I’m going to do something crazy here before all the euphoria over American Idol disappears and try and relive each week and add my comments on them! With an external hard disk plugged in, off we go!
I’m going to skip auditions and Hollywood week cause if you’re not an Idol fan you wouldn’t really get some of the huge drama that went down. Let’s just say that I agree with Kristen McNamara, “you haven’t officially seen everything in the music business if you haven’t been through Hollywood week on American Idol”. Sure got that right! Also gonna skip full recaps of the first 3 shows cause let’s face it not all of them were memorable, but I am going to do a short recap here:

Before the Top 13 was chosen there was..
Week one of the whole season started off with a lot of front runners from auditions and Hollywood. Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai (sigh..), Ann Marie Boskovich and Ricky Braddy were among the bunch. Based on votings though, I thought this night was a pretty bad judgement call on behalf of America. Obviously the best male singer was Ricky compared to Sarver who failed miserably before the Top 10. I’m a bit biased here cause I ADORE Anoop Desai! Also entertainment from Tatiana Del Torro there, it was so funny watching Ryan pick between Danny and Tatiana. Duh, Danny was easily the one in the group. The three that got in: Danny, Alexis, and Michael. I nearly fell apart watching Michael getting picked over Anoop. Seriously America??

The week after was clearly the toughest group to choose from with Matt Giraud, Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Megan Joy, Allison Iraheta, Mishalova Henson. I bet no one thought that Kris would win after the Man in the Mirror stint here! Adam clearly stole the night here but it wasn’t his best cause he was pretty into the whole screaming thing. I think along the season he actually toned it down a bit. Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle was in the group here and did one of the most entertaining performances ever on Idol. Allison blew it away with Heart’s Alone clearly showing that she was someone to look out for. The three in Top 13 was: Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta.

The last week before the Wildcard round wasn’t really a tough call. No one was really memorable here. Lil Rounds was in the group along with Felicia Barton, Von Smith, Scott Macintyre, Jorge Nunez, and Kristen McNamara. I have to say that this week was an easy win for Lil Rounds cause clearly she had the best voice out of that group. The three in the Top 13: Lil Rounds, Scott Macintyre, and Jorge Nunez. The end of the result show ended with some of the contestants being picked for the wild card round, and it was bad calls for the judges. I have no idea what they were thinking!! Lots of the good ones were left behind. I remember jumping up for joy when Simon called Anoop. But then it sunk again when I found out that the judges were choosing who went through to the stage shows.

Wildcard was the worst judging call in the history!! Jasmine Murray getting picked over Ricky Braddy?? Come on!! She was dumped the first week anyways clearly showing how nobody likes her anyways. The judges kept going on about “package artist”, hello Felicia Barton was waaaaay better then her and she didn’t even get the chance! I think the 4 judges didn’t really want to go back on their word with not choosing Felicia at first. Tatiana was given a second chance which was stupid considering that Ariana Afsar and Felicia Barton deserved it so much more. I guess they were trying to spice up the show a bit, but isn’t that playing with other people’s careers? Happiest moment was when they announced that the originally TOP 12 was going to be a TOP 13 to include Anoop! See, from the start he was special!! He looked so cute when Simon told him that he was in the TOP 13. Into the TOP 13 from Wildcard was Jasmine Murray (boooooo..), Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, Matt Giraud.

TOP 13:
1. Alexis Grace
2. Michael Sarver
3. Danny Gokey
4. Kris Allen
5. Allison Iraheta
6. Adam Lambert
7. Lil Rounds
8. Scott Macintyre
9. Jorge Nunez
10. Matt Giraud
11. Jasmine Murray
12. Megan Joy
13. Anoop Desai

Michael Jackson Night
Lil Rounds – The Way You Make Me Feel
It was a decent performance, no sparks though. But the judges went slightly over the top with the comments saying that she has swagger and such. Didn’t really get the hype cause she was good but not really memorable. Back then I was thinking that she could do better then that, the nerves were just getting the best of her. Kara said something along the lines of a magnificent last note that Lil “snuck” in, it wasn’t all that great Kara. Really sensed a lot of favoring this season.

