) lived / he vivido, has vivido, ha vivido, hemos vivido, habéis vivido, han vivido

That covers 25% of the verb conjugation for ‘to live’ in Spanish.  In case if you wonder, that is not the most amazing thing I have observed today.  In today’s class, our teacher Natalia played an audio clip on several repeats and Cynthia was able to pick up major sentences while I was staring into space.  That, is extreme Spanish, from me to you for me.  (OK, you have to be an American Idol fan to get this).

I look forward to Adam Lambert’s upcoming release that goes without saying, my anticipation does come with hopes and fears.  I look forward to a good F1 season though the memory of the last season has hardly faded and now we do it all over again.  I may still watch the next season of American Idol and most likely, I will drill deep into the land of extreme Spanish Verbs, this weekend, and do what I best in doing: extreme memorization.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted – Now, Give That Girl Some Love

Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted

In a way, I am not surprised to read that Kelly Clarkson’s latest single “My Life Would Suck Without You” made the biggest jump from 97 to 1 in the US Chart.  After her last effort “My December”, I am reminded that big stars don’t necessarily make great albums all the time.  Look at Leona Lewis’s “Best Kept Secret”.  I want some “Bleeding Love”.  The blessing and curse of such successful titles, all eyes are on our American Idol’s very first “Because of You”.

“My Life Would Suck Without You” has all the elements of being a chart topper.  The beat, the tune, and it’s catchy.  I watched her on TV performing that song on this season’s American Idol.  She had so much fun on the stage, that confidence.  Unlike her last album, she put more effort in collaborating with other songwriters and producers, which is good.  I think she is a greater singer than a songwriter.  And like her last album, and the one before, and before, her lyrics seem to continue to revolve around her past failed relationship.  I really wish someone give that girl some love and perhaps, she may make a happier album next time.  Although, of all people, I shall be able to understand why some artists are more attracted to certain emotions.

The album “All I Ever Wanted” has its hits and misses, in my book.  I bought the deluxe edition that comes with a DVD and an extra two bonus tracks.  It was a good decision because the bonus tracks are really good.  Looking at all the 16 tracks of pop / rock / dance genres, there are 5 I absolutely love, 4 I absolutely don’t get it, 5 I am lukewarm towards, the remaining 2 are so-so-ok-ish.  Of those the hits, most are written not by Kelly Clarkson.  For the misses, it is a split.  So what does that say?  Collaboration with other producers seems to pay off.  There is still room to work on song choices.

Hits and misses aside, Kelly Clarkson has such a God gifted voice.  And she can sing almost any genre, fast and slow.  She reminds me of the early days of Mariah Carey, whom I admire a lot.  I wish that “All I Ever Wanted” has a stronger song collection.  OK, Kelly Clarkson has established the fact that she likes to create a different album each time.  Kelly, you’ve just brought me back into the fan base and I am looking forward to what your next album would be like.  Country music please.

Below is the single “My Life Would Suck Without You”.  And I have found a really funky remixed version too.

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I See I Write

It’s Not Who’ll Be In The American Idol Finale. Question Is: Which David Will Win?

American Idol

Provided that there will be no major screw-ups by the two David’s nor any kind of ‘divine intervention’ by the producers, the next few rounds of the American Idol will be exactly like the past few rounds – a series of agonizingly predictable episodes of everybody taking the musical chair of bottom positions except David … and David.  It is not even a remote question of who will be in the final two.  In the absence of a dark horse in this season, we may as well fast forward to the finale and get over and done with what this season ultimately offers – a glorious battle between the little David and the Goliath who also called David; a battle of the soothing pitch perfect young vocalist who specializes in ballads and voice improvisation against the more mature, stage dominator, and arguably the most original singer of all seasons; and if that is not enough, a pianist against a rock guitarist.  Who can really tell what the outcome will be this end May?  Does anyone really care?  I don’t because I love them both.

What American Idol desperately needs is a winner who will have a career after the show, to stand the testimony of time that the producers do discover talents all over US.  Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson had some fantastic achievement on her first and second albums (2x and 6x platinum in US) but is on decline with her latest one.  Carrie Underwood from season 4 stands as the favorite star of the American Idol having a 7x platinum sales on her debut and for her latest work, a 2x platinum sales.  Recent Idols such as Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks are embarrassments to the franchise.  Even the runner-ups are not doing well except Daughtry who achieved a 4x platinum over his band’s debut.

