American Idol 7 - Top 5

We are getting down to the wire now, with only five contestants left to sing their hearts out and try to capture the American Idol crown. I was a bit surprised by last week's elimination show when Carly was given the boot. But I wasn't totally shocked or outraged like a lot of people were. Get a grip people; it's only a TV show. Okay, maybe if Carly was a favorite of mine, I probably would've felt the same way. Not to say she wasn't growing on me as the week's progressed, but she never struck a chord with me since I've been watching this season. It'll be interesting to see how the remainder of the competition progresses; who will be let go week after week and who will be the eventual American Idol winner. Only time will tell, so let's get started with this week's review. The contestants had to tackle the songs of Neil Diamond, a favorite singer of my family's. This was a real treat to watch this (and hopefully my mom was able to catch it in San Diego this week where my parents are on vacation). So how did the contestants fair?

Jason Castro - singing "Forever in Blue Jeans": This song starts off pretty low for Jason. We haven't really seen him use his lower range in his performances and I really liked it. He handled it pretty well. However, I'm not jumping out of my seat over this. Overall, I think he did a nice job with the song but it's nothing that we're going to remember when looking back at this season. It just wasn't memorable enough. He basically sang it the way it's supposed to and did nothing original with it. Vocally, it was consistent to how he's sung in the past. Maybe this is the style that Jason wants to embrace but it may be getting old with viewers.

David Cook - singing "I'm Alive": Starts off kind of awkward for me. It reminds me of his performance during Idol Gives Back, but not as bad as that. The song gradually starts picking up and it is sounding better for me. Before I was aware, the performance was over. The song seemed very short and that may have been because of the arrangement. If that was the case, the arrangement could've been a lot better. I don't think he did enough with this particular song. Same as I said with Jason, vocally it's very consistent to what we're used to hearing from David. But overall, I did not care much for this song choice.

Brooke White - singing "I'm a Believer": Brooke trying to show off her "Rocker" side with this performance (whatever ounce of Rock she has in her). It starts off really strange for me as if she's having difficulty hitting the right notes. It almost seems too low for her at times. She appears to be happy and looks like she's having a good time on stage; much different from how she looked last week. I thought it was funny how she did a "whoo!" during the song which was one of her most embarassing moments in a previous week. But this time she didn't spin around on stage (how could she with a guitar in hand?). It's nice to see her change things up and do an up-tempo song, but I don't think it worked quite as well as she hoped. It didn't seem like the right song for her.

David Archuleta - singing "Sweet Caroline": It's nice to see David do a few up-tempo songs once in awhile. I know the fans have been clamoring for something upbeat for awhile now (and we get two in one night). I didn't expect him to choose this song so it ends up being a nice surprise. This performance also seemed very rushed and short; much like David Cook's first song. I know they only have a minute in a half to perform, but this seemed a lot quicker than that. I think there probably was too much chorus in this song and not enough of the rest. I think the arrangement could've been a lot better to incorporate more of the song other than the chorus, but vocally it was superb. David took a risk by doing something up-tempo and he did an exceptional job.

Syesha Mercado - singing "Hello Again": A very sweet and laid back song choice for Syesha. She's not trying to over-sing and be too shouty in the song which is very good strategy for her. I like how she looks on stage tonight. She definitely seems to be in her element now. Vocally it's very good but the song is a bit on the boring side. I'd have to agree with Simon's assessment in it being old fashioned. I wouldn't be surprised if Syesha made it through to the top four (despite what Simon said) because it appears her fanbase is growing stronger and stronger each week. She could be a dark horse to sneak into the top three.

Jason Castro - singing "September Morn": Jason is back on stage singing his second song and I can tell you right off the bat; I'm not crazy about it. It sounds very boring and it's about to put me to sleep. I don't think Jason is doing enough with these songs to change them up and make them his own. The pressure of this competition may be getting to Jason because he hasn't seemed the same in a couple of weeks now. As Randy said, this is just an okay performance and it's nothing really that memorable. The way he ended the song wasn't all that great either as it sounded pitchy to me. Don't be surprised to see Jason wind up in this week's bottom two.

David Cook - singing "All I Ever Really Needed is You": For me, this sounds much better than David's first song of the night. Even though David has a great vocal range, I think this one is more comfortable for him. He's making this sound very contemporary and current as if it could be on the radio today. I think the arrangement is far and away better than his first selection and his displaying his exceptional vocal range in this one, as well (using his falsetto towards the end). He definitely did a lot more with this song than the first and he showed great risk in picking Neil Diamond's lesser popular songs in "I'm Alive" and "All I Ever Really Needed is You." It's no surprise he's one of the favorites to win.

Brooke White - singing "I Am ... I Said": Now this is the Brooke White we've grown to love. As the judges commented, she looks very vulnerable during this performance and that is where she does her best. She's back at the piano and is doing an exceptional job with this difficult Neil Diamond song. This is a whole lot better than "I'm a Believer" and she's definitely in her element with this one. I do believe she also does a better job with the ballads as opposed to the lighter-faired songs. This performance has that singer/song-writer vibe that the judges have commented about Brooke in the past. It seemed very believable for Brooke and definitely more memorable than her first song.

David Archuleta - singing "America": Despite one point in the song where David's voice cracked (he is 17 after all and his voice is still deepening), it was another stellar performance from David. It was a very wise choice of song for him (even though I didn't particularly care what Simon was insinuating with his comments) and he showed off his range with this song. He does a great job week in and week out incorporating runs that tend to make the song his own. "America" is also a song with a good message which David enjoys choosing, so it's a good fit overall for him. Arrangement was a lot better this time around than the first song. Tonight was a very nice change of pace for David and hope we see more of it during the remainder of the competition.

Syesha Mercado - singing "Thank the Lord for the Night Time": I had my doubts that Syesha was going to be able to pull off this song, but she did a really good job with it. I was pleasantly surprised and it ended up being rather enjoyable. I admired her song selections tonight where her first song was a slow ballad while this song is much more upbeat and very fun. She is dressed really stylish tonight and is looking more and more like a star. I think she's is really coming into her own this late in the game. She may have finally embraced who she is and has finally found that confidence and it's probably winning over new fans, as well. Definitely a fun performance to wrap up the show tonight.

Even though I enjoyed most of the performances tonight, I did not enjoy the format of this episode at all. It was way too rushed and not having the judges critique after the singers first performance just seemed out of place. If the producers are wondering why they are losing viewers, it's changes like these that may be part of it. Overall, I'd rate tonight a five out of ten. As I mentioned, the performances themselves were decent, but the show just seemed so out of wack from the beginning to the end. It just wasn't all that enjoyable for me. And what the heck is Paula doing making comments on a singer's second song when he hasn't even sang it yet! Obviously she's basing her comments on dress rehearsal - otherwise how could she have known? Just another one of those moments on this show that makes me wonder if it would be better off without Paula. But then I'm left to contemplate whether the chemistry would be the same between Simon and a new center judge. So I still have mixed thoughts whether a change on the judge's panel would be a good thing or not. And with those thoughts out of the way, here's how I ranked the contestant's after Neil Diamond night:

#1: David Cook - best of the night
#2: David Archuleta
#3: Syesha Mercado (actual bottom two - 4/30/08)
#4: Brooke White - eliminated (eliminated - 4/30/08)
#5: Jason Castro - bottom two

I think Simon is wrong in his assessment that Syesha will be in trouble after her two performances. As I commented earlier, she really seems to be coming into her own and is attracting new fans. I do think both Brooke and Jason will be in trouble this week (should've been last week's bottom two, in fact) but I think in the end, it'll be Brooke going home. Jason still has a strong-enough fan base that'll keep him in this for one more week. I think the voting public is tiring with Brooke and despite one decent performance from her this week, this will likely be the last time we get to see her sing on the show (except for the finale, of course). Updates to this blog will follow after the results, so be sure to check back in later Wednesday night!