Scott Macintyre – Keep the Faith
I thought it was one of Scott’s most memorable performances on the show. I don’t really remember any of the other ones except the horrible one that got him kicked out of the competition. You could really hear his interpretation of the song through his heart. He made it into an inspirational performances that really touches the soul. Good one Scott!! I think he’s been through a lot so he chose songs that can be sent as a message to others. Truly a good guy this one.

Danny Gokey – PYT
Was a little weird with his dancing but overall it was pretty good. This was the moment that everyone knew he was pretty versatile as an artist. Didn’t make much changes to the melody and it wasn’t all that artistic, but he had good chops! I really think Danny shouldn’t dance when he’s on stage, it makes it seem really amateur when he does and it’s bad. At least he got Kara and Paula to dance a bit there. Paula made a prediction that would later be proven wrong that Danny was going to go all the way. Well he did make it as far as the Top 3 but i sense that Paula was talking about finals. That’s what you get when you pimp out a contestant too early in the competition. Too much hype builds up and ruins the moment.

Michael Sarver – You Are Not Alone
Yeah, it was alright. Nothing special at all. Again the judges with the over the top raves about how soulful and bla bla bla. After the show ended I didn’t even remember what he sung! Still think that Michael was a bad choice from America and Ricky would’ve done that song a 100x better than that.

Jasmine Murray – I’ll Be There
Predictable song choice, bad interpretation, bad phrasing, bad voice, bad dress, and overall just one of the stupidest choices for Wild Card EVER. She thinks she’s pretty and all that because the judges keep leading her on about it. Seeing potential and stuff, I think the judges were just drunk not thinking at the time.

Kris Allen – Remember the Time
Really really really BAD. It was off key, his voice became strained in places, and he didn’t look like he wanted to be there. He definitely got by on looks this night. I hadn’t really noticed Kris for the first couple of weeks there but he certainly improved every week.

Allison Iraheta – Give Into Me
Awesome! She can really turn any song into an Allison song. Giving a Michael Jackson song like that into a gruffy rock ballad was pretty good. Saw potential for Allison here. (Now that is potential people, unlike a certain J lady).

Anoop Desai – Beat It
It was NOT as bad as the judges made it out to be. He just didn’t do anything original with the song. His vocals were in tune and fine all the way through. It was just performance wise did the whole thing get blown out of proportion. The judges basically threw him under a bus, and drove over him again 3 times. Seriously people. I hated the judges on this season. Favorin Gokey and Lambert from the start and throwing Anoop to the curb every other moment. People that compare him to Sanjaya will have to leave comments here so I can defend him in every way possible. Anoop’s smug little attitude during the performance was just a show people, the song is called Beat It anyways. Simon went over the line when he said that it was like karaoke. No one could karaoke like that! Be real dude. Even Paula didn’t say anything nice.

Jorge Nunez – Never Can Say Goodbye
Considering he had a whole country voting for him and he still didn’t get through is enough said. Every one from Puerto Rico must have voted for their guy but he still got kicked out in the first week. Out of tune, bad interpretation, and really not the good at all.

Megan Joy – Rockin’ Robin
I have to know, do the judges hear a different version when their live? Cause telling Megan she picked the wrong song was sooo WRONG!! It was perfect for her voice, and it was perfect for her personality. You can totally imagine Megan singing about birds, right? Judges gone crazy once again. She looked good, her voice was on top of her game, and she nailed it. Albeit the cawing towards the end was kinda awkward but so Megan. She does seem like the type of girl that will stay true to herself no matter what.

Adam Lambert – Black and White
The recording version was so much better then the live one. Live performances for Adam are about the show he puts on as seen through this one. Still overboard with the screaming though, he still hadn’t found that perfect combination of low and high as he did during the last weeks. Comparing to the rest of the gang it was a pretty decent performance.

Matt Giraud – Human Nature
Perfect song choice for Matt here. His falsetto was awesome and wasn’t off key, he interpreted the song beautifully, and did a great job on the piano. He’s one of those guys that has a really cool and calmed vibe to him. I thought he did great here.

Alexis Grace – Dirty Diana
100% agreed with Simon that said Alexis was thinking she was better then it actually was. Too many riffs and yelling all over the song. Taking the dirty up advice a bit too far. She really is expressionless when the comments come. A little bit smug to say the least. She looked good though, liked the necklaces and shoes.