So, who can save the franchise?  David Archuleta or David Cook?  To pick a promising recording artist, my money is on Cook.
 
I love to analyze the weekly results and the trends with my friends – those are also fans of the American Idol.  There are many factors that work with the ‘physics’ of this TV reality powerhouse.  Over 30+ million votes are cast (more towards the finale) by the audience each week and base on what?  Here are the down right dirty open secrets of American Idol that I am sure everyone knows but no one is crazy enough to pen down.  Please note that not one attribute is the governing factor when we attempt to spot the weekly trending.  We need to look at a bigger picture most of the time.

  • Sex: The only season that has contestants of the same sex in the final 3 was, I believe, season 3 with Fantasia, Jasmine, and Diana.  It is rare to see three or more consecutive elimination of the same sex.  In recent years, happened only once in season 6 and didn’t happen at all in season 5.  Season 4 was an odd one but by and large, opposite sex – between a viewer and a contestant – does attract.  So, is it as simple as …
  • Sex appeal: Not!  Fortunately, voters do usually prefer skills over appeal.  But how about last season’s great vocalist Melinda DooLittle?  That has to do with …
  • Growth: Viewers love to see growth.  We love to see not only the heroes but also the making of heroes.  And we love to be influenced by …
  • Judges’ preferences: Besides Paula’s comments, I think viewers do listen to judges’ reaction to each contestant’s performance.  I admit that I do not agree with them all the time.  However, if Randy and Simon are a fan of a someone, that someone is almost certainly going to sail through to the top.  But there is one more person I have not mentioned …
  • Ryan Seacrest: I once read a book (Tipping Point I think) on how a TV anchor’s approving smile could affect the voters’ choice of a presidential candidate.  I personally think that Ryan is a lot powerful than some may think.  At the end of the performance, before he announces the the number to vote, the questions he asks, the gestures he makes – all can give the contestants a little push to a certain direction, good or bad.  Surely you may ask: this is a singing competition and so …
  • Weekly performance: Matters of course.  More so in the initial stage.  But we all know that at times (remember this season who forgot the lyrics and who had to restart the performance but yet they did better than survived?), it is …
  • Fan-base: At work.  At later stage, it is almost all that matters.  And while we are at that, why don’t we examine the contestant’s …
  • Home town support: If you are from LA where celebrities are everywhere, you probably won’t have as much home town support as others (think Katharine McPhee).  That pub you often frequent, the school you grew up with, the church you go, they all add up.  OK.  What else are there to compare against others?  Could it be …
  • Genre: Can American Idol sustains, say, two rockers till late stage?  I think not.  Votes will have to be split amongst contestants of similar genres.  And if your rocker competitor get voted out of the competition, a chunk of the future votes may possibly land onto you and while we are in this topic …
  • Who get voted out last week: Assuming that voters will continue to vote even if the contestants they support leave the competition, I often challenge my mind on questions like: OK, now that Michael Johns get voted out, who would his supporters vote for next?  Imagine that if I do like Michael Johns, what do I like about him?  Talking about voters’ preferences, here is one piece of trivial thoughts that may or may not hold water.
  • Race (?!): 12.5% of Americans are black.  Majority of the blacks support Obama.  That aside, what about …
  • Age group:  Instinctively, I feel that a 21 years old girl may go crazy over the 25 years old David Cook than the 17 years old David Archuleta.  And last but not the least …
  • Divine Intervention: American Idol is a show business.  There are invisible hands behind the scene.  Maybe it is the producers; maybe someone or some entities have a stake on one of the contestants.  Regardless, you will be entertained.  And someone is getting paid for getting you entertained.  Oh, guess what?  I am not done yet.  One final last point (bad English, but who cares?) …
  • Unknown unknown and a game of personality: Cliché as it sounds, there are signals and information that are simply hard to pick up beforehand.  Scandals can spawn from nowhere (like the provocative photos of Antonella Barba in season 6 circulated in the Internet or the news of David Hernandez in the current season as a male stripper … for men).  And we have seen personality that works (David Archuleta’s boyish giggles), personality that should have worked (Kady Malloy’s impersonation of Britney Spears is just oh so funny), and personality that doesn’t.  Star quality to the singers is tantamount to the X-factor of the models – not only you have to born with it but also have to flaunt it in front of the crowd.  The show is called “American Idol” after all, instead of “So You Think You Can Sing”.