Update (5/1/08) - Brooke White gets the boot Wednesday night. She was very emotional - not even able to finish her song! Good luck to her - as I've liked her ever since I saw her first audition. She definitely has music in her blood and will do well in the future.

Songs I Dig - 7

So about a week or so ago, I had absolutely no songs that could be added to my blog because of all the new ones that had been released within the last couple of months, none of them had been that catchy for me. However, that recently changed and I am happy to bring you five songs that I'm currently digging. These are all newcomers to the "Songs I Dig" blog but some of them are familiar to radios and iPods out there. I am sure you'll enjoy most (if not all) of the songs on here and if you haven't yet heard of them, be sure to check them out in your free time.

"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz - I'm always happy to hear Jason Mraz back on the radio waves when he releases new music because his songs are unique and original. He brings a very different sound to his songs and "I'm Yours" is no exception. It has a folksy-jazzy sound to it and it's very pleasant to listen to. His music is always positive and uptempo, which is very pleasant from the mundane ballads that some singers tend to stick with over and over again. "I'm Yours" is the first song released from Jason's newest album titled "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things." Hopefully this album will achieve great success for Jason because I think he deserves it.

"In Love with a Girl" by Gavin DeGraw - Here's a song I wasn't completely sold on until about a week ago and now I find it to be one of my new favorites. Gavin had great success with his last album with hit songs such as "Chariot," "I Don't Want to Be" and "Follow Through." It also didn't hurt that he gained popularity when "I Don't Want to Be" was featured as the theme song to the teen drama "One Tree Hill." This newest song from Gavin has a similar sound to "I Don't Want to Be." In this song, he sings about a girl who is the epitome of a soul mate; treating him right, being understanding, and pretty much falling in love with her at first sight. Don't you wish it could be like that for everyone in the world?

"Best Days" by Graham Colton - This song has been out for a little while now, but it still hasn't gotten old for me. It's a part of Graham's newest CD titled "Here Right Now" which was released late last year. It was also featured on "American Idol" as the song played during a contestant's ending montage after they were eliminated from the show during the semi-finals. Personally I enjoy this song a lot more than Ruben Studdard's rendition of "Celebrate Me Home" which is too dull for my tastes. I think Graham's song should've stayed with the show right through until the final two because it's that good. Obviously other people feel the same as its also been featured on other TV shows, too.

"No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - This is another tune that took me awhile to really catch on to, but now I find it quite enjoyable. I think when I first listened to it, I questioned the meaning of the song because it sounded so sappy and pretty silly. At that time, I didn't understand the true message in the song, which I now fully understand after listening to it several times. I also like the pairing of Sparks and Brown in this song and they present a strong sense of chemistry while singing. Jordin was my favorite to win American Idol last season and it's nice to see her having some post-Idol success with not only "Tattoo" but now "No Air."

"Say it Again" by Marie Digby - Marie is a relative newcomer to the music scene as she started seriously working on music around 2004. The websites YouTube and MySpace have given her the needed exposure for interest in her debut album titled "Unfold" which was released earlier this month. You might have also heard her cover of Rhiana's number one hit "Umbrella" which she performed acoustically. I know I heard it a couple of different times on Sirius radio and you might have heard it on radio stations locally. She's actually been signed by a record label since 2005, but has only recently released her debut album since. I don't think that's going to hurt her future at all, because it looks pretty bright.

So there you have it; the latest songs I think everyone should give a listen to. I definitely think we'll be hearing more from each one of these artists in the years to come as they have a lot more music and songs in them, I'm sure. So be sure and check their songs out on either YouTube or MySpace and see what you think of them. Thanks for reading!

Most Embarassing Moments

So I was doing some thinking on some possible blog topics for the future when I started remembering some embarrassing moments from my past. I guess the motivation for this subject came up while watching some American Idol contestants discuss their most embarrassing moments. I was literally in bed last night about to go to sleep when several entered my mind. So quickly, I grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down some events that were quite embarrassing for me. None of them are really all that recent; in fact, I'm having a hard time remembering anything that was all that embarrassing in the last few years. But the following five are moments that I'll probably remember for a long time to come and which now I can laugh about. At the time, they weren't very funny at all!

Okay, the first moment happened when I was in junior high or high school (I'm having difficulty actually remember WHEN this happened); I'm thinking eighth or ninth grade. I was on the junior varsity basketball team and I was actually in the game as opposed to sitting on the bench where the majority of time I was. We were at a visiting school that didn't have a good basketball team - which explains why I was in the game. We had a fairly comfortable lead so I got the opportunity to play in the game. Someone passed the ball to me and I was open. I believe I was just beyond the three point line which was well within my range. So I aim and shoot towards the basket. The only thing was, I overshot and the ball ended up going above the backboard and into the supports that held the backboard up. In fact, the basketball bounced around like a pinball for a bit in the supports before finally reaching the floor. I guess you could say I was pretty excited to shoot the ball and my adrenalin was pumping which led me overshoot the ball. I remember hearing the visiting crowd laughing and my coach giving me a grinning look back at the huddle. All I wanted to do after that shot was dig a hole in the floor and cover myself up in embarrassment. I would rank this one as being the number one most embarrassing moment for me because it was in front of a crowd of people (thankfully not on home court, though) and I felt really small after that.

The next embarrassing moment goes all the way back to when I was in kindergarten class. Probably the reason why I still remember this one is because this moment was taped by my father and is part of our home movie collection. So every now and again, I'm able to watch this back and laugh at myself. But honestly, it's not that bad of a moment; certainly in comparison to the first one. It was kindergarten graduation and my class was performing all sorts of cutesy little skits and songs to our parents who sat proudly in the audience. I'd have to look back at the tape because I honestly cannot remember what this particular skit was about. But there were three of us lined up together voicing this one skit. Essentially it went, "the mother, the father, and the baby..." something or other. This one girl was the "mother" I guess, and I was the father. Like I said, the exact details are so foggy; I just remember the true moment that was embarrasing. Prior to this we were saying some lines and then came the most important part of the skit; our solos, if you will. This girl was supposed to say "the mother," to start things off. Well, she wasn't saying anything. It was as if she had forgotten to say her line and didn't know that's where she was supposed to come in. So I guess I took the liberty to help her out and I blurted "the moth..." and then cut myself off. I think I didn't actually mean to say it and it more or less just came out. Anyways, it got her to say her line and I was able to say mine and the skit was completed afterall. But at the conclusion, the audience filled with parents chuckled aloud. So I guess I find it a little embarrassing to this day, but it was so long ago, all I can do is laugh about it now.

The next embarrassing moment was another that occured many years ago; probably when I was about seven or eight. It was the summertime and I was out fishing with my great uncle (who I absolutely adored) and cousin. My dad showed up later that day to record some of my fishing to be included on video, which is probably why I am able to remember this one just as I did with the kindergarten moment. So I was having a ball that day catching numerous fish. They weren't very big but the most exciting part about the experience is catching all of those fish and truly having a successful day. Well the one part that was caught on camera was of me absolutely refusing to take the fish off my hook after it had been retrieved out of the water. I guess it was too slimy and wiggled way too much for me to take it off, so the whole time, my great uncle had to take all the fish off my line. Heck, I couldn't even put the worm on my hook! My dad gave me a bit of a hard time for not having the guts to take the fish off the hook (my words, not his) which is understandable. I have gone fishing since and have no difficulties taking fish off the line, let alone putting the worm on the hook! Still, it's one of those situations I'll never forget, especially when it's on tape for many generations of my family to enjoy.