Best performance of the night goes to.. Danny with PYT, I still remember that performance which is a sign that it was good.
Worst performance was unfortunately Kris Allen. He made me mute the TV for awhile there. Even his recording was off.
Eliminated: Jorge and Jasmine.

Country Night
OK, back to work now!
This week the guys got their first mentor Randy Travis from the Grand Ole Oprey and he didn’t really give any pointers to the kids. Just listened to them. But he was OK and it was really cute when he was dealing with Adam Lambert and his middle eastern fiasco for the night.

Michael Sarver – Ain’t Going Down Till the Sun Goes Down
It was a messy jumble of words this one. There were so many lyrics that it was crazy that Sarver could remember all of them. But with his weak phrasing it didn’t make any sense and he was mumbling parts of it that made it more and more incomprehensible. Didn’t like this one at all! Randy said it didn’t do anything for his voice which I agree. Kara said something about his personality coming out which doesn’t even make sense at all! Simon thought the same as me that he couldn’t hear a single word he was singing and also clumsy. They’re all pushing that he is a likable guy nothing about being a good singer.

Allison Iraheta – Blame It On Your Heart
She can definitely sing the phonebook and make it sound good. Nobody with that rocker feel has ever done good on country night. I guess she picked the right song and it really showed the maturity of her voice. Simon said that it looked like she was struggling with remembering the words. She looked good too in a chocolate colored leather jacket. Loved this performance, showed her versatility. Randy said it was dope!

Kris Allen – To Make You Feel My Love
BRILLIANT performance from Kris. Makes up for his disaster the week before. Just him sitting on a stool belting out a heartfelt ballad stripping down the song to the minimum. His voice sounded good, he looked relaxed, and he made a connection with the audience. Paula went deaf a little and said that he was off tune in bits which wasn’t true. Simon also said that it was brilliant. He was looking at his wife during the song which made it really sweet.

Lil Rounds – Independence Day
Again another mediocre song from Lil. Everyone keeps waiting for her to blow away the audience like she did at the auditions and small stage. I think she wants so bad to come across as a big song diva when she’s a R&B singer with the attitude. Making all her song choices all wrong. Hilarious part was when Simon called her “Little”.

Adam Lambert – Ring of Fire
Agree with Simon on this one, what the hell was that??? Crazy making a country song into a middle eastern twang there. It showed that Adam didn’t like country but that was it. It wasn’t any good and it made me want to fast forward until it was over.

Scott Macintyre – Wild Angels
Decent performance, again with the message sending songs for inspiration. It was all good except that it was starting to feel like that was the only genre that Scott could do. From the auditions till now all songs were along that line. He was a bit off tune in parts but he did play the piano beautifully and arranged the song into his own. He’s more of a piano player then singer.

Alexis Grace – Jolene
Ugh! Horrible, off tune, trying too hard to be Dolly Parton, and just a huge disaster. She definitely didn’t choose the right song this week making it hard to see all the groove she has in her.

Danny Gokey – Jesus Take the Wheel
He has great vocals but his stage presence is still a bit off. Practically yelled in some parts of the song, not in a really bad way though. His costume was really odd seeing as it was in L.A. and he was wearing this white jacket that usually people use for skiing. It was a good performance but it didn’t do anything for me.

Anoop Desai – You Were Always On My Mind
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. It was touching, it made me believe he was singing for me, and he looked HOT as always. This performance definitely made up for his mediocre one during Michael Jackson night. The judges took him out from under the bus and praised him for his vocals. Smooth, tender, and honest. One of his best performances ever. Simon said “Anoop, you just managed to go from zero to hero. In a way it was one of my favorite performances of the night”. Yeay!!

Megan Joy – Walking After Midnight
Being sick with heavy flu and cough she was actually pretty good. As Randy said it was a jazzy, bluesy, country, kinda thing. The high notes were a bit strained probably because her nose was so stuffy. One of her best performances on the show.

Matt Giraud – So Small
Compared to Michael Buble by Simon and Justin Timberlake by Randy. It was good, you could feel his emotion and see how well he plays the piano. He worked the dynamics of the song and just made it really nice. This guy has not been given enough credit for his incredible talent.

