Ryan Seacrest, Simon, Paula & Randy are back~! The set looks pretty nifty this season & there's even a live band in the background to provide performers wif their music accompaniment instead of the usual solo pianist. Family members & supporters now are allowed to watch the contestants in the same room as the eminent judges thus lending the air an atmosphere of spontaneity. American idol has surely come a long way and the new season promises to be bigger & better than ever before. however, wif all this pomp & polish, AI3 has plunged itself into the mediocrity of commercialism; extinguishing all remnants of novelty which made the show such a hit with audiences as far back as two years ago. Despite this (or because of this), i'm certain AI3 will garner legions of new fans & whet the appetites of their loyal audiences but the more jaded ones (such as yours truly) will probably partake in all of this brouhaha wif mild amusement & detachment... *sigh*
Now on with the shoW!
first up, sixteen-year-old Diana Degarmo & her "I've Got The Music In Me" was pretty good & all the judges seemed to like her. Simon even professed that she was like "christina aguilera back when she was still nice" which i really think is such an exaggerated statement. Diana had the charisma but she's waaay too young & I seriously think she's quite affected. Dancer & theatre major Marque Lynche's "Wind Beneath My Wings" was sumthing totally unexpected but i think this bette midler song didnt suit his RnBish vocals at all... However, still not bad, i think. Ashley Thomas (who claimed she could light up the tv sets of america wif her personality) delivered a credible version of patsy cline's "Crazy" but it was nothing incredible. Cheerleader Katie Webber might remind us all of Britney Spears but thankfully, she has much better vocals. She used this to great effect in her rendition of "Orange Colored Sky" & almost immediately, I turned into a fan~!! ;) Simon didnt think it was all that great nonetheless, & so poor Katie might not be able to make it afterall... Darn~!
Erskine Walcott's emotional rendering of "Open Arms" was nice but i'm not impressed. Jennifer Hudson's "Imagine" however, was sumthing else; i was blown away despite her gaudy outfit & gaudy hair. She was all teary afterwards, which i thought was kinda sweet & sincere as opposed to Erskine Walcott's affected wimpy-ness. Michael Metzger may look good but then, he's totally lacking in the voice department as could be seen from his adequate performance of "walking in memphis". Comparing him to clay aiken is surely a big joke; he hasnt got half as much talent or charisma as clay~!!! fantasia barrino's "somethin' to talk about" on the other hand, proved she had abundant talent & just as abundant attitude/personality but i think she desperately needs a lesson in humility. moreover, i dont see why simon had to be so generous wif his compliments... i think Kimberley Locke was sooo much better than ms barrino but she didnt win AI2, did she?? :P
after all is said & done, it's almost inevitable that fantasia would make it to the next round. nevertheless, i've no idea who'll get the next spot but my bets are on Diana Degarmo who's actually even more britney spearish than katie webber, i think. i'm more inclined towards jennifer hudson or even katie webber but if either one of the rest (eg. Metzger or Walcott) gets to proceed to the next round (instead of degarmo/hudson/webber), i'd probably kill myself due to the injustice.
oh well...