Next up is probably the most recent of embarrassing moments I could think of. I was either in my last or second to last year of college and it was springtime. I can't remember the exact details regarding the event, but I believe I had just gotten out of my last class of the day and decided to take a walk through one of the buildings on campus that housed the library. I was so focused on a subject in my head that I didn't even realise I was about to walk into one of the main entryway's windows and not the door itself. I think I was focused on picking up a copy of the university's student newspaper ... no, I remember now. A group of girls were sitting in the lobby of the building in a circular fashion. I was rather curious why they were seated there instead of sitting inside the library itself. Well, maybe they needed a "loud" place to gather. So as I turned the corner and made my way towards the door, I was looking at them instead of remembering where the actual door was. The next thing I remember is hitting my head on the glass and making a rather large thud against the window pane. Dazed and confused, I quickly gained my composure and walked briskly away from the scene and instead walked around the building instead of through it. It's one of those situations that you can't contemplate yourself doing but when you actually experience it yourself, it's pretty frickin' embarrassing, especially with people around! But now that I am in my safe confines behind my computer, I can actually laugh about it now.

The last of the embarrassing moments is one that just popped into my head and it's not for me individually but one for the whole sixth grade class at the time. It was our annual spring-sing event so we were singing a song that, I guess, was supposed to bring spring-like thoughts to those in the audience. Well we ended up singing the Tom Petty song "Mary Jane's Last Dance," which is actually a pretty odd song choice. I guess it was popular at the time and we as a class wanted to choose something that was edgy and different than the pleasant, flowery songs that other classes had chosen. We rehearsed many different times but apparently it wasn't nearly enough. We started singing the song and it started off pretty good. But somewhere along the line we got off track and weren't singing along to the beat of the music and the lyrics got majorly flipped around. It honestly seemed like one part of the group was singing a completely different part of the song than the other and that continued right on through to the end. I honestly believe our music teacher was flabbergasted at how bad it was, considering that we had done so well prior and sounded really good. I remember him saying some comment to the audience, but I no longer can recall what he said. Something along the lines of "well, that was interesting." Not that I can blame him. But walking off the stage, I remember feeling pretty angry and lost at what had gone wrong. I couldn't believe how we couldn't keep to the beat of the song and strayed off so badly - maybe bad direction from the music teacher? I'll never truly know, but it's one of those moments that leaves me puzzled to this day.

So there you have it; my listing of top embarrassing moments that I can currently remember to this day. I'm sure there are others that I'll remember eventually and new ones that will pop up. Some may even be so bad that I can add them here!

American Idol 7 - Top 6

I thought for sure I wouldn't get a chance to do a complete recap of tonight's performances, but with only six contestants left, it's getting easier and easier (but soon they'll be doing two songs). So just in the nick of time, here we go!

Tonight it was the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber, quite possibly one of the greatest broadway music composers of all time. I had the opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera when I was a freshman in high school and it was such an amazing show to see live. It wasn't in New York City but in Green Bay, Wisconsin when the show was traveling across the country. And some of the other shows that Webber has written songs for, such as Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar. Even though I may not have ever seen those shows, at least I am familiar with some of the songs in those shows. So this will definitely be a very entertaining night of American Idol. It may not be as edgy as it's been with some of the other mentor weeks, but it'll be interesting to see how well the contestants adjust to singing these songs. Onto the reviews!

Syesha Mercado - singing "One Rock and Roll Too Many" from Starlight. She is looking very sexy and sultry on stage tonight, complete with a stunning red dress. She's definitely showing a large amount of personality on stage tonight, something we haven't seen from her yet this season. She's dancing with Ricky Minor and another member of the band. Now that's really great to see and I'm really liking her performance tonight. She's clearly playing the part of a broadway star on that stage and she's owning it. In my view, this is her best performance of the season so far. Clearly, this is her element and she's made to sing these songs and become a star on broadway. It was a very enjoyable performance and it should definitely keep her in another week.

Jason Castro - singing "Memory" from Cats. Jason is a big risk taker this week, singing a song that's very familiar with the general public, especially one from such a long-running musical. Reports are that he was very ill this week and lacked energy (and who could blame him). We'll see if that ends up affecting him tonight. The opening package of Jason being mentored with Andrew Lloyd Webber was very funny, but Jason admits that he was very nervous about tonight. He looked very stylish, although his vocals were definitely off. He was pitchy in spots and he had some difficulty hitting the lower notes of the song. I did think the last half of the song was better than the first and overall, it was a decent performance. Definitely not his strongest but he did take a risk picking this song. It may not have had the results he wanted, but it wasn't completely terrible.

Brooke White - singing "You Must Love Me" from Evita. Oh man, right off the bat - she flubs and forgets the lyrics. She asks Ricky to start the song over, which she does. Thank god it wasn't later into the song, otherwise she'd have no choice but to keep going (ala David Archuleta: "We Can Work it Out"). Still a very awkward moment and it definitely threw her off for the rest of her performance. She is clearly shaken by the mistake and sounds unsure, almost wavering a bit as she sings (as if she's about to cry or is very nervous). But gradually, she starts to pick herself back up and by the time we reach the last note, this is the Brooke White we're all familiar with. However, she did seem to struggle the most with the lower notes in the song which ended up being in the first part of the song. She looks thoroughly disappointed at her blunder and it just might end up costing her this week.

David Archuleta - singing "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. Word is David is going to be changing the tempo and arrangement of the song up a bit and make it sound more upbeat. We'll see if this risk will pay off for him, since he hasn't done a more upbeat song in some time. I wouldn't say it had a really high tempo with it, but it was definitely mid-tempo. It ends up being a great arrangement for the song and he hits this song out of the park. He was phenominal vocally and very consistent to what he's been doing. I like that he's not using the ear piece anymore which shows his comfort of performing on that stage now. As Simon said, it was very pleasant but I completely disagree with his assessment of calling it forgettable. That just more or less throws him under the bus after he did a great job with the song. I really felt that emotional connection that David displayed while singing the song. He was definitely into the moment.

Carly Smithson - singing "Jesus Christ Superstar." I think Carly has become my new favorite female contestant on the show just because of her bubbly personality. She may not be as wholesome as Brooke, but she is able to take criticism from the judges quite well. I am not all that familiar with this song, although I have heard it before. This is truly the first (and only) upbeat performance of the night and gets everyone on their feet. The song did seem a bit too high for her in parts and she tended to over-shout at times. The background singers also overpowered her in a few segments. But overall, it was probably her best performance in some time and she definitely displayed her vocal power in this one. You could tell she had a lot of fun up on that stage and just hearing Simon give her a positive review, she was absolutely giddy. That's nice to see.

David Cook - singing "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera. Aw man, David Cook with the pimp spot again? Let's hope he really brings it tonight. I love this song choice and it's probably my favorite from Phantom of the Opera. I really enjoy seeing this broadway-side to David and it shows that he doesn't always have to be a rocker week in and week out. Tonight's performance definitely does not hurt him and he'll sail safely into the top five. He's very soothing and sensual with the softer, slower portion of the song. He's really connected with this selection and I am loving the passion he's bringing. He did a splendid job tonight and it's my favorite of his since "Little Sparrow" from Dolly Parton week. Absolutely amazing vocally and the end note was a fitting way to conclude the night. Awesome and very consistent for Cookie.