Best performance.. a tie between Matt Giraud and Anoop Desai. Both did awesome heartfelt songs!
Worst performance.. Sorry but this night was actually Adam Lambert that made the worst possible mess.
Eliminated: Alexis Grace (have no idea why everyone dubbed this to a shock elimination with the judges not even saving her, she just doesn’t have that something special for the stage.

Motown Night
Smokey Robinson as mentor and they took a trip down Motown memory lane down to Detroit. All the songs are classic Motown songs.

Matt Giraud – Let’s Get It On
Took time to step out from behind the piano after doing a quick piano intro. His sexy smooth voice did wonders for this song making him put in the same league as Danny as a front runner. Kara and Paula actually looked like they wanted to jump him right then and there. His riffs were all in place and gave the song his own twist. Over all a good performance.

Kris Allen – How Sweet It Is
Gave off a John Mayer vibe with his guitar in hand. Looked really cute this night but clearly you could see that it was effortless. You can almost imagine hearing his and Matt’s voice on the radio in the near future. He told a story with the song by playing up the dynamics and changed the arrangement a bit. Simon pointed out that he didn’t have the stage confidence yet.

Scott Macintyre – Can’t Hurry Love
I didn’t like this rendition of the song. Scott sounded so strained that it was painful to hear. He fell off the tune in most parts of the song but I have this feeling that the judges didn’t mind that he did that. Only Simon was honest saying that the version wasn’t any good. He tried to do a different feel to the performance by bringing up the backing vocals up against the piano. It was just a bad song choice.

Megan Joy – For Once in My Life
Again classic for the judges to throw her under the bus. I loved her outfit though this night. She did try to change up the arrangement to better suit her unique voice but it was a key too high. If she lowered the key a notch it would probably be a better performance. After hearing it again she did go off in bits but it wasn’t like the judges said. They all said that the song choice was off. Actually thought it suited her voice but it was just too high. Randy went too far by saying that it was a train wreck.

Anoop Desai – Ooh Baby Baby
Another really soulful performance by the cutie. I kept playing back his performance over and over again just to be sung too by him. He does really good interpretations and his riffing wasn’t bad either. The song was hard too cause it went from low to high in one phrase. I don’t think he gets enough credit. HOT guy with a smooth voice (sigh) what more could you want? All the judges agreed that it was a great performance.

Michael Sarver – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
Lets just say that it was no wonder he got the boot after this night. Picked the wrong song Sarver! He never really found his place in the song making it awkward.

Lil Rounds – Heat Wave
Being the only african american in the competition you would think that she would have the upper hand in the competition cause the songs in this song book would ultimately suit her voice. But she chose the weirdest one of them all. She got extra pimpage during the result show by leading the group songs and standing in the front. I think she’s too confident because all of the raving from the judges before. Wrong song choice yet again. It was the biggest disappointment of the night.

Adam Lambert – Tracks of My Tears
Smooth and beautiful. Loved seeing Adam without all the stage costume he puts on for most shows. He wasn’t wearing any nail polish either. This unplugged version was really good and he made a strong connection with the audience. Kept the screaming to a bare minimum which made it more easy to listen. If you listen really closely with earphones you can actually hear him struggling to find his place in the high notes. I think it was more of a surprise rather than an amazing performance. But I do have to say that it was one of the best performances of the night.

Danny Gokey – Get Ready
Did not understand the dancing and going back to the back up singers. Vocally it was good but a standard Danny number. He actually sounded a bit out of breath towards the end of the song. It was just good and it did sound amateurish.

Allison Iraheta – Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Allison brought funk to the stage! I get the shivers every time I play back that performance. It was an amazing performance, seriously. Her voice sounded good, she played the song to the maximum with that small amount of time. She can make any song into her own which is pretty hard to do in times. Simon actually painted a moustache on Paula during the comment session making everyone avert their attention from Allison to see the couple battle it out.

Best performance of the night definitely goes to Allison Iraheta. I still don’t get why she keeps getting in the bottom 3. Adam is close second but he already gets so much hype that I’m sticking with Allison on this one.
Worst performance has to be a tie between Scott and Michael.
Eliminated: Michael Sarver

Most Popular Downloads On iTunes Week
To be continued on a later date..
Songs From the Year They Were Born
Songs From Movies
Disco Week
Rat Pack Week
Rock Week
Top 3, Judges Choice and Contestants Choice
FINALE