OK.  I purposely write this blog entry so long that 99.99% of my readers won’t reach this line.  And I am going to put my money where my mouth is and tell you who I think will win the American Idol.  Hence, even if I am wrong, only a 0.01% of the population may notice and I won’t end up with tons of comments posted here on May 22 to laugh at me.

Based on what I have observed so far, Cook will be the winner.  Cynthia will be upset.  And once again, we will support a different finalist.

What’s new?

And even if I am wrong, I will still stand by all that I have written here with perhaps some fine tuning – part and puzzle of the trending exercise.

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Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 10 – Of Password, Viking Game, And American Idol

Oil Painting Morphed

Cynthia’s mother is leaving, my mother is arriving.  I think I need a holiday.

We all do something stupid, in the past.  I can’t explain why the paranoid.  I mean, those are just computer files and pictures and seemingly useless stuffs now that I am looking at them.  But back then, I put a protective password to every single file, every zip file that archived a bunch of protected files.  That was madness, paranoid, and stupid. I am desperate to retrieve an old Excel file, all of a sudden.

Till now, I am still trying to crack my brain for that password.  I know it is somewhere.  I shall call a hypnotist for help.

And in this digital pile of junk, I have uncovered more than I could remember, more than I want to remember.  Documents of (failed) business venture, diary, love letters, hate letters, letters that have never been sent, countless gaming programs I attempted to create including something as absurd as a Viking game (it is actually quite a good asymmetric game from York, UK, I think) – it was supposed to be a game of me against the machine, baby! Life of a geek in solitude, used to be.

I wonder.  Where did I manage to find time to do all these?

My world was pure in the beginning.  Before I left Hong Kong, I listened to classical music most of the time.  The first English pop song I fell in love was Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”.  The first pop cassette I owned was “Like a Prayer”.  Before Cynthia came to my world, I hardly watched any TV programs. Now, I am a …

How I love to watch American Idol!  Another new season, another something to look forward to, another something to cry upon.  There are already some eye candies whom I really like.  Even that boy with altitude … I mean … gosh, where did they find these people from?  Monday, “Dirt”, Tuesday, “Heroes”, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday “American Idol”, any day, “E!”, “[V]”.  To top up the list, there are always Oprah and America’s Top Something.

TV has taken control of my life!

OK, I am still cracking my brain for that password.  Cynthia’s mother is leaving, my mother is arriving.  I think I need more PJs.

Don’t ask.

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Country Folk & Jazz Music Reviews

Carrie Underwood’s Carnival Ride – Award Winning Albums Are Made Of This?

To qualify the title of this review, I did not watch that particular season of American Idol when Carrie won the competition, nor her new album “Carnival Ride” has won any awards yet – which can just be an eventuality. I do like her debut pop country album “Some Hearts” and that has won her a number of awards from Billboard to Grammy. Question is: is she getting better in this album?

I think it is a yes. The songs are all well crafted and it is hard to find a song that I do not like. All the songs stand out on their own and if I have to pick one that I like most, that would be “I Know You Won’t” or the title song “Wheel Of The World” perhaps (“Carnival Ride” appears in the lyrics of the last song). The video featured below is from her single “So Small” and it does convey an emotional story of a young girl and her parents beautifully well. In this album, you may notice that Carrie’s voice has grown stronger (through training I read) and the sustain of the ending notes is amazing just to listen to. Though some may not like this change in her technique, I do see where it may come from knowing that her favorite country singer is Martina McBride. Hopefully in her next album, she will be able to balance the lightness and strength of her voice better. If you are open to pop country music (such as Faith Hill), you may want to give this album a try.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Kelly Clarkson’s My December – Has She Found Her Own Style Finally?

When someone as popular as Kelly Clarkson releases an album, I really should come out with a review fast. Real fast, like on the same day. However, lately my life has turned busy so sorry guys for the delay. Nevertheless, Kelly Clarkson’s “My December” has jumped the queue of the coming soon list.

Big question to myself after listened to “My December” for a good number of times is: why didn’t Clarkson stick with her previous formula and release a popular but forgettable album? We all agree that her “Thankful” and “Breakaway” are both great album. Easy to the ears, great melody, but unfortunately easy to be forgotten too.

Another big shocking revelation to myself is that I thought I have heard all that pop rock has offered. Majority of my collection are from that genre. Then I realised one little detail from Clarkson’s 3rd album that makes me want to go back to my collection and to pay that extra attention again.