I really liked tonight's show, even though some of the contestants didn't have spectacular performances. I would give tonight an eight out of ten, overall. It was pretty easy to guess who would be the most challenged tonight, but who would've guessed that Brooke would end up faltering as badly as she did. That just might be the final straw for her and she'll end up packing tomorrow night. With that being said, here are tonight's rankings:

#1: David Archuleta - top performance
#1: David Cook - top performance
#3: Carly Smithson (minor shocker ~ eliminated - 4/23/08)
#4: Syesha Mercado - bottom three (bottom two - 4/23/08)
#5: Jason Castro - bottom three
#6: Brooke White - eliminated

Yes, I gave both David's #1 tonight because they were both spectacular and it's extremely difficult for me to pick one over the other. I hate to say it, but I think Brooke will be going home. Jason had a sub-par night, but I don't think it's the end of the road for him quite yet. I think he'll have one more week to recover and deliver one more decent performance. I've been a fan of Brooke's for a long time, but I also tend to believe she's worn out her welcome some with her excessive back-talk to the judges at times and her failure to really enjoy the moment. With that being said, she has my pick to be sent home tomorrow.

Beauty and Ugly Together

Today was a glorious day to spend outdoors in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with temperatures approaching 70 degrees in many spots. So far this year, that is the warmest it has gotten and I am sure we will be seeing many more warmer days ahead. I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity of enjoying the nice weather, so I ventured out and took a short drive near Lake Superior and enjoyed a nice walk around the immediate area that includes part of the local university's campus (mainly the sports complex). I wasn't surprised how many people were out enjoying the beautiful weather like me. I saw many people walking, running, biking, roller blading, and even saw one girl on her skate board AND talking on the phone at the same time. Now that's something I never saw before. There were also a lot of people raking their lawns, sweeping their sidewalks, and collecting brush to put on the curbside for the city to pick up next week. People were really making the most of this beautiful weather and I can't say I blame them. After the kind of winter we've had, especially one where it didn't seem it would end, today made it all worth it.

But a bit of news I stumbled across on various local media sites left me a bit saddened. It just goes to show you that up here, our pristine environment can become polluted. No, we're not immune to these issues that occur in more populated areas. A tug boat pulling a barge close to shore touched bottom which caused it to start leaking oil into Lake Superior. It's unknown how much of the oil spilled into the lake but the U.S. Coast Guard does have the area surrounded so that the spill doesn't move further out into the lake. From the sounds of it, they may have the oil cleaned up by the evening, which sounds very promising. So I guess it's not as bad as it could've been. For one thing, because of a light wind, the containment area was smaller than if it were a windy day. And after all, it was only a tug boat. Just think if it were one of those ore frieghters that frequent our shores or a barge carrying oil? Now that truly would be a mess. It's safe to say that the wildlife in the area should not suffer from this since environment officials were quick to respond and those on board of the tug reported it rather quickly. But I am sure there'll be some ramifications because of this spill.

On my way back from my walk, I drove nearest to the oil spill on the lakeshore and as I approached, I could smell oil in the air. I also saw the barge and tug boat out into the lake, and upon sawing them both, I grew pretty angry. Then I saw the containment bouys in the lake that were keeping the spill confined and watched as people walked along the bike path and peered out into the lake at the same time, trying to see if they could see anything new. And really, what was there to see? I did notice people looking up to the sky and sheltering their eyes to the sun. As I looked above and trying to focus on my driving, I could see a helicopter, probably one from the Coast Guard, surveying the spill to see if it is contained. Still, it just all seemed rather sad to me that this had to happen. Apparently the tug was steering the barge too close to shore and hit bottom. I am sure it could've been avoided, but there's not much that can be done about it now. But I was pretty surprised to see the crowd near the lower harbor, whether they were enjoying the weather like the majority of people were today or not. I was still pretty impressed to see the crowds walking along the shore and it almost reminded me of the festivities around the Fourth of July. If it was because of this big news event around here or because of the weather, I guess that can be debated for awhile.

So anyways, despite that rather unfortunate news event, today left me in high spirits. It's amazing when the weather turns nicer and really lifts the spirits of everyone. Not only did it feel and sound like spring, but it also smelled like spring, too. You can smell things coming alive, particuarly the grass growing and beginning to green up. It's a wonderful time of the year, in fact, one of my favorites. When you're able to be outside without having to bundle up and brave temperatures below 32 degrees, it doesn't get much better than that. We're upon my favorite time of the year and I'm excited for it.

American Idol 7 - Top 7

We are getting down to the wire on this season's American Idol and it ends up being a very important week with the group singing songs by Mariah Carey. I think Randy said it last week that at this point in the competition, this is where we know exactly who the contestants are and who the front-runners really are. The contestants get a true challenge this week trying to pick a song suited to them and one they can make as original as they can to avoid the Mariah comparisons that could come their way. Let's see how they ended up doing tonight:

David Archuleta - singing "When You Believe": First time David gets the opening slot and I guess everyone has to have their shot to open the show. For some contestants this season, it has proven to be the kiss of death. But this should be no problem for David, particularly if he sings well. He picks a very difficult song; one in which BOTH Mariah and Whitney sang as a duet. It starts off really well; even as the beginning of the song has the lower registry of notes that David sometimes has difficulty with. He was really in the moment with this song and you could really feel the emotion David displayed as he sang. He was on pitch note for note and I think this is possibly David's best performance since he sang "Imagine," not saying that any of his previous performances since then were bad. I just feel this ranks as high as "Imagine" in greatness. He even sang falsetto after Mariah's advice of doing so and he nailed it! Truly a spectacular performance from David and what an awesome way to start tonight's show.

Carly Smithson - singing "Without You": I thought Carly was very smart in picking this song tonight and Simon was hoping she'd tackle it even before "Mariah week" began. It is one of Mariah's more popular songs so we'll see if Carly is able to bounce back after last week's mis-step. In the beginning, I thought she tried doing a few things different with the melodies and attempted to differentiate herself from Mariah, but then she mimicked her spot-on for the rest of the song. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, but it would've helped her to stay away from those dreadful Mariah comparisions. She definitely had no trouble hitting the higher notes in the song, but I doubt she has the high range that Mariah does (honestly, not too many people do). I thought it was a big improvement over last's weeks inspirational song choice and it'll be more memorable as well. Also, she looked very confident and happy to be on stage. She does tend to over-think during her performances which might cause her to lose confidence on stage. But I liked her this week.

Syesha Mercado - singing "Vanishing": This is one of Mariah's less-recognizable songs and one that I'm not all that familiar with. Mariah says herself that it's one of the first songs she wrote back when she was 17. I thought this was a very smart move on Syesha's part because during the previous two weeks, she picked big songs in which the judges could not help but compare her with the artists that made them famous. Vocally is sounds good and just as consistent as Syesha's been for weeks. It does sound boring in the beginning but things start picking up as we progress towards the finish. She definitely can hit those big notes with ease. I feel at this stage of the game, it's getting more and more difficult to say anything negative about the contestants performances because they are really starting to show who they are and continue to highlight their strong points. Overall, I thought it was a good performance from Syesha but we'll see if she's someone the voters remember on results night.

Brooke White - singing "Hero": I thought this was a good song choice for Brooke as it definitely suits her style. From the recorded piece, it appeared as if Brooke was going to play the guitar, but she now resorts to playing it strictly with the piano with no accompaniment from band. This has the potential to be as good as "Let it Be." But unfortunately for me, it falls short of that mainly because there were a few pitch problems here and there throughout the performance. Brooke has been one of my favorites for awhile but she has not been as stellar as she could be lately and it very well could come back to bite her one of these weeks. She seems to be a bit awkward on the higher notes as if she's unsure about them. It's definitely very authentic and consistent from Brooke as we've seen this week in and week out from her. She's definitely not going to mix things up and go all Amanda Overmyer on us now. As I said, I still didn't think it was her best but she definitely sounded good. She knows what kind of artist she wants to be.

Kristy Lee Cook - singing "Forever": The contestants tonight are picking very smart songs to perform and Kristy is no exception. She tends to struggle with the lower notes which is when she gets pitchy, which is exactly what happened tonight. Not that it was a huge distraction, mind you, but at this stage of the competition, she has to be better than that. With that being said, I thought this was another strong performance from Kristy; even rivaling last week's inspirational song choice. She is really improving week after week and is definitely making her case for staying in the competition. Just think of all the complaining that was going on when she made it into the top 12. She continues to gain momentum and grows confidence-wise. She was particularly solid with the last part of the song, hitting those higher notes with ease. However, just as in Syesha's case, will her performance be one of those that voters will remember? Personally for me, I think she has a strong case to be in this season's top six, but we shall see tomorrow.

David Cook - singing "Always be my Baby": Who would've thought that David Cook of all people would do a rendition of this Mariah classic? And what surprises me the most is that he is not playing the guitar for two straight weeks which I find to be pretty impressive. Seems like he always tries to fall back to his guitar following a performance without it. So far, this is proving to be better than last week's debacle with that Our Lady Peace song. It does start boring for me, however, and with the lower notes that make up most of the beginning, I don't find this to be David's best. He does start ramping things up particularly when we reach the chorus of the song and the performance becomes memorable. He definitely sounds the best when he hits notes in his upper register and I am liking how he turned the end-portion of the song into something more rock-sounding. But this choice is definitely outside of the box for David and he did a good job with it. Now was it worthy of receiving a standing ovation from Randy? I certainly didn't think so and I scratched my head why the judges were glowing over this so much.

Jason Castro - singing "I Don't Wanna Cry": So it's Jason's first try at closing the show in the pimp spot. Let's see if his performance is worthy of getting such a hallowed spot on the show. So it's neither a ukelele or a guitar that Jason uses and strictly concentrates on his song with the microphone in his hand. This may be a good thing for Jason because singing a Mariah song might be a tough challenge for Jason. It's one of Mariah's more obscure songs which might be a blessing for Jason. It sounded good vocally, no glaring pitch issues but it was something that did not blow me away. Jason stays with his usual performing style and stays authentic and original, much like we've seen during previous weeks. Similar to Brooke, I doubt we'll ever see Jason rock out to a Queen song like a few other contestants have done this seaosn. I believe Jason earns himself a spot for next week's show and I'd be shocked if he were voted off tomorrow (please let it be a girl that gets voted out tomorrow!).

The contestants definitely seemed more prepared and more confident this week which made the performances that much more enjoyable. So for that, I rated tonight's show an eight out of ten. It's not easy to sing songs by Mariah Carey, but I give my praise to all of the contestants for doing an admiral job. Of course, some contestants excelled over others and as Simon said, the boys did a better job with Mariah's songs with the girls (of course Simon would say that because whatever song the girl's sing, they'll always be compared to the original). With that being said, here is how I rank the contestants after tonight's performances:

#1: David Archuleta - best of the night
#2: David Cook
#3: Jason Castro
#4: Carly Smithson - bottom three
#5: Kristy Lee Cook (eliminated - 4/16/08)
#6: Brooke White - bottom three (actual bottom three - 4/16/08)
#7: Syesha Mercado - eliminated (actual bottom three - 4/16/08)

It is getting very, very tough to predict who gets eliminated at this stage of the game. Obviously the four girls will get the strongest consideration for elimination this week but as we saw last week, you can never discount a boy being kicked off (Jason Castro being the male with the least strongest performance). I think Syesha will get the boot this week, but I think I said that last week as well. Brooke and Carly could also be shown the door as well but I do believe Kristy Lee will get another reprieve from the bottom three this week. She's gaining momentum and votes as she continues to up her game. Tomorrow will be a very interesting night and we'll see just how shocking the results end up being on our way to next week's Andrew Lloyd Webber theme.

American Idol 7 - Random Thoughts

So last night's results show presented the first real shocking elimination of season seven when Michael Johns departed the American Idol set for good. Although I really did not expect Michael to win the show, I had him lasting at least until the top four or three. So, along with the majority of Americans that watch American Idol, I was shocked at the results of last night. Michael has always been one of my favorites since the very start of this season. I was amazed with his "Bohemian Rhapsody" performance during Hollywood week and enjoyed the demeanor of this contestant. He's got great vocals, he's charming, and seemed like a really nice guy. It always appeared like he got along with each and every one of the contestants and had a lot of fun being a part of the American Idol experience. He was genuienly there to win it all, which was really refreshing. He wasn't like Amanda Overmyer who knew she wouldn't make it to the finale and really only used the show as a launching pad to get noticed, much like the rest of those eliminated. Yet, I expect great things out of Michael and the American Idol experience will be a launching pad for his future musical career. I don't have any doubts that he will make it in this business and I am looking forward to hearing his music in the years to come.

Now with Michael out of contention, seven contestants remain on the show. I have compiled a couple of lists for the general American Idol readers out there. The first list I will present is the order in which I think the contestants will be eliminated the rest of the way until we reach the finale. Here is that list:

7th contestant to be eliminated: Syesha Mercado
6th contestant to be eliminated: Kristy Lee Cook
5th contestant to be eliminated: Jason Castro
4th contestant to be eliminated: Carly Smithson
3rd contestant to be eliminated: Brooke White
2nd contestant to be eliminated: David Cook
2008 American Idol winner: David Archuleta

Definitely nothing scientific about this list - and as we saw this week, there could definitely be surprises the rest of the way. I really believe Carly will rise to the occasion after a horrible week and be quite strong until the top four. Syesha, Kristy Lee, and Jason are the three weakest performers left in the competition, in my opinion. Brooke White has struggled a bit as of late, but she has a pretty large fan base and I have a reason to believe she will continue to be consistent in her abilities week after week and receive favorable responses from the judges. Hopefully we will see the "new" Carly Simon in future episodes. That leaves the final show-down between the two David's, David Cook vs. David Archuleta. Both contestants have strong fan bases. But nothing can topple the tween and teenage girl's that swoon over David A. week in and week out and vote countless of times after each performance. Let me say this, however; not all of David A.'s fans are young girls. If you check out the American Idol message boards, there are prime examples of older women in their 40's, grandmothers, even adult men that are straight all fans of his music and who cannot get enough of his singing. You cannot discount these groups of people in the Archie fan base. They are just as strong as the teeny bopper girls and will follow David A. where ever American Idol will take him. David Archuleta has the looks, the likability factor, his great voice, and his inspiring song choices to take him a long way. At this point in the competition, I see nothing stopping him.

Now the second one is a personal list of American Idol contestant favorites for season seven. Of course, this will go for the final seven contestants that remain. So from number seven on down to number one, this is my ranking of season seven favorites on American Idol:

#7: Syesha Mercado: Don't get me wrong, I think Syesha has a great voice. But I've just never felt a connection with her since the very beginning. I think she showed personality in Hollywood week when she lost her voice and saved in until her last performance that week, which got her into the final 24 contestants. Ever since then, however, she has failed to wow me. There's just something about her; maybe she seems stuck-up in some way and she doesn't appear genuine to me. That's my opinion on Syesha, anyways.

#6: Kristy Lee Cook: My goodness. Kristy Lee has been growing on me these past few weeks. I remember during the top 12, 11, and 10, I wanted her to leave. Actually, I think much of America did. But she is beginning to shake out of her robotic mold that she's been criticized with for awhile. She seems fun loving and appears to be having a good time. But I think she needs to do a lot more in order for her to move up this list; like continue to improve on her singing. Even her last performance which was praised had a few shaky moments.

#5: Jason Castro: I've never been a huge Jason Castro fan; mainly because he does the same things week in and week out and he's gotten to be quite boring. I did love his performance during Dolly Parton week with "Travelin' Thru" because I thought he showed a different side to him and it was a different kind of song that he tackled. However, I don't really enjoy his look, particulary the dreads and think he has gotten quite stale like moldy bread.