So what is that big shocking revelation? “My December” is predominantly a rock album with lots of electric guitar sound and drum and it sounds strange to me that except the first 10 seconds of so, Kelly Clarkson’s vocals fill the entire song literally from beginning till end. Hardly are there any gap for the instruments at all – be it as slow or fast songs. Not sure if it is just me, I found it strange. I am used to rock music having space for the guitar solos and so on. That usually makes the music more memorable, to me at least.

But that is not necessarily bad news. Because Kelly Clarkson has a great and versatile voice. And I can certainly see the footprint of her ex-boyfriend all over the entire album. In her 3rd album, Clarkson has decided to participate in the songwriting for all her songs. That makes this album more honest, more personal. This also makes “My December” one dimensional in terms of topic and some songs are outstanding while some are not really on par. The standard is varied.

I particularly like some of the more unusual songs from “My December”. Hands down to the last track “Irvine”, the real gem of the entire album. It is just her and the acoustic guitar with this slow song split into two parts having a 1 minute silence in between. This close to 9 minutes song captures Clarkson’s emotions well. Part one of “Irvine” is a song of desperation. Part two is a song of recovery with a hint of angst and musically it is mixed with the old record sound. This hidden track is called “Chivas”.

Other slow songs I love are “Sober” and “Maybe”. Both are beautifully composed and executed. I love the ambiance created by “Sober” and I love how “Maybe” starts with just acoustic guitar, and then drum, and finally the song explodes into a full rock ballad. Some may like the single “Never Again” – a fast rock song. My pick would be the more unusual “Haunted” and “Yeah”. The music of “Haunted” somehow reminds me of Evanescence.

So in total I did a count. I love 6 songs out of 13. Rumor says that the record company nearly can this album. Some may think that Clarkson has committed a career suicide. She defied the record company, fired her manager, and cancelled her tour due to disappointing sales. The real test is how many American Idol fans are going to stick by Clarkson after this change in music direction. Kelly Clarkson would have my full support had the quality of her songwriting was more consistent and to stay with one style – probably more of the acoustic type and let her vocal shines. As for her next album, if any, I think I will make some serious sampling before purchasing it. Not that I don’t love her voice. I just not sure if she will change her music direction again.

“My December” is not as forgettable compares to her other albums. It is short of a great album though it has some great songs sung by a great voice.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Joanna’s This Crazy Life – A Decent Pop Album

One evening I wanted to play a different kind of music in my car. So I randomly pressed a disc number and when the music started, I was like … wait a minute, who is this artist? Four songs had passed and I still had no clue. Kind of scary because I did remember that it was a recent purchase. Then came the fifth song and I was like … ah ha! The fifth song of the album is “4th Of July” that has been aired in our local radio stations for quite some time. For the record, I do like that song a lot.

If you like the American Idol style of singing – twist and turn of the melody and all the high notes in the end – you will probably like Joanna’s new album. Some of the tracks remind me the music of Celine Dion. Unfortunately Joana is no match to Celine Dion and I wish she could have more control on her voice when the melody soars in some of the songs. Nevertheless, she does have a strong voice amongst some of her peers at her age bracket (she was 21 when “This Crazy Life” was released last year). And she does put lots of soul and emotion into her songs.

Most of the songs she has a part to play in terms of songwriting. There is one track that I especially like (besides “4th Of July”) is “Your Obsession”. Then I discovered that it is written by Diane Warren. Who is Diane Warren? I cannot even count how many hit songs she has written and I recognised her name immediately. “Because I Loved You” recorded by Celine Dion was written by Diane Warren. “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” recorded by LeAnn Rimes? “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” recorded by Aerosmith? They are written by her too. If you are curious about her accomplishments, simply click here and see how many songs you can recognise. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Since Joanna is not that famous for now, I can hardly find any of her videos in YouTube except “Let It Slide” – her first single. See for yourself if her voice is your cup of tea.

Related Site: Joanna at MySpace.com.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Katharine McPhee’s New Album Is Not To Be Missed

There are times in life you act against your head and in this case, I am glad that I did just that.

Friends of mine know that I am a huge fan of American Idol’s runner-up Katherine McPhee. I took leave on that day to watch the final live ready for a celebration when my dream was crushed by you-know-who. But that was then. As I was about to sample McPhee’s debut album, I really did not know what to expect. Honestly speaking, I would have given this album a pass after the first 2 songs if she was someone else.