#4: Carly Smithson: In the very beginning, I was kind of outraged because Carly was even allowed in this competition. As many people know, Carly previously had a record deal; she even had a record released! Check out her song "Blow Your Mind" on YouTube. Honestly, though, that doesn't even sound like her anymore and she looked so young! Carly has definitely grown on me for awhile and even though she seems down on her luck at times and over-tries on some of her songs, she still has an amazing voice and can perform like a true professional. I have a feeling she'll get a new record deal after her American Idol experience has ended.

#3: David Cook: It's true; sometimes David Cooks seems smug, cocky, arrogant, and cops an attitude during some of his performances. However, I don't think he intends to come over that way. He's a true rocker and one of Idol's greatest performers. He has sung some amazing arrangements of songs that many have never heard and really knows how the play the guitar. Heck, he can even re-arrange songs and make them sound current like Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow." If he gets voted off any sooner that top three, that will truly be a rotten shame.

#2: Brooke White: I've been a fan of Brooke White's since the very beginning when I saw her audition for the show. She seems very sweet and like I said in my last performance review, she seems like a big sister (even though she's a year younger than me). She's a true performer, playing on the piano and the guitar and doesn't go over-the-top with her singing. She's been described as the "new" Carly Simon and she's not afraid to take a few risks every now and again.

#1: David Archuleta: David A. is another one I've been a fan of since the very beginning. In fact, I think he has captivated me more than any other contestant during the seven-season history of the show. He is such a likable guy; how can anyone dislike him? Yes, he does have detractors, particularly those who think his modesty is all an act. I can honestly relate to the kid because I have a similar personality to him. I can tell it's not an act. I can't stop listening to his music, I keep reading articles that pop up about him, and I try to stay informed on the very latest that David Archuleta is involved in. No, I don't have a crush on the guy because I do not sway that way. Heck, he's like a kid brother for me! He's an amazing talent and whatever happens to him in American Idol and everything beyond, I'll definitely be following along to whatever happens with him.

By the way, if you didn't watch the "Idol Gives Back" special that aired on Wednesday, you missed out on some excellent performances by the Idols. The show started off with the season seven Idol's singing Rhianna's hit "Please Don't Stop the Music." I think this may be the first time all season (except for the auditions) where the contestants were able sing a current hit song. It was so incredibly different from what we've heard and it was actually a great performance by all seven contestants. I didn't really care for the "So You Think You Can Dance" performers dancing with the Idols; but you take some and lose some. Still, it was a very fun performance and it's still great to listen to. The last two performances involving the Idols' took place within the last hour of the show. Around 9:30 PM (EDT), the Idols' performed a song from the broadway play "Rent" live called "Seasons of Love." This was an amazing group performance, but I was kind of bugged in the beginning where Kristy Lee stuck out like a sore thumb for awhile. But other than that, it was great. I really love how this group is able to harmonize together. David Archuleta did spectacularly with his solo and how could you not laugh at all the screams he received when he started singing. No other contestant gets a reaction like that. Last but not least, the "Idols Give Back" special closed the night with the Idols' singing a religious/inspirational song called "Shout to the Lord." Now I've heard this song previously on commericials advertising Christian music CD's and I was never truly inspired by the short snippet I heard. I know, I probably didn't give it a proper chance, but Christian music isn't really my thing, to be honest. However, when the Idol's tackled this song during "Idol's Give Back," it gave me chills. Especially at the end when the group was harmonizing so beautifully and the confetti started pouring down. It was truly inspiring for me and I still get goose bumps listening to it on YouTube. What an amazing way to close the show. And no, the religious overtones of song did not bother me one bit like it might have for some.

You can check out each of these three songs on YouTube with the links I provided. However, for those of you who have accounts with iTunes, you also can buy many of the songs performed on "Idols Give Back" from the music site. I encourage everyone to check it out on iTunes because any of the songs from "Idols Give Back" that you purchase goes to the many charities that IGB supports. It's a worthwhile cause and you can't go wrong supporting something so important.

That about sums it up for this week on American Idol. Don't forget, next week the Idol's perform songs from Mariah Carey; and she'll also be this week's mentor! This will either make or break many of the contestants this week, so be sure to tune in this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.

American Idol 7 - Top 8

On the heels of another snowstorm (at least here in my humble corner of the world), I bring to you the latest American Idol review provided by me. And as opposed to the last few weeks, this review is immediately after the show! What a treat for all of my blog readers out there (yet I am sure there are some people whose eyes completely glaze over when they see my American Idol blogs - LOL. Don't worry; I realize not everyone is a fan of this show). This week's theme is inspirational songs, seeing that it's also the week for Idol Gives Back. Yes, they did it the exact same way last year, although I don't think we'll see this week's votes carry over to next week's like the previous year. At least I'm hoping not. How anticlimactic. On with the review!

Michael Johns - singing "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Does Michael know how to pick songs or what!? I can tell he enjoys some of the greatest rock bands of all-time and I can't say he picked the wrong song this week. I absolutely love this song and it really has a great message with it and it's quite nostalgic for me, too. I don't really understand why the judges did not love it. I felt he had a such a tremendous connection with the song and he was really passionate singing it. I didn't notice any pitch problems myself but if there was, the performance overall was what made this great. True, he may be better with songs that are more soulful and blue-sy, but you cannot discount Michael's taste for rock. I thought he hit a homerun with this one.

Syesha Mercado - singing "I Believe" by Fantasia Barrino. During the commerical break prior to Syesha's performance, I suddenly remembered when Lakisha Jones sang this song last year, which was when she began to lose her edge in the competition. I've never liked it when current Idols' pick songs from an Idol champion of the past, but you could tell Syesha really knew this song to heart. I thought it started off kind of boring at first and as the background singers were added, they tended to drown out Syesha. They proved to be quite overpowering! But then she really connected with the song towards the end and made it worth listening to. She again had to endure complaints by the judges about choosing a song in which previous artists blew it out of the water, but she did her thing with it. I don't think it will be enough to save her from the bottom three, however.

Jason Castro - singing "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo. I guess I'll have to listen to this performance again, because I was not as blown away by it as other people were. I will say this, though. I am SO glad he chose a different style and arrangement to it than let's say, Katharine McPhee's version in season five. If he would've done it that way, it might've been rather cheesy and could've spelled doom for him. But he showed originality and really mixed things up this week. I did think it sounded like that Country Time lemonade commercial that airs every summer; not that that's a bad thing, mind you. It made me think of summer, at least. Yes, he has a very distinctive voice and style to his performances, but I actually enjoyed last week's performance more than this weeks. Sorry, I guess I'm the odd man out on that opinion this week. I guess I will have to listen to it again; then maybe I'll change my tune on Jason this week.

Kristy Lee Cook - singing "Anyway" by Martina McBride. I do feel bad for Kristy because it appears she is improving week after week and is still not getting a lot of support from the fans. She is definitely not this season's Sanjaya; not by a long shot. Actually, I don't even think you can compare any of this season's contestants with Sanjaya because everyone's in a different league than him. Kristy was great tonight; in fact, it's her best performance so far in the competition. It reminded me a lot of her "God Bless the USA" performance minus the pitchy-ness. She definitely sang it well, confidentally and it showed she's strong with the country genre. I still don't think it will keep her out of this week's bottom three, however. Once again, she lacks the large fanbase like the David's or Brooke.

David Cook - singing "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace. Now I am familiar with the band Our Lady Peace from their 2002 song "Somewhere Out There," which is a spectacular song. But that is about the only song I am familiar with by that group. I was kind of interested to see how David was going to change things up this week - but it didn't look all that original to me. It sounded awkward in the beginning of the song and I think this song in particular may be questioned as to why he chose it. It may be inspirational to him, but many other people might not think so. I just wasn't into this performance like I've been with some of his previous stints on stage. He can definitely do better and not all of the contestants can have stellar performances week after week.

Carly Smithson - singing "The Show Must Go On" by Queen. Wow, this year we've been seeing a lot of Queen on American Idol; more than ever before. This was one of Queen's lesser-known songs and I thought she did okay with it. I wasn't blown away with it by no means. I thoroughly enjoyed the use of the orchestra in the background of the song and vocally I thought it was quite good (yes, there were a few pitch problems here and there). I will agree with the judges in that she seemed disconnected on stage and it probably wasn't the best song to pick to be inspirational. She might have done a lot better singing a ballad this week. She's another candidate that could wind up in this week's bottom three - but I'm doubting it.

David Archuleta - singing "Angels" by Robbie Williams. David is a very smart guy and for those that have been following David all season long on his American Idol journey, you'll know that there's a couple of videos posted on YouTube of David singing this song at school functions. He knows the song extremely well which proved to be a huge advantage for him. I thought at first it could be a huge risk for him to play this song on the piano, but I got to thinking that he's probably played this song on the piano at home time and time again. It was another awesome performance by David, but probably not quite as good as it could've been, especially considering how well he knows the song. I feel that during his performances (not just tonigh), he has difficulty singing the lower notes in his songs; and the lower notes mainly comprised the first part of this song. But once he reached the chorus, he did an amazing job. One of the better performances of the night.

Brooke White - singing "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor/Carole King. I can't help but think of Brooke as everyone's big sister (even though she's a year younger than me). She just has that persona about her. Just as David used a piano in his performance, Brooke did as well, although she did not play on it and instead took center stage in front of the mic. It started off a little rough for me and it was good at times. Other times it appeared she was disconnected from the song and her performance really suffered because of it. She seemed very emotionally attached to the song; almost TOO attached and it appeared she had a difficult time trying to keep her emotions in check. It certainly wasn't her best performance, but you have to give her props for it being very heartfelt and emotional.

Overall, I didn't think this week's "Inspirational Songs" were as good as last week's Dolly Parton collection. I'd rate tonight's show a seven out of ten. I will say this, I love it when a contestant show's their vocal range, like many of the male contestants have been doing. When they use their falsetto range, it just shows how versatile of performers they are. But it has it's limit and it cannot be overdone. I think the contestants know when to use it and to bring it out during special occasions. I had to laugh at the end of David Archuleta's performance and I saw the sign that read "Lick Those Lips." Once again, if you're a follower of David since the very beginning, you'll know that he's often licked his lips during many of his performances. I can't really say that he's done so during tonight's and last week's songs, however. I'll have to watch back just to be absolutely sure. Maybe he's following someone's friendly advice to use chapstick from here on out. Anyways, with those random comments out of the way, here is how I rate the performers on tonight's show:

#1: David Archuleta
#2: Michael Johns (eliminated - BIG SHOCKER!! - 4/10/08)
#3: Jason Castro
#4: Kristy Lee Cook - bottom three
#5: David Cook
#6: Syesha Mercado - eliminated (actual bottom three - 4/10/08)
#7: Carly Smithson (actual bottom three - 4/10/08)
#8: Brooke White - bottom three

Again, at this stage of the competition, it's getting very difficult to choose who will be going home week after week. I really believe after tonight's strong performance, Kristy Lee will avoid elimination once again. Syesha's performance was good, but not great. And she tends to lack a connection with fans and she has a very small fan base. It just might cost her Thursday. Brooke just might make it into the bottom three for the second week in a row but she'll be pulled back to safety quickly. But one wildcard I'll throw into the mix: Carly. She also has a chance to be in this week's bottom three. Don't be surprised if she lands there. We'll all find out who ends up eliminated after Thursday's results show. Can't wait!

It Keeps Snowing...and Snowing...and Snowing

Mother nature must have it out for us this spring. I thought our last snow event on the first day of the month would be it for this year. Sure, I could see a few snow showers and flurries in the air, but nothing accumulating; not until the new winter season at the end of this year. Boy, was I ever wrong. Our local National Weather Service is predicting anywhere from four to 12 inches of new snow from the latest storm churning to our south. The least amount of snow will fall along areas near the lakeshore to the most falling within the highlands.

I thought I would take some pictures "before" the storm arrives. As you can see in these photos, most of the snow is gone here in the city except for the piles. This particular photo is looking northeast and shows the last of the snow in the parking lot.

Here's a street view and shows the snow pile at a different angle of that in the previous shot. As you can see, there's really not a lot of snow in the neighborhood anymore!

A northbound shot of the same street. If you look closely, particularly around the edges, you can see a few snowbanks remaining.

Last but not least, a shot from the other end of the lot with a few remaining snowbanks.

There's actually quite a bit of grass visible around town. All it would take is one more "warm" week and all the rest of the snow would be totally gone. This latest storm will probably set us back a week and the weather gods are forecasting another impending snow storm of doom by the end of this week that could be quite similar to the storm of March 31 - April 1! So needless to say, winter isn't quite over yet here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; not by a long shot. I'll wager a guess and say the snow might possibly be completely gone by May 1, but that might be overly optimistic. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope that spring will finally stay after this week's snow events. Although, we are due for a May snow storm!

End of Season Snow Brings Frustration

Seems like April snowstorms are becoming commonplace in the Upper Peninsula these days. Last year we had the mega-blizzard around April 5 that lasted for close to four days and dropped as much as 45 inches of snow in some locations. About a week later, we picked up another four to six inches. Now this year, we had a 20+ inch blizzard that occured between March 31 and April 1. I know spring is usually slow to come around these parts at this time of year, but for two years running to have major snow storms during a typical spring month; it's getting to be rediculous. Yes, I know what some naysayers are going to say, that because we live in this location that we should expect it. But come on, we've had snow since November and it's time for a break from the snow and cold and to bring on the warm weather already. Even many of the snowmobilers are sick of the snow and would like to put their machines away in storage until the next winter season comes. Is that asking too much?

It seems that these final winter events always bring out my most embarassing and frustrating moments when dealing with the new wet, heavy snow. And let me reiterate, this is definitely not a soft, fluffy, powdery snow. As I attempted to leave for work on Tuesday, April 1, my car got stuck in the parking lot at my apartment. I knew it was going to be a big challenge to get out so I did a bit of shoveling on the back end of my car and around it. A big drift formed behind my car, so I knew I was going to have to break it down a bit in order to drive over it. Yes, the majority of the lot was plowed, but not nearly close enough to my vehicle without getting stuck. So after one attempt at backing up, I only managed to move a couple of inches before spinning out the front tires. There was a thick layer of ice underneath my tires, plus all of the newly fallen snow, so I had to do some digging in order to get my car moving. I'd say the challenge of getting my car out of the parking lot lasted a good half-hour and made me about ten minutes late for work. I finally made some progress in moving my car; I couldn't go forward like I wanted to, so I instead decided on backing up and right over part of that huge drift. Well, that ended up being a big mistake and I was now more stuck than ever! Finally, it ended up taking four other guys to finally push me free and out of the lot. Yes, it was rather embarassing but I was greatful for their help and it enabled me to make my way to work in less than stellar driving conditions. Last year I encountered something similar when I nearly ended up in the ditch but received the help from two gentlemen who pushed me out of a snowbank along a county road. Man oh man, the slushy snow is not something I am very fond of, I assure you of that.