The album has a wide collection of upbeat R&B and slow ballads and is easily one of my most listened to album of 2007 so far. Her slow ballads remind me of Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey such as “Home” (track 4), “Ordinary World” (track 8), “Better Off Alone” (track 10), “Neglected” (track 11), and “Everywhere I Go” (track 12). Her upbeat numbers remind me of Beyoncé. Most notable tracks are “Open Toes” (track 3 – the fun kicks in at 2.30 mins when the beat changes), “Not Ur Girl” (track 5), “Dangerous” (track 7), and “Do What You Do” (track 9).

Katherine McPhee has a warm and gifted voice and does not sound overpowering. The music arrangement of the songs are addictive to listen to. Overall, this album is pleasant to the ears. If you have time constraint, sample “Open Toes”, “Home”, and “Not Ur Girl” from Amazon.com. They are my favourites. By the way, did you know that Katherine is only 23 this year? I thought her voice and outlook looks more mature than that.

Related Links: Katherine McPhee’s Official Site, Katherine McPhee at Wikipedia.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Daughtry – One of My Favourite “Idol” Album

Thank God. Finally an English album review, and not only that, but also a male artist to grace my website. New readers of my site must have thought that I only listen to Japanese female artists’ music (which unfortunately Koda Kumi will be my next review target as Norah Jones’s new album is a major let down to me).

Chris Daughtry may have disappointed the “America Idol” viewers that he only got to as far as being a semi-finalist, his eponymous debut rock album that he has written and co-written doesn’t. The first week sales of “Daughtry” has beaten the American Idol winner Taylor Hicks’s eponymous debut album.

“Daughtry”‘s opening track “It’s Not Over”, also the first single, is a good representation of what the album overall sounds like. Well crafted verses, memorable chorus, and a twisting bridge. The song is written by Daughtry and several others including Brett “Ace” Young who was also an “Idol” contestant. Daughtry has opened a poll in their band website letting their fans to pick their second single. The fourth track of the album “Over You” happens to be both the fans’ pick as well as the band’s. Personally, I wish they would have picked something different from the first single. Perhaps a slow ballad like “Breakdown” that is solely written by Daughtry himself or the last track “What About Now” would have been nice. Interestingly, Slash is featured in one of the track “What I Want”. The track is a bit short (less than 3 minutes) but is a good one to listen to. “There And Back Again” stands out as my favourite (and not necessary yours) because it is unique. The opening rift and the subsequent melody sounds like the new “Metallica” meets “Puddle of Mudd”/”Nickelblack”.

Music-wise, the sound of the album definitely reminds me of “Puddle of Mudd” and “Nickelblack”. The strength of the album, I would say, is Chris Daughtry’s gifted voice as well as the accessibility of the melody (read: radio-friendly which some of you may see as a major weakness).

There is nothing ground breaking in “Daughtry”. It is yet another “Idol” album that you will keep playing again and again in your leisure time.

Categories
I See I Write

American Idol Final 3

American Idol Final 3 episode is probably the best episode to watch. Though I have a personal preference to Katherine McPhee, watching the performance from Elliot Yamin, Taylor Hicks, and Katherine herself, it is kind of hard to tell which one is the best. They are all so good in their own way. Elliot, the underdog, whom I believe he has the best male vocal and all the wonderful riffs best suit in singing blue songs which I love a lot. Taylor, with his soothing and effortless singing and his so loosen-up, so totally enjoy himself when he is on stage. And Katherine, probably the most charming of all, with her stage presence and wonderful range that many may not get to appreciate the difficulties in the songs (midway key switch and all). I hate to see any one of them going home.

From the performance last night, I gather that most probably Katherine would be safe. Between Taylor and Eliot, Taylor has the more electrifying performance in the end. Not sure how true are the voting figures when the show flashed them on the big screen, the differences between each three of them were within less than 1%. That is pretty darn close.

It is not until Elliot get voted out did I realized that how much I actually like that guy – his love to his family and his passion in life. If he ever comes up with a record (blue music please), I will definitely buy it (I said no to Cynthia last time and by the way, I think Cynthia will be much devastated when she learns that Elliot is out).

PS1. I still don’t think I will buy Taylor’s album should he releases one.
PS2. Why Elliot?! Why not Taylor?! Sigh.
PS3. Well, good news! For sure, Cynthia and I will be voting for the same person next week … that is Katherine of course … Duh?!