I do see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to this snowy weather. Yesterday it got up to 45 and the temperatures today are expected to rise to around 50. The rest of the week will see the mercury make it to the 40's with some sun and chances of mainly rain (and some snow mixed in at times). So all in all, things are looking much more spring-like. However, we are not seeing those dramatic rises in temperatures - which is actually a good thing because we'd probably begin to worry about flooding concerns around the area. I know back in 2003, we had a serious rain event that added to the snowmelt and caused a dam on a nearby river to give way, causing massive flooding downstream. That's something we never want to see again. And at this time of year, I know residents that live along a river can expect to see sudden rises in river levels, but certainly nothing that gets out of hand. As long as this gradual snowmelt continues, flooding concerns should be pretty minimal. All's I care is that May ends up being a snowless month and spring can officially be declared here in the Upper Peninsula.


And for a random ending to this particular blog; I don't know how I came to think of it, but while I was at work yesterday, the old Kit Kat bar jingle popped into my head. You know, the "Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar" song? It had been YEARS since I heard this and I just wanted to see if someone might have posted it on YouTube. Sure enough, it's on there! And I came to thinking, there were many great commercials from the 80's and 90's that get forgotten. Some kind people went so far as posting various commerical montages on YouTube from the 1980's as well. All you have to do is search for "80's commercials" and you'll find a variety of commerical montages on there. If you're bored and need something interesting to watch, why don't you check those out. And for those of you who need a nostalgic kick, check out this Kit Kat bar commercial with that classic jingle I was talking about:

American Idol 7 - Top 9

Here we are - a new month and a new week, which means another American Idol review. It's hard to believe we are in the month of April and at least where I live, it STILL looks like winter outside. AMAZING! That's after nearly 25 inches of snow fell from our latest end-of-winter storm. As depressing as that is, at least we have American Idol to lift up our spirits as we try to cope with another blast of winter. This week it was "songs of Dolly Parton," with Dolly herself being the mentor. I've never been a big follower of Dolly and of country music for that matter, so this week was going to be a bit of a challenge for me to stay interested. All in all, I think I did a good job of keeping it together and staying focused at what I do best - giving you guys a review of last night's performances. And off we go!

Brooke White - singing "Jolene": She is on the guitar for this week's performance and she's battling pitch problems right from the start. I think it had a nice country vibe with it; something we hadn't seen from Brooke yet this season. It was a bit different from her usual routine yet she managed to stay pretty consistent with her singing and performing style. I thought the last half of the song was much stronger than the first as she was much more in tune and got rid of any pre-performance jitters that she had out of her system as the song concluded. Overall, a nice job from Brook this week.

David Cook - singing "Little Sparrow": I thought it was great that the first thing David did was address the arrangement controversy that he had gotten himself into the past three weeks or so. He gave the individual singers and groups their proper credit for him using their arrangements and hopefully David was able to put this whole deal past him. I think the criticism against him was unjust as it was. Tonight he mixed things up and put together his OWN arrangement of a song and I thought it was superb. Last week I was not jumping out of my seat over his rendition of "Billy Jean" like most people, so I thought this week was much better for him. He put his own twist on the song and made it very interesting to listen to. He was great with his falsetto notes and continued to shine with his originality.

Ramiele Malubay - singing "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind": It was a pretty nice, upbeat song for Ramiele this week. I think she is trying to stay upbeat with her songs rather than going to ballads which tend to make her seem boring. She injected some personality into the song and was overall a decent performance for her. But probably the biggest obstacle Ramiele faces this week is whether or not that was a performance to remember. For me personally, I didn't think so. I think she is quickly becoming forgettable and she really hasn't done anything to get excited over since she's been in the top 12. I think the end of the road is coming up very soon for Ramiele.

Jason Castro - singing "Travelin' Thru": Jason seems to be staying with the guitar a lot more lately which is probably a good move since he tends to seem awkward without it in his hands. Another thing I've noticed with Jason is that he picks songs that have more of an upbeat flair to them which seems to work the best for him. I really enjoyed Jason's performance this week and I thought it was a great song that he picked. He definitely seemed more serious about being in the competition this week as opposed to the last couple of weeks where it looked like he was just breezing through. For me, he stepped it up with this performance and seemed very confident in his singing abilities.

Carly Smithson - singing "Here You Come Again": Carly picked a very slow song to sing with little, if any tempo to it. It was kind of boring at times but Carly displayed her amazing vocal skills with this performance. Her singing was definitely on-par with no pitch irregularities at all. She is certainly no amateur when it comes to singing as she's able to hold notes for a long period of time with such relative ease. She also looked much more comfortable on stage and a lot more confident than she's been. Certainly another solid performance from Carly this week.

David Archuleta - singing "Smoky Mountain Memories": David is back with a vengeance this week as he puts together a very solid performance with a ballad that suits him nicely. After a questionable song choice a week ago, he picked a perfect song this week and you could definitely tell he felt a connection with it. He sang it with such conviction and emotion and did a marvelous job with the runs throughout the song. It seems like when he's not feeling any pressure and can go up on stage and sing with his heart, he does the absolute best. And seeing that last week David didn't appear to be as comfortable up on that stage singing "You're the Voice," it was completely the opposite this week. He owned the stage and was in his element.

Kristy Lee Cook - singing "Coat of Many Colors": This is definitely the right genre of music for Kristy and if she doesn't do well this week, then there's no hope for her at all. Overall, I thought she was pretty solid this week. No obvious pitch problems like there were last week. However, I didn't think she did anything truly exciting with the song and it was probably quite similiar to Dolly's version. This could've been her week to shine and be the top performer of the night, but she lags back towards the bottom of the barel. Again as I've said before, her time on the American Idol stage will soon be coming to an end.

Syesha Mercado - singing "I Will Always Love You": So Syesha takes on the biggest challenge of the night, that being the song made most famous by Whitney Houston. Usually those who take on Whitney fair quite poorly in the competition but Syesha did a very smart thing, at least in the first half of the song anyways. She kind of mixed things up for awhile, mostly using Dolly's version of the song in the beginning but then in the last half, she switched it over to Whitney's version and how can you not compare it to Whitney? Syesha is definitely no Whitney Houston. Overall I thought it was a decent performance from her but not spectacular - especially considering she encountered a few pitch problems towards the end of the song.

Michael Johns - singing "It's All Wrong, but It's All Right": Michael experienced a major boost in motivation last week after a stellar performance of a Queen medley. It was a very nice, soulful performance this week which he seemed to build upon last week's success. Obviously this song was more laid back than the rock tunes of Queen, but this is the Michael Johns we've been waiting for to show up during most of the top 12. He is definitely back in contention to be the American Idol champ and if he keeps it up, he'll definitely stay until at least the top three. It proved to be the perfect way to end tonight's show and seemed very into the performance from the beginning to the end.

Overall, I'd have to say that after last week's sub-par "year you were born" week, this week was a lot better. I'd give last night's show a rating of 8.5 out of 10. Like I stated earlier, I am no expert on Dolly Parton songs but it ended up being a very enjoyable night of performances. Nothing that was terribly bad, yet a few that will end up being quite forgettable. I will say this, I believe we have three of four singers left that have average singing talent. Once we whittle those people out of this competition, things look to get very interesting as we close in on the top five. With that being said, here are tonight's rankings:

#1: David Archuleta
#2: Michael Johns
#3: David Cook
#4: Carly Smithson
#5: Jason Castro
#6: Syesha Mercado - bottom three
#7: Brooke White (actual bottom three - 4/2/08)
#8: Kristy Lee Cook - bottom three (actual bottom three - 4/2/08)
#9: Ramiele Malubay - eliminated (officially eliminated - 4/2/08)

I do genuinely believe that Ramiele will be voted off this week. But I do not remember a week where she's been in the bottom three (okay, maybe one week she was), so her fan base might keep her in this another week. But the usual bottom dwellers of Kristy Lee and Syesha should wind up there again and quite possibly one of them may be out. As I've found this year, it's really difficult to pick who exactly is being sent home week after week. It's all in the hands of the voters!

YES! Finally predicted the right person to be eliminated for a change. -4/2/08